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corvuserpens · 1 month ago

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A Girl, An Ocean {A Black Sails Fanfic} - Ch. 4

Fandom: Black Sails Rating: Teen and up audiences Warnings: Displays of misogyny, gendered slurs Category: Action adventure with romance Characters: Billy Bones, Hal Gates, De Groot, Jean DuBois, OC, NPCs (I don't know how else to name any extra OCs I come up with for plot purposes lmao) Relationships: Billy Bones/OC, Hal Gates/OC (paternal), Jean duBois/OC (bffs) Additional tags: Original character-centric, first person POV, canon character x original character romance, self-discovery journey, kinda alternative prequel to canon, canon compliant, slow burn, mutual pining, friends to lovers, tooth-rotting sweetness, cute but also sexy, angst galore, found family, Hal Gates has two children now, canon typical violence Series: Part One of Six of A Girl, An Ocean Chapters: 4/13 Summary: Mr. Folsom continues to be a prick, so Constance teaches him a lesson about what happens when you disrespect her. Much swearing follows.

Author's note: Trying to post these weekly while doing my Master's project/thesis is HARD but right now this fic is the only thing keeping me sane. Next chapter will be a bit more exciting 😉

Chapter iv.

The following day didn't pan out much better than the previous. Mr. De Groot remained patient as he taught me, and even let me steer the helm for a few minutes so I could gain a feel for it. The wheel was much heavier than I had anticipated, difficult to turn, and the coxswain explained it was due to a combination between the influence of the currents on the rudder and the steering tiller that connected it to the helm. He called on Tanner, his apprentice, to take over so he could take me below decks to show me. Before returning to the surface we passed by the great cabin, where all the maps, logs and navigation instruments were kept when not in use.

There, we found a man around my age with large green eyes behind a pair of wiry spectacles hunched over a ledger, quill flying over the page he was working on. He paused momentarily to look up and see who it was, then put the feather in its ink well to stand up.

"Mr. Dufresne, good morning." De Groot encouraged me forward with his hand. "I don't believe you've been introduced to our newest recruit, yet?"

"I have not." The man named Dufresne walked around the desk to shake my hand. "Hello. Constance, is that right?" "Indeed," I replied with a cordial smile which he didn't bother returning. "A pleasure, welcome aboard." At least he had manners, so I considered myself satisfied. "Thank you, sir." "Oh, please, you may do away with the "sir"." He shook his hands with a blush. "I only have a year of seniority over you. Dufresne is fine." De Groot gave his shoulder a pat. "He is our purser. Any complaints you may have with your wage or if you need access to the ship's funds, he's the man you come talk to." "And if you'll forgive me, I have much work to do. So, with your permission..." "Of course, of course." De Groot let him return to his post with the ledgers. "We won't disturb you long, I just want to show Constance some of our charts." "Take your time." Dufresne adjusted his glasses and took up the quill once more. Meanwhile, De Groot reached into a mahogany drawer and pulled out old, stained charts, which he laid out with care on the second, smaller desk to the side. I hadn't noticed before, but the cabin was furnished with shelves stocked with countless books, like a compact library. Clearly, Flint was highly literate. I wondered what kind of books he enjoyed and if anyone in the crew could have access to them. Not that I would be having much time to read in the following months.

The map De Groot chose for me was a very old, stained map of the west coast of England, complete with the Isle of Man and surrounding islands, plus a piece of the eastern Irish coast. He figured I would be more familiar with that part of the world than the Bahamas. I was allowed to take it with me to study for a few days. The goal was to charter a course from England to Ireland, with Bristol as a starting point.

Afterwards, it was back to knot lessons with Mr. Folsom. His mood had not improved over night, sadly. Before teaching me the two remaining knots I had to learn, the zeppelin and bowline, he made me repeat the other three to make sure I had gotten it through my skull. The stopper and the clove hitch I managed with ease, but the butterfly continued to be a source of endless frustration. I still hadn't figured out how to make it properly. Folsom didn't bother showing me how to do it again; he forged ahead to the other two. The zeppelin, meant to tie two rope ends together, wasn't so bad. He explained that there was a similar knot, the square knot, that did the same job, but was far less secure. He showed me the two knots for comparison and insisted I learned the zeppelin and use it above the square knot.

But the bowline... God in heaven, the bowline. It was a perfectly fine knot, as far as they go. It was the knot to use when you wanted to tie off a launch, a dinghy or anything you wanted so it wouldn't drift away. He made it look so easy to tie off, but when I tried, all I did was tangle myself in the rope. After the first three attempts, Folsom waved me off, told me to practice that and the butterfly, and scurried up the shrouds once again.

I was in in the middle of my nineteenth try when Mr. Gates approached me. In his hand, he held a thin document tied off with a string.

"There you are," he said as a greeting. "Got something here for you to read and sign."

I set my practice rope aside to take a look. My brow tensed into a divot. "What is this, Mr. Gates?"

"The Articles of the Walrus," he explained. "Every ship has them, though they vary from one to the other. Think of it as an employment contract. This lists the set of duties you are obligated to as a member of the crew, as well as your rights. I would encourage you to read them over with care, then come see me to sign them. We'll find someone to serve as a witness, should legal liabilities arise, and once your name is set in them, you will officially be a part of this band of bandits." He smiled at me, eyebrows arched. "Sound good?"

I let my fingers brush over the words, heart beating fast with excitement and anticipation. I returned Gates' smile with my own, forgetting about my struggles with the ropes for a minute. "Aye, it does."

The quartermaster gave me a tap on the arm, satisfied. "Take your time with them, alright? You don't have to sign right away or even today. If you have any questions, come and find me."

"Will do, Mr. Gates. Thank you."

He offered a little bow and was off. Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to take a quick break from my lessons to at least read the first page (there were three of them in total).

Like Gates had said, it was a list of rules to be adhered to while on the ship, and nothing I hadn't expected already: loyalty to the captain and crew, to perform my various duties well, monetary compensation and access to healthcare should I suffer any injuries while on the job and even severance pay in case I decided to leave or circumstances forced my departure. Truthfully, I was flabbergast at such conditions. My cousin in the army complained copiously about the poor wages and the lack of protections should the worst come to pass. This was... surprisingly fair. Had I any way to contact him, I might have counseled him to become a pirate instead. I smiled at the thought of his face, receiving such a letter.

But the most surprising detail of the Articles were the wages. I had to rub my eyes to make sure they were working properly and looked again. How much you got paid depended on the haul wielded by a potential prize and its wealth was to be equally distributed by all members of the crew. No exceptions. Not for the quartermaster nor the first mate, not for the boatswain or even the captain. Aboard the Walrus, all men worked equally, so they shared equally. It was remarkable.

A sharp whistle from above startled me. It was Folsom, hanging from the larboard main sail yard tip, glaring at me.

"Have you got the fucking knots done yet?!" He bellowed.

In a hurry, skin going damp with sweat as I stashed the Articles somewhere safe from the wind, I returned to my practice. I did wish the men wouldn't swear quite so much...

One hour later, I had finally figured out the butterfly, having repeated it correctly five times in a row. The bowline continued to elude me, however. When the lunch bell tolled, Folsom came back down to see my progress. I pursed my lips and dipped my chin while he looked over my knots. He stared at me with malice, causing a chill to run down my spine.

"Took your time, but you finally got it, eh?" He smoothed his tongue over a gap where a tooth used to be. "Don't think I forgot my promise to take you up to the yards. We need to verify if you've learned, right? I hope so, for the crew's sake. Would be awful if someone got hurt due to your lack of talent, wouldn't it?"

I stared at him horrified, chest locking up, making it hard to breathe. He had to be joking. Please be joking, please say you're just hazing me and you're not actually serious.

But all he did was laugh in my face and turn his back on me to follow the others to the mess hall. I remained, feet bolted to my spot and eyes up on the sails as if they were ghosts swaying in the wind.

***

While everyone was having lunch, I sat cross legged on my hammock with the Articles, trying to keep my mind away from my afternoon test. I couldn't focus on the words, however. Before I knew it, I was reading the same sentence time and again without assimilating a single thing.

Maybe I should take it up with Gates. Surely he wouldn't allow Folsom to let me take on such great responsibility so early in my career. If the crew's general safety and the ship's capacity was at risk for it, the quartermaster should be notified and it wouldn't count as my seeking favoritism, would it? I was just doing my job.

Oh God, but what if that spelled trouble for Folsom? He would know I had been the one to rat him out and then my life would really become hell. Plus, he would tell the rest of the crew I was a snitch and I would be kicked out before the ink dried on the Articles. On the other hand, if the rigger was being serious about his test and someone did get hurt (or, heaven forbid, got killed), they wouldn't blame Folsom for it. They would blame me, the novice who didn't learn properly, the girl who had no business being on a pirate ship.

No matter which way I looked at it, I was, for lack of a more suitable term, pretty much fucked. Even just thinking the profanity made me blush and silently beg forgiveness.

Jean found me slumped over the Articles. "Salut! I didn't see you at lunch." He leaned over to get a proper look at me, eyebrows knit together with concern. "What's with that face? Did something happen?"

I sighed and figured he was probably the only person to whom it was safe to talk about my dilemma. Hopefully he could assure me that Folsom wouldn't go through with it, that he was all throat and it was meant to scare me, nothing more.

Boy, was I wrong.

When I finished telling him everything, he had a sour look on his face. "Damn, what an asshole. Oh, uh, sorry." He grinned sheepishly and shrugged when I winced. "You get used to it, I mean... ever heard the phrase "swearing like a sailor?" Anyway, that wasn't at all what it was like with me and Will Robins. No matter how many times we got it wrong, he would accompany us step-by-step and tell us exactly where we were making the mistake. We learned all the knots in a couple of days. And he didn't take us up to the yards but a week from our initiation."

My chest deflated with a long, despairing breath. "Do you really think he's gonna make me mess up on purpose?"

"Jesus Christ, I hope not. Someone could get seriously hurt. And Gates would have his head." He paused and took a minute to think. "Maybe you should tell him about this."

"I can't," I bemoaned. "Folsom would know it was me, and then what? If the whole crew finds out I talked to Gates, they will have grounds to vote me out and he won't have a choice but to accept it or risk mutiny."

"Tell Billy, then." He suggested. "He would get him in line and make sure no one found out about your involvement. Constance, you can't get on the yards without knowing the proper knots and how to tie them effectively, it's dangerous."

I only had one option, then. It wouldn't be pretty, and it would be risky to my reputation all the same, but at least I would be alone in bearing the brunt of the consequences. No one needed to get hurt but me.

With a deep, uneven breath to rein in the anxiety gnawing at my stomach, I put the Articles aside and hopped off my hammock. "Don't worry, Jean. That's not gonna happen. Thank you for your advice. I will take it into consideration." And I walked past him to face my destiny, whatever it might be.

Back on the main deck, I marched up to Folsom at the starboard shroud. He was talking to two other riggers, whose names I didn't know. They were laughing about something. When one of them saw me coming, he tapped Folsom's shoulder and pointed. Folsom twisted around and smirked, arms crossed. "I was starting to think you had bolted. Let's get this over with then, shall we? Come on." He grabbed onto the shroud line and jumped onto the bulwark.

I squared my shoulders and planted my feet firm on the floor boards. "No."

Folsom froze just as he had set a foot on the rat lines. His cold gray eyes narrowed at me. "What?"

"This is dangerous and you know it. I haven't had the time to properly learn the knots! If I go up there with you, it's a recipe for disaster." My voice started out shaky and insecure, but as I progressed, it stabilized and grew more firm. "I won't risk my life or the crew's for your sick joke and your prejudice."

That mean little smirk returned to his toothless mouth. I hated how victorious he looked. It made me want to push him overboard. "I taught you the fucking knots. If you didn't learn them right, then maybe you're just not cut out for this. It's not your fault. Women just don't belong in ships, s'all."

A blinding rage set fire to my innards, for once making my face flare up not with shame, but with rage. "Like hell you taught me the knots. If you had bothered teaching me like you did with Jean and Will maybe I might have learned already, but you didn't!"

By then, our argument had garnered a small crowd which formed a circle around us. I could feel their stare on me, and it unnerved me, but I kept my eyes on Folsom and focused on my point.

"You saw I was struggling and didn't help. You saw me practice for hours on end, going in circles, and couldn't care less, and now you want me to go up the yards with you? It's not my fault you're such a f... F... a FUCKING prick of a teacher!"

I had to shout the swear, or else it wouldn't have come out. The crowd burst into laughter, some of them bending over, clutching to their sides, finding my puritanical hiccup hilarious. But not Folsom.

He dropped onto the deck with a stomp akin to a gun shot, face twisted with anger, murder in his eyes. He advanced toward me and hovered, nose inches from mine, but no matter how intimidated I felt, I refused to move. Maybe I shuddered a little, but that was it.

"What the fuck did you say to me?" He growled.

Despite the fear pumping in my veins and how dry my mouth was, I forced a smile on my lips and seized the opportunity. "If you didn't hear me properly the first time, then maybe you're not as smart as you think you are."

A long chorus of "uuuuu" filled the deck. Folsom raised his hand, making me shrink back in preparation for the blow. "You fucking cunt--!"

"That's enough, Folsom!"

The rigger froze, looked to the side. As I slowly lowered my arms, I followed his gaze: Mr. Gates was bulldozing his way through the crowd, shoving aside anyone who didn't move out of his way in time. His cheeks were red with anger, mouth set on a stern line beneath his mustache. Jean trailed after him, his face a mask of pure anxiety. I hadn't noticed him among the others, but he must have been there and ran to fetch the quartermaster when the argument started escalating.

Gates stopped between Folsom and I, fists on his hips as he turned from one to the other repeatedly, waiting. Although he was taller than Gates, Folsom shriveled under his glare.

"Well? Anyone care to explain what the fuck's going on here?"

I said nothing. Figured it was Folsom's responsibility to tell him, since this was mostly his fault.

"This brat--" he pointed a finger at me. "Is refusing to learn how to manage the rigging and is blaming me for it. Like it's my fault she's too daft to learn or that I'm somehow responsible for her cowardice."

Oh, that son of a... "Excuse me? He's the one who showed me how to tie the knots once and then left me to figure it out on my own! And now he wanted me to climb to the yards and learn the rigging, when he knows I can barely do those knots."

"Shut your trap, you little--!"

"YOU shut your trap," Gates ordered. "Before I knock what's left of your teeth! So she's not learning anything from you, is that it? Funny, because from what De Groot, Thierry and Bjorn said, she's been proving to be hard-working and eager to learn."

Thierry and Bjorn were the two men who had been into storage with me, the previous day. They had given me the worst tasks, ordered me to carry the heaviest weights and laughed when I struggled, panting like a dying animal. I never imagined they would then report back to Gates and praise me.

I scanned the crowd for their faces -- there they were. Bjorn, barrel chested and fiery red hair with a braided beard to match, and Thierry, with round cheeks the color of ebony and an easy smile on his lips. They were watching the whole thing like it was the most entertaining piece of theater they had seen and smirked at me with approval in their eyes.

Folsom's fists clenched and unclenched as he searched for a better argument to make. I crossed my arms and raised my chin, savoring how he squirmed. Gates pinched the bridge of his nose, then snapped his fingers.

"I know how to solve this conundrum. You--" he pointed to Folsom. "Have two days to teach her how to tie the fucking knots. And you--" his finger swerved to me. "Have two days to learn them. If she can't tie the knots with her eyes closed by then, you will both regret it. Do I make myself clear?"

I thought it was unfair that I was being threatened with punishment along with Folsom, but this early into the game, I didn't have the guts to argue with Mr. Gates. Therefore, reluctantly, I bit my tongue and nodded. Folsom swore under his breath, but also waved out a hand air in annoyance. "Fine."

"That's settled, then. Two days. Don't disappoint me. Either of you." Mr. Gates turned his back on us and slid through the crowd. "Don't you people have anything to do? Get back to work!"

The men scattered like roaches to return to their posts. Before he left, Jean and I exchanged a look: his of concern, mine of gratitude. I nodded to let him know I was fine, and he left as well.

"Fucking hell..."

I looked to Folsom, who was still fuming but steadily calming down. He pegged me with a glare which I returned, scrunching up my brow and slitting my eyes to make myself as menacing as possible. I was done letting him or anyone else on this crew treat me like garbage. They could tease and haze all they liked, but when I felt they've gone too far, I was going to speak up.

The rigger shook his head. "Alright. Get over here."

I followed him to the highcastle, but we didn't climb the stairs. Instead, he sat on the steps and motioned for me to do the same.

"Do you have your practice ropes?"

I pulled them out of my pocket and placed them on his extended hand.

"Three times around your hand." He acted out the instructions for me to see. "Finger beneath the bottom row. Grab the middle row. Middle finger passes under that row. Slide them all the way over the back of your hand." He held up his perfect butterfly not. "Got it?"

"I believe so," I replied, then prepared to mimic him.

"Three times around your hand..."

He walked me through the whole knot and, what do you know? I got it right on the first try. I held it up for examination and couldn't rein back a small, satisfied smile when he nodded his approval.

"That's good. Adjust it so it's tight around you wrist."

I passed my hand through the hoop and pulled on the line to close it on my arm. It held fast, just as it was supposed to.

"You got it. Now tie it again."

I broke the knot and repeated it without Folsom's instructions, with full confidence. Again, I managed it without struggling.

"The bowline, now." He put one of his feet up so he could bring the line around his ankle. "One loop. Make a cross. Twist the line up and backwards. Pass the end through it from underneath, then under the line, back into the new loop from above. Pull the line to close it."

Again, he explained what I should do, step-by-step, correcting me when necessary. He tugged on the finished bowline to make sure it was secure, then told me to do it again, without help. On the first try, I twisted the rope downward instead of upward, but I soon realized the mistake and corrected it. When I got stumped on how to get the end through, he was quick to remind me, yet let me finish on my own. And there was my bowline, strong and true. By the fourth try, I was able to tie it without any assistance.

It was so easy after learning, I felt doubly annoyed at my mentor. My eyes shot up from my bowline to Folsom's. "Why couldn't you have taught me like this from the beginning?" I said. "It would have been so much easier for both of us."

"Women don't belong in ships," he shrugged. "It's not natural."

"Says who, exactly?"

Another shrug, until he stopped to really think about it, then stammered. "I don't know, God, I suppose. It's just the way things are."

"At the risk of blaspheming, do you see God come down from the heavens to cast me out of the Walrus as He did with Adam and Eve when they were expelled from Paradise?"

"Well, no, but that don't mean anything. God tells me not to sin, yet He won't come down to keep me from it, either."

"Oh, and I'm to believe you make a grand effort not to?" I arched an eyebrow in doubt. Folsom turned away, hands wringing around the line he held. "Exactly. So maybe people just take pleasure in doing what they're not supposed to. I thought that was what the whole pirate philosophy was about? Do what you want and hang the rules. You want to swear and raid and... visit the "ladies of the night" (that got a snort out of him) and I want to sail. Why should I be denied my wish just because I'm a woman? I'm learning, aren't I?"

Folsom chewed on my words for a couple of minutes. While he was at it, I tied a butterfly and a bowline. Both knots were flawless. When I looked up, I caught him half smiling. I set the rope aside and held out my tar covered hand. "You're a good teacher, Mr. Folsom. I want to show I'm a good student, too. Truce?" He stared down at my hand, but soon took it and gave it a firm shake. "Truce." I let go of his palm and grabbed the rope once more. "Now, you said you were going to teach me the cleat hitch next."

"Aye, that I did." He stood up and lead the way to the bow of the ship. "And I'm also going to teach you how to swear, because that teeny wittle "fucking" you choked out was ridiculous." My stomach lurched, both from the reminder of my silly figure and the actual profanity. "In my defense, I'm not used to using swears. My parents wouldn't allow it."

"Had a feeling you were a pampered brat." This insult came out much more casual, without any of the contempt he'd previously laced them with. So, I let it slide. "Well shit, you're a fucking pirate now, so that means you'll fucking swear like one, goddammit."

"Oh my God, stop!" I brought up my hands to my ears to muffle out his voice. They felt hot against my palms, same as my cheeks. "The fuck's the matter with it? Them's just words! When you stub your toe somewhere during a bathroom run in the middle of the night, do you want to say "oh gee golly, that hurt?" No! You want to scream, "ow, shit, my fucking foot!" So you're gonna say as many profanities as you can and you're gonna let your tongue get a feel for them, until they come out as naturally as any other pissing word."

I winced to Folsom's never-ending string of curses. Couldn't even begin to imagine myself putting so many of them into a single sentence. We got to the fifes. Folsom crossed his arms and pinned me with a hard stare. "You know what this is?" I hesitated, already guessing what was coming. "A fife rail," I muttered. "No," he said. "It's a goddamn fife rail. Say it." I swallowed dry and turned the word over in my mouth like it was dirt before trying: "A god-damn f-fife rail." "What? Didn't hear nothing. Spit it out, you cunt."

I glared at him for using that word again. I hated it. My blood boiled in my veins as that old anger stirred up, so much so that, to my shock, the profanity came out much easier. "A goddamn fife rail."

"That's more like it." He grinned at the way I brought my hands to my mouth, face flaming hot. "And you know what you're gonna do with this fife rail? You're gonna tie a fucking line to the pin. Go on."

Oh, God have mercy. "I'm gonna tie a ffff... Dammit, I'm gonna tie a fucking line to the stupid fucking pin!"

Huh. What do you know. It does feel good when you do it angry. Folsom laughed loud and good, reminding me too much of a gull squawking.

"There! There you have it! Fucking hell." He smacked a hand on the rail with a relaxed sigh. "Oh, which reminds me. I'm not a fucking prick." He smirked like a cat about to jump on a mouse. "I'm a fucking asshole of the worst kind."

"You really are, though." I retorted, arms crossing at my front. "An extremely irritating, prejudiced little shit and a cock-faced son of a bitch." Oh, sweet Jesus, it felt too good. My Mother and Father would have fainted if they even imagined I was using such language.

"Alright, alright, don't get excited, you're gonna hurt my feelings." But judging by his big grin, it was clear he was pleased with my rotten mouth.

He taught me the cleat hitch, which I tied with ease. Just like that, my knots (and my swearing) improved from one minute to the next, and I felt certain that we would both pass Gates' test without breaking a sweat.

Before wrapping up the lesson, I remembered there was something else I needed to do in order to become an official member of the crew. I asked Folsom if he would like to do the honors and, surprisingly, he agreed. Therefore, we descended to my hammock to get the Articles, and then it was off to find Mr. Gates.

He was in the great cabin with captain Flint, which was just my luck since I would likely need his presence as well. The door was open when we arrived, all I had to do was knock. "If I may have a moment...? I will be brief."

"Come in," Flint said. Once again, he was sitting at his desk, while Gates occupied the chair across from it. Folsom and I stepped into the cabin to stand by him.

"I have read the Articles as you requested, Mr. Gates. And I think I'm ready to sign. If it's alright with you and the captain, I already brought a witness."

Gates' dark eyes hopped between the two of us with mild surprise, which he was entitled to, since not an hour ago he had seen us at each other's throats. Flint remained impassive, if a little curious.

"I take it you've made your peace with each other, then?" Gates asked cautiously.

"We have, yes." I answered.

Folsom added: "She's not so bad, now that she's gotten her potty mouth."

"Shush, you," I hissed, cheeks flaring up yet again.

Gates chuckled and shook his head. He looked to Flint. "Any objections?"

"Not on my part." He said while smoothing down his beard. "If this is truly what she wants, then go ahead."

Gates pushed the ink well in my direction. I set the Articles on the desk, dipped the quill and scribbled my name in elegant calligraphy, the product of my high class education. I added a swift, bold swirl to my signature, almost like a personal statement. I'm here, this is who I am and this is what I choose.

My old life as a proper lady was over. My new life as a scallywag had officially begun.

***

Two days later, Gates called the two of us to him and ordered me to perform my knots with my eyes closed. I let Folsom tie a blind fold around my eyes, as a precaution and extra flair. Neither one of us wished me to fail, so putting on a bit of a show, though risky, was sure to fortify our success as mentor and pupil beyond doubt.

I tied all five knots without a hitch. Mr. Gates was satisfied with the results, so Folsom and I came away from our ordeal with our hides untanned and pride swelling in our chests.

As we moved on through the weather deck, Folsom turned to me. "What do we say?"

I set my hands on my hips with a bright grin. "Fuck yeah."

"Damn right."

#black sails #black sails fanfic #billy bones #hal gates #alternative prequel #oc centric #slow burn #canon character x original character romance #found family #friends to lovers #stories by crow #a girl an ocean fanfic

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huffle-dork · 2 months ago

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Long Live the King

Chapter 3 : When Lightning Strikes

Read Fantasy Masks | Read Swapboys | Read the first FM adventure | Other Multiverse Adventures | Read on AO3

A couple hours after the Swaps' arrival in this new world, the boat is packed up again and everyone is underway. It's a bit crowded, but tolerable. The boat is being steered along by a woman wearing a fox mask who appears, to the Earth-born swaps, East Asian. Vsevna is talking to her at the helm, letting the others have the opportunity to talk with their other selves from another world.

The swaps are all dressed in a combination of their own clothes from home and borrowed pieces from the Phantoms. Henny is dressed in a long light blue striped tunic, with no sleeves and a slight collar. His own gray suit pant are underneath since he’s too tall to use any of the others pants. He’s wearing a white poofy poet style shirt under his tunic with light leather guards serving as long cuffs. He’s using his green tie as a sash. Dr. J has on his own dark brown khakis with a borrowed shirt from Jameson. It’s dark blue with slight puffs at the shoulder seams with dark brown straps down the front, cinched with a dark brown belt at his waist. Jackieboy got lucky that he fit into any of his other selves clothes- so he’s wearing a dark red tunic with a black cowl like hood attached. He has slightly bunched pants tucked into red and black boots and black fingerless gloves on his hands. He was a dark sight compared to the blues of his counterparts- but damn if he didn’t look cool!

"Are you sure you're alright, Juwel?" Henny asks in worry.

Dr. J smiles, "Yes, Henrik I'm just fine. This is a lot smoother than I thought it would be."

"If you're worried about seasickness, this river doesn't move as much," Marvin says. "I, um... get it too. But the river's usually fine for me, so... it... probably would be for you, too." Marvin is not good at small talk.

Dr. J smiles at Marvin and nods, "Thank you Marvin, that's very good to know."

"Can't imagine getting motion sick- that must suck." Jackieboy comments, shrugging. "I couldn't parkour if i got sick that easily!" He then eyes the parts of the ship and looks up at all the parts. "... do you think I could-"

"No, Jackie- now isn't the time to be jumping around you know." Dr. J sighs, adjusting his glasses.

Jackieboy pouts.

"Your friends mentioned this 'parkour' while they were here," Henrik says. "It is like--climbing things and running for fun, yes?" He chuckles. "In that case, you could have been a topman if you were born here, Jackieboy. They are the sailors who climb on the riggings."

"It might be different if it was for a job, though," Jackie says thoughtfully.

Jackieboy's eyes sparkle with excitement, "Dudeee that would be so fucking dope!! I wanna do that!!" He then laughs and shrugs to Jackie, "I dunno- I do parkour for a job right now and... I love it still, honestly. Even if I get hurt alll the time!"

"You say that way too happily, Jackie," Dr. J chuckles, shaking his head.

Now that JJ seems alright, Henny perks up and spins around in his new outfit, giggling quietly. "These clothes are so funny though! I want to get a role in a fantasy movie now so I wear these things more! Look how flowy!!" He then spins around, not unlike a dog chasing its tail.

Jackieboy breaks into giggles at the sight and Dr. J can't hide his smile. "Ah Henrik- please be careful!"

"Careful not to fall off the side," Chase adds when Henny starts spinning around. "It would be terrible to get your new clothes wet or lose your, uh... By the way, I've been meaning to ask this. You two. What are you wearing on your faces? Over your eyes?" He gestures at his own face.

Henny rights himself, getting dizzy for a second. He then blinks and adjusts his glasses with a grin. "Oh! They are glasses! They help you to see! And- our world has much better glasses than I did before!! Everything was so clear when Juwel got me a new pair!"

"I was wondering about that," Dr. J muses, looking at the group. "If you are all like us... some of you must need glasses. Do you have blurry vision?"

Instantly, the group all turns to look at Henrik. "...what?" he asks.

Marvin rolls his eyes. "Your man is holding parchment up to his face like this." He mimes holding something inches from his face.

"I do not!" Henrik protests. "Only when it is dark. And the writing is tiny. Or the ink is faded into the vellum a bit."

They all just stare at him.

"Alright, if we are being like that, what about Jackie?"

"Me?" Jackie says, surprised.

"Yes, you. You being like--" Henrik squints his eyes until they're nearly closed "--when trying to see something down a hill's length."

"I don't look like that!"

"Haha, not so fun to be the accused, is it?"

I have heard tales of cut glass being used in Saelas, Jameson says, quietly turning the subject. Like the magnifiers in libraries, but much smaller. That must be what your glass does, too.

Chase blinks. "The what in libraries?"

"Some fancier libraries have circles of glass about this big." Marvin makes a circle with his hands. "They help you read when the writing on the parchment or vellum is too small."

"So... we need to attach magnifiers to Henrik's face, then," Chase sums up.

"Hey!"

Dr. J laughs, "That is kind of what it is! Or what they were when they were first made!" He gestures at Jackieboy, "Jackie needs them too but he's stubborn and doesn't wear them nearly as much as he should."

"Hey!" Jackieboy glares at JJ, "Like I was gonna bring them here to get broken! They're expensive!"

"That'd be less likely if you'd actually wear them."

Henny looks between everyone and then takes off his glasses and offers them to Henrik, "Other me! Would you like to try? It is wonderful to see clear!!" He smiles kindly.

Henrik blinks. "Oh. Ah, really? Alright, if you are sure." He carefully takes the glasses, like he's afraid they'll break the moment he takes hold of them. They don't, of course. So he carefully slides them onto his face, glancing at JJ for reference on how they should fit. Then he looks around the boat. He blinks a couple times. His eyes go wide behind the glass. "W-wait. Wait."

Are they working? Jameson asks.

"I... think they are." Henrik stares at Jameson. "There is a pattern on your neck bow?"

"Wha--you couldn't see that this whole time?!" Marvin gasps. "I mean, I guess it's a smaller pattern, with similar colors, but-- but we can all see that from this distance, right?" He looks around at the others. Chase nods in agreement. Even Jackie nods in agreement.

Jameson grins. Yes, this is my fancy one.

"Oh!" Henrik blinks some more. He looks around some more. "That is... oh. Wow."

Henny beams and backs up carefully. He claps as he sees Henrik look around. “yay! They’re working!!”

“Oh! You must be far-sighted then if closer objects are harder to see.” Dr. J smiles. “That’s not as common. We all are near-sighted.”

“I’m not as bad as you both.” Jackieboy grumbles.

"Near sighted? No, I do not think that is what this is?" Henrik says slowly. "It is just... all..."

"Henrik, was everything blurry to you?" Chase asks, genuinely concerned.

"That would explain him holding the parchment like this." Marvin repeats his mime from earlier.

"Shut up. All of you." Henrik carefully takes the glasses off and hands them back to Henny. "Thank you. That was... that was an experience." He laughs a bit.

Henny giggles, "It's okay- most things are blurry for me too! But, I can see things near me a bit better. But things farther away are very blurry. Probably like.... ah- here?" He sticks his hand out and squints and then stops his hand about an a half of an arm's length from his face. "That's when things get blurry for me!" He takes the glasses and puts them back on. "I wish i could give you your own pair! I think Alt might know a spell for that though!!"

"Ah, yes, that is about how it is for me," Henrik agrees, nodding at Henny's demonstration.

Dr. J shakes his head with a chuckle then goes to take off his glasses to offer to Jackie. “It seems only fair to have you try too. Though- I hope mine don’t hurt your eyes. I have a pretty strong… set of glass.” He says carefully- trying not to use the word ‘prescription’.

"Uh, sure, I'll try." Jackie takes JJ's glasses just as carefully as Henrik did. He puts them on and blinks. "Hmm... yes, this does feel a bit strange in my eyes. But... I can see those trees' leaves." He points at a tree in the distance.

"Jackie, are you joking?" Chase says, still concerned.

"No, I'm not! I didn't realize they weren't supposed to lose detail. Elders." Jackie takes the glasses off. "Thank you. I think they were a little strong, but they worked."

Dr, J chuckles, "I remember a similar experience when I first got my glasses as a lad. It was so strange to see everything so clear! Especially the trees." He takes them back and adjusts them on his face, "I bet it would have felt better if we had something you know... closer to what your eyes needed."

Jackieboy throws up his arms, "Jesus Jays! Fine, next time we go to a fantastical world, I'll make extra sure to bring my fragile glasses! You're such a nag sometimes!!"

"Do not be hard on him Juwel- he got his glasses later than us! It is a hard adjustment!" Henny tries to say gently.

Jackie grins. "It's alright, Jackieboy. I can still see enough. Seeing things from far away doesn't really matter as much in a sword fight. Though it does explain my difficulty with range weapons."

"Oh, wait, if JJ needs these glasses, does our Jameson?" Marvin asks. He turns to him as he says this. "Jair, is your vision ever blurry?"

Jameson doesn't answer. He doesn't even turn to look at Marvin. He's tensed up, facing towards the wooden wall of the boat but staring at nothing.

"Jameson?" Chase gasps. "Oh, no, that's not a good place for that!" He pulls Jameson back away from the edge of the boat. Or tries to, at least. His feet are rooted in place and Chase stops, afraid that he'll pull Jameson over.

Jameson's mouth is moving, like he's trying to say something but no words come out. His hands move jerkily. The translation spell that gives it subtitles is struggling, showing random letters for the Swaps.

“Woah woah! What’s happening?!” Jackieboy asks in concern.

Dr. J rushes over, worried creased on his brow. He hovers his hands close by. “is this… a seizure…?” He wonders quietly.

"I-it does look like a seizure, doesn't it?" Jackie says shakily. "B-but it's not!"

"Believe it or not this is actually... very normal," Marvin says.

"A bit of an over exaggeration," Henrik mutters. "Given how rare it is."

“W-What should we do?!” Henny cries.

"Don't worry, we just need to wait it out!" Chase says. "And, uh, be ready to catch him." He's hovering nearby for that exact thing.

"Jameson is an oracle," Marvin explains. "And this is a vision. They don't normally last long, i-it's fine."

Dr. J’s eyes widen, “An oracle?”

Henny frowns, sounding out oracle himself, after seeing JJ say it, “…what does this word mean?”

“It means he can see the future…!” Jackieboy says in awe.

"I-I know, it's worrying to see," Jackie says. "But he's really okay."

Dr. J frowns, still looking worried but nods. “If you’re sure…”

Henny and Jackie watch with worry while Dr. J tries to stay close by, just in case he needs to try to catch him too. This looks… painful though. But if it’s… common then, there’s not much he can do.

After not too long, Jameson suddenly slumps. Chase and JJ catch him before he falls to the ground--or worse, off the side of the boat.

Marvin rushes over as well. "Jair? Jair!" He shakes Jameson a little.

Jameson shakes his head, looking around a bit disoriented. He realizes that Chase and JJ are holding him and quickly stands up straight. Then he notices the concerned looks on the Swaps' faces. His eyes widen in alarm and he hurries to say, I'm alright! Really, I am.

“T-That was… kinda terrifying to see-“ Jackieboy admits quietly. “that happens every time you a vision…?”

“Are you dizzy? Or feeling sick?” Henny asks.

Jameson smiles at the other's concern. I know, it's scary. Sometimes I frightened my siblings when we were younger. But I feel fine. No dizzy, no nausea. Just a bit weak.

"Which does make sense, your muscles all tense up at once," Henrik says.

"We've all been where you guys are, we understand," Chase adds.

"...well. Now it's time for the question," Jackie says.

"Right now?" Marvin raises an eyebrow. "Give the new people some time to process what just happened before you ask what it was."

Jackieboy raises his hand a bit, looking timid. “…I was asking gonna ask but I was worried that was insensitive…”

I'm used to it, don't worry. Jameson's smile falls. Shadows briefly cover his eyes before he hides it with a neutral expression. You want to know what I saw, right?

Jackieboy nods.

"Is it... relevant?" Henrik asks carefully.

Again, those shadows flicker. Jameson shakes his head.

Marvin frowns. "Really?" he says doubtfully.

Henny looks hopeful for a second but then his face falls, “Oh… then it is not about Alt or Bro…?”

Dr. J nods, crossing his arms. “I guess that’s to be expected… that doesn’t seem like something you can just control. You don’t have to share if you don’t want to, Jameson.”

Jameson's shoulders slump slightly with relief. You're right, it's not something that can be controlled, he says. Not for lack of trying, on my part or... others'. But I really don't think this one in particular would be helpful. He gives them all a small smile. Sorry. But thank you.

Dr. J gives Jameson a small smile too. “Of course, we wouldn’t want you being uncomfortable.”

"Do you need to sit down, Jair?" Marvin asks. He looks around. "I know there are benches in here--damn, they're all taken."

I'm fine, Marvin, really.

Jackieboy tries to shake off his disappointment and leans on the wall of the ship to look out at the scenery. He really hopes Chase and Alt are okay…

Henny still looks a bit worried. “We still have a while to go, ja? Maybe sitting down would be good- we could always sit on the floor! Or… is that not good on a boat?” He thinks out loud, screwing up his face in a comical thinking pose.

"Let's find out," Marvin says, and sits down on the deck. Draco immediate jumps into his lap. "Oh. Well, I suppose I'm staying here."

Henrik laughs. "I-I think it will be fine. There is nothing up here that will roll around. The most we have to worry about is other people falling if we hit a--" Suddenly, he flinches. His head turns to the side, staring at nothing. Then he faces the others again. "What was I saying? Ah, yes, if we hit a rock. But this is a deep river, it will be fine."

Henny goes to sit next to Marvin, offering his hand to Draco to see if he wants pets. “He is quite the affectionate kitty! He must love you a lot.”

"He's not usually this affectionate, to be honest. He must be trying to make up for [imíonoshtil] me to the Wildwood." Marvin gives Draco a half-serious glare. For some reason, the translation spell doesn't work on that word, but the boys vaguely hear 'teleporting' underneath the sounds.

Henny blinks in surprise, “Your cat can send you places?? He is magic too?? Oh- if my dog had magics- that would not be good. She’d only use it for treats!” He laughs.

"Well, Draco isn't exactly a normal cat," Marvin says, scratching Draco's chin. "He's a wizard familiar. An animal made of magic. And there's magic all over the world that he can use to move quickly. He only took me twice, and that's a whole story."

"He did make me think you'd been captured for about a week," Chase says, sitting down on the deck as well. Jameson also sits, but Jackie does not, preferring to lean onto the wall and watch the land passing by.

“Oh!!! What a special kitty!!” Henrik gasps in delight. “Well- except for- you know, worrying your friends.” He laughs lightly.

Meanwhile, while the others talk, Dr. J looks concerned again at Henrik’s behavior. “Henrik… are you feeling alright?”

"I-I am perfectly alright!" Henrik says hurriedly and in a way that definitely doesn't convince anyone. "I am simply--simply--"

"You know you don't have to tell them," Jackie says gently.

Henrik rubs his eyes. "Perhaps once we get closer to the city. I-it is a bit personal, but I am... curious about what it would be like in your world."

Dr. J knits his eyebrows together, the wheels turning in his head. He’s noticed some things but… “I don’t mean to pry. I just… I’m a… mental doctor. Back home. Or… I… I was. And I’m… trained to recognize these types of things. But, if you don’t want to share, that’s perfectly fine. And… I wouldn't know without asking you a lot of questions. I’m not your doctor, so it’s really not my business… as long as you’re not getting yourself hurt… or others.” He does look genuinely concerned but- he also doesn’t want to make assumptions.

Henrik blinks in surprise. Then he lets out a breath of relief. "Thank the Sisters. I-I was afraid--well, not afraid, but... worried about your reactions. My home nation was not as kind about, ah, 'mind sickness,' as they called it there. In Glasúil they are called curses, but it is not magical, just... natural. M-my medicine was lost when we had to leave our main base. I have been making do with a different one, but it cannot handle all the symptoms the way my usual tonic can. So... m-my behavior has been off for a while."

Dr. J gives Henrik a sympathetic look, “That sounds very hard, Henrik, being without the right medicine… I’m sorry. But, you don’t need to worry about any judgement from us, believe me. We…all have our issues.” He tries to laugh, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

Henrik doesn't laugh when JJ does. He nods slowly. "I think the same can be said for us, too," he says slowly. "Is not my place to air other's issues, but... if you ever need to talk, I think you will find a lack of judgement from us as well."

Dr. J freezes slightly but then quickly puts on a brighter smile. “…that’s very generous, Henrik. I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.”

Henrik nods. "Just... remember that." He smiles back, then turns and looks out at the landscape. "Nice out here."

Dr. J smiles, looking out with Henrik, feeling the nice breeze. “Yeah… it is.”

Jackieboy yawns, looking around and now slips down to rest against the wall of the boat, rubbing at his eyes. The rocking motion is actually kinda soothing… mmm did he sleep enough last night? …probably not knowing him. But this doesn’t seem like a good place for a nap. But soon enough, he curls up his legs to his chest and rests his head on top of his knees, blearily watching the landscape go by as he struggles to stay awake.

Jackie notices his other self nodding off. He crouches down next to him. "Tired? You know, people sleep on boats all the time. There are some spaces below deck. Assuming they haven't been claimed already."

Jackieboy blinks and looks to his other self and then tries to shake his head. “Me? Nah- ….well I mean I am but I’m always tired so… s’why I like to move around so much.” He stifles a yawn and presses the heel of his hand against his eye, quickly grinning back at Jackie. “‘Sides- what if I doze off and miss something by being below deck? Who knows! ..maybe bro and Alt already took down that cat bastard and are halfway to finding us!”

"Heh." Jackie smiles. "Yea, maybe." He sits down next to him. "If you doze off, I'll wake you up when something happens. Promise."

Though it will be a while before something does.

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈

They'd been riding for hours--though not nearly as long as expected--and were just taking a break for food when the King finally picks something up. "Wait a moment." He narrows his eyes. "There are people up ahead. A lot of them. And they're... getting closer." He grins. "Surely they're not foolish enough to go back."

Magnificent gets up from where he’s lounging almost cat-like and perks up, slowly grinning. “Oh? Do you sense the rebels?”

At this Alt and Bro’s eyes flash green and they stagger up and put their hands on their weapons, Alt a seax, Bro a sword.

“Indeed I do.” The King peers down the river. “They must be just out of sight. If we wait here we can ambush them.” He looks around. This area has trees. They’re not close enough to be considered a proper forest, but they’ll do. “You.” He points at a cluster of warriors. “Get the horses out of sight. Magnificent, do you know any magic to help hide people?”

Magnificent teleports to his feet and then cracks his knuckles with a grin. “I do indeed! I can cast an illusion to keep us out of sight.”

“Are they on land, mu Ríth?” Alt asks, electricity building up around him.

“No, last I saw the rebels they were on a boat, and I doubt they would leave that behind now.” The King gestures at Alt and Bro. “You will lead the charge. Let Magnificent hide you. Then, once the boat is close enough, attack.” He looks at the other helmeted warriors. “The rest of you hide among the trees until these two make their move.”

“Yes, mu Ríth,” Bro and Alt say near at the same time, standing at attention.

Magnificent grins and laughs, magic dancing excitedly around his hands. In a wave of magic he casts a glamor over Alt and Bro. The two knights' bodies blend seamlessly into the background around them as if they’re truly invisible. “Alright! This will be quite the show~!”

Aneirin grins. "It will, won't it? Now we must hide as well. They'll be coming at any moment." He backs into the trees, letting the brothers and his warriors take the lead. He'll step in if things get truly desperate... or if he feels like he's missing out. Magnificent nods and teleports to hide in the trees.

The Phantoms' boat continues down the river without any trouble. They're coming up into a slightly wooded section now. Something about this is making Jackie uneasy. He paces across the deck, then looks up at the sky and frowns. It was a nice sunny day earlier. Those clouds appeared rather quickly.

Dr. J is also frowning up at the sky, his brows furrowed. “…those clouds sure came out of nowhere.”

Jackieboy is lightly dozing, Henny resting his head on top of his and trying to stay awake. He notices Jackie’s pacing and perks up. “Is everything okay, Jackie?”

"It's as JJ said, these clouds came out of nowhere," Jackie says.

Chase, leaning against the railing nearby, suddenly looks towards them. "They did, didn't they? I've often spent long times staring at the sky or the ground, and I don't think clouds usually form this fast..." He shakes his head. "But it's hard to be sure. And even if it's strange, what could it mean?"

“Maybe… magics?” Henny suggests quietly.

Jackieboy blinks awake and shakes his head, “Was’happenin’?”

Dr. J frowns, “Should we… maybe see about stopping for a rest? Is sailing during a storm on a river dangerous?”

Chase blinks. He turns to the side. “Hey Marvin!”

Marvin, some ways away, calls back, “Yes?”

“Is there magic that can influence the weather?”

Marvin is quiet for a moment. “I think… maybe if you get a circle of sorcerers together you might be able to?”

Chase turns back to the group. “Well there’s that.”

“I still don’t like it,” Jackie mutters. “It can’t be too dangerous to sail on a river during a storm. Not nearly as dangerous as sailing on the ocean during storms. But I’ll ask some of the sailors.” He walks away, heading towards the helm.

Chase frowns. He stares out at the passing landscape. “Let’s keep an eye out, okay?”

Dr. J still looks worried, but he nods, watching the landscape too.

Jackieboy groans and leans back against Henny. “Mannn if it rains then we have to moveeee!”

“You said you did want to fall asleep, mein friend.” Henny giggles.

“You’re so comfy and warm thoughhhh,” Jackieboy mumbles into his shoulder.

Henny laughs and pats his shoulder.“Well- I will not be for long if it rains!”

Unknown to them, the boat is quickly approaching the spot where Alt and Bro wait, hidden by an illusion.

As the boat appears, the Brody brothers get into ready stances. Without a word, Alt grabs Bro’s arm and together they glitch onto the boat. As lightning and thunder begins to roar in the sky, the swap boys notice a familiar sensation. The air suddenly feels electric and sharp and smells of metal.

Henny smiles and gets to his feet, already crying out for his friend. “Alt!! It is Alt!” But, then, the boys freeze as the illusion breaks, revealing Alt and Bro, staring at their friends with no recognition in their green glowing eyes. To this world’s boys, they instantly recognize the symbol on the tunics they wear, the Royal crest.

For a split second, everyone is frozen, shocked that people just appeared out of nowhere. And then weapons are drawn. A couple arrows are fired at Bro and Alt.

“Wait! Hold!” Henrik gasps.

“It’s too late!” Jackie draws his swords. “Defend yourselves!”

“No!!” Jackieboy yells, springing to his feet.

Henny is almost ready to try to use his watch when Alt’s eyes flash and he holds out a hand to make an electric shield around him and Bro.

Bro draws his sword and as soon as the arrows stop and the shield is dropped he yells and then charges at Jackie.

Dr. J stares in disbelief, “No no- what are you two doing?!”

Alt glances at Dr. J then bares his teeth, drawing his seax. “We’ve been ordered by the king to eliminate the rebels… and anyone who aligns with them.” He prowls closer, “So… if you wish to spare yourselves of their fate, step aside.”

Henny trembles, “A-Alt… w-why are you speaking as if you do not know us?!”

Alt’s eyebrows knit together. “…because I don’t. All I know is loyalty to aan Ríth.” He builds up magic and then tries to send out a wave of electricity to throw people off their feet.

Jackie parries Bro's attack easily. "You sure you're with the King? I know the royal family trains their warriors better." Bro’s eyes flash green as he bares his teeth in anger. Jackie grins, and goes for a disarming strike against Bro--but then Alt's wave of electricity hits and he gets knocked off his feet.

He's not the only one. Almost all of the Phantoms on deck get knocked over, including Jameson and Chase.

Marvin, managing to stay upright by grabbing the mast, looks at Alt. "Think you're a wizard? Alright. Let's duel." And he shoots a beam of light at Alt.

Back on the riverbank, several warriors step out of the trees. One throws a rope with a hook on the end, latching onto the side of the boat.

Henrik, also on his feet, notices the grapple rope on the side. "Vsevna! They're boarding!" he shouts.

Vsevna climbs to his feet. "Not on my fucking boat!" He pulls something off his back--an axe with a long spike on the back of its head--and rushes over, slicing through the rope.

Meanwhile, Henrik bends over and pushes aside a grate on the floor. He reaches in and grabs something, then quickly straightens and throws it. It's a small, circular bottle. It shatters against the riverbank ground and a wave of orange light crashes outward, pushing things over. The warriors, as well as the King and Magnificent, are in its range.

Bro’s about to strike at Jackie again when Alt’s wave of magic hits. He staggers a bit but stays upright and raises his sword, ready to bring it down on Jackie.

The electric wave sends Jackieboy crashing hard into the boat’s wall and he cries out.

Henny just manages to stay on his feet- and manages to see as the force of magic sends Dr. J flying off the edge of the ship.

JJ screams and desperately tries to reach out to grab something but misses- splashing into the water below.

Henny rushes to the edge and screams out after him. “JAMESON!!”

Alt and Bro turn towards the sound of distress before Alt gets hit by Marvin’s beam and is thrown off his feet, skidding across the ground.

The glow in Bro’s eyes flickers wildly with blue before he pushes forward then in a zip of power is flying off the boat and diving into the water.

Mag sees this and growls, building up magic- and doesn’t see the orange light of Henrik’s attack until he’s thrown off his feet and hits one of the trees. Bright light blooms in his vision as he hits the back of his head and slumps down, momentarily distracted.

"Cover!" The King shouts when he sees Henrik throw the bottle. Most of the warriors are able to flee quickly enough, and he is as well. He sees Magnificent get thrown back.

Under the water, JJ is struggling to find the surface, his clothes weighing him down as he tries to swim upwards. Then, strong arms are wrapping around him and pulling him up. Bro flies back up into the air before landing back on the ship with Dr. J.

JJ coughs and sputters before looking at Bro with wide eyes. “C-Chase…!”

Bro is looking down at JJ with equally wide eyes, confused.

Jackie, Chase, and Jameson climb to their feet. "Stay behind me," Jackie says, helping Jackieboy to his feet.

Jackieboy trembles a bit but tries to hide it as he stays behind Jackie. This is… so much more intense than he was expecting.

Meanwhile, Chase nocks an arrow and aims towards the riverbank. Jameson crouches down and starts rummaging through the same grate that Henrik got that bottle from, looking for weapons.

The warriors on the riverbank run back to the shore. A few more throw grapple ropes onto the boat and start pulling. Vsevna growls and tries to cut through them but there are too many. "Someone get the helm! Hard to starboard!"

Henny sees the other warriors trying to get on the ship and wishes he had something to help. As if in response, a teal knife of magic pops into existence in his hand. He startles slightly and then grins, going to help slash through the ropes too.

The King sees Bro jump off the side of the ship and rescue the fallen JJ. He narrows his eyes and shouts Commands at Bro. "Stop that! Remember your purpose!"

Bro suddenly stiffens as his eyes glow green again. He cries out and grips at his head, magic flickering wildly. “M-My… purpose…!” He whispers, the green quickly winning.

Dr. J quickly tries to grab Bro’s shoulder, “Chase…! Chase please! You need to wake up!”

Magnificent recovers quickly and growls, gripping his hand and sending out a pulse of magic, along with another message for Bro. {Remember Chase- disobey and you hurt your brother }

At this, the green ring around Alt’s wrist scars lights up and he screams as painful energy sends him back to his knees after he started to recover.

Bro hears this and he screams before the magic fills his eyes completely again. then all his fight is gone. He shoves Dr. J off him and growls at him coldly. “Consider yourself lucky I saved you, rebel scum. Stay out of the way.”

Jackie looks towards JJ and Bro--and notices the flickering green in his eyes. "They're enchanted!" He gasps. Quickly he steps forward, drawing Bro's attention. He thinks he can take him, and right now, they need to keep these two busy. "What are the ways to break the spell?"

Bro’s eyes lock onto Jackie again and he bares his teeth, taking out his sword again and rushing at him.

Marvin runs to Alt, conjuring a bubble of white light around him, hoping to trap him.

Alt looks up from the sudden assault of magic to see he’s trapped in white light. He growls and coats his seax in lightning and tries to see if he can slash himself free.

Taking a chance to breathe, Marvin looks towards Jackie and starts to say something, but then Alt tries breaking through the bubble and he snaps his attention back to him, quickly sealing up the slash that he made. "We can do that later! For now get them out of the picture!"

Dr. J’s eyes widen as he hears Jackie and Marvin. Of course… this must be Magnificent’s doing! But… why? And why are they so deep that they don’t recognize them? If only he could get one of them alone…!

As Henny starts cutting through the ropes, Vsevna looks at him in surprise, then grins. "Ah, resourceful in every world, I see!" Henny grins at Vsevna.

"Um?" Henrik looks at him, narrowing eyes slightly.

"Oh come now, sova, don't be so insecure--"

"Look out!" Chase shouts.

The warriors have bows, and now they loose the arrows.

Henrik, Chase, and Vsevna all quickly duck, avoiding the attack.

Henny startles as he sees the arrows coming. He fumbles for his watch and then holds out a hand, his eyes glowing teal. “Stop!” The arrows all stop in their momentum as they’re caught in teal magic. Then with a quick flick of his wrist, the magics gone and the arrows drop. Then Henny rushes to get back to slashing the ropes.

Henrik gets back to his feet again. "Ha! Impressive, other-me." He looks at Vsevna. "You are right, I understand now." Vsevna just grins.

Jameson stands up again, now holding a bow and a quiver of arrows. He awkwardly nocks one and fires at the warriors, flinching as the bow string hits his arm. Chase, following his lead, starts firing as well. So do some of the other Phantoms who are recovering.

Jackie parries Bro's wild attack. He grits his teeth as his mind whirls. They have to disarm these two! He swings his other sword while blocking Bro's with the other, aiming to smack the blade out of Bro's hand.

Bro’s grip is strong. As Jackie tries to disarm him, Bro holds firm and uses his strength to push Jackie’s blades down back towards him.

Jackie narrows his eyes and pushes back against Bro. Their blades are locked together for a moment, and then Jackie quickly snaps his two swords towards each other like a pair of scissors, trapping Bro's blade between them. He tries to wrench it to the side.

Bro manages to keep his grip and slides his sword back. He then tries to swipe out at one of Jackie’s legs.

Bro's leg hits Jackie's but doesn't do anything. Jackie glances down at the impact. Thank the Elders that Bro seems to have forgotten his super strength. But he'll remember eventually. Wtih a sudden yell, Jackie puts all his force into a forward push, planning to knock him down.

Bro isn't expecting the yell- but he manages to grab Jackie by the wrist and pulls him down with him. Hitting the deck by the back of the head majorly disorients him though, magic flickering wildly in his eyes.

Alt yells in anger as he’s sealed in and cracks his seax into the magic again. But he feels the familiar buzz on his arms and remembers he can get out of this easier. How did he forget? He glitches out of the magic and appears behind Marvin before trying to tackle him to the ground.

Marvin's eyes widen as Alt disappears. Shit! He forgot he could do that! He whirls around to look for him and cries out as Alt attacks him.

Jameson and Henrik turn around at the sound. Instinctively, Jameson fires the arrow he's just nocked.

Alt is raising his seax to try to stab Marvin in the throat. Then, the arrow Jameson fires hits him in the shoulder. He cries out and drops his seax, gripping at his wound and glitching a bit in place. The others can see his eyes flickering a tiny bit.

Marvin pushes Alt away, breathing heavily. He grabs Alt's head and holds it in place. Marvin's eyes start lighting up various colors, hoping that the extra stimulation will help loosen this enchantment.

Alt, for a second, catches the colors in Marvin’s eyes and seems to relax ever so slightly. But that sickly green light pulses brighter and he shakes it off, growling and then pushing to blast magic right in Marvin’s face.

Jackieboy looks around, wanting to help. He goes to look for a weapon like he saw Jameson do. Soon, he finds a decently sized knife and some throwing knives like he saw Jackie using. His eyes flicker up to the rigging above them, and he grins as he gets an idea. He quickly starts to climb the ropes, sticking the knifes into his belt. Henny ducks and weaves and tries to keep any other ropes from getting on the boat.

Chase sees Jackieboy climbing up the rigging. "What are you doing?!" he gasps. "Be careful!"

Jackieboy staggers a bit while climbing, but manages to get onto a more solid place rather quickly. He eyes the battle below- then looks out and freezes as he sees Magnificent and the King on the shore. “uhhh guys! Bastards spotted on the shore!”

Henny gasps at seeing Mag and the King on the shore, “I-Is that the king?!” Dr. J peeks over to see, narrowing his eyes.

Meanwhile, Marvin also yells in surprise. He barely manages to throw up a shield to Alt’s assault on his face. Even so, the force of the magical blast pushes both of them backwards across the floor. And then he hears Jackieboy's yell. His head snaps to the edge of the boat and he runs over. "Trade you!" he shouts to Henrik, and aims a burst of fiery magic at Magnificent.

Henrik nods and spins around. He thinks he's found a good potion to use. And he throws it towards Alt.

The King watches all this from the riverbank. He glances over towards Magnificent, then hurries over and shakes him. "They're getting away," he whispers urgently. Indeed, with Henny and Vsevna constantly cutting off the grapple ropes, the boat is continuing down the river, sailing away slowly but steadily. "I can do something, but it will be drastic. Do you have anything less drastic?"

Magnificent growls and tries to think, “Other than setting the boat on fire… how drastic is your plan?!”

"It's just as drastic as that." The King bares his teeth in a smile. "Surely you remember my skill with lightning. Take out their sail and they're at the mercy of the current." Then he notices Marvin's attack. "Move!"

Magnificent’s eyes light up and he grins, “We’ll take down the sail then-“ He cuts himself off and dives into the sand, gasping as he just barely manages to dodge the fire. He growls and pushes himself up, eyes glowing brightly. He whips out green fire to blast at Marvin too.

Marvin ducks as Magnificent throws fire of his own. "Yes, that's the bastard," he mutters. He aims another blast of fire at the King instead--

"No!" Chase pushes Marvin and the blast goes wide, setting the trees on fire instead. "Remember what we know now!"

The King tenses up, preparing to dodge the fire, but then Chase knocks it wide. He chuckles. "Fools," he whispers. "Alright. Take it down, then."

Henny gasps as the magic goes wide and stares out at the king and Mag. They must be the reason his friends are being crazy right now… but how do they stop this??

Alt skids back against the deck and tries to shake off his disorientation. He then notices Henrik throwing something and gets to his feet in a crouched position before glitching and shoving him up against the side of the ship. “Fucking rebel bastards!” He hisses.

The potion Henrik threw shatters against the deck, conjuring up wildly writhing vines. With Alt glitching out of the way no one is around to get caught in their grasp. Henrik isn't expecting that. Nor is he expecting to be suddenly pushed against the side of the ship. He gasps and fumbles at his belt until he finds a small dagger. He holds it up to Alt's neck. "I-I do not want to hurt you," he says in a shaky voice. "Just back away."

Alt’s eyes flicker wildly as his murderous expression falls, tensing back slightly from the knife. It’s so close to his scar- he can’t remember how he got it but he knows that’s too close. A hazy memory flickers in his head- of a kind doctor sharing coffee beans with him, smiling warmly. “…h-hen…” He breathes out.

Henrik nods. "Yes, exactly. Y-you know that--"

Jackieboy sees Bro struggling and slips out one of the throwing knives and tries to see if he can pin Bro to the deck by catching his tunic.

The knife sinks easily into the deck and pins Bro- though he’s still trying to get his bearings.

Jackie quickly pins Bro to the floor, pressing the flat of his blade across his chest. The sword isn't harming him now, but it would be easy to slip up and get cut. "Don't move," Jackie says, and tries to hit Bro on the back of the head to knock him out.

Bro starts to fight slightly as he’s pinned, growling at Jackie with anger. But then, Jackie manages to hit him hard enough that he slumps completely to the deck, out cold.

Alt stiffens as Bro falls and then he forgets about Henrik entirely and glitches over to dive at Jackie, yelling in rage.

"Jackie, watch out!" Henrik shouts.

Jackie's eyes widen and he rolls to the side, dodging Alt's attack but leaving Bro's unconscious body undefended. He gets to his feet but hesitates, unsure how to proceed. He doesn't know how to prepare for Alt's 'glishing.'

Alt slides across the deck and lands like a cat, baring his teeth. His eyes flicker to Bro’s body. Then he stares at Jackie, magic building up around him as he makes a seax out of his sparking magic.

Magnificent feels his connection to Bro go cold and he growls. “That useless fucking hero!” He aims for the sail and sends out a bolt of Lightning.

As Mag sends out his lightning the King feels its electricity. It's going to go a bit wide so he reaches out and pulls it into place. The blast hits the top of the mast, spreading down to the canvas sail... and the rigging where Jackieboy is hanging.

Jackieboy jumps and screams, scrambling towards the main pole and trying to dodge the parts of the mast that are falling. “Shit shit shit!!!”

At the railing, Vsevna, Chase, and Jameson all spin around. "The mast!" Vsevna gasps.

"Other Jackie!" Chase rushes over to the base of the rigging. "H-hang on!"

“Jackie!!” Henny cries.

Alt uses this confusion to run at Jackie, trying to slash at his chest.

Jackie glances up at the confusion, distracted momentarily. Then he sees Alt running at him and just barely backs up in time. If it wasn't for his chain mail shirt he would've been cut. "Hey!" He shouts, and goes for an attack, trying to hit with the flat of his blade.

Alt dodges out of the way and then tries to slash at Jackie’s hand.

Jackie tries to move his hand but he's not fast enough. He cries out as the blade slices through his glove. One of his swords clatters to the ground. But he grits his teeth and lunges forward, hoping to smack Alt and knock him out like he did with Bro. "Elders!"

Alt grins, giggling slightly, his eyes glowing a bit brighter. But then, he doesn’t dodge fast enough and gets knocked out by Jackie, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

Meanwhile, Vsevna is shouting at the other Phantoms to get the water from the hold. The King looks at the starting fire and grins. "Well... look at that." Without the sail, without anyone at the help. The boat is drifting. He gestures at the warriors and they throw the last of their grapples and start to pull. The boat slowly floats towards the bank.

Dr. J can’t do much so he tries to drag Bro away from the fighting and the possible fire. He lurches a bit as the boat starts to get pulled to the shore. He looks out with panic. Then he grabs Bro’s hand and starts to tap a rhythm on it- sos in Morse code as he whispers down to Bro, “P-Please Chase…! Wake up! We need your help! I know you’re in there!”

"I-it's going to be okay, Jackie!" Chase shouts up at Jackieboy. Then he looks back at the Henriks. "Can either of you do anything to help?!"

"M-maybe?" Henrik says, looking through the potions he has. "Just buy some time for me!"

Henny’s eyes flash teal and he nods. “I got this!” He shouts and then pauses time. He hurries to climb up, slipping slightly but determined to get to Jackieboy. He gets to him alright and grabs Jackie but then he hesitates on how to get down. Then he starts to lose his balance for a second- and they both fall.

At the last second, Henny flips so he lands hard on the deck and curls up to protect Jackie. As he hits the deck, time restarts in a painful burst. At least for Henny. He gasps as he arches his back, his vision going white for a second.

To the others- it looks like he just- fell out of nowhere holding Jackieboy.

Jackieboy blinks in confusion and then freaks out at seeing Henny hurt, “H-Henny!!”

Chase gasps in surprise as Henny and Jackieboy fall. "Y-you--how?!"

"You did not need to--" Henrik shoves a bottle at Chase. "Throw that on the fire!" he shouts, and hurries over to check out Jackieboy and especially Henny. "What happened?! Are either of you hurt?!"

Chase looks down at the bottle in his hand and throws it at the fire. It doesn't quite land where he's aiming but breaks anyway. Frost spreads across the mast and sail. The flames shrink down, but they've still done a lot of damage. Canvas is quite flammable.

Then the boat reaches the shallows of the river. Its hull grinds against the ground. A shudder passes through the entire boat, causing people to stumble but not enough to knock anyone down. The more pressing concern is that, now that the boat has been pulled close to the bank, the warriors are trying to board. Most of the Phantoms rush over to the side to keep them off. Chase and Jameson join them.

Henny grits his teeth through the pain then shakes his head, trying to clear his vision as he looks up at Henrik. “I used my magic!”

“Why did you do that?!” Jackieboy shouts, “I-I could have gotten down better than you hen! You could have gotten super hurt!”

“I am okay! Just- bruising!” Henny says, pushing himself up shakily.

"We will have to make sure of that later," Henrik says, glancing around. It's chaos as the warriors continue to try to board. Though the Phantoms have the upper hand with the high ground, the warriors are persistent, and don't share the Phantoms' reluctance to cause permanent harm. "Can you two fight? Or should I tell you to go somewhere safe?"

Henny shakes his head and gets to his feet. “I-I can still fight-!”

Marvin, meanwhile, tries to throw more magic. He aims for the King at first but then remembers what Chase said and goes for Mag instead. This bolt of magic is tinged slightly blue as he takes inspiration from Henrik's frost potion.

Magnificent sees the magic coming and swipes a fire covered hand to stop Marvin’s spell before it reaches him. Then he yells in frustration as he feels his connection to Alt go fuzzy. “Shit! We might need to think of a backup plan… those idiotic brothers are down!”

But, now that they’re closer, Mag’s eyes glow purple and he holds out a hand towards Alt. Even though the glitch hasn’t been out for long, he suddenly gasps as his back arches and his eyes fill completely with purple. Purple strings wrap around his limbs and pull him back up to his feet. He staggers and falls over himself some- like he isn’t quite awake. He looks back at Jackie, but doesn’t really seem to see him fully. But then, magic flares up on his skin and in a flash of purple and green glitches he turns into a wolf and launches himself at Jackie.

Jackie gapes as Alt gets pulled upright. "H-holy flame," he says, backing up, taking in everything that's happening. His skin crawls just looking at it. The purple magic--this is the work of that Magnificent, isn't it? He's so taken aback by this disturbing sight that he's almost tackled by this new wolf form. Luckily he manages to get a hold of himself in time to dodge. He scoops his other sword off the floor, wincing slightly since his hand is still injured, and spins around to face him again. "Marvin?! Backup?!"

Marvin is ready to throw more magic at Magnificent when Jackie calls. He turns around--"What the shit?!" Wolf?! Wolf?! Okay, time for some drastic measures. "Give me one moment, Jackie, I need to find Draco!" he shouts as he runs towards the nearest entrance to the hold.

"What?! Fine!" Jackie braces himself, swords held defensively in front of him. Alt snarls, but he prowls around Jackie clumsily.

Meanwhile, Dr. J’s tapping seems to have worked… but not completely in his favor. Bro’s eyes fly open, once again bright green. He zips up and then throws JJ against the wall of the boat by his throat, choking him. He growls at him. “Why would I help someone like you?”

Dr. J scrambles to get his hand off, his mind going into panic mode. “B-Because… you’re our f-friend…! You’re a hero!”

Bro’s eyebrows knit ever so slightly, a brief flick in his eyes.

Jackieboy sees Bro awake again and attacking Dr. J and yells out, “Hey! Let him go!!” He then rushes to see if he can tackle Bro off JJ.

On land, The King frowns, glancing at Mag. "If need be I can pull them out for a retreat. We'll burn the ship as we run." The air around him hums as he says that.

Magnificent’s hand shakes as he grits his fangs. “I-I think that might be wise… I can’t keep this spell up for long- and I feel the hero slipping-!” Blood is starting to drip from one of his eyes.

Jackieboy manages to throw Bro off Dr. J and the two of them skid across the deck.

Dr. J falls to his knees and coughs, holding his throat.

Bro pushes himself up and looks up at Jackieboy with widening flickering eyes. “j..Jackie?”

Jackieboy feels tears in his eyes as he pulls his hands into fists at his side. “Chase please! You gotta break out of this! You’re not some evil knight! You’re my fucking best friend! You’re Bro Fantastic! And he wouldn’t side with some tyrannical king!”

At hearing his hero name, Bro’s eyes glow silver blue and he whispers, “Bro… Fantastic…?” He then cries out and curls up against the deck as he grips at his head, purple trying to fight in his eyes.

Henny sees this and calls out, “Y-You must keep fighting Chase! We all need you! A-Alt needs you! You cannot save anyone being stuck like this!”

Bro yells out, curling up more as his shattered mind burns- his head pounding.

Alt then slightly glitches and he lashes out, trying to bite Jackie’s leg.

Jackie yelps, not expecting the wolf to go for the leg. He barely moves out of way in time, Alt's teeth snapping closed only an inch from his skin. "Marvin?!"

"Found him!" Marvin returns from the hold with Draco held awkwardly in his arms. "I haven't actually done this yet, only practiced on my own, but here we go!"

Draco's eyes glow blue. Marvin's eyes glow white. And then the two colors shift until they are the same pale blue-tined color. Strands of light wrap around Draco's body as Marvin runs over to Jackie and the wolf. Then, with a yell, Marvin throws Draco. The light covers him completely, growing bigger—and then he lands in front of Alt, suddenly just as big as the wolf is. Draco hasn't changed into a different type of cat, he still has his coloring and housecat proportions, but now he is big, with eyes that glow bright blue. He hisses at Alt, fur bristling and claws out, and lunges.

Alt isn't expecting any of this- and soon enough he’s getting pounced on hard enough to make his wolf form burst into pixels as he snaps back into his human form. Veins of purple magic are leaking out of his eyes as the magic flickers and he weakly tries to fight from being trapped by Draco’s claws.

"Elders and Sisters!" Jackie jumps back in surprise. "Since when can Draco do that?!"

"Since now," Marvin states. Draco keeps Alt's human form pinned but doesn't continue to attack.

Chase sees what Jackieboy and Henny are doing. He stops shooting and joins them. "They're right!" he gasps out to Bro. "I know you—not for very long, but if there's one thing I know, it's that you want to do the right thing. Try to remember! The King is not on the side of justice!"

Tears are falling down Bro’s cheeks as he gasps and shakes, trying to fight off the magic. He knew this was wrong- he didn’t want to do this! He glances at Chase, voice warbling. “O-Other me…!” Memories of their last adventures causes the magic to flicker more but- Bro is starting to win. The claws of Magnificent’s magic are being pushed back- his mental wall aiding him in fighting it off. But then his eyes flicker to Alt and he stills, purple trying to creep in. “Alt… I… I need to help Alt-!”

Jackieboy kneels down by Chase and holds onto his shoulder. “We’ll help him next Bro! But, you’re his best shot! Mag and the King are hurting him- hurting both of you! They’re using you! None of what they’re making you do is right!”

Bro shuts his eyes and yells one more time, but this time with more determination. The purple and green trying to leak into his eyes burst like glass and then Bro slumps completely to the floor, eyes half rolled up into his head.

Magnificent screams in rage.

The King's head snaps towards Magnificent as he screams. That's not a good sign. Time to act. He holds out his hand, tracing a circle in midair—

—and Alt and Draco fall through a green glowing hole that suddenly opened up in the deck below them. A similar hole opens up in midair next to the King and Magnificent.

"What in the damned world?!" The King gasps, staring at Draco. He recovers quickly, drawing his seax and slashing through the air. Crackling lightning shoots from the blade and hits Draco, sending him flying backwards.

Alt hardly reacts as the portal is opened and he falls but once Draco is off him he glitches to be back by the King and Magnificent. Then he falls to his hands and knees, shaking wildly.

From the ship deck, Marvin screams and falls to his knees, clutching his chest.

"Marvin?!" Jackie drops his swords and runs to him. Henrik's head shoots up at the sound and he sprints over.

"I-I'm fine," Marvin gasps. "It was just—just for a moment. H-he hurt Draco, and I gave him some of my magic, so—"

"That's some side effect!" Jackie gasps.

"Time to go," the King says. "What about the other one?"

Magnificent grabs Alt by his arm and holds him up as the glitch dangles dazedly. He shakes his head, “They managed to snap him out! But… we still have this one. He’s still useful enough to keep around… and to keep the others from interfering.”

Henny sees this and hurries to see if he can get through the portal still. “Magnificent!!”

Mag sees this and throws out green fire to stop anyone else from crossing through. He flashes glowing hate filled eyes at the rebels and snarls. “Congratulations kittens… you get to live a bit longer! But… not for too long. This isn’t over.”

Jackie turns towards the doorway as the flames shoot through and quickly pulls Henny back. He stumbles back as he’s pulled away.

As soon as Magnificent throws fire through the doorway and gives his little speech, Aneirin closes it. He does not need to say anything.

But, right before it closes- Alt’s eyes clear some and he just manages to catch the eyes of some of the others. …and he looks scared.

Henny yells out, tears falling down his face. “Alt!!”

Jackieboy is trying to shake Bro back awake, but the hero is limp and unresponsive.

The King looks back to the boat and catches sight of Chase, who stands and turns towards the railing. The two of them hold eye contact for a brief moment. And then Aneirin grins—and a bolt of lightning strikes the mast.

The wood of the mast splits, fire immediately catching. Luckily, most of the mast is still covered in frost, so the fire doesn't spread too far. Still, it's an effective distraction. The Phantoms turn back, yelling in surprise and confusion, and Aneirin commands the warriors to retreat.

"To the horses," he says, already running in that direction. "Put that one on yours, we can't have him holding us back."

Magnificent nods and quickly grabs Alt’s wrist, slicing off the tracking bracelet. They can always have him cast another one to find the others later… but he can’t have them following them. He teleports onto one of the horses, throwing Alt onto the back and making him pass back out with a wave of static.

Dr. J and Jackieboy hurry to the edge to yell out for their friend.

Aneirin mounts his horse startlingly easy, up in seconds. He grabs the lead of Magnificent's horse, attaching it to the bridle of his, and shouts, "YAH!" Both horses immediately start off in a gallop. The warriors are left behind to catch up, something that not all of them will be able to do without horses of their own.

Chase quickly nocks an arrow and shoots, prompting Jameson to do the same.

But they both miss.

"No!" Chase screams. "No!" He grips the edge of the railing, looking like he's about to throw himself over it and run after the retreating horses. He barely restrains himself from doing just that.

“Alt! ALT!!” Jackieboy screams after them, blinking back angry tears.

Dr. J feels his shoulders sink in despair as he looks away and closes his eyes. “…we can’t catch them…”

Jackie helps Marvin to his feet. He stares after the horses... but they don't have any on board. They'll never catch up without them. "H-hey." He turns to the rest of the Phantoms. "The mast is still on fire." And he starts giving orders on how to fix it.

Henny watches the fire burning on the deck and on the mast and then chokes on a sob, falling to his knees. They got Bro but… Alt is still lost! And now… they know his fate is much worse than they thought.

The sky rolls with thunder, everything is gloomy and gray. Despair hangs heavy in the air.

And then the rain starts to fall.

Jackie pauses in his orders to look up at it. He sighs. "Alright!" He does his best to look unruffled as he continues to address the Phantoms. "We can't go anywhere with the mast like this, so get the tents out. Doctors, check for injuries. We'll wait out the storm, then decide what to do next."

The Phantoms immediately start to move, but Jackie stays where he is. He looks at his other self.

“That fucking furry bitch! Next time I see him I’m gonna fucking kill him!!” Jackieboy growls weakly.

"Yea," Jackie whispers.

"We'll kill him alright," Marvin mutters. He shivers a bit, remembering that the—the magician is supposed to be him. "I-I need to get Draco," he says, hurrying over to the railing and pushing the gate part open. He disappears from sight before anyone can say anything else.

Dr. J looks up at the sky as it starts to rain. He was already soaked from his dip in the river so it actually feels almost nice. He stands there for a second before going over to Henny and sitting beside him. It doesn’t take long for Henny to fall against him and sob into his shoulder as the good doctor holds him tight.

Meanwhile, Chase slumps to the deck, sitting down. Jameson hovers around awkwardly, looking unsure, before deciding to go help people with the tents.

Henrik crouches down by Bro, giving him a quick check-over.

Jackieboy tries to scrub at his face but- kinda dumb when it’s raining now. At least it’s putting the fire out. He goes to check on Bro too, sitting down on his other side as Henrik checks him over. “…is he okay, Doc?”

The cost of fighting off all the magic seems to have manifested into a slight fever as Bro pants slightly, eyes twitching underneath his fluttering eyelids. He whines a bit in his passed out state, hands trembling.

"He's passed out," Henrik reports. "And has a slight fever. It is not too different from side effects I have seen from overusing magic. But, ah, his magic does not work like that, I know. Even so, if this is similar, he will be fine. We should get him into the rain as soon as possible. I-I mean out of the rain." He leans back and lets out a sigh. "I'm... sorry. I cannot..." He trails off, eyes glazing over.

Jackie walks over, hearing what he said. "We can get the tents up really fast. Don't worry. A-and it's not coming down too hard, either. It will be... fine." He looks at Henrik. "Right, Schneep?"

Henrik doesn't answer.

Jackieboy nods and pushes some of Bro’s hair away from his face, looking at him with worry. He then blinks up and tries to shake his head at Henrik, “I-It’s okay man- a lot just happened…” But then Jackieboy blinks and gets to his feet, very worried about the glazed look in Henrik’s eyes. He tries to wave a hand in front of his face. “Ummm Henrik? Are you okay?”

Jackie shakes Henrik's shoulder gently. Still no reaction. He sighs. "He's [katehránhe]. Don't worry... too much. It's a symptom of that curse he mentioned earlier. Did you hear when he talked with JJ about that? A 'mind sickness.'"

Like earlier when Marvin talked about Draco teleporting him, the translation spell struggles with 'katehránhe.' The Swaps hear the word 'dissociating' underneath the word that Jackie actually says, clearly the closest approximation.

Chase blinks, coming back to reality. "I-I've never actually seen him do that. Is it... really okay?"

Jackie shakes Henrik again, now a bit rough. "Henrik? Schneep? Henrik?"

Still nothing.

"If he's not coming out of it now he'll come out of it on his own later. We can keep trying but it could be just a matter of time while his mind goes through what just happened."

Jackieboy winces, “Ah yeah… I vaguely heard. That… really sucks.” He shakes his head, “Um until the tents are set up should we see if we can get them below deck…? Bro and Henrik… I doubt this is fun to experience when you’re also getting soaked…”

Jackie nods. "Good idea. It won't take that long, but we can't let them get cold. You guys get Bro." He grabs Henrik by the arms and pulls.

Henrik follows the motion, standing up.

Jackieboy nods as well, leaning down and grabbing Bro’s arm and throwing it over his shoulder and hoisting him up. He isn’t as strong as the hero but he’s done this enough times now to be semi-decent at lugging him around.

"Alright, let's go." Jackie nods, and guides Henrik over towards the hold. As the two of them--and Jackieboy and Bro--go towards the hold, Jameson leaves it. He steps aside for them to go past and looks around, taking in the state of the rest of the ship.

Marvin is just climbing back on board with Draco, now a normal-sized cat again. Chase is standing up and also looking around, trying to find something to do. And JJ and Henny... where are they?

Dr. J and Henny are still on the deck, JJ trying his best to calm down Henny while the latter cries. Eventually though he mumbles, almost too quiet to hear. “Henrik… we can’t stay out here in the cold…”

Henny sniffles and shakily nods against him. Finally he pushes himself up and looks at the others with red puffy eyes. He takes in the state of the ship and feels that sadness try to swallow him whole again. “…Vsevna’s ship… t-they… they ruined his…” His lip warbles.

Dr. J sighs and gets up, slowly helping Henny up to his feet.

Jameson sees the two of them, overhearing Henny's last comment. He approaches them. If it makes you feel better, it's not actually his ship, Jameson says. We borrowed it. I'm sure we can return it once it's repaired.

"Jameson, is this really the time?" Chase says, sounding tired.

...I suppose that's a small part of everything terrible that happened, Jameson admits.

Henny does seem to perk up a bit, knowing it can be repaired. He tries his best to smile at Jameson and nods his thanks.

But I do really have something that may help. Jameson continues, Once we've got all set up, come find me, alright?

Marvin catches the tail end of that handspeak. "Jair, do you mean...?"

Later, Jameson says firmly. Once we're safe and dry.

Henny and Dr. J both blink and share a glance. “Of course, Jameson. A-Anything you have to help is.. appreciated.” Dr. j says quietly, rubbing at his neck.

Jameson gives them a small smile. If you guys want to help, you can. Or you can wait down in the hold where it's dry.

“I can help,” Dr. J says quickly. He turns to Henny and smiles, “Henrik why don’t you go wait in the hold? You had quite the fall.”

“But-“ Henny tries to say before JJ nudges him slightly, “Doctor’s orders. Please go rest.”

Henny looks conflicted before he nods and heads down to the hold.

Dr. J turns back and smiles, “So… what can I help with?”

Jameson smiles. Do you know how to set up a tent? If not, you can help us move things from the hold.

“I don’t so yeah I’ll help move stuff.” Dr. J replies with a light smile.

“I’ll help too,” Chase says. “The more people, the faster we’ll be dry.”

That’s true. Jameson nods. Alright. Let’s move, then.

The rain is not stopping.

◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈

But the rain doesn’t cover everything. The horses ride hard until they’re out of its range. Then Aneirin abruptly pulls them to a halt. He turns back and glares at the direction they came from. “They were more skilled than we thought,” he mutters angrily.

Magnificent grips at his face as blood drips heavily down through his fingers. The air around him buzzes angrily as he snarls. “The fuck… I thought we had them! Annoying fucking…!” He curses, looking back at the still passed out Alt.

Aneirin grits his teeth in anger and nods. He glances at Magnificent. “Is that blood normal?” Then he looks at Alt as well. “And is he still under control?”

“That last spell used more power than I thought… I’ve reached a limit.” Magnificent growls as he wipes at the blood. “I should gain it back quickly… just an annoyance.” He narrows his eyes at Alt then goes to grip at his head.

Alt’s eyelids flutter and he moans quietly in pain. But under his eyelids flickers with purple and green static.

Magnificent hums, “…yes. Our claws are still in deep.”

Aneirin nods. “Good. We have that, at least.” He rubs his eyes. “I’ve also used a lot, though I’m not yet drained. Lightning always takes a lot. And that damn familiar—I thought those spells were lost.” He shakes his head. “We may need reinforcements if we want to continue to attack. Or we could regroup and try again some other time. I would prefer to eliminate that particular group as soon as possible, though.”

“Agreed…” Magnificent spits.

His mind wanders to think of a solution. If only he had his vestiges… he might be able to make some panthers here but that would require hunting down stray cats… not exactly something he’s looking forward to. And.. gods he doesn’t know if the TRVLR can even work after what it did to Alt. If only there was another way…

Then, his eyes widen slightly. Oh… that could be useful. From what he remembers… that gateway looks like something straight from this world.

Mag looks to the King, “…Aneirin… do you have any idea if such a thing as this gateway exists here?” He opens up his mind to the Royal, picturing the arch he’s used before, with the obsidian covered stones and runes along the sides.

Aneirin narrows his eyes—and then opens them wide. “That doorway. There’s one in your world as well?” He gasps. Then he nods. “Yes. Yes, of course, that would explain why most of the symbols are so strange. I’ve seen exactly what you’re looking for, Magnificent. But… you won’t be happy as to where.” He pauses. “I don’t think you have the Wyldlands in your world. Since the amount of magic here was unfamiliar to you the first time. But that’s what they are. Places of pure magic. And they are very, very dangerous. That doorway exists in the Wyldwoods on the west half of this island. Where, I do not exactly remember. It has been a long, long, long time.”

Magnificent eyes gleam with something akin to excitement and hunger. “ohh… is that so?” He giggles. “If we can get to the doorway… we might be able to open it long enough for me to grab my vestiges and panthers… they could help us greatly and give us an advantage… and give us a sure-fire way to reach beyond the borders of this world!” He laughs. “…surely a magical forest won’t be too much trouble for us, right?”

The King doesn’t smile. “This isn’t just a magical forest, it is the primeval magic of the world welling up. Many of the more fantastical creatures of this world retreated to the Wyldlands when humans began to spread. And beyond that, the magic is so powerful that the place itself—the trees, the flowers, the dirt itself—has a mind.” He tilts his head. “But you and your ‘cub’ have different magic, perhaps that will be an advantage. And the place does not like me very much. It may avoid us. In any case, a smaller group is better.” He looks back at the warriors and mentally dismisses them. They turn their horses around and head straight back to Suilthair. “We don’t want to attract too much attention.”

Magnificent frowns and makes a face. He looks back down at Alt and then snorts, sitting up confidently. “What can a bit of ancient magic do against us, anyways? I’ve learned to make magic my bitch. I’m not scared of some spooky alive forest.”

Aneirin lets out a burst of laughter. “I admire your confidence.” It was the same confidence that he himself had so long ago, and it had scared the Wyldwood. “We’ll head west, then.” He glances down at the still unconscious Alt. “Is he injured? It will slow us down if he is.”

Magnificent grins and then glances at Alt. He looks him over. …there’s an arrow in his shoulder. And he could have a concussion from getting knocked out. Minor signs of corruption are under his eyes but… other than that he seems fine. “The arrow might be an issue… but he’s mostly unharmed.”

Alt starts to stir and groggily turns his head, looking out at the king and Mag. He struggles to sit up- how do you push yourself up from lying on a horse anyways? He dazedly looks around.

“…c…chase? Where’s-“ He croaks out before Magnificent growls and grabs his cheeks, forcing him to look into his eyes as they spiral.

“Your brother betrayed us, Alt. It’s best you forget all about him. All about him and your friends… they don’t matter. None of it matters. All you know is serving us. So forget.”

Alt’s eyes bloom with purple and green as the magic combs through his mind again. “…forget… forget…”

Magnificent lets him drop, watching the new suggestions take hold as he slumps down against the horse. “There… now hopefully there won’t be any rebellion from him…”

“Hopefully.” Aneirin nods. “If the arrow will be an issue, then I’ll take care of it.” He dismounts his horse and walks closer to Mag’s. He presses one hand against Alt right next to the arrow, then grabs the arrow shaft with the other—and swiftly pulls it out.

Alt yelps on instinct, snapping out of his trance. But, it seems to have taken hold. He feels pain for a split second before it’s replaced with a warm tingling feeling. A few electric sparks flicker around Aneirin’s fingers as the wound closes over. “There. Can’t remember the last time I did that. But I’d rather not waste time waiting for it to heal naturally.”

Alt blinks out and looks at his shoulder as it heals. He slumps and nods his thanks, “T-Thank you mu Ríth…”

Mag nods, “Good. Less likely to slow us down now. We should get going.”

"We should."

The King doesn't acknowledge Alt's thanks. He just walks back to his horse and gets into the saddle again. "I need some time for my power to recharge, but once it does, I can make a doorway to cut down on travel. Until then, we ride." He snaps the reins and the horses move again.

Alt tries to stay quiet and get as comfortable as he can on the horse, carefilly pulling himself up. He doesn’t like them but… he feels too weak to try to keep up with Mag and the king on foot.

There's a bird overhead in the sky. The King glances up at it. Another swift. Unusual. He wasn't aware of any in this area.

Alt’s too tired to notice the swift, trying to focus on staying awake. Mag glances up at it and frowns. Strange bird…

The swift flaps its wings once and then turns away. It's going so fast that it almost looks like there are lines coming from the tips of its wings.

Aneirin shakes his head. No time to worry about little things like birds-- And then suddenly the bird turns back and swoops down in front of the horses, startling them. Aneirin pulls on the reins, trying to calm them, swearing under his breath. "Shoot the bird! Hit it! Something!"

Alt’s eyes flash brighter green at the command and he finds his bow and makes an arrow of lightning. He aims and shoots but misses pretty quickly. Mag clings to the horse for dear life, not wanting to be thrown off.

After Alt tries to shoot the bird it circles back around and flies past again, right past him. And-- It all happens in an instant. Images flash through his mind, accompanied by feelings and sensations that seem real and yet not real at the same time.

Alt’s eyes flash blue as the images appear before his eyes. They… don’t make a lot of sense…but he… he feels a connection to it, like… it’s trying to tell him something. Something important. He grips at his injured arm, digging fingers in as if he’s trying to gauge the pain. Why… did he feel like he was the bird for a second…?

And then the swift is gone, flying to the west and quickly disappearing.

"What in the damn world was that?!" the King shouts, confused but instinctively knowing this is not good.

Magnificent snorts and shakes his head, “A fucking crazy ass bird is what it was! The fuck!”

The King shakes his head. "I've never seen something like that happen before. And I've been around for a long time." The horses are still skittish, so he reaches out and soothes their emotions. They calm quickly. Good.

"It's possible the bird was diseased and acting strange because of that. In any case, it is simply one bird, and a small one at that." He makes a gesture like he's holding something in one hand, demonstrating how small the bird is. "And it's gone now. Flew away. Something that we cannot do, which is unfortunate since we have a lot of ground to cover. We have to return to the task at hand."

Alt nods shakily but doesn’t seem fully there- trying to decipher what those visions meant. Some part of him deep deep down hopes the bird will come back. …but he can’t think such traitorous thoughts… the King is right. They have to focus.

Mag nods with a groan, “Yeah… wish we kept a tighter hold on that stupid do-gooder… but alas. We must keep moving.”

"There's always a chance we'll see him again," Aneirin mutters as he spurs the horses on. "In fact, we definitely will, since he's with the rebels. Perhaps when we do we can... show him the error of his ways." His eyes flick to Alt. "Isn't that right, á klaíoh?"

He doesn't really listen to whatever Alt says next. He's too busy thinking about what will happen when they find the rebels again. Planning on how to get rid of them once and for all.

Alt’s eyes burn green anyways, drifting thoughts stilling. “Of course, mu Ríth.”

And slowly the thoughts of his traitorous brother slip away.

#LLTK #long live the king #the boys meet!!#the swaps finally see just how fuched up alt and bro are #ugh one of my fav moments really JGHVH #the boys all desperate as they see Alt taken away UGH IT GETS ME EVERY TIME #anyways sorry this is so late it’s been hard getting back on my posting schedule #I swear imma sit down and get these all queued later HGHBB

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the-golden-comet · 9 months ago

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✨Find The Word Tag✨

Thank you so very much for tagging me, @fortunatetragedy and @gioiaalbanoart ! I’ll combine your words for the Peter Hart word hunt! ✨

OUR words: corybantic, petrichor, gold, sky, Bride, fork, coin, snack

For Peter Hart:

corybantic and petrichor: 0. Nice words, by the way! ✨

gold (x6) (could you tell it’s my favorite color? ✨)

A chipper crew aboard The renovated Golden Phoenix vessel laughed and sang as they manned the rigs and hoisted the black, golden-trimmed sails. The deckhands swabbed and sang, clicking their mops down to a rhythmic, upbeat shanty. Victor polished a cannon with a rag as he whistled to the tune, scrubbing the grime and mold from the mortar as his sleeves blackened with soot. At the helm, a 26-year old Captain Peter Hart; His hair, still golden like the sun above and the insignia on the sails that carried the crew, shimmered underneath his inherited black tricorn.

His haircut was short, resting just below the ears as a few strands swept across his forehead in flat bangs. Peter’s jaw, chiseled and refined with his coming of age, was only gently stubbled. He was wearing his father’s old trenchcoat, which fit perfectly over his broad shoulders, black and buttoned down in gold trim. A white, lightweight shirt rested beneath the heavy coat, soaked and stained in seawater, with a splash of blood from his past fallen foes. The black-leathered boots, scuffed and scum-laiden, fit snugly to the knees as his white and heavily-stained cotton pant legs tucked in the straps.

The captain’s fingers tapped on the spokes of his wheel as he hummed in tune with his hearty crewmates, the hands covered in tanned-hide gloves that tied at the elbows, resting under the arms of the coat and stopping at the rolled-up shirt sleeves. He tapped his foot as he tilted the wheel clockwise, the golden rings adorning his exposed fingers clanking against the steel supports of the axle and glinting to match the buckle on his brown leather belt. Once a cabin boy, now a fine young captain, this was the tale of Peter Hart, the Golden.

sky

The captain yawned up at the speckled sky. “You think the bounty’s gonna be greater than ten-thousand?”

“Easily, m’boy.” Davey rolled his eyes equal to his shoulders. “At least a hundred thousand on your head.”

Wonder what that brings my total up to now~?” Peter chuckled.

“I can’t even count that high, laddie.” Davey shook his head slowly in disappointment.

bride (x2)

“But you have to marry SOMEONE soon, Benjamin!!” Matthias huffed in indignance. “You are my only son, and therefore the only one who can produce an heir. I’ll be damned if I let another year go on without so much as a bride.”

“Father, please— ” Benjamin sighed roughly, yet was cut off again by his father’s raging temper.

“—ENOUGH. Benjamin Bartholomew, you will pick out a bride tonight, or I will choose for you.”

Fork (x2)

Benjamin stared down at his plate, as pale as the ivory itself. He couldn’t even touch the food, let alone stomach it. His heart had been beating hard all morning, and the thought of eating anything would make the food violently come back up. Peter, on the other hand, nearly finished his portion as he pointed a silver fork at the forlorn prince.

“Eat it, before it gets cold.” He spoke in between mouthfuls. “I got the silver out for you and everything.”

“I-I’m not hungry….” Benjamin muttered.

Peter caught the lie. “I heard your stomach growling.”

The prince corrected himself. “I c-can’t stomach anything right n-now….”

“Ahhh….” The captain finished his meal, wiped his lips on a napkin, then leaned back in his chair. “….well, you need to eat. I’m not having you faint on my floor.”

Benjamin gulped hard, grabbing a fork as it shook in his grasp. He successfully managed to shear off a piece of fish meat, bringing it to his mouth as he carefully felt around the flesh for bones. Satisfied, Peter resumed: “So, Benji. Heard you were going to get married…”

coin (x5)

“Is that what it’s all about to you?!” Benji yanked away from Alexander’s grasp. “The worthless coin?!”

“WORTHLESS COIN?! ” Alex chided. “That coin could build an empire tenfold. THAT COIN could fix a falling nation. That coin….” He took in a shaky, fire-fueled inhale. “….is worth far more than your stupid, fucking heart.”

Benjamin’s body was tense as Prince Alexander tried to apprehend him again. “Get your hands OFF of me!!”

snack (only one. Nice. ✨)

The First Mate scoffed. “Aye, but how are we going to sneak our boats back to her without becoming Kraken snacks?!”

I’ll tag (no pressure): @wyked-ao3 , @sunglasses-in-the-bentley , @autism-purgatory , @alinacapellabooks , +open tag! ✨

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whitedragoncoranth · 1 year ago

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Kirathian Dragon Ieesha

KiraTech Industries

~Come on and close your eyes // Imagine me by your side // She's got similar features // But paler hide // So if that's what it takes // To get you through // Go on and close your eyes // It shouldn't bother you!~ Ieesha sang as she worked. Before her on her workbench was her Avionics Helm, broken down into pieces as she worked on it, carefully lowering into place the latest carefully designed OLED screens which would project the HUD onto her field of view when she wore it. Now, I know what you're thinking: How can a huge dragoness the size of an A380 Airbus work on delicate things like that?! The answer: the psionic power of Telekinesis, which Ieesha - and all Kirata Dovah, the Kirathian Dragons - had in spades! With the OLEDs installed and connected, Ieesha briefly tested everything with the bench power supply and then - seeing that everything worked as expected - she put the Helm back together, its pieces snapping, bolting and screwing back into place in a fascinating and otherworldly dance.

Gently setting the helm aside, my beloved dragoness stood and stretched; then, she looked up at her latest harness iteration, the metallic exoskeletal construct hanging from the ceiling of the room via HUGE chains that had once been used to moor great battleships. Bristling with aeronautical instruments and sensors for gathering all kinds of atmospheric, weather, and diagnostic data, the harness was also equipped with dozens of holders for bags, pouches, and panniers. It was an incredible tool for carrying whatever we might need no matter where in the world we were, or the job we were doing. Search and Rescue, Cargo Hauling, Mail Delivery, Construction work, even the careful transport of patients to hospitals if needed... that harness could carry it all! Ieesha stood, looking up at the harness for a time, wondering what else she might add to it, or redesign, what ways she could use to make it more effici--

"Working hard, or hardly working?" I said teasingly as I closed the side panel of a PC on my own bench, having installed a new Graphics Card for a client. Finshing my work, I boxed the PC up then placed it outside the laboratory door; a KTI agent would pick it up later to be sent to where it needed to go. No sooner had I finished up, however, then Ieesha was there, nuzzling my face, trilling softly, purring. ~Shush, you!~ she grumbled good-naturedly, then nudged me gently, touched noses with me, and I kissed her snout. "New helm eyes in?" I asked. Her happiness singing through our bond, my beloved dragoness nodded. Stepping out of the laboratory, she guided me over to the fleece pile; then I was on it, and she was curled about me, a wing over my body as I rested with her there. ~Yep,~ she answered. ~Those new OLEDs are amazing, designed and manufactured exactly to spec; I'll run them through their paces first, then later every KTI Helm is getting upgraded.~

For some reason or another... Ieesha had become fixated on the Marvel Hero Iron Man; but she had focused on all his good qualities, without the bad. She'd seen his labs in all of the films, gotten super excited about it all; then a few years later she was founder and CEO of her own Company, KiraTech Industries, with scientists, researchers, staff, and a premium laboratory of her own. She had become the Tony Stark of Kirathian Dragons! KTI was like the UAC and Stark Industries combined--always at the forefront, the sheer bleeding edge, unafraid to experiment with mind-blowing technologies that bordered on the magical--yet guided firmly with her gentle morals and ethics. KTI not only designed long lasting human technologies - better ways of growing food in more places, better harvesters, ways to better extract filter, and purify water for those places needing it, medical devices and prosthetics for humans - but also designed assistance aids and prosthetics for dragons as well.

The mainstay was, of course, the KTI Avionics Package consisting of a top-of-the-line rugged, mil-spec saddle-harness and avionics helm; that a Kirathian Dragon could comfortably carry not only their rider, but also tonnes of cargo, medical supplies, mail -- whatever -- without issue, whilst having access to all of the same data that human aircrafts could get; a necessity when flying through human-controlled airspace. Still, Ieesha desired more, thus, KTI was looking into ways to vastly extend human life, ways to try and solve or mitigate the problem of the "Mal'Dovah", the low-born animalistic dragon whelplings that sometimes resulted from an Omari Kirata mating. She was looking at it from a genetic, scientific viewpoint -- but I, too, was looking into it from a "nature vs nurture" view; were the Mal'Dovah "automatically" sadistic and cruel from birth or did this come about from parental rejection and denied access to the eternal Dovah Sil? Currently, we didn't know -- but we would find out, thanks to a number of Omari Kirata who'd had enough of the old traditions, who had keened and tearfully refused to reject, give up on, and euthanize their 'simple' feral hatchlings; rather, they would love, cherish, and try to educate them like any high born Kirathian!

#dragoness #kirathian dragon #original species #mammalian dragon #human/dragoness #love #romance

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matrose · 2 years ago

Note

What sort of mark do you think Gimli left in Aman (besides the one on Legolas ofc)?

what a cute ask...thank you!! 🏔💙

ive been thinking on this for a bit and its so hard to say, theres so much information we lack! let me collect my thoughts on the information that we do have real quick ❤️💐‼️❣️

1) the matter of age and natural death, of the time he had left: gimli sailed when he was 262 years old, nine years older already than his father gloin who died of persumably natural causes at age 253. gimlis cousin dwalin on the other hand lived until he was 340, much older. this, combined with the healing properties the undying lands are said to have, makes me personally, generously think that gimli had perhaps another 100 years left in aman ❤️

2) the matter of gimlis abilities and his craft, of what he was most profficient in: gimli of course knows the basics of stonework and smithcraft, knows how to listen to his surroundings and knows very well how to swing his axe (aragorn says, during the battle of helms deep, that he has never seen „an axe so wielded“ as gimli does). im very sure that there are many dwarven-made jewelry pieces in aman, though they mostly belong to just one elf. but one of gimlis greatests gifts is his speech! this is pointed out once by galadriel and twice by legolas:

It is said that the skill of the Dwarves is in their hands rather than in their tongues,’ she said; ‘yet that is not true of Gimli. For none have ever made to me a request so bold and yet so courteous.’

‘You move me, Gimli,’ said Legolas. ‘I have never heard you speak like this before. Almost you make me regret that I have not seen these caves.’

Then Legolas repaid his promise to Gimli and went with him to the Glittering Caves; and when they returned he was silent, and would say only that Gimli alone could find fit words to speak of them. ‘And never before has a Dwarf claimed a victory over an Elf in a contest of words,’ said he.

furthermore his voice is refered to as strong multiple times and he is most definitely not a bad singer! so weve got the power of speech and voice, he's a wordsmith - my first thought when i read your question, before i started typing anything, was him leaving behind a book… one of poetry, maybe. or one that recounts the history of dwarves. though i think this would not be commonly read in aman as he would simply not want it to, so really this would just be for legolas and another mark left behind for him. afterall, most of what elves know of dwarven history does not come from a book but rather from the mouth of legolas! furthermore, the written word never was all that important to dwarves (they only started using it to communicate with men and elves) and it is rather oral tradition that is important for them.

the thought im writing this in mind with is that, perhaps a thousand years after gimli has physically left aman, many halls still echo songs that sound rather dwarvish in nature. they were never intended to be songs, of course, like the hobbit songs the youngest elves love most (i like to imagine bilbos bath time songs especially are big hits!). rather, they were poems. but the elf who loves them most just could not stop giving them melodies. many of them were about the beauty of far away middle-earth, many told of the beauty of aman, of the mountains and valleys and caves, and even forests, sometimes. a few, though, are about love. there is one ballad that singers often perform at the request of young, lovesick elves: it tells the story of an elf of the woods (he remains unnamed), famed for his skill in archery and his dark eyes, who catches the singers heart in his hands one day and mischieviously refuses to give it back...galadriel smiles when she hears it performed, because she is one of the few who knows and remembers who the ballad is about 💞

note: the elf within the song is unnamed and few know that gimli is the original author because to me, gimli and legolas have always exuded an air of privacy; theyre doing their own thing and frankly just want their peace! so in my opinion it would not be that important to either of them to be remembered for a love song. a poem-turned-song about the glittering caves is attributed to gimli, though =)

there are many small marks in aman, most in vicinity to legolas, that were left by gimli, but his poems (with legolas' melodies) remained in all of aman for endless years, and some have said that aulë himself listens in to the songs being performed at times ❤️

#THANK YOU I HAD LOTS OF FUN BEING A LITTLE CHEESY ❤️#gigolas #also maybe gimli and legolas built a house together with combined architectural styles? hmmm what do you think...

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saphirered · 4 years ago

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The Lovers

Spoilers for Campaign 2 Ep141

Man oh man oh man. I've had this one written since the day after the last episode but I've been soooooo hesitant to post it at all 🙈. Anyway... I'm just gonna regardless because it's just sitting there staring at me to either delete or post it 🤭. I hope you enjoy because I'm still so conflicted about his piece of writing 😅. Unless people actually like it I might just end up deleting it after all.

---

Jester had asked you to come along on another journey of the Nein Heroez. She needed your expertise for something but couldn’t get across what for within the twenty-five word limit. Regardless, the opportunity to see and travel with your friends is not one you’re just going to pass on so of course you happily made your way to Nicodranas. Maybe the ocean would do you some good. It’s been a while after all.

In the first few days of your journey Jester had been keeping a close eye on you, watching your responses and reactions. Specifically your reactions to any and all interactions with a certain lavender tiefling. When she was certain your responses to the tiefling in question were not in any way negative and cordial if not friendly you found yourself being paired with him more often than not. Watch, hoisting the sails or dropping them, food shifts and even at the helm a few times.

You caught an argument between Fjord and Jester a few weeks later. Fjord was defending you and telling Jester she couldn’t just play matchmaker after everything that had happened between the previous inhabiter of Kingsley’s body and you and how it might still be a painful subject of not once but twice being faced with someone that’s not the person you loved and lost.

Jester seeing reason in Fjord’s arguments put aside the love story she’d been trying to unfold with you and the poor tiefling as her main characters. The shifts you shared with Kingsley came to a close and would be no more often than any shifts shared with anyone else on the crew.

One day the Nein Heroez made port to stock up on some supplies after being hit by a storm and running short on food. The crew was given some downtime to enjoy the many pleasures port has to offer but you decided to stay back at the ship. You asked Jester for the cards.

You’re sitting crosslegged on the docks watching the sunset as the crew leaves in groups bidding you goodbye while they go. Once the majority of them have left you take out the cards and begin laying them in certain patterns starting with simple ‘yes/no’s onto the past present future and more complicated readings. You’re not paying attention to any particular results but instead study the drawings fondly.

“You’d call me a sentimental fool.” You snicker as the fool card is revealed in front of you.

“Sentimental? Yes. A fool? I’ve yet to decide.” You turn around at the familiar voice seeing the tails of the black sleeveless coat you’ve grown accustomed to seeing around. You pick up the cards and put them back in their order stacking them.

“Oh really? You’d think a few weeks of being not so inconspicuously paired together on any task possible would give you enough time to form an opinion on that?” You tease beginning a new read.

“Maybe that makes me the fool then.” You can almost hear the smirk in his words.

“Care to find out?” You put down card by card face down. You know how to push for certain results. A trick you’d picked up from your former lover. It feels right to use it against him in a strange twisted way like this. Not really him but close enough.

Kingsley sits down to the side, not trusting you to not push him off the docks if he were to make an offensive (in jest of course) remark. Gathering the cards back up you start over. Time for a bit of fun. You push for the first card setting it down face up in front of him.

“The owl and the bear. Some might say the most deadly combination when put together. Be watchful of the owl’s words or you might find yourself at the ends of the bear’s claws.”

“So it was a good idea to sit on this side and avoid meeting my waterlogged demise.”

“Are you doubting my capabilities, Kingsley?” You smirk and watch the tiefling gulp. You move on to the next card making a show of pulling it from the deck and displaying it.

“Look at that! What did I say. The fool has appeared. The cards have spoken. my fool.” You take a bow as if addressing the most pretentious royalty around limited only by your crosslegged position on the docks. Kingsley can’t help but let out a chuckle at your theatrics.

“The cards have spoken indeed! A fool I must be.” He plays along. You begin picking up the two cards and restack the deck.

“Hey hey hey, isn’t there supposed to be three cards for this one? Not two?” You stop. He’s not wrong technically. You raise an eyebrow at him, fan out the cards and allow him to pull one from the deck as per the variant of this reading, putting the fate in the hands of the drawer. Not really of course. Usually you’d still be able to push for a card for them to draw but for this one you’d leave it up to the divines. You’ve had your fun.

And fun it was until Kingsley kept the card for himself, studying it closely. You were curious to see which one he pulled but you hadn’t exactly paid attention to that like you’d otherwise done. You wait for him to either give it back or tell you what it is but he takes a long time.

“So what is it?” You ask, your curiosity getting the better of you. It still takes a good few seconds before he lowers the card so you can see it too.

“Oh.” Is all you manage to vocalise upon seeing the card. The Lovers. The familiar drawing of a lavender tiefling looking at another figure arm outstretched and love in their eyes. The image of the tiefling reaches for the outstretched hand of the other figure; your figure. You’re staring back at your own face and the expression Mollymauk had claimed to have plenty of visual references for to know he could properly draw you but would always ask for one more just to remind him.

“I’m so sorry.” Kingsley hands the card back to you and you keep staring at it. He stays for a little bit to make sure you’re alright as you’re hit with a whirlwind of emotions. Once he’s sure you’re alright he begins to get up.

“I’ll leave you to the rest of your evening. Someone’s gotta make sure these fools drink just enough and start a brawl or two.” You snap out of it putting the card back into the deck.

“Kingsley. It’s alright. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.” The whirlwind subsides and you return back to a peaceful state of mind. You offer the tiefling a kind smile and he halts himself sitting back down still somewhat tense. He opens his mouth to say something but is quick to close it again. There’s a moment of silence between the two of you as you shuffle the cards absentmindedly. You catch onto the conflict and hesitation in Kingsley’s features.

“If there’s something you wish to say please do say it.”

“When you said you loved him… I think it never registered it was anything other than the love the others held for him. Strongly yes but I always assumed it was akin to Yasha’s. Why didn’t you say anything?” Kingsley states piecing things together watching you closely.

“It’s not a burden for you to bear.” You pull the Lovers card back up to the top and study it closely.

“I might not know much but I don’t think being faced with your dead lover’s body inhabited by someone not him doesn’t bother anyone. That’s just cruel.”

“It doesn’t bother me. Not anymore. I’ve grieved Molly when he died. I grieved him again when Lucien returned. I’ve gone through it all and accepted he’s not coming back and that’s okay. Everything comes to an end at some point. I don’t think it’s cruelty. I think everything is as it should be.” You speak honestly stroking your thumb over the card.

“I have so many questions.” Kingsley states. You get it. He woke up one day, recovering from death not knowing who he is or was before that moment beyond emotions and flashes of a past that didn’t feel like his. That’s exactly why you wanted to spare him another previous relation to figure out. Yes it might make things slightly more difficult for you but that’s not his fault. That’s no one’s fault.

“And I believe Beau gave you her notebook so you can read back about your predecessors. But you’re not ready for that yet, are you? That’s okay. Don’t read it until you feel ready.” Kingsley’s head shoots up to look at you. Why do you understand him? Maybe you’re wiser than he gives you credit for but he thinks you’re already pretty wise.

“Expectations. Everyone expected something of me but I didn’t live up to it. I’m not who he used to be and that disappoints people. But from you, you never expected anything from me. Why?” He’s piecing it together bit by bit. You never slipped up. Never asked him to put on a coat that wasn’t his or asked him if he remembered something. You never even asked him if he recalled anything about you or sought to involve yourself in his life without his permission.

“It’s unfair to expect someone to be or become someone they’re not and never will be. You get to be your own person free of the constraints of the past.” The answer is simple. There’s no deceit or doubt. No hidden message or intent behind it.

“How is it you of all people can say that without pain or regret or wishing it were different?” You turn the card back around and put it back in the deck in its place and put the cards away. You take a second before answering trying to formulate a proper answer as Kingsley waits studying every micro expression.

“Bear with me for this one.” You start and he nods. “Lucien was born lonely forced to fend for himself and make friends out of the need to survive. Molly rose from a grave alone and scared. He was taken in by friends but he had to find a home his home with them. He found that home and got kindness and love. You awoke surrounded by friends, no family you didn’t even know but would still love you regardless. No matter what, you’d always have a home with them. You’d be neither alone nor lonely unless you choose to be.” You explain and take breath before you continue.

“You plant random seeds in the ground it’s very unlikely you’re going to receive the same flower twice. The only similarity they have is that they are seeds and will grow as long as they have the right foundations to do so. When I look upon you I see Kingsley Tealeaf, a man that became a sailor after we brought him back from the Astral Sea. There may be similarities, your roots may even be the same but you are not the same. You are separate.”

Kingsley takes in your words very carefully with a sense of understanding and something with in him he couldn't quite pinpoint until now. Acceptance and content. Whatever might have been holding him back before, he’ll have to come to terms with that. That’s the past and if the past comes searching for him one day, so be it. Until then, Kingsley Tealeaf has a life of his own to live and to enjoy. Enjoy all life has to offer, to its fullest and don’t hold back.

Let the sailor become captain of his own ship knowing he has a home and a family that will welcome him with open arms to return to. Let the eight be nine despite the expectations of others. Be free and be happy. Live content.

#critical role spoilers #critical role #critrole x reader #critical role x reader #mighty nein x reader #mighty nein #kingsley tealeaf #kingsley x reader

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my-writings-and-musings · 4 years ago

Text

MTMTE Headcannon Prompt

Enemy forces hack the Lost Light and deactivate the atmospheric controls, leading to a slow loss of oxygen in the hopes the damage to the ship's "pet" will give them an edge. While the rest of the crew struggles to fight off their attackers and restore these critical systems, the bot(s) you've come to love stays by your side as a guard while begging you to remain conscious, growing ever more panicked as you begin to fade... Until you're saved just in time, and then they're left grappling with the fact they nearly lost you.

(A lot more dramatic than my first prompt certainly, and way more involved so I can only do two bots per post... But I'll get to them all!)

Part One: You're Here!

Part Two: Here!

Part Three: Here!

Part Four: Here!

Part Five: Here!

Part Six: Here!

Part Seven: Here!

Part Eight: Here!

Part Nine: Here!

Part Ten: Here!

Part Eleven: Here!

Part Twelve: Here!

Rodimus

·You're chilling on the mess of blankets he uses as extra insulation in the berth, debating which movie you'll watch with him when he returns, when the ship gives a rumble. At the lack of emergency signals that follow, you assume something has just bumped against the shields, which happens so frequently you only shrug.

·Elsewhere on the bridge, Rodimus receives a taunting message from the enemy ambush, bragging about how impossibly easy it was to crash key programs on the Lost Light, like the air filtration system... which will make things awfully difficult for his pet as oxygen has started to leak. He goes from aggressive bantering to obvious horror, putting the pieces together just as a loud series of distant rumblings marks the deactivation of the filters providing the oxygen you need to survive.

·For once his commanding officers all know what to expect in unison, allowing them to take over the bridge when he abandons it in a desperate rush to your location, his pounding pedes leaving tire marks in his wake as he stumbles into a frantic transformation to cross the distance as fast possible.

·Unable to reach you on any channel, he loses all focus of his surroundings before skidding to a tumbling halt before your shared quarters, calling out your name and activating his scanner as he registers dangerously low and still dropping oxygen levels across the ship.

·You're unaware of anything amiss as you continue to relax, but that's mostly due to a growing fog of confusion settling over your thoughts and senses. It's so dense that it has already made you incapable of noticing that the air is unusually stale, and your befuddlement only grows when he barges in like the place is burning down, moreso than usual.

·Scooping you into his arms, his relief at seeing you alive and conscious turns to terror when he realizes you've already begun to suffer the effects, as your bleary smile and dizzy demeanor make clear. He doesn't need to be a human doctor to know you're already in a bad way.

·Just as he is halfway through an explanation you barely understand, he receives a communication through restored channels from the other commanding officers warning that the ship has been boarded by enemy forces, at which point he resolutely declares that nothing will reach you so long as his spark has so much as a flicker left. In your inability to grasp the danger his steadfast vigilance is heartwarming.

·A defensive unit is posted outside for your safety, but as the battle rages through the ship and oxygen levels continue to fall, he stops focusing on the invasion. Instead he cradles you and encourages you to be still and quiet while he tries to keep up a one sided conversation to keep you distracted, knowing that what oxygen remains must be rationed.

·For the first time in his life he can't fake a smile no matter how badly he tries, the sight of your increasingly strained breaths and fading eyes drawing tears to his optics and eventually forcing him to his knees as his meandering words turn to soft pleading, his voice cracking as he alternates between begging you to stay with him and apologizing for being unable to save you.

·As you hover over a warm blackness you're far too disoriented to be as afraid as you should be, and instead you offer comfort at the sight of the bot you've come to adore so readily, murmuring your love even as he gently shushes you and tears begin to fall down his face without reservation.

·Though the battle turns in favor of the crew and the room you're in is spared attack, the atmospheric systems remain inoperable for what he knows is too long, and the ticking seconds match the fluttering of your eyes as they try not to shut.

·You know he wants you awake, but you're so incredibly tired and he's so impossibly comfortable, why can't he just let you have a nap? It's not like you won't be able to see each other after, so why does he look so sad? You wish you could tell him not to be sad.

·When you inevitably slip into unconsciousness he's beside himself, panicking but doing everything he can to gently wake you up, tenderly rubbing his thumb over your cheek to encourage you to stir. The crushing grief just beginning to take hold is so great he actually doesn't notice he has a message until it forces itself through.

·He's barely able to recollect the conversation he has with Ratchet, save the order to get you to the medical bay, where they've restored just enough functionality to produce oxygen on a one human scale. The bots who saw him running afterwards said there was little more visible than a fiery blur with you in his arms.

·Cybertronian engineering combined with carefully studied earth medicine provides you with the air you need just in time, dredging you up slowly from deep unconsciousness to the sterile taste of a ventilation mask over your face. Your discomfort mattered precious little when you behold Rodimus at your side, servo cupping your body as his face still shines with tears.

·It takes moments for him to break when you're left alone together, his shoulders shaking as the helplessness continues to haunt him, and his apologies blend together in an endless tangle of self depreciation.

·As you've come to do when he's overwhelmed, you encourage him to come closer, hugging his helm to your smaller body as if he's laying it in your lap. The oxygen mask limits you, but you don't let it stop your quiet shushes as you stroke his crests. ·Without delay you slow his tears, reassuring him that everything is well until exhaustion claims him and he falls asleep at your bedside.

·The experience doesn't leave him for some time. Both in public and in private you catch him paying close attention to you, and you know he's double checking your breathing, still worrying that such a simple thing could steal you away so quickly.

· Finally, you take him aside and pull his hand to your chest, indicating the rythym of your body and how you know it better than anyone. If he can't trust the world, then he should at least trust you, and with that newfound perspective he starts to heal as well. Because he trusts you more than anything.

Magnus/Minimus

·You're in the berthroom the two of you share, distracted by preparations for what you hope will be a simple but relaxing night in. In the well protected room it's impossible to hear much going on outside, especially with you focused so intently on making everything just the way he likes it.

·He's in his office and armor completely focused on some important paperwork when he receives an urgent warning; they're being boarded, and the attackers have already managed to offline several key atmospheric regulators and security systems. The thought initially only spurs him to begin defensive measures, but the moment he sees that oxygen levels are starting to drop, protocol ceases to exist.

·In battle he's always been a foe to be reckoned with, but now he's like a force of nature barreling through the ship, and the single unit of enemies that tries to confront him becomes little more than scattered body parts before they can let off a single shot. His fury is so overwhelming even his allies flinch when he tears past them to reach your shared quarters. He can't contact you by communicator, and he's uncertain if it's due to downed channels, or something he can't bring himself to consider.

·The door stands little hope when he tears it open in rage that's quickly evolving into panic, shouting your name as a flood of terrifying possibilities torture him with all the ways you could already be suffering. He has no idea how much or how little oxygen you need, and for all he knows the deprivation is already killing you, making you suffer...

·It takes all of his incredible self control not to embrace you when you stumble into view, dizzy and weak as well as quite confused, and he realizes things are far from okay when you lean on his offered hand to prevent yourself from falling. You actually laugh thanks to the delirium, finding it adorable to see the big tough bot diving to catch you.

·He can't bring himself to be mad at you not taking this seriously, but he's certainly frustrated at himself for being absolutely helpless to assist you, even if there's nothing he can do in the midst of the chaos with no communication options in working order.

·Ever the tactician, he barricades the two of you as effectively as he can, knowing that you're vulnerable enough now that moving you through combat could be fatal. The entire time he's multitasking on a million fronts; trying to keep you still on the berth to conserve energy, working to reestablish communication with anyone, and internally punishing himself for not having prepared some kind of protocol for this situation.

·Due to his personality you're quite accustomed to seeing him worry, but you're hardly comfortable with it, and on reflex you keep trying to comfort and reassure him despite your weakening state. His insistence you stay resting makes as little sense as his explanations, all you know is he needs help.

·Every minute drags by like an eternity, yet his skill at spotting details makes it impossible for him to miss the toll each one takes in real time. Your breaths are growing more strained, your body is settling down onto the berth with less resistance, and your eyes are meeting his with increasing dullness.

·When you can't even sit up a part of him simply... snaps. All but throwing off his armor, he brings you into his arms in his base form, not admitting but knowing that if he can't save you, he wants this to be the last way you see him.

·In a pleasant haze of fading consciousness, you initially smile at the sight, having always preferred to see him as his true self as often as possible. You'd playfully pointed out how he still towered over you in this form so many times...

·With no traces of battle growing close, or of help arriving before it's too late, he can't help but lose sight of the world around him in its entirety. What does the universe matter if you won't be in it? What good are his abilities if he can't save you from something so apparently benign?

·Never before has he cried in the presence of anyone, so to see tears in those beautiful red optics gives you considerable pause, even as your vision grows dark around you. Something must have been terribly wrong for him to cry, but you care far more about comforting him than finding out what.

·Despite the weight in your limbs, you reach up as he holds you close to weakly cup his face, shushing him with a promise he'll be okay before slipping into darkness.

·It's a stroke of fortune that Ratchet arrives when he does, catching the smaller mech holding your limp form tight as his shoulders shake in silent sobs, as the broken bot would have never allowed your loss to go unpunished. He's bordering on incoherent himself when the medic explains that the attack has been stopped, and that while communications are still down, he was able to isolate a portable supply of oxygen for you.

·It's almost too much for him to believe when the mask is laid over your face and life returns to your peaceful form. The medic confirms you'll survive, and while there will be a road to recovery, you shouldn't suffer any ill effects from the close call. He's torn between relief and still further worry.

·Had you not been saved, he's certain he would have donned his armor and annihilated each attacker personally, with little intention of living to fight another day... But as you recover in the aftermath, he instead throws himself into crafting regulations, trying to come up with a series of safeguards and rules to ensure this can't happen again. He drafts it all at your bedside.

·When you wake up he's effusive in his apologies. How could he not have predicted this? It's such an obvious possibility! He takes your tiny hand in his as he alternates between admonishing his tactical failure and begging forgiveness, forcing you to interrupt and quiet him down before he can say anything else against himself.

·You remind him that it's not his purpose in life to protect you, as he should know better than anyone your size doesn't mean you need constant protection. All you need is for him to be there, just as he is, which is what he's done.

·Only a few tears fall this time, and you're eternally grateful to confirm that they're from blissful relief. He doesn't know how you manage to always remove the weight of the world from his shoulders, but you do, and he'll treasure that more completely from now on.

#transformers #maccadam #mtmte #more than meets the eye #lost light #idw #tf #transformers headcanon #my writing #rodimus x reader #minimus x reader #minimus ambus #rodimus prime #human reader #self insert

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doc-pickles · 3 years ago

Text

hoping, dreaming, dying to keep

And all at once, you are all I want, I'll never let you go

King of my heart, body and soul

“You know, I found your husband.”

The voice in the doorway of the lounge made Jo look up in shock, brows furrowing as she comprehended what Alex had just said. “What?”

“I hired a guy. I found his name. I looked him up,” Alex paused, gauging Jo’s reaction as he relayed his actions. “And then I went and found him.”

“Oh, my God, Alex.”

“Look. You didn't ask me to do that, and you didn't give me permission to do that, and it was wrong, and I'm sorry. But Jo, I swear to God, I could never, ever hurt you,” Alex wore a pitiful expression as he looked at Jo, obviously hoping she would hear him out. “My dad, he was like your ex. I'm not like that, all right? I'm not like my dad. I mean, I do things that are wrong. I do things that are stupid. But I swear to you I would never hurt you.”

Jo let Alex’s words sink in, heart pounding as she realized that Alex had gone behind her back, “You saw Paul?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you serious? After I told you what I went through you just went behind my back and found Paul,” Jo ran a hand through her hair as she fought back tears. “I’ve spent so many years hiding from him and you just what? Found him on the internet? What if he figures out where I am? What then?” “Jo I-”

“No this… This is unforgivable. I’m sorry Alex but I don’t think I can trust you again after this,” Jo turned away from Alex, attempting to stem her tears long enough for her to get herself alone. “Can you just leave? Please?”

There’s a long pause and she almost thinks that he’s left her there before his voice pipes up, “I’m sorry Jo. Really I am.” Once she hears him leave the lounge and shut the door behind himself, Jo let’s a few quiet tears escape. She contemplates running, leaving everything behind once again and starting over. But she’s built a life here in Seattle, Alex be damned. She wasn’t going to let Paul or her fear keep her from living her life. If Paul became an issue again then she’d face the problem when it was standing in front of her. She wasn’t the same scared girl she used to be, she was a fighter and she could handle this.

“The Heparin should have helped by now. I think I made the wrong call.”

Jo’s heart drops as she approaches Alex and Amelia. She had run herself ragged around the hospital trying to find an answer only for her search to be useless.

“Wait. Heparin? No. I texted,” Alex turns at the sound of her voice, eyeing her warily. “They didn't reverse him.”

“Damn it. We can't access the reversal agent,” Alex looks at Amelia, who nods at him as she moves into the room. “Prep him to move.”

“What is it? What's wrong,” Frankie’s mom is frantic as Helm and Amelia begin to prep Frankie.

“Frankie's AVM might be bleeding. We've got to get him to the O.R. now.”

“But the medicine you gave him. It was supposed to help.”

“I'm sorry. We need to go.”

Amelia and Helm push Frankie out of the room, his mom hot on their heels. Jo watches them, her teeth gnawing on her bottom lip in worry. Finally she looks up to Alex who hasn’t moved from his spot next to her.

“Hey. I'm so sorry. I texted. It didn't go through. And then…”

“And then what,” Jo is expecting anger from Alex but instead his voice is laced with concern as he places a hand on her shoulder. “Jo, what’s wrong?”

She doesn’t know why the words slip out so easily for her but as Jo looks at Alex she can’t help herself, “Paul is here. I… I saw him downstairs.”

She doesn’t need to say anything else as Alex steps forward and wraps his arms around her, pulling her close as she takes a few shuddering breaths, “Why don’t you come sit in the gallery while Amelia and I operate? That way you aren’t totally alone.”

Jo nods, silently agreeing to Alex’s plan as they walked down the hall towards the OR. Jo stops a few feet away from the scrub room, gripping Alex’s arm tightly. In front of them sits Paul Stadler, fixing his shoe covers without a care in the world. Alex quickly turns to Jo, blocking her from Paul’s view.

“I’m in OR 3, go up to the gallery and don’t move until I come up later,” Alex watched as Jo let out a shaky breath and nodded, eyes still trained on Paul. “It’s gonna be alright Jo.”

Alex wants nothing more than to reach down and kiss Jo, to hold her tight as a comfort to both of them that things would be okay. Instead he watches her walk down the hallway, turning a corner and disappearing from his line of view, unknowingly carrying a large piece of his heart with her.

It’s late the next day when Alex walks Jo up to the door of the loft. After signing the divorce papers only for Paul to die a few hours later Jo had been through a lot. Alex had driven her home, making sure she got into the loft safely, “I’m gonna head out, do you need anything before I go?”

“Can you maybe just camp out on the couch tonight,” Jo sat on her bed, a ratty Princeton sweatshirt engulfing her a s she stared helplessly at Alex. “I just… I really don’t want to be alone tonight.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude or anything,” Alex rubs the back of his neck nervously, glancing up at Jo who has tears welling in her eyes. “Hey, don’t cry. I’ll stay okay?”

Jo sucks in a deep breath before a sob breaks from her, “I’m just really shaken up. I don’t want to be alone again. I know… I know that Paul is dead but I can’t stop my mind from playing worst case scenarios on an endless loop.

Alex closes the gap between them and pulls Jo into his arms as she continues to cry. He wanted nothing more than to hold her all night, comfort her the way she wanted. But he knew that wasn’t his place anymore so he started on the couch, the same one Jo had bought him. He leapt up when Jo was startled awake by a nightmare, comforting her until she drifted back to sleep. He feels selfish for loving the way her body so easily curls against his, but if this is the only way he can have Jo then so be it.

“You get ditched already too?” Jo jumps at the voice that sounds behind her, louder than the crowded room around her. She turns with a small grin as she meets Alex’s eyes, “Yeah I came down with Meredith but as soon as we got here she went off with Hayes. I’m pretty sure they already left.”

“Well if I was having the amount of sex they were having I wouldn’t want to stick around at some stuffy party either,” Alex takes a long gulp of his beer, Jo eyeing him for just a moment too long. His eyes glance over her and she can almost hear the gears in his brain turning. “What’s that look for?”

Jo gulps her own red wine, feeling a blush creep up from her neck to her cheeks, “Nothing, I just haven’t gotten laid in a pathetically long time. I don’t have time for casual sex.”

A deep laugh escapes Alex and the sound vibrates through Jo’s body, lighting her up with an electricity she hadn’t felt in far too long. Her eyes meet his, a grin forming on his cheeks, and before Alex could say anything else she was speaking, one hand pressing a finger into his chest, “Don’t say it!”

“I didn’t say anything!” “Yes but you have that cocky grin that you always used to wear when you thought you were going to get laid,” Jo narrows her eyes in Alex’s direction as his smirk widens. “Don’t even think about it, I am not going home with you.”

The moment isn’t as tense or awkward as Jo would’ve assumed, instead the same electricity fluttering around her chest was now buzzing around her and Alex. Even though they’d been broken up for over a year and a half now, their chemistry was still there burning just as strong as ever.

“You said it yourself, you haven’t gotten laid in awhile. We could help each other out,” Jo hates how her body reacts to him, melting at the mere suggestion of having sex. “It could be a no strings attached kind of thing, you know just scratching an itch.”

“And you think that you and I could be no strings attached? After all, we do have a history.”

The way their eyes meet then confirms for Jo that no matter what she says next her body is going to betray her and give into the primal urge building up rapidly within her. Alex’s eyes are dark and filled with a sense of longing as he stares at her, fingers reaching out to grab her hand, “There’s only one way to find out.”

They barely make it to Alex’s car before their hands are all over each other, clothing being ripped away as they fall into the backseat in a whirlwind of moans and gasps. It feels as if no time has passed between them as she and Alex fall over the edge together, heavy breaths echoing around them as Jo rests her cheek against his chest.

His heartbeat sounding in her ear comforts her in a way she’d forgotten about, never lingering like this with any of her one night stands or casual flings. She almost lets herself get caught up in the feeling before Alex’s voice rings in her ear.

“So… no strings attached?”

She knows she’s had a drink too many when she let’s Alex’s arms wrap around her waist, her body melting at his touch despite the fact that they were surrounded by their friends and coworkers. Meredith and Hayes had said their vows hours earlier, the couple happily dancing with all five of their combined children as everyone around them celebrated.

“Let’s get out of here,” Alex’s breath is burning hot against her neck, his presence overwhelming all of her senses. “I’ve got a room upstairs.” “Aren’t you supposed to stick around since you’re the man of honor,” Jo turns in his embrace and settles her hands on Alex’s chest as she fixes him with a stern look. “I don’t think Mer will be too happy to look around and find you missing.”

Alex rolls his eyes as his hands snake down to her waist, pulling her closer to him, “She’ll live. Now c'mon, I've been staring at you in that dress all night and all I’ve wanted is to take it off of you.”

The rest of the night is a blur, Jo and Alex falling into bed with each other multiple times before they finally succumb to sleep. It’s not until late the next afternoon when she wakes up in his embrace that Jo realizes that they hadn’t used any protection. Staring at Alex’s sleeping form she decides to keep that revelation to herself, dressing quietly and slipping out the hotel room before he can wake up.

+ The next few weeks are excruciating, Jo avoiding Alex at any and all costs. They’d usually meet up at least once a week, but she’d been ignoring his texts and avoiding the peds floor whenever possible. She knew Alex could tell something was wrong, even before they’d started their ‘no strings attached’ relationship they’d see each other around the hospital or at Joe’s. But since Meredith and Hayes’ wedding she’d given him the cold shoulder, her anxious mind spinning out as she played over what their future might look like.

It’s a month after the wedding when she finally gets hit with a bout of nausea in the middle of rounds. She barely makes it out of the patient room and to the trashcan in the hallway before her breakfast is reappearing in front of her, a sinking feeling settling in her stomach as she shoos her group of residents away. Once she’s confident that she won’t throw up again, Jo finds herself darting to the nearest supply closet and grabbing a pregnancy test.

She’s known in the back of her head for almost a week but she hadn’t dared to confirm the growing suspicion lingering there. Now however there would be no more denying as what she assumed was morning sickness and the accompanying nausea had plagued her since rolling out of bed that morning.

“C’mon, just tell me already,” Jo mumbles the words to herself as she stares down at the two tests resting on the bathroom counter in the attendings lounge.

“Jo? You okay?” The question is met with a knock on the bathroom door but before Jo can answer the person on the other side the timer on her phone is blaring, startling her into knocking both tests and her still sounding phone onto the floor. She scrambles to pick everything up just as the door swings open, Alex standing before her with a worried expression on his face.

Great, just what I needed.

She’s about to speak when she follows his line of sight to the two plastic tests sitting right in front of his feet, both brandishing a bright pink plus sign. Jo picks the tests up quickly but she knows the damage has already been done. When she stands up and faces Alex her mind immediately flashes back to the night he proposed to her in the loft. His face has the same mix of heartache and hurt that it had that day two years ago and Jo’s own heart twists as she meets his eyes.

“Oh.” The word slips from Alex’s mouth easily and his eyes dart to Jo’s abdomen. Before he can say anything else Jo is speaking in a nervous tangent, “I was throwing up this morning and I’ve already suspected for a few weeks, well I assumed something might have happened since we weren’t exactly careful at the wedding and I was just waiting for this stupid stick to turn pink and then-”

“You knew?,” Alex’s voice stops her nervous tangent, blinking up at him in confusion. “You knew, or you thought you might know, and you didn’t say anything to me?”

“Well I wasn’t for sure about it-” “But you knew we didn’t use protection? And that you might be pregnant for weeks and you didn’t say anything. Instead you just avoided me the whole time,” Jo could feel Alex’s anger rising as his brain worked through the situation at hand. “Were you even going to tell me you were pregnant if I hadn’t shown up just now?”

“Of course I was! But I didn’t think I needed to keep you in the loop on every little thing in my life seeing as you’re not my boyfriend,” Jo crosses her arms as she stares down Alex, her own anger boiling under her skin. “You were the one that insisted on this being no strings attached, well that’s exactly what you’ve got! I’ll let you know when I book an appointment, other than that don’t expect to hear from me.” Jo brushes past Alex, ignoring his calls to her as she walks briskly out of the attendings lounge. She would deal with the repercussions later, for now all she wanted was to be left alone and to be as far away from Alex as possible.

Weeks pass by and true to her word Jo doesn't contact Alex except to tell him about her first ultrasound. He misses the appointment, an emergency surgery calling him away half an hour beforehand, and Jo feels a small twinge of sadness as she tucks the ultrasound into his wallet. While part of her is still upset with him, another part is sad that he wasn’t able to experience the appointment with her.

“Wilson I’ve got a patient in room 4 that needs a consult,” Hunt’s voice booms from behind her and Jo turns to meet his eye. “Car crash victim with minor injuries. Do you mind grabbing it? We’re filling up fast here.”

Jo nods, grabbing an iPad and bringing up the electronic chart. She feels like crap, even though she’s approaching the 12 week mark she’s still plagued with nausea and heartburn most days. Her stomach now has the slightest curve to it and Jo can’t help but run her hand over the small bump throughout the day.

“Hi Mr. Greene, my name is Doctor Wilson and I’m-“

“I don’t really care who you are, I’m not staying in this damn hospital,” the older man seems disgruntled, sitting on the edge of the gurney and fixing Jo with a glare. “I’m perfectly fine anyways.”

Despite what he says, the man has a large gash across his forehead and his right arm is clearly bothering him. Jo takes his reluctance in stride, taking another step towards the bed, “I just want to check out that cut on your forehead and make sure it doesn’t get infected. It looks like you might need stitches.” “I told you I’m fine! I don’t trust any of you doctors.”

“Well we’re going to have to keep you for obser-“

Before she can move out of the way, the man is springing up from the gurney and lunging towards her. His hands grab her arms roughly and slam her into the wall of the trauma room. Jo can feel her head smack against the plaster as she lets a scream out, eyes screwing shut as she tries not to let her racing mind overwhelm her.

Paul. Running away. Jason. Fighting back. DeLuca. Mistakes. Alex. Heartbreak. Her baby… Her baby. Her baby.

Suddenly the pressure against her arms releases and Jo opens her eyes in time to see Alex pulling the now screaming patient away from her. Instead of the angry and visceral reaction she’s expecting from him, Jo watches as Alex pulls the patient away just long enough to let Owen sedate him. As soon as he hands him off, Alex is in front of her, his hands now resting on her shoulders as he looks her over. She’s frozen in place, her body shaking involuntarily as she tries to stop the panic attack she can feel coming on.

“Are you okay? Jo?”

“Um yeah, I think so. I hit my head pretty hard but I’m okay,” she can hear the way her voice is trembling as she meets Alex’s eyes. “I’m fine, I’m okay. I’m fine, really I’m fine.” She keeps repeating the words as Alex pulls her into him, tears floating down her cheeks as her chest constricts tightly. Jo has been through her share of scary situations before, she’s been beaten within an inch of her life but she’s never been this scared. She’s never had to worry about someone else before but right now all she could think about was if her baby had somehow been hurt.

“Do you want me to page Carina to check you out?”

Any other day she would have brushed off concerns from anyone about her well-being but Jo’s anxiety is already peaking and she doesn’t want to leave anything to chance. She nods slowly, listening as Alex asks Owen to page Carina and then leads her out of the room.

Hours later Jo is crawling into bed, ready for the day to be over. Her head is pounding but she’d been instructed to stay awake for a few hours following her injury to make sure she truly was okay. After having both Amelia and Carina poke and prod her, she was more than ready to lay in bed until late tomorrow.

“Your meds are on the counter and I filled up a water bottle for you to keep on your side table,” Jo gazes up at Alex who's standing in front of her, a concerned yet genuine smile on his face as he looks at her. “You need anything else before I head out?” “Stay.” Alex pauses only for a second, his expression showing his shock and hope for only a second before he schools his emotions once again, “I don’t wanna intrude. But you can call me if you need anything.” “No I want you to stay Alex,” Jo sits up in bed, despite how tired her body is and fixes Alex with a sincere gaze. An alarming sense of deja vu comes over her as she remembers a similar conversation happening after Paul’s death. Jo had wanted Alex to stay with her and crawl into bed beside her, seeking his comfort after the traumatic events. But always the gentlemen Alex had stayed true to his word and stuck to the couch, except to comfort her in the middle of the night. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my suspicions, but I swear as soon as I knew I was going to tell you.” “You didn’t need to tell me anything Jo, I was overreacting. I panicked and I’m sorry.”

Jo shakes her head, eyes watering as she reaches for Alex’s hand, “I don’t care about any of that. You… When you pulled that patient off of me I was convinced that you were going to lunge at him or.... It doesn’t matter what I thought, what matters is that you kept your cool and you made sure I was okay. You showed me that you’ve changed.”

“Of course I did Jo, you mean a lot to me,” Alex moves his free hand up to cup Jo’s cheek and swipe at the few tears that had collected there.

“And you mean so much to me Alex, more than you know. I know we’ve been through alot but I still care about you. And I don’t want to continue this stupid ‘no strings attached’ thing we have going.” “Oh… Okay.” A grin spreads across Jo’s face as she leans up, pressing her forehead against Alex’s, “I mean I want more with you. I don’t want random hookups or meaningless sex, I want the whole thing. I want you here with me every night. And I want to raise our baby together. I love you Alex, so much. It might’ve taken me a while to realize it but I want it all with you.”

Alex doesn’t bother responding, instead he leans forward and kisses her sweetly. Relief floods Jo as she tangles her fingers in his hair, the stress and pain of the day melting away as she leans into Alex.

“I love you too. And I’m really glad you’re both okay,” Alex’s hand slides down to the small bump that had grown in just days beforehand, a smile taking over his face as he did so. “You have a bump!”

“Pretty sure it’s all bloat but there’s definitely a baby in there,” Jo let’s a small laugh out as she covers his hand with her own. “We’re sure doing everything out of order aren't we?”

“Have we ever done anything the easy way?”

#jo wilson #jo karev #alex karev #jo x alex #jolex #jolex fanfic #greys anatomy #greys anatomy fanfic #tsjolexweek21 #nina writes #jolex fanfiction

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happyk44 · 4 years ago

Text

JJ flipped the pancake and sniffled. He rubbed his cheeks. Tears were prickling at the edges of his eyes. There was a quiet reminder to keep drinking fluids in the back of his head so he reached over and sipped at his orange juice as he stared at the pancake. When it was good, he put it on the stack.

He’d woken up with a weird note scribbled on Jason’s side table. Amongst the three of them, their dyslexia tended to affect him less. Well - he rubbed his face before adding another batch of batter to the pan - not less. He was just better at it. He was very mute. And when he fronted on his own, he was screaming and crying and miserable.

Books were something nice to get lost in. And writing things out was kind of nice - especially in the one or two moments he had to take the day. He could just pass a note. My throat hurts. I can’t speak. I’m sick. I’m staying in bed. And when he feigned ill, it explained away his whimpers and his curling up deep into himself. And people left him alone which he liked.

His handwriting was a little nicer than Jason’s too, which he liked. Jason was so big and old but his handwriting was goofy and looked like someone trying to write with their least dominant hand.

He liked that. He was different, a little worse for wear than either of the other two so it was nice to have something he was good at it.

The note split between three pieces of handwriting - Jason’s and Grace’s and a weird combination between the two. But it was clear. Jason was miserable and knew one of them would be taking the brunt today. At the start of the note, he clearly assumed it was going to be Grace. But Grace was reluctant to take precedent because he hadn’t yet calmed himself down. There was big blotch where the ink had stained through the paper, clearly their hand still pressing down while the two argued it out.

And then a list of things for JJ to do.

Which was good for him too.

He could focus on something else other than all the bad things and feel productive and useful. So that was very nice for him. He couldn’t do a lot of big things that either one of them were capable of but he could do enough good things. Enough for a little kid.

Number one was make the bed. Next was to clean Jason’s sword, if he felt comfortable with it. He didn’t but he did scrub the left over monster blood off their sneakers. Then take a shower and make breakfast for everyone else.

He was on breakfast now.

Breakfast was easy. He knew how to make pancakes and eggs. Some of it was an odd autopilot versus what he himself had been taught. Sort of like Jason’s memories of learning bleeding through. But he didn’t remember so explicitly the rules. And if he tried that was when he started to mess up.

He chewed his lip as he grabbed another plate to start the next stack.

Once he finished breakfast he would go their room and give himself a good scream and cry and then change out the pillowcase and eat. He was looking forward to that. Crying and screaming were exhausting but their body was pent-up.

And Jason never did those things.

He took a step back and exhaled slowly as tears finally slid down his cheeks.

It was quiet. He wasn’t used to that. Someone was usually there when he was at the helm of their body. Either loudly or just a vague presence on the boundaries of his thoughts. How did Jason and Grace do this all the time? Absolute silence?

He was scared of people but he wasn’t scared of them.

But people he was scared of-

Piper cleared her throat, catching his attention with a stab of panic. “Hey, Jason.” He shook his head. “I just wanted to- Oh.” She paused and crossed her arms, clearly bothered.

He missed Reyna.

“Is Jason around? Can I talk to him?”

He shook his head again. Reyna never asked that. She didn’t care who she was talking to. Even Grace who didn’t like her.

He turned back to his pancakes.

She exhaled sharply through her teeth. The sound was a painful jab. The plate slipped from his fingertips, shattering against the floor. He froze.

This wasn’t in the instructions.

This was a mess.

He wasn’t supposed to make messes.

A pitiful wail buried into his throat. He stared at the shattered pieces, fully aware of Piper’s eyes staring deep into him as he shook. He didn’t want to clean up in front of her.

They’d done that before, sweeping up broken pieces with child’s fingers and they’d been hit because the plate was precious. It was a gift. And they’d shattered it into pieces. It was before him, before Grace, before Jason. Some person who didn’t exist anymore. But those were his memories.

So it felt like it happened to him and him alone.

He didn’t want to get hit.

He couldn’t fight back. And Jason would never forgive Piper for beating him. Or maybe he’d get mad. He’d get so, so mad at JJ for messing up.

Everyone always got mad.

A panicked gasp shuddered out of his chest.

“Hey, hey, relax,” Piper said. He jerked back. She was too close. Offense bled against her face before she pulled it back into just thin lips and bothered eyes. She squatted at swept up the pieces herself. “See? It’s not that hard.” He stared at her. His face was too wet.

He looked bad. He knew he did. A mess.

Jason was good and put-together.

Piper looked away. “Do you know when Jason’s coming back?” He shook his head, glancing at his pancake. It was going to burn. But he wasn’t going any closer to her. “Well-” She exhaled sharply, her hands tightening against her arms as she crossed them again. “-do you know if we broke up? That’s what I wanted to talk about.”

He didn’t.

He didn’t pay attention to Jason’s love life. This was the first time he’d ever interacted with one of Jason’s partners. He knew Grace had been mean in the early stages of Jason dating. Breaking up with people at random before he sullenly agreed to stop. But JJ never had that opportunity.

And he didn’t want anyone to get mad at him for it.

Piper was still talking, her voice growing erratic. “Because I didn’t mean what I said last night. I was just tired and scared and confused and it’s so weird because I didn’t understand it but I wanted to talk to him about it and now you’re here-” He jolted, pulling back. She cut herself off and glanced away. “I’m sorry.” She pressed her hands to her face and exhaled. They peeled away slowly. At her sides, she clenched them into fists. “Can you tell him I didn’t mean it? And that I want to talk about it some more? Please. I want- I want to understand this, okay?”

He nodded stiffly,

She sighed. “Thank you. Um.” She looked over to the stack already on the table. “Is this for everyone?” He nodded. “That’s very nice of you... JJ?” She cocked her head. “The, um, kid, right?” With another stiff and quick nod, he glanced over at the pancake that was definitely still burning. Her eyes followed and she tightened. “Right. I’ll, um, I’ll you finish up, You can just- come get us when it’s all ready to go.”

Once more he nodded, and she left with that.

The pancake was burnt. He sniffled as he threw it away into the trashcan filled with broken pieces. His lip wobbled but the instructions were clear. Just a few more pancakes. And then he could go cry.

And hopefully no one else would surprise him while he did.

#did!jason #pjo fanfic #my writing #my fanfic #jason grace #piper mclean #i wanted to do a jj centric thing and i like this one #i know some littles can be fairly capable of doing certain things past their age and i was pretty adept as a kid too #so i figured this would be okay for jj #just some tidying up and cooking #easy things for an anxious kid #happy talks pjo

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lemonpepperhawks · 5 years ago

Text

Castaways

Word Count: 5.7k

Summary: After a freak storm, you find yourself shipwrecked on a deserted island with Pro Hero, Keigo Takami. While you work hard to get rescued, you realize too late that all may not be as it seems.

Themes/Warnings: Smut; Yandere!Hawks; Noncon; Bit of a slow burn; This is my first time writing smut so I can’t guarantee it will be good, but I like to think I can at least tell a good story lol

It was a beautiful day to be on the water. The weather report said there would be rain, but the only clouds you could see were far off on the horizon. You stretched out on the bow of the boat, letting the warm sun soak into your pores.

You closed your eyes, reflecting for a moment. At first you had thought a private boat ride was a bit... much, for a first date. But being here in the moment, you couldn’t have had a care in the world if you’d tried. You felt utterly at ease, with the caress of the sun above and the gentle rock of the waves below.

“Order up,” came a voice beside you.

You opened your eyes to see your date, Keigo, standing above you with a drink in each hand. One large wing stretched out behind him, blocking the sun so you didn’t have to squint. He passed you a glass and took a seat on the bow beside you. Lounging side by side, you both sipped your drinks and looked out over the ocean.

“You know,” you began, “I thought you were a little crazy when you asked me out here. On a boat, in the middle of nowhere.” You chuckled. “But I’m really glad I came.”

“Bet you’re also glad I’m not secretly an axe murderer,” Keigo joked, tossing back the rest of his drink. “Refill?”

You looked down at your own almost-empty drink and shook your head. You were feeling unusually drowsy from the combination of alcohol and warm sunshine, and what you honestly wanted was a nice nap.

Somehow, Keigo seemed to pick up on this and scooted closer to you, twisting his finger through a strand of your hair.

“You look so peaceful,” He mused. “You can go to sleep if you want.” “Noooo,” you protested weakly, a small smile on your lips. “I don’t want to fall asleep on you during our first date. I really am having a good time.”

Keigo let out a small chuckle. “Don’t worry, you falling asleep on me would fulfill... several fantasies. And don’t worry, I’ll protect ya from any sharks.”

With this, he swept you into his arms and planted a sweet kiss on your forehead. Normally, this would be far from anything you’d do on a first date - but your head felt so heavy, and the combination of rocking waves and the soft, soothing rhythm of his heartbeat had you falling asleep in seconds, smile still spread across your lips.

☙

You awoke suddenly. You had no idea how much time had passed, but you were immediately aware that several things had changed. First, you were no longer out on the bow of the boat. Instead, you lay inside the boat’s cabin with a towel wrapped around your shoulders. Secondly, you noticed that your hair was damp and dripping onto the planks below you. And finally you found the reason for all this: there was a storm raging outside.

“Oh!” shouted Keigo, noticing you wake. “I’m sorry, I had to move us inside. This storm sprung up so suddenly; there wasn’t even a cloud and then-”

“Keigo?” you muttered. Your body felt heavy and groggy as you came out of your sleep. You still weren’t alert enough to comprehend what was happening.

“Don’t worry,” assured Keigo. He turned around from his place at the ship’s wheel to face you with a smile, the same easygoing one he always seemed to have. “Lucky for you, I am a master of not only land and air, but also sea. We’re perfectly-”

A loud thud shook the boat as something hit the left window, hard.

“-safe.”

That noise had finished waking you up, and now you were on your feet, stumbling as the boat rocked violently. You made your way over to Keigo at the helm, tripping over your own two feet like a drunk, and gripped onto one of his arms for support. Looking out the windshield, you could see the full force of the squall. Wind slammed the rain back and forth like a whip, severely limiting visibility. You looked up at Keigo, who was focused straight ahead, his eyes seeming to try to pierce through the storm.

“Look, there!” he exclaimed. “There’s an island ahead and to the right.”

You squinted, but couldn’t see anything yourself.

“Should I steer us over?”

“I think so,” you agreed. The boat seemed sturdy, but it was small. Just a simple vessel meant for trips of no more than a day or two of light sailing. You didn’t like the thought of being out on the open water during a heavy storm like this.

Without another word, Keigo steered the boat in the direction of the island. The motor sputtered, but stayed running. Slowly, you became able to see the outlines of cliffs and trees through the downpour. There didn’t seem to be any dock, so you guessed this was going to be a beach landing and hoped Keigo knew what he was doing.

Suddenly, a huge shudder went through the boat, knocking you off your feet. Without taking his eyes off the storm, Keigo reached out and caught you with one of his strong wings.

“Hold on,” he commanded steadily, tucking you closer to him.

With terror, you realized that your feet were getting wet. Water was starting to seep into the cabin. You looked back to see a large hole in the boat’s hull, and were about to tell Keigo when another spasm rocked the boat. This time even Keigo lost his footing for a moment.

“Rocks,” he explained quickly. “We’re hitting the rocks.”

His voice was calm, but looking up you could see a hint of panic in his eyes. The wind was whipping furiously, and it felt like the boat might capsize at any moment. The shore was tantalizingly close, but you felt in danger of being swept away before you could reach its safety.

Keigo took his eyes away from the storm for a second, to look at you reassuringly. He gave you a smile and opened his mouth to say something, almost shouting against the sound of the wind.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fi-”

And then, all at once, there was a crash, a jolt, and you felt yourself and Keigo being thrown through the windshield and into darkness.

☙

You found yourself waking up again, this time on the soft sand of a beach. The sky was dark, but clear - thank goodness. Looking to your left, you saw a small campfire, and beyond it, Keigo.

“Good evening, sleepyhead,” he said lightly. “Had me worried for a bit.”

You looked down at yourself, making sure you were all in one piece. Amazingly, there was not a scratch on you. Your muscles were a bit sore, but that was it. Nothing hurt, nothing bled.

Looking back at Keigo, you noticed that the same could not be said about him. He was covered in bruises on his arms and legs, and he had a cut running across one of his cheeks that was still freely bleeding.

He must have noticed your look of surprise, because he said, “Don’t worry, I was just about to clean myself up.” He patted a first aid kit at his feet. “Just wanted to make sure we had some warmth first. It’s getting to be night.”

He looked up and out over the sea, and you followed his gaze to marvel at the stars. You had never seen so many. Being far away from any light pollution, the sky looked like a swirling, winding map of light. And there were so many colors in the sky; it was unbelievable. Casting your gaze downward, you landed on the washed-up wreckage of the ship. It was a miracle that it looked to be mostly in one piece.

“Keigo, what happened?”

“Well,” he said, rummaging through the first aid kit. “I’m sure you noticed the storm.”

Even in a situation like this, he was lighthearted and joking. Part of you found it a little appalling, but part of you wished you could be more like him - more able to quell the rising panic in your chest.

“It really did come out of nowhere,” he continued. “Never seen anything like it. And it was gone just as soon as it came.”

It was both alarming and astonishing that such a short storm could cause so much destruction. You stared numbly into the campfire as he went on.

“Luckily you’re safe, and that’s what matters.”

You looked up, and Keigo was staring back at you intently. You could tell he meant it. Even though his own body was battered, it was more important to him that you were safe. You supposed that was part of what being a Pro Hero was all about, but it still sent a shiver down your spine to think that he cared for you that deeply, even if only in a professional capacity. He returned his attention to his injuries, dabbing something on his scraped arms. You moved over to help.

“Thanks,” he laughed. “I’ve had worse, but it never hurts to have a pretty girl taking care of ya.”

He winked. Okay, maybe the care and concern extended a little beyond professionalism.

“Anyway, I took stock of the boat while you were knocked out,” he resumed. “And we have enough supplies to last a few weeks. Which is good, since it looks like we may not be going anywhere soon.”

“Wait, a few weeks?” you interrupted. “Can’t you just, like, fly us out of here?”

“Well, about that...” Keigo mumbled as he turned his back to you.

Where once there had been two brilliant red wings, now there were little more than stubs with feathers protruding from his back.

“It was a pretty rough landing,” he explained. “A lot of my feathers were torn off and swept away while we were in the water. And on top of that, most got mangled anyway when we were thrown out the window. Honestly, I probably couldn’t even get myself off the ground right now.”

At this point, Keigo looked to you and noticed that you were on the verge of tears.

“Hey, don’t worry though.” He took your hand and clasped his fingers around it tightly. “I promise, I’ll take care of you here. You’ll always be safe with me.” You looked up into his soft, golden eyes. His smile beamed back at you as he opened his mouth to add:

“And hey, what a first date this has turned out to be!”

☙

It undoubtedly was turning out to be quite the “first date.” It only took a few days until you had somewhat settled into a routine. There was a lot of free time, but it allowed you and Keigo to get to know each other and work on projects to make your lives easier on the island.

Keigo had insisted on making identical shelters for the two of you, side-by-side.

“So I can keep a better eye on you,” he explained cheerfully.

At first he had wanted the two of you to share a single lean-to and bed of leaves, but you insisted that you were more comfortable being at least a little ways apart, and eventually he relented.

“I get it,” he teased, “not ‘that kind of girl.’ But you know I just want to look out for you, chickadee.”

What exactly there was to look out for, you weren’t sure. You had both circled the island several times - it wasn’t that large, and could be walked in a few hours - and the place was completely deserted. Your only fellow inhabitants were a large population of wild chickens, much to Keigo’s delight. Every morning before you woke, he would wander off into one of the more forested areas. And by the time you were awake, he would be wandering back with fresh meat. You didn’t particularly like thinking about where it came from, but you were grateful for the food.

And chickens weren’t all the island had to offer. There were also delicious fruits and wild carrots, which you had stumbled on while clearing some weeds from around your campsite. There was even a spring of fresh water only a ten minute walk from the beach. It was almost the perfect island to be stranded on. And all of this, along with the nonperishable food from the boat, ensured that you were both well fed and hydrated.

Once, you had asked Keigo about the food. Why there was so much on board for just a day trip. He shrugged.

“Better to be prepared and not need it than to need it and not be prepared.”

☙

While there were certainly worse people to be stranded with than your handsome date, you were still looking forward to being rescued. The whole situation was overwhelming, and, although Keigo was doing a great job at playing survivalist and keeping you warm and fed, it made you uncomfortable to be in such a committed situation with someone you had only been on one date with.

Granted, the one date had now turned into a two-week-long stay on a deserted island, but nonetheless you were hoping to get back to civilization so that the two of you could pursue a more normal, less stressful and intense relationship.

Keigo himself seemed unaffected by stress as far as you could see. The first morning on the island, you had asked him how long it would take for his wings to grow back.

“Last time I got this beat up?” he considered. “It took a few months.”

That was not the answer you had been hoping to hear, but it did inspire you to branch out and think of other creative ways to speed up your rescue.

The first thought was obviously your cell phone. However, one look at the glitching screen told you that your phone had been destroyed by the impromptu swim during your arrival. Keigo’s was the same way.

You then turned your attention to making a good old fashioned “SOS” sign out of rocks, which Keigo helped with. You didn’t have much hope for it - you had seen no planes or other boats since being marooned, and you didn’t even have an idea of where the island was in relation to any populated areas.

“Won’t people start looking for you?” you asked Keigo hopefully as you both worked on the sign.

“Eventually,” Keigo agreed. “But honestly, my friends are used to me disappearing on missions without notice. It could be awhile before they realize something is up.”

You, unfortunately, were the same way. A loner. No close friends who would be suspicious of you dropping off the face of the Earth for a few weeks. Of course your presence would be missed at work, but of course you hadn’t told anyone at the office that you would be on a boat,in the middle of nowhere, with the No. 2 Pro Hero for fear of the gossip that would spread. They wouldn’t even know where to start looking for you.

The two of you really might as well have fallen off the face of the Earth.

A few days after the completion of your SOS sign, you had an epiphany. The body of the ship was still on the beach, and ships had radios. Even small ones like this. The ship itself might be beyond repair, but the radio could still be functional. You sifted through the rubble to get to the cabin, which was surprisingly intact.

Keigo wandered up behind you as you went over to the radio. It was rare for you two not to be in each others’ line of sight these days.

“Whatcha doin’?” he asked.

“I just remembered, we can use the radio to get out of here!” you responded excitedly.

Keigo said nothing. You flicked on the radio and were delighted to see the small green light on its casing come to life. You held the receiver up to your ear, and were greeted by silence. You flipped to another channel. Silence. And another. More silence. Your heart sinking, you went through the channels one by one, and were rewarded with nothing.

Keigo came up to put an arm around your waist. “No luck?” he asked calmly.

“I don’t understand,” you sobbed. “How can this be? The light is on; it should be working. There’s not even static!”

“Let’s not wear out the battery,” Keigo suggested, reaching past you to flick the radio off.

The green light, and your hopes of rescue, blinked out.

“Maybe I could fix it,” you mused, brightening a little.

“Maybe,” Keigo agreed, giving you a squeeze. “I think I have some tools in here somewhere.”

☙

The days drew on, and you began to feel stagnated. You hadn’t made any progress toward being rescued. Despite several weeks passing, Keigo’s wings did not look any fuller. The bruises and scar across his face had healed nicely, but his wings remained bare. You had no idea how their growth worked, but you had been hoping that by now he might be able to fly himself - even if it meant leaving you on the island alone, he could at least scout for a rescue ship during the day, or perhaps even fly back to civilization and tell them where to find you.

Keigo, however, had grown increasingly reluctant to leave your side. You supposed the isolation was getting to him and making him clingy. You were his only company after all. And besides, it was kind of cute, having an otherwise confident and laid-back man follow you around like a puppy dog. You could tell he was infatuated with you, and you couldn’t deny that you had been developing stronger feelings for him as well. It was hard not to when he spent most of the day in just his cargo shorts, sweat glistening on his muscled back.

Still, you insisted on keeping your separate sleeping arrangements. Keigo pouted about it, but seemed to understand that you weren’t ready for that yet.

Aside from your daily chores of sleeping and eating, you spent most of your time cleaning up around the campsite, playing games to pass the time - you were both pros at Rock Checkers by this point - and just talking to each other. You enjoyed hearing about all of Keigo’s exploits as a hero, and he seemed just as interested in the details of your average civilian life. You had spent so much time together at this point; it was impossible not to grow close, and maybe even a little dependent. You couldn’t blame Keigo - you liked having him around too.

Occasionally, Keigo would disappear into the dense forest during the afternoons, and you would be left with free time to work on tinkering with the radio. On one such occasion, before leaving, he gave you a playful warning.

“You stay right there while I’m gone, chickadee. You never know what big scary monster you might run into in these woods.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s just you in those woods, Keigo,” you returned, laughing.

Keigo just smirked and disappeared into the trees.

☙

Later that same afternoon, you sat hunched over the radio. Not only did Keigo have a toolbox stowed in the ship’s cabin, but the radio operation manual as well. These resources had proved to be very helpful in taking the radio apart, but not too helpful in actually getting it to work. You were beginning to grow frustrated when a voice behind you startled you.

“Hey!” called Keigo. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

You turned to see his messy mop of blond hair poking through the doorway behind you.

“Come here,” he said excitedly. “I have something to show you!”

“Hang on just a minute, Keigo,” you responded. “I think I’m close to a breakthrough here. The manual says there should be a green wire right here-” you pointed to a terminal node on the radio “-but I can’t see one. It must have been knocked loose. If I can just find that, we should be able to-”

“Aw, come onnnnnn” whined Keigo. “It’s getting dark out, and you’ve been working too hard. This can wait until tomorrow. I have something I really want to show youuuu.”

You sighed. He could be immature at times, but his childlike excitement was also something that drew you. You couldn’t resist the excited light in his eyes.

“Okay,” you relented, putting your tools and loose parts away. “If you’re so eager, I guess we’d better get going.”

Practically skipping, Keigo dragged you into the woods. You had not explored much of this part of the island, seeing as it was in the opposite direction from the fresh water source. You hadn’t really had the interest or need to.

“Close your eyes,” Keigo commanded giddily.

You must have been getting close to whatever the surprise was. After a few minutes of guiding you through the trees, Keigo put his hands on your shoulders to stop you. He put something rough into your hands.

“This is a rope ladder. Climb up and I’ll let you know when you’re getting close to the top.”

You smiled a little to yourself as you started up.

“And don’t worry, I’ll catch you if you slip,” he added.

At the top, Keigo made you keep your eyes closed until he could scramble up to join you. You had expected to be in a tree, but beneath your feet it felt like solid ground. You guessed that this, whatever this was, was what Keigo had been working on during the times he disappeared into the woods.

“Okay,” said Keigo, a little out of breath as he came up behind you. “Go ahead and open your eyes.”

You opened your eyes and gasped as Keigo wrapped his arms around you. You were in the trees, their leaves surrounding you on all sides. Actually, you realized, you were between several trees, standing on a firm platform of vines and leaves suspended within their branches. The trunk of one rose up through the center of the floor like a giant column. Peering beyond it, you had a magnificent view of the ocean and sky, where the sunset was just disappearing, giving way to night.

“You like it, baby?” Keigo whispered in your ear. “I built this just for us.”

“It’s - wow it’s - definitely impressive,” you stuttered.

You had the sudden and overwhelming feeling that you were perched in a nest. A nest belonging to a very large, very strong bird.

Keigo nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck.

“I know you’ve been feeling shy, chickadee, so I wanted to make our first time extra special.”

“You wha-”

Before you could finish your sentence, Keigo spun you around and planted a kiss on your lips, silencing them. One hand was in your hair and the other around your waist, pressing you fully against him. His mouth moved with desperation, trying to force yours to open further.

“I’ve dreamed of this for so long,” Keigo panted, lowering you both to the floor. “And I know you have too. I see the way you look at me, baby.”

Keigo’s own eyes blazed with hunger, his smile beaming above you. In the dying light, his skin seemed to glow, taking on an unearthly sheen. You were speechless, and unsure of what to say even if you could find your voice.

Keigo started to lift your tattered shirt, and that snapped you back to reality.

“Please, wait,” you begged, grabbing at his hands.

“You don’t need to be shy anymore,” Keigo insisted, pushing away your hands. He reached beneath your shirt to squeeze one of your breasts. “I love you and I’m going to take care of you. Always. Please, please just let me make you feel good!”

“Keigo, STOP!” you demanded.

He stopped, and pulled his hands away from you slightly.

“Keigo, I- you’ve been so nice to me,” you started. “But I’m sorry, I’m just not ready for this. This is all so intense and I- I just want to go home so we can have a normal relationship instead of being stuck on a fucking deserted island!”

Keigo backed off from you, looking hurt and dejected. You were almost in tears, and your voice hitched as you spoke.

“I’m sorry,” you repeated. “I think… maybe it would be best if you slept here tonight and I went back to the campsite.”

Keigo made no response. Unsure of yourself, you stood up and made your way over to the rope ladder. His silence persisted as you lowered yourself down and started back in the direction of the campsite.

☙

Eventually, you found your way back to camp. It was fully dark by the time you reached the side-by-side lean-tos, and you flopped down in one of them, eyes blurred from crying.

You didn’t know what had happened back there. Keigo had been nothing but sweet and generous throughout all of this. Even his treehouse, while a bit presumptuous and misguided, was a sweet testament to his feelings for you. You just weren’t prepared for how fast things were moving.

Maybe you had overreacted. It was too dark at this point to try and find your way back to Keigo, but in the morning you would find him and explain things. That you had feelings for him, but wanted to focus on getting out of here before pursuing anything more.

You leaned back and closed your eyes. You had half expected Keigo to follow you, but it seemed he hadn’t and was going to spend the night apart as you requested. Uneasily, you drifted to sleep.

☙

You were prodded awake in the middle of the night by a stabbing sensation in your shoulder. Groggily, you propped yourself up and felt behind you for whatever loose twig was the culprit. As you did, you realized with some amusement that you had fallen asleep on Keigo’s bed. He always took the left lean-to and you took the right. It had become a sort of unspoken rule, like a couple who each has “their side” of the bed.

You felt a pang of regret thinking this. If only Keigo hadn’t come on so strong. The truth was that you did want what he wanted. You wanted to be with him. But the stress of your situation and the intensity with which he tried to seduce you had been too much. You hoped you could work things out in the morning.

“Such an idiot,” you muttered. “Hope I didn’t ruin our chances for good.”

Finally, your fingers located the thing that had been poking you. It was oddly smooth, and, as you saw lifting it out of the pile of bedding, not a twig at all.

You held it up to the moonlight in disbelief: a little green wire.

Your stomach dropped. Swiftly and silently, you stalked toward the wrecked ship, needing to be sure. By the light of the moon, you quietly opened the casing of the radio, found the node with the missing connection, and slipped the green wire in. It reached perfectly to the node on the other side.

You tried not to let the panic set in. But something was very wrong. You felt the need to get out of there, away from the confined space of the ship.

Tumbling into open air, you began to pace on the wet sand, away from the boat and the campsite. Your thoughts were a whirlwind. Why would Keigo keep that wire from you? Why would he have it in the first place? The answer was obvious, but you didn’t want to believe it. You had been walking aimlessly for at least ten minutes, frightened and confused.

Suddenly, your foot hit something sharp in the sand.

☙

You fell to your hands and knees on the beach, and immediately scrambled around to see what had pricked you. There was a sharp point sticking out from the packed sand, and you dug around to reveal the object.

It was a feather.

Brilliantly red even in the glow of night, and far too big to belong to any normal bird. Tears welled up in your eyes. You continued to dig and uncovered another, then another. Soon you had unearthed a pit filled with the things.

“Enjoying your night without me, chickadee?”

One of the feathers zipped past you, toward the sound of the voice.

Trembling, you turned to face him as plumes of feathers swirled around you. One by one, they found their way to Keigo, and his wings began to reconstruct themselves in front of your eyes. Keigo’s hands were stuffed in his pockets as he looked down on you.

“Glad I don’t have to keep secrets anymore,” he said flatly. “I was really beginning to miss having these.”

His wings were stretched out to their full length, making his presence impossible to ignore and extremely intimidating. He relaxed them slightly and sighed.

“Keigo, you- you knew this whole time,” you spat. “The radio, the feathers, the food - this whole island!”

The man in front of you said nothing.

“Why?” you asked weakly. “Why would you do this?”

“What? Is it so bad to want some time with you?” Keigo shot back suddenly. “I told you, you had nothing to worry about. I love you. I can take care of you here.”

With this, he flew toward you at frightening speed. Before you had time to attempt an escape, he was on top of you. Pressing you down into the wet sand with the full weight of his body.

“Why can’t you just be appreciative? I did all this for you. Just to be with you!”

“You could have killed me!” you screamed into his face. “You weren’t keeping me safe! You could have killed me!”

At your words, Keigo’s expression darkened drastically. He was frowning at you, and you had never seen him like that before. No, not just frowning, but scowling.

Your shirt was torn off before you could even register what was happening.

“You said it yourself,” remarked Keigo, towering above you as he kept you pinned with his legs. A smile was creeping back on his lips. “I’ve been so nice to you. But I think I’ve been too nice. I think it’s time for me to take what I want.”

Keigo grabbed at the rest of your clothes and dragged them off of you, leaving you exposed beneath him. Then he undid his own pants and let himself spring free.

Slowly, all while looking down at his captive, Keigo used a hand to pump his throbbing cock. Reaching, he took one of your hands and wrapped it around his length, holding it there as he leaned down to bring his face right against yours.

“This is exactly what you want, you little tease,” he whispered harshly. With his other hand, he plunged two fingers inside you, feeling as your walls became slick and clenched around him. “I know you do.”

Smiling wide, Keigo straightened up. With his hands, he pushed your arms to either side of your head and pressed them against the sand. With his tongue, he trailed up and along your body from hip to breast, making you squirm. He was marking you as his, showing that he owned and could do whatever he wanted with you.

“Keigo, stop!” you cried once again, trying to look anywhere but up at him.

“No,” he growled. “This time, I won’t.”

He slammed his cock straight into your core, making you cry out in shock and pain.

“Quiet, baby. Wouldn’t want anyone to hear us!” Keigo taunted.

He thrust into you again, this time only eliciting a whimper. Keigo’s own unrestrained grunts and moans mixed with the sound of the waves against the beach as he continued at his frantic pace. After a few minutes, he regained his composure and looked down, where you were trying to shrink into the sand beneath him.

“Don’t worry, baby,” Keigo crooned. “You know I really do love you, and I promised I’d make you feel good, too.”

Using a wing to continue holding your arm in place, Keigo brought one of his hands up to his mouth and gave two fingers a scandalous lick. He never stopped looking down at you as he did so, an amused little look flashing across his face as you shivered at the sight. He brought the hand down between your legs, and began to rub slow circles around your clit, his saliva mixing with the wetness that already coated you. Involuntarily, you let out a moan.

“Yeah, that’s right,” he coaxed. He began to pump his cock in and out of you again, slowly this time. “Show me how much you want this.”

Not letting up, Keigo leaned down to use his mouth on you as well, biting and licking at your collar bones. He picked up his pace steadily. Your hands remained pinned, and all you could do was writhe under the onslaught of his touch.

His fingers were rough, and they grazed your clit relentlessly, sending shocks up your sides. You could feel a coil winding deep in your stomach, and despite yourself, you were desperate for a release. Keigo could feel you tightening around him as he neared his own climax.

Forgetting the restraints, Keigo shot up and pulled you with him, continuing to pound into you while on his knees. With your hips raised in the air, Keigo kept the pressure of his fingers on your most sensitive spot, sending you past the point of no return.

As he felt your walls clenching, he growled into the night:

“Tell me who makes you feel this fucking good!”

“K-Keigo!” you screamed, your body convulsing as you reached your climax.

“That’s right,” he grunted, slamming you both down into the sand again. “And it’s because you’re mine. All. Mine.”

At these words, you felt his cum gushing into you, making you flush from head to toe. He held his arms around you tightly as he rode out his own high, moaning in a gravelly, guttural voice.

The night was quiet for a moment, with only the sound of heavy breaths and crashing waves to echo off the beach as Keigo remained poised above you.

Finally, as his panting slowed, Keigo spoke.

“We should probably get comfortable, chickadee. It might be a long while before they find us.”

#hawks smut #hawks x reader #yandere hawks #bnha x reader #smut #keigo takami x reader #yandere keigo takami #bnha hawks #bnha smut

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