#and the idea of camp half-blood doing this as another way to remember the fallen is heartbreaking

[venator-signum]

some may be aware of the medallion tree from the witcher, on which the medallions of fallen witchers are put

now imagine a tree, many trees, in a grove, filled with leather cord necklaces and brightly coloured beads gently swaying in the breeze and the sunlight

the oldest trees have faded beads, artwork and carvings lost to time, whilst the newer ones are bright and vibrant

some branches have many necklaces, some only a few; some necklaces have so many beads, some have too little (some have none at all)

just imagine

[sumu-samu]

Broken

“Hi i saw that you were gonna start writing stories and we're looking for ideas and things,, maybe a Luke x f!reader oneshot around the time of The Lightning Thief. I think it would be cool if the day before he snapped and revealed himself as the thief,, he confessed his feelings to someone or took an s/o on a special date as a type of "goodbye" without saying anything. There's not many luke fics and his TLT story is so fun to explore :3″

Pairing: Luke Castellan x daughter of Poseidon!f!reader

Genre: Angst basically. Some fluff, but angst.

Warnings: non that I can really think of

A.N: Literally listened to The Lightning Thief musical while writing this.This was super fun to write ngl, I also may have gotten carried away with the back story and such but meh :3. I also took a few freedoms and made you Poseidon’s daughter, hope you don’t mind it too much, and I changed the ending of the book a bit because I can’t remember exactly how it ended, just the basics, and I can’t find my book to fact check myself. Hope it doesn't bother you too much and that you like it.<3

Y/N sat at her cabin table, her newly found brother had just come back from a stupid quest he had to go on because her uncle was throwing a fit (as he usually does) about someone stealing his lightning bolt, and he immediately blamed it on her family. She knew all about the prophecy and the whole half-blood child of the big three turning sixteen and having the power to either save or destroy the world. Thing was she had already turned sixteen (if you’re not sixteen yet, just go along with it please) and nothing special really happened, so when Percy showed up at camp and killed a minotaur on the first day, Her and Chiron had been a bit weary of the new half-blood.

When Percy was claimed by Poseidon you’d think she’d be happy that she had found family, after losing her mother at five and never seeing her father, but she wasn’t, She was more worried than anything. Worried that she would lose the family she had just found. And when Percy left to go on the quest, Y/N felt like she couldn’t breath. She didn’t know him very well, but Percy was a good kid, she could just feel it, and she wanted to get to know him more. The thought that he may not come back from this quest in one piece terrified her. And what made it even worse was that he brought Annabeth with him. Annabeth was like Y/N’s little sister.

Ever since the day she found the seven year old blond they had been through alot together. She had run away from camp after getting into an argument with Chiron, she soon learned that it was a big mistake, then ran into the little girl somewhere in Pennsylvania. She then met Luke and Thalia, and then ran into Grover. The five had been through alot, especially when they lost Thalia, she was yet another pice of family she lost. She hadn’t walked into the camp with the other three, she just stayed and watched as Thaila’s body formed into a tall standing pine tree. She cursed Zues for letting this happen to his own daughter.

As the years went by she took care of the spunky little blond, and Luke liked to help every now and then. Feelings grew for the blond boy, no doubt about it, but she also remembered how Annabeth would squeal to her and rant about her little crush on Luke.

When they came back, all three of them, in one pices to say she was relieved, was an understatement. There had been a lot of events that happened after they were back, her favourite being the look on Clariese’s face when she heard that her father had stolen the bolt. The whole cabin was angry and Percy, and the fact that he had made their father look like a fool. But what she really cherished was right now. She was able to catch up with her brother and everything. Talk about his life, get to know him and how much of a good kid he really was. They talked about the prophecy and how he was confused about being betrayed by a friend and failing to save what matters the most.

“People who know nothing about prophecies may say something like ‘oh well you know the prophecy is crazy and could be wrong in some way,’ but, I know that isn’t the case. So I’d say, that the prophecy isn’t done with you yet.” She shrugged.

“Oh, how great.” he rolled his eyes.

“Hey, Y/N” She heard the smooth deep familiar voice and looked up to meet bright blue eyes. “Right before curfew… could you uh,” he scratched the back of his neck. “Just, meet me by the lake.” he quickly stated then walked off. She sat very confused, she had never seen Luke like that before. He was usually a cocky, joking fellow. Seeing him shy and flustered,and maybe even worried, had concerned her.

When the sun had fallen, and curfew was about twenty minutes away, she snuck out of her cabin and went down to the lake. “Luke?” she called out not seeing him anywhere.

“Y/N.” she then heard from behind her. Turning around she saw a familiar silhouette, She couldn't see his face due to the lack of light but she knew it was him.

“Hey, what’s up?” She walked towards him.

“I-” He looked around and took her by the arm to drag her further away from the cabins so that they could be somewhere where he knew they were truly alone. “I have something to tell you.” He sounded sorrowful and serious. This made Y/N’s heart race faster in worry for the boy in front of her.

“What is it Luke?” She moved her hand to his cheek so he could look at her. He just stared into her eyes for about a minute. He was dazzled by her (e/c) eyes, that she had gotten from her mum and her dark hair that she got from her father. His hands moved to her waist before he viciously pulled her close to him, foreheads touching. Her heart sped up even more, this time from the closeness of the two rather than worry. “Luke?” she questioned.

“I’m so sorry.” He squeezed his eyes shut in pain. “I’m so… so sorry Y/N.” He wrapped his arms further around her waist, pulling her into a hug. She took in his scent as he did hers.

“Luke, I don’t understand, why… why are you sorry?” She pulled away to look into his eyes again.

“Y/N, I… I like you… I like you so much I think I love you. And it hurts me, ever since we lost Thalia, you were there, you were alway there. And I don’t know why I couldn’t be satisfied with just you and Annabeth, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry. I was just so pissed, I needed to get it all out. But in the end, I want you to know that it was you, It was always you.” And that's when he did it. He made her heart completely stop, He leaned in and kissed her. His kiss soft and gentle, the kiss was passionate. She melted into it, wanting it to last forever but alas he pulled away. “I just hope you will forgive me at some point.”

“Luke, what’s going on? What do you mean forgive you?” She was seriously done with this mysterious way he was talking.

“I can’t tell you, not yet. Just, stay with me, for the night. Tonight only, sleep beside me, let me hold you one last time.” He pleaded.

“Luke, where are we gonna sleep, we can’t go to your cabin, because… well,” She thought of the cramped cabin 11 and how embarrassing it might be to wake up in the morning with all those kids around her laughing, or how maybe the twins would try playing a prank of them in their sleep. “Percy’s asleep in my cabin, and we can’t stay out here… the harpies.” She shuddered at the thought of being attacked by those bird ladies.

“Y/N, i’ve seen Percy sleep, there's no way he's gonna wake up before us. I’ll be sure to leave before he even knows I’m there.” He rested his forehead on hers.

She thought for a while. “Alright fine.” She smiled and they walked back to the cabin.

That night she had the best sleep she had ever had. Luke’s warmth,and his scent. It relaxed her in a way that she didn’t know was possible. But he held true to his word of getting out before Percy knew he was there. In fact, she had to sit there for a while trying to be sure it was real and not just a dream, because when she woke up, he wasn’t there. Her heart dropped. It was too vivid, too detailed, too… too real, to be a dream. She got out of bed, and got dressed before hearing a snore. She grabbed her pillow and threw it at the drooling boy, still asleep in his bed.

“Wake up ragworm. You’re gonna miss breakfast.” She said, waiting till he got out of bed and started getting changed to leave and go to breakfast.

They sat at the table eating their food when Mr. D. had stood up to tell everyone to decide whether they were staying for the year or leaving before noon. “What are you gonna do?” Percy looked at his sister.

“I'm staying here.” She shrugged as if not going home was something she was used to.

“You’re not going back to your family?” He sounded confused. But he too was confused if he wanted to go back and see his mum or if he wanted to stay with his new found family. He was kinda hoping she was gonna go so that it would make it easier on him.

“Have no family to go home to, Perc. This right here,” she motioned to all the other kids at their respective tables, “this is the closest thing I have to family.”

As the day had progressed the thought of what happened with Luke last night being real faded as Luke had avoided her all day. And as she was walking around Camp, enjoying her last day with some of her friends she saw some wood nymphs carrying a body wearing blue jeans and a bright orange camp shirt. “Percy.” she gasped as she saw the black head of hair. They carried him to the infirmary where he was tended to and given some nectar to recover.

Once he woke up he started ranting off nonsense. “Luke, it’s Luke we- we need to look for him.” he tried to get up but Chiron stopped him.

“What do you mean it’s Luke, Perc?” She was worried by the tone of her brother's words.

“The… the friend who was supposed to betray me… it’s Luke. He’s the lightning thief” At Percy’s words Y/N’s head went fuzzy, her stomach turned. “He’s serving Kronos, hes trying to bring him back.” she didn’t want to believe what she was hearing, “ Oh… and Y/N… he said that if I happened to survive, to tell you… he meant what he said last night, and that he is really sorry.” Percy said that as if it was irrelevant.

“No, you're lying. Luke, he wouldn… He isn’t... “ She shook her head trying to deny it but then something came back to her.

“I’m sorry. I was just so pissed, I needed to get it all out.” She ran out of the infirmary, tears stinging her eyes and her head steaming. She ran into the cabin, and without thinking rationally started to throw things around out of… well, she wasn’t really sure what she was feeling, she just needed to get it out.

Once she was done throwing things around, and the cabin was totally trashed, she knew exactly what she was feeling. She ran to the lake, feeling angry and sad. She took her shoes off and sat at the edge with her feet in the water. Tears running down her face.

“I just hope you will forgive me at some point.” Luke’s words rang out in her head. “I don’t think I ever can.” She thought. It wasn’t because of the fact that he had betrayed her friends, her family, betrayed her. It was more the fact that Luke was so selfish, so so stupidly selfish that he had to dump that onto her. He had to tell her how he felt and then go and break her like that. Because of that, she hated him, but at the same time, deep in her heart she still loved him, something small was telling her that this wasn’t actually Luke, that he was really the Luke that she loved and that something was controlling him.

She looked up at the sky, the clear blue sky. To anyone else, on any other day, it would have been a beautiful day. But no matter how much the sun shined, all she could see was grey. “Why? Why can’t I be happy? Why do you insist on torturing me constantly. What did I do to make you decide I don’t deserve happiness? Was it because I was born? It’s not my fault that my father can’t keep a stupid promise. It’s not my fault i’m alive. I never asked for this. So why do you do this to me? You petty little brat! I hate you with every bone in my body.” She screamed at her uncle. Zeus wasn’t listening to what his pathetic niece was saying, but someone was.

His chest felt heavy. Listening to what the beautiful broken girl was saying. He had wanted to hold her like he should have for every heart breaking moment of her sixteen years. “I’m sorry i couldn’t save you from that. But I gave you Percy. You have each other now. Take care of each other like I can’t.” Poseidon sighed.

[thatringboy]

Hey there!

Saw ur post bout wanting requests and I'm happy to oblige. Percabeth is my absolute OTP and so I would love to read some fics based on them, esp when you write them soo well🥺

1.I've always wanted to read a fic where Annabeth spoons Percy! I think that wud be so cute.

2.Or would love to see a fic where one of them cant sleep at night so they go do smtg spontaneous, like stargazing or roadtrip or trip to McDonald's hehe.

3.A prompt (if that's how you take requests): "Did you just kiss my Achilles Spot?"

omfgggggg the amount of fluff i shoved into this is almost puke level. but percabeth will never get to that level. anyways i decided to do all three prompts because i couldn't pick one. enjoy!

Stargazing in Grey

Warnings: Rachel Elizabeth Dare being a little shit, but we love her anyways (so in other words, none)

Characters: Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Rachel Elizabeth Dare (but only for like two lines at the very end)

Ships: Percabeth

Word Count: 1,405

Summary: Percabeth sneaks out of their cabins to go stargazing and realize (again) how much they love each other. Takes place between the end of HOO and the beginning of TOA

“You know… we could have just taken some Melatonin or something.” Percy made a confused face.

Annabeth rolled her eyes despite knowing that he probably couldn’t see her do that in the dark. “And where’s the fun in that?”

“Who are you and what have you done to my rule-following Wise Girl?” His smile was audible in his voice.

She elbowed him in the stomach and fell back onto the grass of Camp Half-Blood hill, her grey eyes searching the night sky. Constellations danced across her gaze and a smile curled over her lips. Percy’s eyes adjusted to the night enough for him to be able to see her features illuminated by the moonlight.

Gods, she’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.

“What was that?” Annabeth sat up.

Percy realized he had whispered his thoughts out loud and plopped himself down in the grass next to her. “Nothing! So tell me, Wise Girl,” he pointed up at the stars. “Which one is that constellation?”

She laid back down and followed his finger to where he was pointing. “Oh, that’s just Heracles.”

Percy made a gagging sound. “Oh gods not that guy!”

That was the game they played: Percy pointed out a constellation, Annabeth identified it and they repeated. Percy told stupid jokes just to hear Annabeth’s laughter and he felt like he was walking on air everytime he heard it.

This was his Wise Girl, he realized. Starting from “you drool when you sleep” all those years ago and now sneaking out of their cabins at night to watch the stars when the nightmares became too much. Everything else in his life was fleeting and frankly at the mercy of ungrateful gods, but Annabeth was his constant. She was his tie to mortality when he dipped in the River Styx, she was the one thing he remembered when Hera stole his memories and sent him west and she was the one who held his hand in Tartarus when the world quite literally swallowed him up. And now that they had survived two Great Prophecies and were finishing up the summer in Long Island before heading to New Rome, the realization of how much Annabeth completed him struck Percy in the heart. She was the one who kept him humane when he wanted to unleash his destructive powers, she was the one who treated his wounds when he hurt himself against monsters and she was the one who curled up and cuddled him when the whole world was against them.

How in Hades was he so lucky to have fallen for her and for her to have fallen right back - quite literally in their case.

When they had finished their game, Percy found himself staring at her once more. He could examine her face for years and still find new things to fascinate himself with. If he was given Pandora’s box and told that the Hope at the bottom was Annabeth, he’d rip the lid off in a heartbeat and slay all of the monsters that jumped out with her.

She yawned, pulling Percy back into reality, and stretched her arms. “We should probably head back before Malcolm wakes up and flips on us.”

Percy pouted like a child and turned over in the grass to face away from her. “No! This was your idea and I wanna stay!”

Annabeth sighed and scooted closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her face into his back. “You’re such a child, no wonder you live with your mother at eighteen.”

He wiggled a bit so that he could turn his head to glare at her. “I’ll have you know that I missed half of being sixteen and half of being seventeen!”

She squeezed the skin of his stomach to shut him up and the two laid there spooning in the grass for a bit. Annabeth could feel his heartbeat and the way his lungs expanded when he breathed and sighed at the realness of it all. For six months, she was without him. After years of fighting by his side, he had just vanished and both of them were pulled into another Olympus-Destroying calamity that they had to fix. She had found herself cursing out the gods during that time, begging to know why did it always have to be her family that got messed over by the gods? For once, couldn’t someone else take up the mantle? Thalia had died then joined the Hunt, Luke was… well, Luke and all of the other campers moved on and away as time passed if they weren’t killed by monsters. Percy was the only constant she had and Hera had taken him away. Her Percy, the one who held up the sky for her. Her Percy, the one who fell into Tartarus for her. Her Percy, the one who held her tight when a curse had taken her vision and promised to never leave her. Her Percy, the one who turned down immortality for her. Annabeth hugged him tighter and pressed a kiss to his back. She was never letting go of him again.

"Did you just kiss my Achilles Spot?" He turned his head to look at her again.

She pulled her head back and blinked. It must have happened subconsciously while she was reminiscing about the past. “I guess I did, sorry.”

He rested his head on the ground again. “No no it’s fine, I just haven’t had anyone touch there in a while. I guess I’ve always protected it from people, even after the curse is gone.”

And that was another thing. His only weakness, the small of his back, he exposed it joyfully to her. He took his life and placed it into her hands because there was no one else in the entire world who Percy Jackson trusted more than Annabeth Chase.

She untangled herself and sat up. “But seriously, we should get back before the harpies start their pre-dawn rounds. Washing dishes in lava again does not sound like fun.”

He sat up with her and brushed a stray piece of grass off of her cheek with a wide smile. There was still a tiny sliver of grey hair from when they were younger and took turns holding up the sky. “Yeah… you’re right.”

“When am I not?” She leaned into his touch.

Inches, centimeters, touching. The only thought in Percy’s mind was how soft Annabeth’s lips felt against his own and how much she smelled like fresh ink on sunwarmed paper. Was that a scent? It was now. His calloused hands caressed her face like if he let go, she would crumble into sand between his fingertips and she eagerly gripped his shirt right back. For either the third or fourth time that evening, the whole world seemed to melt away. Two heartbeats became one, two souls linked together and two bodies pressed together in such a loving embrace that even Aphrodite herself would have turned away with a blush.

They came crashing back to the real world when the sound of a camera clicked behind them. The two jerked their heads to the sound to see a familiar redhead holding up a camera.

“Rachel Elizabeth Dare!” Annabeth's voice came out as a harsh whisper.

The Oracle of Delphi cackled as she turned heel and ran down the hill towards her cave. Annabeth moved to chase after her, but Percy grabbed her wrist, covering his mouth with his free hand to keep from laughing. “Let’s just get back to our cabins before she goes leaking that to Lou Ellen and Piper.”

The daughter of Athena couldn’t argue with that. They gathered themselves and made the trek back to the Athena cabin. They stood outside the door, not wanting the moment to end, but also understanding that they both needed sleep. Annabeth moved closer and pecked Percy one last time on the lips before heading inside.

Percy made the walk back to the Poseidon cabin with a goofy smile on his face and was humming a tune who’s name he couldn’t remember. His Wise Girl had broken the rules and was ready to fistfight the Oracle of Delphi to keep it a secret. He was so proud of his negative influence on her. He silently made a vow to get that picture from Rachel to hang up in his room in New Rome. It would brighten up his dorm tremendously.

[omgkalyppso]

oh request time!! I request claurenz with "sure you can use me as a pillow" :D

Although this was a softer prompt from the list, I'm in a whump mood. Possibly body horror tw? emetophobia tw? Also Fae is there and it's like Fae as a student AU because. Also I didn't proofread. Again. It's tumblr.

.

There was no room for mounts in the Imperial Palace. Claude was on foot with his companions, among the screaming, the clanging of metal, and explosions of magic. He'd kept himself far from his imperial allies in the chaos. It felt rude to question their allegiance, but above all, now, would be the worst time to find a dagger in his back. Hilda and Raphael held one door to the throne room, Caspar and Linhardt the other, though they cared less about their position than Petra's unconscious body in Linhardt's glowing arms. So long as they didn't Warp away, they were serving their purpose.

Ignatz was at his back, helping him weave carefully up the steps to where Edelgard and Byleth clashed together. His heart had to stay out of it, but he could see how their emotions were tangled in their duel.

The sound of grinding stone pulled his attention away from the angry bite of relic weapons cracking in agony, in heartbreak, in despair. Claude hadn't pieced together what they were yet, but he'd seen the dragon at Garreg Mach, seen the art of the Immaculate one, seen Maurice and Macuil and the bones he'd held in his hand since the death of his grandfather. Something was wrong with the relic weapons, and something was worse when they fought one another.

For a moment Claude thought he'd confused the sound for the pained wail of the demonic beast that Sylvain, Fae, Dedue and Lorenz were keeping away from the soldiers at the base of the stairs, but then Lorenz had arched backwards as a dark shadow clouded over him, and Claude caught sight of where a wall had opened, or maybe a door — there were too many people in too small a space to see it clearly, and more masked mages, of a kind they'd seen many times now, were quietly joining the fray.

He took a steadying breath, preparing to shout out a warning, but then Lysithea and Seteth were tearing into their ranks, and Dedue clearly hit something vital in the demonic beast, and he had to trust his back to more than Ignatz's ready sword as he advanced to face the Emperor.

.

Lorenz crashed against the tiled floor, whiplash and collision bouncing the back of his head against the unforgiving surface. He coughed and felt the burn of blood follow up into his mouth, but the situation was urgent and he was dazed, barely blinking to awareness as Sylvain spun Ruin about the arm of the Demonic Beast to keep Lorenz from being stepped on.

"Hey! Your Nobleness — get up!"

Lorenz made to roll up into a sitting position, but then more fluid pressed up from his lips and he realized that the taste wasn't blood and the viscosity was wrong and the way Sylvain's eyes widened before he went back to stab at their foe was not encouraging.

He rolled to his side instead, swiping the gruesome ichor from his mouth with one hand. It was black as tar, and Lorenz tried to comfort himself that the spell hadn't lasted long — and it had to be something foreign introduced to his body, not his own liquefied innards leaving him barren, no matter the feeling in his chest or the slither suddenly felt in his gut. He coughed again, but near soundlessly, his gullet overwhelmed by the fell bile clogging his senses, spilling from his lips. His shoulders shook as he felt himself wrenched aside, and he could only hope it was Sylvain and not an enemy.

"Lorenz."

It was Fae, and that was worse than Sylvain. He didn't want them with this memory, as he touched his neck in search of the sensation of dark magic. If he could not feel it, then why did he feel as though he were drowning?

His vision started to white out at the edges, lost in a curtain of his own hair. Black dripped from his nose and eyes, and he sputtered hopelessly.

"What is this?" Fae worried, looking around for the responsible Dark Mage for a moment before pressing a healing hand on the back of Lorenz's neck.

It was not a gentle poison.

Lorenz retched again, an undignified noise of agony and helplessness, and Fae used more healing magic to force back a fever.

.

It was hours before Claude knew what had happened, conviction and curiosity leading him through Edelgard's defeat and Rhea's rescue.

And even once he was informed, since Lorenz wasn't in any immediate danger, he felt obligated to address their numbers. The soldiers didn't want to stay in the Imperial Palace, but he couldn't leave his friends and generals to camp in the street — and overfilling inns and noble estates was worse — but still not so bad an idea as camping outside the walls of Enbarr. They needed to occupy the Imperial Palace. They would be remembered as conquerors regardless.

.

Lorenz winced when he heard the door open. He was half on his stomach, facing the wall, a pillow in his arms and a throbbing in his head. His throat was raw and he wasn't better.

That was unfair, Flayn had done much to help, but when it wasn't an instant relief of magic, and instead a warning that he would be ill for a few days longer, Lorenz had felt particularly useless.

Today the Empire had fallen, and his contribution would be remembered only as vomiting in the throne room.

He couldn't help it, he whined.

"How is he?" Claude whispered, and Lorenz started the arduous process of telling his body to roll over, his shoulders protesting and his stomach feeling bloated and heavy despite there being no physical change.

"He's sick," Fae replied, though Claude had made eye contact with Lorenz by now and Fae shared a look between them.

"Have you eaten?" they asked Claude.

"I, uh—"

"I'll get you something. Take a few minutes alone."

.

Claude watched them leave and then avoided looking at Lorenz, and it was a struggle for Lorenz to accept that Claude probably felt guilty for his condition, rather than simply repulsed by the state of him.

"I'm—" Lorenz said, before running his tongue along the roof of his mouth, trying again to sound less hoarse, but failing. "I'm not contagious."

Claude did his best to school his disappointed expression upon hearing Lorenz's voice. He smiled weakly as he took the seat by Lorenz's bed, and tried to tease the nobleman.

"How do you know?"

"Seteth ... said he'd seen it before." Hoarse wasn't the half of it, Lorenz's voice was faded and high pitched and barely there.

Claude sighed heavily, relieved and heartbroken.

"Can I show you?" asked Lorenz.

Lorenz's eyelids were heavy, and Claude was confident that he wasn't looking at him, which gave Claude room for his confusion, uncertain what Lorenz meant.

"Yes. Of course."

Lorenz nodded and fussed with the two buttons done on his shirt, turning on his side away from Claude as he let it drop around him.

Black tendrils painted the sides of his ribs, and all along the back of his lungs were bruises. For a moment Claude thought they might look like bite marks, and he hissed in sympathy, worrying this was the wrong reaction as Lorenz's shoulders pinched as if either embarrassed or pained. Then he realized what the bruises were.

"Your Crest?" he asked, seeing the symbol repeated as a horror on his skin.

Lorenz nodded, but the movement hurt and he focused instead on pulling his shirt back around himself as he squeaked, "Ask Fae."

"Sure," Claude agreed.

Two nights ago they'd shared first kisses, him and Lorenz, Fae and Hilda. Claude wished now he could kiss Lorenz's injuries, his wincing eyebrows, his temple as he swept back his hair.

"Lorenz, you could've ... you could've died and I—"

"And you would have," Lorenz swallowed, "still had your victory."

Claude ran a hand through his hair and scratched the back of his neck, rolling his eyes.

"I'm ... keeping you from—"

"Shh," Claude interrupted, "I just spent almost five hours confirming who was going to the Hevring estate in town, approving patrols and — and more. I left Hilda and Annette in charge for a little while."

He didn't need to tell Lorenz about the letters Hubert had left, even as they likely related to his condition. He'd deal with Lorenz's indignation later, for now it was enough that he was safe, and that there were no secret passageways in this room, only servant hallways, and that had a patrol.

Lorenz nodded, and then held his chin with one hand and pointed at some small bits of wax paper on the bedside table.

"From Annette," he said softly. Then he tapped himself before eking out, "Couldn't eat."

Lorenz willed himself to look at Claude again. The room was dark, no candles wasted when dim light made it through a large window towards the front of the room. It felt ... foreign, and unmistakably imperial design.

"I heard that some of us were leaving the palace," Lorenz said. "I don't want to be here, Claude."

"I know."

"Ionius may have died this bed, or worse. This isn't— I can't focus. There's no comfort. I can't want to find comfort here, of all places—"

Lorenz had said too much, his throat ached and he found himself in a coughing fit, which easily devolved into him dry heaving over a bucket on the floor by the head of the bed, holding himself up on the bedside table. He'd rather have thrown up again, and allowed himself one more indignant noise of anguish before throwing himself back into the bed.

Claude's expression was dark for a second, as he pulled himself from his gloves.

"Isn't it a nice, big fuck you to the Empire if you did though?" he asked, trying to sound encouraging. "We won, Lorenz; and against all odds we saved Rhea also, though she's... She might not make it back to Garreg Mach. Far worse than you, if we're going off of Seteth's impressions."

Lorenz winced, and then frowned as Claude unwound his sash.

"Let me relax a little," Claude requested, his tone soft and intimate, fingers worrying at one of the buttons on his coat.

Nervously, Lorenz nodded and then held his forehead, obviously pained. Claude chuckled in sympathy.

"You know, I won't tell anyone if you have to resort to giving me a thumbs up."

Eyes closed, still rested on his pillows, Lorenz groaned, though a slight smile graced his lips. He heard far more clicking from Claude than he expected, and when he reopened his eyes it was to see that Claude was down to his underclothes: a white undershirt and white shorts that ended just above the knee.

"A little," Lorenz squeaked.

"Let me in," Claude requested next, holding onto his fragile confidence and the hope that Lorenz would see how his presence was the least imperial thing for almost a continent. Lorenz's purple eyes widened, and Claude tried to assuage some of Lorenz's propriety. "We've slept together before."

"Not like this," Lorenz croaked.

"No," Claude agreed.

"No," Lorenz confirmed.

Claude cocked his head in confusion. "No?"

Lorenz's eyes closed, pained, but Claude suspected it wasn't by their conversation.

"You can use me as a pillow?" Claude offered.

"What if anyone—" his voice died for a minute, and he opened his eyes to reach for a class of water on the bedside table, and drank, keeping Claude in suspense half naked in the Imperial Palace. "What if anyone other than Faedolyn—"

"Oh, pfft," Claude blew that off with a wave of his hand. "It won't be. And we're running out of time if you'll want me to leave once they get back."

Lorenz shifted back in the bed then, offering Claude room on one side, but when he realized how warm Claude was they shifted around in the dark, until Lorenz could take full advantage of Claude's offer, his cheek on Claude's chest and one of Claude's thick thighs between his own.

Lorenz had been sick with the idea of being able to cut himself and find that dark ichor, or of an eel with the face of his crest trying to batter it's way out of his ribs, but neither horror plagued him now, not feeling half so cold and clammy with a living hot water bottle in his arms.

Slowly, Claude moved his hands to rest on Lorenz's shoulders, uncertain if the bruises were painful, and after a moment Lorenz did whimper, but as far as Claude could tell it had only been him who had cried by the time Fae returned with food.

[peter-pan-on-neverland]

Secretly soft: Part 2

Request: Felix being his stubborn self around everyone, including the reader but goes all soft when they’re alone.

Pairing: Felix x reader 

Warnings: none

,< Part 1

He couldn’t believe this was happening again, did he not learn from the last time? Pan’s voice echoed around in his mind over and over again as if the words were bouncing around his skull, ricocheting until Felix’s head hurt.

Love make’s you weak. Love make’s you weak. Love make’s you weak.

Those fearsome green eyes stared at him even though the blonde boys eye lids were close, he could still feel his friends cold gaze on him even as lay in the comfort of his bed. For days the giant had been cold and distant, from everyone not just Y/n, the lost boy was away with the fairies half of the time trying not to think about the situation he was once again placed in. He struggled to find any motivation to do anything, Felix who was once an early raiser stumbled out of his tent around mid day only to be met with a disappointing glear from the leader.

“Felix,” The boys heart dropped as he heard his name being called from across the camp, words delivered in a familiar British accent, “Get over here, we need to talk.”

Whispers spread through the camp like a wild fire as curiosity overflowed from the rowdy group of lost boys, each one desprate to know what was happening. Felix could only try and ignore then as he slowly trekked over, back hunched and aching.

“What’s going on?” Pan asked in a stern voice making Felix flinch as soon as the words reached his ears.

With a deep sigh the boy finally mustered up enough courage to speak, “Nothing Pan, I’m fine.” Felix may not be the brightest tool in the shed but that didn’t mean he was stupid, he knew if he started to slip up Pan would punish him by punishing Y/n.

The leaders jaw locked in place, trying his hardest not to let his frustration get the better of him. He knew exactly what the problem was, and how to fix it.

How hard could it be? The king of Neverland thought to himself with a dark grin plastered on his face.

“I’ve given you your chance Felix and now,” He spoke, getting so close to the blonde giant he could feel Pan’s breath slowly travel along the nape of his neck “now you need to be punished.”

The second in command eyes spread no the size of sources and panic flowed through his veins, “No.” He whispered, barely audible but the green eyes monster heard his faint cries.

“What example would I be setting for the boys if I didn’t Felix?” The king argued, “now listen very carefully, I want you to grab that little distraction by the arm and throw her into the cage’s.”

Felix knew that Pan could be a narcasistic prick at times, but he never expected the boy to go this far, never in a million years.

The blonde giant had no idea how to process the emotions he was feeling, they just kept getting stronger and stronger, bubbling over the surface until he overflowed with emotion. At this moment the second in command had no shame, he didn’t care who saw him as tears streamed down his sharp cheeks, the lost boy had never been this vunrible in front of any one before yet somehow Pan made him feel safe.

Felix almost laughed at the irony, how can the person who’s making him feel misrble be the only person he feels safe enough to cry around, to show his true colours around.

“Pan-” The lost boy tried to speak up but his words only came out as a shaky rasp.

“You know what you need to do.” Where the leaders parting words before he made his way back to camp.

The brown haired boy let out a sigh of relief as he walked away, he hated seeing Felix like this, but he knew if that girl broke his heart then he would be much more broken. Maybe his punishment was a little harder than he had originally planned for it to be, but what was he to do? How else would he be able to help Felix, he needed to get rid of the problem and he needed to do it himself.

…

Felix gut twisted inside of him, every cell in his body was screaming out no. He couldn’t do this to her, not when he had finally realized how he felt, but the second in command knew that if he didn’t do it Pan would and who knows how rough he would be?

There she was, sat silent and alone on a log. Felix remembered the mornings when he would join her, laughing as they told each other the funniest stories while he playfully put his arm around her. Oh how he wished he knew sooner, he would’ve cherished those moments even more if he only knew where his heart ley.

There was that sinking feeling again, like his heart had suddenly turned to stone in an instant, weighing him down as if his own body was stopping him from taking another step. He wanted to just grab her and run off into the sunset but the giant knew there was no way off this island, not without Pan’s permission.

He needed to be smart about this and try to cause as little pain as possible. Ignoring the fact that his feet felt like they were made of led he slowly made his way over to her, one step at a time, catching the lost girls eye.

A smile beamed on her face as she saw he was coming over, eyes beaming and face glowing with happiness, but she was not met with the same expression.

“Felix-!” She happily exclaimed.

“You need to come with me,” He muttered, voice deep and moody.

Y/n’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion, “Where are we going?”

He shut his eyes, wanting this process to be quick and easy, “Please don’t make me ask again,” he pleaded with her, “Just follow me.”

“Not until you tell me where we’re going.” She tested.

Felix knew he had no other choice but to take her by force, as much as he didn’t want too he knew it would be the only way of ensuring her safety.

Swiftly wrapping his long fingers around her forearm he yanked her up, dragging her away too little to no effort, she was as light as a feather. Oh how Felix wish he could just scoop her up in his arms right now, instead of forcing her into one of those cold, damp cages.

“Felix, what are you doing!” She exclaimed, trying to claw at his knuckles, desperately trying to get the blonde giant off her, “You’re hurting me!”

As soon as those words fell from her lips the second in command instantly let go as thought it were second nature to him. The boy had no problem when it came to a little bit of pain, but she made him weak, love made him weak.

Y/n’s demands never stopped the whole way through the jungle, he fought everything he had in him to not answer back. Why hadn’t he noticed how special she was to him sooner? Why was Pan making him do this? What was the point?

So many questions swirled around in his mind he didn’t even notice the tears streaming down the lost girls face as she, now silently, followed him.

His hand twitched in response, ready to reach out and brush every drop away with the pad of his thumb, but he couldn’t. He kept his eyes glued to the floor and his head down, he needed to remember that if he wanted her to be safe, he was going to have to put her in the cage.

The lost girl felt ace in her chest as the wooden door swung closed in front of her, there eyes met for what seemed like it would be the last time. She couldn’t stop the stream of tears from pouring down her cheeks, she didn’t understand what was going on. Had she angered him that much he would want to stick her in the cages?

Hesitantly, he began to walk away, slowly as if he wanted the moment to last a little longer. Felix’s knows this isn’t the romantic event he had hopped for, but still, he was just happy to be with her and never wanted to leave her side.

“Felix, wait.” She croaked out, voice raw from all the screaming and crying she had done prier.

The second in command came to a halt as if he order were from Pan himself, no words left his lips, but she knew she had grasped his attention.

Shuffling forward as best she could, Y/n wrapped her around around the bars of her wooden prison, “Why am I in here.”

He longed to tell her the truth, longed to tell her how she had done nothing wrong and that he loved her, If it were up to the boy that cage door would be broke off it’s hinges and she would be safe in his arms. Safe from Pan, safe from the boys, safe from everything that hurt her. But he couldn’t, he could only walk away, leaving her heartbroken and disappointed.

Day quickly turned into night, the stars shining bright against their navy back drop as Y/n tried to come to terms with what was happening.

Was this all just a dream, she thought to herself. One minute her and Felix were fine, happy, laughing and giggling with each other and now, she was locked in this cage.

Goosebumps bloomed up and down her arms as she looked around, nothing but darkness, except for something lurking in the shadows. Her heartbeat quickened, what was that? Why wasn’t it moving? Was it just her eyes play tricks on her?

As if on queue the bushes begin to shake, she scattered to the far side of her cage, trying to get away from it as quickly as possible, she was not about to become bear food.

She relaxed the second she saw it was only Pan, those sinister green eyes gave her a sense of comfort from time to time.

“Oh Pan, it’s just you.” She sniffled, looking up at the boy.

The king of Neverland bent down to her level, pureeing at the little lost girl through the gaps in the cage door, “You’re probably wondering why I’ve ordered Felix to put you in this prison, It’s because you’re making him weak and weak people have no place on my island.” The green eyes monster spat.

The lost girl had never felt so much anger in her life, her blood began to boil the moment those words tumbled from his lip and oh how he loved to watch her squirm. He mocked her, replying with nothing but a smirk.

“It’s not hard to tell that my second in command has fallen for you, and that my dear, is a very dangerous game to play. Love is weakness, love is a sweet spot and my boys don’t have sweet spots.” He declarerd  proudly as he promoted his group of highly weaponized teenagers, “Now if anyone else on this island were to be in love with you, I would kill them on the stop. Felix however, happens to be very special to me, very special indeed. Which is why I must keep you locked away.”

Y/n was at a loss for words, she just couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She wanted so badly to argue back, prove to him that love wasn’t weakness, it was strength but the little lost girl knew she would be wasting her breath. Pan wouldn’t listen to anyone else, no one but Felix.

Pan wasn’t here for hostilities, he wanted to make his point and leave, but she pulled the green eyed monster right back, “If I’m such a pain to you then why don’t you just send me home?”

“Oh, that wouldn’t be any fun now would it?” The leader chuckled darkly to himself, “I’m saving you for a rainy day.”

Before the girls very eyes he had disappeared into a cloud of green smoke, rendering her speechless,. What would she do? What could she do in this situation? Make a run for it, try and escape.

She shot down her own ideas once she remembered that no one left the island without Pan’s permission and he just made it very clear, he did not want her to leave.

…

Heavy footsteps are what rose the lost girl from her slumber as she rubber her tired eyes, the sun beamed down, almost blinding her as she looked up.

Jaw almost dropping once she saw the sharp features of a familiar face staring back at her holding a tray of food. She had thought long and hard last night about what she would say to Felix if she ever saw him again, but she didn’t accept to see the second in command so soon.

He smiled to himself, once again she was away with the fairies, paying not attention to what was going on around her.

No, the words echoed around the lost boys head so loud, you’re here to give her food and leave nothing more.

Heartbroken, the boy placed to plate of food just in front of her cage, he fought the urge to say something to her, say anything to her, but no words came out. Where would he even start?

“I know why I’m here.” She finally spoke up, the words made Felix stop in his track, slowly turning back around to face her in shock and disbelief.

“What?” He whispered to himself, still trying to process the words that had just fell from her lips.

“I know why I’m in this cage, it’s because Pan thinks I’m making you weak. But love isn’t weakness Felix, it’s strength and power.”

“You, you know I love you?” Felix said almost as if he didn’t want it to be true.

“Yes,” She beamed a smile spreading wide across her cheeks, “And I love you too.”

The second in command couldn’t hold himself back any longer after hearing those words, running to the cage, he flung the cage door open. Their hand intertwined as he desperately pulled her out of the cage and wrapped her up in his arm.

“I’m so sorry Pan put you in here, lets run away together, lets go somewhere, anywhere.” The boy rambled on and on making plans for the two of them to escape.

“You know we can’t do that Felix, not without Pan’s permission.” She shot him down.

The look of disappointment on the boys face was evident, she wanted more than anything to run away with him but they both knew it wouldn’t be possible for them to do.

“What should we do?” Felix asked, racking his brain for anything, just anything that would get him and Y/n off this island.

“Put me back in the cage.” The little lost girl insisted, almost as if she were stamping her foot down.

“What are you talking about-”

“Put me back in the cage, it’ll by us more time if Pan doesn’t suspect anything is wrong.” She explained, the second in command didn’t want to admit it, but he knew she was right.

“Fine.” He harshly spoke, “But I don’t like it.”

They both knew they didn’t have much time left before Pan would know something was up, as if there was a silent agreement between the two the girl nodded in his direction, voluntarily getting back into her wooden cage.

“I love you,” The blonde giant whispered, peering at the through the bars with a smile on his face.

“I love you too.” She said, watching as he trekked further and further into Neverland’s deep jungle, all the way back to camp.

The pair were flying as high as a kite, for once everything seemed to be on track, going there way, but all that faded as soon as she heard a familiar British accent.

“Well, well, well, that was quite the show.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 2 is up! I hope you guys like it just as much as you liked the last part! Xxx

[witcher-and-his-bard-archive]

|| on ao3

Three weeks ago now, Geralt apologized and things are... okay. They've mostly fallen back into their old routine, but something is just a little off. Jaskier tries not to notice it, but there are times when it's unmistakable that they haven't quite fit back together the way they used to. When they sit around the fire at night, Geralt doesn't seem quite as calm as usual, doesn't sit as close as he used to and Jaskier doesn't know who or what is to blame for the rift.

He wants to tell Geralt that everything is fine and cuddle up next to him when it's cold during the night, but what if Geralt is distancing himself on purpose? Maybe he's not quite ready to go back to what they had, maybe he doesn't want to. He's become something of an unwilling father since the last time Jaskier saw him, so maybe it will just take some time for things to settle. Either way, Jaskier doesn't want to do anything to make matters worse.

Which is how he winds up with a much worse problem. It's not his fault, either. Geralt has been tasked with killing a cockatrice that's getting too close to the roads and killing travellers, Jaskier is there for the adventure, the exhilaration and... to look after Ciri. The inn won't house a Witcher, so there isn't anywhere particularly far from the cockatrice’s lair that they can get, and Jaskier is there to make sure she doesn't come to harm. Which, to be fair, he does quite well. It's himself that he has to worry about.

Geralt's gone ahead into the cave to try and catch the cockatrice unaware and judging by the sound coming from within, he hasn't done anything but upset it. There's a moment of silence in which Ciri looks up at Jaskier with wide, worried eyes and Jaskier pulls her against his side. He won't let anything hurt her and that means making sure Geralt is okay because Jaskier is not fit to care for a child and he doesn't want Ciri to lose another family.

"Wait with Roach," he says and for a second she looks horrified so Jaskier kneels down in front of her. "I promise everything will be fine, I just think Geralt needs some help. If anything goes wrong, trust Roach, she'll take you to safety. You know how to get her to kneel?"

Ciri nods and Jaskier smiles at her. She's a good kid, she doesn't deserve any of the shit she's been through. Jaskier gives her a quick hug and sends her off toward their camp as he approaches the cave. It's a terrible idea because the only defence he has is a little silver dagger that Geralt gifted him a few years back. It won't do much as far as bleeding damage, but he hopes the silver will be enough to deter it.

He can hear Geralt's grunts and groans echoing from the cavern and he steels himself. This isn't for him, this is for Ciri and her continued happiness - or whatever Geralt can offer her if he lives long enough. As luck would have it - if he can even call it luck - Geralt rolls out of the cave before Jaskier can enter. There's a brief moment when he freezes and stares at Jaskier confused, irritated, worried? And then the cockatrice shoots out of the cave after him.

Geralt shoves him out of the way and Jaskier tumbles to the ground. He scrambles to his knees and gets out of the way as quickly as he can, but something hits him from behind. He draws his dagger, expecting the cockatrice to be right on top of him, but it isn't. It's a few metres back, heading in his direction and Geralt leaps at it before it can take another step. Jaskier watches, frozen and dumbfounded as Geralt plunges his sword into its side.

Jaskier has seen him fight more times than he can count, most times he’s immortalized in song, but this is different. He doesn't know how to explain it, but he feels like Geralt is protecting him which, technically, he always is. But this time it seems like Geralt's anger comes directly from the attempt to attack Jaskier.

As the thing collapses under him, Geralt pulls his blade back, wincing as blood spatters back at him. He double-checks to ensure the thing is dead and walks up to its neck, slicing his sword clean through to remove the head. Later, he'll take it back to town to claim his fee, but for now, he leaves it on the ground and makes his way over to Jaskier, kneeling down before him.

"Where's Ciri?" he asks and Jaskier's heart sinks, but he reminds himself that Ciri is more important.

"I sent her back to camp. Told her to take Roach if anything happened."

"Why?"

"I thought- I was worried about you." Geralt stiffens and looks away. Helpful, Jaskier thinks.

"Are you okay?" he asks and Jaskier looks up at him. There's an odd tingling feeling in his lower back, but he probably just pinched something when he fell. Or maybe he got something stuck under his shirt where it's come untucked.

"I'm fine," he says.

He can't tell him he got hit by something because Geralt will insist on looking him over and making sure and Jaskier doesn't want to be any more of a burden than he already had been. He still hears Geralt's words in his head at night: why is it whenever I find myself in a pile of shit these days it's you, shovelling it? For months, those words were the only memory he had of Geralt and he doesn't want to wind up back in that place with him again.

Geralt takes him at face value and he holds a hand out to Jaskier to help him up. He pulls him up and looks him over briefly before starting away toward their camp. Jaskier follows.

Geralt gets a fire started and leaves with Roach to collect his coin and find them something for dinner. Jaskier keeps Ciri entertained with tales of his travels with Geralt - significantly edited to be age-appropriate - and a selection of her favourite songs. He makes her fruit juice and shares the few remaining snacks he has in his pack. By the time Geralt returns, Jaskier is quite ready for bed.

When he stands up to help with the tent, his head is foggy and he feels woozy, but it's been a while since he ate or drank anything of substance, so he doesn't think much of it. The tent goes up easily, but Jaskier leaves the rest to Geralt, sitting down to rest. When everything is ready, he crawls into the tent, curling up on his side and tugging his blanket up over his shoulder. Geralt gives him a worried look, but Jaskier waves him off with a sleepy smile. He'll feel better in the morning.

He does not, in fact, feel better in the morning but last night Ciri had a nightmare and none of them slept well, so he keeps his discomfort to himself. Geralt isn't great at the whole dad thing, so Jaskier leaves them alone in the tent and decides to make himself useful by getting breakfast ready.

It doesn't take him long, but by the time he's finished, his head is foggy again so he sits next to Roach and feeds her apples while he waits. She nudges him with her nose but Jaskier is too tired to do much other than stroke her lightly and hum a tune. He shuts his eyes and focuses on everything he's feeling, most of which is perfectly normal. It's just his head that feels wrong.

The three of them head out after breakfast and Geralt suspects something is off, even if he doesn't say anything. He keeps a closer eye on Jaskier than usual but Jaskier just continually assures him he's fine. It's not even really a lie because it's probably just lack of sleep that's messing with his head. A good nights' sleep is all he needs and he'll be perfectly back to normal.

But before they even stop for the night, things take a turn for the worse. Jaskier tells himself he's pushing his body too hard on so little sleep and that's why it's hard to breathe, but he's not so sure anymore. There's only so much he can blame on a bad night's sleep. It's late afternoon when he starts to feel nauseous, but Geralt is leading them off the path, Jaskier assumes to camp for the night, so he'll be able to sleep soon.

Geralt is having none of that. As soon as Jaskier is horizontal, Geralt is crouching over him, feeling his head and pushing his hair back off his face. Jaskier opens his mouth to tell him he's fine, but the words don't come out and the lines in Geralt's face deepen.

"What are you doing?" Jaskier mumbles.

"I asked you three times to help Ciri," he says and Jaskier doesn't even remember hearing him speak. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine. What do you need me to do?"

"Sleep," Geralt says, "you need to rest." Jaskier doesn't intend to sleep, not now because Geralt needs his help, but he shuts his eyes for just a second. The next time he wakes, they're preparing to leave again.

And he does feel better or, at least, he thinks he does. He goes about the morning as usual, though the haze in his head makes it difficult to focus and he knows Geralt is watching him closely.

They head out early that morning with Ciri and Geralt up front and Jaskier trailing behind. It's a conscious choice, to follow at a short distance, but he couldn't keep up this morning if he wanted to. Soon enough, he'll probably have to make for town and leave Geralt to whatever he's up to.

They've barely made it past the edge of the forest when Jaskier's head starts to throb. He stumbles and his knees hit the ground which is alright really, because he feels better like this, even if his palms sting and his knees shake under him. Geralt is at his side instantly, sliding an arm around his back and asking him something he can't quite understand. He sounds very far away and like he's underwater.

"I'm fine," Jaskier says but even he doesn't believe it this time. Geralt helps him to his feet, but he's unsteady and it takes much more effort than it should to keep himself upright.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Jaskier mumbles, but his vision is starting to blur and his head is heavy.

"Fuck."

Geralt heaves him up onto Roach and climbs up in front of him. He apologizes as Roach gives a snort of protest, but Jaskier is only half aware of what's happening. "Can you hold on to me?" Geralt asks, frantic, and Jaskier doesn't know, but he slumps against Geralt's back and snakes his arms around his waist.

He doesn't know where they're headed, but Geralt is certainly in a hurry to get there.

By the time they arrive, Jaskier is unconscious and Geralt has never been this frightened in as long as he can remember. He dismounts gracelessly, hauling Jaskier down after him.

"I'll be back," he says to Ciri, "Roach will take care of you." She nods obediently, but Geralt can see the fear in her eyes and he wishes he was in a better place to comfort her. His heart races, thuds heavily against his chest and he can barely hear over the rush of blood in his ears.

The house is unassuming on the outside, but as soon as he steps foot in it, he can smell her. Lilac and gooseberries. Yennefer is the last person he wants to see right now, and likely he's the last person she wants to see ever again. But he doesn't have a choice.

She greets him silently and Geralt thinks that he would have preferred hostility. She listens as Geralt tells her everything he knows - very little - and then whisks Jaskier away to some back room, out of sight. Geralt tries to follow, desperately unhappy about having Jaskier out of his sight, but she stops him.

"Wait for him here, I'll tell you when I'm done." Geralt can't blame her for not wanting to see him, but sitting and waiting and not knowing is worse than anything Yen could say to him.

He takes a seat in the sitting room, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, and he waits. After fifteen minutes, he goes to check on Ciri and takes her to the inn, paying for a meal and for the innkeeper to look after her for a little while. She's mostly self-sufficient, but he doesn't want to take any unnecessary risks. When he's sure she'll be okay for a little while, he returns to the house.

Yen hasn't returned and Geralt is left alone with his thoughts, all of which are dark and worrisome. What if he didn't get to her on time? Jaskier was already in bad shape when they left and he doesn't know how long it's been going on for. He doesn't know how long Jaskier has - or if it's already too late. His stomach turns uncomfortably and Geralt squeezes his eyes shut. He should have known something was wrong, he should have done something sooner.

But he's been so preoccupied with Ciri. And he and Jaskier haven't quite found a comfortable rhythm since their reunion so he's been more distant than before. And he hates himself for it because if he'd been just a little more attentive, he might have noticed something was wrong earlier. If Jaskier doesn't make it, he'll never forgive himself.

When Yen returns, she's alone and Geralt's stomach somersaults, immediately assuming the worst. Yen looks at him and sits down in an armchair across from him, delicately folding her legs.

"You're lucky you got to me when you did," she says, "another couple of hours and he might have been beyond saving." A wave of relief washes over him, immediately followed by a feeling of guilt, like a punch to the stomach. He was so close.

"What's wrong?"

"Cockatrice venom," she says, "can be fatal in large enough doses."

"Cockatrice-" Geralt echoes, "that was days ago."

Yennefer shrugs. "Slow acting."

"He said he was fine."

"Clearly," she says slowly, unimpressed, "he lied. Take it up with him when he wakes. You can take him and leave."

"Yen-"

"I'm not interested. When I need something, you'll hear from me."

History has taught him not to argue with a sorceress when she's made a decision and Geralt nods, rising to his feet silently. He makes his way back to the room, finding Jaskier laid out on the bed. It's reminiscent of the incident with the djinn and brings back memories and emotions he'd rather not remember.

Geralt leans over him, shutting his eyes for a moment to listen to the sound of Jaskier breathing softly. It encourages him and he slips his arms under him, careful to disturb him as little as possible, and lifts him into his arms. He feels like nothing in his arms, and yet Geralt's whole body shudders at the touch. He's wanted to hold Jaskier, to bring him close and keep him there, but this is all wrong.

Yen is still sitting silent when he returns and Geralt thanks her again as he leaves the house. He doesn't know what he's going to do. He knows he can't take Jaskier to the inn; the last thing he needs is people thinking he's killed someone, but he needs to get him somewhere safe and he needs to collect Ciri, regardless. Cautiously, he makes his way toward the inn, reluctantly going inside with Jaskier in his arms.

A half dozen heads turn when he walks in, but Ciri sees him and hurries over to his side.

"Is he okay?" she asks.

"He needs rest," is all Geralt says, but she nods and follows as Geralt leads her to the stables.

Ciri takes control of talking to the stable boy and if Geralt wasn't so caught up in worry, he'd be proud of her. The boy hands the reins over to her, and Ciri takes them happily, stroking Roach's nose. Geralt makes a clicking sound with his tongue and nods his head to Roach and she kneels, making it easier for Ciri to climb onto her back.

"Good girl," Ciri says, pulling the reins back over her head. She's good with Roach and Roach is shockingly patient with her, but Geralt keeps a close eye on them as they make their way out of town.

He carries Jaskier all the way out of town and they don't stop until Geralt finds an overhang in a cliff face. It will shelter them on two sides and that's going to have to be good enough because it's getting dark and he needs to find something more than bread for Ciri to eat for dinner.

Ciri pulls their bedrolls out and lays one out on the ground for Jaskier. Geralt lays him down, finding a blanket to fold and tuck under his head and he thanks Ciri for her help. Jaskier looks small and weak lying there silently and Geralt has to tear his gaze away because he knows if he doesn't, he won't be able to leave. So he pulls himself away and crouches down next to where Ciri is piling sticks for a fire.

"Will you be okay alone for a little while?" he asks.

"Yes. I'll watch him."

"I won't be long." He says and he isn't. He brings down a deer close to their campsite and returns within half an hour, sitting at the edge of the site to skin and prepare the animal.

He cooks the meat over the fire and feeds Ciri, but doesn't eat anything himself. He's emotionally exhausted and the guilt he feels for not noticing Jaskier’s pain overwhelms him.

After Ciri goes to sleep, Geralt sits next to Jaskier, watching the way the firelight highlights his features. He's beautiful in an eerie sort of way and Geralt reaches out, brushing his fingers along the ridge of his cheekbones. Jaskier is warm and it's the first thing that's given Geralt any comfort since he collapsed that morning. He runs his fingers through Jaskier's hair and sighs regretfully.

"I'm sorry," he breathes, "I should have noticed earlier." He sighs deeply and rolls his head back, staring up toward the sky. There’s more he wants to say, but something stops him. The words are there, right on the tip of his tongue but even with Jaskier unconscious and unable to respond, he can't quite get them out.

"Please," he whispers, "don't leave me."

It's late when Geralt hears a rustle from the other side of the fire and his head snaps up, alert. Ciri sneaks over, sitting next to him.

"Is he okay?" she asks.

"I don't know."

"I hope so."

"Me too," Geralt hums, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

He's still got one hand in Jaskier's hair and he doesn't pull away, even as Ciri curls into his side. The warmth of her small body is comforting and it reminds him that no matter what happens with Jaskier, he has to pull himself together for Ciri.

When he wakes up, Ciri is in his lap and he's hunched over her, both arms curled around her. Geralt blinks awake slowly and as he shifts, Ciri stirs against him. She gets up and Geralt follows after her, stretching as he looks down at Jaskier, still motionless and silent and it hurts knowing he can't stay with him right now. They can't leave either, though, so he gets up and finds something for Ciri to eat.

While she finishes her breakfast and goes off to feed Roach, Geralt returns to Jaskier. Carefully, he sits down next to him and lifts Jaskier's head into his lap. He brushes the hair off his forehead and Jaskier squirms. His eyes pinch tightly shut and Geralt's heart leaps into his throat. He presses his hands down Jaskier's chest, keeping him down and when Jaskier opens his eyes, it's like a weight has lifted off Geralt’s shoulders.

Jaskier sits up, rubbing his eyes and turns to face him, looking blearily at him. He looks so soft and helpless and Geralt can't help himself when he pulls him into his lap. He draws him in closer, wrapping one arm around his waist and sliding the other up his back to slip into his hair.

"Geralt," Jaskier says, muffled in his shoulder, "I'm fine, what are you-" when he pulls back, he stops. Jaskier is barely an inch from his face and Geralt kisses him without regard for common sense or consequence. It's brief and stiff and not what he really wants and when he pulls back, Jaskier's eyes are wide and full of concern.

"I'm dying aren't I?"

Geralt is stunned, the taste of Jaskier's lips still on his and he drops back, propping himself up in one arm. "No," he says, "no you're okay. I thought I'd lost you." His final words come out so quietly he doesn't think Jaskier will hear him at first. But Jaskier takes his face in his hands and smiles softly.

"I'm fine," he says and he sounds utterly breathless, reminding Geralt with a start that he's just woken up and he's been through a lot.

"Shit," he says, scrambling to let Jaskier up and get himself to his feet. He helps Jaskier up and he doesn't have a chance to say anything else, to apologize or to let Jaskier know how worried he was, because Ciri hurries over.

She wraps her arms around him and Jaskier smiles down, slipping an arm around her shoulders. Geralt's lips tug up at the corner and he turns away to let them have a moment.

Jaskier's feeling better now and Geralt has managed to convince him that he's not dying. He's a little quiet, but Geralt is sure it's nothing to worry about, he did just recover from being poisoned, after all. And he's done everything he can for him, making sure he's warm enough and has enough to eat.

He wants to get them back to town. He wants to get to an inn and get Jaskier somewhere warm and comfortable where they can stay for a couple of days to recoup.

Ciri is the first to be ready as usual, and Geralt lifts her up onto Roach, handing her the reins as he finishes packing. When he turns around to fasten Roach's saddlebags, Jaskier is pulling his lute case over his shoulder. Geralt frowns, crossing over to him and slipping the strap out of his hands.

"Get on Roach," he says and Jaskier just looks at him. Geralt reaches out, pressing a hand to Jaskier's shoulder. "You must be exhausted," he says, "I can walk." For a moment, everything is still and Jaskier just looks at him. Geralt grunts and turns away before he can do something stupid and behind him, he hears Jaskier hoist himself up into the saddle.

Geralt doesn't mind walking and from here he can keep an eye on both Jaskier and Ciri. They’ll be safe and if anything comes up on the road, he can handle it while Roach gets them to safety.

They make town by mid-afternoon and after taking Roach to the stables, Geralt pays for a room and sends Ciri ahead of him.

"Wait for me by the stairs," he says and she nods. When Geralt turns, Jaskier is watching him. "Go to the bathhouse," he says, "relax."

Jaskier tries to argue, but Geralt presses a handful of coins into his palm and sends him off. When Jaskier is out of sight, Geralt takes Ciri up to their room. He's ordered food to be brought up to Ciri and he waits for the innkeeper before ducking out of the room. He knows Ciri will be okay on her own for a little while, but he locks the room anyway and promises not to be long.

He slips away, out of the inn and down the street to the bathhouse. Jaskier is in the bath already when he finds him, up to his neck in hot water and scented oils. The room is steamy and Geralt shuts the door behind him, inhaling the damp, scented air.

Jaskier blinks up at him as if he was sleeping, offering a worried look. "Where's Ciri?" he asks.

"In our room. She's fine." Geralt rolls his sleeves, pushing them up past his elbows and circling the tub. Jaskier watches him move, tipping his head back against the edge of the tub.

"What are you doing?" he asks, but Geralt is quiet. He hmms at him, but doesn't say anything. He reaches down, tentatively brushing his fingers along Jaskier's shoulder. It's a question, a chance for him to say no and push him away. He doesn't.

Instead, Jaskier rolls his shoulders into the touch, hums softly. Geralt wants to make him comfortable and he wants him to feel good, but he doesn't want to push any boundaries, especially with their relationship the way it is. But once he gets his hands on him, it's harder to stop than he thought it would be.

He can feel Jaskier's pulse under his hands, steady and confirming. He's okay. He can feel the life in him with every press of his hands and he slides his hands down over his chest, feeling Jaskier's heartbeat against his palms. He almost lost this. He wasn't paying enough attention and Jaskier got hurt and he almost lost him. His hands falter and Jaskier notices.

"Are you alright?" he asks, looking up at him with wide eyes, dark in the low light.

"I should be asking you that."

"I'm fine Geralt. If something's wrong-"

"Nothing's wrong," Geralt insists, but his hands shake against Jaskier's skin and when he moves to pull back, Jaskier twines their fingers together. He runs his thumb along the arch of Geralt's fingers, pressing his hands into his skin.

"You can tell me, Geralt," he says softly, "whatever it is." He closes his fingers around him and Geralt squeezes tightly.

"I thought I was going to lose you," he grits out, "why didn't you tell me something was wrong?" Jaskier's fingers pull away and Geralt worries that he was too rough.

"I didn't want to be a burden," Jaskier mumbles, "you already have so much with Ciri and your destiny-"

"You're never a burden," Geralt says too quickly. He pulls his hands back and moves back around to the front of the tub, crouching down in front of it. "You're all I have."

He looks up at him, soft and pink from the heat of the bath and he can't imagine saying such horrible things to him, but he did and he knows it hurt Jaskier more than he shows. He's the one constant in his life, the one good thing that destiny so far has not meddled with.

Geralt leans in without realizing and Jaskier meets him halfway. Geralt slides his hand over Jaskier's jaw, pressing forward and kissing him softly. He doesn't realize he's tense until Jaskier's mouth moves against his own and an intense calm floods his body, loosening his limbs and pushing him forward.

Geralt draws back after only a second, eager to see Jaskier's face, to see for himself that he wants this and it's not just impulse that has him kissing back. A single glance tells him that's not the case. If anything, Jaskier looks more unsure than Geralt feels, but he shows no hesitance. And when Geralt presses into his space once more, Jaskier is the one to initiate the kiss.

His lips are soft, unimaginably so, and maybe Geralt should have expected that, what with the care Jaskier takes in all other parts of his life. It still comes as a surprise, though not one Geralt has much time to consider. Jaskier makes a soft sound against him and Geralt moves instinctively, sliding a hand back into his hair and kissing him more deeply. Jaskier hums again, a soft little contented sound and he curls both hands around the back of Geralt's neck, sitting back a little in the tub.

Geralt moves with him, adjusting to make Jaskier more comfortable. The edge of the tub digs into his stomach, but it's barely an inconvenience with Jaskier's mouth against his own, hot and eager, and his hands slipping up into the hair at the back of his neck.

Jaskier moves a little quicker, his fingers grip a little tighter, pull a little harder and Geralt loses himself in it. He shouldn't let himself lose focus so easily, but this is Jaskier and he's alive and Geralt has wanted for so long. He's moving before he realizes it, letting Jaskier tug him closer. He gets his elbow hooked around Geralt's neck and Geralt rises up, bending over the tub. Then he's got his knee up on the edge and making the next move is such a natural transition that he doesn't consider what he's doing.

As he steps into the tub, Jaskier pins his legs to the sides, letting Geralt settle between them. Geralt is soaked up to his stomach, but Jaskier's fingers wander, sliding around to his chest and distracting him. And when his legs wind around his hips, Geralt groans softly against Jaskier's lips, slipping one hand under his thigh.

"I can't lose you again," he breathes and Jaskier hums against him, reaching up to run his fingers over Geralt's cheek.

"You won't."

They stay like that, pressed against each other in the tub, until the water has long lost its heat and Jaskier's skin is cool to the touch. Unwillingly, Geralt wrenches himself from Jaskier's embrace and climbs out of the tub. He leans down, pulling Jaskier out after him and if he tugs him close again and lets his fingers run over all that soft, wet skin well, no one would blame him.

Jaskier's head is still swimming as they make their way back to the inn, only a sliver of air between them. Geralt's knuckles brush against his own with each swing of his arm and Jaskier grins softly, looking down at the ground beneath his feet. His lips tingle, swollen from being kissed and bitten and it's the only thing that speaks to the reality of what happened. He might believe it was a dream otherwise; he's had many dreams to the same effect, both waking and sleeping, some of which seemed almost more real than this. But Geralt leaves a trail of bathwater behind him as they walk and his lips are a lovely shade of red that Jaskier swells with pride to know he's the one responsible for it.

When they reach the inn, Ciri gives them a strange look. Fair, considering he was the one sent to have a bath and Geralt is the one coming back soaked - and in his clothes, no less. Jaskier hides a smirk but focuses his attention on Ciri. If he tries to think about too much at once, he might explode, so he focuses on the task at hand which is, right now, keeping Ciri occupied while Geralt changes into dry clothes and arranges for supper for them.

The rest of the night passes far too quickly and they don't talk a lot, but Jaskier knows Ciri suspects something. She keeps side-eyeing Geralt when he's not paying attention and it's all Jaskier can do not to laugh when Geralt notices. They'll have to tell her at some point, he suspects, though that would entail discussing exactly what they're telling her. And that's one of those things Jaskier can't think about right now.

He knows Geralt worries about him, enough to take him to Yennefer according to Ciri, and he knows he wants him around. He couldn't possibly ask for more than that, but then he'd kissed him. And gods, Jaskier has been kissed a thousand times and a thousand more and he's never been kissed like that. Like he was the only thing in the world that mattered, like he might not get another chance.

He shuts his eyes thinking about it and smiles softly to himself. So there's something, something that must have been a huge step for Geralt who still hasn't quite committed to the word friend.

Geralt meets them downstairs, dry except for the ends of his hair, and they sit and eat together before heading upstairs. He's quieter than usual and Jaskier tries not to worry too much about that. He reminds himself that things like this are harder for Geralt than they are for him and that also, apparently, Geralt is still processing the fact that he almost lost him. That much, at least, Jaskier can understand, he'd be lost without Geralt.

So he gives him space. They'll have a few minutes alone to talk soon enough, he can keep from plastering himself to Geralt's side for one night, difficult as it may be. He makes up a bed on the floor as they've been doing for months now; taking turns sleeping on the floor and in the bed with Ciri unless they have a second room. Personally, Jaskier prefers the floor to a separate room to begin with so he doesn't mind much.

Geralt is already in bed and Jaskier tries to be as quiet as he can to not wake Ciri, setting his pack at the end of the bed and laying down on his bedroll. There's a rustle of blankets from above him and when he shifts to look up, Geralt is sitting up, frowning down at him.

"What are you doing?" he asks and Jaskier looks down at his bed, trying to figure out what he's done wrong.

"Going to sleep?" he asks.

"Come up here," Geralt offers, shifting a little to one side. He waits until Jaskier sets down his bedroll, then lies back against the bed.

Jaskier pulls himself up, climbing up the foot of the bed and Geralt reaches out, sliding an arm around his side and pulling him down. He shifts as Ciri stretches under his other arm, and Jaskier lets himself be pulled in, turning to rest his hand on Geralt's chest. He slips on hand up his chest and he could swear he sees Geralt's lips twitch just as he shuts his eyes. There's a soft huff of breath against his hair and when warm lips press against his head Jaskier squirms despite himself.

Maybe things aren't as complicated as he thought they were. Maybe his place is right at Geralt's side where he's always been.

[sabresisters-quoted]

I'm sorta thriving off AUs at the moment so take a Ducktales Hunger Games au

So I guess take Duckburg as District uhhhh idk.... let's say 7

So obviously, there will only be two cannon characters taking part in the hunger games

After careful consideration I choose Violet and Louie because one, they are an awesome duo, and two, Louie with a sword and Violet rocking a bow?

Perfection

The rest of the fam (Huey, Dewey, Lena, Webby, Gos, Boyd ect.) p a n i c

However they can't volunteer as there were rules put against that

Scrooge is friends with a sponsor, so he gets his boatloads of money ready to bribe her

Louie had no idea how to use a sword but before they left, Dewey and Webby gave him a list of tips

Again, before she and Louie left, Violet and Lena spoke to each other (bc you know... sabresisters)

Lena promised to bring down the leader of the operation if anything happened to her

Because you know guys... its Lena

Huey gave Violet and Louie his JWG to help them

Then they had to leave

Its like the normal hunger games, except they're given no instructor, they need to figure things out themselves

They don't get to try out for sponsors, they just get chosen depending on how they look on the battlefield

Violet was practicing her aim and this random tiger guy (Lets call him.... Ben) kept standing in front of the target so she pinned him to it by shooting an arrow through his clothes

Cornucopia now

Standing on the platforms, Violet plans to just run away, but Louie didn't train with sword for nothing

Louie runs headfirst into the battlefield grabbing a sword and a backpack full of medical supplies and a rope, he then legs it

Violet runs away, grabbing nothing and almost immediately gets stabbed but pushes the person off her and grabs their dagger

Louie and Violet meet up about ten minutes later

There are 19 tributes left

Meanwhile everyone watching at home is nervous

Scrooge has no reason to bargain yet, but he's ready

Lena is trying to keep her dads from having a mental breakdown while having one herself

Della is terrified, she just got her kids back, now she could loose one of them, she doesn't want that

Donald is in a similar state

Remember the tiger Ben? He is the evil guy. No one can even breathe in his direction without getting cut in half, which is weird because his chosen weapon is a warhammer

It must be their lucky day because Louie and Violet find a fallen tribute, with lots of gear, supplies and a bow and a ton of arrows

So Violet now has her primary weapon

First night has almost came, Louie and Violet still don't have food

Which is a problem really

They decided daylight is safer, and go hungry for the night

They find an abandoned cave, and after making sure it was empty, took camp there for the night

Ben kills five tributes in one night

14 left

Next day Louie and Violet find a river, they fish, cook, and enjoy some food for once

Unfortunately, other tributes found the river as well (two, two tributes)

Louie and Violet don't want to kill people, why would they? They're children

Couple of days pass nothing exciting happens, but Louie and Violet get into an arguement

Violet thinks they should try find the edge of the arena, away from everyone else

Louie thinks its too much of a risk and they shouldn't go

They split up

Bad choice

Louie ends up having to kill someone

Baby boy is traumatised

Violet gets to close the the edge

Operators start a forest fires where she is

Turns out she was being followed, another tribute was there as well

So Violet is now outrunning the tribute and the fire

She climbs a tree

Bad choice

Turns out other tribute also has a bow and shoots Violet in the leg

Fun

Violet falls from tree

Fun

Luckily, earlier, Louie saw smoke in the distance and realised holy fuck that's where Violet is

He is a smart boy and goes in that direction

He knocks out the other tribute and manages to help Violet out

However the tribute didnt come to in times and died in the fire

12 tributes left

Louie tried to treat Violets leg but, ohbno, medical supplies where stolen!

Opportunity for so many things here

If people at home where panicking then... imagine now

The Sabrewing family are all having a mental breakdown

Webby, Gosalyn and Lena force Scrooge to bribe the sponsor even though he was on his way to do that

Sponsor accepts send medical supplies

This is good

Violet will be fine

Forest fire spreads, killing five more people

7 tributes left

Louie goes to Cornucopia while Violet rests her leg

While he's gone, two people find the cave forcing Violet to have to shoot them

One tribute kills another, but then succumbs to injuries

Only 3 tributes left

Violet, Louie and Ben

Louoe and Violet realise they can win, and go off to find Ben

They find each other at Cornucopia

There's an epic battle, eventually Violet shoots him in the neck

They win the hunger games

TRAUMA NOW BABY

WOOO

When they get home Louie constantly has nightmares and keeps thinking he sees blood on his hands

Violet just doesn't sleep

They eventually get therapy, thank god

Thats uh, all I can think of for now

I might post some edits of their designs for this

[krazy-kipo]

Imagine Kipo seeing you as another parent

Kipo was a baby when her and her father arrived at the burrow. You were Lios next door neighbor and noticed he was struggling. He was a single father who mysteriously appeared begging for shelter in the burrow. He had no friends. No support. And a lot of rumors.

You don't want to intrude or insinuate he's doing a bad job as a dad so you started small. You just saw he needed some help and you wanted to lend a helping hand.

Baby supplies were hard to get in the Burrow and they never came new. This was a community so everyone reused everyone's stuff and did their best to keep it in good condition for the next family that would use it. Without connections Lio was on his own for supplying and caring for Kipo and you could see he was suffering. Thankfully you had your ways. Lio walks outside after you ring his door bell and sees you close your door with a small smile. Looking down he seems relieved seeing the basket you left him. Shifting Kipo to one arm you watch from your peephole as he grabs the gift looking happy.

It was hard for him you could tell. He was a single parent and he was treated poorly because he wasn't born in this burrow. He worker hard and was a kind mind with a lot of compassion. People could be very unkind so you thought you'd show him how nice the burrow actually was. Community ran deep down here but he was the first outsider from the surface and it left many town people uneasy. Not you though. You could tell Lio was a good man even if he was hiding something.

The basket wasn't a one time thing. It started with small favors. A home cooked meal you had left outside his door every now and then, baby clothes or formula when he needed them, and nice things every parent needs after a long hard day. Things to help destress and take some time for yourself. You never signed the gifts or said they were from you but Lio was smart and you had a feeling he knew. Your pretty sure he'd seen you leave the gifts many times but you were shy and afraid to make the first move.

Lio realised one night he hadn't actually met you yet and he decided that needed to change. So one day after grading students papers and getting Kipo to go to bed he knocks on your door.

You smile when you see Mr. Oak standing outside your house embarassed. He had the basket you'd given him and it was full of things for you. Books. Writings he'd made. Pictures of the surface. Different types of cystals that grew in the caves. It was sweet and very genuine.

"Hi. I... I just wanted to thank you." He states earnestly as he pushes the basket into your arms. The man blushes and looks at his shoes obviously not used to people or approaching them.

Smiling you hold the baskey with one hand and reach out your other hand to shake his. He smiles and you watch the tension leave his body.

"I'm (Y/N)." You state opening the door and allowing him in.

~~~~~

That's the start of a beautiful friendship. You don't like Lio romantically despite what many people hint at. You just do your best to help raise little Kipo and be a good friend to your neighbor.

However after months of knowing the family your shocked to learn what their actually hiding. You'd always figured he had a secret but this wasn't what you were expecting.

When Kipos hand becomes a pink paw and she bats it at you plaufully it takes everything in you TO NOT DROP THE BABY.

"LIO!!!" There's a crash in the other room as Lio runs in. Staring at him his eyes widen seeing you holding Kipo with her paw out and he begins panicking.

"I-I can explain!" He yells looking between you and Kipo. Cradling Kipo close holding her paw she gurgles at you before making a chuff sound and a loud purr.

"Please do!" You beg confused. Kipo starts crying at the yelling so you rock her cradling her close and watch as she slowly calms down. She yawns and stretching you watch her paw disappear. What the ?????

In shock and barely processing Lio takes Kipo from you and sits you down.

He quickly opens up to you and tells you all about his old burrow. He explains how his late wife Song had died. How he'd helped create Hugo with her only to abandon him to help Kipo. He elaborates telling you how everything went wrong. How they had a plan to leave but then something happened. The burrow it collapsed and he assumed Hugo was gone. And then Emilia. Oh god Emilia made your blood burn. He was true to his word and he told you everything. At least everything he knew.

He gets excited as he explains his ideals with Kipo and how he hopes she'll someday be what allows humans and mutes to live in peace together. Having a half mute, half human hybrid could be the bridge that allows humans to live on the sruface with mutes. It takes some time to adjust and it's a strange idea but you love Kipo and nothing can change your opinion on her.

Even if she is part pink jaguar. Tickling her as she sleep you smile seeing her giggle. Her tail smacks at your hand and you smile. This was still Kipo. It was still the baby you knew and loved. Half mute or not she'd kind of become your baby too.

Once you know everything Lio expects you to turn him into the mayor and get him kicked out but you promise him you'll do no such thing.

Kipo grows up with you and Lio spoiling and protecting her. But all good things must come to an end and sadly that day came when Kipo, Lio and you went rock climbing.

The rocks began shaking and looking up you watched in horror as the burrow came crashing down. Lio unhooks all of you and the last thing you remember was falling before being submerged in cold water.

You woke up and Kipo was gone. The mayor informed you where you were and what had happened. You'd hit a rock on your way down and had been in a mini coma since. It'd been a few days since you'd fallen unconcious and he explains how the burrow was destroyed. You and everyone else are now travelling to the backup burrow.

When you sae Lio he seemed confident depsite being seperated from his daughter. You soon found out why. Every night you stopped and set up camp you'd see him sneak out and when he came back he realizing you'd caught him, he told you what he'd done.

He was possibly exposing the burrow leaving clues for Kipo to find them. He was putting everyone at risk. But if you weren't hurt from your fall and could walk around better you'd be out there with him helping place the clues.

After all Kipo was your baby too.

~~~~~

It was a week later when you settled into your new home. Every day you worried about Kipo and every day you prayed she'd come back safely.

When Kipo came home you cried. You embraced her and her new friende welcoming them with open arms. You didn't care they were mutes you were just so glad she was home and you were so proud of her and how she kept to her beliefs despite being on the surface. She was your beautiful baby and she was okay.

Wolf, Ben, Dave, and Mandu were her family so now they were your family too. Then everything was ruined when the squawks of flamingos filled the air and the burrow began shaking as giant beaks broke through the soil.

You realized Kipo had been followed and that Hugo had come for revenge.

"KIPO HIDE!" Pushing her and her friends to saftey you run to find Lio and get him too. You weren't loosing your family again! Dust filled the air and you struggled to breath but you refused to give up. You had to find Lio.

When the dust clears and the light spills through the ceiling your in shock. You'd never seen the sky. Reaching your hand out sunlight touched you and you realized it was just as beautiful as Lio described it. Golden beams of light so soft you couldn't physcially feel them but you could see them. Incredible... Lio would love...

Lio! Snapping out of it you needed to find Lio and get deeper into the cave where it was safer. Running around avoiding flamingos and monkey's you pause when you see him.

"LIO!" Turning he stares at you in horror and you see why. A mute stood before him. He was tall and in a suit and as you got closer you realized this was Hugo. This was the mandril that Lio raised. This was Kipos brother.

But right now that didn't matter. Hugo was not the same little monkey and he had just destroyed your home.

Looking through the wreckage you see metal glinting in the light. Grabbing the weapon off the ground you sneered and charged at Hugo with the discarded axe.

"I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE YOU OVER SIZED MONKEY DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Slashing at the self proclaimed king of the surface you know he's hurting. You know he's in pain. You know he's lashing out because of what Lio did but right now you can only think Keep Kipo safe and Lios in danger he needs you.

The mandril laughs at you and you stiffen as you feel something wet hit your face. Your body freezes and your frozen in your current attack pose. Taking in sharp short breaths your grip on the axe tightens as you try and fight his influence. Your eyes dart around and your heart beats a million miles a minute.

You'd forgotten about Hugos powers that Lio had warned you about...

"Drop it." Hugo commands. Clenching your hands as tight as you can you feel every bone in your body burn as you defy him. Opening your eyes glaring at him, sweat pours down your face. Coming closer to you he chuckles seeming amused. He cups your face and you stare into the eyes of someone who's been betrayed.

You stare into the eyes of a lost child and you desperately want to help him, help your family but you can't say a word.

"Don't touch them! Hugo please your fights-" Lio tries to defend you. He grabs Hugos shoulder trying to pull him away but the madril pushes Lio away seeming frustrated. Tears pour down your face and you shake your head wishing you could help Lio, wishing you could help Hugo.

"IT'S SCARLEMANGE!" The mandril roars and you can hear his pain. You can feel Lios betrayal. "I haven't been called Hugo in a long time..." The mandril mumbles staring at Lio before he turns back to you. He tilts his head and hums as you look back at him.

"Drop it." He repeats but you don't. Your shaking as you clench your eyes and will yourself to hold on. You were strong. You had to be. For Lio. For Kipo.

"... Hugo...... Scarlemagne..." You correct taking care to let him know you heard him. That you understand and your sorry but you won't let him hurt Kipo or Lio. "Please let them go. Just let them go." You beg. Please...

"... How intriguing." He hums studying you. He tilts his head and you swallow terrified he's going to kill you. Terrified he'll hurt your family. "An interesting offer my dear but I'm afraid I'll have to decline. However don't fret! You'll be coming with Lio and me!" He chirps.

He gently grips the axe and lightly pulls at it. Gently taking the axe from you, your entire body goes limp from the strain of fighting his influence and you fall forwards. Scarlemagne drops the axe seeming panicked and catches you as you fall into him. Picking you up and holding you bridal style he hums beckoning his flamingo closer.

The bird bends down and he turns towards Lio as you begin to black out. "Come Lio. We have much to discuss." Laying you in the backseat careful not to hurt you, your heart drops as the last thing you hear is the flamingo cawing and Kipo calling your name as you get further and further away.

Staring at the sun darkness finally takes you and you wonder if Kipo would be alright? What did Hugo have planned? And how could you fix what Lio had done?

(Thinking of doing a Part Two. Maybe make this into a mini series. If this did continue flashbacks would be included in the future so the events that happened here could be described in more detail)

[wanderinginksplot]

Nobody Listens to Kix

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Case 01187: Lux Bonteri 

"...and if you roll them at the right speed, they'll slip through the shields and explode next to the droid itself, disabling the guns and allowing you to pass," General Skywalker finished, glancing around the group of rebels to check for their understanding.

Kix eyed the assorted group as well. When he had been tapped to join the Jedi and the captain on a trip to help an underground resistance movement train to fight the Separatists, he hadn't been impressed at the idea. After finding out that one of the leaders - a kid named Bonteri - had a past with Commander Tano, he was even less thrilled to be there.

Admittedly, he had been surprised by the group. The fighters were minimally trained, but in decent shape, medically-speaking. Kix had expected to find festering injuries and critical malnourishment. Instead, he found mild dehydration and an honest, stars-blessed splinter.

A splinter.

This resistance group may have been better-organized than others the 501st had run into in the past, but they weren't exactly what Kix would have expected from a rough-and-tumble encampment in the woods.

Saw Gerrera would be trouble. Kix had known it the first time he interacted with the young man, and he could tell that Rex thought the same. Saw was passionate and angry, traits that would not help him against the Seppies. In fact, they were more likely to get him killed, along with every other member of the encampment… including Saw's sister Steela.

In contrast, Steela Gerrera was promising. She was a perfect counterpart to her emotion-driven brother and would make a good leader for the small group - a larger group, even, later on. She was level-headed and practical, eager to learn and wise beyond her years. Kix and Rex had both been impressed by the young woman, as had the Jedi. Well, two of the Jedi. The final member of their party had been too busy worrying about Steela's major weakness.

Lux Bonteri.

Kix didn't get it. He was no expert in what teenage girls found attractive, but it seemed like a bit much for both Steela Gerrera and Commander Tano to be fascinated by the boy. Admittedly, it seemed like the attention was almost a bit much for Lux, too. Still, he appeared to enjoy the idea that two females were so interested in him and did what he could to juggle their feelings. One minute, he would flirt shamelessly with Steela, who seemed to welcome his efforts. The next, however, he would stand far too close to Commander Tano and murmur things that her sensitive montrals could easily have heard from a far greater distance. The boy was honestly lucky that some of the more... overprotective members of the 501st had not come along to Onderon, or Kix would have had some real injuries to treat.

Despite his own confusion and disgust, the situation was entertaining enough, though Kix was at least tactful enough to avoid talking about it around the Commander. She seemed displeased by the way things were going and he couldn't blame her. He was displeased, too. Kix was of the opinion that the GAR and three of its best Jedi had more important things to do than babysit a fledgling grassroots rebellion, and a teenage love triangle did nothing to improve the situation.

"Ouch!"

It was the call to action for medics everywhere, and Kix was no exception. In a moment, he had grabbed his medic's bag and went to find the source of the pained sound. It turned out to be none other than Lux Bonteri, who had managed to deeply scratch his forearm while trying to roll a dummy det through the droideka's shield.

The kid had pressed a hand against the scratch, holding back the blood that was trying to seep from the small wound. Other members of the rebel band clustered around, asking nonsensical questions and generally being in the way. Steela and Commander Tano seemed the most concerned, but Kix definitely saw General Skywalker roll his eyes.

"All right, folks, please move so I can treat him," Kix said impatiently.

"Will he be okay?" Steela asked.

Kix snorted. "He has a scratch on the arm. Yeah, he'll be good to go in about three minutes, if you can clear the crowd."

Steela nodded, raising her voice. "Back to training, everyone! Lux is going to be fine."

With a jerk of his head, Kix indicated for Lux to follow him to a more secluded area, a short distance away from the crowd. From what he had seen so far, the small group of rebels needed all the practice they could manage. Bonteri followed willingly enough, sitting on a fallen tree trunk and extending the arm so that Kix could clearly see the injury.

It was a long cut, deeper than Kix would have expected, but still nowhere close to anything vital. The real danger was infection, especially in a forest, running around in unsanitary conditions, and this far from medical care. It would have to be cleaned, medication applied, and the wound wrapped before Bonteri could keep training with the other members of the rebel force.

"Don't worry, kid," he soothed automatically. "We'll have you patched up and back in action in no time."

"I'm not a kid," Lux told him haughtily. When Kix didn't bother responding, he sighed. "Do you think Ahsoka saw that?"

"I'm sure she did," Kix said evenly. "She was standing a foot and a half away from you and has full use of her sight."

Lux groaned. "Fantastic."

Kix shook his head, mostly to hide a smirk. "What does it matter what Commander Tano saw or didn't see?"

"Please," Lux scoffed. "You have full use of your sight too, correct?"

"I don't know what you're implying, Bonteri," Kix said, not liking the boy's tone. Before Bonteri could unleash another half-insulting comment, Kix added sharply, "And if you're saying what I think you are, I'll remind you that she's my commanding officer and I have no problem letting this scrape heal the old-fashioned way."

"It's just…" Lux trailed off, suddenly looking younger than ever. "She's so beautiful, and strong, and brave. I want her to think well of me."

"I'm sure she does," Kix said, trying to sound encouraging. Kriff, he didn't remember being this young.

"She doesn't think well enough to care for me," Lux said, reminding Kix of a pouting child. "Not the way I do for her."

Kix laughed before he could stop himself. "She's a Jedi. She took vows not to care for anyone, not the way you're talking about."

"And I took vows to uphold the Separatist cause," Lux countered. "I left them behind after I learned new information."

This time, Kix laughed on purpose. "You think attraction is new information? Kid, sex has been around longer than any of us. That's why we are around - at least, those of us who weren't born in a tube."

Lux didn't find that nearly as funny as Kix did, so the medic filed it away as something he should tell his vode and moved on. "Ahsoka knew attraction and temptation would be part of her life, but she thinks the good she does as a Jedi is more important than her own feelings."

"Has she spoken with you about this?" Lux asked, looking floored by the possibility that Commander Tano wouldn't change the entire course of her life for sake of a crush.

Kix sighed. He definitely had never been this young. "No, but she doesn't have to. You can see her dedication in everything she does."

"You can," Lux agreed, looking past Kix with a slight smile on his face. Kix turned to see Commander Tano juggling a handful of dummy thermal dets to amuse Saw, using the Force to launch them high into the air before letting them drop into her waiting hands. General Skywalker and Captain Rex watched the process with patronizing amusement while General Kenobi was thankfully occupied in another section of the camp. Kix was only surprised that General Skywalker wasn't taking part in the theatrics.

"I've heard Jedi can have physical relationships," Lux said slowly. "They just can't get attached."

"Done a lot of research into Jedi relationships, have you?" Kix asked acidly, then shook his head. "I'm not about to tell you - or my commanding officer - what you can and can't do, but Commander Tano isn't the type who can easily separate emotions from actions. By pushing this - by pushing her - all you're doing is making her choices more difficult. Remember that when you decide how to act with her from here on out."

"I understand," Lux agreed. From the solemn look in his eyes, Kix actually believed that he did.

"Good," he said with a sharp nod, patting the neatly-wrapped bandage on Lux's forearm. "You're good to go. Keep it clean and dry as long as you can manage. With any luck, I think you'll be able to keep the arm."

"Thank you, Kix," Lux said, giving a deep nod. "For all of it."

"No problem, kid. Try putting a bit of spin on the thermal det next time. That can help it get through the rollie's shields."

Bonteri walked back toward the group as Kix packed the unused supplies back up so he could be ready for the next medical crisis. There would definitely be one before they left, especially if the captain or either of the generals had heard much of the conversation between Kix and his patient.

---

A/N - sorry for the tiny gif! I couldn’t find a larger version, but I think this one really summarized Lux and Ahsoka’s friendship. Thank you for reading! Please feel free to reblog so my work can spread!

[rrickgrrimes8]

Normality is Death

Chapter Seven ~ One of The Infected

masterlist

For Jacey, it felt as if the camp was at 10x speed. She couldn't tell if that was the norm for them but either way, it threw her into a state of discomfort. She watched as a small group of the adults assembled close to where the blonde woman still cried over her sister. 

Her parents had pushed her away every time she attempted to go over, which she understood but it still hurt, she just got her family back and they won't even stay around her for longer than a second except for Carl of course. 

Carl had yet to withdraw his hand from his older sisters, which Jacey didn't mind at all. She knew that she missed her brother while separated but not to the extent she felt right now. 

Another thing she knew as well is that she'd have to leave soon. It pained her to say but she already had a home and that just wasn't with her parents, not anymore, it was with Addie and Mitchell. Now she just had to summon the strength inside her to tell her family. 

Jacey could hardly breathe due to the rotting flesh of the dead, it seemed she was the only one affected by it or rather the only one who couldn't hide it. Earlier, she had heard a commotion from the Korean that saved her and Addie a day earlier about the importance of burying the dead and to not treat them like those things. She couldn't agree more with what he was saying but it still hurt her thinking about it. No, she didn't know any of the people that died or if they deserved it or not but she couldn't stop her mind from wandering to the idea that if she hadn't shown up when she did her father would have the bury her mother and brother as well. For that reason alone she wanted to stay, just to protect them but she knew she had other people to protect, people that didn't abandon her. 

"What you thinking about, Jacey?" Her brother asked interrupting her guilty thought stream. 

"Nothin' kiddo," she smiled down to him, hand still intertwined, "What about you?" 

"About you," he admitted curtly to which Jacey furrowed her eyebrows at, "You were dead. Y-you were gone... but you weren't. We left you Jacey, why don't you hate me?" 

Jacey could see the tears beginning to form in the younger boys eyes and dropped down to his level brushing away the already fallen ones, "I could never hate you, squirt. Don't ever think I could. And besides, I did say I'd always find my way back to you" 

"B-but I was such a bad brother I didn't protect you, I didn't talk to you. I was just so upset about dad a-and I took it out on you. I didn't know you were gonna leave me but you promised you wouldn't," He choked out. 

"I know squirt. I'm so sorry but I'm here now, okay? And I'm okay and you are too." 

"Promise you won't leave me again?" Carl said, unlacing their hands so he could hold out his pinky finger for her. Jacey looked at it guiltily, trying to blink away the tears, "I can't promise that, Carl." 

Carl looked back to the girl his young mind attempting to comprehend her words, she was going to leave again, she was going to leave me again.

Carl grabbed her small hands which were still bigger than his own and hooked their pinkies together, "Now you can't. You already promised a-and you can't go back on that." Jacey removed her hand and stood up. 

"Jacey please." 

"I'm sorry." She brushed herself off and picked up her gun placing it back into her belt and started to walk in the direction of her parents. 

"Dad? Mom? Can I talk to you?" She asked in her thick southern accent. Rick looked to his daughter the wrinkles on his forehead creased telling Jacey he was stressed. 

Lori, however, kept her eyes trained elsewhere and said, "Nows, not the time, Jacey. We're busy." the child muttered an 'oh' before moving back towards, stopping when a panicked voice called out, "A walker got him. A walker bit Jim." Jacey turned around eyes meeting the concerned ones of her fathers as he went over to the woman she learned to be called Jacqui. Jacqui was stood with the tall man from before, he looked paler than he did earlier and there was a small patch of blood seeping through his shirt - definitely signs of a bite Jacey thought to herself remembering when a member of her team, earlier at the beginning, had been bitten. 

The group crowded around Jim as he spoke, "I'm okay. I'm okay." Daryl, the redneck that threatened to shoot Jacey the previous morning, calmly ordered, "Show it to us. Show it to us." Jacey stopped listening for a moment as she met eyes with the dark ones of Jim's. She'd seen that look before and it was certainly something to fear. 

Jim picked up a nearby shovel as some of the men grew closer to him. She heard Shane say something to him before a dark-skinned man came behind him, restraining him from moving. 

"I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay," He told the group unconvincingly before Daryl lifted his shirt to show the symmetrical mark of a walkers teeth, "I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay."

Sometime later, Jacey found herself watching the debate between the group on what to do with the unforeseen issue at hand. She knew what had to happen but she could tell they didn't or rather they knew but didn't want to say. She wanted to be honest with them, to put him out of his misery before it was too late but had to remind herself that this was their friend and they'd certainly not give up on him that easily even if it was the better thing to do. 

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it," Daryl stated his rough exterior not letting an ounce of sympathy out. Although Jacey agreed with him she wouldn't dream of having the balls to put it that way. 

Wearing a disgusted expression Shane questioned, "Is that what you'd want if it were you?" 

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it." 

"I hate to say it… I never thought I would… but maybe Daryl's right," An older gentleman, Dale, admitted. 

By that point Rick decided to join in, "Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog." 

Jacey shook her head ignoring Dales attempts at reasoning with the officer, "No, but he will be soon." 

Her father looked to the girl shocked, "He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?" 

"He's infected dad, he's as good as one of them." If it was possible Ricks jaw dropped further not recognising the unsympathetic girl as his own daughter. 

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be," Daryl agreed with the child, telling the police officer, who was still looking at his daughter for any sign of regret. 

"Daryl's right, dad. And there will come a day you'll understand that too." 

Ignoring Jacey's words, he looked to his group and said, "What if we can get him help? I heard the C.D.C. was working on a cure." 

"I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell," Shane responded. 

"What if the C.D.C. is still up and running?" Jacey looked at her dad hopefully, a small part of her still believing that that could be true. 

"Man, that is a stretch right there." 

"Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C. at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection…" Rick proposed. 

"Okay, Rick, you want those things, alright? I do too, okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning," Shane offered, earning the attention and response of Lori, "That's 100 miles in the opposite direction." 

"That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there," Shane suggested. 

"If that place was operational wouldn't they have gotten us out of this shithole already?" Jacey sassed, causing both Rick and Shane to roll their eyes. 

"Language," Rick warned her, "Besides the military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that. The C.D.C. is our best choice and Jim's only chance." 

"You go looking for aspirin, do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" Daryl's accent getting thicker the angrier he got. Daryl marched over into Jim's direction, pickaxe in hand attempting to swing at Jim's head. 

In response, her father draws his gun pointing at the side of the redneck's head, "We don't kill the living." Jacey walked closer to the scene, hand on the top of her gun just in case Daryl decide to risk taking his frustrations out on her father. 

"That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head." 

"We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down. Go on," Shane demanded causing Daryl to drop his weapon and walk off. Shane walked over to the infected man before dragging him off the opposite way Daryl did, for 'safety'. 

Rick watched as his best friend walked away with Jim before turning to Jacey anger seeping from every orifice, "What the hell were you thinking? Saying all that stuff back there." 

"I was thinking about telling the truth unlike half the people in this damn group," She shot back, hating whenever her and her dad got into arguments. 

"The truth?!" He yelled ignoring the stares he got from the other group members, "You think executing Jim is the right thing to do!" 

"I never said we were going to execute him! All I said is that sooner or later that man will turn and when he does he won't have any problem with killing every last one of us!" 

Rick brought his right hand across his face, his left hand resting on his waist the way he would when he wanted to appear threatening, "I don't even know who you are right now because this," looking over her, "is not my daughter." 

Jacey scoffed, scowling at him, "I haven't been your daughter in a very long time, not since you abandoned me." 

"I didn't abandon you." 

"Yes, you did! You left me. You left me alone with them! I needed you and you left!" She screamed at him ignoring the tears forming in both his and her matching blue eyes, "You all left me! And I hate you! I hate you so much for it!" 

"Jacey..." He started but it merely coming out as a whimper. 

"No! Don't try and justify it! You don't care about me. You let me think you were dead only for me to come back here to see you okay, w-with the family you always wanted, right? God, I'm so stupid I should've never listened to Shane. You don't need me neither does mom or Carl. I should've never come here," The young girl cried before crumpling to the ground, Rick catching her instantly. 

"That's not true, okay? I thought you were dead and God you don't know how hard it was coming back here seeing your mom and Carl and having them telling me you were gone,"  He held her tighter thinking back to nights before, "It felt like my entire world was collapsing around me because you weren't there. I don't know how you got here nor where you were or what happened but I am so glad you're here with me now. I'm so sorry I left you. I love you so much, angel." 

By the time he was finished Jacey had somewhat calmed down and all Rick could hear was small cries buried deep into his chest, "Its okay angel. Everything's okay now," he calmly put ushing her off into a deep, much needed rest.

[captainjaspenor]

Fire in My Bones - Ch 2

Here it is everyone! Let me know if you’d like to be added to the taglist. Once again the chapter title is from a song, let me know if you figure out which one (this week’s is pretty easy I think)

Last chapter the song was “I See Fire” by Ed Sheeran which @lancelotapricot figured out!

Without further adieu: chapter 2, ladies and gentlemen. 

Title: Fire in My Bones

Show: Cursed

Pairing: Weeping Monk x Reader

Warnings: Violence, language

Summary: “From the trees, shrouded in smoke, he emerges. The Weeping Monk. Around you the terrified screams of the Fey and the pained groans of the dying fade away. You forget the acrid smell and taste of the smoke and ash as it burns your throat and lungs. You forget Nimue, who is hiding behind you, clutching at your cloak, shaking like a leaf.”

Chapter 2: Someone’s Bound to Get Burned

You startle awake at the sound of thunder rumbling across the night sky. Shit. You glance over at the boy lying on the ground a few feet away from you. You’re relieved to see that he’s still asleep.  Squirrel is curled into a little ball, shivering slightly from the damp air coming from the moss on the rock around you. 

You groan softly and sit up. Your neck protests the movements, since you fell asleep in an awkward position with your back against the rock wall. Fortunately, no one has found the two of you in your little hiding spot while you’d dozed. You hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but it seems the previous day’s events had worn on you more than you’d realized. You didn’t sleep soundly, having dreamt of red paladins and burning buildings, but then again, you hadn’t been sleeping soundly for years. 

You glance up at the sky. The rain is no longer coming down in thick sheets. Good. Mud would make it too easy for the red paladins to track you. It will be dawn in a couple of hours, then you will have to move. The two of you cannot stay in this rock indefinitely, not with the red paladins searching the wood around you. The rock is a good hideout, but eventually you will be found. You have to get Squirrel as far away from Dewdenn as possible. And there’s only one place you can take him: Nemos, a sanctuary for the Fey kind, but the journey will be a long one and you haven’t the supplies necessary to get the two of you there. At least, not yet.

You pass the time cleaning your weapons. You’d already cleaned the blood from them the night before, but you’re restless. You run the clump of damp moss up and down the blade of your sword slowly, taking comfort in the familiar motion. You try to keep your mind from wandering, but despite your best attempts your thoughts keep turning back towards the Weeping Monk.

He’d kept his hood up and the smoke from the fires had obscured your vision, so you hadn’t gotten a good look at his face, but his tears were legendary. You tried to imagine what he looked like, underneath the tears that strike fear into even the most seasoned warrior’s eyes.  You can’t help but remember the way you’d felt drawn to him as he’d stood there, less than twenty feet away from you. It’s ridiculous. You know that. To be drawn to a killer such as the Weeping Monk. He’s slaughtered countless Fey, and though your relationship with your fellow Fey kind is a complicated one, you wouldn’t wish the wrath of the monk on even your worst enemy. The rumors of his skill with a blade are as often told as the ones of his weeping eyes. You certainly have no wish to be on the wrong end of his blade. But, you wonder, what would it be like to be to be face-to-face with the monk, without a blade between you? You shake your head, dispelling such foolish thoughts from your mind and focus on the task and hand. 

You wait until the first signs of morning light to wake Squirrel. You hate to interrupt the boy’s dreams, but time is of the essence. At first he doesn’t respond when you whisper his name, but after you give him a few hearty shakes, his eyes open and he stares blearily up at you, groggy but awake. 

“I have to leave. I need to retrieve a few things before we can go. And I need to get Xanthos.”

Squirrel sits up, fully alert now. “I’ll come with you!”

“No. You have to stay here,” you say.

“What if you run into any red paladins? I can watch your back!” he argues.

“I can move faster without you.”

“I promise I can keep up!” Squirrel pleads.

“I said, no!” you snap. Squirrel’s enthusiastic expression falls and he looks away. You immediately regret raising your voice. “I’m sorry, Squirrel. But I promised Nimue I’d keep you safe.” You decide to take a page out of Nimue’s book, “Will you stay here in case any of the other villagers come searching for a place to hide? Please.”

Squirrel perks up at the thought of having an important task. “Okay!”

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Don’t reveal yourself to anyone except another Fey, do you understand?” you lecture. He rolls his eyes at you but nods anyway. “Good.”

You debate giving him one of the daggers from your boot, but with your luck the boy will cut off a finger before you get back, so you decide against it. You make him promise to be careful one last time before taking off into the wood.

__

You find Xanthos in large clearing where you often bring him when you want to practice your swordplay. Or when you need to escape your fellow villagers’ accusatory glares. 

“Good boy. I knew you’d come here,” you say to him. He head butts your chest affectionately. You give him a quick once over to make sure he hasn’t been injured before climbing into Xanthos’s saddle.

Not far from the clearning you bring Xanthos to a halt and dismount. Around you the trees are so tall, you can’t see the tops of them when you look up. They’re older in this part of the forest, which means they’re bigger too. You look around for a moment before spotting a familiar carving in one of the trees. You drop to your knees at the base of it and reach into the large cavern the roots have created. Your hand gropes around in the damp leaves and moss beneath the tree for a moment before your fingers whisper across a piece of burlap. You grab it and pull it out. You check inside and sigh with relief. All the food you and Squirrel need is in this sack. You’ve kept it filled with supplies and ready to go at all times since you were young. You’d known one day you’d need it. Although, you’d always thought it would be Nimue you’d be fleeing Dewdenn with. Supplies acquired, you go back for Squirrel.

__

You pull on Xanthos’s reigns and slow. You’re almost to Old Man Rock, but something doesn’t feel right. You listen to the forest around you, but you can’t hear any birds. You dismount and tie Xanthos’s reigns to a low hanging branch. You put your hand on the hilt of your sword, but you don’t draw it. Not yet. 

You make your way silently down the path. As you come over the top of the hill, your heart stops. Ahead, the Weeping Monk has Squirrel pressed against the rock. You duck behind a fallen tree. It seems your heart has managed to restart itself, because now it’s pounding in your chest. You slowly lift your head so you can watch as the monk questions Squirrel. You can’t hear what he’s saying, but you figure he’s questioning Squirrel about any other surviving Fey from the village. The answer Squirrel gives him must not be sufficient, because he shoves Squirrel’s head against the rock. You have to grit your teeth to resist the urge to jump out from behind the tree and stop him from hurting the boy any more, but you know there’s no way you can beat the monk in a fair fight. So far it doesn’t appear as though he intends to kill the boy so you force yourself to wait and watch instead. You have to hold back a laugh when Squirrel spits in the monk’s face. Only Squirrel would dare to spit in the face of the Weeping Monk. When the monk grabs him and begins to pull him away you are both relieved and distraught. Relieved because he didn’t kill the boy, but distraught because you have no idea what cruelty he might have in store for him. 

You weigh your options. If you run out there now, you’ll most likely get yourself and Squirrel killed. Your other option is to wait and follow the pair and look for the perfect opportunity to rescue him. But if at any point that bastard tries to kill Squirrel, consequences be damned, I’ll do my best to gut him like a fish.

__

You follow them at a safe distance for the rest of the day. Track would be a better word for it. You fear getting too close and have the monk sense or hear you, so you stay well clear of him. Based on the tracks you can tell the monk has Squirrel tied up behind his horse and you silently curse him every time you see a spot where he’s tugged the boy off his feet. Xanthos can feel your apprehension and he is restless the entire ride. As the sun begins to set, you know he’ll likely set up camp for the night, so you slow your pace. You don’t want to accidentally stumble upon him. 

You’re surprised when a little while later you see the glow of a campfire in the distance. You would have thought he wouldn’t make one, to avoid alerting anyone nearby of his location. But then again, who would be dumb enough to attack the Weeping Monk’s campground.

Thankfully the wood is thick, so the branches and the pitch-black night shield you and Xanthos. The sound of a twig snapping nearby alerts you to the fact that you are not alone. You thank your eyes for the ability to see so well in the dark, because you’re able to watch as a little over half a dozen Fey emerge from the trees and creep up to the sleeping monk. I guess these guys are dumb enough. You hope they will keep the monk occupied long enough to give you the chance to sneak in and retrieve Squirrel. You urge Xanthos a little closer so you’re better able to see. When one of the Fey steps into the light of the campfire you swear softly. They’re Sky Folk. You recognize Josse, a decent enough guy seeing as he’s always been kind to Squirrel. You want to help them, but you’re still no match for the monk and you know a rag tag group of Fey with farming equipment as weapons aren’t either. Your best bet is to wait for an opportunity to grab Squirrel and then run like hell. 

Josse places his pitchfork against the monk’s chest. “Get up, you murdering pig.” 

Squirrel pops up, “Josse!”

“Squirrel, you alright?” Josse asks. You keep your eyes on the monk. He doesn’t fight as Josse’s companions bind his hands. You have the overwhelming feeling that something is wrong here. The monk is too calm and was captured too easily. Why hasn’t he put up a fight?

“Ever been dragged by a horse with a hot coal up its bum?” Josse taunts the monk.

“Not that I can recall.” You shiver. You hadn’t thought he’d sound like that. 

“Just kill him, Josse!” Squirrel calls out. You’re inclined to agree with him. The best thing would be to kill him now, while they still can. 

“What did you have in mind for Squirrel, you sick bastard?” Josse demands.

“I’ve got no interest in the boy. He’s bait,” the monk responds. You swear silently. You should’ve known this was a trap the minute you saw the campfire. 

“Bait? For what?” Josse wants to know.

Before he can respond, the monk’s horse brays angrily. The monk looks over to him. “Be still, Goliath.” Goliath, you think, an apt name. The monk turns back to Josse, “For you.”

You can only watch in horror as he takes down Josse. While Josse is busy recovering from the blows to his ribs, the monk wraps Goliath’s reins around the other man’s neck and rolls over his horse’s back, strangling him. He easily dodges the next man’s frantic knife swipes and before disarming him and using the man’s own blade to kill him. From his saddlebag he retrieves his dagger and throws it, embedding it in the third man’s eye. He frees his sword from its scabbard and kills Josse in one slash, leaving the blade in his neck. The monk kicks another man into the fire before retrieving yet another weapon from his saddlebags, which he sinks into a man who’d been attempting to creep up behind him. Finally, he disarms the last woman and uses her blade to kill her. This all happens within a matter of seconds. And he does it all with his hands tied. The rumors about his skill do not give him justice. He is the best you’ve ever seen. And you’ve trained with the best Fey warriors alive. 

You are frozen, both in fear and in awe, but the monk turns and approaches Squirrel sword in hand. You have to do something. Squirrel has outlived his usefulness and now the monk is going to kill him, you’re sure of it. You dig your heels into Xanthos’s sides and pull a dagger from your booth. The monk hears you the second you emerge from the trees, but it’s too late. Your dagger flies through the air and hits him in the shoulder. He stumbles back, stunned. You swing over the saddle and use Xanthos’s momentum to plant your feet square in his chest, knocking him to the ground. The sword falls from his hand and you kick it away. 

“(Y/N)!” Squirrel calls out. You stumble to your feet and unsheathe your blade, using it to cut Squirrel free from his bonds. 

“Find Nimue,” you command as you lift him into Xanthos’s saddle. 

“What about you?” Squirrel’s tearstained, fearful gaze looks down on you.

“I’ll catch up to you,” you lie. “Follow the Old Fey. Find Nemos,” you whisper and give Xanthos’s hindquarters a slap, sending them tearing off into the forest. Behind you, you hear the monk stand. Reluctantly, you turn. 

Your knees nearly buckle when you come face to face with the Weeping Monk. He’s tall. So tall that even though he stands five feet away, he still towers over you. But it’s not his towering height or your crippling fear that is making your knees shake. No, it’s the fact that in the firelight you can see the monk’s face for the first time and you realize that he’s handsome. You hate yourself for thinking it, but it’s true. By the gods, he’s the most handsome man you’ve ever seen. And he’s about to kill me.

For a moment the two of you stare each other down, not moving. The monk reaches up, pulls your dagger from his shoulder, and tosses it away. Off to the side, Goliath whinnies and stamps his feet in anticipation. Your concentration is broken, and you glance over to where the massive horse stands. Out of the corner of your eye you see the monk dive and roll, coming up with one of the fallen Fey’s swords. He lunges at you and you barely have time to deflect the blow with your own blade. Stupid. You will not make that mistake again. You thrust your blade towards head, but he leans back and you miss him completely. You bring your blade back and go in for another thrust. He dives to the side and your attack goes wide again. You slash at his chest, but he parries your blade easily. He delivers a thrust to your left, narrowly missing your shoulder. You spin away from his blade and try to catch his unguarded side, but his blade is already there to meet yours. Gods, he’s fast. He disengages and the two you step back. 

He wastes no time coming at you. He delivers a succession of slashes and cuts, which you barely manage to block. He swings at your head in what would surely be a killing blow. You duck and swipe at his legs, but he nimbly leaps over your blade. While you’re down, you use the opportunity to retriever your parrying dagger from your scabbard and slash up with it, hoping to catch the monk under the chin. He narrowly avoids your knife going though the bottom of his skull. Instead the tip of your knife only leaves a small cut. It dribbles blood down his chin. He brings his fingers to his chin and looks down at the blood, as if surprised. Honestly, you’re a little surprised too. It is one thing to hit the Weeping Monk with a throwing dagger when he’s not paying attention, but to actually land a blow on him (however small) in a one-on-one fight is an entirely different matter. You send a silent thank you to every Fey who has ever trained you, no matter how reluctant some of them had been to do so. 

This time the monk comes at you like a storm. Even with two blades, you’re barely able to block his blows. While you’re otherwise preoccupied trying not to be impaled by his blade, the monk uses his free hand to deliver a strong jab to your ribs. You stumble back and gasp, trying desperately replenish the breath he’s knocked out of you. He doesn’t give you the chance to recover. He keeps coming. You bring your dagger up and block his next blow. Your grip is weak thanks to your lack of oxygen and he easily disarms you. He tosses your dagger away. Finally, you suck some much-needed air into your lungs. You manage to stand and parry his next slash. You lunge at him but he knocks your sword away. The monk spins, using his momentum to bring his sword around in a crushing blow. You bring up your own blade to block it. The impact sends a painful spasm up your arm. The monk lifts his leg and kicks you in the chest, hard. You stumble and fall back, your sword drops to the forest floor next to you. You’d thought you couldn’t breathe before, but this kick has truly knocked all the air from your lungs. You lay there, gasping in small puffs of air as your diaphragm tries to recover. 

The monk steps over you. A mistake. You may be unable to breathe, but your legs still work. You sweep his legs out from under him and he falls to the ground next to you. You use these precious seconds to focus on refilling your lungs. Next to you the monk lets out a furious noise. He grabs his sword from where he’s dropped it and rolls on top of you, using his body weight to keep you pinned down. He places the blade against your neck and glares down at you. For the first time he takes a good look at the woman who has made him bleed not once, but twice and he freezes.

“Your eyes,” he says, stunned.

You’re still a little dumbstruck at the fact that the Weeping Monk is currently on top of you––the very handsome Weeping Monk, you might add––and you can only parrot his words back at him, “My eyes.”

“They’re golden,” he says, staring down at you in wonder. In this momentary lapse of the monk’s, you’ve been slowly moving your hand toward the campfire next to you. “What kind of Fey are you?” he asks. Finally, your hand reaches one of the burning logs from the fire. You grab it and slam it into the side of the monk’s head. A shower of sparks rains down on you. The monk is only stunned for a second before rolls to the side and pops to his feet. 

You grab the burning log in both hands and swing it at him like a club. He expertly dodges each blow. When you stumble after a particularly hard swing, he takes advantage and grabs the end of the log, yanking it away from you. He kicks your legs out from underneath you and you fall to the ground. He swears and drops the log, inspecting the burns on his hands. You turn and crawl towards your dagger. You grab it and roll onto your back, only to come face to face with the tip of the monk’s sword. You drop the dagger and hold up your hands in surrender. 

“Get up,” the monk says. Slowly, never taking your eyes off of his, you stand. He keeps his sword leveled at your chest. 

“Please, let Squirrel go. He’s no threat to you,” you beg. 

The monk looks at you, confused. “Who?”

“The Fey boy. Please, let him go.” 

“I’ve got a sword to your throat and your pleading for the boy’s life?” the monk asks, incredulous. “Who is this boy to you? Your brother?”

“He’s just a boy from my village,” you answer. The monk doesn’t say anything. He just stares at you. You want to scream at him to get it over with and kill you, but you remain silent, waiting to see what he does. 

Finally, he raises his sword. You don’t look at it, instead keeping your eyes locked on his. At least let your face haunt his dreams. He brings his arm down and everything goes black. 

_________

The end!!!.....Kidding! Hope you guys enjoyed. The next chapter will be up in a week or so!

Taglist:

@rogershoe @nj01 @lancelotapricot @brooklymw @herstory-study @archaeologydigit

[irishmacguirefucker]

Home

Or alternatively, Charles Smith loves his new family and would follow arthur anywhere

(4 pages of writing brought 2 u by me blacking out and typing a lot. TW: Hunting, non-descriptive skinning/harvesting of animals, Wolves)

Charles may be a newer member of the gang, but he was there long enough to be just as loyal as any other.

He found a family in these people, brothers and sisters and friends. He would stick with them until the end. An end that seemed to be rapidly approaching.

Charles Smith wouldn't consider himself much of an intellectual, but it doesn't take much to see that the gang life is dying out. As he and Arthur got close, they spoke of it a lot.

Arthur's new focus on treasure hunting was really confusing. For the second time, Arthur asked Charles if they could take a detour on a hunting trip to go find some treasure stash or another that he heard about.

They weren’t exactly in a rush to get back, so Charles didn't exactly have a reason to decline. And Dutch was in a foul mood lately anyway, so maybe coming back with a little treasure might help with that.

So he agreed and followed Arthur and his weird map, all the way up assfuck nowhere Amberino, AKA Coterra Springs.

The whole way there, Arthur seemed off. Neither of them are exactly talkative men, but this wasn't their usual comfortable silence. Arthur barely stopped, not taking the time to comment on landmarks or interesting animals, they even passed a herd of paints and he barely glanced at them.

Getting there was somewhat of a blessing, Arthur seemed happy they had made such good time and immediately wanted to try and find the treasure. Charles had to be the one to pull him back and point out the obvious signs of a wolf pack living nearby.

This seemed to ring a bell in Arthur’s mind, and he pulled out his journal, flipping to the back where he had various maps tucked away. Pulling out his Legendary Animals map, he showed it to Charles. Should they encounter wolves today, they would be dealing with some dangerous ones.

They made a plan, Charles would keep an eye out for movement along the treeline (as well as pull a distracted Arthur away from the geysers), and Arthur would search for the next piece of the Jack Hall Gang's treasure.

(Charles had broken the silence on the way there to ask. “Jack Hall Treasure...as in the gang? What were they doing hiding maps and treasure?”

Arthur responded lowly, not wanting any passersby to hear what they were out for. “Apparently ‘fore they died out, they robbed some banks out in California, ran out here to escape the law. Buried the gold they stole an’ wrote out the maps to find it again, but Hall got his gang killed and arrested with a bad robbery ‘fore they could go back for the money.”

“Huh, some story. Song don’t quite hold up, specially with Sean and Uncle singing it.” Arthur chuckled at that, “Most songs don’t with ‘em.” The break in heavy silence was nice, but short lived as Arthur set back to studying the map.)

Arthur seemed to be getting more and more frustrated with the doodles on the map, trying to compare it to his regular map, and his surroundings. Charles said nothing, focusing on what looked to be shifting forms in the trees, wondering if it was elk or wolves.

By the time he realized it was wolves, it was too late. They had herded the men and their steeds without the knowledge of either. Just as Charles was about to quietly get Arthur’s attention, the man spotted what he was looking for.

“Charles, I think I found the damned treasure!” He said loudly, and pulled out a rattling bag of coins, effectively scaring the nervous horses into rearing and setting off the wolves.

It was a close call, the wolf of legend was massive and more intelligent than the average wolf. The pack was bigger than either of them had seen. A few of them ran off after the fleeing horses and the men could only hope they would be alright as they dealt with the majority of the pack and the biggest of them all.

The wolves seemed to run at them in waves of 3 or 4, always outnumbering the men and getting mighty close to biting distance before they were shot down. It was almost sad, having to take out such a large number of mighty animals, but it was the wolves or them.

Just when the pack seemed to be thinning out enough that they might start to retreat, the massive legendary wolf made his move. He took down Arthur from behind, and it was pure luck that Charles landed a shot through its massive head with his rifle.

The moment the legendary wolf went down, the rest of the wolves seemed to realize they would not be getting their prey and retreated. Several wolves ran back from the direction of the horses and based on the lack of blood covering their muzzles, they were unsuccessful in their pursuit.

Before Charles could even be relieved by the horse's success, Arthur groaned from beneath the massive animal. Charles quickly fell to his knees and dragged the wolf's carcass off Arthur, briefly marvelling at its weight.

Arthur groaned again in relief and heavily pushed himself up into a sitting position. “Christ, I'm too old to be getting knocked down like that. Creature outta be nothin but muscle, taking me down like that.”

Charles laughed, half in relief and half at Arthurs commentary. “He was huge, I’ll give you that. He was likely nearing 150 pounds, very large for a wolf. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, just outta breath. Caught me off guard.”

Charles looked at the bag of gold coins sitting on the ground a few feet away. “Was it worth your treasure?”

Arthur seemed to remember it and quickly reached for the bag, apparently not wanting to get up yet. “Suppose we’re gonna find out.” Inside the bag was another map, that Arthur sighed at, but tucked aside to look at after.

He quickly counted the money. “15 dollars, not quite a damn treasure Hall.”

Charles was confused. They had been finding stashes of money like this for a while and as far as he knew, Dutch was just putting it away and it had barely been spent on anything. “It's not a bad haul Arthur, especially not for us. Why are you so focused on treasure lately? We could earn more if we went back to robbery.”

Not that robbery seemed such a good idea right now, after the mess that chased them out of Valentine. But it would certainly get them a larger haul than chasing ambiguous treasure from a years-old map like pirates.

Arthur was silent for a while, what he was contemplating, Charles had no idea. He seemed to be thinking mighty hard on it though. Finally, he sighed deeply and seemed to make up his mind about something.

“It’s quite the story if you wanna hear it. It's a pretty big secret too, not that I've ever been worried ‘bout you running your mouth or nothin.”

Charles smiled warmly at his friend, attempting to put him at ease. “You don't have to tell me Arthur, but you never have to worry about me sharing secrets with anyone. And we have nothing but time, we’ll be skinning these wolves for a while anyway.”

Arthur sighed before dragging himself to his feet. “Suppose you’re right. Let’s start getting these dogs together and I’ll tell you all about Hosea’s plan.”

Arthur did just that. He told the story from the beginning, every detail he remembered as they carefully skinned the wolves and salvaged what meat they could. Partway through, the horses had found their way back, a little antsy but no worse for wear.

By the time Arthur had explained the entire plan, night had fallen and they were finding a spot to camp. (Away from the spot where they left the stripped carcasses, lest they be attacked by a damn bear in their sleep.)

Charles had a lot of thoughts. The plan itself seemed rather solid and safe, definitely a result of Hosea being the one to make it. He would definitely need some time to think about it before he could make any real comments on it. For now, he could only say; “Certainly explains why Dutch is so irritable lately.”

Arthur laughed loudly, and Charles smiled. Arthur seemed so excited about this plan, happier than he had seemed in the whole of their friendship.

“Yeah, he weren't a fan of our lack of faith...Do you think you’ll go, Charles?”

Now that was quite the question. Such a life wasn’t anything Charles ever thought of as a possibility for himself, though he expects that how most everyone feels about it.

He thought about his family. Not so much his father, but his poor mother. She had always wanted a peaceful life for her family, and he can’t help but think she would have been thrilled at the idea of her son finding a ‘proper’ home after just wandering since he was 13. The lone wolf was never a title she would have wanted for him.

He also thought of the rest of his gang, his new family. He would never say it to her, but he had always hoped that one day Abigail would take her baby and find herself a safer home, he never wanted that boy to end up an orphan like him and many of the other members. Them and everyone else in the gang could be safe and fed and happy, and in a way, he felt he deserved to be a part of it. After being a lone wolf so long, he had earned a home to share with his family.

“I think I will. I’d like to see what it's like to have a real home. I haven't had that since my mother was taken.” He hadn't meant to be so open when he started speaking, but he supposed that Arthur is his closest friend now, so why not.

Arthur seemed surprised at his open words, but it shifted to happiness. “You know, I think that's somethin’ I’d like to try as well.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a while as the fire got properly warm, and Charles couldn't help but notice that this silence felt so different from Arthur’s silence on the way here.

And on their way home, Arthur stopped to study the herd of American paint horses, and Charles knew all was well once more.

[valhallanrose]

What the Water Gave Me

In which Astoria unleashes something they cannot put back.

Astoria is nonbinary, and uses she/they pronouns interchangeably. 

3.2k words. CW for discussions of blood. Also spiders. Fuck those. 

Fic Title: What the Water Gave Me by Florence + The Machine

Lashes fluttering and a groan passing her lips, Astoria stirred in a darkened space, light beaming in from overhead and passing through the dust that they had kicked up from their fall. It swirled lazily above their head, settling on their clothes and making them sneeze the longer they laid there. 

Where were they…?

As they carefully shifted each limb, assessing and determining they hadn’t broken anything - though their ass had certainly taken a hell of a hit when they fell, since their pack cushioned the rest of the blow. They began to work their way through the last things they remembered before they found themselves very much not on the surface they had started the day on - 

Ah, right. 

Astoria had been traveling with their grandmother into the Bulan mountain range with a few other archaeologists, and they decided to split up to grid out the areas of interest that they would spend the next few weeks investigating. And despite being the youngest of the group at a mere sixteen, they’d insisted they could map out a portion of the valley, given permission hesitantly by Granny with many, many promises that they would be careful and not stray past where they’d been told to go. 

And then they fell directly into a hole within the first ten minutes, as well as knocking themself out for a little while as the cherry on top. 

Lovely. 

Sighing heavily, Astoria got to their feet, assessing the broken wood around them and turning it over in their hands with a critical eye. Granny Myrna had always taught them to be observant, after all, and the glasses weren’t just for show.

“So this was probably...a wooden door or panel of some kind, and the grass grew over it over time...no wonder. Shit’s so rotted I doubt it would hold a sparrow.” They mused, dusting their shirt off with one hand in hopes of cleaning off a corner large enough to wipe off the lenses of their glasses. “But why...?”

They blinked a few times, shielding their eyes with one hand to try and adjust to the darkness, before audibly gasping and taking a few steps out of the light. 

A tunnel, lined with stone to create a long-standing hallway that led further into the darkness. It smelled...musty, and damp, and there was definitely some sort of fungus growing on the walls, but to Astoria, it might as well have been bricked with solid gold. And as much as they wanted to explore now, the right thing to do was to wait, because she didn’t have half the equipment she needed to go on a deep survey of the area that she should have - so with a resigned sigh, they turned around to assess the other side of the space. 

A ladder was secured to the wall, and Astoria took a few steps closer, placing one foot on the lower rung in hopes that maybe it had been spared the effects of time - 

Nope. 

As soon as they placed one foot on the rung of the ladder and lifted themself up to climb to the next, the first rung crackled and snapped under her weight, making her yelp as she fell the short distance back down to the ground. 

Slowly, Astoria groaned, letting their head fall back and assessing the fact that the opening they’d fallen through was still a good three feet out of reach - meaning they were very much stuck in that hole. 

With a resigned sigh, Astoria kicked aside a few pieces of broken wood and sat themself firmly in the patch of light they had in hopes that it would make her easier to find. It might take a while, but...well, they were patient, and they’d been smart enough to at least pack a book into their satchel. So, they did just that, pulling open the covers and burying her nose between the pages as she began to wait.

And wait...

And wait...

And wait. 

The sun passed overhead and cast shadows down into Astoria’s patch of light, moving across the sky as she let herself get lost in stories of kings and queens and knights of the round table until she couldn’t read the lines on each page no matter how hard she squinted. 

They tipped their head back and startled slightly at the realization that the sky was no longer clear blue, but painted with rosy hues and streaks of violet, meaning the sun was already dipping well below the horizon. And...they were still stuck, in this hole, with no way out. 

Already they could feel their chest beginning to tighten as they quickly tucked their book away and got to their feet. 

They hadn’t heard anyone calling, nor had anyone actually looked into the pit...and it was getting dark, which usually was the time everyone settled in to camp. But if they hadn’t come for her...maybe something had happened to them, too. 

No. No, she couldn’t panic, couldn’t let her nerves get the best of her. If waiting wasn’t working, she’d just have to find her own way out. Rationally, if this were some kind of building or structure, it was more than likely that there would have been more than one entry or exit point. The point where she fell in was one, so...perhaps there was another way out somewhere else. And if the structure was too small, maybe she’d find something to at least boost her out of this damn hole. 

They reached for their satchel, unhooking the small oil lantern that swung from the side and digging around for the matches they’d buried beneath god knows what in said bag. The key turned once, twice...and then the lantern sparked to life, illuminating a small space around Astoria with a comforting amber glow. 

They raised the lantern higher, the light dancing on the lenses of her glasses for a moment before they looked beyond the flame. 

In the daylight, the tunnel had seemed ripe for exploration, its shadows beckoning to Astoria’s sense of curiosity and practically begging her to venture deeper. But now, when the light was dying overhead...something settled heavily in their cut, making them wonder if they were truly making the right decision. 

But they had to try. If nothing else, they had to try. 

Squaring their shoulders and taking a deep breath, Astoria nodded to themself, blowing a few strands of hair out of their eyes as they took the first step forward.

“Right. Here we go.”

*     *     *     *     *

The complex was certainly bigger than they’d accounted for. 

At the first turn, they’d dug into their back for a charcoal pencil, making a small mark on the stone wall to indicate which way they’d come. One turn led to another, then to another, long halls melting into winding staircases they took with great care to make sure they didn’t eat rocks on the way up. But no matter how far they went, it seemed that they found more to explore, and not necessarily the exit they wanted. They’d thought continuing up would mean more chances of finding one, but...it seemed luck was not with them. 

They sighed heavily as they marked another corner, considering now that the smart thing to do would be to turn back and go back to where they started to keep from getting lost, but...the idea of giving up also left something bitter in Astoria’s mouth. 

One more turn, they decided, and then they’d make their way back. If they didn’t find an exit then, that’d be the end of their exploration for the night. They needed rest, and tomorrow would be another day. 

Astoria turned left, the only sounds to accompany her being the quiet crackling of the wick and the heels of her boots thumping on stone as she made her way down another long hallway. She came to another intersection a few moments later, huffing to herself as she realized that she was getting nowhere, and was about to turn on her heel and walk back when a crosswind came whirling down the hall behind her. 

Astoria froze mid-stride, head whipping back to listen and hair flying away from her face as she stepped into the crosswind’s path. 

Wind...underground. Which meant there was an opening somewhere nearby, which probably was what let the wind in and funneled it down the hallway she now stood in. Hope rising in their throat, they quickly set off down the hall, walking into the wind before breaking into a full sprint to find the source of the wind. 

The hall seemed endless in those few moments but eventually, it dumped Astoria into what she thought for a moment was a cavern, but the longer she looked...she realized it was a sort of rotunda. Or chamber, perhaps? It was wide, with a domed ceiling, the whole room seemingly centered around an oculus carved into the ceiling and angled to allow ample visibility to see the moon. The room was...strange, certainly, but she wasn’t too focused on the shape. 

As she stepped inside, something gleamed under the light of her lantern, making her step closer to the wall and raise the light closer with a critical eye - only to nearly drop her lantern at the same rate as her jaw. 

Gold leaf, somehow spared the effects of time, painstakingly laid over armor of warriors from ages past. Their weapons were raised, and the movement of Astoria’s light revealed they were frozen in conflict with enemies in silver-plated armor to their gold and swords to their spears. Slowly, they began to walk the rotunda’s upper platform, guiding their light across its surface to take in the scenes before them. 

They passed mosaics of bloody battlefields, burning villages, bodies aflame or decrepit with illness unknown - passed images of priests and priestesses mid-prayer to animal-headed figures that seemed to give no mercy, and then…

Astoria stopped at one of the murals, raising their lantern higher to try and take it all in even as it stretched far above their head. 

Before, the animal headed figures had been those of foxes and owls, serpents and stags, but...this one was a goat. A dual set of obsidian horns rose up from its white-furred head, eyes crimson and face marked with black - for some reason, despite its unfamiliarity, it sent a chill down Astoria’s spine. 

They guided the lantern down, revealing a black stole and a crimson stained throne where the goat-headed figure sat in profile, gazing down upon a person kneeling prone before them. Idly Astoria recognized the similar headdress to those of the priests and priestesses in an earlier panel, but the distinctive features were rubbed away, the only victim to time that they’d found thus far. Astoria moved the lantern again, only to pause when the light cast a long shadow over part of the mural they stood before. 

Astoria moved the lantern back, watching the shadow move until their eyes fell upon the skull embedded in the wall, placed in the distorted figure’s raised hands in offering to the goat-headed one. They let out a noise of contemplation as their fingers brushed over the edges of the skull, feeling where the back portion of the skull had been embedded into the wall - 

Only to scream loudly and nearly throw her lantern down as a spider crawled from the bleached eye socket and crawled over her fingertips when they passed down the bridge of the skull’s nose. 

“Bloody spiders!” They yelped, swiping their hands over their arms, their legs, every inch of their body that they could reach. “Useful you might be, but you eight-legged bastards can fuck right back off to the hell you came from, crawling all over like that.”

Skulls were familiar. She’d been in plenty of burial mounds and crypts by then, knew the value of human bones for what insight they could provide to the scholar studying civilizations long since turned to dust. Bugs and similar creatures were also familiar and a topic of interest, but that didn’t mean she was perfectly okay with them popping out of nowhere and scaring the living daylights out of her. 

They huffed, bangs flying up out of their face as they tried to settle themself, then gasped as they looked down toward the lantern at their feet.

“Oh, no, no no no - god damn it.” She muttered, using a booted foot to nudge the glass about as she assessed the damages and winced as the fragments crunched under the soles of her boots. It was completely shattered, unsalvageable by all accounts, which meant...which meant she had no light to lead her back the way she came. 

The last embers flickered and died on the wick as it laid against the stone, and Astoria found herself plunged into near complete darkness. 

Though full and bright, the moon did not cast enough light from where it shone through the oculus for them to truly understand where they were. They carefully reached for the stairs that would lead them down into the ‘pit’ they’d seen before but not observed, thinking perhaps they could find something wood to ignite - their preservationist heart cried at the idea of destroying a possible artifact, but this was a matter of survival - something somewhat forgivable in their own perspective, but that didn’t mean they had to be happy about it. 

Feeling their way down the steps and around the ledges, they searched for something, anything made of wood, growing more and more frustrated as they found only clay and stone and tile - only to jump and yelp when they took another step down and liquid splashed up their calves and soaked into their boots. 

Once she got over the surprise, Astoria let out a laugh, plunging her hands into the water beneath her feet and letting it flow between her fingers in the dark. She thought that the oculus must have allowed for the rainfall to gather, and the water had no smell, meaning it probably wasn’t stagnant or otherwise gross...and for a moment, everything seemed like it would be alright. 

Astoria didn’t notice the way the room seemed to shift as she plunged her hands in again, hundreds of stone eyes boring into the back of her neck as her sleeves became drenched and her boots finally flooded with the weight of the water she now stood in. A smile pulling up the corners of her lips, she raised cupped hands to her lips and drank deeply from the water in her palms - 

She wasn’t sure why it took her a few moments to process, in hindsight, but she knew from the moment the water passed her lips that something was very wrong. 

It was the copper tang, first, quickly overtaking Astoria’s senses to fill their mouth with the taste of hot iron rather than the cool water they’d been expecting. They choked, clasping hands over their mouth to try and keep the quickly rising bile down, but everything burned. Their eyes filled with tears as they tried to stumble out of the pool, collapsing on the edge as searing pain in their chest sapped them of strength. 

They fought for consciousness for what felt like hours, blinking up at the moon through a haze of tears, realizing that something in the water must have been toxic and they’d been so stupid as to drink without thinking - and now they were fairly certain they were going to die.

You are so much younger than those who came before you.

Astoria tried to lift their head, but an unseen hand smoothed across their hair, coaxing them into relaxing again as their hand found the person’s and squeezed tightly in desperation to hold onto something, anything that might help keep them grounded as it felt like fire licked across every inch of their skin. 

“Help me.” They breathed, tears trickling down their cheeks. “Please...please, help me.”

The pain will ease soon, little one. It always does. But I cannot help you - the only way out of this is through it now. 

Astoria was about to try and ask what they meant before the heat intensified, searing behind her eyes and making their lungs feel as if they were melting in their chest. The scream that passed their lips as their back arched up off the stone to a near breaking point was so shrill they could hardly hear it in their own ears, thrashing violently but unable to move as it felt as if two hands pressed down with bruising force on the slopes of their shoulders - 

And then there was nothing, only the pitch-black nothingness of merciful unconsciousness that came to claim them as they lay in the pool. 

*     *     *     *     *

When Astoria awoke again, their eyes met the clear blue sky for a few moments before the tear-streaked face of Myrna leaned into their view and pulled them heartily into a near crushing embrace. 

“Oh, thank the gods.” Myrna breathed, her fingers smoothing over Astoria’s tousled hair. “You’re alright, my darling, you’re alright. You’re safe now.”

“Who…?” Astoria managed, but Myrna shook her head, pulling back to look them in the eye and give their shoulders a squeeze. 

“Not now. Rest. We’ll talk about it later, I promise, but...I’m sure you’ve had a very, very long few days.”

Myrna pulled Astoria in again, whispering prayers in their native tongue to all who might listen, but their eyes had fallen to their lap - to the ruddy brown stains on their clothes and dried blood caked into the folds of fabric, the creases of their hands, even the ends of their hair that they could see out of the corners of their eyes. They turned their head, spotting the bruises peeking out from under the collar of their shirt, realizing with a tremor of terror that the crushing feeling hadn’t been their imagination. 

And granny said a few days...days? How could she not remember a single thing after what happened at the pool, not remember how she’d found her way back out or how the others had found her? 

A familiar voice, sweet as honey and deep as a river all at once, rose up from the depths of her mind as if in answer to a question she was too afraid to voice. 

It would have done our partnership no good if you were to perish in the labyrinth. And how I have longed to breathe the mountain air again…

The voice chuckled, stroking a loving hand down her mind as if to ease her into slumber. Her lashes fluttered, and Astoria felt themself fighting sleep they did not want.

It has been...so long since another has taken the boon. In time, I will answer your questions, but for now...all you need know is that you may call me Agrippa.

And as Astoria unwillingly fell into slumber again, one thought prevailed on their mind, even when the world fell away and dreams rose up to catch them - 

What had they done?

[turning-dreams-into-chaos]

Banished (Part 51)

~Banished~

Word Count: 10K

~Master~

*Based off episode 4x06 of the 100, We Will Rise*

*Bold/Italics are Trig!*

Previous episode...

---

The fire on Alpha station was put out as your people worked together, the rain falling from the sky providing help as well. Jaha stood in the middle of camp, looking at the destroyed ship with a somber face as Jasper walked up.

Jasper looked up into the sky, the rain falling on his face. “It’s not black rain.”

Jaha continued to look at the Ark, broken to pieces and no longer offering survival. “It will be colorless when it comes.”

“How are we gonna know?” Jasper asked him as he continued to look up in the falling rain.

“Pain.” Jaha sighed. “Chaos. Death.”

Jasper rolled his eyes as he listened. “Same old, same old then.” He smirked before looking around. Children were curled into their parents, some coughing and some sleeping before Jasper saw the frown still on Jaha’s face. “Jeez, cheer up Jaha. Once you accept there’s nothing to be done, there’s nothing to worry about.” Jasper didn’t find one problem with Alpha Stations destruction. He had no plans to be inside when Praimfaya hit anyways.

There was a group of men, stock piling parts of the ship that had fallen and still reusable as Jaha watched on. “We’ll find a way.” He said before Jasper chuckled.

“I found a way.” He whispered. “If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.” Jasper jokingly quotes Dr. Seuss as he walked away, leaving Jaha to mull over his words as the man pulled out the pendent from the dead man you all found in the bunker. He’ll find a way to survive

---

Following Ilian’s decision to set fire to the ship, he was put in the cell to keep him safe and to make sure he doesn’t pull another stunt. Kane stood next to you, asking if you were alright from your coughing when the angry mod ran past you. It didn’t take a genius to know they were going for Ilian. Kane called for the guard as you both ran after them. By the time you arrived, Ilian was already being beaten, covered in his own blood as you and Kane both tore people off him. One man hit you in the mouth and kicked your left foot out from under you, before you realized Kane pulled out his gun. Yet you had already landed on your knee, laying on the ground with a split lip and a throbbing leg.

He fired 3 shots into the air.

The shouting ceased as everyone looked to Kane. He aimed the gun at the crowd, getting them to backup from Ilian. “I will shoot the next person who touches this man, so help me!” He threatened as people looked around deciding it wasn’t worth it. Kane stuck a hand out to you, helping you off the ground as you touched your lip, feeling the slight blood coating as you patted it away. Kane continued to look at the crowd, daring anyone to attack, but they didn’t and chose to leave. “Good choice.” When the last person left the room, including the guard, Kane dropped the gun and looked to see your lip. “Go check with Clarke, let her take a look at you.” He told you but you shook your head.

“I don’t need to get checked out, it’s just a lip.”

“And your leg?” He motioned down at you limping enough for him to notice. You sighed and avoided looking at him. “You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine, Kane.” You told him, getting him to stop worrying. You nodded towards Ilian groaning on the ground. “But he might not be. Let’s just get him to the med bay.” You started to help Ilian up before realizing Kane was helping. He was too busy just watching you, noticing how tired you were. “Earth to Kane. You planning to help or are you just going stand there and let me do all the work?” Sighing lightly, he put his gun away, and threw Ilian’s other over his shoulder as you dragged him to the med bay.

---

“Stage two re-entry in 5” The computer informed Raven before it started to count down. She was sat in the rocket, looking at the screens in front of her as she worked the shaking rocket.

She pushed herself on. “Come on, you can do this.” She muttered, more focus than ever.

“Main booster engaged. Fuel levels critical and dropping fast.” The computer was finished counting down as Raven looked to the fuel, seeing it at 20%.

“No, no, no!” She chanted, trying her best to push on despite the warnings being yelled at her. The fuel hit 0% as Raven grunted, trying to make the rocket last.

“Warning. Brace for impact.” Raven was still stressing, hoping the rocket would pull through. Fire exploded on the screen in front of her as she groaned and leaned back in her seat, the lights in the rocket turning off. “Mission fail.” The screen lit up red as Raven read over the report of her failed simulation. “Exterior damage 100%. Cargo Damage 100%. Fatality 100%”

“Way to go, Raven.” Murphy was outside the rocket, playing with a toy car as he spoke over the speaker in his ear to the one in Raven’s. “Nuclear death wave 42, mankind 0.”

Raven rolled her eyes as she turned on her microphone. “Do you want to get in here and try it?”

“Nah, kind of busy out here.” He told her, focusing on his toy car. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to be responsible for everyone in the world dying.”

Raven was getting irritated by Murphy’s presence as she went over her failed simulation. “Abby said you had to watch. No one said you had to weigh in.” She reminded him.

Murphy chuckled softly. “That’s me, always going above and beyond. Speaking of, you keep starting your fuel at 75%. Maybe that’s your problem.”

“Pay attention. 10 barrels of hydrazine is all we have at Arkadia. If there was more, then I wouldn’t be having a landing problem.” Her sentence stopped as a headache ripped through her brain, making her pause and hold her forehead. “Damn it.” She groaned.

Murphy stopped playing with the car, looking back to the rocket. “You okay in there?”

“I’m fine. Shut up.” She snapped at him.

Murphy wasn’t deterred from her attitude. “Do you want me to wake up the doc?”

Raven’s headache started fading as she denied his question. “I’m good.” She said. She started to set up the simulation again, setting the fuel gage to 75%. “I’m running it again.”

Murphy sighed. “Sure. 28th time’s a charm, right?” He joked sarcastically as Raven ignored him, starting the simulation up again.

“Simulation starting.” The computer told her before the rocket on the screen launched into space, letting Raven try again.

---

Clarke woke up in her bed early the next morning, forgetting any idea of sleeping in. She reached over to her nightstand, grabbing her shirt that sat on top. She was about to pull it over her head before seeing a drawing she had done ages ago of Lexa before she passed hung onto Clarke’s wall. A pang in her heart caused Clarke to stop, just living in the memory of her deceased ex-girlfriend.

“Don’t you sleep?” Clarke finished throwing her shirt on before turning around and smiling at Niylah laying in Clarke’s bed. “Everyone needs rest, Clarke.” Clarke sighed in content as she moved across the room to pick up her pants. “There she goes.”

“I have to.” Clarke reminded her as she slipped on the last article of her clothes. “Going to the island today to bring rocket fuel to my Mom and Raven so they go into space to make Nightblood. It’s now officially our only hope.”

Niylah nodded softly, feeling the guilt in her. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop that boy from destroying your home.”

“It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have left you and Octavia.” Niylah was about to object but Clarke didn’t let her get a word in. “Besides, now we don’t have to worry about kicking 450 people out when the death wave hits or sharing it with Azgeda.” Clarke assured her, remembering when you had told her about promising half of Alpha to Ice Nation, not that it mattered anymore.

“Lexa would be proud of you.” Niylah said as Clarke stopped dressing for a moment, sparing a glance up. “We’re all your people. She believed that, too.” Niylah stood out of the bed, walking over to Clarke. “She lives on through you.” Niylah was trying to get Clarke to understand, but the look on Clarke’s face told Niylah she was thinking of something else. “What is it?”

Clarke looked her in the eyes. “I want you to stay here. You can stay in my room until I get back.” Clarke said but Niylah just shook her head.

“Clarke, I’m not asking for anything more than this moment. That’s how I live.”

“I know.” Clarke said as she grabbed her hand. “But Niylah please, once we solve Nightblood, it’ll be distributed to Arkadia and Polis first. I’d feel better knowing you were here to get it.” Niylah stayed silent, thinking over Clarke’s offer before smiling with a nod. “Good.” Clarke smiled as well. “I’ll let med bay know they have an extra hand.”

After Clarke threw her jacket on, she pulled Niylah to her, embracing in a kiss before pulling away. “Now go save us all.” Clarke nodded, sharing one last look with Niylah before leaving.

---

The plan for today was for Clarke and Bellamy to take the hydrazine to the lab. Roan was going as well to supervise, not trusting Skaikru not to betray him. Right now, you were listening to Monty tell you, Bellamy, Kane and Roan about the outcome of yesterday’s disaster. “Sectors 3, 4 and 5 had sustained the most damage. We lost the server room, all of our processors, life support systems, and half our living quarters. Backup power will keep the lights on at night in the room that survived, but there will be no heat or running water. And no way to restore it or reseal the ship before the radiation gets here.”

You nodded your head, trying to keep yourself from biting and hurting your cut lip more. “Is there any good news?” Bellamy asked as you agreed, not at all seeing a good part to this.

“No one died.” Kane said as you turned your head to look at him, seeing him staring past you to Bellamy.

“Forget the Ark.” Clarke called out as you all turned to look at her. She stood next to Kane. “It was never going to save us all anyway. We need to focus on the Nightblood situation. Is the fuel loaded?”

“It’s in process, but Clarke, it’s not going to be an easy ride.” Bellamy told her and you nodded slowly, looking towards Roan.

He met your eye briefly before Clarke caught on, growing concerned. “What don’t I know?”

Roan cleared his throat. “With the secret of Praimfaya out, I sent Echo and my army back to Polis to keep peace.”

“That’s good. We can’t distribute the cure without peace.”

“More than half of them deserted along the way. With the end coming, they want to be home. I don’t blame them.”

Clarke nodded, her face falling somber. Bellamy jumped into the conversation. “Do you blame them for burning Trikru villages on the way?” He asked and you smacked his arm lightly enough to get his attention, sending him a frown.

“That’s funny coming from you.” Roan spit back and your frown shifted to him.

“Stop, both of you.” You said to them, crossing your arms in front of you. Bellamy’s eyes furrowed as he watched Roan stare at you but you weren’t focused on him, instead your attention was on Kane as he spoke and put a hand on your upper back.

“We know the woods are a war zone.” He looked down at you, seeing you subconsciously rub a finger across the split on your lip as you listened. “After what happened to Ilian,” you tore your hand away, now aware of your actions as Kane looked up at Bellamy, “I can’t spare many of the guard to protect you.”

Bellamy sighed, giving him a thin smile as Roan spoke up. “My security detail can protect us.” He offered.

“Thank you.” Kane told him. “That’s very generous.”

Roan nodded looking around the table before ending at you. “We’re all in this together now.” He said before walking out.

Bellamy watched him leave, not missing you watching as well. “I’m going to go say goodbye to Octavia before we leave.” He muttered and you gave him a short smile he returned before leaving and Monty followed behind.

You were about to leave as well before overhearing Kane and Clarke’s conversation. “I’m going with you.” He said to the girl as you stopped right outside the doorway, out of view from Kane and Clarke.

“You can’t.” you silently agreed with Clarke as Kane reminded her that he was Chancellor. “That’s why you can’t go. After everything that happened this morning, out people need you here, now more than ever.” The look in Kane’s eyes made Clarke know why he wanted to go so badly. “I know you’re worried about my mother.”

Kane took a deep breath. “She’s going into space in a 100-year-old rocket. Do you have any idea how many things could go wrong?”

“Raven says the rocket’s intact.” Clarke promised. “She’d like a little more fuel, but as long as we get her what we’ve got, she said she’ll get them both back down safely.” Kane still wasn’t convinced as Clarke gave him a smile. “Look, we have to try. I’ll send her your love.”

You inhaled sharply, listening to Kane agree to Clarke’s statement. Did Kane love Abby? As long as you’ve known him, Kane’s never been in love before, or at least, you didn’t think he had.

Inside the room, Kane and Clarke shared an awkward hug before Kane walked out of the room, not seeing you as he went the other way down the hall. As soon as he was out, you walked back in, catching Clarke’s attention by your sudden reappearance.

“You got enough room for one more?” you asked as she furrowed her brows. “I figure it’s worth going. Roan doesn’t trust anyone but me, and I don’t think Bellamy’s so keen on the idea of Roan being there in the first place.”

“You don’t want to stay here?”

“Yeah, I think I wanna risk getting a black eye to match my lip.” You joked and chuckled, but Clarke didn’t laugh. She couldn’t even offer you a smile and you knew she was worried about the trip. You put your hands on her shoulders. “Look, I know you don’t trust Roan, and I know you don’t trust his men, but the only way we’re getting through this today is letting them protect us. Abby and Raven need the hydrazine. I’m not seeing another option here.”

“You’re right.” She sighed and you dropped your arms. You gave her one more grin before leaving her alone.

---

Octavia laid on her side in the med bay, facing away from the entrance as she watched the numerous people bouncing around and helping the people wrapped in bandages. Bellamy walked inside, immediately seeing his sister as he stood behind her. “You gave us a scare.” He said, trying to break the ice. He was immensely happy his sister was alive, but she didn’t anything to do with Bellamy choosing to ignore him instead. “You saved so many people, O. Without you getting here to warn us Azgeda was coming, we’d be at war.”

“Get out.” She growled at him.

Bellamy took an unsteady breath. “Octavia, I thought you were dead.” He kept his voice soft, quiet to not crack.

“Octavia is dead.” She mumbled, staring straight ahead, numb to the emotions she should be feeling. “She died when you killed Lincoln.”

Bellamy’s heart was breaking. “Please don’t say that, O. I’m your brother.”

She turned around, slowly looking Bellamy in his eyes. “Why do you think you’re still alive.” When she turned back around, Bellamy could feel his chest constrict and he couldn’t be in here any longer. He left his sister in the med bay to hate him as she stared off, detaching herself from the world.

---

The rover was being filled by Monty and a few Arkadia soldiers, Roan watching them as you tried not to limp up to him, your arms crossed in front of you when you got his attention. “Bellamy, Clarke, and I are riding in the front. You and your men will ride in the back with the fuel.”

Roan nodded his head, but one of his men listening in didn’t like the idea. “The King of Azgeda follows no one.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “He will if he has no plans on dying today. Besides, I think your King can speak for himself.”

“It’s all right, Seiku.” Roan interrupted, raising an eye at you. “Best we stay out of sight for now.” Seiku nodded, sending you a slight glare you gave a sarcastic smile too.

As Seiku left, Bellamy walked right past you, looking upset but he didn’t stop to talk, only saying it was time to go. The last barrel was put in the rover as Monty jumped off and Clarke walked up, joining you and Roan. “We ready?” you asked as Monty nodded.

“Locked and loaded. I do, however, feel the need to reiterate, you’re about to drive the last 10 barrels of hydrazine known to man, a cargo which Raven needs every last drop of, through hostile territory packed with warring clans, over uneven roads where one serious bump could cause an explosion that would not only kill all of you but wipe out mankind’s only remaining chance at survival.” Monty’s words weren’t comforting at all, every bad situation running through your head.

“So, no pressure?” you joked obviously feeling all sorts of pressure.

Roan looked to you, Monty doing so as well as his face remained stoic. “No, Y/N. Lots of pressure.”

You sighed, nodding your head just a little. “That was a…” Monty didn’t let you finish before he walked away. You watched him leave as you finished your thought. “joke.”

Roan watched your face fall. “Everything okay?”

You looked up at him, nodding your head as fast as you could. “Yeah! Yeah, I’m- I’m fine. Just uh, I’ll be right there.” You didn’t wait for Roan to answer as you took off after your friend. “Monty!” Monty let out a huff as he stopped walking, turning annoyed to see you jog up to him. “Are we good?” you asked as you stood in front of him.

“Fine.” He shrugged but didn’t spare a glance to you.

You waited, just a second to see if he’d add more before you let out a rather sad chuckle. “Really? Because a week ago if I asked you that, you would’ve given me more than just fine.” You waited for Monty to say something more again, but he stayed silent, only making eye contact. You sighed, remembering the one thing that had changed since a week ago. “If this is about me shock lashing Jasp-“

“You didn’t need to shock him!” He interrupted you, yelling a little and catching the attention of a few people around, Including Clarke, Roan and Bellamy who watched from the rover at Monty’s voice.

You swallowed, keeping your voice calm. “I’m sorry, Monty. He was going to read the list out, at the time-“

“It seemed like the right thing?” he stopped you, filling in the rest of your sentence. You couldn’t look at him, knowing he was hitting the nail on the head. Monty scoffed at you. “You know, Clarke and you aren’t the only ones doing what they think is right for the people.” Monty backed away from you and you felt completely awful.

You turned around, frowning when you realized Bellamy, Clarke and Roan were all still watching. You took a deep breath and approached them. “What are we waiting for? Let’s get this show on the road.” You climbed into the front seat without another care, hearing the door close before you let out a shaky breath and closing your eyes as Bellamy got inside, Clarke jumping in the backseat.

While Bellamy was hurting himself after talking to his sister, he comforted you, taking his hand in yours as you sat in silence and waited for Monty’s all clear before he steered out of Arkadia.

---

Continuing his amusement while Raven worked, Murphy was throwing a ball against the wall, catching it as it bounced back. After another failed attempt at the simulation, Raven let out a scream. Murphy wasn’t surprised as he talked to her over the earpiece. “All work and no play makes Raven a dull girl.” Murphy mumbled as he tossed the ball again. Inside the rocket, Raven was growing mad at Murphy as she climbed out. Murphy furrowed his brow. “You alright?” He asked but Raven was furious.

“I’ve had enough of your stupid, little jokes!” She yelled and pushed his chest away, moving past as Murphy watched her.

“Why don’t you take it easy, huh?” He told her. Raven stopped in her tracks, turning to look at Murphy with a glare.

She narrowed her eyes as she stepped closer. “Well you’re just a self-loathing bottom-feeder. Abby’s an idiot for trusting you.” Raven got in Murphy’s face, trying to intimidate him as she spoke. “She doesn’t know you like I do.” Murphy scoffed, turning away to not let her get the satisfaction her words were getting to him. “You’re a leech, Murphy. Sucking people dry and taking whatever you can so that you can survive.”

Murphy wasn’t going to sit there and let Raven berate him like this. “At least I’m not a mental patient like you, Raven.” He pushed past her but Raven didn’t let him get far.

She grabbed his arm, pulling him back and as he was forced to turn, she swung her fist into his face. “I hate you!” She screamed over and over again, her fist laying into Murphy repeatedly. The only way Raven stopped hitting him was when Luna, who had woken up at the sound of Raven’s yells, wrapped her arms around Raven and pulled her away. “Get off me!” Raven shouted as she tried to fight the hold.

Luna brought Raven to the ground, making Raven fall into her lap. “Breathe!” Luna stressed to the angered girl. “Breathe.” Raven still fought back, was Luna was getting through.

“Should I go get Abby?” Murphy asked as he watched Luna calm her.

“No.” Luna said, looking up briefly at Murphy before focusing on Raven. “Listen to my voice Raven. Breathe in, breathe out.” She took a deep breath before speaking in Raven’s ear and rocking Raven back and forth. “I give myself to the miracle of the sea.” She whispered. “Say it Raven. Say it. I give myself,” She paused, waiting as Raven repeated after her, “To the miracle,” Raven repeated again, “of the sea.” The calming technique worked as Raven cried silently in Luna’s lap, sitting up and feeling Luna’s gloved hand rub her shoulder. “I know the darkness.” Luna said to assure Raven it was alright. “It’s okay.”

Raven took a moment to herself, running her hand over her face before her wet eyes met Murphy. Slowly she rose to her feet, Murphy eying her carefully. “Let’s go again.” Raven told him before she took off for the rocket.

Murphy scoffed softly, not surprised in Raven’s apology absence. “She’ll be alright.” Luna promised him and Murphy held back an eye roll. “Will you be?”

Not sparing her a glance, he answered. “The darkness can kiss my worthless ass.” He muttered before ripping the communication piece out of his ear and tossing it to Luna. “You’re the new Raven-sitter.” He told her before walking off, laying a kick to the remote-controlled car he was playing with earlier before leaving, completely down with Raven and her rocket.

---

Bellamy had let go of your hand a while ago to be able to drive and the three of you stayed silent. You’d been driving for a while before you finally spoke up, turning to look at Bellamy with a frown. “You want to talk about it?” You asked, seeing his face fall slightly. You spoke softly, hoping Clarke wouldn’t listen in from the back, but not particularly caring if she does.

“Keep your eyes on the trees.” He said, trying to avoid the conversation, but you wouldn’t let him.

“Well, I want to talk about it, whenever you do.” You could see Bellamy processing your words as he reached over, taking your hand and squeezing slightly before grabbing the wheel again. You bit your lip. “She’ll forgive you. It’ll take time, but she will.” This wasn’t the first time you had to assure him, but it wasn’t that easy to Bellamy.

“We don’t have much time left, do we?” He raised a brow at you and you swallowed thickly, letting your gaze fall from Bellamy.

“Yeah, you were probably right, better not to talk about it.” You muttered and looked out the front window. Bellamy turned to you, feeling bad for making you even more upset than you were after speaking to Monty. He was about to say something before the road turned and you happened across a group of grounders. “Guys.” you said, shifting in your seat to look between them and him. Clarke moved to look between you guys.

“What is it?” She asked as you all stared out the window.

Bellamy put a hand on your lap before grabbing the radio to speak to the rest of the convoy. “Hang on. We’ve got a situation.” He spoke into the radio as you sighed, realizing what it was. “Looks like a Trikru checkpoint.” Bellamy said, sharing a look with you. In the truck with the fuel, Roan and his men stood up, aware that the truck shouldn’t have been stopping.

“They have wounded.” You pointed out, sharing a look with Clarke in the back. “It’s not a checkpoint.” You both started out of the rover before Bellamy stopped you.

“Y/N, no.”

You looked at him and let out a surprised scoff. “They could be hurt and you’re saying no to helping them?”

Bellamy’s face soften, realizing what it sounded like. “No, I’m saying you can’t help them. Besides, what are they going to do when they see Skaikiler?” It was then that you both realized Clarke had already left the rover to check out the wounded. “Clarke!” Bellamy called after her, groaning when he realized it was worthless. The guys in the truck behind you called up, asking what Clarke was doing as Bellamy gave you the side eye. “Being Clarke. No one gets out.” He told them before throwing the radio down and looking at you. “Stay here.”

You couldn’t get a word in but as soon as Bellamy was out of the rover you huffed. “Screw this, I’m leaving the rover.” You muttered and opened your door, sliding out as Bellamy turned at the sound, his face falling when he saw you join them.

“Wanheda. Skaikiler.” One man said, his eyes wide as they looked between you and Clarke.

“What happened here?” Clarke asked.

The man sighed and his face fell completely. “Azgeda burned our villages to the ground. My father caught an ax with his leg and we can’t stop the bleeding.” Clarke, the man, and Bellamy all rushed over to the older man laying on the ground. You stayed back, watching from a far as well as keeping your eye on the other men and women around. Some of them seemed to be watching you curiously as Clarke tried to help.

You tried to avoid the stares you were getting as you turned back to the convoy, seeing a little boy looking at the back truck. This wasn’t going to end good. “Bellamy.” You mumbled, getting his attention as he turned, eyes widening as Clarke and him both saw the kid. You started back to the rover

“There’s nothing we can do.” Clarke told the man as she stood up, Bellamy and her asking for the road to be cleared as the man shouted for his people to move before asking for a ride to Polis. You watched the kid carefully, making sure he wasn’t going to check the back of the rover where you had Roan and his men hid, but the kid made no plan to move.

“Hey kid!” You shouted as he stopped walking and looked at you heading towards him. “Why don’t you get away from there.” you called out but he just took one big step back, looking right into the back.

“Azgeda!” He shouted as your eyes widened. A hand landed on your arm and you were about to push it away before seeing it was Bellamy.

“Get in!” He yelled at you. You opened up his door and Bellamy helped you in because of your leg as you pushed your way through to sit in your seat as Clarke climbed in the back and Bellamy took his own seat. You were moving as fast as you could but Trikru grabbed their weapons and shot towards Roan and his men in the back.

As soon as it was clear, you leaned back in your chair, letting your eyes close as your calmed down. “Well, that went well.” You joked. In your head, you were thankful you got out of the rover, if you hadn’t seen the boy, who knows when or even if Clarke and Bellamy would’ve. Bellamy didn’t say anything, just looking at you out of the corner of his eye, seeing your eyes closed. You groaned as you felt the rover stop and opened your eyes. “What now?” You asked before seeing the running water.

Bellamy picked up the radio again, telling the other truck about the problem. The three of you climb out of the rover. “Murphy didn’t say anything about a river.” Clarke pointed out as you licked your lip feeling the healing split. You pulled your leg up a little, feeling the discomfort in your knee before letting it fall again with a huff.

“What else could go wrong?” Bellamy asked sarcastically. You turned around at the sound of another footsteps, seeing Roan join you three.

“The ice melted.” He pointed out as you sighed, running a over your face. “I’ll find us a place to cross upstream.” Roan offered and started up the rivers side.

He didn’t get far before Clarke stopped him. “Take the rover. You’ll cover more ground and it’s safer.” She looked at Bellamy at the end of her statement, meaning she was suggesting Bellamy go with him.

“With him?” Bellamy clarified.

“Bell, we have to get across the river.” You reminded him, offering a sad smile. “I’ll go with you.”

“You should stay here.” Clarke pulled you aside as she gave you a look.

“I can go.”

“You should rest your leg.” You scoffed and raised your brow at her. She just rolled her eyes at you. “I know it hurts Y/N. Just stay back with the truck, I’ll watch them.”

Your face softened, knowing she was right and your leg had been bothering you since you were rushed into the rover. “Alright. You got a deal Griffin.” You smiled at her before looking to Bellamy. “I’ll guard the fuel.”

When Bellamy realized you wouldn’t be going with him, he didn’t like the idea. “You’re staying here?”

You nodded and looked at Clarke. “I’ve been benched.” You joked, seeing Clarke smile momentarily before returning to her intense demeanor. Bellamy put his hands on his hips and looked at you. “I’ll be fine. Will you?” Your eyes flickered to Roan before back to Bellamy and it didn’t take Bellamy much to know you weren’t just talking about his safety.

“We won’t be gone long.” He told you and you narrowed your eyes slightly at him, seeing him crack a smile. “I’ll be fine.” You nodded, grabbing his hand briefly once Clarke and Roan had walked away and Bellamy climbed into the rover.

Roan walked around, taking your spot but before he could get inside Seiku stopped him. “My King, we should be going with you.”

Roan shook his head. “Nothing is more important than this cargo. Keep it safe.” He ordered and Seiku nodded and watched Roan climb into the rover and Clarke got into the back like she had earlier. Bellamy’s grip on the wheel was tight as you stood outside next to him. He looked out the window, seeing your attempt at a smile before he drove away, leaving you and the men with the fuel until they got back.

---

Murphy was having a hell of a good time in Becca’s office, repeating what Luna had said to Raven earlier. Only, he wasn’t doing so great. “I creep on myself… for the miracle… of a horny mistake.” Murphy mumbled, trying to figure out why it didn’t sound right. “I creep on myself…”

Luna entered the room, raising a brow at Murphy’s failed attempt. “It’s the intention that matters.” She spoke up, getting Murphy’s attention. He sighed as she got closer. “Raven needs you, John. She’s been in there a long time.”

“In case you haven’t realized, Raven hates my guts.”

“I don’t think that was her talking.” Luna told him as she replayed Raven’s outburst in her head.

“Oh, no it was.” Murphy stopped her. “You know that little limp she’s got? Yeah, that was me.”

“I don’t think she hates you as much as you hate yourself.”

Murphy didn’t want to listen to her talk about self-hate against himself. “Why do you even care about this? You’re the miracle, right? You’re gonna live through all this radiation either way.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be the last person on earth.”

“Why not? Because that kind of sounds nice to me.”

Luna shook her head at him before moving about the room. “I don’t believe that.”

“Then you don’t know me that well.”

Luna sighed and looked at him. “I know you stole that medicine for Adria.” She began. “I know you saved Raven from the drones.”

“I’m definitely rethinking that one right about now.” He interrupted her.

Luna’s face turned blank, done with Murphy’s attitude. “I know what it’s like to hate yourself John. Because of the color of my blood, I was raised to be a killer. The Flamekeepers harnessed my rage and taught me it was nobility. For years, I reveled in death and violence. I killed my own brother. Trust me when I tell you, if I found peace, so can you.”

Murphy was listening to her words, each one of them, but he wasn’t going to accept it. “I think peace is overrated.” He told her. “It’s the fighters that survive.”

And damnit, John Murphy was going to make sure he survived.

---

Octavia’s recovery in the med bay was getting better as Niylah helped her, stretching out her muscles in her leg by  the limb to her chest. Octavia was holding her breath, trying to keep her pained expression neutral until Niylah pulled her leg away. “Stronger already.” Niylah smiled as Octavia finally breathed out. “You’ll be running around in no time.” The silence in the med bay felt weird to Niylah as she as looked around, only seeing Ilian handcuffed to a bed on the other side of the bed lines. “Where’s his guards?” She asked Octavia who shrugged, not caring enough about Ilian. Niylah sighed and slowly lowered Octavia’s leg. “That’s enough for now. I’ll come back soon.” Octavia nodded and let Niylah leave the room.

As soon as Niylah was left from the room, Ilian spoke up. “I’m glad you’re alive.” He told Octavia as he played with his ties.

Octavia clenched her jaw. “You won’t be soon.” She told him. “Jus drein, Jus daun.”

Ilian rolled his head to look at her before looking at the ceiling. “I killed no one.”

“Wrong. You killed them all.” Ilian swallowed thickly at her tone. “And now they’re gonna kill you.”

Ilian paused for a moment, thinking about his options. “I didn’t know about Praimfaya. You can tell them that. I never meant to hurt anyone.”

“The sword doesn’t care about what you meant.” She stopped him. “It just cuts.” The silence before them settled and Ilian knew he was in danger.

---

The search for another way across the river came to an end as Bellamy, Clarke and Roan found a shallow path, enough to drive the rover through. “This will work.” Roan told them as they nodded and Clarke looked up to Bellamy.

“Radio Y/N and tell her?” She asked him and Bellamy agreed and pulled the radio from his pocket.

“Y/N come in. We found a crossing. Over.” He spoke directly into the call and waited to hear your voice, only it never came. “Cargo one, can you hear me? Over.” The three of their worries were increasing as you failed to respond again, Bellamy’s worries easily becoming the worst and by now they knew you weren’t alright.

“Something’s wrong.” Roan told Clarke and Bellamy as the three of them rushed to get into the rover again, heading back to see you and the fuel hopefully safe. Bellamy was driving as fast as he could to get back to you.

They reached to where they knew you were left with the truck, but you weren’t there. In fact, no one was there. “Be careful.” Clarke told Bellamy and Roan as they climbed out of the truck, looking around for any indication you were alright.

Bellamy pulled out the radio again, his voice frantic as he called you again. “Y/N, come in. Please tell me you’re alright. Over.” As the trio was looking around, Roan’s eyes flashed into the river, seeing a sack caught onto the rotted tree stuck in the ground.

“Over there!” He shouted and the three of them took off running. They were all equally worried as they drug it out from the water, knowing there was a body inside and terrified of whose. Bellamy stared at the symbol on the front before tearing the bag away. Inside wasn’t you, instead it was one of Roan’s men. “Seiku.” Roan mumbled and looked at his fallen soldier. He looked to Clarke and Bellamy. “We all know who did this.” He growled at them. “Trikru.”

“Where the hell are the others?” Clarke began looking around, walking into the water a little way to see if more body bags were caught.

“Where’s Y/N?” Bellamy filled in his desire to know, eyeing Roan carefully.

“They took the truck to Polis.” Roan reminded them of Trikru’s ask to join the convoy earlier. “That means at least one of yours is still alive.”  They all exchanged glances before rushing to the rover and taking off. There was hope you were alive and that was enough.

---

In Arkadia’s dining hall, Jaha was sat at the bar, nursing a cup of moonshine as Hardy and the men behind him spouted off about Ilian, finding the fact he’s still alive despicable. “How much longer do we let them protect that son of a bitch? This ship was supposed to keep us alive and now we’re all gonna die.” Hardy shouted to his following as Niylah walked in, stopping in her tracks slowly as she took in the scene. The man was still talking as Niylah spotted Monty listening in.

She made her way over and whispered to him. “The boy he’s talking about is in med bay with no protection.” She told him. Monty’s eyes widened before Jasper passed him, holding a cup and moving to get more moonshine.

Monty tried to stop him before he could pour it. “You really think that’s a good idea?”

Jasper looked at him and shrugged. “Moonshine? Absolutely.” Jasper walked off, refusing his best friend’s help at recovery. Monty turned back to the crowd, talk of labeling Ilian’s actions as a hate crime and demanding he be killed for it.

Moving across the room, Monty sat beside Jaha, using a whisper voice to talk. “Are you okay with all this?” He asked knowing the people listen to Jaha.

Jaha just took the last sip of his drink. “They’re just blowing off steam.”

The statement earned a scoff from Monty as he got closer to Jaha. “Blowing off steam like we were when we strung up Murphy for killing Wells?” Monty knew it was a low blow and the look of anguish on Jaha’s face let him know he struck a nerve. Jaha asked for a refill on his drink as Jasper obliged. Monty was growing irritated as the group grew more determined for Ilian’s head. “They listen to you. Say something!” He begged. Jaha however, turned his back on Monty, refusing to offer help. “With all due respect, your son would be ashamed of you.” He headed towards the door, muttering to Niylah along the way. “I’ll get Kane.” She nodded and he was gone.

---

In an attempt to calm Raven down, Luna sat next to her in the lab, repeating her meditation mantra for Raven to hear, but the girl was not stopping. “I’ve strained the air brakes, adjusted the grid fins and I’ve reversed the thrusters.” Raven looked at the screen, hoping her changes worked but it didn’t. “Damn it! What am I missing?” Luna tried speaking louder, hoping to get in Raven’s head but Raven just groaned at her. “Mediating isn’t going to help me land this stupid ship.” She pointed out.

Murphy had left Becca’s office, standing above the lab as he watched Raven’s freak out. “No but it might keep your brain from blowing up.” He shouted as he made his way down the stairs.

At his voice, Raven’s head begun hurting and he pressed her hand to her forehead, scrunching her face up. “Oh good, he’s back.” She grumbled before focusing on the screen again. “Okay, think. To land this ship in one piece, calculating the re-entry trajectory has to be perfect, deploying the thrusters has to be perfect, the burn rate has to be perfect.”

Murphy looked to Luna with an amused smile. “Maybe perfect is your problem.” He blurted out.

Raven stopped her work. “What?”

Murphy rolled his eyes and moved closer. “Perfect sucks. Why care about perfection if Abby and you walk away with the magic potion, right?”

“A controlled crash is still a crash.”

Luna sat up from her spot and joined the duo. “Swim away.”

Raven’s head picked up as she caught on. “A controlled crash into the water. Luna, its brilliant!”

“I’m sorry, Luna?” Murphy asked taking offense in the fact it was basically his idea.

Raven ignored him as she checked to see if a water landing would work. “Damn it. The computer won’t let me execute a controlled crash.”

“Screw the computer Raven.” Murphy stopped her from getting upset. “Fly it yourself.”

She looked back at Murphy who nodded to the computer, waiting for Raven to try. “Switching to manual.” She told the computer. The computer accepted the manual override as Raven gasped and made her way to the rocket. Murphy sighed and he started to walk the opposite way, but Raven’s voice as she turned around stopped him. “Murphy! Thank you.” Murphy didn’t reply to the girl’s gratitude, not at all expecting it. He watched Raven climb back into the rocket, preparing the simulation to manually land the rocket in the water.

---

Bellamy was driving the rover even faster than he had before, this time knowing for a fact you were in danger. Roan sat in the front seat, Clarke poking her head between them as she gripped the seats.

“We have to get to them before they reach Polis with the fuel. They’ll use it to make bombs and kill everyone.” Roan told them as Bellamy scoffed.

“You mean they’ll use it to kill Ice Nation.” He corrected Roan with a side glare. “All you care about is your own people.”

Roan shook his head. “Like you’re any better. That’s all anyone cares about.” Roan paused for a minute, thinking about everything you’ve done for his people and him. “Except maybe Y/N.” he mumbled.

“Can you guys not fight about this right now?” Clarke asked as she kept her eyes out the front window. Bellamy sighed, remembering his promise before he left of being fine, meaning he wouldn’t be fighting with Roan exactly like he was now. Coming to a fork in the road, a body laid on the ground and the rover came to a halt. Bellamy was about to leave the rover before Clarke grabbed his shoulder. “Bellamy, wait.” She stopped him.

Bellamy didn’t understand why he was stopping. “They left a dead body, we can pick up their trail.” He started out again but Roan stopped him this time.

“Trikru burn their dead.” He reminded Bellamy, knowing Clarke had caught on already. “They’re still here. Back up now.” Roan ordered.

Bellamy just groaned, letting his head fall back against his seat before looking out his window. “There’s no one here. They’ve taken the truck, the fuel, and Y/N!” Bellamy reminded them both, looking at Clarke on your name for the sake of her knowing what it meant to him to find you. Turning to Roan, his voice turned cold. “If you’re such a good tracker, go track.”

It took only a second before the rover was being attacked. Trikru men jumped on the rover, rocking it enough for Clarke to stumble in the back. “You were saying?” Roan asked sarcastically to Bellamy who sent them a glare.

The Trikru grounder Bellamy spoke to earlier came running at Bellamy’s door as Bellamy pulled out his gun and pointed it at him. “I don’t want to shoot you.” Bellamy warned as the man put his hands in the air. “Where’s the truck? What have you done with it?”

“Give us the king.” The man told him and Roan was figuring out what happened.

“Bellamy.” Roan mumbled and got both Clarke’s and Bellamy’s attention. “The truck’s not here.” He told them. Bellamy’s gun was still trained on the man as he looked at Roan.

Clarke was confused as well. “How do you know that?” She asked.

“Because everyone does what’s best for their own people.” He mumbled, recalling the point of their argument just minutes ago. “It was my men who took it.”

While Roan’s back was turned, a man tried to thrust his sword through Roan’s window but Bellamy warned him, giving him the opportunity to move. At the same moment, the back door to the rover opened and Clarke jumped out of her seat to the door. The man who had opened it trying to get inside as she kicked him in the chest, sending him to the ground and he rolled off to the side. Clarke closed the door and locked it before facing front. “Bellamy. Drive!” she shouted and Bellamy didn’t need to be told twice before he backed up, knocking off a few of the men before the rover took off. The rest fell to the ground, staring off as the rover disappeared past the trees.

---

Octavia let her leg dangle off the edge of the edge of her bed as she swung her knee back and forth. She glanced over her shoulder to Ilian who laid unmoved on the bed as Kane walked in, Monty and Sgt Miller and a few more guards following after him. “Lock this room down. They’re right behind us.” The door was closed per Kane’s orders.

Monty looked at the empty room. “Where is everyone?” He asked Octavia.

“They’re out there with them.” She told him seconds before pounding occurred on the now locked door.

“Open this door!” Hardy shouted at them. Kane and David positioned themselves between the door and Ilian.

“Sir. Maybe we should reconsider.” David wasn’t so keen on fighting the mob against someone who most likely doomed humanity. Kane turned down his mention, not up for surrendering. “On the Ark, we floated people for less.”

Kane snapped at him. “Mob rule will not dictate justice in this camp.” Hardy knocked again hard, his demand for the door to open not changing.

Monty joined the men, knowing the mob wouldn’t let up. “We can’t let them in here, they’ll kill him.”

Kane took a deep breath and pulled out his gun to check the bullets. David was quick to put in his objection but Kane disagreed. “If we let them descend into darkness, there’s no coming back.”

Octavia had been listening in to everything. A dilemma was playing in her head. “It’s the end of the world Kane.” She said and everyone looked at her. “Darkness is all we have.” She stood up from her bed and hit the button to open the door despite the cries of no from Monty and Kane. Hardy and his crew filed into the room and Kane was quick to point his gun at their heads.

David was going through a dilemma of his own as well. Follow orders or do what he feels is right. His breath exhaled as slow and he pulled out his shock baton, pressing it into Kane’s back as the man fell to the ground. “I’m sorry.” He told Kane who was groaning on the ground.

Hardy grabbed Kane’s now discarded gun and stepped over him. Octavia didn’t let him get going, putting a hand on his chest. “You can have his blood, but the kill is mine.” Hardy took a moment but nodded in agreement and Octavia let him go.

Hardy’s men cut Ilian free and hoisted him to his feet despite Ilian being too weak to stand himself and they carried him out, following as Octavia now led the mob out of the med bay.

---

Since discovering it was his people who stole the truck and you, Roan and Bellamy hadn’t fought anymore. Clarke also provided a level head on their hunt as the three of the them kept their eyes sharp. Coming upon a field, Roan was the first to spot the truck driving through. “There they are!”

Bellamy sped up, stepping on gas in hopes to catch up to the rover and find you alright. What he didn’t know was you were the one sitting in the driver’s seat, one of Roan’s men sitting next to you as you drove. You were terrified but you refused to let them see it, remembering the knife you were threatened with earlier sitting in his hand. Movement caught your attention in your side mirror and after a double take, you realized your friends were coming to save you. You started to let your foot off the gas, hoping to give Bellamy enough leeway to catch up but you were caught. When the man sitting next to you saw your foot easing off the gas without a reason, he looked behind the truck, seeing the rover peak through from behind the fuel containers.

“Stop them.” He told his buddy in the back before pressing his foot on top of yours, making the truck speed up. “Keep going.”

Roan, Clarke and Bellamy watched as the man in the back started to grab the fuel barrels, bringing them to the edge of the truck as much as he could. “What the hell is he doing?”

“He’s weaponizing the fuel.” Clarke told them as her eyes grew wide.

Roan glanced back at her. “I thought you said we needed every drop.”

“We do!”

Roan turned back to Bellamy. “Get me as close as you can!” He shouted before climbing into the back. Clarke moved out of his way before shifting into his seat next to Bellamy.

“You gotta be kidding me.” Bellamy grumbled as Clarke watched Roan climb out of the top hatch.

Bellamy pulled the rover up to the side of the truck and Clarke’s eyes went wide at the sight of you driving. “Y/N?”

You looked out the window briefly, meeting Bellamy’s eyes as a knife was pressed to your neck and you were forced to look away. “Now! Roan, do it!” He shouted and Roan made his leap into the truck before Bellamy sped the rover up ahead of the truck after Clarke and him came up with a plan and he yelled at you to give him a clean shot.

Roan landed on the back with his hands on his own man and the fight begun. Roan was pinned over the barrels before he pushed the man away shoving him, but the man tripped him and Roan was pinned once again. A knife was pulled on Roan but Roan kicked it away and the man stumbled backwards as Roan got up. The fight went on, neither person winning as the fuel dragged to the edge of the truck slowly shifted every time the truck rumbled until it was hanging off. Roan had finally got the upper hand, shoving his thumb into the man’s eyes. He screamed and let his guard down enough for Roan to grab his knife from him and shove it into his chest. The man’s fighting stopped as Roan killed him, whispering traitor in his ear before kicking him off the truck. When Roan noticed the barrel moving, he grabbed it, saving it from falling as well.

One man was dead but the other still held a knife to your throat, forcing you to keep driving. You watched your boyfriend and Clarke drive ahead, you didn’t know what the plan was, but Bellamy wanted a clean shot, so obviously he had a plan. Right?

The rover stopped ahead of you, right in your path and your stomach dropped. What was he doing? When his door opened and Bellamy pointed a gun at the truck, you understood.

Bellamy hoped his plan would work, talking it over briefly with Clarke before he jumped out. His gun was pointed on the grounder, but he needed the shot. “Come on, Y/N. Come on, Baby.” He muttered to himself as he got ready.

The truck was still driving straight, your direction unmoving and as soon as the grounder saw Bellamy’s gun, he tried to turn the wheel. You threw your elbow into his nose, sending him away from you and Bellamy had his shot. The bullet pierced through the man’s head as you watched. Realizing the truck was still going, you slammed your foot onto the break, watching as Bellamy backed himself into the rover with Clarke in fear but you didn’t let it touch him as you brought the truck to a quick stop.

Once you got over the terrifying part about this situation, you couldn’t look away from Bellamy. You smiled at him, seeing his as well. Bellamy was relieved and proud at the same time seeing you drive the rover. He’d know you’d tell him they did all the work and you just managed to get kidnapped, and he was right, but he would still be proud of you.

---

Octavia was leading the mob out of the Ark, the people dragging Ilian behind her and once he was outside people began yelling at him, telling him he’s dead and supporting the mob. Monty and Kane followed the mob as well, keeping an eye on Octavia and Ilian.

“How do we stop this?” Monty asked Kane. Kane didn’t have an answer for him as Ilian was forced to the ground. Monty took off running to Octavia, hoping to break through to his friend. “Octavia, please don’t do this. You’re not a murderer.”

Octavia didn’t look as Monty as she mumbled and cocked her gun before aiming at Ilian’s head. “You’re wrong.”

Ilian looked up at her, right past the barrel of the gun. “Get it over with.”

From the door of the Ark, Jaha and Kane had a plan. “Sound the alarm, now.” Jaha spoke into his radio as Kane nodded at him. The alarm sounded in the camp, alerting everyone of the fake black rain.

“Black rain!” Kane yelled his lie as people started panicking. “Everyone get inside!” Kane and Jaha ushered everyone inside the ark until it was finally Kane, Jaha, Monty, and Octavia still holding a gun to Ilian’s head. Kane approached Octavia carefully. “Octavia. Put the gun down and come inside.” He said to her but she wouldn’t listen, her gun not leaving Ilian’s head. Kane tried something else. “They put Lincoln on his knees, too.” Octavia sucked in a breath as the memory of her deceased love filled her thoughts. “Pike stood right there where you’re standing when they put the gun against his head.”

Octavia’s hand started shaking as she thought back, remembering Lincoln falling to his knees, how he looked up to her, speaking his last words to her before Pike killed him. “I was there.” Her voice betrayed her as she let her eyes close and Lincoln’s face was all she could see.

When she opened her eyes again, her hand shook more and Kane tried again. “If you do this, you’re no better than he was.” Octavia couldn’t take holding her emotions anymore. She let them break free, dropping the gun to the ground as she sobbed. Kane jumped into comfort mood, holding her arm and mumbling assurances to her. “It’s okay. It’s okay Octavia.” Octavia ripped her arm from him as she continued to cry, needing to separate herself. She headed to the gate, starting to run as she heard Kane chase after her. “Octavia, wait! Where are you going?!” He yelled but Octavia didn’t stop running.

Kane didn’t chase her far, hoping she’s alright, but knowing she needed to be alone. He turned around in time to see Jaha cutting Ilian’s bonds and he asked Jaha what he thinks he’s doing. “Saving our people.” Jaha answered. “Same as you.” He pulled Ilian to his feet, whispering in his ear. “You should run.” Ilian nodded and groan as his feet started running, taking him away from the camp in the direction Octavia ran. “From the ashes we will rise.” Jaha spoke to Kane and Monty as they watched Ilian disappear, knowing the rest of Arkadia isn’t going to like the fact Ilian was gone.

---

After you and the fuel were saved, Clarke and Roan rode the rest of the way in the truck with the fuel as Bellamy and you rode in the Rover together. Bellamy hadn’t let go of your hand since you started the ride this time. Clarke and Roan rode in awkward silence before Clarke sighed. “You’re a good King Roan.” She said as Roan disagreed.

“A king who runs an errand while his people are at war in Polis.”

“This errand is the most important thing right now and you know that.” Clarke stopped him from hating on himself.

Roan still wasn’t at ease. “If we do save everyone, then what?” He asks, making Clarke think. “What happens once we’re all turned into Nightbloods? Do we just keep killing each other?” Clarke didn’t have enough time to answer before Bellamy spoke on the radio, telling them you’ve made it.

You jumped out of the rover once it came to a stop, looking out in the water. It was beautiful, the horizon meeting the sky seamlessly as you grinned. Roan offered to unload the fuel with Clarke giving her help as Bellamy approached you. He stood next to you, both of you staring out as he grabbed your hand.

“I’m gonna take the Rover back to camp.” He whispered as you broke out of your staring and furrowed your brows at him.

“You’re not coming with us?” you asked sadly, not wanting to leave him. He shook his head, his frown enough to tell you why. “It’s Octavia, isn’t it?”

“It’s pathetic, right?” He laughed at himself softly as you turned him to look at you. “She hates me but I keep coming back.”

“She doesn’t hate you, Bell. She’s your sister. She’s just,” you stopped yourself, trying to find the right words, “She’s just confused right now. She knows how special you are and how important you are. She’ll come back to you.”

Bellamy’s hand squeezed yours as you smiled, hoping he’ll see you were right. He hated thinking about leaving you, he wanted to stay with you and Clarke, but he knew he had to go back for his sister, unaware of the fact his sister just left the camp.

“You’ll come back to me, right?” His voice was quiet as you smiled and brought a hand up to his cheek, cupping it and running your thumb across it.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, Blake.” You joked and Bellamy laughed, feeling slightly better in the promise you were coming back to him. You leaned up, pressing a kiss to his lips as he held your waist, pulling you into him. It was a goodbye kiss and an I’ll-see-you-soon kiss all in one, but one that was also broke apart by Clarke calling you both. You separated, sharing confused looks before jogging back to the rover.

Roan and Clarke were in the truck bed and moved one of the barrels, it wasn’t until it was done moving before you saw the arrow piercing through the bottom. “Trikru arrow.” Roan said before kicking the barrel out of the truck. It clattered to the ground as you looked up at an equally defeated and stressed Clarke. You had 10 barrels and you needed every last drop.

---

“Manual override.” Raven spoke to the computer as she grabbed the rocket’s controls.

“Manual Override engaged.” The computer told her and she let out a steady breath to hype herself up. “Landing pad within range at 600 feet.” She focused on the screen, watching as the water came in view, the rocket heading right towards it as the computer prepared her. “Brace for impact.” The rocket simulation ended once she hit the water. “Mission failed.” Yet Raven wouldn’t consider it failed just yet. “Exterior damage 15 %. Cargo destruction 0%. Fatality 0%.”

Raven was shocked as she read over the outcomes again. “We’re good.” She mumbled. She started to unbuckle herself, a smile spreading on her face as she spoke louder. “We’re good!” She repeated herself happily once more as she stepped out of the rocket. “Took every last drop of fuel, but I did it. I can put her down on the water just offshore.” Murphy and Luna approached her slowly with frowns. “We can survive.” When their expressions didn’t change, Raven’s stomach dropped. “What’s wrong?”

“Clarke just radioed. They lost a barrel.”

“What?” Raven gasped out.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered but Raven couldn’t hear him. She started sucking in for a breath, her head paining her as she clutched it. “Raven?”

Raven’s seizure caused her to collapse on the ground. Murphy took off running, calling for Abby as loud and as fast as he could. Luna fell to the ground as well, trying her best to protect Raven’s head before seeing her mouth starting to foam. “Raven, it’s going to be okay. It’s okay, Raven.”

10 barrels.

Make that 9 now.

A/N: If you hadn’t, be sure to check out the Bonus Chapter!

Tags are open!

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[championofsanghelios]

Personal AU Story - “Arrow”

So this was my first proper delving into the Breath of the Wild Universe, and was written during my first and second play-through of the game back in early 2019.

I want it to be clear from the outset that this was back when I didn’t have as intimate an understanding of the game and it’s settings as I do now...so I can only apologize, on my past-self’s behalf for any inconsistencies or mistakes.

(What’s that old tag on AO3? “no beta we die like men”? Yeah...this story has this in droves.) I hope you enjoy this...and remember this was written by me...so expect errors, typos and other word bugs (bzz.) --- Link lunges forwards with his broadsword, decapitating one of the seemingly unending Lizalfos that had surrounded the tree-line. They'd come in the middle of the night, whilst he and Zelda were settling down at their camp for some rest.

Truthfully he'd been ready for an attack, but not one of this scale. Lizalfos usually traveled in groups of 4 or 5...with some of the larger ones reaching 8 or 9, but so far he'd have to have put down 20 or so of them.

Just where the hell were they coming from? And just how many more were there? His limbs ached and he was dripping with sweat. His tunic and greaves clung to his skin and he'd lost some of the feeling of his toes in his boots...

...perhaps this was because of the amount of running around in the nearby waters he'd been doing, they were pleasantly refreshing during the day, but bone-chillingly cold during the night.

Still, a little bit of numbness in his extremities wasn't going to stop him. He stands firm on the spot, eyes darting all around him as one of the Lizalfos out of his line of sight blows their horn...

...there couldn't be more on the way...could there?  

Princess Zelda is currently crouched behind a boulder just a foot or so behind him. He'd moved her over behind it once he'd gotten an idea of where they were all coming from.

The Campfire she'd been nursing was still burning, the orange light from it casting all sorts of shadows throughout the surrounding trees. She knew Link was capable of identifying actual people and all manner of creatures from shapes, but she wasn't...and every so often she'd gasp or call out at something she thought was another one of the blasted reptiles coming out to attack.

Suddenly a loud hiss occurs from just behind her. She turns on the spot to see a pair of reptilian eyes peering at her through the dark. Immediately she scrambles back against, calling out. "Link! Help!"

The Lizalfos in question leaps forwards, his teeth and large bulbous tongue ready to strike, but it's halted as the tip end of a broadsword cuts it off half-way, slicing it in half.

It's eyes freeze as it comes to a stop, it's upper half falling off the bottom, blood spraying everywhere, some of it landing on the Princess' boots and greaves.

"Goddess!" she shouts, pulling herself up from the ground. Link takes a hold of her hand and pulls her away from the dead creature, moving her over behind an old fallen tree stump. "I thought it was going to end me for-"  

Link brings his index finger up to his mouth, hushing her gently. She looks into his brilliant blue eyes, immediately soothed by the gesture. Nodding slowly, he gestures with his hand and mouths the words. "Keep down."

His gaze darts to the right as movement occurs in the trees, another horn being blown. This time however the other reptiles positions are given away by the flurry of splashing water and hissing.

He stands upright, locking eyes with the one at the lead. It raises it's boomerang blade and with a loud shriek, scuttles out of the tree-line and charges him.

Link brings up his broadsword and uses it to block it's charge, their blades clashing, sparks flying off of the edge of them. He boots it back with his right foot and swipes across it's frontal plate, causing it's innards to flop out onto the ground. It crumples to the ground just as an arrow races into his left arm.

"Link!" Zelda calls out, popping her head out of cover.

The Lizalfos who had fired sed arrow hears her cry and turns his bow to her, all the while another charges Link from the tree-line whilst his defence is broken.

It leaps upon him, all claws and teeth. He let's out a pained cry as it bites onto his right arm, tearing through the tough fabric of his tunic and sinking into his skin.

Zelda ducks as the other reptile fires an arrow at her, only narrowly missing her head. She drops to the ground, her stomach against the floor and heart firmly in her throat.

It's now that she sees something glinting in the fire-light. Something that was amongst Link's belongings. A small Soldiers Dagger that he often used when cooking or fishing.

Acting on instinct, she leaps up and makes a run for it. Just as Link puts his knee into the Lizalfos atop him, causing it to reel back in shock. He kicks it in the chest and leaps up onto his feet, grabbing his broadsword.

He blocks the incoming tongue attack midway, cutting it clean off then driving the blade into it's chest. It cries out, before dropping to the ground and writhing about for a moment before laying still.

Zelda had grabbed the dagger, and only had a fraction of a second to unsheathe it before the other Lizalfos got to her. It had dropped it's bow and was now charging her with it's claws at the ready.

She turns and holds it outwards with both hands, driving it into the reptiles neck as it leaps at her. It immediately recoils and scuttles back, tripping over her rucksack and landing on the fire.

It immediately catches fire, screaming out in agony before going limp and starting to cook...

...and with that, everything goes quiet. She looks at the slowly burning beast in horror before casting her gaze about the clearing. She sees Link standing over the other reptiles body, leaning on his sword like it was a walking cane.

He looked absolutely exhausted, sweating pouring from him and blood oozing from the wound on his arm, staining the white under fabric of his tunic a dark red.

The arrow sticking out of his left arm looks just as bad as it must feel, he yelps snapping the shaft of it off and throwing it to the side. He leaves his sword wedged in the ground as he just about stumbles all the way over to her.

He grabs a hold of her as he reaches where she's standing, dropping to his knees and taking her down with him. "...Are you okay?"  

"Are you?" she immediately replies, her hand coming up to the side of his face. He was pouring with sweat and his eyes were bloodshot. She takes a hold of his arm next, inspecting the damage. "Oh No, that doesn't look good at all...Do you have any potions?"  

"In my rucksack." Link says, sitting back against the boulder she'd been behind moments before. He looks up at the night-sky, taking in as deep breathes and allowing the cold breeze that blows to cool the sweat on his forehead. "...the-...the red one."

Zelda quickly goes about searching his rucksack for the relevant potion, pushing his Shiekah Slate and several other items to the side. She pulls out the small bottle of red liquid, and moves back over to him.

"Are you sure..." Link coughs a couple of times, his voice was raspy and weak. "...You're alright?"

"I'm fine." Zelda says. "Shaken, but very much okay."

She tilts her head as she uncorks the bottle and hands it to him. When he doesn't drink it right away, she takes a hold of his hand and helps him to draw it back and drink.

She was concerned when he came stumbling back over to her, but now she was getting scared. He was so weak all of a sudden, a complete contrast to what he was moment before.

It's now that her attention shifts to the arrow-head still stuck in his left arm. She takes a gentle hold of his forearm, the mere movement causing him to groan.

"Sorry..." she says, parting the hole in the fabric of his tunic, and getting a closer look at the wound itself. As she expects, it's gone a dark red and purple from the potion he'd just drank, but something else was there, something that was wrong.

The veins around where he'd been shot had gone a darker colour, almost brown. With a gasp she sits back. "It's poisoned!"

"Mmmm." Link replies with a grunt, his eyes heavy. "I tho...thought as much."  

She quickly returns to his rucksack, looking for any cures or elixirs that could help, but he has none. This only causes her to panic, she practically jumps back over to him. "You don't have any anti-poisons amongst your things..."

Checking the wound again, she sees that the darkening of the veins in his arms was spreading rapidly. To her horror it had already spread up to his shoulder and lower neck.

"Ca-" Link coughs a few more times, his breath becoming shallower and raspier by the second. "...an't breathe..."  

"No." Zelda brings her hands up to his face as he seems to loose consciousness for a brief moment. "No! Link! You have to keep your eyes open!"  

No response from him, his head drops downward, and in that moment she panics. She grabs a hold of him, shaking him gently, then firmly. "Link? Link!? Can you hear me!? Link!"  

Just then a sound occurs from behind her, the sound of footsteps and the cluttering of metallic armour. She looks about, her eyes wide and filled with tears. "Who-!"

A Zora, one in Royal Guards armour approaches, a lantern in his left hand. He stops in his tracks as he realises who he's looking at. "Princess Zelda?..."  

"Help me!" the Princess pleads, holding her Champion in her arms. "Please!"

...

"...I need assistance!" the Zora Guard shouts as he approaches the Domain, an unconscious and gravely ill Hylian Champion held over his shoulders. "Someone fetch the healers!"

Zelda is following closely behind him, the look of worry and terror written all over her face. Almost instantly the Domain is a hive of activity. Someone who had seen their approach immediately turns about and rushes off to find the help requested.

Others stop in their tracks, watching as the Guard lays the wounded Link down on the ground gently, checking him for a pulse. "Goddess, he's freezing! We need to hurry."  

"What's happening out here?" a voice calls from the upper platform.

Zelda looks up to see Prince Sidon standing there, looking down at the scene. "What's with all the commotion-"  

He freezes mid-sentence as he catches the sight of Link, his face going from mild curiosity to horror in an instant. "Goddess above!"

He is quick to descend the stairs and join both Zelda and the Guard who'd brought Link back. Dropping to his knees, he looks over the Hylian's wounds. "What happened?"

"We were attacked." Zelda says, kneeling on the other-side from him. "...Lizalfos, a whole group of them...more than we'd ever seen..."  

Sidon glances up at her. Her face was streaked with the remnants of tears, and she had some of her Champion's blood smeared on her cheek, dried to her skin. She looks at him, fresh tears forming and rolling down her face.  

"Please, Sidon...you must help him."

"He's barely alive as it is, Sir." the Guard says. "I got him back as quickly as I could on land."

Just then one of the healers appears, they too are shocked at what they come upon. Immediately they go about checking his condition and soon ask for him to be move to a more suitable location.

"Look after the Princess." Sidon instructs a couple of the guards. "I shall see to this."

They both nod and go to escort her away, but she immediately protests.

"No!" she shouts. "I am not leaving him!"

"He has been poisoned." the Healer says, respectful but plain. "Even if he does survive this, you don't want to see what happens next."

Sidon reaches out with his left hand, taking her right gently. "I know you are scared...and desperate to see him recover...but right now you must let our healers do their job."  

She just shakes her head at that, defiant. "No! I am not leaving his side!"  

The Healer ushers one of her helpers along, they both lift the half-dead Hylian from the ground and pull him away, the crowds of Zora observing, parting to let them through.

"No! Link!" she shouts, trying to move after them. Sidon however stops her. "I'm not leaving him! Let go of me!"

She tries with all her might to break free of his hold, but is unsuccessful. When her strength falls her, she collapses into his arms, sobbing.

He puts his arms around her, consoling her. "You will see him again...just not now. Right now your needs are paramount to us."  

"I don't want to loose him..." she breathes into his chest. "I can't- Not again."  

"I know..." the Prince says quietly.

...

"...and when exactly were you planning on telling him about that?" a familiar voice says out of the silence, one Link immediately identifies as Zelda's. She sounded at ease, relaxed, relieved. A nice change to the night before.  

"I...uh..." Prince Sidon's voice was what he heard next, he'd recognize that voice anywhere, one of his favourites, not that he'd ever tell him that in fear of loosing the ability to breathe from the hugs he'd receive. "...was intending to speak with him the next time I saw him. But given what's happened, I think it can wait, don't you?"

"He never stops talking about his travels with you." Zelda says next. Link feels her hand, her soft and warm hand, brushing the hair from his forehead. "Some of the stuff you've gotten up to, I wonder what your Father must think."

"He's...blissfully unaware of some details." Sidon says with a chuckle. "That's probably for the best too, he does worry about so much already."

Link takes in a deep breath, turning his head slightly to the right. He feels the Princess' hand come away from his forehead, accompanied by an audible gasp. "...Link?"  

With a light groan, he blinks his eyes open, her face being the first thing he sees. Clearly she'd been holding back as the moment she sees he's awake, she let's out a laugh and reaches forwards, grabbing him and pulling him into a gentle hug.

She doesn't say anything, though there's no need too. When she let's of him he sits up fully, his eyes adjusting to the light of the room. It was dark, but not entirely. Things were bright outside...a stark contrast to how it was the first time he came to the Domain.

"Welcome back, my friend." Sidon ways, approaching from the other-side of the room. As ever he was all smiles. "I'm so glad to see you're awake, you gave us all quite the scare yesterday."

"What..." Link rubs at his forehead with his left hand, only now aware of the dull pain in his arms and legs. Come to think of it, he was stiff all over. His upper left arm had wraps around it, as did his right forearm. "...What happened? When did we end up here?"  

"You don't remember?" Zelda asks, pulling back from him.

"I've been making a habit of that recently." Link sighs heavily. "Remind me."  

"We were attacked by a group of Lizalfos last night..." Zelda says thoughtfully. "We were setting up camp for the night on the border with Lanayru...and they descended upon us in great numbers."  

"Are you alright?" Link asks next. "Did they hurt you?"  

"No." Zelda shakes her head with a small, but sad smile. "But they did hurt you gravely...and I'll admit, I was scared I'd loose you again."

"We all were." Sidon adds. "When I came down those steps and saw you in that state...I feared the worst."

"What state was I in, exactly?"

"You'd been shot by a poison arrow." Zelda shivers some as she remembers the moment she saw him take the hit, and the subsequent panic when he lost consciousness. "...it paralyzed you, restricting your ability to move, talk or... breathe...."  

"One of the blasted reptiles also bit you too." Sidon says. "Thankfully it wasn't infected, but you'll need to take it easy with the sword swinging for a while."

"That's okay." Link shrugs. "I've been meaning to touch up on my archery anyway."  

"Link..." Zelda breathes, her eyes closing and a hand coming up to her forehead, a literal face-palm if ever he saw one.

"I'm sorry." he says, deflating some. If what she said was true, it must have been terrifying for them. "Both of you..."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Link." Sidon immediately replies. "We are just thankful you are alive...and very much with us."

He looks him over for a moment before the obvious occurs to him. "Oh! You must be freezing. You're gear has been retrieved, cleaned and repaired. It's over here."  

He gestures across the room, at the pile of clothing and his rucksack. "I had Bazz and the others go out and find it before looters got their hands on them."

"Yeah..." Link breathes a sigh. "Thanks...there's quite a few items of importance in there that this one would never forgive me for loosing."

He let's out a chuckle as Zelda taps him, albeit gently, on the arm. "What do you take me for? Do you think my Champion's wellbeing isn't more important than my research?"  

"Sometimes I have trouble with that conundrum." he says cheekily.

"I'll have you know you are very important to me." she says like it needs stating, though she's pretty sure that he already knows that. "I do really care about what happens to you."

"What so that time I nearly fell to my death in that ravine..."

"-Goddess, this again...I told you I couldn't hear you over the wind." Zelda shakes her head, placing her hands on her hips. "And besides, you'd have screamed if anything had gone seriously wrong."

"You should have seen her face when I hauled myself up off that ledge." Link points to her, looking at Sidon. "She looked at me like I'd deliberately done it to waste time."

"I was just disappointed you'd gotten yourself into that situation." Zelda holds her head up, eyes closing in fake offence. "And I'm offended you'd think otherwise, Champion."

Sidon looks between the two of them, unable to hide his smile. The two of them were like a pair of siblings, bouncing off each other, full of banter and patter. It reminded him of Mipha and himself, what little he could remember of his early childhood.

He'd observed these two's familial bond the last time they were both at the Domain. Although the Princess was clearly on diplomatic/royal duties, something that she needed to take seriously. That didn't stop Link from being himself around her when it was warranted, and making her laugh at the most inopportune times.

"I shall..." he catches himself staring at them both after a moment of pause. "...leave you both to it. If you need anything at all, just shout, I won't be far."  

He turns about to make his leave, but the Princess clears her throat, stopping him in his tracks. "Sidon?"  

He looks back at her. "Yes?"

"I thought you had something you wanted to tell Link." she says knowingly. "You said so yourself just a moment ago."  

"Right." Sidon turns fully to face them again. If Link didn't know any better, he was certain his scales had gone a darker shade of red. "Yes, I do have something I wish to discuss with you-"  

When Link is about to speak, he gestures with his hands. "-But it can wait for now! I'd rather we spoke when you were fully on the mend, it's a slightly...delicate and personal matter."  

"Alright." Link nods slowly. "I'll find you later when she finally decides to let me go."  

"Not happening again." Zelda puts her arm around him suddenly, pulling him closer to her. "You are not going anywhere I can't see you for the foreseeable future."  

"Help me." Link pleads to the Prince who just chuckles and heads out of the room. The Hylian calls after him. "Traitor!"

After a moment of pause, he sighs and looks at Zelda. "What was he wanting to talk to me about?"  

"Oh just a little matter of a personal nature." the Princess says, smiling. "Just like he told you."  

"I gathered that, but what was it?" Link asks, she knew full well what it was, he could tell. With a snort, he shakes his head. "Come on, I know you know. Tell me."  

"Not this time." she says. "You'll have to be patient and wait."  

"Terrific." Link's ears droop slightly. "Well then, I better get to it."  

He immediately leaps up off the bed he was laying on and onto his feet. Zelda let's out a near squeal when his legs turn to jelly instantly and he falls to the ground. "Oh No!" --- This one was pretty long, and sort of cuts off abruptly...sorry about that. I’m hoping I’ll be able to expand more on these stories, allot of them sort of go nowhere, or end up at dead-ends where I’m unable to keep writing... I guess that’s the point of keeping them though, just occasionally an idea for them pops up, or they help to inspire me when I hit writers block.

[oceanera12]

“Are you sure you’re in the right Cabin?”

Chatting with my sister (again) and we were talking about Nico going from this sweet innocent child who was obsessed with fun card games to the literal son of Hades rocking the black t-shirt and skull ring look. Like, wow. Way to step into that role with little to no pressure (not necessarily bad, just interesting).

And that got us thinking more than it should have about the Olympians and the attributes their kids get from them. And also the attributes they DON’T get from them.

What if Child of “________”, but everyone thinks they’ve been claimed by the wrong parent because there is no way in Tartarus this kid is related to that Olympian.

[And we did the big three in Greek form just to keep it simple (and Percy needs a half-blood sibling, everyone else already has one, fight me on this) Also feel free to replace the names, we just used these as fillers because just saying “Adjective” child was getting confusing.]

First up: “Brandon” the son of Zeus. (Aka. Anxiety child)

First off: I’m thinking the kid is no more than ten years old (more like nine, in all honesty)

This kid is afraid of heights. No joke. He refuses to even climb a step stool because the idea of being off the ground terrifies him to no end.

He’s shy as heck and talks very softly. When he first shows up to camp everyone is convinced he’s the son of some minor god (maybe the god of sleep) because “What son? We can’t hear you. Speak up!” *mumbles under his breath a little louder*

Hates being the center of attention (the exact opposite of his Dad) and just wants to make it through the day without having an anxiety attack.

Fights with a knife (and when we say fight, we mean “hold the thing up, look for openings, take them, but otherwise hide in the background and let Angry child and Sunshine child take care of it”)

He’s just scared of a lot of things, okay? (I’m thinking Neville from Harry Potter) He tries to fight and do what he’s supposed to in training and just falls flat on his face.

But when it comes to battle tactics? Oh, this boy has got some ideas. It doesn’t come as naturally as it would to Ares and Athena kids, but he’s great to have in war councils around the ping-pong table (yes, the nine year old is good at chess, so sue me)

Also, since he’s always so quiet, when he actually does speak up EVERYONE pays attention.

When he panics/freaks out/has an anxiety attack he just sits down on the ground and rests his head in between his knees and tries to breathe. Most of the time that helps but sometimes it just gets worse and worse and that was how he figured out he could summon lightning bolts from the sky (no one was injured but now he’s terrified of accidently hitting someone so he’ll run off somewhere quiet when he needs to breathe)

The one time camp has seen him angry was when Pearl was hunted by some bullies and came back bruised and bloody. Everyone agrees they never speak of that time and to never have a repeat of that time.

Doesn’t really have an opinion on his half-siblings (both Jason and Thalia scared the heck out of him the first time they meet and the two take that as a sign to give the kid space). He doesn’t mind spending time around them, but he’d rather be with the “Big Three Mess-Ups”

Next: “Pearl” the daughter of Poseidon (Aka. Angry child)

This girl has zero chill, even for a thirteen year old who is going through that angry teenager phase. 

And I mean ZERO. Ten minutes in camp and she’s already challenged three people to a duel and been in two fist fights (which she won one and lost the other)

The Ares cabin was already making room for her (because who else could it be?) and suddenly there’s a blue trident hanging over her head at meal time and Percy ends up choking on his blue food

She doesn’t like the ocean. Or water. Or sand. Or outdoors. She can swim and climb and all that stuff, she’d just rather stay inside. All the time. It’s a problem.

And when she is outside she likes to climb a tree (because it’s away from people). When the nymphs start complaining she storms off (quite literally) and hides at the bottom of the lake for a week. That becomes her solitude spot, much to Brandon’s and Violet’s annoyance.

Will carry a book everywhere. And it’s not because she loves to read (she hates reading because of her dyslexia). She just uses the book to ignore everyone around her and get people to not talk to her. Sometimes the book is upside down and she doesn’t notice (and will get mad when people point it out)

The one thing she definitely got from her Dad is just pure strength. This gal can deck most everyone in camp even if she stands at a mesley five feet. Also, she’s got pretty good control on the whole “water controlling thing” which is nice (especially when it comes to slapping some manners into a bunch of bratty Hermes kids who thought it was a good idea to plant dead flowers outside of Violet’s cabin and blame her for spreading death around)

She hates horses and this includes pegusi (mainly because they talk too much) 

The one thing she claims to not “hate” is her fellow “Big Three Mess-Ups” (although secretly she really loves sappy soap operas, a secret that is never shared with anyone)

Fights with a spear, weirdly enough and isn’t bad at archery. Prefers fighting with weapons then with “water abilities”

She doesn’t like Percy for no particular reason. She just avoids him most of the time and when they do talk it’s mostly short awkward conversations. (“Sooo... How’s camp?” “Fine.” “Good.” “Great.” “Good.”) It’s hard to hate Tyson so she just avoids him as much as possible.

And last: “Violet” the daughter of Hades (Aka. Sunshine child)

She wears bright sunny colors, loves sunshine and rainbows and is basically the happiest fifteen year old you will ever meet.

And it’s not that forced happiness that’s creepy and everyone is like “Uh, this kid needs therapy” she is actually happy with her life and loves camp.

Also wears flowers in her hair. They start out the day cheerful and bright but by the end of the day, they are wilted and dead as can be. Everyone has learned not to bring up the dead flowers (she gets angry because DANG IT, SHE DOESN’T MEAN TO KILL THEM SO QUICKLY)

When everyone met her, they thought she was Demeter’s kid. 

When Hades’s claimed her, everyone thought she was Persephone’s and Hades was just covering his wife’s butt or something.

And then someone thought it was a good idea to pick on Brandon and the everyone remembers the screams from the Ares cabin as an army of skeleton soldiers chased them across camp because “You don’t tick off the Mom friend” (Chiron had to get her to call them off because “It’s been two hours, they are going to drop from exhaustion”)

The Ares cabin nicknamed her “Violent” after that and all are convinced she is haunting their cabin at night by having skeletons outside their window and stare in at them (which she is, but no one can prove it sooo...)

Also she’s claustrophobic so don’t stick her in a small space unless you want skeletons to start popping out of the ground.

She is very friendly and outgoing and gets along with pretty much everyone (As long as you’re not a bully). She’s basically the ultimate Mom Friend.

Doesn’t really fight with weapons and most would think she’s a pacifist. But in reality she just summons the army of skeletons to do the fighting for her. When she does actually have to fight it’s just her swinging around some kind of staff (maybe made of bone?).

Violet LOVES her half-siblings and wants to be friends with them very very badly. Nico gets a little freaked out by her and tries to run in the other direction but Hazel thinks she’s pretty chill. The two of them get along fine enough.

Random things the three do together:

These three are best friends/the new trio/“The Big Three Mess-Ups”/whatever you want to call them and will fight anyone for any of them.

“Anyone want to trade parents?” *All three raise their hands without looking at one another*

Sleep over’s in one another’s cabins because let’s be honest: their siblings are never around (if ever) and it’s lonely. They switch cabins every week to change the scenery. Violet loves it (”Sleepover with friends!”), Brandon is very appreciative of it (”I don’t like being alone.”) and Pearl pretends she hates it and puts up with it, but is secretly very grateful for it.

They also eat with one another at meal times and will do group projects together because everyone is a little terrified to try.

Once, for capture the flag, it was the three of them vs the whole camp (Pearl made a bet with the Hermes cabin that the three of them could beat all of them. The Hermes cabin just took it to a completely different level). Violet guarded the flag with her army of skeletons while Pearl and Brandon sneaked around. They ended up winning, but barely (it was the entire camp, seriously)

That’s all I really got at the moment but I’ve fallen in love with these three and want to see them get into some trouble.