#and our cat just. Attacked the strange dog and just gave him hell until she chased him down | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

overgrowth-wc · 2 years ago

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Secrets of all kinds are revealed, with mixed results.

Briarmask was on a mission, and she was not going to let something as simple as exhaustion get in her way.

She loped all the way home from Fourtrees, trying to go as fast as possible without completely wearing herself out. Thankfully, Rosestar was awake when she made it back to camp, about to lead a patrol out on a night hunt. One look at her face, however, had him quickly changing plans.

“Marshfoot, go ahead and take over for me. Happy hunting.” The spotted molly looked curious but let it go, leading the patrol out with a wave of her tail. A dark gray form slunk along at the back- seemed like Shadefur was a part of it. Briarmask gave her a friend a nod, but strangely he didn’t return it, looking distracted. Suspicious, but resolved to bother him about it later, she trotted up to her uncle, jerking her head in the direction of the medicine den. The two pointed tabbies hurried over, Briarmask whispering what she had learned, urgency thick in the air. Fernfire was snoring away in the back of the den, the sound reminding Briarmask of the extra-large cars that sometimes roared down the thunder path. Rosestar seemed to have little concern for the fact the other tom was sleeping so soundly, however, striding right up to where the golden tom lay and giving him a firm shake.

“Up you get, we know who the murderer is.” One hell of a wake-up call. Fernfire immediately started awake, bleary eyes wide as he stared at Rosestar in confusion.

“…What?” Rosestar shook him again even harder.

“Up! Stonestar and his returned-from-the-void mate are wreaking havoc on the territories. We must stop them.” Fernfire staggered up from his nest, scraps of moss tangled in his fur and a bit of down stuck between his ears. Briarmask couldn’t help the snort she let out at the sight- Fernfire was usually fussy about his appearance, so it was rare to see him in such disarray. The medicine cat shook himself roughly, blinking the last bit of sleep from his eyes as he sat down heavily in front of Rosestar.

“Stonestar? He’s the murderer? How do you know?” Rosestar gave Briarmask an expecting look, and she quickly stepped forward to explain. Fernfire’s brow furrowed more and more as she told him of the meeting, until his screwed-up face reminded her of those odd, wrinkly dogs she saw in the Town sometimes. “Well, I agree it will be hard to convince others without concrete proof. If I hadn’t been so intimately involved in the process of figuring this out, I wouldn’t believe you. However, it makes an unfortunate amount of sense.” Rosestar cleared his throat.

“We need your help, old friend. As bait.” Briarmask rolled her eyes. It was a miracle Rosestar hadn’t gotten his ears clawed off yet with the abrupt and oftentimes rude way he spoke. At least he had learned to be somewhat more tactful around the other clans. “We must catch Stonestar in the act of attacking another cat, preferably you, so we have credible witnesses to accuse him. We just need to figure out how to go about this in a way that won’t get you killed.” Fernfire seemed unimpressed with the leader’s initial declaration, but now was looking thoughtful. Briarmask took the opportunity to cut in.

“An important thing to remember is that these two are smart. They must have been to get so far without being found out. If we’re too obvious, they’ll be suspicious, and they might find out we’re on to them. If that happens, who knows what they’ll do next. At least now we have some way of predicting their movements.” Rosestar nodded, eyes darting around as he started to churn out a plan.

“The scouts told me today they’ve been picking up more rogue scent in different places around the marsh. It would seem they really are targeting Fernfire next, if they’re now spending more time canvassing our territory. I think we need to start scaling back our efforts- make it look like we’re growing complacent. I’ll start by pulling back most of the scouts, only have one tracker go out a day. Then we’ll beef up the border patrols while scaling down the number of cats that accompany you while you’re out, Fernfire.” The medicine cat looked a little concerned.

“Ah, are you sure you don’t want to scale down the border patrols and keep my guard the same?” He asked nervously. Rosestar shook his head, mind obviously spinning as he came up with his plan.

“No, no, we need to look like we’re growing complacent without being completely careless. We need them to feel confident in attacking you without thinking we’re easing up too much- by increasing border patrols it will look like I’m still focused on catching the perpetrator, and having one less cat with you will make them feel more bold. It’ll strike a careful balance. That being said, I want you within hearing range of the camp at all times. I will have a rotating group on standby within the camp any time you’re out. That way, you get attacked, someone lets out the call, and then the patrol goes running. That should provide both the protection for you and the witnesses we need to accuse Stonestar.” Briarmask hummed thoughtfully. It was a bit risky- Kestrelcall had been killed even when guarded with two warriors. If they could strike the balance, though, it would be fine.

It had to be fine.

Briarmask gave her approval, which Fernfire reluctantly echoed. Rosestar seemed pleased.

“Alright then,” he mewed, “you can go back to bed, Fernfire. We’ll get started in the morning.” The medicine cat let out a disbelieving huff, but complied, shooing the warriors out of the den so he could curl back up in peace. Briarmask stretched once they were in the clearing, giving herself a rough shake. That was one of three things taken care of. And, since she still had Rosestar’s attention, might as well get another done.

“Uncle,” she began, “I have a request-” Abruptly, she snapped her mouth shut. Holy hell, she had been about to tell her uncle that his best friend had completely gone against clan rules and fathered a half-clan litter, here, in the middle of the clearing, where anyone could hear or bear witness to the likely ensuing blow up. I need to sleep, at some point, she thought. This is getting ridiculous. Oh stars, Rosestar was looking at her strangely. Clearing her throat, she nervously mewed, “Uh, actually, can we talk in your den really fast?” Then, almost desperately, “Is Auntie in there?” Pinenose could help temper whatever reaction Rosestar had. Thank the blessed stars, Rosestar nodded, although he still looked confused.

“Yes, since Brooksong and Frogthroat are in the nursery now, she decided to take a break. Sparkkit kicks in his sleep.” Ok, so maybe this wouldn’t go terrible. Briarmask nodded, following Rosestar as he made his way over to his den. Like most dens, it was dug out under a fallen pine. The camp itself was a group of fallen and rotting logs that formed a misshapen half circle. Thorn bushes and other brush were carefully trained into growing in the gaps and formed a solid wall around the rest of the camp, with the nursery being a veritable fortress of thorns. Unfortunately, the camp would flood often in the wet season, forcing cats to share what little space remained above the water line. Rosestar would often have to evacuate his den to share with the warriors, as the dug-out den would usually fill with water first. Still, it was perfectly cozy when dry, and Briarmask took in the familiar smell of moss and rich earth as she slipped through its entrance. Pinenose was curled up in the mossy nest that took up a majority of the floor, but it seemed she was already awake, as she lifted her head to greet them as they came in.

“Briar, nice to see you. Would be better to see you after dawn.” Briarmask gave her aunt a sheepish smile.

“Ah, but I need to tell you both something I learned from a friend- and it’s better than a rumor because it’s true.” Shadowclan cats loved rumors. Everybody wanted to keep their business private, but also wanted to know everyone else’s business, but nobody could afford to admit where they learned things lest their own secrets be revealed in return, so… rumors. And maybe, if Briarmask could frame this as a fun little thing she had learned, it would appeal to that part of Rosestar, and he wouldn’t freak out.

Maybe.

“Go on.” The gray tabby queen mewed, seeming more interested. Rosestar was leaning forward, eyes alight in curiosity. Well, here goes…

“You know there were other cats chosen to help the medicine cats.” Nods. “Well, one of them, Piketail, told me something very… interesting, tonight.”

“The scarred up one, right? Who’s friends with Marshfoot and Frogthroat?” Her uncle interjected. Oh good, Rosestar was already aware of him. Hopefully that was in the Riverclanner’s favor. Briarmask nodded. “Hm, not surprising he was chosen for this. He seems to be a good lad.”

“Well,” she mewed slowly, “that might have to do with who his parents are. Not that he was aware of who his father was until last night, mind you.” Now she really had their attention.

“Who is it?” Pinenose asked, now sitting up. Briarmask allowed a moment to build suspense, looking around as if searching for eavesdroppers. Leaning forward, she told them in a conspiratorial whisper.

“Lizardspots. Can you believe it?” Rosestar froze. Pinenose froze, watching her mate carefully. Briarmask also froze, cautiously watching the emotions that were starting to war in Rosestar’s blue eyes. Delight, at finding out such a well-kept secret. Disbelief, because holy hell, his best friend had kept this from him. Anger, because holy hell, his best friend had kept this from him. With a growl, Rosestar jumped to his feet, Pinenose quickly scrambling up after him.

“That old snake,” he hissed, fur fluffing in rage, “I knew something was up with him, I knew he was acting suspicious-”

“Now, dear-” Pinenose tried, but the pointed tom didn’t seem to hear her.

“Collecting feathers, and, and, shells, and weird rocks, who the hell does that-”

“Rosey, come on-”

“Of course it was a Riverclanner, no Town cat cares for those things-”

“Rosestar. Seriously-”

“And he didn’t tell me. Me! After everything I- well, he’s got another thing coming. I’m going to use his tail to line my nest-” Pinenose let out a hiss, slamming her forepaw on the ground.

“Enough! You’re acting a fool. What does it matter now?” Rosestar stared at her, sides heaving as he tried to rein his temper in. “It’s been years, Rosestar. He obviously had good reason to keep it from you, seeing how you’re reacting, even after all this time.” That caused Rosestar to deflate a bit, and Briarmask felt some tension leave her shoulders. “Yes, it was wrong for him to do. Yes, he should have told you anyway. But what’s done is done.” Rosestar sighed, giving his mate a small, rueful smile.

“Ah, you’re right. As always, my dear.” He then turned to Briarmask. “While I will definitely be taking this up with Lizardspots later, I’m curious to know why Piketail decided to share this with you.” She cleared her throat before answering.

“He’d like to speak to you, uh, at some point. He said he wants to join Shadowclan.” That seemed to give Rosestar some pause. The tom hummed thoughtfully to himself before answering.

“Well, that’s certainly some request. I’ll think about it. And I’ll have to speak to Oakstar of course.” That was about as good as she was going to get for now, so she’d take it. She gave her uncle a respectful nod, carefully beginning to edge her way to the entrance of the den.

“Thank you, Uncle. It was nice seeing you, Auntie. Better to see you later.” Pinenose gave her an exasperated look before flicking her tail in dismissal. Briarmask didn’t wait, turning and exiting the den as fast as she could without looking like she was running away. All in all, it hadn’t gone too badly. Now, she needed to take a nap so she could head out to the Town in the morning. Briarmask ducked into the warrior den, looking for Batflight. Spotting the molly in the back corner, she carefully picked her way around her sleeping clanmates before slumping down beside her friend. It had been a long day, and tomorrow was shaping up to be even longer. Nettle, she thought as she began to drift off, guide my pawsteps tomorrow. Help me make this journey into Town a safe one.

With that, she was asleep.

________________________________________________________________

It was freezing outside, and Briarmask had never been so grateful for her thick coat.

She was loitering near the entrance to the warrior’s den, waiting for one of her friends to emerge so she could bully them into going to the Town with her. Rosestar had allowed the trip under the condition that she bring someone with her and also give his mother his regards. Both things were simple enough, and now she was impatiently sat in the freezing hour before dawn, ready to grab the first friendly face she saw. She didn’t even have time to think about it when she saw Crowcall stumble his way out, interrupting his yawn by stepping directly in front of him.

“Oh good, you’re up. I need you to come to the Town with me.” He blinked at her, half awake, and she realized how demanding that sounded. Her ear twisted back. “Uh, that is, if you want to and aren’t already doing something, of course.” Thankfully, Crowcall just laughed.

“Yeah, I’ll come with you, if you let me eat something and wake up a bit. Care to join me for breakfast?” Her stomach took the opportunity to let out a rumble, embarrassing thing that it was. She hadn’t eaten again yesterday, too distracted with the meeting that night, and she was feeling it now. She nodded quickly, following the black tom over to the freshkill pile. It was smaller than usual, but it had snowed again yesterday, and the cold-blooded prey was starting to bunk down for the winter. Soon, Shadowclan warriors would have to go to the Town and the dump to look for food. We can see what we can find on the way back today, Briarmask decided. The clan could always use more food. Crowcall selected a large squirrel for them to share, and the two settled down by the nursery. It was blessedly quiet, the kittens too cozy to leave their nests in this weather, and Briarmask enjoyed the rare moment of peace as she ate with her… friend.

“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Crowcall mewed, swiping his tongue around his jaws. He seemed to be finished, although more than half the squirrel was left. Briarmask glanced between him and the food before answering.

“I need to visit my grandmother- her twolegs grow herbs in a weird glass house, and I was hoping to find some borage there.” Crowcall looked curious, pushing the squirrel towards her, blatantly encouraging her to eat the rest of it. Briarmask couldn’t deny she was hungry, so she deigned to take another bite.

“Did Fernfire ask for it? Borage is for queens, right? Is it for Brooksong?” Crowcall had been fussing a bit about his sister lately, as she had recently moved into the nursery, not that he would admit it. He was keen on making sure she ate enough and got whatever herbs she was supposed to have. Frogthroat was hovering even more, and between the two toms, Brooksong had to be the most well looked after queen in the forest. It was endearing and annoying at the same time.

“No, it’s for- well, actually, I need to explain some things. I can tell you on the way.” Right, Crowcall didn’t know anything about what was going on, because, well, he had kind of been a suspect for a while there. But now it was definitely not him, so Briarmask could tell him everything that happened. She finished off the squirrel, which Crowcall seemed pleased about, and the two set off. As they made their way to the Town, Briarmask regaled him with the story of all the had transpired in the past two moons, hesitantly explaining that she hadn’t told him, or any of them, beforehand, because…

“Snowdrift was convinced, at first, that the Thunderclan party was working with a dark colored Shadowclan cat, and so he told me to keep it from everybody. And then, well, he had a sign involving crows, and then they found out about you, and…” Crowcall seemed a mix of bemused and unimpressed.

“So they thought I was the Shadowclan murderer?” He asked drily. Briarmask gave him a sheepish nod. “And what about you? Did you think I did it?” The pointed molly drew herself up indignantly.

“Of course not! I was a little worried, of course, because I guess anything is possible, but no, I didn’t believe it for a second.” Crowcall seemed pleased at that, tail curling a bit. Graciously, or maybe because he still didn’t seem to be fully awake, he changed the subject.

“So, this borage is for a Riverclan apprentice? Poor bit. I hope those twolegs have it.” Briarmask nodded, and the reminder of their mission seemed to put some urgency in their stride. They fell silent, taking up a lope as they grew closer to the Town. Soon, they arrived at the first of the houses. Together, they leaped atop the fence in front of them, each looking around for any threats. Finding it quiet, they followed the fence to the front of the house, where they arrived on the street. Taking the lead, Briarmask began to guide Crowcall along the familiar path to her grandmother’s house.

While the outskirts of the Town were mostly houses, it soon turned into a sprawl of other buildings, dens of cars, alleyways, and other strange mazes. Her grandmother, Cookie, lived in a house close to what the Town cats called a park, which was basically a patch of forest plopped into the center of a bunch of roads and buildings. Crowcall stuck close, ears pricked and eyes alert as they continued. It didn’t seem to be overly busy- this early, most Twolegs weren’t awake, and they only saw a few loners as they stalked along the streets. They exchanged friendly nods with the passing cats, most of whom returned them, and soon they arrived at the park. Cutting through the center, they made it across quickly, and Briarmask spotted a familiar yellow house. Carefully, she slunk through the yard, ducking into the bushes underneath one of the windows. She waved Crowcall closer with her tail.

“Grandmother usually sleeps on the front windowsill. I’ll get her attention and she’ll meet us in the back.” Crowcall nodded, settling in as Briarmask leaped carefully into the flower box above them. Sure enough, the familiar pale lump of her grandmother was on the sill inside. Briarmask repeatedly tapped on the glass, until finally the old queen lifted her head up. Cookie lazily turned to see what the noise was, looking delighted when she saw her granddaughter. She jerked her head towards to back of the house, and Briarmask nodded, jumping back into the bushes to let Crowcall know. Together, the two warriors snuck around the side of the house and over the fence. The garden was fairly big, the grass kept short and the different plants well maintained. The glass house was situated in the back corner, taking up a good quarter of the yard. Briarmask’s grandmother was waiting on the porch when the two of them turned the corner. Despite her age, the queen was still beautiful. Her fur was curled like a sheep, pattern much like Rosestar and Briarmask’s. Instead of being just one color, though, she had tortoiseshell markings on her face and legs. Cookie smiled, eyes crinkling in delight as the two approached.

“Ah, there you are! It’s been a while. How are you, love? How’s my son? And who is this young tom?” Old Cookie could give Batflight a run for her money with the constant chatter and questions. They got along like a house on fire, as the old queen would say.

“Good morning, Grandmother, it’s good to see you. I’ve been well, and so has Rosestar. This is my friend Crowcall, he’s also a Shadowclan warrior. Crowcall, this is my grandmother, Cookie.” The old queen purred, rubbing up against Briarmask, who returned the affection, before doing the same to Crowcall, who seemed surprised at the unprompted friendliness.

“Well, good to meet you, darling. Always good to see the clan has such nice young cats.” Crowcall hesitantly returned the old molly’s greeting with a friendly blink, giving her a smile as he relaxed.

“It’s very nice to meet you as well, ma’am. It’s an honor to meet Rosestar’s mother.” Briarmask shot him an amused look. Smooth talker. Cookie seemed to eat it up, letting out another rumbling purr as she curled her tail over her feet.

“My, how polite! You do know how to flatter an old molly, dear. Now, are you here for a reason, Briar? Or just a visit?” Feeling a little guilty, Briarmask gave the queen a regretful smile.

“Ah, unfortunately I do need something from you, although I was happy to have an excuse to visit. An apprentice in a neighboring clan is terribly sick, and we were hoping your twolegs might have the herbs we need to help her.” Cookie’s eyes blew wide at the news, and she seemed quite upset when she got to her feet.

“Oh my, the poor thing! Of course, of course, I’ll go get them to open the door now. You just give me one moment dear. What do you need?” Cookie was very familiar with herbs, having been taught by Rosestar, who in turn had been taught by Fernfire, so she could help her son’s clan. The door to the glass house was always locked, so Cookie would have to get her twoleg to open it for her. They would then loiter around to let her out when she called. Thankfully, they never seemed upset that she was stealing herbs and such, but it happened rarely enough that it probably wasn’t a problem to them.

“We need borage, as much as you can spare. Thank you so much, Grandmother.” Briarmask mewed, bumping her head gratefully against the old queen’s forehead. Cookie purred in return.

“Nonsense! Don’t you worry about it for a second. Now, go hide, I’ll be right back.” Briarmask nodded, and she led Crowcall over to the corner by the glass house as Cookie slipped back into the house through a little flap. The warriors settled behind some bags filled with what smelled like rich earth, carefully hidden from any twoleg that came along. Crowcall was staring at her, and Briarmask gave him a questioning look.

“What? Is something stuck in my fur?”

“No,” he mewed, sounding amused. “You just… look a lot like your grandmother.” Briarmask blinked, but was saved from answering by the sound of the door to the house opening. The warriors focused, carefully peeking around the bags to see Cookie guiding an older male twoleg to the glass house. They stayed quiet, listening carefully as the twoleg opened the door. Cookie trotted in. After about a minute, they could hear her calling for the twoleg. Again, he opened the door, and Cookie darted out, snaking along the side of the glass house towards where the warriors waited. They heard the twoleg snort before he lumbered away, and finally, the door to the house closed. Cookie crept up to where they were crouched, dropping an incredibly large bundle of borage in front of them. It was a wonder she had been able to carry it all.

“Do you think this is enough?” She asked worriedly, brow furrowed. “I can always get more.”

“This is perfect, Grandmother, thank you.” Briarmask was quick to assure her. Seemingly pleased, Cookie nodded, before she shuffled her paws.

“Is that all you needed, dear? Heading back?” It was a casual question, but Briarmask could see the hope in her grandmother’s eyes. She cast a quick look at Crowcall, who seemed to have caught on as well. He returned the look, and, giving Briarmask a small nod, settled more comfortably into his spot.

“Well, we would like to stay a while, if you don’t mind having us.” He said, and Cookie’s tail shot up in delight.

“It’s been a while, Grandmother, I’d love to catch up if you had the time.” Briarmask added. The old queen was thrilled, and so the two warriors spent the next hour or so with her, chatting and swapping laughter and stories. Cookie loved to hear of life in the forest, particularly about Rosestar and her grandchildren, and in return told them all about the Town and its oftentimes strange residents.

“Yes, there was a rude molly here the other day,” she huffed, her irritation making Briarmask smile. “She was asking about my son, and your medicine cat. I thought it was very odd, so I told her I hadn’t seen any of you in quite some time, not to guilt you or anything dear, I would have told her that had you been there that morning, you know, and she got very cross. Thankfully she hasn’t been back, or I’d have to ask that nice young tom across the street to escort her away.” Briarmask felt like she was going to be sick, staring at her grandmother with wide eyes. Beside her, Crowcall looked calm, but she could sense the tension he felt.

“What did she look like?” Briarmask asked, trying to keep from sounding too urgent. Cookie, thankfully, didn’t seem to pick up on her anxiety.

“Gray, very dark, and she had a leg amputated. One of her front ones. Honestly, she reminded me of you forest cats, but no forest cat could survive having a leg taken off. Only house cats have that luxury.” Briarmask’s tail twitched, and she gave her grandmother a level look.

“Ah, she sounds like a rogue who has been giving us problems lately,” she mewed carefully. “If she comes back around, I’d stay inside. Nothing but trouble, that one.” Cookie nodded, her own eyes wide.

“My, how dramatic! But I’ll do as you say, dear. I get along very well without any trouble. I don’t want to go fussing about with any.” Relieved, Briarmask gave her grandmother an affectionate lick, and felt Crowcall relax besides her. Cookie then let out a jaw cracking yawn, seeming surprised that she did.

“Apologies, love, that snuck up on me. It’s been so wonderful spending time with the two of you, but I think I might head in now. These old bones aren’t what they used to be, especially in this cold.” Briarmask and Crowcall helped the old queen to her feet, and she gave each of them affectionate bumps. “Give my love to Rosey, Pine, and the kits. I can’t wait to meet them when they’re old enough! And do come back any time you like, dears.” With that, the old queen ambled her way back into the house. Briarmask gave an affectionate snort as her grandmother’s tail disappeared inside with a flick.

“I need to visit more often,” she mused aloud. Crowcall shot her a smile.

“Well, let me know when you do. Your grandmother is a hoot.” Briarmask couldn’t help but laugh at that, and the two then stooped to split the borage between them. Briarmask once again took up the lead, heading towards the park. It was starting to get busier as the sun rose, and so they had to be careful as they darted across the street and into the bushes. They cautiously picked their way through the park, sticking to what shrubs and brush there was, and were almost to the other side when a little black and white kit suddenly stumbled out of the bushes to land at their feet. Both warriors came to a jerky stop, staring down at the kit in confusion. The kit, a little tom, was staring at them with wide eyes, but he didn’t seem afraid. He carefully sniffed the air, then smiled brightly up at them.

“Hey, you guys smell like-”

“Tumble!” And wasn’t that voice familiar. Both warriors whipped around to stare at the tom that emerged from the bushes. Shadefur looked just as shocked as they did.

“Uh, Crow, Briar, what-”Crowcall gently put the herbs on the ground.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” The black tom asked drily. Shadefur snorted, but still looked a little pressed.

“Well- alright, ok. Tumble, this is my brother, Crowcall, and our friend, Briarmask. They’re from Shadowclan too. Crow, Briar, this is my son, Tumble.” Briarmask felt like her eyes were going to bug out of her head, but for the sake of the small kit still looking up at her in wonder, she reined it in. She too placed the herbs she was carrying down so she could greet them.

“Nice to meet you,” she offered to the kit, who squeaked in delight. He waddled off back to Shadefur who let out a sigh, gently herding the little kitten back the way they had come. The sooty gray tom shot them a long-suffering look.

“Come on then,” he sighed. “Guess I need to explain myself.” Briarmask followed the toms as Shadefur led them deeper into the bushes, until they came across a small den. They could hear more kits peeping inside, and Shadefur quickly ushered Tumble in. “Now, stay with your siblings for a moment while I talk to my friends, alright?” He mewed seriously, getting a bright affirmation in return. As soon as Tumble was safely in the den, Shadefur warily turned towards his companions.

Crowcall looked completely deadpan, and Briarmask was near bursting with questions.

“Alright, alright,” Shadefur said. “Look, they’re- I didn’t father them, but I help raise them.” That… made things slightly better but left more questions than answers. “Their mother, Tulip, I ran into her a few moons ago. She was with some tom who runs one of the gangs, but she didn’t want to be. We became… friends, after a little bit. She asked me to help her disappear from their territory because her mate was cruel to her, so I did, but she was already pregnant. I helped her get to this part of the Town and she had the kittens, and they’re still little so she doesn’t want to move them yet. I was going to tell you guys, but I knew you’d want to help, and Nettle had just died, and the other kits came to camp, and honestly Tulip is scared of everything that moves, so I figured…” Shadefur let out another sigh. “I figured I’d just help for now, and when the time came to bring them to camp, I’d let everyone know. I’m sorry.”

No wonder the tom had been so quiet and distracted lately. Briarmask purred, walking over to bump her head against Shadefur’s shoulder. The tom relaxed at the action, and Briarmask cast a look over at Crowcall. He still seemed a bit put out, but when he caught her look, he sighed and walked over to give his brother a gentle shove.

“Don’t ever worry about that kind of stuff, Shade. You’re family, and family is always there for each other. Do the kits know?” He gave a meaningful glance towards the den, but Shadefur shook his head.

“No, they think I’m their natural father.” The gray tom murmured. “I’m going to tell them, but they just opened their eyes a week ago. No need to bother them with it now. But…” Here Shadefur straightened, pride glowing in his eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, they’re my children in every way that matters, and I love them as such. Do you…” He hesitated. “Do you want to meet the rest? I’ve told them all about you guys, you know.” Briarmask snorted.

“Of course we want to meet them, frog brain, I’ve been dying this whole time. Call them out, would you?” Shadefur laughed before doing so, and Briarmask couldn’t hide her delighted surprise as six kittens tumbled out of the den.

“Alright, line up kittens,” he commanded in a mock stern voice, and the kits laughed as they scrambled into something resembling a line. “Kittens, this is my brother, your uncle, Crowcall, and our friend, Briarmask. Guys, this is Tumble, Bumble, Mumble, Scratch, Patch, and Bee.” The first five were little toms, with Bumble being all black and Mumble being a dark gray. Tumble they had already met. Scratch and Patch were dark gray and white tabbies. Little Bee, the only molly, was also the only brown tabby of the bunch. The kittens all peeped and squeaked their hellos, excitedly clambering all over the two warriors. Crowcall laughed and rolled on his back in mock surrender, to the delight of the kittens. Bee had toddled up to Briarmask and was purring like a car as she kneaded her little paws in the warrior’s curly fur.

“Your fur is funny!” She mewed, and Briarmask laughed.

“You don’t have to tell me twice, little one. Try living with it!” At that moment there was a rustle in the bushes, and a small black and white molly poked her head through the brush. She looked terribly nervous, but Shadefur greeted her with a gentle call.

“Tulip! You’re back! Look- my brother and our friend managed to stumble across us. Would you like to meet them?” The molly hesitantly nodded, slowly stepping out of the brush and into the small clear space in front of the den, now very crowded with four grown cats and six kits.

Tulip was one of the smallest cats Briarmask had ever seen. She had thin scars crisscrossing her face, and her left ear was shredded. Her big blue eyes were doe like, and she pressed close to Shadefur, as if trying to hide in his long fur. Briarmask stayed crouched so as not to loom over her, and Crowcall also had the good sense to stay lying down as well. They gave her friendly nods as they introduced themselves.

“You have such beautiful kits! We’re so happy to meet them.” Briarmask purred, and that seemed to help Tulip relax a bit. The little queen bobbed her head.

“Thank you,” she mewed quietly. “They’re quite the rambunctious bunch. Thank the stars Shade is here to help with them.” Briarmask laughed at that, before an idea struck her.

“Well, if you ever need extra help,” she offered, “Crow and I would be more than happy to come by. And my grandmother lives in the yellow house across the street- if you ever needed anything when one of us isn’t around, you could always go to her and let her know you’re our friend. She loves kittens.” Tulip nodded nervously, but Briarmask saw some relief in her gaze. She couldn’t imagine taking care of one kit all by herself, let alone six. The sooner they could get Tulip and her litter to the clan, the better.

“Thank you, that’s very kind.” Tulip murmured. Briarmask decided then that it was best to go, as Tulip was probably overwhelmed by having two new cats unexpectedly appear at her den. Nodding to Crowcall, who blinked in return, she gently extracted herself from the kittens and backed up to the edge of the brush.

“It was nice meeting all of you,” she mewed, dipping her head respectfully. “I hope we can see you all soon.” Crowcall stepped forward, a mouthful of the borage held firmly in his jaws. He dropped it carefully at Tulip’s feet.

“You should eat a bit of this every day until you run out,” he said kindly. “It’ll help with the kits.” Tulip blinked gratefully, and Shadefur gave his brother a nudge. With that, the warriors wished their friend and his family well, gathering up the rest of the herbs and slinking back into the bushes. They couldn’t talk with all the herbs they were carrying, but they shot each other meaningful glances. Just wait until Brook and Batty hear about this.

________________________________________________________________

Briarmask and Crowcall made it back to the camp without further incident, hurrying to drop off the borage with Fernfire before splitting up to tell Batty and Brook. Crowcall trotted off to the nursery to tell his sister while Briarmask looked for Batty, eventually finding her asleep atop one of the logs along the backside of the camp. The black molly hadn’t been enthusiastic about being woken up, but had been positively gleeful when Briarmask told her of Shadefur and his clandestine little Town family. Oh my, how romantic, Batflight had crooned, a wicked smile on her face. I can’t wait to bother him about this later. By the time Shadefur slipped into camp that evening for the dusk patrol, practically everyone had heard the rumor, which was more or less accurate as it spread, and he got a lot of stares and wicked grins. The dark gray tom had taken it in stride, and when Rosestar approached him, had drawn himself up like he was ready for a fight. When are your little terrors coming to camp? I heard there’s twelve of them. Was all the leader said, stifling obvious amusement, and Shadefur had grinned in a mix of pride and relief. Just six, he joked, and as soon as they can make the journey safely. And that was that. His siblings had teased him from across the clearing, and everyone seemed to be looking forward to when the much talked about kittens would finally arrive in camp.

Shadowclan was always very open to Town cats joining the clan, provided a clan member could vouch for them. It wasn’t uncommon for warriors to take mates in Town, and it was always a boon to have a full-grown, capable cat join up. Kits, of course, were always welcome- all clan cats valued kittens as the first step into the future of the clans, and it didn’t really matter to them where the kittens came from. When Tulip and her litter finally came to the marsh, they would find a very warm and enthusiastic welcome. Hopefully it wouldn’t scare the bit too bad.

Briarmask was reclining outside her uncle’s den, waiting for him to emerge. She had taken a long nap through the afternoon and evening and was now refreshed, eager to implement their new strategy. Both of their plans were going into motion tonight, with Rosestar meeting the other leaders and Fernfire having his first foray as bait. Rosestar was worried that Featherfall would see him going to meet with the other leaders and be alerted to the fact they were on to her and Stonestar. So, he had decided to send Fernfire out, guarded by just Crowcall and Briarmask, so they could hopefully serve as a distraction. I doubt they’ll attack in the dark, especially so close to camp seeing as we have the clear advantage, but hopefully it’ll draw their focus away from where I’m going. Batflight would be nearby as well, but would act as if she were solo hunting. Shadefur, Frogthroat, Bluebird, and Clayfang would be on standby in the camp, ready to move at the first sign of trouble. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be needed, but you could never be too sure.

Rosestar came slipping out from under the log, long fur as neat as it could get. He gave his niece a nod as she stood, and gestured for her to follow him to the medicine den.

“Alright, I’m going to collect the herbs from Fernfire, then you and Crowcall take him out of camp. Stick close enough to be heard, and if you get any bad feelings, come home immediately. We’re mostly just testing the waters and distracting from the fact Marshfoot and I are leaving camp in the middle of the night with a bunch of herbs.” Briarmask nodded along as he spoke, already familiar with the plan but not interrupting. He was nervous, although he would never admit it. She could listen again if it made him feel better.

Fernfire was sitting at the entrance of his log, borage neatly bundled at his feet, brow furrowed and tail flicking. He didn’t smile as they walked up, instead fixing Rosestar with a serious look.

“Listen carefully to everything you’re told tonight, and don’t be afraid to be honest with the others. We’re all together in this.” Rosestar nodded obediently, humoring the medicine cat in the same way he had just been humored by Briarmask.

“Don’t worry, old boy, I’ll be on my best behavior. You all be very careful yourselves, alright?” Briarmask gave him a smile.

“Of course, Uncle, you don’t need to worry either- we’ll just take a quick little jaunt and be back before anybody really noticed we were gone.” With that, she dipped her head respectfully and lead Fernfire out of the den. Rosestar would leave a few minutes after they did, so best to get on with it. Crowcall was waiting near the entrance to camp with Batflight and the others, whispering amongst themselves. They all looked up as Briarmask and Fernfire approached, serious eyes glinting in the weak moonlight.

“You two ready? I figured we could do a slow circuit around camp, then come back.” Crowcall mewed.

“We’ll be ready to go the second we hear anything,” Shadefur said confidently, giving Fernfire a reassuring smile. “But it should be a quiet night. Nobody smelled rogue scent today, so hopefully they’re not even around tonight.” Fernfire seemed to relax a little at that, but was not at all thrilled to be gallivanting around in the cold antagonizing his would be murderers.

“Well, come on then you two,” he mumbled, slouching his way to the entrance. “Let’s get this over with.” The two warriors exchanged amused glances before following the medicine cat out and into the forest. He took off at a fairly brisk trot until they were a decent distance from camp- far enough not to see it, but still close enough that it wouldn’t take the warriors waiting back home but a minute to reach where they were. He then began to lead them in a meandering circle around the camp, stopping to sniff and paw at different spots as if looking for something. Briarmask would have to commend him on his acting once they got back to camp. Maybe he can join the Riverclan troupe at the Long Night Gathering, she laughed to herself. He could play one of the apprentices. She sobered quickly, however, trying to stay focused on the task at hand. It wouldn’t do to be distracted, even though it was unlikely any trouble would occur. A couple tail lengths away, Crowcall silently prowled along, alert to any danger. As they began to near the halfway point of their circuit, Briarmask finally felt herself relax a bit.

Of course, at that moment, there was movement in the undergrowth.

It was coming from some brush that was between them and the camp. Crowcall immediately leapt in front of Fernfire while Briarmask dropped into a crouch, slinking towards the slight rustle. Readying herself, she pinpointed the source of the noise, focused, pounced-

And met the wide, terrified eyes of Sparkkit.

“Oh, stars above,” she huffed, trying not to let her irritation bleed through too much. She grabbed the kit by his scruff, although honestly, he was starting to get a bit too big for that, and hauled him out of the undergrowth and into the clear space between the pines. Crowcall rolled his eyes when he saw who it was, and Fernfire stepped forward, face set in a reproachful look.

“Sparkkit, what are you doing out of camp! You know the rules-” Briarmask’s attention was pulled away by… something. She sniffed the freezing air, something sharp hitting her nose, and she was moving before she even realized what was happening.

Briarmask slammed into the figure that had just darted out from behind the pine tree next to Fernfire, sending both herself and the other cat rolling. When they tumbled to a stop her opponent was on top, and she felt her blood turn to ice as she realized who it was.

Stonestar.

This was the closest she had ever been to the Thunderclan leader. Much like his daughter, he was large, fluffy, and downright terrifying. Unlike his daughter, however, his eyes looked completely dead, reflecting none of the starlight that shone through the pines.

“Ah, one of Rosestar’s pathetic little kin. I thought you had all died out by now.” Briarmask wanted to tear his throat out for the comment, but instead sucked in a deep breath and let out the loudest yowl of her life, clouded breath momentarily obscuring Stonestar’s face. The tom’s face immediately creased in rage as he realized his mistake, lunging down towards her with fangs bared. Briarmask kicked out with her hindlegs as hard as she could, upsetting his balance just enough that his jaws snapped shut over empty air and she was able to wiggle out from underneath him.

She needed to get back to Crowcall. They could do far more together than they could on their own, and besides, now they had Fernfire and Sparkkit to worry about. She had no doubt that Sparkkit would just be another obstacle to the two fox hearts attacking them.

Well, make that three fox hearts.

Crowcall was fending off who she assumed was Featherfall and a dark brown tabby tom she had never seen before. He smelled like the Town, and must have been some rogue employed to help Stonestar and his mate. The gray molly was somehow standing strong despite the wounds she must have suffered from Piketail, and she noticed a strangely colored wrap around the molly's foreleg. Some kind of twoleg intervention, of course. Briarmask darted past Featherfall, targeting the wrap and knocking her front leg out from under her as she went, making the molly crash to the ground. The pointed molly skidded to a stop next to Crowcall, bristling her fur and letting out a ferocious hiss. She could hear rustling in the undergrowth she had just pulled Sparkkit from- it seemed he and Fernfire had taken off back towards the camp. Stonestar loped up to them all, barking harshly at the tabby.

“Go after the healer and the kit! We’ll take the warriors.” Immediately the tabby took off, slipping around Crowcall’s attempt to block him. The black warrior turned wildly to Briarmask.

“Go!” He hissed, and no, no no no she couldn’t do this again. Crowcall would die here, her worst nightmare would come true- “Briar! Go. I’ll be fine. I promise.” Briarmask was rooted to the spot as he turned and threw himself at Stonestar but by the ancestor’s he was right, Fernfire couldn’t fight off that rogue, and so she turned and ran after them.

The snowy forest was silent except for her own ragged breaths- the dump was oddly silent, just the rustling of the bag and her heavy breaths around it- the cold stung her chest as she ran, nose burning- she couldn’t tell if it was the bag or her own fear making it hard to breathe- oh ancestors above, don’t let him die- please, keep her safe until I get back- and the rhythm of her paw steps matched the frantic beating of her heart- please, please, please- don’t let it be too late- Briarmask was practically flying over the forest floor, and it felt like she blinked and the tabby was in her sight, hissing at Fernfire, who’s face was bleeding, crouched over a helpless Sparkkit, and damn it all, she wouldn’t let them die too- so she threw herself at the tabby, silent as the snow fall, and she could sense his surprise as they went tumbling the ground- this time, though, she was on top when they stopped, and she didn’t stop to gloat like Stonestar did, she just shot forward like a snake, teeth sinking into the tom’s throat, and he let out an awful, terrified yowl, but she had to, he was going to hurt her clan, her family, and he was striking out wildly, clawing at her ears and face and belly but she didn’t let go, couldn’t let go, just held on as his strikes grew weaker and Briarmask finally released him with a gasp as she heard crashing in the undergrowth, watching blankly as the patrol went screeching by, Shadefur slowing down as he passed her, and then everything snapped back into focus.

“Take care of Fernfire and Sparkkit,” she gasped, before tearing herself away from the tabby and sprinting off after the patrol. She had to make sure Crowcall was alright, he had to be fine, he promised-

She caught up to the patrol, and when they all leaped out of the undergrowth it was to find a barely standing Crowcall facing off against Featherfall, Stonestar laying prone between them. As they arrived, however, the brown and white tom let out a ragged gasp, shoving himself to his feet and stumbling away from the new group of cats. They all advanced, hissing and spitting, and the leader didn’t even try to make a defense. He took off running, his mate close behind. Bluebird and Clayfang took off after them, and Briarmask and Frogthroat ran over to Crowcall. He collapsed right before they reached him, and Briarmask felt her heart drop to the ground with a heavy crack.

She was at his side in the next moment, desperately cataloguing his wounds. The black tom’s long fur was matted with blood, and he seemed to have a particularly nasty bite wound on the side of his neck. His breath was coming in gasps and pants, and he trembled in pain.

“See? Told you I’d be fine,” he rasped, grinning absently up at her. Briarmask resisted the urge to smack him.

“You call this fine? By the ancestors, if you die, I will find a way to bring you back so I can kill you again myself.” Frogthroat snorted as he began to pull Crowcall up off the ground.

“Cool it with the lovers quarrel,” he murmured, huffing as Crowcall leaned his weight against the spotted tom’s shoulder. “Let’s get you back to camp.” Crowcall somehow managed to roll his eyes, and Briarmask nearly rolled her own out of her head as she supported the black tom’s other side. She’d be embarrassed if she weren’t trying not to spiral into a panic. Together, she and Frogthroat began to help him back to camp. Shadefur came trotting up a minute later, concern and relief warring on his face as he saw his brother.

“Thank the stars,” he sighed. “Fernfire and Sparkkit are safe, they’re both back at camp. The tabby is dead.” He gave Briarmask a careful look at the news, but at the moment she felt too numb to process it. Shadefur waited another heartbeat before continuing. “It’s a small world we live in- I think that was Tulip’s former mate, the one who abused her. Figures a piece of fox shit like him would join up with a pack of murderers.” There would be a lot of things to process later, it seemed, but for now, all Briarmask could focus on was getting Crowcall to Fernfire and making sure he’d be alright. Guided by Shadefur, the four warriors eventually made it back to camp. They escorted Crowcall into a nest in the medicine den before being chased out by Fernfire, who said he need some damn peace and quiet for a moment, stars above, and the shock of him swearing had lit a fire under their paws. Frogthroat and Shadefur went over to the nursery to let Brooksong know what happened, leaving Briarmask by herself on the edge of the camp clearing. A few moments later, a furious Batflight stalked into camp, Sunkit and Emberkit slinking along behind her with their tails tucked. She quickly brought them over to the nursery before hurrying over to where Briarmask sat, grief and worry clear on her face.

“Briar,” she gasped as she skidded to a stop in front of her, “I’m so sorry, I found the kits scent while I was hunting and panicked, I tried to call for you but I must’ve strayed too far away, I’m so so-“

“Batty,” Briarmask croaked, not realizing how tight her throat was, “Batty, you’re alright, it’s fine, everyone is-“ Her throat closed, and she couldn’t stop herself from shaking now. Batflight immediately pressed against her, letting out a rumbling purr in an attempt to calm her down.

“You’re alright, Briar,” she soothed, and Briarmask screwed her eyes shut.

“I- Stonestar and Featherfall was there but there was some rogue, too, who went after Fernfire and Sparkkit, and Crowcall-“ She tried to swallow but couldn’t, “He told me to run, to go after them, and all I could think about was Nettle telling me the same thing, and that Crow was going to die just like she did, and it would be my fault-“ Batflight let her talk, listened as it all poured out in a terrible rush. They were still sitting there when Rosestar and Marshfoot came bursting into the camp, her uncle’s face warped in anger.

“What happened? We smelled blood, saw that tom’s body.” Thank the ancestor’s, Batflight stepped forward to explain so Briarmask didn’t have to. Bluebird and Clayfang also arrived back at camp just a few moments later, and together the three of them explained what had happened to the leader and the deputy. Both of them were a mix of furious and satisfied. Briarmask blocked out what they were saying, however, as she heard Fernfire step out of the den behind her. She whipped around and stepped forward, desperately searching his face for any hint of news.

Fernfire looked tired, but he didn’t seem overly upset. He had washed the blood off his face revealing a long, thin scratch that went down between his eyes and across his muzzle. The medicine cat gave her a gentle smile when he saw her standing there.

“No need to fret, dear, he’s going to be fine. He’ll need to rest for a while, but he’ll make a full recovery.” Briarmask nearly collapsed with relief, but she managed to steel herself, dipping her head in gratitude to the golden tom.

“Thank you,” she choked, eyes stinging as she blinked at him. “Thank you so much.” Fernfire purred as he stepped to the side, nodding towards the den.

“He’s still awake, you can go see him for a moment if you’d like. I’m going to speak to Rosestar.” He didn’t need to tell her twice. Briarmask quickly slipped into the den, carefully padding over to where Crowcall lay.

He was stretched out across the soft earthy floor, fur cleaned and swathed in herbs and cobwebs. There was a large bundle packed up against his neck, but the black tom didn’t seem to be in pain anymore, judging by his even breathing. Crowcall blinked up at her, looking exhausted as Briarmask came to crouch near his head.

“Your face is covered in blood,” he rasped, concern floating in his hazy copper eyes. “You need to have Fernfire look at you- look, you even have a nick in your ear-” And how could he be this ridiculous over a scratch when he had almost died-?

“You-!” She tried to hiss but it came out as more of a strangled choke, and she had to swallow hard to dislodge the frog that had hopped into her throat. “Do not worry about me, you almost died, and it-” She snapped her jaws shut, the guilt and the fear really starting to settle in, and she began to shake. Despite her protests, Crowcall sat up, reaching forward to press his forehead against hers.

“It’s not your fault Briar,” he murmured, and she squeezed her eyes shut. “Even if I had died, it wouldn’t have been your fault. We both swore an oath to protect our clan over our own lives. Fernfire and Sparkkit were the first priority.” He snorted then, and the sound was oddly… bitter. “Of course, I’m a hypocrite for saying that.” Briarmask blinked her eyes open at the comment, pulling away a bit so she could fix him with a stern look, brow furrowed.

“How would that make you a hypocrite? You were willing to die for them. You almost did.” She insisted, and her confusion only grew as he rolled his eyes. He then looked her right in the eye, and his expression was so exasperated and so fond she could only blink.

“I’m a hypocrite, because I’m telling you to value the lives of our clanmates over my own, when I couldn’t do the same when it came to you.” Crowcall’s expression softened even more, and he let out a gentle sigh. “I made you leave because I couldn’t sacrifice you for Fernfire or Sparkkit. I made you leave because I knew you could handle the tabby and you’d be safe, and as long as you were alright, it didn’t matter what happened to me. Because…” And oh stars, Crowcall looked nervous now, and now Briarmask was nervous, because what, because-

“I love you.”

Oh. Oh shit.

“You- what?” Briarmask gaped, and, yeah, of course she had hoped he returned her feelings but he really, actually-? Poor Crowcall looked incredibly nervous at this point, but to his credit, he doubled down.

“I love you. I have for a while, but I never wanted to push you, so I just… didn’t say anything, but there’s nothing like almost dying to put things into perspective, right?” He grinned, but it quickly faltered. “O-of course, you don’t have to feel the same way, obviously, I just-” Briarmask nearly jolted out of her fur as she realized, oh, right, her reaction had been- well, rather underwhelming.

“Of course I feel the same, I’ve loved you since we were apprentices, honestly I don’t know how you didn’t notice before now-” and oh stars, wasn’t that embarrassing, so she clammed up, ears burning as she pinned them back. Thankfully Crowcall just laughed, the sound full of relief, and he leaned forward again to rub his cheek against hers. Briarmask gratefully leaned into the touch, beyond relieved he was still alive, that she had had the opportunity to learn of his affections and share hers in return. Ancestor’s above, thank you, she thought, thank you so much.

Crowcall sighed, drawing back slightly to grin at her.

“What a day, huh?” He mewed, before his grin took on a mischievous tilt. “Pretty impressive, isn’t it, that I managed to take Stonestar down, right?”

She could only laugh. It had been the longest day of her life- it felt like it had been years since she had told Rosestar about Piketail and Lizardspots, since she and Crowcall had gone to the Town. There was still much that they didn’t know- what had happened with the other leaders, how the tabby had gotten involved with Stonestar and Featherfall, what their next move would have to be. Crowcall would be facing a long recovery, and she knew that she’d have to address what had happened with the tabby tom, the fear and the guilt that had subsided but was still there. But, for now, they were all safe. Fernfire was alive, the kits were unharmed, and Crowcall would be alright. And best of all, he loved her, and she loved him too.

Briarmask pressed her face into the side of Crowcall’s neck and let out a rusty, trembling purr.

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#warrior cats fanfic #warrior cats #warriors ocs #warrior cats ocs #my writing #wc overgrowth

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greekbros · 4 years ago

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"greek-Bros: The Return of an Old Enemy"

Chapter 12: Matters to Attend To

After a rough night of sleeping in the tough dirt with roughly 15 or so big cats, Dionysus prepares to leave for Olypmus. He was waiting for Apollo to pick him up, feeling as if he'd been gently shoved into a small box to sleep in while dogpiled by his own pet big cats. He drinks in the scenery of the morning, wondering what the day shall bring. Feeling the top of his head feeling a little bit warmer, he looks up to find Apollo riding above. "Ah there you are!", he shouts to his brother in the sky. Along with the ball of fire trailing behind Apollo's chariot, it's golden embellishments shined bright enough to create a blinding glare, leaving Dionysus to shield his eyes for a short second.

Riding down to Dionysus's position, Apollo waved back, "Good morning. How was your night?", he asked softly. Apollo also looked a little sleep depraved as well, after Dionysus's afternoon celebration, he had his own issues to deal with. Apparently, there had been issues around the coastal areas around mainland Greece that weren't related to wolves....but a bizzare influx of dolphins harassing the locals.

Dionysus yawned loudly, streched his arms and gave his back a good crack, "let's just say it's easier to imagine sleeping with big soft animals than it is to actually put into practice.". He groggiingly climbed onto Apollo's chariot. ".....so is there any seatbelts on this thing?", he joked.

Apollo shook his head and snaps the reins, off they went to Olypmus. "Well, hang on then, time is of the essence.", he chuckled. He snapped the reins and off to the clouds above the two went, the clouds at first felt like cool mist but slowly thickens into a softer fluff that opens to a sea of soft white and blue. Off in the distance, Olypmus stood proudly like an island.

Meanwhile, Zeus had returned to Olympus with the growing concerns that had become prevalent throughout the Mediterranean; the wolf attacks. Pacing back and forth, Zeus was pondering what to do about such an issue. "Wolves of all things", he though. Did he need to talk to the other gods about this? Was Hades responsible for this, inspite of his lack of evidence that Hades has yet to be responsible for any surface issues. He hadn't the foggiest idea what is causing it. "oooooh....where is that girl....I know she's the greatest huntress in all of Olypmus but she shouldn't be taking this long.....and Athena....my goodness with all her wisdom and intelligence....a little empathy wouldn't hurt once and a while.", grumbling on while rubbing his forehead, oddly enough even mentioned Athena's name gives him a mild headache. Inspite of this, Zeus still worries for all his daughters.

Hermes could only watch as he was growing more entertained by the hole in the floor Zeus had created. Hera was more disgruntled at Zeus because now the nice marble floor now have sizable divot. "..... Zeus can you PLEASE just sit down. You're not the only one here with a headache, how am I going to find a stonemason at this time in the morning?", she groaned. Spectating the whole issue, she really had become curious as to how Zeus could be blaimed for this, maybe its so bad that he would be banished and she would be made Ruler of the Sky, but she doubts that.

"I understand my dear, but there are more important matters on our plate.", as Zeus says this the sound of Apollo's chariot. "Oh thank goodness.". Zeus hoped with Apollo and Dionysus now present, there would be a few more heads working together. "Ah good morning boys.", Zeus urgently greeted them.

Dionysus slid down the marble floor for a dramatic entrance, while Apollo calmly walked in. "Good morning father, good morning Hera you look absolutely radiant today", Apollo greeted back. The two placed themselves on their designated thrones.

Hera wasn't too flattered but she appreciates the greeting with a head nod. "Morning... Apollo. So what has your father done this time?....". She has been watching over both Olympus and the earth while Zeus had been flying around. Tapping her perfectly sharpened nails on the arm of her gold and marble throne. "Well?", she inquired again.

With the rough sound of clearing his throat, Zeus interjects to answer for Apollo. "Well Hera, it seems we have a pest control problem, 'wolves'...........'wolves' have been seen doing such strange things .....but others say it's really not wolves. If memory serves me, we did not create wolves to act like this......boys, have any of you found any new information?", Zeus inquired.

Dionysus and Apollo looked at each other, remembering the day before and what had transpired during the Dionysian Games. Dionysus glances away, trying to deter any responsibility in being the first to tell anyone, Apollo is given the unceremonious task of explaining what had happened on Delphi. "Well.....let's just say, while Dionysus was having a...day time event, it seems that there was some semblance of a sighting. No one was harmed thankfully....", as he finished he looked at Dionysus, hoping he was going to going to fill in any details.

Dionysus, pretended that he wasn't paying attention. Apollo continued to stare at him until he took a coin from his pocket and aggressively flicked at Dionysus. The coin hit Dionysus's head with an audible tunk as it bounced off, "Ow! Fuck man what the hell?!", Dionysus rubbed the currently forming lump. He looked around as he saw Hera, Zeus and Hermes were looking at him, clearly knowing he knew more than he was willing to share. "Ugh....yeah....someone saw a dog thing? Yeah but as Apollo said, no harm no foul...", he hoped his flimsy confirmation would suffice.

Zeus obviously took this as a sign something was wrong and that these creatures were indeed becoming more and more brazen but he wasn't going to pry Dionysus anymore for obvious reasons. He was still wondering where Artemis and Athena were, probably assisting mortals or actively finding more information.

Zeus than turned to Hermes, usually his energetic messenger was more talkative, yet right now he was rather quite. "Hermes....is there anything you would like to share? Any news that would ....at the very least help us... Artemis told me you witnessed one of these creatures yourself?", Zeus asked. He could see Hermes looked a little anxious, in fact Hermes hadn't taken his encounter very well since he first saw it. "My boy, do you have something to say?", Zeus again asked.

The wings on his hat emoted his sudden alertness much like how a dog would, he was mentally elsewhere but quickly came back to planet Earth to put it 'mortally'. "Oh well.....it wasn't too bad.... Artemis shot it in the mouth...hehehe, but....I'm more use to things staying dead.", he rubbed the back of neck, "The creature came back to life shortly after she killed it. I've never seen something like that in my life.", Hermes responded somberly. He felt silly being scared of something that wouldn't be out of place in the Underworld, but he knew that it wasn't something he had experienced in its controlled chaotic environment. "Outside of that, it seems they're very sturdy and very fast.", he continued.

Off in the hall, Artemis and Athena had finally arrived, although both were empty handed, Athena had come with her pride humbly swallowed. The two sisters entered the throne room unannounced as to not disturb Hermes's story.

Dionysus went from playing with his curly locks to glancing past Zeus and seeing Artemis and Athena. "Oh cool, you're here!", he exclaimed with a smile. Artimes waved back, but Athena stayed stone faced.

"Ah there you two are! Where have you two been?", Zeus bellowed.

Artimes walked towards her barely used throne next to Apollo, slumped onto her seat, surprisingly exhausting. It was obvious Artemis had been doing most of the leg work of investigating what has been happening, meanwhile her brothers decided to have fun with their fake Olympics. ".......ugggh....", she groaned and turned to Apollo, "so....did you look over Delos like I asked?"

He had been so occupied with Dionysus that he had COMPLETELY forgotten to check if the island of Delos was untouched. Apollo struggle for a few seconds, as he was about to say something.

"You didn't fucking check didn't you?", Artemis interrupted. Lucky for her, she had checked Delos and the island was currently at the bottom of her list worries.

Apollo couldn't help but give an embarrassed half smile and immediately points to Dionysus and whispers, "this is your fault". Dionysus of course couldn't help but give an identical smile.

Athena stood in front of Zeus, "Father....I believe I owe you an apology for doubting your judgement....it seems.... Athens has come under a terrible affliction....the city has been relying on outside trade these past few days because the farmlands have been savagely ravaged by unknown forces. On top of all that......Theseus hasn't helped much politically, considering he is off on some pointless quest with the rest of his demi-brethren, the state executives have been scrambling for answers to the myriad of metropolitan issues. Disappearing blacksmiths, sightings of creatures in the night and hordes of food, metal, and wood supplies have disappeared over night. I seek your your guidance, for this is genuinely a force I have never experienced.", she was at a loss for words with her situation. Athens has had many terrible lows in its long history, but nothing of this supernatural sort.

He looked at his children, he shook his head. "Your apologies are always accepted my dear Athena. Laps of judgment always happen.", Zeus said with a smile.

She held her head up high, "If I may ask. Is there explanation to.our plights?".

Dionysus stretched his legs a little, "it's wolves I think....but they're kinda funky. Hermes says that THESE wolves can get hit with arrows and like...not die....it's kind of weird. Oh and apparently they like destroying food tents.", he interjected.

Hermes turned to Dionysus, "This thing wasn't a wolf! I know a wolf when I see it, this thing had hands! And it stood on two legs and was fast on them!", he corrected Dionysus was short burst of annoyance.

Obviously, Hera was about to toss herself from the top of Mt. Olypmus from all the sweetness of Zeus's love for his children, the destruction of anyone's food tent or anything, she couldn't care less about it. ".....Can we go on?", she strained. "Frankly Zeus, I just want to know what does all of this has to do with you.", She paused as she was just speaking at suddenly thought had dawned on her. ".... Zeus.......this "wolf" business doesn't have anything to do with Lycaon does it?....You DID say the problem was taken care of....right?", Hera spoke with a tone of ripe displeasure.

Zeus couldn't deny it any longer. An unnatural wolf, Athens in social chaos and the constant bickering between his children had to stop. "Children........it's time I told you the whole story....do you remember when I've told some of you the story of how I defeated the most evil man in the world?", he asked.

The other gods became curious, what did an old bedtime story that their own father had to do with all of this? Hera let out a long and disappointed sigh, it really did have something to do with him, but she had secretly hoped he wasn't responsible for it.

He continued, "Many decades ago, it should be a century or so....if memories serves me correctly....I was invited to a feast in Arcadia by King Lycaon himself. In the story, I told that I defeated him by turning him into a wolf and destroyed his desperately sons for serving me a feast made from the flesh of man..... however.....I may have left out a few.... important details....I did turn him into a wolf....but I left a small semblance of humanity in him so that he may suffer ridicule and hatred for the remainder of his life......that...may have been the greatest regret....I should have ended him when I had the chance.... however, I cannot contest for how he has managed to live for so long....but I do fear it maybe my power is what helped with his longevity.....I doubt he's alone too....", he solemnly ended his story.

The five Olympic offspring sat there in disbelief, the rumors were true and their own father had direct responsibility over the situation. Hera in the meantime, felt a little sorry for Zeus, if she was responsible for such a blunder she would no doubt feel an eating guilt in her heart. "Zeus, listen, what's in the past is done....you fucked up and honestly that's no surprise.....", she put it bluntly.

He turned around unamused but not surprised that his wife would take a swing at his ego, yet all he could do is agree. "Now..... children, we must spread ourselves around and look high and low for Lycaon...no matter the cost.", he declared.

A low crashing noise could be heard from halls, alarming everyone in the throne room. The boys screamed, Artemis was too tired to care and Athena raised her shield and spear ready to defend everyone in the room. Zeus and Hera were worried but there was a likely suspect on their minds. "Ares!", the two said in unison. If anyone would regularly break urns and vases in Olypmus, it was Ares. Whom oddly enough did not come to the meeting. Apollo, Dionysus, Hermes and Athena were the first to charge towards the noise while Artemis had no intentions of moving for the moment.

In another room, Ares was trying to help Ajax use armor and play with a wooden sword for the first time. Turns out, after a few hours of roughhousing with his own war hounds, Ares realized Ajax could use his paws to hold things. So one silly thing led to another, and Alex accidentally broke a vase. "Nice swing Ajax, you'll lead your own army in no time!", Ares chuckled with enthusiasm. Ajax wagged his tail and adjusted his ill-fitting helmet. "You know what, I'm hungry. Come on Ajax, let's go get something to eat", he gestured to Ajax to follow him to the kitchen. The pup's tailed wagged even more enthusiastically, he gently removed his helmet, placed his shield and sword down and followed his new devine friend.

As the two miscreants went to the kitchen, the rest of the Olympians just missed them by a few seconds. Apollo and Athena were armed and ready while Hermes and Dionysus were reluctant to have followed them.

Apollo and Athena both look at the obvious mess of broken urns and damaged marble along with the instruments of the crime. "Hm...It definitely looks like Ares may have been here....but what would he want with set of juvenile training armor?", Athena questioned.

"Hmmm....maybe he's taken up another Amazonian student?.... after all it's not like he's done it before.", Apollo speculated.

"Well I'm not cleaning up after his kids again.", Dionysus groaned brushing away a piece of broken pottery with his foot.

Hermes looked around and started to hear more clattering coming from the kitchen. "I think we'll get our answer shortly.", he pointed to the direction of what at this point sounded like a dog playing with its food.

The four than slowly cornered the entrance way to the kitchen, Apollo and Athena on opposite sides of the door. Dionysus, summons his thyrsos, to protect himself and Hermes who's just behind him. Athena motioned to Apollo to get ready to bust into the kitchen, he agreed with a stern nod.

Zeus and Hera have just arrived, spectating the mess of a hallway and had just about enough this. "OH FOR GOODNESS SAKE.", Zeus bellowed and opened the kitchen door to fine Ares mid bite into some meat and Ajex sitting on the counter, peacefully chewing on lamb chop.

It was a standstill for the ages.

"Son.....what is that?", Zeus asked calmly and sternly.

"Lamb chops.", Ares replied.

"....no.......I mean....what...is....that?.", Zeus pointed at Ajex.

Ares hadn't thought so quickly in his life and drew out his sword and pulled Ajex closer to him. In a deadpan tone and a blank stare, "Take one more step Dad I will wreck everything.". Ajex obviously was completely clueless and just innocently looked at everyone.

Everyone from Zeus and his children all armed themselves. "ARES I NEED TO YOU STEP AWAY FRO. THAT ABOMINATION.", Zeus commanded him.

Athena raised her spear, "Ares you dimwitted buffoon! That creature's kind has cost us all dearly!", she hissed at him

Ares still expressionless knew he wasn't going to let his family hard a single fur on Ajex's head.

The Olympians were all shouting and tried coaxing Ares to give the wolf pup but the god of war wouldn't budge.

Hera, finally pushing Apollo and Dionysus aside, "ARES! What is going on?! And why is that thing on the counter! You have no idea where it's been and I thought I told you no snacking before meals!", Hera shouted with a wag of her finger.

"Oh I gave him a bath before we started training.", Ares replayed.

"TRAINING?!?", everyone shouted in unison.

Zeus's voiced boomed, "YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT CREATURE IS CAPABLE OF!".

"FUCKYOUDADYOUCANTTELLMEWHATTODO!", Ares defiantly shouted back.

As the quarreling between the gods continued, Hermes at was fearful at seeing this kind of creature again until he started to get a closer look. "Wait a minute..... isn't this the dog with tattered clothes your thespian friend told you?", he turned to Dionysus.

As if a candle was suddenly lit, Dionysus than remembered the joust. "Hey it's that dog thing that cost you the joust you know the one you lost and got very very VERY humiliated in?!", he hoped reminding Ares about his loss would make him relinquish Ajex due to anger.

"Oh really? Well ok than accidents happen I guess. I guess little Ajex here had places to go. Ain't that right buddy", Ares said with a smile basically forgiving Ajex for costing him the joust. Ajex let out a little yip with glee.

"Damnit. I thought that would do it. Sorry guys I tried.", Dionysus shrugged.

Hera was distraught and disappointed, "Oh my gods you've named it too. Now we'll never get rid of it.", she said breathlessly.

"Come on mom, it's just a dog. I mean sure he's really misshapen for a dog but he's managing pretty well with me.", Ares still had no idea that what he was holding close to him....was more closely related to a cursed human.

"Son....that is no hound....that....is what I had turned Lycaon many years ago....I turned him into a part wolf monstrosity for the purpose of punishment! That right there!.....could be his very offspring! Or worse!....an innocent child who was transformed into wolf.", Zeus gravely explained.

Ares looked at Ajex, "....oh...so that's why he has thumbs.".

The rest of his siblings couldn't believe that Ares had just realized this and collectively groaned. Zeus could only nod in minor disappointment while Hera shook her head.

Hermes on the other hand stepped a little closer to Ares and Ajex. "....Well....thus one DEFINITELY isn't the same kind of beast me and Artimes saw.", he than started to feel extremely silly for being so afraid of this small and somewhat cute looking creature.

"That's because it's a wolf cub!", Artimes had finally caught up with everyone. "I mean seriously, you guys got worked up over a pup? I mean seriously it still teething.", She pointed at Ajex who was still chewing on a lamb bone.

Ares looked at Ajex, "you mean like how babies do?....cool. That explains why he bit me when we first met.", he fondly remembered.

Zeus went pale. "Son....did....did ugh...Ajex you called him? ....well....did he draw blood when he bit you?", he deathly asked.

Ares looked at his arm and saw no marks, then he looked everywhere else that Ajex had teethed on and still no marks. "Nope. Little guys' gonna have to grown into his big teeth later.", he knew that dogs had their own set of baby teeth much like humans did, so considering Ajex's lineage, there was a good chance he still had many of his baby teeth.

A deep sigh of relief was let out by Zeus.

Apollo than asked, "Father, why is it such an issue that it bit Ares, it's not like as if gods could die of an infection....even so I can fix it.".

Zeus shook his head, "Because I've seen what happens with mortals who survive an attack from these monsters....they become them.", the others became visibly worried, expect for Ares and Hermes. Hermes of course could always outrun them and Ares simply assumed he was impervious to injury.

Ares than realized if he hadn't been so physically hard to chew on he would be a half-wolf half-war god. "WAIT A MINUTE I COULD HAVE BEEN A WOLF WAR GOD THAT SOUNDS EPIC AS FUCK!", He shouted.

Apollo, Athena, Artimes and Dionysus looked at each other in clear worry, the idea of a beastly war god even more so vicious than what he currently is now is a far more unfathomably terrifying idea.

Hermes was still looking at Ajex with mild curiosity. Suddenly Ajex looked at him a tilted his head with equal curiosity. A sudden urge to do something Hermes wanted to do when discovered he could perform a neat little trick. He than raised the wings on his hat upwards in an alert position. Ajex's ears did the same thing. Than Hermes switched to a 3 o'clock position, Ajex than followed through and mimicked with his ears.

The rest of the gods looked at this strange display and went silent, surely something important was happening.

Ares however was starting to get jealous, "dude da fuk can you stop that's super fucking weird.", he asked but Hermes continued with different wing positions as if he was giving signals. Ajex was oddly enough having fun with this activity and let out a yip.

"I can't believe it.... we're completely in sync! You know what this means?", Hermes exclaimed at his wings alternated with Ajex's ears. "This could be like a secret handshake or something."

His brothers were obviously was confused, "Ugh...is this going to help us? I mean it's a cool trick but how is this going to solve anything?", Dionysus asked.

Hermes chuckled a little and replied, "oh no there absolutly nothing useful about this it's just fun to see if another animal would do it.". Another collective groan from everyone could be heard.

Athena rested her spear, "This has been a waste of time! All that's happened was the discovery of this creature infiltrating our ranks through Ares's pure ignorance and we still have no clue where to find these b-", she suddenly stopped mid sentence and looked at Ajex and started to formulate an idea "....... surely....this...Ajax has a family...I mean for such a young pup, he has to be missing his parents...", She glanced at Ares whom was still keeping Ajex close. He didn't want to part with him.

Zeus knew what Athena had been implying, he agreed with this plan but he didn't want to lose anymore of Ares's trust. "Athena, as much as that sounds like a wonderous strategy, I believe we can achieve our goal in finding Lycaon.... without harming the young creature.", Zeus walked up to Ajex, no matter if this creature had fangs, claws and fur, it was still in a sense a child.

Scoffing at Athena's attempt to gain her favors by being "tactful", she couldn't help but sense Athena was simply trying to be a little bit insensitive to Ares considering the two have had it against each other for years. "Or....I can just track down trail where me and Hermes found the first wolf. I mean, if I remember correctly there IS a complex cave system in Mount Parnassus.", she concluded.

Ares was relieved.

Zeus had than remembered what Athena had mentioned about Theseus and the rest of his half-born children. "By jove I've got it. BOYS! You're off to find Lycaon.", he announced.

Apollo, Dionysus, Hermes and Ares all looked at Zeus in mild disbelief. "Wait what?", they all murmured in unison.

#greek-Bros #greek bros #greek gods #dionysus #Zeus #hera #artemis #athena #ares #Apollo #greek bros: the return of an old enemy #chapter 12 #short story #fiction #greek mythology

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peach-jaehyunie · 5 years ago

Text

80 Days Out

Part: I

Pairing: Kim Doyoung x Reader

Genre: Horror, AU, zombie apocalypse

Rating: Mature for violence and coarse language

Warnings: Swearing, violence, blood and gore, major character death in future parts

Words: 6.2k

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Day 1: September 9

You wake up to the sound of an explosion. It doesn’t register at first what it is with your brain. You lay in bed trying to remember what the sound was so that you can attach a word to it. You hear your father get up and walk down the hall.

“What the hell—“ you hear him exclaim from the other side of your bedroom door. You’re quickly up, exiting your room while rubbing goose flesh from your arms.

“Dad, what’s wrong—“

“Go get your phone and dial 911,”

Your hands trembled and your heartbeat felt fast as you ran back to your room and grabbed your phone from where it lay on the bedside table. As soon as you were back in the hall, your father snatched the phone from your hands.

“I want to report a house fire at my neighbours; there is a crashed vehicle and a burning house. My address is 1357 Birchwood Crescent—what attacks? No— It’s just a housefire—“ You could hear the operator’s voice between your dad’s pauses as you stood next to him by the window. The Kelvin’s house was completely engulfed, it looked like the explosion might have been the car.

“I don’t understand; what do you mean I have to go to a quarantine shelter? —You need to tell me what my family isn’t safe from!” The lady’s voice rose high through the phone as she told your father the urgency of evacuating your house. You felt cold, frozen to the spot. All you could see was fire. Not just the Kelvin’s; smoke rose from other parts of the suburbs, thick and dark.

“If the first responders are telling us to leave, then we’re leaving.” Your mother said firmly from behind you. You hadn’t heard her leave her bedroom, she was already half-dressed pulling you from your stupor and instructing you to grab two pairs of clothes and necessities to put in an overnight bag.

You could hear your father repeating instructions which meant that he was writing them down. Your heart beat faster, and your teeth began to chatter. Was the smoke seeping into the locked windows? You felt as if you could taste it on your tongue. No, the windows are supposed to be locked because the air conditioner is on you told yourself. You packed half your underwear drawer in an old grey gym bag, with two shirts and a pair of jeans. You threw on your hoodie as you grabbed your charger from the side table. Your mom was in the bathroom packing a toiletry kit for the three of you.

“What did they say?” You heard her ask your dad.

“More deadly and faster spreading than SARS.” He muttered to her, they were talking as if they didn’t want you to hear.

“How do they know if someone’s infected, what are the symptoms?” Your mom was a veterinarian.

“I have no idea, Lilian!” He sounded somewhat panicked. “Let’s just get to this quarantine shelter.” He sounded really rattled already.

“Where are all the neighbours?” You asked as the three of you loaded into the SUV. The Kelvin’s house melted the siding off of the Mirza’s house, but not a single person was to be seen. It was impossible to tell from far away if there was a corpse in the destroyed car.

“They’re probably already at the shelter.” Your mom said as she reached back and brushed her hand against your knee in reassurance. She was lying. How could it only be your family that failed to evacuate. There were cars outside of some people’s homes; they hadn’t evacuated, should they be warned? On College Street, you saw a group of people walking in the street. It was only when your mother drove past them that you saw they were carrying shotguns, but surely they weren’t police or military.

“Is our stuff safe, you think?” Your mom asked your dad.

“Anything of any value is in the safe, and we have insurance if they want to take anything else.” He told her, his voice was calm but he was clenching his fists until they paled from the passenger seat. You passed three burning houses by the time you reached the shelter.

Outside the shelter stood makeshift looking barricades. Almost as if they had run out of proper barricades when putting them up.

You craned your neck but didn’t see anyone, but you noticed a trail of blood leading up the steps into the community shelter.

“This feels wrong,” Your mom remarked as your father began to get out of the car. He stopped and squinted at something lying on the ground behind a barricade. It was a body. You felt sick. Its leg moved; the person was still alive.

“Stay here,” your mother told you as she quickly exited the car and trotted towards the person lying on the ground, your dad following her a little more cautiously. Your heart beat in your throat, you gripped the door handle as your body felt alight with a strange electricity. Your mom knelt on the ground next to the body just as a shrill screech reached all your ears as the door to the shelter opened and out stumbled a young screaming woman...with a person grabbing her and ripping and tearing with their teeth at her neck. This was no normal person: they were bloody about the neck, their wrist dangled awkwardly as if was broken, and their eyes...were pale and the pupils were constricted. It was the humanoid monster of nightmares and horror movies. The body your parents were near twitched again, but their eyes were on the screaming woman. They didn’t see as the body began to move and sit up...

“MOM!” You screamed as you threw the door of the car open, unable to take your eyes off the scene that unfolded in front of you. Your mom turned as the corpse grabbed her, but your father slammed his foot down on the creature’s chest allowing your mom to get to her feet as its teeth sunk into your father’s leg. His screams joined the young woman’s until it was just his as she lost the battle on the concrete steps. The creature seemed to only gain power the more your dad fought back. A scream burned your throat as more zombies stumbled out of the building and your mom turned to run towards the car. Your father now suffered a bite on the hand and forearm to match the one on his leg. He was a bad fighter; your mother pushed you into the car as she reached you but stood there frozen with tears welling in her eyes as she watched her husband fall to his knees.

“GO!” He yelled to her “I love y—“ his arm gave out and the zombie was able to sink its teeth into him. Your mom got into the driver's seat, her breathing was ragged but she swallowed her sobs as she sped off. You climbed from the back into the passenger seat, catching one final glimpse as the young woman’s head was bashed repeatedly against the concrete.

“We’re going to the clinic to get supplies.” Your mother said in the most controlled voice she could muster. Your breath was caught in your chest, but you didn’t think you could breathe without crying. It was all too fast. Please wake up, this isn’t real, you told yourself.

Your mom’s work was near and she sped into the parking lot to the back door of the clinic.

“What do we do?” You asked, finally swallowing your sobs and letting the adrenaline from fear take hold.

“Kate’s car is here,” she said after a long moment, tears still ran down her cheeks but she made no move to wipe them. “She worked the night shift, but it looks like no one ever came into work this morning. I’m not sure what we’re going to find in there,” Your mom turned to you and took your hands in hers. “You have to promise me that if I tell you to run if I tell you to leave me; that you will.” Your chest swelled with sadness at her words, while fear ate at your stomach. You nodded.

“You have to run back here and get in this car and get away. Home should still be safe, but I don’t know how much longer power will be on—if it’s still on with all those burning houses. Don’t try and run the generator; it’s too loud and you don’t know what it might attract.” She stroked your face and your eyes welled with tears at the particular gesture of affection that you hadn’t received in years.

The coast was clear as you exited the car, and you both crept to the back door as she pulled out her key. The clinic was dark, except for emergency lighting.

“Batteries,” Your mom whispered to you. You assumed she was referring to the electricity. You listened for...anything, at first only your breathing registered but soon you heard faint growls. Cats and dogs brought to the clinic for treatment or pet sitting stood gnashing their teeth on their cages at you, their zombie eyes glowing.

“How did they..?” You gasp.

“Shh—“ Your mother holds her hand up and turns her head as if she heard something. You held your breath to hear a sound—a shuffle of feet on the floor and then ragged breathing. Your mom’s eyes widened and she pushed you to move and then pulled you into an operating room with her. She found a flashlight and an ACVIM duffle in a cabinet. She quietly and efficiently began to fill it with bandages and syringes from cabinets and drawers.

We’ll have to—“ she stopped as she turned towards the door: Kate stood in the door. Or, what was left of kate; her skin was pale but the veins looked constricted against her skin and her too light eyes looked around the room...until she focused on both of you. She moved towards you faster than the movies had prepared you for, gnashing her teeth and letting out an ugly growl.

“Y/N, move!” Your mother yelled, and as you stepped back and tripped over a table just as you saw your mom grab something with both hands out of the corner of your eye. Kate rushed towards your standing mother, as your mom swung the moving surgical light and turned it on to shine directly at Kate as she kicked her square in the chest. The zombie stumbled back and you could clamber to your feet, picking up an object that had fallen from the table you had tripped over. Kate rushed at you, and you let out a loud cry as you copied your mother’s movements and kicked her back, but not hard enough as Kate was suddenly all you could feel and her strength surprised you. You escaped her grip for a moment and you kicked at her again with all your might—this time giving you enough time to stab the object in your hand into her eye. For a fraction of a second, the zombie stood there with surgical scissors protruding from her head and you realized your defencelessness. She quickly slumped to the floor, looking more dead than anyone had the right to. Once you saw what you had done you broke down into tears as your mom hugged you. Your heart was racing as your mom pulled you from the operation room and into a room filled with shelves lined with small boxes. She grabs at least six penicillin bottles and stuffs them into the duffle on top of the bandages.

“This is doxycycline,” she whispers to you, holding boxes near your face for you to see. “It’s an antibiotic, and it can be used to treat Lyme disease, malaria, UTI...I’ll write you out a list,”

“Mom, why are you telling me this?” You cry, clutching at her.

“If anything happens—to me—I have to know that you can take care of yourself. I’m doing all of this for you; I need to know that you have a chance!”

Day 3: September 11, Journal entry

Cassy said yesterday the campus was overrun with...them. Cell service has cut out completely

Update at 4:33 PM: Mom gone

Day 4: September 12

Home is no longer safe. You cradle the camping radio to your chest, the broadcast you had been listening to this morning had kept cutting out. The looting and civilian violence had reached a peak, they said...but you already knew that, didn’t you?

A gunshot rang in your head, it sounded just as it had the first time, but tears were no longer able to prick at your eyes. You were hidden in a closet with a false back, rocking your body with your knees in tight against you.

“I can’t, I can’t, I can’t,” you whisper to yourself; when you close your eyes you can hear her scream. Time feels as if it has lost meaning, despite the battery clock that boldly states the time. You shift your legs and bump the sword you keep with you. A decorative piece; it had formally hung over the mantle. You can hear footsteps in your house, and the soft voices of two women. They’re downstairs and you strain your ears to hear them...you don’t hear drawers opening, or belongings being rummaged through. You just hear them systematically going into every room. It’s quite for a minute—you hold your breath until you hear a familiar creak: they’re almost at the top of the stairs. One of the women yelps.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” you hear someone say. A lump forms in your throat; your mom, they had found her in her room. There’s a scurrying of footsteps down the hallway, as someone quickly dashes by the closet you are hidden in. You hear your room opened,

“Y/N?” A voice calls softly, your heart skips a beat. They repeat your name again, louder as you can hear them open your bedroom closet.

“Is she not here?” The other girl’s voice asks.

“But she was...she was here just yesterday. What if someone took her—“ her voice crescendoed to a hysterical pitch.

“—We still haven’t looked everywhere! Is there a basement, what about the garage?” The other woman’s voice replied.

“Y/N hated the basement here,” they were now in the hallway again.

“Lou!” You exclaim as you recognize her voice.

“Y/N!” She cries out and the other voice shushes her “Oh my god, where are you?” Lou calls out as she runs back to your room. You slip out from behind of false wall and stumble out of the closet into fierce daylight. Soon you’re enveloped in your childhood best friend’s arm’s.

“What are you doing here?” You ask Lou, wiping tears away as they fall with your sleeve.

“After we lost service...I just had to find you. So many people stopped texting back a couple days ago, but I knew you were still here...and I just couldn’t give up.”

You look at the unfamiliar girl she’s with, her hair is short and she has two knives strapped to her waist.

“This is Mallory,” Lou says.

Mallory offers her hand out to you as one corner of her mouth lifts up into a grim half-smile. You shake her outstretched hand, unfazed for a moment with the familiar action despite the irregular situation.

“How did you get here?” You ask them.

“We have a car,” Mallory replies as she inspects the closet you were in.

“You’re going to come with us, aren’t you?” Lou says to you quietly. You swallow the lump in your throat. Leaving home. You didn’t feel ready, but you also knew you couldn’t stay here and it had already proven to be unsafe.

“Get your stuff,” Mallory instructs, grabbing a fleece blanket from the closet “Can I take this?” She asks holding the blanket up. You nod to her.

“Lou,” you say under your breath and stop her with your hand as she walks away. “Do you trust her?” You ask with a slight nod towards Mallory.

“Yes, and...there aren’t a lot of trustworthy people left.” Lou tells you. How could the world go to pieces in a matter of days? How could society crumble that quickly?

“I think our car is still here,” you tell Lou “And I have a box if food.”

“Load it with anything useful.” Mallory instructs the two of you in the garage “we’ll all split up between the two vehicles.”

You quickly learn their group is made up of 7 people, 8 now including you. You load a baseball bat, your sword, a box of food that you had kept in the closet with you, and camping equipment. The cupboards in your kitchen are bare; looted by multiple already. They had even stolen toothpaste from the upstairs bathroom. You keep your personal belongings in a backpack now, and you clutch the ACVIM duffle filled with medical supplies tightly.

The gas tank in your small SUV is full, but Mallory loads a small empty gas canister from a shelf into the back.

“In case we find a place to get gas somewhere.”

“We had full ones for the lawnmower...” you say, but they are nowhere to be found.

“It’s okay,” Lou comforted you as you looked around your house one last time “Is there anything else you wanted?” You thought of your mom upstairs.

“No,” you had to leave, you couldn’t stay here alone with a corpse to be driven mad and starve to death.

You recognize the guy driving the small car packed with people parked outside your house as Lou’s boyfriend, Seth.

“Mal, we gotta get going,” he says out the window.

“I’m going to drive with Y/N,” Mallory tells him. Lou hugs you before getting into the passenger seat of her boyfriend’s car.

“I’m coming with you guys,” a slim guy with dark hair says as he walks past you and climbs into the back seat.

“That’s Doyoung,” Mallory tells you with a slight purse of her lips.

_______________________________

“Damn, how did no one steal this car? This is way better than being squished into that tin can of Seth’s.” Is all Doyoung says before he gently rummages through belongings and supplies in the back. Mallory plays with the radio, trying to get any station to come in.

“I think a lot of their receivers are down, or no longer have any battery power.” Mallory simply nods her head and you drive in silence. Dread rises within you, hunger pangs play havoc with your stomach: but you focus on Seth’s license plate in front of you, following it diligently. You pass charred houses, wrecked cars, homes and buildings that look quiet and untouched. Does true life reside in any of these places? You are aware of Doyoung and Mallory looking out the windows as you drive, how much of this had they already seen? You try and think how long your box of food might last between 8 people—not long. You clear your throat,

“Where are we going?” Your question was met with silence for a few moments before Doyoung finally replied.

“Seth knows a place that should be pretty safe until we can get to one of the emergency centres. They’re all far away from here, so who knows if we can actually make it that far.”

“So there are places that are safe and untouched?” You ask, glancing in the rearview mirror to catch a glimpse of him.

“Well, maybe not untouched, but supposedly safe.”

There are abandoned cars on the highway, their drivers nowhere to be seen. You drive through a small town where zombies wander the streets. After 4 hours you are on backcountry roads, or so it feels even though you are near a highway. Your stomach cramps, anxiety eating away at you. Mallory didn’t talk much in the car, she only put some music on and silently cried in the passenger seat.

Day 5: September 13, Journal Entry

I am in the middle of nowhere in a country cabin with Lou and her friends. The girl I share a room with, Mallory, just cries all the time when we’re alone. I don’t know why and I’m afraid to ask. Mina had my camp radio working for a few minutes last night. There is wood here and we are able to have fires at night to stay warm and cook canned soup.

Day 6: September 14

“No, hold it like this—yeah, okay now...aim...” Doyoung is teaching you how to use his bow and arrow. “Are you aiming at the middle pillow?” He says in an annoyed voice.

“Yes, I just really suck at this.” You retort as he pulls the arrow from the bottom pillow for the umpteenth time.

“It’s fine, just...try again.” Dark half-moons are below his eyes. You miss the pillows completely this time, and Mina makes and audible disparaging judgment from behind you. You trot to retrieve the arrow in shame, glancing at the dark-haired girl as she leans against Seth’s car while inhaling from her cigarette.

“One more, and then you can try again tomorrow.” Doyoung tells you, ignoring Mina as she stares at him intently. You hit the bottom pillow again.

Day 10: September 18

“Are we just gonna fucking sit here!? We have barely any food—warm blankets are only gonna keep us alive for so long. We gotta make a fucking effort to survive; or I’m out!” Kevin yelled at Seth. They were face to face, noses almost brushing. Mallory broke in between, trying to reason with their tempers.

“Kevin is right, we need to be more self-sustainable. Or...make a trip to a grocery store—you know, one that hasn’t been totally emptied.” She crosses her arms over her chest. You think of small towns teeming with zombies.

“I’ll go,” Doyoung immediately steps forward.

“So will I,” Mina quips.

“And me.” Mallory says uncrossing her arms and instinctively brushing the handles of her knives.

“I want to go, too.” You finally say, breaking your silence for the first time of the day.

“We’ll make teams.” Kevin tells Seth, “I want Doyoung with me—“

“No,” Doyoung cuts Kevin off and grabs a knife from the table. Lou yelps as she leaps up from her chair. Doyoung ignores Lou’s reaction as he kneels and places the knife on the floor. “Everyone who’s coming, get in a circle.”

Six of you form a circle around the knife.

“We’ll pair up in twos.” Says Mallory as Doyoung nods and sets the knife spinning. It stops with the blade pointing at Seth first, and after Doyoung spins it again it points at Mallory.

“So, Seth and Mallory are team 1: you’ll go in first and clear the way. Mina and Kevin it’s up to you to do the collecting of goods as team 2, and Y/N and I will follow up and protect you from behind as team 3.”

Day 11: September 19

The rain is heavy as the six of you load into the SUV, weapons in hand, in the morning. You’re thankful the rain is still warm. Kevin and Seth sit up front, their egos colliding with every rock of the vehicle on the dirt road. Doyoung crouches in the very back grasping his bow with one hand.

The first place you stop is a deserted gas station. It’s already been well looted: a pack of gum on the floor, likely dropped as someone was making a quick exit, and a jug of water are the only finds. It’s time to move on to more populated places and bigger stores. The sign on the outskirts of town boasts that it’s home to 3 thousand people, you can’t help but wonder what condition you might find them in.

The street is thankfully deserted, the glass doors of the store already shattered.

“Shouldn’t someone stay with the car?” Mina asks as everyone prepares to exit with bags and weapons in hand. Doyoung rolls his eyes as he turns to her.

“Yeah, why don’t you just stay here; it’s not like you really wanted to come anyway.” He snapped. Mallory glared at Doyoung for a second as she secured a thick scarf around her neck.

“What the hell am I supposed to do if I don’t have a helper?” Says Kevin.

“We’ll all help out,” Seth speaks loud and with finality as you pass him his axe from the backseat. Kevin had helped you sharpen your sword, and you and Lou had practiced with straight sticks together. Glass crunched under Mallory and Seth’s feet as they stepped into the store, Kevin following them closely with his baseball bat and a small lump in his jacket pocket that was most likely a revolver. Doyoung holds you back,

“How many zombies have you fought?” He asks quietly.

“Um...” you feel inexperienced, embarrassed by your lack of encounters, “One.”

“Oh,” Doyoung’s expression doesn’t fall, but you hear a note of disappointment in his voice. “How many have you killed?”

“One,”

Doyoung smiles at your short reply.

“Okay, then let’s go.” And he rushes after the others, with you following close at his heels.

The smell that greets you inside the store is enough to make you gag: spoiled food, rotting meat. The air is thick with the sound of insects. Mallory’s knives are out, but no living or undead are to be seen. You clasp your sword with two hands, ready to swing at the slightest sign of movement. Kevin opens his mouth to talk but his words are choked back with a violent gag. Five pairs of feet tread forward lightly across the dirty floor. Dead fly carcasses crunch beneath boots and sneakers. The grey sky lets in very little light through the high windows. In aisle 2 from the front Mallory lets out a muffled cry, and you and Doyoung quickly turn to see a dark shape on the ground. Mallory appears to have stepped on it and her hands are clamped over her mouth. Seth takes out his flashlight and the small beam illuminates the body on the floor: the skull has been smashed open, the face is near gone, and maggots writhe in the festering glory of their banquet. Your stomach turns at the sight and the putrid smell overwhelms you. The shelves are bare, and you all move on.

“Jackpot,” Kevin whispers when he spots two bags of sugar in the baking aisle.

“Great, I can’t wait to sit down to a nice nourishing bowl of sugar.” Doyoung said sarcastically under his breath.

“Well it’s the first thing we found, asshole.” Kevin retorts, angrily zipping up his backpack and swinging it over his shoulder.

“Would you both shut up?” Mallory mumbles through the scarf up over her mouth and nose. You spare a glance at Doyoung, his hair hangs just above his eyes and his mouth is set in a hard straight line. Seth trips over a cardboard stand advertising plastic measuring cups and the cups go clattering across the floor. It sounds loud in the hushed store. You clench your sword until your knuckles turn pale, holding your breath and listening. Doyoung looked at you and brought a finger to his lips, hushing you as he peeked around the corner. He motioned you to come to him and peak around the corner towards the back of the store. A zombie shuffled down the main wide aisle, searching for the source of the noise. Or maybe simply doing its daily rounds.

“We got one,” Doyoung whispered to the group, readying his bow. “I’m going to try and take it out quietly.”

Doyoung stepped brazenly from the aisle into the path of the zombie, and you stood at his back to defend him while he aimed. The zombie growls at the sight of the two of you, but you turn your back trusting in Doyoung despite hearing it grow nearer. A little ping and millisecond whoosh: you heard a body drop to the ground, skin smacking against the floor. The arrow stuck clean out of the zombie’s eye. You grinned in relief, following your partner as he went to retrieve his weapon. Doyoung reloaded his bow while walking towards the zombie on the floor, another stepped out of a side aisle—arms outstretched as it grabs him. Doyoung recoils in its grip, making a noise of repulsion. The zombie’s mouth opens revealing a mouth of missing and greying teeth, adrenaline courses through you as you lay in a kick on her ribs—instinct telling you to fight as you had before—swinging your sword as Doyoung slipped from her grip: severing her head from her body. You stepped back in shock and horror as her body fell towards you, dead, her head rolling in the aisle to reveal a bloody patch on the side of her skull. She has once been like you, but now her hair was matted with blood; likely her own from her struggle for life.

Doyoung breathed heavily as he removed the arrow from the other corpse.

“Nicely done,” Kevin whispered as you rejoined them, his breath against your skin made the hair on your neck stand up.

You discover two boxes of spaghetti, and Doyoung finds a dented can of crushed pineapple rolled under a shelf. As you pass the formerly refrigerated meat section you feel dizzy from the stench, cupping your mouth to keep from upheaving the precious food you can’t waste. Mallory’s knife throwing skills are put into action as she and Doyoung take three undead down as quietly as possible.

“There’s one down that aisle,” Seth whispers “Should we take care of it?”

Doyoung shoots it in the back of the head; never gaining its attention, and Seth backs him up as he goes to pull the arrow from the dead man’s skull. Your ears prick at every noise, listening for a scurry or shuffle from the next aisle.

“I can’t believe that’s it.” Seth says, inaudibly sighing.

“What about the storage room?” You ask. You know where it is, you noticed the doors earlier in a dark back corner of the store. Everyone seems to hesitate: it’s as far from the car as possible, and what awaits beyond those doors is unknown.

“We have to try it,” Doyoung finally backs you up, “We either die today, or die from starvation.”

It’s pitch black in the storage room, a cloth is over each of your flashlights to keep them dim. You are not the first person to think to look here, but the warehouse-like shelves are not bare as they are in the rest of the store. The sound of swarming insects is less so in here, but you have the gnawing sense that the five of you are not alone. Boxes of canned soup, bags of rice, KD, breakfast cereal, granola bars—and more are here. They are in large quantities, still packaged by the case: they prove difficult to carry and impossible to defend yourself with. Mallory begins to cut open cases as she packs each of your backpacks when you hear a growl behind you. It’s close, but you can’t see it. Can it see you, do zombies have night vision? You turn to where the sound came from, grasping your sword as you stare into the darkness. Fear rises within you; this is not like before and your blindness makes you feel defenseless. Something white emerges from the darkness—a white coat—and then you can see the pale eyes as the fingers reach for you in a quick lurch forward. You swing, hitting its arm but it’s undeterred: you are backing up, stabbing at a fleshy abdomen—blood runs as if it’s fresh. You are backing away as quickly as it comes at you, unable to get far enough away to swing your weapon.

“Move!”

You duck just in time as an axe lodges itself into the skull of the zombie, clear splitting it in half. Seth grabs you and pulls you up,

“Did it bite you, are you okay?” Seth’s hands are rough as they examine you and Kevin’s flashlight pours over your face and arms for injury.

“No, I’m fine, it didn’t touch me.” You push Seth’s hands away, and Doyoung brings him his bloodied axe.

“We have to get out of here,” says Kevin.

“Can we really leave all if this?” Doyoung gestures to the food, “Shouldn’t we make more trips?”

“Doyoung is right, we can’t just leave with this much.” Mallory adds.

“We need to find another way out, there has to be an exit from this part—“ Seth looks around, but you are all slightly disoriented. You can hear something; a gnashing of teeth, a shoe against smooth cement. There is an exit sign, still illuminated, above the swinging doors you came in. Your backpack slows you down, you can’t help think that any zombie is likely to be just as fast as you are now. Kevin and Mallory can defend themselves with one hand, and each carries a gallon jug of water with them from the warehouse. You feel sick with dread as the pasta in your backpack makes noise with every step. You and Doyoung walk backward through the store back to the front doors.

Mina is sitting in the car, her face is pale and her jaw seems unable to unclench even as she unlocks the doors for you. Hastily, the food is dumped out in the back.

“Drive around to the back of the store.” Seth tells Mina.

“What! Why?”

“There has to be a door back there, we’ll go in that way.” Seth turns to the rest of you, before grimly stating: “It might be locked from the outside, which means some of us will have to go back through again.”

He’s staring at Doyoung, Doyoung’s fingers grasp the back of the seat tightly.

“I’ll go, but only if you come with me.” His chin sharply juts out at Seth.

“Okay,” Seth agrees, “And you?” His gaze shifts to you.

You desperately don’t want to, but you find yourself nodding in agreement.

There are two zombies right as you walk in this time; Doyoung doesn’t waste his time as you and Seth handle them. Doyoung’s feet are quite as he quickly leads the three of you back to the dark corner of the store and into the warehouse.

“We have to find the side of the building,” Doyoung whispers.

“Is that a light over there?” You whisper back, pointing to the other end of the space where a small shadow of green light can just be seen.

Seth was right; the small service door can only be opened from the inside. Outside the SUV awaits with the rest of your group.

“Are there zombies in there?” Mina asks.

“At least one, I heard it earlier.” You say to her.

The light the door lets in is a gift, you feel less caged in and defenseless. Mina never leaves the driver’s seat as the rest of you load the car.

“There’s more than one,” Mallory says running back with jugs of water.

A guttural growl reaches your ears as a zombie stumbles into the doorway—Mallory is too close to throw her knives. She strikes out with right hand, but the zombie grabs and stops her arm—you rush forwards as Mina yelps, sword raised, but Mallory brings up her left hand and plunges her other knife into the zombie’s eye. The boys come running with cases in hand.

“We gotta go, get in now!” Kevin shouts as Doyoung pushes you and Mallory into the backseat and he clambers in behind you. Mina starts the engine as Seth gets in the passenger seat and Kevin closes the trunk door before pushing you all over in the backseat as he gets in. The door is barely closed when Mina steps on the gas, mud spraying from the tires as she pulls away. In the rearview mirror you can see zombie exit the service door before it can close: he’s easily 7 feet tall, and extremely muscular.

______________________________

The car ride home is in silence. Exhaustion sweeps over you, but you feel too on edge to relax or ever sleep again.

Your legs feel shaky as you climb out when you reach the cabin. A hand reaches out to steady you, it’s Doyoung:

“I want to thank you,” he begins quietly.

“For what?” You furrow your brows at him.

“For saving my life.”

Mallory’s scream pulls your eyes away from Doyoung’s. Lou crawls and writhes on the porch, her teeth gnash and her curls bounce with every twist and turn of her neck. Another scream as Erica comes out of the cabin, her eyes turning pale as an unknown zombie still feasts and tears at her neck. Lou sees all of you and she stands up with a hideous growling cry and rushes forward—a gunshot rings out and she falls.

You drop as you see your friend fall to the ground, you feel sick and dizzy. A cry of a man is followed by two more shots. All you can feel is Doyoung’s hands lifting you trying to get you to stand, and your heartbeat pounding in your ears.

#neotober #cznnet #ncitynetwork #kim doyoung scenarios #nct doyoung #kim doyoung fanfic #kim doyoung #doyoung au scenarios #doyoung scenarios #kim doyoung fics #kim doyoung drabbles #kim doyoung imagines #kpop fanfics #nct fanfic #nct scenarios #nct au

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royaltealovingkookiness · 5 years ago

Note

You know something I’ve always kinda wondered: the show seems to suggest that in Zuko’s banishment he visited all 4 air temples, so presumably that would also include the northern one that’s been occupied by Teo & his father for many years, right? Like how the hell did THAT particular misadventure go down?

Thanks for this ask. I was planning to write my headcanons on this for a while, and now you made me do it.

AO3

Zuko peered through the telescope only seeing endless rolling blue waves. He was convinced that his new acquisition was the key to finding the Avatar. So what if it cost as much as a month’s worth of food for the crew as Lieutenant Jee pointed out rather insolently? They could live on plain rice and noodles for a month if it meant catching the Avatar earlier. Then they could just all go home and eat what they wanted.

It was kind of boring manning the telescope, but everything on this blasted ship was dull and it was up to Zuko to show these snail-sloths the meaning of dedication, discipline and hard work. So even if his eyes were watering from the glare of the sun and his back was hurting from his awkward hunched-over position, Zuko kept staring through the lense doggedly.

Water. Sky. Fluffy clouds. More water. More sky. More fluff… Wait... He almost forgot to breathe when he spotted a black shadow moving against the blue background. It did not look like a bird; he was sure of that. And by his calculation - and he was definitely getting the hang of navigation - the shadow appeared exactly in the direction of the Northern Air Temple where they were headed.

Suddenly, the shadow was gone. Zuko wasn’t sure if he really saw it or if it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. He looked around the deck and spotted a bald man in a grease-spotted uniform working on repairing one of the hatches. Yoshi or Moshi or something like that. Iroh pestered Zuko endlessly with the importance of learning the names of each crew member, but he wasn’t planning on getting to know to these people. He was planning on going home as soon as possible.

“Hey, you!” he bellowed at the man, paying attention that his voice was as deep as possible. The sailor looked around with uncertainty, trying to see who Zuko could have been addressing. When he realized that he was the only person on deck, he walked slowly over to the prince, standing at a safe distance from him as if he was a rabid polar-dog ready to bite. “Yes, Prince Zuko?”

Zuko swallowed. Maybe he should show interest in the man. “What’s your name?”

“Specialist Yori, Prince Zuko,” he mumbled.

So he wasn’t that far. “Specialist Yori, I order you to look through the telescope and tell me what you see.”

The man gave him an amused look but if he had doubts, he kept them to himself. Squinting, he peered through the lenses. “I see the ocean. And the sky.”

“Look harder…” Zuko snapped and watched tensely as Specialist Yori looked again. There was a long pause, silence and sharp breath.

“Well, I’ll be damned…” he said incredulously.

Zuko exhaled with relief. His eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. He really was going to go home.

-0-

“Unbelievable…” muttered Iroh as he took in the sight of the circling contraptions. From a distance, they certainly looked like airbender gliders that he had only seen in textbook illustrations. But it couldn’t be. Everyone knew that all the airbenders were gone.

Zuko’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Uncle, you know what this means.” He was getting his hopes up, something that could only end in one way; bitter disappointment, with Iroh and the crew suffering the aftermath.

“No, I don’t know what it means and you don’t know what this means either,” he tried to caution the boy.

“We have to attack them.” Zuko put one arm on his hip and pointed with the other towards the temple. He looked about as threatening as a koala-sheep.

Iroh carefully swallowed the chuckle that was gathering in his throat. “And how do you plan to do that? Should I remind you that we have a small crew and air temples are notoriously hard to attack. That’s why Fire Lord Sozin waited until the comet.”

Zuko deflated immediately, looking less like a bossy koala-sheep and more like a young boy who had no business running a military mission. He looked at Iroh with uncertain eyes. “So what do you propose?”

Iroh pondered the question, sipping his tea pensively. He wanted to introduce the truth about the world beyond the Fire Nation to Zuko slowly, gradually. But it looked like Destiny (the fickle bitch she was, Iroh added in his mind somewhat uncharitably) decided on a crash course instead.

Maybe it was a learning opportunity. “We could go in disguise, Prince Zuko. Just the two of us.”

Zuko nodded his agreement.

-0-

The rough material of the drab, shapeless and not very clean-looking clothes that Zuko borrowed from his crew for the expedition were making his skin itch as he climbed with single-minded determination the narrow and steep path to the air temple. Iroh has fallen behind, huffing and puffing from the exertion.

Zuko looked up when he heard a beep, just above his head. It was a young boy of maybe ten years old in a strange flying contraption smiling and waving at him.

“You’re not an airbender.” Zuko couldn’t contain his disappointment.

The boy gave him a strange look. “No. I’m Teo. The airbenders died many years ago,” he said with a sad expression, like it was a bad thing.

“But how can you fly then?”

A proud smile appeared on the boy’s face. “My dad built this for me He’s really smart, my father, he can build all kinds of great stuff. He designed everything around here.” Teo gestured towards the temple, where white puffs of smoke appeared in the sky.

Zuko felt irritation at the boy’s boasting. So what if his dad could build stuff? Zuko’s dad owned this entire place, flying chairs and smoking chimneys included. After all, it was the Fire Nation who conquered the air temples at the price of life and blood of many brave soldiers.

“And who let you come here?” Zuko asked suspiciously.

The boy just shrugged. “We’ve been living here for a long time. You have to talk to my dad if you’d like to stay. He’s in charge.”

“What do…” Zuko snapped but before he could finish his thought, Iroh appeared behind him, panting heavily.

“We’d be honoured to meet your father,” Iroh smiled at Teo.

As it turned out, despite all the boasting, Teo’s father did not cut an impressive figure. He was a short, scrawny man in an apron, like a common tea-server, squinting and blinking behind his thick glasses.

“They call me the Mechanist here. We welcome refugees like you and your son…” he bowed towards Iroh.

Zuko took a step towards the man. “We are not…” refugees and he’s not my father.

Iroh interrupted again, before Zuko had a chance to finish. “My nephew and I are simply tired travellers who wanted to marvel at the architecture of this wondrous place. My nephew is a great enthusiast of ancient buildings.”

The Mechanist took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking between Iroh and Zuko like he wasn’t quite buying this cover-story. Zuko couldn’t blame him. It was a really bad one. Clearly, Uncle was not great at improvisation.

“But surely we can offer you some tea,” the Mechanist noted.

An overjoyed smile appeared on Iroh’s face at the mention of his favourite beverage. “Tea indeed would be wonderful. Such a long climb makes me thirsty.”

“On the way down, you can just use the elevator we built,” Teo laughed.

“Well, while I make the pot ready, why don’t you show …” the Mechanist pointed at Zuko “our young guest around.”

Teo spun around in his chair and turning the wheels, he moved towards the temple. Now watching more closely, Zuko realized for the first time that the boy’s legs were weak and small. He couldn’t walk.

That didn’t seem to bother Teo though, who wheeled himself up the ramp at neckbreaking speed and kept chattering cheerfully, pointing out clever design details to Zuko.

“You see how the hot air powers everything?”

“And the chair?” Zuko asked.

“That too. My dad said if he couldn’t give me back my legs, at least he could give me wings.”

The obvious love in Teo’s voice pierced at Zuko’s heart. His hand went involuntarily to the scorched skin under his eye. This boy was broken, and still his father wanted him to have wings. What did Zuko’s father give him? ( A scar, that’s what, a treacherous voice inside Zuko hissed violently ). Zuko froze with fear. Thoughts like that were unacceptable. It was not Father’s fault that he was weak and brought shame to the family. He was given a just punishment and it was up to him to prove himself to be a loyal and worthy son. If he could only capture the Avatar, he would have his father’s love back.

Teo was luckily oblivious to Zuko’s inner storm. He parked his chair in front of a wall full of colourful paintings. “Look at these. The airbenders.” There was reverence in his voice as he looked at the drawings - monks in yellow and orange robes, flying and smiling as lazy sky bison looked on calmly, like big furry clouds. They didn’t look as bloodthirsty and violent like Zuko’s tutors at school made them out to be. Then again, owl-cats looked like cute creatures until their claws came out. It didn’t matter. Air-bender paintings were not going to give him any answers.

“But did you meet any real airbenders?” Zuko asked impatiently.

“No, they are all gone, unfortunately. They would have been amazing.”

Zuko stepped in front of Teo and crouched down. “But have you heard something about the Avatar?” he whispered. “He would be an airbender. A very old man.”

Teo shook his head. “Nobody has heard of the Avatar for many years. But some say that he will return to save the world one day. Why are you looking for him?”

“Only he can give me back something I lost. And only then can I go back to my father,” Zuko replied.

Teo looked at him with compassion. Zuko scowled. He was the fire prince. How dare a peasant in a wheel-chair feel pit for him? Teo just flashed a toothy smile at Zuko. “Hey, if you want to see something cool, I can show you dad’s newest ideas. There are some crazy things there.” And he took off.

Zuko wandered back to the main court where the tea-pot was already steaming.

“Good timing, Nephew. The tea is ready,” Iroh waved at him with a content expression. Of course, leave it to Uncle. All he cared about was his stupid tea.

Teo also appeared, his hands full of schematics and drawings that he proceeded to dump on the ground next to Zuko.

“Dad’s going to build a real bathhouse. I’m trying to talk him into a slide,” he laughed enthusiastically. The Mechanist gave him a fond smile and ruffled his hair gently.

Their easy rapport pierced through Zuko again as he tried to search his memory for a playful moment of his hair being ruffled like that by his father. But the hand always belonged to someone else. To mother, to Lu Ten, to Iroh. It was childish and ridiculous. So what if Ozai didn’t behave like some Earth Kingdom peasant? Zuko picked up one of the drawings at random and stared at the lines, but they didn’t mean anything to him. Iroh leaned closer to the design, humming and rubbing his chin in an annoying way.

“This looks familiar,” Iroh pointed to the sketch that looked like a caterpillar-snake, giving a shrewd look the Mechanist.

“It’s just a useless doodle,” the other man snatched the scroll quickly and squinted over his glasses at Iroh more suspiciously. “Where did you say you were travelling to?”

Iroh smiled back innocently. “As the saying goes, it’s the journey that matters, not the destination. Thank you for the tea. It was certainly one I’ve never tasted before.” That was code-word for Iroh disliking the drink. He stood up heavily and poked Zuko in the ribs. “Nephew, thank these people for their kindness.”

Zuko clamped his jaw tight. He didn’t like Iroh treating him like a child without manners. (Then you should stop behaving like a child without manners) Still, he had to play his role. He bowed stiffly to the Mechanist without saying a word.

“I hope you’ll find what you’re looking for,” Teo waved at him. “Safe travels.”

“You too. I mean you’re obviously not travelling. But… anyway.” Zuko stammered. Awkward. He quickly turned around and stepped into the elevator.

The Mechanist was right. The descent much shorter.

-0-

When Iroh entered the main cabin in search of a partner for a light game of pai sho before bedtime, he found Zuko with a paintbrush and a scroll, forming his symbols with great care.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m writing a report about our search. If Father knew about these people, he could help them,” Zuko replied without looking up.

“They seemed fine to me,” Iroh noted carefully.

“But they are not supposed to be there…” Zuko protested. “Don’t you think Father should know that? In any case, I run this search operation,” he added coldly looking very much like a young Ozai. A chill ran through Iroh’s veins.

“Of course, Prince Zuko. I’ll send for a hawk,” Iroh said pacifying, giving out instructions quietly.

When Zuko finished writing, he rolled up the scroll with great care and placed it in the little case tied to the bird’s left foot.

“I’m going to bed,” he said with a haunted look in his eyes. Iroh understood that look by now. It meant “don’t come close.”

“Good night, Prince Zuko. I’ll send off the bird personally.”

Iroh climbed up to the deck with the hawk. He stared into the dark sky, pondering what was the right thing to do. The moon and the stars looked back at him impassively. The only answer he ever got was silence. Which was preferable to the ghosts that whispered and screamed in his soul, demanding answers, begging for a meaning.

“I’d better take this,” Iroh said quietly, taking the scroll off of the leg of the bird. He held it in his hand for a moment. General Kichiro was making quite the career out of running whatever side-deal he had with these people, passing off the Mechanists inventions as his own ideas. He was a weasel. But Iroh did not have the slightest doubt that if Ozai knew about them, they would be worse off. Thinking of his brother, he felt almost uncontrollable anger rise in his chest. Iroh exhaled, the flame of his rage consuming the letter, keeping the secret of the Mechanist and his son safe, for now.

The messenger hawk blinked at Iroh in confusion. He rubbed the birds neck gently. “Go, be free, if you can.”

The bird didn’t move, only gave Iroh another long blink.

“You can’t, can you?” Iroh sighed. “None of us can.” Maybe together with the airbenders, the Fire Nation also killed freedom. Iroh took the bird and carried it back down to the belly of the ship, hooking the leather leash around its feet once more. The bird let out a sharp screech of relief.

#atla #zuko #teo #fanfic #brusselssprout writes #zuko visits the Northern Air Temple during his banishment #atla fanfic #zuko & iroh #zuko & teo #the mechanist

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gotmeringinghellsbells · 5 years ago

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Can I give a prompt please? Let's say newly wedded Adashi when Shiro finds out Adam has a severely ticklish belly button. This prompts a tickle monster transformation and a chase around the house. Once Adam is caught, tickle monster Shiro stages his attack on Adam's midsection with a few tricks (or should I say tools [of your choice!] ) up his sleeve... your writing is spectacular and you're amazing💝

New Sensitivity

Fandom: Voltron Legendary Defender

Characters: Adam Wright Shirogane, Takashi (Shiro) Shirogane

A/N: Aw! Thank you so much

Description: Though the two had been reunited for almost two years now, it isn’t now until the typical tickle monster realizes his prey’s body has almost completely changed! Shiro decides to use this new found discovery and test out a few new tricks.

Morning sun shone through the drawn curtains as the newly wed couple curled up on the couch, enjoying their day off. Adam was sitting with his back against the arm of the couch, his eyes distracted by words scattered across the pages before him as he sipped on some black tea. Beside him, Shiro was sandwiched between his husband and the back of the couch, hand resting on his midsection and face buried in his love’s chest.

His job, apart from being a human heat source in the fall morning, was being a page turner. Each grunt was a que to move to the next page, a noise that was starting to fade out on him as he was becoming too comfortable. “Kashi,” the older mumbled as he glanced over. “We just woke up an hour ago. This is why I said we should change into something else for the day.” The shorter shook his head as he gripped the midsection slightly and hid more into his love.

“But your so comfy,” the other protested. Adam’s breath hitched before a blush slowly came to his cheeks. Shiro didn’t notice; Good, good. He leaned back more before setting his tea down on the coffee table beside them. As he reached across, Shiro held him on the couch as to make sure he didn’t crash from the stretch. When he settled back, Adam found his book being pushed down.

“What,” he asked as he was met with sleepy, puppy dog eyes. “Did you want to go on a honeymoon or something?” Adam had wanted to settle with Shiro since they were twenty. Dating since fourteen, the two were finally able to wed at nearly thirty! It was worth the wait, it honestly was. The former paladin was healthy now and could live a fuller life with his love, a more normal one.

However, Shiro didn’t realize just how boring, boring would be.

“Why would we do that? It’s money wasted.” The male huffed as he snuggled closer. “Yu always had a plan for us though, and I loved it. Marriage, possible kids, why not a honeymoon? We have our house, we’re married, we have a cat!” The older snorted before pushing his glasses up. “You brought home a child when we were in our mid twenties, Takashi.”

Shiro rolled his eyes. “I meant like… a child to call us dad or some variation of father.” Brown eyes rolled before the other moved back to look into gray ones. “You want human kids?” The other’s face heated up before looking away. “I mean I wouldn’t really mind I guess? We’re getting older and,” he was cut off by a giggle. “Space really has changed you Takashi.”

The other snuggled back into his husband, enjoying the loving hold. “So…. anyway…. About that honeymoon?” The professor sighed before looking over to the man puppy. “Your such a child.” Shiro was bored, there was no excitement since Voltron “ended”. “Is that what you say to the man who’s been turning your pages for you?” The other scoffed. “Yes, because you stopped doing your job.”

The book of topic was then plucked from Adam’s hands, a corner being creased in place of a bookmark before it was tossed onto the coffee table. “Then maybe we could do something else?” That tone, oh no. Adam’s face heated up slightly before he looked away. “Takashi,” the other hushed before feeling himself grow longing for the other’s loving touch.

“Adam,” the other hummed softly before moving up to the other’s neck, lips brushing against it. “Not in the living room,” he groaned softly before pushing the other away. “Why,” was the simple question. The voice sounded a bit husky still but also rather casual. “Because this is a nice couch, and we…. Don’t…. Nah!” The brunette jumped as sharp hairs brushed by the back of his ear. “Hm? What would tickling do to our couch?” Oh, he meant tickling. Wait, no!

Don’t you dare! Takashi Shirogane,” the more serious of the two huffed. He tried to get up but let out a squeak as he was pulled back down, hands kneading at his sides. “Think about what? I’m already doing it.” Shiro smirked a bit. He honestly loved tickling Adam, it was nice to see him unwind like the fourteen-year-old he first met.

Back when they used to stay up light pointing out constellations, playing Pokemon with their decks, watching Sailor Moon, and just being dorks all together. They’d grown up together, well Adam did anyway. He was so mature and serious, it was kind of a drag sometimes. Nothing a little laughter couldn’t fix though.

“Hahahahaha! S-Sthahahop it!” Shiro was still laying beside the other as he twisted and turned about. His hands were on Shiro’s as they gently dug into his sides. Adam’s head pushed back into the throw pillow behind him as he tried to bite back his laughter. His body twisted and turned, legs kicking out softly as a reaction to the attack.

“Someone’s wiggly,” Shiro commented with a snort. “What’s up? Normally you don’t get like this until I go for…. Here!” Fingers disregarded tHands were having a harder time pushing the other’s away before some snorts came into play. The hell was going on? “Your really sensitive Adam. What’s up with that?” He stopped to give the poor man a break. It seemed just yesterday they were messing around like this on the Atlas, what happened from then to now?

“I mean working out makes your more sensitive, but not this bad.” The taller’s face heated up more. “What makes you think I’ve been working out?” He squealed as he stomach was squeezed again. “Because your a lot firmer than the last time i messed with your stomach. Aw, are you trying to impress someone? Who’s the lucky guy?” Such a dork.

“Chahaut it ohaout you dork!” Adam pushed the hand away before covering his stomach. “I wonder…. If…. huh. “ The professor finally calmed down enough to breathe normally before closing his eyes. “Or maybe you just forgot how ticklish I was.” ShiThe weight from Adam’s side left as his husband left for the other room, leaving a pouting man to look for a blanket on the couch. “Takashi,” the deserted male’s voice whined before finally reaching a blanket and pulling it over his being.

When Shiro came back in, Adam couldn’t help but quirk a brow. “Paint brushes?” The other nodded before holding up the new looking brushes. “But…. we don’t paint.” Shiro gave a shrug before trying to get back to his spot. “I thought it would be fun to add little decals in Abby’s room. Smaller paint brushes would work better for stencils.”

Their cat was truly their baby. She had her own “nursery” and everything. “I just…. Never got the stencils. I didn’t know what to use so I just have these.” He lifted Adam’s shirt a bit before running the soft, silky bristles over his abdomen. The brunette sucked his stomach in before his breath hitched. “Your so strange,” Adam sighed as he pushed the tool away.

“Some people really like this. Softness, comfort, closeness, bonding with another.” The professor’s blush was coming back as small snickers started to escape his mouth. The bristles were really soft and it was not helping his case. “Kashi, this is a little weird.”

He loved tickle fights when he was on the attacking side, and he loved having them most of the time as they were an excuse for him to relax and just act so immature again. But brining paint brushes in was a little odd to Adam. “Want me to stop,” Shiro asked, pausing the brush right above his husband’s navel.

“Mmm…. I guess it’s fine. I’m just not used to you not just using your fingers.” And the puppy wrestling. “I’m sorry, I thought it would feel kind of nice.” He didn’t mean for it to really tickle as much as feel pleasant. But, Adam didn’t let him move his hand. “I’m not trying to upset you. If…. If you want too.” He gave a small, shy nod before giggling softly as the brush continued.

“Does it actually tickle that much?” Shiro was laughing a bit himself from the reaction. “K-Khaind of.” Adam was trying to not cover his torso. It seemed like everytime bristles passed over his navel, the feeling worsened. “Oh, this may feel nice on your back during finals weeks stress.” The other hummed a bit in response before suddenly shrieking as bristles dipped into the inne.

It stopped, everything in the room seemed to. Shiro, the movement, the sensation, the clock, everything that made noise or just stood out to Adam. The male looked over nervously at his husband to see a rather concerned looking Shiro. But the face soon shifted to a devious one. “Wow, you really have changed huh? I think I may need to become re-familiar with your body dear. How about we start here?” Hands shoved at the shorter before Adam practically fell off the couch to get away. “Don’t you dare,” he yelped as he tried his best to untangle from the blankets.

Shiro calmed quickly before presenting a Chersire Cat like grin and leaning over the couch. He took a fan brush and lightly dusted over the other’s toned stomach, earning a lovely squeal. “Yhahahaou ahahhass hole!” Adam was quick to fix his shirt before continuing his struggle, bristles now moving to under his chin and around his neck.

Dang it! He wanted to just kind of childishly enjoy the fun bonding but he was a little scared by the other’s idea to test out his spots. Fingers found his sides again, earning more giggles. “Kashi!” Shiro pulled back with a fond look in his eyes. “Why don’t we make this a bit more fun? If I catch you, I get to try this,” he held up a fine, long bristled brush. “And if I escape?”

He should have known what was coming next. His legs were freed and he was permitted to stand before the answer came out. “You aren’t.” Shit, that was his que to run, and run he did. “Takashi Shirogane,” the other cried with anticipation nervousness.”Adam Shirogane,” the other retorted as he continued to chase after his childhood sweetheart.

Around the island in the kitchen, the stove room, the living room, the large bit of wall blocking that went around the bottom floor, up the stairs, in the guest room. In the guest room Adam was nearly captured, nearly. He jumped off the bed last minute before booking it to his and Shiro’s room. Turning to shut the door, he let out a small scream of surprise before the door was pushed in and he was knocked to the ground.

Shiro paused, covering his mouth before squatting down. “Are you alright?” Adam wasn’t a child but still, Shiro felt kind of bad. The other nodded before butt scooting backwards to the footboard of the large bed. “Well, if your all set.” The true villain revealed itself when Shiro pulled out that evil brush. The brunette gave a look of excitement and nervousness.

“Don’t.” Shiro shrugged with a laugh. “You agreed to the game love. Now…. am I putting you on the bed or are you willing?” The taller huffed before slowly pulling himself to the head of their plush bed. His face was bright red as he pulled up his shirt and covered his face.

“Your such an ass.” The other chuckled as he climbed up onto his husband, swinging a leg over him. “I didn’t ask you to do all of that. Thank you though, it was sweet of you.” Ew, okay. “Mushy sap,” the older groaned before pausing. Lips touched his stomach softly before the human hand rubbed the area. “Just get it over with,” Adam groaned as the anticipation and touches were filling his stomach with butterflies.

“Whatever you say Adam,” the other hummed happily before lightly twirling the paintbrush in the innie. The professor bit his lip, squeezing his eyes shut as he jolted into the touch. “Come on, lemme hear those cute giggles. Why are you holding out on me now, huh? I know how much you love being tickled sweetie.” That jerk! Adam grunted a bit before just letting go, he didn’t feel like fighting the game anymore, he was tired from earlier.

The laughter was so sweet and enchanting, Shiro honestly had a hard time stopping. For such a serious man, Adam truly had the most addicting laugh. The younger pulled the shirt back down before snuggling up with his husband, hand resting on the torso. It rubbed over the area soothingly as the flushed face turned to glare at him with watery eyes. “I’m sorry, did I over do it?”

Shiro was actually a little panicked. “Your such a jerk,” Adam groaned before pushing the hand away and rolling onto his husband with a grunt. “Just wait until it’s your turn.” The younger froze before laughing a bit. “Ah, but seriously…. Did I over do it?” Adam shook his head before snuggling closer. “And seriously, better sleep with one eye open to night, Shirogane.”

#2019 #hells answers #prompt #tickling #ticklish #tickle fight #vld #voltron #adam wright #adam shirogane #shiro #takashi shirogane #domestic fluff #fanfic #fanfiction

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mirkwoodshewolf · 6 years ago

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Mama I-Rex rescue mission; Owen Grady x child reader

*Author’s note*

Okay so this request has been a long one in the making and to the anon who asked for this request, THANK U SOOO MUCH FOR BEING SOOOO PATIENT WITH ME. Now in this request you as the reader are a child/Indo-rex hybrid that Owen takes in. Some events fit with the movie but I decided to put my own spin on some of the things based off Land before time 2; The Great Valley Adventure (all the LBT movies were my childhood if you haven’t seen them, go watch them cause ya’ll missed out on something) Anyways not really any warnings to look out for so I hope you all enjoy this fic :)

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It all began with a test tube. Jurassic World scientists have come a long way in just 20 years since the first Jurassic Park, and with technology more advance than it was back then, they were able to create things that were possible for even normal scientists to think was possible. Not only did Jurassic World scientists make a hybrid dinosaur, they also used that same DNA to create a full human child to speak and communicate with said creature.

Now it was said that their newest attraction, the Indominus Rex or I-Rex for short, had eaten it’s sister because it grew too territorial but what they didn’t know was that the sister I-rex tried to eat the young girl they had with the two of them and the white I-Rex was protecting her pup since they both shared the same scent and DNA pattern, making the true I-Rex the mother of this young girl that they named IR626.

But then one night, IR626 somehow managed to escape the increased secure habitat of the I-Rex and started roaming freely around the park, and it is here that our story begins.

It’s been three days since the child’s escape and the mama I-Rex had been going frantic with worry and thinking that it was the humans that had taken away her pup, she planned an excellent escape to get out of her cage and stop at nothing till she found her pup.

She would claw up the walls by nightfall, each time making them go higher and higher till it almost seemed like it had escaped overnight, then for the next couple of days she lay there camouflaged from the world and waited for the right time to make her escape.

One day as he was heading back from a long, exhausting day of training the raptors, former Navy soldier Owen Grady was riding home to his bungalow on his bike when he swore that he saw a shadow move by. He stopped his bike and looked to his right and made sure that his bike light was shining ahead in case the figure moved again.

After a brief moment, he thought that it had to be some kind of stray animal or something so he just kept on riding till finally he reached his bungalow. He parked his bike alongside his home and then went on inside and prepared him a nice big sandwich with a side of chips, pickles and a chug of beer. Once he was done with his dinner, he had a quick shower and then proceeded to just plop down on his bed and hit the sack.

Suddenly he was woken up by this loud bang downstairs. He froze for a moment then he got up and took out his gun that he kept under his bed and quietly walked downstairs with his gun on point. He tried to walk as quietly as he could without making the stairs creak, then once he reached the bottom of his stairs, he heard the banging again coming from the kitchen.

He readied himself to fire his gun, he silently exhaled before suddenly jumping out and turning on the kitchen light and what he found was a shock. There on the ground eating some of his chips was a young girl about 5-6 years old, she had long and by long I mean past mid-back long, almost to about her bottom, she seemed pretty frail and was a bit dirty.

“What the hell?” He muttered quietly. He soon took notice of the girl staring right at the gun and she let out a small whimper of fear. “Hey, hey it’s okay I’m not gonna hurt you, its okay”. He placed the gun aside and held his hands out showing the girl that he meant no harm. “Do you have a name sweetheart?”

The girl only responded with whimpers and throat purrs. Owen was a bit shock to hear those types of sounds coming out of a little girl but he took it as her either being mute or still a little scared. After all, just what was a little girl her age doing this far out away from the park at this time of night?

“Here, you look like you could use something better than those chips”. Owen then walked over and picked up some steaks that he had stored in his freezer and heated them up for her. Once they were done, he placed one of them down in front of her and cut it up for her in small pieces so that she would be able to eat them.

She looked up at Owen and sniffed the steak and picked up a piece of it and tossed it into his mouth and chewed it up. She the proceeded to eat the rest of the pieces, stuffing all the pieces into her mouth when Owen told her.

“Slow down there sweetheart you’re gonna choke if you keep going like that”. She looked up at him and swallowed the meat that was in her mouth and Owen then handed her a glass of water but what he found strange was that she didn’t drink it like a normal human being, she began to drink it like a dog or a cat would.

She then let out a yawn and found the couch and crawled up onto it and spun around pawing at the cushions before finally falling asleep. Owen then picked up the blanket and covered her up and said to himself.

“In the morning we’ll figure out who you are, for now you just rest up”. He turned off the kitchen light and headed back upstairs to his room and fell back asleep, but his mind was occupied with just who in the heck this child was and why she was all alone?

The next morning, Owen woke up to feel a pressure right near his stomach. He looked down to see that the girl had come up sometime during the night and cuddled up right next to him and fell asleep. He looked down at this girl and couldn’t help a small from coming onto his lips thinking of how adorable this girl was. He softly stroked her hair which alerted her to wake up and she crooned at him and nuzzled into his chest.

“Morning kiddo, how’d you sleep?” She purred and crooned happily up at Owen. “Okay I’m gonna have to give you a name so that I’m not always calling you kiddo, how about Danielle?” The girl let out a growl of displeasure. Owen laughed and said, “Okay now, maybe Zoe?” She shook her head no. “Oh I’ve got it, how about (y/n)?” She tilted her head and nuzzled Owen once again. “Alright, (y/n) it is then”.

Owen then got out of bed and carried (y/n) down the stairs to make her some breakfast. He made a plate of pancakes for both himself and for (y/n) and made sure to add extra syrup to both plates.

“Here you go (y/n), just wait till you try these. I call these pancakes a-la Grady. With whipped cream, blueberries and the main ingredient syrup. Lots and lots of syrup”. He placed a plate down and (y/n) looked at it skeptically. This was unlike anything she had ever eaten before. She looked up to Owen and he urged her to take a bite.

But before she could eat it using her mouth, Owen quickly handed her a fork and knife and told her to first cut it up. She looked at the fork and knife in awe as she sniffed them but they gave off no scent.

“Here, how about I cut them up for you?” He then took away the knife and fork and proceeded to cut the pancakes up into bite sized pieces and held out a piece for her. (Y/n) sniffed it before sticking out her tongue to lick it, finally she took a bite and chewed it up a bit before spitting it out in disgust and making a choking sound of disgust.

Owen looked at her in surprise. No one on earth can resist the sweet taste of a pancake, so seeing her spit it out like it was nothing shocked him to the core. Before he could say anything, his cellphone rang. He walked up to it and said.

“Ello? Claire what a surprise I was wondering when you’d call me couldn’t resist me any longer huh? Hold on what? Okay….okay. And you need me there because…..okay fine, fine yeah, yeah, yeah I’ll be down there as soon as I can. Okay, bye”. He hung up his phone and turned toward (y/n) and said, “Okay sweetie, Uncle Owen has to see Ms. Claire about something, do you promise to stay here and be a good girl?” (Y/n) nodded as she crooned. “You won’t go anywhere?” She shook her head no. “Good girl” he gently ruffled the top of her head making her purr on contentment.

Owen got on his usual work clothes and soon walked out onto his bike and he said to (y/n) who stayed right by the door.

“Remember no going anywhere”. He started up his bike and then took off riding down the trail to meet with Claire.

Shortly after he left, a couple of butterflies flew past (y/n). On instinct she leaped up trying to get them so that she could eat them. She jumped off the deck and tried to get one that landed on a flower but it flew off just before she closed her mouth. (Y/n) spat out the flower choking in disgust before running after the two butterflies chomping her mouth as she disappeared into the forest.

All it took was just a few minutes inside the Indominus Rex paddock for all things to go to hell. Owen was inside along with some workers hoping to figure out on how the I-Rex escaped, but it wasn’t until finally it showed itself through the trees and began to attack.

It broke out of its paddock and devoured every human in sight, except for Owen who hid under a jeep and covered his scent with the oil of the car as the Indominus sniffed around for him, before finally walking away deep into the jungles roaring.

To say Owen was pissed was an understatement, no with that thing on the loose, it would stop at nothing till it devoured everything in its path, for it only had one thing in mind. To kill and eat. It was going to prove just who exactly was Queen of Isla Nublar and it won’t hesitate to kill anyone or anything that stood in its way.

Worried about (y/n)’s safety, he rode off on his bike back to the bungalow but as he burst through the doors, she was gone. He searched the entire place from top to bottom but couldn’t find her anywhere. His heart was starting to race and his chest starting to compress with fear and anxiety.

“Owen! Owen what the hell was that you just took off like it was nothing! What about my nephews?” Claire exclaimed as she burst into his bungalow.

“Look Claire, (y/n) is missing as well” he explained to Claire.

“Whose (y/n)?”

“I found her last night after she broke into my bungalow. I told her to stay put, why would she run off after she promised me?”

“Maybe her parents finally found her, Owen we have to find my nephews and fast before the Indominus does”. Owen turned towards Claire and sneered down at her.

“You helped create this thing, and you willingly brought your nephews here, now I’ll help you find them but our first priority is getting (y/n). And if anything happens to that little girl, it’s on your hands”. He then walked out and told her to hurry up and soon the two of them drove off.

Deep in the jungles, (y/n) had jumped across some boulders and was now surrounded by lake water as she tried to get the last butterfly that was fluttering around her. She chirped and growled softly as she chomped in mid air and that’s when she heard a very familiar roar.

She stopped and stayed quiet and heard the roar again. She crooned softly and hopped across the rocks back to the main land and let out a couple of roars but sadly they weren’t loud enough. She then began to track her mother’s scent hoping to reunite with her very soon.

It must have been at least an hour and (y/n) was nowhere close to finding her mother. She leaned up against a log and whimpered sadly as tears filled her eyes. Hoping for the best, she tried roaring again but they still weren’t as strong and powerful as her mother’s, she was beginning to think that she’d never reunite with her mother again.

Suddenly something vroomed towards her. An old 1993 Jurassic Park jeep suddenly zoomed a few feet past her and a voice cried out.

“Zac wait!”

“Grey I’m not stopping not with that thing behind us!”

“But there’s a little girl here stop the car!” The jeep suddenly stopped and coming out of the car were two young boys. One was taller with short dark brown hair and brown eyes, and the other was shorter with almost sandy blonde maybe dirty blonde hair, blue eyes.

These two boys were none other than Claire’s nephews, Zac and Grey Mitchell. Grey was the first one to approach her.

“Hey, are you lost?” (Y/n) wished that she could speak human tongue but she settled for a simple nod. “Where are your parents at?” She only whimpered and crooned at Grey and that’s when Zac said.

“Grey, I don’t think she can speak. She might me a mute” he whispered the last part to Grey in his ear in hopes to not offend (y/n). Suddenly a roar was heard and both boys froze up. “Come on we gotta get out of here now!” stated Zac. Without warning, Grey picked (y/n) up and the two boys piled back into the car and Zac started the engine up once more and drove off just as the Indominus Rex came out from the trees roaring furiously.

As Zac put it in gear and gave the jeep more gas to try and outrun this monster, Grey said to his big brother.

“It’s catching up! Make it go faster!” The I-Rex roared as it stayed right on the jeeps tail. (Y/n) looked straight ahead and finally recognized this creature as her mother. She crooned softly but her mother wasn’t stopping at all, her intent was to kill all of them.

The two brothers kept arguing about how to outrun this creature that they had no idea that they were about to fall into a ditch. Suddenly the jeep fell head first into the big ditch which jerked all three kids and the jeep began to smoke up. The three of them groaned and Zac said as he turned behind him.

“You two okay?”

“I’m fine” said Grey. He then looked over (y/n) and minus a couple of scratches, she was fine. But soon the roaring came above them as a shadow loomed over the three children.

The Indominus Rex finally had them in her sights.

Zac came over both his brother and (y/n) hoping that the beast would take him first and spare his little brother as well as the kid. (Y/n) walked in front of the Indominus Rex, all the while the brothers tried to urge her back or to run away. (Y/n) crooned and chirped up at her mom while she only kept roaring, (y/n) then suddenly felt something wanting to come out of her throat, her crooning soon turned into a very loud roar almost similar to the I-Rex’s.

The Indominus ceased her roaring and grunted softly as she lowered her head. (Y/n) crooned as Zac and Grey both cried out.

“No, don’t!” But what they didn’t expect was for the I-Rex to suddenly lick (y/n) motherly. They watched as she hopped up onto the I-Rex’s muzzle and they heard soft growling and purrs.

Mother and daughter were finally reunited after several days apart.

The two of them nuzzled and purred against each other as Zac said to himself.

“What the hell?”

“Zac I think—I think that’s her mom”. Stated Grey as he stared at the action in front of him.

“But that’s impossible, she’s human and that’s a thing”.

“Maybe Aunt Claire knows something about this”. Grey then cautiously walked up towards the mother and daughter and the mama I-Rex snarled defensively as she wrapped her head protectively around her pup. But (y/n) crooned and spoke to her mother in their tongue telling her that he was a friend.

She then walked up towards Grey and he asked her.

“Can—she help us find our aunt? She has orange hair and wears a lab coat, she might be out there looking for us?”

“Doubtful” pipped in Zac. Grey glared at his brother before turning his attention back to (y/n).

“Can she?” (Y/n) went up to her mother and the two of them began to talk and it was then she got on top of her mother’s head and gestured to the boys to hop on. Grey immediately hopped on while Zac was still a bit weary, I mean after all just 2 minutes ago this thing tried to eat them. “I’d never thought in my wildest dreams I’d actually be riding a dinosaur, this is the coolest thing ever!”

“I’ve seen cooler” muttered Zac as he held on tight as the I-Rex proceeded to walk on ahead.

Meanwhile Owen and Claire were searching through the jungles for the three lost kids and that’s when they started to hear the thunderous footsteps. Owen and Claire hid beneath a log to see the I-Rex coming out but what they were shocked to find were the three kids they were searching for actually riding the I-Rex.

“Zac? Grey!” Claire cried out. It soon got their attention and the boys cried out to their aunt. The mama I-Rex lowered her head down and the boys took off running towards their aunt and they all met in a family embrace. Meanwhile Owen saw (Y/n) slide off the I-Rex’s head and he ran up to her.

But before he reached her, the I-Rex defensively snarled at Owen, seeing that he now held a weapon on his person and saw him as a threat to her and her child, especially since she’s dealt with weapons like that before whenever she failed to comply. (Y/n) crooned up at her mama telling him that he saved her and fed her.

Mama tried to reason with her child telling her that men like that who hold what they call guns are bad people. They do nothing but hurt and kill, but (y/n) told her mama that he was different. He took care of her and protected her when she had nowhere else to go. The Mama I-Rex hesitantly complied and allowed her daughter to go up to Owen and hug his legs.

“Oh thank god you’re okay. You shouldn’t have run off like that!” He suddenly snapped. (Y/n) whimpered sadly looking up at Owen with sad eyes hoping that he’d forgive her and seeing those puppy dog eyes, Owen complied and said, “Ohh I can’t stay mad at you”.

“Wait this is (y/n)?” asked Claire.

“Yep this is (n/n)”.

“You’ve found her, no one’s been able to find her for over four days” stated Claire.

“What do you mean Aunt Claire?” asked Zac.

“She’s the child experiment we created to be half human, half Indominus but she somehow escaped the paddock and we haven’t been able to find her since. So all of this was…..a rescue mission?” She turned towards the I-Rex and the creature turned towards Claire.

And for the first time, Claire actually felt a human within the I-Rex, she almost saw the eyes of her sister looking back at her.

The eyes of a mother, wanting her baby back.

“Wait so you created (y/n)?”

“The scientists did, they wanted to see if it was possible to combine human and dino DNA to have a better understanding of their worlds. Someone to be the bridge between Man and Beast. She was the first ever successful asset to truly grow like a normal child” explained Claire. Owen looked down at (y/n) who looked up at him.

“So what happens now? I mean they’re together, can’t they just be put back in their paddock?” asked Grey.

“I’m afraid not, with all the deaths the Indominus has done, security has made the call for it to be terminated on sight”.

“But then that would leave (y/n) an orphan!” exclaimed Grey. Owen looked down to (y/n) and he said.

“Not on my watch,” he then turned towards Claire and her nephews and told them to create a distraction and tell security that they saw the I-Rex head for the South side of the island, meanwhile Owen would lead the two of them to the West side and hopefully find them a safe place to hide.

“Are you sure about this Owen?” asked Claire.

“Never been sure in my life, go now before they find us”. It was then the Mitchell’s took off in the jeep while Owen got on his bike and told (y/n), “Tell your mom to follow me”. (Y/n) chirped at her mother as she crawled back on top of her mother’s head and soon the three of them took off to the West side of the island.

After awhile of running and riding, Owen finally got the two I-Rex’s to a safe, uninhabited and rugged terrain where (Y/n) and her mom would be safe.

“Alright, no one should find you both here. Think you both can stay up here and stay out of sight?” (Y/n) nodded then told her mama to put her down. She lowered her head and allowed her daughter to walk up to Owen.

She pulled on his jeans and chirped at him almost wanting him to come with them all the way till they found a new home. Owen got off his bike and said to her.

“I can’t go from here. My bike won’t be able to make the trip, and I doubt I’d even survive the trip back by myself if I were to follow you. This is where we have to say goodbye sweetheart”. (Y/n) looked at him with sad eyes and nuzzled into his chest whimpering sadly. Owen embraced her tightly and said as he tried to be strong and hold back his tears, “I know, I’ll miss you too. But hell who knows, maybe we’ll meet again someday, now go on. Scat!”

(Y/n) slowly walked away from Owen and her and her mother walked on ahead to find their new home somewhere on the West side of the island. All the while, Owen allowed a tear to escape his face as he sniffled softly.

“Good luck (y/n)” he choked out and he stayed there until he saw the tail of the I-Rex finally disappear from his sight over the rocky hills. Owen wiped away the tears from his cheeks and got back on his bike and rode back to the park.

He met up with Claire and her nephews who were at the Visitor Center and Claire took one look at Owen’s heartbroken face and knew that it had been done.

“Are they safe?” asked Grey. Owen took a deep breath in and cleared his throat as he said.

“Yep, they’re safely far away from here. They’ll be fine kid”. Owen looked out into the distance and hoped that maybe one day he would see (y/n) again.

#jurassic world #jurassic world oneshot #owen grady imagine #owen grady oneshot #owen grady x reader #owen grady x child reader #jurassic world fandom #jurassic world fanfiction #owen grady fanfic

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bold · 7 years ago

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Grocery Shopping - Ch. 1

Read it on AO3!

Chapter Summary: Evan Hansen can't sleep, and somehow this is cause for many, many problems.

Notes: hi im writing thos boys. first time ever posting a deh fic here we go!!! its sincerely three (eventually). this chapter is Very kleinsen but i promise sincerely three is coming. (tw for arguments and aggression and panic attacks and stuff. prolly mentions of suicide/self harm in the future, but not in this chapter)

It always felt weird for Evan sit in the grocery store break room and wait for Jared. No one was in the store at 12 A.M. No one worked the night shift but Jared, and Evan knew that, so he'd sneak into the staff break room with the key Jared (very illegally) provided him with in case of emergencies. Emergencies, Evan had decided, could be considered anything causing Evan so much distress that he needed face-to-face consolation.

At 10 P.M., Evan was having trouble falling asleep. At 11 P.M., Evan decided he wasn't going to sleep that night. Within the next half hour, he was pulling a jacket over his pajamas and trudging out to his mom's pathetic excuse for a minivan. If he wasn't going to sleep, he could at least spend the next few hours with his best friend.

The break room felt so eerie with no one but Evan occupying it. Circular, grey tables stood accompanied by their matching chairs, vacant of anyone to fill the seats. Evan watched them carefully, convinced they’d move if he gave them too much leeway. When he was all alone in the break room, Evan felt like he was in a different dimension; one slightly altered, where there was the chance that chairs might move if not kept under surveillance. Maybe he was just sleep-deprived.

“Evan?”

Suddenly, the spell was broken and he was looking up at Jared with saucer-sized eyes. Jared was leaning against the door frame, looking at Evan skeptically. Jared took Evan’s silence as an invitation to keep talking as he strode into the room with a tactfully nonchalant hand in his back pocket. Always casual, disinterested Jared. Never too attached until Evan looked up at him with sleepy puppy-dog eyes. Jared gave him a small, wry smile, but the concern sat heavy between his eyebrows. “Everything okay?”

Evan nodded clumsily, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment before forcing himself to speak. “Couldn’t sleep.” Jared placed a hand on Evan’s shoulder and the tension staking his spine dissolved. He leaned into the comforting weight of Jared’s hand, which was now giving Evan’s shoulder gentle squeezes. “Sorry, I guess it wasn’t really an emergency--”

“Nah, you’re cool,” Jared reassured him with such little thought that Evan thought his heart might burst. It was so easy to be friends with Jared. It was so easy to let his shoulders slump and put his anxiety on pause for a few hours.

Evan’s smile was stiff only due to lack of practice. The motion was genuine, though, and he reluctantly drew away from Jared’s touch so he could stand up. “Cool.”

“C’mon, store’s pretty much deserted. My shift’s over in, like, half an hour anyway."

Evan knew that, but didn’t say anything. It might have been creepy that he knew Jared’s work schedule so well, but he’d rather be a little creepy to himself than a lot creepy to whatever poor soul caught him sitting in the break room for an hour before realizing Jared wasn’t working that night.

His hands twitched. Bad thoughts. Those weren’t allowed in the grocery store. It was a rule Evan set up for himself. No crazy hypotheticals, no panic attacks, no self-deprecation (except in the form of jokes that made Jared’s lips press together to suppress a snort). The stillness of the empty grocery store was the one place Evan allowed himself total peace of mind. No one really came around in the early hours of the morning, despite the store being open 24/7. Not that Evan was complaining. Having the store entirely at Evan and Jared's disposal was strangely exhilarating.

“Don’t you have a job to do?” Evan demanded, quirking an amused eyebrow at how Jared was guiding Evan through the store with seemingly no destination.

Jared cracked his first grin of the night. “Evan Hansen,” he gasped in mock offense. “Do I look like the kind of man who gives in to the clutches of capitalism?”

“No,” Evan admitted. “You look like a twink who works at an Easy Mart and is about to get his ass fired.”

Now Jared was laughing, elbowing Evan in the ribs as affectionately as he could. “Shut up, asshole.” As they rounded the turn from one row of shelves to the next, the pair was met with an abandoned shopping cart, idling at the beginning of an aisle.

“Are you gonna put that awa-- Jared!”

Jared was climbing into the cart. It wobbled dangerously as he struggled to sling his short legs over the side, but once he was in, Jared turned back to Evan with an expectant expression.

There was no way Evan was going to push Jared down the aisle. It was too dangerous! Jared could get hurt, they could knock a whole shelf over! “Absolutely not,” Evan said firmly. Jared’s bottom lip dipped into a pout and he fluttered his eyelashes. Evan crossed his arms like a self-defense mechanism, but he could feel himself already wavering. “N-No way! It’s a terrible idea--”

“Please?” Jared purred, and Evan was done for.

With a huff, Evan uncrossed his arms and placed his hands firmly on the shopping cart’s handle bar. “Fine,” he conceded shortly. “But when you fall out and break your arm, I am so not signing your cast.”

“That’s such a low bl-- OH MY GOD!” In the middle of his sentence, Evan shoved the cart as hard as he could and sent Jared barreling down the aisle. Jared’s instinctive screaming soon dissolved into laughter and for a moment, Evan thought it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

That was until Jared crashed into a self checkout machine and the cart toppled over.

Evan’s mouth filled with apologies as he scrambled over to Jared, who was still grinning. “Oh my God, Jarebear, I’m so sorry, I didn’t expect it to-- I just thought-- Are you okay?”

Jared’s hand found Evan’s bicep, seemingly to steady himself until he gave it a squeeze. “Dude, you’re ripped.”

Unable to tell if it was a compliment or flirting, Evan opted to hide his face against Jared’s shoulder in response to that comment. Jared moved his hand from Evan’s bicep to the back of his neck, fiddling idly with the soft hair there. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Might’ve broke the checkout thing, though.”

Evan giggled into the fabric of Jared’s uniform and, rather than pulling away, nestled closer. He was starting to get sleepy and Jared rhythmically combing his fingers through his hair wasn’t helping. It was only after Jared’s hand stilled did Evan realize someone was in the store with them. Immediately, he sat up, face flushing at the intimate state he and Jared had been caught in.

In the most unfortunate turn of events, the people who caught Jared and Evan’s cuddle session were none other than the Murphy siblings.

“What the fuck are you two doing?” demanded the eldest of the pair, Connor. Evan couldn’t give a specific reason for why he hated Connor Murphy so much. He just really, really hated Connor Murphy. He was so stuck up, so rich, so ungrateful for everything his parents did for him. He thought he was better than everyone else and still had the nerve to be self-deprecating. It was infuriating.

Unfazed, Jared scooted away from Evan and stood up. “Hello, welcome to Easy Mart. How can I help you?” he deadpanned, clearly not interested in helping either Murphy sibling one bit. Evan followed suit, standing and hauling the shopping cart upright with him.

“I didn’t know you worked here,” Zoe commented lightly, her cheeks flushed a soft pink, as if she’d just caught Evan and Jared having sex.

Jared gestured to his own chest, which bore an Easy Mart vest and matching ‘Hi, my name is: JARED’ pin. “Whatever would give you that idea?”

Evan shifted uncomfortably at Jared's side. "Wh-Why are you guys here?"

Apparently displeased that Evan had opened his mouth, Connor sneered. "What? Are we not allowed to shop here now that you and the missus have decided this is your property?"

"Connor found a cat!" Zoe interjected abruptly. Connor shot her a death glare, but she didn't falter. "A little stray kitten walked up to him while he was outside and we came here to buy it food."

As adorable as it sounded, Evan couldn't allow himself to think about Connor Murphy petting a kitten. "Oh. That's--"

“But, of course, you two have to be here,” Connor interrupted, clearly flustered. “Easy Mart is apparently the only place that lets its employees make out with their boyfriends on the job.” The thought of Jared being his boyfriend sent heat to Evan’s cheeks and a shiver up his spine.

Noticing his discomfort, Zoe surprisingly came to Evan’s rescue. “Shut up, Connor, you work at 7/11.”

Connor scoffed, affronted that his sister would compare him to the likes of Jared Kleinman. “I’m just saving up money so I can get out of our fucking hell house as soon as I graduate.” Zoe made a similarly offended noise and the siblings’ words dissolved into overlapping arguments.

It was uncomfortable to watch. Evan pressed closer to Jared as a means of comfort, who placed a hand on Evan’s bicep again. However, it was a gentler gesture -- one to keep him tethered in place instead of drifting into a more panicked mindset. “Could you guys not air out your dysfunctional family laundry right in front of us, maybe?” Evan whispered to Jared, who rewarded him with a snort.

Evan wondered if the small noise of approval was worth it when Connor’s eyes were suddenly trained on him. The siblings’ argument was forgotten as Connor stalked up to Evan. Though he was only an inch or two taller, Connor seemed to loom menacingly over Evan. “What was that, Hansen?”

All pride abandoned, Evan immediately shrunk into himself. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t-- I was-- You were just--”

“Oh, I was ‘just’? Just what, huh? Was I bothering you? Well, maybe it bothers me when I walk into a grocery store to find you and Kleinman making out on the fucking floor!”

“We weren’t making out!” Evan suddenly exclaimed, the near-screaming height of his voice shutting even Connor up. Unfortunately, Evan didn’t know when to shut up until it was too late. “Friends can be affectionate with each other! Not that you’d know, since you’ve got no friends and you wouldn’t know mutual affection if it hit you over the fucking head!”

Evan clasped a hand over his own mouth, as if he could somehow put the words back inside. Connor was stunned only for a moment before he shoved Evan, sending the latter stumbling backwards. “You don’t know shit about me, Hansen! You think you’re so fucking smart with your little comments, don’t you?”

“Stop--”

“Don’t you?”

“N-No--!”

“Fuck you!”

“Connor, that’s enough,” Jared suddenly intruded, pushing Connor back enough so he could wedge himself between he and Evan. “Get out.”

Connor wavered, debating whether he should keep arguing. He seemed to decide that it wasn’t worth it. “Fuck you guys,” he muttered once more before storming out of the store.

Zoe looked utterly exhausted. “I’m so sorry about--”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Jared assured her quickly. “D’you need me to drive you home?”

Zoe Murphy was the exact opposite of her brother. She had the prettiest smile Evan had ever seen. Her hair was soft and her cheeks were rosy. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and shook her head. “No, no. I should go calm him down… Thanks, though. Really.” She meant it. Evan could tell. “I’ll, um--” she mustered a crooked smile. “I’ll see you guys around.” She turned to leave, but hesitated, sending the boys another glance. "He's trying," she added, almost vacantly. So tired. "He's trying to get better. I'm really sorry about him."

Then she was gone.

Once Zoe left, Evan broke down. So much for his “no panic attacks” rule. Jared’s arms were sturdy around him, and clutching the back of his Easy Mart vest kept Evan from drowning in his own hysteria. Jared shushed Evan whenever he tried to babble out some incoherent apology. A hand was back in Evan’s hair and it made Evan double over into another fit of sobs from the genuineness of the gesture. “I got you,” Jared promised. “I’m right here.”

Evan was so lucky.

Once he was run dry of tears and utterly exhausted, Evan mumbled that he’d like to go home now, please. “Where’s your car?” he asked once they’d shuffled out into the parking lot.

Jared shrugged. “I was gonna take an Uber. C’mon, I’ll drive you home.” So, so lucky. Evan furled his hand into the fabric of Jared’s jacket, which had taken the place of the Easy Mart vest. “Tired?” Jared asked in response to Evan yawning into his hand. His eyebrow was quirked and his smirk was crooked, but it was overwhelmingly comforting.

Evan nodded, jerky and deliberate, much like a toddler. He climbed into the passenger seat while Jared took the wheel. As soon as he was in the comfort of his mother’s minivan, Evan slumped against the door and rested his head against the window. It was so dark outside. Evan peered over at Jared, who was illuminated by the sickly yellow car light.

“What’re you staring at?” Jared’s voice was so sweet. Evan could hardly breathe.

“Nothing.”

Jared shook his head and reached over for Evan’s hand. Evan gave it to him. He couldn’t imagine a scenario where he wouldn’t give Jared his hand.

“You’re such a weirdo.” There was no venom in the statement. It didn’t sting. Jared squeezed Evan’s hand. It was suddenly a lot less dark outside. “Let’s get you home, Ev."

#deh #dear evan hansen #sincerely three #kleinsen #tree bros #conman #kleinphy #evan hansen #connor murphy #jared kleinman #zoe murphy #deh fanfic #my writing #sincerelyme.txt

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imgoldielikehawn · 7 years ago

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Just A Dancer Part 8

Hello Foolish Mortals!

here is part 8 for your pleasure

WARNING: There is “Love making” ahead lol

ENJOY and as always send me some love xoxoxoxo

CORAS POV

There are moments in life that seem to pass by in a blur and there are moments in life that you wish would fade from your mind completely; but the best moments are the ones that seem to stretch on into eternity. This was one of those moments, I felt like I was watching myself unwind from the ceiling. In truth I was coming completely undone for a man I had just met and it was the most amazing and sensually destructive thing that had happened to me.

My head hit the soft pillows in slow motion as Jai paused looking my near bare body over with a dark look in his eyes. I didn’t feel embarrassed, how could I? I was in need, pure adulterated, animalistic need. He was usually a man of several words and phrases but not this time. He placed both hands on either side of my head and the bed shifted beneath his weight. He leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on my shoulder where my bra strap was, towards the end of his kiss I felt his tongue against my skin. I closed my eyes as his lips traveled up my shoulder and he stopped at my neck. His beard tickled and I shuddered as I imagined what it would feel like rubbing against my sensitive folds.

My breath caught and mouth hung open when his hand slid in between my thighs. Using his remaining hand he slid it behind my back and pulled me up and into his lap. Straddling him gave me quite a bit of freedom to explore him but instead I found myself staring into is beckoning blue eyes. He was so intense and his lips seemed to form my name. I leaned forward and placed my lips against his savoring how they joined perfectly with mine. Running my hands over his bare shoulders and down his forearms while he watched turned me on. Starting my slow assault on Jais erection made his grip on my hips tighten.

“Dance for me?” His voice came out low.

I slid off his lap and walked over to the small speaker I had on the dresser. I pressed play and slipped into a slow and sexy routine with ease. The song was called “It Won’t Stop” by Sevyn Streeter and Chris Brown. I looped my thumbs into the top of my red panties and slowly shimmed them down showing Jai just enough to make him wonder. Dropping to the floor I spread my thighs open wide and ran my hands between my breasts and over my panties then let them rest on my thighs. I dropped forward on my knees and lifted my hands above my head pretending my hands here his I rand them through my cropped hair and over my extended neck and then made direct eye contact with him. I watched him as he watched me hungrily when I started crawling back over to him resting my hands on his knees.

I pulled myself up and swayed side to side as he found the courage to reach out and slowly lower my panties as he kissed my mid section. He didn’t need to tell me anything as I lowered myself onto his hard cock. I savored in the feel of him stretching me and I couldn’t help myself as I leaned forward and moaned into his hair. “I wanna watch ya, look at me Cor.” He growled.

I pulled my body back from his and he kept one hand on my lower back and the other around my neck guiding me. “Go on love roll ya hips for me” he whispered. I started to feel like I was watching from above again while I rolled my hips over his cock. My chest was rising and falling heavily and my eyes? They were long rolled to the back of my brain. I couldn’t speak, just moan. His grip on my hips and neck tightened and he pulled us further back onto the bed flipping us over. His hand moved from my neck to my wrists pinning the two of them together above my head while continued to drive me slowly over the edge. I arched my back to meet his powerful and languid thrusts.

“Wut do-ya want?” He grunted.

I couldn’t very well find a lady-like version of “fuck me until I cum so hard the neighbors can hear” it so tangled my legs with his and caught him off guard when I slipped out of his grasp and rolled us over again so that I was on top. I smirked down at him as I rode him out watching his hands grip the bed sheets and his chin shoot towards the sky. My body started to curl in on itself as the ripple of pleasure made its way from the center of my core. Sensing that I was close to Cumming he pulled me down close to him and placed his handsome mouth over mine using the leverage to control the pace and thrust up into my already aching pussy. I finally found my voice at this moment “ Oh… My.. God…” I gasped unable to do anything else as he fucked me into the best orgasm I’ve ever had.

JAIS POV

Watching Cora Cum was what sent me over the edge with her. Fuck I never wanted to stop and this was our first root. I knew there was gonna be more because there was no way this sheila was gettin away from me now and when my name came across her perfect lips I knew she was mine. I rolled her gently back on to the bed so we could catch our breaths. I didn’t really know what to say to her for one, that was the best sex I ever had and two her dancing skills showed even in the bedroom.

“I’m going to be late for practice.” she said as I watched her chest rise and fall.

“I tried ta tell ya.” I chuckled.

“I know, I’m not looking forward to practice either.” She sat up on the bed and I watched as she stood up slowly. I felt a cheeky grin on my face when I heard her wince from the poundin I gave her.

“Ya right?” I asked hiding my grin.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She groaned and closed the bathroom behind her.

I know she needed to go to practice for her show but I wanted another round with her and I just wanted ta hold her. I rolled off the bed and found my jeans. Sliding into them I pulled out my cell and saw that I had several missed calls from Mecki and a few messages from Jason. I finished dressing and waited for her to come out of the bathroom when I heard the shower. Cautiously I walked up to the bathroom door and gently pushed it open. There was no curtain to the shower just a glass door and there she was naked with the water running over her fantastic ass and perfect breasts. She turned her head to look over at me as I walked up to the glass door. I could see the drops of water hanging on her long dark lashes she opened the glass door halfway.

“You heading out?” she said using her hands to cup the water as it fell.

“Yeah, I promised mum id have dinner with her this Arvo.” I watched desperately as she ran her hands over her shoulders and the water drops handing from her raised nipples.

“Well alright, will you bring Mila by later?” she reached for the soap.

“Fuckin hell woman! Ya trying to give me a heart attack.” I shoved my jacked off and stepped into the shower with her, clothes and all.

She grinned at me standing wet under the shower head and I backed her up against the warm stone wall. I crushed my lips against hers hard and she met me with twice as much force. I was already fucking addicted.

“Looks like you’re going to be late for dinner.” she smirked between kisses.

“She’ll be right, but you wont.” I ran my fingers along her slit and smirked when I heard her gasp.

“Looks like I’ll be missing practice.” she moaned.

“Yeah ya will….” I kissed her again.

SIX MONTHS LATER

CORAS POV

Jai and I fucked our way around the country for the first two months of my tour but he had to go back to LA. So the last four months everything had been long distance. It was finally time for me to come home! When the rest of the girls found out about Jai, they never stopped asking questions and it wasn't long before the rumor about us started to fly around in the tabloids and media sites. I was never “The Mystery Girl” in Jai’s eyes and he was dying to go public with our relationship. I however jut wasn’t ready, once the world learned who I was my life would change whether I wanted it to or not. I knew I couldn’t hide it forever but this was my life too. I had already submitted to the idea of being with Jai forever and that alone scared me. We’d only be together for six months and so far everything was perfect. We had minor issues like every couple. We fought like cats and dogs, about everything but Jai was so fine that my temper fizzled out the second I saw his spark. Angry Jai was a force to be fucked with and I used “Fucked” here in a literal sense. He drove me insane in the worst and best way. I wasn’t even sure how I had fallen so fast. Neither one of us had dropped the “L” bomb yet but there were moments when I could feel it on the tip of my tongue. When we touched down in LA it was early in the morning and I had asked Zoe to just call me a cab, but when I walked off that plane I could see that my entire family was waiting for me.

I ran in to my fathers arms first, followed by my mothers. Zoe pulled me into a huge next and Jason and Lisa joined in. I had missed them all so much and what's strange was that when I hugged the three of them I felt more at home then I did with my own parents. I pulled back from them and saw Jai standing to the side waiting patiently. We hadn't really talked about how this reunion would go and we certainly hadn't planned to be surrounded by family. So, I took a leap of faith and ran up to him and jumped into his strong arms. Pulling back i cupped his chin and planted a deep kiss on his oh so inviting lips.

LISAS POV

I looked over to see the shocked look on Cora’s parents faces and Jason’s proud grin. I couldn’t help smiling myself. I expected them to hug and hold hands but for her to jump into his arms meant things had went even better then Jason and I thought. If the media didn’t know about them before they did now! I smiled to myself and looked over at Cree to see and dreamy look on her face. “You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about when I looked like that over someone.” she sighed.

“You have nothing to worry about, he’s a good man.” I reassured her.

“I know, he and I have met. The way he talks about her scares me Lisa.” she frowned.

“Why?” I asked genuinely puzzled.

“He loves her already. He lives for her and I wonder if its the same for her that’s all.” she cocked her head to the side as she watched Jai and Cora lean against each other.

“I know, its like magnets. One moves..” I started.

“The other follows…” she finished.

I patted her shoulder and sighed. Cree had always been observant but I suppose watching your daughter love someone that wasn’t you was even harder when you barely had a chance to love her yourself…..

@kenzieam @captstefanbrandt @ariwolff14 @readsalot73 @beltz2016 @jojuarez26 @maan2442Â @xxrubyredrosexx @cafe-sabor-a-chocolate @beastcoastbitchez @capitanostella @o0idk0o @titty-teetee

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discoabc · 7 years ago

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Ch 20 Deleted Scene: Dog sitting

A/N: So sorry that requests have been taking a while! Revision has been weighing me down more than I thought it would OTL Anyway, this is another team 10 deleted encounter with Sakura! I didn’t use it because again I decided I preferred the idea I am going to use in the fic but this one was ridiculously fun to write :)

Sasuke being at the meeting point the next day was something of a relief to see as I approached the bridge. I took up the spot opposite him, leaning against the railing and hoping that I’d shown up late enough for the wait for Kakashi to be relatively short.

“Is your arm better now?”

I blinked, staring at Sasuke in honest surprise. I’d been expecting all progress we’d had into becoming people who could stand being around each other to have gone to hell after I’d been made to stay behind to talk to the Hokage and he’d been dismissed. It was admittedly slightly unnerving that it hadn’t. Although, since Iruka had told him the reason as to why Naruto had been asked to stay behind, he might’ve come to the conclusion my reason hadn’t been that nice either.

“Yeah, I got it healed by the hospital the day we came back,” I told him, moving my arm a little to punctuate my point. “Thanks, for asking,” I then added somewhat awkwardly.

Sasuke nodded in an equally awkward fashion, stuffing his hands into his pockets and glancing away. “At the very least it’s quieter without the idiot around,” he muttered after a minute or so.

“I’m thankful for every moment of silence I have because of him,” I murmured in agreement. His lips twitched into a small smirk.

“Ah yes, the bonding over an absent team member is heartwarming indeed.” We both looked upwards to see Kakashi perched on top of the bridge, wiggling his fingers in greeting.

“Your cat and dogs were sick again?” I asked as he hopped down, Sasuke shooting me a questioning look whilst Kakashi placed his hand over his heart.

“Of course not, that would be a blatant lie,” he informed me with an entirely straight face. “It was my pet owl.”

...Of course it was.

Sasuke looked equally unimpressed but didn’t say anything, having clearly picked up from all of Naruto’s one-sided shrieking matches with the man that arguing with him resulted in only in a headache for you and more amusement for him. “Anyway, since Naruto has gone and gotten himself suspended in record time and there aren’t many missions for only two genin,” Kakashi paused, presumably for dramatic effect, “you guys are going to join up with other teams.”

Sasuke looked even more unimpressed. “So, essentially, you’re shirking responsibility as our jōnin-sensei again.”

Kakashi hummed. “I prefer ‘allowing my students to independently strengthen bonds with fellow Konoha-nin’.”

“Meaning yes.”

Another look of mock offense directed at me. “Continuing on, you’ll be working with these teams for the next few weeks so play nice, children. Sasuke, the meeting spot for your team is outside the Konoha library and Sakura, Amaguriama.” I recognized the name as being one of the sweet shops on the Konoha tea avenue.

“Which teams have we been assigned to?” Sasuke asked sensibly.

Kakashi smiled “It’s a surprise. Oh, and by the way, you’re already an hour late, so you’d best start running. See you soon!” He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Both Sasuke and I glared at the spot the jōnin had last been in.

Motherfucker.

I ran until I got to the tea avenue, slowing to a jog there and deciding for the billionth time that Kakashi, for all the begrudgingly admitted helpful talks he’d had with me, was a first rate asshole. It was a fact I’d somehow forgotten whilst going through the hell of the Wave mission and hadn’t been eager to recall either.

My only hope by this point was that the team I’d been assigned to was aware of Kakashi’s nature and had stuck by the shop despite how late I was. It was going to be intensely annoying and painful if they hadn’t because that meant going to the Hokage’s tower in an attempt to figure out which team I was meant to be with and deal with their subsequent irritation when I did meet them.

God damn it Kakashi.

Sidestepping another civilian, the sign for Amaguriama came into view and I slowed further, scanning my surroundings with more care. Hopefully, at least one member would be wearing the standard Konoha flak jacket since fashion meant spotting forehead protectors difficult (which I saw as a plus with mine on my arm as against an enemy-nin there would be potentially a few moments before they saw I was a Konoha-nin).

My eyes found a flak jacket immediately, the owner sat on the bench outside the shop. I also recognized them just as quickly, realization as to which team I’d been assigned to kicking in hard. The owner seemed to notice he was being stared at and turned, focusing on me straight away. He raised a hand in greeting, waving me over as he tapped his cigarette, ash dropping into the tray below.

“Hey, team seven’s Sakura, right?” Asuma greeted me with an easy going smile as a sudden feeling of ingrained dread dropped in my stomach. “I was beginning to wonder where you’d got to, but then remembered what Kakashi’s like.”

“Sakura?” A familiar feminine voice called out my name in a mixture of surprise and confusion, blonde hair swishing as Ino poked her head out around Asuma’s side. “Wait, so you mean the person we were waiting for this entire time was Sakura?!”

“You’re so loud.”

Ino made the noise of someone who had been criticized one too many times in a short period and there was a resounding thud as her victim hit the ground. I glanced down at Shikamaru, the boy seeming to be seriously considering whether it was honestly worth getting back onto the bench before he looked up and squinted a little at me. “Come on, let’s at least pretend we’re civilized in front of other people,” Asuma sighed and as if on cue I then looked round to see Chōji stuffing crisps into his mouth with all the grace and dignity of a starved hyena.

Ino glowered at Asuma, flicking her hair behind her shoulder. “I’m perfectly civilized, thank you very much,” she retorted. Shikamaru poorly disguised his snort at that from down on the ground and earned an even fiercer glare in response. Chōji had wisely opted to not involve himself in the situation, still chewing away.

“I’m Asuma, in case Kakashi managed to ‘forget’ to tell you,” the jōnin then informed me, opting to ignore what was going on in front of him. “I assume you remember these guys from the Academy?” I nodded. “And you guys remember Sakura?”

Three pairs of eyes focused on me and I suddenly got the urge to throw my hood up over my head. It was a reaction hammered into me by all those years of trying my best to limit any and all interaction with the trio. I didn’t really need to do that anymore, not when my cover of normalcy had been thoroughly shattered, but something inside me that had slowly been built up through those years of playing the part of the average girl cringed at the attention they were paying to me.

“Of course we know who she is,” Ino told Asuma rather snappily and I wasn’t surprised by the nod of agreement Chōji gave, assuming Shikamaru held the same knowledge of me. We’d been in the same class for years so it was natural they had some awareness of who I was. Ino especially had no reason to forget me - I’d been her designated sparring partner for years. Had I not been friends with her arch nemesis Ami, I got the feeling Ino might’ve tried to be more than merely amiable with me.

The sudden thought of the purple haired girl jolted me a little. I had no idea how or what she was doing. She’d been a bitch but she’d also been a constant presence for a good portion of my life and it felt strange to not know anything about what had happened to her.

“Well then, that makes things a lot easier,” Asuma declared, cleanly sweeping away those thoughts. He stood up and took one last drag before extinguishing his cigarette. “We might as well get it over and done with. You can reacquaint yourselves whilst we wait in the missions queue.”

Ino groaned at the idea, loudly, whilst Shikamaru finally heaved himself to his feet. “The life of a ninja is so hard, I know.” Asuma grinned, then glanced back at me. “And, since Kakashi doesn’t believe in queues, I imagine it’ll be a good experience for you too.”

I wondered briefly whether there was a level of enjoyment at others’ misery one had to surpass in order to become a jōnin. Then again, it was a widely accepted fact that most jōnin didn’t want to have to take on teams. It was a large step down from commanding a skilled squad of ninja to taking care of inexperienced kids. And when you’d reached that rank which was only surpassed by the title of Hokage, it was unusual to not look upon the newer generation with a vision jaded and hardened from what you’d been through.

Gently (or roughly in Kakashi’s case) taunting us was probably a sort of minor revenge for the situation they’d been put into.

Or they could all just be assholes, which was a perfectly good theory in of itself.

“Wonderful,” I muttered dryly instead, Asuma clearly taking well to my sarcasm and chuckling as he led the way.

Ino dropped in beside me as we walked, irritation replaced with a sort of cautious curiosity and innate friendliness. “So, how have you been, Sakura?” She asked in a lilting voice, testing the waters with keen eyes.

Oh, you know, had my cover busted by my asshole of a jōnin instructor, killed a couple of guys, had intense, debilitating panic attacks and watched numerous people die, some in horrific fashions. Same old, same old.

“...Good.”

She nodded with a sigh. “I bet it. You’ve got Sasuke on your team after all.” As she said his name, there was a dreamy look in her eyes. “How is he by the way?”

Out of the corner of my vision, I caught Shikamaru rolling his eyes, the boy seeming content to walk quietly beside Chōji whilst Ino attempted to snare me in some form of conversation. “Good too, I think.”

“Devilishly handsome as per usual then?”

I put the back of my hand to my mouth to cover up how I almost choked on air, willing my expression not to become what it had with Tenten and feeling I was losing the battle terribly. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand why people found Sasuke attractive, it was just that it was...Sasuke.

Ugh.

“If you say so,” was what I ended up replying. Ino, who had no doubt seen the myriad of emotions flickering across my face, most of which were ones of disgust, blinked and delicately arched an eyebrow. I got the impression that, had I been anyone else, she might’ve demanded what I meant by that, but she seemed to give me the benefit of the doubt.

Shikamaru and Chōji shot each other a look, the kind of thing only the closest of friends could do and could not be understood by anyone other than themselves, but said nothing as Ino switched to telling Asuma that he’d better help with their mission this time.

I bit back a sigh.

Well, we’re off to a fantastic start, aren’t we?

I had at one point gotten it into my head that team seven was just the epitome of unluckiness. We had a tricksy, infamous jōnin as a teacher, a bright orange trouble magnet, a self-proclaimed avenger and a bitter, sarcastic bitch. So, of course, our missions would end badly - there were just too many ingredients for disaster in one spot for it not to. As a result, I’d thought the other teams all had plain sailing through their own missions.

Boy, I could not be more wrong.

“Sit! Oh, come on you stupid animal, sit!”

Ino’s dog completely ignored her, continuing to walk on as though the blonde wasn’t tugging on their leash frantically. It was a large dog that looked almost like a bear and thus was aptly named such. It had also certainly not been Ino’s first choice when we’d turned up to collect the dogs for our dog walking mission, the leash having been shoved in her hand before she could pick another. No, her first choice was the small dog in Chōji’s arms that was biting ferociously at the crisp packet he was trying to keep out of reach and failing somewhat at doing so.

And then there was Shikamaru’s dog that wouldn’t stop barking for a goddamn second. He was just looking at it in faint despair, as though he’d resigned himself to this fate of eternal ‘woofs’ from an abnormally angry dog.

Had the noise not been getting to an unbearable level with Ino’s yelled commands, Chōji’s continued shouts of ‘NO THAT’S MINE’ and Shikamaru’s dog’s incessant barking, I might’ve assumed the same stance on the situation. Asuma’s chuckling from the sidelines and complete lack of desire to help with the increasingly worsening mess wasn’t exactly doing anything to ease my headache either, although my dog quite helpfully quietly sniffing away at a tree by my side.

For a brief moment of utter insanity, I wished I was with my own team instead. At least it was only Naruto shouting there.

I then immediately regretted the thought as a familiar chakra appeared and I snapped my glare onto Kakashi, who was watching the scene with blatant amusement.

“Bad dog! Let go of it!”

“Sit!”

The continuous barks from hell.

“This looks delightful,” Kakashi remarked, giving a nod of acknowledgment to Asuma before waggling his fingers at me. “Having fun are we?”

“Oh, buckets full of it,” I muttered venomously as Shikamaru’s dog’s barking somehow got louder at sight of the newcomer, head pounding with pain.

“That’s good, I was worried you’d be bored without your wonderful sensei. Sasuke’s having an equally fun time babysitting with those team eight fellows just so you know.” That only made the situation seem worse, getting not even minor vindication from the thought of Kiba being a pain in the ass to the Uchiha since that was certainly going to be a quiet team otherwise.

Ino’s sharp ears however caught onto the mention of my teammate’s name and her efforts to try and keep her dog from continuing to drag her forwards momentarily ceased so she could glance back at Kakashi. Her lapse in concentration on her task caused her dog to yank her forwards and she let out a high pitched yelp of surprise that turned out to be one more decibel than I was willing to take for the sake of my own sanity (of which was already skating on extremely thin ice).

“Sit!” I snapped loudly, letting my irritation flow freely into my tone of voice. Which ended up being the exact voice the dogs needed to listen.

Ino’s dog skidded to a halt and sat down so suddenly that the blonde went flying into a patch of mud that oh so happened to be in the worst spot imaginable. Chōji’s dog suddenly became a deadweight and the boy toppled over too, animal sat comfortably on his chest with crisp packet held delicately in its jaws. Shikamaru’s dog went dead silent. Mine, already perfectly well behaved, plunked itself down and stared expectantly up at me for the next command.

I blinked as everyone else turned to look at me too.

...I didn’t actually think that was going to work.

“Now, this wasn’t strictly my fault this time,” Kakashi then told Asuma and the man burst into poorly smothered laughter.

#deleted scenes #I just really love the dog scene lmao #also Shikamaru 'help I've fallen and I can't be bothered to get up' Nara here at ur service #listen I relate to Shika on a spiritual level #TKAB

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airmidtheawakened · 6 years ago

Text

The Hunger, Part 1

Here we are, darlings, at the beginning of a truly new tale of adventure and discovery! I hope you’re ready because hooooo boy does it get gross. We’re talking Doctor Moreau-style shenanigans. If you’re squeamish about that feel free to back out now. You have been warned.

The night started like many other nights in our new home: with the decision to be lazy and not cook. Normally I like cooking. I do big, family-style meals for the cabal most nights. Gotta make sure they stay healthy and well fed, ya know? I make sure everyone eats well and eats smart. But SiSi was out training with her master and it would have felt weird eating without her. Apollonia had set up a infiltration/combat drill with paintball guns. It sounded totally sick when SiSi told me about it later. She learned how to change the trajectory of bullets mid-air, which is a pretty cool trick if you’re not on the receiving end of it.

Oh, and I’d had a theater audition that day that went really, really fucking well and I wanted to celebrate. I hadn’t found a proper job yet (not for lack of trying) and my bank account was starting to look pretty bleak. The prospect of a paying show was really awesome. It was a musical, and while carrying a tune isn’t my specialty, they were looking for people with dance experience for the background characters. The choreography was pretty complicated and they wanted to make sure the actors could handle it.

Needless to say I blew the competition out of the water. Because I’m just that awesome.

So Saki, Lipsy, and I found this nice little Korean place just a couple blocks from our house. It was a nice spring night, so we walked over and gorged ourselves on delicious kimchi, japchae, and bulgogi. Well Lipsy and I gorged ourselves. Saki is a little more reserved when it comes to mealtimes. I’m surprised we don’t embarrass him with the amount of food we shovel into our mouths.

That said, he should really eat more himself. I try to pack as much nutrition as I can into the meals I make for him, but it doesn’t really work when he doesn’t ever eat full portions of things. I worry about him sometimes. It’s not like he’s starving himself, but he’s not getting as much as he should either.

Don’t tell him I told you all that. He’s kinda sensitive about the whole deal.

But I digress. The food was amazing and we left the restaurant feeling pretty damn good. But it was not to last. Oh no, darlings, it was not to last…

We’d barely walked a block when Saki and Lipsy saw something sprint from across the street into an alley just ahead of us. We’d gone out pretty late, and it was super dark out, so they really didn’t get a good look at it, but a few seconds later the sounds of a metal trash can falling over and a woman screaming smashed the night’s quiet to pieces.

We ran to the alley, me leading the charge, to see what was up. I used a really cool spell to give me cat eyes o I’d have better night vision. The others aren’t so fond of it. They say it makes me look creepy. Well let me tell you, having big ol’ reflective peepers is *nothing* compared to what we found in that alley.

Even with my cat-o-vision I could just barely make out the scene at the far end of the alley. There was a male figure hunched over the limp form a of a woman, laid out on the ground. I ran to her defense but it was too late. Her chest was ripped open, her heart missing, and her skull was cracked like an egg. The man was picking bits of her brain out and *eating them.*

He turned to me as I approached, and I could see for the first time that he wasn’t truly human. His mouth reach all the way from ear to ear and his gums were lined with multiple rows of shark-like teeth. Bony ridges that looked almost like gills ran down either side of his neck. “Ugly” doesn’t even begin to describe this guy. His eyes were human, but feral and unfocused.

He needed to be put down.

I ran in for a punch, clocking him across his elongated jaw. It didn’t do much more than make Shark Boy angry, though, and he swung at me with sharpened claws - because of *course* he had claws! - that left a nasty gash in my cheek. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t heal up later, but it hurt like a bitch. Saki tried to throw one of his tarot cards at it. They were kinda like ninja stars, with razor edges. He missed. But that’s okay because Lipsy sent Edgar in for the attack, and boy did Edgar attack. If I had a dollar for every killsteal Edgar has pulled on us through the years I’d have a hell of a lot more dollars than I do now. He tore Shark Boy’s jugular straight out of that ridged neck. Shark Boy expired mere moments later.

Lipsy raised some shadows over the alley so we could investigate without anyone seeing what was up. I took pictures of the scene before we messed with anything, just to be safe. Lipsy then used a spell called Death Mask to make the dead lady’s injuries look less horrific. They were still bad, but said “rabid dog” more that “cannibalistic animal-human hybrid.”

While that was up, I started looking over Shark Boy’s corpse. Now I’m thinking this must be some sort of life magic at work. I looked like a much more advanced version of the spell I used to give myself cat eyes earlier. But when I gave the body a once over with my mage sight there was no trace of life magic on him. Not a one. It made no sense! Creating a creature like that shouldn’t have been possible without it.

Even creepier, Lipsy said neither the woman nor Shark Boy left lingering souls behind. Maybe they passed on immediately, but it still struck us as kind of sinister.

Saki tried to see if there were any strange ripples in the time-fate continuum in regards to either corpse. He didn’t see anything to suggest the two of them were connected, but he did manage to find Shark Boy’s wallet in the trash. At least we thought it was his. The license photo inside was a pretty solid match for everything on Shark Boy that was still human, but we really couldn’t be 100% sure at the time.

Now you’re probably thinking “Wow Airmid, that seems like a really crazy hard problem for newbie mages to deal with!” And I will tell you that we were thinking the exact same thing. Which is why Saki called Fisher to come help us. I politely excused myself from the alley to call Sinopa to come pick us up when she got a minute. Which was the smart thing to do because I would have just gotten angry at how monumentally unhelpful Fisher was.

He took Shark Boy’s corpse away for the Consilium to study, but he said since Quincey is our turf now that we had to get to the bottom of the mystery on our own. Can you believe that? I mean, I understand that it was our responsibility, but to not offer any help or guidance whatsoever? Ugh he’s such a douche.

SiSi showed up not long after Fisher left. She was all sorts of freaking out, thinking we started some sort of trouble. But wasn’t our fault! We just happened to walk into it that time. She still wasn’t happy with us, but oh well.

Before we left for good, Lipsy finally found a ghost lingering around who could tell us what happened. It was the soul of a janitor in the building the dead lady worked at. Apparently she’d been leaving work through the back when Shark Boy attacked her. Lipsy helped the janitor pass on fully as a reward for helping us. Our Lipsy is such a sweetie.

Fast forward to the next morning.

Lipsy was totally out of it. He’d had super terrible nightmares because of what we found. SiSi and I skipped our morning workout to sit with him until Saki got up. I offered to make him breakfast but he just wanted coffee. He probably should have eaten something but I didn’t push the matter. We try to be gentle with him when he’s super stressed out like that.

Eventually Saki came down for him and they went upstair together. SiSi went to turn on the TV while I called my master. Cuz see, if we were gonna be investigating strange monster people, then I would probably need to miss my lessons. Papa Bear had me on a very, very rigorous schedule and didn’t take kindly to me showing up late or playing hooky.

So I call his house phone - because God forbid he give me a cell number - and Arathnos picks up. Because God forbid The Nemean answer his own phone. I asked to speak to my master and Arathnos handed the phone off. Papa Bear asked if I was calling about what was on the morning news. I hadn’t watched the news yet, so he told me to and I motioned for Sinopa to turn on the TV.

The morning report was, obviously, about the attack last night. Apparently there had been a second one in another area of town. Papa Bear said my cabal was to treat the attacks as our number one priority. I mentioned possibly having to skip lessons and he said that was fine (thank God!), then told me to make sure to write up a full report when we figured out what was going on. And then he hung up on me. Because God forbid the Nemean say a proper goodbye to his apprentice.

I mostly kid. I’m not nearly as ungrateful now I was then. You’ll find out why next time, though, because right now I think I need a break. The next bit is gonna get heavy and I need to be prepared for it.

See you next time, darlings!

#IC #Session recap #Mage the Awakening #Mage: the Awakening #Onyx Path #World of Darkness #NWoD

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sending-the-message · 7 years ago

Text

3:33 AM by JaniBeez

3:33AM

The red numbers of the clock on my end table glared at me. My eyes were wide open staring at the time as my heart pounded inside my rib cage. I was perspiring through my sheets again, damn it. I rolled onto my back, letting out a heavy sigh, allowing my heart rate to decrease. I brushed my long brunette hair out of my face, glancing to the empty side of the king sized bed. It had been empty for the past week while my husband had been away to attend a medical conference. Tears threatened to spill down the side of my face. Ugh, I was being dramatic.

Ever since he had left to New York, I had been waking up at the exact same time each night, missing Josh even more than usual. I licked my dry lips, noticing how my throat burned with thirst. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and made my way to the kitchen.

I couldn't help the small smile that crawled across my lips as I made my way through the darkness of our home. Josh had surprised me just last month with a gorgeous renovation of the kitchen. The floor was a deep chocolate wood that matched the cabinets and melded beautifully with the black marble counters. He had even upgraded all of our appliances. When I had asked him how much it had all cost, he had given me a gentle kiss on my delicate forehead and instructed me not to worry about it. He was a doctor, after all.

I flicked on the lights, wincing slightly against the brightness, to find that Sirius, my black German Shepard, was staring intently outside through the kitchen door to the backyard.

"What are you doing, boy?" I asked groggily, shuffling forward.

His long ears twitched towards me for a moment, acknowledging that he had heard me, but went right back to straining to hear whatever he was focused on. His entire body was ridged.

I snagged a cup off the marble counter I had previously used and filled it with water from the sink. As the water rose, I peeled back the blinds over the kitchen window. The leaves of the forest line were waving lazily against the wind. Light rain was beating gently against the glass. My eyes raked intently from my vantage point, but it just seemed like another normal rainy night. For some reason though, I felt a little on edge.

I drank a gulp of water, enjoying the hydration I was receiving. "There's nothing out there, Sirius."

Just in case though, I checked to see if the door was locked, chuckling to myself. I was picking up my husband's paranoid habits. There was nothing to be worried about. I brushed my fingers through Sirius's fur, more in an effort to comfort myself. My dog turned his head and licked my fingers, sensing my unease. I'm guessing that the attention I was giving him lessened his own paranoia, because he moved away from the door.

I needed to get back to sleep. I downed the rest of the water and placed the glass cup back on the counter next to the silver colored sink. Growling erupted from behind me. I jumped, spinning around to see that Sirius was snarling viciously. He was focused on the hallway that led out of the kitchen.

What the fuck?

I hastily seized a butcher knife from the knife block in self-defense. Josh had taken the time and money to train Sirius to be an effective guard dog for us. Nothing had happened so far that we needed protecting, however, I had never seen Sirius behaving this way.

A loud crashed came from the hallway and I flinched. "F-Fass!"

The German word for attack. The dog launched forward, leaping around the corner and into the hallway. I quickly followed, gripping the handle of my weapon. My free, trembling hand felt the wall blindly until it found the light switch.

The vase that my mother-in-law had given me lay in pieces on the floor. Sirius was licking our fluffy white cat dotingly.

"Jesus Christ, Raven." I murmured angrily, dropping my attack stance. "What the fuck is the matter with you? I actually liked that vase."

Raven's blue eyes followed me intently as Sirius gave her one final lick. Her expression was, as usual, void of any indication of a reaction. She was sitting several paces away from the broken vase. I debated on just leaving the mess until morning but elected to clean it up instead just in case one of my pets accidentally hurt themselves in the night.

Raven didn't take her eyes off me as I swept the blue and yellow fragments off the floor. When I finally finished cleaning up her mess, Sirius followed me back to the bedroom instead of returning to his own bed in the kitchen. I didn't mind it though. I was lonely without Josh and tonight had been the most exciting thing to happen all week. I hated being alone.

I made a quick trip to the bathroom to splash some water on my face. I took several breaths. I just needed to last another day and then I would feel so much better when Josh was finally home. I constantly craved his presence and his affection. I needed him here with me. I stared into the mirror, studying myself as I attempted to control my breathing.

What is that?

There was a fresh red scratch just over my left breast. Had I done that to myself? It was only a few inches long, but I had managed to break the skin. It looked quite raw. I shut the light off and went back to bed, brushing it off.

I drifted off into an uneasy sleep, but at least I didn't wake up throughout the rest of the early morning again.

Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me.

It was just past midday the next day. I had decided to head over the local farmer's market to buy some fresh produce. The aroma of mouthwatering peaches invaded my beckoning nostrils. I was picking out the ripe ones for my basket, hardly taking notice of the man who was staring at me.

I considered myself to be quite the good-looking woman. I had thick lips, thick hair, gorgeous round eyes, tan skin and a fit body. I was used to men coveting me, but there was only one person that I belonged to forever. I flexed my left hand, making sure that my diamond ring shimmered brightly in the sunlight as it closed over another fuzzy peach.

Usually ignoring these types of stares seem to do the trick. A sense of unease began to prickle the back of my neck, but I kept my eyes on the peaches, pretending to be oblivious. My unease began to turn into annoyance because I could still feel this stranger's eyes on me. I could see the tall figure from the corner of my peripherals standing across from me on the other side of the peach stand.

Finally, I looked up, intent on giving this guy a nasty glare, but I was left thoroughly confused. He was, indeed, peering at me. My eyes bored into his, but they were different...

The whites of his eyes and his irises were nonexistent. It seemed as though the pupils had expanded and taken over the rest of his socket. I was staring into a glossy cesspool of blackness lined by eyelashes.

My face contorted in confusion. He had to have been wearing some sort of contacts. I blinked, but if you thought he would suddenly disappear, he didn't. He remained standing with his arms at his side, completely expressionless. Everyone around him moved normally, picking fruit at their leisurely pace.

I adjusted my basket full of fruit and veggies and turned on my heels to go pay as fast as I could. I wasn't about to deal with this type of bullshit. It could be some stupid prank on video or just some idiot with nothing better to do.

I got in line to pay the farmer in cash, but I could still feel that demonic-looking stare on the back of my head. I glanced back and sure enough, the man had turned his entire body to follow my movements. I paid quickly and got the hell out of there, all the while knowing that someone was watching me.

"It's been...a really strange couple of days. Sirius and Raven have been acting weird and I swear the way this man was staring at me today..." I drifted off into the phone's receiver. "Maybe I was just seeing things."

I was sitting in the living room with the television on mute, wrapped up in the Batman blanket Josh had gotten for me. Sirius was resting at my feet while Raven was munching on cat food in the kitchen. Rain was heavily batting against the window pane.

Josh paused. I had told him what had happened last night and the weird encounter at the market. "I wouldn't worry too much about our pets. It's been raining a lot over there and animals tend to act up when it does. As for that guy today...you're carrying, right?"

I sighed. Josh had taken me to get my concealed weapon's permit as soon as he was able. He taught me how to shoot and had signed me up for Krav Maga. I took those classes regularly. I secretly thought that he was perhaps a little overprotective, but I let him do as he wished knowing that it gave him peace of mind.

"You know I always do when I leave the house." I smiled.

"Good. I'll be home really soon, Mina." He answered me.

"There's something else that's been bothering me though...I keep waking up at the exact same time every single night ever since you left. I've been sweating through my clothes and sheets that I've started sleeping naked. Every time I wake up it's like I just finished running a marathon."

"Sounds like you need a good old-fashioned fucking." Josh chuckled. "Seems like your missing your man a little more than you think."

I bit my lip, attempting to suppress the grin that threatened to escape. "Babe, it's not funny. I Googled it. I keep waking up at 3:33 in the morning. Three AM is called the Witching Hour. From what I read, it's the hour that ghosts and demons are most active. I know it sounds dumb, but...well, I don't know."

"Mina, my love, I think its just some sort of coincidence. There's no demons or ghosts haunting you. It sounds like maybe you've developed some sort of sleeping disorder brought on by anxiety. You always keep your nails ridiculously long, so you must have accidentally scratched yourself." He sighed. "I know you hate it while I'm away, but I'll be back tomorrow, my queen."

"I hate it when you aren't home." I mumbled. "I miss you."

"Why don't you come with me next time?" He offered. "I don't like being away from you either. We could explore the city together after my conference everyday."

"Really?" I hugged my knees to my chest, a sweet, warm feeling spreading through my chest. "I don't want to get in the way or anything."

"I miss you. I want you with me always, Mina. If you being with me takes away your anxiety and makes you happy, then I'm happy too." Josh said kindly.

He always knew how to make my heart melt. "Okay, love." I said, softly. "I would absolutely love to."

"I'm heading to bed, princess." He yawned. "I'll be dreaming of you. I love you so much and I will see you tomorrow."

I said my goodbye, feeling significantly better. I loved that man more than anything in the world. I was a bit of a superstitious gal and tended to overthink almost everything. Josh brought patience and rationality into my life.

I turned the television off and used the light from my cellphone to guide me to my room. Sirius followed closely behind me.

3:33 AM

My eyes opened to the lazily spinning fan on my ceiling. My heart was racing again, just like the night before. There was a tall, dark silhouette standing at the foot of my bed. Sirius was barking just outside my door. How the fuck was he now suddenly outside of my door when he had fallen asleep inside of the room with me?

I attempted to move my arms to reach for the .45 I kept in the nightstand beside me, but I couldn't move them. I couldn't move a fucking thing as hard as I tried. My breathing intensified as the shadow at the end of my bed moved a little closer. I could hear the footsteps as it approached. Sirius began to bark frantically.

I didn't understand what was happening. Why couldn't I move my body? I was fucking terrified. This had to be some sort of nightmare I was in. It was the only explanation I could think of.

The shadow figure split, slowly dissolving and reanimating into three separate humanoid forms, elongating until they were almost touching the ceiling. Trembling suddenly erupting throughout the room, causing the bed and all adjacent furniture to vibrate dangerously. It sounded like an endless thunderclap as the house groaned under the stress of whatever earthquake this was supposed to be.

The silhouettes moved rapidly until two were on either side of the bed and one was back at the end. The vibrations intensified so much that I heard the crash of glass hit the floor next to me. I couldn't turn my fucking head to look, but I was sure that it was the lamp that broken.

I tried to shriek as my body was gradually raised by unseen forces. The blanket was ripped away from my body and out of my line of sight. I was levitating a good two feet above my bed before cold and clammy claws gripped my forearms while two more clamped around my calves.

Lightening flashed into the room. I descended, crashing down to the bed. A high pitched scream burst from my lungs as the door flew open and the earthquake came to an abrupt halt. I kept screaming and running my hands over my body even as Sirius jumped onto the bed and began licking me to make sure I was all right.

I wasn't okay though. Tears were streaming down my face as I began to hyperventilate. Demons had invaded my room tonight and I hadn't been able to do anything about it. I turned on the other lamp that hadn't fallen.

Hands shaking, I grabbed my cell phone from the other end table and dialed Josh. He answered on the third ring.

"Darling..." He groaned.

"Please come h-h-home!" I cried desperately. "They grabbed me! I c-couldn't move and they shook the whole house and t-they l-l-locked Sirius out of the room. P-Please-"

"Mina, slow down." Josh instructed calmly. "Did someone break in?"

"N-Nobody broke in, Josh!" I hugged Sirius as I stared down the dark hallway through the open door. "Close t-the door, Sirius..."

My companion complied, jumping down and nudging the door shut before coming back up to comfort me.

"Honey, I need you to take a deep breath for me, okay?"

He wouldn't be sounding so damn calm if he had been here. "Take a few deep breaths and then tell me what happened."

I took one before wiping my eyes away and sniffling. "R-Remember when I told you about the Witching Hour? I was right. There t-t-three of them in our room and they gripped my limbs, Josh. Ghosts or demons, I don't fucking know but they weren't natural."

"What the fuck are you talking about? Three people broke into our house? Did the alarms go off?"

"I didn't hear anything go off. There was an earthquake and I levitated off the bed-"

"Y-You what?" Josh questioned. "Hang on, I'm checking the cameras."

I scratched Sirius's ears as he panted beside me. Besides the broken lamp on the floor, everything seemed normal now. I had given Josh my consent to set up cameras all around the entrances to our house and even in our room. It didn't bother me and it wasn't like I had anything to hide.

He would see the shadow creatures that I had seen. We would have proof of what every was going on and together, Josh and I would handle this.

"Mina...I don't see anything. You were convulsing in your sleep and you knocked the lamp down." He said to me evenly. "I know you're going through a hard time at the moment, but I'm changing my flight time so that I can be home early. We're setting up an appointment for you."

"I-I'm not crazy." I stated gravely. "There is something in this house. When you come home tomorrow, we're calling in a priest and we're going to church."

"Baby, it sounds like you went through an extreme case of sleep paralysis. Just trust me when I say it wasn't some supernatural phenomenon. None of that is real." Josh took a deep breath. "Say it. Say that it isn't real."

I shut my eyes, clenching my shaking fist in concentration. "T-They aren't real."

"Say it again, baby."

I swallowed, opening my eyes. "It wasn't real."

Josh came home just like he said a little later that morning. I hadn't been able to sleep. I was much too afraid of suffering from that type of nightmare again. There were heavy under my eyes, but Josh didn't care.

He pressed his lips to mine as soon as he passed the threshold of our house. His kiss was passionate and made me feel protected. I wrapped my arms around his neck, soaking in his aroma.

I allowed him to set his briefcase down, greet Sirius, and unwind from his trip.

I was so fucking happy to have him home and to myself again. I felt so much more relaxed and my anxiety dissipated. I felt whole with Josh around, as though nothing could bring me down. I constantly craved his companionship and attention. As long as I had those things, I would always be a happy woman.

I sat patiently on the couch with a movie and some popcorn ready for us both. He had offered to take me out for lunch, but with the storm at its peak outside, I had much rather stayed inside binge watching Ricky and Morty.

He finally emerged, shirtless, wearing nothing but sweatpants. In my eyes, he was physical perfection: muscular, a strong jawline for days, striking hazel eyes and bronze hair. He was all mine. I don't think I could ever get enough of him.

He lovingly cradled me in his arms as we watched all of our favorite, inappropriate T.V. shows all day long. We ordered Chinese take-out as the rain steadily got louder in the background.

He kissed me, played with my hair, and gently stroked my skin. I didn't need an appointment anymore. Josh was the cure to all of my fears and worries.

It was dark outside finally. The roll of thunder was finally putting me to sleep. My eyes were drooping as an epic fight between men and orcs waged on screen. It went black.

Josh scooped me up securely against his strong chest. I nuzzled my nose against his skin, breathing in his scent deeply. He laid me down on our bed before climbing on top of me. His lips found the nap of my neck and he kissed me. He hands groped my breasts and slowly moved down my body.

"No, babe." I murmured, not bothering to physically resist. "I'm too tired right now."

"Come on..." He moaned, nibbling my ear.

Naturally, I gave in. Our devotion to each other manifested itself in the strongest way possible when we fucked. He planted one last kiss on my cheek after we finished and told me he loved me. I closed my eyes and fell into a peaceful sleep.

I opened my eyes. I sat up immediately, turning my head quickly, taking in my surroundings. I wasn't in my fucking room. I was completely naked in a bright, metallic, white room. There wasn't one single source of light; the room was illuminated from the walls and from every inch of this foreign place.

I was sitting on some sort of cold metal platform. It groaned, suddenly, and began vibrating underneath me. Against my will, my body was forced back down. Just like before, I was levitating, but this time I could move my head to see something monstrous enter the room. The vibrations stopped.

I gasped. It was one of those creatures I had seen when the lightening had flashed in my room. It was at least seven feet tall with huge almond shaped, glossy black eyes. It's head was shaped like a bell with a protruding jaw. I was terrified of what I would see if it opened it's mouth. It's dark skin flexed and rippled down to what I assumed where its arms. Four abnormally long fingers extended towards my face. As it got closer, I noticed that at the end of each finger were suckers, like an octopus.

The suckers planted themselves onto my face for a moment. It was strangely warm. I started screaming, but it ignored me as though I were just some barking dog.

It moved it's hand down to my lower abdominal area, lingering much longer than it had on my face. It changed the position of its fingers for a moment before releasing me and living the room.

I stopped screaming and instead started writhing against my invisible restraints but it was no good.

The room starting vibrating and groaning again...just like last night in my bedroom. The ceiling opened up and some sort of machine descended with some strange, sharp tool protruding from the end of it.

I was lifted slightly higher and my legs were forced open.

"No, please, st-" Before I finished, the needled entered inside me. A shrill, piercing sound tore through my like shards of glass as pain emanated from my uterus. Every jostle sent a continuous wave of agony up my body.

Blood dripped down my thigh and onto the platform below me as the machine intensified, digging deeper. It felt like my insides were being ripped apart. In that instant, I knew I wanted to die. I needed them to kill me, lest this misery continue.

The machine ascended back up into the ceiling. The room dropped me, but instead of landing on the cold metal from before, I landed into this cool gel-like substance in a much darker room.

Relief washed over me as the pain from the awful fucking apparatus vanished in an instant. This gel was either healing my body or blocking my pain receptors. I gasped gratefully, but my relief turned into panic as I began to sink into the cool, translucent substance.

That same unforeseen power sucked me out of the liquid chamber and back into the white room. I was cowering on the floor, breathing heavily. I coughed violently, hands shaking. Movement from the corner caught my eye.

"J-Josh?" I wheezed, blinking hard.

My husband was here with me, dressed in the same sweatpants from earlier. I pushed myself onto my feet and rushed forward, crashing into his chest. His hands gripped my forearms, holding me close.

"We have to get out of here! I don't know where we are, but the monsters that were in my room before are here and-" I cried, but stopped abruptly.

He was staring down at me with....glossy, black eyes. "You need to trust me."

I didn't think I could cry anymore, but here I was. My husband was one of these extraterrestrial monsters this whole time. His pupils began to recede until the beautiful hazel irises that I had fallen in love with were back. Even though he was one of them, I don't think what I was feeling was fear. That sense be belonging I felt each time I was with him was back.

"You need to kill her, Mina." He whispered urgently, tightening his hold on me. "If you don't, they won't let us live and go home."

"What are you talking about, Josh?" I wailed.

Uneven footsteps came from behind me. I turned around as Josh released me.

There was another naked girl here with me. She had short blonde hair and white skin that contrasted terribly with the room. I compared her to my tan skin, darker hair, and Latin features. No matter what our differences were, we both naked women who were afraid.

Behind her was the man I had seen at the farmer's market. Those same ebony eyes were peering at me just like before. How long had he been watching me? My attention focused back to the woman. She was shaking as much as I was.

Josh had told me that if I didn't kill this poor girl that they would kill us both. I could see that she had been tortured just had badly as I had. I didn't think I could kill another human being. It was immoral.

Our eyes locked. We both knew what was about to happen. It was if something primal awakened in both of us. I launched forward half a second before she could move, tackling her to the ground. Fury was powering my muscles as clutched her head in between my hands and smashed it into the floor.

I wasn't going to let anything hurt Josh even if he happened to not entirely be human. If it meant I had to kill, then so be it.

I dug my knees tightly into her sides, smashing her head down again and again. She was screaming and trying to use her hands to grab my face. She managed to leave a deep scratch across my cheek before closing her hands around my throat. My airways quickly closed up.

I released her head and pressed my thumbnails into her eyes has hard as I could, relishing the blood that ran down her temples. She released my neck to scratch at my hands as she screamed, but it only made my dig my thumbs deeper.

A deep, roar came from the strange man from before. I glanced up as he stepped forward with murder in his stride before forces smacked him back against the wall.

I pushed deeper and deeper until finally, the woman's struggles finally stopped. I released her, slowly standing up with wide eyes. She was dead.

I turned to look at Josh as I began to cry again.

Four Months Later

I was pregnant. I was back on Earth with Josh with a healthy baby boy growing inside of me. I know that nobody is going to believe what happened to me, but I needed to write it down.

Josh couldn't tell me very much about where They came from. He was forbidden from revealing too much. He wouldn't tell me if he was one of Them, but he could only assure me that everything would go back to normal. He acknowledged that everything that had happened wasn't some stupid hallucination derived from sleep paralysis.

He did tell me this though: I was made specifically for him. I asked him if he loved me and he promised that he did. I asked him if he was going to leave with Them and never come back, but he swore that he wasn't going anywhere. He was here to protect me and our unborn child.

The rational side of me begged me to run away from him. No matter how much I tried to listen, I simply couldn't. I loved him more than anything. I worshiped the ground he walked on.

I think that they conduct genetic experiments on the human race. There was so many instances in which ancient civilizations worshiped beings that came from the sky. Whether their true motives were sinister or not, I would never know. It's malevolent that They make us fight to the death. It's worth it though if I get to be in love with the man of my dreams.

#reddit #nosleep #scary #story

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