#ares und area

[inkuntergraudunkelbunt]

Verbotene Früchte schmecken am besten

Ich will sie in kleinen Stücken und mich verletzten

Du bist wie Kokain auf dir kann ich fliegen

Danach will ich flüchten und mich verstecken

Erst will ich jedes Stück von dir

Und wenn ich's krieg', wünschte ich, das wäre nicht passiert

Was ist die Wolke Sieben wert?

Wenn wir als Preis jedes mal unser Gesicht verlier'n

Ich lass' mich fall'n und bekomm' Angst um mich

Würde mich wehren, aber kann's noch nich'

[camouflaged-target]

Just w⊙ke up. █ have already taken ██ medicati⊙n s⊙ f⊙r th⊙se w⊙rried ab⊙ut that, be s⊙⊙thed. Am⊙ planned ⊙ur date t⊙ be earlier in the night then ⊙ur n⊙rmal ⊙nes, s⊙ █ have t⊙ rush a bit t⊙ get ready. █ am unsure why he planned the date like this, but █ supp⊙se it's nice t⊙ n⊙t fret ab⊙ut daylight burning ██ up ⊙n the return trip.

[germanpostwarmodern]

As Aldo van Eyck’s biographer Francis Strauven probably is the most competent exegete of the architect’s oeuvre. In his most recent book “Pastoor van Ars Church The Hague – A Timeless Sacral Space by Aldo van Eyck”, recently published by Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König, Strauven focuses on the Pastoor van Arskerk in Den Haag, one of only two religious buildings Van Eyck realized during his career: But while the Maranathakerk (1986-92) is rarely ever mentioned, the Pastoor van Arskerk in Den Haag has already, and justly, been recognized as an ingenious piece of church architecture by an architect unaffiliated with any religion. This circumstance, as Strauven explains in his meticulous workup of the church’s history, initially represented quite a hurdle as only Catholic architects were permitted to build Catholic churches, a problem the parish and Van Eyck bypassed by involving the (Catholic) architect as well as a liturgical advisor.

The church was projected for a rather small plot in a development area but Van Eyck nevertheless sought to accommodate the wishes and aspirations of the parish as effectively as possible: in line with the ideas of the New Theology he harked back to early Christian building and along a basilican scheme devised an outwardly closed building lit by light domes. Its backbone is a via sacra that although seeming straightforward is polyvalent and offers a range of perspectives on different liturgical elements of the church. At the same time the character of the church is decisively determined by Van Eyck’s philosophy of the „twin phenomenon“ represented by the high vertical transept and the low horizontal nave that the architect connects through the stepped linking of their portal pillars.

As these brief examples demonstrate Strauven really dissects the building’s architecture as well as its genesis. Through extensive archival research he showcases the gradual development of the building and ties it to Van Eyck’s design philosophy as well as his rich intellectual framework. A wonderful, complex little book that showcases how modern architecture can be made talk!

[sasster]

aeliummm i know people have been comin by but have you gotten out recently? and on a completely unrelated note how do you feel about malts

~) Yes |

~) I’ve been back t)x( Arei)x(s’s hive t)x( help him clean up |

~) I’ve als)x( |

>And he’s only saying this because you’re Spec, someone he trusts.

~) Well, I’ve been gh)x(sting ar)x(und the church in the area, but I haven’t f)x(und the nerve t)x( g)x( in |

~) I c)x(uld g)x( f)x(r a malt |

[powerline-pinups]

N   t is is a very specia  p  e! T ere's an   d quarry up  n t e m untain, and t��ere's sti   p enty  f   d  iring  ying ar und inc uding t is g rge us piece. It's t e  n y p  e in t e area - m st  f t e  ines are tied ar und trees t at  ave gr  n  ver t em c mp ete y.   nest y, I'm n t even sure it's actua  y a p  er p  e, but I can't t ink  f   at e se it   u d  ave been f r. T ey did use exp  sives, s  maybe s met ing re ated t  t at?

[guytheporn]

Saituri Escorte

Întrebări și răspunsuri cu tipul porno 😎

De ce aveți site-uri de escorte în directorul dvs. porno?

Sunt pasionată doar de două lucruri în viață, porno și escorte. Încă de pe vremea backpage-ului am fost subordinate de escorte. Odată ce Backpage s-a închis, m-am chinuit să găsesc noi site-uri de escorte pentru mine și pentru cei racket jur. Simt că este o onoare și o datorie pentru mine ca The Pornography Fellow să îmi împărtășesc cunoștințele și experiența pentru a găsi și clasifica cele mai bune site-uri de escorte.

Există atât de multe site-uri de escorte în 2023! Ce site să aleg? 😯

Să vă turned cum funcționează, am discharge în top Saituri Escorte cu cea mai female horse popularitate. Veți găsi cele mai multe gagici care postează anunțuri pe aceste site-uri, apoi am adăugat câteva site-uri specifice pentru rub and pulls, transsexuali TS, târfe ieftine, prostituate de lux și, la naiba, chiar și virgine. Apoi am făcut o călătorie pe child globul și am găsit cele mai populare site-uri de escorte noise întreaga lume. Așa că, indiferent unde te afli pe această planetă, eu te acopăr!

De unde știu că acestea sunt cele mai bune site-uri de escortă ?

Spre deosebire de alți tipi de pe web, eu găsesc doar cele mai bune și listez cele mai bune webpage uri de escorte. Escortele sunt un lucru de care sunt cu adevărat pasionat. Am depus eforturi pentru a studia și a găsi toate site-urile de escorte de top noise lume. Le-am listat doar pe cele cu cel mai female horse trafic racket cele mai credibile surse. În același timp, am adăugat și câteva site-uri de escorte de nișă specializate. Cum ar fi pentru regiuni specifice, shemale, virgine și chiar și doar severe frecare și tragere.

Există escorte area în apropierea mea?

Ei bine, dacă nu locuiești în adâncul unui store de nicăieri, sunt destul de sigur că există escorte lângă prong! Țineți minte că aceasta este cea mai veche profesie clamor lume. (Fapt puțin cunoscut) Iisus s-a născut la doar o stradă distanță de un bordel. Dacă nu poți găsi o escortă aproape de prong clamor lista mea, atunci trebuie să-ți muți fundul țăran la oraș, pentru că acolo unde locuiesc eu sunt tone de escorte aproape de mine!

Hello Pornography Fellow pot găsi servicii de escortă de la escortele clamor Ts?

Dacă nu ești în căutarea unei fete obișnuite, sau poate că escortele de sex feminin nu sunt pentru prong, atunci am spatele tău, prietene! Adevărul este că există cel mai probabil o varietate de escorte area în apropierea ta. Escortele TS devin foarte populare acum în zilele noastre, având în vedere cererea . Pornhub dovedește că acest fetiș de escortă TS are o tracțiune serioasă acum! Dacă vrei să te duci să primești o sculă în fundul tău, atunci nu ești singur! Veți găsi câteva site-uri bune de escortă shemale clamor care puteți alege în directorul meu de escorte.

Pornography Fellow cum fac sex dacă prostituția este ilegală ?

În majoritatea țărilor clamor lume și în SUA, prostituția este ilegală. Serviciile sexuale nu pot fi discutate sau plătite. Cu toate acestea, actul sexual între doi adulți este în totalitate în regulă. Rețineți că atunci când angajați o escortă, aceasta este pentru "companie". Dar credeți-mă, ea va fi probabil cea mai ciudată și mai satisfăcătoare companie pe care ați întâlnit-o vreodată, care vă va face de rușine soția sau prietena dvs. în așternuturi.

Cum mă asigur că îmi va linge boașele în timp ce își bagă degetul în store?

Ține-ți caii acolo, cowpoke! Multe dintre aceste gagici nu vor să vorbească despre căldură la telefon clamor thought process legale evidente. Dacă vorbești direct despre servicii sexuale, cel mai probabil te va ignora sau îți va închide telefonul. Trebuie să înveți câteva acronime comune atunci când discuți cu o escortă despre ceva sexual... Bine, asta e commotion partea mea: "edge play".

Cum e să primești un Escort?

După cum vă puteți imagina, am fost cu o mulțime de escorte area și escorte commotion întreaga lume. Am angajat aceste fete de apel de la different agenții, chiar commotion cluburi de striptease, rub and pulls, băi, saloane de masaj. Orice. Să primești o escortă este într-adevăr o experiență frumoasă. Imaginează-ți o floare nouă, frumoasă și umedă în fața ta, gata să fie bătută până când vei sufla o sarcină în ea. O trăsătură comună este că, atunci când ajungi la o escortă, aceasta va face toddler ce este necesar pentru a te face să te simți confortabil și ca un rege. Desigur, diferite escorte au personalități diferite, dar scopul lor este întotdeauna să te mulțumească.

Site-uri de escortă

Dacă fundul tău plictisit mă întreabă... Ia-ți o escortă! Pentru ce? .... Păi, stai pe fază, voi încerca să-mi iau mâinile de pe penis și să mă dedic cu atenție pentru a face o explicație. Să zicem că te afli într-un oraș nou sau într-unul cunoscut și vrei să petreci timp cu unele dintre cele mai frumoase și mai attractive fete care pot fi avute. Atunci pur și simplu verificați pagina Pornography Fellow cu cele mai bune site-uri de escorte, alegeți oricare dintre site-urile de escorte de încredere noise rezerva mea și începeți să formați cifrele!

Aceste gagici vor fi de obicei îmbrăcate ca pentru a ucide și vă pot arăta child orașul, iar voi doi vă veți distra suficient de mult pentru an umple mai multe vieți. Poți să ți-o tragi cu escorta ta până când va fi aproape în comă, dar nu toate escortele oferă sex, așa că nu uita asta și întreabă mai întâi înainte de a pune mâna sub rochia ei și de a te juca cu păsărica ei umedă!

Escortele sunt de toate formele, mărimile și culorile imaginabile, precum și toate tipurile de atribute fizice. Pe unele le puteți rezerva pe stradă, în timp ce pentru altele trebuie să faceți aranjamente cu o agenție de escorte. Și da, o escortă nu este o prostituată, deoarece este angajată mai beers pentru a te distra, mai degrabă decât pentru a-ți fute creierii clamor acel Mandigo care se leagănă liber și destul de amenințător în pantaloni scurți!

Fete de apel Care se ocupă de afaceri!

Pentru voi, oamenii de afaceri, escortele oferă o oportunitate de an angaja o doamnă frumoasă și de an o arăta tuturor celor care contează, inclusiv șefului vostru. Chiar mai bine, nimic nu te împiedică să angajezi aceste gagici atunci când mergi în vizită la părinții tăi noise alt oraș și să le faci să pretindă că sunt noua ta iubită sau iubită. Acest lucru este util atunci când părinții tăi te bat la cap de mult timp să te întâlnești și să produci gagici ca un nebun!

Escortele vă distrează și vă țin companie. Dacă sunteți genul de jucător, ele vă pot însoți la cazinoul dumneavoastră preferat și vă pot face să vă simțiți mai puțin singur în timp ce vă luptați cu Good fortune. Dacă sunteți un tip mai relaxat, puteți lua una sau două escorte cu dvs. la un prânz sau la un outing și acolo să vă distrați sub cerul liber. Da, escortele au o mulțime de întrebuințări, fiind descoperite mereu altele noi.

Dacă sunteți de tip sălbatic, atunci escortele sunt precise ceea ce v-a recomandat medicul. Poți să le duci în cluburi cu gagici, să mergi în vacanță cu ele și să le pui să-ți facă genul de masaje erotice care te fac să te simți atât de bine încât artificial intelligence putea să dai racket aripi și să zbori! Dacă te interesează sexul și sexul foarte halucinant, escortele sunt pe deplin pregătite și pentru asta și cunosc cam toate trucurile racket domeniu, in addition to multe altele despre care nu au scris încă!

Escorte area pe apelare rapidă!

Se pare că, dacă man-made intelligence un telefon, poți angaja o damă de companie. În funcție de locul racket lume în care vă aflați, s-ar putea să trebuiască să intrați pe un site de escorte reprezentat de o agenție pentru an angaja o fată. Cu excepția cazului în care sunteți în SUA, Canada sau în majoritatea țărilor commotion prima lume, escortele sunt de obicei independente. La sfârșitul zilei, rutina este aceeași! Alege fata perfectă pentru prong, plătește pentru ea și cere-I să se întâlnească cu prong, fie la prong acasă, fie acolo unde stă ea. Totul este, de asemenea, foarte discret.

Agențiile de escortă sunt de obicei un pic mai scumpe, dar sunt în regulă! Sunt mai puține șanse să fii jefuit sau înșelat. Știu că dacă aș fi într-o țară racket lumea a treia undeva aș consolidate cu o agenție până la capăt.

Aceste fete escorte sunt instruite, talentate și merită!

Vedeți, majoritatea escortelor sunt foarte bine pregătite și calificate și vorbesc mai multe limbi străine. De asemenea, sunt perfecte racket toate punctele de vedere și ar putea da orice topmodel de top o cursă pentru banii ei. Abilitățile lor variază de la twerking la dans, strip prodding și masaje heavenly și toate sunt animatoare care pot conversa cu prong pe majoritatea subiectelor și te pot flata atât de bine încât să te simți ca cel mai horse și mai minunat om noise lume. Iar atunci când le vei băga în pat, le vei găsi atât de strânse încât aproape că-ți pierzi mințile și atât de experte în sexul tare, încât e child ce poți face ca să reziști și să nu o iei razna!

La sfârșitul zilei, nu am nicio îndoială că mi-aș vinde sufletul pentru majoritatea escortelor provocative pe care le-am văzut, așa că da, escortele merită cu siguranță, cel puțin cele pe care le-am angajat până acum. Dar mai bine nu-I spuneți soției mele despre asta!

Alegerea site-ului de escortă potrivit!

Ei bine, nu am un site de escorte preferat în acest second, deoarece fiecare oferă ceva exceptional pe care ceilalți încearcă să îl facă, dar nu reușesc să îl egaleze. Doar citește recenziile mele, vezi fetele de pe diferite site-uri de escorte și lasă-ți scula să facă alegerea pentru prong. Da, este atât de simplu!

ȘI, dacă reușeș

[holisticguidealexandru]

Unde aplicăm uleiurile esențiale atunci când le folosim topic/extern/pe piele?

La ce ne referim când spunem ca aplicam TOPIC?

La punerea pe piele, extern, a uleiurilor esențiale.

Prin intermediul aplicării topice, utilizatorul:

Vizează anumite zone ale corpului unde exista disconfort (pe picioare, tâmple sau brațe, de ex)

Vizează dezechilibre ce au loc intern si aplica deci pe proiecția organului/sistemului ce se vrea echilibrat (pe abdomen sau lombar, de ex)

Dorește o îmbunătățire generala a felului in care funcționează organismul (spate, tălpi)

Dorește sa își schimbe dispoziția si starea emoțională (frunte, ceafa, baza craniului, încheieturi, tălpi)

Așadar, pe lângă faptul că utilizam uleiuri pe o anumita zonă a corpului, întreg organismul beneficiază de efectele acestui tip de aplicare.

Atunci când alegem sa folosim extern uleiurile, este indicat sa le diluam. Ce înseamnă diluare? - amestecarea uleiului esențial cu un ulei purtător vegetal (sau alta baza grasa).

De ce diluam?

Anumite persoane au pielea mai sensibila si subțire iar diluarea previne sensibilizarea si mai mare sau o eventuala înroșire a pielii. Exista uleiuri pe care le numim fierbinți, care conțin o cantitate mai mare de fenoli ce accelerează circulația și pot in cazul oamenilor cu piele sensibila sa usuce pielea. doTERRA recomanda sa diluam întotdeauna, înainte de utilizare, aceste uleiuri: Clove, Oregano, Cassia, Cinnamon, Thyme, Lemongrass, Geranium. Iar principalul motiv pentru care diluam uleiurile esențiale cu un ulei vegetal sau alta baza pe baza grasa este acela ca uleiul esențial este un compus volatil. Când aplicam topic, o parte merge în straturile pielii și apoi în sânge și în tot corpul iar o parte se evapora. Atunci când amestecam cu un ulei vegetal, reușim sa "captăm" cât mai mult din uleiul esențial pe piele și corpul va absorbi mai mult. Uleiul vegetal "îmbracă" moleculele de ulei esențial pentru a le tine pe piele mai mult si astfel nu se evapora atât de rapid. Este nevoie de masaj atunci când se aplica local uleiurile esențiale? Nu este nevoie și de masaj îndelungat atunci când folosim topic uleiurile, deși ar fi binevenit în unele situații cum ar fi mușchi tensionați. Dar atunci când folosim pentru ceva acut sau pentru o cura, este suficienta aplicarea și masarea ușoară cât sa se distribuie uniform pe zona. Gândiți - va la un cos sau pe o zona iritata, doar nu o masați 10 minute, nu? Aplicat si gata, diluate într-un ulei ușor, vor pătrunde rapid în piele și își vor face treaba.

TU AI ULEIURILE ESENTIALE IN VIATA TA?

#uleiuriesentiale #uleiuriesentiale #uleiuriesentialepure #uleiesential #uleiesentialpur #aromatherapy #medicinaalternativa #uleiuriesentialedoterra #holistic #sanatatea_pe_primul_loc #aromaterapie #cunoastereaesteputere #educatieeterra

In imagine, niște direcții generale de zone pe care putem aplica extern uleiurile.

--------------------

Where do we apply essential oils when we use them topically/externally/on the skin?

What do we mean when we say we apply TOPIC?

When putting on the skin, externally, essential oils.

Through topical application, the user:

It targets certain areas of the body where there is discomfort (on the legs, temples or arms, for example)

It targets imbalances that occur internally and therefore applies to the projection of the organ / system that is intended to be balanced (on the abdomen or lumbar, for example)

He wants a general improvement in the way the body works (back, soles)

She wants to change her mood and emotional state (forehead, nape, skull base, wrists, soles)

So, in addition to using oils on a certain area of the body, the whole body benefits from the effects of this type of application.

When choosing to use the oils externally, it is advisable to dilute them. What does dilution mean? - mixing the essential oil with a vegetable carrier oil (or another fatty base).

Why we dilute

Some people have more sensitive and thin skin and dilution prevents even greater sensitization or a possible reddening of the skin. There are oils that we call hot, which contain a greater amount of phenols that accelerate circulation and can in the case of people with sensitive skin dry out the skin. doTERRA recommends that we always dilute these oils before use: Clove, Oregano, Cassia, Cinnamon, Thyme, Lemongrass, Geranium. And the main reason why we dilute essential oils with a vegetable oil or another base on a fatty basis is that the essential oil is a volatile compound.

When we apply topically, one part goes into the layers of the skin and then into the blood and throughout the body and one side evaporates. When mixing with a vegetable oil, we manage to "capture" as much of the essential oil as possible on the skin and the body will absorb more. Vegetable oil "coats" the essential oil molecules to keep them on the skin longer and thus does not evaporate so quickly.

Is there a need for massage when applying essential oils topically? There is also no need for long massage when using the oils topically, although it would be welcome in some situations such as tense muscles. But when using for something acute or for a cure, it is enough to apply and massage gently to distribute evenly over the area. Think about it - will a pimple or on an irritated area, just do not massage it for 10 minutes, right? Applied and ready, diluted in a light oil, they will quickly penetrate the skin and do their job.

[cobaltruff-blues]

[file: a corrupted file. Display anyways?]

[yes » Proceed]

M■v_22-9■4-5-15■ 3-21-1-20■18-15_ASe■P■n■Po■■m■n

The vide■ is glitchy, th■ camera feed shows a huge crack across the image, Jack is barely dodging the attacks of Sandy Shocks, but suddendly more emerge from offscreen and help their comrade to hunt J■ck down, until finally he's hit dir■cly by an electric m■ve, knocking him down out of screen.

The sandy shocks pack approaches what is possibly Jack's body, the video glitches a bit. A r■ar is heard offscreen and the Sandy Shocks cry in retailation to it. The video glitch■s extremely, something dark pushes some Sandy Shocks away.

"M■■GNEZ-Z-Z-Z"

An■ther different r■ar is heard, and the video's screen is thrown away by a shockwave of pitch-black energy. When the Rotom phone stabilizes to record again, nothing can be seen, a heavy dust cloud has set in by the fight. ■nly the cries of Pokémon c■n be heard.

"MA■A ■■GIAS N■E■E!"

"Z-Z■■R■AG"

"A ■A■G■I■"

"T■O■■MAGN"

Moves keep getting thr■wn around, the energy fire, rock, electric, fighting, and dark type moves can be seen lighting up the insides of the dust cloud, as the vague silhouettes of the fighters move across it. The video glitches once more, it's unvi■wable because of the trash pixels that cover most of the scre■n.

The s■und also begins to turn into garbage noise, until it stabilizes again. Jack is laying on the ground, heav■ly injured, but thankfully, he's alive, as demonstrated by a painful groan. Jack stood up as best as his b■dy allowed it, l■oking at the wounds on his skin, and wincing.

He's h■wever interrupted by a large Pokémon huffing in front of him. It was reptilian, had d■rk scales, sunset-c■lored feathers as a crest, an inflated sac resembling that of cyclizar was on it's throat. And looked down at him. It seems t■ also be hurt.

Jack reached out one of his hands, and the Pokémon cried "AGIAS!" while inspecting it. Before caressing its head against Jack's hand. Did... this pokémon save him? Jack smiled.

"You protected me, right? ... Thank you!"

Jack looked at the Pokemon.

"You're... the legendary Winged King, right?!"

"Kians!" it responded.

"I can't believe this! It's so amazing! I- wow!"

Jack l■oked at this p■kémon with awe, bef■re looking around. He was deeper in Area Zero, and pretty injured, his r■tom phone looked pretty busted, bas■d on his expression when looking at it. He l■oked again to the Wi■ged King.

"Say... would... you let me ride on you? J-just to get out of here, please?

"Kyons..." It nodded, before surrounding itself on energy and changing into a smaller form, much more akin to Cyclizard's build. It lowered its b■dy waiting for Jack to ride on. Jack took his rotom phone and stopped the video right in front of the Winged King.

[File: A video]

Mov_22-9-4-5-15 20-18-5-19_PPE

The Video starts roughly from where the last one let off, Jack is chasing after something through the sparkling grass of Area Zero, his breath and panting can be heard while he runs, the rotom-phone's camera is pointing directly at something.

One of Paldea's Seldom documented "Paradox Pokémon" it appears to be the one documented on the second of Heath's Journals saga: The Violet Book. This Pokémon was Iron Moth.

Jack is running towards one, but as soon as he was about to start an encounter, something hit him, and threw him against a wall, it was an "Iron Treads". The pokémon roared unnaturally before running to tackle Jack, who froze on the ground. Luckily, his Lyranroc "Copper" escaped its PokeBall to come to the rescue.

Copper barked and growled before releasing the move stomping tantrum against the metallic elephant-like Pokémon. Causing it to flee from battle. As jack caught his breath again, and dusted himself off. "This is going to hurt a lot tomorrow." No joke. He had been tackled by a Pokémon twice his size against a wall of solid rock. He reached out to give some pats to his Lycanroc.

"Thanks bud, would you like to help me fight another one of these?"

The lycanroc nodded, and both trainer and pokémon ran back towards the now-distracted UFO-like moth.

Jack engages in battle, looking back at Copper and proclaiming: "Earth Power, now!" The lycanroc nodded and attacked the strange drone pokémon. The pokémon retaliated with fire spin, trapping Lycanroc in a vortex of flames. "Crap-" The moth prepared another fire attack. "Quickly! Dig!" The lycanroc started to carve at the soil under it before disappearing underground.

The vortex of fire was dissipated by the hit of the paradox Pokémon's move, "flame". It then set its eyes on Jack, who took a step back and readied an Ultra Ball. As soon as the Pokémon attempted to attack Jack, Lycanroc burst out of the ground and hit Iron Moth with its claws, right into the trajectory of Jack's Ultra Ball.

Jack held their breath. 1 bounce... 2... 3... ... click! The Pokémon was caught, and Jack let out a sigh of relief.

"At least something good came out of this! There's not much study on Paradox Pokémon! And I have one now!"

There's a roar echoing across the crater, several pf the bug pokémon are seen suddenly moving towards the same direction... scared. They're running away from the source of that roar.

"Well, I see what our next target is! Let's go, Copper!"

Jack takes the floating rotom-phone and pauses the video, the next bits of footage are small clips of the moth pokémon hurrying to fly away from the very same direction Jack was running towards. Then a clip of a large bug pokémon, crawling on the floor, large wings, some form of white fur.

"It's Slither Wing" Jack whispers.

He prepares to start another battle, this time releasing both Copper and Cobalt, the rockruff.

"okay. Cobalt, I want you to watch and learn, and only come close if it's safe, okay? These pokémon are really strong, but I bet you'll learn a lot from seeing them fight!"

The rockruff let out a small bark in protest, but resigned and hid in a nearby tree, to watch safely. Jack now headed with Copper towards the Pokemon, striking first... The battle was like a dance, as Jack told the lycanroc to use moves to buff itself first, and dodge the attacks of Slither Wing.

When Jack entered The Zone during a battle, he didn't look like the meek and shy guy he appeared to be, his smile was wide, the bags in his eyes almost looked like they had vanished, his voice rose up in volume and enthusiasm, the link between him and his Lycanroc was amazing.

Jack made Lycanroc redirect the moves from Slither Wing towards him, and dodging right at the last second, so that they could wear out the wild Pokémon, working together in synergy, both Trainer and Pokémon fighting the same battle.

Finally, jack took a small object and brought it as high as his hands could reach.

"Now! Unleash the light of the earth and strike the Pokémon down! Terastalize, Copper!"

The object, similar to a pokéball in black, began to glow, and light seemed to pour inwards it, gathering and concentrating energy in the small orb, Jack's hair flowed with the current of energy, and his eyes focused in the orb, and throwing it perfectly on top of Copper.

The Pokémon was covered in crystals, and shrouded by light. On its head laid the Rock-type Tera-jewel. Jack didn't even need to say anything, Copper struck with Stone Edge against the Pokémon. Weakening it enough for Jack to throw a Timer Ball at the Slither Wing, capturing it as Copper's terastalization vanished.

"That was AMAZING! did you see how well we did it?!"

The Lycanroc simply smiled cockily almost as if saying "of course we did" in a bordering arrogant tone. Only to be humbled by the sneak attack of a little blue rockruff. The two dog Pokémon started to play fight, while jack picked up the Timer Ball.

"I might've gotten hurt a lot today... but I honestly needed this break."

Jack smiled at his Pokémon's playful fight.

"Okay, you two, we can play later once I find a spot safe enough to do so without any other of these Pokémon jumping in on us, Okay?

And with that, the Pokemon nodded and gladly were retrieved to their Pokéballs. Jack continued his descent into Area Zero, thinking... The slither wing looked a little bit off, but he couldn't put his finger on what. He could swear the wing's colors were not right. Which reminded him.

His shiny luck had always been high, although odd, but by now he should've spotted a shiny Pokémon already, and he hasn't seen one since he came dow- Something hits Jack.

It was a Sandy Shocks, throwing Jack down a rocky slope, and ominously approaching once Jack hit bottom. The trainer coughed up blood after hitting his head against the cobbled slope, he was going to need a visit to the dentist after this.

But now he had more important matters at hand... like surviving the attack of the Sandy Shocks, which roared, and released electricity, causing the video to cut abruptly.

[stay-strong-boy]

Was ist die Wolke Sieben wert?

Wenn wir als Preis jedes mal unser Gesicht verlier'n.

[lu-zifera]

Wird es je enden ?

Es wurde einfacher, es tat nicht mehr so weh. Die Momente wurden weniger. & doch mal „unser Lied“ oder Erinnerungen, die ab und an da waren, nagten. Heute Einzelgespräch & irgendwie kamen wir auf Dich. All die Tränen waren wieder da.. wird es je enden ? Das mit Dir ? Meine eigene Illusion vom wir.

[cicelythereaper]

Hello! I was wondering if you had anything on Y Gododdin 😃

hey! fellow gododdin enthusiast! what a delight

i presume this is a request for reading recommendations - i don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, or how accessible these will be, but i’ve tried to cover most bases here. i WISH there were more literary criticism, maybe there is in the welsh-language scholarship and i just haven’t found it? 

it’s entirely possible that i will have missed some obvious things here, i’m mostly sticking to stuff that i personally have read. if something mind-blowing has come out since the last time i did gododdin reading then it’s not here, i’m afraid! 

but enough disclaimers. on to the recs!

text and translation:

for a translation, i cannot recommend enough joseph p. clancy’s translation as found in the triumph tree: scotland’s earliest poetry, 550-1350, ed. t. o. clancy (1998). this is fantastic. it’s poetic, it’s a joy to read, and having used it as part of a deep read last year where i went through the welsh text in detail i am honestly AMAZED regularly at how well clancy handles the many translation issues that arise. it’s loose, and it doesn’t translate every single stanza unfortunately, but for the spirit of the poem you really can’t do better

that said, if you need another translation to check against/to fill in the gaps, i’d recommend kenneth jackson’s the gododdin: the oldest scottish poem (1969). it’s a prose translation, so it’s harder to use in conjunction with the text, but it’s pretty clear and accurate

text-wise... things get complicated. honestly, the best edition is probably still ifor williams’ canu aneirin (1938), in terms of faithfulness to the words on the manuscript page. (i also really enjoy his textual commentary, but it is in modern welsh so not accessible to everyone.) the major problem with it is that you are not going to get the stanzas in the order they appear in the manuscript - he reorders them into groups of perceived variants. this also makes it harder to distinguish between the A-text and the B-text. AND it means that the stanzas are not in the same order as in any of the translations!

if you can get hold of it, i really really think it is worth having daniel huws’ llyfr aneirin: a facsimile (1989). the introduction is SO useful for understanding the manuscript context, and it comes with gwenogvryn evans’ transcription of the book of aneirin, which you can compare with williams’ edition if need be to work out where a stanza actually goes.

there’s a conspectus of editions which i think thomas owen clancy put together but i cannot for the LIFE of me remember where it is - if you think you’ll need it, PM me and i’ll see what i can do

dating, textual criticism and historicity:

t. m. charles-edwards, wales and the britons, 350-1064 (2013), chapter 11 - this is from more of a historical perspective than a strictly linguistic/palaeographical/dating perspective, but it’s a really good general introduction and i definitely recommend starting with it. if you read nothing else, read this. this whole book is a godsend

t. m. charles-edwards, 'the authenticity of the gododdin: an historian's view', in astudiaethau ar yr hengerdd, eds. bromwich and jones (1978), pp. 44-91 - this kind of lays out the standard view which everyone has been deconstructing ever since. we don’t know anything about what’s going on with y gododdin, but at one point we thought we did know something and this was what it looked like

d. n. dumville, 'early welsh poetry: problems of historicity', in early welsh poetry: studies in the book of aneirin, ed. b. f. roberts (1988) - and HERE is the deconstruction! a pretty good overview of the issues with “knowing anything” when it comes to y gododdin

p. sims-williams, 'dating the poems of aneirin and taliesin', zeitschrift für celtische philologie 36 (2016), 163-224 - i don’t have any notes on this and haven’t read it recently, but i remember it being good (it’s sims-williams so of course it is). almost certainly contains linguistics, but is probably also written readably

o. j. padel, 'aneirin and taliesin: sceptical speculations', in beyond the gododdin: dark age scotland in medieval wales, ed. a. woolf (2013), pp. 153-75 - if you can stand linguistics talk, padel does his best to make it understandable here and gives a good overview of the linguistic arguments for and against suggested dates for y gododdin. this whole book is actually very useful

g. r. isaac, 'canu aneirin awdl LI', journal of celtic linguistics 2 (1993), 65-91, AND 'readings in the history and transmission of the gododdin', cambrian medieval celtic studies 37 (1999), 55-78 - DEEP IN THE TEXTUAL CRITICISM. honestly, my poor attention span means i find it hard to pay attention all the way through these two, but if you want a really in-depth look at the possible relationships between the A and B-texts of y gododdin, this is the way to go

historical discussion and background:

charles-edwards in wales and the britons chapter 11 again

j. rowland, 'warfare and horses in the gododdin and the problem of catraeth', cambrian medieval celtic studies 30 (1995), 13-40 - this is a pretty cool look at the role of cavalry in y gododdin and while i don’t agree with all of it, i think it’s really useful reading if you’re going for a historical take on the poem

p. m. dunshea, 'the meaning of catraeth: a revised early context for y gododdin', in beyond the gododdin again, pp. 81-114 - makes some ESSENTIAL points re the question of: is catraeth catterick? moreover, IS CATRAETH A PLACE?

c. cessford, 'northern england and the gododdin poem', northern history 33 (1997), 218-22 - a historical perspective on the poem with some very useful points, comparing the situation as sketched out in y gododdin with what we know of the area at the time

m. wood, 'bernician transitions: place-names and archaeology', in early medieval northumbria: kingdoms and communities, AD 450-1100, eds. petts and turner (2011), pp. 35-70 - a welcome look at the archaeological and place-name evidence for what was going on in bernicia as it changed from a brittonic to a germanic-dominated area. really useful to have in mind both when reading the poem and when reading more literary history

r. collins, 'military communities and transformation of the frontier from the fourth to the sixth centuries', in the same book, pp. 15-34 - pretty fascinating look at the earlier background running up to the time period depicted in y gododdin, and the possibility of continuity between the roman occupation of hadrian’s wall and the post-roman era there. useful social/archaeological perspective!

f. h. clark, 'thinking about western northumbria', in the same book, pp. 113-28 - an early medieval english perspective on the area at the time, useful for comparison and completeness’ sake 

literary discussion:

ifor williams, lectures on early welsh poetry (1944) and the beginnings of welsh poetry, ed. bromwich (1972, 2nd ed. 1980) - THE CLASSICS. an old-fashioned, not to say outdated, viewpoint, but that’s because this is the guy who INVENTED the viewpoint back when it was new! even now there’s a lot of good stuff packed into these and ifor williams’ prose style is a real pleasure to read. not to be missed

a. o. h. jarman, 'the heroic ideal in early welsh poetry', in beiträge zur indogermanistik und keltologie, ed. meid (1967), pp. 193-211 - likewise somewhat old-fashioned now, but lays out the classic viewpoint well and makes some good literary points. it may also be worth reading the introduction to his edition/translation, aneirin: the gododdin (1988). (i don’t recommend using it as an edition because he conflates the A and B texts and renders the text into modern welsh - this means it reads very smoothly but is quite a bit further away from what’s on the manuscript page.) 

h. fulton, 'cultural heroism in the old north of britain: the evidence of aneirin's gododdin', in the epic in history ed. davidson, mukherjee and zlatar (1994), pp. 18-39 - a pretty interesting read, about the mindset expressed in the poetry, its purpose and its construction

this isn’t lit crit but i’m putting in my favourite g. r. isaac quote from his article ‘gweith gwen ystrat and the northern heroic age of the sixth century’, p. 69: ‘Koch writes that the Book of Aneirin’s ‘immediate milieu is… not the Celtic Heroic Age, but the High Middle Ages’, as if the ‘Celtic Heroic Age’ were a period of comparable historical status to the High Middle Ages. This is not the case, however. A ‘heroic age’ cannot be the ‘immediate milieu’ of any literary production, a ‘heroic age’ cannot produce literature, because a ‘heroic age’ is itself produced through literature (taken in the broadest sense). It is a literary product. The Homeric epics are not the product of  a Bronze Age Achaean heroic age, but vice versa. The Irish Ulster Cycle is not the product of an Iron Age, pre-Christian heroic age, but vice versa. And the medieval Welsh poems of ‘Aneirin’ and ‘Taliesin’ (and Triads, sections of the Historia Brittonum, and much else) are not products of a sixth-century North British heroic age, but vice versa.’

honestly there just is not nearly enough lit crit for y gododdin, in english at least, especially to explain cool shit that the welsh text is doing that isn’t visible in the translation, and/or things that could be subversive or ambiguous about it - so, i don’t know what your level of engagement with the medieval welsh text is, but if you’re curious, if you want to know more about what’s going on in a specific stanza (or which stanzas are extended puns), or just which things i’ve been dying to yell about all year, PLEASE message me and I! WILL! YELL! 

articles which are almost certainly good and useful but it’s been too long since i’ve read them to say:

t. o. clancy, 'the kingdoms of the north: poetry, places, politics', in beyond the gododdin again, pp. 153-75

m. haycock, 'early welsh poets look north', likewise in beyond the gododdin, pp. 115-52

FINAL NOTE:

one of the problems with translations is that they give an impression of way more certainty about the meaning of the text... than is actually there. you’re pretty safe with clancy or kenneth jackson, but tread carefully. again, i don’t know your level of engagement with medieval welsh, but if you want to know if there are any major textual issues with a stanza, hmu and i will gladly consult my copious textual notes! but in general, BEWARE of basing anything too heavily on the following groups of stanzas:

A40, A41, B5, B6 (Am drynni drylaw drylenn; Clancy ‘For the feast, most sad, disastrous’)

A42, B25, B35 (Eur ar vur caer; Clancy ‘Gold on fortress wall’)

A48, B3, B24 (Llech leutu tud leudvre; Clancy ‘Standing stone in cleared ground’)

A62, B14, B15, B16, B36 (Angor dewr daen; Clancy ‘Anchor, Deifr-router’)

the Gorchanau if you’re interacting with those, especially the Gwarchan Maeldderw - if anyone tells you they know exactly what is going on in these, do not believe them. isaac has a full translation of the gwarchan maeldderw in cambrian medieval studies 44, and it’s useful, but i’m not by ANY means completely convinced by it, so tread carefully.  

the more stanzas there are in a group of variants (or at least a group that shares lines), the more likely it is that those stanzas are going to be SUPER DUPER TEXTUALLY FUCKED UP, is a pretty good rule of thumb.

[inkuntergraudunkelbunt]

Disarstar - Wach

[the-original-b]

Archangel--Chapter 8: Reckoning (or Blut und Verrat)

Format: Prose / Fiction, multi-entry

Part in Series: 9 of 9 (Previous Chapter | First Chapter)

Word Count: c. 6,500

Summary: Old secrets surface, Krueger gets an offer, and Khai makes the best of her current situation.

Warning(s): blood, violence

“Pull over here,” Khai suggested from the passenger seat. “The driveway entrance is half a mile up the road, but the property is just over this wall.”

Krueger did as instructed, pulling his sedan to the side of the road and parking it. He shut the headlights off and reached behind the passenger seat to retrieve the AR-15 he took from the Praetorians at Khai’s home half an hour ago. From the driver’s seat he re-checked the weapon, releasing the magazine and sliding it back into place, then pulling the charging handle back just enough to see the brass in the chamber. “I don’t suppose you know how many Praetorians are here?”

“No,” she admitted. “There could be five or fifty.”

Krueger took a breath to calm himself as he formed his plan. He didn’t have the advantage of having Khai watch over him with the recon drone this time, and he had to assume his enemies had technological advantages over him in addition to the numerical one, but Krueger had one distinct tactical advantage which he intended to exploit.

He fished in his coat pocket for the car key and gingerly placed it in Khai’s left hand, careful not to provoke her recovering elbow. “Wait in the car,” he said. “If you don’t hear from me in fifteen minutes, you get as far away from here as you can.”

“What—?”

Before she could protest, or even respond, Krueger stepped out of the car and effortlessly scaled the wrought-iron topped property wall, disappearing from her sight and into the unknown. Khai shut her eyes and exhaled, leaning her head against the leather headrest and looking up through the moon roof. “Don’t you dare die in there, Milo,” she said to herself.

Krueger kept a low profile as he crept through the woods, hanging onto his carbine by its barrel shroud in his left hand. When he arrived at the edge of the clearing he surveyed the area from behind an old tree trunk, noting a swimming pool, outdoor tennis court and handball wall, and the house itself. From his position he could readily see five armed Praetorians patrolling the yard. He could see the one closest to him had a pair of night vision goggles folded up on his forehead. He held his hand on his communicator as Krueger raised his rifle and took aim.

“Bloodhound Three to Actual, no sign of either target,” he said.

The moment he released his communicator Krueger fired, sending a bullet through his temple and killing him instantly. Krueger darted over to where the man fell and inspected him, taking the goggles off his forehead and noticing a fragmentation grenade fastened to his vest.

He recalled a high-value-target rescue he and his team ran in Angola over a decade ago, when they created a distraction to lure the guards away while he secured their objective. He thought to employ the same tactic here.

Krueger laid the Praetorian back down onto his chest to tuck the bomb between the ground and his body and pulled the pin, keeping the lever in place. He quickly scanned the area again before retreating back towards the woods and drawing his P30L.

According to Khai, Simon Wells’ home was the only one for miles in every direction; if that weren’t the case, this would have certainly backfired.

He fired into the air twice, and retreated deeper into the shadows as three of the Praetorians approached where the gunshots came from, noticing the body on the floor. He moved in a wide semicircle around them as they inspected their fallen comrade.

“Base Plate,” one of them said, “We got a body here.” He rested his carbine on the floor and put both hands on the fallen man’s shoulders to move him. “Stand by—”

By the time he noticed the active grenade it was too late.

“Get back—!”

Two of them were lost in the explosion, and the third wasn’t far behind them. Now all eyes were on that corner of the property, per Krueger’s design. “Base Plate, Bloodhound One,” another praetorian exclaimed. “Heard some kind of explosion! Secondary Target is on-site.”

Simon cursed under his breath into the communicator. “Is the woman with him?”

“Unknown. We’ll tighten our sweep on the area. Out.” He switched channels to address his team. “All units, switch to instruments and double your search. Hunt the son of a bitch down.”

 ~~

In the initial chaos, Krueger left his AR-15 behind and scaled a half-wall to pull himself up onto an awning while the other Praetorians’ attention was on the sprung trap. He entered the house through a second-floor balcony, pulling himself up over the handrail and activating the night vision goggles he took from his first victim.

He scanned the hallway, quietly unfolding his knife and maintaining a crouch as he moved from the balcony to one of the bedrooms. Once he cleared it, he put himself against the doorway, allowing one of the Praetorians to pass him by as he continued his sweep of the second floor.

Krueger maintained total silence as he crept out of the room, his knife in hand. He followed the Praetorian, and once he was in range he jabbed the blade just above the other man’s heel, severing the tendon, and then pulled the knife back out just as his victim fell backward into him with a pained groan.

Krueger cupped his hand over the man’s mouth, pulling his head back and burying the blade in his throat, silencing him, then laying him down onto the floor carefully once he stopped moving. The man was dead in a matter of seconds.

Below, the other Praetorian in the house looked up where the noise was coming from, then raised his weapon. “Stay here, sir,” he gestured Simon to remain where he was as he moved to the staircase to investigate the noise.

Krueger heard him coming; he cursed himself for not executing the move faster, the way he could when he taught it to Seza all those years ago. He had no choice but to adapt now, he knew he moment the other man got a shot off, it was over.

The Praetorian ascended the staircase and made his way to where he heard the noise, his weapon raised. Krueger kicked it from his hands as soon as he turned the corner, then dropped to one knee as he buried the blade deep into the side of the Praetorian’s right knee. He twisted the blade a little as he pressed more of his weight into the other man’s ruined leg, bringing him to the floor with him. Just as the Praetorian went for his sidearm, Krueger briskly pulled the knife back out, slashing at his neck as he fell into him and putting him down for good.

Simon waited below, trying to make sense of whose pained groan and gurgling expiration he heard. After a while he raised the .44 and turned the corner, looking up the stairs at the banister—in the darkness he could identify a trickle of blood dripping from between two of the posts. He tried his best to maintain a steady hand and move in silence toward the stairs to get a better look at who it was that was bleeding on is floor, but was forced to stop when a closed fist rested on his shoulder and a handgun’s muzzle pressed against his head behind his ear.

“Checkmate, Mr. Wells,” Krueger said.

 ~~

From the driver’s seat of Krueger’s car, Khai could see a pair of headlamps illuminate the road ahead of her, followed closely by another one. She leaned to her right to hide behind the dashboard and stay out of the oncoming drivers’ sight once they inevitably passed her by.

Her cell phone rang shortly afterward. She answered it.

“It’s clear,” Krueger said. “Come up to the house and join us in the first-floor office. There’s something I think you should hear.”

Khai understood now. Krueger never intended to take on all of the Praetorians, his plan was to get Simon to cancel the kill order he placed on them. Now that they were gone and in the clear, it was safe for her to join them again. “I’ll be right there,” she replied.

She brought the sedan back to life and let the engine purr a little before putting the car into Drive and heading up the road, from where the other vehicles came. After about a minute she pulled into Simon’s driveway and shut the engine off, then stepped out of the car and pushed on the door with her hip to shut it. She rested her left hand in her coat pocket as she walked up to the front door and pushed down on the latch to open it, then quietly shut it behind her once she entered the house.

Her sneakers quieted her steps as she made her way through Simon’s foyer and reached into her coat to draw her semi-auto .357. She let it hang by her side as she entered Simon’s home office and walked up to him, stopping a few yards away.

“Hello, Miss Khai,” Simon deadpanned upon seeing her. He sat behind his desk, his hand by a glass of whiskey, with Krueger behind him to his left; in Krueger’s hand was Simon’s loaded .44.

“Where are your wife and son?” she asked him.

“They’re spending the weekend at her sister’s out of town.” He took from his whiskey glass. “Figured they didn’t need to see what’s about to happen to me.”

“No,” she murmured, “I suppose they don’t…” She raised her gun and held him in the sights. “Simon Wells. For your past and recent actions against the Marlow Partners, and your failed attempts on the life of one of their agents, you are disavowed from the fold. Your membership with the organization as well as the privileges included with that membership are, by your own hand, revoked.” She thumbed back the hammer. “We’ve been ordered to kill you. I’m told there’s something you’d like to share with me before we carry out that order?”

“I figured you’d like to know why,” he said. “Why I turned my back on everything I had.”

Khai blinked. “Go on.”

Simon exhaled. “In 2005,” he began, “my mother was killed when she lost control of her car and sped into oncoming traffic. The coroner ruled it an accident, but my father and I both knew it was murder.”

“That was never proven,” Khai said.

“Not by the partners,” he continued. “But he and I dug deeper than they did, and found out the Company bought the mechanics who worked on her car, and sabotaged it… and then there was dad.”

“I remember,” she answered. “Massive heart attack, 2010. I was in the room when it happened.”

“Yeah,” Simon said. “You were. You and Isaac and Karl, you were there every step of the way, right up ‘till the day he died.”

Khai lowered the gun and took a step toward him. “How dare you blame us for that?” she challenged. “I looked up to your father; Karl and Isaac, they adored him! The three of us, we did everything in our power to help that man after he lost your mother.”

“You didn’t let him grieve,” Simon said. “Not properly.” He took another sip from his glass. “The stress, the broken heart, whatever it was that gave him that un-survivable heart attack, he got from you three.”

Khai exhaled and shook her head. “So, what then? Was all of this to avenge William?”

“The life,” he declared, “The Marlow Partners, they destroyed my family, Elizabeth. I did what I did not just for them, but for all the other families you and your club tore apart. You ever stop to wonder how many widows and orphans we’ve made over the last year?” He finished his drink and set the glass down on the desk, leaning back in his chair a little. “And now here they are again ripping up another family—one more widow, one more fatherless boy. Just another notch on the belt for the high-and-mighty Partners.”

Khai shut her eyes and let her head hang while she inhaled. She let it out, then looked back up to reestablish eye contact. “I suppose there’s no convincing you otherwise,” she conceded.

“Maybe there is,” Krueger noted. “I can’t speak for the Partners’ past deeds,” he began as he opened up the cylinder of Simon’s revolver, “and because I still have a job to do, I can’t allow you to live. But I can offer you a choice.” He emptied the six bullets into his left hand and put one back into the cylinder, rotating it so it would fire next time the trigger was pulled. “Die by my hand,” he elaborated as he placed the weapon on the desk. “Or die by your own.”

Simon looked at the hand cannon that once belonged to his father, then back up at Krueger. “What difference does it make to you?”

“None,” he said plainly. “But I’m guessing it might make one to you. If I or Miss Khai were to shot you here and now, you would die a traitor. Your name and legacy would be stricken from every record they’re in and the world you unenthusiastically helped shape would forget you. But if you took your own life before I could, the world may yet remember you differently.”

“Is that so?” Simon ventured. His hand rested on the revolver. “And what’s to stop me from turning this gun on either of you?”

“If you did the other one of us would shoot you, even if you weren’t dead before squeezing the trigger. So ask yourself—would you like to be forgotten as just another in the sea of nameless faces of men and women I’ve killed, or would you rather be remembered as a man who had the conviction to challenge his assassin and deny him his target?”

Simon broke eye contact as he mused to himself a while, running his fingertips over the engraving in the gun’s barrel. Then he reached over to pick it up with his right hand, thumbing back the hammer. He looked back up at Krueger, locking eyes with him for a few seconds before he looked over at Khai. He offered her a downward nod before breaking eye contact and looking straight ahead and straightening his posture in the chair. And then Simon pressed the muzzle of the revolver under his chin and pulled the trigger.

“Wise decision,” Krueger stated.

Krueger turned away from Simon’s nearly-headless body and started walking toward Khai. She handed him her cell phone to call Hayden as she reset the hammer of her gun and put it back into her coat. She turned away to follow Krueger, taking a few steps in the direction before stopping to look over her shoulder at what was left of Simon Wells. After a moment she turned away to continue following Krueger toward the exit.

“It’s done,” Krueger said as soon as Isaac Hayden answered the phone. “Simon took his own life before I could get to him.”

Hayden was quiet for a while after Krueger spoke. “Noted,” he finally said. “I’ll ensure that his wife and son will be provided for.”

“Understood, Mr. Hayden.” Krueger ended the call and opened the front door for Khai behind him. She traded his car key for her phone when they made it to the sedan, then entered and drove away from the Wells residence.

 ~~~~

They returned to Khai’s home in Westchester half an hour later to find the lights restored and a new nondescript sedan sitting in her driveway. She fished her house key one handed out of her coat pocket and opened the front door, letting Krueger follow her into the foyer. The bodies that they left behind were gone, along with the blood on the floor and walls.

Khai paused a few steps into the foyer, and let out a tired sigh. Krueger watched her shoulders slump as she exhaled, and he walked up to wrap a supportive arm around her and walk her to the living area. He set her down onto the couch opposite the wall-mounted television, and she absentmindedly peeled her coat off one shoulder at a time. She maintained a blank stare at the far wall, her elbows resting on her knees.

Krueger watched her closely. “Are you okay?” he asked. “After all of what’s happened.”

Khai blinked slowly. “I just watched my business partner kill himself,” she said. “He did try to have me killed twice today, and he did betray my family, but still… he was my brother by trade.”

“You’ll make it through this, Liz,” Krueger reassured her. “You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. Whatever you’re feeling right now, I promise you’ll get past it.”

“I’m mostly just feeling hollow,” she admitted. “Alone… scared.” Her last word was a barely audible whimper.

Krueger had seen it before. Khai’s adrenaline was running high for most of the day. Now that it was finally filtering out of her system, all the emotions kept in check by her prolonged fight-or-flight state began to surface and hit her all at once. She was tired, overwhelmed, and terrified. It was a small miracle she managed to keep herself together in all of this.

She looked up at him, fear in her eyes. “Can you stay with me?” she appealed.

Krueger took his coat and body armor off and laid them down onto an ottoman along with his handgun and holster. He walked over to Khai, placing himself onto the couch immediately to her right, between her and a neatly folded Berkshire blanket. He looked over at her and turned his left palm upward, offering it to her.

Khai took his hand, weaving her fingers between his and curling up on the couch next to him. She reached across herself with her other hand and held onto his arm, leaning her head against his shoulder.

And there they sat, in shared silence, looking at the black television screen.

 ~~~~

Krueger opened his eyes later than night, and looked at Khai snuggled up under the Berkshire blanket with him, fast asleep with her head on his chest. He shut his eyes only for a moment; when he opened them again it was morning, and Khai was in the kitchen looking through her cabinets for what she could salvage, still in her tank top and flare-bottom pants.

He sat up, letting the blanket fall off of him as he rubbed the back of his neck to massage the muscle a little. “Guten morgen,” he said, loud enough for her to hear in the other room.

She looked over her shoulder at him. “Hey..!” she extolled. “How’d you sleep?”

“Not bad,” he answered. He sat up fully, reaching across his chest and pinning his arm to it with the other one to stretch. “A little stiff, but no complaints otherwise.”

“That’s probably the couch... or age,” she jested. She found an intact Moka pot and two undamaged coffee cups.

“Very funny,” he retorted, smiling. He switched to stretch his other arm. “Thirty-six was only nine years ago.” He was very happy to see her sense of humor was back, and that whatever she was feeling after yesterday night was gone. She was back to herself.

“Whatever you say, old man,” she chuckled. “You’re welcome to use the bathroom upstairs. Go ahead and take a toothbrush from of the pack under the sink.”

“Danke.” Krueger stood up, folding the Berkshire blanket back up and placing where he first found it, and headed up the spiral stairs to the bathroom.

After brushing his teeth, Krueger cupped his hands under the faucet and splashed cool water over his face, then ran his still-wet hands through his hair before shutting the water off and burying his face in a hanging towel to dry off. He looked away from the towel to see Khai leaning against the doorway, her black hair down and her arms wrapped around herself. She smiled warmly at him.

Khai chuckled to herself, coyly looking toward the floor as she uncrossed her arms and took a slow, exaggerated step backwards. She reestablished eye contact for a brief moment before disappearing behind the corner.

Krueger watched her turn the corner, and followed her out of the bathroom. He found her leaning against the wall with a not-so innocent closed-lipped grin on her face. He reciprocated her expression, placing his hands on the walls to either side of her to corral her in.

Khai reached up to rest her forearms on his shoulders and pull herself up to him. She felt his hands rest on her hips and bring her closer. Fabric was all that separated them now. “No interruptions this time,” she purred.

Krueger brought their mouths together to share a tender kiss, and then a second one which they held for several seconds. Khai wrapped her arms around the back of his neck to pull herself in and physically deepen their kiss as Krueger’s arms snaked around her back.

They briefly broke contact to look in each other’s eyes and kissed again, even harder and deeper this time. Khai trembled a little as Krueger stepped back, letting him lift her tank top up and raising her arms so he could more easily free her from it. She felt goosebumps spread up her forearms as his fingertips returned to her, running up her stomach and chest. She returned in kind, pulling his t-shirt up from his waist and paring it off of him before reaching back up to reclaim his lips. They shared several heated kisses before breaking contact again, and she took his hand to lead him to her bed onto which she fell backward and pulled him on top of her.

 ~~

“Where did this come from?” Krueger asked, tracing a fine scar on the inside of her wrist with his thumb. His head and shoulders were up against the headboard, and Khai lay tucked beside him under the bed sheets.

“That?” Khai held her left arm out in front of the two of them, her head lying on his bare chest. “Went over the handlebars of a quad. Spring Break, junior year.” She returned her hand to his stomach. “Far from my finest moment,” she chuckled. “Major lapse in good judgement there.”

“Good judgement comes from experience,” he said. “And a lot of that experience leaves marks.”

“Is that how you see it?” She turned her head to look up at his face. “What lesson came from this one, then?” She traced the U-shaped scar under his left cheekbone with her finger.

Krueger recalled that day. “If you’re close enough to land an elbow, you’re close enough to take an elbow.”

“Oh? And what set of circumstances could you possibly have created to learn such a lesson?”

“An underground boxing ring in Muscat,” he said plainly. “We were chasing a war criminal, it was as good a place as any to catch a lead.”

“Did you at least find him there?”

“No, it turned out he was in Abu Dhabi.” He looked at her and smirked. “Not everybody gives good intel like you do.”

“Only the best,” she jested. Her eyes moved further down his lean athletic frame and settled on a trio of bumpy lines under his left pectoral. She recognized them as old stab wounds. “And these?” she inquired, tracing them with her fingers again.

Krueger looked down at them. “Marrakesh. We were in pursuit of sex traffickers operating there… if not for Seza I might have died on a bazaar floor that day.”

“Well,” Khai said, “that’s two things I’ll have to thank her for next time I see her... and that?”

Krueger looked to where she pointed—a small slightly discolored crater in his waist, near his right hip. “Shootout at a club in Crown Heights… and these I got in Hoboken,” he noted, indicating the off-yellow splotches on his chest and stomach.

“Right,” she said. “I was there for those..!” She rested her head on him again, letting her hand fall onto his chest. “They say whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. By that logic, you ought to be immortal now.”

“Maybe,” he said, cradling her and looking her in the eye. “Or maybe I’ve just gotten very lucky.” He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Are you hungry?”

“God, famished,” she said. She got herself off of him to let him up off the bed, and watched him sit at its edge and stand to recover his pants from whatever corner of the room they were flung to. She studied the numerous discolorations, scars, and marks on his back—old injuries that never got a chance to properly heal—and wondered to herself how many of them his ex-wives helped treat.

How many more would show up over the next few years? How many wounds would she have to suture up? How much more of this could his body handle?

Krueger found his clothes and dressed himself again before heading down the hallway toward the stairs and eventually the kitchen. Khai followed suit, getting out of the bed to reclaim her pants and tank top from wherever they ended up. She briefly stopped in her walk-in closet to grab a pullover hoodie which she threw on over her shirt and joined Krueger downstairs.

 ~~

Krueger diced a whole apple and banana atop a thin cutting board while the egg whites simmered in another pan on the stove. He added the fruit to the oats he had cooking in a saucepan and topped the mixture with cinnamon. He stirred it a few times to mash the banana and let it melt into the oats, then turned his attention to the egg whites to ensure they didn’t burn too badly. He shook enough salt into his hand to cover the middle of his palm and ground an equal amount of fresh black pepper into the salt, then spread it over the eggs.

When it was done he set one bowl of oats aside for Khai and another for himself, placing them next to the plates of egg whites he prepared. Then he set the saucepan in the sink and filled it with water before joining her at the center island with the coffee she prepared for them. He spooned half a teaspoon of raw sugar into it as she sampled his oats.

“That’s delicious!” she said. “Where did you find that recipe?”

“Ah, that one I found while touring an obscure corner of the world called YouTube.” He smirked as she chuckled. “They say you can add honey if you like, but I prefer it this way.”

“This is actually perfect,” she commented. “The fruit adds all the sugar it needs. It’s sweet, but not saccharine.”

“Speaking of which,” he raised the coffee cup, “this is superb.”

“Café Bustelo,” she said. “Only the best for you..!”

They shared their breakfast for a while before Khai slowed down, her brow furrowed as she chewed.

“What’s wrong?” Krueger asked.

Khai swallowed a mouthful of egg whites. “I just keep going back to what Simon said. About creating widows and orphans.”

“Don’t let his words get under your skin Liz,” Krueger said.

“Oh, they’re not,” she clarified. “I made my peace with that years ago, it’s just… I can’t shake the feeling we’ll be doing this again in ten years with his son, you know?”

“Maybe… or maybe young Mr. Wells will learn from Simon’s example and follow a better path,” he mused. He took up his coffee cup again. “Whatever that might be in this life.”

 ~~

Krueger crossed the front door’s threshold and turned back to Khai leaning against the doorway.

“So will I see you Monday?” she asked him.

“That depends,” he said. “Will you have a job for me?”

“Well, I’m sure I can find something we’ll need your help with,” she added with a smile. Then she tiptoed up to plant a long kiss on his lips which he returned, holding her close to himself as he did. “See you later, Milo,” she finally said.

“Auf wiedersehen, Liz.”

And then Krueger went over to his sedan parked in her driveway, entered through the driver’s side door, started the engine, and backed into the street to head home.

It was just before noon when he arrived in front of his home. As he shut the engine off and stepped out of the car, another man stepped out of the passenger-side door of a dark blue Rolls-Royce Phantom parked up the street and slowly approached him. “Milo Krueger?” the man asked. 

Krueger arched his brow in response. He recognized the fruity, sonorous baritone voice of the other man speaking to him. “Yes.”

The tall, broad-shouldered dark-skinned man who stepped out of the Rolls-Royce wore a masterfully tailored navy blue suit and crisp white shirt with dark brown lace-up shoes under his pale gray coat. On his left wrist was a gold-and-silver watch with a minimalist blue face, and he wore a navy blue tie accented with a gold and silver paisley design. 

“Do not be alarmed by my presence here,” the well-dressed man continued. He had his hands up in front of him in a non-threatening gesture as he slowly closed the distance between them and stopped a few yards from Krueger. “Your home address is a classified piece of information accessible only by my colleagues. The Branch doesn’t know where you live,” he reassured. His short hair and trimmed beard were accented with sparsely placed gray hairs. “I’m sorry for the, theatrics, but I felt this was a conversation best had in-person. I’m Isaac Hayden,” he finally introduced himself. “I’d like your debrief on these recent events.” He gestured the idling Rolls-Royce a few yards from them. “This way, please.”

Krueger followed him to the car, where Hayden opened the rear passenger-side door to let him in. He shut it and entered through the rear driver-side door, signaling the driver to take off and begin circling the block.

“The loss of Simon Wells at the head of the Lower New York Branch is… devastating,” Hayden began, looking out the window. “But, I do find some elation in the fact that the damage done is limited to his passing. And I owe a large part of that to your efforts.” He turned to face Krueger. “You’ve demonstrated your value and resourcefulness to me and my partners many times over, and for that I thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“However, the resolution of the aforementioned problem has presented me with two, unforeseen, complications.” Hayden leaned forward a little before he continued. “My flagship branch is without its captain, and I have very little time to find a suitable candidate to lead it.”

“Well,” Krueger said. “If I may make a suggestion, Mr. Hayden, why not let Elizabeth Khai direct the Branch? I’ve watched her work for some time now, and from what I understand she has more experience in a leadership role than anyone else there. I can’t imagine somebody better suited to fill the void Mr. Wells left behind.”

“Yes,” Hayden mused to himself, “she is the obvious choice… I agree with everything you’ve said,” he continued for Krueger to hear him. “I’ll forward your recommendation to the other four, but it must pass a vote before any decisions are finalized. Still, I see no reason they wouldn’t endorse her for the position.” He looked back out the window. “Frankly I’d be shocked if they didn’t…”

“So we’ve addressed your first complication,” Krueger said. “And I’m guessing I’m the second.”

“Yes, Mr. Krueger,” Hayden confirmed. “You are. You’re a contractor without ties to any one organization—I can’t allow my rivals access to your talents and expertise.”

“So is this the part where you kill me?”

“Of course not,” Hayden said, reclaiming his eyes. “I can’t afford to have you killed, you’re much too valuable to us alive... I want to fold you in.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hayden,” Krueger said. “But as I explained to Mr. Wells, I’m not one of you. I’m just an old soldier turned independent gun. I lack the ambition to learn a new trade and am quite happy doing what I know.”

“But, you’re very good at what you do,” Hayden noted. “A clever, resourceful, morally ambiguous man with a unique set of skills.” He chuckled a little at his next thought. “So there may be a way… I think we can work together and resolve this complication in a way that benefits us both.”

“You may be right, Mr. Hayden,” Krueger said. “Although my services are typically offered á-la-carte, I’m certainly open to a longer-term arrangement with a retainer.”

“That’s all I needed to hear, Mr. Krueger.” The Rolls-Royce came to a stop in front of Krueger’s home. “Return to the branch Monday morning and we’ll discuss the numbers.” Hayden handed Krueger a keycard. “This will give you access to the office.”

Krueger accepted the card. “I’ll be there.” Krueger opened the door to let himself out.

“Thank you again for everything you’ve done, Mr. Krueger,” Hayden said from inside the car. “And for your time.”

“Of course Mr. Hayden. I’ll speak to you Monday.”

Krueger shut the rear passenger-side door and stepped away from the car as it pulled into the street and away from him, heading off to its destination. He watched it for as long as he could, and when it disappeared from his sight he turned to head toward his house.

He paused when he felt his phone buzz in his coat pocket. He fished it out and answered the call. “Hello?”

“Dad,” spoke a younger man’s voice on the other end. “It’s Alex. Sorry I didn’t return your call earlier, but I finally have a chance to breathe.” He spoke in German.

“Don’t worry about it, Alex,” Krueger answered in German as well. “I understand you’re busy.” He continued toward his home.

“How have you been?”

“About the same. I actually landed some stable work here in America, for a Manhattan-based operation. I’m set to negotiate a salary Monday morning.” He opened his front door and stepped into the house.

“That’s great! Mom and I were worried about you for a while when you bounced from job to job.”

“You two don’t have to worry about me anymore. I’m doing fine here.” He took a moment before sharing his next thought. “It’s good to hear your voice again, son.”

“Yours too, dad.”

 ~~~~~~

Krueger tapped the keycard he got from Isaac Hayden onto a reader beside the glass doors Monday morning, dressed in a dark turtle neck sweater and slacks with a medium gray jacket, and pulled one open to cross into the office space. There was nobody else there yet at this hour, so he took his time walking through the space as he made his way to the conference room waiting area.

The receptionist’s desk was empty, and the conference room doors were open. He walked through the hallway to the open space and found Khai looking out the window at Sixth Avenue below her. She wore a dark blazer and lavender blouse with round-toe pumps, and was standing at the perfect angle for him to admire her profile, curves, and the short slit in the pencil skirt she wore over her black tights.

Krueger knocked on the wall to get her attention.

She turned to face him. “Oh!” she nearly gasped. “Sorry, I didn’t know anyone else was here..!”

“It’s just us,” he said, taking a few steps toward her with his hands in his pockets. “You’re in early.”

“Yeah.” She went towards the desk. “A lot of affairs to get in order before the transition of command. Simon left a mess behind for me to clean up.” She leaned against the corner of the desk to face him.

“So will I be calling this the Khai Branch from now on?”

Khai laughed a little at the thought. “Not yet, at least,” she noted. “I mostly think they’re just letting me direct the operation until they find somebody better.”

“I don’t think so,” Krueger noted. He stopped about two feet from her. “I spoke to Mr. Hayden the other day, he’s about ready to hand you the keys to this place. I feel this, transition, is more of a practice run than something temporary… and if you’ll allow me to be honest,” he disclosed, coming in a little closer, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Khai tucked her hair behind her ear and offered him a sly smile. “Did you come all the way out here dressed like that just to shower me with compliments this morning?” she purred. “Because it is doing something for me.”

“That’s just one reason I’m here this morning,” Krueger added with a similar tone. “Mr. Hayden offered me a position,” he continued. “Service as-needed for a retainer.”

“Does that mean I’ll be seeing you more often?” Khai proposed, holding onto his open jacket.

“I rather hope it does.”

Danielle’s voice in the hallway pulled them from their moment. “Mr. Wells?” she called out. “Sorry I’m late, I—oh.” She paused at the sight of Krueger and Khai in the conference room, having been given just enough time to reestablish some distance. “Good morning, Miss Khai. Mr. Krueger.”

Krueger gave her a respectful nod hello.

“Hey, Danielle,” Khai said, adjusting her glasses. “How was your weekend?”

“It was good, thanks… where’s Mr. Wells?”

“Simon had to address a family emergency,” Khai said. “It doesn’t look like he’ll be back... He’s having me keep things in order during the interim.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that…”

“Yeah, I was too.” Her tone told Krueger she meant it.

“Well, I’m up front if either of you need me.”

“Thanks, Danielle.”

Krueger waited for Danielle to leave before he spoke again. “Well done,” he said.

“I don’t even know where that came from,” Khai replied. “I suppose I picked up a thing or two from you.”

“It would appear so…” Krueger went back for the door. “Aren’t you going to wish me luck on my interview?”

“You don’t need luck,” Khai said, sitting down behind the desk. “I think you’ll be just fine.”

Krueger shot her a warm smile before exiting the conference room, leaving Khai alone in the big empty space. As many times as she’s been in the room with other people over the years, she never had this view of the area. It was new and far from comfortable.

She exhaled and laced her fingers together atop the desk. “Yeah,” she said to herself. “You got this, Liz. I think you’ll be just fine….”

(Masterlist | Season 2)

[nikitasavala]

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