#camp howler

[marsian-tango]

Yandere Camp Counselor

Fresh out of college, after four years of doing nothing but studying, you’re finally free!

Everything is gonna be fine now, the nightmare has ended. The sleepless nights are gone, those lazy classmates who you had to work with are no longer in sight, the teacher who once failed you and gave you the news with a condescending smile on their face is now bidding you goodbye.

The ominous presence of adulthood is breathing down your neck, and your parents’ warnings of the difficulties that you'll have to endure now such as jobs and taxes do intimidate you a bit. But you got it under control!

You remember when you were little and your parents would send you to Camp Howler, you had the utmost fun there. Each summer since you were eight, you’d beg your parents to leave you there, and each summer they did. That was until you got ‘too old’ for that ‘childish stuff’, according to them.

You applied for a job as a camp counselor, and when you told the head counselor who you were and that you used to go there when you were little, he recognised you immediately. You could hear his excitement through the phone when he told you that you and him used to spend all summers together at camp, even sharing a bunk bed!

How cool!

And look at you now, finally free from academic obligations, ready to work at the place where you got all your best memories from, and with the one person your young self used to hang out with!

Ugh! This. Will. Be. Awesome!

Yandere! Camp counselor who practically squealed like a little girl when he recognised who you were, almost ending the call by accident when his phone slipped out of his shaky grasp.

He can’t believe it! It’s you! After so many years of not knowing how you were doing or where you were, he’s finally gonna see you again. Oh, boy, is he ecstatic!

Yandere! Camp counselor who used to be so close to you, attached to the hip. He knew you like the palm of his hand, and that always made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, it made you feel important, so you never thought of spending your time with anybody else at camp, although it’s not like you could anyway. It’s no surprise, really, everytime you came to camp he would intercept you before anyone else could.

Yandere! Camp counselor who never forgot about you. You were once the light of his life, he remembers playing with you every day, doing all the fun activities that Camp Howler offered. You two would spend the entire day together, and it was all just chatting, laughing, running, swimming–-all of it together.

And at the end of the day, you guys would get back to your shared cabin and have your usual sleepover—and if he was lucky, you’d fall asleep before even getting to your bunk, succumbing to slumber right by his side, without a care in the world, as he nuzzles into your neck and takes in your addicting scent. Strawberries and sunlight. Ah, he still remembers.

Yandere! Camp counselor who waits by the entrance of the camp with a bouquet of wildflowers in one hand, and a homemade bracelet in the other. He’s not sure how long he’s been standing here for, all he knows is that you left home at 7 AM, and he woke up at—well, he didn’t wake up at all, the excitement to see you again kept him up all night.

His eyes widen and his pulse quickens when he sees a car approaching, and the moment he sees your figure getting out of the car he’s full sprinting towards you, almost tackling you to the ground with a warm bear hug.

Gosh! It’s been so long! Oh, you’re glowing. You’ve certainly grown into a beautiful woman. Oh! You need to tell him everything about you. What have you been up to? What did you study? Did you like it? How are your parents? Are you single?

Yandere! Camp counselor who can’t be away from you. Seriously, it makes him feel physically sick. It’s just like when you were kids, but a hundred times more.

You just got to camp a few days ago, you’re still getting to know all the other counselors and campers, but the nostalgia and familiarity of it all makes you feel right at home.

And having your childhood friend by your side brings up so many memories. He, for once, is having so much fun with you here. You two can do all the things that you did as kids, the only difference is that you guys are grown ups now. The best of both worlds!

Yandere! Camp counselor who wasn’t an antisocial kid or even shy, in fact, he was quite outspoken and friendly, and when his hyperactivity got the best of his parents, they decided to send him to Camp Howler to wear out some energy.

He made many friends there, but one fateful day…he met you. Poor and homesick you. He felt drawn instantly. How could he not? You were like a small fawn missing their parents, afraid of all the noise and people, looking for a place to hide from all the loud beasts. He needed to help you, to be your shelter, your protector. Oh, you looked so scared and lost…

Yandere! Camp counselor who, ever since that day, became your knight in shining armor. Never letting any camper near your delicate frame. Ah, even as a kid he was devoted to you.

Now he doesn’t protect you from campers—he knows you can deal with them on your own. He protects you from other counselors. Those are the real mutts here!

Yandere! Camp counselor who insists on reminiscing the good old days by being bunk buddies again. C’mon, you guys used to have so much fun! A never ending sleepover. Every. Night. C’mon, you used to love it! And you can even have the top bunk.

Oh? You’d rather have some privacy and sleep alone?

Well, guess what? There are no other beds! So unless you want to sleep on the floor, you’ll have to share a bunk with him. But don’t worry, it’ll be so much fun! You can make friendship bracelets, and tell spooky stories—you can even cuddle him if it gets too scary. Trust me, he wouldn't mind.

Yandere! Camp counselor who loves watching you interact with the kids. It’s just so cute to see you playing with the young campers and doing all the fun stuff that you guys did at their age. It makes him realize how good of a parent you’ll be one day. Although, he already knew that. When playing house with you, you were always such a good spouse. Making the imaginary food, setting the plastic table, always greeting him with a peck on the cheek when he came back from the rainbow factory.

Oh, he always knew, even from a young age, that you’d be the perfect spouse.

He’s not really sure why he used to enjoy playing house with you so much, or why he’s having these unusual thoughts of you being a spouse…

But, hey! It must be nothing, right?

Yandere! Camp counselor who always feels something strange bubbling in his chest when you’re around, something intensely warm and uncontrollable. He’s felt it ever since you two were kids. It’s so weird. He never paid too much attention to it since he thought that it was a common thing between friends. But that feeling changed once you stopped coming to camp, it turned into something heavy, yet sharp.

And now that he’s got you back it’s like his entire body is on fire. Like his heart wants to come out of his ribcage and get into yours.

He’s really confused. When he was little he remembers talking to a counselor about it, and the young adult suggested that it was…a crush.

He didn’t get it at the time, but now he understands it perfectly. This does feel like a crash! It feels as if his body was being sunk down by this dense feeling, all the way down till it crashes against the core of the earth.

Huh.

So that’s what it’s called. That is a crush. To feel the weight of your unwavering love resting upon your shoulders and throat, filling your lungs with confessions that you would only come up with in the darkest hours of the night, and you’d only be brave enough to utter in the haze of drunkenness.

Yandere! Camp counselor who’s not sure how to approach this whole ‘crush’ situation. He wants to tell you how he feels, but he doesn’t know if you feel the same way, and he doesn’t wanna force that kind of connection. He wants to have a real thing with you, like the whole package.

He wants to take you out on a date, to make you gifts, to make you feel loved, and to show you that what he feels is genuine.

He’s not completely sure about the whole romance protocol, he’s not as socially skilled as he was when he was younger. Truth be told, after you stopped coming to camp, he kinda shut himself off. He stopped hanging out with his friends, never speaking to anyone but his parents, and the only way to have a full on conversation with him was if it was about you.

Poor, pathetic baby. He missed you so much.

But he’s willing to learn! He’ll woo you so hard, you’ll swoon at the sight of him.

Yandere! Camp counselor who, during your nightly strolls near the lake, suggests having a different kind of fun tonight, a more reckless kind of fun.

Ah, you see. The lake looks so refreshing, and it’s so hot today—the hottest day of the year, says the news—it seems as if the weather itself was tempting you to peel off your skin and let the summer breeze consume you altogether…but maybe a little swim would be enough, don’t you think?

C’mon! A nice swim to cool off your bodies before going to sleep, sounds like heaven on a day like this.

Sorry, what? You don’t have your swimsuit…

Well, that's fine! There’s nobody around but you two. You don’t have to be so worried. Sure, he doesn’t have his swimsuit either. But you guys still have your underwear, that should do the trick, right?

Yandere! Camp counselor who makes sure to always sit next to you during campfires. Pretending to yawn before wrapping his arm around your shoulders, bringing you even closer than you already were.

And every time. He prays to every God there is for you to get spooked by some scary story, so you can curl to his side, and he can swiftly pull you to his lap. That has only happened once. But, God, one can only dream.

Yandere! Camp counselor who tries to get a hold of his feelings, he really does. But it's so hard! And the kids notice. Boy, do they notice. They overheard him once attempting to flirt with you, albeit you remained oblivious to his intentions, they sure didn’t. The campers have a field day with that one, let me tell you that.

Yandere! Camp counselor who has to put up with the kids making fun of him. The campers see how infatuated—obsessed he is with you, and some of them even try to set you up with him, but others just use this as an opportunity to bully him even more.

He’s so pathetic. Making you bracelets and necklaces, writing you little poems, ogling you from a bush while you swim in the lake—now that they think about it, he’s more creepy than pathetic.

But in the end two groups were formed. The group that sees this as the perfect way to spend their summer, cause who doesn’t enjoy messing with a grown man and his futile attempts of seduction? And the group that takes pity on him and decides to help him achieve his goal.

The second group makes all kinds of projects. They plan a candle lit dinner under the mesmerising moonlight. A picnic on a nearby hill as the sunset sets away in the distance. A slow dance after the bonfire with the stars painting the sky above.

The first group succeeds in ruining all of those plans. That candle lit dinner? Well, it looks like one of those candles reached some dry weeds and started a fire! That picnic on the hill? I bet you weren’t expecting to be so close to a wasp nest, huh. That slow dance you mentioned? Oh, no! A kid was messing around with a conveniently accessible nail gun and hurt himself!

Yep, they’re really up for the challenge. They give their best every single time. Even if it means compromising their physical integrity.

Yandere! Camp counselor who is unlucky, inexperienced, weird, and overall, a total loser. But he loves you with all his might. He doesn’t care that all his attempts ended in failure, he will never stop trying. Because you’re worth it. You’re worth every failure, cause one day, life will smile at him and you’ll be finally his.

He can endure a few more failed tries, it’s okay. The wasp stings don’t hurt that much anyway.

He’s got all summer to show you his love, and if that doesn’t work, he’s always got next summer. Or the next one, or the next one, or the next one—point is, he’s got time!

It’s not like you have anywhere else to go during the summer, right?

You need a job, you need money—and he’s the head counselor of the camp, so he controls your paycheck. If you even think about looking for another job, he’ll just increase your paycheck! He doesn’t mind. He might have to make some cutbacks here and there, but he’s sure the other counselors won’t mind earning a little less money, and if they do—well, he can always just fire them!

Yandere! Camp counselor who just got you back after years of being away from you. Surely you don’t expect him to let go of you that easily, do you? You came back to him, this is destiny. Your fate is to end up with him. He can feel it.

C’mon, you must feel something for him, right? It can’t possibly be one sided…

You better pray that it’s not one sided, cause if it is, he’ll freak out. He’ll go insane. We’re talking about a pathetic weirdo here, we don’t know what he’s capable of!

Yandere! Camp counselor who will make you love him, even if it takes a thousand summers. He won’t let you go, he won’t make the same mistake twice.

Who ordered a pathetic freak with a side of fries?! Hello, everybody, i missed you. I missed my community of freaks who yearn for yearners. I'm starting to get frustrated with myself, I recently found out that I'm not good at writing stories in a format that isn't "Yandere! who", but I'll keep practising. I'll try not to procrastinate so much and just...write. Even if it's REALLY bad. Remember that if there's any mistakes, let me know. Anyway, I hope everyone is having a good day, night, or whatever's in between. Kisses <3

[theincognitomoth]

Wild Side

Pairing: Mr. Wolf x Fem!Reader (Stablished relationship)

Rating: 18+

Word Count: 5731

Warnings: Rough sex, mild language, bitting, scratch,ing knotting, praise kink, male!dom, fem!sub, first person POV.

Sinopsys: During a mission gone wrong, Mr. Wolf goes on a wild frenzy and ends up hurting his girlfriend. Out of guilt, he isolates himself in a dirty apartment, all the while his sweetheart is determined to prove he has nothing to feel Sorry for.

Since the Night Howlers' incident, Wolf refused to come out of his room. He also refused to let anyone else in, except for Snake, and he refused, above all else, to see me- And that stung far more than the bite mark shaped like his teeth in my forearm as I applied the flower scented infection cream.

Three months ago Diane came with a mission for us. It was simple at first: find a couple of missing citizens. But soon the conspiracy web spiraled so further down that mind controlled guinea pigs and a butt shaped meteorite sounded sane in the same sentence. 

Those people were targets of a cult- The Naturalists, they called themselves. They believed that the root of suffering came from the modern world. A normal group with this belief might have organized a hike or camping trip but, crazy bastards that they were, thought themselves justified to take people off the streets and inject them with a brain altering drug: The Night Howlers.

That cursed little purple capsule was the reason my boyfriend refused to see me, even after two weeks of the case closed.

During a chase he was shot with the substance. Even now my stomach ran cold when I remembered the look in his eyes- Desperate at first, and then feral mindlessness. He chased me prey, my heart pounded in my ears, all my blood going to my legs telling me to run, run, run. It was still a blurry memory, the way his fangs buried on my skin. It was sheer luck that saved me that day, and I dreaded imagining the other outcome. But whatever horrors my mind came up with, I knew Wolf's was much worse, leaving him to rot in his little den of misery. 

With a heavy sigh, I put on my clothes and marched out of the apartment, standing in front of Wolf's door yet again.

“Moe?” I knocked and waited for a response that never came.

This everlasting silence would drive me mad.

“I know you can't- won't see me right now, but could you at least say something so I know you're not dead and rotting on the other side of that damn door?” 

My words were harsh, I knew, and the corridor echoes made sure to slap me in the face with them. For his sake I kept those words in. I knew he was suffering, I tried to be patient, but the sting with each day of deathly silence left a bitter taste in my mouth and I had to let it out before it made me sick.

“I'm getting tired of this- I know you feel bad for what happened, but I swear, I'd rather get bitten again than for you to play dead. Please…”

I was certain my plea would fall on deaf ears until the door locks creaked. My heart was beating in my ears like drums, my eyes burnt from not blinking. The door opened to reveal a dark room, cold and smelling like an old pantry. Snake stood on the other side, looking at me with a frown deeper than normal. He was much better at hiding  his worry than me. 

“Go easy on him,” He said, slipping out of the door and holding it open.

“Is it too bad?” I whispered.

“Would be easier if he wasn't such a drama queen.” 

I forced out a chuckle.

“Thanks.”

“Don't mention it, just… Get him out of that damn apartment.”

A difficult mission, one I didn't know if I was up to, yet had to grab this precious small chance.

I walked into Wolf's apartment and closed the door behind me.

Some people prefer winter nights over nice summer days, but the state of his apartment was absurd. I adjusted my sleeves to cover my hands as the AC turned a city apart into a tundra, its blue glowing numbers being the only light source letting me see broad shapes. Wolf sat in the corner of the couch, wrapped around an old blanket with his face hidden in it. How much time did he spent day after day like this?

One of many food packages scrunching under my foot as I made my way towards him. His ears perked up for a second before laying flat against his head again.

“Moe…” He flinched.

I sat on the couch, arms length from him.

“Can you look at me?” The knots in my chest tightened further as the seconds stretched without a response. “... I miss you.”

Finally, thank Heavens, finally he looked up at me, those big sad eyes resembling an abandoned puppy. He stared for a short while, before sifting his focus to my forearm, covered by the long sleeve.

“Does it still hurt?” He asked, voice quiet.

“No.”

“Did you get an infection?”

“I didn't.”

“Scar?” 

“None.”

“Good.” He let out a shaky breath. “I've missed you too.”

There was a glimmer of the ‘him’ from before the incident when he smiled at me- My old Moe. But I blinked and it was gone. I reached for his hands into the blanket cocoon, but he winched away, covering it up with a chuckle.

“I haven't trimmed my claws in a while.”

“Since when do you trim them?”

“I- uh, started recently.”

“Moe…”

He shook his head, leaning further away from me with a frown.

“Stop. Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

He struggled to find words. I knew that angry look, but it wasn't aimed at anyone.

“Like you're the one who hurt me and not the other way around.”

When he stood up, so did I, keeping a distance as I followed him to the kitchen, littered with full trash bags that didn’t smell, for they were full of plastic packages and cans instead of real food.

“Come on, it wasn't your fault.”

“Yeah, there are blood stains on my shirt that say otherwise.”

He grabbed a kettle and put it on the stove to boil and took one cup of instant noodles from the almost empty cabinet. Shrimp flavored, Moe's least favorite.

“You weren't in control, they shot you with a Night Howler.”

“And I went after you instead of the cultist, how do you explain that?”

Over the weeks, that question plagued me too and I came up with a few theories. Maybe he chose to chase something that smelled familiar, or his animal brain saw me as easier prey, since the cultist was bigger. Whichever reason, not a part of me believed he acted from malice.

“Look, you don't need to try and justify or rationalize what happened there. I don't blame you one bit.”

“You should.” He spoke through gritted teeth.

I tried to remain level headed, but I didn't know what else to say to make him see reason.

“Why? Why the hell are you so angry with yourself when it was the crazy cultist that drugged you?”

“Because I liked it!”

The kettle whistle was the only sound in the room as I was left speechless, mouth agape and dry. I only realized how tense my shoulders were when they dropped heavy on my sides.

“...What?”

Wolf let out a deep sigh, turning off the stove and leaning against the counter. He wasn't looking at me.

“I liked it- not hurting you, not ever. But when that guy shot me with the Night Howler…” He rubbed the spot on his neck where the drug hit him. “It was like- like I had been wearing a tie squeezing my neck the whole time and the Night Howler cut it loose.”

His eyes sparkled with something familiar, that same shine from when he went through a heist plan or talked about a new driving maneuver he pulled. But as soon as that spark came, he met my eyes and it was gone.

“You can't be serious,” I shook my head. “Did you actually buy into that naturalist looney's idea?”

“It's not- look, I'm not saying I want to run around like a rabies crazed dog.”

“I sure hope so.”

It wasn’t the answer he hoped for, I knew, but it wasn’t what I expected him to say either. Something about those eyes begged for me to understand. For all that it’s worth it, I tried.

Wolf took a moment, pouring the hot water on his noodles.

“Wish I could explain it better. I haven't been able to sleep right after what I did to you, but at the same time, when I close my eyes and remember the way it felt to run around without a thought in my head, it was… free, and real and…”

“Wild?” 

He opened the lid of his instant noodles with a small chuckle, poking at the shrimp pieces with a plastic fork.

“Yeah, wild.” He took a sniff of the thing, face twisting in disgust, then put it down on the sink. 

Silence weighed on the apartment while I tried to make sense of his words. The way he spoke wasn't much different from those cultists and I couldn't use the excuse of indoctrination on him. The great leaders didn't talk Moe into buying their idea, he felt it on his skin, so much so that even the bite incident didn't stop him from missing that brief moment of brain off wildness.

Maybe the naturalists weren't so off. 

“Would you do it again?”

“The night howler? Nah, too risky.”

“But you miss the feeling.”

It wasn't a question, and the way he lowered his ears showed he knew it. I tried to relate in a way, imagining what it would be like if I could never again eat my favorite food, run in the rain or go downhill on a bike. What would be like if I had a snippet of the highest high of my life only to know I could never experience it again? What would it be like if I had a tie squeezing around my neck, only loose enough to suck in shallow breaths?

Miserable, that's what it would be like.

“Moe…” My heels clicked on the silent apartment as I approached and touched his shoulder. “I can't in my right mind say you should do drugs,” I said with a straight face and he chuckled. “But I don't want you to feel like you're suffocated either. Maybe we can find a middle ground, loosening the tie without ripping it off.”

His ears perked up a little and he looked at me with those puppy eyes that got my heart in a claw-like grip.

“Really? After what I did, would you still want to help?”

“Of course I do. What happened wasn't your fault, and I don't want you to feel suffocated.” I reached for the fluff on his cheek and Moe leaned against my hand. “I love you.”

I barely finished my sentence and his arms wrapped around me, squeezing my waist, firm and gentle, even if I wouldn’t mind having the air squeezed out of me. His head rested against my shoulder and his tail wagged fast.

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

The familiar weight of his head on my shoulder melted the tension I walked with for the past weeks. I missed the way his fur tickled my cheek and the way his tail brushed against my legs. If helping him tap into a semi-wild state was what it took to keep this, then becoming a goddamn adrenaline chaser suddenly climbed its way up my list of priorities.

Minutes passed in our much needed embrace before I gathered the willpower to pull away, earning a small whine from him.

“Okay, Moe. If I'm going to help you, we are doing this right.” I walked up to his fridge where a little white board with a couple of markers was glued to the door and picked the red one, writing ‘Mr. Wolf's wild list’ on the top. “Let's start with the ideas.”

Wolf crossed his arms and leaned against the counter with a smirk.

“Not wasting any time, I see.”

“The sooner we figure out what can help you, the sooner we can implement it. So come on, ideas.”

He closed his eyes with a hum, scratching his chin.

“Pulling out a stunt with the car always gets me going.”

“Dangerous driving, then?”

“It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doing, sweetheart.”

I stared at him, unamused for a good three seconds before sighing.

“Fine.” Against better judgment, I wrote ‘crazy driving’ on the board. “But only on empty roads.”

“Fair enough.”

“What about hiking? It's in nature.”

“Eh, I don't know. Not really a nature guy myself.”

“Really, Moe? No nature in the wild list?”

Wolf chuckled, shaking his head.

“Well, when you put it like that… Maybe I can give running around the mud and get eaten by mosquitos a go.”

“What a lovely way to put it, babe.” I wrote 'touching grass’ on the list with a green marker, drawing a little mosquito beside it.

“Okay, what else?”

Doodling a couple of stars, I waited for new ideas. When he told me nothing for a good thirty seconds, I turned my full attention to him; his tail wagged a little bit, but hung low, the clawed finger tapped against the counter in steady clicks.

 “What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“Come on, I know the room is pretty dark but I'm not blind.” I placed my hands over his bouncing leg and tapping finger, the movement stopping. “You can tell me.”

He took his sweet time with it, eyes running through the corners of the room and looking away after the split moments he met mine.

“Promise you won't get mad.”

“Okay… I won't get mad.”

“And promise you'll say no if you're not absolute, one hundred percent sure of it.”

“You’re making it sound like you want to commit a crime.”

“Not far off my alley. But no, it's not a crime, it's… Not gonna lie, it's pretty damn embarrassing.”

Embarrassing. This was the man who played the suave thief like second nature, so when he looked at me like a punny teenager about to ask the cheerleader to the dance, scared of my rejection, what else could I do other than swoon?

“I never knew you had shame buried under that white suit of yours.”

I waited for his smart little remark so I could answer with a comeback heating up on the tip of my tongue. It felt nice, familiar, our back and forth.

“Yeah, that's what you do to me.”

My witty come answer turned to ash in my mouth, leaving my tongue heavy; And while my head scrambled for coherence and my knees for composure, Wolf chuckled and put his hands on my hips,thumbs running up and down sending a wave up my back and making my hairs prickle.

“I want you,” He whispered. “When you walked in, your smell almost made me forget why I hid away to begin with.”

The Moe I knew was a flirt, yes, but in a way which felt like he practiced his lines in front of a mirror. A great actor, no doubt, but still an actor. This was different, it was raw. He spoke without a filter and it made my back arch. I squeezed his shoulder, crumpling the fabric of his messy shirt.

“I want you too,” I leaned closer, breath fanning over the little furs on his muzzle. “I missed you, Moe. I missed you way too much.”

Harsher than what I was used to, his hands squeezed the flesh of my hips, and I could feel the tip of his sharp claws through my jeans.

“Sweetheart, I need you to be real with me now and only say yes if you really mean it.” A gentle hand tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I want you to be part of my little list.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I want to try something different, a little more… loose.”

The only thing stopping the heat that ran up my spine from getting to my head was the ever present suspicion.

“Loose?”

“Yeah, you said I should loosen the tie,” His grip on my waist tightened and he pulled me close enough to feel his hot breath brushing my nose. “And I want to loosen it with you.”

Little impressions I had from the time we spent entangled in the sheets suddenly became much clearer. The way he held me by the waist, kissed me, touched me- Aside from being fantastic and melting the tension from every muscle, left me with this itch in the back of my mind. Be it a scowl on his brow or hands that squeezed me too tight just to let go two seconds after, what he did to me never felt complete. Now I had the confirmation to my suspicions: He held back every time.

Morbid curiosity allied with the growing fire in my stomach, making me wonder how much I could take if he didn't.

“I want to try that out too.”

“Really?” His smile widened and he gave my hips a small squeeze. “It's not just because of me, right? Because if it is-”

I cut his rambling by the root with a peck to the lips.

“I'm a big girl, Moe. I know what I want and I mean what I'm saying. And what I want is for you to take off that leash and burn it-”

In a blink, he had me on top of the balcony, body pressed flushed together as he invaded my mouth in a kiss that left me light headed.

He took his lips away from mine and before I fully made sense of what was happening, began kissing my neck.

“Just tell me to stop and I will,” he said between little kisses and small nibbles. “And if I hurt you, punch me in the throat.”

“Hm, yeah, I can… I can manage that.” 

Pushing words out became quite the task when he was making me gasp and sending  shivers through my nerves. I held onto his head, looking down as he worked his magic on my skin, tucking my shirt's collar down to give the same treatment as my neck. While Wolf busied himself with that, I wrapped my legs around his waist, feeling a hardening volume against my inner thigh.

“Already?” I smiled, scratching behind his ear.

“Hm, just missed you so much.”

His hands moved from my hips to my thighs, squeezing them like stress toys while leaving an open mouth kiss on my cleavage. I tugged at his head, and when a breathy moan left my lips, he growled against my skin.

“How much do you like this shirt?”

The sudden question snapped my attention back to him. He looked at my long sleeve shirt as if it was his worst enemy.

“What?”

He squeezed my thighs a little harder, claws poking my flesh.

“The shirt. Is it a favorite of yours?” 

“Why- no, not really.”

“Good.”

The fire that ran through my blood when he tore up the shirt with his teeth and claws was enough to make my face melt off. My mouth hung open with no words uttered as he kissed between my breasts, before pulling away to stare at my lace bra.

“Hm… Not this one.” Much gentler, nimble fingers unclasped the hooks behind me, letting the bra slide through my shoulders while he looked me in the eye with a cheeky grin. “This one I like.”

“...I'll keep that in mind.”

“But I like these even more.”

His attention focused on my breasts. He took one in his hand and kneaded it gently, before making me groan with a harsh squeeze. His grip loosened the same moment and he kissed the finger prints on my skin.

“Too much?”

“No, no, just a little sensitive. It’s been a while.”

“It sure has,” Another gentle kiss traced the reddish marks, trailing up to my pulse. “We can do it the nicer way, you know.”

There he went, offering me an out again when my desires were set in forgetting all restraint. In response my eager hands worked around his shirt, soft fabric hiding even softer fur beneath it. Maybe I was the wild animal between us.

The rumbling of his laugh vibrated against my neck.

“Or not.”

His hands returned to my tender breasts, previous gentleness gone as he squeezed one while feeling the other’s weight in his palm. The pain didn’t phase me. Sure, there was a sharp moment of agony, but in less than a second it became laced with strange pleasure, before fully dissolving into it, like a cold shower after a full day walking in the sun. 

My own hands stayed occupied, tracing my fingers over his spine, glazing my nails against his skin, and fully sunk into him when Moe took one of my nipples into his mouth, threatening to bite it down. He didn’t, I knew he wouldn’t go that far, but the possibility was enough to get me shivering.

He nibbled, sucked and played with my hardened buds until I was pulling at the hairs on his neck with enough strength to rip them, and by the end even the breeze from the air conditioner made me whine. He moved back a little, a gleam of smugness in his eyes as he looked over his work of turning my flesh into a personal canvas with purple and red marks. Those eyes that never looked more dangerous met mine and I almost came undone right then and here.

“Awn sweetheart, you’re crying?”

Overwhelmed tears stung my eyes, my entire body, especially my face, feverish.

“N-No. I’m tearing up, it’s different.”

“Well, un-lucky for you, you’re way too pretty like this.” He held my chin a little too forceful, making me stare at the predatory gaze of his. “Now I wonder what’s like if I do make you cry.”

My gasp got cut short when Wolf threw me over his shoulder like a fat shack of dollar bills and walked towards his bedroom, making me yelp when he squeezed my butt followed by a less than gentle bite.

I tried to look at his face while balancing myself.

“When did you get this strong?” 

“Always have been, just needed the right motivation.”

The bedroom was as dark as the rest of the apartment, his familiar scent all around when he threw me in the bed, right in the center of a nest-like pile of blankets and kissing down my lips.

“Comfortable?”

“Yeah, I could fall asleep right now.”

He let out a breathy chuckle, one finger pulling my pants.

“You can try, don’t think you’ll be able to. But if you get close to falling asleep…” With a swift movement, he lowered my pants to my thighs. “I’ll just have to get you on the edge again.” He slid my pants down all the way and kissed under my belly button. “...And again…” His lips stopped at the hem of my panties, fingers coming up to touch the soaked spot between my legs. “... And again.”

Threat or promise, he already left unable to catch my breath. My watery eyes admired the sight as much as the blurriness allowed it, my hips buckling against his fingers while the bastard grinned.

“Hell, Moe. You want me to beg?”

“I wasn’t thinking about it, but now that you offered…”

Leaning back on the pillows with one arm over my face, I groaned.

“You’re such a jerk.”

“Hey, don’t be mad. I’m just messing with ya, beautiful.” 

“Oh, aren’t you a jokester? This is torture-”

A jolt went up my spine when he dragged his fingers along my slick, teasing me through the panties’ fabric. Wolf’s breath hovered over my over sensitive clit before he gave it the much needed attention with an open mouth kiss that if on the lips would leave anyone drenched. I held myself back from locking his head with my legs when he moved away to slice my panties off, my fully nude form barely affected by the cold room because of how he made me burn.

Moe kissed me, the softer and passionate approach meeting the pace of his fingers teasing my entrance and smearing my clit with my own wetness. For a moment he got me thinking he had given up on our little experiment, but horny little me simply walked into a trap, only noticing when he grabbed my hips and flipped me into my stomach. I tried to use my elbows for support, but Moe pushed me back down and lifted my hips, leaning over my body, pressing himself flushed against me and whispering.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to have you like this, bent over letting me see everything. And you look so pretty. Always so, so pretty for me, sweetheart.” 

His husky whisper tickled the back of my ear and I couldn’t blame myself from the moan he dragged out of me. I needed him now, before this drove me to wild madness. And maybe that’s what Wolf was trying to do- To turn me into a crazed and unleashed beast. By the way I pressed myself against him, without a single rational thought, he more than succeeded.

“Just fuck me,” I demanded.

Growling, he dug his hands into my hips, grinding the rock hard cock against me, staining his pants with my slick.

“Last chance to back down.” The sound of his voice was followed by the unzipping of his pants.

“I think I’ll combust if I do.”

Wolf chuckled, one of his hands spreading my lips for him while the other guided his thick length to my entrance and made me gasp and grab at the sheets. It took a total of three slower thrusts before he picked up a crushing, brain melting pace and made me forget the time of the day, the place and my name. He held me by the back of the neck, and by the stings of pain coming from my back and shoulder, I could guess how many marks I would have by the end of this- and God, I didn’t care. If anything, it ripped more unrestrained whimpers and cries from my throat.

“You sound almost as amazing as you feel,” he said, voice breathless against the back of my ear, his arms wrapping around my waist and holding me like a vice. “Damn, sweetheart, so pretty, so good for me, my good girl.”

“N-Not fair, that’s my- Oh, God!- that’s my line.”

The unforgiving pace grew even more savage, cutting out my moans with each thrust.

“But you like it too, don’t you? Screaming so much my ears are ringing.”

“Sorry-”

“Don’t be.”

Although he reached so, so fucking deep into me, that wasn’t the end of it. No, not with Moe like this, not with the swollen base as a delicious reminder, slapping against me everytime he moved.

His groans grew more fanatic, he barely pulled out, rutting against me right before his knot slipped inside in a stretch that might be painful if I wasn’t soaking wet.

Hissing, Moe held me flushed against his chest and my hands held onto his forearms for any semblance of structure. He could only rut against my heat and I could only moan at the over stimulation, so close from being a mess in his arms.

“Mine,” He groaned, nibbling my ear. “My perfect girl, taking me so well.”

“M-Moe…” My body twitched, tears rolled down my eyes into the sweat stained sheets. 

Wolf licked a red mark on the crook of my neck.

“Hm, I knew you would look even more beautiful crying for me.” His voice came out in huff and puffs of hot air on my already burning skin. His rutting became relentless, the tip of his cock bullying my cervix, trying to invade everything, tear me apart, merge into me, and by God, I would let him.

It didn’t take long for me to feel the familiar euphoria rush through my veins and tie knots- how ironic- around my stomach. Barely mustering the strength to moan and cry, pitiful wails echoed back to me, and my unleashed lover didn’t trail much better, his own voice hoarse and desperate.

My climax didn’t knock at the door- no, no, no, it came bursting through it, making a mess and all around as I clawed at Wolf’s forearms like a beast and was left shaking and gasping for air amidst low whines. He kept his pace, mindlessly chasing his own high, making my overstimulation all the more wrecking.

Two more minutes of harsh slapping sounds went by before the sights of his orgasm finally appeared to relieve my shaking body. Claws dug in my hips with a possessive grip, his jaw was so tense I could hear the sharp teeth grind against each other and for a moment it seemed he wanted to merge into me before his grip loosed and I felt the familiar warmth floating my walls and leaving no empty creeks.

Fast movements died down, his head resting on my shoulder followed by a heavy and content sigh .I could finally catch my breath.

“Are you okay?” Wolf asked, kissing the marking on the back of my neck.

In my head I answered ‘yes, fantastic’, but babbles left my mouth instead of words- At least he found it funny. 

Gently, he flipped me on my back and laid me down, kissing my temple and pulling my putty self closer.

“Fantastic as always, sweetheart. I didn’t think you could get any better and you still impressed me.”

I met his eyes, a smile playing on my lips. His fur never looked more messy, inviting me to pet and try to even it out. I did so, and Moe leaned against my hand, but that sweet, blissed out smile died the moment he laid eyes on the bite mark on my forearm. My heart squeezed for him as he took my arm like it was made of glass and stared at the red teeth scars.

“Moe, it’s not-” 

“I know.” He kissed the bite mark, lips lighter than butterfly wings. “But I’m still so sorry. Even after this, you’re still doing so much for me, I don’t know how to make it up to you.”

My hand scratched behind his flat ear.

“Well, if you’re so keen about it, I would love it if you finally got out of the apartment.”

He scoffed, but I kept going.

“I’m serious. I know you feel guilty, but locking yourself up as if you committed a crime is not doing any good to anyone. Hell, if I was the one who went crazy and bit you, it wouldn’t be an issue. You might even be laughing about it.”

Proving my point, he let out a breathy chuckle.

“See?” Despite the wobbly limbs, I shifted on the bed, bringing his head to my chest and placing one leg over his waist. “You’re not bad, Wolf.”

Hesitant hands moved up my back, holding me closer, and my worries were eased once I heard his tail wagging against the bed.

“Thank you, I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right.”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry. Of course you’re right.” He nuzzled my neck and I could feel his smile. “And you’re right about leaving the apartment too. My nose is starting to itch and I would rather eat cardboard than those shrimp flavored noodles again.” 

“How about we go for a walk and get a salad after?”

He looked at me like a little kid who got told no at the toy store.

“Fine, a walk and ice cream. But after that we're deep cleaning this place.”

“Hmm, yes. You’re definitely too good for me.”

Wagging his tail, he leaned in and kissed the purple bruise on my neck. I knew his self blame wasn’t gone, hope as I might, it might never fully be, but we would take it one step at a time. And besides, exploring this new, unrestrained side of him- of us- wasn’t bad at all.

TAGLIST: @freeholeformuzan @xxladysquishyxx

[poolsidescientist]

Another thing that's wild to me about the encampment is that the people have plenty of energy to be hateful ghouls but they're just there all day not contributing anything meaningful to society. No one seems to have jobs or other responsibilities. They just yell at people all day like howler monkeys flinging shit at the zoo. There's plenty of money for camping supplies as well. No one is being healed or fed, no buildings are rebuilt, no crops sown or peace to be built. Just hatred (mostly towards the jews but to some others as well), and vandalism, and violence, and misinformation. It's a leisure activity obviously funded by someone with deep pockets and ill intentions. If I had the luxury of a month off work and chose to put it towards a cause I would not do that.

[blessedtoaster666]

WITCH WEEKLY - Issue 94 - December 2006

Editor’s Note:

Gentlebeings of the Wizarding World,

Our cover feature this issue is the one, the only Draco Malfoy- a man who needs no introduction, but whose presence might require the briefest of explanations.

Lord Malfoy has had no shortage of press over the years… but since his release from Azkaban we have dutifully kept an eye on him, and for sore ones he is a sight. Every time we feature him, the owls pour in. Some carry missives with love potion-laced ink, in the hopes that we’ll pass them to the man in question (no judgement, we’ve tried to slip him a little something in the past) while others are Howlers bursting to scream about our hideous facilitation of lusting after a war criminal. How dare you drool over a terrorist! But drool we do, like a three-headed dog.

It’s one of our favorite things about Draco Malfoy: those who love him, would die for him… and those who hate him, would like to see him killed. We fall into the camp of the former- do you?

Read on for 10 of our other favorite things -

Venia Plumberton, Editor-in-Chief

BEST OF Draco Malfoy

We surveyed our editorial staff, as well as witches and wizards on the street (Horizont Alley, to be exact) to determine the 10 best features of the wizard we love to hate, but don’t hate to love. Caution… at least three witches went feral after editing this piece. You’ve been warned.

#1 - CHEST - We don’t know if it’s that he’s vaguely the color of honed marble, or that we had too many brushes with the fit statues at Hogwarts during our formative years… but oh, Mummy. We don’t get to see shirtless Draco often- perhaps he’s self-conscious of the scars? Are they from the whip of a lover… or perhaps the Dark Lord?

Our seven-page coverage of his trip to Bali last year, “Draco’s Treasure Chest” July 2005, contributed to our best selling issue. EVER. We are certain our journalistic prowess has not gotten that much better. When it comes to Draco, we’re delusional, not deluded.

#2 - EYES - Pureblood politics like to keep things in the family; but if inbreeding is wrong do we want to be right? Like pools of mercury, Draco’s eyes look terribly inviting but might just kill us if we take a dip. We have on record that his nickname in school was, “The Heir of Slytherin”. Basilisk, much? We’ve heard stranger. Speaking of basilisks… this magazine doesn’t stoop to such levels… but we know where your head’s at.*

*Right next to ours, in the gutter. But at least we’re looking at the stars… specifically, the Draco constellation.

#3 - HAIR - We here at WW celebrate a man who takes the time to learn grooming spells, and we dare say the Malfoy Scion created a few of his own to tame his mane just the way we like it. Tousled, pushed back, glittering platinum everywhere the light touches it. Oh, to run a hand through that hair. Maybe pull it, just a little. Ruin our life, Draco. We are at the ready.

#4 - SIZE - When the DM walks in the room, suddenly, we orbit around him. Is it because of his white golden hair (see above) or is it perhaps that he’s the size of a planet? The Muggles have really gotten into something called gravity, look into it friends - because Draco is our sun. 6’5”, the wing span of a bloody hippogriff and the legs (oh we’ll get started with those next) of a semi-giant.

#5 - THIGHS - We could be pressed to include the whole leg, look at those calves, but in the interest of being specific- Draco Malfoy’s thighs get us through our work day.

Thick as tree trunks, we’d surrender our wand to be a part of that forest.

We spoke to Madame Mirabelle, tailor to rich and infamous, and she assured us that while she hasn’t fit Draco in years, she knows for a fact he has a tailor on staff to “rightly pinch and pin” every set of trousers he wears. One must not assume that anything off-the-rack could surround such thighs, wrap that arse, cover that bulge and hug that waist without being magically pinched and pinned. We’re due for a sewing spell seminar, it would seem.

#6 - ABS - Speaking of waists… Well. We shan’t. We’ll just show a picture, it scores a V, for va va voom.

#7 - FOREARMS - Again, we feel remiss not mention the scrumptious biceps, the scandalously sexy shoulders… but let it be known, Draco’s forearm game is unmatched. Maybe it’s the veins; maybe it’s the sheer size of them. Maybe it’s the Dark Mark- you know we need to be reminded about the danger lurking underneath. Or maybe… we are ovulating? No matter. We’d let him cast any spell he wanted at us so long as he used those arms to hold his wand.

#8 - SNEER - A snide look, on the face of Draco Malfoy, is better than a smile on any other man… We’re sure should Draco ever smile our way, he’d be crowned ‘Most Charming Smile’ in an instant… but to that end, we’ve never seen it. We’re not sure he’s capable. So we covet the sneer.

Eyes narrowed, nose flared, lip curled? Check, checkity, check. Sign us up for the next war!

#9 - JAWLINE - We long to go to a taffy emporium with Draco and watch him sample the wares… such is our obsession with seeing him clench. For Merlin’s sake, someone get the man some gum! We deserve such visions, we’ve been so good.

#10 - HANDS - Hands tell the story of the man- and here’s what we know… Draco’s hands can palm a quaffle and are typically adorned with family heirloom rings. He likes a Muggle watch, and doesn’t always need a wand. An eyewitness told us she saw him stop a falling bottle at his bar, The Jobberknoll, with just a flick of his fingers, as he dined with friends. We love a wizard who takes matters into his own hands.

[girlwithadragonheart]

Chapter 4 - Ashes to Ashes

This story contains major spoilers for Dragon Age the Veilguard. Read at your own discretion!!

Rook x Lucanis

Summary: Kalais has to choose to save her city or Lucanis's. Things don't end well.

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: Swearing, Mental-emotional breakdown, Kalais snaps a little

A/N: I love when I develop a character that ends up not taking any shit it's so healing

Chapter 3 DATV Masterlist Chapter 5

We met with Harding’s Warden contacts in the High Anderfels. Antoine and Evka were both very sweet and seemed like they wanted to help. They said they had noticed some things about the Blight that lined up with what we were seeing, everything the First Warden didn’t believe.

They told us about another Warden in the area who was pulled into another mission. Lucanis and I made our way to his last known location. There was a tent and a fire still halfway burning.

“Well, I’d say we found the camp.” Lucanis crouched down on the opposite side of the fire from me. “So did some darkspawn, looks like.”

“They left the fire burning,” Lucanis said.

“Were they ambushed?” Lucanis and I glanced at each other.

We heard a screech, both looking toward the sound. I crossed behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He rose from his crouched position behind me as I tried to find the source of the sound.

The creature screeched again, this time louder, and a ball of feathers was fiving at me, about the size of a mabari. I held my hands out, trying to keep the creature from attacking me. By description, it looked like a griffon, but that couldn’t be right. Griffons were extinct.

“Assan!” A deep voice yelled close by. I looked over seeing a handsome, dark skinned elf. The griffon pounced over to him as he walked up to us, sticking close to his side. “Easy boy.” The man smoothed a hand over his feathers.

“I’ll be damned… a griffon,” I said.

“Trouble is, he’s not sure what you are. Neither am I,” the man said.

“Rook,” I said. “Evka and Antoine sent us. We’re looking for Davrin.”

“You found him. Mind telling me why you smell like darkspawn?” He asked. “Griffons hunt darkspawn.”

“We don’t smell that bad. It’s the tent,” I explained.

“Blight? Where are Lancit and Remi?”

“The camp was empty when we got here,” I told him.

We heard a raged cry from somewhere distant. “Assan! To the trees!” Davrin commanded. “Try to keep up!” He told us.

After killing lots of darkspawn, and finding all of the griffons locked up in cages sealed with blood magic, we found what Davrin called the “Gloom Howler”. Some kind of Darkspawn, undead, bitch queen.

She got away and took the griffons with her before we could stop her.

The four of us made our way back through the eluvian and the Caretaker took us between islands in the Crossroads.

Neve, Harding, and Bellara came running toward us, looking panicked. “What’s happened?” I asked with a furrowed brow.

“The Viper just sent word. Minrathous is under attack by a blighted dragon,” Neve said.

“Has to be the one we saw at D’Meta’s Crossing,” I said.

“Well, one of them has to be,” Harding replied.

“What do you mean, “one of them”?” Lucanis questioned.

“Teia also got in touch. Another dragon is attacking Treviso, too,” Harding told him.

“Mierda,” Lucanis cursed.

“You got back just in time,” Harding said to me.

I took a breath, putting my hands on my hips. “Alright. What do we know?”

“Two dragons at once? Has to be the gods behind it,” she said.

“Teviso’s a merchant city. It has no defenses. And the canals run everywhere,” Lucanis told me. “If we don’t stop that dragon, people will die. Innocent people. My people. They either die right away, from the dragon. Or slowly after, from blight in the water. We need to go to Treviso.”

“And leave Minrathous to burn?” Neve questioned. “You’re a Shadow Dragon, Rook. You know the Viper, Tarquin, every damn Shadow… We’ll fight to the end. But people will get hurt. Or worse,” she said. “And if we fail? The Venatori will take advantage. They’ll make a push for the throne. And hand the gods the entire Tevinter Empire.”

“If we decide to—”

“Damn it! There’s no time!” Neve interrupted me. “It’s my city. Our city. I need to be in Minrathous.”

“And I must go to Treviso,” Lucanis said. “Go where you feel you must, Rook. We cannot wait.” 

Without another word, Neve and Lucanis both ran off. “What’s our move, Rook?” Harding asked.

I ran over what I knew for certain in my head. Minrathous had defenses, including the Archon Palace. I was certain that me and two others would not be able to make much of a difference against a dragon. But I did know that Treviso was already under occupation and its people wouldn’t survive without some extra aid. I also knew that as much as Neve said Minrathous was my city, I was its slave long before I was its savior.

I took a breath, my chest feeling tight with the weight of this decision. “We help Lucanis in Treviso. We have to trust that the Shadow Dragons can take care of things in Minrathous. That said… two of you should join Neve there. See if you can help. And we’ll head to Treviso.”

“Understood,” Davrin said.

“Let’s all try to make it through this alive, all right?”

I brought Davrin with me, leaving the other two to go to Minrathous with Neve. I had to trust that they would be alright. I couldn’t afford to be distracted right now, lest I risk my own hide. When we got to Treviso, the city was burning.

Davrin and I made our way through the city, killing Antaam as we went. With the dragon trying to kill everyone, I suppose they saw their chance to really take over. Or, even worse, they were working for the Gods. ‘Cause that’s what we needed. More enemies.

We ran through the courtyard, seeing Lucanis and Teia up ahead. Lucanis looked so relieved to see us. “Rook! You’re just in time. Where the dragon attacks, the Antaam soon follow.”

“It is strong and fast. You must get its attention, then lure it onto the ground,” Teia said, hands on her hips.

“We’ll figure out a way,” I said, mimicking her stance.

“Draw up your courage,” she said. “We will need it.”

We took up position in the field, Davrin on my right and Lucanis on my left. Ghilan’nain, the horrible beast that she now was, all tentacles and no heart, demanded the dagger from me and said that Treviso offered nothing more than a pawn for Elgar’nan. She clearly couldn’t see the beauty it held.

She sent the dragon after us to retrieve the dagger. Most of my time was spent dodging blows as I tried to keep it off the other two, allowing them to actually hit it.

Enough of my panic built up, that I was able to aim some of it back at the dragon in the form of lightning and fire, beamed directly at its heart. Before we could bring it down, Ghilan’nain called it away, saying she had need of it elsewhere.

“You fought it off!” Teia ran over to us.

Lucanis clutched at a wound on his leg as he limped over to us. “If Ghilan’nain hadn’t called it away…”

“It’s more important that it stopped attacking the city,” I told him, casting a worried glance at the blood staining him.

“Everyone with a home that still stands will agree,” Teia said.

“That thing was tough. It’ll be hard to put down for good,” I sighed.

“What happened to Treviso would’ve been worse if you hadn’t arrived when you did. I cannot imagine how much worse,” Lucanis said looking at me gratefully.

“Still have to help with that dragon in Minrathous,” Davrin said.

“Let’s go,” I said.

—-------------------------------------

Minrathous was covered in Blight by the time we reached it. The streets were crawling with darkspawn and buildings were on fire. Even as I knew I made the right choice, it hurt to see this place like this. I had more bad memories here than good ones, but the good ones outweighed the negative. This was where I met Varric, after all.

We found Neve and Tarquin huddled around Ashur who was on a table, looking miserable and wounded.

“We’re here. What’s the situation?” I asked.

“Where were you?” Neve demanded.

“Treviso. The dragon—”

“This is your city! I thought—”

“My city?!” I almost laughed in her face. “You mean the city I was enslaved to? You mean the city that showed me and other people like me no kindness? The city that’s been corrupted since the beginning of Thedas?”

“And because we were busy fighting the bigger evil, the Venatori took large parts of the city!” She yelled. “We lost people. And Ashur…”

“I’m fine,” he grunted. “She’s right.”

“You are not fine,” Tarquin said, standing. “He took a claw to the gut. A claw from a blighted dragon. Think about that,” he said to me.

“The blight’s in his blood. But that means…” All my fire was gone, and I was just exhausted.

“A slow death,” Neve finished. 

“You’ve brought nothing but trouble since you came back,” Tarquin growled.

My brows furrowed, pained and hurt. Dorian led me to them and all I did was fuck everything up. Lucanis stepped closer, almost protectively.

“It’s not Rook’s fault,” Ashur said. “I chose to engage it.”

“Because it was going for a safe house! Because half of us were already dead!” Tarquin shouted.

“Do you honestly think one more fucking person would’ve changed the outcome?” I questioned.

Tarquin spun on me. “No, but maybe you would be dying instead of him.”

I physically recoiled from the hatred in his eyes, my gut twisting with nausea. I bumped into Lucanis, and he steadied me with a hand on my waist.

“Just go. There’s nothing you can do here,” Neve said, looking over at Ashur.

—-------------------------------

I stumbled through the eluvian in the lighthouse, clutching my chest. My stomach churned, and I thought I might throw up.

“Rook!” I heard Bellara behind me, but I didn’t stop, heading straight through the hall and up the stairs. I couldn’t do this, I couldn’t lead, I wasn’t cut out for it.

I let my feet guide me and before I knew it, I was in the infirmary. Varric looked alarmed as I collapsed to my knees beside his bed, tears rolling down my cheeks. “I fucked up,” I whimpered. “I fucked up, Varric.”

“Hey, hey, hey, kid, take a breath.” He shifted, and I felt his warm hand on my shoulder, gripping me just tight enough to bring me back to reality. “What happened?”

“Minrathous---” I started, getting cut off by a sob. “Minrathous is burning. They took it- The gods took it, and Neve…” My body shook, wracked with sobs as I tried to breathe. “She’s so mad. I don’t think she’s coming back, Varric.” I looked up at him with bleary eyes.

He moved, sliding to the edge of the bed until I was between his legs, and he pulled me into his chest. “Easy, kid.” He had one arm tight around my shoulders, his other hand smoothing my hair. “You can’t save everyone. That’s the life.”

“Neve trusted me. She trusted me and Minrathous is burning now,” I whimpered, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to suck up the warmth he was giving me. It was so hard to breathe.

“You made a decision based on what limited knowledge you had,” Varric said. “No one can ask any more of you than that. Neve will come back around. Give her time.”

“We don’t have time, Varric,” I said desperately.

“So keep moving forward. That’s what you do, Rook. That’s what you’ve always done,” he said. “She’ll either come around or she won’t. But you can’t afford to spend what little time you have regretting your choices. Let me ask you something: Do you regret the choice you made? Or just Neve?”

I felt silent in contemplation. “I made the right choice,” I said carefully. “Treviso has no defenses, and it’s under occupation by the Antaam. I couldn’t have changed the outcome in Minrathous.” I had to believe that, if nothing else.

Varric squeezed my shoulder, and I pulled back, looking up at him. He smiled with that softness in his eyes that was just reserved for me. He put his thumb and forefinger under my chin so I looked at him. “Then you did the right thing,” he said simply. Carefully, he used his thumbs to wipe my face of tears. “Cheer up, kid. The night may be long, but it isn’t all dark.”

I heard what he said and what he didn’t. Minrathous was doomed to fall some day. We had been fighting a losing battle regardless, much as I hated to leave behind the people there. Half of them were under Venatori control, and the other half were too helpless to fight against it.

“Chin up, Rook. I think the others need you,” he told me.

I nodded, sniffling and wiping the remainder of my tears from my chin and jaw. “I need to talk to Solas.”

“If Chuckles pisses you off too much, hit him for me,” he said as he slid back up to the wall.

I couldn’t help but laugh a bit, shaking my head as I left.

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

“When last we spoke, you were hunting for followers of Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain in hopes of finding “specifics”. Has your search been successful?” Solas asked.

“You could say that. It looks like both the Venatori and the Antaam are working for Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain,” I told him.

“Unsurprising. The Venatori want magical secrets, and the Antaam want to destroy anyone opposing their brutal expansion. Both will readily bow to anyone who promises them power.”

“It’s more than a promise this time. The Antaam and the Venatori both have dragons doing their bidding.”

“Dragons?” He said surprised. “That is worse than I had feared.”

“Yeah. We drove off the one the Antaam brought to Treviso—barely,” I crossed my arms.

“Have you determined how the dragons are being directed? If it is blood magic, it may be possible to disrupt their control.”

“The dragons are blighted. We think that’s what let the gods control them.”

“The blight. Of course.”

“The blight seems to be the gods’ favored tool right now. We ran into Venatori who could control darkspawn,” I said.

“Elgar’nan would not bestow such power unless the darkspawn were to serve as the main force of his army. And I suspect Ghilan’nain will see the darkspawn as new subjects for her… modifications.”

“We’ve already run into a few darkspawn nobody has seen before. That’s in addition to the blighted dragons.”

“That is the fate Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain plan for this world, then. Corruption and blighted slavery,” Solas said, hands clasped behind his back.

“Right… Everyone should be free and uncorrupted when your demons and raw magic kill them,” I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Do you truly believe my goal was to destroy this world?” He asked.

“I believe you’re ‘goal’, like you said, was to transfer the gods to a better prison—the one you’re stuck in now. And you were willing to tear down the Veil and destroy with world while you did so,” I spat.

“The Veil is a wound I cut into the Fade in a moment of desperation while aking their prison. It should not exist. I had a host of spirits ready to help when the Veil fell. They would have minimized the loss of life.”

“Do you have any idea what you sound like? You could’ve actually saved the world from the blight, but instead you chose to kill thousands of people with your vanity project!” I shouted.

“It is not vanity! I broke this world. I am the only one who can fix it!”

His shouting didn’t faze me with the huge ravine and the Fade between us. “Spoken like a god,” I said with all the contempt I felt.

“I am not a god! I am as I have always been: a man, all too aware of his failings… But equally aware that if he did not act, accepting the judgment it would bring, all would be lost. They called me the Dread Wolf. What will they call you, when this is over?” He wondered.

“I don’t care what they call me. If they’re calling me anything, it means they’re still alive. That’s all that matters.”

“Acceptance. You are willing to face the consequences your actions may one day bring, because the world needs you. I believe I can work with that.” He smiled, though it felt anything but sincere. “If the gods are using dragons, you will wish to find someone trained to fight them. Have you unlocked the lighthouse eluvian?”

“Yes. We found the Crossroads. It’s still confusing, though.”

“I cannot help you from in here. You may need to find an expert in the magic of the Fade. And if the Darkspawn are to be Elgar’nan’s army, you will need Grey Wardens to fight them.”

“I’ve got a few of them. Their leaders don’t trust me right now, though.”

“I have faith in you, Rook,” Solas said. “You seem to have a knack for gaining the cooperation of your adversaries.”

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

I woke up in a cold sweat---as I often did these days---to someone thumping against my door. I moved over to it quickly, brows furrowing. When I opened it, I had to catch Lucanis. He was struggling to stand, but when he spoke, it was Spite coming through his teeth.

“The idiot is still bleeding. Help him.”

“Walk with me,” I supported him with his arm over my shoulders, and I led him to my chaise lounge. When he sat, the purple glow from Lucanis’s eyes was gone, and he slumped, unconscious. “Fenedhis.”

I could see the blood seeping through the bandage on his leg, staining his loungewear dark red.

“Gods dammit, Lucanis,” I grumbled. I looked up at his unconscious form, regretting what I was about to do before I could even do it. I reached for the buttons on his pants, undoing them and pulling them down to his knees, keeping my eyes on the bandaged wound.

My fingers fumbled with the knot before finally getting it undone, unraveling it, lifting his boot onto my knee to pull the bandage from under his leg. When I got to the wound, I looked at it with furrowed brows. It looked like there was a piece of jagged rock stuck in there, which would explain why it didn’t clot properly.

I sighed, hovering my hand over the wound and pulling the piece of shrapnel with my magic. Lucanis winced. “Sorry. I’m sorry,” I whispered, putting just a bit more power until it flew up and smacked my palm. I set it with the bandages next to him. “Nasty little thing.”

Carefully, I held my hand over the wound again, pushing warmth into it and watching it seal closed beneath my magic. When it was healed, I stood, moving to my wardrobe for a fresh cloth to clean the blood up on his leg.

Before I came back around, I heard a startled grunt from Lucanis. His chest seized, staring at the wall of the aquarium across from him. I internally panicked, realizing he spent a year in the bottom of the ocean tortured.

I moved around the chaise with the cloth, putting myself into his direct line of sight. He looked up at me with wide brown eyes. “Rook?”

Slowly, he loosed a breath, looking around. “Hey, it’s alright. We’re in my room. Spite brought you here because of your wound.” I knelt down in front of him again, starting to mop up his blood.

“Of course he did,” he grumbled, looking down at his lap. He cleared his throat. “Isn’t it customary to ask before removing a man’s clothes?”

I rolled my eyes, hitting him with the cloth. “Well, I’m glad you’re feeling better. Well enough to clean yourself.” I stood, throwing the cloth at him.

He caught my wrist as I turned away. “Vuelve mi pequeña polilla, I meant nothing by it.”

My cheeks warmed as he crooned in his native language, and I was pulled back to my knees in front of him, resuming to clean his wound. “You had quite a nasty cut. This was keeping it from closing.” I picked up the piece of jagged rock. 

“Mierda,” he cursed, taking it to inspect it. “I wondered.”

“You would be lost without me,” I teased, wiping my hands on the cloth.

“You have no idea,” he muttered.

“I hope the next time we’re like this it’s not because you’re bleeding out,” I grinned, standing and collecting the dirty bandages to dispose of them. I saw Lucanis’s cheeks flush, and I smiled to myself as I left the room to avoid embarrassing him further. I was sure the last thing he wanted was for me to see him indecent and turned on.

❈❈❈

Lucanis pinched the bridge of his nose, looking up at the dancing reflections of water on the ceiling. It was bad enough that he had awoken half naked in a place of his nightmares. But then a complete one-eighty occurred, and he had the woman of his dreams kneeling in front of him with those mismatched eyes and warm smile.

Spite had brought him here, of course he had. And Kalais had just taken care of him like it didn’t take a second thought. And the things she said, mierda, he wished she would stop trailing him like a moth to a flame. It was dangerous, and it wouldn’t end well for either of them. Spite was Lucanis’s only future. To hope for anything else was futile.

Of course that didn’t stop all blood from running southward when she hinted at something more. Something unattainable, something beyond his imagination. Something impossible, and yet all too good for him anyway.

“She. Wants. You!” Spite growled in his ear. “We want. To taste her!” 

“Enough, Spite,” Lucanis said, standing and buttoning his pants. He didn’t look at the demon. He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“We. Want. Rook! Why?” he questioned.

Lucanis sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know why you want Rook. Possibly because she’s the only one who’s kind to you, though I can’t figure out why,” he muttered.

“No! You want her,” he said. “Her touch. Soft. Her hair silk. Her breath warm! Her lips. What do they taste like?”

“Enough!” He snapped. “She is not ours to have.”

❈❈❈

We all met around the fire in the dining hall. I filled everyone in on what Solas had said.

“So this elven god thinks we need a dragon hunter and a Fade expert?” Lucanis asked.

“He’s right about the dragon hunter, at least,” Harding said. “The Shadow Dragons did all the could. The dragon was just too much.” I frowned, staring into the fire. “The moment the dust settled? The Venatori rushed in. Guess they knew it was coming.”

My chest suddenly felt tight again.

“Neve’s staying for now. She said she’ll be back soon, but… At least you took care of yours,” Harding said to me.

“We hurt it, but didn’t kill it. The dragon flew off before we could put it down,” I said.

“Treviso could have used a dragon hunter. That much is true,” Lucanis said.

“Don’t remind me. Fewer people injured, and we wouldn’t have to worry about it coming back.” My brow furrowed, and I crossed my arms over my stomach.

“We shouldn’t forget about Minrathous, either. We need to do what we can to help. Though there’s no telling how long Neve will be helping the Shadow Dragons…” Lucanis added.

“Hey, let’s not get stuck in our regrets, all right?” Varric came hobbling over.

“Hang on a minute,” Davrin interrupted. “Not only have you retained the services of a demon assassin, you’re also taking advice from the elven god who attempted to tear down the Veil.”

“Spite is my problem,” Lucanis said defensively.

“That’s what they always say,” Davrin retorted. “Rook, Lucanis is one thing, but do you really trust this Solas?” He asked.

“Trust is such a strong word, you know?”

“So you don’t trust him.”

“Ehhh.”

“All right then.”

Harding said she would ask around about Dragon Hunters, and Bellara said she would get a message through to a Fade expert immediately.

“See, Rook? Nothing to worry about,” Varric said.

“All right. We all know what to do. Let’s get going,” I said to dismiss them.

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

A/N: I hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list

Have a good day/night!

Tagged: @colombia-chan @bleummie

[tedwardremus]

Summer Fling Don't Mean A Thing

Written for the September 2024 @jilychallenge Prompt: exchange students are announced at the opening feast, you are assigned to show them around (perhaps there’s history between them? Summer fling or fight Partner: @sophie-hatter-jenkins

Prongs: Well She and I…. did other activities together Padfoot: by activities, you mean… Wormtail: PRONGS HAS A GIRLFRIEND? Moony: No wonder you enjoyed summer school so much Prongs: It wasn’t summer school! Padfoot: So what’s the issue? Camp girlfriend break up with you? Prongs: Well I told her I’d write to her when the summer ended  Padfoot: And you didn’t Prongs: I tried but everything just felt so stupid on parchment Moony: And did she send you a howler? Prongs: Worse. She showed up at Hogwarts today.

[cognitivejustice]

A forest in Ecuador could be recognised as the co-creator of a song under a groundbreaking legal proposal.A petition is to be submitted to Ecuador’s copyright office to recognise the Los Cedros cloud forest as the co-creator of the composition Song of the Cedars. The action by the More Than Human Life (Moth) project is the first legal attempt to recognise an ecosystem’s moral authorship of a work of art.

The song contains melodies of echo-locating bats, howler monkeys, rustling leaves and even a subterranean recording of the soil taken from the spot where a new species of fungus was collected and described.It was composed by the musician Cosmo Sheldrake, writer Robert Macfarlane, field mycologist Giuliana Furci from the NGO Fungi Foundation and legal scholar César Rodríguez-Garavito during a field trip to Ecuador.

The song was created when the group set up camp in the high forest during an expedition organised by Macfarlane as part of his research for Is a River Alive?, his new book about rivers and the rights of nature movement, which will be published in May 2025.“It wasn’t written within the forest, it was written with the forest,” said Macfarlane. “This was absolutely and inextricably an act of co-authorship with the set of processes and relations and beings that that forest and its rivers comprise. We were briefly part of that ongoing being of the forest, and we couldn’t have written it without the forest. The forest wrote it with us.”

[timetodiverge]

Exile WIP snippet

I got tagged a month ago RECENTLY by the lovely @gardensystemtv to post a WIP snippet, so here is the first little bit of the next chapter of Exile (the Bounty Hunter Shin AU!):

....and in return I am tagging @dogsdogwoman, @mandalorianfleshenjoyer, @femmefighter, if you've got anything cooking, let us have a quick taste :D

Chapter Five: kingdom come (part i)

There was a malevolence in this place. She felt it creeping across her skin. She felt it chilling her blood. Half-heard whispers in the wind; hands around her throat as she slept.

This world belonged to the dead: to the billions that had once roamed the surface and now lay within it. Any life that remained lived huddled and shrunken, as if trying to move across the planet unseen- as if trying to hide from the ghosts.

And the ghosts of Peridea did not want her here.

{The whales came here to die. Peridea is a graveyard.}

Self-indulgent superstition, Shin told herself firmly. Snap out of it. But she couldn’t snap out of it. She had been here for almost two months. Every part of her body, all her intuition, her very bones, screamed at her to get out, get out.

It was getting worse.

{This is a land of dreams and madness.}

Shin pulled her cloak tighter around herself, shivering in the chill wind, huddling to the warmth of her Howler as they trudged through the night. The moon was large and bright, even this close to morning; it cast deep shadows across the ground, shadows that seemed to stretch towards her like fingers.

“Children’s stories come to life,” Shin heard herself murmur; and then she scowled. Great. Now she was talking to herself.

She sighed as she turned her focus back to the trail. There were only three force-users of any note on this entire planet- it was not hard to find the other two.

She could no longer sense her master. That trail had gone cold.

Won’t stop me, Shin thought grimly as they crested a ridge. The noti camp came into view below. She pulled the reigns to stop the Howler and slid off. The Howler whined, wanting to continue. “We’re close enough,” Shin said, giving the beast a quick scratch. “We’ll do the exchange at dawn, then find somewhere to sleep.”

Another whine, then the Howler relented, and flopped down to the ground. Shin fell to her knees and curled up close. They were both exhausted. Nights were no longer for sleeping. They travelled in the dark, and rested during the day- when necessary. Sleep wasn’t safe on Peridea.

Shin’s stomach growled. She pulled some stringy dried meat out of her bag, handed some to the Howler and reluctantly nibbled on a strip herself. She had to eat; she had work to finish before dawn. She pulled out her datapad, and had mostly finished her tasks- and the meat- by the time the sky started to lighten.

She stared up at the sky. Even the colours were- wrong, here. The light was wrong. And it…it shimmered. There was a haze. Shin narrowed her eyes; felt them grow heavy. Her hands stilled on the datapad, and it slipped from her grasp. When had she last slept…?

Her Howler whined, and curled closer around her. Shin felt her will to stay awake melt away. It was almost morning, anyway. She closed her eyes, and was deeply asleep in moments.

***

{Something calls to me. Can’t you hear it?}

No, she thought. She couldn’t hear it. There was nothing to hear.

Nothing- nothing. This was an empty planet. A dead place. Swamps, stones, statues. Abandoned temples. The raider clans, the lower life-forms. The hunters and the hunted. Nothing to fear.

Wake up, a voice said to her as she slept. It’s not safe.

Not ‘safe’? What could hurt her? What did she have to fear? There was nothing. She was just tired; so tired. She just needed to sleep. Then she’d see clearer, she’d make more progress. She’d find him, untangle whatever he’d been caught in, and they’d go home.

Everything would…go back to normal.

{Something stirs here.}

Wake up, the voice said again, and now Shin heard her Howler’s low growl, and felt her skin spark.

{Can’t you see it?}

Shin came awake all at once, saw movement at the edge of her vision and had her lightsabre drawn and ignited in an instant. She crouched low to the ground, one hand splayed in the dirt for balance, muscles tensed, as she scanned her surroundings and saw-

She huffed and narrowed her eyes. It was just the padawan. Perched a safe distance away, just staring, head tilted. She didn’t even have any weapons.

You woke me for this? Shin growled to her Howler in her mind, shooting the beast a glare. “What do you want?” she snapped, as she stood and let her sabre go out. She hoped the unsteadiness in her legs wasn’t visible.

“You’re late,” said the Mandalorian, standing also, but not coming any closer. She folded her arms across her chest. “I was sent to find you.”

Shin glanced up at the sky, and was alarmed to see that hours had passed as she’d slept.

“We can’t just wait around all day for you to show up, you know. We’ve got things to do,” the Mandalorian continued, shooting Shin a glare of her own.

And they needed Shin’s data, her findings, to do those things. Shin felt the surety of this with some amount of satisfaction. But then, she’d also hit a wall. She was loath to admit it, even to herself- but she was counting on the master and apprentice having made some progress of their own.

“Well?” came that sharp voice, and Shin snapped back to attention.

The haze of her dreams still muddied her vision. She rolled her shoulders, took a sharp breath, and then turned her back on the other girl, dismissing her as she started to pack her things back into her bag.

“Unbelievable,” Wren muttered, and then she muttered a few more words in her native tongue as she stomped away.

Shin watched her go from the corner of her eye. She straightened. The padawan wasn’t even wearing her armour. And it occurred to Shin, all in one unpleasant rush, that Wren was no longer afraid of her.

…that wouldn’t do.

“Let’s go,” Shin said to her Howler, and they moved towards the camp. She’d get this exchange over with quickly, and then she’d better get far away- before her base instincts took over and she stabbed the un-armoured padawan just to prove that she could.

[tearsucry]

— °˖ ⊹ ꒰ 💿 ꒱ meet me halfway ; shin hati (ahsoka)

#.                   you knew better than to ask the stubborn sith about the place she had visited before, but you just couldn't shake off your curiosity about her

content warning;          18+ nsfw content minors dni, female-bodied reader, no pre-established relationship, kissing, making out, interrupted kissing, pining, implied previous make out/kissing | 1.5k words

a/n.                                        I was struggling so much with coming up with something coherent that was worth to be put out, so i hope this is enjoyable for us girlies :)

coming into the camp to live with the peridea bandits was proven less difficult than shin hati had first anticipated. many of the bandits living in the camp refused to talk to her and the rest had a distaste towards her trying to be their leader, but for the sake of partnership they followed her word. there were no conflicts between her and the people who took her in, she didn’t have to argue or reason to be helped with food, water, a ride, and a warm place to live. whenever she could she helped the others living in the camp by going on to forage and hunt by herself, to escape the commotion of the tight knit camp, and to strengthen her connection to the force alone.

“will there be a time for you to join us all to eat?” with the question walks in a bandit, a bowl and a cup in their hand as their get closer to the sith and sitting across her at the table. shin hati raised an eyebrow at the bandit settling down in front of her, getting comfortable on the pillow on the floor before pulling their helmet off and tossing it behind you.

of course, there were exceptions to a few crooks avoiding her, like yourself, one of the youngest riders out of the bandits who took care of the howlers. you often ran around the camp without your helmet, taking the howlers back to the fenced down areas for the night and asking their riders if there were any complaints from the animals. you didn’t mind her at all in the camp, rather you were intrigued by her and how she trained, how she was capable of protecting herself with a simple beam of a lightsaber.

“I reckon someone like you who spent years alone has a hard time accepting company.” you add as you take a sip of your drink, simultaneously throwing your gloves onto the table next to your bowl. the sith in front of you says nothing as she continues to dig through her food before lifting her spoon out of the bowl and stuffing it in her mouth.

you shake your head, feeling a tad bit pitiful because of your weak attempt at trying to get her to have a casual conversation failed. but even with the bitter taste in your mouth, you accept the defeat you must face, making this lunch of yours a short one by finish up fast and heading back to the camp square to see if there was any other work that had to be done before the next scavenger group was sent out.

but just as you were reaching for your helmet, standing up and heading out of the tent the blonde mercenary stopped you in your tracks with a firm grip on the gear that was hanging from your belt. “your assumption is correct,” she breaths as she lets go of your belt, turning out from the table and looking up at you.

“although I’m mostly clueless of what to talk about.” her words were sincere, the shimmer in her eyes was more than enough to confirm that to you. with a sigh, you nod and go to pull a pillow to take a seat next to her, helmet once again set behind you as you crouch down taking your place, the gear on your belt rattling as you settle.

“a tale about the galaxy would be a great start.” giving her an enthusiastic smile might have worked more against you than in favor of you as her eyes slim, her face contouring into a confused expression. the gears in shin hati’s brain were turning, but maybe not in the direction she wanted them to. all she could think about was how she got here, that was on her mind between the sun coming up and setting. she wasn’t sure of how she got here, she could barely rely on her memory and let alone recount about it to you with that stupid smile on your face and that low cheer in your voice when you mentioned it.

“we always talk about the galaxy, don’t you find it dull?” perhaps the first part of her statement was true- you always asked about the galaxy and never anything else, but what was never gonna be true is the second part. you will never grow bored hearing about the stars and planets that are outside your home.

“you have seen the space between the stars, been to so many places, and you think that there is no magic to it anymore.” you say, rolling your eyes as she shrugs, quietly scoffing at you words. the blonde’s reaction gives you a reason for a short laugh before continuing with your issue about hearing about the galaxy. “I have only known peridea my whole life, I wish to know the stories of the galaxies from someone who has been in more than one.” there was no way she could argue with your logic, not even with her knowledge that was probably far greater than yours.

shin hati nods, thinking that she may have found a compromise for you. the blond girl was certainly not easy to deal with, but she was also incredibly stubborn and determined to stick by her ways. shin hati thought that if she gave in and was ready to answer, hoping that the two of you could spend some time together during your next scavenger hunting trip she would be able to convince you to tag along, and talk about yourself rather than interrogating her.

“flattery will get you nowhere.” she says with a huff as she looks away from you with a pout. the comment makes you smile, despite her attempts to hide it. ‘she does seem cute with her pout.’

“I’m right where I wanna be.” you reply, leaning forward to rest a cheek on your palm with a playful smirk that made the blonde look over to you. the look in her blue eyes were intense yet soft, her lips parted slightly as she blinked slowly. it made the heat rise to your cheeks, making you wonder if she could read minds. the blonde looked at you for another moment before dropping her gaze back down to her bowl. you felt disappointed at the loss of eye contact, silence settling between the two of you for a while.

“so you wanna hear about the galaxy…” her voice trails off into a whisper, trying to catch her attention again by taking her hand in yours. the sith stiffens, her cheeks tinted a pink color but she doesn’t pull away or move to get away. her hands are cold but softer than you imagined them to be. after a moment of hesitation, you take her hand, intertwining your fingers. you give a gentle squeeze and watch her expression morph into a mix of confusion and surprise, her face flushed red. “or your interests are finally shifting?”

"you have anything else to do in mind?" you ask, a small grin on your lips as you look back up at her. the blonde takes a moment before she shakes her head, her hair swinging softly against her shoulders, her hand running up your arm and stopping on the back of your neck, pulling you in. the two of you meet halfway, your lips connecting in a sweet kiss, soft and sweet, almost like the way a lover kisses before bed. it's slow and full of affection, the warmth of both of your bodies pressed against each other. it feels perfect to you, like coming home after a long day of searching and adventuring.

for shin hati it felt like finding home after being so lost for so long, looking for purpose in the galaxy's most executive and dangerous parts, it seemed like something out of a fairytale when she found you at the end of the galaxy. the world around her was spinning, but she couldn't bring herself to care, all that mattered was the feeling of her lips on yours and the feeling of your hand in hers. she felt safe.

the kiss was interrupted when a whistle blows loudly throughout the camp. you break apart quickly, both of your faces flushing a bright red as you look anywhere but each other. with a loud groan, you push yourself up from your spot on the ground, the blonde doing the same. you put her helmet back on while shin hati pulls her cloak over her head as you walk towards the door, leaving her there, staring at your back, trying to come up with something to say. “i still owe you a story of the galaxy." she whispers into the quiet, her words falling heavy against her ears. you turn to look at her, your smile growing ever bigger as you look her directly in the eye, not that she can see that, and nod. she returns it before you step out of the tent, closing the flap behind you, leaving her alone to do whatever she pleased with the confusing thoughts that you have planted in her brain.

[transitranger327]

A Craving I Don’t Truly Understand

WolfWren Week Day 2: Wheel of Fortune

Summary: Shin Hati’s desire for power sets her path on a collision course with Sabine Wren. But Sabine knows there’s something deeper driving Shin. What happens on Peridea may alter their fates. (This is a Prequel to Ehn’yuste)

Notes: Yes I know I’m a day late for @wolfwrenweek day 2, I’ve been afflicted with the fanfic writer’s curse (having to plan my wedding on short notice). But while this is based on “you’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling” and “you want to kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid”, there’s also plenty of Fighting as Flirting. Read it on Ao3 or below the cut

—

One Month After the Ignition

It had been two months since I cut into Sabine Wren’s life.

Two months since I found her in a lonely tower, crossing swords over a map. Almost like a holo-novel, a knight vanquishing her rival for the prize.

Of course, no matter what wounds I managed to inflict on her, Sabine Wren didn’t die. It wasn’t that the wounds didn’t hurt her (I fed off her delicious pain), she just stubbornly refused to stop living. Lightsaber stabs, blaster shots, they took her down…but she always got up.

It was infuriating.

I imagined it was a singular desire to bring Ezra back. After all, why would she bargain away the galaxy’s future for him? I had seen what was left of the tower after Thrawn left: dozens of stormtrooper bodies strewn about, with wounds of lightsaber, blaster origins. While Sabine was still stuck on this planet, Ezra had managed to escape. And yet, her disregard for death continued.

—

Our first encounter after I parted ways with the Empire happened two weeks later. My group of bandits had tracked down her Noti camp, and we attacked when she was scouting out ahead. It was the only time I had ever gotten the drop on her. The Force guided my blade; I was able to find a few gaps in her armor. I didn’t stick around to kill her—the rest of the bandits needed me—but I didn’t expect her to get up so soon afterwards. As we were finishing the raid, Sabine staggered back to the camp, blasters ablaze. It didn’t matter, she couldn’t stop us, but it frustrated me.

—

Post-imperial encounter #2: a week after the previous, far away from their Noti nomads. She appeared to be meditating, exposed, in an empty valley. A powerless Jedi, attempting to meditate? How laughable.

I shouldn’t’ve laughed.

The bandits surrounded her, and I looked down from my howler. She opened her eyes, looking back. “Welcome,” she used a calm voice I’d never heard before, “Care to join me?”

“No.” I turned to the bandits, “Attack!”

Faster than I thought possible for someone like her, she arose. The blaster shots bounced off her armor and newly ignited blade. Well, most did; one shot managed to land on her unprotected leg. It triggered an immediate response from her. She flung her hands out, and suddenly we were all on the ground, wind knocked out of us. Unexpected telekinesis.

Limping, she approached me; a lightsaber swing aiming for my dominant shoulder. My blade moved fast enough to parry, but it was close.

“You really don’t want to follow me.” A powerful suggestion, as she pressed my own lightsaber down to mere millimeters from my chest. And yet, a hint of playfulness seeped into her voice.

She removed her weight, shut off her blade, and returned to gather her things. This was not the failed apprentice I had written off a month earlier.

The bandits that survived made it known that I would no longer be leading them.

—

Another encounter, one month in. A strange mirror of our earlier encounter. Sabine found me, unaware, collecting water for the bandits. A warning shot ripped past my face, searing light in my left eye, ringing in my ear, singeing several hairs. I whipped around, searching for her silhouette by the light of my sword.

“Who’s there?” I ask, “What do you want?”

“Just me, looking for the same thing you are.” Sabine holstered her blaster and sauntered up to the watering hole with several canteens.

I turned off my saber. “How are you not dead yet?”

“I’m Mandalorian, we always survive.” She paused, in thought, before continuing, “or, we know how to.”

“But I’ve tried killing you, personally.”

“Do or do not, there is no try. And your attempts have gotten much lamer after your first one.”

I laughed. “Well if stabbing can’t kill you, there’s not much else I can do.”

“Oh sure there is. You haven’t tried poisoning me, strangling me, or explosives.” She grinned, “Big fan of the last one.”

On one hand, I could strike her down while she was here, defenseless, refilling bottles and pouches with this incredibly mediocre water. But I surmised she was not truly defenseless, sure those vambraces held more secrets. And she had the chance to kill me, but did not take it. Perhaps that favor could be repaid.

And how did she become so good at eluding my senses? Was I going soft, without someone to train or spar with me?

“I’ll keep those options in mind, for the next time we meet.”

She gave me a thrilled look. Strange…Baylan had taught me that proper Jedi don’t rush into fights or goad their enemies. But Sabine was different, and I had to know more.

I left the watering hole, but lurked in the shadows to follow her.

—

I continued slipping to the outside of the bandits’ social order. Their desire was for material goods. I still went on occasional raids with them, for basic sustenance, but I craved a different kind of power. A tighter command of the Force, a way to finally defeat Sabine Wren.

Each time we fought, I did get stronger. I had begun to anticipate her moves, discerning her ever-more-complex patterns of attack.

But her skills seemed to grow faster than mine. I needed to know how. I couldn’t stop yearning for her secret.

—

Today was our eighth duel on this planet. She kept pushing me back, fighting me into a corner of a cliff-face.

Our blades locked. I plead, “How do you keep getting stronger?”

A chuckle, “How else do you think? The Force.”

Fury ignited within me, allowing me to stop playing defense. “But you had no power!”

Sabine didn’t fall back much. “Wow, you really are obsessed with me.”

“I need to know.” The words somehow sounded more desperate than I was.

“Surely Baylan taught you how to listen to the will of the Force.”

“Yes, but—” I couldn’t think straight anymore, couldn’t order my thoughts enough to give a coherent answer.

“You can’t stop thinking about how I do it. You can’t stop the feeling that something isn’t right, that something is missing.”

I met her smirk with a much less confident nod.

Her next words made me regret it; they stabbed thru my heart. “You wanna kiss me so bad, it makes you look stupid.”

The sky above came crashing down.

I refused to let my emotions spill out of my heart in front of her.

So I ran.

I didn’t want look back. Didn’t want to show how much her words affected me. But I kept looking over my shoulder. A part of me wanted her to chase me.

—

Notes: Standard weeks are 5 days long, and the standard year is 12 months, so I’m just gonna assume they’re 6-week months (with either a month of 7 weeks or an extra day in 5 of the 12 months)

For my returning fans: I doubt I’ll write anything in between this and Ehn’yuste (timeline-wise) for a while, aside from the occasional flashback.

[seriousfic]

Very early on in this movie, hero Christian Grey gives da chick the standard romantic leading man speech about how he's bad news--a loner, Dottie, a rebel--and she should still clear of him. At this point, they've gone out to get coffee one time and he's saved her from a careening bike messenger. I know it must be exciting to tell a lady that she should stay away from your twisted mind for her own feminine good, but dude, save it for at least the second date.

This came to Netflix, so I figured I might as well give a shot. It's a failure, obviously, but it's an interesting failure. There are talented people both on screen and behind the scenes, and it looks like a movie, but all their efforts amount to putting lipstick on a pig. Would it be unfairly inside-baseball to repeat the reports of a troubled production, with the author insisting on an adaptation that was too faithful for its own good?

Try not to do a shot every time heroine Anastasia Steele* extravagantly bites her lower lip in lust.

(how come Dakota Johnson's character name in this is way more silly than the name of the literal superhero she played?)

To be fair to the movie, I've seen a ton of waggish assholes like, well, me, declare that this movie is a camp classic of unintended hilarity and guys, c'mon. There's no way they didn't intend "What are buttplugs?" as a laughline.

In fact, with Dakota Johnson's sitcom star comedic timing and winsome charm, watching this movie is a bit like finding a coke-begotten relic of the 80s where some madman paired Meg Ryan and Rutger Hauer (it doesn't help that, as "Mr. Grey," they cast an actor that plays serial killers about as often as heartthrobs).

I'm making this story sound interesting, but it's not able to succeed on its own terms, as whenever it tries to get serious, the drama runs headlong into a howler of a line that must be verboten from the books. "I'm fifty shades of fucked up!" Christian groans at one point.

"I don't make love. I fuck. Hard," is another line that even Sir Michael Caine couldn't get into working order.

It's a shame, because there's no real reason a modern-day gothic romance can't work. Sure, there's no real plot to the thing besides Ana and Christian's doomed/not-so-doomed romance, but there are worse foundations for a movie than a relationship where the guy wants to hurt his lady love as much as romance her. It's fucked up, but imagine what a Cronenberg or Verhoeven could do with the assignment. Well, full frontal, probably.

(The compromise to keep Jamie Dornan from spending a third of the movie displaying the status of his circumcision is that he does most every sex scene in a worn pair of jeans. I probably should've been too stunned by his abs to wonder at this, but dude's a billionaire. Is he doing yardwork in those jeans? Home repair? Or have they gotten all the holes in them purely from screwing? Man, that guy does fuck. Hard.)

You know, given that bondage is a pretty common fetish, you'd think Christian Grey--an ubersexy twenty-something billionaire--would be able to find a woman who's into, y'know, all that--especially since his wildest antics are a little whipping and possible anal fisting.

I know there'd be no story if he didn't immediately fall in love with Anastasia Steele (snicker) and if she wasn't only putting up with the bondage to get the package deal. Still, that is a pretty contrived starting point, isn't it? At least Team Edward has the excuse of that whole 'my own personal brand of heroin' thing.

[iloveladybuglucy]

max tolerates his weirdo girls but lowkey loves them so fuccin much

before i get the stupid comments this takes place in the future, so max and nikki are around 30 here (aka adults). aaanyways, makki fam notes plus my oc's turn around sheet under the cut :)

due to his past trauma with shitty parents, Max doesn't say "I love you" very often. rather, he shows his love via gift giving and actions (ie: making Nikki her favorite coffee in the morning, buying Bella her favorite snacks, etc.)

piggybacking off that last bullet point, Max has told Nikki he loves her when she's asleep (or when he thinks she's asleep, at least).

Bella, their daughter, is noticeably calmer than her parents, but undoubtedly gets her chaotic streak from them both. She's incredibly skilled at charming people then subsequently stealing their wallets from right under their noses. max is eternally proud (and often finds a few 20s missing from his own pockets)

max and Nikki currently work alongside David at the camp as counselors. the new generation of campers are just as chaotic as they were and have long since accepted that maybe this is their karma for putting David and Gwen through hell 20 years ago

both Nikki and Bella are strange sleepers, always managing to end up either upside down, kicking pillows, or spread out taking up the whole bed

max is still sarcastic, jaded, and snarky, but he smiles a bit more now. granted, its more of like a ghost of a smirk, but its a smile nonetheless

Nikki originally wanted to name Bella something wolf-related, like howler or chomper. max, not wanting his kid to get bullied or resent them, suggested "Isabella/Bella", in reference to "those shitty Twilight movies from the 2000's", in his words, to which she agreed. Nikki still calls Bella "pup" or "cub" as nicknames.

the family owns a wolf dog named Koda, who they take to the camp during the summers. Max was the one to pick her out and name her, and he's undoubtedly her favorite person

ref sheet for my girl :) short bio for her below:

Name: Isabella

Nickname(s): Bella (preferred), Cub, Pup (only by Nikki)

Parent(s): Max, Nikki

Age: 5

Gender: Female

Personality: Calm, easygoing (until she's not), bossy, mouthy, bold

Bella is very calm in contrast to her parents and is a very go-with-the-flow child…until she isn’t. Bella likes to play like she’s a sweet, innocent kid, but is secretly always plotting some elaborate scheme or prank to pull. She’s very mouthy and unafraid to speak up for not just herself, but also her "cousin" Aspen, who’s ten years her senior. Bella never hesitates to jump in and defend her cousin when the other campers rag on him, and she can be quite scary when someone angers her. When not out exploring or scheming with her friends and dog, Bella can be found listening to music in trees, eating too many sweets, or hiding in her father's sweatshirt (and popping out to scare her papa David).

[kalevalakryze]

Cross the World for You

AO3 Link: Here! For @wolfwrenweek Day 3: "I can help you." Warnings: blood and injury Summary: Come alone. A simple enough request, though Sabine knew the danger hidden in those words. She’d never faired well alone with Shin. The scar on her abdomen tingled at the thought, she could feel her energy seeping through the old wound just as it had that evening on Lothal.

Come alone.

A simple enough request, though Sabine knew the danger hidden in those words. She’d never faired well alone with Shin. The scar on her abdomen tingled at the thought, she could feel her energy seeping through the old wound just as it had that evening on Lothal. 

“What is it?” Ahsoka questioned, her facial markings furrowed as she studied her padawan’s spaced-out stare. When golden eyes met her own, she seemed to understand quickly. “You must face this on your own, then.” Silent, Sabine only nodded. Her lips parted as if she wanted to tell Ahsoka request be damned, though the Togruta interrupted. “Sometimes, we have to set aside our personal feelings in order to do what is right, Sabine. You know this better than most others I’ve ever known. However intense your rivalry, we cannot let Baylan sacrifice her for his beliefs. It’s wrong.”

Head hung, Sabine nodded. “Yeah.” She sighed dejectedly. “Okay.” Channeling everything from her time in the Rebellion, Sabine forced herself to stop looking through her feelings and to approach the situation tactfully. “Keep an eye out for Baylan. I’d prefer not to run into him while I’m getting them out of there. Once I have Shin, I’m going to get her to safety. I don’t want to take her straight to the Noti camp, especially if he’s chasing her like this.” Rubbing at her eyes, Sabine peered off to the skyline. “I’ll find a way to let you know where we end up. Once I’m sure Shin can be civil and not attack me, the Noti, or you, and we can find some way to conceal their position from Baylan, then I’ll bring her back.”

Ahsoka pondered the plan, nodding slowly as she watched it play out in her head. “Alright. I’ll follow your lead until we part, I’ll stay nearby only to drag Baylan’s attention. The rest is up to you.”

Alright, Shin. Tell me where I’m going. 

Once she was far enough from Ahsoka, it didn’t take long. Some kind of inner compass seemed to come to life, either in herself or her howler, though she couldn’t be sure. After wandering through the snow for an hour, Sabine found a spot of discolored snow, red staining the fluffy substance in droplets, reaching deeper into a rocky crevice further ahead. Her stomach did backflips as her Howler came to a stop. 

“Wait here,” she commanded, sliding from the saddle and grabbing her pack, all the while not taking her eyes off the trail that had been left for her. “If Baylan comes, retreat, but otherwise-” She finally looked away, grasping the Howler’s chin in her hand and meeting its gaze. “Don’t go anywhere. I need you to be brave.” The beast blew out a huff of air, its tongue hanging out lopsided from its mouth. The Mandalorian only had a moment to dodge its tongue as it tried to kiss her goodbye. “I’ll be back.” With that, Sabine treaded forward.

The rocky terrain was hard to navigate, climbing up and down, using footholds to find higher ground, only to scramble back down once uneven stones threatened to slip from under her feet. She was sure she got turned around more than once in the mad scrabble to find Shin, though the blood painted on almost every surface steered her in the right direction, until eventually, the droplets looked wetter and felt warmer when she reached them. She was close. 

Trepidation filled her lungs as she found a small cave nestled far in the back. She couldn’t feel Shin the same as when the blonde was in her head, or vice versa, but she could feel something almost… electric charging the air the closer she got. 

All of a sudden, Shin was there. Her weight was supported by a damp cave wall almost entirely, blood seeped through at least half of their tunic, while mud caked the once shining silver of the armor on their hips and shoulders. Her vambraces were gone, and the sleeves of her shirt had been torn away; though by beast or bramble, Sabine could not say. “Gotal’ade, you look like a fucking wreck.”

Shin huffed out something unintelligible. Sabine had to bite back the laugh that threatened to bubble past her lips. “Alright. Give me your lightsaber-” She eyed the weapon, scuffed and filthy, where it rested on their hip. “And we can get out of here.”

“I will not disarm for you or anyone like you.” Shin spat some fire, life, returning to their eyes as they blocked the weapon from sight with their forearm. 

“I trusted you enough to come alone, after everything you’ve done,” Sabine mirrored the blonde’s movement, though her arm pressed higher above her hip, pressing against the scar against her abdomen that throbbed in a near-constant reminder. “You have to trust me now. Trust me, that I’m going to do what’s right.” She extended her hand now, offering more than just support to their wavering stability. 

Like a wounded animal, tired eyes jumped, first to Sabine’s hand, then to her blasters and saber, then to meet her gaze. That electrical feeling tugged again, something deep in her bones. “I still hate you, you know. But I won’t let you face this, not alone.”

“Good.” Shin rasped. Finally, finally, the blonde reached out. Sabine tried not to notice how perfectly their hand fit within her own. She barely had time to, in fact, as the blonde seemed to dive into the opportunity, to allow someone else to shoulder the burdens of the weight they’d been carrying. 

Sabine took the weight with grace, arms circling around the blonde’s waist and tugging her close until they weren’t at risk of hitting the ground. “Pain in my ass.” She grumbled as their chin dropped into her shoulder. 

With the threat of Baylan looming ever closer, Sabine was faced with the task of maneuvering a passed-out Dark-Sider and the mile of Peridea’s entire jagged boulder supply. “This is where the fun begins.”

Mando'a Translation Gotal'ade - Makers

[sunshinecatmom]

In this post Elven finished his talk with Morrigan. He also got to meet Mythal with Emmrich and Taash. He got her to join them willingly. Then Emmrich got into a fight with Harding over going on a camping trip. Elven got to flirt with Emmrich and then convinced them to let them both bring whatever they wanted on the trip. Though Emmrich was supposed to talk to Elven about it when he got back. Though they never did. Then a quick talk with Lucanis. Then Davrin went to have a talk with Evka about the Gloom Howler. They found out the name of the Gloom Howler and how she was connected to Assan. Then Elven talked Lucanis to get his loyalty mission to kill Zara. Then Elven helped Neve with her case block. More on that tomorrow.

[melanie-ohara]

In The Woods Somewhere

Whumpuary2024, Day 05 - (Alt) Prompt: Stabbed

Something in Sabine's burgeoning connection to the Force draws her out to the woods just as the Peridean sun rises…

AO3 Here

Sabine jolted awake and sat bolt upright in her bunk with a gasp. The lights in the room were turned low and the chronometer told her there were a couple of hours to go before dawn, so she slumped back against the pillows and tried to figure out what it was that had woken her. It could have been a dream, but since Mandalore she never remembered her dreams, and she had a distinct image of a forest in the rain still in her mind. It didn't look like anywhere she knew, but the trees looked distinctly Peridean to her. When they had been on the Ghost together, Ezra had visions through the Force - but they were strong and overwhelmed him while he was awake. There was something, though. Some strange pull she felt that coaxed her out of her bed and out of the ship. Ignoring it just made it stronger, so she sighed and got up. 

Ahsoka was probably already awake, so she didn't bother moving quietly when she left in full armour, carrying both blasters and lightsaber. Shin and her bandits hadn't appeared for weeks now, but they were still out there - along with wild Howlers and probably countless other predator species - and it paid to travel prepared. Sabine hopped down from the idling T6 into the Noti camp below it, and made her way to the edge, aiming for the tree line in the distance. Her plan was to walk until it started raining, and then look for a place that matched her vision, but she was still wary: their slow pursuit of Baylan Skoll had skirted around the trees so far, and from what she had managed to decode of the Noti language, they feared the forests as much as the ancient Nightsister ruins. 'The domain of betrayal', if her translation was right. Still, the Noti were pacifists, and Sabine had weapons and armour that far outstripped anything the locals had access to. 

The rain started and the pull got stronger. Ahsoka had told her so often to surrender to the Force when she felt it, but Sabine still found herself trying to resist it: trying to guide herself to a destination she would never find without the help of the Force. It was the Mandalorian in her, determined to make her own way, and while she still hadn't decided the path she wanted her life to take, right now she needed Jedi instincts to find whatever was out there. Something about the pull had changed now - it felt urgent. Desperate, even. Something in the dark between the trees was calling out to her like a distress call. Sabine paused, shut her eyes and took a deep breath, and waited until she could stop second-guessing herself and follow her instincts. When she opened them again, she was already walking.

When she next glanced up from the ground, placing her feet to avoid a series of knotted roots, what she saw in front of her lined up so immediately with the image from her dream that Sabine almost fell over in surprise. At the exact same moment, the tug at her guts disappeared like a cut cord, and she was left standing alone and unsure in the darkness and the rain. Outside the forest, the sun would have risen by now, but under the canopy there was barely enough light to see. 

"Hello?" she called, but received no answer. The trees absorbed her voice before the echo could get very far. She doubted anyone would hear her over the rain.

Sabine tried to place her trust in the Force and took a few steps forwards, but when her gut instinct insisted she was going the wrong way, she couldn't help turning back. And there, slumped against a rock between two trees, was Shin Hati. Her hair was starting to grow out and she had pinned it back behind her head, and her clothes and armour had been adapted and added to with bandit equipment, but it was definitely her. 

Caution dictated she draw a weapon and approach slowly- after all, Shin was a deadly assailant who had spent their entire time on Peridea trying to kill her. It could be a trap. Sabine dimly recognised that after she had started running towards her, and by the time she had crashed to her knees in the mud by Shin's still form all of her weapons were still clipped to her belt. 

"Shin?" she demanded, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking. "Shin, wake up!" 

Why did she care? Why was there a roiling, sinking sensation, like a battleship going down, churning through her guts? Why was Shin not moving? Her hair was plastered to her face, which looked even paler than usual, and when Sabine lifted her eyelids she found her eyes rolled back into her head. Her pulse was thready and unstable, but it was there. She wasn't dead, but she was dying. 

Sabine glanced down, and saw that Shin Hati had been stabbed. 

This wasn't the neat, perfectly circular mark of a lightsaber blade - like the one Shin had given her when they first met - this was a messy, jagged incision that left blood and severed skin behind rather than a perfectly cauterised scar. A lightsaber, even in the hands of whatever Shin and Baylan were, was a Jedi weapon first and foremost, and killing was a last resort. This had to have been a bandit weapon. 

A soft cough turned Sabine's attention back to Shin's face, where she saw the briefest flicker of her eyelids. Her throat worked to swallow, and Sabine tried to shake her again.

"Wake up, blast it!" she growled, but Shin remained silent. "Karabast," she muttered, reaching into her armour pouch for a bacta spray and unclipped the cover from the nozzle. "Don't blame me when you're not ready for this," she said, and pressed the tip against the wound in her stomach.

Shin's eyes shot open and she screamed as the bacta started to knit severed veins back together and stem the bleeding. The sound wrenched at Sabine's heart as much as it did her ears, and she gripped Shin's shoulder with her free hand to try and soothe her.

"I know, I know," she said, concentrating on running the device all the way around the rough edges of the wound. "It stings, I know." 

Sabine had been unfortunate enough to learn a lot of battlefield medicine during the war, and she knew when someone wasn't going to make it without a full bacta immersion. She didn't know if there was a full-scale tank on the T6, but the alternative was that Shin Hati would die out here, from a wound inflicted by her own allies. 'The domain of betrayal' wasn't a myth after all. 

"I have to get you to the ship," Sabine said, trying to sound reassuring and not let on that she wasn't sure that would save her either. The helmet made her sound insincere so she took it off with one hand, scrabbling for a bacta patch with the other. There was no way it would heal Shin's slashed organs or repair her internal bleeding, but it might seal the initial flesh wound enough for Sabine to carry her. She wished she had brought Mirshko the Howler with her, but there was no point thinking about it now.

"Sabine?" Shin's voice was a thin whine that Sabine barely heard over the rain.

"It's me," she said, lifting the tattered remains of Shin's bloodstained robe to press the patch to her skin. The wound was so big the strip barely covered it, but at least the infusion had stopped the more severe bleeding. "You can murder me once I save your life, okay?"

"Took… lightsaber," Shin managed. Her eyes opened for a moment, and a lump rose in Sabine's throat as she saw how bloodshot they were. A second later they closed again, and Sabine worried she had been too late.

"Shin?!" she shouted, and the other woman stirred very slightly. 

"It's a trap," she said. "They're… they're coming."

Sabine's blood ran cold.

[whiteravengreywolf]

The Injury of Finally Knowing You - A Wolfwren fanfiction

A/N: Hello everyone! My brain has been filled with nothing but Wolfwren for weeks and because I couldn't wait I decided to write my own season 2 of Ahsoka! Here is an extract from the first chapter and the link to the full chapter will be at the end! Enjoy!

Sabine expected to feel more of a pounding in her head when she woke up. After all, someone had snuck up behind her and knocked her out. Maybe she’d grown used to being hit in the head. Huyang certainly seemed to take pleasure in doing so during her training sessions. Perhaps she ought to thank him for it now that she woke up with barely a dull pulse at the back of her head. She quickly assessed her surroundings.

Daylight passed through the walls of the tent; the leather too thin to block it out. She was tied to the central pole of the tent, so that if she pulled too hard on the bindings, she might collapse the whole structure. She was unarmed. Her lightsaber and blasters had been taken. However, she remained in armor, which was always an advantage. No one had been stationed in the tent to keep an eye on her. She might as well make the most of it, she thought as she pulled on her bindings. The wooden poll tremble with every harsh tug.

The Ravagers had rushed the Noti camp on the back of their howlers. In the middle of the night, Sabine had only had a moment to understand what was happening. She’d jumped out of the T-6 and rushed after her master. All the campfires had been extinguished, either by time or by their attackers. She spotted Ahsoka’s white light on the right side and figured she would cover their left flank. Somehow in the chaos of metal blades glimmering in the night and blaster shots, she had been knocked out and captured.

She doubted Ahsoka had also suffered the same fate. Hopefully her master would track her down. She wasn’t confident in her ability to navigate the wilderness yet. She tugged on the leather straps and the whole tent rattled. A few more hard pulls and she would be free, she figured.

The flap of the tent was thrown open, allowing harsh midday light within and blinding Sabine for a second. Someone entered and she stilled her tugging. The footsteps were angry. They crushed the earth as if trying to show just how superior to it they were. When Sabine had blinked the light out of her eyes, she looked up only to find herself confronted by a familiar wrathful face.

Shin’s platinum blond hair had grown an inch since they’d been stranded on the planet, revealing more of those dark roots at the top of her head. Sabine almost offered her pair of scissors but thought better of the jab when she saw her eyes. They were full of fury and sorrow in equal part, darkness and misery and tiredness and agony. Sabine was stricken by such grief when she saw her that she couldn’t speak.

“You failed,” Shin said. “Thrawn escaped.”

The accusation was just what Sabine needed to get her thoughts back in order.

“I also sent Ezra home. I accomplished what I set out to do. What did you accomplish?”

Shin glared at her. It was intense, but Sabine could take it.

“Why are you still here?”

Sabine frowned.

“I don’t know. Maybe because we’re just as stuck as you are?”

Shin shook her head.

“I don’t believe that. You must be here for another reason.”

“And the reason is that we are stuck.”

Full story here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50827036/chapters/128401468