#he has seen the forest for the trees and god they are so majestic god they are so beautiful and fantastical

[gumycandyyy]

OKAY IM FEELING BRAVE N NOT GOING ANON SO HI!!!

I love your writing n I was wondering if i could request a WK x Gn! Reader where the reader is like crashed into a cave or smthn, wk goes to investigate and they find the reader that (size wise) is like HUGE, like 16 feet tall!! BUT. once they see wk they shrink down to around his size, n they talk n find out they’re from like a diff planet in their universe?! N they can’t get back.

(idk where this idea came from I apologize:3)

୨♡ Ｙｏｕ＇ｒｅ Ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ， Ａｒｅｎ＇ｔ ｙｏｕ？" ♡୧

I love this idea! I think I'm gonna combine it with another ask i got.

(For those wondering why the gumlee fanart tag is here, it's because I put some of my art at the end of every fic. It just happens to be gumlee this time)

Gender neutral reader

Romantic

Type: Headcanons

Request: Yup! They're back open, too!

Some descriptions of the reader, nothing detailed, just dragon stuff.

Summary: Being a space dragon is cool. Except for when you're too tired to leave a planet.. Thankfully, you have help from a new friend.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

-You're a space being.

-A celestial dragon, if you will.

-You're quite a majestic being, even having some of your own constellations named after you.

-Perks of being a beautiful immortal creature.

-While you're practically immortal, you can get tired, especially after traversing through the cosmos.

-So every so often, you gracefully land on a habitable planet, to regain your strength for a few days.

-You more or less crash landed on this one.

-It was called Ooo, if you recall correctly. You're sometimes allowed to name a few planets or stars, but this one has existed for longer than you have.

-It's a little embarrassing to be taking refuge in such an old planet.

-However, you had the funniest encounter while on Ooo.

-It was little more than twenty minutes after you crash landed in an icy forest.

-You had knocked down quite a few trees and stirred up quite the commotion in a town nearby, as they could see you flying in from the atmosphere.

-You were trying to take a few splinters out in your dragon form when you met...

-Him.

-It sounded so cheesy, but you had never seen a more beautiful thing in the universe.

-Safe to say you were floored.

-Literally.

-He and a few... What looked to be scouts and knights made of ice neared you cautiously.

-He seemed to recognize you, which was a little strange. You guessed there were history books of some sort written about you.

-He introduced himself as the Winter King, and welcomed you to Ooo.

-Yes, he had definitely heard of you.

-You decided to shift into your smaller form. It was still ethereal and god-like, but it was easier on the eyes than being a twenty-foot tall dragon.

-You kept your wings and horns, just parts of yourself that you thought to be enchanting.

-the Winter King spoke to you, a little shocked at your sudden shift. You were wearing clothes, what other mortal customs had you missed?

"Well, *ahem* it is my honor to meet a celestial being such as yourself! If I may ask, why choose this planet?"

-You explained that it was the nearest habitable planet, and that it didn't matter too much.

-You didn't think too highly of yourself, as you were quite low on the god-scale. Only a minor universal god, instead of being a multiversal god.

-If that made any sense.

-You politely asked Winter King if you could regain your strength in his kingdom.

"Oh, why of course! A- anything for someone such as yourself!" -His pale blue skin flushed in a pinkish tone, and his voice faltered ever so slightly.

-You tended to have that effect on people.

-However, he seemed to be handling your presence quite well, so part of you wondered if he were somewhat immortal, or was just a magic user in general.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

-You stayed for a little less than two weeks, learning quite a bit as you took refuge.

-You were quite uneducated when it came to planets like Ooo, embarrassingly so, at times.

-But it felt nice to have Winter King explain things to you.

-He seemed so respectful, yet so interested in everything you did or said.

-It turned out he was an astronomy nerd, and stories of you were his favorite.

-He wrote down practically everything you said, but as time went on, it seemed less like worship and more like interactions between friends.

-You preferred it that way, to be honest.

-You learned not only much about Ooo, but also much about the Winter Kingdom as well.

-Whenever it snowed softly, you would always spend time outside, sometimes dragging Winter along with you.

-You did everything from nap, to play in the snow.

-It seemed childish, but the two of you had quite a bit of fun.

-Not to mention the food there was absolutely phenomenal.

-You swore that you would return the generous favor of the Winter King.

-When it eventually came time for you to leave the planet, the both of you were quite sad.

-However, you knew if you stayed longer, you'd never leave. And that wasn't good.

-You were out on the terrace, having said your goodbyes to Winter and the citizens, ready to shift to your ethereal form to take flight.

-However, you felt something nagging at you to stay for a few more moments.

-You were correct to wait.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Winter called your name, looking to have run all the way up here. He placed his hands on his knees and took a few deep breaths.

"Winter..? I thought you already said goodbye?" Winter cleared his throat and stood up, placing his hands behind his back. He'd regained his composure so quickly it was shocking. He cleared his throat once again.

"It just occurred to me that I never asked for that return favor.." You brought your hand up to your lips, ashamed you forgot your promise.

"I- Oh my word, I apologize. I forgot."

Winter assured you that it was no big deal, and that his favor was only a small one. He stepped towards you, almost shyly.

"Well, rest assured, I can do almost anything. There is a grey area in which I'm unable to give, but otherwise, I will do anything in my power to grant you what you seek."

Winter blushed, his gaze transfixed on the ground. He seemed to be at a loss for words. Your large wings twitched, and after a few moments, Winter seemed to have figured out what he wanted.

"If it's not too much to ask, I'd like to request..."

He looked up at you with the sweetest of smiles.

"A kiss."

You were taken aback for just a moment, but regained your composure as quickly as you lost it. You took a step towards Winter, returning his warm smile.

"Well, if that's all you seek, I would be more than happy to give you what you so desire."

Winter shifted in place with an almost giddy expression, and looking up at you, you could tell he had wanted this for quite some time.

You'd be a liar if you said you hadn't thought about it prior to today.

"I would much appreciate that."

He said simply. So making sure not to waste any more of your time, you bent down to Winter's height. Despite being in your smaller form, you were still quite a bit taller than anyone else.

You caught his lips in yours, holding the embrace for a few moments. His lips felt cold, and it was all you could have hoped for.

When you separated, you gently held his face in your clawed hands.

"I have truly cherished this time with you, and I wish I could have stayed longer. However, my higher duties must not be ignored."

Winter nodded in understanding, placing his small hand atop yours.

"I promise I will think of you often, and will call on you if I'm ever passing through this side of your galaxy. That I will swear." "But until then, my dear."

The only thing Winter could remember of that moment, was the feeling of your lips in his forehead, and the silhouette of your ethereal form, fading out of the atmosphere.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

your complimentary art ^^ (gumlee edition!!)

Sorry bout the whole hiatus thing, I had been sobbing for two hours straight. Anyway, rq's are open!

reblogs >>> likes

[dfroza]

A desert bird

it is Autumn on garden earth but simultaneously Spring

[Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument]

Ever seen a silver cardinal?

The beautiful Pyrrhuloxia (Cardinalis sinuatus) has a slightly difficult name to pronounce (PURR-huu-lox-i-a) but we don't mind. Perhaps because of its slightly tongue-twistery name (and its appearance), it's also known as the "desert cardinal". Use whichever you prefer; we're pretty sure this silver and red bird doesn't mind one way or another (but you might want to ask it just to be polite)!

To learn more about birds in the monument, visit

11.19.23 • Facebook

when you read these instrumental words you see inside the heart of my thought-life, the inner space of silence

And you are free to allow them in, to communicate with my inner voice

(my heart & spirit)

writing in lines just as a poem, just like an ancient psalm that is read (although it is music, albeit silent in nature since contained “documented” in a Book long before recording music was even possible on garden earth)

And so we see the ancient writing of Scripture as a living body of work that “breathes…” (in Spirit)

and my spirit gently “mirrors” this, writing in lines just as (the inner rings) of a Tree

but my heart also reaches out in music, just as the sounds heard on earth in its True nature “instrumentally speaking”

like birdsong

(the inner silence) of a book as its heart is like the night sky… painted with words (as stars)

this is the inner room (the instrumental womb of thought)

And even the starry night sky plays music in praise of our beautiful mysterious Creator

The Holy One asks, “Do you really think you can find

someone or something to compare to Me? My equal?”

Look at the myriad of stars and constellations above you.

Who set them to burning, each in its place?

Who knows those countless lights each by name?

They obediently shine, each in its place,

because God has the great strength and strong power to make it so.

The Book (Scroll) of Isaiah, Chapter 40:25-26 (The Voice)

It is I who made the very ground on which you stand,

I who shaped the human beings who walk around on it.

I pulled the sky and the heavens taut with My own hands,

and organized the army of stars that march across the night sky.

The Book (Scroll) of Isaiah, Chapter 45:12 (The Voice)

Can you bind together a cluster of twinkling stars—

the seven sisters of Pleiades who keep company in the night sky?

Can you loosen the cords of Orion’s bow?

Can you lead the stars of the Zodiac out in their proper seasons

and guide the Bear with her cubs?

Do you know the rules of the heavens,

or apportion their influence on the seasons of the earth?

The Book of Job, Chapter 38:31-33 (The Voice)

When I gaze to the skies and meditate on Your creation—

on the moon, stars, and all You have made,

I can’t help but wonder why You care about mortals—

sons and daughters of men—

specks of dust floating about the cosmos.

But You placed the son of man just beneath God

and honored him like royalty, crowning him with glory and honor.

You ordained him to govern the works of Your hands,

to nurture the offspring of Your divine imagination;

You placed everything on earth beneath his feet:

All kinds of domesticated animals,

even the wild animals in the fields and forests,

The birds of the sky and the fish of the sea,

all the multitudes of living things that travel the currents of the oceans.

O Eternal, our Lord,

Your majestic name is heard throughout the earth.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 8:3-9 (The Voice)

The unfathomable cosmos came into being at the word of the Eternal’s imagination, a solitary voice in endless darkness.

The breath of His mouth whispered the sea of stars into existence.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 33:6 (The Voice)

He counts all the stars within His hands,

carefully fixing their number

and giving them names.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 147:4 (The Voice)

[Psalm 148]

Praise the Eternal!

All you in the heavens, praise the Eternal;

praise Him from the highest places!

All you, His messengers and His armies in heaven:

praise Him!

Sun, moon, and all you brilliant stars above:

praise Him!

Highest heavens and all you waters above the heavens:

praise Him!

Let all things join together in a concert of praise to the name of the Eternal,

for He gave the command and they were created.

He put them in their places to stay forever—

He declared it so, and it is final.

Everything on earth, join in and praise the Eternal;

sea monsters and creatures of the deep,

Lightning and hail, snow and foggy mists,

violent winds all respond to His command.

Mountains and hills,

fruit trees and cedar forests,

All you animals both wild and tame,

reptiles and birds who take flight:

praise the Lord.

All kings and all nations,

princes and all judges of the earth,

All people, young men and women,

old men and children alike,

praise the Lord.

Let them all praise the name of the Eternal!

For His name stands alone above all others.

His glory shines greater than anything above or below.

He has made His people strong;

He is the praise of all who are godly,

the praise of the children of Israel, those whom He holds close.

Praise the Eternal!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 148 (The Voice)

we are those at the time of the “end”:

“Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky at midday, and those who make the many righteous will shine as the stars forever and ever. As for you, Daniel, keep these visions and their meaning a secret. Write down what you have seen and heard, then seal the scroll until the time of the end. Many will wander here and there, and knowledge will expand.”

The Book of Daniel, Chapter 12:3-4 (The Voice)

(will you take it all to heart?)

And your heart is sealed, like a secret, yet only until you willingly choose to “unveil” it to my eyes

to come to share (the inner space) of your thought-life with mine

to first meet from a distance, becoming friends.

to have an inner conversation before bodies meet.

speaking with me in silence but also “mirrored” by your voice from your body of garden earth and time

in the shape of your (silence & sound)

(are you content to wait to hear me speak until seeing me in body? would you still be willing to speak to the heart & spirit of a book in the meantime? and will you read & write in thought with its words?)

everything has to be presented as a question mark (?)

[scriveyner]

always summer #22

always summer #22: 69 | bungou stray dogs |👿🐯 | #kinktober 🔞| ~1900 words

They had been hiking for the better part of the afternoon, through dense, shaded forest and up a gently sloping mountain trail. Akutagawa hadn’t seen any hikers since they set out in the early morning, leaving Dazai on one of the old wooden benches, Chuuya’s hat over his eyes. Supposedly they were hiking one of the trails as well, but as Dazai had seemed less than enthused with the activity he wouldn’t be surprised to see the car gone whenever they returned to the trailhead.

Continue on ao3 or:

It was nice, to be out in nature. He could hear the animals moving about around them—a wild deer had crossed the trail ahead of them, it froze when it noticed the intruders, and then was gone with a flick of its white tail, vanishing into the trees.

“There goes lunch,” Akutagawa said dryly, and Atsushi elbowed him.

Akutagawa had been remarkably amenable to this whole endeavor, which came as a surprise—mostly to himself. He knew Atsushi hadn’t pegged him as someone who would enjoy being outside as long as they had been, but he’d been by Atsushi’s side most of the days now, so much so that the paleness of his skin had warmed from the constant exposure to the sun.

There was a small, shallow creek that crossed the trail, with large flat stones meant to make the crossing easier. Atsushi still managed to wipe out on them and land in the shallow water, much to Akutagawa’s great amusement. Instead of deigning to follow Atsushi’s lead, Rashomon easily lifted him over the creek, and he stood, dry, on the other bank as Atsushi splashed through the ankle-high water.

Eventually, they reached a natural overlook that was marked with a pile of stones; it hadn’t been on Atsushi’s map and probably wasn’t that safe, but they sat on the rocks and looked out over the rolling hills, the ancient remnants of once-majestic mountains. Akutagawa leaned against Atsushi’s shoulder, the most contact he was willing to offer at the moment, still sweaty and gross from the climb.

“It feels like we’re the only two people in the world up here,” Atsushi said, shadowing his eyes from the sun.

Akutagawa threaded his fingers through Atsushi’s, and Atsushi looked over at him and smiled when Akutagawa leaned for a kiss. “Sometimes,” Akutagawa said, “I wish we were.”

Atsushi clearly didn’t know quite how to take that, so he ducked his head and looked away, blushing furiously and still holding Akutagawa’s hand—so he tugged Atsushi back and kissed him again.

Sometimes, when he looked at it from the outside, it still made not a single lick of sense to him that he would be here right now, walking under the midday sun, side by side with his most hated enemy. Akutagawa watched Atsushi as they walked, and he was taking in the sights and sounds of the forest around them, smile broad and open on his face—and Akutagawa was smitten all over again.

God, he was smitten. Hadn’t he come on this trip determined to pretend there was nothing left between them?

Atsushi’s face buried in the covers beside him, dropping off to sleep as he spoke; “good, ‘cause I love you too much…”

Akutagawa flushed and immediately turned his head slightly and stopped walked walking to cough.

Atsushi’s reaction was immediate, he half-turned on the trail, just a little bit ahead of Akutagawa. “Are you alright?” he asked, as Akutagawa uncapped his water to take a drink. “Has this been too much? We can head back at any time.”

“I am fine, weretiger,” Akutagawa said, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. He looked up to see Atsushi looking around, clearly eying the landscape. The trees were large and old but the space between them was wider at this point in the trail, and there wasn’t that much by way of vegetation and underbrush—in fact, there were several small clearings dotted around where the sun broke through the canopy above.

Atsushi nodded his head, shifting his backpack on his back, and stepping off the trail. “Come on, we’re gonna take another break. I’m hungry anyway, aren’t you?”

“Isn’t going off the trail the number one thing we’re not supposed to do, ever, co-signed by at least four signs we passed?” Akutagawa asked.

Atsushi waved his hand in the air. “Look, you can see the trail from over here. We can spread out the blanket in my back and eat lunch and you can rest up before we start to head back.”

“We don’t need to head back; I am fine going further.” Akutagawa still didn’t step off the path, at least until he identified the largest old tree and using Rashomon impaled a branch high into its trunk in a most unnatural manner so they could find the trail again.

“You didn’t trust me?”

“Of course not. You will fall asleep in the sun after we eat and by the time you wake up, we will be disoriented and not able to find the path again.”

Atsushi stuck out his tongue as Akutagawa joined him in the clearing, full of lush wild grass that had been tamped down already by something large. Atsushi spread out their quilt and immediately dropped into a sitting position on it, backpack in his lap as he began to pull out the sandwiches he’d packed for lunch. Akutagawa sat on the soft blanket as well, picked up a sandwich from the pile, and began to eat.

He actually managed two of the sandwiches and was considering a third when Atsushi puppy-dog-eyed him out of it. “You are lucky I like you,” Akutagawa sniffed, and Atsushi beamed at him, devouring the sandwich like all the others before rolling onto his back in the sunlight and spreading his arms out, stretching big.

“And, out,” Akutagawa commanded, waving his hand—Atsushi lifted a particular finger in his direction, and he smiled, amused. “No sun-fueled power nap for the overgrown house pet? Color me amazed.”

“You know,” Atsushi said, folding his arms under his head, “you don’t have to be so sarcastic all the time, right? No one’s going to hold it against you to be genuine about things now and again.”

Akutagawa was silent for a long time, staring at Atsushi, whose eyes remained closed against the sunlight. “I am genuine about one thing,” he said, finally, and Atsushi shaded his eyes so he could look over at Akutagawa, sitting on his knees on the blanket. “I’m genuine in how I feel about you. The rest,” he said with a sad, wry smile, “is unfortunately just my shitty personality that you will have to deal with if you choose to continue with this relationship.”

Atsushi sat up on his elbows for a second, before transitioning to all the way upright. “Don’t say things like that,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I want to continue with this relationship? Being around you is fun, easy, and comfortable.”

“Three things that would baffle literally everyone who knows me,” Akutagawa said. “You do recall I cut off your leg?”

“Don’t forget all the times you stabbed me,” Atsushi started counting off on his fingers every instance of bodily trauma he’d endured at Akutagawa’s hands until Akutagawa had to stop him. “If you’re not going to get rid of me over a little thing like that, I really don’t think you have to worry about your personality that much.”

Akutagawa pushed him over and Atsushi flopped onto his back again, surprised—but he stilled when Akutagawa laid out next to him, their heads nearly touching. “I’ve never been in love before,” Akutagawa said, finally, and Atsushi’s hand found his and squeezed it tight. “So, I figure I’m pretty shit at that, too.”

“Well, neither have I, so we can be shitting about it together,” Atsushi said with confidence, and Akutagawa bonked his head softly against Atsushi’s, and they both laughed.

Atsushi did doze off, just as Akutagawa had predicted. He eventually extracted himself to step away from the blanket, far enough away to take a leak and not have to worry about their belongings, and when he returned Atsushi was muzzy but starting to wake from his nap. Akutagawa, teasingly, leaned in for a kiss to wake his sleeping weretiger.

When Atsushi shifted, his shorts revealed that he’d gone hard, erection visibly straining through his underwear, and Akutagawa pushed him in the shoulder. “It’s far too late in the day for morning wood!”

Atsushi lifted his hips, shifting his weight, and was about to put his hand down his shorts to deal with it when Akutagawa caught his wrist. Atsushi huffed and dropped back to the quilt, as Akutagawa threw his leg over Atsushi’s chest and sat up on his knees, looking imperiously over his shoulder. “I wanted dessert anyway.”

“Did you?” Atsushi helped regardless, getting his shorts down enough that Akutagawa could extract him from his underwear easily enough. “If I had known that I would have let you go to town earlier—hng.”

Akutagawa’s mouth always shut him up, and, after a moment of creative shuffling, he stretched himself over Atsushi better. He was more focused on the dick in front of him and in his mouth than how he was arranged, at least until Atsushi started pulling his own shorts down. “What are you doing?” Akutagawa asked, the head of Atsushi’s cock slipping from his lips, leaving sticky strands spiderwebbing between them.

“Maybe I want dessert too,” Atsushi said, one eye closing as Akutagawa’s dick smacked into his face. Akutagawa snorted as Atsushi licked him, then shuddered once and returned to his task at hand.

The air was full of nothing but the soft noises they were both making, licking and mouthing and sighing and little grunts and groans of pleasure. Akutagawa squeezed the base of Atsushi’s cock when he felt his muscles start to clench and Atsushi groaned, Akutagawa’s dick slipping from his mouth. “Was close,” he complained, and Akutagawa licked him up one side and down the other and that silenced him as effectively as anything.

Atsushi’s mouth was pretty damn good on its own, an oven that swallowed him down, and he grabbed at Akutagawa’s hips, dragging him down and swallowing Akutagawa’s cock to the root. Shudders ran through him, and Akutagawa gasped, Atsushi’s throat working around him, and he couldn’t hold back the tidal wave of his orgasm; it very nearly swept him under.

He tried to focus on Atsushi’s dick, but the aftershocks were still rocking through him, his dick dragging across Atsushi’s cheek leaving streaks of white while he coughed and swallowed, still lying flat on his back. Akutagawa refused to choke himself out, but he stroked Atsushi hard, mouth wrapped around the tip, and when he finally encouraged the climax out of Atsushi, he was able to catch most of it in his mouth.

“Fuck,” Atsushi said and laughed breathlessly. Akutagawa rolled off him, onto his back, dick flopping against his skin—and he covered his eyes with his arm. “Fuck, that was better than I was expecting.”

“Weretiger,” Akutagawa said raggedly, “do you even have a fucking gag reflex?”

“Hm? No, I don’t think so.” Atsushi sat up and wiped his mouth. “Didn’t Dazai-san already mention that?”

“I thought he was joking.” A pause. “How does he know—?”

“You’ve seen me eat.”

Akutagawa had to concede the point. He exhaled and laughed, and Atsushi nudged him with a knee, and they both kept laughing under the warm summer sun.

[jay-and-dean]

Stolen Crown  Chapter 1 : Under the hood

By @roonyxx​ and @jay-and-dean​

Pairings : Dean x reader ? Kight!Dean x reader ?

Summary :  What happens when she is sent in a world that isn’t hers, but with very familiar faces ?

This, as much as it looks like it, is not ‘technically’ an AU, because your Dean, our Dean, exists too...

Serie Warnings : Smut (please be 18+), Fluff, Angst, Swearing. Mention of physical pain. Each Chapter will have detailled warnings.

Chapter warnings : Swearing for now.

Chapter Wordcound : 3230

Note : This is a collaboration beetween both of us. We can’t both edit the same post, so we decided we would post 1 chapter/2 each, like for Firefly.

We both worked as much on this story and it’s the result of both our brains but also both our hearts.

Please, if you want to show love for this story, don’t forget we were together in this.

Text divider by the awesome @talesmaniac89​

Want to read more:

Jay’s Masterlist

Roonyxx Masterlist

Whistling. 

Only a shrill whistling in her ears, and her heart pounding hard in her temples…

She holds her head and tries to get up, but the ground seems unsure of where it is supposed to be.

“Dean ?” she tries with a weak voice but, even with the high-pitched sound fading quickly, she can’t hear any answer. “Dean !”

She opens her eyes and they widen right away.

The seedy warehouse is gone, the smell of gasoline and the night are too… But above all, he is gone. Dean is nowhere to be seen. 

Instead : A sunny beautiful forest. Shiny rays of lights come through the radiant, high trees and birds are signing. So many birds.

“Shit” she grunts, looking around. “DEAN ! SAMMY !”

But her voice echoes and dies in the woods, only making a few rodents run through the bushes, themselves moving some butterflies and bees. Nothing else. 

Where was she sent ? Is it witchcraft or some stupid God ? She had told them that this case seemed more complicated than what they said ! And here she is, probably miles from home.

“Please, tell me I’m still in the United states” she whimpers, taking her phone from her jeans shorts pocket. “No come on ! No signal now ?”

After pacing around to try and find any sign of signal, she gives up and puts the useless phone back in her pocket, regretting her morning choice to wear only a t-shirt and shorts, because if she has to walk miles to find a road, the night might be here before she finds her friends again, and nights are colder out there.

“DEAN ! DEAN !” she tries again.

But he is obviously not with her.

What if he had been sent far too ? What if he was in an indian market now ? Or in a boat on the australian seas ? 

“Sammy you have to find us” she mutters, looking around to gather clues.

This forest is not tropical or northern, it’s a temperate one, and it’s obviously still early summer…

Suddenly, hooves disturb the forest’s calm in the distance, rapidly approaching her. The metal clattering with every step the big animal -probably a horse- takes, says it’s not alone…

She quickly moves in the bushes and stills behind a large tree to hide herself from whoever is coming. 

“Your highness ?” a deep, oddly familiar, voice calls.

Her back flat against the tree, she turns her head a little to be able to see beyond the thick bark, holding her breath and reaching for the knife in her boot. 

A beautiful, massive shiny black horse is nervously stepping on the ground while the owner of the mare pats it on the neck.

“Easy girl” the man says. 

She frowns, keeping the dagger in her hand, ‘that voice… I know it.’ When she dares to look between the leaves, her eyes widen.

“Dean?” she says with a confused smile, putting the knife back in her boot, as she steps from out of the bushes.

“My Queen !” he throws his leg over the majestic black horse and steps off, right away going down on one knee in front of her, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “I have been looking for you, my Queen” he says towards the ground, not looking up to her once.

“Queen ?” she huffs, still a little dizzy. “Where the Hell are we, Dean ? And what the fuck are you wearing, is that... a freaking armor?” she asks, pointing at his weird clothes.

Dean finally tilts his head upwards. And when he sees her, his eyes nearly fall out of his head, his mouth is open but no words leave his lips. The more he stares at her like she was naked, the more she starts to feel a little self conscious.

His eyes slowly travel up her bare legs, a confused expression on his face, when she bends a little to make eye contact with him he quickly adverts his gaze.

“Your Majesty, what happened to your robes ? Are you harmed ?” he asks, obviously worried. 

“Cut the crap, Dean, what’s happening ? Where are we ?” she asks, annoyed.

“We are in the…” he looks around a little, apparently wondering what to answer. “In the woods… Not far from the Castle, my Queen” he says.

She stares at him, mouth agape, a deep feeling of confusion replacing the annoyance totally. Her tone changes to something colder, more distant.

“Why do you keep calling me ‘queen’ ?” she asks. “And what’s up with the stupid clothes ?”

He dares looking up at her again, a sorry frown on his face. 

“My apologies, your Highness. I do not understand… Is there something wrong with my apparel ?” he stands up, his eyes searching her face. “Did you hit your head or have you fallen maybe ? You disappeared, my Queen. I have been so worried” he turns to his horse to retrieve a big grey fur cloak. “What happened to your gown, did someone attack you ?” 

His head low, he comes closer to carefully drape the very heavy cape around her shoulders.

“I obviously failed at my duty” his eyes are dark and she clearly recognizes that crushing guilt on his features

She touches the floor length fur coat he put around her with a frown. It’s pleasantly warm outside, there is no need for this... 

Everything he does is weird, and why does he look so different ? Was he hit by a spell of some weird stuff like that time he was losing his memory ? 

Unless… 

She takes in his appearance. He looks exactly like him but he has more scruff, and his hair is a little longer, his clothes are very strange too. 

The closer she looks, through the fading cloud in her mind, the more this costume he is wearing really doesn’t look like one. All the layers of leather and metal make him look like he was ready for war, and his shoulders are even more broad under the armor he is wearing. 

Everything about him seems heavy and powerful : Between the metal on his chest, the big belt holding several weapons, including the scabbard of that seems to hold a very authentic sword, the real huge grey fur around his shoulder, like he had killed a wolf…

She shivers at how impressive he looks, at how she realizes she doesn’t know anything about him..

“Shit…” she mutters realizing this is not her Dean at all. 

This is not the United states of America, and this is probably not even her world… But if the Dean from around here is willing to protect her, that might be her best chance of survival.

She clears her throat, nodding to encourage herself to play along.

“No... I’m…” she suddenly has no idea how to use her voice. “I’m okay and I am your queen, because you are my…?” she leaves the sentence open, hoping he’ll answer it.

“Your knight” he says, uncertain.

Knight, right… She nods and looks around once more.

If this is some kind of fucked up middle age alternate universe, there is a big chance that the forest is going for miles and miles, and an even bigger chance that she starves to death before Sammy finds a way to bring her back to the Instagram century. And dressed like that, she might have to fear more than wolves…

She stares at him for a minute and he seems to be just waiting for orders, his green eyes on the floor.

“Kneel” she says with a corner smile and he just does, with no question, comment or delay.

Dean Winchester obeying her to the letter… If that is not a good side of this whole crap !

“You can get up” she chuckles, letting him stand on his feet again.

But her amusement quickly fades. 

Royalty is not really the easiest undercover, and the discretion will be impossible. She wants to ask for help but, even if her whole body and soul tell her she can trust Dean -for it is still Dean-, her eyes travel the thick leather covering his forearms and she remembers she doesn’t know him.

So maybe she better stay silent for now, and follow his lead until she decides if he is an ally.

“Your Majesty” he speaks, with a deference she never heard from him. “If the news of your disparition comes to the Council, there undoubtedly will be trouble. We should head back now. Please.”

“Y-yes” she nods, a lump growing in her throat.

Council ? Trouble ? Castle ? How is she supposed to deal with all that ? People close to the queen will know she isn’t her in a minute…

The knight offers his hand, and she follows, frowning when he joins his wrists to help her get on the horse. 

“This is not the best comfort for travel, your Majesty, for that I am sorry” he apologizes again.

“It’s okay Dean” at her words, he frowns again, but she puts her feet on his wrists and jumps on the tall horse, quickly understanding, by the look on his face, that she is not supposed to ride “like a man”.

Her eyes can’t decide where to look, and her hands can’t decide where to hold him.

Gripping his belt tight in this uncomfortable position, she takes in the unbelievable landscapes before her : Untouched forests and large lakes, small villages down in the valley, with all those wood houses that remember her of Braveheart. 

All she can think of is when she is going to tell the boys about everything she saw… If she ever goes back to them.

“Put on your hood, my Queen” the knight asks, so she does. 

Her unsure hands grasp the heavy hood of the animal fur around her and she hides her face in the huge hood. He probably needs her to not be recognized.

“What animal is it ?” she asks, touching the hair with a mix of curiosity and disgust.

“Animal, your Majesty ?”

“The hood ?” she asks, quickly grasping his belt again when the horse half jumps above a root.

“My coat is made of a bear” he answers. 

“Poor animal…”

He lets a silence and clears his throat slightly. 

“I had never thought of it that way, my Queen. Your empathy for the creatures of this world is godly.”

But she stopped listening.

Her breath stuck in her lungs, she discovers the huge, beautiful castle coming in her sight. 

A gigantic wall surrounds a little city, itself surrounding a huge, elegant castle. The light stone walls seem to be touching the clouds from here, and a vibrant living noise comes from it.

“Wow” she murmurs, looking up the thin sharp towers surrounded by birds.

“My breath gets cut short each time I see your home in sight too, your Highness” he says with a soft voice. 

Inside the walls of the city, everything is different. 

People are busy, all dressed like they came from a movie, carrying vegetables and raw pieces of meat, sheeps and baskets of fabric… Each and everyone turning their head at the sound of the huge horse’s steps on the stone pavements. 

“Sir Winchester !” a kid exclaims.

She keeps her hood low, suddenly very aware of the trouble that could come from the crowd recognizing their queen. 

The knight version of Dean stays unfazed, guiding them to the stables where several horsemen are waiting for him. 

He gets off of the horse, helping her and closing his coat neatly on her.

“Keep your head down” he murmurs next to the hood and she just nods, determined to let him guide her. “You” he says louder to one of the men here. “Go tell the guards that the wolf hunt is done. My men can gather again peacefully, nothing is to fear.”

She can’t help but very quickly look up at the man giving orders next to her, his remarkable charisma making her feel so small. 

She always looked up at Dean with an infinite admiration, but at least, she knows him… This stranger is different. 

“Allow me to touch you” he says under his breath and she just nods again while he wraps his strong arm around her.

Under the hood, she can’t see everything precisely, but the little she can distinguish of the inside of the castle he is guiding her in is enough to amaze her. 

Huge corridors and busy servants, carpets that seem to come from a museum, gold and flowers decoration the thick stone walls.

“Sir” a guard comes in their way, bending before Dean in respect. “Your men have been called back. The news never spread outside of the Queen’s guard.”

“Thank you” the knight answers.

“Glory be to the Queen” the guard bows again. 

“To the Queen” Dean answers.

The knight guides her further into the castle and up an infinite number of stairs, a serious look on his face. With every step up, the coat on her shoulders feels heavier and heavier, and her apprehension does too.

Once they reach the top, he walks to the left, his heavy boots echoing in the spacious corridor. Still holding her, his grip both reassuring and oppressing, he stops in front of a big wooden door that she may be supposed to recognize. 

She looks up at the door a little, still not completely daring to stop hiding under the big hood. He opens the door and stands with his back against the wall, his eyes straight ahead.

She hesitates, waiting for him, but when he doesn’t move, she carefully steps inside, not sure what she will meet on the other side of the massive oak door. 

Before her, a large room with thick wooden furniture and rich fabric. In the middle, a queen size bed with wooden bed posts that are near the stone ceiling with wolves carved in each of them. Hanging from the posts, a dark red velvet-like canopy that matches the heavy curtains. A big antique closet stands to the left side of the room.

Taking a cautious step, she looks right. Behind a great arch is another room that holds a big wooden tub covered in a sand-white sheet.

Despite the cold stone everywhere, the many carpets with many different colorful illustrations, the curtains, and candles everywhere makes the room somehow warm. 

She stands in the middle of what she guesses is the queen’s room, unsure of what to do now. Looking back to the door, she sees Dean’s elbow from where he is still standing against the wall, straight and still.

“Dean, come inside please” she states, using the most authoritative voice she has.

A queen has to be, right ?

“Yes, your Majesty.”

The knight steps inside immediately, his hands behind his back, his gaze fixated in front of him.

“What are... my plans for today ?” she asks him, trying to figure out what to do, to convince them, a whole Castle and Kingdom, that she is the damn queen.

“The Council requested a parlay with you when the sun is at its highest, and after you have your usual walk in the garden before you talk to the People. I think, Majesty.” 

“Right, the Council” she says unsure, wondering what the council can be. “Take me to them.” 

She holds her chin high, trying desperately to look like the Hollywood idea she has of how royals act.

His gaze finally finds hers, a small frown is on his face, an expression of confusion growing on his hard but still so beautiful features.

“Do you not wish to be dressed first, my Queen?”

“Oh… yes, I-I do wish that” she nods. 

She walks towards the closet and opens it, checking his face in the corner of her eye to try and find clues of what she is supposed to do, but all she can see there is worry for her, well hidden on his bodyguard face. 

Inside the huge closet, put in color order, are dresses, all of them big and complicated… And on some shelves, smaller white dresses, that may be for inside or summer. She takes them out.

“This will work” she states to herself as she turns around but stops when she hears Dean gasp. 

When she looks up he’s stepping towards the door quickly.

“No wait !” she calls out for him and he stops right in his tracks. “Dean...” 

He turns towards her, his gaze on the floor, jaw clenched.

She doesn’t want him to leave. She is, in fact; terrified of being without him. Although he is a stranger, his face is the only thing she knows in this weird place she knows nothing about.

What will they do once they find out their queen disappeared ? Is there a king she has to sleep with ? Do they torture people ? Kill ? 

She just needs him close.

“I don’t know what to wear” she admits.

Or even how to wear it, she thinks to herself.

“Any gown makes you look divine, my Queen” he says in a husky voice, still watching the floor intensely.

If the circumstances were different her knees would wobble at what he just said… But he is not Dean, and maybe he just says that to not get his throat slit.

“Okay, I will put on this gown” she says as she lifts the small white dress that she is holding, a questioning look on her face.

The knight swallows hard and seems agitated. For a second, she wonders why he is acting so weird.

“What is it ?” she asks him. “Tell me.”

“Pardon me, your Highness, but that is not a gown” he clears his throat and stands up straighter. “That is your undergarment.”

“Undergarment ?” she looks at the little dress, holding it in front of her by the straps. 

Her lips open in an ‘o’ when she understands this is her underwear. She has been flashing him her royal underwear this whole time, of course he was acting weird !

In a quick motion, she hides it behind her back and mutters an apology.

“Yes, my undergarment, of course. I-I will get dressed now” she walks towards her closet to retrieve a big gown in a hum of hesitation.

“Let me just call the maids, your Majesty” he says low. 

“Yes ! Oh and Dean ?” she starts, waiting for his gaze to meet hers before she speaks again. “Thank you” she kindly smiles.

The knight nods, turns slowly and steps towards the bedroom door with a determined gait, closing and locking it by sliding the metal rod in the slot.

She frowns, seeing him lock himself with her. His back still on her, he clears his throat before he talks.

“My Queen...” he starts. 

With that hunter speed her Dean also has, he suddenly unsheaths his sword from his scabbard and holds its sharp end under her chin without touching her 

“Would never have said something like that” he finishes his sentence. “Or call me Dean…”

She searches his face, slowly lifting her hands up in surrender.

“That is because I am not your queen.”

__________

Chapter 2 on @roonyxx​‘s blog 

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[ggyuwwoo]

heaven's cloud : Paradise

- in the afterlife where we get to choose our own paradise, two souls unexpectedly meet.

genre: soulmates!au, but also involves idolverse, kinda fantasy whimsical, afterlife-paradise world; fem!reader x lee chan warnings: mentions of death, magical creatures, not really sure what else i guess word count: 2.4k + i generally am not good at making these infos, bear with me sorry! also not really fond of the fic picture, but i also suck and still is learning,,,,

next | masterlist

-

Lee Chan, for your exemplary journey in life, you are hereby bestowed a place in Paradise.

"I'll take the clouds if I may,"

Then to the clouds you shall ascend, Heaven's Cloud.

-

Eleven months of (not) living in paradise, Chan had adapted well into his afterlife. The Guides had placed him in his own haven of his choosing, the Clouds. Fluffy white and softer than cashmere, the touch is cooling and healing, peace and quiet were also a given. To Chan, it's his very definition of heaven.

Despite being the only soul - apparently, no one has chosen the Clouds for centuries - Chan has been never alone. He had the little fairies and spirits to keep him company while wandering around the forests. Stars often appear in his nights to cast a light show for the boy. Cancer loves to see Chan's awe-stricken face as the constellation shows him a few tricks.

The Clouds inhabitants and surrounding astronomical beings grew fond of the boy. Hence, Lee Chan never felt alone.

Though it was a blissful experience and a beautiful memory, there was only one month left. One month until the end of his livelihood above the world.

You will be given twelve months of afterlife until your next life begins.

Chan still doesn't understand why they must be sent back to Earth, living another full life that may or may not be 'great'. Though the thought of living on Earth, whatever their life might be, is already a disappointing thought. After having to exist in a paradise of your own, nothing else would come close.

But apparently, the universe believes differently.

The fairies and spirits told him once, 'Universe sought in a cycle, to them it's the perfect way as it does not end, leading to the continuation of life and its purposes.'

"But what exactly do those purposes serve if there is no end to it?"

'There is none silly, if there was to be an end to it, then life itself would cease to exist. It serves to preserve life as we know it, and well - the Universe.'

Chan pondered the thought for a while, "What if, just really hypothetically, someone happens to break the cycle, what happens then?"

The fairies' expression saddened, 'Hopefully it never happens.' Some of them flew to sit on Chan's shoulder, a calming place for them. 'But if it were to happen somehow, life wouldn't perish instantly, but the Universe and everything in it will meet its end, including the afterlife.'

The boy nodded before noticing the frowns on the beautiful faces of the winged creatures, the atmosphere had taken a drop turn. Choosing to lighten the somber mood, Chan raised another question. "Well then, um, what about aliens? Do they exist?”

-

Throughout the time he was there, Chan spent it listening to the stories of the creatures, exploring the cloud haven that seemingly doesn't end, and conversing every now and then with the astronomical beings -- when they so happened to be passing by.

It didn't get boring for the boy as the stories that the fairies had been plenty and new, never losing the interest of Chan, and the beings were more than happy to talk with him about almost anything.

Of course, all this was okay and fine, revealing the Universe's secrets and whatnot, Chan wouldn't remember this anyway when he enters his next life.

On the first day of his twelfth month, Chan woke up from his sleeping quarters in the usual well-rested sleep. Walking out to do his routine of visiting the forest and later on relaxing by the Serenity Sky Lake. But before he could reach the outlines of White Forest, he saw a figure walking through the field, he couldn't see clearly who it was, but what he registered in his mind was enough to make him gasp.

It was another soul. A human.

As quickly as his feet could take him, Chan sped through the flurry landscape of clouds, wanting to figure out this stranger.

"Hey you! Hey!"

The figure turned to the general direction of where Chan was coming from, revealing its appearance. Upon view, Chan stumbled over nothing, causing him to fall forward into a roll and tumbling on the ground until he laid flat on his back. Luckily, there were clouds under him.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?" He heard the figure shout before rustling and someone appeared by his side. Chan scrunched his eyes trying to block the light coming from above while identifying the person looming over him. The first thing he noticed was long brown hair, the strands were flowing almost magically. As if hypnotized by it, Chan could only stare. Until finally, he saw the stranger's face.

She’s ethereal.

~

You were quite confused as to why you were where you were. All you could see for miles were… white? Your body was standing on nothing, or at least that was how it looked. A sudden voice interrupted your wonders.

Welcome _____, you are in Paradise.

You turned back to find the source of the voice but all you found was a blinding light that caused you to squint your eyes.

“Wh-what? Where?”

Paradise dear, the afterlife.

Your mind went blank, the afterlife? No way. Your brain tried remembering the last thing before waking up in this weird place.

There’s no use child, your memories are long gone. But I can tell you this, you went in peace. You weren’t in pain.

Were the voices capable of reading minds? And who were they? You were a bit frightened.

To answer your question, yes we can read minds. We are the Guides, here to assist the souls in the afterlife. There’s no need to be afraid.

“Uh, okay, ...thank you?” You voiced out, still a little overwhelmed with whatever was going on.

Well then, perhaps we should take you to your choice. Please, follow the green path.

Just as the voices finished speaking, a sudden green line appeared in front of you. You couldn’t see what was ahead, just the green line until the end. You decided to follow through, whatever this was.

As you walked on the path, you were gradually transported to a different place. When you were finally able to understand your surroundings, there were screens that had different landscapes and writings in different colors under them. The scenes displayed were (what you could only describe as) heavenly. Each of them has its own set of vibe and warmth to it. Unconsciously your hand moved itself to touch one of the screens, but then the voices returned prompting you to pull it back.

What you see in front of you are the places in Paradise, according to how one lives their life on Earth, you have a series of options that you may choose from. I shall provide you a look-through.

The screens suddenly disappeared and now you were standing in what looked like those busy city streets, only not so busy.

First is the Silver City. Its appearance resembles the metropolitan areas down on Earth but without all the pollution, noises, and busy traffic. Many people who had used to live in these areas usually choose them, sensing a familiarity to it, they say.

As the Guides explained its landscapes, you were admiring the tall buildings and skyscrapers around you. The architectural designs were marvelous and even if you didn’t remember if you had studied such things, you can’t help but stare in admiration.

Aside from the buildings, the streets looked beautiful as well. The sidewalks were arranged perfectly as if it was placed with the most proper city planning. But one building stuck out to you most, it was majestic. A silver mansion, with tall gates and filled with all kinds of trees and plants. Before you could step towards it, the Guides were already finished explaining the Silver City and had transported you instead to another location.

Second, the Golden Countryside. As the name states, this place is best likely your ultimate countryside farm paradise. A quaint farmhouse with animal livestock to nurture and many forests to explore and spend time in. Families often choose this place for their resting, it’s quite homey.

True to their words, you couldn’t believe what you were seeing. It was a vast field of grass with a simple two-story house that looked like it could fit six bedrooms. Beside it was a giant farmhouse and animals roaming around it. The view itself was doubled in beauty as the sun (or whatever source of light that existed here) sets from behind, casting a soft orange glow over it. Somehow the silver mansion from earlier was placed way aside in your head. Yet again, before you could ask any questions, you were immediately transported once more.

The third is Cosmic Space. Ever wondered how it is to live in Space child?

You heard the voice give out a sound that was similar to a laugh, but somehow not quite.

More people than you’d expect actually dream of this. It may not be as simple as the City or the Countryside, but it’s nonetheless paradise. To them.

Now you were most definitely floating, though despite floating in the middle of random space, you could breathe easily and see easily as well. You thought that space may be too wild for you but as you were looking around, you saw one of the most magical things you have ever seen.

“A comet shower…”

The Guides seemed to have heard you as they projected the shower closer, now holographic space comets were right above you, shining as they continued the rain of them. Mesmerized was all you could feel, the meteors were almost hypnotizing you.

“Whoa…”

Beautiful isn’t it?

Was the last thing you heard before you felt the sudden pull of transport again, at this point you were no longer fazed with the continuous changing of locations, though you did wish to have been able to watch the shower longer.

Number four, the Pearl Waters. For those who favor the deep sea and vast oceans. Of course, many souls who felt close to the waves chose this. The afterlife here is often intriguing, staying with the many creatures and traveling wherever paradise takes you.

You found yourself standing on a deck of a ship, it was modernized though some parts resemble that of an older version. Heading to the flanks you watched the blue ocean as the waves sloshed around the sides. As if welcoming you, dolphins suddenly jumped above the sea, whalebacks spurting water, and schools of fish could be seen from the clear water. You were most surely amazed. As the sea creatures displayed a water show, you felt something touching your arm on the railing. You looked to find a woman with green-blue hair, her cheeks had features similar to scales, and as you peered further you realized it wasn’t a woman at all.

“A...mermaid?”

Ah yes, indeed. Each paradise also has guardians that help care and maintain the afterlife. Mermaids are the Pearl Waters guardians. As for the Silver City, we have the Elves. Golden Countryside has the Shapeshifters while Cosmic Space has Angels.

“Wait what?” You were pretty much confused all together, mythical creatures? Well, then again, it is the afterlife, who knows what actually exists here. But still, you found yourself in confusion and quite the shock.

Not to worry dear, you’ll have plenty of time to get acquainted. Now for our last destination.

The mermaid who was staring at your side gave you a small smile before disappearing back into the ocean. You continued to stare at her general direction before your view changed into that of...clouds?

Last but not the least, Heaven’s Cloud. It’s truly magical here. Not many people find it appealing though, but of course it always depends on who’s choosing. Essentially, it's the skies. The guardians here are the fairies and spirits. Quite the peculiar and very friendly creatures.

As your eyes set on the landscape, you couldn’t help but let out a gasp. It was breathtaking. It was as if you were standing right in front of the Sun but at the same time, you weren’t. You knew for one you’ve never been in a place like this yet all you could feel from the surroundings was home. You leaned down to touch the fluffy ground and it was the softest thing you’ve ever felt. As quickly as the previous location visits, the surroundings changed again back to their original place with screens.

Now _____, because of the well-lived life that you have gone through. You, _____, are given the choice of one of the five Paradises that you have just seen. Speak now for your choice.

You didn’t know if it was your own voice and mind that spoke, or your conscience, because the sound that erupted from your body sounded firm and almost unbreakable. You didn’t even realize that you had spoken your choice after it was said.

“Heaven’s Cloud if I may,”

The Guides paused for a moment as if they were thinking about something, before continuing.

Very well then, your heart has spoken. To Heaven’s Cloud, you shall go.

One last time, you were again transported to a field with white clouds, similar to the earlier landscape you visited. This time without the voices. Somehow you suddenly felt alone, scared, and unsure of what to do. Wandering aimlessly, you tried looking for the guardians - the fairies and spirits. Then you suddenly heard someone shout.

“Hey you! Hey!”

You turned back to see a man, brown fluffy hair swaying atop his head, running towards you. Well, was running, until he stumbled down and started rolling across the field.

“Oh my god! Are you okay?” you shouted before heading towards the boy. As you reached his side, you saw he was unhurt and fine, just squinting his eyes. You sighed in relief, although it should make sense, after all, it was clouds underneath them. Before you could say anything to the stranger, you caught him staring right at you, and somehow you stared back as well.

The boy looked mesmerizing.

[silence-burns]

Please Hate Me //part 47

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: Based on: “Imagine having a love/hate relationship with Loki.” by @thefandomimagine​ Who would have thought that babysitting a god could be so much fun?

Genre: slow-burn, enemies to lovers, banter

There are few things better suited to following a great summoning ritual than stalking a kindergartener and, quite literally, taking the candy out of his chubby little hand.

"Hey, that's mine!" the brat, Timmy, screamed, but had to watch Loki unwrap the popsicle and munch on it.

"Oh, Timmy," you sighed. "I thought a tough kid like you would handle this better."

"Who the hell even are you weirdos?" Timmy considered ending his question with a kick to the shins of one of you, but decided otherwise under the unnerving gaze of the strange man in a green suit. There was something off about him, that much was certain, but little Timmy couldn't wrap his mind around how otherworldly he actually felt.

He looked around, but none of his friends were around yet, and neither were any adults. 

You smiled your beautiful, wicked smile. "Don't fret, Timmy. We've heard all about your deeds, and boy, did we actually love them."

Timmy frowned. His chubby cheeks puffed up just in case it was time to scream. You didn't look like parents of whatever kid he might've recently offended. The pocket money he was getting ;ately from his schoolmates was nothing to worry about. A few bucks here and there weren't a reason for such a direct approach. Okay, those glitter pens he took from that girl last week might cause some bigger stirrup, but she certainly had a different set of parents last time he saw her.

"The hell are you talking about?" the boy settled on a safe approach.

Loki chuckled and leaned down to look him in the eyes. The features of his face started to blur. Timmy frowned, but blinking didn't clear it up. The harder he looked, the more they melted, and molded, and reformed-

"We know what you've been doing, child," the creature's horns grew and curled, just as more and more sets of eyes popped open. "We have our eyes on you."

The shadows deepened, and the world turned colder and eerily quiet. It was the absolute stillness of something deeply unnatural moving right past you.

But Timmy, despite what his teachers might say, was a smart kid. Being a bully and a petty little thief for years without facing actual repercussions of his actions could not be achieved if one didn't know when was the time to run. Timmy knew that time had come and didn't wait for things to unravel any further. His short legs took him surprisingly far in just a few seconds. Loki and you could only watch him go.

"Do you think it'll be enough?" you asked, taking the lollipop from Loki. It was the strawberry flavor. "I certainly wouldn't want to fail our first commission."

"I guess we'll see," Loki shrugged off the spell. "But I'm pretty sure we gave him something to think about. I can send one of the shadows after him to make sure he doesn't pick on our 'client' at school tomorrow. It'll be awhile before they disperse after summoning, so we can make use of them."

"Will they still lead us to the stolen pin though?"

"Without any problem."

And that closed the case. It was a little satisfying, Loki had to admit. 

He was still unsure about the pin, though. There was something off about the type of magic he sensed in the box. Faint as it was, the tang of death and rot was still unmistakable and didn't fit in the mental image of SHIELD's safehouse it was supposed to be stored in. It made the chase after the truth more thrilling.

Loki fixed his suit. It was not the type of fashion he usually preferred, but the way you looked at him in it made it worth it. There was nothing as confidence-boosting as being aware that you’re the eye candy for anyone lucky enough to pass.

"Shall we?" Loki offered you his elbow as the shadows gathered and formed a rough doorway. Beyond it, only darkness swelled. 

Stepping through it was a fight against condensed mist, but at least it had none of the flesh-shredding quality of Bifrost. 

The shadows Loki had called followed the invisible trail of magic the pin left behind after it was stolen. There was little chance of them being wrong or simply misled, Loki had assured you earlier. As beings stuck in a state of half-existence, there was not in the physical realm so often that it could affect their judgement and cover the tracks. Still, even Loki had a moment of doubt when he took in the place the two of you had been led to.

"I think we should've used that chicken," you said, looking around what was unmistakably a forest. A thick, dark, and very old forest. Definitely the type of forest unwelcome to unannounced travelers. 

It did not mean you were scared. You were just aware of a certain, thick atmosphere hanging low in the cold, winter air. Somehow, it was darker than it should've been at that hour. The trees loomed over you, their branches twisted and hanging low enough to strangle. 

Loki kept on patting your arm while your terror grew, and despite ignoring him for a while, you finally decided to turn.

A thick wall of a hedge, painted in a rotting green and sprinkled with half-melted snow, stood tall and guarded whatever was behind it. The branches were woven too tightly together to take even a peek between them.

"Is that a house? In the middle of a forest?" You asked, but no answer came. There was no road leading to the house. The trees encircled the hedge, but didn't interrupt its space, as if that particular spot had been chopped out of the forest. As if the usual rules of logic and nature didn't apply there.

"Strange," Loki muttered to himself as he walked closer. The hedge ran far in both directions, and from the point you approached it, no gateway could be seen. High above your heads, thin swirls of smoke rose into the air. 

"We should walk around and see how to get in." You gestured to the left.

Loki looked up. The hedge loomed a few heads above him. Even if Loki jumped, he wouldn't see above it. He jumped anyway.

And was swallowed by the hedge.

You knew there was something wrong with that forest, and the strange house especially, even before the branches shot out and wrapped around Loki. He only managed a yelp of surprise before he was pulled in towards the impenetrable depth of the bushes. As much as it was reassuring to know that your senses and intuition were as sharp as ever, the time to brag would come later. Using the ace up your sleeve, or rather sword in your pocket, you made quick work of all the choppable branches. 

Loki dropped to the ground. 

"You could've cut off my hand!" He looked in horror at the cleanly cut piece of his sleeve. It had been a close call indeed.

"Couldn't you regrow it?"

Loki stopped shaking off the twigs for a moment. "I'd prefer not to find out, honestly."

The hedge, despite your trimming, was as impenetrable as before. The only thing that changed was the distance you kept away from it. After not a long discussion, you decided to look for a way in.

The little gate looked suspiciously ordinary. The metal rusted in a few spots, mercilessly beaten by years of rain and humidity. The path beyond it winded between neat rows of herbs and vegetables and occasionally flowers you couldn't name. The scent of fresh soil hung in the air as you walked through them. The house itself was neither big or new, but was most definitely haunted. There was no doubt about it. It was obvious in the way the windows watched you approach. In the way the smoke curled lazily through a draft you couldn't feel. In the doorknob in a shape of a hissing bat.

"Do we… knock?" you whispered. For reasons you couldn't explain, you had a feeling the house was listening to every word.

"That's usually how it goes," Loki's reply was equally quiet. He made no move to knock, though.

A hollow hooting was the only warning before a dark shape swooped by your heads and landed over the door. The owl was big, even once it settled and closed the wings. The feathers, in various shades of grey and muddy brown, hid it almost perfectly against the wooden planks of the house.

It was a nice owl, one might think without looking closely. Because under further scrutiny, one would notice the deep gash only partially hidden by the puffed up feathers, and the bones peeking out underneath them. 

You stared at the dead owl and it stared back.

It hooted.

"I know, I said I'm coming!" the voice from inside the house shouted. The footsteps neared. Loki and you braced against whatever you'd have to face.

The door creaked open. 

Many thoughts had passed through your mind, but one thing you didn't expect to see was a spotty-faced, alarmingly skinny young man in jeans and a cloud of smoke surrounding him. You got a facefull of an aroma that reminded you of college dorms. You wondered if Loki thought he’d met the wrong end of a skunk. 

"Listen," he said, gesticulating wildly. "I know that y'all always want shit, but my grandma is still on her vacation, and I'm currently busy. She'll surely contact you once she's done, but nothing has changed since last time, and I still don't know when she'll be back."

The owl descended majestically and sat on his still raised hand. The man blinked in mild confusion. 

"I fed you already, don't give me that look, Barbara."

Loki looked at you. You looked at Loki. The owl turned her head backward and noticed both.

"I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time we're meeting," Loki forced himself to say after your not-so-subtle nudge to his ribs. "Could we bother you for just a moment?"

"I'm busy, I've got a shift tomorrow and—"

Loki barged in anyway, not interested much in whatever the man had to say. 

The little house turned out to be more of a cottage. Even though some work had been done to restore it and make use of modern inventions, the very core of the cottage stayed the same as it possibly had been for decades, if not longer. 

The herbs hanging from the ceiling to dry filled the air with a pleasant, if a little heavy smell that clung to skin and clothes alike. The huge chimney was full of wooden planks and blasting enough heat from the other end of the large working space to make you regret wearing winter clothing. Whatever was boiling in the huge iron pot hanging over the blazing fire was unlikely to be edible judging by the consistency and color. Or at least you hoped it was not supposed to be edible.

The owl flew in and perched on a chair. 

"Listen, I'd really appreciate it if you could leave me alone," the man groaned, following you. 

He took another drag and exhaled a cloud of smoke, eyes red-rimmed. The owl hissed and moved over the chimney, where she sat with as close to an angry expression as a half-dead owl was capable of. 

To your left, a rather familiar and highly surprising uniform laid along with medical equipment. 

"We'll leave as soon as we get the answers we need," you promised. "And our first question is - who the hell are you, exactly?"

The man blinked. "Are you joking? I thought you were clients."

"What would you sell if we were?"

"I mean," he gestured around. "It's my grandma who deals with potions, but I suppose I could give you a medical check up if you need one? And don't worry if you're dying, that's even better, I've got that covered too. Just make sure to come to me before the decay starts, and I'll put you back on your feet in no time."

"Wait, I'm confused," Loki frowned. "Are you a doctor or a necromancer?"

"My dude, I have no idea where you've been the past few decades, but if you think med staff is capable of making a living from just one job, you honestly should get a reality check. Look around - I literally still live with my grandma and don't even get me started on how much debt I still have to pay off with those stupid side jobs."

"You mean, resurrecting pets?" You looked at the owl. Barbara was not blinking.

"Listen, I'm at the point of my life where I don't ask questions. I just need the money. I want to move out. Have you any idea what it is like to live with your 260 year old grandma who has a better social life than you?"

The silence was a little awkward. 

"Precisely."

Loki wanted to take a deep, steadying breath, but whatever the young man had been smoking didn't sit well with Loki's lungs.

"I must ask though, are you raising the dead because you're such a terrible doctor, or is—"

"Paperwork."

Loki blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Have you any idea how much paperwork follows every death? I'd rather bite off my hand than do any more extra unpaid time than I absolutely have to." The man sat at the table and produced a stash of pot from somewhere. With slow, precise movements he started to roll another blunt. You bent your knees to see under the table, but couldn't find any hidden drawers.

Loki nodded at the man’s comment, although he was nowhere near possessing that kind of knowledge. Deaths that he usually participated in involved little to no paperwork.

"Was this involved in one of your recent side-jobs?" Loki put the little wooden box on the table.

The man shook it before opening. Only after sniffing it did the look on his face change to recognition. "Yeah, I think it was. I was paid to get a pin from it. I don't know what happened to it afterward, though. The client just paid and disappeared."

"How did you get it?"

"Mice."

"What?" Loki asked. You looked around, just in case. 

"No one cares about mice, especially in huge warehouses. That makes them perfect for the job, especially if they're controlled properly."

The dead owl hooted in agreement. Loki had an idea how the mice had been initially caught.

"That complicates our case," he whispered to you.

"Who paid you?" you asked, hoping that the answer wouldn't be...

"I don't know," the young man shrugged. "Some guy in a trenchcoat and lots of shiny money. My favorite kind of a client."

The man suddenly had a few golden coins out and in his hand. You hadn’t even seen his hands go under the table that time. The coins were heavy and most definitely not fake, although you didn't recognize any of the symbols they bore.

Loki did. 

"Do you think that agent of yours will cover any extraterrestrial expenses?" he asked, watching the reflexes shine on the golden surface.

"Where are we going?"

"To the biggest black-market-turned-casino-turned-complete-mess of a planet in the universe."

"How lovely," you said.

Barbara agreed, hooting happily as she hopped off the chimney and landed on Loki's shoulder. 

"Take her." The young necromancer yawned sleepily. "She hates me anyway. Just remember not to give her any pickles. She's got terrible gas."

[seb-owns-these-tatas]

Witcher Of The Night (Chapter 1)

WITCHER OF THE NIGHT MASTERLIST

Characters: Geralt of Rivia x small!Naive!Reader

Summary: You've woken up being hunted by an Alghoul. You were in a death race and hollered for help. Though, it seems like the human you've first seen didn't exactly appeared to look human all through out as his eyes glowed beneath the moon light. You've talked to him but he didn't seem friendly at all except for his awakened friend. The words coming out of their mouth seemed baffling because they were acting like they didn't live in earth, and deep inside you were in denial because they really weren't.

Warnings: Monsters? The word 'whores' and cusses? Blood? A lot of modern references because reader lives in modern day era in earth.

Words: 3,800+

A/N: Hello! Yes, this is my first Geralt fic! There will be eventual smut in the future chapters. I can just tell. LMAO. I ain't good with medieval things but I'm trying! I hope this isn't a failure nor a disappointment, spuds! 😅 Reader lives in modern day earth in this fic but magically woke up in The Witcher’s dimension, alright? This turned to be comedic because of the modern references from the reader. 😂🤣🤣 I had fun writing this! FOR REAL! 

TAGLIST IS OPEN FOR THIS ONE! Heehee! Don’t forget to REBLOG, COMMENT OR GIVE FEEDBACK IF YOU DID LOVE THIS FIRST PART! IT’LL MAKE ME SMILE!

Taglist: @alyxkbrl @himarisolace @barkingbullfrog​

Disclaimer: PNG's used in edits are not mine even the GIF's too. However, the edits and oneshots are definitely from moi. Characters and said monsters aren't from moi as well. (GIF taken from Tumblr!)

MY WORKS ARE NOT TO BE POSTED ON ANY OTHER WEBSITES. My official username in Wattpad is “TATATHEPOTATO” and that’s the only other site I have aside from Tumblr. Thank you, Tater tots!

Tweaks of branches echoed around the unspecified woodland. The satisfying crack of the frail wood felt on the soles of your feet which wore some nasty pink Havaianas slippers as the night sky became colder than from what you were accustomed with.

You were running away from god knows what as you've heard a loud thud beside the tree you've woken up with. Taking a trip down the memory lane, your forgetful mind could only recall a lake in which you were drowning in and the sudden flash of lightning occurred above you as the water rested upon your face.

Then after that terrifying nightmare, you suddenly woke up in the middle of nowhere. A slightly dead looking forest before you've heard the rustle of some twigs and leaves beside you.

Having a vacation in the forest of Switzerland has never been a dream and considering how God smacked you in the head unconscious and teleported you in Switzerland was entirely bewildering from the start.

Your heart was hurriedly pounding out of your chest as you sprinted as fast as you can. Abnormal shrills whistled with the wind that made you mewl as you ran for your life. There has been cuts and bruises across your knee from how you've stumbled upon a large log that hid beneath the earth-like soil. No pain has been sent to your nerves yet because of the adrenaline rush rising in every part of your veins with the need for the hushed voices to stop.

"Ah!" Another loss of one's footing, you've tripped over a large rock and fell face flat. Face now covered in grime and soot as you've heard the intangible whisper of words for the tenth time.

"Leave me the fuck alone! If this is a prank, it's not funny because I'm hurt!" you shrieked in the night and no one in particular. Limbs were turning feeble and shaky, but you've offered all your will power to survive in the damn forest if you were about to get murdered and be found after a year where your body has already been eaten by some wild animal.

The hushed voices were coming closer to a definite scare that took your heart out of your chest. You've pushed yourself up and began sprinting with a limp as you saw the end of the forest; like a meadow was waiting for your damn demise as you won't be outrunning the murderers behind you.

You stood in the middle of a grass field. So, this was the end for you. The voices inside your head spoke as you've scanned the whole area and saw a peculiar wooden house in the middle of the vast area.

The wooden house seemed to be made of Hazel twigs, daub and wattle. Its whole structure was darn weird to be seen in the era you knew you were in. Year 2020. It looked medieval, old and superannuated. The house's structure had a timber frame with a light glowing inside the open panels of its windows.

Human. Someone can help you. Based on the clothes that hung on the sides of a wooden fence in logs, you knew there was someone living inside the peculiar looking house.

Then, you've heard a loud roar. It was enough for you to spun on your heels and see who had been chasing you like a wild boar.

Yet, it wasn't a normal wild boar that could calm you down just a slight because it was just an animal.

The one chasing you didn't seem a murderer nor an animal. Its body appeared to live on the ground, like a zombie who came to life and had no lower body. Though, it had a large stomach and uses his burly arms to chase you down the forest. With Bright cardinal eyes wrathfully staring you down as you stood rooted on the ground in the middle of the field; your heart seeming to run out of oxygen because of what you were witnessing.

You didn't know if it was an alien or a zombie. Proper thinking thrown out of the window as you were running away from the nightmare that was bound to kill you in your sleep, if you were even sleeping.

Your feet ran a trek to the house; looking behind. Focal point completely at the fast carcass crawling to where you were, tons of disgusting looking saliva dripping out of its eroding jaw and you were screaming for help as you skedaddle away.

Until your head hit a hard wall, but not enough for you to fall unconscious.

Vision falling like a kaleidoscope world, you blinked repeatedly and squinted you eyes up at the wall. Though, you were met with a clothed robust chest and a strong warmth he radiated through the crispy, cold Autumn wind. You've scanned him from chest to face and noticed a coin-like silver necklace just a meter away from your face that had a symbol of a wolf.

You didn't know if you were just still dizzy from your newly awakened-self but it was as if your world spun around you as the brawny, marvelous man towered over you like a lion over a mouse. His jawline impressively great enough to cut a bitch; a prominent, cleft chin that can be quite tempting to poke at and eyes that were glowing in Aurum like a star in the night sky or a pot of gold in the other end of the rainbow, with majestic half-tied hair that ended below his shoulders tinted in ivory that stood upon the Tartarean night.

Though, despite of how dashing, grimy and haggard he appeared before you. The scowl on his face was enough to take you to step back from how disturbed he looked like.

You've seen him somewhere. In the movies back in your laptop when you were having a marathon of something.

Lord of the rings. Right, you were dreaming about it in the middle of being chased in your nightmare. That explains why he appeared.

You clapped excitedly as you lifted your chin to stare into his beautiful blazing gold eyes. The grumpy looking man cocked his head to the side as he scrutinized and studied your filth-filled face and you couldn't help but notice the concealed scrunch of his nose if you weren't staring a little bit too closely.

"Hmm," it was the first word you've heard from this intimidating man standing in front of you and hearing such an impossible, low timbre of a hum that vibrated from his chest could get your knees weak from such a tone because you didn't know if it was scaring you or telling you to run for the hills instead.

"Legolas?" your voice croaked out loud, voice turning small when you've received only a grimace that wouldn't be considered as a fake smile, much to your dismay. Your scrutinizing eyes noticed something different from one of the Lord of the Rings character and it was the maturity of his face, "--a middle aged Legolas! Help me! Use your arrow thingy--" he pushed your shoulders to stay behind him, making you stumble from the impact but not enough to ignite another bruise to your knees. Your eyes staring weirdly at his back as you studied the long metal knightly looking steel wrapped around his thick, large, powerful looking palms.

"---Oh, a sword would suffice." you muttered, suddenly uninmpressed because you wanted him to have an arrow instead of a sword to live in your fantasies and continued to hid behind the large build of his body, taking a peek as you saw the bizarre looking creature who screeched so loud that it echoed all over the meadow. You've unconsciously held onto the hem of the wool sweater behind the first human you've ever encountered other than the creature who planned to eat you alive.

"There's a zombie!"

Geralt felt the hand tugging at his sweater. He was close to jumping from the sudden physical touch because of how sudden you've reach out for him regardless of meeting him just tonight. His eyebrows in a tough knot and expression unreadable as he eyed the Alghoul running towards you. The hand holding the hem of his clothing was instantly right out of your hands as he prepared his stance and tread towards the critter like he was confident enough he could eliminate him.

He swung the sword, aiming for the head using just one hand as he lifted it with no trouble; like it was his own weapon and you couldn't help but watch the whole scene unfold before you. The Alghoul jumped using its arms but he was stronger, faster, braver and definitely had no sweat with the upswing of his sword as he slashed the head off the creature with one blow.

Well, he was great. Too great with the sword indeed.

Black blood spurt as he'd cut his head off with no remorse, some of its blood flying off to your grimy sleeveless top and face as you winced from the gore and stared at the head rolling on the ground till it hit your toes.

You just wanted to scream out loud but it seems like your jaw has been stuck and you had no voice to start.

The man seemed to be unruffled at the fact that he just cut the creature's head off with his sword, turning his back at face front that you saw black fluids on the smooth wrinkle of his forehead and cheeks.

"It's an Alghoul," he abnormally grumbled so deep that you mistaken it as a growl. You could feel your tongue stuck in your throat and heard his heavy footsteps coming close. Your eyes still focused at the monster's head scratching your feet that you haven't realized that the man who saved you was actually in front of you already, grabbing its head and throwing it away to save you from another nightmare.

Faded set of footsteps came echoing in. Lighting up a startle from you as you heard a door swish out loud in the open. Until, a budding pitch of a man has said the name of your gory savior in the middle of the night.

"Geralt?" Jaskier hesitantly stepped on the creaking, wooden porch. Eyes still weary of sleep and fatigue as he blinked to the both of you who stood at each other in just an arm reach.

Your savior mumbled another distasteful hum as he observed the short woman before him who seemed to be in total shock; staring at the ground where he'd took the head of the Alghoul away before sighing and taking a step back and away from you to take a look at his bloody sword. "Why, who is this adorable, small grimy lady here in the middle of the night?" the light tone of the man's voice made you blink twice; snapping you out of your reverie.

You turned your head and studied the somnolent man standing outside of the porch, hair disheveled like he'd been disrupted by such a beauty sleep. He looked younger, like he was in his 20's and had a youthful beam with lean muscles beneath the white undershirt wore under a Tunic. Jaskier placed both hands on his hips before pointing a finger at you, sending you a bright smile other than the moue you've received from the man named 'Geralt,' "You came here for Geralt, I suppose? One of your..midnight sashays with him?"

Geralt didn't need to look at his friend and ignored everything he said by walking towards a beautiful brown horse, "Jaskier," he lowly reprimanded as he eyed his horse with an indecipherable expression of his.

Jaskier deeply sighed, his shoulders going up and down from how he did and you eyed him with a baffling twist of your eyebrows.

"First and foremost, you ruined his nap and now he can be as grumpy as an--an Alghoul! An amputated Alghoul!" he blinked in surprise, peeking behind you to see the creature who had its head cut-off laying on the muddy ground.

Geralt continued to pet his horse as your eyes snapped to him, his back on you as you heard his horse neigh, the man named Jaskier still rambling about the creature who laid dead on the ground.

"Alghouls appear in old necropolises and crypts," he scratched his temple with a finger, walking down the path till he was studying the corpse on his foot, "It's a miracle that they've hunted you down. They seldom appear in the forest! Also, they knock down their victims and eat them alive. Right, Geralt? You've taught me these!"

Geralt ignored him and continued petting his horse.

You eyed the man named named Jaskier and watched him walk back to you, a solemn smile on his face because of your unfortunate experience with the forest. Suddenly, realizing about the information he'd uttered, you were sure it was just like those creatures in the movies like Resident Evil or The Walking Dead.

"So, it's basically a zombie!"

Jaskier stared at you like you've eaten a dead mouse. Forehead creasing as he tried mouthing the word you've said, giving his friend a once over as he does, "A zom--what? please do enlighten me, Geralt as to what is a Sombre when I can see with my own splendiferous eyes that the monster he'd killed is an Alghoul--"

You've huffed and bit the insides of your cheeks, fists tightening on either side as you stubbornly bantered, "Z O M B I E. Zombie."

Thus, at the retort; Jaskier had his hands on his hips with his chest puffed out like he was trying to intimidate you. But, it was a failure because he never looked intimidating from the start, "A zombie. Alright. I understood you but not entirely, dirty maiden. Geralt--" he looked over his friend who was now already on the side of you, startling the both of you and sky-scraping from your side as you lifted your chin to see him oddly closing his eyes, breathing you in.

Was he smelling you?

You eyed Jaskier like you were finding it peculiar and he just gave you a shrug, "Your scent..It's...It's...otherworldly, " Geralt uttered, completely resonant and low-pitched that vibrated your calming nerves, "It attracted the Alghoul," he continued with a frown and another sniff before humming in disdain.

"Very out of the ordinary," the latter muttered beneath his chest, a snarl coming out of his mouth as you swallowed the butterflies wanting to come out of your mouth by how monumental he was and you feel so small, "Who sent you?"

You took a step away from the man, eyeing him weirdly as he stubbornly took a step close like personal space wasn't known to the world you are in, "Uhm, no--no one?" a pathetic stutter came out of your lips and felt the tremble of your fingers because of a thought running in your mind that he was also as dangerous as the Alghoul they were saying; maybe even more treacherous, "I came out from my mother’s reproductive organ? You know what, Geralt--"

Jaskier suddenly cut you off, crossing his arms behind him as he watched his friend tower over you, an amused grin etched on his face because you were actually crumbling like a rat before the ginormous cat, "Geralt. A letter G. Not a J. G E R A L T---"

"---Alright, GERALT!" you stopped taking steps back and declared out loud, mocking their accent that you couldn't distinguish. Your palms were outstretched in front of you, ceasing Geralt from pushing you away but not enough to be touching his torso. A pleading look in your eyes that made him breath out of his nose, "---Just please tell me where the airport is and I'm off to my country,"

The man in front of you stared you down, completely uncanny at what you were voicing out. You winced and realized you wouldn't get an answer from him and tried to ask help from his friend instead, but Jaskier was fast to distract you and criticize the clothes you wore, "What even is that clothing?"

You blew out air out of your mouth loudly, not believing their words. They were acting like they weren't actually living in earth at all, "It's casual! Don't judge!"

Jaskier also gave a huff, not believing the outlandish behavior from a lady and continued complaining to the Witcher who seemed to never have the decency to give you space, "Cas--what? Geralt, this woman is foolish. Don't even attempt to ravish her in any way. Utterly not worth it! She's a cuckoo with that flimsy short trousers, an odd looking footwear and a thin top like the Alghoul has taken all of her silk. Unless, this woman is actually your type, well--I wouldn't judge you for your taste in women because most of the time it is utmost round the bend--"

His spouts were cut short as you managed to get a proper look at the strangely, beautifully rugged man before you, giving him one of those tired, puppy eyes that made his frown much less more like it as he waited, "I just wanna go home," your voice sounded so vindicated and you were sure his eyes were really glowing under the night sky, "---please tell me where the airport is and I'll go, or you can probably help me with my wounds first before you shoo me away,"

You've felt the burns from your wounds and ungracefully tried to avoid those glowing eyes that seem to suddenly make your heart pound. Damn you and your horrid types, "Do you...have a car?" you asked no one in particular as you watched the stars that also seemed to be peculiar because of how many they were.

His horse neighed from a distance which gave you an idea that their house didn't have a garage nor do they have a car. You peeked behind Geralt and saw his horse standing behind the stables, "Oh, you have a horse. A beautiful brown horse, I take it we're in a province, I see."

Again, no response from him other than Jaskier's sighs. It was like taking to the wind, but actually talking to a corpse.

You could feel the heat of his stare and it was making you conscious of how you actually looked like, so you continued to avoid his eyes and looked at anywhere but him, "We're in Switzerland right? Or in a province in the U.K, Scotland or Australia considering your accents?"

The only response you've gotten from him was a mere seven word that made you scrunch your nose by how weirder they get, "You aren't from here, I can tell."

"Way to tell her that she's a woman and not a man, Geralt. Stop stating the obvious,"

You ignored their utterance as they've also ignored your question. All you needed was an airplane to get you back to where you came from and escape from this madness. Yet, they seem like to be beating around the bush which began to slightly irritate you because you were sounding like a broken record, "So where's the airport, gentlemen? I still need to feed my cat at home and I'll tell the entire universe that its the end of the world with the zombies. Gotta' tell them a zombie apocalypse is happening--my phone!" you patted the pockets of your shorts and felt your Android phone inside. You've fished it out and pressed the home button, the bright light gleaming beneath the night and both men couldn't help but stare at you in oddity.

"Your what?" was the only thing Jaskier has muttered, looking at what you were holding. Geralt  observed the unfamiliar looking thing in your hand and squinted his eyes shut at the bright light, "It's--there's no signal! Where are we?" you tapped on your phone repeatedly and found the GPS not working as the results were indefinite.

Jaskier marched till he was beside his friend, clasping a cold hand on his burly shoulders, cocking his head to the side and clasping his other on his own hip as he gave you a look, "Not just simply absurd but also a strange one, Geralt. You definitely pick the best ladies, First was Renfri; the rebel princess, second is Yennefer; that cunning beautiful mage in which you’ve been in love with and the other hundred are your whores--"

Geralt cocked his head to the side, an unexpected small smile lifting his lips as he continued laying his golden eyes on you, "Year 1268. In the far north kingdom of Kaedwen,"

You nervously nodded, crossing your arms at how exposed you feel from the man before you especially that your clothes were also thin for a weather you were in. Fingers were feeling like ice and you couldn't help but shiver, "Kaedwen? Padawan? Star wars references, I see. Okay, okay, this is getting out of hand and I know you're still in character but please tell me that this is a prank and you're just fond of cosplay,"

"Hmm," His smile was quick to fall, like it has only been a hallucination of your imaginations. Geralt studied you from head to toe. Your breath catching in your throat at how barren you felt with just a simple scan of his eyes and also by how beautiful he looked. Such a pain but soothing for the eyes. He caught the bruises and wounds all over your body and heavily sighed another one before turning his back away from you and letting Jaskier lightly stumble on his feet after giving him a manly tap on the shoulder.

"He's letting her in," Jaskier mumbled to himself and watched Geralt walk away, completely amused as he couldn't believe it, "He really is!"

He scratched his disheveled bed-head and huffed another one, pointing at the retreating man who entered their wooden cavern. "Based on how long I've been a friend with this grumpy Witcher, that answer was either a yes, or a no."

"---Unfortunately, it seems like a no because he took off without a word," he gestured with a finger and used his other to welcome you like a humble gentleman giving way for a princess, "---but also an approval that you can stay in our humble abode to cure that wounds you have which is oddly strange because he never lets anyone in, yet here you are. A grubby ground breaker,"

He eyed the Alghoul's blood on your top and face, his face morphing into disgust as he pointed a playful finger at you, "---And you, small rat. Need a bath," before waggling them around to tell you his point, "---However, you don't get to take my bed,"

The hopes of having your sleep or tightly shutting your eyes, repeatedly wishing inside your head to wake up on your mattress back at your apartment would definitely be a difficult task especially from what you've witnessed. Though, maybe closing your eyes shut and having a nap was the only cure to the nightmare you were living in; taking note at how long this dream of yours have been occurring. It was technically a nightmare full of magical creatures and magic that promised you would only be a mere dream of yours.

That is, when you've opened your eyes after repeatedly wishing up at the sky to wake you up in your dream and saw Jaskier walking in, leaving the door open for you to make yourself at home completely answered your questions.

You weren't dreaming and it appears to be like you were in a different dimension.

"Oh, I'll be damned,"

A PART 2? YES? Y’ALL WANT THIS TO HAVE A SECOND CHAPTER? HEEEHEE!! TELL ME WHAT YA THINK ABOUT THIS! 

[itsyourchoicedevotionals]

Every Part Of Nature

“You are glorious and more majestic than the everlasting mountains.” Psalm 76:4NLT

“Show us Your glory, Show us Your power, Open up the heavens We want to see You…” Meredith Andrews pinpoints the heart cry of millions of Christians in her lyrics.

Could it be, people just don’t discern what His glory looks like? I didn’t. I fasted to see God’s glory. Immediately afterwards, doctors told me I had lung cancer. For months, seeing God’s glory in the ensuing series of events didn’t register in my mind. Surgeon acknowledging— Christ healed me; family seeing God perform the miraculous; hospital reimbursing me overpayment— How did I miss seeing God’s glory, when God had my back? Too close to the forest to see the trees?

What will it take for us to see the glory of God? No one recognizes His glory in the birth of a tiny baby. Some recognize His glory in the birthing of wildlife? The laughter of a child reveals God’s glory. Could the majesty of a mountain display His glory? Is the tumbling torrent of water crashing down the side of a mountain speaking God’s glory? Does the healing of the blind, deaf, or maimed scream out, ‘Yahweh’s glory?’ Can the radical change of a vilest person by the saving blood of Jesus speak His glory?

Over five years Lou and I traveled across the USA with all the gorgeous mountain ranges. The beauty of God’s creation spoke to me repeatedly. Such breathtaking varieties of rock formations and mountains told me— creation of this planet wasn’t some random accident. Wheat growing at five thousand plus feet— not accidental, it required a Creator. Snowing over glacier fields with sunshine and warmth nearby echoes God’s glory. Such beauty proved afresh for me, how glorious Yahweh is. To believe everything came from a big bang takes more faith than I possess. Saying mountains, waterfalls, farmland, rivers, and oceans of this planet, animals, humans, and plants just accidentally self-created from nothing— utter blind nonsense. “For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see His invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.” Romans 1:19-20NLT

Look around you. What do you see which reveals to you the glory of God? What speaks in your heart revealing God’s love for you? His glory and love are lavishly displayed in every part of nature around me.

God has purposed to reveal His glory through the sons of man. Paul told the Romans 8:19-22NLT “For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are. Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” This revelation will begin when we comprehend Who God truly is and His great love for us— His approval of us. Satan has spent eons trying to convince us of how little we matter to God, when believers are the ones with legal authority to control the earth.

When we speak to the earth telling storms to abate, cataclysmic events to cease, healing, life, abundant provision, mental-physical well-being, and peace to the needs of mankind, we’ll reveal His glory. My questions are: Can you see how glorious He is? Will you speak glorifying Him to others?  It’s your choice. You choose.

LET’S PRAY: Almighty God be exalted in all of creation. Not only show us Your glory but help us to reveal Your glory to the world, in the name of Jesus Christ.

by Debbie Veilleux Copyright 2021 You have my permission to reblog this devotional for others. Please keep my name with this devotional, as author. Thank you.

[etlunainmorte]

***

A few moments later, Dante arrived at the other side. But, his path was blocked by V, himself, who was standing still, his back turned away from him.

"You alright there, V?" Dante asked as he scratched his temple in confusion. "Aren't we - ?"

"Yes, we are." V cut him off, raising his metal cane and using it to point at something before the two of them. "We have finally arrived."

The younger brother followed V's line of sight, and what he saw before him simply took his breath away.

"Holy mama - !" Dante breathed in awe at the marvelous sight.

***

🌙 To You Who Rejected Me 🌙

***

III

***

"Holy mama - !" Dante breathed in awe at the marvelous sight.

And who could blame him?

What V and Dante saw was a small group of herders, men, women, and children, walking towards the edge of the forest not far from where they were.

However, the brothers were aware that this group of people weren't just mere herders. Aside from the fact that they were dressed entirely different from the tourists and locals of Delphi, the animals that were with them were the kind that the brothers haven't seen before. In fact, it was safe to say that they would never see those kinds of creatures roaming around where they came from.

They were horses and stags. But, not just any kind of horses or stags.

The horses have two pairs of wings, a pair of twisted horns, like a goat's, and the smallest of them stood at least seven feet tall. The stags were of the same height as the horses but, they have long and twisted horns that seemingly gleamed when exposed to direct sunlight.

And they looked absolutely breath taking.

"Those horses don't look like Geryons to me." Griffon, who let go of Dante's back and landed on V's waiting arm, whispered.

"They don't look demonic to me, at all." Dante added.

"Look." V whispered, pointing at the group of herders, and Dante and Griffon did as they were told. The children, aside from the fact that they looked unearthly beautiful for their ages, seemed to float with every step they make. Like they were hovering when they skipped. And the adults? Aside from the fact that they were the most graceful group of people the brothers have ever seen, their ears,... were pointed.

"Do you think those are," Dante whispered. " ... Elves?"

"The peace - loving kind, yes." V answered as quietly as he could.

It took them quite a while before they could even make a single move. Seeing all these were foreign to the brothers, and they simply couldn't take their eyes off the otherworldly sight. And when they finally vanished through that forest, they realized that none of them has made a single move to go on with their quest.

"What now?" Griffon asked a few moments later.

"What?" Dante answered absent - mindedly, his eyes still fixed on the spot where the Elves and the strange creatures walked.

"We can't just stand here all day! Ugh!" Griffon screeched, his shrill voice piercing through the quiet and peaceful atmosphere. "V, what do we do?"

"We go through that forest and follow those Elves." The poet answered, not sure what to do next after that. Which proved how unprepared they really were in going through with this wild plan.

Dante and Griffon didn't say anything else as they finally made the first step towards the Elven realm. And as they ventured, they saw more and more wondrous sights before them. The wild and exotic birds that made unique and curious little noises. The soft, sentient glow in the grass where they walked. The pastel colored sky where other, unknown creatures of all shapes and sizes freely flew. Even the sweet scent of the cool air. Everything looked and felt amazing. Breath taking.

And as they were about to enter the forest, V turned, took one last look at where they came from and saw, with wide awed eyes, the temple of the God Apollo.

Except that it was no longer in ruins. It stood tall and proud and majestic. As if the gears of time turned to restore it to its former glory and honor.

As if it was never destroyed by war, or time, or people who turned their backs on Apollo and neglected it.

*

Their short and peaceful walk through the forest proved to be their only reprieve from the things that were about to come their way.

As much as they wanted to stay longer in the forest, to see more strange creatures, to look at the weird and wonderful plants, flowers, and trees, and most of all, to rest their tired bones, even for just a little while, they still, unfortunately, have a score to settle. A problem to solve. Not to mention a group of murderous Elves still hot on their trails. So, they couldn't afford to stop now. Not now when they've come so far. They must go on with their journey.

And as their eyes wandered through the city they just entered, they felt more and more unsure of what to do next. For one thing, some folks were beginning to notice how strange they looked. Plus, they haven't eaten breakfast.

V, on the other hand, would not be deterred by hunger. Never.

"I think we should start looking for her." V stated, ignoring his rumbling stomach, as he cautiously looked all over the place.

"Where should we begin? I mean, look at this place!" Dante said as he waved a hand on what's before them: a bustling crowd amidst a busy town with small white buildings and stalls owned by merchants offering all sorts of food and items. "At least this thick crowd is good for some cover. Those killer Elves won't even realize we're here."

"I got some disguises!" Griffon, who just flew down carrying some stuff on his talons, happily and proudly announced.

"How and where did you get these?" V asked as he received some clean white linens from the demonic bird.

"From an old man with funny ears. And oh, I asked nicely." Griffon answered, and V knew it was a lie.

"Hey, this would totally help!" Dante agreed as he took one hot pink linen from the familiar's talons and covered his head and face with it. "How do I look?"

V didn't utter a word in fear that he might offend his brother because of how hideous he looked, and instead focused his attention back to the busy crowd. "I wonder if they're celebrating something?"

"Who knows?" Dante answered in a higher pitch in an effort to disguise his voice, as well.

"Put on yer disguise, V! We have a lot to do and we must hurry! Chop, chop!" Griffon commanded as he put on a polka - dot patterned linen over his head to cover his horns. Which, unsurprisingly, didn't do really well for a disguise.

"How do we do this? Do we just ask around?" Dante asked, once again in his high - pitched voice, as he pulled the linen lower to his face.

V narrowed his eyes at his younger brother for his shenanigans, and pointed, with his cane, at the tallest and most imposing building he could see from a distance. "The Elf who rescued us said she's the future Queen. Assuming she's a Princess," He brought down his cane, wore the white linen like a scarf around his neck, and gestured with his head towards that building he was pointing at. " ... it would make perfect sense if we go look for her there first."

Dante, with his mouth wide open, nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're right." He said in his normal voice. "Let's do this."

The three did not waste any more time. Squeezing in through the crowd of Elves dressed in all manner of weird and wonderful clothing, they made their way towards the castle but, the closer they got to it, the harder it was to walk through. And as they got closer and closer towards the huge iron gates of the castle, they found out what's causing all of this.

Apparently, a bard and a jester were performing on a platform right in front of the gates of the castle. And what's more, a group of heavily armored guards were on stand by next to the platform.

Which spells trouble for V, Dante, and Griffon.

"How do we get past that?!" Griffon, whose talons held onto V's back, said, craning his neck to see past the sea of heads to witness what's going on.

"I guess we just wait for this clown show to finish." Dante answered as he crossed his arms and started to casually watch the said clown show.

"Then, we make our move." V added as he watched the jester perform magic tricks as the bard sang in time.

As the crowd went ooh and aah with every trick the jester performed, V noticed some kind of pattern in his movements. He saw how the jester manifested some rings of energy of different sizes and colors with his fingertips, scattering them around him and invading the entire stage. He also noticed how the bard, despite him not knowing a single word of what she's singing, pronounced the lyrics, like she was actually reciting some form of poetry, and not just any kind of song. V saw how the jester made those rings of energy with each phrase she sang, and when the tone of her song got higher and somewhat more ominous sounding, the jester suddenly spread his arms wide open. And when he brought them together with a loud clap of his hands, the rings moved, ascending into the sky with such speed. 

The crowd got even more excited as the jester started performing some kind of a ritualistic - looking dance, and the rings of light started moving towards the middle, slowly aligning, as the bard went on singing. With one last snappy movement of the jester and with the highest note of the bard's song, the rings finally aligned, then merged into one huge ring which reflected so many colors. And when the performance ended, the ring exploded, its many colorful shards filling the air and falling down on the audience. 

V noticed everyone around him catching a shard of their own as a souvenir, so he did the same. And what happened next made his eyes wide with both surprise and amusement. The shard transformed into a piece of paper the moment it made contact with his skin. And on the piece of paper were words written in a language he, of course, couldn't understand.

And with that final magic trick, the crowd finally started to dissipate.

"I can't wait to see the Convergence!" A young girl dreamily told her friend as they made their way back to the market area of the city. "I want to see it with my own eyes."

Convergence?

"I agree with that." Her friend answered. "Fifty years is just too long for such a spectacle."

"I don't care! As long as I get to witness the Millennial Coronation, I'm satisfied."

Millennial Coronation?

"V, look!" The poet heard his brother's voice, and when he turned his attention back to their mission, he saw the guards leaving the platform to open the gates of the castle.

"Now's our chance!" Griffon whispered as he moved closer to V.

V hid the piece of paper in his pocket and followed Dante on his way to the gate.

This is it! It's all or nothing,...

"Where," All of a sudden, they heard a voice behind them, startling them and making them turn around in caution. " ... do you think you're going?"

When V saw the man who spoke those words, he felt a chill run up and down his spine in a very awful manner. Dressed and poised in a very intimidating way, with his weapon, a long sword, drawn and in clear view, V couldn't help but feel both nervous and slightly frightened before him.

V knew his limits. He can, more or less, analyze how strong his enemy is. V knew when or when not to attack.

And this,...

This was definitely one of those times they should avoid having a fight,...

The man before them smiled, his green eyes shimmering with threat, and his hard, yet ethereal, facial features seemingly mocking their very existence. "Well?" He pressed on, authority emanating from that single word alone.

"Oh!" Dante stammered, again in his high pitched tone. "We're here to,... ahh,... visit someone! Yeah."

Fuck! V savagely thought. Not now, Dante. NOT NOW!

But, V knew warnings were useless now.

"And who, might I ask, is the person you wanted to grace with a visit?" The man pried even further.

Dante's eyes grew wide as he held up a single finger. "The Princess! Yes!"

"Gahhh!" Griffon whispered as he hid his face with his wing in shame of what Dante just did.

"THEM!" They heard another voice, and when they turned to see who it was, they saw a short old man with long and twisted ears pointing an accusing and shriveled finger at them. And to make matters even worse, he was accompanied with a group of armored guards.

The old man with the funny ears!

"THEY STOLE MY TOILET LINENS!" The old man howled in agony.

"I'm surprised!" The man boomed, grinning as he pointed his weapon at them, making the other guards do the same. "I didn't know the Princess is expecting a couple of thieves as guests!" And with a sudden frown, he added. "Mortals who associate and procreate with Demons!"

Fuck,... - !

Despite V's warning, Dante unsheathed his Rebellion, clearly looking like he was awfully itching for a good fight. And when he snatched the pink linen from his face, threw it on the ground, and gave a challenging look, he spoke, "Took you long enough to figure that out." He drew his weapon and gestured with his finger, taunting the Elven male. "Let's rock, Legolas!"

"Oh, sweetheart, you don't know what you've gotten yourself into,..."

None of them, even Dante himself, was able to attack the moment they heard that silken, female voice and felt a powerful presence just behind them. And even when they turned around to see who, or what it was, they only felt wind pass through them like they were nothing.

"Pulling magic tricks, eh, Legolas?" Dante said and was about to raise the Rebellion when he suddenly stopped moving.

Like something was controlling him.

It was too late. The moment Dante howled with pain and dropped his weapon to the ground, a woman with long, platinum colored hair emerged from behind Legolas and winked at him.

It was her. That powerful presence V felt,...

It came from her.

Legolas nodded with approval at the woman. "Wonderful as always, Gladiola." The man said and pointed at Dante with his sword, who was still struggling where he stood. "Do your work, my sister." He commanded with such spite.

The poet tried to react in time. He raised his left hand, ready to snap his fingers to summon his strongest familiar when the woman named Gladiola made a gesture with her fingers. And when she did, V instantly felt numb all over his body. The action she made also forced Griffon back to his body as tattoos, and the moment she made another graceful and fluid gesture with her fingers, both he and Dante fell on the ground, defeated without even a single fight.

So, this,... is the power of the Elves,... V thought as he helplessly watched the man sheath his sword, satisfied with the victory his sister has brought him.

"D - don't,... you dare - !" Dante growled through gritted teeth as he watched the guards take the Rebellion and V's cane away. He looked up and saw Gladiola smiling down at him, her gaze both alluring and deadly. She walked closer towards him, knelt down, and touched Dante's hair, the action instantly knocking him out unconscious. She, then, stood, and went straight to where V was.

The last things the poet saw before he closed his eyes were her melancholic green ones, and her stoic facial expression as she laid a hand down his head.

***

🌙 Tagging @la-vita , @dreaming-gamer , @thottyonmainsquid , and @birdgirl69 .🌙

***

🌙

***

[flowerflamestars]

Hello love, hope you are well 🥰 I noticed you've posted/reblogged a bit of witcher content lately, and I was wondering if you would ever consider writing anything for it?

Maybe! Eventually? Possibly. 

I have nothing strictly planned right now, caveat being I am literally only familiar with the netflix content- so it would definitely be super AU.

But anyone who follows me knows I love a raging woman and Yen is just like *chef kiss* THE RAGE,THE BEAUTY, the messy not necessarily wanting a kid for real but wanting what fucking men and the system would deny her at ANY COST. 

The ship I’ve seen the most content for though is, Geralt/Jaskier??

I’d go the most AU there: Geralt, built like a brickhouse forest ranger. His national park is huge for the revitalization efforts of native wolf populations, his first career was a wildlife biologist. He’s out there grumpily doing The Most for everything that walks swims or crawls.

BUT 

Bordering his park, a property abandoned for years and years after the implosion of a commune, the grandson of the original artsy menance who haunted Geralts predecessor has shown up freshly washed out of grad school to turn the property into a flower farm. 

Jaskier grows tulips!

Tourists love tulips! (Geralt hates tourists.)

Jaskier decides that no, he’s not going to take another look at his as yet unfinished thesis on the legacy of chivalric codes in European composition- HE! is going find huckleberries. In the woods. He is going to go into the woods for fruit to make jam to sell to tourists and everything will be FINE

Jaskier gets lost in the woods.

Geralt, of course, finds Jaskier wandering around, half soaked from tripping over the roots of a very majestic tree he was addressing his stress to and promptly falling into a stream.

Jaskier is 80% he’s accidentally incited a vision quest and Silver Haired Forest God is a VERY good hallucination. Who then, naturally, proceeds to wrap him in an emergency blanket, bully him into rehydrating, and somehow with about five words total and shockingly good snacks make Jaskier feel completely better.

What proceeds is a courtship for the ages.

Jaskier mourns very publically in the cute tourist artsy town half an hour away about Silver Haired Forest God only for half the residents to be like yeah? Geralt? 

THEY ALL HAVE A STORY

He rescues cats from trees. He magically fixes maybe murderously haunted espresso machines. He once glared a bear out of town. He keeps bees and gives all the old ladies free honey. 

And Jaskier, bless his heart, is like Okay. OKAY. fifty fifty chance? Sixty forty? He gave me cookies- no straight man is carrying around lemon lavender shortbread, right? Or has that perfect of hair, RIGHT?

(Old lady in the background: he makes those cookies! But the hair is natural, dear. Her companion: a natural phenomenon, maybe.)

So Jaskier takes up hiking.

Geralt, meanwhile, knows exactly who Jaskier is because Local Gossip. Could he just go say hi? Sure. Will he? God, absolutely not. 

He sends him homemade get-well mead. Actually starts telling tourists the correct direction to drive to find the farm. Shows up after an unseasonable spring flood to fix a fence with his own hands.

Flower farm employee who talks to Geralt, extremely aware of her bosses crush that is Visible from Space: You want to try the back acre? Its a mess back there.

Meanwhile, Jaskier, stomping to the back acre where he’s trying out some new cultivars, to himself: hiking is the worst! it has been months, months! Maybe he only talks to wolves. Or animals in distress. I could be an animal in distress again.

Geralt, loping up silently and noticing Jaskier crouched down in a flower bed, half hidden behind a sunhat, red cheeked and adorable, with great feeling: Fuck.

Jaskier, who has excellent hearing jumping up, brain processing nothing but Large, and thwacking Geralt in the face with his flower gathering basket: jesus fuck

Since the basket mostly missed him, Geralt kind of laughs? And rolls with it? Picks up what Jaskier flung, gently tips back upright the pot de-marking the path that Jaskier had knocked over. 

And Jaskier is Dying. DYING. He’s been looking for hot man! for months! But Hot Man found him when he’s like, covered in soil and sweat and literally wearing one of his dearly departed grandmother’s hats because no one bothered to tell him mountains are actually secret sunburn hell. 

There’s stuttering. And pontificating. And Jaskier not at all thinking oh my god his eyes his hands his throat his- TALL

But he eventually manages to ask Geralt why he’s there. 

And Geralt smiles. Hands him back his basket that he’s been holding the whole time, straightens from the cute little lean down scrunch he was affecting to hold Jaskier’s eyes and it all like, well, I thought I’d fix your fence that got destroying in the storm. 

And then buy you a drink.

[verifiefangirl]

Last Breath

AN: Sorry I couldn’t add the keep reading cut off on mobile it’s a bit long.

Azriel had gotten permission to take the middle Archeron sister on a mission with him. It was low threat work and Montevere was made for her. It had rolling hills, exotic flowers and surrounded by water and forest, it was truly breathtaking. It was their fourth day here and they were doing some light treading in the forest. He had to make a more detailed map for his spies of the path leading to the waterfall. 

He was in his Illyrian leathers with just light weapons. He could see Elain glancing over at him every so often from the corner of her eye before biting her lip and looking away. It shot his nerve for some reason, making him self conscious. They strolled in companionable silence. Occasionally he’d lend his hand to help her climb over fallen stumps and rocky boulders. Those brief touches heated him to the core. He couldn’t deny that their time spent together here created an even closer bond between the two. He almost forgot she was mated to another and he was supposed to be in love with the same female he had been for the last 500 year. Though as the day passed his affections for Mor became more of an afterthought. God he was incorrigible. A bastard really. 

He heard Elain let out a sharp gasp and he came to attention and he saw a majestic bird fly overhead. It had every colour of the rainbow on its feathers. 

“It’s stunning.” Her voice laced with awe. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” The smile that tug on his own lips was instantaneous, though it had nothing to do with the bird but the female at his side. 

“They are known as Laetus avem. They are one of the few species that mate for life and said to be unable to survive without their partner. A lot of them die from sadness from such a loss” He gazes up at the sky too and analyse them with interest.

Elain’s hands covered her mouth with emotion and continues to stare at them with wonder 

 “The coloured ones are actually males whereas the females tend to have a deep blue colouring. Sorry I’m rambling.” He apologised a faint blush covering his cheeks as Elain surveyed him from head to toe, a strange look crossing her face, his shadows weaves closer to him from the sight. 

“This whole trip has just made me realise how amazingly smart you are and how brilliant your mind is.” She said, flashing him one of her heart stopping smile. The colour on his cheeks deepened even further. He ducked his head in embarrassment, not used to such a compliment. Shrugging his shoulder he tucks his hands in his pocket. 

“It’s just a bunch of random stuff bouncing around in there.” He said sheepishly. 

“I could spend hours picking your brain apart.” She said playfully. “The things you know is so fascinating.” He didn’t know what to do with himself from all the compliments. 

“Thank you.” He said curtly. “You’d be one of the few people.” He said rather sardonically. 

“You’re wrong.” She said stubbornly. That’s another thing that surprised him about Elain, her resolution. His attention wavers to a doe in the distance. His hand curls around Elain’s bicep, bringing her to a halt as he quietly motions towards the small animal, grazing. Her eyes grow even larger. They are enraptured by as it brambles around before releasing a distressed sound, it stumbles back to the safety of its mother. 

*** 

Its only a short journey before they reach the waterfall. The force of the water crashing below fills their ears. The scent of minerals and earth laces the air. Sunlight streams through the canopy of the trees and butterflies flutter in the breeze. It’s an oasis, like something straight out of a dream. For once Elain seems at a loss for words. She walks around the ice blue water, taking it all in. His wings rustle behind him, unwittingly, her beauty in contrast to the little slice of paradise surrounding them. His thoughts flicker for a second and he briefly wonders if he is actually dreaming. 

“Shall we go in for a dip?” She has the most downright sinful look plastered on her face right. She was already unlacing her shoes and dipping her toes in, her gown hiked up slightly, exposing her ankles and calves, that alone had his heart racing he couldn’t bear anymore skin showing. Satisfaction covers her features at the cooling sensation. 

“You go ahead. I have work to do first.” She pouts at him slightly before huffing and starting the process of unlacing her dress. His eyes widened slightly as she starts pulling it down, he turns on his heels so fast that he almost stumbled. He busies his hands with his satchel and starts absentmindedly marking things down, finding it very hard to concentrate as he hears splashing and sounds of ecstasy escaping Elain’s lips. It takes all his years of training in self control to not turn around and just go to her with reckless abandon. 

He manages but barely as he continues his work for a good half an hour. Elain’s lilting voice breaks him out of his revere. 

“Az, c’mon. It’s not as fun without you here.” The muscles in his back tense and he peers over his shoulder at her. Bad idea, Azriel. He swears expletives in his head, taking the glistening sight of her. The water is up to her shoulders and her hair hangs in damp tendrils, the shade a touch darker.  The restraint he’s notorious for is torn to shreds and lays in tatters at his feet as he starts unlacing his own boots. 

A sound of delight escapes her mouth and she splashes around some more. He works at tunic next and Elain suddenly falls silent, which shots his frazzled nerves more. The expanse of his tanned chest exposed, he watches Elain do that thing she was doing earlier where should would glance at him and bite her lip. It made him have downright dirty thoughts, things he had no such business in even entertaining. 

He removes his leathers next, he expects Elain to turn away with a blush on her cheeks but she continues watching with a dark glint in her eye. He’s never been the self conscious type but right now he’d will his shadows to reveal all the secrets and thoughts that were running through her mind. Only in his undershorts he glides into the water, stopping inches from Elain. Her caramel eyes reveal nothing yet everything at the same time. He realises she’s only in a white shift which is transparent now. He does his best not to stare, the blood roaring in his ears is deafening. 

“Hi.” She utters, small smile on her face, peeking at him through her lashes. 

“Hi.” He replies, the answer rumbling deep from within his chest, making his voice sound husky. Amusement glimmers in his hazel depths. They swim around each other for a while, just revelling in the sounds of nature around them. At one point Elain’s damp hair brushed against his chest and he thought his heart might actually jump out of his chest. It didn’t escape her notice though.

“You’re so restless today, Az.” She had a mischievous smile on her lips. He merely arched a brow in response to her, praying she didn’t put it together that she was the reason he was so tense. Her finger traced the delicate edge of his wing and he sucked in a deep breath. 

“These especially. They won’t stop rustling.” Her voice laced with ponderment. He felt her body shift closer, till he could practically feel the heat of her chest against his back. Those clever fingers not relentling on their deliciously, tortuous journey.

“So beautiful.” She said absentmindedly. He felt her fingers trace the scars from the night he saved her. His was practically heaving now, fist clenched at his side, the muscle in his jaw twitching. She was heading towards dangerous territory, he was fighting to keep his desire at bay. They traced the upper part of his wing and there was no mistaking the anguished moan that escaped through his lips. 

He flipped around so fast, she didn’t have didn’t have time to react as he grabbed the wrist that was inflicting such excruciating pleasure to him. His eyes were dark and damn near unreadable but there was no hiding the effect she had on him, as his briefs strained to contain him, the wet fabric clinging tightly to every inch. 

“Enough.” He whispered in a guttural tone. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, his own features were laced with devastation. They stood at a standoff for what felt like hours before she took a hesitant step toward him, like he was some wounded animal that would easily scare off. Her eyes never left his, the colour like molten honey as they pierced through his soul, until each crevice of his black soul was mixed with her golden.

“Elain.” He warned, surveying her warily but that seemed to motivate her more. She rested her hand above his heart while the other one cupped his cheek, her thumb gently caressing his jaw. His eyes fluttered shut for a brief second and that was all it took as something whizzed through the air. The arrow pierced through his wing and the roar he released scared off all life surrounding them. 

“Azriel!” Elain screamed, fear coating her voice.

The second one just missed him by inches. He pulled Elain roughly to him, shielding her as he tried to reach the shore where his weapon and their clothes lay. He felt a second arrow enter his side, he let out a grunt. The were laced with Ash and he could feel it entering his system, slowing his movement. There was no chance he could winnow them out of here now. 

He had grabbed Elain’s stuff first and tossed them to her. He had barely managed to slip on his pants when he saw the figures approach them from all sides of the forest. He swore and swiped his Truthteller off the ground. Fuck, so stupid. He was so stupid. He should have never let his guard down and had his weapon on him all the time. 

“Run.” He bellowed to her, lacing his fingers through hers as he tugged them towards the only opening. They covered good ground but he was progressively slowing them down, the blood from his wounds started turning black.

“Go, I’ll catch up. I need to take care of him first.” The shooter notching arrows was perched on a tree top. 

“Az please.” Elain whimpered. He cupped her face as they come to a stop.

“Trust me.” He whispered to her as their foreheads touched for a split second. Her whole body was laced with pain and fear as she gave him that deep stare again before her eyes shuttered and she nodded, letting out a deep breath. 

Though it was excruciating to flap his wings, he did so, swerving the arrows soaring towards him. He looked like an avenging angel sent to deliver death. The soldier's eyes widened as he got within range of him and flung the truthteller straight through his head, right between the brows. His body fell with a thud. Azriel banked  on the ground, shaking the forest floor. Icy rage laced his feature but also cold blankness. The promise of death covered his features as he approached the dead body and yanked his blade back out swiftly.

As the rest approached him...those who were smart knew to look at him with fear. His shadows were ferocious, blinding his victims and he finished the job, swiftly and brutally, slicing them with his notorious blade. Hand to hand, he knocked down an army of soldiers. He lost track of how many fell. Everything was starting to blur and he knew that he couldn’t go on like this for much longer. 

Azriel was taken off guard as Elain’s chocolate eyes peered out from behind a tree from afar. She was dangerous to him because with that split second of hesitation, someone had him in a chokehold from behind and a knife was dragging through the centre of his chest. He snarled as he was forced on his knees. A hand twisted his, forcing his grip of the truthteller to loosen and it fell to the ground with a clang, along with any hope of him getting out of this alive. A cry of pain got caught in his throat as his fingers were stomped on and then further broken in several places to ensure he wouldn’t be able to do any more damage with his blade. That was only the calm before the storm. Multiple people approached his hunched form. A blow was landed on his head, making his already cloudy head, spin in several directions. He felt something trickle down from his temple and realised it was blood. Even though his head was pounding and was starting to feel like it was filled with cotton, the only thought that kept running through his mind was hope that Elain had escaped from all of this. 

He scanned the forest again, spying out where he’d seen her last but was relieved to find there was nothing there anymore. Maybe his Ash induced self was delirious and imagined her face there. He shot his captors a bloodied smile. Azriel had felt pain and torture in his life, this was nothing compared to what his half brothers cooked up for him. They were real sick fucks. 

“Well what are you waiting for?” He choked out, spitting blood out while doing so at the mens feet. “I’m not afraid of death.”

Someone grabbed him by the root of his hair and tipped his head back to meet a pair of brown eyes covered by a mask. The person tutted. 

“What’s the rush, Shadowsinger.” His own smile was so twisted that something in his stomach lurched.

He made a motion to what was left of his men and with that the two of them grabbed his arms, holding them secure while a third plunged a dagger down his wings shredding it from top to bottom. His hold body seized and strained. He felt like he was on fire. His wings were connected to so many nerves that everything was thumping with agony. He thought he was going to throw up. The scream that escaped his mouth didn’t even sound like him. 

“Illyrians ... so sensitive.” The man said with a pleased look on his face. Azriel’s breathing was stunted and ragged.

“Is that all you got?” He choked out. Anger passed over his features before he reared his fist back and with a sickening crunch it met his cheek. From there it was amped up several notches. He didn’t even know what to focus on. The wound on his side and chest was long forgotten about as the integrity of his wings was obliterated. He could barely hold himself up, let alone his head up.

He felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness as more pain was being inflicted upon him. The last bits of his will was slipping away, like sand through his fingers. He found himself embrace his demise and the death awaiting him as more blood trickled out of his mouth, coating his black blade. It was the sound of her sweet, lilting voice that had him fighting to keep his eyes open. 

“Don’t you touch my Shadowsinger.” She said it in such a calm voice that it was eerie. He tried to say her name, to get her to go, leave him but all that left his mouth was a bunch of gurgling noises. Her figure was blurry to him but there was no mistaking that scent. He heard the chorus of laughter ring out from the men. 

“Is that supposed to scare me?” He scoffed, even the sound of him addressing Elain had his nerve grating and he wanted to rip his off. She merely walked up to where they had him grasped and picked up his fallen blade. The red droplets against the blackness was oddly striking. The man laughed some more.

“Do you even know how to wield that?” A sinister smile crossed the once innocent flower growers face.

“Why don’t we find out?” As quick as a deer, she was in front of him. It was because of the man’s underestimation of the doe eyed women that she plunged the blade into his chest, where his heart lay as seasoned as an Illyrian warrior would. She twisted the blade over and over. She made sure to look in his eyes as she did so.

“Oh...did I forget to mention? I’m the bitch that took down Hybern.” An innocent look was plastered on her features. Then she proceeded to stab his body in numerous places even after it was obvious he was dead. The remaining men all flinched around him, dropping his body after seeing their fellow leader fallen. They couldn’t scramble away from him fast enough. When she was satisfied with the damage she carried out upon the asshole she turned her attention to her Shadowsinger who was barely conscious.

She ran up to his sprawled body, a sob getting choked in her chest. He felt her smooth back his hair, trying to staunch some of his wounds but there was too many. It would be of no use. He would be of no use. 

“Go.” He uttered out so weakly he wasn’t sure she even heard him but she had.

“Never.” She said fiercely as tears started falling from her eyes. 

“You’re….you’re...wo-worse...th-than...Cassian.” He choked out, trying to lift his mouth in a smile but unable to do so. He heard her a soft laugh in between her tears. 

“Sssh...don’t speak. Save that energy.” 

“E-Elain...I-I...lo-.” 

“I know, ssh, I know Az.” She tried to lift him in a sitting position and with some grunting and upper body strength she managed to do so. 

“I’m going to winnow us out of here.” He wanted to protest but everything around him was starting to fade rapidly. She had never winnowed anywhere let alone trying to get them both to Velaris together but she did exactly that. The last thing he remembers before blacking out completely was Rhys’ voice roaring his name and Cassian hands carrying him through the mansion. All he kept thinking was man... the Madja seriously needed a pay raise.

@julesherondalex​ @jemma-nessian-and-elriel  @maastrash @empress-ofbloodshed @wolffrising @azrielismycinnamonrollprimary @sezkins79 @poisonous00 @humanexile @sleeping-and-books @highladyofidris @theshadowsinger-and-thefawn

[jay-and-dean]

Little Red Riding Hood

Sam x Reader One shot

Camping with friends, confidences, a night in the wood... what could go wrong ?

Note : @holylulusworld made me... This is my first ever Sam smut.

Warnings : SMUT... hand kink, a hit of size kink... I mean, Sam !

Words : 3.1k

***WANT TO READ MORE ? => MASTERLIST***

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          Summer is hot and sunny, the lake is beautiful and the sun is falling on it slowly like it wanted to bath. The tents are open and everything is messy : you spent the day listening to loud music and swimming with your friends. Even in the shade of that beautiful willow, heat makes alcohol a little more intoxicating.

“Come on !” Claire says to Jack, sitting next to you. “Don’t tell me you never thought about it !”

Jack looks a little surprised and takes a sip of his beer.

“No, really” he says. “I guess I never really had the opportunity, considering I live with the boys.”

“Well Y/n too” Claire states with a teasing smile. “You could have had sex with her.”

“Y/n is my best friend” Jack frowns.

You laugh and get up to take another beer from the cooler next to your tent.

“No offence Jack but you’re not really my type” you smile messing with his hair before sitting again, against the trunk.

“Are you into girls ?” Claire purrs, biting her lips like she always does when she hits on you.

“No she’s into Sam…” Jack states and your eyes widen.

“Sam ? As in Sam Winchester ?” Claire cough.

“You couldn’t shut up huh, Jack ?” you groan.

“He’s old” Claire thinks out loud and you hum biting your lips, rubbing your naked thighs together. “Whaaat ! You’re unbelievable Y/n ! Tell me everything ! Sammy ? Come on !”

“I don’t know he’s just… Did you look at him ?” you shrug drinking your all beer in one go.

“She’s in love with him” Jack adds innocently and you choke.

“I’m not !... I mean… He would never… anyway. Forget it !” you try but Claire is smiling so much you fear she would hurt her face, you roll your eyes.

“Oh my God I need to hear your dirtiest fantasies about Sam !” Claire shouts. “Come on I told you everything about that girl and about my wet dreams about Kristen Stewart. Pleeeease !”

           You laugh and take a sip of the beer in your hand again.

“I won’t tell you all my dirty secrets that easily” you smile. “There is just that thing he does with his chest…”

“Okay, this is going to be fun” your friend sits on her ankles. “Have you ever dreamt about him ?”

“Jack won’t shut his mouth…” you protest.

“He will or I have some things I could say too” she says and you see Jack swallow. “Dream ?”

“Yes” you sigh.

“Dirty dreams ?” she insists.

“Yes dirty dreams” you shake your head.

“Wow, I never thought of Sam this way, he’s just, so serious and old. He’s really nice and I guess he’s handsome but…”

“Have you seen his hands ?” you cut her and as her mouth opens without words coming out of it, you continue. “I’m sure just his fingers would go deeper than my ex’s dick. Last time he licked his fingers during diner, I had to go to the bathroom to… wipe… I mean, men hands make me all tingly already… Have you seen Sam fucking Winchester’s hands ?”

           Claire laughs and shakes her head while you clear your voice.

“I can’t even imagine what he hides in those jeans…” you sigh. “He’s so strong, I would let him do anything to me” you let out a moan that makes Jack widen his eyes.

“Do you think he’s dirty ? He’s always so reasonable, he eats healthy and work out and…”

“He’s in control” you cut her dreamingly. “He knows what he is doing, he’s smart and powerful, believe me Sam has a secret side” you feel yourself blush. “I would give anything to have him in control of me.”

“Must be fun to live with them” Claire turns to Jack.

“It’s awkward most of the times” Jack shrugs with a light smile.

“Yeah, well I’m horny all the time” you pout. “I live with a sex god and I can’t touch him” you sigh. “Last time he gave me too many orders while I was packing I called him Sir to make fun of him, but it made me fucking moan out loud instead… I’m lost. Sam Winchester ruined me.”

“Wow girl, you got it bad” Claire laughs loudly, showing her teeth.

           But your own smile fades. The problem is Jack is right : What started with attraction grew into something else. Evening spent watching movies with him doesn’t let you craving for just touches now, but also for affection. And his dimpled smile is now tearing your heart most of the time.

           You can’t show it of course, Sam would think you’re crazy, he doesn’t see you that way, you’re too young, and he often acts like you were a little sister. Sometimes you wonder what it could have been like to be Jessica, having a man like him intimate enough to ask you to marry him, waking up beside him, in his strong arms…

“Damn, I’m never looking at Sam the same way” your friend cuts your thoughts in a chuckle.

“Yeah well… if only he knew what he does to me…” you say dreamingly.

             You turn in your tent, not finding sleep. Talking about Sam like that was a bad idea, now you miss him, that kind smile, the delicious smell of his skin ; and you think about his hands… How they would grab your body, how his fingers could fill you, how tiny you would look under his palm…

           A discreet noise makes your senses switch on. What was that ? Not an animal for sure, not one of your friends, you hear them snore in their own tents.

           Taking your knife in your hand you open the zipper slowly. The noise again. Then something touches the fabric of your temporary room. You rush outside with your knife but nothing is there, just the forest and the majestic willow covered by night.

           You look around and see a shadow between trees, obviously staring at you even if where you are you couldn’t say what it is for sure. A wendigo ? Come on ! This is your first vacation in two years !

           You look back thinking about waking your friends but the shadow starts moving so you follow it right away. The woods are dark but the almost full moon allows you to see where you put your feet. After a minute or two walking, you wonder : Is it a good idea to go further ? You could get lost and…

           Suddenly, an incredibly strong arm wraps around your waist from behind while a hand keeps you from screaming, almost bruising your face.

“It’s me” you hear behind you.

This voice, this smell… You look down and recognize it : the hand that you crave for years is holding you so tight. He frees your mouth.

“Sammy ?” you ask out of breath both from short but intense fear and from sudden arousal.

He doesn’t let you go, his giant arm still powerfully holding your waist.

“Yeah…” he sighs and you feel his mouth brush your neck.

“Oh…” you can’t hold back a winging sigh. “Wh-what are you doing here ?”

The hand that was on your mouth before pushes the hair that fell from your messy bun to the side, and he puts a kiss on the skin there. What is happening ? Did Sam just put a wet and hungry kiss on your skin ?

           Your legs close, like your body was trying to stop your pussy from reacting.

“I heard…” he whispers.

Your heart races and you start to sweat.

“Wh-what ? Sammy…” you try but he softly bites the side of your throat. “Oh god… Please…”

“I barely touched you and you are already begging” he groans. “Was it true ?"

"Wh-what ?" you stutter.

"All of it" he groans and you feel yourself soaking your panties, his huge body so close to yours. "You need me that bad ?" he groans, and the vibrations of his chest goes directly to your core. “My hands ?...” his fingers wrap around your throat, covering all of it.

All you can do is nod, still not sure this isn't a wet dream.

           A strand of his hair falls next to your face, and you try to turn to see him, but his massive body prevents any movement.

"Don't move" he orders in a deep voice you never heard. "Don't you dare..."

The hand around your waist comes up, now grabbing your boobs through your tank top, he can touch both at once and you feel so small.

"No bra..." he almost pants.

“I-I’m in my pajamas…” you moan and swallow, feeling his snake-hand holding your throat.

           The hand holding your waist falls on your ass and you gasp when it takes your sweatpants and panties down in one sharp movement. He bites your shoulder in a growl, making you bend a little. One of your shaking hands lean on the three in front of you, your nails scratching the wood at the intense pleasure the hunter is already giving you.

           He doesn’t go further, letting you butt-naked, your pants still below it. When his hips crush on you, the size of the bulge you feel makes you whine, and the hand around your throat squeezes you just a second to strangled the dangerously loud sound escaping your lungs.

“Can you take me Y/n ?” he groans low and you smell his delicious sweat break through his skin. “Little red ridding hood… Do you want me now ?”

His voice alone could make you come, and your only answer is a push back on his cock. He almost roars and the hand around your throat rolls around to hold your neck from behind now, making you bend a little more, fiercely. Your second arm goes to the tree for more balance. You are totally at his mercy.

           One of his foot spreads your legs a little, but your pants doesn’t allow much. His palm comes roughly in contact with your ass cheek and your pussy starts pulsing around nothing. You lower your head but his powerful arm can hold it because his fingers are long enough to wrap from back to front.

           When his huge hand goes down your ass, down between your thighs, and comes caressing your soaked folds from behind, you almost lose balance. But Sam is so strong his wrist on your neck alone can hold you. He wets his fingers in a manly moan, making his long digits rub your entrance from tip to palm, and a burning feeling makes you see stars already.

“So cute little Y/n fantasizes about my fingers, huh ?” he snarls and you take a deep shaky inhale. “Aren’t you a little too young to want a man like me ? Huh ?”

“P-please…” is all you can say, weakly.

Before you even register what he’s up to, two of his fingers brush your entrance and push in, stretching you deliciously.

“Sam…” you moan.

He pushes deeper, slowly but perfectly steadily. When you feel his index and little finger press hard against your ass cheeks, you understand he used his two longest fingers.

“Gnnn… FUCK” you cry out when you feel him so deep.

“Shhhh” he murmurs.

No one ever did that to you. His hand is so long and thick, he hits you better than most man could do with their hands or even their cock. The tips of his fingers move a little inside of you, and you swear you could feel them in your belly.

Fingers and cocks are not the same, hands are less thick, but firmer and more precise, with their own will, move… That’s why you love them so much.

When he starts to roughly make his hand shake, his whole arm violently jolting, you almost faint. A strangle moan escape your lungs painfully.

“Yeaaah… That’s it babygirl… just like that” he groans from deep in his chest.

You feel something explode inside you and come, the hardest ever, tears filling your eyes and your juice burning your thighs because of the contrast with the fresh air on your skin.

           You stay here, panting. Absolutely incapable of forming a coherent thought. Sam’s long fingers leave you and he wraps his two arms around you, helping you to stay up.

           In your high, you feel his lips devour your neck and jaw. Your eyes can’t focus, your hands are shaking, all your brain can focus on is Sam Winchester. You lean on his chest and touches in ecstatic whines. His hand comes to your face, clumsily pushing the hair out of your face.

“Do you want more ?” he pants in your ear.

That’s when you notice how he breathes, how hot his skin is, how hard he is… You nod and smile with your eyes closed in bliss. Sam, your Sam wants you.

           He turns you and takes your pants and panties down in an eager grunt. Your head goes back a little at how high you are.

“There, I got ya” he whispers against the delicate skin of your jaw.

His lips move to yours and you really wish you could enjoy your first kiss wish Sam Winchester, a kiss you’ve dreamed of for so long… But now his delicious mouth tastes yours, half your focus is on his hand struggling with his belt.

           When he grabs your thighs to carry you against the trunk, taking place with the moves of a wild cat between your legs, you feel so small it actually scares you a little for a few seconds. But his predatory attitude doesn’t fool you : Sam is the kindest heroes of all.

           You dare looking down and gasp. Sam is huge, and his cock, hard but heavy, laying on your lower belly, looks like it would never fit, even after his fingers… He kisses you, the soft taste of his lips making you forget anything else but want.

           His arms are the size of your thighs, and the strange sensation of him being a giant makes you shake again you again, except this time it doesn’t scare you. You whine in desire, making noises you didn’t know you had in you.

“Look at me baby…” he purrs, suddenly tender and warm.

He grabs his cocks in his hand and you open your mouth in anticipation, looking down at it. When he lines himself with your entrance, you realize if he hadn’t prepared you so good, so deeply and roughly, you probably couldn’t take him.

           He pushes just the tip in, you can’t take your eyes off of it. Both his hands are under your thighs so when he bends his head to catch your attention on his face, you ignore it for a while, knowing he can’t make you look up just right now. You just watch him sink slowly, watch how you swallow him, how this thick vein disappears inside of you. Your heart is racing and you feel sweat roll on your back.

           A low moan escapes his lips, making you finally look at his face. When your eyes meet his, a side smile welcomes you. The little strand of his hair sticking to his forehead, the dimples on his right cheek, the dark in his eyes… Every detail make you fall in love all over again. You have to hold back a tear at the idea of him, your Sammy, finally sinking inside you.

           But a sudden sharp sensation makes you gasp : the stretching becomes too much when he bottoms out. He’s huge and your head falls back in a whine. But after a few seconds not moving, your body finally welcomes him totally and it becomes so good to feel him that you start to shake.

“G-God… Sam…” you moan, grabbing his waist to make him move.

His stomach trembles and he lets out a long exhale, like he had been holding his breathe.

           His first thrusts are slow and gentle, even if his grunts are still wolf-like : The perfect balance between dangerous and sweet, powerful and cautious… Sam Winchester. His head falls on your shoulder and he bites it, the move of his lips getting a little more sharp.

“Ah!” you scream when his teeth surprise you with a delicious scratch.

“Be quiet baby” he groans in your ear, before one of his hands lets go of your thigh to silent you.

The feeling of his oh-so-powerful hand on your mouth, and the smell of yourself on it make you crave even more and your whimpers fill every one of your breaths. Your walls pulse around him, making him hold back low moans against your skin.

           Usually, when an orgasm builds inside you, you feel every steps of it, the waves of pleasure slowly coming up… Not this time. No waves before the tsunami.

Your vision goes blank and you feel your all body reacting without your consent. Your lungs burn and your legs convulse. You feel something warm soak you and hear the wet sounds of his now erratic thrusts in your head. The pleasure is almost too much and tears roll on your face.

“Sh-shit…” he mutters, his hand almost bruising your face.

The last thing you can feel before you pass out is his cock twitching furiously and his burning cum filling you.

“Saaam…”

             You feel so good, but you can’t move, like your body had melt entirely. Opening your eyes, you meet Sam’s perfect face. He’s caring you into the woods, steady and upright, his muscular arms holding you in the safest place in the world.

           You look up and admire the stars around his head. Your hand is the first to obey again and you reach his face, catching his attention. He smiles with his heart on his face, like only can do, and you snuggle against him.

           Your tent seems so small when he puts you in it, the little warm light in it perfect for your peaceful bliss.

“Stay…” you whisper and he smiles again.

Taking his shirt off, he comes close to you and the beast is gone. He nuzzles in your chest, wrapping his arms around your body.

“I didn’t hurt you, Y/n ? Tell me…” he asks in a murmur while his hand comes under your shirt in your back.

“Sammy… this was… the best” you blush, putting your two hands in his hair to keep him close to you.

He chuckles and snuggles a little closer, making the fabric of the tent move because he touches every corner of it. You’re messy and sticky, but you are truly happy for the first time in your life.

           Silence slowly lays on you two letting you hear the wind in the willow. You kiss Sam’s hair praying he will stay, praying you could keep the man you love so close to you.

Not just until morning…

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[dailyofficereadings]

Daily Office Readings August 02, 2020

Psalm 93

Psalm 93

The Majesty of God’s Rule

1 The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved; 2 your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.

3 The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. 4 More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves[a] of the sea, majestic on high is the Lord!

5 Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore.

Footnotes:

Psalm 93:4 Cn: Heb majestic are the waves

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm 96

Psalm 96

Praise to God Who Comes in Judgment

1 O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples. 4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 6 Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts. 9 Worship the Lord in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth.

10 Say among the nations, “The Lord is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.” 11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the Lord; for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm 34

Psalm 34

Praise for Deliverance from Trouble

Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

1 I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. 3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. 5 Look to him, and be radiant; so your[a] faces shall never be ashamed. 6 This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. 8 O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him. 9 O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want. 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 12 Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good? 13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. 14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all. 20 He keeps all their bones; not one of them will be broken. 21 Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Footnotes:

Psalm 34:5 Gk Syr Jerome: Heb their

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Judges 6:1-24

The Midianite Oppression

6 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 The hand of Midian prevailed over Israel; and because of Midian the Israelites provided for themselves hiding places in the mountains, caves and strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites put in seed, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the land, as far as the neighborhood of Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they and their livestock would come up, and they would even bring their tents, as thick as locusts; neither they nor their camels could be counted; so they wasted the land as they came in. 6 Thus Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian; and the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.

7 When the Israelites cried to the Lord on account of the Midianites, 8 the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites; and he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt, and brought you out of the house of slavery; 9 and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you, and gave you their land; 10 and I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; you shall not pay reverence to the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not given heed to my voice.”

The Call of Gideon

11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.” 13 Gideon answered him, “But sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.” 15 He responded, “But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 16 The Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them.” 17 Then he said to him, “If now I have found favor with you, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Do not depart from here until I come to you, and bring out my present, and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay until you return.”

19 So Gideon went into his house and prepared a kid, and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour; the meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the oak and presented them. 20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. 22 Then Gideon perceived that it was the angel of the Lord; and Gideon said, “Help me, Lord God! For I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” 23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you; do not fear, you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it, The Lord is peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

6 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 9 As it is written,

“He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness[a] endures forever.”

10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.[b] 11 You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; 12 for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. 13 Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Footnotes:

2 Corinthians 9:9 Or benevolence

2 Corinthians 9:10 Or benevolence

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Mark 3:20-30

20 and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” 23 And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

28 “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[lighterandpaper]

Students Have All Gone To War

The kids stay with Buddy Red (whose real name is Robert Green) and his mother that night. She mutters around the kitchen about how she wasn’t ready for no guests, and she wishes she had some food to feed these little babies. She eventually finds an old looking box of ready-to-cook gumbo. “Y’all like gumbo?” 

Judah nods. 

“Looks dusty,” David says. 

“Yes, baby,” Ms. Green says. She puts an equally dusty pot on the stove and fills it with a random amount of water. 

After they eat, it’s time for bed. “Y’all can sleep on the couch,” Buddy Red says. “Get them some blankets, Red!” Ms. Green shouts. Buddy Red listens to his mother. 

The trailer finally settles into quiet. Ms. Green begins snoring before long. The boys sleep with heads meeting at the crook of the L-shaped couch. “Do you think they’re really gone?” Judah asks. 

David doesn’t answer for a moment, which scares Judah just because that never happens. “I think they’re gone,” he finally says. 

Judah tries not to sniff, because it is finally dark enough for him to cry without being seen. “Buddy Red is a ghost. Maybe they can be ghosts, too.” 

“I have no idea what to think right now...” 

Judah finally sniffs, revealing that he is crying. “What are we going to do? Do we have to live here now?” The unfamiliar place is dark, and creepy, and old, and sad, and makes Judah feel like jumping out of his skin. His stomach is still turning from that terrible, salty Gumbo. His mother’s gumbo was so wonderful, and that makes him cry more. 

David sniffs too. “I don’t know, but don’t worry, I'm going to make sure we are OK. Buddy Red needs to show us something, and we will figure it out from there. Everything will be OK, I promise.” 

When the boys wake up, they don’t know how long it was that they were actually awake on that couch, or how much of what terrorized them in the night was real and what was just their nightmares. They ask each other questions until they sort out reality, as good as they are able. 

Buddy Red arrives from his room in the back, looking the same as yesterday and the same as every day. A trucker’s hat, a green button-down, a weight lifter’s belt (because, as he once explained to Judah, he bent over a lot for work), and jeans. “Y’all ready for a little trip?” 

The boys wipe the dry drool from their faces, and feel ready. 

Buddy Red leads them to the little car that is always parked in Honey’s parking lot early in the morning. In fact, it is early in the morning now. “Aren’t you usually working right now, Mr. Red?” David says. 

Buddy Red looks at David with some mixture of derision and understanding, like how you forgive a small dog who barks at a bigger one. He starts to speak, but he sees that David understands, and does not. Judah watches, as he does. David lowers the seat for Judah so that he can crawl in the back seat of the little Honda. 

Buddy Red advises them to duck down in the car as they drive through town, just in case. Coincidentally, they are unable to see the police cars, police tape, and people standing all in their front yard. 

“Why can’t we go to the police again?” David asks, watching his little brother huddle up in the back seat of a stranger’s car, afraid. 

Buddy Red fixes his mirrors to give his hands something to do. “Lee has ghosts because Lee don’t have no future.” 

“That’s why you exist?” David asks. 

Buddy Red nods. “Yaw sir.” 

“So...” David searches. “Why can’t we go to the police?” 

Buddy Red glances at David, some surprise and amusement in his chuckle. “The Danielsons were the only hope of this little town. Mr. Honey’s was the only business that don’t sell liquor or payday loans. Now, y’all boys are the only hope for this little town.” The clock tower of the old town hall passes by the window from where David is ducking. “Mr. Jackson could take out a small army from the plain hopelessness he feeds off of in this little town. When people find out y’all boys are alive, it will weaken him, but he will find you, and he will kill you.” 

David and Judah take this in for a while. “Doesn’t that mean you’re stronger too?” 

“Yaw sir,” Buddy Red says. He grips the steering wheel of his old car tightly, cables of muscle in his arm rippling. 

“Can’t you protect us then?” 

Buddy Red shakes his head. “Folks don’t miss slavery as much as they miss the glory of the Confederates.” He gestures out the window, and there is a statue of Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general, and the namesake of the town. 

“I wish they would take that down,” Judah offers. 

“Guess who stopped that happening,” Buddy Red says. 

The boys both guess it was Mr. Jackson, but neither say it. They turn off the main street, and down a road lined with huge, beautiful live oak trees. There are lovely, restored antebellum homes all down both sides of the street. Some folks sit on the porches and rock in chairs. Suddenly, Buddy Red and his shabby old car seem dangerously out of place. One man in a rocking chair is even cleaning a gun, and looks up menacingly. Buddy Red seems unsurprised, and ready to make some distance from this neighborhood. His eyes grow heavy and his posture slouches. 

“Are you OK?” Judah asks. 

“Yaw sir,” Buddy Red says. “This place ain’t too friendly to me.” 

They arrive at wherever it is they are going. “Y’all can get up, now,” Buddy Red says. 

“Oh!” David says. “This is Thompson College. We came here for field trip.” Another antebellum structure, but huge and built majestically on a hilltop, surrounded by a forest of mostly live-oaks. The road leading in is stately and well-maintained. “What are we doing here?” 

“Need to show y’all some history,” Buddy Red says. He looks around to make sure no one is around. They walk up the hill. 

“It’s locked!” David says. 

Buddy Red closes his eyes and pushes his hand, almost as if through jelly, through the glass of the door. His arm turns a little translucent. On the other side, his fingers turn opaque again, and he works the lock. It opens with a click. 

“Wow!” David says. “Ghost powers!” 

Inside is now a museum, artifacts displayed with plaques explaining them. Buddy Red leads them to a picture framed on the wall. It is the class of 1861, all the faces are exed out and under it is scribbled in cursive, “Students have all gone to war. College suspended. And God help the Right!” They follow Buddy Red’s Finger, pointing to a photo of a fit, handsome man with a wolfish smile. They wouldn’t recognize him if it weren’t for the name under, which reads, “Jason Jackson.”

[365daysoftododeku]

28th January 2019

Author: Elaine

________________________________________________________________

It just had to come down to this, didn’t it?

Izuku tugs the thick woolen coat around him more tightly and takes a deep breath. And then another. And then another. That’s three breaths done in less than twenty seconds and so far, no scary, fire-breathing, icicle-wielding. . . .whatever had made any move to swallow him in a snap. Or even show itself, in that case.

Izuku sighs – that’s another one – and trudges on up the snowy, pine-tree-covered, ice-capped hunk of rock the people his age in his village dubbed “The Death Mountain.” Not very surprising considering it was historically used as an ancient ritual place for sacrifices to the gods.

Which he was.

Not a god of course. (His luck wouldn’t have it.)

A sacrifice.

He feels a familiar tingle in his nape as he hikes above a particularly slippery-looking slab of earth, hunching over and huffing right after to catch his breath. If he were a god, he definitely wouldn’t be caught up here in this dumb ritual, burning his lungs climbing up this dumb mountain, on his way to become a dumb sacrifice just because of some dumb –

Snap.

Izuku stills. He whips his head towards the source of the offending noise, eyes trained steadily for any further sign of danger in the snow-kissed bush he could’ve sworn had moved. “H-hello?” His hands clench slowly into fists, his mind resigned to his fate, but his body poised, refusing to go down that easily and here it is, here it is, here it is –

Oh.

Great.

Totally fantastic.

Here he was: Midoriya Izuku. Born on the 15th day of the 7th moon. Cause of demise: one fluffy, completely harmless, pure white rabbit. It scrunches its nose at him, completing an obviously dismissive once-over – Oh, another one for the higher ups, it probably thought – before bounding away with its bouncy tail in tow.

For yet another time today, Izuku sighs. Oh, gods.

Maybe he shouldn’t have gotten caught up too much in his train of thought – it’s always been that way with him, always a problem that even his mother had picked up on that sometimes he thinks that maybe it isn’t a problem and that it just happened to be the way he was to say his thoughts out loud because for some reason just having them there felt so much better and helped him think more clearly and –

Izuku really needed to get a hold of his thoughts.

“Who’s there?”

This sound was definitely louder, and it was definitely nearer. It was more than enough to make Izuku crouch back into a familiar stance, muscles ready and wound like springs ready to burst into action, heart pounding so wildly that it almost painful. The single strand of long blond hair his mentor had gifted him burned uncomfortably in the pocket of his wool trousers, Izuku now extremely aware of its presence but – no, not yet, not yet, he’s not ready yet –

A beat.

And then another.

And then another.

Low sunlight filtered through ashen clouds falls on rich russet and gleaming silvery fur, on a pair of sharp mismatched eyes, and on black polished hooves that take one wary trot forward. There’s a patch of angry red skin around a bright turquoise eye, Izuku notes, and yet . . .

It’s easily one of the most majestic thing Izuku has seen. Not even the most honored hunt in his village could have brought back a reindeer as beautiful as this.

He steps forward slowly, almost unthinking of his actions, but keenly aware of the cautious glint in a pair of mismatched eyes that watch his every more. “Hey there. It’s ok.” His arm leaves his side, palm facing forward and fingers spread apart slightly in a show of complete surrender. “It’s alright. I won’t hurt you.”

Not that he’d ever try to in any other circumstance, Izuku thinks to himself. Even if animals the size of a family’s hut and with fur split straight down the middle with two opposing colors almost immediately warranted a Please do not attack, probably supernatural notice, Izuku wagers he’d be too stunned by its beauty and too excited to study the beast to remember its nature.

More than that, his stomach recoiled at the thought of raising a fist unless it was to protect – a lesson he’d learned early on.

Which is exactly why, after surveying its apprehensive stance, his eyes fall immediately to the trail of bright red spots on the snow where the reindeer had stepped.

Oh no.

His heart sinks in both pity and rage.

Creatures like this weren’t to be trifled with, he remembers angrily, and they definitely were not to be hunted like this. If Izuku had been having doubts about befriending this reindeer, those thoughts were forgotten completely. He kneels carefully before the creature, quick to shove aside a small thought involving the reindeer kicking him off the mountain, and sets down the satchel the village had given him.

Rather thoughtful of them, actually, to send him off to his death with such bounty. 

“I . . . I have something that could help you.” Izuku says, taking out a skin of water and a long piece of folded fabric meant for any multitude of uses. “You’re hurt.” He inches forward, ever so slowly. “I could . . . if you want. If you’d let me.”

For a second, there’s a flare of unusual intelligence in that pair of mismatched eyes that makes Izuku’s heart jump. It was unreadable, but Izuku knew it could’ve been suspicion. Hesitance. Even alarm. Whichever it was, it’s gone just as quickly as it came, and the reindeer limps the distance between them to drop itself, still looking more dignified than I ever could, Izuku thinks at the back of his mind, to rest closely to the green-haired boy.

“Thank you,” Izuku murmurs, swiftly washing both hands before skilled fingers hold the bleeding limb gently to scan the wound. He’ll have his mother to thank for his trained eye. It wasn’t deep and by the looks of it, neither was it old. He lets out a quiet sigh of relief. “That’s good,” he mutters to himself. “It looks new enough for it not to fester. You’re pretty lucky.”

They stay that way for some time, Izuku mumbling quietly to himself as he wraps the reindeer’s leg in fresh fabric, the reindeer turning to Izuku occasionally in slight interest, later being comfortable enough to look away at the sprawling pine forest below them.

It’s almost sundown when Izuku finishes gently tying a firm knot on the makeshift bandage. “There you go,” he says, slightly admiring his handiwork. The reindeer pushes itself up, wobbling slightly before returning to its regal stand. “I hope whoever did this to you doesn’t come back.” The reindeer gives him an inquisitive look. Or at least, Izuku imagines it does. “I’d give them a good beating if they did.” This time it’s an amused snort. Izuku smiles despite himself. Well. At least that’s one of them guaranteed happy and alive after today.

“I’ll be going now. Find shelter and all since it’s . . . you know. Getting dark.” This was absolutely ridiculous, asking permission and talking to the reindeer as if it could understand him. As if it were a person. But there’s a strange inkling in the pit of his stomach that tells him it didn’t deserve anything less.

The reindeer turns away, walks a few paces and stops, turning to look back at Izuku, eyes seemingly almost aggravated. If it could talk, Izuku was pretty sure it would say, Well? He stands reluctantly.

That’s ridiculous, Izuku. Animals don’t talk.  

With budding resolve, he steps by the reindeer’s side, and together they walk deeper into the snow-laden forest.

Animals aren’t usually so . . . human, he repeats to himself in his head. But that same, strange feeling from before tells him otherwise as he lingers on that final word.

This one might be.

  They reach a cave before night fully sets in; it’s a slightly damp but well-shielded hollow at a relatively secure side of the mountain. By this time, Izuku, feeling the fatigue seep into his bones, would love nothing more than be to dead to the world – either temporarily by sleep or permanently by the hands of some god who clearly decided some things were more important than their once-a-century sacrifice.

He rests his head against a soft tunic, bundling it into something vaguely resembling a pillow.

Though entirely uncomplaining of how generous the village elders may be, it baffled him that they’d given him food and water to last more than a few days. Not to mention a spare change of clothes. That wasn’t even considering several other items that would’ve normally been on the more luxurious side for his status.

The reindeer stares at him with an unwavering gaze. This time, however, Izuku doesn’t feel hostility nor frigidness. Just . . . warmth. And reassurance.

“Good night,” he whispers, eyelids easily falling shut.

And this weariness truly must have been of a different sort, because he imagines a solid but gentle rumble reply to him in return.

Good night.

  There are only two possible explanations right now for what’s in front of his own two, sleep-dusted but perfectly working eyes. The first is that during the night, his new reindeer friend had abandoned him after decently repaying Izuku’s kind gesture, and its spot was now taken over by a lean, albeit muscular, boy around Izuku’s age. The second was . . .

Impossible. Absolutely irrational. But in a world of gods and magical reindeer, this had to be the more plausible one.

He stares at crimson red hair neatly giving way to pale ivory. At a strip of deep rosy skin surrounding a watchful turquoise eye. Izuku’s own gaze falls then to firmly set lips, strong arms, a bare chest, and . . .

Dear gods.

It wasn’t an entirely bad sight to awaken to, if Izuku was going to be honest with himself. Just a surprising one, able to still him as soon as he’d seen the intruder catch him in the act.

Izuku looks down, a slight prickle on his face painfully informing of the blush now dusting his cheeks. How in Tartarus could it be so warm while inside a clammy cave? With the winter winds howling outside?

It’s the boy opposite him that clears his throat to break the heavy, uncomfortable silence.

“Thank you. For doing what you did.” The boy twists slightly, letting the grey morning light fall on a wiry leg, completely pale if not for a jagged stretch of vicious red. Even then, Izuku could already note how it seemed to calmly pale into pink. “You didn’t have to.”

Izuku’s eyes snap up, immediately looking for guile in the other and finding none. There clearly was no question now of who this boy was. “You were hurt. I couldn’t . . .” he trails off when he realizes how intently the other gazed at him. “I couldn’t just do nothing.”

The other boy looks down, face falling and voice sounding unbelievably timid if he was who Izuku thought he was. “For what it’s worth, I’d still like to thank you.” This boy stands then, hands reaching out to gather a thick brown cloth – a cloak ­– Izuku had never seen until now. Looking at the boy now, he was every bit as dignified as he had been in his animal form.

It makes Izuku’s heart stutter for two, very different reasons. The boy in front of him was incredibly handsome, yes, but . . .

“Are you going to kill me now?” Izuku asks, his words surprising him with their steadfast tone. It was a reasonable conclusion, the only conclusion that his logic lead to. The boy in front of him was undeniably whom Izuku belonged to now. And not just for any purpose. Yes, the gods were benevolent, but as unpredictable as the skies were, they could be equally malevolent. Such was the nature of the gods.

The boy looks at him curiously and – ah.

Izuku almost regrets saying his thoughts aloud. The boy leans forward, deliberately, not close enough to touch, but close enough that Izuku could easily touch a shoulder if he reached with his arm. If his life weren’t conceivably at risk, he might’ve fancied that thought for much longer.

The eyes trained intently at him are both harsh and yet pitying at the same time. But it’s the words this god says that for once, accomplishes a rare feat, rendering Izuku totally speechless.

“Why would I do that to my husband?”

Izuku’s eyes narrow and widen at a dangerous rate. The gods must truly enjoy seeing him suffer so.

His jaw drops before he remembers how disrespectful and slightly unattractive that must look. To his new and supposed husband, no less. “Your . . . your what?”

“My husband.” This time, it’s the other boy’s face that slightly contorts into a semblance of confusion. “Is that not what you’re here for? Not just anyone can be allowed passage up this mountain the way you were.”

Passage up the mountain?

Then . . . then all those times he’d felt a whisper of guidance, pushing him around particularly treacherous passes and ice-slicked expanses . . .

Izuku groans in realization.

He allows the weight of his head to fall into his hands, breathing deeply as he does so. This was wrong. All very wrong, and yet it made so much sense – just like everything that has happened to him so far since he was chosen by the elders to ascend the mountain. “Your village,” Izuku looks up, the other boy taking it upon himself to fill the silence again. “. . . does it worship the Yuuei pantheon?”

“Yes.” Izuku nods.

“And what were you told?”

Izuku falls back to lean against hard damp rock, letting the village elders’ words flow through him as easily as their memorized stories. “That every hundred years, a sacrifice must be sent to the god of this mountain, our sacred ritual place, to protect us. Until the next hundred years that is,” he adds.

For the first time since they’ve met today the boy – no, the god – before him cracked emotion that ironically looked more human than heavenly deity. “A sacrifice,” the god repeats impassively, almost as if this ordeal could not be more entirely unamusing.

“Yes?”

“Gods.” That’s new. Izuku didn’t know gods could swear at themselves. Or was it for themselves? Or was this a young god who wasn’t fully educated on the etiquette of godhood which probably had included not swearing in their own name? But this mountain had been around for just a little bit longer than his village. If the stories were to be believed anyway. It was impossible for this god to be so young, even for immortals like them. Or perhaps humanity had underestimated the aging process of the gods, that they were indeed born as is and stayed –

“You’re mumbling, you know.”

Gods damn it.

Izuku yelps as if stung, immediately stumbling over his words again for an excuse, an explanation, but the god just raises his hand to brush it off. Despite that, the cave floor was starting to look really interesting right now. Which, in hindsight clear as day, he should have regretted. He wouldn’t have missed the small grudging smile on the god’s face otherwise.

It’s the frustrated sigh afterwards that gives Izuku the courage to look up again. “Alright,” the god said, baffled in the way he subconsciously clenched and released a fist as he spoke. “So you’re telling me that you were expecting to die by my hand and yet you stayed?”

Izuku nods.

“Even after I revealed myself to you?”

Izuku nods again.

A tick of quiet settles between them.

“. . . have you no sense of self-preservation at all?”

That sparks something into Izuku, but it isn’t righteous anger at all. It felt less like molten lead, but instead it was something sprightlier. Easier, even. It was almost as if the god himself invited him into a playful match of banter, dual-colored eyes almost twinkling with jest. And Izuku has no idea why, but for the first time since he’d set foot on this mountain, the heavy weight on his chest felt lighter. He felt freer. “Hey! I wasn’t the one traipsing on Death Mountain with a bleeding leg.”

“Death Mountain?” the god parrots, almost as if he couldn’t comprehend how . . . creative, for lack of a better term, humans were for what was probably a sacred mountain to his kind. Ah, yes, indeed. Truly, that was completely and unequivocally solid evidence of Midoriya Izuku’s race.

Still, it was a long story on Izuku’s part, if not a rather obvious one. “Whatever,” he shoots back reflexively, grin wide on his face. It’s there that it dawns on him how disrespectful he must be to a god – to his god, he imagines unwittingly, a not so unpleasant tingle crawling down to the base of his spine – so Izuku opts to peek at him through his lashes, searching as subtly as he can for any sign of anger, and . . .

And he’s greeted with a look that he’s never seen directed at him before. And quite frankly, it takes his breath away. “You’re quite brave.”

For accepting his challenge or for binding his wound, Izuku doesn’t know. Still, it’s all he could do not to blush to the roots of his hair. Good gods. Is this what it feels like to be a living human furnace? Would definitely not recommend. He turns his gaze away, not trusting himself enough to speak at this moment, and fervently hopes the small smile tugging at his lips is enough of a reply.

Another bout of silence stretches between them. This time, there was a charge in the air, and yet it was more comfortable than before.

“Look, this is a long story but,” the god begins, breaking his own state of thought. “Huh. I think you should come with me.”

Izuku’s eyebrows furrow, curious, a tiny ember of his earlier urge to fight coming to life. “Where exactly are we going?” he asks as he returns all he had brought out from his satchel back in the best way he could.

“To my home.” The god throws on a thick vest, reclasping his cloak before staring somberly into Izuku’s eyes, the air previously lighthearted around them suddenly weighing heavy and cold.

“There’s one more reason why no one’s ever returned from ritual places like this. You’d stray from the path if you tried because your guide to the passage would be lost. The cold would kill you in hours, and if it didn’t, lack of food would if lack of water didn’t do it first. The mountain’s spelled that way to . . .”

“To keep anyone from running back.” Izuku finishes, voice falling to a whisper at the end. It’s not that he hadn’t resigned himself to an end away from his village, from his mother. But that he would continue to live, but to live without their presence, was a future he never thought he would have to face. True, he was assured his life, and yet somehow . . .

Somehow it feels worse than the nauseating feeling of dread when he’d been chosen.

“Tell me something,” the god says when the two of them stand ready at the cave’s entrance.

“What’s that?”

“When we met, you seemed fully ready to fight.” The god faces him in full now, his scar pale pink in the cold. “But even then, your eyes were calm. Resigned even. Why is that?”

“Ah.” Izuku smiles, a watery one that he’s sure does not reach his eyes. “I – You already know, I thought I was going to be a sacrifice, right? It isn’t exactly the best future for anyone.” It’s too much to look at the god’s unfathomable eyes, but Izuku forces himself to anyway. “But I . . . it was what my village needed.” What his mother needed.” And I thought that if I could do this, if I could make it easier for them, then why wouldn’t I? But some part of me wanted to live. I wanted to fight because, gods this is embarrassing now, but . . . I wanted to know why it had to be this way.” Whatever warmth remained in the cave seemed to have seeped away, turning into inhospitable frigidness.

The god looks at him then, eyes unreadable. He steps closely to Izuku, their arms almost brushing, before a strange sort of heat starts to envelop Izuku, warming him to his very bones. Now this, this almost made him sigh in relief. Of what, he wasn’t sure. He wasn’t entirely certain either if this came from the god’s body or from a magic he possessed. It didn’t matter either way, because that itself . . .

It calmed his heart with a different kind of warmth. Comfort, Izuku realizes with a start. This god was trying to comfort him.

“For what it’s worth, I apologize. Neither did I have a choice in the matter as well.” Strands of white and red fall against blue and greyish brown. “But I can’t leave you here for more reasons than one.” It meets him then, striking eyes against his own green ones. “I’m sure you’ve felt it too, haven’t you? Since we’ve met, you and I, as god and mortal on this mountain.” There’s a quiver in the god’s voice that Izuku can’t pinpoint, one that makes him tremble for no reason at all.

They’re bound to one another.

Of course. Not as lord and offering as Izuku had expected, but as two souls joined to one another. His heart races.

If this was what it took to ensure the survival of his village, of his friends and his mother, if this was what would safeguard his friends’ happiness, his mother’s protection, and his people’s lives – then perhaps to be married off to an immortal wasn’t the worst of it after all.

“I believe it would be right for us to know the other’s name. It wouldn’t sit well to have a married couple not know that, don’t you think?” The line of the god’s cheek and brow stood smoothly impassive, but it was his eyes that pulled Izuku to him effortlessly, as easy as breathing. Dark and light, so commanding because they were so different, heavy and scrutinizing and yet still alive with a flicker of something Izuku would never have thought to see on the face of a god. “My name is Shouto.”

That something jumps into his chest, blazing like a comet through his body and singing sweetly underneath his skin. “Shouto”, he whispers, testing the name on his tongue and pleased to find how easily it curled on his lips. A name to the face. It made Shouto realer, more tangible. It made Izuku feel like a final stone had come loose, setting into motion a great number of things he didn’t know he was ready to face. But he was who he was for a reason, and who was he if he didn’t endure? His eyes now bright with fierce determination, he smiles, small, but resolute, electricity dancing in his eyes – and Shouto must have noticed because he gifts Izuku a look that makes him feel worthy.

He’ll soldier on like he always did. Like he always will.

“I’m Izuku.”

 ______________________________________________________

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[lilacmoon83]

Dreaming Out Loud

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 96: There's a Land That I Heard Of

As King of the Southern Isles, the first born son, Arawn, had long sought to expand his Kingdom by any means necessary. Already the Southern Isles had conquered much of the land in the vast ocean basin where their Kingdom stood majestically. His brothers had done their part to marry into other Kingdoms where they could. The youngest, Hans, had aspirations of infiltrating the mysterious Kingdom of Arendelle and had set off very recently to do so. But he had urged caution there, as the Kingdom was so shrouded in mystery and closed off from the rest of the world that it made it a risky venture. He hoped his little brother was successful and awaited word from him.

The Northern Kingdom had long been a conquest on his radar since he had succeeded his father almost twenty-five years ago. In fact, he would have dethroned King Eli long ago and had Ravenna rule it once he assimilated it with the rest of his growing Empire. But one thing had long held him back and that was the fact that King Eli had a child with the Goddess Persephone. And that child had her protection, as well as that of Hades and many other powerful Gods. It irked him to no end that some child had kept him from acquiring the jewel that was the Northern Kingdom.

Arawn had always viewed magic and sorcery as a dangerous disease that infected the lands. If he could, he would have destroyed it all. Which of course would make his conquests of the lands much easier. A few years ago, he had even found an ally that shared his distaste for sorcery. He had been forced to flee his home country for trying to cleanse his city of sorcery by eliminating such unsavory people. He was thought to have fallen to his death in a fight against those that had corrupted his home, but he managed to escape a fiery death and survive. After that, he fled to the Southern Isles where he knew sorcery and magic was expressly outlawed. Arawn couldn't really enforce such completely, but he did make examples of practitioners of witchcraft where he could.

Claude Frollo appreciated these efforts greatly and had appealed to the King's sense for justice when he suggested that he could become a very useful adviser. The King agreed and made Frollo his Royal Vizier. Frollo's connections to many other heads of churches and state in other Kingdoms proved quite valuable. He wasn't sure how Frollo managed to get information so fast, but it was the reason that he held the position that he did.

"Sire...I am afraid I have some devastating news from the Northern Kingdom," Frollo mentioned, as he entered the King's Throne room.

"Ravenna's Kingdom?" Arawn asked. Frollo nodded.

"I am afraid your sister is dead…" he reported.

"What?!" Arawn exclaimed.

"Word has just come in. She was murdered, Your Majesty…" he continued.

"By who? Who has murdered my sister?!" he roared.

"King Eli denies it possible, but the Duke is positive that it was King Eli's daughter...Snow White," Frollo added.

"Daughter of Persephone…" the King growled.

"Yes...spawn of the Underworld," he agreed.

"And where is Snow White now?" he questioned.

"The Duke ordered her arrest...but the King maintains her innocence and has seen to it that his demon child has escaped," Frollo reported.

"Not for long…" the King growled, as he rose from his Throne.

"Ready my Galleon...we are leaving for the Northern Kingdom at once," he ordered.

~*~

Snow sniffed, as her father hurried her into the garden and she saw Stardust waiting for her. She felt him hug her fiercely and then help her shoulder the satchel he had Margaret pack for her. But there was one more thing he had in his hand and Snow was curious, as the peculiar corked vial was attached to a lanyard and he put it around her neck.

"Listen to me very carefully, Snow," he said, as he showed her the vial.

"This is dark fairy dust. You must be very careful with it and use it on someone that is trying to cause you harm," he instructed.

"Where did you get dark fairy dust?" She asked curiously.

"That's not important right now. What is important is that you leave this place. Go far and hide when you can. Your mother and Hades will find you," he promised.

"What about you?" Snow asked in concern. He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I'll find you when I can, snowdrop," he promised, though realistically, he knew the chances of him ever seeing her again were slim. He knew what was coming. He knew Ravenna's brothers would soon invade this Kingdom and he knew they would arrest him when he refused to give Snow up. He knew there was likely prison, torture, and even execution ahead for him, but he didn't care. As long as Snow got away and she was safe, that was all that mattered to him. He was ready to give his life to make sure she had one. All his bitterness and anger would now be channeled into protecting his greatest pride and joy.

Tears fell down Snow's cheeks again.

"I don't want to leave you here, Daddy," she sniffed. He hugged her gently.

"I know...none of this is fair, sweet pea," he agreed.

"Then you still believe me?" She asked. He smiled at her.

"Of course I do...I know you didn't do this, Snow and I'm going to find out who did. But I need to know you are safe. Go…" he urged.

"Hide until your mother and Hades find you," he added, as they heard footsteps. Eli quickly lifted her onto the Unicorn and put a hand on the animal's mane.

"Take her away from here...protect her…" he urged. And with that, he watched the majestic beast carry the most precious thing to him in the world away into the vast woods.

"Please protect her…" he pleaded to the Gods, as many members of his court hurried into the gardens, but only found the King there and the Princess was no where in sight.

~*~

Being the powerful Goddess that she was, there were only a few times in her life that she had known true fear. But any of those moments were suddenly paling in comparison to this moment right now. While Snow was almost eighteen now, Persephone still checked on her all the time, especially at night. It wasn't uncommon for her to use her husband's crystal viewing globe in their chambers to check on her. She smiled, seeing that her daughter was sleeping peacefully. But there was sudden alarm, as she saw Deimos poof himself into her daughter's room. She cried out in fright, as she also saw that he was carrying the body of a dead Queen Ravenna.

"HADES!" she cried out and wasn't surprised when her husband rushed into their chambers.

"What's going on?" he asked in alarm.

"Deimos…" she uttered, as she could only watch in horror, as he staged a crime scene and spattered the Queen's blood on her daughter's nightgown.

"By the Gods…" Hades uttered, as he watched his evil nephew frame their daughter for murder.

"Why...why is this happening?!" Persephone cried.

"He's going to start a war…" Hades realized, as his jaw clenched.

"Deimos is evil...but he never acts without orders," Persephone responded.

"No...which is why I'm almost certain that Zeus is behind this," he growled.

"Because of us…" Persephone realized.

"He's going to cause an all our war among the Kingdoms. Thousands will die, ensuring that we will be very busy down here," Hades surmised, as they watched Snow awaken and let out a blood curdling scream.

"No…" Persephone cried for her daughter, as she was forced to watch her be traumatized. Eli rushed in at that point and they watched the Duke call for her execution, while Eli defended their baby. By the time he had Stardust escaping the Kingdom with Snow on his back, Persephone and Hades were broken and shell shocked. The mortal danger to their beloved daughter was imminent and they had to find her, before it was too late. They knew Eli was counting on them to do so and when the Southern Isles invaded, they knew he would be arrested.

"We have to go...we have to find Snow!" Persephone cried. Hades whistled and the loyal Cerberus came at his call. They got onto his back and the loyal giant dog carried them to the surface world.

~*~

A Few Days Later

The last few days had been very rough for Snow. She knew her mother and Papa Hades were probably scouring the Kingdoms for her, but she had been so afraid of being found by the wrong people, that she had been too afraid to emerge from the hovel she had managed to make out of a hollow tree. She had gone hungry on the first night and gotten sick on the second night after eating some berries that didn't agree with her. Honestly, she was positive that it was her Demi-Goddess blood that was probably the only reason that the berries didn't kill her. By the third day, she had gotten lucky and trapped a rabbit. Papa Hades had been wise to teach her to make traps.

She remembered those lessons as a child behind their summer cottage. She hated them, for she insisted that she would never betray the little creatures she loved so much and use them for food. Snow never thought she'd be that hungry. But she was wrong. She had trapped a rabbit and remembered her lessons. She cried the entire time she killed, skinned, cooked, and ate the animal. But it stopped the pain in her stomach and gave her some much needed energy. And today, she knew she had stayed in this hovel too long. It was time to move on and hopefully find her mother or grandmother.

She knew there were many complications in finding her now. It had not taken her long to realize that Ravenna's death had brought war to her Kingdom. The forest was literally littered with wanted posters, depicting her likeness and she had seen droves of soldiers marching along the forest pathways. She had to be extremely careful, but it was time to move on. She was desperate to find her mother and eager with news about her father. She was worried about him now that King Arawn was rumored to be arriving soon.

She had met her step-mother's eldest brother only once and she barely remembered, for she was very young. He had come for her father's wedding to Ravenna when she was barely two. She shouldn't even have had a memory from that early, but she did, because she remembered how frightening and imposing this King was.

He was a very large man, nearly seven-feet tall, with shoulders probably wider than she was tall. She remembered his glare upon her, clearly disapproving of her existence. She remembered burying her face in her father's leg and whimpering. At that point, she had been quickly whisked away by her mother, who had her own intimidating look for the King. That was the end of the vague and fuzzy memory, but she remembered him, because he was very scary. And now, he had ordered all the Kingdoms to find her alive, so he could bring her to be executed for a crime she had been framed for.

At this point, she was certain that the Underworld was quite possibly the only safe place for her and was certain that Papa Hades would want to take her there. She didn't mind that. The Underworld wasn't a place of fire and brimstone like most thought. That part did exist, but the Underworld was so much more than that. Papa Hades told her that she often brought hope to the souls with unfinished business and her mere presence brought peace. She hoped that was true and if she could do something good for others, she was always willing. They didn't bring her there often though, as they both agreed that there was no future in the Underworld. It was stagnant and time did not move. Thus, it wasn't what they wanted for her. Mama and Papa Hades insisted that she had some greater destiny that she must find in the living world. But Snow wasn't so sure about that now. What kind of future could a now bandit like her have?

Those were questions in her mind, as she managed to clean up somewhat in a nearby creek, before mounting Stardust and moving on. She didn't know what grand destiny she could possibly have now when she was doubting she'd even live to see her twenties. Unfortunately, she was unaware that she was being followed...

~*~

Cora watched Zelena storm around the palace courtyard, frightening and scaring the staff with her magic amid a tantrum. She didn't even remember what had upset her spoiled daughter this time, but it didn't matter. Zelena commanded fear and obedience from her subjects.

"You're all worthless...I should turn you all into flying monkeys!" she shouted.

"Well...congratulations dearie. She's every bit the monster you hoped for," Rumple commented. Cora smirked.

"Thank you Rumple...I just wish the same could be said for Regina. She will not be a strong Queen like Zelena," she commented.

"If you say so," Rumple replied, as he watched her terrorize the servants. She was too unpredictable to cast his curse. He had a certain design that he needed for his curse and wanted to retain a modicum of power, even if he wouldn't have all his memories. He needed evil, which Zelena obviously was. But she was also psychotic and possessed an unhealthy amount of envy when she perceived others that might have more than she did. It did not bode well at all and he needed to devise a way to neutralize this particular monster and focus on molding a new candidate. But it would not be easy to cultivate exactly what he needed. He had ten years until the Savior would be born if his visions were accurate and that was not much time at all. There was Regina though and loss could mold her into exactly what he needed. He could make evil out of that and use her to get rid of Zelena at the same time. He just needed to plant the right seeds.

"If you want to toughen Regina up...you'll need to get rid of the stable boy," he suggested.

"Yes, I know...he's truly a hindrance," she agreed.

"Zelena is loathed and Regina is loved. Does she know about her sister's romance?" he questioned.

"No," Cora responded.

"Perhaps it is time she finds out," he said.

"Hmm...Zelena. I need you to go to the stables and summon Regina for me," Cora stated. Zelena huffed.

"Why can't you send her man-servant to do that?" the redhead snapped.

"Because I asked you to do it, dear," Cora responded in a cool tone. Her daughter stormed off in a huff and Rumple smirked. If everything went as planned, Zelena would ruin Regina's happiness and then the younger sister would rid him of the older one. Yes...with the right seeds planted in her, Regina would be the perfect one to cast his curse.

~*~

King Arawn stormed into Eli's palace that afternoon, while Eli sat calmly in his Throne with a stoic expression. He knew what was coming, but he refused to show fear to this man. Snow had escaped and that was all that mattered, no matter what happened to him.

"Where is the little retch?" the King demanded to know.

"I'm not sure who you mean. There are no retches here, Your Majesty," Eli said in a patronizing tone.

"You know who I mean," he growled.

"That little demon you call a daughter killed my sister," he hissed.

"My Snow isn't capable of killing anyone," Eli refuted.

"The evidence suggests otherwise, Your Majesty," Frollo interjected.

"The evidence has been staged to frame my daughter. By whom and to what end, I do not know. But my sweet, precious Snow isn't capable of something like this," he refuted.

"Says the loving, doting father who has seen to her escape," Arawn countered.

"I will ask you once more nicely, Eli. Where is she?" he demanded to know.

"Even if I knew...I'd never tell you," Eli responded. Arawn smirked.

"We shall see. Arrest him," Arawn ordered to his guards. Eli was promptly shackled and led to his own dungeon, while Arawn took his Throne.

"Find Snow White...I want her alive," Arawn ordered.

"We will find her, Sire and we will deal with her in the only way that you can with witches and gypsies. We shall burn her at the stake," Frollo promised.

~*~

David woke up that morning and packed up for his last leg of his journey home. He fed Wilby and ate himself, after washing up in the nearby creek.

"Well...if we start out now, we should be home by supper," he said to his dog that nuzzled his hand. He remembered how excited he had been when he was eleven and Wilby was presented to him for his birthday from his mothers. And they had been inseparable since. Wilby's attention was caught though, as a twig snapped and he went running off after the noise.

"Hey Wilby…" he called, but the dog kept going. He sighed.

"Wilby!" he called again, as he hurried after him.

~*~

Snow sobbed and tried to scream, but the man's hand was over her mouth.

"Scream if you want to, Princess...but no one is going to help you. There's too much money on your head," the frightening man hissed.

"I'm the Woodcutter...and I'm very good at collecting bounties and this one is probably going to be my biggest yet. King Arawn is going to set me for life," he said, as she shoved the young girl into his prison carriage.

"Please...I didn't do it. I didn't kill my step-mother!" Snow cried.

"I don't care," he responded coldly.

"If you know who I am...then you know who my mother and step-father are," she pleaded.

"Yes...and word has it that Zeus is backing King Arawn in this and the war you've started. It would seem that Uncle Zeus is no fan of yours, so I'll take my chances," the Woodcutter responded, stunning Snow. She knew Zeus had never liked that her mother and step-father brought her with them to Olympus from time to time. She also knew how much he hated Papa Hades. She had overheard him and her mother talking about it before. If her mother was correct, Zeus did not like it at all that her mother had restarted Papa Hades heart with true love's kiss, thus allowing him to leave the Underworld from time to time when his duties allowed. But she didn't know why he would choose to back a war against her father's Kingdom and want to see her put to death, unless it was the jealousy he had for Papa Hades that she had heard her mother speak of.

"We'll be moving out now and should be back at the palace by dusk, just in time for them to burn you at the stake," he announced and fear settled in her. She had hoped Stardust would get away to find her mother, but this man had been ready for her Unicorn and knocked it out with a sleeping powder. And now, she was certain she would never see another sunrise. She was ready to give up and another tear made its way down her cheek. But barking roused her and she peered through the bars, only to see a dog barking insistently at her captor.

"Get out of here, mutt," he growled, as he doused his fire and prepared to move out. But it was then that Snow saw a young man hurrying after the dog and felt a spark of hope ignite somewhere deep inside her. She didn't know why, for there was no guarantee that this man would help her. But something inside her told her that he would.

"Help!" she called in desperation.

"Get out of here, mutt," he growled, as he doused the fire and prepared to move out, just as a young man came running after said mutt.

"Wilby!" David scolded, as he saw the man and the prison carriage, causing a cold chill to go down his spine.

"Help!" he heard from inside the carriage. David looked at the man in alarm.

"This ain't any of your business, boy," he snapped, trying to intimidate the young man.

"Who do you have in there?" David demanded to know.

"A wanted murderer," he answered, as he showed the wanted flier to him, which read: Snow White. Wanted for Murder, Treason, and Crimes Against the Crown. Snow's heart sank at that, but she didn't give up.

"I didn't do it!" she insisted.

"She says she didn't do it," David parroted to the man, who scoffed.

"She's worth more gold than you can imagine, boy. I don't care if she did it or not," the Woodcutter responded, as he surprised David by hitting him with the butt of his axe and knocking him down. Wilby barked angrily and then licked David's face, as he groaned in pain and sat up. Something inside him compelled him to get up and charge the man. He punched him and wrestled the keys from his hand, as he rushed to unlock the carriage.

"Look out!" she cried, as he ducked the man's axe, as he brought it down. It hit the carriage instead and became stuck. He abandoned the weapon and tacked David to the ground again, pummeling his fists into the young man. But David had managed to unlock the carriage and Snow escaped. She began picking up rocks and pelted the Woodcutter with them. He growled and turned to her, intending to tackle her, but David scrambled to his feet. Snow backed away from him and found another large rock. She swung it, but accidentally hit David in the chin with it. She cried out, as he held his face in pain and dropped it, as the Woodcutter laughed.

"Nice of you to do my job for me, girl," he snarled, as he turned back to David, intending to kick him. She looked around and picked up a large stick, as she began hitting the Woodcutter with it.

"Woman," she corrected, as he caught the stick and tossed it away, preparing to tackle her again.

"You want to get rough, Princess...that can be arranged," he hissed, as he advanced on her and she fell back onto the ground, tripping as she tried to get away. But there was an angry neighing heard, as Stardust charged him and trampled him to death. Snow and David looked at the scene, stunned and then at each other. David got to his feet and extended his hand to her, as their eyes locked. She took his hand and let him help her to her feet. As they did this, they could only watch, as there was a peculiar spark between them. Neither of them really knew what to make of it, as they watched the spark fall to the ground and from it, a baby sapling sprouted. But they didn't have time to discuss this, as they heard voices in the distance.

"Soldiers...we can't stay here," she said.

"Mind if we hitch a ride?" he asked, referring to her Unicorn. She nodded, as she mounted the beast. David picked Wilby up and placed him in her lap, as he mounted the animal behind her. With that, they rode off before the soldiers and mercenaries in King Arawn's employ arrived.

~*~

Frollo entered the Throne Room and bowed deeply to his King, before being motioned to rise.

"Has he told us anything?" Arawn asked.

"I'm afraid not, Sire. Despite the beatings and whippings, the pain has not loosened his tongue. He will not betray a word against Princess Snow White," Frollo reported, clearly irritated by Eli's resistance.

"She is his daughter...only the life of a child can allow him to endure such pain without falter. You will not get any answers from him," Arawn stated.

"Sire...I have received disturbing news from the forest," the Duke interjected, as he rushed in.

"Our soldiers found a man dead in the woods. It has been confirmed that he is known as the Woodcutter," the man reported.

"And of what significance is this?" Frollo demanded to know.

"He is a highly skilled bounty hunter and was likely hunting Snow White. Soldiers in the area reported seeing a Unicorn and have said it appears that the Woodcutter was trampled to death," the Duke reported.

"Then Snow White has killed again, this time with her loyal beast. We must up our efforts to bring her to justice," King Arawn stated.

"And I believe I can help with that, Your Majesty," Deimos interjected, as he made his way into the Throne room.

"Who are you?" Frollo demanded.

"I am Deimos...God of Terror and loyal right hand to Zeus. If you allow it, Your Majesty, I can lead your army in its efforts to assimilate all the Kingdoms in this realm under your rule and unite them all," Deimos claimed.

"And what is it that you have to offer me as a General?" Arawn questioned. Deimos smirked and demonstrated his strength on a poor, unsuspecting guard at the King's side. He caught the man's blade with his bare hand, as he swung it and snapped it effortlessly. He then picked the poor man up and snapped his neck with barely the twitch of a muscle, before tossing him away like trash.

"That is just a small sample of what I can do for you, King Arawn...that is if you swear your allegiance to Zeus," he prompted. Arawn looked intrigued.

"Sire...this could lead us to finding the creature and power you have sought for years," Frollo whispered to him.

"You can help me topple all the Kingdoms in this realm...even Midas?" he questioned. Deimos smirked.

"When I am done...this realm will have one supreme King and it will be you. And it will have one supreme God as well and that will be Zeus," he added.

"Then you will lead my army, Deimos and help me not only topple every Kingdom in this realm, but also bring Snow White to justice for my sister's murder," Arawn agreed. Deimos smirked and the deal was struck...