#and it's not anthropophagy because that's a bird | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kaesaaurelia · 5 years ago

Text

she takes a forced toll

For @whumptober2019 day 27: ransom.

Continuation of day 18 (muffled scream) and day 21 (laced drink)

Content warning for anthropophagy (eating people)

Aziraphale vs Grendel’s mother (who is a demon OC); A/C undertones but Crowley’s unconscious for this so.

"What did you do to Crowley?" he shouted, drawing his knife and springing at Nisroc. It wasn't a very large knife, but it was what he had on him, and Crowley was slumped over the table as if he was dead, and Nisroc -- she only laughed. "What was in that ale?"

"Nothing you didn't have in yours, Aziraphale, only I forgot I taught you that neat little trick you can do with your liver to sober up fast back in Ur, didn't I? But you didn't teach your little friend over there."

Aziraphale felt ill now, although it was because of guilt, not poison. He had indeed kept a miracle running to stay sober as he drank with Nisroc, since Crowley'd been so suspicious of her from the start. He'd assumed Crowley could do the same thing, but apparently it hadn't occurred to him.

Nisroc waved a hand and Crowley was bound neatly. She looked up at him with smug delight. "What will you give me for him?"

"What?" Aziraphale asked. "What makes you think I'd give you anything for -- he's not even my friend!"

"Right, sure," said Nisroc, smirking. "That's why he was emitting enough Envy to damn a monastery or three while we were hanging out, yeah. Or do you mean he's more than--"

"I'm not giving you anything," said Aziraphale. "What makes you think I can't just take him and go?" He had a knife, after all.

"Aw. Really? You're gonna fight me with that little knife?"

Aziraphale turned to get Crowley, keeping the knife pointed at Nisroc. "No, I'm going to --"

"Nah. Try again." She grabbed his wrist and pressed into his palm with her thumb, the sharp talon slicing through his skin easily. He dropped the knife, and pulled his hand away from her with difficulty.

"Look, what do you want?" Aziraphale asked, taking a few steps back. If it was something small...

"Get my son into Heaven," said Nisroc, and she looked -- she looked serious.

Never mind, then. "I can't do that, they'd -- they'd -- I'd Fall," said Aziraphale. If not when he got to Heaven, before that in the process of lugging Grendel up there.

"Not -- I mean I know they'd never let him in the front door, you idiot," said Nisroc. "Smuggle him in somehow."

"How?" Aziraphale demanded.

"I don't know! You're smart, you think of something," said Nisroc. "But that's what I want."

"You know that's mad, Nisroc. You know that's absolutely -- he's an abomination! He's half-human, isn't he?"

"He's my son!" she snarled. "He didn't -- I didn't know it was going to be --"

"He eats people. You send him out to --"

"He doesn't know they're people!" shouted Nisroc. "I didn't tell him, he only -- he doesn't speak any human languages." She was crying now. "He thinks -- he thinks they're just -- you know. Beasts. It'd break his heart to know, and he can't -- he can't survive without them, so..."

"So you just didn't tell him," finished Aziraphale. He pitied her, he did, but he couldn't fix this.

She wiped tears out of her eyes with the palms of her hands, careful to keep the talons away from them. "Please, he's a good, sweet boy, he doesn't understand..."

"Nisroc, they would slaughter him as soon as he was discovered," said Aziraphale. "They would destroy him."

"So you won't even fucking try," said Nisroc. "Fine. You don't get your friend back."

"He's not my friend," said Aziraphale.

"Cool, cool, that's fine," said Nisroc. She picked up the knife Aziraphale'd dropped, and started towards Crowley.

"What are you doing?" Aziraphale asked.

She shrugged, her wings shifting. "Oh, well, if he's not your friend it's fine if I use his bones for broth stock --"

"Don't you dare!"

"What will you give me for him, then?" Nisroc asked again.

Aziraphale was going to give her a piece of his mind, certainly. He lunged at her tried to grab the knife out of her hand -- they both dropped it and it fell to the floor. She snarled and raked her claws at his face, but he stepped back. "You leave him alone," said Aziraphale.

"You're really goddamn irritating, you know that?" said Nisroc, taking a step toward him, unfurling her wings. "What are you gonna do to me, huh? You gonna fight me? I know you don't have that dumb sword anymore."

"Oh, really, this is ridiculous, Nisroc, you can't --"

"What? What can't I do?" Nisroc asked, advancing on him, and her wings were somehow larger now. "I'm a fucking demon now, Aziraphale, all those shitty rules don't apply anymore, I can do..." and her face was twisting, becoming something else, and she was lunging forward "...whatever the fuck I want." She could on no account be mistaken for human now; she had a beak, she had feathers, she had a few feet on Aziraphale and she wasn't even standing upright anymore -- and Aziraphale turned and ran.

There was nowhere to go but the pantry, but that was all right, that was his plan. Not that he had a good plan, but he trusted that the Plan did not involve him being eaten by an enormous bird (...bird??? She still had teeth, though!) demon just now, because that would be such a stupid way to discorporate. He heard Nisroc scrambling after him, laughing.

He tried to raise the unconscious humans Grendel'd brought home in the sack, but it was no use, so he wrested a sword from one of them instead. When he turned, Nisroc was already blocking the way out. She took another swipe at him with one hand; he blocked her with the sword, and then pressed forward, striking at her eyes. She jerked her head back and he missed.

Aziraphale lit the sword -- oh, the holy fire wouldn't be enough to destroy a demon, not on a human-made sword, but it certainly would do more damage than regular fire. She took a few more steps back. "Aw, c'mon, you wouldn't really discorporate me, would you? Leave my kid all alone up here?"

"Ah," said Aziraphale, lowering his sword slightly, not taking his eyes off her. "No, you're right, that would be --" And as soon as she lowered her head to attack, he slashed across her face, piercing her right eye.

She made a horrible screech, and staggered back instinctively, eyes pressed shut. Aziraphale was able to get out of the pantry and into the main room, and there he saw he'd been right to wonder about the birdness of her, for the back half of her was leonine. "That's not fair!" she snarled, and tried to attack him.

But she'd misjudged the distance, and he stepped back easily enough. He unfurled his own wings, now he had more freedom of movement. "Thought you didn't like rules, Nisroc. Anyway, Crowley's the one who's a soft touch about children, not me." He grabbed Crowley, still lying limp and tied up against the wall, and started dragging him to the exit.

#good omens #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #whumptober2019 #no.27 #cw cannibalism #anthony j crowley #text #fiction #kaesa op #my ocs

7 notes · View notes