#if you spend all your time attacking the leaves; the stem will continue to grow unhindered

[foxgirltail]

Yes, microsoft trying to make a "zero-water" data center (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-unveils-zero-water-data-170002064.html) is unambiguously a good thing. Obviously any reduction of pollution or water usage is a good thing. No, I don't think that means that ai's usage of water is something to singlehandedly be up in arms about.

By all means, be upset about ai! Just don't only be upset about ai for this or that when basically every other industry on the planet has the same exact problems.

A single cotton t-shirt requires 2700 liters of water, 5 trillion liters of water are used annually for fabric dying, and 20% of all water pollution is from garment production (source: https://www.wri.org/insights/apparel-industrys-environmental-impact-6-graphics)

This medium article (https://medium.com/@notkavi/stop-acting-like-ai-uses-a-lot-of-water-fafea5573c63) compares the numbers cited in the same study as the latest news articles about ai water usage ("Making AI Less 'Thirsty' by Pengfei Li et al https://arxiv.org/pdf/2304.03271) to the water needed to make beef. GPT-3 used as much water to train as it takes to feed 12 usamericans their average annual burger-patty supply. One quarter-pounder uses as much water as 36k GPT-3 queries or 3.6k GPT-4 queries.

Here is a comparison of Microsoft's water usage in 2022 to the water usage of golf courses:

In 2022, Microsoft claimed it used 1.7 billion gallons (6.44 billion liters) of water. Between 2003 and 2005, the golfing industry used approximately 2.08 billion gallons (7.87 billion liters) of water DAILY for course irrigation. (water usage of golf courses has dropped an estimated 29% between 2020 and 2005 - https://www.gcsaa.org/media/news-release/2022-news-releases/2022/07/26/golf-courses-reduce-water-usage-by-29-percent-according-to-national-survey - this still amounts to ~1.48 billion gallons or ~6.74 billion liters daily. 2 days of golf is more than a year of Microsoft's water usage)

Source for golf water use: https://www.usga.org/content/dam/usga/pdf/Water%20Resource%20Center/how-much-water-does-golf-use.pdf

Source for ai water use: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/tech/ai-chatgpt-water-power-usage-b1106592.html

Yes, the world would benefit from less water usage for ai. But when you posit ai as uniquely evil for it's water usage, I have a hard time believing you actually have an issue with the water usage. Instead it seems like you just want a reason to dislike ai.

My goal is for all of these industries, and many more, to severely reduce their water consumption, or to even stop existing as industries at all! Is that yours as well? If so, why doesn't it feel like it.

[hellmouth-manor]

we'll make it beautiful || arisa || finale

So, this was it, then? A finale fit for some children’s show filled with singing animals and bright skies. It wasn’t something that notched itself inside of Arisa’s worldview, felt more like a made-up bunch of nonsense than something you could see happen with your own eyes. But, well, lots of things had happened recently that she didn’t think could, haven’t they? It takes just a brief look around at the people near her and those working to protect or attack off in the distance.

A briar rose growing in the mess of foliage in an overgrown garden has to fight to survive. It has to push the other sprouts beneath it and reach for ever-higher heights. There’s only so much sunlight in the dense brush of humanity, and there’s only so much water to go around. If you’re not willing to grow taller, use your leaves to block the sun from reaching those under you and soak up even more of the precious rays, then you’re going to die. Plain and simple.

As the stem of the rose grows taller still, it becomes an enticing prize for anyone brave enough to attempt to cross the overgrown garden. Its petals are soft, blushing things, and the morning dew shines on its surface. Wandering hands that seek to abuse it, take it for their own, instead flinch away with red blooms pouring forth from supple skin. The rust-colored flecks that then stain the sharp thorns of the flower are a warning to all who approach and a testament to this briar’s fixation on survival.

But even wild roses can be cultivated, in a way, among like-minded wildflowers. 

The people here who she cares for are messy, uncultivated things that no flower shop or botanical garden would welcome inside. 

To her, they’re beautiful.

Ruby and her ability to find her own path, no matter how many wrong turns she might take along the way. The woman’s never going to be a pro-baker, and she’s certainly never going to be a villainess on a reality TV show, but she’s Ruby, and that’s enough. More than enough.

Yukiko and her endless verve and grit. Someone who can go about their life without a hint of apology on their lips all while enjoying the innate excitement that comes with the underbelly of the world–that’s the kind of person Arisa can’t help but admire. It’s not every day that she meets someone who gives her a run for her gossiping money.

Minami and her familiar pride and unending tenacity. Arisa never felt she could meet someone as bullheaded as her, but stranger things have happened in the world, and this is a phenomena that she’s happy to bear witness to. If anything, Minami makes Arisa wonder if those high school cliques ever had any meat to their purpose–a cheap beer MILF and a tequila girlie made it work, after all.

Eli and his goodness. He is precisely the kind of person who Arisa never allows herself to get very near to, knowing full well that she will cause his life to crumble in her hands, even if she doesn’t want it to, but, with his understanding of monsters and brightness, she thinks he may be the first “good” person to be able to survive. He’s lasted this long through this much, hasn’t he?

Olwin and his charm. Thinking back to the first day in the manor and the little game they proposed to pass the time made Arisa reel a bit. They were simpler times, but being around Olwin is a simple thing. Spending time with someone you’ve come to see as family has always been the simplest thing for Arisa, whether it be during sleep-deprived moments in the kitchen or gossip sessions at the jazz lounge. It’ll continue to be simple for as long as he’ll let her enjoy it.

Hisashi and his understanding. “Understanding” and “Hisashi” may not seem to go together upon first glance, but from the moment they shared that first glass of boxed wine over empty promises to definitely get coffee after the party, she’d felt a sort of kinship with him. It was an understanding initially consisting only of “I won’t tell if you won’t tell” that morphed into what people like them might be able to call empathy. Now, between stammered words on her bedroom floor and gentle embraces unbefitting people like them, she’s not sure what she would call what’s between them. Maybe the most fitting name for it is “something new.”

To Arisa, they’re worth fighting for–worth bearing thorns in defense of another, not of herself.

The sound of snapping that accompanies the string that had been making its way around her ankle breaks her from her thoughts, and her head whips down to see it falling to the ground as the wing from Alou drops under Hisashi and Olwin’s assault. From the battering he’s taken from the others and Ruby holding him down, Arisa figures that he’s not going much of anywhere, which means…

She will never claim to be a smart woman, just like she will never claim to be a good woman. However, there are a few things that come to her as naturally as breathing. Her eyes trace strings that hang taut still in the air, and she follows them up and up and up, creeping closer towards the beast that the already-beastly man has turned into. Trajectories (though she doesn’t know that word) form in her mind, and she slips her jacket off, letting it tumble to the ground.

[♫♫♫]

A thin strand glints in the light from one of the sparkles given to the group by Raoul, and she can chart a path right up to Alou’s newly-created blind side–well, maybe not blind, but he certainly can’t be doing good, can he?–courtesy of Eli.

Backing up several yards, she then takes off into a sprint. Before her, a springboard materializes, and she takes the leap, bounding off of it and feeling her fingers wrap around the first “step” of her journey upwards. 

Her body moves what appears to be effortlessly. She swings back and forth on the initial string. This wasn’t so different from the uneven bars, you know. She’d always felt like they were her strongest event next to the floor routine. Call it a god complex thing, but feeling herself twirl and twist her body in incredible ways above anyone else in the arena was a sort of thrill that she’ll always chase, even now. 

Arisa gains more and more momentum as she goes back and forth, back and forth until she lets go at the zenith and her fingers curl once again around the next strand. 

She doesn’t need magic or hope or soul energy to make the trek upwards. She’s always had that in her, so, well, maybe it’s less her soul’s magic and more…that magic has already seeped into her very bones and marrow, every flex of every muscle. It’s worked side by side with her for her entire life to get her exactly where she is at this moment. It wasn’t there with her for the time within the manor, but it’s flexing, expanding, contracting with the new bits of her she’s collected throughout the show.

Reaching her destination, she continues to hang suspended in the air, conscious to keep her momentum going even as she has no more clear path forward. She knew where she wanted to end up, but, now that she’s made it here, she assesses the best approach. Bound and beaten as Alou is, it doesn’t take long for Arisa to find exactly what she’s interested in.

It figures, you know, that at the core of Alou there would be a conscience resembling prey. Looking at the beast in front of them, you might mistake it for the apex predator here, but that’s just not correct. This food chain in the manor is filled with vicious things–no, people–that will tear you limb from limb and relish in the snap of tendon and crunch of gristle between their teeth. Arisa is no different. 

Her jaw is honed from years of holding the necks of pathetic, sniveling people between her fangs and inserting her incisors just enough that they start to beg for any chance at all to escape, pleading with her and offering anything they can think to get away with their lives. She knows what it means to hold a heart in your hands and knows even more what it feels like to have it there because your own hand ripped it out. She knows weak points and vitals where a hit means a loss. She knows how to make an injury hurt so much you wish it had killed you instead.

With a final swing, she aims for her target: one of Alou’s many limbs. In her now-free hands, cat claw weapons form, and her fists curl around them. She lands true and digs the spokes into his limb as she slides down towards the ground along his fur. The incisions aren’t the deepest or most egregious injury he’s weathered thus far, but they were never meant to be.

The burning comes from the inside, hot and stabbing. The pain of the lacerations is nothing compared to the sting of the toxins that coat her weapons. 

A fleeting thought is given to a conversation from so long ago about love and pride and how god-like he must feel, knowing he thinks he can love a toxic, rotten thing like her. It had felt impossible then for anyone to do such a thing and mean it, to live to tell the tale. Now, though, it feels less like an impossibility and more of a distant future. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on her end, but, some place and some time, maybe she will be loved by the people she knows she cares about. 

Maybe she can learn to love them, too.

She’s heard people can build up an immunity to poisons–didn’t Yukiko already prove that she could do such a thing?–so doesn’t it only make sense that the poison sludge inside of her could be resisted, too? Doesn’t it only make sense that there may be no need to fear her self being a death sentence?

If she was truly so terrible, wouldn’t her soul have hurt to hold? And yet, it was carried back to her, held in the hands of another who still stands.

Her feet plant firmly on the ground, and she rips the claws free from the lavender limb in front of her. The hand–talon–thing of the limb she just rode down sits so tantalizingly close…and when has she ever been one to turn down indulgences, sinful as they may be? Besides, does it really count when it’s against something like him?

Raising her right foot, she stomps down hard, digging her heel into the space between the joints of its digits. With a sick grin on her face, she relishes the give of flesh and shifting of bone. What was it that the design notes said? 1600-2200 PSI? She didn’t know how much a PSI was, but she doubted she needed a demon form to make it feel like that–just enough ego to make it count.

Perhaps it’s meant to be an insult, the way she only lightly jogs away from him once all that she has to offer is said and done, but, truthfully, he doesn’t occupy enough space in her mind for the idea to occur to her now that her rage is vented, and she knows that there’s nothing more she can do.

No, the space the Game Master occupied can instead be used to house cheers of encouragement for the people around her–the people she adores, the ones she may one day even be able to say she loves.

Arisa Oshiro has always known how to survive. Now, gazing at the future in front of her, she looks forward to learning how to live.

[bookwyrminspiration]

Stellarlune B&N Virtual Event Summary

This contains no Stellarlune spoilers, only a few vague mentions of minor things, as expected of an event.

James Ponti accompanied Shannon Messenger and asked all the questions, including from him and from fans. Shannon highly recommends you check out his books!

Everything else is under a cut for space. Enjoy!

This event's theme is Stuffed Animal Palooza, so Shannon's brought a few. Behind her is Ella, the elephant Sophie's stuffed animal is based on. It's actually Ella #2, because Ella #1 is very worn from Shannon's loving her

She also has an elf stuffed animal behind her, which is apparently written into Stellarlune. She doesn't explain how or why, just says it's there.

James stole an elephant toy from his dog to feel included and meet the theme. If his dog attacks him at any point through the event, continue on valiantly without him

Why did Shannon decide to give stuffed animals to the characters? How did that come to be? Sophie is the origin of this; when Shannon was writing the scene in book one where she leaves everything she's ever loved behind, Shannon knew she was only taking a backpack that would probably be filled with boring things (like clothes), so she'd really only have one special thing she'd take.

She was trying to figure out what that would be, so asked herself what she'd bring and her answer was Ella, so she gave Sophie her own Ella.

As other characters went through stressful events, she decided they needed snuggle buddies, too. She's working her way through the cast of kids and is hoping that eventually, they'll all have one.

James thinks it's a wonderful message and relatable to the kids, telling them/us that it's okay to have this thing. These amazing, strong characters have stuffed animals and so I can, too.

Shannon gets letters from kids all over the world telling her about their own snuggle buddies, which she loves.

Shannon and James' first books came out on the same day, and since then he's written over 3 series and Shannon's still on one--so what's it like to spend over a decade with these characters? Bizarre and amazing. For her she's been with them since 2008

Did you know where you were going (in terms of plot) or did you discover it along the way? Both. From the beginning, she could imagine the story being at least ten books. But publishing is a business and she was debut, so there was no way she was getting a 10 book deal (she got 3).

The problems in her story stem from the world itself, not from any one villain. She spent a lot of time figuring out the good and the bad in the world, why it was broken, why rebellions existed, and that's how she knew it'd be so long. The problems of the world are so fundamental, so that's been consistent throughout the whole process

When she went to USC, she was told that "your first ideas are rarely your best ideas." You want to push beyond those because they'll be the most predictable, the more basic. So she left herself room to push and grow past her initial ideas in the series. Those things weren't planned from the beginning

Keeper of the Lost Cities Launched into the book world quietly, so there was a time when she didn't think she'd be able to tell the whole story. When she sold book four to her publishers, they were basically like...alright, we guess we can give you one more.

Now that KOTLC took off, she's very fortunate and grateful to be able to let the store itself decide how long it wants to be.

James' first deal was two books, and when he was worrying about whether he'd get another, he was told "Don't make it easier for them not to do another book."

Both James and Shannon went to USC and got the same degree in screenwriting, so does that film background impact Shannon's writing in any way? Yes, absolutely, because she was taught to be visual; she can't write a scene until she can imagine everything about it (where people are standing, clothes, time of day, etc.)

That's also why her writing is dialogue heavy, because scripts are very dialogue heavy and she uses that training.

A difference she likes, though, is that in books you can create basically anything you want. In a movie, you have budget constraints and the more expensive your movie seems, the harder it is to sell. Do you need 10 locations or can you get away with 5? Do you need 50 actors or can you get away with less? In a book, she can just make up what she wants!

James also still writes that way, too. When scoping out a place he's going to write about, he asks himself, "where would I put the actors?"

What can you tell us about Stellarlune, anything at all? (He then comments on how the heart reactions are going wild in chat!) It's hard to say anything without spoilers, but she can say that you can guess where Stellarlune starts based on Unlocked's cliffhanger. Someone Sophie loves has had to leave and she's done something very dramatic, so she's trying to figure out what the best course of action is.

Sophie realizes she needs to be focusing on Stellarlune because she knows it's connected to the villains and Keefe. She needs to look into it and find out what it is.

Stellarlune leads her to one of the secret's Shannon's been keeping for the entire series; she's been planning it since 2008. Actually, she tried to work it into an earlier book but it didn't work. There needed to be more pieces in place first, but now she finally got to write it, which was surreal.

James agrees--nothing like sharing something you're known forever. For his books, people will find out something in February

The other thing she can say is that this isn't the last book, so brace for a cliffhanger (cue shocked faces in chat)

Was Stellarlune's process different? Yes, because she's reaching the end and winding down. At this point, her job as an author becomes different. For the first part, she has to keep raising questions and bringing things in; now, she's on the other side and needs to answer those questions.

it's a lot more to keep track of, trying to make sure everyone feels like they'll have their questions answered and be satisfied with it

She's never written a ten book series before and doesn't know what she's doing--"I need help!" So her team of people came through and stepped up, helping her with outlining so the ending could be the best it could be

Shannon isn't an outliner at all because she things it sucks the life from the story, so she had no idea how to outline at the end. Her editor did, and they mapped out the last books in a way that still gave Shannon the room she needed to give the story life.

They met weekly for 3-4 months to troubleshoot everything and try and make things work--it was great to have some other brains on the project

Is book 10 going to be the end? Funny thing is, they announced book 10 would be the end because that's what they'd outlined. But as she wrote book 9 there were some things that didn't fit when they'd thought they would. So they're not 100% sure if 10 is the end. Maybe she'll be able to fit everything into ten, maybe not

If the story needs a book 11, she'll write a book 11. The one thing she doesn't want to do is leave unanswered questions. "I owe them answers, and I owe them good answers." (Solid red hearts in chat for book 11!)

Alright, famous Team Fitz, Team Keefe question. Shannon usually needs to sit back for a minute at live events for this question because it gets so loud. Her answer is that she works very hard to stay Team Sophie. She's in charge of plot, not the emotions and tries to treat her characters like real people.

She never pre-plans relationships because otherwise it feels force. Her naive hope is that whatever happens, people think it makes sense. And "Sophie may be like I'm sick of you all!" in the end, too.

James is Team Dex--not in an end result relationship way, but if he had to wear a jersey in support of a character, it'd be Dex. He relates to him best.

What's some writing advice you can share? She wants to talk about voice. People always say writers need to find their voice, but no one tells you how.

She found her voice by reading books she didn't enjoy. She bought a huge stack of books from the children's section and read through them, and she loved some more than others.

When she didn't love them, she asked herself why not? She asked herself how she'd write the scene if it was hers. Not enough humor, not enough dialogue, etc. That taught her that her style is a dialogue heavy, humorous style. That's how she found her voice

"Writers are readers, so you should be reading as widely as possible." Pay attention to the ones you don't like, because they can be more helpful than what you do

Shannon now throws this question back to James for his own advice. He likes to look through books he does like, taking say 15 books and rapid fire reading the first chapters to see what he liked about them, to see the foundation. The challenge is creating a new voice in a series for a new character, while keeping it still his

Shannon uses this as an opportunity to remind everyone that not all writing advice works for everything! She and James have opposite approaches, so there are a million different ways to figure out how to write a book. You don't have to do something just because a bestselling author does it.

What are some books Shannon loves? She loves James' series (the City Spies series is particularly fun), Amari and Night Brothers by B.B. Alston, Aru Shah by Roshani Chokshi is one of her favorites, Tristan Strong series by Kwame Mbalia.

James recommends The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao, and says we're in the golden age of middle grade fiction.

Alright, what's the deal with the KOTLC movie? Hollywood is a really slow industry and you're not allowed to talk about it. There is stuff going on behind the scenes, but Shannon would get in trouble if she said anything. Everyone on the team is committed and she thinks it will be worth the wait. As soon as she can truly share something, she'll be super obnoxious about it!

At this point in the event, an interactive poll was share with viewers to answer, then Shannon shared her own answers afterward. It was a this or that style thing, and the options were as follows, so feel free to answer yourself and compare!

Fantasy or sci-fi? Pet imp or pet banshee? Gnomish vegetables or elven desserts? Pyrokinetic or talentless? Sword or throwing stars?

Shannon chose fantasy (James chose sci-fi). An imp, even with the burps and all that (James agreed). The vegetables because she could finally be vegetarian without giving up the foods she loves (James chose desserts). Pyrokinetic (James picked talentless because it "describes me"). And sword because she has terrible aim and would hurt people with throwing stars (James agrees, and thinks throwing stars would give him elbow problems)

The results from the fan poll were: fantasy at 96% majority, pet imp at 78%, desserts at 83%, pyrokinetic at 90%, and throwing stars at 53%.

Can you tell us more about the Great Gulon Incident? Yes, someday Shannon is going to tell that story, but it won't be in the actual books. If she wrote it now after 10 books and 8000 pages of teasing, it would be Sophie finally asking someone to tell her and like two paragraphs of explanation, and that would be it. Super disappointing.

Shannon has sold a short story collection about the Lost Cities, and the big one that will be in there is the Great Gulon Incident! Someday we'll get to know, and she 100% knows what the incident is.

How do you decide what scene gets features on the cover? Her series is weird because it's long and she's always super behind, so the covers are always done before the book is written. Covers are marketing, so they try to pick a scene that captures the book that they know for sure will be in the book even before its written

Stellarlune starts to get intense, so they went for bolder colors and a big scene. They also want covers to be unique, and Shannon had never had an all-girl cover before, so she finally got to do that!

Important question: is there a reason Fitz Avery Vacker rhymes with Ritz Savory Cracker? Shannon wishes she could say she realized that, but it didn't occur to her until readers pointed it out. She thinks is a hilarious happy accident!

Same thing happened with Tam and Linh and the ballad of Tamlin that has to do with water; fans asked if that was the inspiration, but she'd never heard of it before--a lovely coincidence

Where do you come up with names for places and magical things? Not an exciting answer, but she reads a lot of dictionaries and thesauruses to find words she likes, then mashes them together. Naming is super tedious, so first drafts always have fillers until she sits down and hammers them all out

For characters names, though, it's a lot of baby name websites

For James' book in Egypt, he looked up national football teams and stole them for his characters

How do elves manage living in different time zones? Shannon kind of addresses this in Stellarlune, but the Lost Cities are all one time zone. The elves are powerful enough, and even though they're scattered, it's one time zone

Last question, but if it doesn't fit everything, we'll add another! (referencing Shannon's book 11 answers)

When it does come time to finish the series, what will she do next? She doesn't know. KOTLC has taken up so much time she hasn't given other ideas serious thought. There are a few other things in the works, but she'd deep in Sophie's world right now

One more question: while writing the series, she became a mother. How excited is she to know that one day after she's finished, her kid will get to read these books? She's very excited, but cautiously so. The reality it her kid will probably be stubborn and refuse to read them.

Whether he reads them or not, she hopes he can appreciate it now or later and see that his mom did this thing--even while he refused to sleep through the night and made her job infinitely harder. "Appreciate it kid, are you listening?"

She dedicated Stellarlune to her son, and still gets emotions whenever she reads that

The hour is up, so Shannon and James thank everyone for coming and letting them do this.

Shannon hopes everyone loves Stellarlune, as she poured her heart into every page. "The fact I get to have a book 9 in this serious is because of you."

Happy reading! (clapping emojis in chat)

[jolynej]

I’m Not in Love

Summary: You and Prosciutto, both determined to keep things casual, are sent out on a mission to eliminate a target, but something goes wrong and you end up hurt, forcing Prosciutto to come to terms with his feelings

A/N: I started this weeks ago, but have been so busy that I haven’t had time to properly finish it until now! I’m a very slow writer, and I struggle with creating longer fics that exceed 1k words, so this was a huge labor of love! I hope that y’all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Warnings: heavily implied nsft, violence, guns, minor character death, blood, Prosciutto being a bit of an asshole, fainting

You both told each other when you made this arrangement that it was strictly physical and that you were only doing this out of convenience and carnal desire. Sure, he’s very attractive, and you’d be lying if you hadn’t thought about lingering in bed and pretending that you’re still asleep if only to savor his body heat and the weight of his arm across your torso for a few more minutes. But you couldn’t possibly cross that line.

The lives that both you led didn’t allow for the luxury of developing and maintaining romantic — or any, really — relationships that were outside of your work. You’d lost friends and family members to the steady passage of time and lack of communication. It came with the territory of the job, and though you’d tried to justify your drifting relationships by assuring yourself that it was done to protect those you used to hold close, you knew that was just an excuse you told yourself so that you could sleep at night.

The initial adjustment to your new job was tough in that aspect, but Prosciutto, aside from being your mentor, slowly became a comfort and a confidant for your bouts of anxiety and late night regrets of leaving your old life behind. You’d joined him outside at night on the balcony of the hideout plenty of times. He would self-soothe with cigarettes, exhaling out his demons in the shape of a puff of smoke whilst he listened to you reminisce on your happier, less bloody days.

“It’s a damn shame you’re so good at you job,” he’d told you one particular night, when the orange and white city lights below cast a bright glow over his sharp features; yet simultaneously, it accentuated the dark circles under his eyes, and the shadows beneath those jagged angles of his cheekbones and jawline made him look far older than he was. Prosciutto looked beautiful as he did horrible.

You just shook your head and smirked, inquiring, “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Kid, there were many different paths that you could’ve picked from,” He stops briefly to take a drag of his cigarette. “But this is what you opted for.” The blond flicked his cigarette and snuffed it with the toe of his oxfords, answering with, “All I’m saying is that you had your whole life ahead of you, and instead of getting a normal, decent job, you decided that this was worth the Louboutins and those diamond earrings of yours.”

“It’s good that it ended up working out for you.”

His compliments were usually pretty backhanded, but you could tell that this wasn’t just because of his usual condescending behavior. He seemed almost... sad and guilty, but then again, it could just be from the shadows on his face exaggerating his features.

“I’m glad you’re damn good at your job, too,” you remarked, leaning against the railing, savoring in the feeling of the warm, summer night wind caressing your face.

Soon, you found the touch against your cheeks was replaced by his calloused fingers and then his lips, giving birth to a routine that would continue every-so-often: you’d join him outside at night and would wake up in bed next to him in a tangle of limbs and satin sheets.

Maybe it was only natural that you and him would end up growing closer and more intimate.

—

This little arrangement between the two of you continues, and with each time you bare yourself to him, you struggle with your developing feelings. After you had slept together that first night — before you had a real chance to give yourself a proper chance to evaluate your own feelings — he assured you that the prior night’s events had meant nothing to him, that it was a mistake. He apologized, confessing that the rendezvous had stemmed from a place of pent up arousal and convenience and that it wouldn’t happen again.

That’s what he’d said the second, and third, time too. But by the fourth time, you’d both decided to become ‘coworkers with benefits’ as you’d so eloquently put it. It’s purely out of physical need and mutual trust and nothing else. There’s no time for romance.

—

The following spring, you were sent out together to a job on the coast, and were given a shared room at a hotel near the warehouse where your target was supposedly going to be tonight. The assignment had worked in your favor, you’d both arrive mid-morning, have time to scout out the location, go back to the room for a quick fuck, then proceed to the location, clean up, and spend the night between the sheets until you both passed out from sheer exhaustion.

“The target should be on location this evening,” he informs you casually as he’s sliding on his trousers, as if he hadn’t just fucked you into the mattress. He gives his watch a quick glance before speaking again. “Which gives us approximately an hour before we need to head out.”

You nod, reaching for your clothes — his hand stops you, grasping your wrist. “Let me clean you up first,” he says, briefly locking eyes with you, before averting his gaze just as quickly. “If you’re going out you should at least be comfortable.”

While Prosciutto walks off to the bathroom to retrieve a glass of water and a washcloth, you look down at your naked body. Your combined releases dribble down your thighs, and you’re suddenly hyperaware of the sticky, wet sensation on your lower body.

He’s back approximately a minute later, the glass is set upon the nightstand, and he’s kneeling, still shirtless, at your feet with the wet washcloth in hand. He cleans you up in relative silence, and the intimacy and vulnerability in this situation is not lost on either of you. It hangs around like a heavy fog that both of you desperately try to ignore, hoping that it’ll dissipate.

Under different circumstances, you’d love to be able to cradle his chin in your hand and confess every single romantic thought that you’d ever held for him, and in turn, he’d press tender kisses up your thighs, and trade the rag for his tongue, cleaning you up with a few slow licks. Instead, you give him a curt, ‘thank you’ and get dressed.

Your little trysts were littered with subtle, more domestic moments like this one where you wanted to push the boundary between what is and isn’t appropriate when you’re in a friends-with-benefits situation with your coworker. Even without the romance that you so desperately craved, there was still a strong sense of intimacy and familiarity with each ‘Was I too rough?’ or ‘You can sleep in here tonight’ that could only stem from a certain level of trust and comfort.

The rest of the time leading up to your assignment was spent going over your plan of attack and working out any loose ends or confusion on either side, and as he spoke, you couldn’t help but allow your eyes to travel down to his plush lips and the exposed patch of skin from his half-buttoned blouse that, when he shifted at a certain angle, allowed for you to catch a glimpse of a dark red bruise where your lips had been.

You were passing the threshold, the imaginary line. You’d stepped on it, gotten it stuck to your feet, and try as you may to deny its presence and scrub it clean from your skin — you could scrub it raw, until you bled — it wasn’t something you could erase.

As he’s stepping out of the hotel room, you glance back to ask him if he’s ready, but you’re caught off guard by the buttons of his shirt. They’re all closed completely save for a lone button rendering the bruise no longer visible. Inquisitively, the blond quirks up an eyebrow, silently asking if there’s a problem.

“I’m just ready to get this over with,” you sigh, matching your stride with his as you both exit the hotel and journey to the warehouse.

The target doesn’t show as planned, much to your and Prosciutto's dismay and annoyance. You had both searched the large building and its surroundings as thoroughly as possible but still the target hasn’t made an appearance. There aren’t even any hidden clues as to where he’s run off to. As pissed as you both felt in that moment — you were cursing to yourself and your partner was leaning against a metal structure with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth — Risotto was going to be absolutely furious.

Unlike most contracts where you were paid after the deed or half before and half after, the client had paid a hefty sum up front and with a dark leer he was insistent that the job be completed as soon as possible. Something deep within you knew that he would not be the type of man whose bad side you’d like to be on.

Defeated and angry, you both decided to bite the bullet and head back to the hotel to inform your superior of the unfortunate situation. Just outside of the hotel, Prosciutto glances over at a payphone on the street corner.

“Go on inside and shower and eat, kid, I’ll talk to Risotto.”

“Are you sure? We can speak to him together, or I can just sp—“ He cut you off with a hand patting your cheek, gently thumbing your skin. He was stressed and so were you.

“Don’t make me change my mind,” he manages a tiny half-smile. “I’ve got it.”

Yeah, you are stressed as all hell, but at least you didn’t have to be at the receiving end of Risotto’s wrath — for tonight anyway. Thinking about Prosciutto opting to do so in your stead and acting out of concern for you sends a cacophony of butterflies fluttering around in your stomach. He has always looked out for you ever since you’d joined, but this was something more than just him looking out for a junior member of his team. There was no way that he’d touch Formaggio or even Pesci like that, with such a pure tenderness that leaves your skin tingling from where his fingers were.

Making your way up the stairs to your shared room, the sensation of butterflies immediately flees from your stomach and instead, an eerie, insidious feeling begins to tiptoe up your spine, and you get the sense that something is very, very wrong.

One of the hall lights has gone out, and the other is flickering in random spasms as it emits a faint buzz. With each step towards your door, the broken light fixture seems to dim and buzz louder until it makes one final loud screech and dies completely the moment that you touch the door handle, and as soon as your fingers gripped the metal handle, an overpowering jolt of electricity fizzles throughout your entire body, sending you doubling over in pain, desperately croaking out for your stand as you fall to the dingy carpet.

The world around you seemed to morph into blackness and little snippets of sounds — you weren’t sure if you were still awake or if you’d lost consciousness — but you clung onto what you could decipher to the best of your ability. Static, the plodding footfall of someone running on carpet with urgency, the unmistakable click of a gun, a heavy thud, then silence.

You crane your head and espy a familiar pair of oxfords, and with a sigh of relief you feel your eyes grow heavy.

—

You come-to in the backseat of a car, and if it weren’t for the intensity of the events before you passed out, you would’ve happily shut your eyes to the steady thrum of the car speeding down the road. A bubble of panic rises up your throat, throwing your senses in overdrive as you carefully assess your surroundings. You find that a suit jacket has been draped over you like a makeshift blanket, and the familiar scent of cologne, tobacco, and cigarette-smoke is an instant relief.

Looking up, you find Prosciutto is in the driver’s seat of the car with a plain, white tank top in the place of his button-up. The bones of his knuckles are prominent due to the strain and force of his grip on the steering wheel, and they’re dotted with specks of red that extend up to his forearms.

There’s an evident scowl on his lips, which are scabbed and bloody from worrying teeth marks and not from — what you can safely assume given the sound you’d heard earlier — a gunshot to the man that had been in your hotel room.

“The target was dealt with,” he says upon seeing you awake, and he disguises it with a cough, but his entire face softens with a relieved sigh. The visible tension in his bulging veins on his forearms eases along with the death-grip that he has on the steering wheel; Prosciutto settles one hand on his thigh, splaying his fingers out on the fabric of his trousers, feeling for something in his pocket — cigarettes most likely. He’s still antsy and tense, alternating between his hands on the wheel to search his other pocket.

You have a myriad of questions wreaking havoc on your brain, which is still a bit fuzzy from the electricity and has brought on a dull headache. With the blazer clenched tightly to your chest, you fiddle around until you find a pack of his smokes and pull them out, holding them in the air with a dopey, lopsided grin that says ‘lookee here!’. It earns a playful eye roll and a smirk from Prosciutto who brings his hand back to take them from you.

When you offer the box up, your fingers brush, and you swear that he leaves his hand extended towards you a moment longer than necessary. The sensation sends a full-body chill through your veins.

“Put the coat on, kid, I don’t want you freezing up and getting sick in the car.” He’s staring straight out at the road, but you know the sentiment is there, beneath the layer of sweat and blood there’s worry. “Go back to sleep,” he orders in that gravelly, stern but caring tone of his that he uses on you when he gives you orders, and only you. In a way, it’s not that much different from how he talks in bed, and the familiarity has you warm all over. God, you’re in love with this man.

“I’ll wake you up in about an or two, capisce?”

—

You’re awoken by Prosciutto opening the door of the backseat and calling your name. You can barely see him, he’s almost a dark, looming figure in the night. The sky in the countryside is worlds away from the city skyline that you’re accustomed to. Behind him, there’s a sea of twinkling stars, and the bright crescent moon hangs proudly behind his head like a half-halo, and he appears to you like a fallen angel, still clinging on desperately to something good and holy that someone like him does not deserve. In his right hand, he holds a shovel, and his arms and face and tank top are caked in the weight of his sins, blood and dirt and sweat; you surmise that the closer you get to him, the less the moon resembles a halo and moreso a pair of horns. Again, the night is playing tricks on you.

“I’ve buried the remains,” he explains. “I decided it would be easiest to just take care of it myself until we can get you checked out. We don’t know the full extent of the damage that you’ve received or what effects that my stand could have on you in this state.” It’s a poor excuse, and you both know it, but it’s easier for him to lie to you when his facial expressions are harder to see.

Still, you don’t know if it’s from the adrenaline in your blood, your feelings for him, or some leftover electricity that’s done something to your brain, but you decide to call him out.

Sitting upright, you say, “I still could’ve helped, Prosci, otherwise there would be no point for me to come on this mission with you. You’ve done more than enough to help me, and I… I really appreciate everything that you’ve done to help me, but I have to work to earn my share of the payment!

“I can’t just lie back and let you treat me like some doll or damsel in distress!” You spout, wadding up his blazer and tossing it at him. He catches it with a growl, and the shovel clatters to the ground with a resounding clang.

He’s crawling across the backseat, hovering over you like a mangy beast; truthfully, you don’t think that you’ve ever seen him look so unhinged and disheveled. His scent bears no resemblance to the comforting aroma of his suit-jacket, and instead, he emits a pungent odor of grime and sweat, evident by the damp, dirty stray pieces of hair that encircle his face and the thin layer of earth that stains his skin with splotches of gray and brown. He looks like he can hurt you, and for a second you make the mistake of thinking that he will.

“Kid, you need to listen to me! I—“ he huffs, but upon seeing your face up close, all scared and doe-like, he kisses you. It’s emotional and hurried and needy and far unlike any previous kiss that you’d shared. It’s not spurred on by wanting or lust but by love and a great fear of loss.

“I love you,” he whispers like a gasp when he pulls apart from you. “I love you,” he says once more, softer, sweeter. “I love you.”

In his eyes, you can see every word that he leaves unsaid, his confession of how afraid he was that he’d never see you again, how he panicked and saw red and shot the man on sight, how he carried you to the car with a metaphorical knife stabbing at his heart, and how he almost cried from relief when he saw you open your eyes.

“I love you, too,” you say back, smiling, kissing him again with that same passion as before.

[kkeidawrites]

That Night

Chp. 2

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I take back what I said last night. That insufferable, uncouth, disrespectful, brat has been nothing but a throne in my side and it’s only been three days! Three!

Mother has somehow made it her mission to include Mawu in every single activity I would do during the day. My schedule has been completely altered due to Mother’s meddling.

Now, the moon goddess is following behind me as I headed to my meeting with the generals of Asgard and my father. How delightful.

“I still don’t understand why I must attend as well. I have better things to do than be with you all day.” The beautiful woman spoke up and I rolled my eyes with a sigh.

“I am not happy about your attendance either. And I would recommend you to stay quiet while I speak with the generals and my father.” I say and I hear her bark out a laugh in disbelief.

“Excuse you, I will have you know that I have lead my own army against the evil monster Gaunab. When he killed half of the humans on Earth and force my moon to...to,” I turn to see her eyes glowing a purple color and she closed her eyes, sighing, as she forced herself to calm down.

“I’m not unfamiliar of speaking war games to another.” She says walking past me as I watched her stomp away, her dress swaying behind her. Today she wore a silver dress, that fit her too well. It fit her deliciously. It was already a difficulty to keep my eyes off of her and now that she was wearing this dress, it has become twice as difficult. Clicking my tongue I flicked my cape behind me and followed after her.

Gold doors stood in our wake as we walked closer to the war room. Father had informed me that there was another war on the horizon from the Black Beserkers. It was urgent that we speak on our next move before it was too late.

Two guards stood in front of the doors, spears gripped tight in their grasps and their silver armor gleamed in the sun.

The two guards open the door and we walk in to see all of Asgard’s generals and my father and unfortunately my brother around the gold table that showed all of Asgard’s defense positions and small horses and men that were expertly placed on the maps.

Odin looks up and noticed Mawu and I, then waved his hand over to us both. I took my place by Father’s side while Mawu stood next to Thor who smiled in greeting to her. She nods in greeting with a smile of her own and turns her focus to the table.

Two hours of going back and forth with each general with my father and my brother about which idea was best. I sighed at the endless bickering and noticed that Mawu was looking at the maps before us very intently. Moving a step closer to the table, she moves two of the maps and grazed one finger through both of them.

“What if...” taking one more good look through the maps, Mawu looked up to see the men have their full attention on her.

“What if we used a surprise attack? Gorr is known for wanting one on one fights, yes?” Her question is towards Odin who nods. “I suggest we set him up to bait and then attack him then.” She says and the generals began muttering to one another while Thor turns to her.

“How do you know of Gorr? I have not heard of him going to Midgard.” Thor states. Mawu frowns and clenched her left hand in a fist.

“He had came to Earth almost two hundred years ago and had killed a -ahem- a God and my mother and I decided to investigate it. He took us by surprise, his black dogs took out half of our troops and nearly killed my mother and I. We we were only able to survive when my sister arrived and even with her army did we narrowly win.” Mawu sighs and I raised my eyebrows, quite impressed by her conquest.

Gorr was not an enemy to make light of. He too has been a constant that father constantly struggled to keep contain. I have had my own fights with the infamous God Butcher and he was not a being to be taken lightly.

“Even though we won, it was still a devastating loss to our people and not just our troops...we lost a lot of humans that days as well. Gorr is a monster.” Her eyebrows narrow in anger and turns to Odin with determination in her eyes.

“We must stop him.” She says and Odin pats her shoulder in reassurance.

“We will. And when we do,” he raised his staff to the others who straightened their backs.

“We will place his head on a pike. To show that Asgard shall not be triffled with ever again!” Thor and the other generals raised their weapons in praise and bellowed out a yell in agreement.

I turned my eyes back to Mawu who sighed heavily and left the war room as the others continued to strategize. Seeing as that I was no longer needed, I left as well and made my way towards the library. They can bicker and fuss some more but, I refuse to be apart of it.

As I paced to the library, to my left there was movement going into the gardens and I stopped to peek over a balcony to see the moon goddess walking through the varies pattern of different flowers.

I noticed that she was cradling something in her arms and the trip to the library seemed like a later task. The idea of wanting to know where that spiteful moon goddess is up to, peaked my interest.

Following the familiar path to the gardens, I saw the cloud of black curls and shimmering silver dress sitting under a large tree that was in the middle of the gardens. And it would seem that she wasn’t alone either.

Hiding behind a tree nearby, I shapshifted into a eagle and flapped into the tree above her. Turning my head I glanced down to see that my mother had joined the younger goddess. They both sat on the soft grass and spoke softly.

Third Person POV

Irawo jumps to a nearby flower and begins nibbling on the stem.

“I hope your stay here has been well, Mawu. I promised your mother that I would make sure you were as comfortable as possible.” Frigga says to the goddess.

“Oh yes, Lady Frigga, I am quite content. Although I am trying everything within my person not to strangle a certain God of Mischief.” Mawu sighs to the All Mother who chuckles.

“My son,” she smiles. “He has always been mischievous but, he is a good man. He wasn’t one for fighting like his brother, he became interested in reading and studying, learning magic perhaps far better and faster than any student I have had under my wing.” She smiles with pride.

“He is a remarkable young man, that I am proud to call my son.” Frigga finishes as Mawu noticed movement above them and the familiar gold patch that sat on their breastbone made Mawu’s left eye twitch in annoyance.

“As remarkable as he may be,” Mawu spots a rock by her foot and secretly picked it up.

“He’s still rude and the fact that he is constantly picking at me doesn’t help either.”

“I’m sure as the time passes you two will be on better terms. When it comes to new people, Loki tends to grow on you.” Frigga explains. She then placed a hand on Mawu’s shoulder and the moon goddess looks at the All Mother in question.

“Please be patient with him,” she begins as she smiles at her.

“He’s really not all that bad.” And with that Frigga stands to her feet and leaves the gardens with Mawu contemplating her words until she remembers a certain bird brain camping above her, no doubt listening to her and Frigga’s conversation.

Mawu stands to her feet as well and fixes her dress, making sure to keep the rock in her hand as inconspicuous as possible until she quickly turns to the tree and throws it to hit the eagle.

The eagle (Loki) screeches in surprise and falls off the branch it was perched on and land on the grass in front of her. Slowly, the eagle shifted back to Loki and Mawu huffed, going over to Irawo and picking him up. He groaned from the fall and rubbed his back.

“The next time you easedrop, make sure that your jewelry is hidden better. You were too easy to detect.” She ‘hmphs’ and leaves the God of Mischief to groan in pain.

Later on that night

Mawu made her way to the dining hall around this time, she was just going to eat a bit and then take a couple of snacks back to her room for her and Irawo.

“Mother, you must find a way for her to leave. I cannot take this anymore.” Before she turned the corner where the dining hall was, Mawu pressed herself against the wall and listens. In her view she watched as Loki and Frigga came from another hall walking towards the dining hall.

“Oh, Loki, Mawu is completely harmless-”

“Harmless?! She’s insufferable! It’s bad enough I have to see her almost every hour of the day but, this is too far. Now, I have to deal with her whenever I go to different realms? That is too much of my comfort that you are taking advantage of.” He said to her. Frigga grabs his arm to stop him and Loki sighs as his mother moves to stand in front of him.

“Is it really so bad to have her in your presence?”

“Yes!” He says making Frigga give him a look.

“How about this,” she begins as she moved her son’s arm to allow hers to loop through and they continue walking towards the dining hall.

“If you spend at least three hours with her for the duration of her stay, I will speak to your father about your traveling privileges than just the four realms you are allowed to go to.” She negotiated while her son raised an eyebrow at her.

“You will speak to father? He won’t give me back my traveling privileges just because you asked him.” Loki rolls his eyes while Frigga smirks.

“But, I can my son. I am not the All Mother for nothing.” She pats her son’s arm lightly and Loki gives her small smile.

Seeing that the coast was clear, Mawu made her appearance from around the corner and crossed her arms. It’s not like she was here for her own free will she was just as stuck in this as he was.

“Ibajẹ ẹlẹgbẹ.” Mawu mutters as she paced to the dining hall. Pushing the doors open, the royal family noticed her appearance and Thor raised his goblet in greeting to her.

“Ah, The Great Lady Mawu has arrived!” Thor announces. She smiled at Thor. He was a very loud guy but, he was all around friendly. In the few times they have been together he has always asked her if She wanted to join him on his many conquests on different realms to fight the enemies or in some cases, ‘play with them’.

Mawu’s POV

In spite of being here for the next few weeks, Thor was probably the only thing that has really livened up the place and the fact that Loki didn’t bother me was a great feat as well.

“Hello Thor. Back from your many conquests I see.” I take a seat between him and Frigga.

“Yes, I have returned from the realm Nidavellir. Riding with the dwarves to hunt Biolsïdhs!” He went on to talk about his adventure as a servant placed a plate of food in front of me. I thanked them and took a bite into the bread and cheese.

The feeling of someone watching me made me avert my eyes up to see Loki’s green ones glaring at me. I rolled my eyes at him and turned my head to tune into Thor’s story. It would seem that throughout dinner, Loki’s eyes never left the side of my face and it sent chills down my spine.

Once dinner was over, I walked back to my quarters with a napkin full of carrots and some sweets inside. I was nearly at my room when I saw a familiar being leaned against the wall with their arms crossed. Sighing, I quickened my walk to my door until I felt a whooshing sound and I looked to my right to see Loki now leaned against the wall by my door.

“We are to spend three hours everyday until you leave.” He stated.

“Oh joy,” I reached out to open my door but, my wrist was quickly grabbed by the God before me. I looked at his hand on my wrist then back at Loki, like he had lost his mind.

“Release me-”

“Two in a half more weeks,” he says as he looks in my eyes.

“Two. That is all the time that we have to just spend three hours together. We don’t have to be friends. We don’t have to be allies. As long as you stay out of my way, I’ll stay out of yours.” He says.

“Let. Me. Go.” I grit at him and snatch my wrist back opening my door and going inside just to slam it in his face before he had the chance to speak anymore.

“Fucking asshole...” I mutter and move over to my bed where Irawo was grooming himself. He hopped his way over to me and I placed the napkin of treats on the bed and gave him two carrots where he happily began to eat his treats.

Biting into the sweet bun I managed to snag from the feast earlier, I thought back to what Loki said. Spend three hours with him for the next couple of weeks?! I sighed in annoyance.

“I can’t believe this...just what is Frigga planning.” I muffled into the bun, then moaning because I realized how good it was.

“This is really good Irawo.” I say and the bunny begins munching on his second carrot.

Third Person POV

Unbeknownst to Mawu, Loki laid in his bed slightly fuming on the fact that he now has to deal with that woman much longer than he wanted to. Damn his mother’s meddling. Taking a bite from the carrot in his hand, he hmphed in annoyance.

That insufferable woman was going to be the death of him.

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End of Chp. 2

Ch. 1⬅️

Ch. 3⬅️

Here’s another chapter for you guys! As always thanks for reading and make sure to like, comment and reblog!

See you soon!

[queenmuzz]

Happy Mother's Day

I'm terribly sorry, this is supposed to be a happy day between mothers and their children, but you know how I am... Note: Set Between DMC4 and DMC5

Nero’s legs wobbled with numbness as he cautiously got off the bike, making sure that the motorcycle wouldn’t tip. He really didn’t want to bring it back to Lady with a ding in it. But when she had offered it to him to borrow, he couldn’t resist taking it for a spin. The vehicle was a beaut, lovingly taken care of, and...very, VERY fast. How that waif of a woman was able to hold on for dear life, he had no idea.

After he had steadied himself, he looked at his destination and frowned, looked down at the paper in his hand, and looked back up. The address was a match, but this place, right smack in the middle of downtown Redgrave, looked like a dump. A decrepit skeleton of what had once been a magnificent manor that looked abandoned for decades. Even though it looked like a prime location for a demon hang out, Lady had insisted that Dante wasn’t on a job. Nero had gotten the feeling she really wanted him to find the elder demon hunter.

Confused, and more than a little curious, he passed through the broken down wrought iron gate towards the house.

The overgrowth was tall and suffocating, but Nero noticed, just before what had been the entrance, a new path going to the left had been created, freshly trampled grass going around the corner. Nero didn’t see any other sign of disturbance, so this is probably where Dante had gone. So, he trudged along, wondering why of all places the man would have come here.

He pulled around the corner, and instantly came to a stop. Unlike the rest of the property, this area here had been recently maintained, the grass recently shorn (Nero had a sneaking suspicion it was Rebellion’s doing) A large oak tree, with bright green newborn leaves, cast a lovely dappled shadow upon the ground. And beneath the aged trunk was Dante, his back to Nero, facing a pair of granite stones. It took a few moments for Nero to realize...not stones… gravestones.

“Lady,” Dante didn’t turn around, “I told you that I didn’t need you here. I’m fine…” Nero caught the scent of flowers, specifically roses fluttering in the breeze. The young man awkwardly coughed, startling the man in red.

“Sheesh!” Dante rapidly turned around, revealing that the scent came from a bouquet of red roses in his hand. Well, nearly all red. In the middle of the bundle, was a single blue rose. “Didn’t expect to see you here kid! Heard Lady’s bike rumbling down the street, so I thought she was sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.” “Yeah,” Nero said, scratching the bridge of his nose. Had Lady used him as a tool to get to Dante? “You weren’t in the office when I came by, but Lady let me use her bike, and gave me directions to...this place.” He didn’t know the significance of this area, but it was probably very important to Dante.

“Did she eh...?” he murmured, slightly annoyed, slightly resigned for some reason.

“Yeah, Kyrie told me I needed to get out of Fortuna, to take a break from rebuilding Fortuna. And the only place on the Mainland that I knew about, was your place.” That was partially the truth. Nero had also wanted to ask if Dante would be interested in a business idea that Nero had come up with: A mobile franchise using the Devil May Cry name, centered in Fortuna, but he had the feeling that this was not the time nor place to bring up business matters.

Dante chuckled, and looked down at the roses he was holding. “I guess Lady didn’t tell you why I was here.”

“Nah, and I didn’t ask.”

“Welp,” Dante rolled his shoulders, the joints popping. “Might as well get this over with. You know what day today is?”

Nero was perplexed. It was just another Sunday in May. He shrugged.

“Ah, maybe they don’t do it in Fortuna. Here, today is Mother’s Day. Where kids and adults spend time with, and thank the women that raised them, and well… I’m visiting my mom.”

Nero felt the pieces of the puzzle falling in the place. Fortuna’s version of Mother’s Day was during the autumn, and Nero hadn’t really cared much about it, considering his background. But to Dante, the day was more significant.

Suddenly, he felt the yank on his sleeve, and before he knew it, Dante had dragged him towards one of the gravestones, the one that was older, and slightly more worn. It was simple, no words on it, but there was flowering climbing roses carved along the edges. The one stone beside it was similar, but newer, and there were no roses, just intertwined climbing thorny stems.

“Hey Mom, I’d like to introduce you to that kid I was telling you about. This,” he pushed the boy further in front of the stone proudly, “is Nero.” He stood there, partly awkward and partly proud at the thought Dante had talked to his mom about him. Dante hadn’t mentioned his mom much, but Trish had helpfully filled in the blanks when Nero had asked why Dante had a pic of her on his desk.

“Oh, that’s not me...that’s Eva, Dante’s mother. It’s complicated, but I was created by Mundus to look like her, to lure him into a trap many years ago. She was very important to him, and while I don’t quite understand it, I know that she loved him dearly she loved the bot-”

She’d been interrupted by Dante coming in the office, and Nero hadn’t pried further.

Nero tried to come up with some words “Uh...hi.. It’s nice to meet you.” God he sounded like an idiot.

Thankfully, Dante swooped back in. “She was a wonderful woman. You’d think she was soft and demure, but the moment you pissed her off, she was as hard as steel. I can still feel her pulling on my ear when she caught me sneaking into the cookie jar before supper.” He chuckled and winced as he rubbed his earlobe, “A fantastic cook, a wonderful violinist and… an irreplaceable mom.” Dante’s voice trailed off, and for a moment all that could be heard was the rustling of the wind through the grass. Strange, despite never meeting her, with no connection to this family, Nero had a feeling he...belonged here.

“She would have adored you…” Dante murmured softly, startling Nero. He turned to find the older man with a wistful, almost melancholy look on his face.

“Huh?”

Instantly, that softness, that rare glimpse of something seldom seen, was locked up behind a steel grin. Dante laughed. “It’s nothin, just me talking without thinking. So, what about you? You’re on the Mainland now, best time to talk about your mom.” Dante must have seen his sudden scowl, and placed his hands up in surrender, realizing this was a sore spot. “Doesn’t have to be your blood mom. Can be any woman that helped you grow up!”

“Well,” Nero mused, “There was Cecilia, Kyrie’s mom,” he explained, “she was a heck of a woman. When Kyrie brought me home after I’d gotten into a scrap with the other kids at school, when they took my lunch, after she made sure I was okay, she gave me a ham and cheese sandwich on two pieces of fresh bread. She was a baker by trade, you see. And every day after that, when school was day, Kyrie would bring me to her, and Cecilia wouldn’t let leave until I couldn’t eat another bite. She was always looking out for me afterwards. Making sure I got my school work done, mended my clothes, and then when the Orphanage didn’t have clothes my size, she got Credo to get me measured up so she could get me several sets of clothes. But most of all…” he continued, trying to figure out why his eyes were getting all watery. Must be from the newly cut grass. “Unlike the rest of the island, she never judged me, never made me feel like I didn’t belong. I…” he took a deep breath, “I would have been proud to be called her son-in-law. But she never got the chance to see Kyrie and me grow up, to become a couple… Maybe if I had been there when the demon attack...” he trailed off, feeling a bit lost and alone. He couldn’t feel the same pain as Kyrie or Credo had, but there was pain nonetheless. He was surprised by a firm hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see the older man giving a smile of sympathy.

“I kinda feel where you’re coming from. My mom, she died in an attack too…she died protecting me from demons.” That smile vanished as Dante looked down at the gravestone...not this mother’s, the one beside it. “Our positions should have been switched” he murmured softly, grief on his face, “things would have been so much different, so much better...” Nero was perplexed. Was Dante wishing he had died so his mom had lived?

“Well, if she’s even half the mom you claim her to be, she’d probably be happy that you’re alive, strong enough to protect yourself, and others….” Nero tried to say what he was feeling, and it seemed to be what came from his heart. It seemed to do the trick, because Dante had perked up, and that mask of a grin was nowhere to be seen.

“You’re a good kid, Nero.” Dante said, and rubbed Nero’s head, laughing at the halfhearted scowl that earned. Dante looked up at the sky, the noon sun shining happily down. “Welp, I’m famished.... How bout we get our asses- I mean butts, sorry mom, back to the office and order some pizza. I’m pretty sure Lady owes me a couple boxes of them, for what she’s done…” Dante glared at her bike, barely visible from their location. Nero didn’t quite understand, but he’d never turn down free food.

“You go ahead, bring that bike back to her, tell her I’ll be there a bit later, just have to do a…” Dante looked down at the pair of graves. “A few more things to spruce up the place.”

Nero nodded. Obviously, Dante deserved some privacy, this was his mother’s resting place, so he turned to leave, his stomach already growling at the thought of pizza. He slightly worried he was turning out like the old man. Next thing he knew, he’d be having questionable tastes in fashion, and have a penchant for shooting old men in the head without explaining beforehand that the guy was trying to take over the world. Strange, he thought as he got on the bike, and looked back at the manor. It didn’t look as decrepit and creepy as before. Instead of a carcass of a house, it was a dignified memorial of happy times long since gone. A place that seemed to welcome him to return as often as he’d like. As he drove off, he remembered that he’d forgotten, in all the emotional unloading, to ask about the other gravestone….

------

When the sound of Lady’s engine had finally faded away, Dante let out a breath that he’d been holding in for longer than he thought. Damn Lady, trying to get him to break down and tell the kid the truth. Well, there had been a few close calls, a few words slipped out, but that façade had been maintained, with the kid none the wiser.

He looked down at the bouquet in his hands, and then at the grave before him. “He’s a great kid, like I said.” He sighed, “I know you’re probably disappointed at me for not being truthful, you were always a big stickler for ‘Honesty’ but…” he pulled out the single blue rose out of the bouquet, and spun it between his fingers. “Bad stuff happens to us Spardas. You, me…” he placed that blue rose before the newer gravestone, “Vergil.... I just don’t want that to happen to him. The less he knows...the better. He deserves the stability that we never got...” He placed the roses down, and knelt down, eye level to the grave.

“I hope, wherever you are, that you’re at peace, and that he’s with you, so you can tell him what I never could, that he was loved just as much as you loved me….” His forehead touched the cool stone, and a few drops of water splashed onto the crimson blooms.

“Happy Mother’s Day”

[lovestruckay]

Request: “Picking flowers with Iris and she tells you about the meanings and symbolisms of each flower <333”

Pairing: Iris x Reader

A/N: Happy birthday, Iris! According to her character profile, her hobby is gardening and her daily routine includes watering the flowers so this is perfect!

When Iris isn’t out on missions with Company 8 or helping out around the station, you can always find her in the cathedral garden. She spends every day out in the sun, pruning the plants with quiet apologies and gently singing to the flowers to help them grow.

She has a habit of picking out the dying and neglected plants from shops and bringing them home so they can recoup in the garden. Once they’ve recovered, their leaves lush and healthy, she gives them away as gifts to the people she cares about. She has yet to lose a single adoptee, every plant flourishing under her care even after knocking on death’s door.

Her and Tamaki perform their ablutions every morning in the holy fountain to purify themselves but everyone knows that the cathedral garden is Iris’ sanctuary. So, when she takes you by the hand to excitedly show you a flower that had just bloomed, you know how special this moment is.

She happily leads you out into the inner sanctum of the cathedral, the clean air filled with the soothing sound of birdsong and the sweet smell of flowers. Deciding to take you on a full tour of her little haven, she guides you to a planter absolutely overflowing with greenery.

Iris tells you the common names of every one of the plants, impressing you with her botany knowledge. She even knows a handful of their scientific names, courtesy of Viktor and his unusual but charming attempts at making friends.

She also tells you all of the nicknames she’s given to the plants as well; cute names like Lola, Emma, and Sophie. When you ask her about it, she says that her and all of her sisters were named after flowers so it only felt right that the flowers got names too.

Guiding you to the fountain in the center of the garden, you admire the architecture of the holy spring as Iris leans down to pluck a stray leaf from the surface of the water. You knew that she did her morning prayers here and you ask what she thinks about while she’s praying. She gets a bit embarrassed, saying that she always felt like her thoughts were all over the place and that she only hoped Sol understood her.

“Mostly, I just pray for everyone’s safety and happiness and that the people we put to rest find warmth in Sol’s embrace,” she explains, looking up at you with that sunshine smile that always makes your heart skip a beat in your chest.

Reaching out to hold your hand, Iris guides you to the bloom she had been so excited to show you. You’re surprised by the eight foot tall stalk growing proudly from the center of an unassuming bush of long leaves, dozens of bright yellow flowers decorating the branch-like stem.

“It’s a century plant! They only live about twenty years before flowering and dying. It’s sad but beautiful,” she explains with a wistful smile, “We’re very lucky to see her bloom.”

“Does she have a name?” you ask, distracting her from her sadness.

“I named her Orla because of her flowers and how rare her blooming is,” Iris answers, her smile brightening, “I’ll gather her seeds when she passes and plant her again so it’ll be like I’m taking care of her child.”

When you tell her how you think that would make Orla happy, she laughs, and the melody of her happiness sounds like bells to your ears.

Your heart does a little skip when you realize you were the first person Iris thought of to show this too. The fact she thought of you before anyone else - that she took your hand in hers to bring you out here and share this moment together - has heat rising to your cheeks.

Continuing on her tour, Iris shows you all the different patches that she tended to and the hundreds of multicolored flowers overflowing their planters. Some of the flowers she grew from seeds, some from cuttings, and even more were her little rescues.

“Flowers have secret meanings to them. People used to make bouquets to send hidden messages, to give their condolences, or even to confess their love,” she explains as she looks out over her garden.

When you ask her what the secret meaning was behind the bright bundles of hundreds of little yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers, she tells you how yellow jasmine represents grace and elegance. When you gesture to the tall stalks with tufts of tiny white flowers at their peaks, she explains that angelica flowers meant inspiration. When you point to a bush with oak-shaped leaves and purple blooms, she says geraniums meant true friendship.

When you ask Iris about a white flower that looked almost like a rose with a yellow center and she tells you that gardenias meant secret love, you notice her soft blush as she glances up at you before looking away shyly.

That next day, you stop by the library to get a book on flowers and their meanings and spend a week reading it front to back. This starts a secret language between just the two of you; private communications with just flowers.

You find the perfect opportunity to show off your new found knowledge when you noticed Iris struggling following a particularly harrowing infernalization. She had very nearly been attacked by the infernal they had been putting to rest and Maki had gotten injured protecting her. She struggled with feeling like a burden on the battlefield and seeing her sunshine expression clouded over never sat well with you.

That afternoon, you presented her with a neat bundle of goldenrods - the bright yellow flowers tied with a ribbon that matched the color of her eyes - and she immediately recognized the flowers representing encouragement and growth. When you told her how much you valued her and how important she was not just to you but to all the people she helped put to rest, her cloudy expression cleared away.

Later that week, Iris surprises you with a crown of blue salvias, the long stemmed flowers expertly weaved into a ring that she proudly placed on her head. You recognized that the violet flowers meant “I think of you”, something she confirmed when she told you that you had been on her mind all day, a blush dusting her cheeks.

One day, while you were both spending time in her garden, you couldn’t help but admire her smile and how she was like a ray of sunshine brightening up your life. Plucking a single yellow tulip with care, the bright bloom meaning “sunshine in your smile”, you tuck it behind her ear. She smiles up at you sweetly, your own personal sunlight, the splash of color peeking out from the starch white of her coif.

If Iris is out in the garden when the cathedral alarm sounds, signaling an infernalization, she always grabs a few stems of dill to tuck into your pocket. They are supposed to be powerful against evil but she says she hopes they will keep you safe as well. She doesn’t want someone she cares about so much to get hurt. Shinra is quick to shut Arthur up when he complains about not getting magic flowers from their cleric too.

The next flowers you give her is lily of the valley, the thin stems tucked into a narrow-necked vase and decorated with a silver ribbon. The sweet smelling, bell-shaped flowers had multiple meanings - sweetness, purity, and pure love - and you gifted them to hint at your secret love for her.

In return, with a bright blush decorating her cheeks, Iris shyly gifts you a red camellia. The bright bloom meant “you’re the flame in my heart” and you can’t help but be struck not just by her confession but by the poetry of her choice of flower.

That next day, you ask her to meet you in her garden for a surprise and, when she comes down to her sanctuary, you present her with a dozen red roses - a symbol of true love.

When you confess your love to her, she’s so happy that she leaps into your arms, knocking both you and the flowers to the ground in her excitement as she kisses your cheek.

[gingerpeachtae]

Concentric [23]

masterlist

Words: 25.4k 🤯💀

Genres: fantasy!AU, angst, fluff, enemies to lovers, eventual smut

Warnings: graphic depictions of violence and death

Summary: You had been ready for the end of the semester. You had been ready to spend time away from your best friend, Jimin, and finally move on from the feelings you harbored. Yet, after your friend was forced to reveal a secret, you found yourself in a new world that was chock full of magic, war, and wonder. So, here you were, basically thrown into your own fantasy novel, with your best friend on one side, and six male warriors on the other.

A/N: my braincell is ready for rest oof… PLS ENGOY YOUR EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER EVERYONE 💙

Holding his arms up in front of his face, Jimin flinched as the thorny vines of the thicket scratched at his wrists while he continued sprinting forward. The stinging pain lasted for only a moment as the half-Saeni sucked more air into his lungs and forced his legs to propel his body faster through the rugged, dense forest. The six other Saeni were moving just as quickly and were still protectively surrounding him as they ran. Through the bird calls, bug chirps, and shaking leaves, every single one of them could hear the sound of large paws hitting the earth gradually coming closer. The sounds of deep growls becoming louder.

At the front of the group, Ipsa leapt over a large tree root which caused her golden hair to flash in the sunlight that was peeking through the treetops.

As Geodin followed and easily jumped over the same root, he let out a low groan before muttering in an irritated tone, “Why in Exia’s name are we being hunted by wolves?”

“Just keep moving!” Mingi sternly ordered to the short male without even looking back.

Jimin ran beneath the bright green leaves that caused his pupils to dilate and expand rapidly from the constant changes in light, and as he passed by a skinny maple tree Illai spoke in his mind to inform him that they needed to veer more to the right. After grunting lightly in acknowledgement and pushing his apricot hair out of his eyes, the half-Saeni voiced her direction to the group between his heavy breaths and the Saeni promptly adjusted.

The seven pressed on, leaves and thin branches whipping across their faces and mud splattering against their shins. Mingi effortlessly vaulted over a fallen tree trunk that was almost parallel to the ground but not quite fully collapsed. Jimin, on the other hand, slid beneath it, his head barely missing the rough bark, before popping up to his feet on the opposite side and resuming his fast pace. Dirt and dead leaves clung to his thigh and side but he didn’t bother swatting any of it off as sweat trailed down his face and his heart pounded in his chest. He could hear the wolves grow even closer. Could almost feel their presence on the group’s heels even though the canines had yet to show themselves.

The terrain abruptly began to decline, causing all the Saeni to slow down ever so slightly and turn their bodies to the side to prevent themselves from losing balance. As they descended quickly but cautiously, Jimin heard a stumble behind him and Koliifa cursed as a rock came loose under his weight and his footing faltered for a brief second.

“Careful,” his sister hissed and helped steady the male.

Then, out of his peripheral, Jimin saw Stem furrow his brow and look out to the left while he skirted around a sapling.

After a couple of seconds, the archer hummed and returned his gaze forward. “I think one of the wolves broke off to our left.”

“Leaving?” Mingi called back in question while tilting his head that way and narrowing his hazel eyes.

“No, it’s moving lateral to us now. I think it doesn’t want us going that way.”

Ipsa frowned at Stem’s comment, but didn’t say anything as the group finally reached the bottom of the hill. The degradation levelled out and the Saeni were deposited into a small, bubbling stream that was surrounded by a stretch of flat land with plentiful but spread out trees.

Flinching as the stream’s cold water sloshed onto his leg while he and the others crossed it, Jimin wanted to stop and marvel at how serene and calm the area was but he knew there wasn’t time for that. Maybe later, though… if he survived.

Squinting through a ray of sunlight, the golden-haired female whispered to herself then sharply inhaled and glanced at the Saeni behind her. “For Exia’s sake, they’re herding us.”

None of the Saeni’s movements wavered in wake of the comment but Koliifa murmured another curse and Geodin grumbled in aggravated disbelief while everyone else was stunned into silence.

But it made sense. Realistically, the wolves should have caught up to them by now but they hadn’t or, as it now appeared, purposefully wouldn’t. They were keeping their distance but still making their presence known. Making sure the group went in a certain direction. The seven hadn’t realized it until now since it was the same direction they were wanting to go in, but that made Jimin wonder…

“Are they random wolves or-?”

“Or are they somehow a draikensu’s pet?” Opikal finished the thought in a dry tone. “I was thinking the same thing. Honestly, the timing seems too convenient for it to not be connected.”

“But if they’re with the draikensu then herding us-”

“Means they’re most likely moving us toward a trap.”

The Saeni fell silent again, considering what to do. They continued to move forward; they didn’t have the luxury of stopping… but with every step they took the idea that they may be moving closer to an attack loomed over their heads. The possibility weighed heavily on the group, but they also knew there was nothing to be done besides steeling themselves and being ready.

However, after a few moments, the siblings bringing up the rear exchanged looks, communicating without words, and nodded to one another before slowing down.

“Go on ahead,” Opikal said as she and her brother came to a complete stop beside an old oak tree, “we’ll take care of the wolves.”

The rest of the group looked back in shock at the determined siblings who were standing underneath the oak’s swaying leaves. Opikal’s dark eyes were serious as she drew her sword from its sheath at her hip while Koliifa was unwinding his chain whip with a confident smile.

Ipsa ran backwards as she regarded them with uncertainty swimming in her eyes. “Are you sure?”

Koliifa shrugged indifferently. “Yeah. It’ll be fun, right sis?” Then he shifted his grin to his sister, who only rolled her ebony eyes.

After sighing at her cheerful brother, Opikal gestured for the group to move on. “Just hurry up and go. We’ll take care of it.”

Jimin gaped at the duo, not wanting to leave them behind but knowing there was no time to argue or come up with an alternative. The apricot head’s mind swam with conflict as he watched the siblings turn their backs on everyone and ready their weapons.

“Come on.” Mingi’s deep voice seemed to reverberate through the landscape with his command. “Let’s go.”

Stem placed a firm hand on Jimin’s shoulder and gave him a look of understanding but still lightly shoved the half-Saeni forward as they all began to run at full speed again, leaving the siblings behind.

Reluctantly, Jimin returned to his previous pace and Mingi told everyone to be on guard. Stem stayed behind Jimin, taking over the rear position in place of the siblings while Ipsa dropped back to cover Jimin’s left. After a minute or so, the Saeni could no longer hear the wolf paws but instead a series of loud growls, barks, and whines rose up behind them. Doing their best to ignore the noises and focus on what lay ahead of them, the group of five followed the small creek while being mindful of the wet rocks on the bank.

Do not follow the bend in the stream. You must continue straight. The sweet voice of the mother goddess seeped into Jimin’s mind again. You’re getting close. Very close. Keep moving. Hurry!

Jimin instantly relayed the information to the group and Geodin gave an affirmative grunt in response. They then crossed the creek once more and went back into the shade of the thick woods.

It wasn’t long before a chilling scream resounded into the air and echoed off the trees. It was the type of scream that ran a shiver down a person’s spine and raised the hair on their arms. Filled with pain and desperation. It didn’t last long, though, and within a couple of seconds the sound cut off.

Gritting his teeth and clenching his hands into tight fists, Jimin felt the urge to do something swell inside him. He just didn’t know what he could do. The apricot head went to peek over his shoulder, back to where they had left Opikal and Koliifa, but Stem moved into his line of sight and shook his head.

“Don’t look back,” the archer said in a grave tone then he blinked a few times and looked up at the sun shining through the trees before steadying his gaze on Jimin once more. “They made their choice. We can’t do anything for them now.”

Jimin opened his mouth but snapped it closed and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before returning his attention to what was ahead of him knowing Stem was right.

The shade cast by the leaves suddenly felt too cold as the cruel reality of the situation settled over the half-Saeni. He had heard the scream, but had no way of knowing if Opikal and Koliifa were still alive or not. The suffocating realization tightened his throat because the same went for you and his brothers. The group had been able to hear the fighting for a while… what if one of those dying screams had been a member of his kiela? He knew how strong everyone was, including you, but… but what if…

All of the sudden, Jimin was yanked out of his upsetting thoughts when Mingi held up his fist. At the appearance of the signal, Jimin and the others slowed down and began to creep forward. Eyes scanning and ears alert. A slight rustle came from up ahead. A noise so minor and indiscrete yet so loud at the same time. The Saeni’s heads whipped in the direction of the sound while Mingi shifted to place himself fully in front of Jimin.

Then… the flash of sunlight glinting off metal… and a sickening thump.

Jimin blinked in horror as an arrow skewered itself through soft flesh of Geodin’s neck. The short male tried to gasp and stumbled while Mingi immediately turned to grab Jimin and tug him behind a large tree. The other Saeni followed suit and found cover as Geodin dropped to his knees, blood leaking out around the arrow and onto his chest. Deep crimson also trailed out of his mouth and stained his lips and chin. The world seemed to pause and hold its breath…

Then another arrow embedded itself into Geodin’s chest. The impact forcing the male to fall to his back. His chest shakily rose and fell… once… twice… and then he stopped moving altogether.

Your thighs and calves burned as you finally reached the peak of the steep incline. Slowing to a stop, you pushed your sweaty hair out of your face then waved your hand around to shoo away the bugs buzzing by your ear as you caught your breath. While gulping in air, you turned in a half-circle to try to see what was around you but all there was was an endless expanse of green and brown. You had no idea where you were or if you were even close to Jimin. It’s not like you had directions or landmarks to help you find your way. All you could really do was keep the battlefield either at your back or on your left shoulder as you ran through the forest in search of your best friend.

The basic plan was to go northwest toward the center of the enemy’s forces to where the rift supposedly was. Unfortunately, you didn’t have the privilege of mental GPS guidance like your dear best friend. Plus, you didn’t even know where the center of the draikensu’s forces were; you only had a generic idea so you were truly just winging it.

Doesn’t matter. I’m gonna find you Slim Jim. 

Swiveling back to face the direction you had been running in, you cracked your neck and back then inhaled deeply. Although you were a decent distance from the field by now, you swear you could still detect a hint of iron and death in the air. Maybe it was because you could still hear faint screams filtering through the trees, or maybe the smell clung to you, or maybe you were simply imagining the putrid scent because you were so on edge.

With how much adrenaline was pumping through your veins at the moment you wondered if you would ever be able to calm down again after this whole ordeal was over.

If you were even still breathing by then.

You were worried for yourself, for Jimin, for Jungkook and Tae and all the other members of the kiela who had become family to you. Mingi too. But you were also concerned about the draikensu. You knew majority of them were at the field but you didn’t know if all of them were and the last thing you needed was to run into a group of the fuckers. If what that one back at the cliff said was true – the key will die while you pathetically fight – then you probably didn’t have a lot of time to waste so you didn’t want to worry about your human ass sneaking around quietly or fighting any skirmishes on your way. Thankfully, you hadn’t seen anyone since you left the cliff but that didn’t mean you were about to let your guard up.

Doing a quick examine of the trees, you tried to ignore the distant screams as you focused your hearing…

Nothing.

No signs of draikensu… or Jimin.

You blew out a raspberry and let your eyes wander until they rested on a large rock that you started to approach coyly. “You wouldn’t happen to be a rock I can ride for miles like the pioneers used to… would you?”

No response, unsurprisingly.

With a bittersweet huff, you clutched your bow tighter and stepped up and over the rock before beginning to move onward once more. Lowering your head to avoid being whacked in the face by a large branch, you scampered over a collection of roots popping out of earth like lacework. Suddenly, a twig snapped and the shrubs rustled violently to your right and your eyes widened in alarm as you instinctively grabbed an arrow from your quiver while turning toward the sound. Your hear beat wildly as you drew back and squinted into the trees but all you saw was a small, russet-colored creature scuttling through the low greenery.

Just a damn animal. Your arms relaxed and you breathed a bit easier as you watched the creature disappear.

Returning the arrow to your quiver, you shook out your hand to relieve some leftover tension then got ready to start running again. Though as you shifted your weight to do so, a pained scream pierced your ears. Freezing, your breath caught in your throat but the shriek stopped just as quickly as it had come.

“The fuck…?” You murmured to yourself while looking around warily.

There’s no way that came from the field… it was way too loud to have come from the field.

While the birds resumed their singing, you drifted your gaze more west and narrowed your eyes. Of course, there was no way to be sure but you had a hunch the scream came from over there. Your insides yelled at you that it did and before you knew it your feet were moving on their own accord.

Rolling onto his back, Namjoon could almost feel the dew-and-blood-slicked grass soak into his armor and clothes. Ignoring the unpleasant sensation, the yellow-eyed male grit his teeth and used both hands to lift his heavy weapon over his face in order to block the serrated edge of the short sword being swung at him. The draikensu’s blade ricocheted off the hammer’s shaft with a shrill ring and a handful of sparks. Baring his teeth at the recoil that traveled up his arms from the attack, Namjoon shifted his weight to attempt to kick his opponent’s legs out from underneath him but a yelling figure with dark hair slammed into the draikensu without warning.

Jin threw his arms around the male going after his leader and tackled him to the ground with a defiant shout. The force of the surprise body slam caused the draikensu to involuntarily drop his sword and the eldest member of the kiela didn’t give the male any time to recover. Jin pulled his sword hand back then rammed the hilt of the weapon into the male’s jaw, making his head snap back against the earth. The draikensu growled and spat out a mouthful of crimson spit before grabbing onto Jin’s forearm and throwing his weight upward and to the side. As Jin was thrown aside, he clutched at the draikensu’s armor and pulled the male along with him.

The two males twisted and grappled in the torn-up grass. Their limbs tangled and grasped at one another while they tried to find an advantage and pin the other down, but the close proximity made Jin struggle. It restricted him from using the blade of his longsword. He simply didn’t have the space or time to use the gore-covered weapon.

While dodging the draikensu’s elbow, Jin tried to spot something he could impale the male on or if Namjoon was able to give him a helping hand… or better yet, a swing of his hammer. Seeing neither, the raven-haired Saeni could only think of one way to finish the fight. Jin released another powerful yell and brought his arm across the draikensu’s chest, gripping the male’s shoulder in his hand to anchor himself as he punched the male’s side with the hand tightly gripping his sword hilt. The draikensu gasped and Jin took that split-second to flip his opponent to his back so he could kneel over the male’s waist. After delivering another blow to the male’s torso to incapacitate his movements, the raven-haired Saeni adjusted the hold on his sword and sliced up from the draikensu’s belly in one fluid but deadly arc. Crimson spattered onto the grass and dripped off the tip of Jin’s sword as the draikensu swiftly began to bleed out while his eyes rolled back into his head.

With a pant, Jin went to stand but the air against the side of his face abruptly stirred and caused him to turn and raise his weapon. A sword screeched against the edge of his own blade. Jin’s fast reaction stopped the weapon from reaching his neck as was the draikensu’s intention, but the parry didn’t manage to leave him completely unscathed. The enemy’s sword shallowly slashed into his cheek and arm, leaving behind thin lines of red, and the attacked made the Saeni lose his balance. Jin stumbled and teetered to the side, falling onto his hip and forearm. He blinked up at the draikensu as he felt his warm blood well up from the cuts, and the sight of scarlet beginning to trail down his face made the draikensu’s eyes sparkle and lips twitch gleefully.

Jin heard a familiar voice call out to him desperately.

“Hyung!”

Looking past the male hovering over him, Jin saw Namjoon running over. His brown hair was matted, jaw clenched, and eyes narrowed menacingly. Not even a second later, when he was close enough, Namjoon reached out and firmly grabbed the draikensu’s collar before yanking the male backwards harshly. While the draikensu staggered and tumbled to the ground, Namjoon grunted and raised the bulky head of his weapon to the sky. Then he smashed it down onto the chest of the fallen draikensu.

Namjoon breathed heavily and lifted his hammer from the crater he had created in the male’s armor before wiping the back of his hand across his forehead then offering the hand out to his brother.

“You good?” The leader inquired while roaming his eyes over Jin’s body to check for injuries.

Taking Namjoon’s hand in his, Jin allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

After nodding, Namjoon shifted his gaze to take in the field and the mass of crumpled bodies that now littered it. With sad eyes, he observed the dead, the wounded and barely alive, and those still fighting through their exhaustion.

Shaking his head, he whispered, “How long will this go on…?”

Jin placed a gentle hand on his brother’s shoulder before saying they should try to regroup with the others. The elder tilted his chin toward a collection of flaring lights over by one of the trees scattered throughout the field and Namjoon could just make out the color of mint-blue from the mess.

The leader of the kiela went to agree but as he turned his head back to his brother, he saw movement in his peripherals. Eyes expanding in alarm as he registered two daggers rotating through the air toward them, Namjoon hastily pushed Jin out of the way.

Falling to his ass, the raven-haired Saeni looked up at the other male in confusion. “Joon? What th-OH MY GODDESS!”

Jin was gawking at Namjoon’s thigh and the yellow-eyed Saeni grimaced as he looked down and observed the blade now buried hilt deep in his flesh. Namjoon’s hand trembled as he reached down to lightly touch his fingertip against the hilt and he hissed sharply through his teeth at how the contact slightly disturbed the blade. Blood began to slowly course down Namjoon’s thigh and Jin forced himself to get over his shock and get back to his feet to scan the area.

“Where did it come from!?” Jin whispered frantically and darted his eyes around but when Namjoon only whimpered in response he swiveled his dark eyes to see that Namjoon now had his hand fully wrapped around the hilt. “DON’T TAKE IT OUT!”

“Aish, I know. It just fucking hurts.”

Jin snorted at his leader’s pouting response. “Well, no shit.”

Namjoon barked out a rough laugh but it was fast to fade into another pained moan. While he moved his hand to hold the muscle of his thigh right above the dagger, Jin felt a lump lodge in his throat as he took in his younger brother’s state.

“You… You really shouldn’t have pushed me. You should have gotten yourself out of the way.”

Setting the head of his hammer on the ground, Namjoon rested majority of his weight on the weapon while waving his now bloody hand dismissively and showcasing a tiny, dimpled smile.

“…Hey.” A stranger’s voice suddenly came from beside them both.

With a gasp, Jin pivoted and raised his sword but an array of emerald magic held his swing at bay. Underneath the glittering green was a muscular, emerald-haired female Saeni with both eyebrows raised at the eldest of the kiela. Seeing she wasn’t a threat, Jin eased up and apologized as the emerald light vanished. The magic user chuckled and just gave Jin another look then turned her gaze to the dagger sticking out of Namjoon’s thigh.

“Let me see that.” She crouched down so the damage was at eye level then glanced behind her shoulder at Jin. “You, keep any draikensu off us while I deal with this.”

Jin drew in a breath at her words, feeling the lump in his throat lessen knowing she was going to help his brother. Repositioning himself, he stood guard and protectively watched over them as the magic user put her strong hand around the dagger’s hilt, which made Namjoon curse in a deep voice.

The yellow-eyed male looked down at the female and lightly touched her wrist. “Don’t… save your energy. Don’t waste it on me.”

“Shut up and let me do this.”

Jin roared as a draikensu approached the trio and he took two steps to the side then powerfully slashed his sword across their chest before plunging it through their torso.

“I’m only doing enough to ensure you won’t die after I take out this little guy.” The female gestured to the dagger with her chin.

“Little?”

The magic user just stared up at Namjoon silently through her emerald hair until he swallowed nervously and nodded.

“A-Alright…”

“This is going to hurt,” she said while gripping the hilt more firmly. “On three. One… two… three!”

While bursts of magenta light came from several yards away as another Saeni magic user battled the draikensu with yellow magic, Yoongi crooked his fingers while diving to the side and narrowly avoided a crescent of amethyst magic surging toward him. Rolling to a stop near the base of a tree, his own magic shot out of the ground at his opponent’s feet. The mint-blue tendrils seized the female’s amethyst-glowing hands and began to crawl up her wrists and arms, preventing her from moving. At the same time, Hobi leapt toward the draikensu with a blade brandished in each hand. As he angled his daggers, the silvery-whiteness of his hair shimmered in the sun where it was still visible beneath the streaks of red and brown that painted his body. Aiming one blade just above the female’s collarbone and the other under her ribcage, the kiela’s spy closed in on his target but the female magic user contorted her face into a snarl and lifted one of her legs to plant her foot directly into Hobi’s sternum.

Yoongi felt his stomach drop as he watched Hobi land hard on his back while the female turned her attention to the mint-colored light curling around her arms. Claws of amethyst erupted out of her hands and pierced through Yoongi’s magic but the Saeni didn’t reinforce his bonds. He couldn’t bring himself to look away from his partner who had yet to get back up to his feet. The female draikensu began to violently strip off the mint-blue tendrils coiling up her limbs with her magic as Hobi braced himself on his elbows and let out a low moan of pain.

Petal pink eyes snapped wide open at the sound, and Yoongi thrust his hands forward to cocoon his magic around the spy before dragged him backwards until he too was underneath the tree. The mint-haired Saeni held out a hand and tried to keep the distress out of his voice as he asked if the other male was okay.

Hobi smiled gratefully while taking Yoongi’s hand, but as he was being helped up, the white-haired Saeni wrapped his free arm around his middle and grimaced. “Fucking Exia she can kick hard. I think she might’ve cracked a rib.”

Cursing under his breath, Yoongi immediately dropped his eyes to Hobi’s torso in concern but Hobi let out a breathy chuckle and placed his palm against the magic user’s cheek to gently tilt his face back up. “I’ll be fine hyung. You can fix me up and make me feel better later.”

The tips of the Yoongi’s ears began to burn as he stared into Hobi’s light brown eyes, the warmth of the male’s touch both scalding and soothing. Gaping slightly, the mint-haired Saeni felt as if the rest of the world blurred away as he gazed into those eyes. The sounds of fighting and pain and rage muted as if they were placed underwater and all he could hear instead was his frantic pulse and the echoes of Hobi’s voice. He felt as though he could live in that moment for the rest of eternity. A calming comfort in the middle of chaotic and deadly storm.

And then the moment was shattered as the female magic user screamed in impatience while ripping away the last of the mint tendrils from her arms. Both Hobi and Yoongi snapped their heads over to the angered female whose dark expression seemed to match the magic angrily writhing around her hands.

“Well,” Yoongi commented as he turned to face the draikensu with an annoyed quirk of his brow but he quickly replaced it with a lazy smirk, “someone took quite a while to get out of my magic. It wasn’t even that strong.”

“Goddess, sometimes I forget you’re just as bad as Kook with taunting people,” Hobi murmured and shook his head as the female’s gaze turned even more murderous.

Peering to the side and cracking his knuckles, Yoongi sent Hobi a sly grin. “Who do you think the sprout learned it all from?”

Before the kiela’s spy could come up with a retort, both males caught a glimmer of amethyst out of the corner of their eyes and they lunged in opposite directions as a harsh curve of magic flew at them. The magic hit the tree, gouging into the trunk and slicing into two of the thicker branches. The tree limbs creaked and groaned for a second before they fractured with a splitting crack and fell toward the earth, forcing Hobi to dive out of the way again as they hit the ground. Safely coming to his knees, Hobi reached behind his back to take out a medium-sized dagger while peeking at Yoongi who nodded and allowed his mint-blue magic to flare even brighter as he raised his hands. As the two males readied themselves to rush the female, an ear-splitting screech made both them and the draikensu halt their movements and look to the side.

The Saeni with magenta magic had the other draikensu magic user speared to the ground. The yellow magic enveloping the draikensu’s hands was growing dimmer and dimmer as she lay face down in the destroyed grass, a glittering magenta bolt piercing her body directly between her shoulder blades. The draikensu took a final, unsteady inhale then sagged limply while the last of her magic faded into nothing. Meanwhile, the Saeni magic user stumbled back a step but her legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees with a sobbing gasp. The magenta bolt vanished from the draikensu’s back, leaving an open, gaping hole, and the Saeni seemed to struggle to breath as she cradled her shaking hands close to her chest.

Yoongi and Hobi returned their gaze to the amethyst magic user and were alarmed as they saw her sneer and lift one of her glowing hands toward the weakened Saeni.

“Shit. Look out!” Yoongi yelled as Hobi desperately threw his dagger at the draikensu.

The Saeni looked up from her tremoring hands right as the draikensu spun out of the way of Hobi’s blade and simultaneously sent a sickle of magic from her hand. As the amethyst magic carved through the air, Yoongi flicked a line of his own magic out in a hasty attempt to latch onto the Saeni’s wrist and tug her out of the way… but it was too late. The female Saeni just quietly stared at the approaching wave of amethyst magic with hollow eyes until it cut through her neck and chest. Hobi swore, his voice holding regret and horror, and the two males watched as the Saeni’s now headless body slumped to the earth while her head rolled and came to a rest beside the body of the draikensu she had killed only moments earlier.

As you jumped down into a stream, cold water splashed against your ankles when the stone you landed on lurched to the side. After throwing your arms out to regain your balance, you crossed the water and saw you were now in a meadow-like area. Trees still dotted the earth but majority of the plants were grasses and ferns that ruffled in the breeze. It was beautiful and peaceful and allowed you to see your surroundings more easily… but you were also aware that it made you more visible and exposed. With that lovely thought in mind you kept moving beneath the sun and shade, although you couldn’t keep your eyes from flitting around more often to check your surroundings.

You still had no idea where you were, even more so now since the field was out of earshot. To put it simply, you were pretty much just going off instinct and gut feelings now. Right now, your gut was telling you to turn more to the east. There was no obvious reason as to why, maybe you felt as if you had gone too far west or perhaps it was some other subconscious sixth sense, but nonetheless you still listened to the feeling and adjusted your course. With aching legs and ragged breaths, you delved deeper into the meadow. Ferns gently grazed against your legs and the occasional bramble bush scraped your skin and clung to your clothes.

After a few minutes, the fresh, earthy scent of the meadow began to be overpowered by the distinct odor of blood and fresh death. Skidding to a top as the smell hit your nose, you looked around but saw and heard nothing out of the ordinary. But you knew that smell, as abhorrent as that realization was. Crinkling your nose, you took a tentative step forward… then another and another and another as you followed the disgusting smell to the source. You tried to control your breathing but you found yourself inhaling faster and faster as your anxiety grew along with the stench. Nervous of what you would find. Scared it would be a body with apricot hair.

Tiptoeing around a gnarly old oak tree, your breath hitched as you saw a lump of something laying in the ferns beside a log. Swallowing down your nerves as best you could, you grabbed an arrow and loosely notched it before slowly approaching the form. Tracing your index finger lightly over the arrow’s soft feather fletching for comfort, you neared and saw there was blood pooled on the earth beneath the thing. Blood also coated the stems and leaves of the plants beside it, the red contrasting so vividly to the bright green. The wind picked up and blew against your face, and you resisted the urge to cover your nose as you inched even closer. Then you paused as you saw patches of fur. Perplexed, you titled your head and stood still for a couple moments before moving around the vegetation so it was in full view.

Tail, large paws, and sharp teeth. It was a dead wolf. And it was covered in hundreds of gashes.

Taking short breaths, you squatted before the creature and looked over its maimed body. You had no idea what would create those kinds of wounds, and you didn’t want to stick around and find out. Furthermore, it wasn’t a Saeni or draikensu so there was no reason to hang around. It was time to get moving again. As you turned to leave, you glanced over to the log resting in the foliage a few yards away.

It’s shaped weirdly… must be pretty rotten and decomposed. You thought absentmindedly then gasped and did a double take as you felt your heart stop for a second.

What you had thought was a log wasn’t that at all… it was a person.

But they were no longer alive.

Biting your lip, you crept around the wolf and advanced toward the body. It was completely mutilated. Entrails spilled out from their stomach, deep gouges in their flesh, and torn out chunks of meat. The sight made you grimace and you had to look away for a moment.

After counting to three in your mind, you forced yourself to turn back to the body. Bringing your eyes to their head, some of the tension evaporated from your body and you squeezed your eyes in relief at how their hair was a baby-powder blue. You didn’t know them. You had no idea who they were or if they had been an ally or an enemy. Their body and armor were too shredded and torn apart to tell. Expelling a puff of air, you shifted your gaze to their red-stained hand that rested beside their head. In their palm was a metallic black rod that was connected to a series of smaller rods that were linked together by rings. The object was mostly piled in a heap but you could see the chain ended in a sharp dart.

Is that a whip?

You blinked at the weapon then looked back at the wolf.

Did they kill each other? Your brows furrowed. But why…?

Was this connected to Uzjuk or did you just happen to stumble upon a random, dead Saeni? You could have, but a normal Saeni wouldn’t be wearing armor or carrying around a weapon like that. Not unless they were BTS Saeni or a draikensu. The entire scene was utterly confusing and when you looked up from the wolf corpse your eyes widened yet again as you made out another lump up ahead in the ferns.

Brushing past some briars, you made your way over and noted it was another dead wolf draped over a dead female. A sword was buried deep into the stomach of the animal while its teeth rested against the female’s shoulder. Through the mess of fur, muscle, and sinew, you could see where its teeth had ripped her throat out.

Fucking hell… what happened here?

Scrunching your face at the sight, you peered at the female and wondered if some of her armor was intact beneath the wolf. If it was, you would be able to see if it matched the armor of the palace troops and thus know which side she, and likely the other Saeni, belonged to. Just as you went to kneel down, a series of loud and aggressive, but distant, barks resounded into the air which caused your head to whip up.

You had never heard a wolf’s bark before save what growls and howling were in movies, and although it sounded quite similar to a dog, you would bet your entire Spongebob Squarepants DVD collection that those had been wolf barks. They had to be.

As the sounds faded, you squinted through the trees then glanced up at the sun’s position. The barks had come from the north and a little bit to the east. You breathed in sharply through your nose at the realization, which you immediately regretted, then quickly dropped to the ground and set your bow aside before leaning over to pluck two big leaves off a nearby plant. Using them to cover your palms, you then pushed against the heavy body of the wolf. Once the canine had mostly slipped off the female’s body, you stared at her armor for a few seconds before snatching up your bow, standing up, and taking off in the direction of the barks with the image of the Saeni’s palace armor seared into your mind.

Dashing through the meadow, it wasn’t long before the stream popped back into view. It trickled and bubbled beside you as you ran alongside its bank. You didn’t know if those dead Saeni had been with Jimin but the female had the same armor as the palace troops so it was at least something for you to go off of. And your gut was telling you they had been with Jimin. Why else would they be this far from the field unless they had been heading to the rift?

I don’t know if Mingi and Jimin are alone or with others since I left before they probably finalized those plans, but wouldn’t it make more sense if they had brought a small group of Saeni with them?

You were pulled from your thoughts when another threatening bark followed by a whine echoed through the trees, the sudden sound startling you and making you trip over a rock. Cursing as your weight went forward, you stumbled a few steps but luckily didn’t fall. Continuing to move, you resented the damn wolf for almost causing you to eat dirt, but you were also glad it barked again because it confirmed you were still going in the right direction.

After a minute, the stream started to curve but since the bark had come from straight ahead you plunged into the cool water once more before reentering the dense forest. You ran and ran and ran, occasionally pounding your fist against your thighs to silently order them to keep working and moving. Your entire body hurt and ached but you weren’t going to stop.

I won’t stop trying to find you Slim Jim…

Gulping air into your burning lungs, you tried to maintain your breathing cadence but it was hastily slipping away from you. Knowing you needed to get it under control again if you wanted to keep pressing on, you reluctantly eased your pace a little to catch your breath. Your chest heaved but you slowly lost the feeling of being a fish out of water trying to get oxygen. Hitting your thigh with your fist again, you went to increase your speed when the wind let up and that too familiar scent of iron began to fill your nose once more. Gasping slightly at the smell, your shaking legs slowed down even more as you turned to follow it. Heart thumping crazily, you reached over your shoulder to retrieve an arrow while you crept as silently as you could.

You heard nothing beyond the usual buzzing and clicking of the forest, but the repulsive smell only grew stronger as you warily moved through the shrubs toward the source.

You ducked beneath a branch, hopped over an overturned tree, then, after squeezing through some bushes holding some kind of pink berry, you saw them.

The first body your eyes landed on was a male laying on the ground with one arrow in his chest and another through his neck. He had on palace armor. Your gaze then shifted onto two more bodies; one also impaled by arrows while the other had a bloody hole in their abdomen. Their armor was different. Darker and less intricate. Draikensu. Surveying the scene with shocked eyes, you counted a total of ten draikensu corpses. All dead. There was one more Saeni too, a female with golden hair pinned to a tree via a spear through her ribcage.

As you studied the carnage, a ragged, weak exhale came from behind you, causing you to whirl around instantly.

A male was sitting on the ground with his back against the base of a tree and one leg stretched out before him… but what really caught your attention was the arm drawing back a bow and the arrow levelled right at you. Astonished, you were fast to tug on your own bowstring and aimed back.

How did I not see him?

It was a standoff for one… two… three heartbeats then his arms began to shake and he seemed to involuntarily drop the bow with a self-deprecating laugh. The male let his arms fall to his sides and he tilted his head back against the tree bark.

Looking at you with hazy, hooded eyes, he murmured, “Just go ahead and… get on with it.”

Your eyes bugged out as you realized he was giving you full access to his chest for a kill shot. A split-second later you registered he was wearing bloodied palace armor, which meant he wasn’t your enemy… though with how unfocused his own eyes were, you considered he might think you were a draikensu.

“What? No, I’m…” You lowered your bow and stared at him. “I’m not draikensu. I’m not even a Saeni actually.”

Holding your hands up in peace while moving toward the male, you saw the leg he had stretched out was coated in deep red and there was a strip of blood-soaked cloth tightly knotted above a severe cut on his thigh that went down to the bone.

Lolling his head to squint at you, he took in your entire appearance from head to toe before resting on your face. “Your ears. You… You’re human. You’re his friend…”

“Wait!” You hastily crouched beside him, being careful not to touch him and disturb his leg. “Jimin, er, Chim!? You know him!?”

The male hummed in confirmation. “Five of us joined him and… and that guard, Mingi, on the mission to the… rift, but… we ran into trouble as you can... see…” He gestured to the bodies with heavy movements as you felt dread surge within you.

Taking a deep breath to try to stay calm, you asked him what happened.

“First… it was the wolves.”

The two Saeni from the meadow flashed behind your eyes and you stiffened but remained silent so he could continue.

“Then… Then they attacked us out of nowhere. We, the… the three of us, stayed behind so Mingi could get Jimin away and… to the rift.”

You covered your mouth with your hand.

“We knew that meant death for the three of us… but we also knew he needed to get to the rift or else… or else-fuck.” His voice choked up and you lightly placed your hand on his shoulder. “I guess you know what will happen if he doesn’t, yeah?”

Nodding, you whispered a tiny ‘yeah’ while you felt his body shiver underneath your hand. You glanced down at his thigh, noting how his femoral artery was most likely cut. If Saeni had those. You couldn’t imagine how much blood he’d lost.

“But just in case someone came… someone on our side… like you… I wanted… wanted to… stay awake to let you know they’re still out there. They got away. They went… that way.” He sluggishly pointed in the direction then shifted it slightly. “But we were heading that way.”

Turning your head to see, you had to admit that part of you wanted to immediately spring to your feet and take off looking for your best friend again. Especially now that you know he had to be close by. But… how could you just leave this male when he was hurt like this?

As if he could sense the conflict swarming inside your heart, the male turned his bleary eyes toward you and quietly said, “Go. Go help them.”

“But you-”

He shook his head slightly and moved his gaze to the treetops swaying high above him. “What’s your name?”

“Y-Y/N.”

“Can you do me a favor, Y/N?” His lips twitched in to a miniscule smile as he continued to look at the leaves and sky. “Can you un… undo the tourniquet and then go… help your friend for me?”

Taken back, you looked down at his thigh again and the scrap of fabric that was barely keeping him alive.

He would die in minutes if I did that.

“But-”

The breathy chuckle he released was so soft you weren’t sure if you had even heard it. “I know, I know. I’ve made peace with it.”

You swallowed hard and peered into his face that truly did seem to accept what would happen. “Okay… I-Okay.”

Logically, you could understand it was the best decision for him. He was in pain, his body slowly numbing as his life force leaked away. The tourniquet was only prolonging that pain and the inevitable. There were no magic users there that could heal him and it would take too long for one to get there.

You closed your eyes for a couple seconds then settled your gaze on his leg and reached for the knot.

He flinched as you touched the fabric. “I knew I was done for as soon as I… I got cut but… I didn’t want to give up… I still wanted to help. This was the… the only way I could think of.”

You nodded your acknowledgement then began untying the knot as gently as possible and blanched at how blood began to pour out of the wound. Sucking in a breath, you had to look away so you brought your gaze back to the male’s face.

As his breaths grew fainter with every passing second, you did your best to smile comfortingly even though he wasn’t looking at you. “I, um, I never asked what your name was…”

“…Stem… You can call me ‘Stem,’” he breathed out weakly.

His hand twitched at his side before jerking across the dirt and twigs as though he was blindly searching for something. You had an idea of what it is. Hoping it was what he was wanting, you silently reached over his lap to grab his bow from where he had dropped it, turned over his searching hand, and placed the weapon in his palm.

“It’s nice to meet you, Stem.” You tenderly took his other hand in both of yours and held on so he knew you were there.

“Th-Thank you… Y/N. Thank you.”

As he rapidly slipped away, you didn’t know what to do or say so you let the forest speak and sing for you. He probably found more comfort in it anyway.

A few moments later, Stem’s chin sank against his chest and you let out a long exhale while carefully removing your hands from his now limp grasp. After folding his hand over the other that held his weapon, you shakily rose to your feet, walked around to Stem’s other side, and took out some of the arrows in his quiver to transfer them to your own.

Stepping back, you gave him one last look and whispered goodbye, then took off running after Jimin and Mingi.

Sliding across the ground and tucking his head down, Tae narrowly avoided the spear being swung at him. Once he cleared the weapon, he then pushed himself up to a crouch.  As the draikensu whirled around and went to attack yet again, Tae reached over his shoulder but tensed as his fingers felt nothing but air. Empty quiver. The draikensu thrust forward with their spear and Tae was forced to somersault backwards to evade the deadly point. As he came to his knees, Tae did a hasty scan of his surroundings and saw a body a few yards away that was riddled with arrows which caused his eyes to light up. The draikensu lunged once more but the Saeni was already moving. The spear stabbed at empty space as Tae came to a stop on his knees beside the body. In the blink of an eye, he ripped out one of the arrows, flinging droplets of blood into the air and onto his already red-covered self. Then he twisted around and fired into the side of the draikensu. They fell to their knees with a hoarse scream, one hand grasping at the arrow shaft, and another Saeni turned at the sound and finished them off with a slash of their blade.

Meanwhile, Tae breathed heavily and turned back to the body next to him then removed the rest of the arrows, tucked them into his quiver, and rose to his feet before looking back over to where he had seen glimpses of Yoongi’s magic a few minutes ago. Sure enough, more flashes of mint-blue appeared near one of the large trees standing in the field. With his destination set, Tae rolled his shoulders then set out.

As he rushed through the field, Tae deftly disposed of any draikensu he encountered with efficient, calculated strikes. His muscles were sore and his body was tired, but he couldn’t afford to let his fatigue affect his movements. Even the tiniest mishap, the smallest amount of laziness in his actions would result in his death. His feather earring was heavy and stiff as he ran, dodged, shot, and slashed. More blood splattered against him, covering the gore that was already dried on his skin and armor, and it wasn’t long before he was retrieving the last arrow from his quiver. Expertly notching it and sending it straight into a female’s chest, Tae quickly followed up the shot by surging forward and slicing the sharp edge of his bow against her exposed neck while she was distracted.

Another corpse to litter the field. Another body to water the earth.

Tae continued moving toward the tree, wanting to get to his brother as soon as possible, and he prayed his other brothers were doing the same as he snatched up stray arrows from the ground and the deceased as he went.

Then out of nowhere, as he was leaning down to pull an arrow out of a corpse’s back, a tingle traveled up Tae’s spine and the Saeni instinctively dove to the side right as an explosion of maroon magic hit where he had just been squatting. The force of the eruption rammed into Tae’s back, throwing him further than he had aimed for, and as the blue-eyed Saeni shook his head in shock and staggered to his feet, he saw a male grinning at him. A quick glance down showed he had maroon light encompassing his hands.

Wiggling his glowing fingers at Tae, the draikensu sneered, “My, my, you’re a fast one, but you still won’t last lo-”

The magic user cut off his own sentence when another Saeni screamed and ran at the draikensu with his single-handed axe raised high in the air and a shield held in front of his body.

“They always think a shield will protect them,” The magic user said in amusement as his grin shifted into something more wicked then he threw both his hands toward the Saeni. “It won’t, though it’s cute you tried.”

Magic formed together in a ball-like shape between his hands before shooting out like a cannon and detonating at the feet of the Saeni in a burst of maroon light… and when the light faded, there was a small crater in the grass and only the upper-half of the male’s body was left intact. Tae didn’t even have the chance to react to the gruesome sight because the draikensu turned to him with a bored sigh and shot another magical cannon ball right at him. The blue-eyed Saeni lunged to the side and grunted as he was caught in the explosion’s shockwave again.

“Ah, so it wasn’t a fluke before. You really are just fast.” The magic user rubbed his hands together. “This will be fun then.”

Then the draikensu released another cannon ball but Tae was already running. Knowing he was at a disadvantage since there was nothing to take cover behind, all Tae could do was not stop. Just keep moving and evading. Slowly work his way closer. The maroon cannon balls never let up, but between the blasts Tae could hear the draikensu growling in frustration as the he abruptly changed directions for the umpteenth time. Sweat trailed down Tae’s face and made his eyes sting but ignored it and his body’s exhaustion as he slid on the ground. A ball of magic sailed over his head while he yanked an arrow out of the ground. He came up to a crouch as he notched it then fired at the draikensu before taking off again. The ball that had been forming in the magic user’s hands vanished as the male had to jump to the side to avoid the projectile.

Breathing heavily, Tae kept going. Grabbing what arrows he could and shooting while constantly changing his speed and direction to avoid the magical attacks. Essentially, he was being an absolute pain in the ass to the draikensu. The magic user roared in annoyance and screamed at him to ‘just stay fucking still,’ making Tae lightly smirk as he gasped for air and disregarded the request.

The mistake Tae was waiting for would be coming soon.

Another thirty seconds passed of Tae circling and backtracking and gradually moving closer as the draikensu released magic nonstop and angrily shouted. The field around them was now filled with holes, and the other draikensu and Saeni fighting close by were giving them a wide berth. They didn’t want to get caught up in the magic user’s destruction.

Tae let loose another arrow that managed to nick the magic user’s arm, which caused the draikensu to scream, “DIE ALREADY!”

And then the male thrust his clawed hands forward and sent a barrage of cannon balls at the Saeni. The bombardment was so bright, the magic user had to shut his eyes and hold his arms over his face. When the light finally began to die down, the draikensu lowered his arms and opened his eyes to find the field right before him utterly destroyed… but there were no body parts scattered in the dirt and clumps of grass. The male’s eyes widened in disbelief right as the blue-eyed Saeni silently took his final step behind the unaware draikensu and swung his bow.

The hazel-eyed Saeni had Jimin’s bicep secured in his grasp as the duo ran through the trees. Closer and closer they neared the rift’s location… but Jimin kept looking over his shoulder.

“Stop looking back,” Mingi quietly but sternly ordered.

The apricot-haired Saeni stared at the guard with a startled expression. “But we just left them.”

Mingi kept his gaze forward, not saying anything in response, but his jaw visibly ticked and he tightened his grip on Jimin’s arm.

“No!” Jimin pulled himself free and came to a stop. “How could we just leave them!? We need to go ba-”

The other Saeni grabbed Jimin’s shoulders and slammed him into the nearest tree trunk, his hazel eyes filled with pain. “I hate it too! I hate it… so much… but they knew the risk when they agreed to this mission. They know what will happen if it doesn’t succeed.” Mingi hung his head and lowered his voice so it was a whisper that could barely be heard over the rustling leaves. “Don’t throw away their valor by going back and getting killed. Please.”

“Mingi…” Jimin blinked in shock at the rawness of the other male’s voice.

“Please.”

“Okay,” the half-Saeni agreed softly and Mingi released him then stepped back.

Running a hand through his sweaty apricot locks, Jimin murmured an apology in a small voice. The other Saeni nodded and said they should get moving again. The duo resumed their previous pace, hastily making their way under the shade and patches of sunlight. Eventually, the ground began to slope downwards and the two Saeni started to tread more carefully.

The rift will be at the bottom of this gully, just a short distance ahead. The mother goddess’ sweet voice filtered into Jimin’s mind, and her words made his breath quicken.

“Holy shit, Mingi, we’re almost there,” Jimin said in astonishment while deliberately sliding down a steep section on his side then bracing a foot against the base of a tree to stand back up. “It’s at the bottom of thi-”

Snap!

As the sharp, loud sound made Jimin stop mid-sentence, Mingi held up his fist, shifted his gaze to the side, and peered into the forest. The Saeni held their breath for one… two… three… four…

A dark blur erupted out of the foliage, teeth and claws bared.

Something slammed into Jimin, sending him head over heels backwards down the slope.

A growl and agonized cry joined the symphony of chirping insects and birds.

Tumbling all the way to the bottom of the gully, Jimin flopped onto his back and groaned while pressing his fingertips to his forehead. Hot liquid smeared across his skin and when he pulled his fingers away they were dabbled with blood. His eyebrows shot up, making him wince as the action agitated at the cut at his hairline, and he took a shaky inhale then looked up. Mingi was still standing on the incline, a hand braced against his side as he positioned himself between Jimin and the prowling wolf before him. Red poked out between the guard’s fingers but the male grit his teeth and stared down the snarling animal. The wolf’s hackles were raised and its ears erect as it showed its sharp incisors then let out a series of nasty barks. But Mingi didn’t even flinch, challenging the animal.

Jimin wobbled to his feet right as the wolf crouched backwards. And then it pounced.

Mingi unsheathed his sword as the canine attacked, grunting as the movement tugged at the claw wound on his side. The wolf mostly twisted out of the way but the edge of the blade still sliced into its body. The wolf let out a high-pitched whine that morphed into another growl as it landed on its paws. Without hesitation, the wolf leapt again and went for Mingi’s legs. There was no relent in the animal’s aggression. It kept surging forward again and again and again. Teeth sunk into the Saeni’s calf and the wolf yanked its head, causing the male to fall and lose hold of his sword. The blade clanged to the earth while Mingi’s head landed on a rock. Jimin gasped sharply. The wolf released the male’s leg and turned to look at apricot head, who had been watching the scene unfold with an overwhelming sense of helplessness. But as if gazing into those black, threatening eyes brought him to his senses, Jimin shuddered, sucked in a gulp of air, and reached over his shoulder. Noting his quiver was much emptier after his tumble down the slope, he closed his fingers around the fletching of an arrow and began to pull it out as the wolf growled and started stalking down the slope. With a curse, Mingi sluggishly rolled over, grabbed one of the wolf’s back legs, and hauled the animal back. Then the guard climbed on top of the canine, pinning it down regardless of how much it thrashed. How much it dug its claws into his body and tried to bite him with gnashing teeth.

“GO!” Mingi’s booming voice was clear but his hazel eyes were clouded with pain as they bore into Jimin. “Get to the rift! Go!”

The half-Saeni’s feet were frozen.

“Fucking Exia, GO!”

Jimin, you must go. I know it is hard but you must. The mother goddess urged him to leave as well.

His body jerked but his feet stayed glued in place. How could he leave Mingi? How could he just go? He had to do something!

Don’t throw away their valor…

Mingi’s words echoed in Jimin’s head along with Illai’s.

You must go…

So, he did. He turned and ran. Eyes glossy with tears and heart brimming with hurt.

The sound of bubbling water soon rushed to his ears and a creek came into view. It was shallow, wide, and rocky. Jimin ran alongside and through the water as the creek curved and weaved through the forest.

You are nearly there.

The half-Saeni splashed through the cold water.

Just up ahead! On your left!

He bounded up and over some rocks. The creek twisted away and he began to make his way uphill.

Then skidded to a halt.

To his left was a rugged, rocky incline leading to what appeared to be a cavern opening.

But in front on him was a male resting on top of a large rock with smoky darkness coiling in the air behind him.

The male smiled at Jimin but the expression was sinister and chilling.

“Well, well, well. I’ve been waiting for you.” The darkness pulsed and expanded as the male smirked. “Ready to have your heart carved out, key?”

Hobi flipped the knife in his hand as he dodged another sickle of amethyst magic, grimacing as the pain of his cracked his spiked again. The white-haired Saeni refused to let it slow him down though, so he spun on his heels and threw the blade. The weapon rotated through the air toward the draikensu but she deflected it with a quick shield comprised of her magic.

“Stop throwing shit!” Yoongi snapped at his partner while lassoing a line of his magic around the female’s ankle and yanking hard. “You’re going to run out of blades again!”

The female magic user toppled to the side but caught herself on her knee. Using the stumble to his advantage, Yoongi lifted both hands and wrapped his magic around the female’s torso and chest. Mint-blue magic bound her arms to her sides and began to squeeze, gradually crushing the draikensu.

“NOW!” Yoongi yelled as sweat trailed down his face and neck while he slowly closed his hands into fists.

The kiela’s spy brandished another blade and rushed the restrained magic user from the side. At the same time, the female hissed and focused her attention on the arm closest to the approaching Saeni. Yoongi saw her efforts, her attempts to rip through the constricting blue magic with her own, and was determined to not let her break through. It was time they finished this fight. It had gone on long enough. He fisted his hands even more, causing the draikensu to scream through her teeth. Hobi was about fifteen yards out when the female somehow managed to twist her arm underneath the magic so her glowing hand slipped out. The sight made Yoongi’s petal pink eyes widen in realization. And dread. He had been wrong. She hadn’t been trying to tear through his magic but rather rebuff it so she could free her hand. Before Yoongi was able to restrain the released appendage, the female flicked her wrist and sent out a small crescent of magic.

And Hobi didn’t have enough time to dodge it.

Yoongi could only watch in horror as the other male tried to leap out of the way but the edge of the magic still cut through his side.

Once the magic passed through, the white-haired Saeni slowed down and pressed a hand to his torso as if in a daze, flickered his eyes to Yoongi, dropped to his knees, then crumpled to the ground. He didn’t move after that.

Yoongi stared, his blood running cold and hands beginning to shake, as Hobi didn’t move. It felt like there was a sudden hole in his chest and it was becoming hard to breathe. 

This can’t be real. 

This can’t be real. 

This can’t be real. 

Then the sound of pleased laughter reached his ears, and he turned his gaze back to the draikensu who was now giggling manically. Yoongi’s eyes hardened and his body abruptly became hot with anger. He took a step toward the female as she began to cleave through the magic around her. Another step and Yoongi clenched his fists as hard as he could. The mint-blue magic obeyed his orders and multiple cracking noises came from the female’s bones, making her shriek. Another step and Yoongi moved his wrist so his magic vanished from the draikensu’s torso… but an instant later, blue tendrils shot out of the earth and curled around her ankles and calves. The female yelled and sent a wave of amethyst magic at him. With an expression so blank it was terrifying, Yoongi held his hands out in front of him and his own magic easily burned through the female’s. His chest heaved. From anger, from pain, from shock, from disbelief. From no longer conserving his energy and letting his magic run rampant. Flexing his fingers, his magic snapped the bones in the female’s legs too. She screamed and the sound transformed into a gasping wail as she awkwardly slumped on the ground. Another step. More tendrils of mint-blue light rose up and clutched at her biceps. Another step. The draikensu desperately threw another wave of magic. Yoongi cut through it. Another step. Her humerus bones shattered. Another step. Magic coiled around her forearms. Another step. More broken bones. Another step. The female had tears streaking down her face as she pleaded with him to stop. Blue light wound up her neck and covered her mouth. Another step. The amethyst light around her hands started to blink and disappear. Ropes of blue magic surrounded both her wrists. Crack. Another step. A slender tendril of blue light coiled around both her index fingers. Another step. Crack. Another step. The middle fingers. Crack.

By the time Yoongi was right before the female, every single one of her fingers were broken and misshapen. He could hear her muffled cries and saw the tears pouring down her face as he crouched down. Her eyes begged him to stop. He said nothing, just held her gaze while raising his right hand and hovering it over her heart. Magic shot out and entered her chest. Her restrained body flinched and her pupils expanded as the tendrils wrapped around her heart. Then Yoongi jerked his wrist back and his magic followed, tearing her heart out in the process. The female immediately went limp and he released all his magic encasing her so she collapsed in a broken, bruised, bloody heap.

After tossing her heart aside, Yoongi blinked at his red, tremoring hands while the rest of his body convulsed from overexertion and his pulse raced. Suddenly, he stiffened and choked on air before half-crawling, half-sprinting over to where he had last seen him. Stumbling over the corpses and discarded weapons on the field, Yoongi finally reached the white-haired Saeni. He was on the ground in a puddle of his own blood, and the only movement coming from his body was the slightest rise and fall of his chest as he peered up at the sky with lidded eyes.

The cold, blank expression on Yoongi’s face cracked and he whispered Hobi’s name as he heavily dropped to the ground beside the spy, which made blood splash around his legs. “No no no no no….” The magic user’s bottom lip began to quiver.

At his voice, Hobi’s eyelashes fluttered and his light brown eyes seemed to focus more before shifting and settling on the mint-haired Saeni.

The kiela’s spy weakly smiled and croaked out, “Hi… hyung.”

A sharp ache spread across Yoongi’s chest, his throat started to close up, and a clear droplet landed on Hobi’s torso. Then another. And another. The magic user was crying as he stared at the gushing wound on Hobi’s side. He murmured unintelligibly to himself while placing his unsteady hands over the deep gash, making the other male jerk at the contact. Then Yoongi’s hands began to glow faintly with what little energy he had left.

“Stop… hyung stop. You need to… protect yourself.”

“No, you stop!” Yoongi was scared at how feeble the other male sounded as his tears now dripped onto the back of his hands and rolled off to mix into crimson. “Stop talking I can-”

Hobi sluggishly lifted his hand to place it over Yoongi’s. “Save your magic… to protect yourself… Let me go.”

“Shut up! SHUT UP! You can’t… you can’t just…”

“Shh… it’s okay hyung.”

A sob ripped its way out of the magic user’s constricted throat while his mint-blue magic began to dim. “NO, IT’S NOT! You can’t go. You can’t just leave me. I need you, Hoseok. I need you to stay with me. I love you. You can’t go!”

Hobi’s eyes went wide and he drew in a tiny, sharp breath but in the next second his body slackened and his hand partially slipped off Yoongi’s.

“H-Hoseok…? Hoseok!?” The mint-haired Saeni’s voice was laced with fear.

There was no response.

Yoongi felt like he couldn’t bring any air into his lungs as he jostled the other male’s shoulders desperately. When there was still no reaction the magic user shook his head, refusing to accept it. With strained gasps he moved his hands back to the wound and closed his eyes to pour everything he had into his magic. His energy, his life, his entire being. Mint-blue light flared up around his hands once more and grew brighter and brighter and brighter as the Saeni roughly screamed from exertion. Beneath the blinding light, Hobi’s flesh began to stitch itself together and Yoongi grit his teeth and pushed his magic beyond its limits.

It lasted for a few moments longer but as he took a shuddering, slow inhale, the light rapidly depleted. Within mere seconds, the magic was completely gone. Yoongi swayed on his knees and was barely able to open his petal pink eyes to catch a glimpse of the thin line that had replaced the wide-open cut. He exhaled lightly and lips quirked into a small smile, then his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the side.

After he hit the ground with a gentle thud and the breeze whispered over both their bloodied skin, Hobi slowly breathed in and his light brown eyes blinked open. Pressing a hand against his side, his brows furrowed when he didn’t feel his cut-open flesh anymore. His skin was still wet with blood but only a thin incision remained where the large wound had been. The kiela’s spy was confused and raised his head to look at his torso, and in the process saw a familiar head of mint-blue hair resting on the grass beside him.

Worried, the white-haired Saeni pushed himself up with a wince, which also caused an influx of queasiness, and rolled the magic user to his back. “Hyung? Hyung!? Yoongi!!?”

The magic user was unresponsive, causing Hobi to look around helplessly. The other fights were starting to draw closer now that there weren’t any magic users battling to make them keep their distance. The spy cursed and glanced over his shoulder. He had to get Yoongi out of there. His gaze narrowed in on tree with the broken branches and saw there was an open space between them and the trunk. Plus, the branches were thick and full, meaning the leaves would provide a good bit of cover. Nodding to himself, Hobi pulled Yoongi’s limp form into his arms and stood up. Ignoring the sharp pain in his side as well as the overwhelming urge to keel over, the white-haired Saeni staggered over the grass and bodies to the tree.

When he finally ducked beneath the tree limbs, Hobi was gasping for air and his entire body was shaking. Once fully underneath the cover of the leaves and smaller branches, his legs gave out as the last of his strength left his body. Both he and Yoongi tumbled to the ground. Whimpering and clutching at his side, the kiela’s spy took a readying breath then shifted around until he was able to ensure they were both fully concealed. Then he maneuvered Yoongi onto his back and leaned over him.

“Hyung?”

Suddenly the words he’d heard right before the world had floated away into nothingness surged to the forefront of his thoughts.

I need you to stay with me. I love you. You can’t go!

Yoongi’s voice rang in his mind over and over like a bell.

I need you.

I love you.

I need you.

I love you.

I love you.

I love you.

“Hyung wake up!” Hobi cradled Yoongi’s face in his hands as tears welled up in his eyes. “You can’t just say you love me then die before I can say it back!”

A low groan came from the magic user’s lips, making Hobi cry out and hold the other male’s face even more tenderly.

“Oh my goddess…” Yoongi muttered in a gravelly voice. “I’m not dead, I just passed out for a sec-wait.” His petal pink eyes shot open and his mouth parted in surprise. “Did you just say-”

“I love you too.”

Yoongi gazed up in shock, his body frozen from both absolute exhaustion and the surge of emotions he felt. He couldn’t believe it. His heart pounded in his chest while overwhelming relief and happiness settled over him.

But Hobi misunderstood his silence, flinching back the slightest amount. “I-uh-sorry. I should’ve known you didn’t mean it… um, like that.”

The spy went to lean away but Yoongi grabbed a hold of Hobi’s wrist and tugged him back while rolling his pink eyes. “I did mean it like that. Idiot.”

Then Yoongi placed his other hand on the back of Hobi’s neck and drew him down to his lips.

The intense surge of mint-blue light in the distance suddenly died down, making both Namjoon and Jin glance at each other in concern while they continued to hack their way through the enemy. Jin was in the lead, taking care of most of the draikensu, while Namjoon covered the rear. The kiela’s leader was still limping as he hammered the occasional dark Saeni out of the way, but thanks to the magic user who had helped him he was able to walk and wasn’t in danger of bleeding out anymore. He did regret that he hadn’t been able to properly thank her afterwards though. She had disappeared into the fray the instant she was done. He hadn’t even gotten her name.

Maybe he could find her once this ordeal was over to express his gratitude. Granted, that could only happen if they both survived.

Luckily, the draikensu no longer seemed to be pouring out of the trees. There were still plenty to fight, but there was some extra room to breathe and it was simply relieving to see the enemy’s forces did indeed have a cap. Plus, less draikensu made it easier for the two Saeni to move through the field.

The duo was heading toward Yoongi’s magic, drawn to his bright blue light like moths to a flame. But now they were worried. About a minute ago, their brother’s magic had gotten more vivid and intense than they had ever seen before. It seemed like everything in the distance had been consumed in it. Like the air had been set ablaze in blue. Then it disappeared and no mint-blue magic had flared up since.

But the two males were still determined to get to the spot where they had seen it.

Jin tore his gaze away from Namjoon and sidestepped the swing of a mace then stepped in and thrust his sword deep in the belly of the draikensu before him. They fell to the side and the raven-haired Saeni continued forward with Namjoon close behind. The Saeni made it about twenty feet before a new opponent arrived. Arms throbbing as they lifted his blood-covered sword to pary the attack, Jin quickly pivoted and ran the edge of his blade along the draikensu’s thigh then across their chest.

While Jin disposed of the draikensu, Namjoon was peering around the field for any possible threats when a flash of burgundy caught his attention. The yellow-eyed male perked up and squinted. Same hair color… right height and build… and Namjoon swore there was a sword in each of their hands. There was no doubt. It had to be Jungkook… but something was wrong.

The male was slightly hunched over and wavering from side to side as he shuffled forward frantically. His footsteps were heavy, shoulders sagging, and every few seconds he would cover his ears and shake his head as he stumbled along. And while he still cut through whatever draikensu confronted him, it wasn’t with his usual speed and precision.

Shocked, Namjoon whispered his youngest brother’s name, making Jin’s head dart up and look for the male.

When he finally located his brother, the raven-haired male began to feel uneasy. “What in Illai’s name is he doing?”

Namjoon shook his head, not having an answer, before calling out to Jungkook. They were close enough the Jungkook should have heard, even though the sound was somewhat muted by the other screams coming from around the field, but the male just continued moving as if he could only focus on what was directly in front of him.

Jin swore under his breath and went after his brother, and despite the injury on his thigh, Namjoon was fast to follow. The two Saeni made their way toward Jungkook, taking down any draikensu that dared to get in their way all while still yelling out to their little brother. Meanwhile, the burgundy-haired Saeni wobbled on his feet as he blocked an incoming attack with his swords and both Namjoon and Jin saw how he grimaced and favored his right side. With a strained grunt, Jungkook forced the draikensu back and ducked below their next strike to lunge forward and bury a sword into their stomach. He dragged the blade to the side, completely gutting the draikensu then pulled the sword free. Reeling back a step as the dark Saeni toppled, Jungkook’s chest heaved and his sweaty hair fell into his eyes while he reached his right arm behind him. He appeared to brush his knuckles against a spot on his lower back that made his face contort in pain. His peridot eyes squeezed shut for only a few seconds, but it was long enough for a draikensu to spot the vulnerable male and rush at him.

“Shit-JUNGKOOK!” Jin shouted loudly, his voice booming across the field.

The youngest member of the kiela slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times as he recognized the voice, but he still didn’t realize there was a draikensu coming at him. Seeing that his brother wasn’t moving, Jin decided to take matters into his own hands. Hefting his sword and pushing through the crowded field, he sprinted as fast as he could in order to intercept the draikensu while roaring to divert their attention from his brother. Their swords met with a shrill ring and Namjoon called out Jungkook’s name once more.

The panting burgundy-haired male raised his head with effort and looked for his brother’s voice. “H-Hyung?”

Seconds later, Namjoon broke through two draikensu blocking his way with a powerful swing of his hammer and ran up to his brother. As he approached, the worry budding inside Namjoon became a fully blossomed flower when he noticed Jungkook was painted in blood and that his entire body was shaking.

Coming to a stop beside the male, Namjoon let his hammer drop to the ground so he could reach out and pull his brother into a hug. “Kook, oh my goddess, what’s going on with you!?”

The younger Saeni trembled in Namjoon’s arms, but he suddenly stiffened and hissed when the elder shifted his arms lower on his back.

“What? What is it?” Namjoon peered over Jungkook’s shoulder and saw his hand was just shy of a particularly bloody area. “Are you hurt!?”

“It’s nothing,” Jungkook replied detachedly like he didn’t even care he had a stab wound on his back. “Hyung, I need to-”

“That’s not nothing!” The yellow-eyed male leaned back to go inspect the wound further but flinched when he noticed how hollow and empty the younger’s eyes looked.

“What’s not nothing?” Jin appeared behind Jungkook, having defeated the draikensu quickly, and raised his brows in question.

“Jin hyung!” Jungkook twisted in Namjoon’s arms and Jin was taken back at the wild desperation on the maknae’s face. “I need to know-”

“He thinks it’s nothing that he got stabbed!” Namjoon cut him off once more in a bewildered, stressed tone.

Regardless of the chaos around them, Jin felt his brain shut down for a moment and he blinked as it promptly rebooted… and then he shrieked, “WHAT!? WHERE!?”

Turning Jungkook by his shoulders, Namjoon pointed at the leaking wound and the raven-haired Saeni gasped. The two older males crouched down behind their protesting maknae and inspected his back. They prodded gently, although their touches still made Jungkook tense up and reach for the dagger that was no longer strapped to his side, while murmuring questions of ‘how did this happen?’ and ‘how much blood have you lost?’ and ‘how do we wrap this out here?’ and ignoring Jungkook’s pleas to listen to him.

“Hyungs.”

Namjoon looked down at his clothes and huffed in frustration. “I don’t have anything we can use.”

“Hyungs!”

“Fucking Exia, neither do I.”

“It looks like the-”

“Hyungs!”

“-blade went straight in and out but his organs could be damaged.”

“Our best bet is getting him to Yoongi.”

“FOR FUCKING EXIA’S SAKE, THAT’S WHERE I’M TRYING TO GO!” What little patience Jungkook had ran out and he screamed at his brothers while swiveling to face them. “SO, IF NEITHER OF YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO Y/N THEN LET ME GET TO YOONGI HYUNG!”

Namjoon gaped at his outburst. “Y/N? Wha-”

“She’s not on the cliff anymore.” The peridot-eyed Saeni went to touch his dagger again but remembered so he tightly gripped both his swords instead to ground himself even though it wasn’t the same. “She’s not there!”

Both Jin and Namjoon looked over at the cliff and searched for your familiar figure, but Jungkook was right. You weren’t there. Their eyes widened but they pushed down their alarm, controlled their expressions, and did their best to stay calm for the sake of their maknae, who was now pressing his fists and sword hilts hard against his ears while repeating what sounded like ‘shut up’ under his breath.

“Okay, Kook, just breathe.” Jin tried to place a hand on the younger’s arm but Jungkook stiffened then threw it off.

“No, hyung! I need to find her! She could be… could be…” An intense shudder ran through Jungkook’s body and the male grit his teeth while reaching his hand behind his back again and taking deep inhales before continuing. “So, if you haven’t seen her-”

“We haven’t,” Jin said regretfully while Namjoon looked down at his feet.

They both hated this. Seeing their youngest brother injured and nearly breaking down. Knowing you could be in trouble and not having a clue where you were. How could they have allowed this to happen to their family? How could they fail their family like this?

As the two Saeni were mentally beating themselves up, Jungkook’s legs buckled at the confirmation that neither of his hyungs knew what had happened to you, and he partially collapsed to his knee while burying his face in his arms. The angle made the pain in his back become searing and Jungkook released a groan that soon faded into a cry. Startled and feeling like their hearts were being violently squeezed, Namjoon and Jin immediately went to help their brother up. While they softly pulled the hyperventilating male to his feet, Jin noticed a draikensu coming at them and silently exchanged a look with his leader before letting go of Jungkook’s arm. The eldest member of the kiela stepped away, twirled his sword in his hand so the handle settled into his palm properly, then charged the enemy as Jungkook latched onto Namjoon. The burgundy head clutched at his brother in a way that was somehow both weak and ferocious, and tears finally spilled over his eyelashes and dripped off his chin to plop onto Namjoon’s shoulders.

The leader held him close and whispered what he hoped were soothing assurances. “It’ll be okay. She’ll be okay. She’s a scorja, remember? She’s strong.” He peeked over to check on Jin and saw the male was shoving his blade through the draikensu’s abdomen, then returned his focus on Jungkook who was blubbering against his shoulder.

“Y-Yoongi hyung can probably locate her through the kiela bond since w-we share-”

“Your connection.”

Jungkook sniffled, nodded, then slowly detached himself from the older male, being careful of the blades still in his hands.

“Come on,” Namjoon said softly while wiping away some of the stray tears on the maknae’s cheeks. “We’ll help you get to Yoongi hyung. Get you healed up and then find Y/N. Sound good? Yeah?”

Jungkook let out a shaky exhale as he nodded again and wiped at his face with his knuckles. The other Saeni faintly smiled then leaned down to pick up his hammer before wrapping Jungkook’s arm around his shoulders so he could carry some of the young one’s weight. Jungkook hissed and shut his eyes at the pain but took a deep breath and rasped out that he was fine. Namjoon whispered an apology. He really didn’t want to hurt Jungkook more by tugging on his wound, but he knew it was better than having Jungkook collapse on the way. Not to mention the pain would help him stay awake and alert.

As Jungkook reiterated that he was fine, albeit with a grimace on his face, Jin ran back to the two Saeni with a fresh cut on his forearm but was otherwise unhurt. Yet when he slowed to a stop and noticed Jungkook’s now red and puffy eyes, he had to press his lips together firmly and glance away momentarily to keep his emotions in check.

“Yoongi hyung,” Namjoon informed the older male and tilted his head in the proper direction.

The raven-haired Saeni hummed in acknowledgement, still not looking at his youngest brother out of fear of choking up, and shifted in front of them so they formed a squished a triangle. Then they all set out. They moved at a measured pace; fast but slow enough that Jungkook could keep up without needing Namjoon to drag him along.

It took the trio maybe five minutes to reach the area where they had last seen the distinct flashes of mint-blue magic. Somehow, they managed to have had only a few encounters with draikensu on the way, and Jin got had gotten rid of them quickly with efficient swings and thrusts of his sword. But as they searched through the crowd the magic user was nowhere to be found. All they could see was more fighting, no magic.

For a second, they thought they might be in the wrong place… but they couldn’t be. That large tree they had all seen in the distance beside the flares of mint-blue magic was right there.

“We can’t just run around looking for him.” Jin shook his head and peered over his shoulder at Jungkook, who was trying to hold in his groans, then at Namjoon. “Not with him like this and not with your leg.”

Jungkook tilted his head in confusion and asked, “Your leg? What happened to your leg?”

“I, uh, might have gotten stabbed too,” Namjoon replied sheepishly then cleared his throat and looked Jin in the eye. “Let’s make our way to the tree. It looks like there’s some downed branches Kook and I can shelter under while you look for hyung, and it’s a good marker for you to find us again too.”

“Alright, let’s go.” Jin once again began to lead the way, and the three Saeni weaved through bodies and weapons toward the tree.

At one point, while Jin was preoccupied with a female draikensu wielding a trident, another spotted how Namjoon was supporting Jungkook and bolted at them with a gleeful squeal. Both males cursed as the draikensu raised her lance. They knew they were in an awkward position to fight but before they could separate the female was driving her weapon toward Jungkook’s chest. The peridot-eyed male leaned almost all of his weight on Namjoon, who was fumbling with his hammer, and lifted his arm so the sharp point of the draikensu’s weapon bounced off the flat side of his sword. Jungkook set his jaw as the power behind her strike vibrated up his arm and into his body, which caused Namjoon to stagger slightly. Then, as Jin was slicing through his opponent’s armor and the female was bringing her lance around for another attack, Jungkook abruptly surged forward and kicked the draikensu’s legs out from underneath her. Her back hit the grass and in the next second Jin was plunging his sword through her body. The female craned her head upwards for a brief second, staring at the steel piercing her, then she went limp as blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth. Jin removed his sword while Jungkook gasped, clenched his teeth, and sagged against Namjoon in pain. The yellow-eyed male held him the as best he could and guided the youngest along when Jin went on the move again.

“Can you crawl?” The leader of the kiela asked as they quickly approached the tree. “Because I don’t think I can lug your heavy ass under there.”

Jungkook scoffed and rolled his peridot eyes while he tried not to drag his feet. “Why wouldn’t I be able to crawl?”

“Still difficult.” Jin sighed. “Even after being stabbed.”

A minute later, they finally reached the tree and skirted around the thick trunk until the broken branches were before them. As smoothly as he could manage, Namjoon bent his knees and eased Jungkook to the ground while Jin stood guard. After the burgundy head was gently plopped on the dirt and he rolled to his forearms with a wince, he peered into the dense leaves and stilled in astonishment.

“What?” Namjoon wondered aloud as he crouched beside the male and followed Jungkook’s line of sight. “Oh.”

Through the branches, their eyes settled on a stunned Hobi who was staring back at them. The male had one of his daggers in hand but his other arm was wrapped around the mint-haired Saeni that was laying in his lap. Yoongi’s eyes were closed but his chest was gently rising and falling as if he was in a deep sleep.

The plump leaves and branches had camouflaged them both from view until Jungkook and Namjoon had gotten right up to the foliage, but there was no mistaking it was their brothers.

“Uhhhh… Jin hyung?” Jungkook called up to the male who was still focused on watching out for draikensu.

“Yeah?” Jin replied loudly but he didn’t turn his back on the field. “Do you need help?”

“No, um, he’s here.” Jungkook blinked at Hobi who did the same at him. “Yoongi hyung. Hobi hyung too.”

“Huh?” The raven-haired Saeni whirled around with his jaw agape.

“Hi hyung,” Hobi’s voice faintly came from the leaves.

Namjoon couldn’t help but chuckle to himself as he let his head hang in relief. “Well, this makes things easier.”

But Jungkook got over his surprise, huffed, and began to move over the dirt and roots. “Is hyung seriously sleeping!? He needs to wake up! Now!” With every movement he made, the agony in his lower back soared, but he tried to disguise how much he was hurting by setting his jaw and continuing forward.

He needed to get to Yoongi.

Leaves grazed his head and twigs scratched his skin and he could hear rustling as Namjoon followed him under the branches.

“Kook’s hurt,” the yellow-eyed Saeni informed his brother.

“Oh, shit. Okay… O-Okay.” Hobi glanced at Jungkook and his gaze settled on the dark, wet spot on his back but he quickly averted his eyes to focus on lightly shaking the magic user in his lap. “I don’t know if he will wake up, though.”

“What? Why?” Jungkook glared while he pulled the rest of his body into the small open space his brothers were in.

Hobi gave them a tight-lipped smile and gestured to his side, which was covered in copious amounts of dried blood. “I, uh, almost died and hyung used all his energy to save me.”

Moving backwards so he could kneel closer to the group, Jin speculated that that must have been the cause of the intense flare up of magic they all had seen.

Namjoon shifted so he could check on Jungkook’s wound again while Hobi shrugged at Jin’s statement then leaned down so his lips were ghosting Yoongi’s ear. “Hyung, come on. You gotta wake up. Kookie needs your help.” The white-haired Saeni smoothed his thumb over Yoongi’s cheek and brushed some of his mint hair away from his forehead.

The other males saw the tender action and raised their brows at Hobi who started to blush and stammer.

“Oh, u-um, it’s, ah…”

“Later?” Namjoon offered with a small grin while helping Jungkook get more comfortable on his stomach.

“Y-Yeah. Thanks.”

Finally, the mint-haired Saeni stirred and deeply groaned but he only nuzzled into Hobi’s lap more, making the spy turn even more red and frantic with his shaking.

“Let me sleep, ‘m tired,” Yoongi huskily murmured.

Namjoon let out a long exhale and inched closer to the magic user. Then, using his “leader voice,” he ordered the other Saeni to wake up.

“Agh, why do you sound li-” Petal pink eyes cracked open. “Ah, no it actually is Joon. Great.” The male flitted his gaze around. “And Kook. You look like shit by the way. And I’m going to hope the creeper watching us through the leaves is Jin hyung.”

Hobi laughed nervously and Jin berated the magic user for calling him a creeper while Yoongi just snorted and looked back at Jungkook.

“Seriously, you look terrible… I haven’t seen you like this since I kicked your ass for the first time. Don’t tell me a draikensu gave you-”

“Shut up,” the burgundy head retorted weakly.

“-trouble and you ha-”

“He got stabbed and Y/N is missing,” Namjoon explained bluntly.

In a flash, Yoongi snapped his jaw shut and sat up in shock, but the fast movement made him hold his head as a wave of dizziness and nausea hit him.

While the magic user grumbled as his head spun and stomach lurched, the kiela’s spy let out a chirp-like squeak. “Hold up, Y/N is missing!?”

“Yes.” Jungkook felt his temper start to ignite again and he stabbed one of his swords into the ground. “So, can we please stop talking and do something?”

Namjoon placed a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder to try to calm him down but the burgundy head growled in impatience.

Hardened peridot eyes stared into Yoongi’s drowsy ones. “Can you track her through our connection and the kiela bond?”

“I… I don’t know. Maybe.” The magic user took a deep breath and flexed his fingers… but no magic sparked up. “I probably could but I’m so drained I can barely stay awake honestly.”

Yoongi looked down at his hands and clenched them into fists. Hobi rubbed his back, Namjoon was lost in thought trying to think of a solution, and Jungkook ground his blade further into the dirt while tears threatened to fall onto his cheeks again.

“That means you can’t heal Kook either?” Jin questioned, but he already knew the answer.

They all did.

Yoongi muttered a pitiful ‘right’ and the Saeni fell silent.

They only heard their ragged breathing, the leaves, and the screams and ringing metal coming from every direction.

Then Jungkook yanked his dagger out of the earth and began to shift around regardless of the pain screaming at him to stop. “I’m going to go find her.”

“No, you’re not.” Namjoon grabbed the younger male’s forearm.

“Let me go.”

“You can hardly move!”

“Bu-”

“He’s right, Kook.” Yoongi lifted his head, baring his remorsful face to the others. “You’re just going to get yourself killed.”

“I have to try!” Jungkook tried to pull his harm back yet again but Namjoon held firm, and his struggle caused a twinge to form in his brothers’ hearts.

Taking in the youngest’s wilted and wrecked appearance, Jin squeezed his sword handle tightly as he came to a decision and started to stand up. “I’ll go find her. Everyone else stay h-”

“HYUNG!”

A body slid to a stop beside a startled Jin and they looked up at him with a blood-stained face and big, boxy smile.

“Tae!?”

The younger Saeni gave him a little salute and let out a tired exhale before turning his head and widening his bright blue eyes in pleasant surprise. “Whoa, everyone’s here! You all saw Yoongi hyung’s crazy magic too, huh?” Tae then got on his knees and reached out to clasp a bewildered Jin’s forearm in greeting before clambering further beneath the two broken branches and saying hello to the other Saeni.

They all gaped at him for a few heartbeats, stuttering out quiet and somewhat stupefied ‘hellos’ in return, until Jungkook inhaled sharply and dropped his swords then pushed himself up with a deep, throaty groan. The blue-eyed Saeni went to ask why Jungkook was so pale and making such noises but before he could open his mouth, his younger brother was frantically grasping his arms and asking if he’d seen you.

“Little scorja?” Tae paused for a moment, the craziness of the situation making his mind go blank temporarily. The other Saeni waited anxiously… then his blue eyes lit up. “Oh yeah! She ran into the trees after fighting off a draikensu that got on top of the cliff.”

His words were like a remedy as the Saeni breathed out in relief, some of the tension and uncertainty lifting from their bodies and minds. Jungkook himself trembled and his hold on Tae’s arms loosened as he slumped to the ground while closing his eyes and turning his lips up into the tiniest of smiles.

But Yoongi looked confused. “She… ran? That doesn’t seem like her.”

Tae shrugged and intertwined one of his hands with Jungkook’s. “If I had to guess, she probably went after Chim for some reason.”

The burgundy-haired male whipped his head up and his eyes held hope as he whispered something about the rift.

“Fuck no.” Yoongi saw the glimmer in the male’s peridot eyes. “You’re not going anywhere while you’re hurt.”

“What!? Kookie, you’re hurt!?” The blue-eyed Saeni tightened his grip and rapidly scanned Jungkook’s body while the younger male mumbled out that it was his back. Tae peeked behind the male, frowned, and shook his head disapprovingly. “Little scorja is going to be pissed.”

As the blue-eyed Saeni forced Jungkook to lay down on his stomach again, Hobi glumly twirled his dagger in his fingers. “And hyung doesn’t have any energy left remember? He can’t do anything right now.”

Jin rested the point of his longsword in the dirt. “I can still-shit.” A draikensu had come too close to the fallen branches for the Jin’s liking so he cut off his own sentence and sprang to his feet.

The raven-haired male crept out from the leaves and swung at the unsuspecting draikensu. Jin’s longsword glinted brightly in the sunlight, and the flash caught the draikensu’s attention which allowed them to turn and block the attack at the last second. Undeterred, Jin attacked again.

“Well, can’t one of us give you some of our energy?” Tae tilted his head to the side, making his bloodied feather sway in the air.

“What?” Yoongi blinked hard to try to stay awake.

“I mean couldn’t you just siphon energy from one of us?”

Hobi widened his eyes and turned his head to the magic user resting against his him. “Could you do that?”

“I… I’ve never through of it before but… possibly? I’m not sure how it would work exactly though.”

“Hyung, please try,” Jungkook softly pleaded in a tiny voice.

“Here.” Tae stretched his arm out. “You can take mine.”

Namjoon placed his fingertips on Tae’s wrist and gently lowered it. “I’m injured as well so it’s better if he takes mine. That way there’s still someone who can go after Y/N with Kook.”

“But Jin hyung could go with-”

Tae was interrupted by a heavy breathing Jin disagreeing with him while crawling back between the tree trunk and the fallen branches. “Tae, you’re honestly the only one who could keep up with Kook right now. You go. I’ll stay here and watch over everyone.”

Adrenaline flooded your veins as you ran through the shrubs and underneath the tall trees. It made the painful aching in your body, especially your legs, bearable while you continued to move in the direction Stem had pointed in. The direction that should lead you to your best friend. You didn’t know how close or far he and Mingi were, but you were just going to keep running until you found them or your legs gave out. Whichever came from. And even if your legs refused to move, you still had functioning arms and hands. You would crawl. Hell, if Alex Høgh Andersen could do it as Ivar the Boneless in Vikings for seven years you could do it for one day for your best friend, dammit.

“But it won’t…come to that, Y/N,” you wheezed to yourself between breaths. “You’re fine. Totally fine… Keep moving. Just… keep… moving… Just keep… moving… Just keep moving… moving… moving… What do we… do…? We move… move.”

Airily chuckling to yourself while the wind blew past you, you tried to swallow but your dry throat made you choke and you started coughing. Gasping more air into your lungs that felt like they were on fire, your feet faltered and you grabbed onto a tree trunk to stop yourself so you could lean your hands on your knees and spit out the excess saliva in your mouth. Though as you straightened back up, the wind died down for a moment and your nose twitched as you smelled that smell again. Death. It was strong and coming from up ahead. You hadn’t caught the disgusting scent sooner since you were running upwind, and you weren’t sure if you should be thankful for that or not.

Heart hammering in your chest and leg muscles spasming, you nodded to yourself and murmured, “Alright, here we go,” and notched an arrow before lightly jogging forward.

A minute or so later, the ground began to tilt downward and the smell of blood and death grew even more pungent. You tapped your finger nervously against your bow while zig-zagging down the slope. Halfway down, a flash by your feet made you look down and you saw a deserted arrow partially hidden by the low foliage. Furrowing your brow, you moved on but a few steps later another arrowhead reflected in the light by your feet. And another and another and another. It was like someone had dumped out their quiver… or had taken a tumble down. You trailed your eyes along the arrows until your gaze reached the bottom of the slope.

In the shade there was another lump.

You crept down the slope while scrutinizing the shape.

It definitely wasn’t a log this time. Or a person. It was another wolf.

It lay crumpled between two rocks. It’s head awkwardly propped up, limp tongue hanging out, and throat slit. Blood coated its fur and stained the rocks and twigs and leaves beneath its body.

Was this the wolf I heard back at the meadow? You wondered as you finished descending into the gully and approached the dead animal.

Wrinkling your nose at the stench radiating from the body, you sighed and turned away to continue on your journey. Though as you moved around the wolf, you noticed there was more blood on the ground leading away from it.

In the same direction you were going.

On alert, you readied yourself to draw your bow while you tentatively followed the blood trail. Maybe you were just being paranoid. The blood could easily just be from the wolf… but it worried you that the red droplets were going in the same direction that Jimin and Mingi were supposed to be in.

Ducking below a thick tree branch, you started to hear bubbling water over the rustling leaves.

And then heavy splashing and groaning.

Biting your lip, you moved cautiously.

Quickly, you came upon the source of the sound of water. It was a shallow but wide creek filled with lots of rocks. It opened up the gully a bit, allowing for more sunlight and open space.

And thus, permit you to see the male that was stumbling through the creek further ahead.

He was moving fast but limping badly. One arm was dragging his sword behind him, the tip clanging over the rocks, while the other was pressed against his torso.

And as he staggered into a patch of sunlight, you reeled as you realized you knew him.

“Mingi?” You whispered in confused shock then hastily returned your arrow to your quiver before shouting after him. “Mingi!”

The male was exiting the creek when he paused at your voice and looked over his shoulder in surprise.

You sprinted toward him, not bothering to be quiet anymore. Your feet pounded against the ground, hands roughly shoved branches out of the way. When the creek curved before you, you plunged right in. Mingi was right on the other bank. You were almost to him. You were going so fast you lost your footing on a slick rock and fell forward. A yelp escaped past your lips as your hands and knees were thrust into the icy water and your palms scraped against the rocks. Some water even splashed up onto your chest, making you tense up from how cold it was.

“Y-Y/N?” Mingi stammered out in a strained, faint voice while you pushed yourself back up. “Are you okay? H-How are you here?”

You were dripping water as you safely crossed the remainder of the creek and launched yourself at the Saeni, wrapping your arms around his waist while murmuring his name in relief. But the male released a choking sound and stiffened as you hugged him tightly.

“What? What’s wrong?” You leaned back and took in the way the guard was breathing strenuously and his hazel eyes were darker than usual.

Suddenly it hit you that he was alone.

“Mingi…” You stepped back from the male. “Where’s Jimin?”

And it was then you realized Mingi’s entire front was red. Slashes covered his body and blood was spilling onto his arm and hand where he held it across his stomach. You gaped at the wounds and glanced down at yourself, seeing you were now blotted with red too. You hadn’t felt it seep into your clothes because of the creek water. As you looked down, you noticed his leg was also coated in blood and it was pooling on the dirt and sand beneath his foot.

The blood trail was coming from him.

Mingi adjusted his arm over his torso and let out a ragged exhale. “The wolf attacked… I sent him ahead while I dealt with it… rift should be very close.”

You grimaced at the amount of blood steadily leaking out of the male’s body then registered what he had said. “It’s close? So Jimin should be close too…”

I really don’t think Mingi should be moving around with those wounds… I don’t even know how he’s moving around with them right now.

“I’ll go after him. You stay here,” you told him.

You went to go around him and start running once more but he quickly grabbed your arm with his bloody hand before you could leave.

He shook his head, determination in his hazel eyes, while holding his sword hilt with more strength. “I’ll keep up. I have to… it’s my job to protect him.”

You eyed him, wanting to say no, but it was his choice to make. Besides, the longer you stayed here and bickered with him, the more time you would be wasting. So, in the end, you just gave him a nod. His bloody hand slipped off your arm and you took off running knowing he would be following.

And true to his word, he did keep up despite the obvious pain he was in. He just endured it with gritted teeth and the occasional low moan as blood continued to spill from his body.

After jumping over a small runoff, you looked back at Mingi and asked if he knew how far the rift was.

“No… but if we keep… going straight… we should hit it soon… at least I think.”

You grunted in acknowledgement and refocused on the terrain before you. It was quite rocky and uneven, so you really had to watch where you were going so you wouldn’t twist an ankle.

Not long after, the creek curved away and the ground before you started to rise into a minor incline. You hopped up and over the rocks and roots in your path as the sounds of running water began to fade away, though your ears perked up as your heard something that was definitely not the forest replace it. Deep chuckles, small gasps and groans, dull thuds.

Deep breath, stay calm. Deep breath, stay calm. Deep breath, stay calm. You chanted internally while vaulting over a fallen tree.

When your feet landed back on the dead leaves, dirt, and twigs, you retrieved an arrow and readied your bow. You glanced back at Mingi who raised his bloody hand to his ear then pointed ahead to signal he was hearing the noises too. Then he brought his red finger to his lips to indicate to be quiet before returning his arm to lay across his torso while hoisting his sword in the air with his other arm.

The two of you briskly tiptoed beside each other as the thudding sounds increased in volume… and seconds later you saw who you’d been searching so desperately for.

Except he was being beaten.

Amid the large rocks that cluttered the area, a male draikensu was holding a bloody and bruised Jimin by the throat while sending his fist into the half-Saeni’s torso. The draikensu was carrying a bow and quiver on his back and a knife at his side but was using neither as he smirked darkly and simply used his bare hands to overwhelm the half-Saeni… and there was a strange plume of black smoke swirling behind the male. The smoke seemed to expand and collapse, almost like it was… alive. That sight alone was disturbing, but what was worse was watching your best friend gasp for air while clawing at the draikensu’s hand, his face swollen and purpled. The draikensu scoffed at Jimin’s attempts to free himself, threw him to the ground, then crouched over him to deliver three successive punches to his face.

The apricot head moaned and turned his head to the side to spit out blood onto the dirt while trying to crawl backwards to his bow which lay wedged in the rocks several yards away. The draikensu tsked and held down one of Jimin’s arms while also pressing his face into the ground to pin him.

Coming to your senses, you cried out for your best friend and raised your bow at the male restraining him.

“Oh, we have company now?” The male spared you and Mingi a brief look then grinned as if he was pleased. “Good.”

Neither you nor Mingi rushed the draikensu. Not when he was essentially holding Jimin captive and could snap your best friend’s neck in an instant. You didn’t shoot either. You didn’t have a clean shot with the angle and the draikensu could easily lift Jimin’s body to use as a shield.

Jimin tried to crane his neck your way and mumbled your name. “Y/…Y/N?”

Right after your name came from Jimin’s lips, the draikensu returned his attention to the male under him. He released Jimin’s face but slammed his fist into the apricot head’s temple. Your best friend went limp as the punch forced him unconscious. The draikensu hummed and straightened slightly to reach for the blade strapped to his waist. The smoke behind him seemed to dance in eagerness.

OH, FUCK.

You widened then narrowed your eyes, seeing how the male had eased his hold on Jimin’s arm and wasn’t as close. Mingi whispered ‘Now!’ and you released your bowstring to send your arrow flying at the draikensu.

You and Mingi followed, darting forward.

The male dove to the side to avoid the projectile, which sped past him and vanished into the trees. When he came to a stop, the draikensu growled and swiftly grabbed his own bow and an arrow while you were reaching for your quiver mid-sprint.

He aimed… right at you. And shot.

Your eyes widened but suddenly you were being shoved to the side. Your bow flew from your grasp and you hit the ground hard. Twisting around, you looked back at what had rammed into you… or rather who. It had been Mingi… who was looking down at the arrow now protruding from his sternum.

He had pushed you out of the way but sacrificed his own body to do so.

Mingi!

You stared as more blood bloomed on his chest and blended into the other lines of crimson crossing his body. As you watched the red flow out, so many emotions battled for dominance in your heart to the point you were stunned motionless. Meanwhile, Mingi wrapped a hand around the arrow shaft, staggered back a step, gulped, and flashed his eyes your way.

But before you could get up or help him or even blink, another arrow thumped into his chest.

The impact made him fall down to the earth. And within a few seconds, the light in his beautiful hazel eyes disappeared.

It was gone.

Mingi was gone.

No… no, Mingi. Please, no…

You were trembling, not knowing what to do when a satisfied sigh made you tear your eyes away. You met the draikensu’s gaze and you saw he was taking out another arrow from his quiver as he stood over Jimin.

“Remember my name,” he spoke to you proudly, “Amarok. The one who killed the key.”

He breathed in deeply through his nose as if he was preparing himself, then he turned his eyes and bow on your best friend.

All at once, alarms blared in your head, bringing you out of your frozen horror. You scrambled to your feet. You didn’t even have a plan or really know what you were doing but you charged forward as fast as you could.

Fifteen yards.

Amarok notched the arrow.

Ten yards.

He began to draw back.

Five yards.

The male smirked.

The smoke hovered in anticipation.

You lowered your shoulder like seasoned football player and you slammed into the draikensu with a yell and all the strength you had in your human body. You tackled him away from your best friend, making his bow and arrow clatter against a nearby rock, and the sheer momentum of your attack made you sail over the draikensu after he hit the ground.

Tumbling over the earth, you dug your forearms and elbows into dirt and leaves and stopped yourself a few feet away from the male. You panted while you used your shaking muscles to get up and squinted as sweat dripped into your eyes. Meanwhile, Amarok roared in agitation, clambered to his feet, and turned to face you with a menacing glower.

His jaw ticked once then he rolled his shoulders and started moving toward you.

Okay okay okay. Remember what Jungkook’s taught you. Yoongi too.

You stood and got into your fighting stance, spreading your legs slightly and balancing your weight while positioning your hands in front of your face. Amarok rolled his eyes and reached out to grab your arm but you skirted to the side and dropped to one knee while spinning with your other leg extended. You figured getting him on the ground and into a hold would be the best way to approach the situation so you tried to knock the male off his feet but he was fast to back up out of the way. He hummed thoughtfully while you got back to your feet and surged forward, aiming your knee at his gut. Amarok blocked your attack and used your proximity to thrust his elbow into your side and shove you back then swung his arm at your face. After lifting your forearm to hinder the fist, you went to deliver a punch in return but Amarok sidestepped, grasped your arm, and used your energy to turn and flip you to your back. You were forcefully thrown to the ground, making you involuntarily let out a half-grunt, half-puff of air on impact. Blinking to clear your head and see through the sun glaring through the trees, you realized there was a flat rock by your left leg. As the crookedly grinning draikensu went to lean over you and capture your throat in his large hand, you braced one foot against the flat rock, pushed your hips up, and brought your other leg across his chest. Then you clenched your teeth and drove your leg, and therefore Amarok, down with a yell. Shifting, you kept your leg against his chest, and took one of his arms in your hands and pulled back while dropping the heel of your other leg as hard as you could into his abdomen. You managed to ram your heel into him twice before he caught your ankle in his free hand. Sucking in a breath, you immediately let go of his arm and crunched your torso to drop your elbow into his face but he raised his knee at the same time. Swiftly, you moved your arms so he hit your forearms instead of your cheek or nose. He let go of your ankle and you used the split second of freedom to roll backwards over your shoulder and back onto your feet. Amarok pushed himself up as well.

Your heart pounded and chest heaved. Alright, so… I’m obviously at a major strength disadvantage. But that’s no different than how I am with the boys when we train.

You and the male stepped around the rocks while you slowly circled each other and waited to see what the other would do.

I need to distract him. Make him start talking. See if there’s anything I can use to play with his emotions.

It typically would have been difficult to figure out how to start talking with someone in this situation, but something had been nagging you in the back of your head since before you’d started fighting so you mentally said fuck it and decided to go with that to start an utterly convenient conversation.

You sucked in a deep breath and tilted your head while keeping your eyes on the male. “Your name. I’ve heard it before. Who are you?”

“I’m my master’s loyal subject.” Amarok stopped moving and spread his arms wide. “His doorway and his tool. My purpose in life is to aid him in burning down the world.”

His doorway…? Is he the one Uzjuk latched on to? Your eyes expanded and darted over to the swirling black smoke which was floating over Jimin’s body. Holy fuckballs, is that raging vape cloud Uzjuk!?

But it was a mistake to look away. The moment your gaze shifted, Amarok ran forward and jumped off a rock toward you. He kicked at your side and you brought your unaware attention back to the male right as his leg made contact with your ribs. Stumbling back several steps, you winced and pressed a hand to your side but refocused to block his next kick. Dodging his quick follow-up punch, you rammed your fist just below his sternum, making him double over a bit, then swung your other fist at his cheekbone. While his head whipped sideways, you shifted your weight and did a double roundhouse kick at his shoulder than face. Both were deterred by his arm but you hastily planted that leg back on the ground and twisted so your other foot spun toward him. As Amarok leapt out of the way, you lunged forward for another punch but the male kicked your thigh and made you stagger back.

You caught your breath and placed your hand to your thigh before returning it in front of your face. “The world doesn’t deserve it.”

“Neither did my family,” Amarok angrily spat out while peering at you, “They didn’t deserve to suffer and die yet they still did. The world shall be no different.”

Then the male snarled and stepped forward to swing his fist toward you once more. You leaned back and blocked it with your elbow but as you were paying attention to his upper body, the male hooked his foot behind your ankle. Before you knew it, he was forcing your leg out from underneath you. With a yelp you fell yet again, this time landing on your side and banging your head against the hard earth. White spots danced in your vision while the draikensu went to stomp on you but you were able to roll back just in time. You only made it a few feet away but Amarok didn’t press after you. Instead he just watched as you dizzily came up to a crouch then returned to your fighting stance. Blowing some stray hair out of your eyes, you shook your hands out to rid some of the tension coursing through you and bounced on the balls of your feet a couple times.

I’m like tiny Steve Rogers. I can do this all day.

Chest rising and falling very quickly, you tried to slow your breathing down as you and the male considered each other.

Oh shit, right, distract him! He mentioned his family!

“Your family…? Your family wouldn’t want you going around killing people. They would want you to be good-”

“Good?” Amarok let out a ridiculing laugh. “There is no good in the world, girl. Just temporary illusions that eventually turn into ash and smoke.” The male stepped up onto rock and looked down at you. “Besides, it doesn’t matter what they want anymore. They’re dead. Nothing is bringing them back but I can make the world feel their pain. Feel my pain.”

You squeezed your hands into fists and looked up at the male in incredulity.

I can’t tell if it’s all him or Uzjuk’s influence but I think he’s insane. I get the whole retribution storyline but damn… the whole world?

Suddenly you heard a quiet groan off to the side, and out of the corner of your eyes you saw Jimin flop over onto his stomach, partially raise himself to his knees, and hold his head in his hands.

“My master showed me that the world needs to fall back to its true state of chaos.”  The draikensu inclined his head in Jimin’s direction and lazily hopped off the rock he was standing on. “And it starts with his death.”

Then he began to march toward Jimin.

Ah, shit.

Your feet moved without thinking and you ran up to Amarok. The male shoved an arm out to swat you aside but you dodged and moved in close so you could grab his shoulder for better leverage as you drove your knee into his torso again. He grunted and tried to seize you but in the next breath, you shifted your hands so you could pull the male’s upper body down as you jumped onto his back so his head was between your thighs. Then, with his shoulder and arm still in your grasp, you threw your weight down so you both fell to the ground.

You both sprawled out and, in your peripherals, you saw Jimin finally start to stand up, causing the black smoke to swell and shrink rapidly. Wobbling to his feet, he continued to hold his bleeding and bruised head as he fixed his brown eyes on you.

Hastily, you got to your feet before Amarok and moved so you were directly in the male’s path to your best friend. The draikensu lifted his head and when he realized Jimin was no longer on the ground, he released an irritated yell and pushed himself up.

He took one, two, three large strides forward but with a scratchy grunt, you powerfully planted your foot in the middle of male’s chest so he reeled back a few steps.

“Jimin, go! GO NOW!”

Hearing no response or footsteps running away, you risked a peek behind you while Amarok place his hand against his chest. To your disbelief you noticed Jimin was still standing there staring at you with a mix of confusion, uncertainty, and reluctance on his blotchy and swollen face.

A low noise came from before you so you tore you gaze away from your best friend to see Amarok coming at you with narrowed eyes.

“FUCKING GO ALREADY!” You shouted back at the half-Saeni and raised your foot to kick the draikensu once more but Amarok caught your leg and turned, tossing you aside.

While you skidded against the ground, your head narrowly missing a rock, Amarok calmly walked past you toward Jimin, who was looking back and forth between you and the draikensu in bewilderment and fear.

Fucking Exia, Jimin, you need to yeet out of here!

Clawing your fingernails into the dirt, you hoisted yourself up and sprinted at the draikensu’s back. Then you launched yourself at it. You slammed into him, your unexpected weight making the male teeter forward, and you went to hook your arm around his neck. Though before you could do so, Amarok snarled and reached up to secure his hands around your arm then tugged while bending over. You flipped through the air and onto your back yet again. All the air in your lungs was pushed out, making your body feel tingly and convulse a little. As you struggled for oxygen, Amarok stepped over you. Gasping, you forced your tremoring body to roll over and grabbed his foot.

It didn’t do much to slow the male down. It barely made him falter. He just kept going, getting closer and closer to Jimin as you held on with all you had.

While you tried to hinder the draikensu’s advance, you looked up and met your best friend’s torn expression. As you were dragged across the earth, you gave him a small nod and mouthed ‘go.’ Jimin opened his mouth like he wanted to say something but snapped it closed, then finally turned and ran for the mass of collapsed rock.

Relief numbed your pain as his apricot hair quickly disappeared from sight, blocked by the rocks and the way they inclined and curved away slightly.

Amarok, on the other hand, released a loud, frustrated yell and tried to run after Jimin but you pulled your body closer to his leg so both your arms enwrapped the appendage. He wouldn’t be going anywhere. Not while you were still breathing. You tightened your hold on the male’s leg as his yell faded into a growl while he leaned over to dig his nails into your wrists, making you cry out in pain. When you refused to let go, he cursed you then grabbed a fistful of your hair and yanked your head up and to the side. You whimpered and your grip around his leg unwillingly slackened. Then he sent his fist into your jaw. Your head snapped back and blood began to flood your mouth as your vision went fuzzy, your arms dropped, and you collapsed to the ground. The disorientation only lasted a few moments but Amarok gave you no reprieve as he let out an infuriated noise then kicked you in your stomach.

You curled in on yourself for a second, a sob coming from your lips. Amarok went to turn away from you but you groaned, clenched your aching jaw, and used your trembling arms to push yourself up to your jelly-like legs before spitting out a mouthful of blood at the draikensu while swaying on your feet.

Much to Amarok’s dismay.

An agitated rumble came from the male’s throat while he glared at where Jimin had gone then at you. “I was going to let you live, girl. But now I see you’re just a pest that needs to be disposed of quickly.”

His hand went to his waist and he withdrew his long hunting knife.

You blinked, quirked your head to the side, and snorted, showcasing your bloody teeth. Oh… well, you’re not the only one with a knife, bitch.

Then you wrapped your own hand around the hilt of the ruby-hilted dagger strapped to your side.

Jimin’s head was throbbing and his body stiff as he hurriedly climbed over the mess of collapsed rock leading to the cave entrance. He could feel how swollen and puffy his face was without even touching it and every time he swallowed he could taste the blood coating his inner mouth.

You’re nearly there Jimin. Keep going. The mother goddess urged the half-Saeni gently. Straight into the cave. You can make it.

The sun beat down on his back while he planted his foot against the flat side of a rock and leapt to the next one several feet away. But as he jumped off his leg buckled, making him fall forward and land awkwardly. One of his palms slid against the rock’s jagged edge which sliced the skin open. His knee banged into the hard fragment and he felt his flesh tear open on through his pants. His feet settled on smaller stones while he hunched over the rock and breathed heavily. He didn’t even feel the pain really, too distracted and overwhelmed to register the new injury. It just felt warm. Probably from the blood. Steadying himself on the rock, he closed his hand into a fist, causing crimson to leak out around his fingers and make a small pool, then he leaned his forehead against the sun-warmed rock.

He could hear the thuds and grunts coming from your fight with the draikensu. He hated himself for placing you in danger. For leaving you. For running away.

But he knew he had to.

Don’t throw away their valor.

He had to trust you. You would hold off the draikensu so he could get to the rift and close it.

That was his job. His responsibility.

Get up Jimin. You can do it.

Jimin straightened and ran his hand through his apricot hair, staining some of the strands crimson. Then he looked up toward the entrance of the cave that was so close. Then he nodded to himself and hiked himself up onto the rock so he could press on.

Not even a minute later, he was crouching at the cavern’s entrance.  A constant plinking sound echoed all around him. His brown eyes glanced up at the water dripping off the ceiling that was causing the sounds as they hit the rock or puddles below. Shifting his gaze to peer into the darkness before him, he shivered at the cold draft blowing out from the cave.

Jimin took a single deep breath and lowered his body to the damp ground.

Then he began crawling inside.

While they ran through the forest, Tae looked sideways at his brother in concern. Jungkook’s peridot eyes were focused and his pace hadn’t wavered once, but what worried Tae was how ragged his breathing was.

As well as the blood still trickling out of the male’s back.

They had been running for about thirty minutes. A third of that time was just getting out of the field and into the forest with as few confrontations as possible. Luckily, though, they hadn’t encountered any draikensu since entering the trees. They had been able to just sprint directly toward their destination, which Yoongi had told them was to the northwest.

The mint-haired Saeni, being the talented magic user he was, had figured out how to siphon energy from Namjoon after a montage of curses and just a few failed attempts. As Yoongi’s hands had begun to glow brighter and brighter with magic, the leader of the kiela had gotten more and more tired until he passed out. It was then that Yoongi ceased extracting his energy as to not harm Namjoon. Then the magic user used most the energy to heal Jungkook’s wound. Not completely, but enough so any damage to internal organs was gone and it wasn’t as deep. Then Yoongi used the remainder of the taken energy to locate both Jimin and Y/N, and found they were close to each other. The magic user’s eyes had started to droop and he’d murmured they needed to go straight to the northwest. Yoongi had crawled out from the branches and pointed in the direction before exhaustion overtook him once more and he slumped to the ground.

Very shortly after, Tae and Jungkook had left.

Both Saeni knew it would still be hard to find you and their brother with only a cardinal direction to guide them but it was substantially better than searching completely blind. Not that Tae thought Jungkook wouldn’t have done that if he’d had too.

But honestly, Tae would have still been right beside Jungkook even if that had been the case.

He wanted to find Chim and his little scorja. He was extremely worried for them.

But he was also worried for his younger brother. He didn’t know how long Jungkook would be able to keep going like this.

After the duo leapt over a skinny fallen tree, Tae took in how Jungkook’s hands were trembling and suggested they take a quick break.

Jungkook firmly shook his head in refusal.

“Just so you can catch your breath.”

“I’m fine,” the burgundy head replied through his teeth.

“Kook-”

“I said I’m fine, hyung. We need to keep going.”

It was apparent nothing was going to stop Jungkook, not even the risk of collapsing from blood loss. So, Tae just reluctantly resigned to the fact and continued running.

You hastily backed up as Amarok slashed down toward your thigh then jabbed at your throat. You stopped the blade from entering your flesh both times by blocking his arm with your hand. The male was bleeding heavily under his arm from where you had managed to get inside his defense a minute ago and stab him but he still wasn’t letting up.

Analyzing his movements, you bent at the waist and the edge of his knife cut through the air where your head had just been. Immediately after, you had to duck to the side to avoid his fist. Then you deterred the next thrust of his blade and lunged forward yourself, but Amarok sidestepped, turned, and used his free hand to redirect your arm while slashing his knife across your forearm. Following the motion of his blade, the male went to move behind you and cut the back of your neck but you quickly dove forward to safety.

Instead of going after you, Amarok used your escape as a means to escape himself. He turned and began running toward the rocks where Jimin had gone. Popping back up to your feet, you swore and flipped the ruby-hilted dagger in your hand so the blade was in your palm.

I know I suck ass at throwing knives but please Exia let it work this one time.

Even though the blade wasn’t meant for throwing, you did your best to channel your inner Hobi as you raised your elbow and threw the dagger.

It rotated through the air… then the hilt bounced off Amarok’s back.

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

But you had had an inkling it wouldn’t work so you had sprinted after the blade as soon as you had released it. It was a miracle it even made contact with the draikensu so although it had not harmed the male like you’d hoped, it did create a distraction that allowed you to catch up with him.

Coming up behind the male, you sent your red, bloody knuckles into his spine, and he twisted around to slash at you with his blade while releasing an angry growl. You leapt out of the way and he faced you yet again with an enraged expression. He stepped toward you and as he went to stab at your side, you saw a brief opening and took it. You kicked your leg up, straight into his groin. At the same time, you caught his forearm that held the knife and used his motion to tug it beside your opposite hip. Then you placed your other hand over his and forced his wrist down while pressing his arm back toward his body quickly. A sharp crack came from his wrist and he hissed as his hand dropped the knife. Then you pushed your hips forward and jumped up, throwing your right leg over his shoulder and the other around his torso under his arm while leaning your upper body back. Feeling your weight around his neck, Amarok instinctively tried to raise his body but it was too late. You kept your head lifted as you hit the ground to not crack your skull and used your left hand to force his arm across his body then to help pinch your leg that was over his shoulder to around the back of his neck. You shifted your other leg up so you could lock your right ankle underneath it to secure the triangle choke. You squeezed your thighs together, beginning to cut off the male’s oxygen and blood flow, while also wrapping an arm around his leg to bring yourself close and further restrict his movements. Breathing through your nose, you focused on maintaining the grapple as Amarok struggled for air and tried to lift you and slam you down but was unable to.

Suddenly, the sky darkened above you and you looked up to see the smoke was now surrounding you and Amarok.

“Master… please… help,” the male croaked out weakly.

Help? How can the vape cloud help? Just pass out already!

Then Amarok began convulsing and he opened his mouth in a silent scream.

What the fu-

And then you felt it too.

A hot and searing pain that felt like it was burrowing deep into your brain.

His armor and skin were soaked from the water that trailed down the earthen walls and collected in puddles on the cavern floor.  Jimin’s teeth clacked together while he continued moving his body through the cold, quiet darkness. Thanks to his draeva connection he was still able to see through what he believed was an abandoned wolf den and as he rounded a tight corner the half-Saeni saw that the small cave seemed to widen a bit up ahead.

Crawling forward, a glow began to peek out from the underground chamber but it wasn’t the sun or phosphorous on the rock. It was an odd, unusual light. Murky and dark. Only a shade or two brighter than the pitch-black darkness.

Pulling himself completely into the wider space, Jimin then gaped as the source of the light came into full view. It almost looked like a sinister, shifting portal of thick smoke. It reminded him of the cloud of swirling smoke that had been with the draikensu male. The center was the darkest part, so black it nearly blended in with the rest of the cave. The margins, however, were tinged in a mixture of ashen grey and deep red.

There it is, the wretched thing.

“That’s the rift?” Jimin maneuvered himself to his knees and tentatively approached it until he was just an arm’s length away.

The air around it seemed to be even more frigid and chilling.

Yes. You did well Jimin. The soft voice of Illai soothed him. I will take over now.

The half-Saeni’s posture went rigid and his eyes shifted, turning into an every-changing array of colors like a rippling rainbow.

Then Illai lifted Jimin’s hand and laid his fingertips against the ice-cold center of the rift, and seconds later a white light started to burn away at its grey and red edges.

You screamed.

It felt like your mind was being shredded apart with claws made of molten lava.

Letting go of Amarok’s leg, you clutched at your head. Your own legs were still wrapped around the male’s neck, but the hold was quickly loosening. You were in too much pain to keep squeezing your thighs. You couldn’t focus on it. Not when your brain felt like it was being squeezed and dug into. The smoke continued to whirl above you and the corners of your vision started to grow dark and fuzzy. Tightly shutting your eyes, hot tears started to leak past your eyelashes and trail down your cheeks as you writhed on the ground.

Amarok, who was still twitching and barely conscious, reached up over his head and weakly pushed and pulled at your legs. You couldn’t even fight him off. Your legs unwound from his neck and heavily fell to the side while a pained, groggy inhale came from the male as oxygen flooded into his lungs and he crumpled to his knees. He was basically right on top of you, his knee pressing into your thigh but he was still incapacitated as the burning agony pounded into both your minds.

Until it suddenly wasn’t.

It stopped.

Your body jerked once then you laid limply on the earth, no longer in pain but feeling sluggish and feeble and out of breath. A relieved sob escaped past your lips and you curled into a small ball at the abrupt disappearance of the pain while you slowly cracked your eyes open.

What was that… fucking ow it still hurts.

You watched Amarok struggle to his feet, somewhat amazed he could even move after that. “Thank you, master.”

The dark smoke overhead stopped moving.

“Master?”

The smoke seemed to shudder and it pulsed violently.

“Master!?”

The edges of the smoke turned grey and wisped away.

Still panting, you sniffled and rolled onto your back as the rest of the smoke became discolored.

Then it dispersed entirely.

Blinking, you stared up in confusion as Amarok shrieked for his master. But the smoke didn’t return. Uzjuk had vanished.

… Jimin…

You whipped your gaze over to where he’d gone. Steeling your mind and body, you forced yourself up as your heartbeat loudly thumped in your head and the urge to vomit surged.

You had just gotten back to your feet when Amarok pivoted and glared at you with pure hatred and anger etched over his face.

Wobbling slightly, you raised your chin and peered back at him as confidently as you could even though you wanted to keel over. “It’s… It’s over, Amarok. It’s done.”

A low rumble came from the heaving draikensu’s chest and he stepped forward, sending his fist into your face so hard you fell down with a cry. When you tried to stand, he picked you up slightly, turned, and threw you back to the ground. As you bounced and slid against the hard earth, you saw a flash of red in your peripherals. Tilting your aching head to the side, you saw Jungkook’s ruby-hilted dagger glinting in the sunlight only a couple feet away. Breathing deeply, you returned your eyes to the draikensu and saw he was looming over you with his fist raised. He was going to punch you again. Lunging to the side, you dodged his fist and wrapped your hand around the dagger’s hilt. Twisting back around, you swung the blade up in an arc. It missed Amarok though he had to rear back to avoid it. Staggering to your feet, you adjusted your hold on the weapon and lifted it in front of your face. Baring his teeth in a growl, he went for you again but you deflected his arm with your free hand and dragged the dagger across his belly.

Then, with a defiant yell, you plunged the blade deep into his neck.

Jin heavily parried the draikensu’s axe and stepped to the side to dodge their next swing. The raven-haired Saeni lifted his longsword but as he went to thrust forward the draikensu’s eyes widened and she took a couple steps back. Her axe dropped to the ground and she looked around like she wasn’t sure what was going on.

Furrowing his brows, Jin stayed on guard but the field seemed to suddenly grow quiet as most of the other draikensu also seemed to stop fighting.

A few seconds passed.

No more screams.

No more ringing metal.

No more chaos.

Blood sprayed in the air as you yanked the dagger out of Amarok’s neck. Crimson coated the blade and dripped off the tip as you stepped back and the male collapsed to his knees. He raised his hand over the wound but it was futile. Blood poured out past his fingers and drenched his chest. It gurgled out over his lips as he tried to breath.

You stood over him, eyes narrowed, while he bled out.

And less than a minute later, his body sagged over.

Fucking finally.

You braced your hands on your knees, taking in large gulps of air and closing your eyes as your head reeled and spun and your thighs spasmed.

Jimin… I need to find Jimin…

Tightly gripping the ruby-hilted dagger, you straightened and began making your way to the rocks.

It suddenly seemed too cold in the shade of the trees as you jogged, and your body trembled while you hoarsely cried out for your best friend. “JIMIN!”

“JI-JIMIN!”

You reached the rocks and started climbing up them.

Where is he? Why isn’t he answering?

A lump began to form in your throat and you tripped and fell down.

“Y/N!?”

Your head shot up and you saw him stumbling out from around the corner.

A sob ripped its way past your lips and you both rushed toward each other, clawing and stumbling over the rocks.

Slamming into your best friend so hard you both almost lost your footing; you hugged him and buried your face in his shoulder while he wrapped his arms around you. He was wet, cold, and shivering, but you were just as wrecked. Trembling in each other’s arms, your tears soaked into his already damp armor while his dripped onto your bare neck.

“I’m so sorry,” he blubbered against your skin while smoothing his hand over your hair. “I’m so sorry for leaving you.”

Shaking your head, you mumbled how it was okay, you were okay, he was okay, you were both okay.

Eventually, you and Jimin settled down. The tears had left tracks through the dirt on your faces and your bodies were barely holding up but you pulled away so you could take in your best friend’s face. It was battered, bloody, and swollen yet you smiled softly and placed your hand against his cheek lightly.

He leaned into your touch and sighed before reaching up and gently taking you hand in his. “Let’s get out of here.” Then he began to lead you down the rocks.

It was a slow process. The adrenaline in both your bodies was starting to ebb, allowing you to really feel how much you hurt. Which was a fucking lot. It was painful just standing but you had to keep moving. It was time to get back to the field. To get back to the rest of your family.

When you had almost reached the bottom, you were holding Jimin’s hand to keep yourself steady as you jumped to the next rock when the apricot head suddenly asked if you’d seen Mingi.

“Last I saw he was holding back a wolf so I could keep going.”

You tensed and looked away while you bit your lip, memories and emotions from the hazel-eyed Saeni’s death flooding back to you.

“What?”

Expelling a sad puff of air, you just told him to follow you. Limping past Amarok’s body and around the stray rocks, you led him to where Mingi had fallen.

“Oh,” Jimin said quietly as he gazed at the arrows sticking out from the guard’s chest.

The leaves swayed above you, a hint of blue sky and sunlight peeking through them as you approached the male. “He, um, he was really injured from the wolf. But he was still determined to come protect you, but… he… he ended up dying while saving me.” Dropping to your knees beside the Saeni, you had to press your lips together and take a deep breath.

Reaching over, you closed his eyelids; shutting those beautiful hazel eyes forever. Then, as you carefully removed the arrows from his body, Jimin spotted his sword on the ground and went to retrieve it. You both gently laid the sword over his body and folded his hands over the hilt.

A single tear trailed down your cheek while you thanked Mingi for his friendship and sacrifice in a choked-up voice. “I’ll miss you… please rest well.”

Jimin hung his head for a moment then stood up and rested his fingers on your shoulder. “Illai says he will only know peace from now on.”

You looked up at him in shock. “You can still hear her?”

He simply nodded while gazing down at Mingi, his face filled with guilt, before he helped you to your feet. You whispered one final goodbye to the Saeni and put your arm around Jimin to support his body as he also supported you.

Breathing heavily, you both started to shuffle through the trees and head back toward the field.

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[vannahfanfics]

Hi! Can I please request 1) Physical Touch w/ YonaWon & 2) Quality Time w/ YonaWon for your Languages of Love event? Thank you!

Absolutely! Always happy to provide some good AkaYona content and quench your YonaWon thirst! :)

Forever

She hated when he got like this, and there was nothing she could do. 

Soo-Won shivered underneath the sheets, sweat slicking his straw-colored hair to his forehead. Pained groaned bubbled from his lips as he scrunched up his face in agony, breaths leaving his body in ragged gasps. Yona dipped a rag in cold water, saturating the soft white fibers, and then wrung it out. The water cascaded back down into the small wooden tub like rain, gradually dwindling into a few drips. Yona then gently draped it over his forehead, hoping to alleviate the heat from his fever just a little. 

Yona’s fingers skimmed down Soo-Won’s clammy face, lamenting the hot flush painting his cheeks. The rest of his skin was comparably pale, sweaty and sunken with illness. His attacks were coming more and more frequently, and growing more severe. Very soon, he would become bedridden. It was a tragic end, even for the man that had caused her so much confusion and grief. She was no closer to discovering the truth of their twisted little tale. 

“Oh, Soo-Won,” she murmured, petting his cheek softly. In his feverish stupor, he turned into her touch, nosing against the tips of her fingers. “What is to become of us?” 

“Don’t worry about that.” 

She jumped slightly, realizing that the barest sliver of his teal eyes were hazily gazing up at her. A small smile curled at the edge of his trembling lips. She hadn’t realized he was awake. He turned further into her touch, his cheek perfectly cupped into her palm. “I don’t want to think about that right now,” he said, voice hoarse from pain. 

“All right,” she said softly. Soo-Won continued to nuzzle into her hand, relishing the coolness it offered compared to his inflamed flesh. “Just rest,” she told him, knowing that he was fighting to stay awake. She could see it in his expression, the grimace painting his face as he tried to cling to consciousness. “I’ll take care of you, Soo-Won. Just rest.” 

“Forever?” he whispered. Her heart fluttered in her chest, but she could see from the glaze over his eyes that he was slipping into delirium. Tears bubbled up in her eyes as she nodded, swallowing thickly as the words lodged in her throat. 

“Yes, forever,” she forced out. Soo-Won released a relieved sigh, his eyes fluttering closed. His face slumped into Yona’s hand, but she didn’t mind; she continued to stroke his cheek with her thumb, soothing him through the thrall of his fever fit. She tried not to think about how short that forever could be, just focused on easing his pain as much as she could because that was her duty right now. She took his hand in her free one, squeezing the fingers tight. 

“Forever,” she whispered, the tears slipping down her cheeks as she squeezed her eyes tight. 

Enjoy this drabble? Feel free to find more on my Table of Contents!

~~~~~~~~~~

A Gift, Not a Given

They kneeled in the garden together, the afternoon sunlight shining down on their small shoulders. Yona’s pudgy fingers-- being only five years old sure made delicate tasks hard-- shook slightly as she tried to weave the flower stems together into a suitable crown. Try as she might, though, they kept slipping free and falling down into her lap. Soon, the bent stems would begin to fray and peel, and she would have to go find fresh flowers to try and build her crown. 

“I’m sorry, Soo-Won,” she pouted as she picked up the flower and tried weaving it in again. “This is taking so long, I’m sure you’re getting bored.” 

“No, it’s okay, Princess Yona,” the boy smiled, turning to face her. His blond hair swished around his shoulders, catching the bright sunlight to shine like pale gold. He really was a handsome boy, so much so that it brought heat to little Yona’s cheeks. “I enjoy spending time with you! Plus, it’s such a nice day to spend in the garden, don’t you think?” 

“Yeah!” Yona smiled, buoyed by his pleasant attitude. She went back to weaving the stems, twining them around each other so the bright pink blooms faced the front. “I like spending time with you, too,” she chirped while still looking down at her work-in-progress. “Father is so busy all the time... It’s nice to have someone who’s willing to spend time with me.” 

“It’s a shame,” Soo-Won tutted. She looked up to find him reclined against the trunk of the tree they were sitting under, staring up to observe the way the light played through the leaves. “You never know what might happen. He should enjoy his time with you while he can.” 

Yona blinked, confused by his statement. Her eyes then flooded with tears. 

“D-do you think something bad will happen to my father?” she asked, voice thick with fear and sorrow. Soo-Won hurriedly jolted upright, waving his hands in a placating gesture. 

“Th-that’s not what I meant!” he sputtered, and Yona calmed down a little, sniffing loudly as her nose was now stuffy with snot. Soo-Won smiled wanly, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “I just meant that every day is a gift, not a given, you know? You can’t take anything for granted.” 

“Oh,” she said with a small nod, even though she really didn’t get it. Soo-Won chuckled and patted her head while she looked down, putting the finishing touches on her crown. She stood up to put it on the older boy’s head, but she’d overestimated a little-- it drooped down, one end sliding over his eye. “Aw... I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay,” he laughed while pushing the flower crown back up. “I love it because you made it for me, Princess Yona.” She smiled bashfully, fisting her dress and turning her body from side-to-side. She definitely wouldn’t take these carefree days and Soo-Won’s company for granted, not ever. He was her most special friend. 

Enjoy this drabble? Feel free to find more on my Table of Contents!

[cordria]

Flowers

Danny skulked into his house through the back door with the intent of avoiding his parents. He’d had an extremely wonderful day thus far - no homework, no ghosts, a decent grade on his math test, and even a compliment from his science teacher on the project they were working on - and he had zero desire to run into someone who could ruin his winning streak with a reminder about chores. 

It was for nothing, as his mother was sitting at the kitchen table. Danny’s shoulders drooped. 

“Hi Sweetie,” she said. “How was school?”

“Fine,” Danny muttered, toeing off his shoes and dropping his bag near the door. “I’m going to-” he stopped, realizing there was someone else at the table with his mother. He blinked at the strange woman. “Hello.”

The woman had a kind smile with large dimples, an oversized nose, and a large black curly hairstyle. She also looked vaguely familiar. “Hello.”

“Danny, this is Katie. She and I were good friends in college.”

It clicked in Danny’s mind. The woman was in a lot of his mother’s pictures from college. “Hi,” he repeated. Taking advantage of the fact that his mother was chatting up an old friend (although ‘friend from college’ made the little hairs on his neck stand on it - that phrase never seemed to bode well), Danny edged around the table with the idea of vanishing up to his room.

“She’s a botanist,” his mother continued, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Danny wanted to not be here. “Katie was just passing through after picking up some specimens, but she’s agreed to stay for a while and help me with an experiment I have going. She had a unique idea for it.”

“Sounds fun,” Danny said. He was nearly out of the kitchen.

“She’ll be staying in Jazz’s room.”

Danny hesitated. Having another scientist actually in their house meant he’d have to be careful to toe the line for a few days. “Okay…”

“Can you clean Jazz’s room a little before you relax?” His mother sent him a smile. “Make sure there’s nothing lying around?”

“Oh, Maddie,” the woman said, waving her hand, “I can do a bit of cleaning. I just appreciate the offer! Let the young man go do his thing after a long day.”

Danny was about to nod and agree with that sentiment, when he remembered Jazz sucked at hiding things. Like notebooks and photo albums full of secret-breaking information. “Ah… I can clean. Jazz is a neat freak anyways, it’ll only take a minute.” 

“That’s sweet of you.” Katie sent him a huge smile. “Thank you.”

“New sheets and things too, please,” his mother added. “I know Jazz keeps her room clean, but it’s been almost a month since someone was in there. They’ll smell dusty.”

Danny waved his hand and took the chance to escape the kitchen. He trotted up the stairs, sending a quick text to Tucker that he’d be late logging into their game.

Jazz’s door was the second on the left, and the door was already open, a suitcase sitting on the bed and a coat draped on the desk chair. Danny felt something odd at seeing these strange things in his sister’s room, but he shrugged it off and glanced around. He knew about the notebook and the photo album. Now where did she hide them?

Poking around at the books on the bookshelf, Danny noticed what looked like a glass suitcase sitting on the ground. Pausing in his search for the notebook, he knelt down and studied what was inside. The glass was tinted, like sunglass lenses, and the objects inside were blurred and hard to see. They looked something like plants. Which made sense, since the woman was a botanist. Kinda weird, though, keeping them in such an odd container.

Danny left the plants to continue searching for anything secret-revealing, spending nearly fifteen minutes and not finding anything. “Perhaps she’s better at hiding things than I thought,” he muttered, slinking to the hall closet and getting a new set of sheets. “Or maybe she brought them to college.” It took only a few minutes to get the new sheets on the bed, new covers on the pillows, and to dump Jazz’s in the laundry. He lingered a few more minutes, eyes drifting over the room, trying to think of anywhere else things could have been hidden.

Feeling confident his secret wouldn’t be revealed, Danny headed towards his room. Tucker was waiting.

“Danny!”

He stopped, one foot in his room, and let his head fall back. He debated pretending not to hear his mother’s call. Twenty more seconds and his noise-cancelling headphones would have been on and he’d be surrounded by the sounds of an alien world. But his conscience tugged at him. “What?” he yelled.

“Need your help for a moment!”

He groaned, twisted on his heel, and slumped down the steps. Making sure every hint of his body screamed ‘I don’t want to be here’, Danny slunk back into the kitchen. “What?” he asked.

The kitchen table was now covered in paper. Graphs and charts and pages full of numbers were everywhere. His mother looked up with a grin, seemingly oblivious to his posture. “Katie has a terrarium up in Jazz’s room. Can you grab it please? And then, down in the lab, we’ll need some equipment. The portable lab kit will do, I think.”

Really? Danny thought as he headed back upstairs. Couldn’t do this yourself? 

But after those couple annoyed thoughts, he did start to wonder what was in the terrarium that they’d need the porta-lab. Slipping back into Jazz’s room, he knelt down next to the terrarium and studied it a little closer. 

There were five plants inside. They weren’t potted like a normal plant - their roots were dangling in the air, and the plants were suspended in the middle of the terrarium by glass rods. Two looked something like orchids, one looked like some sort of vine, and the other two looked like tiny trees. They looked like very normal plants, other than the lack of soil. 

He shrugged and grabbed the terrarium, hauling it downstairs. “Here,” he said, setting it on top of the mess of papers. 

“Thank you!” Katie chimed, reaching forwards and pulling it closer. 

In a hurry to get back to Tucker and his game, Danny took the stairs to the basement two at a time. The portal was humming calmly. He headed straight to the self where the porta-lab was kept, snagged it, and headed back up the stairs. It joined the terrarium on the table.

The glass door was open and Katie and his mother were peering inside. Despite the desire to run upstairs and get into his afternoon fun, Danny lingered, curious.

His mother dug through the lab supplies, pulled out a huge pair of gloves, and handed them over to Katie. “Perfect,” the woman whispered, reaching into the terrarium with gloved hands, and slowly releasing one of the plants from the glass rods holding it in place, and pulling it out of the terrarium.

Danny felt himself tensing, waiting for something bad to happen. Maybe it was a ghost flower, like those blood blossoms. There had to be a reason for the lab supplies and the strange, tinted glass. It’d be just his sort of luck, too, after such a good day.

But it was a normal plant. Six long green leaves. Limp white roots dangling from Katie’s gloved fingers. A small but pretty white flower hanging from a stem.

Danny was almost disappointed. “What is it?” he asked.

“Dendrobium pacificum florid,” Katie said with a smile. “A rare and quite expensive orchid.”

“It’s just a plant,” Danny said.

Katie glanced at him. “What were you expecting?”

Danny sent his mother a confused glance. “You’re doing a project… on a normal plant? No ghost… anything?”

Katie laughed. “Ghosts? Are you still on that, Maddie? Jack and Vlad too, I suppose.” 

Maddie’s smile twisted into a small frown. “There’s potential-”

“Yes, yes,” Katie interrupted. “I heard all about it many times in college. God, it’s hard to believe you three never gave that pet theory up.”

Danny could see his mother’s hackles rise. “It’s not really a pet theory anymore, if you’d follow the news.”

“Of course, dear,” Katie said, her smile indulgent. Then she turned to Danny, ignoring the look on Maddie’s face. “And we’re not doing an experiment on the plant. We’re doing an experiment on it’s genetics.”

Still with a frown on her face, Maddie nodded. “Vlad sent-”

Every muscle in Danny’s body tensed.

“-along some rather interesting data he said he’d collected and Katie’s an expert in biogenetic engineering, especially when it comes to plants. We’re hoping to see if we can recreate some of… this,” she waved her hands at the messy stack of papers, “in a plant.”

“Uh-huh,” Danny said, trying not to sound too interested. But with Vlad involved, he needed to know what this experiment was about. “What are you trying to get the plants to do? Grow fangs and attack Da... uh… someone?”

Katie laughed. “No. We’re trying to translate a unique bioluminescent trait into the plant. Like what a firefly uses to glow.”

“A… glowing plant?” Danny asked.

His mother sent him a tight smile. “Yes.”

Danny looked down at the porta-lab, at the ghost equipment and the beakers that still had traces of glowing ectoplasm clinging to them and the sensors, and put two and two together in his mind. “Will this glowing plant be able to… float?”

Katie leaned forwards. “Floating is impossible, but the bioluminescent trait caused some sort of odd gravitropism. It was the interesting part of Vlad’s research, one of the reasons I agreed to this.”

Danny blinked, glancing at his mother in hopes of a translation. 

Maddie’s smile was sharp. “It’s a bioluminescent plant with odd gravitropism, Danny. Not a glowing plant that floats, of course. Ghosts are a… silly pet theory.” 

“Ah,” Danny said.

“I’m more interested in studying the gravitropism to be honest,” Katie said, turning the plant around and around in her hands. “Bioluminescence has been done before, of course. This plant has just the right sort of genetics for what I’m seeing in this data. Fortunately it’s flowering. Unfortunately, it’s such a slow grower it’ll be years before the pollen and ovules we’re modifying will be large enough plants for good study.” 

“Think about it,” Maddie said, leaning forwards and poking a finger at the papers, “a way to create organisms, living beings, with… bioluminescent and odd gravitropism.”

Danny didn’t particularly want to think about it. He didn’t want his mother figuring out how to create plants that could glow and float. A half-ghost plant. He felt the hair raise on his neck at the idea of his mother realizing that a half-living, half-ghost creature was possible. 

Surely Vlad didn’t want her to either. What was the man thinking?

“I’m going to… go,” Danny said. “You guys play with your plants.”

He ducked out of the kitchen, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he headed up the stairs. He went through his blocked number list, found the one he wanted, and hit ‘call’. “Hi, Vlad,” Danny said when the phone picked up.

“I’m busy, Little Badger.”

“What’s with the data my mom’s looking through?”

Vlad scoffed. “Merely theoretical information. I’m hoping she can help me solve an instability issue I’m working through.”

“Theoretical, huh?” Danny slumped into his room and shut the door. “You’re not planning on her using any of that information?”

“Maddie doesn’t have the skill, interest, or technology to actually do anything with the data I sent her. It’s not even the complete set of data. I’m just using her analytical skills to find a mistake. It’s harmless, Daniel.”

“You remember Katie, from college?”

“No.” A pause, then, “The flower girl? Black hair, big nose?”

“You mean the botanical biogenetic engineer? Yes, that one. She’s sitting at my kitchen table, looking through your ‘merely theoretical information’ and planning an experiment with my mom.”

There wasn’t a response to that.

“Hello?” Danny said after a long thirty seconds of silence. He pulled the phone away from his face, realizing he’d been disconnected. He couldn’t help but smile. “Well. That was rude.”

When the doorbell rang just a few minutes later, Danny glanced out the window to see Vlad’s limo double-parked outside. Setting his headphones over his ears, he finally logged into his game. It’d certainly be interesting to watch Vlad try to talk the information back out of his mother’s hands, but Danny was ready to tune out the world and play his game.

[nastybuckybarnes]

By the Fire

Pairing: Geralt X Reader

Summary: A hunt goes wrong and Geralt finds himself in a most precarious situation. Until a surprising hero saves his life.

Warnings: Smut, Language, Injuries, Violence, Minor Angst, Fluff

Word Count: 3.1K

A/n: A little something while I ponder Bad Dreams. I hope you are all doing well and staying safe!

~*~

Geralt knew. He knew instantly that he was in over his head. He knew this day would come, he just never expected it to be so soon. But as the ghouls grow in numbers, their shrieks echoing louder and louder in his ears, he knows he can't fight them all.

His eyes are pure black, senses amplified tenfold as he fights off the ghouls that keep throwing themselves out of the dark forest. Sword swinging, blood splattering, he knows he's killing most of them, but for every ghoul that goes down, two more take its place.

Their brittle jaws snap at him, trying to puncture his skin and get a taste of his flesh. His heart starts beating faster, faster than he's felt it beat in a long time. As he throws two ghouls off of his back, a third finds it's way to his leg, claws digging into his thigh. He curses and kicks the pasty monster off of his leg, only to be tackled to the ground by three more. One of them locks its jaws around his bicep while the others focus more on his head, trying -unsuccessfully- to take a bite of him.

He manages to get all three off of him, but the shrieks coming from only a few feet away aren't promising. Grabbing his sword with one hand, he pushes himself to his feet.

"Come on!" He yells, not going down without a bigger fight.

He swings his sword almost carelessly, the venom from the bite seeping into his bloodstream.

He gets taken down again and this time he's fighting weaker, less intensely.

He struggles hard as the ghouls swarm around him, his black eyes squinting with the effort of fighting them off.

Just as he's about ready to give up, his muscles burning and straining, two ghouls collapse away from him.

Something, or rather someone, has grabbed the attention of the monsters, which gives Geralt newfound energy. He snaps the neck of the ghoul on top of him and stumbles to his feet, grabbing his sword and getting into a slightly wobbly fighting stance.

He only has to cut down a few ghouls, all the others distracted by something in the distance. Something that's shooting them down two to three at a time.

He squints in the dark as the last of the ghouls fall to the ground, the forest falling silent. He can hear the wind moving past the lithe body of something in the trees, but before he can figure out what it is he's falling to his knees, the venom taking hold of his consciousness and dragging him to blackness.

~*~

The fire in front of you crackles softly, the flames burning auburn, small flecks of gold spiralling upwards to the stars then fizzling out softly.

The heat of it warms your face as you clean the tips of your arrows, having retrieved them from the many dead ghouls.

The Witcher behind you groans from his spot on the ground. Initially, you'd tried moving him, but his large frame was too much of a challenge so instead, you set up camp around him.

You look over at him, frowning at how slowly the herbs are working to fight against the venom. You crawl over to him and sigh heavily as you see the darkness creeping through his veins.

If his heart wasn't so damn slow he'd be dead by now.

You remove the bandage from his arms and replace the venom-stained leaves with some new fresh ones, ignoring his hiss of pain as the mixture burns his wound.

You take the bowl of leaves and move back to your place in front of the fire, salvaging what you can from your arrows and making new ones with the old parts.

The Witcher groans again, this time sucking in a sharp breath. You don't move, far too focused on the task at hand.

"Who are you?" He asks, his voice hoarse and deep.

"Don't move. You'll only make your injury worse," you whisper, not answering his question.

"Why did you help me?" You set the arrows down and rummage through your pack until you find your small bag of herbs. Taking out the long plant, you bring the roots to your mouth and chew them up while squeezing any and all liquid out of the stems and into the small bowl in front of you. You spit the stems out into the bowl then add a few powders before mashing it all together.

"You were dying. Struggling. Why let the monsters kill you? What purpose would that serve?" You place the long leaves into the bowl then set it aside.

"You're an elf, aren't you?" You glance over at him for the first time, his Amber eyes stare at you, squinting slightly.

"You need to rest. The venom nearly spread to your heart. It will take a day at least to get out of your system. Even with your... enhancements." He pushes himself into a seated position then curses softly. You roll your eyes and turn back to the fire.

"Moving will only slow down the process," you mumble, knowing he probably won't care.

"Where's my sword? And my horse?" You sigh and stand up, walking over a nearby tree to grab his sword.

"Your beloved sword is here. And your horse is with mine in a small village just through the woods." You grab a small leather canteen and scoop the bowl off of the ground then kneel down by his side. He stares at you, taking in your features in the dim light of the fire.

You're pretty. Beautiful, even. Your skin is smooth and soft looking, your eyes filled with hidden emotion and depth beyond comprehension. There's an airy-lightness to your presence that makes Geralt feel surprisingly at ease.

"You've halted the healing," you whisper, gentle fingers removing the fresh leaves so you can inspect his wound.

It still looks awful. Black and blue and absolutely horrendous. But it's better than before.

You apply the new leaves, making sure to wrap the long cloth bandage around his bicep a few times, tying it tightly.

He watches in slight confusion and a little bit of awe as you treat him so gently.

His eyes analyze you, zeroing in on some nasty scarring on your left ear.

You glance up at him and his eyes flash down to yours.

"You're an elf," he repeats, looking pointedly at your ear. You push a lock of hair back and sigh.

"Yes. Or, I was. There's not much left of the elves anymore. Humans made sure of that." He's quite as you hand him the canteen.

"Did they take them?" You shake your head and show him your other ear, perfectly pointed.

"Just the tip of this one. I didn't let them get far with it though." Your eyes glaze over for a moment as the painful memories slam into you.

"That must've been hard." You shrug, standing up and walking over to the fire.

"What's your story, Witcher? How does one find himself battling a swarm of Ghouls in the middle of the night? And where's your Bard? You two are never apart from each other." He rolls his eyes at your comment.

"I was doing what Witcher's do."

"Well, surely you knew it was suicide to be here with all those bodies. You must've known that the ghouls would be coming." He sighs and shrugs then winces.

"I didn't plan on being attacked by so many." You hum, staring into the flame as you think about what this means.

"Is it true?" You suddenly ask, not turning to face him. "Is what true?"

"Your... encounter with Filavandrel." He sighs again. "No. Not the way the Bard sings it. Filavandrel wanted to kill the both of us but... he decided letting us go would be the 'lesser evil'." You nod slowly, fighting memories.

"My brother was always one who could negotiate." Geralt raises his eyebrows.

"You must be (Y/n)." You nod, looking over your shoulder at him. "Do I live up to the tales they tell of me?"

He huffs out a breath and cocks his head to the side. "The lost Elven princess. Many think you to be dead. The others... they think you've strayed so far into the woods that you've become a monster." You scoff and shake your head. "They thought I was a monster before they chased me out of my home. The humans are so barbaric. I don't know how you can stand to live with them." He shrugs and scoots closer to the fire, closer to you.

"They fear me. That fear protects them from me and silences rooms. So I have few headaches when the Bard isn't around." You chuckle softly and sit down beside him, rummaging through your pack until you find some of the food wrapped tightly. You hand him some bread, watching as he takes a bite of it.

"Why continue helping me? Why not leave me here and go on your way?" You shrug, looking down at the dirt smeared on your hand. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't lonely. I suppose I like having someone to talk to. Someone who responds." He furrows his brows.

"And... why not join Filavandrel?" You look down. "My brother and I don't always see eye to eye. I'm sure he thinks me to be dead. I'd like that it stayed that way. To him, I'm probably as good as dead anyway."

"Why? What could have possibly happened that was awful enough to destroy the bond between family?" Geralt knows there are many things that could sever family bonds, but the bonds that elves share with their kin? Not easily destroyed.

"Our parents. They were killed and my brother and I had different ideas on what we should do. We fought and... I left. And look at us now. He cowers, hides away and spends his days having his food brought to him while his people suffer. And I hide away in the trees, free to roam, but always by myself. Thought to have been killed. A shunned princess with no kingdom and no people. I have no place in the world."

It's silent for a few minutes as Geralt ponders your words; the soft sounds of the crackling fire, insects, and small forest-dwellers keeping it from being deafening.

"You don't need a place in the world," he finally says. You look over at him in shock. "Take it from someone who has never had a place in the world, you don't need one, and you'll never find one. The world is cruel and full of evil, and hate, but that doesn't mean that you can't seek out joy, or peace. Even in small things." The words surprise the both of you and Geralt turns back to the fire, shutting his mouth.

"I've always been told that Witchers were heartless. Monsters who could never feel emotions. Of course, I've learned a lot about monsters and I must say, you are not one." He hums and nods at you. "I could say the same about you." You smile a soft half-smile and Geralt loves the way it looks.

"How long have you been alone?" He asks after another stretch of silence, his eyes lingering on your lips for a moment. You huff out a breath and shake your head. "Decades? I stopped keeping track. Since shortly after 'The Great Cleansing'." He stares at you, amber eyes full of wonder.

"Alone, for all those years?" You nod, looking down for a moment. "I've gotten used to it. Although there are some things I can't help but miss."

He hums, urging you to continue.

"I miss waking up in a bed, bathing in a tub, instead of a stream. I miss the warmth of freshly baked bread. I miss..." you bite your bottom lip, not wanting to overstep but so desperately wanting to.

"What?" He asks softly, watching intently as you lick your lips.

"I miss the warmth... of another person. The feel of a man. The touch of a lover." You look up at him through your lashes, licking your lips as he swallows hard.

"Fuck," he whispers, looking down for a moment.

"You couldn't understand. The women in the taverns and brothels are more than willing to let you in, so long as there's coin involved. I... I'm never so lucky." You're beyond surprised when his warm fingers interlace yours.

"I'm not always so lucky. I find that I... know quite well the feeling you're talking about." You look up at him, eyes begging him to do something. He licks his lips and leans forward, using one hand to push your hair over your shoulder.

"No one should have to endure such a feeling," he murmurs, his warm breath fanning out across your cheek. You let out a shaky exhale and close your eyes as he lowers his head, lips dusting over your clavicle.

"Help me feel again, Geralt. Please." The words are no more than a breath on the wind but he hears them, and it's all the permission he needs to start pressing kisses to your neck.

He kisses all the way up to your face then holds your chin in his hand, waiting until you open your eyes to do anything more. When you finally open your eyes, a small pout on your lips, Geralt is looking at you in a way you haven't been looked at in decades.

He looks into your eyes, a warmth spreading through you as his pupils dilate. He leans down and captures your lips in a searing hot kiss, all teeth and tongue and passion. You turn to face him, hands finding his shoulders and pulling yourself closer to him until your front is pressed against his. He drops his hand to your waist and grabs at the fabric covering your body, tugging on it gently.

You pull away for a moment, lips tingling and warm. He watches as you shed your cloak, then your shirt and trousers, leaving you bare in front of him. He strokes your skin gently, lip pulled between his teeth. You feel no shame in your nakedness, however, you quickly get impatient with the way he's taking his time.

You push his shirt up and over his head and he tosses it somewhere behind himself. The way his skin glows in the light of the dying fire makes your mouth water. You push him to lie on his back and he groans softly, hands coming to rest on your thighs as you straddle his thick waist.

He traces his thumbs over different scars and bruises, wondering about the stories behind them.

You untie his trousers and pull his hardening cock out, a gasp leaving your lips at the impressive size of him.

He's long and thick, easily the biggest you've ever seen. He stares up at you with hungry eyes and you bite your bottom lip. You place him between your folds and slowly rock your hips, moaning as he bumps against your clit.

Geralt grinds his teeth together beneath you, wanting to take control and pound into you, but the way you look on top of him... it's bliss. Pert nipples hard in the cool night of the air, hands pressing against his chest as you rock your hips, and when he raises his head to look to where the two of you are most intimately connected, the view of your wet pussy sliding along his hard cock, soaking his trousers... it's enough to keep him on his back beneath you. For now.

The scent of your slick is tangy and mixes with the smoke of the fire only a few feet from you. He inhales deeply and you do the same, enhanced senses making the smell so much more erotic. His hands come up to your waist, fingers pressing hard against the supple skin of your waist, and he flips the two of you over effortlessly, not bothered in the slightest by his injury.

You gasp, looking up into his eyes as he holds himself on top of you, kicking his trousers down. to his ankles. Your left leg raises up and hikes over his waist, pulling him closer to you as you buck your hips. He grinds against you, his cock pressing hard against your clit, and you throw your head back in pleasure. A gentle moan leaves your lips and Geralt basks in the sound for a moment before lining his cock up to your slick entrance.

He pushes in slowly, grunting hard as your walls clench around him. You wriggle beneath him as he stops moving, his hips flush against your body.

You've never felt so full in your life. So complete. You look up into his eyes, mouth agape as he starts thrusting. He's gentle with you, tender, his thrusts long and slow, making you feel every inch of his cock. Your hands come up and your fingers tangle in his hair, pulling his head down so you can kiss him again.

He groans against your mouth and starts thrusting faster, pressing against your g-spot with each thrust. You moan loudly, gripping his hair tight in your hands and throwing your head back while your back arches, your nipples pressing against his warm chest.

"Fuck," he whispers, teeth dragging across your bottom lip as his thrusts get hard. You whine and bring your other leg over his hip, urging him deeper. He fucks you deep and hard, teeth biting into your neck while you pull his hair, the coil in your belly tightening.

He pulls your left nipple into his mouth, teasing the bud with his teeth, and that's all it takes to send you flying over the edge, the coil in your stomach snapping as you cum.

The way your pussy squeezes him so tightly has him cumming not long after, shooting warm bursts deep into your body.

The two of you pant together, coming down from your highs slowly but not breaking apart from each other. He lies on your chest, supporting most of his weight to save you from being crushed while you massage his scalp gently.

He slowly pulls his soft cock out of you, groaning at the way you squeeze him one final time. You push yourself into a seated position as he cleans himself up beside you, your bottom lip tucked between your teeth as your body tries to pull you to sleep. You watch as Geralt gets dressed, graciously taking your clothes from him and covering yourself up. He lies back down next to you and sighs heavily, his eyelids falling closed.

You lie down, scooting closer to him than before and you can't help but smile when he wraps an arm around your waist.

You fall asleep, Geralt's strong frame keeping you warm as the fire dies out, leaving the two of you in the darkness.

[pokeasleepingsmaug]

All That's Best of Dark and Bright

Eventually, I will find a good photo of Sihtric and Eahlswith to use for this, but for now, have one of my favorite Sihtric gifs instead!

Summary: Ever since Kjartan killed his mother nearly seven years ago, Sihtric has longed for revenge. He's been waiting, biding his time, growing stronger. He can sneak and spy and fight, and when he thinks about his name, it is not Kjartansson. 

Eahlswith has been with the army of Uhtred and Ragnar Ragnarsson since they found her, soot-stained and tear-streaked, blood in her hair and on her hands and staining her teeth red. Sven the One-Eye haunts her dreams, and she promises herself that one day, she will kill him with her own hands. 

When Eahlswith and Sihtric meet by chance in the forest, they only continue the friendship because it suits their own ends: Uhtred and Ragnar need information on Dunholm, and Sihtric will maybe give it, if she earns his trust. Sihtric just needs an escape from the living nightmare that is Dunholm, and if that escape is a Saxon girl with dark hair and defiant eyes, he will only appreciate what the gods have sent his way. 

Then Sihtric discovers Kjartan's key to power, his most closely guarded secret. Defeating him will take love, and maybe an army. Good thing he has both, in the form of a Saxon girl with dark hair and defiant eyes

AO3, if you prefer

chapter one: silver beads and sunlight

Eahlswith hates traveling with this rowdy, ragtag company of Danes a little less each day. None have bothered her, there is plenty to keep her hands busy, and even the sounds of them snoring and farting in their sleep is beginning to sound more reassuring than annoying. Besides, smelly as fighting men on a march can be, most of them make it a point to wash once a week, or sometimes more if the weather is hot and the day’s work is particularly strenuous.

She sometimes says her prayers and sometimes not, and she is still not sure if she forgives God. She doesn’t think he much cares for her opinion of him, anyway, and if a few missed prayers are enough to send her soul to hell, maybe heaven isn’t a place worth striving for.

They have been camping on the edge of Kjartan the Cruel’s lands for a few days now, and Eahlswith dreads the day they will pick up and begin to move closer. Kjartan must know they’re nearby--Eahlswith was a child when he took Dunholm, she knows he is a fearful, paranoid man, obsessed only with his own power and the threats to it. Even the thought of moving closer to the fortress, and closer to the burnt plot of land her family’s farm once stood upon, is enough to turn her stomach.

Instead, she seeks out Brida every day after breakfast, determined to put her restless hands to good use. Eventually there will be a battle, and Eahlswith spends her days learning as much as she can about healing. Brida knows which herbs will stem bleeding and which will slow the march of putrification, she knows the broths to make to calm a fever and which gods may be swayed to ease the suffering of men.

Eahlswith is skeptical of the gods, but she holds the knowledge as close as any Brida tells her, listens to her tales with rapt attention as they grind herbs to powder or hang them upside down to dry. Every day, she feels more and more at home among this company of fur-clad men with merry eyes and silver rings glittering on their arms, and every day, she tries not to turn her attention to the dark smudge of Dunholm low on the horizon.

She has settled into a some semblance of a life here, even if it is a life like nothing she ever imagined. There is a comfort to the rhythm of her days, a familiarity growing between her and the men of the army, a tentative friendship blossoming between her and Brida. Eahlswith finds, that for all the priests and the wives in the market whispered of the ferocity of the pagan Danes, that they are a merry folk. These men are nothing like Kjartan’s, and for that, she is grateful.

“Eahlswith,” Brida calls, her voice calm and warm one early morning. Eahlswith straightens and offers Brida a bowl of the porridge she’d been preparing for a large group of grateful men nearby, but Brida waves it away. “Some of Ragar’s men are complaining of fever. What should we use to calm it?”

The men nearby shuffle uneasily, glancing among themselves with shifting gazes. It is no secret that illness can rip through an army in days. Several of them nervously touch the hammers hanging around their necks, the way her father would grab his cross. The way Eahlswith would grab hers, had she not thrown it into the woods the day everything changed. The answer comes to Eahlswith’s lips effortlessly. “Coriander. I know where some grows nearby.”

“Can you gather it? I’ll use up almost all of my supply this morning. And some mint, too, if you can find it.” Brida tilts her head thoughtfully, considering the clouds in the sky. “And comfrey.”

Eahlswith nods, hauling the large iron pot off the hook over the fire and setting it among the circle of men. Full bellies will keep them from thinking about the fever, at least for a moment. “I’ll go now. Are Uhtred and Ragnar going to move the army today?”

Brida shakes her head, the silver in her hair catching the sunlight. Eahlswith pauses to admire how lovely it looks against her dark hair, and wishes she had a bead or two to braid into her own. How plain she must look among these Danes, with their arm-rings and their hair-beads and their elaborate braids. She has only the simple green dress she was wearing when she fled the ruins of her family’s farm, and a red one Uhtred found for her among their piles of plunder.

She pulls her dark hair into a hurried braid over her shoulder as she rises from her knees before the fire. “Becoming more Dane than Saxon now, Eahlswith!” Audun calls good-naturedly, jerking his chin toward her braid. “We’ll have you in a shield-wall yet!”

“And if I’m in a shield-wall, who’s going to stitch your hand back to your arm?” She taunts, to a chorus of laughs from the rest of the men.

Even Audun smiles, his blue eyes glimmering, and tilts his head to acknowledge her point. “Off with you, then!” He pauses, face going serious, as he squints into the distance toward Dunholm. “Should be far enough away that you’ll be safe. He’ll know we’re here, his men will be cowering behind their walls.”

Eahlswith nods, trying to ignore the clenching of her stomach as she fetches a basket and heads toward the woods. Coriander likes a bit of shade, and there’s a meadow only about an hour’s brisk walk that’s sunny in the morning and shaded in the afternoon. Her mother used to send her to gather coriander from there, before Eahlswith got tired of the chore and brought some back to plant in their garden.

As Eahlswith steps into the shade, she realizes this is the first time she’s been alone since the army found her, soot-stained and tear-streaked, blood in her hair and on her hands and staining her teeth red. She pushes these thoughts to the side and tries not to imagine Kjartan’s men hiding in the shadows behind every tree. Audun is right. Kjartan will know they’re nearby, and will be terrified. He always lets his enemies come to him, to break their armies on his high walls. Eahlswith has never known him to leave the fortress, although his son, Sven the One-Eye, sometimes does. He always leaves burned homes and ruined lives in his wake, and Eahlswith hopes his fearful father is keeping him home.

Eahlswith tries to pay attention to anything but thoughts of Sven, his leering, ugly face and matted blond hair, the horrible sound of his mocking laughter. Instead she listens to the birds and the wind in the leaves and watches the play of sunlight on the ground. By the time she reaches the clearing, she has almost forgotten why she should be wary.

The meadow was a farm, once, she thinks, long before the Danes came. A crumbling well stands near a few rotten, blackened beams that must be the remnants of the house, and the abundance of herbs growing wild here hints that there was once a garden. Eahlswith does not let herself imagine what became of the inhabitants of this place.

She rounds a tree and the meadow comes into view, and Eahlswith’s belly drops when she spies a half-dozen cattle scattered throughout the meadow, grazing contendly in the midmorning light. They look like they belong here, like they’ve always been here, and if Eahlswith hadn’t been here countless times before and always found it empty, she would be soothed by the sight of them.

She creeps slowly toward the clearing, keeping to the shadows as best she can, thankful she is not a Dane and does not have silver in her hair to catch the sunlight and give her away. She is nearly to the clearing when a hand lands on her shoulder.

Eahlswith screams, startling the cows into lifting their heads, and scrambles away. The hand releases its hold on her instantly, and she spins to ward off her attacker.

He stands just a foot away from her, hands raised, palms out, and he looks as surprised as Eahlswith feels. The sunlight and shadows dapple his pale skin and the sharp planes of his cheeks and jaw. There is no spark of silver on his arms or in his black hair, no sword at his hip or shield on his back, but there is no mistaking him for anything but a Dane.

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 4 - CHAPTER 6

Back with the Rossi’s this chapter, who are preparing themselves for the eventual backlash following the attack on Highpoint.

BIANCA

The return of Belleza Rossi to the O.R.C.A.S marked the end of the few days of peace Bianca had been enjoying without her elder sister’s presence. She had been back for less than a day before tensions were already bubbling over, and the tentative peace Bianca had brokered between Laurel and the Astrella siblings, was swiftly shattered. 

Things became even worse when Belleza was suddenly keen to implement an intense training regiment for those of their group who could fight. They had never been strict on training before, and when Bianca questioned the sudden change from her sister, Belleza merely smiled sweetly and told her it was good to prepare. Bianca wasn’t going to take that for a sufficient answer, however, and after some further questioning on her behalf, was finally able to get Belleza to reveal more about what happened.

After learning the truth, Bianca was not impressed, but she could not say she was surprised either. She knew when Belleza had elected to stay behind that things would not end well. Bianca had quickly consigned herself to the fact that Calantha would not be returning anytime soon and then after that it was just a matter of time to see what chaos Belleza would bring home with her. When Belleza revealed she - or rather, Miho - had partially blown up the school, Bianca could suddenly understand why her sister was keen to get in some extra training. Belleza might have only been anticipating the Mob Ops and a handful of fighters from Highpoint to retaliate, but with everything she had done in Atlas and Shizukana beforehand, Bianca wouldn’t have been surprised if the general himself arrived to raze the O.R.C.A.S to the ground.

News of further training was generally well received by those they had working for them, none more so than Maia who had gleefully relished in the opportunity to hone her skills to take on the military. Nearly everyone at the O.R.C.A.S had lost family due to the inaction of Atlas all those years aho, and Maia was no exception to this, but she was the only who spoke as though she had a personal vendetta against every single person who worked for the military, and that she deserved to punish them.

For the training Belleza had insisted on, Maia had been paired with Sparrow. It was yet another decision that Bianca had disagreed with in recent days, and despite protests from herself and Theodora that Sparrow wasn’t ready, Belleza pushed ahead. Although Sparrow had accepted the decision, that didn’t stop Bianca from keeping a careful watch on them during training, staring down from a walkway in the atrium to where they were currently sparring with Maia.

There were others sparring as well - Laurel with Miho, Biggs with Euphemia, Belleza with Uriah - but only the match between Maia and Sparrow held her attention.

Although Sparrow still lacked their usual speed and ease of movement due to their healing burns, they were managing to carry themselves quite well in the fight, though Maia’s relentless attacking gave them little chance to let their guard down or slip up. On the one time they were slow to react, Maia followed through with a swift uppercut, which hit Sparrow square in the chin, and caused them to stumble backwards. Maia used this opportunity to grapple them to the floor, where she continued to punch at Sparrow, who shielded their face from the worst of the blows. A sudden twisting motion managed to knock Maia off of Sparrow and break them apart. Although Bianca was certain Maia would have continued their fight if given the opportunity, the presence of Belleza coming over put a stop to that.

Bianca was too high up to hear what was being said, but she could imagine what sort of praises her sister was bestowing upon the woman by how she had her hand on her shoulder, and seemed to be speaking in a softer tone. It didn’t take long for the praise to shift to mockery, with Belleza and Maia speaking down to Sparrow, who was still on the floor, albeit on their knees as opposed to being sprawled on their back as they had been moments before.

Sparrow listened with a neutral expression, and then something shifted in their face, and a more enraged expression took hold. As Maia threw her head back in laughter, amused at whatever she had said, she was completely ignorant to the speed in which Sparrow pulled themself back to their feet, before they tackled Maia to the ground. The ferocity in which Sparrow lashed out at Maia was unusual, and once again Bianca could only imagine what horrid things Maia had said to prompt such a reaction. 

As Belleza clearly was in no hurry to break them apart, it fell to Laurel to intervene, who broke away from her own sparring with Miho and managed to pull Sparrow off, who writhed around in the other woman’s grasp. 

“Keep his name out of your mouth, you bitch!” Sparrow’s furious voice echoed around the atrium. “If you dare say it again, I’ll cave your head in!”

After the breakdown of the sparring, Bianca took her leave from the atrium, deciding she had had her fill of violence for the day. However, her disappearance had clearly not gone unnoticed, as not long after she had turned away and had begun her walk back to her quarters, she was aware of footsteps behind her. 

“Bianca.” Belleza dragged her name out with a mocking tone. Bianca turned her head to see Belleza emerging from a staircase that led down to the floor below where everyone had been sparring. She was leaning over the bannister dramatically, fluttering her eyes when Bianca glared at her. “Are you going somewhere?”

“Yes, I’m going to get some work done,” Bianca said simply, hoping if she ignored her sister she might go away. Alas, she soon felt the grasp of Belleza’s hands at her waist informing her that this was not the case. She groaned. “What do you want, Belle?”

“Why are you leaving?” Belleza asked. “Didn’t you like the show?”

“Oh yes, because watching Maia beat up an already injured Sparrow over and over again is exactly how I wanted to spend my day…” Bianca said sarcastically.

“I must admit I didn’t think they had it in them,” Belleza laughed, ignoring Bianca’s words. “Sparrow has never been a good fighter, hence why we always sent them on reconnaissance missions. So for them to have knocked down Maia...colour me impressed.”

“Do I even want to ask what Maia said to get that sort of reaction?”

“Oh, we just reminded Sparrow of what it is they were fighting for,” Belleza smirked. “Maia pointed out that Sparrow needed to put in more effort or we’d put them “out to pasture” like we did Marcel.”

Bianca tensed. “You didn’t.”

“We did.”

Bianca sighed, suddenly understanding why Sparrow had reacted that way. Marcel had been Sparrow’s mentor and companion when they had first joined their family, a fellow orphan who had taught Sparrow how to survive in the harsh world of Mantle. But Marcel had been weak and sickly, stemming from years of malnutrition and a further untreated illness on top of that, and Belleza had sent him on his final mission knowing it was likely he would not come home. Bianca was never certain if Sparrow knew the truth of what happened to their friend; they never said otherwise, but Bianca always suspected they knew more than they let on. It was probably easier to convince themself that it all went back to the poor health he was encumbered with due to his life in Atlas and ignore the truth staring them in the face, than it was to confront Belleza over what she had done.

The two sisters walked in silence after that, though Bianca got the impression her sister had more to say. Their silence was interrupted by yelling further down the hall. From where they were, it was hard to discern what was being said, but as they drew closer it became apparent that one of the arguing parties was none other than their father.

"Why won't you answer me?!" Alden asked with a frustrated voice. 

"Alden, please calm down." A second voice belonging to Theodora Crest pleaded.

The two sisters eventually came across the scene, finding their father yelling at Theodora and Lunick, the latter of which seemed to be the primary target of his frustrations, if Theodora's mediating presence between them was anything to go by.

"What's the matter?" Bianca asked.

At the sound of her voice, all three heads turned to look in their direction, and a look of relief flooded Alden's features. "My darlings," He sighed softly, before approaching his two daughters, and embracing them in an awkward hug. "I know you two will be honest with me."

Bianca raised a questioning brow, at Theodora, before looking at her father. "What's wrong?"

"Theodora won't answer my questions…" Alden murmured.

"And what questions do you have?" Belleza asked.

"Where's your sister?"

Bianca opened her mouth to speak, but before she could give her answer, Belleza jumped in and was her usual tactful self.

"I'm afraid she's no longer with us," She told him.

"Belle!" Bianca glared at her sister. Noticing her father's clear distress at Belleza's words, Bianca was quick to clarify what her sister meant. "What Belleza meant to say is that Calantha is currently taking some time away from home right now. She's alright and will be back soon, I promise."

"Calantha wouldn't do that," Alden said, frowning as he did so. "She wouldn't leave here...she wouldn't leave me."

"Well she has," Belleza said, folding her arms. "The sooner you grow accustomed to that the easier it'll be to move on and forget her."

"That's your sister!" 

"Yes, and she betrayed us."

"Belle, that's enough." Bianca warned, putting a hand in her shoulder in an effort to stop her from saying more. "Can't you see you're upsetting him?"

"I don't care," Belleza said, shrugging Bianca's hand away. "He needs to hear this."

Belleza took a purposeful step towards their father, and he flinched away. "Calantha has chosen to leave us. She has abandoned our family and she has abandoned you. I advise you to forget about her; which considering your condition shouldn't be too hard."

Alden backed away and started to shake his head. "This is your doing," He said, pointing at Belleza.

"She made her own choice."

"But your actions probably didn't help either," Bianca said coldly, ignoring the glare Belleza gave her soon after. "How about you tell our father about how you killed a woman in front of her?"

"You did what?" Alden blinked, stepping back in disbelief. "Why would you do something like that?"

"What do you mean 'why'?" Belleza asked. She unfolded her arms, and placed them on her father's arms "I did this for us! I did this for you!

"No," Their father shrugged Belleza's hands away, and took a step back from her. "This isn't what I wanted. I never wanted such violence. I don't deny a little bit of force might have been necessary in the past, but my intention was to always go through the appropriate channels. To get our justice the fair and legal way."

Belleza snorted. "What, do you think they will play fair or something? The same people who look down on us from their floating city, who stood by and did nothing whilst men, women, and children perished in Olympia? Those people?" She pressed. "Your mind is more broken than I thought if you really believe that."

"That is what your mother would have wanted. She would have never approved of such violence," Alden said softly.

"Mother was weak. She didn't understand what needed to be done," Belleza retorted. "And that's why she needed to go."

"You…" Alden's voice trailed off. He began to tremble softly, and Bianca moved towards him, putting her arm around him to try and calm his shaking. 

"I think I need to lie down," Alden said softly, raising a hand to his head. "Bianca... would you please take me back to my room?"

Bianca stared at her father for a long moment, concerned at how he was processing this information. “Of course,” She finally responded, calmly moving him away from Belleza’s presence. With a tilt of her head, she gestured for Theodora and Lunick to follow her and get them away from her sister as well.

As they walked away. leading Alden back to his room, Bianca cast one last look back at her sister. Belleza watched them leave with a smug look, and when she caught Bianca looking back at her, she raised her chin and gave them a mock wave of farewell in return.

[wowweeharrystyles]

Part 5 | Second Guessing & The Pink Suit | 9.1K words

‘Sequins & Zippers’ Summary: An internship with Harry Lambert transformed into a job of a lifetime - Aurora Del Gatto finds herself touring the world with the one & only Harry Styles as his ‘Head of Wardrobe.’ Aurora is nothing but nerves & excitement as she packs her bags & almost 100 custom designer suits that belong to an unbelievably kind rockstar. She never thought she’d fall in love on top of it all.

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Masterlist

Warnings: depictions of anxiety & panic attacks

A/N: Aurora deals with a lot of anxiety in the the beginning of this part. I write from my personal experience & acknowledge that nobody experiences anxiety & panic attack in the same way. Writing from my experience was part of my recovery & continues to assist me as I progress & learn to take better care of myself. I love Aurora & I hope you all do too. 

The whole of Aurora’s travels to Italy are done so in a fog. A small headache was the last thing on her mind as she wandered from security to the gate. When Aurora woke up this morning, the same smile from the night before showed up again, but not long into packing her belongings and getting ready to leave Spain did the worried thoughts come up.

Was last night just a long build up to a few silly kisses? Will the alcohol be an excuse? Aurora can’t stop worrying. She can’t stop thinking about the idea of last night and anything else that stems from it costing her her job. But on the other hand, how could any of this not be right? Not be okay? There’s something so right when Harry and Aurora meld together. 

Aurora’s shaken out of her thoughts when the final call for her flight is announced over the speakers in her terminal. The flight isn’t that long, but still long enough for Aurora to fall asleep the second she presses play on her favourite podcast. 

Without a doubt, there’s a handwritten note waiting for her on the bedside table when she gets to her hotel room in Milan. She leaves it unopened and unread and instead facetimes her sister and tells her everything. Leila knew something had been up. Leila and Aurora, though 7 years separate them, are each other’s best friend. Through the cloud of anxiety that swarmed Aurora’s small hotel room, she managed to get everything out without a filter. 

“Oh, Aurora,” Lelia sighs, “only you would get your dream job and get an international rockstar to fall in love with you.” 

“Leila!” Aurora groans, “You are NOT helping this situation. At. All.” 

“Who said I would help?” Aurora groans again. She knows her sister is only trying to help lighten up the conversation but Aurora is freaking out. “Okay, Okay. Serious now.” Leila takes a visible deep breath before continuing. “I’m gonna be completely honest with you, cause I’m your older sister and that’s my job.” Aurora nods, her heart sinking. “You could cut it off, end anything not work related, strictly business between you and Harry. Or, you could just let what happens, happens and figure out what’s really going on between you two.” 

Aurora stares at her sister through the small camera on her computer. Neither of the options Leila has presented sound appealing to her. 

“Aurora, from where I stand, I think ending what you and Harry have could be the worst idea. I think space might be a good idea, but don’t cut it off. Don’t run from it.” Leila pauses. “I’m your sister, your best friend, I know you better than anyone… don’t run away from this.” Aurora’s breath catches in her throat so she nods in response. She knows what Leila is talking about. Aurora likes to run. Run from everything. “Don’t run. It’s your dream job. Why not make the most of what’s in front of you?” Leila laughs. “Dream job and a romance. Only you.” The two sisters laugh together then. 

Aurora and Leila say their goodbyes but not without the older sister making the younger promise to call and text more and to keep her updated. That’s what sisters are for right? 

Aurora goes to bed early. She never opens the note with “Rory” scribed on the outside in Harry’s handwriting. 

She’s a ball of anxiety with shaky hands when she gets to the Milan Arena the next day. It’s later in the afternoon than she normally likes to get to the arena but she stayed in bed for a long time this morning and she didn’t want there to be any extra time to spend there. Time she normally spends with Harry. She rushes to Harry’s dressing room first when she checks the time. He normally works with his trainer right about now - perfect time for her to take care of his suit for the show and then move along. 

Aurora curses under her breath when she is reminded of what he’s wearing tonight. A fuschia pink jacket and trouser that are both covered in glitter and an equally glitter covered golden pussy bow button down. The bow on this one is much more dramatic than the others he’s worn in previous shows. She’s instantly reminded of the intimate moments they’ve shared while she’s helped him get ready. It’s not even been a full month on the road and the tour is only 12 shows deep but she can’t help but reminisce over it all already. She’ll have to come back later to help Harry with the bow, she supposes she can’t avoid him at all cost. She can minimize the time they have together, though, so she proceeds with heating up the steamer and prepping his suit, shoes, socks, all of the things she normally does. 

Aurora makes her way to Mitch and Adam’s dressing rooms and does her job there. She’s interrupted when she’s fixing a small stitch on Sarah’s blouse. 

“Oh Aurora! Glad I found you,” Jeff’s voice echoes through the otherwise silent dressing room. “Harry was getting worried, said he hadn’t seen or heard from you. He’ll be done with soundcheck in 15, should I tell him to find you here?” Aurora can hear her heartbeat in her ears. 

“Uhm, uh,” she’s trying to stall to get her thoughts together. “I’m almost finished up here, actually. Just tell him I’m fine and I’ll be back to his dressing room to help him get ready later on.” 

“Oh, okay.” Jeff is surprised by her response. Jeff doesn’t know everything but he knows enough to know something isn’t right. “Do you need anything, Aurora?” He offers her a small smile. 

“I’m alright thanks.” Just leave me alone please, she wants to say. 

Aurora’s done her best to hide and Harry never came looking for her. She’s realised how lonely this all could get if she really decides to end everything with Harry. Lonely and exhausting. She can’t pretend like everything is okay though, she has to follow her gut. But what about following her heart? She’s still wrestling with her thoughts and she can’t seem to win. She’s gotta stick to her gut, she just isn’t sure what it’s telling her to do right now. Aurora curses to herself again, the millionth time on this tour, this day even when she catches herself daydreaming about her and Harry at the bar in Spain. 

When she gets to Harry’s dressing room, she notices there isn’t much noise coming from it, some rattling, which Aurora only assumes is Ayae picking through her supplies. Normally Harry’s room is so lively, his voice warm and cheerful, but there’s nothing. 

Harry looks up from his hands when he hears a light knock on the propped open door. He normally keeps it closed when he’s getting ready but he made a point to keep it open for Aurora. She notices this without a doubt. 

“Ror,’ he says softly when he sees her. She’s wearing the same crewneck she had been wearing when he came to her hotel room in Hamburg, but instead of leggings, she has dark blue ripped jeans on. She’s somehow made the sweatshirt look like she’s picked it up from a cool vintage shop when he very well knows it’s her high school honor society sweatshirt. She’s got clunky boots on her feet and her hair drapes around her shoulders, flyaways falling in her face. He wants nothing more to tuck the hair in her face behind her ear and wrap her up in a hug. He knows that he shouldn’t though. There’s something going on but he doesn’t know what. “Alright?” 

She nods, “Yeah, bit tired is all. You?” She reciprocates trying to make all of this as normal as possible. To say that Harry is confused is an understatement. She didn’t show up for coffee at the hotel that morning. He’s confused and worried and sad when he should be happy and content and everything good. Just nights ago he kissed the girl he had been crushing on since last May. How could everything change so fast? 

“I’m alright,” Aurora doesn’t mirror the small smile on Harry’s face when they meet eyes. “Did you not get my note?” Harry asks quietly, his smile fading. Aurora stays silent and looks away from him. 

“Was exhausted when I got to my hotel last night and must’ve missed it,” she lies as she reaches for the glittery suit. 

Harry thanks Ayae when she says she’s finished. Normally sticking around while they pick on Harry or Harry picks on Aurora, she opts to leave them alone now, instead. Ayae can tell from Harry’s almost silence in the past hour and the interaction she’s just witnessed that she doesn’t need to be in the dressing room any longer. 

Harry tries to keep up some small talk with Aurora but they both grow exhausted from the run of the mill conversation between them. The silence is deafening and they’re both sick of it but neither know what to do. Aurora ties the bow on his shirt and out of habit Harry dips his head down towards her to watch her movements and study her focused face. He can see her hands trembling, more than usual and his heart hurts looking at her. 

“Everything okay, Aurora?” She hums an okay back, barely audible. “Just don’t seem like yourself,” he comments warily. 

“Just tired, is all.” She pauses. “Between traveling and drinking the other night, it’s all just kinda piled up, I guess.” Her voice is soft, if Harry wasn’t inches from her he wouldn’t have heard her answer. 

Harry accepts her answer. For now. He can tell something is up but doesn’t want to push. There’s a hint of worry in the back of his mind. He can’t help it. He tries to read her, through her eyes, her movements, anything but comes out empty. 

Aurora whispers a goodluck to him after helping him into his jacket. Harry desperately wants nothing more than to kiss her and wrap her up in a hug, but before he even gets the chance to sort out his thoughts on what to do next she’s out the door and down the hall. His feet move before he can think and he’s running out into the hall after her. 

“Rory,” he calls, is voice echoing against the cement walls. “Ror,” he calls again. She stops in her tracks but doesn’t turn around. He sees her shoulders rise and fall dramatically. He jogs the distance between them but she doesn’t turn around. “Did I do something?” Harry asks vaguely to the back of her head. There’s silence before she turns around to face him. She fixes her eyes on the gold glitter of his shirt, not daring to make eye contact. She shakes her head, her focus traveling down to Harry’s shoes. “Ror, you gotta talk to me. Please.” There’s a small shake to his voice that makes Aurora look up at him. 

“Harry,” she takes a deep breath, “you did absolutely nothing wrong. I just, I need some space, I think I need space.” She rambles off. Harry whispers her full name. “You did everything right, actually, but I need-I don’t know what I need, really. Just-just, don’t worry about me, okay? Everything is okay, I’m okay. We’re okay. Everything is okay.” She’s hoping that saying it outloud will make herself believe it too. Shes mumbling and rambling and she doubts Harry understands what she’s saying. She barely does. “Just leave your suit out after the show and I’ll come take care of it.” 

Aurora walks away from Harry, numbness starting to appear in her fingertips. Not a good sign. When she gets back to her green room, she tries to busy herself with a book. Everyone is bustling around the arena and nobody will be around until the end of the show. She wishes she could leave the arena but she still has her job to finish for the night. She remembers as she starts to skim over the words on the page that she has to get on a train after they pack up at the arena. She’s trying to do the math to figure out how many hours until she’ll be in a new hotel room, sleeping in a bed that's way too big for just her when she lets her eyes close. She never had a chance at actually reading. Between the jet lag and anxiety that’s been boiling in her body she’s pulled into sleep, the noise of the arena slowly floating away.  

The train ride to Bologna is no better than her flight to Milan. She’s anxious and to add to all of her previous thoughts she’s replaying the interaction between her and Harry post show. She had been too eager to get his suits pack up and leave the arena that she walked in just before he was leaving. Harry didn’t know what to say and neither did Aurora. Harry did notice the slight crease in her check from where she probably fell asleep and assumed that she missed the show. His heart sunk a bit when he confirmed his thoughts. He couldn’t find Aurora during ESNY like he always does, he had a hunch she wasn’t in the audience at all. He was right, sadly so. 

“Just getting everything packed up before I catch my train,” she voices quickly, pointing to where his suit lays neatly on the couch. Harry hums an okay. He goes to leave but pauses at the door. 

“Ror, I don’t know what’s going on, but I do know that a few nights ago in Spain I did something that I wanted to do for a long time. I can’t explain everything I’m feeling, but you mean a lot to me. I can’t fix anything or help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on.” He pauses and Aurora can feel her eyes sting and she’s praying that she can hold back the tears. “I’m here whenever you want to talk, but I’m not going to push you, okay?” Aurora nods slowly, words unable to form and a lump appearing in her throat. Harry offers a small smile before turning around again. He’s stepped into the hall but instead of leaving he turns around again, hand hanging on the door frame. “Regardless of whatever is going on right now, you better bet that there’ll be another note in your hotel room in Bologna.” Aurora chokes out a small laugh, a tear falling down her cheek the second he turns on his heels and walks out of sight. 

His kindness (which still catches her off guard everyday) makes her feel a little helpless. How could she have doubted anything between them in the first place? He’s been nothing but open with her. She could have easily just told him what she had been thinking and he would have proved all of doubts wrong. She’s kicking herself for being so, so, So Aurora. She likes to bottle her feelings and thoughts, take them on by herself. She knows that this is the start of her running away. This is why she has never experienced a real relationship. She’s never let it get this deep, this important. 

Now she’s pacing around her hotel room. She notices the time on the digital clock next to the messy hotel bed when she starts flipping through Harry’s lookbook. 4am.  Hastily, she looks for one of the New York pages. At the bottom of page in Harry’s familiar handwriting is his number. Aurora had yet to add it to her phone. He had written it there without context at the beginning of the tour. She had never thought to add it to her whatsapp contacts as she pretty much sees him everyday. His handwritten notes also sufficed for text messages. But right now, Aurora needs to hear his voice, needs to apologize, needs something. She’s overwhelmed and exhausted and everything feels wrong. Except Harry. How is it that part of the problem is also the fix for it all? 

Aurora starts with a text. If he’s awake he’ll respond. He’s probably not awake and won’t answer it till morning so that makes Aurora feel okay about sending him this desperate, vague text. 

- kinda just need to hear your voice. and talk. and idk. please don’t hate me for how I treated you in Milan - 

She tosses her phone across the large mattress and goes to the bathroom to wash her face for the millionth time that night. For how exhausted she is she hasn’t been able to fall asleep again. Too many naps today, she thinks. In reality though, she can’t get her mind to settle and turn off. She’s gotta face the music. Or in her case, the person who makes the music. Her phone dings across the room. 

- I could never hate you. - 

Then it dings again. 

- what’s your room #? - 

Aurora blinks at the messages, her hands trembling and heart beating fast. She doesn’t hesitate to type out her room number, though. 

- I’ll be there in 5 minutes. - 

She’s surprised by his rapid responses. She really hopes she didn’t wake him, but why would he be up at 4am? Jet lag? 5 minutes later, on the dot, there’s a knock on her door. When she opens the door she can tell that she probably looks a mess. Harry’s normal resting face - soft, unjudging, kind - changes quickly with creases in his forehead, his mouth gapes open slightly and there’s a worried look now gracing his face. A sigh exits his mouth without him meaning to. 

“Hi,” Aurora says sheepishly. 

“Hi, Ror,” he repeats back. Aurora steps back to let him through the doorway, letting the heavy hotel room door close behind him. She hasn’t walked very far into the room, only enough to really let him in. She wants to dive into his chest and hide. She wants nothing more than to hide, sudden regret washing over her. Why did she text him at this ungodly hour?  “Ror,” Harry says again, pulling her out of her thoughts immediately. She looks up with raised eyebrows. “Alright?” he asks even though he knows the answer. He thinks he knows the answer at least. Aurora shakes her head, knowing that if she tries to speak her voice will crack and tears will start rolling down her face. “Come ‘ere,” Harry says as he reaches his arms to her. 

Aurora is thankful that Harry can act on the exact thoughts in her head. She sighs in relief when she feels his arms wrap around her tightly. She indulges herself in rubbing her nose against the soft muscle of his chest. She can feel Harry let out a breath he was holding in, his chest starting to rise and fall evenly eventually. 

After a few moments of standing there in the small hallway of Aurora’s hotel room, she feels Harry press his lips to her hair. Aurora silently thanks whatever god or higher being is out there, she doesn’t know who specifically, for this moment. For Harry’s kindness. For anything else that happens from here on out because she thinks everything will be alright in a little bit. 

Harry pulls away bringing his hands to Aurora’s face. She sighs when they meet eyes and laughs to herself. 

“What’s so funny, love?” Harry asks in disbelief, a chuckle leaving his mouth too. 

“I don’t really know,” Aurora says quietly. “Just a lot going on in my head,” she finally shares. 

“Is that why you texted me at bloody, 4am?” Harry jokes. Aurora starts to apologize, her heart sinking, but Harry cuts her off. “I’m joking with you, Rory.” She hits his chest with both of her fists, not doing any damage, but the intention is there. “Sorry, sorry, not the time for jokes,” Harry continues seriously. “What’s going on, love?” Aurora shakes her head at herself. She’s trying to collect her thoughts. She wants her words to be put together, as cohesive, as she can. 

She chooses to break away from Harry. His hands on her skin isn’t helping gather her words. She walks over to the still made bed and sits down, pulling her legs to her chest, feet on the edge of the mattress. Harry follows suit, letting his adidas short clad legs hang off the edge. He’s giving her space right now and not choosing to sit right next to her, but still near her. He wants to be able to reach out to her if needed.

“Harry,” she whispers, “I’m sorry.” Harry tries to interrupt her apology. “Please just let me say what I need to.” He nods, understanding. “I’m sorry for treating you like I have the past 24 plus hours. I got overwhelmed. So overwhelmed. I saw your note back in Milan but didn’t even open it. Still haven’t. It’s tucked in my backpack, sealed. You deserve an explanation. I’m trying my best to explain it all.” Aurora sighs, fiddling with her fingers, she knows she’s fumbling through her words. She’s also convinced that Harry can hear the deep beat of her rapid heart right now. “Spain was incredible. For so many reasons. Please don’t think anything happened that I didn’t want. I don’t regret anything, at all. I could never. But I started second guessing everything. My anxiety got the best of me. Everything has seemed so foggy since I left Spain. I was afraid that you might have regretted what happened in the bar, that it didn’t mean anything to you.” 

Aurora’s suddenly surprised how well she is able to voice her thoughts. She takes a breath before continuing. She’s proud of herself in this exact moment for speaking her mind. 

“Then I started to worry about the fact that this is my job, that you’re actually my boss. I got scared. So scared.” She lets her knees part from her chest and sits with her legs crossed on the mattress, dropping her hands in her lap. Another deep breath. “But I couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing everything felt. How could something so good, something that makes me so fucking happy be bad?” She swears with an edge, frustration starting to litter every sentence. “I didn’t really know what was going on in your head and I should’ve asked but instead I did what I always do. I started to run away.” 

She shakes her head at her honesty. She can’t believe she’s sharing all of this right now. She had never intended on being this honest with him, but the words are falling out faster than she can think. 

“I’ve been so anxious about all of this and thought avoiding you as best as I could would help. But really it just made it worse. I’ve wanted nothing more than to just pretend like nothing was wrong and just let everything happen, but I couldn’t. There’s something stopping me and I couldn’t put my finger on it.” She looks up at him trying to read him. His face is neutral. There’s an openness about it. She releases the biggest sigh she has all night. “I’m terrified, Harry, really truly terrified. I’ve got my dream job, working with the best people I could think of and now, now,” she starts to second guess what she wants to say next, “now there’s this,” she continues, motioning between her and Harry. “I just want this to be okay. For us to be on the same page. And-and I think we are…” Aurora trails off. “Back at the arena you opened up and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. About how you couldn’t fully explain it, but there’s something special.” Aurora notices she’s shaking her head again. “Sorry, this is all over the place.” Harry shakes his head now. She can see his hand twitch out of the corner of her eyes and wants nothing more but to reach out to him, but she restrains just as he had. She’s gotta focus. “I feel so stupid for even second guessing this, whatever this is,” she notes, “I should’ve talked to you right away but the truth is that I don’t let things get like this. Get this important. My job, my heart, it’s all mixed together right now. It’s all one and now everything is on the line.” Aurora pauses one last time, gathering her final thoughts. “I’m sorry for texting you at 4am. I was restless and knew I needed to do something about this. Needed to talk to you. The worst part about the past 24 hours was that while I was avoiding you, all I really wanted was to be with you.”  

There’s silence between them for a while, both of them processing Aurora’s words. Her breathing is heavy, from vomiting her words or from her anxious heart, she’s unsure. She feels like her heart has turned into a boulder and is just freely knocking around in her ribcage. Why does it hurt so much to speak from the heart? Harry runs a hand through his short curls, his curls being the messiest she’s ever seen.

He runs his hand through his hair again before speaking. “I was awake, so don’t be sorry for texting me at 4am.” Aurora’s brows knit together in confusion. “I was thinking about all of this too. Couldn’t sleep knowing you weren’t okay,” he pauses “even though you told me you were. And please don’t be sorry for anything. You have every right to everything you’re feeling right now.” He’s pulling at his bottom lip, collecting his thoughts. “We can handle this however you need, but I hope that we can do it without you keeping things from me. This is all new. I’ve never done something like this-” 

“What? Get involved with someone you work with?” Aurora half jokes. 

“I mean, yes, but it’s more than that. Yes, we work together. Yes I am technically your boss.” Harry pauses, something clicking in his head. “Actually, Harry Lambert is your boss. I’m his boss. So if that’s what’s bothering you-”

“Harry.” 

“Aurora.”

“You know that’s just a technicality. I still work for you.”

“Okay okay. You’re right. Yeah. Uhm, well, apart from that, there’s more to it. Yes, we work together, but I’ve never felt like this about someone. This is all new for me too.” He chuckles to himself and Aurora raises her brows up in question. “Just realising that everything is so new to me. Everything I’ve been doing this past year. Since the band, it’s all new.”

“Yeah, but you’ve made an album before, you’ve done promo, toured, all of it. You’ve done it.” Aurora comments.  

“Yeah I have, but it’s different. I’m in control of everything. I have the final say of it all.” Harry’s face changes. Realization washing over his entire body. “If you think about it, we’re both in the same place… mentally. I think at least.” His green eyes are surprisingly piercing in the low light of the hotel room. “As much as I love my job and my life, it’s nothing but overwhelming lately. It’s one thing after the other.” Harry pushes himself to stand. He’s pacing now. “I get it, Ror, I really do.” He stops in his tracks. “I think I need you here with me though.” Harry’s just made a very bold request and the relief that Aurora had felt after speaking her mind is gone. “Harry,” she starts to plead. 

“Aurora, I’m serious.” “Harry, I think we need to slow down here,” her voice shakes. When Harry looks at her, he can tell he’s stepped just too far. He’s adding to the anxiety not helping. His whispers a sorry to her, frozen. “Just give me a minute, okay?” Aurora is standing now too. Without thought she heads into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Wetting a washcloth, she dabs her face, staring at her reflection in the mirror. 

“Ror, I’m sorry. I just-I guess that’s how I really feel. I didn’t realise it ‘till now.” His voice is muffled by the door between them. There’s a few moments of silence before Aurora opens the door. 

“It’s all a lot right now. I think I feel the same, but-but, it’s just a lot.” Exhaustion and the desperate need for a real few hours of sleep are quickly building up behind Aurora’s eyelids. She wants nothing more than to fall into Harry’s arms and fall asleep. Tears start to sting at her eyes. “Oh, love, please don’t cry. I don’t want you to be upset.” There’s panic in Harry’s eyes. 

“No, no,” she stops him, “I’m just so tired and overwhelmed.” A yawn interrupts her. “I want to talk through this, figure it out, but I’m just so tired. I don’t think either of us are sure of what’s going on in our own heads.” Harry nods. 

“I’ll go then, we’ll continue this-”

“No, Harry, don’t go. I don’t want you to go. Can we just-just sleep and then finish this in the morning?” Aurora has let all of her guards down at this point. She doesn’t care anymore. “Only if you want,” she adds. She hopes he wants to stay. 

Harry approaches her cautiously. When Aurora steps forward Harry knows it’s okay. That everything will be okay. Aurora falls into Harry’s chest, her hands trailing up his shoulder blades. Harry tightly wraps his arms around her waist, pressing a kiss to the side of her neck before tucking his face into her hair. They stand there for awhile both too tired to move. When they do finally move, they do so wordlessly. With a soft kiss to Aurora’s forehead and a promise to talk when they’re both well rested they fall asleep instantly. 

The next morning they’re awoken by Harry’s phone ringing. Harry answers the phone with a whisper hoping not to startle Aurora. The soft Italian sun is shining through the gauzy curtains across the room, causing a yellow light to cast across the white bedding. Harry moves to sit on the edge of the bed, the heat leaving with him. When Harry notices Aurora shift in the bed he gives her an apologetic look. 

“Jeff, I’ll be there, promise. Just give me the morning,” he speaks through the phone. His voice is raspy and low. Aurora quite likes the sound of it right now. 

Since she’s awake and Harry’s busy for the moment she runs to the bathroom, washes her face with cold water to wake her up and brushes her teeth. When Aurora gets back Harry’s now making a call on the hotel room phone. He says something in Italian. His voice has smoothed out now, but still low and the Italian rolls off his tongue. 

“Just ordering some coffee.” 

“Didn’t know you spoke Italian,” she comments when she sits back down on the bed. 

“Picked most of it up throughout the years, just to get by.” 

She taps her phone to life on the bedside table, not remembering plugging it in last night. There’s a handful of messages and emails. She notices Helene’s name a few times and knows instantly that she’ll have to tell her everything. In the midst of ignoring Harry she had done so to her as well. Her heart sinks at the thought of treating her newest friend like that. She types out a quick message reassuring Helene that she’s alright and will tell her everything this afternoon, asking to meet for lunch or dinner. Aurora refuses to leave Italy without a proper Italian meal. Her stomach quite likes the thought of spaghetti right now. Damn jetlag, it’s not even 9am. 

While Harry’s freshening up in the bathroom, room service knocks on the door. 

“Buongiorno, Ms. Del Gatto,” a dark haired man in a vest and bowtie greats her. Just as the cart filled with coffee and a few pastries is settled in the small open space of her hotel room Harry emerges, pulls a few rogue euros from his wallet and hands them to the gentleman. 

“Grazie,” rolls off Harry’s tongue during the exchange. Aurora stands by the cart awkwardly, fiddling with the hem of her t shirt. Once the man has left them alone and the door closes behind them Harry grabs the latte he ordered for Aurora and hands it to her. “Come on, love,” he ushers her to the very small couch. “Sleep alright?” he asks as she sips her coffee without saying a word. Aurora hums, both in reference to sleeping and to the lovely feeling of the frothy latte on her lips. 

“Slept better than I have in a while,” she answers honestly.

“Same here,” Harry says softly, almost like he’s shy about it. “I’m sorry about overstepping last night,” he says after they’ve both made significant way through their coffees. 

“Please don’t apologize for that. You have every right to be honest with me, no matter what it is.” She pauses before continuing. “I’m feeling much better and honestly, it’s not so scary now. Sleep really does wonders.” Aurora reaches out and places her hand on Harry’s knee that’s tucked up onto the couch. “I’ve just been so anxious and not sleeping at all just got to be a whole lot. Very overwhelming.” She’s fiddling with the creases and stitches in his joggers when he reaches out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. She looks up at him, “I just don’t want anything bad to happen. I may be well rested now, but I’m still terrified. 

“I am too,” he assures her. Harry opens his mouth to say something but holds back. 

“What?” Aurora questions, wanting him to be completely open and honest. Harry shakes his head, a full smile doesn’t appear but his dimple does. 

“My mum always says something can’t be too important if it doesn’t scare you a little.” Harry’s hand moves to caress her cheek, his thumb rubbing at the top of her cheekbone. Aurora leans into his touch, her eyes closing briefly. When she feels Harry’s face closing in on hers, her mind betrays what her body is craving. 

“Wait,” her voice comes out without warning. She’s almost taken aback by her own actions but before she can think fast enough there’s a frown engraved on Harry’s once so soft face. “I just need to, setting boundaries isn’t right, but I need something clear, just want us on the same page.” Harry drops his head into the crook of her shoulder. She sees his shoulders release some tension in the same moment. 

“Of course,” he says before pressing his lips to her neck, gently, almost like he can’t help getting his lips on her skin. He lifts his head up and runs a hand through his hair. His curls are a mess and all Aurora wants to do is get her hands in them as well. 

“Keep things slow?” Harry nods, agreeing with Aurora. “But not too slow,” she lets out a light giggle before continuing. Harry nods again his hands finding a soft grip on her waist, slowly pulling her closer to him. “Stay honest with each other, share whatever we’re feeling so we’re always on the same page.” Harry hums along with her words. “I’d prefer to keep this on the DL for at least a bit…” she trails off, “would rather not get papped and end up in The Sun, too.” 

“Do you even know me?” Harry jokes. She laughs along, Harry’s gotten really good at hiding from the public. “I’ve got lots of practice.” Harry’s grip on Aurora’s waist has gotten tighter, his thumbs digging in gently. “Seems like a good list to start with. We can always add more.” 

“Mhm,” Aurora agrees. A bright smile appears on her face. She lets Harry control her movements and before she knows it he’s pulling her onto his lap, swinging one leg over to rest her knees on the couch cushions on either side of his thighs. She lets herself run a hand through his hair right above his ear as her weight fully relaxes onto his thighs. The look on Harry’s face is nothing but pure contentment. Her face mirrors his and Aurora thinks she could sit like this, with him forever. Then Harry closes the gap and he’s kissing her. Finally. The kiss is languid but Harry’s hands haven’t stopped moving. They move up and down Aurora’s back and then land on her waist again before squeezing the muscles of her thighs. He takes her face in his hands too, angling her head to showcase her neck a bit, trailing kisses down to the base of her neck and then her collarbone. Aurora wishes she could be here in this moment for the rest of time. Kissing Harry is like being able to stop time and Aurora quite likes the thought of that, too.

Eventually they break apart from each other. Well, their lips at least. Harry takes the moment and wraps his arms around her and holds her tightly against him, burying his head into her shoulder and inhaling deeply. Aurora mirrors his deep breath, her arms wrapping around his broad shoulders, scratching against his shoulder blades lightly. They’re interrupted by a call from Jeff, which Harry ignores. Then they’re interrupted again when there’s a knock on the door. 

When Aurora looks through the peephole she can barely see who is standing outside of the door. She giggles when she recognizes Helene’s face. Aurora opens the door just as Harry walks up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. There’s an elated look on Helene’s face when Harry presses a kiss to Aurora’s cheek. 

“I’ve gotta get ready so I can meet up with Jeffrey,” he rolls his eyes, “I’ll find you later,” he finishes before kissing Aurora on the lips this time. They may have spent the better part of the past hour kissing but with Helene as an audience and the simplicity of a goodbye kiss, it catches Aurora off guard. “Don’t forget about that note.” Harry says hello and goodbye to Helene before he’s stepping onto an elevator to find his own hotel room. 

“Aurora!” Helene exclaims as Aurora closes the door behind her after Helene walks into the hotel room. Aurora groans, falling onto the bed. “Start talking now. Don’t leave anything out.” 

Aurora and Helene find a small Italian restaurant down the street from the hotel and gorge over fresh bread and pasta as Aurora fills Helene in. Aurora is apologizing for the millionth time for being such a shitty friend since she arrived in Italy when her phone rings. Harry’s name is flashing across the screen. Aurora goes to flip it over and silence it but Helene encourages her to answer it through a wink and giggle.

“Hello?” Aurora answers and is greeted by a quick ‘hi’ from Harry on the other end. 

“I need a suit for dinner. Jeffrey is gonna flip if I show up in my track pants and my own merch, again.” He’s rushing through his thoughts, sounds of car horns can be heard in the background. 

“Again?”Aurora questions with a giggle.  

“Rory,” he whines. Aurora can tell he’s panicking but that doesn’t stop her from teasing him. 

“Harry, they’re you’re suits, take whatever one you want, just don’t mess up my perfectly organized wardrobes, please.” She’s trying to hide her laughter but it’s hard when Helene catches on to the conversation and is laughing along too. “Or can you not pick out your own clothes? Gotta pay someone to do it for you?” 

“Ror, I’m serious. Anyways I already tried to get one but I wasn’t allowed to, was told you’re the only one who can do anything with the bloody wardrobe cases.” 

“Wait, you’re telling me, no one will let you have at your own wardrobe? That you paid for?” Aurora doesn’t hide her laughter anymore. “You’re custom wardrobe, with your freaking name sewn into each piece, they won’t let you touch it?” 

“Hah, I can tell you’re getting a real kick out of this. It’s gotta be the language barrier that’s stopping them from letting me get into my shit. Now, help me, please.” Aurora stops laughing when she can tell he’s reached the point of frustration. “I’m on my way to a meeting with Alessandro right now and need one of my suits by 6pm.” 

“Sorry, sorry. No problem. I’ll take care of it. Which suit do you want?”

“Uhm, I don’t know, nothing sparkly, but it doesn’t have to be black, and it needs to be Gucci.” Harry pauses and Aurora is trying to flip through her look book in her head to give suggestions. “I’m wearing the pink gucci tomorrow yeah?” Aurora hums. “Okay. I’ll do that one.”

“Okay, I pull it and send it over to your room in a little bit.” 

“Thank you,” he says and Aurora can hear the relief in his voice. 

“Need anything else, Rockstar?” Aurora asks. The nickname rolling off her tongue was intended to be another dig at him but she quite likes the sound and feel of it. 

“Uhm,” Harry starts, his smile evident in his voice, “could you maybe deliver the suit yourself? Say ‘round 5:30?” Aurora’s watch reads 3:30, a smile now making a show on her face as well. 

“You got it. See you later, Harry.” 

“Oh Aurora,” Helene sighs when she hangs up. 

“What?” She asks through a smile and laugh. 

“Nothing,” she joins in laughing. “S’cute is all. What did the boy need?” 

“Needs a suit for dinner tonight. Guess security won’t let him touch his own clothes.” 

“Ah that’ll be a good one to tease him about.”

“Oh without a doubt.” 

After roaming around the streets of Milan trying to ‘work off’ pounds of pasta the 2 of them inhaled, they make their way to the arena that will host Harry’s show the next night. The errand is quick thanks to security letting them both in right away. They’re laughing the entire time in the arena imagining Harry getting denied access just hours prior. With the bright pink Gucci suit packed into a black garment bag, they head back to the hotel. Helene wants to edit some more photos, she claims, but Aurora knows that she’s just making an excuse so Aurora can show up to harry’s room alone. Silently Aurora thanks her but also curses at her. She really is thankful to have Helene on tour, regardless. She’s her cheerleader, even after only just meeting. 

Aurora can hear Harry’s voice through his hotel room door. The conversation, or what she can hear of it, is one-sided. When she knocks on the door she can make out a muffled, “One second, mum.” There’s a moment of silence before he opens the door to her. “Hi, love,” he greets her with a hand at her waist, ushering her in. He presses a quick kiss to her cheek before returning to his phone call, giving her an apologetic look as well. 

“Okay mum, Aurora is here. I gotta get ready.” Pause. “Muuum,” he groans, “I’ll call you tomorrow before the show, okay?” Another pause. Aurora can’t help but notice the heat that has risen to his cheeks. “Love you too.” He tosses his phone on the nearby couch. “Sorry bout that. You know how mums are…” he says, raising his eyebrows at her. 

“Never answer your calls, then freaks out when you don’t,” she rolls her eyes. 

“Nosy, too, aren’t they?” Harry shakes his head. 

“Without a doubt.” Aurora hangs the garment bag in the closet near the door. “Are you close with your mom?” She curiously asks. She’s heard he is, but there’s been no evidence of it in her time knowing him. Not that she doubts it, he can just be a bit closed off sometimes. 

“Very. She’s my hero, if I’m honest.” Aurora’s ears perk up at the honesty. 

“I could say the same about my mom,” she barely comments before Harry’s pulling her into a hug. His face finds the crook of her shoulder and he squeezes tightly around the middle. 

“Can we stop talking about our mums,” he says as he brings his face back so he can see her, his grip barely loosening on her waist, “cause I don’t wanna be thinking about my mum when I kiss you.” Aurora is a little taken aback by his frankness for a second. A giggle leaves her lips and she just nods, afraid her voice won’t come out if she opens her mouth to talk. “Good,” is all he says before connecting their lips. Aurora can feel Harry smile into the kiss and she reciprocates it. One of her hands racks through the short curls at the back of his head and the other softly caresses his jawline. One particularly rougher comb through his hair has him wrapping his arms tighter around her waist, bending her back just a little. Aurora is the one who pulls away first, but only to land a few kisses to his jawline. A groan comes from the back of Harry’s throat. He cradles her face in his hands and pulls her into a deep kiss. His kisses are more urgent than they had been this morning. This morning they were both basquing in each others company like time didn’t exist but now it’s a bit more needy. Aurora can almost feel Harry’s frustrations from this afternoon fall away as his kisses slow down. Though the pace slows down, the deep intent of the kiss is still there. 

Harry pulls away now, knowing he’s on a bit of a time crunch and being on the phone with his mum this past half hour has set him back. He’s met with a pout on Aurora’s face. 

“I’ve gotta get ready,” he says with a lopsided smile, his lips a deeper shade of pink than normal. 

“Normally I’m the one trying to get you to stay on schedule,” Aurora teases. 

“I know,” he groans back. “I wish we could just stay here and order in dinner, watch a movie or somethin’. Got this bloody business dinner to go to.” 

“It’ll be okay, H,” she says pulling away to grab his suit out of the garment bag. She checks her watch. She can hear him groan quietly again and laughs. 

Aurora’s fixing how his suit jacket lays on his shoulders when she can feel him smiling down at her. She raises an eyebrow at him and he responds with a light kiss to her forehead. 

“Everything alright?” Aurora asks when she notices a look on his face that she can’t decipher. 

“Yeah, everything is great,” he says with a smile. “Thanks for taking care of me, love.” He says once he’s got his shoes on and is ready to leave. 

“It’s my job, isn’t it?” 

Harry pauses before responding, “I mean, yeah, but still. Thank you.” He seals the thanks with a soft peck to her lips. “I’ve gotta go, but I wouldn’t mind if you were still here when I get back…” Harry quickly states. 

Aurora gives him a face that she hopes relays her confliction. “I should probably head to bed early.” She pushes up to the tips of her toes and presses her lips to his for a few seconds. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” 

“Well promise me lunch tomorrow then yeah?” 

Aurora rolls her eyes, “okayyyy,” she trails on as she makes her way to the door after grabbing her jacket and purse from the chair. “Bye, Harry! Enjoy dinner and tell Alessandro I’m his biggest fan!” She turns around in the open doorway, “Wait, don’t actually tell him that. Okay bye!” 

| | | | |

Aurora is awakened the next morning by a courtesy wakeup call and then a knock at her door no more than a minute later. When she opens the door, the same dark haired hotel worker greets her from the morning before. He wheels in a room service cart that’s beautifully presented with a full breakfast and fresh coffee. She shakes her head when she notices the note, “Rory” scribbled on the envelope. She tips the young man before closing the door behind him. 

Meet me in the lobby @ noon for lunch xx Harry. 

Harry takes her to lunch at a nearby restaurant and they’re both so overwhelmed with all of the incredible options on the menu that they share 3 different plates of pasta and order a few more dishes to-go and bring them back to the arena for dinner and to share with whoever wants some. 

“If I don’t nap in the next 45 minutes I’m going to be useless tonight. Mind if I just meet you at the arena later? I gotta pack up my stuff too.” Harry smiles at her and nods. 

“Of course,” he takes one last sip of the iced tea in front of him. “I’ve got a call to hop on in an hour anyways” 

“Shall we?” Aurora asks, grabbing her purse that’s slung off the back of her chair. 

“There was one thing I wanted to talk to you about quick,” Aurora relaxes back into the chair. Relax is the wrong word cause she’s far from relaxed right now. She nods slowly trying to seem calm. “So the dinner last night was about a shoot I’m doing soon.” She shakes her head. “What?” 

“Harry, you lead into that way too seriously, I thought you were gonna say- I don’t know what but it def didn’t feel like you were about to talk about a business dinner,” she laughs and Harry leaves out a short chuckle. 

“Sorry,” he apologizes, “but I mean, I guess it is kind of serious, but business, work kind of serious.” Aurora’s eyebrows raise as she nods her head urging him to go on. “So I’m doing another Gucci Campaign and we’re shooting, here, in Italy in May, during one of the breaks.” 

“Congrats! That’s incredible, babe!” 

“Thanks,” he says with a soft smile. “I was wondering if you would wanna come with and work the shoot? Lambert will be there and all of Gucci’s team, too.” 

Aurora feels the heat rise to her cheeks and then to the tips of her ears. She can’t help the smile that breaks across her face. At a lunch in the middle of Italy, on a beautiful spring day, belly full of to die for pasta, she never would have dreamt she would be here, having someone, nonetheless, Harry Styles, asking her to work on a Gucci Campaign photoshoot. 

“It would cut your break short. You wouldn’t be able to go home for as long as you probably planned, but it’d be a paid job. Only if you want,” he pauses, “and you don’t have to make the decision now.” He pauses again. “You can also say no right now.” 

“Say no?” She questions him in disbelief, her jaw dropping in surprise. “You really want me there? I can’t imagine they don’t have enough people on the team to really need me? A Gucci photoshoot? Harry! How could I even think about saying no?” She’s ecstatic. 

“Might be sick of dressing me up by then,” Harry jokes. 

“I could never,” she states quickly. “Harry, seriously, thank you so much. I don’t know if you understand or not, but this is a huge fucking deal for me.” She almost whispers to herself, “A gucci photoshoot? What?” Harry catches it though and can’t help from grabbing one of Aurora’s hands and pressing a kiss to her knuckles out of sheer endearment. 

“I’ll have Lambert send over the contract ASAP.” 

Walking back to the hotel, Aurora feels so much lighter than she had a few days ago when she arrived in Italy in a fog. She can’t help herself when they’re waiting at a corner for the walk signal to change and she reaches up on her toes and presses a quick kiss to Harry’s cheek. He squeezes her hand in response. The looming thought of someone seeing them together in public is always there but they don’t give it a second thought. 

“Harry?” Aurora questions when she sees him smiling in the mirror. They’re in his dressing room at the arena and she’s helping him get dressed in the same suit he wore to dinner last night. He hums back at her. “Whatcha smiling at?” she asks through a giggle. 

“Just thinking, really.”

“Thinking about what?” She asks as she grabs his suit jacket. Harry slides his arms into each sleeve before turning around to face Aurora. He lets his head roll on his shoulders, like he’s preparing himself for what he’s about to admit, before meeting her eyes. 

“Just that this suit is kinda like the one I wore on The Today Show.” Aurora’s hands halt their movement when she realises how right Harry is. 

“You mean the one you managed to rip a hole in minutes before you were performing live on national television?” 

“Mmmm, yes, but it’s also the first day I met you.” 

“Don’t start getting all soft on me now, Harry.” Aurora closes Harry’s suit jacket and buttons it close for him. One of Harry’s hands reaches for Aurora’s cheek before he presses a soft, sure kiss on her forehead. “Think this might be one of my favourite suits, then.” 

“You say every suit is your favourite.” Aurora rolls her eyes at him, but before she can make eye contact again he’s kissing her. 

“I do like this one better than the one from the Today Show,” Aurora says when they break away. Harry’s right eyebrow quirks up in question. Aurora runs her hands down the front of the jacket and unbuttons it, revealing the sheer white floral shirt underneath. “This shirt is MUCH better than the black one.” She begins tracing the black ink that shows through the fabric. Harry tucks some of Aurora’s hair behind her ear so he can still see her face a bit while she continues to lightly drag her finger over the fabric. She begins to travel down to where the laurels peak out but hesitates and brings her hands up to the swallows on his chest. Harry notices the deliberate change in direction and lets out a short chuckle. “What?” Harry shakes his head. 

“Nothing, you’re just cute.” Before Aurora can respond he’s pressing a quick kiss to her lips and then running to the bathroom to finish getting ready.  

Thanks for reading !!! I really hope you enjoyed ittttt ! comments & feedback are always welcome, reblogs are encouraged !!!! 

love you mean it. 

[thecleverdame]

Gods of Twilight - 9

Alpha!Werewolf!Sam x Human!Reader

Master List (posting schedule is there as well)

Summary: You marry Sam, The King of Lebanon, as part of an alliance between two lands. You soon discover that nothing is as it appears and that your husband is hiding a secret that may end your relationship before it can begin.

Warnings: smut, dub-con, canon-level violence, domestic discipline, spanking

Beta:  ilikaicalie

*Chapters 10-26 are available on Patreon. To get access to this and many other stories, subscribe for a pledge of 2.50 per month. CLICK HERE

-

You lie in bed, a ball of rage and humiliation. Never in your life has anyone treated you with such disrespect. You’re not a child, and no one, save for your mother has ever laid a hand on you. But after tonight Sam has made it clear that he considers your discipline to be one of his responsibilities.

It’s well into the night when the door opens and you hear him enter. He rarely sleeps beside you and he certainly never returns in the middle of the night.  But tonight you listen as he undresses and then the bed sinking when he lays down.

Your back is to him. Closing your eyes you remain still, but you can feel him move closer, leaning over to look down at you and see if you're asleep. When you don’t move or open your eyes, he lies down, settling in and you wait for the long slow fog of sleep to take you.

-

You roll over, stretching out on your back only to be met with two sensations. The first is instant pain in your buttocks that jerks you awake. But that’s not the only place you ache. Your whole back is stiff, drawing a soft whimper as you try to move and are met with sharp pain. The second is the warm skin of your husband pressed along your side as you unexpectedly roll into him.

You have never woken up next to him. He’s always gone before you awake, but this morning you open your eyes to find him watching you.

“Good morning,” he offers. You inch away from him, wincing in pain. His brow furrows, mouth tightening as he watches your expression.

“Good morning,” you return, gingerly sitting up. He’s fixated on you as if waiting for something to happen. You glance at his shoulder. The gash is now only a long, thin scar. It looks as if his wound is months old, instead of hours. “You’ve healed nicely. I’m glad to see there was no permanent damage.”

While your words are that of a concerned wife, your tone is empty, devoid of the warmth and care you had for him last night.

“How are you feeling?” he inquires. His mouth falls open, intending to say more but stopping himself.

“I will recover.” You move to get out of bed but he grabs your arm.

“What you did was a serious grievance, you could have been killed. What happened last night was deserved. It is my job as your husband to protect you. To keep you safe.” He sounds hesitant as if he’s trying to convince himself as much as you.

“And who will keep me safe from you?” Your eyes are on fire, face hot as you stare at him. His jaw flinches, the grip on your arms tightening. “Should I expect you to take a lash to my backside whenever you are ill-tempered or only when you feel that I’ve stepped out of bounds?”

“I will discipline you any time I deem necessary,” he grits out. “You forget your place. You may be a queen but you belong to me. Don’t forget that.”

“I will not forget anytime soon,” you counter, head held high. “You have left me with quite the reminder, my king.” His title comes out of your mouth, dripping with contempt and you know by the look on his face that you’ve once again overstepped your boundaries.

“Perhaps my leniency was taken for granted. You’ve not learned the lesson. I’ve allowed you too much freedom and now you believe yourself to be above answering to your husband.” He grabs your arm, the weakness of last night now completely gone as he forces you onto your belly. This time you struggle, twisting and trying to wiggle away but he’s unnaturally strong and it doesn’t take much for him to pin you place as he lifts your nightdress. “I’ll finish what I should have last night.”

His open palm spanks your backside and you yelp, tears springing to life. You hear the click of his belt as he grabs it from the floor and then there’s a horrific tearing noise as he rips the back of your gown in two, exposing you completely.

Whimpering you lie there, waiting for him to strike again but there’s nothing. His hand delicately touches your spine and you flinch at the contact.

“What is this?” His voice is softer, the sight of your injuries has taken the anger right out of him.

“I fell in the woods when I was trying to find my way back to the castle,” you explain quietly.

“These are deep bruises,” he grunts, inspecting you from stem to stern. “How did this happen?”

“I tumbled down a hill, there were rocks.”

“And then I did this.” His voice is distant now as his hand rubs softly over the flesh of your buttocks, careful not to apply pressure. “I was too rough. I had no intention of leaving marks on you, not like this.”

“It hurts.” Your confession is met with a grunt, as he pushes the remains of the torn nightdress away. “Lay here, don’t move. I have something that will help.”

After a moment he returns. Whatever he fetched stinks to high heaven.

“This is liniment. It will feel warm at first, but it will ease the pain as is settles into your skin.”

You don't respond, just lay still as he begins to apply the salve. In contrast to the last twelve hours his touch is light, featherweight as he carefully rubs the balm into your back, then lower, both hands carefully massaging your sore cheeks.

When you wriggle out of instinct, he places a palm on your lower back, holding you in place.

“Be still, it hurts now but it will feel better, just give it time.” He sits you up, pulling the nightdress off and wrapping you in a light blanket that’s itchy against your skin. “I was trying to teach you a lesson. I know you believe me to be indifferent when it comes to you, but I am not. If something happened to you I would never forgive myself. I needed you to understand how serious this was.”

“You don’t think I know that?” You look to him, pulling the blanket tight. “There is not love between us but I care for you as my husband. The thought that I was the reason you were hurt,  that you could have died was lesson enough. I would never purposely put you in harm's way. And you said that you believe I was unphased by the attack, but that is also untrue. I’ve never been more terrified in my life. Just because I’m able to remain composed does not mean it had no effect on me. I think I shall have nightmares for the rest of my life imagining those terrible men. My point is that you don’t know me...not at all. I did not need your discipline, I needed your compassion.”

He’s silent, watching you, his face unreadable. “And I need you to listen to me. It’s dangerous enough for a woman alone at night, but after everything that’s happened with Luther...you mustn’t disobey me.”

“I will not,” you nod, looking at your hands. The balm he’d rubbed into your back is tingling, a warm sensation that relaxes your muscles.

“I won’t apologize for what I did, but I will admit that I had no intention of leaving such bruises. And if you had told me you were injured I would have waited.”

You snort, looking away from him.

“I want you to know I have been listening to you,” he continues. “I made you feel that you are unimportant and that couldn’t be further from the truth. I thought keeping you at arm's length was the best course of action but I can see now that I was wrong. I will work to be a more attentive husband.”

“Thank you,” you nod, eyes fixed on the fire.

His words and good intentions don’t negate the fact that he took his belt to you last night and nearly did the same this morning. He’s silent, then with a heavy sigh, he begins to dress.

“I have faith that in time you’ll understand.” He offers the parting words before leaving the room, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

-

“You should have seen her face.” Sam takes a drink of wine. “It was as if I’d killed someone.”

“She’s overreacting.” Dean shakes his head, looking at his brother. “How many lashes did you give her?”

“Five, but-”

“Five?” Dean explains, flabbergasted. “I received more as a child.”

“She was already injured, and I was harsh. I forget my strength. It’s only by chance that I didn’t draw blood.” He looks at the ground, fingers gripping the chalice tightly.

“I thought she was a bad idea because she was human but it’s more than that. You care too much what she thinks of you.” Dean tilts his head, eyebrows shooting up. “You picked a wife based on beauty instead of compatibility. You are the one who’s always telling me I shouldn’t be led around by my cock and here you are, so desperate to get between her legs that you’re-”

“Careful.” Sam cautions. “She’s my wife, not a whore in the streets.”

“That is exactly what I’m talking about. She is your wife and if you gave her a hundred lashes, she would have deserved it. I’ve had men whipped for much less.”

“I don’t want her to be fearful of me.” Sam’s voice is low, offering a confession that makes his cheeks flush.

“But she should be afraid, Sam.” Dean places a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “For many reasons, but beginning and ending with the fact that you’re her husband. A healthy fear will be good for her, keeping her in line when the time comes and you have to fuck some pack Omega to satisfy your rut.”

“Dean-”

“What? Sooner or later she is going to have to come to terms with the realities of being the queen. That’s just how it is.”

One Month Later

Sam is beginning to wonder if he’s done irreparable damage. He’s trying, he is. He spends fewer nights out drinking with his brother, makes a point to eat meals with you and sleep in his own bed. But despite these changes, you seem to be growing more and more distant. There’s a sadness that has settled into your bones and he fears that he’s the reason for it.

“Golda,” Sam calls your handmaid’s name, looking around the bedchamber to ensure you’re not there.

‘Your Majesty.” Her eyes grow wide as she bows so low she nearly sinks to the ground. This is part of his title that never fails to make him uncomfortable.

“Where is my wife?”

“In the gardens, sir. Would you like me to have someone fetch her?”

“No, no, it’s you I would like to speak with.”

She looks at Sam as if he’s going to eat her alive. He sighs, taking a seat hoping to appear less intimidating.

“What could you possibly want from me?”

“Does Y/N speak of me?”

Golda looks instantly white, her jaw tightening.

“On occasion,” she whispers, taking a step backward.

“I expect honesty,” he warns, “but there will be no reprimand for telling me the truth.”

“She doesn’t say much, sir. She used to ask about you, she wanted to know what others said about you. Lately, she’s been quiet.”

Sam nods, looking at the floor, thinking carefully. “Because of me?”

“P-partly.” She stammers, cheeks burning bright red.

“Partly? What else is there?”

“She’s...Y/N is like a flower. Without the sun even the most beautiful flower wilts and dies. Before we came here she was rather...wild. There were few rules and she did as she pleased. In Lebanon she’s caged, and you’ve added guards to her posting. She’s not allowed outside the city limits. I think she’s wilting.”

He thinks on this, remembering how happy you were that night in the woods when you believed you were speaking to an animal. Sam knows what it’s like to have one’s freedom taken, but he also can’t take the chance and allow you to wander alone. All he knows is he can’t stand to see you like this, an empty husk of a person.

He needs to find a way to right his wrongs.

[deathly-shipper]

Yes absolutely I want to hear about your Hogwarts au

why, my dear sirs, madams and variations thereupon, thank you for your interest!

(fair warning, this is going to be a long ass post because I have FEELINGS about this ship and this au okay??)

- Donna is muggleborn, but you'd be dead wrong if you think she's going to let anyone make fun of her because of that.

-When she was six her mother told her they weren't going on holiday that year, so off she went to the nearest bus stop and got on the Knight Bus. As if anyone involved in that mad acid trip of a bus would bat an eye to a child climbing on the bus alone, so they merely asked where she wanted to go and little Donna just went "Strathclyde!". Her family found her hours later with the help of the muggle police.

- Her first big show of accidental magic was when she was seven. The other kids at school were making fun of her hair, she got so mad that she turned all the other kids ginger too. Trust her to make others see the other side of things.

- So! Fast forwarding to when she's eleven, one ordinary morning Donna and her family are having breakfast, as you do, and someone knocks at the door. Lo and behold it's Professor McGonagall (seriously considered Snape, just because it would be so entertaining to see him explain the magic world to Donna's family, imagine Sylvia Noble talking to Snape.)

-She explains everything to the family; yes Donna is a witch, she has a place in Hogwarts, no Mrs Noble, tuition is free, etc etc.

- Sylvia is obviously the sceptic "magic isn't real!", Wilf may or may have not done a little dance of happiness, Geoffrey is a little too stunned to speak and Eileen (Donna's Nan) is the only sensible mind in this, bless her.

- The first thing that comes to Donna's mind when she is told she can go to Hogwarts is "So I won't have to go to school with Nerys anymore?" After being told that no, you won't have to, she's just a little bundle of joy, I mean, who wouldn't be when discovering you can do magic?

- Moving on, everything is explained, magic is real and a trip to Diagon Alley is scheduled for the next week!

- Now Ten! Ten is from a pureblood family, but currently the only members of said family are him and his older brother, Braxiatel. Their parents died in the first war against Voldemort.

- Ten spent the majority of his life inside the family's property, so he turned to books for his escape. He particularly likes astronomy, history and magical creatures.

- He hasn't got any friends, the only children his age he ever met are the other pureblood kids, and let's be honest, they aren't much like him, poor lad.

- He meets Donna in Diagon Alley when shopping for books, and when I say meet I mean he almost fell on top of her. She gives him hell for it of course, but they manage to get a conversation going about Hogwarts.

- They go their separate ways and both spend the rest of the summer holidays thinking about that weird kid they met on Diagon Alley.

- September the First arrives and they meet again at King's Cross. Donna's whole family has come to drop her off, of course, and Ten and Brax meet them at the platform.

- Brax explains to them how to get to platform nine and three quarters and goes first to demonstrate. Donna is scared, what if it doesn't work for her? Ten senses it and ask Mr Noble if he can take his trolley for him, so he can push Donna's with her. "Together?" "Together."

- They say goodbye to their families and get on the train, and, like Harry and Ron, manage to get a compartment all to themselves. Conversation goes on about all sorts of topics, the magic world, the muggle world, Hogwarts, the houses, what do they do for fun, you know, a bit of everything.

- They arrive at the station and have to get to school by the little boats, Ten does not like the idea. Donna holds his hand to reassure him. She likes this weird boy who talks about stars and creatures so fantastical she almost doesn't believe him.

- Sorting then. They're both nervous, it is all very intimidating after all, even if the idea of a talking hat is kind of funny to Donna.

-She goes first, sits there for about four minutes. After careful deliberations the hat places her on Hufflepuff. Yes, she could have been a Gryffindor, she is very brave, BUT, she's hard working and kind and compassionate, and I feel like her bravery stems more from her wish to help others you know? and more importantly, she's loyal. so, so much, and that's what seals the deal for me.

- Ten. Now Ten, like Donna, could've been a Gryffindor, but the hat decided on Ravenclaw. STILL, that's not where he went. No, my precious boi Ten argued with the hat. He looked at Donna and saw his only friend, the fiery girl who yelled at him when they met and later held his hand when he was afraid. "I want to go with her" he said to the hat, and so he went.

- Yes, they are both in Hufflepuff. No, I don't take criticism on this. This is my au and I make the rules, Hufflepuff is a great house and anybody who thinks otherwise can get the fuck out.

- Hogwarts is not ready for this duo.

- Regarding classes; Donna loves Charms, she's best in class, Flitwick loves her. Ten likes History of Magic, but Bins is terribly boring so he and Donna study on their own. They always pair up in Potions, not the best in class, but have yet to explode a cauldron. Transfiguration is Ten's area, his family is particularly gifted in this subject. Herbology is more Donna's scene, she used to help her nan with her garden so she likes working in the greenhouses. DADA is anyone's game really, with changing professors like that. Now, they both really like flying and they are good at it. Donna joins the house team as chaser in her third year.

- Ten is the second coming of Newt Scamander. He always drags Donna down to Hagrid's hut to see what creature he has most recently acquired. Has been given detention for wandering in the Forbidden Forest. He's also probably friends with the centaurs.

- A couple years pass, the friendship grows and life is good.

- Third year, Donna "I'm good with numbers" Noble tottaly takes Arithmancy and aces it, Ten too of course. They also take Care for Magical Creatures, to Ten's absolute delight, and Divination. But they take one class with Trelawney and decide to take Ancient Runes instead.

- On their fourth year Harry Potter comes to Hogwarts.

- Donna is one second away from screaming bloody murder at Dumbledore's blatant favouritism.

- Fifth year has all that business with the Chamber of Secrets, Ten and Donna are among the few that don't think Harry is the heir.

- But then Donna gets attacked too. Ten is inconsolable, he spends every moment he can with her in hospital wing. Fortunately she is saved by the mandragora potion with the others.

- Now, in sixth year things start getting Interesting. There's this boy who is interested in Donna and she kind of is too, but she's nervous because she hasn't had her first kiss yet. She tells Ten this. He also hasn't kissed anyone yet and he has one of his Ideas. He suggests to Donna that they can be each other's first kiss. That nearly earns him a slap, but he manages to convince her before she takes action. He says that they're best friends and what are best friends for if not helping each other? So she agrees and he goes all out to make it special for her. He takes her to the Astronomy Tower one night when the stars are out and they sit looking at the sky and hold hands. They see a falling star and he tells her to close her eyes and make a wish, he kisses her then. And that my friends, is when the Pinning starts.

- Sirius Black whom???? All they can think about is that kiss.

- Not that they let that ruin their friendship.

- Also, they love Hagrid teaching, he absolutely let them fly on Buckbeak. And Buckbeak is a strong boi, he took the both of them (cue Ten holding onto to Donna's waist and she going "Hands!" but secretly liking it)

- Seventh year, this is a good one folks. This year we continue with the Pinning, yes, but we also have the Triwizard Tournament!

- They tottaly go to the Quidditch World Cup, but manage to leave before the madness start.

- Meanwhile Harry Potter is dreaming about a slightly older version of Ten and freaking the fuck out.

- Back to Hogwarts and the Tournament. Donna speaks French so she makes friends with some of the Beauxbatons girls. Also, tottaly talks well of Hagrid to Madame Maxime.

- They both put their names on the goblet.

- "And the Hogwarts Champion is Donna Noble!"

- Yep, you read that right, my girl Donna is Hogwarts Champion instead of Cedric.

- The goblet inevitably spews out Harry's name and chaos ensues. BUT, we have something different this time, we have the brilliant Donna Noble. She asks if it really is binding if Harry didn't write his own name, and not his full name at that. And it is also against the rules for a fourth school to compete, and as someone had charm the goblet into allowing a fourth school competitor it is not really valid. The teachers are convinced and Harry doesn't participate. He is eternally grateful to Donna.

- The Weasleys are the first to know about the first task, and Ron tells Harry who in turn tells Donna. He takes her to see the dragons with the invisibility cloak.

- Donna asks Magical Creature Enthusiast Ten for help and they study the dragons they have seen.

- On the actual day Donna gets the Hungarian Horntail, but she uses a spell for it to understand her instead of tricking it. She manages to tell it one of it's eggs is false and convince the dragon to give it to her. Full points for spellwork and pacific solutions.

- Magical Creature Enthusiast Ten also immediately recognises the merpeople sound from the egg, so Donna is the first to figure out her clue.

- What she doesn't know is what it is that she has to recover, but she has a plan as to how. She uses gillyweed and practices the BubbleHead spell just in case.

- But first, Yule Ball. Our continued Pinning is going on full force, but Ten realizes that if he wants to go to the Ball with Donna he has to ask NOW.

- And so he does, with more blood on his face than anywhere else. Donna is a confused but secretly hopeful. "You want to go as friends?" "No Donna, I want you to be my date." "Oh" "If you don't want to that's fine-" "I would love to" cue more blushing.

- Donna is a vision on her Ball dress, Ten is so in love.

- So they dance and laugh and generally have fun. Then Ten takes her to the Astronomy Tower again, and they kiss under the starry sky.

- Back to the tasks then.

- Of course it is Ten waiting to be rescued at the bottom of the lake.

- Donna is the first to get there, but, like Harry, she helps the others too. Still first place though, my girl is efficient like that.

- Ten and Donna cuddle for warmth after getting out of the lake, of course.

- Third Task, the maze. Donna ends up saving Fleur and having to fight Krum. She almost doesn't make it to the cup.

- Moody had to change plans and kidnap Harry since he wouldn't be competing in the Tournament. So Harry is in the graveyard, Voldemort returns, yada yada.

- But they didn't account for Donna getting there too. She arrives during the fight and saves Harry.

- So Donna is Triwizard Champion!

- and Voldemort is back, which is a bummer.

- Ten and Donna graduate and start travelling the world with a blue suitcase that is bigger on the inside and that's all I have for now, thank you for reading!