#copper-colored bee

[sitting-on-me-bum]

The amazing — and unknown — diversity of insects living in the Amazon canopy

There are plenty of diverse bees in the rainforest, as well as flowers for them to visit. This copper-colored species was collected at the top of the tower, at 24 meters high.

Image by Brian Brown/Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

[alexibeeart]

🐝 A Bee 2023 [art tag] [links]

[tundraechos]

[Image Description: Art showing select things added to Minecraft each year from 2009 to 2024. Above all the art is the text "Minecraft 15th Anniversary" in the style of the official update titles. The years are as follows: 2009: Diamonds, Steve, creepers, oak trees, and grass blocks. 2010: Crafting tables, redstone dust, redstone torches, fishing, Nether portals, and jack-o'-lanterns. 2011: Birch and spruce trees, wolves, beds, endermen, enchanting tables, and villagers. 2012: Cats, jungle trees, cocoa beans, iron golems, ender chests, emeralds, and beacons. 2013: Hoppers, horses, name tags, dark oak and acacia trees, alliums, poppies, sunflowers. 2014: Rabbits, banners, Alex, guardians, and armor stands. 2015 is just text that says "(No significant updates were released this year)". 2016: Elytra, shields, polar bears, llamas, shulker boxes. 2017: Glazed terracotta, recipe book, different colored beds, parrots, and concrete. 2018: Phantoms, tridents, turtle eggs, turtles, coral, and fish mobs. 2019: Foxes, sweet berries, new cat variants, lanterns, pillagers, crossbows, and bees. 2020: Respawn anchors, piglins, crimson and warped fungus, netherite, and lodestones. 2021: Copper, deepslate, moss, axolotls, glow squid, amethyst, and goats. 2022: Wardens, echo shards, goat horns, frogs, allays, and mangrove trees. 2023: Cherry trees, new default player skins, decorated pots, armor trims, sniffers, torchflowers, and pitcher plants. 2024: Armadillos, New wolf variants, wolf armor, maces, wind charges, breezes, and crafters. End Image Description.]

This is a spiritual successor to my 10th anniversary art, which I have always been very proud of. It's amazing to see how far we've come!

[heartkaji]

gloss ⭑ suna rintaro

“don’t have time for this, rin.”

“you always have time for me, baby.”

suna dips the wand in sticky, blood colored lip gloss. you shiver a little & you fear rintarou must’ve noticed because he rubs gentle circles on your thigh & slides his palm along your hip bone. you straddle his lap & bite down on bee stung lips. copper fills your mouth & the ache on your tongue is grueling.

“rin,”

“baby.”

suna’s tone drips with poison but apples are your favorite fruit. his words are soaked with venom & his tone is sharp as knives but all you can do is bury your pretty little head into his neck in shame. something aches & you’re no longer sure if it’s your moon-bruised lips or nearly-bleeding heart.

“lemme see your lips, pretty.”

you lift your head so only your chin rests on his chest. suna rintarou is bone-achingly bright—his eyes bore into yours & his gaze alone leaves cuts along your throat; you pray you won’t bleed butterflies. you look up at him with bleary eyes glistening with seafoam & lashes rimmed with salt. you swallow the ache in your throat because god knows rintarou won’t let you live it down if you cried.

he tugs on your bottom lip, smearing plum coke gloss all over the plush. it stains your cheek a peach shine & rintarou wipes it away with his thumb. he dips his finger between your lips so you can lick off the gloss with your tongue.

“cherry flavor ?”

“close, gooseberry.”

suna snaps the gloss shut & tosses it somewhere behind him. you frown because you wish he wouldn’t do that. heaven knows you just bought all these glosses & now you’ll have to dig through worn clothes & cupboard crevices to find them. he nudges your chin off his chest & again you wish he’d be a little gentler, but if wishes were horses everyone would ride. suna rintarou is a boy who only knows split knuckles & calloused hands; you pray he won’t split your heart as well.

suna dips his head into yours & takes your bottom lip between milk bone teeth. he sucks & bites at the flesh, leaving you red & swollen & sore & aching but you whine out his name & suna doesn’t stop. his palm slides up your spine & now you can feel his tongue between your lips & why the fuck are you crying ?

he pulls back with a start, “why are you—“

“it hurts rin. been trying to tell you,” you look up at him with red tinged eyes as glossed & glassy as your lips. your cheeks are blood drenched & your lashes are wet & muddied with mascara & god you’re so beautiful but fuck you’re in pain.

rintarou bites his lip, breath warm & heavy, “fuck, sorry. got carried away.”

you shut your eyes & bury your head in his chest. “it’s okay, rin. you always do.”

© ─ heartkaji ; do not steal, copy, edit, translate or reupload

[echantedtoon]

Monster Bride Part 7 Hantengu Bros

(Warnings: The boys are in bad shape, mentions of wounds, blood, Karaku is poisoned, Sekido has a broken leg, Urogi was shot with an arrow, Aizetsu has some wounds, etc.

The song Y/n sings is A Thousand Years Lullaby version by Christina Perri and fenekot - Hush little baby don't you cry (Mockingbird) (Lyrics) although sone words of tge second song has been replaced to better fit the narrative. Link to songs below.

Enmu is next)

Quietly you stepped closer as and closer and CLOSER to the bush silently. Slowly behind the henhouse you went and stopped right in front of the bush. The wind blew swaying it's branches creepily and looked like thrashing arms. You grabbed a handful and silently and slowly pulled them back.

And you froze at what you saw-

The winds howled as the darkness crept across the skies. The darkness behind the bush shielded your form from the moonlight which cascaded down between the trees and clouds in the sky. The shadows danced and branches creaked as the wind blew them about. Like arms beckoning you closer to grab you away in their rough grip. Drag you into the shadows never to be seen again. You cracked an opening in the branches and looked out. The darkened sky looked out over the entire area. Tree branches swayed and night fell upon the ground. However you froze as your eyes met a sickening sight.

R E D.

The coldness of the air bit down hard on your skin, like painful bee stings pricking your skin. The terror far greater than seeing a thousand wolves sunk in. A hand flew to cover your mouth as a foul urge to vomit rose and a sickening copper smell filtered through the air.

RED!!

That was the color painted everywhere on the ground displayed before you. And there...lying face down slumped over was a man's body. A canvas for the color. Your eyes shrank in terror and your ears gained a ringing sound all on their own drowning out any noise.

A DEAD BODY.

In your backyard and lying right in front of your face. How-...Where did it come from?! Who was this!? Where did it come from?! You wretched yourself away from the bush in shock and leaned over slightly. The urge to vomit riding as you did everything you could to keep it down. The bush branches snapping back into place hiding the sight from you. Automatically you gave a few coughs and gulped down air in an attempt to calm yourself head spinning. There was a dead man on your property! Oh gods! What if someone thought you were responsible for this!? You could be tried for murders-

Wait...

How did you know he was actually dead?

That one thought made you freeze in your tracks instantly. That's right...How did you know for certain that he was dead? You just merely saw him covered in blood. Your head turned back to the bush. He...he could've been hurt and tried reaching your house for help. What if he was laying there suffering?! That thought perked you back up into going back to the bush and cautiously reaching out to slightly pull the branches again. The body was still there unmoving. It...sure LOOKED dead but you couldn't tell in the dark. If he was still alive..you had to help him. You couldn't just leave someone to bleed out. The unmoving form still remained unmoving even as you noisily pushed through the bush and stood right next to the head....It was definitely a man. You could tell by how Large the body was and how muscular the exposed skin was. In the limited moonlight you were able to make out long hair that mostly covered his face and he laid in a position that suggested that he'd collapsed by himself. But the question still remained...Was he still alive?

You hesitated again ...but slowly you reached over to the face laying on its side and touched the long black strands of hair covering his eyes. It was .. surprisingly soft and silky to the touch and you slowly pulled it away from the face to examine it. The right side of a man's face greeted you. You nearly jumped back at what you saw. His right eye was closed obviously either unconscious or dead. Your hand instead went to almost touch his lips and flinched back feeling a weak warm breath blow across your fingertips. You reeled back in shock, hand to your chest, and jumping

HE WAS ALIVE!!

Hands grabbed his right shoulder and HEAVED. Barely moving an inch, but slowly the body turned, and with a thud whoever he was collapsed onto his back. A shocked gasp escaped from your throat upon purple eyes seeing his front body. Oh gods...So much blood. His body was practically DRENCHED in the red color! And you found out why. Mr. Unknown had the front of his blue shirt ripped to pieces to where it was barely hanging on over his shoulders. A large gash across his front from his left shoulder and ending just above his right hip was exposed to you. There was so much blood..How was he even still alive!? You reached out to touch his forehead- But froze as a strong hand snatched you hand.

A pair of eyes opened up and gazed up at the blurry figure above him. Not making any sense of the blurry, spinning vision. Until the eyes rolled up into the back of his head and the last thing he saw was a glimpse of purple.

**************************************************

Warm.

Everything was warm once feeling returned to his body. Which was odd. He was lying on the cold hard ground last he remembered. Logic was of course the first thing to return to him. His thinking was always faster than his reflexes. Then the feeling of his body settled in. Warmth...but incredible aching, throbbing soreness. It throbbed and banged his body. Hmm..So he wasn't dead after all. It was too painful to be heaven and not painful enough to be hell, and too annoying to be purgatory. So he was Still alive but had passed out for a short while. A gasp escaped from the sore dry throat that sent him into bouts of a coughing fit. It caused his chest to hurt so much a whimper escaped from the sore body. 

Where was he? Was he home with his brothers? He so wanted nothing more than to hear his father's quivering voice and Sekido angrily yelling at him while forcing him to eat food to get better. Zohakuten telling him how  dumb he was. Karaku and Urogi hugging him affectionately.

Blue eyes slowly opened themselves up to the world blinking rapidly at the light and his vision blurred until he could see...A one roomed house? It was mostly empty. A coffee table square in the middle, a picture frame or two holding a painting of someone on the walls, a basket in the corner, a shelf full of dishes and other small items, a fireplace with a fire currently going, and a few other bland things. Nothing that really stood out as anything important to him. But who lived here? Why was he inside? How did he get here? And who touched him?

His question was answered when the door opened and the figure of a woman in a blue kimono walked in. The smell of wood drew his attention to the logs she was carrying. Silently he watched as she slid the sliding door back closed with a foot before continuing on to the fireplace and proceeding to feed the fire the wood. He laid there silently staring at her legs as she worked, feeling too weak to look up just yet and not wanting to give himself away just yet. The sounds of a metal poker scraping against the fire appeared for a little while before it too went away and the legs turned to face him. They didn't move again for a long moment before he felt a hand touch his blanketed shoulder- Faster than either expected his left hand shot up to tightly grip a much smaller wrist and squeezed down just enough to get them both to freeze. Blue eyes snapped upwards and paused at the sight of a-..

...A-A woman?!

THE. MOST. BEAUTIFUL. WOMAN. HE. HAD. EVER. SEEN. Was standing there above him looking surprised when he grabbed her hand. Blue eyes stared widely at her.. before the tight hand slowly loosened their grip and he let go of her. She pulled her hand back looking it over before looking back at him and slowly smiling.

"I'm sorry. I guess I must've startled you." She tilted her head at him with a smile. "Good morning. How are you feeling?"

His mouth dropped open but all that came out was a torrent of violent coughing which caused pain to EXPLODE in his chest. His body wracked violently as waves of pain washed over him. A force in the form of two hands slam down onto his shoulders to still his body.

"Easy! Easy! Breath slowly. Slow your inhaled." The gasping from the male under you coughed and sputtered and looked like a drowning fish before he finally was able to lay back mouth open and gulping mouthfuls of air. "There you go. That's it." You slowly pulled your hands away from him. "That should feel better soon. Are you feeling better?"

To your surprise a choke noise escaped from the man's throat and he shook his head no. His blue eyes looked at you. And you couldn't help but stare in awe. They might've been the prettiest blue eyes you've ever seen but what was strange was that the sclera and pupil were both blue. Huh. Strange. Was he born with a rare eye coloration or something? The blue eyes weld up in tears water about to spill over before a sob escaped his mouth.

"It hurts," he whimpered in a voice you never heard from a man before, "I f-feel s-s-so..weak."

You instantly felt bad for him. "Yeah. I guess having a wound like yours would hurt but you're ok." You tried to calm him down by smiling and patting his arm. "It's not very deep and you should make a full recovery if you rest up and take care of the wound."

A shaking hand reached up to grab the blanket covering his body and lifted. The blanket shook in his Shaking hold and he could barely lift his head up to peek at his torso, but he saw the clear wrappings around his torso and the snug blankets tucked around his body with care. He stared at your handywork before allowing himself to flop back into place and turn his tearful eyes back on her.

"D-...D-Did you D-Do this-s?"

"If you mean your wounds no. I didn't hurt you but I did find you outside my home and brought you in here." You gestured to his torso. "And I bandaged you as best as I could. The wound is big but the cut wasn't deep and I could treat it easily. Although you're going to be sore and weak for a while. What's your name?"

"A-Aizetsu."

You beamed softly at him which made his face turn a deep shade of red. "Well Aizetsu, my name's Y/n! It's very nice to meet you. But if it's not too much to ask how did you get in my orchard?"

He sniffled before reaching a shaking hand up to wipe at his face. "I-I don't r-r-remember. I w-was-....T-There was a f-fight a-and U-Urogi G-Gotta hit by an arrow a-and he dropped me.." His pupils widened in horrific realization. "I-I fell....I-It hurt.. s-s-so mu-much."

"Hey. You're alright now." He was surprised when something soft pressed against his face making him jump but then blink bewildered as something soft wiped his cheeks.But his eyes widened in shock as he realized that SHE was the one wiping away his cheeks. Humming softly as she shushed him. "There, there. You'll be alright now."

But that raised more concerns. He said he was in a fight? What kind of fight left him like this? If someone else was hurt then why didn't you find anyone else with him? He said whoever it was dropped him. Does that mean someone abandoned him here? That was sick. Would that mean there was a chance of danger coming to your doorstep. And THAT'S what worried you the most.

"You said there were someone hit by an arrow?," he nodded in awe captivated by your beauty and softness as you continued to wipe his face up without complaint. "Does that mean there's someone else hurt outside? Are you alone?" He continued to stare wide eyed at you. "Mr. Aizetsu?"

He jumped blinking at you. "Uh?! Oh! N-No. Noone else. "

"Then are you alone?" You pulled your hands away.

He whined as your hands left him but shook his head. "No. N- Not for long. My brothers w-will come looking for me."

"You have brothers?" He nodded. "That's good. You can stay here until they find you then. Are you hungry? I made some homemade soup and rice, and I'm sure you must be thirsty." Blue eyes perked up at the promise of food and nodded eagerly making you smile. "Then I'll get you some. Just sit tight for a moment."

He watched as your form walked on over to the shelf Gathering bowls and anything else you needed before heading on over to the lit fireplace. A few minutes later you returned with a bowl of delicious smelling stew and tea in hand. He would've sat up to take the drink from you, but blinked as all of a sudden a hand pushed itself under his head and lifted him with extreme gentleness he'd never felt before. As if he was cracked glass and at any moment could shatter. Something warm and herbal smelling wafted over his lips as you cradled his head and held the cup to his lips.

"Here. Drink."

The eyes stared up at yours and how soft your features were... before they glanced at the cup, and slowly opened his mouth. It was enough for you to tilt the cup for him to drink taking great care to not spill any on him. Making sure to also give him breaks between gulps to allow him to breath until it was empty. He'll also need something solid in his stomach. Wiping his face when he finished. He didn't make any moves to stop you from cradling his head and feeding him until he seemed to be full enough and you gently encouraged him to sit back up. You needed to treat his wounds again. He seemed to struggle to sit up by himself so you had to push him up into a sitting position before you could again treat him. He just remained silent and compliant throughout the entire process until he was laying back down and you smiled at him again.

"There you go. You must feel better with something warm in your stomach. "

"Yes," he agreed, "Um...C-Can you tell me how long I've been here?"

"I found you yesterday around sunset and you've slept through most of today. So almost a full day and night. Not too long.''

He hummed again. "Then my brothers are s-surely already on their W-Way here."

You looked confused at him. "How would they know you're here?"

"They'll follow my scent."

"Oh..They have a hunting dog?"

He hummed again fiddling with the blanket. "S-Something like that?

You didn't know what he meant by that but decided not to pry him when he was already hurt. The rest of the day passed by smoothly since Mr. Aizetsu fell back asleep shortly after he ate dinner leaving you to go about business as usual until sunset came back and you see herding your animals back inside their pens. Your cow seemed rather on edge for some reason. Seemingly irritated as you lead her back into the barn, not seeing the figures limping into your house through the front door on the complete other side of your house. You finished putting away your animals before mindless just walking to your  back door and stepping inside- ...Huh. Hey. When did the candles go out? And why was the fire so low? Not thinking anything of it, you just closed the door behind you and grabbed a few logs next to the fireplace. Tossing them in and grabbing the poker to prod the small fire into feeding on the new logs and bringing more light into the house. You smiled at the warmth until you heard the shifting of something behind you. You instantly turned smiling assuming Aizetsu had woken up. Only to freeze in horror as the darkness held four looming figures staring at you.

Four pairs of eyes. Red as blood. Green as acid. Yellow as sickness. Blue as sorrow. 

All four stared at you from the corner of the room as your jaw dropped open in shock-

"Shit! She came in before we left!" The yellow eyes turned to the red ones. "I told you we should've waited until she fell asleep before grabbing Zetsu!"

"SHUT UP, UROGI!!"

The loud yell made you jump and fall over as you scrambled back against the wall-

"S-Sekido, D-Dont scare her. After all she did save my life."

"THAT'S WHY WE SPARED HER IN THE FIRST PLACE!!"

"W-WHO ARE YOU?!" All four pairs of eyes turned to you as your shaking hand grabbed the poker, holding it in front of you like a makeshift sword at whomever the eyes were. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?!"

There was silence as they all stared at you unblinkingly.. before a noise made you jump. A strike of a match lit up as a tiny flame floated towards a lamp hanging from the ceiling and lit it up brightening the house further. And what you saw made you nearly drop the poker. Standing there was four men. 

INHUMAN MEN 

One had red eyes and leaned heavily on a staff. His left left lifted up and looking not good. One with green eyes slumped against the wall breathing raggedly and smiling despite his condition. One with yellow eyes and...PART BIRD!?!? Your eyes widened in horror more. A HARPY!! A FREAKING H A R P Y WAS STANDING IN YOUR HOME!!! He held Aizetsu in his talons as the blue eyed man looked at you apologetically...only...there was something different about him. Now there was two horns sprouted on his forehead when there wasn't any just moments ago.  He stared from the Harpy's arms and-...And-.....

Why did they all look alike?

Aizetsu had the same face as the other three. The only differences were their eye color and the fact that Mr. Red and Green eyes had a long strand of hair running across their face. They all stared at you and you stared at them for a long,long, LONG moment of silence. Nothing but the crackling fire to break the silence.  Until Aizetsu spoke.

"Y-Y/n. I-Im sorry. We were supposed to leave before you got back inside."

You didn't speak at first. Only stared at the four of them in utter bewilderment. Scanning over all four of them slowly.... before slowly asking. "What...ARE you all?"

"We're elementals. E-Except for Urogi, obviously."

"Elementals?! ...As in the fae creatures that control aspects of nature!?"

Aizetsu nodded. "Yes. I'm s-s-so sorry for not telling you before-"

"SKIP THE APOLOGIES!!" You jumped when Mr. Red  Eyes snapped with a growl. "WE GOT AIZETSU AND THAT'S ALL WE NEEDED!! NOW LET'S GO HOME!!"

"Uh...We can't? Aizetsu can't walk like this," the harpy spoke to red eyes, "And Karaku's still poisoned. What are supposed to do? Carry them both while you hop on one leg?"

"YOU CAN USE YOUR ARMS FOR THEM AND CARRY ME WITH YOUR FEET TALONS AS YOU FLY YOU IDIOT!!"

"I STILL HAVE ARROWS LODGED IN MY WINGS!! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CARRY ALL THREE OF YOU LET ALONE FLY?!"

You just... blinked as the two men began to argue and Aizetsu tried and failed to get them to stop bickering. What was happening right now? You still stared as they argued before looking at the green eyed man and was surprised to find him slyly smiling at you. He gave a half lidded look before winking and you deadpanned back at him. Before he suddenly stiffened and shot into a leaned over position. The sounds of wretching followed making all three of his...brothers(???) shut up and look behind them as you paled. Again silence rang supreme. Until the brothers looked at one another awkwardly.. before they slowly looked at you.

You stared blankly. "....Did he just vomit on my floor?"

"Yyyeeeaaah. Sorry about that," Yellow Eyes said slowly looking at you, "He's hasn't been feeling so good since getting jabbed with a poison dart. He'll live but it has to wear off-"

"HE PUKED ALL OVER MY CLEAN FLOOR!", You bellowed catching all four off guard from the sudden RAGE you felt staring at the mess the green eyed man made before pausing seeing the trail of red pooling from your open front door all the way to where the men were standing there. "YOU'RE TRAILING BLOOD?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? I JUST CLEANED MY HOUSE THIS MORNING!!" YOU POINTED AT THE BATHROOM. "ALL OF YOU! GET IN THERE AND WASH YOURSELVES OFF!!"

"WHAT?! AND WHO ARE YOU TO BOSS US AROUND!?", Red eyes snapped back instantly.

"YOU'RE COVERED IN BLOOD AND STILL DRIPPING IT!! AND YOU PUKED ON MY FLOOR!! GO WASH YOURSELVES OFF OR ELSE!!"

"Or else what?" He hissed exposing his fangs growling and narrowing his eyes. "Do you seriously think a girl like you can scare me? I'd like to see you try to make me do anything!"

Your eyes narrowed at him and a large scowl appeared on your face.

**""

"Are you still hungry, Aizetsu?" You smiled at the man's face cradled in your lap as he stared at you.

He gulped nervously face red and pointy ears pinned to his head. "I-Im good," he squeaked out which made you giggle at him.

Last night had been a big whirlwind. Sekido had not expected the iron angry grip on his ear as you dragged his limping, half hopping, cursing form into the bathroom and scared Urogi enough with your irate yelling at him to drag his other two brothers into the bathroom after Sekido. Then with the limited light you had, you cleaned the blood trails and the vomit as you heard arguing and water being splashed about in your bathroom from the brothers irritating you further. It. Took. FOREVER. To properly clean everything up and air out the foul smells of copper and stomach.  Don't even get you started on how much you had to wrestle Sekido down and fight him in order to force him to lay down and strap his broken leg in a splint. Which still left you with a few cuts from him wrestling with him. Nothing serious but it still annoyed you to hell and back.

"I'm real sorry about the mess last night, Sweet cheeks." Your head turned deadpanned to the green eyed demon. He was laid next to Aizetsu with a wet towel over his forehead and a clean bucket next to him in case he felt like getting sick again. "Do I get to have some food too?"

Your brow rose. "Is your stomach going to be able to handle it?"

"It's been hours. My stomachs settled and I emptied it out completely. ...I'm kinda hungry to be honest."

You sighed but moved to get him some food too. "Fine. But if you feel like you're about to be sick, you better let me know. You can't take the antidote anyways on an empty stomach."

Karaku lit up as he watched you grab another bowl of soup and come over to position his head the same way you did Aizetsu's. In your lap cradling his head and lifting the bowl to his lips. Last night you had also learnt their names and conditions. The one you currently fed was called Karaku and he'd been shot by a poisonous dart. The poison wasn't enough to kill him, just immobilize him and make him sick but you were familiar with the herb used to make the poison and knew the antidote to it. He'll be fine but it'll take time to get out of his systems completely. Aizetsu still had that obvious wound on his chest that needed to be mended but he'll be ok in time. Urogi, the harpy, was the least hurt. He had a few arrows lodged in his left wing you had to carefully extract and stitch up the small wounds but overall he could walk, talk, and if it wasn't for how close his left wing was held to his back compared to the right one you'd never tell something was wrong with him. Sekido (the only one you had to physically fight-) was the second one mostly ok, but his leg was broken and you had to maneuver it back into place before forcing it into a splint to keep it still enough to heal correctly. He was also the most stubborn of them all. Currently he laid propped up against a wall angrily eating a bowl of soup Urogi had given him earlier.  He muttered curses between his at first but had shut up and stared silently when you started treating the others after fighting with him. Especially when you cradled Aizetsu and then Karaku with such gentleness as if they were cracked porcelain cups ready to chip away again. Red eyes blinked slowly as you wiped at Karaku's smirking mouth.

"Are you thirsty? I have some tea."

He gave a purr of content. "Sure. If it means I can get to look at your beautiful face more.~"

You just stared blankly at him more. "Flattery will literally get you no where. I'm still angry with you all for stealing my chicken-"

"Hey! Urogi was the one who stole it for food!"

"I was hungry and it was convienet!" Urogi wisely shut up as you snapped a scowl at him. Awkwardly he shuffled in the blanket wrapped around him. "Um...When can we have our clothes back?"

"Once they're done drying from the wash and I meand them. They were all filthy. Until then the spare clothes I gave you will do."

That was another thing about her. She insisted on taking care of them full despite them being obviously not human and could pose quite a threat. Perhaps her concern or anger clouded her judgement of danger but it...was very strange to him. Eventually she finished up taking care of Karaku and turned back towards Urogi with a frown.

"You're lucky I don't charge you for stealing my hen. They're not exactly cheap to replace! And who just walks on another person's property and steals their animals!?"

"Um...A hungry person?" You scowled harder. "Shutting up now!"

You groaned before just shaking your head. "Are any of you still hungry? I can get you some more."

"I'm fine," Sekido bluntly stated before turning away from you. "You're bothering me too much!"

You frowned further before rolling your eyes and walking away. "Well if you get hungry again let me know and I'll get you all back some more. I'm gonna go outside and see if your clothes are dry. I can nend them afterwards and give them back."

"Do you want some help?"

You looked at Aizetsu. "In your conditions? No. I'll be fine. You just rest up and get better-"

"It shouldn't take long! Our healing process is faster than you humans!", Sekido snapped annoyed.

"Really?...How long will it take all of you to fully heal then?"

"My little cuts should heal by the end of tomorrow," Urogi chirped proudly before looking over his brothers, "Them...I'm not so sure. Maybe a..." His eyes squinted as he thought hard on it. "Week? Maybe two weeks? Can't take longer than that though!" He smiled confidently. "We should be out of your hair before the blood moon."

"Is that really in two weeks?''

You really had lost track of time then. You just hoped that there wouldn't be anymore Fae creatures showing up like this unannounced. You were already having enough trouble wrapping your mind around these four that suddenly dropped in on you unannounced. You didn't need anything else also stopping by.

"Y-Y/n?" Your attention went back to Karaku suddenly waving at you with an upset look on his face. "Uh. Hey Sweetie. Can you get me another set towel for me? I don't...feel too good-"

"THROW UP ON MY FLOOR AGAIN AND I'LL MAKE YOU CLEAN IT!"

*****************************************

It was pretty awkward taking care of four men (Elementals at that) in your home. Mostly because they would NOT. STOP. ARGUING. You managed to get their names down. Urogi and Karaku would often poke jabs at Sekido who would yell back at the two laughing at him and attempt to swing that staff of his at them-... Until you wrestled it away from him and wouldn't give it back.

"GIVE ME BACK MY STAFF!!"

"You can have it back when you all leave! You can't just try to hit them when you're all hurt, Dummy!"

And no the staff was put in the barn with the rest of the farm tools. And this was only the second day they were there. Aizetsu kept profusely apologizing for his brothers' actions even though you assured him it was alright. However the third day was when things started to get ... interesting. Karaku was awfully quiet. Only lying down with his eyes closed other than when he asked for some food or drink from you. You checked him over. He was still sick and he seemed to finally be feeling it. Hopefully his body would heal soon and the medicine would be helpful. But it didn't seem to be anything serious. At least not at that time. You left early right after retreating their conditions and making sure they had something to eat. You'd need to purchase more blankets and  bandages for them all. However you were never expecting the storm when you returned almost three hours later.

"S-Sekido...Am I going to die?"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!! YOU ARE NOT  GOING TO DIE!!!"

A firm hand squeezed onto Karaku's arm like a lifeline, angry viens bunched up as the tense silence hung into the air. Karaku's chest rose and fell in raspy breaths as it hurt to breath. Everything felt too hot, too cold, too- A choked so escaped from his mouth as Aizetsu laid on his  side and  patted his shoulder. 

"It's ok! You're g-g-gonna be ok. Breath. O-Ok?"

"DAMMIT!! WHERE'S UROGI WITH THAT GIRL!?"

No sooner than he said that the front door slammed open and said harpy came jumping in quickly dragging a woman's cursing and angry body behind him. 

"WE'RE HERE!" said harpy yanked you over making you stumble and dropped the basket in your hands spilling everything over the floor. "I GOT HER DON'T WORRY!!"

"What the hell is going on here?!", you shouted pulling and yanking at Urogi's iron grip around your arm. "Your brother snatched me up in the middle of the path! He's lucky no one saw him fly-"

Anything else you were going to say died on your tongue as you saw the scene Urogi pushed you towards. It was the three that couldn't move yet. Sekido was sprawled across the floor in an awkward position on Karaku's left side death gripping his arm and glaring at you. It looked like he dragged himself all the way across the home just to lay beside his brother. Aizetsu was painfully sitting up on Karaku's other side where he's always been since you took him in only he looked panicked at you.

"Help him please!," he pleaded panicked voice wavering, "He's having trouble breathing!"

Urogi squawked as you forcing pushed him away and immediately ran over to Karaku. Jumping over Sekido's body and knelt by Karaku's head. A hand immediately plopped itself onto his forehead between his horns. A second hand pressed to his cheek making his blink up his green eyes at you. You stared at him silently.. Before you sighed and moved your hands from him.

"It's the poison isn't it?! He's not gonna die is he? "

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM!?"

"He's running a small fever." Both brothers fell silent and just .. blinked at you as you stood up and crossed your arms. "He'll be fine. I just need to make him some herbal tea. You all are over worrying yourselves."

There was silence as they all looked at one another. 

"You mean... He's not gonna die?"

"No. He's not even in any danger." Aizetsu immediately sighed flopping back down to the floor and Sekido mumbled curses under his breath removing his hand from Karaku's arm. "I'll make you all some food while I'm at it... but first I better move you back to bed-"

"IM STAYING RIGHT WHERE IM LAYING!!", Sekido yelled from his awkward laying position.

You didn't feel like arguing with this. "*Sigh* Fine. I'll move your futon over here but I'm looking over your leg first.  You might've harmed it crawling over here."

Sekido did not fight you struggling to move him back into position and fixing it where he laid down next to his brothers with his splintered leg propped up with a few pillows. Just pouted and watched you closely with narrowed eyes as you went about making  them some food and started handing them out bowls. By now Aizetsu was able to sit up and you didn't need to take care of him but you did still need to help out Karaku whom purred out as you cradled him. 

"Y-Y-You're a real angel. You k-know that?"

You rolled your eyes but smiled. "No. I'm more of a devil myself "

For the first time all day, Karaku smiled even as you held up the cup to his lips to drink.  "Ooh.~ Even better. Because that's exactly my type.~"

Oh be quiet and drink." He chuckled despite himself and you just pushed the cup into his lips. ...But paused feeling the hair on his head. The long black hair was clean and soft but it was also tangled. They needed that taken cared of too. "Do you think you can sit up if you try?"

Your question caught the man off guard but he shrugged. "I mean I can try but I don't know...Why?"

"Because Im taking care of you. Now come on and try."

Karaku was confused but shrugged and proceeded to try and get himself into a sitting up position. He struggled a bit but you pushed his back and Aizetsu reached over to pull his arm so he was able to sit up. He blinked as you handed him the cup and told him to drink it as you just got up and walked over to the shelf in your house.

"Hey, Sweet cheeks...What are you doing?"

You grabbed something and turned around revealing a brush. "Taking care of you like I said. All four watched as you once again stepped around them all until you were seated behind Karaku and he paused feeling you touch his hair. "So messy.. Can't be healthy for your scalp. Hold still."

Karaku's eyes widened as did. The strategic touch was light and he didn't move as she hummed and just started untangling the unruly mane of black hair cascading down his back. Everyone's surprised eyes were on you as you worked on him and used the brush you had in your possession. Brushing and gently prying apart knots in the black locks until the brush was going through without any resistance. Only then did you stop and smile. 

"There. All better."

Karaku didn't say anything. Only reach up a hand  in awe at the gentle treatment. You smiled at your work shuffling back to admire it... before your eyes wondered over to Sekido. His hair was in the same tangled mesh Karaku's was. Automatically you just reached over to gently grab the strands but jumped as he snapped his head around to snarl red eyes at you.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Helping you."

"WITH WHAT?!"

"Your hair?" You rose a brow pointing at your own head of hair to clarify. "It's all tangled and I thought the reason we came back here was to take care of you two." You reached out aga- Two hands snapped up to cover the top of his head. "Gyutaro, how am I supposed to help you if you do that? Move your hands."

"NO!! I don't like being touched!!"

"Oh... That's ok. I don't like that either." You held up the comb. "Then you can use this and do it yourself."

"NO!!"

"Then one of your brothers can do it."

"NO!!"

.....You deadpanned. "Not this again. Why must you Always be stubborn? Look just do it."

"NO!!"

"Either you do it or I'll hold you down and do it myself! That's bad for your hair and scalp health!"

"N-"

"Just do it, Sekido!" Karaku said admiring his own hair with a hand. "Quit being a big baby."

"Who's side are you on?!" He yelled at him as you took his distraction to grab one of the loose straggly strands of hair. "I SAID N-"

He froze. Something soft and gentle touched his head which automatically made him freeze. His body instinctively standing on end and a thumb and finger curiously tugged gently at a strand of hair....But no hard metal comb yanked through his scalp. Instead two gentle hands caressed the strands and gently began to weave out the tangled big and small so slowly it didn't even pinch. A hum of a woman's patient voice sneaking through as she worked. The murmurs of a lullaby echoed and gentleness wafted with it. And all of his brothers watched as she hummed.

Silence. Other than the lulling memories of melodies and the soft touch that was left behind.

"Heart. Beats. Fast. Colors and promises. How to be brave? How can I love when I'm afraid to fall? But watching you stand alone?" You gently pried apart two strands of black hair as Sekido remained still. However his brothers' eyes all widened seeing his face. "But watching you stand alone, all of my doubts suddenly go away some how."

Aizetsu looked down as he watched Sekido's hands grip into the fabric. Urogi fell silent as Sekido didn't make any moves to stop her. And Karaku stared in absolute shock as tears weld up in those red eyes and freely flowed down his face from the gentle treatment.

"One step closer. I have died everyday waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more. " You continued working through the hair which was surprisingly easy to brush through. "Time stands still. Beauty in all she is.  I will be brave. I will not let anything anything take away what's right in front of me. Every breath. Every hour has come to this."

Sekido's arms lightly shook as she nearly completed her work and red eyes watery glanced at the shocked brothers. They all looked incredibly shocked at him.

"One step closer. I have died everyday waiting for you. Darling don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more. And all along I believed I would find you. Time has brought your heart to me. I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more."

You finished up Sekido and leaned back to look at your handywork. However he just slammed his eyes shut from view of his brothers and snapped his head away so you didn't have any clue he was even crying. Instead you rose a brow. Jeez. You weren't expecting a thank you but that was a bit rude of him. You looked over at Aizetsu next. The brothers were so busy still staring at Sekido in shock that they didn't see you walk around to sit next to Aizetsu until you touched his hair making him jump and look at you in shock.

"Hush little baby. Don't you cry. Everything's going to be alright. Stiffen up that upper lip little baby. I told you I am here to hold you through the night. I know Mommy's not here right now and we don't know why. We fear what we feel inside."Aizetsu's blue eyes widened to the size of plates as you gently combed through his hair which went through easily. "It may seem crazy, Little Baby. But I promise we're gonna be alright."

You kept going on to finish your job humming all the while to yourself. Unknowingly to you, Sekido wasn't the only one who was now crying. Aizetsu felt himself starting to cry from the gentle treatment and humming the woman gave him. Larg fat tears stung his eyes before flowing down his cheeks and dropping onto his blanketed covered lap. You hummed along until you were finished before standing up and turning to Urogi still frozen there. 

"Ok. Now it's your turn." He didn't respond. "Urogi?" He still didn't say anything making you raise a brow confused before looking behind you and looking shocked as Aizetsu cried. "A-Aizetsu!" You immediately went to grab his shoulders. "Are you ok? I wasn't too rough was I? Oh no. Did I bump into your injury?"

He didn't answer for a long, long, LONG MOMENT. Before he slowly looked right right in the eyes.

"A-Are you single?"

You blanked. Staring at him for a bit before you blinked. "...What?"

"Yo-You don't have a-a-any lovers right?," he managed to stutter out catching the attention of the the other three. "Y-Y-You're N-Not engaged t-t-to anyone else...R-Right?"

You just... slowly blinked at him. "....What?"

You jumped as two shaking hands gently grabbed your cheeks. "Y-Y-You're so kind..So beautiful. Can I...PLEASE can I...W-WILL YOU BE MY WIFE!?" He ended up shouting that last bit rather loudly. 

Silence rang out as your draw tried to work itself as he still stared watery eyed and cutely into your eyes. "......WHAT?!"

"Aizetsu." All eyes turned to Sekido as he furiously wiped his face before snapping at him. "Correct yourself. She won't be 'YOUR' wife." Aizetsu's face fell before Sekido's eyes turned to your squished cheeked frozen face. "Shell be OUR wife."

"WHAT?!"

"I SECOND THAT MOTION!" Karaku piped up instantly.

"NE THIRD!," Urogi chirped waving an arm around as you went blank.

"Wait...WHAT ARE YOU ALL TALKING ABOUT?!"

"From this day on we're courting you. We're going to provide our wife with anything she needs."

Sekido looked at you seriously and you froze staring at them all. Before slowly realization crawled over you and all you could mutter was three words.

"Screw my life."

[astra-ravana]

Working With Hismael

The Aquirer

Other titles: Demon of Jupiter

Colors: Purple, blue, green, grey

Herbs: Cloves, gilliflower, nutmeg, fumitory, wood betony, flax, strawberry, comfrey, oregano, rhubarb, borage, wheat, violet, rue, basil, pomegranate, peony, licorice, mint, saffron, feverfew, birch, mulberry, oak, barberry, olive, ivy, pine

Crystals: Fluorite, lapis lazuli, grape agate, lepidolite, sugilite, topaz, moonstone, sapphire, epidote, moldavite, amethyst, kyanite, charoite, purpurite, super seven, trolleite, emerald, azurite, quantum quatro, peridot

Element: Fire, Air

Planet: Jupiter

Zodiac: Sagittarius

Metal: Gold, tin, copper

Tarot: Wheel of Fortune, 9 of Cups, 6 of Wands

Direction: Northeast

Day: Thursday

Animals: Eagles, bees, deer, snakes, unicorns, dragons, cats

Domains: Aquiring items, granting wishes, manifestation, wealth, rewards, sweet smells, the winds, temperance, sobriety, modesty, justice, comfortable living, prized possessions, baneful magick, sickness, loss, vengeance, retribution, peace of mind

Offerings: Shiney objects (metal, gemstones, etc.), treasures, keepsakes, charms and trinkets, music, coins, wine, incense, tea, fruit, flowers, bells/flutes/whistles, keys, jewelry

Sigils:

[cryptidclaw]

Cryptidclaw's WC Prefixes List!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Animals

Mammal

Badger

Bat

Bear

Beaver

Bison

Boar

Buck

Calf

Cow

Deer

Elk

Fawn

Ferret

Fox

Goat

Hare

Horse

Lamb

Lynx

Marten

Mole

Mouse

Otter

Rabbit

Rat

Seal

Sheep

Shrew

Squirrel

Stoat

Vole

Weasel

Wolf

Wolverine

Amphibians

Frog

Newt

Toad

Reptiles

Scale

Adder

Lizard

Snake

Turtle

Shell

Birds

Bird

Down

Feather

Albatross

Bittern

Buzzard

Chaffinch

Chick

Chicken

Coot

Cormorant

Corvid

Crane

Crow

Curlew

Dove

Duck

Dunlin

Eagle

Egret

Falcon

Finch

Gannet

Goose

Grouse

Gull

Hawk

Hen

Heron

Ibis

Jackdaw

Jay

Kestrel

Kite

Lark

Magpie

Mallard

Merlin

Mockingbird

Murrelet

Nightingale

Osprey

Owl

Partridge

Pelican

Peregrine

Petrel

Pheasant

Pigeon

Plover

Puffin

Quail

Raven

Robin

Rook

Rooster

Ruff

Shrike

Snipe

Sparrow

Starling

Stork

Swallow

Swan

Swift

Tern

Thrasher

Thrush

Vulture

Warbler

Whimbrel

Wren

Freshwater Fish 

Fish

Bass

Bream 

Carp

Dace

Eel

Lamprey

Loach

Minnow

Perch

Pike

Rudd

Salmon

Sterlet

Tench

Trout

Roach

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

Alge

Barnacle

Bass (Saltwater version)

Bream (Saltwater version)

Brill

Clam

Cod

Crab

Dolphin

Eel (Saltwater version)

Flounder

Garfish

Halibut

Kelp

Lobster

Mackerel

Mollusk

Orca

Prawn

Ray

Seal

Shark

Shrimp

Starfish

Sting

Urchin

Whale

Insects and Arachnids

Honey

Insect

Web

Ant

Bee

Beetle

Bug

Butterfly

Caterpillar

Cricket

Damselfly

Dragonfly

Fly

Grasshopper

Grub

Hornet

Maggot

Moth

Spider

Wasp

Worm

Trees

Acorn

Bark

Branch

Forest

Hollow

Log

Root

Stump

Timber

Tree

Twig

Wood

Alder

Apple

Ash

Aspen

Beech

Birch

Cedar

Cherry

Chestnut

Cypress

Elm

Fir

Hawthorn

Hazel

Hemlock

Linden

Maple

Oak

Pear

Poplar

Rowan

Redwood

Spruce

Willow

Yew

Flowers, Shrubs and Other plants

Berry

Blossom

Briar

Field

Flower

Leaf

Meadow

Needle

Petal

Shrub

Stem

Thicket

Thorn

Vine

Anemone 

Apricot

Barley 

Bellflower

Bluebell

Borage

Bracken

Bramble

Briar

Burnet

Buttercup

Campion

Chamomile

Chanterelle

Chicory

Clover

Cornflower

Daffodil

Daisy

Dandelion

Dogwood

Fallow

Fennel

Fern

Flax

Foxglove

Furze

Garlic

Ginger

Gorse

Grass

Hay

Heather

Holly

Honeysuckle

Hop

Hyacinth

Iris

Ivy

Juniper

Lavender

Lichen

Lilac

Lilly

Mallow

Marigold

Mint

Mistletoe

Moss

Moss

Mushroom

Nettle

Nightshade

Oat

Olive

Orchid

Parsley

Periwinkle

Pine

Poppy

Primrose

Privet

Raspberry

Reed

Reedmace

Rose

Rush

Rye

Saffron

Sage

Sedge

Seed

Snowdrop

Spindle

Strawberry

Tangerine

Tansy

Teasel

Thistle

Thrift

Thyme

Violet

Weed

Wheat

Woodruff

Yarrow

Rocks and earth

Agate

Amber

Amethyst

Arch

Basalt

Bounder

Cave

Chalk

Coal

Copper

Dirt

Dust

Flint

Garnet

Gold

Granite

Hill

Iron

Jagged

Jet

Mountain

Mud

Peak

Pebble

Pinnacle

Pit

Quartz

Ridge

Rock

Rubble

Ruby

Rust(y)

Sand

Sapphire

Sediment

Silt

Silver

Slate

Soil

Spire

Stone

Trench

Zircon

Water Formations

Bay

Cove

Creek

Delta

Lake

Marsh

Ocean

Pool

Puddle

River

Sea

Water

Weather and such

Autumn

Avalanche

Balmy

Blaze

Blizzard

Breeze

Burnt

Chill

Cinder

Cloud

Cold

Dew

Drift

Drizzle

Drought

Dry

Ember

Fall

Fire

Flame

Flood

Fog

Freeze

Frost

Frozen

Gale

Gust

Hail

Ice

Icicle

Lightening

Mist

Muggy

Rain 

Scorch

Singe

Sky

Sleet

Sloe

Smoke

Snow

Snowflake

Soot

Sorrel

Spark

Spring

Steam

Storm

Summer

Sun

Thunder

Water

Wave

Wet

Wind

Winter

Celestial??

Comet

Dawn

Dusk

Evening 

Midnight

Moon

Morning

Night

Noon

Twilight

Cat Features, Traits, and Misc. 

Azure

Beige

Big

Black

Blonde

Blotch(ed)

Blue

Bounce

Bright 

Brindle

Broken

Bronze

Brown

Bumble

Burgundy

Call

Carmine

Claw

Cobalt

Cream

Crimson

Cry

Curl(y)

Dapple

Dark

Dot(ted)

Dusky

Ebony

Echo

Fallen

Fleck(ed)

Fluffy

Freckle

Ginger

Golden

Gray

Green

Heavy

Kink

Knot(ted)

Light

Little

Lost

Loud

Marbled

Mew

Milk

Mottle

Mumble

Ochre

Odd

One

Orange

Pale

Patch(ed)

Pounce 

Prickle

Ragged

Red

Ripple

Rough

Rugged

Russet

Scarlet

Shade

Shaggy

Sharp

Shimmer

Shining

Small

Smudge

Soft

Song

Speckle

Spike

Splash

Spot(ted)

Streak

Stripe(d)

Strong

Stump(y)

Sweet

Tall

Talon

Tangle

Tatter(ed)

Tawny

Tiny

Tough

Tumble

Twist

Violet

Whisker

Whisper

White

Wild

Wooly

Yellow

[sassenach77yle]

||COUNTDOWN || SEASON 4 EPISODE 09 || THE BIRDS & THE BEES ||

#83daysofoutlander☆

The light outside was dazzling after the taproom’s gloom. Brianna blinked, eyes tearing at the shafts of sun that stabbed through the shifting greens of a screen of maples. Then a movement caught her eye, below the flickering leaves. He stood in the shade of the maples, half turned away from her, head bent in absorption. A tall man, long-legged, lean and graceful, with his shoulders broad under a white shirt. He wore a faded kilt in pale greens and browns, casually rucked up in front as he urinated against a tree. He finished and, letting the kilt fall, turned toward the post house. He saw her then, standing there staring at him, and tensed slightly, hands half curling. Then he saw past her men’s clothes, and the look of wary suspicion changed at once to surprise as he realized that she was a woman. There was no doubt in her mind, from the first glimpse. She was at once surprised and not surprised at all; he was not quite what she had imagined—he seemed smaller, only man-sized—but his face had the lines of her own; the long, straight nose and stubborn jaw, and the slanted cat-eyes, set in a frame of solid bone. He moved toward her out of the maples’ shadow, and the sun struck his hair with a spray of copper sparks. Half consciously she raised a hand and pushed a strand of hair back from her face, seeing from the corner of her eye the matching gleam of thick red-gold. “What d’ye want here, lassie?” he asked. Sharp, but not unkind. His voice was deeper than she had imagined; the Highland burr slight but distinct. “You,” she blurted. Her heart seemed to have wedged itself in her throat; she had trouble forcing any words past it. He was close enough that she caught the faint whiff of his sweat and the fresh smell of sawn wood; there was a golden scatter of sawdust caught in the rolled sleeves of his linen shirt. His eyes narrowed with amusement as he looked her up and down, taking in her costume. One reddish eyebrow rose, and he shook his head. “Sorry, lass,” he said, with a half-smile. “I’m a marrit man.” He made to pass by, and she made a small incoherent sound, putting out a hand to stop him, but not quite daring to touch his sleeve. He stopped and looked at her more closely. “No, I meant it; I’ve a wife at home, and home’s not far,” he said, evidently wishing to be courteous. “But—” He stopped, close enough now to take in the grubbiness of her clothes, the hole in the sleeve of her coat and the tattered ends of her stock.

“Och,” he said in a different tone, and reached for the small leather purse he wore tied at his waist. “Will ye be starved, then, lass? I’ve money, if you must eat.” She could scarcely breathe. His eyes were dark blue, soft with kindness. Her eyes fixed on the open collar of his shirt, where the curly hairs showed, bleached gold against his sunburnt skin. “Are you—you’re Jamie Fraser, aren’t you?” He glanced sharply at her face. “I am,” he said. The wariness had returned to his face; his eyes narrowed against the sun. He glanced quickly behind him, toward the tavern, but nothing stirred in the open doorway. He took a step closer to her. “Who asks?” he said softly. “Have you a message for me, lass?” She felt an absurd desire to laugh welling up in her throat. Did she have a message?

“My name is Brianna,” she said.

He frowned, uncertain, and something flickered in his eyes. He knew it! He’d heard the name and it meant something to him. She swallowed hard, feeling her cheeks blaze as though they’d been seared by a candle flame.

“I’m your daughter,” she said, her voice sounding choked to her own ears.

“Brianna.” He stood stock-still, not changing expression in the slightest. He had heard her, though; he went pale, and then a deep, painful red washed up his throat and into his face, sudden as a brushfire, matching her own vivid color. She felt a deep flash of joy at the sight, a rush through her midsection that echoed that blaze of blood, recognition of their fair-skinned kinship. Did it trouble him to blush so strongly? she wondered suddenly. Had he schooled his face to immobility, as she had learned to do, to mask that telltale surge? Her own face felt stiff, but she gave him a tentative smile. He blinked, and his eyes moved at last from her face, slowly taking in her appearance, and—with what seemed to her a new and horrified awareness—her height. “My God,” he croaked. “You’re huge.” Her own blush had subsided, but now came back with a vengeance. “And whose fault is that, do you think?” she snapped. She drew herself up straight and squared her shoulders, glaring. So close, at her full height, she could look him right in the eye, and did. He jerked back, and his face did change then, mask shattering in surprise. Without it, he looked younger; underneath were shock, surprise, and a dawning expression of half-painful eagerness. “Och, no, lassie!” he exclaimed. “I didna mean it that way, at all! It’s only—” He broke off, staring at her in fascination. His hand lifted, as though despite himself, and traced the air, outlining her cheek, her jaw and neck and shoulder, afraid to touch her directly. “It’s true?” he whispered. “It is you, Brianna?” He spoke her name with a queer accent—Breeanah—and she shivered at the sound. “It’s me,” she said, a little huskily. She made another attempt at a smile. “Can’t you tell?” His mouth was wide and full-lipped, but not like hers; wider, a bolder shape, that seemed to hide a smile in the corners of it, even in repose. It was twitching now, not certain what to do. “Aye,” he said. “Aye, I can.”

He did touch her then, his fingers drawing lightly down her face, brushing back the waves of ruddy hair from temple and ear, tracing the delicate line of her jaw. She shivered again, though his touch was noticeably warm; she could feel the heat of his palm against her cheek.

“I hadna thought of you as grown,” he said, letting his hand fall reluctantly away. “I saw the pictures, but still—I had ye in my mind somehow as a wee bairn always—as my babe. I never expected …”

His voice trailed off as he stared at her, the eyes like her own, deep blue and thick-lashed, wide in fascination. “Pictures,” she said, feeling breathless with happiness. “You’ve seen pictures of me? Mama found you, didn’t she? When you said you had a wife at home—”

“Claire,” he interrupted. The wide mouth had made its decision; it split into a smile that lit his eyes like the sun in the dancing tree leaves. He grabbed her arms, tight enough to startle her. “You’ll not have seen her, then? Christ, she’ll be mad wi’ joy!” The thought of her mother was overwhelming. Her face cracked, and the tears she had been holding back for days spilled down her cheeks in a flood of relief, half choking her as she laughed and cried together.

“Here, lassie, dinna weep!” he exclaimed in alarm. He let go of her arm and snatched a large, crumpled handkerchief from his sleeve. He patted tentatively at her cheeks, looking worried. “Dinna weep, a leannan, dinna be troubled,” he murmured. “It’s all right, m’ annsachd; it’s all right.”

“I’m all right; everything’s all right. I’m just—happy,” she said. She took the handkerchief, wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “What does that mean—a leannan? And the other thing you said?”

“You’ll not have the Gaelic, then?” he asked, and shook his head. “No, of course she wouldna have been taught,” he murmured, as though to himself. “I’ll learn,” she said firmly, giving her nose a last wipe.

“A leannan?” A slight smile reappeared on his face as he looked at her. “It means ‘darling,’ ” he said softly. “M’ annsachd—my blessing.”

41 JOURNEY’S END

[minecraftbookshelf]

Honey and Beekeeping

This post is primarily about Pixandria and Helianthia, as they are the two empires with the largest honey sources/trade, but it does also have a nod to Rivendell and The Overgrown.

-

Beekeeping is a a major cultural thing in Pixandria, and is most notable for being based out of the oasis city, rather than The Anthill. Pixandrian bees primarily feed off of desert wildflowers, supplemented by cactus blossoms and the vegetation of the oasis. (There are so many bees and their honey production is important enough culturally and economically that there are regulations about what foreign plants people can and cannot plant in the oasis city, because you can't just tell bees, "no not that one" bees do what they want.) Bees are also revered culturally, and Pixandrians take great pains to avoid injuring them as they go about their business, they are referred to in Pixandrian as "the little people/citizens."

The honeycomb is harvested in its raw form and is usually separated into honey and the comb itself, as the wax is as much of a desired and required commodity in Pixandria as the honey itself. The wax is often purified and shaped into its final use in Pixandria. It is used to treat copper and prevent it from aging, but candlemaking is also an art there, and wax is often used to aid in sealing and/or waterproofing (or sand proofing) seams in waterskins, clothing, lids, and many other things.

Pixandrian honey is known internationally for its light, floral flavor and light color. It is distinct but not heavy. It is one of their major trades and it is not unusual to find a dish of Pixandrian honey on the table or in the kitchen of any house among their allied empires. Crystallized honey is a very common candy in Pixandria and very popular with the children (and also certain semi-immortal emperors)

(Their mead production is also notable)

-

The main difference between the way Helianthia and Pixandria store and sell their honey is that Helianthians usually leave theirs on the comb and it is sold and served that way, as they do not have the high wax demand that Pixandria has. They do process some wax and honey separately, but its much less common.

Beekeeping is also less culturally central in Helianthia, though equally as common. The honey has more variety as well, throughout the regions of the empire, depending on the local flora. Helianthian honey is the easiest to obtain, even outside the WRA. Helianthian honey butter is widely hailed as their greatest accomplishment of all time.

-

Rivendell does have bees, but fewer hives and the majority of them live in an apiary/greenhouse combo specifically designed and maintained to protect them from the harsh weather conditions of the Southern Mountains. Rivendell honey has a very distinct flavor, due to their restricted diet, and its a stronger, almost nutty flavor and its color is usually on the darker side.

They don't really trade their honey internationally, due to the lower quantities of it they have, but it is not uncommon as a gift between royalty and there will definitely be some in Scott's dowry.

A significant portion of their honey is also turned into mead. Rivendell mead is both famous and infamous(ly strong).

-

The Overgrown has bees and honey but their honey is Not Safe for mortal consumption. The magic of the Spring is too concentrated in the flowers that grow there and it gives the products thereof something of a...kick.

-

AU Masterpost

[elliethecat]

Gay men jumpscare!

I drew my OC Neri and my interpretation of @little-charm-beast's OC Horun! Neri got off of work and did a bee-line to go and cuddle with Horun lmao

My little diplomat adores his bf ❤️❤️❤️

Reference for Horun under the cut!

Here's my interpretation of what Horun would look like as his reference! I based his color pallette off of a gradient of his scale color and a yellow. I additionally gave him an overbite because I thought it would be funny :3

He's based on a Whitetip Reef Shark; a species of Requiem Shark just like Neri's inspiration of a Copper Shark :3

[rosarosierose]

Here is a bunch of artwork I made for a mate's minecraft server + lil tidbits on the creative process/what on earth it is meant to be.

Here is what could be my favorite on a... vibe level? idk its weird- it is a bee! His name is canonically bort, he has more stored energy than the entire universe, and likes roses. I am not joking, it is a wild story line.

This one is demonstrating the custom structure the server boasts, the hanging city. This is technically the first painting I started working on but it was one of the last ones I finished because I uh forgot about it.

This one took the longest actively being worked on, from concept to finalization. It shows four guardians. Yorker, the nice one, guard of life. Tycor, guard of War. Ritor, guard of storms. And finally, Tortor, guard of death. What does this matter? Nothing, at this point and time they are all dead, but it sure makes a neat portrait piece.

This one, for being described by others as the one that goes the hardest and looks the coolest, is based off the most dumb premise. There was this wither skeleton that survived a event, the admin made him talk for fun, he revealed his name was Grinkellord. That is it. That is the inspiration.

One of the other dumb inspiration ones that allegedly goes hard. This one was inspired by a photo of my girlfriend dying in lava with a physics mod installed with a funky effect layered over it.

This one has my favorite flavor out of these all. It was inspired by an underwater city me and a friend made on the server called Atlantis. Ironically, this city has been completely lost to time (despite the server owners best attempts at world backups.)

This painting pays tribute to an idea that the server owner wanted to execute but was unable to. Ancient, huge copper pipes that would litter certain parts of the worlds oceans.

This one was originally going to be an infected moon type thing, with black growths taking it over. However, as I did it, it slowly turned into this. Not really sure how but aye it looks neat.

This one is my personal favorite. It shows the time way back in 2019 when a secret lab me and a friend had got ripped out of the ground by a massive portal. Good times, those were.

And here is the server owners favorites, and I can certainly see why. I am putting them together due to how they are linked. Called "The Voyager" and "The Voyage". The Voyager shows an advanced computer that is comprised of an entire species worth of individual being stuffed into one intelligence. It is the operator of the vehicle shown in The Voyage, slowly exploring space.

This one shows the Arbiter, in his human form and his castle form in the background. It was fun messing with a low color palette like this.

Here is a space shark, pretty much taken but not traced directly from some art Drawfee made a good few years ago. Still cool as h*ck.

And this one, showing the portal mentioned in the STRDEL painting.

And here are a bunch of ones that while still neat, I did not plan on being in the server. They were all pieces of art I had made for the server previously and the owner had just kind of put into frames and called it a day. I then took the sprites and freshened them up to be real works that work in a painting setting. Am kinda proud of myself for how much I adapted them.

Here is the masterpost for the rest of the server sprites.

[ghostoffuturespast]

3 May 2024 - Friday Field Notes

Of course, much of what fills our mouths is taken forcibly from the earth. That form of taking does no honor to the farmer, to the plants, or to the disappearing soil. It’s hard to recognize food that is mummified in plastic, bought and sold, as a gift anymore. Everybody knows you can’t buy love. In a garden, food arises from partnership. If I don’t pick rocks and pull weeds, I’m not fulfilling my end of the bargain. I can do these things with my handy opposable thumb and capacity to use tools, to shovel manure. But I can no more create a tomato or embroider a trellis in beans than I can turn lead into gold. That is the plants’ responsibility and their gift: animating the inanimate. Now there is a gift. People often ask me what one thing I would recommend to restore relationship between land and people. My answer is almost always, “Plant a garden.” It’s good for the health of the earth and it’s good for the health of people. A garden is a nursery for nurturing connection, the soil for cultivation of practical reverence. And its power goes far beyond the garden gate–once you develop a relationship with a little patch of earth, it becomes a seed itself. Something essential happens in a vegetable garden. It’s a place where if you can’t say “I love you” out loud, you can say it in seeds. And the land will reciprocate, in beans.

Epiphany In The Beans - Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants - Robin Wall Kimmerer

Gardening adventures begin! We'll see how they do. Completely operating on trial and error here.

In the late afternoon of July the prairie reaches a crescendo. Under a hot sun, dry wind eases through the tallgrass while monarch and painted lady butterflies quench their thirst at a blazingstar. Bumble bee workers circle the heads of coneflowers gathering pollen. Dickcissel birds rise from the shade of bluestem and indiangrass with their eponymous dick-CISSEL-CISSEL calls. As the sun works its way farther west into the evening, a coolness settles in the valleys as plants transpire, their exhalations creating a dampness that thickens the air. The quiet of this space creates a distance that can be unnerving. It is just you and the horizon, just you and the sky fading into the grass, all made part of something much larger and older than yourself. The colors change in these golden hours as afternoon fades into evening. Bright greens are washed in faint blues, the yellow tops of coreopsis and sunflower mute to burnt orange and copper, and the purple prairie clover blooms shift to a magenta as moths take their turn to feast. Walk into a prairie at any time of day and it’s like entering a Jacuzzi bath; you are delightfully vulnerable, soothed of everything you’ve dragged around all day, trusting in the place to hold you close, to give you back your one wild and precious life. Sit down among the plants and watch a banded orb weaver create a web larger than a cookie sheet, strung between a few blades of arching switchgrass. Prairie becomes a word synonymous with empathy and gratitude; it is not a simple place but one full of meaning that stretches out through time.

Ch. 1 - Prairie Up: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design - Benjamin Vogt

Perhaps there are more efficient ways of weeding out the old stands of tumbleweeds, but there's something incredibly intimate about crawling around the prairie on all fours. You get to greet new friends and say goodbye to old ones.

Pronghorn crossing, excuse me.

[little-bee-draws]

art vs artist 2023, lots of purples, blues, and peachy pinks

ID: a 3x3 photo grid where the center photo is a selfie of the artist, a white nonbinary person with short hair, and the others are images of their artwork, mostly colorful character portraits. All artwork is signed "L-T-Bee."

Image 1: a portrait of a young winter eladrin woman with white skin, glacial blue hair, and black eyes with the irises rimmed in glowing blue.

Image 2: a portrait of a draconic tiefling woman with blue skin and hair and multiple sets of gold horns. Her irises and pupils are gold.

Image 3: a portrait of a young Indian (Malayali) woman with light brown skin and dark curly hair. She is bleeding from her nose and looking intensely at the viewer.

Image 4: a portrait of my D&D character, Idris, a feminine air genasi with blue skin, grey eyes, and curly white and peach hair. She wears round gold-rimmed glasses.

Image 5: a selfie of me, a white nonbinary person with short brown hair. I'm wearing a green and blue flannel.

Image 6: a portrait of a summer eladrin in side profile. they have copper skin and red-violet hair. a yellow, painted-on flower adorns their cheek.

Image 7: a painting of two people hugging. One is Idris, and the other is a taller half-orc young man with light green skin, brown eyes, and messy brown hair.

Image 8: a portrait of Idris. She looks directly at the viewer while tucking a curl behind her ear. One of her eyes is green.

Image 9: a digital painting of my D&D character Yarrow, a purple-skinned drow woman with long brown hair blowing in the wind. She wears a flowing dress and is picking flowers.

End ID.

[scarabies-real]

the jamlets?

OH IM SO EXCITED TO SHARE THIS WITH YALL

I’m working on a fic where Jellie has kittens and the experiencing of co-parenting brings Scar and Grian together. I have called Jellie’s kittens “the Jamlets” and I will not be taking criticism thank you. I did actual genetics to come up with these kittens. There are seven in total! Here they are!

Apricot:

Coat length: short

Coat color: red

Pattern: spotted tabby

Eye color: green (like ref)

Gender: tom

Other: Same white pattern as Jellie (couldn’t find a good ref)

Personality: extremely adventurous, constantly getting into sticky situations. He has orange cat syndrome and is dumb as bricks. Once ate a bee that made his whole face swell up when he was a kitten and Scar had several consecutive panic attacks. Grian is his favorite person and he makes it everybody else’s problem (destroys things when he’s not around to play.)

Peach:

Coat length: long

Coat color: cream bi-color

Pattern: classic tabby, ( tabby markings faint from dilution)

Eye color: green (like ref)

Gender: tom

Personality: Extremely shy around new people, one very anxious little boy. He picked one person to like (Scar) and is terrified of all others. If a cat could be the personification of anxiety that’s him. Is very agile and graceful but you hardly see him show off.

Strawberry:

Coat length: long

Coat color: red

Pattern: classic tabby (tabby markings are faint, genetically solid)

Eye color: gold

Gender: tom

Personality: Orange cat syndrome like his brother but he’s extremely mad about it at all times. Would fight god and win. Is rarely called by his actual name but rather by various nicknames such as “Grumpus, “Sourpuss,” “Crabbypants,” “Hot Pepper,” “Spicy,” “Mr. Murder Mittens,” “Lord Murderberry,” and “NO NOT MY ANKLES LEAVE ME ALONE!!!”

Blueberry:

Coat length: short

Coat color: blue silver (tuxedo white markings)

Pattern: classic tabby

Eye color: copper

Gender: mollie

Personality: Off the walls 24/7. She came out looking pretty much like a fainter Jellie clone and they thought she would be calm but no, she’s very much like her father (affectionately called “batshit insane”) god help you if you come within spotting distance with her favorite toy (bread twist ties) or if you need to go the bathroom (not alone you won’t!)

Basil:

Coat length: short

Coat color: black

Pattern: mackerel tabby

Eye color: amber

Gender: tom

Personality: LOUD. HE SCREAM. Dramatic little boy he will throw himself in front of your feet and yowl as if you have stepped on him, then gaslight you into giving him a treat even if you did not step on him. Scar calls him his little insurance fraudster. Grian calls him a menace. He is constantly on the brink of starvation and he CANNOT believe you are such a cruel and horrible owner to not feed him, really, do you WANT him to die!? Feathers are evil and must be defeated. It is 4am so he must sing the song of his people and do zoomies around the house.

Mixed Berry “Miss Berry”:

Coat length: long

Coat color: tortoiseshell (dilute, low-white)

Pattern: genetically solid, faint mackerel tabby markings in red fur

Eye color: Green

Gender: mollie

Personality: Constantly judging you. She’s better than you and she knows it. The tortitude is REAL. She’s fairly aloof but food motivated and tolerates everyone to some extent. Only really gets excited about Pearl visiting. Secretly likes her siblings and Grian and Scar but don’t you dare point it out. Never called by her actual name, she’s either “Miss” “Miss Berry” or “Missy.” Treated like a queen. Thinks she’s the favorite. Don’t tell her she’s not.

Kiwi:

Coat length: short

Coat color: black (tuxedo markings and socks, face markings—mustache)

Pattern: solid

Eye color: green

Gender: mollie

Personality: The actual favorite. A very adventurous cuddle bug! If she’s not hunting dust bunnies she’s always in someone’s lap. LOVES to greet strangers and loves being held like a baby. Has a weird fixation with water that cost Scar thousands of dollars (turned on the gap and flooded the entire bathroom.) She has to drink out of a water fountain or tap or she doesn’t drink at all. She gave Scar and Grian a scare when she was born and Scar has Never Gotten Over It. She likes Mumbo to a disturbing degree. They have matching mustaches. He would die for her.

The father: Peanut Butter

coat length: short

coat color: chocolate

pattern: spotted tabby

eye color: amber

Gender: tom (obviously)

Personality: Was originally skittish but has since become a menace to society. He likes to eat trash and start fights. He was supposed to be an indoor cat after Grian found him, but he’s an escape artist and likes to cause panic on purpose. He’s where Blueberry and Apricot get their 0 chill personality. There’s something wrong with him probably. Has street smarts but is horrible at putting them into practice. Constantly getting stuck in things. Called PB for short or “little mans”

The mother: Jellie

coat length: short

coat color: black tortoiseshell silver (mask and mantle white pattern)

pattern: classic tabby

Eye color: green

Gender: mollie (obviously)

Personality: the one true Queen we all know and love. Is a little more of a sneaky girl in this but still so so sweet and a major cuddle bug. What Jellie Wants Jellie Gets. Scar’s instincts to maim and kill for her only get worse when he realizes he’s a grandpa.

Yes I did literal actual genetics research to figure out her coat color and what her kittens could look like no I’m not okay. I had no idea she was a tortoiseshell and not just a black silver until I looked at close up pics and saw she has red (diluted to cream by the silver gene, so it just looks like rufousing) fur interspersed throughout her flank and belly and on her face. I’m so insane about this she’s such a pretty girl.

Anyways PLEASE ask me about the Jamlets or PB&J or Scar and Grian and how the fic goes I have so much knowledge rattling around up here and I want to share it with the world NOW!!!!!

[m4g0rtz]

Today's polish is a gorgeous linear holo. The maker describes the base in this one as copper but to me it looks like a pastel orange. Not peach, but pastel orange if that makes any sense at all. 😂 It also says it has a red to green shimmer but I didn't see that at ALL. If there was a shimmer it looked very close to the base color and the overall effect reminded me of the pink base and shimmer in Toe Beans. Regardless of the description I liked this one a lot. It's both neutral and in your face rainbow sparkles at the same time which is always fun. 😁 This is Mittengard Wyrm 2.0 from Bee's Knees Lacquer.

[echantedtoon]

Monster Bride Part 6 Kokushibo

Warnings:  Kokushibo is in pretty rough shape with bad wounds and some blood loss, mentioned blood, Kokushibo murders a rival later, mentioned killing/attempted murder, Y/n gets kidnapped for a forced marriage, Y/n gets cut when someone tries to attack Kokushibo, Kokushibo breaks someone's hand, etc.

Just a reminder Kokushibo is a Omukade Yokai centaur creature and looks a lot like the links below.

www.tumblr.com/rottencoreflesh101/724273568035274752/some-monster-au-doodles-i-did-at-work-im-also?source=share

www.tumblr.com/rottencoreflesh101/724423204823826432/work-doodles-more-of-my-monster-au-i-think-i?source=share

Hantengu Bros are next.)

Quietly you stepped closer as and closer and CLOSER to the bush silently. Slowly behind the henhouse you went and stopped right in front of the bush. The wind blew swaying it's branches creepily and looked like thrashing arms. You grabbed a handful and silently and slowly pulled them back.

And you froze at what you saw-

The winds howled as the darkness crept across the skies. The darkness behind the bush shielded your form from the moonlight which cascaded down between the trees and clouds in the sky. The shadows danced and branches creaked as the wind blew them about. Like arms beckoning you closer to grab you away in their rough grip. Drag you into the shadows never to be seen again. You cracked an opening in the branches and looked out. The darkened sky looked out over the entire area. Tree branches swayed and night fell upon the ground. However you froze as your eyes met a sickening sight.

R E D.

The coldness of the air bit down hard on your skin, like painful bee stings pricking your skin. The terror far greater than seeing a thousand wolves sunk in. A hand flew to cover your mouth as a foul urge to vomit rose and a sickening copper smell filtered through the air. 

RED!!

That was the color painted everywhere on the ground displayed before you. And there...lying face down slumped over was a man's body. A canvas for the color. Your eyes shrank in terror and your ears gained a ringing sound all on their own drowning out any noise. 

A DEAD BODY.

In your backyard and lying right in front of your face. How-...Where did it come from?! Who was this!? Where did it come from?! You wretched yourself away from the bush in shock and leaned over slightly. The urge to vomit riding as you did everything you could to keep it down. The bush branches snapping back into place hiding the sight from you. Automatically you gave a few coughs and gulped down air in an attempt to calm yourself head spinning. There was a dead man on your property! Oh gods! What if someone thought you were responsible for this!? You could be tried for murders-

Wait...

How did you know he was actually dead?

That one thought made you freeze in your tracks instantly. That's right...How did you know for certain that he was dead? You just merely saw him covered in blood with a gash on his back. Your head turned back to the bush. He...he could've been hurt and tried reaching your house for help. What if he was laying there suffering?! That thought perked you back up into going back to the bush and cautiously reaching out to slightly pull the branches again. The body was still there unmoving. It...sure LOOKED dead but you couldn't tell in the dark. If he was still alive..you had to help him. You couldn't just leave someone to bleed out. The unmoving form still remained unmoving even as you noisily pushed through the bush and stood right next to the head....It was definitely a man. You could tell by how Large the body was and how muscular the exposed skin was. In the limited moonlight you were able to make out long hair and bangs that mostly covered his face and he laid in a position that suggested that he'd collapsed by himself.  But the question still remained...Was he still alive?

You hesitated again ...but slowly you reached over to the face laying on its side and touched the long bangs covering his eyes. It was .. surprisingly soft and silky to the touch and you slowly pulled it away from the face to examine it. The right side of a man's face greeted you.  You nearly jumped back at what you saw. His right eye was closed obviously either unconscious or dead, and read streaks ran down his face in water dripping patterns from a cut on his forehead. However...that wasn't the strangest bit. There was an odd flame looking birthmark on his neck and part of his right cheek. Odd. You'd never seen a birthmark like that before. However you didn't pay it much mind. Your hand instead went to almost touch his lips and flinched back feeling a weak warm breath blow across your fingertips. You reeled back in shock, hand to your chest, and jumping 

HE WAS ALIVE!!

Hands grabbed his right shoulder and HEAVED. Barely moving an inch, but slowly the body turned, and with a thud whoever he was collapsed onto his back. A shocked gasp escaped from your throat upon purple eyes seeing his front body. Oh gods...So much blood. His body was practically DRENCHED in the red color! And you found out why. Mr. Unknown had the front of his shirt ripped to pieces to where it was barely hanging on over his shoulders. A large gash across his front from his left shoulder and ending just above his right hip was exposed to you. Definitely bigger than the gash along his back. And there was a third smaller gash along his right collar bone ending near his bicep. There was so much blood..How was he even still alive!? You also saw he had more of those flame like birthmarks on the upper left corner of his face. How odd. You reached out to touch it- But froze as a strong hand snatched you hand.

A pair of eyes opened up and gazed up at the blurry figure above him. Not making any sense of the blurry, spinning vision. Until the eyes rolled up into the back of his head and the last thing he saw was a glimpse of purple.

**************************************************

Warm. 

Everything was warm once feeling returned to his body. Which was odd. He was lying on the cold hard ground last he remembered. Logic was of course the first thing to return to him. His thinking was always faster than his reflexes. Then the feeling of his body settled in. Warmth...but incredible aching, throbbing soreness. It throbbed and panged his body. Hmm..So he wasn't dead after all. It was too painful to be heaven and not painful enough to be hell, and too annoying to be purgatory. So he was Still alive but had passed out for a short while. An acceptable fate. Now...where was he?

Eyes slowly opened themselves up to the world blinking rapidly at the light and his vision blurred until he could see...A one roomed house? It was mostly empty. A coffee table square in the middle, a picture frame or two holding a painting of someone on the walls, a basket in the corner, a shelf full of dishes and other small items, a fireplace with a fire currently going, and a few other bland things. Nothing that really stood out as anything important to him. But who lived here? Why was he inside? How did he get here? And who touched him? 

His question was answered when the door opened and the figure of a woman in a blue kimono walked in. The smell of wood drew his attention to the logs she was carrying. Silently he watched as she slid the sliding door back closed with a foot before continuing on to the fireplace and proceeding to feed the fire the wood. He laid there silently staring at her legs as she worked, feeling too weak to look up just yet and not wanting to give himself away just yet. The sounds of a metal poker scraping against the fire appeared for a little while before it too went away and the legs turned to face him. They didn't move again for a long moment before he felt a hand touch his blanketed shoulder- Faster than either expected his left hand shot up to tightly grip a much smaller wrist and squeezed down just enough to get the other body to freeze.

"Who are you and where am I?"

His eyes turned upwards slowly tilting his head...and he gave pause at the shocked face staring at him. The soft features looking as if sculpted by an angel. Soft, warm, and very beautiful. Definitely a woman. You stared at him in shock at how fast the man moved despite the fact that he was still extremely hurt and had blood loss. Whoever he was, he was extremely trained if he could react this fast. You jumped as he lightly squeezed your wrist. It didn't hurt, not at all, but you couldn't move. This man was obviously serious. So taking a breath..you exhaled slowly to calm yourself.

"Calm yourself," you spoke holding up your free hand despite his face already being an odd calm, "Relax back. You might reopen your wounds-"

"Answer me."

"My name is Y/n. Y/n Tamayo. This is my home. I found you unconscious outside last night and brought you in here."

You heard him him eyes looking you up and down.. before he slowly let go of your wrist and lowered his arm back down but paused when he saw the white wrapped around his palm and held his hand out to look at the bandages wrapped around it. Before his eyes slowly looked down at his now uncovered torso and saw even more bandages snuggly wrapped around his entire upper body, over his right shoulder, and part of his upper right arm. A hand reached up to feel his head and again found more bandages wrapped around his forehead. The throbbing soreness he's been feeling eminated from most of the bandaged spots. And a deep inhale made him aware of some kind of ointment or herbal treatment under them. 

"...You have treated my wounds."

You nodded finally smiling at him. "I did. My mother's a doctor so I know a few medical treatments."

"My sword. Where is it?"

"It's by the table. You were passed out so I didn't know what to do with it otherwise." He looked back to you. "Your shirt was also ruined but I managed to save your other clothes. They're washed and drying outside so you should be able to get them back soon."

"I see ..Again he looked back to his body. "What of the state of my injuries?"

"You have a few large gashes across your back, chest, and shoulder here," you gestured to his torso. "But they're not deep at all and should heal rather quickly. You have a few cuts also but they're even smaller and should heal faster." You then frowned. "However I am worried about how much blood you managed to lose. There was so much. I honestly thought you were dead when I first saw you."

"I'll live," he said simply before sighing through his nose. "Is there anyone else that lives here?"

You shook your head. "No. Just me-"

"Where does that door there lead?" He pointed out the Smaller sliding door near the shelf.

"Oh. That leads into my bathroom." You blinked before looking at him. "My house isn't that-"

You blinked at the man who was sitting up. ...The man was .. sitting up. The man was sitting up despite his blood loss- He sighed through his nose before pulling the blanket to drap around his shoulders and slowly struggled to stand up. Your jaw dropped in disbelief as he was able to stand up and turned keeping the blanket draped over himself. Eventually you shook you head and snapped after him.

"Hey! W-Wait a minute!" He stopped when you grabbed the blanket around him and tugged back. "Where do you think you're going?!"

"To bathe." He turned his head back to you. "Please bring me my clothes." He then tugged the blanket out of your hands and continued on his way. Grabbing a towel from the shelf and entering your bathroom.

You stood there stunned for a very long time opening and closing your mouth like a fish before you looked at the empty futon and then back to the door as the faint sounds of running water started up. ....HOW WAS HE ABLE TO STAND AND WALK RIGHT NOW?! HE SHOUDN'T EVEN BE ABLE TO SIT UP!! But there he was. You were absolutely stunned to say the least, but did as he asked and got the clothes you cleaned from the line. You ended up just quickly shoving them inside closing your eyes and slamming the door back shut to give him respect of privacy. He still took his sweet time however and the next time he opened the door he was fully clothed minus a shirt. Steam escaped from the room behind him as he approached your sitting form at the table but he didn't even acknowledge you. Just reaching out to grab the sword off the table. He stood there examining the sheath of the blade with a calm face... before he paused. His eyes went wide as his arm flew to clutch his stomach as a wave of pain and dizzing nausea came over him. He stumbled two steps to the right before something grabbed onto him barely able to lift him up.

"I TOLD you! You're body's too weak to stand yet. C'mon. Come lay back down." You some how managed to hold up his heavy body just enough to make it back to the futon and help him sit down but he refused to lay down no matter how hard you pushed him to lay back so you gave up and just looked at him breathing heavily. "There. Now don't try that again. You need to recover."

His hair was down now completely cascading down his back and slightly wet covering most of his back but he still turned to you peeking through his hair. "It seems...so. I must take some time to recover."

"I also need you to remove your coat." He raised a brow at you. "To replace the bandages you removed. It'd be better if I treated them properly."

He remained silent but placed the sword on his lap and reached up to silently remove his black and purple checkered coat. You blinked but quickly looked away with red rising to your cheeks. Right! You'd better get those bandages. You were surprised at how silent and calm he was. Not once did he flinch or make a hurt face when you retreated his injuries. Only silently raising his arms and moving his hair when you wrapped new clean bandages around his torso red faced. He was...very physically fit. When you were finished he just silently pulled the coat back over his shoulders.

"You should be fine now but you should rest." He hummed in response. ".... What's your name?"

"Why do you need to know?"

You rose a brow. "Well considering I found a stranger bleeding near my home and treated him without asking for payment in return I think a name would be the least you could give me."

"I owe nothing."

"Maybe not but it would be polite. I can't keep calling you Mr. Stranger."

There was silence again before he said one word. "Kokushibo."

You blinked before smiling. "Well it's nice to meet you, Mr. Kokushibo. Would you tell me what you were doing outside my home?''

He hummed again cracking an eye open at you. "Nosey aren't you?"

"Concerned is more like it. You'd be too if you found a bloodied man outside your home." You then glanced at the sword on his lap. It was a long katana most likely. "...Are you a samurai?"

A large hand clasped around the sword in an instant. ".... I am a warrior." He settled on saying carefully after studying your face for a long moment.  "I was engaged in battle before coming here."

Your brow rose. "Combat in the middle of the woods?"

"I prefer traveling without trouble following. The forest provides a peaceful cover. However I miscalculated an ambush. I will not make the same mistake."

Who attacked him? Other samurai? You've seen these men a few times while in town but never spoke to one until now. "....But do I have to worry about trouble coming here?"

"...No. I have already assured that I wouldn't be dealing with them again."

You decided not to delve further into that. Wasn't your business anyways. At least you didn't have to worry about trouble showing up on your doorstep. You slowly closed the box containing your medical kit. "I'll have to buy some more supplies in town. ...Are you hungry? A full stomach would help you feel better."

He hummed again. " You're cooking beef stew in the fireplace." He nodded. "I will take it."

"And water." He again looked at you. "You lost a lot of blood. You need fluids and get rehydrated fast or else something bad might happen." You stood up and turned away from him. "I'd rather not have my guest collapsing on me again." Walking over to the shelf, you placed the box back. "You can stay here until you recover, but I think it might be a good idea if I had my mother come look at you-"

"NO." You turned around blinking at him as he narrowed his eyes at you. "I won't have anyone else seeing me or knowing I am here. I will stay until I am well enough to walk within a week but until then no one else will know I'm here."

The intensity of the state he was giving you reminded you of a wolf staring at a rabbit. ..And you suddenly had a thought that perhaps you had better stay out of whatever business this man had. So you nodded and he relaxed back but still stared at you. Watching as you set about getting him a plate stuffed full of rice and beef and whatever else you decided to give him. 

"Thank you." He said plainly before just grabbing a pair of chopsticks to start eating. 

"I hope you don't mind such a meager meal. I don't have exactly have access to top meat."

"This will be enough for now but I will need more later to fuel my body's regeneration rate." He said before just silently putting a chunk of the food in his mouth... before pausing before just looking at the food.

You noticed that and tilted your head. "Is something wrong? It's too hot isn't it?"

He was slow to respond. "No... It's quite good. I rarely have home cooked foods." Mostly he feasted on prey he caught these last few decades and home cooked meals like this were rare these days. 

You smiled at him. "Thank you. If you're still hungry later then you're welcome to take more of if you can't move just ask me and I'll get you more." A jug full of water and a cup was placed next to him.  "Here's some water. Drink some. I'm going to clean up the mess you made of my bathroom. Next time don't leave your old bandages next to the tub."

"My apologies."

He did not say anything else as you left to clean up the bathroom and dispose of the old slightly bloodied bandages he had wrapped around himself. Collecting the dishes he set aside once he was finished with it. He stayed like that for the rest of the day, just silently sitting there and looking like he was in deep meditation. You didn't disturb him still feeling strange from the intense look he gave you earlier. However you did comply with him when he asked for more food before retiring to the futon you set up. Not wanting to disturb him, you just pulled out a spare set of blankets from the shelf and curled up near the front door just in case you needed to jump out for whatever reason. However you woke up the next morning in surprise to find the man sound asleep still. 

Seeing as you still had a quiet morning to yourself, you quietly made your way out to start your chores which wasn't too long a job but  you thought that the man would've been awake now. You were surprised to see that he wasn't. Instead he remained there in the same position you saw him in when you first got up. Long hair splayed all around him. But what caught your attention towards him was the twitching of his eyelids. He looked incredibly bothered by something. So when a hand touched his forehead, his eyes snapped open immediately to look at you.

"You're running a fever...It doesn't feel too high thankfully. I have some fever medicine in my kit. I'll give you some and you should feel fine later."

He merely hummed before closing his eyes back shut. "Do what you must."

You smiled and made to move..but paused. Removing your hand you stared at his bare forehead in confusion. ".... That's strange. Didn't you have a cut on your forehead?"

"You're mistaken." He didn't bother opening his eyes.

You stared at him before opening your mouth. That's not true. You DID treat a cut on his forehead but again you decided not to bother fighting him and again treat him with a herbal tea infused with the medicine. He opened his eyes and would've sat up to take the drink from you, but blinked as all of a sudden a hand pushed itself under his head and lifted him with extreme gentleness he'd never felt before. As if he was cracked glass and at any moment could shatter. Something warm and herbal smelling wafted over his lips as you cradled his head and held the cup to his lips.

"Here. Drink."

The eyes stared up at yours and how soft your features were... before they glanced at the cup, and slowly opened his mouth. It was enough for you to tilt the cup for him to drink taking great care to not spill any on him.  Making sure to also give him breaks between gulps to allow him to breath until it was empty. He'll also need something solid in his stomach. Good thing you still had leftovers from dinner last night. He didn't make any moves to stop you from cradling his head and feeding him until he seemed to be full enough and you gently encouraged him to sit back up. You needed to treat his wounds again. He seemed to struggle to sit up by himself so you had to push him up into a sitting position before you could again treat him. He just remained silent and compliant throughout the entire process until he was laying back down and a cool wet towel was being pressed against his forehead. 

"There you go. You should feel better soon. Is there anything else you want?"

"No. This should suffice."

You smiled at him again. "Well you should be well for now. I'll come back later and get you some more water after I finish cleaning the house. For now rest."

He looked at you closely. "You're doing your duties even while caring for someone else fully?"

"Well ..Yes. You're my guest, and I should be a good host but I shouldn't neglect my chores either."

"Hm. The markings of a devoted housewife." He nodded. "Your husband must be very pleased with a woman like you."

You paused blinking.. before slowly looking at him with a look. "I'm not married." His eyes looked back to you. "I'm not engaged either. I clean my home and provide for my own person."

His brow rose higher than before. "A woman living alone and running a farm by herself?" The eyes scanned you up and down. That was unheard of.  "With how young and beautiful you are? A woman by your age is usually married or engaged to be married soon. It's unheard of to hear that you're not."

You paused. Before your face lit up a light pink at his words but despite that you shook your head with a frown. "No. I like living by myself and providing for just me. It's simpler and more peaceful."

"You do not want to be married? Or starting a family?"

You gave a thoughtful look. "Well..I think it would be nice to  settle down eventually, but it shouldn't be forced. Marriage is supposed to be about love for one another, not just what I look like."

"You haven't gotten any suitors?"

You shook your head picking up a bucket. "No. I have but most of the ones I've gotten have always been pushy or only wanted to marry me because they thought I was pretty or for some other selfish reason. Living a bit far from town helps but sometimes someone still has the audacity to come down here and try their luck. Some more pushy than others. A lot of the time they don't like hearing no."

Kokushibo silently seemed to be giving a thoughtful, considerate look to what you had to say. "I see."

He said nothing else as his eyes closed once again and you left to fetch a pail of water from your well. If he wanted to rest then you wouldn't disturb him. Only rolling up your sleeves/bottom of your kimono before starting to scrub the floors. He remained still as you worked even as you moved furniture and pushed him and the futon over at one point to clean under him. He merely perked an eye open, before immediately closing it again unbothered by anything. Made no difference to you. You just continued to go about your business dusting, sweeping, mopping, etc. You again changed the towel on his forehead and fed him more later in the day but it wasn't anything special. However come the third morning he was there you started to think maybe this man wasn't human. You had woken up as usual and gotten up but froze when you found the back door open and he was just sitting there already helping himself to what must've been  the last of the large pot of stew and rice you made. How the heck was he able to eat so much? He noticed you before you could even say something. 

"Apologies for devouring your food. If I wish to regenerate fully faster, I need more sustenance to sustain the energy my body uses to generate the healing process. But rest assured this only means I won't be a bother for you sooner."

You blinked looking at where he had been resting the day before then at him opening your mouth.. before just closing it. "It's..not a problem. You must be really hungry. I'll cook you a few eggs."

He only tilted his head slightly as you silently went over to make his bed, without complaining about it to him, before exciting the home to begin your chores. A woman who didn't complain about things he did and just offered him more food without a second thought. The markings of a good woman who'd take good care of her husband and the home when he was away. However she seemed very stubborn minded about remaining single. She'd most likely die alone. He'd just finished the food you'd given him and you took his plate away with a smile when a knocking noise from the front door caught your attention. Kokushibo merely cracked an eye open from his meditative state. Neither of you moved and then the knocking came back again but louder.

"Who could that be?," you mumbled putting the plates to the side.

"A man." From the presence he sensed and by the smell, it was a male around the same age as you and from the smell of animals, he was either a hunter or was wearing some kind of animal pelts.

You hesitated looking at him both wondering how he knew that and a bit concerned. He said he didn't want anyone to know that he was here, but he didn't make any moves to hide or move out of sight...You supposed it would just be ok to answer the door, you just had to make sure to not accidentally show Kokushibo was there. So with a sigh you steeled yourself with a smile and walked on over to the front door, just sliding it open enough to peek your head out... before you blinked and your face frowned.

"What are you doing here?" Kokushibo's head perked up at the heavy distaste in your tone.

"I came to see the love of my life.~ Isn't it obvious?~ I missed you so much.~", came a gruff but young male's voice he'd never heard before.

Behind the door you placed a hand on your hip. "You're not allowed back in town. You were banned after you almost killed that elder a year ago."

"It was an honest mistake-"

"You got drunk and picked a fight with that poor old man for no reason! On top of that you dishonored your family and that was on top of the pile of horrible things you've done!"

"You don't live in town. This is a decent ways from that place, so I'm not breaking any laws." Kokushibo's head turned to the side and rose a brow seeing a hand caress the side of your head through the doorway. "I missed you.~"

SLAP!

The hand was harshly slapped away from your face. "GET OFF MY PROPERTY!!" You bellowed out at him in a tone that surprised Kokushibo could come from such a soft lady. ''I don't know who you think you are but you're not welcome here! You're NEVER welcome here! You disgust me to no end! Now get off my property! I don't want to see you again!"

There was an instant reaction to your words. One of which being that you were shoved back harshly. Enough to send you stumbling back and falling to the floor as the sliding door slammed open and someone stepped inside. The someone was a man about her age maybe a year or two older with a few scars and clothing made from animal skins. Ah. That explained the smell of animals. He walked in initially with a smirk on his face but paused upon seeing the face of another man staring back at him calmly and silently. You shook your head scooting back from the new man entering your home and glared at him. The two men silently stared at one another before finally the first one sneered in anger and pointed at Kokushibo. 

"Who the hell are you?!", he demanded.

"Who I am is not important for you to know," he responded back calmly only making the newcomer angrier.

"What?! Did you get married or something while I was gone?!" He snapped to you in question.

"So what if I did?!"

"SO YOU GOT MARRIED!?"

"Again that's none of your business! I don't owe you any explanation on what goes on in my life! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!"

The man didn't. Instead he snarled at Kokushibo who took his sweet time standing up and turning to face him. His calm expression beyond repair making him even more so. 

"I believe she had asked you to leave this house," he spoke more calmly half lidded eyes staring at him. You looked up at him. Holy crap...he was a lot taller than he looked. 

"Tch. And what right do you have to it?," he asked silently sizing the samurai up.

"None. I am nothing but a mere guest to this household however you are not. Now you had best be on your way. I would find it improper for you to stay any longer."

Perhaps it was the previous blood loss that had dulled his senses or the fact he didn't take this man as a threat (and to be perfectly honest he wasn't a threat at all) but when a hand shot out he stiffened awaiting the blow- However it-...Never came?

The smell of blood filled his nose after a body flew up and something metallic and shiny slashed across your face. A cut formed on your cheek. Pain exploded as you yelled out stumbling back until you collided with a body. Kokushibo blinked as you fell against him easily catching you in one strong arm as you gritted your teeth and clutched your cheek as a cut bled out on. Kokushibo slowly blinked as you felt tests start to stream down your face. Kokushibo slowly let his eyes grow wide before looking at the man who also seemed surprised as he held up a dagger.

"Leave him alone!," you bellowed out at the other man, "He's hurt enough! Just leave us alone! GET OUT! GET OUT!! GET OUT!!"

Well..that escalated rather quickly. He stared at the woman starting to cry in his arms then back to the man holding the knife. Her body was slowly slid until she was gently placed on the floor. Purple eyes blinked as he easily stepped over and placed himself between her and the other man. 

"You have been told to leave. If you don't wish bodily harm upon you, you'll honor the request."

The other man stared at him before daring to growl. "Who's gonna make me? You?"

"Obviously. Normally I wouldn't care of what business or purpose you have with her, but you attacked my hostess. I can't simply let that slide."

"I'm not going to let a woman order me around like a weakling. And I'm sure as hell not going to let you get between me and my business!"

An arm was raised up high and the dagger was raised only to be swiped down- And grabbed by a large fist faster than either could comprehend. Shocked eyes stared into the calm face framed by burgundy hair.

CRACK-

Your body curled up on itself as a man's shriek echoed throughout the home. Pain wailing through his hand and up his arm shooting off like fireworks. The knife fell to the ground with a clatter by their feet as Kokushibo effortlessly and calmly crushed the man's hand. It was all a quick blur. His hand swiping from the hand to his neck, grabbing him by the throat and lifting up. You watched shocked as Kokushibo was able to effortlessly lift up the dangling man like he was nothing and walk him to the open front door struggling and wheezing for air grabbing at the calloused hand clamped around his throat. Until the samurai stopped just in the doorway.

"A man's place is to protect and provide for the woman he devotes his life to. Your proclamations of love are as empty as your threats. You are neither a man nor a worthy lover. It's only because I'm being courteous to my hostess that you live. She just cleaned last night and I'd hate to make a mess and ruin all her hard work. But make no mistakes. Should our paths cross again for whatever reason..." The calm eyes narrowed as the grip increased. "I will be the last thing you see before death claims you."

The man's body dropped like a ragdoll with a thud and a large gasp left his mouth followed by a current of coughs as sweet oxygen filled his lungs. He simply watched him wriggle and struggle like the pathetic worm he was before he was able to scowl and struggle himself away. He stood there until he was no longer in sight and then some before closing the door in front of him. Silence resumed for a long moment.

"...That was incredibly stupid of you." You blinked as he turned to look at you. "I didn't ask you to defend me and if you do it again I'll be sure it's the last time you do."

You ...just blinked. Staring at him as tears continued to roll down your cheeks before you scowled. "I-"

"Should be the one protected," he stated bluntly, "It's a man's job to protect the women not the other way around. You've already done me a great deed by feeding me, giving me shelter, and treating my wounds without a thing in return. I owe your safety at least in return." You said nothing as he walked on over to the shelf and grabbed the box you kept your medical supplies in. "Now treat the wound. It will be better if you did."

You wiped at your face before nodding. "F-Fine. But remove your coat so I can care for your wounds in return.''

"There is no need. They will be fully healed by tomorrow anyways."

That wasn't true. The gashes on him weren't deep but they'd take a long time to heal fully. "Even still, it'd be better to treat the wounds until they heal fully and I said I'd take care of you until you healed fully."

He regarded you for a long moment. "A woman who insists on treating others before herself...You would be an ideal wife if the right man wished to court you." You deadpanned at him. "Nevertheless I agree but treat your cheek first."

You didn't argue against that or when he suddenly pressed a cloth to your face to wipe off the tears and blood from your cut. Your eyes just widened as a hand tilted your head up to look at him and he continued working...a redness spreading across your face much to his inner amusement.

"Who was that man?" His voice made you jump.

"W-What?"

"He seemed to know you. Was he a past lover?"

You scowled in his hold. "He wishes. No. Not even remotely."

He hummed. "He seems to think otherwise."

"His family owns a successful fur trading business in town. Because of that he's very spoiled.  He thinks he can get away with anything but last year he was exiled from town because he almost killed a man after he got drunk."

"What is his business with you?"

"Nothing. His parents tried to convince mine to make an arranged marriage between us as children and I guess since I've told him no he can't seem to get over it. But I'm afraid he might make good on that loophole." He hummed wiping around your cut. "Technically I don't live in town. It's an hour away down the path. So if he comes back here then he wouldn't be breaking the law.''

"If he returns, he does." You blinked as he seriously spoke. "I warned him. If he so chooses to not listen to that warning then he'll face the consequences of his own actions. I never go back on my word."

You blinked at him before pulling away red faced. "Y-You didn't have to do that."

"I did what my role entails." The rustling of clothing had you look over and freeze as his purple and black checkered coat dropped to his feet and exposed his torso to you. "Now you may treat me like you wanted." Your eyes stared at his toned chest- "It's rude to stare."

Jumping you scrambled grabbing your medical kit as he just calmly raised an arm to allow you to quickly pull away the old bandages and trying (and failing-) to not stare at his torso and his scars-...Wait. The bandages fell away from his skin and you froze staring at his wounds. Except..they weren't wounds. They weren't even scars! They were just light markings that looked extremely faded to the point that they were barely present. You just...stared at them.

Wounds don't heal that fast.

Staring silently you slowly looked up at his eyes. "Is something the matter?"

You opened and closed your mouth but quickly shook your head no. "N-No! You're healing up quite nicely! You were right when you said you'd be better in a week!" You offered a smile. "After this I'll make you some more food and drink. Do you like tea?"

"That's fine....You mentioned that you had no lover?"

You shook your head busing yourself by just removing his old bandages trying not to think too much about the mysterious scars. He... probably just had a rare healing rate. Or the wounds weren't as serious as you thought at first 

"No. Most men only wanted me for my looks or my parents money. My father paints and my mother is a good doctor. They make a good living but I'd rather make my own way."

"Would you ever accept a courtship?"

"Well...Yes. I might if the man wasn't interested in my looks or money. Like you for example. You don't seem to care much about those things. If someone as unmaterialistic as you proposed to me or if I asked I would hope he said yes.Uh...N-No offense."

"None taken." He raised his arm higher looking over you carefully before closing his eyes with a hum. "Like me?" 

"Y-Yes. But that's rare to happen-"

"I accept."

You paused holding up a clean roll of bandages. "...What?"

"I accept your proposal." He looked back to you. "But I will court you properly first, Wife."

The roll of bandages dropped to the floor

*****************************************

Kokushibo did not leave when he stayed an entire week.

His proclamation of Courting you caught you so off guard that for the longest moment you were just...well dumbfounded. Acting on autopilot being too stunned to speak just finishing bandaging him and cleaning up the small mess Nori left behind. Kokushibo took the dagger Nori left, but you had no idea what he did with it. He only returned to what he had been doing before Nori showed up, which was meditate for the rest of the day until it was finally nighttime. Kokushibo insisted on you taking back your futon and you still bring in shock just laid down staring at the ceiling until you fell asleep. You awoke the next morning to once again finding Kokushibo silently meditating in the corner helping himself to what must've been a full jug of water. Yesterday's events shot through your mind and you shot up sitting up immediately.

"I see you're awake," he stared plainly, "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to sleep in the entire morning. I'm quite hungry."

You snapped to him with a frown. "You said you were courting me yesterday!"

"Yes."

"YOU SAID YOU WERE COURTING ME YESTERDAY!," You shouted realization finally slapping you fully awake.

"Yes."

You pointed at him. "Why?!"

"You are a well woman and I have yet to be treated like this even before I met you." He drank some more. "And you asked me for my hand in marriage."

"No I didn't!"

"Didn't you?" His eyes opened slightly to look at you. "You wanted a husband like me and said if I were to ask you or you were to ask me you'd either accept or hoped that I would accept. And I have. However I intend to go about this properly. I'll court you for a while before out wedding."

Your jaw dropped as your eyes practically bugged out of your skull. "I-..." 

Oh gods. You HAD asked him hadn't you!? You got yourself engaged to a stranger who had just showed up on your doorstep four days ago! Now he was looking at you expectantly waiting for you to cook for him again! This isn't what you imagined what your eventually engagement would be like! You didn't even know him! You had to break this off now!

"I-It wasn't my intention to!" You quickly said making him turn a brow, "I was only using yu as an example of what I'd like in a husband-"

"And here I am. That problem is solved."

"We don't even know each other that well!"

"That's what the courting process is for. We will know one another in time."

"I-I don't want to be engaged right now-"

"Then you shouldn't have asked me unintentionally or not. I have already accepted. I might change my mind later and break this arrangement but for now I am content with what I see."

"I don't like people who just want to court me for selfish reasons."

"None of my reasons for accepting your proposal were selfish. I accepted because I am content with how you have treated me with kindness and how you go about your daily life. I do not care about money or any property you have. Your beauty is a factor I like but it's not a main reason. Now if you're done giving me reasons to say no I'd like you to cook for me."

"B-B-But our lifestyles contradict each other!," you said in a last ditch effort to convince him otherwise. "I-Im not willing to move away from my parents home and I worked too hard on this farm to abandon it! You'll be traveling around far and wide -"

"And I'll have a home and wife to return to whenever I may need her. I have no interest in making you leave with me whenever I go. That would be inconvenient for us both. My work will be kept separated from home. Now will you be cooking me a meal?"

You deflated only looking at him before sighing and moving to get him the food he asked for. If he was still recovering from the blood loss then he shouldn't push himself until he was fully recovered. He mentioned it would take him a week to recover right? Today was the fourth day so he'll only be here for another three days at most. Maybe he'd forget about you once he left. But for now you'd keep your promise and care for him. It was the least you could do after he drove Nori away. Hopefully that would keep him away too...

Oh how wrong you were about that. 

You ended up serving him more eggs and fruit from your back orchard. He didn't seem to mind however and thanked you before taking it. Leaving you to just go about your chores until retiring that night. The next two days were relatively the same. He'd meditate or watch as you went about your own chores or ask you to cook for him which you obliged. You also checked over his injuries only to find they had healed to the point that there wasn't even any scars left behind. You'd never seen anything like in on another man. Even your father had small scars from burning himself on a stove or cutting himself on a widdling tool. Perhaps he was born with fast metabolism that fueled his body's healing? Would be why he ate so much. You didn't bring it up. You did however try to convince him anyways you could to convince him to call off this engagement but he refused every turn. You were feeling relief on the seventh day. It'd be his last day here before he left apparently and you wouldn't stop him. However you weren't expecting him to ask you for a brush for his hair. Huh... come to think of it his hair had been worn down outside of the ponytail he had when you found it.

"I'll fix your hair for you if you'd like me to," you offered which caught him off guard as he blinked at you in light surprise, "I can style hair a little bit. My mother showed me how to, so I can put your hair back up if you want."

Kokushibo just slowly blinked again before closing his eyes with an exhale through his nose. "Do as you wish."

You smiled in return at him and went to fetch your brush. He didn't move but did lightly open his eyes when he heard you return and grab a strand of his long soft hair. It was soft to the touch and you took gently care in pulling apart the small knots you felt before even pulling the brush through. He found the treatment acceptable so allowed it to continue. There was silence for a long time as you worked until you spoke again.

"You have beautiful hair... You're a very handsome man."

You were surprised when a chuckle escaped from him and even offered you a small smile. "Being bold are we?"

"I-Im only being polite!" 

"Don't be fooled. I'm happy my future wife has attraction for me." Your face went red again. "But any flirtations will have to wait longer. I'll be leaving tonight." You blinked at him. "I'll have to return to my Master and inform him on where I've been before he becomes displeased with my absence. I'll return within two weeks time before the eclipse is here."

Master? So he was a samurai for a warlord? Or some kind of noble perhaps? You didn't remember there being any near here. He was from far away wasn't he? However if he was going to be away for a while then you'd be able to have time to yourself again at least for a little while. So you only smiled and nodded.

"Are you strong enough to travel?"

"And defend myself. I owe you my thanks for my body's recovery."

"You did the healing yourself so there's no need to thank me. But I won't let you go on an empty stomach. I'll make you look presentable and cool you a large meal before you go. Can't have you hungry."

"What a doting wife I have."

"Don't push your luck."

That's how his last day with you ended. With you tying his hair back how you first found him and making sure he ate well. It was sundown when he stepped out your door and turned back to you. You handed him a small cloth bag with some fruit from your orchard for his travels and he bowed to you before surprising you when he caressed your lightly injured cheek.

"Don't forget me. I will return for you soon."

Your face lit up a red as he smiled before turning again and beginning to walk away. Not down the path to town though but through the woods. You watched as he left silently and just disappeared into the night.

*********************************************************************

The moon shined red as blood tonight as shadows moved.

Quiet night. Unholy night of beasts. Feasting their sights upon the stray women who dare stay out at night when the full moon rises, lighting the pathway for the beasts to claim their prey. Gnashing teeth, snarling fangs waiting to take a bite into innocent flesh where the terrible claws miss. Waiting to snatch you away down into their dark abyss never to return. He was none what so ever concerned about traveling alone tonight. He had better places to be and anyone who dared be foolish enough to tangle with him would never be heard from again. One look at him would deter most creatures away. But his business was not with them.

He was here for the woman.

The woman of purple eyes and far beauty. He never went back on his word and he had indeed returned to the home seeking companionship. However from the first sight of the house he could tell something about tonight was aniss.

Something wasn't right.

The darkness both swallowed him up and closed off the ways both in front and behind him making each end of the pathway difficult to see with the already limited vision he had. Heightened senses were one thing he had been thankful to have retained from years of harsh training to his body and mind. Closing off all senses to be more enlightened to one's world in a different light. Each echo of his footfalls ringing in his mind as the airways of his body forced himself to absorb more oxygen out of the air and each heart beat thudding against his ribcage. Throbbing sensation reaching from his head to his feet with every passing second he was surrounded by the buzzing swarm of danger. Enlightened by the stings of fear. Danger. Dread. Doom. Like many wasps penetrating his most basic human emotions and swelling them up to the point of combusting dangerously all over the peeping, teasing darkness. The soft silk touch of his yakata met his hand. It was hard to move...Hard to will it to move running along the soft fabric to something more smooth and hard. Both basic instinct wasps forcing him to do something so familiar to combat the combustible feelings. To grab at which to protect him and cut it away like a sickeningly sweet cake of misery and despair. Instincts wailing to protect himself from dangers he had yet to see. Had yet to reveal themselves to him. Hopefully to be chased away by the sounds of the silver blade being unsheathed and held out into the darkness to cut it's tainting self down a notch. That his willpower will always prevail over it. Each door slowly passing a tainting gateway. Each with a promise of safety behind it and perhaps even it had occupants inside using it. taking up it's offering of safety from the darkness now dead asleep highly unaware of the sword wielding warrier just roaming outside arm outstretched and staring down the one that dared teased him the most with it's fake promise of protection.

And that promise he would soon come to learn was broken and not even promise to one individual soon enough. As sweat formed on his skin in an attempt to cool it from the harsh tainting from the moment he was face to face with the door that broke it's sacred promise. At first glance to one in the dark it was as taunting as all the others he had just passed, but if one took time to see it's true mockery and failure hidden by the teasing darkness they would've seen it. The remnants of a beast. Looking as though it had clawed and kicked it's way at the door's sacred locks to be allowed entry inside the room beyond it. In it's wake leaving the door in misery and ruins. A slight opening between itself and the wall where one could look into the room beyond it and see nothing but more darkness laughing back at you.

It begged for him to open it further, to peek further into the darkness beyond the door that should have protected the occupant inside. The apartment was still, quite, far too quite for his liking. The broken splintered door only left so little to memory, and with cautious pushed aside Goemon shoved the door open to reveal the horror to his eyes. His eyes widened: there where obvious signs of struggle, evident by the turned over coffee table and the furniture pieces that lay toppled on their side as though someone had carelessly kicked it over in its rampage. Goemon treaded carefully inside the apartment, his shoe crunching on the remains of a picture frame that had been knocked over, its broken shiny cover a perfect match of the doorway half hanging from its hinges - the cover to what lay beyond broken to bits. Someone clearly had been here and there was very obvious signs of a struggle.

And SHE was gone.

Taken by something or chased out he wasn't sure. But the entire small home was wrecked. Then he smelt it. A familiar smell of a human male and animal pelts. It sent a rigid feeling through his veins before an intensify in calm, silent rage. A rage so intense that he felt nothing but calm. Well now...if someone wished to see his wrath so be it. But let it not be said he didn't warn him. 

"LET GO OF ME!!" The rage and desperation in your struggling was all for nothing as you were continually dragged against your will towards the destination of your kidnapper's choosing. You didn't know what was worse. The sting of the ropes forced around your arms forcing your arms to your body, or the too big white kimono that was forced over your head. A tacky excuse for a wedding kimono. "HELP!! SOMEONE HELP ME!!"

"SHUT. UP." A man's voice hissed near your ear and painfully pulled your body uncomfortably close to his face as Nori hissed. "No one's gonna help you. They're too scared of getting carried away by invisible monsters." You winced as he gave a hasher tug. "And no one will suspect a thing. They'll just think you got carried off by a bad monster and forget all about you. And by the time anyone else thinks otherwise we'll be long gone." He chuckled next to your head making you lean forward away from him. ''Won't we, My Little Wife? I just need to get refuge at the temple and have one of the monks bless our union."

You hissed leaning away from his rotten breath. You had to get help! Where was everyone!? No one even peeked their eyes out to see your yelling through the windows. Your screams and cries of help echoing out through the night and going unanswered. You were being kidnapped and no one was going to help you! Nori laughed again behind you and you gritted your teeth before leaning forward more and with all of the strength in your jaw, you bit down onto his bandaged broken hand. Nori's reaction was instant. He. SHRIEKED. He shrieked in pain in ways you've never heard a man scream before but you continued to bite down when he started flailing. Taking the opportunity to catch him off guard, your head snapped back releasing his hand to collided the back of your head with his nose painfully. Your head throbbed immediately after but it worked. He let go.

You RAN. 

your legs moved your body in a speed you've never thought was possible back up the road where you were dragged from. Your heart pounded in your throat. The back of your head throbbed from where it made contact with Nori. And behind you you heard his hellish screaming. Your footsteps echoed throughout the empty silent streets giving away your position as you continued to run- Until something slammed into your back hard enough to send you flying forward and landing painfully onto your face.

"You stupid girl!" He snarled above your struggling form trying to get yourself up without your arms to lift you. "I swear when I get done with you you'll be nothing but a-"

"A what?"

Nori snapped up to the voice and you froze from the intensity behind it but relieved that at least SOMEONE else was here to possibly help you. Nori's face contorted into one of absolute horror at the sight before him. His scream cut off by a hand wrapped around his throat before lifting him up as you continued to struggle. Eventually your head lifted up and you froze at the sight of a hundred miniature legs and you followed them up until they connected to a segmented body..It's shiny outer shell shined I the red moonlight but you could see anymore than that due to your position. Nori was raised until he was staring in horror. His face reflected in six eyes shiny from the moonlight.

"I warned you." A gutteral hissing sound left his throat the jaw unhinged and two mandables pushed themselves out from the maw.

Nori shrieked.

Your eyes clenched shut hearing his scream end with a sickening crack sound and then there was a loud thud of something else behind you. You froze not daring to move. Until something was suddenly raked down your back and you were suddenly freed from the ropes. But that doesn't mean you were out of danger yet as something Snatched you up by the back of the kimono and pulled up into two arms and carried up by hundreds of those mini legs until you were twisted into held up bridal style as something turned and you snapped your head up...only to feel absolute utter horror as not one but three pairs of sinister eyes stared at you from above. Your mouth fell open as the man... Creature??? Walked away

carrying you bridal style in it's arms.

"Oh my gods... Kokushibo."

The six eyes stared at you in acknowledgement to your words before he spoke.

"I told you. I make it a point to always keep my word, and I intend to keep my word on keeping you."