#bound by duty header

[dreamfyre03]

A Dragon's Love

Warnings: smut, fingering

Dividers by: @zaldritzosrose

Header by: @zaldritzosrose

Chapter 12: What we do for family

Daenys sat with Helaena and the children as Aemond entered, his face set in a grim expression. “Daenys, a word?” He spoke briskly, and she quickly got up to follow him, but Jaehaerys grabbed her hand, pulling her back. “Aunt Daenys! Stay with me!” He protested. She leaned down and kissed his forehead and said, “Worry not, my darling, I’ll return soon.” He reluctantly let her hand go, and she walked with Aemond until they made their way through the tunnels, to the secret room.

“What’s wrong?” She asked nervously. Aemond was locked in with Aegon’s small council for hours, and his grim expression didn’t bode well for them. “My grandsire has returned. Rhaenyra hasn’t accepted Aegon’s terms, no surprise there. I’m being sent to Storm’s End, to secure Borros Baratheon’s support.” He told her. 

She nodded. “How is Aegon?” She asked. “He spent half the meeting downing wine. He’s gone to his rooms, gods know I don’t wish to imagine what’s going to take place there.” He said. 

“How long will you be gone?” She asked. He sighed, and took her hands in his, and led her to sit on the settee. “I don’t know. I’ve been told to make sure I return with House Baratheon’s support.” She just kept nodding, her mind racing. Anything could happen. Rhaenyra and Daemon could attack any moment now, and just that knowledge alone had her on edge since Aegon was crowned. She had barely slept since her father died. The possibilities of what could happen, the danger to them all, it made her sick with worry. She felt even more sickened with worry when she felt as though there was nothing she could do. 

“Come back to me, Aemond.” She whispered, unable to look him in the eye. He pulled her to him, and she relished the safety she felt in his arms. “I will. I promise.” He replied, his response muffled by her hair. She sniffled and held him tighter. She didn’t want him to go. She didn’t want any of this. But Aemond was nothing if not duty bound. When they finally released each other, he pulled her in for a kiss, and she pulled him closer, feeling his body’s warmth against her own. It was a desperate, frantic kiss, of two people who somehow knew that time was not on their side. His hands were in her hair, causing it to fall from its intricate braiding, and hers were on his chest, feeling the rippling muscled body he hid under his tunic.  “Aemond,” She moaned his name softly, pulling on his tunic to keep his as close as possible. “My sweet Daenys, mine, mine, all mine,” he murmured, lining the expanse of her neck with kisses.  She gasped at the feeling of his hands massaging her breasts over the fabric of her dress, the simulation sending waves of pleasure throughout her body as her nipples rubbed against the fabric of her dress. When he pulled it down, exposing her breasts to the cold air, he whispered, “Gevie,” (beautiful) as he latched onto one of her nipples, sucking and grazing it with his teeth as he rubbed the other between his fingers. 

“Yes, Aemond, please,” She whined, as he laid her back on the settee, and he lavished her breasts with attention. She felt his hands go under her skirt and slid against her legs, and Aemond released her breast from his mouth and said huskily, “Give me a taste of you before I go, my love, to carry with me.” She nodded frantically, as she pulled him up for a kiss once again, and then he got to his knees in front go her, hiking her skirts up over her legs, and he groaned as he felt her wetness over her smallclothes. “You’re so wet for me, sweet girl. I can’t wait to worship this body properly, but I’ll have to make this do for now,” he smirked, before rubbing his fingers over her smallclothes, the friction causing her to gasp, then grind against his hand desperately. “Aemond please,” she begged, as she felt a thin sheen of sweat form on her brow. “Please what, my sweet sister?” He taunted her. “Make me come,” She pleaded, uncaring of how wanton she sounded. 

“Good girl,” she heard his whisper, as he pulled her smallclothes off her and pulled her forward, rests her legs over each of his shoulders. 

“Such a pretty cunt,” He murmured, before slowly licking a strip up her wetness. Daenys gripped the handle of the settee, digging her nails in as her brother began to feast on her cunt like a starving man. She was a sweating, panting mess, chasing pleasure from her brother’s mouth like a common whore. When he slipped a finger inside her, she shuddered, as he curled it upwards, fucking her with his fingers until he found that spot within her that brought her the most pleasure. When she let out a choked cry, arching her back, he grinned, saying, “There it is, my princess.” 

He stretched her out by slipping another finger in, and fucking her with his fingers while sucking her clit in his mouth, making her head feel dizzy as he pleasured her. 

“Oh gods, brother,” She mewled under him, her legs wrapping around his head, pressing him impossibly closer to her cunt, as she felt her release getting closer. “Yes, Aemond, please, more,” She whimpered, desperate for release. He felt her desperation and redoubled his efforts on her clit, and she felt her peak wash over her so powerfully, she jerked her hips forward and cried out Aemond’s name, while he rode her through her orgasm, licking up every drop of her release, unwilling to let it go anywhere else but his hungry mouth. He gently lowered her legs to the ground and she blushed when she saw the bottom of his face shining with her juices, and he smirked as he helped her fix her clothes, and sat next to her. “Well, that will definitely tide me over until I return, won’t it?” He said as he pulled her in for a searing kiss, and she tasted herself on his mouth, which aroused her even more. She shook her head in amusement as she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, savouring the last of his warmth before he left for the Stormlands. 

.

.

.

Much to Daenys’s dismay, Aemond left for Storm’s End that afternoon, and right after he left, she was on her way to see her brother when she was intercepted by one of the Queen Mother’s servants, and bid to see her. So she changed courses and entered Alicent’s rooms, no longer the Queen’s rooms, for those were now Helaena’s, but rooms that were almost just as large. “Daenys, my girl, come sit.” Alicent said, as she sat with her father the Hand. 

Daenys sat with them, helping herself to some wine. “There is something important that we must discuss.” Alicent said nervously, glancing at her father. 

“As you may have heard, your sister has crowned herself as Queen, on Dragonstone, and has refused the King’s terms to relinquish her claim.” The Hand began, and Daenys nodded. 

“So, it seems that war is imminent. We need to secure our allies, support from the great houses. That is where you come in, Princess. You will leave for Winterfell in the morning, to affirm your betrothal and then wed Cregan Stark. We need the North’s support, it will ensure we are in a much stronger position to stand against your sister.” The Hand said. 

Her stomach dropped, and she fought to keep the panic off her face. “I presumed I would have more time,” was all she could muster. “Time is the last thing any of us have on our side.” He replied. She shifted hesitantly. Aemond certainly wouldn’t be back by tomorrow, and she felt her heart splitting in two, between Aemond and her duty, her chance to keep her family safe. 

Otto seemed to sense her resistance, and said, “Let me be quite clear, Princess. Do you know what happens if the support of somewhere so vital goes to your sister instead of the King? Allow me to paint you a picture. The North will be able to lend an invaluable amount of men. Your sister, along with her supporters, such as House Velaryon, who have the entire Velaryon fleet, mind you, will storm King’s Landing, and she and Daemon will slaughter every one of us. Starting with Aegon, your brothers, Aemond and Daeron, even Helaena and her innocent children. Can you imagine, an innocent child like Jaehaerys being slain because we could not do out duty to make sure he and his mother and siblings were protected?” 

The very thought sickened her. Maybe he was right. How selfish she was being, caring about her own wants and desires first, when she had a chance to give her brother an advantage. She was no better than Rhaenyra. Perhaps if the North declared for Aegon, it wouldn’t come to war, perhaps it could keep them all safe. She would rather Aemond be alive and married to another, than dead and hers. She couldn’t bear it if he died because she didn’t perform her duty. 

“Very well. In the morning, then, I shall depart.” She told them, as she resisted the tears that begged to fall. “Another thing, Princess.” Otto said as she got up to leave. 

She wiped her tears and turned around. “You won’t speak of this to anyone, not the King, or the Queen. We wouldn’t want the King’s fondness for his sister to blind his judgement, would we? After you’ve left, the King will learn of the marriage, and he will calm after he realises what an advantage it gives us all.” 

She nodded. He was right, Aegon would no doubt not want her to leave. 

So as she left the Queen Mother’s rooms, she kept reminding herself, it was all for her family, her siblings. To keep them alive. 

[yandins-beleagured-historian]

Entry #005.2ndcompany.v2[avaronedit].txt

--The Second Company, Part 1 of 5-- +Header Item: Pict-Capture, elements of the Second Company, Iron Fists Chapter, during deployments on Crucible, Poros Crusade, 985.M41. The Departmento Photartem formally apologises for resolution losses and degradation encountered during processing.+

Within every Astartes chapter, there is a company that occupies the lion's share of the spotlight. For some, this is the result of years of dutiful service, such as the Dark Angels' fifth company, or a hereditary, prominent position at the tip of the spear in the case of the Space Wolves' Blackmanes. The Ultramarines second company, oft-referred to as the Guardians of the Temple, exemplify this trend most clearly, thanks to their 'crafted...reputation as dynamic heroes'. The test for such prominence is fairly trivial, and requires that one merely browse the galleries of chapter artwork and identify the company heraldry that comes up most frequently. For the Iron Fists, this trend manifests strongest around the Second company, sometimes colloquially known as the black-blades, but more often referred to as simply "The Second". However, unlike the famous companies of first-founding chapters, the Second's prominence in the eyes of the outside world is not the result of a prodigiously long roll of honour, nor a saga of dramatic, galaxy-shaking deeds. It is a quirk of doctrine that makes the Iron Fists' Second stand out. The bespoke organisational layout of the Second dates back to around 350.M39, some half-century hence of the Fall of Taralus during Abaddon's tenth black crusade. With limited resources with which to rebuild the shattered chapter, surviving command staff were compelled to devise novel force structures in order to maximise the utility of what few assets they had. Swiftly-promoted from savant-initiate to captain (a normally unprecedented ascension that owed more to the lack of more senior candidates with more seniority), it was Llewellus Thoca who received the responsibility of reforging the Second.

Thoca deserves a treatise all of his own (which I am told exists but am struggling to locate at present), but his restructuring of the Second was one of the earliest and most immediately effective measures of its kind. The company focused itself around a core of assault veterans who had survived the Fall of Taralus by near-constant ship defence actions. The successful utilisation of these squads would prove pivotal in the company's first actions since the fall, and gradually the company's doctrine would shift towards creating and exploiting scenarios where their effect could be maximised, usually in the form of rapid, pinpoint strikes on key enemy targets. This structure had its fair share of downsides. The Second had significantly less specialised resources at its disposal in comparison to its contemporaries. The company's core strength was bound up in close-range infantry, and if improperly commanded, that infantry would take heavy casualties, especially if tasked to handle threats they were incapable or inequipped to face. These core assault squads also required significant coordination inside and outside the Second, which required company command to establish and maintain high levels of trust and cooperation with outsiders.

Nevertheless, such hardships would foster unique levels of proficiency across the company's tactical, assault and devastator units, creating a company-wide focus on cohesion, diplomacy and quality intelligence gathering. The entombment of select veterans of the company into dreadnought chassis would further this trend by preserving hard-won expertise for future generations to learn from. In particular, the tactical squads of the second company would develop a bespoke reputation for quality, both within and beyond the chapter, and it was not uncommon for individual squads to be placed under the command of other captains in instances where well-disciplined line troops were vital.

Thus, when the Second was suitably managed and supported, their ability to turn the tide of battles or even whole campaigns was profound. Such deployments frequently put elements of the Second in positions of much greater visibility to mortal soldiery and imperial commanders alike, in stark comparison to the other four battle companies who were generally more capable of operating alone. This factor would be further enhanced by the personality of the Second's captains, who were chosen by vote from within the company and were generally selected for their zeal, inspirational abilities and diplomatic candor, all the better to secure the collaboration that made the Second effective.

+Supplementary Log, Cosrau Yandin, Captain, 7th Company Iron Fists+

As a former sergeant of the Second's sixth tactical squad, Captain Yandin had this to say when asked about the prominence of the company. [edited for brevity]

"This is a feature, not a glitch. The Second lives and dies on its reputation. The moment it is perceived as unreliable by those it fights alongside, it is no longer able to draw on the support, intelligence or specialist units that allow it to fight as well as it does. You've only to look to instances like Ibossim to see how the Second fares when fighting alone." "A lot of the training leverages this mechanic. While you always train with your squad, eight times out of ten your squad trains alone. This cultivates an understanding of what happens when you are unsupported. If you make a mistake, you die, and so do those around you. The pressure is extremely fierce, as a result." "This pressure extends to every part of the company . A warrior of the Second bears responsibility for the lives of those they fight beside. But a captain of the Second carries the entire company on their shoulders. It lives and dies with him. He must be considerate enough to soothe his allies, yet passionate enough to inspire them. He must carefully consider his stratagems, yet always be ready to join the fray himself. He must be open minded to new ideas, but throne forbid he make a mistake." "That's not to say it's all as brutal as it sounds. Yes, I mean it, stop looking at me like that. The Second has just as long a history of teaching its members as it does combat-simming them into perfectionists. Sharing knowledge strengthens the whole company. Ascendants teach the sergeants, who teach each other, who teach the rank and file. [Author's note: 'Ascendant' is a term used within the company to refer to those interred in dreadnoughts.] The first squad was a self-contained bladesmanship academy long before it was the captain's personal bodyguard, and those who do make captain often spend decades being prepared for the role by their predecessor. The last captain, Exitas, could trace the teachings he received all the way back into M40, when Hayabusa Shandar was wrestling necrons out of their night scythes."

"That tradition could've continued for another thousand years, had his tenure not ended so abruptly. Exitas died on Kalidos, during the retreat from the Stygius sector, barely thirty years into his tenure and with no suitable successor prepared. Throne, it wouldn't have been so bad if we'd just lost Exitas. Samas Tenebra was right there, Exitas' direct predecessor, the only First Captain in the chapter's history to have risen from the Second. There was literally no better to teach Exitas' successor, but then Saphyre happened, and before either of them were laid to rest in Taralan soil, our beloved Chapter Master bike-slides onto the Tsiolkovan and declares Throne-damned cog-brained Artos Myra as Second Captain and before you know it-"

+Log terminated: storage capacity exceeded+

Saved by the voxcaptor, Hester Vinchix Calimorre, Historiographer-Moderatus, Logos Historica Verita.

+Attached Image: Second Captain Shado Avaron in action at the head of first squad Zaio, second company, during the "Ibossim Bloodbath", circa 639.M41. Recovered from data-fragments extracted from Praetorian XIX regimental datalink.+

[strawberri-fiction]

Consider this my official intro post:

Haiii!! I'm Vixx but you can call me whatever you want, calling me by my kins names is highly encouraged on this blog but you can see my straw.page for more names of mine

Basic stuff like DNI and stuff is in my straw.page so I'll get into the more specifics of this particular blog

Doubles for anyone are all welcome, I don't really care

Sourcemates are highly, highly encouraged to engage if they want!

Kintypes:

(In no particular order)

Nyarlathotep [H.P Lovecraft]

König [Call of Duty]

Lumina {Winter Lantern} [Bloodborne] (Canon-divergent)

Moonlight Cookie [Cookie Run Kingdom]

Rom, The Vacuous Spider [Bloodborne]

The Moon Presence [Bloodborne] (⭐️ ID/Highest Kin ⭐️)

Mohg, Lord of Blood [Elden Ring]

RED Pyro [Team Fortress 2]

Mystic Flour Cookie [Cookie Run Kingdom]

Yog-Sothoth [H.P Lovecraft]

Header & pfp credits: https://www.bloodborne-wiki.com/2017/08/moon-presence-gallery.html?m=1

Any questions are encouraged, I also take moodboard requests if anyone wants one of those. My main blog is @strawberripuffy if you enjoy my posts here :3

This post is bound to change in time so stay tuned!!

[panda-writing]

A/N: So this is an idea I got like last night. And I wanted to write it into something before I forgot it. I had a few ideas on how I planned to finish it. And it's very different from those ideas.

I was gonna add more to it, and make it more angst, but I got the fluff feels, and it ended up being more of a fluff piece at the end.

But, I did leave it open ended incase I ever come back to it and get more ideas.

Oh, one more thing. This is about my main OC I'm writing a huge story on rn. And her ship is Rex, because that's the one I typically do with her. ((Sometimes I do Fives, but I think Rex and Amaya balance each other out a bit more because my girl is unfiltered chaos at times))

Type: OC x Captain Rex

Story type: Fluff, Angst /Ficlet

And the beginning starts a little dramatic again because I have been doing that a lot more lately.

(And here's this header of Ryder I made because I briefly mention him in the story-

Calling this: Knowing (Rex x Amaya)

It had been only a few weeks.

But the time... It was like a silence.

And it felt so loud.

They lost people before.

He's lost brothers. And she's lost friends.

But this was different.

So much different.

It was in the way it happened. And.... It was Fives.

It was Fives.

That made all the difference in the world somehow.

He had been trained as a soldier. He was expected to move on.. But it was hard.

And then again.. Amaya didn't want him too.

The same thing happened when Echo died. She didn't want them to force themselves to move on.

Maybe it's why he's never heard a clone say a bad thing about her. She was always there for them.

The worst thing he'd heard was that she could be reckless. A fact she clearly had known well, as she said it herself multiple times.

But in the same way, it's what had him worried right now.

She was usually more of a talker. Happier.

Of course, the affect of the war was a likely cause too. But he knew better.

He knew her after all.

After Fives... She had barely spoken to him. It worried him. And brought out paranoia from deep within that he never knew existed in his own mind.

She'd tell him though. Right?

If she was mad at him. Or the even more alarming possibility, If there were regrets or second thoughts...

But she hadn't said anything of that inclination.

She hadn't said anything at all.

They spoke the day it happened. But she hadn't said much on her own feelings. She was more worried about him.

That... Was in her nature. But at this very moment, it had his nerves at an all time high.

She stayed with him and comforted him. She had always been open in telling him and his brothers that it was okay to feel.

Some clones still stuck closer to their programming in that regard.

He knew she wasn't technically supposed to go through her emotions the way most nat horns were either. In some cases the Jedi were unhappy with her disregard... For, well anything.

She would break rules or disobey command if she thought there was a better way. She openly told (him) that she thought the code was stupid at times. And her openness to emotion, she had explained was also against it.

But this far in the war, she really didn't seem to care too much anymore.

After what happened with Fives.. The next time Rex had actually gotten to see Amaya was around 2 weeks later. And that's when he noticed her acting strange. Especially in the way she wasn't speaking.

Well, outside of their duty-bound responsibilities. Because that aspect did.

It wasn't the same though.

Rex was looking through the outside of the window. It was a little quiet right now. The bridge on a Venator usually was, save for when there was a battle.

Or if Skywalker was there-

Rex was lost in thought, he almost didn't notice it as Ryder came behind him and tapped his shoulder.

He was the Commander of Amaya's legion. He wouldn't usually try to figure it out this way... But it was one sure way to figure what was going on..

"Hey Rex, do you have a minute?" He asked

"Y-yeah. Sure. What's going on?" He answered, quickly gaining composure.

Ryder was subtle as he glanced around the bridge area.

"You know- actually, it might be better if I show you." He excused

He was a better liar than a lot of clones. Of course, he had lots of practice considering he was constantly covering for his general since the beginning of the war.

"Okay.." Rex said, following him out.

There was nothing there. This earned Ryder an eyebrow raise.

"Rex, are you okay?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I swear I could feel the tension in the air, and obviously I'm not a Jedi but-" Ryder cut himself off

"There's something on your mind, right?"

"It could be nothing. I've had a lot on my mind lately." Rex excused

Now, it was Ryder's turn to give Rex a look. It was really more of a side-eye than a specific look.

"You really think I don't know you by now, vod?" he questioned

"Besides... If you don't think it's nothing, then it probably isn't. Mind telling me what's going on?"

"You never know, maybe I can help.."

He didn't exactly have many better options here, but it was still better that no one knew about his relationship with the general, so he'd be keeping it as vague as possible without being suspicious about it.

"Have you noticed anything off about the General lately?" he asked

Okay, so he hadn't exactly meant to get straight to the point, but here he was.

"I mean, personally I've always found there to be something off about Skywalker, and I mean that's saying something considering how my own can be at times, but-"

He was quickly cut off.

"I was talking about yours, actually.." Rex said all while giving him a look about making comments about his own general.

"Oh-"

Ryder cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Though... Now that you mention it... Pierce has been a lot less, well.. herself recently."

"She doesn't joke around a lot lately. More focused on getting through with the mission and whatever. But I didn't ask, because I figured she'd tell me if there was a problem. She's always pretty open with that kind of stuff."

It was good to know it wasn't just him, but it still wasn't a great feeling.

"She's been like this since what happened with Fives-" His expression widened and he cut himself off as he realized he'd said it out loud.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Ryder sighed as he looked down, but Rex patted his shoulder.

"Don't be sorry. What happened.... affected a lot of us." 

"I don't know if there's much I can do to help... But maybe it would help if you talked to her? She values your insight and friendship as much as mine. I'm sure she'd talk, if she realized it was from a place of concern." He offered

Yeah... Friendship. That was one word for it.

"It's worth a shot." Rex said

Sometimes Ryder thought there was something going on in the back of his mind. But he never cared enough to try and figure out if there was or wasn't.

Things were complicated enough lately, he'd rather the one thing that didn't feel that way to just... stay that way.

He tried reaching her on her comm.

After the second or third time, she finally answered. 

'If you could really call that a response'

"Hey."

Was she mad at him? She didn't sound mad, but it was always hard to tell with Jedi. Then again... he never seemed to have that problem with her..

"Uh hi... Do you have a minute to talk?" he asked

"Not really, I'm working on some stuff right now."

"It's important." He sighed

Now he definitely felt like he had to ask her.

He could hear her sigh over the other end.

"Okay."

"But It's gonna have to be quick. I have a lot of stuff to get done."

"Right." Rex said

"Where are you?"

"I'll meet you- actually.." she said

Her tone seemed odd, but he'd let it go, for now.

"Uh... meet me at..."

"We'll go to the briefing room-"

Okay, so it was obvious he was making this up as he went along. He had his doubts she even noticed, considering her lack of reaction to pretty much anything he said right now.

She didn't think much of it as she made her way over. She figured it was just stuff about their current missions, otherwise she may not have even come. 

She really didn't want to take a break from all of this, but in all truth... she had nothing. All she had was her gut feeling. And she was basically grasping at straws here.

She walked in with her datapad incase she got there first. 

Of course, she hadn't. He was already there.

There was a look on his face, but what was it? Was he worried..?

Focus.

"Uh.. Hey Rex."

"Hey." he walked up to her, making sure the door was shut so no one could hear him talk about how he was breaking multiple GAR regulations.

"You called?" she asked cutting to the chase.

"Yeah. I did."

He looked at her face. He hadn't specifically seen her in a few days... And right now she just looked tired. 

Instead of starting how he was going to, he looked on in concern and asked "When was the last time you slept?"

"I don't know. I'm not really that worried about it right now." She said in a nonchalant tone of voice

"Anyway, what did you need?"

What he needed was her to stop...

"I wasn't planning on asking about it like this, but I don't see any other way right now."

This was a them thing, she finally realized.

And it seemed to late to run off to avoid anything to deal with her mess of emotions surrounding her mind right now. Of course, if she had run off he'd either think he'd done something wrong, or likely catch her, and she had a feeling he was very capable of doing so if he really wanted to.

"I don't want to think about it right now." she sighed

He looked directly into her eyes, she avoided the eye contact.

"And why is that?" He challenged

"It has nothing to with you, But I can't... Not right now." 

"Do I get an actual answer? I've allowed you to essentially, ignore me for weeks upon weeks. I've hashed it out to you just needing space because of what happened with Fives..."

"But you can't keep avoiding me.." He hated how it felt, and being told that he wasn't gonna get a real answer had only made it worse

"It's not that simple." she turned and held her hand against her forehead for a moment.

he chuckled in a way that sounded both unamused and offended.

"If you think this is getting resolved without you telling me whatever the hell is going on with you, I suggest you reconsider that idea."

"I can't, okay?"

"I could and would tell you anything else, but I can't with this. Even trying to look into- It doesn't matter. Please just drop it." 

"Like hell." he said sternly

"You're not gonna keep doing this, whatever it is."

"All it feels like now... is that I did something wrong, or you're mad at me."

"And it sucks."

She never wanted to hurt him...

But what choice did she have in this scenario? If someone finds out what she's doing, and for some reason they figure out he had even the smallest amount of knowledge on it... She'd be taking him down along with her.

"You know..."

"I just wasn't convinced by it."

"What are you talking about?" He asked

"I don't know if I can say... If this goes wrong.. I can't risk involving you."

"What are you up to?" He squinted at her

"Oh the usual, war crimes and breaking multiple laws."

 That- that was kind of a joke.

And before now, he'd have been happy she was making jokes. But now, he definitely wasn't in the mood for that.

Especially considering the fact that anyone who really knew her, would also know that she often used jokes to deflect.

"That's not funny."

'Guf'nor'i, He's pissed.' (Expletive in her native language closely related to fuck, but not quite)

She nervously looked down.

"It's for Fives." and that's where she planned to leave it, but she should've known better than to think he'd just leave it there.

His expression softened, but now it was confused.

"Rex.. I don't even have any proof of anything."

"But he was one of my closest friends... If there's even the possibility he might be right. It is more than just duty for me to figure that out."

"What do you mean?" He asked

"What are you doing?" 

She refused to go into too much detail. She wouldn't bring the person she loved more than anyone down with her if she was creating her own path of damnation.

"The inhibitor chips.. I just want to find out.."

"He was killed by a brother. After everything- He wasn't dangerous... He was just scared and I-" 

She looked away, she didn't want to cry again. Especially not in front of Rex. Fives would hurt him more than anyone else... Except for Echo, but now they were both gone.

"I wish he could've gotten that chance to explain.. If I find out anything.. or he's right... He'll get that chance through me."

And she meant every last word of it. 

There was much she didn't say. Including the fact that she thought the chancellor was full of shit by his explanation. Of course, she already hadn't trusted him for a bit, so it was even easier to doubt him than before.

But ever voicing that was kinda treasonous.

But she was tired... so tired..

She turned back to look at Rex and sighed before leaning her head against his chest.

"Do you ever get tired of it? All the fighting?"

"The death... Everyone we've lost?"

He sighed, pulling her into a tight hug.

It seemed like he needed it about as much as she did.

"I love you... and I'm so sorry for everything." She said quietly, the regret filled her voice.

he held his hand against her face, he moved his thumb against her cheek, "I love you too."

He understood why she didn't tell him. But at the same time didn't like the idea of her doing something that had the potential to get her in that much trouble..

"Please promise you'll talk to me from now on."

She couldn't lie to him..

"There's more to it. But I don't want to say anything else."

"You're exhausted... I think we all are to some capacity. But tell me someday... We've started this pretty much since the beginning of the war, I don't want to hurt you and I know you don't want to do that to me either.."

She was 19 then... Became a Jedi Knight younger than most. She knew it was mostly because they needed more Generals, and was very aware of the mistrust that surrounded her... Yet, she was still grateful.

Now she was 21. And so much had happened.

Sometimes she wasn't sure how she'd been able to stay this strong.

She cupped his cheek before kissing him.

He had missed her and didn't hesitate to kiss her back.

He wasn't sure this was exactly resolved... And that had him worried. Last thing he wanted was to have to worry about Amaya for the same reasons...

Eventually she broke it off so she could hold him closer.

And then she yawned.

"Okay, when did you really sleep last?"

"I have no idea."

"Take a break, you're guilty of overworking yourself. Same as you accuse me at times." He said

"Rex.."

"Yeah?"

"Are you busy, right now, I mean?" she asked

"No, not really.. I was just staring out of the window until I- Why do you ask?"

She took a hold of his hand.

"...right-" he said

So maybe he didn't always catch on right away.

She sat next to him against the backwall, there weren't exactly seats, so they just sat on the floor.

She mindlessly traced her thumb in circles against the back of his neck, as she held onto him.

"Get some rest, Mesh'la."

"I'll be fine... until tomorrow.. Besides, how else will I get to talk to you?"

He tilted his head, giving her that one specific expression. She was pretty sure this tact could be considered cheating. But he still got away with it-

She gently moved his head and kissed him again.

"You win this one." 

"I usually do." he said

"Don't fool yourself. Usually if you win, it's because I let you."

"I'm not convinced."

She chuckled before leaning against him.

He held her close and eventually, she fell asleep.

[troutfur]

For SandClan! Cactuskit, a markedly teeny-tiny black molly with a single snip of ginger at the tip of her nose.

Featherstorm looks up from his chart, humming under his breath as he ponders the results. "Watch out for her. The sands predict she'll have quite the attitude."

---

CACTUSKIT, I LOVE THAT NAME! And that description too, it's so, so, so cute!

Let's see what Featherstorm's chart says, shall we?

[Image ID: Under the header “What will Cactuskit’s life be like? (02/12/2023)” 16 rows of tally marks crossed out two by two until there is only 1 or 2 left uncrossed. To the left, a shield chart at the top with the following geomantic figures: Albus as the first mother, Rubeus as the second mother, Caput Draconis as the third mother, Laetitia as the fourth mother, Tristitia as the first daughter, Coniunctio as the second daughter, Amissio as the third daughter, Albus as the fourth daughter, Coniunctio as the first niece, Via as the second niece, Caput Draconis as the third niece, Laetitia as the fourth niece, Carcer as the right witness, Via as the left witness, Coniunctio as the judge, and Rubeus as the sentence. Below the shield chart, an astrological house chart with the first twelve geomantic figures above mentioned assigned to houses 1 to 12 in the order mentioned above. /end ID]

Beginning with the court, Coniunctio as the court tells me this is a cat who will interact and connect with others, but said interaction makes them... Well according to the sentece, Rubeus, their reaction is anger. The right witness, Carcer, indicates there is some duty or other thing binding them to do this thing they apparently hate so much. And the left witness, Via, indicates it is in reaction to change.

Huh! Not any particular story immediately jumps to me from this arrangement of court figures, but as far as the bounds of the story go it's not a bad foundation?

Let's indagate into the house chart to see what's up.

On the first house we have Albus, the figure of wise old mentor figures. This is super interesting as a first house figure for one of these since it suggests maybe this character would be an elder at whatever timeframe I decide to set the default SandClan allegiances if I ever write those up. Or maybe a seer. I do want our default allegiances to have Featherstorm already passed away. We'll have to ponder as we go down the chart.

On the second house we have Rubeus. Weird figure to be appearing in the house dealing with material posessions, but okay? Rubeus indicates anger and uncontrolled aggression. And I've used this house before to denote hunting ability so perhaps a very aggressive hunter or something. IDK.

On the third house we have Caput Draconis, the figure of endless potential. In the house of close platonic relationships, this indicates to me perhaps... a cat that is very competitive with peers/siblings? Once again this chart is weird with weird figures in weird places.

On the fourth house we have Laetitia. A good, if rather uninformative omen about her upbringing. She likes her parents and mentor and is happy with them, good for her.

The fifth house is were we get interesting. In the house of children, mentées and inheritors of legacy is Tristitia, sorrow. So something is making her sorrowful about the prospect of the inheritors of her legacy.

On the sixth house we get Coniunctio. The figure of connections in the house of health doesn't have an obvious reading. Other than maybe friends in the medicine den? A lengthened stay that has her bond with the incumbent seer?

On the seventh house we get Amissio. I'm not fridging another love interest, chart. Uh, let's see, what other ways are there to lose a partner...? I think you'll all kill me for this but... forced to take vow of celibacy for the seer position?

On the eight house we get Albus. Wisdom in time of death. This does keep sounding more and more like an unwilling seer situation.

On the ninth house we have Coniunctio. This is the third Coniunctio we've looked at and the fact the house of journeys (literal and metaphorical, so a spiritual journey could certainly count) coincides with the house of health and with the overall sentence this points to me more and more to the idea of forced medic.

On the tenth house we have Via. Change in terms of positions of power or authority, need I really say more?

On the eleventh house we have Cauda Draconis. Endless potential in the house of allies and supporters. Should be a good omen but what are they allies in? What are they supporting Cactus with? Unclear. Again, weird chart.

On the twelfth house we have Laetitia. Joy in the house of antagonistic forces. I suppose Catcus is the kind to enjoy a good challenge. Or maybe it's related to Laetitia in the fourth house and her overall good parents are also the primary antagonistic force? I really don't have much else I could say. Weird chart. Weirdest chart I've drawn up.

Putting it all together:

I think we should go for the forced seer angle on this one lads. I know, I know, tired warriors trope but it feels like the best way to tie the pieces of the chart together. Change and duty resulting in connection (to StarClan? to her patients?) that deep down makes her angry? Albus in the first house? Amissio in the seventh house? Tristitia in the fifth house? The chart, and me, may be getting uncreative by this point but it does seem to line up.

Anyway, for names... Cactus... Cactustail? Just a very prickly tail sounds about right.

[bastet55]

Who I Am:

The header on my blog is getting far too long, so I will move the details down to here. All who read this are most welcome to the blog.

Bastet5 on AO3. Female. Christian. American Expatriate in the UK. Late 20s.

I'm currently getting a PhD in a field totally unrelated to creative writing, and I write fanfiction, for which I do copious amounts of research, in much of my spare time.

In the rest of my spare time, I'm probably playing Lord of the Rings Online or watching F1 (EO31, OB87, AA23, GR63).

My current fandom obsessions are primarily Tolkien and Masters of the Air, for which I have a sideblog.

As said above, Asks and DMs are always welcome, including asks from nonnies. If you want to talk about Masters of the Air or WW2, however, please direct any asks to my sideblog linked above.

Writing Masterlist:

Major Stories/Series:

Tolkien (LOTR/Silmarillion)

The Tale of the Laureónoni -- One well-known, the other lost to history, their story spans nearly ten-thousand years from the shores of Valinor in the Year of the Trees until the Fourth Age when the last Princess of the Noldor makes her final journey into the west. In their two lifetimes, Glorfindel and his twin sister Gloredhel traveled thousands upon thousands of miles on foot, by horse, by ship, and by eagle; saw kingdoms rise and fall; outlived most of their kindred; and saw marvels great and small. Their story is one of grief and despair, loss and hatred, hope and mercy, friendship and love, triumph and final reward.

The Halls of Mandos -- Darkness closes over Gondolin as the forces of Morgoth sweep through it. Its great captains perish, fighting to the end, and streets that were once lined with people going about their daily lives become carnage-covered. In the midst of this devastation, one dying captain ponders the nature of death and the course of her life as she passes into the Halls of Mandos. There she waits for judgment and searches for the family she long ago lost and, slowly, begins to heal.

My House Long Sundered -- Two long-dead scions of the House of Finwe return home to Tirion, unsure of the reception they will fine.

Many Meetings -- Rebirth, in a way, is a process, not an act. Gloredhel has been reborn into a new body and returned to her old home in Tirion, but learning to live in her new life, adjusting and renewing old ties and friendships, that is a process not so quickly completed. In the midst of this, there are unpleasant revelations to be made about the fate of Finwe's House in Beleriand in the First Age.

Homeward Bound -- Gloredhel wrestles with grief and learning what it is to be one half of a whole. Two more wanderers return to Tirion, and more details about the ongoing saga of her feud with Turgon as well as Maeglin's fate are revealed.

Duty Calls Me Back -- Gloredhel and Glorfindel return to Middle Earth on a mission of the Valar and find a land much changed from the one they remember long ago. As they meet many friends, old and new, more is revealed about the tasks that lie before them.

Fair and Strange Lands -- In the aftermath of their return to Middle Earth, Gloredhel and Glorfindel find their footing at Forlond and the court of yet another High King with all the political and cultural complexities that have come in the long-years since their deaths. In time, Gloredhel rides west to search for Gwaihir and to take counsel with Celebrimbor at Ost-in-Edhil, now that Annatar has been revealed as Gorthaur, the bane of Finwe’s house.

Scouring the Wild -- TA 3018, October. Non-linear snippets from the search for the Ringbearer in the wilds of Eriador and what came after in Rivendell.

FBI/FBI: Most Wanted

The Wild Hunt - Being a member of the Fugitive Task Force was rewarding and disturbing simultaneously. Horrific crime scenes, horrific fugitives, some of the worst sleaze balls and scumbags to walk the face of the earth, and you had to study them, think like them, all to catch them. BUT you got the satisfaction of bringing them to justice personally. That doesn't make it any easier to sleep some nights, though.

35 current sub-stories (too many to link separately)

Stargate SG1

The Forgotten Shall Return - Forced to flee Earth to escape being imprisoned for treason after helping the Tollan to escape from the NID, Daniel Jackson takes refuge with the Nox. Ohper advises him to seek out a powerful but forgotten race, who are planning the downfall of the Goa’uld, and take refuge with them. Who are they? The Furlings, a newly returned player on the inter-galactic stage. Emersed in a new culture and living in a distant galaxy, Daniel Jackson finds his life taking a hard-right turn … for the better.

Formula 1

Life in the Fast Lane ... Literally - In 2019, four new rookies were promoted to the F1 grid: George Russell, Lando Norris, Alexander Albon, and most surprisingly to many motor sport fans, who never thought they would see the day, for good or ill, Elise Stewart. The only female driver in F2 in 2018 became the first female F1 racing driver since Giovanna Amati in 1992. But what the hellscape that was certain sections of the Internet were also hung up on was that she was married, married to George Russell. All manner of other relatives had raced together or separately in F1 over the years. But now F1 had its first married couple.

Trainer for a Day (SMAU) - Silverstone 2021

Why Won't They Listen? - Imola 2022

The Race She Can't Remember - France 2022

Happy Horsey - Suzuka 2022

Ahhhhhh, My Ears!! - Belgium 2023

Broken Hopes and Shattered Dreams - Singapore 2023

Ups, Downs, and Bowling - Japan 2023

Horsey or a UFO? - Qatar 2023 (Part 1)

Lights, Camera, Vegas -- Vegas 2023

SMAU Shorts - Various Dates

Masters of the Air (AppleTV)

See my sideblog.

=======

Other Stories:

The Forgotten Queen: The Fall of Troy - With the conquest of Thessaly by Agamemnon, it seems that Greece will finally know some semblance of peace and that the Myrmidons will finally stop getting called up so frequently to fight for a king that they hate. Yet, this peace only last weeks, before through one foolish act by a Paris of Troy, that peace is shattered. The largest army ever gathered by the Greeks sails for Troy to take Helen back and avenge the insults done to the Greeks. For the Myrmidons, this war will win them everlasting renown, but they will pay a very heavy price for their glory and immortality. (IN-COMPLETE)

The Boneyard of ... Fic Ideas -- Abandoned WIPs

[literaredits]

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like/reblog if you save it. ©️ rosecalioway on twitter.

[velarisedits]

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[maddiesflame]

Bound by Duty headers

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[flytomystuff]

dante and valentina headers.

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