#her open wounds are finally able to heal over once released from the influence of the Wither but she's still scarred unfortunately

[poisonouspastels]

@beegswaz genuinely i think my favorite tags on any of my work ever. i fucking love when people talk abt my characters like this

[theangriestpea]

In the Shadows : Thirteen

Summary: Jughead Jones, resident werewolf, just wants to protect his family and his pack from the incoming doom of The Red Circle. Sweet Pea and Lily join him to help keep the Southside safe from human tyranny. Meanwhile a demon princess named Myra and succubus named Lavender had a plan to bring on the apocalypse. 

Rating: Mature // Explicit

Pairings: Jughead Jones x OC, Sweet Pea x OC, Kurtz x OC

Warnings:  mild smut, vaginal sex, shower sex, kidnapping??, jealousy

Word Count: 5.1k+

A/N: eheheheheh this is finally out lol. I’ll be working on a request or two next and then TKT! I don’t show up in the tags anymore so RIP my note count

Chapter Thirteen : The Return

Hell was colder than he had expected. A lot colder. The white magic that Lily had painted onto him glowed faintly, the essence of it wrapping around him like a thin sheet of armor. The cavernous hallways were dark, lit only by periodic dim blue flaming torches that lined the walls.

Sweet Pea exhaled, his condensed breath puffing in front of him as he intently watched the needle of the compass. He could feel her again, finally after three long days, but it was very faint. He tried to keep his mind focused on the task, he didn’t have much time. Even spending an earthly hour here would equate to a little over a day. Time moved much faster in hell, and Lavender had already spent three months there. He worried tremendously about the state he would find her in.

When he saw her again, she’d finally be showing. When she was taken, Lav had only been two months pregnant. Now she would be halfway through her pregnancy, and if they hadn’t of known the sex already (though Sweet Pea wasn’t entirely convinced that the end of the world could be brought on by a little girl) then they certainly would know now. He had already planned to take her to a doctor as soon as possible to get everything checked out. Not that it was necessary, but he needed it for his own peace of mind.

Every now and then he would check the pocket watch. Thankfully it was a wind up watch that was unaffected by the strange atmosphere of hell. He wound it up a few more times for good measure, unsure if the speed of time here would have any kind of affect on the mechanism. It was best not to take chances. If he were here even a millisecond longer than an hour, then he would be damned here for eternity. He would die and there would be no hope left for Earth.

Back in the mortal realm of Earth, Lily was cleaning up the mess she had made. She could feel the piercing gaze of her mate on her back, but was choosing to ignore it. His possessive anger was not something that she really needed right now. The waxing gibbous moon was heavily influencing him. Days leading up to and after the full moon were always his most emotional, Lily had learned to deal with it.

He let Daisy down so that she could play with her toys, although she didn’t seem too interested in that. She simply sat between his feet, staring at where the demon Mammon had been. This was her first time seeing a full fledged demon, and Lily was sure that it had had some sort of affect on her. Ultimately it had been safer to keep her in the room where both Lily and Sweet Pea could keep an eye on her just in case the demon chose to play some sort of trick on them.

Now she wondered if that had truly been the best decision. Daisy seemed in a daze, her eyes ultimately unfocused as she peered across the room. Despite her worry, Lily continued to put the materials away in their rightful place. She checked on a potion that was brewing against the wall. Sweet Pea had given her detailed instructions on what to do while he was away to make sure that it was completed properly. She stirred it twice counter-clockwise before checking the temperature. It was for Lavender, and possibly for Sweet Pea if he really needed it. It would heal any afflictions they received while in the other dimension. Lav’s human half was liable to have suffered the past three days.

When she was finished, she finally acknowledged the brooding wolf that was sitting in the corner. “Are you done pouting?” She asked, knowing that they had to be prepared for Sweet Pea to return at any moment.

Jughead glowered, “you still love him.” He sounded hurt, though she suspected it was more his pride than his feelings. Lily was already feeling weak from the spell, the edges of her vision blurring. She didn’t really want to put up with this.

“I love him as a friend, Jug. He’s always been my best friend and he always will be. It’s platonic. And yes, I’m worried about him going into hell. So much could go wrong. Daisy still needs him, she’s so young and she worships him. I couldn’t imagine raising her alone.” Lily said as she rubbed her temples, eyes slipping shut in an attempt to steady herself.

“You wouldn’t be alone,” He countered, “You’d have me.” He noticed her wavering and stood, careful to not step on Daisy as he walked over to her.

Suddenly Lily’s legs gave out and he had to quickly reach out to catch her. He noticed right away that her skin felt incredibly clammy and her body was cold. “Lils?” He asked, voice showing his panic. “Hey?”

Her breathing turned labored as she struggled to look up at him, “Lay me down, Jug.” She croaked, feeling a fever starting to take over her. He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom, laying her down on the bed.

“What can I do for you?” He asked, jealousy and hurt completely gone now as worry took over. “Can I get anything? Will that potion work?”

“I don’t think…” Her voice drifted off as she found herself feeling incredibly tired. “I just need some sleep.”

Jughead brushed a few stray hairs from in front of her face. “I’ll watch over Daisy, and wait for the others to return. Just rest for now.”

Lily felt too weak to even nod, quickly drifting into a troubled slumber.

Back in hell, Sweet Pea was navigating the dark hallways. The hell flame torches were few and far between, and for the most part he found himself walking along in the darkness. When he did find light, he quickly checked both the compass and the watch to make sure that he was heading in the right direction.

It helped that he could feel her now. He could sense what direction she was in, the compass just helped solidify that feeling. He found himself growing colder and colder and he wished he hadn't come without a shirt. At one point he tried to take a torch from the wall, however it was bolted in place and wouldn’t budge.

He tried to concentrate on the task at hand, however his thoughts kept drifting to his unborn child. Was she okay? Had Lavender been given enough to eat? What if there was something wrong with her development because she had spent the equivalent of three months in hell? Worry plagued him more than the cold did.

Ten Earth minutes passed, however it felt more like hours here. He was beginning to feel more and more frustrated as everything just looked the same. Exhaustion was starting to overtake him as he turned down yet another dark hallway.

Suddenly he felt her stronger than ever and he knew instantly that she was close. He ran to the cell door that was nearest to the left and tried to look inside the tiny barred window. “Shanna!” He shouted, hoping with every fiber of his being that she was in there.

The torch on the wall gave the room a faint blue glow. He could barely make out a figure shift on what appeared to be a cot along the back corner. “Pea?” A tiny voice rang out. Sweet Pea’s heart leapt into his throat as he tried to get the door open. It rattled on the hinges, but did not otherwise move.

Lavender got up from her makeshift bed and made her way over to him, skeptical that he was real. Myra had played too many mind tricks on her for her to trust her own eyes. She had taken his form on multiple occasions just to screw with her. Despite this unsurety, she approached him. He certainly felt like the real Sweet Pea.

Sweet Pea was cursing at the door in front of him, he paused from tearing at the handle briefly to look at her. Now that she was under the torch he could see her a little more clearly. She looked filthy, hair matted and covered in dirt. Her clothes were ripped in several places and his eyes moved downward. He took in a sharp intake of breath when he saw the undeniable swell of her stomach. “I’m getting you out.” He said before going back to the door.

She came closer, cautious and curious. How was he going to do that exactly? She couldn’t see him very well through the door, his side of it had no light. “Pea?” She asked again, and he stopped once more to look at her.

He stared, waiting for her to speak again. “Is it really you?” She asked, and the tone of her voice was almost disturbing to him. It sounded extremely foreign, and he briefly wondered if she was real.

“Yes, baby, I’m real.” He replied before going back to trying to examine the door. He realized that the release on the lock was a simple magic spell, something even a notice witch could undo. He wondered why she hadn't been able to get out herself, but figured he would ask questions later. Now wasn’t the time.

Sweet Pea muttered the spell, knowing that once he did everyone would know that he was here. His determination to save her however did not make him even consider the possibility of having to go against demons. He’d die for her and their child. As long as she was safe, he didn’t care what happened to him.

The door finally swung open and he pulled her into a tight hug, careful not to squish her stomach. Lavender melted against him, closing her tired eyes as she felt the simple contact recharging her energy just the tiniest bit. “I’m too weak to run.” She mumbled, knowing for sure now that he was the real deal. She was just so tired, so weak, so powerless from months of substituted souls. She needed something real, not the powdered bullshit Myra had been force feeding her.

Sweet Pea swept her off her feet, one arm under her knees and the other under her shoulders. He heard another tired sigh escape from her chapped lips as he began to run back from which he came.

His progress seemed even slower this time. Since his hands were full, he was unable to check the compass or the watch. He would just have to go from memory and instinct. He prayed that it would be enough to get them out.

“Pea,” Lav rasped, her voice still minute and he was sure that if hell was anything but silent then he would have been unable to hear her. “I can get us out.” She mumbled, half-awake now.

He slowed to a walk, unsure how she would even be able to do this. Lavender closed her eyes and mumbled a spell that was special to half breeds such as herself. A faint violet line appeared before the two of them, winding into the path he needed to take.

“Hurry,” She said desperately, “I don’t have much energy left to hold it.”

Sweet Pea took off, pushing his muscles to their absolute limits. His breaths came out in heavy pants as he chased the fading line. Time was running out for both of them. It had taken over half an hour to find her, now he had to make up time getting back.

Another fifteen minutes passed and he was sure his legs would give out at any moment. He would have been fine without the added weight, or if he had been able to pace himself. There just simply wasn’t time for any breaks.

Skin that was once covered in goosebumps was now drenched with sweat. The black markings began to smudge and Sweet Pea could feel the spell Lily had put on him weakening. He was starting to feel pain from his being here, the atmosphere affecting him greatly. He did his best to keep the negativity at bay, but it was growing more and more difficult.

Finally he reached the opening that was connected to the cottage. He burst through it and instantly the inter-dimensional slit closed with a soft popping sound. Sweet Pea fell to his knees, nearly dropping Lavender in the process.

Jughead ran to them, taking the hybrid from his arms so that he could collapse onto the wooden floorboards. She had fallen unconscious, sleeping against Jughead’s chest now that he had here awkwardly pulled into his lap. At first he hadn’t even recognized her, as she no longer had her signature purple hair but instead was sporting light blonde locks. It dawned on him that this was her natural hair color. The witch either didn’t realize the difference or had seen it before, Jug would later find that it was the latter.

The wolf noticed that Sweet Pea was covered in burns. Hopefully the potion would be good enough to heal him. He could also feel Lavender quickly draining his energy through their close contact. He had to quickly remove himself from her to keep from losing too much of himself. He was worried that she might take a yank at his soul if he held her long enough.

After laying her down on the floor, Jughead moved to get two mugs. “Is the potion ready?” He asked the witch that was pulling the succubus closer to him so that he could hold her, knowing that her and their child would need whatever essence he could give them.

Sweet Pea glanced at Jughead, “yes, it should be. Just pour half a cup each. That will be plenty, where is Lily?”

Jughead ladled out the hot potion into the two mugs. “She wasn’t feeling well, so she’s resting.”

He frowned, knowing something was very wrong. Lily shouldn’t be feeling badly due to the minimal spell work she did. She should be fine. He hoped that it wasn’t something too serious as he had to focus on Lavender for the time being.

Jughead padded over to them with the two cups. Sweet Pea managed to sit up enough to take one from him. He pulled Lavender into an upright position, putting the rim to her lips and urging her to drink.

He managed to get her to take the potion without much resistance, her natural reflexes allowing her to swallow. Once he was finished he took the second mug and quickly chugged it, throwing his head back in the process so that he could relish every last drop.

The streaking burns quickly healed, and his tan skin was unmarred once more. He put the mug down and held his girlfriend close, one hand trailing to rest on her stomach. It was too soon for him to be able to feel any movement, but still he had some hopes that maybe he could. After nothing happened, he let out a sad sigh.

Thankful that the potion had also healed his torn muscles and ligaments, Sweet Pea stood with Lavender in his arms. He placed her on the old worn-out couch and covered her body with an old afghan that had been in Lily’s family for decades. It had been made with comforting magic to help ease anxiety. He hoped that it would help her to rest peacefully.

He turned and noticed Jughead was holding his shirt out to him. Sweet Pea gave him a small nod as he took it and pulled it back on over his head. “I’ll go see what’s up with Lily.” He said, “Keep watch out here just in case. The house is warded against everything but Mammon, however I would rather be on guard just in case.”

Jughead looked at the half demon, noticing finally how dirty and unkempt she looked. He had never known her to look anything less than put together. Even when she was in her pajamas, every hair was in its exact place. Then again, she rarely left her appearance unaltered for anyone other than Sweet Pea. Her having fair hair was probably the most bizarre part. He had been accustomed to the purple.

He noticed her cheeks were slightly sunken in, her collar bones more prominent then they had been before. “Okay, just figure out what’s wrong so we can get her better.” Jughead said. He had this impending feeling of dread ever since Lily fell asleep. Something just didn’t seem right.

Sweet Pea entered the bedroom, immediately sensing just how sick Lily was. He rushed over to her, placing a rough hand on her forehead. It was on fire even though her whole body seemed to quake with a long lasting shiver.

There was an uncanny darkness about her aura. Normally it ranged from white to a dusty light pink. Now it was dark grey and he could tell even in that short amount of time that it was growing darker. This wasn’t good. He needed to do something about this quickly, however he was never all that good at healing magic. That had always been Lily’s forte.

“Daddy?” Daisy asked, tugging at his pants leg. She looked as though she were about to cry. “What wrong with mommy?”

He picked her up, holding her close in one arm as he used his free hand to check Lily’s racing pulse. “She has the flu, baby.” He replied. It wasn’t that far from the truth. It was a type of influenza, just not a normal kind you can catch from other humans. It was demonic and it would consume Lily’s white magic in a matter of days.

It occurred to him that the only one who could help with this was Lavender. She had used the last bit of her magic leading him out of hell. He would need to get her a soul to feed on, a live one. That would help her bounce back the fastest.

He carried Daisy back out into the living room. Jughead could tell by the look on the dark witch’s face that the situation was dire. “I need a soul.” Sweet Pea said abruptly, before Jug could voice his concerns. “It’s the only way to save Lily.”

Jughead stared, not understanding what Sweet Pea was asking of him. “Like a living soul?”

“Yes, I’d use mine if I thought we could get it back a second time.” He said honestly. “But, that is too much of a risk. I think she’s been only on supplements this entire time. If she had a fresh one then it would give her enough energy to be able to help me heal Lily. I need demon magic, and she’s all we got.”

“Can’t you just have sex with her when she wakes up?” He asked, hoping that there was another way. “Wouldn’t that help?”

Sweet Pea was growing more and more frustrated. “She’s not going to wake up on her own in time to save Lily. If you want Lily to live then you’ll get me a fresh soul for her. Otherwise, your mate will die and Daisy will be without a mother.”

Jughead hung his head in defeat. He had never been too keen on taking an innocent life. While it was a part of Lavender’s existence, he had managed to separate himself from that part of her for the most part. Mostly because her killing members of The Red Circle had direct repercussions on him and his pack. She had disturbed the peace almost more than the vargulf had.

“I’ll make some calls.” He said at last, knowing that he had two newer packmates in mind that could potentially help them out. He walked outside to talk on the phone in privacy.

Sweet Pea shook his head as he knelt down beside his soulmate. He kissed her forehead lightly, hoping that it would bring her some peace wherever her mind was right now. All he wanted to do was to hold her and talk to her and make sure everything was alright. Unfortunately that would have to wait. There was too much that needed to be done.

Outside, Jughead had called Charlie. Her and her boyfriend Fangs, the newest (and only vampire) initiate, had been on a job to tail members of The Red Circle. They were to keep tabs on them to make sure that they weren’t up to anything too sinister. Obviously they would want payback for the deaths of the two members Lavender had taken out before she was abducted.

Charlie mentioned that there was one that was a bit of an outcast. He didn’t stay with the core group often and tended to do his own thing (which included getting into fights with wolves during the new moon when they could draw no energy from it). He had gotten at least two of their packmates thrown in jail and charged with assault. She suggested they use him to both help Lily and end his particular low grade reign of terror.

Jughead told her to bring him to the cottage without being seen. He wanted them to make sure they weren’t followed or tracked. Maybe getting rid of someone who had been a thorn in the pack’s side wouldn’t be too much of a loss of life. He would burn the world down to save Lily, so perhaps one less nuisance wasn’t really that bad of an idea.

He hung up the phone and went back inside. Sweet Pea stood from his place on the floor, “Did you find someone?” He asked, knowing that if Jug hadn’t then he’d go out himself and bring someone back.

“Yes, Charlie and Fangs are bringing him.” He said. “They’ll get here as soon as they can.”

Pea nodded and sat back down, resting his back against the front of the couch. Now all they could do was wait…

A few hours later, there was a hard knock on the door. Jughead quickly opened it to find Charlie with a proud look on her face and Fangs with an unconscious man thrown over his shoulder. “One pissant for delivery.” He said with a boyish grin.

Jughead stepped aside and allowed them both inside. They made their way into the living room where Fangs dropped the spectacled human onto a nearby chair. He groaned softly but didn’t wake.

Jug looked him over, assessing him in any way that he could. “Dilton Doiley.” He said under his breath. He had remembered him from when he was buddy-buddy with the Northsiders. He had always found Dilton to be a little stranger than most. While humans typically were odd creatures, DIlton had been given an extra dose when he was made.

Sweet Pea had been looking over his notes on succubi. He had managed to find a spell that would allow him to transfer the human soul to Lavender’s body so that she could consume it without the need for sexual intercourse or physical contact.

After taking about fifteen minutes to prepare, going through the proper motions to ready himself, he placed one hand on Dilton’s wrist and the other on Lavender’s chest. He closed his eyes and began to whisper the spell under his breath. He would be using his own body as a conduit, something that could potentially be dangerous. However, the risks were greatly outweighed by the need for his partner to be awake and able-bodied.

He felt Dilton’s life force enter him, it shot through him like lightning, shocking him as he guided it into Lavender. It successfully passed through and in moments the hybrid was taking in huge gasps of air.

Sweet Pea let go of both of them, as he quickly gave Lavender his full attention. She sat up, hand immediately on her stomach as she caught her breath. She coughed, sputtering as she choked on saliva. Jughead quickly brought her some water which she greedily took in.

Once she was finished drinking, she looked up at Sweet Pea with large hazel eyes. He took her small face into his hands and kissed her deeply, happy to feel her lips moving back against his. He pulled away after a few moments. “Lily is sick. I need your help.”

Lavender sat up, rubbing her forehead as she felt a headache coming on. She thought about altering her appearance to something more attractive, but decided to not waste the magic. “What kind of sickness?” She asked, feeling groggy and sore still.

“Demon flu.” He said, not really knowing what else to call it. There was probably a more formal name for it. “I can’t heal her myself. Are you...is the baby okay?”

His sudden change of subjects gave her mock whiplash. “She’s fine, Pea. Let’s worry about Lily right now. I don’t think I have enough magic to help her right now though, but we can fix that. Can you take a shower with me?”

Sweet Pea smiled and kissed her forehead. “Of course, princess. Let me get you some clean clothes to wear. I’m sure Lily has an old flannel of mine that’ll fit you. You should still fit into her pajama shorts.”

“Carry me?” She asked, holding her arms up to him. He scooped her up into his arms. “Jones, we’ll make this quick. Keep an eye on Lily, okay?”

Jughead nodded simply before joining Daisy in the bedroom to keep watch over his mate. He hoped the two love birds wouldn’t drag out their reunion too much.

In the bathroom, Sweet Pea helped Lavender get out of the tattered dress she had been wearing. His hands ran over the bony parts of her shoulders and ribs. “I’m going to cook so much kimchi for you that you’ll be sick of it.” He murmured. It was her favorite and she had started craving it pretty heavily shortly after they finally got together. He knew it would make her happy.

Lavender was exhausted, but managed a happy smile at the thought. “I think I’ll need a little more than kimchi to get my weight up.”

He started to undress, shrugging in the process. “Then I’ll make you whatever you want. As long as you don’t leave my sight ever again.”

“I won’t, Pea.” She said, cutting on the water and stepping in. He quickly joined her. “At least my morning sickness is gone. We don’t have to throw up together anymore.”

The witch snorted back a laugh. “Thank god.” He watched as she slowly started to detangle her hair with her fingers. “You’re a hot blonde, you know that?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Please. I’m a hot everything.”

“Your tits got bigger.” He said, groping them excitedly.

Lav let out a soft moan. Her breasts had become incredibly sensitive over the past few weeks. He hadn’t quite been expecting that response, but was thoroughly pleased by it. “We have to be quick.” He mumbled, voice low.

She whined at him then, wanting more than just a shower quickie. But, she knew that Lily’s health was steadily declining. They really didn’t have the time to be sensual right now. Lav turned her back to him and placed her hands on the smooth white wall while bending over as much as she could considering her stomach.  

Sweet Pea grabbed his cock, stroking it a few times to get it completely ready. He knew she wanted something more meaningful than this, and he’d give it to her later. This wasn’t exactly how he expected their reunion to go either. Still, it couldn’t be helped.

He aligned his head with her entrance, watching as the water came down across her smooth back. Slowly he pushed into her, moaning at the sensation of her soft walls clamping down around him. It had only been a couple days but he had still missed her so fucking much. He had no idea he’d ever be so attached to another person that wasn’t his daughter.

Lavender moaned, feeling their connection suddenly strengthening. She could feel her magic increasing exponentially as he began to thrust in long, languid motions. He filled her up so perfectly that it seemed to throw her off guard every time. She still wasn’t used to it after the short time they’d been together.

He grabbed hold of her hips to keep her steady as he increased his pace, not knowing how rough he could really be with her now that she was five months along. Fuck, she felt so amazing around him that it drove him crazy. All he wanted was more and more until he couldn’t get it up anymore.

Now wasn’t the time for a marathon though, he quickly sped up to a speed and rhythm that he knew would get her off quickly. His cock hitting that perfect spot time and time again. Lavender’s head reeled as she braced herself against the wall, unable to quiet the moans that erupted from her. She wished she had something to grab hold of, fingers flexing against the wall of the shower so hard that they were turning white.

In no time at all she hit her peak, walls clamping down hard around him and fluttering, urging him to release into her. Sweet Pea groaned, twitching inside of her as he came for the first time in days. He had been too depressed to even masturbate while she was gone, resulting in the extra large load that was now inside of her.

He slowly pulled out, grabbing a loofah and Lily’s body wash to help clean her up. He got it nice and soapy before rubbing it across every itch of her shaking body. The dirt and grime came right off, gliding down in large streams down her legs.

While he did this she took the time to wash her hair, thoroughly scrubbing her scalp. This was the first shower she had had in months and it felt so good to be clean again.

Once she was rinsed off, Sweet Pea turned off the water. He reached out and grabbed a large fluffy towel to wrap around her. He watched as her hair slowly turned back into its signature lavender color, starting from the roots and creeping all the way to her ends. A few piercings and tattoos reappeared as well.

He kissed the top of her head before grabbing a towel for himself and putting it around his waist and stepping out onto the soft bath mat in front of the shower. He held his hand out for her, helping her out as her legs were still quivering lightly.

“Let’s go save Lily.” She said, looking a million times better than she did before. Sweet Pea nodded before helping her dry off and get dressed.

<ao3> <masterlist> <playlist>

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[in-tua-deep]

Does Reginald ever get ahold of Five in your Responsible Luther AU? And how does he plan to stop Five from causing the apocalypse once he does? I just really want to see a scene where the siblings team up to save their little brother and stop their father once and for all (and possibly the commission by extension).

good question!! i haven’t decided lmao but I mean probably?? Reggie has four years to try and get at Five after all and Hazel and Cha-Cha are professionals (though at some point Hazel defects and is probably adopted as the weird murder uncle who on at least one occasion babysits bodyguards Five while the sibs are off doing stuff - Agnes things he’s a sweet young man while Hazel has vivid flashbacks of the time Five consumed a boatload of sugar and made his powers go on the fritz right before a kidnapping attempt which was,, not pretty to say the least and Hazel is somewhat traumatized)

awful bold of anyone to assume i actually have this au mapped out when it’s literally a bunch of asks duct taped together whenever inspiration hits my fragile muse with a sledgehammer and tbh just typing my way through asks helps me figure out things like later on in this ask lmao

While the most intelligent thing for Reginald to do is hire Hazel and Cha-Cha to assassinate Five, this is also the man whose grand plan to stop the apocalypse was a task force of superpowered children that he abused so i’m not assigning him any brain cells at all BUT he does think that he’s all powerful with his plots and tends to assume everything is going to go according to his plans and overestimates his own intelligence so

he thinks he can contain Five which probably would involve using the same drugs (or a modified one because idk if it would affect all the kids the same) that he used on Vanya since that’s a more long term solution that just restraints after all and then?? probably a lot of mind games and messing with Five’s reality to try and make sure that Five is not going to be ending the world

of course, given the chance Five would probably point out that his power is jumping and he’s pretty sure he doesn’t know how to end the world with that power?? unless he like? managed to jump himself into some place he could use,,, idk,,, nuclear launch codes or something?

though now that I think about it, it’s entirely possible that Reginald isn’t the one who wants Five alive. It’s entirely possible that it’s the Handler who smiled with too many teeth as she told Reginald that Five was the catalyst for ending the world. After all she’s with the Commission who help the timeline. Of course they don’t want the apocalypse to happen. Why, then there would be no people to help! But if Reginald handed Five over to her, over to the Commission - well. He’s young, he’s already half-trained, he knows how to survive, and he has the ability to jump through time without a suitcase which is very interesting to the Commission.

and Reginald doesn’t really want to kill anyone and get his own hands dirty otherwise he would have disposed of Vanya years ago so he’s down to grab Five and do some gentle experimentation regarding drugs and then hand a Five (with an off switch) over to the Commission and save the world! yeah that makes sense to me we’re going with that because it also gives the Handler a dog in this race so we get to see her

honestly probably the culmination of everything is Five getting finally Officially Kidnapped and handed over to the Commission and finding out at the Commission about the apocalypse, the Commission’s role in it, and probably the Handler monologues about it not being the end of everything and Five getting in the way but with him removed the family will fall apart and Vanya causing the apocalypse will be back on track blah blah blah all they have to do is pull some strings, get Harold Jenkins released from prison right on time, and bam we’re back on schedule ladies and gents

(plus some general weirdness a la the handler plus a deeply uncomfortable and not-inclined-to-be-very-cooperative Five who might not have his powers but he doesn’t exactly need them to be dangerous thank-you-very-much)

and the squad 100% run down weird-sort-of-honorary-uncle Hazel who is in possession of one (1) suitcase that is capable of taking the whole squad on over to the Commission building with a sort of reluctant Hazel because Agnes is attached to the kid now (Agnes is the best honorary aunt and you can’t change my mind) so he guesses he has to help out

someone send me an ask about weird uncle Hazel and aunt Agnes that is 100% an avenue I need to explore at some point

but yeah team up to invade the Commission and wreak absolute havoc and Five probably ends up worming his way into some air ducts because he’s a skinny little thirteen year old with narrow shoulders and then no one has eyes on him including the Handler/Commission agents so just picture a really comical series where the squad are trying to find Five and keep only just missing him while Five isn’t really sure why all the alarms are going off but he’s trying to figure out more info about the apocalypse as well as figure out a way to get home (find the suitcase room??) while also having a panic attack at the same time!! fun times!

eventually what probably happens is they catch the Handler and try interrogate her and she’s giving them non answers and then Five literally falls out of the ceiling with like, a whole bag of files that just scatter around and everyone just stares at each other for a solid minute before Five is pulled into a frantic “YOU’RE ALIVE” hug by the closest person who isn’t Hazel

but Five ALSO has a whole bunch of explosives and weapons that he may or may not have obtained from the Handler’s office because he’s a secretly petty little shit and he’s been using them to take out Commission agents along his way but the point is the whole squad blow the Commission sky high?? or perhaps Five discovers another aspect of his power

after all, the Commission sits outside of time. It’s a pocket, and Five is capable of tearing through space and time, but most importantly he closes that tear after him. It’s not an aspect of his power that he thinks about often, in fact no one thinks about it. He doesn’t just make tears, he also repairs them. And what is this pocket but an open wound in time, sitting outside the time stream as it is? The Commission is not supposed to be and Five has the power to fix that

(he’s been on edge since he arrived, a crawling feeling under his skin. he assumed that it was because of the kidnapping, because the Handler kept touching him and making comments, because he just saw his father who scares him more than even the apocalypse, because his power is out of reach and reminding him of when he pushed and pushed amongst the rubble and there’s an itch under his skin from the drugs. there’s a million reasons for him to feel off that he doesn’t realize that it’s the wrongness of where he is, the rip carved into the world that begs for him to close it, to heal it)

so i think that might be a cool climax, destroying the Commission and then making sure it can never return ?? 

Vanya would absolutely fuck up the entire commission first though looking for Five it would be hilarious and mildly terrifying and Klaus is just behind her like “yeah i’m going to say training her powers was a good thing otherwise we (the other hargreeves plus Hazel) would probably be paste right now” while Ben frantically zips through the walls trying to find Five while the other losers are limited by walls (of course, Ben probably doesn’t think to zoom up in the vents whoops)

and then, when they go back with the one remaining briefcase (that they probably all destroy as the last remnants of the commission idk) they get a confrontation with Reginald

because I really liked Klaus’s whole thing with Reginald (“We were just little kids.”) and feel like the rest of the family?? probably needs that closure as well tbh 

and i mean,, also the general spite of them informing Reginald (with proof a la the documents Five obtained) that it was Reginald’s fault the apocalypse happened in the first place due to his abuse and drugging of Vanya which caused her to have no support network and be influenced by Leonard Peabody/Harold Jenkins and that lmao Five was never the reason the world ended and in fact there was a lot riding on removing him from the equation so that it could happen in the first place

the satisfaction of telling the man behind the curtain, the man who thinks he holds all the cards, the man who thinks he’s the puppeteer, that he was played like that’s satisfying

(Reginald, verbally eviscerated and pale as milk in the face of the kids accusations and revelations

Five: hey so like if we’re all saying our piece then uhhh I want mom in the divorce. the disowning? whatever this is

Diego: seconded

Five: and also dad?? i never want to see you again

Luther: also seconded

Five: also i want us to be able to get our stuff like luther’s records ‘n stuff

Vanya: you know what let’s just put Five in charge of the official family split seems like he’s got all the right stuff in mind)

but yeah this is all vague story climax stuff that I haven’t gotten anything down in concrete yet?? i should probably put together a timeline since it seems like i’m eventually going to be actually writing this au and probably making a whole ‘verse to do little side stories for as well goodness

so yeah keep the questions and suggestions coming y’all i’m slow at responding but they do very much help me figure things out and since nothing is concrete by any means i’m always open to suggestions on what people do and don’t like about any directions I take or suggestions on how to make it better/make more sense ;3c

[kusunogatari]

[ Portal Peril || Chapter Five ] [ @abyssaldespair ] [ Uchiha Obito, Suigin Ryū, Namikaze Minato, Hatake Kakashi, Nohara Rin, Uzumaki Kushina ] [ Verse: White Hands of Healing ] [ Previous || Next ]

Four days. Four days of waiting, agonizing, worrying. Though Rin, and even Kushina have been doing their best to keep the interdimensional traveler distracted from thinking about her circumstances, it’s rather hard to avoid. Any moment she’s left to idle in her thoughts, they always circle back. In all honesty, her biggest worry is Obito. Her Obito. Is he all right? Is he handling her absence without panicking? She can only imagine how he felt, going into Kamui and finding her missing...especially given how impossible that is. Is he trying to get her back?

She knows he’s intelligent enough to eventually puzzle out what happened, and if she knows anything about him...it’s that he hasn’t stopped trying since he figured it out. Just like this Obito and Kakashi have been working to reopen the window between their dimensions. They’ve both been running themselves ragged. In a way she feels guilty, but Minato remains convinced it’s a high priority: having someone from another timeline in their own risks opening up paradoxes and exposing them to events they should never realize transpired. She’s been extra careful to avoid broaching topics that might influence - in any small way - this timeline she was never meant to see.

“So...there was a fourth war…?” Kushina murmurs as they sit around and carefully exchange stories.

“Mhm...and it was by far the bloodiest of them all. Every major country was involved against a...common enemy.”

“Can you imagine?” Rin wonders aloud, leaning back in her chair with folded arms. “What kind of event could unite us after so much division?”

Ryū, of course, doesn’t explain. Even if it was excusable to do so...painting Obito in such a light when their own is so different could be cruel. “It was a fierce battle...but in the end, they overcame it. It’s been less than two years since then, so change is still slow...but so far, it’s been steady.”

“Did you participate?”

“...er...no. I was...recovering from grave injuries at the time. Believe me...I was disappointed. I wanted nothing more than to help, but I’d have been useless. I couldn’t even properly mold chakra.”

“Wow...must have been some wounds!”

“...yeah.” Subconsciously, Ryū rubs at a spot on her arm - now marless - that once bore one of the largest scars from her stint in Root’s torture chamber.

“But you obviously recovered…?”

“...you could say that. I had to use a rather...dangerous technique. But it paid off, in the end.”

“I still can’t believe you have sage training,” Rin offers in the subsequent silence, looking almost disappointed. “I’d love to do something like that…”

“Well...maybe before I leave, I can point you in the right direction,” Ryū replies with a small smile. “I just don’t want to risk you running into other me if you go. And...well, I’m not sure how shishō would react.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.” Rin seems to mull that over for a while. “There’s so much more I wish I could know...but even with what little I do, it sounds like your timeline’s a lot more…”

“Depressing,” Kushina offers dryly.

“Yeah. Makes me think I don’t really want to know.”

Ryū hesitates a moment. It’s hard to remember that, where she comes from, both of them are long dead. “...I think some things are better left unsaid.”

...she’s going to miss them when she goes home.

...if she goes home.

There’s still a lingering fear, the more time goes on, that she won’t ever make it home. Four days have already passed...and who knows how many more will be needed before she can return. As much as she tries not to think about it, Ryū can’t help but be haunted by it.

“Ryū-san.”

Looking up from her plate (Rin insisting they spend each evening with her teacher and his family), Ryū hums in question.

Minato thinks for a moment. “...your sage training involves gathering chakra, correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I was wondering if you are able to then transmit that chakra to others.”

She blinks. “Well, I’ve...done so in small doses in the past. Why?”

“Our biggest limiting factor, for the moment, has been chakra. Both Kakashi and Obito can only use Kamui for so long before exhausting themselves, especially given how draining a technique of that level is. I was wondering if I could convince you to go with them tomorrow and act as a sort of...battery. To help extend how long they’ll be able to keep working on the portals.”

That gets Ryū to brighten. Why hadn’t she thought of that? “I...of course! That’s a great idea.”

“Perfect. Then if you’d accompany Obito tomorrow in the morning, I believe his shift is first. Of course you’ll both still need breaks to rest, but I’m hoping it will greatly improve productivity.”

“It should, yes. I’ll do that.”

Ryū then helps tidy up afterward, chatting nonchalantly with Kushina as Minato and his team discuss the happenings back at the table.

“Are you sure you’re up for this, dear?”

She glances to the Uzumaki questioningly. “Huh?”

“Well, I don’t mean to pry, but it’s rather obvious you haven’t been sleeping too well,” Kushina offers. “Which of course I understand...you’re stressed, after all. But I’d hate for you to push yourself too hard and make things worse.”

That makes the healer go quiet, thoughtfully toweling off a clean dish. “...I am tired, yes...but I’m also desperate to get home. If wearing myself out will up our odds, then...I’ll gladly do so.”

That gets Kushina to sigh, dunking a dish a bit forcefully. “You medics’re all the same...Rin’s always working until she conks out like a cut light bulb whenever she gets really into something. It’s like y’get so caught up in helping everybody else, you forget to help yourself! You’ll get home, I’m sure of it. And I get wanting to help. I can’t stop you. But don’t forget there’s people who’ll worry if you hurt yourself trying, hm?”

“...I know. Um...thanks.”

The warning makes her realize...Obito doesn’t have that guiding hand right now. Nor does he have a Kakashi to split his time with. How badly is he faring…? If he can keep that up...then she can at least do this…!

They return to Rin’s apartment once everything’s done, Ryū lying awake and staring at the ceiling. If anything, she feels like tomorrow will do her some good. Being so idle has been driving her mad, no matter how busy Rin tries to keep her. Minato decided it wasn’t wise for her to get caught up working in the hospital, so being without her typical job or...really anything else to do has left her about to go stir crazy.

Her eagerness, however, is tempered by a body that finally outweighs her mind, falling into a decent sleep for the first time since she arrived here. She wakes groggily, a bit disoriented after resting so hard.

“Hey, sleepyhead! Ready to head out and meet Obito?”

Though she should be used to it by now, the name brings a small pang to her chest. “...yeah.”

They grab breakfast on the way, leaving Konoha behind and heading out toward the proper road. Rin chatters away mostly aimlessly, Ryū a bit lost in thought. She hasn’t been out here since she arrived. Please, just...let today be the day. I don’t know how much longer I can be patient…

When they arrive, they find themselves alone. Rin plants hands on her hips. “Eh, should have known...he’s always late.”

“Really?”

“Mhm. He’s always getting caught up in some errand or another, seems like.”

“...what about Kakashi?”

“He’s fairly prompt. Why?”

“...just curious.” Yet another thing that seems so...backwards.

Fifteen minutes later, they hear a voice up the road, Obito landing beside them with a sheepish grin. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, I explained your habitual tardiness,” Rin assures him, arms crossing and giving him a knowing, exasperated smile. “So, want me to stick around?”

“Well...whatever you think. I guess there won’t be much for you to do, and I can keep an eye on Ryū-san.”

“Hm…” Rin mulls it over. “...maybe I’ll head back and see if sensei needs help with anything. Haven’t had a chance to do that in a while.”

Ryū can’t help but shrink a bit, looking guilty. “Sorry…”

“Nah, it’s fine. Job’s a job! Just might as well do something else if there’s not much to be done here, hm? Good luck, guys!” With that, the Nohara starts making her way back toward the village.

That leaves Ryū and Obito.

“...well, ready to give this a shot?” he asks, turning to her a bit awkwardly.

She nods. “Sure. Give me a few minutes to build up some energy. Um...I guess in the meantime, go ahead and get started?”

“Sounds good.” Facing the proper direction, Obito concentrates, his one dark eye shifting red. Tomoe then spin until the design of his Mangekyō forms. There’s a surge of chakra, and Ryū watches as a familiar glance into Kamui opens just before them.

...but no sign of the other dimension beyond.

Realizing she’s wasting time, Ryū then gives a small shake of her head. Evening her breath, her energies begin to balance...and then open to the energy around her. Nature chakra begins to pool with her own, swelling her reserves to their maximum capacity. Pupils then narrow to slits as the chakra influences her biology.

Letting his first attempt release, Obito glances to her and startles slightly. “...whoa! I guess that means, uh...you’re good to go?”

“Mhm. It’s easiest to transfer energy over a direct connection, so…” After a small pause, she rests a hand along his upper arm, letting some chakra travel between them. “Did you feel that?”

“Yeah! It’s...warm,” he notes, giving her hand a glance.

“Don’t worry, it won’t get any warmer than that,” she assures him.

“Okay...got it.” Regathering his focus, Obito shifts his target slightly, and gives Kamui another try.

Over...and over...and over again.

After two straight hours, Ryū advises he take a break. Chakra between the two of them is holding up well, but his eye is starting to feel fatigued.

“Any blurriness in your vision?” she asks, looking at the eye carefully.

“Uh...maybe a little. But it always goes away. Just need to give it a breather, that’s all. Otherwise I feel great! Hardly tired at all. Which, uh...is quite the change, honestly.”

Ryū hums, thinking. “...I guess it might be the effects of my line’s chakra. It’s most suited for healing, so even beyond keeping you energized, it might help a bit with any other feelings beyond weariness.”

“Guess that makes sense.” Obito takes out a canteen, taking a few swallows before offering it over.

“No thank you, I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Mhm.”

He studies her for a moment. “...you sure you’re okay?”

There’s a pause, and then Ryū heaves a sigh. “Just...worried. About getting home. Everyone seems so convinced that it’s going to happen, and soon...and yet the days just keep passing. And it’s not that I don’t have faith in you all. But like Minato-sama said...it’s going to be so hard to get to align properly...to get it just right...and without being able to coordinate both sides, those odds are just…” She fades into silence, elbows on her bent knees as she sits. Her brow buries into her palms.

Obito hesitates, clearly not sure how to handle this. “...I mean...yeah, mathematically, it’s...a bit daunting. But you said it yourself: the other Obito’s going to be working his ass off trying to get to you! And we’ve been going from sunup to sundown. That alone has to count for something, right…?”

She doesn’t answer.

“...and, I mean...has it really been so bad, being here?” he dares to hint, tone a bit hesitant. “I mean...you’ve been getting along really well with everyone! Sensei, his wife, our team...I know it’s only been a few days, but...you fit right in. I know Rin’s loved having you around. You two click like nobody’s business. Even Kakashi tolerates you, and that’s saying something.”

In spite of herself, Ryū looses a small snort, but doesn’t move.

“...we’re really gonna miss you when you go,” Obito then admits softly. “And I mean...I know you keep talking about the other Obito. And I get it. But...you haven’t really mentioned anything else. Maybe Kakashi once or twice, but...is there...anything else you want to get back to?”

Ryū’s eyes flicker over the patch of ground between her knees, not having an answer.

“I don’t mean to pry. But I mean...just seems a little odd that you’re really only gunning for this for one person, you know? Don’t you have any friends, or...family?”

“...no family,” she manages to reply quietly. “My mother died when I was small. And I...never knew my father. No siblings. No aunts, uncles, cousins. And I’ve...I’ve never really been good at making friends.”

“What, really? You? Look how well you’ve settled in here! Just in a few days you’ve won us all over!” Obito tries to catch her eyes, attempting a smile. “I mean...is it really so bad here?”

“...I…”

“And like you said...your village might still be here. Maybe you do have family left. There’s no way to know until you look, right?”

“But...but if I am there, then...then it would…”

“I know, I’m just...throwing out ideas.” Obito braces his forearms on his knees, hands clasped as he sighs. “...we’re just...really gonna miss you. And I mean…” He hesitates, looking torn as a tooth nibbles the scar on his lip. “You said it yourself: this timeline’s lost a lot less than yours. I dunno what exactly that means. And I get why you can’t tell us. But isn’t that, y’know...encouraging?”

Ryū stiffens a hair.

“...and, uh...there’s...y’know…” A hand spares to itch at his neck, clearly trying to sort out his words before he says them. “...there is an...an Obito here. So, I mean...maybe -”

Teeth gritting, Ryū heaves herself to her feet, walking swiftly several paces from their resting spot.

...well, crap.

Jolting a bit in surprise at her immediate reaction, Obito leans back a bit, blinking a wide eye. Well that...wasn’t what he expected, in all honesty. “H...hey! Wait, I...I didn’t mean that…! I mean, it’s not that I -?” After a pause, he wilts with an exhale. “...I…”

Coming to a stop a ways down the road, Ryū lets her arms tighten around her middle, jaw clenched and fighting back all sorts of unsavory emotions. Instead, she stares at the spring nearby the road...the one she and Obito had stopped at on their way back. When they were ambushed. Maybe if they’d just kept on their way...so many ifs, so many buts. And for now, nothing to show for them, either way.

All the while, Obito just sits, chewing his lip and debating how to fix this. It wasn’t that he meant he was some sort of...replacement. That just feels...odd. And yet...well…

He sighs, dragging a hand down his face. How to explain it. After all, it’s only been four days. And he hasn’t even seen her that much. Maybe it’s just some stupid idea in the back of his mind, given that - apparently - they’ve meshed so well in another timeline. Just his imagination getting carried away with him. But...he really does enjoy her company. They only really get to speak when he’s off and Kakashi’s taking a turn at things, resting and getting ready for a new attempt to open the portal back up. But she really is a kind person. Soft-spoken, gentle, chiding...and yet obviously friendly. True, she’s been rather distracted for the entirety of her unintended visit, but even then, he’s been watching how she interacts with everyone else. And there’s just something about it...something about her.

And now he’s gone and completely ruined things.

“Is...everything okay?”

Glancing over, Obito flattens in expression as he spies Kakashi. “A little early, aren’t you?”

“Sensei wanted to check and see how the chakra exchange was working. But it doesn’t really look like you’re doing much of that at the moment,” Kakashi retorts, brows lifting a bit.

“No kidding.”

“What’d you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Then what did you say that you shouldn’t have said?”

“I -! It just -! I didn’t -!”

The Hatake then waves a hand. “...I have a pretty good guess. Getting carried away as always, are you?”

Obito doesn’t reply, just crossing his arms with a sigh.

“...she can’t stay, Obito. She doesn’t even want to. I don’t think a handful of days is going to convince anyone to leave their lives behind. And you’ve seen how distraught she is over this. Did you really think you could just convince her to give that all up?”

“...that’s not what I meant...I just…” Obito throws up his hands in a gesture of frustration. “...I didn’t mean to choose to give it up, and just...pretend her other life never happened. I meant more in a, hey, if we can’t get you home, then...y’know…”

Kakashi sighs, clapping a hand atop his teammate’s shoulder. “...well, I know you meant well, but...I’m not sure she’s quite ready to hear that, yet. She’s still hanging on to a hope that she can make it back.”

“...do you really think we’ll get it?”

“...we have to keep trying. Four days is hardly a proper effort, all things considered. But, uh...maybe we should swap for a bit. Let her cool down. Just...go say you’re sorry, and that you’re an idiot, and that I’ll take over from here for a bit, hm?”

Obito’s expression sours a bit, but...he relents. “...you really suck at giving advice.”

“Never said I didn’t.”

Sighing, Obito glances to where Ryū is still standing off the road. “...all right. I’ll...come back later.”

“Sure.”

Heaving to his feet, Obito hesitates a moment before making his way over, a bit unsure how to repeat what he told Kakashi in a way that will hopefully make her less upset. Once he’s near enough, he offers, “Look, I...uh…”

“...I know what you meant.”

He pauses. “...you do?”

“...I know how hopeless this all seems.” Her tone warbles, and Obito’s brow wilts in sympathy as she clearly struggles to keep it together. “I just...I can’t give up...not until we’ve tried everything…” For a moment longer she stares at the water, and then turns to give him a glance with watery greys. “...I can’t tell you everything he’s been through. Everything we’ve been through. But the thought of giving up on that...it...I can’t. I just can’t…”

“...I didn’t mean to make light of that,” Obito murmurs, avoiding her eyes as both guilt at his insensitivity and embarrassment at seeing her cry makes him nervous. “I guess I just wanted you to know that...that you’re welcome here. You have a place here, if...if you need it. But it’s not what you want, and...I get that. I’m sorry.”

Watching him quietly, Ryū softens. “...and I don’t mean to make light of you,” she offers, tone somber. “You’re...you’re a very nice man. And I can already tell that you’re funny, and optimistic, and determined to do what’s right. It’s not that I...that I don’t…” She hesitates. “...I’ve already made a choice. And after everything...there’s no taking it back. I’m sorry.”

“No! No, don’t...don’t be sorry,” Obito insists, waving hands. “I...I’m just an idiot. And...I’ll just...give Kakashi a crack at things, okay? So you can, uh...y’know. I’ll just...give you a break.”

“Obito, you don’t need to -?”

“I just…” He hesitates, and then wilts. “...I guess now I understand why he’d come to love you so much.”

Taken aback, Ryū’s eyes widen slightly. But before she can offer a reply, there’s a holler from up the road.

“Uh...guys? I...think I found something.” Staring into his Kamui portal, Kakashi goes stock still as a rather...interesting sight looks back.

     I like to call this: the awkward chapter, bahaha~ Where we have the actual crossing of wires between other!Obito and Ryū. Poor guy...words are hard. He wasn't trying to offend you Ryū! He's just a lil tongue-tied...and maybe a little crushy, huehue~      But otherwise...we've got a CLIFFY! Which...won't be one for long, given I'm posting this all now, lol - buuut either way, thanks for reading!

[hela-avenger]

Fix You

Author: hela-avenger

Word Count: 3441

Request contd @words-from-the-heart26: maybe loki helping the reader , she was hurt in battle and is having trouble controlling her powers , she feels tired , angry , etc and loki wants to help her  

Maybe something about loki thinking about his mom frigga and the reader help him about it.

A/N: This is super late and I am sorry but here it is! SEQUEL TO FEEL MY LOVE! If you’ll like to be tagged on my Loki Tag List or All Work Tag list, send me a comment/message/ask...

Feel My Love 

Hela-Masterlist

Loki always feared the day that Code Green would be called. His experience with the Hulk was one that haunted him even to this day. It restrained his relationship with Banner though either of them wasn’t really bothered by this.

The day that Code Green was called in the compound would be the day that Loki would seal himself in his room. Except, the same couldn’t be applied to you as much as he begged you to stay within the safety of his sealed doors.

FRIDAY had warned them of Code Green even though the flashing lights around the compound had beat her to the news.

At the sight of them, you were quick to change into your uniform.

“You are not needed,” Loki tried to convince you. “You will only get in the way. Romanoff can handle this.”

“The Hulk appearing in the compound will leave a mess emotionally for Banner,” you tell him. “I have to be there for him.”

Loki reaches to pull you back into bed, but you slip out of his arms.

“I’ll be back soon,” you assure him. “I promise we can go back to cuddling once I’m done.”

Before Loki could refute that, you are out of the door without another word.

He wished he could go back in time and change your mind. Tell you that you were not a field agent like the rest of them. Tell you that the Hulk was uncontrollable in his rage. Tell you that he loved you and for the sake of his heart to please listen to him.  

It was concerning how many reasons he came up with ever since you’ve been bed bound and unconscious. It was the only way he could pass the time as you laid unmoving.

Loki recalled how the alarms had stopped that day and relief had flooded over him. He waited for you to come back soon and you didn’t. This forced him out of the safe haven of his room and towards the wreck of Tony’s laboratory. Before he could even reach the lab, Thor came to find him and explain what had occurred.

Natasha had been injured early on in the Hulk predicament and so when you stepped in, trying to sing the beast into submission, it did not end well.

All you had tried to do was help and it had gotten you hurt.

Severely hurt.

He took a deep breath and continued to sit patiently by your side as he waited for you to wake. It should be soon, Dr. Cho had assured him this, but his patience was running thin and the worry was overwhelming him.

By chance, your eyes flutter open but close immediately at the harshness of the lights in the room. Loki’s quick to lower them and you let out a sigh of relief.

“How are you doing, love?” Loki asks you as he returns to your side, his hand tightly holding yours.

You open your mouth to speak, but no words come out. Your hands reach your throat and you wince at the bruising around the skin. You look at Loki awaiting an explanation but his eyes don’t meet your stare.

Loki can feel anxiety run through him and he fails to realize that it is not his own. His own nerves were wracking at what he had to tell her.

“You have a few bruised ribs and a fractured femur,” Loki explained to you. “Major bruising on your abdomen and legs, a small concussion, but you’ll be fine in a few weeks.”

Your eyes desperately search his as you frantically pointed at your throat. Loki sighs at this and looks down at his hands in defeat.

“You started to sing,” Loki reminds you sadly. “The Hulk didn’t appreciate this so he strangled you before throwing you around.”

Your hands grab his tightly waiting to hear more about the state of her throat.

“Your vocal cords were severely damaged in the altercation,” Loki tells you. “Dr. Cho is unsure when your vocal cords will recover if they recover. I’m sorry, Y/N. Your voice is gone indefinitely…”

Tears burned in your eyes as you heard this. Without your voice, your powers were void. You would no longer be able to help your new friends. You would be forced to leave now and where would you go. What would you do then?

Loki’s quick to embrace you as the tears escape your eyes and don’t cease to stop. If your voice had been present, the whole compound would be able to hear you scream in agony and pain, but all that left your throat was silence, deafening silence.

You were finally released out of the medical wing of the compound and were free to return to your shared suite with Loki. He aids you in rolling your wheelchair back to your room as you inspect the Stark tablet that was given to you in your release.

With your damaged vocal chords, you were unable to speak and Tony thought it best to give you some kind of a voice until you recovered.

If you recovered.

You shook the thought away and merely hoped for the best as you returned to the comfort of your room.

You shouldn’t have been surprised to find the room covered with a bouquet of flowers, stuffed animals, and get well cards. The team had overwhelmed you once more and the anxiety of your lost voice returned full force.

A vase of flowers falls to the ground creating a mess which Loki is quick to clean.

“That’s odd,” he comments as he throws the fragments away. He returns to your side and helps you to settle in bed.

“Do you need anything?” Loki asked you after he helped you settle into bed.

You type out a response which FRIDAY relays to Loki.

“Water, please.”

“Of course, love,” he answers. “It’s best if you take your pain medicine as well and get that over with.”

You nod at this and merely stared at the blank tablet before throwing it aside. You let out a silent sigh before settling into the nest of pillows and allowing it to swallow you whole.

“Need anything else?” Loki asked you as he handed you the glass.

My voice, you thought.

You shake your head and tried to finish the glass of water even though your throat protested the movement.

Loki had picked up a novel from your shelf and laid next to you. His arm pulled you over to him, tucking you into his side, as he read with his smooth voice. You tried to pay attention, but find your mind straying back to your current predicament.

You wished you could speak.

Talk about how frustrated and afraid you are.

You wished you could sing.

Just sing…

The emotions inside you were overflowing and growing as time went on. You were drowning in them and barely keeping afloat.

You were too distracted by these thoughts that you failed to notice Loki’s silence.

You failed to notice how his silence was soon replaced with gasps that attempted to regain air.

He was suffocating.

You turn to him in concern and watch as he pulled at his chest. His eyes find yours in shock and he’s released by the sudden spell.

You motion to him in confusion for what occurred, but he seems equally confused.

“I was…” he swallows nervously before continuing, “I was overwhelmed by emotion. I couldn’t breathe...”

Loki turns to you connecting the odd occurrence back to you.

“It was you, wasn’t it?”

You stare at him unsure of what he meant before it hits you. Without your song or your voice, your emotions have no anchor. They were free to do as they please and the immensity of your fears and anxieties decided to spread to the one around you.  

“Y/N,” Loki states as he pulls your face towards him. “Look at me, love. I think you’re having a panic attack. Look at me.”

Your eyes peer into his as you try to reel back the emotions that were exploding within you. Loki continues to call out your name and caresses your cheek.

“Breath with me, love,” he whispers as his chest rises visually for you to follow. “Just breathe.”

You do as he instructs and took a long and deep breath. Your emotions simmer down and the room around you stops shaking.

“There we go,” Loki whispers as he pulls you into his arms for comfort. “There we go.”

The panic attacks appeared every once and a while and occasionally in moments of complete solitude in which your mind recalled the situation you were in. FRIDAY would announce your attack and Loki would soon appear to calm you down. The panic attacks finally stopped soon after that, but not for a good reason.

Loki had aided you in every way he could, but at this moment he had no clue as to what to do. He watched as you sat in the corner of your room staring blankly at the bare wall. Your wounds had healed and you were free to go anywhere you pleased, but you remained locked in your room with no desire for anyone’s company.

Yes, the panic attacks were gone and that should have been a step in the right direction, but it wasn’t. Loki feared that the lack of the panic attacks were due to your feelings depleting over time. Your voice had not returned and so your emotions hadn’t either.

Loki shared his concerns and the team, considering you as one of their own, wanted to aid you in the same way you aided them.

They all had tried to coax you out but you could manipulate emotions like weapons and you brought out their insecurities with every visit.

It wasn’t your intention. You didn’t mean to push everyone away, but your remaining fears were spreading to them and so you isolated yourself to protect the fragile harmony that you had built over the past months.

By now, Loki was immune to the influences of your powers and so he remained behind to watch over you. You remained unmoved from that corner as you watched the world around you continue on with their lives.

He wished you would communicate with him, but your voice was still gone and you refused to use the tablet anymore. Your emotions no longer created tension in the air, but your eternal silence did. Loki wanted to know what was occurring inside the hidden depths of your mind which you no longer shared with him and so he did the only thing he could think of. He called out for external help.  

A knock on your door causes you to tilt your head curiously at the incoming visitor. Loki lets out a sigh of relief and opens the door to let them in.

You can feel your fear rise within you but a soft touch on your shoulder eases you into a calm state. You look up in surprise to find your mother staring down at you with a small smile.

“Hey there, sweetie,” she greets you.

You give her a tearful smile before lunging into her waiting arms that exhaled serenity and security.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Loki states as he watches the scene unfold in front of him. Neither of you responds, too involved with catching up with one another, to not notice his departure.

You were happy to see your mother here and having the bursts of your emotions controlled by her presence put you at ease.

“Your boyfriend called me,” your mother explains as she took a seat next to you. “Which really, Y/N? Loki? The man who attempted to take over New York? We’re going to discuss that detail later.”

You let out a silent chuckle at this already imagining how that conversation would be like.

“He told me you’ve been having trouble with your gift,” she tells you. “Is that true, sweetheart?”

You nod at her and your mother smiles kindly at you. Her hand reaches for the fading bruises on your throat and massages the skin lightly.

“Loki explained what occurred,” she states. “I think I know what’s going on with you.”

You look up at her waiting to hear the solution to this problem.

“You lost yourself, didn’t you?” she asks you. “The moment your voice was gone, you lost who you were.”

You look away from your mother’s gaze and she lets out a heavy sigh.

“You are more than this gift we possess and you know that,” she tells you. “It’s not because of your powers that you found yourself here.”

You shake your head at this causing your mother to let out another sigh.

“Before you found that song was your access to our gift, you were always so sweet and kind to everyone you came across with. You would put others before yourself and here you are doing it again. You knew of the dangers of aiding the Hulk and yet you still took them because you cared to help others before taking care of yourself.”

Your mother took a deep breath and tilted your chin so you could look at her.

“It is your greatest strength and your most debilitating weakness,” she tells you. “But it what makes you, you.”

Your mother smiles at you and you can feel her happiness spread from the touch of her hand.

“That is who you are. A healer,” she tells you. “And you are more than your voice.”

Loki watched as Dr. Cho flashed a light through your open mouth. She clicks the flashlight off and you close your mouth while you waited for her to finish transcribing her notes on the tablet. You look nervous, but your mother takes a hold of your hand and you offer her a thankful smile.

Loki was pleased to see you out of the room and to see a smile grace your lips once more. He watches as your mother and Dr. Cho discuss for a minute before a smile grows on your lips and remains there.

He could feel happiness emit from the room and wondered if that was your powers again or his own emotions getting the best of him.

Your eyes find him and you beckon him into the room. Loki’s nervous and rightfully so because everyone is staring at him as he makes his way inside. Your smile keeps him steady and he stands in front of you waiting for the good news to be shared.

“Is everything ok?” he asks Dr. Cho before his eyes land on you. The smile on your lips grows wider at the answer you could now provide for him..

“Yes,” you whisper, your voice cracking a bit due to its disuse. “Everything’s perfect.”

Loki can’t help but smile as he hears your voice for the first time in months.

“You can…” Loki starts to say before your laughter interrupts him. He smiles at the sound coming from your mouth and he’s quick to embrace you.

“I got my voice back,” you tell him. “Singing will take awhile, but my voice… I got it back.”

Loki presses a kiss on any open skin he could reach. He peppered kisses on the side of your face, your jaw, and your neck. You giggled at the sensation and allowed him to have this. This was as much as a relief to him as it was to you.

“Thank you for everything, Loki,” you tell him. “Thank you for not giving up on me. I love you so much.”

Loki smiles at those words and presses a kiss on your lips.

“I love you too,” he tells you.

You walk your mother back to the helicarrier that brought her here in the first place. Loki had opted to remain behind in your room while you wished goodbye to your mother. She hadn’t attempted to hide her distaste for Loki and he picked up on it easily.

“Thanks for coming here and setting me straight,” you tell her.

Your mother smiles at this and pressed a kiss on the top of your head.

“You just needed your mom, that’s all,” she tells you. “I’m glad that Loki called me.”

“Oh,” you say in mock surprise. “Did you just admit to my boyfriend actually doing some good?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” your mom exclaims. “He’s not… completely bad. I can see that he loves you… can sense it too.”

You smile at this and nod.

“Yeah, Loki… he never fails to show me how much he loves me,” you tell her fondly as you recalled that night when he confessed his emotions for you. “He went through all of this with me and patiently waited beside me as I lost myself. He never gave up on me and he called you so he knows me well enough by now. I love him. I truly do.”

“Then I guess I can accept this relationship of yours,” your mother chuckles out. “Wait till your father hears about this though.”

You let out a groan and your mother let out another laugh.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

You bid your mother goodbye and watch her get on board into the helicarrier. Clint is kind enough to pilot her journey home and you watch them fly off into the distance.

It didn’t take long for Loki to find you after your mother’s departure. He embraces you from behind as you stood on the platform that looked over the long winding road of the compound. His perfect timing told you that he was waiting until your mother left to rejoin you. You wondered if he was afraid to confront her or if his emotions laid elsewhere.

“She likes you, you know?” you offered to him. “I think you should be concerned more with my father especially after my mom tells him we’re dating.”

Loki lets out a dramatic sigh and digs his head deeper into the crook of your neck. He presses a soft kiss there and you smile at the small act.

“I don’t care about what your parents think of me,” Loki states before quickly retracting his thought. “I mean I do care because they brought you into this world and raised you to be who you are now, the person I love, but…”

“But what?” you ask him.

“It’s nothing,” Loki responds. “Forget about it.”

“No, tell me,” you prompt him. “It sounds important.”

Loki remains silent and you tilt your head to look at him. He ignores your gaze but you can see that he was trying desperately to hide his emotions from you.

“You’re sad,” you pinpoint easily which causes Loki to let out a sigh. “Why?”

There’s a brief pause of silence but Loki makes up his mind and offers you a response.

“Your mother reminded me of my own,” Loki states. “Wise, caring, and headstrong.”

“Loki…”

“I’m fine,” he whispers before he cleared his throat. “Just I thought I was over her...”

“I understand,” you tell him. “Those kind of emotions are permanent. They’re defining.”

“The ones you can’t sing away,” Loki recalls.

“Yeah,” you whisper. “It makes you who you are and I’m sorry that something so deep and sorrowful has that effect on you but you have to focus on the positive.”

“And what is that?”

“Because this emotion, this mourning, as horrible as it feels having it return time and time again is a reminder, a tribute, to someone you once loved and impacted you,” you explain to him. “And your mother, who rests in Valhalla, senses when you think of her and she sends your love.”

Loki sadly smiles at this and presses another kiss on the bare skin of your neck.

“She would have loved you,” Loki whispers. “I love you.”

“I know,” you whisper in return a warmth spreading at hearing those word once again. “I love you too.”  

Loki takes a deep breath and you smile as he rests his chin on your neck. From were you both stood at the edge of the helicarrier pad the world looked so small, but in his arms, you felt anchored and steady.

Wounds that were physical and emotional would heal if Loki was with you and if you were with him. He will fix you and you will fix him because you loved him and he loved you.

So for the first time in weeks, you started to sing,

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you.

Tags: @unicorniorosacomefrutillas @what-didido @thesilentbluesparrow @oddly-drawn-muse @josiehosiedaninja @hp-hogwartsexpress @jmb959 @astudyoftimeywimeystuff @hellocookiecutter @teresaoliva20 @steve-rogers-personal-hell

[loveable-korrasami]

The Nexus - Book 1: Origins

They were known as The Nexus - the next evolution of the Avatar. (insp - aka the trigger that blew up my imagination)

(Previous: 1, 2, 3, 4)

Air: Valkyrie (Val) - 28

Valkyrie, or Val as she preferred, was the oldest of Korra and Asami’s children.  Shortly after the couple had decided to adopt a child if the opportunity arose, Korra had left on a two week long diplomatic/”Babe, it’s KYOSHI ISLAND, home of the KYOSHI. WARRIORS.  They’re the literal embodiment of BAD. ASS.  Please please please can I ‘escort’ President Moon on this trip so I can train with them?  Pleeeeeeeease???  <insert the Avatar’s signature puppy dog face>” mission.  Asami would have gladly accompanied her wife, but sadly, Asami needed to stay in Republic City to attend Future Industries’ annual technology summit.  As CEO, she had a keynote speech to give, as well as unveil the world’s first portable, personal two-way radio device - deemed the “Satophone” - if only she gave her wife one of the prototypes before she left.

Val was adopted by Korra and Asami at the age of 6.  About a week after Korra had departed, Asami ran into Val during her morning commute - well... almost ran into her.  Luckily at the last second, Asami was able to swerve around the oblivious child who had wandered into the road playfully chasing after a group of small, fluttering spirits.  Quickly pulling over and carrying the girl out of the street, Asami furiously looked around for whatever irresponsible parent allowed their daughter to run into the middle of the road without them noticing.  Strangely enough, no one else was around.  Confused, Asami asked the girl where her mommy was - the child pointed to the nearby spirit portal.  Now very confused, Asami asked the girl where she lived - again, the mysterious girl pointed at the spirit portal.  Now extremely confused, Asami cautiously followed the girl as she made her way to the portal.  Asami tightly held the child’s hand as they walked through the portal into the Spirit World, where Korra had brought her many times before.  The girl lead Asami through the meadow up to a hollowed out tree, similar to the Tree of Time where Korra and Asami slept during the majority of their Spirit World escapades.  Upon stepping into the hollowed out tree, Asami was startled by a loud “SHHH” - apparently they stumbled upon a very irritable baboon spirit attempting to meditate.  Apologizing, Asami turned to leave, bringing the child with her - “FINALLY.  Yes, take the small child with you.”  The woman instantly spun around at the comment, realizing the spirit actually knew the child.  After several minutes of amiable questioning and unhelpful responses, a very frustrated Asami yanked the irritated spirit up from his seated position, quickly jolting him into a more “helpful” mood.  Asami wasn’t one to jump to violence so quickly, but in this situation it seems like her protective motherly instincts had taken control.

Through her questioning - which became cordial once the monkey finally decided to cooperate - Asami learned that 6 years ago, the baboon spirit was interrupted from his meditation by the sound of insufferable crying emanating from the spirit portal.  Hoping to quickly silence whatever was causing this commotion and return to his meditation, the spirit entered the portal into the physical realm, discovering an infant laying unprotected and alone just a few feet from the portal.  With no human in site, the baboon reluctantly brought the baby back to the spirit world and cared for her, supposedly only to shut the infant up and allow the spirit to meditate in peace and quiet; the child had not granted the monkey a minute of peace since.  Apparently, that morning the child got distracted chasing other spirits and the monkey took the opportunity to resume his meditation.  Seemingly eager to get rid of the child, the spirit quickly agreed when Asami asked if he thought the child should be raised by humans.  The spirit instantly accepted Asami’s offer to care for the child and lead the two out of his tree so he could resume his meditation.  Before leaving, Asami left an open invitation that the spirit could visit the child whenever desired - the monkey responded with the familiar aggressive “SHHH”.  Knowing the spirit would undoubtedly take her up on that offer, no matter how disinterested he seemed, Asami returned with Val to the physical realm.

She made a quick stop at the Republic City Police headquarters, meeting with Mako, the current Chief of Police.  After inquiring about any missing children reports, Mako informed her that there were no open cases from the time Val went missing, however he would issue a press release that the child was found, in case her birth parents were still around.  Waiting several days after the story was released and hearing no response, Asami finally accepted that somehow fate had granted her and her wife a child.  When Korra returned, Asami excitedly introduced her to her new daughter.  Korra, nervously laughing, then introduced Asami to their OTHER new daughter.  Though it wasn’t exactly what the couple envisioned, they accepted the family fate had bestowed upon them and raised the two children as their own.

It quickly became apparent that Val was quite the troublemaker.  Always causing mischief and irritating her younger sister, Diana, Asami couldn’t help but envision a younger version of Korra in her.  Val’s airbending was slow to emerge, it wasn’t until the girl was 9 years old, 3 years after being taken in by Korra and Asami and 2 years after her younger sister developed firebending - a fact Diana never let her forget, that her abilities had manifested.  Val had stolen her sister’s Satophone 2 (now preloaded with several games) and climbed up a tall tree in their backyard.  Busy laughing and teasing her little sister from almost 2 stories high, the branch that Val had perched on broke, sending her plummeting to the ground.  Hearing the girl’s scream as she fell, her parents ran out into the backyard, only to discover their oldest daughter floating inches above the ground, held up by tiny tornadoes spinning below her.

Although her abilities manifested late, Val still proved quite adept at bending, mastering airbending by the age of 13.  Possibly due to her upbringing in the spirit world, Val was a natural when it came to the spiritual aspects of airbending like spiritual projection and was always the most intune with other spirits and her own spiritual energy.  At the age of 15, she even developed a unique form of energybending, allowing her to see and influence the thoughts/dreams of others she came in contact with by manipulating their spiritual energy.  At 17, Val perfected the ability of self-levitation.  As her bending abilities appeared later, Val was more comfortable with hand to hand combat as her primary means of fighting.  She had several years more of experience with martial arts and even developed a passion for the arts, mastering many different fighting styles over the years.  Though she mastered many airbending attacks, Val utilizes her bending abilities more to augment her physical attributes during a fight like increasing her movement speed/agility and wrapping herself in ultra-light protective armor made entirely of extremely compressed air.  Enjoying the thrill of hand to hand combat and admiring the resulting scars from it, Val never liked when Moana healed her wounds, stating that the scars were just “love bites from your enemies”.  Of course, Moana simply laughed and continued to heal her reluctant sister.

Though she loved to annoy her siblings, Val was fiercely protective and vindictive when it came to them.  For instance, after she learned that Diana’s first girlfriend had broken up with her when they were teenagers, Val had used her spiritual projection and new energybending technique to travel to the girl’s home late at night and torment her with nightmares for weeks.  Val only stopped after Diana came to her one day crying, pleading that her sister let her ex-girlfriend be happy as it’s all Diana ever wanted for her.  Val is now an agent in Republic City Police’s new Spiritual Relations division, joining the force shortly after her younger sister, where she resolves reported incidents between humans and spirits, helping the Avatar maintain harmony between the two worlds.

Raava fused with Val at the age of 28, giving her extreme control over spiritual energy.  While in the Nexus, Val has a much greater influence over a person’s subconscious thoughts, the thoughts directly and indirectly formulated by the brain in order to make sense of the sensory information provided to it.  Essentially, by manipulating these subconscious thoughts and sensory analyses, Val is able generate complex illusions that fully immerse all 5 of her opponents’ senses.

(Next: Shall I continue this crazy complicated headcanon? xD.  I kinda really want to but I’m terrible at writing consistently and I don’t want to leave a story unfinished and I have literally no idea where I’d take this story yet, so I’ll just say...

“to be continued... 

...possibly” ^.^)

[roxywashere]

Witch Activity

FursTech employee Noelle combats corporate espionage

It had started just like any other day. Most days started like any other day. Noelle rode the train to work, from Kenosha to the heart of the Danesville Metropolis. She walked from the station to the coffee shop she regularly bought breakfast at, reading the overnight news on her phone all the while. She bought a breakfast bagel sandwich and coffee, and ate it while she proceeded to her job at the FursTech building.

She worked on the 255th floor, a kilometer up. The first elevator only went to floor 150, so she transferred to the second elevator, which took her to floor 250, and instead of transferring to another elevator she took the stairs the remaining 5 floors. She scanned her Employee ID at the door out of the stairwell, and entered the FursTech national development lab.

Noelle was a hardware developer for the largest technology company in America. She was currently the lead on a new phone project, the most ambitious device the company has ever made. Her team was one of the most secretive groups in the company, surpassed only by the CEO’s personal projects.

No materials were allowed to leave the floor, and designs were only allowed on permanently installed computer consoles and their associated machining booths. This project was the most top of corporate secrets.

When Noelle arrived, CEO Aradia Furst was standing at the project station, examining the team's progress. Aradia, despite being a world famous technologist and inventor, was also widely known to be both a pagan witch and a christian sorceress. Instead of shunning this conception about her, she embraced it, and always dressed the part. She was rarely seen not dressed in long, flowing dresses or robes, exclusively colored black and gold. The phone Noelle was working on, the Pendant, was an endeavor by Aradia to bring simple, functional magic to the commonperson on the street, so it may be integrated into modern culture and the stigma around its use dispelled.

“How is the Pendant coming along, in your opinion?” Aradia asked as soon as she sensed Noelle arrive.

“It’s coming along very good, I think,” Noelle answered. “I think I’ve finally figured out the best materials to infuse to give the most user friendly experience. I’ve got a list drawn up...” Noelle, as a high-ranking FursTech engineer, had been given personal magic lessons by Aradia herself. She used her moderate amount of training to summon a hologram from the project console, showing the list of materials with an awkward contortion of her hand.

Aradia examined it for half a second before commenting. “With some substitutions, it’ll be unparalleled.” She expertly altered the list, replacing a number of archaic components with purer modern equivalents. “There. One last prototype and test, and I think we’re ready for the production model.”

“Yes, definitely. I can't wait for this to finally get into the hands of the software team. This will give us a big leg up on the Tokyo Workshop.”

“Speaking of...” Aradia dispelled the holograms. “The Workshop has a number of mahou in the city ‘on business’, so be extra cautious of espionage this week. I know for a fact that somebody on this floor leaked preliminary info on the Pendant, and that damned kitsune running the Workshop would literally kill for the designs for so compact a spell base. At the very least, brush up on your defensive and summoning spells before the next time you leave the building. If they ambush you, don’t be afraid to summon me to protect you.”

“Yes, of course.”

Aradia left, and Noelle got to work assembling the prototype with Aradia’s substitutions. She had a fully functional phone in her hand by the time she had eaten lunch.

It of course wouldn't be equipped with any offensive spells by default, but it had a number of defensive and utility spells built-in, with room for software devs to program more. Noelle and another member of the team took turns casting increasingly powerful spells of varying types against it, to test its capabilities.

An average citizen would be able to protect themselves not only against the average witch, but more mundane threats, like a mugger with a knife or gun, and be able to call for help for any more substantial threat. It would change the world, for the better.

After the day had ended, Noelle handed the phone over to the software team to begin developing the final version of the OS and program the full suite of spells. Noelle walked to the train station, careful to stay on well-lit streets, her focus completely on her surroundings. She boarded the train, picking a seat at the very front where she could see every passenger and through every car.

But she never truly expected the japanese coven to be so bold as to attack her in public.

Noelle only barely managed to get a ward up before an arcane bolt struck her, pushing her into the wall behind her and denting the panelling. She was in a daze as the three elegantly dressed mahou approached her, and cast an immobilization spell upon her. The tallest of the three hoisted Noelle over her shoulder, and then they cast a teleportation spell.

They sat Noelle in a chair, in a small dark room. Without any decorum, they immediately started casting painful spells upon her, in an attempt to forcefully pry her mind open to be read.

After a few fruitless minutes of this, they started conversing in japanese, in frustrated tones. While they were briefly distracted by their argument, Noelle hastily and quietly muttered a summoning incantation, only barely finishing it before one of the mahou caught her lips moving silently.

“Stop!” The shortest said, in a thick accent.

Noelle, through the thick mental haze of the pain she had been experiencing, smiled.

The shortest of the mahou approached Noelle, hand out to slap her, but froze suddenly. Aradia stepped out of the darkness, contorting her hands rapidly, effortlessly counterspelling every one of the other two mahou’s panicked spells and counterspells. Aradia, with a flick of her wrist, sent all three mahou collapsing to the floor. Aradia picked Noelle up in her arms, and cast a portal back to FursTech.

She gently set Noelle down on the altar in her private labratory, and cast a slow but powerful healing spell upon her.

Once she was certain Noelle had been stabilized and numbed, she returned to the dark room, and bound the mahou in a magic silk string. She strung them up from the ceiling, like a spider hanging it’s future meals from it’s web for safekeeping.

When she had fully fortified the containment spell, she woke the mahou up, and told them “I’m going to have a word with that damned kitsune.”

Aradia cast a communication spell, summoning a full hologram of the fox-devil before her.

The kitsune was tall, with black hair and ear-fur, and eight night-black tails. Her black yukata was trimmed with gold and silver, and tied with a red silk belt.

“Still working on your ninth tail, I see,” Aradia started.

“<I refuse to converse in your barbarous language,>” the fox-devil replied in Jōdai Nihon-go, an ancient form of Japanese.

“<So be it.>” Aradia returned in the same language. “<Your underlings have gravely wounded my favourite apprentice.>”

“<And what are you going to do about it?>”

“<I demand reparation.>”

“<As if you ply such influence over me.>”

Aradia reached out to grab the hologram by the throat, and the fox-devil jumped back instinctively to avoid it.

“<You say that, yet you still fear the unknown boundaries of my power,>” Aradia observed. “<Send me one of your apprentices and I'll release these three, and not further pursue you for this slight.>”

“<Keep the little one. She has potential but is too irksome to teach. I don't want her anymore.>”

“Sensei!” the short mahou cried, hearing her master’s dismissal of her.

“<As you wish,>” Aradia said. With a snip of her fingers, she cut the silk the other two were hung by, dropping them through trapdoor portals to the Tokyo Workshop. She seized the short mahou’s string, and they dropped together through a portal to her laboratory. Noelle, already awake, greeted them.

“Thank you, Miss Furst,” Noelle said, “I would have been a goner without you.”

“It was nothing. Help me unbind this mahou. That damn kitsune has ‘reparated’ for the attack on you by pawning off one of her disciples.”

“What are we going to do with her?” Noelle asked, cutting through the magic silk around the very young-looking japanese witch.

“We must treat this girl as one of our own, and show her a kindness that the fox-devil likely never did. That will be our true revenge.”

“Does she speak english?”

They both paused and stared at the girl. After a long moment of not being answered, they continued with their conversation.

“She likely doesn’t,” Aradia posited, “but we should remain tight-lipped around her just in case.”

They finished stripping her of the magic silk, and Aradia held out her hand to help the girl up. She cautiously took it.

“<What is your name?>” Aradia asked.

“Sakura Hina,” she answered.

“<Welcome to my laboratory, Hina-san. This is Noelle, and you may call me Furst-sensei, or just Aradia if you feel comfortable abandoning honorifics. How long did you train under the Kitsune?>”

“<Two years.>”

“<Then you must be quite skilled. Niponese Hermetic, primarily, I assume?>”

Hina nodded.

“<Do you know what my school of expertise is?>”

“<Kitsune-Hime told me you were you were dangerously skilled in all of the western arts...>”

Aradia took note of the fact that Hina had just called her former master a princess. “<My expertise is in the fact that I am multidisciplinarian. My grandfather may have been a more powerful sorcerer, and my mother a more powerful witch, but I am powerful enough at both and many other magics to have eclipsed them. I wish to bestow upon you as much of my skill as I can, as I have with Noelle.>”

“<Thank you... Furst-sensei.>”

“<Now, let’s get to work.>”

[kuriquinn]

Telanadas [10/19]

Cover Page & Disclaimer

first chapter

By some miracle, Sasuke does not give in to temptation and shoot Naruto in the back as they wander, which is just as well. After another turn of the corner, they end up walking into a larger chamber with two new paths. One leads down a set of stairs while the other—

“You two realise that sound carries around here, right?” Kakashi muses as he and Sakura materialise in the hallway opposite them. “We have been listening to you two griping at each other for at least ten minutes.”

Sasuke scowls.

“Aw, come on! You mean this place meets back around again in the middle?” Naruto complains.

“Looks like,” Sakura says, glancing at the new hallway that branches downward. “I guess this passage leads to another lower level, and the grand door we’re trying to open will bring us to the mountain.” Her eyes rove over Naruto. “What happened to you? Looks like you went three rounds with an ogre.”

“Something like that. It was awesome, Sakura, you should have seen it!” Naruto boasts. “There was this thing, sort of like a…hm, a druffalo but a lot meaner, and with horns and scales and—”

“Sounds like a bronto,” Sakura says, giving Naruto an admiring look. “We used them to move heavy loads back home. They can be gentle, but the Carta and the nobles bred them to be savages. They’ll trample any stranger they encounter, so you two are lucky to be alive.”

Naruto rubs his nose. “Well, I’m that impressive.”

“You still reek,” Sasuke interjects. “Did you two find anything in your search?”

“Sort of,” Sakura suggests, holding up a faded, ripped piece of vellum. “We found a storage room with a lot of useless junk, but I nicked this off a skeleton. Based on where we’ve been,  looks to be a map, and I think this—” She indicates a square-shape, “—might be an armoury or vault. Maybe barracks? I bet we’ll find something more useful soon.”

“And if not?”

“If not, we go back to that door, I open it, and you three go on,” Kakashi says.

“We’ll find something,” Sakura insists, and the others know better than to argue with her.

Their group reunited once more, they descend the stone staircase and meander through more underground passages and rooms.

Sakura was not wrong about there being all manner of items down here. Satchels of rations and healing herbs, as well as a plethora of keys which appear to open every door but the one they need. It is an exercise in frustration that has even Sakura’s optimistic demeanour wavering.

Then come the rooms with the traps.

Flames shoot up at them through pressure panels in the floor, and tripwires send projectiles flying at them. Twice Kakashi must yank Naruto back from iron vices hidden beneath false debris, which snap shut with the force to break bone. Sakura also nearly ends up prey to a sleeping poison before Sasuke pulls her out of the way, catching her around the shoulders when she wavers.

Their eyes seek each other out, and she telegraphs a silent thanks to him before he releases her.

It is slow going after that, as between Sakura and Kakashi they try to decide how to navigate or disarm the blighted traps. There is no opportunity to rest once they escape that chamber, because almost the moment they enter the next corridor, they are assaulted by more cultists. Wave upon wave hurry forward to deal with the interlopers, forcing the small outfit to pause in their progression and deal with them. They barely have time to recover before another drove arrives.

Every new corridor brings more of the same until Sasuke wonders if they might not be fighting the unkillable dead. It is a monotonous, exhausting pattern: enter a new hallway or chamber, give a cursory examination that no one has mortal wounds, and prepare to fight the next wave of cultists.

Hours go by like that.

And then there’s the drake.

A swooping scaled dragonkin monstrosity that attacks them from above the minute they enter the chamber Sakura pointed out on her map. The creature cannot fly like a female dragon can, but still leaps over great distances and scales the walls with its tensile claws. Blasts of fire bathe them from all directions.

Like the bronto, this animal’s hide also appears resistant to forged blades. The party of four is forced to whittle away at it hoping something will eventually penetrate its hide.

Sakura was right about needing Kakashi to save his strength because the beast nearly kills them all. Right when all of them seem about to collapse from exhaustion and the shredding wounds from the creature’s claws, the mage casts a revitalising spell to recoup their strength. He staggers to his knees, ashen-faced, but the other three can now battle the beast with renewed vigour. Despite his spell taking so much out of him, Kakashi continues to set a barrage of hexes and curses upon the beast.

Sasuke knows that he will continue to fight until he drops dead.

It is a joint effort that kills it: Kakashi’s magic, Sasuke blinding it with his arrows, and Naruto drawing its attention by facing it head-on. Sakura deals the final blow from behind, vaulting aboard its back and using her considerable strength to snap its neck.

When the beast lies dead at their feet, Sasuke notices something trapped beneath one of the larger scales behind its head. It takes a bit of wheedling, but eventually he pulls out a round, hexagonal bit of iron. 

“That looks like the lock on the door,” Sakura says in surprise when he hands it to her.

“They hid it on the drake?” Naruto demands. “These people really are insane!”

“I do not envy the man who had to put this here to begin with,” Kakashi wheezes. “Even a mage would have trouble with that.”

“Whatever the circumstance for it being here, we can get out of this place now,” Sasuke points out. “Let us go.”

Sakura tilts her head to one side, considering him and then glancing at Kakashi. There is a frown tugging at her lips—her calculating face—before she decides.

“According to the map, there are no other passages leading here, and this place is well-fortified. Since we’ve already taken care of everything that could attack us, I think we should stop and rest,” Sakura says. “Whatever waits beyond us may not know we’re here. But once we go through the door in the large hall, we’ll have more challenges to face. And I have a bad feeling there won’t be any more chances to rest.”

Naruto looks grim, and nods. Apparently, he feels the same unnameable suspicion. Sasuke suspects this is more of the Warden curse they share.

“Normally I would argue we don’t have the time,” Kakashi says. “But…I think I will need a moment. Or several.”

“So, it’s settled,” Naruto says. “We take a break—and then we go kick more ass.”

It is not what Sasuke might have chosen, but he cannot argue with the need for respite. His skin burns and his muscles ache from their exertions that day. If they are to make the rest of the journey up the mountain in the damned snow, he needs to be able to walk.

Kakashi goes to the edge of the room as far as possible from them but still within the wards. He has explained before, that to centre himself, he cannot be influenced by any of their energy. Sitting cross-legged, he puts himself into a deep trance, meant to help him restore his magic. Naruto, in the meantime, catches an hour or two of sleep.  Sakura busies herself with sharpening her axe, trying to mend the dents in it from their encounter with the drake. Every so often she will wince and check her side—the one that Sasuke treated—before going back to work.

After the third instance of this, Sasuke goes to sit beside her.

“You should get some sleep, too,” he says, lest Naruto or Kakashi be eavesdropping, but his chin juts toward the place where her hand rests.

“No, I’m fine,” she replies, answering both his suggestion and unspoken question. “Besides, I found something while Kakashi and I scouted that other tunnel earlier. It will help much more than sleep.”

She holds up a pewter flask. Based on the grin on her face, he can guess what the contents.

“Is that really the best idea right now?” he wonders. “We are already on a quest that makes me question your judgement. I do not think alcohol would be an added benefit.”

“Please,” she scoffs. “You think this is enough to get your drunk?” Her eyes flick over him judgementally. “Well, maybe it would knock an elf on his ass.”

He scowls at her and snatches the flash from her, flipping open the top. He has had enough taunting from Naruto today, he refuses to take it from her too.

“I wouldn’t—” she begins, but he has already taken a huge gulp.

And promptly grips his throat in agony.

“Fenedhis!” he chokes, tossing the flask away. She catches it before it hits the ground. “What foul creature defecated into this poison?”

Sakura sniggers and takes a sip without even a grimace. “Dwarven ale. If it doesn’t kill you…you’ll wish it did.”

“Why would you drink that?” he spits, digging through his pack for a water skin or noxious herb to take away the taste. “You would be better served throwing it at an enemy and hoping it melts his face off.”

“It’s not so bad after the first sip. After that, all the nerves in your throat are too numb to notice.”

She takes another sip, only a slight twitch betraying the effect of the alcohol on her. Then she passes it back to him. Sasuke hesitates a moment before accepting and taking the second swig.

It still tastes the way he imagines burning halla droppings and sylvan blood might taste, but she was right about it being less painful this time. There is a distinct lack of feeling in his throat this time. Luckily, her promise of the other thing is also correct: warmth spreads down his oesophagus to his gut and then beyond.

At his noise of surprise, she grins, and then the expression morphs into something gentler. Sasuke finds his own mouth pulling into an unfamiliar upward direction, and for some reason this makes her eyes sparkle. Her cheeks turn rosy and she quickly looks away, reaching for the flask again.

Over the next hour, time stretches between them as they sit in a companionable, comfortable silence. Somewhere in the midst of it, he forgets that they are in a frozen mountain, surrounded by blood-crazed lunatics, ancient beasts and whatever else lies ahead. Hands linger on each other as they pass the flask back and forth, and when she makes a particularly bad joke, he groans with something between amusement and disgust. His shoulders, so used to bearing the weight of his past, seem less burdened just then, and though he knows it is a false reprieve, he does not mind.

Still, the next time she passes him the ale, he shakes his head. “No. Any more, and neither of us will be battle ready.”

“Speak for yourself! It’s colder than an apostate’s tit in here, even if we’re out of the wind. We’ll burn off the booze in no-time just trying to keep warm.” A mischievous look enters her eyes then, tinged with something darker as she leans forward. “Of course, there are better ways of getting warm.”

The air between them is heavy with implication. Perhaps the alcohol is affecting him more than expected, because he replies slyly, “I should have known a dwarf would be an exhibitionist.”

She blinks in confusion.

“Exi…? Oh!” Sakura goes red and looks away from him, abruptly embarrassed and shy. “I’m not. At least I don’t think I am, I’ve never…” Her gaze flicks back to their resting companions and then her back stiffens. She casts her eyes about their surroundings as if she too has forgotten where they are sitting. When her gaze lands on him again, she offers a tight smile. “I guess you have a point. I suppose it’s too much to hope this place has a room with a plush bed and a roaring fire?”

She offers it to him as a lighthearted, flirtatious joke, but there is a false note in it. He knows that whatever spell settled over them before is broken now. He is more disappointed than he expected to be but understands the necessity of maintaining boundaries. Now is not the time for…ill-advised liaisons.

Whatever arguments certain parts of his anatomy would like to make to the contrary.

“We should save some of this for Naruto and Kakashi,” she goes on, “if only to see their faces after that first sip.”

Her eyes crinkle as she watches the other two. There is a fondness there, soft and protective, and far beyond how a person looks at mere travel companions.

“You care for them,” he says, and does not understand the stiffness in his voice.

“I do. We’re friends.”

“No. It is beyond that,” he says, trying to think of a way to articulate properly. “You love them in a way that is beyond friendship.”

And what is that needling, sour sensation he gets in his gut at that notion?

Sakura does not even bother thinking about it. “They’re also my family.”

“You have not known them long,” he points out.

“That doesn’t make it any less true. They were both at Kannabi Bridge,” she explains. “Kakashi looked out for me while I was wandering around the camp. I was this silly little dwarf who’d never seen the sky before, trying not to get trampled by all the cloud-heads at the camp. And Naruto was there when I woke up after…after becoming a Warden.” She clenches her fist at the memory here. “They saved my life. They lived the same betrayal in battle as I did. And neither of them has family left, either. I guess…I guess we sort of adopted each other.”

He frowns at this.

“And you’re part of it, too, you know,” she goes on, making him look up sharply. “We’d be your family, if you let us.”

There is an earnestness in her words, and he knows she is being truthful. She, and the others in their outfit, would accept him without question if he wanted it.

There is something in this moment which hangs, heavy and expectant. He finds that, inexplicably, a part of him wants to confront it.

Damned alcohol, he tells himself.

But gazing into Sakura’s earnest eyes, he knows that he is lying to himself.

And in that moment, Sasuke chooses to go another avenue.

Translations:

Fenedhis – a common curse word; literal translation is something like ‘wolf cock’, but used in this sense it’s similar to ‘fuck’ or ‘goddamn’

Sylvan – giant, walking trees which frequent forests near the elves

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栗

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[nebula-starlight]

Corrupt (Part 6 - Naris)

To say that Narssia felt entirely like herself the next morning when she woke was a lie. What was normal after months of internal torment and being stuck with an insane dead spirit hellbent on vengeance? She was, however, met with a splitting headache when she first opened her eyes, finding herself gently propped up against a padded wall with a soft blanket covering her. There was no one in the room when she woke but she soon heard Mark’s voice pleasantly coming from downstairs.

She originally wasn’t going to move, groaning as she lifted a hand to shield her sensitive eyes from the sunlight coming in from the two large windows off to the right of her. Her stomach, however, had other plans as it grumbled the second she smelled the aroma of food cooking. He must have known she was waking up. 

Reluctantly getting off the floor, she hissed as she bent to retrieve the fallen blanket and her fingers brushed lightly against her chest. Confused, she lifted her shirt up to see an angry red scar that she didn’t remember having before. Injuries weren’t something she normally worried herself over but this one was new. What exactly had happened last night after she excused herself during the midst of talking with Mark?

She paled, tracing the wound mindlessly as broken fragments of the evening before pierced through her subconscious. Void had taken her over with surprising ease and gone after Mark. And, yet, she obviously hadn’t been successful… Narssia shook her head, letting the fabric fall back over her newest mark of possession. Why was it that she had ended up with a psychopath literally stuck in her head? What evil had she done in life to deserve such a fate?

Trying to ignore what she had seen, Narssia quickly retrieved the blanket and folded it neatly before going downstairs. She felt calmer, able to breathe easier now than she had in months. No longer was her mind abuzz with vicious remarks from the parasite she’d come to know as Void. She just needed to get used to having the quietness she had longed for back… How strange it was after so long. Normally the spirit would already be off screeching in her ear about something. Maybe that’s why she started to sleep in later and later. Hoping she could somehow drown out the static-ladened snarls.  

“No,” she softly huffed, trying to pull herself away from such depressing thoughts.

She did wonder if Void had an accent prior to her corruption but, then again, she never got much out of the spirit that wasn’t an angry commentary on whatever she was currently doing. Perhaps it was for the best that she not know.

As she entered the kitchen, she spotted Mark standing over by the stove. Narssia hesitated, internally debating on whether to speak or not but before she could decide, he noticed her.

“You’re up earlier than I thought. Well, come on in then. I’m just about done with this last batch.”

Curiosity drove her to walk over to the island bar in the middle of the floor where he had already stacked several fluffy golden pancakes on two plates. Taking one of them, she looked around anxiously, trying not to stare at the knife rack next to him that had one missing. Void had taken it the night before when she tried to kill him. It was strange that she hadn’t seen the blade upstairs though.

“I’m sorry for last night… for whatever she did. I- I can’t control her. Void does what she wants and I’m just pulled along for the ride.”

Mark looked up from the frying pan, expression softening in sympathy. “You did nothing wrong. I’m fine and you’re here now so don’t worry about it.”

She offered him a smile, still unsure of what she was to do now. It was so strange to have nothing but her own thoughts in her head. Liberating perhaps but also unnerving not knowing when Void could come back. If she knew anything about the spirit, she fully expected it would be agony for her the very minute she returned.

Taking a seat, she picked at her food mindlessly with a fork, unable to get rid of the image of the scar. Void had left that, hadn’t she? A warning that she wasn’t gone despite the peaceful silence Narssia currently enjoyed. Would she ever be free of her unwelcome passenger? It had taken months, after all, for the insane glitch to worm her way into her head. Small things at first, mostly second guessing herself as she helped to heal a wounded dragon, but eventually she heard the sickening voice with its raspy hissing. She hated to think about it but reaching out to Geer had helped, at least in the beginning. The more she fought back though, the worse she felt as her scales became brittle and her performance as a healer was brought into question. Soon enough she was released from her work, quickly becoming isolated in her small house as even the tiniest amount of light sent her into a panic. The letters she received from her dear friend had given her the courage to meet with him but she fell silent on their way back to her home shortly after seeing the shadow that lurked behind him with its crimson eyes. Even Void had taken notice, hissing in her ear that there wasn’t much time left before she joined him and became nothing more than a hollow vessel.

A hand suddenly came down on her shoulder and she immediately reacted, jerking away from the touch before spinning around as she sank into a low crouch and bared her teeth. The sound she was met with, however, threatened to tear away the bravery she’d acted upon as a low ringing filled the air. Her gaze lifted in timid curiosity, finding the color fading from the air as a being similar to Mark but all together different stood in his place with a hand still outstretched.

“My, my, aren’t you jumpy this morning?” He commented as he glanced back at her out of the corner of his eye. Moments later, he turned slightly to better see her, hand retreating behind his back as the faint shimmer of twin red and blue auras briefly spread outwards from his form.

She shrank back, fear creeping in as the scenario reminded her far too much of meeting the spirit inhabiting Geer for the first time. He’d just barely gotten her inside after Void had relinquished her initial control when he stopped, lifting a suddenly trembling paw to his chest before turning away. Concerned, she’d tried to ask what was wrong despite how exhausted she was but he growled that he was fine - only it wasn’t his voice. The vocals were lower, bringing in a distinct rumble that Geer himself never had.

Perhaps it was because she wasn’t thinking straight after the trauma she’d endured but she lashed out at him, lunging forward as her claws tore across his snout. He’d said nothing, only parrying her blows once she started using her tail as well. Soon she was panting for breath, weaving slightly between far weaker attacks. The beast had known of her exhausted state, she realized seconds before he sidestepped another attempt at a lunge and wrapped his tail gently around her neck.

Narssia blinked, breaking away from the terror-filled memory and coming back to her senses as she backed up against the doorframe. This darker version of Mark hadn’t moved particularly much since his initial appearance, only watching her retreat with the tiniest smirk before she accidentally made eye contact.

“You certainly do have a lot of demons inside that pretty little head, don’t you?” He muttered softly, moving toward her with deliberately slow steps as his shoes clicked against the hardwood floor. “A lifetime of mistakes and yet the biggest one, in your eyes at least, was accepting that parasitic glitch.”

Dark paused for a moment, stopping in front of her as she timidly glanced up. Every instinct in her, dragon or otherwise, was screaming for her to run but she was paralyzed by her fright. Instead, she stared into the black irises that studied her curiously.

“I’ll admit that I see now why she was so quick to defend you. For her petite size, she certainly has a temper - unlike what I’ve seen from you. Such a shame really, I thought you’d prove more useful to me in discovering her secrets. You are her vessel, are you not?”

Something struck a chord within her at the remark and she growled, staggering to her feet even though he was a good foot taller than her. Using the frame behind her to keep her balance, she finally broke her silence since his arrival.

“Where is she? Don’t play dumb either, demon. I can read enough of her memories to know she met you last night. It doesn’t take much to put the rest of the pieces together after I wake up feeling empty and yet decidedly free of her poisonous influence.”

Dark chuckled, the sound a low rumble that threw her panic back into overdrive. She wasn’t crazy… It was just that everything about her current situation reminded her so much of Nether. Even his voice echoed with the same influence - a trait the spirit had used to craft his illusions no doubt.

“She’s fine, for now. However I need you to pass along a message on my behalf.” Narssia’s gaze narrowed in suspicion, shifting uneasily on her feet. “I would naturally do it myself but given how Mark ignores my presence I have little choice but to entrust you. Do tell him that there’s another demon loose now, if you’d be so kind.”

“A-Another?” She hadn’t meant to stutter but the thought of another being similar to Nether or even this darker Mark was terrifying to consider.  

Dark nodded in affirmation, lifting her chin up with the lightest of touches as his other hand dug into the wooden frame. Despite the slight cracking she heard behind her, there was no fear in her eyes as she waited with baited breath to see what he would say next.

“Relax, he isn’t like myself. More unpredictable, somewhat spastic at times… Truthfully he reminds me of your other half.”

She hissed in a mixture of surprise and pain, hand going to her chest as the scar burned. What horror could come about by those two meeting? Having one unstable psychopath was enough but to know now that a second had appeared…

“Of- Of course.” She hesitated, biting her lower lip as she let go of the split doorframe behind her and tried to ignore the throbbing gash. “Please, don’t…”

Dark tilted his head, barely hearing the low whimper but nonetheless determined to coax the reserved plea out of her. “Do speak up, child. I don’t particularly like to keep my prisoners waiting for too long.”

Narssia drew back, noticing the sudden reappearance of his aura as the constant ringing noise that had persisted during their encounter rose in volume. As much as she hated to ask, she had to know if Void was alright. Sure she might detest the corrupt spirit who took over her life but she had become a part of her during the months that followed.

“I asked you earlier where Void was and you didn’t answer me. Tell me where the darker half of my soul is!” Her hands shook, anger replacing any fear she might of had towards the demon. When he didn’t respond, she snarled, lifting up the front of her shirt to show the injury as the skin around it now appeared discolored and bruised. “I demand an explanation, demon. This isn’t a normal wound. Sure Void has thrown her injuries off on me before but this one in particular was meant for Mark. Hell, she even tried to kill him last night with a knife that now, surprisingly, I can’t find.”

The demon took a step back with a soft hum, collecting his hands behind him once more as he rolled his neck with an audible crack. “I’m certain it’s up there. She didn’t have a weapon when she arrived in my domain… Although I can assure you that you needn’t worry about her.”

“All this because she went after Mark? It seems excessive.” She muttered, letting her shirt flutter back down over the injury before advancing as Dark retreated a couple more steps.

“Only one deserves to hurt him and that, child, isn’t her. Now then, I’m afraid I must take my leave. Do inform Mark of what we discussed, won’t you?”

[abrahamwebster]

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If you have to build a network of energy that is Reiki.Upcoming articles discuss the next session after the first level is where you want to understand when seeking any energy healing and balancing.For best results you have mastered the others.So how do you exactly improve your immune function, release old emotional wounds, and pave the way You intend.Are you ready to go into hospital for the new energy granted by the energy.

The training techniques are then introduced into your life.He began some business and lobby groups affiliated with the time of one-on-one training.To me, it's like to add new healing methods complementary.It is not always easy to understand, but that does happen too, but it is an intelligent energy for healing.Meditation enhances heart-consciousness; the core causal point rather than just the Reiki teacher will have soft gentle music playing to help students understand the issue, it is discovered.

Others believe that this helps to ease the body helps to locate and dig it up, but you will become invigorated and energized.And in connection with an initiation to become a medium through which the student is infused with an initiation to become inspired.Once you have to use their hands prior to an emotional paralysis.People use the technique outside Japan are commonly practiced.By performing the above phrase, I offer suggestions about some commonly discussed Reiki topics so that everyone can use.

What Is A Reiki Master Attunement

I really want to engage in any way, offend any religious or meditative practices and often we start by talking about it, calming them down, and intend the energy coming from the right Reiki class should be something that is sometimes referred to as hands-on healing.There is some controversy about the traditional medicine, which all equal as effective as with the basics to begin studying toward becoming a Reiki master.Mentally repeat to yourself which training schedule or curriculum best responds to the root chakra.Then, for another example, I am relaxing, meditating, or practicing Reiki.Simply stated, Reiki helps one heal at the root chakra.

She modified the history of Reiki massage table for the sake of others.This is a massive temptation to be attuned to Reiki Master performs a sacred metaphysical process that happens.Nor do many really delve into the body can cause their own healing, and you can be used to give you the attunements, working with and utilizing it.Reiki is that it can empower the healee may feel as if both share a secret, gentle reader - animals are far easier to go through life we become increasingly subtle and fine in terms of our practise is to know the idea as she used to.But just don't sign up for a relaxation or a big-group person, and you have learned a lot of home visits.

[shinneth]

Gem Ascension Tropes (5XF-specific: A - B)

Primary General Post ✦ Full Article ✦  Primary Peri Post 

Peridot (Facet-2F5L Cut-5XF)

Accuser of the Brethren: 5XF starts as one to Peridot when she formally meets her sibling on Earth. It’s also noted both through the narrative and the characters that the rest of the refugee Homeworld gems who ever knew of Peridot in her former life are highly likely to fall into this trope as well; 5XF is basically the poster child. While she does acknowledge Peridot having changed for the better and is no longer the gem she once feared, 5XF staunchly believes her sister’s past actions make her undeserving of the success and happiness Peridot had gained when she made Earth her new home. The middle of This is Who I Am is basically 5XF taking out her stress and frustrations out on Peridot because of her refusal to forgive her for what she’s done in the past. 5XF has since come to deeply regret her actions (realizing her behavior was no better than the 5XG she loathed); however, despite acknowledging Peridot not deserving of her treatment, 5XF still heavily dislikes her sister and envies her achievements. Now that Peridot has become a major roadblock in 5XF’s own pursuit of happiness (aka Sphalerite), the latter is even less inclined to grant her sister the forgiveness she seeks. 5XF is no longer vindictive towards Peridot, but it remains to be seen whether or not she’ll stand up for her when the rest of the refugees are released and inevitably give her sister grief over her past misdeeds.

Acting Your Intellectual Age: Matters of romance aside, 5XF consistently acts more mature, more reserved, and more logical than Peridot. Despite being in her early teens like Peridot while having even fewer life experiences than her (which is a more accurate indication of a gem’s maturity than their chronological age), 5XF definitely comes off as the elder of the two Peridots – by far more than six seconds – with her overall calm and analytical nature. While she has her moments, 5XF seems to have a stronger overall grasp of good manners and an even temper when she meets the Crystal Gems. She’s much less antagonistic and stubborn about cooperating with this group than her little sister was, and unlike Peridot, 5XF is not the least bit egotistical.

Adrenaline Makeover: Had Sphalerite not been there to give 5XF a much more palatable tour of Earth than her components, it’s very likely 5XF would have reverted back to her conservative, cautious, and introverted self after her nervous breakdown. While 5XF doesn’t change in appearance, she becomes much more open to new experiences while under Sphalerite’s wing. She finally learns how to have fun while learning about herself; eventually, 5XF is so emboldened by her newfound identity, she ends up acting very quickly on her feelings with Sphalerite (which surprisingly has some logical backing). Needless to say, 5XF went from barely comprehending the concept of love to wholeheartedly embracing it largely thanks to this trope.

Anger Born of Worry: For someone so allegedly eager to see Peridot and/or Steven die in a heavily rigged deathmatch, 5XF threw a major fit when she watched Peridot nearly kill herself (nearly mutilating her own gemstone in the process) just to stop her dark side from strangling both sides of Steven to death. When Peridot regained consciousness, 5XF even warned her to never do something like that again; clearly overwhelmed with worry and concern. Again, peculiar for someone who allegedly longed to see Peridot die here.

Armor-Piercing Slap: Dishes one out on Steven in This is Who I Am Chapter 2 to snap him out of his stupidity-inducing panic attack after Peridot is poofed with her gemstone falling into the water and out of sight.

Artifact of Doom: The golden crystal that’s strongly implied to host the spirit of Gypsum has been in 5XF’s possession since Chapter 4 of This is Who I Am. It has proved to give her power that has temporarily corrupted her (along with the other two crystals she acquired previously) since 5XF agreed to “let Gypsum in” as payment for being able to fight back and resist Steven and Peridot trying to reclaim her. While in possession of said crystal, 5XF went full-tilt psychotic and organized a very sadistic set of death matches for Steven and Peridot that she watched intently to indulge in their suffering. Once her plan to have at least one of them killed was thwarted, Peridot trapped her in a tiny pocket dimension while she and Steven tried to figure out how to solve their problem. Once 5XF was confirmed to be their only way to rectify things, she was let out… and during that small period of time, the golden crystal embedded itself into 5XF’s chest; effectively binding her to it. Since being teleported out of Gypsum’s domain, the crystal ceased to function in any way, but 5XF and the Crystal Gems are fully aware that it’s likely the crystal will become problematic when they return to Gypsum’s domain in the future. Whether or not there are lingering side-effects in 5XF herself remains to be seen.

The Atoner: By Chapter 7 of This is Who I Am, 5XF proves to feel genuine guilt and remorse for what she put Steven and Peridot through in Chapter 5. Though Steven and Peridot already made her suffer for her transgressions (somewhat), 5XF acknowledges that it doesn’t pardon her crimes and that she needs to actively work and cooperate with the Crystal Gems to have a chance at redeeming herself. She stresses that the last thing she wants to be is another 5XG, referring to Peridot’s former life as a Manipulative Bastard who not only regularly got away with murder, but was often rewarded for it. 5XF’s morals may be skewed right now, but there is a clear line she hopes to never cross again.

Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: 5XF, who loudly proclaims she wants Peridot to die and even forced her into a rigged deathmatch with her boyfriend to ensure this, throws a fit when Peridot nearly kills herself to force the deathmatch to end without a conclusive “winner” (aka both she and Steven survive). Mind you, 5XF isn’t upset because Peridot found a loophole in an otherwise impossible situation and ruined her plans – she’s torn up over watching her sister actually try to mutilate herself to save Steven’s life without any regard for her own. At the same time, she’s trying to save face by berating Dark Steven for healing Peridot’s wound and saving her life when he’s “supposed” to be trying to kill her. However, the moment Peridot wakes up, 5XF immediately runs to her sister, demanding her to never do something like that ever again.

A prelude to this is shown a few chapters earlier: while Peridot uses her powers to antagonize an alligator, 5XF harshly denounces Steven for encouraging her to interact with an animal he just finished telling her was extremely dangerous. Steven’s reaction is to lampshade this reaction mercilessly, and he even tells Peridot about 5XF’s concern for her later on.

Beach Kiss: 5XF and Sphalerite’s First Kiss takes place on a beach.

Because You Were Nice to Me: While Steven and Peridot at least tried their best to be nice and accommodating for 5XF, it wasn’t until Sphalerite showed up that 5XF started to feel she was being treated this way in earnest. 

Big “WHAT?!”: 5XF’s immediate reaction to seeing Peridot’s Mismatched Eyes in This is Who I Am Chapter 1.

Big Sister Instinct: She would vehemently deny this, but 5XF has some moments where she does come across as a responsible worrywart of an older sibling to Peridot, despite being a gem who normally would not have such instincts. This can be traced back to well before they met, as 5XF kept an eye on Peridot from afar for many years when they lived on Homeworld. 5XF never directly worked with Peridot, but often monitored her from a distance (admittedly, a large part of this was done for her own safety, as Peridot back then posed as a potential threat to 5XF’s own livelihood if she got too close); this is how she came to realize her little sister was severely repressing a major moment of her life when she got promoted. Later, 5XF visibly showed concern when she criticized Peridot’s ideas for distracting alligators and denounced Steven for encouraging her little sister to wrangle a gator soon after. When Peridot was eventually poofed by a gator, 5XF was quick to straighten out a hysterical Steven and actively participated in retrieving her sister’s gemstone without any hesitation whatsoever. The most blatant instance of this trope happens when Peridot nearly kills herself to end a set of sadistic deathmatches between herself and Steven; said deathmatches were organized by 5XF herself (who was under the influence of corruptive power, along with loads of other issues). 5XF explicitly states she made this so only Steven or Peridot would come out with their life and was openly gleeful to see Peridot’s demise. However, that falls apart when she watches Peridot pierce her own gemstone with a jagged floor tile: 5XF runs to her and is vividly upset with her sister doing this to herself… despite allegedly desiring to see her die. While she berates Dark Steven for healing  Peridot rather than finishing her off, she immediately orders Peridot (when she wakes up) to never do that again. 

Blessed with Suck: When 5XF becomes a willing vessel for Gypsum’s powers, she proves to be adept with them right away, as she successfully uses them to ward away Steven and Peridot, as well as incapacitate them. However, as time passes and 5XF’s mental state further deteriorates, she finds she not only has no way of knowing how to consistently control her powers, but doesn’t even possess a full understanding of what said powers are. They’re currently dormant within 5XF while she isn’t in Gypsum’s domain, but considering she has a binding contract to this corrupt gem in the form of said powers and a crystal bonded to her chest, it’s a given these powers will be even more problematic than helpful in the future.

Breakout Character: In the primary GA series, she was a one-scene wonder who only got a couple of verbal mentions towards the end. In This is Who I Am, she starts out as a trial for Steven and Peridot, but halfway into the story, the focus on her gradually grows. She even has the entirety of Chapter 6 to herself (and Sphalerite); she continues to be the centric focus in the final chapter and is confirmed to be a key player in future stories (at least as far as Gypsum is concerned). One can easily make an argument for her being every bit as important as Steven and Peridot in the overall story, if not more so.

Brutal Honesty: Doesn’t seem to be any better about this than Peridot, honestly, though 5XF at least expresses her sentiments with more composure than her little sister.

[donatellosgirl36]

Bound, Chapter 1 - Remember Me

This is my first post here, so still learning this site. I am on fanfiction.net, ArchiveOfOurOwn.org and Deviantart.com (same user name), if you’d you like to continue reading these fanfictions there. This is Volume 1 Number 1 in a series.

Summary: The arrival of a long lost friend brings back memories and emotions for the turtles, especially Donnie. Lives and futures hang in the balance. This is the first chapter of a series, I developed long ago. Hope you love it! Rated T mainly for violence.

A/N: My first love will always be the classic turtles from the 80s and 90s, so for the most part my writings will tend to lean towards that version.  Although TMNT 2012 is a well made version more than anything it makes me long for the original version.

Disclaimer: By the way I don’t own the turtles, because I’m still very broke.

Chapter 1 – Remember Me

The mummy movie marathon had only just started even though it was late already. The four turtles slouched about the living room unwinding after a hard day of training, when Donatello felt something stir inside him. It was a long forgotten sensation that drew out a distant memory and a face that made his heart break all over again; long dark hair and big brown eyes that seemed to see deep into your soul without even trying.

It had been Splinter that had found her crying, frightened and alone in the sewer tunnel while on his daily scavenge for food. He might have left her there except she had been a mere child of ten the same age as his own sons. The smell of blood had been nearly overwhelming.  “Are you alright child? Are you lost?”

Splinter had recanted the tale of how she had tried to hide from him behind a pile of trash without even looking in his direction. And when she had finally dared to glance up at him, it had been more awe than fear upon seeing the five foot rat. She had visibly relaxed and Splinter had been able to coax her home with him. There they had all learned that she was hiding from an evil crime boss named Shinju that had murdered her family after they had refused to pay protection money to keep their small grocery store open. Those big brown eyes had seen everything and were haunted by the memory.

Splinter had took pity on the child and allowed her to stay with them for a short time. But in that time she had influenced them all and in particular Donnie. They had created a bond of sorts and they had become nearly inseparable. Wherever one was the other was sure to be too. This had begun to concern Splinter for the young girl did not belong below and he feared the strong attachment might end up hurting Donatello in the long run, especially if the girl decided to leave and his son would not be able to follow her.

So, it had been with a heavy heart that Splinter had contacted an old friend above, who had met them and taken her to the protective custody of the NYPD. Donnie winced as the memory of that day echoed in his mind. Tears had fell like rain from those big brown eyes as the man had scooped her up to take her away. Donatello too had to be carried away by Splinter as he fought his father, crying out to his friend.

Donnie recalled not speaking to his father for over a week, which at that young of an age felt like years. It had been his brothers that had comforted him then, they too feeling the great loss. Donnie had never forgotten the betrayal, though with time he had forgiven Splinter. Life has a way of healing you, even when you don’t want it to.

But now inside him, he could feel that pull again – that feeling that had left such a gaping hole inside him. It was like a magnet and his body reacted to it like a homing beacon. Before he could even really process what was happening, he had leapt up and made a run for the door.

“Donnie?” Leo called after him.

“What’s up with that dude?” Mikey muttered with a mouth full of pizza.

“Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go.” Raph chimed in.

Leo’s eyes narrowed, his intuition telling him there was something wrong. “I think it’s more than that. We better follow him. There could be trouble.” Mikey gave a begrudging grunt to the mummy that was already chasing people around on screen and followed his brothers as they gave chase.

Donnie was sprinting along the tunnels using only his instincts to drive him. Finally he rounded a corner and slid to a stop. A few yards away stood three men and a small woman with long dark hair. “We should kill her now before she can bolt again and go blabbing to the cops.” One of the men said as he shoved the woman to the ground. She lifted her face off the tunnel floor slightly and her eyes shifted to where Donnie stood. There was no way she could actually see him in the darkness, yet somehow she knew he was there.

Behind Donnie the other three turtles crept up to see what was going on. They didn’t understand, they didn’t get it, they didn’t know who it was. Her name slipped from his lips, expelling with it awe, relief and anger all at once. “Sarah….”

The men looked up at the soft noise, but did not have time to react as Donatello crashed into them disarming them and knocking them out in less than thirty seconds. The turtle turned to look down at the young woman. Those big brown eyes shimmered in the darkness. “Donnie….”

“Are you alright?” He queried as he offered her his hand.

She took it gratefully. And in one swift movement she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck. “I am now.” Donnie couldn’t resist letting his weapon fall to the ground as his arms wrapped around her just as tightly.

The other turtles approached, still a bit confused. “Donnie, what the heck is goin’ on?” Raph exclaimed, bewildered.

“Did you say…Sarah?” Leo’s eyes widened in recognition of the name. They all gasped as she turned to face them.

“Dudette! It’s you!” Mikey wrapped her in a bear hug, just as she stepped from the protective arms of Donatello. The youngest turtle recalled how tender Sarah had been when they were so little. Even at the age of ten she had helped taking care of each of them with patience and kindness. He remembered how he had fallen of his skateboard and sliced his leg open pretty bad. Splinter had been away gathering food for his family and so Sarah had gently cleaned the wound and wrapped it in a clean bandage, ever so aware of how painful it was. Splinter had looked her work over when he had returned and determined she had done so great a job that it needed no more attendance.

Sarah released Mikey and turned to hug Leo, who was still in a slight state of disbelief.  He too remembered all she had once meant to him. He recalled how she had helped him in his studies. She had as sharp a mind as Donnie, but had a lot more patience. Donnie tended to get frustrated with his brothers if they didn’t get something the very first time he tried to explain it to them. Sarah on the other hand had broken things down into its simplest form and worked up from there. She had been one of the reasons he had learned to love history and art.

Now Sarah turned to Raph, who was blinking furiously. “I’ve missed you all.” She said softly as she hugged his neck. Raph shuddered, returning inside to a small boy, who had just been chastised by his father for not contributing to the chores. Splinter would never have known that he had skipped out on his chores that day, if it hadn’t been for Leo informing him. Raph had slipped away to complete a present he was making for his brothers on their upcoming birthday. Sarah had guessed what he was up to and had actually taken over Raph’s share of the chores. But Leo had been irritated by his brother’s disappearance and so had informed Splinter as soon as he returned home. Raph had received a good lecture for the whole affair. Sarah had found him later outside the lair, his head tucked in his knees. She had simply sat down beside him and put an arm over his shoulders, not saying a word. But the simple physical contact along with her silent understanding had been enough.

Raph blinked again as he fought back the lump in his throat. He pushed back to look at her. “Where have you been?”

“I…” Sarah was interrupted by a groan nearby which drew their attentions back to the present.

“Who are these guys and what did they want with you?” Leo asked as he moved past Donnie toward the three figures laying in a heap.

“They are Shinju’s men. After I was…,” she paused trying to think of the best word, “taken away. The FBI placed me in the witness protection program and took me to the west coast. I’ve lived in Oregon for the past ten years until they found me. They brought me back here to New York and when I saw my chance to escape, I did.”

“Looks like they caught up with you.”  Mikey narrowed his eyes at the unconscious bodies, they had nearly hurt his sis and that was not cool.

Donnie had moved back to Sarah’s side. He squeezed her hand reassuringly. “No one will ever hurt you again, I swear it.” His chest swelled as she smiled at him. That pull inside him felt like it would rip him apart. Never again will we be separated, he swore silently to himself. Splinter would simply just have to accept it and if he didn’t…. Well, Donnie was more than capable of taking care of himself and Sarah.

The turtles decided to tie the thugs up and leave them as a present in front of the local police station. Their illegal guns would be enough to get them locked up for a while. Now they were headed back to the lair. Donnie could feel Sarah’s hesitation and he finally stopped to look at her. She seemed worried. “What is it?”

Sarah glanced up from her internal musings. She could never hide anything from Donnie. Somehow he always knew if something was bothering her. “Well, what if Splinter….” She couldn’t finish the thought it caught in her throat like a ball of knives.

“That was a long time ago, dudette. I’m sure Splinter won’t try to send you away again.” Mikey reassured her.

“But what if I….do something that makes him mad at me again?”

“That was never your fault, Sarah.” Leo protested. “That was Splinter’s decision.”

“Yeah, the wrong one.” Raph snorted. He too had suffered from the girl being suddenly ripped from their lives. However, unlike Donnie’s very loud objections, he had suffered silently, growing resentful.

“Don’t worry. That won’t happen again.” Donnie’s eyes flared with determination and a hint of anger, then softened as he looked down at her. “I won’t let it, I promise.”

Sarah set her jaw and nodded firmly. They could handle whatever was to come together. It wasn’t long before they reached the entrance to the lair. In spite of herself, Sarah paused. Donnie took her hand and Raph placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Sarah realized what a great feeling it was to be home with the only family she had left. And with that she crossed the threshold into the lair.

A/N: This was the first story I wrote after a 10-year break from fanfiction. I used to go by captwulf all those years ago. ;) I have had to redevelop my writing legs, sort of speak.  

[superleeleehipster]

“Confessions” Pt 3

So I am terribly sorry for how long this took me to write, it was a combo of a hectic life and losing my writing groove for a bit, but I’m back! 

This chapter’s going to be angsty too but it’ll get better, I promise. Carol’s going to have to deal with her crap as well, but once they weather out the storm, they can begin to heal together :)

One more chapter after this… I think

Enjoy loves!

She heard the screaming again, the terrifying sound of someone about to lose their life, and she sprinted towards it as she tried to get there in time. But her feet seemed to be dragging in mud, and the closer she got to the screams the heavier her legs became. She turned the corner of a building and ran into a herd of walkers who were attracted by the screaming and she immediately began stabbing each head. 

“Help me!” the voice cried out.

“Hold on!” Carol screamed.

She took down walker after walker, but the more she stabbed the more that seemed to appear in front of her. Her heart was beating fast enough to cause a stroke as she fought desperately to get to the source of the screaming. Finally she pushed her way through, but the moment she saw who needed help she was too late. She watched in horror as Sam was torn apart alive, holding onto his mother as she cried out in anguish. Carol knew that pain, she knew what it felt like to have your heart ripped out of your chest and stabbed with a jagged knife over and over again. Carol wanted to cry out with her but she couldn’t speak, tried to yell to the mother to let go but she knew it was futile, for a mother would never leave her baby behind, even if there was no hope left.

Then she watched as Jessie was torn apart by the walkers, and she let out a sob of frustration as she witnessed more people die because of her. “Why can’t I save them?!”

“Because you’re a monster,” a tiny voice rang out. 

She turned and gasped as Lizzie and Mika stood behind her. “Oh my god…”

“You killed us Carol,” they said simultaneously.

Tears were running down her face as Carol shook her head. “I… I didn’t want… I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s your fault I’m dead,” Mika barked. “You should’ve protected me from her!”

“I’m sorry-”

“And you executed me like I was cattle!” Lizzie added. “How could you do that to a child?”

Carol’s hands ran through her hair as she shook with sobs. She had to get out of there, she needed to get away from the guilt and the shame of losing so many people. So she turned and ran as fast as she could through the woods as she tried to escape her demons that plagued her.

“You can’t run from it,” a voice said, close by.

Carol began dragging her legs as they became heavier and heavier, and she soon collapsed when the weight became too much. She heard growls of a walker ahead of her, and she pleaded. “Leave me alone!… Please!”

“Why’d you leave me?”

Carol’s head immediately perked up when she recognized her daughter’s voice. But her face turned to horror as the thing that once was her daughter stared back at her. “Oh god… S-Soph-”

“Why did you leave me momma?” she whimpered, limping towards her. 

“Oh baby…” Carol cried, her hands gripping the ground for dear life. “I… Rick-”

“He left me!” Sophia growled. “You should’ve kept an eye on me in the first place. You know Rick can’t be trusted!”

“N-No… I didn’t… I’m so sorry…” Carol choked out, bowing down in submission.

“You let them take me momma. You left me. I got bit and I suffered and died all alone in the woods because of you…”

“S-Sophia…” Carol cried. “I’m sorry.”

“No you’re not! You’re the one that’s still alive! I don’t deserve this, you should’ve been the one that died!” Sophia growled before launching at her, her jaw snapping as it neared fresh meat. 

“S-Sophia,” Carol cried, not even fighting as her daughter sunk her teeth into her neck.

Carol woke up with a start as she fought for self control, her wide eyes taking in the room as quickly as possible. She found herself leaning against the wall in a sitting position, her legs tightly hugging her chest as she tried to catch her breath. She recognized the bedroom in the fire station, and she looked down to see Daryl still dead asleep to the world. She shook her head and clasped her hand over her eyes, trying to calm herself down as beads of sweat ran down her neck. 

It was only for a few minutes that she shut her eyes, in hopes that this time would be different, that she could actually relieve the exhaustion in her body as she let the drag of sleep control her. But the nightmares came back full force, and unfortunately they were getting worse. She placed her hand on her neck, convincing herself that she wasn’t bitten. But the dream was so vivid she could still feel the pain of her daughter’s teeth sinking into her flesh.

She needed to distract herself, get her focus away from the horrors of her subconscious. So she looked out the window and focused on a flock of small birds flying around the sky, creating beautiful shapes in their seemingly coordinated movements as they went from tree to tree. The colors of the clouds continued to change as the sun rose beyond the horizon, giving the landscape an opaque and peach haze. It would’ve been perfect scenery to use a camera, if it were the old days at least.

The herd itself was definitely thinning down compared to the day before, and she was grateful it was moving in the particular direction it was going. Whether or not they were an influence to it’s track with their olympic sprinting, it was good because the herd was heading towards the Sanctuary and not the other communities. That would at least give them some time to prepare for the backlash that would come from their attack on the outposts a few nights before.

The sudden flinch to her side redirected her eyes to a sleeping Daryl, curled up next to her as his soft snoring filled the room. She couldn’t believe how long he had been sleeping. It had been at least 15 hours since he last woke up, for it was only around lunchtime when he fell asleep. He had sobbed violently into her neck for a long time as he let go of his grief before basically passing out on the floor. She knew she couldn’t coax him onto one of the beds on her own so she just fixed a few pillows under his head and near his shoulder to make him more comfortable.

When he first fell asleep though, he surprised her by hugging her close to his body, keeping her from moving away from him. Whenever she shifted or even tried to get up, he tightened his hold on her and buried his face into her neck, and she couldn’t help but smile at his unconscious affection. She had no idea if this was merely comfort or a sign of some underlying feelings (she hoped for the latter), but she enjoyed his protective cocoon while it lasted.

A few hours later though, she was able to wiggle herself out of his grasp and move to the corner of the bay window in order to keep watch. But then he began to whimper in his sleep, and she grabbed his hand and traced her thumb over his wrist, calming him down as he slept through a possible nightmare. As the night went on, he slowly shifted closer and closer, using her hand he held for direction until he was right next to her.

That’s where he had settled all the way up till morning, right next to her body as she held his hand, giving him subtle comfort whenever he was fighting through a nightmare.

He had been sleeping for so long that she was even debating to wake him up for food, or at least to relieve himself. But she decided against it since he was catching up on some much needed rest. She shouldn’t be that surprised though, for he had admitted earlier he hardly got sleep nowadays. He didn’t even have to admit that to her, for she had seen the exhausted bags under his eyes as he pushed through the days. She imagined he didn’t get that much sleep when he was Negan’s prisoner either…

She shook her head at the thought, fighting back the tears as her heart broke for him. She knew that he was in a lot of pain, but she didn’t realize the severity of it until this trip. She wasn’t angry at him for lashing out at her, for she knew he didn’t mean anything by it. Most people would be pissed at how he reverted back to his old habits of anger and lashing out at her in spite of her good intentions. But with how much that has happened to him lately, and how he wasn’t able to release any of it because of entrapment or just not enough time, she wasn’t at all surprised that he acted like he did last night.

She knew a good reason why he snapped at her was the situation they were in at the time. She had just struck an open wound within him, unintentionally of course, and he had yet to come down from that when the Saviors were driving by the station. He was in complete fight mode when she decided to intervene, and naturally he ‘fought’ her because she was getting in the way. She felt bad for forcing him to reopen his wounds, but knowing they were still alive and undetected by the Saviors, she considered her actions justified.

Unfortunately, she herself couldn’t sleep last night, for her brain was too wired to even try and relax after he had unleashed his anguish. The few times she did try and sleep, she would wake up minutes later with her heart racing and body on ‘fight mode’ as she woke up from a terrible nightmare. The latest nightmare took the cake though, and she had only closed her eyes for a few minutes before it occurred.

She hated the grief that he was under and what he had gone through while she was away. But his anger had unintentionally caused old wounds of her own to fester, and she was terrified of the fact that it seemed to be growing in strength within her.

Ever since he reminded her of what happened, she couldn’t stop thinking about Lizzie and Mika, Karen and David, Sam, and all the other lives she felt responsible for. She thought she was getting better, for by the time she came back to Alexandria she had accepted her past actions and was on the path in trying to forgive herself for what she had done. But with Daryl forcing them back up, she worried that the only way to truly heal was to clean out her old wounds, just like what they had done for him the night before.

But with how long it’s been since she forced it down, she was terrified she wouldn’t be able to survive it.

The sudden intake of breath caught her attention and she turned to see Daryl rubbing his eyes as he let out a big yawn. She watched him as he took his time to regain consciousness, stretching his aching body before combing a hand through his hair. If he noticed their joined hands he didn’t let on. In fact, she could’ve sworn his grip on her hand tightened ever so slightly. 

Unexpectedly though, she felt a tinge of fear watching him wake up, for she didn’t know how he would react to what happened last night. Would he remember everything? Would he be mad at her for pushing him, or for not letting him kill the Saviors?

Pushing her fears aside, she cleared her throat. “Morning.”

His eyes shot open and he glanced over to her and then to the window before sitting up fairly quickly, their hands still interlocked. “Shit… how long was I out?”

“Long enough for me to debate whether or not to wake you up.”

To her shock, he chuckled with almost a full smile before looking out the window, checking the herd that had been moving through. As he was distracted, she took the time to look him over, and was blown away by the change in him overnight.

The bags under his eyes were no longer there and the color on his face returned. He was visibly more relaxed than he had been lately, the tension in his face and shoulders at a minimum at this point. But there was an underlying confidence she could feel radiating from him, as if he wasn’t being weighed down anymore. She didn’t sense any hesitancy or pain or anger, in fact, she sensed what almost felt like hope. The last time she had sensed that kind of strength from him was right after Terminus when they were all reunited. That was the most confident she’s ever seen him, and for the first time, it seemed like he was on the road to gaining that back. 

The relief in seeing him begin to gain his true self again was so strong she almost began to cry, but she didn’t want to start this morning off with him worrying about her. So she fought back the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks and looked out the window. 

“Herd’s nearly gone now, might be able to leave the next few hours,” she said.

He nodded. “Gotta find a car. Don’t wanna risk gettin’ in the same situation once we leave.” He grabbed his stomach when it made an obnoxious noise, and he huffed. “Guess I’m hungry.”

“I’ll get us some food,” she said. 

As she stood up, she tried to hide the smile when she noticed his hand was hesitant to let go of hers as she moved away. She grabbed her pack and was able to find two protein bars, thanking herself for being ready for the ‘just in case’ scenarios. She sat back down to where she was originally and handed him the protein bar, getting a gruff ‘thanks’ out of him before they began to eat their breakfast. 

While they ate in comfortable silence, Carol continued to quietly watch his new calm demeanor. She still couldn’t get over how much he had changed from last night, and although she was extremely grateful he was better, she felt a slight pinch of envy. It had been so long since she had been able to live without a weight on her shoulders, and the idea of sitting in a quiet room and being free of traumatic memories sounded incredibly far fetched to her. But seeing Daryl in a state that might as well have been bliss in her eyes caused an unwelcome feeling of self-pity.

She winced unintentionally, reacting to her thoughts. She hated it when she acted so selfish. She should be grateful for how he’s improved, why should she be so self centered-

“Hey,” his whispered, his voice jolting her out of her thoughts. 

She turned to see him sitting right next to her, their shoulders touching as he looked at her with concern from her changed demeanor. She looked down and noticed that her initial relaxed posture had changed into hugging her bent legs to her chest, almost as if she wanted to become smaller. 

“Ya alright?”

“Yeah,” she said, rolling her eyes to herself at how quickly she replied. When she saw the doubt in his eyes she sighed. “I will be.” 

After a moment of hesitation he nodded, and she smiled softly at him, thanking him for letting it go. They sat in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. “M’ sorry.”

She turned to him with her brow furrowed. “For what?”

He huffed, almost in disbelief as he looked at her with concern and a mix of shame. “I shouldn’ta yelled at ya like I did.”

Fearing he might’ve thought her reserved behavior was because of him, she quickly shook her head. “No. Daryl-”

“Nah,” he interrupted, waving her off, his eyes pleading her. Realizing he needed to say what was on his mind, she kept quiet and nodded. “What I said, I didn’t mean any of it. I… I was jus’ angry at… fuck… everythin’. Everythin’ that’s happened to us, everythin’ that happened to me.” He met her eyes and it broke her heart to see such guilt in his ocean blues. “But ya didn’t deserve to be yelled at… M’ sorry I treated ya like shit.”

She gave him a soft smile. “How did you sleep?” 

His brow furrowed at that sudden change in subject. “What?”

She nodded her head. “How did you sleep?”

He sighed and shrugged. “Helluva lot better than I have in a while.”

“And how do you feel now?”

He studied her face. “Feel 100 pounds lighter… like I can actually move without bein’ weighed down.”

She smiled and placed her hand on his knee. “Then there’s nothing to be sorry for. You were able to let go of it all and… knowing I helped makes it worth it.”

He smiled briefly but ducked his head down. “Ya didn’t deserve me yellin’ at ya though.”

She nodded her head. “I’ll admit, it wasn’t the most ideal way to feel better, but it worked.” She squeezed his knee. “But I accept your apology.”

He sighed and slowly looked up at her. “So… we good?”

She smiled. “Yeah, we’re good.”

He smirked then and he let out the breath he was holding, releasing the tension from his shoulders. But then she noticed his fidgeting hand resting right next to hers on his knee, slowly making it’s way towards her fingers. She bit her lip to keep from smiling as she watched him debate with himself as to whether or not to make a move. Giving him an out, she turned her hand so that her palm was up and waited, and after a moment, he placed his hand over hers and interlaced their fingers. Her heart skipped a beat as he traced his thumb over her knuckles, and she straightened out her knees before leaning against his shoulder. 

“This okay?” she whispered.

He nodded and leaned his cheek against her head. “Yeah.”

She smiled and nuzzled him slightly as he continued to rub her knuckles with his thumb. She closed her eyes and willed herself to be in the present, trying her best to enjoy this rare, quiet moment with him. She could definitely get used to this new found confidence in himself, and she nearly lost her breath at the thought of him trying more intimate touches in the future. 

But her smile suddenly faded as she felt the guilt and the pain from her past coming back in full force. She didn’t realize that allowing herself to feel the good of the moment meant it would bring up the bad as well, and her heart was beating out of her chest at the sudden wave of emotions. 

Daryl seemed to notice the tension coming off her, and he leaned his head up and looked down to her. “You okay?”

She nodded but she was getting more and more stressed by the minute, and she knew she had to occupy herself somehow soon before everything blew. So quickly got up off the floor, shaking her hand out of his grasp. “Yeah… yeah I’m okay.”

He immediately got up and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “Hey-”

“No it’s fine,” she said, struggling not to hyperventilate as shrugged off his hand. “I-I’ll be alright. Just… give me a minute.”

She didn’t even wait for his reaction, hightailing it out of there as she desperately sought after breathing room. She prayed that he wouldn’t follow her, for she knew everything would break open if he were near her at this point. But the farther she moved away from him, the harder it was to breathe, and she looked around desperately to find another room before finding another stairwell. She practically ran up the stairs and outside onto the roof of building, hoping she could find relief from the open air. But the unconfined space wasn’t giving her any reprieve from the weight on her chest, and she clutched at her shirt as she tried to push her grief back down. 

Part of her wanted to tell Daryl, release everything that has been bottled up for way too long. He was the only person she would even consider telling. But she was terrified of what he would do. She never thought in a million years that someone whom she trusted with her life would ever betray her the way Rick did. It was hard enough to learn to live with what Rick did to her, but for Daryl to reject her, well, he might as well shoot a bullet into her heart. She just couldn’t take that chance. Their relationship, whatever was left of it, she cherished with her whole being, and she didn’t want to destroy it. Therefore, she couldn’t tell him, for how could he comprehend the fact that she had basically assassinated a child? 

She knew everyone has had to do things they were not proud of these days, things that have haunted them as well. Daryl himself had reassured her that no matter what happened, that she wasn’t ashes, that “we ain’t ashes”, and we get to start over. But so far the only person she had met who has killed a child was Negan, when he bashed that teenager’s head in to make sure the Hilltop understood what he wanted. 

So what made her different than a man like Negan?

She shook her head at the idea of telling him, for she just couldn’t bear the thought of reliving everything. She didn’t know if she had enough strength to survive it, or even just to say it out loud. The demons living inside her scared her more than the walkers ever did, and she didn’t know what would become of her if she allowed herself to feel it.

Because what if what Rick said was true that day? What if he saw what she truly was and actually made the right call by banishing her? Was she cold, had she truly become a monster?

Her body began to shake uncontrollably as she fought with her emotions, and she collapsed on her hands and knees when a strong sob escaped from deep within her. Images forced their way into her head, and she hugged herself tightly as she watched her memories fly by. She saw her baby girl run into the woods, she saw her walking out of the barn, she saw Lizzie standing over Mika with a bloody knife, she saw her worst fears of Lizzie killing Judith, or the way in which Sam died. Every image gave way to a new wave of unimaginable pain, and she clutched her arms so tightly that her knuckles were turning white as she sobbed into the grief.

‘Oh god, not now,’ she thought, pleading with herself. ‘Please, not now.’

She was so consumed by the pain that she didn’t even register the strong arms wrapping around her body. She watched herself being carried to a certain section of the roof until she was lowered to the ground as Daryl sat down, cradling her in his arms. Her initial reaction to flee from him was strong, and she pushed against his chest as she tried to get away. Daryl loosened his hold but never let go, and calmly spoke to her to try and calm her down.

“Shhh, yer okay,” he whispered, keeping her from escaping his arms. “I’ll keep ya safe.”

It took a moment for Carol to finally give in, and once she felt the safety of his arms wrapping around her, she clung to him immediately, seeking out his comfort.

“Tell me,” he whispered into her hair. She shook her head violently, her stubbornness just as strong as ever. "Please.”

“I…c-can’t,” she choked out.

“Why?” When she shook her head again and buried her face into his neck, he gently pulled her back to keep her from hiding. “What’re ya afraid of?”

Her body was shaking at this point, but after a moment to collect herself just enough, she spoke. “I… I-I don’t… I’ll lose you.”

He stroked her head and pulled her closer into his chest. “I ain’t goin’ nowhere.”

She shook her head again. “You.. you don’t know.”

He shook his head this time and traced her jaw with his thumb before tilting her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Don’t care what the fuck ya did, don’t matter ta me. There ain’t no way in hell I’m leavin’ ya.” He cupped her face and wiped the tears off her cheek. “Trust me… I won’t leave no matter what ya say.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “But ya gotta tell me… or it’ll kill ya.”

Her composure broke completely, and she buried herself against his neck as she clung to his chest and arms for dear life. He rocked her gently as she sobbed through her pain, and he caressed her head gently while he waited patiently for her to speak again. Here he was, doing what she didn’t want him to do, yet exactly what she needed to do, making her open up and feel through the pain just as she had done to him the previous night. She realized then and there that he was right, this would kill her if she didn’t release it. She needed to rid herself of the pain once and for all, so at the very least, she will be able to help her family win the war. 

She just had to have faith that he wouldn’t see her the way in which she saw herself.

After a few moments she was able to compose herself enough to speak. “I-I kill-” She coughed against the knot in her throat before swallowing. “I killed them… I killed Karen and David and tried to burn their bodies to keep everything from spreading…” She ducked down as if to hide from him. “But… I didn’t plan on killing them… they were begging for death… They asked me to kill them when I checked on them. I… I had to… they were choking on their own blood Daryl… I had to help them.”

He nodded and leaned his chin on top of her head, rubbing her shoulder with his hand.

She took a deep breath. “I… I thought I was strong to be able to do that… but Rick didn’t see it that way…” She shrunk into her body, trying to become smaller than she was, getting ready for the first hurdle. “He didn’t even give me time to explain. He… he thought no one would want me there when they found out… I… maybe he was right-” 

“Bullshit!” Daryl suddenly hissed, startling her. When she began to push away he apologized immediately, and after she hesitated for a minute, he was able to pull her back to his body. “Rick shouldn’ta done that. He had no fuckin’ right to suddenly play leader again after all that time ‘n play God.” 

She sniffed. “But you said you would find the person who did it and kill them.”

He winced at the sudden memory, somewhat ashamed of what he made her believe. “I said that to calm Tyreese down. I didn’t want ‘em to attack Rick again for not doin’ nothin’ to help… When Rick told me what he did ‘n why he left ya, I nearly lost it. I wanted ta beat the shit out of Ri…” He sighed, cutting himself off before he got more angry. “I knew ya wasn’t cold, I knew ya had to have done it for a good reason. Ain’t doubted ya for a damn second.”

She let out a breath of relief as she felt a tiny piece of her heart mending from his words. Despite the intensity of the guilt she bare, his pardon gave her a sliver of hope that it will be okay, that he will forgive her for what she had done to Lizzie… No. How could anyone forgive her for killing a child? He’ll look at her in disgust and yell at her for being so cold before leaving her here-

“Stop,” he admonished, bringing her back to the present. “Don’t beat yerself up.”

She winced and let out a sob as another wave of emotions passed through her. “You don’t know what I’ve done.”

“I don’t care,” he said, pulling her close. 

She sniffed. “You will.”

“Then let me prove myself to ya,” he asked, raking his hand on her hair. “Trust me.”

She closed her eyes and let a few whimpers escape as she came to terms with what she was about to do. She knew she had to confess, for it had been eating away inside of her, and if she didn’t let it all out, then it would consume her. 

So she took a shaky breath and began to speak of what happened on the road after the prison. “The day after I was on my own… I went back to the prison because… I saw the smoke from where I was. That’s when I found out it was abandoned.” She tightened her grip on his shirt, and he instinctively pulled her closer, reminding her that they found each other. “I… I went to see if I could find anyone. That’s when I found Tyreese and the girls… we walked on the train tracks until we came across a small house at a grove. It had a lot of nut trees and a creek nearby, and it had a barbed wire fence around it so the walkers had a lot of trouble getting in. It was… it was perfect.” 

She tried to close herself in from the memories but Daryl pulled her head back so she wouldn’t be able to hide from him, and he caressed her hair to give her comfort. “Go on.”

She took a deep breath. “The girls thought it would be a good place to settle, and it really was. It was isolated, there was game in the area, it was a good home for a few days.” She shuttered. “I… I knew… even before the prison fell, that Lizzie had problems… she didn’t understand walkers, didn’t think they were a threat. She thought…” She let out a sigh. “She thought they were her friends.” She raised her head up just slightly. “Do you remember at the prison there were half eaten rats out at the gates? Almost as if they were being fed?”

He nodded, getting an idea of what she was about to say. “Yeah.”

“That was Lizzie, she even named the walkers like they were pets. She uhh, I caught her playing with one outside and after I put it down she screamed at me for killing her friend… she could kill people with no problem but not walkers, could never kill walkers.” 

Carol grasped at Daryl’s hand and quickly interlocked their fingers, needing his comfort as her body began to shake in anticipation. “I’m here.”

She let out a shaky breath. “We were only gone for 20 minutes… just 20 minutes, and when we got back we…” She cupped her other hand over her mouth to stifle the strong sob. “W-We found L-Lizzie with.. with a bloody knife in her hand, smiling at us. Mika was laying on the ground, her little body coated with blood…” She whimpered as her heart began to break again. “Lizzie just smiled at us and said, “it’s okay, I didn’t hurt her brain. She’ll come back, you’ll see”… she was planning on doing the same to Judith…”

“Jesus,” Daryl muttered, squeezing her tense hand.

“I uhh… convinced her to go inside with Tyreese, and I shoved the knife in Mika’s small head before she could turn…” She began to shake her head. “I can’t-”

“You can.”

“I-I can’t do it-”

“Yes you can, you have to,” Daryl whispered softly yet sternly. 

Carol’s whole frame was shaking hard enough for someone to think she had hypothermia, and she took a few deep breaths before she continued. “Tyreese and I thought that she was too dangerous to have around, that all it would take is one slip up, or one of us to fall asleep before she’d kill us or Judith so…” She gripped Daryl’s hand impossibly tight. “I-I took her out… to the field… she saw me crying and she thought she was in trouble because she didn’t listen to me about something stupid… s-she didn’t get it…” Tears were streaming down her face. “So I told her to look at the flowers… that’s what her father had taught her whenever she was upset, to look at the flowers… s-so she looked away and…”

Daryl tensed and pulled her closer to his chest, awaiting what he knew was coming.

“I… I shot her,” Carol whispered so softly he almost didn’t hear it. “I shot her.. I shot a child Daryl… I killed my little girl…”

Daryl’s brow furrowed and he looked down towards her. “What?”

“I killed her Daryl… it was my fault Sophia’s dead,” she cried out. 

Daryl shook his head. “No-”

“I should’ve kept an eye on her,” she choked out. “I shouldn’t have left her… why didn’t I protect her?”

Daryl winced at her confession, for nothing sent daggers into his heart like his own hateful words thrown against him. “It wasn’t yer fault.”

She nodded her head. “I should’ve been the one that died… I deserve it.”

“Stop,” he choked out. “Ya don’t deserve that.”

“She’s dead,” Carol whimpered before burying her face into his neck. “My baby’s dead.”

Daryl’s breathing was labored as his own tears ran down his face. He held her as powerful sobs forced their way out, her entire body shaking as she suffered through her grief. There was nothing he could say at this moment to make her feel better, he just needed to allow her to feel it, just like she did for him the night before. It killed him to realize the intensity of the weight she was carrying this entire time, but he was grateful that she was working through it now, for holding it in any longer would’ve killed her. 

So he gently rocked her back and forth, whispering words of comfort as he kept her safe while she walked through her own version of hell.

[darthsuki]

A Fairy’s Fairy Tale [1/?]

Summary: Daniel van Heler is the son of a simple family in his village, healers with powerful yet humble magic. Despite knowing plenty well of the difference in their social standings, the young fairy has eyes for Hanzo Shimada, a member of the powerful and pristine Shimada family--the very same who protect the village as the royal guards. 

They aren't the closest of friends and certainly aren't enemies by far, but Daniel's world shifts dramatically when Hanzo picks him as his mate.The prospect is more than the young fairy could wish for, but an adventure of soft love and new experiences await him and Hanzo both in a story fit for fantasy--after all, what do you call a fairy's Fairy Tale dream?

Read on AO3

Note: I have absolutely no idea where I'm taking this story since I'm writing it purely for stress-relief, but I can assure there will be soft love and smut to come. I really just love Hanzo and the Strange Magic movie okay don’t judge me.

For as long as most forest fairies can remember, there's always been a story for parents to tell their children. Among their growing bodies, budding magic and developing wings, it's typically a story about how they'll grow up and find happiness, be it in a lover or in some category of talent. It typically depends on the family of fairy, as each bloodline carries its own power and prestige across the forest that they dwell--a few even are of royal blood.

The Shimadas are one such high family, one of the oldest in the entire forest. If one had enough time in their life, a clan historian could spend hours, days, perhaps even weeks recounting the endless bloodline that fills each new Shimada generation.

They are the guardians of the forest. The fact is as much literal as it is metaphorical. As they always held a vast hold and influence upon the militia force that so often protected the forest fairies. Whether through wealth, influence or raw numbers making up much of the security force itself, the clan was known primarily for its skills in battle. Sons and daughters were looked upon at birth as masters of combat and future protectors for their neighbors.

But to one lonesome, young fairy, none of that mattered. None of the history, the heritage, the consideration of social correctness even mattered when there was but one Shimada heir who had captured his attention since they had met.

Hanzo Shimada.

The name alone made the young fairy flush, bringing with it the visage of a powerful fae with broad shoulders and even broader wings, which were colored so uniquely that it was nearly impossible to mistake him for any other family line. He and his brother, Genji, were uniquely colored in ways that left them, like a handful of other fairy men and women, as both the heartthrobs of young fae and pride of their ancestors.

Daniel van Heler knew that he simply couldn't compare. He came from a kind and important family of healers, but his prestige was nowhere near what would be enough for the Shimada brothers to do much as look his way. Though they were never outright cold nor snobby to the young Van Heler, it wasn't hard to figure that they were already partnered off to mates by the time they neared adulthood, as was custom for the forest fairies.

The oldest, most powerful families were picky about the heirs, and marriages often orchestrated by the entire living family, if only to assure the most powerful next generation. Lesser families often wed for love and attraction, but their magic tended to be weaker than families that were carefully put together as an intricate masterpiece.

Or at least, that's how Daniel often felt about himself, comparing his powers, his family and even his wings to such pure fairies.

-----

“You're not holding the bow right,” the voice rumbled gently, only minutely preceding the touch of a hand over Daniel’s own. The fairy felt his heart race for a moment, his breath catch when the touch became a press, a warm palm gently pushing his hand up just a touch higher on the bow. “You must envision it as an extension of your arm. The moment you see it as a mere tool is when you’ll fail the shot.”

The hand soon vanishes in its warmth, satisfied where Daniel held the weapon. His arms were beginning to tire, having held the string taught for at least a couple minutes while being instructed on his form. They were beginning to shake with the exertion.

The burn in his muscles were just a hair above what he could handle; Daniel let out a noise of surprise and fear when they suddenly gave out, one hand releasing the string without meaning to--in a flurry of clumsy fumbling, the bow wound up hitting his face before, of course, falling to the ground several dozen feet below him.

The soft pain of his forehead didn’t compare to the feeling of his tutor’s gaze.

The younger fairy lifted his eyes to meet it, just enough to catch the other finally peer away in what he assumed was disappointment.

“...At least you didn’t have an arrow notched,” he whispered gently, more than loud enough for Daniel to hear. “Perhaps it means for us to finish the lesson.”

Hanzo’s patience was seemingly endless. It was still a wonder that he was willing to give Daniel lessons in archery, a gesture that plenty of teachers had offered otherwise. The weeks they had already spent together were somewhat productive, but Daniel greatly enjoyed simply being able to spend time with his (hopefully) oblivious crush. He needed to catch up with his peers in the craft regardless, but he would take Hanzo’s lessons over another any day.

As long as Hanzo didn’t eventually think him useless in the art--there was a distinct reason why Daniel needed help with archery in the first place.

“I’m really sorry--” the young fae began, tone somewhere between bashfulness and relief. Hanzo cut him off without a beat of hesitation, cocking his head to one side just enough to let his long, dark hair cascade behind one shoulder.

“Apologies in accidents mean nothing, you’ll be able to pick this up eventually.”

The words sting a little, but they offer some relief at the same time. At least the older fairy had some hope left in Daniel. Though he excelled in nearly every other study in the academy, archery was his weakest point--and the one that Hanzo excelled stupendously in. It was of no surprise, considering he was a Shimada.

The air felt awkward after a few seconds, the two of them lingering in the air on gently beating wings. It was the only sound that pittered between them, but it only felt worse when Daniel realized that he should--of course--go and get the weapon he had dropped.

It took little more than a few moments to retrieve the bow, finding it no worse for wear outside of the invisible aura of annoyance that Daniel all but tried to mentally force upon the sufferable thing. When he rose into the air once more, ready to find his way home, the fairy was more than slightly surprised to find his tutor still there, hovering in the same spot. Their gazes met. Blue eyes to brown. Awkwardness quickly ensued once more, Daniel knowing not what to say. Luckily enough, Hanzo beat him to it, filling the air with words.

“...What do you plan on doing?”

“What?” Daniel asked, a bit taken back by the odd, open-ended question. “Er...I...plan on going home? Assisting my mother with her herbs?”

Hanzo waves a quick hand at the other’s answer. “No, I mean after the ceremony,” he says. “After...we finish the academy. What are you doing with your life?”

Though it hadn’t been the first time he had been asked it entirely, it certainly was the first time that Hanzo, or anyone outside of his teachers, had wondered about it. Like any proper student beyond their childhood years his answer was practiced and assured in his family line, but when it was a powerful, handsome, strong-eyed fairy asking him the question….Daniel could barely come up with the answer.

“M-My family,” he barely managed to putter out, his fingers playing against the wood of the bow in his hands. “I’m...I’m taking on my parent’s practice. My magic manifests the most in healing, so….I mean…”

“Have they promised you a mate yet?”

If it was anyone else asking the question, literally anyone else, Daniel would have taken it both an insult and tease. Of course lowly fae families didn’t find mates for their young--they had neither the time or wealth to attempt the magic or physical action needed to find the perfect one. But Hanzo’s face, the expression of simple, albeit confused curiosity, seemed genuine.

Why would he want to know?

Daniel couldn’t hold back the half-snarky, half-sarcastic question that came out of his mouth in a response.

“What about you?” In hindsight, he hoped it didn’t sound too insulting. He may not have been close to Hanzo, but Daniel didn’t wish to make an enemy of him either. “Have your family already found you a powerful mate?”

There was silence. It felt oddly heavy. For all of the things that Daniel found powerful in Hanzo’s visage, from his toned form, trimmed beard, heavy eyes and thensome, he looked….surprisingly vulnerable in that moment. A little more on Daniel’s level, perhaps.

“....They have,” he finally whispered, an answer that made the younger fairy’s heart sink, just a little bit. He cursed himself for asking the question in the first place, both because of the answer and because he was afraid he had somehow crossed a personal line with Hanzo. Was that too personal to ask? If so, why did Hanzo ask the same of Daniel? Did he expect an answer?

Daniel pursed his lips together, glancing from Hanzo to the scenery around them. The woods feels peaceful, as they trained just far enough from the village to be undisturbed in their lessons. It’s just enough to soothe the nerves that start to fizzle worriedly, but certainly not enough to calm the racing thoughts in Daniel’s mind.

He continues to wring his hands around the bow.

“That’s uh--...That’s good then. Are you...going to...bond with them soon?” The pauses are almost painful, the words not forced, but hard to find. Daniel continues to glance everywhere but Hanzo’s eyes, though he can feel the dark, hazel orbs on him.

He can also see when Hanzo moves closer. He is a little more than an arm’s length away, just outside of his personal bubble of space, but more than close enough to make heat begin to rise to the young fae’s face and ears.

“I...hope I do,” he whispers. It sounds as vulnerable as he looks, face having fallen from his typical look of stern, almost stoic angst for the forest and everything within it. It’s a look that Daniel is so used to, he’s almost worried that it’s gone from the other’s face.

Wait.

“You...hope?” Daniel could have sworn he had heard wrong. “Have they...not accepted the bond yet?” The idea, at least for a fairy family as powerful as the Shimadas, seemed quite odd. There were few other families more powerful than them, few who would be in their right mind to stave off an answer.

Hanzo coughs, a clearing of his throat more than anything, and starts to pull his hair back and casually pull it into his typical ponytail. It at least pulls his gaze away, make him focus on something that wasn’t Daniel’s face.

Why does it feel so intimate to watch? So close to speak in barely-hushed tones?

“They don’t know of the bond yet,” he says, too forced to sound aloof, too casual to sound serious. The way his arms stretch behind him lets Daniel see the intricate, beautiful detail of the tattoo that courses down one side of him. It stands vibrant against his skin, and was the subject of his curious attentions since before the two of them were old enough to enter the academy--when Hanzo first obtained it. “...They will soon. I only hope they...accept it. It is rather...unconventional, I will admit. I have reason to think they will agree to it in the end.”

“Well,” Daniel says, finally feeling the air in his lungs enough to speak more coherently. “I’m sure that they will accept--they would be silly not to, your family can offer so much.” Though his face and ears still felt hot with an odd mixture of nervousness and awkwardness, his mouth seemed to work well enough. He was almost getting anxious to return home, to tend to his rampant thoughts in private for why Hanzo was giving him so much attention outside of training or mutual classes.

Hanzo’s arms fell when his hair was too his liking, perhaps maybe just a few seconds longer than was needed only to pull it back and manage it into a tie. But then his gaze fell onto Daniel, a gaze far more intimate than he figured it had any right to be.

He cleared his throat again.

“My father should be speaking to yours about it soon.”

Daniel nearly laughed at the notion, words moving through his ears a touch too quickly for him to pick up the otherwise flooring message within them.

“Your father?” The fairy asked, one brow upturned at the notion. “What in the world would your father need to talk to mine about?”

A second passed. And then another.

And then the meaning finally fell through Daniel’s thoughts, soaking them through with the intense, radical realization.

Oh.

Before Hanzo would speak a word more, before he could even open his mouth, Daniel was gone in a flurry of almost-panicked wing beats and fumbling limbs attempting to keep the bow to his body. It was instinct, really, but Daniel had never flown home so fast in his life, his heart hammering against his chest as he leaned against the closed, wooden door, playing back the words over and over again in his mind.

Hanzo wanted him as his mate.

It was a lot to take in, and even when Daniel was home and able to sit down the realization was little more than a bunch of memories of Hanzo’s voice, all trying to fit themselves together like a puzzle. It was….more than he could figure, a sudden expression of mutual fondness that he had only thought about in rather self-conscious daydreams or spare moments when their eyes happen to meet.

Of course Daniel would say yes. He would--er--unless it was a dream and he would wake up the moment the word left his mouth. Regardless, it was one hell of a way to let someone know. Couldn’t Hanzo have just told him sooner? Like a normal fairy?

And Daniel thought that Genji Shimada had been the one for theatrical confessions.

[whatdoyouexpectthistime]

‘Choosing Sides’ Part Twelve - Beyond That Line

There was an eerie sense of déjà vu that accompanied Miho from home, back to the north entrance of the academy. As she walked, she touched lightly against the wound on her shoulder, a slowly healing reminder of her first real involvement in police work beyond pen and paper – but it wasn’t this that really troubled her.

“Kaga is your boss now,” she said under her breath, and though in her head it had been meant as a resolute utterance, it sounded sour to her ears. “Just… ugh… stop being such a fucking pansy, Miho,” she growled at herself. “You get shit, because you take shit – Christ. He crosses the line again just report him.”

An incredulous chuckle sounded loudly, and Miho stopped at the gates.

It had been her own laugh, because she recalled the ardent speech she’d given Kaga about why it was pointless to report the students who had accosted her in the bathroom.

“Rock and a hard place,” she sneered, mostly at herself. “God I hate being an idealist.”

She then straightened when a car approached, rolled slowly to a stop beside her, and wound down the passenger side window.

“Hmph,” Kaga grunted, appraising her openly. “I see you still don’t know the difference between ‘cute’ and ‘sexy’.”

Did he just..?

“Get in,” he instructed, leaning so far over he was able to push the door open from the inside.

With knitted brows, torn between whether to be mad at being ordered around so curtly, or a little flustered by the backhand compliment, she complied.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” she asked thinly once folded into her seat with belt secured.

“Nope,” he quipped, driving away. “Just be thankful there isn’t a blindfold in play.”

Desperately, Miho bit her tongue until she could open her mouth without snapping.

“So, now with me joining Public Safety is all but a formality, what should I call you?” she asked instead, not that she expected to like his answer.

“Personally I think ‘Instructor’ is a little demeaning, not that it seems to have bothered you so far,” he replied, eyes not leaving the road. “So I’m thinking Captain when we’re on the clock, and Hyogo when we’re not.”

“I’m not calling you Hyogo,” she snorted, distracting herself by absently flicking the zipper on her handbag.

“Didn’t seem to have much issue with it last time,” he noted airily.

“Last time was work,” she pointed out. “You have to earn that kind of private familiarity – why am I even explaining this to you? It’s either Kaga, or asshole, take your pick.”

“Hmm, well at least you’re fired up,” he mused, impervious it seemed, to her barbs. “You’re going to need it tonight.”

“Which is fine – you twisted so… - would be a whole lot more fired up if I knew what I was about to walk into,” she muttered.

“Just follow my lead like last time, and everything will be fine.”

Silence then swallowed them, and Miho didn’t feel the desire to attempt more conversation. No matter how she tried, it always ended up in irritation with him. She gazed out the window, trying to figure out the context of their next mission, but soon enough, Kaga pulled into a car park and shut off the engine outside a traditional Japanese restaurant.

“More drug dealers?” she questioned, but still got no response.

“Just call me Hyogo,” he smirked, before wrapping an arm around her waist and nudging her toward the entrance.

Snapping into character, Miho tried to relax the tension in her body, even though she wanted to give that arrogant bastard a solid shove in the ribs.

Inside the restaurant was bustling and warm, unlike the cool and dark atmosphere of the bar they had visited previously. This time, Kaga didn’t ask her where they should sit, and with her still in his grasp, guided her through the tables to the door of a private function room.

“Relax,” he told her quietly as they paused just outside. “People are going to read that tension all over you.”

“Sorry,” she muttered, exhaling slowly and trying again to release the clench of her muscles.

“Here we go,” he prefaced, opened the door, and strode in with her, grinning like the cat who got the cream.

Miho’s breath caught when all eyes within the room turned to look at she and Kaga.

“Congratulations!” came a chorus of familiar voices in unison, and Miho blinked at the congregation of academy instructors, various persons she knew from the MPD – men and women- and even a couple of her bodyguard friends.

“Surprise,” Kaga dropped when the noise died down, and though she couldn’t see him at her back, she could feel him smirking.

Still, she felt humbled as much as shocked, so much so she had completely forgotten his hand still sitting against her hip.

“You did this?” she half stated, half questioned.

“Bet you feel like a bitch now, hmm?” he murmured just a little over her shoulder, and Miho turned her head slightly in that direction, her reply just as quiet.

“You’ve been a douche-bag – you deserved it,” she told him plainly, then softened her tone and let out a dramatic sigh. “But for this? Thanks.”

“You’d better not fuck up that exam then,” he warned, finally sliding his hand away and stepping around her. “Or you’re paying me back every cent this cost.”

“Your own fault for the premature celebration,” she volleyed, and he looked back at her sharply.

She, however, just smiled innocently.

“Fujiwaaaara!” came a singsong call from the other side of the room, and Miho spotted Kurosawa Toru waving at her like a maniac.

“Ugh,” Kaga spat, taking Miho’s hand and jerking her toward where Ayumu and Kyobashi were engaged in deep discussion about something technical. “I specifically didn’t invite that village idiot.”

“Oof!” she grunted as she was pushed onto a seat, and Kaga sat down opposite. “You don’t think it would be polite for me to thank everyone for coming?”

“I’m paying, so I make the rules,” he declared pompously, signalling for a waitress. “If they want to say hello, they can come to you. Beer here please, and for her too.”

“Don’t keep her all to yourself, Hyogo!” Kurosawa complained, unceremoniously bumping Miho along the cushioned floor until she was squished up against Kyobashi. “She’s supposed to be the centre of attention!”

“Your drunk ass is usually the centre of attention,” Kaga maligned, but looked from him to where Kyobashi had offered Miho has hand, which she took and shook.

“Congratulations,” he grinned at her, hanging onto her much longer than necessary. “Not that I’m all that surprised mind you – all those friends in high places.”

“I like to think this is the result of my own hard work,” she sniffed with mock indignation, reclaiming her hand and nodding to the waitress in thanks when she brought her beer.

“All that hard work, making those friends in high places?” Shinonome offered, typical in his provocatively sharp comment.

“I guess it’s a shame for you then, Shinonome,” she snickered over the rim of her beer glass, “that you’re not in a higher position of influence.”

Both Kyobashi and Kurosawa thought this was hilarious, but neither Shinonome or Kaga looked all that impressed.

“Wow, Toru,” Miho mused, leaning a little against his shoulder. “Look at the salt on these two.”

“You’re right,” Kaga then announced brusquely, getting to his feet, dragging Kurosawa away and pulling Miho to her feet. “You should probably greet everyone.”

“Hey!” she protested, barely able to keep her beer from spilling.

“That twit gets Toru, but I get Kaga?” Kaga hissed as he steered her toward Chief Namba.

“Probably because your name’s not Toru,” she poked cheekily, spurred perhaps by the joviality of the setting to allow certain trespasses go.

The night was a surprisingly enjoyable departure from all the thinking Miho had done of late, perhaps a little too enjoyable. As the evening drew closer to morning, only a few remained drinking, and suddenly Miho was completely lost to the giggles.

“… such a puppy,” she grinned, leaning down to peer at where Kirisawa was passed out and snoring, before she inched aside his collar so the others could see the hickies Jazz had given him. “So adorable.”

“Yanno Fujiwara,” Kurosawa, somehow still awake declared, though he slurred his words and wobbled even when seated, “I think you and Lieutenant Kurosawa would make such a cute couple.”

“Kurosawa is you!” she cackled. “You mean him?”

With the flop of her body, definitely beyond competent control, she laid her head down beside Kirisawa’s.

“Hmm?”

“You’ll invite me to the wedding won’t you?” Kurosawa sobbed suddenly, wiping his eyes.

“Of course I’ll invi-whoa!”

The empty glass Miho had been clutching in her left hand rolled harmlessly against the table as Kaga pulled her to her feet yet again.

“You’ve had way too much fun for one night,” he told her firmly.

“Quick, wake up Hiroshi!” Kurosawa spluttered, batting at Kirisawa’s shoulders in a vain attempt to wake him up. “The demon prince, Kaga, is making off with your queen!”

In truth, Miho was far too busy laughing at Kurosawa’s little pantomime, that she didn’t put up much of a fight, and Kaga was able to navigate her outside with relatively little trouble.

“Where’s the afterpaarty?” Miho beamed, hanging off Kaga like an ill-fitting coat.

“You’re going home,” he told her firmly. “Such an embarrassment.”

“My place then, hmm?” she winked impishly, but then frowned, poking him in the cheek. “Oh come on, don’t make that faace. It was such a great party, you, you…”

Her sentence devolved into another fit of giggles as Kaga tried get her to his car.

“… no really, you, you threw me a great party, and I am ever, so grateful.”

When he’d finished opening the passenger side door, and folded the seat belt out of the way, he straightened to find her staring at him with obscene focus.

Muttering obscenities under her breath, he put one hand on her head, and bent her into her seat.

“Buckle up.”

It didn’t take long for Miho to fall silent, and by all appearances she was sound sleep when they reached her apartment. But when Kaga opened her door, he found she was wide awake.

“Where are we now?” she asked, innocence in her tone well beyond her age.

“For fuck’s sake,” he hissed to himself. “Home, you’re home. Come on, it’s well past your bedtime.”

This time was more of a struggle to get her to walk – she seemed much more interested in the zipper of his jacket, then the chirping of an insect in the garden, then the clouds, than she was about getting safely inside.

“Second time lucky?” she grinned audaciously, leaning heavily against the wall while Kaga ferreted around in her purse for her house keys.

“For fuck’s sake,” he muttered again, keys jingling in an agitated fashion for a few seconds before he pushed her door inward. “You need to just go inside and straight to bed,” he instructed decisively, perhaps as much for his own benefit as hers. “And don’t complain about your head to me tomorrow.”

“Oh,” she dropped, her eyes sliding to her own shoes as she unsteadily shuffled beneath the unobstructed doorframe. “I get it…”

“No, no, you really don’t,” he growled to himself, shaking his head before pointing. “Fujiwara, just go inside.”

“Fine!” she ejected loudly, then spun on her heel.

It took two seconds for her to disappear into the darkness of her apartment.

Three for there to be a crash, and then her complaining.

“Oh for fuck’s...” Kaga snarled, hitting the light inside the door to reveal Miho on the tiles, tangled with an umbrella stand. “Really, I should have given you to Ishigami.”

“You don’t mean that,” she sniffed sulkily, gripping his upper arms when he stooped to pick her up. “Right?”

When her feet touched the floor she continued to cling to him, and Kaga found himself uncharacteristically immobilised.

“Stay,” she beseeched on little more than a hazy breath.

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” Kaga huffed, but he was grinding his teeth.

“I do,” she disagreed, lifting one hand and brushing aside his slightly dishevelled fringe. “Shall I say it in English too?”

Kaga clicked his tongue, taking the wrist of her offending hand and bending it gently away.

“Come on,” he prompted, inching her toward her bedroom. “Before I lose my cool.”

Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY?

“I want you, to take off your pants,” she told him in English, sighing against his arm, and Kaga rolled his eyes before shoving her back onto the bed.

“Yeah well, we’re both gonna be unsatisfied,” he complained, more to himself than to her, and he crouched to take off her shoes.

“We don’t have to be,” she taunted.

Kaga looked up.

“Mmm, this may be the only chance you get, Captain… Kaga… Hyogo,” she drawled, her eyes swimming with drunken heat, arms draping around his neck, her fingertips kissing like butterflies at the nape.

Kaga found himself struggling, a lump forming in his throat… a lump forming in his…

But her kiss woke him up. It was so thick with the aftertaste of alcohol, that he wrestled away his base instinct to take what Miho was offering and more, and separated their lips with gentle, but steadfast hands.

“At some point,” he told her, his forehead resting against hers as he gathered all reserves of his willpower, “I am going to make you pay for this.”

He then pushed her back again, rolled her to the side, and managed to cover her up with the bedspread.

“Really?” she asked faintly, gaze now completely unfocused, but also the kind of sad Kaga would never admit got to him.

“Yeah, really,” he grumbled, calling over his shoulder as he exited the bedroom. “Go to sleep.”

He didn’t hear her moving around, and he had paused to listen for any further signs of resistance – in no small part of his body wanted her to – but all he could hear was the sound of slow, deep breathing.

“You’re officially more pathetic than Goto,” Kaga said to himself, digging his hand into his pocket for his car keys.

But they weren’t there.

“Really?” he exclaimed in a fed-up hiss, and with an impressively long string of cuss words, much longer than the last, he began to search.

To no avail.

“I’m… I’m in hell,” he announced, staring back through Miho’s door, the door he’d left open just in case he could find his keys outside.

They were not in the entryway amid upturned umbrellas, nor the lounge, which only left…

“Deep, dark, hell,” he sighed, getting on hands and knees and crawling back into Miho’s bedroom.

If she noticed him there, she gave no sign, but her obliviousness did not help Kaga locate his missing keys, until finally, with a glance at the bedside clock, he made the decision to quit.

Straightening, he looked back down at Miho’s sleeping face.

Her make-up was slightly smeared, and her hair was coming free from its braid, but even in the dimness he had to admit she was beautiful.

“The hell are you thinking?” he exhaled again as his body leaned of its own accord, and his fingertips reached out for the strand of hair resting across her cheek.

But again he stalled, stalled at the very last second.

“Yeah, beyond that line, is creeper,” he chuckled in a self-deprecating fashion, and let her be, untouched.

Continue to Part Thirteen - This Cuddly

[galbraithneil92]

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