#at least i tested with her first so i could do better with ryker

[theadventurek9]

Aayla has done some level of almost cooperative care medication giving before. I have to say I misjudged how much liquid I was giving and should have broken it up into smaller segments to help her take it in more manageable chunks.

But no restraint and she comes back in for more. Wet dog food slurry (brown) in one syringe and medicine (white) in the other.

[sunsetcurve]

learn to love without consuming (1/4)

fandom: knight squad relationships: arc / ciara, minor or one-sided arc / oc and ciara / oc word count: 4,603

a/n: eek. it's finally here. if you follow me here you know that i've been working on this for a few weeks (months?), but the idea has been sitting in my drafts for basically forever. almost since i watched the show to begin with. the recent resurgence of the ks fandom prompted me to dig this back up and gave me the motivation to actually try and finish, because fuck it! i love my babes and i want more of them.

so quick note is that this picks up pretty soon after the season 1 finale but disregards basically,,, everything that happens in s2. s1 and the finale proceed the same way except prudy never finds out ciara's secret, so she and warwick don't know at the moment. this chapter was initially gonna have more scenes that drove the plot/romance arc but once i got upwards of 6k with a few major scenes left i decided it would be best if i split the chapter up, so for now it’s just a lot of me trying to work around the convoluted knight squad lore to establish my own. i know that's not exactly what everyone is here for, but i promise things on the romance/action front will pick up soon. i'll place warnings as detailed as i can get without spoiling in the tags and notes as i go, but just anticipate fairly significant violence by chapter 3.

anyway! i have talked enough. the title is from thus always to tyrants by the oh hellos, the rating is t for swearing/violence, there are three more chapters that are in the process of being written, and reviews are like crack as far as i'm concerned. i really hope you like this! thanks for reading <3

dedications: this fic is first and foremost for @ciara-knightly, who is not only my amazing beta but also the whole reason this fic exists. she helped me so so much with the development of the plot and worked through it with me even way before i decided to really start writing it, and i wouldn’t have been able to do this without her. all of the notes she left after beta-reading were so so helpful and really made this whole fic make sense so basically i owe her my entire life. she inspires me to be a better writer all the time and i love her. everyone say thank you shona!!! also tagging my lovely friends and some people who have expressed interest, who are in no way obligated to read this; @juliesdahlias @mistyskiesrambles @dr-rigatoni @willexs @taylorswiftrulestheworld @onplanetmars @neshatriumphs @zackmartin @julies-molinas @soni-dragon @yagorlemmalyn @hopefulbeautifulfool @cactus-con @waterisntreal @onetwothreefarkle @bitchmilsky

summary: “Now that Ryker isn’t a threat anymore, the councils are supposed to resume as planned, and Astoria is set to hold the first one two weeks from now.”

“Okay,” he says slowly. “That sounds exciting.”

Ciara nods. “It is! I finally get to meet some of the other nobility, and actually get to be involved in Astorian politics for once. But my dad won’t let me go without an escort,” she says, and then hesitates. “Which is where you come in.”

read it on ao3

The morning before training that day, Arc is testing his skills against a heavy bronze padlock when Ciara enters the squad room and drops a brown paper bag on the table in front of him. 

“These,” she announces as he raises an eyebrow at her, “are for you.”

He pulls open the package and is instantly greeted with a rush of warmth and the smell of vanilla. “Dragon puffs?” he says, half in awe. It’s a clear bribe, but he can’t help but shove a sugar-coated sweet in his mouth anyway. They’re an Astorian original and possibly the best thing he’s ever tasted; he’d tried them once at a bakery near the castle and hasn’t stopped thinking about them since. 

“Okay, what do you want?” he says then, words muffled around the cream and pastry.

Ciara pulls a face at his manners, but still manages to blink innocently at him. “Can’t I just do something nice for a friend?” she tries, but it’s half-hearted.

He swallows and grins at her. “Nice try, Princess. Your dessert deliveries always come with an ulterior motive.”

Huffing a sigh, she sits down next to him. There’s this subtle air of anticipation lingering around her, one he can only sense based on how in tune they are after so long of being teammates. The two of them have this easy way of reading each other now; they’ve been spending more and more time together, something having shifted in their dynamic after the battle against Ryker. He can’t quite place what it is, but he knows it’s only brought them closer. “Do you know what the Council of the Five Kingdoms is?” she asks finally.

He shrugs. “Sure. Nobles from each kingdom used to have a big ball every year to talk trading and politics and other boring stuff…”

“Except there hasn’t been a council since Ryker’s invasion, because the kingdoms have been isolated and preoccupied with their own safety,” she finishes for him. Her fingers tug at the lacing of her leather gauntlets; she’s nervous, but he still isn’t sure why. “Now that Ryker isn’t a threat anymore, the councils are supposed to resume as planned, and Astoria is set to hold the first one two weeks from now.”

“Okay,” he says slowly. “That sounds exciting.”

Ciara nods. “It is! I finally get to meet some of the other nobility, and actually get to be involved in Astorian politics for once. But my dad won’t let me go without an escort,” she says, and then hesitates. “Which is where you come in.”

Arc chokes on his second dragon puff. “You want me to be your escort,” he says flatly, once he’s finished coughing, “to the Council of the Five Kingdoms?” Normally he’d jump at the chance to spend a night dressing up and eating castle food. But the council is a decidedly different scene; there’s a set of formalities, politics underlying everything, and too many chances for him to expose his lack of knowledge when it comes to Astorian customs. Not to mention that Catalias’ royals will be there. He doesn’t know if he can stomach looking them in the face, knowing what they did to Seagate.  

Ciara grimaces. “Look, I know it’s not exactly your thing, but my dad won’t let me go alone. And this really means a lot to me.” Her eyes are pleading, and Arc feels his resolve chipping away.

“Can’t one of your actual guards go with you?” he tries. “Or, Prudy or Warwick or someone?”

“I’ve already talked to my dad about it,” she explains. “You’re the only Knight School student he’d let protect me, because you already proved you could when Ryker invaded. Besides, if something were to happen…you’re the one person who knows I can handle myself as Ciara.”

There’s this brief stretch of silence where Arc works his bottom lip, and Ciara looks as though she’s debating something. “Also,” she adds finally, with the soft flicker of a hesitant smile, “I thought it might be fun to go with you.”

Arc blinks at her, caught off guard by the admission. There’s this sudden buzz in his chest that he can’t push away; in truth, he doesn’t like the idea of her spending the night with someone else either. Maybe, by some miracle, this will actually be a good thing. “Alright,” he relents. “I’ll be your escort.”

Ciara’s face breaks into a grin. “Yes! Thank you!” She throws her arms around him, and he’s shock-stilled, a rush of warmth flooding through him as he hugs her back. When she pulls away, her eyes are shining with excitement. “Okay, I’ve gotta go tell my dad you said yes, and there’s a million things to do, but I’ll see you at training later. You are the best.”

“I expect dragon puffs for life!” Arc calls after her as she disappears through her passageway. He leans back into the couch, lightheaded, and in that moment, he realizes abruptly that there’s almost nothing he wouldn’t do for her. 

And he is so completely screwed.

*

Two weeks later, Arc is standing outside Ciara’s bedroom, waiting for her to finish getting ready.

It feels odd to be out here in the open. Generally his visits to her chamber are accompanied by an air of secrecy, but tonight, he’s a guest in the castle. He’s dressed like it, too, decked out in the guards’ typical formal wear: pressed brown pants, a white shirt laced up the front, and a navy leather jacket trimmed in gold, with Astoria’s crest on one shoulder. He looks kind of dashing, honestly.

Despite the confidence boost his new look offers him, his hand keeps drifting to the hilt of his sword. It’s sheer force of habit; he only associates this brewing sense of apprehension with battle, and his muscles are responding in kind. He’s glad, at least, that he turned down the other guards’ offer to lend him one of their ceremonial blades and instead has the familiarity of his own. Hopefully he won’t need it, but it’s a steadying presence all the same.

“Almost ready!” Ciara calls from inside, and Arc carefully unclenches his fingers from around the leather grip of his sword. He has to keep it together tonight; she’s made it clear how much this means to her. The last thing he wants to do is embarrass her in front of nobles from all five kingdoms.

Well, four, he reminds himself. Seagate won’t be attending. There isn’t anyone left to represent them. 

The thought makes his stomach twist. 

He’s saved from having to dwell on it by the sound of Ciara’s door unlatching. “Better prepare yourself, Princess,” he teases, leaning against the wall, “I look pretty good, and the last thing we want is for you to get too smitten—”

He breaks off as she emerges from the doorway, all the air in his lungs leaving in a sudden rush. He’s trying hard not to be the cliche of a guy scraping his jaw off the floor at the sight of a pretty girl in a dress, especially not like this, with Ciara—but he can’t help but think that it’s ridiculously unfair of her to come out looking like that. Her dress is a pale blue, falling gently off her shoulders and cinching at her waist, and her tight curls are weaved with strands of gold and tied into a low knot, some of them falling loose to frame her face. There’s a crown of gold leaves and rosebuds settled in her hair. 

“You...um…” Arc searches for his voice, “you look amazing.” His mouth feels dry.

Ciara smirks and reaches up to adjust the collar of his uniform. “You don’t look so bad yourself. I’m definitely smitten,” she jokes, like it’s nothing for them to be flirting openly. It should be nothing. Except his skin burns where her fingers brush against his neck, and he suddenly wonders if she can hear his heart pounding.

He clears his throat. “We should probably get to the ballroom.” 

She nods. “Give me your arm,” she says, looking at him expectantly. When he raises an eyebrow, she continues, “You’re my escort, remember?” 

“Oh, right.” He lifts his arm obligingly, his cheeks warm.

“I really wish we’d had more time to go over Astorian customs,” she breathes as she takes it, more to herself than anything. “Between training and helping with preparations, I’ve been so busy…” His nerves must show on his face, then, because she squeezes his arm gently and amends, “Sorry. You’ll be fine, don’t worry. Just stay close to me, okay?”

“Not a problem,” he grins without missing a beat, and Ciara scoffs and shoves him, the smile tugging at her mouth taking all the bite away from it. 

They can do this, he thinks. The two of them have kept up appearances for each other for months now, have fought and trained and battled Ryker together. They’re Arc and Ciara, unstoppable duo. One little party should be nothing.

As they make their way down the hall towards the ballroom, flanked by guards, Ciara lowers her voice. “When we get there, most of the nobles should be inside already. The herald will announce my father first, then us, and then each of the other three kingdoms. We’ll be beside the thrones as they come in—you’ll stand by me, left side—and once they’ve all been announced, we can leave the thrones and mingle. Bow to each of the rulers as they come by.” 

They had, at least, practiced his bow. Arc swallows back the dread in his throat; all he has to do is stand beside her and greet the other royals, it’s easy enough. For a moment, they linger outside the entrance to the ballroom, until an official-sounding voice announces the King. “We’re next,” Ciara whispers to him, eyes glinting with excitement. “You ready?”

He nods back at her, and the voice calls, “Accompanied by Sir Arc...Princess Angelica of Astoria!” They step into the ballroom, greeted with applause. Arc doesn’t think he’s ever been in a place this lavish; the walls are white, accented in deep gold, and the floors are polished to a gleam. The ceiling looks hand-painted, ornately decorated in constellations and swirling designs, and crystal chandeliers dangle over their heads, casting a golden glow over the whole room. He tries not to look too awe-struck. 

They make their way to the platform on which the thrones rest, Ciara nodding and smiling and waving at the other nobles as they pass. She stands next to her father, and Arc takes his place on her other side, placing his hands behind his back and trying, for all the world, to look like he belongs there. He wonders suddenly if he’s stood too close to her, and if it would make things worse for him to shift over now, and if his indecision is showing on his face—

And then, almost imperceptibly and hidden from the ballroom’s view by the folds of her dress, Ciara reaches over and links her pinky with his. It’s a tiny gesture, a friendly reassurance, but Arc feels a tide of warmth swell in his chest all the same. He lets his gaze flit to her for just a moment, and her lips are graced with a small smile as she tugs his finger gently. 

His breath hitches, and he fights to keep his face a passive neutral as the herald announces the next kingdom and he turns his attention back to the doorway.

“Presenting King Hugo, Queen Luciana, and their son Prince Isaac of Catalias!” 

Arc’s stomach turns as the couple enters, trailed by their son, all three of them swathed in lavish red and gold. Their reputation precedes them; he knows little about the prince, but the king and queen are infamous for their hoarding of wealth, their favorance of the rich nobles and landowners of their kingdom over the common people. Arc knows them best for what they had done to Seagate. 

His hand twitches for his sword, but he fights against the instinct.

True to form, the two have a haughty look about them, all starched clothes and stiff smiles as they bow to Ciara and the King. The two of them return the greeting with Arc following their lead—grudgingly.

“I am so pleased you could join us tonight,” the King smiles, a little tight-lipped. “It is high time that Astoria and Catalias united again.”

King Hugo nods back. “I couldn’t agree more. The honor is ours.” 

Arc detects a veiled sort of tension between the two of them, hidden well underneath the cordial formalities. He glances at Isaac, whose eyes are trained intently on Ciara even as he and his parents move to greet the other guests. Something about it is unsettling.

He’s so focused on Isaac that he almost misses the herald’s announcement of the next kingdom. “Queen Damyanti, and her children Princess Aadhya and Prince Kavan of Khurjan!”

Queen Damyanti is the picture of elegance, draped in silver silk that almost seems to glow against her dark skin. Aadhya looks around fifteen, with the same deep eyes and regal expression, and Kavan must be ten or so. He grins toothily as the three of them approach the thrones and bow.

The King’s expression is much warmer now. “Queen Damyanti. It has been too long. I trust Khurjan is doing well?”

“Not quite as well as Astoria, perhaps,” she replies, and it’s teasing, no sharpness to it. “This ball is absolutely lovely. Princess Angelica, you look so beautiful. Just like your mother. I was so sorry to hear of her passing.”

Ciara’s eyes go soft. “Thank you, Queen Damyanti,” she nods back. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.”

“You as well. It’s a shame your sister couldn’t make it, but hopefully we’ll all gather again soon.” She gives a small, departing nod and joins the rest of the nobles, Aadhya giving them a bright-eyed smile and Kavan waving enthusiastically as they follow her. Ciara laughs. 

“And finally...King Jesper of Vysalt!”

Arc is confused for a moment; he wonders if he had remembered the name of Vysalt’s king wrong. Then a young man with a head of dark curls and a smattering of freckles against tawny brown skin enters, his crown just slightly crooked. His eyes are wide and dark, and a jagged, white scar cuts across his cheekbone. He can’t be much older than they are.

“He’s the king?” Arc whispers to Ciara under his breath as Jesper makes his way over to them. “How old is he?”

Her expression twists a little in sympathy. “Seventeen. He wasn’t supposed to inherit the throne so soon. His parents were killed when Ryker’s army took over his kingdom.”

Arc isn’t sure what to say to that. He knows what it’s like to lose everything to Ryker—he can picture the flames every time he shuts his eyes. But he hadn’t known about Vysalt or the fate of its royals. They had been close allies with Seagate at one point, one of the only other kingdoms without much wealth, and their king and queen had been known for their generosity. 

Somehow Arc had thought the damage had been done to Seagate alone, but now he wonders how the other kingdoms fared, if they suffered just as much. If any of them came out as unscathed as Astoria did.

“Your Majesties,” Jesper says as he bows, and there’s a note of pity in the King’s expression as he returns the gesture. Arc can only imagine how he feels about someone so close to his daughter’s age having to run a kingdom on his own. 

“King Jesper. How are you doing?” 

It’s a more personal question than he had asked the other royals, Arc notes. Jesper smiles easily; it’s soft, highlights his deep dimples and makes his dark eyes glimmer. “Well, thank you. Vysalt is recovering with time. As am I,” he adds, voice quieting for a moment.

The King nods back. “That’s good to hear. Let us know if there’s anything Astoria can do to help.”

Something flickers in Jesper’s expression, hard to read and gone so quickly that Arc wonders if he imagined it. The young king bows again before moving to join the others, but not before he catches Arc’s eye and smiles warmly. It surprises him—the other royals had hardly given him a second glance—but he returns it with one of his own. Beside him, Ciara lifts an eyebrow, her expression a mixture of amusement and something else he can’t place. 

“What?” he asks quietly, and she shakes her head, glancing away. 

“Nothing.”

He wants to pry, but the King is clearing his throat, getting ready to address the room. The chatter dies down as all eyes turn to him.

“My fellow Astorians,” he says in his deep, booming voice, sounding more formal than Arc has ever heard him, “and my guests from our neighboring kingdoms...I am honored to welcome you to our castle, and so pleased that we could all be in attendance tonight.”

Not all of us, Arc thinks, but no word of Seagate comes up. 

The King continues, “For decades, our kingdoms have been isolated and divided by Ryker’s armies. We have long suffered under his forces, but his threat is gone for good. Thus, tonight is more than a council; it is a symbol of our victory, a symbol of our unity as we move forward and rebuild. So enjoy yourselves! After all, we have so much to celebrate!”

To Arc, the sentiment feels hollow. He got his revenge, and of course he’s glad that Ryker can’t hurt anyone else, but it doesn’t change the fact that Seagate is in ruins. It feels suddenly difficult to celebrate with the weight of his village’s absence lingering in the air around him. The rest of the partygoers don’t seem to share his hesitance, though; the room breaks into applause and cheers, several of the guests raising their goblets jovially. 

Ciara gives him a subtle nudge, jolting him out of his thoughts. “Now we get to mingle,” she grins, leading him off the throne platform and towards the crowd. 

He follows dutifully as she heads toward the table where the other kingdoms’ royals have gathered, Astoria’s king staying behind to greet the other royals. Queen Damyanti is in conversation with King Hugo and Queen Luciana, but she doesn’t seem entirely pleased about it, and Jesper and Kavan are laughing at something Aadhya has said. Isaac hovers next to them, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else. He has his father’s golden hair and clear blue eyes, but the frown on his face is entirely his mother’s.

It disappears, though, the moment he sees Ciara approaching them. “Princess Angelica,” he greets her, with a little too much enthusiasm for Arc’s liking, “I’m so honored to finally meet you. You’re even more radiant in person.” Before she can say anything, he takes her hand and kisses it swiftly. Arc narrows his eyes.

Ciara gives a forced-sounding chuckle and curtseys, pulling her hand back. “Thank you, Prince Isaac. I’m glad you could make it. Allow me to introduce Sir Arc, my guard and escort for the night.”

Arc bows—and if he never has to bow to another pompous royal again, he thinks, it’ll be too soon—and Isaac offers him a dismissive sort of half-smile. Any further interaction they would’ve had then is thankfully avoided by the other royals noticing Ciara’s arrival.

“Hi, Princess Angelica!” Aadhya says brightly, with a neat little dip of a curtsey, “I’m Aadhya.” When Ciara and Arc begin to return the gesture, she waves her hand with a tiny scoff. “Oh, you don’t have to do that. Formalities. Just come sit.” She returns to her chair and pats the seat next to her, and Arc decides right there that he likes her.

Ciara takes the offered chair, and Arc takes the only other open spot, in between her and King Jesper. As Ciara launches into conversation with Aadhya, Jesper turns to him. 

“Hi,” he says, a small smile tugging at his lips. “I’m Jesper.”

Arc bites back a laugh at the unnecessary introduction. “I know who you are, Your Highness,” he replies lightly.

“I know. I was just trying to give you an opening to tell me who you are.”

Oh. That’s unexpected. There’s no prerogative behind his words, no assertion; Jesper’s grin is almost bashful, his voice easy and bright. He doesn’t sound like a king, just a seventeen-year-old boy trying to flirt. Arc can’t help but return his smile.

“I’m Arc,” he says. “Normally I’m a student at Knight School, but I’m the princess’s guard and escort for the night.” 

“Wait,” Aadhya pauses her conversation with Ciara to lean over and look at him, “You’re the Arc who defeated Ryker?” 

“I helped,” Arc says with a shrug, and the princess’s eyes go wide. She turns to Ciara.

“Were you there too?”

“I was—” Ciara pauses for a moment, “hiding. I was hiding. Arc got me to safety.” 

He grins a little at her, tongue between his teeth, knowing it must be killing her to hide what she was actually doing. She narrows her eyes and kicks his leg under the table in response, a silent shut up. He lifts his eyebrows, like, I didn’t say anything, and she rolls her eyes in an entirely non-subtle manner. 

Across the table, Queen Damyanti is watching their exchange with a raised eyebrow, Arc notices belatedly. She has a mildly amused look on her face, but doesn’t say anything about it. Instead, she states, “Battling Ryker face-to-face must have been quite the experience.” 

“What was it like?” Prince Kavan asks eagerly from beside his sister.

Aadhya elbows him. “Kavan,” she hisses, but Arc just grins.

“No worries. It was…” he trails, trying to think of what to say and suddenly aware that all the royals’ eyes are on him. He shifts in his seat. “It was scary, obviously. He had the Armor of Astoria, and a whole army with him, and most of the Astorian knights under his spell. But, y’know. We Knight School students are pretty formidable. We all took him on together. Wouldn’t have been able to do it otherwise. I wasn’t half as scared as I would’ve been without my squadmates watching my back.”

He glances at Ciara, who smiles softly and nudges his foot, gentler this time. Jesper has that same unreadable look on his face and Aadhya has her chin propped in her hand, her expression amazed, but Queen Luciana gives a snide sort of scoff. 

“It’s a wonder it took so long to defeat him, then, if a group of students cut him down so easily,” she says. “Perhaps Ryker was never as great a threat as we all made him out to be.”

There’s a cut of silence across the table in which Jesper visibly stiffens. “With all due respect, Queen Luciana, Ryker’s attacks were devastating. Or have you forgotten what happened to my parents?” he demands, without any respect at all. His eyes are blazing. 

“I’m merely pointing out that the only real damage done was to the less...fortified kingdoms,” she sniffs. “Ryker only breached Catalias’s walls once, and he was driven out rather quickly.”

“Well, not every kingdom has Catalias’s resources.” Ciara sounds like she’s choosing her words carefully, frustration masked well behind them.

King Hugo gives a huff of a laugh; his blue eyes are cold. “My dear princess, you have no cause for indignation. Astoria lost the least to Ryker, what with your,” he waves a hand, “magic bubble.”

Ciara opens her mouth but falters, brow furrowed, and across the table, Queen Damyanti speaks up. “Nevertheless, Ryker was still a formidable enemy to all of us. We were only prepared for his attacks because he targeted Seagate and Vysalt first. And Seagate’s destruction is a clear example of his power.”

“Oh, even you can’t argue that Seagate was rotting long before Ryker got to it, Damyanti,” Hugo replies swiftly, and Arc’s breath catches in his throat. Queen Damyanti shrugs in agreement, her expression passive; Arc almost stands up, but Ciara’s hand on his leg underneath the table stops him. 

“Don’t,” she hisses, just barely loud enough for him to hear, “Let me handle this.”

Though as it turns out, she doesn’t have to. Before she has a chance to speak, Jesper is already bristling, his voice sharp: “As if Seagate’s corruption justifies the destruction of its people?”

“It’s thieves and criminals, you mean?” Isaac scoffs. “Seagate was a wasteland. The kingdoms are better off.”

The words ring in Arc’s ears, alongside the pounding of his blood. They sound painfully similar to what Ryker had said to him on the mountain—rats and thieves, I did the five kingdoms a favor—and he thinks fleetingly that he’s going to be sick. He’s always known that Seagate was looked down on by the other kingdoms, but hearing them say so casually that what happened, the flames and the destruction and all of the death, was deserved—

“The people were only thieves and criminals because Catalias took advantage of them,” Jesper argues. “I hope I don’t have to remind you that it was your government that poured money into the gangs of Seagate for their own profit and allowed them to stage a coup in the first place.”

The words are deadly and cold, but Arc feels a flash of admiration for Jesper; the king has no obligations towards Seagate, and yet defends it like his own. King Hugo’s gaze hardens. “You’re blaming Catalias for Seagate’s problems?” he says with a derisive laugh. “If anything, Ryker’s attacks only revealed that Seagate was a kingdom full of people that weren’t worth saving.”

“That’s enough,” Ciara says abruptly. Her hand tightens on Arc’s leg, and he can no longer tell if he’s the one trembling or if she is. There’s this burning fire behind her eyes; she looks, Arc thinks briefly, the same way she does in battle. “What happened to Seagate was a devastating tragedy, and I won’t let you treat it as otherwise. Those who disagree aren’t welcome here.”

It’s a weighted statement, one she doesn’t entirely have the formal authority to make, but no one dares to contest it. A heavy silence settles over all of them. Arc doesn’t know how long he can sit there with all the heat under his skin; he doesn’t remember when his hand found the hilt of his sword, only that he’s gripping it tight enough that the leather bites into his palm. He wants to stand up and tell them that none of them would be here if it weren’t for him, a thief from Seagate. In truth, the only thing holding him back is Ciara. In a battle between her steady hand and the storm in his chest, she wins without even trying.

He doesn’t say anything or look at her, but her gaze flits to him for a moment and she just knows, standing up. Before she even opens her mouth, Isaac is on his feet too. “Going so soon?” he asks. “Would you care to dance, Princess?”

She looks at him coolly for a moment. “I would, actually.” And then, she turns to Arc, offering him her hand, “Sir Arc, dance with me?”

Arc blinks up at her and takes it as he stands. “Absolutely, Princess,” he says, letting her lead him away from the table and glancing back only long enough to catch the dumbfounded expression on Isaac’s face.

[travllingbunny]

The 100 6x05 The Gospel of Josephine

While we’re still on the hiatus, waiting two weeks for the next episode, at least I have more time to finally put my thoughts on episode 6x05 in one place and post the belated review.

I appreciated this episode better on my second watch, because, the first time, I found it a bit hard to believe that no one besides Bellamy was suspicious of „Clarke“’s new, decidedly non-Clarke-like behavior, even though they all noticed at least some of it, and that they didn’t put two and two together after they had already found out about bodysnatching. However, putting it into perspective, it all happened over a very short period of time ��� and besides, it is such a huge thing to accept. Most people wouldn’t even want to believe it.  

Still, while everyone seems to have caught the small blunders, like calling Murphy „John“, I do wonder if anyone except Bellamy was alerted by the fact that „Clarke“ was OK with bodysnatching and arguing that it’s OK because it doesn’t affect them. Could it be that their idea of her is a bit skewed? The funny thing is how much others (well, mostly Raven and Murphy) were bashing Clarke this season as the Worst Person Ever, and now her body is possessed by an actual villain, who is the polar opposite of Clarke: selfish, egotistical, immoral, arrogant, devoid of compassion and caring, allergic to children, and convinced that she is better than everyone and that she can just walk over the lesser, disposable people. There are even some people in the fandom who somehow imagine Clarke to be the Bad Guy, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, which is a really incredible misunderstanding of the story and characters. Well, if people wanted to see a real villain in Clarke’s body? They got her now.

I expected the reveal about Clarke not being dead (surprise, surprise) but dormant, to happen at the end of this episode. It turns out it will probably happen in the next one.. Even though I can’t wait to see real Clarke again, watching JosephineClarke (JC) try and fail to pretend to be her was a lot of fun. To be fair, JC knows very little about Clarke, so of course she wouldn’t be able to guess how she’s supposed to act, but her hubris also got in the way. Thinking that, just because she was once in a famous play, she would be able to pretend to be a person she’s never met, is perfectly in character for JC, with her dismissive attitude towards „disposable“ people, which made her blunders so much more enjoyable to watch. Eliza Taylor did a great job giving JC completely different voice inflections and mannerisms from Clarke, at times just as playful and carefree as Sara Thompson’s original Josephine we saw in 6x02, but also more evil and scheming. Her „Clarke“ act went from basically just being JC herself in new situations, to doing something of a caricature of Clarke, in her „These people are happy, their world works“ speech in her final scene with Bellamy. But, she’s certainly smart, so she ended up deciding there’s no point of pretending with some people, namely Bellamy, and that she needs a better ’coach“ to teach her how to play Clarke and manipulate the one person who, as it turns out, matters to the Primes’ plan, Abby, so it will be interesting to see her doing her best after getting some pointers on how Clarke would act.

We also learned about something called Offering Grove – apparently, the Sanctum community doesn’t just sacrifice people to their ’gods“, the Primes, so they could live forever – they also do the classic human sacrifice, in this case – to the meat-eating trees. Lovely. And we see another weird thing specific to this planet – the strange green storm that seems to destroy or age or suck the life out of living beings. I’m hoping for more info on that in the following episodes.

One of the great things about this season is the amazing cinematography. Metaphorically, season 6 has been dark AF, but, fortunately, it’s not literally dark, as so many shows are these days when they try to be „dark and gritty“, so everyone wears black and grey and you can’t see a damn thing on screen due to poor lighting. No – The 100 season 6 has incredibly bright colors, with a planet that looks beautiful, with Sanctum looking like Renaissance Fair and with people in all sorts of rich, colorful clothes – and it’s all incredibly weird and disturbing.

Josephine’s first actions after waking up in a new body? Kill her „best friend“ Kaylee, after calling her out on the fact that Kaylee killed her in her previous body; paint a portrait of herself, while dancing and singing along to „Alors on dance“; take a shower and change clothes.

So, Josephine thinks that Kaylee and her family were running away because they were scared Russell would find out that Kaylee killed Josephine VII. But how were they supposed to find out? The only new ’naming’ was Priya. The next one was to be in 14 years, when Rose turns 21, and that was supposed to be Jasmine (someone Miranda loved, but we don’t get info what she was to her). There wouldn’t be a new Josephine for a long time. This doesn’t really make sense, unless there was another reason why they were eager to get away from Sanctum.

It’s been fun piecing the info about the identities and relationships of the Primes. So far, we know for sure that there were 13 people in the Eligius 3 mission = four families, plus Dr Gabriel Santiago, the geneticist. Those were:

Russell, Simone and Josephine Lightbourne;

Priya Desai and her teenage son Ryker (we learn her last name from her plaque in this episode)

Kaylee („Leelee“ as Josephine calls her), her mother (Faye), father and brother (I currently think the father was called Victor and the brother Daniel).

Miranda and her family, which consisted of Jasmine and a man we saw on the portraits of the Primes on the walls of Sanctum in 6x02 (some say that his name on the plaque in high resolution reads as Caleb Mason). We still don’t know for sure what the relations within that family are. I initially assumed Jasmine was her daughter, but from the way the portraits were lined up (parents above, kids below – and only Caleb was above, with two portraits below), it seems more likely they were sisters. (Or, who knows,, maybe one is his daughter and another is her wife.)

Although Josephine and Kaylee were apparently ’best friends“ (weird friendship, that one), that relationship had to develop that way only after their first lifetime, because the age difference between them seemed to be at least 10 years. Josie doesn’t seem to have much use for children, and Kaylee and her brother were pre-adolescent children during the original mission – the same ones that Josie used to test the unknown plants that, for all she knew, could have killed them. „I didn’t try it. I gave it to the kids. Leelee loved it. If it was poisonous, they’d be dead by now!“

The backstory is that Kaylee killed Josie, after Josie killed someone called Isaac, and non-Prime that Kaylee loved, possibly a boyfriend, though Josie claimed he volunteered to be sacrificed in the Offering Grove. I guess murder is a bit less seriously taken if it just means you get to wait for a few decades to be put in another body. So, basically, Josie decommissioned Kaylee, so, right now, there are just 6 active Primes: Russell, Simone, Miranda, Priya, Ryker, and Josie, but the other Primes don’t know about her yet. They wouldn’t be happy to know Russell and Simone skipped the line for their daughter – Miranda, in particular, would be pissed. They also don’t want the others to know about the whole killing thing, which is why all the sneaking had to happen. The Primes need the Earth people because they hope several of them are Nightbloods. It’s a reasonable assumption, but an incorrect one – but that’s not going to be important after what JC learns later about Abby’s ability to make Nightblood in the lab.

JC and Russell are kind of like Cage and Dante: Russell really likes to think of himself as a moral, noble guy, in spite of the horrible things he’s been doing for 236 years, so he has moral boundaries, such as, no bodyshatching without the hosts’ consent (it’s OK if you first brainwash people into worshipping you so that they will willingly sacrifice themselves and believe they’re becoming „one“ with the deity and that it’s a great honor), though he broke that rule for Josie; and no eugenics, which Josephine has been arguing for, even to the point that she wrote a book about it. From the immoral sociopathic POV, selective breeding really is the best and most obvious way to ensure the birth of new Nightbloods, but Russell insists he won’t treat human beings as cattle. (Even though he already does in many other ways?)  As in season 2, you find yourself wondering: should I be more on the side of the immoral sociopath, or the huge hypocrite? Answer: f*ck both of them.

I really hope Josephine’s science books contain the driest, most straightforward prose possible, because, while she’s brilliant in many ways, literary talent is certainly not one of her strength. „This Ferrari I’m wearing“? Fun line, but what a mixed metaphor.

So, yeah, as we all know Josephine finds Murphy cute rather than Bellamy, which was obviously thrown there to subvert viewer expectations, and stress once more how completely different she is from Clarke etc.… but „he’s cute“?! She’s 200 years old and she talks like a pre-teen? There’s been some discussion over whether the Primes ever really emotionally mature over their many lifetimes. Josephine doesn’t sound any more mature than she was in the flashback in 6x02, and come to think of it, Ryker kind of has an attitude that could fit a teenager. But I don’t think it has anything to do with brain maturity, they are in adult brains, and they certainly have experiences of multiple lifetimes and centuries. I think it’s a consequence of they way of life (similar to how people who, due to circumstances, still live with their parents and are supported by them way into adulthood tend to act younger than people who have adult responsibilities early in life): all the Primes are locked into the past (even with the way JC can’t stop using 21st century slang and references), and even new relationships they develop cannot last beyond one lifetime, while their relationships with each other can go on indefinitely. Kaylee acts like an adult, not a little girl, but her primary relationships are always going to be with her parents and brother, and, as we saw in 6x02, those familial relationships didn’t change at all: during the hijacking, the dad („younger man“) seemed to be telling the son/brother („handsome older gentleman“) what to do, and Momma Faye (the „younger woman“) was definitely in charge and ordering Kaylee around („Just push the damn buttons, Kaylee!“) and telling her with her dying breath that she has to save the heads, though Kaylee already knew that.

Speaking of all the time in the world that the Primes have had – couldn’t Russell and Simone have made an effort to learn Mandarin in all that time? You live so long and you never care to learn new skills and expand knowledge? What do they even do with their time? At least Josephine has been writing books.

I wonder when Gabriel decided to leave and became the enemy of the Primes. He must have had an attack of conscience, after having done such awful things. Of course, people who were developed by Gabriel from embryos they brought from Earth were the ones used as hosts for the Primes, and are also obviously where the entire human population of Sanctum came from. We also learned that 45 or 46 of little embryo girls (I don’t remember the exact number) died in his experiments before he managed to successfully implant Josephine’s mind into one of them, after realizing that the host has to have a fully developed, adult brain. (Was this also the case with the minds of Prime children – if Kaylee, her brother and Ryker were also killed during Russell’s killing spree?) And „consent is key“ wasn’t something Russell cared at the time, since he had no problem with Josie’s mind being implanted in the body of the obviously unwilling and horrified Brooke, who was fighting and screaming until Gabriel injected her with the paralyzing serum (now we know why it was initially developed). Apart from the effect of loneliness and isolation after so many (all?) of the other people in the mission were killed, Russell’s guilt over it, Gabriel’s obsession with Josephine, finding out at some point that Earth was no more (7 years after they came to the planet), another factor could have been that they had the same attitude towards clones as many people seem to have in real life – that they are somehow not „real people“ because they didn’t get conceived and born the regular way (what’s with all the talk of cloning as a way to harvest organs?!).

How did the Primes choose Jade to be the bodyguard of the hosts (and now JC, who doesn’t seem to need someone to protect her anyway)? Did they go „Let’s find the smallest person in this compound!“ But I have a feeling that „bodyguard“ is not exactly the best description of Jade’s job. It’s just what Diyoza called her, and it seemed like the closest term.  

In spite of all the new info about the Primes, this was an episode with strong character moments for Murphy, Abby (with important character revelations about both, about things that make them potentially most vulnerable to Josie’s manipulation), Octavia, Diyoza, Gaia, even some for Jackson, certainly for Jordan (it’s his best episode so far), and Bellamy had some good scenes, but in his case, this episode was a calm before the storm, leading up to the moment when realizes the horrible truth about JC.

Bellamy also deserves points for making plans to explore the planet (and pointing out how weird it is that the Sanctum people haven’t explored much of the planet for 236 years… really, what have they been doing? They’re content to stay locked in their small, narrow space and old habits), and go and found their own community somewhere, away from Sanctum, after learning the important things from them. Someone had to finally mention all these things, and those 400 people still on the ship. To be fair, they’ve only been in Sanctum for a few days and were mostly distracted by other things, including trying to get Sanctum people to accept them and teach them to survive.

Jordan has been fleshed out a lot in the last couple of episodes. We knew him as a sweet, optimistic manboy, and we learned of his brilliant scientific knowledge in the premiere, and sure, he could be naive and trusting, but in 6x04, we saw his sadness and feelings of guilt as he talked about his upbringing and his parents, and now we’ve seen him make the right conclusions and be the first person to pay attention to the suspicious things in Sanctum (which, I think, the others would have also noticed earlier if they hadn’t been so eager to see the Sanctum people as good and to find peace), and determined to investigate what’s going on, after realizing that his girlfriend really isn’t the same person anymore, literally. He had to face obstacles such as, others not taking him seriously (and dismissing him as just a naive guy who’s dealing with being dumped) and the extremely brainwashed Sanctum citizens, including even Delilah’s mother. Priya VII even tried to pacify him by claiming Delilah was happy, which sounds like BS, since we know that the Primes believe that the hosts are ’dead’, which means they have no clue what, if anything, the host is feeling.

However, I didn’t like Jordan’s line about „Heart Bellamy“ – that was too much like breaking the fourth wall, like Jordan was the stand-in for the fandom and the things they say about Bellamy pre- and post-Praimfaya (which I’ve been pretty fed up with, to the point I’m almost starting to hate all the „Head“ and „Heart“ mentions, since they’re used to ridiculously oversimplify the characters of both Bellamy and Clarke). I guess I can imagine Monty and Harper telling them that Bellamy told them on the ring he had to use his head more, to honor Clarke’s memory, because she told him to do that – but it’s still jarring.

When Jordan, Gaia, Bellamy and Murphy broke into the lab and found the videos, it may seem like it was way too easy and that all the info was just lying there waiting, but the fact that the Primes didn’t think they needed anyone to guard it shows how complacent they are, how much they’re used to everyone in Sanctum supporting them, except for a rare Child of Gabriel – and everyone including CoG knows what and who they are, so there’s no reason to guard the information, only to guard the Nightbloods/future hosts.

It was satisfying to see Gaia go from her attitude that every religion should be respected (which is, on one hand, nice in general in terms of tolerance, but also absurd if taken too far, like including cults, created by people who made themselves gods so they can oppress others), to being horrified by bodysnatching and the way the Primes have brainwashed an entire community to worship them and sacrifice people to them. She made the same points about the difference between the Flame and the mind drives that I talked about in my review of 6x04, including the fact that the former was created to help future generations with accumulated knowledge and advice (as it does not take over the host, who is still in control of their body), rather than to let people live forever. (Which was presumably Becca’s intention and the initial purpose for the mind drives, too – before Gabriel modified them so they could store the entire consciousness of a Prime, allowing them to live as the same person in a new body.)

But I also enjoyed Murphy’s snarky but truthful comments about the Grounder religion – the fact that they made children fight to the death for the right to become Commanders is incredibly messed up, too. And Becca was also not a god but a scientist who made herself Nightblood in the lab – although that would have been more relevant to the plot of 4x09 (where the Grounders were shocked by the „blasphemy“ of Clarke trying to pass her scientifically created Nightblood as the same thing as the Nightblood of the Commanders… which also came from a lab).

The reactions were interesting - Jordan was the voice of morality and humanity, but I think  almost everyone agreed with him, except for Murphy. He was the only one – other than Josephine – to defend the Primes and their way of life – and it kind of feels realistic that at least someone would be tempted by immortality as an option. It makes sense it’s Murphy, especially after his recent brush with death that made him think he saw what hell was like, and it also makes sense he would say that openly.

While Bellamy didn’t speak much during those scenes where the group was discussing their shocking discovery, he was, of course, agreeing with Jordan (as confirmed with his later comments to „Clarke“) – but he was, instead, focused on watching „Clarke’s“ surprising reactions. I think he was getting more and more suspicious of her throughout the episode, and since finding out about bodysnatching, he was starting to realize the horrible truth.

Let’s see how many times JC screwed up while playing Clarke:

She was uncomfortable when hugged by Madi, and then told her she can go to school, contrary to what Clarke told Madi in the previous episode. But Madi was just being a child and was happy to get what she wanted.

JC also, naturally, didn’t understand a word of what Gaia said in  Trig (to make it impossible for Jade to understand what she was saying), but she covered it reasonably well.

Saying „Chill out“ (21st century slang is not something people from the Ark are familiar with) was what caught Bellamy’s attention.

Then he asked her about her happy demeanour and the „fun“ she had with the doctor, referring to seeing her dance with Cillian at the club. Bellamy asking about these things isn’t exactly typical of him, either, but it’s interesting. He may not have even been fully aware where it came from, but to me, it sounded like he needed to know more: „So, uh, I’m glad you look happy, but is it because of the doc? Are you really into him? It’s not serious, is it? Please tell me it’s not? I’m just curious for… reasons“. But JC immediately assumed it was about sex, confirmed Clarke had sex with Cillian and was basically like „I banged him and I’m an animal in bed“. Which was one of the most non-Clarke things imaginable: talking openly about her sex life, and bragging about it, and to Bellamy of all people (the two of them have always avoided any talk about each other’s love life or sex life or each other’s love interests). But JC walked out thinking „Nailed it“!“ Bellamy seemed too busy being surprised, confused and dealing with all sorts of feelings and images in his head caused by her comment, so he probably didn’t suspect anything at this point.

JC made more blunders with Abby – including writing with her right hand, which Abby noticed; making a comment that Josephine was a „visionary“ when Abby calls her a monster, and having new knowledge that Clarke didn’t have. A lot of people are harsh on Abby because she didn’t figure it out. However, I think that’s unfair – she didn’t know about the bodysnatching, so she couldn’t put two and two together. The human mind tends to rationalize things it can’t make sense of. She was also very tired, after not having gotten any sleep (reading books from the library instead), and distracted.

Bellamy was getting suspicious when „Clarke“ argued that bodysnatching is „not murder if they go willingly“ and that the Sanctum people are not a danger to them (in spite of herself and Madi being Nightbloods). JC was at that point worried about being found out, so she made sure to take a vial of the paralyzing serum if she is found out. After she left, everyone focused on stopping Jordan from making trouble publicly, as he went to openly confront Priya.

The group talk in the bar was when I think Bellamy definitely had clear suspicions about „Clarke“. First she called Murphy „John“, which weirded out everyone, including Murphy and Jordan. But I think it was her arguments that they should just be OK with what the Primes were doing, and look away – that from „I want to save everyone“ Clarke – that sealed the deal. That and the „Eureka“ look on her face when she heard about Abby being able to make Nightbloods in the lab.

It would have been safer if Bellamy hadn’t confronted „Clarke“ on his own, but I think he desparately wanted his suspicion to not be true. He tested her with Trig – which is a good test, as it’s the one language no Sanctum person could know – and she guessed some of the meaning from the context the first time, but the second time, it was too specific even for her to figure it out (no matter how good with picking up languages she is). So JC was like, my cover is blown, why even pretend anymore, and started taunting him instead. Bellamy’s reaction, the shock and horror on his face, especially as JC confirmed her identity after paralyzing him, was heartbreaking, and made this the best scene in the episode. I cannot even imagine what reactions we’ll see from him in the following episodes. He already went through losing Clarke and believing her dead once before – but that was her heroic sacrifice. This was awful and done against her will. He is going to raise hell, and do everything to fight the Primes and get Clarke back – once he realizes that she is not completely gone.

Murphy naturally had to go along with Josephine for the time being, but is he really going to be on Josie’s side, or play a double agent and help his friends? I believe he will do the latter – he does care about Clarke, and the group, he wants to be a part of the family, and we’ve seen how much he’s changed and that he was willing to die and let the others save themselves in the season 5 finale. I think that he will be tempted for a while to accept the offer, because of his fear of death and hell, but will eventually choose his friends over immortality.

Another character who may be tempted in the next episode is Abby – as JC, pretending to be Clarke, will no doubt play on her desire to save Kane. However, that won’t work when Abby realizes that JC took Clarke’s body – and I doubt JC can keep up the ruse too long.

Many fans tend to talk about and judge Abby only in terms of her role as Clarke’s mother, but she is a character by herself, with her own trauma and issues that are not about being a mom. For the last two seasons, she has been struggling with the trauma and guilt from the Dark Year and her role in Blodreina’s rule. Her comment to Jackson, where she compared both him and herself to war criminals, made a good point: „I was just doing my job“/“I was just listening to orders“ is a poor excuse when you participate in crimes. And her desire to save Kane isn’t just because of romantic love, but also a reaction to that guilt, and on top of that, the guilt of failing Kane multiple times due to her addiction, and indirectly causing his injuries by indulging Vinson (a symbolic embodiment of her addiction and guilt over cannibalism). Kane and Abby have switched roles since season 1, and he has become her moral center. It’s because Kane’s response to feeling guilty was a healthy one: he decided to change his worldview completely and to start doing better. He tried to redeem himself through sacrifice in season 1, but he was never suicidal for the sake of it. But Abby doesn’t know how to deal with guilt, and gets crushed by it. When she feels she’s failed her own moral standards, she starts hating herself.  Her death wish at the time of Praimfaya was a result of guilt over the things she did trying to find a solution to save everyone, and her addiction in season 5 was also response to guilt. Now she’s come to the point where she thinks that she doesn’t deserve to survive, but Kane does. She’s made him a symbol of all that’s good in the world.

I’m really enjoying the scenes with Diyoza and Octavia. The two main enemies/villain leaders of season 5 are now on a rogue buddy trip. Diyoza has been amazing this season, but now I’m starting to be afraid she’s doing to die, after we get her backstory and she gives birth. And we really need to get her full backstory. She’s almost playing a mentor to Octavia now, because she had gone through similar things and understands where Octavia’s behavior comes from, maybe better than anyone else, but she’s rational and pragmatic where Octavia is impulsive and self-destructive. The different ways Diyoza and Octavia dealt with the live sand is the best example of the contrast between them. It was funny when Octavia said „At least I’m trying“ – she really didn’t get how the whole ’The harder you fight, the faster you die“ thing works! But Octavia has shown some of her old humanity, again – this time, by telling Diyoza to save herself and her baby – and, for the first time in a while, a desire to live, since she saved herself from the wave. Nothing like the danger of death to make you realize you don’t really want to die.

Interesting: the Children of Gabriel calling that live sand thing „The Crucible“ – another reference to Miller’s play (Gabriel’s favorite play! Banned by the Primes!). Do CoG identify with the unfairly accused people from that play?

Xavier’s motivations are becoming clearer – he is a rational, no-nonsense guy, just like Diyoza, and wants to get info from them rather than kill them.

I don’t know what the weird green wave is. A lot of people seem to think it has something to do with the Anomaly, but it could just be another phenomenon. I couldn’t even make out what exactly messed up thing it did to Octavia’s hand – did it age it up, suck out some of its life, or what.

Raven, Emori, Echo and Miller were MIA this episode since they were away – Ryker is showing Raven how to build a radiation shield, and the others are protecting them. Next episode, I hope to see more Emori (and Memori interaction). We know from the promo there will be Echo and Jade interaction (they could bond and compare notes on being the follower/servant who follows orders and doesn’t question them) there will also probably be more Raven and Ryker interaction; JC will try to manipulate Abby with Murphy’s help, but I doubt she’ll be able to fool her for a long time, and everyone should find out that she is not Clarke. And I’m sure we’ll learn that Clarke’s mind is really dormant rather than destroyed, and it will be interesting to see how she fights back inside her own mind and her friends and family try to save her, and hopefully kick JC’s and the Primes’ asses.

Rating: 8.5/10

[yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy]

Hearthway Hollow Chef Ryker Part 1

So what happened when I commissioned @momolady​ for the Hearthway Hollow Chef thing was there was a miscommunication/misunderstanding and when I got the commission back, I loved it! But there were just a few details that I wanted changed and instead of letting Momo change it, I noticed that I could change the document itself and so I, like an inexperienced commissioner- went ahead and changed the details myself in the original document - like Del was actually 8 because Del is based off of my daughter, who is actually about to turn 8 and Zara is my OC of myself so I put in more details about me personally in there. And what started off as a little tweak here and there...turned into a remodel of a house and by the time I was done, if you read this, you’ll notice the bones are kind of the same but everything else is mostly different, I bastardized my own commission because I couldn’t let go of tiny little details. I rather innocently and unintentionally broke probably every rule there is about commissioning writers. And I’m sorry. I have apologized to Momo who has been so patient and so kind and so good to me and she totally held my hand through all of it because while I have done commissions for other people, it was the first time I was the commissioner for once and then of course, I had to write FANFICTION of my own commission, but did I base it on the original? no. I based it on my bastardized version. But Momo is very very very cool in letting me show the bastard version and the fanfic to the...however many followers I have that might like this other than me and if no one does, that’s fine, at least it gets to see the light of day. 

Enjoy. This is basically my hypothetical dark but sweet fantasy if my husband died and Werewolves were real and what I would do after I would grieve. 

Hearthway Hollow- Chef Ryker

I was hoping a trip would be what we needed, something Del and I could share even through our subsiding grief. My husband and Del’s father- Michael, passed away last year and I felt it was time that I start living again and try to move on with my life. Del chose the location of our vacation after hearing some of her friends talking about it. I had also decided that driving would be fun, nothing like a good ol’ fashioned road trip. I’d be able to show Del tourist traps, fun locations, and introduce her to some very good food. 

After Michael passed, Del did a 180 and became just as picky of an eater like her father was when he was alive, what once had been an adventurous eater, she quickly transformed into the kind of kid who only eats chicken nuggets, much less only would eat the foods Michael had once enjoyed. I think that was how she was choosing to grieve his loss and keep his memory alive in herself. But being a foodie myself, I was getting a little frustrated from eating the same things over and over and over again, I wanted to try to gently coax her out of that shell she put herself in. What better way to do that then a fresh change of scenery? 

The trip down south was going to take us a couple of days, we were headed to Myrtle Beach. I hadn’t traveled like this in years, back in the day, Michael and I used to go on roadtrips all the time, trips up to Michigan and the Great Lakes to see my family that remained there, to Cedar Point, Kings Island, things like that because we all loved roller coasters. We even went on a vacation when I was pregnant with Del. Michael and I had always hoped that one day, we’d be able to take Del on road trips more often because traveling with small children could be a nightmare. Michael had an old camaro he restored himself as a teenager and a motorcycle, both were great in helping make kids but neither were very kid friendly once they were born but he had been so patient in waiting for Del to grow up and be big enough to be able to join him. But then...well, time ran out, cut so very short. Now it was up to me to pick up where he left off. This was step one. 

We stopped in North Carolina for a rest stop, I got gas and took Del to the bathroom. While there we got some drinks and a couple of snacks for the road. As we were checking out Del was looking over the brochures for tourist attractions by the door.

She gasped dramatically and loudly. “Mom!” She yanked a brochure from the stand and all of the ones in that cubby came shooting out.

“Delilah!” I huffed as I knelt down to help her pick them all up. “You have to be mindful and aware of what you're doing." I gently reminded her. 

“But Mom!” She prances excitedly as she holds it out to me.

I sigh and take it. “Hearthway Hollow Forest Wolf Reserve,” I murmur as I look over the pamphlet. “Wolf rehabilitation and study center, located in Hearthway Hollow. Come see the wolves that make Hearthway Hollow the treasure of the mountains. Donations help in the rehabilitation of the endangered wolves of the area. Hmm”

“I can pet a wolf, Mom!” Del bounces excitedly.

I turn to the cashier at the register. “This Hearthway Hollow, is it close by?”

“Oh yeah,” she says with a cheery smile. “You just follow Locklear Road and the signs will direct you the rest of the way.” She says as she points in the direction of the road itself. 

“What’s it like?” I ask cautiously.

“It’s amazing!” The cashier gushes. “I go to the local college there and I plan on moving into town soon.”

I think for a long moment. “Any good restaurants? Places to stay?”

“Oh there’s tons of good places to eat. I would check out Guillermo’s, it’s my favorite place to go. My friends and I go there to celebrate after tests and junk.” She then smiles at Del. “There’s a killer park and a community pool there too, she’ll love it. If you’re looking for a place to stay overnight, just go to Big Billy’s Hardware.”

I furrow my brow. “A hardware store?”

“It’s the heart of the town! Big Billy looks scary, but don’t worry, he’s just a big pappa bear kind of guy and he’s a sucker for cute kids. Take your daughter in there and he’ll find you a four star place to stay dirt cheap,” she laughs.

I think for another long moment while I pay. As I get back in the car I look over to see Del clutching that brochure for the wolf reserve. Wolves have always been her favorite animal, aside from sharks... and snakes... and tigers... and unicorns, her father used to watch nature documentaries with her, and both of them would play wolves on full moons. Perk of living in the middle of nowhere, so many stars to shine in all their glory in the night sky. 

“Are we gonna go, Mom?” Del pleads.

 “Honey, we have a schedule to at least try to stick to.” But she can sense that my resolve is weak. 

Del giggles and wriggles in the passenger seat. “So we’re going?” Well, what’s a few more hours on a detour? 

“... Yeah ok." I find Locklear road and started traveling down it. Sure enough, I started seeing all sorts of signs for Hearthway Hollow pop up. There was a turn coming where the massive ‘Welcome to Hearthway Hollow’ sign stuck out like a sunrise against the dark trees.

Entering the town was like stepping into one of those picturesque paintings. The main downtown area was all old brick buildings with enchanting storefronts. But I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve come home, it was strange yet familiar and I didn’t realize how much my soul had ached for it. But by the time we found the reserve, it was closed for the day. Well, it would be open tomorrow. We could afford to stay in town for a night and see it first thing in the morning then get to Myrtle. 

“Let's find Big Billy's hardware store then,” I say. “We’ll find a place to stay the night, get something good to eat for dinner, and tomorrow we’ll go visit the wolf reserve? Sound like a plan?”

“Yes!!” Del cheers excitedly. 

The hardware store was easy to find, it looked like many of the other buildings, but there was just something about it that stuck out like a sore thumb. It was the classic hardware store, but the sign hanging above the door was a black wolf’s head, snarling and gnashed teeth, with Billy burned into the side.

As we walked inside there was old music playing over a stereo, a young man was behind the counter and arguing with someone in the back.

“Hello?” I ask. “I’m sorry to bother.”

The young man looks at me and smiles. “One sec, let me get through with this.” His smile vanishes and he snaps towards the back. “I’ve got a customer! Shut the hell up!” He glances back to me. “Hi, I’m Jack. Sorry about that, arguing with the old man.”

“Don’t call me that!” A thunder like snarl comes from the back and the walls nearly shake.

“Oh uhm-” I hesitate. “I’m in town for maybe a day or two with my daughter." 

“Hi,” she waves.

Jack breaks into a big grin. “Hi there!” As he waves back. 

“I was told if I came here we’d be able to find a place?” I ask. “I’m sorry if I was misled. I don’t mean to be a bother.”

Jack shakes his head. “Nonsense, I’m sure the old man has a few places he can rent for a couple of days.” He turns and whistles. “Yo! Billy! You got some potential renters up here!”

There is snarling and growling before a man who is more mountain than anything comes from the back. I’m sure back in his day he was a real looker, hell he’s quite good looking now, but there is a dark look in his eyes as he walks out.

“I’ve got a couple of cabins,” he huffs as he takes out a three ring binder without looking up at me. “Lemme see here, lemme see.” He glances down, seeing Del staring up at him with big bright blue eyes that matched mine and an awed expression. “What’s this here,” he leaned forward with a big grin which she quickly mirrors. “How old are you?”

"I’m eight.” Del beamed proudly. 

“You’re really close in age to my granddaughter,” he chuckles. 

“My daughter,” Jack huffs. Ah, so he’s either his son or son in law, that dynamic makes sense now. 

Billy rolls his eyes. “What are you doing here then?” He asks Del.

“The Wolf reserve, but it was closed by the time we got there,” Del answered as she starts to pout in disappointment and I see Billy sympathetically mirror her expression. Yeah, papa bear for sure. 

I pet her long blonde hair comfortingly as I stand beside her. “She saw a brochure for the wolf reserve and they’re her favorite animal.” I add. 

“Besides sharks,” Del corrects me.

“Two very good choices,” Billy takes a key from behind the desk and hands it to me. “Address and everything is on the keychain,” he says. “Small cabin, good for a new family.”

A cold, stabbing pain radiates through my chest. “It’s just me and Del,” I softly corrected. 

“Ah,” Billy nods. “Well, it’ll still work out for you. How long you plan on staying? A week?” He asks.

“Just tonight,” I say with a nod. 

Billy chuckles. “Well, $65 a night, regardless.”

I balk for a moment, letting my jaw drop. “That’s it? For a cabin?”

“I got a lot of cabins, they ain’t getting used.” Billy says with a shrug. “Kid discount.” He motions to Del.

“Oh wow, thank you. I promise, we’ll keep it clean.” I pay in cash in advance which makes Billy happy and then I take Del’s hand to go back outside. “Oh uhm...I was told to try Guillermo’s,” I reply. “Where is it in town?”

“You go down Main Street and make a left on Lupine Avenue, it’ll be right next to the Silver Bullet a few blocks that way,” Jack replies as he points and gestures in the right direction. “It’s great, you really should try it before you leave.” He added.

“Ok, thank you!” I wave goodbye as I take Del back to the car.

We find the cabin, which is located pretty close to town. It’s behind a house where there is a moving truck parked out front. I see a woman sitting outside fanning herself by a stack of boxes.

Del and I go into the cabin, and aside from it being a little stuffy from being shut in for a little while, it’s cute and cozy and even has air conditioners in the bedrooms and the living room, and it’s pretty clean and still really nice. There’s plates and cups in the cupboards and silverware in the drawer even and a coffee maker. Nice. 

“This is like the Three Bears house, Mom!” Del races around, investigating every inch of the place. She then opens the curtains in front of a sliding glass door in the back off the kitchen. She gasps loudly as she sees the endless void of woods behind the cabin and presses her face to the glass.

“You think wolves can see us?” She bounces on her toes.

“If you leave that curtain open,” I chuckle. 

“Come on! Let’s check out the woods! They call to me, I must explore!” She dramatically implores me as she gestures to them. 

But before we can, I hear a knock at the door.

A bit timid, I peek through the window to see the woman from the house below at the door. As I open the door she has an embarrassed look at her face. 

“Hi, sorry,” she scoffs. “I know you’re here just trying to enjoy your vacation, but uhm-” she fidgets in place. “The electricity at my place was supposed to get turned on today and it’s not.” She holds up her phone and charger. “Do you mind?”

I shake my head. “Not at all, come in.” I readily invite her in. 

“I’m Amelie, by the way,” she says quickly.

“Zara, and this my daughter Delilah, Del for short.” I reply and shake her hand. 

“Thank you, so much, Zara. I need to call my boyfriend and tell him the electricity isn’t on yet, but of course my phone dies.” Amelie goes into the kitchen and plugs her phone in there.

“Are you just moving here?” I ask.

Amelie shakes her head. “I moved to Hearthway Hollow about a year ago. I just got engaged, so my fiance and I decided to find a new place together. He didn’t wanna live in a house so close to his work, I didn’t want to live directly in the woods. This was a compromise,” she chuckles. “So, how did you end up here?”

“The wolf reserve,” I say with a shrug. “Me and my daughter are headed to Myrtle Beach for a vacation and decided to take a detour on the scenic route.”

“The wolf reserve is pretty cool. If you’re lucky they may have the rescued wolf pups out by now.”

“Oohhh,” Del and I ooh. 

“So a beach vacation with just the girls,” Amelie chuckles. “Did you have to leave dad at home?” 

“Oh uh-” I start off unsurely and fidget with my wedding ring. “No I mean-” I press my lips into a tight line. “Michael, my husband, he died about a year ago so its just us." I say as I gesture to Del and I.

"He dropped dead of a heart attack at work out of the blue." Del blurted out and I huff and fix her with a look. 

Amelie gasps horrified. “Oh, oh I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s ok,” I shake my head. “It’s taken some time and a lot of therapy but we're OK. Michael planned ahead and had his affairs in order so we're taken care of and now we get to get back to living and try to move forward. We wanted to create some new happy memories, get us out of the house and a change of scenery.” I explained as she nodded solemnly. 

“Well, you came to a great place. Hearthway Hollow,” she smiles for a moment. “I don’t know what it is about this place, but it’s a perfect spot for healing. When I came here I was-” she shakes her head as her eyes grow glassy for a second. “I was in a really, extremely, horribly bad place. Hearthway Hollow, in a way, saved my life.”

“Oh wow,” I murmur.

“I suggest letting yourself linger here for a while, you’ll never know what you might find.” Amelie gives me an encouraging smile. “Aside from the reserve, what were your plans?”

 “Oh! Well, I was told to go to Gueillermo’s,” I start.

Amelie gasps. “That place is awesome! My fiance’s best friend is the owner and head chef there, he does absolute miracles with food it’s a fusion restaurant so there’s a little bit of everything. Shahan and I were going there tonight, you should join us and get the special treatment,” she says with a grin. “Shahan and Ryker grew up together, they’re practically brothers.”

“Ryker?” I murmured to myself. 

That evening, Del and I get dressed up and go to dinner with Amelie and her fiance Shahan. The restaurant already looks packed, but we are taken to a back room into the most comfortable booth that’s a half moon shape as I slide in the middle with Amelie on my left and Shahan on the other side of her with Del being on the other side of me on the end and the booth itself has a front row view of the kitchen and the chefs already hard at work like a well oiled machine, I noticed everyone is in baseball caps so I can't tell who the head chef is. It's an upscale Spanish fusion restaurant and the smells coming out of the kitchen are making my mouth water and stomach growl. The menu is killer and I want to order all of it because it's all Michelin star quality food but at Olive Garden prices. And it's mostly farm to table and seasonal, featuring produce and meats from right here in Hearthway with only a few exceptions, like the seafood. I'm impressed. 

“So, what do you like to eat, Del?” Shahan asks as we look over the menus. 

“Chicken nuggets,” Del says, grabbing at some crayons on the table and drawing on the paper place mat in front of her, fllipping it over to the back and using it as her canvas to create another masterpiece. 

“She’s a picky eater as of late,” I sigh. “I’ve been using this trip to broaden her horizons a little.” I explained. 

“How is that going?” Shahan asks.

“Stalemate,” I grumble. 

“Well, if anyone can get her to try new things, I think it would be Ryker,” Shahan chuckles. “We grew up together, basically lived with me and my family after his dad passed away.”

“His dad died too?” Del asks softly and the look on Amelie’s face tells me she didn’t get a chance to tell him that yet as she looked at me apologetically which prompted me to smile reassuringly at her. 

“Oh uh, sorry kid,” Shahan says gently. “You miss your dad?”

Del nods. “He dropped dead of a heart attack at work, so his last words to me were from that morning ‘Hurry up or you’ll miss the bus, have a good day at school, I love you.’ We used to do everything together, he was teaching me archery and how to ride a fourwheeler and a dirt bike and how to handle a knife, because I’m not in school I get to carry it around all the time again, this was his.” She explained as she stopped drawing and brings out the pocket knife from her pocket and shows Shahan and Amelia who both have a myriad of emotions on their face as she expertly flipped the knife open to show them before I take mine from my purse and open mine and reveal that it was a matched engraved set and Amelie and Shahan look almost near tears. 

“Wow, that’s an awesome knife, can I see it?” Shahan asks respectfully before she let him take it as he looked it over before Amelie took mine, both of them studying them for a moment, appreciating the excellent quality of them before he tested it’s sharpness by shaving a patch of hair off of his forearm before he handed it back to her before she folded it up and put it back in her pocket as Amelie handed mine back before Del continued to draw on the paper placemat, her crayons nearly snapping in her hands with the force she’s using to color with them now so that she doesn’t start to cry. 

“Shahan!” A man comes around to the table before he sees me and his eyes grow soft yet excited. “Oh wow, new people.” He smiles at me like I’m the moon and I can’t help but mirror his smile. 

The man that stands in front of me has me dumbstruck like I’m a high school girl again. All I can think of is ‘Hello Mr. Beefy Beef Man’ because he’s this tall- like probably almost six foot, maybe an inch or two short of it, but a big burly guy, his chest is like a barrel and his shoulders and chest are really big and well muscled like a lumberjack with tree trunks for arms and a bit of a beer belly because guys, especially bigger ones who love food often have those too and I take that as a sign I’m going to eat very well tonight. He has a heavy dose of farmer’s market hot to him and is giving me the strong but soft vibes that I am digging. He’s wearing the white chef jacket but a nice heavy duty apron on and a baseball cap from Cedar Point of all places, which is my favorite place on earth. He’s got dark brown, almost black hair judging by his immaculate beard. His bright blue eyes look me over and I am smitten instantly.

“Well, hello there,” he says with a deep charming voice but bright friendly tone. “Is this couple here bothering you?” He teases and I can’t help but laugh. 

“No!” Del blurts from her spot.“They invited us.”

The man then suddenly seems to realize there’s a child next to me but he doesn’t falter, instead he chuckles. “Well, I am certainly happy to hear that.” He smiles at her. 

“This is Zara and Del, they’re renting the cabin above the new house for a spell,” Shahan replies. “Amelie invited them out.”

“You did?” The man laughs looking at Amelie with surprise. 

“I’m growing, learning to trust,” Amelie defends herself. “This is the Ryker, by the way,” she says to me.

“THE Ryker, I like that,” he laughs. His bright smile turns on me and I am that dumbstruck teenage girl again with a hurricane of butterflies in my stomach. “Ryker Guillermo, at your service.” He holds out his big, meaty but sexy hand to me and it’s all I can do to not giggle like a loon as I shake it firmly. My small hand disappearing into his. His hands are so warm and a bit calloused from hard work which for me is another really good sign. He has a good grip but so do I. 

“Huh-hi,” I choke out. “Nice to meet the miracle worker. I’ve heard so much about you.” I say. 

“Aww, are they bragging on me?” He says. “I just try to make good food, that’s all.” He shrugged as his cheeks stained cherry and he kicked at an invisible stone on the floor as his smile turns bashful. 

“What’s the special tonight?” Shahan asks.

“Good question,” Ryker laughs. “What are you in the mood for?”

“Chicken nuggets,” Del chimes in.

Ryker makes a face. “Bad news sweetie, this is an anti-chicken nuggets restaurant.”

“Excuse me?!” Del blurts as she puts her hand over her chest and fixes him with a look like a true southern bell who’s just been scandalously outraged and I have to cover my mouth to keep from laughing too hard as Amelie and Shahan lose it because the girl has spunk and personality for days as I smile up apologetically at Ryker.

“You do realize if you eat too much chicken, you’ll become a chicken?” Ryker says. “Do you want to become a chicken?" He asked and I want to kiss him for taking that so well and using humor to diffuse this situation.

"That's not true." She countered suspiciously as she narrowed her eyes at him, seemingly measuring him up. 

"Are you sure? There's a saying, 'you are what you eat', where do you think that saying came from?" Ryker teases and Del seriously thinks it over. "Could you trust me to make you something just as delicious as chicken nuggets but way, way better? Because I can." Ryker offers as Del considers that too. “It will be super awesome, I promise.” Ryker crosses his heart. He then winks at me and I melt like butter as Del looks him up and down a little wearily before she makes her decision and simply reaches out and offers him her pinky for a pinky swear. 

“Pinky swear.” Ryker immediately swears and hooks her pinky with his and shakes before Del finally gives him a smile. Before I offer my pinky too and he does the same to me, both of us laughing again. 

“Surprise me, I trust you.” I offer which makes him smile even brighter. 

“You got it.” Ryker beams before he leaves the table and I can see his hair is short  and well cut and I greatly appreciate his fine figure from behind and I have to bite my lip when he has one hell of an ass on him. The thirst is killing me.  

A few moments later the waitress brings by a basket full of screaming hot freshly fried tortilla chips and a bowl of salsa and a bowl of white queso along with a charcuterie board with meats and cheeses and all kinds of stuff on it. 

“Wait, is that queso blanco?” Del realizes as her eyes grow wide before she grabs a chip and dunks it and eats it and then tries to hog the bowl all to herself as I sample the salsa first and I feel like I’m just shoving a whole garden into my mouth. 

“Oh my god,” I gasp. “That’s some Willy Wonka intense flavors, but it’s the best salsa I've ever had.” I practically moan before the waitress comes back with a second bowl of queso for the rest of us having seen Del try to hog the first one and gives us our drinks including a bottle of wine on the house. But one sip and I realize it’s dry and I make a face. 

“Do you not like dry wine?” The waitress asks. 

“No, I’m very tannin sensitive, do you have anything sweet?” I asked hopefully. 

“Like sangria sweet or alcoholic juice sweet?”  She asks. 

“Alcoholic juice sweet.” I immediately answer. 

“I gotcha girl.” She nods sagely with a grin before she returns with another bottle, this one is AMAZING and I take a picture of the label so I can find it and buy it for myself. 

“Much better,” I praise as Amelie takes my previous cup and pours the contents into her wine glass. 

“Can’t let this wine go to waste.” She tells me which makes me giggle. 

Ryker returns several moments later, carrying out the plates for us. “I hope you all enjoy,” he says. “I tried something a little different tonight, after all I have a pinky promise to make good on.” And my heart melts like the queso. 

Del giggles as she looks at her plate and her eyes light up when she sees a moat of queso around the main dish and her eyes light up. And for my platter, it’s like I have at least six different dishes loaded onto it and I can’t decide what I want to dig into first but one of them is a mini copy of Del’s plate.  

“These are my special Shawarma enchiladas.” Ryker explained as he gestured to Del’s plate before he points to each thing on mine and tells me what each thing is as my smile grows bigger and bigger and brighter and brighter with every new thing until I feel my smile is making my face split in half is so big and excited. He really did put half the menu on this plate and it’s everything I had my eye on too. How did he know?!

“Do your tattoos mean something special to you or did you get them just because they look cool?” Del suddenly asks as Ryker is thrown for a loop but recovers quickly as a big smile blooms on his face.  

“A bit of both…” Ryker says as he starts to point out each one that shows on his forearms and explains each one as Del listens closely and respectfully as she continues to eat, talking with her mouth full occasionally and before I know it, Ryker has pulled up his sleeves to really show her the other tattoos on his arms which she eagerly looks at as I can not help but notice how strong and muscular his arms are and start fantasizing about massaging them and them wrapping around me. He looked so strong, I wonder if he’s strong enough to pick me up and toss me over his shoulder and haul me off and pound..whew, ok, gotta get my mind out of the gutter. I gotta actually listen to the conversation he’s having with Del since Del has then showed him her temporary tattoos on the back of her hands that she got at the supermarket. 

“So does your mom have any tattoos?” Ryker asks since Del’s attitude was typical of kids with parents with tattoos and I nearly choke on my food and furiously shake my head no. 

“No, I’m scared of needles.” I answer, my mouth covered because I still have a bite of food in my mouth before I quickly try to finish it. 

“She has to give herself shots every month for her migraines and she has a hard time not getting panic attacks just doing that.” Del added and I have to nod in agreement to that. 

“Wow migraines bad enough you give yourself shots for it?” Ryker asked as he looked physically pained by that.  

“Oh yeah, I get the kind where I lose my vision, I’m super sensitive to light, sound, motion and throw my guts up for four to five days at a time, several times a month. With the medicine, I get one or two a month and with my other two migraine meds, it’s reduced to feeling awful for not even an hour before they kick in and then it’s over, it doesn’t get downgraded to a headache the size of Texas either. It’s worth trying to get over my fear of needles for.” You explained with a nod and big gestures.  

“Well I’m happy you’re getting relief.” Ryker smiled, his own relief visible on his face. “Well, bon appetit, I gotta get back.” Ryker excused himself. 

The enchiladas are served with a vibrant salad and a small dish of black rice mixed with chorizo and what tastes like heaven. I have never seen Del eat something with as much fervor as she did those enchiladas and I of course feel like I’m inhaling my food and my eyes want to roll back into my head but I keep catching Ryker looking over to me while he continues to work, stealing glances at me and Del and all I can do is try to smile over my bulging cheeks and offer two big thumbs up and every other hand gesture I know that means good and now my eyes instantly seem to find him in the kitchen and I can’t take my eyes off of him and I notice he’s not yelling at anyone and while he gives clear direction, it’s always given respectfully and kindly.  

“I take it she liked the meal?” Ryker asks, coming back to the table after we finished eating and getting the leftovers boxed up. 

“It's been forever since I've seen her so excited to eat something new, we loved it, it was so good, best meal of my life, thank you,” I gush. “Thank you so so so much.”

“It was exquisite, that queso blanco was sublime.” Del praises and Ryker is impressed with her vocabulary. 

“How old are you again?” He asks curiously. 

“Eight, I just graduated the second grade and I’ll be in third grade in the fall.” Del answered proudly. 

“That’s awesome, high five.” He offers which she readily gives. “Well, I wanted to send something else home with you I thought you might enjoy these later. You can warm them up for breakfast even.” Ryker invited as he revealed the largest ‘to go’ bag already filled with to go boxes of more food. Having been working on this while we were eating. 

“Oh wow, thank you so much!” I gasp. “We will probably be back before we have to leave again,” I say with a big grin as I suppress the urge to get up and hug him and kiss him all over for being as awesome and amazing as he is. 

“I hope you do,” his voice is gentle yet so hopeful. “Well uhm, back to work!” He seems to want to linger but he pulls himself away. When the waitress comes back, I ask for the bill but she informs me that there isn’t one. That Ryker waived the bill for our whole table. 

“Aww, he didn’t have to do that, he’s so sweet!” I fawned before I made sure to give the waitress a very hefty tip, which was what I thought I would be paying for the meal to begin with which makes her happy. 

As we leave, we don’t notice Ryker come out and talk with the waitress and pick up Del’s drawing that she left and look at it appreciatively before he carefully folded it up and put it into his pocket. 

That evening after Del has a shower and she’s taken to a food coma in bed, I go to the kitchen to unpack the to go bag and I find a bottle of wine! It’s the same wine I enjoyed with dinner! As I place the containers into the fridge a piece of paper falls out and floats to the ground. It’s the kitchen’s receipt for our table and I see that we were coded as ‘Chef’s special guests’ with instructions for Del’s food ‘Make it perfect- pinky promise’ and mine is ‘greatest hits, give her everything’. And I’m just so touched I start tearing up but I can’t stop smiling before I turn it over to see a note written on the back and I see a phone number and a message scrawled on it. “If you need any advice to combat your picky eater, call me. Ryker.”

My head nearly explodes, I have the cute chef’s number!  

“Yyeeeaaaasssss!” I squeal before I clamp my hand over my mouth to keep myself from waking Del up but I can’t help but jump up and down and celebrate and do a victory dance in the kitchen in front of the sliding glass doors who’s curtains are still pulled back before I put the number into my phone and dig into the cheesecake Ryker had sent with me as I plug in my headphones and dance around the kitchen while eating the cheesecake which is my favorite dessert and it totally tastes homemade and out of this world. I’m so lost in my own little world that I don’t see two light green eye shines from in the woods and I definitely don’t notice them getting closer until their right at the edge of the woods before I get tired and put the left over cheesecake away and start stripping down to my underwear because my impromptu workout has me sweating and I had turned off the airconditioners downstairs before we left as I go through the cabin and start turning the lights off as I go. I get ready for bed and I’m on cloud nine. I can’t help but think of Ryker as I try to fall asleep, keeping the window open since it has a screen so it won’t let any bugs in and the spring mountain air is just so sweet and refreshingly cool so I don’t need to run the air conditioner and before I know it I have a need that needs to be fulfilled so I grab my little vibrator that I packed and a little bottle of lube and get down to business and in no time at all I’m trying to stamp down my voice but still let a pleasured keen escape as I find my release before I heard clawing on the side of the house that almost sounded like it was right underneath my window... on the second floor of the cabin. 

“What the hell?” I frown as I get my phone and use the flashlight feature to look out the window to see if I could see anything and I wonder if there’s a raccoon or something outside. But the clawing stops and I hear the tell tale signs of something running back into the woods, must have been a big raccoon, I just shrug it off and go to sleep. 

[ashleybenlove]

For the HTTYD ask meme(Yep, got a lot of fun ones for ya!): Q's 1,2,5,6-10,15,21,22,28,34,46,62,63,69, and 70!

1. How would you handle living on Berk? 

Weather wise, I would hate it. I’m not built for cold weather. But I do have Scandinavian DNA (how much depends on the DNA testing company), so I guess I could handle it. At least there are dragons to keep me warm!!! 

2. How do you think you’d be different if you grew up on Berk?

I mean, I feel like by the very fact that I wouldn’t have grown up in the place of my birth, I would be very different. Like, nature vs. nurture. I’d probably be hardier? (Like, emotionally). I think I would be different because my life course would have gone differently. Like, who I am is shaped by where I live, the experiences I’ve had, the works of fiction I love, and various other variables. It’s hard to say how different I’d be. 

5. Favorite dragon species?

Night Fury! Followed by the Eruptodon! 

6. What type of dragon would you like to ride? Is that different from the dragon you’d most likely ride?

Toothless! But I’d probably ride a Gronckle, because apparently they are stable and easy to ride.

7. How would your first flight on a dragon turn out?

Knowing me, I’d probably cry, or something. 

8. On a scale of Snotlout to Hiccup, how are your dragon riding skills?

Probably Snotlout. 

9. Would you get into trouble on Berk?

Probably not. 

10. Would you try Astrid’s yaknog?

No way!!! Gross!!! 

15. Suggest a new dragon species. What does it look like? What are its powers? etc.

I’m just thinking... a Texas dragon??? Like, a dragon that watches over cattle or something??? Like, a sheepdog dragon? It’d have horns. Basically a dragon that’s a buddy to Texas Longhorn cattle? 

21. You, Astrid, Heather, and Ruffnut are now roommates in an apartment. How well does this work out?

I think it’d work out rather well. Astrid probably divides up all the chores and stuff, and I’d like that. It’d work out rather well between four of us. Also I think I’d end up sleeping with one of them. At least one of them. 

22. What do you think the dragon riders are like as old women and men?

I feel like they’re gonna be riding dragons until the day they die. 

Also, I keep thinking about Gothi. She’s like their goals.

I feel like they end up hard of hearing in their old age. 

28. Which character would you get along with the least?

Ryker. 

34. Favorite villain?

Viggo! Definitely Viggo. Pre-redemption Dagur is also good, too. 

46. Suggest a new AU (or mention an AU you like).

Gobber B99 AU where basically everything’s the same but Gobber is Holt’s husband. And Hiccup/Jake totally happen. Also, the HTTYD Documentary AU.

62. How would you react if Snotlout started hitting on you? 

(I’m gonna assume he’s an adult for this) I think I’d be like, uhhhhhh. It depends on how he hit on me. I feel like he’d do something offensive. I somehow don’t think I’d flirt back? 

63. How would you react if Ruffnut started hitting on you?

(I’m gonna assume Ruff’s an adult for this) I’d probably flirt back. Or just be shy at her. Or definitely lean into it, and just be like, yeaah, a lady is flirting with me.

69. What is something you didn’t initially think about but grew to love about HTTYD?

Probably the Dragon Riders in general. That was something that I didn’t think about when I first saw the movie in December 2010, or when I first became a fan in April 2013. Like, I didn’t ship them as OT6 until a couple of years ago, but it just... happened. And I doubt I really thought about the True Companion aspect of it despite this trope permeating so much of what I enjoy in fiction. 

70. What is the BEST thing (to you) about HTTYD and its franchise?

It’s emphasis on love and togetherness. The characters are better together than alone. 

[placetobenation]

The Road to WrestleMania is off to a white hot start!

Your first two superstars set for Tampa April 10-11 are Bianca Belair and Edge with their respective Royal Rumble wins. Both had magical runs with Edge running the table for a full hour from the #1 spot while Belair almost matched him from the #3 position, going 56+ minutes.

I thought both Rumble matches were very good with men’s being a bit more cohesive. They missed a storyline detail with Orton’s face being magically cured just 6 days after seeing it exposed on RAW. I’m glad they didn’t go down the road of Orton missing most of the Rumble with the new injury and then coming back at the end to eliminate Edge. Edge going wire-to-wire was inspirational. Ricochet being in and no Keith Lee was never explained, although I’m sure it was COVID-19 related for Lee with Mia Yim already announcing she had tested positive prior that weekend. Bad Bunny taking out The Miz & John Morrison was your entertainment clip for the next day and the start of a beautiful relationship with the WWE for Latin rapper/wrestling fan. Good showings for the returning Seth Rollins, Big E and Damian Priest with 4 eliminations a piece to lead the men. Omos got two eliminations from the outside when he pulled out Big E and Rey Mysterio. At what point do they expose him to some action in the ring?

Bad Bunny Hits Frog Splash Off the Top Rope at Royal Rumble, Take That Miz! https://t.co/d7AlwU7lqx

— TMZ (@TMZ) February 2, 2021

On the women’s side, Billie Kay was funny, Rhea Ripley was a beast with a night-topping 7 eliminations and the final three was fantastic with Belair, Ripley and Flair.

Roman Reigns and Kevin Owens stole the night going around Tropicana Field beating the holy hell out of each other. I’m just glad Paul Heyman finally got those handcuffs off!

Sasha Banks vs. Carmella was very good, but I just wonder what they do with Carmella now after all the hype.

Drew McIntyre and Goldberg did what they needed to do – pass the torch of respect and keep Goldberg in mind, looking relatively strong for another match at WrestleMania.

The less we say about the kick-off women’s tag team championship match the better. Predictable as the day is long and we get Nia Jax & Shayna Baszler as champs again, YAWN!

Star of the Week:

Edge – Seriously, is any explanation needed?!

RAW

RESULTS

United States Championship Match: Riddle defeated Bobby Lashley by DQ

Xavier Woods defeated Mustafa Ali

Damian Priest defeated The Miz

RAW Tag Team Championship Match: The Hurt Business defeated Lucha House Party

Triple Threat Tag Team Elimination Match: Naomi & Lana defeated Charlotte Flair & Asuka and Mandy Rose & Dana Brooke to win championship match

Jeff Hardy & Carlito defeated Jaxson Ryker & Elias

Alexa Bliss defeated Nikki Cross

Edge defeated Randy Orton

Needless to say Edge is having one hell of a week and Monday Night RAW and thus, we the fans, are benefitting.

Monday Night EDGE was full of the Royal Rumble winner from Sunday night. First, off, he sets the tone for the night by telling WWE Champion Drew McIntyre that he and he only, will set the place and time when he decides who Edge will face at WrestleMania.

Why @WWESheamus WHY?! The Celtic Warrior has just Brogue Kicked his best friend @DMcIntyreWWE on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/YoDWX6oyuN

— WWE (@WWE) February 2, 2021

Just a few moments later, Sheamus turned on his friend of 20 years, setting up their feud and future title match.

Amazing.@ArcherofInfamy just got words of encouragement from @EdgeRatedR. What a first night on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/WzjQ2KQxST

— WWE (@WWE) February 2, 2021

Then, later on in the show, Edge gives his rub and thumbs up to Damian Priest, RAW’s newest member after his Royal Rumble debut. Finally, after a challenge from old friend Randy Orton, Edge puts to bed his feud with The Legend Killer with an assist from Alexa Bliss. A fun night of EDGE indeed!

An unnerving distraction, to say the least, for @RandyOrton…#WWERaw @AlexaBliss_WWE pic.twitter.com/paRiHFui8X

— WWE (@WWE) February 2, 2021

Speaking of Little Miss Bliss, she continues to be a primetime player, inserting herself into the finish of the Edge/Orton match, paying back The Viper for his costing her the RAW Women’s Championship one week earlier. You wonder if at some point, they have them face-off in the ring in an intergender match. And oh yes, we’re just waiting for the reincarnation of The Fiend before WrestleMania.

It looks like we will get an intergender match between Xavier Woods and RECKONING once Mia Yim comes back from COVID-19. It’s now 2-2 between Woods and RETRIBUTION, so Woods wants the tiebreaker. We can only hope it’s as good as Sasha Banks vs. Reginald.

Damian Priest, along with Bad Bunny, made their RAW debuts a successful one taking out The Miz. Say what you will about celebrities, but I though Bad Bunny made a good showing with the leap off the top rope at the Royal Rumble and then with appearance on MizTV followed by the Priest/Miz match. I can just see a tag team match down the road, maybe at WrestleMania coming. It’s a win-win for the WWE with mainstream following of Bad Bunny. BTW: Booker T is hilarious in his old GI Bro get-up for the video.

Nice to see Carlito back in the Rumble and on RAW. Not sure why he’s teaming with Jeff Hardy other than filling up a spot to take down Jaxon Ryker & Elias, a team that seems to be going nowhere after an impressive start.

As for The Hurt Business, Bobby Lashley won the war but lost the battle by DQ to Riddle. There’s most to come between those two I’m sure. Meanwhile, the tension continues between Cedric Alexander, Shelton Benjamin and MVP. It’s only a matter of time before the unfortunate break-up between these three. It’s unnecessary for sure.

NXT

RESULTS

Dusty Rhodes Women’s Tag Team Classic Semifinals: Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai defeated Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter

Austin Theory defeated Leon Ruff

Dusty Rhodes Men’s Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Legado del Fantasma defeated Lucha House Party

Jessi Kamea defeated Toni Storm by DQ

NXT Cruiserweight Championship Match: Santos Escobar defeated Curt Stallion

Dusty Rhodes Men’s Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Timothy Thatcher & Tommaso Ciampa defeated The Undisputed Era

Talk about a jam packed two-hour show folks! NXT had it in spades Wednesday night.

.@KacyCatanzaro is a HUMAN HIGHLIGHT REEL.#WWENXT #DustyClassic @RaquelWWE pic.twitter.com/pm7E2BnePb

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) February 4, 2021

To start the night, Raquel Gonzalez & Dakota Kai fought off a valiant effort from the underdog team of Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter to gain a spot in the Dusty Rhodes Women’s Tag Team Classic Finals. Truth be told, I thought Kacy & Kayden were going to pull off the upset until Gonzalez’ brute strength won out.

What can you say about Leon Ruff and Austin Theory? Loved the way the match played out. Everything was entertaining and made sense. Ember Moon, Shotzi Blackheart, Indie Hartwell and Candice LeRae was just enough to let Ruff pull off an Eddie Guerrero tribute to get Johnny Gargano tossed. Theory getting the win was the right choice and then Dexter Lumis making the save while pulling out Theory’s hair extends the story.

Lucha Libre grabbed the spotlight as Legado del Fantasma took out Lucha House Party in a high-flying match. Now, we get MSK and Legado in the Dusty Rhodes Men’s Classic Semi’s next week in what will be a certain classic.

.@EdgeRatedR hasn't held the #NXTTitle yet. Ya know, #WrestleMania would be a great time to hold it… just saying.#WWENXT @FinnBalor @PeteDunneYxB pic.twitter.com/GMU6NixS4e

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) February 4, 2021

What better way to put more intensity into Finn Balor and Pete Dunne’s NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day announcement then to put the Rater R Superstar right in the middle of it! Edge’s first visit to NXT puts even more intrigue into who the Royal Rumble winner will face at WrestleMania. Talk about a promo bringing goosebumps. That was it, friends. Straight to the point and I loved the line about sometimes in WWE they focus more about the “E” but in NXT, it’s more about the “W.” 

"𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒂 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦."#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/Y0WphQYYE6

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) February 4, 2021

How old is Tian Sha? Did they 1,000 years old? #Intrigued

I could’ve done without the run-in by Mercedes Martinez and Io Shira in the Toni Storm vs. Jessi Kamea match. The DQ ending in under two minutes didn’t do anyone any justice. But, let’s be honest, when Shirai, Storm and Martinez is the low point of your show, that’s a pretty damn good night!

Never scared, never intimidated, ALWAYS Chingon #NORespect

@WWE belongs to my Legado. pic.twitter.com/djbR1uL8UB

— SANTOS ESCOBAR

(@EscobarWWE) February 4, 2021

Santos Escobar is Elite. That much he proved again with another successful defense of his NXT Cruiserweight Championship over Curt Stallion. There’s few that can match in move for move in the ring. But, now where will this latest beef with Karrion Kross lead to while Scarlett watches him win and then Kross gives him the gift of time after beating up Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza. Tick. Tock. Who’s on the clock. Could it be Edge and Kross? Yes, please!

"Words like that, they can be motivating. They can motivate me to come back here. I don't think you'd like that." – @EdgeRatedR to @WWEKarrionKross We'd like that very much tho' #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/QplaMEd2fY

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) February 4, 2021

Pretty sure bodies aren't meant to bend like that. #WWENXT (via @WWENXT) pic.twitter.com/5dUnjnWpog

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) February 4, 2021

For a team that was just thrown together out of respect, Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher are making things mighty interesting in the Dusty Rhodes Men’s Tag Team Classic! I knew it would be a good main event, but that was one fun, physical match against The Undisputed Era. Thatcher even gave himself up so that Ciampa could get the pin over Roderick Strong with the Willow’s Bell. Now, it’s the Grizzled Young Veterans in the semis next week.

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Dominik Mysterio defeated King Corbin

Cesaro defeated Daniel Bryan

Bayley defeated Ruby Riott

Non-title SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler defeated Otis & Chad Gable

Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat Match: Big E defeated Sami Zayn and Apollo Crews to retain title

Even an assault on both Rey and Dominik Mysterio before the match didn’t eliminate the chance of yet another Corbin vs. Dominik match this week. At least Mysterio got the pinfall this time, but it still didn’t really give me any intrigue as to why I should be invested in their story. Has Corbin given us any reason why hates the Mysterios so much? Nah, didn’t think so.

.@WWECesaro picks up a HUGE win over @WWEDanielBryan on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/qGw3wq4G3H

— WWE (@WWE) February 6, 2021

In better news, we get more Cesaro and Daniel Bryan. Just give these guys 60 minutes and an Ironman Match already! Love the run that Cesaro is on. There’s got to be a nice payoff coming for the King of Swing. Maybe he’ll get the spot against Roman Reigns that we all thought Bryan was going to get.

It'll be #BossTime at @DAYTONA!#SmackDown @SashaBanksWWE @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/qdZr8ssMC3

— WWE (@WWE) February 6, 2021

Vroom! Vroom! Sasha Banks is going to get them started at the Daytona 500!

Give me more Reginald! Every week, he puts himself more and more of the spotlight. This week, though, he does protest too much and after telling Bianca Belair that she can’t beat Sasha, he gets a hairful of whipping ponytail across his backside. No official decision from the EST, but things are heating up with Banks, Carmella, Belair and of course, Reggie.

New music for the tag team champs plus a win over Otis & Chad Gable. Nice commentary work by The Street Profits. I’ll put this one in the same place as Bayley vs. Ruby Riott, more filler than anything special. Not bad, just not memorable.

#SmackDown @EdgeRatedR @ShinsukeN pic.twitter.com/MGbHheksHX

— WWE (@WWE) February 6, 2021

Edge and Shinsuke Nakamura. Respect.

Not sure Edge needed the Hulk Hogan rub but it was nice going down memory lane 33 years ago for Hogan vs. Andre on The Main Event.

Bye bye, @SamiZayn! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/dfP9gvs3va

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) February 6, 2021

Good three-way work for the I-C Title between Big E, Sami Zayn and Apollo Crews. Poor Sami, gets power-pressed into the timekeeper’s area after Crews stopped him from pinning Big E for the title. In the end, Big E retains over Crews and continues his ascent on SmackDown. Who’s next?

Who will @EdgeRatedR choose to face at @WrestleMania? pic.twitter.com/Agl2AmYqap

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) February 6, 2021

Edge wraps up his week on SmackDown. But, will we get an answer to who he’ll face at WrestleMania? Reigns wants acknowledgement. Edge says he’s already taking up space in Roman’s head but he’s not here alone. Bingo! Once Reigns clears Paul Heyman and Jey Uso from the ring, Kevin Owens is back with a stunner. No decision from Edge but we do get one long smirk to end the show. Keep the intrigue going! Great decision. Slow walk it and build up the anticipation on all the shows!

Parting Shots:

Still cannot believe @RonKillings managed to cut a flawless promo on my show after tossing me around my room and taking my title! https://t.co/nIck9htkey via @YouTube

— Peter Rosenberg (@Rosenbergradio) February 2, 2021

Nicely done Peter Rosenberg. Less than 24 hours as 24/7 Champion and losing it on the YES Network LIVE!

Things are looking sweet for Valentine’s Day at NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day.

NXT Championship: Finn Balor vs. Pete Dunne

NXT Women’s Championship Triple Threat Match: Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Martinez

NXT North American Championship Match: Johnny Gargano vs. KUSHIDA

Dusty Rhodes Women’s Tag Team Classic Finals

Dusty Rhodes Men’s Tag Team Classic Finals

Coming up this week:

RAW: What’s next for Sheamus and Drew McIntyre?

NXT: Cameron Grimes returns Dusty Rhodes Women’s Tag Team Classic Semifinals: Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell vs. Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon Dusty Rhodes Men’s Tag Team Classic Semifinals: Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Tommaso Ciampa & Timothy Thatcher Dusty Rhodes Men’s Tag Team Classic Semifinals: MSK vs. Legado del Fantasma

SMACKDOWN: Seth Rollins returns

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at jcrowe567@gmail.com. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND

[valkyrie-echo]

Project Echo, Part 2: Chapter 16 (The Shrink)

Part 2 Summary: A new enemy surfaces with a team of the Avengers’ greatest foes, hand-picked for their destruction. Meanwhile, Inessa’s pre-Hydra past begins to surface, casting doubt on where her loyalties truly lie.

Chapter 16: The Shrink

"Until Natasha is... until she's feeling better, I'll train you," Steve gestured to the sandbag he'd tied to a thick branch on the oak tree, "I don't know how Nat trained, but this is what I've always used. You punch with an open fist, like this," he demonstrated, "never a closed one. You'll just damage your own hand that way. Keep your hands up, arms straight, and feet planted firmly." Inessa adjusted her stance accordingly, "Now, before we start, you'll have to learn to wrap your hand."

Steve pulled a long strip of cloth out of his bag and held it up so Inessa could see. This was the part he was worried about. "It's to protect you from getting hurt, alright?" she eyed the cloth wearily, then nodded. The anger wasn't as strong anymore, and she was afraid. Her last incident- brought on by Bucky's arrival, she had been so convinced she was still in Astana. It didn't make sense to her, but she was afraid of that fear again. She'd been bound before- by Dennisson's guards. Steve could see exactly how this was affecting her, "Deep breaths, alright?"

"Three times around the wrist," he spoke softly and kept his movements slow. Inessa's eyes kept shooting all around, reminding herself of where she was, "spread out your fingers, good, three times here," she was holding her breath, trying not to shake. Steve glanced up, "Stay with me, alright?"

Dennisson's men- some of them- liked it when she fought back, but they'd wrap her hands, bending her fingers down and securing them with the cloth strips so she couldn't open her hands and every hit dug her fingernails into her own palms. This felt much the same. Inessa tried to summon up some of that anger to clear her mind, but she was having trouble focusing on both that and keeping herself grounded in the present. Someone touched her shoulder and she looked up. Banner took her other hand and held it

"Almost done," Steve wound the cloth around the back of her hand and thumb, "between the fingers," her hand was tense, the fingers locked in place straight out. Steve moved them to the side and secured the wrap, "this part is going to be tighter," he picked up the pace and attached the wrap around her lower forearm.

"All done," Banner released Inessa's hand and she let out the breath she was holding. Steve gave her a moment before quickly covering the other hand. With one done, the other wasn't as frightening. Steve showed her one more time how to stand, then let her loose upon the sandbag. It released the rest of the tension in Inessa. She still pictured the guards, but now they were the sandbag- trussed up for her to take a crack at for a change.

Steve left Inessa swinging and pulled Banner out of earshot- not that she was paying attention, "How's Natasha?"

"That's a Clint question, I have no idea. She's locked herself in the den. Tony says she's having JARVIS run just about every scan or test he knows. She's trying to figure out what the hell is going on. She doesn't believe this isn't a prank."

He sighed, "It's not, right? For sure? This isn't Stark trying to pull a fast one?"

"Honestly no, I don't believe it's a joke. If Stark found Nat's childhood photos, he wouldn't put together something this elaborate, he'd just blow them up poster-sized and wallpaper the farm or something."

"First something spins around our heads and makes us go nuts, now we get a mystery delivery with an impossible tape. Someone is making a play. It won't be long before we're at war again." Steve glanced around at the serene farm, took in the quiet and the stillness, "At least here there won't be so many civilian casualties. New York is probably glad we're not there."

Banner fidgeted, "On that note..."

"What?"

He sighed, "SHIELD has the name of a woman who might be able to help Inessa. She has experience with gifted patients, and she's willing to work with her via webcam on one condition."

Steve glanced back at Inessa, "Why do I get the feeling I won't like this?"

"You won't," Banner promised, "She'll only agree to treating her remotely if she can meet her face-to-face first."

"She wants us back in New York?" Steve rolled his eyes, "Great."

"Not just her. I told you you won't like this- Agent Skye, in contacting her, mentioned Bucky, and how he fits into Inessa's trauma. In light of that, she wants to see him too, get a clear picture of how they interact and what sort of condition Bucky's in as well."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Steve mused. "Everything he's been through- Bucky isn't right. Hasn't been for a long time. Maybe he should be seeing the lady too."

"Wow, I did not think you'd take that so well," Banner expected something resembling a Hulk-out from Steve on the issue.

He nodded, "The more I think about it, the more I like it. We can stay at Avengers Tower, train when she's not with the doctor, and Bucky's in a more contained location." All in all, Steve was feeling pretty good about the whole thing. It was a weight off his shoulders. "Who's coming and who's staying?"

"I'll take a poll, you'll know by lunch."

"Thanks," Steve patted Banner on the shoulder and returned to supervising Inessa's training.

Avenger's Tower

"Home sweet home," Sam stepped out of his Suit onto the balcony of Avengers Tower, followed by Steve, Bucky, and Inessa. Tony wanted to come as well- but he was needed back at the farm to keep an eye on the defenses and help Natasha in her quest.

"Nessie, you've got a room on the guest floor now. The one with the wolf on the door," Tony had chosen her logo before they'd stripped away her powers- now it just seemed like they were mocking her.

"Welcome home sirs, lady," JARVIS sounded as soon as Sam opened the balcony door, "I have notified Master Stark of your safe arrival."

"I'm sure he's been on the edge of his seat for the last half hour," Steve mumbled.

"Indeed, sir. Miss Inessa- Master Stark wishes for you to know that his laboratory here is at your full disposal. However, he asked that I caution you against any projects which may interfere with or in some way damage your implant. He will continue to monitor it closely via the house reader."

Inessa expected nothing less. She walked away from the rest of the group up to find the guest quarters. The group disbursed without idle chatter- Bucky to the training room, Steve to the library, and Sam- well, Sam came back with the troop to keep an eye on everyone. Inessa and Bucky may both be flight risks here, and Steve would need all the help he could get corralling them. Thor, Banner, and Tony were needed on the farm in case whoever sent the reel made some sort of attempt on Natasha. Someone needed to keep an eye on the three in Avengers Tower.

"A pissed off teenager, a master assassin, and a stubborn old soldier. Just like Thanksgiving at Nana's house."

"Hello Nadya, my name is Madelyn Pryor. How do you do?" the woman smiled kindly.

"I-Inessa," talking to a stranger was already proving too much- she didn't know this woman, didn't trust her, and when she tried to speak, it was as if someone glued her teeth together and filled her mouth with sand.

"No. Now I'm sorry, but the file SHIELD sent to me says 'Nadya', that is who you are and that is what I've been asked to help you remember." the doctor was stern, but that's what SHIELD paid for, and what she felt this particular case would require.

Inessa took a few deep breaths like Banner had taught her- a way to relax. She was able to speak only a little clearer, "Nadya... is gone. Not here."

"I don't accept that, I think Nadya is right here. Locked away perhaps, hidden behind something, but here all the same. Can you tell me why you think she is gone? What happened to Nadya Ryker?" After the third try Inessa gave up trying to get the words out. She just shook her head. "Your friends said you have been using sign language to communicate. You may use it here if you'd like. I can understand."

Nadya Ryker is dead.

"And she left Inessa to pay her tab?" Inessa frowned, confused. "When did Nadya die?" Doctor Pryor was a patient woman.

Five years ago.

"Not when the Avengers took her body back from Hydra? Or when she found her way back inside?"

Maybe. I don't know.

"So," the doctor signed and leaned back in her chair, "Nadya Ryker died, and how did Inessa come to be here?"

They gave me my name-

"-the Avengers?" Inessa nodded, "So, Nadya dies, and the Avengers create Inessa in her place?"

No-

"From what I've read, that seems to be the case. Inessa is something for the Avengers to craft, to mold. Nadya Ryker- now she made decisions, like any child. She decided what books to read, what people to speak to, how and when to use her abilities," Doctor Pryor leaned to the side and looked pointedly at the edge of one of the implant's prongs peeking around her neck.

No, it's not like-

"Who gave her the name Inessa?" Doctor Pryor purposefully referred to 'Inessa' as if she were separate from the girl sitting in front of her- a way to divide the two in the child's mind as well.

The Avengers.

"Who taught her to speak?" she held up her hands to clarify what she meant.

The Avengers.

"Who decides how she spends her days?"

Structure had been a big part of how Natasha and Clint intended to help cure Inessa's mind. Routine was the key to their treatment. The Avengers.

"Who decides how their Inessa uses her powers?"

The Avengers. Inessa was beginning to see her point.

"Who attached a remote control to Nadya when she showed initiative all her own?"

The Avengers.

Doctor Pryor smiled, "Hydra tried to turn Nadya Ryker into their creature. The Avengers, it sounds like, built their own person while Nadya was away. Shall we work together to flush out the intruder?"

Yes.

"Then let's begin." Damn but I'm good, she thought as she smiled, Sebastian Morris isn't paying me enough.

A different sentiment was crossing Inessa's mind- Whatever Hydra is paying you to push this bullshit, it's too much.

Chapter 17: Friends?

[dragonprincess68]

Dragons RttE: Defenders of the Wing Part 2

Took me so long, but it’s finally finished. It’s also on my fanfiction.net account under dragonprincess68.

“But first Hiccup, I'll kill you myself,” Mala threatens. The cold blade touching Hiccup's neck. Astrid turns her head to see who's back is to her. Good, it's Hiccup. She reaches her hand around to grab his hand hitting his leg. He grabs her hand for that safe feeling that she was with him.

“But Mala, I gave you my word and I promised that I wasn't working for Viggo,” Hiccup panics. Time for Heather to give her sob story. Hiccup gives Heather a look for help, and she quickly understands what her job is.

“It's true! After finding out a plan of attack Viggo had for us my brother sacrificed himself to save us. Viggo's men killed my only family left. I want revenge because as much of a crazy loon my brother was he was the only family I had. Viggo tried killing Astrid with the Scourge of Odin, and several times tried to kill the rest of us,” Heather explains trying to persuade the queen.

“I won't change my mind! Hiccup Haddock will die for being a traitor!” Mala says growing more and more angry by the second.

“Mala, there's gotta be a way to fix this. There's gotta be a way to get the Eruptodon,” Hiccup pleads to Mala.

“No, because you're working with Viggo Grimborn and I refuse to have that here on my island!” Mala shouts trying to sound reasonable.

“Mala, Hiccup loves dragons. He always has. He trained Toothless and helped him to fly again. Please let us help you get the Eruptodon back,” Astrid begs.

“If I'm lying then you can kill me, but as long as you let the others go,” Hiccup bargains.

“Hiccup, don't say that!” Astrid gasps.

“I accept your deal,” Mala says putting her sword away.

“Hiccup, this means that you could die! Why would you make such a stupid decision?!” Astrid exclaims. Mala shoots her an icy glare.

“With this deal your friends must stay here. It will be only you, me, and Throck,” Mala says signaling for her men to take the others to a holding cell. Astrid turns around to Hiccup and grabs his face to kiss him gently on the lips. This gave everyone the question. Did Hiccup and Astrid just become a couple? It couldn't be the honey/ hatchet because she would always punch him, say “that's for what happened”, kiss him, and then end with “that's because of everything else”.

“Be safe. You better come back for us and most importantly come back alive,” she orders before a ninja looking guard grabs her dragging away to the holding cell. Their hands letting go reaching for each other one's hand once again. One guard keeping Astrid away from her love, and Throck keeping Hiccup away his love.

“Mala, wait. We need back up and the others are the best when it comes to fighting against Viggo,” Hiccup persuades.

“Fine. Bring the others back. They are no longer prisoners,” Mala calls out. The others walk back to where Hiccup and Mala stand in the cave. Astrid is a slight shade of pink.

“Alright, now that it's settled then let's mount up,” Hiccup says mounting Toothless. Mala has a look of uncertainty because the man she once felt was her friend, and enemy to the villainous Viggo Grimborn stood next to him.

“Mala,” Viggo greets her.

“Viggo,” she says looking at him disgustedly.

“Hiccup, thought about that contract yet?” Viggo asks.

“I have, and I made my decision. I'll sign it over my dead body,” Hiccup tells him coolly.

“That can always be arranged you know,” Viggo responds.

“You son of a-,” Heather starts to say.

“Heather, nice to see you. Alive,” Viggo says brushing her existence off to the side.

“You killed my brother, and all you have to say is nice to see you?! You really are a monster. I thought that for a second that you would have the decency to apologize for that! You have a brother and I doubt you would let him die even if it was your older brother. Well, put your self in my shoes vamr!” Heather shoots back.

“Temper, temper. You are beginning to sound a bit like Astrid with those anger issues,” Viggo tells her. A poor Gronkle lay outside the entrance to the volcano awaiting death to take him. Blood slowly dripping from his arm he licks his wound once and then going back to await death. Hiccup feels his heart break upon the sight. This couldn't be the same dragon that Hiccup had forced Dagur to train, could it? Well, it was more like a con instead of being forced to train the friendly Gronkle. Is this dragon Shattermaster?

“Is this who I think it is?” Hiccup asks Astrid knowing she snuck out with him.

“I don't know who you think this could be,” Astrid tells him.

“This Gronkle looks like Shattermaster,” he tells her.

“But that's impossible because both Shattermaster and Dagur died a month ago,” Astrid points out. It took what felt like forever for get Heather to leave her bed or the stables.

“I know, but I can't stop the feeling,” he says.

“Don't you move another step. You dare take my island's guardian, disrespect me and my people, and threaten Hiccup Haddock of Berk and his friends? I have been told that you've even tried killing them on several different occasions. Why must you do things like this?” Mala asks Viggo.

Hiccup looks at the green dragon with pity before stripping his armor off. The fighting continues inside of the volcano's cove. Astrid watches Hiccup rip the sleeves off his shirt and put his armor. Both sleeves next to the Gronkle. She sits down next to him and begins to tie the sleeves to the dragon's wound before his brush against hers. She looks at him as he ties the tourniquet one final time. He turns to see her bright blue eyes staring into his emerald green eyes. He leans forward to kiss her before the fighting becomes war sounding. The two run back inside in case Mala needed more back up.

“Just admit that-,” Mala orders before being shoved to the ground by Throck.

“And to think I was a traitor just like my brother. At least the worst Dagur ever did was threaten Ryker,” Heather scoffs. Mala scrambles to her feet once more blinking back tears because the man she had trusted was working for the person she hated the most. She pulls out her sword and points it to Viggo's neck before the dragons enter knocking out Viggo's men out.

“You will pay for hurting this dragon and kidnapping the Eruptodon!” Mala shouts before launching herself at Viggo.

“Dwelling on the past?” he says teasing her. Viggo teasing Mala? This isn't just strange it is also gross. Mala seems to pause before continuing to attempt ripping him to shreds.

“That was long ago Viggo!” she responds angrily.

“What if I said I want to change the past?” he asks testing the queen.

“Well you can't change the past. I wish I had never met you since we broke up!” she confesses before he knocks her sword from her hand. A smirk of victory appears on Viggo Grimborn's face. The entire group quiet and looking at her with both confusion and awe.

“Farewell Mala, my dear,” Viggo says leaving her with angry tears streaming down her face.

“I loved you,” she tells him.

“As did I, but things change. People change,” Viggo responds before disappearing through the cave's mouth of the cave. Mala collapses to her knees before bursting into tears with her sobs echoing off the walls. The riders remain still and silent except the looks they share with each other. Mala and Viggo dated? What was happening? How could anyone help her when they themselves were as confused as the twins when asked what the product of five and five was. Toothless walks over to the sobbing queen gingerly and rubs his nose against her arm.

“Oh, hello,” Mala whispers sadly.

“There has to be a way to save the Eruptodon before Viggo has it killed,” Heather says trying to encourage the group. Hiccup perks up with another idea coming into his mind.

Arrows fly into the mouth of the volcano due to Viggo letting it slip his mind that the others would have the nerve to follow. He sure was in a hurry to leave the island. Oh, yeah. The active volcano because the Eruptodon wasn't there to take care of that problem. Mala picks up her sword and points it towards Hiccup once more.

“We'll go rescue your dragon. Saddle up,” Hiccup announces getting up Toothless's back. Snotlout chuckles uneasily knowing that Hiccup's plan was stupid, dangerous, or both. Mala lowers her sword as she watches everyone mount their dragons and begins to worry for her life.

“Are you going to tell us your plan?” Astrid asks before a hunter's arrow flies past her ear.

“Later. Mala, I understand that you might not want to fly a dragon, but you're gonna have to mount Toothless so we can save the Eruptodon,” Hiccup tells her extending his hand to help her. Mala takes a deep breath before grabbing his hand and gingerly putting her arms around his torso. They take off and dodge the arrows by flying to the right and onto the wall like a bat. Toothless flies past Viggo's men knocking them down with his tail. A shot of lava type fire shoots the men down.

“Fishlegs?!” Hiccup asks whipping his head around to the husky blond boy.

“That wasn't me,” he responds. A nervous look on his face clearly meaning that he wasn't the one with the Gronkle that shot down the guards.

“Was that a rouge rider?” Heather asks from Stormfly.

“Who else could be a rouge rider? The rouge rider we knew turned out to be you,” Astrid tells Heather. She smiles reminiscing at the memory.

“I don't know, but they helped us get away,” Heather says.

“We gotta catch Viggo. Come on guys, faster,” Hiccup orders.

Everyone follows Hiccup, and becomes suspicious when they reach the clubhouse instead of Viggo's camp. Hiccup leaves for a good ten minutes before coming back with a new shirt and some papers with writing on it.

“What took you so long?” Astrid interrogates. She ignores the fact he also changed his shirt.

“I was thinking that we could just go there and find a way to sneak in. If we find that rouge rider then maybe he- or she could help us by distracting the guards. Otherwise we find a way in because I doubt it's as guarded as the Wing,” Hiccup declares.

“It could take days to track down a rouge rider. I should know, I was one,” Heather scoffs.

“Yeah, by then they could have sold the Eruptodon and Viggo could have caught the rouge rider and killed him,” Fishlegs agrees.

“That's why I have a Plan B. If I've learned anything from my dad, it's that you have at least a Plan B when going into battle,” Hiccup responds.

“We could use the back way. I've heard of men like him having an underground entrance like the Outcasts, but Viggo had that sealed the underground entrance for his island off years ago,” Mala reveals nonchalantly.

“What did happen between you and Viggo?” Ruffnut asks.

“Yeah. I'm confused about the whole 'I loved you' and 'As did I' thing that happened,” Tuffnut agrees remembering what happened just a half hour earlier.

“When Viggo and I were around 16 we dated. Our relationship lasted about five years. We broke up because I found out he was torturing dragons and in some cases selling them. He knew how much I have loved dragons, but he betrayed me. He used me and the knowledge I had of where all the dragons were. We were in love until I found out that he was moving because his father was in need of more demand. He even clarified and thanked me for helping them find. After that I tried to be more careful with whom I trust. If you look at Throck then you can understand why I say 'tried'. Anyway, we broke up, and it's been a bitter break up, not to mention whatever it is we are now, since. I guess it's more of a feud since that day,” Mala explains. Pain can be seen in her eyes, and the clubhouse is silent.

“So I guess we can safely say that we all hate Viggo for a lot of things. Killing Dagur, being in an unfaithful relationship with you, abducting the Eruptodon, and trying to kill almost everyone in this clubhouse,” Heather says with the same feeling she had when she read the note Dagur had put on her bed. This time she fights back the tears.

“The only way we can justify what has happened to us is by stopping him once and for all. Is everyone ready to mount up?” Hiccup asks.

“Hiccup's right. Viggo has to be stopped. I don't know what will happen if we don't, and I'm not risking Stormfly or anyone else and their dragons because of this,” Astrid confesses to the group. .

After at least an hour of flying, but what felt like forever they reach Viggo's camp. Hiccup goes over to Astrid because there was a strange feeling that someone was spying on the group. Last thing he wanted was for them to take the ones he loved the most away from him. The last thing he wanted was to have Viggo torture Astrid or Toothless because of him, and something deep down told him that's what Viggo had planned. It had to be the reason. Suddenly ropes are flung around the both and they are tied together with their noses touching. Both of them turn a slight shade of pink.

“This is a bit awkward,” Hiccup whispers.

“Very awkward,” Astrid agrees.

“Oh look at this big brother, we caught two with one bolas,” Viggo says coming out from hiding. Ryker chuckles evilly. Viggo holds the weapon on his shoulder victoriously.

“And it's the only couple there is here. Must be awkward,” Ryker responds chuckling.

“WE AREN'T A COUPLE!” Hiccup and Astrid enunciate at the same time. Suddenly that's all Hiccup realizes staring into her ocean blue eyes. She feels the adorning gaze of the boy she grew up with on her. She looks back noticing how his green eyes shine like emeralds.

“Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup. Why deny it? I saw that look in your eyes after I asked if her leg was okay yesterday,” Viggo taunts allowing Ryker to untie the two. The both of them are then tied up separately before there is a sudden “emergency” that Viggo and his men must attend. Hiccup escapes his ropes and begins to help the others out. Unfortunately the ropes are tied tightly so he is unsuccessful in doing so. It was like Viggo had planned this as a trap in order to get what he wanted. A few of Viggo's men are sent back to prisoner watch.

“That was way too easy. These ropes are impossible to undo so why was I able to escape?” Hiccup ponders out loud.

“Hiccup, just go. Save the dragons then at least you have help, and if you send terror mail then you can get help from Gustav and everyone else,” Astrid urges.

“No, I am not leaving without you,” he says.

“Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third! You are to do as I say, and go get help!” Astrid orders. Everyone stares at the blonde because not even Stoick the Vast had called him by his full name when he was in trouble before Vikings and dragons became friends. Hiccup stops because it catches him by surprise. Sure, they grew up as neighbors knowing each other their whole lives. He never expected to hear her say his name like that. He looks into her eyes trying to ignore the sense of urgency that her eyes gave him. That pleading look. Finally he can't stand it anymore. The shadows of the guards appear as if they were right around the corner.

“I'll be back! I promise!” Hiccup promises before running off. Astrid sighs with the feeling deep down that something bad was going to happen to Hiccup. One of the guards pause.

“There are only seven here! Where did the eighth one go?” he asks.

“It was all part of Viggo's plan,” another guard reminds him.

“What do you mean Viggo's plan?” Astrid demands whipping her head around to see the ugly brutes Viggo had hired to be guards.

“Viggo has a plan to get a good deal for the Night Fury, and revenge on the boy for the destruction he's caused. Why else would the ropes be tied loosely?” Guard 2 answers.

“No!” Astrid gasps suddenly feeling like she can't breath. The lump in her throat prevents her from saying anything else. No amount of blinking can stop the tears from falling down her face like a waterfall. She turns her face from everyone so she doesn't get pity from everyone in the group. The tears are coming down like a waterfall, and crying in front of everyone, especially Hiccup was the worst thing she could do.

Hiccup walks down a path looking around for the dragons when he hears the familiar roar belonging to his Night Fury. It sounded like he was in pain. He runs to the cage, but upon reaching it a searing pain goes up his left leg. He falls to the ground in pain clutching his leg right above his prosthetic foot. The pain makes him feel dizzy, but his dragon was his top priority.

“I'm fine Bud,” he says trying to get up. Suddenly a strong man pins him down with some sort of weapon in hand. He tries to fight back, but it's pretty much useless because it's obvious he's losing. Toothless bursts out of the cage after cutting the muzzle off with a simple swift of the paw. The stranger fighting the boy pauses for a second after watching the Night Fury plasma blast the cage door into many pieces. Toothless knocks the man down and readies to fire another plasma blast.

“Night Fury? Wait a second, Toothless? That must mean the traitor is- Hiccup?” the man asks removing his helmet to reveal- Alvin the Treacherous?

“A- Alvin?” Hiccup responds weakly. Suddenly a dozen of Viggo's men run from around the corner to see Hiccup barely standing next to Toothless with a busted cage door in pieces scattered in front of them. Three attack the Night Fury, eight drag Alvin away, and the remaining one rips Hiccup apart from his dragon. Hiccup tries to fight back earning a punch to the stomach and a black eye before the guard drags him back to the others.

Upon approaching the others Astrid is trying to remain calm by pacing around.

“I thought you didn't like it when people paced the room,” Fishlegs observes.

“I don't. I- oh my Thor, I'm pacing. I guess I'm just worried about Hiccup. It's been an hour, and it shouldn't take Hiccup very long to find Toothless and the other dragons,” Astrid says beginning to panic. Heather walks over to her friend.

“I'm sure he's fine. He's beat the Outcasts, and Viggo many times before,” Heather reminds Astrid. Fishlegs shakes his head.

“He's also survived being attacked by dragons, and a lightning bolt to the head,” Fishlegs pipes in hoping what he said would help.

“A lightning bolt to the head? Sounds like there is more to him then meets the eye,” Mala says thoughtfully before noticing Hiccup and the guard. Not a dragon in sight. Her heart falls. Hiccup had failed his mission, and worst of all was caught.

Hiccup is shoved into the cage, and the others continue to argue not realizing what was going on. Hiccup goes over to Astrid hugging her from behind. His hands around her torso. She gasps, and the others become quiet. She becomes terrified worried it was Viggo or some other prisoner he caught, like the rouge rider.

“It's okay, it's me. I think Viggo had this planned because Toothless and I met up with someone who looked like Alvin, and a dozen other guards. I lost the fight against the one against me,” he confesses to her.

“Are you okay though?” she asks turning around. Worry fills her eyes when she sees what happened to him.

“I'm fine,” he says.

“It's obvious that you aren't. I shouldn't have made you go,” Astrid says regretting her choice to make Hiccup go alone.

“Well it was done,” he says sitting against the wall in defeat.

“Hey, come quick. Out of the cage before the next guards come back,” a rough voice orders holding the cage door open.

“How do we know this isn't a trap?” Heather asks.

“Go to the right, take two lefts, continue straight until you reach an area with five different tunnels. Take the third one smack in the middle, then it's another right, then finally a left. That's where the dragons are. Get there quick because they're about to be shipped to some guy that turns dragons into clothes, boots, and bags. I wouldn't hesitate Heather,” the man holding the cage door open says.

“How do you know my name?” she demands.

“Who else do ye know who's treacherous?” he answers back.

“Alvin? How can we trust him if it's Alvin? He tried killing me and my adopted parents!” she reminds the group.

“Alvin turned good. Few years ago,” Snotlout says following Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs out of the prison.

“Where is the Eruptodon?” Mala asks.

“There's a dragon name I haven't heard. Probably with the other dragons. There are a total of two dozen dragons ready to be shipped, at least ten or eleven dragon species. At least three baby dragons,” Alvin tells her. That's all she needs to hear before leaving with the others.

“I will kill you if it's another trap Viggo set up. He's already on my to kill list after what happened to Dagur,” she threatens.

“Why do ye care what happened to that lunatic?” Alvin asks following her.

“He was my brother. Viggo planted a trap and killed him during a surprise attack,” she tells him.

“Oh,” is all Alvin can say. Dagur never did seem like the kind of man who would save his sister risking his life in the process.

Within five minutes they are at the cages waiting to be put on a dock. Ships begin coming in.

“I can't be seen so I'm going back. You need to unlock every cage if you don't want the newest fashion to be dragon scale boots,” Alvin says walking back into the cave.

“We have about five minutes before they begin loading, ten at the most. Let's begin releasing the dragons by getting ours first,” Hiccup declares unlocking Stormfly's cage, then Toothless's.

“The Great Protector is here!” Mala gasps unlocking the Eruptodon from his tiny cage. By the time the dealer and guards turn there is not a dragon to be seen. The rouge rider had watched the eight unlock and release all 24 dragons, and laughs to himself upon seeing the faces of the gaping men.

The riders get back to the Edge quickly and safely.

“Let's rest before we start working on any battle plans. Last thing I want is to plan something to get one of us hurt or killed,” Hiccup says.

“Where will Mala sleep? I'm sure she could use some tips on how to fly a dragon, we can get he a dragon, and if she wanted to she could help us end the reign of terror Viggo has planned for us. You especially,” Fishlegs points out.

“Fishlegs, if you want to show her to your hut you can bunk with me and Toothless,” Hiccup suggests looking over at the queen making sure it was okay with her.

“No thank you. I want to sleep by Great Protector just to make sure he isn't taken again,” Mala informs Hiccup holding the small dragon in her arms.

“Alright. We can all meet here an hour after sunrise,” he says. The group agrees and Fishlegs shows Mala to where the stables were so she could be rest assured that the Eruptodon and her would be safe. No one had the energy to even think about dinner all they wanted was sleep.

Astrid notices from the doorway something was wrong. It was very rare where Hiccup was captured, and he always got away with Toothless unless the plan was not to bring Toothless or the other dragons back.

He walks past her rubbing his eyes before remembering what happened. He winces in pain.

“Come with me, and I'll help you with your eye,” she offers. He gives her his lopsided, dorky smile that she always loved about him.

They walk to were Heather and her resided while Heather's new home was being worked on.

“This doesn't make sense,” Heather announces not noticing Hiccup behind Astrid.

“What doesn't make sense?” she asks grabbing the first aid kit out of the trunk in front of her bed. She sits across from Hiccup grabbing the stuff to help heal the nasty bruise he received only a couple of hours earlier.

“Hey Hiccup. I told you about the letter I got from Dagur before he died. Right?” Heather asks.

“Yeah. He told you he didn't actually kill your dad,” Astrid responds.

“It says 'Thanks for remembering your brother, and not letting Viggo get away with this. We'll meet again soon'. What does that mean? I swear, it's even in Dagur's handwriting” Heather explains.

“Could be part two of his last letter,” Hiccup suggests before wincing in pain at the Neosporin type medicine being put on his eye.

“Hold still,” Astrid orders.

“I thought about that. However, if is was part two then why would it say 'We'll meet again soon'? Last thing Dagur wanted was to let me get hurt or killed. I swear he told you he didn't want me to mess with Viggo in case I got hurt or something. He even told Ryker that if he hurt me then he'd run Ryker though and wear his rib cage as his armor. He said it right after I started working as a spy,” Heather remembers.

“I'm done,” Astrid announces.

“Thanks for taking care of me, m'lady,” he responds forgetting Heather was still in the room.

“M'lady? How long have you been calling her that?” Heather interrogates. Both back away from each other and stare at the raven haired girl.

“What?” Hiccup asks pretending he didn't hear her.

“Astrid?” she presses on forgetting the second letter in Dagur's handwriting.

“First time that he's said it,” she lies. Heather cocks her head to the side suspiciously before lying down on her bed.

“Well then. Goodnight Heather,” he says leading Astrid outside.

“Hiccup, what are you-,” she begins to ask before she is cut off by him gently kissing her.

“I thought that something bad would happen in one of Viggo's insane plans,” Hiccup explains.

“I was worried about you after you left. I began pacing without even realizing it. I know that I shouldn't have worried and how much I hate it, but I did worry about you. It was like the time I got the Scourge of Odin, and that entire morning you spent worried about me,” she tells him.

He gives her that same dorky grin once again before hugging her. Little do they know Heather had crept out of her bed to watch the two lovebirds. She knew that they were lying every time they said they were just friends. Hiccup kiss Astrid once more.

“Goodnight m'lady,” he tells her.

“Goodnight dork,” she says walking back inside.

The next morning everyone meets at the clubhouse an hour after sunrise. Heather makes breakfast and everyone eats in silence.

“I misjudged you Hiccup Haddock once again. I want to apologize for accusing you yesterday of being a traitor. I also didn't get a chance to thank you for helping save the Great Protector. Viggo now has a bounty for you, I hope you know,” Mala says breaking the silence.

“I know. We now need to find a way to stop Viggo from doing what he's doing. End his reign of terror and save every dragon he's killed,” Hiccup responds walking over to review battle plan.

“This will be dangerous no matter what,” Astrid reminds him.

“I know,” he sighs.

“We all know the consequences, and I think we're willing to do whatever it takes,” Heather informs him. They review plans rather quickly for the second time in only twelve hours.

“Well now that we know the plan let's saddle up,” Hiccup announces. Everyone begins to leave, and Hiccup takes one last look at the plans. Just before he can leave Astrid stops him.

“Wait. Just in case Viggo takes this too far, I'm sure he knows about our screwed up relationship that we have, but I wanted to take the time to tell you that- I hope this isn't the last time I can tell you this, but I wanted to tell you I love you. I wanted to tell you last night, but you left before I could,” Astrid says before looking at Hiccup.

“What? Astrid, you know we'll both get through this alive,” Hiccup tells her.

“Viggo is a ruthless man who will stop at nothing. You know this because he hasn't stopped trying to kill you for Thor's sake!” Astrid argues.

“Because I love you I am going to promise that nothing will hurt us,” Hiccup promises her before mounting Toothless. They fly to back to Viggo's base. This time Astrid's A-Team join them as well as Stoick the Vast and Gobber the Belch.

“In the very near future, the dragon riders will be but a distant memory. We will train harder so that whenever he does get captured or comes up with a plan we can continue to be a step ahead of him. We can get him where we want him by taking out the Night Fury or his girlfriend, Astrid. Either way, he has a bounty on his head and the day he has it taken off his head is the day he is dead,” Viggo Grimborn announces to his men.

Once again this makes the rouge rider laugh to himself.

“Try again Viggo. Brother Hiccup and my sister Heather are stronger than you think,” he says quietly. He was surprised Viggo hadn't noticed him spying by now. Taking Shattermaster they hide knowing Hiccup was on his way. Part of him wanted to join him so he could protect his sister. He never thought though how long he'd be the rouge rider, but it was the only way to help Hiccup defeat Viggo, and protect his sister. For now this was how things had to be.

[ironzombes]

Ryker; age 7 – Pucelle

<<Ryker, what happened?>>

<<I ain’t no snitch!>>

Pucelle sighed as she wiped Ryker’s mouth with the wet cloth. There was blood everywhere on his face and while he had said it was an accident, she knew that wasn’t the case. He knew that she knew. It was kind of obvious given Lylai was cleaning another boy in a different from whose knuckles were bloodied. So long as both of them didn’t talk, neither one would get in more trouble than the other one. Although given the state of Ryker’s face, he had a hunch the women might punish Yi more than him.

<<I thought you were nice and stuff.>> Ryker felt the pressure get worse against his face. He thought she must be trying to scrub the skin from it. He wasn’t going to cry about it though. He was seven, almost eight. And he was going to join the Outsiders. An Outsider didn’t cry, so neither did he.

“You test my patience.”

“I understand this talk!”

The boy felt smug even as he caught her smiling. Qwuana had taught him the language. He didn’t like it at first. It was boring, almost like when he had learned to read and write. But he was always stuck with Qwuana for some type of punishment, so she told him he should learn it. She said only the most clever boys learned it and he thought that was true. All the other kids in the orphanage barely spoke it. They could say a few words here and there, maybe a sentence or two, but no one could speak like he did. He could understand the women she they spoke in whispers. Although, he couldn’t understand all the words. He wasn’t too sure what ‘patience’ meant, but he knew the word ‘test’ which means this was a test and he passed. He understood it. If Qwuana was here he’d at least get a bit of sugar as a reward.

“Yes. You surprised us all.” Pucelle liked talking this weird language. The boy noted that she always spoke to the other women in it. And whenever she spoke Terran, as he learned his language was called, she never seemed to get it right. Like she was eating something sour. She always made a face and it usually made him laugh.

“I am good everything! The best! Super very the best!” Ryker smirked as she went to wipe some blood from his right ear. He was about to keep bragging when he felt her fingers tugging at his hair and he sucked in a breath as her fingers poked a gash. <<Fucking fuck!>>

“Ryker! Bad words!” Pucelle scolded him as she took her finger back, heaving a sigh as he kicked the air in front of him in his annoyance. The women never scolded the Outsiders when they swore. And since he was going to join them some day, he thought it was all right if he swore now. The Outsiders wouldn’t let him in until he was nine, but he thought maybe he could get in sooner. He was already super strong and clever. And now with this strange language, he could talk to those strange alien suppliers. He could even read some of their stupid, strange writing. He was going to be leading the Outsiders one day. All of them. Not just the Northern ones, but the whole gang.

“Pucelle, are you alien?” Ryker could see her getting the needle and thread ready to sew up the gash. Getting sewn was never fun, so he wanted to tell her stories. It was the least she could do. She looked at him and smiled, but didn’t say anything.

“Pucelle! Are. You. Alien?!” Ryker made sure he was super loud that time.

“Are you AN alien?” She corrected him.

“Are you AN alien?!” The boy grinned a bit cheekily as he answered.

Pucelle reached out with her leg and yanked his chair closer, startling him but also making him laugh as she did so. He didn’t see the woman a lot, but he was starting to like her more and more. She was funny. And like all the women here, she liked to poke back. That was good and fun. She set to work to clean up the gash again before putting the first stitch in. Ryker sucked in his breath before biting down on his bottom lip. That hurt! A lot. He could feel the tears welling at his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. An Outsider didn’t cry. So he didn’t cry. And what if one of the bigger kids came in and saw him crying? It’d ruin everything he had worked so hard to do. So, no crying. He refused.

“I am an alien. I’m not from A-Nova.” She spoke slowly and calmly as she sewed him up. He tried to focus on her words. Of course, if he hadn’t been in so much pain right now he might’ve been way more shocked at her words. Pucelle was an alien! He wondered how many people knew. He thought maybe the women knew. They had to know, right? She was way too good at this language, way better than the rest of them. Well, maybe except Qwuana. Qwuana always used big words and made him search in the dictionary for them now. She said he was smart, he’d figure it out. That’s probably how she got him because he was smart. He could do anything better than anyone else.

“I came from Esamara. Do you know?”

“No! What is Esamara?”

“It’s near A-Nova. I came to help with the supplies. But, I got left behind.” She smiled, although it looked a bit sad. Ryker wasn’t too sure why she would be sad. Or what that last sentence meant. A-Nova was super fun. There was always other kids to play with. And even though it got super hot and super cold, it was fun to play outside. And there were the Outsiders. They were cool.

“Why no you go home this Esamara?” If she was sad, why not just head back home? Pucelle didn’t respond for awhile. She looked like she was thinking. But maybe she just wanted to focus on her sewing because soon he could feel her knotting it off and reaching for the gross smelling gel. He didn’t think she was going to answer because she kept being silent and that made him frown. He didn’t think he had asked the question wrong or anything. He knew his language thing wasn’t perfect, he was very almost at perfection. He knew he was. He sat there annoyed as she finished up and set the everything away.

“You asked why…”

“Yeah! Why?!”

Ryker found himself suddenly in the air as Pucelle held him under her right arm. He blinked in surprise but she was already heading for the door, bouncing him about as she did so.

“Because, who would sew your head? Or wipe your face?”

“I’m seven! I can do this meself!”

“Myself.

“Myself!”

Pucelle laughed as she went down the hall with Ryker squirming in her grasp. He told her to let him go so many times, but she didn’t, not until he was placed outside with the other kids who were busy playing. He looked at her and with a huff, took off. Pucelle was a weird alien. He didn’t think he’d like to know anymore.

[placetobenation]

The WWE is welcoming back fans. And no, they won’t have to go through the WWE ThunderDome to join the fun.

Yes, it will be over a year in the making due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but at this year’s WrestleMania 37 in Tampa, fans will be allowed in to Raymond James Stadium for the special two-night event. There’s been no announcement on how many fans will be allowed to watch it live in person, but I’d expect it to be about 22,000 fans which is the capacity for the Super Bowl in February at Raymond James Stadium. Expect the WWE to wait to see how well the Super Bowl goes for more clarification on guidelines. It will also give them more time to see just where the coronavirus stands with testing and vaccinations. In addition to that announcement, the WWE also let the World know that WrestleMania 38 will be held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and WrestleMania 39 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California. So, if you’re looking for that Roman Reigns vs. The Rock match, Hollywood would make the most sense. 

Star of the Week:

How EXCITED are you for the in-ring return of @AlexaBliss_WWE?!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/IYhAjXZ0Sn

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) January 19, 2021

Alexa Bliss – Little Miss Bliss is turning into Monday Night’s version of Friday Night SmackDown’s Roman Reigns. She simply is must see TV. Whether it’s the bubbly, pink, playful soul or the dark, black, fiendish villain, Bliss is hitting on all cylinders. Last week, she’s throwing a fireball at Randy Orton. This week, she’s beating RAW Women’s Champion Asuka with a duplicitous, calculated two-role tandem from the darkside, using The Fiend’s moves to beat the Empress of Tomorrow. I can’t wait to see what she has up her sleeve next.

RAW

RESULTS

Charlotte Flair defeated Peyton Royce

MACE defeated Xavier Woods

Shayna Baszler defeated Mandy Rose

AJ Styles defeated Ricochet

The Hurt Business defeated The Lucha House Party & Matt Riddle

Jeff Hardy defeated Jaxson Ryker by DQ

Non-Title RAW Women’s Championship Match: Alexa Bliss defeated Asuka

.@RandyOrton made a chilling statement on #WWERaw and is focused on the #RoyalRumble. pic.twitter.com/27sJixYwlA

— WWE (@WWE) January 19, 2021

Let’s start with the good. The really good. Randy Orton absolutely killed it in his opening promo. One week after having his face burned by a fireball thrown by Alexa Bliss, Orton appeared donning a mask to cover what he called his grotesque face. Yet, instead of running, he vowed to win the Royal Rumble! Amazing!

SISTER ABIGAIL!#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/mwWDAsqnvd

— WWE (@WWE) January 19, 2021

Then, to end the night, Alexa Bliss played both ends of the good and bad spectrum, channeling the evilness of The Fiend to confuse Asuka and pin the RAW Women’s Champion. Not only does it keep the mystery and the wonderfulness that is Bliss, but it also set Little Miss Bliss up as a contender to win the Women’s Royal Rumble and take Asuka’s title. A tremendous bookending of the show IMHO! I know some will hate it for its progression and for making Asuka, who says no one is ready for her, but I think it works since Bliss is so off the charts that it should shake Asuka into confusion.

What a PHENOMENAL match between @AJStylesOrg & @KingRicochet on #WWERaw! pic.twitter.com/NncEergPpl

— WWE (@WWE) January 20, 2021

AJ Styles and Ricochet turned in the match of the night, no surprise, with Styles getting the win with the Styles Clash. I’d love to see these two go at it again with more time though. 15 minutes just wasn’t enough.

Otherwise, RAW gave us more Charlotte Flair vs. her father with Lacey Evans firmly in the middle as both Ric Flair and Evans tried to interfere in the Queen’s match with Peyton Royce, much to no avail.

In what seems like every tag team in the WWE, there’s more dissension in The Hurt Business. There’s more confusion with Elias and Jaxson Ryker. And there’s more non-sense with Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax. I see no reason to break up The Hurt Business, but as we’ve said before, the beatdown of Cedric Alexander Four Horsemen style is coming. As for the other two teams, there’s faint interest in the storyline.

So, I guess Xavier Woods is now taking Ricochet’s place for RETRIBUTION’s folly? Seems odd and I guess they’re just giving Woods something to do with Kofi Kingston’s jaw injury.

Gillberg returned along with a knock-off Drew McIntyre. Yes, another edition of MizTV left not talked about.

Overall, a decent show that seemed more filler after a red-hot start and an awesome finish.

NXT

RESULTS

Dusty Rhodes Classic Tag Team First Round: KUSHIDA & Leon Ruff defeated Johnny Gargano & Austin Theory

Karrion Kross defeated Ashante “Thee” Adonis 

Dusty Rhodes Classic Tag Team First Round: Lucha House Party defeated Imperium

Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter defeated Toni Storm & Mercedes Martinez

Bronson Reed defeated Tyler Rust

Fight Pit: Timothy Thatcher defeated Tommaso Ciampa

What's the

?

for @KUSHIDA_0904 & @LEONRUFF_ to advance in the #DustyClassic! And yes, @KUSHIDA_0904 pinned the #WWENXT North American Champion.

pic.twitter.com/nAfk4gXyUV

— WWE (@WWE) January 21, 2021

SHOCK THE WORLD? THEY DID JUST THAT!

@KacyCatanzaro & @wwekayden made jaws drop to the floor by defeating early favorite Toni Storm & @RealMMartinez in the first-round of the Women's #DustyClassic! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/gNPU2sKgTu

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) January 21, 2021

Tournament time turns into upset Wednesday! We get three Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic matches and in all three, we get a surprising victor. KUSHIDA gets the pinfall over NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano, his second victory over The Way, something I didn’t see coming but did like. It’s only a matter of time before those two face off for the title. But for now, KUSHIDA and Leon Ruff are moving on. The Lucha House Party take out Imperium as well in a battle of styles that came off better than expected. Finally, after vowing to win the tournament, Kacy Catanzaro pulled off a remarkable 450 off the top rope to move Catanzaro & Kayden Carter to round two after dismissing the favored Toni Storm & Mercedes Martinez. Now, we can’t discount NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai taking out Martinez during the match, leaving Storm all alone to face the wrath of Kacy. It’s a good story and I’m guessing we see Catanzaro and Carter in the Royal Rumble Match as well to further things along.

Karrion Kross crushed Ashante “Thee” Adonis in strong fashion. When will the take-out of Finn Balor occur?

Good background piece on MSK. I really hope they get to show their stuff in this tournament.

Bronson Reed squashing Tyler Rust was what it was.

He's in. @KORcombat has agreed to join forces with @FinnBalor NEXT WEEK on #WWENXT. @USA_Network @AdamColePro @roderickstrong pic.twitter.com/qjy4LAKwrw

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) January 21, 2021

Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly partners? Oh yes! Next week, they get the tag team champs!

WHAT. A. MATCH!#FightPit pic.twitter.com/mHjSpxtdWj

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) January 21, 2021

Who would’ve thought – Timothy Thatcher is the King of the Fight Pit! He’s now 2-0 after making Tommaso Ciampa submit in the corner of the cage. I really thought it would be Ciampa teaching the lesson in this one, but after a very physical and methodical main event, Thatcher goes home with the win. You have to wonder what’s next for Ciampa. He’s called out the NXT locker room and has failed to prove his point. Maybe a call-up for the Rumble is in order? Or, maybe these two win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic after their first round win on 205 Live Friday night.

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Non-Title Women’s Tag Team Championship Match: Charlotte Flair & Asuka defeated The Riott Squad

Cesaro defeated Dolph Ziggler

Sasha Banks defeated Reginald

Intercontinental Championship Match: Apollo Crews defeated Big E by DQ

King Corbin defeated Dominik Mysterio

Paul Heyman/Roman Reigns vs. Adam Pearce went to a no-contest

Strange thy name is SmackDown! To say that this week’s show was a bit sublime would be an understatement. How else could you explain Sasha Banks vs. Reginald? Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro. An obstacle course challenge. Sami Zayn protesting. And of course, Adam Pearce vs. Paul Heyman

Off the top, I love that they’re giving Cesaro a nice run here heading into the Rumble. Back-to-back wins over former World Champions Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler are making him into a legitimate contender to win next Sunday. After months of floating, Cesaro has purpose!

.@SashaBanksWWE looks to send @CarmellaWWE a message through @ReginaldWWE in this one-on-one battle! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/YgIeOV0rvN

— WWE (@WWE) January 23, 2021

If you wanted some high flying action, Sasha Banks and Reginald gave it to you. Damn, Reggie has some moves! But, in the end, it’s Boss Time with the Banks Statement as we head towards Banks against Carmella for the SmackDown Championship at the Royal Rumble.

WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT, @SamiZayn?!?!#SmackDown #ICTItle @WWEBigE @WWEApollo pic.twitter.com/jr1TsVjcr6

— WWE (@WWE) January 23, 2021

The Sami Zayn protest was a bit underwhelming for the first hour as they never really gave him time to talk on camera. At least the signs were funny. But then, of course, Zayn ends the protest to interfere in the Intercontinental Championship Match between Big E and Apollo Crews. I’ll be honest, after seeing Crews with Roman Reigns last week, getting a DQ win thanks to Zayn was a real disappointment.

Kevin Owens, supposedly off-site, adding to the drama for his Last Man Standing Match with Roman Reigns with some family business of his own was a nice touch.

Strong𝑬𝑺𝑻!

Strong𝑬𝑺𝑻!

Strong𝑬𝑺𝑻! @BiancaBelairWWE just did THAT! #SmackDown @itsBayleyWWE @otiswwe @WWEGable pic.twitter.com/gC9kabvdEw

— WWE (@WWE) January 23, 2021

As hokey as the Obstacle Course Challenge between Bayley and Bianca Belair was, and yes, it was very hokey, it worked for me. Of course Bayley tried to stack the odds against Bianca only to see her overcome them quite easily before getting beatdown for her victory. What didn’t make any sense was Chad Gable and Otis being out there to help Bayley. Aren’t they positive good guys? Strange.

THROUGH THE TABLE!!!!

@FightOwensFight just sent a MESSAGE to @WWERomanReigns!#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/6fkq47P4bc

— WWE (@WWE) January 23, 2021

In the “main event,” you just knew the “card subject to change” was going to come back and bite Adam Pearce in the butt. No, it wasn’t Paul Heyman taking on Pearce, it was Reigns taking his place after Heyman couldn’t go once “tripped” on the ring steps. Yes, it was a true massacre as Michael Cole called it until Owens returned to the ThunderDome. One stunner and a powerbomb through a table later and KO left the Universal Champion laying flat on his back to end the night. One week until the Rumble and the fight is on between these two.

Othewise, let’s hope Charlotte Flair and Asuka have put an end to Billie Kay in the Riott Squad.

King Corbin gets a solid victory over Dominik Mysterio. YAWN.

Royal Rumble PPV – Updated Card

#WWEChampion @DMcIntyreWWE is walking into the #RoyalRumble and putting his title on the line against @Goldberg! pic.twitter.com/2Sr1miFukZ

— WWE (@WWE) January 19, 2021

WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Goldberg

Universal Championship Last Man Standing Match: Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens

Royal Rumble Men’s Match

Royal Rumble Women’s Match

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Sasha Banks vs. Carmella

Parting Shots:

Welcome back WWE Backstage! The night before the Royal Rumble, FOX is bringing back Renee Young (Paquette), Booker T and Paige on FS1 at 8pm to preview the first PPV of the year. It’ll be Young’s first appearance since she left the WWE last month as her FOX contract continues on.

Coming up this week:

RAW: Drew McIntyre confronts Goldberg

NXT: NXT Cruiserweight Championship Match: Santos Escobar vs. Curt Stallion Non-Title NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Finn Balor & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Second Round: Killian Dain & Drake Maverick vs. MSK Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Second Round: Grizzled Young Veterans vs. KUSHIDA & Leon Ruff

SMACKDOWN: Final Show before Royal Rumble

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at jcrowe567@gmail.com. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND

[valkyrie-echo]

Project Echo, Part 2: Chapter 20 (JARVIS Is My DJ)

Part 2 Summary: A new enemy surfaces with a team of the Avengers’ greatest foes, hand-picked for their destruction. Meanwhile, Inessa’s pre-Hydra past begins to surface, casting doubt on where her loyalties truly lie.

Chapter 20: JARVIS Is My DJ

"Entering the arena, the still-undefeated champion of Avengers Tower- Loch Nessa Ryker!" Tony was sitting at Inessa's bedside when she woke around midday. She tried to turn her head to see him, "Nope, you've got to keep still. The back of your neck was torn clean off, remember?"

Inessa tried to reach out with her other senses and see through the shadows of the room- nothing. No Nadya, no Valley. She sighed, frustrated.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. Grounding still stands. Until we can safely reattach this," he held up the discarded implant, "JARVIS is your DJ."

"How much trouble-" Inessa's throat was dry, scratchy, and raw. Speaking set off a small coughing fit- which only agitated the oozing scabs on her neck.

Tony winced in sympathy, "Not envying you right now, kiddo. If you were asking how much trouble we're in, we don't know. The med Suits were blown to hell on their way to the hospital with the little assassins still inside. JARVIS is analyzing the data and security camera feeds now and we should have a rough idea soon enough. If, on the other hand, you were wondering how much trouble you and Bucky are in-" he waited to see Inessa's response. She did what she could to indicate a nod, "none at all. There were no rules against walks- even though there damn well are now. Pulling the implant probably was the only call that could be made, so yeah- you're both off the hook."

Inessa nodded (sort of) and swallowed several times before trying to speak again, "How is Bucky?"

"Bitchy, brooding, grumpy- nothing new."

"I heard that," Inessa couldn't turn to see him, but Bucky was propped up in the bed on the other side of her from Tony. He'd been awake for an hour or so already.

"Oh, good, your hearing is alright. JARVIS, add that to the med file."

"It was never not alright," sometimes he understood Steve's frustration with Stark.

Tony stood up with a smirk- he liked Bucky. He was almost as fun to needle as Steve, but tended to take it better. On a good day he'd even dish it back. "I've got work to do on this thing," he held up the implant, "and you two are on lockdown in here until JARVIS gives you the all-clear, so hang tight."

"JARVIS, give me the all-clear."

"I cannot do that, Mister Barnes, bed rest is still advised for one in your current condition."

"I'm coming after your hard drive with a magnet," Bucky grumbled.

Something low came over comms, Bucky wasn't entirely sure he'd heard it right, but Inessa's suppressed giggle (and groan from the pain that caused) made him think the A.I. really did just say "Good luck getting it off your arm first."

A knock on the door stalled Steve on his way to the meeting room, "JARVIS, who is it?"

"Doctor Pryor to see you and Miss Inessa," Steve sighed, he didn't have time for this right now.

"Hold on for a few minutes, I have to deal with something," he waved off Tony and Sam as they headed in. Before opening the door, Steve plastered on a courteous smile, "Doctor Pryor, how are you?"

She came in quickly, before he even had a chance to turn her away. The doctor seemed agitated, "I saw a news story saying someone destroyed several of Mister Stark's suits and Inessa missed her appointment- naturally I was worried for the well being of my patient."

"I'm going to have to ask you to come back tomorrow, now isn't a good time," Steve blocked her path before she stepped further into their home.

Pryor immediately began to push at Steve's mind with her gifts, "Why isn't it a good time?"

There's no harm in telling her, he thought suddenly, she just wants what is best for Inessa, "Inessa was injured last night, not critically but she does need her rest. I'd speak with you but I'm on my way into a meeting with the other Avengers to decide how we are going to respond to the attack on those suits as well as the deaths of the teens inside. If you'd please just bear with me, I'm sorry that I forgot to call and tell you she wouldn't make it today."

"Swear to me I will be permitted to see my patient tomorrow? You won't send her out of town? I don't have to tell you how detrimental that would be to her treatment at this time." she nudged at Steve's mind again, making her words lock in place.

"Y-yes," he felt odd, slightly dizzy and dazed, "I promise. Now, please," he stepped around her and grabbed onto the still-open door.

Doctor Pryor checked his mind one last time to make sure her puppet would play his part, then smiled, suddenly friendly again, "Of course, pardon my intrusion. Have a nice day, and I hope nothing is too amiss."

"Thank you for your understanding doctor, you have a nice day as well." Steve closed the door, shook his head to dis-spell the fog, and returned to the meeting room where the four at the farm were already on the screen. He'd intended to send Inessa back as soon as possible, but maybe he was being too hasty. Maybe the city really was the best place for her right now.

Sebastian Morris' Base - Location Unknown

"Tell me Ryker, what would your next move be, if you were them?" Albatross was reclining on a small sofa while the (now much younger) General cut up an apple at the kitchen table nearby.

"They would be fools to not see this as a declaration of war," Ryker remained focused on peeling the skin away from the apple. "They should gather in one place and dangle Nadya out for all their enemies to see. If they were convincing enough, even Morris might buy into the illusion. Then, once we attack, they should scramble their lineup, keep each of us from ever seeing our targets, and hope that is enough to stop us."

"And what is it you believe they will do?" Albatross liked Ryker, he reminded him of his favorite KGB leader from back in the good old days. Competency was so hard to come by.

"They will continue to keep secrets from one another, allow their ranks to become weak, focus on all the wrong problems, and when we do attack, they will die. Disappointingly quickly."

Albatross grinned, "Not my Natasha. I've known her since she was just a wee lass- she'll die, but I bet she puts up a hell of a fight on her way out the door."

"You believe you can beat her this time? You've been in prison for twenty years, she has continued to train and fight all that time."

"Natasha used our friendship to lure me into a trap, this time that will not be possible. Besides, her mind will be so muddled and confused by the time we are unleashed she'll barely be able to muster a defense, let alone an offense."

"Compared to the rest of you my job is easy- lock Banner down before he becomes the Hulk, then let that green bastard rage and test the strength of his prison until he becomes the man again. He'll provide me with plenty of blood to analyze, then Morris will take him as a gift of thanks from me to his master, along with my disappointing granddaughter. Hopefully he'll be able to make something remotely respectable out of her, unlike my idiot son. Sunshine and rainbows all around."

"Ideally," Albatross agreed, "but don't get ahead of yourself. Hubris is as dangerous an enemy as any. Remember how Banner defeated you in the past, and what it cost you. Make sure he isn't in a position to do that again. And we will need to be patient and evaluate the others Mister Morris brings in on this venture- three Avengers are still without enemies, and I do not like the idea of trusting the brother of the Avenger to take part in his assassination."

"Family makes the best enemy sometimes," Ryker for one didn't doubt the hatred Berny had for his elder brother.

"I do hope you are right."

Morris cleared his throat as he entered with a large and very old man- at least seven feet tall, "Gentlemen, allow me to introduce Cul Borson, the Serpent of Asgard." he snapped his fingers and two dozen Hydra agents entered the room and lined up neatly against the far wall, "Will that be enough? I can find more."

The man spoke with a frail, strained voice, "They'll make a good enough start." He held out a grizzled hand towards the soldiers. A black mist poured from him and slipped across the room. Albatross casually lifted his feet to keep the mist from touching him and watched. As it touched the Hydra agents they seemed confused- clearly they hadn't been told what kind of assignment this was to be. Ryker was intensely interested as the men began to scream and tried to break ranks. The mist acted like concrete and locked them in place. One by one the light in their eyes faded, their irises became milky and opaque. Some lines appeared on their faces as the skin sagged and hung limp.

Albatross turned from the spectacle to watch Cul Borson himself. All of the Hydra soldiers had withered to the half-alive state, but he was now quite the opposite. His white, thin hair was growing thicker and darker, the hunch in his spine straightened out, and he seemed to glow with an otherworldly youth. His face was quite peaceful, whereas his victims looked dead at best. Walking corpses. "Welcome to our merry band, Mister Borson," he wouldn't stand and risk the mist, but Albatross nodded his head politely to their new teammate.

"Take care how you address me Midgardian," the man's voice boomed, filling the room- a voice meant to be heard over large crowds, "I am a God."

"My most sincere apologies, your holiness," Albatross tried his best to mask the sarcasm in his voice. He half-bowed, still refusing to stand from his chair, "I look forward to our partnership moving forward."

"Tell him your line about hubris," Ryker mumbled under his breath. Morris escorted Cul Borson to another room in their little base, leaving him and Albatross with the zombies in the corner. He didn't like the attitude- anyone who declared himself a god was closer to the nut house than Olympus or Asgard or whatever the hell he thought he ruled, but he had to respect the display of power. Suddenly this venture was looking much more promising.

Albatross was eyeing the soldiers in the corner, still vacant and staring, "I hope they don't begin to stink."

Chapter 21: What Morris Built