#and i'd just like to thank you for saving me from hours of hunting for typography

[ponderingmoonlight]

I'd love Obanai + Sanemi saving reader from a demon (like in the first episode??) You are awesome, thanks!

This escalated so quick damn, but hey, there you have a full on fic hehe - hope you enjoy <3

Sanemi saving your ass even if you don't want to

Pairing: Sanemi x fem!reader

Word Count: 1,9k

Synopsis: You knew what you got yourself into when you let a demon capture you instead of your beloved friend. Little did you know that help already arrived, viewing you as nothing but a damsel in distress until suddenly, you turn into much more...

Warnings: (y/n) fell but I fell harder, just saw the movie and it's so AHHH, honestly Sameni's voice is so mezmerizing omg, however this includes violence and language, might incluce spoilers for the movie but if you haven't seen it already you don't know what's going on anyway lol, like all my demon slayer fanfics this includes ai pics of reader so if this doesn't sit right with you, I'd suggest to not read it

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED MORE SANEMI CONTENT

Your dirty cold feet pound against the muddy floor, haunted eyes darted towards nothing but sheer darkness. You still don’t know how you managed to keep the demon from kidnapping your best friend, how you’re still alive when at this very moment, this frightful creature his hunting you down like its prey.

So many innocent young women, one after another disappeared from your village nearby. Why did you never even think about the possibility that you or even worse, a person you love could be next?

Not until now. Not until you stared into the demon’s stone-cold red orbs when it began to run after you. Not until you were the one threatened to get eaten alive.

“Run! Run and don’t look back!”

“But (y/n), you’ll get killed-“

“I won’t. Leave it to me, tell everyone to lock their doors, just don’t come back!”, you screamed on top of your lungs.

“I’m getting impatient, stupid girl. You know you will get killed, right?”

Blood rushed through your ears, body threatened to fail you.

“If you want to kill me you have to get me first, stupid demon.”

How long have you been running for? Minutes, hours? You lost track of time completely with your body screaming, begging you to stop and take a break. The bitter taste of iron covers your whole mouth, blood sticks to your new Yukata like a second skin. Your mother will completely lose it when she sees the crimson discolouring on the white fabric.

“I’m having enough.”

If you ever see her again.

With a swift motion, the demon swings you over his shoulder, his claws digging into your flesh so roughly that you cry out. No, this can’t be the end. You can’t allow yourself to die like this: in the arms of a demon, without even fighting back. No one ever told you what to do, you were always able to stand up for yourself. Today will be no exception. Even if you get killed, you will fight back with everything you have.

“Shinazugawa…Something’s not right.”

Sanemi can’t help but look around, eyes meeting the countless demons around him. What the hell is this place?

“Yeah, I don’t like this, either. I’ve never seen demons swarming around like this.”

“Let me go!”, you yell, fist banging roughly against the creatures’ back while it drags you into what looks like a haunted mansion.

Your eyes widen when you feel multiple pairs of red orbs laying on your body.

“Demon slayers…”, you hear your kidnapper hiss through gritted teeth, turning his head over his shoulder.

Demon slayers? You’ve heard of them before, how they behead every demon coming their way, how desperately they fight for humanity. But…where were these demon slayers when all the girls from your village got kidnapped? Where are they when you need them the most? How absoluteley useless.

You don’t know what has gotten into you. Is it the anger, the grief? With a rapid motion, you dig your nails into the eyes of the demon until he lets you fall to the ground abruptly, groaning out in visible pain.

Everything hurts, a trail of blood follows you as you drag your body against a rotten wall. You feel your body giving in, all the stress, agony and exhaustion rushing over you like a wave. But no, you can’t give up right now. Not when there’s still a slight chance for you to survive.

“You little bitch. Eat her, I will leave and get her little friend.”

Suddenly, the urge to puke becomes almost unbearable. Countless demons come near you, their teeth exposed to the harsh moonlight. No, this is not how you want to end. You can’t die getting eaten alive by these creatures. But what else are you supposed to do? There is no way out of this living hell.

Except for the destroyed window a few steps away. This is your only chance. You drag yourself up, sprint over the rotten wood underneath your naked feet and jump.

Floors into the depths.

Away from the demons, into another certain death.

“Where is the girl?”, Sanemi questions harshly, sword oh so ready to behead that bastard of a demon in front of him while heading down.

Screw this strange place and the countless demons around him, he needs to find you, needs to carry you into safety.

“The girl? She jumped out of a window in order to safe herself. She’s probably dead by now.”

He lets out the breath he didn’t knew he was holding, blank eyes staring at the stone ground his blade has crashed instead of the demon. What was this place?

No, he can’t think about this right now. As fast as his body carries him, he gets out of that cursed mansion, eyes instantly finding your falling body.

Only metres away from crushing into the ground.

Oh, how much you wished it wouldn’t end like this. But maybe this was everything you could do, dying like this is still better than getting eaten up by a demon. Where are those demon slayers? You close your tired lids, enjoy the weightlessness for a brief second. It doesn’t matter now. Hopefully, the demon is long dead before you. At least you're dragging his ass with you…

“Hey, you aren’t dead, are ya?”

That voice…A male voice, without any doubt. So harsh and tempting at the same time that you can’t help but open your eyes in confusion.

Only to be met by purple ones. Male ones, to be exact. Are those...his arms wrapped around your trembling body?

“Let me go!”, you shriek.

It seems like all power that left your body appeared again while you miserably try to fight yourself out of his arms. Who is this man? Another demon, maybe?

“I won’t let you eat me!”

“Eating you? Are you dumb, woman? I’m a demon slayer”, the man in front of you barks, his hands roughly holding onto your arms in order to stop you from hitting him again.

“A demon slayer?” you repeat.

“Yeah, the wind hashira to be exact.”

Your gaze falls from his face to his exposed chest, his toned abs. He breathes heave while still holding onto your arms. Suddenly you feel so…hot.

“You are a demon slayer.”

With a swift motion, you free one of your hands and slap him so hard that he sees stars.

“It sure took you some time to get here! What about all the other women who died here, the countless young girls that were killed by demons you did nothing about? Why did you save me!?”

“I’m wondering that too”, Sanemi mutters under his breath.

Did you actually go inane? The way you look at him with your eyes completely furious, face and yukata smeared in your own blood. You can’t be serious about that, right?

“You should be thankful”, he finally hisses.

“Thankful!? YOU should be sorry!”

“Yeah, I’m sorry for saving you…you…you ungrateful thing!”

“I could have saved myself”, you argue.

“Oh, is that so?”

No, absolutely not. You would have died if it wasn’t for the wind hashira.

“Everything was under control”, you snap at him.

Nothing was under control. This was your last way out of your misery.

“Is it so hard to just be thankful?”, he argues.

“Who’s your new friend, Shinazugawa?”

“We aren’t friends”, both of you reply at once.

Your heavy breath hangs in the air, hands still clenched into fists. Deep down you know how wrong it is to snap at him, that the demon slayer corps aren’t responsible for the countless lives the demons took in this area. But still…Why does it have to be you they saved? Why not the girl next door who would have married the next day or the girl that was supposed to leave only days after she got killed? It’s not fair, it’s not enough, it’s-

You take a heavy step back when your vision starts to get foggy.

“I won’t catch that brat if she faints now”, the wind hashira grumbles.

“We both know you will.”

The last thing you see are his purple eyes before you fall straight into deep darkness.

-a few days later-

“She’s awake now, Shinazugawa. And she asked for you.”

He hates the way his heart skips a beat by hearing those innocent words from Shinobu. You didn’t leave his head. Despite the state of Oyakata-sama, despite the hashira training, despite the stinging fact that the king of demons himself will come for them, you were always on his mind. You, with your strong but feminine eyes. You, who jumped out of a window into certain death only to keep your body away from the mouths of these demons. You, who straight up slapped him. Was it your attitude that caught him off guard? He never experienced a woman saved by him being this ungrateful. Aren’t you aware of the fact that you would have died that night if it wasn’t for him?

“What do you want, brat?”

His words come out harsher than anticipated while your sight simply takes his breath away. Since he can remember, Sanemi was never interested in any women romantically. No, love is nothing but weakness, women mean nothing but trouble. But even though you glare at him with venomous eyes the second he enters the room, he can’t help but feel drawn towards you.  

“You’re a hashira, right?”

Your words sound just as harsh as his, your gaze meeting his with so much strength that it is him who starts to feel uncomfortable.

“Yeah, I already told you that-“

“Train me”, you interrupt him.

“I want to become a demon slayer and kick your ass.”

“You, kicking my ass?”

You grab the fabric of his uniform so roughly that he isn’t able to react, suddenly so close to you that he can feel the heat radiating from your body.

“Train me.”

“Fine brat. I’ll train you. But don’t think I’ll go easy on your ass.”

-bonus-

“Try to keep up, (y/n).”

His katana clashes into yours over and over, makes it hard to stand your ground. But still you fight back, your hands holding onto your sword so tightly that your knuckles stand out white. You just have to win. There is absolutely no way you’ll lose against your master again.

Especially since he’s your lover.

“Are you tired yet?”, he teases you with a smirk.

“Absolutely not”, you press out while dodging another hit just in time.

This won’t help. If you continue to fight like this, he’ll sweep you off your feet like all these countless times before. But what are you supposed to do? It almost seems as if Sanemi has no weakness.

Except you.

“But you’ll be when I’m done”, you purr.

That sudden change of mood catches him completely off guard, forces him to hesitate for the split of a second.

Enough for you to sweep him off his feet, your body resting on top of his while your blade hangs into his face.

“I won”, you announce triumphally.

“You cheated”, he protests underneath you.

“Demons play dirty as well. You need to be prepared for everything-“

All it takes his one swift motion for him to position himself on top of you, body forcing you onto the ground before you’re able to catch a breath.

“Imma show you how dirty playing really works, then.”

Tags: @chilichopsticks @hellkaiserinphoenix  @ynackerman9499 @keepghostly @beatrexworld @froufrousnowman @hidazinie @tomiokathedepresso  @poketrainer2270 @chaoticwinnercupcake @lees-chaotic-brain @wordskeeper @polarbvnny @kayleegomez @ryva @baku2345 @komelrebi-san

[raz-writes-the-thing]

Monthly Pity Party (Supernatural One-Shot)

Team Free Will x AFAB!GN!Reader / requests are open

Summary: Your cramps are kicking your ass this month, though you do wish the boys would quit throwing pity parties for you.

Fic type: period comfort

SPN: @wereallbrokenangels (send an ask to be added to a tag list!)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"I think I might actually die, like, for real," you groaned, rubbing at your forehead irritably. "I mean- if we ever do find the bastard, I'd like to ask why he or she or they said 'fuck you in particular' to people with vaginas and uteri and all that bullshit."

"Yes, it's not something I was able to fully understand from his plans," Castiel replied, seeming to only be half listening. Your hand shot to your lower belly, breath sucking sharply between your teeth. "Though it does serve a purpose... if... that may provide some comfort to you."

"You know," you groaned, resisting the urge to curl yourself into a ball and pass away on the spot. "It really doesn't, Cas."

Sam stood from his favourite spot at the table, picked your socked feet off the end of the lounge and sat down again while pulling them into his lap. You gave the gentle giant a soft yet strained smile and he squeezed your left foot to show he was listening.

"Dean will be back soon," he said by way of comfort. You were also pretty sure it was a diversion to nip your conversation with Castiel in the bud before it got too heated or too existential. You had a habit of doing that during your time of the month.

Speaking of- the sound of the bunker door closing heralded the arrival of beers for the boys and treats for you. Special treats that you only really reserved for that horrendous week once a month where you weren't able to hunt half the things on your to-get list, or even sometimes able to stay awake for longer than three hours.

"All right," came Dean's voice from around the corner. "Party time. I've got the goods. Beer, pie, skittles, and... all the other crap you asked for." He placed the two bags of groceries and goodies onto the coffee table before gesturing for you to move so he could settle down on the couch with you.

You made space for him and then he patted his lap for you to lay back down again. You settled your head down in his lap as he used his arm to screw the lid of his beer off and chucked the metal disc onto the table.

"Oh Cas, I forgot to heat the thing up," Dean mumbled, giving you an apologetic squeeze on the shoulder before pointing to your homemade wheat bag. "Be a good Angel and do the thing?"

Castiel picked up the wheat bag and disappeared into the kitchen. Hopefully after his stint as a human, he'd know how to use the microwave to heat it up properly. Honestly though, if your skin was able to withstand it, you'd love the direct heat of the sun over your cramps.

Dean leaned forward, grabbed one more beer from the table and passed it to his brother who thanked him quietly. Then he passed you the bag of skittles and watched you rip the thing open and shove a handful into your mouth with a moan of relief that bordered on pornographic.

"I don't know how you eat those," Dean said sceptically. You chewed on the lollies a few more times before swallowing.

"They taste good," you replied as if that was a good enough answer to it all. "And shut up, I've seen some of the stuff you've shoved down your gullet."

"Shut up, Sam-" Dean quipped as Sam snorted out a laugh at your signature bantering. "But fair point."

You let out another hiss as your cramp amped it up once again. Your voice evened out into a rather pained and elongated word not fit for young ears and Dean's brows furrowed in concern.

"Dean, you get like this every month. It's just a few days of discomfort- and if Cas wasn't so wiped right now, he'd make it all go away for me. It's nothing I can't handle. Promise."

Dean took a moody sip of his beer and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, I don't have to like it, all right?"

You were saved from having to put too much thought into your response as Cas reappeared from the kitchen, wheat bag in hand. He handed it to you and you placed it over your abdomen. Instantly the heat began soaking through your skin to ease the ache beneath.

"I'm sorry I can't heal you in my current state," Castiel apologised before sitting down stiffly in the single-seater armchair. You sighed, chowing down on a couple more lollies.

"Look guys," you said, pulling your head and feet out of the Winchesters' laps and sitting up. You pressed the heat pack against your abdomen and leaned back against the couch. "I know you all mean well, but it's just a period. You don't have to pity me. I'll be all right after some Advil and some comfort food. A snuggle or two wouldn't hurt either. But I'm not going to have any more of these pitiful apologies and concerned looks."

The three of them looked at each other and then back at you again. Dean and Sam both took a swig and nodded respectfully.

"Sure thing," Sam replied with one of those blink-and-you-miss-it acknowledging smiles.

"Uh-huh," was Dean's answering reply. You knew what that meant. He'd humour you for a day or two and be right back at his usual schtick. But that was fine. You kinda liked it when he was just a little worried over you.

"Right then," you said decisively, giving Castiel a very pointed look. "I'm going to lay back down and we're all going to watch a movie. I am going to grumble about my cramps and we're all going to have a great time, yes? Good."

"Yes dear," Dean reached for the remote for the television. "Now- Cas, I know better than to ask our menstruating friend here what we're gonna watch so- your pick."

[thezombieprostitute]

Tech Tuesday: Ransom

Summary: Your laptop needs repair and you're at risk of embarrassing yourself and the company in front of some very big investors.

Warnings: Crying, Ransom kinda being an ass. Let me know if I missed any.

A/N: Reader is female. No other physical descriptors used.

Tech Tuesdays Masterlist

Part 1

You see Mr. Syverson again and he raises an eyebrow, “done already? Tell me he behaved himself.”

“So far, yes, Mr. Syverson,” you assure. “But he said I need a temporary laptop from Walter?”

“Oh, sure thing.” Mr. Syverson points to one of the few doors in the department. “Walter's back there. He can be a bit grumpy but he'll be polite. Just tell 'im what you need and if he gives ya trouble, talk to me.”

“Thank you, Mr. Syverson!”

As promised, Walter wasn't the most cheerful. You wondered if IT was just the kind of job that attracted grumpy people. Then again, Jake and Steve weren't grumpy. But maybe they were the exceptions. Walter got you the temporary laptop and you ran back to Ransom's desk.

Ransom looked like he was focused and you didn't want to interrupt him, after all he was fixing your screw up. But you saw the time and panicked.

"Here's the laptop," you say a little too loudly, making him jump a bit. "I'm sorry I scared you but I really need this to go well and I didn't want to interrupt you but the presentation is in less than an hour and I need---"

You're cut off when Ransom roughly grabs the laptop out of your hands. You drop your face in embarrassment.

"I'm still hunting down the file," he growls. "When was the last time you saved it?"

"Um...I think it was yesterday? Before I left? I hope I saved it yesterday. It saves automatically, right? Please tell me it saves automatically!" You have to fight to keep yourself from grabbing Ransom's shoulders and demanding answers.

Ransom raises both of his hands in a placatory manner. He sees the fear in your eyes and is quick to move so you can't touch him. "I'm still looking for the file and a timestamp would be helpful. Can you give me a time that you last worked on it?"

Trying to fight the tears forming in your eyes you whimper, "I was working on it all day, yesterday. It was the last thing I worked on before closing out for the day. I had to have saved something, right?!"

"Let's take the temporary laptop back to your cubicle, make sure everything's working. Then I'll get back to searching. If I find a copy of the file on the network I will email it to you," he says through gritted teeth. He's never been comfortable around tears.

Hanging your head in defeat you can only nod a little and hold the temporary laptop closer as you head back to your desk.

As soon as Ransom sees the stuffed animals and cutesy accoutrements at your desk he has to bite his tongue to not say something mean. One word to Syverson and Ransom has to go asking his family for money.

You notice him freeze up and ask, "are you okay?"

He just nods, takes a deep breath and focuses on the work of setting up your temporary laptop. "Normally I'd stick around and double check some things but I'm sure you prefer me getting back to looking for that presentation."

You nod emphatically, "yes, yes, please!" He leaves and you hug one of your stuffed animals, helping you calm down. Maybe he could use a stuffed animal of his own? He seems really stressed out, too.

Part 1

Tagging @alicedopey; @delicatebarness; @ellethespaceunicorn; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory; @late-to-the-party-81; @lokislady82 ; @peyton-warren @ronearoundblindly; @stellar-solar-flare

[lavenderarts]

Revamp: Monthly Subs and Reward Art!

Hi everyone! After a long hiatus on this due to inconsistent health, I'm back and feeling better than ever, and I'd like to re-institute my monthly subscription service for art rewards. These will be active on my Ko-fi starting on August 1st! Read on to hear about the changes from my old system and details of what you'll get for subscribing, but if you don't care about any of that and just want to see the rewards page, here it is:

Please share this and consider tossing a couple bucks a month my way to help me support myself and my dog! Details below the cut!

So last time I was offering art rewards, it gradually became unsustainable for a number of reasons, chief among them the fact that I was basically offering severely discounted full commissions of all styles, and it was exhausting to fulfill in addition to regular commission work. I just couldn't keep up and got overwhelmed. So to help prevent that this time around, here are the changes I'm implementing:

I'll have a single reward type: single character busts! These are easy to crank out in an hour or less, so I can keep up with demand better. I'll reserve the right to decide between lined/lineless flats and papercrafts as I see fit to keep them interesting and fun for me, but if it's your birthday month or your yearly sub anniversary, you can choose the style and get a little something extra! For examples of what a bust looks like, please check out my recent ArtFight submissions :)

I'm going to do my level best to institute a hard 3-week turnaround rate for all regular commissions, and save the final week of each month for giving these rewards full priority along with onboarding new batches of clients for the following month's commissions.

I'm moving my subscription service over to Ko-fi, where anyone can give between $2-9 a month as a very generous tip and get access to my Discord server, or give $10+ for monthly bust rewards, early access to adoptables, and more! You can choose to give more than $10, but no other rewards exist for higher tier subs, it's up to whatever you feel is appropriate! Ko-fi has both Stripe and PayPal integration, which should be easier on the subscriber end, and it allows me to use PostyBirb to post across multiple sites at once, which makes it much easier to post early-access WIPs and finished work than it was on my old subscription service. It also automatically handles Discord onboarding and role assignment, yay!

I'm on the hunt for a simple Discord bot that can post a single repeating message on the first of every month with a link to a Google form for everyone to submit their requests, so that I don't have to ask for them manually. (If anyone knows of such a bot or is capable of making one, please get in touch!)

Previously I offered a whole suite of other rewards in addition to the monthly art -- things like subscriber-only request streams, early claims on adoptables, and even physical merch, which were not sustainable for me. Going forward, early adoptable claims for a discount will still be available as a reward, and I may occasionally do request streams, but on a less formally-scheduled basis and only as I have the free time to do so. I am not able to offer physical prints/stickers at this time; I might revisit the option in the future, but I need to know more before I try it again! I'll also be continuing to offer a subscriber discount on all commissions that will stack with other sales and discounts, along with the ability to skip the waitlist and jump directly into the work queue.

So to recap, if you subscribe to me, here's everything you get:

For $2-$9 USD: Discord server access with a special role, and my thanks for your generous support!

For $10+ USD: Discord server access with a special role, 24 hour early adoptable access with the ability to claim for a discounted price, a bust of a single character each month, first looks at finished artwork and WIPs/timelapses, commission discounts, and potentially more down the line.

My Discord is open to anyone, and all members can freely chat, post art, attend/host art streams, and answer polls regarding prompts for adoptable designs and more. You just get some nice bonuses for subscribing! While these subscription tiers are available, one-time tips and donations of any amount are still an option for commission clients or anyone else who just wants to show some love.

I hope this all makes sense and sounds enticing; I really love seeing people's OCs and getting to bring them to life and put my own little touch on them, and I'm very excited to start giving something back to all of you out there whose support means so very much to me, and without whom I could never do what I do. Thank you so much for checking out the Ko-fi! As a reminder, reward eligibility begins on August 1st! The tiers are active on Ko-fi now, but if you subscribe before August you won't be rewarded for the month of July, so keep that in mind.

[amaleu-antmat]

The case files of Jeweler Richard vol 8 spoiler!

Part 2?

(Continuing from where I left in the previous post)

After Seigi and Catherine finished buying the groceries, Richard and Catherine enter a little discussion about the treasure hunt again, as the air grew heavy Seigi interjected to lighten the mood "Uhm, I thought I'd make seafood stew for dinner. I got some really delicious ingredients, Bouillabaisse is from this place right?" After Seigi said that the two other people look at him with almost scared? Lol faces, they moved in sync with other indescribable intense emotions, and that scare the hell out of Seigi, the poor guy think <what did I say this time? Did I make a mistake with the menu? Or are they allergic?> 😂

Richard "Bouillabaisse....wow."

Seigi "Wow, what?"

Catherine "Oh, Seigi...Bouillabaisse is a dish from Provence, but it's very difficult..."

Richard "The shrimp and fish have to be dressed just right, and the vegetables require preparation as well. It also needs to be simmer for an extremely long time. At any rate, it is an unavoidable difficult path"

Seigi "Don't worry, I can do it, it's not a problem"

Catherine "Just the thought of preparing a meal that takes so much effort makes me want to pass out. You should rethink this, even locals don't make it, it's too much hassles"

Richard "You didn't come here to hone your cooking skills. I strongly suggest you save your energy for other tasks"

Seigi "Ah..."

Mother and son duo are preoccupied because of past experiences, I guess 😆 and don't want Seigi to go through it. Seigi catches on the fact that they are both incapable of doing basic chores. He said to give him 2 hours and to not peek under any circumstances.

While Seigi cooks, he thinks that he should feed Richard so that he'll have the energy to solve the mystery of the treasure hunt like Sherlock Holmes. He finished cooking and came out, Richard had found other marbles in the meantime, he asked where Catherine was, and Richard told him that she went to check if the pizza place was open.

Seigi "I appreciate having a backup plan, but I really don't think we're going to need it"

Richard "So it seems...." 😆 (dunno why, but this part made me laugh)

Richard set the tableware, etc, and Catherine returned with news that it's closed for vacation.

Seigi set the pot containing dinner on the table and pulled off the lid, he looks at them and see.... indescribable tension, the mother-son duo peer at the pot, <was it admiration? For me? No. For the Bouillabaisse.> 🤣

(Here's a food pic, just so that you'll feel the hunger I felt when searching for it out of curiosity)

Richard "What on...."

Catherine "C'est Magnifique! I can't believe it."

They approach the table with caution, unsure as if it was a crashed ufo...<I didn't put anything bad in it....> 😁 (I find it funny how careful he is acting right now, it's really like encountering your mother in law and trying to be liked by her, only, Seigi doesn't seem to realise this, for all this novel he is diveded between pleasing her and trying to make Richard happy at the same time? But when he is nice to her, Richard is a bit sulky)

Seigi began portioning the serving and encourage them to eat.

Catherine tells Seigi to say bon appetit, and when he does the mother son duo answer in unison "Merci" Richard pout, Catherine smiles. Seigi thinks that something of the sort must have happen in the past in this estate. Seigi ask what they thought about the Bouillabaisse, Catherine teary-eyed respond that it tastes like happiness itself.

Richard "...Well, he always has been a good cook"

Catherine "Richard, you are being rude. Thank Seigi this instant"

Richard looks mortified for a moment and then looks at Seigi <This feels like a standoff between East and West, but that would make me his opponent, and I'd be knocked out before I even got a swing in. It would never occur to me to pick such a fight, I'd just wind up on my knees begging for mercy for all eternity> Seigiiiiiiiii 😆

Richard look at him a bit bashfully "Seigi, I've known for quite a while now that you are a talented cook, but it seems I must acknowledge your skills once again. Bravo. Perhaps you could open a restaurant if you felt so inclined. But I have to ask, when did you learn to cook this?"

Catherine "what an arrogant way to say that. Does that even count as a compliment?"

Richard "Stay out of this"

Seigi "Ahh uhm, thanks Richard. Where did I learn this? Good question"

Wanting to alleviate the tension he confess to them that it's his first time cooking this and he just followed the recipe, the mother-son duo doesn't believe him and tells him to stop joking with a wave of their hand in front of them and the same expression. They gives example about how cooking is hard like if you cook an egg in high heat it'll burn or about how it will explode in the microwave if run for too long, and that the odds of Seigi succeeding in that dish in the first try was too low. 😆

Catherine think for a moment that it's a japanese men skills but immediately turn down that theory as she had a friend who married a jap man who couldn't even fold underwear. Richard blatantly asks Seigi what tricks he uses.

Catherine "Can't you just say thank you, I love it?"

Richard " I don't know how many times I have to tell you, but you have no right to interject here"

Seigi the poor potato "Oh, it's fine, I'm uhm used to it! Yes! Let's eat!"

[sublimecatgalaxy]

Him and I

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Wife!Reader

Summary: Daryl and his wife get separated at the fall of the prison but both manage to escape with another member of their crowd. After the reader and Glenn find Abraham and their group, almost after accepting they'll never find the rest of their families, they stumble in to Terminus. Will they be reunited or will the current state of the world impede them once more?

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol and drugs, violence, swearing, mentions of loss, feeling of anxiety/dread.

A/n: This fic is directly based on a request (that tumblr ate) by @bringinsexybackk69! I'm so sorry it took so long for me to get back to this, it's honestly just been so hard for me to write things that aren't blurbs and with the lack of TWD content, it's been dry over here. Thank you for your patience, I adore you! This is not entirely canon since my memory is faulty and I can't currently watch TWD so I'm going off of vibes and vague memory.

When we got to the prison, we thought it was going to be the end all, the place we could stay for as long as we chose to live, where we would raise children, form new bonds and relationships, just overall be safe and enjoy life.

But we thought the same thing about the farm and we all know what happened to that dream.

When the prison fell, I assumed that I would never see any of my family again, my closest friends, my husband. I woke up, alone, on the floor of the prison after Daryl shoved me in a cell and told me to stay put. It took nearly an hour for me to fight my way through walkers to get out into the air and that's when I saw the tanks and Hershel.

My heart broke.

When I found Glenn, I had a little bit of hope that we'd find people the longer we looked around the prison but the longer we looked, the less we found and the more dangerous it got. We were trapped and we couldn't wait around for people to show up. So we left.

"Glenn, where would Maggie go? If something happened, where would she go?" I ask Glenn frantically as we walk side by side, gun by gun, down the rural gravel path, my feet kicking frustratedly at stones with every step we take.

"I don't know, Y/n. We never thought we'd ever be away from each other ever again." Glenn is more frustrated than I am, jaw tense and fists clenched at his side. Without us, I'm convinced he wouldn't last, he's so emotional and gets so easily frustrated whereas I am the opposite.

Cool as a cucumber.

Just like Daryl taught me.

Daryl and I met at the farm.

I stumbled, quite literally, upon them with my arm bit and my whole body sore from carrying my own weight at least a mile or two. I'd say that our first impressions were kind and that we fell in love at first sight but it wasn't and we didn't. He, with the assistance of Hershel,  chopped my arm off to prevent the infection from spreading and inevitably saved my life.

We were all shocked to see that it worked.

Daryl would take care of me, bring me things from the forest like little flowers that he claimed to remind him so much of me even though he'd joke that I'm nothing like a flower. He'd bring me food while I was resting in bed, he'd offer to take me on walks- overall, he was an angel and it was hard not to fall in love with him.

He'd tell you that he fell in love with me when I nearly fell in the well three weeks after my amputation.

Don't ask.

We were inseparable from then on in. He was my right hand man (pun so much intended) and he taught me everything I needed to know. I learned how to hunt with one hand, cook, skin animals, fend for myself because he always wanted me to feel and be capable if anything were to ever happen to him.

He's the most selfless, kind hearted, protective man I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.

When the farm was overtaken by walkers and we had to run, it was the first thing to really test mine and Daryl's relationship but also to test my lack of two arms. It was difficult for me to keep up and it was even more frustrating for Daryl to take care of me while saving the asses of everyone else.

"Are you good?" Daryl asks me, spinning around on his bike to look back at me with a worried expression, brows tugged firmly together in fear. He checks me out once, doing a once over to make sure I'm a-okay and when I nod, he loosens up a bit.

"I'm okay. Just a little spooked." I'm trembling like a leaf against him and he finally steps off his bike and moves to wrap his arms around me without another word.

He holds me tightly to his chest, cradling my head as softly as he can as tears flow freely from my eyes, my arm aching in a phantom pain from all the stress of wishing I was more capable, wishing Daryl didn't need to take care of and comfort me all the time.

"I got you, okay? I'm here."

When we found the rest of the group and found the prison, it was like we were drawn to it. We had to clear it out, we had to make it our own, make it safe. We had a baby on the way, Lori was nearly due and with the loss of a few of our people, we needed to regroup and have a place where we could just be.

But it fell, it went to hell, like everywhere else had since the world fell.

When we Glenn and I escaped, it wasn't exactly a match made in Heaven. We weren't the most compatible to work together, always bickering and fighting over the stupidest shit and ruining plans, just like siblings.

But after days and days of walking and arguing, we found Abraham and it was as if everything just got better. It was no longer the two of us and, after all those years of not seeing him, it was strangely nice to be reunited with him on the road.

"Abe?" The ginger's head snaps around at my voice, turning away from his two friends with wide eyes, gaze locking on mine as I grin ridiculously, my feet carrying me towards him without another word.

"Well holy shit, where did you come from?" He chuckles heartily and I feel tears springing behind the lids of my eyes. "I missed you, kid."

Abraham and I were stationed together in the Middle East for too long, learning the ins and outs of each other and becoming true best friends. When we went home, we kept in touch but when the world fell, we became a background thought in each other's minds.

So the fact that we found each other, a state away from where we grew up, it's still remarkable to this day.

Glenn and I felt better once we were with a group of people, especially since we were genuinely going to kill each other had we been stuck, just the two of us, for any longer. It was nice to meet Rosita and get to know her interesting relationship with my old friend, their oddly sexual relationship keeping the rest of us up in the middle of the night.

It made me miss Daryl, meeting all these new people- I had no one to judge people with. Glenn was no fun and always played devil's advocate and Abraham was who I wanted to judge. Daryl would've gladly sat with me and made me laugh while pointing out Rosita and Abraham's obnoxious issues with PDA or making fun of Eugene's mannerisms and nerves around Rosita.

It was alienating, how much I missed him.

My other half.

"Glenn, I don't know why you think Maggie would go to some random, probably overran 'survivalist' camp. But I think we have a better bet just wandering around looking for them." Abraham looks at me with a funny look, reaching out to shove at my shoulder as an attempt to get me to lay off Glenn but I just shake my head. I lean over Glenn's shoulder, looking at the ominous note that 'Maggie' left him and I can see the hope written on Glenn's face.

"I just have a feeling, you have to go with me on this." Glenn spins around on his heels, holding the note up in his hands with a stern, hopeful smile. "She left me a damn note, Y/n." I look back at Abraham, Rosita and Eugene and they all give me a simple shrug which forces a complaint sigh out of me.

"What you say goes."

Terminus obviously was not what we thought it was, tossed into train cars like animals and expected to turn over our weapons. Abraham called bullshit first, not daring to turn in his weapon before asking a few more questions but it was those few more questions that got us thrown into our makeshift jail in the first place.

I had accepted at that point that I would never see him ever again, that Daryl and I would never be reunited and never spend the rest of our lives together like we so desperately wanted to. 

But when he stumbled into the train car two days later to my surprise, eyes falling on me and arms immediately tossing around me, it was shocking. I didn’t even think that he was real, the way his arms felt around me, after days of not having him near me- it was an out of body experience. 

“Are you really here?” I ask, tucking my face in the crook of his neck, gripping onto the back of his shirt as if he’ll vanish from my grasp if I let him go even the slightest bit. He clings to me the same, hoisting me up into the air as I spot Abraham watching us with a proud smile on his lips that makes my stomach flutter with happy butterflies.

“I’m really here.” He whispers, rubbing my back soothingly as he sets me back down onto the floor, looking down at me with kind, protective eyes. “Fuck, I missed you.” His hands reach up, cupping my cheeks in his hands, ignoring the looks that everyone else in the car is giving us. “Where have you been?” He asks, finally taking a look around at the people around us with a relieved breath.

“With Glenn.” I huff, seeing Glenn, who has his arm around a relieved Maggie, sends me the finger from across the trai car.

“I’m so sorry.” Daryl mutters with a laugh, wrapping his arms around me again, tugging me to his chest with the plan of never letting me go.

“Never leave me alone again.” 

"What're you thinkin' about?" Daryl’s voice snaps me out of my memories, my head turning to look at him as he sets a hand on my shoulder, a soft smile on his lips. "I can see the smoke comin' out of your ears." He teases with a wink, sitting down beside me on the log that I’ve plopped on and I lean into him, letting him wrap an arm around my shoulders. 

"Thinking about when the prison fell. When we were apart."

"Why the hell're you thinking about that?" He asks, brows furrowing and a look of worry passes across his expression as he tugs me back into him, clinging to me once more just like the day that he found me. "Worst days of my life."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- Taglist: @bubblebuttwade @rafelover2405 @leslienjazzy @sorceresss @grxnde-dwt @alex–awesome–22 @bunnietoof @niyamar1e @serialghost @plantlungs @geniusohn @akaliltimmytim @lilaalouuxx @xshariex @elliotsbeigeguitar @elle4404 @lelieja @srhxpci @joselyn001 @taysirene @spinkspanther @thedivineuphoria @peter-maximoffs @tsukishimawhore @poohkie90 @szlaco @distantsighs @nstyles4299 @wolflover384 @givemefoodandlovesstuff @vane28282 @yeswhatever33 @amirrahfranson @vvaalleennttiinna @f-mu @yaspillz @jeyramarie @skylievin@abbybarnes17 @jointherebellion215 @visiondaddy @steezysimfinds @its-ya-gay-boi-luigi @crunchytoenailsyum@glizzymcguirex @beth123lg @melovesmut @rafecameronswhore @ariianelle @write-from-the heart @vampviolets@haylee-e @honee-chai-tea @lokiandbuckywife

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[h-eefic]

Would you possibly give us the cliffnotes for what the plan was for the rest of this fic? I've been following early on (like 2015??), it really truly has an important space in my heart. I even have it saved offline in case there was ever a time where it would be removed!! Even if it will never be finished, I still like to re-read it, maladaptive daydream about it, etc. I'd love to know where it would have gone in the end!! Or if you would release any drafts or whatever have you!!

I will write down what I remember! I think I've lost any outlines we had but:

Yes, Alistair was the shitty neighbor the entire time. It was so silly, we were obsessed with it.

After Liv leaves his hospital room, she spends days locked in her house, triggered bc of her parents and just generally shut down.

When she opens her door and sees Alistair standing there, she basically blue screens because he's a) real b) extremely good-looking and c) he's her what? I don't remember much about what comes next but I know they spend a few hours hashing things out, talking, putting together all the context of their friendship (discussing everyone they have in common, lmao).

Liv goes back to running away from her problems, tells him she's had all of her fears about being with him confirmed for her.

Ultimately, he talks her into giving him a chance to at least take her on a date. She walks him to her front door and he asks if he can kiss her. They do, and he's very convincing. :)

They spend a few days(?) flirting through windows at each other. For their date, he sets up a scavenger hunt for her to find the location for the date? And it was going to be so cute, he has her go to Andrastea to find a clue to the next location, which is Druffy's, and so on and so forth, he leaves clues at the places he's recommended to her. The final date I think was going to be at the beach. Liv ultimately realizes that she'd rather be with him and risk losing him than be alone and dreaming of police lights forever. It gets steamy. :)

After that, I mostly remember the two of them doing a tour around to all their friends and giving the update that they're a thing. Happy endings abound!

There was going to be an epilogue where they go on a road trip with Cullen and Lua, and we planned to commission different artists to make polaroids of them having a good time. Thedas Space Program 4 lyfe.

We really were at the finish line, and I'm so sad we didn't get to tell the rest of it. I have some small things like playlists, previously unposted sketches, and snippets that I'll leave in this Google Doc if you still want more. Emrys may have files I don't, so I welcome her to share them if she wants to.

I also welcome anyone who wants to play in the space to go buck wild, and if you do I would love to see them if you message me @bucket-fucker. I'm replaying Liv's canon as we speak, and I hope to write her again, I still had much more to say!

Thank you all for showing interest in my lil OC. And thank you for still caring. It's been a blast, and I appreciate you all.

-A.

[bubybubsters]

Share (Eris x reader)

a/n: I just feel like writign and i have no ideas. send ideas please. pLus i have almost no life and a bunch of time. Also trying another perspective.... Thanks for voting, this one looked as though it would win so I went ahead and wrote it.

also Eris is high lord

⚠️- none?

word count- 1,955

Y/n's POV:

I sighed pushing the branches blocking the hunting path out the way. Cursing myself wouldn't help anything even though I'd been doing it the past hour. I never should have gone so deep into the woods. Now I couldn't find my way back to my cottage. The branch I was holding slipped from my grasp and slapped my face with a loud twang! A string of curses left my mouth and I blushed as a chuckle reached my ears.

A red haired high fae male appeared, his clothes the color of the forest around us. No wonder I hadn't seen him. He smirked at me, "Such a pretty girl with such a dirty mouth, how shocking."

I glowered at him but didn't deign to respond. His face became more serious and he smiled, "Look there's and inn kinda close, I'm going there. You look like you could use a hot bath and a place to sleep, so put aside your pride and join me unless you have somewhere else to be?"

I thought about it, I really didn't want to admit I was lost but... well I was lost. Besides a bath and shelter was good enough a reason to follow this arrogant male. "Okay, lead on."

He grinned, "As you wish lady, my name is Eris and this is going to be a lovely 9 miles." I cursed in my head, 9 miles? I'd probably already trekked 50+ miles (a/n: fae can do that right?). I followed after Eris and was amazed when it seemed as if all the trees were moving out of his way. Thats when his name hit me.

Eris. As in the high lord? I opened my mouth to ask but he cut me off, "Yes I am the High Lord, no I can't read your mind. To be fair I can practically sense your shock from here though." I stared at his back for a moment.

"Well then my lord, what are you doing out here by yourself?"

He glanced back and gave me a look. "First of all I'm not by myself am I? Second, what happened to the rude girl that curses? And third, just call me Eris please."

I raised my brows, "That 'rude girl that cusses' is still here, she just became slightly more polite. Thank you for your input on my attitude Eris."

I watched as Eris' body shook with silent laughter. "No problem, but I don't believe I ever got your name."

I hesitated, weighing my options. He was my high lord but he might not appreciate what I was doing every day. "Y/n."

Eris stopped so suddenly I smacked straight into his chest, not realising he'd turned around. "The Y/n who saved dozens of villages when my father and I fought? The one who keeps helping with the rebuilding effort by defending the villages from the creatures that come out at night? The person my soldiers can never find? That Y/n?"

I grimaced, he was making my actions seem a lot more vital than they actulaly were. "Yeah, that Y/n." I looked down at the ground, sure soldiers were about to leap out and arrest me.

Instead I felt cold fingers on my chin, lifting my head to look into Eris's amber eyes. He smiled and I gawked at him. "You're not mad?"

He stared at me, confused. "Why would I be mad? You've been helping so much and you always seem to be there when I can't. Even my brothers respect you."

I gawked at him, his brothers respected me? The Vanserra family had a reputation for scorning everything and everyone. “Well if I’m so amazing, why would you send your soldiers looking for me, high lord?

Eris blinked, “Uh because I wanted to reward you. What did you think? That I was going to punish you for helping my people?”

“Well…yes?”

Eris sighed and turned back around, starting to make his way to the inn. “I would never.” I blinked at his back, I’d heard Eris was a considerably better high lord than he father but still. “I- okay thanks?”

Eris laughed, “no need to thank me little fox, you’re the one helping my court afterall.”

As we continued through the woods, I realised the path was getting wider and looked as though more people had been walking here. We must be getting close.

moments later we came to the outskirts of a town. Only a few buildings littered the streets but it seemed to be quite crowded. Eris let me to a run down building in what seemed to be the middle of town. It was the tallest building and had lots of windows. All the lights were blazing but shadows still lurked in corners. Eris led the inside, letting me trail behind him.

When we reached the clerk she looked at Eris and I and recognition flashed over her face. She bowed her head, “High Lord, Y/n; savior of life and defender against evil.”

Eris cast an amused glance back at me and I grimaced at the title the lesser fad had given to me. Eris smirked, full of arrogance and swagger as he said, “we’ll need two rooms or one room with two beds.”

The clerk paled, “high lord, we only have one room left and it only has one bed. We could kick another out for your comfort?”

Both Eris and I said at the same time, “no need, we’ll share.” I glared at Eris as he sent an exasperated look my way.

Sighing I turned back to the clerk, “as long as there’s room for one of us to sleep on the floor.”

Now the clerk winced, “Well… it’s the last basement room and um the smallest. It has a bed and a bathroom, no room for anything else. Deepest apologies my lord and lady.”

I glanced at Eris but he seemed the same as ever, completely unruffled. He smiled at her, “Thank you, we’ll take that room if it’s not to much trouble.”

I stared at him, were we going to share a bed? Because I did not like where this was heading. The clerk sputtered apologies and led us down a narrow, spiraling staircase. We emerged in a dark hallway with a few rooms on either side. She led us to the end of the hall and opened the last door on the left. Eris and I stepped in as she bowed and murmured thanks and apologies.

The room could’ve been a big closet, it had one bed about the length of a single pillow and a small door leading to a small tub and sink. I closed the door as we took the room in and my chest brushed against Eris’ shoulder. We stood on the only floor space available, about as big as a coffee table.

Silence reigned until I cleared my throat and started to open the door, "uh.... I'll just leave you. I can probably find my own place to sleep." Giving Eris a small smile I added, "thank you High lord for leading me to this town."

Eris flashed me his signature smirk, "didn't I tell you to call me Eris?" Not waiting for an answer he continued, "And you're staying, you will sleep in that bed whether you like it or not. Besides if anyone's leaving, its me if you don't want me here."

This male really was the opposite of his father, he seemed to be giving me a choice. "Well then Eris, I'd like to stay and since I don't seem to be in the position to kick you out I guess you'd better stay as well. And I don't care if you've given me permission, Im not kicking my high lord out."

This time when Eris smirked it was feral and very, very suggestive. I glared at him and stalked into the bathroom, "I call bath rights."

Eris's POV:

Eris couldn't seem to stop thinking about Y/n as the sounds of running water filled the tiny room. He sat on the bed, it was small enough that he would have to touch her, there was no way around it. By the looks of it, sleeping would be most comfortable if he cuddled her. Which by the looks of the glare, she did not seem to be remotely interested in.

He still couldn't believe that she was the Y/n that he had thanked many times. She'd saved at least half his people by now. She seemed so fragile when he'd first saw her, despite having at least 10 weapons that weren't hidden.

He jolted as the bathroom door opened and Y/n appeared. Heat immediately rose to his face, she had just undergarments on. She gave him a look that told him not to say anything about it as she set her weapons on a hook on the wall. "I didn't bring night clothes so you're going to have to suck it up and stop staring like an idiot."

Eris gave her the cockiest grin he could muster up, "Don't worry, I usually sleep in my underwear but for you I can do nude." She looked about ready to slap him as he swaggered past her to the bath. When he brushed her shoulder he leaned down and whispered, "You'll be naked soon enough as well."

For the rest of the bath he couldn't get the image of her bright red face out of his mind.

Y/n's POV: (why am i switching back to first person?)

You'll be naked soon enough as well.

Eris's words kept ringing in my head as he bathed. I couldn't help but think of the muscles so clear through his too tight shirt. I sighed, picking at my clothes before stripping so I was naked. Two could play at this game.

As I climbed beneath the covers I turned my thoughts toward Eris' extremely muscled chest so when he came out he would be sure to smell my arousal. It couldn't be missed as I felt my body heat up.

The door to the bathroom opened and Eris appeared with a towel slung low across his hips. Cauldron that chest. He sniffed and his gaze immediately shot to me. Then to the undergarments hanging next to my weapons. His nostrils flared as he climbed into bed so we were facing eachother, lips bare inches apart.

i felt the covers shift as he removed his towel and tossed it over his shoulder. I slowly moved my legs forward and entangled them with his.

Silence settled for a while as we just stared into eachothers eyes, content to be there. I'd made the first move, I wasn't going to make another. And thank the mother I didn't have to. Eris held my eyes as he slowly leaned forward, placing his lips onto mine.

The kiss was soft and tender at first but when I didn't pull away, Eris deepened the kiss so it was desperate and passionate. It felt so good to be kissing this male, it felt right.

Eventually I had to pull away and when I looked into Eris's eyes they were soft and he was smiling at me. A real smile, not a smirk. I leaned forward and quickly pecked his lips and turning around before he could see the blush that stained my cheeks.

But his soft chuckle told me he had caught it. Eris slung an arm over me pulling me into his chest. "Goodnight little fox, sleep well."

I smiled to myself, realising that this was the most comfortable I'd felt since my familys death to Beron's fire.

So of course, that's when the bond snapped into place, ringing in my ears. In my soul.

a/n: think this is my longest fic yet! hope you enjoyed!

[apocalypseornaw]

Could Have Been

Benny Lafitte x Female Reader

You never meant to cross a line with Benny. He never meant to develop feelings for you. When Dean needs him to save Sam he has no choice but to agree. Its Dean's little brother and your best friend. You never got to say goodbye.

Warnings: some cursing, mention of steamy times and some mention of injury

When Dean called you'd been surprised at first, yeah him and Sam had found you after he'd crawled out of purgatory. The guilt you'd felt for not looking for him even if Sam had stopped to pursue something with Amelia was tremendous for the simple fact that Bobby would've kicked any of your asses for giving up on the other.

Knowing the Winchesters for as long as you had you also knew Dean would never call for a favor unless it was for a good reason. Especially from his little brother's best friend. The first time you'd met Benny had been by mere coincidence, having simply been close enough to back him and Dean when he'd went after his old nest.

----------

Getting stuck between Dean and Sam after the fact? That hadn't been fun. Sam didn't trust Benny. You gave him some lead way for the simple fact that he got Dean out of purgatory.

After that day Dean had asked if it was ok to pass one of your burner numbers on to Benny. You'd agreed for the simple fact that it kept him and Sam from arguing a bit.

After what happened when Martin came after Elizabeth you nor Dean knew what would become of Benny or if one of you would be forced to pull that thread if it came to it that is until you got a call late one night.

-------

You were half asleep in your car after pulling off at a brightly lit rest area to catch a little sleep. You were too far from a motel or any of Bobby's cabins to chance driving any further with how tired you'd been after the last hunt.

When you'd answered the phone you knew you sounded angry but it was more tired than anything. The moment the accented voice hit your ears you started to sit up further in the seat "Sorry darling. Didn't mean to wake you" you ran a hand over your face and shook your head despite being on the phone "It's ok Benny. I was just catching a cat nap so I could make it on to a motel. Whats up?"

"Um Dean sent me a message and said you'd be closer. I um hell can you pick up a cooler for me? I'd do it myself but.." you cut him off "Of course. Send me the address of the pickup and where you are" "Thank you darling"

----------

Four hours later you were knocking on a cabin door in upper Texas. The door creaked open and the light from the full moon caught Benny's eyes making them shine a bright blue "I'll be damned if you wouldn't be a sight for sore eyes even without the cooler" you rolled your eyes playfully "Jesus, were you aways this flirtatious or is it a side effect from spending a year with Dean?"

-----------

He stepped back to let you inside as a laugh left him "Well if you knew how many stories I heard about you in that year's time it wouldn't be a surprise" you laughed as he shut the door then motioned to the table when you asked where to sit the cooler "I'm afraid that's a side effect of knowing Sam since we were kids. Me and Sam were always dumped at Bobby's before we were considered old enough to hunt full time"

You realized he was listening to you with a small smile on his face and got a bit self conscious "Something wrong?" He shook his head "Naw, just listening to you talk about Sam makes me want to like him despite the fact of him wanting to kill me" you flinched a bit at the reminder and felt the need to say "I'm afraid you managed to land in a heap of trust issues and old arguments between them two"

He nodded "Yeah Dean said you're pretty much the only person that's never batted an eye at their bullshit" you laughed lightly "Yeah that's putting it lightly"

----------

You ended up crashing at the cabin after Benny offering you the bedroom. You hadn't liked the idea of kicking him out his bed but he reminded you that you'd went against Sam for him and bought him a special delivery as he called it.

Benny wasn't a bad guy, vampire or not. He was just trying to find his way in a world that he wouldn't ever be accepted by humans or vampires. Not to mention he was gorgeous, a broad build mixed with those eyes and that accent? You were glad he wasn't the type of vamp you hunted. He was charismatic enough to leave a long line of victims behind him.

----------

The laugh he'd gave when you'd told him that was warm enough it wrapped around you.The next morning when you started to hit the road again you'd made him promise to call if he needed anything and he told you to call if you needed an extra hand "Not much of a hunter but I can fight"

Months passed and unless you were actively hunting, a week rarely went by without you seeing Benny. He'd kept to his word and had helped you take out a wendigo and a couple werewolves.You found yourself looking forward to seeing him.

The day you'd stumbled into his cabin, bruised all to hell and back from hunting ghouls you'd never seen a vampire actually go pale before that moment.

----------

"What happened?" He asked, easily scooping you up into his arms to carry you across the threshold and into the bedroom. He laid you across the bed and started to take your boots off despite your protests that you could do it and that you'd had worse. "Ghouls. Big pack" you mumbled, pushing his hand away when he lifted your shirt slightly to look at your side "It's just bruising. I wouldn't have put you through coming here with an open wound"

He chuckled slightly "I could give a damn less about smelling blood at the moment. You look half dead. Why the hell didn't you call me or another hunter?" You did your best to glare at him as you said "I survived it didn’t I?" but knew it fell flat when he winked at you "You know you're adorable when you try to look scary?"

---------

You grumbled something about being gorgeous if he just handed you your duffle but nevertheless you let him help you get your torn tshirt over your head and accepted one of his shirts to change into. A few ibuprofen and a glass of water later you were sound asleep.

He considered if he should call Dean but he had a feeling this wasn't just from the ghouls. Dean said you had worse of a habit then he did of burying yourself in hunting and that if you didn't have a partner at times you had a habit of pushing yourself to exhaustion. He'd keep a check on you and if any of those bruises started smelling too strong of blood he'd know you'd hurt something serious and he'd call Dean.

----------

He looked at you again and felt something inside him flutter. It'd been so long since he'd thought about another woman besides Andrea and you were probably the polar opposite of her.

She'd been an heiress. Born into the lap of luxury with a silver spoon in her mouth. Yes she'd been kind after she'd fallen for him and they'd had a good life together at one time but you? You were something else entirely.

A hunter and a damn good one if what he'd seen and heard was any indication. You'd stood against Lucifer with the Winchesters. You would fight tooth and nail for complete strangers and risk everything for those you cared about. You deserved everything good in the world yet here you were trusting him enough to not only come to him when you were hurt but to curl up in his bed asleep after letting him check your injuries and help you change.

He'd never wished to still be a man and not a monster as much as he had since he'd met you. If only he was a hunter like Dean then maybe he'd have a chance.

----------

You woke up sore but feeling a lot better. You rubbed at your eyes wondering how long you'd been asleep. Last thing you remembered was Benny helping you change into one of his shirts that was big on you.

You smiled slightly at the memory but blushed. Damn you'd not only slept in his bed post hunt with no shower but in his shirt. Fuck,with his sense of smell you probably reeked. The smell of coffee hit your nose and you decided to risk wondering into the main part of the cabin.

-------

Benny was standing at the counter when you walked in and smiled "Morning?" You asked and he shook his head "It's six pm" your eyes widened. You'd slept for about fourteen hours.

"Shit I didn't mean to come here and go comatose" he shrugged "Gave me time to go get that coffee and those croissants you like" your stomach growled embarrassingly loud and he chuckled "Hungry?" You nodded "But I need to shower" he shook his head "Eat first then you can shower. It ain't gonna bother me, fifty years in purgatory didn't exactly smell like roses darling"

You hadn't took that in consideration. You crossed the room and took the cup of coffee and paper bag from the bakery when he offered it "Mr Lafitte you're a lifesaver" he smiled "Nice to know"

----------

After you were showered and changed into your clothes you grabbed Benny's shirt and headed outside where he was sitting on the porch to offer the it back. He looked back when you walked out and smiled "You could keep it if you want" you laughed lightly "Well I have two of Dean's shirts and one of Sam's so it's gonna start looking like I'm a thief"

You sat down next to him, turning to have your back to the banister so you could face him "Cute thief" he teased and you rolled your eyes with a smile "Easy Lafitte, I'll steal all your shirts" he raised one eyebrow "If you wanna see without em its easier to just ask"

You leaned closer, letting one hand find its way to the buttons at the neck of the dark blue henley he currently had on "Well I mean you've seen me without one.." he shook his head with a laugh that sounded more like it had almost slipped out as a sigh "Easy darling, that flirtatious streak is starting to slip out of you"

You remained where you were,letting your fingers slide up to play with the short beard that graced his jawline "I don't really flirt that much" he swallowed hard and when he met your eyes it took everything you had to not get lost in his eyes. They were such a beautiful shade of blue and the depth of thought going on behind them was loud enough to make you falter.

---------

You let your hand fall "Didn't mean to cross any lines Benny" you leaned back fully against the banister and felt him watching you even when you glanced up to look at the quarter moon. "and before I forget thank you for taking care of me. I guess sometimes its hard to admit that even hunters have to give our bodies the necessities"

A silence fell between the two of you and you started to stand with intentions to head in and grab your boots so you could get ready to hit the road again but before you could move to stand his hand reached out for your wrist. Your eyes trailed up his arm all the way to his face, a smile slipped onto his face "You didn't cross any lines I'd be opposed to you crossing"

You knew he could hear how loud your heart was beating, could probably damn near taste the blood that pumped through your veins but fear was the furthest thing from your mind "What are you saying Benny?"

His tongue peeked out just enough to wet his lips, something you'd long since pegged as a nervous habit that had managed to follow him beyond his human life. "I'm saying that I've felt something for you for a while but your friendship means more to me then acting on those feelings because hunter or not you're human and I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you"

-----------

Benny sat there waiting for a response from you but had it not been for the fact that he could clearly hear your breathing and heart beat he would've guessed you for a mannequin because you'd become utterly still in that way that as far as humans went he'd only ever seen Dean exhibit. "So you're scared to kiss me because I'm a human?" You asked after a moment and looked almost dumbfounded.

"I don't want to hurt you but you are a helluva woman. You're absolutely beautiful and..." he was cut off by your lips brushing against his in a tentative kiss. You pulled back and smiled at him "See? Still very much alive" he chuckled and nodded "I see that, so can I kiss you properly?" You nodded so he moved to grab you by the hips, the shirt you'd had in your hand long forgotten as he pulled you into his lap and he felt your legs move to straddle him.

You laughed lightly as he pulled your lips down to his. This time he was in charge of the kiss, the moment his lips met yours he felt you relax against him, a light moan escaping you as he slipped his tongue into your mouth. When he rolled his tongue against yours the response he got was your hips grinding down against him in a way that had his grip tightening on you.

After a moment he pulled away and both of your chests were heaving a bit "Damn" you whispered leaning your head over to place feather light kisses across his jaw then down his neck.

A part of him registered that this wasn't the best idea. You were still a human, being with Andrea had taken a learning curve. Add in fifty years in purgatory and months of pent up thoughts about you... that part quieted the moment he heard you say "Take me inside Benny. I want you, please" he was standing up, bracing you in his arms before he could think of how bad of an idea it was.

The relationship between you and Benny blossomed easily. Not much changed from the routine you'd set in place over the last few months. You'd hunt, he'd work at the diner two towns over and when you would need a place to land you always ended up in his arms and in his bed.

He had fallen for you somewhere along the way. He knew chances of you feeling the same were slim, he knew hunters spent their lives with the least amount of attachments as possible but he told himself it was enough.

The way you'd touch him, the sounds you'd make when he would touch you. The way it felt when you moaned his name, clinging to his shoulders as he brought you over that edge. The little lines of blood you'd draw from his back and spend days apologizing for although they'd heal as soon as he fed. It was enough.

-----------

How the hell had it gone from you keeping an eye on Benny to help Dean out to this? You were sitting on the counter in the kitchen of his cabin wearing his shirt while he moved around the kitchen cooking you an omelet because he swore you needed to eat a home-cooked meal every now and then.

He'd stop every now and then to step between your legs and press a kiss to your lips. You weren't sure what exactly it was between the two of you but you liked it. Benny was amazing. He took care of you like no one ever had and reminded you to take care of yourself. You loved nothing more than feeling his arms wrap around you after a rough hunt.

You were broke out of your thoughts by one of his fingers tracing patterns on your bare thigh "What ya thinkin bout so hard?" You shook your head "The fact that my bed head probably looks insane" he raised an eyebrow before playfully examining your face "hmm I've seen you look wilder" your face warmed with the under lying meaning of his words and he laughed "Cmon. You gotta eat something"

When Dean Winchester called for a favor it wasn't ever a small one. Benny stood in front of Dean listening as he described the position he'd been shoved into. Sam was stuck in purgatory. He'd gone in to complete a trial and it wasn't just him but Bobby's soul at stake.

"I wouldn't ask Benny but he's my little brother" "The little brother that you and Y/N had to stop from killing me?" Dean sighed looking defeated "You're right it's too much to ask" even as Benny was wanting to say no,wanted to ask if there was another way memories flashed through his mind. You telling him stories about you and Sam when you were younger. The bond you two shared. The stories you'd told him of how Bobby had practically raised you and both Winchesters.

"I'll do it but let me make a phone call first"

"Darlin, it's me. Look if you get this message and ain't heard from me or Dean chances are things went south real quick. You know those trials you said Sam was chasing? Well they took a turn into purgatory. I know what he means to you and Dean both so I'm going after him. I may regret leaving this message if I make it back topside but there's a couple things I need to tell you. One is that there's something in the top dresser drawer at the cabin for you, you'll know it when you see it. The other thing is that I love you. Bye Y/N"

You sat in silence, the necklace you'd found in that drawer around your neck. It had a silver rose pendant. From what you could tell it'd been warded with the strongest protection charms three covens in Louisiana had at their disposal.

Dean sat on the top step next to you, looking out over the field that was next to the cabin. "You gonna stay here?" You shook your head "Not without him" he nodded "Did you love him?" You shrugged one shoulder, tears finally falling "I could have"

Tags: @123passwort

@valeks-star

Chance to Be

[somethingclevermahogony]

OC Questionnaire

Thank you for the tags @winterandwords, @paeliae-occasionally, @pluppsauthor, @tildeathiwillwrite

I'm gonna use the questions for each of the tags for a different character, just to make things easier.

Ninma (Young)

Costume parties. Yes or no? Why or why not?

"What's that? I like parties! I haven't been to a party since I left home! Do I wear the costume or someone else? Is it a nice costume? Can Narul wear a costume too?"

What was the last thing that made you smile?

"Otilia brushed my hair. It still hurts sometimes but she's getting better at it. And she tells me stories when she does! She told me about a girl in...Kal...Kalmanaki...or whatever the city she is from is called (Kalmanati)." Ninma looks around conspiratorially to make sure that Otilia isn't listening and grins, "I think she liked that girl...like...kissed her maybe."

Do you hold grudges?

"Uh huh! My paba said that forgiveness is... the umm...its not for...us. Like nobles...forgiveness isn't for nobles. Yeah, that's what he said."

Otilia

If you had a pet, what animal would it be?

"Well, back when I was still in Kalmanati with that...awful man, I had a dog. It was a mongrel, but I was always pretty sure that it was at least part Agrikolic Hound. He had those long legs you know? We called him Bawebor (Korithian "barker"). I'd love to see him again...but I doubt that will ever happen. But, I'd love to have a new dog."

How long would you like to live? Why?

"Hmm...my grandmother was 77 when she passed. No teeth or sense left in her head, personally I'd prefer to go before I get that bad. I'll say 70? That seems like a good age to me. Plenty of experience to bring for my reincarnations. But lets be honest, I'd be happy with anything past 45. As long as I outlive my mother and my husband."

When will you be done?

"Done...hmm...I don't know if I ever will be? I've never been all that good at being idle. At least until I die. And then of course who knows what my other lives will be like. But I guess it sort of depends on what you mean by, done, I might be completely misunderstanding your question."

Narul

What's your favourite way to pass the time?

"I like going for walks. You can see the flowers and the trees. Even in winter, you can see the snow and the spirits. Sometimes I like to go alone, or just with Bop, but sometimes I convince Ninma to come with me. Those walks never last all that long before she's running after some poor butterfly or lizard...but I still enjoy them."

If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

"I can't decide, I feel greedy when I think about that. I could save Ninma's parents and all of those people in Labisa, but then I would still be a slave. I could wish to have never been a slave at all, but then I would've never met Bira or Suru, and I wouldn't have been there to save Ninma and...well." He grimaces. "I could wish to not be a spiritblood, but then what use would I be to anyone? I think...I think I would save Bira. She'd be angry if she knew that's what I wasted that change on but..." He shrugs.

How many hours do you sleep?

"As many as I can. If I could I'd sleep ten hours a day if I could, but most days I actually sleep about four or five."

Akard

What genre of story would you rather be in? (as opposed to the one they are currently in)

"As long as Zenit can come with me, romantic poetry. Something flowery, tucked into a big book of other poems. The problem is what I want is a story where everything starts out good and ends good as well...not the most exciting, huh? Not what most people would expect from a king, right?"

Do you think you'd survive the movie A Quiet Place? (must stay as silent as possible or alien creatures hunt you down)

"Learning silence is a requirement of the Apunian court, and the marshes of Namut. My father wasn't much for words, aside from cursing my uncle. I think that I would do just fine."

What's your idea of a quiet get-together with a close friend?

"A close friend, you say? There was a Namutian, Qiruk. I beat him in battle and took him as a slave. He was a pain, bull-headed and clever. I still don't know how he managed it but we became friends and after some time I freed him and we have been good friends ever since. We used to spend evenings together, playing hanhat (an Apunian board game somewhat similar to checkers), eating dates, and drinking red beer. We would try not to talk the whole game, the first person to do so would be responsible for buying the beer for the next game. I never bought the beer."

Tagging

@illarian-rambling, @mk-writes-stuff, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @willtheweaver, @patternwelded-quill

@elsie-writes, @elizaellwrites, @the-ellia-west, @the-golden-comet

Your Questions Are:

1. What would you say is your greatest weakness?

2. Who is someone in your life that you like but that you don't trust?

3. If you could magically learn any mundane skill right now (cooking, a particular dance, a language, singing, sewing, etc.), what would it be?

[thisnameisnotspokenfor]

Chapter 28: The Scroll part 3

Previous: Chapter 27

Next: Chapter 29

((ooc: the conclusion to the scroll's tale!))

The waxy crescent hung high that night as Erlan stood on a rooftop near the docks.

“We suppose congratulations are in order,” Allepac’s pleased voices echoed in his mind. “You have done well in securing your first partner. If all goes accordingly, the others will be soon to follow.”

“Thanks,” he grinned, leaping to an adjacent rooftop. The sound of the final bell signaled the approach of the midnight hour as he stilled, soaking in the view of the city around him. “See? I told you I knew what I was doing-,”

“So it appears. Although we find your mention of their secret treasure to be a rather interesting decision on your part.”

“Interesting?” he’d caught sight of the nearby docks, strangely yet unsurprisingly void of all soldiers.

“You revealing your awareness of it unnerved them. You are lucky that they did not attempt to kill you.”

A cold sea breeze passed over him as he replied, “I had something they needed. And besides, the Seralix have a history of knowing better than anyone to not mess with spirits…” His eyes rested on the sea as he adjusted his cloak. “Even if it's the spirit of someone they don’t particularly care for. But it’s good to give them just as many reasons as to why they should stay in my good graces as I should stay in theirs.”

His eyes searched the distant line of watch towers, watching as the furthest tower’s fire flickered before disappearing. 

It was time.

He’d descended from the roof. His feet reached the ground before he continued towards the Portia Docks. As expected Kokaf was there on the pier uneasily pacing about. His mind was clearly occupied as Erlan drew near.

“Kokaf,” he says suddenly, startling the man as Kokaf turns to him, his blade inches away from Erlan's throat before he pauses. 

His eyes were wide as he took him in. “You snuck up on me.”

Erlan barely bats an eye. “Apologies. I thought you heard me coming,” his eyes swept over the edge of Kokaf’s blade. “You never found your hunting blade, did you?”

Kokaf sighed, his blade lowering as he stepped back and looked away. “No. I don’t know where it went. I’ve looked everywhere for it. I just don’t understand where it could’ve gone to.”

“I think I might know.”

“Really?”

Erlan nodded. He could vaguely sense movement in the darkness that surrounded the pier.

“Do you have it?” Kokaf asked.

He shook his head as Kokaf’s expression fell.“But don’t worry, It’ll appear sooner or later.”

Kokaf didn’t reply as his hands had tentatively scratched his neck. “Did you bring it? Allepac, I mean.”

“Yeah, I did.”

He reached his hand forward. “May I see it?”

“You really want to see it? After everything I told you?”

Kokaf shrugged, “I don’t see why not, I mean I’ve come this fa-

“Kokaf it’s dangerous. You of all people shouldn’t be so eager to see it.” 

Kokaf’s brow furrowed. “And why’s that? Do you think I can’t handle it? That I’m not strong enough to be the savior like you? Wake up Erlan! You’re holding the key to victory in your hands! You just need to-,”

“Hand it over so you can give it to the devils too?”

Kokaf looked stunned. “…what?”

“Don’t lie to me Kokaf. All of the coincidental failures, and interceptions, that was you wasn’t it? Always Running off to inform the devils of whatever plan we and the other nations had concocted. I saw you do it before I entered the inn. You’d been giving them daily reports on my status and on the actions of the others. Then you’d told them that I had the creature, didn’t you?”

“What are you-,”

“It’s how they found me in the forest that night. No one would’ve known that I'd left, no one save for the only other person who’d made plans to leave with me that night. It’d been a risky move on your part, hadn’t it?”

“No, I-!”

“Risky unless you were confident that I wouldn’t survive.”

He frantically shook his head as he held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. “That’s not it- I swear! It was Geron who did it! Geron is the one who betrayed you! That was who Kerakash told you-”

“And how did you know that was the name Kerakash gave me? I never told you that.”

“I…It was obvious-,”

“Was it? For all you know, Kerakash could’ve given me any name. Just like the traitor could’ve given him any name as well.”

“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about! There’s been a misunderstanding! I swear!”

“A misunderstanding? Fine. Then tell me why the commander had been carrying your blade the night he’d died?”

Kokaf’s face paled as he slowly shook his head, “He hadn’t-,”

“Oh? So what’s this then?” he asked, holding the blade into view. Kokaf said nothing as he gingerly placed the blade into his hand. “It’s yours, isn’t it? I’d recognize that handle from anywhere.”

“He…Geron stole it from me! I…I was framed!”

“Framed by who exactly?” he whispered as several devils stepped onto the pier. All were armed and focused as they pointed their weapons towards him. “Tell me that I’m lying Kokaf. Tell me that it wasn’t you!” 

“I….I….”

“Kokaf answer me,” Erlan spoke, his voice growing quiet as the soldiers surrounded them, cutting off any way of escape. Kokaf was practically shaking now as his eyes filled with tears. “Were you the reason why our plans never took off? Why we were always caught?”

He grimaced, as he’d turned his face away. “I….I’m sorry…I didn’t want to do it…but I had no choice.” he shook his head.

“Oh don’t be foolish boy. You had a choice. But unlike your friend here,” came Kogash’s voice as he appeared beside Kokaf. He shoved him out of the way before nearing. His eyes never left Erlan’s as his own crystal eerily glowed in the darkness. He swiftly moved his spear forward, pointing its curved tip toward Erlan. “-You just made the right one…Restrain him.” He commanded to the guards who’d nodded and quickly dispersed themselves around Erlan.

He’d immediately taken a step back as he’d placed his two arms up, careful to not allow any guard near his right pocket. One guard grabbed his left arm as another neared. His right hand quickly dove into his pocket.

“You heard the commander-,” the soldier harshly barked. “Comply or els-,” his words were cut short as Erlan’s right hand returned, hurling grains of pepper into his eyes.

The man screamed. Letting go of his spear as he stumbled backward.

“Or else what?” Erlan mocked as he turned his attention to the other man. He’d swiftly adjusted his posture, tossing the other man over his shoulder and into the sea below. “You’ll kill me again?”

Kogash stepped back as the other soldiers began to charge him.

Erlan swiftly dodged one parry before grabbing the spear of another soldier. He’d kneed him in the gut, watching the man keel over before he’d pull the spear from his grasp. Then he’d pivoted. Sharply turning the spear’s blunt end into the way of an incoming soldier. Through the darkness, he could hear the soldier scream before he too fell into the restless sea below. 

Swiftly he’d re-angle the spear, just like Allepac had taught him, and thrust forward. But impaling a training dummy was far more different than a person.

He’d learned it the hard way when he’d watched the man’s eyes widen before he’d go limp as he’d withdrawn the tip of the spear from his heart.

The other Atlanteans tensed. Their eyes watching the body of their comrade lie on the ground. 

Atlantean blood had been spilled, and now Erlan was certain they would stain the port’s water red in vengeance.

Kogash hissed several curses beneath his breath before barking serval commands in Atlantean. A few Erlan could faintly translate to mean ‘divide’ and ‘attack’. 

He’d had little time to prepare as they’d begun their relentless assault. He’d force himself to weave around their attacks, striking, countering, and impaling whenever he could. 

It hadn’t taken him long to realize that they were trying to take advantage of their environment by pushing him closer and closer toward the edge of the pier. He knew that once he was on the edge it’d be nearly impossible to defend himself, so he’d given it his all to try to mount an offense.

He’d tripped, forcing himself to roll out of the way of an attack as he’d watched one soldier impale the ground with his spear. He’d kicked the man in the chest, watching as he flew backward. The opening was small, but it was enough to allow him to slowly begin to push them back. 

But with each opponent he’d impaled or outmaneuvered, two more had quickly appeared in their place. 

He’d managed to block the attack of two incoming strikers when he saw it. The light of more watch towers had gone out. Darkness had now noticeably enveloped half that side of the port.

Just a little longer… he’d told himself before turning his attention back to the guards in front of him. He used all his strength to push forward, catching one off guard before he’d leg-swiped the other. In a matter of seconds, he’d driven the end of his spear into the other guard’s gut as he’d heard the man gasp before toppling over the pier’s edge.

His body had been swallowed by the dark seas below when he’d seen Kogash strike.

He’d moved through the dark seamlessly. His attacks were relentless as their weapons clashed. 

Soon sparks flew, illuminating the darkness before the commander moved his blade.

Erlan only had a second to dodge before he felt pain envelop his forearm. 

He’d stumbled back, feeling the blood run down his arm as he’d caught sight of the commander’s now bloodied spear. He’d forced the panic from his mind as he’d watched the commander’s lips slowly spread into a smile. 

He’d charged at him once more. This time forcing him backwards. It had taken everything from Erlan to try to dodge and counter his attacks as his breaths came out in uneven gasps.

He watched the man grin. “I admire your bravery boy, you have the spirit of your father. Pity you don’t have his fighting skills as well.”

The sheer force behind his last attack had pushed him to the very edge of the pier. 

“I…I don’t need them-,” he grunted as he’d barely blocked another strike that had cut his sleeve. “-To beat you!” 

Erlan’s body wavered, threatening to fall backward as he gritted his teeth. He’d drawn one shaky breath as he forced his gaze on the man in front of him.

“Are you certain about that?” Kogash asked, dragging his spear’s curved edge along the ground after him. The sharp sound of the metal clawing away at the pier’s ground was enough to grate Erlan’s nerve as he felt himself waver once more. The edges of the pier crumbled beneath his feet before disappearing into the dark waters below. 

He’d nearly taken a step forward when Kogash started to move towards him. His speed was overwhelming as Erlan forced himself to block.

His spear shook within his hands as he felt his arms protest at the sudden weight of Kogash’s weapon. He’d moved his leg. But it had been so quick that Erlan barely had time to prepare for it before he’d felt himself fly backward. The pain from his stomach was nearly inconsequential as he’d seen the world sink beneath his eyes.

It was only by luck that he’d managed to reach out in time. His fingers screamed in protest as they caught the edge of the wooden pier. His body hung in the air carelessly several meters over the dark sea below.

He’d known Atlantean warriors had been dangerous, but he hadn’t expected the skill gap to be that vast.

His thoughts were promptly dismissed as the commander’s laugh echoed from above. “Are you sure about not needing them?” he’d called as Erlan felt his boot painfully crush his fingers. He grunted, feeling his grip ever so slightly slip. “Because your circumstances seem to diffe-,” his words fell short as Erlan watched his body jerk forward. 

A strangled gasp left his lips as he knelt over, cradling his right shoulder. Then he’d fallen backward, out of view before a hand reached down, pulling Erlan back onto the port’s pier. 

“Kokaf?” he’d whispered. His eyes widened in surprise at the sight of his friend. “You…you saved me.”

“It’s the least I could do after everything I’ve done to you,” he confessed. His eyes lowered before he caught sight of his arm. “Erlan! Your arm-,”

“Will be fine,” he said as he glanced at his blood-stained sleeve. In the distance, he could see only one watch tower, the closest one was still alight. 

“Foolish child” came the commander’s voice. His eyes were dripping with venom as he pulled the blade from his shoulder. “Do you have any idea of what you’ve done?”

“Yes,” Kokaf had challenged. “I’m setting the record straight!”

“Straight? Ha!” the commander laughed as he roughly brushed the blood away from his nose. “You’ve just condemned yourself to a fate far worse than death. And for what really? Glory?” He’d let out a harsh laugh. “You’ll all be lucky if you’re remembered as anything more than fairy tales in a decade!”

“Secure the ports!” he’d barked to his remaining guards. “They’re mine.”

The guards nodded,  scattering in the darkness.

“Erlan,” Kokaf started as the commander stared them down. “Are you sure you want to do this? Kogash is a highly trained Atlantean. He’s got at least a thousand years of combat experience under his belt, both in technique and strength.” His eyes followed the commander’s as the man slowly began to approach them. 

“But we don’t need to beat him,” he’d whispered to Kokaf in their native tongue. “at least not yet. Just keep him busy.”

“Alright,” Kokaf drew in a shaky breath. “We can do that. Or at least try.”

Erlan nodded. They could try. They had to.

Then he’d attacked. Erlan had known better than to hope that having an injured shoulder would’ve slowed the commander down. He’d moved so fluently and precisely, easily countering and parrying their attacks that Erlan had almost doubted that they’d ever injured him in the first place.

His thoughts were only confirmed as he’d barely blocked one of the commander’s kicks. The commander’s strength nearly overwhelmed him as he’d forced himself to hold onto his leg. He swallowed the pain as he’d sent his elbow straight down into the man’s calf. 

He’d been promptly rewarded with a pained hiss as Kokaf attacked, slicing his leg through the cracks in his armor. 

Kogash toppled over backward, rolling out of the way as Kokaf stabbed the ground where he’d once laid. Then he’d struck Kokaf’s face before disarming him in one swift motion. He’d re-aimed his spear, pushing the tip dangerously close to Kokaf’s chest when Erlan intervened, intercepting the blow with his own spear.

Kogash had scoffed, rising to his feet as they continued to exchange blows. The fight’s intensity increased ever so slightly as both boys resumed their assaults. Soon the commander’s once pristine armor sported cuts and dents. 

Hesitantly, Erlan had risked a glance past the commander towards the final watch tower. Dismay filled him as he realized the tower had remained lit.

How much more time would they need? He wasn’t sure he could hold off the commander for any longer- But he had to. Despite the exhaustion that was eating away at him, he knew that if he wanted his plan to work, he would need to do this. He would need to be strong, stronger than he’d ever known himself to be.

“You don’t look very good,” Erlan had spat in between deep breaths as he grinned at the commander.

“Funny,” he’d deadpanned. His expression betrayed no sense of emotion as he’d attacked Erlan with his spear before pushing him back with another kick. Erlan’s back roughly collided with the pier’s railing, effectively cornering him. “You look like your father, but you certainly don’t fight like him.” The commander sighed, moving his spear forward once more. Only this time the spear was glowing blue, as if it had drawn power from the very crystal he wore.

“Move to the right,” Allepac’s voice called out in his mind. And he had, or at least he’d tried to. But it hadn’t been enough. The commander’s blade was going to piece his heart. Or at least it would have, had his stone not intercepted the blow.

The sound of glass shattering filled his ears as he watched the stone around his neck explode into millions of pieces. This shouldn’t have been possible. The commander looked equally shocked as he stepped back. His stone, like their ships should’ve been virtually indestructible it should’ve been-,

The commander’s laugh broke his thoughts as he neared once more. “Shocked?” He’d thrust forward with his spear once more. This time breaking Erlan’s spear with ease. “Don’t be.” His foot lodged itself in Erlan’s gut before it sent him flying towards the middle of the pier. His back roughly collided with the wood as he felt it force all the air from his lungs.

“You really thought you and your little anomaly would be a match for us?” he laughed. “You were better off staying dead-,” he’d paused. Turning around as his blade clashed with Kokaf’s hunting knife. “Oh, you’re back.”

Erlan had looked on, as Kokaf had tried attacking from any and every angle he could. Their darkened silhouettes danced around the other, but Erlan had known, that despite all of Kokaf’s efforts and unpredictable tactics, the commander was in no danger.

His suspicions were only confirmed as he’d watched the commander’s blade slice Kokaf’s side before he’d turned his attention back to him. The world had slowed as his blade raised, ready to end the fight when Kokaf’s arms wrapped around his neck, attempting to lock in a choke as the commander staggered. His injured legs provided him no support as the two stumbled across the pier. 

Kokaf’s face had nearly contorted with pain, but he’d refused to let go.

He’d held on with all his might until the commander withdrew a hidden blade of his own. Swiftly flipping Kokaf’s body over his head before he implanted the dagger into his chest.

Kokaf’s screams were swallowed by the sounds of the commander’s metal armor clanking as he pushed him to the side.

“Kokaf!” Erlan screamed. Helplessly watching as his friend’s body hit the ground. Blood pooled beneath him. He’d taken his eyes off the commander. It was a mistake that would soon prove costly as he felt himself quickly slammed to the ground. Kogash was now on top of him as he’d restrained his body with one hand while holding a bloodied weapon in another.

“It’s a shame you could never fight like your father, but at least you can rest well knowing that you’ll die like him.” His voice was laced with disgust as Erlan felt his grip tighten painfully. “Not that you deserve that honor, anyhow,” The commander hissed, before turning to the surrounding guards. “remove the anomaly.”

“No-,” Erlan screamed as he felt the commander reach for his pocket. Only this time they’d opted for the left one instead. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with- don’t!”

Then the commander withdrew his hands. Confusion painted his voice as the soldier carefully held his hand towards the commander, “Is this some sort of ploy?” He whirled around to Kokaf, fury evident on his face as he painfully tightened his grip on Erlan. “You said the anomaly would be here.” Erlan craned his neck back, catching sight of the rather large silver-colored lizard the commander held in his hands. “So why am I holding a lizard?!”  

“Same reason why you and your best men were here, and left the rest of the city blissfully unexposed,” Erlan smiled. 

The commander halted. “What?”

“Aw c’mon, commander. You didn’t think I’d just waltz into this without a plan, did you? I had to keep you distracted-,”

“Distracted?” one of the soldiers repeated before Kogash glared at him. 

“Yeah! How else were we going to douse the watch towers, and cut you off from any form of outside communication while sweeping through the city?”

The panic and fury that had been in the commander’s eyes was nearly priceless as the sounds of running footsteps neared.

“Sir!” cried an Atlantean voice. “Sir it’s them-,” his voice cut off as Erlan heard a heavy thud. Immediately the other soldiers stood up. Their eyes all focused on the other side of the dock, as Erlan wrestled his head up to see. Lying there on the edge of the pier was the body of an Atlantean soldier with a hunting knife sticking out of his back.

“Sorry we’re late” came Geron’s voice as several masked hunters approached. “We just had to pick up a few friends on our way here.”

The commander yelled out something in Atlantean as the sounds of their flying ships filled the air. In the darkness Erlan could make out the figure of his aunt with her bow, carefully drawing the bow string back. Then she released it. An arrow sailed through the darkness before piercing the chest of an Atlantean. 

Soon several more arrows followed, with many hitting their flying targets. 

The hunters sprang into action, cutting and engaging the remaining Atlantean soldiers. Erlan’s heart soared as he recognized a few Seralix merchants within the mix as well.

“Foolish child,” the man sneered as he pulled Erlan’s neck upwards, forcing him to face him. “Do you really think this little calvary will be enough to defeat me?”

He shook his head as he smiled. “Nope. But she can-,”

“Who?” he’d murmured as the lizard sprung to life in his hands. Its teeth sharpened as it bit into his palm. He screamed, dropping both weapon and lizard as Erlan shifted his weight. Reaching forward to grab the fallen weapon before he turned around. 

“It’s been a pleasure commander,” he called as he’d lodged the blade into the commander’s chest. Then he’d pushed back, sinking the blade deeper as the commander had slid off of him.  

He’d forced himself to his feet, quickly reaching for the lizard. He couldn’t quite keep himself from smiling as he gently picked it up. “Thanks, Allepac,” he whispered to it, as it narrowed its silver eyes at him.

Geron was the first to reach him. “Are you alright?” He’d asked him. His clothes and armor had been covered in blood stains.

He nodded, “I’m fine. But Kokaf is hurt!” 

“Kokaf?” He could practically hear the frown in Geron’s voice. It’d been no surprise that he too had taken Kokaf’s betrayal to heart. 

“It’s a long story. But he saved me.”

“Erlan-,” his voice had sounded more akin to a commander than the man who’d patiently taught him and Kokaf how to hunt. The man who’d more or less become his own surrogate father upon losing his family the day their kingdom had fallen. 

“Please,” he’d pleaded with him. 

He sighed, slowly relenting as he nodded “Alright. We will check on him.”

“Thank you,” Erlan let out a sigh of relief as he watched Saraki venture towards Kokaf’s body before asking, “How have things been going?”

“Surprisingly well. It seems as if he’d placed most of the guards and firepower here to confront you tonight. The rest of the city was nearly empty, just as you expected,” 

“I had a feeling that he wouldn’t be taking any chances once he’d learned that it was in the city,” Erlan had answered as he turned his eyes toward the commander’s body.

The man had dragged himself upwards, leaning against the pier’s railing as he’d writhed in agony. 

“No! NO!” The commander weakly yelled as he looked around the dock. The sight of his men’s bodies littering the ground with the bodies of the Seralix and hunters must’ve been too much for him to bear, as tears had begun to escape his eyes. He’d cradled his arm which was now turning a strange shade of gray. His fingers painfully decayed as the veins in his arm blackened.

He screamed in agony as the gray discoloration spread across the rest of him.  He’d reached into his side, pulling out a strange crystalline spear as he’d turned his eyes upward. Blood seeped through the corner of his lips and nostrils as he murmured something incohesive. 

“A flare signal!” Geron yelled. His voice drew the attention of every warrior who’d stood on the dock. “Don’t let him release it!”

Immediately every warrior, both Atlantean and non-Atlantean, had scrambled towards the commander. But the Atlantean soldiers had been quicker, either restraining or injuring their opponents as their commander aimed the spear upward. 

A laugh slipped through his lips as his finger began to apply pressure to the side of the spear.

That was all Erlan needed to see before he grabbed a bow and arrow from the nearest Atlantean body. His body effortlessly took the form he’d been practicing for months as he shot the arrow, watching as it soared through the air before firmly embedding itself in the heart of the Commander.

The Commander weakly reached for the arrow, only to halt as he slumped over.

His eyes had met Erlan’s for one final time just as he’d held the spear, pushing its button before his body went limp.

“No!” Geron screamed, watching as three red bursts of energy left the spear’s crystalline tip before disappearing into the cloudy night sky above. 

The port had gone silent as all eyes fixated on the sky.

Then they felt it. 

A low growl from overhead as something began moving through the clouds.

The commotion quickly spread as Erlan heard the sounds of the nearby streets awaken. People stepped out of the inns  to stare up in awe as Geron took an uneasy step back.

“No,” he murmured. He looked as if he were on the verge of passing out. “It couldn’t be.”

“What is it? What’s going on?” Erlan yelled to him.

“That flare signal…it wasn’t just a distress signal….no, it was a signal beacon.”

“A signal beacon? For what exactly?” He’d asked as they heard the creature above move once more. He couldn’t see it, but whatever it was, was huge. 

“One of the worst of the Atlantean inventions,” he’d murmured as the creature above moved again. Soon they could see blue eyes glowing from behind the clouds. 

The roar it released shook the ground once more as he heard his aunt cry, “They wouldn’t send it to attack a civilian port, would they?”

“They would if they’ve sensed it’s been overrun by hostiles,” Geron whispered back. Its eyes turned red as he heard Geron scream “Retreat!”

All hell had broken loose as he’d watched the warriors on the pier scatter. Pushing, shoving, and tripping as all raced to evacuate the pier. The monster roared once more, this time revealing itself as it slipped from beneath the clouds.

A large stone serpentine dragon with several carvings along the side of its body appeared. The energy glowed and pulsed along its side as it unhinged its jaw before aiming.

The blast of energy that had left its mouth had struck the sea a few kilometers away from them. The shockwaves rocked the very island itself as several people fell over.

Now he could hear the sounds of the distress bells, ringing in the city as an Atlantean voice yelled out evacuation instructions to the panicked crowd that had filled the streets.

How had this gone so wrong?

They’d been so close to winning. So near to victory and yet-

Another blast hit the ocean, this time far closer as he’d felt the heat from the blast singe his skin.

The ground rocked violently, as the waves began to gather rising higher and higher as they swept onto the pier, pulling people and bodies back into the darkness below. 

Lightning had torn the air as a large wave began barreling towards the pier. 

“Retreat! Retreat!” Geron screamed as Erlan raced over to where Kokaf lay. Sakari was there, slinging Kokaf’s arm over her shoulder as she pleaded with him to get up.

He groaned in pain, clutching his bloodied side as sweat gathered on his brow.

“Here,” Erlan yelled, slinging Kokaf’s other arm over his shoulder as he helped them up.

Sakari’s eyes had met his immediately. Then she’d looked past him towards the incoming wave. The fire from her eyes had been missing as he’d heard her scream, “What do we do now?”

What do they do? He wishes he knew.

“Allepac-,” he’d yelled over the sounds of the roaring wave that neared. “Allepac?” Horror filled him as he noticed the creature’s absence. “Allepac!” He’d screamed into the darkness of the horrified crowd.  “I have to find her-,”

“Find who? Are you crazy?!” Sakari yelled. “We’re all going to die!”

“Considering that I sold my soul for this,” he gestured to the pier as it was now covered in the wave’s darkness. “Yes!”

“You sold your What-?!” She’d screamed as the wave arrived. Erlan had braced himself, trying not to think of how it would feel to get swept away when the air had crackled. A beam of silver energy tore through the wave as it promptly dissipated into trillions of water droplets and steam that hung suspended in the air.

Gasps of horror and awe surrounded him as he watched the droplets shimmer before racing toward the stone serpent in the sky. 

The serpent was moving, firing its own beams of energy at the droplets. But it had done little to dissuade the incoming droplets as they’d promptly splashed it, quickly slipping through its cracks as it roared.

Darkness soon seeped around its body as several tendrils emerged, trying to rip it apart from the inside out. Slowly it had started to writhe. Its eyes flickered between silver and blue before its body tensed.

“Come on!” Erlan had yelled to Sakari and the surrounding warriors. “Everyone evacuate the pier now!”

They’d nodded quickly making their way off as Erlan, Kokaf, and Sakari had followed. Kokaf’s groans quieted as Erlan fearfully took note of his friend’s sudden stillness. 

“Hang on Kokaf,” he whispered. “We’ll help you soon. I promise.”

“Look!” Someone screamed as the people pointed to the sky. A brilliant light emerged from the serpentine creature as it faltered and fell towards the sea. Its body collided with the ocean, sending shockwaves through the city as the Atlantean ships began racing toward the shore. Large waves emerged from the sea, quickly swallowing them whole before dissipating into nothingness. 

 The waves in the distance shivered and glowed before going still.

All eyes rested on the waters as they began to swell and shake. 

They weren’t certain how much time had passed before the serpentine’s head had floated lifelessly to the top of the waves. Its once glowing eyes were now darkened pits as the water around it began to freeze, encasing it as the ice soon spread through the ports, just as bits and pieces of the serpentine's destroyed body broke the surface as well.

The people had looked on in awe and confusion. Their murmurs filling his ears as he made out the sounds of cheers and yells from the hunters and Seralix people around him. 

“We won! We won! We won!” Someone yelled as the rest of the crowd broke into cheers. The Hunters and the Seralix laughed and embraced as Erlan’s eyes returned to Seralix princess, and then his friend.

The princess’s eyes were filled with tears as she gave him a look that he could only describe as hopeless. 

“Kokaf,” he started. The ground beneath his friend was now stained a deep crimson. He’d cursed himself for not grabbing a crystal as he’d felt the broken shards of his own stone hang around his neck.

“Erlan,” Kokaf quietly whispered back.  “They’d discovered me the day after…Saraki had brought me to the first rebel meeting. And they’d known that my father had been a general, one that was nothing compared to yours…But they’d threaten the lives of my family, and hers,” he’d weakly look towards Saraki as she’d taken both of his hands in hers. “Unless, of course, I complied….” he stopped shaking.  “They’d never seem happy that you’d been allowed to live…So they told me to get you involved in our schemes. It would be your life for ours.” A tear had left the corner of his eyes as he’d drawn in a shaky breath. “I…I didn’t want you to die-,” he whispered before wincing. “I remember the day all of our parents were executed. I remember seeing my father before they carried him away. He’d made me promise him… to always look out for my family…no matter the cost.”

“A life is a life,” Erlan spoke quietly. His voice was nearly lost over the sounds of the sea as the other hunters joined him, all kneeling at the side of Kokaf. “And in this world, I can’t fault you for doing your best to preserve the lives of those close to you. I know that I would’ve done the same for you if it’d been demanded of me.”

“Then promise me you’ll forgive me,” Kokaf pleaded, every breath he drew was more shallow than the last. His eyes now staring aimlessly at the sky above as the light of the rising sun pierced the cloud.

“I do,” Erlan promised. “I do.”

“Erlan,” came a voice as all eyes turned towards the large creature that descended from the clouds. Darkness had enshrouded its form as it landed a few yards away from them.

“Allepac” he’d replied. Its silver eyes met his as he approached. The crowd was speechless. All staring in awe at the strange creature before them, before the Seralix princess stumbled forward.

“Please!” she begged, tears streaming down her face. “He’s dying! Please save him!”

Allepac had stood there motionlessly, looking over the form of the princess, then Kokaf’s. “The fate of the traitor’s life ultimately rests in the hands of those he has betrayed,” its voice hissed as he watched Saraki’s face pale. 

The hunters exchanged glances, looking uneasily at each other and then towards Merendellis. She’d nodded. Her hand resting on Geron’s shoulder. “Geron,” she spoke softly.

“He has a lot to answer for,” Geron whispered. His face hardened before he sighed. “But not with his own life.” His eyes had wondered to Erlan who’d nodded in reply.

There would be proper retribution for Kokaf’s actions later, but for now, Erlan had other plans in mind. He’d turned back towards Allepac as it whispered into his mind, ‘ We do not intend on saving him.’

He frowned, watching as its eyes narrowed before it continued speaking to him telepathically, ‘This is a fitting punishment for a traitor and is far more merciful than any death we could have given him.’

‘No,’ he’d replied back, taking note of the pleading look in the princess’s eyes. ‘Not quite.’

Allepac had watched him curiously as he’d looked back at Kokaf’s form. ‘Regardless of what we feel about his betrayal. Kokaf has proven himself useful, as have the Seralix this night. He is brave, and he is far more valuable to us alive than dead. The Seralix value him as he’s sacrificed himself for their princess. She seems to like him as well. So if need be we can use him to secure a much stronger alliance with them.’

The creature’s eyes rested back on the princess who’d still held Kokaf’s hands. ‘I see. Very well then. We will allow the traitor to live for the sake of your alliance.’

“Thank you Allepac,” he bowed, and with that, he’d watched as Kokaf’s wounds began to glow silver. The princess and several onlookers gasped in awe and wonder as Kokaf’s wounds vanished.

Slowly his eyes had opened as he’d groaned, looking from Saraki to Erlan in surprise. “Saraki?....Erlan? What happened?”

“You’re alive!” Saraki gasped as she tightly embraced him. “It worked! Erlan it worked!”

“Keep on hugging me like that, and you won’t be able to say that for much longer-,” he’d choked out before hugging her back.

She’d promptly released him before turning back to Erlan, then Allepac. “Thank you,” she smiled. “We won’t forget what you’ve done for us today. We, Seralix are proud to call ourselves your allies.”

“Likewise,” Erlan replied with a small smile.

Kokaf hesitantly sat up as he’d bowed his head to the hunters. “I know I owe you an apology,” he started. “All of you. For saving my life and for taking back the port. I was a coward to betray you all as I did, and I understand if you don’t want me around anymore.”

“Kokaf’s it fine…But why don’t we discuss this later?” Erlan started softly as his aunt and Geron nodded in agreement. 

Kokaf hesitantly nodded, “Alright…But I guess I owe you this for saving my life then, don’t I?” Kokaf replied as he’d dug through his tunic before pulling out an Atlantean crystal. “Here. Take it. It was their ‘gift’ to me in exchange for information” His eyes cautiously wandered toward Allepac’s form as he added, “Plus you seem to know more about dealing with these crystals than I do.”

“Thanks, Kokaf,” Erlan grinned as he held up the crystal for Allepac to see. “See? I told you the plan would work out!”

Allepac rolled its eyes as he carefully slipped the crystal into his pocket. Its eyes focused on the lingering Atlanteans who’d watched it fearfully. Already Erlan could tell what Allepac had planned to do, and he’d shook his head. 

His eyes landed on Kedakh standing not too far off with his family. Several Atlanteans had joined him as they’d looked on uneasily. He’d taken note of the look of passive resignation in Kedakh’s eyes. His words had effectively come true. Things were changing.

But they wouldn’t get worse, not if he had anything to say or do about it.

“ You wish to allow them to stay?” Allepac’s voices had asked.

He nodded, “of course. Not all of them have supported the actions of the royal family or their country’s quest for world domination. They are citizens who’ve been living on this port for generations. When my people made this port, they built it to allow everyone regardless of origin to do business here. So it is only right that we allow them to continue doing as they wish.”

Kedakh had nodded, relief coming to his face as cheers enveloped the harbor. 

A few Atlanteans had joined in the celebration as the sun rose, bringing with it the dawn of a new day.

“Look out!” Erlan yelled as he and Merendellis had ducked for cover. The ship sparked as it flew overhead, swiftly flying around before it promptly sailed into the forest. A loud collision was soon heard as the ground shook.

“That was insane-,” Merendellis breathed.

“That was perfect!” Erlan grinned. His silvery blue eyes widened in amazement. 

“What?!” Meredenellis cried as she and several of the men gathered, cautiously following after Erlan. “It could’ve killed us! Look Erlan when I told you to take some time off, I didn’t mean to take time off to build weapons that would destroy everybody!”

“I know- but it worked! Did you see the way it fired the energy or how fast it flew?” he’d called before he’d made his way out of their coliseum. He’d bid his greetings to the women who’d sat outside weaving as he passed, racing through the village. 

What had once been a mere gathering of small clay and mud houses were now stone buildings all exquisitely designed for both business and living.

Seeing the faces of people, sometimes from other countries such as the Adakhi, the Seralix, the Relaki, and even the Atlanteans had become a rather common occurrence. As with the reclamation of the port cities, the nations had begun to permit more traveling and intermingling. 

A few of the ships he’d invented had flown overhead with their riders bidding him good morning as he’d passed by. It had been hard to believe that it had only been half a decade since they’d reclaimed the port, but he was proud to say that things had mostly changed for the better. Convincing the people to rebuild the village in their old architectural style before the Atlantean invasion, had been met with a surprising amount of resistance. They’d claimed that the old style was far too reminiscent of the Atlanteans and had instead opted to go in a new creative direction, integrating all sorts of bold architectural styles and designs he’d never seen before.

It shouldn’t have frustrated him as much as it did. He’d understood the want to distance themselves from the past and the pain that it had brought. But he’d be lying if he’d denied that a part of him had secretly wished for them to restore their nation to its former image, an image that was said to have been so great that even the Atlanteans had admired it.

It had taken him two years until Allepac had deemed him ‘sufficient enough to teach’ allowing for him to return to his village. His powers had yet to awaken, but he could read, and write well, a skill that had quickly proven useful as he'd quickly learned his other subjects. 

Of course even after his 'graduation', he'd still dropped by to visit his former teacher whenever he wasn’t busy helping his people establish more trading partners and at times, recapture more port cities.

Part of him was ashamed at how much he’d love the rush of doing something so thrilling, but it had all been for the betterment of the people he’d assured himself. Even as Allepac scolded him for any injuries he’d sustained during the process. But it had been worth it, as, after the last most major victory, the Atlanteans had gone suspiciously silent.

He’d posted spies in every country to keep an eye on any activity, along with even recruiting a few Atlanteans such as Kedakh into his ranks. But all the trails had gone cold, which he had suspected hadn’t been unintentional on their part.

That’s why he’d been so intent on building weapons. Weapons that could level the playing field.  He knew it was only a matter of time before things escalated, and either side would declare war. 

He’d passed a training class, watching as Geron had instructed several children and women on how to use various weapons. A few of the children had stopped to greet him, with some even begging him to demonstrate. He’d (unfortunately) had to pass on the offer, but he’d promised them that he’d be back to visit soon.

Finally, he’d entered the forest, tracking the ship with relative ease as he quickly reached its crash site.

To his delight, the ship had remained in one piece. “Great!” he’d smiled as he slid down the rock before landing next to the ship. “I can also add ‘indestructible’ to the list!” He’d knelt at the ship’s side, taking note of the sparks that had emerged from where it had collided with the tree. 

He’d have to reinforce that side a bit better. He’d pulled out a small piece of paper as he’d begun to jot down a few notes. Finally, he’d nodded, Slipping the paper back into his pocket as he’d risen to his feet.

It had taken him a minute or so to notice the abnormal silence that had once filled the lively forest around him. He couldn’t remember hearing it this quiet before…

BARK

He’d paused, rising to his feet as he heard footsteps race towards him and a familiar Wolf-dog appear.

Faiolia!” he’d murmur in surprise as he kneeled down to greet his approaching pet. She was carrying something in her mouth. Something he hadn’t been able to see until she’d dropped it in his hands. It had only taken him a minute to recognize was it was, before he’d found himself withdrawing a communication device, hurriedly signaling for the ships to join him as he climbed onto the ship that had crashed a few feet away. Faiolia barked, eagerly taking her seat behind him as the ship began to levitate once more and they took off.

How had they been able to get in? His mind reeled with confusion and anger as the terrible screams of people pierced the air. The distress bells rang as he heard the sounds of evacuation orders. Plumes of smoke filled the air as he caught sight of the fire that had eaten away at the fields.

The Atlanteans were attacking their food source. A sensible tactic that was no doubt was part of a far more intricate plan. But whatever said plan was would have to wait as he caught sight of several stone sea serpents flying through the air. 

They fired towards them as Atlanteans swarmed the city below. His warriors returned fire, as several war machines exploded, filling the air with brilliant colors as his communication device had crackled to life. 

Kokaf’s voice rang in his ears, “on the way!” he’d called. “Bringing reinforcement.”

“Received!” Erlan called back, before turning to his soldiers. 

He’d barked commands to his soldiers, dividing their forces into three. One group to deal with the fire. The other was to deal with the war machines and the final was to deal with the ground assault. The soldiers had voiced their agreement as he’d turned his ship towards the serpent, locking onto it, before he’d grabbed an all too eager Faolia, and jumped, just as his ship collided with the serpent.

The explosion rocked the air as he felt himself fall downwards. Relief filled him as he watched one of his subordinates ship near, grabbing him as they pulled him into the ship.

They’d reached the ground in a matter of seconds as he’d leaped out of the ship, Faiolia followed suit. Quickly leaping onto an Atlantean as she’d pushed them backward. 

“Careful Faiolia!” he’d called as he quickly disarmed the first attacker before he’d dealt with the second. 

How had they managed to slip in undetected? He’d wandered before he’d heard Faoilia bark. Turning towards one of the storehouses. 

“Hold your ground!” he’d called to his soldiers. “I’m going to investigate.” They’d nodded as he took off in the direction he’d seen Faolia bark. Entering the house, he’d been greeted by nothing but darkness. He’d held his necklace up, allowing its silvery light to illuminate the darkness as he pressed forward.

“Let me know if you find anything,” he’d whispered to Faoilia who’d barked before taking off. The air was strangely still as he searched the house. This storage house had been much older than its other counterparts. Its support pillars were tall and partially decayed as cobwebs seemed to cover nearly every inch of the room.

He could hear Faoilia sniffing as she carefully made her way through the storage room. So far he’d seen nothing, but he knew better than to doubt Faoilia’s instincts, as she’d proven more times than not to be far smarter than most thought.

“See anything, girl?” he’d whispered as he’d ducked underneath a cobweb. 

She barked, which he could only assume had meant yes as he traveled towards her, watching as she stood a few feet away from a large pit in the ground.

It looked as if the ground had caved in. He’d heard rumors of the Atlanteans having interconnected underground tunnels that had run deep into the earth, allowing them to not only travel but flee in times of danger.

Of course, most of those rumors had been unsubstantiated, but he’d cursed himself for not considering them a possibility sooner.

Faolilia’s sharp barks caught his attention as he turned his eyes toward the direction she’d been barking in. A figure had stood near the entrance, shrouded in Atlantean warrior garb as their crystal had glowed.

“Take cover-,” he’d yelled to Faoilia as he’d ducked underneath one blast.  Faiolia had retaliated, her teeth clamping into the arm of his attacker as they yelled in pain. They’d tried to shake her off as he’d neared drawing his weapon to strike when they’d turn back towards him. 

Their eyes had met his as he watched them aim their weapon once more. But he’d been faster.  Drawing his blade swiftly as he dragged it across his attacker’s chest.

Faiolia barked happily as he watched the figure stumble backward. Their eyes widened with pain as their back hit the wall. It had only been out of mercy that he’d drawn his weapon again, hoping to make his attacker’s pain end when they’d struck once more.

Abruptly aiming their weapons towards him, they fired.

This time the beam hit the pillar, destroying it as the building began to shake. 

“Run Faiolia!” he’d screamed as they’d began bolting towards the entrance. He’d nearly made it when the debris fell, cutting him off from the outside world as his vision darkened. 

When he’d awoken the first thing he’d felt was pain. The darkness swimming across his eyes as he felt his body pinned beneath the debris of the storehouse. 

His heavy breaths echoed through his ears as he heard the faint sounds of Faiolia barking, followed by more shouts and yells. His eyes turned upwards, catching sight of the stray beam of light that had managed to slip into the cracks of the debris.

“Down here!” he’d yelled as he felt the ground shake. The sounds of the Atlantean war machines screamed overhead as he heard his people continue to shout.

He’d tried to move the debris off of his leg. But to little success. “Please,” he’d whispered as he felt the ground tremble once more.

The wail of his people filled his ears as he could smell the faint scent of smoke.  Faiolia’s barking grew louder. 

They couldn’t die like this. He couldn’t die like this. 

“That’s Seamus’s son,” he’d heard Kokash’s voice ring out from the darkness. “Pitiful in life and death.”

“That can’t be?!” he’d cried, reeling back as his eyes scanned the darkness. The figures of Kokash and Kerakash along with several other Atlantean soldiers slowly materialized in front of his face, all wearing the armor he’d last seen them in when they’d been alive.

“I’m not dead!” he’d cried.

“Not yet, no,” Kokash had sneered as Kerakash had ventured forward, kneeling next to him.

“What’s with the confusion, boy? You got what you wanted didn’t you?” His heart had stopped as he heard Kerakash’s voice speak to him. 

The pain must’ve been getting to him now as he’d replied without thinking, “I didn’t want this. I didn’t want any of this.”

“Didn’t you?” his voice had soothingly replied. “You spilled Atlantean blood, didn’t you. Yes, I’ve seen how you’ve practically littered the ports with the bodies of your enemies. Tell me, child, how did it feel? It felt powerful, didn’t it? Having us at your mercy?”

“No,” he’d coughed out. “It didn’t. I’m not like you. I only did what I had to. Not what I wanted.”

“And yet you all suffer the same for it.” Kerakash’s voice mocked as he felt the surrounding coldness begin to seep into his bones. “They’re going to wipe you out after this. They’ll torch your lands and salt your fields. Soon nothing will be left. Not your people, nor your lands, or even your animals. Nothing.”

He’d struggled harder against the debris trapping him. A cry escaped him as he’d found little success in freeing himself. 

“But I suppose you should find some pride in it,” Kerakash sighed. “Before we’d allowed your people to exist because they were nothing. You were nothing. The battle had been long decided before we’d ever claimed the lives of your parents.”

He stopped his struggles, “What?”

“Oh come now! You’re supposed to be a politician, aren’t you? Or some great statesman! Surely you aren’t ignorant of the past political intricacies of your nation.” When he’d failed to answer he’d watch Kerakash’s expression sour. “Of course. The spirit of the people, of a kingdom, ultimately lives and dies with their king. And your people were no exception. You see, your king was a special man. So you can only imagine how the people’s spirit had crumbled when they’d seen their king, once so brilliantly full of power, die like any common man.”

“Power,” he’d murmur. “You killed everyone within the royal family because of the king’s power?”

“Of course we did! Why else do you think we’d allow the other royal families to live and not yours? Yours were just too dangerous. You are dangerous,” Their laughter echoed through the space as fury filled him. His vision reddened as he’d unsuccessfully tried to free himself once more.

Powers. He’d never known the king had powers. In fact he’d never even thought that humans having powers was a possibility until Allepac had told him about his. Wait.

He had powers, didn’t he? He just needed to awaken them.

“Whatever you’re doing won’t work boy,” Kogash’s voice had harshly cut through the silence as he’d felt the walls of debris begin to close in. Breathing was becoming more difficult. “Every time you’ve cheated death has been because of the power of the anomaly with you! You have achieved nothing on your own!” Their voices had joined in unison as they’d screamed, “You are nothing!”

“I am,” he’d agreed as he felt the debris push against his body. “And I’ve always let it bother me. No matter how proud of my heritage I’ve tried to be, deep down I’ve always been ashamed of how little I had. It’s what made me chase after our past glory days.” Now he was pushing back against the debris that had threatened to cut and bloody his fingers. But he’d ignored the pain, continuing on, “Not only to reclaim our heritage but to be more like you, to reclaim a past image that you’d approved of.. But now I know this is not the case. The legacy and strength of our people have never lied in chasing our past, but rather forming our future.” His voice had wavered as he’d desperately tried to draw on any power he could sense within himself. He’d come up short once more, but there’d been no disappointment with it this time. No, only anger, as he’d called out into the darkness. “A future where we will be free from the shadows and ghosts of our past. A future where we will be free from you!”

The air around him crackled and burned as he felt it. Something within him moved as power flew from his body, disintegrating the debris and shadows around him as it swallowed the cries of his demons.

His body had felt light as it lifted itself from beneath the rubble. Bright blue and white energy gathered and crackled around him as he found himself back on the surface on top of the debris. All eyes drew towards him as he’d turned his eyes towards the sky where the sea serpents resided. 

The sea serpent roared, its body pointed towards the city as it released its attack. He’d barely managed to draw all his power as he’d reached forward. 

It had only been because he’d remembered what Allepac had said during his lessons to unlock his powers that he’d even been half successful. His powers pitifully deflected the incoming blast as it’d sent it elsewhere. It collided with the ground, knocking him over as he heard the creature growling.

Its eyes were now red as it unleashed another beam. One that he could barely answer with a half-formed shield materializing itself in the way of the beam. 

The two forces collided, nearly knocking him over once more as he’d forced himself to remain standing. His body quickly ached as the creature continued its assault.

“Erlan!” he could hear a muffled voice call. 

“Go!” he’d yelled back. His shield was starting to break now. “Get everyone out of here!” 

His legs had trembled, as he felt his knees threaten to buckle. Blurry figures raced past him as he forced himself to draw on his power. Deeper and deeper he’d gone, his mind screaming in protest as the cracks in his shield began to grow.

He’d been prepared to die here today.

He’d nearly resigned himself to said fate until he heard a familiar roar tear through the air. Instantaneously the clouds had parted as he’d watched a beam of silver energy tear through the sky like lightning, striking the serpent. The serpent screamed, its body burning as Allepac’s form appeared through the clouds.

The serpent hadn’t stood a chance as he’d watched Allepac practically swallow the creature as clouds enveloped its darkened figure. Seconds later mangled parts of the serpent's body descended from the clouds. Its final roar echoed through his mind as he felt his knees buckle. 

“ Erlan ,” Allepac’s voice had called. Darkness enveloped his vision as his head hit the ground.

“It’s unmistakable,” his aunt’s voice broke the silence as he felt the darkness gradually release him. He was in the castle’s infirmary now.

“We all knew it would come to this,” Geron sighed. “It was only a matter of time.”

“ Battle plans will need to be made. In the meantime, we trust that you two will be able to address the citizens?” Allepac’s voice answered. “ They no doubt will want answers for what they have seen.”

“Yes,” His aunt agreed. “They will, and they do. Word has already spread amongst them like wildfire. It seems as if they’re all aware of Erlan’s abilities.”

“There’d always been rumors that his father had been the illegitimate son of one of the princes,” he’d heard Geron murmur. “Unconfirmed rumors of course. But I always believed they’d had some merit to them. The resemblance between the two was uncanny.”

“I was hoping that it wasn’t,” he’d heard his aunt draw in a shaky sigh.

“ Why not? ” Allepac’s voices cooly echoed through the room, as Erlan’s eyes searched the ceiling, patiently awaiting his aunt’s reply.

“It’s a heavy burden being king,” she’d said. “And they’d already been suspicious of his existence given that he’d been the son of a great general. If they’d known the truth of this, then they would’ve killed him when they’d executed his parents.”

“ It is poetic justice then,” Allepac replied, sounding amused. 

“Any particular reason why your spirits are so high?” Erlan had asked, as all eyes in the room turned towards him. “Or was your trip back to space just that enjoyable?”

“Erlan!” his aunt had cried as she’d rushed to his side. Geron had cast the creature an uneasy glance before following after her, evidently not comfortable with being in such close proximity to it alone. “How are you feeling? You’re not hurt are you?”

“Other than feeling like a building collapsed on me, I’m fine,” he smiled at his aunt. “I finally awakened my powers.”

“So we’ve heard,” she cast a small yet sad smile. “And you’ve probably heard us discussing it as well.”

He nodded, sliding his legs over the side of the bed as he asked, “So what’s all this about me being king? And illegitimate bloodlines?”

His aunt had looked to Geron, who’d stepped forward, clearing his throat. “Well, Erlan. You see. The royal family of our kingdom has always been…special. Special in the fact that its bloodline had carried certain powers, capabilities, if you will, that had allowed them to do the impossible. It’d always been the mark of royalty, as well as the greatest secret of the kingdom. Anyone who’d been blessed with said powers regardless of whether or not they’d been related to the royal family by legitimate blood was often considered a royal. Now, nothing was ever confirmed, but people have always suspected that your father was an illegitimate grandson of the last king.”

“Why was he illegitimate?”

“Protection, I think. Most believe that due to his uncanny resemblance to the second son of the king, and the fact that his mother, your grandmother had been a rather favorite of the prince, your father was his son. Of course, the second prince knew better than to reveal his son after the three brothers had taken an oath to remain fatherless until they’d split the kingdom after their father died.”

“But they never got the chance…”

He shook his head sadly. “No, but even if they had, they’d all been so popular with the ladies that I doubted said vow had any meaning to begin with.”

“But the fact that I have powers,” he’d murmured as he gazed into his open palms. “Do you really think that it means I’m related to the last king?”

Geron nodded, “I do. From what Kokaf and the others tell me, it sounds as if your powers are nearly identical to your great-grandfather’s.”

“But…if I’m the descendant of the king, does that mean?”

Geron nodded as he took a seat on the bed next to him, “By law, I do suppose the kingdom, or rather what’s left of it is yours, if you so wish to claim it.”

“You don’t have to,” his aunt interjected. “Not if you feel as if the burden will be too much to bear-,”

“This burden that we have is all because of me,” he said. His head lowered in shame. “I’m the reason why the Atlanteans are attacking, so if anyone should be shouldering the burden for this. Then it’s me.”  He’d slid off the bed as he’d stopped in front of Allepac. “I won’t fault any of you for walking away,” he’d started. 

Geron and his aunt had exchanged uneasy looks. 

“Ay son,” Geron protested as he stood to his feet. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“What?”

“As a general, I’d swear my allegiance first and foremost to my king and my country. I did it for your great-grandfather and your grandfather. So why not you?”

His aunt nodded, “he’s right. We’ve already come this far, Erlan. Why stop now?”

“We could fail-,”

“We could, but what other option do we have? The Atlanteans have declared war upon us. But I know you’ve been preparing for this, haven’t you? The weapons you’ve been building. The warriors you’ve been recruiting and training as well as the alliances you’ve created. It’s why you even blessed Kokaf’s marriage to Saraki…All of that has been leading to this very moment.”

“Yes,” he nodded. “I wanted to make sure that if they’d declared war, then they wouldn’t just be fighting us. They’d be fighting the world.”

“But they’d conquered the world-,” Geron started.

“As individual countries, yes. But as United forces hell bent on vengeance? No.” He’d turned back to Allepac. “I may need your help once more, just to ensure last-minute reparations. And proper training.”

“ Consider it done,” it answered, much to his surprise. “ Do not mistake this for charity. We only wish to see you succeed if it will mean that the shard fails.”

“Great,” he’d sighed. “But I suppose beggars can’t be choosers so I’ll take all the help I can get.” He'd turn back to his aunt and Geron, gratitude filled his eyes as he'd bowed and smiled. "Thank you. Both of you, for everything." The other two nodded, their voices becoming muffled as Asha watched the scene blur and meld before her. 

Now she and the star were standing on the outskirts of the kingdom, where she could see a proud yet beautiful castle sitting in the far-off distance. Fireflies gently circled as she heard the incoming waves crash on the nearby shore. 

She'd watched the figures of Erlann and several warriors appear on the beach. All were in battle armor wearing silver stones around their necks as she’d noted that their eyes were all a startling shade of gray. All save for Geron, whose eyes remained a deep brown.

 Several mounted their ships as Erlan stood there, talking to them. They nodded. Their ships took off, leaving Geron alone with Erlan. The two had exchanged words that she couldn’t quite hear before they’d embraced. 

 Geron had stopped to stare off into the distance, his eyes meeting hers before he’d turned his attention back to what he was doing.

Then they departed. 

Geron on his ship.  

Erlan, on Allepac. 

[drkcnry67]

This is Your Legacy

Title: This is our Legacy

Pairing: John x Reader

Kink: age difference

Tags: 16 year age difference, mentions of sexual endeavors after going to bring the head of the werewolf alpha back to your family, getting married by a nurse, making out in a shared hotel room, not all of this may be in the story but ya know how it goes

Rating: 18+

Summery nope

Created for @spnkinkevents

"On this day I get to go on my first solo hunt. I'm so scared, I want to do good to appease my family but they say I'm different that something is gonna happen to me on that hunt, that I shouldn't be going. Oh well what do they know. I'll show them what a total badass I am and they will see who the best hunter truly is... though my father is threatening to disown me if I don't complete the hunt so best to get started..."

That was your journal entry this morning. But I don't understand why they wont tell me what I'm hunting.

You were in college but your father pulled you out to go into the family business. But little did you know that this hunt would lead to the biggest change of your life.

So anyway, let's prepare for everything:

Clothing, shoes, food, bait, holy water, salt, silver, iron, pistol, silver stakes, wooden stakes, salt round, iron rounds, devils trap bullets, bow and arrows, chalk, lighters, shotgun, silver bullets, dead man's blood, etc....

Once you had everything sorted and organized you went down to be seen off by your family.

Mom: take care of your self and trust your gut I love you no matter what.

Brother #1: don't choke

Brother #2: don't die

Brother #3: give up now and save us all the trouble later

Brother #4: it's a piece of cake don't panic just do what you were taught and we will see you when you come back.

Father: don't bother coming back if you loose the target, fail and your no longer apart of this family. Your mother packed a few things in the car. Take it and go your instructions are in the car.

You hold your head up high and walk away not showing that he hurt your feelings. Getting into the car you wave goodbye to everyone.

Yn(to self): oh my God okay let's pull over up ahead and check out the information

You pull over up ahead in a random parking lot in front of a random abandoned building. It looked creepy as fuck seemed like the type of place that something supernatural might hangout in...

But opening the instruction package you sort it out, photos and information written out but you had no idea that this thing your father wanted you to bring back the head of was gonna be your greatest challenge.

Yn(to self): okay so if I head up the highway here make a left into town here and find a motel and then I can hangout till the moon starts to rise...

You have your plan and now you continue driving... you follow the GPS in your car and arrive in about 3 hours give or take.

You pull into the first motel you could find, you go to check in and find that there are no more rooms available. The last guy who took the last room now approaches you from the back...

John: sorry I took the last room.

Yn: its fine I guess I'll just sleep in my car

John: a pretty lady such as yourself ain't sleeping in the car. No way not in this lifetime.

You sigh and feel his hand engulf your own.

Yn: thank you but you really don't have to do this

John: oh I think I do... cause you and I are after the same thing hunter...

You stop in your dead tracks.

Yn: why did you

John: what you didn't think I'd recognize that anti possession tattoo on your arm.

Yn: I guess you expect me to trust you well sorry but if I don't do this on my own my family is basically disowning me... it's a tradition thing and I have 4 older brothers to live up to and my dad pulled me our of college for this legacy thing so it's kinda a big deal.

John's eyes widened with a variety of shock.

John: well if this hunt fails you can come on the road with me... what are the specifications for your father as proof

Yn: bring back its head or don't bother coming home

John: what if you get injured

Yn: I don't know but I'm gonna assume he'd call that a failure too

John scoffs and unlocks the room door and helps you bring your stuff into the room.

John: well lets unpack and prep... I guess we will see what happens.

You do just that you put your clothes in the dresser drawers, you set up the room with darkening blinds over the blinds already existing.

John: woah sweetheart you don't need to be so thorough

Yn: yes I do its how I was raised, my father always said that it's always better to put down too many protections than too little

john looks at you with wide eyes and an expression of what could only be described as concern mixed with some form of admiration.

you on the other hand were now cleaning and loading ammo into your guns. he watched you doing this and he found himself being more subtly attracted to you.

john: so your father pulled you out of school for this, was it against your will or

yn: your first guess is correct he was horrible about it he literally grabbed me out of my english lit class like a nieanderthal and disrupted every single person in there and knocked my english professor down the stairs in his efforts to drag me by my hair very unpleasantly and forcefully out of there to the car hog tie me and drive my ass back home where he then locked me in my room for 4 days before sending my mother in to explain everything to me why I was dragged out of school and basically having my life disrupted. Like I explained to my parents I want to be normal I want to live a normal life. I don't want to be in this life. But here I am and I am gonna need something to keep me busy if I get exiled from the family.

John now sitting across from you on one of the chairs with an ice cold beer in his hand now paying full attention to your story...

John: wow, your father sounds like a giant pain in the ass

Yn: believe me your not the first person to say that but I also feel like something is off about this entire thing.

John: here's a crazy thought I will go with you to deliver the head of this beast to your father saying you got injured and I was on the same hunt I helped you stay alive to behead it yourself then I gave you a ride home.

You smile lightly at his words now realizing your starting to develop feelings for this man.

Yn: by the way I am very curious to know how old you are my good sir

John had to think about it he knew this could go badly but he didn't care.

John: 40 but in my defense I have 2 sons who are my entire world

Yn: funny you don't look 40 but I can't help feel attracted to you for some reason

John locked eyes with you at that moment for he felt it as well.

John: how bout we prepare for this hunt and then we discuss this further later

Yn: or I could just act...

You get up and straddle John's lap meeting his lips with your own. To his surprise of course but he let go of his impulse at that moment.

You broke the kiss about 15 minutes later when his gun falls off the table.

Yn: I think we should prepare to leave.

John: nah its still a good number of hours before sundown and besides this werewolf is gonna be a piece of cake.

Yn: what if my dad banishes me anyway

John: why do you think he would

Yn: cause he is a egotistical dick and he perceives "getting help" as a failure to do the hunt correctly. He perceives "getting injured" as a invieniance and a failure. He thinks relationships interfere with your ability to focus on the task at hand.

You lean your forehead against John's as he breathes meshing his breathing with your own.

John: well if he doesn't like how this hunt turns out then he can suck it and we will load up your stuff and you can come live with me.

Yn: thank you baby I love you john

You say not even thinking about it. Then it hits you on what you just said a few moments later. You begin searching John's facials for any sign of negative response to your words.

John: I love you too YN! And I know that this won't make up for it but it will be most beneficial to everything going forward.

Yn: I know but I want to actually relax a bit before we head out on this hunt and now I know I don't have to do it alone. Cause I'm not alone I have you!

John: shall we lay down for a bit so we can rest up as its still a few hours to sundown.

Yn: I like that idea. The guns are loaded and cleaned anyway

John takes you up bridal style to the bed, he sets you down and takes off his shoes before crawling in beside you.

John: I know this seems a little quick but I promise you this will be our relationship this is our time and our lives. Damn anyone else who doesn't like this.

Yn: but What if...

John: if I fall in hunt, everything I own will now be your own.

You looked at him with admiration in your eyes.

Yn: but John we

John: I've never been more sure of anything in my life. And I'll be darned if I let anything or anyone tear us apart. Now rest my love I'll wake you up when it's time to head out.

You settle in against John's chest falling asleep as you are lulled by the sound of his heartbeat.

John(to self): oh my god, this girl is incredible but has had to deal with so much trauma for one so young. It's heartbreaking I swear on my life I'll do everything in my power to break her away from it...

You struggle internally as you are externally resting against your man's chest in a cozy little hotel room.

After about almost 2 hours of rest you wake startled from a horrific nightmare of substantial proportions.

John: woah sweetheart it's okay... you're safe nice deep breaths.

You just clutch John's chest in fear for what you saw made you scared beyond belief.

John: what's got you so scared

Yn: I have to tell you something, about a month before my dad burst into my school and pulled me out I saw it like I dreamt it before it happened.

John: you have visions?

Yn: yes and it's so annoying sometimes cause ever since the day before my 11th grade mid term exams I've had visions whenever something major is about to change my life.

John: and did you see this moment.

You nod and smile

Yn: about a week ago. So yes I was kinda expecting this but I didn't see dates or times or anything so I didn't know when this would occur

John: my my my you really are a smart lady!

Yn: and you are a very lucky man!

John: now will you tell me what got you spooked.

You breathed in deeply and felt your heart rate slow a bit...

Yn: I saw the outcome of the hunt. I apparently get injured to the point where I'm almost killed. John, i dont know if this is gonna go in our favor...

John: have faith baby and if you do get injured we will still killthe beast and bring the head home to your father then i will announce my intent to marry you properly... in a years time...

Yn: but you havent proposed

John: and i will or maybe we will just go to vegas on the way back after the hunt and get hitched there before we go back to your father tell him you got drunk after the hunt and i wanted to be a gentleman and not take you without marriage first

You place a kiss to his hand as you snugle in closer.

Yn: thank you baby

john: your welcome now lets get ready to go, its a bit of a drive before we get to where these wolves are

Yn: wolves I thought we only had to find the alpha?

John looks at you for a moment and tosses you an extra box of silver bullets.

John: there will be a pack with the alpha which is why I gave you an extra set of silver rounds

Yn: but What about my vision

John: I swear on my life we will get through this and stop down in Vegas and get married before we get back to your folks to drop off the head to your father

You look at him with tears of joy threatening to spill from your eyes.

Yn: well then I accept and for everything I am I won't let my family stop me from being happy.

John: besides its your life not theirs and your not a child anymore I see a beautiful smart confident woman one I get to spend the rest of my life with.

You put your handheld in your holster as you have now just strapped on your holster and straightened up your shirt and strapped on your ballistic vest

John: why a ballistic vest

Yn: cause I loose way to many shirts by not wearing one. It always depends on what I'm hunting.

John: I guess it also is easy to carry extra bullets too.

Yn: exactly. Now let's get ready

In moments you were loaded John had his bag of weapons and you both were loaded into John's car and on the highway in moments.

John: alright sweetheart you and I have a few things that we need to do number 1 we need to stick together and if we get seperated we stay in ear and eye shot

Yn: number 2 we knock these wolves off their asses and are in Vegas by tomorrow afternoon to be married

john: so you hve it all figured out do you?

yn: yep and we will live our lives for as long as they may last!

john: i say lets get there first and then kick their asses

john continues to drive and you realize that there is a huge chance that your father will disown you anyway and you dont care

john after about an hour of driving stops after he catches something out of the corner of his eye

yn: why are we stopping?

john: cause we are being followed!

yn: by what

john pulls out his handheld and checks the chamber, you also check your handheld and load a few more into the chamber

john: im pretty sure its the target and we are going to fool this thing into thinking its won, and when it gets close enough we will be able to hopefully kill it and be in vegas by tomorrow morning!

Yn: I love this idea and I love the man who came up with it now let's kill this thing so we can get married

John left the car running as you both slowly got out of the car, his eyes went wide at the sight of a large werewolf chowing down on a deer.

Yn: oh my god

John puts a hand on your arm which halts you as it turns to look at you...

John: no sudden movements maybe it won't attack us

Yn: John are you crazy, we are just making it easy for this thing to kill us

John: relax baby girl, it's gonna be just fine

You watch the werewolf now stand on its hind legs and begin to stalk towards you and John...

Yn: I yn take you John as my husband now and forever more as long as we both shall live everything I am/have is now yours

John now realizing what you have just said smiles as the wolf stalks now in striking distance of you and John making his final approach...

John: I John take you YN as my wife now and forever more as long as we both shall live everything I am/have is now yours

John now locks hands with you as he pulls you to stand behind him as he shoots the werewolf with 3 silver bullets one in his arm, one in his leg and one in his back...

John: lets take this one down for good

Yn: and then we go back to the hotel so I can clean out my car and we can make those vows legal

You were now holding your machete as John held your hand to slowly approach and be ready for anything...

John: careful it might still retaliate.

You were ready but first swing it shoved you back and you hit the ground landing on your arm.

You screamed in pain as it shot right up your arm and into your muscles...

John: that's my fiance you beast, now feel my wrath

That's when John shot the beast straight in-between it's eyes it howled as it fell backward dead

John was at your side in seconds

John: how bad does it hurt baby

Yn: my arm John I think it's broken...

John: well lets go clean out your car but first let's put your arm in a make shift sling so we can clean out your car and get to the hospital asap

John then removed his shirt, tore it into long strands

Yn: John you didn't have to use your shirt

John: it's all good baby girl you are way more important than my shirt let's get your arm slings then I will help steady you enough for you to chop off this beasts head

John helps you to stand up and helps you cut off the beasts head. of which John takes and throws it toward the car.

You feel John remove your ballistic vest and gently take your broken arm placing one piece of us torn shirt under neath it and tying it around your neck.

John: lets stand you up so I can tie this second strand around your slinged arm

John grabs your good hand and helps you to stand up, once your on your feet John ties the second piece of his torn shirt around your slinged arm securing it around your waist to ensure that your arm doesn't move

John: alright babe, let's get to the car...

John made sure to grab the equipment putting them in the car before making sure your in the car safe and sound before getting in himself.

John: how does it feel baby

Yn: ugh I can't believe I got hurt... my father is gonna consider this a failure doesn't matter what happens

John: so just cause you got hurt he will still consider this a failure even though you still bring back the head.

Yn: yes he will

John: no offense babe but your father sounds like a great big bag of dicks

You wince slightly as John turns the corner

John: sorry babe

Yn: its okay let's just go get packed up and check out so we can go to the hospital as soon as possible

You sat there and didn't even notice as John stopped at the motel and started unloading the room and your car of all the stuff and then he went to give the key back to the lady at the desk.

John came back a while later and handed you a flask which he opened and you chugged the entire thing.

John: better?

Yn: much now let's go to the hospital my arm hurts like a mother fucker

John laughed as he pulled out of the parking lot and away from the motel

Yn: you really tied down my arm, where...?

John: did I learn that, I was in the military years ago... I am just glad that my skills come in handy.

John smiled hanging his arm around your form as gentle as possible as he drove within reason to the hospital.

Once there he got out helping you slide out and walk up to the door and upon seeing the shape and state of you and John the nurses ushered you both into an examination area and began to treat the wounds...

Nurse: sir did you make this sling?

John: yes I did

Nurse: let me guess military?

John: good guess! It's broken I'm pretty sure anyway we were hiking and she slipped and fell I got hurt sliding down the hill to help her.

Nurse: well your efforts are indeed helpful cause if left out of a sling her arm could have been much worse now ill bring in the doctor and the x ray machine and we will have you both out of here in no time.

As the nurse left the exam room you felt John's hand engulf your own.

John: at least the hunt is done and we can take the head back to your father after the wedding tomorrow.

Yn: he's gonna probably grill the living hell out of you

John: and I'll dish back to him what he dishes to me, cause nothing is gonna stop me living the rest of my life with you

You smile leaning your head on John's hand as he brought it up to caress your cheek.

Yn: I love you too

That's ofcourse when the doctor and the nurse entered the room with a cart and a machine and such stuff.

Doc: my name is dr. Steven, I am going to be patching up yn and I understand you 2 are to be married congratulations! Now yn I know it's painful for you to do this but I need you to put your arm on the x ray bed for me so we can take a clear x ray of your broken arm.

With John's hand engulfing your good one, you loosened up a bit to allow the doc to take your arm and place it on the x ray bed.

Yn: damn it this hurts..

Dr: just a few more seconds yn your doing great

You squeezed John's hand with your good one and felt nothing but love from him.

Steven: alright x ray is all done while those results are coming in we will get you casted and slinged up

Yn: it hurts so much, John we are never going hiking again

John laughs and puts his arm round your waist

John: well not anytime soon anyway and certainly not on a steep hill.

Yn: can we just find someone closer than driving to Vegas to be wed

That's when the nurse spoke up and her words shocked you both

Nurse: well I can probably provide a solution to your not wanting to sit in a car for hours to vegas

Yn: what do you mean

Nurse: im a marriage commissioner means I can marry people, I always have a variety of wedding bands on my person just in case the occasion needs for it

You look at John who just smiles

John: that's very generous of you miss but why would

Nurse: cause I know young love when I see it besides I can't make my own life any better than by helping 2 people who walk into hospital to not have to drive over to Vegas. To introduce myself properly my name is Sheila

Yn: its a pleasure thank you so much

Sheila: no problem now dr Steven should take your fiance to do the paper work while I get you casted and slinged.

You lean into John's kiss to your forehead and watched as he and Dr Steven left the room

Sheila: okay let's get you into a fun cast

Yn: fun?

Sheila: okay so do you want rainbow, or some sort of color combo or you want to be surprised.

You look toward the door and smile

Yn: rainbow, I want rainbow it will make the best out of my sitchuation being to the fact that I probably won't be celebrating my wedding night properly till my arm is healed.

Sheila: just a few weeks but what will you and John

Yn: I'm sure we will come up with something.

*after the casting and slinging and paperwork, you and John stood up in the little hospital chapel in front of Sheila and prepared your vows to the respects along the lines of what you said on the road.*

Sheila: alright say what you both feel

You take John's hand with your good one and smile

Yn: John I always knew I was destined for something greater than just getting a bachelor's and whatever else but what I never expected is to find myself completely and totally in love with you. I can't see myself living any part of my life without you by my side so today I vow to love you with all i am, honor every single choice and decision you make even if it concerns me not, cherish every single precious day with you and to live every day one step at a time with you for us and all we do, always and forever

You fiddle with John's band while he wipes his eye a bit and clears his throat.

John: yn, I never ever thought I'd be at the alter again, not in a million years did I ever see this happening but here I am with the most wonderful amazing woman I've ever seen. You face adversity with a smile and that makes me happy so today I vow to love you with all I am, protect you with everything in my being, respect you and all your choices even if they do not concern me, cherish every single day with you and to live every day with you like it's our last for now always and forever.

Sheila: I now under the blessing of the church pronounce you both husband and wife. you may now kiss the bride

John takes you by the waist and kisses you ferociously

Sheila: alright so here's the paperwork and once you both sign it I will send this off to the state office and your marriage certificate will be sent to an address of your choosing.

John: I have the perfect place.

John writes down the address to send it too and signs his name right above yours.

John: well shall we go wife

Yn: we shall husband. We have a bit of a drive to see my folks

Sheila: didn't tell them did you?

You shake your head

Yn: no they kinda parted from me on a odd terms along with my parents we are also gonna see my 4 brothers.

Sheila: older or younger?

Yn: 3 older the 4th one is my twin

John looks at you and then you realize that you hadn't mentioned that

John: twin huh?

Yn: yes I'm sorry I didn't tell you

John: it's alright

Then he extends his hand to Sheila and Dr Steven both who accept it with smiles.

John: thank you both for everything

Sheila: no problem

Dr Steven: our pleasure and congratulations on the nuptuals. You both are lucky to have eachother.

Yn: thank you Dr Steven, Sheila, I wouldn't be on my way to healing fully if not for you guys.

With smiles and pleasantries exchanged you and John walked out of the hospital and to the car, John helped you get in before going round to get in himself.

John: come on snuggle up ill drive us to just outside your hometown and I'll wake you when we get there or if we have to stop ill wake you.

Yn: sounds good to me, john

John looks at you

Yn: I love you and I know whatever happens I'm in good hands.

John: just rest wife, we will need all our strength to face your family

John said calmly as his hand held your good one and you snuggled against his side and soon your soft snores filled the car, as John drove to just inside your home town.

John pulled over and placed a kiss to your forehead

John: hey babe we are in your town. Shall you tell me where we are going?

You pull up your phones GPS and set it as you straighten out and kinda adjust your hair.

John: just stop you look beautiful

Yn: thanks babe but my dad expects perfection

John: thats horrible. want me to straighten him up

yn: its fine babe, just follow the road and my gps will tell you when to turn.

john held your hand as he continued down the road and about 15 more minutes of driving later you saw the sign and the gate... you ushered for john to stop in front of the gate and you went to press the call button in your access tones.

about seconds later the gate opened. you watched as john drove inside. the party to greet you in the driveway was your brothers your mother and your father.

you watch as john gets out first and grabs the head in the box placing it on the ground in front of your family before coming to help you out of the car.

your twin brother comes up and immediately hugs you gently and warmly.

Greg: welcome home sister

yn: thanks bro, this man is my husband John, john this is my twin brother Greg!

they shake hands and then greg looks at the head in the box.

greg: congratulations sis you did good, in my eyes anyway!

thats when you hear the sound of your father clearing his throat, you back away from your twin and go stand directly against johns form his hand on your shoulder the wedding bands fully visible and shining in the sunlight.

father: what the fuck is this?

yn: the box has the head in it, i got injured and john who is also a hunter was nice enough to help. the car you guys sent me off in was destroyed, my arm is broken and yes father john and i got married. i forsaw this.

your father now with an angry epression on his features takes the final steps toward you, but when he saw you not moving he pulled his firearm.

yn: dad what are you doing

father: he isnt good enough for my little princess.

yn: dad i havent been your little princess since you gave me my first firearm. dont assume that im still that same little girl, cause im not and for the record i know what you did to Marleen.

he drops his gaze for a moment and then tranqs it back to you.

father: you know about her?

yn: mom showed me a photo of her holding me and greg as babies, how dare you kill my sister just cause she got married

your father was shocked when he realized that you now held your firearm toward him.

john: if i may sir, i asked your daughter, she said yes, it was during the time i was saving her, no one knows how long we have and it should count that i saved your daughters life.

your father takes one step toward john but is stopped by my mother getting in the way.

derek: get out of the way suzie

suzanna: no derek look at the chaos you always bring whenever our children return and we cant blame our daughter for trying to be happy. i gave you a chance years ago to turn your life around get help, seek anger managment and yet you continue to be a fucking dumbass.

derek: what did you say?

yn: its true you need to back the fuck off, john and i drove all through the night after being in the hospital for several hours, we need to rest. greg can you take the bags to the guest house and grab the padlock. i dont want to be disturbed with john as we stay there.

john: give me the gun yn

you hand John the gun as John now scoops you into his arms and then faces your father in a stare down

John: look sir I don't give a crap how you run things but you are through giving my wife orders. She took my last name, im her husband, end of story. And what's more I'll progress her training further than ever before anyone who wants to join us can but right now my wife and I need sleep.

Suzanna: welcome to family John, it's good to meet you Greg help your brother in law move him and your sister into the guest house and fortify it so your father can't enter.

Greg: gladly mom...

*after Greg helped you and John get settled he left you both alone. You sat in the chair and looked at the door ad if expecting someone to barge through it... but soon John had you eating a meal he made and he had you getting all cozy for a days rest and relaxation*

Laying in the bed was not comfortable so John unfolded the futon and made you smile.

Yn: what's the plan here babe

John: well I figure I can sleep sitting up enough that you can use me as a bed and the futon is the best place for that.

Yn: but what

John: your twin left a few body pillows and things of such nature to try and make things more comfortable for you while you recover, he will come by in the morning to see how we are doing.

You lean up to kiss John as he smiles through the kiss.

Yn: thanks babe, I can't wait till I'm healed so we can go on a proper honeymoon!

John: well it's our legacy now we can do whatever we want! And till your injured I'm at your service.

That began a very vigorous makeout session. Which led into sleeping comfortably and in complete bliss.

~to be continued~

[shinysamurott9]

How I nuked my 400 Hour Save of Pokemon Heartgold

So, recently I've been playing through the Pokemon Generations doing a Ribbon Master Quest, obtaining every Ribbon a single or set of Pokemon can possibly obtain by sending them up through the series. Just yesterday I was on the tail end of finishing the Gen 4 segment of the challenge.

I have a team of 5 Ribbon Masters currently; Mushi, my Shiny Heracross from Pokemon Colosseum which I hunted specifically for this Ribbon Master Quest, Velos and Seibzehn, a Latios and Metagross I raised to use in Emerald's Battle Frontier, Sparda, my Shiny Arceus I hunted using the void glitch in Pearl and Nero, my Shiny Giratina from Sinjoh Ruins. The only ribbons left for them to get was the Legend Ribbon for beating Red and most pertinent to this story, the World Ability Ribbon.

For those unaware, the World Ability Ribbon is obtained by reaching Rank 5 or higher in the Wifi Room in Gen 4's Battle Tower. Despite what you may think, this is still obtainable thanks to fan made servers which restore old wifi functionalities in Generations 4 & 5. The thing is though the Wifi room is bullshit. The opponents you fight are recorded teams from other players and unfortunately, on top of the highly optimised teams you’ll encounter, you'll also encounter many teams of blatantly hacked stuff like Machamps with OHKO Moves or Sturdy Shedinjas.

This is where I mention the fact that I just so happen to have a modded 3ds, which, among other things, let's me backup save data. So since the game was blatantly cheating anyway, I decided "Fuck it, I'm cheating too". How I did this was to fight one battle in the Wifi Room, and after winning, I'd use the rest option to save and exit the game. Then I'd backup that save file, so if I lost the next battle, I could restore that backup and try again, letting me continue my streak. A slow process but it would mean eventually, I would be able to climb the ranks high enough to get the World Ability Ribbon.

As you can imagine though, I was doing this process of reloading and backing up a lot, and at one point I restored a file incorrectly, taking out the game too early, causing the file to go blank. No problem I'll just restore the file again and if I was competent, that's wherethis would have ended. But, because of how much I was using Checkpoint, my muscle memory got a lite crosswired, so instead of restoring my file, I made a new backup over it, effectively erasing the entire thing.

For reference this included:

400 hrs of Gameplay, A Pokedex roughly 2/3rds complete, A fully developed Safari Zone, Several Pokemon from my various Gen 4 Playthroughs over the years, Every Arceus Plate, (Which are actually pretty difficult to get in HGSS), All 5 of my Ribbon Masters

And perhaps worst of all, my entire collection of Gen 4 shinies. This included:

My near back to back Shiny Luxio and Luxray from Platinum,

A shiny Darkrai and Shaymin I hunted with the Void Glitch

Several Radar and Safari Week Shinies

And a shiny of each Sinjoh Dragon.

Needless to say I was both pissed and devestated. There was some consolation, since I had backups of Gen 3 and Platinum, my Ribbon Masters and Battle Tower mons were safe. Everything else though, initially I was resigned to either losing them forever or trying very likely in vain to recreate as much as I could in PKHex which has it's own issues both logistically and ensuring they were legal, not helped at all by how bad the legality checker in PKHex actually is.

BUT

There was, one, just one saving grace. Fucking POKEMON BATTLE REVOLUTION

The way that Battle Revolution works is that you connect a Gen 4 Save File and it will make an exact copy of your boxes so you can use them in BR's various Colosseums. And of course I just so happened to have copied my boxes from HG a few months ago just after Safari Week meaning every pokemon I had nuked still existed! I had to hack my Wii U to dump the save file but because of that I was able to completely restore almost every single pokemon by copy pasting them back onto Heartgold.

Obviously still lost a lot in other areas but I really can't complain considering what I managed to restore.

As a sidenote, there was a similar incident way back where I accidentally erased my friend's Ruby Master File no shinieswere lost just a lot of progress. I think his reaction speaks for itself.

[mrs-solo-walker]

Promis - August,

Warning : explicit smut, mention of blood, wounds, 18+

Words : 2779

August escapes from the helicopter before the hydraulic hoses break, with last power he can save himself from Hunt and arrives badly injured in New York.

\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~

Promis? Promis!

“Walker, you only ever show up here when you need something from me. I’m not one of your little whores who welcome you back with open arms.

I have better things to do than to keep patching you up only to disappear again without a word, and last year you disappeared completely.”

His expression darkened, August couldn’t stand being criticized at all and certainly not now, he reached for her arm.

“What are you going to do Walker are you going to break it for me? If you want me to look at it and treat it I’m going to need it.”

He let go of her.

“You’re still not afraid of me.” His deep brown eyes flashed.

His voice still gave her goosebumps, as deep as if a demon lived inside him. Probably he was that demon himself. A good looking one had to let Mother Nature, with him she wanted to show what she had. He knew his effect on the ladies. Good looks paired with charm and a demonic soul that could not have been more sadistic that went over dead bodies as long as it served his cause.

“Fuck you Walker, have you looked at yourself in the mirror? Go take a shower and we’ll see.”

Abi closed the bathroom door behind him and heard him gasp followed by a loud fuck, fuck, fuck. He seemed to have been hit worse than usual.

She prepared everything to fix him up and waited. Abi looked out the window into the gloomy rainy weather. It was on a day like this five years ago that she met Walker in New York.

\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~

“Such lousy weather.”

She leaned against the counter of a diner and ordered coffee from a pimply teen.

“Excuse me?”

“I said a large coffee with milk and sugar please.”

Bored, he poured coffee into a paper cup.

“Awesome cardboard.” She thought to herself and abruptly the anticipation of a good coffee disappeared.

“Milk and sugar is right there, that’ll be four dollars.”

“Can I take that?”

Walker smiled at her, his deep brown eyes shining. What a mountain of a man in a damn good fitting suit that suggested a well-toned body.

“Thanks but how do I get the honor.”

“You’re the first friendly face I’ve seen all day.”

His voice was barely audible but palpable. Abi was confused, she felt a tingling all over her body what the hell was that.

“Let’s sit down.” Walker pointed to a free table by the window.

That tone of voice, she took a deep breath to continue to concoct.

“August, August Walker.”

“Abigail Bennet.”

“And what are you up to Abigail Bennet when you’re not drinking bad coffee out of a paper cup in a diner in bad weather.”

“I’m sitting in the diner three blocks away drinking good coffee in the patio in sunny weather.”

"I'd love to take you out to dinner, but I have an appointment right now that will take about an hour. What do you say I pick you up later?" He touched her hand with his index finger.

Without giving it a second thought, she wrote her address and phone number on a napkin for him.

“You’re welcome.”

“I’m sure we can get better coffee there, too.”

They said goodbye on the street. What had just happened? She had never just given out her address and phone number like that before. This guy absolutely had charisma.

When he rang her doorbell later, she invited him in.

“We both know where this is going to end up, do we want to skip dinner? Walker took off his coat and loosened his tie. He didn’t wait for an answer from Abi, but pushed her against the wall.

“Well?”

As Abi was about to answer, he kissed her and slipped his hand into her panties.

“You seem to have been waiting for me.”

His index finger rubbed her clit.

She moaned out.

“Do you want me to stop? I don’t think so, though. Do you? Turn around.”

He pressed her face against the wall, Abi heard him unbuckle his belt and before she could realize that her most secret fantasy was just coming true he was penetrating her centimeter by centimeter. He had a huge cock that he hammered into her over and over again with powerful thrusts.

“Do you want to come? Go ahead, beg me to let you come. You want it, I can feel it.”

“Please, let me come… please.”

As he thrust he touched her clit again and gave her what she asked for as she stood against the wall with soft, trembling knees trying to get her breath back, he was breathing heavier and with a deep groan he came into her.

They didn’t go out to dinner that night, nor did they leave her apartment for the next three days.

\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~*\~

“Abi, Abigail? Where the fuck are you with your thoughts?”

She startled when she noticed him.

“Sit down. Let’s see what we have here.”

His body was littered with deep wounds, grazes and bruises one larger than the other. Abi put some swabs in a bowl and soaked them with disinfectant.

He puffed through them.

“Fuck. Damn.”

“That’s going to take some time to heal. I’ll have to stitch up the two big ones and from the looks of it you definitely bruised two ribs massively, if not broken. Walker what did you get into?”

“Helicopter crash and Hunt. Damn. Can I stay with you for a few days?”

“Hold on I’ll be right back.” Abi went into the next room.

“Well who’s up baby boy are you hungry?”

Walker heard from the baby monitor that was on the table. He went after her and stood in the open doorway.

“Is that yours?”

“It is.”

“How old?”

“Just under three months. Sit down, I’ll be right back for you.”

Walker sat down grasping his side in pain.

“Fuck, you got something for the pain there?”

“I did. Wait a minute.”

She cradled him and Walker watched, completely fascinated. Abi sat down on the rocking chair and gave him a breast.

“What’s his name?

“Eli Walker Bennet.”

“Walker?”

“It’s not unusual for boys to be named like their daddy.”

“Say that again.”

"His name is like his daddy"

“Is that what it means?”

“That’s what it means. You August Walker, you’re his daddy.”

“Fuck.”

“That’s what I thought when I got the positive test in my hand.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mister I’ve only slept with you for the last five years.”

“Why didn’t you come forward?”

“I have, three times, once when I found out, then in between, and the last time I went into labor. If you never check your voicemail it’s not my fault.”

“Damn. And you never considered abortion?”

“Not for a second, I couldn’t have you in my life, but I could have your child.”

Abi buttoned up, laid the baby on her belly, and put a blanket over him. Walker stared at the two of them. Smiled and shook his head.

“And all this now of all times.”

“Don’t worry about it, you’re not obligated to anything. Not to him, let alone to me. That was a decision I made solely for me. And you Walker have never been one for interpersonal relationships and longer-term bonds, you’ve made that clear to me often enough.”

Abi put Eli back to bed as he slept.

“Come let him sleep.”

“Just a minute.”

Walker stood by the bed and stroked his cheek.

“You do have human emotions after all.”

“Fuck. Don’t make me laugh. Fuck.”

Walker walked up to Abi, grabbed her by the arm and went to kiss her, Abi pulled his head away. Abi wanted to kiss him, wanted to tell him she wanted him by her side, that she loved him. But she kept silent, by now she knew it was better to keep her mouth shut and not reveal so much of her inner self.

“Come sew you.”

Abi anesthetized the areas as well as possible, cleaned everything thoroughly, stitched and bandaged him, gave him painkillers.

“Here take these and then go to sleep. From the looks of you, you haven’t gotten much of that in the last few days either.”

“Thank you.”

He gave her a kiss on the cheek and went to lie down on the sofa.

“No nothing off to the bedroom with you. If you need anything let me know.”

Walker dragged himself to the bedroom, this time it had gotten him really bad very bad.

And if Ethan Hunt and thus the IMF were involved he had much bigger problems than just his physical condition.

When Abi checked on him in between, he was sound asleep, not even noticing her fetching pillows and blankets. The night was quiet, Eli slept on her stomach as usual. When she woke up because he was whining, she noticed Walker sitting across from her on the coffee table, watching her.

“Quiet. I need to change his diaper, I’ll be right back.”

By the time she sat back down on the sofa, Eli was in a really bad mood and yelling.

“You’re not going fast enough again, you must get that from Daddy.”

Walker grinned. Abi nursed Eli.

“Well go with us.”

Abi took a breath.

“How long have you been sitting here?”

“A while. Seeing you like this has been the most peaceful thing in a long time.”

“Come on Walker go back to bed. We’re doing fine without you.”

“Maybe. but I no longer without you.”

“Now slow down, you’re full of painkillers don’t say anything you might have to take back because you’re not sorry for anything.”

Walker puffed.

“Hmmm I guess I deserved that.”

He stood up and dragged himself to the bedroom. After Eli fell back asleep she brought the crib into the living room and laid him in it. Her sleep was dreamless but restful for the first time in a long time, she was awakened by babbling and giggling. When she opened her eyes Walker was bent over the cradle laughing at the top of his lungs.

“You guys seem to be having fun.”

“Did we wake you?”

“No, no.”

Abi stretched and yawned.

“Dry he is, I don’t have the equipment for the rest.”

“Great. Can you watch him for five minutes.”

“Sure, take your time.”

Abi went to the shower just a quick shower and hair wash all in one, pure luxury.

When Abi came back into the living room Walker had fallen asleep with Eli on his stomach like she always did.

Tears were in her eyes, this was what she always wanted, but knowing this would all be short lived was worse than never having seen it.

Abi found it hard to get away from that image, but she had to, now.

As she dressed in the bedroom, Walker stood in the doorway.

“The Pregnancy has made you even more beautiful.”

“Please get out.”

“You sure?”

He eyed her from bottom to top.

“All right.”

For the first time since she’d known him, he accepted the first No. Was hell freezing over, or what was happening here right now.

The thought was abruptly interrupted by Eli’s screaming.

“I’m coming, I’m coming. Hey baby boy, that hungry? Well, let’s go.”

She took the little screaming bundle out of the crib and gave him the breast.

Walker put a pillow in her back.

“Better?”

“Yes thank you.”

The man was suddenly caring; she wouldn’t be surprised if bloody rain fell from the sky.

“When Eli is asleep I’ll change your bandages. Who messed you up like that?”

“I fucked up thoroughly, fuck. There’s probably every intelligence agency in the world behind me here.”

“Oh, and you don’t know any better than to come to me?”

“Abi if I’d known that, I wouldn’t have come.”

“I can guess that.”

“Not because we have the baby. It’s because we don’t want to endanger you.”

“Because we have the baby? Walker you should think about what you’re saying very carefully.”

Abi stroked Eli’s back and looked deeply into Walker’s eyes, for the first time he couldn’t withstand it and looked away her heart pounded to her throat. She put her hand on his cheek, Walker snuggled up.

“Walker what’s wrong with you?”

The man kneeling in front of her, resting his head in her lap was not the August Walker she knew. Walker was strong, never showing weakness, never showing what was really going on inside him.

Abi stroked through his full curly brown hair.

“Walker, let me put Eli down.”

“Just a minute.”

“Walker. Look at me.”

His dark brown eyes looked tired. No trace of the usually deep unfathomable sparkle.

“What?”

He said nothing, just looked at her. Abi stroked him on the back.

“Come on, I need to check your bandages.”

Walker stood up with a groan.

“Fuck damn.”

Abi laid Eli down in the crib, sound asleep.

“Take a deep breath in and out. Is that okay?”

“Yeah it doesn’t feel like it’s broken, more like a massive bruise and sore muscles.”

“So far so good. Sit down.”

Carefully, Abi pulled off the bandages.

“That all looks pretty good. But six to eight weeks especially with the ribs, you’ll be out of commission. I’m going to see if I can get some antibiotics just to be safe.”

“You know I never ask, I take what I want, but can I stay with you?”

“Sure.”

Walker tried to hug her, Abi blocked him, that among other things was one of her weak points, once she was in his arms almost crushed by his enormous biceps and put her head against his hairy powerful chest, his smell in her nose she couldn’t think straight.

“Fuck Abi what’s your problem?”

“Like you really care Walker, just keep your hands off me. I’m going to go lay down now too as long as Eli is sleeping, it’s probably going to be a restless night.”

Abi pushed the cradle into the bedroom lay down and a few moments later she was asleep.

Eli started to whine so she got him into bed with her.

The door opened quietly and Walker entered the room.

“I heard the baby and came to check on you guys.”

“You should get some sleep, too.”

“It’s okay.”

“Lie down here, the sofa isn’t that comfortable now.”

They both lay facing each other in the middle the baby it couldn’t have been nicer.

Abi looked at the two most important men in her life. It hurt her so much that she started to cry bitterly. She pressed her face into the blanket so that neither the baby woke up nor Walker heard anything.

“Tell me what’s wrong, Princess.”

“Walker leave your false interest, I have no nerve for your games. My concerns and needs have never really interested you. Let’s leave it at that.

“I have always attended to your needs with absolute satisfaction.”

“Quite unselfishly, of course.”

Abi reached for a tissue.

“Of course not, but you can’t deny that your body sang when I fucked you.”

“I’ve always been an open book to you.”

“Open and willing. You should have seen how fantastic my cock looked in your pussy. I even still have the videos.”

Abi noticed how she blushed and Walker laughed.

“You were always special to me that way.”

“But it was never enough for anything more.”

She cried bitterly into her blanket.

Walker sat down with her and took the blanket from her.

“Princess.”

He put his index finger under her chin, lifted it, wiped away her tears.

“Listen to me, I’m going to say this exactly once. Got it?”

Abi nodded. Her whole body shook.

“I will take care of you and the baby, no one will ever be able to come between us, trust me and now kiss the hell out of me.”

Abi hesitated. She wanted to believe him so badly but after all this time and without even a sign of life from him.

“I thought I had lost you.”

“I will never leave you alone longer than necessary again.”

Eli reported, after three hours of sleep he probably had a full diaper and an empty stomach.

Abi wiped tears from her face and took Eli in her arms.

“You two are my priority, I promise.”

Walker kissed her whether she wanted to or not, and finally she gave in. She had longed for his soft lips for far too long.

“I’ve missed you so much Walker.”

“Now I’m back and it’s going to be okay.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

[sineala]

OMG THANK YOU for creating the instructions for the AO3 compile template from Scrivener - it saved me hunting down italics and line breaks and all the BS I used to have to do with formatting each chapter. Happy writing!

I can't believe I got this ask while answering the last ask about Scrivener, but anyway, you're very welcome; I'm glad the Compile Format I made works for you.

The compile system changed radically between Scrivener 2 and 3, and I never actually learned much about how to use the compile system in Scrivener 2; I just exported my work in a different format and used an AO3 converter I'd found for that format, which was a tedious number of steps and required multiple programs.

So when Scrivener 3 came out, I thought, "Okay, no, I'm actually going to figure this out," and then I spent several hours reading the manual, trying to make a Compile Format, and then writing down what I did in case I ever forgot it. And it basically works for my needs.

Someone who knows more than I do can probably modify it to add things like bolding -- I mean, it's probably possible -- but I only want scene breaks and italics most of the time, so that was what I did.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Cauldron IOTA

Well. That was ... more than I was expecting it to be. I mean, the Cauldron too, but also just ... everything I ended up doing the last few hours. Sometimes Horizon Forbidden West is just ... chasing campfires is like chasing related links on Wikipedia - it never ends, and it takes you to places you don't necessarily expect.

Right. Big crevice through there, maybe that'll help. But I'll approach from above because something's going to be guarding...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand you're all standing just out of view. Fine. I will jump into this bush and then I will quietly murder you.

Ah, here we go. Wow; this thing's a fair bit more heavily guarded than the last one. Maybe they used beasties to give us the problems instead of just ... accessibility?

Okay, they're using both, but this could be worse...

You want me to do WHAT?!?

First attempt: failure. THIS IS NOT MY FAULT I WAS PRESSING THE BUTTON AND ALOY WOULD NOT JUMP GAH I HATE THIS. Well, at least I didn't die-die. I guess those few Survivor passives I picked up were worth it.

Second attempt: Success! Okay, now can I finally go into the Cauldron? THANK you.

Right. What's going to come at me? Rollerback, if I remember right. What don't Rollerbacks like? Purgewater? Acid? I'll go for one of each. Why not? I craft traps; may as well use them.

Oh the traps were a good thing because that came out of nowhere so lemme just step out of the way so I can shoot when it's weakened from--

...Did ... did I just one-shot a Rollerback with an acid trap? I mean, okay, it was an advanced acid trap, but... Wow. I should set up trapped sniper's nests more often.

Right. It couldn't be that easy, could it. Now, how do I get down without dying? Okay, here we go.

Wait.

Waitwut.

Waitwutno.

AAAAAAAAAAAA!

Okay got through that first time! Great! Now ... onward to clearing ... debris ... off a Tallneck head.

Okay, so I am supposed to just jump on its head. Okay.

So I just ride this head to-- Oh, FUCK OFF!

First attempt: failure. And actual death because I didn't prioritise the one with the ranged concussive blasts that can knock me off the damn Tallneck head. AIM BETTER, IDIOT.

Second attempt: success! Managed to one-shot everything, so that's good.

Right. Compared to some of the jumping puzzle shit I've been doing, this is easy. And I actually get to climb the Tallneck this time! I used to get a bit stressed over those, but seriously - compared to some of this shit? EASY.

TALLNEEEEEEEECK! And that just ... unlocked ... everything I'd already unlocked through exploration anyway. But never mind!

Okay, collecting campfires I missed last time and I think there's some greenshine and a data entry around here somewhere--

Wait. Wut.

Where the fuck did this Thunderjaw come from, and why the fuck is it charging right for me when I wasn't anywhere near it?!?

...Wait. Does that say APEX?!?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Okay. Fine. That's done. Greenshine. Sommeliers complaining. Stuff.

GO AWAY YOU LUNATIC MACHINES I WAS ONLY TRYING TO HUNT OWLS.

Look, Chargers, stop staring at me; I was only trying to shoot the damn goose! Okay, fine, you die too.

There's a ... Tremortusk out there? I WANNA SEE-- Oh. They're saving that for boss battle or something, aren't they. Boo.

But at least there's greenshine behind some firegleam and... Wait. Did that just give me the option to catch the salmon? Like, with my hands or something? I may have preferred shooting them but this'll do! POUCH UPGRADES!

Right. Question mark over there and... Oh. Rebels. They're probably guarding a campfire or something; lemme just get those out of my way and--

Oh.

I just ... started ... a rebel camp side quest. By accident. Oh well; never leave a job half-finished!

I really love it when none of them get a shot off at me. More tags. I will figure out what those are for eventually. Maybe even without Googling it. (I lie - I will almost definitely Google it because the curiosity is killing me.)

Okay. Right. Yes. I really need to log off now. Just lemme get to a shelter and-- YES! POUCH UPGRADES! Fine, it's regular ammo only, but I'll find moonfish eventually. AND I got to upgrade my short-range combat bow, because one-shotted Rollerback!

So a day in which I got stuff done, virtually speaking. Hell, I got Motherfucking Adult Stuff done too; took out the garbage and cleaned out the fridge in preparation for the groceries arriving tomorrow. This month has some gloriousness; there's going to be roast chicken and roast pork, and I am going to boil the chicken bones for stock (with herbs out of my very own little balcony-and-windowsill garden), and the leftovers will probably go into a jambalaya-ish sort of thing, or maybe a couple of batches of risotto. And I have fixings for chilli, and for bolognaise sauce. Add some gluten-free breaded chicken fillets (for lazy chicken katsu curry) and some of the long-life usuals (tinned tuna and frozen broccoli for the tuna broccoli lemon pasta, stuff like that), and with the occasional stop for fresher ingredients, I will eat well this month, and possibly on into next month.

I also treated myself to some coffee ice cream and fixings for French toast, because Being A Motherfucking Adult means you can have treats if you want them. And it's been a hard week.