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misskikuwrites · 4 years ago

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Into the Wild (6/8)

Bede/Gloria (dressedinpinkshipping)

Gloria tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, unable to fall back asleep. The faint light of dawn streamed through the walls of her tent. Outside, the Wild Area was alive with the sounds of Pokemon waking up with the rising sun. Gloria huffed. It was too loud, too bright, too early. And she'd had too little sleep.

A certain someone had plagued her thoughts until late into the night, long after she'd crawled into her tent and desperately tried to sleep. Now, hours later, he was occupying her mind again. Gloria's mind had drifted to Bede soon after she'd woken up and now she couldn't force herself back to sleep.

She soon gave up, threw off her sleeping bag and changed into warmer clothes, tugging a jumper over her head as she left her tent. A thin layer of fog hung over their camp. The air was crisp and sharp, and she shivered and shuffled over to the remains of their firepit. It was out - of course - and she crouched in front of it, poking the charcoal and ashes with a stick.

The conversation they'd had last night, sitting by this very campfire, kept returning to her mind. The laughter, the s'mores. The look on Bede's face as he'd spoken to her, one she still couldn't describe. It kept reappearing in her mind. It made her stomach, and mind, swirl uncomfortably. Fluttery and uneasy.

He'd been so kind to her. So sweet and gentle. Not just last night, but for the entirety of the trip so far. Bede, who was usually so curt, rough around the edges, brusque and proud, had been sweet to her. Gloria rested her chin on her knees, prodding the remains of a charred log until it crumbled.

Opal must have had a big effect on him, for him to change so much…

Her mind drifted. She thought back to when she'd approached him with her favour, when she'd strolled into Fairy Gym over a week ago.

He'd been sharp with her then. Discerned her reason for coming with a huff, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"So, what is it this time?"

The words he'd said hung in her ears. She'd almost backed up the instant he'd said that, ready to swallow her favour and make an excuse.

And then, yesterday, the way he'd laid out those conditions, the things that needed to change for them to continue as a team… the memory coloured differently now.

He'd been calm. Professional. As though they were colleagues.

It hit her all at once. A heavy weight dropping into her stomach, dragging her heart, her soul, down with it.

Bede was treating her like the Champion. Following her lead, agreeing to her favour. To all the favours she'd asked of him.

Because she was the Champion.

The stick snapped in her hand.

Was that why he hadn't denied her? Why he hadn't rejected her offers, her favours? Because he couldn't? Because a Gym Leader had to follow the directions of the Champion?

That was why he was so nice to her. So sweet and kind, why he protected her. Why he cared about her. They were friends but, above everything else, Gloria was the Champion.

She'd been a nuisance, a bother, time and time again and… Bede hadn't been allowed to say no. He went along with it because that was his duty as a Gym Leader. He wanted to fit that role as strongly as she wanted to fit the role of the Champion. To do what was expected of them.

Was that why…?

She threw the stick onto the ashes. She'd asked for Bede's help as a friend, but hadn't considered that he'd answer her as a colleague. The Champion asking a favour of a Gym Leader.

Was that all they were?

She didn't want to know. The ache in her heart permeated through her body, her bones, as though she'd been frozen from the inside out.

She'd gotten ahead of herself again. Been too excited about the prospect of her and Bede being a team and forgot what they already were.

She didn't know what was correct anymore. It all felt wrong. Nothing fit right, nothing made sense. It all hurt.

Was she just a bother to Bede? A nuisance, an annoyance he couldn't shake, couldn't deny? She'd been so happy that he'd changed and softened around her, hadn't considered that maybe it was because she was the Champion. Because he had to act that way around her.

Even that didn't fit right. She knew her thoughts were running away from her, coming up with conclusions that suited the heavy ache in her chest rather than the facts.

The lack of sleep and the early hour was getting to her. Twisting her thoughts and mood negatively.

The chill in the morning air became too much, and Gloria stood, exhaling sharply. She needed to get the fire going before she actually began to freeze. She glanced around, before heading towards the trees behind Bede's tent. She picked up a few sticks along the way, snapping them absently as she tried to push any and all thoughts from her mind.

They'd done enough damage already.

Gloria treaded lightly around the bushes near Bede's tent. Just because she'd awoken at a ridiculous hour didn't mean she had to wake him up too.

And… she wasn't ready to face him yet. Not with the way her mind was still swirling, her throat still tight. Not with the doubt sinking over her shoulders.

Gloria knelt down, ignoring the ache of protest in her knees, and brushed a clump of leaves off a log. She touched it and sighed. The wood was damp. Even the meager sticks and branches she'd gathered were far from dry. She'd be able to get a small flame going, but nothing substantial enough to cook breakfast over at this rate. She stood and shifted again, rolling over the next log she found with her foot. It looked dry enough, so she gathered it in her arms and headed back to the fire.

As she rounded Bede's tent, she heard voices. A man and a woman, their voices rising from the other side of Gloria's tent. She paused, surprised anyone else was awake at this hour, before they came into view. The man had a large camera hoisted over his shoulder, the woman holding a microphone. They hadn't seen her yet.

Gloria dropped everything she was holding, the sticks, the branches, the single dry log she'd found, and lunged for the zip of Bede's tent. She thrust it upwards, scrambled inside and yanked it closed as fast as she could. Bede startled awake, jolting upright and staring incredulously at her. She dove at him, slapping a hand over his mouth and muffling whatever it was he tried to bark at her.

"Shh!" Gloria hissed.

Bede grabbed her wrist, his strangled protest smothered by her hand. She pressed her palm firmer against his mouth. Tried to silence him with a panicked, warning glare, suddenly realising how close they were but too desperate to silence Bede to back away. His eyes bored into her. A smouldering heat flushed his cheeks, his gaze burning and swimming as he tried to tug her hand off his mouth.

"Shh!" she hissed again, her breath catching as the voices outside drew closer, louder. She could make out some words.

"... camp… awake… anyone…?"

Footsteps crunched closer. A shadow drifted over the side of the tent. Gloria tensed, her whole body stiffening, and stared, wide-eyed at the shadow as it stilled by the entrance.

"Anyone home?" a deep, male voice called curiously.

Gloria's heart pounded in her ears. Bede's grip on her wrist began to itch.

"Don't wake them up!" a woman's voice chided. "We'll find some other trainers to interview elsewhere. It's the Wild Area - we won't have to go far!"

The shadow left. Footsteps drifted away as a low grumble sounded in disappointment. The conversion continued, quieter now, and Gloria could no longer pick out any words.

They were gone.

Bede yanked her hand off his mouth, his expression sizzling and searing. Gloria stiffened, heart lodging in her throat, as he glared.

"You'd better have a good explanation for this," he said, his voice as cold and sharp as ice despite the heat on his cheeks. He held her wrist firmly, preventing her from fleeing or even moving out of his personal space.

For a moment, Gloria held her breath, frozen in place. The heat burning in his eyes stole the air from her lungs. Her palm tingled where her hand had been pressed against his lips.

"They… they were journalists, reporters," Gloria said quietly. The words fell from her lips in a shaky exhale. Her back began to ache from her position as she angled her body, leaning away from him slightly. Enough so she could think.

"And how does that lead you to dive into my tent and attempt to smother me to death?" His question was as low as a whisper, hissed across the short distance between them.

"I-I wasn't trying to smother you!"

"It sure felt like you were." His glare matched the edge of his tone.

"Sorry, I was just… I didn't want them to hear you!"

She couldn't look at him any longer. The hand around her wrist, firm but not painful, was distracting, as was Bede's whole appearance - his platinum blond hair curled wildly, fluffy and temptingly soft. Pressure lines from his sleeping bag ran down the side of his right cheek. His pyjama top, with a Galarian Ponyta on the front, was too adorable. She stole her gaze away, angled her face to the side. It only made Bede lean closer.

"And how does that explain why you're in my tent in the first place?"

There was something in his voice, a tightness in his words, slightly hoarse and strained from sleep. Gloria's mind almost staggered to a halt at how it sounded in her ear.

"Th-This was the closest tent! They… they would've seen me if I'd gone to mine!"

"You'd rather risk them seeing you scramble into my tent instead?"

"They didn't see me! …I think."

Bede huffed, exhaling a deep sigh, before releasing Gloria's wrist. She stole her arm back, rubbed the spot where she could still feel his touch as though it hurt.

It didn't.

Gloria pressed her lips together firmly, feeling her cheeks burn. A strange fluffer filled her chest as she tried to calm her breathing and slow her heart. The silence was deafening.

"Are you planning to stay here all morning, then?" Bede asked, finally breaking the silence and making Gloria jump.

"I'm going, I'm going!"

She scrambled out as quickly as she'd come, tripping on the entrance and almost sprawling face-first into the dirt. She managed to catch herself with a few stumbled steps. She stomped over to where she'd dumped her miserable excuse for firewood, rubbing away the blush on her cheeks with her palms.

That was a mistake. It'd been a big mistake to dive into Bede's tent. She hadn't thought it through, hadn't thought anything at all in that brief moment of panic and her body had moved instinctively in order to flee. It just so happened that Bede's tent was right there.

She could feel an echo of his grip around her wrist. His turse words, his cutting tone, made her heart sink despite the way it fluttered in her chest.

He was mad at her. Frustrated, annoyed. He had to be. The way he'd glared and snapped at her…

Gloria gathered the wood she'd discarded earlier off the ground, piling the twigs and branches in her arms before picking up the log, and trudged over to the firepit. She dumped it on top of the ashes and charcoal, her lips twisting sourly.

Today was not off to a good start. It was barely seven in the morning and she'd already managed to annoye Bede. Her heart squeezed tightly. It ached. Gloria shivered.

She turned on her heels and headed for her tent. She needed to get her poor excuse for a fire going before she sank further, deeper, into the dark pit that she was wallowing in. She dug around in her bag for a lighter, rooting through the leftover s'mores ingredients, her clothes, all her junk. She shuffled through her bag again. Reached in deeper, her hand floundering around all the stuff she'd shoved in her bag.

She found a spare hair tie that she didn't realise she'd packed. A muesli bar wrapper. Three different odd socks and a half eaten berry that she tossed over her shoulder with a grimace. Gloria even got out her phone and shined a light into the abyss of her bag in a last ditch attempt.

The fire lighter she'd definitely had in her bag yesterday was nowhere to be found. Gloria huffed and returned to the firepit.

What will Bede think when he finds out I've misplaced my lighter? Gloria's mind taunted.

Some Champion I am…

His glare kept flashing in her mind. She dropped to a crouch, her lips pressed tight. She'd already upset him once today… Gloria fiddled with her phone, trying to think. Absently, she brought up the picture she'd taken of Bede the other day and immediately her cheeks began to warm. Her eyes swept over the picture, from the gentle light in Bede's eyes, to the faint, almost imperceptible smile on his face, to the way the morning light dusted over his platinum blond hair and made it shimmer like snow.

Her lungs felt fuzzy again. She felt fuzzy. Fuzzy and fluffy like her insides had turned into fuzzy pom-poms and were bouncing around in her chest and stomach.

She doubted he would ever look at her like that.

That sudden thought instantly soured her mood. She shoved her phone into her pocket and stood.

Enough. She needed to get the fire going.

Gloria grabbed Cinderace's Pokeball and sent him out. Fyrian stretched with a cute yawn before beaming a smile at his trainer. The sight of her Cinderace eased a weight off Gloria's heart. She returned the smile.

"Alright, Fyrian. Let's get this fire going!" Gloria motioned to the firepit, giving her Pokemon a nod.

Cinderace chimed eagerly as Gloria stepped back from the firepit. She turned around to gather some more twigs when she saw Cinderace kick up a stone. She reacted a split second too late. There was nothing she could do but cry out and watch in horror as the firepit was engulfed by a torrential flame.

Bede lay in his tent, an arm draped over his eyes, as he waited for his racing, thundering heart to slow. A tight coil of heat remained on his cheeks, slowly ebbing away as the minutes ticked by. The rush of adrenaline had faded, leaving him to fluster over what had happened.

He stole a shaky breath and clenched his teeth, trying to stop a second wave of heat from flooding his face and neck.

Arceus.

Gloria's obliviousness was going to be the end of him one day. He couldn't believe his eyes when she'd launched into his tent like that, suddenly throwing herself at him and slapping a hand over his mouth. He would have screamed something foul for sure if she hadn't silenced him. Every protest and curse that he knew had burned in his throat, forced out of his lungs in an incoherent, strangled sound.

The heat that flooded his body surged into his lungs until he was fit to burst, like a vessel under pressure, until he'd snatched away her hand and released it onto her.

He hadn't meant to but Arceus, his heart had lodged in his throat and he couldn't just let her think that storming into his tent and manhandling him like that was okay.

The fact that she'd done it, that she'd scrambled into his tent like that when he was sleeping, reaffirmed Bede's suspicion that Gloria only saw him as a friend. If she had any kind of romantic interest in him, any at all, he doubted that she would've acted that way.

Why else would she think there was nothing wrong with diving into the tent of a sleeping seventeen-year-old male friend and slapping a hand over his mouth so early in the morning?

Bede sighed as the flush colouring his cheeks finally receded. He sat up and ran a hand through his messy curls before checking the time on his phone. It was five minutes to seven, a decent enough time to get moving.

He slid out of his sleeping bag and into the cool air, pulling a change of clothes out of his backpack before tugging his pyjama top over his head. The wound on his back gave a sharp stab of pain in protest to the movement. Bede ignored it. He pulled on a thick, long-sleeved navy top, the high collar snug around his neck. He began to change into comfortable black pants when he heard Gloria say something outside, followed by the recognisable chirp of her Cinderace. He glanced in the direction of the noise as he hoisted the pants up to his hips, before Gloria screamed.

"No!"

Bede shot out of his tent and into a wave of heat. He flinched beneath it, his arms braced over his face.

"Gloria?!" he cried, rushing forward even before the burst of heat had completely faded, seeing Gloria staring, speechless, at the ground where the firepit should have been.

A dark streak of soot and ash stained the dirt over the mess of stones that had once lined their firepit. The camping stove was toppled over, the rusty and scratched metal now completely black with soot. The air tasted like smoke.

"What on earth happened here?" Bede asked.

Gloria jumped, whirling on the spot. The blood drained from her face and she shrunk a step away from him. Then her eyes widened. Her mouth dropped open with a faint squeak, and she stole her gaze away. The colour that had suddenly drained from her face returned with fury, burning pink across her cheeks.

"Please tell me you didn't try and start the fire with a Pyro Ball," he sighed.

Cinderace chimed sadly.

"I didn't want him to use Pyro Ball!" Gloria argued, huffing at Bede for no longer than a split second before something flashed over her face and she looked away again.

"What happened to using a fire lighter like a normal person?"

He ignored the strange expression on her face and walked over to the toppled camping stove, surveying the damage. It was still in once piece.

"Um, Bede…?"

He righted the stove before turning back to her. "What?"

Her eyes darted downward before shooting away again. Her face was red. Burning, burning red. His heart flip-flopped at the sight.

"Your… um…. your pants are…" she spoke so softly, so quietly, he almost didn't catch what she'd said. He looked down with a rush of panic.

In his desperation to reach Gloria at the sound of her scream, Bede had failed to do up the front of his pants. His fly was wide open. He scrambled to zip his pants up quickly, fingers fumbling over the button to fix it closed.

"I-I was getting dressed when you screamed," he explained hurriedly. His tongue felt too big for his mouth. He didn't meet her eyes, didn't dare look at her.

Not that she could do it either.

"I couldn't find my lighter, so…"

"So you decided to destroy our fire pit instead?"

He instantly regretted his choice of words, his biting tone, when she shrank and pressed her lips into a tight line. He thought he saw her bottom lip tremble faintly.

"I didn't mean to; I didn't think Fyrian would use Pyro Ball."

Cinderace made an apologetic chirp in return. She turned to her Pokemon, gently stroking the top of his head between the ears.

"It's okay, Fyrian. It's not your fault. I should've told you I only needed a small flame."

The sad smile on her face made Bede's heart plummet.

Damn it.

He hadn't meant to upset her.

"Well, the stove is still in once piece," Bede said casually, as though he wasn't forcing the words through the lump in his throat, "and I can easily dig the pit out again. I suppose I should be glad your Cinderace hadn't launched a serious Pyro Ball at it, or we wouldn't have anything left to salvage."

Gloria didn't respond. She looked at the ground, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. The lump in Bede's throat lodged higher. Firmer.

He knelt by the fire pit, reaching out to move the stones back into place before feeling the heat rising from them. They were still too hot to touch. Gloria stood in the corner of his eyes, sheepishly glancing at him. She wrapped her arms around herself, mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

He knew she wanted to apologise. That she'd taken the blame, shouldered it completely. That she was buckling beneath its weight.

"I kept the logs we didn't use last night by my tent, under a tarp," Bede said as he stood and brushed the dirt and ash off his knees. "Go collect them, and some kindling, while I set this up again."

Gloria gave him a stiff nod and headed off in the direction of his tent in silence, her Cinderace bounding after her. He waited a moment before letting out a long, deep breath. He hadn't meant to snap at her. Again. For the second time this morning. He was still on edge from her sudden appearance in his tent that he'd unintentionally driven his walls back up.

Bede shifted on the dirt, his feet beginning to ache from the cold, and went to his tent after being sure Gloria had gone to gather more wood. He pulled on a red and black tartan jacket, leaving it open as it wouldn't be that cold in the sun. When he'd finished putting on his hiking boots and returned to the firepit, Gloria had left the unused logs from the previous night by the camping stove.

Bede tentatively hovered his fingers above one of the stones that Cinderace's Pyro Ball had knocked out of place, finding that it had cooled down enough for him to touch. He shifted them into a tight circle, digging the pit out again with one of the logs. He finished setting up the firepit, the camping stove positioned above the logs on its tripod, and retrieved his bag from his tent.

Perhaps a good meal would help soften the stiff air lingering between them.

Gloria quietly shuffled over to the firepit, and began to make a neat teepee out of the kindling. She glanced at him, once, then twice, as she placed the rest of the wood she'd gathered around the logs.

"Here." Bede held his fire lighter out to her.

She took it in silence, crouching by the fire in a way that reminded him of a skittish Sobble, making herself smaller, quieter. Glancing at him from the corner of her eyes. As if she were waiting for something to happen.

Bede focused on what he was doing instead. He set up their collapsable table near the firepit, pulling out everything he needed for breakfast from his bag and placing them on the table. A couple of fresh berries they'd bought yesterday. His water bottle. A stack of plastic plates and cutlery, a small non-stick frying pan and a bottle of instant pancake mix.

Gloria stood up, the fire beginning to crackle at their feet, her eyes latching onto the pancake mix.

"Pancakes?" she gasped. "I didn't think we had any left."

"We didn't."

Bede kept his tone level and calm as his heart skipped. She drew closer, eyes twinkling eagerly, and he focused on keeping his breathing regular and even. As if her presence, her proximity, didn't bother him at all. As though his skin, the air between them, wasn't fizzing and sparking with invisible energy.

He shrugged, opening up the bottle of pancake mix and pouring water into it, measuring up to the line. "I bought more yesterday since you like- since it's easy to make." He cleared his throat as a rush of heat burst across his cheeks at the slip of his tongue. His heart began to pound harder and firmer in his chest.

"Really? I guess I must not have noticed it!"

She didn't notice Bede's slip up either.

"If you've got nothing better to do than stand over my shoulder, then you can start chopping up those berries," Bede said, a bit harsher and sharper than he'd meant to. It was hard to stop the bite in his tone when she was hovering so closely behind him like that. He screwed the lid onto the bottle tightly, placing his phone on the table to keep time, and began to shake the mix thoroughly.

Gloria skipped around him, snatching the berries and a knife off the table, unphased by Bede's clipped tone. The anticipation of pancakes had greatly improved her mood, as he had hoped it would. She bounced lightly on her toes as she sliced the berries into uneven chunks, a bright smile on her face for the first time that morning.

Bede's plan was working. Now, all he had to do was hold his tongue at her messy knife work, the way she kept sampling the berries she was supposed to be cutting up for their breakfast.

He couldn't hold it for long.

"Are you going to leave any for the pancakes?" Bede asked with a sigh, shaking his head. He placed the thoroughly shaken pancake bottle on the table and set the frying pan over the stove.

Gloria quickly swallowed the piece of berry in her mouth. "I am!"

Her protest made the corner of Bede's lips quirk upwards in amusement. He grabbed a handful of berry pieces and dropped them into the pancake bottle, giving it another shake. Gloria snuck another piece into her mouth. He gave her a pointed look, to which she raised her eyebrows innocently. When he looked away to pour some of the mix into the frying pan, he heard a faint crunch come from Gloria.

She snorted, covering her mouth with her hand. Bede shook his head again, trying hard not to smile. Arceus. If she only knew how adorable she looked right now, how her stifled laughter made his heart swell until it was fit to burst.

He managed to shoo Gloria away from the rest of the berries and, soon enough, the pancakes were cooked and they were seated around the fire with their Pokemon. Bede made sure his gaze never lingered too long on Gloria as they ate. Not that she would've noticed anyway; she was too busy enjoying her pancakes and sighing in delight, or tearing a pancake into bite-sized portions for Ralts seated on her lap.

The enamoured smile Gloria gave her Ralts made it harder for Bede to look away. His heart thumped harder for every second he looked at her. He leant his elbow onto his knee, his closed fist pressed against his cheek to hide his rising blush.

It almost bothered him how damnably cute she was, how sweet her gentle laughter sounded. How his heart skipped as she cooed at her Ponyta, the Pokemon curling up beside her and resting her head on Gloria's thigh.

He remembered the affection she'd showered his Sylveon with the day before. How easily she'd laughed and said "I love you too," to his Pokemon.

Those words echoed in his mind again.

Hatterene trilled beside him and Bede jumped, whirling his head to see Hatterene giving him a wide, knowing smile. He leveled a threatening glare at his Pokemon, which only made Hatterene laugh again.

"Don't," he hissed and deliberately forced his gaze away from Gloria. He shoved a forkful of the now-cold pancake into his mouth.

Hatterene's smile didn't waver. She made an innocent noise, her dark eyes twinkling. The way she held the tip of her tentacle in front of her mouth didn't help Bede's suspicion that Hatterene knew. He knew his Pokemon could read his emotions. That Hatterene could definitely sense his feelings towards Gloria.

And that Hatterene enjoyed teasing him about it. Much like a few other people he wasn't going to name.

Bede took a deep breath and decided he needed to think about something else. Anything else. He needed to get Hatterene off his case before Gloria noticed the way his Pokemon was grinning at him.

He thought back to yesterday. To their encounter with the Excadrill and Rhydon. The way she'd uncharacteristically hesitated for a moment.

He swallowed the last bite of his pancake and leant back, his palms flat on the ground by his sides, and looked at Gloria.

"You were going to tell me something yesterday," Bede began, catching Gloria's attention. She lifted her gaze off her Ralts and met his eyes. "When we were dealing with the Excadrill and Rhydon. Something bothered you."

Her gaze drifted as she thought back.

"You hesitated," he reminded her. Made sure to wipe out any judgement from his tone, any concern or worry that would lead her to brush him off.

"Oh. That."

He waited. The fire crackled. Gloria's Ponyta snorted in its sleep. She hugged her Ralts a little closer, a little tighter. She followed her Gyarados with a silent, pensive gaze.

"I wasn't sure how I'd react," Gloria said after a few moments. "To Lazuli. My Gyarados. I know he's not the one that- the one from the lake, but…"

Bede waited. Stared over the top of the fire instead of watching her.

"I wasn't sure if I was going to freeze up or panic or…" She shrugged. "I wasn't going to bring Lazuli with me until you suggested it." She laughed. A bitter, sharp laugh. "And it's stupid, I know, he'd never hurt me like that. I mean, what kind of Trainer is afraid of their own Pokemon…?"

She trailed off.

Bede didn't know what to say. A thousand words and phrases clambered in his throat, surging with a need to say someone, anything, to reassure her.

"It was only a suggestion," he said instead. "We needed to even out our Types. Your Tsareena would have worked as well. If there was an issue, you should have told me."

Gloria's lips pressed tightly together and Bede regretted his words immediately. He'd hit a sore spot.

He cleared his throat into his hand awkwardly. "What I mean is, we're a team. You should- You can tell me if something's wrong or you don't agree with what I've said. Suggesting your Gyarados after what had happened was a mistake." Bede sighed heavily.

How had he not realised, or even thought about that? She'd been flung around like a ragdoll by a Gyarados, ended up in hospital, and he'd callously suggested that she use her Gyarados not a day afterwards.

"I-" his apology caught in his throat.

"I'm actually glad you did," she said, not noticing or hearing Bede's stammer. "As soon as I sent Lazuli out, I realised that I'd been worrying over nothing. I'm not afraid of him. At all."

Oh.

She pressed her cheek to the top of Ralts head, tilting her head and smiling softly at Bede. The golden light from the fire danced in her eyes, warming her cheeks and her gaze. Air stole from his lungs.

"I think I owe you one," she continued. Her voice enveloped him in a way he couldn't describe, clear and audible over the pounding of his heart that managed to silence everything else but her. "Thanks to you, I was able to deal with it sooner rather than later. So…"

She trailed off, her smile saying more than she could.

Bede stared into the fire, his cheeks burning hotly as though he'd shoved his face into the glowing cinders. He couldn't reply. Unable to force even a snarky comment past his heart where it lodged high in his throat. He managed a hum of acknowledgment and nothing more.

"I actually wanted to ask you something too," she said. Her dazzling, breathtaking smile vanished, her gaze wandering over to where his Bewear was scoffing the rest of their unused berries.

Bede took a breath. "What is it?"

"You used Bewear yesterday."

"That's a statement, not a question."

She pouted, curling her lips at him with a forceful glare. He swallowed the mirth dancing on his tongue so he wouldn't laugh at her adorable expression and spoil the mood.

She huffed before continuing. "I was going to ask you if you'd made a decision about Bewear. Since you used him yesterday in battle and…" She sent a pointed look to the Pokemon in question.

He looked to the fire again. An amicable silence descended around them, broken only by the crackling and popping of the fire and their Pokemon nearby.

After a moment of thought, Bede said, "I suppose that Pokemon deserve to have a second chance as much as any person."

Gloria perked up. Her eyes widened for a moment before a gleeful smile widened on her face. "Really? Does that mean…?"

"I've decided to give him a second chance."

And perhaps a third, and a fourth. And many more after that, Arceus knows Bede has had more than that himself.

"I'm so glad to hear that!" Gloria beamed.

He couldn't look at her. Not when she was smiling at him like that, especially when Hatterene was smirking knowingly at him.

Arceus.

At least he could blame the heat on his face on the fire.

Gloria skipped along the path, her legs feeling light and airy, as though she were walking on clouds. She couldn't, and didn't want to, keep the bounce from her step.

Everything she'd been worrying about that morning had fallen away. The haze in her mind had cleared with the fog, lifting off her shoulders and her mind, so she could bask in the warmth of the sun once more. She hummed a happy tune, smiling at Sylveon as he trotted beside her.

Bede's pancakes had done wonders for her mood. Not only that, but he didn't seem annoyed by her at all, despite the gnawing trepidation in her gut that had hounded her earlier.

And the pancakes!

He'd bought pancakes again and she hadn't even noticed, which made her wonder if he'd kept that a secret deliberately… although her mind told her she was getting ahead of herself there.

He hadn't even scolded her for the mess with the firepit, nor had he brought up the incident in his tent - for which she was forever grateful. It wasn't something she wanted to talk about ever again.

Everything had gone perfectly, she almost wondered if she was dreaming. Especially when she remembered the way he'd snorted a laugh, fighting back a grin, when she'd stolen another berry as he was cooking.

She glanced at Bede stealthily out of the corner of her eyes. He walked beside her, a half-step behind, his eyes following the path of her Corviknight above. She looked away as her heart skipped and focused on where she was walking. Fought back the urge to glance at him again, to pretend she was searching their surroundings and not finding an excuse to have him in her sight…

Her mind kept replaying the events of this morning. The way he'd looked in his tent when she'd scrambled over to him. The blazing heat on his cheeks that burned into his glare was so different to the way he'd stared at her in shock when she'd thanked him for suggesting she take her Gyarados with her.

She still couldn't decipher that expression. The strange way he'd reacted to her. She hadn't been able to stop or dampen the smile on her face when she'd thanked him. Her heart had felt too full, as though everything was pouring out of her at once and… he'd stared. His eyes had widened infinitesimally for the briefest of moments before he'd looked away and that split second was frozen in her mind.

It made something in her chest bubble strangely. She kept thinking back to it. To Bede.

And the way he'd flushed earlier when he'd realised his pants were undone-

No, no, no, no, no.

Nope.

She was not going to think about that.

She definitely wasn't going to think about what could have happened if she'd sent Cinderace out a few seconds earlier, if she'd shrieked a few seconds earlier, if Bede had stumbled out of his tent a few seconds earlier and-

Nope. Not a chance.

Definitely not.

She blew out a sharp puff of air as heat rose on her cheeks.

She was not going to think about that-

"Hey!"

A hand caught her arm, tugging her sideways and off balance. She stumbled and collided into something solid and firm, glancing up in shock to see Bede suddenly so close, her shoulder against his chest, his face inches from hers. His breath washed against her cheeks.

Too close!

Gloria muffled a yelp and lurched away from him. He let go of her arm, raising an eyebrow at her.

"You need to watch where you're walking, unless you want an imprint of that branch on your face," he said, gesturing to the thick branch she'd almost walked face-first into.

She stared at it in disbelief. Had she really been so caught up in her own thoughts that she'd almost walked into that? The branch was as thick as her thigh, winding sideways across the path before shooting upwards.

"Oh. Thanks." She gave a sheepish laugh and stepped around the branch.

"Once again, I am surprised that you managed to navigate the Gym Challenge by yourself," Bede sighed, shaking his head. "Someone as spacey as you is liable to walk off a cliff without even realising it's there."

"Oh, come on, that's not…"

"What? Meowth got your tongue?"

"No, I just remembered that I've done that exact thing before."

"Why does that not surprise me?"

"It happened once!" Gloria huffed. "And, to be fair, I wasn't spacing out at the time, I was looking for a Ponyta. So it doesn't actually count."

"Ah, I do remember that. You seem to have a talent for falling off cliffs."

"It wasn't high enough to be called a cliff anyway," she grumbled, "and I'll have you know, I've only done that after the Gym Challenge. I managed just fine during it by myself."

"That will forever be a mystery to me. You would think that after becoming the Champion you would be more focused and level-headed; instead, for you, it appears to be the opposite."

Gloria blew out her cheeks. "I wasn't spacing out, I was just thinking. There's a difference."

"And what were you thinking about that had you so engrossed that you almost walked into a tree?"

"Nothing!"

"Nothing?"

"N-Nothing important, just forget about it!"

Gloria powered ahead so that Bede couldn't see the blush burning on her cheeks.

Arceus, something was wrong with her today. Her heart kept racing in her chest, setting her blood ablaze with nervous energy, and she couldn't figure out why. Everything Bede did or said made her pulse skip in a way it hadn't before. The way he'd tugged her against him moments earlier set her on edge. He'd suddenly been so close, their eyes meeting with a jolt and her heart had caught as though she'd never seen his face before, not like that, not that close. Close enough to make out each and every one of his long eyelashes, the speckles of dark lavender in his gorgeous eyes.

Gloria stormed up the hill ahead of Bede as if she were mad at him, rather than suddenly and immensely jealous of how unbelievably pretty he was. It was just plain unfair that he was so effortlessly beautiful, and she blamed that for the flustered warmth pooling in her chest. She let out a terse huff as she crested the hill, her gaze falling on a crowd of people near the bridge to the Northern Wild Area. Right in the middle of the bridge sat something large and dark.

"What's that?" Gloria asked as Bede came up beside her. "Something's on the bridge."

"Whatever it is, it's blocking our only route to the north. Let's go. Staring at it from up here isn't going to get us anywhere."

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

She trotted after Bede down the hill, towards the cluster of Trainers gathered around the bridge. As they got closer, it became clear that a Snorlax had fallen asleep in the middle of the bridge, and that the Trainers were debating on how best to get it to move.

"Whoa, it's huge…"

Gloria gaped as they joined the crowd of frustrated Trainers. All she could see from here were its giant feet and the rise of its enormous belly. A hush fell over the crowd and Gloria felt the two dozen pairs of eyes land on her and Bede. She straightened as whispers began to sound around them.

"Is that the Champion?" Gloria heard, and she forced a smile.

"Yup, I'm the Champion!" She gave the Trainers a sheepish wave, her smile frozen on her face beneath their stares. "Why don't you guys let us deal with this? We'll get Snorlax moving in no time!"

An excited buzz of noise rushed through the Trainers, eager to see the Champion in action, and Gloria's heart pounded deafeningly in her ears. They were watching her. She saw Bede move in the corner of her eyes to stand beside her and she focused on that, focused on the fact that he was here with her.

"Alright, give us some space, please!" Gloria called and ushered the Trainers back with a wave of her hand. The crowd shuffled a step or two back, not far enough for Gloria's liking but she bit her tongue. It would do. She recalled her Corviknight and sent out Cinderace.

"Do you have a plan?" Bede asked. His voice was low enough that only she could hear.

She kept her gaze fixed on Snorlax. "I might. Your Reuniclus - does it know Dream Eater, by any chance?"

The corner of Bede's mouth lifted into a knowing smile that made her heart skip. "It does. However, you should know that Dream Eater will most likely leave Snorlax in a horrible mood. It's not the politest way to wake a Pokemon up."

"I know." She nodded, pursing her lips. "That's why I'll let Fryian deal with Snorlax when he wakes. Hopefully Dream Eater will make him angry enough that he'll chase us. We can use that to direct him away from the bridge."

Bede raised an eyebrow in thought. "Interesting plan. I'm in." He recalled Sylveon and sent out Reuniclus. "You ready for this?"

He met her eyes. She nodded, saw the crowd of Trainers ripple in excitement in the corner of her eyes. They'd drawn closer again. She waved them back with a hurried gesture.

"Alright." Bede turned to Reuniclus. "Use Dream Eater on Snorlax," he ordered.

Reuniclus directed its focus on the sleeping Pokemon, a cloud of psychic energy enveloping Snorlax's head. The cloud dispersed with an audible crackle, and Snorlax's eyes shot open. A low grunt sounded, a grumble that became a growl and then a roar. Gloria stepped back to find Trainers right behind her. She gaped at them in disbelief.

"Get back!" she hissed, whirling to hurry the Trainers away again when Snorlax clambered to his feet and roared. Panic washed over everything when Snorlax charged at Cinderace, at Gloria and Bede, and at the crowd of Trainers trapping them in place.

"Fyrian!" Gloria cried and Cinderace launched at the charging Snorlax, levelling a flaming kick at its face. Snorlax swung its powerful arms, missing Fryian by an inch.

"What are you idiots doing?! Get back unless you want to get trampled!" Bede snapped at the throng of Trainers around them. His warning was lost amongst their cheers and cries of excitement.

Snorlax roared in frustration, his heavy swings missing Cinderace again and again as the athletic Pokemon bounced around him. The ground shuddered when Snorlax stomped in fury, the earth shifting and cracking, making it impossible for many of the Trainers to keep their balance. People toppled over, their shrieks catching Snorlax's attention. A ball of fire smacked into the back of Snorlax's head, but the enraged Pokemon had found a new target.

Gloria's heart stopped and her body sprung into action before she could think. Like she'd done when Bewear had accidentally charged at Bede, Gloria threw herself at the screaming Trainer, bracing herself over them.

Snorlax flew to the side under a psychic pulse, having been a split second from charging into Gloria. Trainers who were still on their feet dispersed, scrambling only a few feet away before they stopped to watch again. Gloria clambered to her feet, tugging the young girl she'd protected up as well, and grit her teeth.

"We can't protect these idiots and lead Snorlax away," Bede huffed, clicking his tongue sharply.

Snorlax was soon on his feet again, a deep grumble sounding in his chest.

"I know."

Gloria narrowed her eyes at Snorlax, at the Trainers, her mind thinking fast. Fyrian and Reuniclus stood before them. A pair of people hurrying down the hill towards them caught Gloria's eyes. She recognised them with a start, saw the camera braced over the man's shoulder, and couldn't breathe.

Fire flashed in front of her. Snorlax's roar snapped Gloria out of her daze and she dug hurriedly through her bag. The reporters would be on them in a moment. Without thinking, or discussing it with Bede, Gloria lobbed a Heavy Ball at Snorlax.

Snorlax was engulfed in a flash of light. The Ball fell to the ground and began to roll. Without waiting for it to stop, Gloria shot forward and snatched it off the ground.

"Let's go!" she called to Bede, already running for the bridge.

"Gloria!" Bede's incredulous voice snapped at her. "What are you-?!" With a huff, he cut himself off and hurried after her.

The Heavy Ball twitched in her hands, the light in the centre flickering on and off. She knew it could break open at any moment. That Snorlax could break out and be on top of her in a split second and a flash of light, and swallowed the urge to throw the Ball as far away as she could. She held it tight and ran over the bridge.

She didn't stop running until a hand caught her arm and Gloria was yanked to a halt, the Heavy Ball slapped from her hands.

"What were you thinking?!" Bede snapped, his violet eyes blazing.

Gloria's lungs seized at the fury and panic burning in his glare, a cold wave of dread slamming into her when she realised he'd been afraid for her. Again.

"I… I saw the reporters again and I just-"

"Screw the reporters!"

She flinched beneath the pain lancing through his voice, the fear cracking his words.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?! What could have happened if Snorlax had broken out?!"

"I-I know, but-"

"No, you don't! You have no idea, you never do! You never think before you do anything and one day it's going to get you killed!"

Her heart throbbed painfully.

"Bede, I'm sorry-"

"Don't. Don't say that, because you're not." He dropped her arm and turned away. The heavy sigh he exhaled, the exhausted worry in his brow, made her heart plummet into her gut. "If you weren't so unbelievably lucky..."

He was staring at something on the ground. The Heavy Ball, lying there in the dirt, silent and unmoving. Gloria's lips trembled as she fought back tears.

"I… I panicked," she said quietly. Her eyes stung with the threat of tears. "Those reporters… I know them. They- They're the ones that keep asking me about… about Eternatus, if I'll ever use it in battle or show them or- or��"

Bede turned to face her slowly, his eyes widening.

"I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry…" She blinked and tears spilled from her eyes. They blurred her vision, blurred the pain and understanding in Bede's eyes as he stepped closer. "I wasn't thinking… I couldn't… They were the ones from this morning, that's why I ran into your tent and-"

Her voice broke beneath a sob. Bede's hand returned to her arm, his touch gentle and soothing this time.

"So, that's why…" he murmured softly. "Alright, I understand. You don't have to say anything more."

He rubbed her arm comfortingly. There wasn't a hint of anger or frustration left in his voice, and his touch eased the panic and guilt aching in Gloria's chest. She nodded thankfully and blinked hurriedly to dry her tears.

"It was stupid," she said, swiping her knuckles beneath her eyes to force away the tears. "I shouldn't have done that."

"There's no curing your impulsive nature, is there?" Bede sighed, but it was light and she could hear the smile in his voice, gentle and understanding.

She managed a smile at him in return. "Sorry…"

"I might forgive you for it if you promise not to do that again."

She picked the Heavy Ball off the ground.

"You might?"

"I haven't decided whether or not I'll forgive you for that stunt yet." Despite his words, there was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "You took at least a decade off my life when you did that."

Gloria laughed sheepishly. "I definitely won't be doing something like that again, I promise."

"Knowing you, you'll find something equally dangerous to do instead."

She grumbled but couldn't deny it, watching Bede pensively as he shook his head. He drew his hand through his hair with another sigh.

"Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do with you sometimes," he admitted quietly.

The faint smile on his face filled Gloria with a sweet warmth, and her heart began to beat harder in her chest. It was suddenly harder to breathe.

"I… I'm sorry?"

She didn't know why she'd apologised or what she was apologising for, but she desperately needed to say something. He looked at her for a moment, making her heart skip.

"Come on, let's keep moving," he said.

Gloria nodded, stuffing the Heavy Ball into her bag, and headed down the track after Bede.

Bede raised an eyebrow at Gloria, folding his arms, when he turned to find her with one foot up a tree.

"What do you think you're doing?"

She froze, hands reaching up to grab a branch, and slowly turned her head to face him.

"Um… what does it look like?" She blinked at him, smiling innocently, and Bede sighed.

"It looks like you're about to make another reckless decision by climbing that tree."

She breathed out an incredulous huff. "It's not reckless. It's just a tree."

"Then why are you climbing it?"

They'd already packed up their gear after a quick lunch, and had been about to head off again when Bede had spotted her. Her newly acquired Snorlax dozed in the sun, having fallen asleep after wolfing down the ridiculous amount of food Gloria had used to win him over. The rest of their Pokemon relaxed happily nearby.

"Pokemon store their berries in trees like this," Gloria said as though that was obvious. "I'm just going to climb up and get a few. Gotta keep Snorlax fed unless you want him to throw a tantrum again."

"So, you're going to resort to stealing from wild Pokemon?"

"It's not stealing!"

"You're taking berries that Pokemon have gathered themselves and stored in that tree. Berries that are not yours. I believe that fits the definition of stealing."

She rolled her eyes. "They're not going to miss a few berries!"

"You're going to risk upsetting a wild Pokemon and falling out of a tree for a few berries?"

"Arceus, Bede! You act like I've never climbed a tree before. I'm not gonna fall!" She scoffed at him and grabbed a branch above her head, hoisting herself up to get a better foothold.

"Why do I even bother...?" Bede muttered to himself before sighing. "Don't come crying to me if an angry Greedent decides to scratch your eyes out."

Gloria disappeared higher into the tree, vanishing behind thick branches.

"I won't, then!" she called out.

He heard her grunt with effort, talking to herself as she climbed higher. He couldn't see her through the tangle of leaves and branches, but her audible shuffling and muttering reached him where he stood.

"Ooh, there's so many berries!" she exclaimed after a few moments. "And most of them don't even have teeth marks!"

Bede grimaced. "Most of them?"

"Eh, a bite or two won't hurt."

"Gloria, that's disgusting. Leave the berries where they are. I'm not going to eat something a Pokemon had in its mouth."

"Fine, more for me then- oh."

"What?"

"Um. Hi, I didn't see you there…"

Bede stepped closer to the tree. He couldn't make anything out through the branches but Gloria was obviously speaking to something.

"Gloria, what is it?"

"Hey!" she yelped and a branch snapped. Something rustled in the tree. "Ow! That's not very nice!"

Bede sighed. "What did I tell you…?"

"Ow, ow! Okay, I'm going! You can keep the berries- ah!"

Gloria shrieked. Something heavy crashed through the branches, the whole tree shuddering and raining berries and leaves and branches. Finally, Gloria tumbled to the ground, her legs flung over her head. She scrambled to her feet as chunks of berries flew at her like bullets. A Greedent appeared in the lower branches, spitting violently at her as she scurried away.

"Bad idea, bad idea!" she cried as she dashed out of Greedents range, covered from head to toe in scratches, leaves, twigs and a mess of berry chunks, juice and seeds. The majority of it was stuck in her hair.

The Greedent hissed before disappearing up the tree, and Gloria hung her head with a whimper.

"Ugh, I'm all gross now…!" She pouted, curling her bottom lip in disgust.

Bede couldn't help but smirk. A colourful array of berries speckled her hair. "Well, I did warn you."

"I didn't think there was a Pokemon up there still…"

Gloria brushed the mess of berries off her clothes and arms, repulsed by the splatter of juice down her front.

"Gross…!" Her expression soured even further.

Bede couldn't help himself and sneakily took out his phone, capturing the sight forever with a picture.

"I don't know, I think it rather suits you," he said, no longer bothering to keep the amusement from his tone. She scoffed, turning to him and squawking when she saw he had his phone trained on her.

"Bede!"

"It's only fair that I get to take a picture of you," he said, smirking at her embarrassment. "After all, you took a picture of me the other day." He showed her the picture for a brief moment. "I think you look rather cute."

Her cheeks flushed darkly. "You're so mean! Delete it!"

He brought his phone to his lips, narrowing his eyes with a teasing grin. "No can do. This picture is for my eyes only. I believe I deserve to keep a souvenir of this encounter, especially when I warned you that this would happen."

Gloria grumbled something incoherent in her throat. She pouted at him fiercely, her cheeks puffed like a Skwovet, making her appear more cute than angry.

"Fine, be that way!" she huffed and turned her nose up at him. She touched her hair and grimaced. "Ugh, it's all in my hair, too!"

She picked out a few berry chunks by feel alone, unable to see what she was doing, and sighed sharply.

"This is going to take forever!"

Bede slipped his phone into his pocket and stepped over to her. "Here, let me do it."

She stiffened slightly as he drew close and picked a seed from her fringe. Her eyes stole away quickly and she ducked her head as the heat on her cheeks spread down her neck and to her ears as he began to remove the gunk from her hair. A bubble of amusement grew in Bede's chest at the sight. She wouldn't look at him at all, her gaze purposely fixed on the ground, as he slowly worked through her hair.

"O-Oh. Thank you," she said quietly.

It was so different to the way she'd barked at him earlier, having her fluster like this, and Bede's heart sang. It would be so easy to tease her, to see if the dark blush on her face could get any darker, any redder, but for now, he decided to hold back in case she became uncomfortable with him. Instead, he ran his fingers through her long hair, letting her soft tresses slide through his fingers under the guise of removing the berry remains. He couldn't help himself. Her shoulder length hair was delightfully smooth, and he'd longed to touch it like this for so long… he almost drew a lock to his lips, instinctively reacting to the yearning of his heart, and caught himself just before doing so.

It would be tough to explain why he was kissing her hair instead of picking out the berries… his face warmed at how close he'd been to acting that out. He forced that thought away and pulled a few more seeds from her fringe before a cut on her bottom lip caught his eye. He took hold of her chin gently, angling her face towards him to get a better look at it, and heard her breath hitch audibly. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw his gaze had lowered to her lips.

She gasped something incoherent, unable to force out a single clear word, and her eyes darted between his in panic. She silenced when his thumb brushed over the cut on her bottom lip. He slid his thumb to the side of the wound to gauge how deep it was, and drops of blood trickled out of the split. She tensed, her eyes squeezing shut as she gave a faint, broken squeak.

That sound made Bede freeze in place. His heart roared in his ears as a surge of clarity washed over him and he realised what this looked like - what Gloria thought he was doing. He was standing so close to her, holding her chin to angle her face towards him with his thumb touching her lips, and she'd closed her eyes in response…

Oh.

Arceus.

Her eyes were squeezed shut, lips slightly parted and trembling. Almost like she was waiting for him to-

Was this...?

Was she giving him permission to kiss her?

Bede slid his hand up to cup her face, Gloria flinching faintly beneath his touch, before he took hold of her flushed cheek and pinched.

"Hey!" she yelped, trying to swat his hand away. "What was that for?!"

He gave her cheek a final tug before releasing it and stepping back. "That's for being so oblivious." He jabbed at her bottom lip. "You've split your lip. Did the Greedent scratch you or something?"

Gloria reached for her bottom lip, her eyes widening. "Wait, is that why…?" She jolted in realisation, her face burning a dark crimson in embarrassment.

Bede's heart skittered in his chest as Gloria suddenly lost the ability to speak, mumbling an incoherent string of syllables in shock.

"Idiot, did you honestly think I was going to kiss you? Or did you want me to?"

"N-No!" she squeaked. "Why- Why would I want you to-? I wouldn't kiss someone I'm not interested in!"

Gloria paled as she realised what she'd said, and Bede's teasing smirk fell flat.

"Oh, I see."

"That- That's not what I meant! I mean, it is but it isn't-" she rambled before shaking her head. "What- What I mean is, I've never… dated anyone so, if I was going to kiss someone it'd be with- with someone I'm dating…"

"You say that, and yet you had your eyes closed as if you were expecting a kiss-"

"Th-That's because you were so close and I didn't know what you were doing and- and I panicked and…" She chewed on the inside of her cheek, unable to meet his eyes. "And then you… touched my lips…"

Her hurried admittance made a rush of heat fill Bede's veins. She'd really thought that he was going to kiss her…

He cleared his throat. "Look, if you don't want someone to take that the wrong way, you shouldn't go closing your eyes like that in front of someone. The next person you do that to might actually believe you want them to kiss you."

"R-Right." She nodded stiffly. Absently, she touched her bottom lip where it'd split, where Bede had dusted his thumb moments earlier, and it shot a crackle of heat right to his fingers.

"Did it scratch you?" Bede asked again.

Gloria stole her hand away from her lip. "The Greedent? No, it just spat berries at me. I must've cut my lip on my way down the tree."

"We should disinfect it just in case. Don't want to risk it getting infected."

"Yeah, you're right."

She went to touch it again.

"If you keep touching it, you're going to increase the risk of it getting infected," Bede pointed out and she ripped her hand away from her lip quickly. "Come on, let's get it disinfected before you shove your fingers in it again."

Gloria pouted sheepishly as Bede led her over to their bags. She sat down with a huff, pursing her lips as he pulled his first aid kit out his bag and opened it between them. She fixed a hard stare at the disinfectant cream.

"It's going to hurt, isn't it…?" She winced in apprehension, eyeing it warily. She lifted her hand protectively over her mouth.

"Would you rather it get infected instead? I'm sure I don't have to tell you that an infected wound hurts a lot more than disinfecting it would."

Gloria grumbled in her throat.

"Well, there's always that technique used on children to make cuts hurt less."

She looked at him eagerly as he screwed off the lid of the disinfectant cream.

"Really? What technique?"

Her innocent wonder almost made him laugh. He leant forward to whisper to her, and she shifted closer instinctively.

"They kiss it better."

Her eyes flew wide and Bede used that moment to swipe a dollop of cream across the cut on her lip. She recoiled with a hiss of pain before realising what he'd done.

"Th-That's playing dirty!" she balked.

Bede smirked, the warmth of unshed laughter filling his chest. "It worked, didn't it?"

Gloria scoffed in disbelief, hovering her hand over her mouth, as her cheeks flushed in indignation. She stood with a huff as Bede packed the first aid kit away.

"The cream's not going to work if you keep touching it."

Gloria stole her hand away from her lip with another grumble, making Bede laugh.

She was too much fun to tease.

As they trekked uneventfully towards the towering bridge spanning Bridge Field, Gloria almost wished something would happen. Something, anything, to take her mind off the throbbing of her lip and the memory of Bede's teasing smile and taunts.

It wasn't like she'd actually thought he was going to kiss her. Not really, although it had crossed her mind in that moment, those seconds of panic when he'd leant in close and caught her chin and his thumb brushed her lips…

Gloria's cheeks began to burn again.

What had she been thinking, closing her eyes like that in front of him? Her mind had gone blank, her heart had stopped and she hadn't been able to breathe, her body reacted instinctively with a thrum of heat when she saw his eyes fixed on her lips and-

-and she thought he was going to kiss her. It had been the only thing that made sense in that moment and for some reason her eyes had fluttered shut, a gasp held tight in her lungs, and she waited for… for him to…

Gloria wanted to scream.

Something was wrong with her. Something very, very wrong. Her mind spun, wondering how on earth she'd gotten it all mixed up and thought that Bede of all people would want to, let alone even try to, kiss her. Was she that full of herself? So self absorbed to think that someone as popular as Bede, someone as gorgeous and intelligent and confident as he was, would ever hold that kind of affection towards her?

Arceus, she found it hard to believe that they were friends at times, for all the ridiculous things Bede had to put up with when it came to her… how could she possibly have thought he'd want to kiss her?

Gloria swallowed, and stopped pursing her lips when she tasted the disinfectant cream on her tongue. Her stomach churned uneasily and she wanted something to distract her. She needed to get her mind off this, needed to stop thinking about it, about Bede or the strange rush of feelings swirling in her belly, as the nausea grew stronger and higher in her throat.

This was the last thing she wanted to think about. She tried to suppress it, to force everything down into the pit of her gut, before the faint buzz of panic in her chest had a chance to take hold.

Don't think about it, she repeated again and again in her mind.

Don't think about it. Don't give it a name.

Ignore it and you'll be fine.

You'll be okay.

She pushed onwards and focused on the Wild Area, the wild Pokemon around them and the odd Trainers their paths crossed with. Somehow, she managed to make light conversation with Bede, and let herself ramble on about where they were going, the Daycare Centre nearby where she'd sent his Rapidash and her Ditto, how she'd been chased by a Linoone one time when she'd accidentally stepped on its tail.

She hardly heard Bede's responses to her rambling, her mind constantly finding something else to talk about to fill the silence and stop her thoughts from wandering. She was grateful when they decided to stop for the night beneath the bridge, having found a tidy clearing around one of the colossal pillars holding it up.

"I think that's the furthest we've walked in a day so far," Gloria said and shucked off her bag with a sigh of relief.

She stretched her arms high above her head, relishing the freedom of not having to carry her bag any further.

"We made decent progress today," Bede agreed.

He placed his bag beside hers and rolled his shoulders. Gloria deliberately looked elsewhere, and focused on clearing a spot for her tent with her foot, lazily kicking twigs and stones away from the neat patch of grass she'd found. They set their tents up next to each other beneath the shelter of the bridge as the sun began to set. The rosy sunset sky darkened as the evening chill descended over them. Bede set up a fire pit a good distance in front of their tents, using the remains of previous fire pits left by other campers.

Gloria searched through her bag once again for her fire lighter, again coming up empty handed. She bit back a sigh, instead pulling out her hat that had been shredded and mauled by Thievul. While Bede set up the fire pit, she headed to the pond nearby and attempted to clean her hat. She scrubbed it with soap, scoured it with a cloth again and again until it no longer reeked of carrion. The Fairy Gym Logo was frayed and discoloured, pink and white threads hanging loose. She didn't want to risk pulling out the remaining threads and so she left it at that, wringing it out as best as she could before setting it on top of her bag to dry.

Gloria glanced at Bede as he worked the growing fire with a stick, when a flash of light burst from his hip. Hatterene appeared beside him with a cry as two adults rounded the pillar, a Runerigus hovering behind them. A man and a woman stepped towards them, wearing grins that made Gloria shoot a panicked glance at Bede. She was separated from him, Hatterene, the two strangers and their Runerigus, by the fire pit.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" the man sneered, looking between Gloria and Bede.

"It's our lucky day," the woman replied. "It's two kids, and they're Trainers as well. That means they're probably loaded with cash."

Something flashed in the man's hand, and Gloria's heart stopped when she realised it was a knife.

"What do you want?" Bede challenged, standing firm with Hatterene at his side.

The man jeered. "I think that's pretty obvious, mate." He nodded towards the bags at Gloria's feet. "Hand over your stuff and nothing else has to happen. We'll go on our merry way and leave you in peace, got it?"

The Runerigus chattered darkly and Gloria stiffened. Her blood ran cold, turning her body to stone as the man stepped around the fire pit in a slow arc. The blade in his hand glowed as the flames reflected off the surface, licking red like a bloody stain.

"We don't have anything valuable," Bede said. His gaze, although calm, was fixed on the man.

"We'll decide if you have anything valuable or not," the woman sneered and stalked over to Gloria.

Her teeth flashed in a fierce grin, and Gloria couldn't breathe or move, as the woman snatched up the tattered hat. Her sharp laughter made Gloria's heart stop.

"Ugh, what the fuck is this?"

The woman held up Gloria's hat between a finger and thumb, and flicked it into the fire.

"No!"

Gloria lunged before she could think, throwing herself at the woman with a blaze of fury. Bede cried her name. A knee slammed into her gut and her vision flashed white. She hit the ground hard on her side and couldn't breathe, her chest heaving with painful, empty gasps. Over the top of the fire pit, flames burning inches from her face, Gloria saw the man grappling with Bede. The blade glinted in the air. A fist struck the side of Bede's face hard enough to make him stagger, his left hand tightening around the hand gripping the knife. The two of them struggled, shuffling over the dirt. The woman turned and Gloria threw her arms around the woman's leg.

"No!" Gloria cried, squeezing her arms tight around the woman's calf.

"Fucking brat! Get off me!"

"No!"

The woman shook her leg, then began to stomp, hard, on Gloria's arms and hands when she wouldn't let go. Through the pain, the pounding of her heart, she heard Bede grunt, pinpricks of light flashing around them as Hatterene fought Runerigus off. A heel struck Gloria's temple. She bit the woman's ankle with all her might, sinking her teeth in as hard as she could, even as the woman violently kicked her leg. Something impacted Gloria's chin and threw her off. She saw stars. Flashes of white. Black. She tasted blood, saw the woman run towards Bede. The only thing in front of her was her bag. She thrust her hand into the outside pocket, pulled out the first Ball she found, and lobbed it towards the fight.

A roar split the chaos. Something heavy crashed, a wave of heat swamped Gloria as she struggled to sit up through the pounding of her head. Someone screamed. The ground shook.

"What the fuck?!"

Gloria's vision cleared and she saw the man duck beneath a heavy swipe of Snorlax's paw. The woman was already running away, Runerigus right behind her. The man scrambled and fled after them as Snorlax roared. The enraged Pokemon took a step to follow them, then another, before collapsing on his front with a deep snore.

Gloria sat up as silence fell. Her chest ached. Her head throbbed in multiple places with each beat of her heart, and she blinked in shock, unable to believe what had just happened, before her eyes slid over to Bede. She saw red and leapt to her feet, panic shooting up her throat. She stumbled over him, almost tripping on the toppled camping stove, and seized Bede's arms. He looked at her, wide eyed, a stream of blood falling from his nose.

Her heart shattered.

"Bede-!"

A red welt had already begun to form beneath his left eye. Blood flowed from his nose, over his mouth and chin, and the front of his shirt was torn. Bede swiped his wrist beneath his nose, grimacing at the blood and clicking his tongue in disgust.

"Are you-? Did he get you?"

She scanned him up and down, visions of the blade gleaming in the air flashing behind her eyes when she blinked. Bede held the back of his hand to his nose, wincing.

"No, I'm fine. He landed a punch or two but that was it."

"But the knife-?!"

Bede kicked something in the dirt, the knife clattering across the ground.

"Dealt with."

Her heart caught painfully, heat blooming behind her eyes as an unbearable surge of relief crashed over her. Her vision blurred behind tears.

"G-Gloria?! What is it? Are you hurt?"

She blinked and couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Tears of pain and fear, of panic and overwhelming relief, spilled from her eyes as she sobbed, unable to answer him. She shook her head, lips wobbling, and reached up to touch his cheek. Her fingers trembled as she traced the dark welt beneath his eye. Bede's expression softened. He caught her hand gently, holding her palm firmly against her cheek so it no longer trembled. Tears fell silently from her eyes.

"Bede, I'm- I'm sorry�� if I hadn't…" the words caught in her throat.

He pulled her into his arms and silenced any and all apologies with his embrace. No words were needed. No apologies, no guilt or blame or excuses. They ached together in the comfort and solace of eachothers arms. Gloria sobbed quietly into Bede's neck. The comforting touch of his arms around her, his hands smoothing over her back, made her break into a thousand pieces. She crumbled into him. He held her tight. Kept her standing, kept her there until the fear began to ease and her tears began to dry. He held her until only blood and bruises remained.

When Gloria finally pulled out of Bede's arms, she reached up to touch his cheek again, the inflamed skin beneath his eye, instinctively. Her heart ached at the sight, and she dusted her fingers right beneath it.

"Oh, Bede…"

Bede twisted his lips in disdain, glancing away from her. "He was quicker than I thought."

Gloria almost laughed sadly at Bede's excuse. She stepped back, dropping her fingers from his cheek.

"We should get some ice on it. You've got one of those instant ice packs in your first aid kit, right?"

She turned and headed for their bags, her gaze landing on the smouldering lump on top of the fire.

Her hat.

That stupid, stupid hat.

She sucked in a tight breath as tears began to reform. Her heart clenched, her throat tightening with guilt, and she pressed her palms against her eyes as she couldn't fight the tears again. Bede gently touched her back.

"It's alright, Gloria."

She shook her head, pursing her lips so hard that it hurt, that the cut on her lip stung. "No, it's not. It's not alright. This is my fault. If I hadn't done that, if it wasn't for that stupid, stupid hat…!" She stole a sharp gasp of air. "I'm such an idiot. You were right; I keep doing things like this and one day- one day, it's not going to end like this. Someone will get seriously hurt or killed and it'll be my fault!"

"That wasn't what I meant-"

"Well maybe you should've! Just look what happened! He had a knife, Bede." She turned to face him, tears pouring down her cheeks. She didn't stop them. She let them fall, one by one, down her face and chin and onto the dirt. "He could have done more than just hit you."

"I wouldn't have let that happen."

She sounded something halfway between a laugh and a sob. "That's not up to you to decide. I did something stupid and impulsive and you got hurt because of it. What kind of person- what kind of friend does that?"

"Would you have preferred for me to have run away, then?" He folded his arms, meeting her stubborn gaze with his own. "Because I could have left you there. Left you and ran, and I wouldn't have a scratch on me - but what kind of friend would that make me? I'm not going to abandon you. Despite your impulsivity, despite whatever reckless things you do, because you're my friend."

He punctuated those final words with a gentle pat on the top of Gloria's head. He rested his hand on her head for a moment where her eyes widened, and he stroked her hair once, then twice, slowly sweeping his fingers affectionately over her hair. She stared at him, startled into silence. He stepped around her and knelt before his bag.

"You seem to be putting the fault on yourself, rather than the people who attacked us," Bede pointed out as he opened his bag and pulled out the first aid kit. "For all we know, it might never have been their intention to leave us unharmed in the first place."

Gloria's tears dried as she blinked, and she sat beside Bede on the ground. Hatterene came over, giving her a sympathetic smile and a quiet trill of agreement.

"I know, I know..." Gloria sighed. "But I still feel stupid. Like, how many stupid things can I do in a single day?"

Bede raised an eyebrow at her sceptically, as he wrapped the ice pack in a cloth and placed it against his cheek. "I wouldn't call you stupid. Reckless and impulsive, yes, but not stupid."

Gloria stared at the ground. "You called me an idiot earlier."

That silenced Bede for a moment.

"Okay, you're right; I shouldn't have called you an idiot. I didn't mean it like that. You can be a bit… naive, sometimes, and it slipped out. I don't think you're an idiot. At all."

She slowly nodded, bringing her gaze back to him. "He got you pretty hard, huh? Is your nose still bleeding?"

Bede touched his nose, biting back a wince. "I don't think so. But if you think this is bad, you should have seen his face. I wasn't about to let him get off lightly."

"Really? I didn't actually see what happened… but, he had a knife! How'd you manage to fight back?"

Bede scoffed. "People like that rely too much on their weapon during a fight. All I had to do was take hold of his wrist and twist the knife out of his hand. He hadn't expected to fight with his fists and that left him slower to react."

Gloria blinked at him. "How do you even know all that? Or how to even do that? He was an adult, with a knife, and you've barely got a scratch! I think I got kicked more than you did."

"Are you all right, by the way? She kicked you?"

Bede reached over and brushed Gloria's fringe off her brow, searching for any bruises or scrapes, and found a scuff near her temple. His fingers lightly swept over the spot.

"It wasn't a proper kick or anything," Gloria laughed sheepishly. Her cheeks warmed from the tender brush of Bede's fingers. "It barely hurts anymore. Anyway, you're changing the subject! I had no idea you could fight- well, I kinda did, but not that well!"

Bede shrugged. "It's not that impressive. I got into the occasional fight as a kid, both in the orphanage and on the street. You either learnt how to fight and hold your own or you got hurt. I didn't exactly have much of a choice."

"Still… I'm surprised you can fight like that after all this time. I've taken self defence lessons from Bea but when push comes to shove it all goes out the window."

"That's because you don't have muscle memory yet. Give it time and it'll come naturally."

Gloria managed a smile at him. "Honestly, I hope I'll never have to seriously use it." She stood up, brushing the dirt off her pants. "Anyway, leave dinner to me tonight. I know my cooking's not as good as yours but at least my curry's decent."

She trudged over to the fire pit and righted the stove. Her gaze dropped to the charred mess that was once her hat, and her stomach knotted. She pulled it from the flames with a stick and sighed.

"Guess we got it back from the Thievul for nothing," she muttered sourly to herself. "It's probably for the best. I've done enough ridiculous things over this hat for a lifetime."

She dropped it on the dirt beside the fire, leaving it to smoke, and put the matter to rest.

It was a stupid hat, anyway.

Gloria lay in her tent, staring at the ceiling, and wished she could block out the sounds around her. Bushes rustled, twigs snapped and crunched. Wind whipped through the trees with an eerie song. Her mind conjured anything and everything horrible lurking in the darkness. She huffed and rolled over, picking up her phone. She'd had enough.

The cheery sound of his voice settled the fear in her heart.

"Hey, Glo! What's up?"

Hop answered her call right away and a gentle smile pulled over her face.

"Wait, don't tell me - is Bede giving you a hard time again?"

She breathed a laugh. "Again? No, no, it's nothing like that. I just… wanted to hear your voice, I guess."

"Aw, Glo! You're gonna make me blush!"

"It's true! It's been a long day and…" Her voice softened. "I miss you. I don't get to see you that often anymore, with my Champion duties and your studies…"

"Hey, I haven't gone anywhere! I'm still here. You know you can call me anytime, right? I've always got time to spare for my best mate."

His reassurances warmed her heart. She smiled and nodded, as though he were right before her and not miles away.

"I know. Sorry for calling you out of the blue. You're not busy or anything?"

"Nah, I've finished for the night. And I just said you could call me whenever! I mean it! I'm still not over the fact that you didn't call me when you ended up in hospital, you know."

"Oh, Arceus. Mum told you?"

"Yeah! And she told me that Bede had to call her because you wouldn't!"

Gloria muffled a groan.

"Nothing like that's happened again, has it?"

She bit her lip. "Um… not really…?"

"Glo. What do you mean 'not really?' What happened this time?"

"Nothing!" she laughed. "I haven't ended up in hospital or anything, don't worry. Oh, but I caught a Snorlax today!"

"Neat!"

"Yeah, it was blocking the bridge to the Northern Wild Area! A bunch of Trainers had gathered around it, the whole scenario was a mess. I managed to catch it without incident, though!"

"I bet you've got a whole heap of stories to tell when you get back! You know I'm going to want to hear them all!"

Gloria laughed as they chatted aimlessly. It was so good to hear Hop's voice again, to hear him laugh and ramble on about his studies and the interesting facts he'd learnt. They talked for a while, the time passing too quickly, and she held the phone to her ear long after they'd hung up, trying to hold onto how calming and comforting it had been to talk to him.

A branch snapped outside her tent and Gloria's eyes shot open. She froze, her whole body becoming rigid and stiff, as she listened. Her heart pounded. She held her breath tight in her lungs as terror gripped her like a vice. She saw nothing in the dark. Heard nothing but the wind.

What if those people came back?

She didn't even dare to swallow as her mouth went dry in fear. She remembered the flash of the knife, squeezed her eyes shut and reminded herself that Bede had stored the blade securely in his bag.

But that didn't mean that they couldn't get a different knife, or come back with more people to ambush them in the dark, to creep into their tents when they were sleeping and-

"Bede!" Gloria cried, sitting up and turning on the flashlight on her phone. Shuffling sounded from the tent beside her. "Bede, are you awake?"

She heard a terse sigh. "I am now. What is it?"

Her heart thrummed anxiously. Fear prickled at the back of her neck.

"Can I… Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Silence. Something thumped to the ground in Bede's tent.

"Bede?"

"You… want to what?"

Gloria looked in the direction of his tent, confused by the strange hitch in his voice.

"I want to sleep with you toni-" the words caught when she realised what that sounded like. "Ah! No, that's not what I meant!" A surge of heat flooded her body. "I-I was asking if I could sleep with- I mean, in your tent! Next to you! Not… not like that…" she trailed off, covering her burning cheeks with her hands.

Bede exhaled deeply. "What's up with you, all of a sudden? Is there something wrong with your tent?"

"No, it's not that… I just… I keep thinking back to earlier. What if they come back?"

"Hatterene will alert us if anyone like that comes near, you know that."

"Yes, but she's with you! What if they manage to sneak up on my tent and get close before Hatterene can sense them?"

"Fine, do you want to borrow Hatterene then? I can lend you her Ball for tonight."

"But what about you then? That'll leave you open!"

Bede sighed again. "Seriously, Gloria?"

She pouted, embarrassed by her fear and how childish she sounded. "I know, I know how ridiculous and silly I'm being right now, okay? I know that! But… but I'm scared. I'm scared, Bede. I keep seeing the knife and hearing things outside my tent…" She blew out a shaky breath. "Please. Just for tonight. I don't want to be alone right now."

A few moments of silence passed, before Gloria heard Bede mutter something to himself under his breath.

He sighed, heavier and deeper than before. "Alright. You can… sleep here tonight - but just this once, okay?"

Gloria's heart softened in relief. "Thank you!" she chimed, quickly gathering all her stuff in her arms and shuffling over to Bede's tent.

He unzipped the entrance and she climbed in, depositing her stuff to the side and laying out her sleeping bag next to his. Bede climbed into his sleeping bag without a word after closing his tent, and rolled onto his side away from her. Gloria did the same, feeling slightly safer already now that she was no longer alone. She turned off the flashlight on her phone and sighed happily.

"Thanks, Bede," she whispered into the night.

"Mm."

His curt reply made her smile, and she soon dozed off, falling into a comfortable sleep with the knowledge that she wasn't alone.

#bede #gloria #bederia #dressedinpinkshipping #btyu

70 notes · View notes

nomimits7 · 5 years ago

Text

Dance with me | JJK

Title: Dance with me

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Rating: Mature

Genre: Yandere-ish? I honestly have no clue. Collage AU? Dance Major Reader, dance reader Jungkook

Warnings: Fainting is kind of described. A bit of cursing. Jungkook being a switch between personalities. Slight Yandere themed. My first attempt at smut, be nice. Unprotected sex, fingering. It sounds forced but its not. It starts one way, takes a turn south and ends up north… idk it’s a mess

Summary: You never told him, and probably never will, but you idolized him. He was the perfect dancer. The top dog in all categories. You wanted his approval or acknowledgement for your had work, instead you only received playful remarks and not the good kind. He constantly teased you about your dancing skills and background. This did not help your toxic addiction one bit. Instead it only worsened it.

A/N: This is trash and a bad attempt at writing. FIRST SMUT ATTEMPT so be nice... There yah go @toanimeornot as promised ... enjoy <3

***

Being a dance major has its challenges. First challenge that quickly got you a reputation among your peers, was the fact that you had little to no background in the field of dancing. As weird as it sounds, you still managed to slide your way into the academy of arts.

Your second challenge came in the form of one particular senior named Jungkook. Even if he was only one year older than you, he made it his life’s mission to make your life a living hell. And of course, the bitch karma had it in for you and had to make him look like a living Greek god. This little fact and the fact that he was one of the top dancers did NOT count in your favour at all.

At first, you welcomed the challenge of proofing to everyone your worth. It made you work extra hard and the reward was always sweet. But the energy you use to drive yourself soon turned toxic. You began losing sight of yourself. You began pushing the limits of your own body. Your normal, or rather recommended 5 hours of dance practice a day, turned into 9 hours. Your recommended 6 meals a day quickly turned into just 2 forced meals. You became obsessed with the idea of proofing yourself to everyone around you. Especially Jungkook for reasons unbeknownst to you.

You never told him, and probably never will, but you idolized him. He was the perfect dancer. The top dog in all categories. You wanted his approval or acknowledgement for your had work, instead you only received playful remarks and not the good kind. He constantly teased you about your dancing skills and background. This did not help your toxic addiction one bit. Instead it only worsened it.

“Well if it isn’t the ‘wanna be’ dancer Y/N!” his voice came flying across the studio, almost making your ears bleed with the amount of confidence his voice possessed. For such angelic boyish voice, it sure as hell wasn’t your favourite thing to hear as of late.

Normally you would have a string of comebacks lined up, carefully picked out just for him. But your whole body has turned against you, and it didn’t help that you suffered from fatigue due to your abnormal and ridiculous practice schedule. You weren’t sleeping like you use to, and you recently acquired a fever of some sorts. You couldn’t even get out of bed this morning and you have been living on caffeine for the past 3 hours just to remain awake.

“Not today Jeon.” You gritted out through a clenched jaw, to tired to even turn around and face your predator head on.

“Aw, are we in a bad mood?” He asked slowly walking towards you. Even though his voice was dripping with sarcasm, his eyes slowly took in your form, immediately noticing the weakness that seem to drip off you. His eyes quickly went from ‘playful predator stalking its toy/meal’ to concern. He could see the dark circles under your eyes which you had carefully hidden with foundation. He saw the slow steps your feet took. He saw the way your body was hunched over, clearly warn out. But what made his blood run cold was the lack of colour to your skin. Your beautifully tanned skin he always sneaked glances at before you started wearing long sleeves, now took on a porcelain white.

Even though he was concerned he knew better than to ask you about it. He loved seeing you mad, but only at his teasing and not at him directly. That fire in your eyes he loved dearly and that only he could light wasn’t present, so he decided to try and relight your spirit with the only way he knew. Teasing.

“Jungkook please. I’m not in the mood for you today.” You said placing your practice bag down. As you did so, your legs gave out momentarily. Jungkook quickly moved to catch you and before you knew it you were safely in his arms as his doe eyes stared down at you. Those same eyes you adored from afar, held a message you couldn’t comprehend.

His eyes went wide as he looked at you from a closer perspective. Your one glass blue eyes were truly lifeless, your skin, your beautiful skin nearly grey from lack of nutrients. Before you could see his facial expression, your instructor came into the studio. You quickly pushed Jungkook’s chest, desperately trying to get out of his supporting hands and away from his burning skin, and surprisingly, he backed off.

You quickly took of your jacket and tied your hair. You could feel his eyes on you, yet you chose to ignore it. Rather you tried to ignore it, until you turned around and was meet with his doe-like eyes filled with concern, which was a first for Jungkook. You were just about to say something, like a big old ‘What’ when your instructors voice drew your attention away from Jungkook and towards the centre of the studio.

Not to long after, you lost yourself in the world of dancing. Your body moving on pure instinct as you followed the moves the instructor gave. The choreography was supposedly next level shit, yet you quickly fell into step with the instructor, making it seem effortless. Everyone noticed the way you moved. The way you could do moves they couldn’t. How you, the one with no dancing background, could do something they couldn’t. Of course, Jungkook was part of the few that could keep up, yet his eyes were solely on you. Naturally he followed along with he moves even more easily that you, but he to couldn’t take his eyes off you. Not because you moved like a pro, but he watched your body for any sign of danger, you know, just in case. The fact that you moved so fluently was an added bonus, a bonus he surely wouldn’t forget.

You were a good 2 hours into practice when your body decided it had enough. Everything around you became blurry as your world began to spin at full speed. Your body swaying as your consciousness slowly slipped from your grasp and your energy left your limbs. Black spots formed in your vision as you heard someone call out your name, was that concern in their voice? The music stopped abruptly just as you began falling, falling, failing toward the ground.

Jungkook, who has been watching you like a hawk, saw the exact moment your body gave up. In second he had called out your name as he nearly printed towards you to catch you before you hit the ground. He swiftly gripped your waist just before you could hit the hard and waiting dance floor. He quickly lifted you of your feet, bridal style, and took you to an isolated part of the studio, close to his bag. Slowly and carefully, as if you were indeed a fragile porcelain doll, he laid you down with your head resting on his bag.

You looked as soft as ever lying there before him. He felt the sudden need to protect you at all costs, even if it meant from yourself. Hoseok, a.k.a. your instructor and a very good friend of Jungkook, quickly made his way over to you. Carefully, he double checked your pulse while Jungkook made work of taking your temperature.

“Hoseok, can we look at the log times? I think she might have gone to far.” Hoseok nodded as he went to fetch the requested documents and dismissing the rest of the student to an early lunch. Jungkook quickly took out his towel and water bottle, dampening the cloth and placing it on your forehead in an effort to break your fever.

After making sure you were indeed okay, he started searching for anything of nutrient value. You needed to get food into your body. Finding an energy bar along with one of those energy booster thingies people who gym uses, not that he uses them often, he settled besides you.

Hoseok came back soon after. His face was serious as he handed the papers to Jungkook. Jungkook took the papers from him and began scanning through them. His face soon took on the exact same seriousness as Hoseok.

“She practiced up to 9 hours a day. 9-fucking-hours-a-day. I know that it sounds fantastic and all, but the human body isn’t built to handle so much consecutive practise daily. She took no breaks in those extra 3 hours of practise. I want to see her food logbook as soon as possible.” Hoseok said. His voice firm yet filled with concern.

“Yes sir. I’ll have a look in her bag just now.” Jungkook said, giving Hoseok a small salute. Hoseok nodded and left after making sure Jungkook knew what to do, and if he was okay with taking care of you until you came to.

After Hoseok left, Jungkook made quick work of finding you logbook. Even if he knew he shouldn’t, he couldn’t help but sneak a peek at the contents of the cursed book. What he found nearly made him faint as well. For the entire week, you managed to fill one and a half pages worth of writing, not sentences but short lists of food you have consumed. You even had a few days missing and that concerned him the most.

You needed to regain consciousness as soon as possible. He slowly took the energy sachet thingie and emptied it into your mouth. He then proceeded to dab your face with the damp towel. He gently repeated this process until you started to stir.

Your eyes slowly fluttered open. The first thing you noticed was the lack of music playing. Which was odd considering you were still in the studio. The second thing you noticed was the doe eyed boy sitting next to you, dabbing your face with something cool. Your first instinct was to sit up but a firm hand on your shoulder stopped you as soon as Jungkook noticed your intend.

“There is no way in hell you’re going anywhere before we haven’t clarified a few things. Here, eat up.” Jungkook said shoving the energy bar into your hands. His demanding tone something you weren’t quiet used to, but you sure wouldn’t mind hearing it more. You where just about to protest when the door opened and Hoseok came into view.

“Y/N? Hey, you with us?” Hoseok asked as he made his way over to where you were till lying. You simply groaned in response, somehow knowing what was coming. Hoseok sat down next to Jungkook as both their faces were unreadable. The two males patiently waited for you to finish your energy bar. Once you were done, their faces changed to disappointment. You shrunk back into yourself as their gazes grew in intensity as the seconds ticked by. This was the exact opposite of what you were so desperately trying to achieve.

“Y/N” Hoseok sighed. “Why do you train so hard? You of all people should know that the human body has limits. Yours especially because you have a limited background on dancing.”

“The better question would be why your food log is so empty. I hope you just forgot to enter your meals.” Jungkook asked. His voice was laced with a little bit more venom than usual. It made you flinch slightly as you felt Hoseok’s disapproving eyes on you. Yet, all you could do was stare at the ground. How do you explain why you did it? They’ll never understand, how could they? They had it easy from the start.

A sigh left Hoseok’s mouth as he stood up. “You’re sitting the rest of the practice out. I also want a weekly report on your food intake. Oh, and I forbid you from practicing longer than 6 hours a day. Jungkook will monitor you. I do believe the both of you stay in the same apartment building?” Hoseok asked as he looked down on you.

You could only shake your head in confirmation as the weight of his words sank in. This was bad. How are you going to prove yourself with less time to practice? You needed those hours. Hoseok returned to the front of the class as the rest of the students re-entered the studio. Tears slowly made their way down your cheeks as you felt like the world biggest failure.

“Hey, don’t be upset with him, he cares for you. We both do actually, we only want to help you. We both see what you’re doing to yourself and its not healthy Y/N. You’re a good dancer, I don’t know if you noticed but your one of the best female dancers here! No one else could keep up and that says a lot. Come sit in front of the class and watch. I’ll help you later to practice. How does that sound?” Jungkook said.

You kind of forgot he was there. But you were more surprised at what he said to you. His words were filled with sincerity and for some reason it made you happy. What caught you off guard was the little confession that he cares about you, and the fact that he’s willing to help you practise.

So that’s how you found yourself in front of the class, eyes big and mouth slightly open. They have been dancing for about 30 minutes and with your luck, Jungkook was right in front of you. It all started out simple and somewhat normal, but Jungkook soon noticed your eyes not leaving his form and boy, did he take advantage of that. His body moved with purpose as he hit every trust with such power it made you scared for his limbs. His movements were sin reincarnated, his facial expressions even more so. But his little tongue licks he occasionally did and the fact that his eyes held you captive was the cherry on the cupcake.

You knew he was doing this on purpose. The smirk that grazed his lips as he made eye contact was a clear indication that he knew what he was doing. Hopefully he couldn’t see what he actually did to you. Your body has immediately reacted to his. As tired as you are, you where just as horny.

Let’s face it, you obviously had a crush on the one person in the studio who always gave you beef about your skills. The one person who always made sure to let you know he’s watching your every move. You’re now more convinced than ever that he in fact didn’t watch you for mistakes, but he watched you for, well you.

Jungkook’s a smart boy, he knew what he was doing and clearly, he knows what he’s doing know. He wants you to see him, and he’s enjoying every second of this.

Practise ended not to long after and Jungkook made quick work of packing his bags to help you stand, taking your bag in the process. To your surprise no comment was made on what had just happened in that practise room only moments ago, but the smirk was ever present.

“You know, you don’t have to take care of me. I can do that on my own. Besides, Hoseok isn’t watching anymore so you can stop pretending.” You said as you slowly made your way out of the building and headed towards your apartment building.

“Pretending? Wait you think I’m pretending?” Jungkook said as he suddenly stopped making you lose your balance for a few seconds. Of course, he was right there next to you to catch you.

“Whoa, easy tiger. I’m not pretending Y/N. Yes, I might have acted like a jerk, but I only did that because I witnessed first-hand what you do with criticism. It pushed you to become better, but clearly I went to far.” Jungkook said as he looked down. “Besides, I hate competition and guess who’s my biggest rival at the moment” He said as his eyes met yours.

“No, no. Don’t feel ashamed Jungkook. You didn’t push me to neglect myself… wait, what?” You said as his word caught up to you. He saw you as competition. You? The one with no dance background whatsoever?

Before you could properly respond, Jungkook grabbed your hand and pulled you towards your apartment building. And just as sudden as he grabbed you, his whole demeanour changed. Right in front of your eyes the doe-eyed boy changed into the dance major you saw that one faithful day. The exact day you decided to enrol into the dance academy.

His eyes were calculating and confident, they held a certain message you didn’t quiet catch. His body radiated with dominance as his hand tightened around yours. Before long, you reached your apartment building. To say you were slightly scared would be a lie, you were terrified. This is not the same boy you saw day in and day out, laughing and being all shy around girls, well all girls except you. This person was someone you have only seen once. And that scared you. Deep down you knew that this boy, rather man, in front of you were unpredictable. That much you could tell purely by the way he switched between personalities.

Perhaps you should be clearer on that statement. Jungkook had three personalities you knew of. The cute, shy, doe-eyed boy every girl wished to have. The confident dance major that knew exactly what movements to emphasize to make even men swoon over him. And lastly the overconfident senior with a way to big ego for his own good. The last one being the most prominent personality you saw.

But this, this was something different. Like a sick mix of all three of his personalities. Jungkook’s hand tugging on your wrist pulled you back to reality as you soon realized you’ve made it to your apartment door. With hesitant fingers you unlock your door to let the two of you in.

“Why don’t you go take a shower or a long bath and I’ll order us some food.” Jungkook said as he placed your bag next to your door.

“That won’t be necessary Jeon. Besides, don’t you also want to shower and relax rather than looking after me were I can clearly do it by myself.” You said as you made to push him towards your door, but the look he was giving you made you stop dead in your track.

“Y/N, my apartment is literally right across from yours. Of course, I’m going to take a shower, but I’m going to make sure you aren’t going to pull that ‘No-eating’ crap again. So, you have two options here. Either you take a shower here and relax and I come to you, or you come over as soon as you are done. BUT we are going to eat together. Got it?” Jungkook said, punctuating his last two words with two steps towards you.

With a simple nod of your head he left, leaving you alone to let his words sink in.

One shower and three pep-talks later, you found yourself outside his apartment door. When you came out of the bathroom after a well needed 30-minute shower you found, to your surprise that Jungkook hasn’t returned yet. So, you decided to go over to his apartment, bonus being you won’t be stuck with any dirty dishes.

Deciding against knocking you silently entered his apartment. His layout was similar to your apartment, but his taste was the polar opposite of yours. Jungkook’s apartment was darker themed. Come to think about it, his apartment was the polar opposite of him, if you were honest. His furniture was black his carpets dark brown. Everything just looked so expensive it left you feeling cheap just standing there.

“Well, looks who finally decided to be obedient for a change. The food will be here shortly, please make yourself at home.” Jungkook said as he dried his hair. His dripping wet hair. How soft would they be? Maybe he likes it when someone pulls- wait what?

Startled by your own thoughts you took a seat on the farthest end of one of his couches. It was silent for a while as Jungkook observed you. He couldn’t help but smile at the thought of you in his arms. He knew you saw him as a soft doe-eyed boy and perhaps as a jerk to, but he was determined to change your mind. He became obsessed with the girl who had a point to prove. He can’t really say there was a specific time or place his obsession became toxic he just woke up one day and yearned for your touch. He was consumed by the idea of your skin on his.

He knew he was screwed when you did in fact touch him one day. It wasn’t a friendly touch, more of a not-so-friendly shove with your shoulder as you passed him, but it was more than enough to encourage his need to grow. So, from there on he did anything he could to provoke a touch out of you.

But today things changed. You fell, not for him but you fell, and he was the one to catch you.

It made his heart swell with pride and greed as he held you close to his body. The icing on the cake was when Hoseok requested that he take care of you, and he wasn’t going to let this opportunity go by. He’s been waiting far to long to claim you to screw this up. He was aware his obsession over you was toxic, but no one needs to know that.

Jungkook was always the master of masks. He always played the innocent boy when it came to upholding his image. The only time he would let that mask slip was during his dancing. He knew exactly what he was doing after all. He didn’t mean to become obsessed with you. He was supposed to be the soft boy everyone knew.

Looking over to you, he decided to approach this as ‘normal’ as possible. Tonight, he’ll make you his, no matter what.

“I don’t know what type of movies you’re into, but I do have some pretty good horror films. I thought we might watch a movie or two to help us relax. Besides we don’t have practise tomorrow so we can stay up a bit later than normal.” Jungkook said as he went over to his small movie collection.

“Oh, I haven’t watched a horror film in so long. But I do warn you, I don’t get scared easily. These days horror movies are so bad they make me laugh.” You said as n giggle escaped you. Maybe this is exactly what you need.

Soon after Jungkook chose a film you haven’t seen, or heard of before, the food arrived. Jungkook insisted on eating before the movie began, claiming you’ll thank him later. To your surprise you finished all your food, sweat and sour chicken with noodles and dumplings, fried veggies and you even had a bite or two from Jungkook’s hotpot and fried rice. Jungkook went all out in buying your favourite foods, which kind off surprised you considering you never ate together. Must have been a coincidence.

Settling on the couch, you gratefully except the coffee Jungkook has made you. With one last glance, Jungkook smiles and hit play on the screen.

At first the movie isn’t that bad. One or two jump scares here and there, a lot of screaming and some blood. You’re a good 20 minutes into the movie when the real horror began. The movie took a complete 180-degree turn, demons and paranormal activity can’t even compare to what you were seeing. The movie was shot in a home video style, and suddenly the screams didn’t seem so fake.

“J-Jungkook, can I plea- AAHH” You were just about to ask to go home when another jump scare popped out of nowhere. Without thinking you grabbed Jungkook’s arm for some sort of stability. Jungkook immediately tensed at the sudden contact making you realize the mistake you just made.

Just when you wanted to let go, Jungkook grabbed both your arms, spun you around and pinned you to the couch. Hovering above you, he stared straight into your eyes as one of his hands made its way up to your throat, squeezing slightly.

“You know, I would rather prefer to hear you scream like that when you’re underneath me, and when it’s me making you scream.” He said in a very serious tone. Slowly he started closing the gap between your lips until his were barely touching yours. Again, without thinking you leaned into the kiss, deepening it.

Smiling, Jungkook trailed kissed along your jaw toward your ear.

“I’m going to fucking ruin you.” He whispered as he bit your ear, earning a desperate whine from you. You had no idea what was happening, all you knew was that you didn’t want this to stop. Even if Jungkook wasn’t the same shy boy you though he was, you somehow felt a sense of security in his arms. Your whining turned desperate as Jungkook continued to assault your ear with his teeth.

Smirking, Jungkook started trailing kisses down your neck. Increasing the pressure of his lips, he soon found the spot that had you squirming and making all kinds of noises as he began to harshly attack your neck, repeatedly. He became desperate to leave his mark all over you, to finally claim you as his.

“J-Jungkook, what are you doing? Don’t leave- Aahh- Don’t leave m-marks” You said as your squirming increased with every new attack. These words made Jungkook stop. Slowly lifting his head, he once again pinned you with his eyes. The same doe-eyes that now held a possessiveness that had your heartrate slightly increasing.

“I’m sorry darling, but you have no say in what I can and cannot do. Tonight, I’m taking what’s mine” crashing his lips to yours, his hands started rooming your body. Without much hesitation, Jungkook took the seam of your shirt and started pulling it up and over your head. Disposing the piece of clothing as if it was trash, Jungkook was pleased to find your chest bare before him.

“Ooh, naughty girl. Walking around without so much as a bra on, and that to in another man’s home. It’s like you wanted this to happen. No worries baby, I’ll make it happen.” He said taking one of your breasts into his mouth. Sucking and biting your nipple, he couldn’t help but groan at the obscure noises you were making. He continued his ministrations, alternating between each breast, until both were dripping with his saliva and your nipples were standing erected.

A pressure you haven’t felt in a very long time started building in your lower abdomen. It was a somewhat foreign feeling, the way it increased like a speeding bullet, yet still not fast enough. Being the pure flower you were, you only ever knew the feeling by the works of your own hands. This time the feeling was stronger, faster and to a certain extend even painful.

Moving back up to your neck, Jungkook made sure to press his prominent bulge to your pelvis, making you groan as the feeling increased. Once again, he attacked your neck, biting and sucking at the same time until your one side was almost completely covered in red marks.

“Take these off, now” he growled as he bunched up your shorts. Jungkook sat up as he took his own shirt of, watching you as you sat still, frozen in place.

“Darling, don’t make me repeat myself.” He said as his gaze landed on your bare chest.

“I- I haven’t d-done this before” you shakily whispered, shrinking in on yourself as his face fell slightly. Realization dawned onto his face as his eyes found yours. The same doe-eyed boy from before sat across from you as his eyes lit up slightly.

“You haven’t been touched by a man? Intimately, I mean?” he asked. At your confirmation, Jungkook slowly crept towards you. Once again, he was pinning you to the couch, a sly smile present on his face as he gazed down at you.

“Good girl. I will make sure I’m your first and last. No other man is worthy of you, baby. I’ll try to be gentle, but I can guarantee you, this won’t be our last round tonight.” Jungkook said as his head lowered back to your neck.

Nodding, you felt his hands descending down your body towards your front. Painfully slow he pulled your pants down your legs, leaving it forgotten somewhere on the floor. As light as a feather his hands trailed back up your legs, stopping at your knees.

“Let’s claim what’s mine, shall we?” Jungkook said as he parted your legs.

“I want to hear every single sound baby? You won’t keep quiet, I want everyone to know that your mine” He said as he lowered his head to your clothed pelvis. Slowly he trailed kisses along the seems of your panties, until finally kissing right on top of your clit.

You couldn’t stop the moan that escaped your mouth as the pressure in your abdomen increased again. Jungkook continued to kiss you gently over your panties until you couldn’t take it anymore.

“Jeon, please. I n-need more” You said as your hands fisted his hair. This gentleness he was showing you was soon forgotten as Jungkook sat up and, literally ripped your panties of off your body. before you could even think of protesting his mouth was back on your mound. This time there were no kisses, he flat out went straight to sucking and nibbling on your sensitive bud.

The most erotic feeling entered your limbs at this new feeling Jungkook has caused. Your body wasn’t yours to control anymore as your legs moved on their own at every single nip or suck, he would administer. You could get addicted to this feeling. Another set of moans left your throat as he added his tongue to the mix.

Yes, addicted you could get.

Without much warning, Jungkook inserted a finger into you. The feeling was foreign and sudden, leading you to gasp as he moved it without warning. Smiling Jungkook came back up to your lips. Drowning you in his lips as he slowly added a second digit. The stretch burned as he pumped his fingers in and out of you, smirking at the noises you were making.

Soon the burn was replaced with the same pressure from earlier, building at a steady pace until your walls started contracting around Jungkook’s fingers.

“Let’s see that pretty face as you come undone sweetheart” he said as he increased the pace at which his fingers were going. Not long after that your vision went white as the pressure finally exploded within you. You felt like you were floating as pure bliss entered your system.

“There’s the beautiful dancer that intoxicated me” Jungkook said with triumph. Adding a third finger to your sensitive body had reality crashing down around you.

“P-please, n-no more.” You whined. The all to familiar pressure resurfacing as Jungkook ignored your request.

“I don’t think so. I want to see that face again when you come undone when I’m inside you” Jungkook said as he removed his fingers. Pulling down his sweatpants he slowly stroked himself as he looked at you. With big eyes you watched his hand work up and down his shaft.

“This is going to hurt love, but I know you can take it” He said as he aligned himself with your entrance. Without waiting for a response, he pushed himself into you. Successfully stretching you around him as he bottoms out. The feeling of being full consumes you as Jungkook waits for you to open your eyes.

“Look at me darling, tell me you don’t want this. Stop me from going further, once I start there’s no turning back. You’ll be mine and mine alone. Y/N, please tell me to stop” Jungkook pleaded as he held onto the last bit of his resolve he had.

“Make me yours” This was all he needed to hear out of your mouth to begin thrusting. He didn’t start slow, he wasn’t gentle, but he was possessive.

With each thrust he gave his grip on you tightened. His eyes never left yours as tears streamed down your face. He made no move to wipe them away, he wanted to see you cry.

Jungkook soon realized his thrusting wasn’t making you cry as he longed for. Picking up his pace he pushed your legs up to your chest, going even deep than before. This seem to do the trick, your moans turned into screams as his pace became brutal.

“That’s it baby, scream for me. Let everyone know who owns you. You’re mine now” Jungkook said. His one hand moving down towards your clit and the other finding its way to your throat. The added stimulation on your clit and slight pressure around your neck was enough to send you over the edge once more.

“J-Jungkook!” this was all word that you managed to say as your orgasm hit you. This one being stronger than the previous one. Soon after your walls started contracting around him, Jungkook’s own walls broke. With a growl of your name he painted your walls in white as his thrusts slowed down.

“You’re mine now Y/N, Mine” Jungkook whispered as he came down from his high.

After Jungkook helped you clean up, the end credits off the movie came into view. A light chuckle escaped you as you realized that you missed the last half of the movie.

“Seems like I’ll have to watch the movie another time” You said as you made ready to leave, only to be stopped as a hand pulled you back into a hard chest.

“Hang on, I’m not done with you yet. Besides, I have a lot of other movies I would like to show you Baby” Jungkook said as his hands dipped underneath your shirt. Turning in his arms, his hands slipped down to your waist. Slowly he started swaying you side-to-side.

“Before we do that” Jungkook said as he brought his lips closer.

“Dance with me, Y/N” He whispered before kissing you.

***

AGAIN THIS IS UNEDITED! I hope you enjoyed it though....

#nomimits stuff #Dance with me #bts #Jeon Jungkook #jungkook x reader #is this a drabble?#I honestly dont know

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illthdar · 5 years ago

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Guardians of Las Chapter Teaser 6

From chapter six, Guardians of Las, first book of the Illthdar series

A man in black stepped from the shadows. He had black feathers for hair, slate coloured eyes and an impressively large nose. “We don't have time for this,” he stated in a cross voice. He caught sight of Lerki and squawked, “And you were supposed to be back nearly a moon ago!”

“I'm sorry, Date, but Wind – ” Lerki began, but Date sliced a hand through the air, cutting him off.

“Save it for Phanuel when he takes it from your wages. You ill-gotten son of a rot-log – you've been gone almost seven moons, or did you not notice? Did you think we wouldn't notice?” His brows pinched as he glowered.

Zercey crossed her arms and stared at Lerki. “You're an Acolyte? We could have done with that bit of information sooner.” This is why he knows Illthdarian.

Lerki, for his part, had the decency to smile sheepishly. “I am sorry, Date,” he apologised again. “It took longer than expected to resonate – ” He stopped mid speech when Date repeated the cutting action.

“No time for this. Las is under attack and we're trying to find a way around the enemy forces. We've lost too many people as it is.” He drew in a sharp breath before continuing. “The other Acolytes are holding the wall. The whole of Quartz is here, but we can't get into battle formation and wage a counter assault. This fucking forest is ruining everything, and Las will be overridden before daybreak.”

#Illthdar #Guardians of las #illthdar guardians of las #books #new book #book teaser #chapter teaser #dark fantasy #fantasy

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han-jiji · 6 years ago

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The Fates of the Fae • Chapter 3

Word count: 1.7k words

Member: ???

Genre: Angst/Fluff/Fantasy

Prompt used: His hands are covered with dirt, and his trousers are muddy and soaked. Either way, he carries himself like the king of the forest. For all you know, he is

It had been 15 hours since you had left the house. Those 15 hours had been trouble free, you hid at the slightest sound. Which, with your new Fae hearing, was every 50 seconds. More often than not, it was a little bunny but every so often, you heard the heavy footprints of a wolf.

The small knife in your boot did nothing to reassure you, if anything your ankle bone was nicked with how much it was moving. You gathered ingredients as you went, hoping to maybe be able to make some healing tonics as you went.

By this point, it was night, and you knew you had to set up camp soon but you were too scared to stop moving. The sounds in the forest were terrifying at night, and you didn’t want to find out what was making such noises.

Eventually, you found a secure tree, and climbed up to the middle branches, far enough away from the ground to be safe from predators and far down enough from the top that you wouldn’t be spotted by any birds of prey. Who knows if your plan would work, only time would tell.

It took a while to get comfy on the thick branches, but after a while, you finally slept, and your dreams were filled with images of the fallen doe and her fawn with slit throats.

You woke up to a snake hissing in front of your face. You screamed and fell down out of the tree, landing on the ground with a yelp. The snake slithered down the tree before landing in a pile next to you. When you rushed back away from it, you could’ve sworn it smiled at you before a flash of light blinded you.

When you finally regained your sight, you looked up to see a... a girl standing in front of you with a wicked smile. She looked at you, laying on the floor, with one single blue eye. The other was covered with a gauze, and the strings went across her face, stretching from each corner. The strings were frayed slightly through use, and they disappeared behind her hair.

Her hair was a muted silver, and while it seemed almost perfect, you could see the strands that weren’t quite right, and were the wrong colour or wrong length or wrong texture.

Her eyes were a pale blue that drew you in to see the shades of green and orange flecked through them. Her lips were plumb and full but cracked and dry. Everything about this girl was perfect but imperfect in the little details. She offered you a slim hand, the fingernails chipped and dirt buried beneath them. Her pale arms were flecked with scars, harsh pink against the pale white of her skin. When you looked back up at her face, her teeth were symmetrical enough, but chipped and large for her face.

This whole girl was perfect from far away but when you got close, everything was wrong somehow. You finally took her hand, and she pulled you up with ease, still smiling a crooked smile. Her eye was fixed on you, staring with an eerie stillness.

“What are you?” She whispered, the smile turning feral. Her grip on your hand clenched, the bones starting to creak with the force. You tried to pull your hand back but she pulled you forward, her other hand gripping onto your forearm. Slowly, she brought her face closer to yours and rested her forehead against yours, her blue eye boring into you.

“Oh you’re going to be fun. Oh so very fun.” She whispered, voice quavering. Her eye was flashing from your eyes to your lips and your neck. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips before a rustle in the bush tore her attention away from you.

Her eye shrunk and she glared at the bush, and she slowly sunk to the ground and stalked towards the bush. You spotted two yellow eyes before a wolf leapt out, landing above the girl. Instead of running away screaming like you would have done, she smiled at the wolf, blinding it with a flash of golden light. When the light vanished, a black mamba was in the girls spot, and it was attacking the wolf’s vulnerable underbelly.

The snake was ripping into the belly of the wolf, slowly ripping out chunks, and sinking its fangs deep into the belly. The wolf couldn’t reach the snake with its paws, and as a result, was defenceless. The snakes venom was sinking into the wolf’s bloodstream, and the wolf was getting sluggish with its relentless pawing at the snake. Finally, the snake released the belly, and slowly slithered to the neck. You were speechless as the snake suddenly attacked the exposed neck, biting into the jugular. The snake, well over 6 feet long, started to wrap around the neck of the wolf as it struggled, both draining its blood and stopping its breathing. It took a minute before the wolf fell to the side, and another two before it stopped struggling altogether. Once it stopped struggling, the snake released the neck, and slowly slithered away from the body. When its tail was finally free, the gold flash and the girl re-appeared, blood smeared around her face. The smile was still there, except there were now fangs in place of front teeth.

She approached you, still standing where you were before the wolf arrived, and sniffed the air gently around you. A forked tongue slipped out from between her teeth and tasted the air. Her eye almost rolled back in her head, and she made a guttural sound in the base of her throat.

“Oh cauldron you smell delightful,” her eyes slipped to you, still in slits. A third eyelid slipped across her eye, before it returned to normal. She smiled, and her mouth was stretching from ear to ear, exposing those pointed teeth. She was a nightmare in human form, and it wasn’t ending. You started to back up, and her neck slowly started cocking to the side. Every so slowly, it kept turning and turning until her neck was almost 90 degrees.

“Where do you think you’re going?” She had an edge to her voice as she slowly crouched down, the movement subtle enough to not be noticed by a human. However, with your new Fae eyes, you noticed the movement, and your body reacted before you could think about it. You were turning and running away from the crazy girl, jumping over logs and bushes before your mind had the chance to catch up. You could hear a stream nearby, and quickly changed directions to face the stream. Your legs were pumping faster and faster as you tried to get away from the crazy girl, who was currently snarling as she chased you. Finally, the stream came into sight, and you didn’t hesitate as you leapt over it. You knew that in a situation like this, hesitation meant death or something far far worse.

You landed on the other side of the stream and tumbled down, your foot twisted on the landing. The pain was immense, but fleeting. Within seconds, your foot snapped and was now pain free. You scrambled up, digging at the ground to get your footing stable. You could hear crazy girl approaching the stream, and tried to run faster.

You glimpsed back to see her smiling, the snake fangs still present. You questioned why she was smiling, the distance between you two was growing with every step you took. You looked back to the front in time to see another Fae standing in front of you with a bored look on her face. Her eyes with pure white, there was no pupil or iris. You managed to twist away from her in time, and continued to run.

“Oh for the Cauldrons sake... STOP RUNNING!” The new girl yelled, and a tendril of shadow wrapped around your ankle and pulled you to a stop. You landed on your front, the wood digging into your skin. The shadow dragged you back to the second girl, who was pulling at the shadows with a grunt. Finally, you had reached her feet, and she looked down at you with a raised brow.

“Are you quite done?” She snarled out, releasing the shadows. They settled under her skin, and moved until they were hidden by her clothes. You glared at her, not trying to run away anymore as the first crazy girl finally caught up.

“Was that all just for show Joy? Trying to scare the shit out of her. Didn’t exactly work you idiot,” The second girl whirled on the first girl, Joy, who was now smiling with a childlike innocence. Joy winked at the second girl, and skipped away. The second girl glared at Joy, then turned to you.

Her eyes were piercing as they stared into you, even if there was nothing but white. Her skin was rich and tanned, and was perfect. Her lips were plump and red, and they weren’t cracked like Joys. No, everything about this girl was perfect, both up close and room afar. Her hair was a deep brown and tied into a braid flung across one shoulder.

She didn’t offer you a hand, instead she turned and stalked away, calling for you to follow her over her shoulder. When you hesitated, perhaps for the first time since all this started, she turned to stare at you.

“Fine,” she stormed back over to you, hauling you up with one hand.

“My name is Esther, that thing,” she gestured over to Joy, who pouted after hearing her, “is Joy. We are Fae, presumably like you, even if you are something I have never once encountered. If you don’t come with us, it wont be just a wolf and weird fucking snake girl to worry about. There are some horrible creatures out there who would like nothing more than to rip you apart and see how you tick. Now, follow me and don’t say a fucking word.” She finished with a snarl, her top lip curling to reveal perfect teeth.

She turned once more and stormed away, growling at Joy to follow close behind you to make sure you don’t try and run. Joy skipped back to you, and pushed you gently to make sure you started, then stayed a few paces behind you. You were on your way to Cauldron knows where, and you weren’t entirely sure that Joy would let you live to see tomorrow.

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janegregorycontextlog · 4 years ago

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Context Log: Gerhard Richter

Abstraktes Bild Abstract Painting

2009 200 cm x 300 cm Catalogue Raisonné: 911-2

Oil on canvas

Cage 52006 300 cm x 300 cm Catalogue Raisonné: 897-5Oil on canvas

Eisberg im Nebel Iceberg in Mist1982 70 cm x 100 cm Catalogue Raisonné: 496-1Oil on canvas

September

2005 52 cm x 72 cm Catalogue Raisonné: 891-5

Oil on canvas

Biography

Richter was an outsider post-war due to various relocations.

World War 2 and the woe of his mother over the death of her siblings impacted him.

Germany under Soviet control.

His mother bought him a single plate camera. The camera shop owner taught him how to develop photos when he was a child.

Soviets turned rich houses into libraries, Richter was able to access illustrated books which prompted his first drawings.

At 15 years Richter started to draw regularly. He drew people dancing and enjoying themselves and then he felt bitter; the anger and energy appeared in his drawing.

He was an apprentice for different companies, he realised he wanted to go to art school but He had an unsuccessful application. The new Germany dictated that if he worked for a state-run textile plan as a painter he was accepted into art school.

The teachers were real artists however there was a Soviet agenda imposed a socialist realism and ideology where they were not allowed to study decadence and western ideas.

Richter had a long fascination with murals and sat and watched Lillig at work.

Richter had family in the west and was able to stay in touch with trends there.

Richter had to ‘fall in line’, but he could no longer adhere to the dictates of the state.

Turning point for him was Documenta II, Kassel 1959 when he saw work by Jackson Pollock, Lucio Pontana etc. which made his realise there was something wrong with the whole way of thinking in east Germany; there work an expression of a totally different and new context.

He moved to West Germany and studied at Dusseldorf which led to him co-exhibiting and then having his first solo exhibition in main galleries where collectors visited. He worked on the side as a teacher.

Throughout his early career consciousness of death became the characteristic of his work.

In 1967 he introduced geometric abstraction to his work through colour charts influenced by Polermo. By the end of the 60’s Richter had become a successful contemporary artist.

Analysis of Artists Practice

(In the artists own words:)

Leave everything as it is (historical documentation)

Never plan anything (perhaps because of the uncertain years of WWII)

Add nothing and omit nothing but invent, alter and manipulate work (a combination of painting and photography).

The strength and terrifying power of an idea which goes to death (Conscious of death)

Most impressive thing to his is inextricable ideologies as harmful (Soviet/police state)

Ideologies must be taken seriously as a behaviour and not a content

..otherwise they become foes (force of the state over free thinking)

Not knowing where the painting is going – an extension of an action (like life)

Beings lost, being a loser reveals the most possible fate and options

Against collective security (borrowing from and doctoring photographs)

A spectator with something to do makes life more bearable (how he sees the profession)

Being able to do something is never a reason for doing it (meaning)

Richter’s work of paint racing across the frame at a running speed could be described as action painting similar of the work of Jackson Pollock which first inspired him as a young art student (perhaps from the anger and energy in his youthful work).

Richter’s work exists in the post-modernism era, known mainly for appropriation. An era in which artists borrowed from other artists. Post-modernism was not a movement but a wide-ranging term for a range of techniques including the late 1970’s emergence of Neo-expressionism (reviving German art of the 1920’s) for which Richter’s work is described.

The post-modern art draws from philosophical ideas Freud’s theory of existentialism which emphasises the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will which can be seen in Richter’s work. The borrowing or stealing of an artist’s work; creating new work, reinterpreting images relates to the dualistic nature of his work of ‘reality versus interpretation’.

Richter’s active painting of blurring the image with paint depicting the action of the planes (September (2005)), records the reality of the event. The distorted image appears almost healed from the sharp photograph - erasing the emotion. To me it depicts energy the speed and movement, the pathway of the jets into the building.

Definitions and Techniques

He is referred as the painter without the brush

He uses metal, wood and home-made squeegees to paint with

He recognises the movement in making – ‘Cage’ after a composer - movement

Everything has to be completely under control

Every move has a purpose – active painting

He changes his pallet and technique to no brush but movements in colour, deep surfaces in all colour in the work: Abstrakte Bilder

Formative years in communist East Germany and then exposed to pop painters.

Richter’s work of paint racing across the frame at a running speed could be described as action painting similar of the work of Jackson Pollock with his western ideas first inspired him as a young art student.

He used a small canvas with an image of the twin towers with a blue sky. He actively scraped a horizontal blur colliding with the two vertical pushes against a blue-sky backdrop.

He actively scraped paint across the surface of an existing image. The dualistic nature of his work of ‘reality (photograph) versus interpretation’ (painterly strokes) fixes his own idea on the subject.

In the work Abstrakte Bilder he moves his body back and forth, up and down the use of black and white tones to create a link between the two canvases.

He looks at construct and composition and directs the pathway of the viewer’s eyes causing active participation in the viewer.

On glass he either paints over painting or he uses reflected painting from glass works. He uses glass installations as partitions in his exhibition as the glass plays with light and structure in linear forms like architecture.

His work ‘Atlas’ (photo-based paintings into a visual set) a photograph projected onto the canvas; Richter traced the image with charcoal and a ruler. Every minute detail is traced ready for paint. While the pigment is still wet he drags over the paint with a dry brush or sponge, blurring the lines. (Seeing murals being created as a young man may have influenced his large-scale work).

Richter’s painting (woman with umbrella) has an element of psychology, drawing on moments such as – Jackie Kennedy after the death of her husband. The feathery strokes create a blurred confusion of events.

His blurred canvas’ are like ghosts, whispering at the viewer.

Sheena Wagstaff ‘Paint After All’ describes Richter’s technique as ‘an excavation of a memory’ and ‘complex’. He uses a dual mode of representation, investigating imagery using the nature of painterly approaches which act as a paradox in the photo.

Cage work: 6 huge abstract canvases – named after American minimalist John Cage.

Richter listened to Cage’s music whilst he painted. Richter used the process of smearing paint in a active sweep using hand-made squeegee tools over metres of canvas in response to Cage’s conducting of music.

Context

In relation to his stripes and patterns work he said he played like a little child. He experimented, dabbled, divided, mirrored but didn’t design. He said the pattern came out of the method of painting.

The interviewer said that his work usually viewed in America is of ambient candles and depth, the stripes had flatness about them. He said that the work reflects the time that we are living in.

He said he doesn’t know what time (era) it is and it fascinates him.

Today, he says, we don’t need painting anymore, but entertainment. He said viewers want to be entertained and look at ‘nice things’ whereas he said as young artist it was about the important things, the seriousness of politics. He said, we have gone from serious things to interesting things.

He said that he emerged from a Soviet Ideology where people were not interested in the learning because it was all propaganda lies. He said he had to learn Russian, learn how to draw and paint and move away from communist ideology and state control.

Richter believes in art. He believes that he can make something better than himself.

Richter’s work of paint racing across the frame at a running speed could be described as action painting similar of the work of Jackson Pollock which first inspired him as a young art student.

His work has an emphasis of realism based off of over painting photographs and large-scale abstracts produced by dragging squeegees across layers of paint onto the canvas. He wants to keep painting alive through his practice he says.

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mydevotionstodea-blog · 7 years ago

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How to obtain a Deanic Sun Wheel & when to use it as a prayerful act

https://deanic.com/2017/11/14/how-to-obtain-a-deanic-sun-wheel-when-to-use-it-as-a-prayerful-act/

“We prepare our hearts for the coming of Kore Di-Jana through unselfish acts, devotion, contemplation, scripture readings and prayer. We cook special foods for the season. We set our homes aglow with candles and colorful bulbs (which represent the Eternal Light and the Janae powers) in the midst of the ever-growing darkness while awaiting the One who reflects our Mother’s Light to us.” ArchMadria Candra Sophia

The Sun Wheel, a beautiful prayerful act which was incorporated into the Deanic Faith, designed and originated by ArchMatrona Ghrian of the Lady of Light Chantry, [1] is very much like an Advent Wreath (which has pre-Christian origins) [2], except we use different coloured candles which represent our Five Great Mysteries, symbols and elemental seasonal colours.

lolly pop stick candles and paper plate

Toilet Paper Roll Advent Wreath

5 card candle advent wreath

This does not have to be expensive. Use paper or card to make a sun wheel, 1 or 3 dimensional. Just google images with the wording “paper candle advent wreath” A small selection of tutorials that I have picked out: http://alittlegraceandmercy.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/tutorial-paper-advent-wreath.html https://www.eggloentertainment.com/advent-wreath-childrens-craft/ https://www.eskaamakes.com/diy-easy-paper-advent-wreath/ or draw it. http://artteacherscloset.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/in-art-room-easy-advent-wreath.html

An actual evergreen Advent Wreath may be made [3] or bought and the fifth candle placed in the centre; or you may simply buy five pillar-style candles and place them in a circle and decorate the circle as you please. In the footnote below is an amazing array of five candle advent wreaths that are available as well as examples of home-made wreaths. [4].

Found household objects can be used.

Old jar, salt and candles

Old tin cans, candles

Advent Wreath in Cake Tin

Wine glasses baubles or scrunched up paper electric tea candles

Those with a fire phobia or with pets may substitute a white battery LED tea light or table lamp either a wreath or an altar cloth in the appropriate elemental seasonal colour (as in the candle colour).

Battery Operated LED Tea Light Candle Warm White Flame

When to use it as a prayerful act

Either on the first Sunnadi/Sunday on 27 Samhain/November 26th. (Janites have 3 Holy Days, Sunnadi/Sunday is symbolic of our Celestial Mother). Or the Feast Day of Jana Madria Sage on Rosadi/Rose Day, (Tuesday), 1 Astrea/Nov. 28. This is a choice for each individual depending upon their weekly commitments. The Green candle of Wisdom is lit. This is symbolic of Dea Matrona, Great Mother God as the Source seeds of Wisdom. The Holy Feminine Trinity are all connected to the Apple of Wisdom. The Revealing and Refreshing Fruit growing on the (Evergreen) Tree of Life, atop the (Blue-Violet) Sacred Mountain, on the Mystic Isle. [5]

The second Sunnadi/Sunday on 6 Astrea/December 3rd, we light the Yellow candle of Hope. This is symbolic of Dea Filia, Daughter God as the Star of Hope. As Soteria (Saviouress) She Shines Her Light of Hope amidst the Sad and Lonely Blue-Black Darkness of Despair. [5]

Third Sunnadi/Sunday on 13 Astrea/December 10th: the Purple/Lilac candle of Faith is lit. This is symbolic of Dea Matrona, Great Mother God as the Fora of Faith. The word “fora” means “foundation” or “fundamental” because it is a symbol of the “foundational form” or “fundamental pattern” of the “foundational-fundamental principle of the Cosmos”. [6]

Fourth Sunnadi/Sunday on 20 Astrea/December 17th: we light the Blue candle of Peace. This is symbolic of Dea Filia, Daughter God as the Dove of Peace, the Comforting Presence hovering (in the Blue Sky) above the (Blue) Primal Waters of Creation. [5]

On Madria Noctis: Mother Night, 23 Astrea/December 20 (Yule Eve / Winter Solstice Eve) [8]: we light the Red candle of Joy. This is symbolic of Dea Madria, Mother God, as the Rose of Joy. As the Red Rose of Joy, the Celestial Mother is our assumption into the inner Heavenly realm which we call the Real or the Pleroma, visualised as a Rose Garden (as opposed to the outer realm which our Faith calls Avala the Apple Orchard).

(A Rite of Sacrifice [7] is served in honour of the Celestial Mother as She awaits the Appearance of the Holy Daughter.)

Very similar to the use of the Christian Advent wreath, each candle is first lit on a Sunnadi/Sunday and then each night thereafter during dinner time. It is extinguished after dinner. Keeping it alight is not mandatory, as we may not all be able to afford candle (wax or led) replacement. I replace with card candles.

Notes:

[1] https://deamatronablog.wordpress.com/lighting-the-sun-wheel-ringing-the-silver-branch/ [2] It is believed that pre-Christian Germanic peoples used a wheel of evergreens upon which they placed lit candles. This evergreen wheel was said to have represented the cycle of the seasons. Prayers were then offered to the gods, asking them to ‘turn’ the Wheel back to a season of increasing light and warmth. Sorry, I have lost the reference website. [3] https://www.save-on-crafts.com/wreatmakandd.html [4] https://www.google.com/search?q=five+pillar+candle+advent+wreath [5] Symbolism by ArchMatrona Ghrian of the Lady of Light Chantry. [6] https://mydevotionstodea.wordpress.com/2017/03/06/a-wealth-of-information-on-the-fora-by-archmatrona-ghrian/ [7] https://deanic.com/the-rite-of-sacrifice/ [8] Madria: Mother. https://deanic.com/glossary/ Latin noctis night Gender: feminine https://www.latin-is-simple.com/en/vocabulary/noun/112/ Greek νύχτα (nýchta, “night”) https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/καληνύχτα https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/νύχτα#Greek [8] “Norse mythology …the night before the Solstice which they called the Mother Night…for it was in the darkness that the goddess Freya labored to bring Baldur, the young son (light) to birth once more. It was also a night for spirit contact and celebration with one’s ancestors in much the same way that the Celts did at Samhain.

The festival itself was called Yule, derived from the Norse word Jul, means wheel, a symbol of the Sun revolving across the sky. It was traditionally held for 12 days or more, beginning on Mother Night and ending on January 6th. The most important symbols of Yule continue to live on in our modern Christmas celebrations. For example, the evergreen tree and holly which remain green throughout the long months of cold and darkness, were widely used in in the Pagan celebration of Yule because they hold promise that spring will once again return to the land.

Because ancient Norwegians believed the sun was returning, as part of their Winter Solstice celebration, the Vikings would cut a huge log, drag it back to the village and set it on fire. This Yule Log was supposed to drive away the evil spirits and bring good luck to the people as well as welcome back the sun. From Scandinavia, the Yule log custom spread through the European content and England. Some decked out their Yule log with greenery, ribbons, and paper flowers and sang Yuletide songs as they dragged it home.

Thousands of years ago, the Scandinavian god, Odin, rode through the world at Midwinter bringing reward or punishment, and Thor, his son, came from the far North. His color was red, and at Midwinter, he fought the gods of ice and snow …conquering the cold. The elves connected with our current Santa Claus are remnants of the supernatural nature folk of the Old Religion, and our modern custom of leaving cookies and milk for Santa is most likely a modern continuation of leaving offerings for the Alvar and other nature folk. Although usually associated with Santa, many believe that the reindeer, northern animals, actually represent the stags that drew the chariot of Freya, the Sun Goddess of the North.” http://moontides-mxtodis123.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/dec-20the-mother-night-yule-eve.html

#janite tradition #sun wheel #deanic #trinitarian #sacred #seasons #Cosmic Drama #Great Symbols #Mysteries #wheel of the year #Mother God #Daughter God #Great Mother

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bryyo-data · 7 years ago

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Hunters, and how to make it better

I've been replaying Metroid Prime Hunters because it's a game I have a lot of nostalgia for, even if it isn't exactly a great Metroid game. There's a lot I still like about the game, not limited to the hunter concepts, atmosphere and music, but there's also a lot left to be desired. Just for fun, I've been thinking of ways one could spruce up the game and make it more appealing to fans of the traditional Metroid formula.

I'm inclined to say the game was designed to be simple, with evident focus on making a good multiplayer (arguably the one point they really succeeded on) and no real care put into the single player campaign. My train of thought is based around improving the single player storyline- though I'm not a game developer and I'm sure a professional could do much better than me.

The Hunters

I'm going to start off with the hunters because they are such an integral part of the game, to the point that they're literally in the title. The premise is incredibly cool- six enemy hunters, of varying backgrounds and moralities, have picked up the same signal as you and are now on the path to claim the Ultimate Power for one reason or another. In Hunters, Samus has to make her way through the Alimbic Cluster, occasionally encountering a hunter in either a scripted event (first-time meeting per each Hunter) or a random miniboss fight (one of the six hunters, in one of a set of specific rooms). If the hunter kills Samus, they take one of the octoliths she has collected, and she has to track them down to get it back.

Realistically, even if the rest of the story was mediocre, the hunters should've been the shining stars and had the effort put into them. In practice, they're not that exciting. They're generally not too hard to defeat, which I might expect on a first encounter, but they're actually easier the second time around when they SHOULD be more difficult. It should feel like they're hunting you for octoliths just as hard as you'd be hunting them if they had one. Some smarter AI might do wonders for them, because with their limited difficulty you're not actually that likely to ever get killed by them and need to go on a hunt.

The hunters have cool designs, but battle tactics aside, they're incredibly generic. In Corruption you don't spend too much time getting to know your fellow hunters but you still get the measure of their personalities and grow quite fond of them, and feel sad when you have to destroy them. In Hunters, the hunters are just time-consuming obstacles as much as a Guardian or something else.

They were scarier in Breath of the Wild.

With such varied personalities, some character interactions or indications of their motives and moralities might go a long way. No speech required- they could speak through actions. Like maybe have Trace, being the sneaky-sneaky stealth hunter he is, wait for you then lock you in with a bunch of enemies while he claims the prize at the other side. Whereas Sylux or Weavel might give in to vengeance and knock a bunch of things out for the sake of getting to kill you personally.

Not only would it be interesting to see more of their interactions with Samus, but with the environment too. These hunters are presumably picking up the lore as they go along, and supposedly finding their way to the octoliths. Some might realise Samus is doing well, and wait for her to beat the bosses so they can steal octoliths from her when she's worn out post-boss. Maybe some are actually competent enough to find artifacts or even octoliths for themselves.

Imagine situations like this: you stumble upon a boss portal with no artifacts in place. You get two, have to pass by the portal again, and surprise surprise- three artifacts already? Then you get shot in the back and frozen in place by Noxus; he knew you were coming and he'll be damned if you're getting that octolith before he does.

Presumably the game wants to ensure all the Hunters are your potential foes right up until the very end, but it might be interesting to see some of them actually take sides with Samus, if only temporarily. Spire and Noxus are arguably the "good guys" and if there was more in-game indication of their personalities, it would add a layer of depth in that you, a fellow "good guy" can pity their cause but still have to do your job- even if it means defeating them in the process. Maybe in places such as the very final level, there's room for one of them or even one of the "bad guys" to choose to help Samus- like shooting someone else to spare her from trouble once they realise she's doing the right thing, or something like that.

On that note, it would be interesting if we actually learned anything at all about these six hunters, since they're such noteworthy enemies. In the Prime trilogy, arguably the most significant and omnipresent enemies are the Space Pirates, and we learn LOADS about them and their thoughts through log scans.

It would be interesting if the other Hunters left similar things- at the very least, the option to stumble across their ships and read their last recorded logs, with their thoughts and feelings and a taste of their personalities. Perhaps new logs are added after their first encounter with Samus. The ships would also be a more sensible place to get hold of their signature weapons, rather than finding them across the Alimbic Cluster with no real explanation as to why they are there.

Overall, the Hunters represent a lot of missed potential, and I probably haven't covered it all, but as the titular characters they should have posed more of a threat while being more interesting and getting the player more invested in them.

Level design

Hunters is an incredibly linear game. It's not quite on Other M's level, and at least offers times when several planets are open to you and you have to go investigate a few before finding the right way. But the quest to find artifacts and octoliths is very straightforward, especially since the hunters etc. only provide generic battles and don't really change your environment or get in your way. A few more scripted events with the hunters nudging you off-course could've done some good. But with so few branching or interconnected areas, that isn't necessarily possible on the map as it stands.

I'm pretty sure the developers have actually confirmed by now- if it wasn't obvious already- that the game's single player was an afterthought to the multiplayer, and the room designs are all based on various repurposed multiplayer stages. In all fairness, it could be worse, and offers many points where you can encounter the other hunters and have a good fight. But it does lead to a very linear path back-and-forth to the boss portals. This does little for exploration, which is one of the Metroid franchise's core aspects.

Even in Fusion, where Adam pretty much told you where to go, there was exploration to be done and hidden places and items to find. In Hunters, the items are not incredibly well hidden, nor are there many of them at all, so the item hunt that has been a significant part of almost every Metroid game is non-existent. Typically you explore until you find an item which allows you to access a few more areas you couldn't get to before, opening up the ways to new items and bosses and such, but the capacity for this is limited here. You don't pick up power-ups as you would traditionally, and if it weren't for the weapon-specific force fields you need to destroy with the new beams you pick up, there's nothing really out of access to you from beginning to end. You can reach every ledge with your jump, go into hot areas with your varia suit, boost past instant-kill pistons with your boost ball, all without having the challenge of finding the relevant pickups first.

On the subject of the weapons, they come to very little use aside from some enemies with weaknesses, some buttons that need to be laser-sniped by the imperialist, and the aforementioned force fields. Maybe this is a minor gripe, but it would be cool if their uses were a bit more varied, like having to melt stuff with the Magmaul, energize or drain things with the Shock Coil, freeze a path with the Judicator etc.

Guard nodes: harder to beat than the actual bosses.

Overall in terms of level design I'd rearrange the linear paths to interconnect different rooms and make a less easy start-to-boss route, requiring the player to actually try and fail to get past certain rooms due to available power-ups (I guess this is attempted with the force fields and coloured doors but they just block you out of rooms altogether). I'd also try to add in more pickups, hiding them in new places- some of which are more easy and obvious, others which are hidden and hard, and require newly acquired skills to reach.

I will say this, the actual visual design of the worlds isn't badly done at all. It may not be as gloriously detailed as Tallon IV or Aether due to the graphics of the DS, but it's nonetheless quite nice to look at and does quite well with what it has. There is undoubtedly a scary abandoned atmosphere (that was one of the things that drew me into the game when I was a kid). It does well with what graphics it has.

I’m writing at 3am, so this thing genuinely has more brainpower than me.

Bosses

If Hunters weren't repetitive enough as it were, the bosses are literally copied and pasted onto every planet and space station four times over. This infamous fact is an obvious relic of lazy, last-minute single player campaign design. The bosses as they are aren't particularly impressive either- it would be fine if the first Cretaphid and first Slench were kept in place, but the second and third and fourth of each of those are just underwhelming in both their repetitiveness and their continually unimpressive tactics.

First thing I'd do, tear out 6 of the bosses and replace them with something new and interesting. At the very LEAST, have four boss types total and use each boss twice, but the same two bosses four times over is a bit much. Ideally each boss room would have a new and increasingly difficult boss, offering new challenges and new ways to utilise your newfound weapons aside from "this boss has a weakness to X weapon". This would be the perfect time to show off the secondary effects of your beams, like the Judicator's freezing or the Volt Driver's disruptive effects.

What I would do is pile together all copies of each Cretaphid and each Slench. Normally, the first Cretaphid gets down to 2/3 health and its lasers go a row lower, which isn't the most challenging change. So, I'd have the Cretaphid get to 2/3 health and then start using green blobs. Gets down to 1/3, starts using blobs AND lasers. Instead of spreading these abilities across four Cretaphids desperately trying to make each one seem different and advanced from the rest, have them all be stages of the same boss, allowing that boss to get slightly more challenging during the one fight and not needing to repeat it four times over!

(It doesn't need to be super hard anyway, it's only the first major boss of the game.)

Same with the Slench- 3/4 health it detaches from the wall, 2/4 health it starts doing the charge attack, 1/4 health it rolls around on the floor (and its patterns aren't so darn predictable while it's doing so). Something like that. Then we don't need a whole four of them, and the other six bosses can be brand new mechanoids which get more challenging as time goes along.

Kinda going back to a previous section here, but maybe since they're one of the most important things in the game, have the other Hunters intrude on the boss fights. Perhaps you could have an encounter where somebody else fills out the portal before you, and when you get in there you find a Hunter- maybe even one picked randomly by the game- who is fighting the boss but just can't beat it.

There's a variety of scenarios you could get out of this, which could help to show off the personalities of the Hunters. E.g. one might team up with you but get defeated at the end. One might team up with you, only to battle you for the octolith afterwards. If its your last octolith, one might actually just say "here, you take that, I'm done" and let you have it. Maybe one chickens out once you turn up, and they may or may not hang around outside the boss portal to grab you.

One final thing I think I'd do is make the Stronghold Void a more interesting place. Each one is ever-so-slightly visually different, to reflect the planet or station you came from, but they're all basically the same short, straight path down to the boss room. Personally I'd design them more like Leviathans, with a room or two between you and the boss, and the need to use a few of your newest power-ups to get to it.

As a side note, the cutscenes before and after bosses can go- though if they had eight different bosses, having the pre-boss cutscenes wouldn't be so bad since they could be a cool way to show off each new boss. The after-boss cutscenes are usually just the boss exploding, and you get that anyway when the screen whites out once you land the final blow, so unless something more significant can happen I would personally skip those cutscenes and go straight to getting the octolith. If there's gonna be cutscenes, save them for something else, probably something involving the other hunters.

Story and Final Boss

I'm gonna go ahead and say that while the story is totally a Prime rehash, I actually kinda like it. Yeah, fundamentally it's the same eldritch-abomination-crashed-into-our-planet-and-now-we're-all-dead. But there's something I find incredibly scary about the idea of Gorea, in a way. Based on the lore scans you get in game, it's clearly meant to be a REALLY overpowered big bad, even if the actual boss fight doesn't live up to the reputation.

The sense I get from the lore scans is that the Alimbic people were not quite like the Chozo or Luminoth- they're not all peaceful or wise. They're arrogant bastards who thought they were the best at everything until something very big came and knocked them down a peg or two, and wiped out their galaxy-spanning civilisation in the process. They repeatedly go on about how much their pride cost them, and that kinda ties into the hunters as well.

The lessons learned by the Alimbic people are ones the Hunters can take from. They conquered the whole Tetra galaxy with their supposedly unstoppable military force, like the greedy Kriken Empire from which Trace hails. But their pride was their downfall. They thought they were the best, their morals superior to all else, like Noxus and the Vhozon. But for all their faith in themselves, they lost the battle against Gorea. The last Alimbics desperately sought to save their kind, just as Spire seeks the Ultimate Power to save his. And Spire, like the rest, is falling into a trap- a lie put out by Gorea to lead to them to his prison so they can free him.

I think I would still centre the story around the hunters, with less focus on the Alimbic people than, say, Prime gives to its Chozo. But it would be interesting to see those hunters pick up the lore as Samus does and react to it. Perhaps have Spire give up on getting an artifact, and you wonder "why is that?" so you scan around expecting some kind of invisible force field but instead find a lore snippet left by one of the last Alimbics, telling of how they gave up trying to save their people and sacrificed themselves so they could protect other races in other galaxies from Gorea's path of destruction (or if you don't care about lore, you never have to load up the scan visor, just snag that artifact and be on your way.)

Some hunters won't learn, but maybe it will be their downfall. Maybe it is all their downfalls, that they refuse to learn and still go in search of this ultimate power on the Oubliette ship- meanwhile Samus knows what's up and instead of seeking the Ultimate Power, by the time she reaches the endgame she's just here to wreck Gorea's shit and make sure the other idiots don't unleash hell on the entire universe.

Maybe this next bit belongs in the previous section, but I'd have Gorea be a genuinely threatening last boss. I can kinda see why they went with the one-beam-at-a-time thing because the beams are literally the only power-ups in the entire game, but it still makes for an uninteresting fight. I did like the prophecy thing though, that was neat.

The first boss of Metroid Prime is scarier than the last boss of Hunters. What happened to “orgies of annihilation” Gorea?

Gorea can start out a little weak- it's fine, he's been stuck to this "seal sphere" for around two thousand years or so. But as the battle progresses, he needs to break through the walls, metaphorically and literally if needs be (think AM2R's Metroid Queen.) He needs to shape-shift, become a bit more unpredictable, get further and further away from the starting point as you desperately fight to contain him while he ploughs though the prison ship. He needs to be a boss as threatening as the Emperor Ing or worse, something that obviously wants to consume and destroy. You need to feel like you are the last line of defence between Gorea, cancerous swallower of galactic civilisations, and everything you care about protecting.

I think there needs to be an explanation for the Omega Cannon, too. It's clearly useful against Gorea, so why didn't the Alimbics use it? When you pick it up, you're told the consequences are too dire. So those consequences need to be seen. Maybe start out having it damage you when you use it, requiring skill to not kill yourself in the process (as long as it doesn't make the game unbeatable, it would have to be balanced well enough to seem powerful without being horrible to use.) Maybe the consequence is that it downright destroys the Alimbic Cluster- unfortunate for all the wildlife, but there were no Alimbic people left there anyway, and so the loss is arguably not as great as it would've been back in the day.

Alternatively, you being Samus Aran, you save the Alimbic Cluster by transporting the Oubliette ship back into the Infinity Void and then running back to your ship before the traditional endgame countdown finishes. Yay for you! You and your fellow hunters escape, possibly having gained a strange sense of camaraderie with all of them except for Sylux who you still need to hate for the purposes of Metroid Prime 4, and the universe is totally safe from Gorea because you annihilated him with a fate more brutal than even Phaaze got inflicted upon it. Also, if you have one endgame escape sequence you could cut out all the other post-boss escape sequences, which are kinda repetitive and annoying anyway.

Overall

On the whole, Hunters isn't necessarily a good game, but it's not an awfully bad one either. Everything I've covered above could make the game a lot cooler, but I'm not surprised that none of it was included in the game itself, because the game was basically designed around the multiplayer. If for some reason they ever remade Hunters, I'd hope to see at least some of the things I've brought up, or else any other good ideas that can spice the game up and bring it a little closer to the normal Metroid formula, gameplay-wise.

Personally, I still like Hunters a lot. Maybe that's nostalgia, maybe it's because I love the atmosphere and music a lot (as I've probably already said a few times) and maybe it's because I have a big imagination and can picture things as being better than they are, even if they aren't represented that way in-game. I can fully understand why many people have a neutral-to-hatred attitude towards the game. I didn't even mention the godawful hand-cramping control scheme which needs a SERIOUS revamp. But Hunters has the bare bones of a potentially fantastic concept for a Metroid game, and an improved version of it- one which treats the eponymous hunters much better for a start- could bring something brand new and brilliant to the table.

#Metroid #Metroid Prime Hunters #Game Design #Analysis #Kanden #Weavel #Spire #Noxus #Sylux #Trace #Gorea #Cretaphid #Slench #Alimbic Cluster

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sp00kworm · 7 years ago

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Darkened Shadows (Chapter 5)

Archive Link

Reaper76 Magic and Supernatural AU. Based on the artwork by @freedomconvicted.

Part 4 Part 6

The arguments about the living arrangements were long, Gabriel not wanting to leave the shop, and Jack equally being tied to his home. Eventually, they compromised, and Gabriel and Jesse moved in with Jack, the two of them made the upper floor into an apartment that could be to magical tenants. The current renters were two friendly women. One a bear shifter, the other a Huli Jing, or fox spirit. They were a strange pair, the Russian woman towering Gabe and Jack and her companion, while the smaller Chinese girl was always smiling, giggling mischievously. They were genuinely nice people, and Gabriel had learned a lot from Mei, the fox spirit, in how he could go about Chinese, paper rune magic. Gabriel was sad to see his apartment go, but comforted himself in the fact that he still owned the place, and he could keep his shop open. The magical folk from the surrounding areas would be lost without his place, and he hated to think of all the potential shifters that would risk accidentally transforming each day.

Jesse grew fast in the years that passed, and he was quickly the age of thirteen, and growing lanky and tall. He had yet to fill out in places and so appeared gangly, all arms and legs. Gabriel assured him he'd grow into his body soon enough, and his wolf definitely had no problem doing so. Gabriel was hard pressed to find him places to shift, and often had to spend the night in the woods, keeping the large furry beast out of harms way, steering him with fallen trees from blasts of magic. Gone was the cub, and Gabriel was terrified that one day, Jesse would lose control, and forget who he was. Whenever Jesse's shift was near, he stayed a way away from the wolf, but followed, calling to him regularly to make sure Jesse was still there, and in control. It was during one of Jesse's shifts, that he bounded off towards the graveyard, scenting the air, his dark coloured fur a streak against the night as he sped away. Gabriel cursed, following as quick as his legs would carry him, trying to keep Jesse in sight.

The warlock struggled to keep pace with the werewolf, and Gabriel soon huffed, before tugging a potion out of his pocket, chugging the purple contents. The potion made him feel queasy for a moment, but his body soon vibrated with energy, and Gabriel took a deep breath, veins pulsing with the magic, before he sprinted, quicker than ever before, after Jesse. The wolf growled as he heard Gabriel close in on him. Panting, Jesse sped up leaping a boulder and sliding under a log, trying to lose Gabriel, who was hot on his tail. Bounding over another two fallen logs, Gabriel's eyes widened as the cemetery came into view. Cursing, he jumped through another bush, and heaved, trying to get a grasp on Jesse.

“JESSE STOP!” The wolf ignored him, and sprinted for the entry to the graveyard. Gabriel skidded to a halt by the edge of the woods, holding out his hand as he focused on the faint pull of the ward.

The barrier shimmered to life, in a flicker of iridescent red, a wave of energy pulsing along the created wall as Gabriel's fingers plucked at invisible strings, consolidating the ward in his view and moulding the magic. Jesse didn't see the ward flicker to life until he went barreling into it, head first. The magic bounced against him, and exploded into glittering sparks. He was sent flying across the road, and back towards Gabriel. The sorcerer released his hold on the barrier, and flung his hands up in the air, fingers in clawed shapes as he pulled the energy in the air around him forwards to catch Jesse's weight. Jesse whimpered as the solid air caught him, wrapping around his fur like a constant breeze. Gabriel strained, his eyes glowing bright red as he struggled to redirect the energy around Jesse and lower the two hundred kilogram wolf to the ground. Jesse was huge for his age as a werewolf, and Gabriel huffed before, moving Jesse's body around, and dropping him into a pile of leaves with a groan of effort. Jesse snorted and waited for a moment before he closed his large dark brown eyes, and shifted back into his human form. Lessons from Reinhardt had helped him gain the control to do so.

“Pa! What was that for?!” Jesse stood up, stark nude, from the undergrowth, and pointed a finger at Gabriel with a scowl. Gabriel rolled his eyes and curled his fingers into his palms before holding his hands over each other, the palms facing one another. Moving his hands slowly apart a dark purple vortex opened between them and Gabriel motioned it towards Jesse.

“Get your clothes and then we'll talk.” Gabriel wriggled his fingers a little, the edges of the portal wiggling with the movement as Gabriel bent the energy a little. Jesse growled, but reached a hand in, rooting around for a moment, before pulling out a shirt, jacket and sweat pants. Gabriel clicked his fingers, pulling out a pair of pumps for Jesse to wear, before pushing his palms together and closing the portal. Jesse chucked the clothes on behind a tree, and came out from behind the bark, shivering a little as he stepped out and faced Gabriel again.

“Come on then, pa, explain.”

Gabriel watched as Jesse kicked a rock and sent it skittering across the road towards the stone wall of the church graveyard. The warlock sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose, the ache of a migraine from the quick forceful uses of magic setting in.

“That there,” Gabriel moved his hand from the bridge of his nose, and pointed to the open rusted gates of the cemetery. In recent years, the paint had peeled of in curls, and the rusted iron underneath revealed. Now the hinges didn't even move. “Is an exposed line of a ward. And that ward, idiot,” He flicked Jesse's nose, hard, “is in place to keep zombies underground. Without it, the town would be overrun with dead people trying to eat their family members. You running full pelt at the magical energies would have shattered the ward lines, and in a couple of hours dead people would have been animating and walking around.” Gabriel sat himself down on a tree stump, and watched Jesse look over at the tombstones. He furrowed his eyebrows, staring at the trees on the right side of the graveyard.

“I smelt something, something weird. It smelt like...like my own pa.” Jesse unconsciously ran his tongue over his slightly elongated canines and shook his head, moving the hair which had caught around his large furry ears.

Gabriel frowned and pointed towards the cemetery, “Kid, they've been gone for years. There's no coming back from that...” Carefully, the warlock stood up and wrapped his arms around the teenager. Jesse sagged against his adopted father and sniffled a little.

“I miss 'em so much pa... I never even knew 'em that well.” He grew quiet as sobs choked his throat and robbed him of his breath. Fat tears dripped on to the black leather trench coat Gabriel was wearing, and the Latino gently rubbed a hand in soothing circles on Jesse's back.

“Jesse, come on, look at me.” Gabriel gripped Jesse's chin in both of his hands, calloused from years of magic sizzling against the skin.

Looking into Jesse's lighter caramel tinged eyes with his darker ones, he gave the boy's face a squeeze, “Not for one moment do you think you failed them that night, you hear me Jesse? They wanted you to live, and they'd be proud of the wolf and person you are. I've seen what those people did, and maybe one day that revenge will feel sweet, but I'm telling you, it's all bitter in the end, just like this constant dwelling. They're dead yes, but that doesn't mean you can't honour their memory, now, for as long as you live.” He shook Jesse's face with a look of silent admiration, “I'm so proud of you Jesse, never forget that.” and enveloped him in a hug once more, whispering soothing words as Jesse sobbed into his coat once more.

“I l-love you pa!” He wailed, and Gabriel smiled into the unruly brown hair.

“I love you too, mi pequeño lobo.” He gave Jesse one last squeeze and drew out a potion from his belt, before popping the cork. “Now let's go see if Jack managed to burn down the house.” Gripping Jesse's hand, he smashed the vial against the ground, focusing on Jack's farm-house as the yellow smoke erupted in a burst of violent energy. Green sparks fizzled around them as they appeared on the drive of the large farm-house.

Jack greeted them on the porch, tapping his foot on the wooden slats, his arms crossed angrily.

“When I said keep an eye on him, that wasn't an invitation to avoid movie night and go gallivanting off after Jesse. That meant keep a seeing glass nearby so you could interfere if necessary. Jesse is more in control than you give him credit for Gabe.” The blond sighed and shuffled back into the house, his slippers sliding across the wooden flooring with ease.

Gabriel groaned and popped open the buttons of his duster before hanging it up, “That's another thing I have to make up to him.”

Jesse snickered behind him and threw his jacket on a coat hook, “More expensive theatre tickets then?” Gabriel smacked him upside the head at the teasing comment and huffed, stalking into the kitchen after Jack to try to quell his boyfriends wrath. The werewolf crept up the stairs to his room, squinting as the sun began to peak over the horizon, signalling dawn was close. Shrugging off his clothing, he listen to the whispering explanations from Gabriel in the kitchen before collapsing into his bed, still stinking of wet dog and mud, and fell into a deep sleep.

He woke up the next day, in the afternoon, once he'd checked the digital clock on his bed-side table, by the smell of sizzling bacon. Immediately his stomach groaned and rumbled, demanding calories. No doubt Jesse was probably going to eat double the recommended calories. It was always the same after a shift. Dragging his head from the pillow, Jesse slumped up and squinted, almost crawling down the stairs to the kitchen-dinner for food. Gabriel was the one cooking, Jack having headed off to work at six am, and he turned around with an equally as tired look before he slapped Jesse's hand away from the black coffee in the jug.

“You know full well that you're not allowed coffee, kid. Sit down and drink your apple juice.” Gabriel pointed his spatula towards the table and flipped the bacon in the frying pan one last time before placing it on a large plate of other foods. Scrambled eggs, beans, toast, sausage, bacon and grilled tomatoes. Jesse almost cried at the high calorie food and shoved a whole slice of bacon into his mouth with a groan.

“S'good pa. I wuv wu soo mooch.” The garbled words were restricted by a mouthful of food and Gabriel pointed the spatula at him again as he fried off some more bacon for himself.

“Don't talk with your mouth full. Manners at the table please.”

Jesse swallowed his mouthful of food and rolled his eyes behind Gabriel's turned back moving his mouth mockingly. He yelped as he felt the painful tug of a beak on his ears. Kotori screeched in his ear before cooing mockingly, nipping at Jesse's human ears haughtily. The Barn Owl tittered and flapped its wings before hopping up on to the back of the chair to tug on the hairs at the back of Jesse's neck harshly.

“Stupid bird brain! Come 'ere!” Jesse whipped around with a growl and grabbed at the strangely dark coloured owl. The creature melted into shadows, eyes glowing the same colour of Gabriel's magic, and Jesse huffed glaring over his shoulder at Gabriel, who was still seemingly oblivious, cooking. “S'not funny pa!” Jesse stomped his foot on the ground and batted at the owl as it swooped at his ears again, this time the large wolf ones which he hadn't willed away yet. Gabriel chuckled by the hob of the oven and clicked it fingers, before the owl swooped away before phasing through the window and off into the trees.

“Now you'll know better. Eat your breakfast Jesse.” He placed his own plate of food down and snickered one last time before tucking in. Jesse begrudgingly continued eating his own food.

The rest of the day passed smoothly, and Jack returned home from work with a nagging feeling deep-rooted in his mind. He entered the house in time to see Gabriel bolt upright on the couch. Gabriel's head thrummed with a warning, his magic fizzing into life in his centre. With a cry, he curled in on himself and cradled his head as something smashed against his magic with a magnificent force. He barely had the time to centre himself before another barrage landed against his energies. Huffing he sat up just as Jack sprinted into the room. He managed to open an eye, squinting and gasping as he had to let his magical resistance fall against the onslaught.

“Someone is...” He coughed, “Someone is tampering with the wards. They severed my ties with them by breaking the lines and forced my influence out. I couldn't keep a hold on them.” Heaving a deep breath, Gabriel got to his feet and shook his head, the effects of the bust of power beginning to wane already.

Jack looked at him with wide blue eyes, “Oh god. The graveyard...” Gabriel nodded and quickly moved around him and sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time to grab his stored supplies from the study.

Reaching the study, Gabriel tossed open his chest of equipment and grabbed his belts and shotguns, quickly strapping everything around his waist, shoving vials of potions into them and more magical rounds into his chest belt. Slamming the chest shut he ran back down the stairs and grabbed his Hummer's key from a small bowl before speedily pulling on his duster. Jack stopped him at the door.

“Gabriel calm down, just give me a minute. I'm coming too.” Jack was shoving his regulation pistol into his holster and tugged Gabriel away from the door with a strong hand.

“Jackie no-” Gabriel held Jack's face in his hands, only to have them covered, and be faced with a determined look.

“I'm coming whether you like it or not-”

“AND I'M COMING TOO PA!” Jesse jumped off the last three steps of the stairs, and Gabriel immediately rushed forwards, forcibly turning Jesse back around.

“No way in hell Jesse. You're staying here. You need to ring Ana and Reinhardt okay?” Gabriel carefully handed him the house phone, “Get them to pick you up and tell them everything okay? I can't have you there if anything bad happens. You need to be safe.” Jesse opened his mouth, but closed it with a serious nod and dialled Ana's phone number as Gabriel and Jack made their way out of the door.

Sure enough, the wards had been broken, completely shattered by a great magical energy. Gabriel and Jack flinched at the groans that sounded as they got out of the car. Sure enough, the dead had already begun rising from their graves. Jack had managed to grab his regulation shot-gun from his car before they left, and he pumped the action with a deep breath. The zombies were lumbering, and walked around unsteadily, unseeing and restricted. Thankfully, the gates were still closed and none had escaped from the confines of the cemetery. Gabriel licked his teeth at the resounding vibrating of the air. An enormous amount of dark energy was circling, gathering itself around the graveyard and crumbling church. Dark magic was forbidden, and any wizard knew it, so whoever was doing this was unconcerned about the council's punishments for crimes. They would be facing trial by fire for this.

“Gabriel. What do we do?” Jack gripped his shotgun tightly, his knuckles turning white, his hands steady despite his clear worry. Gabriel took a moment to look at the horror movie before them.

“We fight our way to the church. Whoever is doing this is amassing a huge amount of dark energy above the spire. My best guess is that they want a mass resurrection of the dead. We need to stop it.” Jack nodded and followed him to the gates. Gabriel took a deep breath.

“Lets do this Jackie, and get home in time to tuck Jesse into bed.” The two of them nodded with bared teeth before Gabriel kicked the gates open with a thick, heavy black boot. “Bring it on you zombie fuckers!”

The two of them preserved ammunition carefully. Jack stumbled a little into Gabriel's back and huffed, aiming his shotgun at a zombie female's head before pulling the trigger. The walker's head exploded, the back of their thinly covered skull exploded and the creature fell forwards with a garbled groan. Gabriel grinned, blood splattered up his coat and ran before firing twice and spinning around to face another two zombies. They stumbled forwards and pressed their head against the barrels of his double shot guns, growing. Gabriel pulled the triggers, watching at they fell at his feet before firing another three rounds and whirling to help Jack who had pulled around his pistol, firing through the eyes of several zombies. The warlock tugged the cork off one of his vials and tossed the concoction at the feet of a group of five. With a vague flick of his fingers the magic exploded upwards and burst into shimmering fire. The zombies went flying, like bowling pins before howling as they were all set ablaze in the cloud of shimmering red sparks.

Jack and Gabriel shoved against the church doors and shoved the rotting oak doors open, before barricading them closed with pews. They laid the pews across one another in a stack and caught their breaths before turning to the altar. Jack cursed as he caught sight of the twitching magnificent beast impaled over the font. Gabriel gasped at the sight. A unicorn was dangling above the font, perfect white coat, mane and tail stained silver with its own blood. Molten metal rivulets of silver ran down its neck from where it was impaled and the creature wheezed before falling still, its horn slowly discolouring from a magnificent egg-shell blue to a dark black. As the unicorn fell limp, the horn finally dissolved into ash and was whipped away by a sudden breeze. Jack felt a tear leak down his cheek as the beast was laid to rest on a stone slab, its pride ripped from it like the horn on its head. Gabriel's eyes wandered over to the altar where a girl was stood, her blond hair whipping around her head as she chanted dark curses. A pulsing mingling purple light formed around the altar in a form of aura which licked at the girls hands. Zombies slammed against the doors and windows.

“Girl I suggest you stop what you are doing, right now.” Gabriel closed the space between them before he was launched backwards by a scream and a blast of magical power.

“STAY AWAY! They all need to die! They took them away from me. All of these mortals, these idiotic stupid humans! All of them will pay with blood, blood that will be spilled by their own loved ones.” She whispered the last line and tilted her head backwards, looking at the two intruders upside down, before snickering eerily. “You'll pay, pay, pay.” She sung as the pounding on the church's structure grew louder. Jack pressed up against Gabriel's side.

“Gabriel you best have a plan otherwise we're fucked!” He held his hand gun level with the doors and waited for Gabriel to move. When he didn't he looked over his shoulder. Gabriel's eyes grew black, the irises red, pulsing with energy as his magic flickered to life.

The windows finally gave in, and zombies collapsed into the church, moaning and howling with hunger. Jack screamed a cry and fired the last of hid rounds. Gabriel's powers formed a red glow around him and he focused his powers calling for the one annoying thing that could help him in this moment.

“Adriano! You little shit, heed my call, I call you, as per the contract we have, to help me with my enemies. In return you shall have what you wish for. Freedom.” The air exploded into brilliant energy as Gabriel focused his energies and watched for Adriano's form. The shadows crawled down along the wall, and formed into the shape of a grinning mass of moving darkness. Adriano cackled.

“Yesssss. Finally!” Before opening his maws and swallowing Gabriel's form whole.

“GABRIEL!” Jack screamed as he wrestled with a zombie. The shadowy mass halted for a moment before rising up into the rafters of the church and cackling. Smoke erupted from the ceiling as a new creature formed. With a gust of wind the mass landed in the centre of the aisle. Wings erupted from its back, black and dripping with smoke. A smoke covered body wavered and a white owl shape face appeared, great long white teeth gnashing at the air. Two great front legs slammed into the ground, bone white claws smashing into the stone, tearing pebbles away from the flooring. The creature roared, smoke tentacles exploding from it's back.

Jack scrambled for cover as the creature's appendages slammed through the heads of the zombies, leaving their heads as messes against the stone walls, oozing red blood and small pieces of shattered bones. The tentacles whipped around in a frenzy, smashing all the zombies to pieces in a frenzy of lightning fast movement. Soon they all laid, destroyed, evaporating into green gas, on the floor, or against the window. The girl at the altar screamed, and desperately tried to drag her hands away from the altar, purple magic glazed eyes wide with terror as the monster dragged its clawed feet along the stone towards her. It paused above her, maw open wide, revealing three rows of shark like teeth. Tears fell from the girl's face as she struggled against the energies pinning her to the rock. A tentacle carefully removed the unicorn's corpse from the altar, and another swooped in like a whip, and smashed the stone carving into pieces. The unicorn's corpse was laid to rest gently on the stone, and the smoke wrapped around its body. Slowly the body began to dissolve into blue sparkles and Jack watched with tears in his eyes as the creature loomed over the girl once more.

With a deep breath, tears streaking his cheeks, Jack rolled out from behind a pew and stood up, holding his palm towards the monster that had consumed Gabriel.

“Gabriel! Gabriel please!” Another fountain of tears started and he screamed at the creature. The monster smashed the altar, releasing the girl of her bounds before leaping across the church, its wings unfolding, pounding a few times as it landed next to Jack, smoke dripping like saliva from its teeth. Jack stared up at it, blue eyes wide with terror as its mouth opened, black forked tongue scenting the air. The white mask face slid into the smoke revealing thousands of red blinking eyes, surrounded by dark lashes. They all moved independently for a moment before zoning in on Jack's face. Talons curled into the stone as the monster studied Jack's blood splattered face, watching a bead of sweat roll down his forehead.

The creature blinked before howling and sending a taloned foot crashing down towards Jack. The blond watched the talons for a moment, his eyes full of tears, before he raised a hand and cried out. A brilliant bright, white light, erupted in the room, shimmering from the centre of Jack's palm. The light dazzled the creature, and the mask reformed over its eyes to protect them from the light. It hissed, and Jack watched in amazement as the light grew into a brilliant dancing ball of energy from his palm. The ball of light detached itself from his palm and moved into the rafters. The creature snorted and hissed at him, advancing once more, until the ball exploded violently. Beams of light erupted from it like lasers and sliced through the smoke appendages of the monster. Limbs floundered against the stone and evaporated into mist, the creature howling as it crashed into the stone head first, its legs wriggling across the room. The ball span and the smoke whizzed out of the church windows, and flakes of the creature began to dissipate into the air under the intensity of the light magic. It screeched and thrashed against the cold rock floor before revealing the cocoon inside of the back of its neck.

Jack gasped as the silken cocoon fell from the creature's body, and scrambled across the floor to it as the smoke monster growled and finally evaporated into the air. The cocoon was sealed tight and Jack shoved his hands against the membrane, panting as he saw the face of Gabriel, his eyes closed, his chest barely moving with small breaths. Clawing at the membrane, Jack shouted for Gabriel, his nails eventually puncturing the cocoon. Gabriel's eyes moved behind his eyelids and Jack sighed, pressing his forehead to Gabriel's chest in relief. It was a few moments later, that Gabriel stirred, groaning, his arms twitching.

“Jackie...What happened?” Gabriel grunted, trying to get up out of the membranes surrounding him, and rubbed at his forehead, “I couldn't separate my conscience...” He immediately opened his eyes and gripped Jack's biceps, “Did I hurt you?” He blinked as Jack stared into his eyes.

“Gabe, your eyes...” Jack gently brushed his fingers across Gabriel's cheek bones, beneath his eyes, enraptured by Gabriel's glowing eyes, “Are you using magic now? They're black and red...but they're not glowing.” Gabriel flinched away and scrambled for anything to look into. A shattered mirror was on the ground, and Gabriel peered into the reflective glass and sighed pressing his own fingers into the skin around his eye sockets.

“It must be a side effect of the fusion magic.” He looked away from the mirror and over towards where the blond girl was cowering by the priest's stand. “We need to contact the council, they need to know about what-”

The doors to the church burst open with a surge of electrical energy, and a white robed clergy stepped through the door.

“Wizard Gabriel, you will step away from the girl, and release her to our custody. She is to stand trial for what she has done here tonight.” Gabriel snorted at the group before moving forwards, blocking their path both to an exhausted Jack and child.

“She was under the influence of something, she didn't know what she was doing, not until after her own fear finally released her from it.” The warlock swooped an arm around the church, “This was small, she was a test that will lead to something bigger and you know it,” Gabriel pointed an accusing finger at them, “but you'd rather blame it all on a kid, on a defenceless child that probably doesn't even know her own powers yet. That's always been the White Council way.”

Gabriel dusted off his coat, helping up Jack before kneeling down to the girl, carefully handing her a handkerchief from his coat pocket.

“What's your name, kid?” He watched her cautiously take the white silk, eyeing the robed wizards behind him with wide eyes.

“Code name Mercy, subject forty-two. “ Mercy peered up at him, running her hands over the soft fabric in wonder.

“Your real name, kid, what's that. You're not an experiment anymore.” Gabriel carefully took the handkerchief and dabbed at the grime on the girl's cheeks, careful not to spook her too badly.

The blond girl looked at Gabriel's face, studying the crossing scars on his face, entranced by the now black scleras and red irises, “Angela? It seems,”She flexed her hands in wonder, “familiar some how.”

The group of white robed wizards were quick to advance as Angela grabbed the handkerchief back from Gabriel, and surrounded the two of them with questioning gazes aimed at Gabriel's eyes. Angela squealed and wriggled her back against the stone as one of them summoned a rune circle in the air. Glittering blue smoke curled around Angela before she was cast into a deep sleep with a single inhalation. Gabriel and Jack watched as the group surrounded her with wards, for when she unleashed magic when she awoke, and moved out of the church, casting a few glances back at them. The lightning mage nodded, “She will be in safe hands. I'm sure the council will be merciful after and investigation. Good evening Gabriel,” He smiled tightly at Jack, “White witch.” before leaving with the others.

Jack scowled at they left, “White witch? Was...the ball of light...” The blond flexed his hand, and looked down at his palm, where the skin was grazed like a carpet burn. Gabriel frowned and pulled Jack's hand towards him with a curious look.

“White magic...how on earth?” He flipped Jack's hand, “How did I not sense it?!” Gabriel looked at him in amazement, “The white witches have been extinct for years Jackie!...Wait...How are you a white witch? They're typically female and-”

Jack pulled Gabriel down for a kiss, a couple of tears escaping his eyes, “Shut up you buffoon! Let's go home.” He sighed and linked their fingers together before dragging the tired warlock out of the church, “Jesse needs us.”

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