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clickerflight · 1 year ago

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Clove: Part 9 - Traveling Merchant

Masterlist

Part 8

THE BOYS HAVE RETURNED!!! This is a pretty soft snippet today. I love pampering Hyrum.

Content: Cronic pain issues, healing, social anxiety

Pretty soft one today for sure. Let me know if you want to be on the tag list

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Hyrum’s tail thumped against the table as he leaned against the back of the kitchen chair, on his knees as he watched Ephraim cut up vegetables and put them in the pot that bubbled on the stove. Ephraim kept glancing back at him, eyes glimmering with amusement.

Hyrum liked to watch Ephraim cook. He liked having porridge and berries for breakfast still, and he usually traded between sandwiches and bread pudding for lunch, but dinner was a special affair. Ephraim made something new every night for Hyrum to try, and tonight he was making something called stew. He’d put chunks of meat in it and everything, and Hyrum was doing his best not to drool on the floor, his tail thumping against the table even harder.

He shifted down onto the chair a bit more, despite the excitement egging him on to watch closer as Ephraim stirred everything together in the pot. His legs were beginning to ache deep down from the pressure so he needed to move to try and get them to feel better.

“I should be done soon,” Ephraim said, turning to Hyrum with a broad smile that sent curls of joy through his chest. “Do you want some bread while you wait?”

Hyrum shook his head. He didn’t want to spoil his appetite. The stew smelled so wonderful he wanted to be able to eat as much of it as he could.

Ephraim ran a hand through Hyrum’s hair and the werewolf leaned into it. His hair was smoother and shinier now, waves beginning to form in it as it grew healthy again.

“How about we go work on that quilt, hmm?” Ephraim suggested. “Time will go faster than waiting in here for it to be done.”

Hyrum nodded and padded along after Ephraim, heading to the craft room where the quilt was set up. Ephraim picked up a needle from where it had been sitting on the fabric, already strung with yarn and started sending it in and out of the chalked in dots, tying knots at each one before moving on.

Hyrum went to his side where his needle was. He hadn’t gotten as far as Ephraim had as his fingers weren’t as good as Ephraim’s. The vampire had promised Hyrum that his fingers would heal eventually, but it was really annoying while he had to wait.

Still, he did notice an improvement as he poked the needle down through, and then up again, using his other hand to make sure that the yarn didn’t knot up underneath.

“Goldenrod.”

Hyrum looked up expectantly, his tail swishing back and forth behind himself still.

Ephraim smiled and said, “After dinner I’m planning on going down to the village. The traveling merchant should be here by now so we can see if they have some things for you. Do you want to come with me and help me pick out your clothes?”

“Really?” Hyrum asked. He nearly shouted out his agreement when it struck him that they would be going down into the village. His tail slowly came to a stop and he looked down, fidgeting with the yarn. “Is it safe?”

“Oh yes. It’s very safe. There are some other wolves down in the village too. They might want to introduce themselves… would you be up for that?”

Hyrum bit his lip. He wasn’t sure about going down to the village. It sounded dangerous. Jack had always drilled it into his head that if anyone saw Hyrum, they would try and kill him, but… Ephraim told the truth more often than not as far as Hyrum could tell. He was even right in how to make a weapon stronger, despite the way Jack proclaimed himself to be the best weapon maker in the kingdom.

And if Hyrum was going to be Ephraim’s weapon, then he certainly could be strong enough to go down to the village with him!

“I want to go,” Hyrum said with a determined nod, going back to sewing.

“Alright. And if you change your mind, let me know. I know it’s almost bedtime so I don’t want to make you do too much if you’re tired.”

Hyrum smiled to himself. He had been feeling less and less tired as of late, and he was sure he could handle a walk down to the village. He tried not to think about how there would be people who would want to talk to him though. How was he supposed to address them? Would they want him to talk to them, or would they just want to look at him like some of Jack’s friends did. That was the only bad thing about living with Ephraim. Things were so unpredictable and Hyrum didn’t know how to handle half of it, but Ephraim was patient with him and explained things until he understood, so he wasn’t too worried.

An unbidden thought popped into his mind that surprised him enough he stopped sewing again. I suppose I could just ask him.

Hyrum pondered over the thought and realized it was true. He was confused about something, he didn’t know how he would handle a situation that he knew was coming, and he could easily ask Ephraim about it before the vampire eventually noticed he was confused and explained it for him anyways. All he had to do was ask, and Ephraim practically beamed everytime Hyrum asked him a question.

Hyrum opened his mouth to do just that when Ephraim lifted his nose, closing his eyes. Hyrum did so as well, curious and opened them again to see Ephraim leaving the room. “Dinner’s ready, sweetheart.”

Hyrum followed quickly, the question blown out of his mind over the thought of food. He sat down as Ephraim ladled some stew into a bowl for him.

“Be careful,” Ephraim warned. “It’s hot.”

“Oh,” Hyrum said, picking up his spoon. He lifted a chunk of meat out and touched it to his lips. It was hot so he backed off, licking his lips. The flavor of the residue was heavenly, though, and it took all of the werewolf’s self control to not just take the burning cube into his mouth.

Ephraim smiled and spooned some food up for himself, blowing on it for a moment before eating it.

Delighted for an answer, Hyrum blew on his like Ephraim did, carefully. He waited a moment, blew on it one more time for good measure which got a little chuckle out of Ephraim, and then put it in his mouth. He closed his eyes as the meat pretty much melted in his mouth, and his tail thumped heavily against the chair again as he savored it.

Ephraim was done before Hyrum was as the werewolf made sure that each bite wouldn’t burn him before standing up and putting his bowl in the kitchen basin.

“Alright,” Ephraim said, walking over to the door where he put on his gardening boots. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” Hyrum said, coming to stand by him.

Ephraim grabbed his sun hat and they stepped outside. It was late morning now, nearly bedtime for the vampire and werewolf, despite the pull Hyrum had to stay up and run around. He was glad for the chance to go with Ephraim outside. The sun soaked into the overlarge garments Hyrum was wearing, and he twisted the fabric to pull it closer against his skin, enjoying the warmth.

As they got to the steepest part of the hill, Hyrum was having a hard time staying steady on his feet. His legs, despite feeling much better, still always ached and the fact that he couldn’t feel the bottoms of his feet made it difficult for him to stay balanced on inclined slopes.

Ephraim slowed down and held out a hand for Hyrum, and the werewolf took it with both of his as he stumbled.

Ephraim walked slowly with Hyrum, keeping him steady as they went. Halfway down the hill, Hyrum looked up from his feet to the little village sprawled below and remembered the question he was going to ask.

“Erm… Ephraim?”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“What, um, what do I do if people talk to me?”

Ephraim looked down at him, a little surprised, but his smile came back just like it always did.

“Right, sorry. I should have, ah. Well, when someone sees you they’re likely to ask you your name.”

“And I tell them?”

“Yeah, if you want,” Ephraim said.

“Can I tell them my name is Goldenrod?” he asked eagerly.

Ephraim smiled. “Sure. You can definitely tell them that. And then they might ask you about your day and you can tell them. If you get tired I’ll let them know, okay? If you're overwhelmed, I’ll jump in.”

“Okay,” Hyrum said, relaxing a little.

“And if the werewolves come over,” Ephraim continued, which made Hyrum tense up again, sensing this was going to be a little more complicated. “They’ll probably want to smell you first and you can smell them back. They’ll be really excited to meet you so they might be a bit much, but I’ll try and let them know to calm down, okay?”

“Okay,” Hyrum replied and Ephraim smiled.

“I’m actually pretty excited about this. The villagers have been asking about you. I told them a little about what happened and they have actually been a huge help getting me some extra food for you,” Ephraim said as they reached the bottom of the hill where the path went from tramped down grass to dirt. “They’ll love you.”

Hyrum puffed up under Ephraim’s arm, warm and happy as they made their way past the first building.

There were people gathered around a large cart with two huge animals hooked up to the front of it, stamping hard feet and throwing back huge heads with long manes.

“What are those?” Hyrum asked, trying not to imagine how much it would hurt to have one of them stomp his toes.

“Those are horses. They’re pretty friendly, but try not to stand behind them. They can kick when they get frightened,” Ephraim said soothingly, though that didn’t make Hyrum feel all that much better.

As they approached the cart, people turned and Hyrum did not miss the way their eyes lit up when they saw him.

“Hi, Ephraim!” one woman with three children said as she walked over to greet them and Ephraim took her hand in his free one with a huge smile.

“Good morning, Anna,” he said warmly. Hyrum pressed himself against Ephraim’s side as much as he could as the three children stared at him, sizing him up.

The smallest boldly took a step forward and opened her mouth, but Anna cut her off by stooping down and picking her up, making her giggle.

“Are you here to get something for Hyrum?” she asked, having successfully distracted her youngest, though the other two kept staring at Hyrum. The werewolf wished he could have known this was a possibility. He didn’t like just being stared at.

Ephraim stepped sideways a little, gracefully hiding the fact that he stumbled because of how hard Hyrum was pressed to his side. “Yup, we certainly are. It’s good to see you.”

“And you,” Anna said with a nod, shooing her children off towards one of the houses. “Have fun, Hyrum.”

The werewolf nodded a little, and Ephraim led him farther down the road towards the cart.

“Oh!” a deep voice said, surprised as Ephraim stepped up to stand behind a small line of people at the cart.

A large man had turned around and looked down at Hyrum. Hyrum had never felt smaller as the huge man smiled at him. He was taller and broader than Ephraim, but he had a friendly enough smile, a bit like Ephraim’s.

“Hello, little one. What’s your name?” the man asked, making his deep voice softer.

“G-Goldenrod,” Hyrum said, glad to be hiding under Ephraim’s arm.

“Oh, like the flower? That’s very nice,” he said warmly. “I’m Guntar. I’m the butcher. I sell Ephraim here his blood.”

Hyrum looked up at Ephraim and he nodded. “Yes he does, like his father before him.”

Guntar smiled. “Are you excited to look at what’s on the cart?”

Hyrum thought about it for a moment. He shrugged and Guntar chuckled. “There are some pretty cool things on it this time, from what I hear. Old Morticai’s outdone himself if the toys the wolf boys were carrying off were anything to go by.”

“Hmmm, I hadn’t thought of that,” Ephraim said, mostly to himself. “Goldenrod, would you like a toy? Something to play with?”

Hyrum had no idea what he was talking about, so he just shrugged.

“Well, we’ll have a look when we get to the cart, then.”

Hyrum nodded, still tucked under Ephraim’s arm as they made their way through the line.

Ephraim was glad to get to the front and Morticai grinned. “Ephraim! My favorite customer! And who’s this?”

Ephraim looked down at Hyrum who seemed to be rather done with meeting people so Ephraim said, “This is Goldenrod. I’m actually here to buy him some clothes, and perhaps a toy or two. He’s, ah, he’s had a rough go of it so far.”

Morticai’s flamboyant mustache drooped. “Yes, yes I can see that. Let’s see if we can get that squared away then!”

Moticai worked fast, knowing his merchandise well, and soon, they had two sets of trews and two tunics, both sets a bit big for the werewolf in anticipation for him growing out a bit. Ephraim was planning on getting up early to talk to some of the empty nesters and see if they had some clothes he could borrow from them as well, just in case. If Hyrum grew into being a werewolf a bit more, he’d need more clothes as he ran these into rags.

“Now, as for toys,” Morticai said, pawing through a crate. “Mmm, what do we think about this?”

He passed Ephraim a wooden bird with some gaps in the wood. A quick shake made a marble inside rattle around. Ephraim saw Hyrum’s ears prick up and he gave the werewolf the toy to look at.

“Works for me. Thank you.”

“Oh, of course. And did you want to have a look at the blubs I brought.”

“Oh, if I must,” Ephraim said, delighted. Could Hyrum go around to the other side of your cart while I look?”

“Of course!”

Hyrum gratefully took the opportunity to run around the cart and hide from everyone in line.

“Now, I have some more tulip bulbs-”

“Oh, goodness no, I have plenty. Say, did you have any peonies?”

“I do! And some beautiful puzzles that I know you’d like to have a look at here.”

Ephraim delightedly went through the goods, distracted by them and Morticai’s tales of the cities that he didn’t hear Hyrum’s small gasp of fear and the small sound of a marble rattling around in wood.

Part 10

Clove Taglist: @wolfeyedwitch @the-blind-one-speaks @whumpsday @extrabitterbrain @inkkswhumpandstuff @honeycollectswhump

#fluff #clove #whump #whump series #chronic pain #social anxiety #soft soft bois #sorry not sorry about the cliff hanger #you'll get the next bit tomorrow

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running-with-kn1ves · 7 months ago

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Fitness Trainer

A/N: I blended some french terms of endearment with English don't come for me. But is Antoine really French, or is he feigning this way to get closer to you? (Had a fem idea for this too)

Synopsis: Another day at the gym, your personalized trainer is helping you out a lot more intimately than he would with most clients.

TW: Creep gym trainer, yandere themes, mentions of future stalking/imagined groping, sensual content

And up... and down, just like that."

The squeeze on your hips kept you stable, even with your fingers shaking, mouth agape as hot breath was sucked in, and out.

"One more, you can do one more for me."

"I can't..." you huffed, thighs quaking as the barbell on your shoulders made you ache.

"Yes you can. C'mon sweetheart, we'll do it together."

He gripped the barbell beside where your sweating hands were, chest flush against your back as his feet entrapped the outside of your own.

“Do it with me now,” He pulled the weight lower, forcing you to squat despite the agony in your ankles and tailbone. “Push through it, baby.”

The sweet name just slipped out, breathy against your ear as his hot exhales slowed compared to your huffs. It almost made you slip.

You could feel the muscles in your wrists shaking, vision going blurry as sweat drips into your eyes. One of his hands leaves the barbell to grip your hip, forcing you back into a standing position as your knees nearly give out.

You rise slowly back up with the barbell in your hands, nearly groaning in pain at the strain. You finally lift your arms to your chest, finishing the rep with a strained frown as your personal trainer forces the weight off of your arms. His taller stature makes it easy to put the barbell back on the rack in front of you.

You feel as if you could collapse, an hour and a half of intense training brought upon by your own determination leaving you exhausted and a little discouraged. You thought you could do more, push yourself harder-- but at the end of the day, the amount of reps your body would let you do, was it. You’d crack if you tried to go even further, end up tearing something or worse.

Your trainer could tell; the way you sweat, your eyebrows furrowed as you kept that hard, strained look with each motion he made you do.

“I hate to say it, but you’re done for today.”

You look up at him from your place on the ground, water bottle hanging from your grip as you try to catch your breath.

Antoine had only worked with you for a couple weeks now, what started as once a week now thrice, if you had the time after work of course. But somehow, he always enticed you to come back.

His body, which should’ve been motivation, was more or less disheartening-- rippling muscles and bulging quads peeking beneath his tight ‘TRAINER’ black tee and athletic shorts as the perfect ensemble.

He was so sweet, so encouraging and upsettingly positive. Always filling up your water bottle, saying how he’s always admiring the growth of muscle definition in your back, giving you light touches to show which area of your body that a machine might work out. He even offered post-exercise massages to make sure you didn’t get sore after each session, free of cost as a perk of joining the gym’s ‘premium membership’, an idea he sold you on. That, along with the complementary protein shakes made that were hi “specialty.”

You knew it was his job to hook you in, but who could say no to that sweet meathead’s face? Which is why you were here, on a late saturday afternoon, in this nearly empty gym with him that he convinced you to love.

You couldn’t help but feel a little guilty, even if he was the one persuading you, offering to use his time off to come in and help train you.

“Feelin’ sore?” Antoine bends down next to you, offering a small towel from his pocket. The twinge of accent in his speech makes him sound funny, dry lips parted as he looks you over. “You went harder than usual today.”

“Yeah,” You let out after a gulp of water. “Definitely gonna feel this later tonight; ha, maybe I’ll actually take you up on one of those massages.”

You point with your water bottle, grinning tiredly as Antoine’s eyes seem to shine. He licks his lips to hide a giddy grin.

“Of course-- definitely, I’d be more than happy to. These hands can work magic you wouldn’t believe.”

Antoine shuffles behind you, pulling at your shoulders to make you sit up straight.

“Wha- you mean right now? I’m all, sticky.”

“Now’s the best time, your muscles are just coming down from the effort they’ve exerted. Best to prevent any aches and pains as soon as possible rather than waiting.”

He begins gentle rubs against the base of your neck; vast, warm fingers grace your collar with a softness you hadn’t expected. Usually when people try to massage your shoulders they’re too harsh, too grippy; but Antoine was rhythmic, pushing into your back with his palms as he made his way down to your shoulder blades.

“But considering you’ve pushed so hard, I don’t want to see you back here for a couple of days.” Antoine insisted.

“Awe, you want me outa here that badly?” You joked, laying your head forward as Antoine’s fingers made their way to the back of your neck, running pressed thumbs down from your hairline. “I see how it is, prefer your other clients over me.”

It felt sort of weird, having him massage you so deeply on the gym floor out in the open. But the only person here in the middle of the afternoon was an older woman, paying more attention to her cellphone on the treadmill than anything you two were doing.

Antoine shook your shoulders.

“Don’t say that, now!” He leaned his head over next to yours from behind, getting so close your nose almost brushed against his cheek. “It’s not funny; I hope you don’t see me that way.”

“It’s just a joke,” You titter, running your handtowel down the front of your shirt.

“I never understand your jokes.” He sighs, hands moving down to your tailbone. He lifts the bottom of your shirt sticking to your skin, digging his hands against the soft flesh.

“Woah, hey,” You turn to look at him, but his head is down, looking at his fingers.

“I have to get to your hips, you can’t do so many squats without release. And at the rate you were going to day… well, you see what I mean.”

The bottom of your tanktop covers his knuckles as he pulls and kneads the skin of your lower back.

“O-okay.. I guess..”

He’s not usually so insistent, but he seems so genuine about it-- and, he’s the trainer, shouldn’t they know best?

He begins with little strokes to your skin, almost caressing. You grow anxious until his thumbs push deep lines into your flesh.

“Does that feel a little better, Mon cœur? Less pain?” He asks up close, staring at your heated and perspiring cheeks.

You’re awed by how good it actually feels, the tension melting away with each push of his knuckles into your skin, and grip of his hands around your waist as each of his thumbs digs into your sides.

“Yeah… feels a lot better..”

“You can rest your head on my shoulder, don’t be embarrassed, sweetheart.”

You do as he says, arching your back with your head against his shoulder. He had easier access into your back, working his hands up beneath your shirt to reach your mid abdomen.

The deeper Antoine kneaded, the farther he grew up your back, the more… audible, his groans became. Each dip was another breathy moan into your ear. It was fine at first, just the sounds of his work; and then, it became almost, uncomfortably sensual.

“Just like that...” He mumbled, giving a deep hum.

With your neck so close, his nose dips against your jaw to sneak a sharp inhale of your scent. It was heightened from your hour of strenuous work, a smell he couldn’t get enough of.

But you jumped forward before he could nuzzle as deep against you as he wished.

“Uh! Thanks, I feel a lot better now. Really… got all the kinks out.”

You clutch your towel, facing your trainer to prevent him from working his “magic fingers” again.

“Of course. And that’s just a taste, a fully body massage would leave the workout you just completed to drain away, as if it was just a dream.” He wiggles his hands with a sheepish grin, one so simple and sincere your guard fell again.

Sure, guys at the gym could be creeps, but he was your trainer, eyes kind and a little foreignly clueless, who only wanted to see you thrive; he’d never try something with you, his client.

“Yeah, maybe next time. But now, I need to shower and get this stink off of me.” You bring yourself to your feet, all wobbly and achy-galore. Even with Antoine’s work on your shoulders, you can feel your back beginning to seize up. It’s gonna be hard to bend down for a while.

Offering a hand to Antoine still on the rubbery gym floor, he takes it with a slight ease. He doesn’t use the weight in his hand to get up, knowing he’d just drag you back down to the floor if he did.

“Thanks again-- I mean, I know it’s your job but--”

“Don’t thank me; it’s always a treat to have you here, my cherie. I’d train you for free, you know!”

You laugh, flattered at the idea. If you were a bit more forward, you’d ask him for that little perk. Hey, paying for his service certainly wasn’t cheap!

Making your way to the bathroom, you thank your lucky stars the hard part’s over. Too bad you can’t look at Antoine’s pretty face anymore, though.

Antoine on the other hand, follows your stumbling body with his eyes, watching as you disappear behind the water fountain and bathroom door.

His eyes jut back and forth between the machines and front door for witnesses, seeing none before snatching up your forgotten towel. How’d you never notice they didn’t just give these things out?

He’d brought the cute handkerchief from home, wanting to appear the most of a gentleman. And, in the hopes that you’d use it every and anywhere.

Oh, he thrived off that scent, pushing the white damp cloth heavy against his nose. It smelled even more potent of you, moreso than the few inches away of sniffs he usually got.

His tongue just barely brushed against it, writhing in ecstasy from how it still held the stickiness of your sweat. You didn’t know how intoxicating it was to him, watching each bead of sweat leave your neck, the dip of your back when he got the chance to help hold that barbell with you… it was almost maddening, how strictly he had to restrain himself from lapping at your hot skin and running his hands beneath your gymwear.

No, he had to save this for later. What would his manager think if he saw him acting so ferally?

Besides, there were more important matters to attend to. Such as, taking out the bathroom trash, a simple excuse to slide his manager for the opportunity to watch you shower.

Who knew working here would have such great advantages in getting close to you.

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