#free-swinging bludgeoning weapon and went Are You Sure.

[worldwright]

just did a ballroom dancing workshop in vash coat 🥰🥰🥰🥰 spinny

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Lost Princess Chapter 85

Warnings: You already know

Rating: SFW

You, Vanitas, Celina, Xemnas, Roxy, Yui, an Sora had arrived the Tower of Endings, where Riku, Mickey, Ansem, and Rumi. 

“Oi!” Celina said. 

“About time,” Riku said.

“Sorry! It’s not our fault that the Organization took forever to get passed!” Roxy said. The ground shifted ahead, casting dirt into the air on a strong wind. Young Xehanort, Anti-Elena and Anti-Muki appeared ahead, walking toward them as Master Xehanort watched from a high tower of rock.

“Muki! Where’s Kairi?!” Sora said as he ran ahead of Riku, readying his Keyblade. 

“Wait! Is she in trouble?” Riku said. 

“Yeah, Muki took her,” you said. Anti-Muki smirked, only fueling your and Sora's anger. Master Xehanort chuckled from up above.

“Settle down, my precious daughter,” he said.

“I am NOT your daughter!” you growled. 

“The thirteen darknesses and seven lights have clashed nine times, yielding these nine keys.” Xehanort waved an arm with a wild glint in his eye. Out of thin air, nine Keyblades, identical to his unnamed weapon, hovered around him.

“Do you think we care?” Vanitas asked. 

“We are four short... But those four keys will be produced here and now.”

“Yeah, sure. And what makes you think there'd ever be any way we'd help you with that?” Yui said. 

“You forget I plan for every eventuality.” 

“Kairi!” you and Sora gasped. Ansem stepped forward.

“If you do summon Kingdom Hearts, we will defeat you, and we will close it again,” he said. 

“Perhaps. That is...if you survive that long!” Xehanort smiled. Anti-Muki, Anti-Elena, and Y!Xehanort readied themselves for battle.

“Guys, come on!” Mickey said. You and the girls summoned your guardians and you all charged into battle as Young Xehanort transformed his Keyblade into a whip. Anti-Muki hung back as Anti-Elena summoned a group of orbs that shot arrows at Mickey, Rumi, and Ansem. The three of them dodged as Young Xehanort went after you, Vanitas, Celina, and Riku, who used a Dark Firaga spell, which scattered, homing in on the three foes. Several hit their target, before Young Xehanort blocked the rest. The three of them reeled back and teleported in unison. Master Xehanort waved his hand and a snake-like swarm of fallen Keyblades flew through the battlefield, sending up dirt into the air. The Keyblades separated you, Celina, Vanitas, and Sora from the others. 

“Guys!” the four of you yelled. Throughout the swirling vortex around the four of you, the swarm of blades attempted to strike you four, but you all dodged their attacks. Y!Xehanort appeared in the fray, casting a blue symbol onto the ground.

“That's checkmate!” he yelled. 

“We’ll see about that!” you yelled back. Y!Xehanort hit the four of you with his long whip, causing your visions to cloud, and launched the four of you in the air. Anti-Muki spun in, bashing the four of you with her fire bullets like spokes of a wheel. Anti-Elena cackled loudly from amidst the area, erupting in a burst of dark tendrils.

“How the wielders weep for you!” Xehanort said.

“Would you shut up?!” Celina yelled. The storm of Keyblades broke through once again walloping the four of you before the haze cleared and the four of you were reunited with the others. Young Xehanort shot icicles at you, Celina, Vanitas, and Sora as Anti-Muki struck Xemnas, the twins, and Mickey with her fire bullets. Riku, Rumi, and Ansem attempted an attack on Anti-Elena, but she hovered far above the ground while on Anti-Nyx.

“Burst!” Anti-Muki shouted. She released four energy bullets that hit the ground around you and the others and enlarged, knocking you all into the air. Anti-Elena glowed with a red aura.

“Surrender to it!” she yelled. You and your team felt a tug as you all were pulled closer to Anti-Elena as the red aura glowed brighter. When you and your team were within range, tendrils of darkness exploded from her body.

“Desist!” she yelled. A protective barrier erupted around Anti-Elena and she hovered menacingly near you and Sora, who were forced to dodge roll away. Mickey attacked Anti-Muki while Young Xehanort thrashed Riku with his whip. Anti-Elena surrounded herself with dark mines, which crackled with red electricity.

“Embrace the dark!” she shouted. A dark shadow followed you, Celina, Vanitas, and Sora along the ground and at Anti-Elena's command a giant claw emerged, missing the four of you by a spiky hair. Mickey kept Young Xehanort at bay while Riku, Rumi, and Ansem rushed Anti-Elena until the Lady fell. 

“I reach for...the darkness...!” she groaned. The final bell has rung for the self-proclaimed Wind Spirit. She clutched her chest as it was expunged from her. She hunched over, staring at her hand, watching the small traces of darkness flicker away, feeling the Negaverse trying to fight for control. 

“Elena!” Ansem said as he ran to her. 

“No...please. Don’t come any closer,” Elena whimpered as she fell to her knees. Ansem didn’t listen and held her weak body in his. 

“Elena, I know you’re stronger than this. Please, come back to me,” he said. Elena summoned enough strength and kissed him passionately, causing Xemnas to cover Rumi’s eyes. Elena and Ansem felt their bond return to them and the Negaverse was finally defeated, leaving Elena as her regular self. They broke the kiss and rested their heads together. 

“Hi,” she whispered. 

“Hi, angel. I missed you,” he whispered back. 

“I missed you too. Wanna take down the crusty bastard together?” 

“You know it.” The two of them stood up and the battle continued. Anti-Muki hovered in a circular motion around you and the others, conjuring up spheres of energy, which unleashed a barrage of bullets that honed in on you and the others. She managed to deflect most, but not all. Mickey aimed a burst of light magic from his Keyblade at her, stopping her attack, as Young Xehanort struck Riku, Elena’s family, Celina, and Vanitas with his whip. Fire crackled in the palms of Anti-Muki’s hands and she kicked Mickey and her family in retaliation. You and Sora bashed her with the Keyblades, but cut through her like air, and the image of Anti-Muki froze. Suddenly, she spun toward Xemnas from her right, catching him off-guard. Leaving Young Xehanort for a moment, Riku changed his target to Anti-Muki and joined Xemnas, Roxy, Yui, and Mickey in a dual attack. Whirling through the air, you all pummeled the Queen of the In-Between with continuous spinning attacks.

“What?” she whimpered. The great swirl of darkness pierced the sky above the Organization's Queen. She looked down at her hands, the darkness being licked clean off of them.

“X-Xem...” she whimpered. Xemnas rushed over and caught her before she could hit the ground. 

“Hey, I’m here,” he said softly. 

“Please, get it out of me.” 

“I know, I know. Do you trust me?” 

“A-always.” Xemnas crashed his lips onto hers and from the power of their bond, the Negaverse had finally ended its torture. 

“How’re you feeling, love?” he asked. 

“Better. I have a surprise for you,” she smiled. Xemnas looked at her confused and she put a finger to her lips.

“I’ll tell you later,” she said. Xemnas chuckled and helped her up and the battle continue once more. 

“Don't blink!” Y!Xehanort yelled. 

“Grr, just shut up!” you, Vanitas, and Celina growled. Y!Xehanort raised his arms, summoning diamond-shaped shards of ice which flew through the air towards you and your team. Mickey attempted to intercept but Y!Xehanort ensnared him with his whip. You and Sora quickly blocked the ice shards with your Keyblades as Riku knocked Xehanort back, freeing Mickey. With his associates down, even with his powers over time, was brief.

“So this is where my role ends...” he said. The darkness lifted off of Young Xehanort as he fell to his knees laughed.

“What the hell is so funny?” you asked. 

“I told you. There's a high price to pay for all of this,” he said. 

“And what price would that be?” Sora asked as Y!Xehanort stood back up.

“I'll go back to my time, and live out my life. But Sora, you're done now,” he said. You and your team were stunned. “Your journey ends here.” 

“What?” you and your siblings growled. 

“Good-bye, my children and Sora. Your time...in this world is--” Roxy handed you her gun and you shot him as he vanished to the winds. 

“Heh, I like you,” Muki said. 

“Here’s this back,” you said to Roxy. Roxy smiled and took her gun back. Three additional keys had joined the nine replicas encircling Master Xehanort.

“Twelve keys we have now. Leaving just one more!” he said. He summoned his Keyblade, raising it high. A blue orb appeared from its tip, which he then launched into the clouded sky. The world rippled and a light peeked through the clouds, shining down on him.

“Shit!” you, Celina, and Vanitas breathed. 

“Now, Sora, (Y/N). Darkness and light's final clash,” Xehanort said. The clouds swirled and parted slowly. You and Sora gasped as Kairi floated up beside Master Xehanort, who laughed softly.

“Kairi!” you and Sora cried and the two of you began to run toward the pillar of rock. 

“Guys!” your friends shouted. 

“You require motivation,” Xehanort said. You and Sora leaped onto the side of the pillar as Kairi's comatose body hovered in front of Master Xehanort. He reached back with his blade and bludgeoned her full on the back in one swift stroke. She glowed pink and her form shattered, disappearing in a fracture of light.

“Kairi!” you and Sora screamed. Unable to blink, you and Sora raced atop the pillar swinging your Keyblades at Master Xehanort, who blocked with his own.

“Why her?!” Sora asked, angrily. Master Xehanort knocked the two of you back and the others watched as you and Sora tumbled to the ground behind them. Tears fell from your and his eyes as the two of you looked back up to Master Xehanort from the position on your knees.

“Why?!” the two of you sobbed. 

“I have done it,” Xehanort said. 

“Xehanort!!!” Xemnas and Ansem shouted. They rushed up the pillar just as you and Sora had done, but were held back by the thirteenth replica Keyblade which materialized in front of Master Xehanort and proceeded to swing them away as well. The two of them screamed, falling back down the pillar.

“Dad!” the girls screamed. 

“Xemnas!” Muki yelled.

“Ansem!” Elena yelled as well. 

“You'll pay!” Mickey said. He jumped to the top of the pillar and aimed his Keyblade at Master Xehanort.

“Ultima!” Mickey yelled.

“Stopza!” Master Xehanort held his hand out in front of him conjuring a dark wind. The Spirits tried to attack him with their powers but he deflected them, causing them to land on the ground hard. With magical runes surrounding you all, the two spells collided, with Xehanort's sphere of stopped time growing to encompass Mickey and Riku. The blast of wind rippled through you, Vanitas, and Sora's hair as the three of you saw your friends frozen in place.

“Your Majesty! Riku!” Sora yelled. Master Xehanort smirked as the three of you moved to pursue him, but with only a few steps taken, were surprised by the replica Keyblades appearing behind the three of you. They knocked the three of you down as Master Xehanort turned toward the others.

“Now...the Keyblade War will finally reach its conclusion!” he said. He rose into the air with the thirteenth key rejoining the others. They floated around him as the great yellow moon of Kingdom Hearts shined in the sky. He basked in its glow, the culmination of his life's work now in the eleventh hour. He raised his Keyblade, which glowed and became a new weapon made of two crossed keys, the Chi-blade. He marveled at its brilliance.

“The Chi-blade is complete,” he said. You and the others watched from below, unable to stop him. “Kingdom Hearts! I call upon your true form. Open now and show me the World to come.” 

“We’ve lost...” you mumbled. Xehanort aimed the Chi-blade at Kingdom Hearts and a violet beam erupted from the blade. It struck the moon and wreathed it in dark flame, eventually turning it a deep shade of purple. The horizon turned a shade of pink and rays of light peeked out from behind Kingdom Hearts. You, Vanitas, and Sora, still on your knees, felt crestfallen. Donald and Goofy arrived, placing hands of comfort on Sora’s back.

“Hey, don't give up,” Donald said. Goofy grabbed Sora by the waist and helped him stand up, while Celina and Roxy did the same to you and Vanitas.

“We thought ya might be able to use a couple a' more quarters,” Goofy said. 

“And besides, Spirits stick together,” Roxy said. 

“And so does family,” Celina said. They smiled at you, Vanitas, and Sora. 

“Typical. You can't do anything without us,” Donald said. Sora wiped the tears from his eyes. 

“Now wipe those tears, and let's go stop Master Xehanort!” Goofy said. 

“Yeah...but...he controls Kingdom Hearts now. And Kairi...” you said as you looked down. 

“You worried?” Roxas asked. You and the others looked over, seeing Roxas, Axel, and Xion enter along with Terra, Aqua, and Ventus.

“Guys,” Vanitas said. 

“Sorry we took so long. Had a couple of plot points that needed ironing out,” Axel said. Ventus and Roxas exchanged a look on their identical faces (i wish they had more interaction!). Terra and Aqua looked up.

“Master Xehanort...” Terra said. 

“He did it. He opened Kingdom Hearts,” Aqua said. 

“So, what now?” Ventus asked. You looked over at the frozen Mickey and Riku and you used your powers to stop the spell. 

“We've still got one hope,” Mickey said. 

“Your Majesty, Riku, are you okay?” Sora asked.

“We're fine.” 

“Yeah,” Riku said. 

“What hope?” you asked. 

“It's Xehanort. During the Mark of Mastery exam, we learned that he can transcend space and time. He's a portal. And we can use that to trap him.” Mickey nodded in agreement. 

“But, it won't be easy. Aqua, Riku, I'll need both your help if we're gonna push Xehanort out of this world,” he said. 

“Understood,” Aqua said as she started to walk over to him. 

“Wait. I'll do it,” Sora said. 

“Me too,” you replied. 

“What?” Riku asked.

“Kingdom Hearts is a much bigger threat. Let us handle Xehanort... while you guys keep it shut,” Sora said. 

“At least let us come with you,” Muki said as she and Elena walked over to you and Sora. 

“Are you sure?” you asked. 

“Yeah. He tortured us ever since we became his puppets. It’s time karma kicked his ass,” Elena said.

“Alright. If you say so,” Mickey said. 

“We got this!” Sora said. Xemnas, Ansem and their daughters gave Muki and Elena a worried look but they gave them a reassuring wink. 

“I’m coming too,” Celina said. 

“Same here. It’s time we put crusty in his grave,” Vanitas said. You nodded and the six of you walked forward, soon joined by Donald and Goofy.

“You can't forget about us,” Donald said. 

“Without Keyblades, it's not like we'll be much help here,” Goofy said. 

“Don’t forget about the Spirits!” 

“Oh, right.” You and the girls giggled and Sora spun his Keyblade in a large arc before twisting it in his hand and aiming it.

“Do it!” he yelled. Your friends each projected a beam toward Kingdom Hearts, different spots creating a hole in the darkness of the moon from which light emanated. Just as Master Xehanort turned around, he was struck in the heart by you and your new team.

“What?!” he asked. A pink spiked sphere emerged from his chest, a portal to trap him. You and the others became a sphere of light which floated up to the portal before light enveloped Kingdom Hearts. 

[itsclydebitches]

Drabble Prompt: Ruby makes some hot cocoa for Ozpin/Oscar when she finds them awake one night. (post V6E4 was what I had in mind)

I’m being unfair and skipping ahead in my prompts because 1. I need this and 2. I promised @ninjanaomi hot cocoa yesterday and then didn’t deliver. Feel free to spray me with virtual water bottles

Spoilers for RWBY Vol 6 Episode 4 

They say that the hunter never sleeps. The same can be said of the huntress.

Ruby had her hand on the edge of Crescent Rose before her mind registered what had woken her in the first place: the soft crunch of snow, muffled through decaying wood, and a silhouette passing by the window beside her. She’d expected that they would all sleep together in the living room when Yang found the old beds infested with bugs, something like their very first night at Beacon… It had hurt Ruby more than she could say when everyone still separated, hardly speaking as they settled in for the night. Now she had the little family room all to herself and was the only one there to notice that someone was still out in the snow.

Ruby left her weapon behind. Foolish, maybe. Probably. But something told her not to go into this conversation armed.

“Hey.”

Oscar wasn’t a hunter though, not yet, and his whole body jerked when Ruby’s voice broke the silence. She hadn’t even realized how she’d been moving: picking up on how the farmhouse door had squeaked earlier and making sure to open it slowly; walking toe-first through the snow to minimize the sound of her boots; keeping to where the shadows were long enough to hide her. Those instincts broke when Oscar raised arms protectively over his head and flinched backwards against a fencepost. Ruby kept still until his eyes opened again.

“Ruby.” Even in the dark she could see how far his shoulders fell in realization; the fear rushing right out of him.

Actually, it wasn’t very dark at all. The snow had picked up after their arrival and the pristine blanket reflected the moon, providing a surprising amount of light once Ruby’s eyes adjusted. She could see now how hard Oscar was shaking and felt something hot settling in the pit of her stomach.

“I’m sorry,” Ruby squeaked. She held up her hands, now doubly glad she hadn’t taken Crescent Rose with her. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I just saw—thought—what are you doing out here?”

Blinking, Oscar surveyed the odd pile at his feet. Ruby could make out sticks of various lengths, leaves, a few bits of trash that must have been lying around for years. Once he’d looked down it seemed like Oscar didn’t know how to look back up again.

“Clearing debris,” he said, voice hollow. “You… you’ve gotta keep the fields clean for when spring comes. Clear the tree lines too. Otherwise stuff might get caught in your equipment later, you know? We’d be doing that back home now. No. Wait. I’d be doing…” Oscar trailed off. He pressed a hand to the side of his head like saying anymore physically hurt him.

Ruby had realized as a kid that things were a lot easier at night. She might chaff at being the “baby” of the family during daylight hours, but had no qualms about crawling into Dad’s bed once the sun went down. All her secret talks with Yang took place between 2:00 and 4:00am. She could often admit things more easily too—whispering them to the ceiling where they stayed until she was finally ready to speak them in the morning. 

Nighttime had more possibility to it. There was a whole mess of things to work through come tomorrow, but right then none of it seemed to matter when it was just her, Oscar, and the snow.

…and Ozpin.

Ruby opened her mouth to ask how long he’d been out here, noticed the size of the pile (like a bird’s nest, she thought) and closed it. Instead, Ruby gently took Oscar by the arm and tried not to hiss at how cold he was.

“Okay,” she whispered. “C’mon. Just… follow me.”

He did and the part of Ruby still churning over questions of faith and trust and responsibility loosened a little when he did. She kept a tight hold on Oscar’s wrist as they picked their way back to the farmhouse and halfway there his other hand rose up to grasp at the edge of her cloak. They slipped inside like that, silent and tethered.

Ruby didn’t actually believe that the rest of the group was sleeping soundly, but it made her all the more focused on making sure no one came out to check on them. Qrow had taken up position at the very back of the house—facing the direction they hadn’t cleared of grimm and strangers yet—and Maria had closed the door to the one guest room downstairs. Yang, Weiss, and Blake had all gone up to the second floor to carve out their own spaces. In retrospect, Ruby didn’t know where Oscar had planned to sleep. Or if he intended to sleep at all.

She snuck them into the kitchen.

“Sit,” she said, all but dragging him onto one of the rickety chairs. It wasn’t like the house had heat anymore, but the wood and stone did a decent job of keeping out the wind and seven bodies scattered throughout had helped to add a bit of warmth over the course of several hours. After a moment’s hesitation Ruby re-lit the fireplace they’d stocked, deciding that Oscar’s blue lips were more important than a potential interruption. After another pause she pulled off her cloak and draped it over his shoulders.

It was only then she realized he was still holding onto it. Now he let go.

“I can’t take—”

“You should really—”

They both stopped, waiting for the other to continue and unwilling to do the same. Eventually, Ruby’s lips twitched and Oscar mirrored her. 

“You’re cold,” she said only, hopping up onto the table. It was a massive wood structure that had her looking down on Oscar just a bit, giving Ruby space to swing her legs and get the blood going. The smell of the fire burning dust filled her nose and a bit of the chill seeped out of her hands. Oscar tugged her cloak closer and buried his face in the folds.

Ruby stopped swinging. “He wasn’t right you know.”

A slight tilt of his head was the only evidence of confusion.

“Uncle Qrow, I mean.”

Oh, that was a sound. Ruby didn’t quite know what to call it—something like a scoff mixed in with a cold laugh—but it set her teeth on edge and gave her the sudden urge to shake Oscar until he promised to never, ever make a sound like that again. She settled for leaning down into his space. “He’s not, Oscar. I love Uncle Qrow but he’s not always right. You’re your own person and I—”

“Don’t lie.” Oscar’s head whipped up so fast that he nearly bludgeoned Ruby’s nose. He didn’t seem to notice though. There were tears welling up in his eyes and a tremble in his lips that ran all the way up into his cheeks. “I’m not me anymore, Ruby. Why don’t you get that? It doesn’t matter if he’s gone right now because he’ll come back and when he does we’ll merge or whatever and then I won’t be—” Oscar suddenly stopped, staring down at his hands, bawling them into fists before shoving them beneath her cloak. “I’m going to change, okay? I’ll change and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“So what?”

It slipped out fast, but as soon as she heard the words Ruby knew she meant them. She glared hard down at Oscar, voice rolling out in a tight whisper only because the rest of the house was still quiet. Ruby had no qualms about waving her arms though and Oscar reared back with a wide-eyed look that erased the bitter expression he’d had before.

Good.

“What? You think you’re just gonna stay this Oscar for ever and ever?” Ruby waved her arms harder when that shock turned to confusion. “I’ve changed. Of course I have! I went to Beacon and became a leader and fought the White Fang and watched my friends die.” Her throat caught on the last word but she didn’t slow down, scooting until her legs were pressed against Oscar’s shoulder and the two of them were smooshed together in a weird little bundle of limbs and cloth. “Everyone changes. That’s a good thing. Even if… even if the things that caused the change aren’t good themselves. Wait. That doesn’t make sense. Did it? Look. My point is that old Ruby was terrified to even talk to anyone other than Yang. She’d never have changed if given the chance, but then life made her and now I’m me.” Ruby gestured at all of her, hands finally beginning to still. “I like who I am now, Oscar. I don’t like some of the stuff that made me this way, but I also wouldn’t want to go back to being that old Ruby. It’s weird. But everything’s weird right now! So yeah, of course you’re going to change. You would have changed anyway. It’s just... now you get to change with him.”

Ruby wasn’t sure how Oscar would receive that last part, but if the way he drew his own hands close to his chest was any indication, maybe the thought wasn’t all bad. 

“And you know what? No matter how you change, I know I’ll like that future Oscar. Okay? I promise.” 

Ruby saw the movement of his throat and hastily looked away just as he pressed palms up against his eyes. For a long minute there was nothing but the fire and muffled sobs. 

“Do you think he can hear us?” Ruby asked the wall. She only dared voice it after the sniffling had subsided. “Even locked up like that?”

“I... I don’t know. Why?”

“Because I think Ozpin needed to hear that too.”

Slipping from the table, Ruby gestured for Oscar to stay put and used her semblance to fly silently up the stairs and through the door she’d seen Yang choose. Her sister was asleep, a minor miracle given all they’d been through today, and Ruby was able to rummage through her luggage unnoticed.

She only stole a small piece. And if Yang asked about it, Ruby would say it had been for herself.

Another lie, but… Yang wasn’t ready to hear the small truths yet. Like how sometimes even the people she was furious with needed comfort too.

So Ruby took a piece of the chocolate Yang had bought at the station and flew back down to the kitchen. Oscar watched her, eyes red and puffy, as she located a brittle mug and the fresh water Weiss had boiled earlier that night. The fire had finally warmed them and Ruby used the now glowing wood to heat the water again, dropping the chocolate in piece by tiny piece. She hadn’t been able to find a spoon, so she used her finger to stir it all together. It hurt a little, but that was okay.

“Here,” Ruby said, shoving the makeshift hot chocolate at Oscar. “It’s probably gonna taste a little weird, but,” she shrugged.

Oscar reached for the treat with careful, reverent hands. “We don’t have a lot of supplies,” he whispered.

“I know.”

“So why?”

Ruby settled back onto the table, this time pulling the edge of her cloak over her legs like a blanket. Her right arm moved to drape itself over Oscar’s shoulder.

“Because you two look weird without a mug in your hands,” she said, squeezing him tight.

He smiled—a small one—and took the first sip.

When he did, Ruby thought she caught the slightest flicker of gold in the back of his eyes.

[thesleepiestspiny]

A Family Affair

After his transfiguration stabilized, Frostolas no longer stood ragged of breath and shivering from his own cold. He had dominion over a vast well of demonic energy, and had brought himself to a twisted facsimile of his prime.

 He towered over Aquaria now, thanks to a suit of armor that had manifested over himself. It was then that she remembered he was not originally a caster by trade.

He was a spellsword.

She jumped back as he swung the large claw of ice that emerged from his side, his fogged breath emanating from his masked visage. Delenus lept to try and put himself between her and him, but Frostolas summarily slapped him aside, a jagged icicle impaling him in his side; It barely missed his vitals, but he was out of commission for now.

She wanted to cry out his name and run to his side. But she knew there wasn't any time. Frostolas was already drawing the sword his new form had given him, so she readied her trident.

 "You remind me of him, you know." he spoke in an unnaturally deep voice as his permafrost-coated boots clacked against the iced-over stone. His sword - a two handed blade by design - seemed almost weightless in his hand as he swung at her. She blocked it, but was put off balance from the sheer unholy force behind his swing. He followed up with a hook from his opposite hand, sending her spiraling backwards. By the time she recovered, he was already swinging again. She caught his sword in a block of ice to stun him and stabbed at him, denting his armor as he craned his head to one side to avoid one of the prongs.

 "He was resourceful," Frostolas spoke again, grabbing her by the head and raising her up. "But he could never match my raw might."

He swung the blade at her, using the ice around it as a bludgeon, breaking it free and shattering the mouthplate of her helmet as she was once again sent reeling back.

"s-... shut UP." she sneered as she spat blood at him. Her own quick thinking froze the blood mid-air. She took solace in the fact that he actually winced as he put his hand up to block the razor-sharp splinters. She took this moment to rush him again, stabbing deep into his foot. He let out a guttural snarl as he dropped his sword and grabbed her again, forcing her to her knees. He raised his clawed hand up, forming a blade of ice in his hand,  intending to end the fight as quickly as he had started it.

"Now, go meet him, and tell him Soui shall remain ever-lasting."

He brought the jagged weapon down. Only to be met with a clatter as something dove in the way.

He. Knew that visor. That shield.

He swore that armor had been left on the mountaintop. Where he had left his brother's corpse.

"I finally found you, my brother." the figure spoke. In that exact voice.

Frostolas's cold demeanor gave way to inarticulate rage as he roared before being interrupted with the abrupt snap of his makeshift blade, and a solid blow to the face from the assailant's shield. While the titan was reeling from the blow, the new combatant helped Aquaria to her feet.

"D... father?" she croaked as she saw him in the worn, but recognizable armor he had first left the castle in a year ago, chiefly noticing a stab wound in his chest with dried blood caked in the wound. He hugged her tight, as if he was afraid to let go. She hugged him with a similar tightness as the fact that he was truly here began to sink in.

"I'm here, sweetie. Dad's here."

Azulos turned to face his brother, still in disbelief at who was standing before him. As he did so, Aquaria used a wave of her hand to break Delenus free of the icicle so he could get somewhere safe to recover. "Delenus, get patched up. This is a family matter."

"Ngh... y-you got it, queenie." He said, limping away, keeping his wound from bleeding out too badly with his own magic. "Take 'im down, your majesties."

"No. No. You. YOU..." Frostolas ranted to himself, picking up his blade. The louder he spoke, the more his jaw-like mask opened with his own mouth. He lunged at his brother, locking weapons with him. "You played dead all this time."

"What's your call, Aquaria?" The king said, glancing back to his daughter. She nodded. "I need a moment to catch my breath; keep him in your close quarters. I'll play a bit of havoc with him!"

Frostolas pulled his fist back to punch, but felt something weigh heavy against it as it and Aquaria's own outstretched hand gleamed. He settled for kicking Azulos backwards and staggering away, leveling his sword at them.

"My brother; always needs help to fight his battles."

Azulos merely bowed his head. "You truly have gotten worse."

At that, the demonologist sneered as he stepped forward to strike. However, his feet refused to move as Azulos closed the gap for him, stabbing at him with shield and spear in-hand. It draw blood across his cheek, but caused him to grip the spear and stab his brother in return. He leered triumphantly as he felt it pierce Azulos's stomach, right where he had previously. Aquaria nearly shrieked.

"Lost your wit in that ditch, did you? "

But his blood didn't run down the blade much at all. That's when he realized exactly what happened.

'He wasn't making me think he was dead. He was making me think he was alive’

Azulos's eyes glowed as he stared up at his brother, eye to eye despite the height difference.

"You've succumbed to wraithhood, haven't you, brother?"

Aquaria started to come to grips with what that meant. She... had met him again. Only to learn she would lose him all over again. "Dad..."

"When I was attacked that day. I swore to myself. I would NEVER rest. Until I knew my daughter was safe. Until I had my final words with you, Frostolas."

Azulos grabbed the blade with one hand and pulled it in close as he stabbed his spear into one of Frostolas's feet. He used what magic he could to hold Frostolas's claw still. The usurper practically roared as he tried to tear himself loose, but Azulos used his magic to ensure he was pinned as Aquaria rushed in. She lept off of Azulos's head (to his slight chagrin), and stabbed her traitorous uncle straight through the eye on his forehead with her weapon's rapier-tip, driving it straight into his skull. He remained silent as he gazed up at her. Then back down at him before the three of them collapsed, Aquaria barely remaining on her feet, and Azulos collapsing overtop his brother, who was unable to move.

"I swore. That I would never forgive you for hurting my family..."

His cold hands wrapped around Frostolas in the best embrace he could manage.

"...nor myself, for not being there for you when you needed me."

Frostolas's eyes widened.

"a...wh-...nrl"

Azulos removed his mask. He dared not let Aquaria see him like this, a frost-bitten mummy of his former self. But he needed to show Frostolas how he truly felt. And his eyes, still welled with tears, were all he had left to do so. "I cast you out for breaking the law... but not a day went by since then where i didn't doubt myself. Where i didn't wonder what it would've been like if i had let you stay. Or yet, when i thought back to our time fighting together, if i had just asked you how you were doing more. If I had just checked on you. I didn't know you-"

Frostolas's hand twitched as he placed it on Azulos's back. He had never expected nor knew he wanted to hear those words before. But it rekindled something in his heart that ached worse than even his own death throes. He mustered all the strength he could in his scrambled head to respond.

"nmh... ghhk-...you. were always. too hard on yourself..."

Azulos's senses were numbed. But he could still feel the final gasp of Frostlas's life leaving him. The permafrost coating his frost-bitten body melted away as the area's temperature rose. He placed his mask back on his face and moved to hold his daughter again, his voice growing choked.

"Im. So sorry for leaving you alone like that. Im sorry that have to leave still. but i will never abandon you. never ever. Not for the sake of the kingdom alone or even the world. But because I will make sure you are safe. I... know all too well how heavy the crown is. I regret that you must bear it now, of all times."

She cried softly into his shoulder as he patted his daughter's back. And yet, she did the same for him.

"... Thank you, father. I remember yours and mother's teachings, but... the friends and fellows i've met, and the heirlooms mother have left me, have helped me adjust. I... I think i'm ready for that burden now, more than ever."

He made a slight choking noise as he composed himself. "That's my girl."

Azulos walked back over to Frostolas's limp body, staring down at him.

"The one final thing I would ever ask of you, Aquaria... Is to bury my brother alongside me. For all the horrible things he had put us through... i would not deprive him of his own family blood any longer. I do not demand this as your father or decree it as king. But ask it of you, as one who serves the throne you now sit upon."

She... frowned a bit. It didn't sit too easily with her at first... But she knew all too well how badly her father's heart ached over his perceived faults despite his attempts to hide it, and had avenged his death and the suffering of her kingdom not two minutes ago. She didn't particularly see any more harm that could be done by digging a spare hole in the family graveyard for him , and knew it would at least grant her father some peace of mind to make his final passing easier. Frostolas would get a grave and a marker, she thought, but would get no proper funeral service. Her compassion did still have limits.

"...I shall make the arrangements once I have the time."

He curtsied as a show of gratitude. "Thank you, your majesty," he said, as he began to walk away. "I shall... be in my old room. I want to recollect before I make my final appointment. I can't keep your mother waiting forever."

She hugged him once more before he could make it to the steps.

"I'm glad you came home. Tell mom I said hi."

Azulos smiled as best he could beneath the mask and held his daughter one last time.

"That I will. I'm sure she'll be proud to hear how strong you've become. We'll be cheering for you."

[kalimarswriting]

Playing by Ear: Chapter 2

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Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.

Chapter 2: First Battle

I knew I was out of shape, but running to the town took a lot more out of me than I cared to admit. When I finally made it I could hardly breathe, and it wasn't because of the smoke. (Though I would totally blame it on the smoke if anyone asked.)

It took an embarrassingly long time to recover from sprinting without warming up, and the heat generated from it was too much for the weather I was dressed for. My boots were warm, but there wasn't much to be done about that. If I loosened them I'd be even clumsier than usual. What I could do was tie my jacket around my waist and put my hat on my belt loop to cool down. I was surprised I hadn't gotten asked about my clothes actually. Really, were baseball caps secretly common? Oh, there went my focus again. It was time to focus on helping out now, not thinking about clothes!

Robin was nowhere in sight, and neither were the Shepherds or the bandits who were raiding the town. Houses burned on either side of the street, and people were running this way and that as they tried to rescue others from the destruction.

I thought about helping them, really I did! But their part of the chaos was never mentioned in the game, and I didn't know what would happen if I stayed out of the prologue's fight. Would I be forgotten, and left here in Southtown? As nice as it would be to stay away from the danger of fighting, if there was one thing I knew about the Shepherds it was that food and shelter were provided pretty much free of charge. Not only that, but you even get paid! I never liked the military, but fighting with the Shepherds sounded much better than living on the streets in a world I was unfamiliar with. With them I might even get strong! (…ish.) Really, the choice was easy. My pride wasn't going to let me avoid the fight anyway.

I stopped the nearest townsperson and asked for directions to the town square. "That way," the maiden said, pointing. I started in the indicated direction without waiting for her to finish. I was already late!

"Wait! Don't go there! There's bandits!" She yelled after me, but I waved her off and kept running. Oh my legs were going to be sore later! But I couldn't let that stop me. If I couldn't do this then I might as well quit, and I refused to do that.

I knew I was in the right place when I nearly tripped over a smelly guy with an axe. I caught myself before I actually fell, but I also caught the attention of the bandit. He turned from the supply cart he was pillaging (really? Eating on the job?) and swung his axe at me. I jumped back with a curse, barely dodging the blade slicing the air. He swung again, I dodged again. Rinse. Repeat. With adrenaline fueling me and my reflexes, I could do this all day.

Unfortunately, so could he, and if I made a mistake I'd probably die. I chanced a glance behind me and saw I was running out of space to dodge. Crud, time for a new plan. I needed to think, but I couldn't afford to take my attention off my attacker! It was only a matter of time before I tripped over my own feet…but I wasn't the only one who could make mistakes. I redoubled my efforts to concentrate on the ruffian and noticed the width of each swing; It was way too wide. I'd initially ignored the mistake because I had no weapon to exploit it with, but maybe I could still use it. I waited until there was only a foot or two between my back and the burning house I was being herded towards, and when the bandit reached the end of his swing I used the wall as a springboard to ram myself into his axe arm. The axe's momentum tore the weapon from his grip when the impact caused him to loosen his hold, lodging itself in the ground nearby.

Success! Now we were on even ground. Neither of us had weapons. But I had rammed myself into his arm, and so he took the opportunity to grab me in a choke hold. Stupid! I hadn't thought that one through.

And jeez, did I mention that this guy stank?

My feet left the ground when he straightened up, but that was his big mistake. With that my feet had room to swing, allowing me to kick him in the jewels. He went down like a stone. I dropped to the ground coughing, blinking the black from my vision for the second time that day, but this time I was smiling.

"Yes!" I had managed to defeat someone without dying!

The fight was going about as well as Robin expected, all things considered. Not that he knew what to expect. He had no memory to base any expectations off of, so as far as he knew it was perfectly normal to have an uncanny understanding of each individual skirmish. With a quick exchange of words with Chrom and some hurried commands he was able to direct the fight to the Shepherds' favor. Frederick was defending Lissa as she healed Chrom, who was still fighting through the slash to his arm. Robin was standing back from the fight a bit, casting a Thunder here and there when a brigand would otherwise have landed a hit. It was a strange, but surprisingly effective system.

An unexpected "Yes!" diverted Robin's attention from the skirmish in front of him to the celebrating figure a short distance behind him. He didn't know whether to be grateful or concerned that the girl from the field had followed him to protect the town, so he settled for a little bit of both. Concern quickly took over however when he saw her complete lack of weapon. What was she thinking coming here without something to defend herself with?! And drawing attention to herself by yelling?

Then Robin noticed the brigand writhing in pain on the ground. Oh. That was one way to do things. But it wasn't likely to work forever. Robin was pretty sure there were only a couple brigands left, all of which were engaged fighting with Chrom, but if he had missed the one she had dealt with then he couldn't be sure.

Better to be safe than sorry. Robin was pretty sure that was a saying somewhere, right? It seemed like sound logic. "Hey! Miss!"

"Hey! Miss!"

I almost jumped out of my skin, reflexes still overreacting from the adrenaline. Was that Robin? I glanced around in the direction I heard his voice come from until I spotted him several yards away. How convenient that the axe-man brought the fight closer to the Shepherds! As soon as I located him he shouted, "Next time, get a weapon!" and threw his sword at me. He threw his sword at me! Who does that?!

Instead of trying to catch it like I think he intended me to do I did the sensible thing and got the heck out of the way. I tripped over the unfortunate brigand I had momentarily forgotten about, who ended up getting bludgeoned in the gut by the sword's hilt. Poor guy. It was just not his lucky day.

"Dude! What the hell!" I screeched in indignation. I got off my butt and grabbed the sword before the fallen brigand could. He may have been down for the count but he could always recover.

Robin, for his part, looked like he was at a loss for what he could have done wrong. Fine. A battle was not the time for pettiness; I'd let him off the hook. There were better things to pay attention to anyway.

I took pity on the groaning brigand behind me and knocked him out by kicking him in the head. I kicked him pretty hard, harder than I'd hit anyone before, just to make sure he was actually out. I didn't want to take any chances. But did I kick him too hard? Should I check his pulse? Would that be stupid? Would I be considered weak for that? He was the enemy, and just a brigand no less. Not someone important. But still…

Perhaps I was deluding myself, but there was little reason to kill or permanently maim someone who could just be knocked out instead. I didn't need that kind of guilt weighing on me yet if I could help it. If only defeated foes would just disappear like they did in the game! You never had to worry what became of them after that.

Glancing around to make sure I wasn't about to be attacked, I quickly knelt down to check for a pulse. Stinky's neck was gross and sweaty, but his pulse was definitely present and fine. I internally laughed at myself for ever thinking I could hit someone hard enough to kill, even with one of my once-formidable kicks. As if I was strong enough for that!

I forced myself to get back to at least thinking of more productive things. If I stopped for much longer the adrenaline would wear off, and then I'd be even more useless than usual. It looked like Chrom and Robin were taking on the boss brigand while Lissa took a break. Frederick was giving me the evil eye. What had I done wrong now?

I was hesitant to piss Frederick off even more, but I also didn't know what he was so suspicious of me for (besides existing) so I chanced approaching.

"Problem?" I asked when I got close.

Rather than answering the knight just looked at me like I was some kind of filth. Okay…awkward. I left him alone and scooted closer to Lissa. Hopefully she had forgiven me for slapping her earlier.

Lissa must have seen the discomfort on my face because she made to to reassure me. "Don't mind Frederick, he's suspicious of everyone!" So I guess she saw that interaction back there. Smooth, me, smooth.

I remembered the knight's title, Frederick the Wary. It had seemed funny on the other side of the screen, but I could see now that it was going to get annoying pretty quick. Best way to deal with it was probably just to move past it. If I let it get to me I'd be even jumpier than usual, and that would look suspicious too!

"Alright. But is there anything I can do? I feel kind of useless standing here doing nothing."

Lissa thought for a moment. "Chrom and Robin have their fight well in hand, so I guess you could watch for any stragglers? You did get that last one after all."

"Can do!" I stood a little straighter with pride for someone noticing my accomplishment. Maybe I wouldn't be a burden after all!

Hm. That was starting to sound like a complex. Not a bad complex to have, since it fueled the desire to be useful, but I should probably be careful. I could be taken advantage of very easily with such a simple motive; I'd seen it happen before.

I shook myself out of my thoughts again and dutifully watched for any shady movements. A townsperson scurried across an alley causing me to twitch, but I stilled myself again. Refocus. Lissa shifted a bit and I almost cut her in half with the sword I forgot I was holding as I jumped towards the unexpected sound. She froze; I froze.

Shit. This looked pretty bad. Um.

"I'll just ah, step over here…" I said hesitantly. I awkwardly brought the bronze sword closer to my person and took a few generous steps away from her, making sure to keep her between me and Frederick. If he had been giving me the stink-eye before I could only imagine the glare I'd be getting now.

I tried to center myself again to keep watch, but my mind was still trying to go over what had just happened. I was holding a dangerous weapon and needed to remember that. Lissa had almost paid for my mistake. Should I apologize? That would go over well. 'Hey, sorry for trying to attack you for the second time today. They were both accidents, I swear!'

My paranoia senses were tingling, so I snuck a glance behind me. (I didn't dare look at Frederick) Chrom was watching me with a somewhat concerning expression while Robin practically exploded a ball of electricity on the boss. The sound of the boss hitting the ground took Chrom's attention off of me and back to Robin, but I was still uneasy. Chrom had probably just seen me attack his sister out of nowhere. The prince may have been trusting to a fault, but that would only get me so far.

Lissa also noticed the fall of the last brigand and was already on her way to check on the victors. Frederick followed, now keeping himself between me and Lissa. Understandable, considering. I lagged behind to keep a little distance from what I considered to be the biggest threat to my health at the moment.

The post-battle dialog was already under way by the time I got there. Letting the words drift to the background of my mind, I tried to assess how deep a hole I had just dug myself based on everyone's facial expressions. The only one who didn't seem completely unconcerned was of course Frederick the Wary, from whom I was receiving a glare worthy of Batman. I "eep"ed and hid behind Robin. This action did not go unnoticed and and I got a raised eyebrow from the tactician while Chrom sent an are-you-kidding-me-Frederick-you're-scaring-her-again look towards the knight.

I internally cringed at my own behavior. I wasn't always this skittish. I used to be confident and calculating. But I had failed a few too many times since then and been told off by a few too many people. Getting manipulated and developing some major anxiety put an end to my days of not letting anything bother me. Not to mention I had a feeling I was off my meds. I didn't remember how I had apparently gotten inside a video game, or stuck in the world it was based on, but I seriously doubted the universe had been kind enough to let me take my ADHD medicine first. That explained why I kept getting lost in my thoughts and why I was so jumpy. Actually no, I was always that jumpy. But normally I could at least pay attention to a conversation and right now I wasn't even managing to do that, and that was proof enough to me.

Dear Naga, was the world ready for me off my medications?

It was a legitimate concern. I had the most severe case of ADHD my doctors had ever seen. Off my medicine I was so annoying, I even annoyed myself! That's bad enough on its own, but I would go into withdrawal without my anti-depressants. Maybe the world could handle me, maybe, but I might not be able to handle the world without those pills. I needed to learn how to go without all of them, starting now. The first thing to do was to actually listen to what was going on around me again. Right. Hopefully I hadn't missed anything important.

I tuned back in to…silence? Had I really missed the whole thing? They were all looking at me. Perfect, I was supposed to say something.

"Um, I'm sorry, I just missed everything you just said. What was the question?"

"Milord, I told you, she can't be trusted. She obviously thinks if she plays dumb she can get away with anything."

Rude. "I'm right here you know."

Frederick turned to me. "Then care to explain why you attacked Lady Lissa again?"

Chrom's gaze was serious too. "I'd like to know that as well."

"That—that was an accident! I was on my toes looking for any lingering brigands and she moved and I reacted and I'm not used to having a sword!" I said all in one breath. I noticed my hands were shaking more than normal and started taking slower breaths to calm myself. Give me a physical fight any day, I could (sorta) handle that—it was the social stuff that got to me.

Chrom must have seen it because his stern expression softened. "Let's start over with something easier. What's your name?"

Ha, stupid me; Of course I forgot to introduce myself. "Merra. My name is Merra."

"Do you have a place to go Merra?" Chrom asked.

"No," my eyebrows furrowed as I tried once again to remember how I had gotten from my world to Ylisse, "I have no idea how or why I was in that field, or how to get home."

"Are you amnesiac too?" Lissa asked. Ah, the lucky question. Time for that cover story.

"No. I remember my life and who I am, just not how I got here." I hesitated, readying to launch into the whole friend-of-a-psychic story so I could make it convincing.

Frederick got impatient before I could even start. "Milord, this is ridiculous. Her story is as unbelievable as Robin's. We have no time to humor a spy. Did you not notice how friendly she was with that band of ruffians? She didn't even bring a weapon!"

"I wasn't thinking!" I said defensively, stepping out from behind Robin to be heard. "I fought that guy anyway, didn't I?"

"Obviously staged," he sniffed. "Otherwise she wouldn't have checked to see if he was okay once she had won."

"Well excuse me for never having killed someone before!" I raised my voice this time. I should have known that was a mistake.

Chrom intervened then. "Peace, both of you. It's easy to see that her clothes are foreign. I've never seen anything like them, so she must be from somewhere far away. Merra, you were at a disadvantage against that brigand if you truly fought him without a weapon, and yet you still won. That's no easy task. You have nowhere to go, so how would you feel about joining the Shepherds?"

My breath caught. "Even though I accidentally attacked Lissa twice?"

"As you said, those were accidents, and with proper training we can prevent that from happening again." Chrom was smiling now.

"Then yes!"

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[cupnoodle-queen]

CHASING SUNS: Chapter 15 Lead by Example

2,564 words

I’m gonna have to quit it with the word vomit chapters if I have any hope of finishing this soon lol.

WARNING: Graphic violence

Tagging the ever wonderful @themissimmortal, @nifwrites and @blindbae

The following night after her shift, Cam pulled into Lestallum to pick up Iris for her first hunt. 

She drove Greyson’s truck, of whom she was eternally thankful for considering he also offered to turn in their hunts for payment since she was temporarily banned from collecting bounties. Cam explained the process to Iris, who listened attentively with eagerness to get started. She fidgeted with her seatbelt en route to the Coernix bypass. “Thanks again, Cam. I really mean it, if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, just name it.”

Cam nodded, the gist of a smile on her chapped lips. “Don’t thank me yet, gotta kill something first. Also um,” she looked away from the road for a moment and gave the girl an earnest look, “maybe let’s keep this between us until you’ve developed your skillset. I know your brother will be less than ecstatic that I’m doing this...”

“You didn’t tell him?” an air of concern toned Iris’s voice as they pulled over to the side of the road at their destination, the hunt a short trek away from the pavement. “I thought you guys were...I-I mean-”

“Oh, no no,” Cam shook her head a little faster than she’d intended. “We’ll approach him once you’ve already got a killcount going, hard for him to deny you once you’ve already proven your worth.” 

“Good idea.”

They hopped out of the truck and Cam came around to Iris’s side, but not before stopping to grab something in the back cab. “I have something for you.” 

She presented the teenager with two handguns, the very same ones she’d began hunting with. Iris turned them back and forth in her hands, testing the weight of them, her face a jumble of emotions. Cam explained, “These were mine, before Gladio moved me up to swords. It’s not much, but it will kill stuff and that’s what we need to do for now, at least until you can afford to-”

Iris set the guns on the hood of the truck and pulled Cam into a sudden, unexpected and wordless hug, overcome with gratitude. Cam sighed, returning the gesture. After she showed Iris how to tighten the holsters around her belt, Cam shrugged her swords into place behind her back and they headed into the fray.

The bounty was on a small gang of hobgoblins, something slightly more intermediate than Cam had hoped to offer on a first-timer hunt as they could hit hard; she’d have to ensure they couldn’t get a blow in otherwise things would go south, and fast. She pondered about sparring later down the road and surmised it would be required, remarking that the majority of her quick reflexes were honed through duelling. First Iris had to gather enough gil to get some armor, before moving onto close-quarters combat with melee weapons. Cam could sense the deja-vu with her own progress, but she thought it better to stick with what she knew.

They followed the ungroomed path down the hillside, carving through the overgrown brush and rerouting themselves at impassable areas. “Feels good to get out of the city,” Iris spoke from behind Cam, who was following the map on her phone, “like I can finally breathe or something. It’s so crowded there, even on the best of days.”

“I know the feeling,” Cam replied, keeping her voice low so as to not draw attention to themselves, “Like your thoughts aren’t even your own there, huh?”

“Yes, exactly!” Iris checked behind them periodically. “Like I barely have room to breathe some days. Out here, at least I can move without feeling like I’m about to bump into someone…” 

Just as Cam stepped out from around a large boulder her eyes landed on a swatch of purple-grey skin and she stepped back, certain they hadn’t spotted her. She held a hand up to halt Iris, instead motioning her to slowly peek around the side and get a closer look at them. “There’s three, maybe four total. That’s a lot of fists, fists that will easily knock you out cold with one hit.” She turned back, narrowing her eyes at the brunette. “I have a plan, but how confident are you in your aiming abilities, would you say?”

Iris pursed her lips, considering. “A bit, but not much.” 

At least she’s being honest, Cam thought. “Okay, don’t worry, it comes with experience. For now try to aim at their limbs. Avoid shots to their torsos, all that muscle will just eat your bullets. If you can manage head shots they’ll drop like flies.” In a slinking motion Cam reached back and unsheathed both swords, eliciting a hushed woah from Iris. She glanced around the corner once more, plotting her plan of attack before turning back. “Okay, I’ll head in to get them started. Can probably take one out with a couple quick blows myself, but I’ll need you to start firing as soon as you can get a good line of sight on ‘em. Feel free to start with just one, too, if both guns are overwhelming,” Cam nodded. “Ready?”

Iris gave a brave nod in return, flicking the safety off the gun in her grasp. “Ready.”

With that, Cam all but leaped from behind the rock and the hobgoblins reacted in surprise, animalistic growls as they beat their chests with massive bludgeoning fists. Sure enough Cam could detect a wide opening for one of the daemons and made quick work of it, arms windmilling through the air as she launched herself into a devastating whirlwind attack. Her blades sliced at it’s flesh like a hot knife through butter, the skin ripping to expose planes of flayed muscles, it’s anguished yelps only pushed her bloodlust into overdrive, and with one fell swoop she separated it’s right arm from it’s body. The enemy swayed and dropped, blackened-purple daemon blood spurting in all directions as it bled out, staying down for good.

Cam swivelled just in time to dodge a fist, countering with a well timed blow to the back of the daemon’s neck, the edge of her sword almost getting lodged in between the links of its spinal column. Just then she heard a gunshot ring out, and the hobgoblin occupying her blade fell limp, the telltale black hole that blossomed on its temple the culprit. Beginner’s luck, Cam thought and grinned, though it was short-lived as a hobgoblin unsurprisingly barrelled towards Iris, who had begun running around the perimeter of the action. Good girl, Cam thought, keep moving…

Cam had another near miss that moment, one of the daemons catching her off guard and trying to swipe her legs out from below her. Dammit, where was her honed composure and focus all of a sudden? She reeled back, her elbow connected with it’s jaw, giving with the force of impact and going slack. It howled in pain but attempted to swing at her once more, just glancing Cam’s wrist and causing her blade to slip from her grasp. It flung through the air with a boomerang effect before smacking into a tree. 

She was down a weapon, and there were two daemons left. Iris was firing at one of them, though missing or just grazing for the most part due to the distance and the fact that she was moving. But then the petite girl did something that gave Cam a surge of pride: she withdrew the second gun from its holster, jammed the safety off, and started firing at both enemies at once.

One dropped, still reeling in it’s death throes but Cam ignored it, chasing after the last one until she was in range to attack. She slashed at it’s back, causing it to slow and whip around just in time for her sword to slash its neck. It swayed drunkenly before dropping at her feet, dead. 

“Excellent!” Cam breathed, catching her breath. “All clear.”

Iris panted as well, but movement caught her eye and she approached the last hobgoblin that wasn’t quite dead yet, thrashing around in agony. “Not yet!”

She swung her leg up and with a cleaving slam brought her boot down on it’s face.

  “That was AWESOME!” Iris was positively beaming on the drive back to HQ. “I feel like I could take on an Astral!”

Cam snickered. “Let’s save that one for another day. But you did great, girl. For your first time, you really stood your ground.” She offered her a supportive grin, a rare teeth-baring one, and Iris all but jumped out of her skin with adrenaline-fuelled glee.

“So, when’s the next one?” she asked eagerly as the truck entered the tunnel. “I really like bashing daemon heads in.”

“I don’t see why we can’t get another one out before the day is done,” Cam checked the time, surmising she could grab a blue hunt or two for them to quickly scrape off the docket and earn the girl some extra gil. Oddly though, she was feeling rather beat after that green level hunt, something she hadn’t felt since her earlier training days…

Passing it off as a long day of repetitively sharpening blades, she pulled out of the tunnel and into hunter HQ. The blood puddle at the entrance had dried, the behemoth corpse now gone as several hunters had driven up and around the rock shelf earlier in the day to tow the body a few miles away. 

As she found a spot to park, Cam asked, “Have you ever been here before?”

“Just once,” Iris replied, checking her face in the visor mirror for any spots of blood. She was surprisingly clean for just having committed daemoncide. “I came here with Gladio...right after Noctis went into the crystal.” 

“Oh,” Cam coughed, the prince’s -no, king’s name causing ripe goosebumps to pepper her skin. Gladio had told her many moons ago of his relation to the Lucis family, how his family was responsible to act as the shield of the king, how the scar over his left eye was caused by a bully attacking him and he came between them...She’d asked him to share more about their travels together but he brushed it off, said he “wasn’t ready” to revisit the good times so soon, that he’d need to hold onto them for when he truly lost hope that light would never be restored to Eos… 

Cam slinked out of the vehicle and Iris followed, unbuckling the holsters from her belt loops and setting it on the back of the truck. They spotted Greyson chatting with someone near the western guard post and he waved them down, meeting them halfway. “So,” He hummed, adjusting his bandana around his neck. “How’d it go?” 

“She’ll be a certified hunter in no time,” Cam replied, much to Iris’s delight as she held back a laugh. She handed Greyson the completed hunt flyer and pulled her phone out to send him the kill shots so he could collect their bounty. “We’ll stick with guns for a bit, as my first trainer did with me,” she continued, nodding at the husky man, “but if you want we can switch to something pointy and sharp later on.”

“That’s what I’m looking forward to,” Iris replied, and Cam could swear she puffed her chest out a bit. It was inspiring. “Eventually, I want to have a greatsword, like my big brother.” Cam’s eyebrows bounced a bit. “Wow, ambition girl. I can respect that-”

“IRIS?!” 

Cam’s heart leaped up her throat as Gladio’s voice bellowed from behind them, echoing off the natural stone walls of HQ. Her and Iris turned simultaneously to find Gladio, coated in a layer of sweat, blood and something mucus-like, hands balled into tight fists as he approached. He looked ripe to kill whatever he’d already offed previously. “Why are you here??”

Iris shrunk her shoulders, her mouth opening to respond but the words wouldn’t come. She looked at Cam for help, at a complete loss for words. Gladio’s eyes fixated onto her as well; her soulmate marking indicated so, the outline tingling slightly. 

Cam considered herself an honest person. She’d barely told anything above a fib before and thought herself not great at being dishonest. It always left a bad taste on her mouth at just the thought of bending the truth, yet in the two seconds it took for her to reply to Gladio, her soulmate and one of only a couple people left in the world she could trust…”She needed to get out of the city, so I brought her here to visit you.”

She lied. 

Iris followed suit like a well thought-out plan they’d discussed. “Yeah, I missed you big bro. Plus I had to see what the commotion was about over this behemoth-”

“Dammit, Iris,” Gladio growled, “It’s not safe here for you-”

“It’s not safe anywhere, Gladdy!” Iris’s shrill yelp in response cut the air around them, people staring. “When will you get that? One of these days something bad is going to happen and you won’t be there to protect me-” 

Gladio turned on his heel and walked away from them, calling over his shoulder. “I’ll drive you back to Lestallum myself. Cam, we’ll talk about this when I get back.”

Cam’s brain was throbbing. Why did she have to complicate things… She offered an apologetic look to the younger girl. “Sorry, Iris. I-I don’t know why-” 

“No, thank you for covering my butt,” Iris replied as they trudged behind the messy man, steam almost radiating from him as he made for his Jeep, passing the hunt posting board on the way. Iris’s eyes lit up at the sight, and she trailed behind to get a look at it. “Woah...There’s so many…” she mumbled to herself.

When Gladio reached his vehicle and noticed Iris was still behind, he turned around and found her stopped in her tracks, fixated on the hunt postings. His teeth mashed together. “Iris, what the hell?”

She jolted and ran over. “Sorry! I saw something…”

Without another remark, Gladio backed out of the parking spot and drove off into the darkness of the tunnel. Cam watched his taillights dim as his Jeep faded into the distance.

She wanted to throw up, the lie she’d told had burned her tongue like a fresh cup of Ebony. She regretted it immensely, but at least now she had time to plan her next move, determine when the best time to take Iris out would be. He’d texted her about his new patrolling gig, conveniently provided her with a schedule, suggesting they could spend time together or go on a drive when he wasn’t on duty. She liked the idea very much, though realized now just how thinly stretched her time would be…

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, an incoming text message. She pulled it out and opened it. It was from Prompto: So I see you outside without a beer in your hand. Come inside and I’ll change that. 

Cam’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion, before she realized she was standing just outside the bar. She peered into the window and sure enough, a familiar chocobo-butt hairstyle was visible in the dim bar lighting. He flicked his hand in a casual wave to her and she returned the gesture.

She couldn’t deny it; a cold one sounded damn fine right about now.

[grumpyimmortalsnaillove-blog]

Apocalypse, Please

Thump. Another body hit the dust.

Thump. And another.

When did it come down to this? How the hell did she get here? The Italian woman whirled around, her Beretta hot to the touch, and shoved the barrel of the gun into a diseased ridden, frothing mouth. The gun went off with a pop and another body was added to the pile at her feet. How long had she been at this? An hour? Several? Days?

“You are very experienced with killing. No wonder you could take out my guards so easily. I admire your skills…Fiammella.”

The dark-haired woman tossed a pointed glare in the direction of the speaker for a split moment. Fiammella. A pointless name she earned in her years of travel. She only allowed it because it was better than her real name, Zara Aquati, being whispered around the nation. Her attention turned back to the snarling matters at hand. If only she could find a break in this deadly dance, then maybe she could throw an actual dagger instead of a metaphorical one. As it was, the waves of undead was unrelenting and they certainly weren’t letting up despite the growing numbers of dead piling at the edges.

Ever since the former police officer entered The Den, things had gone from sketchy to complete shit storm in less than 24 hours. All because she broke a few of their rules. (Granted, they only had three.) But the one she broke was punishable by death. Don’t. Fuck. With the Denmother.

But Zara couldn’t help herself. Child trafficking. Senseless murder. A practical dictatorship. At first glance The Den seemed like a haven for the weary and the business savvy, but for any amateur sleuth- it was plain to see the darkness behind the false light. A few attempts at a lock, a well-timed guard, blunt trauma to the head and then she woke up to find herself inside a pit. All for trying to free the children held captive here. For that crime, she awoke in the Fighting Pit with the roar of jeers and drumming all around her. And the commanding voice of the head bitch in charge as she gave her guest an official welcome and an introduction for the night’s entertainment.

The rules were very simple. If you lived through the Pit, you were innocent and pardoned. Die…and you were found guilty. Depending on the crime, one could find themselves patrolling the trench…with all the other Zs. Punishments here were extended even after death.

So, what could she do besides fight? Though her muscles ached and her body screamed for relief, she pushed herself to fight harder. Her movements were getting sloppy but were becoming more aggressive. Her gun had run out of bullets and the clips on her hip were all empty. She had resorted to using her hunting knife and a sharpened mandible bone of a bovine that had been chucked at her near the start. An assassination attempt gone wrong. For them, at least.

After years of rigorous police training and clumsy experience in the apocalypse, the officer had become a well-versed dancer on the field. Her movements were always precise, quick and well thought out. The less stamina used, the better. But she was way past that. This dance had gone on for far too long and she was losing strength and focus. She hated close combat. She avoided it at all cost if she could. Putting forth the effort of bludgeoning her opponent was too taxing. Yet here she was. Using every muscle in her body just to pull through this fight alive. With every body added to the count- with every swing she took, she would pay it all back to the Denmother who stood watching in the box in the stands. She wasn’t exactly counting, but she would make damn sure she wasn’t moving after the first hit.

Zara could feel the Denmother’s eyes boring into her as she slashed through the onslaught of Zs. Watching and judging. It was said before that no one had ever survived the Pit. Well, this girl was going to make history for these savage heathens.

Finally, the Zs seemed to thin out. The gates on either side of her slowly lowered shut and it took all of her strength and will power not to collapse ontop of the bodies at her feet. She stood her ground and stared down the woman responsible. The crowd went from a deafening howl to a stunned silence. The Denmother was not much for conversation, but Zara could practically see the woman squirm beneath her dominating exterior for a source of words. Finally, she seemed to find them after an agonizing moment of awkward silence.

“Interesting. I have never seen someone with that much determination to live.  Or with the skills to.” A light brow rose and Zara could faintly see the corners of her mouth lift into a smile. Zara could almost feel the blood in her veins begin to boil. This was all a game to her and her band of Wild Ones. Zara, the kids, life in general. They never looked beyond the span of a day and lived as if they would never see the sun rise again.

“That is because I don’t live for myself. I live to protect.” Zara hissed venomously through her teeth. Would it be murder to slay such a conniving, controlling bitch? She was seriously contemplating throwing her hunting knife at her. She was completely confident she could hit her mark.

“I see. None the less, you have survived The Pit and I am a woman of my word.” The crowd erupted with a slew of hisses and boos. She gracefully rose a sun kissed hand and the crowd fell silent once more. “We are honorable people, my Children. And this woman has paid her crimes and earned her freedom. As well as my respect.”

Zara looked around the stands. The stoic faces stared back at her with hard, unfeeling eyes through their war paint and colored dust. They didn’t want her there anymore than she wanted to be there. They wished for her death in that filthy, blood covered trench. And they were robbed of their ultimate entertainment for the evening. Zara never claimed to be an entertainer. She was a survivor.

The main gate to The Pit opened and two guards stood at the entrance. Zara cautiously walked between them. She clutched the handle of the knife and the bone until her knuckles turned white. The two guards wearing animal skin and covered head to toe in paint, flanked Zara and politely directed her towards the center of the city. They didn’t speak for the entire walk, but they didn’t have to. Zara knew exactly their destination and she preferred silence to idle chit chat anyways.

The three walked for what seemed like an hour until they arrived at some large historical looking building. After the fight and the long walk, Zara felt as if she were ready to collapse. She was walking sluggishly, dragging her feet with every step and the guards had taken notice. They slowed their pace to match hers and one even offered to carry her. She hardened her expression and growled out a refusal, but the offer confused her more so than humbling her. What were they playing at? Welcoming her to the city, bludgeoning her, throwing her in The Pit and then showing her hospitality?! The Den seemed like a fucked up place to her and she wasn’t entirely sure as to why the place gathered so much fame and praise from travelers.

Not wanting to speak, she kept her curiosity bottled within as she shuffled into the building with silence. Inside was lit with barrels of fire and strands upon strands of holiday lights. The Wild Ones did not want for much. They had most of what they wanted and needed right there. Electricity was one lavish luxury of The Den and they made a show of it by lighting the city up with thousands of lights and using every scrap of outdated tech they could scavenge.

The middle of the foyer seemed to be remodeled as a throne room of sorts, with a custom chair made of bone and rich cloth. In the throne sat the Denmother- her smoldering earthy eyes rested solely on Zara as she entered the room. Zara couldn’t read her expression but she didn’t seem happy, as one would say. The two guards that flanked her sides came up and put a hand on her shoulder-and forcibly pushed down.

Zara’s instincts kicked in. No matter how tired and aching her boy was, she took the right one’s hand and flipped him over her side and took the other’s arm and twisted. A crack echoed through the hall along with an ear curdling scream. The guards in the hall began to yell and surround her. Guns, spears, knives, and makeshift weapons were now all on her.

“Leave her.” The Denmother ordered as she rose from her throne and began to approach the assailant. Not one ounce of fear could be found on her poker-faced expression. Either she did not fear death or she was cocky enough to believe she could escape it. The guards at her side gave her a concerned look and she waved them away. They all begrudgingly left the hall, leaving Zara alone with the Denmother.

“Quite a performance. They call you Fiamella around the apocalypse. Little Flame. I see why now. You have a vivid spark that surrounds you. It’s quite fetching.”

“Enough bullshit. I didn’t come her for your praise.”

The Denmother smiled and let out a light chuckle at Zara’s temper. “No, indeed you did not. I came to make peace. Maybe we can help each other.”

“Ha. Maybe you should have thought of that before you threw me in the Pit,” Zara spat. This woman had nothing she wanted and there was no way in Hell that she would ever work for her. “Besides, you won’t agree to my terms. You won’t let the children go free, will you now?” Zara eyed her coldly.

The Denmother’s expression softened, as if Zara’s words wounded her. “Like so many before you, you wish to free the children. I only keep them for their own wellbeing-“

“Are you fucking insane? They are locked in cages!”

“Yes. For their protection.”

This made Zara’s mouth close. Protection? They looked like they were miserable and she had even seen firsthand how they were sold off to travelers. Her dark brows narrowed at the Denmother. The Denmother sighed, as if she had told this spiel a million times over. Though it was not so. She never explained her methods to anyone. But Zara was different. She was a force to be reckoned with and she did not wish to piss off the Italian any more than she already had- for fear of her people and what she stood for.

“I don’t just sell the children. I find them homes. Each person who buys a child from me signs a contract with me. They are to care for the child with decency. Some are sold as slaves, and some as companions. But even if they are sold as slaves, they are to be treated respectfully. I keep a record of all the children that pass these walls and, trust me, I do know if they are being mistreated. If they are, I send out a strike team to return to the child back to the Den.

The children are kept in cages because they are mischievous. Some have it in their heads that they are prisoners here and that they can make it out there on their own. Perhaps they can. But why take a chance when I can keep them safely locked away in here where there is food, shelter, human interaction. At a certain age, they have the choice to strike out on their own…or join as my children. Most stay within the Den. My methods may be harsh, Fiammella, but my reasons are just. If you disagree then fine. But do not get in my way.”

The Denmother slowly went back to her chair and sat down, tossing her long blonde curls over her shoulder as she did. Zara shifted her weight, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. The woman was a snob, but apparently not heartless. Zara looked down at her feet and began to chuckle. The Denmother took on an expression of utter confusion as she cocked her head to the side and eyed her carefully. It wasn’t often that Zara was wrong. She automatically assumed the worst of people in this god-forsaken world. Alive as they may have been, most were more of a monster than the Zs could ever be. She assumed the Denmother was one of them. A dictating cult leader who lead a band of murdering crazies. But perhaps she was wrong.

“Perhaps travelling alone has made you a bit…paranoid.” The Denmother chose her words carefully. “How about an able travelling companion, Fiammella? Or two.” They both looked at each other with guarded smiles.

A travelling companion? Zara had never thought about it. Travelling alone had its benefits, but so did traveling with a group. She looked up and shook her head after a moment of consideration. “No. I don’t need some kid to slow me down. I have-“

“These aren’t just children. Not the ones I am offering you,” The Denmother interrupted with a wry smile. She then stood and made way for a side exit, stopping only to beckon Zara to follow before disappearing behind the iron door. “Come.”

Zara paused, wondering if she should trust this woman. She didn’t seem to be on the offensive now and she was fairly certain she could escape any trap the Denmother may have in store. Zara wasn’t your average survivor after all. After a slight hesitation of deliberation, she shuffled forward and followed the Denmother out of the Hall. Perhaps one day she would learn to stifle her insatiable curiosity. But that would be on another day…

[hurricanerin]

I’m Slipping Under Ch. 4

Chapter 4:  Can’t Come Down

Summary: That one time Loki had a temper tantrum at Stuttgart that ended in smut

Author: Hurricanerin

Character/Pairing: Loki/OFC

Genre: Straight up smut plus a little adventure

Rating: Explicit

Warnings:  Dubious Consent

---

Her steps were even and measured as she padded to him, the train of her deep green gown dragging behind her.  In the scuffle the delicate fabric of her dress had been torn and many of the strings of beading ripped and ruined.  Her hair had fallen loose around her shoulders and now framed her face in soft waves.  Cautiously she ventured between his legs and sank to her knees.  She didn’t dare look up at him, knowing she’d lose her resolve whether or not he was staring at her.  Instead, she knelt and slowly lay her head to rest on his thigh in a show of submission.  Loki stared at her indignantly and continued his phone conversation.

 Clearly she wasn’t trying hard enough.

---

Annalise and Loki did their best to casually reintegrate into the guest pool.  Once back in the museum, they parted ways and went to their respective restrooms.

Though external physical evidence of her alleyway tryst with Loki was minimal, Annalise still felt as though she was executing a major walk of shame as she entered the women’s room.   The sound of her heels on the tile floor seemed deafening as she made her way between the other women busy powdering their noses.

She cleaned herself up to the best of her ability. It was crude, but wetting paper towels she sought refuge in one of the stalls to rid her thighs of the drying culmination of mutual orgasm.  She then made sure to wipe off the lipstick Loki had smeared on her neck and mouth.  After washing her hands, Annalise smoothed her hair and adjusted her dress before joining in the mass exodus of women filing back out into the museum.

Annalise smiled politely at the other women as they made their way towards the stairs.  She started when screams echoed throughout the vaulted ceilings.  The group of women leaving the restroom merged with the stampeding guests, running frantically for the exit of the museum.

Her gut twisted.  She had a bad feeling they were running from Loki.  Up until now, the worst behavior she’d witnessed from him was his seeming inability to hear her protests while balls deep inside her.  Cautiously descending the staircase, her eyes widened in horror as she caught sight of Loki looming over another man, positioning an awful looking machine on its tripod over the man’s eye.  All in the vicinity screamed in revulsion Loki forcibly removed the man’s iris for the scan.

She had to look away, her hand flying to her mouth to stifle her own dismay.

 This was not the man she knew.  The man she knew was rather sex starved and had an ego more inflated than a blimp, but never had she seen him this violent.

Trembling, she gripped the railing, stumbling down the stairs until she reached Loki’s side just as his suit transitioned seamlessly into gold and green armor.

“Loki,” she whispered.

Had he been human, her quiet whimper would’ve gone unheard.  Asgardian hearing seemed to be superior to that of homo sapiens, and Loki’s eyes shot to Annalise.  The knuckles of the hand the gripped the bannister were white, and all of a sudden she felt as though her lungs were no longer able to take in sufficient air.

 This was a really inconvenient time for a panic attack.

Luckily for Anna, Loki acted too quickly for her body to go into full hyperventilation mode.

Roughly he grabbed her arm and tugged her along with him.

“Never will you use my given name in the presence of anyone else,” he hissed, not bothering to stop for eye contact to reinforce the severity of her infraction.  There was no need.

Annalise was positive her upper arm already had bruises from how hard his fingertips were digging into the tissue.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry what?”

She licked her lip.  She knew what he wanted to hear.

“My King,” she spoke softly.

Though they never fell, tears gathered in her eyes.  Between the pain of his grasp and the insanity of what was becoming a reality before her eyes, she didn’t even notice.  However, they did not go unnoticed by Loki.

As they neared the open entrance of the museum, he whipped her to the side, using her bodyweight as momentum as he wielded her by her arm.  He faced her head on, horned helmet and all, and backed her against the wall for the second time that night.

His expression softened just the tiniest bit.

“You have nothing to fear, little peach.  You’ll not be harmed.  I have use for you.  Once we get outside, you will give me a grand introduction and then retire to my bed for the night.  There’s no need for you to witness what follows.”

Did he mean more violence?

“Not all subjects submit as beautifully as you,” he crooned, pressing his lips against the corner of her mouth in a deceivingly affectionate manner.   She knew he could easily snap her in half.

"Now, come.”

As they crossed the street, nearing the gaggle of guests corralled by Loki’s duplicates, the blare of a siren sounded.  The vehicle hurtled towards the pair and Loki lashed out, shooting a bolt of blue energy smashing into the ambulance, sending it flying back the way it came and landing with an explosion.

Pressure on her lower back urged her forward, even as Loki slowed behind her.  Anna approached the terrified crowd and cleared her throat.

“Ladies and gentleman, be calm, please,” she spoke clearly. “May I present to you Earth’s new king.   Please, do as he says and no one will be hurt.”  There was a hint of desperation to her voice.  Loki hadn’t given her a script to work from, nor had be promised compliancy would prevent injury… She was hoping he recognized her plea.

Loki bowed his head at Annalise in questionably authentic appreciation, doing his best to demonstrate before his subjects that he rewarded obedience.  The god walked in front of her, his hand pressing against her hip to herd her back behind him as he addressed his public.

“Kneel before me.  I said kneel!”

Everyone, including Annalise jumped at the volume and ferocity with which Loki bellowed.  He was obeyed out of fear.

“Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state?”

He raised his hands in triumph and continued, walking amongst his kneeling subjects.

“It’s the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life’s joy in a mad scramble for power. For identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.”

Annalise gasped in horror as an older man stood and addressed Loki.

“Not to men like you.”

Trying to get the gentleman’s attention, Anna fervently shook her head from behind Loki, desperately trying to discourage him from rebelling.  The newly crowned king simply grinned at his first opportunity to rectify resistance.

“There are no men like me.”

“There are always men like you,” the human sighed sadly.

“Look to your elder, people.  Let him be an example.”

Loki lowered his staff and pointed it at the perpetrator, a humming ball of blue energy forming near the bladed tip.  He fired, though the bolt never reached its intended target.  A man in a spandex dropped to the ground, using his shield to bounce the bolt back at the god.

She heard the Captain mutter something righteous at Loki, and then the two erupted in flashes of spangled red, white and blue and regal gold and green.  Cap flung his shield at Loki, catching it as it ricocheted off his opponent’s armor.  The men grappled, lunging and swinging at each other with their respective weapons.  Loki fought using his scepter as a sword and battering ram while the Captain bludgeoned and blocked with his shield.

Annalise took several steps back, trying to anticipate which direction the fight was moving.  Loki was clearly stronger than the other man, but when a hovering SHIELD aircraft started bellowing orders at the god, she became even more unnerved.  Everything was happening so quickly, it was surreal.

A flutter of panic ran through her.  There was a good chance she’d go down if Loki did.  She had been in his possession long enough to have graced SHIELD’s Most Wanted list.  Definitely not as a priority, but she doubted they would simply let her go free.

As Iron Man emerged from the sky, she yelled out to Loki, who was hovering over Captain America, ready to strike with a fatal blow.  A Super Soldier and a mechanical man were an unfair match against Loki.  She had to get them out of there.

“We have to go!”

Loki’s concentration broke at the sound of her familiar voice, and Cap got one last strike in, knocking the god onto his back.  Mr. Stark was lowering himself to the ground using the rockets of his suit, the eyes of his mask locked onto the god.  Annalise kicked off her troublesome heels and ran to him, tugging on Loki’s armored arm as if she had the strength to haul him to his feet.

The roar of an aircraft piloted by a glowing, blue eyed Agent Barton distracted both all four.  When the agent lowered the machine just enough so that the ramp touched the ground, he motioned for them to board.  The god snatched up Annalise slung her over his shoulder with one arm and used the other aim his staff, sending off several last blasts of blue energy at the Avengers.

x

When Annalise next saw him, Loki was yelling into a satellite phone in one of the airplane’s suites.  Someone was getting an earful for their lack of discretion with Stuttgart.  Loki had changed from his armor back into his suit and was seated on the red velvet cushion of an intricately carved armchair painted with gold.  As usual, his long legs were casually splayed wide open, his dressy leather shoes planted a shoulders width apart.

Tonight had not gone well.  It wasn’t an entire failure since the iridium had been procured, but he was unhappy and she could feel his ire from across the plane.  He was livid that the Avengers had attacked, and the room was so charged with his rage that the air practically crackled around him.

Even the hypnotized SHIELD agents were concerned he’d somehow unintentionally interfere with the flight, be it through displaced magic or the slaughter of his men.

She had a feeling she was the only one on the aircraft with the ability to soothe him… but she only had one strategy.  She had to hope it worked.

Nervously she bit her lip, shifting her weight back and forth between her bare feet.  She took a breath and held it as she moved forward to her King, faking a confidence she most definitely didn’t feel.  Loki glanced up as she walked towards him and a dark brow arched in questioning irritation.

Her steps were even and measured as she padded to him, the train of her deep green gown dragging behind her.  In the scuffle the delicate fabric of her dress had been torn and many of the strings of beading ripped and ruined.  Her hair had fallen loose around her shoulders and now framed her face in soft waves.  Cautiously she ventured between his legs and sank to her knees.  She didn’t dare look up at him, knowing she’d lose her resolve whether or not he was staring at her.  Instead, she knelt and slowly lay her head to rest on his thigh in a show of submission.  Loki stared at her indignantly and continued his phone conversation.

 Clearly she wasn’t trying hard enough.

When he felt her palm him through his trousers, he angrily covered the mouthpiece of the phone and hissed at her.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Annalise stayed silent, and this time leaned forward to nuzzle her nose against the bulging outline she’d encouraged awake.  Settled on the floor, she finally found the fortitude to look him in the eye.  When he stared right back at her, her stomach twisted with excitement and her body pulsed with need.

 Well, this was it.

Slender fingers deftly unbuckled his belt and pulled at his button and zipper, allowing his cock to spring out.

 Of course he’s not wearing anything under his suit.  

Tentatively she leaned forward, pressing a chaste kiss to the deliciously ridged head.  When she wrapped her small hand around his cock she could feel him throb and jerk.  The silver tongued god’s portion of the telephone call was slowly, but steadily, dwindling down to grunts and sighs.  His livid insults no longer echoed throughout the aircraft.

Part of him wanted to bat her insolent hands away, the other part of him wanted to grab her hair and thrust himself so far into her throat she couldn’t breathe.  When she took the head of his cock into her hot, sweet mouth, he growled.

“What are you doing?”

She pulled him from her mouth but never fully removed her lips.  Annalise stroked him and tenderly placed open mouthed kisses along his length.

“Worshipping my King,” she murmured against his velvety skin.

When his cock immediately swelled and throbbed in her hand, she couldn’t hold back a small but triumphant smile.

 There we go.

Switching from kisses to licks, Annalise began running her tongue along his length, paying close attention to the ridge on the underside of his thick cock.

Loki groaned and proceeded to abruptly end his call, cutting off the sniveling voice Annalise could hear on the other end.  The phone clattered to the floor but neither paid it any mind, mostly on account of Loki was busy fisting both hands in Annalise’s hair.

She was truly surprised that he didn’t immediately force himself down her throat.  Not that she would have fought him.  That would not have been wise considering the fury that still radiated from him.

Instead, he stroked her like a pet, running his fingers through her curls.

Then, to her dismay, Loki pushed her off of him.  He tugged her forward by her hair and studied her.  Her chest tightened with how ardently he was looking at her, even though she knew intellectually he was just using her body as a means to an end.  It didn’t mean anything.  She wanted to hide, she felt much too exposed despite the long dress that covered most of her body.

Appearing deep in thought, he experimentally thumbed at her lip, smearing a bit of saliva along the width of it.  Without thinking, she leaned forward and took his digit in her mouth, sucking firmly.  Loki grunted low in his throat, savoring the feel of her warmth before reluctantly pulling his hand away.  He needed more than just his finger sucked.

In typical male fashion, he gathered her long hair in one hand and leaned back against the chair.

“Look at me,” he rumbled.

It took a yank in order for her to comply, but when she did, simple eye contact with him was all it took for her body to start throbbing.  She pressed her thighs together and squirmed, causing him to smirk infuriatingly.

Looking him in the eye was too intense, it made her chest tighten.  She’d given head before, but never had it been like this.  This time the exchange of power was turning her on.   Annalise dropped her eyes and tried to pull herself from his grasp, but his grip on her hair held strong.  With a whimper, she conceded, raising her eyes to his again.

Loki gripped his cock in his free hand and stroked firmly several times before pulling her forward and feeding her the tip.  She took it obediently, this time without hesitation, her tongue lapping delicately at the leaking precome, savoring the salty taste.

Head dropping back, Loki blindly pulled her to him, forcing more of his length between her lips.  Annalise relaxed her jaw accordingly and took what he gave her.

Loki’s hips stuttered up off the chair, making his cock knock against the back of her throat.   Though she quelled the urge to gag, she coughed over him, trying to pull away.  With a roll of his eyes he allowed it, giving her a moment to right herself.

“Now are you going to be a good girl and take all of me?”  Loki’s eyes flashed with anger.

Annalise swallowed hard, her very traitorous mouth watering at the thought of accepting him between her lips once more.  Regardless of whether or not he belonged in an asylum, or that the Avengers treated him like a villain, or that he had kidnapped her, Loki was undeniably powerful, and it gave her a certain sense of command to have him moaning from her amateur ministrations.

Now that he was hard and throbbing and was positioned in a way that she could truly appreciate him, and she had to admit he had an impressive cock, proud and throbbing red.  Until now, he’d never given her a chance to see it up close.  Clearly it had an effect on the functionality of her brain because when she tried to speak, the noise came out as a pitiful, unintelligible whine, so she just nodded her head in confirmation.

With a pleased smirk, Loki guided her lips over himself, growling at her to look at him once more.  She obliged, her eyes watering as he hit the back of her throat and kept applying pressure.  She pushed down the urge to gag and instead swallowed around him, humming contentedly as he released a strangled moan.  He languorously fucked her face for a few minutes before releasing her hair with a rough push.

“Make me come,” he challenged her.

This time Annalise flushed with red.

What if she couldn’t?  What if she wasn’t good enough?  Would he hurt her?  Kill her?

With a trembling hand she firmly gripped his saliva soaked cock and stroked, desperately watching his face for signs of pleasure.  Apparently he was easy to please.  His hips jerked, pushing himself against her hand with a low groan.

“Faster,” he growled.

Blushing self-consciously, she increased her speed, adding a flick of the wrist on each down stroke.  She watched as Loki’s knuckles grew white against the arms of the chair and his hips thrust against her hand.  With a shout, Loki came, his controlled grip on the chair abandoned as his fingers found their way into her hair again, urging her to take his seed into her mouth.

Panting, Loki looked at her expectantly and she swallowed.  When she licked her lips, he couldn’t help himself.  He pulled her to him by her wrists, crashing his mouth against hers.  He could taste himself on her tongue, and that primal urge to claim her as his own took over.

The god rose with Annalise in his arms and walked them over to the nearby bed.  In a frenzied effort to turn on the light he broke something, but Annalise couldn’t see well enough to know what it was.  She also didn’t particularly care, seeing as he was also busy decimating her dress.

Though flattered by the attention, she wasn’t really sure where all of this was going until she felt him hot, hard and throbbing against her leg.  When she gasped in surprise he grinned proudly, clearly pleased with his recovery time.

Somewhere in the back of her brain it was suggested that she smack that stupid smile off his face, but when he slid a finger into her and emitted a groan even louder than hers at how wet she was, the thought faded away.

“Fuck,” he muttered.  “You liked serving your King?”

This was self-preservation, she reminded herself and nodded.

“Good.  I find you pleasing, little peach.”

At some point, Loki had managed to knock the light on.  (On the floor lay the unfortunate casualty of a crystal and gold vase, but that’s what you get for furnishing a plane using priceless objects.)  Annalise watched him with curiosity as he literally tore what was left of her couture gown off.  The now worthless rags were scattered about the bedclothes and floor, whatever it took for Loki to divest her body of every scrap of cloth.

As if daring her to beg him to stop, Loki crawled on top of her and lined himself up with her entrance.  Annalise stared at him stubbornly, which, of course, only goaded him on.  With what he was expecting to be a ruthless thrust, he plowed into her, making them both cry out.  He met almost no resistance, aside from the delectable squeeze of her tight little cunt.  She was wet enough he would have assumed she’d already come.

“You really do like to serve,” he chuckled, earning himself a glare.

Loki wasted no time.  He pulled his hips back, only to surge up over her once more as he his cock rammed against her cervix.  She cried out in pain, which upon hearing gave him more pleasure than was typically considered healthy, but she continued to take the battering.

Deep down, she knew he was being much too rough.  If she came, he’d only see that as encouragement, but she couldn’t fucking help herself.  She knew she’d walk funny in the morning (assuming she walked at all) and she could already feel where she’d have bruises on her pelvis.

Loki continued pounding her with his hips, dragging the sweetest, most tortured sounds he’d ever heard from the girl’s lungs.  She really, truly intended to remain stoic, but gave herself away with the involuntary pulsing of her velvety walls around him and the snap of her hips against his.

Somewhere between the thrusting and the groaning and the wailing, Annalise’s lids had  closed once more.  Loki was having none of that.

“Look at me, Annalise,” he hissed.

Against her better judgement, she opened her eyes, watching his expression as he reared back and into her again and again.  He slipped a hand between them and used the slick juices of her cunt to circle his thumb around her aching little clit, immediately earning himself a shrieking orgasm from the woman.

Loki, relentless tyrant that he is, lessened his pressure on her little pearl, but didn’t remove his circling thumb.  She thrashed beneath him, far too sensitive for such stimulation, until moments later that warmth in her belly and visceral need returned tenfold and sent her rocketing towards another orgasm, this time making her gush around his cock.  Loki followed her with a shout, feeling rather accomplished at having seeded both her mouth and womb.

They lay sweaty, panting, and exhausted, but Loki’s mood was phenomenally improved.  Mission accomplished.

Dr. Selvig chose that moment to enter the room and report his progress to Loki.

Annalise yelped in surprise and scrambled for a sheet to cover herself with, whereas Loki merely snickered at her dramatic antics and basked in all his naked glory.  Poor Selvig and his glowing blue eyes didn’t even register what he’d almost walked in on, despite the dual nudity.  Poor guy.