#the massive eyes of rage and embarrassed/shy confusion

[grubus]

can a day ever go badly if it begins with art from quest???? LOOK AT IT!!!

[ID: A four panel comic of a scene from chapter 41 of @grubus's Scum Villain fanfic Shen Yuan of No Relation.

Panel 1: Shen Qingqiu bursts into the bamboo house, framed by the doorway and the falling snow outside. "What," he says, "are you cretins doing?"

Panel 2: Shen Yuan and Luo Binghe are sitting at a low table with tea and several bowls of food laid out. Shen Yuan stares at Shen Qingqiu's inelegant arrival, while Binghe is holding a morsel of food with a pair of chop sticks. "Feeding Shixiong," he says.

Panel 3: Luo Binghe presses the food to Shen Yuan's mouth- he opens automatically, still staring at Shen Qingqiu

Panel 4: in the background, Shen Yuan is blushing furiously at his automatic response; Lou Binghe, pleased, continues eating with the same pait of chopsticks. In the foreground, Shen Qingqiu is drawn in a comically sketchier style, shaking in rage.

End ID.]

Yes it is once again a comic for Shen Yuan of No Relation but have you considered. It's very good.

also bonus last panel with no SQQ

Boys being boys

[doctorwhoandfairytaillover]

Part 1 - Vikings: Una Flor

Summary: When someone returns from a journey, one would expect for them to return with trinkets and gifts from the journey. Apparently, Ragnar didn’t get the message and instead returned with a foreign flower his family wasn’t expecting.

Pairings: Ragnar x reader (platonic), Ragnarssons x reader (romantic)  

A/N: I would love to know what y’all thought of the first part to this new series. It will definitely be a little different from my previous work, but I’m excited to share it. 

                                  ---------------------------

All waited anxiously for the arrival of the men that after several months, had returned with whatever treasures they had taken from the raids. Amongst those in the crowd the sons of Ragnar; Bjorn, Ubbe, Hvitserk, Sigurd, and Ivar along with Queen Aslaug waited patiently for the man to dock ship. It did not take long for the men aboard the ship to make their way to their loved ones amidst the cheers of celebration of another successful plunder.

The royal family were pleased to spot Ragnar as he made his way to his family, a proud and accomplished look to his face. He greeted his family with a jovial wave, walking toward them with his cloak loosely wrapped around his shoulders. 

His family greeted him with various forms of Welcome back, and Ragnar looked to Ivar, as the boy stared at his father with a furrowed brow.

“Is there someone underneath your cloak?” Ivar asked in bewilderment.

Ragnar chuckled as he pulled away his arm from himself and the cloak opened to reveal a younger woman nestled beside him, drawn close to him against the bitter cold as her own cloak was wrapped over her to hide most of her from sight.

“Come my sweet (Y/N), introduce yourself” he said.

Hesitantly, she pulled away the hood of her cloak and revealed her youthful features to Ragnar’s family as she nervously looked at them. She fidgeted where she stood, shivering from the cold and tightly holding onto her own cloak to stay warm.

“Tu familia?” she asked timidly, turning to him in confusion.

At his nod, her eyes widened in glee as she smiled widely and turned to them, leaving his side as she reached his son’s. Without another word, she grabbed Bjorn’s hands and kissed him on both cheeks.

“Un placer” she whispered in embarrassment as her cheeks reddened, reaching toward Ubbe and doing the same to all the brothers who merely watched her in fascination. After greeting them, she stood before Queen Aslaug and smiled despite not receiving one in turn. Taking the Queen’s hand in her own as she kneeled and pressed the back of the Queen’s hand to her forehead. 

Afterward with a nervous giggle, she returned to Ragnar’s side as she wrapped her arms around his waist as he pressed a kiss to her cheek in pride.

“This is (Y/N), a girl I paid for in a place known as Iberia and I have brought her to be a bride” he said.

His son’s and wife bristled in anger but before they could protest, he said “So boys which one of you would be willing to make her your wife?”                                   ----------------------------

Seated at the head table, (Y/N) was placed between Sigurd and Ivar as she stared wide eyed at the abundance of food lain before her very eyes. Seeing her apprehension, Sigurd placed a few things on her plate as she stared at him with her eyes glittering in excitement. Queen Aslaug watched the interactions of her son and the young girl that was apparently “bought” and turned to her husband.

“How is it that you came to find this girl?” she asked taking sips of her mead.

“We were caught in a massive storm that veered us greatly off course, it lasted for several days and it seemed that we would never see it calming at last the rains calmed and the wind had blown us to a coastal village” he said. “The locals were kind and many offered their homes as we intended on fixing many of the damages our boats had received. Floki and I were brought to the home of the richest man but also the most miserly.”

“Why would you say that?” Bjorn asked, having been listening in to his father.

“The man had eight children and whenever he set any of them out to trade or buy, he had each of them line up and have them mention the price and many other things to him before making sure they hadn’t spent more than what he thought necessary. The poor girl was treated worse than her brothers, the majority of my stay I had the assumption she was his slave with all that he expected of her.”

“Is that how you bought the girl?” asked Hvitserk. “Thinking she was the slave?”

“Oh no, I had stumbled into her room as she was changing and her brothers were quick to go to their old man. From what little I understood of their language, they claimed I had shamed them and needed to pay for her and take her with me. In his fit of rage, the man grabbed her long hair and cut it off at the ears as punishment apparently.”

All looked to the girl that was happily munching away at her food with stuffed cheeks, stopping mid-chew when she felt their stares. Sheepishly she swallowed and timidly smiled when she looked to them. As previously mentioned by Ragnar, (Y/N) had her (h/c) hair messily cut and near her jaw.

“Of course, in the time that she has been with us, her hair has grown some but it was much shorter. But I argued for some time with the man that I hadn’t shamed them, but eventually I agreed to take the girl and during the trip came to care for her as a daughter. It is on the voyage with some difficulty she told me about herself, and she revealed that her mother was a princess to a tribe of warriors that was kidnapped. I figured that she could be a wife for one you boys and provide an alliance of this group if one of you can somehow catch her eye and find the location of these warriors.” 

The boys scoffed, they assumed it would be a simple task as (Y/N) seemed to be naïve to the advances of men and could be swayed to like them, but their interest was certainly peaked that she was a grandchild to a group of warriors. 

With a smirk, Ragnar took a sip from his chalice.

“One more thing, (Y/N) is still learning our language. She understands some phrases and can say some things, but she is at a lost for the most part” he chuckled. “I will give you all an introduction and leave it to all of you.” 

A sharp whistle and (Y/N) quickly got out of her seat to stand beside Ragnar. He cleared his throat and spoke thickly, “Te presento a mi familia. As visto a mi esposa Aslaug.” (I present to you my family, you have seen my wife Aslaug)

“Ella es muy bella” (Y/N) said sweetly. (She is very beautiful)

Ragnar then pointed to Bjorn, “El es mi hijo mayor Bjorn. El es un gran guerrero.” (This is my eldest son Bjorn, he is a great warrior)

She stuck closer to Ragnar,“No me sorprende con su estatura.” (It doesn’t surprise me with his stature)

“Este es mi hijo Ubbe, un hombre sabio” (This is my son Ubbe, a wise man)

“El parece mucho como usted Ragnar” (He looks a lot like you Ragnar)

“A lado de el esta mi otro hijo, Hvitserk. A el le encanta mucho la comida.” (Beside him is my other son, Hvitserk. He loves food a lot)

“Oh! Seguramente el le gustaría platillos de mi pueblo.” (Oh! Surely he will like the dishes of my village)

“Del lado tuyo es mi hijo Sigurd, el sabe como tocar el oud” (Beside you is my son Sigurd, he knows how to play the oud.)

“Me encantaría escuchar cuando el toca” (I would love to hear when he plays)

“Y finalmente este es mi hijo Ivar un muchacho listo.” (And finally is my son Ivar, a clever boy)

“Ivar?”she gasped in excitement and realization. “El es como mi hermano Ivan.” (He is like my brother Ivan)

“My name is Ivar, not Ivan” the boy scoffed as he took a drink from his cup.

She scrunched her face in annoyance, clearly trying to find the right words to explain what she was trying to say and called out to Floki. The man in question looked to the girl as she pointed to Ivar in frustration.

Once again she said, “Ivan.”

The man giggled and sat beside Ivar.

“She knows your name Ivar” Floki laughed, “But she has a younger brother whose name is Ivan.”

“Well what does that boy have to do with her saying his name when she sees me?” Ivar asked.

“Because Ivan happens to be exactly like you Ivar, a little boy with broken legs. Only difference between you two is that Ivan has a sunny disposition” Floki giggled.  

“Well would you look at that Ivar, she only sees you as nothing but another little boy that should be pitied” Sigurd sneered. “Looks like we can count you out.”

Ivar scowled at his brother but said nothing. 

“No entiendo, que están diciendo Floki?” (I don’t understand, what are they saying Floki?)

“No te preocupes, solo son tonterías de muchachos” Floki said. (Don’t worry it is merely boyish foolishness)

She turned to Sigurd and Hvitserk, gesturing with her hands “You play and you dance, yes?”

“Are you asking if I can play?” Sigurd asked. 

Instantly the girls face lit up as she nodded excitedly, once again gesturing him playing on the oud. Taken by her sweet nature, Sigurd stood to play his oud as she had requested and instantly (Y/N) stood up from her seat taking Hvitserk by the hand to dance. In comparison to her light and quick steps, Hvitserk stumbled to keep up with her as she danced in a way that none of the Ragnarssons had seen before. She was not shy to fix Hvitserk’s movements and laughing when he would stumble, not out of mockery but in excitement that he was learning.

“I am going to cut in and see if I can do better, I’m sure that the dance isn’t as hard as Hvitserk makes it out to be” Ubbe said as he took his younger brother’s place.  

Both Bjorn and Ivar looked on at their brothers make fools of themselves as they struggled to figure out the quick steps of the girls dance, attempting with the little she knew of their language and gestures as to how they would communicate with each other.

“You don’t truly think one of us will marry the girl, do you father?” Bjorn asked seriously.

“I fully expect it Bjorn, it doesn’t matter who wins her heart but I intend for that girl to marry into our family even if it means forcing one of you” Ragnar said taking a long drink from his cup. “None of you might realize it yet, but that girl is more special than any of you know.”

With that, Ragnar said no more and Ivar was staring intently at the girl wondering what could be so special about this foreign flower that his father would want one of them to marry her.  

Tag List (Open) 

@heavenly1927, @princesscornbread, @fairyofvoid

@ivarthebloodyking, @shit-i-say-shit-i-think

@youbloodymadgenius, @youbleed-justtoknow-yourealive, 

@leahh19​, @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch​ 

(If I forgot to tag you or you would like to be tagged, please let me know)

[glacialltz]

hi ,, can i request some pining hcs for the diasomnia boys please ?? 👉👈- ☁️☁️

Cloud Anon!!! It’s such a nice thought that god herself descended from the heavens to my humble little bakery. I had to put a lot more effort into these sweets, so I really do hope you enjoy. I had a lot of fun writing them 💗. I do hope I followed the recipe enough and they’re “pining”-y enough. Please, don’t hesitate to tell me your review afterwards. I hope the taste is to your liking 💞🍰I have a hard time writing for the Disaomnia boys, so I hope it’s alright~~ It’s a bit long, so I’ll add in a read more after Malleus~~

Malleus could remember the night he met you perfectly.

He could remember the crispness of the cool air, the reflective light of the moon, and the sight of the cold, grey gargoyles perched on the edges of the school.

He could remember the sight of you too. Your flushed cheeks and rapidly rising and falling chest, coupled with your ragged breaths, gave away the fact that you had been desperately running through the courtyard, trying to find your pesky little friend, Grim. 

He was surprised, to say the least, to see someone other than himself out at such an hour. 

However, his surprise increased when, instead of shying away from him like most other students did, you smiled at him - a sincere and joyful smile spreading across your face as you looked at him.

He couldn’t believe his eyes - this little human, so small and frail compared to the likes of him, had decided to stay by his side for the night in order to talk to him.

“I don’t think I’ve met you before!” you had said. “My name is….”

The next night, he expected to be alone once again. Only himself and the gargoyles to keep him company. However, his expectations were, once again, shattered.

There you sat, in the same place he had met you the previous night, but this time, you held a dainty flower crown in your hands. 

“These purple hyacinths would look so pretty on you! Look, I made it special; it’ll fit around your horns!”

He could remember the way his heart squeezed at the sight - this little, fragile human, who was not only unafraid of him, unlike the other students, had not only returned to his company, but had brought such a sweet gift for him? He was….touched.

He could remember how over the next few days, the two of you met up more and more. You talked with him. Openly, and around the other students. You didn’t mind the weird looks you got. The weird student who talked to the terrifying Malleus Draconia. When was the last time someone outside of Diasomnia had done that? 

He could remember the way his heart longed for you when you weren’t by his side. The way he couldn’t wait to talk to you again, hear your sweet, musical laugh, or see your bright, almost blinding smile. 

Lilia had taken it upon himself to start teasing him, saying he had a crush, or that he was “pining” for you. He didn’t understand what Lilia had meant, at least, not then. Was it a crush? Was he pining? Was he just grateful to have a friend?

As the days continued on he realized that what he has was, in fact, a crush. That it was this thing that Lilia had referred to as “pining”.

He could remember the way he longed for you - how he longed to see you and be around you. The way he wanted to hold your hand while he told you about his “Gao-Gao Dragon-Kun”. The way he wanted to hear about you and your life. The way he wanted to have you stay as a part of his life, his newest friend, but how he also wanted you to be more than just a friend. 

He could remember the exact moment when it felt like the world stopped. The moment he realized he was in love with you.

To others - and himself - Lilia Vanrouge did not seem like the type to have a crush on, let alone pine for, anyone.

The only problem with that was, well, Lilia had never met anyone like you before.

The first time Lilia ran into you, it was actually the other way around. You ran into him.

It had been a loud thud - you weren’t looking and he hadn’t been expecting it. He had previously been hanging upside down, planning on finding something to do in order to mess with Sebek, so the sight of a little human running into him, certainly took him off guard.

He couldn’t help but find it cute - the way your cheeks flamed red and you stuttered out an apology, who wouldn’t find it cute? 

He watched with glee as you ran away embarrassed. He thought that would have been the last time he’d see you; the last he’d hear of that cute little human.But fate seemed to have something different in mind for this old soul.

A couple nights had passed and before he knew it, he caught a glimpse of your form heading back to your dorm, splitting away from the two troublemaking first years from Heartslabyul, and walking away on your own.

Being the polite man he was, Lilia casually walked up to you, offering to walk you home. Not wanting to resist such a kind offer, you accepted, and the two of you began walking back to your dorm together. 

The more you talked to him, the cuter he found you. The way your lips quirked into a smile and your eyes held so much light, he couldn’t help but find you absolutely adorable. 

The more you talked and told him about yourself, the more he wanted to talk to you again. 

After dropping you off in his dorm and returning to his own, Lilia had yet to wipe the gleeful smile off his face. Unluckily for him, Silver was very quick to pick up on it. 

“What are you smiling for, old man? What trouble did you stir up now?”

“Trouble? Fufufu~ What are you talking about, Silver?”

The young man sighed and walked away, leaving Lilia on his own to think. Was he...really smiling over simply walking you back?

Over the next few days, he found his gaze wandering over to you more and more often. He found entertainment in the way you fooled around with the braincell duo you seemed to spend most of your time with. He found entertainment in the way you laughed so carelessly with them. He found entertainment in your sweet laugh. 

He found entertainment in the way you reacted when he popped up around you, and the kind words you had to spare for him. He found entertainment in your reactions to his teasing and jokes. He found the most entertainment, however, in the way he found himself longing for your presence when you weren’t beside him. 

He missed you when you weren’t next to him. It was a weird feeling - a feeling he never thought he’d have toward a human - longing.

It didn’t take him long to figure out what was going on; he was able to decipher the reasoning behind the storm raging within his chest.

Lilia was no idiot. Not by a long shot. He had been around humans long enough to know he had developed a “crush” on you, and that his desire to be around you was “pining”.

While he may have been able to understand his feelings, he wasn't able to figure out what he should do next. 

For the time being, he decided he would continue to long for you from afar.

Just until he was confident he would be able to swoop in and steal your heart in return.

Silver’s uncanny ability to fall asleep at any moment was a bit of an exasperation for those around him. He just so happened to be asleep once again on the day you two met.

You were running through the courtyard - not the best decision on your part - when you tripped over a log. Or...was it a log?

After picking yourself up from off the ground, you realized it was, in fact, not a log you had tripped over, but a very sleepy young man. 

Frantic apologies spilled past your lips as you asked if he was okay, but with a simple hand movement he waved away all of your questions.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

A beat had passed in silence; the guilt was eating you up inside with every second you were beside him.

Due to his desire to want to be the best knight he could, Silver warmly offered to walk you to your next class, and away the two of you went. You struck up casual conversation and before he knew it your beautiful laugh was ringing through the halls, resounding in his ears, and reverberating in his heart. 

He thought walking you to your class would be the end of it. Never mind the whispers of your voice in his ears or the imprint of your smile in his brain. 

However, much to his surprise, you brought him a bento the very next day. You apologized once again for running into him while he was asleep, and causing him to subsequently go through the trouble of walking you to class.

The assurances he was ready to offer died on his tongue as he opened the lunch. Snug inside one of the compartments lay a small helping of some delicious mushroom risotto. 

He was confused, to say the least. How did you know this was his favorite food? Was it a lucky guess? Or did you ask Lilia or Sebek?

Before he got the chance to ask you, you bid him a sweet farewell before skipping off to your friends who were waiting for you. He looked down at the lunch, and he smiled.

For the following few days, he seemed to run into you everywhere. He’d catch sight of your back as you traversed through the halls, see a glimpse of your hair through the waves of students.

The thing that did the most damage to his heart, however, was the way you went out of your way for him. Every class you two had together, you’d greet him with a pleasant “hi!”. Every morning at breakfast and every night at lunch, you’d wave to him as you walked past. 

Every little sighting of you made his heart beat faster and faster.

He noticed he felt less sleepy when you were around. He felt more awake than ever, actually. He perked up at just the thought of you, or the idea that you may be around.

However, despite any attempts to be subtle on his part, it did not go unnoticed.

Lilia was quick to pick up on this massive shift in Silver.

“I’m surprised at this extraordinary change in you, Silver,” he would say. But Silver would pay him no mind - he didn’t feel like explaining the intricacies of his heart to his old man.

The longer time went on, and the more he met up with you to talk, or even to do homework together, the more his heart longed for you.

He didn’t know how he was able to handle it. The mere thought of you was enough to dye his ears all shades of pink. 

Was he….was he in love with you?

Eventually, Silver realized that must be the only answer - that he was utterly and hopelessly in love with you.

The more the days passed by, the more he wanted to confess to you; to tell you how he felt.

Would it really be okay for him to do so? “Well,” he thought, as he straightened his cap. “I suppose I’ll have to find out.”

Sebek’s first meeting with you really wasn’t anything special. 

The first time he had seen you, you had bumped into Malleus in the hallway. It was a complete accident, but Sebek didn’t see it that way.

The only thing keeping him from chewing you out right then and there in front of everyone was the presence of the Young Master. 

He couldn’t stop fuming as the day went on. “Who do they think they are, bumping into the Young Master like that.” 

Any spectators would have to admit that the second meeting went better than the first.

Upon seeing you for the second time, Sebek’s anger fueled rant (as he had not forgotten about the first meeting) quickly dissolved into simply just a Malleus rant.

When his speech finally came to a close, he was a bit embarrassed for having spoken so long about his dear young master.

But he was not sorry - no, not in the slightest. Why would he apologize for speaking so vehemently about his lovely young master? You should be grateful for being blessed with stories of his greatness. 

Sebek could vividly remember the way he couldn’t stop thinking about you that night. You hadn’t been annoyed while listening, while others often were. You had been patient, kind, and attentive to what he had been saying. 

What Sebek didn’t realize, however, was the shade of pink his ears were slowly turning.

This little blush didn’t go unnoticed by Lilia, who quickly picked up on it in order to tease the young man. 

Almost certain that Sebek was suffering from a crush, he crept up behind him before saying, “Sebek, are you aware that the more you think about someone you’re crushing on, the more they’ll think about you in return?” 

“R-really?” Sebek sputtered for a second before attempting to regain his composure. “It’s asinine that you would even begin to presume that I would have a crush on anyone. I am wholly devoted to serving the young master. I thought you knew that by now?”

“Fufufu. I wasn’t implying anything.~~ Just wanted to let you know.~~”

The more Sebek thought about you, and that night, the more his desire to speak to you again grew. 

Whenever he saw you out in the halls, his heart skipped a beat. It almost stopped completely when you raised your hand and waved to him, a pretty little smile dancing across your lips.

He remembered the way he held his breath when you skipped over to him at lunch. He remembers the feeling of his pulse quickening when you sat down beside him. He remembers the blood pounding in his ears when you turned to him, smiling, and asked him, “How’s the Young Master?”

Sebek had never taken interest in someone like you before. You listened to him talk, not even minding too much when he got a bit loud, and you showed interest in both Malleus... and Sebek himself. 

He was starstruck, and couldn't help but think of you what seemed like every few minutes. It seemed to him that no matter what he was doing, his thoughts somehow wandered to you.

Did you think he looked cool during p.e. class? Did you see the way he answered Crewel’s question perfectly? Do you think about him as much as he thinks about you?

He eventually realized that he did, in fact, have a rather large crush on you. 

This realization hit him like the Adeuce combo on a flying broomstick. What was he supposed to do now?

He couldn’t stop thinking of you, and he hated it. He was meant to be devoted to Malleus, yet here he was thinking about some mere human.

The crush continued to persist, despite Sebek’s half-hearted wishes for it to go away. 

The more he thought about you the more he realized he wanted to be more than friends with you.

Until the day he could confess, Sebek would continue to straighten himself up, fix his uniform, and proudly march over to (loudly) talk to you once again.

[yukimoji]

Hello ! Can I request a small headcanon of Zenitsu meeting a shy and quiet demon slayer reader during a mission ? ( Maybe Zenitsu get a little scared by her because he didn't her killing the demon). Sorry for my english btw ;w; ! I hope you will have a nice day ! Oblivion

(a/n: hi! im so sorry that this took so long, i hope you can forgive me for being such a neglecting author. i hope i did justice to your request askdjhaskdhakd)

(Total words: 1300+ words)

Genre: idk? Maybe Crack with hints of fluff at the end.

No manga spoilers

Warnings: None

Meeting You. ( Zenitsu Agatsuma x Reader ) I Headcanon

Darkness had come, the stars were twinkling in the night sky. The bright rays of the moon shone throughout the dark forest, giving light to those who dared to venture inside.

They say that those who go inside the forest, whether it be for curiosity or childish motives, have never been seen again. Only an idiot would have been foolish enough to go inside when such disappearances escalated with each passing night.

Sadly for Zenitsu, he was among the unfortunate few who ventured into the forest, albeit forcibly.

For this particular mission, a Demon was believed to be responsible for these disappearances. With the number of missing people steadily rising, there was no question that the creature had enough strength to be stronger than the average demon.

However, since he was tasked with slaying such a strong demon, another Demon Slayer was assigned as his partner. He was told he was going to meet the fellow Slayer when he arrived in the forest.

Still, the inevitable possibility of facing a terrifying and powerful demon has made Zenitsu shake relentlessly ever since he stepped into the damned forest. He had been walking for a while now, but there was no sign of a Demon Slayer in sight. This only made the knot grow tighter in his stomach as he continues to venture deeper.

"This is so unfair! Why was I even given this mission?! I don't stand a chance against a Demon like this! Why could've they just only give the mission to the other Demon Slayer?! They haven't even showed up! I'm going to be a dead man! I'm going to die sad and alone in this wretched place!"

He does not want to be here.

He just wants to be ANYWHERE but here.

He continues rattling and trembling with every passing step, glistening tears threatening to spill from his eyes. It doesn't ease his anxieties when he hears every little sound in the forest, from the singing of the Cicadas, the buzz of the Fireflies, and the heavy breathing of a large creature aggressively approaching him —

Wait.

Heavy breathing..  Large.. Creature..?

He whimpers, slowly turning around to meet the bulbous, bloodshot eyes of a Demon. It's elongated tongue was dripping wet with its drool, massive limbs sunk into the dirt, veins popping around almost ready to burst at any moment. A sinister glint was present in it's intense gaze, as it prepared to pounce at him at any given moment.

Zenitsu screams in absolute horror as he dashes off, shouting out profanity and insults as the demon immediately chases after him like a starved beast.

"YAAAAAAHHH! STAY AWAY! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

The demon laughs venomously, picking up his pace to catch up with a crying Zenitsu, it's tongue extending out to strike him.

"No! NO! STOP THAT! DON'T TOUCH ME WITH YOUR FILTHY TONGUE! DON'T YOU DARE INFECT ME WITH YOUR DISGUSTING DROOL! YAAAHH!"

Suddenly, a glimpse of the Demon Slayer Uniform suddenly flashed, as the demon cries out as it's tongue and limbs were suddenly cut apart.

Zenitsu couldn't process his surroundings quickly, as he crashed into a tree. Immediately, his body ached from the collision, and he scrambled to face the demon. His back was flush against the hard trunk of the tree, as his heart continued to rapidly pound in his chest, the vibrations almost deafening his hearing.

He hears quick footsteps from above, high branches shaking loudly with each step. Surely, the other Demon Slayer was here now! He was saved! He was going to live and see another day!

But his inner celebration was interrupted as the demon screamed out dramatically in rage, as it instantly regenerated its tongue. Now, Zenitsu was suddenly well aware of his situation; here he was, cornered against a tree, with a scary demon right across him.

He screams again before the Demon could slaughter him, as he abruptly shuts his eyes as he could he could feel himself pass out at any given moment.

But then, claws and fangs never reached him. Zenitsu continued to shake and tremble, but he attempts to open one eye to see his surroundings. He sees the demon's head at his side, a stunned expression present in it's face as it disintegrates into nothing but dust.

He opens his other eye as he takes in what happened. Relief washes all over his body, but he becomes wary when he hears footsteps approaching him. He feels fear overtake him again, rapidly looking around to try to find the culprit behind the footsteps. He feels his face pale once more, realizing that he never saw the Slayer that killed a demon.

"Oh no, maybe they got angry because all I did was cry! I did nothing to help them! They're going to kill me! I'm dead, I'm a dead man! I'm dead, I'm deadI'mdeadimdeadim-"

He lets out a surprised yelp when a gentle hand touches his shoulder.  He looks up to the owner of the hand, and becomes flabbergasted when he sees a pair of [E / C] orbs staring at him with concern.

"Are you okay?" The mysterious Slayer voices out, an unsure smile present in her face.

Wait a minute.

A girl.. is there with him. He was saved, by a girl!

He was alone in this forest, with a girl!

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, A GIRL WAS TOUCHING HIM!

All traces of Zenitsu's cowardice have disappeared like lightning, as he slowly lifts his other hand to gently brush the girl's hand. A suave expression shapes his face, as he gazes into her eyes with a small smirk tugging on his lips.

"I am, now that you're here."

The girl's face turns beet red at this statement, and quickly retreats her hand from the boy's gentle grasp. She hurriedly scurries away from him, placing both of her hands in her face to avoid the boy's confused look as she turns away from him in complete embarrassment.

Zenitsu's confusion grows with actions of the girl. Usually, when he compliments the ladies, they would either slap him or just glare at him and mutter a "thank you." He never had a reaction when a girl would just cower away from him in panic.

He gets on his feet, slowly approaches the girl, and starts to sense her fear and hesitation of him. He feels the guilt begin to cripple within him, recalling how the girl literally rescued him from imminent danger when he was being coward. Now, here he was, making his savior uncomfortable only because he couldn't control his flirtatious behavior.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry about my behavior! I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable right after you just saved me!" He begins, kneeling in front of the girl while clasping his hands together.

"You went through the trouble of defeating the demon while I was just cowering like an Idiot! I really thank you for saving me! I couldn't help you in any way because I kept whining and screaming, I'm so sorry for being useless, please forgive me!" He cries out, genuinely feeling remorse and regret form his actions.

The girl peeks out from her hands, and sees Zenitsu kneeling infront of her with tears streaming from his eyes. She hesitantly places her hands down, and kneels in front of him.

"..You weren't useless, mister.." She mutters out, making Zenitsu look up at her with utter shame in his eyes.

"While you were running and screaming, the demon never noticed me coming after him. You were so loud and fast that all the demon's attention was directed to you. If you didn't distract him, I would've been dead too. So.. thank you, for that." The girl trails off, giving him a shy smile, making the boy's heart flutter.

After that, the two of them walked out of the forest in silence. The girl never said a word during the walk, and Zenitsu could tell that she wasn't the type to speak unless spoken to. When she announced that she would now part ways with him, Zenitsu realized that he never got her name.

"Wait! I'm sorry for my rudeness, but I never introduced myself. My name is Zenitsu, Agatsuma Zenitsu." He introduces himself, giving the girl a warm smile as he holds out a hand for her to shake on.

The girl just gives him a small smile and, in agreement, nods at him.

"My name is [Y/N] [L/N]. It's nice to meet you."

[1stunseeliefaelass]

Darksiders Arthurian Tales Revisited

Chapter 19: Hear No Evil, See No Evil

Once Arn, Morgen, and Arthur had been put to the side allowing Leatherbeard and Death to start their duel, Arn kept himself between Morgen and the other crewmen and seemed to have an issue with the first mate.

She paid him no mind as Leatherbeard began right out of the gate turning his prosthetic into a axe. Swiping at Death who not only dodged but also parried Leatherbeard's attacks. Course Leatherbeard takes a few hits, but unfortunately he heals quicker than Death can deal them. During this fight, Leatherbeard notices Death still can't move too well due to his bad Achilles tendon. Taking this into account, Leatherbeard begins forcing Death to move on his bad leg. Leading to Leatherbeard picking him up then slamming him down to the ground, and giving him a pair of kicks to the gut. Death of course isn't about to stay down for long. As Death gets up he tries to charge at Leatherbeard, only to get an anchor to the face. As Death works to get back up yet again, his bad leg suddenly gets hit by the anchor as well. He flails in the air briefly before landing on his side, holding his ankle once he's down.

"SON OF BITCH!" Death growls in his pain.

Stormbeard gets a quizzical look and asks around, "Have I missed something? Is there something you forgot to mention? What the fuck is wrong with his leg? Because A, I can see it was fucked up somehow based on how he's moving. And B, because he's holding it!"

"Leatherbeard took out his achilles tendon last time they engaged. He may still be healing." War states worried.

"May? MAY?! Motherfucker that IS STILL HEALING!" Stormbeard shouts facepalming.

Meanwhile Death fights to stand up and begins swearing under his breath, "Aw fucking hell...real good plan Death you moron....real fucking smart."

"Came in half cocked, like always. Heheh..now let's finish this."

Suddenly Death feels a sharp pain in his gut just below his ribs. This unbelievable pain is even worse when the blade begins spinning, and his wound isn't healing, well not as fast as it should. From there Leatherbeard rips it from his gut, and stabs him in the arm. The same thing as before happens to his arm. Blood spewing as the coiled blade spins inside him like a drill. Leatherbeard continues to spin the blade on his prosthetic for a time before pulling it loose again. Had Morgen not given Death that boost he would've likely been dead right there and then. Having been partially disemboweled. Leatherbeard then displayed the spiral blade for all to see and upon tasting Death's blood began to transform.

"Is that all you got? Come on! You can do better than that. Last time I checked when you're on your doorstep you still keep fighting." Leatherbeard said as Death, through some miracle, finally got up and took another stance.

"That's it! Get up! That's what I like to see.", Leatherbeard said as he was ready to go a tad berserk.

Leatherbeard began his flurry of attacks once more and occasionally even tried to go for more stabs with his blade. Pulling it out of his prosthetic and keeping it in his good hand. His prosthetic began at his own will to form into various weapons. All to try and trip Death up all the more. Death, having become fully aware of what Leatherbeard was doing, stopped dodging and began to block or parry him. Using his spectral hands, he flat out stopped or moved some attacks away from him. Best part, it was beginning to work.

As everyone watched Leatherbeard get body slammed, Death pulled the cobalt dagger from his belt and got a lucky hit on Leatherbeard's ear. Taking the whole thing off. The cut itself leaving embers as the ear fell off and began to burn. The wound begins to cauterize as well. To Leatherbeard's surprise and anguish, it also wasn't healing nor was a new one growing. Not to mention the unbelievable stinging and pain he felt. It gave him no pleasure at all.

Arn meanwhile gets surprised when he suddenly feels someone reach out to him, "When I give the signal, be ready to protect the girl and child."

Arn at first doesn't understand but on instinct gently grabs Morgen's hand. Morgen naturally looks at him a bit concerned, "You alright lad?"

"Yes just...little eager that's all."

"Remain calm for now. Death's managed to regain an edge." Morgen responds calmly.

Unfortunately as Death begins laying the smackdown he starts losing vigor due to his injuries. Leatherbeard uses this to gain the advantage back during his angered frenzy. Capitalizing on Death's weakening state to transform, he then grabs Death by his face.

"NOW LET'S FINISH THIS!"

He throws Death back before turning his prosthetic back into the mount for blades. He then places the dagger back within it. Growling at Death in pure rage, "YOU BURN ME, I BURN YOU."

Death puts up as much of a defense as he can in preparation for this charge. Leatherbeard however manages to get Death on his back when he fails to have the remaining strength necessary to withstand it. Leatherbeard then gets ready to chomp down on Death's head, only for him to chuckle quietly.

"WHAT'S SO DAMN FUNNY?"

"Heheheh...only...heheh...that I'm about to have...a fish fry."

"What?" Leatherbeard inquires in a moment of confusion.

With a sudden final attack, Death lands the dagger directly into Leatherbeard's eye. The dagger burns it's way into Leatherbeard's socket, nullifying his healing and spewing jets of blood from the wound. Leatherbeard recoils, taking a few steps backwards screaming in pain. It's only then, that Stormbeard chooses to step in and focus his lightning on the dagger. A single, long lasting bolt of lightning flies from the heavens striking the hilt. It travels through the blade and into his skull, burning the socket in a permanent scorched pit. His prosthetic arm explodes in a mix of heated shrapnel and flames. Leatherbeard stands motionless for a moment, but without warning falls backwards in an unresponsive seizure like episode. When his first mate comes to his side to see if he's alright, the men guarding Morgen get attacked by a large grey furred wolf. Arn then transforms as well, to take out the remaining crewmen. Leaving all but the first mate and those who retreated with her, dead. Good thing the first mate remembered to remove the dagger. With it came the charred remnants of the black eye that was now a partial jelly ball. A charred leg is also left behind, a pretty clear indication that he'd lost it.

Arn nearly feasts on a guy only for the grey beast to shout, "ARN!"

Arn stops just shy of the guy's throat, and restrains himself enough to punch the guy, shattering his nose. When the grey beast stands at his full height, everyone is left in awe at what appears to be a werewolf but far larger. Sixteen feet tall easily and covered in grey fur with white highlights. Even more impressively, they could make out the Norse tattoos covering his chest, but it looks like they flow into his shoulders and possibly his arms. They glow a brilliant, frosty blue.

"Arn...Who Is that?" Esmie asks concerned.

"He's a friend Mama." Arn tells her calmly.

"I am Sygr of Jom. A Norseman." The grey werewolf responds.

Stormbeard pipes in, "You're a fucking Jotun and you know it. Don't fucking lie to us you bloody prick."

Sygr looks at him simply, "And you're a Storm Giant. Rather short for one at that."

Stormbeard gets visibly frustrasted, but suddenly cools down, "Yeah, and you're somebody that apparently has their tail between their legs. Where we you during that mess? I have an excuse, I was waiting for the right opportunity. What about you?"

"Same here."

Meanwhile Morgen hurried over to Death on the ground. He was untouched by the lightning, but the blood loss was beginning to take him. He started losing consciousness as Morgen worked to try and heal him. Using the last bit of strength he had, he sluggishly lifted his hand up to her.

"Told ya...I'd win."

With that his vision fades as Morgen begins to panic. Grasping his hand in worry. After several hours, Death's eyes flicker open to see Morgen laying on his chest. In his groggy state he isn't thinking of any embarrassment. So he slowly goes to move his hand to stroke her. Only for a massive amount of pain to suddenly hit him.

"NNNNAAAAARRRGH! Ah! Fuck!"

Morgen naturally snaps awake and immediately becomes embarrassed herself, "Uhm.....I am...so sorry. Did me laying here...?"

"No...I tried moving....Now I feel EVERYTHING."

Morgen sits up and asks him, "Shall I try healing you more?"

"That...might....help..." Death croaks out in his pain.

Morgen begins to heal him, even singing to try and ease his pain as well. Death lets himself rest whilst listening to her. But his peace is interrupted by his family bursting in.

War smashes through the door, "Are you alright?! We heard screaming."

"I....hurt...everywhere..." Death expresses in a croaky tone that suggests annoyance.

Strife then came in, "How you doing bro?"

"Ask....War..."

"War?"

"He hurts all over." War explains simply.

Strife just kind of shrugs, "Ok."

"Is that all then?" Fury inquires coming in the doorway.

"Oh for....FUCK'S sake..." Death whispers in more annoyance.

Morgen continues singing, as if in a trance like state as she doesn't even skip a beat when the door is suddenly burst through. Nor does she cease when the others speak. Death actually gets a bit concerned when noticing that she's still singing. Little does he know, she's hearing something or someone telling her to continue.

"Uh...is there a reason you're still singing and not...distracted by them? Owwww..." Death inquires in a strained tone.

Morgen's eyes are almost glossed over as if filled with liquid glitter. Course when she suddenly comes to whilst blinking quickly, her eyes go back to her usual amethyst.

"Huh...w-what? What's going on?"

"Uh we apparently are interrupting something." Strife says in a slightly embarrassed tone.

"Apparently." War adds on.

"Let's leave our brother alone then shall we boys?" Fury asks pulling them elsewhere.

Death meanwhile notices Morgen seems a bit on the confused side, "Are you alri....argh...alright?...ow..."

"I think so. I do feel a bit dazed, but that's it..." Morgen explains sounding worn out.

Death squints his eyes whilst listening to her and sees Morgen's horns seem to be growing again. Morgen actually begins to sway a bit before she begins to fall on her side. Nearly hitting the floor as she does so. Growling in pain Death forces himself up to catch her. Only managing to grab her arm, and in his growing pain he shouts for aid.

"HELP! I NEED A LITTLE HELP IN HERE! OW!"

Fury then hurries in, "Ok ok we're coming you......OK! Hang on a second there."

Fury then gets Morgen onto her shoulder and helps Death lay down. Ale then comes in behind her, "ATAN?! Atan?! Are you ok?"

"Just....as fine as I can be...ow...."

Ale then gets an idea, "I do have an idea. It's risky, but it should help with the pain Atan."

"What is it.....? Uuuggh..."

"Remember the pods in my village? They can heal anything. You'll just be asleep during the process." Ale explains.

"Ugh please tell me they do NOT put slime in those 'weird' 'uncomfortable' places."

"It's not slime, it's liquid Atan." Ale states.

"Ah....ok...I might actually consider it...nnngh."

Ale gently strokes him and Death realizes she's got a cloth in her hand, "This is to make sure you don't have a bad reaction to the liquid. The magic is within it and it'll be pumped through your body. So we need to make sure your body won't reject it."

Death sits still as Ale gently places the damp cloth along the more trivial wounds on his body.

"Nnngh ah...stings a little...but it's probably because....you're putting them on my wounds..."

"Shouldn't sting long. If anything you should start to feel a numbness there. Only enough to cease the pain though."

"And there it is...mmmgh."

Ale kept Death as still as she could. Luckily his body showed no bad reactions. This gave her comfort as she prepared to make a particular call. Unfortunately, it was going to be truly awkward. And Death could tell by the look on her face.

"Who are you about to call?"

"Your Gras Ceiser..." Ale tells him sounding slightly annoyed.

"Uuuuuugh...oh dear...why may I ask?" Death inquires in dread.

"He may have a way to transport you without any pain." Ale explains simply.

Death groans, "Ugh...great. Now we're having to deal with that sociopath again. And the possibility of you two going at it again."

"I'll try not to argue with him, for your sake. As you're in no state to just walk away from it as you normally would."

"Just keep your philosophy to yourself this time and it'll be simple Ceise. I get that you worry about him and feel he's being foolish, putting it lightly. But just try not to start something, and before you say anything, it's usually you who starts it." Death informs her.

Ale only sighs before making the call, "Hello? Ceiser?"

"Atari." A cold Russian voice responded.

"Listen, your Gras Atan is in massive pain right now. I have a treatment plan for him, but I'll need a way to transport him without pain. He's hurting all over as the injuries are that severe to him."

An unamuzed sounding sigh comes from the crystal, "And I am to help why? And how did he acquire these injuries?"

"Leatherbeard." Ale expresses.

Suddenly Death hears a tone he's NEVER heard from the man before, "What? What did you just say?"

"Leatherbeard is the one behind Death's injuries." Ale explains calmly, a bit surprised at the emotion herself.

"What happened? Tell me now, Atari."

Ale then explains the situation to him, whilst Death hears the sudden crushing of metal mixed with sounds of electricity from the crystal. He's actually somewhat worried now.

"What's going on?"

The sounds cease suddenly and his Gras Ceiser shakes his head before telling him, "Nothing Gras Atan. You just remain still. I'll be on my way shortly. Where are you two? At your Ceise's home?"

"No, in the Unseelie Realm. Queen Titania's home." Death tells him quickly with a hint of strain.

"Ah. As I said, I'll be on my way shortly."

The call ends and the gate guards suddenly are met with a portal opening near them. Out from it steps an extremely tall Male Lepus. He's lithe with features covered by various metal parts and enhancements. One of his ears is slightly torn, and flopping down halfway with an earhoop attached to its end. His hair is white and slightly shorn. The creepiest parts of him however were his eyes. While he could blink with normal eyelids, his red colored eyes dilated like a camera's apeture.

"W-w-who a-a-a-are..." One guard attempted to ask him.

"I am Grand Elder Llildan of the Lepus tribes. My Atari, Ale, is expecting me. I recommend you take me to her, immediately."

They do so in fear if anything. Course they pass by the younger three Horsemen, who all look at Llildan with equal parts suspicion and concern. Strife looks about to ready to pull his guns, and Fury isn't sure what to do ultimately. War however, chooses to confront the visitor.

"What's your business here?"

Llildan looks to War and examines him, unblinking before speaking, "You must be War. Death has mentioned you before, and your other siblings too. Strife and Fury I presume?"

War has the urge to palm Chaoseater, "Who are you? And what do you want?"

"I am Ale's Father, Llildan. She doesn't speak of me much so I am not surprised you don't know of me. Your brother Death remembers me though, as we've met a few times in the past."

"Wait...you're Ale's Dad?!" Strife asks in surprise.

"Ale's so...gentle. And you're so...whatever you call yourself." Fury states vaguely.

"Creepy, fucked up, strange, alien, otherworldly, call me what you will. Now where are Death and Ale?"

They all cautiously lead him to the room. He's actually shocked when seeing Death. And sees a visible mark on Ale's cheek. Course it's mended mostly, but he still sees it. Instantly he checks Ale over.

"What happened? What did he do to?"

"Only a slap Ceiser. It's my Atan and the girl who was with me that I'm worried about." Ale tells him.

"Girl? Ah the brown haired one, C I believe you said she was called?"

"Yes Ceiser. Course I didn't explain everything....when it comes to what happened to her she didn't want to say. But was visibly disgusted." Ale explains.

"Why am I not surprised when it comes to Ralph Dingleberg, aka Leatherbeard." Llildan says with a slight short circuit.

Death is suddenly curious about what happened to C and why his Grandfather is so angry, "Where is C? And explain why you're so pissed."

"She wasn't at breakfast this morning. So I'm not sure Atan. Why?" Ale responds.

"I need to make sure she's alright. While you look for her, Grandfather explain your relations to Leatherbeard."

Ale walks out of the room as Llildan gives her a nod, "Did Ale ever tell you about her Mother, my wife, Shel?"

"Only in passing. She always gets upset when I ask, so usually I don't anymore."

"You see, Shel was unfortunately stuck with Crom on her tail. He desperately wanted her, me and Shel existing in Shel's life didn't matter to him. I was unable to ease that part of her life. No matter what I did. Sadly...I one day lost the ability to try. Leatherbeard was sent by Crom to retrieve her, or kill her. She told me to take Ale and run. I did but when I went to aid Shel after hiding Ale...she was....she had been run through. I held her in my arms that night as she died. Everything I tried failed to save her. Leatherbeard's laugh that day still haunts me, no matter how many enhancements I make." Llildan tells him actually sounding somber. "So, do you really think he'd dead?"

"I stuck a cobalt dagger through his eye, and had him struck with lightning. It remained there a few seconds thanks to the one conjuring it....nngh...He even lost a leg and appeared to have a seizure. So yes, I'm fairly sure I got him." Death assures him.

"Good. Lets hope he stays that way hmm?" Llildan suggests.

"Yes, lets."

Meanwhile Ale had found C in a quiet state. She was actually nude in her bed, with a mirror pointed at her.

"Oh forgive me C, bad time?" Ale inquires gently.

"Huh? Oh uh.....I guess not." C replies before wrapping herself up in a blanket burrito.

"Do you want to talk?" Ale asked softly.

"Not without Gregory around. Please call him up...let him know where I am...." C tells her as some cracks slip into her voice.

Ale can tell something is wrong now and calls Gregory, "Hello Gregory."

"ALE IS THAT YOU?! Fucking hell lass when no one called it scared the daylights out of me! What's going on?! Where are you Ale?! WHERE'S MY DAUGHTER?!" Gregory quickly shouts at her.

"She's here with me, but she needs you here too. Right now."

"Well tell me where you are." Gregory asks of her.

"At Queen Titania's home. I can teleport home to bring you back here if you want Gregory."

"That'd be greatly appreciated. Also I'm going to try and bring Wren with me. She's been freaking out almost as much as I have." Gregory informs her.

"Very well, that's fine. I'll be there in a jiffy." Ale responds before using a crystal to achieve the teleportation home. Not before placing another crystal nearby and connecting it to her home crystal with a spell. The teleportation to and from is simple. Quiet as well since Wren is tired from her panic of last night, and Gregory is just wanting to get it over with. No fuss or muss, just moving on. Ale understands of course, and makes sure they're back at Titania's quickly. Gregory of course rushes to C's side, recognizing all too well what this mood from C meant. He'd seen it in the past, involving a certain female Drow Elf.

"What did they do to you?"

"Can we...talk in private, please?" C asks quietly.

"Of course lass, of course. Ale do you mind?"

"Not at all, Wren would you come along? Maybe you could help Death out a bit too." Ale replies looking at Gregory and Wren.

Wren only nods, understanding that C likely needs the space. And that privacy with Gregory makes sense as he did raise her. Course when hearing Death needs help too she hurries to his room with Ale. Gregory meanwhile closes the door behind the women and asks C,

"Ok, what happened?"

C begins to explain what all happened to her the night before. The restraining and forced removal of her clothes to put her in a tavern maid dress. How she felt Leatherbeard had watched her dress and that he'd made perverted comments. And that he even kissed her at one point, "It was all just awful...it reminded me of her....reminded me of...Zira...when she's angry..."

Gregory growled quietly before sighing, "Did he try anything? At all?"

"Only kissed me....that's it."

"Ok ok..." Gregory says before punching a wall. C jumped when he did, even letting out a yelp. Naturally Gregory looked back at her when she did, "Relax relax I'm fine. I'm fine. Sorry about that. Steam is all it was. I....I failed...I failed protect you and well....you're traumatized yet again. Zira is something I can handle, Leatherbeard is not, and yet the pain of being a failure is ever so prominent. Me being unable to protect you makes it all the worse."

C lets her arms loose of the blanket burrito and hugs Gregory tightly. Naturally he has to make sure she doesn't fall off the bed. Luckily he's able to do that.

"Easy dear yer about to fall off there."

"Sorry....I just really need this right now. I feel dirty....disgusting...and just plain sick." C admits to him.

"So basically what Leatherbeard is?"

"Yes." C responds.

"Then don't feel that way. Lass, Leatherbeard is one of the reasons why Kathryn could Mother children. He's the reason why ya were all we had. However, despite that, I have never stopped loving ya. I will never stop loving or seeing ya as my daughter C. No matter what comes. As long as we have each other, we can each go through life, and Kat can rest easy. Also, try and manage a smile C. I know it's hard right now, but at least try. If ya can't now, we'll try again later. But ya can't stay in here cooped up like this. You need something to get your mind off of it, even if for a little while."

C tries to smile but can't quite do so. However, she does at least get behind a partition to get dressed. Only to realize her original shirt was torn up a bit. "Uh Gregory, did you bring any spare shirts?"

"Course girl, got one right here."

C manages a smile at last when taking the shirt and handing the torn one to Gregory. Naturally he's concerned when seeing where the tear is on it. "Yer sure they didn't do anything to ya?"

"His first mate, was the one to try and get my shirt off. The fucking bitch." C says with a growl towards the end.

Gregory growls a bit too and tells her, "If I had just been there, I'd have wrapped my hands around their necks."

"I know, and Leatherbeard likely would've gone back on his word." C responds simply.

"Unfortunately you're right about that. But let's figure out what we can do today."

"Yeah, sure."

Gregory placed a calming hand on her shoulder once she comes out from behind the partition, "Everything will be fine C. Have ya eaten anything yet lass?"

"No, I haven't. Been in here all morning."

"Kay let's change that." Gregory tells her.

From there the two go on down to find breakfast. C naturally is a bit nervous as she watches everyone around her, but Gregory assures her she'll be fine. Finally C is brought to a small private table in the kitchens were Mina is with other servants around the castle.

"Hello there Gregory, good morning so far?"

"Eh...as far as I can tell. How's yer morning?"

"Dismal, but I'll manage like I have been. How about you C, doing well lass?" Mina asks her gently.

"Kinda....not that great. If I'm being honest." C replies quietly.

"Well, let me see if I can't make a meal that puts a spring in your step." Mina declares before getting to work on a pleasant meal. Getting together some eggs benedict with a warm, gooey cinnamon roll. C certainly enjoyed the meal, and naturally Mina made sure to ask Gregory if he wanted any.

"Ye hungry too then?"

"Eh I'm a little bit peckish. Was too worried earlier to eat anything. So yeah I'd like something." Gregory told her sheepishly.

"Here ye are then. Good thing I made an extra serving in case you wanted some."

"Thank ya. Has Wren showed up here yet?"

"No haven't seen her. If she hasn't eaten either I can send a meal her way no problem. Just need to know what she likes. I'd have asked ya two, but neither of ya seemed picky today." Mina states.

"Ok I'll see if I can find her, I'll be right back. You two have fun." Gregory says before leaving the room.

C then continues her meal in silence, finishing it easily and laying her head down. Mina knows that mood all too well thanks to Morgen, and gently strokes C's head a little. C allows it, but only because it reminds her of Kathryn a little. Course meanwhile Death had been placed in a wheelchair, much to his chagrin. He was groaning as Wren helped wheel him around with Llildan explaining he'd need a heavy meal before going into that pod. As he'd be in there until he healed.

"Seriously is this really necessary? You could've just brought the food over to the bed?"

"And who my Grandson, would've have fed you?" Llildan responds.

Wren snickers, "Probably Morgen."

Death groaned again, "That would be a bad idea, she herself is dealing with a few things."

Just as the group came across Gregory, Morgen meanwhile was having a troubling dream. She finds herself in a tavern somewhere, seeing young Uther and Vortigern celebrating after a victory together. Morgen actually seemed at ease at this but wondered why she saw it. Then she heard an all too familiar voice talking, this time he didn't speak to her.

"He will betray you, you know this."

Young Uther jolts suddenly in response and looks at Vortigern next to him.

"He...has already begun the process. Betraying your trust already, can you not see it? Can you not see them?" The voice taunts.

Uther then looks around and could've sworn he saw a man with a dagger in the background. But when checking he finds nothing. He goes to try and continue the conversation with Vortigern, but sees a similar dagger on his belt. Vortigern is acting completely normal, yet Uther can't help but be on edge. Morgen then sees a younger version of herself with her parents in the background. Being a happy family and loving towards each other. She almost walks over to them, but doesn't want to be noticed by Uther. Or the voice that's currently talking. All of a sudden Morgen's Father walks over to Uther and being as jovial to him as Vortigern was. Uther tries playing it off as he sees another dagger on his belt too. Even giving a hello gesture with his mug to the younger Morgen. Who giggled whilst sitting with her Mama and hugging her happily.

"What happened? What could've possibly happened? Is this the day where Uther changed?" Morgen asks herself quietly as she observes everything.

Morgen then notices Uther trying to be nice to her Mother. But he's drunk so it comes out in a very flirtatious way. Igraine becomes visibly uncomfortable and calls for her husband.

"Uhm...Gorlois? I believe the good King may be too drunk now ehehehe..."

"Oh forgive me my love. Just a moment. Uther try to settle down and maybe put the bottle away?"

"Ah uhhhhhh...forgive me my friend.....I just..." Uther begins to say before Gorlois and Vortigern both walk off with him. Leaving a confused Igraine with a sleepy Morgen.

Morgen wishes she could follow them but unfortunately has to follow Uther. Something in her is saying she needs to learn of what's wrong. Where everything went wrong and why. So she keeps watching Uther's side of things. Seeing her Father and Vortigern placing Uther in his bed. The man just lays there drunkenly, harmlessly in fact. Morgen is confused before hearing the voice speak up.

"You need to be alert, they're going to kill you if don't do anything. Uther don't you see it, they've poisoned you?"

Uther begins tossing and turning whilst saying, "No...it can't be...I'm not poisoned..ugh..."

"You're weak, weaker than you're supposed to be."

"It's called being drunk. I'll just...have a hangover in the morning....." Uther says in denial.

He then gets up, and lights a candle before looking at himself in a mirror. His reflection's eyes blacken and it begins to speak, "They're after you, can you not tell? Can you see them."

Uther begins to sober up as the voice continues to speak. Just as the voice becomes nearly unbearable he hears the door open. Vortigern comes in and tells him, "Hey come on brother. You're going to be late for the party."

"What the hell?" Morgen asks in concern as Uther walks out.

He's both confused and concerned. Morgen naturally keeps going down the rabbit hole. Following him deeper with each dive. She ends up back at the same party, watching it replay like a rewound tape recording. Only one thing has changed, Uther has become more nervous, and drinks more to put his mind off it. Leading to an even worse comment towards her Mother, which actually earns him a slap. Vortigern then brings Uther straight to his room on his own this time whilst apologizing for Uther's behavior. Morgen honestly isn't sure what to think at this point. But she does know this madness can't continue. She tries her best to try and call out to him, despite her gut feelings telling her deep down that he doesn't deserve her help at all.

"UTHER, DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! FIGHT HIS INFLUENCE! FOR YOUR SAKE AND EVERYONE ELSE'S!"

Course her pleas fall on ears that cannot hear her. Instead she can only watch as a third loop plays out. Even worse than before as Uther is even punched in the face by her Father for his actions towards Igraine. Morgen is screaming herself hoarse the entire time. Begging Uther to see what's happening and to stop playing along with the demented loop. The third loops ends with Uther in his room and making an utter mess of everything once Vortigern leaves. He looks ashamed of Uther, extremely so in fact. Morgen tries changing things around herself in the fourth loop. Hiding bottles from Uther to prevent a drunken escapade. Doing all she can to keep him sober. But he's already pretty far gone, and in his rage he lashes out at everyone. Demanding to know where his drinks keep going. Vortigern brings him one, but it's slapped away. Uther claims he'd rather get one himself and goes to do just that. Vortigern lets him with noticeable concern. Uther then imagines a poison in the drink and pours it out declaring someone is trying to kill him. Only for the drink to suddenly have nothing in it.

Vortigern steps forward trying to calm him, "Uther, please calm down. No one's trying to kill you. You're not in a battle right now. Everything's alright."

Uther then goes to swing at him, but Morgen steps between them and grabs Uther's wrist, "Uther please stop. You're losing yourself again. Calm down."

Morgen then realizes that she ultimately just said words that don't make sense, and looks around to find her Mother is nowhere to be seen. Then Uther speaks up, "Igraine...? Is that you.....what....have I done?"

Morgen lets him go, watching in pure horror and confusion as Uther returns to his room on his own. Following him back to find him trying to sober up and clear his head. He only gets up to light a candle and clean his face. But sees the dark reflection of himself yet again, continuing to taunt him. Uther then hears Vortigern call to him again, a final loop starting now. Morgen follows and sees him looking despondent at a table. Wondering what's going wrong, why things are going badly for him. Then the eyes of everyone begin to focus on him. Suddenly as Uther glances at them, their eyes all turn red. He jumps up and when reaching for a weapon or run, he's frozen in place.

"I told you they were going to kill you." The voice from earlier taunts.

They all unsheath daggers, even Igraine. Only the younger version of Morgen doesn't. Suddenly everyone lashes out and begins stabbing Uther to death. His screams are horrid to hear for Morgen, as she begs the voice to leave him alone. Suddenly she feels another dizzy spell, and more pain in her head before collapsing. She wakes up in a cell, exhausted and still feeling the pain in her head. Luckily it's not as bad now. Morgen gets up unsteadily and shakily moves towards the door. She's tries to open the door and it's locked. A voice similar to Uther's, but more terrified resounds behind her.

"It doesn't work...never does."

She turns around, using the door to remain on her feet, "What do you mean....who are you?"

Out from the shadows comes another version of Uther. Paler, with white hair, and much thinner as well. He looked just that close to death, and that he was very much aware of it. Given the fear on his face.

"It just doesn't work. No matter how much I've tried. It doesn't open...at least not from in here."

Morgen forces herself to keep standing as she tries to force the door open. Using any spells she can think of, as she doesn't want to be here anymore than this guy does. Even putting her hands through the bars of the door window to try and search for the keyhole.

"Stop that you're going to alert him!" The other Uther tells her in panic.

"I can't be here....I have to leave...and it looks like...you should too...maybe I can fix this....fix everything...if I just try hard enough..." Morgen says as her legs begin shaking with her effort to stand.

"Don't....don't exhaust yourself...rest...just rest...don't try anything else...you'll alert him.."

"Who? The voice in your head?" Morgen inquires before suddenly being grabbed from behind.

"Who are you talking to?" Uther demands of his other version.

"Uh uh...n-n-nobody. N-no one. N-n-n-no on is h-here."

Uther turns around and finally sees Morgen behind him. Morgen then freezes in fear, recognizing the Uther she knows all too well, "I can help...I can fix this....I have to try...just let me out...let me try.."

"THERE'S NOTHING TO FIX GIRL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HEAD?! AND WHAT ARE THESE ON YOUR HEAD? HORNS? WHAT KIND OF IMPURE BEAST ARE YOU BECOMING? WHAT IS THAT NEPHILIM TURNING YOU INTO?!" Uther shouts at her whilst pulling hard at one of the horns.

Morgen begins screaming in pain as Uther pulls her horn. The other Uther gains a semblance of courage and quickly hops onto his back.

"Stop it, stop we've hurt her enough! Let her be, let her go!"

Uther then drops Morgen and grabs the other version of himself instead. Slamming him into the back wall of the cell. He then continues to walk over to his original self.

"What is wrong with you? Why are you trying to defend her?"

"Remember Igraine, she's all we have left of her!"

"SHE KILLED OUR SON!"

"She didn't mean to, not with everything going on. You're scaring her."

Uther then grabs his original self in a near choking manner. Holding him up from the ground as Morgen curls up by the door. Shaking and truly terrified at everything going on. She begs and pleads quietly, "Stop...please stop....stop it..."

Uther then looks at her whilst holding his other self, "You're the reason why all of this is happening. If you had just kept quiet and been a good girl none of this would've happened." Then looking at his other half again, "And if you wouldn't stop trying to take control. Just let me continue taking the lead. We wouldn't be in the mess we are now!"

"She was....a little girl...nothing more...One you corrupted...because I.."

"Because what? I took control so that we could survive. I took control so that our kingdom will thrive." Uther tells him.

"All for what?! A child born from a girl you abused her whole life?! A legacy of abuse and fear?! Igraine would be ashamed of you! In fact she was! That's why she fought back! YOU KILLED HER! YOU DID IT BECAUSE I WAS COWARD AND LET YOU DO IT! AND WORSE STILL I LET MORGEN SUFFER UNDER US BECAUSE OF MY FEAR OF YOU!" The other half shouts in sudden rage, gaining courage again. This one being a better kind, a stronger kind.

Morgen looks up at the other Uther, sobbing with fear and hopelessness as he speaks. Suddenly both men freeze as the voice from before speaks up. "What is going on?"

The original Uther loses his courage once more, "He's coming...he's coming back...he's coming back."

"Shut your rambling you fool! If you had just shut your mouth he wouldn't be here right now! Now I have to save our hides yet again." Uther tells him before grabbing Morgen by her horn again. The same one as well, which causes even more pain to her.

The door then opens, and the being from Morgen's dreams now stood before them all, "What are you two doing?"

"Having a small dispute, nothing more nothing less." Uther declares.

"It that so?" The being asks floating in and raising a six fingered hand with talons he places it on Uther's shoulder, "Then why is your hand upon her horn?"

"Intruder that's all. I can deal with it myself you don't have to..."

"Shhhh...Don't make it any worse on yourself." The being says as he tightens his grip. Causing Uther extreme pain as the talons dig into his shoulder, "Just let her go, and I'll handle her."

Uther then looks at Morgen, looks at his other self, "Get her out of here, run."

Uther stays behind to fight the being whilst the original Uther leads Morgen away. Doing his best to help her remain up. Of course as he gains his strength, he notices the shadow Uther beginning to look like he did before.

"We need to go, NOW!" He shouts to Morgen before busting through a wall to make their escape.

Morgen nearly collapses a few times, but he carries her as best he can. Morgen then glances behind them and sees the being chasing them down, "He's....gaining..."

"Can you fly?"

"I don't know.....why ask?" Morgen inquires nervously.

"Cause you're going to need to fly." The original Uther tells her before busting through another wall. This one revealing a black void. "Shit."

Suddenly he tosses Morgen into it, hoping she'll fly. Morgen manages to attempt to fly despite her growing exhaustion and pain. Unfortunately once the being catches up, he tosses the original Uther aside and grabs at Morgen.

[artificialqueens]

Not Nineteen Forever (9) (Branjie/Scyvie) - Ortega

a/n: it’s BA-ACK! hope u guys enjoy this chapter, and as always pls send me love to my blog/to this blog because i love attention xo

please note: this fic contains young adults often behaving in irresponsible/unadvisable ways with regards to alcohol, drugs and sex. if you are someone who feels as if they could be heavily influenced by fic and incorporate what happens in the plot into ur own life, pls steer clear!

summary: Brooke, Yvie and Nina are three flatmates who forged a friendship in their first year of university and picked up some other waifs and strays along the way. Now in their final year, there are feelings that need to be unravelled and confessions to be made whilst navigating drunk nights, hungover mornings, takeaways, group chats, library meetups, cafe gossiping, and the small matter of getting a degree.

last chapter: supermarket chaos, and Brooke found out about the Branjie sweepstake. she didn’t take it well.

this chapter: Brooke and Vanessa talk things out, and there’s apologies to be said.

***

It had started to rain. Brooke was beginning to regret her choice of jacket- a leather one without a hood- but she had been going to wash her hair that evening anyway, and she supposed that was the least of her worries at the moment. As the rain began to batter down, Brooke realised that half the reason why her face was wet was because she was crying. It didn’t make any sense for that to be the case- Brooke was angry, fucking fuming to be specific, but she wasn’t necessarily sad. Perhaps embarrassed was the correct word, she thought, as she swiped at her face with her sleeve. The thought of her entire friendship group having a good laugh at her and Vanessa’s expense made her cheeks burn and the blood in her veins do the same.

Brooke didn’t really know where she was walking to, but she knew where she was walking from, and she was damned if she was going back to the flat anytime soon. Sniffing harshly, she removed her phone from her pocket and called Vanessa, the other girl picking up in about one and a half rings.

“Hey.”

“Hey, baby,” Vanessa’s voice was defeated. Brooke decided it was the worst thing she’d ever heard in her entire life.

“Sorry for phoning. I just had to talk to you after all that shit on the group chat, I mean…how could they fucking do that, Ness, our own fucking friends? I just-”

“I’m fuckin’ raging at them, Brooke, honestly. I went out for shopping then I got those messages through and I’ve not been able to concentrate since. I’ve just been pacin’ and pacin’ around Sainsbury’s like a fuckin’ bear in a zoo. Look, where are you just now?”

“Um,” Brooke began, scanning her surroundings. She’d been walking so fast that she’d barely been taking them in. “In the middle of the park. I’m about five minutes from Sainsbury’s, actually.”

“I’ll meet you halfway, okay? See you soon.“

With that, Vanessa abruptly hung up. Brooke took it more as a comment on her friends and not herself. As she began walking with some purpose at last, Brooke found herself wondering what she was actually going to say to Vanessa when they saw each other. Rant, probably. But there was something that instantly calmed Brooke down knowing she would be seeing Vanessa soon and get to hold her, having her reassure her and placate her.

It ended up being about three-quarters due to Vanessa’s shorter legs rendering her slower and Brooke’s long ones ensuring she took big strides. Brooke saw her coming towards her from a distance just at the park’s edge and as they both reached out for a hug, they crashed into each other with a force that accurately conveyed both their anger and just how much they seemed to have missed each other in the 24 hour period they’d been apart.

“Fuck them,” Vanessa muttered into Brooke’s jacket. She was wearing her massive parka, the one with the fluffy pink hood. To Brooke, it made her all the more cuddly. She gave her a squeeze around her middle and tilted her chin up to press a quick kiss to her lips, coming back again for a second, then a third.

“Let’s go somewhere,” Brooke decided, slipping her arm through Vanessa’s and instantly feeling about 80% calmer. “There’s that new bar that opened up round the corner. Could try there?”

They walked towards it wordlessly, a journey that only took about three minutes but in that time hundreds of unsavoury thoughts had begun to swirl around in Brooke’s head like floating bits of food waste down a plughole. She waited until they had found a booth through the back in relative quiet and until Vanessa had shrugged her damp jacket off before she let rip.

“I just can’t fucking believe it, Ness. Like, I know we kept stuff from everyone but a fucking sweepstake. Jesus Christ. The thought of everyone sitting and putting bets and watching our every move…like how long has it been going on for?! How long have we just been like performing monkeys to them?! I mean Christ, we only just found out we liked each other less than a month ago!” Brooke hissed, Vanessa sitting and nodding rapidly in affirmation as she spoke.

“I’m just hurt,” she sighed heavily, breaking Brooke’s heart in the process. “I mean I don’t know why I didn’t tell Silk and Kiki, but I just…didn’t. Everything was so new and weird between us. Hell, I guess it still is."

Brooke smiled back at Vanessa across the table, who was shooting a shy one her way. "I guess that was why I never told Yvie and Nina either. I didn’t want them making fun of us. Guess that turned out well."

Vanessa gave a quick laugh that lit up Brooke’s insides. She fumbled around in her jacket pocket for her purse. "What do you want to drink? I’ll get them in."

Too exhausted to argue over who was paying, Brooke conceded. "Gin and lemonade.”

Vanessa gave a wordless nod as she strutted up to the bar. Self-conscious of being left on her own, Brooke took out her phone and flipped it over in her hands. There weren’t any new messages to the chat- it was likely that the girls were using whatever one they had for the sweepstake to talk about what had happened in private- but Brooke had a string of missed calls from Yvie and Nina, and a few from Scarlet. There was a sole voicemail from Nina, which Brooke listened to.

“Brooke, hey, it’s me. Call me when you get this, or Yvie, or any of us really. We’re all really sorry and we’re worried about you.”

At that moment, Brooke could hear Yvie’s voice in the background, panicked and harsh, yelling at Nina about how nobody left voicemails in this day and fucking age and how Brooke was unlikely to even listen to it.

“Uh, yeah, so to sum up- we’re sorry, we love you, call us. Bye.”

Brooke couldn’t help but quirk a smile at that. She loved Nina so much, the girl was so kind-hearted and loving and caring. Which was why it made her betrayal all the more hurtful and so damn fucking confusing. Why would Nina do something like that to Brooke? Unless of course, Nina didn’t see it that way at all. Unless she really genuinely thought Brooke and Vanessa would have found it funny.

Brooke was deep in thought as Vanessa returned with one gin and lemonade, one pink gin and lemonade, and a packet of salt and vinegar kettle chips.

“Fifteen forty-five for all of that. You better buy me some diamonds or some shit and then we’re even,” she quipped, raising her eyebrows as she sat down opposite Brooke. She smiled indulgently at her.

“Can I ask you something?” Brooke began hesitantly, her mind still working overtime. “If I had wanted to set up a sweepstake about like…Scarlet and Yvie. Or Nina and Monet. Would you have gone along with it?”

Vanessa shrugged and sipped her drink. “Yeah, because that shit’s funny. And cute, because it’s them. It’s different with us. We ain’t…you know. We ain’t like them.”

Brooke frowned a little and tried not to dwell on Vanessa’s justification, focusing more on her current train of thought. “But maybe that’s what the others thought when they made that sweepstake for us. Maybe they genuinely thought it was funny."

Vanessa narrowed her eyes. "Nina thinks that Michael MacIntyre is a funny comedian, it don’t make her correct.”

Brooke pulled a face and sipped her own drink. She’d been so angry and quick to judge, but now that she was with Vanessa and she’d had time to calm down, maybe the others were right. Maybe they’d both gone about this whole thing in the wrong way. Brooke hadn’t realised she’d been staring into space until she heard Vanessa drum on the table with her nails.

“So, uh,” she bit her lip and smiled up at Brooke. “You like me, huh?”

Brooke’s blood suddenly turned to ice. “What?”

Vanessa had gone a little bit red. It was out of character for her, and it made Brooke blush as well. “Earlier. You basically said you liked me.”

Brooke felt her speech catch in her throat. “Well I meant…we had that conversation in Liezen-”

“About how we liked kissing each other, yeah. And then we had a conversation about how we liked fuckin’ each other. But we’ve never had a conversation about actually liking each other. You were the one that said that,” Vanessa finished Brooke’s sentence mischievously. Brooke suddenly found herself wishing she was directly above a trapdoor that would plummet her into the Earth’s core and burn her to a crisp. She simply stared at Vanessa with her mouth open slightly, wondering what the correct thing to say was. Vanessa only laughed in response, growing more red as she spoke again. “So you like me?"

Brooke forced herself to look at the table top. If she looked at Vanessa she’d die. This was the moment she’d been waiting basically her entire university career for, the speech she’d been rehearsing for about three years, so why couldn’t she physically speak? She took a sip of her drink and grew a set of balls and locked eyes with Vanessa. "Yeah, I do.”

Vanessa’s face broke out into an uncontrollable smile as she tipped her head back to the ceiling, and Brooke found her heart going into cardiac arrest. “Do you, uh. Do you…feel…the same about me?"

Vanessa burst out laughing, Brooke wondering how what felt like her life hanging in the balance could be so funny to her. "Take a fuckin’ guess.”

Brooke spluttered an awkward, nervous laugh. It seemed like a yes? She felt like Vanessa wouldn’t have taken things as far as they’d gone if it wasn’t. “Yes?”

Vanessa tucked her hair behind her ears, tried to suppress her smile, and failed. In a quiet voice, she confirmed. “Fuck, Brooke…I’m crazy about you”

Brooke felt her heart explode and her eyes transform into love hearts and all of her insides get churned around like a cement mixer. She laughed and reached for Vanessa’s hand across the table. “Jesus. Well. Good. Okay. I really want to kiss you.”

Vanessa rapidly bounced into the seat beside Brooke like an excitable bunny and met her lips with her own. They kissed hard and passionately, and Vanessa had her hands tangled in Brooke’s damp hair and fuck, Brooke would need to pull away before things escalated and they were barred from the pub for doing something indecent. So Brooke pulled back, Vanessa tilting her head up needily, pouting and letting out a small whine.

“Whining,” Brooke simply said, a warning tone to her voice which made Vanessa’s pout get bigger and her eyes flash a little with lust. It shot Brooke back to when Vanessa was writhing underneath her with her face buried in the pillow and her hips squirming and bucking, as Brooke made her beg for what she wanted and the other girl kept up a litany of moans and whines and sighs. Fuck, no wonder Yvie and Nina had called bullshit when Brooke had denied everything. “Bratty behaviour.”

“Yeah well, I like getting my way,” Vanessa shrugged, smiling deliciously and flicking her eyes down to Brooke’s lips. Lowering her voice, she whispered. “And I’m touching myself under the table.”

Brooke almost choked. Rapidly, she craned her neck to find Vanessa’s hands sat against the leather covers of the seat, absolutely nowhere near her crotch. As Brooke sighed in relief and only about 60% disappointment, Vanessa howled a laugh. “Oh my God! Bitch! You are so fucking easy to wind up! It’s too fucking easy!”

“You’re too fucking easy, you big slut,” Brooke deadpanned, pushing Vanessa’s shoulder and letting out a laugh in spite of herself. Sighing, she picked at the crisps. “Speaking of big sluts. Our friends.”

“Yes.”

Brooke exhaled. “You know, now that I actually know you like me, the sweepstake does seem kind of funny.”

Vanessa smiled guiltily. “Yeah. Kinda does.”

Brooke frowned. “I mean they’re still absolute dicks for doing it in the first place, but our friends are dicks. What’s new.”

“True. I’m still mad at them though.”

“Ness. We didn’t tell them a single thing about what’s happening between us. The least they’re going to do is speculate. We did kind of make our beds a little bit here,” Brooke sighed, taking another handful of crisps. Vanessa exhaled and rolled her eyes.

“Can we at least make them feel real shit about it?”

“Yes. Although I don’t know if you’ll succeed with Silky.”

“That bitch could bomb half the Southern hemisphere and she’d still maintain it was the funniest joke she’d ever played,” Vanessa raised her eyebrows, Brooke snorting a laugh beside her. As they both grew quiet, Brooke found herself laying a protective arm over Vanessa’s shoulders.

“Hey. You okay?”

Vanessa looked up at her, her dark eyes and blown pupils making them seem so huge and deep, and Brooke knew they weren’t girlfriends yet but she felt so lucky to even be with her, beside her, knowing that she liked her and Vanessa liked her back. That was enough for now.

“I’m good. I just don’t want to go back to the flat. It’s gonna be awkward,” Vanessa pouted, Brooke pulling a face as she agreed.

“It will. But you’ll be fine. You’ll all talk it out and we’ll all go back to normal. That’s all I want to do at the moment.“

"You want to…oh,” Vanessa’s face looked downcast, and Brooke instantly registered that she’d got the wrong end of the stick.

“No, no, no, not with us! I’m happy for us to still be doing…all this,” Brooke gave Vanessa’s shoulder a squeeze and the other girl relaxed. “This is good. I like it. It’s like an upgraded version of friendship.”

“Right,” Vanessa smiled cheekily, Brooke now able to fully relax.

They finished up their drinks and the rest of the crisps and made their way outside, where it had stopped raining and was now just replaced with cold dampness, puddles on the pavement shining despite the clouds. Brooke’s arm had moved to rest around Vanessa’s waist at her hip, and she didn’t really want to let go. Knowing they were about to leave each other, Vanessa turned and kissed Brooke gently, something almost fragile to it as if she was afraid she’d fracture or break.

Unable to believe it, Brooke asked Vanessa to confirm. “So, uh. You actually like me?”

Vanessa burst out laughing, Brooke feeling as if she was blushing all the way up to her scalp. “Of course I do, you fuckin’ idiot.”

Brooke couldn’t help the dumb smile that spread across her face. The novelty of knowing that would never wear off.

They squeezed each other a goodbye, and Brooke started back to her flat. She suddenly felt the trepidation overtake her, wondering what would happen when she arrived back. Would Yvie be furious at her? She seemed pretty apologetic when Brooke had been shouting at her. Fuck, why did she shout at her? Yvie was her best friend, for fuck’s sake, and things had already been so fragile between them. She’d wanted to make amends, Brooke had known that, and then she’d overreacted and ruined it all. Brooke felt the tears sting at her eyes as she quickened her pace. What if Nina hated her now too? Kind, sweet Nina who had never done anything malicious to anyone in her life. Scarlet had been at the flat too. She probably thought Brooke was a complete and utter dick for the way she’d acted. Jesus Christ, everyone probably hated her. What was the point of going home? Everyone was talking about her on that separate group chat, probably wondering how they could avoid her for the rest of the year. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

By the time Brooke got home and climbed the numerous stairs up to her flat she was hyperventilating so badly that her chest felt tight and constricted, as if a snake had wrapped itself around her ribcage. She immediately stumbled through to the kitchen, filled up the nearest glass (she didn’t care if it was clean or dirty), reached up to her shelf on the cupboard and ripped into the little packet of beta blockers she kept there. She took one every morning but sometimes life called for two per day, even though the packet urged her not to and her anxiety often spiked after the second one anyway as she panicked and worried about heart failure.

Brooke took deep breaths and steadied herself against the kitchen counter. The small living room was empty and Brooke knew exactly where Yvie and Nina would be. She wondered if Scarlet was still here, embarrassment overtaking her and threatening to ruin the tiny, fragile, tissue-paper level of calm she’d managed to return herself to. She took two more deep breaths, pressing her feet deeply into the soles of her shoes and trying to ground herself as much as she could. She had to face the girls at some stage. They were her flatmates, for fuck’s sake.

So Brooke tentatively slipped off her trainers, still absolutely soaked from the rain and the various puddles she’d stepped in on the way home. She knocked on Yvie’s door and waited for the shouts of “come in”- two, not three, she noted. Opening the door, she saw Yvie and Nina tucked up in Yvie’s bed together, both on their phones. They put them down as Brooke came in and smiled- Nina’s was warm and Yvie’s more nervous.

“Hey,” Yvie was the first to speak, Nina opening her arms and Brooke feeling herself flopping down on top of the duvet in the small space between her two flatmates.

“ ’M sorry,” she muttered, the proud side of her hoping that the duvet would conceal most of her apology. Brooke heard Nina tut and felt a body lean over to hug her.

“No, baby, we’re sorry. We’ve been shit friends and shouldn’t have put that pressure on you and Vanessa to do anything. We thought it was just a joke, but it’s your damn potential relationship. We should have thought,” Nina sighed, Brooke immediately consumed with guilt at having ever been angry with her friends.

“I mean, you did still behave like an asshole,” Brooke heard Yvie’s voice, causing her to let out a laugh. Funny cuz it’s true. “But so did we. And we’re sorry.”

Brooke sat up on her elbows and finally faced her friends, her best fucking friends in the world. She realised she was crying again and got annoyed at herself. “Stupid fucking tears.”

“Tears are valid! Crying is valid! Don’t you dare bottle shit up!” Nina chastised her, coming across as more of a mum than ever. Brooke let out a half-sob, half-laugh.

“I should’ve let you guys in, I should’ve talked to you about it. About everything. Maybe you would’ve helped me make sense of the fucking mincemeat that Vanessa’s turned my brain into. I’m so sorry,” Brooke sighed, Yvie opening her arms for a cuddle which she accepted gratefully.

“We’re sorry. You’re sorry. We’re all sorry. Let’s be friends again, bitch, I hate falling out with you,” Yvie pleaded, Brooke squeezing her tight and feeling a soft weight against her as Nina joined in the hug.

“I love you guys so much,” Brooke whispered, Nina and Yvie returning the sentiment and Brooke finally feeling as if something in her life was settled. They stayed cuddled up as Brooke frowned.

“Where’s Scarlet?”

“Went home. She thought we’d need some flat time when you got back.”

“Fuck, Yvie-”

“If you apologise again I’m going to smack you. We’re fine. I also have a fuckton of bolognaise that can’t all fit into the freezer so if you’re really sorry you’ll eat it all,” Yvie deadpanned, then noticed the look of acceptance on Brooke’s face. “Brooke it’s a fucking joke, right, it’s a fucking joke, please don’t gorge yourself on bolognaise trying to prove something.”

Brooke felt a small bubble of laughter escape her mouth, and Nina began chuckling beside her until all three of the friends were laughing in a heap on Yvie’s bed.

“I feel like I’ve missed so much. How is Scarlet? How are you two going?” Brooke asked, staring up at Yvie’s ceiling.

“We’re good. She’s…amazing. She’s funny and dorky and cute and a complete dumbass whilst simultaneously being the most intelligent person I’ve ever met. She’s a fucking kinky bitch though, complete definition of a dark horse,” Yvie let out a small laugh, Nina gasping theatrically.

“Oh my Christ! A match made in heaven if ever there was one.”

“Excuse me, Miss, don’t think you get off easy,” Brooke sat up on her elbow and turned to her. “You and Monet? What’s that all about, you actually got your shit together and told her that you like her?”

“Not exactly,” Nina began to explain, her face already strawberry-red as she spoke about her crush (or maybe girlfriend. Fuck, Brooke had missed a lot). “She took the lead on everything. Told me she’d liked me since we started taking the same modules together this year. Told me I was the most beautiful girl she’d ever met. Basically filling my head with lies.”

“Shut up, you insecure son of a bitch, and accept the love,” Yvie thumped her, Nina giving an exaggerated cry.

“We went for a date the other day. It was so nice, Brooke, she’s a total sweetheart. I can’t believe she actually likes me, of all people,” Nina’s voice grew small, and Brooke felt guilt stab at her stomach. Nina hadn’t had any relationships for as long as Brooke had known her, so of course as she was about to enter into a potential one she’d be doubting herself and wondering and worrying too much. Brooke needed to be there for her.

“Of course she likes you. You’re legitimately the best person I know,” Brooke pouted. “Yvie’s right. Don’t you dare overthink this, bitch. Monet likes you, it’s that simple.”

Nina raised her eyebrows and fixed Brooke with a look of disbelief. “Brooke Lynn Hytes is telling me not to overthink things? Jesus, someone call Trevor McDonald. I want to put this on the News at 10.”

As the girls laughed and Brooke rolled her eyes, Yvie’s phone began to ring. Brooke and Nina listened with interest as she answered, the smile that appeared when she saw who was calling dictating it could only be Scarlet.

“Hey, boo…no, she’s back now…about ten minutes ago. Okay,” a laugh and then Yvie’s face grew red. “Okay…okay, I’ll see you. Okay. Lov- Okay. Bye!”

Brooke and Nina exchanged a look. Brooke knew what she’d heard. Or, almost heard. Nina spoke before her.

“Was that an, um…an L-word that almost got dropped there, Yvelynn Oddly?” she said schemingly, Yvie’s face suddenly appearing as pink as if she’d been smacked.

“What? No? You guys,” Yvie muttered, rolling her eyes and throwing her phone down on the bed. Brooke raised an eyebrow at her.

“Excuse me, I just learned my lesson here. Share shit with your friends. Come on, spill the fucking beans or we’ll start a sweepstake about you.”

“It’s honestly nothing.”

“We want to hear anything! However mediocre,” Nina cried, sitting bolt upright excitedly. Yvie rolled her eyes.

“Fine. I’ll spill the mediocrity and beans,” she sighed, shrugging and pausing before she spoke. “You guys know I love you, because I tell you all the time. I tell all my friends all the time. And I used to tell Scarlet all the time too but now, of course…it means a hell of a lot more.”

“Oh, babe,” Brooke sighed sympathetically. It had never occurred to her before, but she used to do the same with Vanessa, and Vanessa used to tell her all the time too. It was one of the things that used to stab at her heart, a small twist of a knife in her stomach. Since Yvie’s birthday, neither of them had said it to the other. Brooke missed it.

“I keep going to say it when I usually would…at the end of phonecalls…when we say goodbye to each other…when she does something nice for me. And I know all of our other areas of the whole relationship are going fast, like we were already girlfriends and I barely even took her on a date. I’m just cautious, but even though I’m trying hard not to say it, it still threatens to come out at times.”

“There’s a difference between being in love with someone and just loving them,” Nina chimed in thoughtfully.

“No, I know,” Yvie reassured her. “But at the same time, I don’t know what the fuck it feels like to be in love with someone either! It’s never happened to me before. So how the fuck am I supposed to know? Shit, I could be in love with Scarlet and I might not even know.”

Brooke bit her lip, completely understanding where Yvie was coming from. She cast a glance to Nina and felt her stomach tighten. Out of the three of them, none were particularly well-versed in relationships. Yvie had seen a couple of girls over the years and was the queen of one night stands, but nothing had ever come of them. Brooke had dated a couple of guys back in her first year back when she still thought she was bi and then had realised she was 100% lesbian when she’d taken her first girl back from the gay club in town, then after that she’d spent most of her time pining over Vanjie. And Nina was Nina. The girl would have to be waterboarded before she actively made a move on someone. She let out a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Nina asked, already smiling. Brooke’s laugh got louder and she let out a faux-scream.

“Bitch! Look at us. We’ve all finally got the girls we like to like us back and none of us knows what the fuck to do about it!”

Yvie and Nina joined in with her laughter, soon growing hysterical as the girls screeched beside her. They were soon interrupted by all three of their phones going off at the same time.

“Vanjie’s been reinstated. Shit, I need to change her nickname,” Yvie smiled, pouncing on her phone. Smiling, Brooke checked her phone.

large incongruous silkworm spiced praline added Vanessa Vanjie Mateo.

Vanessa Vanjie Mateo: Alright hoes

Vanessa Vanjie Mateo: Two things

Yvie Oddly set the nickname for Vanessa Vanjie Mateo to Brooke’s Ford Transit Vanjie.

Okay Then: (shrek voice) OH HELLO THERE

Brooke’s Ford Transit Vanjie: Who’s down for film night at ours tonight

Kim Kardashian-West: ALL OF US!!!

Yvie’s bitch: MEEEEE xxxxxxxxxxxx

Okay Then: Okay then

Brooke’s Ford Transit Vanjie: Second thing

Brooke’s Ford Transit Vanjie: Who had Yvie’s birthday in the sweepstake

“Bitch!! Knew it!!” Yvie laughed, thumping Brooke on the arm, the other girl laughing good-humouredly. She shot a message off to Vanessa.

Brooke: Things went well with Silk and Akeria then? xxx

Vanessa: Silk actually apologised wtf

Vanessa: but yeah they were cute and it went well xxx

Brooke: Good. I’ll come over with the girls later xxx

Vanessa: Staying over?

Brooke’s heart gave a jump.

Brooke: Yes! If you want me to

Vanessa: Always want you to boo xxx

Brooke turned her phone over and listened to Yvie, now stressed and talking about their upcoming exams. In contrast, Brooke hadn’t felt this calm in a long while.

[bittersweetmigraine]

I hate liars. (chapter 4)

Author’s note: Here it is. It’s been over a year and idk if anyone who read the first three chapters when i first uploaded them is going to be reading this now but hopefully you do. And for all the newer readers, I hope you’ll like it too~~ (edit: had to re-upload because of a bug)

Also, give a warm welcome to our newest character Jungkook! (literally needed a character super tall with broad shoulders and Google immediately recommended Jungkook damn boi). Jk will be a recurring character and the other BTS boys will probably appear from time to time. I’m also looking to add a badass female character in the next chapter so look forward to that ♡

Genre: mafia!AU, bourgeoisie, forced relationship and graphic imagery (if you’re not comfortable with any of those themes, please do not read) // female mc

Word count: 2,5k+

Starring: Kang Daniel (Wanna One), Dong Ha (actor) & Jeon Jungkook (BTS)

Summary: You never really knew how your father got involved in a gang but you knew what he did for a living, for the most part. But when a rival gang comes to get what they’re due and your father refuses, everything turns to horror.

chapter one • chapter two  •  chapter three

Marble floors and high ceilings. Gorgeous dresses and expensive tuxedos. Dom Perignon flowing in every glasses. You had never seen such an unnecessary show of wealth before but you suddenly understood why Hyunggyu had prepared such a getup for you. He needed you to be the center of attention but in a room like this, it wasn't an easy thing to do. This wasn't just a high school reunion you go to after going through a glow up to impress all the bullies you internally despise. No. This was on a whole other level. These were people who didn't know you, didn't need to know you but that you needed to make want to know you. These were people you needed to charm in order for your head to stay on your shoulders. Quite literally. 

You exhaled a sigh of relief when a waiter passed by you, holding out his tray full with champagne glasses. Your left hand reached for a glass as the pressure on your right slightly intensified. "Be careful with that. Wouldn't want you to get drunk and throw a fit." A slight smirk laced with hatred crossed your lips, a small ball of rage building inside your chest. You brought the glass to your lips and took a sip, reveling in the exhilarating feeling of the fine bubbles on your tongue. "Don't worry, I know what you brought me here for. This is only a little bit of liquid courage." You took another sip before Hyunggyu stole the glass from your hand. His eyes bore into you as he finished the glass before disposing of it on the nearest decorative table. Hyunggyu brought his hand to your shoulder, moving your hair back and exposing your collarbone. He brought his lips to your skin, peppering kisses all over your collarbone as you awkwardly stood there, making eye contact with the passing guests. Your left hand made its way to his chin, gently getting him off of you. People kept passing you by, quite clearly eavesdropping and you forced yourself to smile as if completely lovestruck with your fiancé. "Not here in front of everyone, darling." You felt like you were going to puke at the sweetness that escaped your lips. Hyunggyu seemed extremely pleased with your sudden show of affection though, and even slightly confused at whether this was really all for show or not. Could you really be faking all of this so expertly? "Finally warming up to me, kitten." You clenched your jaw slightly as you brought your lips near his ear so you could whisper out of earshot. "If you believe this is anything but an act, you're fooling yourself." You left a slight peck on his cheek as you moved back, analyzing his reaction. You felt sick to your stomach after doing that, fearing in what your momentary bravery would ensue. But to your surprise, Hyunggyu chuckled, a bright smile crossing over his lips. It almost seemed genuine. "Kitten's got claws. I like it." Before you could disintegrate into a puddle of nervousness right in front of his eyes, Daniel appeared in front of the both of you. He whispered something in Hyunggyu's ear and gestured to a nearby staircase where two bodyguards dressed in nothing but black were waiting for them. Hyunggyu turned back towards you, bringing your hand to his lips as he left a warm kiss on its back. "Be a good kitty and go socialize, will you?" he said as he stared straight into your eyes. You managed a tense smile before Daniel whisked him away. You let out a breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding and scooped another glass from a passing waiter. This was going to be a very long night.

The fabric of your dress flowed beautifully around your curves as you made your way into the ballroom. You took in every little detail of the beautiful hall, analyzing and memorizing. A small stage had been built at one end of the room, opposite a balcony connected to two massive marble staircases leading to the garden. The mayor would probably be making a speech at some point during the evening and you already dreaded having to look interested. The rest of the room was arranged around a massive wooden dance floor, standing tables scattered all around it. The sight was quite mesmerizing and you had a hard time visualizing anyone actually living here. As you stood there, in the entrance to the ballroom, you quickly realized you had captivated a few people's attention. You smiled coyly as if shy at the sudden spotlight put on you and pushed a strand of hair behind your right ear before making your way to a table. You pressed your hands into it, trying so desperately to steady yourself. You started feeling dizzy as soon as you entered the ballroom, realizing all too soon you were finally alone. No Hyunggyu. No Daniel. No one. You could run, try to escape. There were so many people here, it'd certainly take Hyunggyu enough time to realize you were gone for you to get far enough from here. As you analyzed the room once more, your attention drifted towards the balcony and you recognized a familiar face standing beside the open doors. You couldn't quite figure out who he was exactly, but you knew one thing for sure: this was one of Hyunggyu's men. Like he would dare leave you alone on your first full day with him. How innocent had you been to even picture that happening? The man was staring straight back at you, smirking as if he had caught you red-handed. You acted like you hadn't recognized him, your gaze only skimming over him like he wasn't interesting enough to hold your attention. You tried to suppress the growing ball of nerves taking over your stomach, making your palms increasingly sweaty. You looked back down at your ring, feeling the cold, hard diamond beneath your fingers. This felt more like shackles than an engagement ring to you and you suddenly realized something. Your story wasn't only one of revenge anymore. It was one of survival. By bringing you here, Hyunggyu was putting you through a test that you would fail and pay for with your life, or succeed and get rewarded for with some sort of power in this relationship. And by taking you out of the gilded cage he had so masterfully built for you, he had also given you the chance to make connections, create your own circle of people with power. And you weren't about to squander that opportunity because of fear or rage. You needed to keep your cool if only for a chance at a future escape.

A young man dragged you out of your thoughts. You looked up at him and instantly turned on the charm, smiling happily that you didn't have to be the one to make the first step towards anyone here. He looked about a couple of years younger than Hyunggyu but also a lot stronger, his shoulders so broad you could evaporate from anyone's view simply by hiding behind him. He was probably about the same height as him but he still towered over you even though you were wearing high heels. The grin plastered on his face was reminiscent of the one that seemed constantly hung on Hyunggyu's lips but you could see a tinge of playful flirtatiousness hidden behind it. "Who would dare leave such a pretty lady alone at a boring party like this?" he asked, putting his hand in front of you and bending over as if waiting to kiss the back of your hand. You couldn't help but chuckle at the overly played-out romantic gesture that had you shivering in fear a couple of moments ago and gave him your left hand. "My lovely husband-to-be, I'm afraid." You knew eyes were on you and your every move would be reported back to Hyunggyu. Flirting with a handsome young man like this? Not a good look for a woman supposed to be engaged to a man she adores. But harmless banter to secure relationships while clearly showing you were taken, that had to be accepted. You saw his eyebrow twitch as he took in your comment and examined the ring on your finger, trying to figure out who could possibly afford such a thing. He still placed a chaste kiss on the back of your hand, standing back up as he tried and failed to keep his composure. "You're trying to figure out if you haven't just royally pissed off someone very important, aren't you?" a light chuckle escaped his lips at your remark, visibly relaxing as the mood lightened. "That obvious, uh?" A hand crept up his neck, clearly embarrassed as a carefree smile illuminated his fine traits. "It's sort of a habit of mine. Pissing people off over beautiful women like yourself, that is." You couldn't help but smile, feeling the weight of the last day slowly lifting off of you as he made you laugh. "Well, that surely makes me feel very special." You both laughed at that, all the awkward tension of a first meeting evaporating into thin air. Being so carefree with someone you had barely met made you realize you had never felt that with Daniel over the past day. As protected and safe as he had made you feel, as warm and comforting as he was, he hadn't helped you feel so... you. He'd been your solace in this dark world you'd been thrown into, but you couldn't disassociate him with how you met him. Why you met him. You couldn't help but think of him as part of this perpetual hell you were now stuck into. But him, this man right in front of you, had managed to make you feel so liberated in such a short time and you couldn't help but smile sheepishly at that thought.

A tall older woman, strikingly beautiful, made her way towards your table, her hand landing gracefully on the man's shoulder. You instantly figured she probably was his mother. "Jungkook, would you be a dear and introduce me to this young lady?" You could hear a slight snobbishness in her tone and yet the movement of her eyes, skillfully eyeing you up and down showed nothing more than a mother evaluating the worth of a potential future wife for her son. You held a smile back and before Jungkook could try and introduce you without even knowing your name, you stuck your hand over the table. You put a slight tension in your shoulders, looking purely regal. "(y/n), Kim Hyunggyu's fiancée. It's an absolute pleasure to meet you. Your son makes for wonderful company." You could tell by her reaction that she had no idea who Hyunggyu was. You complimenting her son, on the other hand, made her absolutely overjoyed - even though she tried her damnedest to keep a smile from breaking her composure. She took your hand in hers and cheerfully introduced herself as the wife of a very powerful politician Daniel had told you about. She had two boys, Jungkook and his older brother and you could tell she was in absolute adoration of both of them. You turned your attention back to Jungkook and you could see in his expression that he, on the other hand, knew very well who Hyunggyu was. Jaw clenched and brows furrowed, his eyes kept darting back to your ring, every look only seeming to make him angrier. You didn't know why knowing who your fiancé was making him so angry but you could easily imagine what Hyunggyu might have done to elicit this reaction. You suddenly felt a slight pressure on your lower back and your entire body tensed before you forced yourself to look composed and relaxed. Hyunggyu had placed himself right in between you and Jungkook. As you turned your head to your right, you gaze was met with Hyunggyu's who looked utterly pissed off. You placed your hand flat on his chest, exposing your diamond ring for the entire room to see as the lights above played a mesmerizing spectacle on the slick surface. "Well, hello there." Your lips brushed against his skin and you left a small peck on his cheek before leaning back into his grasp. He seemed both completely shocked and utterly pleased at your little display of affection. You didn't know which reaction you hated the most. You felt like a prisoner in his arms. Trapped and left to your own despair. You hated yourself for playing along, but as soon as you decided to engage with Jungkook and his mother, this sick little game you were playing with Hyunggyu wasn't for your own good anymore: it was for theirs. Because you knew damn well what a pissed off Hyunggyu could do and you weren't about to have blood spilled because of you. Not any more. Hyunggyu looked over at who had kept you company. His eyes skimmed over Jungkook's mom and instantly landed on him, narrowing as you felt the pressure on your back getting more intense. You slightly moved your hand against his chest, trying to grab his attention. "These wonderful people were keeping me company while you were busy, darling. I'm sure you've heard of Ms. Jeon and her son." The words that left your mouth felt foreign. This body didn't feel like yours anymore. And yet, your mind was so focused on putting on a good front for Hyunggyu, for yourself, but also for every single person you would ever come in contact with from now on. These words, laced with a sweetness that felt like poison on your lips, were the only things that would keep Hyunggyu from murdering innocent people. Because he wouldn't ask questions. He wouldn't act rationally. He would see a young, handsome guy talking to the woman he's forcing into marrying him and he would order the first minion he'd find to silently take care of him. "Did you take care of everything? I missed you." This version of you, this act you managed to put on both disgusted you and made you proud of yourself. Because you knew it was your only way of having a chance to make it out alive. It was your only way of hoping for a normal life, if you could ever get back to that. It was also the fastest way to losing your sanity. You finally saw Hyunggyu's jaw unclench as the pressure on your back lessened and Hyunggyu shook both Jungkook's and Jungkook's mother's hand. "Of course I have. It's a pleasure to meet you both." His attention turned back to you and a smirk tugged at his lips. "Everything went great. How about we start enjoying ourselves now, what do you say princess?" Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

[egg-and-koji]

“Gravity” A FFXIV Fanfic Ch 1

"Hear…”

Disorientation. The first sign something wasn't right. Doctor Daniella Ortega couldn’t remember the last few hours let alone the last few seconds. But that voice...

Daniella’s eyes fluttered open as it filled her mind. The sound soft and clear even over the near-deafening ringing in the doctor’s ears. Ringing followed by a throbbing trainwreck of a headache. Her body felt weak and sore, but not surprisingly not heavy. Not like she usually got after an exhausting mission. Instead, she felt lighter. Too light-weight; almost floating. Unless Lum decided to be an ass and switch on zero-g again. 

She blinked a few times getting a better grasp of her surroundings and sucked back the scream in her lungs when she saw she was in fact floating. Except, this time it wasn't because the ship's gravity had been altered.

Daniella floated exposed and unprotected in open space. 

Her hands shot up to cover her mouth and nose. Not that it would do much; by all accounts, she should have frozen to death the instant her body hit the space atmosphere. She had no suit on, only a medical uniform; white and light gray with the Elysium crest on her breast pocket. Thankfully, she had her BioTech wrist device. But even that offered no protection; a supercomputer, yes and a weapon-albeit a pathetic one, but nothing useful for her situation. Yet when she checked herself over, her fingers weren’t black with frostbite nor had her toes snapped off; they were still very much warm in her slip-on shoes. 

Okay-okay, keep your shit together Ortega, she told herself, you're alive, for now. If she was still alive after those last few seconds, would breathing in this atmosphere kill her? In a blind leap of faith, Daniella took a slow inhale through her nose. Oxygen? 

Her eyes followed the wisps of blue and green atmospheric gases dancing around starlight. Yellow and white distant stars littered every angle surrounding her. Was this a memory from a Paragon's past life? It’d be the only explanation for why it felt so empty. There were no planets, no ships, not even a warp gate.

Creator, she called out in her thoughts hoping to reach her deity through her BioTech. If this was a memory sent by them, what had she done to trigger it? She had no comm call or message that any of the other Paragons in her unit had one.

A sudden beam of light blinded her left peripheral. She raised her hand and turned towards it. Through the gaps between her fingers, she squinted to keep from being blinded by the light. As if it knew it was far too bright, the light dimmed allowing her to see more clearly. A massive star loomed in front of her. She choked on the gasp that escaped from her trembling lips. Her hand slumped down to her side. Is that… a Sun? 

“Creator!?” she heard herself shout yet she hadn’t opened her mouth. Not an unusual occurrence, if this was a memory.

"Hear…feel…," the voice spoke again. 

“Y-you’re not the Creator-who are you!?” Daniella demanded. 

The ball of light bobbed; brightening and dimming with every movement almost as if it were a set of lungs filling and emptying with a steady breath. She watched it for a while. The only two objects in this time and space. It made no move to grow closer nor did it disappear from her. If anything, it beckoned her. 

“Are you sentient?” she asked. This wasn’t a form her Creator used before and it didn’t match any of the known forms of the other Creators of her galaxy. Unless-

“Are you a Sentinel!?”

Daniella snarled as a wave of nauseating anger swirled in the pit of her belly. Had they captured her crew? Was this some new torture method they developed? If they knew she was a Paragon, this could be a method of breaking her for secrets. At best, the Sentinels might have only taken her and used the rest of the crew as ransom against the Federation. 

An insulting thought. There was no point in hoping for an outcome she knew wouldn't happen. Sentinels were… inhuman. Maybe they decided to be merciful to the “lesser species” and killed the crew off quickly; they’d be of no use except as fodder for their war machines. 

Except for Jordan…

Jordan they could use against her. Jordan they could bend and break. 

Daniella wiped his name from her lips as quickly as he appeared in her thoughts. She wouldn’t give the Sentinels that pleasure. 

Let them break me, I die as a Paragon!

Her throat stung as all the moisture disappeared. Her scalp pricked and tingled. Despite the flurry of rage building within her, she kept her breathing controlled. She braced herself as the light shined brighter and hovered closer to her. 

From it came emotions that pierced and swelled in her heart. Her fear and anger vanished, replaced by understanding from the Creator. Patience and guidance from her parents. Order and justice from the Paragons. Friendship and protection from The ESE Orion. Love and acceptance from-

Daniella blinked back her tears and extended a trembling hand towards it. Her face dropped to the open space below her. Whatever the light was she wanted to be near it, but if she moved would she fall forever? 

Consciously or not, she descended. The lapse of gravity slowed her fall. After a few seconds, her feet lightly touched a solid surface and after a heartbeat, she took a careful step forward. The light stayed in its position until just shy from her reach then it shot up behind her. 

"Hear… feel… think…", it echoed.

"Where am I-why am I not on The Orion? Did something happen?" she asked in a daze as she turned. The light bobbed again, waiting for her to follow.

Behind her, a hiss cracked like an oxygen leak of a damaged cruiser. A dark mist coiled against the pure atmosphere. It grew larger then disappeared as a black-robed figure stepped out; their face covered by the shadow of their hood. Energy radiated from their body; dark and powerful magic, not unlike a Sentinel...

From the light came fear. 

Daniella braced herself inhaling deeply to tap into her energy. Lines of dusky purple light streaked across her skin like electrical wiring. Her nervites were activating; a blessed technology from the Creator that marked her as a Paragon. Her people had no magic to counter the Sentinels’ natural abilities. This was her Creator's solution to their atrocities against mankind. 

But it wouldn’t be enough. Her active nervites would barely hold up a barrier in her condition. The weapon from her BioTech was a decent backup though. Sure it was shorter than the standard combat blades, but it was better than nothing. Sentinel or not, she wasn’t about to go down without a fight.

Suddenly, light surrounded her feet. Colors swirled and danced like flames. The blaze engulfed her before she had a chance to scream. 

Daniella’s body changed; heavier, sturdier. The familiar sound of metallic pieces clicking and snapping into place sent a wave of giddy violence down to her toes. When the flames died, she emerged fully dressed in an Exosuit; the nano-infused latex under armor hugged her body while the hybrid silicone-metallic plates protected her limbs and vital organs. The suit’s UI synced with the modules along her spine, recognizing them instantly; the sensors lining the under-suit and armor plating lit up with nervites. The sharing of nervite and nano-tech created a symbiotic relationship, allowing a Paragon abilities beyond their own capabilities. 

With the rush of adrenaline and no small amount of cockiness, she tapped deep into her energy. As the dark figure charged up a hidden power, she flicked her left wrist, and with a sharp hum, the white plasma blade descended. Then the dark mage and the Paragon lunged for each other.

Daniella awoke with a hiss. Her throat cracked. Every inch of her body screamed. Sore. Heavy. She lifted her fists to her eyes and rubbed the pain away. Embarrassing memories of her time as a neophyte in training resurfaced as this pain mimicked lessons. Except back then she was thrashed by Elder Paragons for her lack of restraint. She let her arms flop back down against the hard surface she laid on. One arm, she noticed, felt considerably lighter than the other. 

She raised her left wrist to find it naked. No Biotech. “Oh for Creator’s sake, Lum…”, she grumbled. 

While all Zinorphs were naturally curious, her crewmate Lum took it to the most annoying level possible. She guessed he took it to play some shitty prank on her. Good luck, idiot. After the first few times of handing it over and believing he was innocently curious about it, she programmed some minor security measures to deter him from any future shenanigans. Ha, hope you enjoy the zap, water breather.

Alright, focus Ortega, she told herself then mentally ran through her condition.

Headache, nausea, stiffness, dehydration, fatigue… the list went on. Without the BioTech, she wouldn’t have an accurate diagnosis of her health. Well, the stiffness might be this crappy cot. Her fingers ran over the rough canvas. She grumbled internally, dreading the fact that their mission must have gotten them stranded on yet another planet with another group of aliens with no modern technology who’s village they were very likely going to have to save… again... for the third time-technically fourth, but she wasn’t part of the crew for the first time. Daniella breathed steadily through her nose. She continued mentally checking over her injuries.

Left leg… sore. Right leg- 

“Shit!” She hissed as she tried to bend her leg up. The tent flap opened.

“Pray miss, you must needs rest,” a young human male said in strong accented Elysian. He tried to gently ease her back down.

“I must-what?”

“Your wounds have yet to heal and I fear the Wood Wailers wish to be off shortly.”

“Wood Wailer a local tribe? And why are you talking like that, you lose a bet or something?” 

“The... Wood Wailers are the guardsmen, mistress… I-”

The poor kid looked as confused as the doctor felt. She sat up on her elbows and studied him over. Every sentient creature in the galaxy knew humans came from Elysium. The only reason they settled on other planets was for farming colonies or Federation bases. 

Hm, he might be a Greenie, she thought. 

Judging by his clothes, Daniella assumed the young man came from a poor farming family and volunteered at a base to earn some units. He wore a dust-covered linen shirt and vomit green slacks. Those might be actual vomit stains though. A pair of flimsy leather sandals wrapped around his feet but the straps exposed dirt-covered toes. 

She, on the other hand, wore nothing more than the cotton-spandex shorts and tank top she always slept in. Which normally wouldn’t be an issue except that hers were caked in dried blood and dirt. Her exposed skin was covered in cuts and bruises. The bandages wrapped around her right leg looked like they hadn’t been changed in days. The fact that she was wrapped in bandages at all was alarming. Was this medical site in disarray? Not an issue for her, but she’d have to let her captain know if the supervising physician here needed to pull her from her crew for a few days. It wouldn’t be the first time she’s helped a med site and she didn’t mind; nothing brought her greater joy than medicine. Well, maybe the pride that beamed from the Creator when she did. Besides, it was part of her oath to ensure she left a planet having given every ounce of her medical prowess and aid too.

But to call this a Federation medical site was an insult. It took all of her mother’s patience and Creator’s wisdom to keep from chewing the poor kid out. 

It was nothing more than a tent-not that the Federation didn’t use tents, they were much, much better. There was barely enough room for the two of them and her nose burned from whatever herbs the kid fiddled with. The tent had no floor. Straight dirt. Even the air was gross; thick and damp with mold. The pungent stench of mud burned her nostrils. Stains, dried blood most likely, streaked across one side of the tent canvas. A spread of junk covered bottles sat cluttered on top of a wooden crate near the opening of the tent. A clay bowl full of red cloudy water and dirty bandages sat on a worn side table by her feet. 

That’s it. Nothing else.

“This clinic is disgusting, why wasn’t I placed in a Vite Chamber?” she asked.

“B-beg pardon?”

“A Vite Chamber-every med site has one. Where are the drones? Monitors? IVs?” Daniella questioned, the poor kid shaking his head at each word. “Seriously, there isn’t even a floor! Whoever’s in charge of this clinic isn’t keeping to code. Which base is this?”

“B-base? This is Camp Tranquil miss. There are no bases here-unless you mean the castra where you are from-well the Wood Wailers believe you to be Garlean on account of the vessel they pulled you from-but never have I ever witnessed an airship as they described...”

The young man stuttered and fumbled over his words; most of it gibberish. Fine then, she would have to find the supervising physician herself. But not being put in a chamber to replenish her nervite levels and heal, she had no choice but to tap into her nervite reserves to heal her injuries herself. The young man stumbled backward, eyes as wide as an owl as her tech sealed cuts and erased bruises within seconds. She unwrapped the bandage around her leg exposing a gnarly dark gash under her calf. Her muscle fibers stretched and fused back together as the nervites regenerate the tissue cells, then her skin sealed the wound leaving no scar behind. 

Daniella swung her legs over the side of the cot. “Who’s your supervisor?”

“My what,” he stuttered, taking another step back.

Yep, definitely a Greenie. 

She took a deep breath, mentally chanting the Creator’s wisdom and tried again, her voice soft. “Who is the doctor overseeing the clinic? You must have met him during the orientation.”

He shook his head again. She blinked and curled a brow.

“Okay… well, where’s the rest of my crew?”

“They said you were the only one the Wood Wailers found. They didn’t know how to enter the ship and you lay on the ground alone and unconscious.”

“My captain?” Her voice was barely a whisper. A sharp chill ran down her back. Daniella pinched the bridge of her nose then hopped off the cot. She wobbled for a second then and brushed past him out of the tent.

“No wait,” he called after her.

The “camp” was little more than a few tents and crates fenced in by short wooden railings. Off to one side of the camp stood a massive glowing crystal pylon with a large bronze ring and several metal embellishments. Wooden bridges split to other smaller land masses; one with a single watchtower. 

No comm towers. No auto-turrets. This camp couldn't even fend off a mouse!

A very tall, armed guard marched up behind her and shouted, “Hold prisoner!”

“Prisoner?” Daniella whipped around to face the voice. 

Her heart froze as her eyes traveled up, taking in dark leather armor wrapped around a terrifying height. His face was covered by a mask of the same material; the eye slits too dark to see his irises. Her wide-eyed stare settled on his very long and pointed ears.

“SENTINEL!”

On instinct, her nervites activated. With a growl, Daniella threw out her hands and pushed at the gravity around the Sentinel, flinging him backward and crashing against the fence. More Sentinels charged at her. She pushed and pulled in every direction. Some went straight up into the air and landed with an audible crunch. She lunged for a spear one dropped. 

“No stop!” shrieked the young man.

She snapped her wild scowl to him. He cowered with a few other humans under a collapsing awning. The Paragon placed herself between them and the Sentinels who circled and crept closer. 

“Get the Void out of here!” she barked over her shoulder. Slow steps crunched the ground behind her.

Like a cobra, she whipped around bringing the spear high over her head. A boy in a white robe with horns sticking out of his head raised his hand to her face.

“Sleep,” he whispered. Smoky purple light emerged from his palm and circled her head. 

“The fu-,” Daniella gasped then collapsed to the ground.

At a Federal Intergalactic Station, soldiers filled up an assembly hall for the command's debriefing. Species from across the Federation mixed and mingled with different crews as they awaited for the hologram to appear. Humans and humanoids settled into their seats or stood when all the seats were taken as a large hologram displayed the Elysian vice-admiral in the center of the room. He was an older gentleman with a sterned wrinkled face and broad features. Rows of lapels and medals lined the majority of his right shoulder pad. After a few formalities, the veteran addressed the current on-going issue.

“Recent reports from the Tressith suggest the Sentinels have made greater progress on the Starkiller project, allowing for an increase in the trajectory of the weapon's photon missiles,” the hologram spoke, “Working with Federation intelligence, our allies believe it’s only a matter of time before the weapon will reach its full potential. The Sentinels have already begun their tests, destroying two Tressith colonies in the process. The Federation has sent out orders for immediate evacuations of all colonies at the edge of the Delta Hyperion Galaxy.”

Doctor Daniella Ortega sat with the rest of her crew, chewing on the inside of her lip. Her eyes avoided looking directly at the hologram. Instead, they were focused on The Orion’s commander; the young Captain Hoshino. He was a valiant Elysian officer with several great feats on his record, but the majority of Federation command often overlooked him and his crew. 

That is, only the Elysian vice-admiral did.

Captain Hoshino's hands balled on his knees; the muscles of his strong jaw twitched as he listened to the vice-admiral continue. Daniella glanced at his tense gaze. His face was hard as he shot up at attention when the hologram called for the captains. 

“The Tressith have requested additional aid in relocating their colony populations,” the hologram continued, “Captain Hoshino, the Orion will not be needed for this mission. Return to your previous assignment.”

“Sir, with all due respect The Orion has had more dealings with the Tressith than any other Federation ship,” the young captain protested.

Jordan, don’t, Daniella cautioned in her thoughts.

“And the Federation is grateful for the opportunities your crew has presented to us in working with them. However, they requested aid for the evacuation of which The Orion is ill-equipped to handle.”

“Sir-”

“Captain!,” the hologram boomed, “You and your crew will return to the previous assignment, is that clear?”

Captain Hoshino’s face turned to stone. He saluted then turned out of the assembly hall, the rest of his crew following. Daniella trailed behind them as the captain took wide, heavy steps through the halls towards the docking bay. His knuckles turned white as he held them tightly behind his back; tense even when talking to his co-pilot.  

This was the third time Jordan had spoken out about taking on a new mission. Their crew was stuck with patrol missions around the colony sectors; not the grand expeditions they dealt with in the past.

Why didn’t you stay quiet, she sighed internally, why do you always have to look for trouble huh?

“Well that was disappointing,” a crewmate asked from her side. The Zinorph’s dual-tone voice bubbled as the water device around their neck rubbed against their vocal cords. Their mandibles clicked as they chuckled, “I expected a poorly scripted human drama!”

“I’m the doctor, it’s not my place to argue military policy,” she said dryly.

“Oh, just the doctor huh? Sure, let’s completely overlook the years of training you went through to become an absolute Sentinel killing machine.”

Daniella bit her bottom lip to keep the smirk there from getting any bigger. “Paragons don’t brag about their achievements. We protect Elysium and the Federation, nothing more.”

“Eh, still, what’s the point of having the title if you can’t toss it around now and then. It’d be the first time I’d see the vice-admiral outgunned.”

“Humility, honor, and sacrifice.” Her heart swelled with pride to say the tenets out loud. The two turned down a few corridors and finally entered the docking bay where their ship awaited. “Besides, I’m sure the vice-admiral had his reasons.”

The Zinorph hummed, “Like the fact that the captain is sleeping with his daughter?” They cackled again.

Daniella flinched and huffed. “We aren’t… together right now.”

“If you say so,” they said, “but I did hear the strangest sounds a few nights ago near med bay. Could’ve sworn I heard a struggle. Thought we were being boarded, didn’t think some of us were-”

“You’re an ass, Lum.”

“But you love me!”

“Not enough to not make a chowder out of you,” she half grumbled, “don’t make me flush your eggs into space.”

“Do it! I don’t want the little shits, my partner got rid of fifty the other day!”

“That’s awful!”

Lum laughed harder, their mandibles clicking playfully as they and the doctor followed the rest of their crew up The Orion’s boarding ramp. The captain remained stoic as the ship left the station. 

“Do you need anything from me, Captain?” Daniella asked once it was safe to freely move around the ship.

He didn’t turn to face her. “No.”

Her breath hitched to the sound of his clipped tone. She knew better than to push him; best leave it to his co-pilot or Lum. Daniella saluted his back and turned to the med bay, avoiding Lum’s slow worried clicks as she passed his navigation post. 

That night the captain didn’t join the crew for dinner. Lum tried to probe her for information, but she didn’t say a word. She slipped the empty aluminum tray into its clean up compartment then went for a shower in her suite. The hot water only encouraged her troubled thoughts, so she rushed and changed into her sleep clothes. 

Daniella knew if she went to bed now, she’d toss and turn and end up getting minimal sleep. Checking her messages might clear her mind. She sat down at an empty desk near her bed and tapped the dark glass at the center. A transparent holographic screen appeared. Her fingers gracefully swiped through messages: some from her Paragon comrades, a few from Lum-a recent one she ignored-and several from other command fleets offering her a spot on their medical teams. She spent a few hours reading them over. 

Guilt, shame, and unease filled her heart. 

She had been planning to transfer to another fleet for a few months now. A decision encouraged by her father who even sent his own letters of recommendation to the best fleets in the galaxy. It only made her feel worse. Having fleets compete for her, a Paragon, to join their ship was an honor and flattering; every fleet was better off with one and she had dedicated her life to the order. But having her father use her status along his rank was infuriating. 

Him doing so because he wanted her and Jordan separated crushed her soul.   And it wasn’t because of their differences in rank; if anything she outranked them all as a Paragon.  No... it was only because it was Jordan. 

He was there for me when you weren't, she spat internally, go ask the Creator; they’re the witness, they know everything! 

She paused and sucked back her anger. There was no point in working herself up, the Creator would be alarmed.  She mentally recited her Paragon vows but even that wasn’t enough to calm her. She buried her face in her hands wanting to drown in a scream when a knock on the metal door reeled her in. Swallowing the lump in her throat she said, “Come in.”

Heavy boots clicked against the floor panels as the door slid open then closed. Daniella swiveled in her chair. Jordan stood at the door dressed in Federation tactical pants and plain sleeveless undershirt; his thick ivory shoulders almost translucent against the dark gray material. Except for his artificial arm.  The latest in technological advancement; fully formed with all functions; made from light-weight titanium alloy and nano-infused silicone. It was completely indestructible.

And he hated it.

His cold hard stare lingered on the reddened flesh of his shoulder where machine attached to man. He shut his eyes and let out an exhausted breath. 

“The old man still hates me,” he muttered, his smooth voice pained, echoing a similar ache in Daniella’s heart. 

His lips pursed into a thin line as he stayed at the door. He ran a fleshy hand through the ebony locks of hair against his forehead. The neat sweep he always kept for formal dress twisted through his long pale fingers. His dark brows furrowed into a deep V as he leaned his metal arm on the doorframe 

“He’s just worried,” her voice soft as her eyes traced the lines and joints of the prosthesis. 

She pulled her eyes away quickly and turned back to the desk. 

He could despise the arm all he wanted, she thought, he was alive because of it, damnit!

She swallowed hard and swiped one of the screens over to her BioTech then turned to him again. With her left palm up, she touched the space in front of her and opened a smaller screen. 

“These are… some of the recommendations for the Federation fleets. There’s a few from Lum’s tribe and even one from Paragon Kovalchuk-weird to hear from him, he might just want a chance for a rematch though.” She let out a breathy chuckle. He ignored her; both hands-flesh and artificial-wrung together. 

Only the low hum of the ship’s engine filled the silence between them. 

Minutes felt like centuries. He kept his eyes on the floor. 

“I’m sure this isn’t the best time, but you did say to keep you informed on any updates on my transferring”-she cleared her throat-“I’d like it to be an official transfer so I’ll need your signature once I make my decision.”

His face twisted as his words came out in a broken whisper, “You can decide to stay.”

“We both agreed this was for the best,” she said, keeping her voice neutral, “as long as I’m here you can’t advance in rank, and now The Orion’s being held back too. How is that fair to anyone?”

His eyes snapped up to hers; icy blues on golden brown. “We don’t need to advance-we're fine as we are!”

“You can’t honestly tell me you're okay with doing grunt work for the next few years? The crew needs work. You belong on the field-

“And you belong with us!”

He reached out to grab the end of the doorframe with his prosthetic. The frame bent against the strength of it. He cursed and fumbled trying to bend it back to normal. More dents and bruises formed as the stronger metal fingers molded the frame like clay. His lip curled into an embarrassed frown. How many times had he flustered himself by accidentally breaking things with his new strength? 

Enough to make the smooth, suave Jordan Hoshino self-conscious apparently, her conscious answered.

A few minutes of metallic scratching and grumbled swearing passed. 

Daniella chewed on her lip to keep from giggling, but a wisp escaped the corner of her mouth.  “Leave it, Klax’ii can fix it later.”

She stepped over to him and cupped his face in her hands, warm honey on ivory, and gazed deeply into his eyes. There was the man she promised her heart to; the friend who healed her scars; the one she bound her soul too. He ducked his gaze.

“We can reevaluate the Orion, take on more recruits-if he’s afraid of you being out on the field-”

“You know that’s not why.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Then… I’ll retire.”

That again, she thought. 

Daniella rocked her head ‘no’ and took his prosthetic hand in hers; her skin warm against the sleek cold metal. He reached with his other hand to cup her cheek. She softly brushed it away, bringing up the one she held to caress her skin. He opened his mouth to protest but sucked in a gulp when she tapped into her nervites-increasing the stimulation of his hand’s sensors-and kissed every hinge and joint of his knuckles. 

“Just... stay, Dani-” He choked back a gasp as she kissed the synthetic muscles of his palm. 

Her kiss was a silent plea. 'Not tonight please.' More stimulation from her nervites. 'I love you. Please trust me.'

Jordan gripped her waist with his ‘safe hand’, thumb slipping under her shirt to lightly brush against her skin, sending a wave of heat up her spine. She looked up at him through her dark lashes. Her soft amber eyes meeting wild, smoldering blues. 

“Jordan-”

His mouth was hers hard and desperate, the roughness of his lips sending her thoughts swirling. Lips parted. Tongues met and withdrew, allowing for sighs to be consumed. In a quick pivot, he flattened her back to the plated wall near the door. The frigid metal sending a shiver through her body.

Her tongue traced his bottom lip. A hint of bourbon lingered. That explained his lack of argumentative vigor. The doorframe cried again under his grip. The sound of his heavy breathing and metal whining against metal all because of her tongue filled her with brazen want. Hungry, she clawed for the artificial hand.

“No,” he breathed. His other hand pinned hers to the back of his neck. Her fingers twisted the longer strands of jet black hair. 

It hurt how much she wished he wasn’t afraid to touch her with that hand. 

They tried once-in the shower-getting so caught up in the moment Jordan bent the showerhead. Lum cackled like a maniac when Daniella told him the ridiculous story she had to make up to explain it to their repair technician.

Daniella shivered as Jordan wedged his thigh between hers. She stifled a moan against his neck as she pressed her weight on him. He nudged his nose across her temple, drawing her lips back to his, and let out a groan as her nail gently tugged his scalp. 

The intercom near their heads buzzed. Lum’s voice breaking the wonderful haze.  “Uh, Dr. Ortega would you mind sending ‘Paragon Ortega’ and the captain over to the control deck-thanks!”

They cussed. Daniella dropped her hands to his chest and buried her forehead in his shoulder. Her heart pounded in her ears. His racing heart thrummed under her palms. Jordan panted into her neck, lips still brushing her pulsing skin. 

Daniella lifted her head off Jordan’s shoulder but moved no further away. Her eyes traced the flush of soft pink on his sculpted pale neck; his pulse quivering underneath. 

Mindless, she tilted her chin up and sucked. A sharp hiss escaped his teeth. He reached down to cup her knee to hook it around his waist. She arched her back and pressed her head against the wall, a hand gripping his shoulder and the other to claw at his prosthesis still buried against the doorframe. His synthetic muscles coiled and trembled under her touch. Her nails scraped loudly against the protective plating as he licked and nipped her lips, across her lovely square jaw… down her neck. She writhed against him with every further dip.

The intercom buzzed again.

“Look I’m sure I’m not interrupting something that you both say is not going on... but it was either: reach you on the com or send the “lizard” and that wouldn’t have been fun for anybody soo-”

Jordan growled then cleared his throat. He reached over with his artificial hand using every ounce of restraint to not crush the talk button. “Understood Lum.” 

Minutes passed with neither moving. 

Jordan sighed as he dipped his chin back to Daniella. He touched his forehead to hers and kissed the tip of her nose. “Looks like you’re needed up there Paragon.”

Daniella licked her lips as her breathing slowly returned to normal speeds. Timid eyes flicked to the strain in his pants. And with a crooked grin, she said, “looks like I’m needed here too.”

He chuckled hoarsely-his cheeks a soft pink-then swallowed hard, kissed her damp forehead, and eased her leg down. His human hand stayed on her waist, the other he brought closer but kept on the wall, away from her. Metal on metal clicked as he shifted. 

She cupped his face again, kissing cheeks, chin, nose. Everywhere. Yet, not enough. 

He pulled away a bit, allowing themselves more space to breathe. Slow. Patient. With the willpower of the Creator, he traced the underside of her bottom lip with the silicon pad of his metallic thumb. A burning wave coursed through her, involuntarily causing her nervites to flare. For a few seconds, her mind went blank only feeling his touch.

Jordan shook his head and grinned victoriously; blue eyes, like cosmic waves, shimmered; the creases in the corners of his lids stretched down towards his high cheekbones. “Later,” he promised, “we’ll find time.” 

There would never be enough time for moments like this. But every single one they cherished as if the very last. 

Jordan stepped out to the hall while Daniella reached next to her desk for a pullover hoodie and slip-on shoes. The two joined the rest of the crew in the control room where a distress signal played over the comm system; the horn echoed off the metal paneled walls. A distorted message buzzed on repeat. 

“Tressith merchant ship Captain,” Lum said, “coming from Jesic 9 station. No time stamp.”

“Run it through the VI,” Jordan told him.

Lum synced the message to The Orion’s translator and played it over the intercom. 

“All stations… this is vessel Itik-khra… Jesic 9… compromised. Sentinel scout… warning… requesting Paragon interception…”

The crew turned to their Paragon; focused and steady masking the storm of anxiety building in her gut. A scout could potentially mean a warship and The Orion wasn’t meant for a full-on assault. 

“None of the others have sent out a call,” her voice low, cautious, “did you send it to my Tech?”

The Zinorph nodded, their mandibles quivering. 

“How fast can you get reinforcements?” Jordan asked.

“Not fast enough,” Paragon Ortega replied, her tone neutral, controlled. She barely glanced at the captain. “Wouldn’t matter either way. They already sent out their request.” One she was bound to respond to even when the rest of The Orion was not. 

She felt Jordan’s eyes on her. She didn’t meet them. Not at that moment. ‘Dani’ needed to be buried for Paragon Ortega to appear. 

She knew that. He knew that.

No order from him could override a call for a Paragon. Even attempting to stop her would have serious repercussions. 

Her eyes finally flicked over to him, silently seeking a dismissal. Gone was the man she loved. Buried. 

Captain Hoshino stood rigid, white knuckle fists on the hologram table. “To your station, Paragon.”

[xiumin-on-this-shit]

I Am An Alpha Ch 12: Run

A/N: Okay lovelies I just want to make it clear if you didn’t see my post earlier, Insoo calls the boys hyung because she was raised as a boy in the military for the last 100 years. Since she is so used to it she continues to call every older man hyung even though it is not right which is why EXO was so confused by it. I hope this clears everything up for you lovelies! 

Half of the table is on their feet, low growls come from deep in their chests, sending me sinking into my seat. My face burns with embarrassment at Chanyeol’s question, I find myself hiding me face in my hands, thankful that no one is really paying attention to me but focusing all of their rage at the giant on the other side of the table. I have been dreading this question, secretly praying they wouldn’t even think to ask but of course they did, they must be curious.

“Chanyeol,” Head alpha snarls, “Out.”

The tall boy gulps as he stands from his seat and shuffles towards the back yard where I’m guessing he will transform and sit outside for his punishment. I feel a little guilty, he is just curious, he doesn’t deserve to be punished for that. In a quick decision I jump up from my seat to defend him.

“Wait Hyung, it’s okay, I understand that you want to know.”

Kris shakes his head, “We all discussed this, you don’t have to explain anything you are not ready to say. Chanyeol knows that we wanted to wait before we asked personal questions like that.”

“You guys don’t have to wait to ask anything,” I reassure. “You guys are my mates, you are going to learn about these things no matter what, and they are going to be embarrassing to admit no matter what so might as well get all of those things out of the way now.”

“Are you sure?” Minseok rests his hand on my shoulder, his gaze much softer.

I nod, “Yes, there shouldn’t be any secrets, right?”

“Yes but since I can imagine this will be followed by even more questions can we wait for the answer until you are done eating?” Kris pushes my half eaten plate of food closer.

The table nods.

“Are there any questions you would like to ask us?” Luhan wonders.

“Um…” I think for a moment, “From the way Kris hyung was dressed yesterday, I take it you guys have jobs? What do you do?”

Kris is the one who responds, “We shadow run a few companies and business that are under our family name.”

I cock my head in confusion, “Shadow run?”

“We have a family that serves us be the face of the company since we don’t age. We are the ones who do the paper work, approve everything and other things, they just get to sit in the office with the title.” Suho explains.

“But we all still work in the company, just at lower levels to make sure things are running good,” Yixing ads on.

“So what will I do when you all go to work? How long do you work for? I mean I can get along fine I just,” I pause, debating if I want to sound as desperate as I imagine I do.

Yixing catches on to my struggle and tries to help, “You don’t want to be alone?”

I nod.

“No need to be shy about that Love,” Luhan coos sweetly from across the table. “We don’t want to leave you either.”

I push my plate away with the last large bite of food stuffed in my mouth. A silent signal that I’m done. They all watch me with amusement as I struggle to finish the massive bite. I give them a big smile when I’m done, “That was the most delicious meal I’ve ever had in my life, thank you so much Hyung!”

“Are you sure you are full?” Yixing questions as he pats my head.

“I’m full. I want to answer anymore questions you have for me as soon as possible. I don’t want worry to be weighing down on your minds like I know it is right now. So to answer you question,” I take a deep breath to try and calm my racing heart and ease the burning in my cheeks. “I would have to handle it by myself. Jin or Namjoon hyung would lie to our superiors that we had a lead about some group of powerful alphas so we could leave base. When we were far enough away from everyone they would send me off to a cave with some previsions and I would um, take care of myself for that week.”

Suho grimaces, “Did they leave you out there by yourself while in heat? What if some wolves came along and caught your scent?”

“Jin hyung stayed close by but Namjoon hyung had to take the others farther away so they wouldn’t feel tempted to come after me.”

“What about when your pack members would be in rut?”

“Whenever a solider was in rut they would kick him out of camp until he could handle himself. Kookie was the only one who ever actually tried to do anything to me and he stopped the moment he realized what he was doing.”

Kai snarls, “What the hell did the little punk do?”

“He crossed a line and I made sure to let him know. The rest of the pack gave him hell so you have nothing to worry about.”

“But you do,” Chen hums with an amused smile, “One of your mates will be going into rut here soon and the rest of usually follow.”

Again the room goes silent, my face is burning with embarrassment, “Really? How soon is soon?”

“Chen,” Kris warns.

“What Hyung?” Chen fakes innocent, “Embarrassed to talk about your rut? It’s a completely normal thing that you have gone through before, but this will be your first time with a mate. Don’t tell me your aren’t excited. I’m over the moon at the thought.”

The room fills with strong alpha pheromones that have me sinking into my seat. Kris is on his feet, his eyes a brilliant gold, “We need to go for a run, now, apparently everyone has too much energy. Everyone out!” The group of men quickly pushes away from the table and rush towards the back doors that lead to the forest. Kris is the last one, his hands are gripping the table, eyes closed tightly for a moment while he tries to rein in his wolf. When he opens his eyes again they are their usual brown. “I am sorry about that.”

“These are things we need to talk about, no need to apologize. Now go for your run, I’ll be fine here.” I try to wave him away but he shakes his head.

“You haven’t transformed into a wolf for a long time, this would be a good time to do it.”

“I can’t control myself very well when I’m like that, I don’t want to do something wrong.”

He chuckles, “You won’t do anything wrong, plus don’t you want to show us your wolf? I’m dying to see what you look like. I bet the rest of the pack is too.” He holds a hand out to me that I quickly accept not wanting to keep all the others waiting. “You can take off your clothes in here so come out when you are ready okay?”

I want to disagree again but I close my mouth when I see the stern look on his face. He gives me a smile before walking the way the rest of them went, leaving me alone to transform. I sigh, it has been so long since I’ve transformed and I’m actually scared of how I’m going to do once I step on the snow-covered ground. But a small howl comes from the living room and I know it’s them telling me to come. I slowly begin sheading Yixing’s clothes and for a minute I just stand there with my arms wrapped around my trembling body. My chests rises and falls as I take long deep breaths, relaxing as much as I can.

I grunt when I feel my bones start t contort, my shoulders go back before shifting legs send me forward on all fours. A snarl leaves my chest as my bones begin to crack before snapping back into place. It doesn’t hurt like the first time I transformed but it isn’t the most pleasant feeling now either. My fur pours out of my pores until I’m completely covered sandy colored hair. I can’t hold in the howl that rips threw my lungs and fills the empty house.

My ears ring as the world buzzes around me. It has been so long since my senses have been this sensitive. It is strange walking on all fours again after so long, I don’t imagine I look very graceful as stumble into the living room and out on to the patio but they are looking at me with the golden eyes I suddenly feel beautiful. My omega status is obvious in my wolf form, I have never been so thankful for the military’s rule against transforming. There is only so much I can hide. Being half the size of an alpha that isn’t something I can hide. Kris tires to approach me but Chanyeol happily hops in the way, making the head alpha growl. Chanyeol sniffs the air around me before going straight for my neck. I jump back surprised by his sudden attack.

That’s all it takes to have the others rushing over and tackling the other to the ground. Yixing comes in between me and the fight breaking out, a small whine of concern comes from the sweet man. He leans down so we are nose to nose, I lick his nose softly to let him know I’m okay, just surprised. I happily nuzzles into his neck breathing in his sweet scent when another wolf appears next to me. Kyungsoo is there glaring at the older, obviously upset with our closeness.

Kris comes over to defuse the situation pushing both boys away. I don’t know what he says to them through their pack bond but they part like the red sea. Head alpha nudges me forward into the snow, I know he wants to have fun in my wolf form but I already feel the urge to run when I see the massive forest at the edge of the field. But when he pushes me forward again I quickly follow his orders and my urges. Without anymore persuasion I shoot past all of them straight to the forest. Apparently that is not what Kris wanted because the next thing I know they are running after me, their snarls echoing through the forest. Of course they can easily catch up to me but not before I catch the scent of my pack near by. I didn’t think I could reach this far so quickly but apparently I am a lot faster than I thought.

Kookie! Jiminie! Taetae! Hobi! Hyungs! I scream gleefully, briefly forgetting the group of alphas only feet behind me. The idea of showing them I transformed has me smiling in my mind but that smile is quickly wiped away when someone tackles me. I roll on to my back to see Kai leering over me his teeth bared. My heart stops and I let out a small whimper. Out of nowhere a black wolf takes Kai down, they roll together, nipping at each others throats, Jongin manages to get on top of the younger wolf

Jungkook!

My pup whines when the older bites down on his throat, his hind legs kicking in a panic. I rush over and try to push Jongin off but he’s too strong for me. The others only watch with a bit of satisfaction in their eyes that makes me snarl. Without hesitation I bite Jongin’s leg, he jumps but doesn’t move away, from Kookie whine I think he actually bites harder. A second later my thought is confirmed when the smell of Jungkook’s blond enters my nostrils. I jump at Jongin again and again but he won’t budge. Kookie’s whines become more frantic, our pack must hear us. They come rushing into the forest in their human form.

“What the hell is going on?” Namjoon roars, my pack bare their teeth at the site of Jungkook on his back and me whining in obvious distress.

The black dragons return the action. Kris comes forward with obvious irritation in his eyes. I look to Namjoon, begging him with my eyes to help Kookie.

“Get off our pup!” Jin commands.

Kai snarls.

I scratch at his side gently hoping it might work but when his eyes flick to me they are still red. I do it again and again my whines becoming more and more desperate. But he continues to ignore me.

“Are you trying to make her hate you?” Yoongi snaps, “That pup matters more to her than all of you combined!”

Wrong thing to say. Jungkook screams, I charge at Jongin one last time but fail. With no other choice I transform, ready to beg of his life if that’s what it takes. On my knees my legs are buried in the snow, my whole body bared but I don’t care. My fingers tangle in Jongin’s fur, I rest my forehead on his rib cage and beg, “Please stop. Please don’t kill my pup. I can’t loose anymore of my family.” Tears are streaming down my face, my body is trembling from the cold and the small cries vibrating in my chest.

“You idiot! It’s fucking freezing! You can’t transform!” Jin tries to run to me but half of my mates get in between us, Yixing wraps himself around me to keep the cold at bay but I push him away.

Glaring over my shoulder I snap, “Now you want to help?”

His mouth opens as if he is trying to say something but it snaps closed when his eyes scan my back. Scars, so many scars from punishments and raids gone wrong. Is he just noticing them now? I look back to Jongin and gently tug on his fur.

“Hyung please,” I mumble softly. He releases Jungkook’s throat, he slowly steps away allowing me to collapse on top of my pup. I rest my head on his chest and let out a sigh of relief. “I thought you were going to die,” I admit quietly. Kookie rolls over, a small whine escaping his muzzle. Our press our forehead together, “I know I said I would never beg but I was so scared. I can’t loose you Kookie, I can’t let you die because of me.”

“Insoo what the hell is going on?” Namjoon questions.

“I’m sorry Hyung, I got excited when I transformed and rushed here to show you guys because I got so excited.”

“But what’s with all the hostility?” Hobi gulps.

“I’m not sure,” I confess. “Jongin hyung tackled me and Kookie came to try and save me and things just got so messy.”

“Can you get out of the way before she fucking freezes?” Jin spits. He must have ran inside quick. In his arms are some of my clothes that my mates will probably not approve of because of the scent. But right now I couldn’t care less. I stand up and walk past my mates to Jin. I happily accept the clothes, noticing the intense atmosphere when my mates notice the scars on my back. I throw on the long sleeve shirt and pull on the wore out pair of jeans. Jin nicely helps me with my boots and jacket. “There all better.”

“Thank you Hyung.”

“Now you should get going,” He pats my head.

I curse, “What? You expect me to go back with them after that?”

“They probably thought you were coming to run off with us or something. Go home and talk.”

“Hyung!”

“Insoo,” He warns. “You can’t expect this to be simple. This is going to take a lot of work. If you expect them to understand you, you have to understand that they are going to be possessive.”

“But I want to be with you guys!”

“Tomorrow, okay? We can spend time together tomorrow okay?” He pulls me into a hug. “I know this is hard but you have no idea how hard it would be to be a part from them. Plus they saw your back they are going to be concerned.”

I sigh but turn around. Kookie runs up to me and licks my cheek, I pat his head with a smile, “See you tomorrow pup. Stop causing trouble.” I walk closer to my mates and try to pick who I hate the least at the moment. Yixing, Kris, and Jongin, can go fuck themselves right now. None of them helped so it’s hard to decide. Jongdae is staring at me with big eyes that draw me towards him, “Jongdae hyung, can I ride on your back?”

……………………………………….

“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” I end with a firm glare directed at the doe eyed man who asked.

Luhan frowns, “I know you are upset with us right now but we want you to be able to talk to us even if we are in a bad spot. Insoo you have scars all over your body, what are they from?”

I groan, “They are from years of abuse and torture in a slave army, what do you think they are from?”

“Insoo,” Kris warns.

“I’m sorry, am I being insensitive? I imagine it’s really hard to think about all the things that could have happened, I have no idea what it must be like to think about things like that. It’s not like I had to go through it.”

“You need to go cool down,” Kris commands.

“Oh really? Are you going to make me?”

“I don’t want to make you but if I have to I will.”

I scoff, “You really think you can make me?”

He grabs my hand and pulls me along. We leave the others behind, they huff and mumble to each other about me and I’m guessing about what could happened to me to get so many scars. Kris doesn’t say anything as he drags me up the stairs and to the door all the way at the end of the hall. I don’t put up much of a fight when he throws me inside and stomps into the closet. He emerges with a t-shirt in his hand that he tosses at me.

“Change.”

“No.”

He growls, “I am going to talk with my pack. I want to be out of those stinky clothes by the time I get back.”

“You can’t talk to me like that! I am not some pathetic omega you can just order around!.”

“I am speaking to you the same way I speak to any other disobedient alpha. Regardless of the fact you are my mate I will not let you disrespect my pack like that. This not how I want to talk to my mate but you are leaving me no option.”

“You guys attacked my pack today!”

“Because we were all horrified that they were trying to runaway with you.”

“I told you I didn’t want to go for a run! I told you I would do something wrong but you assured me there is nothing I could do wrong!”

He is silent for a minute, “I’m sorry for raising me voice and speaking so rudely to you.”

“I’m sorry for snapping.”

“I really need to talk to the others so can you please change out of those clothes? I’ll be back in a little while.” He turns on his heel and leaves. I stare at the shirt in my hand before pulling off my clothes like an upset child. The shirt is like a dress on me, I grumble to myself about finding some pants but I really don’t want to go digging through things and start another fight. I eye up his bed for a minute before crawling on to it. It smells like firewood a scent that warms my insides. I bury myself in the blankets and pillows hoping if I dig deep enough I’ll just disappear.

God I made such a mess. I should have controlled my wolf and my mouth better. How could I let things get so out of control? Kookie could have died today. My mates don’t trust me and pretty much hate me right now. Did they really think I was just going to run? Do they really think that little of me? I want to scream and cry but all I can do burrow deeper into Kris’s scent. Maybe this will be better when I wake up.

I can only hope.

I’m so sorry if this sucks, I’m half asleep and wanted to finish this while I still have the determination!