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beautysamour · 2 years ago

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Wrong destination | chapter two.

Pairing: Nikolai Lantsov x reader

Summary: After running into Alina and Mal, the three of you try to get out of Noyvi Zem before getting caught. This leads you to another encounter that you’re sure will mess up the time line.

warning/s: none

taglist: @spellsofavalon @vera0124

enjoy!

“Only two ships in a harbor town? Something’s not right.”

The three of you were currently hiding between some barrels, the current plan was to escape by ship.

“Maybe Bohdan ordered them away,” suggested Alina, “But the first army doesn’t have jurisdiction here,” Mal replied quickly.

You’ve read some books about the first army but you weren’t a hundred percent educated on them. You found the first grisha queen’s story a lot more interesting, and inspiring.

You didn’t speak up at all during the conversation between the two and felt especially awkward when Mal leaned his forehead against hers, you felt like you weren’t supposed to be there.

Which you weren’t, but whatever.

The three of you stepped away from the barrels and began to walk towards the people in front of the ship. You clenched your fists on the walk down; Alina suggested bribing them with 20 million kruge, but you were still on edge from the fight from earlier.

When you reached the people at the ship, Alina outstretched an arm to them handing them a piece of gold, “It’s gold,” she says.

The girl who Alina handed the gold to, took it and- bit it.

“That’ll do,” she said before turning back to a young man behind her, handing him the piece of gold. The young man examined the piece of gold on his own before fully confirming to himself that it was real gold.

“Come on then, hurry up. I’ll take you to the captain.”

Apart of you was actually excited, you were going to be traveling with pirates, not everyone from your time can say they’ve done that. You tried to contain your excitement though, you didn’t want anyone to think you were suspicious.

You were about to say thank you and enter the ship before someone called out for you-“You! Stop!”

The fucking guards.

The girl you first met at the ship immediately stepped towards them, edging them on.

“You want to fight Ravka?”

Still on edge, you took your other shoe off and threw it at the group of men then immediately made a run for it onto the ship, followed by Alina, Mal, and the young man; leaving the young woman alone to humble the group of men.

—

“Let’s be clear about two things. I don’t take orders on my own ship. And we’re already underway, I’m glad you’ve joined us.”

The captain, you assumed, had his arms on the table in front of him, resting his weight on the table and leaning forward.

He had ginger hair and green muddy eyes. Although he wasn’t standing up straight, you could tell that he was tall. His nose was crooked, it looked as if he got it handed to him multiple times.

“Now, maybe if you’d be so kind as to give the room a little light,” he continued,” after all you are Alina Starkov. A 20 million kurge saint.”

He pulled out a gun from his jacket and set it on the table, voicing out a silent threat, “dead or alive.”

No wonder his nose was crooked, if you felt a little more confident in your fighting abilities you probably also would’ve decked him in the face.

“Before you continue with the threats,” you begin to say honestly not caring about what’s happening. You knew that at the end of this conversation, he would let Alina and Mal out, might as well leave the room as soon as possible, “could I leave the room? I don’t think I’m needed here.”

Tolya, whose name you learned on the way to the captain, let out a deep exhale.

The captain looked at you slightly confused beige nodding and gesturing Tolya to walk you out the room.

“Wait outside the door though, I have to speak with you too,” said the captain before Tolya came up to you and gestured you out the room.

You were hoping to have some quiet outside the room, but you throwing a shoe out of everything at military personnel amused Tolya to no ends, enough for him to stay talking about it for 10 minutes.

“Do you always throw shoes at people?”

“No-“

“Where are you from? You don’t seem like a Ravka girl.”

“Gee, thanks-“

“What brought you here-“

The door abruptly opening cut Tolya off mid sentence.

“Can you give them a small tour around the ship? Then bring them to the fancy quarters,” the captain said before turning his gaze to you and walking back into his office, implying for you to follow, and you did.

“Close the door on your way in,” he said.

You stood awkwardly in the middle of the room when you finished closing the door. The captain went around his desk and resumed the same position he was in when you first walked into his office.

“Now who are you?”

“Y/N.”

“No last name?”

“Who are you?”

“The name’s Sturmhond.”

“Is that your last name?”

“It’d be a terrible first.”

He leaned further on the table, quickly getting irritated at your distancing, “Alright, love, if you came any other day you’d probably be in luck for me to indulge in your little back and forth momentum, but you coincidentally came in the same time as the sun summoner. Not everyone just regularly travels with a saint.”

You looked away from him, afraid that he’ll somehow expose you to be a time traveler.

“So I’ll ask again, and only once again, who are you.”

“I just want a place to sleep at until we reach shore again.”

“That’s utter bull, love, and you know it.”

You look back at him, your emotional and physical tiredness catching up with you, “I just had the unfortunate luck of crossing paths with them, that’s all. You can use a heartrender,” you clear your throat, the memory of Elijah popping up in your head, “to make sure I’m telling the truth when I say I don’t have any ill agenda.”

“But you have one,” he challenges.

“When does someone not?”

He seemed to not have any remarks to that. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes, he just kept his eyes on you.

“Very well,” he finally says. “You seem tired, I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

He gave you a small grin, looking strangely familiar to Elijah’ grin whenever he teased you.

—

“May not look like the fanciest, but I swear, it’ll feel as such. Well actually that’s a lie, but what can you expect from a hammock at sea? Enjoy your stay, love.”

You let out a breath you’ve been holding since you walked on to the ship once Sturmhond was far away for you to feel slightly relaxed.

Your area was small and was set in between two other hammocks that belonged to complete strangers. Fortunately you didn’t have any luggage with you so you didn’t have to worry about anything getting stolen. You didn’t even have any shoes.

Wow so classy.

You put one of your legs up on the hammock, attempting to get on it. You failed. Then you tiptoed and set your lower behind on the hammock, trying to get on it once again. This time it worked.

You slowly recline your body, leaning on your side, before turning on your back, now looking up at the ceiling of this sleeping area.

“You would’ve loved this place, eli, you always wanted to be a pirate,” you laugh softly, remembering a childhood moment.

“Arrrr matey, give me your money!”

Elijah, a seven year old, threatened with his weirdly bent fork that was taped onto his pointer finger.

“Eli,” you exclaimed, “that didn’t even rhyme!”

“Arrr matey, pirates don’t have to rhyme my lady,” replied Elijah, pronouncing the end of lady like “ty” to make it rhyme with matey.

“Ew, don’t call me that,” you scrunched your face, cringing at the pet name.

Elijah dropped his shoulders as a pout formed on his face, “Y/N! Can you please play along? You know this is important for me, I have to pass my pirate audition!”

“Pirate audition?” You ask back, “Those exist?”

“Of course they do! How else would pirates become pirates?”

“I guess… ok I’m sorry, I’ll take this more seriously.”

A smile now showed on Elijah’ face, “Ok, from the beginning. Arrrr matey, give me your money!”

You smile, finding the entire thing childishly funny. Then the memory quickly becomes sour when you remember the scene of his head disconnected from the rest of his body. The feeling of having to throw up rapidly makes an appearance, but it stops before it’s too hard to control.

You close your eyes and try to leave the memory, forcing yourself to focus on your surroundings as you try to fall asleep.

—

“Look lively, topside now!”

You jerk your head up at the sound of a loud voice and push yourself up. You looked around for a few seconds before pushing yourself up completely and brushing any dirt that ended up on your clothes.

“Of course I wake up on the floor,” you mumble to yourself before heading to the ladder at the far end of the department, and climbing up to the deck.

“Hey,” you hear as soon as you get on the deck, “I meant to ask yesterday but it didn’t seem like the right time. Where’d you get your clothes from?”

Sturmhond walked towards you as he asked the question, seemingly waiting for you to show up.

“Where would you get yours,” you asked back as you started to walk away from him, not sure what he wanted. “Where’s Alina and Mal,” you ask before he could answer your rhetorical question.

“Haven’t came up yet. Why? Need the sun summoner for something?”

Of course he was weary of you, it’s not common for someone to genuinely help someone in this time period without wanting anything in return.

“It’s that rare to want to know how the well-being of someone who has previously helped you? Saints, that’s sad.”

Sturmhond snickered from behind you, “Yeah, pretty rare.”

You walked to a side railing, looking over it to watch the water sway beneath you. The ocean was always something that fascinated you; the fact that it makes up so much of the world yet very little is known about it.

Just like your very own power within you.

“Don’t touch that,” you heard from behind you. You quickly turned your head, the feeling of panic striking you, but relief flooded that feeling away when you saw that Sturmhond was talking to Mal and Alina; leaving you alone with the sea beneath your feet.

—

The sun set just as quickly as it raised. A few members of the ships crew, including its captain and Alina and Mal, embarked on a mission they had once the ship reached a rather mysterious looking island.

When they came back on the ship, it was announced that Alina received her second amplifier and the entire crew was able to watch as she attached it to her body.

Now everyone was asleep, except for you. Not being able to use your power and being stuck in an era that isn’t yours quickly made itself a reoccurring thought. What if you were never able to go home? You still had a family, still had other friends, you still wanted to save Elijah- but how? If you didn’t have your power then what.

Was there an amplifier you could use?

You momentarily stop thinking about these issues once you get to the deck of the ship, the stars in the sky immediately demanding for your attention. A memory of your mother telling you stories about the stars flood your mind.

You feel the soft breeze that always accompanies the ocean as you walk to the middle of the deck and sit down.

“Mom,” you whisper out, “the sea at night is just as you said.”

“Hey,” you hear from behind you, again. The same voice.

“Good evening,” you reply back, starting to get up as you turn towards him.

“It’s late out. Crews not allowed up here after sundown,” he walks towards you, offering you the jacket that was rested on his arm as he gets closer. You glance down at the jacket before looking back up at him, slightly taken off guard at how the moonlight seemed to perfectly light his face.

He’s definitely not bad looking.

“With all due respect, I’m not really apart of the crew,” you reply back, “I’m just here until we reach somewhere safe.” He stands for a few seconds, his hand still holding the jacket out to you.

Taking your words as a rejection, he pulls the hand holding his jacket back to him. He doesn’t say anything to you, he only walks to a side railing on the deck and looks up at the night sky. A comfortable silence rests between you two.

Assuming he wasn’t going to say anything else, you start to walk back to the ladder that led to the hammocks.

“Feel free to stay out, then.”

You stop mid step, mentally weighing the cons and pros of staying out here alone with a man who has made it clear that he does not trust you.

The sky is pretty anyways. You decide to use that as you reason to stay.

You walk towards the same side railing Sturmhond was leaning on, leaving a few inches between you two as you rest your weight on it.

“Why were you out here,” he asked, keeping his eyes straight down, watching the moons reflection of the waters surface.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh wow,” he chuckles while speaking, “you actually gave me a direct answer. Didn’t know you could do that.”

“And I regret doing so,” you say; more on the playful side however, indulging in some sarcastic remarks might be good for your sanity.

From your peripheral, you saw Sturmhond push himself off of the railing, you assumed he was going to walk back inside but he only did so to straighten his back.

“Even though you aren’t apart of my crew permanently, you still eat, sleep, and spend time on my ship. You’re still under my supervision, which means you’re in my crew,” he turns misled towards you, leaning on his side against the railing this time, “and I like to know my crew.”

Mirroring his body movement, you also turn yourself towards him. Maybe telling this stranger, who you’ll never meet again and who you don’t remember in any history books, a few things about you wouldn’t do you any harm. It might be good to make some friends for the mean time.

“Down for a few questions?”

“Alright, my name is Y/N.”

“Still no last name?”

“Still no last name.”

“Ok…,” he chuckled again. “If I can’t know your last name, then can I know how you met the sun summoner? Like I said, that’s not just some regular encounter. Why are you on my ship?”

“I want to go home,” you said; ignoring the first part of his question. “I got lost and I just want to go back.”

“Where’s your home?”

“Ravka.”

You heard a sound come from him, something akin to a laugh, “You’re from Ravka?”

“Yeah,” you said, a little confused as to why he asked again.

He turned his body away from you, looking off into the distance as the smell of sea water and the cool evening breeze took over your senses.

“What do you think about the prince,” he suddenly asks, still looking off into the distance.

The prince? Who was the prince at this time…

You tried to remember all the history books you read and cursed yourself for only really caring about the grisha queen- but then you remember a name that was commonly brought up alongside her and who was once king.

“The puppy prince?”

Sturmhond suddenly turned his head towards you, his expression mixed with surprise and annoyance.

Maybe he knew the prince…?

“Puppy prince?” He repeats, his tone unidentifiable.

You nod slowly, a little worried that you might’ve offended him, “I don’t know him personally and I don’t have an opinion on him, but I’ve heard people call him that.”

He ran a hand through his hair, his shoulder lowering as he rested his forearms on the railing; a sigh escaping his mouth.

He mumbles a few things under his breath that you were unable to catch on to.

“How’d you get away from home?”

“I,” you trailed off, not sure if you wanted to tell him that, “I’m trying to find a cure, for a friends sickness. He’s already in dire need of help, so I’d like to reach shore as soon as possible.”

He didn’t say anything. It was silent again; the sound of the waves and the breeze being the only audible thing at this time of day.

You push yourself off the railing, realizing how late it is; “Well, sturmhond, thank you for the company. I’ll be going back inside now.”

You began to walk away from him, looking up at the sky while doing so.

“Y/N,” Sturmhond says, causing you to stop walking before you could reach the ladder, “We’ll get you home. Promise.”

“Ok,” you respond with a small smile, not looking back at him, “I’ll keep you to it.”

—

“Come with us, it’s the fastest way to get you to shore.”

After your talk with Sturmhond on the deck, he’s been very persistent on updating you on how close you guys were to shore.

You were surprised that he seemed to care that much, about someone who wasn’t truly apart of his crew. You weren’t going to take that for granted though.

“When do you leave?”

“In an hours time, so pack quickly.”

“I-“ you began to say but he walked away before you could even finish, “…I didn’t even give you an answer yet.”

You sighed as you turned back to your hammock, that had nothing on it, since you had nothing with you. You decided to walk around the ship to make the hour go by quicker.

—

“Y/N!”

Alina, who you haven’t spoken too for some days, ran to you immediately at seeing you.

“Alina-“ she ran up to you quicker that you expected and pulled you into a massive bear hug, cutting your air circulation. “You’re coming with us?” She asked when she finally pulled away.

You nodded, “Don’t get my wrong, your shoe throwing is a very unique tactic but I don’t think that’ll affect the monsters in the fold that much.”

You froze at her words and just stared at her, dumbfounded.

You’re going into the fold?

“How’s it feel, ready to take on the fold?”

Mal asked while walking up to you two, specifically to Alina.

As Alina averted her attention for you to Mal, you took it as your chance to give them space. You still felt as if you shouldn’t be apart of any of their conversations since they’ve already had it without you; you didn’t want to mess up the timeline anymore than you assumed you already have.

Nervousness began to bubble in the pit of your stomach. In modern Ravka, there is no fold, you didn’t have to worry about any shadow monsters. You’re in the past though, you remind yourself. Of course your luck would lead you here.

“There you are, I was about to go looking for you,”to your right was Sturmhond who was currently walking towards you, “Excited?”

“Of course n-“ you stop yourself mid sentence. Yes, apart of you was upset that he was throwing you into the equivalent of hell, but he was also the reason why you’d reach Ravka sooner than most. So you didn’t really have any room to complain.

You inhale before restarting your sentence, “To get to Ravka? Yes. To travel through the Fold? No.”

He smirked at your words, “Aw don’t worry, we’ve got a saint with us- you two ready?” He asked Alina and Mal. They nodded, “Might want to hold on to something,” Sturmhond told you as he walked to the middle of his ship, where a lever was rested at.

“Prepare to decouple,” he yelled out. The twins, Tolya and Tamar jumped on the ship; surprising you as they seemed to have come from thin air. Sturmhond yelled out to someone on the other side of the ship before pulling the lever. Just on cue, Kovu, who Sturmhond yelled out to just a few moments ago, moved his arms in a precise motion, pushing air up and towards the sails.

You felt the part of the ship you were on began to lift into the air, you quickly grabbed on to the ledge and jerked your body back so you didn’t see the ground.

This is just like an airplane, you tell yourself in an attempt to slow down your rapidly increasing heartbeat. In front of you, Alina threw herself onto a bench; seemingly afraid. Mal entered your sight of vision as he came up to Alina trying to get her to get up.

You laughed at the view, not because you were making fun of her, but because of how common it is to fly in your time. You wonder how Alina would react to being on an actual airplane.

Still, even though your use to flying in the air, a creation like this-that you’ve studied in school before and is now on- it was fascinating. You slowly turn your body back towards the ledge, looking over it now and overseeing the view.

“This is amazing,” you meant to whisper out but it came out a lot louder than intended.

“Did you expect any less,” Sturmhond questioned as he stood next to you while leaning against the same ledge, “It’s like you haven’t even met me,” he joked. “Years and years of designs,” he continued, “and several dozen crashed prototypes.” He winced out the last part of his sentence, not the proudest at that fact, but it was expected.

You looked at him surprised, “You made this?” He nodded. “…you’re an inventor?” He nodded again. Of course he’s an inventor.

“I know,” he said with a smirk, “smart and handsome, gotta leave something for the rest of you all.”

You rolled your eyes at his cockiness; averting your gaze from him to watch the ground as you fly above it. You didn’t have a view like this on an airplane.

“Captain,” a crew member yelled out, “The Fold’s in sight.”

“Wonderful. Next stop,” he yelled so Alina and Mal could hear, “Destiny.”

—

It was all a blur, the time in the fold.

All you remember is Alina attempting to take down the Fold, then something happened which caused her to fail her attempt. Then suddenly it was all dark, and there were monsters, and gun shots, and screeches- it was horrific. Everything the history books said it was like.

And now it was dark again. You couldn’t see or feel, maybe you were dead. Then suddenly you hear voices.

“One, two, three,-“

And suddenly you saw light again.

Your body jerked up at the feeling of oxygen rushing into your lungs. Around you, you heard sighs of reliefs and thanks being given to the saints as someone aggressively patted your back and you coughed up the remaining water that was in your lungs.

You turned to look at the person patting your back and was met with someone completely unfamiliar, but attractive.

“Almost lost you there,” said the stranger as he wiped his mouth with the back of his palm.

“Who the hell are you-“ the sound of horns blaring and soldiers marching drained out your voice.

“You’ve crossed illegally onto Ravkan soil. Identify yourselves,” asked who you assume to be the commander of the group of soldiers as they came to a stop.

The blonde stranger next to you gave you another pat on the back before getting up from his current position on his knees, “I’ll handle this.”

“Have I really changed that much,” he asked as he jumped down from the wrecked ship, “I knows it’s been a number of years but people swear I remain boyishly handsome.”

You snort at his words. He may look unfamiliar but he definitely acts like someone you know.

Speaking of which, where is…

“It can’t be,” said the commander

“Yes it is,” replied the stranger as he took off his jacket.

“Moi tsarevich.”

As soon as the commander mumbled out those words, he and the rest of his troops immediately got down on one knee.

Tsarevich… prince…

“Alina,” you call out, “where’s Sturmhond?”

Alina looked back at you with widened eyes, as if she came to the same conclusion that you have.

Oh.

He was definitely someone you remembered in those history books.

#nikolai lantsov x reader #grishaverse #shadow and bone #nikolai lantsov imagines #nikolai lantsov x you #sturmhond x reader #nikolai x reader #nikolai lantsov #shadow and bone fanfic #nikolai lantsov fanfic #nikolai lantsov x grisha reader #nikolai lantsov x y/n

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canaryinacoalclan · 1 month ago

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Moon 1

Iceflick was enjoying a quiet morning when Whistlebone limped in, looking sheepish. Iceflick sighed, giving him a cursory look over. He had several long scratches on his legs and back, but they didn’t appear to be deep.

“So, what happened this time?” Iceflick asked, pulling out marigold and cobwebs.

“There was a big dog.” Whistlebone explained. “I hid in a bramble thicket, so it didn’t get me, but the brambles were pretty sharp. Also, the stress gave me a stomach ache, but I’m sure that’ll clear up in a bit!”

“I’ll get you some juniper for your stomach, don’t worry.” Iceflick told him as she applied the poultice to his scratches.

Glintpaw walked into the den a moment later, pausing briefly to greet Whistlebone and Iceflick. He began sorting through the herbs, setting the juniper aside upon Iceflick’s request.

“We’ll need more soon.” Glintpaw commented softly. “These are beyond dried, and there’s only a few left.”

“Give what’s left to Whistlebone. I’ll go out and gather more.” Iceflick told him as they patted the last of the marigold into place. “Try not to move too much. Let the herbs sit for as long as possible.”

Iceflick padded out of the den, leaving Whistlebone and Glintpaw alone. Glintpaw continued sorting herbs while Whistlebone searched for something to say. Finally, he spoke up.

“So, you’ll be getting your full name soon. Are you excited?” Whistlebone asked.

“I don’t know if excited is the right word.” Glintpaw said slowly. “But I know Iceflick is looking forward to retiring again, and it’ll be nice to be a fully fledged healer. I’ve still got at least another moon of training, though.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The juniper berries were not hard to find. However, most of them had already been picked in leaf bare, and much of the remainder had been eaten by birds. The remaining berries were largely unripe, hard and green and of no use to Iceflick. As she was carefully studying a juniper tree near the border, a voice called out and caught her attention.

“Hey! Is this Canaryclan?”

Iceflick turned, seeing a ginger and brown tortie kittypet emerge from a clump of bushes. Around her neck was a black collar, studded with spikes.

“Yes. Are you looking to join?” Iceflick approached cautiously, careful to stay on their side of the border.

“Not me, no. But you take the cursed ones, right?” The kittypet asked, her eyes flicking over first Iceflick then the territory beyond her. “I was told you already had one.”

“Ah. That.” Iceflick felt her lip curl with distaste. “If that’s what you want, yes.”

The tortie nodded, either not noticing or refusing to acknowledge Iceflick’s judgemental stare. Instead, she turned back to the bushes she’d come from, beckoning with her tail. A moment later the leaves rustled, and a small kit padded shyly out. She was mostly a dark brown tabby, except for a splash of bright orange across her face and at the end of her tail.

“It wasn’t so obvious at first, you know.” The kittypet said quietly, peering down at her daughter. “But the yellow eye brightened, and the hazel eye darkened. I don’t know if I even believe in curses, but…it’s just not safe.”

Iceflick softened her gaze as she peered at the kit, leaning down to sniff her gently. To her relief, the kit smelled healthy. Aside from her mismatched eyes, which the kittypets, rogues, and Hawthornclan claimed were a curse, the kit was completely fine.

“And do you have a name, little one?” Iceflick asked gently.

“Honey.” She murmured politely, staring up with wide eyes.

“It’s nice to meet you Honey. My name is Iceflick, and I’ll be taking you back to my home, Canaryclan. We’ll take good care of you, don’t worry.” Iceflick said gently.

“Ok.” Honey mewed, ducking her head to allow Iceflick to pick her up.

Iceflick frowned. She’d known many kits in her moons, and few things worried her more than a kit who was too polite. Nodding stiffly to the kittypet, who was watching with a blank expression, Iceflick lifted the young kit and began padding back to camp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The clan camp was full of quiet chatter when Shatterpaw slipped back in. She’d snuck out to wish Smokepaw good luck on her assessment, and she’d expected sneaking back in to be more difficult. Especially now that Newtpelt was her mentor - he was much more attentive to her than Tawnypurr had been when she was her mentor.

Except when she peered around the corner to check if the coast was clear, she didn’t see her mentor looking frantically for her. She saw him leading a small brown and orange kitten around the camp, gesturing to different caves, clearly giving a tour. Shatterpaw tipped her head to the side, watching curiously.

“Her mom left her with the clan.” Rimepaw’s voice startled Shatterpaw, and she jumped backwards.

“Stars, Rimepaw, warn me next time.” Shatterpaw grumbled, shaking her head. “Anyways, why’d she do that? I mean, it’s not like we don’t take in adult cats, too. She could’ve stayed with her kit.”

“The kit - Honeykit, by the way - is like you.” Rimepaw blinked calmly, gesturing with his tail to Shatterpaw’s eyes.

“That curse stuff again?” Shatterpaw huffed, the fur on the back of her neck lifting. “Isn’t it bad enough we have to hear about it from Hawthornclan, now the kittypets too? Where’d this curse thing even come from, anyways?”

Rimepaw only shrugged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sprite time :)

Honeykit - Dark brown and ginger tortie molly with yellow and hazel eyes, 2 moons, polite, quick witted.

Rory (Honeykit's mother) - Ginger and brown tortie molly with yellow eyes, 30 moons, spiky leather collar, troublesome, incredible runner, very clever.

#canaryclanmoons #clangen

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safemexico · 4 months ago

Photo

How to Make Cinnamon Sugar Cookies – Quick & Delicious

You've decided to make cinnamon sugar cookies, a classic treat that's both simple and satisfying. Start by gathering your ingredients, ensuring you have fresh cinnamon for the best flavor. As you cream together sugar and butter, think about how you might want to experiment with flavors—perhaps a dash of nutmeg or lemon zest. Once you've mixed your dough, chilling it before baking is key to achieving perfectly shaped cookies. But what's the secret to keeping them soft and chewy? Let's explore the finer details of baking these cookies to perfection.

Key Takeaways

- Cream sugar and butter, then add eggs and flour for a smooth dough. - Mix cinnamon and sugar to create a sweet and spicy flavor. - Chill dough balls before baking to maintain cookie shape. - Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare baking sheets with parchment or spray. - Bake cookies, checking at minimum time for desired texture.

Ingredients and Preparation

To whip up cinnamon sugar cookies, start with simple pantry staples like flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. These ingredients form the foundation of your dough, which will soon transform into delightful cookies. The magic happens when you add a generous mix of cinnamon and sugar to the dough, infusing it with a sweet and spicy taste that defines these cookies. Begin by creaming the sugar and butter together. This step is crucial as it guarantees your cookies have the right texture. Once the butter is fluffy, incorporate the eggs. Gradually add in the flour, mixing until you have a smooth dough. The cinnamon sugar blend is highlighted, which you'll layer onto the dough to create that iconic swirl pattern. Chill the dough balls before baking. This step is essential; it helps maintain the shape and prevents the cookies from spreading too thin in the oven, ensuring they stay soft and chewy with crisp edges. Perfectly baked cinnamon sugar cookies are a treat to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. They offer a comforting and satisfying bite.

Step-by-Step Baking Process

Preheating the oven to 350 degrees sets the stage for baking your cinnamon sugar cookies perfectly. Begin by preparing your baking sheets, either lining them with parchment paper or using a non-stick spray. Next, create the cinnamon sugar filling by mixing brown sugar with cinnamon to form a flavorful swirl that'll dance through your cookies. With your sugar cookie dough ready, it's time to assemble. Roll out the dough and generously sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the top. Roll the dough into a log, ensuring the swirl is tight and well-distributed. Slice the log into even pieces to form individual cookies. Before sending these delights into the oven, chill the dough balls. Chilling helps maintain their shape during baking, preventing excessive spreading and ensuring a perfect round cookie. Once cooled, arrange the dough balls on your prepared baking sheets, leaving enough space to expand slightly. Bake the cookies until they're golden and fragrant. After removing them from the oven, transfer them to wire racks to cool. If any cookies are misshapen, gently use a glass or spoon to reshape them while they're still warm, creating a uniform appearance. Enjoy your freshly baked treats!

Flavor Enhancements and Variations

As your cinnamon sugar cookies cool and fill the air with their delightful aroma, consider how you can elevate their flavor even further. Start by experimenting with sugar variations. Swap out regular sugar for brown sugar to add a rich, caramel-like sweetness and a moist texture. You could also try incorporating powdered sugar into the mix for a softer cookie. Spice addition is another way to create unique flavor enhancements. A touch of nutmeg, cloves, or allspice can transform your cookies into a seasonal favorite. If you're feeling adventurous, try a chai-inspired blend with cardamom, ginger, and a hint of black pepper for a spiced twist. A cinnamon swirl is a classic choice, but don't hesitate to explore different flavor dimensions. You can substitute vanilla extract with maple syrup or almond extract to introduce a new depth of taste. Finally, consider infusing your cookies with a citrus twist by mixing in orange or lemon zest. This addition refreshes the flavor and enhances the cookie's fragrance. With these variations, your cinnamon sugar cookies will always be a delightful surprise.

Tips for Perfect Cookies

To achieve perfect cinnamon sugar cookies, chill the dough to prevent excessive spreading and control the cookie thickness. Layering the dough with cinnamon sugar enhances flavor and creates beautiful swirls. Remember to adjust your baking time based on the size of your dough mounds for consistent baking and a satisfying texture. Dough Preparation Tips Mastering the dough preparation is important for consistently perfect cinnamon sugar cookies. Start by properly measuring flour, as it lays the foundation for your dough's consistency. Too much flour can dry your cookies, while too little leaves them too soft. Use the spoon-and-level method for accuracy. Once your dough is mixed, consider layering it with cinnamon sugar filling. This technique enhances flavor and creates attractive swirls that make each cookie a delightful visual treat. Next, chilling the dough for at least an hour is necessary. It helps the cookies retain shape when they hit the oven, preventing them from spreading too much. While you wait, prepare your baking sheets with parchment paper. This simple step prevents sticking and makes cleanup a breeze. When you're ready to bake, adjust the thickness of your dough mounds according to your desired cookie texture. Thicker mounds yield chewier cookies, while thinner ones turn out crisper. These dough preparation tips guarantee that your cinnamon sugar cookies are as delicious as they are beautiful. Follow these guidelines and create cookies that impress you every time. Baking Time Adjustments Adjusting the baking time to suit your taste is key to achieving the perfect texture for your cinnamon sugar cookies. Baking time adjustments significantly determine whether you end up with soft and chewy cookies or those with a delightful crunch. Start by checking cookies at the minimum recommended baking time. If you prefer a softer cookie texture, consider underbaking them slightly. Remove them from the oven when the edges are set but the centers are still soft. They'll continue to firm up on the baking sheet, resulting in a chewy center. If you want cookies with crisper edges, extend the baking time slightly, keeping a close eye on them to avoid burning. Your oven's temperature accuracy can also impact cookie texture, so an oven thermometer can help ensure accuracy. Remember, the thickness of your cookies will influence the necessary baking time adjustments. Thicker cookies might need more time, while thinner ones will bake faster. Experiment with different times to find the balance of textures you love. Personal preference plays a significant role here, so don't hesitate to try varying baking times until you achieve your ideal cinnamon sugar cookie texture.

Storage and Shelf Life

To keep your cinnamon sugar cookies tasting fresh, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. If you plan to freeze the dough logs for up to six weeks, thaw them before baking for the best results. Following these storage tips guarantees your cookies stay delicious and maintain their flavor. Maintaining Cookie Freshness Proper storage techniques ensure your cinnamon sugar cookies stay fresh and delicious. Once you've baked your cookies, please place them in an airtight container to maintain their freshness for up to two weeks. Proper storage is key to preserving their delightful flavor and texture. Keep your cookies in a cool, dry place, away from heat, moisture, or direct sunlight. This helps prevent any compromise in quality. Here are some tips for maintaining cookie freshness: - Airtight Containers: Use them to lock in freshness and keep moisture out. - Cool, Dry Locations: Store the cookies away from heat sources or humid areas. - Avoid Sunlight: Direct sunlight can alter the taste and texture of your cookies. - Separate Layers: Place parchment paper between layers to prevent sticking. - Dough Logs: If you've prepared dough logs, remember they can be frozen for up to 6 weeks for convenient future baking. Freezing and Thawing Tips Freezing and thawing your cinnamon sugar cookies or dough can greatly prolong their shelf life while maintaining their delightful taste and texture. To freeze your cookie dough, shape it into logs and wrap them tightly in plastic or foil. This protective layer helps prevent freezer burn and preserves the dough's quality. You can keep these cookie dough logs frozen for up to 6 weeks. When you're ready to bake, transfer the frozen dough logs to the refrigerator and let them thaw overnight. This gradual thawing process guarantees the dough retains its moisture and flavor, making it easy to slice and bake the next day. Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, ensuring they remain fresh and delicious. If you want to freeze-baked cookies, you can do so successfully. Remember to thaw them at room temperature for a few hours when you're ready to enjoy them. This will allow the cookies to regain their original texture and taste without compromising quality. With these freezing and thawing tips, your cinnamon sugar cookies can be enjoyed at their best whenever you crave them. Airtight Storage Solutions While proper storage is key to maintaining the freshness of your cinnamon sugar cookies, using an airtight container is essential. When you've baked cinnamon sugar cookies to perfection, the last thing you want is for them to lose their delightful flavor and texture. By storing them in an airtight container, you can keep them fresh for up to two weeks. It's important to place the container in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight, to preserve its quality. Fueling dough logs is a great option for those who like to plan. You can freeze these logs for up to six weeks, ensuring you're always ready to bake a fresh batch. Keep the following tips in mind for ideal storage: - Baked cookies: Store in an airtight container immediately after cooling. - Dough logs: Wrap tightly in plastic wrap before freezing. - Container location: Choose a cool, dry place in your kitchen. - Avoid moisture: Guarantee the container is completely sealed to prevent moisture ingress. - Labeling: Mark the storage date on dough logs to track freshness.

User Feedback and Adjustments

User feedback on cinnamon sugar cookies has been overwhelmingly positive, with bakers sharing creative adjustments that enhance the recipe. Many of you have praised the cookies for their soft and chewy texture, which some say is reminiscent of donut holes. This delightful texture is often attributed to using dark brown sugar instead of regular sugar, as it adds a rich depth to the cookies. Your feedback also highlights other successful adjustments, like experimenting with ingredients such as margarine and egg beaters, which maintain the cookie's beloved texture. The community has been active in sharing unique flavors and variations. Some of you have added spices like cloves and cardamom, which offer a warm and aromatic twist. Homemade cinnamon sugar and vanilla extract substitutes have also been popular suggestions, allowing you to tailor the recipe to your taste. User interactions reveal a vibrant community where experiences and tips are constantly exchanged, ensuring everyone can enjoy these cookies to their fullest potential. Your creativity and willingness to experiment keep the cinnamon sugar cookie experience fresh and exciting for all baking enthusiasts.

Conclusion

You've now got the know-how to bake delicious cinnamon sugar cookies that everyone's confident to love. Remember, creaming the butter and sugar is key to that perfect texture, and chilling the dough guarantees it holds its shape. Don't hesitate to experiment with flavors like spices or citrus zest for a fun twist. Follow these tips, and you'll consistently bake batch after batch of irresistible cookies. Store them properly, and they'll stay fresh for days. Happy baking!

FAQs

1. How to Add Flavor to Sugar Cookies? You can boost sugar cookies' flavor by adding vanilla or almond extract, lemon zest, and a hint of nutmeg spice. Swap white sugar for brown sugar and try orange extract for a citrusy twist. Get creative! 2. What Happens When You Put Powdered Sugar in Cookies? When you put powdered sugar in cookies, you enhance texture variations and create smoother dough. Experiment with baking by exploring sugar substitutes for recipe modifications, adjusting flavor combinations, and tailoring taste preferences for unique results. 3. Should Sugar Cookies Be Hard or Soft? You should aim for sugar cookies with a soft texture. Adjust the sugar amount and dough consistency, watch the baking time, and explore flavor combinations. Store them properly to maintain their softness, and enjoy delightful cookies! 4. What Can You Use Cinnamon Sugar For? You can use cinnamon sugar for various treats. Sprinkle it on cinnamon toast or French toast, create a churro topping, enhance pumpkin spice, or sweeten apple pie. It's perfect for Snickerdoodle bars, too. Add flavor effortlessly! Read the full article

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sixstepsaway · 3 years ago

Text

thinking about stede not finding ed for a pretty long time, maybe close to a year? ed's off doing stuff and he's healing because [waves hand around] izzy gets hurt because of his diability and ed realizes what he did and has a meltdown and works really hard to strike a balance between "safe by being a scary asshole" and "not actively hurting own crew and friends" and they're healing too, though it's slow, and meanwhile stede has been learning how to be a pretty damn good pirate actually, and he and his crew on a new ship have been pillaging the seven seas while looking for ed and co

and then stede finally finds him and it's...awkward? it's awkward. stede doesn't know how to explain what was going through his thick skull when he ran off back to his wife and ed doesn't know how to explain what he was thinking when he tried to kill seven of their mutual crew

(jim and frenchie are thrilled to be reunited at this time with the people they were separated from. in fact, i would say, that jim and oluwande have been exchanging letters or notes through spanish jackie this whole time, discussing whether they think stede and ed are ready to be reunited yet and getting more and more frustrated when the mutual answer is 'no' and that means they cant be reunited either, damnit)

so it's awkward, but over the next month or so they work through it and come to some ginger level of forgiveness for one another and neither of them makes any kind of move to be romantic because surely ed has moved on after what stede did, he doesn't want to have to go through this again, and stede was surely never interested in the first place, so ed isn't going to try anything okay? okay

and then word comes down from fellow pirates that some gang that stede fucked off have decided they want to kill bonnet, but stede can't be found anywhere and so they've decided they're going to go after his family! that'll work! they're going to go to barbados and go after mary, alma and louis

stede, of course, does not want anything to happen to his children or his widow, and ed hates the idea of stede running off to barbados again and so they set sail on the revenge to go to barbados (which is obviously a trap, but if they don't go anything could happen to the family, so they have to) and they come ashore and stede has to admit he's quite excited to introduce alma and louis to ed, but ed seems to have his reservations so he doesn't say anything aloud

and when they show up, mary is baffled he's back so soon but pleased now she knows he isn't here to ruin her life yet again, and immediately distressed when she hears of the plot against the family

and once stede has told her everything and has let her in on the plan they hatched to protect them, mary says, "And who's this?"

and stede immediately realizes he has fucked up, because there is no way in hell mary isn't going to know this is the ed

so he blusters a little before finally blurting, "This is the dreaded pirate captain, Blackbeard!"

and ed just eyeballs him like, "Mate, what the fuck?" and extends his hand to Mary. "He's not wrong, I am Blackbeard, but my friends call me Ed."

and mary's eyes widen and she exclaims, "Oh! Oh my god? You're Ed? The Ed? Stede's Ed? The Ed Stede is in love with?! Oh my god, I'm so happy to get to meet you!"

and as she rushes off to get doug - "Stede is here and he brought his Ed! Come and meet him!" - Ed looks at Stede

and stede studies the ceiling

"Stede's Ed, huh?"

"I suppose."

"The Ed Stede is in love with, huh?"

"...yes."

"Hm."

and ed goes into the house to meet doug with quite a spring in his step.

and idk what happens next re: the plot but that image was just too fucking funny so i had to share it

#blackbonnet #stede bonnet #edward teach #ofmd #our flag means death #my writing

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danses-with-dogmeat · 3 years ago

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Hey I love your blog! If it isn’t too much trouble, could you do one of the companions reacting to Sole getting an unsolicited dick pic?

FO4 Companions React to Sole Receiving an Unsolicited Dick Pic

So I know the ask said one of the companions, but I just did 'em all cuz I got carried away (as I always seem to). This was definitely an interesting one to think about, and suuuuper fun to write. Thanks for the ask!

I ended up doing a little scenario at the top that'll apply to all of the reactions, and just kind of give context for the fateful event to take place (since phones/the internet aren't really a canon element in FO, I put this scenario together instead.)

Given the nature of this ask, there's a just bit of NSFW under the cut!

Sole had woken up like any other day. Heading down the stairs of their Diamond City home to make breakfast, trying to be quiet in order to keep from disturbing their companion in the other room. However, as they passed their front door, they noticed something peeking out of the mail slot.

The paper isn't meant to come out until tomorrow...

Curious, Sole reached for the little white square of photo paper, and noticed some writing in the corner. There was an address and the words, "if you like what you see, meet me here tonight," accompanied by a little arrow pointing to flip the photo over. Their intrigue got the better of them, and Sole did as the writing suggested, turning it over for a brief second before immediately regretting it. They recoiled at the phallic image, their surprise evident in the small yelp they uttered in response to the sight before them.

They heard their companion stir from the other room, and then their footsteps sounded from behind as they approached questioningly.

"What have you got there?" They asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," Sole said, turning to face them, "just some mail, is all." Sole's words dripped with distaste, and yet... they felt an overwhelming need to share their unsightly discovery with the person in front of them.

"Wanna see?" They asked, mercilessly turning the picture so their companion could clearly make out the offensive image.

Cait:

*scoffs*

"What, they think that's somethin' te brag about? The damn thing's so wee, I almost couldn't make it out." She'd say with a smile, offering up her hand so she could take the picture and tear it in half. Cait effectively would make the decision for her companion in regards to the comment on the back of the photo. She knows this type of man, and she'd be sure that Sole wouldn't be meeting the asshole anywhere tonight. However, should she be able to sneak away while Sole is sleeping... Cait might just pay a visit to the specified location, where she'd surely give that asshole a piece of her mind, and at least one taste of her fist.

Curie:

Her eyebrows would furrow, and the synth would cock her head to the side in her confusion. Being locked away in a vault with three men for so many years, acting as their doctor, meant she had seen her fair share of the male sex organ. But now, Curie was confused, why did this man feel the need to send Sole a photograph of his penis? Was there something wrong with it? Did he want them to examine it? Sole was not a doctor...

"Why 'ave you received zhis, madame/monsieur? What does zhis man want from you?"

Once Sole explained, Curie would be quite upset by the concept.

"But... you did not ask for zhis, did not want it, and yet, he sent it anyway. Why would you want to meet someone like zhat? It seems very rude to me." She's still confused about it, and may ask a few more questions. Has this happened to Sole before? Does it happen often? Does anyone actually like to see such things when they are unprompted like this? If not, then why do these men continue to do it?

The scientist just wants answers.

Danse:

The soldier would physically recoil at the sight of the photograph, eyebrows raised high as he took in the image, before jerking his head and eyes away from Sole and the picture altogether.

"That-- that is highly inappropriate and an overwhelmingly vile display." He would say once he recovered from his initial shock, still refusing to look back towards Sole, "I suggest you dispose of that filth immediately. Why anyone would reveal themselves in such an unceremonious fashion is beyond me. You would do well to forget such graphic imagery. I know that I will certainly try."

He wouldn't even entertain the idea that Sole would go through with meeting the man behind the picture, but in the off chance that they decided to tell him they wanted to, Danse would spend the remainder of the day convincing them otherwise. He would almost be tempted to go to the location himself in order to lecture the man for his crude and inexcusable behavior, and blatant disrespect to his companion, but in the end, he decides that the man is not worth his time.

Deacon:

Ginger eyebrows would raise slightly over the frames of the glasses for the briefest of moments before he recovered his cool demeanor.

"Ah shoot, did the postman just put it right back into the mail slot? Didn't mean for you to see that, my bad. Here, I'll just deliver it myself."

The sarcasm was evident in his voice as he strode forward and plucked the photo from Sole's hand, examining it for just a moment, and grimacing a bit at the sight.

"Man, Dr. Rich Cockwood does not photograph well. I swear, it's bigger in person." He'd wink at them before glancing down at the picture again, scrutinizing blue eyes pausing to peruse the words on the back as he folded the paper up to put into his pocket. He'd quickly change the subject, trying to keep Sole's mind off the whole thing as he devised a way to sneak out that night and get some intel on the asshole who decided it was a wise idea to put Sole in this position.

Hancock:

*Squints*

"Oh shit. Looks like you've got an admirer there, Sole. " In his sleepy state, it took Hancock a minute to figure out what he was even looking at. Upon realizing that it was, in fact, what he thought it had been, he takes the picture from Sole's grasp and flips it around to glance at the back.

"Look at that, you've even got a date tonight. Must be somewhere romantic, I can tell this guy's old school." He nodded, flipping the photo over to glance once again at the offensive imagery on the front. "Yeah, real traditional, I'd say. Hmm... Mind if I tag along? Could be fun." There was a certain sort of glint in the ghoul's eye that made Sole's spine tingle.

Perhaps neither of us should go... Sole thought, noticing how Hancock's other hand toyed absentmindedly with his combat knife as he furrowed his brows at the photo one last time, before shoving the paper into the pocket of his coat. There was a certain sort of intent behind his actions that made Sole re-think even showing him the image in the first place. Hancock had killed people over less; that, Sole knew for sure.

MacCready:

"Ahh! What the heck are you doing?! I don't need to see that!" He'd squeeze his eyes shut just as soon as he was able to make out the photo, shoving his hands in front of him as though they would be able to push the image out of his mind.

"It's too early for this, what the heck is that guy's problem?" MacCready shuddered as he pulled his hands slowly from where they covered his eyes, glancing quickly at Sole before lowering them down completely, a relieved expression on his face as realized the picture was no longer in his line of sight. Noting his dramatic reaction, Sole considered toying with the mercenary a bit. They asked him what was wrong with the image, stating that perhaps they would pay this man a visit tonight. It had been so long since they had been out on a date, might as well go for it, right?

MacCready's eyes would simultaneously furrow, and widen at their words as he stuttered, finally finding his voice after a moment of shocked, choked silence.

"What?!" He exclaimed, "You're not seriously thinking of going, are you? That guy seems like such an ass-- Well, he just-- I mean..." He took a breath, and Sole had to bite their lip to hold back their grin. "Look, not that it's really any of my business or anything, but... don't you think you could do better than that guy? Like... a lot better?"

Sole couldn't hold back their grin any longer, but MacCready wouldn't meet their gaze. Instead he looked down at the floor, rubbing at the back of his neck with one hand, a nearly unnoticeable blush spreading over his cheeks.

"That guy just seems like a real jerk, and you? Well... Yeah, you deserve better than that, I think." He finished rather awkwardly, finally looking up to meet Sole's gaze before returning their coy smile.

Nick:

The synth would a have a brief moment of raised eyebrows as he took in the details of the photograph, and then the inevitable scowl of disappointment would spread across his face.

"You know, you'd think this guy would understand that no one in their right mind wants to see that particular... angle. You don't think that's his good side, do ya?" Sole would smile a bit at that, and as the synth turned to walk away from the offensive image, they told him about the writing on the back.

"Hey now, wait a minute. You're not thinking of paying this guy a visit, are ya? If so, that's a pretty poor decision on your part, I think."

Sole would shake their head, telling Nick not to worry as he fixed his inquiring yellow gaze on them. He nodded in response, seeming satisfied by their answer. In the next moment, a thought seemed to claim his attention.

"Hmm... I think I might just know the perp, actually. Ellie's got a few reports back at the office mentioning some similar events. Guess it's possibly one of the guards on night duty who goes around with these to see if he gets any takers."

Sole almost spoke up, but as they opened their mouth, Nick's words seemed to take their idea straight from their head. "On second thought..." He said, "You got any plans for this evening?"

Piper:

"Ahh! Blue! Why would you show me that!?" She'd physically cover her eyes with her hands, taking a few steps back and away from the picture for good measure.

"Look, I don't care what you do with it," she'd tell them, "just don't let me see it again!"

Sole would thankfully oblige, but before disposing of the image, they showed Piper the writing on the back. At the sight of the man's suggestion, Piper snatched the photo from Sole's hand, glaring at it furiously.

"Ohhhh no he doesn't. If he's sent crap like this to anybody else, I'm going to make sure no one falls for this."

And Piper kept her word, as the next morning's addition of Publik Occurrences contained a small piece written on exactly this subject, titled: To the Asshole who sent the Sad Little Picture to a Disgusted Citizen; No One Wants to See That! Sincerely, Everyone who has.

Preston:

"O-- oh! Um, that's-- okay. That's just wrong. Do you want me to get rid of it for you?"

Preston's face would wrinkle up in his clear distaste before bringing a a hand up to shield his eyes. When Sole had lowered the picture, he removed his hand, and looked them in the eye, refusing to pay the photo any more attention, but extending his hand out to take it from them so he could dispose of it properly.

"Are you... okay? I can't believe how rude some people are. Who would want to see that?" He'd flash a sympathetic smile at them, as he folded up the photo and prepared to throw it away. He didn't read the back himself, but if they told him about the words that were written there, he wouldn't even entertain the idea of Sole going, just shaking his head in disappointment at the man's poor and rude way of trying in vain to woo his General.

"Some people... The nerve. If you don't mind me saying, General, you deserve much better than that anyway."

X6-88:

His eyes would be locked to Sole's, but as they presented the photo to him, his gaze would fall to the image, and an ever so slight furrowing of his brows would take place above his silver eyes. A brief moment would pass, and X6's gaze would be back on his companion's face.

"Ma'am/ sir, why did you feel the need to show me this?" He's also quite confused, this was not a common occurrence in the Institute, and once Sole gave him an explanation, his expression would remain blank. For the most part, anyway. A small huff of laughter would escape him, prompting Sole to be the one giving him the questioning look now.

"If this filthy wastelander believes he can disrespect the future director of the Institute without facing consequences, he is sorely mistaken." He said, his gaze unbroken as he made Sole this promise, "Don't worry, I will take care of this filth at the specified meeting time and location. You will not hear from him again."

He doesn't necessarily intend to kill the man for his unseemly behavior; X6 is a courser after all, and he knew this man would be scared shitless if X6 were to so much as look at him the wrong way, but should the man make any... poor decisions in response to the courser's confrontation, well... certainly X6 can't be held responsible for the behavior, or the fate, of a mere stranger now, could he? Especially after his heinous actions.

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travellingarmy · 4 years ago

Text

║Xiao║ Misunderstanding

Requested from Wattpad.

Gender-neutral.

Fluff.

Word count: 1.8k

---

A familiar sound of laughter could be heard coming from somewhere at the lower part of Wangshu Inn that had gotten the attention of the last surviving yaksha. A laugh that he found annoying, yet would miss if it weren't around. Your laugh.

He wasn't going to admit it, but he would always wait for you to come to meet him daily. He would rush in clearing the area for monsters, not wanting you or any other mortal getting hurt-- but you especially.

However, he notices that your laughter that grew closer from the stairs leading up to the highest part of the inn- where he was- was seemingly.. Too joyous, let's say. What were you laughing at? Were you talking to Verr Goldet on your way to him? No, she's always behind the reception desk during working hours; no way is she with you. And as rude as it may be, her humour was quite dry to have you cracking up that much.

The curious yaksha's golden eyes look towards the door, waiting for you to step on the last remaining stairs that'll finally allow him to see you and whatever- or whomever- was making you laugh. He knew that you weren't alone as he heard a second set of shoes. They were heavy. A man? Well, that was soon answered when he saw your figure peeking in his line of sight, along with the person you came with. Although he doesn't show it, what he saw was not a pleasant sight.

Who was the guy next to you?

His eyes narrow. Something in him made him feel.. Strange. He doesn't know what word (or words) to use to describe such mortal feeling but he knows that he hated it-- hated the sight with you laughing the way you did to another. You never laughed like that when you were with him.

You looked away from the person with who you had such a wonderful conversation with and to Xiao who was leaning against the railing. You didn't notice that something was off with him; he looked annoyed just like every other day you met with him so you greeted him with a smile. "Xiao! Hey, sorry to keep you waiting," you said. Xiao did not reply to your greeting and focused his attention on the taller male beside you. Then, "Who is he?" His head nods to the stranger, arms crossing. The guy seemed shady but nowhere in his perfect appearance could the yaksha pinpoint what was off with him.

"Oh, right. I should introduce you guys to each other. Xiao, this is Childe. Childe, this is Xiao-- the one I was talking to you about some moments ago," you said. "Hey, it's good to meet another of (Y/N)'s friends." Childe smiles, a hand rest on his hip. "Likewise," Xiao replies, although he didn't really mean it. All he wanted to know was what this Childe guy's relationship with you as you had never mentioned him in your guys' one-sided conversation before.

"Anyway, (Y/N), when are you finally going to accept my invitation?" Childe looks towards you with eager eyes. "What invitation?" You raised a brow at the ginger. "Eh? Did you forget? How could you, (Y/N)?" Childe dramatically clutches his shirt over his chest. "I thought you loved me!" Xiao's ears perked. "Just hurry up and tell me," you said.

He chuckles. "For our date, of course!" Childe leans closer to your face, giving you a close-eyed grin. Xiao, who had no choice but to listen, unknowingly tightened his grip on his arms. Date? So, you guys are..

Xiao clicks his tongue. "I need to go," he said briefly before disappearing into thin air with trickles of black and green smoke. You couldn't even ask where he was going. "Uh, weren't you gonna give him that?" Childe points at the tiffin in your hand. "Ah, you're right! Darn it.." You finally perfected how to make almond tofu and wanted Xiao to be the first to try your cooking so it was truly a shame that you weren't able to give it to him. "Well, since he left, can I have it?" Childe asks. "No! This is for Xiao only!" You glare at him. "And can you please stop calling our sparring sessions a date?" Childe only laughs at that.

"Well, I guess I'll leave this with Verr.." you said to yourself, eyeing at the tiffin. It was a shame that you won't get to see his reaction but you can always ask tomorrow. You wondered what it was that he needed to tend to but shortly concluded that he probably needed to take care of monsters around the area.

Tomorrow came but he didn't show up which was odd since even though he may look like he doesn't want you around, he never really pushed you away. In fact, there wasn't a silent agreement for when you two would meet up at the highest part of Wangshu Inn. You asked Verr if Xiao ever had the chance to eat your almond tofu but she said that he rejected it and that he would be turning in for the night.

A day turned to days until it was nearly a week. Again, you went to Wangshu Inn and again, Childe wasn't with you that day so it was a bit quiet. You didn't have anything else planned for today, wanting to spend today with Xiao since you didn't yesterday and the days before that.

It became the waiting game long ago and before you knew it, you could see the sun setting on the horizon yet again. Where was he? Yeah, he may be the conqueror of demons but you couldn't help but worry. After all, it was still possible for him to get hurt.

You waited a bit more until the sun was fully out of sight. Another day has ended and he still hasn't shown. Sighing defeatedly, you stood up from the chair that Verr had brought for you. However, before you could take a step away from the chair, Xiao appears before you at the centre of the balcony.

"Xiao!?" One look at him, you gasped at the state he was in. He still had his mask on and was covered in blood and scratch marks, using his spear as support. He was unaware of your presence, unable to focus as he was lightheaded.

You rushed to his side and that's when his head looks up from the ground to you. "(Y/N)? What are you doing here?" he managed to ask, sounding so weak and tired. "I was waiting for you.. But never mind that-- what happened to you?" You reached your hands for him and just when you made contact with his shoulders, he collapsed in your arms. "Xiao!"

Your voice was loud enough to alert Verr, Huai'an, and Yanxiao who rushed upstairs, all worried for the yaksha that protected Liyue quietly. "Xiao? What happened?" Verr asked, equally worried as you were. "Let's get him to his room first and patch him up. Save the questions after he's healed," Huai'an said. Agreeing, you brought Xiao to his room that was unoccupied for most of the time while Verr fetched the aid kit.

After giving you the kit, you were left with the task of bandaging the male, knowing that he would most likely refuse help from them. You sat on a wooden chair while he sat on his bed, things needed to patch him up were spread on the nightstand. It was quiet for the first couple of minutes since you were too busy cleaning his bloodied arm. It was only when you wrapped his upper arm nice and tight did you talk. "Uh, can you take off your shirt..?" you say softly that one would need to strain to hear, but not Xiao as he always had keen ears.

"Why are you here?" he asks coldly which caught you off guard. Sure he spoke with a seemingly cold tone but this time, it really sounded as if he didn't want you here. His eyes never once looked at yours when you were wrapping his arm.

"X, Xiao..? What's wrong?" You felt your heart squeeze itself. He remained tight-lipped. That day, when you brought Childe along, he felt a mix of emotions of jealousy, anger, and sadness. "Nothing is wrong. Just go.." he said. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Somewhere to be? No, I was waiting all day for you to come back," you said. "I was beginning to worry ab--" "I don't need your concerns. I have lived longer than you and fought many monsters. I can handle everything by myself," he cut you off, sharply. "Why don't you put those silly feelings of yours on someone else?"

"What wrong with you, Xiao?" you asked, not once raising your voice. "I told you, nothing is wrong with me--" He finally looked at you, but what he saw next made him stop and all those feelings he had previously dissipated. You weren't crying but tears were certainly threatening to fall as you bit your bottom lip. "I.. (Y/N).."

You shook your head, wiping the tears with your arms before you stare at him right in the eyes. "I was worried, Xiao. I was worried if you were hurt or worse!" you raised your voice, but not in anger. "What did I do to make you mad? Please, tell me!" Your eyes reflected desperation and sadness.

He looks away. He felt bad, knowing that it was wrong of him to lash out at you for something as stupid as feelings.. Feelings that you won't reciprocate.

"It's nothing.." he said, this time, in a calmer tone. "Why won't you tell me?" you asked, reaching your hands to cup his face so that he had no choice but to look at you.

He hesitated. He wasn't sure if it was right to tell you since you were with someone else, and he didn't want to ruin what friendship you two had. But the sadness in your eyes made it hard for him to keep it a secret. "I.. Was jealous.." He confesses, looking down at his lap, face feeling hot in embarrassment.

"Jealous? Of who?" you pushed on. He gulped before saying, "Your.. Boyfriend."

You blinked, confused. Then, "Boyfriend? But I don't have one.." you voiced. Xiao looks up at you, face showing surprise. "What? But that guy with you.. He said.." It took a while but you now soon know who he was referring to.

"Ah, we aren't in a relationship, I promise! When he said date, he was asking for a sparring match really," you explained. "A, and actually, I like you, Xiao.. I have always liked you."

Hearing the confession, Xiao did not wait for a second longer and put a hand behind your head, pushing you closer to him until your lips met with his. It surprised you at first but soon melted into the kiss, eyes fluttering shut. What felt like hours was actually just a few minutes and you two pulled away.

Looking at him, loving his golden eyes that were filled with love for you, you smiled. "Well, let's finish fixing you up."

---

#x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact oneshots #xiao x reader #genshin xiao #xiao oneshot #genshin #gender neutral #xiao fluff #genshin impact xiao #genshin x you #genshin x gender neutral reader

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parchmentedpetrichor · 3 years ago

Text

➳april’s fool ♡

in which fred weasley is in love with y/n l/n, the girl he happens to tease and insult profusely for her attention.

fred weasley x gryffindor!fem!reader

word count: ±4.3k

tw: food, fireworks, pranking, fred being a bully, tad bits of swearing

drop a follow if you wanna see more of this content!!

my masterlist:D

ft. minnie, dumbledore and severus

yeah, your grandmama probably know me

get more bottles, these bottles are lonely

it's a moment when I show up, got 'em sayin', "wow"

april’s fool

“tomorrow is april fools,” dumbledore sighs.

“you know what that means...?” mcgonagall asks, her voice on edge.

“the twins,” snape replies quickly, not even bothered one bit as he sips his dark coffee.

“and their pranks,” dumbledore dramatically rolls over in his armchair.

“okay and?”

“they’re a hazard, severus!” mcgonagall replies.

“that doesn’t stop them.”

“what will stop them?” dumbledore ponders, eyes faint with interest.

“you still have those weird buzzy fireworks right?” snape asks.

“of course.”

“and minnie, you have the cake mix your grandmother gave you?”

“still in my cupboard next to the biscuits.”

“excellent.”

y/n l/n listens from the other side of the door, grinning. she’s been called to mcgonagall’s lavish office for some business she hopes isn’t trouble, but the conversation the three are deeply invested in piques her interest.

she likes fun. the type of continuous laughter and uncontrollable fits of giggles at noon. that’s why she enjoys the pranks the twins play. they’re bold, sharp and reckless and have the undoubtable trademark of fred and george on them.

one too a many times she’s been on the receiving end of them. one time the twins had charmed the library so that she and other studious students could not find any books that they wanted or needed for a whole week.

another time, her hair had been dyed bright pink. she wasn’t a fan of it, but tried her best to rock it. it worked. y/n had received many compliments on her bubblegum pink locks.

she laughed it off a lot. whenever something quite embarrassing happened, it was usually funny.

even the snide remarks the older twin always cast her way.

including the time he called her a blackhead. well, multiple times.

“oi, l/n, looking like a blackhead.”

george had rolled his eyes at his brother before adding kindly, “at least you have nice hair. your tie’s always shiny too.”

she had just laughed, “at least i’ve got the blackhead looks to pull pink hair off, weasley, you can’t even pull off ginger hair, and thanks, georgie. love ya.”

fred had looked taken aback, but y/n still scowls at the memory. she gets she isn’t pretty, but there is a line you don’t cross when trying to insult someone.

he always calls her the most awful nicknames too; body parts that align with her name and random pieces of rubbish she isn’t bothered to remember.

she shakes herself of her thoughts and draws herself up, knocking thrice on the door lightly.

“come in,” mcgonagall’s calm tone beckons.

“good afternoon professors!” she chirps, smiling at all three.

they smile back. even snape. they’re big fans of the girl, who’s studious but mischievous. albus dumbledore has always thought that y/n’s eyes always look like all she’s seen is a beautiful sunset.

“now you must wonder why i called you here,” mcgonagall starts.

“you see, how have you punished the weasley twins when they play all those pranks on you?” dumbledore eagerly asks.

y/n gives a light laugh, “i just prank them back. i won’t get detention for this, right?” she jokes.

they laugh, “of course you will,” snape jokes back and for a second y/n is surprised that severus snape, the ever so cold potions professor, is cracking jokes. especially to her.

“well then, i guess i can’t tell you how i prank them back then,” she drawls dramatically.

“no, no, do tell, we’re, what do you young people say?” mcgonagall pauses, “ahh yes! we’re all ears!”

y/n bursts out laughing, “okay, i usually do something that’s subtle enough but still very noticeable. they need to be anonymous too, or that’ll start prank wars and i’m only looking for short term pleasure really. one time, i dumped a whole bunch of polyjuice potion in both their little goblets. fred became george and george became fred. they were so confused.”

mcgonagall is impressed.

“can you bake?” dumbledore asks and y/n shakes her head for a long time.

“can’t bake for my sanity.”

“awesome. that is what i thought too,” dumbledore answers and y/n smiles.

a single knock sounds. it’s proper and formal.

“come in!” mcgonagall yells.

draco malfoy in all his glory steps into the room, eyes alight with concern, ever so indifferent.

y/n knows him from quidditch. they’ve become relatively good friends, though she thinks he is very busy with his home life. she also knows that there’s more to him than the facade he has.

“afternoon,” he nods and gives a charming smile.

“now, draco, i understand your mother had enrolled you in baking classes,” snape says.

draco nods.

“you must bake a cake,” mcgonagall hands him the cake mix.

she hands y/n the box of fireworks and winks.

“good day professors! make sure to be at breakfast tomorrow!” y/n shouts, dragging draco with her to the kitchens.

soon draco is laughing with y/n, at her atrocious puns and lightly placed jokes, finding himself very much happy. he’s not interested in her romantically, he simply enjoys her company. he’s even sharing some funny stories of his own too.

“...and i told him, to precisely fuck off.”

“so that’s how you deal with him!”

“oh no, he didn’t stop. he kept bugging me.”

“what did you do then?”

“i cast a muffliato charm on him.”

y/n bursts into laughter as they pass the gryffindor common room, quickly hiding the box of fireworks in her cloak as she spots two red heads quietly snickering by the fat lady.

they notice the unlikely pair scurrying down the stairs.

“hey, google eyes!” fred shouts.

y/n doesn’t know fred well enough to decide if that greeting is dedicated to herself, so she continues upon her way.

“weasley,” draco states.

“huh?” y/n fakes oblivion.

draco jerks his head in the way of the twins, where fred is smirking handsomely, leaning against the wall in a model-like fashion.

george is shaking his head in dismay.

“i said googly eyes!” fred shouts again.

y/n won’t lie, she thinks fred has undoubtedly good looks and his ginger hair is cute. he’s just a terrible person. to her, at least. she knows she’s biased, she’s often seen fred comforting ginny after a bad fight with a boyfriend, and from what she’s heard from alicia and angelina and katie, he’s funny too.

she whips out her glasses and stares deadpan at him, before rolling her eyes and running with draco down the stairs, laughing like madmen.

they finish baking late at night, and waving her wand smartly over the cake, y/n produces a charm that will make the fireworks activate as soon as the cake is cut open.

draco smiles as he pipes purple and orange roses, writing a ‘happy bday fred and george’ in chocolate letters.

they add lots of sprinkles, hoping to seem like avid admirers of the twins.

“does miss l/n and misters malfoy need any assistance?” a house elf asks.

draco just about opens his mouth to snap a ‘no’ when y/n gives him a silencing look.

“thank you rosemarie, but that is not needed, you are welcome to watch and talk with us though,” y/n politely answers, giving her a grin.

the house elf sniffles, “miss l/n is too nice! rosemarie will make some hot chocolate for her! pretty hair!”

y/n laughs, “thank you very much, rosemarie. i think mister malfoy would also like some hot chocolate, with a tiny bit of firewhiskey, if that’s alright with you,” she winks at draco who just scoffs in reply.

when they’re finished with the cake and the hot chocolate, y/n enters the gryffindor common room. angelina takes the cake and wraps it up in a box and nice wrapping paper. she sends it flying to the twins’ usual spot on the gryffindor table.

“thanks angie!” y/n smiles, getting up from the cozy spot near the fire in the common room.

“why are you going? we’re staying up till midnight for the twins’ birthday; wanna join?” angelina asks.

y/n shakes her head, “i’m not too close with them, it seems like a rather intimate ceremony,” she keeps her words fluffy and light. really, she would join any birthday celebration, but she didn’t think she could handle the constant insults and annoying comments fred always made about her. and this would have been completely acceptable if she had done something to any one of the weasleys, but she hadn’t. she even regards ginny weasley as a little sister and was invited to one of ginny’s infamous slumber parties. okay, she might have a little crush on him for his joke-ish nature, but it’s nothing she can’t get over. he’s out of her league, for sure, she thinks. and terribly rude. she doesn’t understand why she still harbours those feelings for him. maybe because that time adrian pucey was mocking her for her ‘blood purity’ he stood up for her. or that time she hurt herself at quidditch and fred stayed up with her bandaging her wound. he cared when it mattered, she guesses.

“i’m sure they would love you there.”

“fat chance,” she scoffs, “have a good night!”

she goes to her own dormitory up the stairs. she’s well known in gryffindor house, but for different reasons than the twins may be. although she’s close with angie and alicia, she’s not close with the twins. mainly because she’s always studying, playing quidditch, and doing prefect things.

being on a quidditch team with fred weasley is bearable. mainly because she’s the captain.

she’s stopped by a large hand on her shoulder. the owner of the hand swivels and suddenly a grinning fred is revealed.

“where’re you going?” fred weasley’s annoying voice pronounces.

“the sahara desert,” she snaps back dryly, “you’re in the way of my world exploration.”

“am i, really?”

“‘course,” she reigns her attitude in, “nice night, isn’t it?”

“for you? never.”

she scowls. fred watches in utter amusement as she takes a deep breath and charmingly smiles.

“dearest freddie, will you please allow me to get to my dorm so i can have some sleep?”

fred’s heart skips a little at the nickname but shakes his head.

“what’s the password?”

y/n sighs. “i don’t know. y/n is a blackhead. googly eyes. whatevers.”

fred lets out a loud laugh. y/n finds herself trying hard not to laugh with him.

she turns around, ready to find her hufflepuff friend that has a spare bed in their dormitory, knowing fred is really stubborn.

“that’s not the password.”

“well, good night.” she walks off, before intensely diving in a style harry potter himself would be proud of, onto the stairs and running up the dorms laughing.

fred stands at the bottom of the stairs, dumbfounded, his jaw hanging open.

“close your mouth, flies will be caught,” he heard the giggling voice of y/n.

“close yours and you’ll look better,” he insults back.

“oh shut up. we know i’m the prettier one. and that’s saying something.”

the next morning, fred and george wake up to presents, a rowdy common room, and a nice cake sitting waiting for them on the gryffindor table.

for the first time, y/n takes a seat opposite them, her eyes alight with the familiar mischief they always held. she steals glances at the professors, who were beaming down with interest, as if they shared an inside joke. draco malfoy has an odd smirk on his pale face.

all eyes are on them as they cut open the cake. with a bang, fireworks come flying out of the cake in all directions, sending crumbs and icing flying in the air and leaving soot on the twin’s faces. their ginger hair is covered neatly with white icing and the fireworks continue for a calamitous five minutes. everyone’s too busy laughing and trying to dodge the flying cake to see that y/n l/n and draco malfoy are laughing quietly in a corner together, both with spells like umbrellas.

fred’s eyes, however, are trained on y/n, who’s rolling over in laughter. he quickly casts a scourgify on himself and george, and strides casually over to her and malfoy, the usual lazy smirk on his face as he hears ‘draco ohmygosh that was the best. your cake decos are on point! d’ya think he’ll ever bully me again?’. that confirms his suspicions. she did play this prank on him. and it makes him feel fuzzy inside.

his face then contorts into a frown. she thinks he bullies her?

“i wouldn’t say he bullies you, y/n.”

he smiles. never mind.

“but it isss! i can assure you, there is absolutely nothing nice ‘bout being called a frame!”

fred snorts at the time y/n had been gushing adorably over a picture frame that was embellished with gold and bronze flowers to angelina. he had went over and in an attempt to catch her attention, said ‘you’re a frame’.

sure, he was good at flirting, but not to the girls he really really liked.

“that’s fucking funny,” malfoy laughs.

“oh shut it draco, your face is funny. but yeah, i should probably ask him to start fresh.”

he decides to interrupt their conversation.

“ask who to start fresh?” he butts in.

y/n doesn’t even look surprised, “in fact, you, fred, because i’m not really sure if i’ve done anything wrong to you or anything, and by my memory i don’t think i have and you keep being rude and stuff. if i have, i’m really sorry for it and i’m sorry that i hurt you and all. if we can y’know, start over, and maybe be friends?” she catches the unreadable look in fred’s eyes and hesitates, “or maybe not, that’s okay, we don’t need to!” she gives a small laugh, “er, sorry for ever bringing it up?”

the earnestness of her tone and the wistful look in her eyes makes fred fall a little harder. ever since he saw her nervously fiddling with her robes in first year, he’s been smitten.

there’s a silence. malfoy has slipped off, the sneaky bastard.

fred simply takes y/n’s hand, giving her a look as if to ask for permission.

she swallows and nods.

they’re in the courtyard, which is sunny and light. flowers are blooming everywhere.

“can i kiss you?” fred asks.

y/n’s eyebrows go up. “what?”

“can i kiss you?” fred repeats patiently.

“as in kiss? k-i-s-s?” y/n asks, eyes wide with suspicion and curiosity.

“yep,” he chuckles, “crazy, aren’t i?”

“yeah, you’re crazy.”

“really? can i kiss you?”

“i’ve never really kissed anyone.”

“i guessed that.”

her eyebrows furrowed in hurt, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

“i’ll tell you if you let me kiss you.”

“there better be a good reason because i was saving it for someone special.”

“i need a yes, love.”

she huffs, “yes.” she won’t tell him that she has a crush on him, because to be honest, she still isn’t sure if this is a prank or not.

she surprised when fred tilts her head up ever so gently, a smile on his face.

this kiss is short and sweet. he tastes like cinnamon.

when they’ve let go, fred notices the light pink dusted over her cheeks. he smirks.

“you have to tell me why you thought i’ve never kissed anyone,” she said, eyes flashing in deep thought.

“such a beautiful person as you does not deserve kisses from anyone.”

“...”

fred took this as a sign to go on. “the reason i’ve always teased you endlessly is because i want your attention. i didn’t think you’d give it to me any other way. if you haven’t noticed, i’m in love with you. i think you’re absolutely beautiful, both ways. i love it when you frown and get annoyed, even if you rarely do, i love it when you study so hard your face makes this really concentrated look. i love it especially when you laugh and smile and joke and play pranks. even if they’re on me.”

“...” she was studying his movements. inside her brain, a frenzy was going on. part of her brain- the ever so optimistic part, was screaming happily, and the logical part was using body language to analyse whether he was lying or not.

eyes? their honey brown colour was glistening with affection and truth, an expression so dainty on his face.

a quaint little smile was on his lips, a small one, a genuine one. it was different to all the other smiles she’d seen him smile.

he wasn’t acting, she decided. if he was, he should take up a job in broadway.

“y/n?”

her brows were furrowed. she’d never been confessed to as genuinely as this before.

if they started this type of relationship would he still be mean and insult her all the time?

“i-i need time. to figure this out.”

he doesn’t look disappointed, she thinks. instead he looks down at her with... adoration?

“of course, sweetness, anything, i’ll wait for you.”

she smiles, “thank you, freddie.”

☆

it’s been a few days since fred’s confessed to her. she’s still unsure if he was joking or not. why?

at this moment, she’s watching him giggle with angelina johnson. it seems like he’s forgotten everything and anything. he’s gotten closer to her. maybe he’s lost feelings for y/n? she can’t blame angie, she’s a wonderful girl. if he likes her, that’s fine too. suddenly her feelings for him become very clear. she like-likes him. and it’s a bit too late.

but maybe he doesn’t like angie in that way? maybe he’s still into her?

y/n knows molly weasley raises her children with patience. she should trust that fred’s waiting for her.

but then again, she’s never gonna be as special as angie johnson. she’s just a ever so polite and outgoing nerd. someone who’s foolish enough to prank. angie’s smart, confident and funny and terribly patient. and effortlessly beautiful. she’s got the true gryffindor touch. and angie’s been one of fred’s best friends since day one. she’s always gonna be number 1.

that’s ok. she’ll accept it. she likes angie anyway. it was probably a joke anyway.

she couldn’t be jealous, just a bit dismayed that it wasn’t genuine. whatever, she thinks. we can just go back to how we were before. or not.

and it’s relatively easy. they never really saw much of each other anyway. she’ll get over this tiny little liking.

it’ll just be like normal. none of this happened. none of it. she grimaces bitterly, damning fred for his stupid games. should’ve known this was another of his pranks. but his acting though, certainly very good.

she smiles to herself.

“knock it off, y/n, you’re here to learn, not to love.”

and that answer, is satisfactory.

she gets up from her spot on the gryffindor table rather abruptly, saying goodbye to her friends, and makes her way to the kitchens. she knows she won’t be alone, she’ll talk to hansel and gretel, the twins that cook with the house elves every dinner.

they’re cleaning up as she walks in, book in hand.

“hi hans, g!” she calls, as she rolls up the sleeves of her sweater to help them with the dishes.

“y/n!” gretel gives her a hug with soapy arms and y/n giggles.

“how are both of you?” y/n asks.

“good, good, potions though...” hansel trails off and they all laugh.

“potions is always like that,” y/n agrees, “it’s supposed to be really hard for newts, so you can’t really blame the subject.”

“i’m thinking of dropping divination,” gretel says.

“yeah, that’s wise, gretel buns,” hansel teases and gretel scowls.

“divination is an easy subject, gretel, you just need to make random stuff up. i saw this weird bear thing in polly’s tea leaves, it wasn’t in the textbook. i told trelawney it was a symbol that a stranger would come and whip polly off her feet, with a whip the colour of the rarest german emeralds, leaving her absolutely smitten. i got full marks,” y/n laughs.

they laugh too, and soon a light flowing conversation is shared over cups of hot chocolate.

this is repeated for quite a few days and y/n even invites polly, marla and lenox, her best friends, to join. it’s a delicate, nice kind of week, one that suits her current struggles.

when the weekends roll around, hansel and gretel suggest that they all sit at the hufflepuff table. they share jokes and quips over the food, y/n reading a book as she bites happily into apple pie.

“pfft,” her lips upturn ever so slightly at the quote that the character makes.

fred watches her from the gryffindor table, utterly confused. y/n’s been avoiding him. he sees the flashes of hurt that run through her eyes whenever she sees him, and the quick grin that’s far too fake that follows. she’s been reading a lot more and he never sees her anymore.

he wonders what he’s doing wrong. so as he sees her walking with her friends to hogsmeade, he calls for her.

“y/n!”

her friends giggle as they see him, but she gives him a fleeting glance and raises her eyebrows at them, shaking her head, before profusely apologising to each one of them.

she approaches him warily, with all practicality in mind. she leads with her heart, but her head protects her.

fool me once, shame on you.

fool me twice, shame on me.

“you’ve been avoiding me,” he states.

“what would you expect?” she snaps, “isn’t this all a good laugh for you anyway?”

“what’s that supposed to mean?”

“you know what i mean, this was all a joke, wasn’t it? fooling my poor little heart which you know has a crush on you. my head simply won’t allow it. admit it, and we can both move on with our lives,” her tone is sharp and cold, her eyes burning with fury and hurt, “i may seem gullible, and i am,” she gave a short laugh, “but when i notice, don’t even try to lie.”

“this wasn’t a joke, love.”

“don’t call me that, and you and i both know it is. your acting though, absolutely superb!”

“what makes you think this was a prank, y/n? you were the one who asked for time.”

“yes, and the time made me realise that i had feelings for you despite all the teasing AND the fact you couldn’t possibly be genuine!” y/n says exasperatedly, her fury dissolving quickly, “you looked so in place with angie and everyone that it’s so obviously some sort of fun thing you did to try to get back at me!”

“angie?”

“a-and everyone else.”

“angie?” fred’s eyes were amused.

“you know, angelina, as in johnson.”

“angie?”

y/n shrugs, “you did bring her to the yule ball last year.”

“angie??!!!” fred was full on smirking now, as if trying to receive a real response.

“i think you like her, okay?! are we done here? i’d very much like a good book from f&b,” y/n sighs.

“i’ll accompany you to flourish and botts. why would you think i like her? didn’t i just confess to you?”

“yeah but it seemed kinda...” y/n trails off, not wanting her insecurities to come off as compliment fishing, “kinda far-fetched.”

“meaning?” fred knows exactly what she means.

“you know!”

“oh but i don’t,” he smiles innocently.

“well, you’re you!”

“is that supposed to be an insult?” he asks, faking a look of hurt rather well as y/n looks alarmed.

“no, no, as in, you’re nice to look at, and you’ve always insulted me and been so nice and cool to everyone. are you for real?”

“nice to look at?” a cocky grin is on his face now, much more noticeable than the slight blush that was creeping up his face.

“is that the only thing you could pick up?”

“nice to look at? what’s up with me repeating myself today?”

y/n lets out an agitated sigh. he doesn’t know, he’s blunt and straightforward. she likes cushioning her words.

“y’know, handsome? good looking?”

“my middle names.” another smirk to conceal the blushing.

y/n smiles. “of course, everyone knows it.”

it makes fred uncomfortable. her light tone is a bit menacing too.

“only joking.”

“i’m sure everyone does know it, darling.”

y/n is too busy looking at the dog that passes by to hear him, rambling quietly to herself over the cute scottish terrier.

“sorry, what was that?”

“aren’t i cuter than the dog?”

“nup.”

“really?” fred casually slings an arm over y/n’s shoulders, having to stoop a little lower to reach her.

“i think so.”

“well i’ll tell you something love, i think you’re absolutely stunning.”

“some love potion you’re on.”

“uh huh, the love potion is called love, sweetness.”

“so you’re for real?”

“as real as you and me.”

“you’re cheesy. this isn’t a prank right?”

“not at all, i love you.”

“i-i don’t think i love you just yet, but i think it’s possible,” y/n bites her lip, anxiously awaiting his response.

she tilts her head to look at him.

he’s beaming. he looks more handsome than ever, a sweet smile etched on his face as he looks down at her in utter adoration.

“you have a crush on me!” he pulls her into a hug and giggles like a little girl, kissing the top of her head.

she’s engulfed by the smell of burning wood and cinnamon and immediately feels safe in his strong arms.

“how’d you say we go on a date? so i can show how sorry i am for all the times i called you googly eyes and played pranks on you.”

“i’ll check to see if the girls are okay with it,” y/n replies, turning her head to see her friends. they’re gone.

“they are. i asked them to shoo off before i approached you. is that a yes?”

y/n nods, “of course, freddie.”

“i love you.”

she laughs, “you really are april’s fool.”

“i’m your april’s fool.”

he buries his nose in the crook of her neck to stop her from seeing his blushing red face.

#fredweasley #fred weasley x y/n #frederick weasley #fred weasley x reader #gryffindor #hansel and gretel #fanfic #harry potter #hogwarts #hufflepuff #angelina johnson #alicia spinnet #y/n #harrypotter #hogsmeade

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valeskakingdom · 4 years ago

Note

since we were talking about candy in the groupchat, what about jerome and reader being at the circus or a festival and reader insisting on trying every candies and snacks? or maybe that would be jerome? haha (of course, ignore if you want to! :))

No it's alright! I think I do it before Jerome became crazy tho. Still I think I mention the abusive relationship and the big hatred Jerome feels for her. Get ready for a little surprise ahaha!

This time it's a very short one tho (my opinion)

Credit: @daily-joker

Jerome x Reader

Warnings: short mention of violence and abuse, otherwise none

Word count: 2139

It was 4ish in the afternoon.

You were excited - finally you see your lover again: the ginger circus boy Jerome Valeska. He meant everything to you, you couldn't without him. In your opinion you and him had almost the perfect relationship. You've never argued, you supported each other, helped each other... It was magical. Both of you, Jeromeor you, could never think it. You and arguing? About what? There was nothing to argue about. You know he would never cheat on you, nor would you. Your feelings for each other were way to strong.

But yes, as you've heard - your relationship was almost perfect.

The crux of the matter were your habits. You lived in a small apartment near the Narrows with a non exciting view to the outside - you just saw damaged houses, trash filled the streets, and just a few people walked outside.

And Jerome - he lived at the circus. Always travelling, always far away from you. Just at the beginning of spring you were able to see him, otherwise you were required to send letters - and you did it, day by day until you both knew everything about each other. You knew, he didn't like the circus - mainly because of his mother Lila Valeska, the snake dancer. In your opinion, she was a whore who abused his own flesh and blood. She was beating Jerome, yelling and punishing him for nothing. It made you cry, thinking your love of your life was living in such horrible conditions. Several times you offered him to live with him but he always declined. He said if he left his mum would find him and kill him. Then you offered him to move to the circus but even that he declined. He said he couldn't forgive himself if his mother laid a finger on you - kind of understandable.

***

You made your way quick to the circus. You didn't want to waste your time, you couldn't wait any longer to see you. You wanted to hug him, kiss the shit outta him, wanted to smell on his cologne that smelled like a mix of candies and the classy men perfume. It satisfied all your senses, you were literally addicted to it.

After you quickly parked in front of the circus, you made your way fast to enter it. You didn't even need to buy a ticket, every artist knew you as Jerome pretty little doll. That was the nickname he usually gave you when he was non stop talking about you.

On the entrance, you saw the Ringmaster seemingly looking for something. His head permanently moved from one side to another and he had a questioning look on his face. It changed though as he saw you. A little smile went over his face and waved at you, he had some empathy for you which was not natural.

"Great to see you (Y/n)."

"Thank you," you gave him a warm smile "Was just looking for Jerome."

"Might be in his trailer. Probably arguing with his mother again. I heard them yelling." He shrugged clueless.

You just sighed in response, you knew what that meant. You'd find Jerome being beaten up in his room, his pretty face was covered in bruises and he'd try to overplay everything although he'd love to cry into your shoulder.

Immediately, you made your way to his trailer, almost running. You hoped he was fine and nothing that bad has happened yet.

Your feeling was wrong.

You saw him sitting in front of the trailer. He was crawled into himself like a little girl that was scared of getting punched but one of its parents again - what a cliche.

You couldn't see whether he was crying yet or not - you just hoped he didn't.

You hope was all gone as you came nearer, you heard him sobbing and sniffing. Fuck, you thought. Your felt sorry for him, you couldn't stand him being so sad. It made you sad, you just wanted to cry. You couldn't see him like that. Your heart felt heavy, breathing became a burden, pins and needles were all over your skin, tears were built up in your eyes at you were trying to hold back.

"Jerome-" Your breathe hitched as he looked up at you - his eyes were puffy and red from crying and his face...oh lord. He had a black eye, a red swollen lip with a bloody cut You almost didn't date to ask. You knew he didn't like taking about it "Wha-what has happened?"

"Had a little argument with my mum and her one off bozo." He shrugged sniffing and looked at the ground.

You couldn't understand Lila, you couldn't understand anybody who ever abused someone like that. Did they have fun destroying someone's life?! Did she love seeing her son hurt?

Saying nothing you took a seat next to him. You took his hand tangling your fingers in your and rubbed circles with your thumb slowly as you rested your head on his shoulder. You tried to calm him down with that. You knew words were useless. You could start this typical encouragement like everything's gonna be better bla bla. You and he knew it was not true and making him falso hope wouldn't help at all.

You both said nothing for a while. You gave him time to clear his head that he could calm down. You didn't want to annoy him with any stupid words or thoughts as well.

"I wanna kill her." Jerome said all of a sudden "She should feel the pain she causes me."

You gulped in surprise. You've never heard him saying like this before, he sounded so serious about it what kinda scared you. Was he serious about it? No he wasn't, right? Jerome was too adorable to be a criminal. He was surely just upset about the stuff his mother does to him and he doesn't know what he's sayinh.

"I just can offer you to stay with me, Jerome. You'd be save, no mother, no violent bozos. There'd be just you and me."

"Soon I will. I promise." He wiped his tears from his cheeks.

"Just say a word and I help you packing." You just kissed his cheek give him a little smile. It was the first time he said this. Now you were assured he really wanted to do all these things you've planned once: Living together, a wedding, kids.

Jerome looked at you now. His gaze met yours, a small smile was built up in his actually face. He was relieved. He was thankful you offered him a place to say although the he permanently denied it. He was thankful to have you by his side. You were his only supporter, and the most intense one.

"I love you," Jerome grabbed your cheeks softly and pulled you into a deep kiss. You couldn't help but smile as your lips touched softly.

"I love you, too." You said against his lips with a smile making him smile, too. You were thinking now. What could you do to make him feel better? Sex was no option for you - well, not right now. You wanted to give him the feeling of freedom, that he could do what he wanted or that he could be a normal teenager like you. You wanted to do something stupid with him. Something like buying tons of food like trying to win the biggest soft animal or taking silly photos of each other. You just wanted to see him happy again.

Then you had an idea.

You grabbed his hand and pulled him after you while you both stood up. Probably that was gonna be one of your most stupid ideas but it was fun. It was childish. Maybe he would even call you dumb but you didn't care. You just wanted to make him love and letting him forget all his problems.

"What are you doing?" Jerome frowned as he wiped the last few tears out of his face.

"I wanna cheer you up, silly." You giggled and kept walking "Have you ever eaten every sort of candies here Or every snack you can buy here?"

"What?"

"Yes or no?"

"Uhm...no? What are you-..."

"Time for changes." You smirked "We now go buy every single candy and every kind of fast food they offer here. Then we go out anywhere and eat them all up and vote what's the best and the worst one."

"Are you serious?" Jerome asked on disbelief.

"I'm anything but joking." You stopped walking giving him a stern look "So you're in?"

"I don't know," Jerome shrugged with a sigh "I'm just not in the mood for anything."

Instead of saying something, you pulled him into a tight hug and buried your face into the crook of his neck. At first, he didn't hug you back, just stood there; sad, unmotivated, pissed. You didn't mind about it. You could understand how he felt. Being beaten up and insulted almost every day had to be horrible. It was a living hell.

After a few minutes though, you felt Jerome slowly wrapping his arms around. His head was leaned against yours, one of his hands was placed on the back of your head and his fingers were tangled in your hair. You felt how he pulled you more against him. He needed you, more than before - more than anything right now.

"I hate seeing you like that, Jerome." You mumbled "I just want you to be happy or at least forget all these bad things for a moment. I know it's hard, but I just wanna help you, okay?"

"I know...thank you for that." Jerome kissed your head, then looked at you giving you a little smile making you smile, too.

"Anytime for you," You pecked his lips "So...does that mean you're in?"

"Do we really have to eat all candies?"

"Yes! That's the fun on it," You chuckled "How about we rate the candies? Criteria are taste and consistence. C'mon that'll be fun!"

"Fineee." He rolled his eyes with a slight laughter. You were glad. You were glad seeing him smiling, hearing him laughing a little. His eyes weren't full of tears anymore, he didn't look sad not like he was about to have a nervous break down. He looked like the funny and happy Jerome you got to know.

***

"What about Twinkies?" You ask as you and Jerome took a bite in it as you both sat n the back seats of your car. You really did it. You bought every candy that existed at the circus. Pop tarts, Nerds, Sour Patch, Twizzlers...everything.

In your eyes it was a good idea doing that. Not because you were obsessed with candies, you just wanted to distract Jerome - and it worked. He was laughing more, he was making jokes, making you smile. Exactly how you wanted it.

"I would say...hm...taste is 7 out of 10, consistence 8." Jerome said thinking "Makes 7.5"

"I agree," You said giving him the cotton candy "Now let's try this." You both took a bite in it.

"Taste is 8 out of 10, consistence is...6."

"Really? Just a 6? It's an 8 as a minimum." You frowned in disbelief. He can't be serious, can he?

"It's too fibrous."

"Well, that's the sense of cotton candy." You rolled your eyes "You aren't a cotton candy type, are you?"

"I just don't like this one. Its just made bad," He grabbed the pop tarts opening them "Now let's try these." And again you both took a bite in it.

"Fight me but 10 out of 10! Both criteria!" You insisted instantly.

"Agreed." Jerome nodded "I think they are my favorites."

"Hm," You pursed your lips thinking "I can't decide between Twizzlers and Pop Tarts." You really couldn't. You loved the frosted chocolate in Pop Tarts, and oh the cookie! The cookie was amazing. But Twizzlers... You loved the strawberry flavor. It was perfect! Not too sour, not too sweet, not bitter. Both were your favorite flavors.

"Let's try them again." Jerome eagerly grabbed the Twizzlers pack and ate some "Definitely Pop Tarts."

"Are you sure? They are both so... delicious and-..."

"I'm more than sure," Jerome interrupted me with a slight chuckle "Trust me, Pop Tarts are the best."

"Okay fine, Pop Tarts are the winner." You smirked eating up the rest of Pop Tarts. You admitted, he was right. Pop Tarts ARE the best.

"By the way," Jerome started scratching his head "Thank you."

"Anytime." you smiled kissing his soft and red lips. You accomplished what you wanted - he was happy again because of your silly idea "And next time we rate fast food."

"I'm in."

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wolfish-trickster · 4 years ago

Text

Old oak tree

Loki x female!reader

Word count: 2,3K+

Warning: typos, angst, itsi bitsi fluff at the end

Tag list: @gaitwae @lucywrites02 @hard-to-be-the-bard @birdgirl90 @laramoonworld @forevernthensome @kozkaboi

"So, what do you think?" Loki asked spreading his arms and showing you his new outfit.

You shrugged. "Looks good to me."

"Don't you think it's too much?" he checked himself in your mirror.

"Is anything EVER too much for you?" you asked with a smirk.

"I just...I really like her and I don't want to mess up."

"You won't, trust me," you reassured him.

He hugged you tightly, to your surprise. "What would I do without such a friend like you?"

The younger prince bolted from your room faster than you could answer. You sighed and closed the doors after him so no one could hear your heart breaking, again.

You and Loki were friends. Best friends actually. But you started to to see him more than that years ago. And you hated it.

You already accepted the fact he'll see you as only his supportive friend. If only he could stop asking you to help him woo his love interests. He always asked your opinion on everything. Flowers, his outfits, gifts he wanted to give them.

Once he even asked to kiss you so he could practice. It was in general your and his first kiss ever. Your head spinned when your life long best friend and crush in one person gently placed his lips on yours, his tongue sliding to your mouth. When he pulled away he just mumbled simple 'thanks' and ran away, leaving you flustered and with a face on fire under your favourite tree. At first you often sat under that old oak, remembering the feeling and smiling to yourself. However with every new interest of Loki you started to avoid the poor tree. Hate it even. You hated how it represented how you foolishly threw away your first kiss.

You still stood by Loki. What else could you do? Confess your feelings? As if that'll help.

You started to see pattern in his interests and you never managed to tic the boxes. You were only average among everything; intelligence, looks, skills. There were hundred and one people who were exactly like you. Loki would never choose you over a noble woman or man he was used to courting.

Now, when you were finally alone, you could think about what are you going to do about your never ending crush. You layed down on your bed and stared at your white ceiling. You already tried to avoid him in hopes you will loose your feelings for him, that didn't work. You wrote down every negative thing about him, trick your mind he isn't a good boyfriend material. Didn't work either since he is the kindest person you've ever met. And the gentlest. And nicest. With the most beautiful smile and eyes. And arms that give the coziest hugs.

"Fuck," you whispered and closed your eyes. It always ended like this. No matter how much you tried, you could never see him as something less than a great person he was.

Suddenly you heard his melodic laughter under your windows. As well as some girl's. You couldn't take it anymore.

"You know what? If he can date around, so can I!" you told yourself in pure desperation to get rid of the jealousy and pain from knowing he will never love you.

First thing you did was hiding everything he gave you as a child, every little trinket you cherished in false thought he's starting to catch feelings for you. You removed all of it from your shelves and put in a big box sliding it under your bed.

There, now onto the more complicated part: the oak of your very first kiss. Your heart ached with every step you took towards it. It was already old and not so full of life like it used to be. Its bark was dry and overgrown with moss. The poor thing didn't have enough energy to grow its leaves as viscoulsy like few years ago. No one visited it anymore. It was lonely just like you.

"Looks like you're few years from death, old buddy," you patted its trunk. "Let's end your missery now."

You were on your way back to your room holding a little pot filled with soil. Nothing was growing out yet, but in few months you were expecting a small oak sappling to grow. You couldn’t say goodbye to your old wooden friend just yet.

There, deep in halls, sounds are resonating. Sounds you soon came to hate. Kissing, Loki chuckling, some woman moaning, door closing.

You sadly looked down at the pot and took the biggest diversion to your room, avoiding coming any near Loki's bedroom.

Few days later you still avoided Loki. That time was the first time he had brought anyone to his bedroom to do....that. It was good he didn't ask you to practice on you. If he did, you would've.... you don't know what would you do. Probably panic first and get angry next.

While Loki was, let's say, occupied you got closer to one soldier, Arne. He was kind, tall, ginger with freckles and very skilled fighter. He wasn't the smartest but he had a sense of humor and always tried to make you laugh. He wasn't Loki though, but it didn't matter. At least you kept yourself busy, so your heart could heal.

Right now you were in stables with Arne. He was telling you how he got his first horse when he finished his soldier training few decades back. You were braiding his mare's mane as he stood right beside you, his shoulder lightly touching yours. Everything was at peace.

"Y/N! Y/N, WHERE ARE YOU?" came Loki's voice.

Almost everything.

You turned your head towards his voice. He was rushing towards you until he stopped when he noticed Arne standing so close to you.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked a little irritated.

"Well-"

"It doesn't matter, I have to show you something," he took you by the hand and started dragging you out of the stables only for you to slip your hand from his and hugging Arne. "See you tomorrow," you waved him goodbye and walked out, Loki trailing after you.

"So, what is it you wanted to show me?"

"What the Hel was that?" he pointed at you and behind him at the stables, completely ignoring your question.

"A hug. Why?"

"Since when are you hugging random soldiers? And since when are you even hanging out with low ranking soldiers like Hofferson?"

"His first name is Arne, and I'm allowed to hug whoever I want. Same goes for hanging out. Now are you going to show me the thing or can I return to him?"

"Right," he remember, took your hand again and ran to gardens. To the familiar now empty corner. "Look what some bastard did," he pointed at the wide oak stump.

"Yeah, I know."

"You do? Oh, darling," he threw his arms around you. You fought with yourself internally to not hug him back, but being close to him after a very long time felt just too good not to give in.

"I'm so sorry. I know it was your favourite tree. I will find the culprit and-"

"You don't have to," you interrupted and pulled yourself away from him.

"I do! That tree meant a lot to me too. I was actually working on a spell to bring life into it again."

"And how exactly did it mean a lot to you? I never saw you even near that tree."

Loki stuttered. "E-ehm, we had our first kiss underneath it."

"As if that meant anything to you," you muttered.

"What?"

"I said it was old and it had to be cut down."

"Well you could've asked me before you killed it," he spat rather angrily.

"My family planted it, I get to do whatever I want with it!"

"Did it mean so little to you?"

"No. On the contrary, it meant the world to me! That's why I had to cut it down!"

"What? Why? I don't understand you," he shook his head.

"Well excuse me for wanting to destroy the biggest thing that reminded me how my best friend stole my first kiss!"

"Stole? I asked and you complied!" Loki defended himself.

You groaned. "Okay fine, you didn't steal it, I lost it. Now can I go back to Arne?"

"Lost it?! Have you got any idea how many people would murder for a kiss from a prince? And why do you want to go to Arne so desperatelly? You never talked to soldiers before, so why the change of heart?"

"I like him, he's nice and courageous and-"

"I forbid it."

"What?!" you couldn't believe your ears.

"I forbid it. You can't whore around with soldiers like him, think about your reputation!" he crossed his arms infront of him.

"Whore around? Look who's talking! You've had at least 5 lovers in the past month!"

"T-that's different."

"And how exactly is it different, Loki?"

"I-"

You waited. Nothing came out of him.

"That's what I thought."

Few days passed, you continued avoiding Loki and he started to close off from everyone. Occasionally you saw some green sparkles in a shape of a person sitting on the oak stump. You figured that must be Loki under cloaking spell. All you wanted to do was run to him and hug him, he looked so depressed and lonely. Just like you were when you saw him with all those lovers in the past.

You felt bad for him. But you doubted he felt bad for you back then. Or now. So you always walked pass him, pretending you didn't notice him.

*knock knock*

You looked up from watering your growing oak sapling. Who could it be? You weren't expecting anyone. "Who's there?"

"Guess," came a dull voice.

You put away your watering kettle and hid the pot behind courtains. "Come in, Loki."

He stepped inside wearing one of his ordinary clothes, his hair wasn't slicked back like he used to style it and he had apologetic expression on his face.

"Y/N, I came to apologize."

Loki is apologizing. Now that's new. "What for?" you asked teasingly.

He sighed. "For saying you were whoring around. It wasn't right from me," he pulled out your favourite flower from behind his back, "friends?"

You took the flower. "Okay, friends."

Loki clapped his hands excitedly. "Great, now that we're at good terms with eachother I-"

"No!" you silenced him. You knew there had to be a catch. He made up with you just so he could ask you for help. Just like always.

"You don't even know what I was about to say."

"Oh, I think I do. You want me to give you advices again. Well, guess what? That's not happening. So you can, as mortals say, do 180 and walk out that door," you pointed behind him to your bedroom door.

Loki held out his hands in surrender. "I wasn't going to ask you that! I just want to talk."

"Oh," now you felt stupid. "Okay, a little talk never killed anyone I guess."

"Thank you," he let his hands fall down and took a walk around your room. "I see you were redecorating," he noticed all of his trinkets he gave you were gone. He assumed you most likely threw them out or burned them. Just the thought of it hurt him.

"Yeah," you hugged your arms to comfort yourself. "I still have them, I just didn't want to look at them anymore."

He turned towards you. "Why? First the tree, then my little gifts. What's next, me?" he joked to ease both your and his growing anxiety.

You chuckled lightly and shook your head. "No, don't worry."

He walked to you and put his hand on your shoulders. "Then why? We're best friends, right? We can tell eachother everything."

"That's exactly what I can't do," you grabbed his hand on your shoulder and slowly removed them.

"Why? Do you... do you hate me?"

"What? Heavens no! I could never hate you!"

He sighed from relief. "Good. But then why? I can't think of a single reason you would do those things. Wait. On a second thought," he held his chin between his thumb and index finger and looked down like he always does when he was thinking. He shook his head then and chuckled to himself. "No, that's absurd. You could never be in love with me."

You involuntarily tensed up. He noticed.

"Or could you?"

Tears started burning in your eyes as you nodded. "Sorry."

"For how long?"

After few minutes of thinking you shook your head. "I don't remember when it happened. It just happened."

"Well, when did you realise then? That you...you know? Are in love with me?"

"Few days before the oak kiss, I guess."

"But that was decades ago! This long time and I never saw," he facepalmed.

"And you...?" you asked hopefully. Maybe he will tell you he loves you too, right?

He sighed. "I'm sorry Y/N. I love you, but not like that. You have always been like a little sister I always wanted."

You nodded. Of course he doesn't love you like that. How even could he? You turned away from him and let some tears escape.

"Y/N, I'm so sorry," he rubbed your back. "We can still be friends. Nothing will change between us. I promise."

But it already did. Everything changed for you. How could you even look him in the eye?

You wiped away your tears and put on a perfectly rehearsed fake smile. "Okay, I can work with that," you offered him your hand, "friends?"

Instead of shaking it he hugged you. "Friends."

You hugged him back and let your fake smile fall. Your naive little self told you he will change his mind in the future. You are already so close with eachother. Closer than anyone you know. It's just a matter of time. For now, you can only dream.

#loki x reader #loki laufeyson #loki fluff #loki angst #loki x female reader #loki x reader angst #my writer's block is finally gone and I can write again!#wohooo!#loki oninson #loki laufejarson #loki

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uncensored-aj · 3 years ago

Text

Heat Wave

———

(A/n: This is a part two to a very self indulgent fic I wrote while sleep deprived at work. I’m once again tired and figured this would be fun to write to see how my skills have improved if at all. Warning: This is very extremely self indulgent and references many characters I like from tons of different fandoms… which ones can you recognize?)

———-

It was too fucking hot. That was the only coherent thing running through The Cashier’s head as the day went by.

While she tried her best to stay busy and still functional, the heat was unforgiving. Yet, she pressed on anyway, trying to stay in a pleasant mood.

It was a bit of a slow day so far. Most people were either at the nearby lake or river, or just at home enjoying time with family and friends over barbecues, sunscreen, and bonfires soon to come when the evening set in.

The Cashier was busy stocking shelves when the sound of the automatic door caught her attention. The person grabbed a bottle of water from the freezer and a pack of gum. It took her a second to notice him standing awkwardly at her register… most people around here seemed to be in a rush and demanded her attention immediately.

“Hey, how are ya?”

As she went behind the counter, she finally got a good look at the quiet customer. He was taller than her, but she was short for her age so that wasn’t saying much. He had a grumpy disposition, and the most noticeable thing was his bright ginger hair.

“Hot. Too hot.” He grumbled, responding to her question a few seconds to late. He grabbed a bag of chips from a rack, opening them and grabbing a few before shoving the bag at her so she could scan it.

“This heat is a real bitch today, isn’t it? They need to fix the AC here…” She trailed off, noticing his tanktop… or more notably, how he was kind of jacked. Her face burned when he gave her a strange look.

“That’ll be four fifty.” She muttered.

He payed with cash, his change exact.

“Stay cool out there today…” The cashier smiled, finally getting a smile in return.

“Be seeing you…” He muttered in response.

……

A little later, the sun was just on the cusp of setting when a couple came through the door.

The man had shaggy, dirty blonde curls and the woman had diamond tattoos adorning her arms.

“Hiya, little red.” The girl grinned, handing the cashier a deck of playing cards and two sodas.

Her bubbly personality and beauty made The Cashier’s face burn. She knew her face was as bright as her hair.

“Hey, hun, how are you?” She replied sheepishly.

“You look like you could use some good old fashioned rest and recreation. We were thinking about hopping a rich guy’s fence and swimming in his pool tonight when he’s nor home. You should come with us, join the circus, live a little.” The man piped up, his grin noticeably more wolfish than his partner’s.

The cashier knew that was odd, but honestly her thoughts were in more… romantic places. She imagined the attractive couple taking her in, the adventures they would have… the trouble they would get into…

The sound of their receipt printing broke her out of her trance.

“Here ya go… you guys stay out of trouble.”

“Hey, 11:30… the rich guy who lives two streets over will be gone… we’ll be there if you wanna come.” The girl said, bidding the cashier a good evening.

….

As it got dark, the minutes ticked by like hours. The Cashier struggled to stay awake.

Then something happened that made any ounce of tiredness go running for the hills.

He walked in.

‘The man with the hat’ was a bit of an urban legend around the store. He never came in during the day, and he always said cryptic shit that made her coworkers a little afraid of him. And, like the nickname suggested, he always wore a fedora. No one else really liked him but The Cashier adored him. His cryptic behavior and general weirdness were endearing to her.

He disappeared into the isles for a long while before returning with his usual box of razorblades, and he looked pissed.

“Why the long face?” The Cashier asked.

“It’s hot. I don’t like the heat.” He grumbled.

“Oh, come on… it’s not so bad. I’ve seen you buy potting soil and seeds from here… I bet your plants are loving the sunshine we’re getting lately.” The Cashier grinned.

The man with the hat grinned back.

“Yeah… I guess they are. Did you know that there’s a flower called the corpse flower that smells like a dead body? It’s fifteen feet wide and even warm to the touch…” He said conspiringly.

Aaaaand, there it was. The cryptic comments he made were always the best. They always kept her on her toes.

“Wow… that’s… weird…” she said, not sure what to say.

He grinned wider.

“I’ll see you around, darlin’… have a good night.”

…..

Before she knew it, The Cashier had successfully gotten through another day on the job, and with no incidents on her record. She locked the store, heading home to get ready for some well needed recreation.

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brighteyes29 · 4 years ago

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Bechloe week 2021, Day 2

A/N: I don’t know why my friend Tumblr here puts such big spaces between paragraphs, I couldn’t fix it, so… Try to ignore it. This is Bechloe week day 2, pitches. I hope you like this one. Might publish it on ff.net or wattpad as a fic, but for now it is a one-shot.

Summary: Beca, Chloe and Amy are moving to L.A., so Beca could pursue her career and be away from Jesse. The three girls are roommates. Chicago doesn’t exist here ‘cause this is set after Pitch Perfect 2, not 3. So yeah. It is more interesting than it sounds, I just don’t know how to describe it without spoiling anything.

This happened right after graduation. Beca wanted to move to Los Angeles, so she can pursue with her career and be away from her ex, Jesse. The DJ just needed a change, but she didn’t want to be alone. She brought her best friends Chloe and Fat Amy with her. Like most of the other Bellas, Aubrey didn’t want to leave the city and quit her current job, which she loved, but she promised she’ll come to visit the three girls often, when she could.

“It’s such a shame that Aubrey couldn’t be here with us. I’m going to miss her.” - Chloe sighed, as the three girls were walking towards the street, where their rented apartment was supposed to be. Beca was right next to the ginger, they were holding hands despite the brunette’s complaints.

“I’m not.” - Beca replied, but both girls next to her knew she was kidding.

“Oh, come on, Bec.” - Chloe looked at her friend. “I know you will. You and Aubrey might not always be on the best terms, but-

“I know, I was kidding.” - the brunette cut her friend off. “I just had to say that. You know me.” - Beca smirked.

“We’re here!” - Fat Amy announced, when she looked up from the map she was looking at on her phone. “Are you ready for us, L.A.?” - she yelled, before entering the building. Her friends laughed and followed after her.

“Which floor should the apartment be on?” Beca said what all three girls were thinking.

“I keep in touch with the cute landlord, let me check.” - Amy opened her Messenger app and scrolled a bit, until she found the landlord’s profile. “Floor 6, lesss go!” - the blonde rushed up the stairs. Beca and Chloe had a hard time catching up with her. She must really be into that landlord of theirs.

When the girls reached the sixth floor, a handsome guy was waiting for them there. He wore a beautiful smile and he had a toothpick in his mouth. He had shoulder-length brown, curly hair and brown eyes. He saw the girls looking around a bit, so he said:

“Right here, ladies!” - he greeted them with a hand and helped them with their luggage. “You’re my new renters, yeah?” - he asked. The boy had an irresistible Australian accent.

“We surely are now…” - Amy looked at him from head to toe.

“Oh, another Australian. There aren’t too many of us here, so it’s nice to see a friendly face.” - the boy replied. “I recognized you from your profile picture. You’re Amy, yeah?”

“Yeah.” - Amy said. “Your profile picture didn’t tell me too much about you, but… I gotta say you’re hotter in person.”

“Ah, thanks.” - the boy scratched the back of his head. “The name’s Will. Will Warten.” - he added and moved to the side, so the girls could come in. “I hope you like this place. It was my home for 7 years, before I bought it from the owner.”

“Wait, you were a renter too?” - Chloe asked, intrigued, and crossed her arms.

“Sure. But I loved it in here so much that eventually I bought it.” - Will put the luggage in the living room, which was right in front of the front door. The girls sat on the couch.

“How did you decide to put it for rent again?” - Chloe asked. Beca smirked at the fact how curious her friend was and looked at her.

“Well, I thought it would be selfish if I keep this wonderful place to myself. I wanted to share it, so other people can experience what I have. I met the love of my life here.” - after Will said that, a girl joined them in the living room, she was a thin blonde with hazel eyes. She rested her hands on Will’s shoulders, who had his back on her. He was sitting on the armchair.

“What a nice surprise!” - Amy exclaimed, although both Beca and Chloe knew she was sarcastic. “How long have you two been together?”

“Um, 5 years, I think.” - Will said. “She was my roommate. We didn’t know each other at first, but we were both new in town. We fell in love soon after we got to know each other.”

“You fell in love.” - the unknown girl corrected Will. He laughed.

“Well, yeah, but… You followed soon after.” -he replied. “Everyone, this is my lovely fiancé Katelyn.” - Amy practically shot the other blonde girl with her eyes. “We live next door, so if you need anything-

“Honey, you forgot to show them around!” - Katelyn intervened again. From what the girls heard, she sounded American.

“Right.” - the brown-haired boy stood up. “This way, please.” - he pointed at the room, which was on the living room’s right. The renters followed him and looked inside the room. “This is one of the rooms, the other is next to it and looks kinda the same, but the bed is smaller. And the kitchen is at the end of the hall.”

“There is only one bed.” - Beca noticed.

“Yeah, but… It is big enough and… you guys are friends, two of you can share it, yeah?”

Beca wasn’t sure. She had to share a bed once, with Chloe, in fact, but after what happened in the tent at Aubrey’s camp, she didn’t want to repeat the situation. The brunette was silent for a moment, which Will interpreted as a problem.

“Is there some kind of a problem?” - he raised a brow.

“No.” - Beca lied. “We’ll be just fine.”

The DJ didn’t see how Chloe’s smile turned into a frown. She knew what was going on in Beca’s mind. She knew the brunette was uncomfortable around her after what she told her in the tent. But she still couldn’t explain to herself why was Beca okay with holding hands with her. She didn’t know why Beca was okay with Chloe occasionally kissing her. The redhead didn’t know many things. But she was bound to find out.

“One of you can sleep on the sofa, it’s no issue.” - Will suggested.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” - Beca forced a smile, but she wasn’t very good at it.

“One thing, though.” - the brown-haired boy added. “No sex on the sofa.”

“Sure.” - Chloe sighed and looked at Beca, the redhead’s mind was somewhere else entirely. “No problem.”

“Alright, then. Kat and I are leaving. If you need anything… well, you know.” - with that, the landlords left.

“What are we going to do?” - Beca asked with crossed arms. Chloe knew exactly what she meant.

“What do you mean?” - the redhead tried to smile. “We’ve done this before, two of us are going to share a bed. No big deal.” - Beca looked at her friend and didn’t really know what to say.

“I call dibs on the other bed!” - Fat Amy rushed to the other room and sat on the bed. “This room has better view.” - she explained. The two other girls laughed.

“So, I guess we’ll sleep on the other bed.” - Chloe moved closer to Beca, wearing a big smile on her face.

“No.” - Beca replied with a serious face. That made Chloe’s smile disappear. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“But wait, you guys are dating, why don’t you sleep together? I meant… Well, you know what I meant.” - Fat Amy said.

“For the last time, we’re not dating!” - Chloe said. It was the first time that Chloe was the one who said that. That surprised Beca.

“What? Yes, you are! You’re, like, always holding hands and kissing, you can’t tell me you’re just really good friends, that’s horseshit!” - the other two girls didn’t really know what to say to that, so they didn’t.

….

Quickly, the night came and all girls were in their rooms, except for Beca, who was in the living room, on the couch. She never foresaw how lonely she was going to be on the couch. The whole evening she spent thinking about Chloe and how she probably hurt her, even though the redhead never said anything about Beca’s choice.

The three girls had spend the whole day at the beach, but Beca left Amy and Chloe do all the talking. The DJ didn’t engage in conversations with them much. She spoke only when they asked her something. Even at dinner, Beca was silent and kept to herself. Her eyes were on the plate and she did her best to keep them that way. The DJ knew Chloe suspected something, but she never asked her what’s up, most likely because the ginger didn’t feel like talking to her friend. She was hurt and Beca got that. The brunette never really apologized for what she did. She wanted to, but she was never good at words. She didn’t really even know why she refused fo share a bed with Chloe. Hell, the brunette even liked her, to say the least. The reason she was uncomfortable with sharing a beg with Chloe was the fact that she was afraid Chloe might find out about Beca’s little crush. Last time, when the ginger basically offered Beca to experiment with her, Beca had an answer ready. But, on a bad day she might not have it and that’ll make the redhead suspicious. So Beca couldn’t have that.

‘Too many emotions today, time to relax.’ - Beca thought. To her, that meant, well, masturbating.

So she pulled out her phone and browsed photos of Chloe. When she chose one she made the blanket cover everything beside her head and started the action. It felt amazing, knowing you’re getting off to your crush. It almost felt like you’re having sex with them. Will said no sex on the couch. He didn’t say anything about masturbating.

But Beca had too much on her mind to hear Chloe’s door open. The redhead immediately realized what her friend was doing, but she didn’t know what the other girl was watching and what made her breathe with such weird frequency. It sounded kinda hot. So when Chloe grabbed the brunette’s phone, Beca was caught by surprise.

“Hey!” - the DJ immediately tried to get her phone back, but Chloe lifted it up, beyond Beca’s reach. “You know this is not fair. Just give it back!”

“Oh, I’ll give it back.” - Chloe smirked. “Right after I find out what you were watching.” - Chloe’s gaze shifted to the phone.

“No, Chloe, don’t!” - Beca begged, but the redhead wasn’t listening.

“Oh, my…” - the redhead put a hand over her mouth, but then she laughed.

“What’s so funny?” - Beca was furious right now. Not only did Chloe violate her privacy, but now she was going to tease her about it.

“All these years. You felt the same.” - Chloe gave Beca her phone back. “We’re two idiots in love who could have been together, but were too afraid to do something about it. It’s funny.”

“No, it’s not, actually-

“If you shared the bed with me, you wouldn’t masturbate to my picture and I never would’ve caught you redhanded. Guess there’s one good thing about you sleeping on the couch.” - Chloe wrapped her arms around Beca’s neck.

“I… I don’t know what to say, it is all so… weird, and I-

“Shhh….” - Chloe put her index finger on Beca’s mouth. “No need for words. And… guess now you’ll want to share the bed with me.”

“Guess so.” - Beca smirked and let Chloe’s tongue inside her mouth. It all felt so good. And, as Beca said, so… weird.

#bechloe week 2021 #bechloe week #bechloe #pitch perfect 2 #pitch perfect #beca mitchell #chloe beale #anna kendrick #brittany snow #fat amy #rebel wilson #becaxchloe #bechloe week day 2 #bechloeweek2021

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xxdragonwriterxx · 4 years ago

Note

Pls do a pt.2 of cuddle bug. I need more where they get delayed and Levi has to share his tent for another night or two. Pls at least consider it, the end of cuddle bug gave me big boy 🦋🦋🦋

A/N: You know, I never really considered a sequel for this story but once you mentioned it, I got really excited about it! I loved writing that story so it’s always really fun to hear people say they enjoyed it. Thank you for requesting, I hope this is what you were looking for! (Also, ur comment inspired the title).

🐉 Song Recommendation: “Liar” By: Arcadian Wild 🐉

~~~

🔥 Butterflies Caught Up In The Storm 🔥

(Y/N) felt it before she saw it. She felt the wind pick up from a light breeze to an insistent gale. She saw the clouds rolling and colliding in the sky, darkening and growling. She heard the rush of wings as flocks of birds shot into the air and flew away from the trees, which were starting to rustle with the increasing wind. It was clear and bright out, a beautifully crisp autumn afternoon, but (Y/N) knew what was coming. Her horse seemed to agree, the chestnut mare’s flared nostrils and wide eyes telling (Y/N) she could sense it too. Giving the mare a soothing pat on the neck, (Y/N) carefully tugged her forward, trying to convince the beast to graze before the storm hit.

“You’re having trouble too?” A familiar feminine voice asked, catching (Y/N)’s attention.

“Yeah,” (Y/N) said, smiling at Petra, who had wandered over with her own bay gelding. “Phoenix won’t eat with this storm brewing, she’s too stressed. I’m trying to calm her down but she’s not having any of it.”

Petra nodded grimly, “Tyson is the same way. He won’t stop pacing.”

“It must be a bad one this time,” (Y/N) said quietly, reaching up to stroke Phoenix’s fur, “She doesn’t normally fear storms like this.”

“Yeah, I’m worried about our tents being blown away.”

“Me too…” (Y/N) murmured. “I’m guessing none of us are going to get any sleep tonight.”

Petra groaned and led Tyson in a small circle, trying to keep the normally level-headed gelding from pacing.

“Yeah, I know,” (Y/N) sighed. “I was really hoping to get some rest, it’s been a long day.”

(Y/N) normally didn’t have a problem with storms. In fact, she had a certain soft spot for them. She loved how dark it got, the clouds creating a gloomy yet comforting blanket over the land. She loved the sound of the rain as it pounded on the windows, the crack of the thunder as lightning struck the sky; a glowing sword slaying some mighty beast. She loved the wind and how it would howl it’s lonely song, crying out for a lover that would never respond. Despite the chaos it presented, storms always tended to soothe (Y/N), making her want to cuddle up with some warm tea or hot chocolate and a book. It made her want to burrow under a blanket and listen to the roaring outside her window as the storm lashed at the stone walls of the Survey Corps castle. But she wasn’t in her room with a warm blanket and a good book. She wasn’t protected by the solid stone walls of the Survey Corps headquarters or given warmth by the roaring fireplace she had across from her bed. She was outside of the walls, in the middle of nowhere with a skittish horse and nothing but a flaxen tent to keep her safe. The only benefit of the storm was that the titans seemed to have scattered in the wake of the approaching darkness, finding some other place to settle down for the early onset night.

“Hey, at least we won’t have to sleep alone tonight,” Petra said, trying to lighten the mood. “At least we will be paired again since we lost that supply wagon to the titans, maybe it’ll feel better to experience the storm with another person. It might be comforting.”

Petra had a point, but her words also brought a twinge of anxiety to (Y/N)’s gut. Captain Levi hadn’t seemed upset with her when she had cuddled up to him by accident the last time they shared a tent, quite the opposite really, laughing and teasing her. But it didn’t stop the thoughts from filling her head, making her overthink the situation. He had found it amusing the first time because it had been unexpected and she had been so flustered in the morning when she had woken up to find him sprawled underneath her, but what would he think if she did it a second time? Would he be annoyed? She was half expecting him to reassign her to sleep beside Eld or Gunther at this point. She wondered if he would even be compelled to make Petra and Oulo sleep in separate tents despite their relationship, just so he could make (Y/N) sleep with Petra instead.

It made her flush with guilt and embarrassment at the thought. The last thing she wanted to do was make Levi uncomfortable around her, but she had invaded his personal space in a way she was sure nobody else had ever done before. It was only natural that he would distance himself from her.

(Y/N) shook her head, chasing the negative thoughts away, deciding to worry about that later. “Yeah, at least we won’t be alone. Maybe that’ll make it easier if the tents try to blow away, there can be two people to hold each one down instead of one person trying not to get carried off by the storm.”

Petra chuckled and led Tyson in another circle.

“Speaking of sharing tents,” She said, her eyes glimmering, “How was it sharing a bed with the Captain?”

(Y/N) froze a bit. Memories of that night came flashing back, making her blush as she remembered the feeling of his solid chest pressed beneath her, his warm breath fanning out over her neck, and his soft silver eyes gleaming at her as he fought the urge to laugh at her flushed face.

“Oooooh,” Petra said, her smile widening as she noted (Y/N)’s pink cheeks. “Why are you so flustered all of a sudden? Did something happen? Did you two finally fu-”

“NO, NO,” (Y/N) shouted quickly, waving her hands in front of her face. “No, nothing like that. It was just kind of embarrassing sleeping next to him. I mean, he’s the Captain! It just felt weird as his subordinate to be in the same bed as him with nothing but our pajamas on.”

Petra nodded but the shit-eating grin on her face didn’t disappear. (Y/N) leaned over and flicked her friend on the forehead, giggling when the ginger hissed at her with a glare.

“What was that for?”

“You know what it was for.”

“That was mean, (Y/N).”

“Well, you shouldn’t have been thinking about Levi and I in that tent, especially since I told you nothing happened.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, I would never do such a thing.”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes at Petra’s teasing but couldn’t keep the warm smile off her lips as the two laughed together. She had to hand it to the sweet ginger, she had at least helped decrease her stress and pull (Y/N) from her own head. Even the horses had sensed the shift in their riders and had calmed down somewhat, Phoenix leaning down to take a few nibbles of the grass at her feet before she raised her head again, her ears rotating as she listened for any sign of danger.

“(L/N)! Ral! We are setting up the tents. Put the horses away and get over here now!”

Both women stopped laughing immediately and moved to tie the horses to a nearby tree, making sure to loop the ropes into loose knots so the horses could escape if they really needed to without injuring themselves. As soon as the animals were secure, (Y/N) shoved her anxiety away, and the pair made their way over to the rest of their squad.

__________________________

Levi cursed as he glanced at the darkened clouds, the sky now an inky black as the storm covered the setting sun. A light rain had started since the tents had been erected, but Levi knew the worst was yet to come. He watched as the squad moved around, tying down the last of the supplies and attending to any last minute necessities while the rain was still light and misty.

Without his permission, Levi’s eyes automatically found (Y/N) amongst his squad members, watching as she moved quickly around the camp, calming the horses and covering the wagons with the tarp they always brought on missions for exactly this reason. She was so graceful when she was focused, her movements lithe and quick. He knew she tended to be a bit of a clutz when she was just performing mundane tasks back at headquarters, but it didn’t take away from the obvious control she had over her body as she maneuvered around each of her comrades, helping where she could and confirming that everything was accounted for just as Levi had asked of her.

Snapping out of it, Levi quickly averted his gaze and cursed again, this time in anger at himself. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. He had had a crush on (Y/N) for ages and yet it had never affected him like this before. He felt like he was flailing, like he lacked control for the first time since he was a small child. It scared him, made him embarrassed and anxious. He had an idea of what this was, but it didn’t make it any easier to digest.

He knew he had been an asshole lately, knew she was confused and hurt. When he had first woken up to find her sprawled over him, he had been overwhelmed with emotions that had pushed him over the edge, leading him to finally act on his hidden desires somewhat. He had allowed himself to laugh and smile, had allowed himself to get close to her, brush his lips along her ear, and compliment her. He had enjoyed it, letting go a little, letting himself finally show her how he felt about her. But then reality had slapped him across the face. She was his subordinate, and while it wasn’t forbidden, it wasn’t ideal. He just knew it would interfere with his focus on the battlefield, and he couldn’t afford the distraction. On the other hand, he didn’t even know if she liked him back. She had cuddled up to him in her sleep, but she had admitted to him herself that she does that to anything she sleeps with. Her pillow, a blanket, a stuffed animal, a person, it didn’t matter, she would cling to it. So what made him special? How did her cuddling him give him any indication of her feelings?

It didn’t. It didn’t mean anything. She wasn’t cuddling up to him because she found comfort in him, she did it because it was normal for her. Any other man would’ve done just as well, possibly even better in holding her close that night. The thought of another man cuddled up with (Y/N) made his blood boil and his teeth clench so hard they hurt, but he couldn’t force his feelings on her just because of one incident. Especially if she didn’t feel the same way. It just wasn’t meant to be, no matter how much he wanted it. So he had settled for loving her from afar, pushing her away and keeping her at a distance, just like he did with everyone around him. He was determined to stick to his promise of keeping people at arm’s length, guarding his heart through thick and thin in the event that someone he cares about gets ripped away from him again. He had lost way too many people in his life, he was not about to experience the pain of losing (Y/N) too.

He could tell his cold behavior confused her, but he kept it up, hid behind his mask no matter how much his heart cried when he saw her hurt expression. It was for her and for him, better for everyone involved if he just ignored the pulling of his heartstrings and continued their relationship as it should be, as Captain and cadet.

“Captain.”

Levi was snapped out of his reverie by the voice of none other than (Y/N), her eyes hooded as she looked at him.

“Everything is stable and prepared for the storm, sir.”

“Good, you are dismissed.”

(Y/N) saluted him and spun on her heel, not looking back as she made her way to their tent to change and prepare for bed. Levi’s gut twisted. He hated that look in her eyes. So far, she had treated him with nothing but respect ever since he had begun ignoring her, but he never missed that look in her eyes, the confusion and disappointment in her gaze. The feeling of wanting to be sick all over the stones of the cliff edge where they had set up camp increased tenfold when he thought about having to spend the night with her once again. The thought of having to experience the tension of laying beside her all night. He wondered if she’d even cuddle up to him again, if her body would reject him even in sleep despite her habit.

Levi sighed and ran a hand through his slick raven locks, rain droplets landing on his cheeks as they dripped from his fringe. He knew he just had to act like an adult and go in there with her, but it was an effort to fight the feeling of nausea in his gut as he made his way over to the tent they were sharing. As soon as he slipped in through the flaps and zipped them closed, the loud roar of thunder rolled over them quickly followed by the intensifying of the rain, turning from the soft taps of droplets to the pelting of bullets.

(Y/N) was facing away from him when he entered, neatly folding her uniform and placing it off to the side while she waited for him to change. Levi undressed quickly and followed her example, placing his clothes beside hers as she settled on the cot, pulling the blankets up to her neck. Neither of them spoke a word, but the urge to spill everything that was on the edge of their tongues plagued both of them. Levi finished his nightly regimen before carefully slipping under the blanket beside (Y/N), blowing out the lantern and making sure to turn away from her so she wouldn’t feel as uncomfortable.

(Y/N) grit her teeth when she felt him turn away from her. Was she really that bothersome? Had her cuddling him really made him that upset? She knew she had no right to judge him, it was his boundaries she had crossed, but that didn’t stop the tidal wave of sadness and disappointment that rose in her chest. She had been hoping they could move past this, that he would give her the chance to apologize and they could go back to the way things were between them, but obviously he was in no hurry to speak to her ever again, if his behavior towards her was any indication.

(Y/N) closed her eyes and tried to let the sounds of the storm outside soothe her, snuggling deeper under the blankets as the rain slapped the tent’s walls, trying to drown out her thoughts and emotions with the sound of the rolling thunder that rumbled and barked overhead.

(Y/N) was nearly asleep, her brain finally quieting down for the night when she heard it. She thought for a minute she had imagined the noise, but after another moment of patiently listening, she heard it again, the sound of a deep groan coming from the Captain. (Y/N) froze, her eyes wide as she waited. She had no idea what was happening, but she knew for a fact it couldn’t be good. The noise sounded high-pitched, desperate, strained, as if the Captain were in pain. (Y/N) turned slightly and opened her mouth to say something when a bolt of lightning dashed across the sky, flashing the tent with a bright white light. (Y/N)’s eyes widened and she had to fight to keep her jaw from dropping when she suddenly realized just how uncomfortable he was.

Levi was shaking.

What had she done? Thunder crashed as horror seeped into (Y/N)’s bones. She felt his shaking increase, the subtle vibrations making the cot twitch and shift beneath them. How could she have done this to him? What she had believed to be a mild annoyance to her Captain seemed to be much worse than that. At first, she wondered why he didn’t tell her about his discomfort with touch, or why he didn’t have her reassigned, but she quickly shoved those questions aside. Of course he didn’t tell her or reassign her, he was the Captain of their squad, the goddamn Humanity’s Strongest. Of course he would put his pride and reputation before his fears. It was his job to appear unfazed no matter what he was faced with.

And besides, even if it wasn’t his job to keep silent about his personal issues to his subordinates, (Y/N) had a hard time seeing Levi admit to having a phobia of touch. He always kept that mask placed securely over his emotions and expressions, it was no surprise that he would hide this as well.

The fact that she hadn’t known didn’t stop the feelings of dread and guilt from dragging her stomach to her feet and choking her heart with a chain. She felt the tears well up behind her eyes, and didn’t try to stop them when they spilled over her lids and cut wet paths down her cheeks. She felt sick. She wanted to apologize, but she didn’t know how. She was used to comforting people with physical affection and gentle soothing gestures rather than using her words. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to wrap her arms around him, to stroke his hair and rub soothing circles into his back, but she forced herself to hold back. She had clearly caused enough damage already.

Making up her mind, (Y/N) decided that the best option was to leave. She knew there was very little she could say or do to make up for what had happened, and she refused to keep him awake with the fear of her touching him again. The last thing she wanted to do was be away from him, especially when he seemed so vulnerable, but she wasn’t going to let herself cause unnecessary tension within the squad because she decided to be selfish. They needed their Captain in top shape, and it was clear that wasn’t going to happen with her in the same room. Quietly gathering her blanket and her cape, (Y/N) slowly stood and crept towards the exit flaps of their tent. She cringed at the thought of being sandwiched with the Oulo and Petra, but she knew the couple wouldn’t deny her entry despite wanting to enjoy their alone time together, and figured that would be the best place for her to stay for the rest of the night. Taking a deep breath to prepare for the onslaught of cold water she was about to get blasted with, (Y/N) curled her fingers around the edges of the flaps and started to undo each loop keeping them closed.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Levi’s cold voice, despite being a bit shaky, made (Y/N) freeze in her tracks. She had known he was awake, but she hadn’t expected him to protest.

“Um, I’m going to Petra’s tent, sir.”

Levi furrowed his brows, his jaw clenched, “Why?”

“Because I was making you uncomfortable, sir.”

“What are you talking about?”

The last thing (Y/N) wanted to do was embarrass him further, but she figured now wasn’t the time to beat around the bush.

“You were shaking, sir.”

(Y/N) saw the realization quickly flash across Levi’s features before he scowled angrily, leaning back with an arm over his face, “Fuck…”

He hadn’t known that she could feel it. He had been trying so damn hard to hide it, especially after those little groans had escaped him without warning. The knowledge that she was here to see him in such a vulnerable state tossed his heart around like a butterfly in a storm, a confusing blend of intense embarrassment and soothing comfort flooding through his veins.

“I wish you had told me sooner,” (Y/N) said, causing Levi to lift his arm so he could look at her properly. “I know why you didn’t, but if you had, I never would’ve tried to stay with you for another night. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, and the last thing I want is for you to think you have to avoid me because I didn’t respect your boundaries. I am s-so sorry…”

(Y/N) broke off, swallowing the tears that bubbled in the back of her throat. She wasn’t the victim here, she wanted to appear sincere and apologetic but she didn’t want to make him feel guilty for his reaction to everything that had happened between them. She just wanted to make him feel better and pretend like this whole incident had never happened.

“I-I’m sorry, I’ll leave now. I hope you’re able to get some rest tonight, Captain-”

“(Y/N).”

The way he said her name, in a tone that sounded desperate and strained, made her close her mouth and meet his gaze.

“Come back to bed.”

She hesitated at first, but quickly found the confidence to move towards him when he pinned her with a dark glare. Moving back to her spot, (Y/N) placed her cape with the rest of her uniform and brought the blanket back over her body, laying down on the spot furthest from Levi.

(Y/N) let out a loud gasp when Levi suddenly reached over and wrapped his arms around her before she could react, yanking her away from the edge of the cot and pulling her into his chest. (Y/N) quickly tried to push away from him, but he held her steady against him, his arms refusing to loosen until she gave up on escaping.

“Listen here, brat,” Levi said, his voice surprisingly clear, “It’s not you. I’m not afraid to be held by you. I know I’ve been an asshole lately, but I was worried about letting myself get close to you only to lose you. I’ve lost so many. The last person I want to be caught up in everything is you. I c-care about you, and I just can’t stand the pain of watching you die.”

(Y/N) teared up at his impassioned confession, her fingers clenching in the fabric of her pajama top. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage as if it was trying to bust out, its drumming song throbbing throughout her entire body.

“But, you were shaking, and facing away from me, and fidgeting around,” (Y/N) said quietly.

Levi tensed but took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax again.

“That wasn’t because of you, brat.”

She tilted her head in confusion. He knew she wanted more details than that, but he was finding it difficult to put everything into words. He was just about ready to blurt it out to her, rip off the bandaid quickly, when a flash of lightning broke the sky in half, followed by a clap of thunder that shook the entire camp.

To her utter shock, Levi flinched and whimpered. He cursed at his own reaction, his arms tightening subconsciously around her body.

“Levi…” (Y/N) murmured. “Are you… scared of storms?”

The look in his gunmetal hues was answer enough. (Y/N) felt a dizzying mix of immense relief and a rush of sympathy and sadness wash through her. She was glad she wasn’t the source of his fears and discomfort, but she felt horrible for what he was going through. She had had no idea, never even had an inkling that their fearsome, stone-faced Captain would be scared of rain and thunder.

Quickly shaking off any questions she had, (Y/N) shifted her arms from where they had been hugging her stomach, and wrapped them around his waist and neck, pulling him into her. She felt him tense a little at the foreign contact, but she didn’t let it mess with her confidence. She knew he needed this, knew he secretly craved the comfort of human contact, and forced herself to shove her anxiety to the side and focus solely on her hurting Captain. After a moment, Levi eventually tightened his grip on her and snuggled into her embrace, making her heart explode with love and affection.

He nuzzled his face into her neck, letting out occasional quiet moans and murmurs of approval as she ran her fingers through his soft raven locks with one hand and rubbed comforting circles into his back with the other.

They were silent for a long while, merely enjoying the comfort of the other’s company despite the tenseness (Y/N) could still feel in the Captain’s muscles. Whenever thunder rocked the world, or a gust of wind made the rain lash against the tent like gunfire, (Y/N) would hold him tighter to her, cooing softly at him and massaging his back and shoulders. His eyes closed at her ministrations, his lashes fluttering against her skin, tickling her neck as he started to settle.

“My best friends died in a storm just like this,” Levi whispered into the dark, making (Y/N) gasp. She looked down to see his eyes were still closed, his nose pressed against her neck.

“Levi… I’m so sorry,” (Y/N) said, lightly scratching his undercut.

“What’s done is done,” Levi said tightly, “But I’m never going to let anything happen to you.”

Levi opened his eyes, pinning her with a look of determined fire, “I will protect you, I promise.”

(Y/N) smiled, letting out a contented sigh as he leaned in to press soft butterfly kisses along her throat, a sign of gratitude for everything she had done for him.

“I’ll protect you too, Levi. Whenever you need me, I am here for you. Always.”

Levi was grateful she couldn’t see his face as he blinked away the tears that had unexpectedly risen to prick at his eyes. “I’ll hold you to that, brat.”

(Y/N) huffed a laugh and leaned down to press a loving kiss to his forehead, “You better.”

Levi snorted, “Go to sleep.”

“Yes, sir.”

Levi gave her a weak flick on the shoulder before snuggling more into her warm embrace, a small smile making its way to his face as he felt the fear drain from his body despite the storm still raging outside. (Y/N) was his calming balm, something to soothe his tortured soul and battered heart. He was still afraid of losing her, but he knew now that he couldn’t bear to stay away. He would just have to work harder to protect her, to keep her from harm at all costs. He would become her sword and her shield, a way to repay her for being his blanket, his home, his light.

“Goodnight Levi,” (Y/N) sighed as her own eyes fluttered closed.

“Goodnight Cuddlebug,” Levi said softly, a nickname he was sure would embarrass her later. Just as he expected, (Y/N) threw him one last half-hearted glare for his teasing before she succumbed to her exhaustion, a small smile on her face as she curled into his warm body.

Levi found himself quickly falling asleep behind her, surprised at how fast she made him relax. He was so used to being an insomniac, especially during a storm where he felt paralyzed with fear and horrible memories, but (Y/N) was holding his demons back for him, keeping them locked away for the night, and he couldn’t be more grateful for that as he slowly slipped from consciousness and into a dreamless sleep.

“Thank you, (Y/N),” was the last thing Levi managed to say, the last thing (Y/N) managed to hear, before the pair fell into a deep sleep, wrapped up in their own little world together.

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away-from-anthills · 4 years ago

Text

chapter eight-

“You really think we can take on ThunderClan?”

Antstar could practically see Russetfoot’s hesitancy as the two toms sat on the rim of the hollow. “We’ll be taking them on with RiverClan.”

“Yes, but ThunderClan will have SkyClan with them, too.” Russetfoot, Antstar noted, had grown much more nervous now that he had his kits. There was still that trademark confidence of his, of course, but concern had balanced it. It had been a few days, now, and here they were- the night before the battle.

“I know we have to fight to keep RiverClan as an ally.” Russetfoot’s voice was careful, delicate; a butterfly landing upon a leaf. “And I have faith you know what you’re doing, Antstar. You’re my best friend besides my brother, anyway.”

Antstar felt uneasy as the tom carefully picked out his words.

“But I think- I think you should have handled this another way. We’re fighting for something we have no stake in, and- well, I don’t worry -that- much about our warriors, but I can’t say we’re the most formidable.” He clenched his teeth. “Especially against anything Tatteredstar is leading.”

“We’ll be fine, Russetfoot.”

Russetfoot, however, wasn’t convinced. “It’s already a stressful time, Antstar. Leaf-fall will soon begin, and with that will come cold and hunger. And with my seven kits, and Cherrycloud’s five…”

“I know. We’re all stressed.”

The last blue hues of dusk slipped away beneath the horizon.

“I pray to StarClan, you’ve made the right choice.”

Perhaps a walk could clear Antstar’s mind from impending battle.

The night was crisp, as the end of summer was. The cricket songs had slowly begun to quiet down, day by day, and already the grasses were turning yellow and the leaves a bold ginger. He remembered Shalestar had always liked this time of year the most. The old tom had told him, when he was an apprentice, that this kind of weather during this season gave him the energy to travel the length of the forest, and promised him something was always around the corner.

How he wished he felt that way…

The gorge made his belly churn, now, so he headed the other way, through the territories. He saw Stoatslink in the distance, hunting with his daughters. Antstar recalled their conversation from a few nights prior: Stoatslink was certain a non-Clan cat was threatening WindClan, and had been the one to kill Sparkthistle. Antstar and Stoatslink had never quite seen eye-to-eye, and something about the white tom had always been unnerving to him… but he had to hand it to him. Stoatslink was the only one who was right about it.

Antstar hoped he would abandon his case, however…

He continued to wander out of WindClan territory and up north. He could see Mothermouth on the other side of the Thunderpath, the flowers around it beginning to curl up and brown with the change of seasons. It was pitch-black, without a trace of the bright, glittering quartz that its path led to.

It looked, Antstar thought, like a predator’s maw, waiting to strike and snap shut.

He looked down the path of the Thunderpath before him. He could see a Twolegplace on the horizon, and the path seemed to stretch out forever and ever. What worlds lay beyond White Hart Woods? What would greet him, if he ran?

He was scared by just how much he felt his mind wander to the idea. Running away, never looking back. Leaving the world behind him. Russetfoot would be a good leader in his stead. They’d never find out about Sparkthistle- and if they did, it would be of no consequence to him. Perhaps some would miss him, especially Spiderfoot; but the world would spin without him, just as it always had, and he’d be dismissed as little more than a fluke who walked upon WindClan and was gone.

No- he couldn’t do that. He had his obligations. And, moreover, he was scared of what lay beyond all he could ever remember. He knew he had been there once, before they found him in the fields when he was a kit. But he couldn’t remember it well. On one hand- perhaps his birth family was out there, or other kindly cats; perhaps a nice Twoleg would take him in. But on the other hand, there might be none of the stability that the Clan provided. No medicine, no organization, no kindness in his fellow Clanmates. There might be pain, torment.

The thought that scared Antstar the most, however, was the idea that he’d escape, run free- and find that there was absolutely nothing out there. Not good, not bad. Just… nothing at all. And it would turn out the Clans were all that ever was…

He was pried out of his thoughts, however, when he saw a red tabby sprint by.

Russetfoot? He thought initially, but upon closer inspection he realized the cat couldn’t be him. While they were both dark red tabbies with emerald eyes, this tom had a more smudged pelt and a boxy shape, while Russetfoot was a slim, compact cat with clear-cut stripes the shape of fishbones.

No, realized Antstar- this was Currantstar!

He followed the tom throughout WindClan territory, steady and silent. He looked like he was in a hurry, and a bit nervous about whatever he was doing. Antstar had never seen him this way, sprinting through the dark, like a deer afraid that- at any moment- the dusty path below him might turn into pavement and he may be greeted with his downfall.

But as soon as Antstar could ask any questions, the tom took a sharp left turn into RiverClan territory, past the gorge and over the bridge. The tom’s figure grew darker as he ran, as dark as the shadows of the trees and stones, and soon Antstar could not tell which shadow was which.

Strange.

But Antstar didn’t want to ask further- two Clans against him were already enough.

The next morning came too soon and yet it felt like it had taken forever.

Russetfoot was busy gathering the warriors and apprentices. The elders and queens, of course, were staying behind to defend the camp in case anything wicked arose. The dawn was perfect- a tad too perfect, perhaps, with clouds running like honey towards the sun, nearly viscous, their milky haze yellowing the light. The grass was so soaked with dew that it clung to the dawn patrol’s coats.

“Are you sure you want to come with us, and not stay here with the elders, Sandwhisker?” Antstar overheard Russetfoot ask. The pale, thin molly was making her way into the crowd of warriors alongside more formidable warriors like Toadpool and Coalclaw.

“Of course,” she said, almost too defensively. “You’re concerned I’m going to hurt myself or die somehow, aren’t ya, youngin’?”

Russetfoot nodded. “You’re the same age as the elders. You should-“

“Don’t tell me what to do. If I die out there- which won’t happen- at least I’ll die in an important way.” The dawn’s light seemed to take away some of her age with its softness, but even then Antstar could tell the molly was too old for fighting. Her eyes were rheumy with fluid to the point she had grown two brown tear streaks, and her flank had long lost its sheen. She looked like a ragged lion pelt- thin, worn; yet still reeking of greatness.

But if Russetfoot could not change her mind, there was no way in Hell Antstar was going to.

A dark gray tabby slipped past him. It was Spiderfoot, making her way to the front of the crowd of warriors. She looked back at Antstar for a moment, her eyes filled with trust and admiration.

“Are you sure this whole fight is a good idea?” asked her brother. Coalclaw, despite being one of the largest cats in WindClan, was fidgeting in place, his eyes cast to the dusty ground below them.

“Antstar wouldn’t have made it so if it wasn’t a good idea,” responded Spiderfoot triumphantly. Her voice had a trumpeting quality in it. Antstar took faith in her- perhaps she could see the chiseled truths in Antstar’s decisions that he could not.

The elders, however, weren’t as certain about it.

“I know you said that this would be a good place to be, Audrey,” said Shrike, one of the two loners Antstar had accepted into the Clan, “but we haven’t been here a month and he’s already sending them away to battle against cats they don’t even know well.” “It’s fine, Shrike. It’s a border dispute. We had to deal with those when we were out traveling around.”

“I know. But something about the guy rubs me the wrong way.” The scarred black-and-white molly narrowed her dark brown eyes.

“Oh, Antstar’s doing his best.” Silverbelly got up and sat next to Shrike, punctuating his sentence with a sleepy yawn. “All leaders are a bit jittery like this at the start. They grow into their stride.” He smiled mischievously- he was old and had grown plump with age now, but the young, wild warrior that once was showed through. “And personally, I’ll support anything that’ll give that lump of rat-crap Pigeonstar a piece of mind.” He laughed, stifling his chuckles so as to not wake up Crowflower, who was dozing behind him.

Talonscar, the old brown tabby with ragged ears in the back, made no conversation despite being very much awake. But there was something about their olive-eyed glare that made Antstar immediately know they didn’t approve of his plan.

But it was nothing Antstar had the space to think about now. Russetfoot was already through the gorse-flower tunnel, and Spiderfoot, Coalclaw, and Juniperfang were just behind him. Even Whitetooth and Marblepaw had joined the crowd, Marblepaw carrying a little sack made from woven leaves that held all sorts of wound-tending herbs. What was done was done.

They got there at about the same time RiverClan did.

“I’m glad to see you here,” said Tulipstar, her tail gently flowing from side to side. The RiverClan cats, freshly joined by their WindClan allies, sat at the edge of the river, as close as they possibly could be to the prized territory. Redfeather’s snout jutted out as she leaned in to get a good look, just nearly keeping herself balanced so she didn’t slip and fall. Smokebark was steely-eyed as ever as he got a drink from the riverbank, his weary yellow gaze focused solely on the ThunderClan cats who lay on the pale, smooth stones ahead.

Something bumped into Antstar, and he wheeled around to see a small fawn tabby; an unusually meek-looking RiverClan specimen. “Oh,” said the tabby, “I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine,” assured Antstar.

“Oh, that’s just Oatwhisker,” said Tulipstar. “This is his first battle as a warrior. He’s quite nervous about it. Always worrying about something…”

“Oh, it’s my apprentice’s first battle as a warrior too.” Antstar stepped back proudly before realizing he had to correct himself. “Former apprentice, I mean.”

“Spiderfoot, right?”

Antstar nodded.

“I’ve seen her on the border when I go on walks. She’s a wily one.”

“I’m certainly aware of it.” Antstar had almost forgotten there was a battle to be held that day when the air grew deathly still.

Tatteredstar, sitting at the top of the tallest of Sunningrocks, had arrived.

She stared down at Tulipstar from across the river. There was a certain pity in those cold yellow eyes- as if she was giving Tulipstar an exit, knowing that she would never take it.

Tulipstar, unfettered as ever, stared back.

Tulipstar gave the nod to Antstar, and she slipped into the river. One by one, RiverClan warriors jumped in. There was none of the usual raucous splashing- only serious silence as each cat waded through the waters.

Then, WindClan jumped in, more noisily- first Rockscratch and Russetfoot, then Spiderfoot, then Toadpool, then Whitetooth and an especially hesitant Marblepaw… Antstar gathered in him the courage and jumped in, trying to keep his body streamlined with the water’s crisp surface to mimic the silent dives of the RiverClan cats.

He looked ahead, trying to keep his head up and even. He could see a small brown-and-white molly with a hairless, black, shriveled back leg leap up beside Tatteredstar. Tatteredstar uttered a command into the patched molly’s ear, and she limped away, onto ThunderClan’s side of the riverbank and into the fronds.

Hopscratch, Antstar realized- that was Hopscratch, Pigeonstar’s deputy. She must have gone to retrieve them.

What else could he see, from here? It was hard to make out any of the cats low on the rocks, given the angle he was at and the cats in front of him. There were two identical black toms, a tabby with a scar that stretched across the right side of his face down to his belly, a dark gray tabby molly with stripes that swirled around her like river currents, a white tom with ginger markings on his face and legs that reminded Antstar of his own… All of them massive, muscly, and far larger than he.

What had he gotten his Clan into?

He had no time to answer this, however, as a wicked screech erupted from the shore. The first clash of the battle. He could make out a tortoiseshell molly attacking a massive, blue-and-white tom.

He couldn’t quite place the name of the blue-and-white ThunderClan cat, but he knew the tortoiseshell was Mossfang. She moved like a firework, dazzling him as she ran about him, before she suddenly grabbed as his throat and pulled him to the earth in one ragged motion. The tom snarled with anger and slashed her across the face, ripping open a scab on her lip, but after a moment of pain-induced hesitation she bit down on his neck hard.

More cats joined in. Now WindClan was getting onto the surface.

Chaos soon erupted throughout the rocks. Antstar had tried to give his Clan orders, but they had for the most part devolved into cacophonic violence. Russetfoot leapt up and over him as he chased down a cream-colored molly, who wheeled around suddenly and slammed the russet tom into one of the rocks. Lilystone and Juniperfang, behind him, were tag-team attacking a black-and-white molly.

Something collided into Antstar. He looked up to see the white flame-pointed tom from earlier pinning him down, who had 3 scraggly scars across his left eye. There was a moment where the two said nothing and did nothing, and then Antstar felt fear yank his left paw as he slashed the tom’s nose open.

The tom moved with the blow as Antstar’s claws raked across him. Then, as soon as it was over, he gave a shrieky hiss, revealing to Antstar his drooling maw and sharp teeth- of which he had way more than Antstar felt comfortable with.

The ton clamped down on Antstar’s chest and began to pull, trying to rip Antstar’s skin off of his body. Antstar fought back the urge to jolt and instead grabbed the back of the tom’s head, yanking him in to bite down on his nose. The tom let go, and Antstar wriggled himself free, running to the shore to outrun his attacker.

But the flame-pointed tom was vigilant. His nose was now shredded open and red as a robin’s breast from Antstar’s claws and teeth, and his ice-blue eyes held a shark-like fury. The tom rushed over and used his body weight to slam Antstar into the water. Antstar leapt back up to rip and tear at the tom’s shoulder, back and forth, and soon the two fought further and further into the water, becoming a mess of claw swipes and thrashes and white crashing water, and Antstar lost himself in the mixture of terror and fury only close combat can bring.

And then- suddenly- a thin, triangular blue figure leapt out and slammed the flame-point ThunderClan cat into the water, grabbing on like a burr. Another figure- a thin, scrappy black tom- arrived, and the two held the pale ThunderClan cat under until he rose to the surface, gasped for air, and ran off. The water was red where he had been held under- his nose was now shredded completely open, the bridge of it nearly gone.

“Anything for our leader,” said the blue-gray-and-white tom as he lifted himself out of the water. The black tom behind him nodded in agreement.

“Thanks, Toadpool and Molethroat,” said Antstar, gasping for air- not because water had entered his lungs, but because it felt like adrenaline was gripping his throat. He could feel deep gashes in his flank, but the reality of it had not struck him yet because of the rush of fighting hormones that flowed in him. He ran to shore, clambering up one of the Sunningrocks to get a good vantage point.

He could see SkyClan had joined the battle, now- Pigeonstar was going at it with Willownose, a RiverClan warrior. Twigpaw was tussling with a tortoiseshell SkyClan apprentice. He heard a squeak behind him- a small ginger apprentice, who had to be the tortoiseshell’s brother, approached him.

“Don’t fight leaders until you can handle it,” said Antstar, trying to push him aside. But the ginger apprentice only spat in his ear.

“I can take on anyone I want!” Antstar picked up the tom and pushed him off the rocks, where he fell in the waters below. The little ginger apprentice, mostly unharmed except for a bruised shoulder and an even more bruised ego, ran off, muttering curses to himself.

Now that that was taken care of, he looked closer. There she was. Tatteredstar was in the middle of a fight with a lynx-pointed RiverClan tom. He clearly thought highly of himself, from the way his coat was excessively groomed to the way he held himself. He had to think highly of himself if he thought he could take the ThunderClan leader on. But she was no match for him. She picked up the tom and threw him, leaping after him as she did so she followed him through the air. Turning herself around, she latched onto the RiverClan tom and slammed him into the ground. Her body weight alone was enough- the RiverClan tom got up, shakily, almost as if he’d been punctured inward. It had all happened in the blink of an eye, in one smooth motion.

He had never seen Tatteredstar up close like this. And this was when he realized- war was not only what defined Tatteredstar. She had made it- whether she liked it or not- into art.

A yowl caught his attention, and he turned to see Oatwhisker, the tabby from before, confronted by two much larger black ThunderClan toms. Antstar headed down- the RiverClan cat was practically shaking in his paws.

“You think you can take Sunningrocks?” one of the black toms, who had a broader head and amber eyes, boasted. “Dumbass RiverClan cats and their dumbass ideas!” laughed the other, who was more square-jawed with lime green eyes. “This little clown really thought he could take us on, now, didn’t he?” “You were- you were-“ Oatwhisker stuttered. “You were going after the leader.”

“’Oh, you were going after the leader!’” mocked the amber-eyed tom in a cartoonishly whiny voice.

“She has nine lives!” The two pushed the smaller RiverClan tom into the ground, cackling. Oatwhisker simply whimpered with pain as the two slammed into him over and over.

“Hey!” Said Antstar, running in and trying to push one of the toms off of the RiverClan cat.

“Oh, here comes another leader now,” giggled the green-eyed tom with delight. The two black toms abandoned their prey and circled Antstar.

“I’m Weevilclaw,” introduced the amber-eyed one.

“And I’m Beetleclaw.”

“We’re the best battlers in the forest! ‘Cept for Tatteredstar.”

“Come on, rabbit-breath. Give it a try.”

Antstar leaned in to attack Weevilclaw, but Weevilclaw leapt forward and pushed him. Beetleclaw grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and soon Weevilclaw was pushing Antstar around on the floor. Antstar tried to get up, but Beetleclaw body-slammed him. He felt something in his rib crack, and a sharp pain erupted from the spot.

Again he tried to get up, again one of the two black cats pushed him down. The brothers were nearly identical, save for their facial shapes and eyes- two big toms built like bricks with wooly black fur and frankly annoying laughs.

“Hey!” yelled a sharp baritone. The two toms stood to their feet. Antstar got up slowly, now that the two were distracted. Oatwhisker was nowhere- he had to have run off when the two were initially distracted by Antstar.

Antstar turned to see who had saved him. It was the gray-and-white ThunderClan tom from earlier, the same one who had initiated the battle with Mossfang.

“You two idiots get off of the WindClan leader and listen to me. We have something important to do.” A cream-colored ThunderClan molly slunk up beside them, and the four cats began to whisper among themselves. Antstar ran off, bent over as his ribs continued to throb with pain.

He stepped in something wet and looked to see a pool of blood at his feet. He followed the trail of blood to see a broken, crumpled silver tabby figure- angular and muscular, like any good SkyClan cat, but warped beyond repair by battle. It was clear he had been dead for some time.

A pang of sadness hit Antstar, although he had never known the tom. It was Bumbleshade- the very same cat who had just been made a warrior a little more than a moon ago. All that promise, all that hope, gone in an instant…

Another cat slammed into him from behind, and he started clawing back, yowling at the attacker- this time a spotted calico SkyClan cat. He could hear the battle around him slowly turn from the yowls of anger and passion into yowls of desperation and horror. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Stoatslink, Webwhisker, Smokebark, and Goldenpaw take on a horde of SkyClanners. Suddenly, one of them leapt out and slammed Goldenpaw into a nearby stone, and he heard Stoatslink cry out in panic before his attention was redirected to the calico before him. She was quick, but he was faster. He punched her under the jaw, sending her back, and ran off, darting this way and that through the crowd to avoid her.

He stumbled upon a dead black figure- another ThunderClan cat, but not either of the two he had seen earlier. No, this one had a sleeker, squirrel-like look to him, with tufted ears. A little ginger tom- perhaps the smallest ThunderClan apprentice- sat next to the tom’s bloodied breast, whimpering and crying, folding into himself.

Antstar wanted to do something. But he couldn’t. For ThunderClan was an enemy…

“Move it, will you?” It was the grey and white tom from before and the others he had recruited. The grey tom kicked at the ginger apprentice’s side, and the little apprentice- who had a deep cut across his eyebrow that was bleeding down his face- looked up at him with fear. “Sorry, Cloudclaw,” he mumbled apologetically, as if he had forgotten to speak.

But Cloudclaw was unmoved, simply waiting for the ginger tom to pick himself up before continuing on his path. The ginger apprentice, swaying side to side like he was about to vomit, followed wordlessly.

“Antstar! On your left!” He saw Russetfoot gesture to something behind him. He turned to see the speckled calico from before, and again the two whirled into combat. Faster and faster the two thought, on top of and over and around each other.

“TRUFFLEPELT!” he heard someone scream. He looked above to the tallest stone in Sunningrocks, where a flame-pointed tom with a shredded nose- the same one that had attacked him- was barreling towards the RiverClan deputy. Trufflepelt tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. The flame-pointed tom extended his claws, and then, and then-

His head was pushed into the earth by the calico molly before he could see what happened, but the sickening ripping sound and the spine-curling shriek that went with it told him all he needed to know.

There was a ripple of fury- enough to distract the SkyClan calico. He evaded her grasp and pinned her down, grabbing at her throat to keep her still. She worked harder and harder to escape him. A flurry of RiverClan cats- nearly all the ones he could recognize- swarmed the flame-point tom, who had leapt into the waters below.

The calico suddenly grabbed at his throat and bit. He pulled back, and felt her tear open a wound in his neck. She pulled back, her mouth lined with his fur and blood, coughing, but as soon as she had she leapt back in for more. He bit down on her neck and pried himself up, holding her in place- she responded by flipping him over. Left swipe, right swipe, uppercut-back. Left swipe, right swipe, uppercut-back. She leapt at him; he ran underneath her and watched her barrel to the side. He tried to run, but she was too quick. Back and forth the two went- left swipe, right swipe, left swipe, right swipe. He managed to rake open a gash on her cheek, and she jumped away in pain.

He looked to where the RiverClan cats had swarmed. They were pulling away, now. What remained of the flame-pointed tom could barely be identified as a cat.

He ran, knowing the calico was still after him. He nearly tripped on something, and turned over to see what it was. He recognized the pale figure on the ground below him immediately. His heart began to twist in place and turn black with grief.

Sandwhisker.

But before he could focus on her body for too long, he heard commotion behind him, and turned to see Cloudclaw and his group circling Pebblesky, the RiverClan medicine cat. Only now that the two were close could Antstar see that Cloudclaw resembled a short-furred, more muscular Pebblesky.

“You traitor,” snarled Cloudclaw.

Her herbs were already tossed about and rendered useless- clearly the ThunderClan cats had attacked those already. She looked around, trying to escape, but there was no sign of urgency- only pain as she gazed at Cloudclaw and the cream-colored molly, who were both bristling at the sight of her.

“Please let me leave,” she urged them. “You’ve done enough leaving already,” snapped the cream molly, her tongue spitting out the words as if they were venom. “I’m ashamed that I have to live with the knowledge my mother left me to prance about in RiverClan!”

Cloudclaw roared with anger and leapt at her. She did not fight back, letting him kick her around. The cream molly was about to join in when suddenly a red-and-white molly- Emberblaze, ThunderClan’s medicine cat- barged through.

“You don’t treat our mother this way!”

More figures slid in to fight off the group- this time being Whitetooth and Honeyfur, with Marblepaw close behind. Together, the medicine cats fought off the two. Beetleclaw and Weevilclaw, who had initially been on the two ThunderClan siblings’ side, slipped away as soon as they recognized the towering ThunderClan molly over them.

“Cloudclaw.”

Cloudclaw looked like a terrified kit as he turned to see Tatteredstar standing there. The cream molly tried to get up and leave, but before she could Tatteredstar called her name as well:

“Daffodilfur.”

The two stood pathetically in front of her. The medicine cats had all left, save for Emberblaze, who stood at her leader’s flank.

“You don’t attack a medicine cat. I thought I made this clear to you two.” She snarled with fury. “Expect punishment when the battle is over with.” The two cats, still shaking with fear, ran off in different directions, tails between legs.

Antstar heard a yowl and turned. It was the SkyClan calico- now with several other SkyClan cats. The group barreled after him, and Antstar began to attack- but he felt light-headed and woozy. Was it the fear of battle? Or had his wounds gotten to him?

Left swipe, right swipe, uppercut back. Left swipe, right swipe, uppercut…

He began to black out. Something harsh ripped at his belly.

Left swipe, right swipe….

Everything began to dissolve into syrup, it felt. He felt something attacking him, but he could not tell what SkyClan cat it was….

Left swipe… left…

He awoke with a jolt.

The StarClan cat- someone he did not know, someone that smelled of harshness and cold and not the warm WindClan scent he had felt from old friends at his nine lives ceremony- had told him that that was his first life spent.

The SkyClan cats had all dispersed. He could tell the battle was winding down.

“You alright?” asked Toadpool, who walked up behind him.

“…Yeah.”

“Alright.” Toadpool cantered off, hearing a cry of a RiverClan cat.

Antstar looked ahead. There stood a terrified-looking blue SkyClan tabby, with wide yellow eyes… and a chest coated in Antstar’s blood.

Suddenly, Antstar felt white-hot anger bubble up into his throat. This cat couldn’t be very old. And yet- and yet, they had the audacity to take away a WindClan leader’s life? Even though their clan had nothing to do with WindClan at the moment? Despite everything? Despite all the war waged, all the cats who it would make sense to attack…

“Coalclaw!” Antstar snarled, sighting the charcoal-colored tabby. He nudged his nose at the SkyClan cat. “Get him! NOW!”

The blue-gray tabby tried to run, but Coalclaw caught him in one leap. He grabbed onto the cat’s neck, and then looked at his leader for orders.

“Should I keep him here, or-“ “He took my life. He’s a danger. I don’t care what it takes, get him out of my sight!”

Antstar regretted the words as soon as they had flung out of his mouth. He almost tried to take them back, but he didn’t have the courage to. Coalclaw’s teeth were deeply embedded into the blue-gray tabby’s neck, and they clamped down harder and harder for what felt like hours. Coalclaw looked as though he were in great terror doing it, as if he was clamping down onto his own throat. A horrible, dark crimson pool erupted from the blue-gray cat’s throat and mouth.

Coalclaw let go, nearly stumbling on himself. The blue-gray tom stumbled, and the blood didn’t stop pouring, only getting faster and faster as it slunk down the sloped ground…

At last, the tom gave out at his ankles, and fell to the ground. There was a crowd gathering, now. Antstar felt more nauseous than ever, almost wanting to slip into the river and escape from it all.

The battle was at standstill as a horrible scream- worse than even Trufflepelt’s dying caterwaul- echoed throughout the air. Antstar had never heard anything like it. The sound was pain personified.

He turned to see what it was.

And there stood Pigeonstar.

Pigeonstar was covered in scratches from the battle, but it seemed like all his physical pain left him as he ran to the tom’s body. He was in shock, prodding at the body and trying desperately to find a sign of life.

And then it hit Antstar like a boulder from the sky. The same blue-gray pelt. The same angular figure. The same diamond-shaped face, the same pale underbelly.

Pigeonstar’s son.

At once, the SkyClan leader looked like he lost all the tension in his body. He collaped on top of his son, sobbing with grief, quieter than any cat ever knew him to be.

Then, after eternity and a day, he stood up slowly and shakily. The body before him remained still.

“I think he’s waking up,” he said deliriously, wild grief turning to wild, desperate hope. “He has to be! See, the chest is moving! He’ll wake up any moment now. He has to be! Someone!” His face flickered through a thousand emotions. “Someone get a medicine cat! Please! They’ll show you! They’ll show you all!” He lay on the body, rocking back and forth, his eyes blank. “StarClan wouldn’t let him die, you know. They have to know my children are my greatest joy. They have to!...”

He looked right at Antstar. He had been robbed away by grief. All that was left was desperate madness, desperate denial.

“He has to be asleep. He’d sleep like this when he was a kit. Just him and I. He was always the one that was closest to me, my little runt of the litter.”

Honeyfur entered the little clearing in the crowd where Pigeonstar and the body lay, gently, his face wracked with horror as he already knew what he had to tell his leader. He went over to check the body, laying a paw on the tom’s crushed throat.

“See?” said Pigeonstar, still feverish from denial. “He’s just asleep, right?”

“Stoneclaw is dead,” said Honeyfur matter-of-factly.

Pigeonstar jumped up, convulsing, eyes wide.

“His neck was crushed. The wound is very deep; I doubt we could have saved him. He died from a mixture of blood loss and suffocation.”

He was cut off by a wild scream of agony from Pigeonstar, who buried his face into the body.

There was dead silence.

After another eternity, however, Pigeonstar slowly got up, shaking. His back was turned to Antstar, and Antstar suddenly felt something horrible stick to the back of his throat.

“YOU!” Pigeonstar turned around, staring Antstar dead on. Antstar realized, then, that he had been a fool when he had thought about Pigeonstar. Pigeonstar wasn’t always angry. Annoyed? Mean? Yes. But only now- only now as he stared on this wild apparition, this thing that was no longer a cat but a parent’s grief possessing flesh- only now, he realized, was he dealing with a truly furious Pigeonstar.

“YOU KILLED HIM!”

In a flash, Pigeonstar leapt towards Antstar. But Honeyfur and a brown SkyClan warrior caught him before he could make contact, pulling him away, away from the clearing.

“HE KILLED MY BABY! HE KILLED MY BABY!” he sobbed wildly.

As they pulled him away, he tried to push back, his paws reaching out- but nobody could tell if he was after Antstar, or after his dead son.

“I- I didn’t mean…” Coalclaw had stood in place the entire time, his eyes wide and his knees buckling from guilt. “I- I never meant to kill…”

“Battle’s over,” said Tatteredstar, interrupting. Antstar looked around. The dead- Bumbleshade, Sandwhisker, Trufflepelt, what remained of the flame-point tom, the black ThunderClan cat, Stoneclaw, and a red RiverClan molly Antstar only now realized had been killed with a pang of grief- Redfeather- were all being inspected by their respective medicine cats, already being prepared to be taken back to their camps and buried.

Tatteredstar flicked her tail and turned towards ThunderClan territory.

“Sunningrocks is theirs, now. Battle’s over.”

#warrior cats #warrior cats ocs #Holy Damn was this a wild one to write #also i haven't written a battle scene since i was 11 lol so it's probably not Great #story

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meher-sumedha · 4 years ago

Text

Gwyneth Birthday PART 1 Gwynriel Headcanon - Inspired by @rhys-darling but not the same

Azriel was in the balcony, it was 6 am in the morning and he couldn't sleep. It was still dark outside and the stars were still visible. He was in a normal t-shirt and pants while looking at them when he heard someone entering.

"Hi" Gwyn said to him. "Hi" He replied. He saw she started fidgeting with her hands. He noticed in the past few months that it was a sign of nervousness.

"What's wrong? " He asked, suddenly concerned. "Oh nothing is wrong", "oh" He replied and started wondering what could have gone wrong. "Can I ask you something?" She asked him.

"Sure", "Can you take me to the city? ". He couldn't help to hide the surprise in his face and she started fidgeting again. "Um, sure, but why do you suddenly want to go to the city?".

"It's my birthday today and I wanted to face it, it's a beautiful city". " Happy Birthday" He said and couldn't hide his smile, to which she returned the smile.

"So how am I supposed to do this? Do I have to take the elevator or what? " She asked. "No no, you'll wake cass and nes with the amount of sound it makes. "

"Oh" She said and frowned. "It's alright, i'll take you. ", "Really?". " Yeah, why not" .

"Okay" she said and came closer to wrap her arms around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Azriel spread his wings and she laughed. "Ready? ", " Ready. "

As soon as he shot to the sky she hid her face in his neck and he laughed. When the finally landed she didn't let go. "Are we there?" She asked with her face still in his neck. "yes", "but are we really there? ". "Yes gwyn, we're there" He assured her.

She then took her face out of his neck and smiled at him before walking away from him and taking in the city. She was awestruck. She froze on the spot and couldn't do anything except smile.

"It's beautiful", "I know" Azriel replied. He couldn't stop the small smile on his face when he saw Gwyn so happy. He then walked towards her and they started walking towards the city.

They then stopped in front of a coffee shop and Azriel's wings disappeared. "Ready? ", " Ready" She replied and they went inside.

"The shop's closed, come back in an hour" A redheaded woman in her forties replied from behind the counter but when she saw them she froze. "Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you. The shop's always gonna be open for you. Come sit" She told them and directed them to a table.

"It's alright, anyone could make such a mistake" Azriel replied. "Oh i wasn't talking to you lad I was talking to her. She's a legend around here. Along with Nesta and Emerie. Ah, her book is an inspiration to all of us, Our Stories Are Worth Telling, wait, can I please get your autograph? "

Gwyn started laughing and Azriel was well, he couldn't be any more surprised. "Thank you, but I've never given anyone my autograph, are you sure you still want it? ", "oh of course I do, who wouldn't. " She then handed gwyn her notepad and her pen and gwyn signed her signature.

"You wrote a book? " Azriel asked, still not able to stomach whatever happened. "Yeah, it was about our journey, mine, nesta's and emerie's. "

"Why didn't you tell any of us? ", "well Nesta and Emerie knew, but I didn't think it was important to tell anyone else. I don't even know how they got the book. ", " Well if you ever write a book again be sure to tell us, we'll give you a huge party for it" Azriel said and Gwyn started laughing.

He had never heard such a melodious sound. He loved it when she laughed and it always made him smile. "Well she forgot to take our order so tell me, what does the author of the year want? ". "The author of the year would like a cup of ginger tea please". " Alright" Azriel smiled and went to the counter.

"Excuse me, could we get a cup of black coffee and a cup of ginger tea? ". "Yes, why not, anything else? " "No, nothing, thank you. Azriel went back to his seat when a guy with a lot of flour on his clothes came running from the kitchen door. He handed the woman a tray and said "alright, i've washed all your dishes and cleaned the Kitchen, anything else I can help with? "

"Oh no Ace, you couldn't be more helpful, Just hand the people at the seats these cups and you can go".

"Alright".

He then emerged from the back of the counter and came towards them. "Here you go" He said and Gwyn's mouth parted slightly. "Thank you very much" She said and he turned towards her. She couldn't contain her smile and nervousness. "What's your name? ", she asked the brown haired guy with brown eyes and an Amazing bod.

"Ace, nice to meet you", He replied and shook her hand, she shook his hand and said " Gwyn". "Alright, that'll be all". Azriel said cause he felt a huge pang of jealousy in his chest and put some gold coins on the table which brought Gwyn back to reality.

Ace took the gold coins and gave them a slight salute before returning to the counter and leaving.

"Why'd you have to be so rude? " Gwyn asked Azriel. "Me? Rude? Never heard of it" He smiled and took a sip of his coffee. "Alright leave it, so where are we going next? ", She asked him. " We can go anywhere. "

"Okay, I saw a clothing shop which I want to go to". "Alright".

They then finished their drinks and went to the shop. Gwyn tried on so many clothes but still Azriel never got tired of watching her being amazed. But whenever she saw the price tags of the clothes she sighed and didn't buy even one dress. One particular red dress had her interested but she never bought it, she made excuses like she didn't want it but Azriel knew she did.

They were walking through the final streets of Velaris when she finally asked him the question. "How do I earn money? ", " Whatever do you mean? " azriel asked cheekily.

She glared at him and then asked. "I mean like Rhys pays you for being his spy right, so if I have to get a job, could I get one? Here, in Velaris? ", "yeah, you could, but don't the priestesses get paid? ", " We do get paid but not in the form of cash, Rhys has already provided us with a safe home so we never needed anything else. "

"Oh" Was all Azriel replied. "Can we go back now? I'm very tired and we also have to train in a few hours". " Okay" Azriel replied and scooped her in his arms and took them to the house.

She then went to her room which was practically Rhys' room because he barely stayed there now. It was right opposite Azriel's room and both of their rooms had balconies, so they never felt trapped.

She stopped in front of her room and said. "Hey Az", " Yeah" He turned towards her. "Thank you for tonight", " No problem " He said and they both returned to their rooms.

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