#just the setting and the monsters

[dizzy-miss-lizzieeeeee]

OF MONSTERS AND PRINCESSES - CHAPTER 3

Link has a rude awakening, followed by his first proper expedition with Princess Zelda.

You can read on AO3 here

Chapter 3: The Chuchus

Link woke with a thud on his door.

After his meeting with Princess Zelda, Impa and another maid led him to his room in the Royal Guard’s dorms. He was given a uniform, a set of armor, then he was told breakfast was at five in the morning before the Royal Family woke up.

He stood from his new bed, feeling restless after such an eventful day and noticed that the sun wasn’t even out. He still couldn’t believe that he had spent the night in Hyrule Castle, nor that he was now the Princess’ bodyguard. And even though the job was a blessing, while he put on his uniform, he couldn’t stop thinking that maybe accepting that job was a mistake.

Princess Zelda’s mission sounded like treason. Or at least that’s what his father would say if he knew what she wanted to research. He still remembered those summers where his father would take him to the edges of the country to teach him how to shoot an arrow, how to hunt, and how to be as silent as you could when you were cornered by monsters. He knew all the tricks already; after all his father was the best monster hunter. 

The second round of thuds on his door made him come back to his senses and stop thinking about his bittersweet childhood. He managed to clean his face and walked towards the door, upset about the person that was rushing him so early in the morning.

“Alright, what is it?” He asked, but a sudden blush came into his cheeks when he saw none other than Princess Zelda in front of him, a scowl on her face. “Y-Your Highness! I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you!”

Zelda looked at him, head to toe, and he couldn’t help but think that her expression was disappointment. But why? Did he have his zipper down? Had he put the shirt on backwards? What was so bad about his uniform?

“That uniform won’t do.” She said as she looked from her shoulder. “You have five minutes, get in your civilian clothes. We’re going for a ride!”

That’s when he noticed that Zelda wasn’t wearing any dress or whatever princesses wear while they were in their castles. She was in a plain white shirt, brown riding pants and was covering her golden locks with a hood. Like she didn’t want to be recognized.

“Where are we going?” Link asked, confused, still not moving from the door frame.

“There’s a place close to Hylia Lake that I’d like to see, but I don’t want us to get caught.” She said, a playful smirk on her face before she clapped her hands twice. “Come on! We need to hurry before my Father’s Guards are done with the breakfast!”

Link blinked twice and nodded, moving to his dresser to take off his uniform and wearing just a red hylian tunic, a hood and some brown pants, then he walked towards the princess and closed the door of his room, as silent as he could be while carrying his sword on his back. 

He thought that Zelda might have wanted to use some secret passage or anything that princesses did when they wanted to run away, just like he had read in some books about runaway princesses, but she was walking through the halls, maids and knights passing by them but never noticing their princess. Link was really confused by now. They couldn’t recognize their princess even when she was in front of them? Now that was alarming about the security in the Castle.

Zelda stopped behind a pillar and hid from two Royal Guards that were just at the entrance of the stables. Link followed her, looking around in case someone would catch them.

“Come on, where are you…” Zelda whispered as if she was waiting for something to happen. And then Link heard the screams.

“Guards! A Lizalfos in the kitchen!” A woman screamed and the two men left their post to go help the maid that had screamed.

Zelda couldn’t help but giggle and wink at Link. “You can always count on Hugo when you want to escape.”

Link followed her to the stables where their horses were already saddled. He wondered if Zelda had done it herself or if someone else under her command did it in exchange for a bribe. There was no way that the princess was allowed to leave the castle so early in the morning. He wasn’t as surprised that she had saddled the horses as he was at the way she managed to move through the corridors, avoiding everyone as if it was a walk through the market. He decided at that moment that he’d rather be on her good side so he wouldn’t have to look for her if she ever decided to escape.

Zelda walked towards her thoroughbred white horse.She patted its snout and spoke sweet words to it before she leapt onto its back. Link, meanwhile, stayed just by his horse, looking at Zelda with some concern on his face.

“Princess, I don’t know if it's a good idea to leave the castle while it’s still dark.” He said while grabbing the horse’s reins. “Why don’t we go when the Sun is up? That way I’ll protect you the best.”

Zelda rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Nonsense, this is the perfect time to have a morning ride. Besides, I wish to see the monsters’ morning routines, maybe we can learn something valuable today, don’t you think?”

Link stood in front of her horse. “Your Highness, I must insist.”

Zelda scowled. “You can stay if you want, Sir Link, but I’m going to Lake Hylia.” 

And with those words, Zelda whipped the reins and started to ride outside the castle, leaving Link behind. It took him a few seconds to realize the princess was escaping just as he foretold, so he jumped on his horse and followed her as fast as he could. 

He could see Hyrule Castle Town waking from its slumber, the vendors starting to open their stores, the small talks starting to sound in the distance between some early hylians, the smell of bread coming out of the oven at the bakery. It was hard to imagine this scenery in Hateno Village. He wasn’t used to it yet.

The farther they were from the castle, the more the sun rose, illuminating the city, the hills and the Dueling Peaks in the distance. He was at Hateno Village a day ago and he was now wondering if following the Princess was the best idea for a knight in his position. He didn’t have a name, a flag nor a land. Why would she choose him just like that?

As Link pondered, they rode together for about an hour when they arrived at a stable full of people. Travelers were getting ready to start the day with their bellies full of breakfast. He didn’t recognize the smell, but it made his stomach growl fiercely for the lack of breakfast he had that morning.

Zelda dismounted her horse and Link followed her to the stable’s front desk to let their horses in care of the owner before getting inside the tent.

“We’ll stop here for breakfast,” Zelda said and Link blushed lightly at the thought that she might hear his stomach, “then we’ll plan the best route out of the path to go find, I don’t know, anything!”

The princess was still wearing her hood over her head, maybe that was the reason why no one in that stable was paying attention to them as they walked to one of the empty tables. Even when the maid got closer to ask them if they wanted scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast, she didn’t even look suspiciously at the girl with the hood on.

The maid gave them two cups of the sourest coffee Link had ever tried in his life and left them to get their breakfast, and that’s when he started to feel awkward. They weren’t alone, but they were. He was sitting at the same table with the Crown Princess in Hyrule, and she was just looking around, like a little kid looking at clouds. What in the world could he talk about with her? Was he even allowed to talk with her? And how should he address her? Princess? Highness? Zelda?

“Link? Did you hear me?” The princess was looking at him and he realized she probably had been talking to him for a while. 

“I-I’m sorry, I was distracted.” Link drank from his cup and couldn’t help the frown that appeared when his taste buds interacted with the coffee. “You were saying?”

Zelda was having a rough time not frowning with the taste of the coffee, so she faked a cough. “I was saying that if we’re doing this, we need some rules. Number one, not a single word to the King. He’s not enthusiastic about my work.”

So, treason. I’m committing treason to the King with the princess of Hyrule. Great.

“Number two, no monster killing. We want to learn from them, not get rid of them. But, if we get into a compromising situation, I hope we can get out of it without endangering them.”

Treason again, now to my father. This is just great.

“And number three, just Zelda.” 

Huh?

Link looked up at her with an arched eyebrow as the maid put their scrambled eggs and toast on the table. Zelda had an amusing smile, making fun of his expression and Link couldn’t help but feel that knot in his stomach again whenever he saw her green eyes. Goddess, he needed to control himself around her.

“So, uhm, am I allowed to not use formalities with you, Prin- I mean, Zelda?” Link asked her and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“Just when we’re not in the castle. I know it might take some time, but I’d like you to trust me on this investigation, like I’m trusting you with my life. I just can’t see any other way to earn that trust but trying to be friends.” Zelda held up her hand to him, waiting for Link to shake it. “So, is it a deal?”

Link took her hand. He couldn’t deny anything to those green eyes.

“Deal.”

Just when they let go and started to eat their breakfast, making sure he wasn’t making a disaster with his lack of manners on the table, Link heard the gasp of the maid and looked at the entrance. That’s when he saw three men covered in blue slime, walking shamefully into the stable. Link knew where that gelatinous substance came from and he couldn’t help but steal a glance at Zelda. She was beaming.

“My goddess, what happened to you?” The maid asked them as she sat them down to a table close to Zelda and Link, and started to wipe their slimey faces. 

One of them spit some slime. “Chuchus. We were trying to hunt close to Batrea Lake when those annoying beasts came out of nowhere and started to chase us.”

“Clearly they got us.” Said another one, trying to wipe his face.

The room burst into laughter and Link couldn’t help but join in the mockery. But then he looked at Zelda who was looking at him with an arched eyebrow. He cleared his throat.

Another man, big and with a heavy mustache, stood up and patted one of the men on his back. “Well, that settles it. I need ten strong men to come with me and eradicate these monsters.”

“Link can do it by himself!”

Link looked at Zelda who was suddenly standing on her chair, and the laughter roared again. Everyone in  the stable was looking at her, but this time, Link didn’t laugh but scowled. If only they knew they were making fun of the Princess of Hyrule, he would cut their tongues with his blade.

Zelda frowned at them.

“It’s true! He can take five, no, ten white bokoblins at once!”

Link’s eyes widened. “Zelda, stop.” He whispered.

“And I’ve seen him fight a silver lynel with his bare hands!”

“Careful with what you say…”

“And… And he’s on a quest to find the last molduga!”

The big man couldn’t take it anymore and walked towards them, a frown on his face. Zelda looked like a scared puppy and moved out of her chair to hide behind Link, who was grabbing the hilt of his sword, ready to defend her from that man. 

The man, instead, towered him. “You think you’re so tough, kid? Fine, go and clean Batrea Lake. We'll be waiting for you, right here.”

The man pushed them out of the stable as the rest of the people laughed and cheered up, not giving Link the chance to speak for himself or to defend Zelda. He wasn’t scared of the task anyway. He could handle some Chuchus, but the fact that Zelda had put them in that position was what annoyed him.

He looked at her and saw that she was getting on her horse again, so he grabbed her by the elbow. “Hey, where do you think you’re going?”

“To Batrea Lake.” She said, looking at him like he was dumb. Maybe he was. 

“No way, I’m going to handle this and you’ll stay here, safe.” He said as he held her horse’s reins, she wasn’t going to let her escape again.

“But Link, I have to go with you! It’s my only chance to get closer to Chuchus!” She said, almost pouting at him. “Besides, you promised! You said you wouldn’t kill monsters!”

Link sighed. “If you didn’t want me to kill them, then why did you say those things in there?” 

“So they would leave us alone and I can conduct my investigation!” She said as she grabbed her leather journal from her bag, the one she had showed him in her chamber. “Please Link, this is really important to me.”

Link looked at her, then towards Batrea Lake. This was a bad idea. If something happened to the Princess he could get hanged, or worse. He didn’t want her anywhere close to monsters, even if they were just Chuchus. But she was practically begging. How could he say no to her? Zelda had hired him for this. He just couldn’t deny her. 

“Fine, but no horses. I don’t want them to get hurt.”

Zelda clapped her hands and squealed in excitement as she started to follow him towards Owlan Bridge, taking her hood off and enjoying the morning sun on her skin. Link had a hard time not looking at her long eyelashes and the freckles on her nose. 

Instead, he focused on the path, trying to see if there was any danger around. “So, you know how to use a dagger, Princess?”

She scowled. “It’s Zelda! And yes, believe it or not, I’ve sparred with daggers and swords before. Impa taught me.”

Link lent her his knife, not because he wasn’t going to protect her, but because he didn’t want her to be defenseless. “Just in case.”

They crossed the bridge without any trouble and as they walked, they came across a patch of grass that seemed to be moving on its own. Link unsheathed his sword, ready for anything to jump at them any moment.

“Stay back.” He said, as he saw how Zelda was grabbing her journal and a pen, right behind his back.

Suddenly, a small blue creature jumped out from the grass and landed on Link's head. It was a small Chuchu who, in its panic, lashed out at Link.

“You damn thing!” Link flinched at the impact and Zelda bursted into laughter. He reached for the Chuchu, intent on striking back.

“Link, wait!” Zelda held him back and carefully plucked the creature off of his head. "It's okay, this little thing was just scared."

Link looked down at the Chuchu in her hands, and he could see that it was trembling with fear. He lowered his sword and watched as Zelda examined the creature more closely.

"I think it's a young one," she said. "And I think it was trying to protect its territory."

“What are you talking about?” Link asked her in surprise as he tried to clean the slime from his hair. Never in his life had he ever heard of Chuchus being territorial before. Not that he cared at that moment. 

Zelda continued to examine the Chuchu in her hands, how it was twitching in her palms, then looked around on the floor, that's when she noticed that there was a small, hidden crevice in the grass.

"See?" she said, pointing to the crevice. "It's just trying to protect its home."

That’s when they saw a bigger Chuchu jumping out of the same crevice with three smaller ones following it. The one that Zelda had in her hands started to twitch harder and finally jumped out of her hands, getting closer to the bigger one.

Zelda gasped. “Oh Hylia, that’s its mom!”

But Link saw that Miss Chuchu was glaring at them and getting closer. Link recognized that look, so he grabbed Zelda’s wrist.

“Well, time to run, Princess!”

He didn’t wait to explain to Zelda what was going to happen when he started running, dragging her with him, as the Chuchu followed them through the forest, trying to get back at them for hurting its little baby. They ran until they were out of the Chuchus’ reach and that’s when he dropped his sword to the grass and fell to it, out of breath. Zelda, on the other hand, was breathing heavily, but looking back.

“We… We have to come back.”

Link glared at them. “Why? Chuchus remember every face, they’ll attack you the moment they see you approaching.”

“They do?” Zelda marveled with that new insight and started to write down in her journal, mumbling to herself about how amazing those creatures were. “Come on Link, what’s the point of being here if we can’t get close and study them?”

Link wanted the earth to swallow him.

A few hours later, they were hiding behind a small hill close to the crevice the Chuchus family was hiding. Zelda was sketching in her journal Chuchus of various sizes while Link fought the urge to take a nap. He tried to remember anything more boring than lying on the grass waiting for Chuchus to come up so the princess could study them, but it was a hard task.

That’s when he heard Zelda sigh.

“This is pointless.” She said, closing her journal. “I need to see their interactions. What makes them so territorial?”

“That’s easy - they’re monsters.” Link said, eyes closed as he laid on his back, head over his hands. “They’ll attack you at the first chance they have.”

Zelda closed her journal and sat by his side. “Yeah, but the little one didn’t attack me. It was scared, but didn’t do anything to hurt me.”

Link shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe it liked your smell.” 

Zelda hummed and Link didn’t like the sound of that, so he opened his eyes just to see her running around, picking up some flowers that were around them, until she made a big bouquet out of Armoranths, Blue Nightshades, Mighty Thistles, and Swift Violets. Then she came back to his side and grabbed her bag to take a bowl out of it. 

“How many things do you have in that?” Link asked, looking at her bag.

Zelda smiled at him, as she started to smash the flowers in the bowl with the help of a rock. “You might be a genius, Link. I usually like to use floral perfumes, similar to the flowers that grow in Hyrule. If your hypothesis is correct, we might not only find a way to not kill Chuchus, but also live alongside them without hurting each other.”

Link looked at Zelda’s bowl, how the flowers were now a dark purple paste that looked gross, but smelled good. It almost smelled like her. Not that he was going to say it out loud. 

But then, she smeared that paste on his face and all the nice thoughts about her dissolved in his mind. “No! What are you doing?!”

“Testing your theory!” Zelda said with a smile. “Now, leave the sword here and go over there so the Chuchus can smell you! I’ll be here taking notes.” 

Link looked at her with a frown on his face and Zelda rolled her eyes. “And I’ll protect you too, don’t worry. Go!”

Link sighed and stood up, fighting the urge to wipe his face and left his sword on the grass. He walked over the crevice and felt the earth rumble when Miss Chuchu appeared again, glaring at him like it did before, but this time, it hesitated between attacking him or getting close to him.

Then the four little ones appeared and moved towards him, attracted to Link since they started to jump around him, as if they were greeting him like a new member of their family. Miss Chuchu wasn’t getting closer, but at least it wasn’t attacking him or glaring at him anymore.

Link felt a twinge of guilt at his initial reaction. He had been so quick to attack in the beginning, not knowing the creature's intentions. He stayed still, smiling at the little Chuchus dancing around him when he heard Zelda running towards them, her face covered with the paste too.

“Yes! You did it! Goddess, this is really amazing!” 

The first Chuchu jumped back at Zelda’s arms and she twirled around with the little thing. There was grass on her messy hair, dark purple paste on her face, and still she was the most beautiful woman on Hyrule. Link couldn’t help but blush.

"You know what this means?" She asked as she kept hugging the little monster. "This is the first step of getting an actual connection between monsters and Hylians! Maybe one day, we won't need to kill each other!"

Zelda put the little one down and pulled out the journal. She jotted down notes as the Chuchus circled around her. Link watched her with a mixture of awe and disbelief. But there was something there, a sense of exhilaration that he hadn't felt in a long time. He was starting to realize that working with Zelda was going to be more than just a job - it was going to be an adventure.

Eventually, the creatures retreated back into their home. Zelda and Link made their way back to the stable, discussing their findings as they went.

As they reached the stable, they saw the men that had sent them to kill the Chuchus, and Zelda couldn’t help but run towards them with a smile on her face. “We did it, we did it!”

The big man with the mustache saw her running and stood up, looking at Link. “Well, is it true? Did you kill all the monsters, boy?”

Zelda decided to ignore the fact that he wasn’t addressing her, as Link stood up by her side in silence.

“No, something better!” She opened up her journal and showed her notes to him. “We discovered a way to stop the Chuchus from attacking us. You see, they’re territorial creatures, but if you smell like the flowers in their habitat, not only will they not attack you, but they’ll also recognize you as their own! Isn’t it amazing?”

The men started to laugh at her once again, looking at her as if she was a crazy lady. This time, Link couldn’t help it.

“No, she’s right! We… We covered ourselves with this flower paste and the Chuchus were friendly!”

“Oh, and then you sang a spring song with them?” Another man said, making everyone laugh at them again.

Mustache man wiped a tear out of his eyes and looked at Zelda. “Thank you for the laugh, girl, but tomorrow morning those beasts are meeting my sword.”

“No, wait!” Zelda yelled. “You can’t hurt them, it’s just a mama trying to protect her babies!”

“And what about our babies, girl? Who’s going to protect them?” The man snarled.

“I am! Zelda, Princess of Hyrule!” She said with a frown on her face. Link swore he heard a hint of pride in her voice, something that he had never heard from her. But that wasn’t enough for the men to believe her.

“Right, a dirty girl with twigs in her hair is the Princess.” The man said as he pushed both Link and Zelda out of the stable. “Go, and never come back here.”

Zelda wanted to fight back, but Link grabbed her elbow. “Zelda, let’s go, there’s nothing we can do now.”

Zelda’s eyes were tearing up. “But, the Chuchus…”

“We can only hope they kick that man’s arse. They might not look like it, but Chuchus can be really tough.” 

Zelda sobbed but there was a small smile on her face, so that made everything worth it for Link. 

They walked to their horses, getting ready to go back to the castle. The guards were likely already aware of Link and Princess Zelda’s absence; her poor little lizalfos pet already in a cage. There was a lot of explaining to do.

“Excuse me, you really are Princess Zelda?”

They turned around and saw a woman, carrying a baby in her arms, while a couple of twins stood by her side, looking up at them with sadness but curiosity in her eyes. Zelda only nodded and got closer to her.

The woman bowed. “Your Highness, I hope it’s not rude of me to approach you like this, but I don’t know what else to do,

“I own a farm in the country. I used to run it with my husband until he died a few months ago. While I don’t have any trouble working the land, it’s hard for me to keep my children safe from the Chuchus that surround our area. Is it true what you said there? That you found a way to keep them at bay?”

Zelda took her journal and began to write in it, then tore the sheet out, folded it, and handed it to the woman with a smile. "Come visit me in the palace one day, I'm sure the King would like to help you. For now, I can only give you this."

The woman grabbed her hand and kissed it, before bowing and leaving them alone. Link stood there, looking at Zelda, thinking about how they were so different. 

“Let’s go home.” Zelda said as she got on her horse and they rode together, back to the Castle.

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[demigods-posts]

currently obsessed with the idea of everyone viewing percy as a forced to never be messed with. for the sea is unpredictable and does not like to be restrained and all that jazz. except, frank and hazel. who only see him as just a little guy. a soldier left to his own devices out on the streets with nothing to comfort him but a panda pillow pet and a lingering memory of a girl he loves. he's just a little guy you guys.

[ilovemesomevincentprice]

Vincent Price guest stars on

The Muppet Show (1977)

[bucketsofmonsters]

On The Altar

cw: kidnapping, size difference, attempted human sacrifice, indoctrination, culty vibes, blood, hunting animals for food, self-loathing, allusions to drowning, heights, non-human genitalia, voyeurism, oral sex, threesome, unprotected sex, everyone in this is having a rough time

male dragon x male knight x fem reader

word count: 12k

Your breath caught as you stared at yourself in the mirror and a sort of disappointment washed over you. The white ceremonial dress draped across your form, fitted perfectly to you. 

You were supposed to look better than you ever had. Your heart sank a little when realized you didn’t think you did. 

Your birthday a few months ago. You thought you looked better then. 

You should have toned it down, not given yourself such a high bar to clear. It was your own fault, really. 

It had just been your last one. You'd wanted to make it count

Your head felt heavy with the ceremonial braids in your hair and the golden crown atop your head. It matched the rest of your accessories. Golden bracelets and necklaces and cuffs that circled your biceps. 

You wondered if it was real gold. Of course, everyone said it was but it seemed like a difficult thing to manage, a whole set of new golden adornments made every year just for it to be lost. A Sisyphean task. 

You didn’t have to worry about that. Your responsibility was far from that of the clothing and jewelry makers. You didn’t have to do any work at all, a crowd of women ensuring you didn’t so much as lift a finger on your day, bathing you and dressing you in unfamiliar clothes. 

You’d spent the whole day preparing. This was the first time you’d had a chance to breathe. 

Excitement and nerves all swelled inside of you, neither able to snuff the other out. 

Time was flying by and you weren’t sure whether you wanted it to slow or speed up. Part of you wanted to cherish these last few moments but it was almost here. It was almost your time. 

They tied you up. Not that they had to. You weren’t going anywhere. It was just tradition. 

You forgot to treasure your last moments of sight before someone behind you pulled a blindfold over your eyes. 

All you were left to do was imagine it. Being pulled from where you stood on the shore, being dragged under the water, the air leaving you as you fulfilled your duty.

And the town saved. 

They’d do it again next year and again the next, just like they had for decades. But this year was yours. You would save them. 

What a privilege it was to die for them. 

You wondered if the ropes ruined the lines of your dress. You supposed you’d never find out. 

Something hooked around your shoulders and you couldn’t help but flinch. You took in a big gulp of air instinctually, knowing what was coming. 

You braced yourself to be dragged forwards and instead slipped backward as you were lifted in the wrong direction. The ground disappeared from under you before you could fall. 

Your legs kicked, searching for anything below you, but you found nothing. The wind rushed up around you and despite your lack of vision, you could feel that you were rising up and up and up. 

You were meant to be dragged down to the depths and yet here you were, being hoisted into the sky. Claws dug into your skin and you were still blind and disoriented. Fear overtook you. 

You reached up and felt at whatever was carrying you, finding scaly skin connected to the strong talons digging into your shoulders. 

And then, as quickly as you’d been scooped up, you were being dropped. Rocks scraped your skin as you tumbled onto a hard stone floor. The bindings had come undone during the fall and you scrambled for your blindfold, squinting when the harsh light reached your eyes. 

As your vision began to adjust, you saw an enormous figure in front of you. At first, all you could see was a silhouette. Massive wings curled into the figure and the dragon that was slowly coming into focus in front of you stared right back at you. 

It was retreating into mounds of shiny things, gold and silver, old pieces of armour and crowns and candelabras piled into the cave you’d been thrown into. 

It stood out amongst the collection, a hulking creature with scales that shone a dark bronze that matched little of his horde. It was probably 20 feet long, its head cocked to the side as it watched you. 

Your instincts screamed at you to run, to get as far away from the creature as possible. 

You took a deep breath and tried to steady yourself. If you tried to run it could just scoop you up again. Besides, the last thing you wanted to do was activate a hunting instinct. Maybe right now, covered in gold jewelry, he saw you as something for his horde. It was certainly preferable to the alternative. 

He didn’t seem to be eating you, which you took as a good sign. Maybe if you removed the gold from yourself, it would lose interest in you and you could sneak out. If you rushed and were lucky, maybe you could even make it back in time. A sacrifice without the ceremonial adornments wasn’t ideal but it would certainly be better than nothing. 

You slowly lifted your hand to the golden cuff on your bicep, praying it wouldn’t think you were trying to take it. You tried to rip it from the white fabric of your dress, wanting to return home with at least some of your dignity, and your clothes, intact. 

Its head tilted further to the side and then a voice sounded, echoing off the walls. “What are you doing? Why would you ruin such a lovely dress?”

You froze at the noise, looking up wide-eyed at the creature. It couldn’t have. That wasn’t possible. Dragons were forces of chaos. Mindless beasts, nothing more. 

You blinked slowly, wondering if maybe you hadn’t woken up this morning quite yet. Or perhaps you’d been pulled underwater too quickly to notice and this was the oxygen deprivation messing with your mind. 

“Hello,” you responded. 

Its jaw opened to reveal layers of teeth in a ghoulish imitation of a smile. “Hello!”

You felt your heart stutter in your chest. “What… why did you take me?” You tried your best to keep your voice steady. The last thing you wanted was to upset the creature. 

“You were out there to be taken, yes?”

Oh. You supposed you were. Perhaps you’d been sending mixed messages to the monsters of the world. 

You wondered if maybe some town made sacrifices just like you to dragons.

“I was,” you said cautiously. “But not for you. For the creatures of the deep. Fishing is our life, it’s how we survive. We need the waters to be safe.”

“Not… what? You’re… but I thought. So you weren’t out there for me?” He sounded heartbroken. 

“It’s fine,” you said, keeping your voice level. “Misunderstandings happen. Just take me back and everything will be fine.”

“No, it doesn’t make sense. You’re covered in gold. You can’t just cover someone in gold and not expect a dragon to come snatch them up. You must have known. You must be for me.”

“Well, I’m not. And I would love to go home now.”

“What do they even want with you?” it asked, avoiding any discussion of bringing you back. “I don’t know much about humans but I know you aren’t water creatures. They couldn’t even take you anywhere, they’d have to come all the way up to visit you every day.”

Now it was your turn to be confused. “What?”

You’d assumed he’d taken you for the same reasons as the creatures you sacrificed maidens to every year. To take and consume, to feel worshiped. But it sounded like this dragon had entirely different ideas as to why a monster would want a sacrifice. 

“I wouldn’t have to just visit you,” he said. “I could be with you all the time. Take good care of you. No water involved. I’d keep you warm and fed and completely dry.”

“I’m not given to be a pet,” you snapped. 

The creature reeled back and began backpedaling instantly. “I didn’t mean you’re like a pet, I just meant…”

“They were going to kill me,” you said. “I’m a sacrifice. They need to kill me. It’s the only way.”

It took him a minute to understand what you could possibly mean by that. You could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to understand. 

You didn’t have time for this. “Just take me back,” you pleaded with him. 

He paused. “They’re going to kill you?”

“It’s none of your concern what they’re going to do.”

He dropped his head low, resting it on his tail with a huff. “Then I’m not taking you anywhere.”

Your heart sank. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“I can’t let them hurt you.”

You let out an exasperated groan, burying your head in your hands. “It has to happen, without it so many more will perish. 

“What if I start terrorizing your village!” the dragon said, with the intonation of someone who’d just had a great idea but none of the content. “Or say I would if I didn’t have you. Then your sacrifice won’t have been for nothing.”

Reasoning with him was starting to seem pointless. “Please don’t.”

“Well, either way, I’m not letting you go back. If I let you go, it would be like I hurt you. No, you can stay here.”

You could not do this, couldn’t argue with this strange creature who was incapable of understanding how vital it was that you returned so your town had its proper sacrifice. 

You stormed over to the corner of the cave, leaning against the cold stone wall with a huff. 

He just stared at you, neverendingly, undeterred by your attitude. 

“It can’t be comfortable over there,” he called out to you.

“Leave me alone!” you shouted back, curling in further on yourself. 

He wanted to approach you, you could tell that much. His hesitation was evident and he took small steps forwards before pulling himself back, repeating the gesture over and over until he seemed to come to a conclusion. 

“Alright. I can go for a while. Don’t hurt yourself.” 

With that, he gave you a final once-over and flew out of the cave. 

He was hard to read. The way a dragon worked was unfamiliar to you. The most you could do was take guesses and try your best. Hopefully, you wouldn’t be around long enough to figure out the intricacies of dragon body language. 

You should run. If you were going to have a chance to escape, this would be it. 

As you edged out of the cave, your dreams of making it down the mountain were crushed. There was, technically, a sort of path down the mountain. It was barely a few feet wide with a sheer cliff at the edge of it. 

You hadn’t eaten since this morning. You were scared and exhausted and there was a slight tremor in your hands you couldn’t quite seem to rid yourself of. There was no way you could safely traverse that path. 

You went back into the cave with a huff, waiting for your captor to return. 

Eventually, he did, blood dripping down his face as he dropped an animal in front of you. It was hard to tell what it was with the way it was mangled. It was clearly a fresh kill. 

You stared blankly at him, edging further away and into the cave wall. 

At your lack of reaction, he nudged the creature towards you. “You should eat,” he said. 

“I can’t eat that.”

You prayed he wouldn’t try and force you. 

“Why don’t you just eat me?” you spat at him. “At least it would be better than this.” 

At least then you wouldn’t have to live with the knowledge that you’d failed, and your village would pay the price. 

He tilted his head once more. “Why would I do that? I’ve wanted to meet a human for a very very long time. I’ve got another friend too, come look.”

He started to wander back into the cave, behind piles of gold and you hesitantly followed him on shaky legs. 

When you reached the back of the dark cave, you found a single, frightened sheep sitting atop a massive patch of grass that seemed to have been uprooted from the ground. 

“I took him from a field. I couldn’t eat him, he had sad eyes.”

“Do I have sad eyes?” you asked. Maybe that was why he insisted on keeping you, refusing to let you go back home. 

He looked at you and as hard as it was to read the facial expressions of a dragon, you knew exactly what he was thinking.

“Is it that bad?” you asked as you looked away.

“Not bad. You just look like you're hurting.”

If you were it was because of him. This was supposed to be the best day of your life, the only day that mattered. And instead, you were here, looking at a poor terrorized sheep who was in the same position you were in. 

“So, what can you eat?” the dragon asked. Before you could give an answer, it said, “Nevermind, I’ve got an idea.”

You didn’t get the chance to ask him what it was. He was off again, moving through the cave until you heard the telltale flapping noise that meant you were alone once more.

You looked down at the sheep again. 

Maybe not entirely alone. 

He returned swiftly with a whole market cart in tow. It had piles of bread in it, although they were a little worse for wear from the flight. You had no doubt that some unsuspecting farmers had found it raining loaves of bread as he made his way back. 

You were too hungry to worry about scolding him for the thievery. You grabbed the first piece you could get your hands on and took the biggest bite you were capable of.

Your dragon watched, seemingly entranced by the sight. 

As you chewed your first bite of freshly baked bread he asked, “I did alright this time?”

You nodded, unable to speak through the mouthful of food. 

As you finished scarfing down your bread, you sat in the grass with your new sheep companion and asked your captor, “Do you have a name?”

The dragon considered this for a moment. “No. No one has ever needed to call me anything.”

“Oh. I thought dragons would have names.”

“They do. Just not me.”

You looked up at him, brow furrowed. “What, just you?”

He hummed in acknowledgment, the vibrations from the noise cascading through the stone under you. “Didn’t bother to give me one. I was the runt so you know how it is. Or maybe you don’t. I don’t really know how people work. With dragons, the littlest one always has to go. That’s the way it is.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I get a little lonely but now you’re here!”

You rolled your eyes, collapsing back into the grass. If you closed your eyes you could pretend you were outside your village lying in a field instead of trapped in a dark cave on a cold mountain. “Yeah, now I’m here.”

The moment couldn’t last. It was too cold, there was no wind. The air smelled different. 

“You know,” you said. “We had stories about dragons. Big terrifying ones that wanted to hurt people. My mother used to tell me stories of Pytho. I was so scared of him when I was little.”

“Oh.” You heard his wings rustle and opened one of your eyes to peek over at him, shuffling uncomfortably in place. 

“I could call you Pytho,” you added. “It’s the only dragon name I know.”

“If you think it fits, I suppose. I thought you said he was big and scary?”

You laughed. “Well, from my perspective, you’re pretty big and scary.”

Instead of being pleased at your words, he reeled back. “Are you scared of me?”

You shrugged. “I was. Not so much anymore. Honestly, I think on any other day, I would’ve liked you”

“But not today?”

You shook your head. “Not today.”

“Well then,” he said as he began to curl up into a ball, “Maybe tomorrow.”

You backed up, leaning against the cold wall, and tried to suppress your tears at the thought that there would be a tomorrow for you at all. 

When you woke up, it was all still real. A dragon snored beside you as a sheep stared at you with the saddest gaze you’d ever seen. 

Maybe, as you looked at it, it thought the same thing about you. 

Pytho stirred from his slumber, immediately turning to check on you.  

When you felt his warm breath directed at you, you realized just how cold you were. Not that you were going to do anything about it. Your only source of warmth was the dragon in front of you and you were going to go nowhere near him. 

You clench your fists, doing your best to stop the shivering. 

He didn’t seem to notice. With the warmth that he radiated, you were sure that the concept of being cold was something that was foreign to him. 

You turned away from the creature. If he wouldn’t take you back, the least you could do was deprive him of your attention.

It wasn’t much but it was all you had. 

The day passed slowly but still, it passed. You spent it wallowing in the corner. 

Pytho left you alone after the first few outbursts. He seemed to understand that you needed your space. You could appreciate him for at least that much. 

As the sun began to set once more, you began to realize just how much warmth and light the day had brought to this miserable cave. 

You curled in on yourself, not far from how Pytho slept. 

You watched him begin to settle in for the night and saw a moment of hope where he tried to move closer to you. You glared at him and he stopped in his tracks. 

“You’re still upset with me,” he noted. 

“Of course I am. There’s nothing for me now. It was supposed to be over and now it’s not. You took that from me.”

“I took your ending,” he said, and you knew he understood.

“You did.”

“You’ll find a new ending someday.”

“But that one was mine. It mattered,” you said, frustrated that he couldn’t seem to get it.

“You matter.”

You scoffed. “I did.”

“You do.”

You turned away from him with a huff. “You don’t understand. You can’t.”

“Goodnight, little human.”

You fell into a fitful sleep against the cold stone of the cave. When you woke, however, you felt warm and safe. 

You opened your eyes to find Pytho standing over you, his body heat covering you in waves of warmth, even when he wasn’t touching you. 

“You were shivering,” he said, like it was that simple. You were cold, he was warm. There wasn’t anything else to be done. You hadn’t even known he understood what shivering was. 

You slid away from him, back into the cold. 

He watched you. That’s all he ever seemed to do. Watch you. “You’re mad at me but you’re punishing yourself.”

You didn’t dignify that with a response. “Let me go back.”

“I will not.”

You tried to sleep again but the cold felt harsher now, crueler. It was your turn to watch him, remember the waves of heat across your skin. 

You waited until his breathing leveled out, the rise and fall of his chest becoming uniform. You couldn’t handle a smug look or excitement. You just needed to sleep. 

You took the few steps between you slowly and gently leaned against his side. 

Almost instantly, without thinking, he curled around you, bundling you up in a nest of warm scales. His breathing was steady against your side. 

You’d never slept better. 

You woke to find his head a few inches from yours, propped up on his tail and staring at you with a soft gaze. 

“Good morning,” he said.

You gave him a hum of acknowledgment back. 

You were wracked with guilt. How could you be enjoying this, allowing yourself even these minor comforts? It wasn’t right. None of this was right. 

You pulled away from him, feeling sick.

Traitor. You’d betrayed them after they’d put so much trust in you. Who knew what was happening to them now, while you slept feeling warm and comfortable. 

“You still want to go?” he asked in hushed tones as you backed away, clearly afraid of the answer. 

You nodded. “I’m always going to want to go. I have to make this right.”

He let out a pained whine and moved towards you slowly, giving you the chance to stop him. 

You didn’t.

“You could be happy here,” he insisted. “Why won’t you just be happy here?”

“It just wasn’t meant to be." 

“Don’t want you to get hurt,” he whined out. 

You pressed your forehead to his. “Does it not matter what I want?”

He let out a huff and hot air cascaded over your face. He was always so warm. 

You pressed a kiss to his scaly nose. “I know you want to help, but I have to do this. Please let me do this.”

And he stared. Just stared at you, like he was drinking it in, trying to memorize you. 

Finally, his face fell and you knew exactly what it meant. 

“If you change your mind…” he said. “If you ever get the chance, come back to me. You’ll always have a safe place here.”

You nodded, still holding his head in your hands. You knew you never would, but it was nice to imagine returning someday. 

You looked down at your dress, dirty and torn, and you finished ripping off the golden cuff you’d started to tear days ago. 

“You can have this if you want. For what could have been.”

His eyes were glassy. You didn’t know dragons could cry. He grasped the golden cuff in his talons, tucking it away far from the rest of the gold, instead next to his beloved sheep. “For what could have been.”

A forlorn laugh escaped you as you looked at him. All three of you had sad eyes now. 

Before either of you had the chance to rethink it, he moved towards the mouth of the cave and you followed. 

Familiar talons grasped your shoulders and you were off again. 

This time, there was no blindfold. An entire landscape unfolded below you and you watched towns and rivers and forests pass you by at incredible speeds. 

Your hands reached up to grab Pytho’s legs, the seer distance to the ground making you dizzy. 

The flight was shorter than you remembered. You wished it wasn’t but as your feet touched grass, real grass rooted in the real ground, you knew there was nothing to be done. 

He dropped you off near the village but still outside of it. It was for the best, you couldn’t imagine anyone inside the town would be particularly pleased to see him. Worst case scenario, they might even try and hurt him. 

As soon as you’d properly landed he flew off, leaving you behind. No parting words, no last look. Before you knew it he was gone, a distant silhouette on a blue sky. 

 Good. You didn’t want him to see what might happen here anyways. 

The walk back was too quiet. You could hear the birds and the wind but none of it was enough to drown out the blood rushing in your ears. 

You didn’t know why your heart was pounding so loudly. This was what you wanted. You were back, ready to repent for the crime of being stolen. 

The first person who saw you was a boy. He couldn’t have been more than ten. He wandered on the outskirts of the village but as soon as he saw you he turned and ran back into the town, probably telling tales of your miraculous homecoming. 

You’d been so caught up in your return you had managed to think of little else but now, as you neared society once more, you realized what a mess you’d become. Your sacrificial dress was brown with now much dirt it had collected, ripped and shredded and hanging off of you in tatters. You were sure your face and hair were just as dirty. 

You walked further and further into town, unsure of what to do with yourself. You’d assumed someone else would tell you what to do but instead, they grouped together and stared, whispering and pointing as you trudged your way through the village. 

As you reached the center of town, you found a gathering waiting for you. 

You stopped in front of them, waiting as they inspected you. The same people who’d helped ready you and told you how vital you were to the town now looked down at you with thinly veiled disdain plastered across their faces. 

“I came back as soon as I could,” you said, your voice sounding small and weak. 

The man at the front of the group, the one who chose the sacrifices, made speeches about its vitalness every year, spoke. His voice boomed across the gathering. It didn’t feel fair. He was accustomed to speaking to crowds like this. You weren’t meant for this, of course you sounded small. “We chose another,” he said, and his words echoed in your ears. 

Your heart sank in your chest. Of course they did. What else would they have done? At least it meant the town was safe. So why did it sting so badly? 

“I can do it next year,” you said. “Please, let me do it next year. I’m here now.”

The man turned up his nose at you. “You abandoned your post.”

You could feel yourself getting more and more frantic as he spoke. “No, I was taken. I came back as soon as I could, I promise! Please.”

“An example must be made.”

You nodded, searching for a way out, any way you could still be useful. “Anything. I’ll do anything.”

The women who’d helped you bathe and get dressed a few days prior surged forwards, grasping at your arms. They held you in place as you refused to struggle. 

“This is what happens to deserters,” he called out over the crowd.

You could barely think, barely hear his words. 

The fact that you’d been replaced kept running through your mind. You’d been raised for this. It was all you’d ever wanted. You’d dreamed of it. 

You weren’t so sure you wanted it anymore. 

It didn’t matter anyways. It was too late. You’d left. 

The man chanting to the crowd pulled out a knife. 

It felt like what you deserved. Your chest tightened with guilt and fear. Now it wouldn’t even be for anything. Just an example, nothing more. 

Maybe it was saving them, in a way. Saving them from an epidemic of girls who thought they could escape it and damn the town in the meantime. Maybe you still could die for something. 

A thudding sound echoes in your ears, slightly out of time with your heartbeat. It felt almost grounding, helped you ignore the chants of deserter and heathen. You didn’t have the strength to try and defend yourself, to insist that no, you’d fought to come back. You weren’t even sure you believed that anymore. You latched onto the thudding, anything to get those words out of your head. 

And then the arms that had held you down were being ripped away and instead you found yourself being lifted. This was not the endless upwards motion of your dragon. Instead, you found yourself hoisted onto the back of a horse. 

Hard metal dug into your side and you looked up to see a knight in full armour, his face hidden by his helm and his arm hooked around your waist. 

You pounded your fists against him, fighting to be let go. “No!” you shouted. “I need to do this. I need to be forgiven.”

The knight's grip on you tightened and the horse you were both on sped up. Neither seemed to find your fighting anything more than mildly inconvenient. 

Before long, your struggle slowed. You were becoming very used to the intense frustration that accompanied being trapped, being taken away with no regard for what you wanted. 

You lost track of time as you rode. You’d just been trying to make things right, even if you couldn’t do what you were meant to do. The universe seemed intent on stopping you. 

Maybe you’d done something wrong, offended the cosmos so severely you were no longer permitted to do what you were meant for. 

As the horse slowed, the knight's grip on you loosened. 

He set you gently on the ground in the midst of this unfamiliar forest and you glared up at him. 

“Can I go now?” you hissed. “Or am I still being kidnapped?”

“There were going to kill you,” he said as he dismounted his horse.

“You don’t know what was going on,” you insisted. “Maybe I deserved it.”

He rummaged around in his saddlebag. “Maybe.”

You reeled back a little, not expecting him to agree with you. “Oh. Can I go back then?”

“No. Here, eat this.” He held out some dried meat in your direction.

You refused it. It would be a waste anyways. 

“Why can’t I go?” you asked. If he didn’t even know if you were in the right, what reason could he possibly have for taking you? 

“I’ve heard about your village, you know. I was worried I was too late. They’ve messed with your mind. It’s not your fault but you’re not making good choices right now.”

“My choices are fine,” you shouted. “Who are you to decide that? You don’t even know what I did.”

“What did you do?”

“I shirked my duty. I should have been there.”

“For what?”

“To be their sacrifice.”

“You didn’t deserve that.”

You did, but he couldn’t know that. It was beyond him. 

It was hard to remember where you were. It didn’t make sense. Why weren’t you home? Or were you? You knew that you should be. Why wouldn’t you be? 

You saw your dress, dirty and crumpled and ripped. You’d ruined it. How would you go through with the ritual now? 

Something in you always knew you’d ruin it somehow. And now things were all wrong. Who else’s fault could it be?

The knight pushed some food at you and once again you were in a forest far from home. 

You threw it back at him. “I said I don’t want it. Aren’t you going to eat?”

That damn helmet stared back at you for a moment before he said, “Maybe later.”

“Do you have a name?” you asked, desperate to get anything from him. 

“Phillip.”

You missed your dragon. At least you could see his face and try to figure out what he was thinking. 

He got up without warning, and you jumped a little at the sudden movement. 

He froze for a second as you did, staring down at you before continuing on, trudging through the nearby bushes. 

He returned in a few moments. 

“There’s a pond back there,” he said, gesturing towards the foliage. “It’s not too cold, you should be fine.” He started to move back towards his horse before pausing for a moment and adding, “It might make you feel better.”

You went to inspect this pond as he tended to his horse. 

It was a small pond, the trees around it curling over the top of it, mostly blocking out the sun. You dipped your foot into the water and found that the knight was technically right, it wasn’t cold enough to hurt you. It still wasn’t a pleasant temperature but right now it was the best you were going to get. 

As you tested out the water, you watched from behind the bushes as he mounted his horse and started to ride away. 

It made sense. You wouldn’t want to keep you around either. At this point, you were just ungrateful dead weight. 

You considered taking off your dress and attempting to keep it dry but at this point, it consisted more of rips and dirt than anything. Dousing it in water might do it some good. 

You sunk into the cold water, doing your best to get the dirt out of your hair. As long as you were in here, you might as well attempt to get clean. 

You wondered if you could find your way back to Pytho’s cave. If you could manage to get close you were sure he’d be able to find you. At least you hoped he would. It was the only place you had left to go. 

You had no real desire to prolong the bath in the cold water. You just didn’t know what came next. After this, where could you even go?

Your fingers began to prune and you know you couldn’t do this forever. 

As you exited the pool in your sopping wet, muddy, ripped ceremonial dress, you decided you needed to go. You weren’t sure if you were trying to find your village or Pytho but it didn’t really matter, you had no sense of what direction either was in. You just needed to be headed somewhere. 

You made it half a dozen steps before you collapsed. 

You didn’t even notice he’d returned until he was right in front of you, staring down at you collapsed in the dirt in your soaking-wet dress. 

You watched his helmet as he looks you up and down, lingering a second too long on your chest before snapping his head back up towards your face.

He cleared his throat and you would have bet money that his face was bright red beneath his helm. 

“Apologies, my lady. I thought you might want some fresh clothes.”

He held out some folded clothes with a pair of leather boots balanced atop them. 

No. It wasn’t right. This was supposed to be the last outfit you ever wore. It felt like a betrayal to take it off. 

“No thank you,” you said from your spot on the ground. “I’ll stick with what I have.”

“I know they’re not much but they’ll fit.”

You shook your head again. 

You heard a quiet, muffled sigh escape him. “The sun is setting, you’ll freeze to death if you wear those. You can change back in the morning if you really want to.”

You eyed him suspiciously. “Promise?”

He nodded. “Promise.”

You took the clothes with a sigh. “Fine. Turn around.”

You’d never seen him move so fast. It was like he was afraid you’d start stripping the second you decided to change. 

A giggle escaped you and you watched his shoulders tense up at the noise. It seemed like the two of you were having entirely different kinds of crises. 

You got dressed as quickly as you could, a chill starting to set deep in your bones. He’d found you a faded red tunic that hung midway down your thighs and some pants that miraculously fit pretty well. 

The boots had thick woolen socks inside and putting them on felt like heaven. You swore you’d never wear pretty shoes again as long as these were an option. 

You didn’t bother telling Phillip he could turn around. He’d figure it out in his own time. Or he wouldn’t. It wasn’t really your problem. 

As you got ready to sleep, you watched him, keeping track of time as best you could. It took him about twenty minutes before he finally peeked over his shoulder, finding you sitting with your back against a tree. 

You gave him a halfhearted smile and he cleared his throat. “You should rest now,” he said. “We have to leave at dawn.”

“And when are you going to stop dragging me around with you?”

“Whenever you’d like. I can drop you off at a town tomorrow. I just have something I need to attend to first”

You knew by now not to get hopeful. “Can you drop me off at my town?” You kept asking but you didn’t know what the point of it was. There was nothing for you there anymore. The most you could do was repent. Pay for what you’d done. But for what?

“I can drop you off at any other town.”

You slid down the tree, basically lying on the ground. “Alright. 

He spent the rest of the night in full armour and you wondered if maybe part of him thought you might attack him. Either that or these woods were more dangerous than you knew. 

He awoke you the second the sun began to peek over the horizon and you groaned, trying to kick him away from you. 

He would not be deterred, coaxing you up and onto the back of his horse. You got on behind him and wrapped your arms around him for stability with minimal protest. You didn’t have the energy to fight him on it. 

It took you too long to realize you'd left your dress behind, discarded in the mud.

The ride was much more comfortable when you weren’t being held captive. 

Forests and plains and mountains passed, all foreign and strange. You’d never left your town before, never seen anything like this. Even in your bad mood, it was hard not to admire it. 

Your heart stopped as you noticed one of the mountains that the two of you were fast approaching seemed familiar. 

It had taken you too long to recognize it but in your defense, you were used to seeing it from a cave right at the peak.

You shut your eyes and prayed to anyone that might be listening that you’d ride right by it. 

If the gods were listening, they had a special hatred for you. You weren’t sure you could blame them. 

 Phillip lead the horse along the precarious path you’d deemed too dangerous only days ago.

You needed to figure out a plan but you had nothing. 

With only a few minutes left before you reached the peak, Phillip dismounted, holding out his hand to help you down. You half considered trying to take his horse to go warn Pytho but you had no real idea how to ride one on your own and you couldn’t shake the feeling you’d ride the pair of you right off the cliff edge. The poor creature didn’t deserve that. 

You dismounted and Phillip nodded, getting right back on the horse. “You stay here, I won’t be long.”

“No,” you yelled, a little louder than was necessary. Phillip flinched, probably worried it had echoed up the mountain and warned the dragon at the top of his presence. You hoped it had. “I want to come.”

“These are dangerous lands, m’lady. I will not let you get hurt.”

You scowled at him. “You know, people won’t stop saying that to me.”

The helm stared down at you, unwavering, before he gave his horse a swift kick in the side and it rode up the narrow path. 

You took off in a dead sprint after him. 

You neared the top of the path, panting, just in time to see Phillip creeping into the cave, sword drawn and at the ready. 

You had no idea what to do. You couldn’t just stand here and do nothing but you felt frozen in place. 

The problem was, you’d rather neither of them were hurt. It felt like an impossible situation. 

Pytho needed to be warned but as gentle as he’d been with you, he could decimate Phillip in a second. That much you were certain of, no matter how competent of a knight Phillip might be. 

You finally willed yourself to move, darting into the cave to see Pytho standing over Phillip, who had his sword positioned right at the dragon’s neck. 

Before you could even think, you shouted, “Don’t hurt him!”

You had no real idea which of them you were talking to but both stopped in their tracks, heads spinning towards you. 

For one moment you were terrified one would take advantage of the distraction to harm the other and then their blood would be on your hands. Before the worry had time to settle, Pytho swung his tail around, hitting Phillip over the head with it. 

He instantly collapsed to the ground, going limp. 

You rummaged around in the saddlebag as Pytho stared at you. When you finally found rope you raised it triumphantly. 

Pytho’s gaze followed it up. “What is that?” he asked as you rushed towards the knight. 

“It’s rope,” you informed him as you tried and failed to drag him across the floor. As soon as Pytho realized what you were doing, he swept him effortlessly into the corner for you. 

You bound his hands behind his back, tethering him to some heavy golden chair that would at least slow any escape he tried to make. 

“You’re back,” Pytho said behind you, his voice airy and incredulous and so very grateful. 

You turned from binding the knight with a big smile. “I am. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to make it back but this guy led me right here,” he said, nudging at him with your foot. 

He didn’t seem to hear any of it. “I can’t believe you’re back.” His eyes were wide, refusing to leave you. 

You nodded, grabbing Phillip’s abandoned sword and throwing it right off the mountain, listening to the clanging noises as it bounced all the way down. You glanced nervously at Phillip as you returned, leading his horse over by the sheep. “I am. This is so rude but can you please go for a couple minutes? If you’re still here when he wakes I’m afraid he might perish from fright.”

He nodded. “If that’s what you want. I will be back.” 

He bumped his head lightly into you before heading out, flying off somewhere. 

And not a moment too soon. 

The knight stirred from his slumber. The only way you could tell was by how his helm slowly moved up, rising to meet your gaze. 

The second he did he tried to move before realizing he was bound. “Why?” he asked you. “I don’t understand, you… Was this all a trap?” His voice cracked and he sounded genuinely hurt by the betrayal. 

You felt a pang of sympathy in your chest as he struggled against his bindings. Quiet fearful noises escaped him as he glanced between you and Pytho’s horde.

You shushed him, your hands up in a quiet surrender. “We’re not going to hurt you. You’ll be just fine.”

“We? You’re in cahoots with this monster?”

You bristled at the harsh langue but did your best to be forgiving to the frightened man. 

“He’s not a monster. He helped me. Why are you even here? He hasn’t hurt anyone.”

“That’s not what I heard. From what I’ve heard he’s been snatching up women.”

You groaned, rubbing at your temples. As you did, the knight leaned forward as much as he could and even through the stoic armour, you could tell exactly when he realized. 

“No. But… but you….”

“I just wanted to help my people. I don’t know why every creature within a thousand miles is trying to stop me.”

“If he took you, how did you escape?”

“I didn’t. I asked him to let me go, to be able to make my own choices, and he did. Because he respects me and didn’t kidnap me on the back of a horse!” You tactfully decided to omit the original kidnapping. At least for now. You had a feeling it wouldn’t help your case. 

“Please, it’s a dragon, it…”

“He! He’s a dragon! And at least he’s allowed me to make decisions.”

He reeled back. “I… you were going to get yourself killed. I couldn’t just let you get yourself killed. It isn’t right.”

“And it’s not your choice to make.”

He hung his head, helmet clanging against his chest plate. 

Pytho chose then to return, his tail swishing happily as he walked. He rubbed up against your side, letting out a happy rumble as he did. 

“So they let you go?” Pytho asked, ignoring the man on the floor. 

“Not exactly. They were going to kill me. They wanted to make an example of me.” You couldn’t help but smile. “I can’t imagine that the example they wanted to set was getting rescued by a knight but I suppose that’s the hand they were dealt. 

Pytho turned his gaze to Phillip. “You saved her?”

He nodded hesitantly. 

Another pleased noise escaped Pytho. “He’s a good one. I’m glad you didn’t let me kill him.”

“About that,” you said and you watched Phillip freeze up, all of his limbs locking. You glanced at him, adding, “I said we weren’t going to hurt you, calm down. I was just going to say, Pytho, you should let him go.”

The dragon tilted his head. “Why? I like him, he’s shiny.”

You suppressed a laugh. “He’s not shiny, his armour is. It’s like clothing.”

“Oh. Why do you creatures insist on that stuff? Seems awfully restrictive.”

Phillip cut into your conversation, saying, “I can’t leave.”

You looked over at him, a wave of irritation rushing through you. “Why not?”

“I can’t leave you here with this beast.”

You had half a mind to throw something at him. “Get this through your head, I don’t need you to save me.”

“It wouldn’t be right,” he continued, undeterred. 

“Fine. But I’m not untying you and risking you hurting him.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Pytho’s head swiveled between the two of you as you bickered. As the argument finally finished, he asked in a hushed tone, although still lough enough that Phillip could hear, “Does that mean we get to keep him.”

You snorted. “Guess so. It’s your lucky day.”

“It really is,” he said, voice as genuine as it could be. 

The sunlight was fast fading and you knew how cold it could get in here. You had no intention of sleeping alone but you glanced at your mostly willing captive. 

“Pytho?” you called out. 

He turned to you immediately. “Yes? Do you need something?”

“Could you go get some wood?”

“Of course I can,” he said, already speeding off. 

When he returned, he had a whole tree in his mouth and another in his talons, dirt still clinging to their roots. 

You bent over laughing as he dropped them both in front of you, tail swishing behind him. They’d barely fit through the mouth of the cave, filling up a significant amount of the room and knocking over at least one pile of gold in the meantime. 

You got to work snapping off some of the more reasonably sized branches, having Pytho move the trees back outside as you finished. 

You set them up a few feet away from Phillip, far enough away that he’d be safe but could still feel the warmth. 

“You can breathe fire right?” you called back to Pytho. It would be unfortunate if he couldn’t because you did not have the proper tools to start one here. 

He nodded, visibly eager. “Do you need one?”

“Just on the sticks here. Make sure not to burn anyone,” you said, nearing Phillip to ensure that he didn’t forget there was a person inside of the shiny armour and cook him. 

With a quick and surprisingly controlled burst of flame, the pile of sticks turned into a quaint little fire. 

You gave Phillip a pat on the shoulder as you headed over to Pytho. “Goodnight. Have fun sleeping in full armour.”

He didn’t respond. 

You left the fire behind to go curl up with Pytho. No fire could compare to his warm scales, of that you were certain. 

A happy rumble escaped him and ran through you as you leaned against him. 

He spoke in hushed tones, face right in front of yours as his tail curled around you. “I can’t believe you came back.”

“I shouldn’t have,” you said, giving him a quick kiss on his snout. “But I think I realized I didn’t really want to be anywhere else.”

His head leaned into your touch immediately, a wistful look in his eyes. 

“I wish I could do that.”

“What, kiss me?” you asked with a laugh. “Well, how do dragons kiss?”

Without another word he licked a long stripe up the side of your face, leaving a sticky residue behind. 

You giggled as you felt his spit on your cheek. “Well, my way is definitely less messy.”

He let out a noise that sounded almost like a purr, resting his head in your lap. “I like it your way.”

You hummed quietly and you wished he could feel it reverberating through his body the way you did for him. You curled happily into warm scales, surrounded by an overwhelming sense of safety, and fell asleep in your new home. 

The next morning, you realized you had no idea how to tell if Phillip was awake or not. He could have escaped and left only his empty armour behind and it would be impossible to tell. 

What you did know was that he hadn’t eaten. 

Pytho still had some slightly stale bread from your last stay here and you’d brought in all of Phillip’s supplies. You grabbed some dried meat and the freshest of the bread that you could find, heading over to him. 

“Good morning,” you said, hoping he could hear you.

He shifted, just barely, to turn to you. It seemed like the most positive reaction you could hope for. 

“Okay, you need to eat. Here, just let me.” You went to lift his helm but paused as he flinched away from your hand. 

“Please don’t.” His voice was low and shaky. 

You backed off, keeping your hands up and away from him. “Okay,” you said, “But you do need to eat.” 

There wasn’t any other way to do it. You reached behind him, pressed close to him as you untied his hands. As you struggled with the knots, you felt his breath hitch in his chest. 

After a few moments, you pulled away from the newly freed knight, rope in hand. “Tada.”

He froze once more, something you were getting used to, and just stared down at the rope for a minute, flexing his hands by his sides. 

With no warning, he grabbed the food you’d gathered for him and stood on shaky legs, giving you a small nod before he headed out toward the mouth of the cave. It was near where the animals were being kept, tied up to some golden pillar near the front. If he wanted to, he could leave here and now.

You waited patiently for him, avoiding looking in his direction, even if you were sure he’d gone far enough that you wouldn’t be able to see him. 

He quickly returned, fast enough that he must have scarfed down his food.

He presented his hands to you and it took a second to realize he was waiting to be tied up again.

You scoffed, looking at him dubiously. “Is that really necessary?” It seemed silly to tie him up again after that.

His hands stayed out and you rolled your eyes as you grabbed the rope. 

You tied them in front of him this time, taking much less care with the knots as you did. 

“Where are you a knight of?” you asked as you pulled the knot taut. “I see no insignias anywhere on you. That doesn’t seem normal.”

“My kingdom is long gone, m’lady.”

“Still so respectful, even after everything I’ve put you through. Well, sir knight, how can you be a knight with no kingdom to serve?”

His head cocked to the side as if baffled by the question. “I know nothing else.”

You paused a moment before asking. “How long have you been doing this?”

He remained ever impossible to read, although that never stopped you from trying. After a long, stoic pause, he simply shrugged and said, “I’ve lost track of the years.”

“And so what? No kingdom to speak of, you just keep fighting?”

“I do what I’ve always done.” Like it was as simple as that. 

“Don’t you get tired?”

“I never have the time.”

“Well, sir knight, I think you were just about due for some rest anyways.”

He didn’t respond, the helmet following you as you left him.

He was so stoic. You weren’t sure how it was easier to get a read on a dragon than a man but somehow he’d managed it. 

Anything other than silent staring began to feel out of place. 

“M’lady,” Phillip called out. You turned, confused. It wasn’t like him to start a conversation. 

“Yeah?”

“Where is my sword?” he asked. 

You’d forgotten he was unconscious for that. “Oh. I threw it off the mountain.”

“You what? Why?”

Pytho chimed in immediately. “I can get it.”

You shifted between him and the entrance to the cave as quickly as you could. “No, you will not.”

“Why?” asked Phillip.

“What do you mean why? You tried to kill him.”

“I won’t attack him unprovoked.”

“You already did attack him unprovoked.”

“I didn’t have all the information. For that, I am truly sorry, sir.”

Pytho’s chest puffed up at the title. “You are forgiven. And I am sorry that I almost destroyed you.”

That caused Phillip to reel back a little. “You did not. I can best a dragon easily, I almost slit your throat.”

Pytho huffed and you smelled a bit of smoke on his breath. “You did not.”

“Okay,” you said, cutting in. “You’re both very dangerous. I’d still love it if we could keep the sword where it is.”

Phillip nodded. “I understand your hesitancy.”

He said it tied up on the floor. Despite not having a weapon, despite his promise not to try and hurt Pytho, despite the fact that you'd already untied him so he could eat. 

“This is stupid,” you said, pacing up to him and immediately setting to work on the knots and ignoring his quiet noises in protest. 

It didn’t take long to undo them, you’d put barely any effort into tying them in the first place. 

“We have to free you so you can eat anyway, I don’t understand your obsession with this little performance.”

Phillip froze, still holding his hands together despite the lack of rope. 

“What should I do?” he asked you quietly. 

You threw the rope to the side. “That’s up to you.”

It took him hours before he was even willing to stand from his spot on the floor. 

His movements were all colored by hesitation. You understood. The freedom made staying a choice. And even when he managed to stand, to move from his corner, he stayed.

He stuck to his corner as often as he could, but nonetheless, he stayed. Watching him sleep alone in the cold, you were certain that this was how Pytho had felt every night when you froze your ass off far away from him. 

You both lit the fire for him every night. Pytho has started running off to get wood without you even asking, even if the trees that remained outside left you with enough wood to last years. 

His armour got lighter as time passed, forgoing pieces from time to time. No matter what, the helmet stayed. It felt like a part of him, like you could imagine there possibly being a man under there. 

He was adjusting to the newfound freedom about as well as you’d expected. 

With every small sign of growing comfort, something else went wrong. 

A few days after his freeing, while Pytho was out gathering more food for the two of you to eat, you heard him muttering in the corner. 

You drifted closer and he paid you no mind. You couldn’t make out any words but you could tell it was frantic.

“Phillip,” you said softly, doing your best not to startle him. “Are you alright?”

You had no idea if you’d frightened him, he remained entirely unreadable. All except for his hands. He had foregone his gloves and much of the armour on his arms and you watched as he nervously fidgeted, threatening his fingers together, cracking his knuckles absentmindedly, his hands never staying still for more than a moment. 

“I’m wasting time here,” he said. “I have things to do. I have a duty to this land.” 

You knew it was near impossible to get through to him but you couldn’t help the urge to try. “It’s a waste to rest?”

“It is. I need to go, need to continue on.”

You sat beside him, as close as you could get without touching. “You should take me back home on your way. I’ve got a duty too, you know.” 

His head fell back. Metal against stone sent a clanging noise echoing across the walls. “That’s different. You were brainwashed.”

“I wasn’t. The monsters are real you know. I’ve seen them. We all do, every year. I really would have been saving them. Whatever girl they chose instead of me really did save them. Maybe you don’t think it’s right. That’s fine. It’s an important duty nonetheless.”

“It’s not the same. I’m not being marched to my death.”

“People will still need saving in a week, in a year, in a century. There’s no real, final end to it. There has to be ends to it for you. Little ones. There just has to be.”

His head was turned towards you and you squirmed, feeling like you were being studied. 

Finally, he said, “It upsets you.”

“What?”

“That I never stop. That upsets you?”

You nodded. “It does.”

“I can stand tiny ends to it. To ease your mind.”

A sad laugh escaped you. “I’d rather you did it for you.”

“That’s the best I can do right now. You’re the same, aren’t you?”

And you supposed you were. “I can’t go back. I can’t do that to him. Or to you, I guess.”

A small laugh escaped him, a noise you weren’t sure you’d ever heard from him before. “You guess. I’ll take it.” 

Pytho returned, entering the cave a little too quickly and knocking one of his piles of treasure over. He dropped a cart in front of you, this one with boxes of pastries covering it. 

“The humans seemed to love this one,” he said with his disarming, open-mouthed grin. 

“Who are you taking those from?” Phillip asked incredulously, and you were almost certain you could hear a smile in his voice. 

You grabbed something that looked chocolatey and when you felt that it was still warm you almost sobbed. “I don’t care who he’s taking it from,” you said, taking a massive bite of it. “This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”

You scarfed down three pastries, offering a small piece to Pytho, just so he could taste it. He spat it back out, questioning how you could ever eat something like that. 

And then you remembered your stoic knight, still sitting beside you, just watching you eat, and a sense of guilt overtook you. 

“I’m sorry,” you said and he perked up as you addressed him. “You know, I could turn around or we could close our eyes. We wouldn’t have to see anything. So we could eat together.”

You didn’t wait for an answer, didn’t wait for him to politely refuse, instead turning around and signaling for Pytho to do the same. You shut your eyes, just for good measure, as you leaned against the dragon. 

The quiet thud of the helmet being set on the floor made your heart swell. 

As you took another bite of a pastry, this one filled with a beautiful lemon cream, he slid his hand into your open one and ate behind you, slower than he’d ever eaten before. 

Even if it was for you, you hoped he enjoyed it. 

And still, no matter how much progress you made, every night he still slept in that goddamn corner. 

You were glad Pytho curled up around you at night because then at least you couldn't see him, sad and alone next to his fire, away from the two of you. 

You knew Pytho could tell it bothered you. He always did his best to distract you, pull all of your attention to him. He’d gotten pretty good at it. 

He was nuzzling into your side, pulling giggles from you as he gave you a big, slobbery kiss on your face. 

“What are dragon kisses for?” you asked. 

“What?”

“I’m just curious. Humans kiss their kids, their partners, their parents, all sorts of people they love. Dragon kisses don’t feel like something you can do as casually as a kiss on the cheek.”

Pytho perked up immediately. “You love me?”

You pressed a kiss into his cheek. “Of course I do.”

He purred at you as he answered your question. “Well, dragon kisses are just for mates. We aren’t an overly affectionate species.”

“Could’ve fooled me. You know, maybe you can’t kiss like a human but I could kiss like a dragon.”

He tilted his head and you decided to take the gesture as a challenge. 

You opened your mouth and licked a broad stripe up the side of his face. His scales tasted ashy and were incredibly smooth against your tongue. 

A wave of heat passed through him as you did, a deep guttural sound escaping him. 

You pulled back, trying to get a better look at him. 

“What was that?” you asked quietly. 

He ducked his head down in a poor attempt to hide from you. “Nothing. It was nothing.”

Something clicked in your head. “Hold on. You said dragons only kiss their mates.”

He nodded hesitantly. 

“You kiss me all the time though.”

He whined again, his tail moving away from you and curling in front of him. “I’m sorry. I know it’s strange, I know you’re human, I can't help it. You're so soft and nice and I love you so much…”

As his words got more frantic you kissed his snout again, shushing him. “You should’ve told me. If I’d known my big, strong dragon wanted me maybe I could’ve done something about it sooner.”

You practically watched his eyes glaze over, head tucking into your chest as he purred more. 

You gave him all the kisses you could, peppering them along his head wherever you could reach. After about a dozen, you decided to try another dragon one, licking along his jaw. 

You were flipped and pinned under him in a second, looking up at a ravenous face. His wings were folded over the two of you, blocking you from the outside world. In here, it was just the two of you. 

You couldn’t be happier. 

“Please, let me see you,” he hissed and you struggled to get your clothes off as quickly as you could. You kicked your pants off and they got caught on your ankles, spurring on a minor giggling fit, feeling absolutely giddy. 

And he just watched, perfectly content to stare down at you as you waged a minor battle against your clothes, desperate to get your bare skin against his. 

As you lay below him, finally fully naked, you didn’t feel shy or self-conscious. It felt right, the two of you, like this. 

“I will never understand clothes,” he informed you. “Why would you ever cover this up?”

His head shifted around, looking at every part of you he’d never gotten to see before. 

As his head moved downwards, you could tell exactly when he noticed how wet you were. He stopped moving entirely, nostrils flaring and eyes locked on you. 

He nosed at you and you opened your legs for him, spreading them as wide as they could go. 

His tongue snaked out instantly, licking a hot stripe through your folds. Whatever he found there seemed to interest him because the next thing you knew his thick tongue was snaking deep inside of you, your walls stretching around him. 

You let out a strangled cry, fighting to not snap your legs closed at how overwhelming the sensation was. 

His content vibrations ran through you, causing a spark of pleasure to run up your spine. 

His tongue found a spot deep inside of you that’d didn’t quite feel like the rest, rubbing against it experimentally and you slapped your hand over your mouth, trying not to scream. 

It was too much. You’d never felt anything like this before. 

His jaw was cracked open over your stomach, his impossibly long tongue reaching as far into you as it could go. 

His tongue slowly withdrew from you and you didn’t know whether to beg for him to keep going or take your reprieve from the overwhelming sensation while you could. 

You noticed his hips shifting and glanced down. Your heart skipped a beat. 

He was massive, probably a foot long. 

“That’s not going to fit,” you whispered.

The dragon shook his head. “No, I would never try. You’re too small, it would break you. I wouldn’t hurt you.”

“What about you?” you asked, feeling bad you couldn’t reciprocate. 

“I have everything I need,” he said, nuzzling into your chest once more. “But if you want someone your size, we could always ask for help.”

Your face heated as you realized what he was implying. To be honest, you’d entirely forgotten Phillip was there, too caught up in what you were doing. Oh god, he’d probably heard everything. 

Pytho lifted his wings as you looked at Phillip, who had turned to face the wall. 

“I am so sorry,” you called out, embarrassment washing over you. 

He turned to you slowly and you prepared to get yelled at. 

Instead, his voice came out breathy and strained. “Do you want me to help?”

Your heart skipped a beat as you stared back at him. “I do. 

He moved towards the pair of you. “I live to serve”

You wanted to kiss him. You wanted so badly to kiss him and you just couldn’t.

So instead you made do, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards you. He fell next to you, both of you leaning against Pytho. 

He froze a little as your hands neared his helmet and you whispered, “Trust me.”

He untensed, although you could sense his anxiety. 

You grasped the side of his helmet slowly, tilting it gently to the side to reveal a sliver of his neck. You moved towards it, taking all the self-control you had to go slowly. 

He shivered as you neared him, your breath ghosting over his skin. 

You started gently, pressing soft kisses into his skin. 

Before long you wanted more, nipping at his neck and sucking marks into it as he let out little whines. You could feel his throat move as he swallowed, could feel his muscles tense as you moved.

Eventually, he pulled you away from him and you looked up at him, wide-eyed.

“Um…” he said, his voice shaky and high. “If you do want me to… to help. You need to stop doing that. 

You smiled, resting your forehead on his helm. “If you insist.”

The way you’d pulled at his clothes, shifting his shirt out of the way, meant you could see as he gulped. 

His hand hovered inches over your hip, as if afraid to touch you. You covered it with your own, pressing it onto bare skin. 

You didn’t mind his staring so much now. You could feel the waves of awe coming off of him as his hands gently slid up and down your sides. 

You hooked your fingers into the front of his pants and pulled him closer to you. 

“Please,” you asked. 

He didn’t bother taking his pants off, instead pulling them down just enough to get his dick out, already painfully hard. 

Pytho’s tongue had more than prepared you and Phillip seemed like if someone breathed on him wrong he might come so you wasted no time, pulling him over to you. 

Pytho sat there, watching as Phillip pushed inside of you. He was painfully slow, groaning with every inch. 

Your walls fluttered as his hand pressed tentatively down on your clit and he had to stop entirely, breathing slowly. 

“Do you know how hard it was,” he gasped out as he buried himself fully inside of you, unmoving. “Hearing all that and not touching myself. It felt like torture. 

You could feel Pytho shifting behind you, molding himself against your back as you saw his hips twitch, grinding against nothing. 

You opened your mouth to speak when your words were cut off with a sharp thrust. 

Phillip gripped your hips so hard you were worried it might bruise in the morning. You couldn’t bring yourself to care. 

He slowly found his rhythm, desperately trying to pull you impossibly closer as he thrusted inside of you.

You felt something hard against your back, moving as Phillip slammed inside of you again. And then, as if sharing one mind, you felt a sticky substance coat your back just as Phillip gave you one final, hard thrust, groaning as he came inside of you. 

As soon as Phillip pulled out, Pytho rushed to snake his tongue back inside of you. It was so dexterous, pressing up perfectly inside of you as he tasted both you and Phillip. 

Phillips fingers intertwined with yours as your back arched and you felt waves of pleasure run through you. Pytho seemed intent on working you through it, his tongue moving steadily until you could take it anymore. 

You pushed at his head and he lifted it, mouth slick and eyes looking just as dazed as you felt. 

You were all gross and sticky and you’d never been happier in your life. 

Phillip snorted. “I was supposed to kill you.”

“Plans change,” you said. 

“You never could have killed me,” Pytho declared and you couldn’t help but smile as their argument began again. 

You woke up in a tangle of limbs. Your head was tucked into Phillip's chest, his arms wrapped around you with just the tip of Pytho’s tail betwixt you. You were both entirely surrounded by him, curled up protectively around you. 

Pytho had to take both of you down to the nearest lake to get clean the next morning. He sat patiently at the edge of the pond as both of you washed off the mess from the night before. 

Phillip helped you clean, scrubbing your back and running his fingers gently through your hair as you both stood in the waist-deep water. 

You’d had the good sense to remove your clothes but Phillip had to clean his along with himself, standing in the water in his pants, shirt, and that helmet. 

It seemed a little silly but you wouldn’t bother him over it. It would come in due time. Or maybe it wouldn’t and honestly, you didn’t think you would mind. 

Pytho was content watching the two of you, occasionally shifting his tail to splash water at you, a favor you returned to him readily. 

As the cleaning finished and the three of you sat on the shore, drying off, Phillip braided your hair as you both leaned against your warm dragon. 

You were curious where he’d learned it but scared to ask, to remind him of anything other than this perfect moment. 

He did not seem to understand how precious and fragile this moment was, breaking the silence by saying, “I can’t stay here,” and shattering everything. 

You looked at him with panicked eyes and Pytho hid his head under his wing. 

“What?”

His next words came slower, more gently. “I think we’ve made a little home here. I do. But I can’t just stay.”

You nodded. You understood. “Neither can I. You’re going off adventuring again, right?”

He nodded and you immediately added, before you could lose your nerve. “I want to come.”

“It’s going to be dangerous,” he said, his voice not commanding but instead cautious and worried. 

“Please. I need to do something, to help someone. I feel like I’ve got a debt on my back. I can’t let it hang over me like this forever.”

He went to protest but you stopped him. “I don’t care what you think, I can’t live with it. Please.”

He nodded. “First, we’re going to need to find my sword.”

You gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m sure it won’t be too hard.”

“And we can’t come back every night,” he continued. “You’re going to have to spend days on the road. You sure that’s what you want?”

You rolled your eyes. “I think I can manage for a few days.”

Pytho lifted his head from where he was hiding it. “Come back? You said you can’t stay?”

It took a second to understand what he could possibly be asking. The idea of leaving him forever was so inconceivable to you that you hadn’t realized what this must have looked like. 

You rushed over to him, kissing his forehead. “No, I’m not leaving you. Neither of us are. We just…I just can’t stay in a cave for the rest of my life.”

“People will still need helping,” Phillip chimed in, standing behind you. “I won’t ever stop doing this. It’s what I was made to do. But it's been too long. I think it was about time I found a home to come back to.”

You smiled at him as you leaned into your dragon’s side. “I think it was.”

[an-established-butt-dent]

Dragon age: the Veilguard

What I imagine the cover of a comic about the Dreadwolf looks like.

[sir-adamus]

honestly Kingdom Hearts presents itself in such a colourful way and distracts with all the Disney worlds, that it can be easy to forget that the lore of the setting is that there was once a conflict so devastating and bloody (fought mainly by child soldiers) that it shattered the world of light into pieces and the various worlds as they are formed in the aftermath, separate lights drifting, never to touch again

the present of the setting is a post-post-apocalyptic universe and the only remnants of the world before is the graveyard of fallen weapons at the epicenter of the conflict and the city founded by the sole survivor, built on the ruins of his original home

[bet-on-me-13]

What if I'm the Monster?

(Based on Monster from Epic the Musical, it's incredible, give it a listen)

So! For the past few years, Danny has done nothing but defend Amity Park from Agressive Ghosts, Lunatic Ghost Hunters, and the GIW, all on his own. But no matter what he does, he is always seen as a Monster by the people of the town, just for being a Ghost.

Over the years he has lost a lot.

His Best Friend. His Mentor. His Mom.

Tucker was caught by the GIW and arrested for helping Phantom, and was never heard from again. His Parents still visit the Mayor's office for any word of him, but no one has any idea what happened.

Danny and Clockwork had a falling out after Danny refused to go down his intended path. He wanted to live his own life, one not predetermined by a Time God. Clockwork had told him that he would regret the decision, and left.

And his Mom had died after discovering his secret. She had surprisingly accepted him, but then the GIW had tried to capture him and she decided to defend him, and she got caught in the crossfire.

Every time Danny tried defending the people of Amity Park, he was vilified and hated even more. He would never be a Hero in their eyes, he was no Justice League. He had lost so much just defending them, but he couldn't bring himself to resent them, they didn't know what they were doing, it was how they were supposed to think. He still needed to defend them.

But he could no longer do so acting as the Hero.

Being a Hero stopped him from raiding the base that he assumed Tucker was being held in. Being a Hero led him to disagreeing with Clockworks advice. Being a Hero led to his Mom's death.

So he would be The Monster, instead.

[greyskyflowers]

Zoro being just a little desperate for soft affection because people don't touch him gently. He's not something people handle with care or touch with careful intentions.

He's a swordsman

The first mate of the future pirate king and a god

A strawhat pirate

He doesn't mind it, because you can't miss something you don't really know, but sometimes he gets hints of it. Like Chopper taking care of his injuries or Robin's hands brushing against him as she hands him something. The others don't touch gently. They're pirates, liars, thieves and fighters.

It's hard to be gentle on the sea.

Luffy's too strong for his own good

Sanji's alway eager to pick a fight

Nami's not very familiar with gentleness herself

Usopp's too unsure

Franky doesn't trust himself

Brook doesn't think he's capable of it anymore

Zoro deserves gentle sometimes though, when he's more white bandages than tan skin or when he smells like blood rather than salt.

Sometimes he looks very breakable for how unbreakable he is.

There are times he looks soft, only with them.

When he lets himself wake up slowly, silver eye still cloudy with sleep and everything about him sleep ruffled and soft.

Or when he speaks with Chopper, letting his body loosen from a stricter hold and creating a welcoming atmosphere that always has Chopper climbing into his lap or dancing happily.

Always when he takes care of his swords, each movement done without too much thought after years of repetition. A critical eye looking them over before moving to the next, handled with a care that looks like it should be unnatural to a man like Zoro.

He goes sweet for them.

Looking as surprised as they do when he surges towards the gentle affection like he can't stop himself.

💙

Luffy throwing his arm around Zoro's shoulders, and touching, thoughtless and confident because he knows Zoro won't pull away. His fingers playing with earrings, petting at soft hair and brushing against skin.

Zoro can't help the little, protesting noise that slips out when it stops.

Luffy looks at him with a blank expression and observing eyes, the face he wears when he's serious about something. He returns his hand to the side of Zoro's neck and it's so careful, fingers caressing against his neck in little brushes and it has him melting.

Luffy's incredibly pleased because Zoro is such a warm, happy weight against his side, all loose limbed and practically purring.

He looks vulnerable and sleepy in a way that has a bubble of something growing in Luffy's chest. It threatens to choke him, his throat tight with it and his heart beating weird. He just keeps petting with confident but gentle touches.

Zoro buries his face in his shoulder and it knocks the wind out of his lungs. He wants to move, energy popping under his skin in happiness but he stays still. The arms he wraps around Zoro to drag him closer, half on his lap and still not close enough, are gentle.

💙

Sanji trying to figure out the best way to get Zoro back to the crew after a battle. Hovering because everywhere looks bruised and bloody, seriously it's like he tries to get cut up during his fights.

Finally getting him up enough that he can climb on Sanji's back and they'll try that way.

Zoro's lighter than he looks, they all know that but it's always a little surprising. He's quick on his feet, has used half the crew as spring boards for a push off in fights and he definitely wouldn't be able to do that so easily if he weighed what he looks.

He's a warm weight against Sanji's back and the cook can feel his thighs from where he's got his hands placed for support, they have a healthy layer of fat covering the muscle.

He's embarrassed by the pleased feeling he gets from that. The idea that Zoro is healthy and taken care of because of him is powerful. He's very proud of how the crew looks healthy and strong, nothing about them that suggests hunger or poor nutrition.

He brushes his thumb back and forth in a gentle way, briefly wishing he felt skin instead of fabric, before very quickly shoving that thought into a little box and placing it all the way to the back of his mind.

Zoro relaxes into him, body pressing heavier as he stops tensing up and his chin digging into Sanji's shoulder. He looks exhausted but his breathing has calmed and he almost looks like he could fall asleep.

Sanji just tugs him more securely against his back, desperately ignoring the way Zoro's legs tightens around his waist at the movement and how his chest pressing against Sanji's back has his nose itching. Zoro relaxes again and Sanji goes back to rubbing his thumbs back and forth, gentle and comforting.

💙

100% based on the ideas that:

Luffy just casually touches, hugs, climbs on, etc the crew whenever he wants because they're his.

Sanji is very proud that the crew looks healthy and strong, knowing it's because he's the one making their food.

Zoro being a strange type of touch starved that has him unconsciously giving off cat vibes of please pet me and I'm sorry if I get overwhelmed and bite.

[howlonomy]

Yes hello, Really enjoying the Monster Clover AU stuff so far but now a question burns in my noggin... What were Ceroba's and Martlet's first impressions/responses/reactions to when they saw Clovers new look?

[ martlet ] - [ starlo ] - [ ceroba ]

for prosperity’s sake this takes place;

-3 years after clover died

-6 months after the barrier was broken/the amalgamates were returned to their families

-a couple days after clover was revived

-kanako and clover are about 12-13!

[rocketbirdie]

the mh x ffvii ever crisis collab was cool and all but i can't help but feel like they could have picked some more. um. iconic outfits

[dizzy-miss-lizzieeeeee]

OF MONSTERS AND PRINCESSES - CHAPTER 4

Zelda continues her research into the Chuchus and discovers another creature worth studying. Meanwhile, Link adjusts to his new life as a knight, which includes being Zelda’s assistant. This includes him being attacked by monsters more than him attacking them.

You can read on AO3 here

Chapter 4: The Keese

As they were getting closer to the gates of the castle stables, Link and Zelda recognized the figure of a woman, standing there with her arms crossed and a tiny lizalfos standing behind her, looking at them as if he had just been scolded.

“Oh, goddesses.” Zelda said as she hopped out of her horse. “Hi, Impa.”

Impa walked towards them, a frown on her face that made Link shiver, as Hugo ran towards Zelda and climbed into her arms. Link swore he could see a frown on the tiny creature too. 

“Where have you been? And why are you so dirty?” Impa asked them as they walked inside the castle. “Your father has been looking for you the whole day. He was about to send a patrol after you!”

“Impa, it was amazing!” Zelda said as she hugged Hugo tightly and walked by Impa’s side. “You wouldn’t believe what we discovered!”

“Well, I’m excited to hear it.”

Link froze when he heard the King’s deep voice behind them. He was being followed by two Royal Guards, taller than him and as stoic as the King himself. Impa kneeled and Link did the same, gazing at the floor as he tried to control his heartbeat. He never thought, not in a million years, that he was going to one day be in front of the King of Hyrule with his face covered with flower paste.

“Father!” Zelda said half scared, half surprised, as she tried to comb her messy hair with her fingers. “How’s your day going?”

King Rhoam walked towards his daughter and scanned her from head to toe. Link could tell by the King’s breathing that he wasn’t amused at the state the princess was in. Twigs in her hair, mud on her face, peasant clothes as if she was ashamed of her royal status. No wonder Link was so scared. The princess was a disaster.

“My day?” Rhoam asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “ Well, my daughter escaped earlier this morning with an unknown young man for several hours, and when she came back, she looked like she was in a mud fight. But forget about me, how’s your day going, dear?”

Link would have laughed if he wasn’t the young man the King was talking about.

Zelda sighed. “Father, I can explain-”

“Not you, him.”

Link raised his head to discover the king was pointing at him with his finger. He stood and dusted himself up. Then he made a bow to the King.

“What’s your name, boy?” Rhoam asked, a frown on his face.

“M-My name is Link, Link of Necluda, Your Majesty.” Link answered, his voice shaking a little.

“Necluda? You’re far away from home.” The King acknowledged, and Link couldn’t help but agree with him. “What brought you to the palace?” 

Link looked at Zelda, who was looking at him with pleading eyes, then back to the King.

“Her Highness hired me, Sir.” He said, feeling a lump in his throat. “I was told Princess Zelda needed my services as bodyguard for her research.”

King Rhoam’s frown deepened and Zelda had a face that looked like she was going to strangle Link. 

“Father, if you just let me explain-”

“I said not you!” Rhoam roared, and looked back at Link. “What research?”

Link took a deep breath. “I… I don’t understand much about it, Sir, but I think it has something to do with medicine.”

Zelda looked at him, surprised.

“Medicine?” Rhoam asked, confused.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Link said, hands on his back so the King wouldn’t see them shaking. “She tried to explain to me about the benefits of mixing some flowers together to create a skin cream, but I’m not a scholar so I couldn’t understand much, I was there just to help her.” 

Zelda’s mouth was open, but there was a smug look in her eyes. 

“And what were the results?” This time, Rhoam looked at Zelda, his anger faded away.

Zelda cleared her throat. “Well, Father, I believe that we can create creams and ointments more powerful than elixirs, without using monster parts. This was my first try. I only managed to create this paste. There’s no effect yet, but it has a nice smell.”

Zelda took the paste she created out of her bag and handed it to her Father. He looked and smelled it. 

“That’s the reason why Her Highness’ face and mine are covered with the paste.” Link pointed out. “She wanted to put her theory to the test.”

“What’s wrong with the elixirs?” Rhoam asked.

“While they’re powerful enough to give us strength, stamina and resistance to weather, the taste is not delightful. And when you try to add flavors, it only weakens them.” Zelda explained, more confident than before. “Besides, we will need a substitute for their parts in our elixirs when you succeed with your raids.”

Hugo hissed at the mention of the raids, making Rhoam look at the four of them, stopping a few seconds on each of them. Link felt he was going to throw up any second now. Being in such a position, he might ask for a raise in his wage. 

“What about your monster research?” Rhoam asked her with a scoff.

“If I may, Your Majesty,” Impa said, standing up. “Princess Zelda handed me her research personally. While it wasn’t conclusive, it gave me and my best Sheikah Warriors an idea of weak spots and their dens. I was going to ask your favor to put them to work in Kakariko and start experimental raids there.”

The King stopped with Zelda, a softened look in his eyes. “Why didn't you tell me about your new research, darling? I was worried about you.”

Zelda looked down, and for a moment, Link thought she was going to confess. “I’m sorry Father, I was going to tell you, but I wanted to have conclusive evidence first. I didn’t want to come empty handed again.”

Rhoam gave her a hug and a kiss on her forehead, not caring that his daughter was  covered with the dry paste. 

“As long as you’re safe.” Then, he turned to Link, a big laugh coming out of his lungs. “Well, boy. Seems like you’re my daughter’s new guinea pig!”

Link didn’t find it amusing, but he faked a laugh.

“I’ll allow these investigations, but I want detailed reports, is that alright?” The King pointed at Zelda, only to turn to Impa. “We can discuss the raids tomorrow. For now I want to have a delicious meal with my daughter.”

“I’ll be there soon, Father.” Zelda said with a smile. “First, I want to clean up and feed Hugo.”

The King nodded and left, followed by his guards. It was like the three of them were holding their breath because, the moment the King was out of reach, they let out a long sigh. Even Hugo looked relieved.

“I owe you one, guys.” Zelda said, as she patted Hugo’s head.

“You owe me twenty,” Impa replied, a frown on her face. “You need to keep it together! If it wasn’t for Link, you’d be in a carriage towards Gerudo Town by now.”

Zelda looked at Link, a warm smile on her lips that made his heart beat faster than when he lied to the King. He was sure he would lie to the King again if that meant he was going to see her smile like that just for brief seconds.

“Link, you were amazing!” Zelda said, even when Hugo was hissing at him. Link didn’t mind. “Why did you do it?”

“You trust me, Your Highness.” He said with a shaky voice, he had to clear his throat. “I won't let you down.”

Zelda beamed at that and for a moment, her green emeralds pierced Link’s heart.

“I should be going. Thank you for today, Link. It was the best day of my life.” She said with a smile as she put Hugo back to the floor, and Link watched them walk away. 

Impa scoffed and Link turned around to see her. She was glaring at him, but somehow, she had a smirk on her face.

“Watch it.” She said, before walking the other way, leaving him alone with his thoughts. What the hell was that supposed to mean? 

Damn Sheikah with their riddles, Link thought before heading to the kitchens. He was starving.

The next few days, Link adjusted to his new routine. 

His mornings were spent training with the other knights to prepare for the monster raids. The King would ramble everyday about the Kingdom’s protection and their duty to the Royal Family. For Link, it looked like both father and daughter had an agenda with monsters.

After training, his next activities involved protecting the Princess. He learned more about Central Hyrule as Zelda looked for special environments where she heard about Chuchus. The electric ones were her obsession now that the rainy season had started in the kingdom.

It wasn’t like she needed protection anyway, she was confident enough to pull off some stunts to get as close as she could to the Chuchus without actually getting snapped. It wasn’t the same luck for him, though. 

He hated her fixations. Every day he would get a new burn or bruise while she looked perfect, even with wet grass on her clothes and hair smelling like Chuchu jelly and mud. It took all of his will to not use everything they taught him in training. Every time a Chuchu hit or electrified him, he wanted to take his sword and slash it. Zelda had stopped him once or twice. 

But it looked like Zelda was making progress with the tiny creatures. She realized Chuchus lived underground because of their properties of the land. Water types lived closer to great bodies of water like rivers, lakes and aquifers. Electric Chuchus, on the other hand, were stronger ones that got struck by lightning. Instead of being killed, they gained the power of lightning to protect their homes. 

Or at least that was something Zelda explained to him while he was lying on the floor after being zapped for the fifth time of the day. 

“If we encounter a blue Chuchu in a large field it means that there’s water underground,” Zelda said while she was writing in her journal by his side, ignoring his state. “That could help us in the dry times of the year. Maybe we can build wells or a sewage system that doesn’t affect the wildlife. Imagine all the ways we can improve the kingdom with this knowledge-”

Link didn’t reply to her ramblings. He was more focused in trying to catch his breath and be alert in case of any other Chuchu attack. While he looked up at the cloudy sky, he reflected on his father. He was the only thing he could think of when he was on his journeys with the princess, or when he was lying on his bed at night.

He looked up to the northeast, where Akkala Citadel was supposed to be. He couldn’t see the fortress from there but he was sure that somewhere, maybe in a tower or at the gates, his father was doing his duty. 

Always do what you have to and everything will work out, Link’s father said to him when he got promoted to guard Hateno Village, three years ago. He kept wondering what he would say about his new position.

Eron was the best monster slayer in the kingdom, but his son was helping the Princess to make him jobless.

While Link had accepted the job because he was wonderstruck for the Princess, he wondered if it was still worth it. The money was good, and it was saving him some steps in joining the Royal Guard. 

Before Impa came to him that day, he was just a knight trying to make a name for himself,  like his father had. It would have taken him a few good years before he would ever be considered to move to Castle Town. If he played his cards right and followed the rules, he could achieve his dream. 

But whose rules should he follow when the Princess and the King had different ways to see the world? Just thinking about it was starting to give him a headache. 

“Link? Are you okay?”

He heard Zelda’s voice and opened his eyes. Her face was just mere inches from his and she was looking at him as if he was a weird creature. Maybe he was, after all.

He grunted and sat up on the grass, feeling a bit sore, but otherwise better now that he had rested. 

“Sorry, Princess.” He said while stretching his arms and neck. “Are you done with the Chuchus, Your Highness?”

Zelda had a frown on her face. 

“I think, I’d like to hear your thoughts about going to Mount Hylia,” she said while doodling on her journal, “if my hypotheses are correct, we should be able to see Ice Chuchus and-”

She stopped talking when a raindrop fell on her journal and both looked up at the sky. Gray clouds were over them and within seconds, rain dropped on them. Zelda beamed and Link immediately knew that she was thinking about more Electric Chuchus. 

He wasn’t going to tolerate it.

“Princess, you’ll catch a cold if you stay in the rain again.” He said as he stood up and helped her do the same. “Let’s find shelter.”

He didn’t let her reply when he grabbed her hand and started to run inside the lush forest. That’s when he noticed a cave hidden among the trees.

Bingo.

As they approached, he heard the sound of fluttering wings and a faint chirping. Link instinctively drew his sword, ready to fight off any potential threats, but when they entered the cave, they found that it was filled with angry flying creatures. 

“Keese!” Zelda yelled, and Link didn’t know if she was thrilled or scared.

They bent down on the ground as the Keese swarmed around them, screeching and flapping their wings aggressively. Link swung his sword, trying to fend off the creatures, but they just kept coming.

“It’s a huge flock!” Link said loudly as he held up his shield, trying to protect Zelda from any attack. “Let me get rid of them, it’ll take me two minutes.”

“No!” Zelda said, grabbing him by his shirt. “Don’t hurt them, we just need to leave them alone.”

Link looked out of the cave, the pouring rain covering everything. Then he looked at the Keese. He just needed a few swings of his sword to make them disappear. Keese were quite weak and Zelda would think he was so strong and brave for protecting her from those horrible monsters.

Except she wouldn’t, he knew better than to believe that.

He sighed and grabbed her hand once again, ready to run away from the Keese in the rain. Zelda had a huge smile on her face as they got soaked. He tried to not think about it as he looked for a place that could shelter them from the rain.

They found a big tree that covered them while they waited for the storm to be over. Luckily, they didn’t encounter any Chuchus, Keese or any other creature that could electrify them. Finally the goddesses were on his side.

“We’ll stay here until the rain passes.” Link said, trying to catch his breath.

Zelda nodded, but her eyes were on the cave. 

“It’s the first time I've seen a Keese in my life.” She said in a whisper. “They’re so… Cute and tiny!”

Link groaned at the thought. “Yeah, and they have sharp fangs that can give you rabies!”

“Fangs!” Zelda said as she wrote in her journal. “They are so interesting! Is there a way we can get closer to them? I’d love to see them in action.”

“Action?” Link scoffed. “That means me being bit by the Keese, doesn’t it?”

Zelda giggled. “Come on, Link. It’s for science!”

The rain began to calm down and Link made up his mind. 

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I think we’re done for today.” He said as he looked around, making sure there was no creature nearby. “If Impa notices you’ve been in the rain at this hour, she’ll have my head.”

Zelda tried to fight back, but a sudden shiver made her think about the warm chimney in her bedroom, so she gave up. “Fine, let’s go home.”

Link led the way all the way back to Wetland Stable before she changed her mind and saw something dangerous that piqued her interest. He didn’t say a word to her during the short walk to the stable where their horses were posted, and it didn’t look like the Princess was in a talkative mood either. Maybe she was tired, or disappointed. 

The trip back wasn’t as silent, though. Zelda shared some of her insights, but she also pestered him with questions about the Keese.

“How much do they weigh? Where do they live? How can you tell a male from a female?”

Link didn’t have an answer to any of those questions, he just wanted to go to the dining room, have a warm soup for dinner and take a shower.

They arrived at Hyrule Castle when the moon was starting to show in the sky, and just as Link had predicted, Impa was there, ready to yell at him for bringing the princess back at night hours.

After Impa’s scolding and a quick, warm shower in the barracks, Link felt the hunger taking over him, so he decided to sneak into the kitchen. Dinner time for the castle service had already passed, but he was sure he could grab a bite or two of whatever the cooks prepared for the night. Maybe even some leftovers from the King’s dinner if he was lucky.

As he walked down the corridors, he noticed at the library’s doors a knight on watch  and fighting the urge to fall asleep. Sir Roland, Link recognized him from training. They shared nocturnal patrols every three days, so he was surprised to find him there when it was his free night.

Curiosity took hold of him and he walked towards the poor man whose eyes were shutting.

“Hey!” Link whispered and shook the knight’s shoulder, startling him. 

“Wha-” Roland grabbed his spear tightly, ready to attack when he saw Link in front of him. “Ugh, don’t tell Impa about this.”

Link shook his head. “What are you doing here? I thought our watch was the day after tomorrow.”

Roland yawned. “It is. I was finishing my last round when Princess Zelda stormed into the library. She said it would be quick, but that was hours ago.”

Link sighed and looked at the doors. He thought about the delicious food that was waiting for him in the kitchen, maybe there was broth, or chicken, or even fruitcake. His stomach grumbled with the thought of the well deserved meal he needed. 

He cursed himself.

“I’ll handle it, you should go to sleep.”

Roland’s eyes lit up as he nodded effusively. “Thanks, man. I owe you one.”

Link stayed in front of the doors as the guard ran away to his bed. He didn’t know what made him so nervous about going in there, but his palms were sweaty and his heart was beating like a war drum. Still, he took a deep breath and went in.

The library was empty. The chandelier hanging from the ceiling illuminated the whole place, but still the light was dim enough to make it difficult for Link to see. There were a couple of large, empty tables, but the one that caught his eye had a couple of burning candles, a dozen books and maps, and a half eaten fruit cake. That should be Zelda’s table.

Just as he was about to call for her, he saw Hugo coming out of one of the bookcases, and the lizalfos hissed at him. Link was used to the princess’ pet’s angry mood by now, so he didn’t pay much attention to him. Instead, he went towards the walking pile of books coming his way.

“Hugo! What are you hissing at?” Zelda asked from behind the pile of books and poked her head to see better. “Ah, Link! I didn’t expect you to be here!”

“Let me help you, Princess.” Link said as he took the books from her arms.

As he walked to the table, he tried to ignore the way his fingertips brushed the back of her hand just lightly.

Zelda didn’t seem to notice as she sat back in her chair. But Link noticed Hugo’s glare as the lizalfos climbed up the table and camouflaged once he was lying on the table.  

“Thanks, I was starting to feel bored”, she said, looking up at Link with a glint in her eyes. “I've been searching around the whole library for books about Keese. There's so little information but I found some important stuff. Did you know that there’s also elemental Keese? Not just regular like the ones we saw in the cave, like Chuchus they can control-”

“Your Highness,” Link interrupted, knowing she was starting to ramble again. “It’s past midnight, you shouldn’t be here at this hour.”

Link noticed she was still in her travel clothes and that probably didn’t have enough dinner, judging from the cake that was on the table half eaten. But also, Zelda’s smile faded away. Instead, there was a glint of  something that Link couldn’t decipher in that moment. Was that sadness? Deception? Was it because he cut her down?

“Ah, I didn’t realize the hour, I’m sorry.” Zelda said standing up and gathering up her stuff. “I just need to put everything back to its place.”

Link looked how slowly she was closing her books, making obvious she didn’t want to leave the place, like a little kid who wants to get her way. He knew there was no use in fighting the Princess’s desires. If she wanted to keep researching until dawn, she would.

“Actually,” He sighed as he pulled out a chair, inviting her to sit down again. “I know a thing or two about Keese, if you’d like to know about it?”

Zelda’s smile came back as she sat down and put everything where it was with the speed of a lizalfos. Link wondered if that was something she learned from her pet, or Hugo chose her cause she looked like one of his kind.

“Of course!” Zelda beamed as she opened her journal and took a feather. Link didn’t notice she was left-handed until now. Another thing they shared.

He sat down on a chair by her side and crossed his arms. 

“Let’s see,” He looked up, trying to remember his childhood days hunting monsters. “I never stopped to investigate why the monsters are the way they are, but what I can tell you about the Keese is that they have weak bodies.”

Zelda’s eyes widened as she started to write down in her journal. “Weaker than Chuchus?”

“I’d say so, yes,” Link replied with a sigh. “Sometimes you would only need a hit or two to take them down, not like Chuchus, that-”

He cut his train of thought when he saw Zelda’s and Hugo’s glare.

“Anyway, what makes them weak is the way their bodies are.” Link grabbed a blank piece of paper and a feather, hunching down on the table to start a drawing. “The body is like… Round and furry… And the little claw on the wing… And the big eye turns red when it’s going to attack you…”

He finished the drawing and gave it to Zelda, who couldn’t help but smile at it. 

“It doesn’t look like anything in my textbooks.” She said while taking a big book and placing it between them. “See? In this drawing they have slender bodies, and legs.”

Link frowned. “No, that looks like a flying rat or something. I’ve seen all kinds of Keese, that’s not one.”

Zelda smirked as she closed the book. “My apologies, the books in the library are way too old and can’t keep up with the way the monsters evolve.”

Link shook his head. “I guess your research has a point, in that case. We knights know the monsters because we fight them everyday, but everyone should know what they look like in case they see one in the wild.”

Zelda shrugged. “Anything else I should know?”

Link thought for a second, a playful smile on his face that made her smile. 

“Well, they’re night creatures and are always flying in flocks.” He said, feeling more relaxed. “That’s what makes them so annoying, a single one can barely hurt you, but when twenty come at you, that’s when you’re in trouble.”

Zelda giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. Link wanted to take that hand so he could see her smile.

“What if you see a single one? Or that simply doesn’t happen?” She asked.

Link hummed. “It happens, but it’s rare. My father used to say that it was either a rejected one because it was weak, or a young one who got lost. But I don’t know if that’s true.”

“Your father?” Zelda asked intrigued. “Does he like monsters like I do?”

Link cringed at the thought and regretted bringing him to the table.

“No, uhm, he’s a monster hunter.”

“Oh.”

There was an awkward silence between them, Zelda looking down at her notes while Link looked around, everywhere but the big eyes of the lizalfos on the table that was keeping watch on him. No wonder why Hugo hated him, he was always bringing up the monster killing thing in front of him. He had to make it up for both of them.

“Uhm, Zelda?” He said in a whisper, she looked back at him. “You said earlier you wanted to go to Mount Hylia, but I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” She asked with a frown.

“There’s no monsters in Royal grounds.” He said in a whisper. “If you want to see Ice monsters, I’d suggest Mount Lanayru, or Tabantha region, but I highly recommend the first one, for your own safety. And Hugo can come too! So he doesn’t feel alone in the castle.”

Zelda kept frowning as she pondered the options, making him feel uneasy.

“Besides,” he cleared his throat. “There’s a man in Hateno Village who has a lot of knowledge about monsters. Maybe he can help?”

Zelda looked at him, like she was trying to figure out the puzzles in his brain. He tried to keep his eyes locked with hers, but she was making him feel nervous.

“Alright,” She finally said after a long silence. “We’ll go to Hateno Village first thing in the morning. We should probably go to-”

A thud in a bookcase made them turn around in that direction. Link stood up, glad that he was carrying his sword at the moment, and drew it. Zelda stood up behind him, and Hugo showed his true colors while snarling in the same direction.

“Who is there?” Link asked in a loud voice, but the only reply he got was another thud.

“What is that?” Zelda whispered while Hugo climbed to her arms.

She took one of her candles and lit up the direction where the sound was coming from. There was nothing in the bookcases, or at least they couldn’t see anything. They started to walk towards the thud, slowly. But there was nothing in there. Just books.

“Maybe it was just a rat.” Zelda said, trying to calm her lizalfos down.

But in that moment, Hugo jumped out of her arms and ran towards one of the bookcases, snarling at it, as if trying to attack. Link noticed it and got closer to the same one, his ear against it. There was a chirping sound and the thud they heard before.

“It’s not.” Link said, walking back. “Get somewhere safe, Princess, I’m going to move the bookcase. Hugo, you have to protect her from whatever comes out of here, okay?”

It looked like Hugo nodded at him and that gave him some relief. A weird thing to think it came from a lizalfos, if Link was being honest with himself. 

Zelda walked away just a little bit, trying to light up the space. It was dark, probably more than an hour after midnight, and no one else was around to aid Link in case he needed someone’s help. 

He started to push the heavy furniture to move it out of its place. He felt how the bookcase moved inch by inch, and a slight gust of wind started to come out towards him. Then, when the bookcase was completely out of place, he heard Zelda’s gasp.

“A secret passage?” She whispered.

Before they could go any further, a single Keese came out of the dark hole on the wall, flying around the library while Hugo chased it, trying to hit it with his long tongue. 

Link put his hand on the hilt of his sword, but Zelda put her hand on his.

“Wait, look!” She said pointing out where the Keese was flying.

It looked like the creature was trying to go through the stained glass, flying erratically, almost like it was fighting to not fall to the ground where Hugo was waiting to give it the critical hit.

Zelda walked towards it, and Link followed closely, still with his hand on his sword. Hugo stopped his attacks when he saw her approach, but kept a close watch like any other guarding pet. 

“Hey, it’s fine, we’re not gonna hurt you.” She tried to talk to the Keese, but it was obvious the Keese just wanted to escape as fast as it could.

Link looked back at Zelda’s table, and the fruitcake that she didn’t eat. It still had wildberries as toppings. He grabbed them and walked to stand by her side.

“Here, Keese love fruits.” He said as he put the wildberries in his palm and lifted his arm, up enough so the Keese would eat on his hand.

The plan worked, because the creature came down slowly, as if it didn’t trust the hand that was feeding it, but once it felt there was no danger, it started to chomp the wildberries.

Link looked at Zelda. She had a huge grin on her face while she wrote in her journal about everything that was on her mind. She tried to touch it, but Link shook his head.

“Don’t, you’re gonna upset it and it’ll bite you.” He said in a whisper.

“Oh, okay.” Zelda said at the same volume, then looked at Hugo. “Can you open the window? I think it’s time it goes home.”

Hugo obeyed as he climbed up the wall and opened one of the windows inside the library. Just as the Keese felt the air inside the library change and noticed the window was open, it flew as quickly as it could and got lost into the night.

Link and Zelda stood there, looking at the window for a few minutes, until Zelda gave Hugo the order to close the window.

“You think it was a rejected Keese?” Zelda asked Link as they walked back to the bookcase, and pushed it to close the passage. 

Link stayed quiet for a second. “No, it was a small one. I think it got lost.”

Zelda’s face saddened for a moment, but then she gave  a small smile. “Well, I hope it finds its way back home.”

Link found himself wishing the same thing, but didn’t say it out loud. Instead he tried to change the subject.

“Hey, what do you know about this passage?” He asked as they put Zelda’s books on their shelves and cleaned up everything before leaving.

“I didn’t know it existed.” Zelda confessed as she put the last book in its place and carried Hugo in her arms. “Maybe we can explore the passage once we’re back from Hateno Village, would you like that?”

Link nodded, but couldn’t help but look back at the bookcase, wondering how a Keese could come inside a castle so full of knights and Sheikah warriors. At least someone, anyone would hear or see a thing, it wasn’t that hard to find and spot the monsters if they’re getting close to the castle. The thought made him feel worried about the Castle’s protection. Were the knights really prepared to deal with monsters? Were they capable enough?

“Link, thanks.” 

Zelda’s voice took him out of his trance and he looked at her. There was a soft blush on her cheeks, but he wanted to believe it was the candle light that was making her look like she was in a golden halo.

“What you did was amazing, I know you don’t agree with me but I really appreciate that you helped with the Keese.”

Link gulped but nodded, feeling his cheeks and the point of his ears get red.

“Of course, I told you you could trust me.”

Zelda smiled and nodded, before turning around, and leaving him there with his thoughts about the passage, her smile and why his heart was beating so fast again. He realized he wasn’t hungry anymore.

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Once again, the amazing artwork was made by aniastassya, go to her social media and wish her a happy belated birthday! She is THE BEST

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[n1ckelpistol]

A ver cuándo - Los piojos

[little-pondhead]

I have a simple fascination and joy in the thought that, for the Ghost King AU, most of the time Danny is literally so normal compared to other ghosts.

Like, he’s a kid. He looks like a kid. Going by canon appearances, he is the most human looking ghost we see (aside from Ellie). Even Plasmius is more inhuman, which is where all the vampire jokes come from. Every single one of this enemies is off even in a human disguise. They’re not human, and people don’t expect them to be.

So aside from the implications of Danny looking like a child ghost, I wonder what other characters would think if they summon the Ghost King, expecting this huge monstrosity worse than anything they’ve ever seen, and getting a totally normal human-looking kid.

I’d be terrified. Because if horror movies have taught us anything, it’s that the most innocent and normal looking people are the worst monsters you’ve ever seen.

Like, what is he hiding??

[saintaviator]

alyx & some sort of half life creature? a snark or vortigaunt or something

Snark Saturday (Tuesday)

[kaleidoru]

my two fluffy lil dragon lads from when i was a young teen i'm still very affectionate for

[unworldlycreature]

see I might be in a perpetual state of rot, with no feeling of being able to escape it. but the fact that I haven't gone full pessimist or down the nihilistic route is entirely because of silly little shows of people just saying stupid stuff and making silly noises

and if this applies to you, or if you are under the impression that the media you love is "cringe" or not good because it's "too popular"- if it's keeping you alive, that doesn't matter. If it makes you smile, then consume and consume that media again and again until you feel alright.

we're gonna be okay.