#experimented a lil with a new line art brush for this one

[freijan]

a cowgirl for Oozerloser on art fight :]

[galvanized-square-steel]

Creator and Created!: an introduction to the mod and their OC.

Hello! And welcome to my lil RP blog! I have recently found myself with a muse for Regretevator and interest in the lore. Of course, this naturally means looking for people to RP with! So I feel it is only natural to give yall a bit of info both about myself and the muse.

Who is the mod?

Nicknames: Nae, Trash, Trashley, Trashie, and Trash Can.

Gender: Apagender(Lack of caring about gender)

Pronouns: Any!!

EXTRA INFO

I am still new to Regretevator as a series, so it is possible I may not be the best with all the info and lore.

I LOVE to talk headcanons and discuss RP plots. Part of the fun in RP is actually brainstorming!

I am a massive fan of angst and/or fluff in a RP, and I am very prone to traumatizing my OCs for the plot™.

I have anxiety and autism. I can typically redirect my overthinking towards thoughts about the game, OCs or lore stuff. However, this is not always the case, and as a result I may not always be able to handle whatever fears are bothering me in that moment.

My interests outside of Regretevator are art, music, cool rocks, Super Mario Bros, and Touhou.

OOC stuff will be marked as such!

DNI LIST FOR THIS BLOG

MAPs/Pedos

Pro-shippers

People who are racist, ableist, sexist, etc. Just people who are bigoted in general.

Minors can interact and RP, just please try not to be suggestive or flirty!

Info about the OC

Under the cut!

Full Name: Galvanized Square Steel.

Nickname: Gavin

Age: unknown, but clearly adult.

Pronouns: He/Any

Species: He's a metal person. Idk what to call them.

Occupation: Blacksmith/miner.

Home floor: his forge.

Height: 8 feet, 5 inches[2.6 meters, roughly]

Personality

Gavin is a fairly stoic person to those who first meet him. He doesn't outwardly express emotion in the ways people typically expect, as his facial expression and tone of voice do not change. Gavin is not even necessarily aware that he has emotions. If he does have any feelings that he cannot brush off or avoid acknowledging, he will likely bury himself in his work to avoid them.

He is also obsessed with the idea of productivity and efficiency. He wants to be as efficient as humanly possible with his work. This attitude also applies to his interactions, resulting in a fairly blunt manner of speaking. His bluntness is not an attempt to be rude, he simply views it as the most efficient manner of getting a message across. He will also not attempt to be actively unkind towards somebody, as he considers it to be a waste of everyone's time, including his own. However, if he notices something is wrong, he is the first to attempt to communicate it to you. [E.G. "Your stand is covered in rust. This may inhibit its mobility and the ease of insertion or removal. I offer rust-removal services at my forge if you wish to resolve this." Or "Your tools do not appear to be in optimal condition. I am eager to restore them to their original condition, if permitted."] He generally considers helping people to sort of "automatically" be productive, and thus works towards that goal whenever he can.

As a result of these two traits, he rarely socializes with people outside of work purposes. He near-exclusively communicates with people specifically for discussing commissions or making a sale.

Backstory

Gavin comes from a long line of metallic people who were also blacksmiths. Everyone in his family also refused to acknowledge their feelings, falsely believing their species to just not experience emotion. As a result, Gavin picked up on this, too.

Even in death, these people do not have funerals that we may typically expect. Rather, they believe in not letting anything go to waste, including the remains of the deceased. As a result, deceased loved ones are often melted down and smelted into something new(this can be smelting them into tools or smelting them into a new member of the species). This is considered to be a form of "rebirth" essentially, so they may still benefit their families and peers, even if they aren't around anymore.

It is unknown how Gavin specifically ended up on the Regretevator. However, it wouldn't be long before he found an empty floor to take residence in[likely one of the scrapped floors], eventually transforming it into his own foundry.

Now, he makes money by creating weapons, tools, cooking equipment, pretty much anything that he feels can assist people with their time on the elevator or in their personal lives.

Little fun facts

The working hours for Gavin's forge are between 8AM and 8PM from Monday to Saturday.

On Sundays, the forge is closed and he goes to gather materials from the mine floors(or collect scraps of broken elevators from the elevator shaft)

Gavin dislikes flood levels, as they cause his body to rust if he spends too much time in the water.

Surface level rust is harmless to Gavin, and often takes on a form that resembles body hair. However, if that rust starts to penetrate any deeper, it can affect his mobility or make him feel sick.

He "shaves" with an angle grinder.

He is fairly strong, partially because of the amount of activity his work requires, and partially because he is made of pure steel.

Since his body conducts heat, he often works metals with his bare hands. This leaves a side effect of his hands literally being glowing red-hot afterwards. He must quench them in liquid if he needs to make physical contact with something that could be burned by these temperatures.

Despite his name, Gavin enjoys metals in general, not just steel. However, his favorite is bismuth.

He also has respect for woodworking, "An axe without a wood is left with no handle, therefore it cannot be swung with significant force. An axe without metal is just a stick with no cutting edge, and cannot efficiently fell a tree."

Gavin finds concrete to be inefficient. He thinks it's brittle and you need large quantities of it to accomplish anything. You should have just smelted the stones or used them as an abrasive to sand down metal or wood.

Gavin doesn't know much about self-defense, however, it is not advised to punch him.

He bathes in molten rock[good way to kill germs]

Gavin does know how to braid! He typically does it when producing wires or steel cables(his hair is a steel cable btw). However, he can do it with hair too.

It sounds like pots and pans banging together when he runs/silly

Where are his parents? Smelted into the tools he uses in his forge(the anvil, his pickaxe for gathering material, etc). So they are technically still helping him.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST: the Mod of this blog ships Gavin and Mannequin_Mark[let this man be happy please /silly]. A joke name for this ship is Galvanized Square Steel x Eco Friendly Wood Veneer. Their relationship isn't the healthiest at first due to their own problems affecting stuff, but they do work things out and eventually become fully healthy.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST.... A PICTURE OF THE OC.

He is a man with dark Grey, metallic skin and brown eyes. He wears a soot-stained, brown apron, shorts(unseen under apron), and steel-toed boots. His hair is a rusted steel cable, braided and held together by a brass ring. He has a rust goatee, as well.[this rust is superficial and doesn't harm him].

[crimsonamber9999]

// yo need some art advice! How on earth do you get clean line art? Cuz I want to step up my line art skills.

:|| oh boy here we go I'm about to go on a long tangent- so I will let you in on a lil secret.. My motto is: literally fake it, till I make it.

Give others the illusion of clean lineart. Here is a final sketch of @brokenbroods bby Kei.

Here is the first.

The reality is, mun here sometimes goes through at least 1-3 sketch renditions till I considered it 'good' and go on to lineart. But how do you lineart? There are actually several tools that can help you out! Firstly, the brush. Familiarize yourself with a brush. For me, it's the RC side pencil brush. It genuinely takes a long time to find a brush that's right for you and you can even find new ones you like better! I thought last year my sai brushes were the ones but I was pleasantly surprised. Secondly, your stabilizer tool is your friend. Main art programs such as Clip, Procreate and Sai, have one. I switch alot during the process esp if my pencil feels too quick or too slow- For Sai, I have it to about 4-9 for lineart. Clip here it ranges from 4-23 and so on.

Thirdly, and I can't stress it enough. Is experience. My lineart is over years of experience and thankfully there are practices! to get a better 'grip' on your pencil. Proko does an excellent tutorial on it with traditional media here. I still find myself struggling with controlling my shoulder, simply because I have shaky hands so dw if you also struggle with such concepts.

Extras:

Having trouble drawing fabric? or the 'tension' points? here is how I do so.

How do I do lineart? can you show me a demonstration?

Notice how I do it multiple times and then switch to the other. If I find myself struggling with a part. I switch to a different point in my drawing to work from there.

[mariska]

got my income for the month the other day and after 6+ months of not being able to make digital art the way i'm used to with my specific accessibility needs because of physical health symptoms with my hands, i was finally able to buy myself a new Paint Tool Sai license today, since a little while back i successfully installed an optional Windows 10 operating system on my Macbook (Sai doesn't run on Mac, at least not Version 1 which is what i need and have been using for over a decade) that i can switch back and forth between whenever and i am so so so so happy and relieved about it and so fucking excited to get to draw digital lines the way im used to drawing them after trying so many other similar programs and failing to find anything that worked exactly the same as Sai's basic built-in pen stabilizer 😭😭😭😭😭😭

i was able to quickly test out my (also ancient lol) art tablet with it and make sure everything works and it doesnt lag or anything like that and its perfect its exactly like i've always used it, i remembered which pen stabilization number setting i've been using for years and like.

dude. i know i sound dramatic right now LMAO but i CANNOT sketch or draw properly on traditional paper or sketchpads anywhere near what i can do in Sai because of all my tremors and shakiness and sudden muscle movements that make accidental lines and all that. and when i drew just one regular brush stroke in Sai and felt it move like im used to and got that super smooth sensation of 'pretty much just drawing like im holding a pencil/pen but with the shakiness of my lines improved'....almost cried a lil not gonna lie fjsgdgsgdhsgshf its been so many months and i've put so much mental energy into researching how to do that whole windows installation on my 2012 era macbook and somehow did that without completely messing it up and then having to wait until a month where i have enough extra money to buy the official version (Sai is so important 2 me and the most accessible digital art program i've ever used for my specific hand problems and i've used it for so long that i am only comfortable using the officially licensed version of it, yknow?) and also theres just something so nice about finally being able to use it again a few days before my birthday even though that timing wasn't on purpose...

AHHHHH im just so relieved. i feel like im free to just be able to make sketch pages and draw stuff whenever i have free time to and i have an idea in my head again and i havent felt that in so long and it was making my depression so much worse....and also because i've been doing my best to adapt to the similar but different settings in Clip Studio Paint, i have 2 really nice digital art programs with a lot of cool and useful features between the both of them now that i can use to like, mix and match with my art!! which is awesome!! i think Clip will mostly be used by me now for more graphic design type projects since Sai's always been my core art program, but i'd love to experiment with drawing/sketching/painting pieces in Sai and then plopping them into Clip and adding some extra fun effects or background elements or even just easier to repeat patterns with its' huge free-to-use resource library for like stamps and texture effects and more photoshop-y things like that.

ANYWAYS!! im just rambling to myself because im so happy and relieved to have My Art Program back so i thought i would share since its rare for me to feel as happy and excited and get some sense of normalcy back in any capacity these days, being immunocompromised and stuck in my house as long as i have been the past 3 years and counting. it has been a good amount of time since i've felt like i have A Victory To Celebrate and i hope that feeling lingers as long as it can 🥹✌️

[bozo-boy]

a retrospective of my art of 2022

i love that you can tell what i’m hyperfixating on judging by the art. more detailed explanations below the cut!

january

i started off 2022 with a redraw of a piece from april of 2021. for christmas of last year, i got an ipad and apple pencil, so this was largely me exploring procreate and the feel of a new way of drawing. there’s a lot about this one that i still like, particular chat noirs cute lil face, but there’s so much i would do differently now that i’m more comfortable with the medium.

february

i was still finding my footing with this one. i was really into fnaf, and naturally, monty. the shine on the ass was using one of the in-app stamp brushes, which was quite fun to play with. honestly, going back, i would just add more depth and complexity to this one. i stand by the bones of this one.

march

this one was done so i could have a fancy new pfp. to be completely honest, i’m not a fan of this one. it’s a redraw of a screenshot from the show itself, and even at the time i was unsatisfied with how this turned out. in retrospect, i would’ve started the sketch small and then scaled it up so it would look a bit more,, normal. i find my art comes out much better when i start small.

april

this drawing is for a worldbuilding project i like to work on when i’m not obsessed with anything else at the time. in this world, there’s a city with a whole festival for phoenixes, and a legend involving a raven falling in love with the sun, but i won’t get into that right now. if i’m remembering correctly, one of my references for this one was a swallow. i still like the way the sun shines through the feathers and the more painterly style. i still stand by this one 100%.

may

oh boy may. this was when my apple pencil broke, and lined up with me getting into sonic, after watching the movie. one of my friends sent me a picrew, birthing this little nameless character. i’m still quite happy with this one, i think i got the style really good while still making it a little bit my own. my short lived sonic hyperfixation is still visible in the way i draw eyes while sketching, which i think it pretty neat. i wonder if, had my apple pencil not broken, i would’ve gotten more into the franchise.

june

AHHHHHH. sorry, this is from when i got back into a set of my ocs, affectionately dubbed “the sin boyz”. they’re all based on the seven deadly sins, and this is asmodeus, embodiment of lust. he’s definitely the most fun to draw because of him being quite high energy, and i’d love to come back to these characters once again. i don’t have much to say about the drawing itself, other than still liking how cartoony it is.

july

i’m not entirely sure what sparked this, but i got really back into the arcana, a game which i’ve been into for years now. this little fella is my character for the game, named zephyr! this piece is actually based on a sketch from i think a few months earlier. i still like this one, with his cute little face. i adore how his eyes turned out, and i’d love to try returning to that style, even just to experiment.

august

this is actually a reference photo for zephyr, but i wanted to fully render it to try to demonstrate some of the fabric textures. i still adore just about everything about this, aside from how his face turned out. i’ve always struggled a little with placing eyebrows too close to the hairline, dating back to my art from when i was like,, 12, where the eyebrows would actually float above the head. aside from that, i still love this.

september

when i made this, i was actually rereading lucio’s route (i’m obsessed with it in a train-wreck way) and found the imagery of the player investigating his abandoned room super compelling. the background from this is actually from the game itself, which is something i had never done before. i even slightly edited the background the reflect some of his magical light! this one is much less colourful and saturated than my other stuff, and i have mixed feelings about it. still though, i’m proud of it, and i think this style of lighting is reflected in what i make today, even if the colours are out of my comfort zone.

october

this is probably one of my favourite pieces of ghost fanart i’ve made. the lighting is a little unpolished in relation to the smoke, but i couldn’t care less cause i just think it looks so freaking cool. i was directly inspired by mummy dust, both in the vision in my head when he growls “duuuuustl, but also in the green stage lighting when it’s performed on stage. i love how swirly the smoke looks, and even now, i’m obsessed with drawing characters lit from below. it’s one of my favourite things i’ve ever made.

november

so uh,, i was a very passionate voter in the american music awards, and the news of ghosts win was so wonderful. i, like many others, was and still am obsessed with the outfit tobias forge wore, and found it super inspiring. i was really worried about this one, cause i basically never draw real people and really wanted it to actually look like him while still being my art style, and i think i did pretty good. this was also new for me because it has two light sources! this presented a really fun challenge and i’m still so proud of this, aside from the lighting on the glass part of the award itself. also, three.

december

i got a new apple pencil for christmas! i immediately had to make something with it and the wonderful pressure sensitivity. i was mostly just playing around with this one, and doing back i’d change a few things, even if it’s only from a few days ago. nonetheless, i had a lot of fun here and really like the colours.

summary

oh boy i sure did draw this year! i think i’ve improved a lot, specifically in shading and rendering. i went outside of my comfort zone a lot with lighting, like things with multiple light sources and coloured light. next year, i wanna go outside of my comfort zone in different ways, particularly with things like backgrounds and character interactions. if you’ve read this far, i hope you enjoyed my self-analysis, and i hope 2023 brings you joy!

[aealshoard]

Hey, I'mma jump on this because I've been doing digital and traditional art for aaaaaa like 15+years? I dunno. I do digital art more than traditional though.

For transferring traditional lineart to digital for coloring granny has a better idea than me because I don't do this anymore. X'D But when I did I used a scanner. Most copy machines can do scan and email, so you could stop by a library occasionally and just scan a bunch of drawings if you aren't able to afford one for yourself.

After that if you want to color underneath your lineart because you like the way it looks and don't want to cover it up most programs have layer settings and if you drew on white or other pale colored paper if you sent the lineart layer to Multiply you'll keep the dark lines but be able to see everything under the white areas.

For drawing straight to digital this gets a lil more complicated because it's just like traditional art where there's a ton of options that affect your art in different ways. Not bad ways, just different. Like how colored pencil looks different from alcohol markers, and the technique to use them is different. That's where August's comment about experiment with brushes comes in handy. There are a lot of artists that just use the default round brush in programs. But those who want a more traditional art look will need to use textured brushes.

Some program data:

Krita: Free, Windows. - Usually the one I recommend for a free, windows based art program, but honestly I haven't used it much. It's just the one my sis uses

MediBang: Free, iPad - I don't know anything about this one either, but August listed it so it's probably good XD

Paint Tool Sai: 5500JPY (about 36usd), Windows - This is my main program that I've used practically my entire time drawing. If you're someone who thinks lineart is important then I can't recommend any other program 'cause i have yet to see anything top Sai in line art ease and quality.

Adobe Photoshop: ~24usd per month if you pay for a year, Windows/Mac - This is industry standard for a reason, it has a crapload of functions and abilities. I honestly find it more difficult to use for artwork considering it was designs for photo manipulation. But if realism is your desired style, and you love having a specific brush for everything I don't know of a better program. I however think Adobe's subscription based program use is bullshit and therefore refuse to support them. But if you're looking into doing digital art professionally you will have to know this program because that's what most studios have and require

Clip Studio Pro: 54 usd (usually goes on sale for like 25usd), Windows/Mac - Kind of a hybrid between Photoshop and Sai. Clip has a lot more functions than Sai, but is also way easier to use for drawing, especially if you like more of a traditional art kind of look. It comes default loaded with a bunch of brushes that mimic traditional art materials.

General tips:

Your digital art will most likely look different than your traditional art. Partly because the programs can't 100% mimic traditional media, and partly because it feels different, you can zoom in a ridiculous amount, and other things that just means you're gonna draw differently. It's okay, you might think your art looks worse digitally for awhile, but that's because you have a handicap of learning a new media.

use a stabilizer for lineart. Most programs have this, and most tablets are way too sensitive now for clean lineart. If you don't want grandparent tremor lines, use a stabilizer or become the rare godly artists that have ridiculously steady hands. I use stabilizer level 10 in sai.

If you're using a non screen tablet plugged into a PC then make sure the screen mapping is enabled, otherwise you'll draw a circle and it'll translate to an oval on your screen and you'll get frustrated real fast.

Look up soooo many tutorials because everyone does art different. Most artists are okay with sharing their brush settings too, so don't be afraid to ask "Hey what's your brush settings for shading?" or similar questions.

The rest of the stuff I can think of starts getting into semantics related to specific artstyles, so I'll end here. But feel free to ask me anything else =u=b

any tips on art? for the life of me I can't figure out how to draw digital art.

Gonna be straight with you here, chief. Me too. I mostly do digital art for coloring. Sometimes I doodle, but mostly I do traditional.

I like to use MediBang Paint (because I've used it for years now so I don't want to swap) and extract the lineart of my traditional sketches and then add color.

Colored lineart goes a long way

Play with brushes

Put a layer at 50% and pick any dark color you want at that can work for shading too. Doesn't always need to be fancy.

Clipping layers are useful

Honestly, I don't feel like I know what I'm doing enough to give advice. Just mess around! The only big mistake you can make is crash your device somehow. If the art doesn't turn out with something you're happy with you learned! Unfortunately I think it's a lot of trial and error.

But if any of my artist mutuals/followers have any tips feel free to chim in!

[hotpinkhoshi]

kiss it better | one

pairing: mark tuan x reader

genre: angst, smut, brother’s best friend au (sort of)

warnings: age gap (nine years), cursing, explicit sex, slow burn

summary: you were off limits for more reasons than mark could count. but everything changed for him the day you walked into his tattoo shop with those big innocent eyes and a laugh like his favorite song. he couldn’t. he wouldn’t. and yet…

*a/n*: hiiiiii! so here we go. i don’t have much to say except that you’ll probably notice this chapter is a bit shorter than they usually are for my fics. with this story, chapters may or may not be shorter in length. this is just easier on me, and helps me to keep a regular posting schedule. now, i’m not going to say i won’t post longer chapters, but i just wanted to get it out there. i have a tentative posting schedule in mind, which i’ll make a post about later, but i’d say you can probably expect a new chapter every two weeks. 

also, just want to say- i hope everyone is staying safe and healthy right now. stay home, wash your hands, avoid contact with your face, and if you have to order food tip your delivery drivers a lil extra! and to those that don’t get to stay home and still have to work, i’m right there with you. we’ll get through this and all we can do is take it day by day ❤️

✩ index here ✩

make sure you read the prologue first! 

Today had started just like any other day. Mark got up and went about his morning, brushing his teeth, eating his breakfast, and taking his usual ten minutes to sketch the ideas in his brain before heading off to work. 

It’d been slow, but Mark wasn’t worried. There were enough appointments on Saturday and Sunday to make up for a slow Friday. The temperature had reached an uncomfortable high, so he’d dressed himself in a black muscle tee to offer some relief from the sticky air. 

The early afternoon went smoothly. Mark took the opportunity to work on some new designs and do some organizing in his tattoo room, while the other guys opted to sit around showing each other funny videos on their phones. 

By the time lunch rolled around, he decided to sit outside with his iced coffee, scrolling through social media on his phone while relaxing in the shade of the awning. He glanced up mindlessly, his eyes drawn to a figure standing across the street. 

A girl holding an ice cream cone. Mark’s breath caught in his throat because, no, it wouldn’t be you. You’d be back home, attending some tiny college where your parents could keep a watchful eye on your every move, not here in the great big city. 

Then the girl dropped her ice cream cone, her whine audible even from where Mark sat. He couldn’t help the laugh that fell from his lips. He shook his head, just as there was a knock behind him on the glass of the door. 

Dahyun popped her head out. “Youngjae needs help grabbing some boxes from the back, can you help? Jackson and Yugyeom are being assholes.” 

Mark nodded, one last glance across the street before he stood up, heading back inside.

-----

You took in a deep breath, squeezing your eyes shut as Mark pressed the tip of his tattoo gun to your skin. Just the constant buzzing of the tool was enough to set your nerves on edge. 

Once you felt it, though, it wasn’t so bad. It hurt, but you’d been through worse. It was comparable to a thousand tiny kittens scratching you with their claws, over and over again. 

“You doing alright?” Mark asked, once one long minute had passed. 

You nodded, your arms squeezing the back of the chair you were straddling. It was an uncomfortable position, but it was the only way Mark would be able to access the back of your shoulder. You’d also had to strip down to just your bra, so at least you were given some modesty. 

“Yeah. Just... how long will it take?” 

Glancing over your shoulder, you noticed how hard he was concentrating. His tongue was stuck between his lips, peeking out the corner. He was entirely focused on the art that he was tracing onto your skin. 

“Not long. The shading is what will take the longest, but it’s small, so I should have you out of here within the hour.” 

You exhaled slowly and pressed your forehead into the cushioned back of the chair as he went over the same area a few times. Though he muttered a ‘sorry’, you found yourself wincing from the pain. 

Yerin had left to get ready for work, as the stenciling and position process had gone on longer than either of you had thought. You’d made Mark move the stencil several times until you liked the positioning. Admittedly, it had been a stalling tactic to delay the inevitable pain that was coming. 

“How’s Taehyung?” Mark asked, just as he took a break from tracing onto your skin. You opened your eyes to see him reaching for a cloth to wipe across your skin. 

The question caught you off guard. Just the name of your brother was enough to rub salt into the wound you’d been holding closed for the last two months. You gulped, turning your face to press your other cheek into the chair, hiding your expression. 

“He’s good. He’s been in Japan for two years now, I think. He’s happy there.” 

You barely even noticed Mark returning to your tattoo, the pain less noticeable while your mind was occupied. 

“That’s good. I saw on Facebook he has a girlfriend now?” 

You nodded. “Mhm. Her name’s Jennie--she seems nice.” 

Mark didn’t need to know that you hadn’t spoken to your brother since the week before you moved to Seoul. He didn’t need to know you’d been avoiding his calls, texts, and e-mails. Most of them you deleted without even opening. 

From what you knew, Taehyung and Mark had simply drifted once they both moved out of your tiny town and started creating a life for themselves. Taehyung spent his years after college roaming the world, taking photos and putting on exhibits until he secured a steady photography job for a Japanese magazine. 

Mark moved before that, though you hadn’t known he’d moved to the city until today. You hadn’t ever been close to him besides the casual greeting when he’d be downstairs playing video games with Taehyung while you were doing homework. 

When you were younger, you’d had an innocent crush on him, only because he was one of the few boys that paid you any attention. You’d only ever had a handful of conversations, but he was always polite and even helped you with your math homework once or twice. It really hadn’t taken much to impress you back then.

“So, how long have you been in the city?” Mark asked. 

You were grateful for the slight change in subject. It was only a matter of time before he started asking about your parents, and you wouldn’t have been able to pretend any longer. 

“A couple of months. I just… wanted a change,” you told him honestly. 

Maybe you’d gotten more than you’d bargained for… but regardless, you were grateful for your newfound independence. 

“I get it,” Mark replied. “Alright, outline is done. Now we’ll just have to shade. I’ll give you a few minutes, okay?” 

You lifted your face from the back of the chair and sat up straight. “Can I see it?” you asked. 

It took a moment for you to realize Mark’s ears were turning red because without the shield of the chair, your entire bra-clad chest was now on display for him. It didn’t help that you’d chosen a pink, lacy bra just because it was the first one you’d grabbed out of your laundry bag. 

Quickly, you leaned forward again to cover yourself with the chair, biting forcefully onto your lip. You could feel your cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“Sorry…” you said.

Mark cleared his throat and turned around, reaching for a handheld mirror on the table behind him. “It’s okay… I’ve definitely seen worse. Not that it was bad, or, well-” 

It was obvious he’d put his foot in his mouth. You found yourself giggling, bringing your hand up to cover your mouth. Mark looked as if he was desperate for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. 

“Sorry,” he said, shaking his head at himself as he turned back around. “Here,” he said chuckling softly as he held up the mirror behind you so that you could see the work he’d already done. 

You managed to stifle your giggles as you turned your head. It was no wonder Mark was known for pieces like this--his lines were crisp and clear, flowing in such a way that it looked as if your skin was born with this intricate design. You couldn’t wait to see how it looked when it was complete.

“Good?” he asked.

“I love it,” you said, smiling wide. “Makes the pain worth it.” 

Mark looked pleased with your answer. He set the mirror down and got up, switching out the ink on his pen for the color he was going to use for the petals, a soft cool toned purple. 

You resumed your position against the chair after a few more minutes, fists clenched as you prepared for the pain. 

-----

It turned out not to be so bad. Mark kept you distracted, asking you questions about your experience in the city so far. When he sensed you avoiding the topic of home or your parents, he didn’t push. 

Once he got your tattoo bandaged up, you sat around talking for another half an hour while he showed you photos of his drawings, as per your request. You’d never known that he was so talented. 

“I guess I should be going,” you said after a lull in conversation. If you wanted to get back to your room before your roommate began their daily music blasting and loud video game routine, you’d need to head back. 

“Where are you staying?” he asked, pulling off his gloves and washing his hands in the miniature sink against the wall.

“Just… this little place,” you answered. Little was an understatement. 

When you’d moved out, you’d only had a suitcase and a finite amount of cash. It hadn’t exactly been planned, so your options were limited. You stayed in the first hostel you could find, and you were disappointed to find that the wages you received from serving couldn’t provide you with anything better. 

You shared a room, currently with a Russian girl a few years older than you that seemed to only be staying in Seoul to play shooting games and blast ear-piercing rock metal. Your last roommate hadn’t been nearly as bad, but you weren’t having great luck. 

“Here, I’m just finishing up for the day. Why don’t we grab a bite to eat, then I’ll take you home.” 

Your efforts to refuse his offer were basically ignored. He gave you no choice as he led you out to the front room to pay for your tattoo, whispering something lowly to Dahyun as she wrote up your bill. 

“Mark,” you said in protest once you saw the total. You didn’t know much about tattoo pricing, but you were sure this was significantly lower than it should have been.

“What? It’s a family and friends discount.”

You sighed. As much as you wanted to refuse his help, you had to admit you could take whatever discounts you could get. Tattoos were expensive and you certainly didn’t have the budget to get one as impulsively as you had today. 

“I’ll get my stuff ready, then I’ll meet you outside, okay?” Mark asked and you nodded, watching as he walked off to his room. 

“Family and friends, huh?” Dahyun asked, eyebrows raised as she watched you sign your receipt. “You must have gotten really close back there.” 

You laughed, sliding the receipt back over the table. “It turns out, he used to be best friends with my older brother. So… family, I guess,” you said, though you never really saw him as such. No matter how many times your mother acted like he was her second son. 

“Wow, small world,” Dahyun said as she handed over a sheet of paper with a list of bullet points on it. She went over the aftercare process, recommending the creams and ointments that she preferred, and ways to help it heal faster. 

After thanking Dahyun over and over for her kindness, you gathered your things and waited outside of the front door for Mark. 

When your day began, you never would have thought you’d be having dinner with your brother’s old best friend, bringing back memories you hadn’t quite been ready to revisit. But he was so sweet to you, so easy to talk to, you couldn’t bring yourself to say no. You didn’t want to say no. 

You’d always admired Mark’s choice to move to Seoul straight out of school, with no plan and no connections to the city. And he only came back for holidays and special occasions. While you were hastily packing your clothes into a duffel bag, you remembered thinking briefly of him. 

“Ready?” Mark asked from behind you as he exited the shop. The sunlight hit his skin, bringing your attention to the swirling designs upon his shoulder. The way his shirt was cut allowed you a peek of his ribs—you could see loopy cursive etched on his skin but you were unable to make it out.

“Yeah, let’s go,” you replied with a smile, tearing your eyes from his bare skin. 

[kpopisthereasonihavenolife]

Kitsune: iv. summer

j.hoseok / reader 

genre: Demon Hunter AU, Action, Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Japanese Federal Era 

warning(s)!!: nudity, thugs/bandit kidnapping, killing/death, hostage situations, threats, violence, y/n fights in the nude (it makes sense trust me), minimual cursing but meh, taehyung is a lil insecure/nervous

w.count: 16.6k

Series | One-shot | Two-Shot | Drabble | [Rated: T] 

synopsis: Demons: man-eating, murderous monsters who would kill anyone for the blood of humans: be it man, woman or child.  They have no need for comrades. Known cannibalize and kill other demons if they so choose. Demon Hunters are tasked with eliminating any and all demons without question, but what would come to pass if they were told that a demon saved a human life? Views, values and relations become altered and absolutely nothing seemed human anymore.  Never sharpen a blade too much, lest you become the wounded.

Series Index | i.demon | ii. winter | iii. spring |

a/n: could you believe that i wrote about 40% of this part while at work in small intervals.  It’s pretty amazing how focused I can be on my fics when I’m literally just sitting at the desk LOL.  Anyways, I know it’s been long awaited (by few, but still), but it’s a pretty big chapter so it balances out LMAO 

t.list: : @kathrynwynterbourne @tiredjedi @kaekae-93 @multycoloredtaco @sunshinechim-98 @baojinnie @perpetually-single @lexi-tries-art @fallingjungwoo 

It had only been three days since Taehyung had officially taken over where Fuuta had left off and already things were moving smoothly.  He had sent word out after the leader meeting that the previous overseer had died and he had stepped in to handle any and all further issues as well as oversee the actions of the demon hunter organization.

Over the course of the days, Hoseok had been his shadow.  Following him when he wasn’t given orders, or fulfilling the orders given to him by the younger man before returning back to his beck and call.  Hoseok watched Taehyung carefully. Taehyung was as hard boiled as he was led to believe and the entire situation had to have been crawling under his skin- he just couldn’t voice that.  

You had still remained in your fox form, tailing behind Taehyung- viewing him as your new master- and abiding the exact way Hoseok did.  You would go if you were told to go and would do whatever task was asked of you.  You even obeyed tasks that held the criteria of traveling with Hoseok to somewhere in the city. You weren’t overly fond of the idea that you had to occasionally run errands with the one demon hunter who you had fought with on multiple occasions, but you didn’t want to be yet another weight on Taehyung’s shoulders.

He was so young and yet already commanding such a large organization.  Filling the shoes that Fuuta once did was difficult and there would be no shortcuts as he grew into them. He would just need to follow his gut and learn from experience.

It was the beginning of the fourth day where Taehyung had sat himself in his room as he took to his desk on the floor that sat at mid-torso as he knelt in front of it.  His legs were tucked under his rear as he was leaned over onto his wooden desk space.  His elbow pushing into the wood as his curled knuckles pushed into his forehead.  His nighttime kimono was covered in creases and wrinkles, hanging loosely off his shoulders and open at the chest. His long hair hadn’t even been brushed out yet.  

He rubbed at his temples before he sighed and lifted his head back up, dropping his arm to rest over the desktop.  Looking behind him, there your fox body slept curled into an oval.  You had a habit of sleeping beside his head ever since you regressed to your fox form. He leaned back, bracing one of his arms behind him as he twisted at the waist to look back at you with a small grin.  

Perhaps it was because you were sleeping, but the small licks of fire that always swirled and flickered from your tails and paws were diminished in the orange light of dawn through his window.  

“Y/n,” he softly called.  On command the fire that had been small struck to life in small waves of blue as your eyes opened.  Bringing your canine body up to arch into a stretch, you were soon prancing on your fire-wisped paws to Taehyung’s side.

You sat beside him, looking up. The top of your head all the way down your spine to your settled two tails were a straight arrow. He used the hand that had braced his back to come up and pet at your head, thumbing behind your ears and smoothing out your bed-fur.  

“I have something for you,” he told you, his voice still not as awake as his body.  He reached to his desk, pulling a small wooden box from the far corner of it and brought it into sight.  “This box contains something meant for your safety on your future journey with Hoseok. However, I’ll need Hoseok here with you both before you can be granted it.  It will also act as the official marker of the start of your mission.”

Your wide, fox eyes looked at the wood finished box.  Part of you didn’t want anything to do with whatever might be inside if it meant that the object would push you out of this compound with Hoseok. However, you knew that this mission was important- and not just to you.  You just bowed your head at him.

Taehyung then directed a small, sadden smile at you.  He moved his hand from your head and down your neck to your back. Repeatedly petting you in long strokes.

“Will you ever return to your other form?” You lowered your head.  “I wish that you will soon, and that the next time I see you from your journey, we’ll be able to properly talk again.” You looked back up to him standing up to all four as you stepped to place your front two paws on his folded legs.  The samurai scratched under your chin. “Go fetch Hoseok for me,” he asked with a smile.  

-x-x-x-

The demon hunter lay on his back in his room, staring up at the ceiling utterly thoughtless.  He traced the outline of the ceiling back and forth and around with his eyes as one of his arms rested under his head, the other on his stomach. His kimono was open to reveal one of his legs as the chest was pulled open.  His swords were across the room against the wall as his haori was hanging up on the wall.  

The window to his room was open as the small railing outside of it casted a lined shadow across the tatami floors. It was a breezeless morning as the sun dyed the sky before it breached the horizon.  

Hoseok’s eyes shifted from the ceiling to the open window as a light, dull thumping of paws landed on his window railing.  He looked down at the shadow on the floor, watching twin-tails waves in opposite directions with the shadow of a fox sitting in his window.  He looked back up, finally looking at your sun-lined silhouette.

He sucked in a small breathing, holding it for a beat before he pushed himself up to sit slouched in his futon. He said nothing and you didn’t move.  You just stared at each other, his unmoving hard gaze locked onto your fox eyes.  He sighed, moving to face forward and run a hand through his hair.

“I'm on my way,” he muttered as he started to force himself out of his futon and up off the floor.  His kimono slid further down his shoulders, exposing his bicep as he turned to grab his folded up keikogi and hung up haori.

Behind him, he heard your paws flick from his window to the floor as you jumped fully into his room.  He paid you no mind as he fiddled with the thin sash around his waist, losing it before opening the kimono and sliding it off his arms.  

He changed in silence, as he expected no less, as you sat in his room. Staring at the door to his room in an amount of patience Hoseok might find impressive if he wasn’t running over and over again in his head that you were a demon.

Hoseok fastened his swords to his hip as he pulled his haori over his shoulders and repositioned it comfortably.  Leaving his futon in a heap on the floor of his room, he walked to the door above you. Sliding it open, you sprung up and dashed out ahead of him as he walked into the hall and slid his door shut behind him.

He followed after your trotting form as he made his way to Taehyung’s room. He stood outside his superior’s door as he contemplated just walking in as he used to all the time before when he wasn’t in the high seat he now sat in.  Hoseok knew he had to show Taehyung the respect he deserved now, but he also didn’t want to treat his best friend any different than in the past.  It was a tough tear between options.

He must have been standing in contemplation for too long because Taehyung had called for him from inside the room.

“Hoseok, you can come inside.” The hunter hesitated just for a moment before he was sliding the shoji open and stepping inside along with you.  You ran past Hoseok’s legs and into the room to sit beside Taehyung as the hunter slid the door shut behind him.  “Take a seat, my friend,” Taehyung offered as he extended his hand to the space near him as Hoseok just wordlessly nodded and did as he was told.

Taehyung waited a moment as he pet your head, thanking you for bringing Hoseok. He looked back up to his friend.

“You don’t need to force yourself to treat me like you treated Fuuta,” Taehyung told him.  Hoseok’s stiff shoulders jumped before they slacked and he let out a small breath.  Taehyung chuckled, watching his friend physically deflate.  “It’s true that I’m the overall ring leader of the organization, and perhaps you’ll need to address me as such in formal situations, but for the most part I’d prefer if you kept referring to me as you have been.”

“Are you sure that’s actually alright?”

“Technically speaking, no,” he chided with a small grin as he continued to pet and fawn over your fur.  “But, since I’m the one in charge, I think I’m allowed to change a few rules. Not to mention one for friends.”

“I think a part of you is still as immature as you used to be,” Hoseok flatly spoke as Taehyung laughed.  

“That’s not so wrong, is it?”

“What did you need me for so early in the morning, Taehyung?” Hoseok cut to the chase.  Taehyung scoffed, accusing him of already being awake in the first place to which Hoseok just brushed off- ignoring his jest completely.  

Taehyung removed his hand from you as he reached for the same wooden box from earlier.  He lifted it and set it on his kimono covered leg as he lifted the rectangular top off and placed it on his desk.  Inside, he had pulled out a silver blade pendant with a clear crystal in the middle of it.  The samurai offered his hand out towards Hoseok as he looked at it with a quirked brow.

“Your hand, if you would,” Taehyung requested as Hoseok hesitantly stuck his arm out so his fingertips touched the other’s palm. Taehyung brought the bladed pendant and slid it across the pad of his middle finger. Hoseok winced at the small cut as he felt the burn then warmth of his blood beading out of his skin.  

Taking it from his finger and releasing his hand, the blood of Hoseok’s clung to the pendant before the crystal in the center began to taint red.  Taehyung nodded to himself when it was fully crimson. It was as if the crystal had soaked up the blood from Hoseok’s hand like a cloth.

“What did you just do?” Hoseok asked, placing his fingertip in his mouth to suck off the remaining blood there before he dropped it to his lap- but not without shaking it out a few times first.  Taehyung remained silent as he then looped the necklace around your fox neck and let it rest on your furry chest.  “Taehyung?” Hoseok called again, annoyed by not getting an answer.  

Taehyung just shushed him lightly as he picked you up under your legs and moved to sit you away from him in front of both him and the demon hunter.  

“Just watch,” Taehyung said.

Hoseok’s eyes started to widen, just a bit, as his jaw almost dropped at your appearance.  It began to change, shifting right in front of his eyes.  Your second tell before to fade into thin air, as if it was never there.  The fire around your paws diminished completely, disappearing as the markings around your remaining tail, paws and cheeks all faded away, leaving your white fur completely clean of them all.  Your golden eyes dulling into a shade of boring brown.  

You looked just like a regular, white coated fox now.  You hopped up once the entire transformation completed as you walked around in circles.  You felt wrong. You looked at your lack of a tail, even though when you moved it you could still feel two there.  You would faintly smell the remains of the fire that disappeared around your paws and tail.  You folded your ears before you straightened them back up.  

You looked at Taehyung and he almost chuckled at the narrow slit of brown you sent him in the form of a glare.  Hoseok and removed his sword scabbard from his side as he nudged the hilt of it into your side to actually solidify it was still you.  You hissed at him for this, swiping at his weapon handle.

“What the hell did that pendant do?” Hoseok asked as he replaced his sword at his side after yanking it away from you.  

“It wasn’t the pendant per se,” Taehyung explained. “It was your blood inside the crystal of the pendant that triggered the spell. This will camouflage Y/n’s appearance as a regular fox who just so happened to be following its travel companion. Not a demon fox who is on a mission with a hunter.  When she’s in her human form, it will also change her appearance and make her seem like a regular woman.”

Hoseok almost felt sick that you were using his blood to fool others into thinking you were the same species as him; a human being.  From the way your body stood rigid, he assumed you weren’t too thrilled about it either.  Taehyung just shook his head at the both of you.

“Get over your frustration you two,” he scolded lightly. “It’s necessary to insure safety, like it or not.” You both refused to voice your opinion on the matter- not that you would speak anyways.  Hoseok just sat and stewed in his annoyance as you just plopped your bottom back down with a canine huff.  

Taehyung ran you both through details of the mission you would soon be embarking on the rest of the morning.  Explaining where to head first, and how to look for anything that may be a clue as to where Zath may be hiding.

Instructing to never disregard any demon rumors, never doubt someone’s story- no matter how crazy it may sound, and to never turn your back on someone who claims to need their aid.  Even if someone who is pleading for help needs to be helped due to a demon occurrence or not- do not turn them down unless the task is life threatening.  

Taehyung was a man of people, never saying no to someone who shed a tear and begged for help.  Hoseok didn’t understand his soft heart, and the orders to act according to Taehyung’s heart made his stomach unsettled; it’d be a hefty order to obey.  

“If possible, I’d like for you both to head out tomorrow,” Taehyung began to finish.

“Tomorrow?” Hoseok confirmed. “Isn’t that soon?”

“If anything, I’ve waited far too long for the mission to begin.  Everyday I waited Zath was roaming free somewhere. I suppose, I used the both of you to cushion myself until I felt like I could handle this on my own,” the leader admitted. Hoseok’s eyes softened.  

He did find it odd that when he pledged to take on this mission he wasn’t sent out the door immediately with the other leaders.  Instead, Taehyung had him and you stick around.  

It was because he was scared to be alone, not wanting to truly be the independent leader he was supposed to be now.  He wanted just a few more days to be Taehyung, but now he knew he could no longer be selfish like that. He had to let you both go, and Hoseok felt his heart ache for his friend.  

You padded to Taehyung’s front, laying down to place your chin on his leg as he pet you and chuckled- a sound that was sad and bitter to the taste.  

“Will you be alright on your own, Taehyung?” Hoseok lightly asked, as if he was walking on thorns.  

“I promise I will be. I’ve had my time to adjust,” he spoke so solemnly, Hoseok hesitated.  He was tempted to argue to push back departure just a few more days. However, the idea of the argument died on his tongue before he even started it- the look in his new lord’s eyes telling him to drop it.  

“Then,” Hoseok started in a sigh, “tomorrow we will depart.”

When Taehyung dismissed Hoseok, he looked down to see you sitting at his side.  Your head the height of his knee as your appearance was still like a typical fox with that necklace around your neck.  You sat patiently, and only got up to move when the hunter started out of the room completely and down the hall.

He wanted to ask why you were following him around instead of sticking to Taehyung like you had been, but he didn’t waste his breath.  He knew you wouldn’t answer him anyways. He had planned to wander around until Taehyung called for him today, but since his mission was officially about to begin, he decided to head back to his room and get packed for departure.

He silently watched you follow after him and even trot behind him into his room as he opened the door, you sliding in with him as he shut it again.  Grabbing the deflated and empty cloth bag Taehyung had told him to use, he pulled the twine rope top open.

The bag itself wasn’t impressive by any means.  Sewn together with all sorts of mixed patterns of old scraps of cloth. The top was folded and a rope was pushed around the top to pull it close.  It was a pathetic excuse of a knapsack, but it would work until Hoseok was forced to purchase a new one- something he hoped he wouldn’t have to do truth be told.  

You sat in the corner of Hoseok’s room, the shadow of the morning sun that had risen to almost midsky casting into his room as you lingered in those shadows.  You remained as silent as ever and motionless aside from your one visible tail swaying lightly as you watched him shove item after item into his bag.

As he packed away things he had been given by Taehyung to prepare for this journey, he halted as he slumped in his position and looked over towards you with narrowed eyes.

“Do you plan on gawking all day?” He bit, knowing full well you weren’t going to reply. He just scoffed at himself, as well as your silence, as he continued his task of packing.

Later that night, Hoseok was given one last solitary audience with Taehyung as the young head of the organization came to his room.  Hoseok let him in as they sat on the tatami, Hoseok’s futon not yet unfolded, but taken out of its place in the closet.  

“Here,” Taehyung started, reaching across the short distance between the two men to hand him something.  Hoseok took the folded paper Taehyung gave him and inside was a limited number of talismen covered in symbols and a language he couldn’t read.  Hoseok quirked an eyebrow, eyeing the spiritual pieces of submission in his hand, careful not to rip the delicate paper. “You may use those in dire circumstances in regards to Y/n,” Taehyung instructed.  

“How do you mean? Isn’t that fox supposed to be harmless,” he bit. Hoseok’s tone didn’t go undetected to his friend.

“Although that is true, it wouldn’t be wise to trust that the talisman embedded in her back will stop her demonic nature in full if things get too dire. If she begins to disregard her duty to protect humans or reverts back to her true demon self even the slightest, you must pin a talisman onto her body. That should be enough to calm her and call her back to her senses.”

Hoseok folded the taliemen back up in the protective paper he received them in before he set it aside to his left and sighed.  Slouching back, losing all form of formality as he looked up to the ceiling,. The single flickering candle in his room formed shadows along the walls and ceiling tiles as they danced over his head.

“This seems to be growing into more and more of a hassle. Just how many more precautions are you going to have me take when traveling with a demon?”

“Hoseok, there is one more thing,” Taehyung cut in before the topic could run off without him.  “If those talisman ever become defective, then I need you to be responsible for stopping her. No matter the price or cost.”

Hoseok halted. “What-”

Taehyung quickly interrupted his friend without explaining himself further on what he could have possibly meant. He spoke just a short while longer with Hoseok before retreating back to his room for the night.  

Hoseok was awake a while longer, fulfilling one more task he wished to do before his departure for himself.  The second, unused sword that always hung with him at his hip was in need of one more piece of restraint- for future personal precaution.

-x-x-x-

Hoseok had already finished pulling his keikogi on as he slipped his arms through the sleeves of his haori before he slid open his bedroom window just in time for you to jump onto the railing outside of it. It was pretty sad he knew you were going to show up right as you normally did.

Dawn had just broken and the hunter already had his room picked up and his futon put away.  HIs bag was sat in the corner beside his two blades as he adjusted the leather belt around his waist and straightened the haori on his shoulders. You sat outside his window, still looking like an everyday, wild fox the whole time waiting on him.  

He slid his swords through his belt as he grabbed his bag by the thick rope, wrapping it around his palm twice and slung it over his shoulder. He padded in his tabi socks to his door before sliding it open.  He looked over his shoulder, seeing you still unmoved outside his window.  

He said not a word, but stepped out of his room and slid the door shut behind him as you jumped back down from his window to the ground below.  The day had to begin and farewells had to be addressed; leaving was already hard enough considering the circumstances.  Pushing it off anymore would just cause everyone more grief.

Taehyung was sitting in the outside corridor, his lounging kimono still on as it was loose around his waist, revealing his chest and shoulders.  He reached out towards the cold stone garden as he watched the winter birds jump and flap around on the ground and to trees without leaves.  His hair was free of any ties or ribbons as small strands whipped in the morning freeze.

Taehyung dropped his hand as he felt Hoseok standing behind him in silence.  He turned his head, only slightly moving his shoulders to see the dressed and ready to depart hunter.  He smiled.

“Do you intend on taking a steed with you?” Taehyung asked as he looked away from Hoseok and back out into the brightening outside.

“I don’t.  Although riding horseback would be beneficial, in the long run it could cause more hindrance than progress.”

“I see.” Taehyung moved with a deep breath to stand.  His kimono slid further down his shoulders as he adjusted them, his chest still peeking through the fabric. “I shall call for Y/n.” Taehyung looked down at the two swords attached all-to familiarly to Hoseok’s hips.  The one that never got drawn was now bound by a charm that reached from the hilt to the beginning of the scabbard and wrapped securely in a red thread.  

The new head of the organization narrowed his eyes at the length Hoseok was willing to go just to keep that sword sheathed.  He decided to keep his mouth shut about it, however; knowing Hoseok could feel Taehyung’s eyes on the second piece of unused weaponry. He simply started off without a word spoken about it.

It was silent and tense that morning as Hoseok followed Taehyung’s back through the halls. The air was thick like it could coil around the throat and choke someone. Taehyung stopped briefly into a room before he walked back out and in his hand was a small cloth rolled and pinned. It was a small cloth with items inside of it as he began walking back down the hall with Hoseok once more following him as his last minute shadow.  

He stopped in the middle of the enclosed hall in front of a circular window that was half the size of himself and with no glass to keep the outside and inside separate.  He smiled out of it as if he was looking at something and before Hoseok could question him, there you were popping up from outside.  You must have been running around outside for you to be sitting in the window like you were now.

Taehyung pet your head before he brought his hands up to wrap the cloth he held with items rolled up inside of it around your neck.  You sat patiently still as the bulge of the make-shift pouch sat behind your head and was tied neatly under your fox chin.  

“That is for you to keep. I’m not sure when you’ll decide to change back into your other form, but just in case it’s a long time, you won’t be empty handed.” Taehyung assured you as he caressed your ear.  Hoseok watched and his mind briefly wandered back to the previous night. When Taehyung’s attitude changed for the slightest moment when it came to suppressing your true demonic nature and distaste for humans.

The look in his eyes almost looked like he was saying that if worse comes to worse, then Hoseok should-

“Hoseok,” Taehyung called, snapping the hunter out of his thoughts and back to the present.  “It’s time you both are to be going.  The day won’t wait for you. Come, I’ll lead you both to the front.”  The hunter only dipped his head as he began to follow after Taehyung for one of the last times as far as he could tell.

The sensation Hoseok felt in his gut was like a knot that was being pulled so tight the rope would snap as he looked at the center of Taehyung’s back down the hall.  The silence of the narrow hall and padding footsteps of the two humans and demon fox were like rolling thunder.  Before he could even try to convince Taehyung to hold off on telling Hoseok and you to leave, he was already standing at the entrance to the estate.  

Taehyung raised his arm, pointing out towards the city and beyond towards a valley Hoseok knew of that was perhaps a day and a half trip away.  

“Through that passage is a hot-spot of bandit and thug attacks.  The quickest way to get involved and inside of a syndicate that could possibly be related to Zath is to get captured.  It’d be for the best if you act as if you’re taken by surprise.  If they don’t show up with you just passing through, set up a camp and they’re sure to get you then.”  

Before he knew it, Hoseok was leaving through that entrance and away from Taehyung who just offered them a wave.  You were following at his side, your cloth around your neck as silent as ever. As he glanced down at you throughout the city and out into the wilderness, he narrowed his eyes.

Hoseok was officially stuck with you now.

-x-x-x-

Hoseok sat in front of a fire of sticks and surrounded by a ring of stones of all shapes and sizes and textures as it crackled and sent sparks and fire flicks into the dark, damp night air.  Shadows of the dancing flames bounced off his cheeks and chin and nose as he sat with his legs crossed and his swords off his hip and to his side.  

You sat across from him, your fox chin lifted up as you looked at the sky through the two sides of the deep valley you and Hoseok were deep into.  Just as he had known, you were silent and shockingly obedient the entire time since you both had left Taehyung’s side.  He expected more of a silent fight, but you were quick to do his quick tasks he says.  

He often thought about the envelope of talismen that Taehyung had given him and when he’d have to even think about using them. By the way you were now, anyone would think you were just an obedient fox trailing after him for some reason or another.  He had to constantly remind himself that you weren't what you looked like and were in fact a demon who had tried to hurt him before- granted one time was a test.

He watched you diligently.

Perhaps he was assuming things all wrong.  He grit his teeth at the idea of being wrong about you and swallowing his pride about it.  What if you really were the reliable demon fox Taehyung insisted you were? What if you really weren’t as awful as Hoseok had painted you to be? Was he being unrightfully judging by just throwing you into the same ring as other demons he’s encountered and killed before?

The continuous train of thought bouncing between you being good or evil made him angry because he shouldn’t be wavering on the border like this.  He had always made it a point that demons are evil and nothing less, but when he saw and met you properly with Taehyung and Fuuta, his ideology was turned on its head.  It wasn't fair.

More than hating demons, he hated being wrong.

It wasn’t often he was, so when it does happen it gets under his skin and makes him itch with an unsatisfying feeling until he finds a way to get over it.  

“Hey, Fox,” he called over the top of the flames in front of him.  Your chin dipped back down to only briefly look at him before you were pawing at your ear in an effort to show you were listening to him, but not willing to look at him. He almost tutted at your resiliance to be compliant- but could he really talk? “I know you didn’t want to take this job, especially with me,” he started. “So, why did you go along with it?”

Just as he susecpted, you were silent.  You just sat and set your paw back down from your ear as you stared at the fire.  He had a feeling your answer would reflect why he decided to accept this job as well.  It was common ground for you both, your connection and respect for Taehyung.  The one thing you could agree on was the new, young leader.

He sighed, dropping his shoulders as he moved to place his hand behind him and lean back so it would support him. He lifted his chin to look at the sky you were looking at previously.  He could see the stars peeking through the grey nighttime clouds.

It was quiet with the two of you for a bit longer before he noticed you start to look around, getting more antsy and restless with your small, but notable, actions. Hoseok started getting tense by the way you wouldn’t settle down.  He reached for one of his swords, the one he always used, as he started to uncurl his legs from under himself to extend and jump up to his feet if need be.  

He glanced towards you as you got to your paws. Your small body was standing tall with your tail lifting up as the fur puffed out. Your whiskers bristled as your ears stood up and you hissed looking to and fro from your left, right and over head. Another hiss passed your snarled teeth before your erect ears flattened against the sides of your head and your hackles raised for an attack.

Seeing what looked like a pure fox of nature made you seem like only a minor threat, however Hoseok’s skin ran with a chill at the thought of you appearing this way in your normal, demon form. With two tails and blue flames dancing around your body; perhaps in the future it would be a good bargaining chip to those unworthy of doing business or conversation with.  Something to ponder on.

It was the instant he heard a small clacking of a piece of rubble that erupted the otherwise silent camp he had set up just as Taehyung had told him to when things began to finally unfold.

From hidden ledges of the rock walls jumped men of all sizes and sounds. Dressed in range from full uniforms to nothing but the bottoms of tattered keikogis and a half coats.  Some bandaged, some not, some taller, some shorter, some fuller, some stick thin.  All were armed however.  

Hoseok spun from his position on the ground as his back now faced his campfire that would eventually begin to diminish from being unattended. He held his ground, hand on the hilt of his weapon as you stood behind him on the other side of the fire.  He could hear you snarl and hiss as he narrowed his eyes.  

Taehyung was right on the money, they came to capture the both of you faster than Hoseok expected. He was almost caught off guard by their haste. 

The murmur of cackles from the surrounding group of what seemed to be ten men felt like a knife scraping on stone to Hoseok’s ears.  It wasn’t spine chilling, but absolutely irritating.  He would typically avoid thugs if at all possible, not liking the way they work and think.

The hunter’s brow twitched when the fact that he had to pretend to be weaker than some lowly valley, lurking bandit to get caught became more apparent.  

The group of criminals were quick to rush after Hoseok.  It was almost trivial how sloppily these people just ran straight into confrontation without thinking of even the slightest form of tactic at all. They acted how they looked it seemed.

Hoseok’s body almost instinctively started fighting back, however he knew he had to hold himself back in order to get this mission underway. One of the attackers had curled their hand around Hoseok’s bicep, wrinkling the sleeves of his haori as they snagged their fingers into the fabric to drag Hoseok to the ground. The hunter bent his knee as he was shoved to his side in the dirt path before he was being forced on his chest.

He hissed as a knee was pressed into the center of his back- a most unpleasant feeling.  Among the scraping of sandals and bags dragging and sliding along the dirt and rock, he could hear you hiss and cry out with high pitched yelps of offense and warning.  

“Damn!” He heard someone cry out. “Shut that damn fox’s mouth!” Before long, he heard your loud noises of protest become muffled. They must have muzzled you.  It was a small struggle later when he was being thrown into the back of a wagon that had come around the corner of the valley- clearly their get away.  

Hoseok’s hands were tied behind his back- with a sloppily tied knot with his eyes blindfolded.  He leaned against the side of the wagon and he could tell that the wooden cage beside him had you in it. In front of him, he could hear the faint breathing of two goons probably set to keep an eye on him and his fox companion just in case you try anything funny.  

Hoseok was stripped of his swords- something he had to mentally restrain himself from snatching back from the thugs he was supposed to be ‘weaker’ than. His bag was probably already ransacked for grabs. He was sure that even your small cloth pouch around your neck was taken. He had to internalize a groan from how annoying this assignment already was.

Thankfully though, he could roll his eyes behind his blindfold.

-x-x-x-

He wasn’t sure when he nodded off, but he was hyper aware when he was being woken up by a yanking under his bicep as his body was being dragged out of the back of the wagon he drowsily remembered being thrown in.  He was practically walking on his knees and rolling out of the back of his abduction transport before his feet hit the ground in an unsteady drop.

He heard ruckus behind him, sleep still covering his mind like a thin veil before he started adjusting. There were two men at either of his sides, both holding his arms to yank and push him in whatever direction they wished.  He got annoyed with each motion they jerked from him, but knew if he reacted now he’d risk the rest of this stupid job.

Behind him he heard wood scraping the floor of the wagon and guessed it was your cage being pushed to the edge for someone to take. Before he could try and figure anything else out, he was being shoved forward and directed away- the sounds of the wagon being unloaded fading behind him.

After a trip down halls, many turns and down stairs, he was aware of the sound of other people around him.  They didn’t sound like other thugs, but they whimpered and whispered like people who were wrongfully caught around and taken- like he was currently.

The squeaking of metal grinded his ears as someone went behind his back to work on the rope ties around his wrists.  The moment they were loosened, he was kicked in the small of his back- throwing him forwards before he hit the dirt ground that crumbled with small bits of dirt and gravel under his palms that broke away from being bound behind him and now braced up by his chest. Metal squeaked again and slammed shut at his back.  

He didn’t need to see to know that he was just shoved and shut inside of a cell. He pushed himself up to his knees and brought his free hands up to push the blindfold up his forehead and away from his eyes before flinging it off his head completely.  His vision was bleary from the time he spent in darkness- the cloth ever so slightly applying pressure to his eyes.  

He blinked and squinted and his eyesight hadn’t completely adjusted before he could see others in the same cell as him.  All huddled back against the furthest wall and all clinging to each other like a lifeline.

He scanned the huddle of about 20 people; prisoners.  Young, old, woman, men, children- some looking like they had been here for months, covered in dirt and tattered clothes.  The women held tightly to a child who may not even be their own to protect them, while the men sat in the front to keep the others behind his back and away from any potential danger.  The handful of elders were coddling any weeping women who may have been taken from her family offering hushed words of what could be unrealistic encouragement.

A man approached Hoseok, dusting off the hunter’s shoulder of dirt and placed his hand with a firm grip on him.

“They got you too, huh?” His voice was gruff and the stubble along his chin was a time indicator that he’d been here at least a handful of days by now.

“Are you all townsfolk?” Hoseok didn’t see a single expensive looking piece of cloth anywhere on these people.  Most didn’t even have a half-coat like he did. In fact, his red haori may have been the most expensive thing in this cell. He’s half shocked it wasn’t taken off him with his swords and belongings since it was such high end material.

The man sat with a huff as he crossed his legs and his arms in front of him.  His everyday, dully colored clothes stained and frayed with future holes. It looked like he was the head dog of prisoners.

“We are.  Some of us were taken when out searching or herbs or hunting. Some were just taken straight off a path while traveling or returning to our homes. Nonetheless, we ended up here all the same.” The man looked around Hoseok then to the guards outside the cell who never spoke a word and would switch at dusk and dawn daily. “Were you captured alone?”

Hoseok bit back a click of his tongue. He wanted to say yes, try and ignore the fact that you were obviously taken somewhere else.  They were under the impression you were just a fox- nothing special.  He assumed they had you stored somewhere else to either try and break into submission or just kill you later.  He was pretty positive you wouldn’t get yourself killed though.

“I was the only person captured, but I was traveling with a fox.”

The man raised his brow. “A fox? What in God’s name do you need a fox companion for?”

“It’s a long story,” Hoseok huffed.  He just kept repeating Taehyung’s orders over and over in his head to be civil.  Typically, he’d blow off any conversation or useless, prying questions that no one else really needed to know. However, he knew Taehyung would answer and give any information in this situation.  

Hoseok looked around. It looked like it’d be tough to find a way out with constant guard surveillance and no weapon- so maybe these townsfolk could somehow prove useful in the long run. He wasn’t sure yet, no ideas running through his head.

If there was ever a time to depend on you, this was your test.  If he couldn’t break through on his end, you’d have to prove how useful you could be to him. His brows furrowed as he sat in thought. He was pulled from his solitude by a tug on his haori sleeves.  Beside him, sitting on her feet after scooching forwards on her knees was a little girl looking no older than eight.

“What?” He unintentionally bit, she didn’t seem to catch his tone- or maybe the tone she received previously from her captors were more harsh than his so she paid it no mind.

“What is your fox like?” She asked, a small gleam in her eyes.  A gleam of curiosity and childlike interest.

“It isn’t mine,” Hoseok clarified.  His statement didn’t seem to phase her as she just kept staring up at him with expectant eyes. Hoseok groaned. Clearly, waiting for her to leave him alone wasn’t an option stuck in a cell with her. “It’s annoying and disobedient.” That was partially a lie, he breifly thought.

“You don’t like your fox?” She queried.

“Like I said, it isn’t-”

“Is it a boy or a girl fox? What color is it?”

Hoseok paused.  He looked around and only a few other prisoners were even showing that they were listening to his conversation- if you could call it that- with the little village girl.  Others were engaged in their own chatter, or some were trying to sleep to pass the time, hoping for their nightmare to end and to be free again. He looked back down to the little girl.

He put himself in Taehyung’s mindset.  Even in the circumstances that she’s in- captured and being held prisoner with no idea on when or if she’ll even be freed- she sat beside Hoseok with an air of childlike ignorance. Or maybe it was optimism that seemed to outline her eyes.  Were all children like her? Just hoping for the best and letting their childlike tendencies help fuel them forward in situations like this?

Had Hoseok been like this before in the past? Back when he was still alive? His fists tightened at the memories and the thought of his second, unused sword before he was pulled from his thoughts by the little girl once more.

“Mister?”

“The fox is a girl,” he told her.  “She has white fur,” he simplified, obviously keeping the fact that you’re also a demon to himself.  He couldn’t let anyone know, especially the guards he knew were within ear shot.  They’d probably kill you immediately if they knew- or imprisoner you with different means to keep you restrained to break you.  Anything was possible when it came to thugs who didn’t seem to think before they acted.

The whole reason he was here was to try and get any information about Zath- but he couldn’t very well do that while stuck in a cell and without his Zath scent-smelling demon fox.

Taehyung would probably laugh at the situation he was currently in if he knew.

The little girl in front of Hoseok smiled at the idea of a white fox somewhere in the hideout.

“A white fox?! I bet she’s super pretty. I see foxes outside of the village all the time when I went with mother to find mushrooms. They always ran away from me though.” Her small pout made Hoseok curious.

“You like foxes? Even though they’re wild and could harm you?”

She quickly nodded.  “They’re pretty!”

Hoseok almost bet that if he whispered that the fox in question could turn into a human woman, she'd jump for joy at the idea of what you would look like then. Hoseok’s memory of your human form seemed to slip away from him given that it had been several weeks since you had regressed to a fox.  Tempting though the thought seemed, he didn’t speak a word of it.

Her quick fire questions continued for a bit that Hoseok lost track of time.  He started speaking with other prisoners along the way too.  A woman who had come to try and pull the girl away from bothering Hoseok before he dismissed it and said she was fine.  An older man who began to ask Hoseok how he got captured- a story he had to spin to keep the real reason hidden. A younger man who use to work in the fields of his village, but was taken when his home was ransacked and burned to the ground.

It was an odd sensation.

It had been some time since Hoseok had spoken with anyone outside of Taehyung and his small circle of fellow demon killing comrades.  Just talking casually as he was with other people made him feel like he was just that- a casual villager once again.  It calmed him, opened his mind and helped him think.  

Was this what Taehyung wanted to happen? Did the leader really plan out or theorize that Hoseok was so tightly spun around work and killing demons that he gave him an order to vocalize and communicate with other humans to derail his tightly spun thread? Hoseok grimaced at Taehyung’s far thinking- especially since it hadn't been that long in the first place.

Soon, evening came among the hideout and the guards were swapped out. Hoseok was leaning against the cell rods, his eyes shut as the other prisoners were almost all sleeping by now.  Nothing else to do, having nowhere to go and being all talked out. He listened to the small pieces of chatter the guards exchanged to catch the day guards up on anything that might peak their interest.

“There’s a fox that’s unusually aggressive being kept caged somewhere above us, I heard,” one of them spoke.  “It seems to understand what we're saying, or so the boss says. I think he’s gonna keep it caged up and see what happens.”

“Yeah,” another scoffed, “because what we really need is a damn, smart-ass fox running around.”

They didn’t say much else Hoseok cared about and as he heard the day-shift travel back up the stairs, he cracked his eyes open and stared down absentmindedly at the dirt, prison cell floor.

So, you’re being held upstairs, huh?

Hoseok spent one more boring, question fueled day down in that barren, cramped cell.  He was slowly starting to piece together information from passing thugs and devise a plan to get him and the rest of the hostages out of the hideout.  However, it seemed that this plan of his was going to be cut short.  

The afternoon of the third day, there was an explosion from above the basement level prison. That and screams about a fire of blue and red engulfing the hideout.

“There’s a demon!”

An unknowing grin crossed Hoseok’s face as he rose to his feet.

-x-x-x-

You jolted awake when your wooden cage was practically dropped onto a metal crate. Waking up in a frenzy, your attempt to raise your four paws was immediately stopped due to your front right and back left legs being tied together beneath you diagonally.  Clearly the thugs who had subdued you had taken future precaution when it came to your mobility.

Your nose was still covered in a thin cloth and tied shut with rope just strong enough for you not to be able to tear through with the raw power of your small fox jaw.

You looked in your cage of thick, wooden bars that was covered by what smelled to be an old, dried bear skin. Your free paws clawed at the bottom of your cage in an attempt to do something- anything.  Whether it be to signal your consciousness, your annoyance, to try and spin your body to maybe even snag the bear hide covering your vision from the rest of the room.  If you were lucky, maybe you could snag the rope tying your legs together beneath you, but it was just out of your reach.

Whatever your goal was, it wasn’t long before the door to whatever room you were being held it was opened- you could smell the shift in the air difference and hear the slight creaking of the door frame and floorboards.  You growled beneath your makeshift muzzle as the bear skin over your prison was lifted and thrown off.  

Your wide pupils narrowed into slits at the new exposure to light as your growling increased.  These men- these thugs- that had taken you and Hoseok prisoner here smelt like dirt, grime and blood.  You had smelt worse- but you had also smelt far, far better than them.  

You took a moment to scan around the room.  It looked like a storage room. Boxes and crates were lined along one wall.  Barrels of what you assumed to be dried foods or stored fish were lined beside stacked crates.  Along another wall were bags, clothes, clothes, and sandals thrown about in a messy mountain that climbed in height.  Above them were shelves with jars and weapons.  Some were lined with knives or daggers, some throwing stars and sai.  Along another wall on jutted out wood pegs were swords, naginatas, bows, hanging quivers- some with arrows, some without- even half coats lined on a wall of hangers.  

Now, you were here- just another added piece to their stolen collection.

The sound of someone else entering the room caught your attention and your eyes followed them as they threw the cloth you wore around your neck earlier on and what seemed to be the sack Hoseok had with him into the growing pile of trinkets.  You saw his two weapons being placed on shelves as well- the one sealed sword certainly made a statement among the others.

That at least told you that he was somewhere in the compound and they didn’t completely split the two of you up and that he was currently disarmed. If you had to guess, he was somewhere caged and imprisoned just like you were. However, he was posing as a simple human- probably mistaken for a merchant without trade- so he was probably not a current threat to them at the moment so his location would be lightly guarded.

You however were seen as a wild animal- a fox who needed tamed.

“Why is this mongrel dawning a pendant around its neck?” The man who stood in front of your cage, front and center, asked as his head lowered to get a look at you. Your body laying stuck on it’s side as two of your legs kicked and pulled against each other to try and snap the rope restraining them. “I thought I made it clear to remove all items from the fox and it’s owner.”

That pulled another, loud growl from your throat.  That hunter, your owner? You’d sooner climb up a mountain using only your fangs before admitting that man anything close to an owner. You weren’t owned by anyone.

Your small burst of attitude didn’t go unnoticed.  The man in front of you gleamed. “Oh-ho? What is this? Say it isn’t so, but perhaps this fox can actually comprehend human language.” He reached for your wooden cage door and opened it with a few jolts- clearly not well made in the first place. “Remove that necklace from its neck, it has no need of it.”

The moment another man’s hands reached into your cage, you brought your one free front paw to your nose and tore away at the cloth at the end of your nose.  Your jerked your head up and your fang sunk into the hand of the perpetrator. The base of your nose may have rope still around it, but you could open the end of your mouth just enough to get a clean bite in- in fact the rope helped keep your teeth in place around his skin.

The man let out a cry as he yanked his hand out of your cage, taking your fox body out with it like a fish on a line. Your fangs remained in the man’s hand as you dangled in the air, still tied and helpless- but on the offense nonetheless. 

It took another man to untie the rope at the base near your eyes before you opened your mouth again and dropped to the floor.  You immediately landed wrong and fell to your side, once more not being able to move- not even in a position to crawl.  

You smelt the fresh blood from the hand of the man who tried to touch you and you saw the small crimson droplets hit the ground and seep into the wood, staining it.  You lifted your head, hackles raised and growling. If anyone else tried to take your pendant from you, they’d receive the same punishment.

You let out a small yelp as you felt your tail being grabbed and soon you were being lifted up from behind.  You trashed around, the discomfort and pain from being lifted into the air by your tail made you let out small whines and squeals of protest. The man from before, the apparent leader of the group, held you to his eye level but away from his face.

“What a temper,” he mused with a grin.  You snapped at him, trying to swing forward to bit that ugly smirk off his face, but he just swung you back away from him- pulling another painful whine from you. “Have it your way, fox,” he sang as you were thrown back into your cage.  You rolled along the small floor space of your prison before you bounced off the back, wooden rods designed to keep you in.  “You may keep your pendant, but I will be back and I do hope you’ll be more obedient.”

You kept distinct and furious eye contact with the man who thought he had seen it all and had it all figured out.  You hated men like him- human’s like him. Human’s who thought that once they had seen or figured one small thing out, they could outplay it no matter the outcome or future rebellion.  How wrong he was and you were determined to prove it to him.  

The moment you’re free of these ropes, you’ll teach him just how wrong he is.

That following day you weren’t permitting any food or water and by the evening, you were exhausted.  Not allowing yourself any rest you kept clawing and scratching away at anything your free paws could catch.  The bottom of your cage was engraved with claw marks and littered with splinters and wooden flakes.  

You weren’t nearly as tired as a human would be without sustenance or rest, but any longer like this and it would become a problem.  

You knew this was just the leader’s way of trying to break you.  He surely thought that if you were starved, dehydrated and imprisoned for long enough, when he’d give those things back to you- food, water and freedom- he’d win your loyalty.  You began to think that perhaps you allow him to think that for a time. When he releases you, you play the perfect pet before you sink your teeth into his throat.  

That’s when your eyes would always travel to Hoseok’s weapons along the wall. He was still somewhere down here and while you didn’t exactly approve of working with him, you had agreed to it and were stuck with him now.  It was for Taehyung- it was all for Taehyung’s sake and his safety so he wouldn’t end up like Fuuta did.

You couldn’t waste time here.  In all the time you’d spent in this cage, in this room with all these stolen belongings from every corner of this region the scent that you had memories wasn’t there.  Zath’s scent wasn’t here.  It wasn’t on any of the men who came and went either.  

There was always a chance that if they had worked with the demon it was a one time deal. Or perhaps that Zath had already moved locations- but then he should have some sort of lingering scent.  You weren’t sure of anything at this point. There was a sort of hazy feeling in the air of the hideout, but that was it.  You couldn’t get any solid deductions, just a bad feeling- especially being stuck and tied like a hog.

You needed out. You needed to be able to walk around and investigate. You needed to try and find a trace of a scent in other rooms in other places and with other people. You just needed to get out.

The door to the storage room opened as that same sickeningly familiar man waltzed in and stopped at your cage.  Pulling a chair- just as he had before- he sat beside it and began to go on with some sort of briefing as if you weren’t even there.  

Lucky for you he didn’t seem to read too much into the fact that you could understand everything he was saying.  His intelligence didn’t run too far it seemed.

It was the third day and there he sat just as before, in a chair and talking with a duo of men. Your eyes were shut, feigning slumber to see if they were willing to talk further on things if you played ignorant.

“We’re running short on room in the cell below the hideout,” one man spoke. “The man we captured with the fox is probably the last hostage we could take for now. Unless we free up room or create another cell- holding hostages like them won’t be easy.”

“We don’t have the foundation for another holding cell,” the main man replied. “If it becomes too much of an issue, just kill them. Emptying the lot of them out would make for easy room for higher paying cargo, yes?”

Your eyes shot open and the man had been staring at you.  It was like he expected that reaction from you as you started to fumble to your tied feet, still unable to properly gain any sort of balance.

“My, oh my, were you listening, Miss Fox?” His was toying with you.  “Soon, your owner will die and you’ll be free for grabs.  You won’t be without guidance long, worry not; I plan on making you my little errand pet.”

Kill? He was going to kill them? All the innocent people he had captured below and he was planning to just slaughter them all? Hoseok. He was going to kill Hoseok? Your mind flashed to Taehyung and how angry and heartbroken he’d be if that happened.  Then, your mind filled with your parents.  

They were killed.  Mercilessly and without protection. You couldn’t keep them safe, you couldn’t protect the two people who treated you like you mattered the most to them.  The two who took you from being just as ruthless as this man in front of you and changed you.

Kill?

You hissed. One error they failed to correct was re-binding your nose and mouth with cloth and rope. Not muzzling you again was a mistake.

You started thrashing like a fox on fire in your cage.  Your head hit against the bottom of your cage and dragged your neck and head along the rods.  You whined and hissed and barked like a rabid canine. You were only vaguely aware of a hand coming to clutch at your scruff and yank you out of your cage.

You thrashed and kicked and bit at the hand and wrist that held you and before you knew it, your necklace had worked up your neck and to the top of your head. You curled your fox body up and extended your one back leg to kick yourself free from the grasp of the man who held you.  You fell to the ground with a thump as your necklace removed itself from your head and hit the ground besides you.

It happened in an instant.  

Flames of blue erupted in the storage room, engulfing you like a bomb. Your previous cage was destroyed and the three men in the room with you were breathless, wordless and choking on the smoke and fire that began to fill the room.  

Among the flames, a pair of golden eyes peered through them- pinning the spineless thugs in their place.  No one could move, none of them dared to move. 

“Kill them, huh?” You hissed. Your flames diminished and there you were. Your human form was bare naked.  Flamed covered  your breasts and around your lower body. Your red tattoos among your cheeks were nearly glowing and your eyes were shining with a rage so hot it fueled your fire.  Your claws were sharp and your temper sharper.  “If your plan is to kill the people you’ve captured, then I’ve got all the permission I need to kill you first.” Then, you lunged.

-x-x-x-

The prisoners behind Hoseok began to murmur and gasp in panic as the guards in front of the cell dropped their guard.  Hoseok shot forwards, his arms stretching out past the iron bars and wrapped around one of their necks, pulling them back against the cell bars.  One arm under his jaw while the other gripping his chin and twisted his head with enough force to create a sickening snap as he crumpled to the ground.  

Hoseok ignored the gasps behind him as he knelt down to rummage around the corpse the best he could before he gripped the iron ring filled with keys. Fumbling with them, the clanging of the metal grating on his ears; after so long without water his head pounded.

He threw open the door the moment he heard the correct key slot into the lock and twist- freeing him and the others. He quickly stepped out and moved towards the second guard who had finally become aware of the murder of his partner and the freedom of the two dozen prisoners. “Hey!” He screamed, readying himself for what he expected to be a small skirmish.

Hoseok dashed forward, ducking under the metal tipped rod the guard wielded. Diving to the ground and rolling behind him to stop on his heels and spring up to his feet at the enemies back.  His hands grabbing his shoulders and his knee raised as he yanked him backwards.  The snaps and screams of the guards voice was in tune to the sound of his spine snapping.  Hoseok let the guard fall pathetically to the ground as he picked up the rod.  He spun it around, tossed it from palm to palm vertically and nodded.

It would last until he could get his hands back on his own weapons.  

There was a tremor above his head.  Small pieces of debris shook and fell from the ceiling due to whatever was causing so much ruckus above on the higher floors.  He looked up as he could hear the faint screams and cries of battle.  He almost smiled.  

This was what he remembered.  This was the life he was used to. Fighting; ruthless and rule-less battle and survival. He hadn’t been in this situation in a long time- eons it felt like with all the other occurrences that had been happening around him recently.  Oddly enough, the bloodshed and violence felt like a form of stress relief. It gave him a reason to take out some pent up aggression- therapeutically of course.

For a moment, he came back to himself.  He lowered his chin and looked back into the cell.  No one had moved, everyone was still huddled tightly in the cell corners and back wall.  Perhaps that was the course of action best for now.  

It was odd the way those people looked at him differently now.  They had just witnessed him kill a man and injure another that still writhed on the floor like a carriage-crushed raccoon.  It wasn’t shocking to see them look at him with fearful eyes, but something about it made his stomach turn nonetheless.  These men were keeping them hostage- why wouldn’t he try and end their lives? It was basic self defense.

“I suggest you all stay in the cell,” he announced.  “I’m not sure what’s going on up there, but I can guarantee it’s a hell of a lot safer down here than up on the other floors.” Hoseok turned to start his journey up, when a man from the cell had called out to him.

“Are you mad?!” Hoseok halted. “There’s a demon up there!” Hoseok’s back never turned around to look at the man who had attempted to keep him down below.  “I understand that you may be some fighter, but a demon running rampant isn’t something you can-”

“I’m much more capable than you assume, Sir,” Hoseok interjected quickly.  “I am an able man who has killed more demon’s than I can count. Besides,” he turned before he took one step up, showing he wasn’t backing down.  “That’s my fox up there.” Hoseok bounded up the wooden stairs two at a time, ignoring the cries behind him to stay below ground.

At the top of the stairs he was met with a trapdoor keeping him, and the others, down below; a cellar-type door.  He quickly jabbed the door’s handle with the metal end of the stolen rod he had and then threw his shoulder up and against it, the trapdoor flinging up and around to bounce off the wooden floor. He climbed out of the basement as cautiously as he could in an active battlefield.

He immediately coughed, lifting the back of his hand and haori sleeve to cover his mouth as he felt like gagging at the taste of smoke on his tongue. It was unbelievably warm up here compared to the damp basement, but that was to be expected.  

There was no fire around in his sights, but he could hear the sound of flames sparking and roaring in a lively fury elsewhere. The foundation shook with another tremor of unhuman battle as he finally got his butt in gear.  He ran around the floor of the hideout.  It was scarce of bandits, probably in an attempt to escape the fire or to hunt you down.  

He found another set of just barely put together stairs as he quickly ran up them. Coming up to the next floor up, the floor had spots of flames and debris.  Raising his head, it seemed that there was still another level about him and if he had to guess, you were up there raising hell if the screams were anything to go by.  

“How did you get out of your cage!” Hoseok’s chin dropped back down as he was met with a bloodied and banged up bandit.  He assumed from his familiar tone he was part of the main group who had captured him in the first place.  The man readjusted the grip he held on the sword that hung at his side and raised it to point at Hoseok from afar.  “Get back below ground level!” He ordered, making the hunter’s brow dip in annoyance.  

Hoseok didn’t say a word in response to the thug, he simply raised his temporary weapon and stood in stance. Hoseok could tell just by looking at him that between the fire outbreak and a demon on the loose inside the hideout he was on hyperdrive- something that Hoseok was going to take advantage of.

Just a little bit more noise and distraction could send him into a hurl of overload and leave him open to anything.  The man’s stance wasn’t even proper- he staggered on his feet and his arms were trembling.

Hoseok looked around the area he and the man occupied just a handful of feet apart before his sight was brought back to the front from the movement of the man charging forwards with blown-open eyes and a loud, distressed cry.  

Hoseok similarly moved.  Running to appear to charge into him head on, but at the last moment stepped and pushed himself to the right of the man’s raised arms to swing his sword down- slicing nothing but air.  The man let out a breathless gasp as Hoseok spun around on his heel getting behind him and swung the metal ended rod into the back of the man’s head.

He crumbled to the ground with ease and Hoseok couldn’t honestly tell if he was dead or not.  He lay on his front, his sword discarded at his side as he lay motionless.  The hunter wasn’t about to stop and check to see if he was alive either- what use was it to him if he wasn’t after all?

He did, however, toss away the rod he had been swinging around in exchange for the sword of the man he had just taken down.  Picking it up, he twisted and adjusted to the feel of the hilt as he clicked his tongue.  Nothing was going to feel right until he had his own weapon’s back in his hands.  He just hoped his second blade hadn’t been wrongfully unsheathed.  

With a much more comfortable weapon in hand- although still unpleasant to hold- he took off once more.  He had just started up the set of stairs leading to the top level of the hideout when another tremor shook the foundation.

“Damn!” He immediately turned tail and started back down the staircase as the top of it began to crumble- the entire case coming down with it.  

Steps fell in heavy, burning blocks of wood as they hit the ground.  Splinters flew and a blast of heat came down with the wooden debris. Some pieces broke into two or three pieces.  Some remained whole but acted as live inferno food to spread your flames and others disintegrated into nothing but splints as they stuck into the floor like an arrow hitting a target.  

Hoseok’s footing down the stairs faltered as he tumbled, rolling over his shoulder and onto his back as he quickly bounced back to his feet and rubbed at his smoke dusted eyes.  They stung and he got more and more irritated.

He looked up into the hole in the ceiling that would have lead him up as he squint.  He thought he saw something moving up above and behind the smoke and flames of blue and red.  A set of movement before something came hurling down the hole and onto the ground near Hoseok’s feet.  

He jumped away and unlike the pieces of wood and stone that had fallen, this was a body.  Charred and burnt to a crisp with puncture wounds leaking blood from his neck.  Presumably he was thrown after being attacked- but of course that was a hunch.  A very likely hunch- but a hunch nonetheless. The smell made Hoseok’s inside quiver.  

He’ll never get over the smell of burning flesh no matter how long he’s been in the field. He can say for certain though that burning humans smells a hell of a lot worse than demons.

“Hey!” He called up towards the carnage above him.  He doubted that anyone would be able to hear him at all over the sound of the fire, as he just turned away from it and started to scan the area.  There had to be another way up. Another path or maybe something to climb that wasn’t on fire.  

Amidst his scanning he failed to hear the bandit sneaking around behind him. Ducking down behind a crate that had yet to catch fire.  They pulled an arrow out of the quiver just barely hanging on their shoulder. Knocking it and drawing their bow, they aimed at the center of the hunter’s back.  

“Behind you!” Someone called out.  Hoseok jumped, instinctively turning around. The archer panicked, unable to get a clear shot, they immediately released. Arm following through behind their shoulder as the arrow flew.  Hoseok was able to move to get out of getting directly shot, but not fast enough to dodge the arrow completely.  The sharp tip grazed and cut the skin of his bicep. Tearing through the fabric of his haori and his keikogi and tearing his arm open.  

Hoseok yelped before he hissed, his hand coming up to grasp around his arm. He felt his blood leak between his fingers as it smeared on his skin.  He whipped his head back up to see the archer trying to knock another arrow instead of fleeing as he should have done when the fletchings left his fingertips.

The hunter swapped the hold on his sword’s hilt.  Flipping it so the blade was facing backward and traveling up the back of his arm instead of facing outward before he swung his arm in front of him, letting the sword go and flinging it far ahead of him. The blade sunk into the crate the archer hid behind- effectively startling him to lose hold of his next arrow and stumble back to his ass.  

Hoseok was quickly over to him, slamming his foot into their chest as he knocked them fully onto the ground.  The fire was growing nearer and he was tempted to just throw the bandit into the flames and be done with it.

“Please,” the bandit beneath him begged.  “I don’t want to die!” His whines fell upon deaf ears as Hoseok ripped the sword out of the wood crate and held it in his palm so the tip of the blade was positioned in front of their eyes.  “Please,” they pleaded once more before Hoseok thrust the blade into their head.

Bringing it back out after the body slackened beneath him, he swung the blade away from him- blood flying off around him as he stepped around the corpse and out into the open again.  Looking around he saw the body of the man who had called out to him.  

He the leader prisoner being held down below who had apparently disobeyed his suggestion of staying below until it all calmed down.  Hoseok rolled his eyes as the man ran up to him.

The man looked at the wound that still leaked down Hoseok’s arm.

“How’s that arm?” He asked loudly over the sound of the fire. Hoseok lifted the offended arm and looked at the cut.  It stung like a son of a bitch, but it wasn’t anything to worry about.  He’d clean it properly once all was said and done.  It wouldn’t be a hindrance- that was the most important thing.

“It’s nothing serious.  Forget about it,” he told him. “Why did you not listen to what I said?” Hoseok inquired, a small bite in his tone for not being obeyed.  The man just smirked and crossed his arms. He looked to be quite a bit older than Hoseok and the idea of the hunter calling the shots was a refreshing idea, but not something he wanted to stick to his older bones.  

He explained that he and Hoseok were still just strangers and that he didn’t need to be instructed to do anything- even if it was for the greater good of someone's safety in the end. Hoseok tutted at him, turning and resuming his search for a way up.

He cautiously walked around being weary of any worn floorboard he could fall through or any ceiling above him that could fall.  Support beams were beacons of flames and discolorations thanks to the fire and damage and were just barely holding themselves together.

The man followed behind Hoseok, a rod in his hand- probably taken from the corpse of the thug Hoseok killed downstairs.  Hoseok eyed him behind his back- unsure on if he should trust him to be behind him or not.  He didn’t even know if he could really fight.  Sure he looked like any other village man- toned from field work and fit enough for his apparent age, but Hoseok knew not to assume anything.  The last thing he needed was a false image of a man who can’t actually hold his own.

Hoseok just had to hope he knew what he was getting into when he came up from the cell.

The duo stopped as a ruckus came from right above them.  Screams and shouts for help and for mercy before Hoseok felt another tremor.  The man jumped back- he clearly wasn’t really understanding that the whole reason everything was on fire wasn’t because of bandits but because of a demon.  He held his rod tighter in his palms and pulled it close to his chest as he went rigid.  

All was silent for just a moment before the ceiling above them broke open. Hoseok was quick to react.  He grabbed the man by the back of his torn and tattered clothing and threw him onto his back as he himself jumped out of the way of the falling debris and bodies.  

A fireball of blue fire came tumbling down with the carnage and Hoseok covered his face with his sleeve to avoid anything flying into his eyes. When the rush of air settled, he dropped his arm and he wasn’t all too shocked to see you standing in the middle of the flames.  

He was, however, shocked to see you in your human form and completely bare breasted. Fire licked around your body, swirling around the calves of your legs and spinning around your waist.  It engulfed your shoulders and breasts, cheaply covering you in small portions.  Your demonic features were on full display as the red marks ran along your cheeks and your eyes lit up in their demonic gold. The necklace that was supposed to conceal all that wasn’t on your chest.

You were covered in spots and smears of blood that he was sure wasn’t your own.

He was also able to see for the first time the talisman on your back that the others had mentioned before.  It looked like it had been burned straight into your body. Symbols and characters scarred your back in twisted skin. It was between your shoulder blades and he narrowed his eyes at it.

So, that was what Fuuta and Shiro had done to force you into submission.  They really did just engrave a sealing mark on you.

The man who was on the ground behind Hoseok whimpered as the hunter glanced at him from the corner of his eye.  He was trembling as the rod was laying across his lap no longer in his grip as he stared wide-eyed at you. Hoseok held back an eye roll.  

“You knew full well a demon was here,” Hoseok quipped as the man looked up to the armed hunter.  “Yet, you still left the cell and came up here to do what? Tremble on the ground?” Hoseok scoffed as he started forward. “Fox,” he called as he watched you silently turn to look over your shoulder.  

Two bodies were on the floor next to your feet.  They were dark and burnt as they got consumed further by the blue fire mixing red with their clothes and flesh. You were obviously in control of your actions or else you would have lounged at him the moment you saw him- like you have before- but you were still standing and listening to him.

Hoseok was hesitant- not for fear, but for his pride.  He knew that he would be forced to take the rest of this trip with you; this assignment was both of yours until it was complete.  His hand twitched in instinct to raise his sword against you and fight, but he knew better.

You turned fully around to face him and your pupils spread just enough he could tell you recognized him.  Thankfully, he didn’t have to rush around and look for his taken bag for the safety talismans Taehyung had given to him in cases of need. 

“If you can put this fire out, do it,” Hoseok ordered.  He watched your brow tick before your chest deflated like you were holding your breath.  Closing your eyes, you ultimately did as you were told.  As your breath left you, the fire around, below and above the hideout started to simmer.  The flames shrunk and the cracking sounds of it started to fade.  

Eventually only small spots of contained fire and sparks were buzzing around. Hoseok nodded looking around at the ruined compound.  He could hear a lot better without the raging flames now. It helped that apparently you could control fire even when it spreads so long as you started it.  It could possibly become handy in the future.

Hoseok hadn’t realized just how long it had been since you were in this form in front of him. It almost knocked him off his concentration- the eye contact between you two.  

“A-a demon,” the man who still sat on the floor whispered.  Your head moved as your chin dipped to look down on him.  You weren’t exactly trying to cover yourself up as it didn’t seem to bother you that you were openly standing in the nude.  Hoseok sighed as he started to shrug off his haori.  He caught the faintest glimpse of red on the man’s cheeks due to your exposed figure.

Hoseok threw the haori at you as you caught it in front of your chest.  Hoseok’s form looked bare without it on and just his keikogi covering his body.  

“Put that on,” Hoseok told you. “I don’t need someone without clothing picking any fights around me. We can find something else for you to wear later.”

You nodded as you opened the fabric and started slipping it on.  You bunched and twisted the front of the half coat at your lower stomach and started tying it to keep it closed in front of you.  It wasn’t the best, but it was better than nothing. When you were finished adjusting it you turned to Hoseok.

“Thank you,” you told him as his eyes widened a fraction.  Not only did you talk to him for the first time in weeks, but you thanked him on top of that.  Had Taehyung brainwashed you without him knowing? “Your weapons are in a storage room up on the higher level.  I saw them when I was caged before.”

Hoseok clicked his tongue.  If that were the case there’s a chance that they could be burned or damaged.  

“They aren’t damaged,” you told him as if his face had told you his entire internal dilemma. “I kept your position as my partner in mind when I was allowed permission to defend my life as well as the other hostages. My flames did not touch your sword or the sealed one.”

Hoseok narrowed his eyes, but not out of resentment.  No, he was in thought. Your attitude sure seems to have taken a drastic change to come from tackling and pinning him to the ground in Fuuta’s compound, to not speaking to him (or anyone else) at all, just to arrive at this point.  Speaking to him with full eye contact and without too much attitude.  

It baffled him and he felt like you were trying to be the bigger person, which almost got under his skin. He took a breath.

“Is there a way to get up there? The stairs to the top floor got destroyed and I haven’t found another path up.”

“I will get you up there,” you told him.

“Excuse me?” His shot back without much of a filter. You stride towards him as you grabbed his uninjured arm.  He tensed his body, his grip on the hilt of his temporary sword tightening. The man who still shivered at the sight of you and had remained silent on the ground the entire time whimpered as he scooted back away from your close proximity to him.  

Hoseok wondered why he was acting so frightful when you had clearly shown you were no threat. He mentally halted himself when the thought passed him.

When did Hoseok deem you harmless?

His was ripped from his thoughts when you bent your knees and jumped. Hoseok’s body was yanked from the floor as you jumped with- literally- inhuman hieght and strength.  He was dragged through the air as your jump arched the two of you through the air and you were soon landing with Hoseok on the upper floor.  His mind took a moment to catch up.

He then looked at you with a scowl.

“What the hell was that?!” He screeched. “If you’re going to hurl me into oblivion with you, at least tell me!” He warned.  You looked at him as if you had just walked him down a hallway and not jumped several feet into the air.  He sighed as he pulled his arm from your grip and stood up.

You stood as well and started walking the path to the storage room you were held in.  He trailed after you, the sword of his fallen enemy still tight in his palm just in case any surviving bandit tried to pull anything funny.  

You both walked with ease, but that should not be considered lax.  Your guards were still raised and you both were ready for anything that may pop around the corner.

You showed Hoseok the burned and disheveled entrance into the room and just as you said, the weapon wall and around where they had kept bags and cloth were kept unharmed and preserved.  Hoseok let out a small breath when he saw both of his swords hanging safely on racks.  

He quickly abandoned the sword he had been using and quickly moved to take them down and replace them on his hip.  Finally, he felt whole again.  It just wasn’t the same moving and fighting without them at his side.  Looking around he went to the other pile of belongs and sifted through them until he found his knapsack.  His eyes then caught a glimpse of the makeshift cloth folded into a pouch Taehyung had given your fox form.  

He picked it up and turned before tossing it to you.  You easily caught it as you looked at the bundled cloth in your hand filled with small items.  Perhaps he was imagining it, but Hoseok saw your lips twitch up in the smallest of smiles.  

Your expression quickly changed when your head shot up and you spun around. Hoseok did as well, hearing just as well as you did. Somewhere on this floor there were still violence seeking thugs.  You could hear their stomping feet and the sound of their gruff voices calling out for survivors to ‘show themselves’ with small- delusional chuckling.

“The vermin just keep popping up,” Hoseok seethed. You both rushed out of the room and were quick to be seen by the bandits.  They were clearly shaken up with their hideout being destroyed and their men taken down one by one.  They were just asking for early graves.

You let out a small whistle to gain their attention and then they were immediately on track.  Running towards the two of you, swords out and ready. Hoseok drew his as you bent your knees.  You both broke away from each other’s side and split the two men apart for your own separate battles.

Hoseok felt much more at ease fighting with his own weapons.  From the corner of his eyes he watched you in your own scrap.  You seemed to almost be playing with the attacker.  Jumping and leaned around any swing the man would attempt to deliver.  At one point you had jumped just high enough his blade swung under your feet.

Hoseok was trained to kill demons, so facing off against others humans was of little difficulty. You had slammed your heel into your attacker's gut, knocking him into a fit of coughs before you took his wrist and threw him away from you. Hoseok had disarmed his own offender as he knocked the end of his sword’s hilt into the man’s throat and shoved him back down the hole you jumped him through to this floor.

Hoseok sighed, annoyed as he sheathed his sword.  He looked behind him to the storage room again.

“We should get the hostages from the basement and return their belongings to them before we go,” he said.  He then turned back to you. “You didn’t happen to smell that demon around here did you?”

You shook your head.  “If Zath had been here, it must’ve been a long time ago because his scent isn’t anywhere around now.” your eyes fell as you sighed. Hoseok just shrugged.  

“Then we’ll move on,” he said, turning around to go back to the storage room. “I'm going to clear out this room. Go get the hostages out of the cell.”

You almost told him no and to think about who he was sending down there. You were a demon, still just cloaked in his haori and demon qualities on display.  You don’t even know where your pendent flew off to when you broke free.  You just yielded in the end as you turned and jumped back down the hole and made your way all the way down to the basement.

The hostages gasped at the sight of you descending the stairs.  They all glared at you- a demon- and you weren’t too shocked about it.  You had been the enemy of many for a long time; far longer than you were an ally of humanity. You paid their fear no mind.

“The hideout was cleared of threats. You can come out now.”

“You’re a threat!” A woman cried as you just stared her down.  

“That isn’t an incorrect assumption,” you replied, “however, to you I am no harm. Leave and my companion will return your stolen belongings.”  You finished what you were tasked to do and were ready to go back above and away from their eyes when something grabbed your hand that peeked of the red sleeve of the haori you wore. Looking down, it was a little girl.  

She looked up at you in awe as her eyes traced your red lined cheeks and gazed into your different eyes.  You stare down at you.

“Child-”

“You’re that man’s fox, right?” She asked as you recoiled.  That man? Did she mean Hoseok? Had he mentioned you while he was down here? Why would he do that, you were just some demon he was stuck with.  It was clear as day that he had no reason to completely trust you- let along befriend or speak about you to others. “He said that his fox was the one getting rid of the back guys above us. You’re the fox, right?”

You just nodded to her at a loss for words.  Her face split into a smile as she tightened her grip on your hand and rose to her toes in glee.  

“Thank you, Miss Fox!” She cheered before she was ripped away from you by an older woman who quickly rushed up the stairs.  You just watched the little girl’s back before you looked at the palm of your hand.  

It was warm.

You could hear the stomping and rushed steps of the freed people as you stayed below.  You kept yourself away from them as you sat on the stairs staring at nothing as your mind was hazy.  It had been so long since you had been in this form- you almost felt tired.

Before long, it was quiet upstairs before you hear someone come down the steps behind you.  They stood there and it wasn’t hard to figure out it was Hoseok. He would be the only one left, plus you knew his scent fairly well by now.

You heard him move behind you as he knelt on the staircase before you felt his hands coming around your neck.  You jolted before you felt something being looped over your head and you spun around.  Was he going to perhaps choke you to death?  When you turned, he was above you just a step and his eyes weren’t far from your own.  It was the first time you both properly made any sort of eye contact without any dire circumstances behind it.  

There was no glaring, no hissing or shouting.  No active battle or carnage.  Just eye contact and the feeling of something now resting on your chest when he pulled his hands away from you.  

“Lose that again and you’ll be the one apologizing to Taehyung about it,” Hoseok told you before you lifted one of your hands to touch the pendent you had previously lost. You felt something about your body change and you were certain you looked like a normal woman now.

“Did you-” you started, but Hoseok quickly cut you off.  He stood before he turned around.

“This place is a dud when it comes to leads on finding Zath.” You wordlessly nodded as you go to move.  “We need to get you something to wear, you can’t keep wearing my haori.”

You followed Hoseok through the hideout and soon out of it.  Hoseok seemed to know where he was going when he started walking through a small wooded area that lead out into a path of trees.  Following it, you both came to a gate of a private and closed out estate.  It looked large as the tall, thick walls around the perimeter kept it away from the outside world.  

The front gates opened revealing an older woman who seemed pleased to see Hoseok and yourself before she was inviting you both inside.  Hoseok walked in without hesitation, but you just followed behind confused. Did he know this woman?  

When you both entered the estate, Hoseok was quick to turn to the old lady.

“You can get her something to wear, can’t you?” He asked, his voice still as monotone as you normally heard it, but it seemed softer towards her.  She was older, so perhaps it was his way showing some sort of respect due to age. “She’s a demon though, so she’ll need something that won’t tear and I’m sure you’ve heard from Taehyung that we’re going to be traveling, so something easy on weight and movement would be ideal.”

So, this woman is an ally of Taehyung then? Did she know about the organization you were a part of.  She also didn’t seem to mind the open knowledge about your demonic nature.

With a bit more chit chat, Hoseok was walking away and leaving your side with the woman gesturing for you to follow after her.  She took you to a room before she asked you to remove the haori of Hoseok’s you still wore.  

Untying it and removing it, you gave it to another younger woman not too much older looking than your physical appearance as they started to work.  Rope and measuring tactics were put around your body for proper measurements and soon you were being covered and put into all sorts of clothes to see what looked right.  

It was hours later and Hoseok was boringly lounging in the sitting room with his swords propped up against his shoulder. He had alredy cleaned and bandaged his arrow wound on his arm and had his keikogi stichched back up- it was a simply fix.  He was only brought out of it when the same old woman had told him that you were now well dressed and that he should change and relax for the night aswell before heading out again tomorrow.  

He was quickto accept the offer.  Sleeping in a futon sounded a hell of a lot better than the prison floor he had been in the last two nights. He was heading off to the room he would be using for the night when he rounded the corner to see you staring out of a window into the darkening sky.  

The estate women had placed you in a dark yukata. The robe of the cloth only fell to just above your knees, leaving your legs free for battle and travel.  It was black with red butterflies and flowers littering it like a garden in the middle of the night.  The sash around your waste was black with red stitching as the sleeves fell to your fingertips and fanned out to hang beautifully to the length of the robe by your knees.  They had even pulled your hair back and given you twine sandals to wear.

You finally noticed his presence as you turned to him.  His haori was folded in your arms as you started towards him.  You reached your arms out to him.

“This is yours,” you said.  “Thank you for allowing me to borrow it.” He hesitantly took it back as he just held it like you previously had.  He didn’t throw it on considering he was about to change, but you just dipped your brows.  “You can have them wash it to get my scent off of it if that’s a problem.”

Hoseok just shook his head and readjusted his stance.  He wasn’t aware of how tense he was standing until he forced his shoulder to drop and his stance became more relaxed.  

“It’s fine.” You just wordlessly nodded as you started moving to go past him and were only a few steps away when he called for you again.  “Y/n.” You halted, spinning around immediately and looking at his back.  “Get some rest. We’re leaving in the morning.”

“Right,” you softly told him as he started walking away. You were left in the hall with a state of shock clouding your mind. “He’s never said my name before,” you whispered. You weren’t even aware you were smiling as you returned to your temporary room.

[shiishki]

okay wait, i changed my mind. you should answer all of these questions as well, if that's what you want from me >:)

oof there's a lot of it, that's what i get for wanting to be ✨aesthetic✨

1: 6 of the songs you listen to most?

vowels (and the importance of being me) - hunny

honeypie - jawny

pretty young thing - michael jackson

mirrors - justin timberlake

sunflower - red orange county

paradise - rude-a

2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

a therapist.

ok someone else.. uhh,, my grand grandma because i only have scratches of memories but i dunno if that counts since she passed away...

*rummages through ancient scripts* uhh ok someone who isn't dead.. uhm,, tommie? yeah I'd like to meet them if i could meet anyone on earth

3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.

ok, the closest german, english or polish book? nvm i have english

"suddenly was. So I just said thank you a few times too, and Mum" ironically this is one of the normal lines in this book

4: What do you think about most?

the fact that I'll have to do something after school. and I don't know if i want to go to college or get a job bc i have no legitimate idea on what to do with my life. it gets overwhelming, just the lack of knowledge about the actual experience.

5: What does your latest text message from someone else say?

Ok

6: Do you sleep with or without clothes on?

with, tho i sleep with just shorts in summer

7: What’s your strangest talent?

not sure if it's a talent, but i can fall asleep anywhere

8: Girls… (finish the sentence); Boys… (finish the sentence)

girls are pretty. boys are pretty

9: Ever had a poem or song written about you?

by me, yes. no one else has written a poem about me specifically. nvm, tommie wrote one and it shall rest on my wall, or desk, i need to find a place for it

10: When is the last time you played the air guitar?

uhh i think last month?

11: Do you have any strange phobias?

i don't think so, but i am hella afraid of the possibly gigantic, terrifying things in the ocean depths that humans haven't discovered yet

12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?

yep, beloved legos as a lil child

13: What’s your religion?

i can't ever remember the name, but i believe gods (from all religions) exist in some way or form. so i believe in different pantheons and etc.

14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

walking my doggo, skateboarding, thinking about how to make the lives of my characters worse

15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

behind it.

16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?

uhmm the arctic monkeys? or the strokes

17: What was the last lie you told?

i know what i want

18: Do you believe in karma?

yes, the rule of three specifically

19: What does your URL mean?

i don't know. it's something me and my sis came up with and that's just my whole identity now.

20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

uhh greatest weakness.. i can't finish things. strength is that I'm very stubborn so maybe I'll finish that thing out of spite

21: Who is your celebrity crush?

i grew up thinking crushes were like unicorns. my ex was odd enough to argue with that i didn't love her if i didn't have a crush on her. but I think if i had to guess.. selena gomez, especially in the role of alex russo in wizard of weverly street

22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping?

nope

23: How do you vent your anger?

i write angry letters. sometimes they're sad letters. i write a lot of letters. except i never send them out and no one made a movie about them :}

24: Do you have a collection of anything?

jars and witchy bottles, books? scented candles

25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

phone calls are stressful enough as is, i don't need you to see my reading off what i frantically wrote to not stumble over my words

26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become?

i think so, yes, but that won't stop me from becoming better

27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?

hate flies buzzing right by my ear, love cat purring

28: What’s your biggest “what if”?

what if I'd been born in a place where it was illegal for me (nonbinary) to live, in a time when others thought of me as a curse?

29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

they be chilling.

30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.

right arm, doggo, left arm, pillow

31: Smell the air. What do you smell?

fresh air and doggo, because doggo is with me and I can't live without open windows

32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to?

i dunno tbh

33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast?

which one is less homophobic?

34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?

every gender is my opposite gender. selena gomez and justin timberlake

35: To you, what is the meaning of life?

to make it easier for people down the line

36: Define Art.

make thing, thing goes woo

37: Do you believe in luck?

yis

38: What’s the weather like right now?

it's nice actually, very sunny, slight breeze

39: What time is it?

12.59 am

40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?

i don't, but i once crashed into a fire department vehicle with my bike. bike ded.

41: What was the last book you read?

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

42: Do you like the smell of gasoline?

i legit ass don't know what gasoline smells like.

43: Do you have any nicknames?

many variations of my name, aka. Luce

44: What was the last film you saw?

i think it was Robin Hood: King of Thieves, but it might have been that half of spider-man homecoming i managed to watch with my poor internet

45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

oh man i dunno... it's not an injury, but i was very sickly as a lil kid and almost died :)

46: Have you ever caught a butterfly?

once, years ago

47: Do you have any obsessions right now?

hmmm horizon zero dawn i think

48: What’s your sexual orientation?

proud pansexual ^^

49: Ever had a rumour spread about you?

not really, i don't think they're big enough to be actual rumors,, meh

50: Do you believe in magic?

yis

51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

meh. they suck, i know they suck, that's it.

52: What is your astrological sign?

cancer ♋

53: Do you save money or spend it?

i attempt saving. attempt

54: What’s the last thing you purchased?

for my own money, sweets. i bought lizards for my cats so they can brush their teeth from my dad's amazon acc

55: Love or lust?

luv

56: In a relationship?

nope, i buy my own cookies

57: How many relationships have you had?

1, kinda toxic toward the end, very stressful, don't recommend

58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

nu ><

59: Where were you yesterday?

on the fields walking my doggo

60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?

yep, a pastel pink hoodie in my closet uwu

61: Are you wearing socks right now?

yis, thicc warm socks

62: What’s your favourite animal?

cats

63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

cuddles and food.

64: Where is your best friend?

bold of you to assume i have a best friend.

65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr.

tommie-hildebrandt, kageyuji, nekomas-kuroo, joyful-soul-collector

66: What is your heritage?

I'm a demon boi from Poland tho that's not a thing to be proud of, i mean, look at the economy. awful.

67: What were you doing last night at 12AM?

sleeping, trying to sleep.

68: What do you think is Satan’s last name?

Pinkton. or Satan.

69: Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off?

this is such an odd combination of words i had to look it up. yea.

70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?

a friend who won't laugh at me when i ask them to order smth for me because I'm too anxious to.

71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

excuse me? i am saving the doggo wtf. f u boss, I'm gonna sell my tragic story to the news.

72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

a) i tell my parents. b) live the hell out of them uwu c) nope uwu.

73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love.

trust.

74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

history maker - dean fujioka :]

75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?

3332

76: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?

communication, trust, some more communication.

77: How can I win your heart?

let's not pretend to be something else to please each other, and bring some bitter chocolate.

78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?

maybe. it could. i don't have a say in it since my sanity is held by tape.

79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?

eat the pizza. stop caring about others not liking me/parts of me. just living for myself uwu.

80: What size shoes do you wear?

uh i dunno how the american sizes work and i don't wanna look it up so, 39, 40 fits too.

81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?

demon boi

82: What is your favourite word?

socks.

83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.

the bloody organ that sits in your chest and pumps blood into your body so you don't die.

84: What is a saying you say a lot?

uhm im not sure if that counts as a saying, but fake it till you make it

85: What’s the last song you listened to?

blinding lights - the weeknd

86: Basic question; what’s your favourite colour/colours?

oh a normal question people use for ice breaking, sea blue and pastel variations of it.

87: What is your current desktop picture?

like my wallpaper? or the actual picture that sits on my desk? or how my desk looks like atm? it's ugly, a lot of papers and pens and schoolbooks.

88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?

donald trump. or the next asshole who'll try to take the rights of the lgbt and poc away

89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

this. this is the question.

90: One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?

yo there's a pizza somewhere in the refrigerator, want me to heat it up? we can have a sleep over and talk about our feelings :3

91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?

telekinesis! or shapeshifting! i could do such fun things with telekinesis ^^ yeah I'd totally eat some radioactive veggies

92: You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

that time my "friends" got me into shoplifting, half-hour is more than enough to punch some sense into my brain and develop good music taste

93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

can i save this one? i don't think i have an experience horrible enough to be erased haha

94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?

sleep as in.. uh no thank u. but I'm down for a sleep over with sam smith ^^

95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

just me? what about my pets? my fam? it's lowkey illegal for me to go just anywhere without them owO

uhhmm, greece. imma become part of the greek pantheon out of pure spite. and maybe toronto canada.

96: Do you have any relatives in jail?

not any that i know of o.o

97: Have you ever thrown up in the car?

i think i may have but i honestly don't remember

98: Ever been on a plane?

nope, i dunno if i like planes, but I'd probably sleep if i were on one.

99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?

yeet.

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 18

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 7,733

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

"Oh dear god, the rumors are actually true."

I blinked over at Frozone. "What rumors?" I asked as I bent forward over the countertop towards the little girl with short black hair tied up in adorable pigtails, handing her an ice cream cone that was almost as big as she was.

He facepalmed, dragging his hands down his face to give me a deadpan look between his fingers. "Are you seriously dating the pizza guy?"

My shoulders tensed momentarily before I gave a nervous chuckle, holding my hand out to my tiny customer so I could receive her tip since she was too short to reach the jar. "Why do you ask?" I avoided his gaze, instead electing to sift through the small treasure pile now in my palm. Besides the assorted change, there was a smooth pebble, a shiny paperclip, and a crumpled up business card I assumed belonged to the kid's dad who she was scurrying back over to now. He was a big hairy guy standing off to one side in a garish blue suit with purple polka dots. The name on the card read James P Sully and he hailed from a company called Doors-R-Us, which I believed was a hardware store located somewhere else in the mall.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Frozone wordlessly point across the way. As I dropped the munny into the jar and tossed the rest, I looked to the Pizza Planet and I had to quash the urge to facepalm myself. Lea was bouncing around behind the counter there, not so subtly alternating back and forth between blowing me kisses and holding his hands up over his head in the shape of a heart.

"Yup," I sighed, closing my eyes and pressing my fingertips between my eyebrows, "that idiot over there would be my boyfriend alright."

It'd been a few days now since the group date. There hadn't been any further outings, not of that magnitude at least, but Lea and I had been taking our lunches together if they lined up as well as making other small public appearances together wherever else we could to keep the act up. I was finally getting to the point where I was more used to all the hand holding and hugs so they no longer fazed me, not outwardly at least. The little flutters my heart would give were another matter, but at least those were easy enough to conceal and keep to myself. His kisses, on the other hand, continued to be a work in progress, often still causing my brain to experience a temporary hiccup in functionality. But I liked to think I was getting better about that too, just more slowly. I still hadn't made any progress in the initiating-PDA-myself department, but I just needed more time. I was working up to it, I swear! I'd get there. Maybe today even. Perhaps… Possibly… Hopefully? ...unlikely. Ugh.

Lea himself had been enthusiastically taking on the task of leaving no doubt in anyone's minds that we were now a couple. In fact, this was not the first time he'd been brazenly sending me air kisses and hearts across the food court. Just the first time Frozone had caught him doing it.

"But why?" Frozone shook his head, looking genuinely confused. "I thought you two weren't even getting along. I mean, after the incident on your first day of work and all that weirdness in the weeks after…"

"Actually, we were dating before all that. Even before I started working here," I said quickly. Not that that helped clear things up for my coworker. Like… at all. But hey, I had a story to maintain. As his brow only wrinkled further at me, I winced. "It's… complicated."

He held his hands up, "You know what? I've decided I don't even care. As long as you don't let it interfere with your work, you do you, girl."

"Oh it won't! I promise! You can count on me," I reassured him, plastering on a smile. From my peripheral, I could see Lea was still at it with no sign of slowing down. If anything, he only seemed to be getting more spirited about it. To Frozone, I said with every ounce of dignity I could summon, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a very important and totally work-related text to make on my phone right now that in no way, shape, or form has anything to do with…" I gestured a hand gingerly towards the Pizza Planet, "that over there."

"...uh-huh," he said flatly, turning away to assist another customer.

Hastily fishing my phone out of my skirt pocket, I brought up my texts, tapping on a certain name before my thumbs were blurring across the screen.

Quit it, you're making a fool of yourself.

I narrowed my eyes up at him as I hit send and he froze mid gesticulation, looking down at one pocket of his pants. Then I watched as he dug his own phone out, read my message and smirked before his fingers were on the move. There was a buzz in my hands and I looked down at the screen.

1st of all, when hz that ever stopped me b4?

Well he had me there.

2nd of all, u thought all that was 4 u? Plz, all that luv was directed mr studmuffin ovr there

I squinted one eye at the words before looking back up at him. He was now waggling his eyebrows as he pointed to my left and I realized he meant Frozone. The man in question was looking between us as he rang up an order, his eyelids drooping. "Do I even want to know?"

I snorted, biting back a grin. "No, I really don't think you do," I told him, tapping away at my keyboard again.

Dork.

Lea was now typing something back one handed, using the other to wave off Xion as she tried to get his attention.

U know it. What time u off?

I checked the clock on my phone before replying.

10 more minutes.

Xion was beginning to look frustrated over there as she more urgently tugged on his sleeve. Lea just smothered her face with his free hand, lightly shoving her away while he remained focused on his phone.

Perfect me 2. Dont go NEwhere without me, we got plans ;)

My head tipped to one side.

We do?

Xion huffed, stomping away to grab a giant slab of pizza dough and balling it up in her hands as she gave Lea the evil eye. He continued to remain blissfully unaware.

Most defini9kf.u1kd4

Apparently his fingers had slipped followed by accidentally hitting send as that ball of dough smacked him square in the jaw, courtesy of Xion's pitching arm. And strong arm at that, for it was enough to knock him straight off his feet and send him disappearing below the counter. She razzed her tongue at him, dragging her left lower eyelid down with a finger. Then she paled and squeaked, bolting into the back room when a scowling Lea pulled himself back up, half his face dusted with flour now and one eye twitching as he stalked after her. I just laughed softly, turning my attention to a new customer that had just approached my register.

A few minutes later found me clocked out and standing in the food court, scrolling on my phone while I waited. I was still in my work attire, including of course a pair of glorious, blessed stockings (of the snowman-print variety) because never ever again would be the day I'd go without. My hair was still pulled back into a ponytail, but I'd tucked away the Ice Palace cap into my bag.

"Ah, there ya are!" I felt Lea's arm slip around my shoulders and his hand cup the side of my head, bending it towards him so he could press a kiss into my hair. He grinned down at me, "How is my lil lekker stroopwafel this fine day?"

I blinked up at him. He was still in his work clothes too, sans apron and visor. Pocketing my phone, I echoed, "...lekker stroopwafel?"

"It's Dutch. It means you're my lil delicious waffle," he cooed and planted a swift peck to my cheek, which I squeezed one eye shut against.

Face warming, I gave him a blank look. "Do I even have to say it?"

He pouted, "Aw man, really? Overruled? Crap, I'd thought you'd like that one too. Guess it's back to the ol' drawing board." He started walking, the arm still hugging my shoulders pulling me along with him.

Shaking my head at him with a tiny smile, I asked, "So what are these plans we have?"

Holding an index finger up to his lips, Lea winked at me. "It's a surprise."

I quirked an eyebrow and frowned thoughtfully. "...is it the clocktower again?"

"Pft, like I'd do the same thing twice. What a lame-ass surprise that'd be. What kinda uninspired oaf do you take me for? Gotta keep things new! Fresh!" he chuckled as he moved us along, keeping our pace brisk. "And bonus, it's good for the masses to see the two of us out and about like this. Keeps us in the public eye and people talking about what a freaking adorable couple we make. Stop here."

"Wha-?" I was cut off as he suddenly swept me around, pointing me at the Bippity Boppity Boo formalwear shop. However, I got the feeling that he wasn't so much facing me towards it specifically as he was more so facing me away from something else.

Standing in front of me now, he brushed a hand down over my sight. "Close your eyes please. No peeking now."

As soon as he removed his palm, my eyes snapped open again, "But what are you-"

"I said no peeking," he laughed, his hand gently sliding my eyes shut again. "You'll see soon enough, 'kay?"

"Fine," I puffed out a breath, crossing my arms and doing as I was told this time.

A shadow flickered over my eyelids - I think he was waving his hand in front of my face. Then I heard his footsteps walking past me, followed by him asking, "You got it?"

"Right here!" a friendly female voice I didn't recognize responded.

"Perfect! Thanks, you're an angel, this world isn't worthy of your pure divinity," he said back, to which she just gave a warm chuckle. Then I heard the tip-tap of Lea's shoes again, could feel him hovering just behind me now. When he spoke, his voice was right next to my ear, "Alright, you can open 'em now."

I did, discovering he'd looped his arm around to hold something up in front of my nose. A flower. Two of them actually, blooming from one stem, both white and delicate and with fuzzy sprigs of yellow sprouting out the centers.

"...winter honeysuckle?" I said quietly, carefully taking it from him.

His head still beside mine, I felt him nod, "Mm-hm! It's your favorite, right?"

I turned to look at him as he straightened up now. "How did you know?"

"Asked Raindrop," he grinned, shoving his hands into his pockets with a shrug and not yet taking a step back, remaining real close.

"Thank you," I murmured, bringing it up to my nose with a soft inhale. "I'm surprised it's blooming this time of year."

"That's Aerith for you. The Greenthumb Goddess," he tossed his head back towards the flower kiosk behind him and in particular at the woman running it. I recognized her from last time I'd walked past here, her big pink bow hard to forget. She just smiled at me, green eyes dancing as she waggled her fingers in a tiny wave.

I returned the smile and wave before setting my gaze on Lea once more. "Is this the surprise?"

"Are you kidding? Please, this is just the opening act. C'mon," he slipped his hand into mine and gently tugged me into a walk once more.

"But what's it for? Is there some sort of special occasion?" I frowned down at the plant, twirling it between my fingertips as I racked my brain, trying to come up with the answer myself but drawing a blank.

"Whaddya mean, what's it for?" he snorted as we passed an Olympus Gym with floor-to-ceiling windows, through which could be spotted a squat, bald, grumpy looking fellow that appeared to be training a chiseled, golden-haired Adonis who could be a strong contender for the Mr Universe title. Pulling me onto an escalator, Lea continued, "I just wanted to give ya something you'd like."

We slowly rose up to the second level, a Blitzball Sports shop and a Glass Slipper shoe store gliding by before disappearing beneath us on the floor below. A crease formed between my eyebrows. "But why?"

He blinked at me, then chuckled and ruffled his fingers through his hair. "Just cuz! What, does a boyfriend hafta have a reason to give his girlfriend lil gifts every now and again? Jeez, ya act like you never-" he froze, eyes widening. The back of his foot hit the top of the escalator, catching him off guard and he stumbled, but managed to remain upright before looking back at me horrified. "Wait. Please, please don't tell me your royal dumbass of an ex never gave you any flowers."

I stepped off the moving stairs after him, looking away with a tiny huff. "Yes, of course he would. Big bouquets, in fact, full of a whole variety of blooms. They were actually quite lovely… but…" I raised the flowers up to my nose once more, hiding my small grimace behind them. "...well, there was just always a reason… an event or something. Just because etiquette would demand it. And they were never winter honeysuckles. I don't think he even knew they were my favorite. He never… asked…"

Lea pinched the bridge of his nose with a grumbling sigh. "This guy sounds more n' more like a total tool with each new thing I hear about him. Ugh, forget him," he brightened, linking our hands together once more, leading us onward.

We passed a magic shop bearing a glittery sign that read Sorcerer's Apprentice, inside which were two old dudes, each with beards more ridiculously long and grey than the last, plus a younger blonde gentleman with a goatee and several piercings, his hands shuffling what was most likely a trick deck of playing cards. Neighboring that establishment was the Blue Sitar, a musical instrument store with some guy snoozing behind the counter, his hair at war with itself, not quite sure whether it was a mohawk or a mullet.

My attention was drawn back to Lea as he chimed in once more, "Besides, we have way more important concerns to be thinking about." He turned his head to the right and his eyes lit up. "Like puppies!"

"Pup-?" the word was swallowed in a gasp as he dragged me into a run towards a store dubbed 101 Spots. A pet store, to be exact, as I quickly learned when we passed through its doors and my ears were greeted with a chaotic chorus of woofs, meows, and chirps. Both eyebrows shot up my forehead as I glanced around, "...is this the surprise?"

"Nah, this is just a detour," he chuckled, releasing my hand to squat down and reach forward, fingers beckoning towards a dalmation near the cashier counter. The dog's ears perked up curiously for a second, then it gave an excited bark and barreled into his arms, nearly toppling Lea to the ground. It seemed the two were already old pals, if the way the canine's tail thumped against the carpet was any indication.

I tilted my head. "For puppies?"

"Well yeah! Always detour for puppies! Isn't that right, Mr Slobber-Drool-Face? Yes it is!" he squished the dalmation's face between his hands, using his baby-talk voice as it responded by enthusiastically giving him doggie-kisses.

Oh dear. Lea liked dogs.

"Is that the spot right there, buddy?" he asked as his four-legged friend flopped onto its back expectantly and Lea obliged, both hands giving vigorous belly scritches. "Oh yeah, that's definitely the spot! Woojy-woojy-woo!"

Like… really, really liked dogs.

My crush was soaring to dangerous new heights.

Clearing my throat, I tucked my flower into my bag, leaving the petals poking out the top so they didn't get smashed. Then I kneeled down beside him so I could reach down and scratch behind the dog's ear. It lapped at my palm and I grinned. "You looking to take this one home?"

"That's Pongo," a new voice spoke up. I looked up to see the woman with blonde hair done up into a bun smiling at me from behind the counter. Anita, or so her nametag boasted. "And he's not for sale. He and Perdita," she looked fondly down at a second dalmatian sleeping nearby, "belong to my husband and me. Perdita will be having puppies soon though, so you may want to check back in a few weeks."

"I like to stop in and give Pongo and all the other puppers here some wub whenever I can," Lea cooed, playfully wrastling the dog into a hug.

My eyes crinkled as I watched him play with the pooch for another minute, then I stood up once more, deciding to take a look around. I meandered slowly, reaching into the low pens as I passed by to give quick pats to dogs, cats, and bunnies, running my fingers lightly along the bars of bird cages as their occupants quizzically cocked their feathered heads at me before I moved on.

Finally I came to a stop in front of the puppy pen. And I didn't mean that in the same way Lea did, who seemed to call everything that barked and ran on all fours a puppy, regardless of the animal's true age. These were actual puppies. There were a bunch of children on the other side of the pen that had gathered most of the puppies into a joyful frenzy over there. However, there was one that was staying back, ears at attention as it sat on its haunches and stoically watched the others frolic. Put quite simply, it was a pure ball of fluff, white and poofy. It had to be more fur than dog.

"Hey there little guy," I murmured, getting its attention as I bent down over the enclosure. It backed up a step, lowering into a crouch and giving the hand I offered it a tiny growl, which was more cute than threatening. "It's alright," I soothed patiently, still holding out my hand. The snarling subsided and after a hushed pause, it tentatively crept forward to snuffle at my hand before giving it a timid lick. "Ah, I see," I laughed, sticking both hands in now to pick the puppy up and hold it in front of my face, "not such a tough guy after all, huh? No, you're just a big ol' softie deep down."

Its stubby tail began to wag and it replied with a small yip.

"You don't say?" I smiled back, cradling it in my arms now and taking one of its paws in my hand. "Look at those feet. You're going to be a big fellah, aren't you? Do you have a name?" Another yip. I scanned the puppy corral, but didn't see any signs listing names. Ruffling the cushy fur of its tummy, I told it, "Well you look like a Marshmallow to me."

"Quick," Lea suddenly appeared at my shoulder, whispering into my ear, "you distract everyone with your feminine wiles and I'll stuff the pup down my shirt to smuggle him out of here."

I snerked, not taking my eyes off the poof as I tapped a finger to its wet nose. "Ah, so this is the one you're going to get. Good choice."

"Me? Nah," he shook his head as his hand went to pet it and it repaid him by treating his fingers like a chew toy. He didn't seem to mind. "Saïx would murder me execution style if I ever brought a dog home."

I turned to look up at him now, arching an eyebrow. "But I thought you said Saïx loved dogs."

"Nope. Other way around, they love him. He just suffers their presence. Does lead to some pretty funny interactions though whenever he crosses paths with one. But no, I meant you. How 'bout it, wanna give this lil tyke a home?"

"Oh no," I sighed sadly, shifting the puppy in my arms and it took the opportunity to flick my nose with its pink tongue as I did so. "Unfortunately, pets aren't allowed in my apartment complex. But maybe when I get my own place."

His head rocked back slightly, "Huh? Already have plans to move out? But you just got there."

"Situation's temporary. My room's a future baby nursery, so I need to find a place before junior arrives in a few months." I nuzzled the critter's snoot. "Hopefully I'll find somewhere nice that allows dogs and I can get a little cutie like this guy to just snuggle with in bed all day."

"Mmm," he hummed. I could feel his hand trailing down the length of my ponytail, running it through his fingers and letting it slowly slip free strand by strand as he mumbled, "Sounds like that would be nice to come home to." Then he tensed beside me, snatching his hand back to instead scratch a spot behind his ear, "Er… that is… I mean you make… coming home to a dog sound nice. Heh."

I made a noncommittal noise in my throat, stroking a curled finger under the puppy's chin.

"...I'm going to have to take the lil mutt away from you, aren't I?" I heard Lea ask.

"Chances are good, yes."

"Alright, fuzzball, time to go back to your pen before the pretty lady commits grand theft doggo," he scooped the pooch from my arms. It growled at him and he just snorted as he plopped it down into the enclosure, "Oh yeah, so scary. Got me shaking in my stylish-yet-sensible Chuck Taylors."

Would-Be-Marshmallow ran up to the plastic fence, whimpering at me and giving me the full force of its sad puppy-dog stare. I tucked in my bottom lip, my hands already reaching for it again, "Maybe I should just-"

"Nope, let's go," he snagged my hand and started leading me towards the exit. "Don't make eye contact, that's how they get ya. One look and bam! You're powerless to resist their evil, doggie mind games."

I let him guide me back out of the store, offering little resistance beyond a tiny pout. It wasn't until he led us onto another escalator that I snapped out of my sulking. I furrowed my brow, looking down, "Wait, we're descending."

One step below me, he turned to face me with a smirk. This was one of the rare occasions he was at my eye level without having to stoop. "Yes, that more or less tends to happen on down escalators."

"But why?" I frowned.

His head tipped slightly to the left. "...I'm guessing you're looking for an answer more sophisticated than, 'to get to the first floor.'"

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, I mean why-" I stopped, realization dawning on me and my eyelids drooped. "...did we seriously only go to the second floor so you could pet the dogs?"

"Puppies," he corrected then shrugged, "and yes. It was on the way."

"No, no… if it requires taking an up escalator to get there, then a down escalator to get back on track, that is by definition out of the way."

He lifted his chin with a sniff, "Puppies are never out of the way."

I shook my head at him, "You have a problem."

"Says the puppy snatcher."

"I did not-"

"Oh-ho, but you wanted to. Could see it in your eyes, El," he leaned forward, pointing to his own gaze. "Lucky I was there to save you from going down a dark path from which there's no turning back."

I gave a huff through my nose and deadpanned, "My hero."

"That's right, babycakes. And don't heroes always get a kiss from their lady fairs in honor of their heroic deeds?" His hands shifted to cover mine on the rubber handrails and he leaned in further still, his nose brushing mine, his eyes hooded.

Cue the conga drum beat that was the hammering of my heart.

Gosh, he really did just so love using this pretend boyfriend act to mess with my head, didn't he?

Well, nope. Nu uh. Not today, you stupid blush! Turn around and march yourself back to wherever you came from because this face ain't buying what you're selling.

I rocked back on my heels a bit, regaining a little space between us as I turned my head away. "Well, if you head back to 101 Spots, I'm sure Perdita would love to slobber you with those kisses."

Snerking, he stepped off the escalator as we reached the bottom, muttering, "Was worth a shot." As I followed him onto the ground floor, he grabbed hold of my shoulders and guided me a few steps further before bringing us to a stop. "Here we are!" he proclaimed, flourishing his hands out before us, "Ta-da!"

My nose scrunched up slightly. "...The Toy Box?" I read the colorful sign hanging over the archway before me that opened up into (you guessed it) a children's toy store. It seemed business was currently slow, for inside all I could see was one employee by himself, wearing a kiddie cowboy hat too small for his head and galloping around on a stick horse to amuse himself.

"Huh?" Lea followed my gaze then tsked under his breath. "No, not that. That." He pivoted me slightly so I was instead looking at the next business over. Above its entrance flashed big, neon letters spelling out Hot Wheels. They were punctuated by a blinking image of a pair of old fashioned four-wheeled skates leaving a trail of cartoon fire in their wake.

"A roller rink?" I asked slowly and uncertainly.

"Yup! C'mon!" And with that, he weaved our fingers together once more and pulled me through the doors.

The place was huge inside, with eighties synth-pop blasting out from the overhead speakers. The ambient lighting was dim, but you'd hardly notice what with all the glowing neon rainbow tubes twisting and stretching along the walls, the iridescent laser light show dancing to and fro, and the spotlights darting about all over the large arena that was taking up a majority of the space. It was jam-packed with roller skaters laughing and having a good time.

Lea led me over to a long counter immediately to the right of where we'd entered. The cashier across from us was a chick with short, choppy black hair that had a few streaks of violet in it. She said nothing, just crossed her arms and stared at us, chewing her bubblegum and looking unimpressed.

"Hey Go Go!" Lea chirped at her, holding up a pair of fingers. "Two sets of skates please!"

Bored stare not letting up, she merely blew a bubble and remained silent. For a second, I almost thought she hadn't heard him over the blare of the music. But then the gum burst and she gave a flat, "This her?" Her eyes gave me a quick once over before narrowing on Lea. "She's too good for you, Red."

"Don't I know it!" he laughed before shifting over to mime cupping his hands over my ears, "But don't let her hear you say that, otherwise she might finally come to her senses and dump my sorry ass!"

Her eyelids drooped and she blew another bubble. Tough crowd, it seemed. With another pop, she turned her back to us, grabbing a few things off the shelf behind her before dropping them down on the countertop in front of us. "You know where the lockers are," was all she said as I looked down at the padlock and two pairs of roller skates - the smaller set powder blue while the others a blinding red.

"Sure do! Thanks, Go Go," Lea beamed, gathering everything up and tucking it under one arm.

I cocked my head at her, "But I didn't even tell you my shoe size, how-"

Once again, I was being dragged away by Lea's hand on mine. I tripped but caught myself, glancing over at him as we walked towards some benches. He grinned, "Don't worry, they'll fit. Like me, she's got a gift," he tapped an index finger to his temple. "Except instead of ice cream, it's skate size."

Okay… strange talent.

But couldn't argue with results. They fit like a glove. As I tightened and tied my rentals, I glanced over at Lea out of the corner of my eye while he did the same with his. Roller-skating, huh? Not what I'd expected. Then again, I'd had no idea what to expect. But this could be fun. Plus, maybe I could look at this as another opportunity to initiate PDA. Couples roller-skating was an optimal time to do that, right? Right! I just needed to look for my opening and, I don't know… just grab his hand, something like that.

Alright. Mission Make A Move was in motion.

Maybe.

We'll see.

It wasn't long before both Lea and I had finished lacing up and stowed our shoes away into a locker along with the rest of our belongings we wouldn't need. I followed him to one of the few openings in the barriers surrounding the rink. "Ever roller-skated before?" he asked, stepping out into the oval arena just as the song You Spin Me Round started playing over the sound system.

"No," I shook my head, padding across the carpet and stopping at the edge of the ring. I watched as his wheels glided him into a half-spin with ease, coming to a stop when he faced me. Clearly, this wasn't his first rodeo. I shrugged, "But I used to ice skate, so shouldn't be a problem."

"Shouldn't be," he hummed a chuckle, eyes crinkling. Then he rolled back a few steps, making room for me and gesturing for me to proceed, "Have at it then."

I took a step onto the glossy surface, stumbled and nearly faceplanted.

I say nearly because Lea was there in the blink of an eye to catch my arms and steady me, giving a loud snort through his nose. "Dunno how much your ice skating background is gonna help ya here. Blades and wheels? Not the same thing. Ice and hardwood? Not-"

"-the same thing. Got it," I grumbled, my legs wobbling as I struggled to keep my balance, my fingers squeezing his forearms hard.

He smiled down at me before cautiously releasing one of my arms so he could about-face, shifting to my side. There, he took my other hand and tucked it into the crook of his elbow before his feet pushed off, coasting at the speed of molasses. Me, being on teeny-tiny tires, had little choice but to be towed along with him as he said, "Ice and roller-skating are two sides of the same coin, but still totally different animals. Your muscle memory is probably gonna work against ya for a bit. Your body will expect things to work one way and react accordingly only to be surprised when the physics of it all is totally outta whack."

"Thanks for the lecture, professor. I think I'll figure it out." I tested moving one foot forward, slipped and desperately tightened my grip on him to stay upright. "...eventually," I amended, both my arms hugging his bicep close now.

Did this count as making a move?

I don't think it did. It was more like advancing a move already in progress and not even one that I'd started myself in the first place.

Maybe I should concentrate less on making a move and more on just not falling flat on my rear.

Consider the mission scrapped.

"So… you were an ice skater?" he asked conversationally.

I nodded, trying out another step while still using him for support. This one went marginally better. "I took lessons for a few years as a kid. My parents' idea. Supposedly, it improves posture, balance, flexibility and coordination, all in the pursuit of excellence," I recited dryly. "But even though it was just another tool they used to mold me into being their perfect little girl, I still found it fun despite all that. I actually enjoyed it quite a lot. I was sad when they ended my lessons once they'd decided I'd outgrown it."

"Ah," he continued creeping us along at a lazy pace while I grew more bold and determined in my attempts to figure out how to make the cursed roller-skates bend to my will and obey me. "That explains why all your movements are so graceful."

"Graceful?" my head snapped up to look at him before I gave a derisive snort. "No, not at all, I'm a total klutz."

"Sometimes," he agreed, pulling to a stop and curving around to stand in front of me now as he hunched forward to look me in the eye, one corner of his lips twitching up. "But that's cute too."

Bam.

Shot through the heart.

Which, coincidentally, were the lyrics that'd just sung out over the speakers as the music switched to You Give Love A Bad Name.

As my brain scrambled to come up with a response, any response to that, a huge smirk suddenly flashed across his face and he declared, "And spin!"

"Wha-?"

Taking both my hands in his, he leaned back and started swinging us both around into a twirl together. Or perhaps death spiral would be the more appropriate term for it. I squeaked as we gained speed, our surroundings blurring more and more together, my feet scrambling to keep the wheels from slipping out from underneath me.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall," Lea called, still grinning like a madman.

And oddly enough, I took comfort in those simple words. I shyly smiled back and my muscles began to relax. Once I stopped fighting the spin, it went a lot more smoothly. I laughed as my ponytail whipped about from the centripetal force.

He abruptly slowed us to a stop and I staggered at the sudden change, but he caught me around the waist with one arm, pulling me up against him. "I got you," he reassured, panting a bit from energy expended on the twirl. I just breathed a small chuckle and his gaze softened as it flicked from my eyes over to my ponytail, which had swung itself forward over my shoulder when we'd stopped spinning. He brought his free hand up to twist a platinum tendril around one finger. "...why don't you ever wear your hair down?"

"My…?" I blinked at the random question that'd seemingly popped up out of the blue. My gaze averted and shifted about. "Well, I… I guess I never really thought about it. Just to keep it out of my face, I suppose."

Lea watched his fingers as they continued to play with the strands. "Your hair is just really pretty. It looks… I mean, I can... imagine how nice it must look down."

That blush came a-knocking again. And this time my face, being the utter fool that it was, let it in.

I suddenly shot out one arm to the side, pointing a finger and blurting out, "Go over there."

He spluttered and snerked. "Seriously? Just cuz I'm a fan of your hair, you're banishing me?"

"Th-that's not- no, I just-" I stammered, looking down with a frown. "I want to try and see if I can skate on my own for a bit."

"Oh." He tipped his head. "You sure you're ready for that?"

"Won't know until I try. Now," I flicked my hand dismissively at him, "shoo."

Releasing me, he started skating backwards. "Fine. I'll be right here though if ya need me," he said, stopping just a few feet in front of me.

Now shakily standing under my own power, I moved one foot forward to attempt a glide. I teetered and I saw him tense, ready to spring into action and rescue me. However I steadied myself, shooting him a tiny warning glare. He backed off, raising his hands in surrender. I sighed then told him, "Turn around."

His head reeled back, "What?!"

"Turn around," I insisted, rolling slowly forward now, feet lurching and arms darting stiffly about to maintain my balance. He began drifting backwards, maintaining the same space between us. "I can't do this with you looking at me. I feel self conscious."

He beamed. "But I like looking at you! It gives me the warm fuzzies inside," he announced loudly into the sudden hush as the last song ended so all the other skaters around us could no doubt hear.

How I didn't pancake onto the hardwood right then and there will forever remain a mystery to me.

This guy, I swear. The lengths he was willing to go to to sell the whole boyfriend act would never cease to amaze me. Feeling that familiar warmth creep back up into my cheeks as Take On Me started to play, I snapped, "Just turn around!"

"Alright already, jeez," he sniggered, rotating away from me to face forward now while still maintaining the same snail speed.

"No peeking," I told him sternly.

Lea gave an exasperated laugh, "I'm not! I'm not peeking!"

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously on his back as I wobbled my way into another step. Then I had a thought. Perhaps now would be the opportune moment to give the whole PDA thing another shot. I was already starting to get the hang of roller-skating. If I could catch up to him, I could go for the hand or… or hug the arm or something! Just for the sake of maintaining appearances, of course. You know, just... keeping up my half of this whole pretend girlfriend-boyfriend deal. My motives were strictly professional and had nothing to do with a certain little, teensy-weensy crush that would never, ever even see the light of day.

Yeah, okay, let's do this.

Mission Make A Move was back on.

Alright, step one: reaching him.

...that might take some doing.

In the meantime, we'll instead work on step zero: small talk.

"Do you come here a lot?" I asked, unsteadily picking up speed and trying to close the gap. "You seem pretty good at it."

"The kiddos and I goof around here from time to time," he scissored his skates, leisurely weaving his feet in and out and in again. "Been doing it for a while now, so I've picked up a few things. Not gonna be going pro anytime soon, but I get by."

I attempted to mimic his actions with my own skates and failed miserably, floundering a bit before stabilizing. At least the fumble had brought me a few inches closer. "I'm sure you've brought a girl or two here before too."

He shook his head with a chuckle, "Nah. Never really made any stops along the way between the bar and my apartment when taking a lady friend home. But… I always did think this might be a fun place to take a gal on a date."

Realization struck.

"Wait!" my foot slipped, I staggered and flailed before catching myself. "Is this a date?!"

"Heh, sorta?" his hand went to the nape at the neck, tugging at the hairs there. "More of a mini-date? Or just… chilling together cuz we enjoy the pleasure of each other's dazzling company so much!"

"This is a date!" I repeated, stomping after him furiously now. Which, let me tell you, was not effective in skates at all. But through sheer force of will alone, I managed to get a bit closer. "I was supposed to pay for the next date!"

"And you have!"

I swear I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"I most certainly have not!"

Almost there now.

"Have too! It was free. Me and Go Go are tight, like this," he held up one hand, crossing his index with his middle finger, "so I gots the hookups!"

A growling huff escaped me. "Cheater. This doesn't count, I'm paying for the next one."

"This so counts! Next one's on me, you can cover the one after that."

I scoffed. "And give you time to figure out how to con the system again? I don't think so, you-"

I suddenly tripped over the toe stop of my left skate and toppled forward, crashing hard into Lea's back, my arms instinctively latching around his waist. He grunted in surprise and swayed, but managed to keep us both upright and standing. As I hung onto him as if my life depended on it, fingers clutching at the front of his shirt, face buried in his back and inhaling his cinnamon scent mixed with the hint of pizza that still clung to his clothes from having gotten off work not too long ago, it slowly sunk in…

Mission accomplished.

Move made.

...albeit accidentally.

But still!

One small step for Elsa, one giant leap for introvert-kind everywhere.

Maybe the next one I'd actually do on purpose.

Cheeks burning now, I awkwardly cleared my throat as I relaxed my grip on the fabric of his Pizza Planet polo and started to withdraw my arms, mumbling, "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't," Lea said quickly, covering my hands with his and squeezing, forcing them to stay put right where they were. I could feel him pushing us off into a slow glide once more. "Don't… worry about it. It's fine, I don't mind. Take all the time you need to regain your footing."

"...thank you," I muffled into his shoulder blade. Then I hesitated, gnawing on my bottom lip. "...you know… for a guy who's never been an actual boyfriend before, you're actually really good at this."

I could feel his laugh rumble through his whole chest. "Thanks," he said, gently pulling on my arm to bring me around to his side so he could look down at me as he slung an arm over my shoulders, all while making sure my arms remained firmly secured around his midsection. There was a faint redness to his face, probably from the exertion of all this roller-skating. I could only hope he'd assume that was my excuse too. "I guess I was just waiting for the right person to come waltzing into my life." Then he winked and grinned, "That person being your uncle of course."

Eyes widening, I stumbled again, grasping Lea more tightly. "My… you mean the Duke?"

"Hell yeah, the Duke! Talk about silver fox! I mean, hot damn, mamma may I!" he fanned himself with his free hand.

Snorting, I shook my head. "I guess the heart wants what the heart wants."

He chuckled, rubbing his hand up and down my arm. "Seriously though, if it weren't for his Royal High-And-Snootiness marching into the food court and unleashing all holy hell, you and I wouldn't be here doing this right now. I wouldn't be unlocking and realizing my full boyfriend potential and you," he poked the tip of my nose, "wouldn't be experiencing all the joys that come with being the lucky recipient of such attention. He's the one that started it all."

"I suppose that's true," I nodded as I tried to mirror the way his feet moved. How did he make it look so easy?

"And I like to think we have fun with it too," he smiled down at me.

I returned it. "We do."

"Good. On that note," he reached down, unfastening my arms from his waist as he announced, "let's make like a pair of professional roller rinkers and dance!" Taking my hand in his, he whipped me into a couple tight spins.

"Roller rinkers?" I laughed softly when I came to a shaky stop, one hand going to his chest to steady myself. "Don't think that's a real term."

"Hey now, who's the one who actually knows how to skate here?" he smirked, twirling me out wide now. "Trust me, I know the lingo."

I rolled my eyes as he pulled me back in. "My mistake. Forgive me for questioning you, oh supreme fountain of roller-skating knowledge."

"Damn skippy! Now for the flashy finish," his hand went to the small of my back and he bent me backwards into a low dip, waggling his eyebrows at me as he did so.

And that's when it all went wrong.

For you see, I don't think nature ever intended for one human being to dip another while both had tiny wheels attached to their feet.

"Motherfu-" that's all Lea got out before our skates shot out from beneath us and we both went crashing painfully to the floor, him on top of me.

I heard him groan, then, "Shit! El, you okay?!" He hastily braced himself up onto his hands, hovering over me and eyes full of concern.

"Fine," I winced, my fingers going to rub the sore spot at the back of my head. "Let's just… leave the dancing to the professional roller rinkers from now on, okay?"

Relieved, he gave a low breathy laugh and pushed himself back to sit on his knees. "That sounds like quitter talk and I won't stand for it."

I sat up, propping my palms against the cold hardwood behind me. "Good, better not to stand period. Less chance of falling that way."

"C'mon, you. Back on the horse," he grinned, drawing a knee up to his chest to get one skate under him followed by the other before standing and reaching his hands down towards me.

With a sigh, I took them and let him pull me back up to my feet. "Alright, but no more dipping."

One arm encircling my shoulders once more, his eyes crinkled. "I make no such promises."

That earned him an elbow to the ribcage.

Author's Note: Here, have the latest batch of lil references I've baked up fresh out of the oven xP I actually don't have any fun facts for this chapter, I just simply delighted in getting to expand on the mall a bit and injecting more gooey, mushy fluff xD Personally, this is up there for one of my fave chapters of the whole story, haha!

Next chapter, will our couple continue to perfect their fake dating skillz? How will their actual relationship keep developing and evolving? Will Elsa ever successfully "make a move" on purpose? Will the two of them ever realize their as yet unspoken dream of being professional roller rinkers and take the skating world by storm? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

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[fvlminare]

✗✗✗   you see [ camille rivas ] around lately? yeah i heard that the [ cis female ] is up to no good. [ she / her ] has been here for [ three years ] now but they’re still pretty [ calculating ] which is fine because they’re also [ ardent ] so it balances out. the [ twenty-six ] year old [ dancer at mayhem ] actually looks like a lot like [ sofia carson ], don’t you think? it’s best to watch out, though, because it’s been said that they’re really into [ the rush of cocaine in her veins & a vice grip on her throat ]. 

henlo it me again! i hope u guys aren’t sick of me yet bc here’s my other bb! say hello to my boss-ass bish gal camile! she’s sassy, classy and a lil badassy. she’s a rather feisty, fiery, ball of rage and anger who cba with ur bullshit tbh n she’ll tell u this too if u piss her off enough! she’s lowkey cutthroat and always out for number one, aka: herself. but, i mean, she does have some redeeming qualities and her hair is bomb af so that makes up for it all really, doesn’t it? basically that meme: ‘ she’s beauty, she’s grace, she’ll punch you in the face. ’ anywho, you know the drill, slap a lil luv on this n i’ll come pester u for all the good stuff : - ) 

fundamentals.

CAMILLE ALARA RIVAS     —     twenty-six, dancer at mayhem,   +   an honest-to-god vixen   /   hellcat   /   lil demoness ! 

aesthetics   ➤   dresses of black lace and red velvet, the scent of chanel perfume lingering in the air as she floats past, blood-red fingertips coiled around the pistol grip of a gun, red-bottomed heels clicking against marble floors, rose gold highlighter shimmering along the height of prominent cheekbones, satin dresses draped over a svelte frame that is shrouded in an air of mystery and intrigue, baby pink roses in a vase on the window sill, deft fingers stained with charcoal and oil paint, the melodic chime of piano keys, delicate digits adorned with moonstone gem rings, a coy smile spread across full crimson lips, long raven locks blowing in the cool breeze of a summer’s evening, battered books with dog-eared pages, a sense of freedom and carelessness when dancing for fun, & a sense of allurement and captivation when dancing for work.

nicknames. cam, cami, mil, millie, spawn of satan >:~)

date of birth. april tenth.

gender. cis female.

pronouns. she + her.

birthplace. manhattan, new york.

orientation. pansexual + demiromantic.

education. bachelor of dance degree obtained from nyu tisch school of the arts.

spoken languages. can speak fluent english, spanish, & latin.

negative traits. capricious, ornery, impulsive, guileful, caustic, brusque, obstinate, destructive, deceptive, & promiscuous.

positive traits. ardent, whimsical, intrepid, graceful, poised, elegant, headstrong, observant, independent, & confident.

strengths. optimistic, energetic, creative, practical, spontaneous, rational, knows how to prioritise, great in a crisis, & relaxed.

weaknesses. stubborn, insensitive, private, reserved, easily bored, dislikes commitment, & has a rather risky behaviour.

talents. ballet, knife throwing, hand-to-hand combat, horse riding, figure skating, piano, violin, painting, singing, & dancing.

physiology. hazel eyes. dark brown hair. five feet, four inches tall. of a petite, slender stature with subtle curves and long hair. has a long silvery scar on her back. her skin is clean of any tattoos. has both earlobes pierced. requires glasses but wears contacts most days. is right-handed.

psychology. aries zodiac. fire element. ravenclaw house. istp-a. true neutral. type seven enneagram. choleric temperament. intra-personal intelligence type. addicted to alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. suffers from addiction and abandonment issues. her vices are lust, greed and wrath. her virtues are ... ( again ) honestly, probably just diligence tbh.

background.

possible triggers   :   child abandonment, abandonment issues, foster homes, alcohol, drugs, violence, gore, blood, murder, & death.

a synopsis.   ok so for this gal, let’s all give a big, warm welcome to sadness ( no, i was in no way at all inspired by salem from sabrina for that line ) bc boy oh boy, her life has been constant grief and pain, tbh. strap in for the bumpy ride, i’ll give u cookies for compensation. OK SO, camille was abandoned as a baby, never did—and still doesn't—know her biological parents and she doesn’t want to either, tbh. she bounced around from foster home to foster home, never sticking in one place for too long. given her turbulent upbringing, she was somewhat of a difficult child. too boisterous, too unruly, too stubborn, too inquisitive. too much of everything but never enough of anything. never enough for anybody to want her. it didn’t take the girl too long to figure out that it was just her alone, against the big bad world. from the age that she was old enough to realise it, camille knew that she had to fend for herself—that she could never truly rely on a single soul but herself. the hollowness inside her chest never quite satiated, leaving her empty and only too well aware of the lack of her real parental figures. as a young adolescent, this started to crawl under her skin and mess with her mind. it rendered her void of affection and unable to form genuine bonds with others—filling her with deep-rooted resentment that festered beneath the surface of the indifferent demeanour she plastered over herself every day. she always felt starved of love: as if some integral part of her heart was missing, leaving a gaping void that nobody could ever fill. anywho, she fell in with the wrong crowd which did little to aid her foster families hostility toward her. truthfully, most of her experiences in various homes were ... not pleasant. she’d encountered abusive ‘parents,’ horrible ‘siblings,’ and even worse schooling days. pressing the self-destruct button is this gal’s speciality thus she found herself gravitating towards her vices: things and people she knew were no good for her. drink, drugs, people, you name it. quickly, she realised that these things were no longer any good at keeping her dark side at bay: she needed something more, something deeper. thus, she began going down the road of petty crimes—stealing cars, smashing windows, theft, setting fires both metaphorically and literally. due to this lifestyle, she wound up entangled with some real shady folk who did … even shadier things. most specifically, she started dating a real jackass who was violent and truthfully, a horrible person, really. stupidly, she decided to run off into the metaphorical sunset with him * insert eye roll emoji here. * so, fast forward a year or so and things took a swift nosedive when her lowlife boyfriend’s hands were round her throat and not in the kinky way. while she’d clawed at him and tried to fight him off, she struggled against his weight and strength until, eventually, she lifted the first makeshift weapon she felt: a rusted pair of scissors. [ TRIGGER FOR VIOLENCE, GORE, BLOOD, MURDER, DEATH ] and, in a blind state of panic, she jammed them right into his jugular vein, his blood squirting out and decorating her face in crimson splatters. he’d stumbled backwards, clutched onto his neck, blood spurting from the webs between his fingers. naturally, camille was shook about this but somehow managed to flee the scene with less guilt rattling her soul than she’d imagined. [ TRIGGER OVER ] in her mind, it was an act of self defence. it wasn’t too long after the incident that she found herself in a rather perilous situation that resulted in her sudden realisation that she needed to get her damn life on track. therefore, she done the responsible adult thing and got herself a decent education. somehow, she managed to get into university where her life started to shape into a positive one—the kind she’d always dreamed of. once she graduated, camille decided that she wanted to see the world. following a couple of years travelling, she wound up in santa ysabel where she quickly fell into the employment of mayhem. admittedly, this was a far cry from the future she’d envisioned when she was just a sweet, innocent lil child. still, all in all, she kind of digs who she is and what she is: after everything she’s been through, she loves herself. it’s been a long and winding road but camille finally believes that she’s settled in her life now. tho she still refuses to let people in, her abandonment issues terrifying her to the degree that she feels that anybody she’d ever let into her life would eventually leave her in the end. * insert sad face emoji here. *

random extras.

her tell? playing with her hair: when she’s lying, nervous, flirting—you name it!

can drink any man under the table. 

she loves art in every form: paintings, sculptures, music, dance, people, etc. she loves the freedom that expressing herself through these mediums gives her.

she’s ... experimental. she’s experimented with just about everything: hairstyles, clothing, drink, drugs, people ...

can be hella calculating and vindictive so do not cross her.

quite power-hungry tbh.

she does have a shot at redemption but she doesn’t want it lmao. she’s already been to hell so why bother trying to right her wrongs?

and boy, are her wrongs a century-long list shkjsh.

high key is not above killing people who don’t do things her way.

doesn’t believe she’s capable of loving anyone.

she’s lowkey a perfectionist to the point of being ruthless, also cutthroat and egotistical.

if ya ain’t of use to her, then what the heck is ur purpose???

she’s v ambitious, v morally ambiguous, v self-serving and v self-involved.

she can be ... aggressive sometimes and most definitely has anger issues.

dry sense of humour one million per cent.

her signature look is her blood-red lips.

extremely skilled with knives and blades. and always carries one on her person at all times.

her most prized possession is her brushed chrome zippo lighter. it has her initials engraved into it and where she got it from, or who is something she’ll never tell.

always says she needs to quit smoking but never does and probably never will either.

did someone say ... resting bitch face???

tho when she smiles it’s like sunshine uwu

high key will sleep with anyone.

first place is the ONLY acceptable place, ok??? 

one of those people who just excels at everything she tries her hand at.

absolutely adores animals. much prefers them to humans.

she’s quite adventurous and loves to feel the adrenaline in her blood.

doesn’t take herself or her life too seriously.

always up for a good time and is usually the life of the party.

outspoken and quick-witted with a sharp tongue.

much too sassy and sarcastic for her own good.

really, she does what she wants to, when she wants to, without seeking the approval of others.

truthfully? she’s a bit of a spitfire if you really irk her. so, watch out.

you can find a pinterest board for her by clicking anywhere here.

[ranposlittle]

Could i get a match up please????? Im 5"1 and my fashion is dark alternative. I am shy when i first meet new people because i have autism but when im comfortable i talk so much its unreal, i love art, writing and drawing and id like to think im kind and loving and fairly affectionate because im a lil touch starved. My perfect date would be a movie night under the stars with hella snacks, thank you love your writing!!

❴🐰❵┊ I ship you with ➸ . . .

─────「 𝙼𝚒𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚣𝚘𝚞 · 𝚃𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊 」 ─────

Okay, Tachihara didn't truly mean to give you your dream date on purpose at first. He really was just bored out of his mind and you were the only one who answered to his invitation. But truth be told, when he saw the way your face lit up when you saw the star populated sky and how your eyes shine as you gaze at them, his heart beat out of his chest in a way he never felt before. He's been through countless battles and faced far too dangerous missions, but never has he felt this nervous (if that's what this is). He can't even look you straight in the eyes after that, and he began acting weird around you. For a while, you thought that he decided to ignore you for some reason, so saying that you were shocked when he called out of the blue to ask if you'd want to go on a date with him, is an understatement.

To your pleasant surprise, Tachihara is a real gentleman. He ditched his usual rugged outfit and put on his best suit to take you on this one classy restaurant for your first date. You were pretty good friends but you haven't really spend a lot of time together, at least not this much. He knows that you can get pretty shy so despite his own anxiousness, Tachihara tried his best to initiate conversations with you.

It didn't really take you that long to be totally comfortable with him and became a bit more talkative, especially when the conversation stirred in the topic of art. Although he's no expert, Tachihara would impress you with some things he actually knows about it. He'll just brush it off as something that he picked up on some of his assignments or have unintentionally read it from somewhere but nevertheless, he's proving himself to be worth your time. Tachihara also wouldn't mind if you do all the talking, he'll be just happy listening to anything you want to talk about, especially if it's something that you're passionate about. He just gets all soft whenever he sees the way your features seems to come alive during these times, and he secretly prays that someday he'll be the reason why you'll light up like this.

Tachihara loves showing you off. He loves your dark alternative look and there's always that attractive smirk on his face whenever he sees your outfit for the day. You carry yourself very well and others might find you absolutely intimidating, only for Tachihara to pick you up and swing you around whilst telling you how beautiful you look. Whenever you two are going somewhere, Tachihara will always be latched on to you in some way. Whether it be by his arms around your neck or waist, holding your hand or even intertwining his index finger on yours. He just needs to feel you there with him, it keeps him grounded and focused on what really matters to him.

Tachihara will love you being affectionate with him, too. He doesn't seem like it, but he loves being loved. That's why he treasures you so much, because you're his sanctuary. He feels like someone whenever he's with you and you're the only person he can remotely feel safe with. There will be lots of hugs and cuddles to be share in between the two of you. His kisses will be deep and lingering most of the time. Tachihara doesn't let himself fall in love if he can help it but when he does, he falls hard. You'll be the only thing that keeps him going, and he will lay his life on the line before he can let anyone lay a finger on you. Tachihara will be your ride or die, your knight, the dragon in your tower, your hero.

Overall, I matched you with Tachihara because you will look such a cool couple together. People seeing you walk in a room together, and they'll be immediately intimidated by both of your strong presence, but only the two of you will really understand each other's true personality. He will be able to reciprocate your kindness and warmth towards him, and he's just as touch starved as you, if not more. Because of his life experiences, it will be easy for Tachihara to appreciate you and your value. He's also as loyal as they get and cheating will not even a thought that will cross his mind. He may be cunning and elusive, but he will never purposely hurt you in any way. You're one of the very few good things that's in his life, and he will never jeopardize that. He will always put you and your well-being first. Now and then, he'll recreate the first moment he fell in love with you by putting aside one day to find a wonderful spot to give you your idea of a perfect date. He will have a couple of movies rented, about five orders of take out, every pillow he could find in his place and enough blankets for the two of you to wrap yourselves into. But that's not all. Tachihara thinks that you deserve the best and nothing but the best, that's why he didn't just get you out here for a date. Before he invited you, he made a bit of research and found out that this particular night, a meteor shower is going to happen. He specifically looked for the place where it's the most visible and send you the location. Tachihara's smile cannot be wiped off of his face as you sit down beside him. He just can't wait to see the utter happiness that will light up on your face once you see it. Once he does, his happiness will be out of this world as well.

▮ ❝ Hello, anon~ here's your matchup! I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for waiting so patiently and for your support! I appreciate you very much (♡´ ˘ `♡) ❞

[dominodamsel]

Hi! I just found you through @revolutionaryduelist and I just wanna say 1, I LOVE your art, and 2, could I ask a lil’ about your art? What program(s) do you use? What brush do you use for your AMAZING lineart and how do you choose lineart colors?? What dark magic do you use to shade??? I find your use of color phenomenal! Have an amazing day! :-D

thanks for this nice ask! i use paint tool sai, specifically the anglicized version that you can find online.

lets draw bernie fire emblem and go through my process.

first off, my brushes.

this is the brush i use for sketching, coloring, and cleaning. sometimes for highlights in the eyes or the rough first patch of shading, i also use ink pen, just the default settings.

this is my blending brush. if you give it a texture, blending stuff wont look as boring as it otherwise might. 

now, let’s draw bernadetta.

(1) first of all, the rough sketch. i start out with just shapes and then just keep going, all on one layer.

(2) then, i clean that sketch up a little - not too much, you dont need it to look perfect. i dont like drawing lineart at all, so this is what i work with - the sketch, a bit cleaned up, put on multiply. i change the color of the sketch according to what im drawing. for example, if i draw a character like inigo, whos got brown skin and hair, ill end up with yellow, orange or red lineart. if i draw a character during the night, ill use blue lineart. if its dusk, maybe a strong purple. you can change this later, as well.

next, below, i fill in the colors, usually about a layer for each color i use. i usually start out with the hair and end with skin, but it doesnt really matter. try to use colors that vary in saturation and brightness - if everything is very saturated, things end up looking blinding, but if everything is desaturated, it might be boring to look at. this isnt a hard rule, of course, but for this kind of normal illustration with neutral lighting conditions, its good to keep in mind.

now, onto shading. here i used the ink pen for a moment. take your base color, in this case bernies purple hair. the highlight is less saturated, and moves up the color wheel, more toward a reddish tone. the shadow is more saturated, and moves down, toward a blue-ish purple. you can also make the highlight more saturated than the base and the shadow less saturated than the base, but i think its best to decide on one or the other. moving along the color wheel rather than just decreasing or increasing brightness will also help making the picture more vivid.

for hair and gauntlets, i just put on the shadow and highlight and blend it out with the blend tool. for skin and fabric, i use a different method.

first, add blush. blush should be far more saturated than the skin color. i added a touch of deep red in the middle as well for depth. this should be blended.

the shadows on the skin, however, i fill in with ink pen. some parts of this need hard lines, like the outside of the ear shadow, the lower side of the nose shadow, etc. you dont just want an airbrushed look, but a defined line. for this, i use a shade that is slightly more saturated than the base color, but not as saturated as the blush.

then, i add a lowlight color to make the shadow feel more dynamic and interesting. you can go many ways with this - if you check the coat in the next few images, youll see that i used a less saturated color to counteract the very orange shadow. in the case of her skin, i used a more saturated color that is very pink to mimic her hair. i cant really explain this step well, because most of the time, i get to that shade through experimenting.

blend some of the lowlight, but make sure not to ruin the harder lines of the shadow. i did it on the same layer as the base color because im lazy, but you could easily make a clipped layer, add the shadow, and then preserve opacity to make sure everything stays clean. for my purpes it doesnt really matter though since ill be going over the whole thing during cleaning again.

in the circled areas, i took the blush color and gently airbrushed some on for depth and warmth.

heres the rest of the shading. as i said, i used a less saturated reddish tone for the lowlight in the cape. for the bow and cape, i opted out of highlight, because i imagine them as made out of a sort of thick, unreflective fabric. 

now, all thats left to do is clean! i make a new layer atop everything, zoom in a bit, and go over it all with my brush and the eyedrop tool. a lot of my WIPs look like this, with a part of it very crisp and clean and most of it still sketchy and vague lol. colordrop from everywhere, and create something nice!

in the end, this is the finished picture! i turn the blend on my brush up and down depending on what im doing and what i need. the cleaning process takes the longest by far.

anyways, i hope this was helpful. if you have other questions, feel free to ask ‘em.

[unknownauthor]

Kissing Lessons

Part One: The First Lesson

She decided to go to him because he's always been honest with her. When she skinned her knee in the fifth grade, he told her that it wouldn't turn green and her leg wouldn't fall off. When her parents got into that fight one time, so bad that he had to pick her up on his bicycle and take her back to their house, he told her it would be alright. That he would take care of her and make sure she was okay.

So she doesn't understand why she's scared now, why her heart is pounding in her chest as she knocks on the door to his bedroom. It's a Wednesday afternoon and Lilith is waiting for Jasmine to get home from newspaper club. They’ve been best friends since before kindergarten and Lilith knows the Malek's keep their spare key beneath the plant on the porch. Their house is only a block away from school, and student parking is a fucking mess, so every morning Lilith parks in front of their house and walks to school with Jasmine, unless Rami is there for a full day, and then they go in his trans am, all crammed together.

“I'm decent.” She hears him shout. She opens the door and finds him lying in bed, Othello, the school's current play, in his hand. She looks around his room as she steps inside.

The room was cluttered, clothes strewn about, the bookshelves haphazardly filled, his blankets were bunched at his feet and he lay stretched out, head propped against the pillow and book now laying on his chest as he stared at Lilith.

“Hi.” She says quietly, shutting the door.

“Jas not home yet?” Lilith shakes her head and sits on the edge of the bed.

“Newspaper Club.” Rami chuckles.

“Why didn't you join that again?” She rolls her eyes.

“Don't insult me,” Lilith was the exact opposite of Jasmine. While her best friend went out for cheerleading and dated football players, Lilith spent most of her time in the Art room, layering her black clothes or listening to Sisters of Mercy. Some people couldn't understand how they were friends. It didnt matter to Lilith, all of the Maleks were family to her. She and Rami smiled at each other, enjoying the silence for a moment. But Rami can sense something going on with her.

“What's wrong?” He asks her, he insists up and rests his hand on her shoulder. She takes a deep breath. Usually she can talk to him about anything. But can she really confide this to him now?

“Nothing,” she finally says. “I just have a problem….and I was wondering if you could help.”

“Sure.”

Lilith shifts nervously and begins playing with her hands.

“There’s this boy…” she starts.

“Uh huh,” he boy… unimpressed.

“His name is Jimmy. He’s new at school. And I really like him, and I think he really likes me.” She risks a glance at him to gauge his reaction. He's listening, but not invested. “I think he's going to ask me out.”

“Okay. What’s the problem?”

“I just get the impression that he’s…..experienced.”

She can see the thoughts behind Rami's eyes as he tries to figure out what she's hinting at. She rolls her eyes. She knows he's not stupid.

“I’m not.” She picks at the hole in her black stockings, looking down and not at him. “I’ve never even been kissed.”

Still Rami says nothing, and now she regrets it. What if he gets mad at her? He’s never been mad at her before, but she knew it was something she didn't want to happen.

“I just,” Lilith says, “I need some practice. You know? So I'm not terrible and I don't get laughed at.”

Realization crosses his face but he still doesn't say anything. Annoyed she scoffs, throwing her hands up.

“I want you to kiss me. Show me how to do it? Please.”

“Lily…” he says, calmly, he moves his hand from her shoulder to her knee.

“It’s okay, nevermind,” she pushes his hand away and goes to get up, only to have his fingers lock around her wrist.

“Sit down,” he says, and doesn’t let go of her wrist. She sits at the side of the bed, closer to him now, the concerned look on his face just makes her feel more embarrassed. “What's really going on?”

“I'm scared,” she confides, choosing to trust him, her friend, her protector. “No one's ever liked me like this before….and Jimmy is a great guy. I don't want to mess this up.”

“Hey, hey,” he wraps his arms around her, allowing her to bury her face in his chest. It reminds her of the day her dad went to jail for beating her mom. He picked her up and she was sobbing on the steps of her house, police officers waiting around, taking statements, talking to her mom. He road up on his red bike and hopped off. She remembers that feeling of fun, of comfort and safety when he wrapped his arms around her that day.

“This isn’t going to be fun okay. I'm the teacher. You're the student.”

She's fine with that. She's grateful for the practice. And grateful that he's actually agreeing to do this in the first place. She smiles wide.

“Okay,” she says.

“There's not a whole lot to it. Usually you either are or you aren't. It really does take practice and experience.”

“Hence why I asked you.” She chuckles, Rami shakes his head, ignoring her comment.

“My family can not know this took place.” He says seriously, she nods. If Jas or Sami found out about this they'd flip, she didn't even want to know what his parents would do.

“Okay.” He reaches up, running his fingers through his hair and scrunching his eyes. Though he's only a year older than her, he looks about in his early twenties as he contemplates what to say next.

“The right thing to do is to ask permission first. Consent is always important. So this James guy —”

“Jimmy”

“Whatever. If he’s good, he’ll pick the perfect moment to do it. If not, then there was never any real chemistry there anyway.”

“I'm sure he'll be great.”

Rami snorts a laugh. “Yeah, okay”

“How do you know what the right moment is?”

He looks her in the eye, lips parted, close enough for her to smell his breath. She should feel something. She knows she's supposed to.

“You feel it?”

She shakes her head, scrunching her nose. “No. Not really.”

He hovers there, still and silent, watching her. His face has never been this close before, and at first her instinct is to jerk away, to give him space, but she doesn’t, and after a few seconds, something sinks in. She wants him….no, now she needs him.

Oh.

“There you go,” his voice is low and thick. “Now you feel it.”

“Where do my hands go?”

He takes one and puts it at the side of his neck, so her fingers are brushing his hairline. She thinks about it and then decides to thread them into his hair, the curls are soft and loose. He'd never allowed her to touch his hair before. It was nice.

“Where do you put yours?” she asks, and he rests a heavy hand on her waist and pulls her body toward his, his lips still infuriatingly close but not touching. His body is warm and soft,lined up to hers, and it should feel weird but it doesn’t.

“We’ll start slowly, okay?”

She nods slightly, and he crosses the space between them. His mouth feels soft and chapped against hers. She doesn't shut her eyes or even kiss him back. She sits there, staring, lips pursed together.

He pulls away, smiling softly and amused. “You’re supposed to kiss me back.”

“Oh.”

“Just relax, okay. Follow me.”

He kisses her again and this time she relaxes up,opens her lips slightly, and he peppers little kisses on her lower lip, the corner of her mouth. A small thing, but so stimulating. Her eyes close. Her fingers curl into his hair and tug a little, and her knee slides up to his hip. He grips her thigh with one hand.

He laughs and pulls away. “You've always picked up things quickly”

“Tongue?” she asks, knowing she sounds way too enthusiastic.

“Okay, but follow my lead.”

When he kisses her this time, he licks gently across the line of her lips, and she opens to him

He doesn’t really taste like anything, but she knows she tastes like big red chewing gum, because she's had some just before coming over. He runs his hand from her waist to her lower back and drags their bodies closer together. It's not enough to sate her, she needs more. Before she can get used to the feeling of another person’s tongue in her mouth, he pulls away and sucks her bottom lip she hisses in surprise. Rami pulls away.

“Sorry,” he says.

“No, do it again.”

He takes no time in slotting their lips together again and now the kiss is a little harder and their movements are faster, but this time she’s keeping up with the pace, and when he sucks her lip between his teeth, she makes the sound again. She feels the heat on her cheeks again and the feeling between her legs, the pressure, is building. There’s something long and hard pressing against her pelvis and it takes her a moment to figure it out. The realization dawns on her that she’s in bed with Rami Malek and he has an erection because of her. Her best friend’s older brother’s hardened cock pressed into her and his tongue was in her mouth. These thoughts make the pressure between her legs build until it becomes nearly unbearable. She knows about orgasms but she’s never been able to give herself one, and she wonders if she’s about to have one, except she knows somehow it’s not enough.When she begins to pant and tremble, he pulls away again.

“You okay?”

She nods. She feels like she’s about to shatter.

He touches her short black hair, tucks it behind her ear. His lips are red and wet. “God, look at you. Fucking gorgeous.” he drags his hand over her lips. “Lipstick smeared, mascara chipping. You're beautiful.”

“I —” If she could turn any redder, she would. “I’ve never had an orgasm, either. I can never get off.”

He pauses, looking at her curiously, before parsing his lips and shaking his head. “You'll have to teach yourself.”

“I'm not good at it. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.”

It seems to physically pain him to say, “I can’t….no Lil.”

She hooks her leg around his hip so his thigh is pressed against her, his big, hard thigh, and she shifts and feels only a fraction of relief, her wetness sliding around her drenched underwear. “Please?”

“No.” He says firmly. He gets suddenly serious and says, “You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I may not be able to...do everything you want me to do, or have all the answers, but we can always talk. I’m always here for you.”

“I know.” She has so many questions, but they all die on her tongue. Was she any good? Did she turn him on?

More than anything, she wants to see his cock, just to look at it, compare it to the porn stars she's too ashamed to admit she's watched now and then, out of curiosity of course. She wants to touch it, to see his face when she holds it in her hand, to feel him push into her mouth. Into her…..

And it’s just Rami. She’s never thought these things about anyone else, never felt safe enough. She has a real, crush on Jimmy sure, but the thought of doing anything like that with him makes her anxious and she doesn’t like thinking about it. She doesn’t have a crush on Rami at all, or at least, she didn’t think she did,but now all she wants is for him to kiss her again.

Then she reminds herself: This is for Jimmy. Jimmy, who doesn't push her into lockers or call her a freak. Jimmy who likes her, who cares. Jimmy who actually wants her.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Rami asks. “Come here.” He brushes her hair back and kisses the space between her neck and shoulder. She jerks, arousal shooting through her as he does. He hums against her and says, “Sensitive spot huh?” and bites gently at her earlobe, she nearly whines, he pulls back slightly, sighing and shaking his head. “I wish all girls reacted like you.”

“Maybe I'm defective.” He laughs, brushing his nose along her skin.

He kisses and bites down her neck, causing her to gasp and shudder.

“No,” he says softly. “You’re the best.”

[your-generic-art-blog]

G o d the shading here leaves much to be desired.

(Tumblr really fucked the quality RIP)

Anyway, this was a drawing I made as a little vent about a bad experience with a councillor recently. No worries, I'm alright, but I thought maybe drawing this would help me express the feelings I forced myself to mask in this situation. That's it for this description, unless you interested in my art rambles. In which case, feel free to proceed :D

ANYWAY WHAT DID I DO THAT'S NEW, YOU MAY ASK? Well I'll tell you, dearest person viewing this I'm a bit of a "control freak" with my art, I suppose you could say. Or well, with my lineart. I've always used the same smooth pen, with no pressure sensitivity, as I found smoothing my lines out on my own to be relaxing and relying on my own pressure was anxiety inducing. However, since the last lineart test I've decided "why not?", and forcefully launched myself out of that comfort zone by picking a new brush (a textured brush at that ooh how fancy) and activated pressure sensitivity. And m a n it was fun. I liked it so much more than expected. I'm gonna keep testing brushes! I'm not sure if I'll come back to this one specifically as my default, but I like the effect it has! It made colouring and shading a pain in the ass tho :/ The background stayed as that smooth brush, just to change up the character from the environment a lil, but pressure sensitivity was very much there. I like it more than expected. Also, did a bit of colouring testing. Although, you lot probably can't tell. ...god that shading is fucking awful-

[ethereal-pluto-blog]

I feel like shit today

I'm lethargic, slow, crying, and insecure. So yep ~depression~ has come to rear its ugly head once again.

But since I'm not into the whole anti-recovery thing, I'll give you some useful tips on how to maybe help YOUR depression that doesn't seem like a generic twitter self help thread. (Though I'll mention some things I found helpful and give explainations as to why.)

Talk to your therapist/counselor/mental health expert if available. Not everyone has the luxury of seeking professional help, but if you have the opportunity, PLEASE go to a professional. However be noted that it's often an experience to go through many different experts to find the one that matches your specific needs/ you like the most. Also keep in mind there are also online therapists ready to help if you're not big on one-on-one contact like myself, though often insurance is tricky. I put this one first because it might be the most beneficial for some, though not readily available for others.

If you have the strength, shower. Showering/cleaning yourself is a blessing in itself as it gives you a sense of detox. Though if you don’t have the strength or motivation, try some of this instead-

Utilize facewash and lotion. Particularly facewash that makes your face feel all chill and tingly, it makes you feel more refreshed. Lotions and cream will help you keep skin smooth.

Simply get wet with water, a quick 5 minute rinse in hot water is less of a chore than a full shower.

Dry shampoo will help with hair oiliness. Though if you don't have access just brush your hair and pull it/part it so it's out of your face.

Baby wipes. Baby wipes will cure yo soul. But seriously use baby wipes and rub them on your face, underarms, and genitals. A good rub down will help prevent you from feeling gross.

Splashing your face with cold water, it makes your pores tighten up and as a bonus it'll wake you up.

Utilize deodorant and vaseline. I haven't tried it out for myself, though if you put down deodorant and then vaseline on top it should trap the nice fragrant smell. And while you're at it you can put on cologne / perfume if you think you're getting a lil ripe, but if you want to smell like a fresh shower use ones that are labeled "shower fresh" or "baby powder."

If your lips are chapped, put on some balm shisters. (I don't trust the brand chapstick, I'm a conspiracy theorist okay I'm soRRy)

Change into some cleaner clothes. They don't have to be normal everyday clothes but at least change into new clothes, especially underwear.

Clean your fingernails/toenails. Clean under them, since random junk can get stuck up in there. Also clip them if they're too long for your liking.

Brush your teeth. But if you can't, use mints, gum, mouthwash, mouthspray, etc, or a combination of those. Anything minty will make your mouth tingle and feel fresh and clean.

Clean yo ears! Since probably nobody uses an ear vacuum (like you're supposedly supposed to idk I'm too broke for that shit anyways) just be careful using Q-tips.

If you don’t have any deodorant, try hand sanitizer! I'm not kidding. Put a dollop under each underarm, and let dry. Smells are caused by bacteria, so if you get hand sanitizer, it should greatly reduce smell.

Try to get some sun. Using the natural sunlight will help you absorb vitamin D. So open up the blinds and photosynthesize binches. Though it also helps to open up the window if you can, a breeze/fresh air blowing in with the smell of outside might even raise your mood. Though if it's currently shitty weather outside, try turning on your lights to match your circadian rhythm, so keep lights on during the day and dim it at night so it'll help with letting you be on a decent sleep schedule.

Feeling like there's no hope or that your future is going to be shit? Highkey me too, but here's what I do to combat that feeling.

It's corny, but I write a whole idealized future for myself. I write about my dream job, I write about my dream s/o, I even imagine the type of house I want to live in, the kids I'll have, what kind of pets I want to own. Etc. Although the economy is shit and no future is guaranteed, it's nice to put some positivity into light and show what I really want in life. I don't want to be some millionaire, I just want to be comfortably well off with a family and people that love me. And in all honesty a future like that isn't hard to obtain.

Even if you can't imagine a good future for yourself, imagine being a part of your friends or loved one's futures. For example, you know your friend who's dating this really cute person that you totally ship them with? Imagine being a part of the bridesmaids/groomsmen for their wedding when they tie the knot! Imagine your really smart friend finally graduating from college and you're at their graduation party giving them a speech! For me this really helps since I aspire to be drinking buddies with my best friend's future husband. (I'm rlly goofy ik lmao)

Feeling stressed about not doing anything? We've all been there. Try:

Doing work if you're due for assignments, though don't do it alone, if you can, arrange a group text/tutoring session/Skype call. If everyone is focused on getting something done then you'll be motivated to do it with them.

Though if you don’t absolutely have to do anything but want to do ~s o m e t h i n g~ I also got your back on this too.

Organize your inbox for your email. (Ik I'm lame)

Tidy/clean your room/any room if that gives you something to do.

Make your bed.

Cuddle someone/something.

Rearranging your stuff in your room, makes it feel like a whole remodel tbh.

Burn candles/incense. Don't ask just...trust me on this it can change the aura.

If you're religious, practice!

Take aesthetic photos of things in your room. Download VSCO and experiment with it. I also recommend Huji Cam and Afterlight. All are available for IOS and Android.

If you appreciate music- use YouTube and find some Playlists, or if you can, spotify premium will save yo mortal soul.

Like video games? Play some! Or if you're a brokeass like me, let's plays and walk throughs work well too.

If you got pets, pet them. Do it. Snuggle. Or if you love animals in general go and watch some vids on YouTube.

Build a fort.

If you're an artist or appreciate art- draw! Or you can watch animatics, animation memes, art channels, or follow artists on here or on Instagram and Twitter if you want to be inspired, or just observe.

Have a certain series you keep putting off? Watch! It! Netflix/Hulu that shit. Or cable TV works too.

Go on Wikipedia and just go on an adventure. Click from link to link and see where it takes you. Learn some weird new facts!

Read a new book.

Read the news/watch the news.

Write about a certain topic that you're absolutely fascinated about.

Watch movies!

Join a club/interest group. You can do this online too and it'll help meet people with similar interests as you. You can make new friends this way.

Give your friends a call/text. Having conversations will keep you occupied.

Self love aka masturbate. Or have (safe) sex with someone you trust!

Workout

Do some makeup/skincare routine. Even if you think you look bad just commit to practicing.

Sometimes it's just funny to go through and read some Reddit threads so be safe when surfing on there.

Stretch and move around! Dance if you wanna!

Do your hair/experiment in some new styles, maybe even dye it if you feel daring.

Have an icon you stan? Stan HARDER.

Watch iconic vine/rare vine compilations until you can memorize them.

Clean out your phone contacts of people that are irrelevant/toxic!! Out of sight out of mind! Don't hang on to them if they did you wrong. All the text conversations will just make you feel worse!

Actually cook your favorite food, cooking it will make you more dedicated to eating it and give you more of an appreciation for it.

Organize your closet.

Organize anything in your room/closet. Throw away things that you don't need or are too old to use.

Start collecting things, stuffed animals, pins, snowglobes, you name it.

Pinterest is addictive lowkey so try that if you're into that kind of stuff.

Write! Write a new story, write poetry, write about your feelings, write a letter, write fanfiction, express yourself.

Use Duolingo to try and study a new language to learn. (The owl will harass tf outta your email though but as long as you do like 5 minutes a day he won't bother.)

That's about all I can think of but feel free to add more for activities to dedicate your time to.

If you need to, because of your self image, don't go and stand in front of mirrors. If I stand in front of a mirror too long I'll end up scrutinizing myself and find a flaw after flaw. If you are specifically insecure about something with your body, look up models who have the same thing! Like if you're insecure about having vitiligo, look up Winnie Harlow! She's gorgeous! If you're insecure about being chubby, look up plus sized models! If you have a tooth gap, there's plenty of people like you! You don't have to feel ugly because of that when you have these awesome models rocking what they got.

Vent. You can vent to your friends, family, or even online. There are apps that allow you to vent anonymously to others without the fear of judgement. But if you can't do that, take a pen/pencil and write something down in your notebook. Though don't reread it to keep drowning in the negativity, once you write it, shut it. You can do the same on Google Docs online, once you write down everything, delete it. Don't keep trying to fuel your negative thoughts and bitterness, get your rant over with and be done. It's like a fresh start. (Plus on my Instagram spam account I always feel really silly looking at my old rant posts, so I usually delete stuff afterwards when I'm not feeling so in my feelings).

Don't expect recovery to be in a straight line. You'll have amazing days and also have extremely shitty days. Recovery isn't hoping to never experience shitty days, recovery is being able to feel the strength on those shitty days and know that they'll pass, and with each storm you'll be stronger than before. Don't push yourself to be flawless, because shit happens. But you'll make it through. And that's what matters.

And last but not least, seek emergency help if you feel like you're dangerously close to ending your life due to pain. Call the suicide hotline for support, because the pain can ease soon if you ask for the help that you need and deserve.

Not everyone that reads this is going to be like "wow this really helped me cope with my depression/mental illness!" But my goal was to at least try. It may not work for everyone unfortunately, but I hope that anyone dealing with a mental illness is on the road to recovering. Because I know how it feels. It feels sucky as fuck. But if this helps even just one person, then that's enough. I hope everyone has at least a decent day, and I hope that everyone's pain eases soon.