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wint3r-h3art · 1 year ago

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The (un)Invited | Vampire!Miguel O’Hara

Summary: Your new and mysterious next-door neighbor turns out to be more than you think he is.

WC: 4.5K

Warnings: Contains horror & dark themes like dub-con and blood. Predator/prey play, possessive behavior, biting, oral sex (female receiving), breeding kink, vaginal fingering & vaginal sex.

18+ ONLY | MINORS DO NO INTERACT

A/N: The first entry of my Carpe Noctum event for the month of October! Special shout out to @galatially for beta reading this. thank you so much for your amazing feedback, and you may have planted some ideas for a possible part 2 🤣

***Do not repost, copy, or translate my works anywhere else. Please support by commenting/reblogging. Banner by @cafekitsune

Petrichor permeated the air as the last breath of the sun fled the sky, drenching heaven with inky blackness. The rain had just stopped after many days of brutal heat waves, soaking every dry crevice with a new sense of life.

Miguel crouched down on the large branch of the tree, balancing his large body with just the ball of his feet. His crimson eyes burned like candlelight in the silent darkness; the air felt sticky and heavy with a hint of sweetness.

With his eyes closed, he could hear the rushing of footsteps, running and trudging atop the wet, muddy forest floor. Miguel licked his lips tentatively, revealing his sharp, pearly canines. He ran his tongue over his fangs as thirst traced its cold fingertips along his spine. The familiar ache radiated from the base of his throat. His gum was aching and throbbing as the sweet scent filled his lungs. Saliva flooded his mouth at the prospect of his sinking his teeth into the sweet, warm flesh. He imagined what it would feel like to have that blood gushed into his mouth, satiating that ache and filling him with nothing but that sticky, sweet crimson liquid.

He had tasted you before—the salty sweetness lingered on his tongue and felt like a stimulant upon his senses. Soft and warm–like the way the sunlight kissed upon his skin many centuries ago. It was like a punishment and a salvation for him–blurring the fine line between his hunger and want. He knew then and there that he got to have you.

A deep, guttural growl emitted from deep within his chest at the thought of spending his eternity with you. A small yelp followed by a soft thud pulled him from his reverie.

You were so naive and so trusting, inviting him into your apartment without a single thought in mind. He knew from the very beginning about the attraction you felt for him. Your eyes told him everything he needed. The magnetic pull you felt at that moment your gaze landed on him was instantaneous and strong. Every molecule in your body yearned for him–it was all built-in for a creature such as himself. He was meant to tempt, to lure and to trap his prey where he wanted them.

From exchanging glances when you invited him into your apartment for coffee to the way his voice would drop an octave or two lower when you converse with him–hell, even the way he smelled, they were all meant to trap you in his web.

Two weeks to gain your trust and two weeks to get you to need him–to want him so much that you would go crazy. He knew from the moment his lips touched yours that it would be an end game. It was unlike any hunger he had ever felt before. He swore he almost moaned out loud when his lips molded over yours in a slow, sensuous kiss. His large palm trailed to the nape of your neck, holding you there in place as his tongue twisted and flicked with yours. It took every ounce of his control then and there to not fully initiate the mating ritual because as much as he had the upper hand, he wanted you to want him–to crave him to the point where you beg for him.

Falling for him was easy when Miguel was so intune to your every need, whether it was in the bedroom or not. You were a little bit suspicious of course when he only wanted to spend time with you after the sun went down, but that little voice that was in the back of your mind was weaker than what your heart desired. It wasn’t as if he was hiding you–hell, he took you to places you’ve never dreamt of going, yet…it felt off.

You have never seen him work nor go out–hell, you weren’t trying to spy on him. You were curious. He always stayed in during the daytime, all cooped up in his apartment and not answering your text. He always made it up though with lavish gifts and attention that you never dreamt was being given to a man as attractive as Miguel was. Looking back now, you felt a pang of regret for trusting him this much.

You didn’t even bother protesting when he invited you to spend the long weekend with him at a cabin he claimed his family owned in the woods. Any sane person would have asked him more questions, especially when you only knew him for a month. With your cockdrunk brain thought, it only took a little convincing from him to get you to where he wanted you: secluded from prying eyes.

His true nature fully came out when he had you under him on the couch. He was more impatient than usual, and you only thought that it was because he was needy from not seeing you for the past three days, but something was off about him.

He was rougher than usual. Every time he grabbed your thighs and pulled you toward him, he wasn’t being careful digging his nail into your skin. There was a sense of urgency in the way he kissed you. He would let his teeth graze the delicate skin of your lips, and at times it felt like he did it intentionally to break the skin open. His tongue would then lick over that same spot, and you swore you could taste the faint salty, metallic taste on his tongue when he plunged it down your throat.

But all it took was a glimpse into his bloodlust eyes.

Somehow, underneath the amber light, his eyes seemed to glow blood red as he was kissing the space between your breasts. You were, of course, stuck in a haze when his mouth did such a sinful thing to you–licking and kissing his way down your body while his large palm covered your soft mound. There was no hesitation of course when you let out a terrifying scream as you tried to scurry out from beneath him, but Miguel had you in a grip. And from the way your scent changes, he knows that you have figured him out.

Miguel slowly sat up as he gazed down at you. A thin trail of crimson liquid ran down his chin. His tongue darted out to lick the traces of your blood, flashing you a small glimpse of his fangs.

You were delirious and frantic at this point. You could feel a surge of adrenaline coursing through you as every cell in your body told you to run.

“What the fuck are you?”

Miguel didn’t miss the way your voice trembled as you took a step back, hand clutching whatever article of clothes you had. He also couldn’t ignore the way your heart surged, beating so hard against your ribcage as if it was about to burst through your chest cavity. He also couldn’t deny the intoxicated smell of your blood that was pumping through your veins either. His gum ached just from the desire to sink his teeth into your skin while he fuck you deeply. He had never wanted anyone in his life before–hell, he had never wanted to mate with anyone this much in all of his existence. The thought of feeding you while he bred you was driving him mad.

“You know the answer to that already, love. Do you want me to spell it out for you?”

Miguel took a step towards you, and you retreated. In the confinement of the cabin, his stature appeared larger inside the cabin. He could have easily snapped you in half if he wanted, but that was far from it.

He was right. You knew exactly what he was. Your brain could piece together the little clue. The red glowing eyes, the sharp fangs, and those talon-like nails–you knew exactly what he was.

“A-Are you going to kill me?”

Miguel laughed in reply, and you took another step backward. He knew you would want to run, and that only made this little thing a little more fun for him.

“Hmm…originally,” he replied pensively as he ran his claws through his messy, brown hair, letting some traces of your blood coated his strands. It was true. His original intention was to devour you, but for some reason, the more time he spent with you, the more he craved you in a way that feeding you would satisfy him.

“But you turned out to be far, far better than a one-time meal for me. You see, I was searching for someone that I could spend the rest of my eternity with. I’ve never thought that I would find someone as perfect as you are, but by hell…” He chuckled as if he couldn’t believe that someone like you could be real.

“You were so eager to have my affection and so eager to be with me. Not to mention how fucking perfect you are for me. Your scent–every time you came, the smell of your blood felt like some sort of stimulant to me…like a drug that somehow I can’t get enough of, so I gotta have you, sweetheart. All we need to do is perform the mating ritual, and we shall spend the rest of our eternity together.”

“You’re insane,” you managed to utter the words out. “You are fucking insane…you did all this just to make me into some sort of your little pet for you to feed on.”

Miguel chuckled again. “Hmm, I mean a nicer term would be my mate. A great deal if you ask me because the alternative will be me draining you dry until you are nothing more than skin and bones. And if it wasn’t me, there are others that are far worse than I.”

“You’re insane,” you sobbed as your back was now flushed against the cabin door.

“Hmm, am I? I thought you wanted me. You said that the last time we made love, did you not.”

You gasped out loud as you remembered that one night that he had stayed over. It was the middle of your fucking of course. You were clearly under the influence of lust to even think straight.

“You clearly said you wanted to be mine. You said that I can take you, and here I am, taking you up on that offer.”

His smile slowly turned sickly sweet. You were horrified of him of course.

“Please let me go,” you pleaded with your hands behind your back, trying to slowly turn the door knob. Miguel knew of course, but he had been a patient man. He could play along a bit more. It wasn’t like you can run far.

“Hmmm, why would I do that when I have spent so much time getting to know you?”

“Please?” you begged again, this time you knew that once you got him distracted you could bolt right out.

“No.”

You swallowed as you watched him, making sure that you could catch him off guard, and you bolted right out the door.

You ran like hell. The icy cold wind bit through your skin, as your legs burned. It wasn’t ideal to run with your bare feet, but you didn’t have a choice. You didn’t even bother to look back to see if he followed you or not.

Miguel leaped from one tree branch to another, eyes and ears pin-pointed to your location. Even at the slightest movement within his property, he could hear you. It wasn’t like you could run far, he thought to himself as he breathed in your lingering scent again. Miguel licked his lips as if the smell had invigorated him or something.

There was no time, you thought again. You have to run, you told yourself when suddenly your foot got caught by the mud and toppled you over with a soft thud. You yelped out in surprise as pain shot out from your ankle.

“Fuck, fuck fuck…” you mumbled in between your breath as you tried to pull yourself out of this predicament. Your clothes are stained with mud and dead leaves. The smell of dead vegetation filled your nostrils.

“This can’t be happening,” you sobbed as you dragged yourself forward, crawling atop the muddy forest floor. Every moment was slow as you struggled. Tears soaked your face as you heard faint footsteps following you not too far behind, stalking, observing. You didn’t dare to look. You just knew who it was, and you didn’t dare to think of anything else other than to escape.

You could barely hear what he was saying in Spanish when your heart was beating so hard against your chest. It was almost deafening by the way you were practically hyperventilating as panic set it. You didn’t want him to catch you, but damn your stupid ankle, and damn your stupid self for believing his lies. You should have known that this was too good to be true. No good men in their right mind wanted you. The thought only made you sob harder because hell, you really believed him.

You were at the point of exhaustion as Miguel continued to observe you not too far behind when hands were in his pocket. It was a pitiful sight indeed, but you were too damn stubborn, and he somehow had to teach you a lesson or two first.

“Are you done?” Miguel asked, kneeling next to you. Of course, you instinctively flinched away from him and didn’t answer, but he chose to ignore that.

“Look at what you’ve done to yourself…we could have been civilized, you know,” he said as he slid his arms underneath you and picked you up. You felt his smell enamored you as he pressed close to his chest. Why did he has to smell so fucking good all the damn time?

“You wanted to kill me,” you said in between hiccups of your sob.

“No–now, you are just being unreasonable. I wanted you—not to kill you. I want to have you, there’s two different things, sweetheart.”

“The same frickin thing,” you said in between your sobs. “I’ll end up dead regardless.”

Miguel didn’t say anything. He simply and quickly made his way back into his cabin and headed straight to the bathroom. You watched him carefully as he placed you on your feet. He turned on the shower to the warm setting and waited until the water came to the temperature.

“What are you doing?” you asked. You realized your voice was hoarse now from all the crying and screaming.

“Cleaning you…do you want to stay in these muddy, wet clothes?” His dark brows quirked as he looked at you with his crimson gaze.

“Stop pretending like you care about me when I am nothing more than your meal.”

Miguel let out an exasperated sigh. “Oh, but you are not,” he reassured you again as he crouched down until he was at your eye level. His deft fingers worked quickly with your tops and pants. “I’ve told you before, I want to have you.”

“The same fucking thing!”

Miguel huffed as his anger boiled over. He suddenly grabbed you by the nape of your neck, forcing you to look at him. There was no denying that he was furious.

“If you’re going to treat me like a fucking monster, I’ll show you a monster.”

With that, his mouth crashed into yours with a ferocity that was unlike anything you ever felt. His hard body pressed against yours almost too much. His arm snaked around your waist, constricting you. You could feel his fangs scraping your skin every now and then. His tongue plunged into your mouth, licking and sucking at your tongue.

Miguel was relentless in his quest to break you–to mold you into his perfect bride. Long had his search been to find the perfect person, and long had he been, enduring years of loneliness and drowning himself in the sea of bloodlust. But now, he found you, and he won’t stop until you become his.

He grabbed you by the ass and hoisted you up. He brought you under the hot water, your back pressed against the cool wall as his lips trailed down to your neck. You could feel his tongue licking along the column of your neck. Miguel would press his sharp fangs against your neck enough to elicit a whimper out of you, but not enough to pierce your skin just yet.

“Tell me you want me,” he said, his voice vibrating against your neck as you shudder in his arms. You could feel his cock pressed against your stomach. “Beg me to fuck you and fill you.”

You whimpered, unable to vocalize or rationalize anything.

On one hand, you wanted him. In such a short period of time, you felt like you found the one person that want you without judgment, on the other hand, he lied to you–hell, he was a fucking vampire.

Miguel groaned as he slowly ground his hips against your bare core. His large palm squeezed at your ass cheek firmly before slapping it.

“Say it!”

The growling sent chills down your spine as you let out a somewhat incoherent whimper.

You were practically sobbing in his arms as he nibbled against your skin. You were clearly scared and helpless, and Miguel could tell by the way the sickly sweet scent filled the bathroom. He had no desire to force you, but your insistence on insulting and running away from him made him this way.

Taking a deep breath, he stopped and simply stood there with you in his arms, allowing the hot water to wash dirt and grime off you. He had to tell himself that you needed time to process all of these. But time wasn’t the luxury he had right now. The mating needed to be tonight. He cannot endure another full moon without you.

After a long moment of calming himself, he finally spoke with his forehead pressed against yours. His crimson eyes were no longer glowing.

“I have no desire to spend eternity with you resenting me, so I will give you a choice of coming to me willingly. ”

“The alternative?” you croaked. “What if I don’t want to change?”

“You know the answer to that,” he said somberly as he put you down. “Clean up and don’t you fucking dare think about running again.”

*****

You finished showering and limped out of the bathroom to find Migule sitting at the edge of the bed, his eyes never faltering from you as you slowly approached him. You noticed that he was holding a pouch of blood in one hand, which was already half empty. His lips stained a deep shade of red, glistening with the liquid that he was drinking. Fear traced its way down your spine.

Miguel noticed your concerned expression and spoke. “I’m trying to feed myself so I don’t take too much from you.”

“That’s very considerate of you,” you mumbled with arms crossed over your naked chest.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Miguel said. His warm smoky scent filled the room. The air felt so thick that you felt like you were choking on it. He held out a hand–an open invitation for you to take.

“Eternity is a long time,” you said softly. “I’m not sure if I can do that.”

Miguel closed his palm around yours and pulled you in until you were straddling him. His forehead pressed against yours again. You could feel his sickly, sweet breath brushing against your skin as you stared at him. “You’ll figure it out. I’ll make sure you see my reasons.”

With that, his lips closed against yours. This time he was gentle and slow and deliberate. It felt like the Miguel that you came to know–perhaps the visage that he had put on to make you fall for him. He trailed one hand up and down your spine, while the other held you firmly in place.

His tongue swept across your lips, then along your jawline. Licking and tasting every inch of your skin. You were practically breathless at this point as your body felt weaker against his barrage upon your senses.

“Tell me you want me,” he mumbled against your breast. His low, baritone voice sent a tremor straight through you as his crimson eyes watched you. “Beg me to take you.”

“P-please take me…” you said in a haze as your lashes fluttered from the wet sensation of his mouth against your breast.

He grunted and bit down slightly on your right breast. A small gush of your blood flooded his mouth as he drank you in. Every inch of his body felt like it was set ablaze as the sweet taste of your blood coated his tongue. He felt his cock hardened as every part of him filled with nothing but you.

It should have hurt, but your fucked up brain was far too gone. Instead of pain, you felt pleasure as your pussy felt like it was gushing out even more slick.

“Fuck,” he growled as his tongue darted out to lick the small puncture wound on your soft mound. “I’m going to fuck you so good, baby. I’m going to drink you, fill you, and breed you until you’re filled with nothing but me.”

You whined as he had you on your back. His large body hovered over yours. You were practically delirious at this point. Miguel still licked his lips, savoring the way your blood still lingered on them. It took everything in him to not initiate the ritual then. He wanted to enjoy you as a mortal first, taking his time a bit before changing you.

Miguel licked two of his long, thick fingers, wetting them first before he brought it down to your nether lips. His fingers brushed against the fold, allowing your wetness to coat them before he plunged them right into your soppy pussy.

Your body jolted instantly as he was knuckled deep inside you. The soft, squelching sound filled the room as he pumped his digits in and out with intent. Miguel’s thumb pressed and swiped against your clit, bringing you raw pleasure. Your body responded in such a way that you didn’t understand. You were practically grounding your hips against his arms, fucking yourself on his fingers needily.

“Miguel…” you moaned, but he didn’t verbally respond. Instead, he bent his head down and licked the same spot where he had drank from you.

He suddenly added a third finger and he suddenly sped up his movement while his mouth was around your stiff nipple. Pleasure bombarded your senses.

You moaned out his name again.

“You like that, hmmm?”

You nodded frantically. “Yes, yes, yes,” you chanted under your breath as you watched him with a hazy gaze.

“Hmmm,” he said before withdrawing his fingers from you. A protesting whine left your lips, but you soon found yourself gasping again when he swiftly moved down. His mouth was practically devouring your pussy. His tongue pressed and toyed with your clit while his vice-like grip held you in place.

A deep rumbling noise emitted from his chest and vibrated straight through your pussy. Your clit was throbbing to your frantic heartbeat. Your pussy clenched and unclenched at the emptiness you wish he would fill you with. It was like a never-ending hell as he tore you apart and put you back together simultaneously. And it wasn’t long when you came with a strangled cry.

Miguel continued to plunge his tongue into your needy hole, lapping at your essence. You could feel his sharp fangs traced against the skin of your inner thigh. And without a thought he sank his teeth into your flesh once again, drinking you slowly. It was like a burst of adrenaline shot through his veins as your sweet taste coursed through his body. As if his cock weren’t hard already, whatever the fuck your blood was doing to him was like some sort of drug that made him mad.

“I’m going to fuck you so good, baby,” he mumbled as he moved to kneel between your legs. A trail of thick blood ran down his chin as he looked at you. He was wild, terrified, and hot all at once, and you felt your reservation slowly slipping.

His arms slid between under thighs, lifting them over his forearms as his body moved closer so that his knees were now close to your chest. He adjusted his hips and pressed the fat tip of his cock against your wet entrance. His crimson eyes never tore away from you.

Miguel slowly pressed forward, entering you with a slow and precise movement. Your eyes closed as he stretched you out deliciously, filling you with that long, thick cock. You could barely have your eyes opened as he began to move, driving himself into you with a ferocity that you’ve never experienced before.

Miguel was dangerous alright–not in the way that he was a vampire, but by the way he knew how to make you feel far too damn good. He was your heaven and hell wrapped up into one.

He sank deeper, lowering his weight until you felt like you couldn't take anymore. Every thrust made you breathless. You could feel his balls slapped against your ass every time he slammed into you, making you moan louder.

The smell of smoky, sweet scent filled your nostrils as he dipped his head and pressed his lips against your neck. You could feel his every grunt reverberating through you from the effort of his movement alone.

That familiar warmth ran down his spine and straight through his balls. He knew he was close, and by the way your pussy was clenching around him, he knew you were close too.

Without a thought, he sank his teeth into you and drank you in as he continued to fuck you. Rapture tore through you with a newfound sensation, unlike anything you felt before. Your body felt like it was floating as coldness seeped through you.

And then an intense, salty coppery taste coated your tongue, filling you and drowning you with it. You realize that Miguel no longer moved as he allowed you to drink from his wrist. His blood filled you, choking you until the darkness took you over.

He sat there, watching as your body lay limp. Anxiety filled him as he waited. Perhaps he took too much, or perhaps he didn’t give you enough.

A faint thud pulled Miguel out of his thoughts. And then Another, and another.

Miguel watched pensively as you slowly opened your eyes. His lips stretched into a smile.

“Welcome to your new life, my love.”

#miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o’hara x reader #miguel o’hara x you #miguel o'hara x you #miguel o'hara x y/n #miguel o'hara fanfiction #kinktober 2023 #kinktober #miguel o'hara smut

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random-brushstrokes · 1 year ago

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Louis Dumoulin - Carp Banners in Kyoto (1888)

#Louis Dumoulin #french art #cityscape #kyoto #1880s

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lillchris · 6 months ago

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You With The Dark Curls; You With The Water Colured Eyes (Two Shot)

Chapter Two: I'd Start a Riot Word Count: 2.2k

a/n: Title inspo from BANNERS song "Start A Riot" I will try and make this chapter, and future ones longer :) Anyway, enjoy this chapter! Stay Safe love you all <3

BANNERS song below in case you haven't listened to it, or want to! ;)

Start a Riot

TW: Angst, Swearing, anxiety and panic attack

Luckily when Paige walked back inside, Drew wasn't right there carping her with questions, which she was currently thankful for.

In fact, she didn't know what exactly to think of at the moment. All she could think about was everything Jalen had said in the course of their heated conversation. Even though she was angry with Jalen at the beginning of their discussion, she had tried to keep it civil. But screw it, it had escalated to anything but a civil conversation by the end of it all.

The fact that Jalen had the audacity to bring up her parent’s divorce was a very low blow, but yet in all the years that Paige had known him, it didn’t surprise her too much that he would make a comment like that, and it gave Paige yet another reason to never speak to Jalen again.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the couch, Azzi was consumed in her own pool of thoughts.

She mentally kicked herself for not being able to give Jalen her full what for. She knew that if she somehow did now, it would make the situation worse, and that was the last thing Paige needed. However, in her mind, she hoped that sometime in the very near future the situation would arise where she could. She made a mental note and added Jalen to the list of people she wanted to bitch slap. and yes Azzi had a list, and by all means, he deserved it.

Azzi rose from the couch, silently, walking into the kitchen, eyeing her parents, who were still cleaning the kitchen. She kept her presence brief as she filled a glass with ice water, as she felt Tim and Katie’s eyes on her. She said nothing, only glancing at them as her parents frowned. It was one of those eyes that spoke more than words moments. Azzi’s expression and demeanor told her parents pretty much everything. They stayed quiet, as they watched their daughter walk away, before having a conversation of their own.

Azzi crouched down in front of Paige meeting her eye level with the couch as she handed her the glass of water.

Their eyes met, and something in Paige softened, as her best friend watched her face relax.

Azzi was always the one who could do that, no one else. She somehow made her feel at peace, even in moments when she felt like everything around her was crashing. She was there for her when she injured her ACL, there for her when she wanted to give up, physically and mentally in rehab, every time. She was there for her when Jalen had broken her heart, letting her cry. Azzi was her safe haven. Azzi had told Paige once, that she saved her, but in reality, it was vice versa. To her Azzi was the one who had truly saved her.

Flashback… (November 2022)

Why did this injury even have to happen? One season, please, an injury-free healthy season, that’s what she had hoped for. Longed for, Prayed for, asked God for, but He had different plans. Through the constant painful days of rehab Paige was really starting to wonder what that plan truly was.

“Six months” “Nine months” “Possibly up to a year maybe more.” That’s what she had heard over and over again from Orthopedic Specialists and doctors. “Oh your young and healthy! It might not take that long for recovery!” They’d say or “You should be thankful it isn’t worse.” She didn’t want sympathy or pity, she wanted to be out on the court, playing. Instead she had to watch from the sidelines as her teammates played games she would have been in too if it hadn’t been for this.

She fucking hated it. Being away from the court, being resentful towards her teammates, the jealousy, the envy all of it! She knew she shouldn’t feel that way, but the jealousy always crept in somehow.

Most of all she missed the court, even the sound. The way her shoes would squeak against the hardwood, or the way the rubber and layers upon layers of fiber felt in her hand as she gripped the basketball.

Ball was life, who was she without it if she couldn’t play? She didn’t mean it, but she also didn’t want to lie to herself and not acknowledge that half of that statement wasn’t true, because it was.

Paige mentally cursed herself as one of the therapists aided her in the usual “daily walk” they called it. It was supposed to be a towards the end of the day type of casual walk, but to Paige it was anything but casual. The walk was a fucking menace, as Paige felt every muscle in her right “good leg” burn as it tried to compensate for her bum left one.

She was about to curse out loud but the sound of Azzi’s voice stopped her from doing so. As she glanced over toward the hallway entrance she saw Azzi, her Azzi. Even though she had seen her two days prior, something in Paige always skipped when she saw her. She didn’t know what to root it to, the fact that she missed her or something else. All Paige knew was the she was elated to see her best friend, as even the presence of her encouraged Paige to keep going.

———————————————————————

“Paige! It’s your turn to give me my gift!”Drew said excitedly, snapping his big sister out of her daze, and back into the present moment.

“Oh uh yeah right!” Paige said with a slight smile as she got up from the couch and handed Drew his present.

Paige was trying to be as enthusiastic as she could that evening as everyone opened presents, but her efforts were in vain.

Azzi glanced over at Paige. She knew that the events from this morning were effecting Paige more than she knew, physically Paige was there with everyone, but mentally she was in another place.

Azzi said nothing, as she silently intertwined her fingers with Paige’s, in hopes to help keep her grounded in the moment despite the fact her mind was spiraling.

“Yes! This is exactly what I wanted! Thank you!”Drew said happily before engulfing his big sister in a tight embrace.

Drew was ecstatic about his present, due to the fact he now had a PlayStation Portal. He could easily play Fortnite virtually anywhere, without being tied to his console. Which in turn didn’t help his video game obsession, but Drew was happy and to Paige that’s all that mattered.

“You gotta open yours now.” Azzi said mustering up a smile as she handed Paige a small velvet box.

The content of the box contained a small sliver ring with the wording engraved on the front “My Ride Or Die”. Their initials ‘P&A’ engraved on the inside.

Paige smiled, and chuckled lightly before handing Azzi a slightly bigger velvet box.

Azzi gasped slightly, before laughing a little and smiling upon seeing the item.

Unironically enough, inside was an identical silver stylish bracelet with the same wording on the front and their initials, this time on the back.

"They really are soulmates." Jose whispered to Drew with a laugh making a heart hands toward the two girls jokingly.

"Now we're matching." Paige stated as she carefully placed the bracelet around Azzi's smaller wrist.

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

"Alright that's it for me I'm done, I already lost five hotels four houses, and seven hundred dollars. I'm practically broke." Paige says laughing as she sets her play piece on the Monopoly board.

"Yeah, I guess I'm out too, Drew drained me of all resources." Azzi says as she noogies Drew's head jokingly.

"Oh come on it's only 3am. You two are dropping out and going to bed like an old married couple." Jose teases as Paige and Azzi roll their eyes, and walk down the hall toward Azzi's bedroom.

Later that night, silence filled the bedroom as Azzi and Paige lay opposite the queen-sized mattress. They always shared a bed whenever Paige visited the Fudds, so it wasn't out of the norm for them to share a bed, but tonight something was different.

"You awake Paige?" Azzi asked curiously as she lay on her side, before glancing over at Paige who had her back facing her.

"Yeah, um I'm awake." Paige said vaguely not even turning around to face Azzi.

Tonight Paige was closed off like a butterfly, sheltered in the cacoon walls she had put up to protect herself, and no matter what Azzi did she couldn't get through to her. Azzi didn't blame Paige at all for being closed off, but she just wished that Paige would let her carry her burdens; together through all of this.

"You don't have to say anything but, if you do, I'm here to talk or just listen. I'm here; always."

Paige said nothing, but internally she felt like she was on the brink of drowning. All the air left her lungs as she felt as though she was barely keeping her head above water. Her ears felt as though they were burning, her mind was screaming at her. Paige felt as though her heart was beating out of her chest, feeling the ever-looming feeling of nausea rising in her throat. She didn't know what was happening to her. Her senses were shot through the roof, and it was only then did she realize her labored breathing could be heard by Azzi.

"Paige." Azzi's voice stretched out to her, but at this point, her friend was unreachable, as something threatened to pull her under. Take her away from the only thing, the only person who could possibly pull her from the waves she was being taken under by.

"Paige, it's me, Azzi, You're here with me, whatever you're experiencing right now, I'm here with you in this moment." Azzi said softly holding Paige's hand in a desperate attempt to somehow bring her back to this moment.

In Paige's mind, she could hear her best friend calling out to her, but the thoughts and dread that had surpassed her earlier in the day had become all too much for her.

"Paige, can you hear me? I need you to slow down your breathing, long inhales, and exhales."

Paige made slight eye contact with Azzi, despite her eyes still being hazy and glazed over. Her vision was blurry and she could barely make out the shape of Azzi's face, as her fast spurts of breathing threatened to cause her blackout.

"Paige, I can't have you hyperventilating do you remember the grounding techniques we learned in psychology class?

Azzi firmly set both hands on Paige's shoulders, Azzi was damn determined to bring Paige out of this.

"Whatever is happening to you right now, whatever you're thinking it isn't true, none of it is. Whatever Jalen said to you isn't true. Your are an amazing person, you are smart, and kind. Who you love or how you love does not make you less. Your my best friend, your beautiful, and more than deserving of being loved, and to love. Your past circumstances do not define you.

Those words seemed to break through to Paige, as she slowly came back to the present moment. Her vision cleared and she was finally able to see Azzi clearly, as her chocolate brown, gentle eyes stared back into Paige's blue ones.

"I-I." Paige started to say, but Azzi gently shushed her, and she practically collapsed into Azzi's embrace. Paige's walls fell down, and Azzi was there to catch her.

"Shhhh I know, it's okay. I've got you, it's okay you can let it out. "

It made Azzi's heartbreak knowing Paige probably had kept this, and a lot of things pent up for a while now. Paige was always the tough one, the strong one, the leader. She was always there for others, but no one was there for her, not truly at least. She never really had any way or anyone she could talk to about everything.

Don't get Azzi wrong, she loved Paige's family, but she always wondered why her parents split when she was so young. She knew it was a very sensitive subject for Paige, and she respected that, but her mind always wondered. Azzi recalled when had taken Psychology I, that the earliest a child could remember things was age three. While it was often spotty and vague, a child would start to remember.

Azzi hated the fact that Paige had no one to talk to about this matter and everything else in between. From that moment on, Azzi made a promise to herself; that she would be that somebody.

Paige's sobs subsided, as Azzi looked down at her, realizing she had fallen asleep in her arms, utterly drained and exhausted.

Azzi sighed, laying Paige in her bed again as she climbed in beside her, thankful now that she was finally sleeping peacefully. It was only when Azzi heard Paige's snoring that was she satisfied.

Paige cuddled up to Azzi, as she softly planted a kiss on Paige's forehead. Usually, Azzi would be annoyed by her snoring, but tonight it was a more than welcome gift.

a/n: That's it, I know that this chapter was a bit deeper, and had some sensitive topics, but I promise to have more fluff in the future!! As always I would love to hear what you all think! <3

#pazzi #paige bueckers #uconn huskies #uconn wbb #fanfic #azzi fudd #paige x azzi #pazzi fanfic #uconn women’s basketball #paige buckets #wbb #fanfiction #wlw #love

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mysteryshoptls · 5 months ago

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NRC Masterchef ―Carp-e Diem― Event Lines

These are the lines spoken by Deuce and Jamil on the Event Homescreen, Ingredients Procurement and Cooking screen. (Thank you @/twstgameplay for letting me snag the banner)

Deuce

Viper-senpai, you're so good at this!

When it comes to curry, I always end up wanting to go back for more.

The cafeteria kitchen is so huge!

When sending out to a location: Just gonna go grab stuff!

When returning from location: This is all I was able to get.

When starting a dish: Right! Let's go!

When completing a dish: It shouldn't taste terrible... Hopefully.

Jamil

Hm. You're really giving it your all, Deuce.

For airy fritters, I should...

I actually like cooking to help clear my head.

When sending out to a location: I'm heading out. Don't expect too much.

When returning from location: Well, this will have to do.

When starting a dish: I'm just going to do as I normally do.

When completing a dish: Done. Now, to serve it.

Requested by Anonymous.

#twisted wonderland #twst #deuce spade #jamil viper #twst deuce #twst jamil #twst translation #twst masterchef

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endursent · 1 month ago

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- God Shattering Star

【 content; morax | rex lapis x reader , slow burn , mutual pining , multi-chapter , archon war period , afab!reader 】

【 note; read on ao3 】

【 word count; 5.713 | previous chapter - next chapter | masterlist 】

- Chapter 2 - Distension

You ate your buns on the way to the palace, it was still warm and just as delicious as it smelled, after the recent days of eating cold food that you brought with you from home it was nice to have something warm and fresh.

You were halfway up the steps to the palace; each step was clean and well-kept and there wasn’t a single crease or dip from use despite being stepped on daily for centuries. Millelith stood on the left and right side both at the bottom as well as the top of the long steps, and you wondered how many there were. Swallowing your bite, you look at Moon Carver. “How many steps are there to the palace?”

“A thousand exactly,” Moon Carver answered, surprisingly he didn’t seem annoyed by the question.

You had never seen the gods residing over the Guili Assembly, but they have always been revered as kind and wise gods that care for the people and protect them to their fullest capabilities. It showed in the way their palaces were placed, the capital is next to a rising mountain, it isn’t very large, and the city rises onto the side of the mountain. The palaces are therefore always in line with the buildings of the city around it, rising along with the people, and not leaving them behind, there are palaces that rise high above the rest that you have heard from other lands ruled by different gods. The stairs are a formality, with each step you approach them, rising among the buildings to meet them, on equal latitude to the city and its people.

At least, that is how it seems to you upon observation… it would be rather embarrassing if you were to meet them and they were quite unlike the kind and patient gods the stories tell, you don’t quite trust stories and legends to be entirely equivalent to real life.

By the time you reach the top, you regret eating your buns before the rise as you feel it in your throat and do your best not to look like you’re about to return it to your hand.

Moon Carver walks ahead of you, entirely unbothered by the long walk up the stairs… after walking for four entire days… you’re convinced now, this guy isn’t human.

He leads you through the gates to the palaces as you try and rub your stomach subtly to settle it, and just as they’ve been described, there are two large buildings on either side and several smaller ones, often connected, are between them. The stone beneath your feet is clean and warm and there are ponds as well as patches of greenery between the paths, if you hadn’t climbed all the way up, you would have assumed the palaces were on ground level and not halfway up a mountain.

Moon Carver turns to you. “This one has other obligations and duties, please go through there,” he points to a building close to the right-hand palace, there is an opening between buildings with a walkway connecting them. “And to the gardens, the person receiving you will be there… don’t get lost.”

The instructions weren’t so complicated, you could see bushes and trees through the small opening and as Moon Carver left, you stood still for a moment to look around. It wasn’t entirely clear which palace belonged to who, neither were decorated in a specific way nor hung any banners, the roofs were brown and the walls made of stone, they seemed about four stories high with the surrounding buildings being either two or single stories. The surrounding area was open and well taken care of, trees lined the edges where walls protected the palace grounds and many species of flowers you have never seen before were blooming along ponds inhabited with carps swimming leisurely.

Just standing around gawking was attracting some stares from patrolling and guarding Millelith as well as passing attendants, so you decided to do as you were told and hurried towards the opening between buildings. As you stepped onto the wooden path, you smelled a delicious aroma to your left and heard speaking from an open window, the kitchens seem to be located a bit right to the centre of the palaces, then there must be a main hall to the left? You didn’t stop to take a look, hoping you would get a chance later, and continued on.

The gardens, somehow, were more stunning than the open area at the front of the palaces. Here the ground was grass instead of rock with wooden and stone paths leading around it. A large tree with vibrant green leaves stood in the middle, as well as a figure underneath it. It must be the one waiting for you as there was no one else in the gardens. The sound of a rolling stream sounded as you walked along the path towards the figure, it was a short woman in a clean white robe with blue tones, she had grey hair that seemed short at the back and long at the front and changed a slight hue colour the longer down it went.

She heard you approach and turned around as you were only a few steps away, you suddenly felt rather underdressed, wearing a simple robe that was comfortable to travel in and would keep you warm with long sleeves… and the basket on your back with other clothes, some which would fit better for this meeting as you had a feeling this wasn’t just some attendant at the palace.

“Good afternoon,” she greeted, her voice was friendly and her eyes kind. “I’m glad your journey seems to have gone well.” your robes are clean and unmarred; you clearly had a peaceful trip despite its length.

“Thank you,” you say with a hint of uncertainty, she fits the description of the Lord of Dust, but it feels inappropriate to just assume–what if she just resembles her? You remember passing a shrine worshipping her in a village along the eastern coast, though she was made slightly smaller than she seems to you… or perhaps it was to exaggerate the height of the statue next to her. Either way, you tilt your head down in politeness. “Were you the one who summoned me?”

“Considering the state of our injured, it was a collective summon from those worried and wanting to see them healthy,” she confirms and puts her hands together, or rather presses her sleeves together. “But first things first, you can call me Guizhong, no need for excessive formalities.”

… damn. You really did enter the palace of the gods and met one of said gods, intentionally.

You quickly rectify your small head bow from before, grasping your hands together and redoing it with a deeper one. You haven’t exactly been trained to or informed on how to speak to and act around gods, you just hope you won’t cause any trouble… or that she can see or hear your heart thundering in your chest. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Guizhong,” it feels awkward to address a god by their name only, but she did specifically request it… you still consider at least adding a polite honorific behind it. “I hope my skills will be enough, I will do my best in aiding any infected.”

It seems your actions were well received, Guizhong smiles with her long sleeves almost touching the ground. It was quite cute how her robes were styled so that her sleeves are longer than the robe itself. “I believe you, you were highly recommended by general Huang,” she says.

General Huang is the one that leads the Millelith Brigade in the south, he was the one to bring the two cursed artifacts to you, as well as purchased several protective talismans during a particularly difficult month. Though the Millelith have their own protective charms and barriers provided by the adepti directly, there are times where they must venture out of the barrier, particularly scouts, which often burn through protective talismans like incense. General Huang is a kind older man, you hope to meet him again if he returns to the capital while you’re here.

“I’m thankful for his kind words, should I start my work immediately?” you ask, quite worried about the people in need of help. The longer a person goes without purification, the worse the corruption gets, thankfully you have conserved as much energy as you can all things considered, the energy you spend running around and climbing stairs is a different one than you use during purifications and cleansing… but they aren’t entirely independent.

Guizhong nods. “I apologise for sending you to work immediately after your arrival, please leave your basket here and I’ll have an attendant bring it to the chambers you will receive while you stay here,” she brings her hand–her sleeve entirely covers it–to her chin. “The co-leader of the Guili Assembly couldn’t be present to greet you, he is busy tending to efforts relating to the grander conflict.” Her words seem intentionally vague, but you don’t mind, meeting one god is enough for now, though technically two since Moon Carver convinced you without doing much convincing.

As you lower your basket down and straighten your robe, Guizhong continues. “I must ask you to stay here for a while, many of our soldiers are in varying stages, some are extremely sick while others are less affected, but we cannot’ have such foul energies within the city, lest they seep from the palace and into the people. We have done our best to help them, but only so many are learnt in the art of purification.”

Taint of this kind is difficult to deal with, for the gods and adepti, it is antithetical to their essence and thus a blast of their own pure energy would surely easily vaporise it from a body… and it would likely also vaporise the body itself. It requires knowledge, work and practice to be able to eradicate it from a human body–an object is less of an issue, but all bodies and souls are different. You’ve never met another cleanser like yourself, in fact, you’re not sure there are many that are learned at all.

“I will introduce you to the adepti that are handling the issue, as well as those relevant,” Guizhong said as a young girl with dark hair came over to take your basket, before she does, you take your tools from the basket and set it in a smaller bag that you can sling over your shoulder. You thank her before following the Lord of Dust to one of the centre buildings.

She leads you to a hallway that has a single door that slides open to reveal a staircase. The light that shines down fades the longer down you walk, and Guizhong lights two lanterns that are attached to the wall on the way down. “How do you carry patients down here?” you wonder. The stairs are narrow and turn in a tight spiral, no one could carry a stretcher down this.

“There is a separate entrance for that,” Guizhong replies only a few steps ahead of you. “This staircase is simply the shortest way from the gardens.”

You suppose it made sense, why would the main entrance be accessed from a random hallway leading from the gardens? You are relatively silent on the way down, the journey feels as though it takes ten minutes until you see a brighter light illuminating the bottom of the stairs, only the sound of your boots and Guizhong’s bare feet hitting the stone steps sounded as you descended to the bottom.

There is a wide hall that meets your eyes when you finally exit the staircase… people lying on hard cots and only a handful tending to them, bringing water and fixing pillows as some patients writhe in discomfort and pain. There are curtains drawn to hide some cots, but many are open and being tended to. You look at Guizhong silently as she sighs at the sight. “It has only been a few days, but many worsen by the hour,” she leads you further inside and as you pass the foot of several cots, you see that there must be at least forty people in the hall that require treatment.

“How did it happen?” you ask quietly as your eyes catch a woman being tended to, her entire arm is dark and tainted… your nose stings at the smell of rot and thick herbal concoctions used to treat it, and you move your hand up to cover it. You’ve never seen a person so deeply afflicted, everyone you have helped had either recently came in contact with the miasma or only been affected for a day or two…

Guizhong didn’t answer your question as she stopped by one cot that had a woman tending to an older man, the two of you stood and waited as she finished and finally turned to you. “Is this her?” the woman looked you up and down before turning her gaze to Guizhong. “We will need to start immediately.”

The Lord of Dust nodded and looked at you. “This is Ground Mender, one of our esteemed healers, she’s in charge of taking care of the tainted soldiers, I’ll leave you in her capable hands. I was going to introduce you to everyone, but it seems they’re quite busy.”

You nod and give a short bow to Ground Mender, as well as Guizhong as she leaves. “Do you have tools with you?” the adeptus asks as she draws the curtain closed around the older man’s cot. You confirm you do with a rattle of your bag before following her to one end of the room where a man seems to be half-delirious. “Please show me.”

It was a bit (very) nerve wracking to perform your ritual under an adeptus’ gaze, you had managed to hold yourself together for this long and not seem too nervous… but it was getting increasingly difficult. If you had been told a week ago that you would be performing before an adeptus in the gods’ palace, you would have kicked out whoever said it and called them insane.

The man on the cot had a deep wound that had been well dressed. You took a breath, and the smell of the medicinal ward pinched your nose, you closed your eyes and calmed your body before opening them again. “Please be ready to hold him, if the corruption is deep enough…” you didn’t need to explain that it would hurt like hell.

Ground Mender nodded and moved to the other side of the cot, ready to assist when she was needed.

You peeled back the bandage covering the man’s wound and made a slight face. You’re not a doctor so you couldn’t exactly say by what this wound was made, whether it was a weapon or the claw of a beast… but it looked terrible. The stench of thick, coppery blood and sweat clung to the bandage as you set it aside, it looked like it needed changing anyway. You didn’t want to sound rude… but you had to ask. “I’ve heard stories that say adepti and gods can heal wounds wide as dinner plates,” you tried to phrase it like you were merely pondering it to yourself, but Ground Mender clearly understood what you meant.

“The taint prevents any elemental energy from mending their wounds, we’ve tried everything but the only thing that works is purifying their bodies, granting them protection and then providing healing,” she explains as you wash your hands in a basin next to the cot. You hum in response, you don’t have any talent for healing magic and have only tended to superficial wounds in the past… but how does it block elemental energy? Does it simply negate it? Absorb it? You shake your head to toss away the lingering questions, you can think about it later.

You assume that the medical ward is well protected, you also take the other patients into consideration and decide not to light any incense, you just hope the foul energy won’t make any unexpected moves.

With a pre-painted talisman in hand as well as other tools by the ready, you lean closer to the man’s wound to get a better look.

The wound has been stitched together, but the edges are terrible–not as clean as one would expect from a blade, so it must be something else… there is an inky darkness mixed with the shine of blood peeking between the stitches, skin that should be red and raw around the wound is instead grey with black corruption stretching away from the wound, as if it were reaching out for anything to cling to. The man is so pale he might be confused with a corpse, eyes sunken and dark with a deep, desperate breathing that sounds like every draw is his last one.

As soon as you prod at the man’s skin to try and feel for the reach of the corruption, he nearly leaps up into a sitting position, screaming so sharply your ears hurt. Startled, you jump back and almost knock over the cart next to you as Ground Mender pushes the man back down. “I-I didn’t touch his wound! Or even the skin around it!” you were really worried that you had hurt him, but Ground Mender didn’t seem as puzzled by the man’s reaction as you did. Screaming, crying and begging isn’t unusual, but you thought he was unconscious.

“Continue,” she simply said, hands now on his arm and chest to be prepared to hold him down again.

You return to the side of the cot and try to work faster, the corruption is so much deeper compared to what you usually handle, you’ve always been able to work slowly and meticulously… able to take your time, to an extent, but it seems this man requires faster care than more careful care. You can’t measure exactly how far the corruption has spread, it takes time to poke around the skin and if it seeped into such a deep wound, the reach might be vertical as well—you just hope it hasn’t clawed itself into his organs.

The extraction, despite your best attempts to be quick, took much longer than you expected. The energy had dug itself deep into his body and had Ground Mender not restrained him, the man would probably have given you a few bruises with his thrashings. Eventually, you closed the jar now filled with writhing miasma and sealed it closed with the talisman you had prepared earlier. There’s no need to completely extract every drop of corruption from a human body, it can usually wash out the rest on its own, but objects must always be completely cleansed as they can’t do anything for themselves.

You almost slumped down to the floor after setting the jar aside, sweat gathering on your forehead and neck as you felt as if your muscles weighed thrice what they usually do.

The man had stopped thrashing as soon as you closed the jar and was now laying still, chest rising and falling in a relatively healthy rhythm compared to before.

“Good,” Ground Mender nods, her hand raising to her chin. “There’s room for improvement under pressure, and you spent a while regathering energies that slipped from between your fingers, the preparation was too long and— “

You just stare at her, blinking as she goes over your methods step by steps and begins breaking them down… you haven’t had anyone teach you in a long time, so it takes a few seconds for you to even comprehend what she’s saying. “Wait, I’m sorry,” you stop her. “Can you start over? I wasn’t ready.”

The entire day goes by both quickly, as well as extremely slowly, at some points the hour slogged by and another it ran past you. You’re used to cleansing maybe two hours a day, only thrice a week, and only more if a barrier broke or something particularly unfortunate happened. The rest of your day went to keeping your home clean and safe from the miasma you extracted inside of it, preparing talismans or helping around the village with menial tasks.

By the end of the day, you’re absolutely beat.

You had extracted corruption from three people, thankfully the last one only had a mild case, or else you would have been on the floor by now… you still kind of feel like you’re about to eat the ground with every step.

The room you had been given isn’t particularly large, but it isn’t terribly small either. It has a bed wide enough to toss and turn on, a desk and a closet, as well as a small chest by the foot of the bed where you found extra blankets. Your basket sat next to the desk and despite your exhaustion, you couldn’t just leave your clothes crumpled in there overnight, so you forced yourself to fold or hang them up in the closet. You set the cloth bag with your tools down on the desk afterwards… and collapsed onto your bed, face buried in the soft pillow as your body thrummed with bone-deep exhaustion. This is going to be hard work… there are so many that need help that it’s almost overwhelming to even think about.

As you laid on your new bed, debating whether you should change clothes or just sleep as you are… your stomach rumbled.

You hadn’t eaten anything since the buns this morning… oh!

You had one extra! You almost forgot.

It was even still in your sleeve, cold and a bit chewy, but just enough to not make your night miserable.

There are formal breakfast, lunch and dinner times, workers in the palace gather in a hall that you correctly predicted was attached to the kitchens you passed two days ago when you arrived. Every meal that comes from that kitchen looks like it was blessed by every benevolent god in Teyvat, they filled your stomach and energised you like nothing else, allowing you to work almost twice as well and much as you usually do. It likely didn’t help that you have lived in remote villages that rarely had access to all kinds of nutrition at a time, some villages primarily ate fish and herbs, another had mostly rice and bread, and now suddenly you were getting all the nutrition you needed.

You’re starting to understand what people mean when they say life in the capital is easier. You feel like you can do anything after just breakfast.

You haven’t had much time to explore the palace since you got here, when you asked Ground Mender why there were so few that could assist with the cleansing, she had said that only five were deemed skilled enough to help (so, what, Moon Carver had just called you half-skilled to be mean?) and three declined the call, saying they had duties to their villages or towns that they couldn’t leave behind, and the one other than you that came to the capital was one of the people you had met in the medical ward yesterday.

The art of cleansing and purifying isn’t a popular one, as it directly places you before corrupting energies that can pose just as much danger to yourself as it does the afflicted, but you had thought there were more than five… and to think it was only you and Ming Hui, the other cleanser that came to the capital, who had travelled to help. She was far younger than you, you haven’t asked but can take a rough guess that she’s only twelve… apparently one of the other three was her father, who sent her here while he stayed behind in their town, or so you heard two medics utter on your way out of the hall on your second evening.

The more you worked on cleansing and helping those affected by the corruption in the medical ward, the more you understood that while it was the same corruption as you’ve encountered before… the way this clung to their bodies and burrowed in their skin was entirely different from what you were used to, as if they had two entirely different personalities and methods.

“Hahh…” you wiped your forehead with your sleeve as you climbed up the long staircase to leave the medical ward, it was almost midnight, and you were once again exhausted. You can’t keep this up for more than a week at best before you need a day or two to rest and replenish your energies, the amount you pour into every deep extraction is thrice the amount you usually use.

Closing the door behind you, you pat your clothes down and turn to walk down the hallway when you catch something in the corner of your eye.

An immaculately white and black robe decorated in gold with dark, tight sleeves and gloves. The ends of the person’s arms seem to glow in the dark gardens as they pass through, robes softly billowing behind them in the mild breeze… you stop in your tracks and can’t help but stare, tilting your head slightly to get a better look. It didn’t look like an attendant, their mere existence even several metres away seemed to draw the attention of yourself and even the carps in the pond they just passed as the fish swim along the end to follow.

Unconsciously, you do the same. You step closer to the edge of the walkway where red painted poles stand from the wooden walkway and to the roof above it and walk along the edge as if shadowing them.

It didn’t take long for them to notice you, their head turned, and your eyes met.

His skin is surprisingly pale, face clear as the smoothest stone and equally unmoving in expression. There’s no movement on his face that indicates surprise or confusion at seeing you not-so-subtly shadowing him from afar, and for the time that he holds your eyes, you feel yourself unable to move under the soft glow of eyes molten like the warm heart of a bonfire. You can’t see any details from your distance, but you catch a glimpse of long hair flowing from behind his back, the ends of it seem dimly lit with the same golden glow as his arms.

Realising you are following him and staring, you blink and look away for a moment to observe a very interesting branch next to the walkway, and when you look back… he is gone.

You surprise yourself when you feel a tinge of disappointment, you’ve only been around the ones running around the medical ward since you came, not counting Guizhong who you haven’t seen since she greeted you upon your arrival, or Moon Carver hasn’t shown himself either. Perhaps you were hoping the man would at least say hi… but small talk isn’t exactly your expertise either—so did you really want him to approach? Only for you to embarrass yourself?

You’re not stupid either, though you were curious and maybe a bit mesmerised in the moment, as soon as you looked back and snapped out of it, you connected the dots.

Statues of Rex Lapis are often built in shrines worshipping him with meticulous detail, usually the statues leave the hood on, which blocks out the face, or the nose and mouth are sculpted, but not his eyes. This was certainly him.

You really hope he doesn’t think you’re weird for staring like that.

He must think you’re weird…

What kind of person stalks behind someone else and stares at them? You keep thinking back on it and replaying the scenario in your head. Should you have said something? Should you have just continued on? This is so terribly awkward.

Your exhaustion must be showing on your face, or the fact that you’re distracted–or both, because Ground Mender sends you away earlier than usual today. After almost a week most of the soldiers in desperate conditions have been stabilised and they’re responding well to the medicine given to them. The more you came in contact with the foul energies burrowing inside their bodies, the more you felt that it was different than usual... not only their 'personalities' as you had considered before, but also in texture and thickness, you can't quite put your finger on it. You drag your feet up the stairs as you leave with your brain about to explode with four different thought processes and consider laying down in the gardens for a while.

Unfortunately, there are people standing around and talking there, so you give up on finding a spot, even though the warm spring sun and empty sky made you want to lie under the warmth and soak in some vitamins.

So, you try and search for another spot, you search the palace grounds but there’s not really a place to rest. You don’t want to go to your room, because if you lie down in bed, you will sleep for eleven hours instead of just catching a wink before dinner. There are some side areas where you technically could lie down… but it’s covered in shade from the roofs of the palace buildings and very tight to squeeze into. So, you give that up as well.

About to just resign your fate to a heavy slumber in your bed until tomorrow, you hear footsteps behind you and turn around—only to nearly jump out of your skin.

Rex Lapis is standing behind you, hands behind his back, he watches as you spin around and stare at him, he was dressed similarly to before, but this time his hood has been drawn up. As you stand and stare awkwardly, he thankfully speaks before you have to. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he says sincerely.

“Oh, it’s okay, it’s fine—I wasn’t surprised,” you lied through your teeth, trying to smile in a way that didn’t give anything away, but it felt rather crooked. You weren’t expecting to see him so soon again! Do you bring up the other night? Do you apologise?

Whether he detected your lie or not, he didn’t comment further on it. “I was quite busy when you arrived, so I could not find time to greet you. I would like to extend my gratitude for your willingness to travel so far and assist us, as well as your hard work so far.”

Now standing closer to him than before, you could see him much better, you can hear is deep, smooth voice clearly, and it's making the conversation infinitely more difficult than it had to be—are all gods seemingly perfect? This is unfair. “Of course, ah… I’m happy to help,” you manage to get a full sentence out, having to flicker your gaze away from his eyes that radiated like two suns locked onto you.

He nods. “If you require anything, please don’t hesitate to ask an attendant for what you need. It was a pleasure to finally speak to you.”

You bow as he gives his farewell and leaves, and you watch him until he disappears. Kind, but with an expression of stone. Maybe stories and legends aren’t so far off.

Guizhong sips her tea, kneeling by a low tea table that held no tea but rather seven open scrolls and four papers, all had scribbles on them that were incomprehensible by the housekeepers that try to keep her study tidy, but they can guess it relates to the devices she keeps around and tinkers with.

The door opens and Morax steps in, closing the door behind him. Guizhong looks up from her focus on the paper in front of her and smiles. “How was the trip?”

“Well enough… the situation has calmed for now; the north has been silent for a time, and I did not find anything rising on the horizon. The western conflicts are inching closer, but with enough preparation and a formal warning that they should keep their battles away from our lands, I am hoping it will not escalate,” he walks to the large open window as he speaks, looking down at the moving forms of palace attendants and housekeepers, as well as strolling Millelith and other occupants of the palaces. After watching them for a while, he turned back to Guizhong. “We have regained the peaks in the south and the eastern seas have quieted down as always for some weeks.”

Morax travels quickly, and though the adepti rotate watching the tense situations outside of the Guili Assembly, he circles around every now and then as well. Just in case.

Tensions have been high as of late, there was a shift of power somewhere far west of the Guili Assembly that was almost felt in the air in Tianqiu Valley when he was there. A lot of gods seemed to be falling in the west, and Morax just hoped the miasma left behind wouldn’t seep into the Assembly as well, there were enough injured people afflicted from there already.

Guizhong hums, setting her empty cup down. “Perhaps we’ll have a moment of peace, then.”

He didn’t seem as convinced, though there had not been any current pressure or an immediate threat, Morax wasn’t one to lay down his guard and allow any oversight. The safety of their people and lands were of utmost importance to him. “Perhaps…” he still allowed her some hope, even if he himself had little.

“The afflicted have been reduced to a single digit number,” Guizhong broke him from his thoughts. “Even with just two additional cleansers, the time we previously thought it would take to care for the patients was halved despite their numbers.”

Morax nods, he’s glad their arrival has garnered the results they hoped for. “I see… I will have gifts delivered to their rooms as thanks.”

“Gifts?” Guizhong seemed interested, eyes lighting up like two stars. “Like what? Food? Sweets? Should I make something for them?”

Morax stared at her for a moment, he was simply thinking of gifting them some mora to send to their families or to spend for themselves, or have someone show them around the capital as they haven’t had time to look around since they arrived. But since she was so excited about it… “I’m sure they would appreciate anything you give them that you’ve personally made. Be it sweets or otherwise.”

“I’ll get to work right away,” Guizhong nodded. When she sets a goal, she really gets into it, Morax just hopes she’ll gift them something… reasonable, and not a functioning turret.

#⭒ - gss #genshin impact x reader #morax x reader #rex lapis x reader #zhongli x reader #genshin x reader #morax x you #rex lapis x you #zhongli x you #multi-chapter #fics #my writing #afab reader #genshin impact

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