#did anyone else get worried when we just hopped on no saddle no anything

[deathflare]

and there was only one rroneek...

[beifongsss]

warmth [zuko]

Pairing: Zuko x reader

Requested?: yes!: “maybe running from fire nation and hiding in a cave with zuko? zuko and reader think they each hate each other but they rlly don’t 👀“

Summary: You and Zuko get separated from the Gaang and things happen :)

w.c. ~3.1k

.masterlist.

~

The day had started out normally.

You were the second person to wake up, Zuko being the first. You rubbed your eyes sleepily, crawling out of your sleeping bag and walking over to Appa, patting the sky bison before grabbing your bag and reaching for a peach that you had stuffed away. When peaches were present, Momo couldn’t be trusted. 

“You really take that whole ‘I rise with the sun’ thing to heart, huh?” you asked dryly, sitting across from the prince. He huffed lightly, crossing his arms before looking away. You smirked smugly, knowing that his silence meant that he couldn’t think of a comeback. 

The silence didn’t last long before Zuko turned back to you. “Spirits! Could you chew any louder?”

“I don’t know, let me try,” you replied, chewing obnoxiously. Zuko glared at you before standing and walking away, turning slightly so you couldn’t see the faint smile tugging at his lips. You stared after him, biting back a smile of your own. 

The group was already used to the banter between you and the scarred prince. It had started way before he joined the Gaang, back when he still had that god-awful ponytail and thought that capturing the Avatar would restore his honor. He had aimed a plume of fire just a bit too close to you and you had let one sly remark slip, your jaw dropping in shock when the prince responded in kind. 

Ever since then, you always made sure that you pissed Zuko off whenever you had an encounter. It was just too easy to rile him up. 

That didn’t change when he joined your side. If anything, it got worse. You didn’t miss a single opportunity to get on his nerves and eventually, Zuko found himself anticipating your remarks. It gave him a sense of normalcy. You didn’t treat him any differently than you ever had and as weird as it was to admit, he didn’t mind the attention you bestowed upon him. Of course, he couldn’t deny that you had really gotten on his nerves that one time he had lost his firebending. 

It was silent in the clearing after Zuko walked away, and you proceeded to make everyone breakfast. A while later, everyone emerged, mumbling a sleepy thanks as you handed them a bowl of rice porridge. The six of you sat in a circle around the small campfire, enjoying the small moment of peace you had. 

“Thanks for breakfast, (Y/N),” Katara said softly, smiling at you over the rim of her bowl. 

“Yeah! This is amazing,” Sokka said, tilting the bowl to get the last of the porridge into his mouth. 

“I thought it was a little bland,” Zuko commented off-handedly. Your eye twitched as Aang gave a nervous chuckle. Katara looked at you worriedly as Sokka tried to ignore Zuko’s comment. At your lack of response, Zuko smirked and opened his mouth yet again. “I’m certain that Momo could’ve made us a better breakfast.”

“Next time, make your own damn breakfast,” you snapped, slamming your bowl down onto the ground before turning to face Zuko. “Oh wait, that’s right. Poor little Prince Pouty doesn’t know how to do anything for himself!”

“At least I know how to control my temper,” Zuko shot back, glancing at your now-cracked bowl.

“Oh that’s rich coming from the guy who once set me on fire because I accidentally spilled some water on him!” you replied, remembering the unfortunate incident. You now had a very prominent scar on your leg as a reminder.

“Guys,” Aang called out. “Maybe we should save this for later.”

“Really?” Zuko asked, jumping to his feet. “What about the time you almost stabbed me because I accidentally stepped on Momo’s tail?”

“Hello? You stepped on Momo’s tail!” you cried out, jumping to your feet as well. “He hates you now!”

“Well at least Appa likes me,” Zuko said, thinking about the time Appa threw you off his back because you had accidentally yanked his hair. 

“Appa does like me,” you snapped, a groan emitting from the sky bison as he agreed with your statement. 

“Guys!” Aang yelled loudly, getting your attention.

“What?!” you and Zuko snapped in unison. 

“Look behind you,” Sokka said quietly, his boomerang ready in his hand. You whirled around to see a group of Fire Nation soldiers standing amongst the trees. A low hiss escaped you as you smacked Zuko’s arm. 

“See what you did?” you asked, your eyes never leaving the soldiers. “Your yelling led them straight to us.”

“My yelling?” Zuko scoffed, getting into a defensive position. “If I recall correctly, it was actu-”

“Guys!” Toph yelled angrily, sending the two of you a harsh glare. “Now really isn’t the time for this.”

You nodded sheepishly, readying yourself to fight as well. The six of you quickly realized you were outnumbered and realized that your best possible option in that moment was to escape. You all gathered up your supplies quickly, rushing towards Appa. A guard stepped in front of you suddenly, knocking you down before aiming a blast of fire at you. You rolled out of the way, leaping to your feet before sending a kick to his head and knocking him down. 

“Yip yip, Appa!” Sokka yelled, sitting at the reins. 

“Wait!” Katara cried. “(Y/N) is still down there!”

“What?” Sokka screeched, looking down at the ground as he tried to locate you. He noticed a group of soldiers trying to surround you as you fought them off. 

“Go!” you yelled, waving them away as you began to run the other direction. 

“We’re not leaving you!” Aang yelled, getting ready to hop off of Appa. 

“I’ll lead them away and then meet up with you,” you replied, rushing off. “I promise! I’ll be fine.”

You were gone before anyone could say anything else, disappearing into the trees as half of the soldiers followed you. The other half turned their attention to Appa, ready to attack. 

“Yip yip,” Sokka cried again, receiving disbelieving looks from everyone else. He gave them a shrug, trying to hide his worry. “She’ll be fine. She’s gone through worse. C’mon we can’t lose faith in her.”

The rest of the group nodded softly, sighing in relief as Appa left the ground. Their relief was cut short when Zuko leapt off of Appa, landing on the ground and kicking his leg to send out an arc of fire towards the remaining soldiers. 

“Zuko! What are you doing?” Katara yelled, looking over the edge of the saddle in a panic. 

“Go,” came Zuko’s rough reply. “I’ll stay with her. I’ll protect her.”

It was silent as the group watched Zuko sprint away. Appa didn’t stop and Sokka made no effort to bring the sky bison back down to the ground, watching as Zuko fought off each soldier effortlessly. He hummed lightly, drawing everyone’s attention to himself as he turned his attention back to the reins. “You know, I’m willing to bet five gold pieces that by the time we find them, they will have smooched at least twice.”

Toph grinned at Sokka’s statement, her fear of flying temporarily forgotten. 

“Oh you’re on, snoozles.”

~

You weren’t sure how you had managed to evade the soldiers for as long as you had. You were out of breath, panting heavily as you sprinted through the forest. Looking around, you knew you needed to find somewhere to hide. No matter how good at fighting you were, you knew that you couldn’t fight off all those Fire Nation soldiers. As you darted between the trees, your ankle got caught on a tree root and you went tumbling onto the ground. You groaned as you laid on the ground for a moment, opening your eyes to get a bearing of your surroundings. Your eyes narrowed when you noticed a gap in the cliff a few yards to your right. It would’ve been unnoticable from any other angle and you silently thanked your clumsiness for leading you to safety. 

“She went that way!” you heard a soldier shout. Biting back a gasp, you scrambled to your feet and sprinted to the opening in the cliff. You squeezed inside, pulling on some of the hanging vines around it to better conceal your location. You head faint footsteps coming your way and you stilled, crouching down to get a better look outside. 

Stifling a groan, you darted outside, grabbing the person by the collar of their shirt and dragging them back inside the cave with you. 

“H-Hey what’s your problem?” Zuko asked as you pushed him up against the cave wall. You shushed him softly, placing your hand over his mouth. His skin heated up under your touch and he froze for a moment before snapping out of it and grabbing your wrist, pushing you away from him. 

You stumbled slightly before landing on your butt, scowling at Zuko but remaining silent. You cocked your head to the side as you heard footsteps walking by. 

“We lost them,” a gruff voice said, sounding a lot closer to the cliff than you liked.

“They can’t have gotten far,” another voice replied. “We’ll set up camp in the clearing over there. The prince is too valuable to let go.”

A noise of agreement was made before the footsteps faded and you found yourself walking up to Zuko and pulling him down by the collar of his shirt. 

“What are you doing here?” you hissed quietly, still on edge. 

“Saving you, that’s what?” Zuko snorted, once again gripping your wrist and forcing you to let go of his shirt. 

“No! Now they’re going to hunt us,” you replied, turning around and walking away. “They would’ve given up sooner or later, Zuko. I’m not important. But now they won’t leave because you came after me!”

“So now you’re upset?” Zuko asked, whisper-yelling. “I took out half of those soldiers! You’re welcome.”

“Yes I’m upset. Now because of you, we’re stuck in here!”

Zuko’s eyes widened as he realized you were right. There was no way that the two of you could leave the cave, not with the Fire Nation soldiers camping out a few yards away. He cursed under his breath before observing you. You had walked to the other side of the cave, leaning against the wall and sliding down until you were sitting on the ground. He looked outside, noticing the sun going down and walked towards the entrance. 

“Where are you going?” you whispered, keeping your eyes on him.

“I’m going to get some firewood. I’ll be quiet.”

“Are you serious right now, Zuko?” you asked exasperatedly. “We cannot start a fire in here. They’ll see the smoke escaping through the entrance.”

Zuko paused for a moment, knowing you were right before walking over to you and taking a seat a few feet away from you. “It’s getting dark out. It’ll get cold soon and something tells me that Aang isn’t going to find us that quickly.”

You looked at the entrance to the cave, knowing that he was right. It was getting darker by the minute and without a fire, you were in for a cold night. Zuko watched your expression, getting a bit worried. As a firebender, he had no issue with the cold; but you weren’t a firebender and he was worried about you. 

Silence engulfed the two of you as night fell. The temperature fell ridiculously quickly and you found yourself curled up into a ball as you tried to warm yourself up. You shot a glance towards Zuko, scowling deeply when you noticed him lost deep in thought. He was sprawled out on the ground, not shivering at all as he stared up blankly at the ceiling. You rolled your eyes, looking away before hugging yourself even tighter.

“Can you stop your chattering?” Zuko asked suddenly, turning his head to look at you. “It’s quite distracting.”

You glared at him, shivering lightly. “I’m sorry, is me being cold inconveniencing you? Not all of us can firebend, Prince Zuko. And my teeth are not chattering!”

Zuko didn’t reply, instead standing up and walking over to you. You glanced up at him suspiciously, frowning when he took a seat right next to you. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close and avoiding your gaze.

“Zuko, what are you doing?” you whispered, unable to move your face from where it was buried into his neck. Zuko shivered at your words, keeping you tucked into him as he tried to control his blush.

“Keeping you warm,” Zuko replied. “What does it look like?”

“Why?”

“What do you mean?” Zuko asked softly, tilting back slightly to meet your eyes. You avoided his gaze, curling into him even more. He was exceptionally warm, and you felt yourself sinking into him to avoid the chilly air within the cave. Zuko’s arms tightened around you as he shifted, bringing you into his lap as he made himself more comfortable. 

“You hate me,” you whispered, still hiding your face from him. Your arms snaked around his waist, allowing you to dig your face into his chest and hide even more. 

“W-What? No I don’t!” Zuko cried, earning a shush from you. “If anything, you hate me.”

“N-No I don’t!” you exclaimed, pulling away slightly to look up at him. 

“Yes you do!”

“Why would I hate you?” you asked, looking at him with a bewildered expression.

“I don’t know!” Zuko said, a confused expression on his face. You thought he looked rather cute. “I get why you would hate me back when I was the bad guy, but I’ve changed! I thought that by now you would like me.”

“Zuko, I never hated you,” you replied. “Not even back when you were the ‘bad’ guy. You were always fun to banter with and I thought that you wanted things to stay that way.”

“What on earth gave you that idea?” Zuko asked, looking at you in shock.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that you always had something to say in return to my remarks,” you stated, looking at him blankly.

“Well you always start it,” Zuko accused. You paused for a second, knowing that he was right.

“Well you always reply!”

Zuko let out a frustrated groan. “That’s because you keep teasing me if I don’t.”

“Okay, but that’s becau- mmph.”

Your eyes went wide as Zuko pressed his lips to yours, effectively shutting you up. You froze for a split second, not believing that this was happening. Zuko pulled away, a smirk on his face as he took in your flushed face and dazed expression. 

“Not so mouthy now are y-”

This time it was you who cut Zuko off, pressing your lips to his almost feverishly. Your arms left his waist, coming up to wrap around his neck and pull him impossibly close. Zuko responded better than you did, immediately returning the kiss and angling his head just so in order to deepen it. You melted against him, causing Zuko to smirk into the kiss before he began trailing kisses down your neck. 

A gasp escaped your mouth as you felt him leave a mark on you before you tangled your hands in his hair, pulling his face back up to kiss him again. You couldn’t remember feeling cold anymore, the feeling of Zuko’s lips on yours and his arms around your waist erasing any thoughts about the chilly air in the cave. Now all you could feel was warmth. 

“In case it wasn’t clear, I like you,” Zuko muttered into your ear, pulling away from your lips for a second. You shivered at his words before leaning your forehead against his. 

“In case it wasn't clear, Prince Pouty, I like you too,” you teased, giving him a shy smile. Zuko snorted at the nickname before kissing you gently, a stark contrast to the way the two of you were kissing only minutes earlier. 

“Toph! They’re kissing!”

Sokka’s head was poking through the cave entrance, looking at the two of you in shock. In the midst of your confessions, the Gaang had found the Fire Nation soldiers and defeated them, knowing that you couldn’t be too far away. Toph had been the one to find the cave, using her seismic sense, but Sokka had insisted he be the first one to enter. 

“Aw man,” Toph called out, pushing Sokka out of the way and forcing her way into the cave. “How many times did you lily livers kiss?”

You and Zuko exchanged surprised looks before looking at your two friends embarrassedly. You were still in his lap, the two of you ridiculously close to one another. Overall, you had been caught in a very compromising position. 

“U-Uh, I don’t know,” you stuttered, avoiding Toph’s blank gaze. Even though she couldn’t see you, you knew she was judging you.

“We didn’t exactly keep count,” Zuko drawled. You slapped his chest. “But if you want we can add a few more.”

“No!” Sokka and Toph yelled in unison. Sokka covered Toph’s eyes as Zuko pressed his lips to yours, catching you off guard.

“I’m blind!” Toph grumbled, causing Sokka to look at her sheepishly.

“Oh, right,” Sokka replied, removing his hand and carrying Toph so that her feet were off the ground. “That’s better.”

“Just tell us if you kissed more than two times,” Toph said, hanging limply from Sokka’s arms. 

“Oh we definitely did,” Zuko said, a smirk on his face as you squeaked in embarrassment. 

“Ha! You owe me five gold pieces,” Sokka yelled triumphantly, accidentally dropping Toph. The small girl landed on the ground, scowling deeply at both having been dropped and losing the bet.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Snoozles. If you need me I’ll be outside,” Toph grumbled, stalking out of the cave. You shared an awkward glance with Sokka, who had a large grin on his face as he stared at the two of you. 

“Uh, anything else you need?” you asked the Water Tribe boy.

“No,” he replied, the smile never leaving his face. “We’ll be waiting outside when you’re done. Have fun, but not too much fun.”

Groaning, you dropped your head onto Zuko’s chest. Sokka let out a loud laugh as he left and Zuko simply rolled his eyes before looking down at you. Using his index and middle fingers, he tilted your chin up, bringing your face up so that he could look at you. A bright blush spread across your cheeks as you met Zuko’s golden eyes, the urge to look away growing stronger as his gaze dropped to your lips. 

“Now, where were we?”

~

taglist!

@musicalkeys, @mywigglybaby​, @bubblebars​, @iguessthefloorislava​, @dekahg​, @boxofteenageideas​, @bottledcostcowater​, @butterflycore​, @coldlilheart​, @the-firebender-girl​, @ajediherowitchrunner​, @lammello​, @astroninaaa​, @samsmultifandomblogs​, @sadskater25, @oddment-niwit-blubber-tweak​, @eternallyvenus​, @emberislandplayers​, @sunflowerazula​, @moonnei, @stilllivindue2spite​,

[atlabeth]

talking to the moon

summary: dealing with the aftermath of the worst event of your life. 

pairing: sokka x fem!reader but solely platonic. stan big brother sokka 

a/n: this became so much longer than i initially meant for lmao. it was just supposed to be sokka and y/n talking but then i. wrote the whole death scene and a whole backstory and. im sorry. i made myself sad while writing this 

wc: 4.1k 

warnings: so much angst, death, mentions of suffocation, mentions of arranged marriages, one mention of blood, one single curse i think, lots of anger and lots of sadness but some fluff at the end 

based on the song “talking to the moon” by bruno mars 

living in the northern water tribe wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. 

as a waterbender, it should’ve been a perfect haven. a renowned master to teach her how to fight and become a master herself, a constant feeling of power being around ice and water all the time, and a comfortable life as the daughter of two important councilmembers that worked alongside chief arnook. 

but the only thing y/n had come to know of this place was a complete and utter loss of freedom. 

she wasn’t allowed to learn martial waterbending simply because she was a woman. master pakku wouldn’t even give her the time of day, and when she complained to her parents they cited century-long traditions and told her that was just how things were. 

y/n felt comfortable being around water and ice all the time, but it’s not like the power of the moon helped her when she hardly knew anything in the first place. it was slightly easier to try and teach herself new techniques that she learned from watching master pakku and his students, but it still almost always ended in failure. 

and of course, her noble heritage simply meant that she would be married off once she reached the appropriate age for the benefit of her family. yippee. 

but there was one benefit that came along with being the daughter of nobles that worked closely with the chief. 

princess yue. 

she was without a doubt the nicest girl that y/n had ever known, and they quickly became each other’s closest friends. y/n thought that maybe she wouldn’t like her because yue was two years her senior, but it didn’t matter in her eyes. yue showed y/n a side that she never showed anyone else; the carefree, energetic, loving side. the side that told y/n fantastical stories while they rode together the waterways. the side that encouraged y/n to waterbend whenever she could and to try as hard as possible to get the martial techniques down because ‘i know you can do it!’ the side that was absolutely fascinated by her waterbending, the side that shrieked in surprise then dissolved into giggles every time y/n soaked her at the end of the session. 

yue was the bright light in y/n’s boring days, and y/n was a needed reprieve from yue’s duties.

the young girls didn’t know that there was so much coming for them. 

~~

team avatar visiting y/n’s home was one of the most exciting things to happen to her. it was like a breath of fresh air in the monotony of her life, and it didn’t take too long for y/n to become friends with all of them at the celebratory dinner the night they arrived. 

y/n and katara instantly struck off. as waterbenders of the same age they already had a connection, but it was only strengthened the longer they stayed. y/n had never cheered so loud when she fought against pakku. 

it was impossible not to like aang. he was even younger than y/n with an infectious positive attitude and a smile always on his face. he even offered to help teach her waterbending along with katara after learning from pakku, which was a great plan until it wasn’t. 

her association with sokka came from her association with yue. he was infatuated with the princess almost immediately — it wasn’t a surprise, y/n was sure every boy in the tribe had a crush on her in some form — but he was also very kind to y/n. as time went on, they developed more of a sibling-like bond and y/n loved it. she was an only child raised to the highest expectations, but she was allowed to let loose around sokka. it also helped to see him make a fool in front of himself every time her and yue were together. 

things were looking up for y/n. she had three new friends that all liked her best friend, and she was actually learning a little bit more about fighting with waterbending from katara. everything was perfect. 

until the fire nation attacked. 

y/n had been with yue and sokka when they saw the black snow and immediately rushed back to the tribe to warn everyone. that was how a fourteen year old noble girl who barely knew how to defend herself like y/n got involved in a fight against the fire nation. 

after rescuing aang from zuko and, at aang’s request, bringing the unconscious prince with them, they started traveling back to the spirit oasis. y/n sat in the back of the saddle with sokka and yue, a new friend and her oldest friend, when yue suddenly grabbed her head with a small groan. y/n looked around and the world around them had turned red as blood. something was very wrong.

“are you okay? sokka asked, reaching for her instinctively as if to protect her from whatever was hurting her. 

“i.. i feel faint,” she muttered.

“i feel it too,” aang added. “the moon spirit is in trouble.” 

y/n’s eyes widened as she stared back at yue, horror dancing in her eyes as she shook her head. “no, no it can’t be. yue, you know what that means—” 

it wasn’t hard to catch onto the fearful tone in her voice and katara set an amicable hand on her shoulder. “what are you talking about, y/n?” 

thankfully, yue took over. “i owe the moon spirit my life.” 

“what do you mean?” sokka’s eyes went between y/n and yue, y/n’s worried gaze trained on yue as she explained how the moon spirit had given her life as a baby. when she was done, the water tribe siblings were staring at her in disbelief. 

“if the moon spirit is in danger then we need to save it.” y/n’s voice was hardened as they got closer to the spirit oasis, stretching her fingers out to get the blood flowing again in case she needed to bend. she didn’t know very much about combat besides what katara had taught her, but hopefully it would be enough to at least aid the rest of the team. 

appa slid to a stop in the spirit oasis and aang, sokka, katara, and y/n all hopped off of his back and got into battle stances. sokka took out his boomerang, aang wielded his staff, and y/n and katara got ready to bend. 

“don’t bother,” zhao spat. he held up the bag with tui and positioned his fist next to it, posing the very obvious threat. y/n’s eyes widened and her hands fell the slightest bit. he wouldn’t. 

it turned out that he very well would. 

y/n thought that they would be safe, that yue would be safe once he released the fish after iroh’s threat, but she should’ve known a man like that would never be satisfied. just as the normal hues of the oasis had returned, zhao let out a yell and blasted the koi with fire, plunging the world into various shades of grey. 

y/n let out a strangled cry as she realized what it meant, and she wanted to unleash all of her fury on zhao. she wanted to make him hurt, make him understand just what he had done. but it seemed that general iroh already had that plan as he started firebending viciously, swiftly defeating the soldiers after zhao had gotten away. 

y/n felt like she was in a haze, following through with her movements but not actually there. the four of them rushed towards the water and yue soon joined them, all looking down at tui in horror. the moon spirit was gone, dead, killed. 

her worst fear had come true, and she stared at yue’s blue eyes, the only thing that still had color, mouth opening and closing as she tried to think of things to say. 

“there’s no hope now,” yue mourned. “it’s over now.” 

“no it’s not.” 

y/n watched in amazement as aang merged with the ocean spirit and left to defend her home, but it melted away once again when she joined the siblings, iroh, and yue at the front of the water.

“it’s too late. it’s dead.” katara stared at the dead fish when iroh placed it back into the water. it truly did seem like it was over. y/n felt none of the usual power she felt at night. if she tried to bend, she knew nothing would happen.

iroh seemed to notice yue as she stepped closer and he raised his eyebrows. “you have been touched by the moon spirit. some of its life is in you.” 

“yes, you’re right.” yue set her jaw and y/n immediately knew what she was thinking. “it gave me life. maybe i can give it back.” 

“no!” y/n and sokka cried at the same time. y/n’s voice cracked and she had to do everything she could to prevent the tears from falling. “yue, no. you don’t have to do this.” 

“it’s my duty, y/n.” her kind blue eyes, an image that would haunt y/n for years to come, glistened with unshed tears as she walked over to the oasis. this time sokka grabbed her hand to try and stop her. 

“i won’t let you! your father told me to protect you!” sokka usually guarded his emotions but this time the fear in his voice was obvious, and it hurt. he didn’t want to lose her. he couldn’t lose her. 

“i have to do this.” 

y/n wanted to scream at yue to stop, try and knock some sense into her, hold the girl that she loved back from sacrificing herself. but she just stood there, frozen, as yue hovered her hands over the dead fish. tui began to glow, and yue collapsed. 

y/n rushed over to her as sokka caught her and she fell to her knees. the tears were falling, she didn’t care, her friend was gone, she was dying. y/n felt yue’s ice cold hand on her arm and she grasped it with both of her own. her and sokka were barely holding it together as they watched the girl they both loved die in their arms. 

“y/n..” her voice was already faint, she was using up all of her strength just to talk to them in her final moments. “thank you for everything. never forget what you are fighting for. i will always cherish our friendship.” 

a choked sob escaped y/n’s lips and she gripped yue’s hand as tightly as she could, like maybe if she didn’t let go then she would come back. she couldn’t even hear what she said to sokka, all she could hear was the pounding in her head. this couldn’t be happening. 

and then she was gone. the ice cold hand in y/n’s grip was gone, the girl they were cradling was gone, and in her place was just emptiness. iroh placed the koi fish back into the water and the entire oasis filled with light, and the energy around the lake turned into yue. she was ethereal. she was a spirit. she was gone. 

yue came closer and wrapped y/n in a hug, feeling more like a gentle breeze than a real person hugging her. she then kissed sokka, and a faint smile graced her lips. “goodbye, i love you both. i will always be with you.”

and with that, she was gone. 

y/n couldn’t hold it in anymore. she started sobbing, tears wracking her body and making it hard to breathe. she wrapped her arms as tightly as she could around sokka, burying her head in the space between his shoulder and his neck, and he returned the hug. they were just two kids who had watched a girl they loved sacrifice herself. what else could they do but hold each other and hope to all the spirits that they would be okay?

~~

y/n left with aang, katara, and sokka when they decided to set course for omashu. she couldn’t stay at the northern water tribe. all it served as was a constant reminder of that fateful night, the night that she had lost her best friend. she saw yue in everything, and she knew she would lose her mind if she stayed. so she asked if she could join them on their journey, and they agreed. y/n felt a constant pit of emptiness and hoped that helping the avatar would absolve some of the guilt. 

it didn’t. 

“this is your fault, y/n.” 

the blue eyes that haunted y/n so often appeared once again, staring back at her unflinchingly. there was a certain hardness behind them, a coldness that pervaded her skin, making its way to her heart. but she couldn’t look away. 

“you should’ve been able to save me.” yue’s voice, normally soft spoken and kind, reverberated throughout the endless void y/n was trapped in. 

she looked beautiful, otherworldly. the fabric of her dress floated around her at the edges and her white hair, the ever present reminder of her connection to the moon, flowed down her back. yue appeared the same as she had when she sacrificed herself, and it was the way she would look forever. y/n’s heart ached for her friend, knowing that she would never live out the rest of her life, never get to be the ruler she was meant to be. 

she tried to talk, but her voice wouldn’t work. her throat felt like it was closing up slowly, and her limbs might as well have been cast in concrete with how heavy they all felt. yue’s icy glare disappeared from view, but her voice was still all around her. 

“you did this to me. you’re the reason i’m dead. you should’ve been able to save me.” 

the words repeated thousands of times on top of each other, becoming louder and louder that it was all she could focus on. y/n was suffocating underneath it all, she couldn’t take it. she wanted to sob out how sorry she was, tell yue that her biggest regret was not being able to save her, reach out and bring her into her world again. spirits, she wanted her best friend back so badly. 

“YOU SHOULD’VE BEEN ABLE TO SAVE ME.” the words echoed through her skull so loudly that she felt like it was going to crack from sheer force. 

y/n eyes suddenly flew open and she lurched upwards, breathing heavily, a scream on the edge of her lips that she was barely able to bite back. she clamped her hands over her mouth until she could be sure it wouldn’t come loose, and it took even longer for her breathing to get back to normal.

it didn’t look like she had disturbed the sleep of the others, but she couldn’t stay here. she got out of her sleeping bag and rushed out of their camp, making sure she stayed light on her feet so that the others could continue to rest. momo perked up as she ran past him, and y/n shook her head and raised a finger to her lips. he seemed to get the hint and went back to sleep, and with a strained smile y/n continued out. 

it was at that moment that a certain water tribe boy groggily sat up, able to catch the end of a tunic dress disappearing into the woods after he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. he thought it was katara at first but a quick glance to his side proved that his sister was still asleep. it was y/n’s spot that was empty. he immediately knew why she was gone, and he got up to follow her; there was no way he was going to leave her alone right now. sokka didn’t exactly want to be alone either.  

‘you should’ve been able to save me.’ they were words that never left y/n’s mind; at this point it was a part of her conscience. the princess had never actually said the words, her last moments had been spent reassuring y/n and sokka before she faded away, but it didn’t matter. she was constantly wracked by guilt, and though sokka did a good job at hiding it, she knew he felt the same way. she wondered if he was plagued by the same nightmares she had. it was no surprise it happened tonight of all nights — today marked one month since yue died. 

no. since yue had been killed. 

she might’ve given her life for the moon spirit willingly, but y/n blamed zhao, that fire nation admiral, for her death. he was the one that killed the moon spirit, so he was the one that had killed her best friend. she had never felt as much rage as she had in the moment that he blasted tui with fire. 

she hoped he was dead. 

y/n got to the edge of the woods and stared at the night sky, the slight breeze and the ambiance around her doing little to ease her mind. she sighed and leaned back against a tree, staring at the sky in hopes it would give her some kind of answer. but all it did was make her feel even worse.

i know you’re somewhere out there somewhere far away

yue was there. the moon was there, but yue was the moon so she was there. it felt like a cruel joke, having her so close but so far away. always within her sight but never in her reach. she longed for the days when she was able to pull the princess away from her duties to engage in a snowball fight with her friends or when yue asked her to show off her waterbending with the childlike wonder she never got to show or when things were normal and her friend wasn’t the fucking moon. 

i want you back, i want you back 

y/n felt the familiar stings of tears behind her eyes and she slowly slid against the tree until she was sitting on the ground. she bit the inside of her cheek so hard she drew blood in an effort to stop the tears, but it didn’t matter, they fell anyways. 

the empty feeling she constantly carried with her got better over time, but tonight it was just coming back with full force. she was reminded of everything that she had lost and it hurt. spirits, it hurt so much. 

my neighbors think i’m crazy  but they don’t understand you’re all i have, you’re all i have 

she pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out her feelings, when she heard some branches snap. she opened her eyes and looked up, the corner of her lips quirking up when she saw who it was. 

“hi.” her voice was faint, barely noticeable, but it was all she managed to muster.

“hi.” sokka’s eyes were sympathetic as walked over to her, silently questioning if she was okay with his presence. she nodded and scooted over to make room, and sokka slid down against the tree next to her. 

they sat in comfortable silence for a while, feeling solace in the other simply being there. y/n’s eyes stayed glued to the sky, y/e/c irises reflecting the light of the stars. now that her sobbing was done, she just felt tired. traveling with the avatar was physically demanding with all the fighting and running they did, but this was mental. 

she was tired of feeling worthless. tired of feeling guilty, of feeling angry, hurt, heartbroken, regretful, helpless, weak. 

tui and la, she was so damn tired. 

at night, when the stars light up my room i sit by myself talking to the moon trying to get to you 

y/n tore her eyes away from the sky and looked at sokka. he felt the slight movement and made eye contact as well. y/n couldn’t help but think how similar his eyes were to yue’s. 

“do you talk to her too?” the question came suddenly from y/n before she even knew it, and her voice was just as soft as before. “to the moon, i mean.”

sokka’s gaze turned wistful as he watched the moon and nodded. “all the time. even if i’m just talking to myself in my head, it feels like i’m talking to her as long as the moon is out. sometimes it helps. it makes me feel like she’s still here, or like she’s watching over me. other times..”

“it makes you feel worse,” y/n finished. he nodded again and she sighed heavily. “sometimes i hate it. just looking at the moon makes me want to scream or cry or yell until i can’t anymore, because i hate it for taking her away from me. and i know she had to do it, but the irrational part of me is angry at her for leaving. and then i feel guilty for caring about myself more than her when she’s the one that’s gone, and i just—” 

her voice caught in her throat and the tears started to fall once more. it felt like she couldn’t even think about yue without crying and it made her feel even more weak than before. 

in hopes you’re on the other side talking to me too 

it hurt sokka’s heart to see her like this. yue’s death had affected both of them, spirits, it had left a hole in his heart that he was still trying to mend, but as time went on he had gotten better. but y/n had known yue for years, they had such a close bond that when sokka wanted to know advice on how to get yue to like him he came to her. and now her closest friend was gone and she had left her home and her family behind to help them on their journey.. he couldn’t imagine how she felt. but he wasn’t going to let her go through this alone. 

sokka wrapped his arm around her and though she flinched at first, y/n immediately relaxed when she realized what he was doing. he was trying to comfort her by just being there, and she appreciated it immensely. y/n leaned her head against his shoulder and the two of them sat there in silence once again, watching the sky.

or am i a fool who sits alone talking to the moon 

“you don’t have to feel guilty,” sokka murmured. “she doesn’t blame you for what happened and she doesn’t blame you for how you feel. i know that she’s watching over us right now.”

“you think?” he nodded and the smallest smile graced her lips. “she doesn’t blame you either. every time you hung out together she would come running back to me telling me how much fun she had and how she already felt so close to you, and how much you brightened up her days. she truly loved you, sokka.” 

sokka laughed humorlessly and shook his head. “i loved her too. i didn’t think it was possible to fall for someone so quickly, but she proved me wrong.”

“she was good at that. proving people wrong.” 

do you ever hear me calling? 

more silence passed. 

y/n opened her mouth and closed it again, trying to find the words.

“yue?” she started off timid, but her words gained more confidence as she went on. “i.. i don’t know if you can hear us. but if you can, i just want to let you know that i- that we miss you. not a day goes by where i don’t think of you, and i hope that you are watching down on us. because we love you. and we always will.” 

“thank you for everything you’ve done.” sokka spoke up now. “i hope you’re at peace, yue, wherever you are.”

cause every night i’m talking to the moon  still trying to get to you

y/n swore that the moon glowed a little brighter in the night sky when they finished. 

she didn’t know how time passed so quickly, but her and sokka ended up falling asleep out there, his arm around her and her head on his shoulder.

and for the first time since the siege of the north, y/n slept without nightmares. 

[geraltrogerericduhautebellegarde]

A Melody (Ch 1/?)

This is a follow up to this story, I don’t reckon it’ll make a whole lot of sense without reading the first part.

Summary: After saving Eskel from certain death, Jaskier travels alongside the witcher to Kaer Morhen.

Warning: future instances of canon typical violence and sexual situations, none in this chapter

-

Eskel fell asleep quickly, exhausted from his day. Jaskier couldn’t help but watch the witcher as he slept, still worried for his safety. They hadn’t spoken much past Jaskier confirming they were in a safe location and that Eskel didn’t have any important injuries that needed to be tended right way.

After that, Jaskier managed to get Eskel to eat a bit of the food Jaskier had with him and then had settled down, saying he needed sleep to recover some strength.

Jaskier knew that he should be sleeping but he just… couldn’t. It felt like abandoning the witcher almost, leaving him sleeping with no guard to make sure they were safe. No, Jaskier would stay awake tonight and keep an eye and an ear out for danger.

Eskel woke slowly, not jumping to awareness like he normally would. Sitting up, he took in his surroundings carefully. He remembered the night before, but it was a foggy memory. He took in the clearing around him, Scorpion, his stallion, peacefully grazing, and the man that saved him, sitting across from him, scribbling hastily in a journal.

The man had introduced himself the night before as Jaskier but had given no other information. Eskel watched the man curiously, wondering why he had saved him. What he could possibly want from Eskel? And most importantly, why the name sounded so familiar.

Suddenly the man across from him looked up and met his eyes, his face breaking out into a smile. “You’re awake! And looking much better, as well. How are you feeling?”

“Feeling much better, too. Well enough to travel on, I think. Did you get my things from the village?” He would be fine without his armor and swords if he had to be, but they wouldn’t be easy to replace and he couldn’t earn the coin to do so without them.

Jaskier stood suddenly, moving to the saddle bags and leaning over them, “I’ve your armor here, and I must say I was confused to see it wasn’t black, I really was starting to think it was the dress code of a witcher. And your potions are in this bag. You might want to stock up on some more swallow, you only have two bottles. And your swords are here, they seem to be in need of cleaning, but I thought you would want to handle that yourself.” Jaskier spun around, swords in hand, and walked to Eskel, “I know how particular you witchers are about your swords so here you are!”

Eskel reached out and took the swords from Jaskier’s outstretched hands, taking a second before responding. Jaskier had just said… a lot. He clearly knew a bit about witchers. More than a bit, really, if he could identify potions. And he didn’t seem scared of Eskel, happily handing the witcher his swords.

“How do you know so much about witchers?” Eskel finally asked.

Surprise lit up Jaskier’s face, “Of course! How rude of me. I never did properly introduce myself! My name is Julian Alfred Pankratz but you’ll more likely know me as Jaskier the Bard. I wrote everyone’s favorite hit, Toss a Coin to Your Witcher!” Jaskier’s eyes sparkled as he smiled with pride.

And now Eskel knew why he had recognized the name, “You’re Geralt’s bard!”

“Ahh, well, I prefer to think of Geralt as my witcher, actually. But I suppose the sentiment is the same. Does that mean he talks about me? Do you two know each other well?” Jaskier sat beside Eskel as the witcher began wiping down his silver sword.

“We’re the same age, became witchers together. We winter together so I’ve heard of you a time or two, bard. You’ll have to play me something.”

Jaskier beamed, “It would be my honor. But I think once we’ve cleaned up, we should move on. We’re not nearly as far from that village as I would like to be, I’m afraid.”

Eskel nodded in agreement, putting some distance between the village and themselves sounded like a wonderful idea.

-

The pair had been travelling half the day before Jaskier pulled out his lute and started playing. He was surprised when Eskel had smiled, occasionally humming along. Travelling with Eskel was proving very different than travelling with Geralt.

“Y’know, Geralt would have told me to shut up seventy-three times and threatened me at least eight times by now.” Jaskier finally mentioned, offhand, startling a laugh from Eskel.

“Geralt can be… difficult. He always had been. When I heard he’d taken a travel companion I was surprised.”

“Oh. Well, I didn’t give him much of a choice, I just kept following.”

Eskel snorted, “If Geralt didn’t want your company then you wouldn’t have been able to find him to follow him.”

That made Jaskier fall into a contemplative silence. He had never really thought of it like that. He knew, logically, Geralt could leave at any time, but he had never really thought about why he didn’t leave.

-

They had found a village that seemed nice enough by nightfall and the two rented a room. The innkeep offered to send up dinner but Jaskier politely declined. The two would use their travel rations for a bit longer, just in case.

They had settled upstairs, Jaskier sitting cross legged on his bed, Eskel laying on his back on his bed, before Jaskier had brought up the poisoning again.

“We need to do something. That can’t happen again. We have to stop them.” Jaskier started, his mind racing with possibilities of how to stop the village alderman from every going after another witcher.

“Nothing to do. I should have been more careful.”

“You should have been more careful?” Eskel didn’t think he had ever heard someone sound more indignant than Jaskier did in that moment, “No, they should just not poison and capture and torture people. It’s not hard.”

“They know no better.” Eskel had always been the diplomatic sort.

“Then they can learn.” Jaskier had never been diplomatic a day in his life.

Eskel felt like he was talking to a brick wall, trying to explain to the bard why he needn’t be so angry. He is a witcher, it comes with the territory. Maybe it isn’t right, but it’s how it is.

His main concern was getting to Kaer Morhen and letting the other witchers know, know there is a poison that can weaken them greatly without being detected, know there is a village willing and ready to attack them. “Jaskier, I just need to get to the keep and let everyone else know.”

“Yes! A brilliant idea. I will accompany you and we will make a plan over winter. Genius idea, truly.” Jaskier hopped out of his bed and hurried over to Eskel, pressing a quick kiss to Eskel’s scarred cheek.

The two had been travelling together for a day and already Eskel understood exactly why Geralt always spoke of the bard with such fond exasperation. He really did and said whatever he wanted, consequences be damned, but he was so earnest and genuine in his actions despite it.  

Jaskier had been a lot for Eskel to get used to initially, he just never seemed to stop. He was constantly moving and fidgeting and singing and talking and asking questions, though he never seemed to need a response, and he was just so very different to anyone Eskel had ever met. He had thought it weird that Geralt had taken to travelling with a bard but now, spending time with the bard in question, he could see the draw.

It was nice to just exist in someone’s space without them asking anything of you, without them being scared of you.

He watched the bard wander around the room, rounding up all the items he had scattered everywhere when they had first come in, “Jaskier, I’m not sure you coming to Kaer Morhen is the best idea.”

Jaskier let out an offended noise, spinning to face Eskel and pointing a finger at him, “It is the best idea, actually. And you can’t stop me.”

Eskel huffed a laugh, the young man was a force to be reckoned with, that was for sure, “Alright, bard. If you insist.”

Jaskier’s beaming smile in response made Eskel feel… something.

lmk if you want to be added or removed from the taglist :) 

 -

Find Chapter 2 here

 Tag list: @stinastar, @elliestormfound, @birds-of-forgiveness, @fandommagpie, @caffeinatedcorvids

[catsnkooks]

Mandalorian Elegy

Commander Cody x Obi-Wan Kenobi

summary: Obi-Wan heads to the Mandalorian countryside to aid the Fett family farm to escape the oppressive atmosphere of the city. He expects a few months of hard, simple labor, but his plans complicate when he finds himself falling for the simple hardworking farmer instead.

rating: G

word count: 1.9k

warnings: none for right now!

a/n: i got sucked into this bc @new-anon makes too good art.....i love it

click here if you want to be added to my taglist!!

here it is on ao3!!

next chapter

Obi-Wan tugged his suitcase closer to his legs as he watched another car roll down the dusty road. It was only the third one he’d seen since he’d arrived and that was about, oh, thirty minutes ago. He didn’t mind the quiet; it was refreshing, actually, after so many years living in the city. Boga, his trusty service husky, sat beside him, watching the car disappear down the road. He stroked her head and she broke into a happy grin, her tail beating a rhythm into the concrete floor of the train station waiting area.

“What do you think, girl?” he asked her. “Quite different from the city, hm?”

Just then, a truck pulled to a stop in front of them, and a man jumped out of the driver’s side. He waved to Obi-Wan and he waved back.

“Are you Mr. Fett?” he asked, standing and shouldering his backpack.

The man laughed, and Obi-Wan decided right then that he quite liked it. “Please, call me Cody. Mr. Fett is my dad. Are you Mr. Kenobi?”

Obi-Wan smiled and held out his hand. “Yes, however, I must now insist you call me Obi-Wan.”

As Cody came closer, Obi-Wan studied his host. He was just slightly taller than Obi-Wan, dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, showing off deep bronze tan skin. He had on a wide-brimmed hat, shielding his brown eyes from the sun. What Obi-Wan found most peculiar, however, was the thin scar that curled around his left eye.

Cody extended his hand and grasped Obi-Wan’s in a firm, warm grip. “Nice to meet you, Obi-Wan. I'm sorry I'm late. There was a little bit of an emergency. And who is this?” He knelt down beside Boga, who sniffed his upturned hand then smashed her face against it.

“That’s Boga.” Obi-Wan grinned at Cody’s laughter as Boga jumped into his lap to lick his face.

Cody stood again after giving a few more pats to Boga and motioned to Obi-Wan’s suitcase. “Is that everything?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Just the essentials.”

While Cody loaded Obi-Wan’s suitcase into the back of the truck (with just one arm, Obi-Wan noted, impressed), Obi-Wan took a seat in the passenger side, convincing Boga to sit in the middle. Cody climbed into the driver’s seat and, giving a reassuring pat to Boga, started the engine and drove them away from the train station.

Obi-Wan listened intently as Cody described the Fett family farm. They had a mix of almost everything: beef cattle, chickens, pigs, ducks, and a few horses. His younger brother, Bly, was dipping his toes into plant farming and had a sizeable garden and a greenhouse. It all sounded so homely to Obi-Wan.

In turn, Obi-Wan told him about his life in the city. He nodded along politely as Obi-Wan described his work with his organization, how he worked most of his life helping those displaced by war or other conflicts. He laughed when Obi-Wan described Boga’s favorite activity in the park; chasing the squirrels.

Soon, they arrived at a large farmhouse; wood paneling with a wrap-around porch, large windows, and a brick chimney at the back. A younger man with short-cropped blond hair stood in front of the front door. Obi-Wan assumed it was one of Cody’s brothers, based on their similar appearances.

Cody parked the truck and killed the engine, allowing Obi-Wan and Boga to step out. Boga hopped out of the truck and eagerly sniffed along the perimeter her leash allowed her. Cody grabbed Obi-Wan’s suitcase from the bed and motioned him forward.

“This is where I grew up,” Cody said. “It’s not much, but it’s home.” Obi-Wan knew he was trying to stay humble, but he could detect a little pride in his voice. He nodded toward the other man who was coming off the porch to greet them. “That’s my little brother, Rex.”

Rex scoffed and punched Cody in the arm. “Not so little anymore.” Indeed, they were about the same height and build. If Obi-Wan didn’t know any better, he would assume they were twins. Rex held out his hand to him. “Nice to meet you. I'm surprised you didn’t run screaming as soon as you met this idiot here.”

Obi-Wan laughed at their brotherly antics. “Oh, I'm quite enjoying myself so far.”

A boy popped his head out from the house. He had the same complexion and dark hair as Cody, though his fell in gentle curls down his face. He turned to yell into the house, “Dad! The city slicker is here!”

Cody sighed next to Obi-Wan while Rex went up to the boy and put him in a headlock. “That’s Boba,” Cody explained, looking exasperated. “You’ll have to excuse him, he has chronic teenager syndrome.”

Obi-Wan smiled and nodded sympathetically, remembering how Anakin was as a teenager. “Weren’t we all like that in our teenage years?”

Cody smiled ruefully. “I think I was a little more behaved.”

“No, you were worse.”

Obi-Wan looked up as another man stepped out of the house. He assumed this was their father, Jango Fett. He was perhaps a few years older than Obi-Wan, though a life of hard work and war had weathered his features to make him look much older. Obi-Wan could tell where the Fett brothers got their resemblance. He nodded to Obi-Wan and held out his hand.

“Jango Fett,” he said, succinct.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Obi-Wan said, clasping his hand. “Pleased to meet you, sir.”

He wrinkled his nose at Obi-Wan’s epithet. “Just Jango is fine, son. Now, come on in and get comfortable.” He turned and made to go in the house, but first pointed a finger at Boba, who Rex had released from a headlock. “Be nice.” Boba just huffed and rolled his eyes.

Obi-Wan walked into the house. It was just as homely on the inside as it was on the outside. Simple wooden furniture and decorations indicative of a rural, farming lifestyle dotted around the rooms and a large staircase dominated the area, leading up to the second floor. Obi-Wan was shown to his room (right beside Cody’s so if he ever needed anything, he was handy) with Cody insisting on carrying up his luggage for him, and was told to come down to the kitchen for lunch when he was done.

Boga made herself comfortable on the bed while Obi-Wan unpacked their things. He put his clothes in the drawer and set his few knickknacks on it, arranging them to his liking. He pulled out his phone and plugged it into the outlet beside his nightstand, sighing at the lack of service. He would have to ask Cody later for the Wi-Fi password, but for right now, it was…freeing to be away from the hustle and bustle of the wider world. He set out Boga’s bed beside his own (though it would be fruitless because she always found herself on Obi-Wan’s bed eventually) and put on her harness, deciding to leave her leash unclipped and sitting on the dresser. She followed behind him as he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Obi-Wan knew Mandalorian food smelled wonderful, based on his experience in Little Keldabe in Coruscant, but it was nothing compared to the smell of home-cooked food. His mouth watered and his eyes stung just a little from the scent of heavy spices in the room. Even Boga whined at the delicious smell coming from the stove.

“We thought we would start off easy with you,” Cody said, offering a plate to Obi-Wan as he sat down at the table. “Didn’t want to kill you on the first day.”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “I appreciate it.” He took a bite out of the dish and groaned. It had been too long since he’d had anything this good. The spice wasn’t overwhelming, probably very tame to Mandalorian standards, but it still warmed his face. He noticed Boba looking disappointed over his own plate, and laughed. “Oh, don’t worry; you’ll get me one of these days.”

Conversations flowed easily as they ate. Jango talked about the day-to-day duties around the farm while Cody explained the logistics. Obi-Wan told them about his organization, what they did, and how they could help while he was stationed here. Boba left halfway, complaining about boring adult talk, and said he was going to go find Din. When they finished, he helped Cody wash the dishes, listening closely as Cody told him about his newest project.

“I found her while I was looking for a lost calf,” he said. “She’s beautiful. Gorgeous color, nice build, and her mane is so soft. I don’t know if she belonged to anyone before, but she’s pretty wild. It was a miracle I could get her into the lot.” He motioned out the window with a soapy brush. “I want to get her saddle broke before the fair. She’s already taking the halter well and if she’s feeling good, I can lead her around. But she’s kicked me more than once if I try anything else.” He sighed and rinsed off a cup, looking forlorn.

Obi-Wan nodded. “I suppose things like this take time. But, if you're half as stubborn as she is, I think you’ll get it.”

Cody turned to Obi-Wan, surprised shortly before he gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”

Obi-Wan fought down the blush that he knew was invading his cheeks. He could not think about how adorable his host looked after Obi-Wan had complimented him. “Of course.” He cleared his throat. “Have you named her?”

Cody sighed again and shook his head. “No. Rex keeps telling me not to in case I can’t tame her. If you have any suggestions, I’ll take them.”

Obi-Wan hummed. “I'm sure I could come up with something.”

Suddenly, there was a crash from the other side of the kitchen. Both men whirled around and found Boga shamelessly cleaning off the leftovers. Obi-Wan shouted at her and pulled her out of the kitchen and outside while Cody laughed, clutching his stomach with a wet rag. Obi-Wan apologized but Cody waved him off.

“At least let me make it up to you?” he asked. “I may not have cooked many Mandalorian dishes, but I can follow a recipe well and I’ve been told I'm a good cook.”

Cody tilted his head, considering his offer, and then nodded. “Alright. But next time we put the leftovers up first.”

---

Later that night as Obi-Wan laid in his bed, listening to the crickets and frogs chirp outside of his window, he considered the events of the day. It was definitely…different from what he expected. Sure, he had done his research before he had even considered coming, but nothing could compare to actually experiencing it in Obi-Wan’s book. Part of him considered he’d spent too much time around Satine and her cohort.

He wrinkled his nose at that, turning around in bed and wrapping an arm around Boga, ever faithfully by his side. He had called her once Cody gave him the Wi-Fi password, as he knew she worried about him. He’d told her about the train ride down and his initial glimpse of the farm, how her description of her homeland hadn’t really prepared him for what to expect. She’d laughed and only then confessed that she actually hadn’t spent that much time in the Mandalorian countryside.

“But Satine,” he’d said, frowning “in your book you said—.”

She’d waved him off. “You know everyone embellishes a little in their autobiographies.”

Yes, he supposed he’d spent far too much time in the city. It would do well for him to be out here, in the fresh air and the vast fields.

And with farmers with strong, tan arms and brilliant smiles and dark hair that curled softly at the edges and eyes so deep, you could get lost in them.

[40sbarnes]

Medici: Spymasters of Florence

Chapter 14: Fortune Favours The Bold

its not the longest chapter but goddamn its soft <3 i hope you enjoy this its basically just fluff lolll 

tag list: @brynthebulldozer​ @mythicalamphitrite​ @nana035 @valravnsraven @hannahhistorian92 @not-thatweird (it won’t tag idkwhy sorry!) @isaac-lahey-is-bae @angrygardendeer @unstoppable-xavi

pairings; slowburn lorenzo x reader, platonic francesco x reader

Lorenzo fell into stride beside you, his words still hanging in the night air.

"There's lot of things I haven't told you about myself, Medici," you grinned up at him, his brows raising at your words.

"Is that so?" His tongue poked the inside of his cheek as he thought of his next words. "Tell me another one."

Your face scrunched slightly in confusion, and he picked up on it immediately. "Indulge me, tell me another thing I don't know about you," he lifted his chin up, watching as the stars took their place in the sky. You looked to the side, bashful.

"Hmmm..." you trailed off, your eyes drifting to where Lorenzo was looking, letting the sound of your feet on the cobbled path fill the temporary silence, "I don't enjoy conversing with rich men," you smiled up as you watched the dots of light in the sky.

Lorenzo scoffed, his gaze falling on you once again. "You certainly didn't mind it tonight," he shot back.

"Untrue," the word was soft as it fell from your lips, "you don't have to enjoy a job to do it."

"Fair enough," he breathed out, "but surely you make an exception for bankers?" He tried, his shoulder brushing against yours as you walked together.

"Pazzi isn't one for conversation," you shook your head, continuing to tease Lorenzo, "his nephew however..."

"Oh come on, Bellondini, you can't despise my company that much," his ego was on the verge of bruising.

You just looked at him, trying not to laugh at his audacity.

"Y/n," his hand caught yours, and he stopped you both from walking, as his thumb brushed a gentle line against your fingers. Both your eyes were watching your hands. "Look, I am truly apologetic for the things I said, they were spoken with spite. I'm well aware you would never wish to be my friend, let alone my wife." His honesty took you by surprise, you glanced up at him, to find him already looking down at you.

"I thought we were saying things that we didn't already know," you attempted to joke, pushing his messy hair out of his eyes with your free hand, but his own met yours, holding it against his face.

"I'm serious. You are a remarkable woman, your lack of status does not weigh on you at all. It fills me with envy. For my status is all I am. All I could ever be," he admits, and you are frozen in place.

"You know your words hold false," your voice was quiet, you couldn't believe what he was saying.

"You, more than anyone, know them to be true," his lips smiled, but his eyes showed anything but happiness. You used your hand on his face to cup his cheek properly, forcing him to keep eye contact with you.

"You do not need me to inflate your head, Lorenzo, you know just how cunning you are. I mean, who else would have thought of such a fine way to utilise my skills?" You countered, and you watched a glint pass through his eyes.

"Anyone with half their right mind still in pla-" he began, but you cut off his pity party before he could eat his cake.

"Lorenzo. When will you realise that wealth and status aren't everything? I am remarkable because I am. As are you. Our blood doesn't define us," you were growing weary of this talk, and Lorenzo crying over being so rich.

"You think I'm remarkable?" He cocked a brow, and you let your hand fall from his face.

"Did I say that?" You acted as if deep in thought.

"I'm almost certain," Lorenzo simply nodded, his hold on your hand easing, until it faltered altogether and you both began walking again.

"I'm not," you grinned, "I certainly recall you saying something about how remarkable I am though..." you teased.

Lorenzo turned to you, a lopsided grin showing his teeth plastered across his face. He shook his head and focused back on the path in front of him.

It wasn't long before you were back in your room at the inn, out of your fancy gown and into one of Lorenzo's shirts. He hadn't mentioned it, but it was the least he could do as you had no other clothes with you, and would have to wear your own dress again tomorrow.

"Goodnight," you whispered, sliding under the covers and lying down.

"Goodnight, y/n," Lorenzo stood awkwardly beside the bed for a moment, unsure of what to do.

"Are you going to sleep?" You questioned, lifting up the blanket beside you for him to get in.

He didn't move. "You don't wish for me to sleep on the floor again?"

"As long as you stay on your side I have no qualms," you promised, turning over to face away from him.

The bed dipped slightly under his weight as he gingerly got in. You tried your very best not to laugh. Lorenzo de ‘Medici, womaniser, so awkward about sharing a bed for the night. He could be such a child at times.

"Besides," you spoke up again, "my dagger is never out of reach," you teased, lightening the tension.  Lorenzo scoffed, turning to lay on his side away from you. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," you sighed, "again."

—-

You hadn't been travelling for long before you arrived at the same town as days before, where you'd acquired the dress. Lorenzo pulled on Callus' reigns to bring the horse to a stop.

"What ever is the matter?" You grumbled, you hadn't fully woken up and were hoping to get some distance covered today.

"Nothing. I just thought it an idea to get some food, we won't come across another town until midday and you will be starved by then," he hopped down off Callus, before putting out his hand for you.

"And you're immune to hunger?" You tilted your head, swinging your leg over the side, although not taking his hand.

Lorenzo rolled his eyes, shoving coins into your hand before grabbing it and pulling you down. "Just go get something."

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," you huffed, although your eyes were already scanning the market for what you'd buy.

"Yeah, not your side," he smirked at you, and you just laughed, shaking your head slightly before headed towards a fruit stall that had caught your eye.

"Be back here in twenty!" He called after you. You waved at him without looking, agreeing to his terms.

And you stuck by them. In twenty minutes you were back where he'd said, a bag of food secured. But neither he nor Callus were there. Worry set in. Surely he wouldn't desert you? Surely?

You bit at your nail, looking around for him, until you saw Callus tied up outside a small store, a stranger brushing him. You moved towards him, trying to check him out before confronting him.

A hand rested on the small of your back before you could reach him. And you spun to see Lorenzo smiling down at you. "Everything alright?"

"Where were you?" You ignored his question, glancing to under his arm to see he was holding two parcels.

"Doing some shopping myself," he shrugged, before he guided you both to Callus. He thanked the man and gave him some coin before he started to secure the parcels to Callus. He took the bag of food off of you and tied it around the saddle.

"What's wrong?" Lorenzo asked when you still seemed off.

"Nothing, let’s go," you decided, and so you did.

—-

After another day and a bit of travelling, you had arrived home. Lorenzo had brought you just outside of town, before helping you down off Callus. You both stood beside the horse, Lorenzo reaching into his satchel to pull out a bag of coins.

"Your payment," he stated as if it wasn't obvious.

"Thank you," you almost felt awkward taking it, before you quickly ignored that feeling.

"And, uh, a small gift. To show my gratitude. And my regret of my previous words about... well you know," he sighed, his lack of composure was unsettling, but you didn't have to focus on it as he took the parcels off the saddle and handed them to you.

"Lorenzo, you needn't have-" you looked at the gifts in your hands. One of the parcels was thick, but soft, and the other was narrow and cold.

"I did," he assured you.

"Well, thank you," you looked up at him, not realising just how close you were standing apart.

Your eyes scanned each other's, before you took a step back. "What are they?" You broke the silence.

"I'm sure you'll figure out a way to find out," he grinned. You shook your head at his stupidity before reaching up to pull him into a quick embrace. It didn't last more than five seconds but he didn't need any longer to react, wrapping his arms around you for the short hug.

"Good luck with the vote," you bid him, it was happening in a matter of days. You had discussed it all on your journey, and you both decided that Pazzi would definitely be calling on you in the upcoming days, and unless something was to happen with him, you had no more business with Lorenzo until then.

He smiled at your words, looking to Callus before back at you.  "I cannot lose with you on my side."

[darlingsdevil]

Of The Valley (Joel x Reader)

Chapter 2: Bullet Memories

Summary: Life in Jackson is never easy. Consoling angsty teenagers, wading through the mysterious waters of Joel’s romance language and with a child of your own on the way? Life is about to get a lot harder.

Chapter summary: A test is administered. Did you fail?

Tag list (please comment to be added or removed): @sidepuff @joelsheartache @fangirl-inthe-us @cowboyfrazer

RDR2 Masterlist

Of The Valley Masterlist

A/N: Hi everyone. I’ve been really happy with how this story is going so far! I hope you will stick around!

Please tell me if you see any ‘Mike’s’ — I keep accidentally writing Mark’s name as Mike lol.

:readmore:

•••

You rode in silence for the rest of the way. That didn’t help with calming you down either. Every inch of you was burning up at the thought of being outside Jackson again. Having to relive that nightmare all over again. At least it was nice out, but the hollowed out homes and burnt cars were anything but soothing.

Joel’s silence was disheartening. You knew he was upset at you. In truth, you hadn’t really talked to anyone you were close with in the past three months. You blissfully shut out everyone you were close to and had meaningless conversations with mere acquaintances at the bar. People came by and checked in on you, but you almost always pretended you weren’t home, or you lied and said Mark was sleeping.

Joel deserved an explanation for your disappearance, you were avoiding him, but you weren’t avoiding him because of something he had done. The explaining section was the hard part, you weren’t sure where to begin or even when you should. Joel would listen. That was given, you just weren’t sure you were ready to open up just yet.

When you finally arrived at the nest after a solemn ride, your breath hitched at the side of your old spot. It had been longer than three months that you had been there. It was your favorite nest to shoot out of. Secluded, hard to get to, views of all roads leading to the small perch.

Joel hopped down from Caesar and hitched him on the tree, you followed suit. You took a small sugar cube out of your old saddle bag and gave it to her. Levia was a spoiled horse.

You walked up the steep hill to where Tommy was waiting, when you finally saw him you smiled. Your worries drifting away momentarily.

“Damn girl, didn’t think you would ever show up,” Tommy joked, holding out his arms for a hug.

“Didn’t think I was going to either. Maria convinced me to,” You laughed, hugging him tightly.

“My wife is a convincing one, that’s for sure,” Tommy chuckled as he began walking over to the nest. Joel leaned against a tree watching you two interact. Tommy nodded to Joel. You pulled the rifle off your shoulder and kneeled down on the wooden hut that was on the side of the hill. Tommy kneeled down next to you. The rifle’s weight was strange and clunky. It used to feel so natural in your hand, but now it felt like you were holding a stick.

“See them over there?” Tommy pointed towards the tree line. You pulled out your binoculars and looked at the group of infected. A couple of runners and two clickers.

“That’s all of them?” You hissed out. Why were there so few?

“So far. Spotted some more earlier, but they disappeared into the forest, we might be able to draw them out from the gunfire.” Tommy eyed you, speaking quietly.

“There’s six infected and it’s a two man job? Come on Tommy, you could have taken these out within ten minutes,” You huffed, pulling your rifle up to your shoulder and looking out the scope.

“I promise there’s more. I saw at least three.”

“Three? There’s only three more?” You stared at Tommy. Things were beginning to make less and less sense..

“There’s more by the north lookout,” Tommy explained. You sighed and picked up a bullet from the box Tommy had brought over. Feeling a bullet in your hand sent your nerves racing. There was suddenly a loud buzzing in your ear, growing increasingly louder and louder.

“You have to stay silent. If they see you, they’ll kill you.”

You blinked and it was gone. Whispers of a memory that would forever be etched into your mind. “Tommy, will you, take the first one?” You looked up at him with wide eyes, your voice vacant. Tommy nodded with an understanding look and took his own rifle and lined up his shot on a runner near the tree line. He pushed out the breath from his lungs and shot. You looked away, wincing, as the bullet hit its mark.

“Your turn,” Tommy said, resting his rifle on the wooden perch.

You gulped and slowly picked up your rifle, hiking it up to your shoulder. You gently picked up a bullet from the box without looking, you loaded it into the chamber. You looked out into scope, staring down at the infected below. It had been a while since you had seen infected. They were almost hard to look at, their bloody torn faces and mechanical moving bodies. It was saddening. They were people once too.

You lined up your shot. You let out all your breath, your finger over the trigger, and pulled it. You felt the recoil before you heard the shot. The burst of noise sounded like a scream. A warning. You weren’t supposed to be out here.

You immediately pushed the gun down, you fell back to the floor, crawling away from the gun. Panic rose in your chest, you tried your hardest to quell it, but nothing worked, fear outweighed everything when there was nothing else there. Tommy rushed to your side, he was concerned.

Your eyes were wide, and terror ripped through you like a wave, pulling you under. Joel noticed too, he came over quickly. Joel or Tommy asked you something, but you could barely hear. It was too loud, the ringing in your ears sounded like a terrible screaming alarm.

“Oh my god,” You choked out, eyes unfocusing. Tears threatening to spill from your eyes in heavy droplets.

“Hey, hey, snap out of it,” Joel gently shook you. You pulled your arm away from him quickly. You glared at him without thinking.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened,” You said, you put your hands on the cool grass in an attempt to ground yourself.

“Well it’s okay, I think we’ll head back to the north lookout for a little while, until you calm down, that okay?” Tommy asked you, looking at you with sympathy.

You still weren’t calm, it felt like a scream was waiting to be pulled out, but if you tried, no sound would come. Instead there was silence. Not a single sound in the world.

“Yeah, yeah,” You replied quickly, springing yourself up from the ground and brushing the dirt off from your pants. Tommy and Joel shared a look. Tommy picked up the guns from behind you, you reached out to take yours but Tommy resisted.

Joel unhitched the horses for you while you waited, holding your arms and taking in deep shuddering breaths. You knew exactly what came over you, it was foolish to agree to this stupid patrol. Tommy could have easily done it himself and you wouldn’t have had to make a mockery of yourself.

Joel led Levia over to you, and helped you up to the saddle. You had something to hold on to now, which was much better than before. Tommy got on his own horse and waited for Joel to hop on Caesar. When everyone was situated, you headed off towards the north lookout.

•••

The ride was silent on the way there, luckily it was only an hour away. Anymore silence would have made your head hurt. You still weren’t entirely calm, you were still outside of Jackson, your job wasn’t done here yet.

When the large building came into view you suddenly remembered all the good times you had there.

You hitched Levia at the front of the lookout and walked in, Joel and Tommy following you.

“You wanna tell us what the hell happened back there?” Joel asked while you walked down, setting your bag down at the table.

“No. I don’t want to talk about it,” You sighed. You weren’t in the mood for another argument. Why did Joel always have to pry?

“Okay well, Joel and I will get out of your hair for awhile, I think Ellie should be nearby, actually, we’ll go get her,” Tommy said from behind you. He hit Joel on the arm for that last comment.

“Ellie’s nearby?” You asked, plopping down on the couch. You noticed her guitar then.

“Yep, she’s been waiting to hang out with you, you know? Been awhile since she’s seen you,” Tommy responded, you could hear him grabbing something from the kitchen.

“She has?” Both you and Joel said at the same time. You glanced over at Joel, your eyebrow raised, he simply shrugged.

“Course she has. You’re like a mother to that girl,” Tommy said, looking through the cabinets. That was true of course, when things got rough in general for her, Ellie was the one she came to talk to. Someone who wasn’t related to Joel — or an in law, someone who wasn’t close with her friends, just an outside force in her life. It was good to have someone like that.

Tommy threw something on the couch next to you, you were startled for a moment. Upon examination, you realized it was a candy bar.

“Found Mark’s stash up here a few weeks back. Hid it for you,” Tommy told you. Joel was silent.

“Thanks.” You opened up the candy bar. It was Mark’s favorite. He always said that a person could be having the worst day of their life, and all they would need was a candy bar to make it good again. You weren’t sure how true it was — but candy did make you happier.

“We’ll be going out now, you best not go anywhere, alright?”

“I won’t be going anywhere, Tommy.”

•••

“Seriously Joel? The hell is going on with you two?”

“Ask her. She’s only avoided me for the past three goddamn months, and suddenly on my first day off in weeks, I have to escort her to a place she knows damn well where it is? Seems pretty damn fishy to me,” Joel scoffed. Caesar galloped besides Tommy’s horse, they were getting closer to the Ottawa Lookout, where Ellie was at.

“You know what today was supposed to be for her, Joel?” Tommy asked Joel.

“No, you really think I’m told much of anything that goes on about her anymore?”

“Today was supposed to be a test. See how well she could do back on patrol, ease her back into this, and Joel, you aren’t making this much easier for her,” Tommy glared at his brother as they traveled across the forest to the lookout.

Joel’s brow furrowed, “A test? The hell for?”

“You really are as dumb as rocks, big brother. It’s not my place to say. Maybe you should confront her about it instead of bickering and causing her to panic. Even a goddamn clicker could see that you were making her uncomfortable.”

“And you think I haven’t tried asking her where she’s been for the past three months?”

“Knowing you Joel, I’m sure you didn’t ask. More like yelled,” Tommy bit back. Joel was more than willing to continue the argument, but the Ottawa lookout came into view. It was a smaller building, that was once a home, on a steep hill that faced Jackson.

Ellie’s horse, Shimmer was waiting outside. Ellie was on the front porch with a journal.

“Hey guys,” Ellie called out.

Joel and Tommy waved to her as they got off their horses.

“Let’s go inside for a bit. Got some things I want to discuss,” Tommy said.

“Sure,” Ellie grabbed her notebook and headed in. She sat down at the table that faced the many windows, Joel and Tommy pulling up a chair to sit with her.

“How’d it go? Didn’t expect you guys to be back so soon.” Ellie rested her hands on her thighs, waiting for an answer.

“Can’t say it went well so far. I think we’ll go back out tomorrow, or maybe later today,” Tommy shrugged. Ellie gave him a knowing look.

“Wait, you’re telling me Ellie’s on this too?” Joel asked, leaning forward onto the table.

“Yeah? I mean, I thought you were too,” Ellie said, raising her eyebrows in confusion.

“Maria decided two people would be enough. She wanted to ease into it, get her around people who don’t piss her off immensely,” Tommy replied, glancing over to Joel.

Joel huffed before replying, “We butt heads sometimes, sure, but I don’t piss her off all that much.”

“All that much? Joel, I saw how uncomfortable she was riding with you.” Tommy shook his head. The sun was high in the sky now, the windows allowing light to come through.

“And Mark couldn’t have come out here instead of me, why?” Joel asked Tommy. He was only becoming more and more confused.

“Mark’s out of commission right now, but it don’t matter. I know you care about her Joel, I know she cares about you too but Maria just wanted to test the waters first. It was supposed to be your day off too, she didn’t want to assign you to a small job like this.”

“Yeah, why are you even here?” Ellie said curiously.

“Maria asked me to escort her. If Maria didn’t want me out here, why’d she ask me to come?”

“Y/N insisted you come. Maria told me that she said that she needed someone she could trust out here. Someone who she could count on,” Tommy said.

“Count on? And she can’t count on you guys?”

“She can’t count on us in the way only you could,” Tommy replied slowly, he leaned back into his chair.

Joel nodded, it was all starting to click in place.

“Still doesn’t make much sense why she doesn’t want to go on patrols anymore.”

“I’m not really sure either,” Ellie chimed in.

“Not mine or Maria’s place to say. If you want to hear why, maybe ask her, but be careful, I hear it’s a delicate subject.”

•••

[popculturebuffet]

Amphibia: Night Drivers/Return to Wartwood Review “Many Happy Returns”

Hello you happy people. And Amphibia is back and that means my reviews are back! As for why this reviews a bit late despite it leaking, I wanted to wait for today, and long story short both focused on finishing a review that WASN’T time senstive, instead of finishing it Sunday, and overestimated how much time i’d have to do two reviews on a day that included my first covid shot, grocery shopping, helping mom clean the car, and my friend coming over to watch Judas and the Black Messiah. Excellent film by hte way, as was the Sound of Metal which we watched after. Point is I done goofed and I will try to at the very least actually get the reviews of the episodes out on the same day they come out. 

But slip up or not i’m happy to be back in the saddle, and back to Wartwood. I’m pumped for the heavier second half, with more secrets to uncover, some zelda style temple action, and some heavy drama with just a whiff of keith david, as well as to see the supporting cast from Wartwood again after far too long. So how’d the mid-season premire pair fair? Join me under the cut to find out. 

Night Drivers: I was really excited by the Road Trip idea when first announced for season 2. A chance to expand the world and get the plantars out of their comfort zone was an amazing concept and it did lead to some really great stories and interesting locales.. mixed with episodes that had interesting locations but no interesting plot or character stuff. It was a mixed bag, and disappointing after close to a year’s wait to continue the plot that it really didn’t outside of “Toadcatcher”. Anne never really dealt with her trauma and the show never dealt with hop pop’s poularity or anything else. Again there were GOOD episodes and ideas but it felt like the show stalled for a good chunk of the season till we got to Netwopia which while still having tons of slice of life stuff felt a lot fresher with it, and had a lot more fun playing with stock plots and gave us a fresh new setting to dig into. 

So I was a bit hesitant to go back to the road for an episode.. even if it was just one episode. Thankfully I was very wrong there as Night Drivers was a pretty good episode and would fit well among the best of the road trip arc like “Truck Stop Polly” “Fort in the Road” “Anne Hunter” “Toadcatcher” and “Wax Museum”.

The plot is straightforward: Sprig and Polly are excited that their almost home to wartwood and if Anne and Hop Pop drive all night they’ll be there by morning. Polly will get pillbug pancakes and Sprig will see Ivy again. This is part of a long tradtion of “skiping over the journey home because we’re tired and we wanna go home” in fiction. Jokes aside it’s a resonable device used to prevent ending fatigue and in this case to free up episodes for the second half. We already saw the journey once, we usually don’t need to see it again. To Amphibia’s credit they have valid reasons for it: The journey is LITERALLY sped up, as Hop Pop and Anne have been driving for 20 hours straight.. and their on a timer. As was established last time.. well the last time that wasn’t a spooky halloween episode, The Plantars have to get back for the harvest and really don’t have time to sightsee, while they all have to be there for whenever Marcy comes back to take Anne to the first temple. They’ve also traveled these roads before so while their going a whole other directoin, they know what perils to avoid. 

But as anyone whose taken a long cartrip can tell you, you can’t shotgun it forever and the two eventually tap out with Hop Pop telling Sprig and Polly not to night drive as it’s dangerous and blah blah blah standard parental warning that will be swiftly ignored. So once Hop Pop and Anne are conked out they swiftly ignore it after we get their dreams.. which are the best gags of the episode: Hop Pop has a dream with weird, really cool looking monsters that represent his faults, only for it to turn Lucid and him to start flying and take his shirt off and whip it around Muscle Man style. 

While Anne’s is about a yogurt world where there’s only one flavor... BLACK LICORICE. Yeah it quickly turns from Shopkins to the Lich From Adventure Time really fucking quick. 

So while Anne has a nightmare and Hop Pop becomes unto a god, Sprig and Polly drive all night, repreadtly running into a creepy hitchiker and realizing it is as dangerous as they said with bolders, even worse creatures than usual because of course theye’d be a lot of nasty things lurk in the dark why wouldn’t they on froggy death world, a nightmarish fog and nearly dying on said foggy road they took to evade the hitchiker. Naturally the scary hook handed hitchiker.. is a friendly one, simply trying to help them and saving them from going over a cliff. They do make it three miles from Wartwood and Hop Pop wakes up angry to find they disobeyed him.. but Anne gets him to back off as they clearly learned their lesson from the sleep deprviation and nearly dying, and our heroes head for home. 

Night Drivers isn’t an exceptional episode, but it is decent and still does belong with the other good road trip episodes, with some good dream sequences and a nice dynamic between Sprig and Polly. It was nice to have an episode with the two that was good unlike Quarallers Pass which made me want to run full speed into my nearest wall until I was given the sweet gift of unconciousness. While the Hook Handed man thing was a bit obvious it lead to some great gags. It’s a nice breather after the tearjerking mid-season finale and while we’ve obviously had months and a haloween episode between that, the creators rightfully realized a lot of people will be binging the series in the future. The issue I had with the first quarter of the season was it was ALL break and only a little plot progression. Here we’ve had a lot of plot progression in the last episode chronlogically, and are going to have a lot in the coming episodes with ‘After the Rain” coming next week. It’s nice to take a break and see the forest for the hook handed ghosts.

Return to Wartwood: I was excited and terrified of this one. I was excited because I missed the supporting cast from season one, mostly Ivy and Maddie, and was delighted to see them again in full. But I was also worried the show might pull out a melancholy breakup plot and having gotten attached to Ivy/Sprig and Hop Pop/Sylvia I was worried. And I was delightfully wrong as instead it’s another breather episode and an utterly fantastic one after the simply decent one above. 

Our heroes return, without being drawn by rob liefield or replaced by the Squadron Supreme first, and are happily greeted by the town. Aformentoined fears died a happy death as Sylvia squeezes Hop Pop and as for Sprig, Ivy unsuprisingly ambushes him. Everyone’s back and the Mayor, who I also badly missed is back using Toadie as a gong to get everyone back to buisness, with Swampy inviting them for a big dinner at his diner that night to celebrate and welcome them back.. and to give out their gifts. 

Sprig and Anne are equally confused while Polly and Hop Pop are sweating bullets. Turns out when they got the Fwagon they agreed to get a bunch of stuff for the town and forgot and now everyone’s on the hook for it and want to lie their butts off to solve it. In a nice show of character development, Anne has learned that the lying never solves anything “I think we’ve learned that lesson by now”. After SO many plots of the characters lying and it going terribly, it’s nice to have someone speak up. Sprig also wants to lie but only becuase he’s deeply afraid Ivy will break up with him as she wanted a Red Sun shell to go with the blue moon shell she gave him. Awwww. And oh crap. 

So our heroes head home to plan and kick Chuck out (“I grew tulips”). So they do the natural thing... and decide to summon an edltich beast from the necronomicon... which of course Maddie gave Sprig as a present (”Aww that’s nice”. Agreed Polly, agreed.). I also can’t help but love the line “We’re all cull with practicing the dark arts to solve our problem right?” So our heroes get the proper summoning horn, thing to go with the horn and some candles.. i’ts not part of the ritual but Anne says it helps with ambience and it’s right. 

So our heroes summon the Chikalisk, an edltich god that’s naturally basalisk in all but name, which dosen’t attack unless attacked and goes after gold. So they fake some golden presents, and the beast attacks at the party.. but the town naturally fights back, and our heroes are forced to help fight the monster as it stonifies people. So we get a truly glorious battle sequences as the whole town shows off how badass they are, with Maddie curing people, Sylvia showing she can keep up with Hop Pop and Ivy showing her already established badass bonafieds. It’s just awesome. Also the Mayor uses Toadie as a shield not realizing he’s turned to stone which can only remind me of this. 

Once the townsfolk are freed they get into Chickalisk formation (”We have a formation for that?” “We have a formation for everything!”) And it’s offended enough to just nope out. The townsfolk are depressed though the presents got destroyed and Anne glares the family into coming clean. And while the mayor seems mad at first... he just laughs with everyone taking it in stride: It was boring without them getting into trouble and learning lessons every week, and they missed them.  Ivy likewise dosen’t care about a gift she just missed her boyfriend.. and asks Sprig to take her on a proper date and smooches him on the cheek leaving both him and Anne catatonic, with Polly dragging Anne away and sprig just falling over before Maddie hits him with the potion. It dosen’t work that way, end episode. 

Return To Wartwood was a standout episode, with tons of great jokes, pacing and a nice plot that showed growth in anne. While Night Drivers was decent, this was the show at it’s : Sweet, deranged and adventurous all in one episode. While Night Drivers was a good appitizer this was one hell of an entree. Or an appetizer sampler which I often use as an entree. Great episode and a nice high note to start on. 

Next Time: We get an Ivy focused episode!

And Hop Pop is finally forced to own up to his lies!

As the twin kermits sooth you if you liked this review, follow me for more, check the amphibia tag for more reviews from this season and join me on patreon. If I get another patreon, i’ll add reviewing season 1 to my 25 dollar stretch goal so look out for that and my next one at 20 dollars, only 5 dollars away, nets a monthly review of a darkwing duck episode. Check it out and i’ll see you at the next rainbow. 

[mimiswitchywrites]

Not A Burden

Totally self indulgent Merlin Fic.

TW: SH references, attempted s****de and references, child/s***al a**se references (not graphic but enough that could be triggering)

"It was on yet another hunting trip that he found her, face pale and crimson pooling under each arm. Percival would later find a small knife under some moss next to her. Sweat covered her face and chest, leaving dark patches on her cotton dress. Her eyes were shut and breathing shallow."

or

A very angsty fic where the Knights find an injured girl in the forest and take her home to heal. Queer fluff with Gwen ensues.

2.5k words.

Masterlist or Read it on AO3

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

Chapter 1:

It was on yet another hunting trip that he found her, face pale and crimson pooling under each arm. Percival would later find a small knife under some moss next to her. Sweat covered her face and chest, leaving dark patches on her cotton dress. Her eyes were shut and breathing shallow.

Merlin set to work immediately: pulling fabric bandages from his satchel along with honey and other such ointments to stop the bleeding and prevent infection growing in her shredded forearms. The King and his knights could do nothing but watch, shock drawn on their faces. They had seen blood and death before, but so rarely had they seen someone that had attempted to take their own life.

It was Lancelot that discovered the reason for her considerable sweating and pale face. Wolfsbane. Merlin opened her mouth and found her tongue swollen, further confirming the theory. He leant her forward and, after warning the party to turn around, made her empty the contents of her stomach.

Finally content that he had done all he could, Merlin approached panic mode. He left Lancelot and Elayn with the girl (Percival had left to refill the waterskins and Gwaine had had a ghostly look in his eyes since the discovery and so was left alone) and began pacing.

“We need to get back to Gaius. I can’t look after her on my own.”

“I’m no physician but she doesn’t seem fit to ride, not yet.” His King replied, doing his best to assure him.

“But what if I’ve missed something? I hardly noticed she had been—she had poisoned herself, that was all Lancelot’s doing!”.

“Consider yourself lucky that there are so many of us to help you then.”

“But—”

“You have been training with Gaius for almost a half-decade now, I trust your skills totally. It’s okay Merlin, she will be okay no matter what happens.” Arthur carelessly tacked on the last part, hoping Merlin wouldn’t notice how dark it sounded. He had seen a few of his knights return from their first battle and end up in a similar state and knew too well that most were content with dying if no one could do anything to save them.

“Now, how about you get your mind off this and make us some dinner, eh?”

Merlin rolled his eyes, nudging past. As much as he refused to admit it, he was glad Arthur had given him a distraction, even if it were preparing a stew that he wouldn’t be allowed to eat until everyone else had been served first.

--

As night fell and the fire grew smaller, Gwaine’s mind ran a thousand leagues a minute. It had been years since he had last thought of what that girl had done – around the time he had met Merlin, actually – and yet, after seeing her in that state for only a few seconds, it was all he could think about. All he could see as he closed his eyes. He longed to help her as he needed help all those years ago, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t talk (the others had made comments about how marvellous that was and he wonders, if only for a moment, if they would say the same had they known what was going on in his head.) He could barely breath, only able to let out fast, short breaths. He felt helpless.

As a Knight of the Round Table, Sir Gwaine did not like feeling ‘helpless’. He was strongly opposed to it, in fact.

It was only after Arthur awoke to take next watch that his brain began to slow (or had it sped up so fast that it felt like it had stopped?) and he began to feel tired. After some prompting by Princess, he lay on his roll mat and let sleep take over.

--

As the morning fog lifted, Merlin checked over his work once again. He removed her bandages, careful not to let it pull on her skin, and cleaned the last of the blood off. He envied Gaius’ ability to treat a patient without being upset for them – working with tears in his eyes was making the task far more difficult than it should have.

After wrapping her up once again, he declared them free to take her back to Camelot. He state hadn’t worsened overnight which was reassuring, but she hadn’t much improved either, so he thought it best for his mentor to give her a look over too. He had only dealt with poisoning a few times (and at least one of those times he had been the one poisoned) and so was not as confident in his abilities as his friends seemed to be. It was nice that they had faith in him, but he worried it was misplaced this time.

With Percy’s help, they manoeuvred the girl onto Lancelot’s horse. He had volunteered to take her so Merlin could attend to Arthur, who Lancelot had noticed was missing the young man. He had watched their relationship grow for a few years now and, despite not knowing really knowing what was going on between them, he was glad his friend had someone to be with.

Upon Arthurs command, the troop began moving. Gwaine rode at the back and Arthur and Merlin took the lead. Percival and Elyan rode next to each other, leaving Lancelot to his thoughts of the girl leaning against his chest. She was a young woman really, looking to have maybe 23 summers, but she looked so youthful that he couldn’t be sure. Her hair was braided with red fabric woven in and a few strands framed her face. She had striking black eyebrows and he was curious of her eye colour. He hoped that she would open her eyes again – the idea of someone so young trying to take their own life left him feeling cold.

He, like the rest of them, he was sure, had occasionally thought of doing as she had. Maybe not thoughts they would take forward, but ideations none the less. They had seen such horrible things throughout their travels, things that kept them up at night, things that made them want to stop thinking forever. It often led to a week at The Rising Sun, but sometimes that didn’t work.

He shivered, trying to banish those thoughts.

A part of him wondered what led her to sitting at the bottom of that tree. What could drive a young woman to consume Wolfsbane and mark her skin in such a way. He had noticed scars on her arms as Merlin wrapped her: either she had been in many, many fights before, or she had done something like this before. He wasn’t sure which option was worse.

--

Elyan and Percival were concerned. They tended to worry most days, caught up in making sure everyone was okay, but this hunting trip had not been a normal one. It had begun as usual: Merlin sneezing, coughing and stumbling each time anyone went to take a shot at some poor animal, and Arthur having a go at him for it (though everyone knew he wasn’t really angry), and then, after Gwaine finally got a lucky hit on a doe, Merlin found the woman. The light mood soured immediately, doe left on the muddy floor. Everyone went into Knight-Mode, as Elyan liked to think of it. Knight-Mode was when all casual personality faded, and they became formal protectors. Swords were usually drawn but there was no need this time – the woman didn’t look like she would be going for her blade anytime soon. Regardless, Percival kept the blade in his possession just in case.

And now, as they rode slowly towards Camelot, the pair were worrying about the silence. They loved Gwaine – he was great, really – but he had amassed a reputation of not shutting the hell up, particularly on long rides. And yet now, on a trip that would likely take two days, he was silent. Now that he thinks about it, Elyan doesn’t recall Gwaine saying more than a sentence since they had stumbled upon the woman.

On the one hand, it was refreshing being able to listen to the birds and the creek of the trees. On the other, it concerned him. Percival wasn’t much better, turning his head back every few feet to see if there was any change on Gwaine’s blank face. It looked like a part of him was missing, the light behind his eyes seemed to have disappeared. Hopefully, Percival thought briefly, he would be back to his usual blabbering self once they had returned home. Maybe some mead would do the trick. Although he would never say it aloud, the gentle giant quite enjoyed his small friends’ stories. He found they made long trips feel a lot shorter – especially when they were returning from a grave event such as this one.

“Do you have a drink we could give him?” Percival whispered to Elyan, hoping to at least cheer Gwaine up a little before they got back.

“I have water, but I fear that won’t suffice.”

“No, something much stronger seems needed. You don’t know what’s wrong, do you?

The smaller man shook his head, looking grim. The subject of their concern didn’t seem to notice their concerned glances despite their distinct lack of subtlety.

No closer to finding a solution, the pair looked ahead, and continued riding.

--

Arthur had been riding horses since he was 3. He was good at it, great, even, but right now, all he could think about was how much his arse hurt. Turning to his left, he could tell Merlin was on the same train of thought (about his own arse, Arthur doubted his friend thought about his Kings arse unless it was about the trousers that they agreed never to talk about again). After mulling it over for longer than was needed, he raised his hand to warn the others they would be resting for a while. He knew there was a good stream nearby and intended to lead them there first.

‘Intended’ because, before he could lean his horse towards where he was reasonably sure the stream was, Lancelot called out for Merlin. It seemed their guest was waking up.

Merlin quickly hopped off his saddle, barely keeping his legs from buckling after being sat still for so long, and made his way to Lancelot and Percival, the latter of which had also dismounted. They carefully lifted the girl from Lancelot’s horse and sat her against a tree (It looked far too much like the way they found her for Arthurs liking).

Merlin took a waterskin from the nearest horse and gently poured some down her throat. This clearly woke her up more as she began coughing and spluttering, pushing Merlin’s hand away in the process. When her wheezing calmed down, she looked around in surprise.

“Wh—” another scratchy cough, “Where am I? My throat, it’s burn—” more painful coughs. Arthur almost looked away, somehow feeling guilty that she was in such pain.

“You are on your way to Camelot. My name is Merlin, I’m the Royal Physicians apprentice. This,” he gestures to Arthur who decides he should look more Kingly and not cower and the pained sounds she is making “is King Arthur Pendragon and the others are Knights of the Round Table.”

“Oh.”

Merlin rummages in his bag, pulling the phial of honey out again. He pours a little onto a wooden spoon he had in his coat pocket, and hands it to the girl. How Merlin remembers where he keeps all these small objects is beyond Arthur, but he is glad he does.

“Here, drink this. It should soothe your throat a little. It’s just honey but it will do until we get back to Camelot.”

She eyes it, sceptical, but drinks it regardless.

“I am sorry for the burning. I had to make you, you know, get rid of the wolfsbane you ingested.” She grimaced at the thought.

Arthur waited for a short while until he was certain Merlin was done tending to their guest. “There is a stream around the corner. We should stop there to have lunch before we set off again. I am sure we would all appreciate the chance to stretch our legs.”

The knights all grunt in response before they set off again. Merlin and the girl walk side by side – the girl leaning on him a little – while Lancelot takes the reins of Merlin’s horse along with his own. It doesn’t take them long to reach the stream Arthur had mentioned and the relief that they could stop properly was evident on everyone’s faces. Except Gwaine, he hardly seemed to register they have even moved. Arthur furrowed his brows at this but choose to ignore it for now.

The knights sat on a large log, Merlin and Arthur sitting opposite them, as they ate the bread and salted meat that the manservant retrieved upon reaching the stream. The girl sat beside Lancelot looking dazed. The kind knight offers her small smiles and sips of water occasionally but it doesn’t make much difference.

“I’m going to get more water.” Declared Gwaine, picking up his full waterskin, which looks like it hasn’t been touched since yesterday. He left with a nod to his King, not giving anyone time to object. Merlin shot his back a concerned look but stayed, his patient having his focus. No one else made a move to leave, too into eating or watching the girl as she nibbles on her bread and sips of Lancelot’s drink.

--

Gwaine was not a crier. He was not going to cry. He was a Knight of the Round Table, protector to the King of Camelot and, if Merlin’s drunk ramblings had any truth to them, protector to the Once and Future King of the united Albion, whatever that meant.

And yet, as he stumbled to away from the camp, aware that no one was coming after him, he felt a lump in his throat that he couldn’t shove down. He finally didn’t feel numb, but he wasn’t sure this was better. Thinking of how his friends would react to him coming back with red eyes didn’t help the situation, instead making his eyes glossy. He sighed a long sigh, and heavily slid down an oak tree, hugging his arms against his chest and leaning his head on his knees.

A part of his wanted to pull his sleeves back and trace the white stripes that lines his arms. Another part wanted to make them red again. But a more rational part (likely influenced by Merlin, curse that beautiful boy) made sure he kept them where they were, wrapped around his torso. He could feel where each line lay, his mind playing tricks on him as he pictured his little blade drawing against his skin.

Sometimes, often, Gwaine hated his brain. It wasn’t a very nice to him. Though, he thought, he wasn’t very nice to his body so maybe this was fair.

He took a sip of his water, making a face as he regretted not bringing the skin of mead that he had thought about before they set off a few dawns ago. Mead would be very nice right now.

Pouring some water on his hands and splashing his face with it, he stood up, shook his head as if to dislodge the thoughts, and made his way back to the temporary camp. A few paces from his previous seat, he realised that he hadn’t actually filled his waterskin, but it was too late and so all he could do was hope no one noticed.

They had, but they didn’t comment so he considered that a win.

Arthur hopped up again as he noticed Gwaine return (he tried not to stare at the clearly-not-refilled waterskin) and gestured for everyone else to rise too. Time to set off. If they continued at the speed they were at before, they should get back before luncheon the next day and he could have a nice long bath, the girl could be treated fully, Gwaine would go to the Tavern and would return just as talkative as before (though he wouldn’t object if he talked just a little less, the King thought) and everything would be okay.

Just one more night in the woods.

-

-

-

-

I hope you liked this! I have a few chapters already written and am expecting it to be about 6 chapters long? It was meant to be a one shot but I got carried away...

If you happen to want to be on a tag list for this then comment/message me!

This is the first fic I've properly written and it's based on a dream I've been having over the last few days. It's not really planned so I hope that doesn't show.

[thatfanficstuff]

Fair Trade - The Walking Dead

Pairing: Rick x Ex-Reader 

Warnings: Canon typical stuff and worse language than normal cuz Negan

A/N: this was supposed to be a Rick x reader. It turned into you being a badass and Negan flirting. Enjoy!

***

You were on watch but instead of guarding the outside of the walls, your gaze trailed Rick and Michonne as they walked down the street. They were all smiles and hand-holding and God it still hurt. There was a time that was you. When it was you tucking Judith in at night and trying to convince Carl he could be a kid on occasion without the world falling apart.

Then you’d gotten separated shortly after Terminus. The irony of living through all that other shit together and losing one another after the worst of it. Rick assumed you were dead. Rightfully so you guessed, but you’d never quit looking for him. As it turned out, it wasn’t him you found. It was Daryl.

He’d been on a run and you were just trying to survive. You’d never been so happy to have a crossbow pointed at your face. There was a small piece of you that always wondered if they’d known you were alive and just left you but his reaction assured you that wasn’t the case. Daryl had immediately lowered his weapon and wrapped an arm around you to pull you to him. He was near tears as he kissed your head. “We thought you were dead. That the walkers got you.”

You pulled away from him with a smile. “I’m not that easy to kill, Daryl.”

He huffed a laugh. “Thank fuck for that.”

“How is everyone?” You might have said everyone but you really meant Rick and Daryl knew it.

“Rick’s just fine, Y/N. He’s going to be thrilled to see you. We got us a place now. A good place. Come home with me?” He sounded uncertain as if you’d maybe found another life without them.

You grinned. “Yes, please.” You’d been on your own since you’d lost them. Your heart too tender to find another group only to lose them too. And you’d never lost hope you’d find your family again.

Daryl chewed on his thumb and kept glancing at you while he drove. He was nervous but you had no idea why.

“All right. What’s up with you?” you finally asked.

“Nothing. Just…” He sighed. “Look, it’s just been awhile okay? I mean, we all thought you were dead so you can’t get mad if things aren’t the way they were.”

You swallowed past the sudden lump in your throat. “He’s with someone else.” It was a fear you had with everyday that passed but tried not to think about too much. You’d promised each other forever so he’d choose you, right?

Daryl glanced at you again and cringed. “Don’t look like that, Y/N. He grieved. We all did, but him the longest. It was relief when he moved on instead of fading away like we all feared.”

You turned your attention to the window as hot tears ran down your cheeks. “Of course, it was, Daryl. It’s fine. No worries. It will be nice to be home even if it’s not like I remember it.”

And it was. Even if it did break your heart to see Rick and Michonne together. It was a little cliché if you did say so yourself. Your boyfriend and your best friend seeking comfort in one another. To be fair, they’d offered to split up but you’d turned them down. They weren’t offering because Rick was so madly in love with you he wanted you back. No, it was just guilt, plain and simple. You gave them your blessing and moved in with Daryl. And if you cried so hard that first night that he’d heard you and crawled into bed with you to hold you while you wept, well the two of you kept that to yourselves.

You tore your eyes from the happy couple and turned your attention back to the road. Daryl was gone now and you were more alone than ever. He’d been taken by that asshole Negan. Thus far you’d avoided meeting the leader of the Saviors. You spent a lot of time on runs or hunting and always managed to be gone when he came for his supplies. As movement in the distance caught your eye, you got the feeling your luck might have just run out.

“Rick,” you called, knowing he was still close enough to hear. Less than a minute later, he was by your side. You handed him your binoculars and stepped back.

“Shit. He’s early.” He lowered the glasses and the muscle in his jaw twitched. His gaze flicked to you. “Did you get the supplies we needed?”

You nodded once. “I put the extra in your basement. We keep stashing the way we have been, we’ll have a pretty good back up.”

He put a hand on your shoulder and squeezed. “Good.” And then he was gone.

You shifted your rifle from your shoulder to your hands. You weren’t going to shoot anyone, but it made you feel better, kind of like a high caliber security blanket. The gates were open by the time Negan and his men arrived. There was no reason to piss him off any more than necessary. Once they were inside, the gates were secured behind them. Your gaze darted between the area outside the wall and the meeting going on between Negan and Rick.

You ran your tongue along your teeth as you took in the man that had everyone so scared. A couple of the women had mentioned his looks but damn. You wondered how many times he’d used that panty melting smile you caught a glimpse of to get exactly what he wanted. A low moan caught your attention and your head snapped back to the outside. Grabbing the binoculars, you scanned the tree line. A fucking horde. Just what you needed when the devil himself was inside your walls. They were still far enough away that they could turn. You tried to do a quick count but there were simply too many.

“Shit, shit, shit.”  You hopped off the wall and ran straight for Daryl’s bike. Negan hollered as you ran by and you were aware of several weapons pointed in your direction. You slid to a stop to give him a quick once over. “You can yell at me and ask me whatever you want in a bit. Right now, I have a horde to distract.”

When he continued to study you with those dark eyes and the weapons stayed trained on you, you shifted your weight. “Make up your mind, cowboy. Either I go now or we fight a horde at the gate.”

“Simon.” That was all Negan said, but it was enough to send another man scrambling up the wall.

“She’s telling the truth,” he called down a moment later.

Negan licked his lips. “And you think you can stop them?”

“I know I can.”

He held your gaze a moment more before nodding once. “You can go. If you run, someone dies.”

You rolled your eyes as you ran to the bike. Your rifle was settled across your back and you grabbed an airhorn from the saddle bag. You fired up the bike and headed for the gate knowing it would be open by the time you got there. At least it better be or this was going to be a short trip.

Sure enough, there was a gap just wide enough for you to ride through. You stopped a short distance from the horde and swallowed as you looked them over again. Damn, there was a lot of them. You could only hope enough followed you to make this worth it. Sucking in a deep breath, you blasted the air horn. As the horde immediately shifted in your direction you smiled. “Here we go.”

You took off on the bike trying your best to maintain that happy medium of close enough they kept following and far enough ahead they wouldn’t actually catch you. Occasionally you’d blow the horn to make sure you kept their attention. You knew roughly the direction they needed to go to keep from going straight to another community so you steered them that way. Everything was going according to plan and you were just about ready to ditch the horde when it all went to shit. To be fair you should have been expecting it. Your life tended to do that at the most inopportune moments.

Your attention was on the horde behind you when you were hit from the side. You dumped the bike. Skin and blood colored the grass as you slid along pinned under the bike. Shoving the metal off, you pushed yourself to your feet and pulled out your knife. The walker that had taken you out lumbered in your direction. From the looks of a half-severed limb, the crash hadn’t left it unscathed either. You stepped back and nearly howled as pain flared up your leg. Shit. You couldn’t outrun them and you certainly couldn’t kill them all. You needed to find another alternative.

The only thing around other than you and the dead was trees. Looked like you were climbing. It took more effort than it normally would have but you finally made it into the tree. You did your best to assess the damage from the crash but it wasn’t easily done in your current position. Near as you could figure nothing was broken but you were torn up and hurting.

Once the majority of the horde passed, you climbed down, grunting when you put weight on your leg. You used your knife to take out a couple of stragglers that got between you and the bike. To your relief the engine turned on the first try. You turned around to head back to Alexandria. The ride wasn’t doing shit for your pain level but you needed to get back and the sooner the better. The gate slid open as you approached and you pulled in and parked.

A short distance away, Negan had five members of your group on their knees in front of him. He turned to watch you dismount. “Well, look who came back.”

“You’re an impatient fuck, aren’t you?” you asked with a gesture at your friends.

His lips twitched and he motioned for everyone to stand. He sauntered over to you, baseball bat on his shoulder. “You have one colossal sized set of balls for a woman. How is it you and I have never met?”

“Not around much. I’m usually hunting or doing supply runs.”

He nodded and ran his tongue over his bottom lips as he looked you over again. His smile fell away as he noticed the injuries you’d tried to keep turned from him. Never let your enemy see your weakness and all that. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Dumped the bike. It’s fine.”

“It’s not the bike I asked about, sweetheart. Anything broken?” He just continued to close the distance between you as he talked.

“Why do you care?” There was no venom in your words, you were just genuinely curious.

“Well, you’re not much use to me if you’re damaged goods, are you?” And there was that grin again. As if your knees weren’t already weak enough.

“What do you mean she’s of use to you?” Rick finally spoke up. It was the first thing anyone other than Negan had said since your return.

“Well, Rick the dick, I intend to take her with me when we leave. You got a problem with that?”

“Yeah, I got a problem with that. You can’t just take one of our people. That wasn’t part of our deal.”

The change in Negan’s demeanor was immediate and severe and he turned to Rick with a growl. “Our deal is whatever the fuck I say it is.”

“All right, boys. You’re both pretty.”

Negan turned to face you, his brow arched. He was not amused at having been interrupted. You held up your hands in a placating gesture. “I’m the best shot they have and do a good portion of their runs. Rick’s just worried about what will happen when I leave. That’s all.”

He ran his tongue over his lip again as if he knew precisely how it made your belly flutter. He kept his gaze on you as he talked to Rick. “That true, Ricky. Are you worried about losing…Well, fuck, sweetheart, I don’t even know your name.”

“Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Are you worried about losing Y/N here in particular?”

Rick cleared his throat. “Yeah. None of us want to see Y/N go anywhere.”

You couldn’t help but hope there was a deeper meaning hidden in Rick’s words. Of course, you’d been completely serious when you said you were the best shot in the ranks. It was just as likely he was lamenting the loss of your aim.

“Alright then, I’ll give her a choice. She can stay or she can come with me. No consequences. So what’ll it be, sweetheart?” Negan’s grin was cocky but there was a genuine curiosity burning in his eyes. He wanted to see what you’d do.

“Then she stays,” Rick answered.

“It’s her choice, not yours. Try to interfere again and you and Lucille will be having a little chat.” Again, Negan didn’t even turn to look at the man he was addressing. Apparently, he found you entirely too interesting to turn his attention elsewhere.

You tilted your head as you looked him over. You weren’t fooling yourself here. You knew this man was brutal, ruthless and cruel. You also knew that he took care of those that were loyal to him and he didn’t tolerate mistreatment of women by his men. Maybe you could get Daryl out if you went. Maybe you couldn’t. Either way you wouldn’t have to smile as your heart broke over and over again every single day.

“Three months.”

“Excuse me?” Negan asked, clearly confused.

“I go with you, you give them three months before you come back. Give them time to get back on their feet without me.”

He laughed. “You can’t be that fucking important, sweetheart.”

“Daryl and I were a team. We kept this shit locked down. You’ve got him too so it seems only fair.”

“Whoever said I was fair?”

You took a limping step toward him and his attention shifted to your leg with a frown. “I go with you of my own free will. You get a Marine with the best aim within a hundred miles. I get some pain meds and they get three months to build up a supply before you take half of it.”

His gaze narrowed. “One month.”

“Two,” you countered and hoped like fuck he’d take it. You wanted to get off your damn feet and you didn’t rightly care if it was here or in a truck on the way to Negan’s community.

He grinned again. “Your girl here just bought you two months, folks. You better make good use of it.”

You nodded. “I got some shit to get together.”

“You don’t look like you’re in any shape to be doing much of anything.” He turned and glanced around until his gaze fell on Carol. “Get her stuff together and bring it out.”

Your friend looked at you and went to do as instructed after a nod from you.

Negan’s attention shifted to Rick. “You. Get her some pain medication.” He glanced at you. “Need anything else?”

“Alcohol and bandages would probably be a good idea.”

“You heard the lady,” Negan said and Rick frowned.

“She ain’t part of our group anymore, she ain’t using our supplies,” he grumbled.

God, what was he, two years old? “Oh, fuck you, Rick. Daryl and I got most of those supplies in there. I’ll use whatever the fuck I want.” You hobbled past all of them in the direction of the clinic.

“Easy there,” Negan said and placed a hand on your arm. “You’re going to hurt yourself worse stomping around like that.” He swept you up in his arms before you even realized he was doing it. His long strides at up the ground and you were at the clinic in no time. He sat you down at the door and you dug the keys out of your pocket to unlock the door.

You flipped on the light and moved straight to the cabinets that held the supplies you needed. “Thanks for the help.”

He made a sound of acknowledgment but didn’t say anything as you sat everything you needed on the counter. You gestured to the tall cabinet beside him. “There’s a change of clothes in there. Will you grab them for me?”

He handed over the sweats and t-shirt. They were kind of universal clothes. Whoever needed them used them, but they were yours now. “Let me help.”

You looked at him in surprise then shrugged. It would be a hell of a lot easier if you didn’t have to do it yourself. You sat in a chair to take off your boots. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You can ask whatever you want. Whether I answer or not is another matter.”

That answer didn’t surprise you in the least. “Why the interest? I’m nothing special.”

When you had difficulty getting your jeans off without pain, he helped. You expected a smart remark or a quick feel but he stayed completely professional. Once you were up on the table, he wet down a wash cloth and came back. “Eyes closed.”

You studied him a second longer before doing as he said. Immediately he began to wipe the dirt from your face. You tensed when he found a cut or scrape but he was surprisingly gentle.

“I’ll admit to being intrigued when you hopped off that wall. And I damn near came in my pants when you blew out the gate to face down the horde. Anyone that says you aren’t special is a damn fool, sweetheart.” He moved his attentions from your face to your leg and you opened your eyes. “I watched them when you came back. Watched their reactions. They don’t deserve you. Don’t appreciate you the way they should.”

“And you’re going to give me that appreciation I deserve?” you asked as he finished bandaging your leg.

His fingers traced a path from your ankle to your thigh and you shivered. “Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea.”

[nicolewrites]

your lot is with the ghosts of soldiers dead

More. Sylvain. Feels. This got more Sylvgrid that I intended, but hey, I just really love Sylvain and Ingrid. Do I have homework? Absolutely. Did I do this anyway? Absolutely.

The title is from Siegfried Sassoon's "To My Brother", for anyone who's curious.

Rating: T Genre: Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Angst Characters: [Sylvain Jose Gautier & Ingrid Brandl Galatea], Miklan, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd Words: 3,771

The night after Miklan dies, no one can find Sylvain.

AO3 | FFN

1177

His father had sent him away on the day that Miklan had been disowned. Of course, Sylvain hadn’t known this at the time. He had been 17 and happy to escort his mother into town without a second thought. His father had said nothing of the situation when he had returned home and Sylvain hadn’t given it a second thought until that night when he woke to a weight pinning him down on his bed and the sharp prick of a knife against his throat.

Miklan had been more than angry as he snarled at Sylvain. He had called him a thief of everything he was owed and a snake that stole his place. Sylvain, running entirely on adrenaline, had bashed the decorative stone on his bedside temple against his brother’s temple and shoved him off. The brothers had struggled on the floor for the knife until Sylvain finally got a good enough grip to force it down against his brother’s face for all the years of torment he had withstood.

Guards had arrived then, apparently having expected such actions from the disinherited Gautier son. They hauled Miklan out as he spat and cursed through the blood oozing from the wound on his face. Sylvain had been left alone in his room with the knife and his hands covered in his brother’s blood.

He scrubbed his hands for an hour to try to wash the blood out as Miklan’s voice howled in his ears.

Count Galatea came to visit three days later with his daughter. Sylvain entertained Ingrid with a wide smile and hands stained with blood that only he could see.

- ~ -

1180

Ingrid is almost ready to turn in for the night when there’s a knock on her door. She blinks wearily and rubs her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Coming!” she calls out and then flinches reflexively for Marianne’s sake right next door.

She pulls open the door and sees Dimitri and Felix standing in front of her. Dimitri looks concerned and Felix looks more peeved than anything else. Ingrid frowns, but pulls her door open further so her friends can enter her room.

“What is it?” she asks them, once Dimitri stalks past her and Felix huffs follows him in more calmly.

“Sylvain hasn’t been back to his room since we got back,” Dimitri says.

Felix scoffs and shuffles his weight. “He’ll be in town, picking up some girl again.”

“Felix,” Ingrid scolds sharply. “He killed his brother today. The least you can do is have some compassion.”

Felix narrows his eyes at her. “He hated Miklan. We all know that.”

Dimitri shakes his head. “That doesn’t make what he had to do any easier.”

Felix folds his arms, but he doesn’t argue further. Ingrid picks up on the slightest hint of pain in the Fraldarius heir’s expression, but she doesn’t push it. She’s been thinking of Glenn all day too.

“Where would he go?” Ingrid questions the boys.

Dimitri shakes his head, clueless. Felix considers for a moment longer, before offering up their first real idea.

“We had thought here, but since that’s not true maybe he went to find the Professor.”

Dimitri hums in consideration. “Maybe,” he agrees. “I can go check if you two would like to check anywhere else.”

“No,” Felix mutters. “I’m going to bed. Sylvain will find himself in the morning.”

He stalks out of Ingrid’s room without any room for argument leaving Ingrid with the prince. Dimitri sighs slowly and turns to face her. Ingrid gives him a sympathetic smile.

“We’ll find him, Your Highness. If you go check with the professor, I can ask around up here and we can reconvene downstairs if neither of us finds anything,” she suggests.

Dimitri nods, looking more relaxed already. “Thank you, Ingrid. I appreciate this.”

“I’m worried about him too,” she reminds.

Ingrid grabs her jacket from the back of her chair and extinguishes the lamp on her desk. She nods to Dimitri and they head their separate ways as he makes for the stairs to the first floor. Ingrid turns and knocks tentatively against Marianne’s door. There’s brief shuffling noise before Marianne cracks the door open curiously.

“Hello Ingrid,” she greets softly.

Ingrid smiles gently. “You haven’t seen Sylvain, have you?”

Marianne’s brown eyes widen curiously. “No, I haven’t,” she says quietly.

Ingrid nods. “I figured. Thank you anyways.” She turns to walk away when Marianne’s slender hand reaches out and catches her wrist. Ingrid turns back and sees the shy girl watching her with a worried expression.

“Is he alright? I heard what happened today,” she mumbles.

Ingrid presses her lips together. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” she admits.

Marianne nods and retracts her hand. “I hope you find him.”

“Me too,” Ingrid agrees.

She quickly climbs the stairs and knocks on Hilda’s door next. Hilda swings open her door quickly and steps out into the hallway, shutting it behind her. Ingrid blinks in surprise at the quick action as well as Hilda’s state of undress. The Goneril noble has three buttons on her blouse undone and her skirt is pulled entirely too high and there’s a high flush along her fair cheekbones. Out of reflex, Ingrid feels herself redden as Hilda crosses her arms over her almost open shirt.

“I haven’t seen Sylvain, if that’s what you’re going to ask,” Hilda says.

Ingrid nods. “Ah, well thanks anyway.”

Hilda tips her head and studies Ingrid for a moment. “You didn’t hear this from me, but someone saw Sylvain walking toward the stables a few hours ago.” She doesn’t give Ingrid much chance to process before she opens her door and disappears back into her room.

“The stables?” Ingrid wonders aloud after Hilda’s gone. Sure, Sylvain liked horses well enough, but it doesn’t exactly seem like the type of place he would retreat to when he is upset. Even so, it’s better than knocking on every door on the 2nd floor and bothering everyone.

She hurries back towards the staircase and makes her way back to the first floor. In the evening gloom, she can see a few monks and knights roaming about, but it’s almost curfew so she doesn’t see any of her fellow students. Ingrid wants to get to the stable as fast as possible, but she also wants to tell Dimitri where she’s going, so she finds a sort of compromise as she knocks on Mercedes’s door.

“Hello, Ingrid,” the older girl greets kindly as she opens the door. “What can I help with?”

“His Highness went to go see the professor to ask about Sylvain. I think I know where he is, but I was hoping you would be able to go tell His Highness that while I go ahead to the stables,” Ingrid explains quickly. She feels oddly jittery as she rocks onto her toes while she’s talking.

Mercedes nods sagely. “Of course! You go on, I’ll go find Dimitri.”

Ingrid nods and turns and breaks for the stable. She cuts across the fishing hole area and around toward the front of the monastery. Just as she’s rounding the corner towards the main gate, she sees Alois speaking with the Gatekeeper and she grimaces. She keeps her head down and tries to stride past them, but Alois calls out to her.

“Hey! Ingrid, it is almost curfew. Where are you off to?”

She doesn’t particularly want to explain that Sylvain is missing because that would only start a monastery-wide panic. “Just forgot something at the stable,” she lies instead. “I’ll head right back to my dorm after.”

Alois buys the lie and he waves her on. Ingrid exhales in relief as she rounds the outside of the monastery towards the stables. When she arrives, two of the lanterns are still lit, but there don’t seem to be any people around. Ingrid frowns as she turns to look around to see if there’s anything she might have missed.

Sylvain’s horse is in its stall and the mare whinnies when he sees her. Ingrid walks over and gently brushes her hand along the horse’s face. “You’re here, but where’s your rider?” she wonders aloud.

She glances over her shoulder and pauses when she sees that one of the wyvern hutches is open and the wyvern that’s normally there is missing. She pulls away from the horse and runs over to inspect the hutch. Sure enough, it’s the hutch of the wyvern that Sylvain has been practicing on lately.

“Sylvain, you idiot,” she mutters.

Quickly Ingrid walks over to the pegasus stables and finds her own mount. He noses against her hand when she extends it and seems fully willing to go for a late-night flight despite the strenuous activities from earlier in the day. She manages to get saddled quickly and swings herself up onto her mount.

As she takes to the sky above the monastery, she shivers against the wind. She’s no longer dressed to withstand the heights anymore so she hunches against the warm neck of her pegasus. She flies blindly towards the north end of the monastery and keeps her eyes peeled for any signs of Sylvain in the sky.

She circles the cathedral’s highest point and is about the head back empty-handed when the setting sun catches a glint of red on the roof of the cathedral. She pulls her mount to a halt in the air as she stares. It certainly appears to be Sylvain lying on his back on the tiled roof of the cathedral.

Ingrid swoops down toward him, anger building in her throat as she gets closer. She hops off her pegasus and lands jarringly on the roof. She shakes off the pain in her knees and waves her pegasus off. He’ll come when she whistles for him and there’s no good place for him to be on top of a roof.

“Sylvain!” she calls out, her anger bubbling in her tone.

From his position lying on the roof, he lifts his head until they make eye contact. His expression deadpans and he drops his head back to the roof without replying. If she hadn’t been mad before, she certainly is now.

“Of all the stupid places to run off to, why would you choose the Cathedral roof!” she yells at him. She picks her way along the tiles towards him and only slips once, but she’s never in any real danger of falling. Sylvain doesn’t reply, even when she reaches his side and is standing directly above him, looking down at him. “How did you even get up here anyway?”

Sylvain lifts an arm and waves lazily towards the spire of the cathedral and Ingrid spots the snoozing form of his wyvern. She folds her arms and narrows her eyes.

“If you’re here for a lecture, I really don’t want to hear it,” Sylvain says dryly.

Ingrid feels a bit affronted that he thinks she’s only here to lecture him. Sure, she had intended on giving him a bit of a lashing for scaring his friends, but she had also been worried about him. She shifts her weight along the slanted tiles and considers her words carefully.

“We were worried when you didn’t go back to your room,” she says.

Sylvain sits half-up abruptly. “We?” he scans the roof behind her, but when he doesn’t see anyone else, the tension drains from him and he lies back down. “Right. Heights.” He drops his head back to the roof with an audible thunk that makes Ingrid wince instinctively.

She studies him briefly and sees that he’s definitely still wearing the armour he wore on the mission, but the gash on his cheekbone has already healed to a faint pink line. It means he had at least had the sense to get aid from a white magic-user before coming up here.

“Sylvain,” she starts and he lifts a hand, waving her off.

“You found me. Can’t you leave me be now?”

Ingrid adjusts her weight carefully as she lowers herself to the roof so she’s sitting next to him. “If you could see yourself you’d understand why I can’t.”

Sylvain huffs. “What’s a guy got to do to brood in peace?”

The question is rhetorical, but guilt wells up in Ingrid’s throat. “Maybe not run off after a very stressful day,” she suggests mildly.

Sylvain falls silent and stares up at the darkening sky. At first, Ingrid thinks that he’s really not going to say anything else to her, but she watches him swallow harshly and the Adam’s apple of his throat bobs with the motion.

“There’s a word for it, you know,” he says suddenly.

Ingrid tucks her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around them, suddenly feeling very sad and a bit out of her depth.

“Fratricide,” Sylvain mutters darkly, like he’s testing the word in his mouth. “The glorious act of killing one’s own brother.”

“Sylvain,” she argues gently. Hearing him say it with the bitterness sharp in her tone makes her all the more guilty.

He had put himself right on the front line in the fight. He had strived to get strikes in against Miklan. He had been reckless. Felix, Dimitri, and Ingrid had all seen it, even if their professor didn’t. The three of them had tried to push him away to save him the pain that the situation was causing; however, the Black Beast had gotten a lucky strike and had winded Ingrid’s pegasus, throwing her to the ground before it.

She had clutched her lance with a stifling fear and prepared for the heavy blow that would follow, but Sylvain cut in front of her on his horse, driving his lance through a weakness in the beast’s armour, protecting her and landing the last blow necessary to stave off the beast that Miklan had become.

“I always knew he was a monster, but that was pretty literal,” Sylvain continues bitterly. “Of course, I can’t exactly talk about this stuff with Felix or Dimitri and even with you, it feels wrong. All your brothers are still alive after all.”

Ingrid presses her lips together as sympathy pinches her expression. “Felix has lost his brother too. Maybe he would be more sympathetic than you think.”

Sylvain laughs sharply. “Yeah, that’s not the same at all. We all loved Glenn, Ingrid, and the goddess knows we all hated Miklan.” Sylvain’s eyes shut. “I used to love when Glenn and Felix came to visit because Glenn took none of Miklan’s shit.”

It had been true. Miklan was a few years older than Glenn and Sylvain was just a year and a bit younger than the older Fraldarius brother. Glenn was notoriously prickly to anyone who picked on his friends and seemed to make it his personal mission to ensure that Miklan knew he crossed a line when he targeted Sylvain.

Ingrid recalls, in particular, the one time that Margrave Gautier had sent knights to scour the eastern Faerghus lands when Sylvain had gone missing. Glenn had been instructed to watch over Ingrid and Felix while the knights of Galatea and Fraldarius were dispatched to aid in the search, but as it ended up, Glenn had dragged his brother and fiancé north to Gautier where they had found Sylvain half-dead in a well after only a few hours of searching. Ingrid recalls the hour it took to rescue him from the well as one of the most terrifying things she had ever experienced.

“No one will be upset that you’re upset about this,” Ingrid assures Sylvain.

Sylvain lolls his head towards her and frowns. “That’s the problem, isn’t it? I should feel bad, but I don’t. I’ve never felt more relieved in my entire life than in that moment when he stopped moving. It was so vindicating.”

Ingrid’s chest tightens. Tentatively, she reaches for one of Sylvain’s hands. He lets her take it and lace their fingers together.

“He tried to kill me the night after he had been disowned,” Sylvain confesses quietly.

Ingrid stiffens in surprise and Sylvain notices, skimming a thumb along the back of her hand to coax her back into relaxing.

“I woke up to him pinning me down on my bed with a knife at my throat. I hit him with that rock that Glenn had given me. We fought for the knife and I won.” Sylvain tips his head back and inhales shakily.

Ingrid studies his profile and the barely noticeable scar where one of the beast’s talons had caught his face earlier that day. Sylvain is usually so pretty and perfect, it’s almost weird to see him with even the slightest imperfection on his handsome features. He’s not done explaining, so she waits quietly for him to finish.

“I got him good with his own knife.”

Sylvain lifts a hand and mimes cutting a scar across his own face in the same path that Miklan’s scar had followed. Ingrid’s breath catches. She hadn’t known the origin of the scar.

“It took me a few weeks before I finally got all the blood off of my hands,” Sylvain mutters. His eyes open and he pushes himself into a half-sitting position where he can stare at Ingrid and his entwined hands. “Still bloody,” he mumbles.

Something in the bitter tone of his voice cracks and betrays more emotion than before. Ingrid shifts closer to him and Sylvain sits up fully. With her free hand, she reaches for his face, brushing lightly against his fading scar. Sylvain leans into her touch unconsciously, closing his eyes.

He looks so young and vulnerable in the deep dusk lighting. The cocky, skirt-chasing, Felix-taunting friend she normally sees is absent right now and she’s left with the childhood friend whose scars of abuse are showing through. Sylvain opens his eyes and Ingrid’s breath catches unconsciously at their closeness. Sylvain, for once, doesn’t seem to notice or care about the flush on her cheeks and he leans forward and presses his face into the junction of her shoulder and neck.

Ingrid slips her fingers into his hair and brushes at it softly. It’s a mirror to how Sylvain had acted after Glenn died when he had been the only one able to coax her out of her room. Sylvain shivers lightly against her touch and he tilts his head just enough to press a careful, open-mouthed kiss to the base of her neck.

Ingrid exhales slowly and her fingers tighten in his hair. After a moment of silence between them, Sylvain leans back and she sees that his amber eyes are darkened with tears. She slides her hand back to his face and wipes her thumb across the top of his cheekbone. Not for the first time, Ingrid appreciates how pretty Sylvain looks when he’s being open and vulnerable.

“You’re too good to us, Ingrid,” Sylvain says, his voice much lighter than it had been. Sitting next to her, he’s tall enough that he can lean forward and kiss her forehead lightly. “I’ve always loved you,” Sylvain says next and Ingrid’s chest seizes.

It’s a heck of a line, one that’s usually reserved for the toughest of women that he tries to flirt with and she hasn’t the faintest idea if he’s being genuine. He says it like it’s the truth and Ingrid desperately wants to know what love means to him. Does he love her as a friend? Or is it in the same way that she had loved Glenn and the way that she used to dream of Sylvain’s charming smile as a little girl?

The moment is all wrong. They’re on the roof of the cathedral of the monastery and just hours ago they were fighting for their lives against Sylvain’s older brother. She swallows all the words welling up in her throat and just lets Sylvain lean his head against her shoulder and they are just quiet.

“We’ll stay alive,” Ingrid says firmly. The ‘we’ needs clarifying, but she doesn’t want to qualify it.

“Alive is better than dead,” Sylvain murmurs in response.

They linger for another moment before Sylvain pulls back, pushing up to his feet. The second his warmth moves away from her, Ingrid shivers, but she takes his hand when he extends it to her.

“We can just fly back together,” Sylvain says. “I’ve made enough people worry and I don’t want you to get sick because you came out here after me.”

“I can call Misha,” Ingrid protests and Sylvain shakes his head.

“Just call him back to the stables. We’ll take Natyu down.” He turns and waves to his wyvern. The beast swoops down towards them, leaving Ingrid no further room to argue.

She gets on behind him and wraps her arms around his waist tightly. She presses her forehead against his back as they take off, circling back through the sky toward the stables. They don’t say anything as they fly, and Ingrid gets off of the wyvern before Sylvain does, brushing imaginary dirt off her skirt and jacket so she doesn’t have to watch him get his wyvern put away. She whistles for Misha and her mount returns to her.

Sylvain approaches her once Misha’s back in his stall and he has closed Natyu’s hutch. He looks calmer now than he did when she found him. His bitterness seems to have receded appropriately. He looks like he’s about to say something, but he’s cut off by a familiar voice.

“Ingrid! Sylvain!”

They turn sharply and see Dimitri jogging towards them from the Knight’s Hall. Professor Byleth follows him a few paces back, her blue eyes curiously assessing the situation. Ingrid steps away from Sylvain reflexively, leaving a respectable distance between them.

“When you said stables, I didn’t realize you would be flying off,” Dimitri continues, addressing Ingrid as he reaches them.

She smiles sheepishly. “Followed a hunch.”

Dimitri turns to Sylvain and pulls him into a tight hug. Sylvain flails momentarily, not used to the affection from the prince. Dimitri releases him but keeps a hand on Sylvain’s shoulder.

“Are you alright? We were worried about you.”

Sylvain glances at Ingrid. She catches a lingering sadness in his gaze, but his lips quirk up at the edges. “Yeah, I’m good,” he assures the prince. “Ingrid got me sorted.”

She didn’t. She absolutely didn’t, but her tongue is glued to the bottom of her mouth by the way that Sylvain is looking at her so she can’t argue. He does seem better, though, so that’s a step in the right direction.

She’ll just have to keep a closer eye on him.

[palendromicdragonrider]

Turn Back the Hands - Part 1

Claude sat on his bed, carefully going over each elegant letter of the four-word note in his hands. The note that had been slid under his door in the middle of the night. That he had nearly passed over as another discarded page of his own hand. That he only took notice of due to the sharp edges with which it had been carefully folded, more carefully than Claude himself would have ever attempted.

I’ll fucking kill you.

It’s just a prank, Claude wanted to tell himself. Something to rile him up, probably from one of the students in the Black Eagle house. They were certainly more uptight than usual, ever since the Golden Deer won the mock battle last month. Especially Edelgard, who was so certain that the Black Eagles were going to be unbeatable. Claude nearly smirked to himself, thinking of the look on her face when Jeralt announced the Golden Deer as the winners. Her eyes had appeared ready to burst into flames.

Of course, it had little to do with the Golden Deer’s own might. Had Byleth not chosen to lead them, there was no way they would have won the mock battle. They would have put up a fight, sure, but their victory could only be credited to their teacher who guided the battle. Claude shoved the note in his pocket and sighed. He still had no idea why Byleth had chosen to lead their house. The Black Eagles were far more noble, and even the Blue Lions had an unwavering sense of duty and morality that Claude had to admire. The Golden Deer were a mess in comparison to the other two houses. Claude could hardly keep the group in line before Byleth showed up. Especially when Lorenz was present. The thought of him made Claude frown. He could not understand what that guy’s problem was. Sure, Claude was a surprise heir that undermined Lorenz’s position, but that wasn’t Claude’s fault. It didn’t help matters that Lorenz was also a total douchebag.

The bell tolled the hour of the morning, pulling Claude out of his musings. “Shit,” he said to himself. He was late. Claude leapt from his bed and opened his door. Halfway down the hall, he had to turn around and go back. He nearly forgot his bow. “Shit shit shit!” he muttered the whole way out of the dorms.

The morning was bright and the air was crisp with the remnants of spring. Students and monastery staff alike stared at Claude as he rushed past. “You’re la-ate,” a girl said in a sing-songy voice to him. Claude beamed at the girl in a way that he hoped was interpreted as playful. 

“Gotta keep ‘em on edge!” he replied with a wink. The girl and her friend giggled at him, but his back was already facing them. Claude wondered absently how the girl recognized him. Maybe she was also in the Golden Deer house. There were easily a hundred students attending the monastery, but Claude often only interacted with the ones in his group for monthly missions: Hilda, Lorenz, Ignatz, Raphael, Lysithea, Leonie, and Marianne. None of whom he knew particularly well. Growing up in another nation put him at a disadvantage in the friends department. Claude sighed, thinking not for the first time that he would have preferred an easier first mission together. The Blue Lions were on weapon inventory, and the Black Eagles were helping a neighboring town with a mild land dispute. It wasn’t that Claude wanted to shirk the work—despite what other people thought of him, Claude considered himself a hard worker when given the right motivation—but he really wanted the time to get to know his classmates. He was never going to succeed as a ruler if he could not even govern seven other students. He shook the thought. He had to hurry. For once, his tardiness actually mattered, but thankfully the monastery was not too big. He ran faster.

“What a surprise,” Lorenz called as he caught sight of Claude. “Leave it to our illustrious future leader to be late on the eve of battle. I nearly expected you to hide in your room while we fought for you.”

“And good morning to you too, Lorenz,” Claude said, his grin more forced than it was before. He stopped in front of the massive wooden gates that led outside of the school’s grounds, panting slightly. Most of his classmates averted their eyes. Save for Lysithea, none of them liked to get involved in the conflict between Lorenz and Claude. Hell, even Claude did not like to get involved in the conflict between Lorenz and Claude. He thought about the note crumpled in his pocket. Maybe it was from Lorenz. . .

“Oh, leave him alone,” Lysithea said, her tone sounding almost bored. “The bell rang no more than five minutes ago. Hilda is not here yet either, not that anyone should be surprised by that.”

“I tried to wake her up this morning,” Marianne squeaked. “But she was sleeping so soundly—“

“It doesn’t matter whether she shows up on time—or even shows up at all!” Lorenz interrupted. “She is not heir to the throne—“

“Technically, Claude is not heir to a throne, either. I think you’ve been hanging out with Ferdinand too often,” Leonie corrected him. Claude tried not to smile. Lorenz hated being corrected, especially by a commoner. The idea that anyone not of noble blood could know anything besides their own name was a shock to Lorenz. The thought sobered Claude’s mood again. Lorenz’s behavior was only another reminder of why he was not fit to rule.

“You know what I mean!” Lorenz huffed. He opened his mouth as if to continue, then clamped it shut again as something caught his eye. The rest of the students looked in the same direction. Byleth approached the group, as stoic and unreadable as ever. Despite only being a few years older than them, Byleth held an authority and wisdom that was unmatched by most adults two or three times her age. Even Lorenz appeared bashful in her presence. 

“Good morning, class,” she said in a low, even voice.

“Good morning, professor,” the students replied.

“Morning, Teach!” Claude beamed. Lorenz rolled his eyes.

“Where is Hilda?” Byleth asked, not missing a beat.

“Sleeping, probably,” Leonie answered flatly, her arms crossed over her chest. Byleth frowned.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I could have sworn I saw her at breakfast—“

“You did!” A voice beamed from the other side of the gate. Hilda approached the circle. “I had a feeling that you guys would expect me to sleep in. Which honestly, is so unfair. I may not be the most excited soldier ever, but I know how to prioritize. Anyway, so I woke up this morning—“

“Why don’t you tell us on the road?” Byleth asked. “The bandits are not going to subdue themselves, and we have a good day’s journey ahead of us.”

“Of course, professor,” Hilda said with a hop, straightening her back.

“Everyone, get to your horses. I intend to be out that gate in ten minutes. We will review the details of our mission when we take our evening stop.”

The students all hastened to their horses, fastening saddle bags and checking their weapons. Claude lazily approached his own mare. He packed light, so there was little to check. Once his bags and bow were secured to his content, Claude mounted the mare and pat her shaggy neck. A nagging sensation told him he was being watched. Claude looked up, meeting eyes with Byleth. She was already on her mount, dressed in armor rather than her usual teaching uniform. Claude realized he had not seen her dressed as she was since the night he met her. The night she saved his life. The thought of seeing her in a true battle again excited him. Never in his life had he encountered such an expert with a sword. Claude knew he had much to learn from her, on and off the battlefield. Dare he admit it, but he admired her. He only wished he knew what it was that she saw in him as a student.

Byleth prodded her horse gently so it would walk up alongside Claude’s mare. “How are you today?” she asked him.

“As fine as every day, Teach,” Claude replied, putting on the same smile that he had used on the two girls on his way to the gates. Byleth’s expression did not change.

“Are you ready for this mission?” she asked. 

“Of course I am! I’m actually rather excited. I hardly got a taste of battle the last time I was out in the field.” And you barely let me fight at all during the mock battle, he thought, but did not say.

“Experience can only take you so far, if your mind is on other things,” Byleth replied. Claude frowned, feeling as if the note in his pocket would burn a hole in the fabric. He hated feeling like an open book.

“Teach, I’m offended!” he said, trying to keep his tone playful. “My mind is only on keeping my classmates safe, and making a good impression on you.” 

Something about that almost made Byleth smile. Almost. If Claude had not seen her eyes crinkle for an instant, he would have missed it altogether. “You don’t need to worry about impressing me,” Byleth said. She turned the horse away before Claude could reply. “If everyone is ready, let’s move out!”

They stopped to make camp at the base of Zanado just before the sun set. Each of the students set up tents in a circle, boys on one side and girls on the other, with hired battalions and the knights of Seiros surrounding them for protection. Mission or no mission, they were still students. Still kids. It would not go well if Byleth returned to the monastery without everyone intact. 

Lorenz complained about having to pitch his own tent. Claude did his best to ignore him. The other two boys in their class were commoners, sons of merchant families, so they were far more used to this kind of travel. Leonie herself had her tent up before everyone else. Claude vaguely remembered her saying that she used to hunt with her father. Despite her low birth, Claude realized she was probably the most-qualified student for the upcoming battle. She was probably the only one who had experience making a kill.

Well, her and Claude. He had to remind himself of that. Claude did not see the man he had killed that first night with Byleth, the bandit who was after him and the other two house leaders, Edelgard and Dimitri. All he remembered was the shadow approaching from the trees, letting an arrow fly, a grunt. . . And the shadow was gone. Claude didn’t even bother retrieving the arrow. He did not want to look death in the face when he had caused it.

“But you got your tent up so quickly, what is the harm in aiding a fellow classmate?” Lorenz demanded from Ignatz. He towered over the merchant’s son, gesturing between Ignatz’s perfectly pitched tent and his own mess of tarp and poles. Ignatz looked up at him with wide eyes, fumbling between words as Lorenz inched closer to his face. Raphael, who out-matched Lorenz’s tall wiry frame with his thick and solid one, stood between the two. 

“We all have to do our own work,” he said. Claude found himself surprised—not for the first time—at how mild the giant’s voice was when he spoke. “It’s how we learn to gain some independence as well as cooperate with others. How can you work well with people if you do not appreciate the work that they do?”

“That’s a foolish notion! I appreciate the work of several people in my life without doing the same work they do. I appreciate the servants that made my bed every day back home, the tailor who provided me with such fine-fitting clothes—“

“Lorenz,” Byleth called from the other side of the camp. “You will set up your own tent tonight. If that is too much work for you, I will be more than happy to assign you to the stables or to weeding duty all next week to teach you what work really is.” Lysithea and Hilda both snickered beside her. Even Leonie seemed to suppress a smile.

Lorenz frowned, but he did not argue with her. He stepped away from Raphael and Ignatz, who sighed audibly and adjusted his glasses. Claude resumed setting up his own tent. No sense rubbing it in Lorenz’s face. That could be the difference between Claude receiving aide or a knife in his back the next day. Life was dangerous enough without stirring up unnecessary trouble.

When Claude had his tent set up, he took a step back to admire his work. The poles were a little crooked, sure, but it was sturdy enough. It would keep him warm and dry for the night. That was what mattered. He scanned the rest of the campsite to see how his classmates fared. Lorenz, at last, had his tent up. It looked similar to Claude’s, if not a little more unstable. Raphael and Ignatz chatted lightly on the other side of him, their work done several minutes prior. Leonie tested her bow strings by the trees next to her perfectly-pitched tent. Lysithea was nowhere to be found, but a dim light could be seen from the inside her modest shelter. Claude assumed she had her nose stuck in a book. Beside her tent was Hilda’s. . .if it could be called a tent. One gust of wind would surely bring the teetering structure down. Byleth’s tent stood as tall and proud as she was. At the end of the circle, where the boy’s half touched the girl’s half again, Marianne was pacing in and out of her low, long tent. 

Claude sighed. That girl is a wreck, he thought. Still, he had to get to know these people better. Marianne was shy and a little skittish, but not unfriendly. She might be an easy starting point. “Hey, Marianne?” Claude called. Marianne jumped. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking for who had said her name. 

“Oh! My Lord Claude,” she said with a bow as he approached.

“Just ‘Claude’ is fine, Marianne,” Claude said. “Do you need a hand? You look like you’re in a—erm—in a predicament.”

“I can’t find my sword,” Marianne said, her voice barely above a whisper.  

“I thought you were a magic user? Why on Fódlan would you need a sword?” He did not mean to laugh, but he did. Just a little.

“Magic is finite,” Marianne explained. “And if I run out before the fight is over—“ she wrung her hands. Her eyes met Claude’s, two intense pools of blue. “I don’t want to—“

“Okay, class. Gather around,” Byleth called. Marianne jumped. She bowed to Claude again and approached their professor. Claude’s brow furrowed. Marianne seemed. . . Flightier than normal. If such a thing was possible. It would have to be dealt with later. If Byleth called, he would have to follow, as well. Perhaps Marianne did not want Byleth to think she was ignoring her. Claude joined the gathering in the center of camp. “You all should know the general details of our mission by now,” Byleth began again, now that all eight students were within ear shot. “A group of bandits have been attacking the surrounding villages. We discovered that their base is up in Zanado—commonly referred to as the Red Canyon—above us. Our mission is to disband them at all costs.” She paused to look each of her students in the eye. “This is different from a mock battle. There will be no wooden swords, no holding back the swing of your blade, no hitting the space just next to your opponent with a fire blast. I know most of you have not killed before, and I won’t demean you by pretending it won’t change you. But let me remind you that these men are killers, and letting them live would be the same as failing to protect the people of the valley. One life taken tomorrow may save a dozen more in the future. Lives that matter more than those of murderers.” 

Byleth’s words made the students squirm, most of them clutching their arms or shifting back and forth on their feet. Claude wondered if, until this moment, many of them had forgotten that Byleth was a mercenary before becoming their teacher. The only reason she remained at the monastery was because the archbishop Rhea had asked it of her. Denying the request of the church’s head was as if to deny the church itself. And that request had only been made the month before. A few weeks of teaching would not wash away the years of ferocity that came from killing for a living. It was that same ferocity that drew Claude to Byleth in the first place. He doubted they would succeed on tomorrow’s mission if Byleth had chosen to pamper them.

“I won’t blame you for being hesitant about tomorrow’s mission, but that does not mean you can hang back during the fight. The knights will be spread too thin and far to do the fighting for you. Let me assure you, though, it is not my intention to throw caution to the wind. I want you all to gain experience, but your lives are more important to me than anything. That is why I assigned battalions to a handful of you, with the intention of grouping the remaining students with those who have guards with them. The strategy for tomorrow is—“

Claude tuned out Byleth’s words. He knew the plan front and back already, having been the one to help her hammer out the details of the mission with Rhea and the knights the days before. He was much more interested now in the reactions from his classmates. Some pairs would work better together than others. As Byleth listed off each pair, Claude took note of the reactions around the circle to see if he needed to recommend any last-minute changes to Byleth for the next day. 

Claude himself was to be paired with Raphael. He had been gifted with his own personal mini-army the moment he enrolled in the officer’s academy. His grandfather saw to that personally. Since they had no other current uses, they acted as Claude’s battalion during missions. Raphael hardly needed the protection, as he preferred close-hand combat. Still, he had the least experience out of all of them, and despite his eagerness to be a knight one day, he was a complete softie. Claude figured he would need some proper motivation on the battlefield. Motivation that he could undoubtedly give. Hilda and Ignatz would be under Hilda’s guard, which Claude thought was a grand idea. For all her laziness, Hilda was a tank with an axe in her hands. Ignatz would make a great support from a distance, without having to worry about being in the way of her blade. Lysithea and Lorenz would be paired together, and while they were hardly on friendly terms with each other, they oddly made a good pair. Lorenz would never let a woman be harmed in his presence, as he saw it as part of his “noble duty” to help women at every opportunity. Conversely, as Lysithea could use her magic at a distance, she did not have to put up with his bullshit at close range. And on the off chance she would need to, she could handle him better than the other girls in her class. Lastly, Byleth listed off Leonie and Marianne. Both girls stiffened. Huh, Claude thought. That was the last reaction he expected. As far as he knew, Leonie and Marianne got along rather well. They were both driven to do well, though their motivations could not be more different. Claude had seen them talking with each other in the hall just a few days prior! He wondered if something had happened between them.

“If anyone has any questions, bring them to me. We leave at sunrise tomorrow,” Byleth finished. She returned to her tent, and one by one the students dismembered. Leonie looked pointedly at Marianne before stalking off. Marianne practically fled back to her tent in response. 

“Hey, hey,” Claude called to her as he tried to catch up. 

“I need to find my sword. . .”

“We can deal with that later. What’s going on between you and Leonie?”

Marianne sighed, looking everywhere she could except for directly at Claude. Her hands were wringing together over and over. “We. . .” Marianne whispered. “We got in a little fight the other day.”

“What happened?” Claude asked her. Marianne sighed again. It could have been the setting sun, but it appeared that her eyes were welling up with tears.

“We. . . It was all my fault.” Marianne still would not look Claude in the eye. “I was at the stables looking at the horses. Leonie approached me asking if I would help her with something. I declined—but not because I did not want to be helpful! I just—you know—I mess things up sometimes, and I did not want to create more work for her. . .” Marianne’s voice was barely above a whisper now. “But she thought I was blowing her off. I tried to apologize—“ She covered her face with her hands. 

“Leonie is a bit of a hot head,” Claude told her, hoping he was speaking low enough to not be heard by anyone else in the camp. He patted Marianne’s shoulder. “Give her a couple of days and I’m sure it will blow over.”

“But that’s the point, isn’t it?” Marianne gasped. “I don’t have a couple of days!” Tears fell down her face. “What if she gets injured—or worse—because I screw something up? I could never be forgiven then.”

“I doubt that will happen,” Claude assured her.

“But you don’t know for sure, do you?” Claude tried to find the right words to comfort her, but they did not come. “I appreciate you looking out for me,” Marianne said. “Truly, I do. But. . . I am not an experienced fighter like you. Or Byleth. Or Le—others in our class. I just don’t want anyone to die tomorrow. I don’t want to, either. Not like this, at least. . . I am afraid, Claude.”

“Don’t be afraid. We will be more than well-guarded by our battalions, and Byleth will keep us out of danger if things get too out of hand.”

“There are never any guarantees, though. That is just fact.” Marianne wiped her eyes and bowed. “If you will excuse me, I need to look for my sword.”

Claude watched her leave, his mouth pressed firmly in a frown. As much as he wanted to be an optimist, she was right. There were no guarantees who would come out on top in the middle of a fight. The odds could be on your side’s favor, but if an arrow had your name on it, you were going to get caught by it. That was something his mother had taught him, years ago. Claude stalked towards Byleth’s tent.

“Hey, Teach!” he beamed. “May I come in?”

Byleth was sitting cross-legged on her sleeping mat, reading what looked like a leather-bound ledger. She closed it with her finger stuck between the pages where she had been reading. “How can I help you, Claude?” she asked. Claude thought he detected concern in her voice.

“I was thinking about the pairs we have set up for tomorrow,” Claude began, leaning lightly against the tent pole. He hoped his tone was casual enough. He did not want Marianne to be put on the spot because of him. “Don’t you think Raphael and Leonie would be a better pair? I know Leonie has some experience with a lance, but truthfully she is so much better with a bow. Besides, who better to motivate Raphael than the class perfectionist?”

“Marianne is also a long-distance unit, though. Like you.”

“She has a sword, doesn’t she?”

“Have you ever actually seen her use it? Or pick it up, for that matter?”

“And here I thought this mission was about giving us some battle experience!”

“Not at the risk of her life, Claude,” Byleth asserted. Her eyes narrowed on him. “Is there something wrong with Raphael? Is there a reason that you don’t want to be paired with him anymore?”

“No, no! Of course not!”

“Then why are you trying to be paired with Marianne?”

“I’m not trying to be paired with Marianne. I just told you, I think Leonie and Raphael—“

“Claude—“

“Not that there is anything wrong with Marianne at all, either—“

“Claude—“

“Okay, okay. You caught me. I have a crush on her. I was hoping if I could prove how dashing I am in action—“

“Claude!”

“What?” 

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Claude replied, lacing his fingers behind his head and giving Byleth his most convincing smile. Byleth sighed. She removed her finger from between the pages of her book and leaned forward.

“You are quite mischievous, but you are shit at deception. You act the most relaxed when you are the most bothered. It’s part of why I chose to lead your house. I don’t like not knowing what is going on around me, a sentiment I’m sure you share.”

Claude gulped. He had always considered himself an expert liar. It kept him out of a lot of trouble growing up. But of course Byleth would be able to see through it. She had yet to fail to impress him. He sighed, resting his hands on his lap.

“Are you going to tell me what’s really going on now?”

“Not all of it,” Claude admitted. “Just that I think it is important for me to be by Marianne’s side tomorrow. The rest of it is her business.”

Byleth nodded, seeming to accept his answer. “Consider it done. I will tell Leonie and Raphael of the changes if you want to tell Marianne.”

“Thank you, Teach!” Claude beamed, leaping forward. “I will go tell her now.”

“One more thing,” Byleth called, stopping him at the doorway. “I may not know all of the details, but I can tell that you are acting out of your position as a leader. Looking after your people is more important than having power and giving orders ever will be. I’m proud of you.”

Claude smiled, though he felt embarrassed for how happy her words made him. “Even a scoundrel gets it right sometimes,” he said. He ducked out of the tent and rushed back to where he last saw Marianne heading. The only taint in his victory was the death threat still crumbled in his pocket.

“Get back!” Claude called, pulling Marianne out of the way of an arrow. “It came from the left.” Marianne straightened, facing the cliffs where Claude had indicated. She uttered an incantation, and with a wave of her hand, a bolt of light crashed down on the entire area. There is no way anyone could have survived that, Claude thought. “Let’s go,” he said, taking her hand.

They had been separated from the rest of the group, including their battalions. The canyon trail leading to the thieves’ hideout split into two, so Byleth split the group in half to go around each side and corner the enemy. But the thieves were fast, faster than Claude anticipated. In minutes, they had corralled Claude and Marianne away from everyone else. If it hadn’t been for Marianne’s healing abilities, Claude was sure he would not be able to walk anymore. 

“It’s too quiet. . .” Marianna whispered, eyes flicking from crevice to crevice in the cliffside. 

Claude squeezed Marianne’s hand. “It will be okay,” he said. “I can hear shouting around this curve in the road. Our friends are just up ahead, I’m sure of it.”

Marianne nodded, clutching her free hand to her chest.

A few steps further brought the pair to an opening in the path. As Claude suspected, his classmates were on the other side of the clearing, taking out the remaining bandits at the base of their hideout. “See?” he said to Marianne, letting go of her hand to point ahead. “We have nearly caught up to them. Let’s go!” Claude quickened his pace, eager to be in the safety provided by large numbers. Marianne was right on his heels. Claude could see Byleth at the back of the group, watching over her students and barking orders to their guards. “Byleth!” Claude called. Byleth turned around. It may have been the distance, but Claude could have sworn relief washed over her face. 

“Hurry!” she called. Claude smiled, running faster. 

“Claude—“ Marianne panted. She was further behind him now. “I can’t keep—“

“Rawwwrrrgh!” A voice boomed. Claude was barely turning on his heels when he heard it. The sound of metal penetrating flesh rang in his ears. He met Marianne’s eyes just as they went blank. She crumbled to the ground, a large man standing between her and Claude, and his sword dripping wet with Marianne’s blood.

“No!!” Claude cried, letting an arrow fly. He caught the man between the eyes, and his body fell. Claude rushed to Marianne’s side. “No, no, no,” he whispered, cupping her head. She did not respond. Her body was limp, lifeless. “You can’t die on me.”

Claude had failed her. He told Marianne that she would not have to worry if she was with him. He was so convinced that as her house leader, he could protect her. But he was wrong. Claude’s tears spilled onto her pale face. She was dead. And it was all Claude’s fault. He failed as a leader.

He failed as a protector.

How could anyone trust him now?

How could anyone follow him now?

Marianne.

Marianne. . .

Mari—

A

N

N

E

E

N

N

A

—iraM. 

?won mih wollof enoyna dluoc woH

?won mihtsurtenoynadluocwoH.rotcetorpasadeliafeH.redaelasadeliafeH.tluafs’edualc—

Claude squeezed  Marianne’s hand. “It will be okay,” he said. “I can hear shouting around this curve in the road. Our friends are just up ahead, I’m sure of it.”

Marianne nodded, clutching her free hand to her chest.

A few steps further brought the pair to an opening in the path. As Claude suspected, his classmates were on the other side of the clearing, taking out the remaining bandits at the base of their hideout “See?” he said to Marianne, letting go of her hand to point ahead. “We have nearly caught up to them. Let’s go!” Claude quickened his pace, eager to be in the safety provided by large numbers. Marianne was right on his heels. Byleth was at the back, watching over her students and barking orders to their guards. “Byleth!” Claude called. Byleth turned around. It may have been the distance, but Claude could have sworn her face was one of rage and ferocity.

“Stay there!” she shouted, charging forward with her blade drawn. Claude halted, and Marianne ran into his back.

“Oof!” she grunted. Claude hardly noticed. Why would Teach want them to—

“Rawwwrrrgh!” A voice boomed. Claude instinctually raised his bow, letting an arrow fly. . .

Right between the eyes of a bandit. The large man fell to his knees, dropping his sword just inches from Claude’s chest. 

Claude stared blankly at the man. Had he taken one more step. . . Or worse, had he ran ahead, leaving Marianne a few steps behind him— His knees buckled, and Marianne had to catch him to keep him from falling.

“Are you two okay?” Byleth asked. Claude felt Marianne nod against his back, and he numbly mimicked the motion. Byleth watched him scrutinizingly. “There should be no more surprises,” she said. “We have the rest of the bandits apprehended. It looks like keeping everyone in pairs was a good move, because there are no casualties on our side.”

“No casualties. . .” Claude repeated. Why did that not seem right to him? He felt Marianne still pressed up against his back, shaking slightly. Or was it his own body shaking?

“Yes, no casualties,” Byleth said. She extended her hand to Claude. “Can you stand? I would rather have everyone in a group in case there are any other enemies in hiding.”

Claude looked up at her. Byleth’s eyes were unreadable. Blank, motionless pools. They made the perfect mirror. Inside them, Claude saw his own fear and confusion. He was alive. Marianne was alive.

Marianne was alive?

Pull yourself together.

Claude straightened up, smiling weakly. “You got it, Teach. I wouldn’t want to miss the cheers of victory, now would I? Come on, Marianne, let’s join the others.” He looped Marianne’s arm through his and led her to the rest of their classmates. Byleth followed silently.

That was a close one, Claude thought. He refused to give Byleth a reason to doubt choosing him. To doubt choosing the Golden Deer. He would not let her down.

But. . .

Why did he feel like he already had?

The group of classmates were all chattering excitedly when Claude and Marianne approached. Claude heard bits and pieces: most of them had made their first kills today. Some were excited. Others. . . Tried to be. But Claude could tell many of them would see blank faces in their dreams that night. Leonie was the first to notice their presence. Her eyes widened at the sight of them.

“Marianne!” she called, rushing forward to meet them just before they entered the circle of students. “Your arm is bleeding! I think I have a vulnerary in my bag.”

“I’m fine,” Marianne whispered. Leonie’s brow furrowed. She tugged on Marianne’s good arm.

“Of course you are not fine! Look at you, you’re shaking! I cannot let a friend of mine remain in this condition.”

“Friend?” Marianne asked. Leonie stopped tugging on her.

“Of course.”

“I just—I thought that—after the other day—“ Marianne’s eyes welled up with tears.

“Let’s not worry about that right now,” Leonie said. “I was being hasty and stupid when I said—Come on, let’s get this wound looked at. We can talk once you’re healed. . .” Leonie wrapped her arm around Marianne, who nodded and allowed Leonie to lead her away. Claude smiled as he watched them leave. Who knew a dangerous battle could cause them to make up?

“I am assuming they got in a fight before the mission. Was that why you wanted to switch partners?” Byleth asked. Claude nearly jumped. He did not realize she was standing just on the other side of him.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “I did not want them to have their minds in two different places on the battlefield. A split mind is dangerous.”

“Yes. It is,” Byleth replied, a hint of accusation in her tone. 

“You saved her life, by the way. Had you not called out for me to wait, I—“

“What’s done is done,” Byleth said, cutting him off. “The bandit is dead and neither of you got hurt.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Claude sighed. “But still, your leadership was amazing, Teach. We can probably leave the rest of the work here to the knights and head back to the monastery.”

“I agree. Go celebrate with your peers. I am going to speak with the knights to make sure they do not need any more help from us before we leave. We can hopefully make it back to the monastery by nightfall.”

Claude nodded. “You got it, Teach.” He winked at her then caught up to his classmates.

“Claude!” Raphael boomed, picking Claude up and squeezing him. “I feel so pumped right now! Like I could lift a mountain! I can’t believe our first mission was so successful!”

“Of course it was successful,” Claude laughed, nearly out of breath. Raphael put him down and clapped him on the back. “With someone like Teach leading us, how could we go wrong?”

“At least you admit that you were not the cause for our success,” Lorenz muttered. His hair was messed up, and he was frantically trying to pat it down smooth again.

“I take credit where credit is due. No more, no less,” Claude replied. He was suddenly thinking of the death threat in his pocket again.

“I thought you did magnificent, Claude!” Hilda beamed. She swung her axe over her shoulder. It was a wonder she had not accidentally cut off one of her two long ponytails by now. “Ignatz and I saw you take down a guy at least three hundred yards away with only one shot!”

“I admit, I was a little jealous,” Ignatz added. He was sitting on a rock, hands clasped together. No doubt to keep them from shaking.

“I would not be here if it wasn’t for Claude,” a faint voice said behind him. Leonie and Marianne were returning to the circle. “He had my back the entire battle, even though I was no use to him. . . That final bandit surely would have killed us if Claude had not been so quick with the bow.”

Claude forced a swallow. His classmates were all looking at him with awe and admiration. Even Lorenz had the grace to look impressed. But. . . Claude did not feel like he deserved it. Even though he was looking her in the eye, alive and well, he had the feeling like he had somehow failed Marianne.

“Yeah, but I would have been dead several times over if I did not have you healing my wounds when we got separated from the rest of class,” Claude said with a grin. “Don’t sell yourself short.”

“See? You were not useless at all, Marianne,” Leonie piped up.

Claude smiled. His classmates continued chattering excitedly, patting each other on the back and praising each other’s victories. Claude sat back and watched. He wanted to bond with them, but not when he felt this way. There would be other days to celebrate victory. He sighed, looking around at the surrounding soldiers who were securing the area. They were seasoned warriors, used to far more than the Golden Deer could fathom at the moment. They were not celebrating. Everything was business as usual.

Claude squinted, wondering where Byleth had gone. She said she wanted to speak with the knights, but he could not spot her among them. And the woman certainly stood out, even in the midst of men twice her size. Frowning, Claude scanned the canyon for her. He spotted her standing alone, by the edge of a cliff. She seemed to be looking at something, though Claude could not tell what. Curious, he approached her.

“I remember this being a peaceful place. . .” Byleth murmured, so soft that Claude did not think she meant to say it aloud. Claude stopped right behind her. She did not acknowledge him. Her mind seemed to be elsewhere, as her eyes were glazed over.

“Teach?” he said, resting his hand on her shoulder. Byleth jumped, causing him to recoil. Byleth was usually not the skittish type. Far from it. “What are you doing over here? I thought you were going to get the clear to leave from the knights?”

“I was—I did. They do not need anything else from us today.”

Claude waited to see if she would offer more, but she did not. “We should get back to the academy, then,” Claude said. “So we don’t get caught in the middle of nowhere when it’s dark.”

“Of course,” Byleth replied, her eyes sharper than a sword once again. “I will tell the other students.” Byleth pushed past him and stalked away. Claude frowned. Something was clearly bothering her about this place, though he did not know what. As far as he knew, the Red Canyon had been abandoned for centuries. Well, abandoned save for the bandits. When would she even have had a chance to be there before?

“Claude!” Hilda called. “We’re heading back! Let’s go!”

“Coming!” Claude called, running to catch up to her. He wondered what sort of knowledge Byleth had that Claude did not. He had researched every notable square inch of Fódlan before entering the continent to enroll in the Academy, and nothing seemed particularly of note about this place save for some boring lore about the goddess living here. Come to think of it, why was Zanado not occupied by the church? Should it not have been sanctioned as holy ground? 

Claude caught sight of Marianne as he got closer to the group, and guilt overcame him once again. He could not explain it, but he could have sworn his arrow was too late, that he saw her dead in his arms. But there she was, practically unscathed, being praised for her bravery by her classmates. Perhaps it was something about the Red Canyon that affected him this way. Maybe Byleth could feel it too? At the very least, she knew something that Claude did not. And Claude wanted answers. Byleth might not swoon at his charms the way that other girls did, but that was not his only method for getting information. It was always possible that she would be more open to talking once they left the Red Canyon, as well. . .

[holidaywishes]

The Light Beyond The Stars III

part iii: there is magic in you...

  Summary of series: When Malcolm is young, he dreams of a place where  he could run off to and leave his life behind. When he meets Cassandra,  his perspective changes and his dreams only include her.

  Summary of Chapter: Cassandra’s P.O.V when she meets with Malcolm in the square and the events that follow.

  Warning: adding in some angst because that’s my jam, and some more fluff

   Author’s Note: First, I wanted to say that this is a little longer than the last because it’s combining Cassandra’s P.O.V. as she’s waiting for Malcolm and what happens when she leaves him/her leaves her. Second, like I mentioned in my last chapter, I’m really enjoying writing this story and I know that it’s a giant departure from the fics I typically write, i.e. it has nothing to do with hockey (maybe I should start tagging not hockey?) That being said, I’m not sure if anyone is reading it but, honestly, I just want it to exist in the universe. If for no other reason than it makes me happy. Also, I want to point out, if anyone does read this series eventually, that I know the voice that I’m using for Malcolm doesn’t sound like the Peter we all know from OUAT and that’s done purposefully. Once he becomes Peter, I’ll be able to add in all the sass but right now, he’s just a kid whose kinda falling for a girl right now, so there has to be some softness to him. The idea is, as sadistic as this sounds, he’ll have so much love in his life and then lose it so suddenly, that he becomes cold and dark. I hope that whoever reads this, or comes across it, likes it and enjoys it. But know that, if you don’t, I will love you anyway. 😘

  masterlist

  the other masterlist

xx

Cassandra’s P.O.V

  You waited for what seemed like hours in the square where you and Malcolm first met but when he never showed, you started to wonder if he was lost. Or if he wasn’t going to show.

  “Cass?” your cousin asked as she noticed you standing in the same spot she left you nearly an hour ago, “what’s wrong?”

  “Anthea? I thought you’d gone... you should go..” you answered

  “I was going to leave but I came back and you were still here... What are you doing?”

  “I’m.. waiting”

  “Waiting for what? For who?”

  “Go home, Anthea”

  “This is about that boy isn’t it?”

  “Anthea..”

  “The boy who came over for tea last night”

  “You weren’t even supposed to be there”

  “He didn’t even know I was there”

  “Luckily,” you snapped, making her gasp at your words, “Anthea, he doesn’t know who we are and you don’t exactly have the best track record with mortals. Or immortals for that matter. He’d just think you were rude and crass”

  “I am rude”

  “Maybe I don’t want him to think you are...”

  “Why not?”

  “Because.. I don’t know. Just go home, Anthea.”

  “Home home or back to the small stone place you’re staying in home”

  “Either one”

  “Did he stand you up?”

  “No”

  “Was this supposed to be a date?”

  “No”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, now go”

  “If he doesn’t get here in.. 10 minutes, I’m taking you home”

  “He’ll be here”

  “Did you see it?”

  “Are you asking if I looked into the future just to see if he’d be here? Because that would be ridiculous”

  “So you did?”

  “No I did not!”

  “I’ll just be over there.. waiting and watching.” You watched as your cousin sat at a table nearby, dismissing the girl who attempted to serve her, making you roll your eyes at her. You paced around the spot for a few more minutes before you’d decided that he wasn’t going to come, you began the pathetic walk back to your cousin when you heard the clacking of horseshoes get closer and closer to you

  “CASSANDRA!” you heard a voice call to you, looking back you saw Malcolm on a white horse, “wait!” he called again, jumping down from the horse to speak to you

  “Malcolm?” you questioned as you took in what was in front of you, “what is this?”

  “We have to go, we have to hurry..” he answered but it only left you more confused

  “What are you talking about? What’s going on?”

  “Get on the horse” he said forcefully, causing you to step back in concern

  “Malcolm!” you shouted, hoping to get him to see why you were upset

  “I’m sorry, I’ll explain once we get moving... Please, we have to go...” he pleaded and you reluctantly agreed, glancing over to where Anthea had been sitting and noticing she had already left

  “Okay, fine..” you smiled at him, “but I’m trusting you, Malcolm, so you better not let me fall.” You laughed as did he, agreeing as he helped you up onto the horse. He quickly hopped onto after he made sure you were on securely, but without a saddle that was hard to confirm for him, so when he positioned himself behind you and grabbed the reins, he made sure to keep his arms close to your body so you wouldn’t fall as the horse galloped along a rugged path to Malcolm’s cottage. “So...” you finally broke the silence, “why did we have to hurry?”

  “Francis..” he said simply, waiting for a moment until he spoke again, “he doesn’t know I left but I didn’t want you to think I didn’t want to see you...”

  “You could get in trouble!” you replied, worried that he was risking his safety because of a note you’d written him on a whim

  “I didn’t want you to think I would hurt you” he said sweetly, if not a little harshly but you attributed that to the bumps on the path

  “So you stole a horse to come see me?” the sentiment was sweet and you wanted him to know that you thought so, letting your voice soften with the realization of what he’d done

  “Borrowed,” he corrected you with a small smile that you’re not sure he meant for you to see, “he’ll never know the horse was gone.” You looked back at Malcolm, noticing him try to contain his smile and concentrate on the path, his seriousness making you giggle. The sound of your laugh must have caught his attention because he glanced down at you and you smiled back at him, losing yourself in his eyes before you felt the horse veering off the path

  “Look out!” you shouted, causing Malcolm to jerk the reins and straighten the horse to the path, you both breathed deeply while he composed himself

  “Are you alright?” he asked, keeping his eyes forward and, again, you smiled at his seriousness

  “Yes,” you said softly, “are you?”

  “I’m fine,” he replied, his voice shaking slightly, “just got a little distracted I guess.” Since the rest of the journey was spent in silence, the latter half of the horse ride felt like it lasted an hour and was beginning to feel awkward when you pulled up in front of a small, brown and white cottage with a small, tattered red barn off to the side. He slowed the horse to a stop and hopped off first so he could help you down, you swung your leg over to the side and pushed yourself off of the steed, Malcolm’s hands firmly placed on either side of you to ease you to the ground. “Come with me” he whispered, hunching his back low and gestured for you to do the same

  “Where are we going?” you said at speaking volume to which Malcolm put his finger in front of his lips to shush you

  “Quietly,” he smiled before pointing in front of him, “we’re going to the barn.” You nodded once to confirm that you’d heard him and followed him to the old, red barn where no animals seemed to be housed. When the two of you finally got inside, you looked around at the empty stalls and up to the roof, noticing a hole and thought ‘that’s odd’ to yourself. He led you up a ladder to a spot under that hole and you sat down on the surprisingly cold wood floor with your back against a bale of hay, looking for a blanket to throw over your legs with no luck.

  “You should really get that fixed” you whispered to Malcolm who hadn’t come to sit with you yet, jokingly referring to the hole in the roof

  “Oh what fun would that be?” he joked back, finally making his way to sit next to you.

  “What if it rains?” you asked, staring up at the sky knowing that it wouldn’t rain but also knowing that your grandfather was likely watching your every move

  “We move to the side” he chuckled, pointing at a spot just to the left of you that was out of reach of the hole in the roof

  “Ahh I see” you smiled, scoffing slightly when you realized he’d been out here enough to know how to get away from the rain; you smiled to yourself quietly and leaned back against the bale of hay once more, staring up at the stars

  “There are a million worlds out there..” he said, surprising you with his words and you turned your head to look at him, your eyes dancing between his and waiting for him to continue

  “What?” you said, smiling at him

  “In the stars...” he replied, his eyes searching your face for a reaction, “there’s a million worlds in the stars...” he turned his eyes away from yours, turning them toward the sky as he pointed at the stars

  “You really think so?” you asked, wondering how he’d proceed

  “I do...” he said softly, keeping his eyes on the sky, “and I think I’ll go to one someday. Get away from everything here...”

  “Can I go with you...?” you asked, sitting up and turning your body to him, your knee grazing his as you angled your legs

  “Of course!” he exclaimed, turning his own body to face you, “we can dream up one together...”

  “And what will this world have?” you smiled

   “Anything you want, that’s the best part about it.” He explained, “If you think it, you can have it.”

   “So it’s... a magic world?” you said, contemplating what that meant to you and what that would mean for him. You’d lived in a magic world your entire life. You knew the dangers that came along with it, especially when mortals were involved.

  “It will have magic but it will just be a wonderful place.” he corrected, “A lovely place where anything is possible”

  “Will it have mermaids?” you asked happily

  “If you wish” he replied

  “Pirates?”

  “Sure”

  “Will we be able to fly?”

  “Yep” he laughed as he nodded happily

  “Fairies?”

  “How else would we fly?” his smile beamed across his face, making your heart flutter ever so

  “Pixie Dust!” she laughed, “how do we get to this place?” You watched as he leaned back against the bale of hay, following his lead and settling in beside him as he lifted his arm to the sky; you followed his arm with your eyes while he pointed at the Northern Star.

  “See that bright star on the left?” he asked and you nodded, feeling his eyes on you as you watched the stars

  “That’s how we get there?”

  “No that’s too obvious,” he laughed, “we’ll take the second star to the right”

 “And straight on ‘til morning” you said under her breath, feeling like you’ve heard of these directions before

 “Exactly” he replied softly and you smiled in return

 “So what should we call this new world?” you coaxed, trying to think of a name, “The Far Away Place?”

 “No” he stated bluntly and you laughed, shaking her head in agreement

 “Hmm.. The Enchanted.. something?” you laughed at your own inability to finish your thought scrunching up your nose when he tilted his head at the unfinished name

 “How about.. Neverland?” he said simply and you pondered the name for a moment

 “Neverland?” you asked, a small laugh starting on your tongue, “I like it. but why Neverland?”

  “Because,” he said, “the best part of this new world is that we’ll never grow old!”

  “Never?” you asked, the small laugh you’d had earlier all but vanishing from your face

  “Never,” he exclaimed, “we’d stay young forever!”

  “But what about... friends and family. The people we care about? The ones who don’t go to Neverland?”

  “What do you mean?” he questioned, furrowing his brow as your concerns grew and you turned your body from him

  “They will grow old and we’ll just have to watch?”

  “Well...” he stumbled over his thoughts, not knowing what to say

  “Or what about... falling in love?” you whispered softly, trying not to let the sadness be too obvious on your voice, “if we never grow up, will we never fall in love?” The words left your tongue as if you were talking about you and Malcolm but you’d hoped he wouldn’t read too much into it.

  “I don’t think so,” he stuttered, furrowing his brow occasionally as he thought, “I mean.. you can fall in love when you’re young.” You thought about it for a moment, pursing your lips as you thought about what to say

  “I suppose,” you replied, “it sounds like a lovely place, Malcolm. I hope we can go there one day.” The idea that he didn’t want to grow old affected you more than you thought it would but you weren’t entirely sure why; maybe it was because you hadn’t known true love yet, maybe it was because the idea that you would outlive people you cared about was a reality you’d already had to live with and something you wouldn’t wish on anyone. Especially Malcolm.

  “Who’s there?” Malcolm called, bringing you out of your thoughts

  “It’s just me,” a small voice came after a shuffle in the barn, whispering to Malcolm as she climbed up the ladder, “I’m sorry. I heard you two from outside...”

  “Who’s this?” you asked, noticing the girl hide behind the corner when she finished climbing the ladder

  “This is Charlotte,” Malcolm answered, introducing the girl, “Francis’ daughter”

  “He’s like my big brother” Charlotte mused, smiling as you made your way over to introduce yourself

  “Hi Charlotte,” you spoke lightly, as to not frighten the young girl, kneeling down so she could see your eyes, “I’m Cassandra. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Wow...” she gasped, letting her mouth drop as her eyes searched yours and examined your face, “you’re like an angel...”

  “Thank you” you giggled at her response before looking back at Malcolm and smiling as he shrugged at the girls words

  “Malcolm told me you were beautiful,” she continued, “but I didn’t think you’d be this beautiful.”

  “You said I was beautiful?” you asked Malcolm, heat flooding your cheeks in a blush that you would later see Malcolm attempt to hide. Charlotte guiding you back to the bale of hay where Malcolm sat and she squeezed herself between you and him before looking up at the stars.

  “I may.. have mentioned...” he stuttered, turning his head and you smiled

  “Well...” you started, leaning down to Charlotte, “I think you’re quite beautiful too, you know?”

  “You do?” Charlotte gasped, shock consuming her tone

  “Mhmm,” you hummed, smiling sweetly when Malcolm turned back to you, watching you speak to Charlotte with poise, “and you want to know why?” The young girl nodded her head frantically before giggled, “I can see your heart.”

  “My heart?” Charlotte asked, creasing her forehead as she tried to understand what you meant. You glanced at Malcolm before you explained, wanting to see his face as well.

  “Yes. You have a kind soul and a pure heart. My mother taught me to see those things. My father taught me that those things hold value and they make a person so much more beautiful than the way they look,” you mused, remembering the stories that your mother and father had told you so many years ago. “that’s why my father says he fell in love with my mother. Because he saw her heart beyond her beauty.”

 “Can you see Malcolm’s heart and soul?” she asked, looking up at you with a glimmer in her eyes that you’d only ever seen once before, from Malcolm when you first met. You looked at Malcolm for a moment, trying to find the glimmer in his eyes once more, smiling when you finally saw it again

  “I can,” you said softly, “and he has a kind soul too.”

  “And my heart?” he asked abruptly but not rudely

  “Is pure,” you smiled, raising your eyebrows once before continuing, “though it’s tough. As though, you’ve made it.. impenetrable. That does not mean it’s unbreakable...” You expected him to drop his eyes at this statement but he continued to look at you, studying you as you inhaled sharply

  “Because of his father...?” Charlotte added, breaking the silence that had fallen over the three of you

  “His father?” you asked, looking down at her but keeping an eye on Malcolm

  “He sold Malcolm to my father... when he was just a boy” she said and Malcolm finally dropped his head, staring at his feet

  “Ahh I see...” you continued, letting your gaze rest solely on Charlotte now, “that could have something to do with it. Although, I suspect him wanting to run away has more to do with that than wanting anyone to be gentle with his heart.”

  “Can I go to Neverland too?!” Charlotte exclaimed, rather suddenly. Malcolm’s eyes tore away from you to look at the young girl

  “What?” he said

  “I heard you talking about that magic land. About Neverland. About running away there. Can I go too?”

  “Of course you can!” Malcolm’s face was beaming with the idea of the three of you starting over in Neverland but your broke at the thought of this beautiful child not getting a chance at a beautiful life.

  “But, Charlotte,” you interrupted, “are you sure you want to go somewhere where you’ll never grow up?���

  “I like being 10″ she giggled and you smiled, dropping your head with a small sigh

  “But don’t you want to get married and be a mother?” you continued

  “Well.. maybe one day..” you could see that she was confused because she didn’t quite know how to respond just yet. You knew that to her being a mother, a wife, was something she’d find someday, maybe by her own hand or the hand of her father, but she was so young to give it up just yet.

  “If you never grow old, you may...” you began, catching a glimpse of Malcolm’s face that caused you to rethink what you’d been saying, “I’m sorry... I shouldn’t be.. I really should be getting home. My father will worry if I get home too late.”

  “How will you get back?” Malcolm asked, standing up the same moment you did

  “I will.. I’ll walk...” you stammered

  “I can take you,” he said, “the same as we came.”

  “I don’t want you to get into any trouble. You already risked yourself by bringing me”

  “If you go walking outside, this late, you may run into trouble,” he said, his hand soon resting atop yours, “and I don’t want you getting hurt.” You smiled at him, the both of you forgetting Charlotte was there for a moment until she spoke

  “Go. Quickly.” she said, bringing you and Malcolm back to reality, “if father wakes up, I’ll keep him away from the horses. Go. Now. Quickly!” Charlotte shooed both of you away and made your way as quietly down the ladder and through the barn as you could, letting Malcolm untie the horses while you said goodbye

  “It was lovely to meet you Miss Charlotte” you whispered

  “You as well Miss Cassandra, I hope to see you again.” she replied and soon you joined Malcolm, hopping onto the horse and waiting for Malcolm to jump behind, keeping your eyes focused on the path while the horse galloped quickly to get you home. Finally, you arrived in front of the home you shared with your father and Malcolm jumped down from the horse, once again helping you down quietly.

  “Thank you for being so sweet to Charlotte,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, “I know she can be a bit.. nosy”

  “She was a darling. Very sweet girl. And I meant what I said. About the both of you,” you replied, continuing only when you noticed him furrow his brow slightly, “your hearts are both pure and your souls are kind. You have goodness in you and... something else too”

  “You’re talking in rhymes” he laughed but your smile was weak and insincere as you checked back to make sure your father hadn’t come outside yet

  “There is magic in you, Malcolm. Magic I hope you learn to use properly. To coincide with the good that I know is in you because I see it so clearly. The good in you. The magic in you.

  “Cassandra!” you heard your father bellow from the doorway, leading you to snap your eyes shut at the anger in his voice, “Inside. Now!”

  “I hope to see you again, Malcolm. Get home safe.”

  “And you, Cassandra.” He said softly as he watched you make your way up to where your father stood. Your attempt at trying to wave goodbye to him was foiled by your father’s dismissal of the boy. He directed you inside and scowled at you as you listened to the sound of the horse ride off in the distance.

xx

  “Cassandra!” your father yelled, “what are you doing?”

  “Nothing!” You shouted back, “we were talking and looking at the stars!”

  “Looking at the stars?” he asked, disgusted at the activity

  “How mortal...” Anthea said as she appeared from around the corner, “the whole thing is so mortal, Uncle Apollo...”

  “Anthea not now” he argued

  “I thought you were going home?” you seethed

  “You told me to go to either home,” she smirked, “so I came here. I wanted to hear all about your date, I just didn’t expect you to be so late.”

  “It wasn’t a date” you countered

  “Cassandra, you know you cannot change this boys fate” your father stated, moving closer toward you

  “I’m not trying to change his fate!” you yelled

  “Aren’t you?” Anthea chided, “what was it you were telling him outside? That there was good in him? Magic even?”

  “You cannot tell mortals that there is magic in them.. They cannot know it exists”

  “They already know it exists!”

  “What do you mean?” Your father asked, narrowing his eyes at you

  “He knows about Neverland,” you sighed heavily when both his and Anthea’s eyes widened at you, “I didn’t tell him. He already knew about it. And yes. Fine. I told him there was magic in him. That there was good in him. But I didn’t tell him what he could do with any of it!”

  “That’s not the point Cassandra!” your father hissed, towering over you with each angry word he spoke to you, “we have the gift of sight. Of Prophecy. It is a burden that we have been entrusted with. You cannot use it to make the boy you love stay good!”

  “I’M NOT!” you yelled, the anger boiling below your surface causing tears to brim your eyes, “I believe in him, papa, is that so wrong? I want him to know that he doesn’t have to go down that dark path. And he won’t, if he’s given a chance”

  “You can’t provide that path for him, little one,” he said gently, placing his hand on your shoulder to calm you, “he needs to find his own path. To find his own light, not the light that you show him”

  “I’m not trying to tric--” you started, stopping suddenly to bring up what he had said, “the boy I love?”

  “What?” he and Athea said together and you furrowed your brow

  “You said I can’t use our gift to make the boy I love.. stay good” you said to your father

  “I--” he stammered

  “I never said I loved him”

  “But you do, don’t you?” Anthea added, “I saw the way your heart broke when you thought he wasn’t going to show...”

  “I do love him,” you said, “but I never said I did”

  “I’m not blind, Cassandra, and I think you forget, my sister is the Goddess of Love.”

  “And what would she have told you of this mortal and I?”

  “That you loved him!” he defended

  “No,” you countered, moving toward him, “no, she wouldn’t have come to you just to tell you that ‘your favourite daughter was in love’ she would have said that you needed to stop me from falling for a mortal. From making the same mistake you did”

  “You’re going to get hurt, Cassandra,” he shouted, “mortals think they know everything. Think they can handle anything. But they find out about us and they run away. He will run away if he finds out about who we are.”

  “He’ll say you lied. That you kept secrets from him. He’ll never trust you again” Anthea snarled

  “There’s nothing that says he has to find out. I love him but I am willing to put his future before mine”

  “It’s not fair, my love, to him,” he said, sitting down and gesturing for you to do the same, “you know his future. You know his choices. He won’t know yours. Loving him and him loving you is not fair to him.”

  “I haven’t looked at his choices or his future since I met him. Since I saw him.”

  “But you knew it without looking,” Anthea added from where she sat, shrugging when you scowled at her, “that’s the point”

  “Papa, please,” you pleaded, “what are you going to do?”

  “Me?” he said, “nothing. Unless you lead me to it. No, I won’t do anything and neither will you”

  “What?” you exclaimed

  “You cannot see him anymore”

  “Father, please”

  “Enough,” he stated, standing up, “you are not to see this boy anymore!”

  “Papa” you pleaded weakly

  “Cassandra, there are rules,” he stated, “we are immortals, this boy is a mortal”

  “So am I. I’m like him. Part mortal” you said, beginning to sob

  “BUT YOU ARE ALSO MY DAUGHTER!” he yelled, the house shaking as the lights rose and fell with his voice, “and you will do as I say.” You wiped away the tears from your eyes and sniffling as you looked up at him, a rage burning inside you like you never felt, and smiled

  “Would this have worked if someone told you to stay away from my mother? Or the Cassandra who broke your heart?”

  “No but you are not me and you are not them”

  “You can’t forbid from seeing him, father”

  “I can and I did”

  “Why?” you whined

  “Because, Cassandra,” he said, seething as he stopped toward you, “he is not like us. You need to choose your family over a love you will never have!” It was all he needed to say for your heart to break and for your mind to rage. You nodded, inhaling deeply before walking away and locking yourself in your room.

  “Cass?” Anthea called, “we’re just looking out for you. Doing what’s best. You have to understand that.” Answering her meant nothing at this point so you stayed silent as tears fell down your cheek and you swept away the roof above you so you could look at the stars. Imaging your own version of running away.

[yourdeepestfathoms]

Balance Requires Motion (Six Cowgirl AU)

TW: Animal abuse

————

Horse barn names/racing names:

Latte/Overly Caffeinated

Dusty/Avoiding Dust

Vinnie/Vincent Van GoGo

Whisper/TellMeYourSecrets

Blazer/Out-Burn Kamikaze

Listener/Lost Song

Peril/Hell Comes Handily

Croft/Tomb Raider

Queenie/SheBeast

———————

Jockeys/Race nicknames:

Anna Cleves/Red

Anne Boleyn/The Trickster

Joan Meutas/Hurricane

Thomas Cromwell/Bulldog

Thomas Culpeper/Salt

———————

“What did I say about bringing him into the house?!”

“He gets cold!”

“Fuck, he stepped in the food!”

Maggie blinks from where she’s packing up her things, watching as a medium-sized goose honks and hops back up on the table, his foot going into the mashed potatoes. Maria screeches, reaching out to grab her beloved bird, but he flaps his wings and dashes off the table and under the couch.

Bessie just sighed and rubbed her thumb and index finger against her forehead. This is a normal occurrence, seeing as how her roommate favors the bird for some reason.

“You have to stop bringing him in,” Bessie scolds, grabbing the ruined potatoes. She’ll save them for the pigs, maybe.

“But his dad is the devil! He doesn’t deserve to be stuck outside in the cold with that demon!”

Maggie suddenly gasps, placing a hand to her chest.

“Aries is a sweetheart! Sure, he may look a little rundown, but he’s sweet and loving!”

She receives two looks of disbelief.

“You’re the only one he likes,” Bessie says, shaking her head.

“Yeah, he’s a pest for everyone but you!” Maria calls from where she is now, crouching down on the living room floor. She peeks under the couch and then a cushioned seat, squeaking as the goose tries to nip at her. She coos, placing her hand under the chair until the bird hesitantly waddles out.

“Who’s my good Leonardo?” Maria coos, rocking the goose back and forth in her hands.

“I still don’t understand why you named a goose ‘Leonardo’. Too pristine for him,” Bessie says, noticing Maggie scurrying over to the house phone that was starting to ring. “Take him outside.”

Maria let out a long groan, but obeyed and walked out of the house to return Leonardo to his pen. When she returns Maggie has finished the phone call.

“It’s Miss Seymour,” The farmhand informs, “She’s got a mare that’s struggling.”

With that, Bessie is already swiping her car keys and pulling on her coat. She nods to Maria, who heads out the door to the truck.

“Would you like to be dropped off, dear?” Bessie asks her young farmhand, “Don’t you have school tomorrow?”

“I can stay,” Maggie said, “I want to help.”

Bessie smiled and nodded, heading out to the car to get to the job.

—————

“Maria will you stop cringing and help me?”

Bessie’s roommate peeked into the barn, her face pale and expression disgusted, then immediately yanked herself back out.

“Oh, that is so gross! I didn’t sign up for this!”

“You didn’t sign up for ANYTHING! I am letting you LIVE in MY HOUSE for FREE! So get your ass OVER HERE and HELP ME!”

Standing against the far wall in of the barn, Jane Seymour, the farm owner, and her horse trainer, Catherine Aragon, watched this exchange go on. Maggie stood alongside them, holding any tools that might have been needed.

“Are they...?” Aragon’s words trailed off as she scratched the top of her head. “Does this...?”

“Oh yeah.” Maggie said without her finishing. “This is their process!”

“You have your ARM in a horse’s VAGINA!! You never said anything about THAT when I came to live with you!”

“I’ll stick my arm up YOUR VAGINA if you don’t get over here!” Bessie then quieted her voice and stroked the fur of Latte, the foaling horse she was assisting, “Shh, Shh, Shh. It’s okay, sweetie. You’re okay... MARIA!!”

“Okay! Okay! I’m coming!”

Maria dragged herself over to the fallen horse and did her best to not look at the hooves sticking out of the mare’s vagina.

After some time goes by, Bessie was pulling on the foal’s front legs, sticky and wet with birthing fluid and covered in the placenta. She was doing her best to be gentle, yet firm enough to pull out the baby, but the mare continued to let out louder whinnies. Jane grips tightly to her shirt as she watches.

“Come on, girl. I can’t do it alone. Push.” Bessie said encouragingly, pulling out more of the baby.

“Come on, Latte, push. You can do it.” Maria said to the mother. The horse’s wild, tired eyes looked up at her.

And, as if she was actually listening, she began to push harder. The foal’s head slipped out a second later, followed by the rest of the upper body.

“That’s it, you’re doing it!” Maria cheered happily, trying to keep her voice down so she would remain calm.

“Almost there,” Bessie murmured as she got a hold of the foal’s middle.

After a few minutes, the foal was finally out. A spew of birthing fluids and placenta followed and Maria was darting out of the barn, causing Bessie to laugh as she peeled off the soaked glove she had on her arm.

“Good work, Mars!” She called.

“Urrg...” Maria groaned from outside.

“You okay, love?”

“Fine...like you care...” Maria grumbled.

Bessie laughed again and then looked back down at the baby. The new foal looked just like it’s mother. Under all that goo was a beautiful, chestnut colored mustang, with a sweet little patch of white on it’s nose. She just about swooned when she saw those large, gleaming brown eyes look up at her.

“It’s a filly,” Bessie called to Jane, who was taking deep breaths of relief.

“Oh, she’s perfect.” Jane said, walking over slowly. “Bessie, I cannot thank you enough. I was so worried...”

The filly began to gather her surroundings, looking around to see where she was while her mother licked and nuzzled her from above. After a moment, she slowly began to stand on her long legs, wobbling and tumbling down a few times, making Maggie laugh a bit before she finally started to get the hang of it. She clumsily tottered her way over to her mother and instantly began to nurse.

Speaking of the young farmhand, she was alerted by voices outside, so she walked out and approached a nearby track.

“Jog him a bit, Catherine doesn’t want anything crazy," A dark-skinned girl, maybe around nineteen, called to another colored woman on a horse.

The woman on the horse nodded in understanding. She walked her mount, a large, muscled chestnut mare, down to one of the far poles, circled her around, and shifted her weight forward allowing the horse to start moving.

At the same time, a second woman riding a bulky red stallion, shot by, throwing up dust as they went by. The chestnut mare grunted and staggered backwards, nearly rearing, but she calms when her rider pats her broad neck and whispers something loving in her ear.

“Anne!” The nineteen-year-old barked, “Didn’t you hear me?!”

“She never does,” Giggled the second girl at her side. She was younger, maybe seventeen, and her hair was dyed pink at the tips.

“A jog is so boring! Vinnie and I need something more exciting!”

“Then give me a few figure eights!” The nineteen year old said.

Seemingly content with that, the red stallion and his rider pushed forward and began running in circles. As they did this, Maggie found it to be the best time to approach the two girls.

“Hello?” She called, and the pair leaning against the track fence turned around. The one with dyed hair smiled brightly and lunges for her, hugging her tightly.

“Maggie!” She chirped. “I didn’t know you were coming!”

“Emergency call,” Maggie grinned, hugging back, “I was still at Bessie’s house, so I decided to come over! Hey, Cathy.”

“Hey, Maggie.” Cathy smiled at her.

“What are you guys doing?”

“Helping Anna and Anne train,” Cathy said, “Since Catherine is with Jane and the mare, we were gonna watch and help out here. We got a race coming up.” Pride leaked into her voice. “How’s your jockey coming along? Bessie said she’s getting into horse racing.”

Maggie inwardly winced, but, luckily, doesn’t actually do it to where anyone can see.

“Joan’s doing good! She struggled a little at first, but she’s come a long way.” She then smirked, “You guys better be ready for some competition.”

Cathy actually laughed loudly at that. Katherine grinned brightly.

“Oh, we are!” Cathy said.

“Speak of the Devil!” Katherine yipped.

Maggie turned around to see a blonde girl, barely eighteen, with tired eyes walking a red horse with black speckles up to the track. She perks up a little.

“Joan!” She called, “What are you doing here?”

“Bessie texted me to bring Blazer over.” Joan said. Her voice was as tired as her eyes were, oozing with hidden pain she tried to shove away. It’s like she’s been shattered and pieced back together several times. She went to say something else, but stopped when she noticed the other two jockeys on the track, moving with such professionalism and perfection that it nearly made her turn around and march back home.

By the gleam in Katherine’s eye, she's caught the young jockey’s expression.

“Up you get, Joan,” She said cheerfully. “Show us those skills you've been honing!”

Joan turned to her to glare slightly, her irritation for Jane’s farmhand already bubbling. She ignores it for now, though, and grabbed the saddle horn and clambered onto Blazer’s muscular back. Surprised, the horse stumbles a little, pawing at the dirt with a front hoof. Then he settles. Somewhat. He doesn't seem happy...

Blazer hesitates. He shuffles back and forth. Under Joan’s thighs, his muscles tense, and, for a moment Joan thinks he might throw her off. Then, he cranes his head around, looking for something. Joan laughs softly and gives it to him- a sugar cube.

Cathy wrinkled her nose a little at this. Katherine attempts a little lopsided smile, while Maggie shrinks back, secondhand embarrassment stinging her insides.

“He shouldn’t be so fidgety when you get onto him,” Cathy said as gently as possible. “And you shouldn’t have to tempt him into listening to you with treats... Is he not trained?”

“He is trained!” Joan snapped, causing Blazer to stir in agitation at the tone of her voice. She quiets herself, hunching her shoulders in a little, and mutters an apology to her mount. “Blazer’s just...he has a temper. That’s all.”

Cathy and Katherine say no more on the topic. Katherine opens the gate to the track and Blazer trots through the fence.

“Hey, Joan!”

The woman on the red stallion, Anne, came charging up to Joan and, for a moment, the girl thought she was going to get trampled. But then the horse skids to a perfect halt in front of her.

“Hi, Anne.” Joan gave her a small smile. “And this is...?”

“Vincent Van GoGo.” Anne smirked proudly. “Vinnie is his normal name. Anna’s lady is Dusty. Or Avoiding Dust.”

That name was understandable. That mare looked so fast. When she was in a race, she could probably easily avoid dust.

“And who’s this?”

“Blazer.”

“Race name?”

“Race-? Oh! Out-Burn Kamikaze.”

Anne quirked an eyebrow.

“It was Maria’s idea.”

Anne laughed. “Ah! Alright. Well, why don’t you try practicing? I don’t think I’ve seen you ride before.”

Joan nods and heads off to begin.

Figure eights and loops around the yard to start, then she has Blazer hop over a few fence posts one by one. He's responding beautifully.

Now the tricky bit.

Joan urges Blazer around the curve of the track and leans forward, allowing him to speed up. He does and his canter quickly turns to a full gallop.

Wind tears through Joan’s hair as her mount ran around the track. The air feels crisp while atop the speeding beast- it was unreal.

It was amazing.

But then, all of a sudden, Blazer is spasming.

Spooked by something, the horse jerked to the side and began rearing in circles in the middle of the track. He jabbed at the air with his front hooves, shrilling frightful, or maybe furious whinnies so loud they bring Aragon, Jane, and Bessie out of the stables.

Joan helplessly cries for her steed to calm down, but her yelling only seems to spur his frenzy further. He whipped his head back and forth, turned in every direction, and reared until, finally, Joan came loose from his back and was flung to the dirt. With one final buck of his hind legs, he scampered away to try and calm himself down.

Joan lays dazed on the ground for several long seconds. Her shoulder aches in tremendous pain when she sits up, winding her further. She struggles to breathe as several other cries of horses sound around her. Avoiding Dust and Vincent Van GoGo must have gotten spooked by Blazer’s tantrum.

“Joan!!”

Someone was coming, so she angrily scrubs away her tears and forces herself to her feet. Her shoulder throbs in disagreement, but she ignores the scream of her muscles and bones.

“Joan, are you okay?” Maria asked. Worry was glinting in her eyes. “What happened?”

“I don’t know!” Joan growled, her voice cracking slightly. She sniffled and clawed away tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks again.

“Oh, sweetheart...”

“I’m going back to the farm.” Joan said. She then turned around and promptly walked over to Blazer, who bumped her reddened face as if nothing had happened.

The entirety of Royalling Stones Farm felt silent as she walked out with her horse in tow.

“Is she okay?” Bessie asked Maria the moment Joan was out on the street.

“I don’t know,” Maria answered. “She was crying, though...”

“Poor thing...” Bessie sighed.

“Is everything alright?” Jane asked.

“Besides the kid being bucked off and all.” Aragon added.

“Yeah,” Bessie said slowly. “Joan’s just...got some things going on. That’s all. Anyway...I need to be getting Maggie home. Let’s go, girls! It was good seeing you Jane. You too, Catherine.”

With goodbyes said, Bessie, Maria, and Maggie all piled into Bessie’s truck to leave.

The ride home was awkwardly silent. Maria was going to start up a conversation when Maggie suddenly yelled and pointed out the window.

“What’s going on?”

Bessie and Maria both whipped their heads around to see their jockey and her horse causing some kind of scene in a neighboring farm. When Bessie saw what farm it was, she nearly floored it and continued driving, but she couldn’t do that to Joan, so she pulled over.

“Leave her alone!” Joan was yelling. At her side, Blazer was working himself up to a proper temper, stomping his hooves and snorting.

“What’s it to you, kid?” The man she was speaking to scoffed.

“What’s it to me? The poor thing’s crying out! It’s probably whining because she’s tired. I saw you running sprints with her when I passed by. She’s panting, can’t you see? If you bring her into her stable and give her some water she should calm down, no reason to whip her.” Joan replied, matching the man’s gaze. She has herself bristled up like an angry squirrel.

The horse she was referring to was a giant void of black. The mare was huge, much bigger than Vinnie back at Jane’s farm. However, the large creature was very clearly frightened and kept crying out and pain from when her owner had whipped her.

“It’s my horse. I paid for her. I can do whatever I’d like to her.” The man said, stalking closer to Joan. “Her race name is SheBeast for a reason. Now, why don't you go off and braid your little colt’s mane whilst I try and break my mare in like a real trainer, aye?”

Joan clenched her fists tightly. Blazer was getting more and more agitated by the second, the cries of the other horse setting him off.

“Alright, that’s enough!”

The sound of Bessie’s booming voice drove Blazer into a bucking fit. The whip-wielding man leapt away as Joan held tightly to her horse’s reigns, which gets her jerked around in the process.

“Jesus fuck!” The man yelled, “Control your horse, brat! Before he kills someone!”

“I am!” Joan snapped.

“Joan.” Bessie growler. “Get Blazer under control and let’s go.”

“Bessie!” Joan said in surprise, still being yanked around by her horse. “Wait- what? We can’t leave! This man’s-“

“Ah, Elizabeth.” The man smirked widely.

“Cromwell.” Bessie spit. She grabbed Joan rougher than she intended to and pushed the girl behind her.

“Please. Use Thomas.” Thomas crooned, “You’re looking well. Better than well. Henry has been saying how good you look at the races and now I see what he means.” His eyes are hungry.

“We’re leaving.” Bessie hissed. She ignored Joan’s blubbering and pulled her to the truck as Thomas laughed and called to her mockingly.

“Bessie, we cant leave. The horse-“

“I know, Joan,” Bessie said. “It’s terrible, but there’s nothing we can do.”

“Yes there is! What’s your deal with this place? Why do you want to leave so badly? He’s hurting that horse!”

“It’s his horse.”

“That makes it worse!”

“Joan, please, you’re making a scene.”

“And you’re refusing to help that poor horse! She needs us!”

“Joan, we are not-“ Bessie cut herself off with a help of pain when Blazer suddenly bites her hand.

—————

Joan furiously threw chicken feed into the coop, tears burning down her cheeks. The birds fluttered around to eat, unaware of what she was muttering about. Not that they would care.

Geez. Was she really at such a low in her life that she thought some chickens would care about her?

(Nobody cares nobody cares nobody cares that’s why Bessie got mad Bessie is just using her)

The girl put the bucket she was using back in the main barn, then went to go get on the horses. There, she found Blazer, munching away on some alfalfa. His twin sister, a gorgeous dapple grey mare named Listener, was in the pen right beside his.

“Are you scared, too?” Joan whispered to her horse. “Is that why you won’t run?”

Blazer didn’t even look up at her.

“Were you scared when you bit Bessie? Were you...protecting me?”

Nothing.

“I’m scared, too.”

No reaction.

However, when Joan opens the corral gate, his head whips up.

Joan steps inside, bolting the door behind her, and Blazer whinnies and lifts his forelegs, mimicking a rear-up, his ears turning back- but not flattening. He doesn't show his teeth.

Joan lets Blazer circle around, but when Blazer turns to show Joan his hindquarters, she steps back, her spine pressing uncomfortably against the wooden gate.

A good jockey or trainer would have whipped the ill-tempered horse with a coil. Not enough to hurt, but enough to let the horse know it was a warning to not kick out. Hell, even a normal jockey or trainer would know that.

But Joan wasn’t normal or good.

She shrunk back further against the gate, eyeing Blazer’s powerful back legs wryly. One kick from those in the head and she’d be dead.

(Please kick please kick please kick bust open her skull smash in her brain make her no more make her no more PLEASE)

Blazer watches the girl, then huffs, nostrils flared out. His hooves settle back on the ground. Joan smiles a little, dipping her head. She steps forward.

“There we go,” She whispered. She has some sugar cubes in her pocket and puts one in her closed fist, knowing Blazer can smell it. “C'mon, you giant. What else you gonna try?”

Blazer lowers his head like she was. Then, he darts to the side, kicking up a spray of dirt, and Joan laughs, wiping her hand over her face where some hit her. Blazer tries to show his hindquarters again and Joan sidesteps, not wanting to flick her horse, even if it wouldn’t hurt. Blazer huffs trots around the corral.

“I got all the time in the world,” Joan warns the animal, as Blazer snorts and blusters again, pulls up short as if he can trick Joan into turning too far. Seems put out, huffing in annoyance when Joan proves too smart for that. Joan laughs and Blazer finally seems to calm, his ears rolling forward. He shakes his mane out and swishes his tail like a wagging dog.

Joan hums, and then she goes to the edge of the corral, keeping her eyes on Blazer. She sits back, and bends down so she can keep her thighs on one of the metal bars, but her chest is behind it, and she can put her arms over the bar above and stay upright. Blazer snorts at her, walking slowly back and forth, side to side but getting a little closer each time, like he's testing the waters. He looks almost sheepish, like someone realizing they had been blowing things way out of proportion.

Joan grins at him, and offers the sugar cube with a flat palm.

Blazer perks up with a soft whinny, ears forward, and lips delicately at the mint. He snorts at the girl, long lashes dipping over his dark, warm eyes. Joan knows horses aren't capable of having thoughts like people do, don't understand things like taxes and God, but there seems to be some focused shine in Blazer’s eyes, and Joan thinks, with a smile, that they have just come to some unspoken agreement.

“There we go,” She murmurs, petting over Blazer’s big, warm cheek. The stallion breathes out heavily, warm on Joan’s arm and chest, and swishes his tail again, taking another slow step forward. “I know, you just had to get it all outta your system.”

She laughs when Blazer nudges at her pocket, seeking another sugar cube. She pushes Blazer’s forelock to one side, scratches over his forehead, and cups his cheeks.

“Who’s my big brave boy?” She whispered to him.

It could have been pure coincidence, or, perhaps, Blazer really did understand her, but the horse paws the dirt with one hoof and bobbed his head up before returning to Joan’s hands. The girl stared in shock for a moment before a wide, giddy smile stretched on her features.

“Yes you are!” She cooed and pressed a gentle kiss to his soft nose. “You’re my big brave boy.”

Joan closed her eyes, relaxing herself as she leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Blazer’s.

“We’re gonna be champions, you and me.” She told him. “We’re partners. And we can do this. I know we can. Even if we’re scared, at least we can be scared together.”

[toomztoom]

She looked of archaic magic

Hooves kicked up the soft surface of the white snow, leaving shallow holes in the ground. Four horses ran in the cold night, the rhythmic sounds of metal from the saddles following the powerful beasts. The lead horse carried the king himself on his dark, muscular shoulders. The other three carried trusted guards on their haunches. They galloped out of the castle walls and out into the unprotected land, the horses' heavy breathing echoing in the darkness. The moon illuminated the night sky and shined down on the horses flanks. The king and guards pushed their horses a little past their limit. Time was precious now, and they couldn't afford losing it. They needed to reach the cottage.

The woods could be seen in the distance, encouraging the men to move their horses faster. One of the guard's horses nearly tripped as the guard kicked the horse's hips. The king's strong horse sent snow and dirt flying with it's powerful hooves, it's black coat shining in the moon. It was by far the most beautiful out of all the horses, but not only did it have beauty, it had strength and courage, making it the best war horse out of them all. As they reached the forest, they slowed to a halt, the king observing the twisted trees.

"We need to be back by sunrise!" The king bellowed, his breath puffing into clouds.

The guard's replied with a quick, "Yes, your majesty."

They let their horses catch their breath for a minute.

"Your majesty?" Requested Odin, one of the guards.

The king looked over his shoulder at the guard in the back of the group.

"What shall we do if she doesn't agree, sire?"

There was a hesitant pause.

"Odin," the king said at last, "let's pray she does."

They yelled and kicked their horses back into action, although none of them were eager to enter the dark woods. The witch in the forest gave everyone shivers. No one dared speak her name, let alone mention her.

Thick evergreens stood tall and hid the skyline. Snow covered every branch of every tree, just waiting to collapse to the ground. The snow covered the ground like a white blanket. Everything looked dead.

As they made their way deeper into the woods, the lush evergreens were soon replaced with plants that resembled burnt sticks. The snow was now bare, showing the dead and shriveled plants on the forest floor. One of the horses whinnied.

The air shifted, and if possible, became even colder than before. The wind batted and scratched the guards' faces, doing no justice to the horses, either. In the corner of the king's eyes, he could spy shadows running along with them, but he knew not to pay them any mind. Laughs could be heard in the distance. Screams and scratches filled the frosty air, even though there was nothing alive here.

No one dared step foot near her.

The men hopped off their horses and tied them to a hopefully sturdy tree branch, checking to see if their weapons were somewhere they could reach.

"She's close by." The king warned. "Whatever you do, do not provoke her."

The men took the rest of their journey by foot, all becoming uneasy as they spotted the cottage. The king knew what would happen if she were to be provoked, making his heart race with dread. But he had no other choice.

They breached the tree line and entered the clearing.

The cottage was old and run down, with weak wood as support beams and pests as guards. A pang of guilt shot through him. 'She's been living like this this whole time...' He winced. Two giant trees stood tall and proud on either side of the cottage. They were the only trees with leaves and strong branches, while the others in the forest were rotted away and lifeless.

They got closer to the cottage, keeping note that the clouds began to grow dark and swirl above their heads. The king glanced at the sky just in time to see lightning strike the two trees. The men jumped in surprise and took a few steps back, expecting the trees to catch on fire. However, nothing happened.

Confused, they stood there, watching them and glancing over at the others nervously. The king took a step forward, before retreating again as the trees began to groan and creak, writhing and shaking in their place. Their roots began to protrude out of the ground, slithering like snakes on the forest floor. Some of their leaves fell to the ground as one of the trees used it's roots to stand up. The other soon followed, shaking dirt off itself and standing tall.

There was a pause. No one dared move as the living trees stood still. The king held his breath.

The tree on the left swung its branches like fists at the group, flinging dirt up in the air as it crashed into the earth. The men were lucky enough to be able to throw themselves out of the way before impact. The other tree grew its branches out of its trunk like spikes and spun, sending up a dust storm. The dust got in the men's eyes, temporarily blinding them. A thud and a scream of agony came from one of the guards.

"Simone!" Yelled Roth, watching his friend get flung into the air and thrown into the woods. The guard ran after him, avoiding the spikes of the tree as it unleashed them in different directions.

The king ducked and watched the spikes fly overhead, knowing he shouldn't have brought himself into this situation. He shouldn't have brought anyone into this situation. He rubbed the painful dust out of his eyes and stood before the trees, shaking with fear. "Hey!"

The trees turned to him, rearing back in preparation of attack.

"Wait! We mean your mother no harm!"

They froze.

"Please, we need her help! She knows who I am! She's the only one who can help... I'm begging you, let us pass!"

The trees hesitated, before relaxing, turning to each other as if they were speaking through a language no mortal could comprehend.

"Kaal, Shoc! That's enough, my lovelies. Go back to sleep." Said a soft voice behind the trees.

Roth came back supporting an injured Simone, who was dripping crimson from his right leg and arm. The men watched the trees go back to their spots in the ground, their roots digging into the ground once more. They shook as they got into position, becoming dormant once more.

The king turned his attention to the lady in front of him, his heart dropping as he gazed at the women he had known long ago.  

The only parts of her body that were showing was her head, feet and hands, all covered in unnatural tattoos that glowed and moved and changed colors on her skin. If the women were to take off her ripped, worn dress, the tattoos would be there too, swirling and shifting in magnificent ways that were almost hypnotizing to watch. Her curly red hair was tangled and matted, and her rosey cheeks had turned to gray. Her eyes were dark--oh so dark and stormy. Anguish and hate filled those beautiful gray eyes... It wasn't fair.

Archaic magic coursed through her veins as bright as day. A magic that has been long forgotten, for it was a dangerous art that no one wanted to try, let alone master. It was so dangerous, in fact, that many ignorant people believe it to be a curse... One of the reasons why the king banished her in the first place. He was blinded by fear and his own selfishness when he exiled her, believing that she would attempt to overthrow him. He knew she would win that battle, so he threw her into the woods, decreeing that if she were to step foot in the castle walls, she would be beheaded.

However she dared not lay a finger on him. She had loved him oh so long ago, and though he was cruel to her, she still did. She loved him with all her black heart. She never wanted anything more than his love. She didn't care to rule, or to be wealthy, or even wear a single jewel from the castle's treasury. The women just wanted to be by his side.

Before he was crowned king, and when his father ruled, Gerald had known and loved a beautiful healer who lived in her own quarters of the castle. Levana was her name. Known throughout the whole kingdom for her kind yet witty heart and her amazing gift. She was the only healer, so she lived in the castle, where she was needed most. There, Gerald and the healer's friendship started when she moved in.

Right after she got settled, the prince fell ill with a horrible flu and was bedridden for days. Levana was ordered to heal him, or the king would personally kill her. Of course she didn't care about his threats. She knew she would be able to take anything he threw at her.

Levana knocked on the mahogany doors to the prince's room, waiting for them to open from the other side.

A maid answered the door, her thick, graying hair secured in a tight bun and her eyes tired with worry. "Are you the healer?"

"Who else would it be?" Levana pushed the maid aside, walking to the prince's bedside. She looked about the room and scoffed, thinking it absurd to have such a large room. 'What a waste of space...' A lavish bed sat in the middle of the room, big enough for a family of ten to sleep in. There the prince laid, looking nearly dead with his hollow eyes, pale skin, and shallow, ragged breaths. Levana pulled up a chair and got comfortable, before holding the prince's weak hand.

The maid choked on her saliva, petrified. "Y-You're not allowed to touch the prince!"

"If the king wants him alive, then I must." She spat with a glare.

The maid flinched, holding her hand to her heart, before cowering into a far corner.

"That's what I thought."

She held his hand with both of hers, the veins under her skin beginning to give off an eerie, golden glow. The color spread like wildfire, and soon she was brighter than a bonfire, her eyes clouded and smokey white.

Sweat began to drip off her forehead, but she paid it no mind. Healing someone took an extreme amount of energy, and it wasn't uncommon for a healer to die during the process. She could feel her life force getting sucked out of her, and she began to gasp for air. The prince's temperature began to lower, and his appearance became healthier. His eyes fluttered open, and the healer yanked away, drenched in sweat as her heart pounded like a war drum. The fog clouding her eyes cleared, and her veins returned to their original state.

"The... The prince..." Levana panted, "is... is healed... The king may see... see his son, now..."

The maid scurried away.

Gerald groaned, catching the healer's attention. He lolled his head to look at her, his eyes half lidded tiredly. The prince examined her for a minute, before a tired smile formed on his lips. "Thank you..."

She smiled back. "My pleasure..."

"Levana," king Gerald whispered in a hoarse voice as his eyes began to tear up, "what... what has happened to you?"

"What did you expect would happen when you exiled me? I'd live in a magnificent castle?" She snorted, grinning in disbelief.

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, before repeating the same action again and again. Finally, he said, "You shouldn't have used black magic."

She snarled. "It wasn't black magic! It was *archaic* magic. Very old and almost extinct."

"Never mind. Levana, the reason I came here is for your help. Not to fight."

She laughed maniacally, throwing her head back. "Help you?!Why would I help you? You threw me out of my home because you were stupid enough to think I'd overthrow you! I didn't even care about a throne, I cared about you! I loved you, Gerald!... But what did you do? Exile me because you were too cowardly to do anything else."

He took a step back, ashamed in himself. "Please, Levana, the kingdom is under great threat. The Giants claimed war; we stand no chance!" He got on his knees and grasped her hand, looking into her eyes pleadingly. "Thousands of lives will be lost! I know you don't want that to happen. Please, I'll give you anything, just help!"

She stared down at him, cocking her head to the side in thought. "Anything, you say?"

"Yes, anything!"

A grin spread on her face, and the king's eyes widened as he gulped in fear. She knelt on one knee to meet his eyes, smirking as she patted his hand. "I heard that you finally have an heir. An only son among many daughters."

His hand began to shake under hers.

"I've been thinking about having an apprentice for some time, now." She continued. "I will help you... If you let him live with me so I can teach him magic, and once he is thirteen, we shall both move into the castle, and he shall be crowned king. Do we have a deal?"

The guards looked at the king. Surely he wasn't selfish enough to give away his only son for a war and to continue being king... Could he?

"... How have you become so heartless? Taking my only son away from me!" He began to sob.

"You took my life, home, freedom, and love and threw me in these dark woods alone! This is merely  delayed justice."

Pain was written all over his face as he looked down, his thoughts reeling.

"May I remind you, your majesty, that the giants are merciless and will easily wipe out your kingdom. As well as that, there are no other beings that will willing help you, seeing that half of the races on this world are against you. The only way you'll survive," she put a finger under his chin and lifted his head, forcing him to meet her eyes, "is if I step in and stop all this."

He avoided her gaze, contemplating. 'If I agree we could stop the war... I could have another son in the future...' he greedily thought. He looked back up at her, tight lipped. "I agree."

She hummed and kissed his forehead, standing up. "Very well. Send him tomorrow, and I will give you all the help you need."

thank you @character-prompts for the inspiring prompts 

[katedoesfics]

Lacuna | Chapter 11

To Kahli’s relief, Sam was the only one in the Civil Corps building that evening. Sam looked up excitedly when Kahli entered, and she jumped to her feet, punching a fist into her palm.

“Alright!” she exclaimed. “Let’s kick some ass, shall we?”

Kahli saluted her playfully. “I’m ready. Show me your moves.”

“First thing’s first,” Sam started. “If you wanna be a good fighter, ya gotta learn all about the proper stance. It’s all about balance. You stay in balance, and you already have an edge.” As she spoke, Sam demonstrated, standing with her feet apart, knees bent, and her fists up. She hopped to the left, then to the right, and back and forth. “You can dodge and move all around your enemies without losing a beat! Once you perfect that, I’ll teach you how to throw a couple of good punches. We’ll work in a few kicks, and then get into some real sparring.” She threw a few punches out before her, then kicked her leg around, returning back into her proper stance.

Kahli frowned. “I thought we were gonna play with swords.”

Sam grinned and straightened. “We’ll get there. You gotta learn the basics first.” She pulled her gaze away and hesitated. “And admittedly, I’m not exactly the best swordsman. Don’t get me wrong, I can do what I need to do, but it’s not exactly my forte.” She spoke quickly to reassure Kahli, brightening slightly. “But, ask anyone! Ya gotta know the basics first. And Django is pretty good with a sword. Once you graduate from my lessons, you can get him to show you how to use a sword.”

“Alright,” Kahli said. “I trust ya.”

Sam smiled. “Good. With both of our skills, we’ll make you the best damn fighter Portia has ever seen! You’ll be a Civil Corps officer in no time!”

“Let’s see if I can survive these robots, first,” Kahli said.

Kahli spent the following weeks training with Sam. Spring warmed into summer, and Kahli already noticed herself getting stronger and more agile. And when she wasn’t training with sam, she was gathering materials in the mines and exploring Portia. She began work on the dee-dee transports, and with Emily’s help, she even began construction on a barn, eager to fill her property with cows and sheep - and someday - a horse.

She mostly admired the horses from afar, occasionally coming to the paddock fence to offer them handfuls of grass or apples and carrots. One horse in particular caught her eye; a white mare that often came to her when she sat on the fence to offer her treats.

When the barn was finally ready, she made her way to MaDonald’s to arrange the purchase of two cows and five sheep. She was counting out the gols she had saved as McDonald chatted on about the quality milk his cows produced.

“I’ve noticed you eyeing the horses, too,” he said to Kahli. He grinned at her when she handed him her money. “Ever ridden before?”

Kahli shook her head. “I’ve always wanted to learn. But there weren’t exactly a lot of horses in Barnarock.”

McDonald nodded. “Tell ya what,” he said. “I’ve got a busted barn out there that needs fixing. If you can give me a hand, I’ll give you lessons. And maybe I’ll give ya the friends and family discount on Star over there.”

Kahli looked over her shoulder to the white mare he pointed to.

“She’s a fast one, though,” he warned her. “But I see you’ve both taken to one another. I think I could part with her if she goes to you.”

Kahli met his gaze and smiled. “You got yourself a deal.”

After bringing the two cows back to their new home - and going back for the five sheep - Kahli set to work, spending the rest of the day fixing the barn for McDonald. By the evening, she had finished, and she stepped back to admire her work.

“You don’t mess around,” McDonald said as he approached her. He looked over the barn and nodded in approval. “Well, then, a deal’s a deal, hm? I’m sure you’re pretty busy these days, but I’ll l give you lessons whenever you’d like.”

She did have a pretty full schedule. She had just finished her training with Sam, which she did three nights a week, and she would be training with Django. She spent most of those days working on commissions, and the days in between gathering materials and crafting in the workshop. But she was eager to keep busy. For the first time since she arrived, she didn’t think about her father. She didn’t think about her feelings of abandonment or hopelessness. She didn’t doubt her worth as a builder any longer. For the first time in a long time, she was starting to feel like she had found a purpose. She wasn’t just some girl with nothing in her life. She had friends, she had a social life, and things were starting to feel right in the world.

“I think I can manage two days a week,” Kahli said.

McDonald laughed. “Ambitious. Alright, Kahli; I think I can make that work. I’ll see you tomorrow morning for your first lesson, then.”

Her first lesson with Django was that afternoon, and Kahli met him just outside of the plaza.

“Sam tells me you’re a natural,” Django said. He handed her a wooden practice sword. “She filled me in on what she’s been teaching you. I’d say you’re off to a good start. Itching to be a part of the Civil Corps?”

“Just trying not to get my ass kicked by more bandirats,” Kahli said.

Django laughed. “Well, that’s a good goal to have, too. Never know where they might show up, especially if you’re gonna be ruin diving like you have been. Those places are filled with all kinds of nasties. Good to be prepared. Show me what you know so far.”

Kahli was feeling confident in her skills, but she should have known better than to think she would be able to break through Django’s defenses. It didn’t take long before he had kicked her legs out from under her and she lay groaning on the ground. Django looked over her and grinned.

“Never underestimate your opponent,” he said. He reached an arm out and helped Kahli to her feet, and she dusted herself off.

“But Sam wasn’t wrong,” Django continued. “You’ve got a solid basis under your belt. Throwing a sword into the mix will be a challenge, but I think you’re up for it. Shall we?”

Django showed her how to hold the sword, how to balance with the sword in her hands, and how to swing it around her and at her opponents. She wouldn’t learn it all in a day, but she was eager to practice and learn everything she could. For once, she had something to be proud of, and she wanted to chase that high.

*****

“And then I punched those damn rats! It was totally insane! You missed out, Arlo!”

“You didn’t miss anything,” Remington said.

“You’ve dealt with bandirats before,” Arlo said over his shoulder to Sam.

“Yeah, but these guys weren’t like the others,” Sam said. She patted her horse’s neck as they rode along the coast. “In fact, I’m quite sure they’re similar to the bunch Kahli ran into a while back.”

Arlo glanced over his shoulder. “She’s not trying to take on more of them, is she?”

Sam grinned and waved a hand at him. “Please,” she started. “Those things don’t stand a chance against her. I may have been showing her a thing or two. She’s gotta learn to fend for herself, yanno.”

Arlo sneered at Sam. “You’ve been what?”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Come on, man, don’t be such a nerd. What’s wrong with teaching her to defend herself?”

“It encourages reckless behavior,” Arlo said.

“Right. Because she’s totally reckless.”

“Little bit.”

“She didn’t exactly expect to run into those bandirats,” Sam pointed out. “Besides. Who knows what else she might run into.”

“Nothing unless she goes somewhere she doesn’t belong.”

“Stop being so lame,” Sam said. “Believe it or not, she’s not helpless.” She brightened and stood in her stirrups. “Look. See? What I tell ya! Even Django is helping!”

Arlo followed Sam’s gaze, just barely making out Django and Kahli on top of the hill, swords in hand. They were sparring, and to his surprise, Kahli seemed to be holding her own against Django.

“Are you coming?” Sam called to him

He hadn’t even realized his horse had stopped. Sam and Remington were ahead of him, and they were stopped, watching him expectantly. Arlo kicked his horse forward, catching up to them.

Sam grinned. “Impressed, hm? Afraid she’ll show you up?”

“No,” Arlo said simply. In fact, it only worried him. Bandirats were moving in closer to town. Old robots were coming to life in the ruins. Something wasn’t right; the last few weeks proved that. Their patrols had nearly doubled and they had to fight off more hoards of monsters than usual. The last thing he needed was to have more work for himself. What other trouble could she possibly get into?

*****

The next morning, Kahli found herself at McDonald’s farm. McDonald stood beside a chestnut gelding, and he smiled at Kahli as she approached.

“Ready for your first lesson?” he asked.

“Galloping off into the sunset?” Kahli said with a grin, and McDonald laughed.

“Heavens, no,” he said. “You won’t be doing any galloping until you learn how to saddle the damn thing, first.” He picked up the saddle from the paddock fence and demonstrated to Kahli how to tack the horse.

“You put this blanket on first so the saddle doesn’t give the horse sores. Then you place the saddle like so. Right here, see? The horn goes right at the withers. And the girth comes around here, right behind the legs. You might have to cinch it a couple times to make sure the saddle is secure, otherwise ya gonna fall right under ‘im!”

Kahli watched closely, and when McDonald took it all off to let her try, she did exactly as he told her. When the saddle was secured, McDonald moved to show her how to bridle the horse, and once more, Kahli copied his instructions, taking the bridle off and putting it back onto the horse.

When the horse was tacked up, Kahli mounted the horse, listening and watching as McDonald instructed how to get the horse to move.

“A light tap with your heels here will tell the horse to move forward. You hold the reins in this hand. Yes, just like that. And you move your hand over here to tell the horse to go left, and here to go right. See how the rein touches the horse’s neck? That’s what it responds to.”

Kahli did as she was told, and when she moved the reins, the horse stepped to the left, then to the right. When she tapped with her heels, the horse started to walk forward and a lazy pace.

“Good,” McDonald said. “Now, test your brakes. To get ‘im to stop, you gotta pull back slightly on the reins. Not too hard, now. Good. And release. Always release when you get what you’ve asked for. If you keep pulling back, the horse will back up. Yes, just like that. Careful you don’t keep hitting him with your heels; that tells him to go faster. The key is to have steady hands and steady legs. Signal with your heels only when you want to go faster. Now sit up straight. Shoulders back and look ahead. There ya go.”

Kahli walked the horse around the paddock for a while, turning this way and that, stopping and backing up, quickly getting used to the horse’s movements. She listened when McDonald corrected her posture, straightening in the saddle and making sure to keep her hands steady and her feet from kicking the horse’s sides.

The lessons went on like this for the first couple weeks as she learned to keep her balance in the saddle, and soon, she was trotting circles around the paddock, and then cantering. And when McDonald felt confident in her abilities, he introduced her to Star.

“Really get to know each other first,” he said. “See if you’re a good match in the saddle, too. If you can handle her - she is a bit of a spitfire - I’ll let you buy her.”

Anxious to make the horse her own, Kahli spent as much time as she could at the barn, grooming and feeding Star, then riding around the farm. As sweet as she was on the ground, McDonald was right; she had a mind of her own once Kahli sat in the saddle. And though the horse couldn’t speak to her, Kahli swore she could tell just what the mare was thinking when her ears pinned back and she lurched forward, clearly testing the new rider on her back.

But Kahli found herself enjoying the mare’s spunky personality, and it wasn’t long before the two came to an understanding. Star had become familiar with Kahli as her rider, and though she still didn’t hesitate to give her opinion, she learned to trust in Kahli, becoming more responsive to her rider, and soon, they were bonded to one another.

Kahli had to take on extra commissions, working twice as hard as she had done over the spring, but on a particularly hot, summer day, Kahli found herself counting out her gols to McDonald, finalizing her purchase of Star.

McDonald smiled up at Kahli. “I think you two are a good match,” he said. “I’m glad I didn’t ship her off to someone else. Seems like you were made for one another, hm? She’ll take good care of ya, I know it.”