#stone is also a dark forest apprentice so he would have *someone* to talk to | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

morningmask27 · 2 years ago

Note

If i can request 3 cats, Graypool X Oakheart X Thrushpelt?

Grousekit, Reedkit and Sprucekit are three kittens that RiverCLan really doesn't know what to do with. They were born shortly before Oakheart and Thrushpelt died, leaving Graypool to take care of these menaces all alone. The clan believes they are Oakheart and Graypool's only. Mistyfoot and Stonefur stepped in to help graypool take care of the kits. The kits were terribly hurt when even Graypool was found dead.

Grousekit is a stuck up little stickler to rules that will often follow leopardfur around while she does her deputy duties. Grouse wants to become leader when they grow up and tried very hard to impress Leopard and uncle Crookedstar for that purpose only. They aren't always too happy with how rambunctious Reedkit and Sprucekit are. their warrior name would be grouseclaw

Reedkit (just like Oakheart kinda) looks a lot like Reedshine and is sometimes plagued by dreams about a weird, angry tortie in a dark forest. xe only cares about having fun with Sprucekit and Grousekit (when they aren't being grumpy). xe's the closets to their niblings (mistyfoot kits, reedwhisker isn't named reedwhisker tho) and plays a whole lot with them. their warrior name would be Reedspring.

Sprucekit is the biggest terror of the litter and has caused a lot of panic in the clan every time they fell in the river or dissapeared out of camp. All the punishments they had to do doesn't stop them from being rambunctious all the time. The elders love them though, and so do the other kits. They talk too much too and this nearly got them killed by Tigerstar after he ordered Stonefur's execution. their warrior name would be Sprucecrash

okay so, long story under the cut

The kits were obviously devastated when they learnt that oakheart died. They never forgave ThunderClan and especially Tigerclaw for it. Thrush had been dead for a month when the kits were born and they didn't know about thrush sadly, but Oak's death hurt. Graypool began struggling to raise them, but misty and stone stepped in to assist their little siblings.

Grouse, wanting to become deputy/leader was always doing everything to make Leoardfur proud of them. They did anything leopard wanted them to do, even as a young kit. They never had the same energy as their littermates and often sat alone, far away from the two to mope.

Reed did try to be close to them a lot. Reed is the social one and is loved by everyone in the clan for xir honesty and care. Reed isn't gunning for a place of power, xe simply wants what's best for RiverClan and especially xir family. Xe was the most hurt when Graypool also died, but xe found solace in Spruce.

Spruce is a troublemaker and confident. Way too confident if you ask Leopardfur, who specifically requested to become Spruce's mentor to keep them in check. Always out exploring, falling into the river a few too many times, catching their first prey at three moons old (kinda like cloudkit tbh), spruce was quite the pawful. Leoardfur did try her best to tone their energy down and while it didn't fully work the two worked well as a duo.

The three became apprentices around the time that tensions between ThunderClan and RiverClan were high. The three were prepped constantly to fight any ThunderClan cat that would bother their Clan. The training they did went mostly fine, Grousepaw was given to Reedtail, another serious and hard working cat, but they spent more time with Leopardfur than Reed anyway. Reedpaw got Skyheart and Sprucepaw got Leopardfur since someone had to keep this little terror in check. Spruce and Leopard worked well together, despite Leopard really not being able to control Spruce fully. The three had a fun apprentice hood, watching as thunderclan dealt with drama after drama, and maybe struggling a bit with the flood, but nothing too bad.

Sprucepaw especially had a lot of fun with Leopardfur. They two were often seen bickering about the littlest of things, kinda like siblings, but they worked extremely well together when things needed to be done. Sprucepaw admired Leopardfur a lot and actually listened to her advice about certain things, they simply didn’t want to not live a carefree and authentic life, which did irritate Leopard, but even she had to admit that just doing whatever could be fun sometimes.

Things began going south when after Tigerclaw (whom they never forgave), now Tigerstar began visiting RiverClan to talk to Leopardfur pretty often. Sprucepaw really didn’t like Tiger and he knew that. the two would exchange glares constantly and Spruce would loudly defend anything tigerstar was against and vice versa. Leopard had to send spruce away way too often when Tiger was visiting simply because of that reason. Grouse on the other hand was often allowed to sit next to Leopardfur and listen to the two talking. Grouse was quiet and respectful and Tigerstar liked that. Reedpaw simply shied away from Tigerstar, xe didn’t want to deal with his piercing gaze and intimidating presence (I am keeping the “mapleshade visits tiger” thing only to have maple rile tiger up against reedpaw, which is definitely happening here).

That one time Tigerstar left RiverClan after another visit and Sprucepaw just came back from hunting with Reedtail, Skyheart and Reedpaw and they saw Tiger leave. They decided to follow Tiger and saw that Graypool (who had retired to the elder’s den because of dementia) was following him. Spruce tried to catch up to their mom without tiger seeing them, but they were too late to stop Graypool from falling to her death. Spruce was in absolute shock and attacked Fireheart when he went to check on the body. Spruce calmed down enough to realize fire wasn’t going to be disrespectful or dangerous and they brought Graypool back to RiverClan where Mistyfoot found them.

By this time the three would’ve been close to becoming warriors, but they were allowed to stall a bit to mourn the death of their mom. Reedpaw and Sprucepaw were severely hurt by her death, and even Grousepaw looked sadder than usual. Then Crookedstar died and Leopardstar became leader, with Stonefur as her deputy. The trio was proud of their older brother.

Sprucepaw was a mess and didn’t want to tell anyone about what had happened for Graypool to die. They had already been reprimanded too often for bad mouthing tigerstar. Leopardstar wasn’t going to be listening to their word about the dark tabby any time soon, and things didn’t get better when ShadowClan warriors began showing up regularly in RiverClan to “trade information” or something. Sprucepaw was never allowed to be in the same area as them since Spruce would’ve been an aggressive little shit to the shadowclanners.

Then Tigerstar fully merged the two clans under the banner of TigerClan. Spruce did a lot of effort to not outright oppose the decision of their leader and mentor and of the shadowclan tyran. When Stonefur, Mistyfoot, her kits, Featherpaw, and Stormpaw were being kept prisoner Sprucepaw was fuming, but Reedpaw helped them stay just quiet enough to not be in trouble. The day of the execution Sprucepaw was outraged. They were going to intervene and fight for Stonefur and kill both darkstripe and blackfoot immediately. Grousepaw on the other hand didn’t want that to happen and bodied Sprucepaw against the ground before they could try anything stupid. Grousepaw argued that they did deserve to be punished, and that either way it wasn’t their battle to fight. Grouse wasn’t going to let Sprucepaw tarnish their reputation even more with their outlandish acts. Sprucepaw, who had always been the best fighter of their litter, did easily throw Grousepaw off them, but by this time Stonefur was being attacked by both Blackfoot and Darkstripe and was about to die.

Sprucepaw didn’t care if Stonefur was only their half-sibling or whatever, they cared about him and sprang on Darkstripe's back. One quick bite took care of darkstripe, but stonefur was already dead. Sprucepaw was attempting to attack blackfoot too, but Leopardstar sprang down and dragged Sprucepaw away herself. Sprucepaw wasn’t put in the same prison as the “halfclanners” but Tigerstar had a more amusing (to him, and him only) punishment in his head. He had been wanting to deal with Reedpaw for a while now and either Sprucepaw killed Reedpaw, either Tigerstar killed xir himself, but Sprucepaw would Have to watch and then die too by his claws. (this isn’t killing apprentices I swear! They should have been warriors by now if their feelings about a dead cat hadn’t made them weak (he’s talking about Graypool here)).

Sprucepaw snapped and sprang for Tigerstar’s throat. They were in for the double kill that day, but Tigerstar simply threw them in the river with one slap of their paw. This is also the time that the alarm was given that the “halfclanners” had escaped and the pursuit was launched, so Reedpaw had one moment to grab Sprucepaw and book it and so xe did. By escaping through the larger part of the river Reedpaw assured the fact that no shadowclanner would try to follow them. Grousepaw didn’t try to, but it only resulted in an all out brawl between Sprucepaw, Reedpaw and Grousepaw. Spruce accused Grouse of only caring about themselves and their beloved reputation and not doing anything for their fucking littermates, while also clawing a huge wound on grouse’s cheek Reed and Spruce escaped RiverClan, leaving Grousepaw battered and alone.

Spruce and Reed wondered what they should do now that they were out of RiverClan, Spruce still disliked ThunderClan too much to live there and ShadowClan was even more infested with tigerstar’s filth than even RiverClan. Their wondering didn’t last long as a WindClan patrol found them sopping wet and wounded and asked what the fuck they were doing. The two apprentices were taken to WindClan to at least recover from that, before they’d choose what to do next.

In RiverClan shit was not pretty. Tigerstar was fuming that he lost both all the “halfclanners” and those two pesky apprentices he oh so dearly wanted to hurt. Grousepaw, though, had shown to be a trusty and loyal RiverClanner and Tigerstar proposed to finally give them a warrior name for their hard service to TigerClan. Grousepaw was intimidated by this, but accepted (with a bit of prodding by Leopardstar because it’d lighten up the mood a bit from the morose state the clan was in). Grousepaw got the name Grouseclaw and was immediately given the role of RiverClan deputy by Tigerstar.

Tigerstar did still want to fucking murder Spruce and Reed and after he discovered that the two were resting in WindClan he decided to launch a raid on WindClan to 1. scare them into joining TigerClan, 2. intimidate ThunderClan by proxy and 3. kill Spruce and Reed finally. It took a few days for the raid to actually be prepared and in that time Tigerstar mostly planned things with Grouseclaw instead of either blackfoot (because he’s too dumb) or Leopardstar (because she has the backbone of a chocolate eclair and is too weak simply). Grouseclaw had a lot of expectation thrust onto them suddenly and didn’t have a lot of time to fully think about their confrontation with Spruce and Reed, until the night right before the launch. Tigerstar had told Grouse to sleep early to be fully ready for the next day, as there they would finally be able to take their revenge on Spruce and Reed for betraying RiverClan.

Grouse couldn’t sleep and looked at the reflection of the moon in the river. They finally decided that they weren’t going to let their siblings, nor anyone else be hurt because of their inaction and sneaked off to windclan. Their visit was very unwelcome, the other clans had heard the news of their sudden promotion, and Tallstar’s wasn’t really going to listen to Grouse, especially after SPruce and Reed told their story. Grouse pleaded, and got to share the information they had publicly, to the entire clan if they wanted to say anything. So they did and they told WindClan about Tigerstar’s plans. Grouseclaw left right after telling that news, Sprucepaw and Reedpaw didn’t want to talk to them at all. WindClan didn’t fully trust Grouseclaw, but after they left they did prepare themselves for an attack.

The camp was securitized, a very fast runner that knew where thunderclan’s camp was had to be prepared at all times in case they got attacked, the nursery got evacuated, the kits and elders were sent to stay with Ravenpaw and Barley (the two were very welcoming dw about them). WindClan was ready for a fight and when early in the morning Tigerstar launched the raid, Onewhisker ran as fast as he’s never ran to reach ThunderClan. While he was running, the other cats were fighting viciously. Tigerstar booked it for Tallstar while he had his goons trample the whole camp and destroy it as much as possible (fucking jaggedtooth even ate a whole rabbit while rampaging the camp). The fight was still very unfair since it was riverclan AND shadowclan against WindClan, but ThunderClan didn’t take long to arrive. In this time Tigerstar did have Gorsepaw pinned, but Sprucepaw was still in a rage mode and sprang on Tigerstar’s back and destabilized him enough to let Gorsepaw escape.

Sprucepaw landed on the ground and got pinned instead of Gorsepaw, but now both Reedpaw and Grouseclaw attacked Tigerstar. Sprucepaw escaped and began yelling about everything Tigerstar had done, even being the reason that Graypool died. A good few RiverClan cats (very much including Grouseclaw) were horrified by that fact. After ThunderClan showed up, Tigerstar decided to retreat. He called TigerClan back and did a lot of effort to scare them into obedience. By some miracle he hadn’t seen that Grouseclawwas the one that had attacked him with Reedpaw and neither did Tiger’s closest followers, who were busy keeping the WindClanners away from Tiger. Only riverclan cats saw what Grouseclaw had done.

TigerClan was becoming more unstable by the days, but luckily a confrontation against ThunderClan and WindClan would happen soon, so Tiger didn’t have to do a lot of heavy lifting to keep all the RiverClan cats from betraying him. He did decide to constantly have his closest followers surround him like a guard, which didn’t help with the mood in the clan.

On the day of the facing-off the tensions were High. RiverClan was being more and more “rebellious” by the hour, and Tiger had at least punished one cat already, but the final moment was due and at fourtrees he called upon Scourge and BloodClan. Like in canon, Scourge killed him. The fight against TigerClan wouldn’t happen anymore, but BloodClan was now the new threat. RiverClan and WindClan were going to fight on the same side. Sprucepaw was still too angry at Grouseclaw to even look at them, but Reedpaw and Grouseclaw exchanged some words before the big showdown.

Sprucepaw was with the other apprentices that killed Bone after Whitestorm’s death, but a bit later they got cornered against highrock by three very angry BloodClanners. Both Reedpaw and Grouseclaw saw that happen and they instinctively attacked one bloodclanner each, leaving one for Sprucepaw to deal with. After the three bloodclanners fled Sprucepaw quickly said thanks to Grouseclaw before fighting by Gorsepaw’s side to tear a big bloodclan cat away from Mudclaw. Grouseclaw stood dumbfounded for a short moment, but quickly returned to fighting. Reedpaw found Skyheart wounded and helped them to the healers before joining Sprucepaw in the action again.

The rest of the fight went like in canon. Firestar kills Scourge, the bloodclan cats flee the forest for good (let’s ignore their returns in this au). The clans were settling again after the whole thing, but a few cats still needed to find their place. Sprucepaw didn’t want to return to RiverClan, ever. They couldn’t look Leopardstar in the face and would’ve honestly preferred if she stepped down. Reedpaw liked living in WindClan and talked with Sprucepaw about what they’d like to do both. Spruce knew they wanted to be with Reedpaw no matter what, and gotta say, they also kinda liked WindClan too, especially a little orange and white apprentice.

Grouseclaw didn’t know what they would have to do now. Their promotion to deputyhood had broken the code very brutally and they had done a few heinous things while following Tigerstar. They stepped down from the role, but they stayed a prominent figure in the clan, simply because of how they dared to fight against tigerstar in WindClan. They worked hard to regain the trust and respect from the other cats, in an actual and genuine way *looks at Leopardstar* and began working hard to make cats less prone to the same things that had led to Tigerstar’s rule.

When in TNP, when Leopardstar was being a bit too xenophobic again, Grouseclaw was one of the first cats to fight back against it openly. They dared to admit their faults and dared Leopard to do the same. It didn’t go amazingly well, but it did force Leopard to reconsider her actions, simply because of her public image. Grouseclaw did know that Spruce and Reed would probably never want to be close with them again, and while it hurt them a lot, they knew what they had done and didn’t try to push.

Reed and Spruce became warriors in WindClan after quite a while longer as apprentices since they needed to learn how WindClan cats hunt and live. (Sprucepaw was becoming so restless from being an apprentice for more than a year, nearly two actually), but they eventually became warriors and got the names Reedspring and Sprucecrash.

Spruce really never fully forgave Grouse. they simply don’t want to talk to them ever again. Reed on the other hand does have some polite chats with Grouse when they see each other at gatherings or on border patrol. In the rare cases that WindClan and RiverClan fight, the three simply don’t attack each other and focus on other cats.

Sprucecrash and Gorsefire became mates around TNP. They don’t have kits, but they spend a lot of time together. Reedspring doesn’t know what to do with them sometimes, but xe loves xir sibling and their mate.

#warrior cats #morningdraws #oakheart #graypool #thrushpelt #hypokits #silly little kitties :)#warrior cats au #thunderclan #riverclan #tigerclaw #tigerstar #leopardstar

16 notes · View notes

residences-of-the-darkforest · 11 months ago

Text

Dark Forest Resident: Blackclover

TW: This story will contain strong mention of drug addiction.

Aliases / Nicknames: Herb-stealer

Gender: tom

Sexuality: homosexual

Family: Icelily (mother), Pondheart (father), Whistlespring, Firstripe (sisters), Flintarch (mate, formerly)

Other Relations: unnamed mentor, Sandburn (apprentice)

Clan: ShadowClan

Rank: warrior

Characteristics: optimistic (formerly), likes random fun facts, pessimistic, in constant pain

Motive to Harm: to stop his pain

Number of Victims: 2+

Number of Murders: 0

Murder Method: N/A

Method of Harm: clawing in blind rage, destroying herbs

Known Victims: Flintarch, unnamed medicine cat, unnamed Clanmates, unnamed WindClan cats

Victim Profile: his mate, the medicine cat, ShadowClanners, WindClanners

Cause of Death: poppy seed overdose

Cautionary Tale: ??

Story:

His life was good.

His mother loved him, and though his father rarely visited, that didn't affect Blackkit much. He spent enough time preoccupied with nuzzling with Icelily or playing with his sisters or visiting the elders to really notice.

But as an apprentice, he began to see little things. Like how Flintpaw's father cheered just as loud as his mother at his ceremony, and how he always asked his son how his day was. Was that how it was supposed to be like? Or was Flintpaw's family strange?

Blackpaw decided to try it out. After one training session, he approached his father and asked if they could share a sparrow. Pondheart was open to it, but any form of conversation was utterly dull. Anything Blackpaw said, he would only get 'mmms' and 'uh-huhs' in response.

When they were done eating, Blackpaw padded away dejectedly--and walked into Flintpaw, who sympathised, having seen what happened. Blackpaw was on-edge at first, after all Flintpaw had just beaten him quite humiliatingly in training, but it turned out that the older apprentice was really nice!

He asked about the things Blackpaw had mentioned to his father, allowing Blackpaw to talk about them with someone. He wasn't Pondheart, but maybe he was better--after all, he actually listened and talked back. So more and more, Blackpaw would go to him. And Flintpaw would go to him in turn if he had something he wanted to talk about.

They spent more time together. First to talk, then to also play, then to talk and play and patrol together, then it was whatever they wanted to do.

By the time they were young warriors, it was clear that they were the most important cat in each other's lives. Becoming mates felt like the next natural step....though Blackclover was near sweating his fur off at the prospect of Flintarch saying no. He proposed while the two were alone on a dusk patrol, and they slept in a shared nest the following night.

For moons, everything was perfect. Pondheart may be indifferent, but Blackclover cared less and less. He had a wonderful mother, he had the best annoying sisters, and he had the love of his life who he woke to curled around him every morning.

His mentor, too, had been a wonderful guide, and his apprentice had been energetic enough to make him feel as young as a kit.

Then it rained, over and over again until the streams became fast-flowing rivers that swept anything that entered it away.

Sandpaw had been too confident. She thought she could catch a frog that sat on a rock by the shore, but she ended up slipping into the water. Instantly, it began to drag her below to surface and away.

Blackclover ran after her without thinking, not caring about his own safety. He told--practically ordered--Flintarch, who had been with them, to get help while he went after Sandpaw.

He ran and ran until his paw pads bleed and burned, and ran more, then leaped along the stones dotted along the rushing water until at last he could reach Sandpaw's scruff and help swing her to the shore--but she was heavy, the rock was slippery, and the effort of the swing caused him to fall and slam his chest into the ragged edge of the stone.

He was lucky enough to be rescued by the patrol his mate had fetched. But that's as far as his luck would go.

The pain was unbearable.

The medicine cat suspected that he broke three ribs at most, but other than that, she couldn't tell what was happening inside of him. She could only offer him medicine.

Horsetail was applied all around his chest as a precaution to rid of infection and clean the wounds.

There was bindweed and comfrey root, which was wrapped around his chest and the spine behind it so that his bones could heal undisturbed.

He was given coltsfoot once a day to ease his breathing.

But his best friend became the poppy seeds.

The poppy seeds soothed his pain. Even better, they eased his distress.

When he didn't have them, the pain felt as though it was digging in more and more, spreading throughout his body.

His apprentice, who had to be trained under another warrior while he healed, couldn't cheer him up, not even when she received her full name.

His loving mate couldn't distract him against the intense ache, even when they lay wrapped together.

Only the poppy seeds could keep the agony at bay. But the more he ate, the less affective it was. He needed them in higher and higher doses, doses so high that the medicine cat refused to give him what he needed, stating that it was dangerous.

Frustrated and in pain, Blackclover swung his claws in a fit of fury, scratching the healer's muzzle and earning him the ire of his Clanmates.

They didn't understand.

Neither did Flintarch or Sandburn, who tried to help him heal in other ways--stretching his front legs, massaging his chest, breathing deeply. But none of what they tried helped at all.

With each passing day, the pain only dug deeper and sharper, and his only comfort were the poppy seeds that he wasn't even able to take that much of. And now, they didn't relieve him like they did before. It took care of the pain, but only slightly, and their effect fell quickly.

He became desperate. When convincing the medicine cat to give him more failed, he broke into the herb stores himself while she was away. But as he searched, the pain got worse, and he became frustrated again. Near crazed, he threw any herb he came across that weren't the poppy seeds.

The ruckus caught the attention of Flintarch, who attempted to pull him away.

He was angry.

He was so desperate.

In a fit, he swung blindly, and struck his mate.

They had stared at each other in shock. Flintarch's ear was split, dripping blood down the side of his face. He told Blackclover that he had a choice: him or the herbs.

Why couldn't anyone understand?

The medicine cat said that his ribs had healed, there was no reason to continue taking medication.

But the pain was still there. And when the poppy seeds were stored in a hidden area, he only suffered more. He was unable to sleep, he trembled from the anxiety that crashed through his entire body and had sweat through his fur until his nest soaked, the nest that most of the time he was too depressed to rise just to clean it.

Flintarch tried to support him. Blackclover knew it, but he was suffering too much for it to matter.

Then he was put on a battle patrol that was to attack the WindClan camp. The other Clan's medicine den caught his eye...

His leader was furious. The whole Clan was furious. He went too far, destroying their herbs.

They all thought that he wanted to weaken them, but Flintarch saw through that. He told Blackclover that he knew now was Blackclover's choice was, and that they were through.

Their rage, the break-up, it only made his anxiety worse. He was rocked by emotional turmoil at the same time pain stabbed through his chest with every passing second.

He knew what his body was telling him.

He needed the poppy seeds.

At the Half-moon meeting, when the den was unguarded, he snuck in. It took a long time, but at last he found the hidden treasure. He lapped them up, already feeling the relief, and lapped them up more and more. He became a bit confused, and then disoriented, but he shoved the feelings away and kept lapping.

He swallowed down so much, and some of it came back up again, coughed onto the floor in red vomit. Blackclover stared at it, dizzy, then turned his head when he heard his name called.

Silhouetted in the entrance with just enough light to see his features, Flintarch shook his head sadly, ear split and half of his face drenched with blood. He whispered to Blackclover that he made his choice.

Then everything went dark.

Additional Information:

--Another song resident! This one was from @liberhoe who suggested the number 148. The song is Wasted by 8 Graves (lyrics here).

Other songs I have that could connect to the story are When We Die by Yungblud (lyrics in video) and The Mystic by Adam Jensen (lyrics here).

--This took a while to write because 1) I was REALLY tired, 2) I had to write exams and 3) I wanted to have enough energy to really focus on the story and get it right.

--Flintarch in the very end here was just a hallucination. If it had really been him, he would have instantly tried to help.

--Blackclover DID break three ribs, but he had also damaged nerves around the same area that the medicine cat was not able to find, so not only was he in double pain, but when his ribs healed, everyone thought that the pain was in his head or just an excuse to get more medication, which was of course absolutely frustrating.

--Poppy seeds were chosen because they help with pain, help to calm, and can be deadly in high doses (which was why he was cut off).

--The poppy seeds lost their effect because his body became used to it.

--To put it short: Black got injured saving his apprentice. His pain was severe, and the only thing that could soothe him were poppy seeds. Literally nothing else helped his pain, 99-100% due to the actual source of his pain not being treated at all. But he could only have so much before it was dangerous, so the med cat cut him off. But that gave him withdrawal symptoms and that mixed with his physical pains made him feel even worse, to the point that he only cared about finding and taking poppy seeds. As well, others thought that he was faking or being dramatic because his bones healed but his nerves didn't (and they didn't know about the nerve issue). The physical pains, the withdrawal, and the lack of support all made it worse.

--Flintarch tried to help for a long time.

--In the Dark Forest, Blackclover felt incredibly guilty for how he had treated Flintarch, and refused for anyone else to get close to him, because he didn't want to hurt them. But there is a tom that will eventually find his way into his heart.

--For the record, I DO NOT believe that Black should be in the Dark Forest. He was condemned by StarClan, and we all know their way (and to clear up, he was condemned for stealing or destroying herbs which could have had terrible consequences for the sick or injured, attackingtwo of his Clanmates, and going against the orders of both his leader and healer).

2 notes · View notes

violets-in-her-arms-writes · 2 years ago

Text

Find the Words {1}

Thanks @thewriteflame for tagging me! I had a lot of fun 💜

Surprisingly (or not), I haven't once mentioned a mountain or used the word match in La Fledgling, so I had to look elsewhere. Which means I can now subject all of you to two other projects of mine (not WIPs because they are no longer in progress. I'm halfway through the third book for the Witch's Time and 15k into the last book of ELT).

(I had to twist muse into amusement, because I wanted to add an extract from La Fledgling... sorry... 😶)

Words: mountain, match, market, muse, minute

Mountain

The Cave was not that large. There were rumors and legends of caves that could hold several hundred people and entire civilizations, caves where forests flourished and mountains rose, where rivers and lakes flowed. Ours was just a normal cavern.

The stone walls were covered with symbols that glowed in rhythm with the incantations used. Plants were sprouting in one corner, constantly monitored by a community member whose job it was to keep them from dying. To be honest, I didn't understand how they could possibly grow in the first place, let alone survive in such a dark place.

~The Witch’s Time (t.1), chapter 4

Match

Year of the Hare

Knowing that Llewella isn't Lorelei doesn't take away the fact that she's one hell of a nut jub. Holy fucking shit, she's so stubborn! We all know she has magic, but she still refuses to... to... to do anything, really! She doesn't want to talk about matching magical properties, doesn't want to talk about her potent magic. She doesn't want to experiment with her own magic, doesn't want to know the limits and constraints of it, even though its the basis of everything! And she refused to listen to Yawen and I. She acts as if every piece of advice we give her is an insult to her intelligence. Which is not the case! It's just that it' s dangerous for her to stay with an untrained magic. Dangerous for her, but also for others.

But try to explain that to miss I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about-I-don't-have-magic.

~The Witch's Time (t.2), chapter 7

Market

Today, Flostre didn't have class, which meant that he spent his time following her around, asking her a thousand and one questions (some of which she was unable to answer) and touching everything. Ah, the joys of having a ten-year-old apprentice! He had taken a passion for candles, ever since his mother had dropped him off one day in Huilion's store. Unfortunately, Adaeze was working that day and the kid had just… imprinted on her. So now, when his mother went to the market, when she left to pick up her other kids or just when she needed a break (the gods know the poor woman deserved it), Adaeze had to keep an eye on him.

~Le retour de l'Oubliée (ELT t.1), chapter 12

Muse

"They think Lou is bringing…to tell you the truth, I'm not sure. They said something about her sire or someone from her original nest, but we weren't too sure what that meant, so we're improvising." "Again, I'm sure everything will work out for the best," Iris chirped, hiding her laughter behind her hand. "Look, so far, all our plans have been successful, I don't see why this one would be any different." "If you say so," Alex muttered before kissing me on the cheek and putting on her coat. "But you know if you need help, we're here." "And, if needed, we'll come get you out." Charlie's voice was deep and sincere. The other two nodded at the same time. Behind my back, Ana was silent, but I knew she was watching the situation carefully, despite the toxic mixture coursing through her veins. "You'd come looking for me in a den of overpowered vampires," I repeated with amusement. "Yes. But we'd rather not, so be careful." Iris never lied. Iris couldn't lie, really, but in cases like this, I'd still rather she kept her mouth shut than tell me things like that. No. Even if we were in trouble, I wouldn't call them. I'm not going to have their death on my conscience. Ana would do as she always did, which was to say that she would just do her own thing and rush into danger, regardless of whether I agreed or not, but the others would wisely stay home. "I promise," I lied with my fingers crossed behind my back.

~La Fledgling, chapter 1

Minute

Had she never watched Dirty Dancing before? "This is my dance space, this is your dance space" could, and should, be applied to any situation. If someone was less than sixty centimeters from me, it was already too close. And the vampire's voice was sliding against my skin in an unpleasant way. I rubbed my ear against my bare shoulder, suppressing a shiver. "Whose fault is that, one wonders? Wouldn't it be just great if the hosts saw me standing next to their ruined tablecloth when I've been here for five minutes?" I mumbled under my breath while trying to wipe the blood stain that was still spreading on the white tablecloth. "Why? Are you scared?" I swallowed my initial response which was to repeat that line from the Lion King "danger, I laugh at danger". After all, I was here undercover and given that the mansion didn't even have electricity (really, I was going to have to pay a visit to the Rodins' ASAP), I kind of doubted that anyone in this room had watched a Disney movie.

~La Fledgling, chapter 3

Tagging : @lena-rambles, @ryns-ramblings, @junypr-camus & @amewinterswriting, and anyone who wants to give it a try 💜

Words: trip; throne; tired; tempt; tone

Good luck and have fun !

(@ladyniniane on devrait faire une version francophone ! Je veux lire des extraits de ce que tu écris moi, même si je peux pas lire la fic en entier sous peine de rien comprendre XD)

#tag games #écriture #wip: la fledgling #wip: witch's time #très déçue que mon “vampires ultra-craqués” soit intraduisible en anglais 😔 “overpowered” ça a juste pas le même cachet

5 notes · View notes

mallowstep · 3 years ago

Note

(More information on the Dark AU (you don't have to post if you don't want too))

Blackfoot follows Brokenstar and Tigerstar because--not because he's an evil cat, but because he feels like he needs to help keep their 'evil,' or 'Mess,' contained....He feels..responsible, in a way, for them and their choices. In this AU, Brokenstar wanted to start training kits as soon as they opened their eyes. Blackfoot talked him into waiting until three moons, although he has always wish he could have talked him into waiting a few moons later. He and Misty met as apprentices at a gathering, and continued to sneak off to meet each other (sort of like Oakheart and Bluestar) he told Misty of course, of what Brokenstar did to Raggedstar and what he was doing to Shadowclan, but He wouldn't leave when Misty asked him too. He told her he needed to try and contain Brokenstar. That's all he's ever tried to do. Is *contain* Brokenstar, and Tigerstar. In This AU, the rescue is a mix of Leopard AU and Cannon (where Fire, Grey, Misty, Storm, Feather, Tiger, Dark ect) see Blackfoot kill Stone. Except he doesn't. 8n this AU Blackfoot is...gifted you could say...with making it look like he's killed someone, even in front of other cats. Even in front of Tigerstar. Blackfoot says he'll dispose of Stone's body (whose actually just knocked out, the blood is a mix of Blackfoot's and prey blood) and everyone breaks up. This is when Misty (after Tiger is gone.(Leopard led him away for a bit, maybe)) Says she'll never forgive Blackfoot. That she hates that she still loves him. That he's not the original cat she gave her heart too, and she never wants to see him again. Blackfoot (heartbroken, but stotic) carries Stonefur's knocked out body over to Thunderclan's forest and leaves it in the sandy hollow, where he knows it will be found soon as Thunderclan uses that area frequently to train apprentices. But because Blackfoot took too long getting rid of Stonefur's body, and didn't bring anything back for the kill pile, Tigerstar orders Darkstripe to kill Pikepaw and Perchpaw to cut down on mouths to feed, even though Blackfoot starts to object, but Russet stops him. He cannot help his mate nor surviving children if he gives himself away, she reminds him. (Thus the whole drug Prim, Reed, and Boulder, Russet help him sneak them out, they Find Bramble ect. Leopard takes the fall for it all as she helped Misty and Feather escape)

Things I thought about this morning:

Tigerstar *would* definitely use Blackfoot's kindness and objections as a way to destroy more of Mudfur's and Leopard's relationship. Blackfoot would not know this, all he sees is yet another father *letting* a leader destroy their kit.

Blackfoot would *definitely* sneak any herbs he could remember to Leopard. Most would be useless, like thyme, but he would bring her many poppy seeds.

(They reconcile during the journey. They still very much love each other before, but...complicated.)

(Way after, once they're at the lakes)

Misty would fucking hate Onestar after she (and riverclan) found out his lie and his want for more land. During the eclipse battle she had gone up against Blackstar, and Breezepaw (whom she never forgives) takes one of Blackstar's lives once Misty has him pinned down.

part 3. god. every installment and i -- god. okay. i'm going to. yeah. cut.

cw: sexual assault, parent involved in sexual assault of child

In this AU, Brokenstar wanted to start training kits as soon as they opened their eyes.

Blackfoot talked him into waiting until three moons, although he has always wish he could have talked him into waiting a few moons later.

He and Misty met as apprentices at a gathering, and continued to sneak off to meet each other (sort of like Oakheart and Bluestar) he told Misty of course, of what Brokenstar did to Raggedstar and what he was doing to Shadowclan, but He wouldn't leave when Misty asked him too.

He told her he needed to try and contain Brokenstar.

That's all he's ever tried to do. Is *contain* Brokenstar, and Tigerstar.

In This AU, the rescue is a mix of Leopard AU and Cannon (where Fire, Grey, Misty, Storm, Feather, Tiger, Dark ect) see Blackfoot kill Stone.

Except he doesn't.

8n this AU Blackfoot is...gifted you could say...with making it look like he's killed someone, even in front of other cats.

Even in front of Tigerstar.

Blackfoot says he'll dispose of Stone's body (whose actually just knocked out, the blood is a mix of Blackfoot's and prey blood) and everyone breaks up.

This is when Misty (after Tiger is gone.(Leopard led him away for a bit, maybe)) Says she'll never forgive Blackfoot.

That she hates that she still loves him.

That he's not the original cat she gave her heart too, and she never wants to see him again.

Blackfoot (heartbroken, but stotic) carries Stonefur's knocked out body over to Thunderclan's forest and leaves it in the sandy hollow, where he knows it will be found soon as Thunderclan uses that area frequently to train apprentices.

But because Blackfoot took too long getting rid of Stonefur's body, and didn't bring anything back for the kill pile, Tigerstar orders Darkstripe to kill Pikepaw and Perchpaw to cut down on mouths to feed, even though Blackfoot starts to object, but Russet stops him.

He cannot help his mate nor surviving children if he gives himself away, she reminds him.

(Thus the whole drug Prim, Reed, and Boulder, Russet help him sneak them out, they Find Bramble ect. Leopard takes the fall for it all as she helped Misty and Feather escape)

oh my god i love this? (i only copied in the first part btw) okay okay okay first.

y'all can decide what this says about me, but my first thought when i saw, "brokenstar wanted to apprentice kits as soon as they opened their eyes" was "brokenstar no toddlers make terrible child soldiers."

moving on...god there's so much to play into. guilt? was containing enough? how many cats would have to get hurt? should he have acted?

perchpaw and pikepaw are dead because he didn't act. well, he wanted to, but -- god. you know. i mean i'm referencing how i think he'd guilt himself. anyway.

tigerstar would 100% use blackfoot's kindness to his advantage. i bet like -- he might even know that blackfoot is bringing her herbs, but pretend not to, around blackfoot. and around leopardstar -- it's an act of pity. i think pity is the worst thing. leopardstar is so proud.

also the imagery of like. blackfoot just. grabbing a mouthful of herbs. "hope this helps leopardstar gotta go pretend to b evil bye."

sorry. it just made me laugh.

but no -- even though it would definitely help destroy her relationship with mudfur (he's the medicine cat, after all), it would be -- a small kindness that meant a lot to her.

and yes! okay i'm glad misty and black reconcile. even if it takes time. which i mean -- understandable lmao.

also damn okay that's so not the most important part but breezepaw? fucking killed a leader? oh my god? i mean it's just one life but holy shit? shadowclan is going to mock blackstar for that, right, like

"hey boss. don't worry, no apprentices sneaking in."

i'm sorry that's -- russetfur is never letting him live it down i refuse to accept that.

#dark au #ask #anon #leopard au #mine #fdal;jjkldf i got funny at the end #sorry #i just made myself laugh

7 notes · View notes

indigobackfire · 4 years ago

Text

HPHM OC Profile ✧

Aspen Samwise

" You got the same fire as your parents, Aspen, the fire of a fighter. Yet even brighter. I'm sure you'll make Slytherin proud. "

Full Name: Aspen Silverwood Samwise.

Nicknames: Penn, Penny, Sammy, Pipi (by her grandparents).

Gender: Female.

Birthday: 25th of June, 1975

Born: Glasgow, Scotland.

Parents: Ariel Samwise, Heather Silverwood S. - both Purebloods, Slytherins, and Scottish.

Siblings: None, she's a precious only child.

Ethnicity: Scottish (with Spanish and Slavic roots).

Sexuality: Heterosexual.

Blood status: Pureblood.

MBTI: ESTJ-A

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Appearance

Eyes: Her eyes are light blue with tiny brown specks.

Hair: Her hair is a dark brown very close to black, with white streaks scattered throughout, two falling right at the front, some back on her nape. It's straight with some wave to it. She has had it in various lengths throughout her Hogwarts years.

Height: She's a short baby - I'm bad with heights but I'd say 1,66m (5'4"ft).

• Her most prominent characteristic is her Piebaldism - that she got while her mother was pregnant and was hit by a miscast curse. It's all over her body, taking over big patches of skin, her hair and face. Her parents taught her to appreciate it and she grows to like it as it makes her look unique and stand out in the crowd.

• She likes her nails done and dark, but only starts having them long when she's older.

• She has both ears pierced and doesn't like wearing any makeup in daily life - but on special occasions, man, nobody can hold her back.

Magical Aspects

Wand: Ebony wood with Unicorn hair core, 11½", brittle flexibility.

Ebony is happiest in the hand of those with the courage to be themselves. Frequently non-conformist, highly individual, or comfortable with the status of outsider, ebony wand owners have been found both among the ranks of the Order of the Phoenix and among the Death Eaters. The ebony wand’s perfect match is one who will hold fast to his or her beliefs, no matter what the external pressure, and will not be swayed lightly from their purpose.

Patronus: Gemsbok. The largest and best known of the four species of oryx, or straight-horned antelope. It is one of the best desert-adapted large mammals, capable of surviving in waterless wastelands where many animals would perish. A horned creature like her father's Marco Polo Sheep and her mother's Addax.

Animagus: Eurasian Hobby. From the moment she found out Indigo was an animagus, she pestered her for months to help her become one as well, so in the middle of her fourth year, Indigo and Talbott help her through it, except she has to fetch the ingredients herself.

• She picks the Eurasian Hobby (type of falcon) after some research for its speed [speeds up to 99 mph (159 km/h)] and size - which is way smaller than Talbott's Golden Eagle - making a perfect animal for blending in and making a quick escape.

Abilities: Being really effing annoying and a good dancer. Oh, magical ones? Yeah, none.

Boggart: She has two major boggarts in her life:

Failing to protect those she loves by being incompetent, and it takes the form of someone she loves (alternating between family members) and an unknown person yelling at her for being unable to protect them.

Then, hurting someone she loves because she has become too obstinate and revenge thirsty, someone dark. It's combined with other fear that is seeing Diego hurt, so it's him she sees as the person suffering because of her.

Amortentia: Bonfires - she associates the smell and sound with bonfire parties her parents used to throw -, Crisp cold air - she's a Scot who loves the cold -, Peppermint toads and spicy salsa - she might have or haven't tasted it in a certain someone's kiss.

Miscellaneous

Pets: A white Bearded Dragon, Sugar Cube.

Things she always carries with her: Her wand, a dagger, a beanie, peppermint frogs, and snacks for her pet.

Lucky Amulets: A wasp-shaped brooch of gold and precious stones that's a family heirloom.

Best Friends

Barnaby: Her first and best Slytherin friend, because at first they were spying on each other - Barney for Merula and Aspen for Indigo - but it goes as one might expect from these two idiots. He helps her in the Forbidden Forest and she helps him with homework. She's the only person he's truly emotional with because he knows she won't judge him. She knows he had a crush on her cousin and pushed him to ask her out.

Linda Hoàng (OC): Her best girlfriend, tiny and chubby, the cutest and quirkiest Slytherin anyone could meet. The first Slytherin female seeker in many years. A hands-on creatures lover - the one getting her hands dirty, literally. Half Vietnamese and muggle-born - yeah, nobody knows what she's doing in Slytherin.

Andre: Just as sassy as Aspen and the one to give her fashion advice. He basically takes the young Slytherin as his "apprentice" - partially afraid she would become like a mini Merula/Ismelda. He teaches her dangerous spells the teachers don't.

Ismelda: For many years they don't get along, Ismelda's humor is too dark and cruel for her taste, and she's overall very shady. That until water starts to get shaky on her and her cousins' side and they need her help. She's forced to get to know her better when she finds out Phoenix has a crush on her, and through that, she discovers they're not that different after all.

Murphy: She has a crush on him for a while, but even when that dies down, she sticks around because she loves hearing him talk about strategy and thinks he's one of the smartest people she has met in Hogwarts. They play intense chess matches.

Jae: They share the same chaotic energy so it's just natural. He's her loyal detention companion and they enjoy having walks around Hogwarts talking about nothing in particular.

Academics

Favorite Classes:

Charms

History of Magic

DADA

Muggle Studies

Least Favorite:

Divination

Care of Magical Creatures

Arithmancy

Favorite Professor: Snape. She's a sassy, non-conformist, annoying Slytherin, what you want me to say?

Least Favorite: Quirinus Quirrell. He was her DADA professor for a while and she couldn't stand his stuttering, she also hated his classes.

Quidditch: She considered joining the team for the longest time but decided to pursue other passions, besides she would have to play against Indigo and other of her friends which she preferred not. She would've made a great seeker though.

Favorite Team: Montrose Magpies. Just like her family. She really excited when Indigo decided to start supporting them as well.

The last of my Silverwood family trio. Slytherin might be the house I'm least compatible with, still, I love coming up with her story and personality.

#hphm oc #hogwarts mystery #aspen samwise #oc profile #slytherin

23 notes · View notes

goatpaste · 4 years ago

Text

WC design/headcannon/ect masterlist- Part A

just a list of ALL my designs for headcanons, maybe some design updates, any other comments or AU ideas i have. on main characters and characters with no plot!

These are all the cats who name starts with ‘A’, posting these in alphabetical order to not overload just one list lol

all under the cut >:3

Acorn Fur

my Acorn Fur design changed slightly as she used to be more red saturated and i wanted her to not so much like my Red Claw Design

My biggest Headcanon for her is she absolutely didn’t listen to Moth Flight and ended up giving birth to two kit’s with Red claw as the father. they names are Rain Stone and Oak Stump

Acornpaw

Acornpaw, ancient skyclan warrior

i like the idea of Acornpaw is a decedent of Acorn Fur and one of the last generations of her family that would remember her name

A warrior name i think would be nice for him is Acorndrop

Acorntail

Acorntail, ancient windclan deputy.

i can imagine he was named the way he was being smallest in his litter, losing his tail to a rabbit trap when he’s older

acorntail stick with being deputy for awhile but i can see either he even after training an apprentice can’t keep up with the duties and once again insist that Morningcloud is made deputy. oR acorntail becoming leader as Acornstar and morningcloud or her apprentice Quickpaw being made his deputy

Adderkit

Adderkit, starclan kit who used to live in windclan and died by adder bite, named for it and was avanged by tallstar

I imagine Adderkit was originally named Burrowkit born to Ashfoot and Deadfoot in their first litter with Eaglekit. Adderkit died on Windclans Journey to find a home after shadowclan chased them out.

Adderkit was very young when they died i picture their memory of their living life being EXTREMELY blurry, they know their windclan and they died by an adder. its why they renamed themself, and they barely remember who their mom and dad were.

Adderpaw

Adderpaw, ancient windclan apprentice who was around to the apprentice age limit code

Adderpaw was name for what a good few other ‘adder’ and snake named kits are named for, their tail wiggling around with its patterns look like that of a skinny snake.

Adderpaw Warrior name ideas, Addergrace or Addersnag

Algernon

not much to say beyond i think my design for him looks very funny lol

but my design for him is that he is leucistic

Applefrost

Applefrost, kid of appledusk and reedshine

Named after her piece of shit dad, and raised on one sided stories of him she loved her dad and wanted to be like him as she got older.

She was the first victim of Mapleshade’s hauntings, picking her because she was named after the man who hurt her family and she looks a bit like him.

(applefrost isn’t normally greying on the bottom naturally, this is a side effect on spending so many years training one on one with mapleshade in the dark forest. My crookedstar design also has this) Applefrost knows the name mapleshade and was skeptic to talk to her at first, but opened up and tries to just take what advice she can get from the spirit. Even coming to sympathies with her through learning the truth of her father.

Then one day Mapleshade stopped visiting her, thought Applefrost would never know what happened, there is a reason.

Applefrost was full grown, and so kind even in the face of the warrior who killed her father. And she looked so much like him, yes he ruined her life but maybe this was the price she payed for what she did, to forever feel pain over the lose of someone who didn’t love her.

It was part that, and part..something about the way she looked at mapleshade, and something she said sent her memories flying back to her little petalkit who looked so much like her.

Mapleshade would stop visiting applefrost and move on to another generation of their family.

Applefrost would never tell her siblngs of mapleshade, but would come to disown her own father in starclan. even being friends with petalkit.

Applepaw

daughter of breezepelt and heathertail

mostly in here because i needed to up date her design

she hasn’t received her warrior name yet but should be close in the books

but a name like Applebite or Appleleaf

Ashfoot

Ashfoot, windclan warrior, deputy and mother of crowfeather

i absOLUTLY love ashfoot

i picture her to be a very like ‘badass warrior mom’ she give tough love and you can’t help but totally admire her. She loves her son crowfeather, though if she is honest he tends to disappoint her with how he kinda doesn’t know how to behave

she gets followed around by herds of kits who want to be like her, and her past apprentice’s (which she has many of) call her sheriff (or mom, which is embarrassing but common and crow HATES it)

Her and Deadfoot are VERY lovey dovey, she loves her sweet husband dearly and was distraught when he died. They were best friends growing up as apprentices together and were both name ‘foot’ in sign they always walked paw and paw, being well synced in battle and in life, they were just perfect for each other. so its easy to imagine when Deadfoot died it was like she lost half of herself

Ashfoot has a very long tail, just oh so slightly shorter than talltail, her family is known for their long tail (a trait passed down through being descended of windstar) Long tails are often called a symbol of power or royality in windclan. its very diserable and only tallstar’s tail was longer than hers. Her son crowfeather, and grandson jayfeather both take after thing ten fold with tails you could trip 10 cats with. breezepelt has a longer tail than average but no were near as long as theirs and it dOES kinda make him mad.

Ashfoot also loVES nightcloud, at first when crowfeather told his mom that nightcloud was having his kit’s she was super skeptical, not of nightcloud but of their relationship. she just saw right through it for what it really was. so she mostly didn’t talk to nightcloud for the two month’s she was pregnant, as to avoid getting involved.

but when Nightcloud gives birth and all of her kits but breezepelt die and she is DISTRAUGHT. Crowfeather isn’t helping and doesn’t seem to find any words that comfort her or not make her more upset, so like a big ol man child he turns to his mom and begs her to calm down nightcloud.

and its this moment that Ashfoot find’s herself completely bonded to Nightclouds side, looking at the dark she-cat crying over her lost kittens with her single son mewling for her. Ashfoot herself has had two litters both that only had one survivor, Eaglekit’s litter (eaglekit only made it to paw before he died) and now all she has is crowfeather. Ashfoot stay’s by the queens side and comforts her new daughter in law.

Ashfoot and Nightcloud are close, even when her and crowfeather ultimately don’t work out.

Ashfur

dont have much for him i guess

i hate him lol

i like him more than most other boy cats that i hate lol

he’s just a lil piss baby

iv updated his design a good bit, i thought his old design was really bleh but i havent been able to touch it up till now

i defiantly think him and brambleclaw shoulda been gay

i dont like him with squirrel, BUT if they’de been closer in age i think he and squirrel before ashfur became a fuckin crazy person they would have been better togeather than her and bramble that i don’t understand why she went back to bramble even if she didn’t get with ashfur

alsO i think the only ‘au’ i can like get into is like

Dustpelt mysteriously disappeared, presumed dead by thunderclan and never to be known what happened. Except between him and Ferncloud. id loVe a narrative of Ashfur kills dustpelt after watching the full grown warrior and mentor reefer to Ferncloud as beautiful, finding the behavior absolutely repulsive. Maybe ashfur ends up killing a few other cats who are like this and Ferncloud knows he killed dustpelt but maybe not the others. and it all ends up coming spilling out in the fire, this moment of the three and squirrel learn what he did but now he knows what they did, so their at a stale mate. but ashfur is becoming loser and more erratic in his behavior and hollyleaf kills him before he does something dangerous.

#warrior cats #acorn fur #acornpaw #acorntail #adderkit #adderpaw #algernon #applefrost #applepaw #ashfoot #ashfur

70 notes · View notes

kayparker20 · 4 years ago

Text

Inner Turmoil - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Unspeakable Plans Come Alight

FFN | AO3

~Two Weeks Earlier~

“Sasuke…” Orochimaru hissed. “I hear your little blossom has become quite the kunoichi. Rumors say she rivals even the power of the great Tsunade.” He clicked his tongue thoughtfully.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the snake shinobi. “What about it? And she’s not my little blossom.” The raven hair man sneered.

Orochimaru chuckled softly. “The girl was willing to betray the village with you, perhaps you should consider her to be more of an asset, rather than an annoyance.”

Sasuke continued to stare blankly at his current sensei, though he still refused to call him that. What could this man possibly want with Sakura? She was practically useless, and he had no wish to return to the Leaf village anytime soon. He had yet to kill Itachi, and he would not even begin to think of going back until then.

“And just how could some girl who cared more about her hair than being a proper ninja be an asset to me, Orochimaru?”

Orochimaru watched the cold man before him. “She could be useful if she still harbors feelings for you. And it would seem she no longer cares for her hair. Did you not hear me the first time?” Orochimaru snapped. “She has incredible abilities she learned from Tsunade Senju, the fifth hokage and my old team mate.” He licked his lips. “I wonder if her medical abilities could fix these wretched arms, and then perhaps I wouldn’t need your pretty little face.”

Sasuke glared at him in disgust. “That’s doubtful. I’ve already told you, I don’t care about my body as long as I get to kill Itachi and get my revenge.” He spat.

Orochimaru chuckled darkly. “But what if you could rebuild the Uchiha clan to its former glory? Lure that little apprentice into a trap. I bet with the right motivation, she would come running back to you.”

Sasuke thought for a moment, remembering the pride he used to feel for his clan. Really his need for revenge is based a little bit on pride, isn’t it? Not just the pain of watching his whole clan assassinated. And really, what good was revenge if you didn’t get to live with the accomplishment of getting it.

“What are your thoughts?” He sighed.

“We will kidnap that little Yamanaka girl,I have intel that tells me they are best friends. And she’s also an heir to one of the key clans in the village. I’m sure you’re aware of their mind control jutsus. Two birds with one stone, eh?”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “And just how do you plan to get into the village and kidnap her?”

“That will be your job.”

Sasuke looked at him again. “Is this just another test of my strength?” He growled.

Orochimaru grinned. “Oh, Sasuke, are you scared that you can’t get past them? Or maybe it’s Naruto you’re worried about.”

“I don’t care about Naruto. Or Sakura, or Kakashi. Not a single soul in that village matters to me more than my goal.” He said in a low tone. “I came to you for power, not to play your little games.”

The snake ninja shook his head. “Power comes in numbers. And what can I truly teach you when I can’t use my hands to teach you jutsu and hand signs?” He chuckled once more. “Besides, that little Haruno would make wonderful prodigies with your blood added into the mix. Tsunade’s strengths and healing abilities with your sharingan? It would be despicable power.”

“You’re forgetting she tried to kill me.” He spat. “I’m pretty sure she’s lost interest.”

“Did she not hesitate in killing you?” Orochimaru inquired. “Love doesn’t die easy, especially in women. I almost had Tsunade in my grip at the thought of bringing back her deceased husband.”

Sasuke hated how he always seemed to have a new project, a new game, a new goal all the time. It seemed he only cared to prep him for the body transfer, as opposed to keeping his end of the deal, and he was about at his wit’s end with it. However, the thought of reviving his clan was something of interest. It hadn’t come to mind that he should continue his bloodline before the snake took over his body.

“What makes you think Sakura can fix your arms when Tsunade couldn’t?”

Orochimaru clicked his tongue in thought once again. “It was never found out if she could not, it was that she wouldn’t even try.”

Sasuke scoffed. “So let me get this straight. You want to kidnap the blonde annoyance, to lure think pink annoyance. Use me to entice her to come with us and then make her heal your arms?”

Orochimari just smirked and licked his lips slowly. “That’s exactly my plan.”

~Present Time~

“Wherever you are, Sasuke, she’s moved on. Odd how she is attracted to the ones that are traumatized. Is it because she’s medic? Is there some kind of pull in the universe?” The once obnoxious and weak blonde shook his head. “No matter, at least Kakashi was willing to try…”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as Naruto looked in the direction of the woods where he stood, unaware the raven was actually there and hearing him. “We will still find you and we will bring you home one day.”

Sasuke was shocked to say the least. “Kakashi and Sakura…? That’s a bit… Weird?” He commented to no one but himself. He had to see this for himself, surely it had to be some sick joke. But why in the hell would Naruto sit out talking to the damn forest with some stupid sincerity towards me if it wasn’t real?

Does the idiot do it often? Just stand on the damn wall and talk to the trees, as if he was talking to me? Has he cried his heart out with the pain of my departure? How pathetic, better to have spent that time training instead of pining after some astray team mate. No wonder he’s still a damned genin.

He made the hand signs to form a henge and approached the village entrance, feigning to be a traveler in need of shelter for the night. Just like he thought, they fell for it. He wandered through the village aimlessly, feeling out for any familiar chakra signatures. He’d run into Team Seven enough times over the years to still recognize their chakras.

He caught wind of Sakura and Kakashi’s chakra coming from one of the bars. He went into the Shuriken, vaguely remembering that many jounin liked this particular bar. And that when he saw it.

Sakura was sitting awful close to Kakashi, their sides touching and Kakashi’s arm around her waist, his hand on her hip. Clearly they had gotten cozy. An unwelcome feeling of jealousy formed within him. How could she move on, claiming to have loved him? Why did he care that she moved on, didn’t he just claim he had no use for such a useless girl?

He also saw Ino, sitting all cozy with Choji, which was a little surprising. Talk about a downgrade, Sasuke thought to himself. However, that feeling of possessiveness didn’t flow in his veins at the sight of Ino with someone else.

He moved closer wanting to hear what was being said.

“Regardless, if he had laid a finger on you that night, I wouldn’t have given a damn about him being a civilian. Neither should you when you’re about to be assaulted. Granted you could barely walk 10 minutes later, your chakra control was probably already affected by then.”

“For being around Tsunade so much, you’d think she would handle her liquor better…”

“Shame, you were an awful cute drunk.”

“Oh, Sai? Naruto and him get along great now. But he is still amused by antagonizing Naruto from time to time.”

Sasuke scowled at the conversation. Hearing Kakashi refer to her as being a cute drunk was fucking weird. What was he, fourteen years older than us? And he went after Sakura?

Odd how she is attracted to the ones that are traumatized…

Naruto’s words echoed in his mind, angered once again by the idea that she actually could have pursued Kakashi herself. What could have possibly gone wrong to suddenly make her have some change of heart and not love him anymore? They had counted on that very expectation that she was still infatuated with me, in order to get her to us. Now, what the hell are they going to do? Damnit.

He continued watching them, his blood boiling as he watched Sakura whisper in his ear. Annoyed that Sakura and Ino seemed restless, looking around the bar but not quite pinpointing the cause of their distress. Were they really strong enough to sense an unwanted presence now? He had still been doubtful that Sakura had become a formidable shinobi, but now it seemed that it may be true, as she scanned the room with a nervous look in her eyes.

She knew she was being watched, but she couldn’t tell by who. He smirked. He was still superior to her, of course he was.

As he heard them begin to leave, warning of keeping Ino and Sakura under protection and other bullshit of the like, Sasuke felt the plan wasn’t totally screwed. It was obvious Ino and Sakura were close. Perhaps he could still kidnap Ino and she could just be held for ransom. He kidnaps her, and in exchange for her safety, Sakura has to come with him to Orochimaru. That could work, Sakura is probably some self sacrificing ninja now if she’s a medic.

He decided to follow Kakashi and Sakura as they walked to his apartment, not even shocking to Sasuke it was the same one he had seven years ago. He perched on a roof and watched as she changed into Kakashi’s clothes. Taking notice of the more athletic build her body had now and even some scars, as opposed to the girlish, untouched skin in his memory. He watched as she laid in Kakashi's bed and he lay behind her and held her close to him, like he actually had something to lose again.

“Awe, the Copy Nin finally let some emotions out, has he?” He chuckled darkly. “What will you do when she comes running back into my arms, Sensei?”

And that when he sensed it. He had been careless, and now he had been spotted. He stared back at Kakashi lazily, uncaring. His former sensei’s gaze had been hard and he looked ready to kill as he brought his arms around Sakura even tighter.

“Tell the blossom I said hello, Sensei.” Sasuke smirked before disappearing into the darkness.

Kakashi stiffened, having been staring out his window when he spotted the form on the room facing the direction of his apartment, and upon closer inspection, realized there were red eyes looking at them. Despite the obvious henge, that’s when he knew she and Ino were both being watched, and that it had to be far from good. Only two people that possessed those eyes were alive, and he was pretty sure the elder of the two had no interest in Sakura. His arms tightened around Sakura, now certain he wouldn’t be sleeping tonight.

He laid awake all night, trying to figure what to say to Sakura. He had to tell her, she had to be on her guard. He didn’t want her to leave his sight, but he already knew she wouldn’t stand to be stuck in the house or to not go to work.

Then there was that tiny piece of that still feared that she still had feelings for Sasuke, that she would drop him in an instant. No matter how much he knew she was serious about him, especially after the talk with Tsunade, there was still part of him that couldn’t let go of that fear of losing her.

And most importantly out of all this. Why was Sasuke here? Why was he lurking in the bar and watching them in his apartment? It just didn’t seem right. What was his motive? And why didn’t he notice his chakra signature? Had he slacked and let his guard down, being so happy around Sakura? Well it won’t be such anymore.

How would Naruto react to this situation? He still swears to bring Sasuke back. Will they fight again? That went rough for both of them last time that happened.

He stared up at the ceiling, contemplating what he would do. He needed to tell Naruto as soon as possible as well. As well as Tsunade, Choji, Asuma and Ino who should know this information as well. He couldn’t believe how easily Sasuke had gotten into the village, how was he not noticed? Even with the henge, the guards should have been able to see through that… Unless he used genjutsu on them. Kakashi sighed heavily

He looked over at Sakura, her pink tresses covering his pillows, her smaller form clinging to his side. The sun was beginning to come up and she would have to get up for work soon. He ran his fingers through her hair before kissing her forehead softly. “Sakura…” He said softly.

He would protect her no matter what. He’d die before he let something happen to her. It was the cold hard truth. No one had meant this much to him before and he wasn’t going to lose her.

“Sakura…” He called out a little louder and she groaned. “You need to get up for work.” He chuckled softly, her unwillingness to get up somehow making his heart squeeze.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” She grumbled before opening her eyes and rubbing them. She huffed a strand of her hair out of her face before sitting up. “Last night was still weird.”

He nodded and sighed. “Yeah, about that. We need to talk to Tsunade and make sure there is extra guard around the hospital for yours and Ino’s safety. And no missions.”

Sakura frowned at his last statement but nodded solemnly. “It’s not like I’d been going on missions recently anyway…” She shrugged, seeming only slightly bothered.

“You’re not only our team’s medic, but one of the best medics in the village. We can’t afford to lose you because you’re stubborn.” He chuckled and kissed her cheek. “Now come on, before the gambling Hokage comes here looking for you.”

Sakura smiled softly and hugged him tight before getting up and retrieving her clothes. She took a look at them and scowled. “This dress is a far cry from professional wear…”

Kakashi slid out of bed. “I was well aware, I woke you up with enough time for us to go back to your place and get your normal clothing.”

He watched as she turned to look at the clock for the first time and her shoulders sagged. He quickly got ready and walked besides her. “Did you sleep okay? You look a little…” He wasn’t sure how to finish that without being hurtful.

She just shook her head silently before leaning into him. “Let’s just go. I need a shower.” He simply nodded in response, not quite sure how to comfort her.

Once he had dropped her off at the hospital for her shift, he went straight to the Hokage tower. He knocked on the door lightly and was surprised to hear an awake and sober voice come through the wood.

“Come in.”

He stepped inside. “We have an emergency and we will need to summon Naruto.”

Tsunade instantly frowned before pointing at the ceiling. “Well that part is done, now what is the danger?”

Naruto dropped down from the ceiling, instantly sensing the killing distress coming off his team captain. “Kakashi, what’s the matter?” He asked seriously.

Kakashi looked at Naruto, not sure how to say the news other than getting straight to the point. “Sasuke was in the village last night. I don’t know how he got past the guards, but Ino and Sakura felt like they were being watched towards the end of the night last night.” He scowled at the memories. “Sakura barely slept. Just as she had fallen asleep, I spotted him in a henge sitting on a rooftop watching us. I was only able to tell it was him because he had his sharingan activated.”

“And you did nothing!” Tsunade stood up from her desk and yelled.

Naruto shook his head. “No.” He faced Tsunade. “What was he supposed to do? Wake Sakura and risk her panicking?”

The tension in her body dissipated. “Does she know?” She asked.

Kakashi shook his head. “I couldn’t figure out how to tell her. She hadn’t slept good and didn’t feel well. She still felt wary and I didn’t want to tell her such news before she had to go into work.”

“We need to put ANBU all around the hospital.” Naruto said instantly. “And we need to tell Team 10 and Sakura somehow.”

Kakashi nodded in agreement. “That’s exactly why I’m here.”

“I am going to send them immediately.” Tsunade said fiercely. “Whatever is going on, it’s probably connected to Orochi-”

“Lady Tsunade!” Choji came barging into the office, Shikamaru and Asuma trailing behind him.

“Choji, you can’t just walk-”

“Asuma, he’s fine.” Tsunade assured, noticing the distress in the young man’s expression. “What is it?”

“Ino is gone! We can’t find her anywhere!”

“What!” Naruto exclaimed.

“Damnit, it wasn’t soon enough!” Kakashi cursed.

“What is happening? What do you mean ‘not soon enough’, Kakashi?” Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

Tsunade cursed under her breath. “Shizune, get Sakura here immediately!” She walked around her desk and leaned on the front of it, her eyebrows deeply furrowed. “When did you see her last?”

“I fell asleep on her couch last night after Asuma and I walked her home from the bar.” Choji was still frantic. “I woke up to her mother panicking that she was gone.” Choji’s bottom lip was trembling. “I was supposed to protect her.”

Asuma grabbed his shoulder. “Choji, it is not your fault.”

Kakashi shook his head. “It’s not. None of us sensed him last night.”

Asuma frowned. “Who..?”

Sakura walked into her office and ran a hand through her locks, letting out a heavy sigh. She set her patient charts on her desk and went over to start a cup of coffee.

She still felt that feeling of being watched. She still couldn’t find anything that seemed out of the ordinary and it was getting on her last nerve. She hated this restless feeling. She sank down in her chair and flipped through the charts. Everything was minor meaning there was nothing that would require her full attention to distract her.

She tried to think about being in Kakashi’s arms, how safe it had felt to be in his embrace. She wished she could have just stayed there with him but she knew that was impossible. However despite that, she still hadn’t slept well at all. She had one of the recurring nightmares about the sharingan again. They had lessened ever since those months where Kakashi let her gaze into his own sharingan, in hopes that it would get her used to it again. It took weeks for her to not shed tears but he would always comfort and not let her push herself.

She hadn’t had those nightmares for months, almost a year now. She’s been healing his eye with no trepidation at all for so long, she had nearly forgotten this nightmare. It hadn’t bothered as much as it did so long ago, but it just didn’t make sense that it showed up again now, as things in her life were going really well.

And then she felt a chill run down her spine before she sensed a presence.

“Sakura…”

She knew that cold, plaintive tone like no other. She froze in place, wondering why he was here. How did he get into the village? Into the hospital and her office? Was he the one watching her since last night?

She turned to look at him, meeting onyx eyes.

“S-Sasuke..?” She stammered before standing back up from her chair, gathering chakra within herself. “What are you doing here?”

He smirked. “Come with me to Orochimaru.”

“What?” She sputtered in disbelief. Did he really just say that? “Hell, no!” She backed away from him. “I will not betray this village like you did!”

“Come on, Sakura. Can you imagine the strength you would have at being trained by not one, but two of the legendary Sannin?” He smirked and took a step closer. “And you’ll get to be with me. We could have a family. We’ll be together, like you’ve always wanted.”

Sakura stared at him in shock. “What did you just say?”

“Come with me. Orochimaru needs your healing ability, and I want to carry on my clan.” Sasuke said, his patience wavering. Why was she just standing there, looking at him?

“You think I’m going to help him?” She spat angrily. “I am not some naive, lovesick little genin anymore!” She growled. “Get away from me! You made you choice when we were 13 when you left me on a fucking bench, you prick!”

Sasuke’s eyes widened at her words, but gave no response.

“You tried to kill me, twice.” She took a step forward. “And now you’re in my office claiming you want me to bear your children, as if that’s all I’m good for? At least Orochimaru recognized medical abilities!”

Sasuke flashed towards, not standing inches from her face. “So, it’s true then.” He stated harshly. “You really did whore yourself didn’t you? What, were you not strong enough to make jonin? I knew he was a creep but I never thought he liked little children.” He laughed and shoved her. “I knew it was bullshit that you could have surpassed Tsunade.”

Sakura glared at him fiercely. “What the hell are you on about, now? Have you finally lost your mind?”

“Oh, no. I just never thought you’d stop loving me with all your little protests to be with me, let alone sink low enough to fuck our old sensei to make rank.”

Sakura’s jaw dropped. “How could you…” Her eyes darkened with her anger at the insult. “I was already jonin during the war, far before me and Kakashi had ever become involved. How do you even know about that?” She spat, summoning chakra to her fists and swinging for his jaw. He easily dodged her attack and it was only more infuriating.

Sasuke slapped her. “Look at you. You’re still just a weak little girl. You claim loyalty but you couldn’t even hang on for me! You were supposedly going to be saving grace, or was that some lie Naruto spat back then too!”

Sakura yelped in pain and stared up at him dumbfounded. “I’ll be damned if I spent my life waiting for you to find your team to suddenly be more important than your sick and twisted need for revenge! You showed us time and time again that you didn’t care, so why now! Why are you here!”

Sasuke glared at her, ignoring her question. “You will come to Orochimaru, one way or another. I could care less if you bear my children or not. I wouldn’t want them tainted with your lack of emotional control anyways. If you gave up on me then you never really did love me, anyways. Not that it matters at all.”

“Are you actually jealous?” She stared at him before laughing. “You couldn’t give me the time of day, but now that I moved on, you want me?” She shook her head sadly. “You’re too late. I love Kakashi, and I have for longer than I could even know myself.”

Sasuke’s eye twitched. He grabbed her up by her throat, activating his sharingan and catching her eyes before she could react. “You really think that another broken man is capable of love, let alone how disgusting it is for a student and sensei to be involved romantically? He’s kept everyone he’s ever known out of reach since the death of Fourth, you’re no different. He was probably just horny and you’re vulnerable.”

Sakura trembled and tried to shut her eyes but she reacted too late, her eyes caught in the swirls of red and black. Not again.

“You think you’ve grown up so much, but yet you still went after someone who can’t give you what you want. A 20 year old ninja, and yet you still can’t mature past your stupid and childish ideals, blossom.” He spat sarcastically. “And maybe, just maybe it is real, and he let you in. It’ll be too bad, because I will kill him for ever thinking he could take what’s been mine since the academy days.” He spat.

And then he put her in a Tsukuyomi, making her watch Kakashi die over and over again, by Sasuke’s hand. He only held for a few minutes but it would feel like days to her that she watched the horror over and over again.

He dropped her and left, leaving to handle her motivation in the case that that was not enough, the chatty blonde having already stretched his patience enough since he abducted her last night.

Sakura sat on the floor of her office, trembling. She tried to release, knowing it was just genjutsu. But she already knew you couldn’t get out of Tsukuyomi, it had been useless to try. She hugged her knees and cried into them, trying to gather her components. She remembered when Kakashi and Sasuke himself had suffered that jutsu from Itachi, and the damage that had been done. She tried to make herself breathe, trying to figure how she was conscious and not in a coma like they had been. It didn’t add up, even if she was resistant to genjutsu, the mangekyou abilities were far stronger than normal genjutsu…

She shook her head and wiped her tears. Tsunade needs to know right away. She grabbed her charts and gave them the front desk, telling her they needed to be reassigned before leaving. She was running up the road from the hospital to the Hokage tower when Ino’s mom came around the turn.

“Sakura, have you seen Ino?!”

Sakura glanced at her best friend’s mother, just as she realized where Ino was.

You will come to Orochimaru, one way or another.

“Sakura, come now!” She heard Shizune call. “Oh my god, what happened to you?”

“Sasuke just came into my office!” She called to her mentor, her voice trembling. “What the hell is going on!”

“Oh no, come on! I was coming to get you for an emergency.”

They ran up the stairs just as she heard a male voice ask “who” and many others murmuring.

Sakura and Shizune entered the office briskly, Sakura struggling to catch her breath.

“My Lady… She was already halfway here.” Shizune started, holding Sakura tightly. “She...encountered Sasuke.”

Tsunade took one look at Sakura and could tell something was wrong, more than just seeing Sasuke. She frowned. She was pale and her eyes were bloodshot and she seemed to be just barely trembling.

“Sakura…?” Naruto tried, moving to her. “Hey, what happened? Did he hurt you?” He gently grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

Her eyes snapped and met his eyes and tears instantly forming, unable to hold them back. She held his gaze before shaking her head to answer his question. She turned to her side to look at Kakashi, meeting his exposed eye, seeing his gaze full of concern and she frowned again.

“You knew, didn’t you? That’s why you’re here…” She moved towards him.

Kakashi nodded. “He was watching us last night.” He said blankly, unsure of what to say. “I didn’t know how to tell you… I hadn’t realized it was him until you fell asleep.”

The tears slowly flowed down her cheeks, glistening under the light in the room. “Kakashi, he took Ino, didn’t he!” And then she cried out and threw herself into him.

He instantly wrapped his arms around her body, unsure of what else to do. He held her tight in his arms. Tsunade watched them, seeing how unsure Kakashi looked and shook her head as she made a show of flipping her hair, hoping it was enough of a hint to get him to comfort her better.

“We will get her back.” She turned to Shizune. “Was she able to tell you what happened?”

Shizune shook her head. “I only just found her, she was on her way here, turning the corner.”

Sakura shook in Kakashi’s arms. “He wants me to go with him and Orochimaru. I-I refused and he got angry, and told me I-I would join them one or another…”

“Absolutely not!” Naruto’s eyes flashed red for just a second. “That snake will not get her too!”

Kakashi glared, stroking Sakura’s hair after noticing Tsunade making direct eye contact with him and flicking her hair across her shoulder. “She will not.” His grip tightened on her.

“Is he still in the village?” Shikamaru demanded.

“I had every shinobi on site spread to lockdown all entrances and to pass the message on behalf of Tsunade as soon as I left the room, and it had only been moments before.”

“This doesn’t explain how I didn’t know!” Choji flared.

“Genjutsu? Isn’t that the Uchiha’s thing with their eyes?” Shikamaru inquired.

Asuma nodded. “He very well could have put the entire household under one long enough to get her out, and made you stay in a dream state.”

Sakura sniffled softly, swallowing down her cries. “Apparently Orochimaru is convinced I can heal his wretched arms, as if I would want to.” She spat. “Oh, and I guess Sasuke wants to be sure his clan is continued on before he gives his body to a snake.” She scoffed.

Naruto looked perpetually confused. “He tried to make Tsunade heal him… But she said she couldn’t, but he was certain she could…”

“I never said I couldn’t…” Tsunade intervened. “I just wouldn’t be swayed by him, especially with the use of forbidden jutsu, no matter how much I miss Dan or my little brother…” Her shoulders went rigid at the topic coming up. “But I still doubt I could have. The Death Reaper Seal often kills the person who uses it, it is a more than powerful jutsu which killed not only the Third but…” Tsunade looked to meet Naruto’s eyes in a solemn gaze.

“My father…” Naruto said flatly. “I’m aware.”

“I don’t care if I could heal his stupid arms, I will not.” Sakura said spitefully. “But I have to go…”

Kakashi looked at her. “No.” He said, his grip on her tightening even more. “I am not losing you, Sakura.”

Naruto shook his head. “We will get Ino back without losing you.”

Choji nodded. “Neither one of you is more important than the other, no matter who loves who.” He affirmed, now calmed knowing the situation.

Sakura frowned, shifting slightly in Kakashi’s iron grip, and resting her forehead on his shoulder. “There’s something else…” Her voice trembled.

Everyone waited and listened while she seemed to build up her morality to speak again.

“I’m sure you figured out he was watching us last night, and was the cause of the unsettling feelings me and Ino had.”

Sakura trembled. She didn’t know what to do. She just knew she felt safe in Kakashi’s arms but she knew what she was about to say was going to set everyone off. The simple idea that she would go back to him couldn’t even cross her mind. The aura of the Uchiha’s anger filling her office when she refused still left her shaking.

Her grip tightened around Kakashi as she finally spoke again. “He told me he was going to kill Kakashi…” She choked back another sob.

“He couldn’t believe I was with him. He went off about how it was disgusting and wrong.” She glared at the wall in front of her. “And insinuated that Kakashi was a pedophile and when I went to hit him in response, he finally understood that it was real.” Her nails dug into Kakashi’s back as she tried to keep her composure. “Berated me about loyalty, telling me I never loved him. I betrayed him. Told me I was just a whore looking to get up the r-ranks… And that if I ever thought someone like Kakashi was capable of love than I’m no less of an idiot than I was when we were 13. But I didn’t know he took Ino until her mother found me...” She shook. “I just guessed because we both felt some unwanted presence last night and then he popped up in my office, and she had liked him back then too so I thought maybe he was finding a different medic that…”

“Sakura, it’s not your fault.” Naruto said sternly. “And you are definitely none of the things he said.” His anger was beginning to flare again and it was all he could do to keep his emotions in check. “I will find him myself.” He looked at Team 10. “No better search party than us right?”

“No. Last time I sent a mission after Sasuke with emotional attachments involved you almost died.” Tsunade spat.

“Lady, they aren’t chunin and genin anymore.” Shizune cut in. “And I think if we send the right balance of experience it will be a good set up.”

“I don’t think you’re going to be able to convince anyone in this room to not go after them. It’s personal for us all.” Asuma agreed.

The fifth just sighed. “You all act like you’re the boss around here.” She grumbled. “Fine, then. I want Sai and Yamato in your group as well, making three seasoned former ANBU in your ranks. A Hyuga as well. The more strength you have against Sasuke, the better. I’d say an Inuzuka for tracking, but you already have Kakashi.” She slouched against her desk. “And do not go against Orochimaru. Get to Sasuke before he returns to wherever the hell they are holed up. The more you have, the better.” She sighed. “Yamato is the mission lead.”

She hoped Kakashi and Asuma wouldn’t take offense to Yamato being lead, as they were far too invested in this mission emotionally. While Yamato was part of Team Seven, he was not involved with Sakura, nor did he have the same attachments to Sasuke that the three of them have. Asuma was her sensei, there was no way she could truly trust he could think logically at all times.

Everyone nodded and left the office.

“Me and Kakashi will find Sai and Yamato.” Sakura affirmed.

“I’ll find Neji and Hinata, at least one should be able to go.” Naruto said fiercely.

“We will meet at the gates in half an hour, that should be ample time to pack and round everyone shouldn’t it?” Asuma stated, watching Choji and Shikamaru. The boys only nodded.

Temari came running up the steps to the tower. “I need to speak with the Hokage right away!” She exclaimed.

Shikamaru’s eyes widened. “Temari! What are you doing here? What’s wrong?”

She hesitated before looking at the group and her eyes landing on Sakura. “We have intel that Orochimaru is-”

“It’s too late.” Kakashi stated plainly. “Sasuke already has Ino…”

Temari's eyes widened before looking at her lover’s team. “I’m sorry, I got here as fast as I could. But we thought he was after Sakura…? Gaara sent me here, we weren’t sure how reliable the intel we got was but we didn’t want to risk it. ”

“They’re using her best friend as ransom…” Choji said, clearly bothered. “We just organized a resume squad and need to retrieve the rest of it.”

“Let me come! I’m in order to do whatever I can to help.”

“Temari, I don’t think-” Shikamaru started.

“Please.” Sakura cut him off. “We need all the help we can get.”

Naruto nodded. “And there’s nothing like a little wind jutsu to help out!” He gave a smile before jumping to the rooftops, bounding from one to another towards the Hyuuga compound.

Temari nodded and glanced at Choji, who looked explicitly more distraught than Asuma and Shika. She walked up to him and pressed a hand to his arm. “I know you care about her, we’ll get her back.”

“Sasuke is such a drag.” Shikamaru groaned before shaking his head. “Choji and her just got together and he had to go and kidnap all because he’s jealous of Kakashi? He didn’t seem so interested before he left.”

Asuma shook his head. “This isn’t about interest, it’s about opportunity. He wanted to carry on his bloodline, Sakura just seemed convenient because he assumed she’d still fall to his feet.” He sighed.

Sakura scoffed. “It’s not even just that. Orochimaru wants me to heal his arms. I’m sure the revival of his clan was just some manipulation on the betraying sannin’s part.” She added bitterly. “I should have knocked him into the next decade but I was in shock…” She shamed herself.

“You can’t blame yourself, Sakura.” Shikamaru added. “We haven’t seen him since the war and he only sided with us then because he wants to be the one to destroy the village. It’s not like we expect to just walk into our town without making himself known.”

“Whatever the case, we need to go get ready to leave the village, and scout it out before. Chances he had already escaped before Shizune raised the alarm but we must be certain. This mission consists of some of the strongest shinobi, we cannot risk leaving if he is still here.” Kakasi said in usual laid back but firm demeanor.

“He’s right.”

The rest of the group departed to round up their things and fellow shinobi.

Naruto knocked as politely as possible on the door to the Hyuga complex in his urgent state. Hiashi answered as always with a smile, already sensing Naruto’s chakra. His expression changed when he noticed the serious aura around the usually cheerful young man. “Naruto, what’s wrong?”

“It’s Sasuke. He kidnapped Ino to try and make Sakura join him and Orochimaru.” Naruto said in an even tone. “Tsunade has commanded that at least one Hyuga goes on the rescue mission. I would like to ask for both Hinata and Neji.”

Hiashi thought a moment before nodding. “I will also send Hanabi. She is quite fond of that one teammate of yours, the former ANBU that uses ink? I also think it would do her some good to go on a mission, it’s about time she is no longer stuck within the village walls. She has much to learn as the future head.”

Naruto couldn’t help but smile. “You mean Sai.” Hinata had mentioned before that Hanabi was curious about Sai, but frowned in confusion. “I thought you didn’t like letting the clan heads get involved with village business.”

Hiashi thought for a moment about Naruto’s observation. “Neji and Hinata are technically branch members, which is why they went to the academy. Hanabi is the next clan head, but she must see danger and know what it means to protect someone.” He sighed softly. “Sasuke and Orochimaru are a danger to the village which is where we live. And it would also seem that while Hanabi wishes to follow most principles of the clan, she seems to want to be closer to the village.”

He was never a fan of this, sticking well to the traditions of the Hyuga clan, not ever really close to anyone outside of it. However, that seemed to be where this generation of Hyuga had changed. Neji and Hinata have both fallen for someone outside of the clan, and it now seems that Hanabi will as well. As long as the Hyuga genes were kept pure for the next leader, perhaps he could learn to be okay with it, granted it would be a rather odd arrangement if his younger daughter married outside of the clan.

“She has expressed interest in being a genin team leader. I usually would not support this, but it has seemed that this generation has changed many things, and if she will lead the clan maybe she should experience being part of village relations before she makes such a fundamental decision for our clan.”

Naruto had listened fully with all the respect he could have. It always bothered him that the clan never did anything unless there was a war, but he was glad to see them possibly beginning to change that.

“That sounds like a good idea when you explain all that then.” Naruto beamed, but it faltered. “We’re supposed to meet at the village gates soon. I don’t need to talk to them, we’re gonna fill everyone in on the run. I still need to get ready while Kakashi and Sakura find Sai and Yamato.”

Hiashi nodded. “I understand the urgency. Go on, I will inform them of the mission.” He watched as Naruto took back to the rooftops into the direction of his apartment, pride swelling in his heart that his daughter would find such a formidable shinobi to love.

Naruto bounded back to his apartment and quickly packed all his weapons and some dried food rations. Before leaving he grabbed his sage scroll and swung it around his shoulder to hang behind him. He sighed and left, running into the rest of the current Team Seven on his ways to the gates.

“Naruto.” Sai nodded towards him.

“Who is coming from the Hyuga?” Sakura asked.

“We are getting Hinata, Neji and her little sister Hanabi!” He smiled. “I had only requested Neji and Hinata. Hiashi had volunteered Hanabi, saying she needed to go outside of the village walls? That was kind of shocking.”

Kakashi and Yamato raised their eyebrows, knowing the history and ways of the Hyuga.

“It definitely is, but you have always inspired change in people.” Kakashi said with pride.

As they ran to the gate, he thought more deeply about his statement. How this team was the reason he even opened up even a little bit again. How much Naruto reminded him of Obito, and Sakura reminds him of Rin more and more everyday. How much of himself he had seen in Sasuke, and how much he put into trying to stop him from taking the path of vengeance. How it was Naruto who had almost convinced him that letting himself be with Sakura was worth facing the fear of loss once again. Worth having something to lose, granted really he already had something to lose before he let himself fully love her.

He looked to each member of his team, to Naruto in front of him and Sakura first. The determined yet angry aura that wavered of Naruto was nearly tangible. To his right where Sakura was right beside him, her fear and perseverance to save her friend just as in reach. He watched Yamato and Sai, trailing behind on either side, the unwavering camaraderie and loyalty in their expressions as they trailed after the three towards the bridge.

He thought of the friends he had made that he had kept just out of reach for years, knowing deep down it would kill him inside if something happened to Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai. Even Genma, Shizune, Iruka, and Anko. He had always had something to lose even when he kept his distance, but the pain would be so much greater if he had ever let himself love. But the more he really admitted it to himself, he wasn’t far from feeling the pain he tried too hard to avoid the longer he had been around Naruto and Sakura. As for Sakura… The time they spent together just slowly became more and more, until they were just always together when she wasn’t at the hospital or with Ino or Naruto.

Reaching the gates, meeting everyone there, he smiled his usual eye crease.

“How many missions are we going to take that involve Sasuke?” Neji asked in his usual agitated tone.

“Neji!” Hinata chastised.

Naruto shook his head. “This time he’s gone after Sakura, again, and Ino. He’s crossed the line.”

“What are you saying, Naruto?” Yamato watched the jinchuriki carefully.

“I’m saying that from here on out, he’s not my brother. He’s not my best friend. He’s not my comrade. He’s an enemy.” He ground his teeth together. “I can’t keep watching him hurt the people I care about.”

“Naruto…” Sakura rested her hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s not get hasty. The goal of the mission is to retrieve Ino, correct?” Yamato asked.

Kakashi nodded. “Sasuke is still under the influence of Orochimaru, remember.”

Sakura frowned. “He seemed perfectly well aware of what he was doing before.”

Hinata watched the team with compassion, knowing how much Naruto struggles with the troubles surrounding Sasuke and his desire to bring him back from the darkness.

“We should go. Some Anbu reported here earlier saying there was no sign that they are still in the village.” Asuma stated softly, noticing how antsy his team was getting with all the talk. “Please remember the bonds between Ino and her team go further than just the academy and being genin together. Their clans have been comrades alongside each other for generations, and all three of my team are the next clan heads to take an oath to protect one another, and this is especially hard for Choji, as we all know his feelings for her.”

Shikamaru and Choji nodded, keeping silent but turning to start leaving towards the gates.

The rest soon followed into the forest. Hinata kept close to Naruto as they leapt through the leaves. Kakashi and Sakura were together, Yamato jumping to the head to lead the envoy. The team leader stopped below the branches a moment, realizing they hadn’t even spoken of plans. “Wait a moment!”

Everyone stopped for a moment, staring at the captain of the mission confused.

“We need to discuss a formation and find a trail before we go high tailing to nowhere.” He gazed over at Kakashi expectantly.

The copy nin slid the scroll from his vest and performed the hand signs to summon his ninken before placing his hand on the ground. “Do any of you have something that could have Ino’s scent on it?” He looked pointedly at Choji.

Sakura shook her head and Choji looked nervous.

“I don’t have anything…” He said solemnly.

Sakura smiled. “Choji, her scent is probably still all over you from last night. And you slept at her house.”

“Kakashi’s ninken can separate your own scent from hers.” Asuma nodded.

“Pakkun, Shiba, and Bisuke, find the scent of Ino. You’ve been around her once or twice. Follow it, and if you remember Sasuke’s scent still, follow that one as well. He kidnapped her. Report back to me if you find a trail.”

“You got it boss.”

They went and sniffed Choji a few moments until they found the more feminine scent on his clothes. “You’re her boyfriend, aren’t you kid?” Pakkun asked bluntly.

Choji’s face turned red and he just nodded.

His nose wiggled and nodded. “That’s it, let’s go.”

And then the ninken were gone in a matter of blurs taking off.

Yamato nodded, clearly pleased with the success of finding a way to track them. “Okay. We have three Hyuga, so I want one in the front, one in the center and one in the back. Which of you three have the longest range?”

Neji and Hinata exchanged glances before silently agreeing on something.

“Captain, Hanabi does, but she cannot be in the front of line. Understand, she is the clan heirass and must be protected. Neji is further than mine.” She stated quietly but confidently.

Yamato nodded. “I understand. I am going to do a 2,3,2,3,2 formation. Neji, you will be in the front with me since you have the second superior sight range.” He paused a moment to think longer about his comrades abilities and strengths. “Shikamaru, Temari, and Choji you will be the next group behind me, two long range users to use on the enemies ahead, and Choji to give power hits I know the Akimichi have when they get close.”

He thought about how to best protect Hanabi in an emergency with her in the center. “Hanabi in the center and Hinata in the back. Sai, because you have the super beast scroll and can summon anything, you will be with Hanabi, in the case that this gets too dangerous and a threat to her life, you are to form a beast and escape with her and protect her.” He took note of Hanabi turning just the slightest bit of pink and grinned and a knowing look passed over Hinata’s features, a grin crossing his face to hear no argument.

Knowing Hinata would be the rear eyes, he glanced between the rest of the team. Sakura needed to be kept within the inner part of the formation as the medic nin and a target of the enemy. “Kakashi, Sakura, and Asuma, you will be between Hanabi and Hinata’s pairs as a group of three, because you all have close and strong combat skills. And we also want Sakura surrounded as our team's head medic and one of the targets of the enemy so she is to be in the center of you two.”

He glanced at Naruto, sure the ninja knew his place now but still stating it and the reason.“Naruto, you will be in the back with Hinata, as you have the most chakra and can handle an ambush attack with your shadow clones and toad summons, as well as your enhanced resilience from the nine tails. Hinata also has her protective trigrams to hold off an enemy use should it be needed.”

Everyone moved into the formation given without much questioning to their captain. They were focused on saving their comrade, best friend, and or teammate. Sakura hated to be treated as if she were fragile but she knew she had to stay out of harm's way to be an effective medic. It didn’t mean she always had to like it though. She could still feel the fear slowly creeping into her mind again but she tried to keep watching for the next branch to land on, and the next and the next in hopes of distracting herself.

“Sakura…” Naruto called softly from behind.

Kakashi gave him a side glance, curious in what he had to say.

“What?” Sakura inquired.

“What happened?” Naruto asked directly. “You seem different, shaken. And not like you only seen Sasuke. I’ve seen that and this is different.” His eyebrows furrowed. “You’re shaky and torn up like you were traumatized, not just surprised…”

Sakura looked away from both Kakashi and Naruto. “Nothing…” She tried but her voice cracked, giving her away instantly that it was a lie.

“Sakura, did he do something else?” Kakashi asked, and she could hear the venomous threat meant toward the Uchiha lying in the tones of his voice.

“You’re acting like Sasuke after the time me and Jiraiya ran into Itachi and Kisame…” Naruto realized, his eyes widening with worry.

Sakura gulped. She didn’t want to make them worry more. If they found out she’s been through a tsukuyomi they might make her return to and stay in the village.

“Sakura…” She could hear Kakashi try to steady his breathing.

“He… He didn’t just threaten to kill you.” She turned to face Kakashi. “He made me watch all the various ways he would have thought to do it…” She swallowed again. “It was only for a few mere moments…”

“Sakura! You shouldn’t be pushing yourself!” Hinata exclaimed.

“I’m fine!” The pinkette insisted.

Kakashi was doing everything he could to not lose his temper, not with her, but at the very thought he used any sort of that technique of the sharingan on her. He should have known by now that Sasuke was beyond redemption, but it still surprised just how low he could fall in how he treated his own teammates, let alone the conspiring against the village in such a way. They all should have learned by now.

The pangs of guilt he used to feel for believing he failed the raven kid were beginning to turn into contempt and revulsion.

Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.

He tried so hard not to feel that way about Sasuke because he knew there could have been a chance he could have gone down a similar path, but the Uchiha chose over and over again to have revenge instead of camaraderie. How much more could he look the other way, as he watched him hurt his team over and over again, the two who still held hope for him until this particular betrayal?

That fact that he put Sakura through a tsukuyomi, not just a genjutsu. He still wondered how she was even conscious, let alone out of bed.

“Yamato, we need to stop. My ninken will be able to keep a trail and follow them to wherever they go.” Kakashi called out with a neutral tone, the same one he had used when he was the leader of missions.

“Kakashi, I said I’m fine!”

He gently grabbed her wrist as he stopped on the next branch, pulling her to a halt. “Sakura, even I was down after a tsukuyomi had been used on me.” He pressed. “Stop fighting us on this.” His tone held a little more authority in the last statement. His grip was gentle but it was still firm.

She knew he was just trying to look out for her but it was annoying that he wouldn’t let it go. Annoyed at the tinge of authority in his voice, even though she knew he was considered second in command on this mission, even though he was technically her team leader. Her best friend was kidnapped and she did not plan on stopping until she found her.

Everyone else had stopped within yards of each other. Yamato came upon the back of the group, looking at his pink haired teammate. “Sakura, you should have been cleared by a medic.”

She huffed annoyed. “I am literally the medical director, and I said I’m fine.” She snapped. “My best friend is literally about to be at the hands of the two biggest rogue nin of our village, and we are stopping over some damn visions.”

Naruto put a hand on his lifetime friend’s shoulder. “Sakura, even I know they aren’t just visions.”

“Ino’s safety is not worth trading for yours.” Asuma stated bluntly.

“I am fine!” She tried to insist.

“Sakura, you’re barely holding it together.” Shikamaru pointed out. “Your best friend was just kidnapped by your revenge sick teammate that’s suddenly hellbent on having you, and he just used a forceful genjutsu on you. No one here is expecting you to be okay.”

“What if she needs medical attention, Sakura?” Hinata pleaded. “You have to have full stamina in case she has been severely injured…” Hinata knew that Sakura knew she was right but sometimes you needed to hear from someone else.

Sakura leaned against the tree, the exhaustion hitting her. “I’m fine. You know I’m resistant to genjutsu… I’m just tired and my head hurts. We don’t need to stop…” She trailed off, knowing she didn’t sound very convincing.

“Sakura, you can’t push yourself to your limits and then expect to be of help when we get there. Or if anyone else gets hurt, you have to be able to be the medic, not one of the ones who needs a medic.”

Yamato looked at her. “You either need to rest and get a handle on your emotions, or I will have to send you back.” He said it in his usual tone of authority.

He knew Sakura would be angry but she was well aware that he did what was best for the mission and that he showed no sympathy. He treated them as ninja and wouldn’t ‘baby’ them. He’s made that clear since the first mission on Tenchi Bridge.

She frowned deeply at her captain’s words, but she knew he meant it. She just accepted it and slumped against the tree. “Fine. But we won’t rest a minute longer than it takes for my head to stop hurting.” She huffed.

Yamato nodded. “We’ll make camp below while we are still in fire country. Everyone dropped below besides the remaining Kakashi, Naruto, and Hinata.

Kakashi picked up Sakura with one hand supporting her back and his other hooked under her knees. “Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice came out harsher than he meant but it had bothered him.

“Because I knew Tsunade, or Shizune, wouldn’t have let me go if I mentioned it.” She stated tiredly. “And there was no way I wasn’t going on this mission when it’s my fault he took her in the first place…”

“What about after?” Naruto asked.

“I told you when you asked…”

Hinata watched her, admiring her strength, but also worried. “Sakura, you know more than anyone that it’s not wise to go on a mission worn. And you are worn mentally…” She spoke softly, hoping to anger her friend.

Sakura looked at Hinata and smiled before resting her head on Kakashi’s shoulder and sighing. “I’ve never been a ninja that could keep my emotions from clouding my judgement Hinata…” Her expression turned into a bitter scowl as she thought to herself.]

“It’s my biggest downfall, and the reason we’re in this situation today, because it was my emotions that let that bastard live.” She mumbled vehemently, angry at herself.

“No.” Kakashi said sternly. “You and Naruto biggest strengths are the compassion and kindness you still hold in your hearts even after everything you’ve seen.” He looked from Naruto as he said and to Sakura. “Never forget that, either of you.”

Naruto nodded, feeling some of the same feelings towards himself. “I’m done trying to save him. I meant it.”

Sakura nodded. “He really thought he could just swoop in after seven years, and that I’d just run right into his arms, ready to just be some baby maker and not an actual kunoichi.”

Kakashi smiled then. “Well, you’ll show him, now won’t you?” His grip tightened around her body. “Only after you recuperate. And I would love to know how you are still conscious right now.”

“I’m resistant, but I couldn’t avoid it like I can some others. I just kept telling myself it wasn’t real. And I just…” She shivered. “I’m not unaffected, trust me. I’m just…” She looked away. “I can’t let something happen to Ino…”

He nodded softly before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. “We will get her, I promise, but it will not be at your expense.” He nodded to Naruto before jumping down the base of the tree, joining the rest of their rescue squad.

“Kakashi, you want to do the honors of starting the fire?” Asuma joked lightly.

“Maybe after I make our medic relax.” Kakashi said offhandedly.

“It better not be in out ear shot, that would be a drag…” Shikamaru groaned.

Sakura turned red as Kakashi laughed, thankful his mask covered the slight pinkish tint that showed up on his own skin. “I actually hadn’t meant it like that but I’ll keep that in mind.” He gave his normal eye crease before gently setting Sakura against a tree. He grabbed both of their packs and began setting up the tents.

“Kakashi, you might as well only set one up to save on space.” Yamato commented neutrally. “She needs to have a guard anyways. “The less setup we have, the less it will draw attention and time saved in taking it down anyways.”

The spiky haired nin nodded as he continued setting up.

Sakura had given up on trying to seem fine now that it was out in the open that she really was far from it. She watched Kakashi setting up the tent,trying to keep distracted when Choji sat next to her.

“I think Ino would kick your ass if she ever found out you were going to risk yourself like that for her.” He commented quietly.

“She might have.” Sakura laughed softly. “Tsunade is gonna kill me when she finds out…”

“Just take care of yourself too, Sakura. I know it’s hard, but we have to remember to keep ourselves in check.” He chuckled a bit. “Not all of us are fortunate enough to have the crazy chakra reserves and healing capabilities Naruto has.”

She smiled genuinely then. “You’re right…”

He rested his hand on her back. “She would have done the same for you, I’m sure of it. But we need you most of all to be cautious and in control. Recover first, so we have the greatest chance of saving both of you.” He gave her a small smile before leaving her side to talk with Asuma, Shikamaru, and Temari.

Yamato came over to Sakura next. “I’m glad you decided to rest.” He said with a careful smile. “I thought you were going to pummel me like Naruto for a second.” He tried to joke a little.

Sakura smiled up at him. “I wanted to for a second, but I know you were right.” She sighed. “I wouldn’t have expected any different from you, Captain Yamato. We both know I let my emotions get the best of me at times, even with the improvement I’ve made.”

He nodded softly as Kakashi came back. “Alright, time to get your hard headed self in a bed. You need to sleep.”

Sakura slowly stood up. “I don’t know if I want to do that.” She grumbled. She walked into the tent, crouching a bit as she entered. She smiled as she saw the two cots laid side by side, laying on the one closest to the door.

Kakashi watched her as she went into the tent and laid down before sighing.

“So, you need to fill everyone who wasn’t in that office on all the details of what happened and of this mission.” He looked at Kakashi. “I’m aware I’m the Captain because I don’t have as much emotional tether to Ino as her team and Sakura, nor do I have any bonds with Sasuke.”

Kakashi scoffed. “I think this may be the one move that will make them give up on Sasuke.” He glared at the ground. “I never truly gave up on him, but after this. I can’t keep believing he’s still able to saved…”

Asuma came up, knowing his friend held an enormous amount of guilt for the Uchiha’s choices. It was unspoken between the circle of friends, but it was easy to know he blamed himself. He always did. “I have Sai, Neji, Hanabi, and Hinata gathered around the soon to be fire so that we could fill them and Yamato in on the details.”

Kakashi nodded. “There’s no time like the present.” He said nonchalantly, before making his way to the pile of sticks the rest were gathered around.

He performed the katon no jutsu, igniting the pile instantly. The irony in using that technique wasn’t absent from his mind, knowing it was one of the main jutsus of the Uchiha. It only made the bitterness growing towards Sasuke grow deeper.

Even Naruto had given up on him now…

He sighed, starting at the beginning with the night at the bar when Sakura and Ino felt watched, explaining that he realized Sasuke’s presence watching him and Sakura as she slept in his bed. Ending with the events that passed in Tsunade’s office.

#kayparkerwrites #kakasaku fanfiction #kakasaku #kakashi x sakura #naruto fanfiction #naruto and kakashi #kakashi hatake #sakura haruno #fanfiction #hurt/comfort #inner turmoil

15 notes · View notes

sixwingedbee · 4 years ago

Link

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Braig & Ienzo (Kingdom Hearts) Characters: Braig (Kingdom Hearts), Ienzo (Kingdom Hearts), Luxu (Kingdom Hearts) Additional Tags: Soft platonic family moments, Fluff, Apprentice family Summary:

Ienzo had a bad habit of sneaking away.

When Ienzo went missing during the day, everyone noticed almost immediately. Almost. Sometimes Even wouldn't notice until an hour later that his charge was no longer sitting quietly within the lab, but he noticed. Dilan and Aeleus would notice when they found the two troublesome teens sneaking in through a new way, knowing they must have seen Ienzo come out of it on the other side.

Ansem noticed when it was brought to his attention after the boy was brought back.

Whether or not Braig ever noticed was never important. He rarely came for the boy. Ienzo always considered that a fortunate thing, Braig was trouble. He always found him right away, always taking the boy by surprise. All the other adults Ienzo could hear coming a mile away. With their grumbling and heavy footsteps. Braig just appeared. Ienzo never heard or saw which direction he came.

He couldn't help but wonder if the man had magic, too.

Even so, daytime was the worst to wander. Daytime was too easy for them to be aware. But it was when Ienzo felt the most trapped. Daytime was full of noise, scratching pencils and loud arguments in the upper labs, and full of people he didn't care for. Strangers that would give a supposed lost boy a second look and try to grab him. And while this world was very beautiful in the shining sun, with its abundance of flowers blooming all over, it had another type of beauty at night. Night time brought quiet. It brought the shining stars in the sky and a calm that Ienzo craved.

When the sky turned dark and the young boy was sure all in the castle were asleep, he'd make his move. Quietly, he made his way out of his room and down the long and much too large halls of the castle. Sometimes Ienzo wondered what lived in here before Ansem the Wise. Before Radiant Garden got its name... It couldn't have been humans. This structure was much too big for them. Maybe giants. That would explain Aeleus thought the boy. The man's stature made him a giant, even among the already too tall residents of the world.

Ienzo would sometimes wonder if he was from this world proper. He felt too small. Too quiet. Too listless.

But that couldn't be possible, he thought as he finally made his way outside, emerging out of a hidden door within the southern garden. Dilan knew of this one, but it was far too obvious to sneak into. Sneaking out of was another story. He looked around for signs of those two boys before he moved again, towards the wall. There was a ladder that reached to the top, an easy way for the guards to move around and do a quick visual sweep of the world outside of the castle. Ienzo looked up at the stars as he climbed. Slowly, rung by rung.

No, he couldn't be from anywhere else. Even if he couldn't remember much before coming here- Even often talked of an injury he had on his right temple- he had to be from this world. They didn't know getting to the other Worlds was possible until recent. That boy had to have come from another world, right?

But, how. How did they get here?

This World had stories, yes, but not the means to make a myth reality.

Ienzo pulled himself up onto the wall, steadying his feet for a moment before he started walking again. From South to East. It was a long walk, but it gave Ienzo a good look at the World they were on. From the sleepy buildings with their blood red roofs, to the tall forest that separated some of the sectors of the town. He could hear the rushing waters of the fountains as he passed by them, just out of reach from the plants that were crawling up the walls and attempting to take over.

On the far east he could sit, out of view from anyone else that could be up at this hour. Ienzo could look out on the calm waters that surrounded this not-quite island. Seeing the floating gardens that welcomed the rare trading boat. Occasionally he'd see a splash as a fish snapped at the bugs that tread the water's surface. While the humans slept, the world continued on as it should. It was a comfort, knowing that when they were all gone, this World would always go on.

It was a thought someone so young shouldn't have. But Ienzo's thoughts often drifted to how fragile he was. How quickly a human life could be snuffed out, with everyone moving on around it. He was proof of that. His parents were presumed dead, and he was placed in the care of someone else. Expected to continue living and grow up without them.

He lost track of how long he sat on that wall, staring at nothing and everything while he thought. The air was cool and he kept his knees pulled close to conserve warmth. Every breath let out a small puff of vapor. Maybe he should have grabbed that too big coat? Far too late now. He took a deep breath, enjoying the way the chilled air filled his lungs. It stung, but it filled his nose with the scents of the night. The air was crisp, and the smell of the water around them was strong. The start of decay in the leaves was on the slight wind, as well as the lingering smoke and ash from nearby chimneys. Autumn was around the corner. Another turn in the wheel.

“Got pretty far this time, didn' ya?”

Ienzo would have jumped if it wasn't for the heavy hand that rested on his shoulder. He looked up at the man that caught him, eyes wide. When did Braig get here? He would have heard him!

Braig didn't look mad. In fact, the man looked more amused than anything. Here was the King's ward, all the way out on a border patrol wall, by himself. The poor thing looked like a scared mouse caught in a trap. But Braig wasn't going to let him go, he knew that Ienzo would run. He was a tiny thing, but he was fast when he wished to be.

“You know you're not suppose to leave the castle unsupervised.” Braig knew he knew he wasn't suppose to leave at all. Especially at night, when anything could happen. Honestly, they had all hoped that the scare in the courtyard with those creatures would have curbed the boy's urge to run away. Obviously that wasn't the case, as he was getting more bold with his attempts.

The grip on the small boy's shoulder was adjusted slightly as Braig lowered himself to sit down next to him. He wasn't letting go, but he'd be on his level. “It's a nice spot, but not too great for hiding.” But he could see the point wasn't to hide. Not really. If Ienzo wanted to hide and not be found, then he would be in a better spot. Braig and Xehanort had found the boy in the most impossible spots before. Braig knew the boy well, and Xehanort seemed to have a knack for thinking of where an upset child would go.

Ienzo frowned up at him, still not saying a word. Braig chuckled, use to that little pout. He was cranky he was caught. Cranky that it was him and not the big one that found him. Braig knew he wasn't the favorite, and that was fine.

“They're going to worry when they wake up and you're not in your room.”

Ienzo looked away from him, shaking his head. He didn't want to go back, not yet! His little fingers twitched, tapping at the cold stone below him. He could talk, when he wanted. But he did it so rarely that he was finding it difficult to find the words he wanted to say. Why he couldn't-

“It's okay, little dude. We don't have to go back just yet.”

Ienzo blinked, looking back up at him. Did he hear him right?

“Or did you want to go?”

Another head shake and small hands tugging at his jacket. Just a few more minutes. It was so calm.

“Okay, okay.” The hand finally lifted up from his shoulder to the top of Ienzo's head to still him. Maybe ruffle that hair, mess up the part Even tried so hard to keep neat. He stared down at the one bright blue eye that wasn't hidden by his hair. Sometimes it was so familiar. “I get it.”

Braig took a breath, content when he heard Ienzo do the same. Good, he was calming down. He was slowly realizing that he wasn't in trouble. Yet. He watched the boy settle down once more, looking back out at the waters. At the edge of the cliffs that seemed to surround them on all sides. Like they were in a crater.

Braig looked towards the horizon, seeing the deep purples and blues of the night sky start to shift. The sun would be coming up. How long had the boy been out here?

“You're very lucky it was Xehanort that noticed you were gone.” He said, not looking down. He didn't need to look at Ienzo to see the look of surprise and doubt. Why would Xehanort check on him? “He's got a weird tick he has. I'll catch him, walking in the middle of the night. Making sure everyone's breathing. I wonder if it's a habit he doesn't realize he remembers.”

Ienzo looked down. Xehanort also couldn't remember anything from before the castle. Only his name. A habit like that... Did Xehanort have siblings? He adjusted to living with many people fast. He wasn't too old, he couldn't have had kids yet.

“I was getting coffee for my evening round, and he got me,” continued Braig. Why Xehanort didn't wake Even or Ansem was in the back of Ienzo's mind. But if Braig was already awake... Xehanort must have heard him in the kitchens.

Braig could still see that Ienzo's body language was closed off. He was stiff, holding his knees closer so he could be smaller. He knew he couldn't run away, but he could close Braig off completely. That wasn't going to work out. Braig could just easily pick the boy up, but he didn't feel like getting punched by those tiny fists. His face was still sore and healing. His undamaged eye looked from the sky to the boy, then back to the sky again.

“I'll cut you a deal,” he began, knowing Ienzo was listening. “We'll stay out here until the sun rises. Then we go back home-- to the castle.” Braig mentally smacked himself for that one. Calling the castle home always seemed to upset the boy. It was understandable. He was young, and new to life there.

As much as Ansem and Even tried to make him comfortable, to teach him and prepare him for the future they saw for him... Ienzo seemed to resist every step. Ienzo clearly adored the two men, and followed them around like a baby duckling when allowed. But something in his heart made him waver. Braig could see that even now.

“Hey now, I get it.”

There was that phrase again. Ienzo seemed to doubt that Braig understood. But he didn't question it. He'd let the man believe whatever lie he spoke into existence.

Gold and blue looked out again, watching the colors slowly turn. A pale blue appeared at the very bottom edge. Clouds would become more defined as the light of the sun just barely started to peek out.

Ienzo felt himself more at peace as he watched the sun rise. Hearing the birds start to chirp before the light was even visible, feeling a little bit more warmth. Not quite enough to be comfortable, but enough for Ienzo to relax and stop locking himself up.

Braig felt the boy shift beside him, patting his head once more. He never did let go. “Pretty, ain't it?” He asked, keeping his eye on the mix of colors that painted the skies in front of them. On the stars that were slowly fading from view. “No where near as beautiful as the sunrises from my own world, but it's pretty damn close.”

Ienzo looked up at that statement, staring at Braig. This pulled a laugh at the older man, such a serious look!

“Yeah, yeah. Don't go blabbing it to everyone. But I ain't quite from these parts, y'know?” Braig grinned down at the boy, holding a single finger up to his lips. “As if I need to tell you to be quiet, eh?” A little tease where it was earned. Ienzo was a very quiet boy.

But Braig knew how to listen to him without ever hearing a word.

“Where I'm from the sunrises were the most beautiful across the Star Ocean.” He lifted his other hand up, gesturing to the last few stars they could see. “My town was known for it. The beginning of a new day was so special to us. It was proof we were alive. Proof yesterday happened, that tomorrow was a promise.” He let that hand drop to his side, his other moving from Ienzo's head back to his shoulder. He smiled a bit as he felt the boy scoot closer.

If he had to listen to the man talk he might as well steal his warmth. Ienzo let him continue, enjoying the precious minutes he was gaining from letting an old man go down memory lane. Ienzo's quiet was ruined, but he didn't seem to mind just one voice speaking. He was outside, he had space. He seemed content enough.

Braig described a World so similar to Radiant Garden. Ienzo was sure he never actually left Gardens at all. The tweaks were slight and it seemed too perfect, that Braig would leave somewhere just to end up in a land almost identical. But there were some details, that Ienzo couldn't quite focus on, that stood out just enough. How tall was that clock tower again?

Ienzo closed his eye as he listened, letting the image come alive in his mind. The rays of the sun felt different. The smell of the flowers belong to different species that were rare on their world. Slowly, Braig's voice was blending in with the sound of the birds and the waves that lapped at the edge of the world. Of the hums and voices rising in the air as the earliest of risers started to wake. Ienzo could smell fires starting once more. The bakery was getting ready for its day. For a moment he thought he heard kids shouting, but it was far too early for them.

Braig was still talking. What did he say? “Y'know, you remind me of him.” Of who? He couldn't bring himself to listen to the words he was saying. His tiny body was overriding his want to stay awake.

“Maybe one day I'll bring it back and show you.”

It was said so softly, Ienzo wasn't quite sure he heard it at all.

Braig felt Ienzo lean against him and waited for a few seconds. The breathing was slow and steady. He fell asleep. The illusion that had been summoned around them faded into reality. The man let out a slow, shaky breath as he watched a memory dissolve. This kid was trouble, using his magic like that without realizing it.

He looked down at the sleeping boy, gently fussing with the hair in his face. That was the ultimate test if he was asleep or not. As he almost moved it out of the way, he paused. No slap, no flinch or cowering away. He was out like a light. Carefully, he scooped the tyke into his arms, standing up with ease on the wall. Only a few steps to see if anyone could see them where they were before he let the air and space warp around both of them.

He walked right out of the void he summoned, laying Ienzo down into his own bed. He tucked him in, gently ruffling his hair, before stepping back through his own portal to return to the post he should have been at. No one else needed to know he got out of bed or what was said.

He really was getting too soft on the kid.

#ienzo #braig #fanfic #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts fanfic #vibee write

21 notes · View notes

monstersandmaw · 5 years ago

Link

Wow, here we are at the end of Mermay 2020! Welcome to those of you who've joined either for or during Mermay! It's lovely to have you along.

I've written a total of 35,390 words for you just with these five Mermay stories alone! Thank you for your comments, and I hope you've enjoyed them, and I hope you are looking forward to June. As I've said before, I've taken what Patrons said to me in the feedback form into account, and I'm hoping to bring in some of that from next month!

Next up though is a short part two to ooze boy Tokis' story, as selected by the person who got the thank you story for filling in the feedback form.

Anyway, here's my last Mermay offering for you, and it's a long'un!

Contents: female reader (though that only comes up at the nsfw bit at the end), an older, gruff male selkie with a reputation for being frightening, and some bit-parts including an old harpy, some fluffy satyrs, and an extra fluffy minotaur. Nsfw content (because someone asked for more info on this before we get going): kissing, vaginal fingering, reader receiving oral, hand job, very very minor come-play...) Words: 7938

Chunky preview:

“Weather’s getting worse,” the old harpy croaked as you shouldered your bag and prepared to head home a little earlier that day.

“I’ll be careful,” you smiled.

Grenna ruffled her wings and snorted. “I can feel it in my feathers, child,” she said. “You go straight home. Don’t you stop off at that fairy pool and talk to the frogs all afternoon, you hear me? You get home to your family.”

Your already fond smile stretched wider. She knew you too well.

The mountain air was thin and fresh this high up, and as you practically skipped through the wide stone streets of the trading town, you revelled in the way the sunlight flashed on the dark golden stones of the buildings hunkered down in the natural hollow of the hillside. Centuries ago, it had once been nothing more than a collection of sheepherders’ huts, but as the trade between the nations had flourished, it had grown and grown until it had become the bustling market hub it was today, along the wide, winding road between neighbouring kingdoms.

Although peace had settled like a luxuriating housecat between the two nations, the town guard had eventually formed to protect the interests of the merchants and hauliers, and it had attracted some of the best soldiers from across both kingdoms. Dotted here and there throughout the steep, winding streets, they usually greeted passers by with nods or gruff good mornings, but never Galar.

He was one that the townsfolk feared; whose name mothers would hiss in frustration at their misbehaving children, only to find those children rapidly coming to heel, afraid of the guard with the eyes that shone like blood in certain lights and who had once - it was said - thrown a centaur right off the parapet of the town walls on the eastern side of the town where the valley careened away into a rocky gorge. You’d never actually met him, but everyone knew his name and what he looked like, and what his reputation for violence was.

No one seemed to know what he was though. If the centaur story was anything to go by, it was plain he couldn't be a mere human, though he looked it for the most part. Some suspected he was a lycan, though the small guild of werewolves in the town swore up and down he wasn’t one of them. He couldn’t be a vampire, despite the reddish eyes, because he could often be seen standing sentry at the main gates in full sun, apparently not bothered in the least by the weight and heat of his plate and mail guard’s armour. His ears weren’t pointed - in fact they were gnarled and bashed, like the cauliflower ears of fighters in the gladiatorial rings up north - so he was unlikely to be some kind of Fae.

You’d always entertained the notion that perhaps he was one of the elusive werebears said to populate the forests of the west, but it wasn’t as if you knew much about anything beyond the textiles that Grenna and you sold in the market place and from her little shop around the corner from the barracks. The old harpy had grown fond of you in a grandmotherly way, and had even sponsored you to apprentice for a tailor and dressmaker up in the exclusive Fountain District. With an apprenticeship with Alivia Silverscale under your belt, you could have gone to work for almost any dressmaker in the capital, but you had no grand designs for a career amid the wealthiest nobles in the city. You didn’t even like living in the small town of Drumcarrick so the idea of moving to the heave and bustle of a proper city made you shudder. Sewing costumes for the Merchants’ Guild Summer Ball was probably the highlight of your working year though.

Trotting down the hill and stepping out through the protective bulwark of the town gates, the icy blast of the spring wind caught you full in the face and you almost laughed. Free as a condor, you passed under the wide arch, smiling at one of the guards who watched you go, and headed out along the flagstone road.

It wasn’t long before you reached the lone, thunder-blasted tree that marked an old sheep track leading up through the rocks, and you scrambled up it and paused halfway up to catch your breath. Leaning against a boulder, you turned to look out over the valley that lay beneath you in a dizzying tableau of greens and blues and greys. Your breath caught as you saw storm clouds roiling at the far end of the steep-sided mountain pass. The weather here was not something to be trifled with or ignored, and you guessed you had perhaps an hour before the rain would hit.

For now, the slopes of the rocky mountains were bathed in brilliant sunshine, and as you scampered up the hillside, scattering the odd startled wild sheep with a chuckling apology, you knew there was nowhere else in the world you’d rather be.

The old ‘fairy pond’ that Grenna had warned you not to go to lay nestled in a small crook of rock about halfway up between Drumcarrick and the cloud-crowned mountain peak, and it was only fifteen minutes or so out of your way back to the cave home where you’d been born and where you now lived with a small family of bighorn satyrs. Most people who were not native to the area thought of caves as dark and dank, with dripping, algae-slimed walls and cold, stale air, but yours was nothing like that.

People had lived in homes like yours for generations up here, with stone outer walls built across the gaping maws of ancient caves, caulked with moss and rendered on the inside with clay to keep the drafts out and the warmth in, and on the inside they were decorated with wooden floorboards and thick, sheep wool rugs. A huge hearth had been built into the rock at the centre of the long narrow space, and a chimney drilled out of the rock and capped with a metal cover to keep the animals and the weather out. It was the loveliest place on earth, except perhaps for the fairy pond.

Legend had it that the tiny, deep pool had once been a kelpie’s home, but if it had, none lived there now. It plunged unknowably deep, its waters mirror-dark, though it was perhaps only fifty decent strides around its circumference, ringed around with meadowsweet and sedges, marsh marigold and water crowfoot. However, as you made your way towards it that day, heading up towards the narrow cleft in a boulder that then led to the small pool, a huge figure loomed out of the rocks right in front of you and came to a sudden halt, towering over you.

You shrieked, more out of surprise at finding someone else there than anything else, and toppled backwards, staggering and scrambling, desperate not to lose your footing and go tumbling down the hillside like a stray stone idly kicked. A massive hand shot out and grabbed your arm, yanking you right off your feet but stopping you from falling.

Turning your eyes to the face of your rescuer, you gasped. Scar-flecked as an old battle axe, and twice as strong, the figure still holding you aloft like a dangling puppy had to be Galar. His eyes weren’t the demonic, scarlet red they’d been painted by town folklore and gossip, but were in fact an extremely rich, warm brown, flecked with copper highlights. The moment he realised you were staring at him, his rough hand let go of you and you dropped to land awkwardly on your feet on the steep, narrow path in front of him.

“Sorry,” you laughed once you’d found your balance. “And thank you. You startled the life out of me. I… I thought I was the only one who came here.”

Without a word, he pushed past you, sending you staggering back against a nearby rock, and you watched him stump down the path back towards the town. A silvery animal skin lay draped across his broad shoulders, the same hue as his salt and pepper hair. Galar was clean-shaven, but seemed to have a heavy shadow around his rough-hewn, anvil jaw, and the brows which lowered over his russet-brown eyes were thick and scowling, also sprinkled with a silvery grey. He looked to be in his early forties, if you were measuring him by human standards, and with his rough-hewn features, dark skin, and immense strength, you were surprised to find that Galar didn’t look like the monster he’d been made out to be at all. In fact, he was rather attractive.

In the wake of his departure, you simply stood there, dumb and motionless as the rocks all around you, until finally you shivered and looked up to see the first drops of rain spattering down on the sun-warmed rocks below. The water of the fairy pool behind you churned softly, as though still lamenting the absence of a recent bather, but you decided against taking an icy bath that day.

Skittering back down the path, racing the rain, you ran for home.

Read the whole thing right now, as well as the Mermay 2020 posts (five in total, including extra artwork) and a surprise, nsfw ‘ghost lover’ story, plus everything that’s been posted already on Patreon!

#exophilia #mermay #selkie #leopard seal selkie #slightly older character #male monster #female reader

70 notes · View notes

oneofyatosfollowers · 4 years ago

Text

Yatori Week Day 7- Fluff/AU

@yatoriweek2020

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25401826/chapters/61945465

Fanfiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13648502/1/Yatori-Week-2020

The last of the autumn leaves were starting to fall, signalling winter's imminent arrival. With the colder winds brought in a chill that settled into her grandmother's bones, and a severe lack of cheap supplies. Hiyori did the best she could to prepare, using the book her brother left that contained her late father's medicines. She worked well into the night after buying and selling produce in the town down the hill. It was tiring and- as much as it hurt Hiyori to admit- it was fruitless. Her grandmother's cough was getting worse and her body weaker. Still, Hiyori persisted.

"Here," Hiyori spooned some medicine into her grandmother's mouth, "the herbs are fresh so it should be stronger." She winced when the old woman made a twisted face. Behind her, a small newt-like creature tried to copy the same face and Hiyori giggled at it.

"Hiyori, you should really worry about yourself more. I'm not sure I'll be able to make it through the winter-"

"-Grandma, not this again. The medications have been helping you feel better, haven't they?' Hiyori couldn't keep the grief out of her voice, the lines of her distressed face hardly easing when her grandmother placed a hand over hers.

"You didn't let me finish. I'm not sure I'll be able to make it through winter without magic," she breathed. Hiyori's eyebrows raised at the whimsical way the word was said. It was known in the family that the women of her family were very attuned with the supernatural, her brother an odd exception, but it's not like her family knew any spells?

"Do you know?" Hiyori swallowed her excitement.

"No, no," her grandmother chuckled, "I never received any sort of training. Not like the magus on the hill and his apprentice." She winked at Hiyori when her eyes dawned with understanding.

The magus on the hill was a local legend that is said to be over one-thousand years old. He's a recluce that only lets certain people meet him and will only offer help if a price can be met. More is known about his apprentice, a young teen who is also said to be immortal. He runs most of the magus's errands in and out of town and is said to be very polite, unlike his mentor.

"But we don't have," Hiyori bit her lip. Her father was once a well-to-do doctor in town but after he passed money- and her brother vanished- support for her grandmother began running thin. At the reminder her grandmother's face fell a bit.

"Ask his apprentice what he wants. Do not speak to that abomination directly," her grandmother's scorn was gone as soon as it came, "But that boy is an absolute dear, I happen to quite like him. Make sure you talk to him about medicine. Not that defilement of magic." Her grandmother smiled, pleased with her orders, leaving Hiyori to only nod dumbly.

Despite the rumors, Hiyori brought her jar of savings to the flower shop the next day. Somehow her grandmother knew the apprentice had Sundays off from his errands, and that he preferred to spend them here. She sat across the cobblestone street and waited. Not knowing what the apprentice actually looked like, Hiyori figured she would know a magic-student when she saw them. Suddenly a cart crossed in front of her, two boys pushing the pots of plants as they talked.

"Thanks for helping on your day off, we had to move these out of the church yard to make room for more graves," the one with brown hair said.

"It's not a problem! That guy has been nose-deep in making a new chapter in his crazy, infinite spell book so he hardly noticed me slinking off. Besides, it's my day off!" A blonde boy beamed at his friend and Hiyori nearly dropped her jaw. She knew he was young but he was just barely a teen at all! On top of that he looked totally normal! Hiyori couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary with the blonde. Not one to mull over appearance, Hiyori stood and made her away across the street.

"Excuse me," Hiyori stopped them, she recognized the brown-haired man as the local priest but still looked to the blonde, "are you the apprentice?" She watched them share a glance before the boy looked her up and down.

"Who's asking?" he said as politely as possible. But there was something else. Out of the corner of her eye, Hiyori saw his shadow writhe along the ground for just a moment.

"This is Hiyori Iki," the priest, Kazuma, said. He nodded to her and Hiyori nodded back in greeting.

"She's the daughter of our town's late doctor," Kazuma explained to the kid before turning to her, "I'm guessing you're here for your grandmother?" His eyes dropped to the change jar in her hands along with the rest. Hiyori bit her lip and nodded, clutching the jar tightly as Kazuma continued.

"I'm sorry. Once I drop these off I'll go pay her a visit," he promised.

"Thank you very much," Hiyori bowed slightly.

"Please ask him to help her. As a favor from me," Kazuma said to the apprentice. The blonde looked her up and down, less guarded than before, and then nodded. They waved to the priest as he continued through town, then Hiyori was gestured to follow. No one speaked as they made their way to the country road, passing by Hiyori's house and heading up a large hill through the trees. As they got closer, the apprentice seemed to move more than necessary as he whispered to himself.

"May I ask for your name?" Hiyori asked, hoping some kindness would soothe her growing anxiety.

"Oh! It's Yukine," the apprentice said, "sorry about that." He looked genuinely apologetic for his rudeness. Hiyori smiled more broadly and waved it off.

"It's fine." They walked in silence for a little longer, Yukine's whispering growing silent but was replaced with him trying to look at her. She pretended to ignore both him and his shadow.

"Can I ask you something?" Yukine questioned. They stopped just before the tree line, Yukine was looking over his shoulder at her, the darkened trees behind him making his shadow darker than the night sky.

"Yes?" Hiyori forced her smile, never showing fear.

"Can you," Yukine faltered for a moment, "I mean does this forest seem off to you? Do I?" He looked nervous, if not hopeful. Hiyori breathed out sigh of relief when she understood, a smile becoming much easier to wear.

"If you're asking if I'm in tune with magic, the answer is yes! I don't know how to do anything special, I just see the other creatures," Hiyori explained. She pointed over her head to a fairy floating over them, waving when the tiny lady cooed.

"Oh," Yukine turned around, completely relieved, "then my familiar can come out!" The apprentice didn't wait for a response. His shadow wiggled and shrunk in on itself, forming into a tight form that raised off the ground.

"This is Suzuha," Yukine bent down to pet the shadowy black cat that now wove around his feet.

"A familiar!" Hiyori gushed. She never saw one but this cat was definitely not of this world.

"Yeah he turns into his human form at night. I just didn't want you to be surprised," Yukine spoke much freer than before, happily strolling up the hill of dark thorny trees. Hiyori hung onto her calm as much as she could. Looking up, Hiyori saw the sunny sky had turned to night.

She was led through a stone wall and metal gate, the house in front of her a small cottage with a red roof. Planted on both sides were giant sakura trees, somehow in bloom. Yukine and Suzuha trotted up to the door. The moment they stepped on the entrance rug, the door opened to show a woman. Hiyori gasped at her beauty, she was petite with porcelain skin that blended into her white dress. Even with her covered head to toe, her black hair and black eyes stood out.

"Hi Nora!" Yukine greeted. The woman looked at him blankly for a moment before fixing her dead eyes on Hiyori. Was she the magus?

"This is a client for Yato," Yukine explained. Nora nodded and silently stepped aside, holding the door open for the other two to walk in. The house was perfectly neat and orderly, like it was cookie cut and ready to be sold. Hiyori bowed slightly in greeting, shocked when the short woman returned it.

"This is Nora, she's a banshee turned silky and somehow related to Yato? Also she's our live-in housekeeper." Yukine introduced. She turned to the side and pointed further into the house and down the hall at an open doorway on the right.

"Yato's in there? Okay thank you," Yukine turned to Hiyori, "You can follow Suzuha to the sitting room. Nora will make tea?" Yukine looked at her while she narrowed her eyes for a moment. He laughed awkwardly and let out a 'please' before she nodded. Hiyori tried to resist but the cat was already nudging her towards a living room. Yato must be the magus's name.

"Sorry about that, I wanted to let Yato know you were here. And put my coat away," Yukine explained when he came back. With his green parka away, Hiyori saw he was wearing a simple tee shirt and jeans.

"It's no trouble," Hiyori said, thanking Nora when tea was placed in front of them on fine china.

"So what's your request?" Yukine asked. Hiyori explained her grandmother's sickness, her symptoms and the types of medicine that worked best. While she was doing this, Yukine was nodding along while sparing glances at the hallway, clearly waiting for someone. He continued this even when making small talk after the request, Suzuha taking turns on both their laps. Hiyori flinched when the sound of a broken glass was heard and Yukine angrily stood.

"'Scuse me," he said, then marched down the hall. One-sided yelling echoed down the hall and Hiyori couldn't help but stand up. She krept down the seemingly normal hallway of the magus, almost reaching the door before Nora appeared out of nowhere and held a hand up.

"Is it dangerous?" Hiyori whispered to the woman. Only her eyes moved to look into the room, then back to Hiyori as she nodded.

"Her grandmother is sick you sweaty freak! Just put the- book- down for one damn second!" Yukine was hollering. There was an array of colored lighting flashing from inside the doorway and Hiyori could hear the swooshing and whooshing of air being moved unnaturally. Nora turned and knocked on the doorframe once, twice and Yukine's yelling seemed to stop. There was some whispering before Yukine's blonde hair popped out.

"Sorry. Just one more minute please," he forced a smile then disappeared back into the room. Hiyori felt herself clench at the thought of seeing such a 'defilement' as her grandmother put it. She snapped out of it when Nora was waving at her. The house seemed to grow quiet as she stepped forward and peaked into the room of the magus.

It was a pigsty! Clearly Nora was not allowed in this room because the array of various tables and stacks of books were in complete disarray! The shelves lining the room had various plants and creatures trapped between glass containers and various knick-knacks that she doubted were magic. Things of similar nature were even hung from the ceiling by thin rope, over top of a floor covered in scattered papers.

A normal-looking man trampled over them as he weaved around the objects, Yukine following after him like a nagging housewife. Unlike Yukine's normal clothing, this man wore a full-on black cloak with baggy sleeves and a single black glove. His hair was long and pitch black, it writhed in the air like fire as an invisible wind blew through it and a hovering book. He even had things floating after him, disintegrating into a large flask and mixing itself. The glass was brought in front of his face for a moment before he waved his finger and commanded a quill to write things down in the book.

"Hello?" Yukine bagered, "Customer? Job? You were supposed to be out there a while ago!" He didn't miss a beat when the magus crawled up on a table to reach something on a top shelf and knock over a towering pile of books. More things fell to the floor but didn't shatter, Yukine stopping them midair by frantically putting out his palm.

"She's here!" he hollard. The magus froze and so did his floating items, he very slowly looked over his shoulder. Air escaped her lungs when Hiyori became transfixed in eyes that definitely were not human. They were a crystal clear blue that glowed around a slitted pupil. The whites of his eyes were a light charcoal color the same color magic that surrounded his body.

"I told you," Yukine growled. The magus let his apprentice yank him off the table and shove him to Hiyori. She couldn't help but step back, even when he smiled with kanines that were too sharp, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. There was something off about him, his presence, his existence. It felt wrong to her. His magic dissipated along with the dark-color of his eyes in a blink of an eye.

"So that old bat is sick, huh?" Yato said with hands on his hips. She flinched along with Yukine, clearly the hatred with her grandmother was not one-sided.

"Yes. I have money," Hiyori showed him the jar, shaking the coins. The noise caught his attention and he looked at it.

"Tell ya what, I'll take this little coin here and let Yukine go take a peak." Yato pulled out an inexpensive coin and rolled it over his fingers before it disappeared like some cheap magic trick.

"Me?" Yukine spluttered. He came forward to look up at his mentor with big eyes, biting his lower lip to show nervous eagerness.

"Yes you!" Yato beamed down at the kid, "This is a perfect job for you to do on your own! Besides, you're the one who wants to specialize in healing stuff." He waved off the two and gestured for his book to float towards him. Hiyori smiled slightly at the kid's obvious excitement then looked nervously at the back of Yato's head.

"What about payment?"

"We can discuss that once we figure out what we need to do." Black magic started to rise off Yato signaling the end of the conversation. Hiyori took one last look at the magus as Yukine excitedly tugged her out the door. Despite the rumors he looked not much older than her.

By the time they left her grandmother's house the sun was starting to go down. Yukine had been so kind to her grandmother, sitting down to talk to her about more than just her illness while he examined her. Her grandmother loved the company, asking Yukine a lot of questions about his life as a magus's apprentice. The air was light when they left, Yukine promising to walk Hiyori home when they were done discussing payment. However, Yukine was quiet on the way home. He walked with his hands in his coat pockets, hardly answering Hiyori's attempts at a conversation.

"So what did you find?" Hiyori stopped beating around the bush.

"Oh, uh," Yukine thought for a moment, "it's not a curse or anything magic like that." He flashed her a smile then quickly looked at the ground. Before Hiyori could press the issue, something manifested next to her and tapped her shoulder. Hiyori jumped back with a squeal.

"It's okay! It's just me, Suzuha!" The boy looked to be Yukine's age with straight black hair and cat-like hazel eyes. Hiyori sighed and gave him a smile, it was sun-down after all. Yukine lightly scowled his familiar who teased him back, then silence befell them again.

"Umm?" Hiyori tried again.

"There's not much we can do," Suzuha hummed with his hands behind his head.

"What?" Hiyori gasped.

"Suzuha!" Yukine chastised, whirling on his familiar who maintained his grin. Yukine glared as the cat-boy just shrugged then waved at Hiyori's nervous expression.

"We don't know that! It's just out of mine and Suzuha's knowledge," Yukine explained hastily. Stepping up the cheer, Yukine decided Nora would make them macaroons as they walked under the magic star-filled sky.

Nora was at the door to greet them again, face as stoic as ever. Yukine and Suzuha greet her as always, Hiyori giving her a better smile than before. Lights still flashed from the doorway ahead of them, just less than before. The noises however, were no longer wind but a low growling.

"Sounds like he's still in there," Suzuha comments as he strolled to the living room. Yukine stayed by Hiyori and eyed the doorway with minor hesitation.

"Is it safe?" He asked Nora. She looked down the hall and held up a finger, walking to knock on the frame again and enter the room. She poked her head out after a moment and pointed at Yukine. He told Hiyori to go and sit before making his way into the room. There was a heavy weight in the air and in her stomach as Hiyori sat with Suzuha and sipped on more tea.

"He wants to talk to you," Yukine came into the room, "alone." He didn't look too bothered by the idea but he picked up on Hiyori's discomfort.

"Don't worry. He's not dangerous but his magic is. That's why I made him put it all away to speak with you," Yukine looked proud of himself and Hiyori huffed a laugh as she stood. Nora led her down the hall again, letting Hiyori step into the room before the door was closed.

The room was much more calm than before. Yato still stood with his back to her, neck bent over a book while he skimmed over pages. He held up a finger before she could say anything, still mumbling to himself. Then Yato turned around with the same grin, hands placed on the table so he could recline.

"You're grandmother is not sick," Yato paused to gauge her reaction, "she's dying naturally." His statement hung in the air between them like she was the one put to death. Hiyori clenched her hands while her mouth opened and closed worthlessly. It hurt to hear, but somewhere deep down she knew. Knew there was a reason her grandmother grew weaker despite the array of medicine. But still, sorrow stung her heart as her lips quivered.

"So there's," Hiyori couldn't keep the anger lacing her voice, "nothing you can do?"

"I never said that," Yato shrugged. Scowling at her hopeful expression, Yato looked at the floor.

"I know some necromancy, but since that comes at the cost of another person I can assume you don't want that. I can also make her a familiar or a fae, but I can't guarantee she'll still be the same person you knew. The easiest way to keep her here with you is to make her a wand. Of course all these have consequences too." Yato counted on his fingers the possible "solutions" but the young woman's sinking expression told him that none of this is what he wanted to hear. He waved over a box of tissues when he heard her sniffle.

"There's really nothing that can be done?" Hiyori quivered. She took a tissue and Yato let her clean her face.

"Making her a staff would keep her spirit with you, while still letting her soul pass on. Like having her blessing." He frowned at her crying face, stepping closer to rub her arms up and down while keeping his distance. To his surprise, she didn't flinch or back away.

After she calmed down, Yato offered her a bed or some tea. Hiyori refused and let Nora lead her and Yukine out the door, Suzuha tiredly hiding in their shadows as they walked. Her grandmother was still awake when she got home, smiling in a sad way. It made sense she was able to sense her natural end. Hiyori sobbed that night, her grandmother petting her head and telling her it was an honor to be made a staff.

Her grandmother's death was still a decent way away, according to Suzuha who tapped on her window in the middle of the next night, so Hiyori spent as much time at home as she could. Another four days went by and her grandmother mentioned she should ask the magus how she should obtain a staff and what payment it would cost.

"Hiyori, you're here!" Yukine didn't hide his joy at seeing her, but he still gave his honest condolences. She was led back into the living room and was surprised to see Yato there in his robe and some pajama pants, lounging on the couch. He gave a questioned quirk of the eye-brow and waited for her to gather her thoughts.

"We decided on the staff." Hiyori stated.

"A magic staff?" Yukine parroted, looking between them.

"This solution only works because they both have a strong connection to our world," Yato explained as he gestured to them to sit. Yukine sat next to his mentor, drinking in the exception to the rule. Hiyori sat across from them with the same jar of coins on her lap.

"How does it work exactly? And what about payment?" Hiyori asked.

"First we will need to preserve a lock of her hair. Then once she dies we need to bury her with a tree seed. Once that tree grows- which I can move along- we will use its wood to carve the staff and infuse it with her hair. I'll do a little bit of magic, you'll do some chanting, and voila! She will be with you always. In spirit," Yato spoke so nonchalantly. Like people came to him wanting to save their loved ones all the time.

"Payment," Hiyori repeated through gritted teeth.

"For as long as you're in possession of your grandmother's staff," Yato grinned, "you will be my wife!" With his hands raised, Yato's eyes sparkled when he presented his price. There was a moment of stunned silence before Yukine squawked out in alarm. He berated the magus with a flurry of insults while Nora nonchalantly set down tea. Hiyori felt heat rise from her toes to the top of her head.

A wife? His wife? The wife to the magus? Sure it's not like she was seeing anyone or had any one in mind. But still! Wasn't he, like, centuries old? And who was he to just decide her grandmother was worth her hand? What kind of proposal was this anyway?

"Yato! What is wrong with you? You're wife? You're just gonna marry her? Some random girl off the streets? No offense," Yukine was fuming with a blush while Hiyori fought her own.

"I'll do it. Whatever it takes," Hiyori looked up from her clenched fists to the magus, "I'll be your bride." The room was on pause once again as Yukine and Suzuha looked to her with gobsmacked expressions while Yato's grin grew wider.

"Yato!" Yukine grabbed the magus by the collar and shook him while he shrugged. Looking over at the young woman, and her crestfallen expression, Yato's teasing dropped a little.

"You know, I won't take the payment until after it's done," Yato said. Hiyori nodded and stood silently, announcing she will take her leave to spend her remaining days with the last family she has.

Unfortunately the two weeks until winter were not without the magus in her life. Apparently the job of an apprentice included delivering flowers and chocolates to your forced-fiance. Hiyori greeted Yukine at the door every time, her smile becoming smaller and smaller each time he invited her in. The gifts got smaller too, after Hiyori's agitated request.

"I'm so sorry he just was copying what little he's seen around town. He tends to go to the extreme but he really means well," Yukine said as he tried to fit a cupcake next to the chocolates in the fridge. Hiyori just sighed, she didn't know if she could handle a guy that was so clueless and excessive.

"You seem to know him well. You like him," Hiyori stated. Yukine flinched and a blush spread across his face.

"Yeah, well he's just awkward," Yukine huffed then looked at Hiyori, "I think it's time we ask for her hair, Hiyori."

The funeral came suddenly, on the day of the first snow barely four days later. Hiyori was the only family member there, her brother being out of reach for quite some time, but most of the town showed up. Kazuma led the gathering, Yukine and Suzuha using Yato's flowers as decoration. The magus stood far away, just outside the cemetery gate, ready and waiting to take her back to his house. It was a secret from everyone else that the woman being lowered into the ground was an illusion spell from the magus. The old woman's real body was buried at the bottom of the hill with a tree already sprouting.

Yato, Yukine, and Suzuha walked her back to the house after it was over, her home no longer relevant. Stopping at the tree, Yato said he would be working on it for a couple hours while the boys took Hiyori to get settled. All her things had been teleported into a room that would be hers and Nora was drawing her a bath. Hiyori numbly looked around her new room, surprised by how nice it looked. Normal compared to the other rooms. Her dresser was filled with double the clothes she owned before, expensive articles including her own. There were even a couple nicely kept potted plants to add some color.

"He wants you to be comfortable," Suzuha said from the windowsill.

"But why?" Hiyori looked to the cat, "And why does he want a wife?"

"Can't tell you. Why don't you ask him?"

"Ask him? Just like that?"

"Why not? You are his fiance," the cat shrugged. It made sense but Hiyori still grimaced. It wasn't that the magus was unapproachable, the opposite, he was very welcoming and offered Hiyori everything and anything, giving her space to adjust.

"What about Yukine?" Hiyori asked.

"Studying. You shouldn't bother him, especially since you're human." Suzuha curled in on himself in the sunlight, signalling the end of the conversation. Quietly padding down the hall, Hiyori peaked into Yukine's bedroom across from hers to see him bent over a desk, mumbling to himself. He looked like his mentor so Hiyori doubted she would be able to get his attention.

"Nora," Hiyori greeted the fae in the kitchen, "where's, uh, where's Yato?" If Nora noticed Hiyori's embarrassment she didn't comment. The silky looked through the doorway to the living room then back at Hiyori.

"Thank you." Hiyori walked into the living room to see Yato on the couch with an array of fabric rolled out along the table and chairs.

"Good afternoon, Hiyori," Yato smiled, "are you settling in well?"

"Yes, thank you." She took a seat on the couch and looked at his hands as he hand-sewed some red fabric.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Hiyori asked. Yato looked up from his work with a puzzled expression.

"I'm finishing up your clothes."

"You made those?" Hiyori's yelp startled the magus and he suddenly looked guilty.

"Well you can't conjure your own clothes. I mean they are useful gifts- unlike the flowers- and they're less over-the-top? Is it too much again?" He sounded so unsure Hiyori couldn't help but pity him. And smile at his adorable naivete.

"They're very nice, thank you. I'm just surprised you made them by hand," Hiyori looked down at his hand, "literally." She watched Yato's wide-eyes flicker from her own to the needle in his hand and back to her. Then he laughed, an echoey sort of sound but jovial nonetheless, it surprised Hiyori before she laughed too.

"Do you like the color?" Yato asked like a child.

"Yes," Hiyori giggled. They fell into comfortable silence as he worked, explaining what he was doing now and again, as well as answering her questions. The coo-coo-clock ticked on over the fireplace.

"Why did you make a bride?" Hiyori finally asked, "Why do you want a wife?"

"It's complicated." Yato spoke after a moment, "It's not so much that I want a wife, not that I mind, it's more that I want a female caretaker for Yukine. A human roll model that was a part of the family but could still understand our world." Yato explained.

"For Yukine?" Hiyori breathed. Sure, she liked the kid. Her and Yukine got along great and she could really see him as a good friend or even a little brother. Of course Yato didn't say mother, not at all, but something still didn't fit.

"Why- do you think he needs," Hiyori tapered off, but Yato still understood.

"Yukine used to be human. In fact he was like you, inclined towards the supernatural. When I found him he had given up on humanity, given up on himself, he was already on the verge of death. I saw a small hint of myself in him so I offered to save him. I offered him similar things I offered you. He asked if I would stay with him, stay by his side forever, so that's what I did." Yato put down his project and held up his gloved hand, pulling it off to show a blacked hand and wrist. Hiyori gasped.

"I gave him a chunk of myself to grant him immortality and magic. I brought him back to life and bound him to me. It took some time but he was happy, learning and living with me and Nora, but was clear he wasn't fulfilled. I don't think it's that he misses his humanity, but it's clear he still mourns what the humans have. What he never had," Yato looked up at her, "I want to give him that. A family."

"Yukine is happy with you," Hiyori smiled fondly. Yato sputtered with a red face and picked up the clothes, yelping when he pricked himself.

"Yeah, well, even I'm not so socially inept that I think I can replace a woman's warmth," Yato's tone fell, "he's a sweet kid and deserves to rely on someone warmer. Softer." He refused to look at her while she thought, warmth spreading through their bodies.

"What about you?" Hiyori asked.

"Me?"

"Do you want a family?"

"I was- never really- conditioned to the thought. I'm not human so I never had that instinct. But, uh, I like how things are," Yato grinned back at her, "not that I would be opposed to having a pretty human like you around to care for me." He flashed her a cheesy wink that had Hiyori giggling through her blush.

"What about you? Don't human women start working towards that white-picket fence around now?" Yato's question was one Hiyori fielded a lot. Normally it bothered her but the way Yato asked, with such clear ignorance and honest curiosity, she couldn't help but take the question seriously.

"I always had my family, my grandmother in particular. The idea of being a mother or a wife was just something I assumed would happen one day? I didn't plan for it but I was never against the idea," Hiyori beamed at the magus, "I honestly never thought it would turn out like this, but now that I understand, it's the best I could have hoped for!" Her seneier answer added a splash of red to Yato's cheeks, his wide-eyes stared at her for a moment as they flickered with emotion and magic. Then he scoffed out a laugh and Hiyori found herself smiling.

They sat in comfortable silence again and Hiyori finally berated the damn-full of questions Hiyori had about his world, her family's interest. He avoided questions about himself but would go into extreme detail about everything and anything that wasn't dangerous for a human to know, especially about Yukine. Now and again, he would ask her questions too, about her life. He even promised to try and find her missing brother, who went on some magic exhibition and was never heard from again. As Hiyori tried on another vintage-looking dress, Hiyori decided to tease him back.

"Yukine was right, you really don't get out much," Hiyori snickered at his objections, "guess I'll just have to be your teacher too." Looking over her shoulder, she saw Yato staring up at her with pins clenched between his teeth. He suddenly dropped the hem of her dress and walked to the other end of the room. Mood gone, Hiyori sucked in a gasp, worried she had offended the magus.

She couldn't force any words out of her mouth as he opened the drawer to a cheveret. Yato walked back over, his footsteps making no sound, and showed her his closed fist. Something pink and glittery caught her eye and Hiyori identified it as a necklace. The chain was silver along with the small branch of a sakura tree that hung horizontal. On it we're beautiful pink blossoms who's color seems to swirl around itself. Dark pink anthers that stood from the center of each floor moved like they were alive, winking in and out like sparkles off of a diamond. The entire thing was so detailed, like he took a silver branch of the tree outside and strunk it down.

"It's beautiful. Is it for me?" Hiyori breathed. She looked up to see Yato nod.

"I know it's human custom to give a ring, but I thought I'd add my own personal touch. Since this marriage isn't exactly commonplace," Yato said. Taking it out of his hand, he wrapped the ends of the chain around her neck, slowly and gently, like she was being hugged by a ghost. She felt his gloved hand move her hair a little as he clasped it, causing her to shiver. This was the closest she's ever stood to her fiance.

"It's magic, obviously. The chain can't be broken by anything and it can only be removed by hand, by the people in this house. It will protect you," Yato explained, "also, I thought you might try to run away after you got your staff so this necklace will always tell me where you are." Yato dropped his hands after it was secure, the branch falling just under her collar bones, light and warm. The magus didn't step away and Hiyori didn't want him to.

"Thank you," Hiyori said, then looking up at him, "I won't run away from you. Or Yukine." Hiyori watched his blue eyes shimmer again, this time with the telltale sign of hope and suffering. She didn't realize it until he flinched, but she grabbed his hands, her fingers curling into his while she spoke. One hand was significantly warmer than the other, but they were both cold. Especially compared to the small smile Yato now wore.

"I appreciate that, Hiyori. And I'll be using these measurements for your wedding dress." His laugher once again rang through the home as Hiyori shrieked and chased him, angry with embarrassment. Nora and Yukine both had to poke their heads in and tell them to quiet down already.

Her grandmother's tree was ready to take from by the time spring rolled around. She had grown into a willow tree, with pink and white blossoms that rivaled Yato's sakuras. Yukine helped Hiyori with the process, instructing her on how to carve it as that was only something she could do, then healing the branch's stump. They let Yato weave in the hair fibers, it's addition causing the wood to become a light grey. It came up to her waist, the top of it curving into a small bird for her namesake. Much to everyone's embarrassment, Hiyori selected blue orbs for the eyes.

Her wedding to the magus on the hill was held shortly after. Hiyori waited impatiently in her room for Nora to bring up her dress. Yato stubbornly denied the custom of the groom not seeing the dress and instead refused for Hiyori to even take a peek; going as far as placing it in a pocket dimension when she tried to snoop for it. She also hasn't seen her fiance, or Yukine, since last night. The apprentice opted to help his mentor prepare while leaving his familiar to set up the altar under the willow tree.

"Come in!" Hiyori answered to a knock, rushing over to open the door anyway. Nora stood there with the dress in her arms, a small smile gracing her features. It was beautiful, sewn flowers lining the straps and the sweet-heart neckline. The flowers would bunch around her midsection, then branch out along the rest of the dress. It would hug her curves before flaring out slightly into layers, ending in lace with it's flowers tipped with pink.

Giddy, Hiyori got settled in the vanity chair while Nora neatly laid the dress neatly on the bed. The silky came over and got to work on her hair, brushing it neatly while Hiyori tried to probe answers. Nora was tightly lipped and impossible to read, but their growing friendship let Hiyori get a couple of nods or shakes of the head here and there. Next came her make-up, which Nora used some magic to make it absolutely perfect.

"Thank you so much, Nora." Hiyori said. Putting the dress on, Hiyori was happy to see it fit her like a glove, practically moving to form her body then settling like a second skin. The more time she spent here in this house, with this odd family, the more at home Hiyori felt. Once the purpose of this union was cleared up and she got to know her fiance better, Hiyori was content with this outcome. Almost looking forward to being a part of another family that understood her.

"We're ready," Suzuha knocked on the door.

"Okay!" Hiyori smoothed out the ruffles and slipped on matching flats and long gloves. At the door, Nora's smile was still on as she opened the door to reveal Suzuha in a black tux. He flashed a sharp grin and held out his elbow.

"Milady," Suzuha bowed to Nora, "mi-flower-lady." He waited for Hiyori to grab her grandmother's staff, then lead her out the door. Nora disappeared but Hiyori figured she would beat them there.

"You excited?" Suzuha spoke as they walked down the hill under the starry-sky.

"Yes," Hiyori answered honestly. She squeezed the boy's arm tight as the pink willow came into view. Nora stood at the front of the tree, this time in a soft pink dress with red accents. She pulled back the branches and walked through just as Hiyori reached her. Hiyori followed the silky as she threw the flowers of her grandmother's tree on the fresh grass. When the silky moved aside at the end of the isle Hiyori was greeted with a breathtaking scene.

Her grandmother's branches were hung with white fabric streamers and glass orbs of fireflies. Two long white ribbons of tulle stretched from where Hiyori stood to the altar, held down with bunches of pink and purple flowers. At the end of the aisle, Kazuma stood behind a small wooden altar in his black priest outfit. To his left stood Yukine in a magus cloak identical to his mentor's and a red pillow with rings.

Across from him stood Yato, his black cloak buttoned over top of black trousers. His hair was combed back into a high pony-tail and his blue eyes never left hers. There was no music, instead the sound of crickets and chattering fairies came from just behind the curtain of flowers. Suddenly self-conscious, Hiyori looked down at the staff in her hands as she made her way to stand in front of the magus. Brown eyes kept flickering up to steady blue ones as Kazuma announced the matrimony to the supernaturals. She smiled at Yukine when he came to hand them the rings, catching his pure excitement.

Finally, Yato used his naked hand to bring up her own. His eyes finally dropped from her red face to watch as he slipped a silver ring onto her delicate finger. Quietly, Yato asked if she wanted to do his, or if he should just put it on. Much to everyone's happiness, Hiyori gave a bashful nod and slipped the band over his gloved hand.

"You may now, uh," Kazuma tapered off and looked confused between Yato and Hiyori. Yukine already jumped the gun and whirled around to hide his face while Suzuha peaked between his fingers.

"Don't worry, wifey," Yato gently lifted her hand in his glove, "we'll have plenty of time for that later." With a wink from magic eyes and a dangerous grin, the magus placed a kiss on her hand.

#noragami #noragami au #yatori #yatori week #yatori week 2020 #yato #hiyori #iki hiyori #Hiyori Iki #noragami fanfic #noragami fanfiction

20 notes · View notes

maplesamurai · 4 years ago

Text

The Witch’s Apprentice Book 2- Godmother Knows Best, Ch. 2

Pulled by two hard working draft horses, an unassuming wooden carriage rolled its way down into a small town tucked away in a northern province of the kingdom of Gallia. Looking out of one cab window, but cautiously keeping the shutters closed enough to keep passersby from stealing a glimpse of the carriage’s interior, Arthur Butcher stuck his blonde-haired head out to take a peek at where he and his mistress had arrived, looking left and right with eyes as green as wheatgrass. After all of the shocking new experiences he had had this morning, Arthur gave a sigh of relief at how familiar his new surroundings were. Where this manors and temples of this country’s big cities that he had seen from the road had been very Baroque in their design with striking colours, domed roofs and rounded corners, the homes of rural communities such as this one seemed little different from those of his native Albion, favouring the kind of blocky brick and stone structures he was used to. Granted, there were still some differences. Shingle rooves appeared to be more common than thatch, for example, and hedgerows seemed to be a rarer method of enclosing farm pastures, but it was nonetheless refreshing to see something so familiar after his life had changed so much in just the past day.

“I trust our surroundings are to your liking, my child?” a melodious voice teased from behind Arthur.

Arthur turned around, to see the pallid face of the Witch of the Woods smiling back at him, cup of tea in hand as she lounged in her favourite chair by the tea table, her long, ebony hair swept past the chair’s back.

“Well, it’s certainly refreshing to see such familiar surroundings after seeing how different Gallia’s countryside is to Albion’s,” Arthur admitted, recalling just how much of a shock it was to find that not only had the cottage he now resided in transformed into a horse drawn carriage while he was sleeping with the interior remaining completely unchanged, but that said carriage had traveled to a whole other country just by turning around the bend in the Witch’s forest home.

“Then I would suggest enjoying it while you can,” the Witch advised, “for I imagine you will be far less used to our client’s manor once we arrive there.”

“You would be right,” Arthur admitted. “I’ve never even so much as seen the front gate of our local lord’s manor up close back home. Is there anything I should know about how to conduct myself when we get there?”

“I would advise just following my lead, but apart from that, the most important things you should remember would be to simply mind your manners, do not touch anything, and leave the talking to me unless you are spoken to beforehand.”

“I see,” Arthur said. “So this local lord we’re visiting… what’s he like?”

After taking a few moments lost in thought, the Witch finally answered, “He is, to be absolutely blunt, quite the grumpypants.”

“Isn’t that kind of a harsh and juvenile way to speak of someone from a higher station?”

“And what higher station would that be?” the Witch laughed. “Besides, there is really no other way to describe him. He is bitter, impatient, has all the tact and diplomacy of a raging boar, and is to be perfectly honest, petulant in the manner that only rich folk who have never had to grow up can be.”

“He sounds quite pleasant,” Arthur sighed. “So, what problem does he need your aid for, exactly?”

“It is actually a problem that I have been attempting to help him with for quite some time,” the Witch admitted. “A long time ago, his lordship became afflicted with a terrible curse, and he has enlisted my services to rid him of it. I have visited him to help with his predicament multiple times now, but I have yet to divine the exact means with which to break his curse.”

Widening his eyes in surprise, Arthur asked, “How can you have been trying to help him for this long and still not have cured him? With your power, can you simply not wish away his curse and be done with it?”

“Well, look who just became an expert on magic overnight?” the Witch teased. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple, my child. Do you remember what I said you first came to me, about how I needed to know what illness had afflicted your sister before I could provide treatment? It is not too different with curses and other magical ailments. Whenever a caster or other magical being lays a curse upon someone or something, they must do so with some condition that the accursed must meet to break that curse.”

“I see. So in your past visits, you have been trying to determine what kind of curse the lord is under, and which conditions he must meet to break it?”

With a proud smile, the Witch told Arthur, “I’m impressed how quickly you catch on. I’m sure you shall be a fine apprentice.”

“I, uh… thank you, mistress,” Arthur said, humbled, before inquiring further, “So, how much headway have you made in figuring out his curse?”

Resting her head on her wrists as she gave a thoughtful look, the Witch answered, “I have a theory as to what his lordship must do to rid himself of his curse, which I presented to him during my last visit to his estate. This latest visit of ours is to see if he has been keeping to my prescribed treatment, and if so, what affect it has had on his condition, if any. We shall soon see at any rate, as we should reach his homestead in a few minutes’ time.”

Curious to see what the remainder of their carriage ride would look like, Arthur opened the window shutters once more and looked ahead in the direction the Witch’s horses were taking them. It seemed that they had reached the end of the village proper, as the peasant cottages grew sparser until they eventually gave way to the outskirts of a forest not dissimilar to the Dark Forest just outside Arthur’s hometown, with their mode of conveyance rolling down a single path that cut through said forest. What was different from Arthur’s own home, however, was a small castle whose highest towers peeked over the forest canopy, which Arthur realised, must be their destination.

As the carriage moved further down the forest path, a thought occurred to Arthur. He turned to the Witch and asked, “Hold on, earlier today you told me that the Heart of the Forest is connected to all of the forests in the world, so why didn’t you just travel here directly?”

“I have a few reasons,” the Witch began to explain. “First of all, I simply enjoy the scenery of taking a longer journey, and I also thought you might enjoy it as well.”

That did make some sense to Arthur. As much as this fantastical trip had served to remind him of how truly far from home he was, seeing the landscapes of far off lands roll by from the cottage window certainly was a breathtaking experience he would not soon tire of.

“Second,” the Witch continued, “if I had arrived at the manor so quickly, our client certainly would have insisted I get to work immediately, so a longer journey suits me better because I can then make the day’s preparations at my own pace. And thirdly, it also gave you the opportunity to sleep in and to get adjusted to your new situation and learn what you can expect from day to day life from now on.”

“Yeah,” Arthur admitted, “despite everything, that’s certainly helping me adjust to this whole thing.”

“I am glad to hear of it, my child,” the Witch said with a smile, “but I would advise adjusting quickly, for we are here.”

Moving back to the window and opening the shutters to see, Arthur saw the trees of the forest give way to a wide, open clearing within which stood the most impressive building that Arthur had ever seen. Surrounded by well-tended gardens and hedges was a massive stone-walled castle that made the lord’s manor back home look like a hovel by comparison. At the end of the terrace, a monumental stairway led up to a higher level upon which several columns held up stone archways before an ornate set of double doors, with above the archways corralling a great balcony. At each end of the castle’s front face was a wide stone tower, each dotted with glass windows and topped with a conical shingled roof, with the tops of even more such towers peeking out from beyond the main building’s slanted roof and many chimneys. Yet more of this manor’s sure to be impressive property lay obscured by great, ivy wreathed stone walls extending from each end of the castle’s front.

The Witch could not have seen Arthur’s expression from behind (or perhaps she could; one could never be sure with her), but she could obviously still tell how amazed he was, because she admitted, “It’s not quite to my own taste; but I suppose His Lordship is blessed with quite the impressive estate. I do not even know what I would do with such a large property.”

“Me either, to be honest,” Arthur said as the shock wore off and he withdrew his head from the window. “The lord’s manor back home isn’t even one tenth this large and even I’ve wondered why rich folk insist on having so much land for their property that they don’t seem to do anything with. I’ve always guessed it’s just to show off how rich they are.”

“I suspect that may indeed be the case,” the Witch laughed as she finished her tea and stood up from her seat. “Now be a good man and close those shutters, will you? We shall be stopping in a moment, so it is best not to invite the cold in more than you already have. Once it makes itself at home in here, it becomes quite difficult to convince it to leave.”

Arthur wondered whether he should laugh at such a remark, knowing full well how the Witch could be speaking literally when she said that. In any case, he closed the shutters and walked back to the table, asking the Witch, “Is there anything I will need to bring in to the castle for the day’s job?”

“Nothing that you would not normally bring with you on a trip out,” the Witch told him. “Most of what we shall need, I shall either have on my person, or we can find within the castle itself.”

Arthur nodded, and making sure the iron sword that his Uncle Melion had gifted him two nights ago was securely tied to his belt, headed to the front door to retrieve his cloak from the coat hanger, itself a gift from his mother on that same night. As Arthur put on his cloak, he felt the carriage come to a stop and felt the need to ask, “Will the lord here provide some stables to keep your horses? I did not see any at the front of the castle, and it would be quite cruel to leave the poor things out in the open this deep into winter.”

“That will not be necessary,” the Witch reassured Arthur as she walked to the door with her own winter coat, despite Arthur never having seen her put it on, “I brought my own stables with us.”

Just as Arthur stopped to wonder what she could mean, he felt the whole cottage subtly shift. Before he could even ask what had just happened, the Witch passed him to open the door, and as she opened it, she turned to Arthur and said with a wink, “Come out, and you shall see for yourself.”

Once he had finished putting on his winter boots, Arthur cautiously walked out the door to see just what the Witch was talking about, and what was easily the strangest thing he had seen since meeting the Witch (which was saying quite a lot). Not only had the carriage had returned to the form of a thatch roofed cobblestone cottage, but it had taken the Witch’s entire property with it; the Witch’s cottage, garden, well and indeed, stables all standing where the forest road met the manor’s terrace.

“Well?” the Witch asked as she too exited the cottage and shut the door. “What do you think, my child?”

Noticing that his mouth was still agape at this sight, Arthur immediately closed it before opening it again to say, “I think that you went about arriving this way just to see how I would react to seeing it.”

“I shall neither confirm nor deny that,” the Witch chuckled. “But I will admit that your reactions to such things are quite amusing.”

Arthur considered making a retort, but thought better of it and simply sighed, realising that there was nothing he could do or say to stop the Witch’s chicanery even if he tried.

“Well, if you are done gawking, shall we make our way to the castle? Our client may become quite cranky indeed if we dawdle too much.”

Seeing no reason to argue, Arthur simply nodded his head and the two began walking across the manor’s terrace and towards the castle’s front door.

It took the two several minutes just to cross the terrace and reach the stairs to the front door, but eventually they made it up to an ornate set of double doors beneath the stone archways, flanked by two suits of armour that each carried a long, sharp looking polearm. Arthur at first thought that those suits of armour must be ornamental, until he and the Witch approached, and at which point the armoured sentinels crossed their weapons across the doors, barring the two’s entry.

As Arthur jumped back in surprise, the Witch stood her ground and calmly told the steel guardsmen, “I am the Witch of the Woods, and this is my servant Arthur. We have been summoned here at the request of His Highness, Prince Adam, so that we may help rid him of his curse. Shall we come in, so His Highness is not kept waiting?”

Without a moments’ hesitation, the two full plate clad guards uncrossed their polearms and wordlessly stepped away from the doors, which opened all on their own. As he and his mistress stepped through, however, Arthur could not help but notice how unnaturally still the guards stood once they had returned to their original positions, or how something had sounded off about them as they moved. They had sounded as if the suits of armour were hollow, rather than being worn by the guards… but then, Arthur realised how that may have indeed been the case, seeing how he now lived in a house filled with such animated objects.

Once Arthur had stepped through the threshold, he set foot upon a flawlessly polished checkerboard patterned marble floor, upon which were built Romanesque stone pillars that supported the high vaulted ceiling. Against each wall stood several pieces of ornate furniture and impressively carved busts and other statues, with masterfully detailed paintings and other works of art adorning the walls themselves, just one of which must have been worth more than every farm in Arthur’s hometown put together. Just ahead of Arthur and the Witch through an arched threshold stood a marble grand staircase adorned by a scarlet carpet at the centre and bordered by an iron guardrail at its right, which curved into a spiral as it went up the second floor above, past what Arthur could view through the archway. But just as Arthur was drinking in the incredible sight of just this castle’s entrance hall alone, something dawned on him about just how his mistress had referred to the master of the house.

“Wait a minute,” Arthur said to the Witch, stopping in his tracks. “Did you just say, ‘Prince Adam?’ Do you mean to say that we shall be attending royalty today?”

“Why yes, that is the case,” the Witch said nonchalantly. “Did I not mention that earlier?”

“No, you just said he was the local lord! I had thought I was out of place meeting the nobility, but a prince of this entire kingdom? I wish I’d have known sooner!”

“I don’t see what you’re fussing about, my child. Lots of people are royalty, you know. And besides, he does nonetheless serve as lord of that town we just passed through, so it is not as though I mislead you. Nobility, royalty… what’s the difference, anyway? They’re both titles certain people give to themselves to argue why they and their descendants should be in charge of everyone else, aren’t they?”

Arthur considered whether he should argue the difference to the Witch, but quickly figured that he should not bother. After all, someone of her power could probably afford to pay no heed to the social standings of mortals, be they king or commoner. Arthur on the other hand, did not have that luxury. If he failed to make a good first impression with this prince, then there would be little stopping him from ordering Arthur executed on the spot, other than fear of the Witch’s retaliation (granted, that probably was a strong deterrent, but it would nonetheless do Arthur little good to think himself untouchable because of it).

Arthur did not have long to ponder on that thought, however, as he then saw the flickering of candlelight growing brighter from the spiral staircase to the upper floor. Was it a servant of the prince’s, he thought, come to show them the way to the master of the house? That conclusion soon began to look incorrect when Arthur noticed that the source of the candlelight appeared to be far closer to the floor than any human would be expected to hold a candle or lamp. And in the few seconds it took for Arthur to ponder this, the reason for it had revealed itself: an ornate brass candelabrum was hopping down the staircase under its own power, jumping down from one step to the next as carefully as one imagined it could. It appeared; Arthur thought to himself, that he had been right in thinking that the objects in this castle were under a similar enchantment to those in the Witch’s own cottage.

Upon reaching the floor, the moving candelabrum pointed its arms through the archway that it had stepped through like they were the arms of a man, and as he and the Witch made their way towards said archway, Arthur politely said, “Oh, thank you,” to it, on reflex more than anything else. After all, this was just an animated object like those at the Witch’s cottage, so why thank it if it could not answer?

“You are quite welcome, monsieur,” the candelabrum indeed did reply, making Arthur jump in surprise as it turned towards him to reveal a human-like face that appeared molded into the very brass of the object, even as it moved just like a human face.

Seemingly noticing the shock on Arthur’s face, the candelabrum said with a chuckle, “Je suis désolé, monsieur, I should have guessed you would not be used to living furniture.”

“Oh don’t worry; I’ve become somewhat accustomed to that sort of thing,” Arthur tried to assure the candelabrum, shooting the Witch an aside glance as he did so (who seemed to be enjoying every minute of this exchange, if the grin on her face were any indication). “It’s just my first time encountering one that will respond when I speak to it.”

“In that case, I am honoured to be the first that monsieur has laid eyes upon,” the candelabrum laughed, and with an elaborate bow, introduced himself as, “Lumière, at your service.”

“And Arthur Butcher, at yours,” Arthur reciprocated with a simpler bow.

“Oh, no need for that, Monsieur Butcher. After all, it is you who is the guest in this house, and one accompanying someone that the master of the house is eagerly expecting, no less!” Turning to the Witch, Lumière said, “Shall I lead you to His Highness, Madame Witch?”

“That would be most helpful, my dear Lumière!” the Witch answered with a smile. “I imagine His Highness shall become most irritable if we dawdle, anyway.”

“Oui, he most certainly would,” Lumière replied as he began hopping back up the steps, soon followed by Arthur and the Witch. “I must say though, Monsieur Arthur, it is quite a surprise to see someone accompanying Madame Witch for a change. Are her ward or something of that sort?”

“I’m her apprentice, actually,” Arthur replied.

“Are you now, Monsieur? If I may ask, did you take up the position recently? I do not recall Madame mentioning an apprentice before, much less her bringing one with her until now!”

“Yeah, I agreed to take the position early in autumn, but I only started working for her last night.”

“Did she, now?” Lumière chuckled, turning to give the Witch a knowing smirk. “Making your apprentice work on the Eve of the Solstice, are you, you old slave driver? For shame, Madame!”

“Now now, you cannot blame me for needing the extra help on my busiest night of the year!” the Witch laughed good-naturedly. “And besides, I would hardly say that you and His Highness are ones to talk yourselves, given today’s date.”

“Well, you have us there, Madame!” Lumière laughed as he hopped up the final step of the staircase and onto the upper floor, soon followed by Arthur and the Witch. “The Master has unfortunately never been in the mood to celebrate the Solstice ever since he received his curse on this very day all those years ago,” he continued, clearly to explain this to Arthur more than to the Witch, “If not for your scheduled visit here he would likely hole himself up in his study all day while the servants, myself included, would celebrate the season once our daily duties are finished. I even suspect he scheduled today’s appointment just so have something to do other than sulk all day.”

“Well, having to work today isn’t that bad,” Arthur rationalised, trying to convince himself more than anyone else. “Because we had a few months to prepare beforehand, my family thought to have our Solstice Party the night before I left, so it wasn’t a total loss. Besides, being the Witch’s apprentice has its own perks. Not every job lets one see so many magical wonders in one day, even if my mistress hasn’t quite worked out how to get her utensils to talk herself.”

Arthur looked to the Witch to see how she would react to such a jab, only to see her make a quite loaded look. But before Arthur could even wonder what he had said wrong, his attention was caught by the sound of Lumière weakly laughing as the walking candelabrum explained, “Well, I would not fault Madame’s magic should she fall short in that regard. After all, I do not imagine that her utensils were once people.”

Arthur stopped in his tracks, wide eyed in shock as he exclaimed, “What?”

“Oh, yes,” Lumière continued, “I was once human, you see, as were most of the living objects you see around this castle. When the master received his curse, so too were we changed, trapped in the forms of the very objects we handled when we were flesh and blood.”

“I…” Arthur stammered, “…I’m so sorry, I didn’t know!”

“And I accept your apology, Monsieur Arthur,” Lumière said as the three approached the door at the end of the hallway. “Just have a care to not be so careless with your words in the future; not all of the servants in the castle are as forgiving as I am. For example, my husband, the head butler around here can be, how do you say in Albion, quite the sourpuss.”

“I heard that,” an old, snooty voice grumbled from just up ahead, in the accent of Arthur’s own homeland. Looking down towards the source of the voice, Arthur saw a small pendulum clock standing at the foot of the door, with a rather disgruntled looking human face upon the clock’s… well, face.

“You’re late, Lumière,” the clock, who was apparently the head butler of whom Lumière had spoken of, scoffed. Moving its brass arms to gesture at the clock hands upon its face, the clock continued, “You said that it would only take you a minute to fetch the Witch once she had arrived. As you can see, it has nearly been two.”

“Ah, George, mon amor, how dutiful of you to keep us all doing our duties on time!” Lumière greeted his clock faced husband with a knowing smile. “But must you be so stringent in doing so?”

“Can you really blame me, Lumière, when you know how irritable the His Highness becomes when he is kept waiting?” George sighed, before his eyes wandered over to their guests, and focused curiously on Arthur. “I do not believe I was informed that the Witch would be bringing additional company during her visit.”

“Well, I’m afraid that was too recent a development to inform the master of the house in as prudent a fashion as he would have liked,” the Witch cut in to explain. “My dear George, may I introduce my new servant and apprentice, Arthur?”

“You apprentice, you say?” George inquired, quizzically raising what might have been an eyebrow (Arthur could not be certain). “Given how hard the master has had you working in this problem of ours, I’m surprised it has taken you this long to get one.”

“Well, I would have sought out the services of one sooner, but I had not had the opportunity to do so until Arthur found his way onto my doorstep this past autumn. And I daresay I have needed the help for some time now!” Turning to Arthur, the Witch explained to him, “As you may have surmised, Arthur, this is the head butler to whom Lumière was referring nary a minute ago, one George Jeremiah Thwaites.”

“The majordomo of this castle, would be the correct title,” George corrected her snootily, “but yes, it is my duty to take charge of the other servants in this castle and assure that everyone accomplishes their tasks on time.” Stopping to breathe a deep sigh, the clock continued, “And before you ask, yes, I have noticed how our curse seems to have a sense of irony in that regard.”

“I was thinking nothing of the sort, sir!” Arthur reassured George, trying his best to make eye contact with the living clock without staring at the clock hands ticking across his face.

“Your accent,” George noted with a hint of nostalgia in his voice, “you would not happen to be from Albion as well, would you?”

“I’ve lived in a small town in the Albion countryside all my life, sir,” Arthur confirmed. “Today is my first time setting foot outside the area I’ve grown up in.”

“Ah, so you’ve never been to Camelot, then, have you, boy?”

“I can’t say that I have, sir. We’d occasionally hear word from there from passing merchants and travelers, but I’m afraid I’ve never been within a stone’s throw of the capital myself.”

“I see. I can’t help but miss it now, but a long while ago I grew tired of the hustle and bustle of the big city and I moved here to the Gallic countryside and found a quiet position working in the lord’s manor,” George reminisced wistfully before gesturing to his clock-like body and exhaustedly sighing, “and then this happened.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that, sir.”

“Don’t be, my boy, it was before your time. I just hope you can help the Witch in ending this curse so I may be in the condition to take some leave and visit the old country again. I have always wanted to show Lumiere the sights back home…” George noted wistfully before snapping back to reality and said, “Speaking of which…”

George waddled over to the door that he had been standing guard at and knocked, calling, “Prince Adam, Your Highness! The Witch of the Woods has arrived to see to your condition!”

“See her in, then!” a gruff voice snarled from beyond the door. “I have been waiting for her to arrive all morning!”

“As you wish, sire!” George called back as he leapt up to grab the doorknob and twisted it, kicking off of the doorframe mid-jump to open it for the prince’s guests.

“There is no need to open the doors for us, my dear George,” the Witch told the little timepiece as she entered, “but your efforts are appreciated nonetheless.”

Closely followed by the servant couple, Arthur cautiously entered behind the Witch, bracing himself for what was to be his first meeting with royalty. Entering a large, but not too unusual study, Arthur spotted a shadowed figure sitting in one of the comfortable looking cushioned chairs by the lit fireplace.

“Prince Adam!” the Witch called amiably. “It has been quite a while since we last spoke!”

“Too long,” the voice from before grumbled as the shadowy figure rose from its chair and turned to face the Witch. Arthur had not known what, exactly, to expect the prince’s cursed appearance to look like. As most, he had expected him to appear as an enchanted object, just as the servants of the castle. But what had now turned to face them, Arthur never would have expected, even in his dreams.

The fine fur-lined nobleman’s clothes the prince was wearing stood in stark contrast to his physical appearance, which was that of a monstrous beast the likes of which Arthur had never seen before. While many parts of his body looked like those of animals Arthur had at least read of in books, few of them looked like they belonged on the same creature. He was covered head to toe in particoloured fur of black and red patches, with a dog-like head from whose gaping maw jutted two sets of warthog-like tusks. From the back of his head extended a pair of goat-like horns, and even though His Majesty visibly made an attempt to walk upright like a man, it was clearly a struggle for his top-heavy form; his long, muscular arms looking to be made for walking on his knuckles like an ape’s, but distinguished from such a beast by the curved grasping talons that tipped his fingers. Struggling to fit in the prince’s expensive looking britches were digitigrade legs that ended in monkey-like grasping feet that too were tipped with talons like a bird of prey’s; and lastly, from the waistband of those britches extended a long, tufted tail like a lion’s, which went nary a moment without twitching irritably.

The beastly lord of the manor looked straight at Arthur in both surprise and contempt, with wary blue eyes that appeared to be the only human feature on his body.

After a moment of tension that felt like hours, the beastly lord spoke to Arthur, in a voice that was both gruff and sophisticated, “What are you looking at, boy?”

Arthur was at a loss how to speak. It was only seconds into his first meeting with nobility, and already he was made to feel like he had done something wrong. And as Arthur tried hard to think of how to put his thoughts into words as diplomatically as possible, the prince roared “Well, boy? Are you daft or something? Speak; I haven’t all day!”

“Well…” Arthur began, still trying to find a polite way to word what he meant to say, “Your Highness is not quite what I expected…”

“Oh yes, of course. Amazed, are you, to gawk of the visage of the beast that walks like a man?”

“Forgive me, Your Highness; I meant no offense!” Arthur responded penitently. “I-I’ve certainly seen worse!”

“Well, how honoured I must be then, to be graced by the presence of one so worldly, that the source of my torment is so unimpressive!” the lord spat in contempt. Turning to the Witch, Prince Adam demanded, “Who is this kid, and why the hell is he here?!”

“Ah yes, I should have introduced you two when you walked in; my apologies, Your Highness. Prince Adam, I would like you to meet Arthur Butcher, my apprentice.”

“Your apprentice, you say? He can’t be a very good one, if he just stands there gawking every time he sees something magical.”

“Well, this is only his second day on the job, so Your Highness must forgive his greenness in such matters. I expect he shall grow used to such things in time.”

“Well, he’d better hurry it up, then. I’m getting sick of being gawked at already!”

The prince was not alone in already growing so weary of another’s behaviour. Arthur did not at all enjoy being spoken of as though he were not there, but as a peasant, he supposed that there was not much he could do to tell royalty such as Adam what to do.

It seemed that the Witch agreed with the former sentiment, as she softly told Adam, “Your Highness, is it not impolite to refer to my apprentice as though he were not here? He is here to help with your condition just as much as I am, after all.”

“Is he now?” Prince Adam said skeptically. “And how is he supposed to help with that? From what I’ve seen of him, he should barely be able to buckle his own boots, let alone solve a faerie curse.”

“And what do you know of my apprentice’s capabilities, if I may ask? You have known him for nary a minute, and have barely allowed him to get a word in edgewise in that time.”

“Very well,” the prince sighed with a roll of his eyes, as though the very notion of allowing Arthur to speak to him was an inconvenience, “So then, boy, what do you have to say, how could it possibly be of any value?”

“Well…” Arthur said nervously, carefully thinking of what to say that the prince would consider helpful while still speaking respectfully, “perhaps you could tell me how you received this curse of yours?”

The prince shot Arthur a rather irritated glare in response, prompting Arthur to diplomatically continue, “I’m sorry that it is surely a sore subject, Your Highness, but I’m afraid I can’t exactly help rid you of your curse if I do not know what I am helping with.”

Taking a moment to consider Arthur’s point, Prince Adam closed his eyes and sighed, “Very well.” Taking a seat in an armchair close to the fire, he looked at Arthur and after a moment of waiting, looked back to Arthur and asked, “Well, what are you waiting for? Sit down, then!”

Still more than a bit intimidated by the prince’s irritable demeanor almost as much as his bestial form and royal station, Arthur took a seat in the couch across from the prince, on the other end of which the Witch took a seat of her own.

With a long, drawn out sigh, the prince began, “it was ten years ago, and Father had taken us on our yearly Solstice holiday out to the country. If only I had known that this holiday would herald such a cruel twist of fate. It was on the morning of the Solstice when I rushed down the stairs so I could be the first to the tree to open the presents. But as I finally reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a knock on the front door. The servants insisted that they open it and send for the master of the house, but as heir to the throne, I was impatient to play the part of being master of the house, and demanded that I deal with whoever was at the door. Behind the door was a hideous old beggar woman asking to stay the night. Naturally, I told her to piss off and find some other homestead to leech off of. It was those words that proved to be the end of my life, when the woman’s form changed to that of a beautiful faerie enchantress. I tried to apologise, but she said that it was too late, and with a wave of her wand, cursed me into this… thing you see before you. She then spouted some pretentious crock about judging a book by its cover before vanishing, leaving Mother and Father to see what had become of me once they had come down to see what caused the commotion.”

“I see,” Arthur said with a sympathetic nod. He knew firsthand just how duplicitous and cruel the Fair Folk could be, having only narrowly escaped the clutches of the Wild Hunt just the previous night. He could not help but wonder how easily he could have shared a similar fate to the prince that sat before him, but for now, he had another question on his mind.

“And what of the servants here?” Arthur continued. “Did this enchantress change them, too?”

“Oh right, them,” the prince said offhandedly, as if he had not thought of it before. “Yes, they also changed into what they are now when I was cursed. No idea why, though. Maybe because they let me open the door when I refused her shelter? Your guess is as good as mine.”

As he recalled the events that had led to his current state, Prince Adam’s sour expression grew bitterer still, so thinking it was best to change the subject, Arthur remarked, “Well, it’s a lovely castle you’ve got here, Your Highness.”

Softening his demeanor a bit, Prince Adam said, “Yes, this was my favourite vacation spot as a child. So, imagine my delight when, so soon after I was stricken by this curse, my family deigned to grant me Lordship over the nearby town so I could take up permanent residence here.”

As he mentioned his permanent residence, however, Prince Adam’s face darkened once more, as he continued, “which I’m sure had nothing to do with allowing them to dump me in some backwater part of the kingdom where they could quietly forget about the family embarrassment.”

“Oh… I’m sorry to hear that, Your Highness.”

“Oh, so you pity me, do you, boy?!” Prince Adam snapped back at Arthur.

“I meant no offense, your highness!” Arthur quickly apologised, more than a little intimidated by Prince Adam’s monstrous visage. “Please forgive me for so forgetting my station!”

“No need to apologise, Arthur; everyone makes mistakes,” the Witch cut in. “And Prince Adam, must you address Arthur as ‘boy?’ He is only a year younger than you are, after all.”

This was a surprise to Arthur. With his statuesque height and irritable demeanor, Prince Adam had struck him as being much older. But then again, he supposed the height could just be a part of his transformation, and that in the prince’s condition, anyone would have become so jaded.

“And why should I care about how I address a mere peasant like him?” the prince snapped to the Witch.

“Because it is the polite thing to do, is it not?” the Witch sighed. “Did you not promise you would work on that attitude of yours when I had prescribed you do so on your last visit? This does not bode well for your recovery…”

“But he…” the prince briefly protested before giving a heavy sigh and conceding, “Oh, fine.” Clearing his throat, Prince Adam said, “I’m sorry for addressing you so rudely… Arnold?” before giving Arthur a smile that, apart from being so obviously forced, when given by Adam’s beastly maw of wicked looking fangs and tusks, came across more nightmarish than the prince surely intended.

“It’s ‘Arthur,’ Your Highness, but I accept your gracious apology,” Arthur said back.

The Prince Adam then turned back towards the Witch expectantly, seemingly waiting for some kind of praise, only for the Witch to rest her chin on her hand in a thoughtful expression before sighing disappointedly, “Well, it’s a start, but I had hoped that you would have made more progress since my last visit. Have you really saw fit to work on your manners so little that you still need to be reminded to apologise for your outbursts?”

“It’s not my fault!” the prince whined defensively. “It’s hard having to learn all these things after so long, and I haven’t had much time to practice!”

“Your Highness,” the Witch sighed, the prince’s excuses seeming to be wearing on even her patience, “it has been months since our last visit. How, may I ask, have you not found the time to improve on your treatment towards others? I thought that surely you could have at least found time to practice during the scant times in which you deigned fit to acknowledge your servants’ existence.”

“I- I have been busier than usual in these past few months!” Prince Adam stammered, avoiding eye contact with the Witch as he continued, “I have had to entertain company on a few occasions!”

“Have you now?” the Witch inquired with a raised eyebrow and a spark of curiosity in her eyes. “And how did you conduct yourself before your guests, may I ask? Because I cannot imagine that you would conduct yourself more respectfully behind closed doors than you would in front of those attempting to assist in breaking your curse…”

As the prince shifted his eyes from side to side, clearly uncomfortable with the prospect of truthfully answering that question, Arthur cleared his throat and asked, “Excuse me, Mistress?”

As the Witch looked down to Arthur, her expression softened into an embarrassed smile and she said, “Oh, but of course, Arthur. You wish to know what Prince Adam’s manners have to do with breaking his curse, I presume?”

“Yes, it would be quite useful to know that if I am to assist with his condition,” Arthur said with a nod.

“Well, you do remember how in his recounting of how he received his curse, that the faerie who cursed him mentioned the old phrase of not judging a book by its cover? Well, my theory is that learning that lesson is the key to breaking the curse. In my experience, while many among the fair folk will trouble mortals for their own amusement, others still are quite fond of inflicting terrible curses such as His Highness’s for various wrongdoings, trivial or harmful alike, as a means of teaching lessons for such behaviour. And in Prince Adam’s case, for refusing shelter to one whom he believed to be a shriveled old beggar, he was cursed with a form that would require others to see past their first impressions of him and look within to judge him. And as you have seen, he is found applying this lesson in his daily life quite difficult indeed.”

“What do you mean?” Prince Adam objected. “I haven’t so much as said anything about how either of you look!”

“Haven’t you, now?” the Witch asked incredulously. “There is more to appearance than just physical beauty that people judge others for, you know. Like say, as an example I am simply listing off of the top of my head, one’s social class. When Arthur walked into his room, what did you know of him other than his clothing indicating a lower station than your own, may I ask? And how did you treat him as a result? Did you ask him why he was here, or what he had to contribute? Or did you write him off as stupid and useless for your purposes before you so much as knew his name?”

“Well… I…” the prince stammered; his eye twitching as he searched for some excuse or rebuttal, before asking, “Well, he looked at me funny when he saw what I looked like! So, it looks like he’s the one who needs to learn this lesson, doesn’t he?”

“Perhaps he does, and it certainly would do him well to not gawk at those whose appearances he would judge as unusual, especially given my wide variety of regular customers and other folk he shall no doubt encounter over the course of his apprenticeship,” the Witch admitted, before sternly continuing, “however, we are not here to discuss his behaviour Your Highness, but yours. And nevertheless, the poor behaviour of another is not an excuse for your own, is it? It simply means that both of you must work on how you conduct yourselves, and since it is your curse that we are here to undo, we shall have to save Arthur’s lesson regarding his preconceptions for a later date while we deal with yours.”

Prince Adam opened his mouth to speak, almost lifting a finger in dispute as he did so, but paused as he seemed to consider what the Witch had said, and lowered his finger and closed his mouth as he looked down guiltily.

“And now that we have explained everything to Arthur and addressed your point, shall we begin your lesson for the day?”

“Sure,” the prince mumbled grumpily.

“Excellent!” the Witch smiled happily. Looking to Arthur, she asked him, “Arthur, may I ask you to fetch me some things I will need to attend to Prince Adam?”

“Of course,” Arthur replied. “What will you need from me?”

“Well,” the Witch sighed as she conjured a quill and parchment with but a wave of her hand and began to write something down, “you could start by asking Lumière to show you down to the castle library and fetching these books for me. I am afraid that teaching grown men how to behave their age is not a skill that I have had to exercise too often in my life, so with that in mind, it may be useful to have some reference materials on hand regarding how to teach proper manners and the like.”

As soon as the Witch finished writing down her list, she rolled up the parchment and handed it to Arthur, who promptly took it and unrolled it to read. Arthur had not known exactly which titles to expect such a list to contain, but most of them had such titles as Proper Behaviour for Young Nobles and Raising & Disciplining Spoiled Children that made it seem like the Witch was aiming to teach manners to one much younger than Prince Adam’s age, but Arthur decided to err on the side of caution and not comment on it to her or Adam’s face.

“I’ll return with them as soon as I can,” Arthur promised with a nod before turning around and looking down at Lumière to ask, “Would you care to show me the way to the library, Mr. Lumière, so I may return with these books as soon as possible?”

“Oh, but of course, Monsieur Arthur!” the candelabrum said with a jovial smile as he hopped out the doorway. “Just follow closely, and I shall show monsieur the way!”

Arthur followed Lumière but nary a second afterward, but after he had stepped through the threshold and shut the door behind him, he barely made five steps before he noticed the Witch walking beside him, not even having seen her leave.

Jumping in shock at the sudden sight of her, Arthur asked, “Mistress, what are you doing out here? I thought you were back in the room helping Prince Adam!”

“And I can assure you that one of me is, my child,” the Witch began to explain with a sly grin. “I split my form while His Highness was not looking too carefully, and should my other self not give too noticeable a slip of the tongue, he shall remain none the wiser until I return.”

“Oh right, I forgot you could do that,” Arthur admitted, somewhat embarrassed that he had forgotten, despite having learned just the previous night, that the Witch could split into multiple identical bodies in order to be many places at once. Doing so that night did turn out to be an error on her part, as dividing her power among multiple bodies did weaken her to the point where the faeries of the Wild Hunt managed to snatch Arthur away from under her nose, but thankfully not so much that they could stop her from coming to rescue him.

“Well, you had quite the hectic and exciting night when you learned this, so I cannot fault you for forgetting such details, no matter how fantastical they might be,” the Witch chuckled.

“Well, thank you for understanding,” Arthur sighed, relieved that he would not be chided or teased for forgetting such things, “but why do need to be elsewhere while also attending to Prince Adam? Will I need your help finding those books you asked of me?”

“Oh no, between Lumière and the castle librarian, you should have more than enough help doing that,” the Witch reassured Arthur with a pat of the shoulder. “In fact, you and I shall be parting way right as you begin to make your way to the library. As for my actual reason…”

Briefly casting a suspicious glance over to the door to the prince’s study, the Witch turned back to Arthur and once she seemed confident that the prince would not hear through the door, continued, “I have my suspicions that Prince Adam may not be completely honest about how he is progressing with my prescribed treatment when asked face to face, so I would like to have a talk with each of the castle servants in private. Hopefully through them I may gain a more thorough insight as to how much his highness truly has adjusted his behaviour since our last meeting.”

“Oh, I see what you’re trying to get at,” Arthur said. “When to someone as powerful as you, the prince may be watching his behaviour more than he usually would, but may not extend that courtesy to those working under him when they are behind closed doors.”

“Smart boy,” the Witch said with a proud smile on her face. “I should be blessed to have such a gifted apprentice if you grasp everything that I teach you so quickly.”

“Thank you, mistress,” Arthur said, blushing slightly at the compliment. “I suppose I’ll see at least one of you once I return.”

“Indeed, you shall,” the Witch chuckled, before being asked by Lumière, “Will Madame need to converse with me as well as my colleagues? I would hate to delay Monsieur Arthur on his own task, but if you believe that it will help rid His Highness and the rest of us of this curse, I shall answer whatever question Madame would have of me!”

“You need not answer my questions right this moment, my dear Lumière,” the Witch reassured him. “I am perfectly willing to wait until after you and Arthur have already returned with those books to speak with you.” She then turned towards George, himself still standing watch at the door, and continued, “But if you have the time to answer my inquiries, George, then I shall be more than happy to speak with you.”

“I suppose I can make the time if Madam wishes it,” George grumbled before nervously looking towards the door he was standing watch over and mumbled, “But perhaps we could speak a bit farther from His Highness’s room? Just in case we are not completely out of earshot?”

“Oh, but of course,” the Witch said with a smile, “Perhaps you may even show me the way to where your fellow servants should be working, and we may walk and talk.”

Just as Arthur and the Witch began to part ways following their respective guides, Lumière called out to George, “Don’t be too long in helping Madame Witch on her errand, my love! It would be most embarrassing if someone so skilled in keeping everyone on schedule ended up being late for our Solstice dinner tonight!”

“Lumière, neither of us have been capable of eating for ten years. Must you make light of our situation in such a way?”

“My dear George, you knew what you were getting into when you married me,” Lumière said with a wink.

Laughing for the first time since Arthur had met him, George chuckled back. “Yes, I did, didn’t I? You be sure to finish helping Mr. Butcher as quickly as possible, as well, you hear? I’d hate to spend the night without you.”

Arthur began to follow Lumière down the hallway east of the study, as the Witch glided towards the west.

#witch #fantasy #fantasy writing #prose #original fiction #my writing #the witch's apprentice #godmother knows best

2 notes · View notes

redrose-arrow · 5 years ago

Text

Frozen Fire

I am posting this now because it adds to the depression support post going around. Obviously, @uncanny-accuracy started the petition for me to (re)write this fic a while back, but I never got around to actually finishing it because I wanted to do it justice. Now, I’ve taken a small fraction of my homework time to dedicate to this fic. I have included as many of the Will-post-warmweed headcanons as I could, thus resulting in a much longer fic than I had originally intended. It’s pretty heavy, at some points, and because I’m not familiar with everyone’s limits, I am including a trigger warning for the following: anxiety, depression, selfharm, and suicide. But also: friendship, love, persistence, and the hope for a better future.

He was wearing himself out, desperate and forlorn.

Halt sat watching from under his cowl, thankfully making use of the shadows casted on his face to hide the worry and concern he knew were glistening in his eyes.

It had been three months since their return from Skandia. Two months since they came home. And in those two months, his apprentice had done nothing but practice, practice, practice, and practice.

Halt sighed and shifted the papers in his lap. He was restless. The boy was pushing himself farther than he liked, but so far he had remained unable to stop him.

Will was now almost buckling under the weight of stones that he was carrying through the obstacle run and Halt grimaced. When the apprentice stumbled, then fell, the grey-bearded mentor jumped up. He recognised the symptoms way before Will even knew they were there.

The panic started like a tightening of the chest, as if the muscles were trying not to let another breath in, but instead die. Then the breath came, shallow, lungs unable to move much against the suddenly heavy ribs. And then Will’s mind became as static, thoughts making no sense, replays of horrors never forgotten. But sinking to the ground, limbs giving up on movement, it was no option. Will was small and so the only way to go was up. Up in a tree, higher and higher and higher, up until the tiniest of branches that were out of reach of the tall bullies from Battleschool. Out of reach of the Skandians.

A sigh escaped the mentor’s lips, but it was one of concern rather than annoyance. He glanced up, but the boy was far gone. Barely visible through the densely grown branches of the top, the deep brown eyes gazed into the woods, seeing nothing but the horrors locked inside his mind.

Halt made himself comfortable underneath the tree that Will had chosen to hide in. It would take some minutes, hours maybe, before his apprentice would be ready to come down. Until such time, he would sit there with him, a token of the support he found himself unable to provide. Just sit there. So far, the older Ranger had found nothing that prevented the unexpected episodes of panic and anxiety. Despite the many sleepless nights, the songs, the talks, and the hugs, the attacks had not grown any less frequent. But he would continue to sit here, under the tree, until such time that his apprentice was ready to come down, and never climb back up again.

>>>---------->

[two days later]

The tall figure moved unseen. Even despite the fact that he was riding a horse, the couple was practically invisible from more than a couple of meters away. As soon as the trees widened, however, and they rode into the clearing, the mysterious rider shook his cowl off. His horse neighed a greeting. Two replies came, but the enthusiastic greeting that the Ranger had grown used to stayed put. Gilan frowned but shrugged it off. His visit had been requested, he was no surprise.

What was a surprise, however, was Halt’s greeting.

“Gilan!” the grey Ranger exclaimed. “Thank goodness you’re here.”

Said Ranger raised an eyebrow, but he had learnt not to ask questions. Except for one.

“Where’s Will?”

Halt’s message had been cryptic, to say the least, but had mentioned ‘Will’ combined with ‘not doing well’. The tall Ranger had half and half expected his young friend to be slowly bleeding to death, but so far the cabin and its surroundings seemed rustic and peaceful.

Halt gestured vaguely.

“He’s out in the woods with Tug. I told him I wasn’t comfortable with him going out so far on his own, but the boy’s too stubborn to listen. Why don’t you put Blaze with Abelard and come inside. I’ll pour you some coffee, then we can talk.”

Halt sighed deeply.

“I’m worried about Will. Ever since we’ve been back he’s been pushing his limits, trying to regain was he supposedly lost in Skandia.”

Gilan was confused.

“Isn’t that good, in some ways? He’s moving on-”

But Halt shook his head.

“He’s sixteen, for God’s sake! He shouldn’t have to move on if he isn’t ready.”

“And I take it he isn’t, even though he thinks he is?”

That did earn a nod as reply.

“It’s all just too fresh. Everything’s a trigger at the moment; if he accidentally cuts himself, if a couple of arrows to make it to the target… he shuts down, starts shaking uncontrollably. Couple of times he seeked refuge up in a tree. He hasn’t slept well, hasn’t eaten well. I can sit with him, talk with him, and he’ll nod and agree but a few minutes later he’s at it again. He keeps on pushing.”

“But now Arald has been receiving reports from up north in the fief, about robbers going around pretending they own the place. He’s asked me to put an end to it, but I just don’t dare leave Will alone. I was hoping you’d keep an eye on him while I’m away.”

The story seemed finished, the request openly on the table. But Gilan had a feeling that he hadn’t been told the full story.

“Anything else?” he asked.

There was a hint of hesitation, before Halt answered. He shook his head.

“No.”

But he corrected himself mere moments later.

“Actually, there is. But I’m not going to tell you, on the grounds that he will know if you know and that will… complicate matters. Just… keep an eye on him, okay?”

Gilan nodded.

“Of course.”

But it wasn’t enough for Halt. He grabbed him by the arm and looked him deep in the eyes. This time, the dark eyes were filled with something even more unfamiliar.

Desperation.

The grip on his arm grew tighter.

“I mean it, Gilan. Please keep an eye on him - at all times. I - and you - we - don’t know what he’ll do to himself.”

>>>---------->

“I’m not hungry.”

Gilan frowned. The weight loss was unmissable.

“When did you last eat?” the Ranger asked, concern evident in his voice. But Will didn’t know. His appetite had just gone, like a switch had been flicked. He shifted in his chair, restless. The bags under his eyes seemed to grow darker.

“When did you last sleep a full night?” the Gilan continued, and Will shrugged.

“I’ve… been busy,” he said, “so can I… can I just go now? I still have some practice-”

But Gilan remembered Halt’s words, he remembered what he’d said about the limits pushing and the breakdowns. He wrapped his arms over each other.

“No.”

The brows came together in frustration.

“What do you mean, ‘no’?”

Gilan shrugged.

“I just don’t see any necessity as to why you should go out and practice right now. Why don’t we have a night in? We can play games if you like.”

Will opened his mouth to protest, but shut it again. Instead, he stood up, calmly walked to his room.

And firmly shut the door behind him.

Silence remained.

The tall Ranger paced the room, unsure of what to do. He filled the kettle with water for coffee he had no intention of drinking, kept throwing worried looks to the door that refused to open.

He was almost happy when he heard Will’s voice mumbling something from the other room. But it was closely followed by the heavy thump of a body jumping out of bed. The door was slammed again, open this time, and there stood a bewildered Will, woken up from what Gilan assumed had been a terrifying nightmare. He lightly laid his hand on Will’s shoulder, in an attempt to calm him, but his younger friend flinched. Will moved back, fear evident on his face. Then he turned around. The apprentice ran outside and his friend followed. Gilan called his name, again, and again, but to seemingly no avail.

Then suddenly Will shot around. When he talked, he was spitting out the words. The breakdown came out of nowhere.

“Sometimes I miss it, okay?”

When he saw the shock on Gilan’s face, he continued. He snapped.

“That’s right, I miss it. I miss leaves melting on my tongue as a warm feeling spreads out through me. I miss having something to look forward to every night, even if nothing else mattered. I even miss the coldness because it meant warmth was near.”

He pulled at the basket with practicing knives that Gilan recognised from his own apprenticeship, grabbed a handful. And with every ‘miss’, sent another knife flying down towards the specially designed target in one of the trees lining the forest. Moving his arm back, then forward again, the blade between his fingers, Will threw out all the anger, frustration, and anxious that had been building up inside him.

“I miss being just another ordinary face in the crowd.”

Knife.

“I miss not having to flinch every time someone unexpectedly comes near.”

Knife.

“I miss not trembling every second of every waking hour.”

Knife.

“I miss being able to think about anything without my mind twirling back to that place, sending me into the so-manieth panic attack.”

Knife.

“I miss not feeling ashamed.”

Knife. He sniffed.

“But most of all-” He bowed down to get a hold of more knives.

“I. Miss. Not. Having. To. Care.”

Will’s words were reduced to sobs as he rapidly threw the last six knives, each throw emphasising a single word. All knives hit the tree, but only a few of them ended up in the target.

His trembling and shaking were now out of control and he stood swaying on his legs.

When he turned around and Gilan could see him in the pale moonlight, tears were streaming down his face.

“I’m sorry I’m such a disappointment,” he whispered, words half blocked by the lump in his throat. His limbs missed any form of muscle strength and he fell. Thankfully, Gilan was there to help him, and together they sank to the ground.

Softly Gilan pulled back the fabric, revealing the scars he’d noticed before. The fresh scars. Horizontally, from wrist to elbow. Each deeper than the one before.

“Sometimes, when I’m asleep,” Will stammered, “I know that I’m dreaming, but I can’t seem to wake up. I’m usually subconscious enough to grab one of the knives that’s laying on the nightstand. Cutting myself, it… it wakes me up and makes me realise that I’m no longer there - I’m home now. I find it to be easier to live with the physical pain because… at least I know that will heal.”

Gilan ran his fingers over the scars, his touch warm against the cold skin.

“You’re living the life of a Ranger, Will. A life that is filled with happy peaks, heroic events. But it’s also filled with terror, filled with horrific touches. It’s what you chose for, when Arald offered you the chance to go to battleschool, and again, when Duncan offered you a place in Castle Araluen. And it was the right choice. Because you are a Ranger, Will. I know it, Halt knows it, and Crowley knows it too. They didn’t give you that bronze oak leaf for nothing, you know.”

Will swallowed audibly. When he spoke, there was a lump in his throat.

“What if… what if I said that I’ve thought about how much easier everything would be for everyone if I… if I was dead?”

“Don’t speak like that!” Gilan said. The authority of a full-fledged Ranger sounded in his voice.

“I’m not going to tell you to get over your struggles and simply continue your apprenticeship, because you shouldn’t be expected to after all you’ve gone through the past year. You’re allowed time have troubles, you’re allowed to take more time to get somewhere. But don’t you ever be ashamed of yourself, what you’ve gone through or what you’re struggling with!”

“But it’s not Ranger-like!”

Gilan sighed. He rolled up his own sleeve to reveal a long scar, running down from his shoulder to his elbow.

“It’s not always cutting, sometimes it’s deliberately not dodging the cut,” he explained, gentler now. “We’ve all done that.”

“Everyone?”

Gilan chuckled.

“We’re Rangers, Will, not inhuman. No one said it would be easy. But we’re fighters. We fight evil and sometimes, that evil is inside us. We stumble and we fall, but in the end, we stand back up again.”

They sat together, for a few minutes, in complete silence. Gilan had wrapped his cloak around the boy for comfort. It was still early, and the warmth of the day hadn’t quite disappeared yet. A summer breeze was softly blowing. With it, came the sound of voices.

Will looked up, to see four figures approaching them.

His friends.

Gilan winked.

“Why don’t you get a fire going? You still know how to do that, don’t you?”

The boy smiled through his tears. It was a weak smile. But a smile nonetheless and he sniffed but wiped away the tears with the palm of his hand.

His jaw was set as he waited for his friends, gathering a few wooden sticks that would come in handy.

The five wards sat around the fire, enjoying each other’s company and each expressing their support in a different way. George rubbed his back. Jenny hugged. Horace softly bumped against him on multiple occasions. Alyss looked at him, and any time their eyes met, smiled.

When, at one point, their eyes distantly met over fire, Gilan saw it. It was small and faint, but there really was the hint of a twinkle lingering in the brown eyes.

>>>---------->

[a few months later]

His exams had been pushed back as promised. Now he stood in the middle of the woods surrounding the Gathering grounds, ready to finish off his final exam. He’d done well so far. Overall speaking, his arrows and knives had hit the targets. Not always perfectly in the middle, but close enough to eliminate an opponent. He’d had a short moment of panic during his combined strategy and mapping exam, when his assignment had been to find a location for a group of archers in the midst of war. His mind had flashed back to the battle in Skandia. To his archers, Horace and Evanlyn, as they stood behind the frontline but with the arrows flying around them. He remembered the fear, the blood, the muted thump of a body hitting the ground… But he’d breathed slowly, like Halt had practiced with him, and Crowley had muttered soft phrases of support to keep his mind from swirling back to that place. And so line by line the idea had come together. Now all that there was left was getting to the improvised shelter hidden in the bushes underneath Crowley’s latest hiding point.

Will slowly slipped forward, closely following the movements of the shadows. He brushed a twig to the side, but the twig was covered with a layer of snow and now it all came tumbling down on him.

Will froze. He just stood there, eyes squeezed shut. His breathing grew rapid and he shuddered.

Out of sight for the young apprentice, stood the Halt, Crowley, and Gilan. Halt’s face was grim and set. Crowley knew that his friend was itching to move, ready to dive in and save his apprentice. But if he did, if the mentor interfered with his apprentice’s exam, failure was imminent. The rules were strict.

Gilan glanced sideways, seeking the smallest form of confirmation. The tiny movement of Crowley’s head going up and down was enough. He jumped in. Gilan made sure to keep his footsteps quiet and precise, as not to interrupt the flow of the exam, but he knew Will would hear him approaching. He did so from upfront, and slowly reached out to him. He made sure not to startle him. Nothing unexpected, nothing close to the shoulders, nothing from behind him.

“Will?” he asked softly.

Quietly, the apprentice looked up again. When he opened his eyes, Gilan noticed the silent cry for help.

“Take my hand,” the tall Ranger whispered.

Will did.

“Let’s set out a fake trail now, shall we?”

Gilan led his young friend through the woods. There was no particular direction, just walking, without anyone knowing whereto. Instinctively, Will adjusted his movements to those of the shadows around him. Shaking and cold. But he kept moving forward. Until Gilan let go of his hand and Will - without interruption - moved all the way into the designated area.

Crowley clapped his hands. The exam was over.

Halt dove forward, pushed away branches and twigs until he’d found his apprentice. The boy sat hugging his knees, shaking, tears streaming down his face. The Ranger threw his arms around him, muttering words of comfort.

After a few minutes, Crowley joined them. He went down on his knees and laid a hand on the apprentice’s arm. Again, not his shoulder, not from behind him. They had all made sure to know and avoid the worst triggers.

The Commandant took something shiny from his pocket and held it out to him. Will stared at the necklace. Something within him was too ashamed to reach out to it, as if he didn’t deserve it.

Halt squeezed his shoulders and nudged him forward, urging him to accept. At last, a small shaking hand was raised, palm up.

The Commandant handed him the bronze oak leaf. As soon as the metal touched his hand palm, the shaking stopped.

Crowley knew from experience that the now third-year-apprentice had a long road to walk before he would be able to take on everything that the life of a Ranger brought with him.

He saw what Gilan had seen, months earlier. Except this time, it was stronger. The twinkle in the brown eyes.

If you ever feel like Will in ANY sort of way, don’t be afraid to seek contact, reach out. Like Halt, like Gilan, like Crowley and like Horace and Alyss and Jenny and George and Evanlyn - we’re there for you.

#ranger's apprentice #rangers apprentice

78 notes · View notes

thedeevirus · 5 years ago

Note

Hi, I’m a big fan of your work! I’d absolutely die for some more Star Wars Nygmobblepot if your still open to prompts and such.

Thanks so much! Please enjoy!

Also uploaded to Nygmobblepot Ficlets on AO3

***

‘Rigid. Sterile. Unimaginative’.

‘I’m sorry Master. I don’t know what’s-Ow!’

Ed rubbed his forehead where Oswald had jabbed it with his forefinger.

‘You keep letting this-‘

Oswald withdrew his finger and pointed it at Ed’s chest instead.

‘-get in the way of this!’

‘I, uh, see’, Ed said, touching his chest thoughtfully.

‘Really?’ Oswald asked sceptically.

‘I will, don’t worry’, Ed said, ‘Are you alright by the way?’

‘W-why do you ask?’ Oswald said, sheathing his saber.

He walked to a nearby rock and took a swig from a canteen. A group of disturbed fluorescent insects that cheeped musically as they swirled into the air. Ed sheathed his own saber and regarded their surroundings. The twilight bathed the forest in vibrant red and purple shades and the scent of large flowers hung heavy in the warm air. The forest floor was soft beneath Ed’s feet as he walked to join Oswald. The insects fluttered amongst the canopy as living miniature lanterns.

‘Your overhead strike was slower than usual’, Ed listed, ‘Your left heel lifted which robbed the move of most of its power and you totally neglected to impose any spiritual pressure to prevent me from parrying the blow’.

Oswald had just finished absorbing Ed’s tactical analysis when Ed gave a start.

‘Wait a second, are you holding back?! Because if you are, there’s no need! I can do it! I just need to-!’

‘No, no!’ Oswald said hastily, ‘I just don’t want to damage my apprentice. At least, not this early into practice’.

‘You would never hurt me’.

Ed blinked as he felt a sudden cool gust of wind slice against his cheek and realised that Oswald had just sliced cleanly through a large boulder to his left. As he watched, the huge stone split apart then crumbled into smaller pieces. Ed blinked again to clear the dust from his eyes as the glimmering insects scattered. Oswald’s speed had been impressive but Ed had felt the energy shockwave of the move. Which meant that Oswald had still clearly restrained his strike. Usually when Oswald attacked, the unfortunate target (and all those around it) never had time to feel anything before the inevitable. Intriguing.

‘So certain all of a sudden’, Oswald smirked, his extended arm the only sign that he had moved at all.

‘I thought Sith are expected to deal in absolutes’, Ed joked easily, ‘You’re my Master. I trust you’.

‘Another mistake’, Oswald said, smile fading, ‘I’ve told you. You can’t trust anyone’.

‘I’m beginning to realise the Sith and Jedi aren’t so different’, Ed mused, leaning against a gnarled tree, ‘I always thought the Jedi were the ones who were forbidden to let people in. They can’t even love someone’.

‘The Jedi are “they” now?’ Oswald said, amused.

‘What’s the point in them defending a galaxy they can’t love? People they can’t love?’

Ed nodded gratefully as Oswald offered him the canteen. He drank long and deeply. It was a welcome relief from the humidity.

‘I personally assume it’s because of an over inflated sense of hypocritical self-importance’, Oswald said.

‘Have you ever loved someone?’ Ed asked, offering Oswald the canteen.

‘What does it matter?’ Oswald said, sloshing the contents thoughtfully.

‘Just curious. The instructors used to warn us about the Sith. Their dark rituals and the accompanying carnal pleasures-‘

Oswald choked and sputtered.

‘Do all Jedi had such vivid imaginations?!’

‘Just me I guess’, Ed laughed.

‘Still, love is one area that the Jedi and I happen to agree on’, Oswald said, shuffling, ‘It’s nothing but a distraction. A chain that ties you down and a weakness that I-we cannot afford. You said it yourself when you talked about the Jedi you killed. You are better off unencumbered. Free of doubt. Like me’.

‘I thought we swore to always tell each other the truth?’ Ed asked, brow furrowing.

‘Truth is created and enforced by the strong’.

‘I don’t understand. You lecture me about letting down my defences and letting my feelings guide me but you’re not willing to do the same?’

‘It’s time to get back to saber practice’, Oswald said, unsheathing his saber.

‘When should I construct my new saber?’ Ed asked, turning his own blade over in his hand.

‘When I say you’re ready’.

‘I meant to ask earlier. Why has yours changed colour?’

‘I prefer purple. That’s all. Take your stance’.

‘But I thought all Sith Masters had red sabers because the crystal changes over time the more you bask in the glory of the Dark Side-?’

‘I commend your Jedi powers of perception but…’

He flung out a hand and Ed felt himself shoved back. He flipped away and stood tall, saber raised, annoyed at how Oswald had caught him off guard.

‘-the colour is the least of your concerns right now’, Oswald grinned.

Ed leapt forward and they began.

‘You will tell me what’s bothering you’, Ed said after a few minutes.

‘Seriously?!’ Oswald guffawed at Ed’s suggestive hand movement, ‘A mind trick?!’

‘Tell me why you’re going easy on me!’ Ed snapped, ‘You’ve done nothing but fight defensively since we started!’

Ed saw a bright flash of purple and smelt the acrid scent of Oswald’s blade. He barely had time to dodge and even then, tasted copper in his mouth. He jumped away and touched his lip. Warm blood stained his finger.

‘Is that more to your liking?’ Oswald asked wickedly.

‘You will tell me why you won’t let me in’, Ed said solemnly, taking a double handed grip.

‘You’re wasting both of our time with these tricks’, Oswald said, circling him, ‘As well as your energy’.

‘No. There’s something else you’re hiding’, Ed said, mirroring Oswald’s steps, ‘I sense it. It’s something recent. Something you didn’t expect. Something that frightened you’.

Like lightning, Oswald closed the distance and their blades clashed.

‘Stop it. Now’, Oswald growled.

‘Make me’.

‘I’m not holding back!’

Ed dropped and swept Oswald’s bad leg. Oswald fell hard with a cry. Ed lowered his saber to Oswald’s throat. As Oswald glared up at him, Ed couldn’t keep a smile from his face. Oswald looked like a pouty child!

‘Then you’re not the master I thought you were’.

Ed looked up, as if considering.

‘Riddle me this-ah!’

He ducked as a stone was launched at his head and cursed at his own hubris. It was utter stupidity to take eyes off Oswald, especially when he was supposedly helpless.

‘Still clinging to pathetic Jedi mind games?’ Oswald mocked.

As if to underscore Ed’s mistake, he flicked his fingers out, showering Ed with a hail of petty shale shrapnel.

‘Fun fact’, Ed said through gritted teeth as he spun the saber to deflect the stones.

‘What?! Another anecdote about those birds on your home planet and their eggs?’

‘You remembered?’ Ed chuckled.

Oswald snarled and they resumed sparring. Ed controlled his breathing and tried to ignore the harsh electric crackling as Oswald’s blade grew closer and closer.Finally, Oswald was getting serious.

‘Fun fact’, Ed repeated with feigned light-heartedness, ‘Jedi ‘mind tricks’ become more effective when the opponent is distracted’.

Oswald blinked in confusion at Ed’s offhanded observation which allowed Ed to thrust suddenly. Oswald parried at the last minute and both men struggled to overpower each other.

‘Now. Riddle. Me. This’, Ed said, straining, ‘I cannot be bought but I can be stolen with a glance. I’m worthless to one but priceless to two. What am I?’

‘,,,passion’.

‘Beg your pardon?’ Ed asked, eyes narrowing at Oswald’s mumbled response.

‘Peace is a lie’, Oswald growled, ‘There is only passion! Through passion I gain strength’.

Ed ground his heels into the soil, readying himself, recognising the Sith mantra. And also what Oswald using it represented.

‘You are afraid’, Ed said, heart hammering in his chest.

The answer to Oswald’s restraint and indecision was there. He just couldn’t quite see it yet!

‘”Through strength I gain power”’.

‘You’re afraid of…me?’

‘”Through power I gain victory!”’ Oswald yelled.

He struck out with his hand suddenly. Ed once again mirrored the move and both men were flung away from each other. Oswald scrambled to his feet and advanced on Ed, saber raised high.

‘Through victory your chains are broken’, Ed whispered, ‘You helped me break my chains, remember?’

Oswald didn’t answer.

‘I think it’s my turn to teach you something’, Ed said.

He threw his saber and Oswald instinctively threw his own to counter. Ed saw his chance. He knew Oswald would counter him with his own move; no doubt as a punishment for irritating him. Ed flexed his fingers and felt the Force take hold of both sabers as they made contact. They clashed and both flew across the clearing into Ed’s waiting hands. He spun both at once flamboyantly, one raised up high, the other in a reversed grip.

‘How dare you presume to teach me anything Jedi?!’ Oswald snarled, stamping a foot.

Oswald’s fingers curled into claws and lightning sparked in his hands. Ed’s eyes widened. He had known Oswald was strong but not privy to the so called ‘Force Lightning’ technique. It was risky move by default but from the way it was striking the ground haphazardly, Oswald was not in the right state of mind to control it. Oswald had obviously had enough of their fight.

Ed inhaled and exhaled slowly. He knelt on crossed legs, sheathing both sabers as he laid them on the ground.

‘Do you yield, Jedi?’

Oswald clicked his fingers dramatically causing sparks to strike near Ed’s seated form. It was close enough for Ed to enact his plan. Ed closed his eyes and opened his palms simultaneously. The lightning arced into his palm like an alighting insect and swirled into a harmless vortex. Contained and controlled. Ed’s eyes snapped open as he stood up and raised both hands high. The lightning flashed upwards as it was drained from Oswald and dissipated harmlessly into the clouds with a rumble that almost sounded resentful.

‘I am no Jedi’, Ed said, unable to keep a grin off his face at Oswald’s naked shock.

Oswald surged forward, ready to resume his assault but stumbled. He reached for his purloined saber as he fell. The saber twitched but did not fly to his hand as it should have. Ed walked to Oswald and knelt down. Oswald tried to rise but Ed placed both hands on his shoulders gently. The lightning had truly exhausted the last of Oswald’s energy reserves and he only struggled for the briefest of moments. Ed lowered Oswald down gently. Ed straddled him, his own energy flagging, as thunder rumbled overhead.

‘You see? You would never hurt me’, Ed said breathlessly, ‘Now, where were you? “Through victory your chains are broken”’.

‘The Force shall free you’, Oswald whispered, sighing heavily in defeat.

‘No’, Ed corrected, ‘You freed me’.

Oswald laughed shakily.

‘You’re so much more than I could have ever hoped for’, he said, ‘Now, take your reward’.

Ed knew what he was expected to do by Sith tradition. He had beaten his master in combat and the weak had no place in the galaxy. Oswald had even turned away to better expose his neck for Ed’s killing stroke. This was tradition as well; the last chance for a defeated Sith to show he was unafraid of the inevitable. But Oswald’s eyes were glistening and Ed was surprised to sense the unshed tears weren’t because of fear. They were tears of regret. Sorrow that their partnership had ended so soon. Disappointment that his apprentice had chosen such a weak master. A master that couldn’t even bring himself to answer such a simple Jedi riddle.Ed realised that Oswald, apparently feeling he had nothing more to lose, had completely dissolved his mental defences and the emotions crashed over Ed like waves against a shoreline. An aching loneliness. A calm, companionable silence. Happiness in a shared joke. A swelling pride. A sudden uncontrollable, terrifying, desire for more. Forever and ever. The awful realisation that the saber, somehow, impossibly had lost its hard earned crimson colour, threatening to expose his vulnerable heart for all the world to see. Fear of being denied if he confessed anyway. The terror of rejection. The dread of how Ed would look at him. The vibrant, electric pulse whenever Ed smiled at him. The resignation that Ed was destined to kill him to become what he was destined to be. And finally, the emotion that had begun as a dull roar became a howl from the depths of the soul, suffusing Ed’s body with warmth. Ed knew the name of this emotion and now in this moment, he knew this was what he, unbeknownst to Oswald, had been feeling as well: Love.

‘My reward’, Ed repeated around the lump in his throat.

Oswald’s eyes closed and Ed knew what he wanted. What he had wanted for a long time. What Sith wanted, they took.

Their lips met and everything else fell away.It was like nothing Ed had ever felt before and his body surged with new, erotic sensations, setting his nerves alight. He felt his powers bleed from him as his control slipped, shaking the trees, scattering leaves and blossoms around the clearing. He was vaguely aware of nearby rocks shaking and rising from the ground, the Force flowing through them, through Oswald, through him… It felt natural. It felt wonderful. It was perfect.

After what simultaneously felt like an eternity and bizarrely not long enough, Ed drew back.

Oswald’s eyelids fluttered as he gasped. Ed stroked the red blush flooding Oswald’s cheek beneath his bright green eyes .

‘Seems like you enjoyed that’, Ed whispered, 'I thought you said love was a weakness you couldn’t afford?’

Oswald shifted and Ed found himself on his back. Oswald held him down and tore his robe from his shoulder. Ed was too shocked to struggle as Oswald fixed his lips on Ed’s shoulder and bit hard. Ed squirmed and whimpered at the harsh yet delicious sensation, knees grinding together desperately.

Oswald drew back and Ed shivered at the sudden chill on his shoulder’s bare skin. He thrilled as Oswald’s eyes melted into a harsh yellow in the dimming light.

‘Do I seem weak to you…Apprentice?’ Oswald purred.

The clouds cleared and the planet’s red moon rose high behind Oswald bathing his pale skin in a bloody light.

‘No’, Ed smiled, overwhelmed and exhausted, ‘Master’.

#nygmobblepot #star wars au #Oswald Cobblepot #edward nygma #nygmobblepot ficlet

19 notes · View notes