#black bittern

[alonglistofbirds]

[801/10,977] Black Bittern - Ixobrychus flavicollis

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Ardeidae (herons) Subfamily: Botaurinae (bitterns)

Photo credit: Saravanan Krishnamurthy via Macaulay Library

[bestbeeking]

name your top 10 favorite birds

little bittern

zigzag bittern

cinnamon bittern

yellow bittern

australian bittern

great bittern

least bittern

black bittern

dwarf bittern

@might-be-evil

[crittercountry00]

SCRAWWWT

Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis), family Ardeidae, Warriewood Wetlands, New South Wales, Australia

photograph by JJ Harrison 

[siravalon]

Critters at a Nature Preserve 🪶

[bigeloo]

stupid fucking bird

[birds-in-posts]

American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus)

Bittern at the grocery store

[writteninlunarlight-years]

Tears to Shed

This is based on Tears to Shed from the Corpse Bride. Where Alastor accidentally marries the reader. The only problem is Alastor doesn't want to marry anyone. TW: Angst, Hurt, Sorrow, Illusions to Suicide but you can't die in hell unless it's angelic steel; Alastor is well Alastor, Mimzy is Alastors partner in this. <I am open to writing a part 2 if yall like this> @willowaudreykeyes helped me edit!

The day Alastor slipped the ring onto your finger seemed to shake the whole world with the weight of fated lovers. He was a striking figure, with caramel skin glinting beneath the sun, eyes alight, and a vigorous appetite for power and immortality. But beneath the surface, a shadow lingered: his heart was not free but tied to Mimzy, that star of the city, resplendent with the possibilities of influence and status among humans.

But in that very moment, as your eyes caught the gleam of the ring, you could almost think he chose you. You were, after all, wearing his ring, and he had said those vows with such passion as if some unseen force bound your destinies. 

But then time unraveled, and the truth trickled in like a cold, silent mist: Alastor wanted neither you nor Mimzy. He wanted to be free and live a life unencumbered by chains called commitment. He wanted power and to be feared above all others in his realm.

You had been heartbroken, perched up on the roof of a falling building in Hell, looking out at the fire spreading to the horizon. Never a fan of red and black, you'd always enjoyed blue and silver. The licks of flames danced like lost souls, taunting your self-worth.

You did, indeed, feel the gravity of your life in that moment-the corpse bride, once a loving beauty, now a demon cloaked by yearning and solitude: Alastor had brought one spark of hope into your heart only to cast it down into the dark. The pain of betrayal and the weight of your new existence as a demon were crushing you, threatening to consume the last remnants of your humanity.

You remembered that cold, starless night when he slid the ring onto your finger. For the beat of a moment, you were complete, while today, you are the broken pieces of what you once were: a beautiful woman full of life and a longing to be loved. But now, the truth stared you in the face: he was trapped, and you were the specter haunting his every step, it would appear.

You'd found Alastor begging for Mimzy's help only hours before. The scene had played like an echo in your mind, a foreign sound that twisted your insides. You'd seen it in his eyes, heard it in the shake of his voice. Beneath the bluster of a power-hungry fool, he was just a man desperate to be free of the tethers of a promise he had never wanted to make. And you, you were the one who had been used as a pawn in their twisted game of power and love.

As the reality fell in your heart like ashes, your friends emerged from the shadows: Nero, the imp, and Arianna, the succubus. Their loyalty to you puts a soothing wave over your spirit of fire and ice. They pressed themselves against your sides, the heat from their bodies contrasting with the chill of your skin and the despair that began to wrap around you as time passed.

They stared at the scene before you, knowing this was their doing. Had they not encouraged you to keep Alastor in your life, to guide and mentor you in a fantasy of mortals and demons in love, you wouldn't be like this on the brink of unleashing your powers on all of Hell once again, just as you had on the day you had died.

"What does that wispy little brat have that you don't have double?" Nero's voice was soft yet managed to cut through the fog in your brain. The gentle touch of his hand to yours was akin to a lifeline for a moment.

Arianna leaned in, her eyes aglow with wild affection. "She can't hold a candle to the beauty of your smile!" she said, in words that were an attempt at stitching the pieces of your heart together.

"Yeah, how about a pulse?" You snorted, the venom of bitterness thick in your voice as you stared at the fiery scene below your chosen hideout. You just felt like an antique compared with the sweet Mimzy.

"Overrated by a mile!" Nero chipped in, his voice light yet grave, as he sat by your side with a mutual understanding of the pain you are experiencing.

"Overfed!" Arianna cut in with a snort, her tail flicking in outrage.

"Overblown!" Nero exclaimed, with echoes of laughter resounding around the darkening space. Then he turned to Arianna, who nodded with full vigor. For a moment, their eyes shone with playfulness as they looked at you, hope alighting in their pupils.

"If he only knew the you that we know," they chorused in unison, gripping your hands tight. Their faces held pride with a touch of pain, but they held steady on one thing: their unity in support of you.

Arianna played with the ring on your left hand, smirking with mischief and love. "And the little silly creature isn't wearing his ring!"

Nero playfully elbowed you. "And she doesn't play piano!"

"Or dance or sing! No, she doesn't compare!" they chortled, their voices rising like some haunting melody.

But the shadows of doubt clung to you like a second skin. "But she still breathes air," you muttered; the weight of your reality fell again.

"Who cares?" they chorused, still enthusiastic, though you knew they were growing tired of your self-doubt.

"Unimportant!" Nero insisted, scrambling onto your shoulder, his small frame reassuring.

“Overblown!" Arianna echoed with whimsical reassurance, wrapping her tail gently around your arm.

"If only he could see how special you can be. If only he knew you that we know," they said in one accord, a mantra to which you were no longer sure you believed.

You stood, peeling yourself gently from the tangle of friends. Your undead eyes threatened to spill over with tears as you swayed on the precipice of despair, humming a mournful tune. Closer to the edge of the building you sat atop, the seductive allure of the fall whispered promises of nothing, for you could not die here.

"If I touch a burning candle, I can feel no pain. If you cut me with a knife, it's still the same." You flourish the blade hidden in your garter, the cold steel calling to your mind your immortality. The use of it on Alastor flashed across your mind a spark of the most dangerous kind. You chase the thought away, turning back to your lament. The struggle between your desire for revenge and your lingering love for Alastor was tearing you apart, threatening to push you over the edge of sanity.

"And I know her heart is beating, and I know that I am dead. Yet the pain here that I feel, please try and tell me it's not real." You turned your gaze to your friends, their faces dimly lit by the firey light of hell, then fell back from the rooftop, landing softly within a coffin overflowing with blue and silver roses, the delicate petals wrapping you in a sorrow growing only larger by the minute.

"And yet, it would seem I still have a tear to shed." Your eyes, no longer shining bright, now blazed with the bitter salt of lost love, lost on the one with whom you had believed you shared. Yet time was a thief and saved little space for sorrow. Nero and Arianna were already down to your level, their eyes afire with determination in jarring contrast with the despair flooding your heart.

Nero was first to huddle beside you, his face lined with concern and encouragement. "The only redeeming feature of that little creature is that she's alive!"

Arianna joined him, her cheeks flushed from the hurried descent. "Yeah, it's overrated!" she chimed in, light in tone but weighted with the depth of unsaid meaning.

Nero nodded vigorously, nudging you gently as he gestured to the world beyond. "Yeah, even overblown!"

Arianna smirked, crossing her arms in a very defiant pose, even going so far as to tilt her chin upward in some kind of dare for you to say otherwise. "Everybody knows that’s just a temporary state, which is cured very quickly when we meet our fate!"

Nero's grin widened as he helped you sit up, your surroundings—a darkened alleyway—looming on like some sort of forgotten lover's heart. "Who cares?

Arianna wrapped her arm around your waist, the touch grounding and warm. "Unimportant!" she insisted, dismissing the weight of your sorrow with a wave of her hand.

Nero tugged your good hand with newly formed determination, pulling you toward the busy streets, back into the folds of society. "Overrated!"

Arianna toyed with your hair before flashing a mischievous wink over the mask of worried tension she knew was building the more they danced around your feelings. "Overblown!"

The pair sparkled brightly as they laughed-a stark difference amidst the cowering crowds shrinking away from you, the infamous Corpse Bride, the dainty specter who wielded more souls than damn near Lucifer himself.

"If only he could see how special you could be, if only he knew you, that we know!" Their words of encouragement merely cut through your heart like daggers.

You merely shook your head, a deepening frown as the shadows danced in your eyes, before pulling away and meandering to drift across the streets. A melancholy tune tumbled from your lips as those who'd dare to follow quickly began to wither into roses of silver and blue, scattered remnants of what once was. As you approached the next street, your lament started again, an echoing whisper.

"If I touch a burning candle, I can feel no pain; in the ice or in the sun, it's all the same." You breezed by a café with candles on its tables casting their golden light into the night air, and without even batting an eyelash, you blew them out, embracing the darkness like an old friend.

Your eyes closed, knowing, sans sight, that you were the most significant threat this Hellscape had ever known. Your heart clutched, and your sorrow blossomed into a dark storm that sent those who knew your power scurrying back into the shadows, fear etched upon their faces.

"Yet I feel my heart is aching; though it doesn't beat, it's breaking, and the pain here that I feel, please, try and tell me it's not real." As your eyes fluttered open, the street transformed before you: what once was vibrant red and black now lay cloaked in shades of blue and silver- your wailing, weaving a tapestry of despair, draped over the once bustling scenery.

"I know that I'm dead, yet it seems that I still have some tears to shed." Your voice was barely heard, and there was a broken murmur as you made your way to your house. The chill of the stone outside was like the weight of your grief. Climbing the stairs with sluggish motions, you sat at your piano bench and stared onto the keys, the swell of your sorrow deep.

Nero and Arianna watched you, their faces heavy with what was not said, too much pain entering them as it had the rest of hell when you started your lament. They knew all too well that you only called upon your full banshee powers when the weight of despair bore too much, even that they could not fix it.

You laid your fingers against the keys, and the weight of silence fell. You pressed a key, and the note sang out to resound as one deep ache in your soul, for Alastor would go back to the world of the living, leave you for another, and leave you a shadow.

The sob, so fragile yet mighty, ripped itself free from your lips and unleashed a storm into the very pits of hell. Your wail pierced the night, a chorus of anguish, seeing as you were Y/N, the Corpse Bride, or better yet, a banshee of ill fate, rivaling the voice of Lilith herself.

The roses that danced around your abode shook with solemn trembles at the harmonization of keys to a requiem of lost love. And you, still lost between the planes of life and death, celebrated being the Harbinger of Sorrow.

[uwmspeccoll]

A Feathursday in Wading

This week we present a few wading birds -- some by lakes and rivers, some by the seashore -- rendered in black and white and hand-colored wood engravings by British author and wood engraver Eric Fitch Daglish (1892-1966) from his 1948 publication Birds of the British Isles, published in London by J. M. Dent & Sons in a limited edition of 1500 copies. Shown here from top to bottom are:

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)

Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)

Eurasian Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)

Birds of the British Isles is a donation from our friend, Wisconsin wood engraver Tony Drehfal.

View more posts from this volume.

View more Feathursday posts.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Word List: Animals

for your next poem/story

Aardwolf - a maned striped nocturnal mammal (Proteles cristatus) of southern and eastern Africa that resembles the related hyenas and feeds chiefly on insects and especially termites

Bittern - any of various small or medium-sized, short-necked, usually secretive herons

Chevrotain - (also called mouse deer) any of several very small hornless deerlike ruminant mammals of tropical Asia, the Malay archipelago, and West Africa superficially resembling the musk deer, the male having short tusks, and being among the smallest known ruminants, standing only about a foot high

Douroucouli - (also called owl monkey) any of several small nocturnal monkeys (genus Aotus) of Central and South American tropical forests that have round heads, large eyes, and densely furred bodies

Eland - either of two large African antelopes (Taurotragus oryx and Taurotragus derbianus) bovine in form with short spirally twisted horns in both sexes

Falconet - any of several very small falcons

Gemsbok - a large and strikingly marked oryx (Oryx gazella) formerly abundant in southern Africa

Hoatzin - a crested large South American bird (Opisthocomos hoazin) with blue facial skin, red eyes, brown plumage marked with white above, and claws on the first and second digits of the wing when young

Ichneumon - a mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) of Africa, southern Europe, and southwestern Asia

Jacana - any of a family (Jacanidae) of long-legged and long-toed tropical wading birds that frequent coastal freshwater marshes and ponds

Klipspringer - a small antelope (Oreotragus oreotragus) that is somewhat like the chamois in habits and is found from Cape Colony to Somaliland

Lammergeier - a large Old World vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) that occurs in mountainous regions, has long black bristles at the base of the bill, and in flight resembles a very large falcon; bearded vulture

Muntjac - any of a genus (Muntiacus) of small deer of southeastern Asia with an alarm call similar to the bark of a dog and having in the male elongated, downward-pointing upper canine teeth which protrude from the lip and short, usually unbranched, pointed antlers; barking deer

Nightjar - any of a family (Caprimulgidae) of medium-sized long-winged crepuscular or nocturnal birds (such as the whip-poor-wills and nighthawks) having a short bill, short legs, and soft mottled plumage and feeding on insects which they catch on the wing

Ouzel - blackbird

Palfrey - archaic: a saddle horse other than a warhorse; especially: a lady's light easy-gaited horse

Quetzal - a Central American trogon (Pharomachrus mocinno) that has brilliant green plumage above, a red breast, and in the male long upper tail coverts

Rosella - an Australian parakeet (Platycercus eximius) often kept as a cage bird having the head and back of the neck scarlet and the cheeks white, the back dark green varied with lighter green, and the breast red and yellow

Springhare - jumping hare i.e., a sciuromorph rodent (Pedetes cafer) of southern and eastern Africa that resembles a kangaroo in form, that is about two feet long, and that is tawny brown in color and of nocturnal and social habits

Thylacine - Tasmanian tiger i.e., a somewhat doglike carnivorous marsupial (Thylacinus cynocephalus) that formerly inhabited Tasmania but is now considered extinct

Uintatherium - a genus (the type of the family Uintatheriidae) of large herbivorous ungulate mammals of the order Dinocerata from the Eocene of Wyoming resembling elephants in size and in the conformation of their limbs and having three pairs of bony protuberances respectively on the parietal, maxillary, and nasal bones of the skill, a pair of canine tusks guarded by downwardly directed processes of the lower jaw but no upper incisors, and a proportionately very small brain

Vaquita - a small, highly endangered porpoise (Phocoena sinus) of the Gulf of California having a dark ring around the eyes and reaching only four to five feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters) in length

Whitecoat - a very young hair seal and especially a harp seal

Xiphias - a genus (the type of the family Xiphiidae) of large scombroid fishes comprising the common swordfish

Zho - (also called dzo) a hybrid between the yak and the domestic cow

More: Word Lists

[whatsthebird]

What's the Bird?

Location: Naples. Florida

Date: -

We ask that discussion under questions be limited to how you came to your conclusion, not what your conclusion was.

Happy Birding!

Keep the game alive! Submit a bird HERE

[alonglistofbirds]

[918/10,977] Black-backed Bittern - Ixobrychus dubius

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Ardeidae (herons) Subfamily: Botaurinae (bitterns)

Photo credit: Roksana and Terry via Macaulay Library

[cryptidclaw]

Cryptidclaw's WC Prefixes List!

Yall said you were interested in seeing it so here it is! 

This is a collection of mostly Flora, Fauna, Rocks, and other such things that can be found in Britain since that’s where the books take place! 

I also have other Prefixes that have to do with pelt colors and patterns as well!

Here’s a link to the doc if you dont want to expand a 650 word list on your Tumblr feed lol! the doc is also in my drive linked in my pined post!

below is the actual list! If there are any names you think I should add plz tell me!

EDIT: I will update the doc with new names as I come up with them or have them suggested to me, but I wont update the list on this post! Plz visit my doc for a more updated version!

Animals

Mammal

Badger

Bat

Bear

Beaver

Bison

Boar

Buck

Calf

Cow

Deer

Elk

Fawn

Ferret

Fox

Goat

Hare

Horse

Lamb

Lynx

Marten

Mole

Mouse

Otter

Rabbit

Rat

Seal

Sheep

Shrew

Squirrel

Stoat

Vole

Weasel

Wolf

Wolverine

Amphibians

Frog

Newt

Toad

Reptiles

Scale

Adder

Lizard

Snake

Turtle

Shell

Birds

Bird

Down

Feather

Albatross

Bittern

Buzzard

Chaffinch

Chick

Chicken

Coot

Cormorant

Corvid

Crane

Crow

Curlew

Dove

Duck

Dunlin

Eagle

Egret

Falcon

Finch

Gannet

Goose

Grouse

Gull

Hawk

Hen

Heron

Ibis

Jackdaw

Jay

Kestrel

Kite

Lark

Magpie

Mallard

Merlin

Mockingbird

Murrelet

Nightingale

Osprey

Owl

Partridge

Pelican

Peregrine

Petrel

Pheasant

Pigeon

Plover

Puffin

Quail

Raven

Robin

Rook

Rooster

Ruff

Shrike

Snipe

Sparrow

Starling

Stork

Swallow

Swan

Swift

Tern

Thrasher

Thrush

Vulture

Warbler

Whimbrel

Wren

Freshwater Fish 

Fish

Bass

Bream 

Carp

Dace

Eel

Lamprey

Loach

Minnow

Perch

Pike

Rudd

Salmon

Sterlet

Tench

Trout

Roach

Saltwater fish and other Sea creatures (would cats be able to find some of these? Probably not, I don't care tho)

Alge

Barnacle

Bass (Saltwater version)

Bream (Saltwater version)

Brill

Clam

Cod

Crab

Dolphin

Eel (Saltwater version)

Flounder

Garfish

Halibut

Kelp

Lobster

Mackerel

Mollusk

Orca

Prawn

Ray

Seal

Shark

Shrimp

Starfish

Sting

Urchin

Whale

Insects and Arachnids

Honey

Insect

Web

Ant

Bee

Beetle

Bug

Butterfly

Caterpillar

Cricket

Damselfly

Dragonfly

Fly

Grasshopper

Grub

Hornet

Maggot

Moth

Spider

Wasp

Worm

Trees

Acorn

Bark

Branch

Forest

Hollow

Log

Root

Stump

Timber

Tree

Twig

Wood

Alder

Apple

Ash

Aspen

Beech

Birch

Cedar

Cherry

Chestnut

Cypress

Elm

Fir

Hawthorn

Hazel

Hemlock

Linden

Maple

Oak

Pear

Poplar

Rowan

Redwood

Spruce

Willow

Yew

Flowers, Shrubs and Other plants

Berry

Blossom

Briar

Field

Flower

Leaf

Meadow

Needle

Petal

Shrub

Stem

Thicket

Thorn

Vine

Anemone 

Apricot

Barley 

Bellflower

Bluebell

Borage

Bracken

Bramble

Briar

Burnet

Buttercup

Campion

Chamomile

Chanterelle

Chicory

Clover

Cornflower

Daffodil

Daisy

Dandelion

Dogwood

Fallow

Fennel

Fern

Flax

Foxglove

Furze

Garlic

Ginger

Gorse

Grass

Hay

Heather

Holly

Honeysuckle

Hop

Hyacinth

Iris

Ivy

Juniper

Lavender

Lichen

Lilac

Lilly

Mallow

Marigold

Mint

Mistletoe

Moss

Moss

Mushroom

Nettle

Nightshade

Oat

Olive

Orchid

Parsley

Periwinkle

Pine

Poppy

Primrose

Privet

Raspberry

Reed

Reedmace

Rose

Rush

Rye

Saffron

Sage

Sedge

Seed

Snowdrop

Spindle

Strawberry

Tangerine

Tansy

Teasel

Thistle

Thrift

Thyme

Violet

Weed

Wheat

Woodruff

Yarrow

Rocks and earth

Agate

Amber

Amethyst

Arch

Basalt

Bounder

Cave

Chalk

Coal

Copper

Dirt

Dust

Flint

Garnet

Gold

Granite

Hill

Iron

Jagged

Jet

Mountain

Mud

Peak

Pebble

Pinnacle

Pit

Quartz

Ridge

Rock

Rubble

Ruby

Rust(y)

Sand

Sapphire

Sediment

Silt

Silver

Slate

Soil

Spire

Stone

Trench

Zircon

Water Formations

Bay

Cove

Creek

Delta

Lake

Marsh

Ocean

Pool

Puddle

River

Sea

Water

Weather and such

Autumn

Avalanche

Balmy

Blaze

Blizzard

Breeze

Burnt

Chill

Cinder

Cloud

Cold

Dew

Drift

Drizzle

Drought

Dry

Ember

Fall

Fire

Flame

Flood

Fog

Freeze

Frost

Frozen

Gale

Gust

Hail

Ice

Icicle

Lightening

Mist

Muggy

Rain 

Scorch

Singe

Sky

Sleet

Sloe

Smoke

Snow

Snowflake

Soot

Sorrel

Spark

Spring

Steam

Storm

Summer

Sun

Thunder

Water

Wave

Wet

Wind

Winter

Celestial??

Comet

Dawn

Dusk

Evening 

Midnight

Moon

Morning

Night

Noon

Twilight

Cat Features, Traits, and Misc. 

Azure

Beige

Big

Black

Blonde

Blotch(ed)

Blue

Bounce

Bright 

Brindle

Broken

Bronze

Brown

Bumble

Burgundy

Call

Carmine

Claw

Cobalt

Cream

Crimson

Cry

Curl(y)

Dapple

Dark

Dot(ted)

Dusky

Ebony

Echo

Fallen

Fleck(ed)

Fluffy

Freckle

Ginger

Golden

Gray

Green

Heavy

Kink

Knot(ted)

Light

Little

Lost

Loud

Marbled

Mew

Milk

Mottle

Mumble

Ochre

Odd

One

Orange

Pale

Patch(ed)

Pounce 

Prickle

Ragged

Red

Ripple

Rough

Rugged

Russet

Scarlet

Shade

Shaggy

Sharp

Shimmer

Shining

Small

Smudge

Soft

Song

Speckle

Spike

Splash

Spot(ted)

Streak

Stripe(d)

Strong

Stump(y)

Sweet

Tall

Talon

Tangle

Tatter(ed)

Tawny

Tiny

Tough

Tumble

Twist

Violet

Whisker

Whisper

White

Wild

Wooly

Yellow

[herpsandbirds]

Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis), family Ardeidae, order Pelicaniformes, Jurong Lake Gardens, Singapore

photograph by Pher Thuan Chong

[rhyliethelovelycaterfly]

Corpse Groom Cast (New Spoof For @pamithebunterfly2007)

Cast

Wendy Testaburger (South Park) As Victor Van Dort

Gary Harrison (South Park) As Emily The Corpse Bride

Stan Marsh (South Park) As Victoria Everglot

Gregory Bellarose (South Park) As Lord Barkis Bittern

Edna Krabappel (The Simpsons) As Elder Gutknecht

Mr And Mrs Testaburger (South Park) As Mr And Mrs Van Dort

Sharon Marsh And Randy Marsh (South Park) As Mr And Mrs Everglot

Jessica Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) As Bonejangles

Also Starring

Pops (Regular Show) As Mayhew

Benson (Regular Show) As Emil

Smithers (The Simpsons) As Hildegarde

Master Shi Fu (Kung Fu Panda) As Pastor Galswells

Heimlich (A Bug's Life) As Maggot

Rosie (A Bug's Life) As Black Widow Spider

Flippy (Happy Tree Friends) As General Bonesapart

Babs (Chicken Run) As Mrs Plum (Same Voice Jane Horrocks)

Moe (The Simpsons) As Paul the Head Waiter

Roger Rabbit (Who Framed Roger Rabbit) As The Town Crier

[maddoggoskettynoudough]

Eurasian Bittern

this is a small heron that lives in swamps and lakes. It leads a solitary life. It’s yellowish brown camouflage plumage with black brown and red dots allow it to go unnoticed to the point where it can completely blend into the environment when it is disturbed.

[themythofnarcissus]

The rays of Luofu’s artificial sun caress their way through the sheer covers of the General’s chambers, bathing them in gentle sunrise.

Jing Yuan can feel his neck throb, finally able to respite and escape from a never ending realm of responsibilities.

“Took you long enough.”

Jing Yuan almost misses him, half draped across his burgundy rug, half draped across the sleeping feline. His hair sparks a marbly contrast, blackness that bled red across the lion’s white fur. There is an open book on the floor, forgotten, abandoned somewhere close to the start of the story.

“Couldn’t concentrate?” Jing Yuan skilfully evades the snarky remark while undoing the buckles of his armour and corporal regalia.

“Your books happen to be boring, Jing Yuan.” Blade doesn’t spare him a glance, instead curls his bandaged fingers in the lion’s mane.

“Is that all you have to say about Luofu’s hospitality?” Jing Yuan continues to jest, putting down his ponytail and taking seat at the end of his bed.

“Sadly.” Blade’s eyes are easing shut, the gentle rumble of Snowmoon’s purring a pleasant lull.

“Are you tired, Bladie?” He teases, and it only takes a moment for Blade’s eyes to fix into him.

“Don’t call me that.” Blade hisses.

“Your nose is bleeding.” Jing Yuan argues easily, though can’t hide his concern.

“It’s fine.” Blade slowly disentangles himself from the snoozing lion, sitting cross legged on the floor. “I just fell asleep.”

“I’m sorry, I know it’s late.” Jing Yuan sounds apologetic, genuineness shining through his carefree tone. It urges Blade to stand on two numb legs and approach the recliner.

Jing Yuan places his hands on the small of his waist and drags him close, closer. This way Blade has to look down to see his face, just as Jing Yuan has to prop his chin against his stomach. “Did you bleed through those?” He doesn’t have to look, he just has to pat his bandaged thigh.

“Beats me.” Blade lets his arms ease around Jing Yuan’s shoulders.

“You know,” Jing Yuan begins to undo the buckles of Blade’s shirt. “It’s bad manners to keep your clothes from the outside on.”

“Stop talking to me as if I’m a child.” Blade argues, though allows for Jing Yuan to slide his coat off his shoulders, too. He bled through the bandages, he realised, Jing Yuan was right, as he usually was. Somewhere along the way, he feels fed up, so he starts tugging all these garments off the General as well, since he just wants to lay down and rest.

If he leans down, Blade can smell the slight tang of alcohol in Jing Yuan’s breath, it’s nice and sweet, must be wine of the expensive kind. He kisses him slowly, a touch more gentle than someone would had expected of him. Jing Yuan cups his face, caresses up his sharp cheekbones, coaxes him into continuing. He shouldn’t be in love with Blade, but, unfortunately, his heart blooms with joy at the touch of his lips.

Blade lets himself be pulled at, weightless in a way his conscience couldn’t wish to fathom. He’s on his lap then, the general’s hands sliding from the back of his knees to the front of his stomach, holding him from the waist.

Jing Yuan leans back, but Blade won’t follow, even though he pulls for him, and their lips break apart.

Jing Yuan tries to lick the blood off his own lips but Blade smears the last traces of it, paints Jing Yuan’s cheek red. “I still struggle remember, Jing Yuan.” Bitterns bleeds through his voice, no pain, just resentment towards something he couldn’t begin to name.

“Remember—“ Jing Yuan’s eyes eased shut, passive, awaiting for Blade’s touch on himself. “Back then, your hair was white as snow on a dreadful day.” He traces the outline of Blade’s jaw with tired hands. “And your eyes, they were the blood that spilled on that very snow.”

“You’re awfully poetic tonight, general.” Blade tires, eventually, though there is a certain sting in his chest that he can’t ignore. He lays down, slowly, next to Jing Yuan, but he won’t touch him anymore, a palm’s distance between them.

“Our first kiss,” Jing Yuan insists, drifting away into some fond memory. “I was watching you put your hair up, back when it was less unruly. I still have that ornament.”

“Enough.” Blade huffs, turns his back to Jing Yuan to hide the growing despair on his face. “I left because there was nothing for me here.”

“Then why is it that you’re staying?” Jing Yuan doesn’t sound hurt, smiling almost feline-like as he spoons Blade from behind. “Are you upset because I said I missed your white hair?”

“I’m not that sensitive.” Blade insists, yet reaches behind his head to ruffle that lion mane. He swears Jing Yuan could purr.

“Don’t go to Kafka anymore.”

“That’s a cheap declaration of love.” Blade smirks, curls his fingers into Jing Yuan’s. “You only say these things after I make you miss me, anyways.”

“A day at the office is enough to achieve that.” Jing Yuan complains and props his chin onto Blade’s shoulder. “You don’t have to go Stellaron Hunting across the galaxy to make me jealous.”

“You’re the most jealous man I know.” Blade teases, voice soft with sleep.