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ask-pokemonfatefuljourneys · 3 years ago

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Maren was the best sailor Crys had ever met. She had seen her getting in desperate situations with a cold head and face the elements like it was nothing. She never stayed for long on the ground; it was like her whole being was in tune with the waves and like the ocean was an old friend. When she wasn’t out there fishing, she was carrying deliveries between the islands.

Or in this case, people.

Crys was up the deck, her eyes on the horizon, breathing slowly. She had just came back from an exhausting mission, and was feeling a bit restless after all the adrenaline and stress a rescue always brought, but being on the water soothed her. It always did. It was always the perfect combo : adjusting naturally her balance to the gentle wave beneath the boat, the wind dancing around her, iodine breeze filling her lungs. Wherever she was in the world, it always felt like home.

At her side, Maren was smiling, sharing the sentiment, and deliberately oblivious to her Krabby gripping a pen in his claw, tracing indecipherable scribbles on the captain’s log.

“It’s good to have you around again. It’s been a while since you visited.”

“I was only on that mission for three weeks, you know.”

Maren nodded. “True, but you’re always moving around; you barely ever settle in whenever you come to Kiyomi! You’re like the Wind. You’re hard to catch !”

Crys smiled at the comparison.

“As if you weren’t always out there!” the Ranger gestured at the vast Ocean in front of them in a dramatic emphasis, making them both laugh.

“So, are you ready for the festival?”

Crys lowered her eyes. She tried to attend the celebration every summer, as much as she could; ever since Lugia became her Guardian, she felt it was some sort of duty she owed to him, but the excitement for the celebration was often coming with the slightest taunt of anxiety. Every year, hoping the Gods would not get angry. Every year, hoping an island would not sink.

Maren probably felt the shift in her mood, because she nudged her playfully.

“Don’t worry. No chaos can arise when Lugia obeys you.”

Crys rolled her eyes.

“Lugia doesn’t obey me. We just have a sort of… mutual understanding.”

Maren scoffed.

“Mutual understanding.”

She studied her friend for a while, then focused again on the horizon.

“It’s a shame you never played the maiden in the celebration, tho. It would have been perfect!”

Crys shook her head. “It’s not my place. I’m just a… back-up in case things turn…er, not as planned.”

Maren nodded . She had witnessed first hand the climate catastrophe that happened when Lawrence III had captured the birds and awaken their wrath. It was still a miracle to her that the twins were around specifically this year to save the day, but maybe it has not been a coincidence, after all. She knew the Legendaries had their own ways.

The adventure had definitely been a turning point for the twins and their best friend, sealing a fate maybe bigger than them, that they had to fulfill ever since. But it also established strong bond of friendships between them, the Shamouti Islanders and the young Captain, that lasted ever since. Near-end of the world experiences would do that, somehow.

“I know your brother is busy, but I’m surprised Ritchie didn’t come with you.”

“Oh, he had duties at the ranch today, but he’ll join me tomorrow for the celebration.”

Crys had found her smile again, but the captain could feel there was something else. And thus, wasn’t too surprised when the young Ranger asked with a quiet voice :

“Also… Actually, Maren, can you drop me at the shrine?”

Maren raised her eyebrows, but didn’t add a word. It was still early in the morning. They had set sails at the first lights of dawn, and Shamouti wasn’t too far west from Kiyomi Island, and that special atmosphere brought by early mornings was still around them.

“Sure.”

“Thanks.”

Maren noticed the shoulders of her friend imperceptibly relaxing, but didn’t comment.

They spent the next thirty minutes of the ride catching up with each other’s adventures, and soon enough, Maren was stopping the boat nearby the shore, in the little cove under the cliff.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to wait?”

Crys shook her head. “Nuh-uh. I’ll be fine, Maren, thank you.”

“Anytime!”

Crys waved at Krabby, who shook his pen in delight.

“Take care! See you tomorrow!”

She jumped in the shallow water, up to her calves, the rocky sand crunching under her weight.

She stayed in the water for a while, waving goodbye at Maren, until her boat was just a little speck in the far off distance - and even a little longer, suddenly lost in her thoughts. A slight bell noise from the wind shook her from her torpor, and she felt Vee’s straightening in alert on her shoulder, his long ears pointing in the direction of the stairs.

Taking off her wet shoes, she released her two Vaporeons, who raced into the warm waters immediately to stretch their fins, Lagune following Aquali like his shadow.

Familiar scent of the hibiscuses up the hill floated to her, and she took a deep breath before starting her climb. With all the islanders busy with the matsuri preparations, she was pretty sure to be left alone at the shrine. At least, she hoped so.

Her heart clenched a bit, full of anxiety, fear, hope, utter joy, relief - all at once - when she spotted the ceremonial pillars, solidly standing around the little altar. A lot had happened, this last decade, including the destruction of the shrine… and his restoration again. She oddly felt responsible, ever since Lugia trusted her with his Song.

Abandoning her shoes on the last step, she turned around, looking for the familiar presence of Slowking, but he was nowhere to be seen yet. She knew he never wandered too far off from his den, though, whose entrance was scattered with little baskets of offering from the islanders.

She sat among the flowers, nearby the edge of the cliff - being inside the stone circle seemed far too ceremonial, and she just wanted to say hello. She wasn’t sure he would even answer her call, but she could at least let him know she was here. Her fingertips were tingling, sensitive to the energy around, eager to play the song, but she needed some fuel first. Fortunately, she still had some berries the old Saeko-san gave her yesterday; she always distributed extra to anyone passing in front of her garden.

“Even sea bream is not delicious when eaten in loneliness.”

She almost jumped out of her skin when she noticed Slowking by her side, his front paws crossed behind his back, as if he had materialized out of thin air. The wise guardian of the shrine was looking at her, the same blank indecipherable expression in his eyes.

Slowking didn’t look a day older than when they first met him. She never managed to know how old he really was, but he was old, as the elders of the islands told her stories about him from their childhood.

She focused on the ocean again, silent, offering him one of the Sitrus berry she was munching.

“Sorry it’s not sea bream.”

He accepted the food without a word, and for a moment, they both remained silent, their eyes on the horizon. She had came to know how to let him speak. But the raw energy from the Island, from the sea, from the wind, were making her limbs tingling, and a slight frown danced on her face. She wriggled nervously as anticipation rised inside her.

“The ocean does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient.“

“You say that as if I had any influence on his choice to come.”

“One should lie as empty and open as a beach, Child of the Wind, while waiting for a gift from the sea.”

She refrained the urge to roll her eyes. Sometimes, she couldn’t tell if he was joking - if he could ever do that - or giving her cryptic advice. If they were in a movie, he could have easily filled the role of the enigmatic deceiving master speaking only in riddles.

She gulped down the last berry bite, and reached for her bag, delicately taking the ceremonial shell flute out of it. It was the very one Melody had used to call Lugia when they first met, and she had insisted Crys kept it with her, arguing they had a spare. She had taught her how to play, taught her the different ceremonial tunes, even though Lugia’s song had come naturally to Crys; as if her soul had knew the melody before she was even born. As if it had just awakened. The instrument had always felt familiar in her hands, as if it belonged there. It was hers, Melody had said; but she couldn’t help but feeling a profound reverence toward it. It had crossed generations, and it was very humbling to be trusted with it.

She knew the connection ran deeper than the music; deeper than her very soul. Yet, a part of her was always afraid to lose it. What if one day, he didn’t answer?

“The Wind has a voice; the Ocean has ears.” spoke Slowking, as if catching on her uncertainties.

Right. If you say so, she wanted to answer - but she knew better than to let her inner thoughts slip out around a psychic mind.

But now wasn’t the time to hesitate. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, grounding herself to the island, hooking her spirit to the floating energy around her.

Her heart was beating a bit faster when she brought the ocarina to her lips; and as her next breath carried the Song, clear notes filled the Wind, chiming in the breeze, and ricocheting on the waves. From the very inside of her soul, she was calling him, conveying her longing to see him, craving their connection, and hoping he would feel it, too. She barely paid attention to the single tear racing down her cheek, as a low vibration wrinkled the surface of the Ocean, filling the water and the air alike; a deep, rich note echoing all around, answering her call.

She slightly opened her eyes as a whirlpool rised above the waves, his song overlapping hers, and she slowly let the flute fall from her lips as Lugia broke the water, appearing in front of her.

As majestic as ever, he was flying effortlessly, and when his eyes met hers, she barely hold back the tears from an emotion too raw, too pure to be contained. Gracefully, the Legendary beast landed on the cliff, not damaging a single flower, and she raced to him. Forgetting all ceremony, she hugged him forcefully, crushing her nose on his beak, his rough skin slightly scratching the tip, but she didn’t care, as the strong energy from their bond enveloped them, waves of pure joy running through her whole being.

“Lugia ! I missed you…”

He nudged her slightly, making her giggle.

“I heard your music.”

She smiled softly, relieved. All fears aside, now, she remembered why she wanted to see him, all the questioning she had ever since that day. And she was trying to not be impatient, as he had just shown up, but Lugia was not fooled.

“I can sense something is troubling you, Little One.”

She wanted to say she was not so little anymore, but there was so much love and care in that name - and after all, to him, she was still a tiny thing. He had grown in size too, ever since they first met him, on that very island.

“I just wondered… why did you show up in Vermillion City, last spring? Why did you…”

She frowned slightly.

“Why did you lead my brother’s fate, this day?”

“I watched over you both for a long time, Little One.”

Indeed. Lugia was her Guardian, but it was he who brought the news to Sacha about being the Chosen One. He had appeared to him more often than any other Legendary. He had visited them in Alola. He had carried messages to her brother several times - sometimes through her.

Still, she felt she was missing a piece of the puzzle.

Goh had called that meeting with Lugia a fateful encounter. However…

“I can feel it’s different. That’s there is something…”

Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She looked Lugia in the eyes.

“You brought them together.”

“I did.”

Simple as that.

“Why?”

He didn’t answer right away, and she immediately felt a bit ashamed of that question. It wasn’t her story; it wasn’t hers to ask.

But Lugia’s voice rose around her, kind and calm.

“We see the bonds. Through space and time, souls and stories are connected. We help make the connections. What you do with these connections, however, is yours.”

She nodded, thoughtful. It was something she knew, somehow, as she had experimented it more than once. But it was not always clear nor obvious, and it was sometimes hard to decipher the specifics signs the Legendaries sent to them.

She still wasn’t sure to understand, but she felt reassured, somehow. She approached gently her face to his, her hand gently brushing the rough scales, and pressed their foreheads together in a honi, before separating.

Lugia soared slightly above the cliff, and flapped his wings a bit stronger, blessing the shrine with the wind. Of course, it was not as strong as what he did every year in Fula City, but the pure elemental energy made Crys burst with laughter, her whole being filled with glee and adrenaline, her own energy melting with the elemental force.

Bending backward, Lugia dived into the ocean gracefully, but didn’t disappear immediately. His head surfaced, and with a playful coo, a gleam in his eyes, he invited her to join. With a big smile, she threw her shirt above her head, and ran down the stairs, the wind still messing with her hair, and she didn’t hesitate a second before jumping in the warm water. And as she was starting to swim in Lugia’s direction, she felt the current picking her up and bringing her effortlessly to the Legendary. She spotted her two Vaporeons nearby, but even if they didn’t fear the Guardian of the Sea, they kept swimming at a respectful distance.

Crys turned again her attention to Lugia, wrapping an arm around his neck, closing her eyes, humming a song they both shared as he gently carried her around.

He would soon go back to the Abyss, and she wished she could follow, just because their encounters were always too brief. She never knew when they would meet again, but she had to hold on that instinct that they would always will.

Lugia’s song resonated all around. Through the ground, through the sea, carried by the wind, against the cliffs, gently agitating the flowers.

But most importantly, it resonated in her soul.

She was feeling at peace, and indulged in the feeling for a second, before letting go and moving in the water to face him again.

“Will you come tomorrow?”

Lugia drowned his eyes in hers.

“Maybe.”

Good enough, she thought, pressing her forehead against his one last time. He was ever as changing as the sea, after all.

“You’ll hear my song.”

She nodded, and swam back, her hand keeping contact until the last second with him.

He slowly motioned on her side, initiating his departure, but not without a last word for her.

“The wave of the future is coming and there is no fighting it, Little One.”

He circled around her twice, his giant frame creating a small current, but not for a second did she feel in danger. He echolocated her, sending vibrations in all of her body, before diving to the depths without a noise. The last thing she saw was the tip of his tail, breaching the surface in a perfectly smooth arc, barely leaving a ripple on the water.

And just like that, he was gone, and she was left floating peacefully above the blue. For a while, she kept staring at the clouds above the horizon line, her heart suddenly yearning for something, a sort of melancholy filling her chest. It was only when Aquali and Lagune splashed her face, playing around, that she broke from her torpor.

She climbed back to the shrine, where Vee was waiting for her, and sat again among the flowers, putting back her loose shirt over her wet swimsuit. The tropical air would dry it soon, anyway. She sat here for a while after Lugia disappeared, salt crusting on her tanned skin, the warm wind tousling with her hair. She could hear the faintest melody in it, and, as the sun warmed her face, she again felt at peace.

Not for long, though. She soon was drawn out of her daydreaming by a honk. As she turned around, Melody gave her a nonchalant welcome sign, other hand still on the wheel of her sporty fuschia cabriolet.

“Hey girlfriend, need a ride?”

Crys refrained to roll her eyes, but couldn’t help but smile upon seeing her friend.

“I thought you would arrive tomorrow.”

“I needed to talk with him.”

Melody nodded.

“Where is my favorite Chosen One?”

Crys smiled. “Doing some research in Hoenn or something. Sorry, you’ll have to do with the other half of the package.”

Melody looked at her above her sunglasses.

“…Research?”

Crys jumped above the door to slide on the passenger seat, knowing that despite her flashy taste in luxury cars, her friend wouldn’t mind some sand around. No islander minded it, somehow.

“I’ll tell you all on the way. I’m starving !”

Melody roared the engine. “I’m waiting for the day one of you two will say otherwise!”

#pokemon #anipoke #Lugia #fateful encounter #Crys #my OC #ash ketchum #Sacha #twins #Goh #satogou #journeyshipping #it’s very light but it’s here #Shamouti #orange islands #hibiscus #my Pokeverse #my art

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justlookatthosesausages · 5 years ago

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“Lift the Spirit” :: a post-Frozen 2 Elsamaren fanfic

Chapter 4: On the edge of the abyss

“You are… Going to fight with those?” Muttered Ryder.

“Yep.” Smiled Anna with a proud pout.

“Those are… Yours, Kristoff’s and Eydis’ weapons?”

“Yep.”

“Should I be concerned if you three ever get angry at me?”

“...Yep?”

They looked at each other, then burst out of laughter.

“Come on”, giggled the Queen as he closed the chest. “It’s time to eat.”

He followed her to the spot where their extended family was relaxing, and Eydis was already serving lunch.

Ryder sat happily between Anna and Honeymaren, who had Elsa on her lap.

“Ahh, the powerful trio of the three strongest women of the country!”

The referred women frowned in confusion.

“Excuse me?”

The brown-haired man grinned. “Well, Maren is the tribe leader, Anna the Queen of Arendelle, and Elsa the guardian of Ahtohallan. So yeah, you three are the most amazing women I’ve ever met.”

There was a silence, and they exchanged unsure gazes.

Ryder blinked. “Unless one of you doesn’t identify with the term ‘woman’? It’s fine then, just ask me and I’ll change.”

Anna chuckled at his kindness. “I think we’re good with the woman appellation.”

He sighed. “Okay. Cool. Sorry for panicking. I’ve spent a lot of time with Olaf on last Yule, and he kept talking about genders and pronouns, and…”

Honeymaren tapped his shoulder affectionately. “You’re doing great, Ryder. Here, take some soup before you have a cardiac arrest.”

Anna and the brunette laughed openly, however Elsa remained quiet.

Despite her blatantly essential duty, she couldn’t help but think that she was less important than Honeymaren and Anna, who had game-changing roles that required more leadership than her. Also, they had to manage people, while Elsa had to manage magical beings. Those were just as stubborn as humans, if not more, but at least Elsa could feel their emotions and presence anytime. All of their exchanges were sincere, transparent. There was no way to be lied to in such a relationship. With the Northuldra and Arendelle, on the other hand… Not that the blonde considered them fervent liars, far from it, but one could never know about a human’s real opinion. Elsa had been Queen for 3 years, and in that experience, she had learned that people - especially male politicians - weren’t always trustworthy.

She got jolted out of her thoughts by Eydis heavily sitting down next to her, and the princess sighed longly.

“There. I hope you will all like it.” Smiled the little blonde, despite a clear stress, to the Northuldra present around them. “Bone at the teeth.”

They nodded, and Elsa chuckled discreetly. “It’s ‘bon appétit’.” She whispered to her ear.

Eydis frowned. “Isn’t it what I said?”

“Never mind.” Smiled her aunt.

They all drank their soup in silent content, and it was quite good, which they didn’t miss to tell Eydis.

The princess started to daydream, looking in the horizon at the beautiful landscape they could admire from here. She saw two Earth Giants smile at each other as they exchanged their positions, switching to watch over the Northuldra land and prevent any surprise attack.

“Auntie?”

Elsa stopped staring at Honeymaren to turn to her niece. “Yes?”

“How does the Earth Spirit works? I just saw two Giants communicate with each other without even saying a word.”

Elsa grinned, and followed her gaze. “That’s because they use magic, just like I do when I communicate with them. We could call that telepathy. The Giants even have a way faster system to talk between them, as they are parts of one and only Spirit.”

Eydis nodded longly. “So, it’s like a hive mind?”

The blonde smiled at her cleverness. “Yes, exactly. Well, I’d say more like… An archipel. Because the Giants are like the visible islands on the surface, who actually are connected to each other in one and only land underneath.”

Anna snorted. “You spend way too much time with Nokk. Water metaphors are heavy.”

Honeymaren intervened as well. “Nah, that’s just Elsa. She’s a bookworm and her metaphors are constant.”

“Uhm, I’m sitting right here.”

She indeed was on her lap, and the brunette held her closer for cuddles, proving that this was just tease.

“Anyway”, Elsa said, turning to the Giant who was guarding the place they were looking at on the horizon. “That’s Pebble.”

Anna laughed openly. “Oh gosh, sorry, but… Damn, the names you give them. See? That’s the proof you spend too much time in the water.”

“No, that’s the proof that he spends too much time with Nokk. They keep playing together. And in fact…”

She closed her eyes and frowned slightly as she focused, tying a mental bond with the Giant despite the long distance. Eydis watched as the magical being named Pebble turned a bit to their direction, like he got called.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Chuckled Elsa as she opened her eyes again. “He was hanging with Nokk before arriving for his shift.”

“That’s cute.” Commented Honeymaren, though the Snow Queen couldn’t tell if she was referring to the Spirits being good friends or to Elsa casually sharing a mind connection with a 12-meter tall being.

“Hey, Maren, speaking about bookworms, did you read the novel I gave you on last Yule?” Asked Anna.

“No, not yet. But it’s in the hut. On the nightstand, actually.”

Kristoff snorted at his wife’s intentions. “Are you turning the camp into a book club?”

The redhead laughed. “No. And no mockery! You know that the times I go to the Arendelle library on Wednesday nights are the only time of the week when I’m leaving you at peace.”

Kristoff smiled. “I love hearing you rambling about your recent readings on Thursday breakfasts, though.”

The Queen grinned lovingly.

Elsa was happy to see that Anna had made friends with townspeople. Arendellians were very open minded and knew how to forget that she was their sovereign to casually chat about novels with her in a public building.

“So, Honeymaren, are you going to join the book club once you’ve read her novel recommendation?” Laughed Kristoff.

“Oh, no, it’s not really my kind of thing anyway. I’m not much into reading.”

“Wait, what?” Frowned the redhead. “But you’ve finished several novels I told you about though.”

“I know. It’s because Elsa is the one reading them. She reads them aloud to me at night. I can’t resist it, she has the softest voice in the world.”

“Aaaaawwwww.” Melted Anna.

Elsa blushed, a bit pouty. That was a private habit…

“She does have a soft voice.” Admitted the redhead. “The kids want her to read a bedtime story everytime they can. Well, Isak at least. Eydis says she’s too old for stories now.”

She gave a look at her daughter behind Honeymaren and Elsa, and the young blonde grumbled.

“Though, the other night, she was listening to the one we told her brother. You’re still a fan, aren’t you?”

“Mooom!” Frowned Eydis, grumpy.

“Who wouldn’t be a fan of stories? You know, I’m certain that even animals love stories. You should see when we talk around the campfire. It’s like the entire Forest stops living to listen carefully.”

She even remembered the occasions when Elsa talks about her day to the reindeers, and the same phenomenon happens every time: rabbits, birds and squirrels gather near to listen to her from behind the bushes. Nevertheless, Honeymaren refrained herself to share this enchanting trivia with the others, because she realized that her wife was tense since she had talked about the reading sessions. She caressed Elsa’s back gently, and kissed her bare shoulder. The blonde looked down at her, and their eyes met. She gave her a forgiving sigh, but her azure blue irises sparkled as a warning. Honeymaren grinned, her lips stretching but still in contact with her skin.

They finished eating happily, until Anna stood up and slapped her thighs in both determination and excitement. “Alright! Let’s go scout around the camp.”

Kristoff blinked. “Can’t we take a nap first?”

“Heroes don’t nap.” Huffed the redhead.

Honeymaren giggled. “She’s kind of right. Also, I’m not saying we should tempt the devil, but if we walk around, it will give the possibility for Victor to attack, and we’ll catch him at his own game.”

They agreed and stood up along. “We’ll make two teams. I’ll go with Eydis and Elsa down the valley.” Suggested the Northuldra leader. “You two, with Ryder, across the woods.”

“Excellent.” Beamed Anna.

As they parted ways, she walked up to Honeymaren. “I trust you earnestly, but please make sure that Eydis is safe.”

“Don’t worry.” Assured Honeymaren, winking. “I’m responsible.”

Elsa scoffed sarcastically.

“What?” Frowned the brunette.

“The very first thing you taught my niece was to climb to trees, and how to hang up upside down with her legs without falling.”

Honeymaren gasped. “And isn’t that a practical thing she still uses today? That she could use in this very battle? It is, so stop staring at me like that.”

The two sisters eye-rolled. Eydis intervened to defend her aunt.

“I still thank you for that, actually. It’s not the kind of thing I’d learn from a princess royal training routine.”

“See?” Flinged Honeymaren.

“Eydis, you’re not helping right now.” Said Anna.

“I will keep an eye on your daughter, fire head. I promise.”

The princess turned at the nickname. “Hey, by the way, why do you call her ‘fire head’?”

Elsa giggled. “Because when she met your mother, it was the first time she ever saw someone with ginger hair. Nobody in the Northuldra tribe has such a hair color, you see?”

“Oooh.”

“This isn’t the only reason.” Precised Honeymaren. “When I have fight practice with Anna, her face gets all red from the effort.”

“My face doesn’t get all red. My cheeks are like, slightly more red than usual, at most. If you tease me one more time with that, Maren, I swear that we’ll have a training session right now and it will get very real.”

Ryder laughed behind them. “Liar. You secretly love that nickname. Because it sounds like a war title.”

Anna shrugged in admission, and Eydis grinned. It did have a ring to it.

She also noted how Ryder, Anna and Kristoff called Honeymaren ‘Maren’, while Elsa went for ‘Honey’. This family was really weird. She sighed.

“Shall we go, then?”

=======

“I just want to be a cooler uncle than Honeymaren to Eydis.” Insisted Ryder.

He never had gotten the chance to talk about that topic, because his niece was always around when he saw Anna and Kristoff in Arendelle. Now that they were in separate teams, it was the perfect time.

“Just tell me how!”

Kristoff laughed openly at his struggle. “It’s not something that we can advise you on, my friend. You’ll have to trust your instincts on that.”

“You know, the coolest aunt badge is already taken by Elsa.” Giggled Anna, sarcastic.

“Figuratively and literally.” Grinned the blond.

Ryder gave them a death stare as they all walked among the trees. “Can’t you help me instead of being sassy?”

Kristoff shrugged. “To be honest, Eydis is starting her teenager crisis years. So anything that we adults say to her is never ‘cool’ enough. She’s a bit indifferent to Elsa’s powers now.”

Ryder widened his eyes in shock. If she found the Fifth Spirit mundane, how could he ever compete?

Cogs turned in his mind as he thought of something.

“Having a digestive walk in the Northuldra woods, your Majesty?”

Suddenly said a voice behind them, and all three startled and turned around.

Someone was approaching, at a low and assured pace. It was a man, given his silhouette, and he seemed old, but also fit, like a retired guard.

“Are the Arendelle’s castle gardens too small for your taste? Not that you belong there anyway…” Said the mysterious man in a low voice.

He was wearing a dark purple cape, almost black. As he walked to them, and they were standing still, he took off the hood. Now they could see his face, that he didn’t plan to hide; Victor Eiglatson in person was standing in front of them.

“You…” Frowned Anna.

In her mind flashed images of his threats, his arrestation, his assaults described by Kristoff, Honeymaren, Elsa and the Northuldra, and, more importantly, the two innocent men who had died after his first attack.

“You will pay for what you have done!” Shouted Ryder, and he approached the old Arendellian.

Victor flicked his right wrist up to down in the Northuldra’s direction, and a dark slime blow hit his head from above. In a swift shock, the man groaned and fainted, falling head first in the grass.

“RYDER!!” Exclaimed Anna.

She then twirled to the enemy, her long red hair waving with her like a mane.

“I’ll have you killed for that!!”

Victor eye-rolled. “Calm down, Queenie. He’s only unconscious. I’m not gonna waste my magic on some random guy. You, on the other hand…”

Kristoff followed his gaze. He was strictly staring at Anna.

“Why are you interested in me?” Hissed the woman in question.

“That’s really obvious. You’re the Fifth Spirit’s biggest weakness. I’ll have her at my feet once I’m done with you.”

Anna frowned at his plan. She also wondered why he didn’t call her Elsa, but pushed that thought away to focus on clenching her fists.

“Well I’ll beat you up, you old--”

Kristoff’s arm stopped her in her momentum. She was strong, but he was even more muscular, so he easily held her in place.

“You’ll have to go through me first.” He threatened.

Victor didn’t even flinch at his sentence. “That can be arranged.”

He flipped his wrists, and a burst of dark slime spluttered out of his palms. Two liquid monsters formed on each side of him, and started running to them. He cackled like a maniac as they immediately ran for their lives before the creatures touched them with their long crooked fingers.

Kristoff was dragging Anna along his run, but soon understood that there was no need; she was even faster than him.

He gave a peak behind to check if there were safe, and saw to his biggest fright that the arm of the closest creature changed of form. When the goo assembled at the end of its fingers and solidified in the shape of a long blade, Kristoff’s heart leaped.

“WATCH OUT!”

He tackled Anna, and they rolled in the grass to dodge away from the attack. They stumbled to stand up, and he stared at the monster which had its blade planted to where they had been standing, now struggling to take it off. So it was solid.

Since when could they do that? Did they evolve? Did Victor learn from his past mistakes? Was he able to upgrade his creations, just like Elsa did? He gulped in apprehension.

The second creature quickly made him come back to reality; it used the same technique, but with both arms. Two black slimy blades cut through the air, whistling in the woods, and the two Arendellians jumped back to avoid being sliced in half.

They hadn’t plan this walk correctly, and Kristoff looked around to search for anything that could be used to repel the enemies.

The King then saw a trunk on the ground next to them, and he ran to it. He quickly valued his actions: he could use a fallen tree, right? He wouldn’t disrespect Nature, for this was a dead tree anyway. Kristoff nodded to himself and put his right foot on the trunk, then grasped with both hand the thickest of its branches. It was so wide his thumbs didn’t even touch his fingertips, but he managed to pull and pluck it out with a loud grunt.

Immediately, he twirled around and started to swung the branch in the direction of the creature.

He could effectively stop the left blade of the creature, but it got stuck in the wood, which surprised both him and the monster. It didn’t wait for another blow, though, and made its second blade sing in the air, aiming right at his throat. Kristoff frowned, and thought faster than light; he grabbed his stick with his hands in reverse order, and moved it towards the creature’s elbow moving in his direction. In a swift shift, the monster accidentally planted its blade in its other arm. Looking a bit dumb now, it had both arms tied together, and Kristoff pushed its body with a strong blow of the branch.

The monster fell on the ground. It then was confused on how to stand up now, with its arms like that, and it looked like it was punished and sitting with handcuffs on.

Anna grinned at the state of the enemy, and when Kristoff turned around, panting, his happy brown eyes suddenly widened in terror.

“What?” Said the redhead.

“Duck!!”

In any other context, Anna would have allowed herself a joke about the animal. Now wasn’t the time. She shrieked, curling down, and Kristoff jumped above her crouched body to slam the head of the monster who was about to spike his wife.

The racquetball-like move was given with all his strength, and the creature was stunned, losing its balance and falling backwards. Anna stood up slowly, looking at the two outperformed monsters. She breathed out with a gasp at the shock to have been close to death, and stared at Kristoff from head to toes. She made a pause to admire his muscles glistening with sweat, and his intense stare due to adrenalin.

“Gods I love you.” Sighed Anna, staring at him with arousal.

They stared at each other, and walked the meters separating them with their gaze lost in the ocean of the other’s, like the entire world had ceased to exist around them.

The approaching steps of the enemy brought them out of their reverie. Victor clapped his hands slowly with sarcasm. “Waow, truly effective, your Majesty. But you’re aware that you can’t beat them, right?”

He snapped his fingers, and the stunned creature toddled up, standing up again, while the other saw its arms vanish, then be created again. It went on its feet too.

Kristoff twirled his thick branch around, ready for round two. However, it now was covered with black magic ink, so he dropped it in a disgusted wince before he would get infected.

The Queen whinged at how they now were defenseless again.

“Why didn’t we take the weapons we brought?!” She exclaimed, blaming herself. “I’m so stupid, stupid, stupid!”

“Now is not the time for self-undervaluation, feisty.”

Anna grumbled, for he was right. She immediately placed her hands on each side of her mouth, lifted her head and sang the Spirits Call, as loudly and clear as she could. It rang in the woods and filled the air.

Victor burst out of laughter.

“What are you trying to do, nightingale? The Spirits cannot interact with my magic. Those are basic Nature rules.”

Anna gave him a side look that was overcharged with sarcasm. “I’m aware. Elsa, however, received Ahtohallan’s blessing. You’re screwed, Eiglatson.”

He shivered at her confident teal blue eyes. She wasn’t bluffing.

The old man looked around frantically, now fearing the worst. They had split up in groups, but Elsa could arrive in no time. He gritted his teeth and made his creations disappear with a hand flick.

“You’ll regret this. Deeply. Next time, I’ll have no pity.”

He stared at Kristoff and his wife, and turned around, running away. The blond frowned, not agreeing to let him escape. He ran after him, following his dark cape floating in his move, dashing through the woods. The King followed the man for a long time until the cape suddenly vanished, like it was made of the same goo than the monsters.

“Shit.” He muttered.

He had been fooled. This was an illusion. He grunted loudly, and punched the nearest tree in disappointment.

Anna helped Ryder stand up, and looked at where her husband had been running, wondering if he had managed to catch him. Though, she thought, Victor had magic, and if he was as skilled at Elsa, he would be able to disappear without a trace if he didn’t want to be followed. She knew how effective that was.

“Did he hurt your head?” Worried the Queen. “Did your skin get touched by it?”

“No, I’m okay. I had my hat on, thankfully. I knew that it would save my life one day.” Chuckled the Northuldra nervously.

Ryder retrieved his balance, when suddenly something blurry and white arrived at high speed right next to him, and he shrieked with a jump.

“ANNA!”

The blonde grasped her sister’s arms in less time that it took him to blink.

“Are you okay?! What happened? Why did you call?!”

Before Anna could even answer, Elsa counted only two persons out of three, and inspected the woods. “Where is Kristoff?!”

Gale arrived in a woosh, and made a noise, looking down at Elsa. Kristoff was okay, they said, but angry because he couldn’t catch the enemy in time.

“I’m fine, Elsa.” Assured the Queen.

“Okay, good. Good.”

“Can you please put me down now?”

The Snow Queen blinked in confusion and realized, in her panic, that she had been holding Anna by the arms like a clamp. The younger sister was stuck in her grip with her arms rigid along her body, her legs hanging in the air.

“Oh, sorry.”

She put Anna on the ground, and the redhead smiled sadly. She took Elsa’s hands in hers. “Breathe. It’s okay. He’s gone now.”

“But I couldn’t catch him!” Hissed Elsa, upset.

“I know.”

“Now we know how he looks like, and his fighting style.” Said Ryder, angry as well, so he switched his mind to an analysing mode. “Anna, tell me everything that had happened while I was unconscious. I’ll inform the warriors, and we’ll prepare.”

“Yes.” Encouraged Anna. “And this time, we will have our weapons at the ready.”

She put her hands on her elder’s cold shoulders, resolutely.

“Elsa, our next encounter with him will be the last. I vow to it.”

=======

Anna cracked her knuckles once they all gathered in the armory hut.

“Okay. Briefing the Northuldra, check. Updating their positions, check. Ours, check. Now…”

She rubbed her hands excitedly, and Elsa lifted an amused eyebrow when she recognized where she saw that expression.

“...Weaponry.”

With an excited - and a bit evil and scary - laugh, she opened the chest that they had brought on their wagon.

“Isn’t it a weird that a Queen who swears to be a pacifist and to never lead her kingdom to war is this thrilled about a battle?” Mocked Honeymaren.

“That’s because you haven’t seen my armor.” Winked Anna. “Also, a lady got to be busy. My hobbies include fight, what can I say?”

She opened the chest wide for everyone to observe, and took out weapons one by one.

To Kristoff, she gave his axe, and it shone in the soft light of the hut, its cheek and blade bright blue. The whole head that was normally made of the finest Arendelle metal had been crafted in ice, and could only had been done by one person. Elsa smiled proudly and admiratively, as her work of art got enhanced by the sun rays and floating dust that surrounded the weapon when Kristoff happily made it twirl.

“Perfectly balanced. As always.” He winked to the Snow Queen.

Elsa blushed. They bantered a lot about ice, and spend a considerable time talking about harvesting and such, but when he complimented her unique customizations, she felt a bit shy. But she deserved that praise; she had spent a lot of time on crafting the ideal addition for their weapons. She smiled bashfully and nodded, approving that her ice blade married perfectly with the wood haft. Victor’s monsters could be killed by her ice? Let it be so. But with some elegance, please.

Elsa’s eyes looked down at the grip that had Arendelle crocuses engraved on it, while Kristoff held the axe with both hands to inspect it. The blonde then congratulated herself on the density of the ice, which she could feel in the air from where she was standing. The back of the head, that had a hammer poll, looked more solid than anything despite its transparency. Since Ryder had laid eyes on the axe when Anna had showed it to him before meal, he couldn’t help imagining how Earth Giants themselves would be groggy if they got hit in the face with it.

Anna smiled and bent down again to pick up the next weapon. To Eydis, she gave her mace, whose numerous spikes shone so well that they seemed like sparks. Magically sharp, actually even sharper than razors, the blades glittered in the same way than Kristoff’s axe head, with a beautiful transparency that also scared by its density. Eydis’ mace had a classical grip, but all eyes were obviously staring at the top of it; it alternated between a blade and a spike, making it a fearsome item.

Honeymaren grinned. “So, your weapon of choice is a mace, uh? That’s a nice nod.”

“A nice nod?” Repeated Eydis. “To what?”

“Well, with what happened with Thor years ago. Did you pick this one because you’re at ease with hammers?”

The princess snorted. “Maybe. It’s handy in every meaning of the term.”

Just like her father, she spun the weapon in all ways once Anna gave it to her. She hit the air around in several expert ‘woosh’s, practicing her moves.

“I like the way it feels during fight.” Grinned Eydis.

Ryder widened his eyes at the sight. Yep, she was her mother’s daughter. However, when he saw the careful gaze that Anna was giving her, he could tell that Kristoff was definitely the one who approved on this mace. Nevertheless, Ryder would bet that Anna simply sighed and shrugged when Eydis asked for permission to make this her weapon.

The Queen returned to the chest.

Finally, she took the last weapon, hers, which was to no one’s surprise but to everyone’s honest impression, an enormous sword.

While the Northuldra siblings gasped in admiration, Kristoff sighed longly. “You had to bring your biggest sword, uh?”

“After seeing Victor Eiglatson earlier, I absolutely don’t regret it, dear.”

Honeymaren’s jaw dropped, and she came closer to observe it. Anna made quite a show when she tried it out. Obviously, the whole blade was made out of ice as well. Elsa smirked from where she was. It shone around as Anna wielded it, and even reflected on the wood walls of the hut. It was, out of the three weapons, the one with the biggest amount of ice, so it made a great impression.

Honeymaren was impressed as always by the beauty of her wife’s magic. Though, despite all of that, what impressed her the most was how effortlessly Anna was lifting the sword. It was an impressive work of art that surely weighed more than Honeymaren would even expect. How the heck did she make it seem effortless?

Eydis gasped excitedly. “Awesome! I never got to see this one close before!”

When Anna put it down against the wall of the armory hut to look for their battle outfits, the princess eyed the sword with envy, walking to it.

“Can I borrow it to try it out? With auntie’s ice blade, it’s gorgeous.”

Anna turned around and was about to give her answer, but Eydis, in her iconic nerve, already lifted the sword up. She rose it to see the cross-guard closer, but the blade was way heavier than she thought, and the weapon tilted. With a yelp, she lost her grip, and the sword fell forward to the floor.

“Holy hell!” Muttered the princess.

Anna smirked as she caught it. “I was about to suggest you to not lift it. This sword can’t be wielded by anyone, sweetheart. There is a reason why Elsa custom-made it for me.”

She approached her astonished daughter. “Only I am able to use it. It actually took a lot of training to master my moves. Also, see how long that grip is?”

“Yeah, it’s longer than any sword I’ve ever seen.” Murmured Eydis.

“That’s because it’s a two-handed sword. You lifted it with only one, so it was a foregone conclusion.” Smiled Anna.

She placed it back against the wall.

“So you put both hands on the grip?” Asked Eydis, curiosity and enthusiasm making her voice high.

“It depends on the move or feint you intend to make. Most of times, I place one hand on the grip…” She showed it to her. “And the second one on the pommel.”

Her hands now covered the pine green grip and the pommel proudly engraved with the Arendelle crocus. With its green hilt and its purple round hilt end in each hand, it gave the Queen an astonishing aura by reminding the flag’s colors. She demonstrated the easy twirls that this two hands position allowed to do.

“It’s the most beautiful sword I’ve ever seen.” Exhaled Honeymaren, in awe.

Anna smirked proudly while Elsa blushed with a soft smile.

“Elsa made it entirely for me.”

As if the entire ice blade wasn’t enough of a hint, the rain-guard - which, just like the grip, was made of high quality leather dyed green - had a embedded snowflake symbol. It was the upper half of the snowflake, and it gave the feeling that it introduced the upcoming blade to sight when one observed the stunning weapon. The scabbard, which Anna had discarded next to the chest after she proudly made the sword sing by taking it off, was breathtaking as well. All along were traced drawings that seemed to have been made by both Elsa and Anna. Honeymaren wondered if they had been crafting it together, and easily imagined them giggling as they did in a warm sharing moment.

“Why a two-handed sword, though?” Asked Ryder.

“I suggested it to her since that stubborn idiot refuses to use a shield.” Smirked Elsa.

“A really good suggestion.” Said Anna, who preferred to ignore the derision.

They went out of the hut for Ryder to show them the staff that he would be using. None of the Arendellians commented negatively on how simple his weapon was compared to them. First because they were nice and enough open-minded to not judge ahead, and second because all three of them actually knew the aching pain that followed a hit in the shins. Ryder didn’t train often, but had won a few rounds thanks to that. From what they had seen, Victor Eiglatson wasn’t wearing any armor, and that might even be the blow that would take him down. After all, the most effective attack is the one one doesn’t expect, and Ryder was an expert at sliding down to hit weak spots.

While they were outside and Elsa and Honeymaren started to chat a bit further, Eydis came close to her mother.

“Will auntie be okay? During the fight?”

Anna frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I’ve never seen her truly be mean in her blows. She’s not very direct. She’s a bit scared to be offensive, no?”

The redhead blinked as she stared at Eydis, then suddenly laughed loudly, her head wiping back. “Oh dear, you truly have no idea, do you?”

“What?” Grumbled the princess.

Anna coughed as she tried to retrieve her breath. “Yeah. Right. Sorry. You can’t know, because Arendelle and Northuldra have both always known peace since you were born. So you’ve never seen her actually fight.”

Eydis was upset by her mother’s giggles. “What is so funny?”

The Queen smiled. “Let me search for an example… Well, you have a big snowball fight with her at every Yule, uhm? Remember last year when you asked her to stop holding herself back, to have an actual challenge, and you came back to the castle exhausted?”

Eydis scoffed. “It’s not that amazing, I remember I got to touch her once or twice with a snowball.”

Anna smirked. “Because it was a game. Now imagine what she does when it’s a fight. Did you see Elsa pick up snow from the ground when she, for once, didn’t force herself to slow down?”

The little blonde widened her eyes at that realization. Elsa had been crafting those snowballs out of thin air. “No.”

“Did you see her being out of breath, just for one second?”

Now Eydis gulped. She had been able to hit her aunt several times, but was panting once the game was over. On the other hand, her aunt was perfectly fine.

The princess got suddenly aware that she had been fooled all along. Elsa had only pretended to be hit to make her happy. How dumb was she to not have understood this before? Her aunt was astonishingly athletic, she knew it. Once, she had seen her race with Nokk on the fjord shore and she had been running faster than them. And they have the shape of a horse.

Eydis’ jaw dropped. “Okay, now that is just creepy.”

Anna nodded with a smirk. “You don’t have to worry any second of her abilities on a battlefield. She could kill us all in our sleep, trust me.”

Kristoff approached to put a hand on Anna’s shoulder and a kiss on her cheek.

“I’m gonna go train with Ryder, we’ll see you later.”

He was happy for such a context, and his wife snorted. “Don’t wear yourself out. It’s better if you’re in good shape for the upcoming fight. Be careful, okay?”

The blond man smiled at her care. “I will.”

He followed Ryder to the training area, and not even two full seconds later, he tripped over a root, and almost fell to the ground.

Eydis burst out of laughter as her father grumbled. Anna remained serious to not make him feel ashamed.

“Damn, I lost my ice harvesters reflexes.”

“Too many king activities?” Teased Ryder.

“If you want, I can show you how to use an axe again.” Laughed Eydis.

“Don’t mock me, you two!”

Eydis bit her lip to hide her smile.

“Sorry. Well, I’m not gonna lie, you taught me all I know about resourcefulness in the wild and how to be an ace at ice harvesting. So I can’t demean you.”

Kristoff gave her a smile, then rejoined Ryder.

Anna went to Honeymaren and Elsa, where the brunette was preparing her bow for the battle.

She was intrigued when she approached the leader.

“Wait, don’t you usually have a bigger bow? Where’s the one you hunt with?”

Honeymaren smirked. “Judging on sizes, your Majesty?”

Anna snorted. “Of course not.”

The Northuldra made the bow twirl left to right and back with her hand on the grip. “This bow is a warrior one, that’s why the size is different.”

“Uhm, excuse me, a what? As much as I love this name, I’m confused. Why ‘warrior’?”

The brunette smiled. “It’s the type of bow. You know, they come in all shapes and sizes, just like people…”

“Stop with the tease, dummy.”

She got a smirk in return. “The one you see me use during hunt is a long bow. Very long, in fact. It’s optimized for stealth, with a light wood and silencers on the string to be as discreet as possible. We also craft them that long because we use them from a very far distance. With those features, we do not frighten the animals, and therefore are respectful of Nature. We have a more tender meat as their death was quick and without fear.”

Anna gulped at the powerful statements.

“This one...”, said Honeymaren, lifting the bow she was holding. “Is quite exactly its opposite. Notice how its wood is way shorter and curved three times, even at the tips. It’s optimized for fighting. I’m not a fan of what it represents and the context it’s used in, but it’s very effective. As we stand closer to the target, we don’t need a long bow, and this size allows faster recharge.”

“A bow for warriors on the battlefield…”

“Yes. Its unique asset is its main default, however. As we can’t draw the bow very much because it’s shorter than the usual, it only is for close range.”

Anna blinked, retrieving from those incredible details. She then smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll give you a window to shoot.”

“I count on it.” Smirked the brunette.

She went to pick up new material in the craft shed to change the grip of the bow and make it brand new. On her way, she passed by Eydis, who was staring at the stunning collection of bows all hand-crafted by the tribe.

“You don’t have those bows in Arendelle, uh?” Grinned the proud leader.

Eydis puffed. “Even if I did, I can’t buy a single thing in the kingdom without thinking of mother, anyway.”

“What, she scolds you when you buy useless things? A bow is far from being useless.”

“No, because there’s her face on every coin.” Snorted the princess.

They both laughed.

“She never scolds me for anything I buy. I could ask a chocolatier for my weight in candies and she would even encourage it.”

They laughed again.

She saw that Honeymaren had sit down at a table to extend a band of leather and cut the parts she needed. She would be using the dagger she had at her waist, and that all adult Northuldra were wearing constantly, for how multifunction it was a for a people living in the wild.

“Hey, could you do the trick again?”

Honeymaren, who was about to simply take the dagger of its sheath and casually use it, smirked. She untied the leather pouch, twirled it in the air, then placed her wrist under it to make it spin around, and took out the dagger with expertise and elegance. The whole movement had been smooth, and Eydis’ eyes sparkled.

“Never gets old.”

Honeymaren waved her eyebrows and turned the knife between her fingers before getting to work.

A few minutes passed, and Eydis admired all the weaponry. Several ice arrows were on a table near the wall, and she approached her hand.

“Waow, those are superb. Look at the very precise and intricate heads…”

“Don’t touch that!” Exclaimed Honeymaren, rushing to her niece.

Eydis’ admirative eyes switched to angry ones. “Damnit! Why can’t I touch anything?!”

“Language.” Scolded Anna from afar.

“Sorry, Eydis.” Said the Northuldra leader with a pout. “Those are extremely sharp. Elsa upgraded them since the last time I used them, and even myself have to be very careful when handling them.”

She slowly placed them back in her quiver, and wondered why she had been leaving them there. Northuldra children could have hurt themselves… When they joined a whole stack of others in her quiver, she realized that in fact, Elsa had been crafting new ones after their meal.

She admired her wife’s dedication and work on their weapons. Each of them had been enhanced with Elsa’s unbreakable ice. Their efficiency against the monster would be unprecedented. Even Ryder’s staff was covered with a thin layer of ice to strengthen it, keeping the traditional way of fighting.

When Elsa had announced that she would be using a spear entirely made out of ice, and she had crafted it under their eyes, Honeymaren’s knees had almost buckled at the flashing image of how attractive her wife would be when she would fight with it. The spear was blue - obviously - and had - as usual - intricate details, for Elsa couldn’t help being extra. The shaft had all the colors of the Spirits spreaded on it, with the four diamond shapes and their symbols proudly displayed along. The head of the spear wasn’t the classical one but a four pronged trident, inspired by the four Spirits’ harmony. The blades were long and placed facing each other two by two, forming a round cross and looking like the cardinal points. Anna had made the remark that if she crafted this quadrident spear while on Nokk, she would look like Poseidon, but Honeymaren didn’t get the reference.

The odds for the fight were really good. Honeymaren smiled proudly and positively when the two sisters joined them.

“With Elsa’s expertise, we will defeat Eiglatson in no time.”

Anna wanted to support her positivity, but she shivered. “‘Next time, I’ll have no pity’, he said. I just hope that we will be strong enough. May the gods be on our side.”

Elsa nodded, then suddenly widened her eyes. It was like she had remembered or realized something out of nowhere.

“We will be prepared, Anna, don’t worry.” Assured Honeymaren with a firm leader voice.

They all agreed. Anna suggested to help Honeymaren refine the Northuldra warriors’ strategy, and Eydis to sharpen their weapons.

Elsa was the only one not to move, and she remained oddly silent, staring down.

Anna turned to her, and lifted an eyebrow, about to ask what was wrong.

“I need to take a moment alone before the fight.” Said the blonde, forcing herself to smile. “I’ll take a break in Ahtohallan.”

Her sister nodded. Elsa certainly needed to recharge in every meaning of the term; as an introvert with a bubble of calm, and a magical being with the ancient glacier. She had noted long ago how better the Snow Queen’s mood was after meditating in the magical source.

Honeymaren watched her lover go, slightly suspicious. But she shrugged and walked with Anna to the hut where they had spreaded a giant map on a table.

“Okay… Strategy thinking…” Mumbled the redhead, and Honeymaren got amused by her pout. “Maren, do you consider yourself lucky?”

The Northuldra leader snorted. “Well, I got to marry a Spirit who also is the most beautiful woman in the world, so… I certainly am.”

Anna eye-rolled comically. “I meant, if we make a back-up plan based on chance, would that be in your favor or not?”

“Yeah, sure.”

The Queen stared at Honeymaren, because now she had been silent, and the distance separating them from the hut was long, so that would soon be awkward between them. Anna noticed that the brunette was fidgeting with something on her left hand, but didn’t get to ask.

“You must think that I’m a hopeless romantic, uh?”

Anna smiled. “No, not at all. I mean, yes, you really are, but I don’t mind it, if it’s what you’re afraid of. I find your couple adorable. And you know already how Elsa’s happiness deeply matters to me, so to know that she’s living a perfect married life with you fills my heart with joy.”

Honeymaren smiled. “I’m the thankful one, I swear. You know, she changed my whole world.”

She rose her hands, showing the woods surrounding them. “First, by freeing the Forest, and then, by teaching me on her first night in the camp that constellations had names. It was barely hours after I discovered the existence of stars. Imagine how overwhelming that was.”

“I easily do.” Grinned Anna. “She’s a real nerd. I’ve known her for such a long time - I can’t say my whole life, that would be lying - and she still teaches me stuff about science and physics. It’s crazy coming from someone who also defies those laws with magic.”

Honeymaren chuckled tenderly.

“Once, she crafted a sextant for a little girl in the village.” Continued the redhead.

“A sex… What?”

Anna burst of laughter.

“It has nothing to do with sex. It’s a navigation tool, based on the position of stars.”

“Oh, I see. Old Northuldra told me that our people used to watch the stars to find their way.”

“All people used to.” Smiled Anna wisely.

Honeymaren nodded. It was also true figuratively. Elsa was the brightest star that ever shone to her eyes. She could follow her everywhere, like her true north. The brunette fidgeted with her ice ring again at the image of her wife giggling when she ran after her stunning figure in the fields, and Elsa turning around with a smile that warmed her heart like nothing else did.

“Mareeeeen…” Called Anna’s voice, probably not for the first time, and finally succeeding in bringing her back to Earth.

“Oh, sorry, you were saying?”

When she turned to the redhead, she was smirking. “Uhm, correct me if I’m wrong, but the hut is that way, no?” She said, pointing the other way.

Honeymaren blinked and look at where she was heading. Three more steps and she would bump head first into a tree.

“Y-yes, yes, I was… I’m coming.”

She cleared her throat, and followed her smiling sister-in-law to where she was supposed to go.

=======

When they went out of the hut more than two hours later, Anna stretched next to Honeymaren, then she suddenly heard a neigh in the distance.

She saw a familiar horse, gleaming between the trees, and trotting through the camp in their direction.

“Oh, hi Nokk!” Smiled Anna, waving. “What are you doing here? Isn’t Elsa with you?”

She then saw that someone was on their back, but not seated like they rode them; that person had been picked up and transported.

Nokk stopped walking in the middle of the camp, about twenty meters away from them. Honeymaren’s eyes widened at the platinum blonde hair of the of woman.

“Elsa?!”

The blonde groaned, shook her head and massaged her forehead. She forced herself to sit up, but she clearly had difficulties.

“Elsa, are you okay?!” Panicked Anna, staring at the blonde.

Nokk neighed loudly.

“I’m fine.” Murmured Elsa, getting down from the Water Spirit with as much composure as she could.

Nokk neighed again, insistent.

“Okay, I may not be.” Muttered the Snow Queen, and only the horse could hear that.

She let go of Nokk’s neck and lurched along the path. Anna and Honeymaren had come close, sensing that something was wrong.

“Elsa, you’re usually pale, but now you’re white as a sheet. What happened?” Worried her sister.

“Do you need help to walk?”

“I can walk, it’s okay…”

Honeymaren didn’t insist, noticing how stubborn Elsa was. However, as her and Anna gave way for her to walk through the camp, her knees suddenly buckled.

“Elsa!!”

She collapsed to the ground, and Honeymaren rushed to catch her. The blonde fainted in her arms, her head dropping back, and Honeymaren lifted it up.

“ELSA!!” Screamed the brunette a second time, starting at her lover’s face with alarmed wide eyes.

She shook Elsa’s body desperately. She pressed her ear to her chest to hear if her heart was beating, but her own heart was beating so fast that she couldn’t focus on the right sound. To make it even worse, Anna had fallen to her knees next to her and was breathing faster and louder each passing second, inspecting her elder’s face.

“ELSA!!”

The Snow Queen didn’t respond, still unconscious, her eyes closed. Honeymaren kept her hand behind her head and fumbled at her belt with the other. She grabbed the knife at her waist and drew it in one swift move, then contrasted with that speed by delicately placing the blade under Elsa’s nose. Time seemed to hang in the air while both Anna and Honeymaren stared desperately at the metal, until it covered with condensation. Elsa was breathing.

They both sighed heavily, their shoulders slumped. They now were sitting on their heels, gripping the blonde’s body. Honeymaren shook her arms.

“Please, please open your eyes, Elsa. Please stay with me. Please stay with us.”

She shook her body again, and Elsa blinked tiredly, opening her eyes very slowly.

Honeymaren gasped and held her tight, muttering a long line of prayers and gratitudes to the world for bringing back her wife. As she hugged her, she felt the ice and snow clothes under her fingers, and she only realized then that it should have been the best clue to know that she hadn’t left them; the magic fabric would have melted away otherwise.

“I like it when you hold me in your arms like that…” Muttered the voice of her lover next to her ear.

The Northuldra leader detached from the hug, and kept her wife in her arms, but away enough to stare at her face.

“What happened to you??”

The Snow Queen’s weak features twitched in a smile. “I found the password, Honey…”

“What?” Blinked the brunette.

“‘Only time itself will tell’... Kronos. It was Kronos.”

Anna and Honeymaren remained silent in confusion. What the hell was she talking about?

“Kronos… The greek god of time…” Murmured Elsa with a weak, almost imperceptible voice.

She however had an obvious sly smile, and Anna blinked.

“Wait, what? What are you talking about?”

Had her sister gone mad? She sounded delirious.

Honeymaren, on the other hand, had connected the dots. She shook her head, as stunned as Anna, but for a different reason. She sighed at the brilliant mind of her wife.

“You’re incredible, Elsa, I swear… In all meanings of the term.”

The blonde allowed herself a grin despite her lack of strength.

“Would someone care to explain?” Frowned Anna, upset that she was missing something that clearly was important.

“The code word that would unlock the repressed memories of the previous Fifth Spirit… It was ‘Kronos’.” Said Honeymaren.

Elsa felt happy as the two people she cared the most about exchanged a gaze with huffed smiles. Though, when their eyes reverted to her, her forces left her; her eyes turned up again and she plunged back into darkness.

=======

When Elsa regained consciousness, she slowly opened her eyes, recovering her sight in blurry steps. She first saw the floating blue candle jars hovering just below the ceiling of the hut. So she was in her bed. At the idea, a feeling of warmth invaded her heart. She then saw, as her vision sharpened, Honeymaren looking at her in distress, then deep relief as she sighed when she saw her wife smile.

The brunette cuddled next to her and pressed her forehead to her temple.

“Thanks Ahtohallan, you’re alright.” She murmured.

“Actually, what happened is Ahtohallan’s fault…” Pointed out another familiar voice, filled with reproach but also concern.

Elsa’s smile went larger as she turned her face and saw her sister bent over her as well on the other side of the bed. Anna’s sarcasm left her face to quickly be replaced by happiness when she crossed her elder’s gaze.

“Hey you.”

The blonde winced. “Actually, it wasn’t entirely Ahtohallan’s fault.”

Anna sighed. “Yeah, once again you had to go to far, and now you regret it. Seriously, is she this alluring? Is the need to know the truth like a drug or something?”

Honeymaren and Elsa chuckled.

“Gotta say, the Spirits call can be breathtakingly beautiful sometimes. I can’t imagine how attractive it is when it comes from the source itself.” Admitted the Northuldra leader.

“And in addition to your dorky snoop personality…” Smirked Anna.

“Says the one who keeps asking me about gossip!” Gasped Elsa.

“Well, at least, I’m not risking my life when I ask!”

Elsa eye-rolled. The sisters grinned, and hugged each other warmly.

“You scared me a bit there.” Murmured the Queen against Elsa’s ear.

“It’s a good thing you’re used to my drama then.”

“True.”

After Anna detached from the hug, Honeymaren stared at her wife in a scolding expression.

“You really shouldn’t have done that! Don’t make me quote the song. When will you finally...”

Her frowned eyebrows suddenly shot up, the rest of her sentence vanishing in her throat as she realized what she was doing. “Oh no. I shouldn’t be angry at you. You could have died, and I’m lucky enough for you to be alive…”

Elsa’s hand quickly slid on the sheets to hold hers. “You’re my wife, Honey. That’s what married life does. You get deadly worried about the other.”

Anna winced at the word ‘deadly’.

“You care about me with all your soul, and you’re angry because you weren’t there to protect me.” Continued Elsa.

“So you agree that it was extremely dangerous.”

The blonde winced. “Yes.”

“Your hella curious personality will be your undoing, Elsa.” Grumbled Anna.

“Without my curiosity, we wouldn’t have known about Runeard’s plan!” Reminded Elsa coldly.

The two other women couldn’t deny it, and remained silent.

Honeymaren sighed in an upset way. She didn’t like how Elsa purposely went to Ahtohallan alone right when she figured the code word, because she would definitely have prevented her if she was accompanied.

She passed a hand in her wife’s hair, retrieving her smile.

“So the previous Fifth Spirit was a nerd as well, uh?”

Elsa frowned as she was sitting up with her elbows.

“Why do you say that?”

“Oh, don’t go ‘anyone could have guessed the Kronos password’. You know that none of us would have found it. Did you see memories of him making jokes about Orion’s belt?”

Elsa slapped her arm, and she grinned.

“Those jokes would be so bad that he probably put them in his repressed coded memories, though.”

She received another slap, and this one was stronger.

“Well, I’m glad to see that your regained strength.” Laughed Honeymaren, rubbing her bruises.

Elsa couldn’t help but smile, and shook her head.

“Can you stand up?” Asked Anna.

“I think I can.”

She however put her hand in Honeymaren’s stretched one, just to make sure that she wouldn’t fall if her knees buckled. Nevertheless, she could step easily through the hut, and even started to go outside. As a double reward, the Northuldra who were working near the hut turned to her and beamed to see that she was okay. Elsa smiled back, and she felt infinitely better. Now that she knew all the truth and was replenished, she felt ready to fight Victor.

“You know, I wouldn’t be surprised that Ahtohallan gifts each Fifth Spirit with sarcasm, drama and nerdiness.” Smiled Anna’s voice behind her as she and Honeymaren got out of the hut.

Elsa gave her a stare. “Don’t encourage her.”

The two women simply shrugged, amused. Though, Elsa’s sudden serious face changed the mood.

“Actually, let’s go back inside. We need to sit down.”

“Uhh, what? Are you okay?”

“I’m alright. But I have to tell you all the truth about Victor Eiglatson. And it’s best if we do it privately.”

The Northuldra and Arendelle leaders exchanged a worried glance, and followed her back inside, closing the door behind them.

Elsa then proceeded to explain that they got a lot of things wrong about him, as they sadly expected.

“He has been planning his revenge on the Fifth Spirit for years. Longer than any of us three was born.”

“This is a really spooky introduction, thank you very much.” Commented Anna, her eyes wide.

“I’ve had access to every single memory that the previous Fifth Spirit had been ashamed of and hiding, even to himself, and…”

Elsa shivered. That meant a lot coming from her. Honeymaren understood now that her weak state wasn’t only because going far in the secret past had impacted her magic; it was an emotional wreck as well.

“I’m gonna explain it from the very beginning.” Told Elsa. “So, first of all, Victor Eiglatson had a wife, called Niks.”

Her sister puffed. “How could a man like him have been married?”

Elsa gave her a stare.

“Anna, I love you with all my heart, but I’m begging you to not interrupt me until I’m finished.”

The redhead pouted in a sullen expression, and Honeymaren bit her lip with a smile. ‘Let her continue’, she said with a gaze.

“Victor and Niks both were merchants, who traveled around the country, and they both had dark magic.”

“What? How??”

“Anna…”

“Okay, okay, I’m quiet.”

Elsa resumed.

“While Victor kept it low profile, Niks kept using her dark magic for larceny. Robbery, bullying… She kept wielding her powers for evil ends. One day, they were delivering supplies to the Northuldra, and she had threatened the people during the night. The Fifth Spirit had noticed, and spied on her to see if she would do it again. He saw her doing it repetitively each night Victor and her had stayed in the camp, as they had asked for board and lodging for a week.

Two days before they left, the Northuldra leader told her that he knew what she was doing. He warned her, stating that the next time she would use her powers for such acts, he would have to punish her. She didn’t take him seriously at all. On the following night, she blackmailed a young mother and her child, saying that she would send monsters and hell on the poor family if they didn’t give her half of their crops by the next time they would do business here. The Fifth Spirit saw everything. On the morning after their departure, he followed their caravan, and…”

The Snow Queen interrupted her story. It was a bit sudden, so the others wondered what had happened.

“He…” Elsa stopped to gulped. She took a few seconds, then retrieve the needed courage. “He killed her. He killed Niks with his ice and snow magic.”

Anna and Honeymaren let out synchronized gasps. Anna’s hand flew to her mouth. Elsa closed her eyes and lowered her head.

“I saw everything. I mean, it was in ice statues form, but… Still. And as he used the same magic than I do, I could almost… Feel what I saw. He impaled her in one go.”

Honeymaren’s throat tightened, a ball forming in her throat, and she guessed that it was the same for Elsa. She placed a tender hand on her shoulder, and the blonde squeezed it tenderly. After a breathe in, she continued.

“Victor saw everything. He was boiling with sorrow and rage. He wanted to kill the Fifth Spirit right away, but he froze his lower body and walked away, returning to the camp. He said that it was what needed to be done.”

Elsa’s hands had returned in her lap, and she clenched her fists nervously.

“He didn’t even apologize. Victor had spend the day screaming and shouting until the ice melted with the heat of the sun. Once it had vanished, he realized that he had to bury his wife properly before setting off to the camp to murder the Northuldra leader. On her tombstone, he swore to avenge her, and built a plan. Only, when he came to the Forest days later…”

She looked up at the ceiling, like she could see the sky from where they were.

“The mist had fallen.”

She shrugged sadly. “He tried all he could, poured all his magic into his efforts, but it was in vain. As you know, only Anna and I can open the mist. Only the Bridge can. Only the Fifth Spirit can. And the Fifth Spirit… Had just died in turn.”

Elsa looked at the wall absentmindedly as she remembered the ice statues. “Victor learned about his death through rumors as he came back to the kingdom. He noticed how some soldiers were hateful towards the Northuldra, and he enrolled in the army to train for the day the mist would lift. He planned and planned and planned, and his dark magic got better and darker each passing year. The only thing that separated him from his revenge was a wall of smoke.”

Her eyes lifted to Anna. “Years later, he learned that I was the Fifth Spirit. In fact, that we both technically were. He started to shout to everyone that we did not deserve to be Queens of Arendelle for that reason. You know the rest. He got sent to prison for such words, but he escaped with magic. His goo monsters slipped through the bars really easily…”

She once again couldn’t help but let out a little bit of admiration for his creations, despite some disgust.

“It was less than a month ago. He had trained a lot since. But… Despite hating the Fifth Spirit with all his soul, and his promise to avenge his wife’s death... He actually doesn’t plan to kill me.”

Honeymaren gave her a look that meant ‘Let me guess, it’s way worse?’

“His goal is to rip my magic out of me.”

The two other woman widened their eyes in utter astonishment. And to make things worse, Elsa kept going.

“He cleverly thought of that because with his research, he understood that the Fifth Spirit reincarnation is a cycle. Ahtohallan gives the ice and snow powers to a new person each time the previous dies, for them to be the only one to read her memories. And if he kills me, the chain would not stop, it would simply continue. However, by absorbing my magic, his revenge will be complete.”

Anna had at least a hundred of questions burning her lips at Elsa’s statements. Yet, the elder lifted a finger.

“Wait, that’s not all; I also saw a memory on his frieze that wasn’t there the last time we checked it with Honeymaren. It was the most recent one. From this afternoon.”

She gave a pause, and gulped. “He’s planning to attack Ahtohallan’s tonight, and rot it to the core with his goo magic.”

The two women let out the same gasp, quickly replaced by a deep groan. No one would touch Elsa, and no one would touch Ahtohallan. For Anna, the magic glacier was the source of her magic and who she was and had allowed her to be fully proud of her identity. For Honeymaren, it was this and even more; Ahtohallan was her deity, a representant of the sacred laws of Nature, and she would never let anyone profane the entity that the Northuldra worshipped since forever.

“We’ve got to unite all of our forces and prevent him from crossing the Dark Sea.” Stated Elsa with emotion.

A silence fell, and she looked at them with sad eyes.

Anna didn’t dare to react verbally yet.

“Uhm… Are you finished?”

Elsa sighed. “Gosh, I hope so. Yeah, you can talk.”

“Well, I don’t even know where to start.” Exhaled the Queen.

“The only thing I retain from all of these news is that I call dibs on the first shot to Victor’s heart.” Grumbled Honeymaren, fire in her hazelnut eyes.

“Honey, no.” Calmed Elsa. “Violence is not the solution. I mean, of course we’re going to fight him with all our forces, don’t look at me like that, but we’re not going to kill him. This is not who we are. He’s the murderer, not us. He will have to face justice.”

Honeymaren sighed in a pout. Elsa was right.

“M’kay.”

She didn’t seem so convinced, but admitted that shooting arrows at a human’s heart wasn’t really the way to show a good example.

Anna passed a hand in her hair, and tucked it behind her ear. “So… People with magic can… Rip magic out of other magic people?”

Elsa gave her a sad look. “I didn’t even know it was possible until today. And I’ve been exploring the abilities of my magic since the Great Thaw, so for nearly 20 years. Never would I have thought that I could extract magic out of someone’s soul…”

A silence floated in the room. Honeymaren and Anna exchanged a gaze, not daring to ask the question. Finally, Anna did.

“And… Do you think that you…”

“No. I would never do that. I don’t want to learn how to do it, and I never want to do it.” Stated Elsa, her voice firm and strong.

Her azure blue eyes had been so intense that the two other women got stunned by it, then they had grateful smiles. Elsa had god tier powers, but never would she commit such an act.

However, guilt roamed the Snow Queen’s body as she remembered that the previous Fifth Spirit, on the other hand, had come to a decision of this gravity.

She looked down as she passed her hands on her arms, curling a bit on herself. “First my grandfather… Now him… I’m tied to criminals.”

“Don’t say that!” Exclaimed Anna.

“He killed, Anna. My previous incarnation killed someone.”

“He’s not you. You are not defined by his action. You’re you own person, even if you have identical powers. You’re no evil, Elsa. Do you hear me?”

The redhead had been grabbing her sister’s arms for impact, but also to make her stop cowering.

“You’re literally the most gentle, nicest person I’ve ever met.”

Elsa blinked sadly. Honeymaren nodded firmly next to Anna, and passed a soft hand in her hair and along her face.

“Yes, you are, snømus. Would I have made a murderer my wife? I don’t think so.”

A snort escaped Elsa’s sad lips.

With the way her sister and lover were holding her, she could cry instantly, so humor was a good way to prevent that. She took a long inhale, and stood up.

“Yes, it’s no time to get emotional. Victor is cruel and reckless. Tonight we face him with all that we got.”

The Snow Queen walked to the entrance of the hut, opened it, and turned around to face the two women who looked at her in undeniable awe. With the light passing by the wood slits and the candles projecting blue hues on her face, she looked like a fierce Valkyrie on the warpath.

She gave their stunned faces a big grin.

“Let’s suit on.”

A second of impressed silence fell. Anna let out an amazed puff. “Waow, look at who’s all confident about conflict now. Who are you and what have you done with my forever insecure sister?”

The blonde gave her a judging look. She had just ruined her epic attitude.

“I’m not saying that negatively.” Assured the younger. “Only… Damn, you’ve become such a badass. What happened to you?”

Honeymaren put a hand on Anna’s shoulder.

“She married me.”

Elsa smirked.

=======

Anna helped Eydis to put her armor on, then Elsa helped Anna with hers. Sometimes, the redhead had so snap her sister back to reality, because she was admiring the beauty of some steel pieces and taking a lot of breaks.

“Elsa, you’ll get plenty of time to admire my armor once I have it entirely on.”

“Yeah, sorry. Am I too slow?”

“No, it’s fine. It’s actually touching that you love it so much. I like to have your opinion on those kind of things. But right now, I’m starting to lose my balance.”

Elsa hurried to place her boot correctly. She then asked for Anna to turn around to tighten her brigandine. Anna had a proud grin as she stood with her hands on her hips while Elsa was busy.

“With it, there’s no way those monster’s dark slime will touch my skin.”

She was about to turn to look at Elsa, when an annoying noise came from her neck. “Damn, my gorget keeps squeaking. Can you do something about it?”

Elsa turned once she was done with the bodice.

“Well, my magic may do a lot of miracles, however ice and snow are everything but oily. So I’m afraid I can’t.”

“I was talking about actual grease, dummy. Do you have some?”

“Oh. Yes.”

Anna smiled as Elsa went to get some in the shed. It was funny how, long ago, the Snow Queen would never have dared to use her magic for anything, and now it was her default option.

“A Northuldra is using it next door, he will bring it back. Apparently, Kristoff have the same problem.” Smiled Elsa. “I know it’s a good sign, but when was the last time you two wore armors?”

“It’s not that it’s rusty”, defended Anna. “They are pure work of art from Arendellian’s best craft people. But they need some… Restoration?”

The blonde grinned. She kept helping her sister place the armor’s pieces one by one, picking them up from the chest where only hers had remained. Her smile faded when she saw how red Anna’s face had gotten when she lifted the faulds and was about to place them.

“What is it? You seem uncomfortable.”

Anna looked away with a little pout. “It’s nothing.”

“No, it’s something. Your freckles almost are disappearing under your blush. What’s wrong?”

The Queen looked at the faulds. “They’re very large, aren’t they?”

Elsa blinked in incomprehension. “Uhh… Yeah, they’re meant to go around the waist and hips to protect them. So, by definition, they are.”

“No, I mean…”

She was unable to finish her sentence. Elsa frowned as she tried to understand. “You mean your hips and waist are very large.”

Anna looked away again, and nodded silently. The Snow Queen put away the faults in a brisk move, which the redhead interpreted as revulsion. That’s why she was confused when both her hands got seized in hers.

“Anna, look at me.”

The redhead had startled at the touch, and she turned to her sister. “What?”

“You can’t possibly be saying that you don’t like your body, right?”

The teal blue eyes went down. “So you agree. You think I’m fat too.”

“Oh Ahtohallan, no, Anna, hey, look at me.”

She quitted holding her hands to place soft palms against her cheeks. Anna looked at her, and she was on the verge of crying.

A silence passed, and Elsa’s gaze switched from one eye to the other.

“What if you are.”

“Excuse me?”

“What if you’re fat?” Said Elsa.

Anna blinked. It surprised her so much that her tears went away.

“Yeah, what if you’re fat. Does it matter?” Asked Elsa.

The redhead blabbered. “Well, of course it does!”

“No it doesn’t. Stop me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that Kristoff has seen you naked a couple of times or more, didn’t he?” She asked, half-teasing.

Anna blushed. “Uh, yeah.”

“Did he ever say anything negative about your body? In 10 years of marriage?”

“I… No, quite the opposite.” Muttered Anna. “But he could be lying.”

“Oh. Sure. So, allow me to ask: when was the last time Kristoff has ever lied to you?”

Anna was speechless. Why was Elsa so good at this? How did she knew exactly which arguments do use? How did she knew precisely what Anna had to be reassured about? The elder sister brushed her cheek with her thumbs to take her out of her thoughts.

“Anna. You gave birth to two beautiful, amazing children. Your body changed from that. There is nothing more normal in the entire world. Nature gave you the space to bear children.”

As if those touching words weren’t enough to wreck Anna’s entire soul, Elsa’s left hand went to Anna’s lower belly. “You carried life. Life is the most beautiful thing in the world. Don’t you think that life deserves as much space as possible? And you carried it with love. Love is the most important thing in the world. Don’t you think that love also deserves as much space as possible?”

The redhead’s lips trembled, and she could barely talk as they stretched in a smile.

“Y-- Yes.”

“Then cherish each and every single ounce of your body that fills that space today.”

Anna’s eyes closed and her tears fell, then she launched herself in Elsa’s arms for a tight hug. It was truly tight with her armor, but the blonde couldn’t care less. She closed her eyes as her little sister’s doubts faded away, and she could almost feel how lighter her soul was.

“Thank you so much, I… I…”

Anna had troubles breathing, and gasped over her shoulder.

“Hey, take your time. It’s okay.” Elsa said gently, rubbing the back of her hair.

Anna soon detached from the hug to rub her tears and sniff. “I should stop crying though, or this armor really will get rusty.”

Elsa smiled. The Queen stared at her resolutely.

“You know, you often say it for yourself, but I swear that I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Nonsense. You rule a kingdom. And are the most admired monarch of Arendelle’s history.”

A silence passed, and they looked at each other with sighs, until Anna stopped sniffing. Elsa picked the iron piece from where she had left it.

“Now, can I please put your faulds on?”

“Yes.”

They kept going with smiles, continuing component after component.

“Can you promise me you won’t tell anyone about what just happened?”

Elsa smirked.

“Sure, don’t worry. I’ll take your secret to the greave.”

Anna stared at her sister, then down at the piece of armor she was holding around her leg, then stared at her again, and this time in a judging way.

“Was that a pun?”

Elsa wheezed, not able to retain herself. “It was a good one, admit it!”

“I can’t freaking believe that my sister just made a joke about a grave. Oh my gods. Hey, stop laughing. No, don’t fall to the floor. Elsa!! Put the greave back on my… Ugh. You’re impossible!!”

She grunted as she placed the piece herself, shaking her head at her elder’s giggles. With the shake, the gorget squeaked, which made Elsa howl with laughter even more. Actually, the blonde’s laugh was so contagious that Anna laughed as well.

“That really was an awful joke. I hereby declare, Queen Anna of Arendelle, that you are not allowed to enter the kingdom’s territory anymore. We don’t tolerate this bad humor.”

Elsa snorted. “Oh, come on. Everyone knows how acclaimed I am in Arendelle. People would riot if they don’t hear my stupid jokes from time to time.”

Anna sighed dramatically. “Granted.”

“You wouldn’t get rid of me that easily anyway.” Smirked Elsa.

Anna kept going on her drama.

“I know. That’s my burden. Being stuck with you as my sister for my whole life.”

She turned to the door when she heard Eydis come in the hut to pick her gauntlets.

“Eydis, could you come over here please?”

“Why?” Frowned the princess, wondering what her mother was talking about from behind the changing screen.

“Would you grab your mace and kill me? I can’t stand Elsa anymore.”

The girl knew her mother’s ramblings enough to understand that she was joking, and didn’t even lift her head from the gauntlets she was tying up at her wrists.

“Sure. Do you want to be knocked on the head or in the face?”

The sisters laughed.

“Gosh, she’s a future mercenary.” Chuckled Elsa.

“She’s actually aiming for ice harvester mixed with sailor.” Shrugged Anna.

Soon, they were finished. “Come on, let’s go outside so I can admire it in the sunlight.” Beamed the Snow Queen.

=======

“So now you’re the one in need of a tissue. Do you need one?” Grinned Anna. “We probably packed some.”

Elsa breathed in and out heavily as she blinked to chase her emotional tears.

“You just look… So great, in this, Anna. I’m…”

She let out a noise that was a mix of a gasp and a squeal. “I’m really proud of you.”

The Queen of Arendelle smiled widely at the compliment. “Thank you, sis.”

Anna’s armor was entirely polished with a matte golden color, and it made her look like a stunning legend. The absence of reflections gave her a serious aura and the detailed finishing touches showcased her. Each joint of the metal and seam of the reinforced garment were engraved and embroidered with ivy motives. On both of her shoulder pieces were drawn Arendelle crocuses, one in green and one in purple. Her plackart proudly displayed the kingdom’s flag, and it married perfectly with the gold color of the whole outfit.

Gods, was it hard for Elsa to not burst into tears at the whole sight.

She approached to wrap her arms around the redhead. It was rare that Elsa was the one to initiate embraces, so it meant a lot to Anna, and it warmed her heart.

When they finished hugging, Elsa held the face of her little sister in her hands, sniffing at her beauty. “You’ve become a wonderful woman, Anna. A passionate Queen, a devoted mother, and a hero with a heart of gold.”

The redhead snorted modestly. “You’ve only seen me in that armor for like, two minutes.”

Elsa shrugged. “And yet, I can attest you that you would look way better on a Joan of Arc style portrait than I’ll ever do.”

Her younger laughed. “This might be the best compliment in the world.”

“Looking really good, Anna!” Approved a voice behind them, and they turned to see Honeymaren with a thumb up.

Anna giggled and thanked her with a comical curtsey.

“I’ll join you in a moment, I’m gonna suit up too.” Informed the Northuldra.

“Okay.”

She disappeared in the armory hut, and the Snow Queen smiled when her eyes landed on the redhead again. “With Kristoff and Eydis, you three look absolutely amazing. This really looks like the Arendelle flag was brought to life.”

Anna smiled. “Let’s hope that it will fly forever, then.”

The exchanged a gaze, their eyes sparkling with emotion.

Elsa looked over to where Kristoff and Eydis had been standing, and the sisters spent a long time talking about the specificities of each. Kristoff’s one definitely was a mix of a knight armor and an ice harvester outfit, while Eydis’ one seemed like a miniature of her mother’s, but in silver. With her blonde hair, she was really pretty. All the armors, in their own way, demonstrated how talented Arendelle’s craftspeople were.

“I like how we got those armors made to measure.” Said Anna. “It allows easy movements, while it assures efficient protection.”

“Yeah, it’s…”

The blonde’s answer vanished in her throat. Elsa suddenly disconnected from reality as she stared behind Anna, but it was like she was staring at nothing. Or rather, at something divine.

“Hey, are you with me?” Said her sister, snapping her fingers in front of her eyes. “Did your brain fry in Ahtohallan or what?”

Elsa didn’t respond. With a frown, Anna turned around to follow her gaze, and when she saw Honeymaren step out of the hut, it was like the Forest itself had stopped its activity to stare in awe.

The brunette was wearing a traditional war outfit only wore by Northuldra leaders, and it suddenly became very clear to Anna why Elsa hadn’t been able to make words. Anyone had to admit that Honeymaren was giving a stunning impression with that attire. Anna’s jaw dropped when the brunette took a few steps outside and looked over the tribe with a stare that made her aura matching the one of a falcon, except that her eyes were filled with pride and care for her people. The redhead then realized that she was looking for Elsa among the crowd that was staring at her, and when she finally recognized the platinum blonde woman behind Anna, her satisfied smile went larger in a beam. She made her way to her, and the Queen wondered if Honeymaren was ready to see up close the ravenous look that Elsa was giving her, and if Elsa was strong enough to not faint right when the leader would be breathing near her.

With amusement, Anna’s eyes darted from one woman to the other, and it was certain now that Elsa had never seen Honeymaren wearing that outfit. Which made sense, given the current peaceful times.

It was a mix of a tunic and an armor made of hard leather. The latter fabric clearly had been reinforced with an unusual thickness that was reserved to battle gear, and Anna was impressed by the details that however had been drawn on it. How much time did the Northuldra have spent on this? It required a lot of expertise and talent for a tribe that only used manual tools. Several bands of lighter leather crossed Honeymaren’s torso and fell from her shoulders to land on her hips, both holding her weapons and assuring that the flexible armor would stay in place. A large band of thick leather crossed the leader’s belly and juxtaposed her traditional belt, to which was still attached her usual dagger. Beautiful darker pieces were covering her forearms so she could easily protect herself from the blows, and Anna noticed the sames on her thighs and shins, tied above her tunic. Her left wrist was protected on the inside as well, the leather also serving as a guard to avoid any injury when archery is involved. The outfit was objectively magnificent with all its practical yet sophisticated pieces, all dyed with different natural colors that made it soar. Some were pitch black, others a deep brown interlaced with ochre bands - which highlighted her chestnut eyes - and others, especially her tunic, were bright beige.

Honeymaren had completed the outfit with her bow in her back and her quiver at her waist, and it looked like she was ready to slay. In fact, Anna was almost considering the idea to let her go to battle on her own and take care of everything. Who could stand up to her?

Elsa let out a noise when her wife arrived to her level, and it betrayed the fact that she had forgotten to breathe for a moment.

“H-- Hey-y… You.”

Both Anna and Honeymaren bit their lips to hide their giggle at Elsa’s rare fluster. For a very articulate person, she seemed to have lost all her vocabulary.

“H-Honey…”

She tried to say a full sentence, but was simply unable to.

Bruni trotted nearby and squeaked, and Anna smirked. Was it to admire the Northuldra leader and compliment her outfit, or to check that the Fifth Spirit wasn’t on fire?

“Are you okay?” Grinned Honeymaren, teasing, though a bit concerned. Now wasn’t the time for Elsa to faint again.

“I-- I’m beautiful. I mean… I’m not... I’m super-- I’m great.”

Anna giggled, but she managed to hide it behind her palm. Elsa was too busy staring deeply at her lover to even notice it.

“Breathe, love.” Smiled Honeymaren, passing her hand along the blonde’s cheek.

One could think that this would make her arousal even deeper, but the brunette actually succeeded in taking Elsa out of her transe. She gulped as she retrieved her normal behavior.

“Yeah, uhm… Uh… Let’s get ready, shall we?”

She coughed and turned around, inviting the others to follow her.

“Auntie, what will you wear for battle?” Inquired Eydis, running a bit to go walk next to her, her mace bouncing on her shoulder.

Her little eyes were sparkling as she imagined the most amazing armor possible. Elsa recovered from her fluster and looked at her niece with a smirk.

“Why, my work outfit of course.”

As she walked, and there was no need for her to stop nor slow down, she flicked her wrists up in unison. Gusts and twirls of glittering magic appeared from her palms and went in two ways. One move went down from her wrists and added layers of protection to the casual white tunic she had been wearing. The other move went up like embers of ice that floated in the air, which then deposited on her bright white outfit like petals. The magical dust formed new shapes on her shoulders, knees, chest, belly, hips and shins, creating the most perfect ice armor. It couldn’t be more custom-made, and it obeyed each and every motion she made, being comfortable and ergonomic. It also was incredibly beautiful with its breathtaking details and decorations, once again reminding the four other Spirits. Most of the parts were diamond-shaped. Despite the whole piece of art it made, its transparency didn’t fool anyone; the armor was sturdy, if not more than regular ones. Elsa admired her own work.

“...With a few additions, I’ll admit.” She smiled.

Honeymaren’s chestnut eyes got lost at the sight, having not missed any of the show while she walked on Elsa’s other side. That was, for the lack of any other word, a divine transformation. Her eyes filled with tears. Were they due to emotion or because the outfit was bright white and gave the feeling to stare at the full Moon herself? She blinked to dissimulate them.

“Not very stealthy, but I guess what we’ll have to deal with it.” Shrugged Honeymaren, to joke about it and switch her mood.

She giggled when she received a white-covered elbow nudging her ribs.

Elsa shook her head, then looked at the horizon. Her gaze now was more focused than ever.

“Okay, Victor. You wanted to face me? I’m not alone anymore. Here we come.”

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noladyme · 4 years ago

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Skip To My Lou, My Darling - Chapter 5, Bloody Demons II

The road so far…

Lulu is reunited with Dean, when he, Sam and Castiel needs the journal Bobby left her. She lets Dean know that this will be the last time she will see him, as being in his presence hurts her too much. When a phone call from what she thinks is a friend in need, brings her face to face with The King of Hell himself, will she finally have a chance to break her bond with Dean?

Our story continues in season 8

Tag list (Let me know if you want to be added)

@edonaspanca @wonderlandfandomkingdom

I made it to Pittsburg in a little over two hours. The bar I’d agreed to meet Tamara at was bustling with people; and I found my friend at the bar, wearing a very skintight dress and leather jacket; and fisting a pint of Guinness. “Drinking on the job, Tamara?”, I grinned. “Not like you!”. She turned around to face me, and her smile was broader than I’d ever seen it. “Lulu! You came!”, she smiled. “Told you I would”, I laughed, and gave her a hug. “So, what’s the deal here? Are we hunting, or drinking?”. “Bit of both, love”, she said. She leaned in close. “Vamps have been picking up girls from this place for a while”. I narrowed my eyes. “So we’re here to…”. “Pick up dates!”, Tamara grinned.

I groaned internally. The last thing I wanted was to play the part of wanton woman on the prowl for man-meat. Tamara caught darkness ghosting my face. “What’s wrong, Lulu?”, she asked. “Nothing… I’m just…”. I couldn’t finish the sentence. “On the rebound?”, she smirked. “Only one cure for that. Drinks!”. She ordered a round of shots, and I took a deep breath; downing the vile – and probably very cheap – tequila in one go.

“Let’s just get this over with”, I sighed. Tamara’s eyes lit up. “Oh! I almost forgot. Brought you something…”. She took my hand, and dragged me towards the restrooms. Once inside, she handed me a piece of flimsy fabric. “What’s this?”, I asked. “A dress…”, Tamara smirked.

I held up the garment in front of me. It looked more like a tank top with a little length to it. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”, I muttered. She raised a brow at me. “You look like a lumberjack”, she said. “Just put it on. Live a little”. I shook my head. “This is supposed to be a job…”. “These bloodsuckers have been going for the easy prey. Girls asking for it”. I winced at her words. The Tamara I knew was strong headed and feminist. “Asking for it?”, I grunted. She shrugged. “Sorry. It’s the alcohol talking”, she smiled. “But you know what I mean. Now come on!”. I slipped in to a booth, and shed my layers; before pulling the dress over my head. “I’m not changing my shoes”, I called out. “Fine, whatever. Combat boots it is”, Tamara laughed. “It’ll give you a rock star quality”.

Stepping back outside of the booth, I put my own clothes into my new bag. Tamara looked over my shoulder. “New equipment?”, she muttered. “Yeah”, I said. “Guess I have a guardian angel”. “Huh…”, she said. “Set me up with one of those, will you?”. I chuckled. “I’m not sure you’d like angels any more than demons”, I said, and closed my backpack; looking at her. Something dark ghosted her face. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to bring up…”. “Forget it, love”, she smiled.

I went to look in the mirror. I looked the part of a woman in desperate need of attention. My breasts were on display, and a small slit on the side of the red “dress”, made it so I could at least walk; in spite of the constricting fabric. “How am I supposed to hide a machete in this?”, I complained. Tamara lifted my hair, and put it in a knot on my head, with a hairband. “You’re not”, she smiled; and opened her jacket to reveal a large knife. “You’re the decoy”. I rolled my eyes. “Great. Thanks for the learning experience, Tammy!”, I sneered.

Tamara pulled out a red lipstick, and turned me to face her; so she could apply it to my lips. “It’ll be just like Ohio. Walk before you can run, love”, she said, wiped a stray smudge of lipstick from the side of my lip. She turned me to face the mirror again. “There we go!”.

The woman looking back at me reminded me of someone I hadn’t seen in a long time. She was myself, before the maren; before countess Erzebet – before hunting. I’d missed her, I admitted to myself.

“What’s this?”, Tamara asked, running a finger down my shoulder blade. I twisted my torso, and looked at where she was pointing. “My tattoo?”, I smiled. “Would have thought you had one… it’s an anti-possession tattoo”. Tamara pulled her hand away from the symbol. “Oh… yeah, I should think about getting one of those”, she smiled. “Let’s go! Leave your bag in here”. I put my phone and the car keys into my bra – along with Sam’s number, for reasons I wasn’t sure of yet. It just felt right. We left the restrooms, and went to sit down by the bar. “Now?”, I muttered. “Now, we wait”, Tamara said; scanning the room.

A short man wearing way too much cologne came sauntering over to us. “Hey…”, he smirked, bobbing his head to the song coming from the speakers. “I’m…”. “Not interested”, Tamara said. I sent her a look. She shook her head. I looked at the guy. “What she said”, I shrugged. He walked away, tail between his legs. “Can you tell me what I’m supposed to look for?”, I said. “Someone colder”, my friend said. “Vamps are usually paler, and don’t smell like the cheap aisles of a drugstore”. “Okie dokie”, I muttered.

We sat for a while longer, before suddenly, Tamara pushed me between my shoulders. “Plump up the puppies”, she muttered. “We got one”. A tall, dark man had stepped into the bar. If ever I’d seen a vampire tv-show; this guy looked like he’d stepped right out of the screen. Tamara pushed at me. “Go chat him up!”, she hissed. “Tammy!”, I almost whimpered. “I’m not gonna…”. She patted my bottom. “Yes you are. Go!”.

I took a deep breath, and began walking towards the man. His eyes narrowed, and he seemed to be scanning the room; before his eyes fell on me. His lip twitched into a sly smile, and – swallowing hard – I returned the gesture. He walked over to me, and grabbed my hand. “Hi…”, he said with a deep voice. “What’s your name?”. “Uhm… whatever you wanna call me”, I tweeted. He leaned in close, to whisper in my ear. “Guess I’ll call you Honey then. How does that sound?”. I felt bile rise in my throat. “That sounds… hot”, I smiled. “What’s your name?”

The stranger pulled me out onto the floor, and slipped his hand behind my back; holding me against him, and swaying back and forth. His hand was so cold; and I shivered when it touched the bare skin on my back. “Does it matter?”, he smirked. “I like to know who I’m dancing with”, I said. I looked back at Tamara, who was giving me the thumbs up. She grabbed her phone from her pocket, and called up a number. She hadn’t told me we’d have partners, but at the moment, I was very happy we wouldn’t be alone. This guy gave me all sorts of creepy feelings. “Call me… Patrick”, he said, and dipped me. “Swayze?”, I fake giggled. He pulled me back up. “Sure”, he smirked.

We swayed back and forth a while longer, until suddenly the song changed. God, please not this one, I thought; when a sad guitar began playing. “Lying on your arms, so close together. Didn’t know just what I had…”. I cleared my throat. “I really hate this song”, I croaked. Patrick leant down again, and put his mouth dangerously close to my neck. “Do you want to get out of here?”, he said. “Sure?”, I said; my voice breaking. “I should probably tell my friend I’m leaving”. He looked into my eyes. “Go ahead, honey”, he smirked.

Prying myself from his grasp, I walked back to Tamara. “He wants me to leave with him”, I said. “Good!”, she smiled. “Go on. I’ll be right behind you”. “What? Are you crazy? I’m not leaving with him without my weapons!”. Tamara grabbed my shoulders. “You’re doing great, Lulu. I’ve got you, ok? Trust me!”. I blew out a deep breath. “If I die, I’m coming back to haunt you!”, I sneered. She rolled her eyes, and pushed me back towards Patrick.

Hooking my arm into his, we left the bar. Once outside, the chilly air hit me; and I shivered. “You cold, honey?”, Patrick asked. “A bit”, I said. “Should we take my car?”. “Sure”, he winked at me, and I led him over to the rusty Dodge. I got behind the wheel, and Patrick entered beside me. “I got a place a few miles out”, he said; his face suddenly dark. “Ok”, I said.

I looked out the rearview mirror, and saw Tamara exiting the bar, and halting to speak with a man I hadn’t noticed before. He was only a little taller than her, and seemed a bit to well dressed for a hunter. Tamara seemed perfectly at peace with his appearance though, and simply smiled in my direction; pointing at my car. The well-dressed man looked towards me; and his lips drew back in a large grin.

“Let’s go, honey”, Patrick said; and I started the car, driving us off the lot, and down the street.

---

We made it to a house a way outside town. The windows where dark; and when I stopped the car, my hands where shaking. “You look good enough to eat”, Patrick smirked. His hand found my knee, and squeezed it. “We should… go inside”, I said; and quickly got out of the car.

Where are you, Tamara?, I thought to myself. Patrick put his hands on my hips, and led my up to the front door. He turned the knob, and we stepped inside. In an instant, I was pressed against the wall, and Patrick slammed the door shut. He nuzzled my neck with his nose. “Smell so good”, he growled. “That’s nice”, I croaked; regretting every move I’d made since the moment I stepped out of bed the morning before.

Grabbing my arm, Patrick pulled me into what seemed to be a living room; though decked out like a ridiculous boudoir. I looked around, desperate for anything I could use as a weapon. Patrick smiled menacingly at me; before his lips drew back, and he revealed a second set of teeth. “Oh, crap”, I choked.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and Tamara came running in. “Lulu!”, she yelled. Patrick was distracted by the sudden change in his plans, and as he looked at her, I kicked him in the groin; making him topple over. “Kill him!”, I yelped. “Not yet!”, she said. “Where are your friends?”, she hissed at the groaning vampire.

There was a slamming of doors, and the sound of feet running throughout the house, and suddenly we were surrounded by five more hissing vampires. “All part of the plan?”, I snarled at Tamara; as we took a stance, back to back. “Please tell me you brought my stuff!”.

“She brought something better”, a gravelly voice said. The well-dressed man stepped into the room. He looked at the vampires. “One, two, three, four, five… six. Perfect!”, he counted, and clapped his hands together. He snapped his fingers, and what looked like black smoke filled the room – separating into six parts, and entering the mouths of the vampires.

The vamps all shook themselves, and Patrick got up from the floor. “What’s happening?”, I muttered. “What’s happening, is my best invention to date!”, the man laughed. “Vampire-demons. I can’t believe I never thought of this before… Thank you, Tamara”. I turned around, and looked at my friend. Her eyes where charcoal black. “You’re welcome, my lord”, she smiled.

I took a step back; falling into the arms of Patrick. “Tsk, pet. Where are you going?”, the man said. “We’re not done here”. Patrick pulled my head back, and leaned towards my neck. “Hungry…”, he hissed against my exposed skin. He was much to strong for me to get away from; and I was sure this was the end. “Hold up, Pat”, the man said. “I’ll serve you a nice dinner later. For now, me and this lovely lady need to have a conversation”. Patrick pushed me forward with a snarl, making me jump.

“Who are you?”, I croaked. “What are you?”. “Right… you’ve never actually faced one of us before”, the man said. “Name is Crowley. I am a demon”. I swallowed hard. “What did you do to Tamara?”. Crowley stroked my friend’s cheek. “Tamara is still in there. Struggling something fierce”. He slapped her hard, but Tamara didn’t wince. “I had one of my favorites possess her”. “She’s too strong for that”, I croaked. “Fight it, Tamara!”. “Cute”, Crowley smiled. “Not convincing”.

I slowly walked towards Tamara, and stroked her cheek. Her black eyes widened, and she grinned at me. “Oh, that feels nice, love. Keep going”. I sighed deeply, and let my lips tremble, as if I was about to cry. Demon-Tamara tilted her head and pouted – distracted just long enough for me to grab the knife from the inside of her jacket. “What do you think you’re going to do with that, pet?”, Crowley asked. I elbowed Tamara in the face; and shoved the knife into his chest; taking a step back, when he didn’t even flinch. “Rude!”, he growled. “This is Armani!”. He pulled the knife out. “You can have this back, when you behave”.

“What do you want with me?”, I asked, my heart in my throat. He smiled again. “It’s nothing, really. A mere trifle”, he said. “The Winchester’s have something of mine. I want it back”. I sighed. “Let me guess; you’re gonna use me to get to them”. Crowley laughed. “Sounds like you’ve been here before, hmm? I’ve heard they have a tendency to drop everything and come running, whenever you have a hangnail. What does Dean see in you?”. He gave me a once over, pausing at my chest. “Right… that”. He met my eyes with a slight smirk.

I decided to play his game, and rolled my eyes. “Ok. Tie me up, poke me with something sharp; whatever it is you guys do”, I said. “Well, you’re no fun”, Crowley frowned. “Couldn’t you at least… scream a little? Plead for your life? I mean, I made all these vampire-demons...”. I shook my head. “Too much effort”, I said. “I mean, I’m shaking in my boots, don’t get me wrong – but I know how this ends”. “And how is that?”. “Well, you torture me for a while – then Dean and Sam show up and fight you…”.

Crowley laughed. “It’s like you read my mind!”, he said. “Ok, let’s call them”, I croaked. “Just like that?”, the demon asked. “No Please Mr. Crowley, don’t kill my sweetheart?”. I swallowed hard, and looked down. “No? You two aren’t…?”. “It’s not like that”, I whispered. Crowley raised his brows. “Well, if I had a heart, it’d be breaking for you right now… What happened? Really, tell your uncle Crowley, pet…”. My façade broke, and I slapped him across the face. Crowley simply raised a brow at me. “That tickled”.

Suddenly I was on the ground, Crowley’s hand on my throat – squeezing hard. The demon-vampires all looked down at me; baring their extra set of teeth. “Now, you call Moose and Squirrel, and tell them to bring back my tablet; or I’ll snap this pretty neck faster than they can say where’s my flannel”. I nodded as fiercely as I could under his grasp, and reached slowly for my phone, and the note with Sam’s number. I dialed it up.

“Sam’s phone. Who’s this?”. It was Dean’s voice. “Dean…”, I rasped. “Lulu… What’s wrong?”, he demanded. I almost laughed. “Take a wild guess…”, I said. Crowley was starring into my eyes intently. “You’re in trouble”, Dean growled. “Surprise…”, I muttered. “What is it?”, he said. I looked at Crowley. “Hi, Dean!”, he said cheerily. “You’re friggin’ kidding me!” “You have my tablet. I have your girlfriend. Let’s make a deal”. “Now you listen to me, you son of a…”. “He’s not on speaker”, I said. “Too busy strangling me… and possibly serving up as dinner for a group of vampires”. I heard things being thrown around. Dean was pissed. “This isn’t the time for jokes! You’ve got the King of Hell with his hands around your neck!”. My jaw dropped. “The crossroads demon?”, I whispered. My eyes began flickering. Crossroad demons made deals.

Crowley’s eyes widened, and his lips drew back in a wide grin. He snatched the phone from my hand, and got off me. “Hello, Dean…? Yes, yes, I’m a son of a bitch, I know. I’ve met my mother. Now listen… No… Stop talking. I’ve reconsidered. Kevin, the tablet; I’ll have those soon enough. I have something much more fun in mind for now… Yes, exactly… Why? Because it’ll piss you off!”. I stood up from the floor, and began backing away. Patrick grabbed a hold of me again; putting his teeth to my neck. “Hold that thought”, he said into the phone, before putting it to his chest. “Lulu, love. Don’t go anywhere. We’re not done”. He lifted the phone to his ear again. “Yes, I’m still here… No. She’s fine. She’ll stay fine. At least the next 10 years. Don’t worry… Yes, you can have her back”. He handed me the phone. “His voice is so deep when he’s angry”, he winked at me.

I put the phone to my ear. “Lou, don’t do this”, Dean pleaded. “I don’t… Maybe he can end it”, I croaked. The teeth of the vampire were scratching at my skin. “He can’t!”. “If he can’t, the deal will be off. I’ll be fine”. I looked at Crowley, who nodded in agreement. “This isn’t the way. We’ll figure it out. Please!”. Dean was almost whimpering. I blew out a deep breath. “When this is done, you won’t care if I did it”, I said. “I won’t matter to you anymore”. Crowley narrowed his eyes at me. “I can’t live like this”, I whispered. Crowley pouted in mock sympathy. “Where are you?”, Dean asked. “I’m… I’ll see you soon”. I hung up.

Crowley clapped his hands together. “Right! What is it?”, he asked. “Pat, let the lady go. She’s not a meal… yet”. Patrick pushed me forward with a growl. “An std? A few more inches for Squirrel…?”. I frowned. “Oh, is he impotent?”, the demon said, grimacing. “No…”, I said. “I want…”. “Yes, yes, come on. I don’t have all day!”, Crowley sneered. “I want you to break our bond”, I said. Crowley looked confused. “What’s that supposed to mean?”. I swallowed hard. “I was made for Dean… To be his. Angels put me on earth for him”.

The demon suddenly let out a roaring laugh. “You think you were put on this planet to be with Dean?”. “Yes…?”, I whispered. “It’s too… perfect. I’m his perfect companion. Our feelings aren’t real”. Crowley rolled his eyes. “Well you are perfect for him. You’re just as daft as he is! Give me that…”. He stepped over to me, and snatched the phone from my hand; hitting redial.

“Come one, come on… Yes, Deano! It’s Crowley again… Could you stop cursing and turn down your car radio, I can hardly hear my own thoughts… Right, deal’s off. She asked. Can’t help. Get me my stuff, or I’ll kill her… Pittsburg… Yes, exactly… Toodles!”. He hung up, and handed me back my phone. “Now, we wait”.

---

I was tied to a chair. Tamara was filing her nails on a couch against the wall; and the vampires were spread throughout the house – waiting for Sam and Dean to show up. Crowley paced the floor in front of me; taking phone calls from who I guessed were his minions.

Suddenly the door flew open, and the brothers ran inside; guns at the ready. Dean’s face was locked in rage; but when he stepped into the room, he wasn’t looking at Crowley with said expression – he was looking at me. Tamara sprang from her seat. “Hi lads!”, she grinned. “Long time, no see”. “She’s a demon”, I croaked. “Still alive inside”.

“Let them go!”, Dean roared. “No”, Crowley said; hanging up on yet another bloody wanker. He put a hand on my shoulder. “First; my things”. “You think we’d bring it here?”, Sam said. “Well, it’s simple. Then I kill the girl”, the demon said, and put a hand on the top of my head, and the other on my chin; as if to break my neck. My heart jumped into my throat. “Crowley!”, Dean snarled. Crowley leaned in to whisper in my ear. “Almost makes my knickers slide right off when he uses that voice”, he smirked. “Now, where is my tablet?”, he roared.

Patrick and his friends entered the room, and surrounded us. “I’m done waiting, boys. And so are my lads here”. The vampires bared their teeth, and let their eyes turn black. “What the hell is this?”, Sam yelled. “My best idea yet!”, Crowley snickered; letting go of me. “Vampire-demons! Aren’t they just the cutest thing…”.

The Winchesters both looked flabbergasted. “Oh, come on!”, Dean growled. “Vamp-demons?”. Crowley almost giggled. “I know. Sometimes my wit even surprises myself”, he said. “Now… my tablet. Give it over, and I’ll let it be quick”.

I knew I’d be dead within seconds if I didn’t act. “I know where it is”, I said. Dean narrowed his eyes at me. “It’s in a bunker”. Crowley let go of me. “Atta girl! Where’s this bunker?” “Lou!”, Dean growled. I shook my head. “It’s over, Dean”, I said. “I’m not dying for your cause”.

Crowley went to stand in front of me, narrowing his eyes. “Where, pet?”. “I’ll take you. But you have to promise to let me go afterwards”, I croaked. “You have my solemn word as a gentleman… or, whatever”, Crowley said. “Patrick. Untie her”. Patrick loosened my restraints, and I stood up. “There’s a good girl”, Crowley smiled. “Lads, you hold down the fort here. But no dinner until I return. I want to watch”. “We’ll take my car”, I muttered.

Dean’s eyes met mine. His gaze was pained. “You can’t do this, Lulu”, Sam said. “Sam… don’t. This is my decision”. “Please, Lou…”, Dean pleaded. I looked at him with hard eyes. “I have to let him get in that driver’s seat”. It was a strange sentence, but I hoped Dean would let it lie. He looked at me questioningly. “Bye, boys”, Crowley called over his shoulder.

Once outside, I opened the door to the driver’s seat for Crowley, and he got in front of the wheel. “Ugh, I hate driving lefty… Keys?”. I took a step back. “I have them”, I said. “Well, get in and give them to me”, the demon demanded. “No…”, I responded. “No…? What are you talking about? Get in the bloody car, or I’ll drag…”. He tried to step out of the car again, but couldn’t. I crouched, and pointed at the ceiling of the Dodge. The devils trap I’d made with a marker over the driver��s seat, was still there. “I hope you know how to hotwire a car; because that’s the only way you’re getting anywhere…”, I said; and closed the door on the cursing Crowley. Grabbing a bottle of water from the trunk, I went back to the house. Crowley was banging the window; the demonic seal apparently making him unable to break it.

I went back into the house, and into the living room. Sam and Dean where in the process of being tied up by the vamp-demons. Tamara looked at me. “What?”, she snarled. “Crowley wants you to come”, I said quietly; sending Dean a look. He narrowed his eyes at me. Tamara rolled her black eyes, and followed me to the porch.

“That’s a really ugly car”, she grunted, and began walking down the steps from the porch. I opened the bottle of water; and poured it over her. “Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te”, I said as quickly as I could, and black smoke left Tamara’s body; making her slump to the ground. I crouched over her, patting her cheek. “Please, Tammy. I need your help. Wake up!”, I whispered.

Tamara’s eyes blinked, and she looked at me. “Is it gone?”, she rasped. I let out a relieved sigh, and pulled her into my arms, hugging her tightly. “It’s gone”, I croaked. “But we’re gonna have to fight. Are you up for it?”. Tamara’s lips drew back in a snarl. “Hell yeah!”, she said. “Weapons?”. My eyes searched the area; and I smiled, when I saw a black Chevy Impala parked a little way down the road. “I know where to get some…”.

We ran to the Impala, and I opened the trunk, lifting the false bottom. “Bloody jackpot!”, Tamara smiled. We each grabbed a machete along with some bottles of water. I picked up a knife as well. “What’s that for?”, Tamara asked. “You’ll see”, I muttered. She grimaced in confusion.

I walked back to the Dodge, and opened the door to the driver’s seat. “Let me out of here you sodding… Ow!”, Crowley snarled, as I stabbed him again; before pulling the knife back out. “What was that for?”. I looked at the bloody blade. “Your vessel. He’s dead, right?”, I asked. “Of course he is!”, Crowley hissed. “Great. Bye, your majesty”. I slammed the door in his face. “Let’s go”.

We snuck back to the door. “Remember the exorcism I used?”, I whispered. “I taught it to you, love”, Tamara smirked. “On three…”. I put my hand on the doorknob. “One… two… three!”. We sprang into the house, threw water at the monsters holding the Winchesters captive; and chanted in unison.

“Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica. Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te!”

Black smoke poured out of the vampires. The beasts all looked confusedly at each other, before snapping their necks in Tamara’s and my direction. “Dinnertime, boys”, Patrick yelled.

One of the vampires sprang at me, and I slashed the machete across his torso. He instantly toppled over, rattling in pain; and I cut his head off. Narrowly escaping being taken down by another vamp, I threw myself towards Sam and Dean. “Lou, what are you doing?”, Dean yelled. “Saving your ass!”, I snarled, and cut the ropes holding him to the chair. “Here”. I handed him the knife, and slashed at another vampire trying to get me from behind. He grabbed my ankle, and pulled me to the ground; but Tamara cut his head clean off – spraying me with blood in the process. “Thanks”, I gasped. Dean cut Sam free, and they joined us in our fight. “Get out of here!”, Dean growled. “Hell no!”, I yelled, and got on my feet.

“Four left!”, Tamara yelled. One of the vamps was heading for the door, but I made it over to him just in time to cut the back of his knee; making him fall to the ground. The last thing he saw, was my face as I hacked his head off. “That’s two for me”, I grinned. “Leave some for me, Lulu! I only got the one”, Tamara laughed. I heard a crash as Sam pushed one of the vamps to the ground. He held the snarling monster down. “A little help?”, Sam yelled. “All yours”, I said to Tamara; who ran over, and cut the thing’s head off. Dean snatched the machete from Tamara, and quickly decapitated a vamp coming at him from a dark corner.

The house was silent. I looked around. “There was six of them”, I said. Dean looked at me; his eyes suddenly widening. “Lou, behind you!”. I twirled around; only to be caught by the neck, by none other than Patrick. “Hi, honey”, he smirked; before pulling me into his arms, and biting into my neck. The pain was excruciating, and I yelped out in pain - dropping my machete on the floor.

“No!”, Dean roared, and ran towards us. Patrick pulled his head back, and turned me around to face my friends. “Don’t!”, he snarled; my blood dripping from his mouth. “I’ll kill her”, he warned. Tamara went to step forward; but Sam held her back. I looked at the knife in Dean’s hand, and then at Tamara. She nodded, and snatched it from him – throwing it into the air. I caught it by the blade – feeling it cut into my stitched-up hand – before pushing it into Patrick’s side. The vampire laughed. “That won’t kill me, honey”, he said. “No, but the dead man’s blood on it will”, I rasped.

Patrick began letting out choking sounds, and loosened his grasp on me. I put my hand on my bleeding neck, and stumbled forward – Dean catching me in his arms. Sam walked up to Patrick, and cut his head off.

I let out a deep breath. “Ok… It’s over”. Dean gave me an angry look. “Try that again…”. I looked down, and pulled myself from his arms.

“Are you ok, Lulu?”, Tamara asked; and came over to examine my wound. “You did great, love!”. I smiled blushingly. “Thanks… I guess my vampire cherry is popped”. “Sure is”, she smiled. She looked up at the brothers. “Good to see you two again”. “Thanks for the rescue, Tamara”, Sam half smiled. Dean nodded at her with an insincere smile. “Yeah. Thanks for that, Tamara”. He made a point of shoving the brit his gratitude – not me. “Let’s get out of here”.

We went back outside. I was exhausted, and almost stumbled down the stairs. The door to the Dodge was open, and the seal on the ceiling of it was scratched at. Somehow, Crowley had gotten away. “Crap”, I muttered. Sam crouched down, and looked into the car. “Good thinking, though”. “Sam!”, Dean growled. “Lulu, get in the car”. I sighed, and went for the front seat of the Dodge. “Not that car”.

Tamara frowned at him. “Who do you think you’re talking to, Winchester? This girl just killed three vampires on her first hunt for those bloodsucking buggers!”. “I’m talking to the girl who almost sold her soul to the king of Hell!”, Dean snarled. “Stay out of it”. Tamara laughed sarcastically, and began rolling up the sleeves of her jacket. “Oh, I should…”. “It’s fine, Tammy”, I sighed. “I can fight my own battles… but thanks”. “You’re gonna let some boy talk to you like that?”, she sneered. I shook my head. “No, I’m not. But he has something of mine, and I want it back”, I said. “I’ll tear him a new one afterwards”. “If you don’t, I will”, she snapped.

I pulled her in for a hug. “I need to go back with them”, I muttered. “Thanks. For everything”. “No, thank you! Call me”, Tamara said. I handed her the keys to the Dodge. “Thanks. Might even make it back to my own car in it. The thing looks like it’s falling apart”. I kissed her cheek, and she got into the driver’s seat; turning on the engine, and driving away.

---

“What the hell were you thinking?”, Dean roared at me. “Demon vampires?”, Sam snarled. “You’re lucky Tamara was there!”. “She was a demon too, remember?”, I muttered. “I saved her ass, just like I did yours”.

The whole drive back had been quiet; and I felt like a teenager who’d missed curfew. We’d gone by the bar, and Sam has slipped into the ladies room to grab my bag for me; as I was covered in blood, and might freak people out. I was now seated – freshly showered, and once again stitched up and bandaged – in the library in the bunker; getting a verbal ass-whooping from both the Winchesters; while Castiel stood in the archway – sending me chiding eyes.

“You could have died!”, Sam yelled. “Worse; you could have gone to Hell!”, Dean growled. “Your soul, Lou? Do you have any idea…?”. “It’s my soul to do with as I want”, I said. Dean looked at me with enraged eyes. Sam’s gaze softened. “Lulu, you’re family… This wouldn’t just affect you”. “I’m sorry…”, I whispered. Sam sighed. “I’m gonna get back to Bobby’s journal; so you can get it back”, he said; and disappeared down a hallway.

I sighed, and shook my head. “I just wanted…”, I began “To get rid of me?”, Dean croaked. “Do you really hate me that much?”. “You know I don’t… that’s the problem”, I said quietly. “You know what? Cut the crap, Lou!”, Dean snapped. “This thing between us, angelic intervention or… whatever! You don’t make deals with demons”.

“What do you mean, angelic intervention?”, Castiel interrupted. I looked at him indignantly. “Cass, you know what we’re talking about”, I said. “This bond between Dean and me. It’s crap!”.

I stood up, and went to leave the room. “I’m gonna go get some rest. Let you finish your research”. Dean grabbed my shoulders, and held me in place. His eyes were welling up, and I felt my own tears approaching. “Listen… I’m letting you go”, he croaked. “Even though everything inside me is screaming for me, to hold on to you; because you’re mine. I’m letting you walk, because that’s what you want…”. “It’s not!”, I whispered. “I want to be here. I want to stay with you… But it’s not real!”.

Castiel walked over to us. “I don’t understand why you both keep saying that”, he smiled. Dean looked over his shoulder at the angel. “Stay out of this, Cass. You already said you couldn’t help, so just… don’t. Your kind has done enough to mess up this thing”. Castiel sighed. “I can’t help; because what’s between you has nothing to do with angels. I don’t even think a cupid hit you”. I looked at him, my breath bated. “W-what do you mean?”, I stammered. Cass raised his brows. “I didn’t understand before just now… You think Lulu was created for you”. Dean let go of me, and turned around. “She was… wasn’t she?”. I heard the angel chuckle. “Angels didn’t put you two together, Dean”, Castiel said. “Happenstance and probably lust did that. Maybe even love”. “So you’re telling me what we had… was real?”, Dean asked. “I think what you have is real”, Cass responded.

A jolt went through my body, and I suddenly felt cold. Dean turned to look at me; his eyes wide. “It’s real”, he breathed. I stumbled backwards, and ran out of the room, and down the hall. “Lou!”, Dean called after me.

My heart was beating so hard, I was convinced I could see my chest jump. It was real. All this time, I’d wasted it. This was why Crowley wouldn’t make a deal with me. “Lou, please, stop!”. I turned to face Dean’s pained face. “I’m… This is my fault… All this time…”. I shook my head. “Dean, I can’t…”, I whispered; tears streaming from my eyes. “Please… I did this to you. To us. I filled your head with lies that I made up myself, because I was arrogant…”. He let out a defeated breath. “I’m so, so sorry, baby…”.

“Years…”, I whimpered. “I wasted years I could have had, being happy…”. “Without me in your head, having a real life. I know”, Dean croaked. “No”, I shook my head. “With you, Dean”. I took a step forward. “I wanted you, all along. And it was real”. “You shouldn’t…”, he began. “But I do. Me – my own decisions, no manipulation – I want you”. Dean looked down; and my heart fell into my stomach. “But… You don’t want…”. Dean almost ran over to me. “I do, baby. I do”, he said; and his arms were around me.

I began sobbing for real. “Please, Lou. Don’t leave me. Don’t walk out of my life again”, Dean whispered into my ear. I turned my head, and looked into his eyes. “Give me a reason to stay…”, I said.

Suddenly, Dean’s lips were on mine. All that pent-up emotion – those intense feelings – they were all ok to have, because they were my own. And I let go; allowed myself to feel them, as my lips parted, and I breathed in the man in front of me. The scent of him overtook me, and my knees almost gave in, when Dean suckled at my lower lip. He tore himself from our kiss, and looked at me with pleading eyes. “Can I please take you to my room, now?”. I couldn’t answer; so I just nodded.

Dean grabbed my hand, and led me down the hall, to room 11. As soon as we were inside, he slammed the door closed; and his lips were on mine again. “God, I’ve missed you”, he breathed against my mouth. He shed his shirt, and I stepped backwards; suddenly strangely self-aware. Dean was about to lift the hem of his t-shirt, but stopped himself, when he saw my face. “I… We don’t have to”. “No. I’m just…”. I swallowed hard. “What if I’m not that girl you first met anymore? I’m different, now…”. “So am I”, he smiled softly. “Hell. Purgatory… all that crap. It changed me. I think the thought of you was part of what pulled me through…”.

I sat down at the foot of the bed. “That’s just it”, I said. “You’ve been remembering that first-grade teacher, who danced on a table to the Ramones. Who didn’t know anything about vampires or ghosts… And who didn’t hunt”. Dean blew out a deep breath. “I’m… I know things are different for you”, he said. “And that’s my fault. I got you into all of this stuff”. “No… I’m in this life, because I want it. You’re so dead set on me living a normal life”, I sighed. “That’s the girl you want. But this is the woman I am”. I gestured towards the bandage on my neck, covering the wound from the vampire’s bite.

Dean stood for a while, seemingly having an internal conversation with himself. “Well, I guess that’s the woman I’m going to have to get to know”, he concluded. “But that amazing girl, who sassed me even when she thought I was a fed… The one who got drunk, poked my ass, and called it firm”, he chuckled. “The girl who danced with me to a song that’s become kind of a guilty pleasure to me… That’s still you as well. And I think the woman is just an improvement on her”.

I blushed, and looked down. “Well, it was firm. Your jeans were tighter then, so I don’t know about now”. Dean laughed. “And there’s that smart-ass mouth again. She’s still there”. I stood back up, and walked over to him; putting my hand on his cheek. I narrowed my eyes, and looked into his. “And you still have nice eyes”, I whispered; before getting on my toes, and putting my lips to his again. Deans arm slid around me; holding me flush against him. I ran my hand up his chest, and relished in the shivers I could feel going through his body.

With a firm hand on my hip, Dean backed me towards the bed; and as it hit the back of my knees, I fell backwards. Dean leaned over me; but before our lips could meet, I tugged at his t-shirt – wanting it off. Dean obliged with a smile. His body was more toned than I remembered it being. Years of hunting and fighting had made Dean leaner – with sharper edges, and more scars – but no less gorgeous.

Sitting up on the bed – my feet still on the floor – I let my fingers trace over a slight scar down Dean’s abdomen. “Lamia”, he muttered. I traced another, down his forearm. “A friend… in Purgatory”. I pulled myself backwards on the bed; and Dean followed. With a knee between my legs, he was once again over me, kissing my lips softly; and pulling at my tank-top. I lifted my arms, and let him take it off. His eyes glinted from the sight of my mostly bare torso; up until he saw the tulpa scar again.

Dean ran his thumb down the mark; and while I was delighting in the sensation of him touching me again, I saw darkness ghost his face. “I’m ok”, I smiled. “I hate that you go out there unprepared… You don’t know what you’re doing”, he grunted. “Tell that to the three vampires I killed last night…”, I said. “Now, do you want to fight, or do you wanna take my pants off?”. Dean couldn’t help but smirk. “Well, that’s an offer I can’t refuse…”, he muttered.

Running his hand from my ribs, to the waistline of my jeans; he opened the button, and pulled down the zipper – instantly sending electricity through my warmth from his mere proximity to it. I let out a short breath, as his fingers hooked into the fabric, and he pulled my pants down – stopping, when he realized I was still wearing boots. I laughed as I kicked them off; and Dean smilingly completed his task – getting rid of my socks while he was at it. Then his face darkened again.

“What’s that?”, he said, and gestured towards a ragged scar on my thigh. “The leviathan…”, I muttered. His eyes widened. “The Pete leviathan?”, he almost growled. “He did this to you?”. “Yeah, right before I cut his head off”, I whispered; feeling a bit exposed in my undress, with an angry looking hunter towering over me. “Dean, you’re starring… and not in a way that makes me feel very sexy…”. His gaze softened. “Sorry”, he muttered, and sat down on the bed next to me. “How did you get out of that alive?”. I smirked. “Dumb luck”, I said. “I was washing the floors of the bar, when Pete came in; asking me to come back to Kansas with him… Then, his feet started melting, and I ran up the stairs, for my sword. When he finally came up after me, his feet were halfway gone, and he wasn’t moving very fast – so I just slashed, and his head came off… Adrenaline, I guess”. Dean grunted. “But he still got you”, he said. “Just the one cut”, I smiled. “I had a local vet stitch it up”. Dean let his index finger graze the mark. “They did a bum ass job out of it”, he muttered. I rolled my eyes. “Considering getting a tattoo to cover it up”, I said. “Yeah, you need one of these”, Dean retorted, and pointed towards his own anti possession tattoo. I grinned, and turned around – showing him the small tattoo just next to my bra strap. “This one?”, I jeered. Dean ran a hand down his face, and shook his head in defeat. “You’re something else”, he smiled.

I grabbed his hand, and pulled him down to lay with me. Dean put his one thigh between mine; and the friction between his jeans clad leg against my core, made me gasp slightly. He smirked at my reaction, and grabbed my thigh gently; pulling it around his hip – and pressed against me. I whimpered softly, and put my hand behind Deans head, to pull him in for another kiss. I ran my tongue over his upper lip, while he suckled at my lower one. I felt Deans beginning erection press against my thigh, under his jeans; and slid my hand down his back – over his taught muscles – and hooked my thumb into his waistband; pushing down. Dean got the message, and lifted himself off me; opening his jeans, and taking them off.

Hooking my leg around Deans, I invited him back between my thighs; and he returned to his former position – pressing his thigh against my core. With his face in the crook of my neck, he began nibbling at my neck on the opposite side of the bite-wound – probably leaving hickeys. “Marking your territory? What are you, 16?”, I giggled. “You taste nice”, Dean breathed against my neck. “And that vamp got to bite you. Why shouldn’t I?” He grinded his thigh against me, and I whimpered again. He let his lips, teeth and tongue travel down my neck, and across my collarbone. I swayed my hips to rub against his leg, and he chuckled softly. “I like that I can still do this to you”, he muttered. “And I love that it’s because you really want to”, I breathed; and pulled his face up to kiss him again.

Our almost naked bodies entangled in this manner, was heavenly. Deans soft skin covering his firm muscles, so close to mine – it was as if we were built specifically to lay like this, together. But we weren’t built for it; which just made it so much better. It was just perfect all on its own.

Kissing Dean deeply; my tongue demanded access to his. Dean didn’t take much convincing, and with a stifled moan, he brushed it against mine. I tried to pull him all the way on top of me, but Dean shook his head – continuing to press his thigh against my covered folds. It was as if he knew something I didn’t. Putting his hand on my breast, he squeezed it for a moment, before pulling down the cup under it – giving him access to my nipple. He rolled it gently between two fingers, sending shivers down my spine, and pulsating jolts straight from it, to my core.

I used all my strength to move my one leg, so that Dean would be all the way on top of me, between my thighs; but once again, he shook his head – and tweezed my nipple a little harder. “Please…”, I pleaded against Dean’s lips. He used his free hand to hold my leg in place. “Not yet”, he breathed. “Like this. I wanna see you…”.

He pressed is flexed thigh even harder against me; and began moving back and forth. He wanted me to come undone on his leg – without any skin to skin contact on my folds. The sensation was frustrating, and yet amazingly pleasurable. I wanted to feel him inside me, but all I got was this rubbing; this intense and hot friction.

Dean’s lips left mine, and he looked at me intently, as my breath grew ragged; and the warmth in my vagina grew into a pulsating fire. He put one hand around my back – grabbing on to my shoulder to keep me from pulling away from his leg – and the other dug into my thigh; forcing it to stay around his hip. “Move, baby. Don’t stop”, he demanded in a soft voice. I ground my hips back and forth, desperately – and suddenly the coil in my lower abdomen snapped; and I came against his thigh, with breathy moans and squeals.

Coming down from my high, my whole body almost shivering from the orgasm along with the frustration of not feeling like I actually finished properly; I looked pleadingly at Dean. “That wasn’t fair…”, I whimpered. He looked at me confusedly. “You didn’t…?”. I was still shaking. “Obviously, I did… But I wanted you inside”, I said quietly. Dean chuckled. “Baby, you think I’m done with you? I’m making up for lost time, here”, he smirked. “That was just prep-work…”.

I attacked his lips with a fervor, pushing him to lay on his back. Straddling his waist, I opened my bra, and took it off – throwing it over my shoulder – and earning a pleased smile from the man between my legs. “Touch me”, I breathed. Deans eyes widened, and his hands found my breasts – pushing them together, and massaging them. He looked at me like I was a delicious piece of pie he couldn’t wait to chow down on. As he ran his thumbs over my nipples, I carefully moved my bottom backwards; and felt his hardness against me again.

Dean drew in a short breath, when I began moving my hips back and forth on top of him – grinding against his penis, over his boxers. He moved his hands down to my hips, and tried to get me off him, so he could take off his underwear; but I just smirked, and shook my head. “Not so fun, when the tables are turned, is it?”, I said. “Lou…”, Dean said warningly, as he raised a brow at me. “You’re playing with fire here…”. “Am I? I thought I was playing with your…”.

Suddenly I was on my back again; and Dean pulled off my panties, and his own boxers. He laid down between my legs, and looked at me intently. “I don’t wanna play anymore. I just want you”, he breathed. I smiled, and nodded.

With a hand around his member, he positioned himself against my entrance; and pushed himself inside me with a muffled moan. For a moment we just laid there; looking into each other’s eyes. “Can I say it now?”, Dean breathed. I swallowed hard. “Only if you mean it”, I croaked. His brows furrowed, and he put his hand on my cheek, stroking my cheekbone with his thumb.

“I love you”, he said. My breath hitched. “I love you too”, I whispered; and our lips met in a soft kiss.

---

#dean winchester #dean winchester x oc #dean x oc #dean winchester fic #sam winchester #supernatural #supernatural fic #dean winchester smut

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transmuted-treasure · 5 years ago

Photo

30 Day Dragon Share, begin!

Day 1 - favorite light dragons

Tanika, Taffy, Tulsi, Noxcupio, Klexi, and Osley

Tanika is a guardian statue of a temple. People leave offering of flowers for her in thanks.

Taffy is a performer who adds all sorts of sound effects for a traveling circus. He’s a bit cocky but really good at his job.

Tulsi is the apprentice to my resident healer. He’s rather young but has lots of talent, and communicates mostly through sign language.

Noxcupio is the patron spirit of wishes. She’s also just really pretty and I love her.

Klexi is my DnD character, but here she’s a blacksmith who lives happily with her wife and everything is fine, no one dies.

Osley is with the same circus as Taffy. He can shift between dragon and maren forms at will, and puts on some really impressive shows.

#30 day dragon share #flight rising #i don't have many light dragons now that i think about it #tanika and noxcupio don't have much lore

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fang-fr · 5 years ago

Note

zephynoodles here sending some asks for the ask meme: The Tangled Wood, The Viridian Labyrinth, Gladekeeper, Coatl

Thank you for the ask! Sorry I’m a bit late getting to it, I slept in this morning -.-;

The Tangled Wood: What’s your favorite FR deity?

Hmmm....well, almost my entire clan worships the Shadowbinder, and I have a soft spot in my heart for her, but I think my FAVORITE is probably Windsinger. Not necessarily because of any onsite canon lore, but because my Wind Godling, Ven, is my favorite Godling and he’s sort of my interpretation of what the Windsinger would be like if he were a mortal dragon.

The Viridian Labyrinth: Do you have a favorite familiar?

There’s so many I don’t think I can choose any one single favorite, but I especially love the Dwarf Fungus, Moonlit Fungi, Mossy Cerdae, and those two hot maren dudes who were released for one of the Water festivals.

Gladekeeper: Do your dragons’ names follow any themes/patterns and if so does that play into their lore?

Nnnnope! lol. I used to have a rule that all my dragons had to be named after characters in existing properties and franchises, but I threw that out the window a long time ago. Now I name them whatever seems to fit them best. If they are named after an existing character, I try to incorporate some of that character’s personality into their lore.

Coatl: Which dragon breed has your favorite lore, regardless of how much you like/dislike how they look?

WELL....okay, I...am bad at keeping up with site lore, so I don’t really know what the lore is for the new ancients other than what I’ve gleaned from being on tumblr. I think I like guardian lore the best; I really love the whole concept of a Charge. It provides a lot of groundwork for interesting storytelling.

#zephynoodles #asks #Anonymous

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fishysaltine · 5 years ago

Text

Isn’t It Love?

She should have noticed. Should have done something to stop it, shouldn’t have ignored it until the last moment where she couldn’t.

But she did.

It’s not even that she didn’t notice at some point. Definitely not after the first time the warlock had walked the void, or the second, or the third.

But she did after the fourth. And all the times after that.

She watched as the Maren went silent and slack-jawed as her eyes glazed over, watched as the warlock stared at walls for minutes on end, going completely still. Heard as she exclaimed to the open air in something that wasn’t even close to resembling English or Eliksni. Watched Maren push herself for days on end without sleep, only to crash and wake up hours later screaming and thrashing.

Watched as Maren strangled herself in her sleep. (Khaleesi never let her sleep by herself after that)

Maren faded more and more every day. She was losing herself to the void more and more with every passing moment.

Khaleesi had no idea what to do about it, no clue how to stop it. (She became desperate once the seizures started. Once Maren began to mumble incoherently and consistently, movements slow and ragdoll like.)

So Khaleesi did something she never thought, in any century or dynasty, she would do.

She turned to the Vanguard. More specifically, Ikora Rey.

Khaleesi found the Warlock Vanguard in the Bazaar, speaking with another guardian. Khaleesi waited before stalking up to the Warlock. She tipped her head. Cautiously or curiously, Khaleesi would never know.

“I need your… advice,” She didn’t need help, just a suggestion, a hint, something.

“Advice on what, exactly?” Rey questioned, a definite edge to her voice.

“My friend, she’s…” The Titan sighed, searching for the right words “I think… I think she’s losing herself to the void and I- don’t know what to do,” Khaleesi swallowed, forcing an imaginary lump of emotions in her throat down. “I don’t need help, but I need a suggestion, something, anything that might help me save her.”

Ikora sighed, turning to straighten a stack of papers on her desk, glancing up to The Traveler. “Io,” she glanced back to the Exo “I know your feelings of The Traveler, but I believe to help your friend,” Rey stopped for a moment, voice wavering as if she knew something “you must take her to Io,” Khaleesi scrubbed a hand down her face, before mumbling a ‘thank you’.

The Warlock nodded “I wish you luck on this journey, Khaleesi-4.”

Khaleesi chuckled as she walked away. She was going to need as much luck as she could get.

Khaleesi leaned back in her seat with an exasperated groan, turning to watch Maren in the cockpit. She was doing the same thing she’d been doing for the past five days now, staring at the opposite wall and mumbling.

Once they reached the surface of Io Khaleesi went back to Maren, crouching in front of her. Maren stared through Khaleesi, giving her shivers. She pulled off her glove and pressed the palm of her hand to Maren's cheek, and even though her dull sensors she could pick up that Maren’s skin was cold and clammy. In the terrible lighting of her ship, she could see how pale the human was, her eyes and cheeks sunken in.

Khaleesi slid her hand to the nape of the human's neck before picking her up, stuttering as Maren shoved her face under the Titan’s chin, still muttering. Khaleesi smothered the rising hope in her chest that her-

That Maren was still in there, clinging to the edges of her shattering mind.

Khaleesi noticed once they transmitted onto Io that something felt different. She couldn’t name it, but she could feel it, buzzing inside her. She noted when she walked in a certain direction, it grew.

But was she supposed to chase that feeling, or run from it?

Khaleesi dimly listened to Maren’s quiet muttering as they walked, spotting a Blight in the distance. She felt as she walked toward the Blights the buzzing swell increased. Khaleesi un-slung the Rocket Launcher that Maren used from her limp body, propping her up against a tree while she went to destroy the Blight.

Khaleesi slid into the Taken dome, shooting the Blight’s core as Psions split around her. Once the Blight was destroyed, she was rewarded with a Taken Centurion. Annoyed, she summoned her super, the ground shaking as she slammed her hammer into the ground. The Taken roared as they burned and disappeared, and Khaleesi turned around to pick up the discarded Rocket Launcher, nearly slamming her head into a tree. It was radiating light, and she took a moment to address the buzzing in her chest before her ghost appeared next to her, staring at the tree. The Ghost slowly flew closer to the tree, scanning it.

“This is… interesting,” Her Ghost buzzed around the tree “This is a powerful Light energy signature, there are more around, but I can’t pinpoint exactly where they are… it’s like an anomaly.”

“Like the ones Drifter talks about?” She could work with that.

“Worth a shot,” her Ghost hummed before disappearing.

Khaleesi returned to Maren, picking her up before going to search for another Blight, listening to her soft mumbles.

She stopped listening once Maren said something about the ‘Birth of Sadness’.

After a while of traversing, Khaleesi hadn’t found any more Blights. She didn’t have time for this- Maren didn’t have time for this.

“We could go lower.”

“How will that help?”

“Do you have any other plans, Kalani-2?”

“...”

“That’s what I thought.”

Khaleesi shook her head furiously, making her Exo counterparts stop arguing. She began to find a way to head deeper. Wandering around the surface wasn’t doing them good, just wasting time.

Once Khaleesi had found a cave she began walking downwards, the buzzing inside her growing like it had when she was near the tree. As she continued, the buzzing grew and grew until it seemed as though it was blaring in her ears like cicadas. Khaleesi shook her pounding head, wishing it would just stop already-

She thought about turning back several times, but the cold weight in her arms kept her going. They kept going, and the buzzing grew. It was starting to hurt. Is this what a migraine felt like? Khaleesi has had headaches in the past, Maren was always there to give her the pain relief injections, give her a freezing cold rag that she could feel through her dim sensors. She remembered a time when Maren had given her a massage with Arc, simply to help ease the pain.

Great, now her chest ached too.

They stumbled until they came to a room roaring and buzzing with light. There were more trees scattered around the room, and they emitted the same type of strange energy. Khaleesi jumped from the ledge into a shallow stream of water that seemed to glow. She approached a tree that was in a small alcove. Khaleesi gripped Maren tighter, feeling her twitch.

The muttering had stopped.

Khaleesi stared down at the limp warlock. Her eyes were half-lidded, she was slack-jawed, her eyes were glazed over.

But she had stopped muttering.

Khaleesi stepped closer to the tree, watching Maren twitch against her. Another step, another twitch. Closer and closer, the more twitchy she became.

Khaleesi set Maren down at the base of the tree, stepping back and watching as she twitched and jerked. Without warning the tree began to disappear, and she was barely able to catch Maren by her cloak to keep her from falling back. Khaleesi pulled Maren closer to her, looking at her face.

Her eyes looked like mirrors.

There was no pupil, and Khaleesi could see her own, blurry reflection in those eyes. No, no, they were supposed to be gray. Gray like the clouds, gray like in a wolves coat. Gray like smoke and ashes. Gray like some of those dumb pigeons she saw in the city. She squeezed the human tighter, heaving heavy breaths into Maren’s collar. This isn’t fair, it isn’t fair. It’s not. Fair. Her chest ached, her head throbbed and instead of fixing an issue the Traveler and it’s trees just finished the job of shattering Maren’s mind.

Maren gave a groan of discomfort as Khaleesi squeezed her shoulders tighter, shifting uncomfortably. Khaleesi gasped, leaning back again to examine her. Maren blinked lazily several times as her head lolled around on her shoulders. Khaleesi barely had any time to inspect before taken rifts began appearing. Khaleesi leaned down, scooping up the limp warlock and running back out of the cave, hearing Taken screech and roar behind them. She stumbled as she maneuvered Maren around Khaleesi’s waist, earning another groan. Maren shoved her nose into the crook of Khaleesi’s neck, apparently not caring about shifting metal plates as the Titan hauled ass to get them away from the Taken and back to the surface. Khaleesi stumbled up loose rock, praying that her grips could keep hold so she didn’t slip and fall.

A hand cannons kickback had her stumbling.

Maren groaned, rubbing her forehead against Khaleesi’s shoulder. “Bil- summon my sparrow once it’s available.”

“Got it,” the ghost replied, “Just a bit farther up!”

Another gunshot, another groan. “Just a little further Maren,” Khaleesi told her, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Here! Now!” Bilgahn called out, the sparrow appearing underneath Khaleesi. She gripped the handles and boosted up the hill, crashing into the walls due to narrow turns, the noises of the Taken slowly falling further behind them.

When they got back to the surface of Io, Khaleesi slowed down enough to focus on Maren. She rubbed circles below Maren’s shoulder blades, feeling the warlocks gentle puffs of air against a sensitive silicone throat. Khaleesi shuddered at the feeling. She leaned Maren back to look down at her face, seeing her eyebrows knitted and lips parted in a restless sleep. Khaleesi gave a determined sigh as she transmatted onto her ship.

She set Maren down on a small bench, pulling a thin blanket over her. Khaleesi ran a thumb along the warlocks cheekbone and across her jaw.

“That couldn’t have possibly been it,”

“You complaining?”

“No, just suspicious. It seemed too easy,”

“How is that Shiloh?”

“Go to Io, extract Taken, set her down by a tree, and it’s fixed? Seems unlikely, don’t you think?”

“Good point. But after everything don’t we deserve a bit of simple and easy?”

“No doubt. But that doesn’t always mean it’s good or the best way to go.”

Khaleesi was tired. She rubbed between her eyes in a pinched annoyance. She sat in the cockpit, looking at her worn reflection. Small knicks and scratches covering her face, silver metal standing out against deep red. She rubbed a thumb against a deep knick above her eye, leaning to look at Maren before setting course for the Tangled Shore.

Khaleesi carried Maren into her small hideout, nudging the door open with her shoulder. She laid her on the small cot of her room, the desks scattered with papers and tools. Khaleesi sighed, pulling up the covers and brushing a stray strand of faded pink hair from the sleeping human’s face. Khaleesi studied Maren’s face for a careful moment, noticing light freckles dusted across her cheeks. Khaleesi stared in awe, she had never noticed them before. An ache formed in her chest as her gaze flicked to Maren’s soft-looking lips slightly parted in sleep. Their natural pink matching almost perfectly with her desaturated hair. Khaleesi leaned in closer, her Exo lips parting ever so slightly-

Khaleesi jerked away, rigid as she briskly walked out the door. Whatever sense she had lost had returned to her in a favorable moment. She was tired and stressed, that’s what the reason for this was. It had to be, there was no other excuse that there could be.

This ache in her chest, it couldn’t be what she thought it was. Couldn’t be what deep down in her rolling gut, she knew it was. Exo’s weren’t made for this, they weren’t made for that.

Exo’s weren’t made to feel love or anything to go along with it.

Khaleesi wandered the shore, killing Fallen, Hive, and remaining Cabal from the Red War.

“Exo’s learned how to become more than just husks-“

She took down a wizard.

“Learned how to be more than machines-“

Cleared out a lost sector.

“Learned how to be human-“

Killed a Colossus.

“So by that logic,”

“Exos can love.”

“Correct.”

Khaleesi sat, sighing shakily. She needed to figure this out. She would come back and check in on Maren in a few days, just to make sure she was okay.

Two months. It took her two months, and she still didn’t know what this feeling was. She was worried about Maren constantly. Her thoughts consumed by the warlock, her dreams. (Her face heated by the very thought of some of the dreams)

Khaleesi wanted to go back, make sure Maren was at least okay. She lost count how many times she’d transmatted to the Shore, only to choke up and leave seconds later. Shiloh and Kalani began to argue about it, accusing one another of being the chicken until they remembered how Khaleesi wasn’t simply a mix of the Exo’s conscious, but a completely different being herself.

Khaleesi was the chicken.

But nowhere she stood, at Maren's doorstep and her ghost bumped against her in vigor. “You need to talk to her,” The ghost said, jabbing a sharp point into the Exo’s back.

Khaleesi wasn’t used to this roiling anxiety “I know, what... what do I say?”

“No clue, but I have a feeling you’ll figure it out.”

She swallowed, pushing the door open to peer inside the small hideout Maren called home. Khaleesi opened her mouth to call out for Maren, but the ghost of a tongue swelled to the roof of her mouth. She settled for walking through the house, searching for Maren instead of calling for her. As she went further into the house she could hear people talking. The Exo slowed, not recognizing the voices. The lights were off, except for a moving light that shone into the hallway. She slowly peered around the corner, and nearly cried out in relief.

Maren was sitting on her worn-down couch, staring at the tv with a furrow between her brows. Her feet were propped up on the coffee table next to a bowl of popcorn that Khaleesi had gotten her from the city to try. She wasn’t even wearing any armor or had noticed that Khaleesi was in the house.

The Titan would forever deny the sound that came from her voice box.

Maren snapped her head towards Khaleesi, her mouth agape as it was ready to receive more popcorn. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before Maren stood, nearly knocking over her popcorn in the process. She crashed into Khaleesi, stumbling her with a soft ‘Khal’.

Khaleesi slowly placed a hand at the back of the human neck, rubbing it as her optics began to blur. She shoved her face into Maren’s hair with a shaky sigh, breathing her in. Her sensors relayed the familiar smells. ‘Coffee, coconut, vanilla’. But there was a new feeling that the sensors relayed that she’d never felt before.

Maren unlatched herself from Khaleesi’s armor, stepping away. “Hey Khal,” she said softly, searching the Exo’s face.

“Hey Baby,” Khaleesi smiled faintly at the nickname, the way it made her stomach flutter.

“Where’ve you been?”

Khaleesi shifted, grabbing Maren’s wrists from where they rested on her shoulders.

“Just be straight forward, just tell the truth!”

“Please do, it will be alright.”

“Thinking,” she replied, entertaining the thought of bringing one of Maren’s hands to cup her cheek, to kiss her knuckles like she dreamed.

“About what?”

Khaleesi hummed, staring at the ground and gathering her courage.

“About you,”

Maren sputtered “Huh?”

Khaleesi settled for rubbing Maren’s knuckles “I’ve been thinking about you a lot recently, and I- uh,” Khaleesi stuttered as her courage started running out, looking back at Maren only to be met with wide eyes like mirrors staring at her. Khaleesi cupped Maren’s face, staring at her own concerned reflection in those eyes. “Maren…?”

“Are you serious?” Maren questioned with a nervous tone. Khaleesi’s stomach dropped, swallowing as her face heated in shame. Of course Maren wouldn’t be interested in her like that, they were two different people! Besides, Khaleesi was only out for herself, she didn’t need anyone else. “Woah, Khaleesi? Khal are… are you crying?”

Khaleesi jerked, rubbing her eyes as they came away with a black, sticky substance. It took her a moment to realize that yes, she was crying. But why was she crying about this? Why did it hurt so bad? The Exo tried to process the thoughts and emotions that were running through her head. “I… I’m just going to go,” Khaleesi muttered as she was already walking towards the door. She stumbled as she was tugged back by her wrist. Maren stared at Khaleesi’s hand, rubbing over the armored plates of her gauntlet.

“I- I didn’t mean it like… like that,” she whispered as she chewed on her lip.

A blossom of hope formed in the Exo’s chest. “How did you mean it then?” Khaleesi stepped closer. Maren shook her head, pressing herself up against the Exo. Khaleesi wrapped her arms around Maren, holding her there. Maren trailed her fingers up Khaleesi’s nape, tracing the ports at the base of her head, causing the Exo to shiver. Maren leaned up, standing on her toes as her lips parted her so slightly-

Khaleesi leaned down and pressed her lips to Maren’s, mirroring the hold Maren had on Khaleesi’s head. She placed a hand on the human’s hip as she sank with a satisfied sigh, pulling Khaleesi’s lips down with her. The Exo nuzzled and parted her metal lips in the best imitation of a kiss that she could muster. Maren pulled away, Khaleesi following until she laid her head on the Exo’s chest. She sighed, placing her chin on top of bright pink hair and tracing the arch of Maren’s spine as they slowly began to sway back and forth.

Yeah, this was alright.

#destiny 2 #oc x oc #lesbian #denial of feelings #exo #human #fluff #angst #light angst?#happy ending #honestly these are probably my favorite Oc's #i have no idea what to do now #lesbian daughters #my daughters #this isn't alabama #angst with a happy ending

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mavngata-blog · 6 years ago

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⋆ ◦ ° ☾ katie siegel + cisfemale + she/her — have you seen maren stokes? they sure have been hanging out at the warehouse a lot recently. they are a thirty two year old known as the shambolic, and they currently work for the savages as a bounty hunter, which they’ve been doing for six years. a bisexual capricorn, they are reliable + adaptable, as well as fatalistic + grudging. still-lit cigarettes in an ash tray, the stench of motel rooms, & spitting blood.

so.. no surprise, i am trash and katie siegel is the current loml. what can i say? i have no more excuses. peep my new baby girl under the cut!

** alcoholism, drugs tw **

HISTORY. maren is the oldest sibling of two sisters, born to parents too consumed in their own vices to bother raising the girls. maren was nearly seven years old when she and her sister finally fell into the right hands --- those of an aunt that neither daughter had heard of before due to the tumultuous relationship shared between the aunt and the mother. their aunt tara was a dream in comparison to their parents; she was attentive, doting, warm-hearted --- everything a mother should be, and the stokes sisters melted under her care. it was entirely unfortunate, however, that they lived in a place like valdez, where all things light come to die. maren’s little sister was the first sucked into the underground life, and maren tried to play hero, she really did. but it turned out that she was just as susceptible to addiction as her sister. at first it was drugs and then as she got older she turned to sex as her means of escape. she hitched herself up to a savage who told her she could find good work as an escort and so that’s what she became. from ages eighteen to twenty three, sex and drugs and alcohol are all she knew. it took one close call for her to get her shit together, but that close call wasn’t her own --- it was her sister’s. her sister barely survived her overdose after a lethal mixture that should have left her dead, and maren was swift to place them both in a rehabilitation center. maren faired relatively well, her sister.. struggled. and of course, as it’s said, history repeated itself when her sister fell pregnant and found unfit to mother her daughter. maren forfeited her rights as legal guardian to her aunt tara, knowing she was the most fit out of all of them. but maren loves her niece dearly and everything she does in life is meant to build a better one for that little girl. the savages had always treated maren well and it was easy to find a new line of work amidst their ranks as a bounty hunter. her sister comes and goes, often tweaking from one thing or another, and it no longer saddens maren to see her --- instead, it fills her with rage. maren’s only vice nowadays is the bottle, which she laps at nearly everyday just to make it through.

PERSONALITY. maren, for the most part, is smooth as a bottle of scotch. she is nonchalant, stoney faced, chill. she sees the world in shades of gray, and i’m not using that as a metaphor --- her sight has been dulled over the years thanks to the alcohol. she doesn’t consider herself an alcoholic, more like.. alcoholic-adjacent. but the only time she can’t be found with a bottle somewhere is when she’s on the job. she takes her job very seriously and feels a deep sense of loyalty to her savage family. she is a silent worker as all criminals ought to be --- she gets it done and goes about her business accordingly. the softest you may ever see her is when she’s around her aunt or her niece; the rest of her time is spent brooding in a corner somewhere. don’t let her cool demeanor fool you, though; she has plenty of bite. she wouldn’t be very good at her job if it didn’t require a little hands-on training. she is pessimistic, a bit of a downer. don’t try to ask her for advice or hopeful words because she will not deliver, and she tends to be pretty blunt with her thoughts when provoked. overall, she’s relatively unbothered, trying to go about her life with as little disruption as possible.

CONNECTIONS. maren has been around since she was a wee thing so that can either help or hurt our chances at plots adjhak. her day job is a real estate agent so ya know if your muse needs a house or a building to squat in while they runnin’ from the cops, she can hook that up probably. she is an ex escort, but she’s been out of practice for about nine years. that said, if your muse has been around for a while and they ever needed an escort, well.. she could have been it! i’m sure there are some exes spread around town, also --- old flames, toxic, bad terms, good terms, super serious, whatever. and maybe people who have known her since childhood? there’s no such thing as too many friends, ofc. maybe some oddball connections to her sister and therefore to her? those are p flexible. enemy plots are always a fun time, too. these are weak sauce because i am weak sauce, but my heart is really in it, u kno.. if you wanna plot these out or maybe none of these tickle your fancy and you just wanna brainstorm, feel free to message me or leave a LIKE and i’ll find my way to you instead! we’re all friends here!

#outlaw.intro #i considered q-ing this for tomorrow sometime #but nah #drugs tw #alcoholism tw

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ask-the-last-man-standing · 6 years ago

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Peering Into the Mind

Master Inquisitor Vardis paced quickly to and fro along the length of the interrogation room. Within said room, there laid only a simple, if small, wooden table and two small chairs to match; one of which was filled by Dunstan, who’s head was propped up primarily by his arms on the table. Lining the walls was a long row of Grey Knights watching the insides of the room closely for any missteps as four other Inquisitors watched from the corners. After a while, Dunstan sat up a bit straighter, “Master Inquisitor… it’s been six days… is this- “

“Chzt.”

“But- “

“Stavet.”

“Sir- “

“Shut. Up.” Dunstan groaned softly and laid his face back in the crook of his arm as the Master Inquisitor continued pacing.

Two more whole hours passed in this manner before the door opened, and a smallish woman entered the room; once she did, Master Inquisitor Vardis descended on her like a wolf, barking much like one as well, “Inquisitor Maren, where in the name of the Emperor were you; you’re twenty minutes late, putting us twenty minutes behind schedule!”

“She was with me, Vardis,” The door opened wider as Lord General Militant Iraklis Eliot stepped in behind her, “I respect that you value punctuality, and I ask that you respect that I value results; results you have not been providing.”

Master Inquisitor Vardis growled, but relented the point, “Bah, whatever, take your seat so we can begin,” he commanded, moving to stand by the empty chair, of which was promptly filled by Inquisitor Maren, the Lord General Militant standing on the opposite side of the same chair. With everyone in place, the Master Inquisitor pulled out a small datapad and spoke into it, “Project David, resumed; test number seventeen. Preceding Inquisitor; Master Inquisitor Vardis Enrique with Grey Knight compliment. Current Interrogation; Inquisitor Maren Insilva on Sergeant Dunstan Tito De Sergius. Resuming project.”

And with the Master Inquisitor’s recording began, Inquisitor Maren looked at Dunstan straight in the eyes, “Sergeant Dunstan Tito De Sergius… may I call you Dunstan?”

Dunstan sat up straighter, “Sure, I guess. So… we ready to do this?” He asked softly, having seen what happened to everyone before her that participated in this project.

The look on his face told her everything she needed to know about what would end up happening to her.

Inquisitor Maren sighed, closed her eyes, took a deep breath; and as she opened them, she used her psychic abilities to push into Dunstan’s mind, allowing the room and all within it to fade from her mind, and focused solely on what she saw.

As Inquisitor Maren peered into Dunstan’s mind, all she could see was what she expected to see: a mix and flush of colors and shapes with no true form or function; emotion and expression that meant nothing… just what anyone expects, upon peering into the Warp for the first time. But Inquisitor Maren was not a first time Psyker, no, she has seen the warp often enough to push through the stubborn glows and struggles deeper in, ignoring every thought Dunstan had going through his head, no matter how small or large it was.

That was… until Inquisitor Maren heard a noise unlike any other before; and though most of her mind pleaded with her to turn and leave, she pushed forward and followed the sound through more shades of abstract colors and shapes, the misasma growing more and more difficult to push thruough as she came closer and closer to the source of the sound.

And when Inquisitor Maren finally pushed through the last of the struggling Warp, she was in an empty room, the familiar miasma forming a wall around the outsides, leaving this pocket of emptiness inside. Now, if Inquisitor Maren was a normal Psyker or just curious, she would have assumed the empty room was just that; empty. But Inquisitor Maren was neither a normal Psyker, nor simply curious; she was here on a mission and would see that mission done.

Taking a breath, Inquisitor Maren unleashed her psychic powers onto the empty space, forcing whatever lived within to reveal itself. It took tremendous power to force even the first being to be revealed: Dunstan, standing motionless and staring straight ahead. She knew immediately this was not the same Dunstan that was in the material realm; however, he was far too solid in this world of lunacy. It seemed this Dunstan was little more than a placeholder in this room; something more akin to a desk rather than a living creature. And so, she pushed further.

And as Inquisitor Maren pushed further, she could feel the strain set in as the next figures appeared… or, more accurately, the next few million figures arrived. Standing behind Dunstan was an army of ethereally-glowing figures of varying shapes and sizes going on as far as the eye could see; if Inquisitor Maren didn’t know any better, she would say that these figures pushed out into even the miasma, being to numerous to even be contained in this humungous room. Looking closer, Inquisitor Maren was able to notice the features on these ethereal bodies become more and more obvious; within this crowd, there were Guardsmen, Astartes, Orks, Tau, Daemons, and almost everything else, all simply standing there, motionless, but watching her, like silent guardians. It was clear that these beings were not mere objects like Dunstan was in the middle, but instead, more akin to Warp Spirits bound to an area than anything else. The significance of these creatures was lost on Inquisitor Maren, but not the gaping holes inside the army, showing that there was two massive creatures that had not yet been revealed.

It took every last scrap of Inquisitor Maren’s power to reveal these massive creatures, and even when she did, she still wasn’t quite sure what she was looking at. On Dunstan’s right side stood a massive, almost frog-like creature staring down at her. From the get-go, Inquisitor Maren could instantly feel the immense psychic power radiating from this creature, and she could almost feel her power and energy being replenished just by being in it’s presence. The sheer amount of psychic power being unleashed from this creature reminded her heavily of the Dark Gods, but unlike them, this creature held no malice, no benevolence, no emotion or aspect of creatures of any kind; it simply existed peacefully as it watched her closely.

Turning to see the left side of Dunstan, Inquisitor Maren almost immediately recoiled from the being; standing before her was a massive amalgamation of mechanical draconic, humanoid, and other monstrous parts haphazardly fused into one being, said being splitting into fragments before being formed back into a single being every time she blinked. As she forced herself to look back at the creature, it became plainly obvious that this being was the polar opposite of the one on Dunstan’s right. Whereas the other being radiated psychic power, this one drained it, not all too dissimilar to one with less than no presence in the warp would. Whereas the other being existed with no emotion or aspect, this one looked down upon her with hatred and hunger, malice and intent. While it was clear to Inquisitor Maren that neither of these beings were Gods as she understands them, nor even Chaos for that matter and had never seen these creatures before; she could not shake the feeling that these creatures not only knew her, but that deep in Inquisitor Maren’s heart… she somehow knew them as well…

But it was on that thought that Inquisitor Maren lost her footing, and was dragged out of the Warp and back into the material realm; whether the reason be that she actually did lose her footing, or Inquisitor Maren simply lingered too long and was forced out was unknown to her… and she wasn’t sure he even wanted to know either…

And yet, here she was. Living, breathing, having been expelled a little faster than anticipated, but otherwise fine. Regardless, she felt amazing, actually; the things in Dunstan’s mind left her feeling terrified, sure, but also inspired, readier than ever to ensure the safety of the Imperium. She truly had no idea why the commission was so high for such a simple task; sure, it would be taxing on lower level Psykers, and Psykers of her level were incredibly rare, but still could be found, an of course… she wouldn’t complain about the commission, ether. More Throne-Gelt is more Throne-Gelt, after all.

As Inquisitor Maren was about to turn to the Master Inquisitor to explain what she saw, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye… across the table… Turning to look, she saw it was just Dunstan, which confused her as to why it drew her eyes. She quickly scanned him over, looking for whatever it was that caught her attention… until their eyes locked…

Immediately Inquisitor Maren reeled back, outright falling out of her chair as she scrambled away from the table. Where Dunstan’s previously yellow eyes once were, was now a pit of emptiness, inside of which was little more than a black hole of hope and aspirations. As she looked, she found she could not look away, and the deeper she looked, the darker it became. She saw the fires of creation, the heat death of the universe, and everything in between. She saw everyone she ever knew die, she saw plagues ravage worlds, she saw Chaos fighting Tyranids over a handful of fearful survivors, she saw the darkest depths of Commorragh, and even the process of turning the Emperor’s Angels into twisted minions of the Dark Gods, everything and anything was seen in these horrid pits; she could only imagine why everyone was looking at her like she was the odd one.

Inquisitor Maren tried to yell, to scream, to point, to do anything to show everyone what kind of monster was sitting calmly in that chair. And as she saw more and more, she saw the creatures that haunted the inside of Dunstan’s mind fade into existence. She saw the spectral army, the frog-like being, the malice of the mechanical monster, all looking at her with intent. Inquisitor Maren continued trying to show everyone what was happening, her voice going hoarse from her screaming; all of this horror accumulating to one of the spectral beings, a ridiculously oversized, but mostly brightly lit and obscured Astartes by the look of it, slowly holding out it’s hand.

In the moment of terror and panic, Inquisitor Maren gathered her psychic energy and launched lightning from her fingers directly at the being, only for the lightning to never leave her fingers as a familiar BLAM echoed through the narrow room. And the very last thing that went through Inquisitor Maren’s mind was not fear or anguish… but comfort. That the being did not have it’s hand outstretched to harm her, no, it knew what was going to happen. It was welcoming her, and it was time to accept it.

As Inquisitor Maren’s body finally slumped completely to the floor, now missing the upper section of her head, Master Inquisitor Vardis turned sharply to the Grey Knight who had his smoking Storm Bolter still aimed at the corpse, “You absolute lunatic! Do you have any idea what you just cost us! Hold your Emperor-Damned fire until I give the order, do you understand me!”

“She was a threat, Master Inquisitor. She would have put the project in danger,” The Grey Knight responded, far more calmly than the Master Inquisitor did. But before he had another chance to blow up at the Grey Knight, the Lord General Militant placed a calming hand on his shoulder and shook his head.

“… Next time keep your finger off that trigger until I damn well say to put it on,” He berated the Grey Knight, allowing himself to be pulled out of the room, “We were this close, Iraklis. This close.”

“I know, Vardis, I know… but that is no reason to abuse the Knights; they are only here for security, and you know this,” The Lord General Militant replied slowly and coolly, “Now, instead of feeding our frustration at another failure, let’s review our successes, hm?”

Master Inquisitor Vardis sighed deeply before reading over his datapad, “So, based on our tests, it seems the lowest level of Psyker that we can use that will not only get us our results, but manage to escape alive is on the border of Gamma and Beta, but with what happened, it’s clear that the Psyker suffers from Paranoid Schizophrenia as a result of the experience at best, and entry level demonic possession at worst. This means that if we are able to properly restrain another Psyker of the same level and ensure they neither get possessed nor killed, we may be able to extract some information about what we’re dealing with.”

Lord General Militant Iraklis Eliot nodded, stroking his beardless chin, a sight that made the Master Inquisitor smirk softly in the comfort of his own well-groomed beard, “Well Vardis, that is well, but we still have an issue.”

“Sayisiz Psykers are rare and exceptionally weak, yes I know. If you lot were even more ridiculous with your psychic presence, the Inquisition would classify your whole world as an Upsilon Level Psyker planet.”

“Vardis… you are a Sayis.”

“Yes, yes, I know, but unlike the rest of you, I actually am a Psyker,” He grinned as if it was something to be proud of, “Anyway, yes, I know. Sayisiz Psykers of that level are both rare and exceptionally expensive to use. Inquisitor Maren was only by a fluke that I stumbled across her paperwork… I don’t suppose you have any ideas?”

The Lord General Militant shook his head, “… What we may need to do is send this ‘advertisement’ over the Imperium itself; and of which, the obvious issues are obvious.”

Master Inquisitor Vardis nodded, “Yes, the Ordo Insol is still a… distrusted Ordo among the greater Imperium. We’d have to use more private channels… possibly by sending a psychic message?”

The Lord General Militant shook his head, “No, too many powerful Psykers loyal to the more extreme and paranoid factions… here… let me work my magic with these kinds of things. Trust me, okay? We’ll get the people we need.”

“And what kind of people exactly are we looking at, Iraklis?” The Master Inquisitor asked, narrowing his gaze slightly.

“Don’t you trust me, Vardis? I’ve been watching over the Sergeant for about four years. I know what kind of people he’s encountered. We just need to get some of them, alright?”

“You’re talking about working with Chaos… aren’t you,” came Master Inquisitor Vardis’s response; it wasn’t even really a question, so much as it was a statement.

The Lord General Militant shook his head, “Before you go on a tirade on whatever the Inquisition filled your head with, hear me out. Yes, I am aware Chaos is the biggest threat right now; but, given a decade or so, it won’t be. Something is coming that will make even the Necrons cower, and you know this.”

“Tyranids?”

“Exactly,” The Lord General Militant replied, subconsciously pointing at the Master Inquisitor as if it was some grand answer, “I’m not exaggerating when I say we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what the bugs can throw at us; and I doubt I’m exaggerating when I say what we’ve experienced was not even a scouting party, but instead more akin to drunk tourists taking a wrong turn. And if I’m right, if it’s truly like that, and with how vulnerable those attacks left us, then you can only imagine what it will be like when the Tyranids start getting serious.”

The Master Inquisitor blinked slowly, hand trailing over the Bolt Pistol he carries around Imperial Citizens, “And you think Chaos can help us?”

“I believe Chaos can help us understand what is going on with the Guardsman, and that will help us in the end,” The Lord General Militant stopped and pursed his lips slightly, he understood what came out of his mouth sounded like paranoid conjecture, but he needed to get it out. He’d be able to explain it better later.

“So that Guardsman is the key?”

“No, well… yes… er,” The Lord General Militant clasped his hands in front of his lips for a moment as his thought came forward, “Okay so… imagine the solution to this problem is… say… behind a locked door. We can brute force it as much as we want, and maybe it’ll budge, maybe it won’t. Point being, why waste energy brute forcing the door when the key is sitting right next to it; and all we have to do if figure out how to get the key in the lock.”

“… So that Guardsman is the key.”

“Are you going to shoot me, Vardis?”

“No.”

The Lord General Militant laid a hand on the Master Inquisitors shoulder, “I know how you feel about this, so… keep running the tests, and then meet me in my office later. I’ll be able to explain everything better then. Okay?”

“… Fine.”

#Warhammer #Warhammer 40k #Worldbuilding #Happy Halloween #Hope this lives up to whatever hype I put out #And I hope this answers some questions #Or at least #Brings more questions to my inbox

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shroudingmists · 7 years ago

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41. “I’ll meet you in the changing rooms.” IOLAUS

One leg folded over the other, he shifted to lean back on both palms in impish delight. Yes, I do look beautiful, the pose screamed–as it was supposed to.

The after-hours show was a rare treat, but the money and patrons it brought were well worth the wait. And the cause the funds went towards? Secret, but more noble than anyone could ever expect. Eve wiggled the half-emptied (second? Third? Hm) glass of wine between his fingers a little, and smiled widely.

Of course, he got in for free. Perks, and all.

Especially when he performed. The Imperial that he swore was part Maren, the way he shifted through water as if it were nothing…as if it were carrying him, caressing him. He was even dressed as one tonight, his very skin painted with patches of scales along his legs, up to his hips, and all across his slender torso.

He looked dangerous, like this. Dangerously beautiful, and he had the crowd panting in moments. Eve wriggled in his seat, giddy with wine and the fact that that particular person was sneaking glances at him.

When intermission hit, he knew what awaited.

The Fireflies always mingled with the crowd during these shows: a very, very special treat indeed. And all he had to do was wait, until a pair of damp arms wound around his neck.

“Hello, sweet Eve,” Iolaus hummed, breath still a bit heavy from his performance. Immediately, he nuzzled into his jaw, taking a deep breath. “Did you like it…?”

“Like it? I loved it,” Eve was hamming it up now. He could feel the eyes, and oooh, the delicious jealousy, digging daggers into the back of his head. Empty wine glass now abandoned, he swung both legs around the taller man’s hips. “You were sublime.”

Iolaus bit back a laugh, but he loved these ‘performances.’ He loved his confidence, the way his head tilted back just a little too far when he laughed. What was that word Gazsi had used? Ah…extra! But, he had to admit…

His damp hair fell across his shoulder as he buried a kiss into the Wildclaw’s neck, his little squeal of joy only spurring him to push him almost fully back onto his back. Ahhh. I love it…

“I’ll meet you in the changing rooms.”

Not so much a question, as a demand–though still, somehow, quite polite.

Iolaus bit his lip, and glanced over his shoulder. So many people were watching–some of the closest ones leaning far forward to listen.

And he was gone, hips swaying the whole way. His hand glanced Shesha’s chest as he walked by, fingertips barely brushing, so that he could raise bumps on his dark skin. Raising his head from kissing Dorian, the Guardian smiled almost serenely.

“…you two, too.”

Shesha’s purr deepened.

How far you’ve come, little minnow, Iolaus told himself, in the words of his former Flower. Now, give them what they came for.

But this time, it was his choice. All of it.

And he chose the ones he loved, every time.

#The Golden Firefly Dance Troupe #C: Iolaus #C: Shesha #Hey wassup I love this strong and wonderful boi #He's...come...so far!! HURRRRGH #And he loves!! His boys!!#So much!!

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burning-the-write-oil · 4 years ago

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Masterlist

Here is an updated masterlist of the fics I have written! (Updated on 2/5/2022)

* = Smut

Rami Malek/Reader

3:15* - Fluffy smut one shot that’s just me being thirsty.

Frank Castle/Reader (The Punisher Series)

Break In - Frank surprises the reader during a late night.

The Middle - Frank and the reader get into an argument. Inspired by The Middle by Maren Morris.

Hot Stuff* - A/C goes out and Frank and the reader are trying to make their night at least a little better.

Jim Hopper/Reader (Stranger Things)

Should’ve Known Better - Reader gets a ton of mosquito bites and Hopper is so sweet to her.

Ideal Morning* - Hopper makes it pretty difficult for the reader to get up and go to work.

Wine Drunk* - Reader gets a little wine drunk and that makes the night even more fun.

Billy Hargrove/OC (Ellie)

Behind the Mask (series)- Ellie Williams is new to Hawkins High and meets Billy Hargrove, town bad boy. The series entails their adventures and experiences together, good and bad.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Spencer Reid/Reader (Criminal Minds)

Those Legs*- Spencer assures the reader that he loves how tall she is and the benefits that come with it.

Support - Spencer does whatever he can to be supportive of reader with ADHD.

Test the Limit*- Spencer’s trying to find the shirt he needs for the next day. Reader knows where it is, but doesn’t feel like telling him. He gets it out of her in a fun way.

An Eyeful* - Reader is playing strip poker with the team. Spencer gets a little jealous after Morgan “flirts” with the reader. Smut ensues once everyone else has gone home.

For Real? - Reader has to go to lunch with an old friend and doesn’t have a date. She asks Spencer and get’s a response she didn’t expect.

Persistence* - Reader wants attention from Spencer and he decides to be a tease.

Chip Taylor/Reader (68 Kill)

Untitled Blurb* - Reader and Chip are trying to decide what to have for dinner. Some fluffy smut follows.

Concentration*- Reader and Chip finally get to move. It’s a little bittersweet though.

Matthew Gray Gubler/Reader

Green’s Your Color- Reader and her boyfriend, Matthew, are going to dinner after celebrating his book release.

Dean Winchester/Castiel (Supernatural)

Requested Blurb - Sam, Dean, and Cas are stuck in the bunker after a hunting accident occurs. Dean gets a little closer to Cas than he may have anticipated.

Johnny Depp/Reader

Untitled Blurb - Yet another bedroom scene where I’m obsessing over tattoos and smoking.

Good Mornings - Cute, sexy morning routine fic request.

Smoke & Silver - Request about sharing a cigarette/blunt.

Captain Jack Sparrow/Reader (POTC)

Untitled Fic - Reader is concerned with Jack returns from a voyage.

Curiosity Paid Off* - You’re having a conversation with Jack but you can’t help your mind wondering. At least it pays off.

The Choice - A different take on a scene from Dead Man’s Chest.

Javier Peña/Reader (Narcos)

Dame un beso* - Reader finally gets to visit Javier and have some much needed time together.

Fire Meets Gasoline* - Reader and Javi have been sleeping together for a while. This is a bit of an insight into their “relationship.”

Different - Reader has had a thing for Javi for a long time and thinks he hasn’t noticed her.

Love to Hate You* - Request where Reader and Javi don’t get along, but end up sharing one thing in common.

What a Time Lie - Takes place after Narcos Season 2 when Javi comes back to Laredo for a short period of time. Just some angst if I’m being honest.

Din Djarin/Reader (The Mandalorian)

Din Djarin blurb - Fluffy Din blurb.

Needy* - Reader hasn’t seen Din in a little while and wants some attention.

Being Honest* - Din calling you “good girl” and just being fucking hot overall.

Oberyn Martell/Reader (Game of Thrones)

Oberyn Martell blurb* - A night with Oberyn.

Sandor Clegane/Reader (Game of Thrones)

Guardian* - Compilation of a few different scene with Sandor and reader.

Nathan Bateman/Reader (Ex Machina)

Worth the Risk* - You knew there were risks to sleeping with Nathan and you’re thinking you’re starting not to mind them.

Build a Bitch - The physical appearance of Nathan’s AIs sometimes makes you question yourself.

Poe Dameron/Reader (Star Wars)

More Than Good Enough - You wake up hungover after a night out. You sure as hell didn’t expect Poe Dameron to be there with you.

Boba Fett/Reader (Star Wars)

Listen* - You act up when Boba’s been busy. This is the response to that.

#my writing #masterlist #for my mobile readers #pedro pascal #frank castle #billy hargrove #jim hopper #johnny depp #captain jack sparrow #oberyn martell #din djarin #javier peña #dean winchester #spencer reid

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kog0ruhn · 7 years ago

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Siren, the Secret Maren

Siren isn’t a dragon. Siren is a Maren. That probably makes no sense to the common laydragon but, with a little bit of magic and ingenuity, anything is possible.

Once a member of a school of Maren who were removed from the Beastclan Uprising, Siren has always had a good relationship (and an unhealthy fascination) with dragonkind. They were big and powerful, beautiful and rugged, and, most importantly, they could go anywhere. They weren’t constrained by the fact they couldn’t breathe well outside of the water and lacked the ability to walk. They could fly, they could run, they could swim; Sornieth was their oyster, and they had free reign over every inch of its terrain.

And that is what Siren wanted, more than anything.

It was actually Rahab--an Arcane Guardian with aquatic sensibilities--that taught her the magic necessary to gain legs and freedom, and while Siren had hoped to be a towering Guardian or a majestic Pearlcatcher, she supposes she’s, uh, okay with being a waddling pile of feathers who can’t really speak. It’s been a learning experience, that’s for sure, but one she wouldn’t trade for the world.

Having strayed far from the Arcane seas where she once made her home (mostly to follow Rahab, to whom she’s eternally grateful), she has one tiny issue in that she doesn’t fully realize how dangerous living in Dragonhome can be. Ingredients for the elixirs to keep her polymorph going are rare, she’s far from any significant source of above-ground water, and it’s very likely that if she transforms back, she’ll dry out, suffocate, and die.

Rahab keeps trying to warn her back home but, shrugging, Siren remains. She never thought she’d actually get to see a desert before so she’s going to milk it for all its worth. You can’t put a price on achieving the impossible, even if the price is so steep.

#siren #flight rising #fr #clan lore

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glassrising · 7 years ago

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So, info dump on these two:

Brook is a young water guardian who finds her way into Kallah’s grove from an underwater tunnel, leading Kallah and Mirth to discover that the lake in the grove leads down and out into the sea. Brook realizes that the grove itself is her charge, and Kallah/Mirth basically adopt her and raise her as their own.

Naz is a maren princess who belongs to a kingdom that has a long standing feud with dragons. Naz gets into a fight with her parents about her responsibilities and runs away angrily. She finds an odd pearl, that curses her. She can shift from maren to PC, but her form is now monstrous in either shift, and she must be in contact with water to change.

Brook senses a strange presence at the edge of her senses, and patrols the grove, eventually going down the tunnel and finding a strange pearlcatcher who doesn’t seem to understand draconic but can speak maren (Brook, having been raised by water dragons near a friendly maren tribe, can fortunately also speak it). The dragon is injured, and Brook offers to help her but the other seems hesitant to allow Brook to touch her, and eventually Brook tells her that she is always welcome to return if she needs help. The pc nods and vanishes.

Brook continues to return to the spot for a few days, but doesn’t encounter the stranger for two weeks. During these two weeks, Naz spends her time getting used to her new form, eventually managing to shift back into her maren form. Naz returns to her tribe, feeling regretful over how she left, but instead of being welcomed back she is attacked. She flees, but takes a spear to the side.

She flees to the tunnel, and runs into Brook again. Brook is shocked to see this maren but quickly realizes it’s the same dragon from before. Brook tries to get Naz to take her up the tunnel so Kallah and Mirth can tend to her wound, but Naz panics and tells her that she will stay in the tunnel but only if Brook will keep her a secret. Brook agrees, and tends to Naz’s wound and visits her in secret.

At first, Naz is unable to shift into her dragon form, but once her wound heals a bit she’s able to again, and Brook begins teaching her draconic and other things. Naz is curious, but torn, unsure where she belongs now.

As time passes, the two form a strong bond, and eventually Naz agrees to come with Brook up the tunnel to the grove. Kallah and Mirth are shocked, but welcome her easily, and it works out for Naz since the grove is a secret even to the clan, so few will know of her existence.

The two currently live in Kallah’s grove and ridiculously pine over each other, much to Mirth’s irritation and Kallah’s amusement.

#c: brook #c: naz #cartico clan #dragon share

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radiant-flutterbun · 7 years ago

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Nightjhar’s Escape Part 5

Previously: Part 4

Pterosis was successful in gaining control over his troops. Thresher wasn’t happy about her leadership being overthrown, but it was clear that the maren still respected Pterosis despite his mistake that cost Orca his life.

And Nightjhar was right by Pterosis’s side, ready to lend him all of his support.

The dragons had to have been planning revenge for Splinter’s death. It was only a matter of time before they struck, so the maren had to be prepared.

They trained to defend their land to their dying breath.

Nightjhar and Pterosis trained together. Nightjhar enjoyed sparring with the maren. After awhile it became a dance. He knew all of Pterosis’s moves before he even made them, and Pterosis knew all of his.

They would dance all day, briefly forgetting the war looming overhead.

“Commander Pterosis!” One maren called during one of Ptertosis’s sparring matches with Nightjhar “Dragons have been spotted gathering to the East. They appear to be headed to the river now.”

The smile died on Pterosis’s lips. He hadn’t even realized how much he was smiling around Nightjhar.

“Right. Then we’ll be ready for them. Everyone, into the forest! We’ll ambush them from there.”

“Is your boyfriend joining us too?” Thresher asked.

“Boyfriend?” Pterosis asked, clueless.

“Yeah. The harpy boy.”

“Oh. You mean Nightjhar. I don’t know why you would think he’s my boyfriend, but yes he’s coming.”

“I see.”

***

The dragons approached the river. Clan Corvid was livid and they thirsted for revenge. No more games. No more maren. The maren caused enough havoc to their lives. They wanted them out of their river.

They kept their eyes open for any maren ambushers as the approached the shore. A Guardian slinked into the river, but quickly crawled back onto land, shivering violently.

“T-too c-c-cold!”

With the dragons distracted by the shivering Guardian, Pterosis signalled the attack. The maren had the dragons surrounded. The dragons growled and positioned themselves toward the maren. For a moment the two groups stared each other down. And then the dragons charged, and the maren followed with weapons ready.

Before any blood could be spilled a young amber colored faun with brown okapi markings ran from the forest and played a few notes of his lyre. Almost immediately both dragon and maren fell over, fast asleep.

The faun sighed and kneeled next to a little sunflower.

“You just had to go and fall asleep here of all places, didn’t you Helianthus? You’re lucky I got your back, just like I said so all those years ago,” The fuan carefully touched a petal “I wish you would wake up though. I miss you, and I never know what to do when you do this. The other dryads don’t like me much, and all the other fauns got scared away by the dragons. But I stayed. I stayed here for you,” the faun glanced around at all of the sleeping creatures around him “I’m not sure how long these guys’ll stay asleep. I suppose I should move them… I’m not sure if I can. Come on Helianthus. Please wake up. Please tell me what to do.”

The faun got back onto his feet “I suppose I should wake up the maren. I’m afraid they’ll dry out if I don’t. I hope they won’t be angry at me. The maren have always scared me. I bet they don’t scare you. You’re fearless. Oh wait. There’s a harpy here too. Just one lone harpy. That’s a bit odd. Oh well I guess I’ll wake them up to.”

The faun gently tapped Nightjhar’s face and his eyes opened. He held his head, the world spinning a little bit.

“Sorry about that, but you and your maren pals nearly crushed my friend!” Nightjhar looked up to see a faun staring down at him.

“Dragons… Was fighting dragons…” Nightjhar mumbled.

“Yes I know! And you can go back to that as long as you promise to do it somewhere where you can’t step on my friend!”

Slowly the world stabilized around Nightjhar and he was able to process his situation.

“What the fuck? Is everyone dead?”

“Oh no! They’re only sleeping.” the faun said “But they may wake up soon, unless I play another song to them.”

“Wait. Who even are you?”

“My name is Petrichor! What’s yours?”

“Nightjhar. So what happened? Did you make us fall asleep?”

Petrichor nodded “I’m sorry! Normally I ask permission first, but you see my friend here would have gotten crushed!” He pointed to the sunflower.

“You interrupted us…. To save a sunflower?”

“Yes! But they’re not just a sunflower. They’re a dryad. They’re sleeping, but I don’t know how to wake them up. I promised to protect them until they did on their own.”

“Oh. Well sorry for almost crushing them.”

“That’s alright! You didn’t know. Now you seem like a nice guy Nightjhar, so if I wake up your maren friends here, can you convince them not to hurt my friend? And maybe move their fight somewhere else if they must shed blood?”

“I can try, but I don’t know if those dragons would listen. Hell if they knew that flower was beastfolk they’d probably purposely kill them.”

Petrichor shuddered “Oh no! What should I do?”

Nightjhar shrugged “Can’t you rip them out and move them somewhere else?”

“No! I’ll hurt them. I could tear off some of their roots and they might reform without a leg or something! I don’t want to risk it.”

“Then I don’t know what else to tell you.”

“Can’t you just make some sort of non violent agreement with the dragons? Then no friend squishing would be necessary.”

“Uh… How about you wake my buddy Pterosis up? He’s the leader of these marens.”

“Sure!” Petrichor tapped the scarred maren’s head and he woke with a start.

“Who’s there? Back! Go away!” He picked up his trident and pointed it at Nightjhar and Petrichor.

“Whoa! Whoa! Pterosis calm down it’s me, Nightjhar!”

Pterosis blinked and dropped his trident “O-oh. Sorry. I… must have blacked out or something. What happened? Where is everyone? Did we win?”

“Well… No. We didn’t even start actually.”

“I’m sorry!” Petrichor blurted “I put you and your friends asleep. You were going to crush my friend!”

“Who the fuck are you?” Pterosis growled and the faun flinched.

“P-Petrichor… I’m… I’m really sorry…”

Nightjhar placed a wing on Pterosis’s shoulder “Hey. Don’t yell at the faun. He was just protecting his dryad friend. And no one was hurt. He put us all asleep, including the dragons.”

Pterosis relaxed “Oh. I suppose that’s a good reason to interfere. Where’s the dryad then?”

“They turned themself into a sunflower.” Petrichor pointed to the flower nearby.

“Ok, then move them and wake us all back up.”

“I can’t move them. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah I already asked that,” Nightjhar said.

“Can’t you fight somewhere else? Or better yet don’t fight at all. Find a peaceful solution.” Petrichor said.

“No we can’t find a peaceful solution! These dragons want to drive us out of our home!” Pterosis growled.

“There’s a peaceful solution to everything.”

“Well tell that to the dragons. They started this ugly war.”

“Beastpeople and dragons shouldn’t fight. We are all Sornieth’s creatures.”

“No you dumb goat, dragons think we’re pests and they don’t care if they have to kill us to get what they want. Do you think i like killing dragons? Do you think any of us like being at war? No. We don’t. But we do what we have to do to survive. And that means killing the dragons who pose a threat.”

“Fauns and dryads think that’s ugly thoughts. It’s why we refuse to participate in this war.”

“Well you should. Dragons don’t care whether or not a beastperson is loyal to Talona or not. They’ll hate you and want you killed anyway.”

“Fine! Then kill the dragons, but don’t hurt my friend.”

Pterosis scratched his chin “I think I can do that. You can wake my soldiers up and keep the dragons asleep, correct?”

“Yes but… you… you wouldn’t kill them while they’re defenseless would you?”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“But that’s horrible!”

“War is horrible. You’d know that if you’d stop frocklicking in flowers and open your eyes. Honestly fauns and dryads are in some next level denial about the reality of the world. It’s incredible.”

“I will not let my magic be used for violence! I made my oath to be a pacifist. You won’t guilt me out of that decision.”

“Can your lyre be used by non fauns?”

“No, why?”

“Hmm,” Pterosis clicked his tongue “I can tell you’re not lying so i’ll answer truthfully too. I just thought if I used the lyre to make the dragons sleep then technically it wouldn’t be your magic that did it. But that’s not how that works, is it?”

Petrichor shook his head “My lyre is just a normal instrument. But my magic is what turns its notes into spells.”

“I see. How long until your friend wakes then?”

“I don’t know.”

“Wow. You’re just full of help little goat boy.”

“Please stop calling me a goat. I am a faun.”

“Don’t care. Listen. I don’t want your friend to get hurt, but it’s also important for these dragons to die. So how about we wait an hour for your friend to wake, and if they’re not awake by then Nightjhar and I will kill the dragons ourselves, regardless if they’re awake or not.”

Petrichor bit his lip “I guess I have no choice but to accept your terms. At least in either scenario my friend isn’t harmed.”

“Like I said. I really don’t want your friend hurt. I think dryads are cowards for refusing to help in the war effort, but they are still beastfolk. They’re still kin to the maren.”

“So, should we begin timing the hour now? I’ll play a few notes of my lyre to keep the dragons and your soldiers asleep.”

“I just started timing a few seconds ago, goat boy.” Pterosis said as Petrichor strummed a few notes.

When the notes died an awkward silence followed.

“So… what’s your friend’s name?” Nightjhar asked, breaking the silence.

Petrichor perked up “Helianthus!”

“And why’d they turn themself into a sunflower?”

“They said they wanted to commune with the gods.”

Pterosis burst out laughing and Petrichor glared at him.

“What’s so funny?”

Pterosis wiped tears from his eyes “I’m sorry, but that’s the most idiotic thing I’ve heard all day.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you get it? Our gods aren't real. They're a bunch of fakes. The dragons are right about one thing, and that that we’re godless creatures. We were never meant to exist. We were not part of the divine plans of the real gods of the planet. But we’re here now, and I think that gives us the right to keep on existing and i’ll be damned to let a couple of dumb gods stop us. I don’t think they’re true gods anyway. I believe they can be killed.”

Petrichor’s eyes were wide and his mouth hung open “No… No you’re wrong. We have gods of our own! They created us and they love us. That’s why we shouldn’t concern ourselves with the dragons. Our gods will speak to the dragons gods and sort everything out for us! But they need our collective belief to fuel them!”

Pterosis continued to laugh “Hey maybe I should hang around fauns more often, you’re hilarious!”

“If you don’t believe me you should ask Helianthus when they wake up! They’ve spoken to our gods before. They advise them as to what to do in these trying times. They’re probably deep in a conversation with one or more now!”

“Sure, sure. Keep yourself in denial. That’s fine. If that’s how you cope with war I’m sure that’s fine. I guess I’ve seen worse ways to cope.”

“Just like how you cope by being a jerk?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m a sympath. You’re dripping with regret, and fear despite your tough act. I can see what you’re really feeling.”

“That’s pretty cool!” Nightjhar blurted out “What am I feeling?”

Petrichor smiled “Well you don’t need to be a sympath to know that answer! You don’t hide feelings like your maren friend. You’re excited about my sympathic abilities, but also nervous about fighting the dragons. Nervous, but not afraid. You’re too angry to be afraid. And too in love.”

“S-sorry what was that last bit?”

“You are in love.”

“W-what? Says who! No I’m not. You’re lying. Who the fuck is there for me to be in love with? Definitely not any harpy girls. No thank you.”

“I only know what you’re feeling, not why you’re feeling that way. So those are your questions to answer.”

They continued to sit in an awkward silence. Pterosis kept glaring at Petrichor while Nightjhar twirled his spear around in thought.

“The hour’s almost up,” Pterosis finally said.

“I know,” Petrichor answered.

“Five minutes.”

“I know.”

“I don’t think your friend is waking anytime soon. Come on Nightjhar, let’s kill these dragons while they’re down.”

“You promised to wait an hour!” Petrichor stood up and blocked Pterosis’ path.

“You have two minutes!”

“Helianthus will wake!”

“One minute.”

“They’ll wake.”

“Thirty seconds. Twenty. Ten, nine, eight-”

The sunflower began to grow and expand. The flower started to form a face, and two of the leaves turned into hands. The roots plucked themselves from that ground and wrapped together to form two legs. In just a few seconds the sunflower had transformed into a humanoid creature. Its face was a bright yellow surrounded by similarly yellow petals that sprouted all along the back of the creature’s head like it was hair. It’s skin graduated from yellow to green from head to toe. It had a flowing yellow dress on with folds like petals at the end of it. And it had a vine like tail with a sunflower at the end of it.

“Helianthus!” Petrichor exclaimed and tackled his friend in a hug.

“Hey babe!” The dryad hugged Petrichor back “Thanks for protecting me!”

“What took you so long? I was worried!”

“I’m sorry babe!” Helianthus frowned “It’s just… getting harder to talk to the gods is all.”

“But you did talk to them, right?”

“Well…”

“Helian please don’t lie to me. I want to know the truth.”

Helianthus sighed “Ok so no. No they didn’t answer me.”

Petrichor looked crestfallen.

“But that doesn’t mean that they’re not listening. They are. I can feel it. I’m sure they have a good reason for being silent lately. They’ll come through for us in the end. Have hope my love.” They wiped a tear from Petrichor’s eye.

Petrichor nodded “They have always helped in in the past. I’m positive they will eventually do they same this time. We must just be patient and pray, right?”

Helianthus smiled “That’s correct!” They held Petrichor’s hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Petrichor blushed and Helianthus turned to face Pterosis and Nightjhar “Now will you introduce me to your new friends?”

“Oh! Right!” Petrichor said, his face still red “Well um. The maren is Pterosis, and the harpy is Nightjhar, and this is my friend Helianthus!”

“‘Friend’ huh?” Pterosis raised an eyebrow.

“Well I mean they are my friend but we’re also dating…”

“I’m not a fan of labels. I find them too restricting! Boyfriend, girlfriend, significant other, too many labels!” Helianthus said.

“But isn’t friend a label?”

“Yes, but it’s not a restrictive one! A friend can be that guy you talk to at work, or the person you vent to, and it can be someone you love with all of the magic that flows within. I like how fluid the definition of ‘friend’ can be!”

“Alright. Fine. I’m sorry I asked.”

“Oh and I know what you’re thinking, Pterosis!”

“Don’t fucking tell me you can read minds.”

“No, but I did overhear your conversations while I was a sunflower. And I know you think my belief in the gods is silly!”

“Ok yeah I do and-”

“Me not being able to contact them proves it to you, is that right?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“Well I may not have anything to prove you wrong with me now, but I have a feeling someday in the future I will get to tell you a ‘I told you so!’”

“Sure, whatever you say.”

“And while I couldn’t contact the gods, I did contact a few friends to help you out with your dragon problem!”

“Oh?”

“Yes! Nothing like a few featherback boars to get a few silly dragons to leave you alone! Petrichor we’d better wake the dragons up so they don’t get hurt!”

Petrichor nodded and together the faun and dryad woke up a few very confused dragons. It wasn’t long before their confusion turned to fear as the herd of boars charged. The dragons quickly returned to their feet and ran for their lives.

“Ok that’s great. But it what’s stopping the dragons from trying to chase us out tomorrow, or the next day or the day after that?” Pterosis asked.

“Oh don’t worry. I asked a few chimeras to settle at their camp while the dragons were over here having a cat nap. I only asked for them to leave the children alone. I told them the dragons had plenty of meat stored away for them to eat. I’m sure they’re chowing away at the supplies now. Between the chimeras and the boars the dragons will be forced to live somewhere else. They won’t bother your people again.”

Petrichor grinned “See! There’s always a peaceful solution.”

“Indeed,” Helianthus said wrapping an arm around Petrichor “And although I agree that the dragons are a problem. They are greedy and take things that are not theirs to take, they are still creatures of Sornieth and they still have the right to live. Even the ones threatening to take your home, Pterosis. Bloodshed is never necessary unless it is for food. But luckily there is always a peaceful solution, and Nature always takes back what was wrongly taken from it. Those dragons forcibly took the territory from dryads, faun, mith, and many species of wildlife. But luckily for us Nature always finds a way and our gods are always listening. They are always watching over us.”

#the flock of the sacred temple #the maren of the hewn city river #helianthus and petrichor

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