#tommy flyaway

[mizuboys]

MY BIRTHDAY IS THIS WEEKEND !!!!

I HUMBLY AND AWESOMELY ASK YOU TO CONSIDER GIVING ME THE WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY GIFT "COMMISSION MONEY" BECAUSE I'M THE COOLEST PERSON IN THE WORLD. IF YOU HAVE RIGHTFULLY CONSIDERED YOU CAN DO THAT THERE ->

-> -> -> GO HERE <- <-

[alltheirdamn]

DECLINED | Mechanic!Joel x f!reader

PART 2

Summary: After a summer away, you decide to pay a visit to your favorite mechanic. Rating: 18+ Explicit Word Count: 3.7k Warnings: Pre-outbreak (AU), mechanic!joel, car sex, oral (f receiving), fingering, squirting, semi-public sex, multiple orgasms, slight overstimulation, light nipple play, unprotected piv sex, size kink, dirty talk, praise kink, pet names (darlin', babydoll, cowboy), cock riding, rough sex, creampie, joel once again being irresistible and disgustingly sweet, light sprinkle of fluff, porn with no plot (kinda) A/N: I have zero self-restraint and couldn't stop thinking about mechanic!joel soo... you could say, it was so nice she had to come twice ;)

PART 1 | Masterlist | Ko-fi

It wasn’t like you were actually planning on pulling off the highway to head toward that mechanic shop… except you totally were. Summer came and went, and after a few months spent in Tallahassee, it was time to go home. You weren’t in a rush this time, though, so you could afford a quick pit stop at a small mechanic shop. Nothing needed to be fixed in your car, but maybe you’d pop a screw loose just for the hell of it.

Pulling into the familiar garage, your heart thumped in your ears as you threw the car in park and nearly ran inside. The waiting room was disappointingly empty minus a handsome man standing behind the counter…one that wasn’t Joel.

His black curls were slicked back, and with just a white tank top and flannel on, you could tell he was built just like Joel. At your sudden entrance, he glanced your way, giving the cigarette in his hand a quick flick over the ashtray on the counter he leaned on.

“Can I help you with somethin’, miss?” He asked. He had that same drawl in his voice as Joel did.

Taming down your flyaways from the humidity, you walked over to the counter with a friendly smile. You didn’t miss how his eyes did a once-over on your body.

“I was just coming through town, thought I’d stop in to say hi to Joel,” you explained.

He took another drag of his cigarette, the cherry burning at the bottom. After a long inhale, he puffed out an air of smoke, filling the space with that stinging smell of nicotine. You weren’t completely opposed to the smell, and you most definitely appreciated him blowing it to the side so that it didn’t creep up into your nose.

“Joel’s just up at the mini-mart grabbin’ some beers. M’sure he’ll be back soon,” he shrugged. “I’m Tommy by the way, his brother.”

He extended his free hand, and you met him halfway to give him a friendly handshake, introducing yourself as well. Tommy donned that same lopsided grin as Joel; it must be that Southern charm and hospitality.

“So,” he drawled. “How y’know my brother?”

You shifted your weight between legs, trying to come up with some stupid lie to explain how you did know him. Short answer: he fixed your car. Long answer: he gave you the best orgasms of your life. 

“I, uh, came through town a few months ago to get my car fixed, and—.”

“Hey, Tommy! Come help me with the beers, man!” A voice shouted from the side door.

Tommy gave you an apologetic grin, rounding the corner to meet his brother outside. You leaned against the counter, drumming your fingers against it as you waited for them to reemerge. Tommy was walking back through the door moments later, a six-pack of beers in hand and Joel in tow. 

“C’mon man, I told you no smokin’ in the damn shop,” Joel grumbled, smacking the back of Tommy’s head.

Tommy only laughed at his brother's annoyance, walking around the counter to give Joel a clear view of you standing there. As his eyes set on you, Joel stopped in his tracks, a wild grin splitting across his face.

“Well, would y’look at that,” he beamed. “If it ain’t my favorite customer.”

A warmth crept up your skin, your cheeks blushing at his words. He approached you, leaning against the counter to mimic your stance. He still wore that worn-down black t-shirt, the fabric thinned out and stretching over his muscles. You wondered how long those scratches stayed on the skin of his back after you both…

“Ohhhh,” Tommy interrupted, forcing your eyes to tear away from Joel’s. “You’re the girl that’s got my brother out $500!”

Snapping your head back to Joel, you smacked his bicep in embarrassment.

“You told him?!” You shrieked.

Joel doubled over in laughter, clutching the arm you had just whacked.

“Calm down, darlin’. I ain’t ever think I’d see you again! S’all in good fun.”

You buried your face in your hands, letting out a small groan. Of course, he’d tell his fucking brother about you; the girl that didn’t have any fucking money for a car and slept her way out of the debt. You could bet Tommy probably didn’t believe Joel when he told him the story, either.

“Aw, c’mon now babydoll,” Joel crooned, peeling your hands away from your face. “I ain’t meant no harm in tellin’ the story.”

“He hasn’t told another soul,” Tommy said. You glanced over to see him raise a hand in defense. “Scouts honor.”

You smack Joel again for good measure, eliciting a howling laugh from Tommy on the other side of the counter. 

“Tommy, I’ll close up the shop tonight,” Joel said, raising an eyebrow at his brother. “Why don’t you head out and grab Sarah for me? M’sure I’ll be back in time for the game.”

“Fuckin’ better be,” Tommy tossed back. “Ain’t tryna lose my money to you again.”

“Seems like he needs that money,” you chimed in, rolling your eyes.

This time Joel shoved at you playfully, a hearty laugh rumbling through his chest. 

“Now she’s got jokes!” He teased. 

“Ha ha very funny,” Tommy said, scooping up the six-pack into his arms. “Nice meetin’ ya miss. Don’t run up your tab too high while you’re here.”

Tommy was just as good with the jabs as you were, so you threw him a quick smile and wave before he slid out the back door and disappeared. With only Joel and you left, that nervous feeling crept back in. 

“Got another tire blown out or did y’miss me?” Joel teased.

“Don’t let your ego get too big, cowboy,” you said. “I’m just rollin’ back through town.”

“Pretty sure I’m big everywhere, babydoll, but y’already know that.”

Joel took a step towards you, twisting a strand of your hair through his fingers. You could see the midday sun reflecting in his brown eyes, making them sparkle the longer he stared. Your gaze flicked down to his lips, that pouty bottom one quipped up into a slight grin. 

“You’re just so sure of yourself, aren’t you?” You laughed.

“Sure enough to know that pretty pussy is just soakin’ your underwear right now,” he drawled. 

He grabbed your hips, pinning you to his chest with an arm braced around your back. Dipping his hand between your bodies, he slid a finger over the seam of your zipper, teasing your already throbbing clit. Your eyes fluttered shut at the feather-like touch of his finger, your body aching for him.

“Fuckin’ knew it,” he whispered in your ear.

Your breath hitched as he popped open the button on your jeans and tugged down the zipper. Slipping two fingers between your skin and underwear, he drew lazy circles over your clit, watching you with rapt attention as you tried to stifle a moan.

“Mhmm,” he crooned. “Been dreamin’ ‘bout this pussy ever since you left town, darlin’.”

“Yeah?” you exhaled, rolling your hips against his fingers as they worked faster.

“Ain’t ever had my cock so wet.” Joel pressed a kiss against your neck as his fingers slid between your wet folds and teased your entrance. 

“Christ, Joel,” you exhaled. “Maybe we should take this somewhere else.”

Joel glanced around the empty waiting room and shrugged.

“No one’s here, darlin’.”

“Your shop windows are glass,” you argued. “Anyone can see us if they drive by.”

Teasing your wet folds, Joel slid a finger inside you, slowly curling it in an attempt to shut you up—which did work, unfortunately. You leaned into his broad chest, your head resting on his sternum as he continued the movement in slow strokes. 

“Joel,” you whimpered, clutching the fabric of his shirt.

“What, babydoll?” He asked innocently as if he didn’t fucking know what he was doing to you.

“Take me to the garage,” you breathed. “Please.”

“Only ‘cause you asked so nicely, darlin’.”

Pulling his hand out of your jeans, Joel bent to scoop you up, drawing your legs around his waist to carry you out of the waiting room. You wound your arms around his neck, dipping your head down to kiss along the stubble of his jawline. His hands squeezed your ass as he walked you both through the door to the garage, situating himself at the workbench. Still positioned in his lap, you wasted no time and pulled him in for a long, passionate kiss. You could feel the smile on his lips as he kissed you back, his hands roaming up and down your body as you devoured one another. 

“Jesus, babydoll. Y’really did miss me, huh?” he muttered against your open mouth.

“Maybe I did, cowboy.”

Grinding your hips on his lap, you felt the strain of his cock beneath the worn-out fabric of his work jeans. Joel nipped at your bottom lip, groaning as you circled your hips harder. 

“Easy now, darlin’,” he warned. “Don’t wanna ruin my jeans like some middle school boy.”

You laughed and doubled down on your movements against his cock, each drag of your body forcing him to tense up. Joel’s hand came up to cup your breast through your bra, squeezing hard enough to make you whimper. 

“Y’gonna be a good girl for me, babydoll?” he questioned.

You snuck a glance at his face, seeing his pupils blown wide with lust. Nodding quietly, you stilled your movements and focused on the feel of his fingers pinching your hardened nipple through the fabric. Your jaw went slack as he toyed with you, coaxing humiliating sounds from your lips with each twist.

“Hmm,” he mused, leveling you with a dangerous stare. “That's how I get you to behave, huh?”

“Joel,” you whined breathlessly. 

“Use your words, babydoll.”

“I need you to fuck me,” you begged, leaning into his touch.

“Where’s those manners, darlin’?” he taunted.

Giving him the biggest pouty face you could muster, you pushed your bottom lip out and sealed the deal by batting your eyelashes at him.

“Please, cowboy?” 

Joel rolled his eyes and chuckled, bringing his hand down on your ass to deliver a sharp slap. Hoisting you back up, Joel spun your body back against the wall of the garage, shoving your shirt up as he pressed you against it. He wasted no time in dragging down your bra, ravishing your skin with kisses and bites, leaving a trail of marks down your breast and sternum. You ran your hands through his curls, feeling the humidity of the air dampen them the longer you both stayed in the garage. Neither of you seemed to mind, though; you were so wrapped up in each other there was no telling of what was happening in the outside world. 

He took your nipple between his teeth, biting it softly and rewarding your behavior with another trail of kisses back up your chest and neck. He mumbled a slew of curses under his breath as you mewled against his touch, his mouth hot against the underside of your jaw.

“Quite the mouth on you, cowboy,” you teased. 

“Y’already know what this mouth can do, darlin’. Don’t tempt me.”

“Why don’t you remind me?” you asked, a smug grin teasing your lips.

“Fuck, babydoll,” he groaned.

Setting you back down on your feet, Joel nodded towards his black truck, silently instructing you to move. With the truck bed already down, you did a little hop and shimmy onto it, settling back against the warm metal. Joel grabbed a clean towel off his workbench and stalked towards you with a devilish grin.

“Afraid to get your truck messy?” You smirked.

“I already know you’re gonna have the entire bed of it soaked in damn near a minute,” he responded.

Letting impatience get the best of you, you worked yourself out of your jeans and underwear, slingshotting it directly at Joel’s chest as he neared the edge of the truck. Catching it with one hand, he pocketed the black lace effortlessly, offering you the towel to situate yourself onto. Sliding your body into the towel, you dropped your legs open, giving Joel a perfect view to ogle at.

“Like what you see, cowboy?” You giggled, trailing your fingers down your abdomen and towards the wetness between your thighs. 

“Damn right I do, darlin’.”

Joel pressed up against the truck bed, bending over to kiss down your stomach where your hand laid against your aching clit. He brushed his lips over your fingers before drawing them into his mouth, sucking on them gently. Your breath hitched as your eyes connected, his brown eyes sparkling with mischief. Joel pulled your fingers from his mouth and guided your hand through his hair.

“Give them curls a tug if y’need it, darlin’.”

Then his mouth was on you. Devouring you. Lapping at you. Every flick of his tongue sent shockwaves through your body, your veins coursing with an indescribable need to explode. Joel didn’t let up for a single second, his tongue and jaw working at you until your thighs quaked around his neck. He was pushing you closer and closer until that coil inside your stomach was ready to snap. You cried out as he flattened his tongue against your clit, putting pressure at just the right spot to make you see stars.

“Right there… oh my God, Joel,” you whispered, panting as you felt that build-up in your body begin.

With another long draw of his tongue and the brush of his nose against the sensitive bud of your clit, that coil snapped. Hot, warm liquid gushed out of you, covering the entirety of his open mouth and chin. Joel groaned as he continued lapping at you, the disgusting sound of your wet cunt drowning out the heartbeat thudding in your ears. Aftershocks of your orgasm coursed through you, your body pulsing with pleasure with each press of his mouth against you.

You tugged at his curls as he instructed, and Joel lifted his face to reveal what a dripping mess he had become. Your cheeks reddened at the sight of his hooded eyes and wild smile; the look of sheer bliss painting his features. Exhaling, you sagged against the metal of the truck, your chest rising and falling as you tried to regain some semblance of control.

“God, I sure did miss this pussy,” Joel hummed, nudging his nose against your dripping cunt. 

You squirmed against his face, too afraid another orgasm would surge through you and drench him again—which he obviously wouldn’t be opposed to. But you needed his cock buried inside you, now.

“Joel, climb up here,” you said, patting the metal beside you.

“What if I ain’t ready yet?” he argued, kissing the inside of your thighs.

“Joel,” you demanded.

“Alright, alright,” he sighed. “Don’t get all impatient on me now, darlin’.”

Hauling himself onto the truck bed, he crawled over your limp body, kissing up the side of your neck. Using what little strength you had left, you maneuvered yourself over him, flipping you both until you straddled his lap. Joel’s hands came up to your bare hips, his thick fingers squeezing and kneading the supple flesh as you rolled against his hardened cock.

“Gonna let me ride you, cowboy?” You asked.

“Fuck, darlin’,” he groaned, his eyes rolling back. ���Boutta be the best ride of my goddamn life.”

Giving him a wink, you hurried to undo his belt and jeans, letting his cock spring free. Christ, you forgot how big it was. Joel chuckled at the way you stalled a moment, bucking his hips upwards in an attempt to get you moving.

“Calm down, cowboy,” you warned. “I’m gettin’ there.”

Wrapping your hand around the base of his cock, you positioned it at your entrance, slowly sinking down until your clit brushed against the curls at the base. Even dripping wet, you were forced to stretch around him, the fullness leaving you breathless for a moment. 

“Y’look so pretty like that, babydoll. S’fuckin full of me,” Joel hummed.

You whimpered at his words, moving your hips up and down finding the right tempo that sent you both into oblivion. The press of your knees against the metal wasn’t the most comfortable thing, but you could ignore it so long as he enjoyed himself. You picked up the pace, your body bouncing up and down as you forced his cock deeper inside you. Joel’s jaw went slack as he watched you, enraptured with the way you moved above him. Your bodies slapped together with each drop of your hips, and his fingers flexed against your waist as he pushed and pulled your body until you were grinding against him. 

“There ya’ go, babydoll,” Joel murmured. “Feel how deep I am?”

You only gave him a pathetic moan, letting his hands guide your body as you pulsed around his cock. You were so fucking full, the tip of his cock spearing up into you with each drag of your hips. Snaking a hand down your body, your fingers found your clit, drawing desperate circles as you tried to chase the orgasm threading through your muscles. 

“Fuck,” Joel groaned. “You’re just desperate to cum again, huh?”

“Yes, Joel,” you whined, putting more pressure on your clit as he drove himself deeper.

“S’fuckin’ pretty like that,” Joel exhaled. “Gonna drench me again, huh? Let’s see it, babydoll, cover me with it.”

Your mouth opened with a soundless cry, your cunt flexing around his cock as another orgasm ruptured through you, soaking your thighs and seeping into his jeans. Hauling you down against his chest, Joel positioned his knees upward, pistoning his hips against yours at a violent pace. 

“Fuck!!” You sobbed as more liquid gushed out of you, the strength of your orgasm amplified at this angle.

“Good fuckin’ girl. That’s it, c’mon,” Joel praised, his lips pressed against your ear. “Keep goin’, babydoll. I know y’can give me more.”

“I—I can’t!” You stammered.

Your orgasm wouldn’t let up, though. Joel’s cock drove into you with such force, that you continued soaking him over and over again despite your wailing protests. Joel continued praising you and talking you through each ripple of your orgasm, hushing you as you cried harder. 

“Just like that, babydoll. Shh… Doin’ so fuckin’ good for me.”

Joel kept a brutal pace, wrecking into you as he chased his own release. His hips snapped up one final time before he was spilling into you with a choked groan falling from his lips. 

Falling limp against his body, you stared at the sides of the truck bed with glazed eyes. Tremors still wracked through your body as you settled into his embrace, his hand rubbing soft circles over your shoulders. Craning his head to the side, Joel captured your lips in a soft kiss, his tongue dancing over yours slow and sweet. 

“Doin’ alright, babydoll?” he asked, breaking away from your lips.

You nodded mindlessly, too blissed out to form words. Nestled into his body, you let your fingers wander up his bicep and over his shoulder. Joel placed a soft kiss at the crown of your head, his muffled words lost in your hair.

“Hmm?” You asked.

“S’nothing,” he whispered. “Just enjoyed the ride, that’s all.”

You rested your head on his sternum, giving him a questioning look. 

“Sounded like you said something else,” you said, cocking a brow.

Joel huffed a laugh, his head falling back against the metal with a soft thud.

“I don’t know, darlin’. Guess I kinda like you.”

“Guess I kinda like you too, cowboy.”

Rolling off of him, you situated yourself against the side of the truck bed, resting your legs over his stomach. Joel’s hand kneaded into the tight muscles of your calves, working at the knots in your legs. His head leaned to the side to catch a glimpse at you, a smile breaking across his face.

“How long are y’staying in town?” he asked.

“I was only passing through,” you sighed.

His smile faltered a moment, that glimmer of hope flickering out in his eyes. Suddenly, the thought of leaving didn’t sound so nice.

“Why don’t y’stay the night?” he offered. “Got myself a big enough bed to sleep in, babydoll.”

“How much is it gonna cost me?” You teased, rubbing your foot over the softest part of his lower stomach.

“I’m thinkin’ a good blowjob,” he mused.

“Whatever you want, cowboy. Count me in.”

You spent a few moments in harmonious silence, basking in the circumstances’ simplicity. After a while, you found yourself climbing off the truck in search of your jeans and underwear. Joel worked his way down, too, stuffing his cock back into his pants and gathering the damp towel off the truck bed.

“You still have my underwear,” you grumbled, shaking out your jeans to slide into.

“And I’m gonna keep ‘em, darlin’,” Joel said, grabbing you by the waist to reel you in for a kiss. “Need me a lil’ souvenir.”

“You’re unbelievable,” you chuckled.

Foregoing underwear, you stuffed yourself back into your jeans and followed Joel to the passenger side of the truck, where he had the door already propped open for you. Helping you in, he reached over to secure your seatbelt, kissing your cheek softly before shutting the door and walking to the driver's side.

Turning the key in the ignition, Joel glanced over at you, his eyes roaming over your messy hair and rosy cheeks. 

“Y’sure are beautiful, babydoll. Wish I could keep ya here,” he sighed.

You rested your chin in your hand, leaning over the center console. 

“I don’t know, cowboy. Your negotiating skills are pretty damn good. Might talk me into staying with all those sweet words.”

“Oh yeah?” he perked up. “Y’know you still got a hefty bill to pay off.”

“Shit, you’re right,” you agreed. “I might have to stay a while to settle that debt.”

Joel cracked a smile, lifting up the console to haul you closer to him. Backing out of the garage, he navigated the truck onto the main road and towards wherever home was for him. Settling into his side, your fingers danced over the zipper of his pants as you waged your brows at him.

“Think I should start paying off that debt now?” You asked.

“I ain’t arguing with that, babydoll,” Joel grinned.

[torukmaktoskxawng]

tsamsiyu ta'em - they're closing in

Masterlist - part eleven

Summary: Kayla receives an update on Spider's whereabouts. Everything is beginning to come to a head and the tension is thick in the air.

Pairing: Ronal/Tonowari/Original Female Character

Tag: #tsamsiyu ta'em fic

posted on ao3

Word Count: 7k+

Warnings: canon-compliant, mature language, slow burn, polyamory, found family, cool aunt agenda, time skips, I'm trying to hurry up and get to the good parts so bear with me, fluff, angst, etc.

Taglist (bold indicates "could not tag"): @motheroffae @undeniableadrenaline @mooniequeen @shit-i-say-shit-i-think @heart-an0n @amiets2 @slutforsmut4ever @yeosxxx​ @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @sucker4angstt @inolaphoenix @ilovechickenwings @tojisleftarm @andyfromku @ivysully

Seeing Neytiri laugh is now a rare sight and an honor if one is on the receiving end of it. Nowadays, the Na'vi woman struggles with smiling unless she's with her children, while her eyes cast over the sea far beyond the atoll wall, thinking of the forest and feeling immensely homesick. Living here, among the Metkayina, she's found herself going through the motions, day after day, wishing for nothing more than to find Quaritch and kill him so she and her family could go back home where they belong. Very rarely is she able to actually enjoy the beauty of Awa'atlu without aching for the familiarity of her home clan, but that is why her family helps at this low point in her life. 

Her mate and his sister are no exceptions. As a gentle storm falls over the village one afternoon, the Sully children find themselves running off with their new friends. Tsireya, Rotxo, and Ao'nung had promised to show them a network of pools deep within the jungle that rises into a larger, beautiful, bioluminescent lake when storms roll in. It was a well-known spot for reef kids to escape to when they had free time so of course, the former forest children wanted to see this small sanctuary for themselves. With the children gone, Neytiri, Jake, and Kayla find themselves alone together as dinner rolls around, practically stuck in the Sully marui as the storm continues to drop steady, soothing rain against the roof of their new home.

The storm muffled any noise outside and only accentuated Neytiri's laugh as it echoed throughout the marui. She was intently listening to a story Jake was telling about his and Makayla's childhood. Occasionally, Kayla would pitch in on the story to either correct her brother or to add to the silly tale. It was a story about the time a bunch of neighborhood kids gathered on the rooftops one night back on Earth, trading sugar sweets while trying to leap across rooftop to rooftop since the buildings perfectly lined up in a row down the street. Jake recounted this story as a fond memory, even smiling to himself as he told it, but Kayla teasingly reminded him that he and one other kid ended up breaking their arms pulling off such a stupid stunt and Tommy had never let him live it down.

Neytiri was fanning the flames of the hearth as she cooked dinner, in the middle of laughing at the bashful expression on her husband's face when a large figure came into view of the marui entrance, shadowed by the dark and heavy rain coming from outside. Almost immediately, Neytiri's smile fell and both Jake and Kayla had to turn around to see what she was staring at.

It was Tonowari, standing strong against the rain like it didn't even phase him, his flyaway hairs now stuck to his skin, curling around and framing his face. The olo'eyktan bore a solemn expression, his gaze heavy as his ears lowered faintly. Whatever thoughts running through his mind as he pointedly stared at all three of his guests, it was grim. He ducked back outside and waited there. Jake, Kayla, and Neytiri immediately stood and joined their new clan leader outside, the rain immediately greeting them as they stepped out of their pod.

Jake already had a sinking feeling as to whatever news Tonowari might have, but he desperately clung to hope that it was something else, preferably that his sons were getting into trouble again. He couldn't voice this hope as the strength to do so left his words to sound soft and worried, "What's wrong?"

"Sky People," Tonowari glances away from the ocean to peer back at the forest Na'vi, "They're looking for you, Jakesully. South. They have a human boy who speaks Na'vi."

Jake turns his gaze to Kayla, who meets his eyes immediately as they share a voiceless thought. Kayla's eyes had hardened at the news, determination setting in like stone as the happiness she had previously felt while getting Neytiri to laugh quickly faded away.

Jake turned back to Tonowari, his own expression grim and resigned, "Did they kill anybody?"

"Not yet."

Toruk Makto visibly relaxes, inwardly relieved as he shares a knowing look with Neytiri. Tonowari glanced between the pair as he continued, "They threaten, but the villagers will not tell them where you are. By my order."

Movement out of Jake's peripheral drives his attention away from the village chief. Turning his head, the former marine watched his sister dart back into the marui without so much of a warning. Jake had enough manners to quickly thank Tonowari before ducking back into the pod, only to stop in the doorway at the sight of Kayla quickly gathering his own weapons and inspecting the ammo.

His ears flatten, "Woah, where are you going?"

"I'm going after them." She continues cataloging the weapons, even taking out Jake's rifle, and is pleasantly surprised that it's been routinely cleaned. Old habits really do die hard, even for Jake.

He makes a frustrated sound in the back of his throat before walking fully into the marui, "Alone? Against Quaritch? Are you crazy?"

Kayla, peers up at him, unphased, "Perfectly sane, why do you ask?"

"You can't take on a group of highly trained soldiers in avatar bodies all on your own. You have one gun and one banshee."

By now, Neytiri had walked back into the marui and Tonowari returned to his spot, looming over the doorway, though Neytiri had beckoned the chief to step further into her home to receive shelter from the storm. The Sully siblings have yet to even notice this exchange as they continue to argue back and forth.

"And Spider is just one kid, all alone, likely believing we abandoned him because we haven't rescued him after months of nothing!" Kayla snarled back.

"And how do we know Spider isn't willingly helping Quaritch?"

"And what if he isn't? Are you just going to let a child die based on assumptions? You've known Spider his whole life, far longer than I've known him. You tell me."

"It's a suicide mission, Kayla."

"The Recoms don't know me. They won't see me coming."

Tonowari watched as Jake struggled to come up with more arguments, but his mind visibly appeared as though it was running in circles, just behind his eyes as they were darting all over the place, trying to come up with a stronger rebuttal. Tonowari decided to aid the man he respected and took a step forward, even surprising Kayla enough to stop gathering weapons as he spoke, "You are not Metkayina yet. You don't know these waters and there are more dangers out there beyond the reef, not just the Sky People."

Her yellow eyes briefly widen as they peer up to meet the chieftain's blue ones, surprised that Tonowari was backing Jake up, then they shrink back and Kayla takes a moment to shift until her posture is straighter and her expression more formal. She nodded stiffly before finally opening her mouth to respond, and when she eventually did so, it was still a little more hesitant than she wanted it to be, "You're right. I'm not Metkayina. I'm not even Na'vi. So with all due respect, Tonowari, you are not ma olo'eyktan."

His lips tighten together as if from saying anything as she continues to stare him down, "I'm still a dreamwalker outcast who can come and go as she pleases. And I, for one, would rather not let your people risk their lives for our war. Maybe you can ask them to do so, but I can't. Spider is my responsibility. I owe that kid a lot and neither you nor anyone else can tell me to stand down and do nothing," something in her eyes changed and suddenly she had a hard time looking Tonowari in the eye, looking down and remembering the weapons in her hands before moving to pack things up, "So thank you for your hospitality. I owe you a lot, but I gotta go."

Jake steps back into her field of view, leveling her with a look of determination, "Don't make me set my kids on you, Kayla. Don't."

She scoffed, "Oh, please. If anything, they'd want to help me."

"Maybe, but I don't want to be the one to tell them that their aunt went out and got herself and Spider killed. Please don't make me do that."

The marui is reduced to silence, apart from the rain outside. All this Spider talk had rendered Neytiri mute, keeping her jaw tight to refrain from saying anything else that might drive Kayla away. All eyes are on Kayla and she physically feels her skin crawl knowing this. A battle is raging behind her gaze as she only manages to stare at Jake and no one else, before finally she gives in, her posture loosening into a sigh of defeat as she mutters, "... I'll link back to my consciousness tonight and let everyone know about Spider's whereabouts. There's no point in me going back to the forest now that I know the kid is close by. I'll continue my search here."

"Fine," Jake also relents while pointedly glaring at his sister, "But don't tell my kids that. They have enough on their plate. They don't need to go running off just because they know Spider might be closer than they think."

"You really think your kids are that reckless?" When Jake says nothing, Kayla exhales through her nose, "Of course, you do. Because deep down, even you know that they get it from you."

She leaves her brother's weapons where she found them before bidding Neytiri a goodnight. Jake's eyebrows furrow, "Where are you going now?"

"Back to my hammock. 'That okay with you?"

Jake doesn't challenge it, sensing when not to engage depending on the tone in his sister's voice. He let her brush past him without a fuss and didn't even watch her step out into the rain. Tonowari waits until she is out of view before turning back to Toruk Makto and his mate, "I apologize for interrupting your evening. I'll see that your sister returns to her campsite safely."

He leaves only when the pair nods with acknowledgment, gratitude bleeding from their eyes that continue to follow the olo'eyktan when he leaves. It wasn't hard to catch up with Makayla as she was keeping her steps slow to ensure she didn't slip from the drenched pathways. The chief didn't even have to quicken his usual stride, his legs longer than most Na'vi and able to reach Kayla within moments. They walk together silently at first, while Kayla doesn't even appear to realize he is next to her, but he carefully watches her shoulders stiffen to line with her spine and he knows she was aware of his presence, she just didn't care.

The anger was radiating off of her, and the urge to calm her emotions was palpable. As he does for all of his people who come to him for advice, he keeps his voice gentle, "If I had upset you back there--"

"Just--" Shock wasn't a normal emotion for Tonowari, but he found it difficult to ignore when Kayla snapped at him, her tone so harsh he could clearly hear it over the rain. Kayla paused in her steps, stopping in the middle of the beach, the treeline in view, and waving at her in greeting. But she couldn't walk away. Conflicted with her own thoughts, she forced herself to correct her mistake of snapping at Tonowari of all people. She exhaled heavily, her gaze matching the energy that left her body when she gazed back up at the Na'vi man. He sees the defeat from earlier, along with a brewing storm behind it.

Her words were short, "You had no business stepping in back there. Jake and I are fighting our own war with the Sky People, a war that has nothing to do with you and your people. So, please, with as much niceness as I can muster today... stay out of it," she moves her body away from Tonowari, before freezing again and turning back. Her eyes held a furious war of her own as she nearly spat out, "And don't ever try to stroke Jake's ego when he and I fight ever again."

He lowered his head down to meet her gaze, ever so slightly tilting off to the side. Kayla had learned not to be intimated by Tonowari and his towering height a while ago now, and the tilt of his head only told her that he was puzzled. She snarled, a little peeved at what looked like innocence and confusion nestled in the olo'eyktan's face. He clearly didn't deserve her anger, especially since he was chief of the village she currently resided in, and also because he clearly had no idea why she was cross with him. It didn't help that she used words and slang that were not of this world, and it only irritated her further that she wasn't being understood. Knowing that she was behaving like a child, she decided to walk away without another word, tail tucked between her legs, so to speak, and too angry to feel embarrassed just yet.

If she knew he was watching her until she had vanished completely behind the trees, she would never admit it. Even with the trees and shrubbery hiding her away from view, she could still feel his eyes, calculating and burning into her back. She stubbornly kept her gaze forward, head held high despite the cold rain... just in case that man could still somehow see her.

~~~~~~~~~

Going to bed cold, wet, and alone didn't exactly help with Kayla's attitude, and waking up like that only made it worse.

If Jake had the energy to tease her, -not after the night before, there's no way he'd poke that bear- he'd comment playfully that someone must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed. It would be a human phrase that he'd have to explain to his children once they'd overhear him, but alas, it wasn't needed when neither Jake nor Kayla spoke to each other the next day and no teasing happened. Kayla felt a little grateful that her arguments with her brother usually left her in blissful silence for at least a short while, but to be left alone was to be left with one's thoughts.

Despite her grumpy start, Kayla's head was still spinning from yesterday's news. Spider was close, closer than she could've ever hoped for. He could be on a ship, circling the islands at this very moment. Max and Norm looked so concerned when she returned to High Camp last night to tell them when she had learned, and it only fueled the fire in her gut. Kayla could easily grab Thena and fly to Spider's rescue... if it wasn't for her brother's words bouncing back in her head and the clear order to stand down like they were still marines. That and Tonowari's warning also loomed over her like a storm cloud, his tight lip only fueling her guilt when she played back all she had said to him out of anger against Jake. By the time she had made it back to her campsite last night, she immediately wanted to turn back around and seek the olo'eyktan out to apologize. She was an adult. It should be easy.

She scoffed to herself when she thought that. Yeah, it should be easy. But not when you're a Sully. Instead of overthinking it anymore, Kayla returned to sharpening arrows. After sharing a mid-day meal with the other Sullys, she decided to find some alone time on the warm rocks peeking out of the water, looming just over the reef. She took this time to inspect the bow and arrows she was trying to create out of whatever supplies she had. While warriors of the Omatikaya make their bows out of the wood of Hometree, Kayla didn't have that here on the island, so she made do with what she had at her disposal. She found the perfect tree, made out of wood that bent easily to her will, but not enough to snap under pressure. For her first attempt at making her own weapon, Kayla was quite proud, and it was enough of a distraction that she didn't have to think too hard about her situation.

First and foremost, saving Spider was her top priority. That kid had already been away from his home and friends for far too long, and with a military mind, Kayla could only imagine what the teenager might be going through right now. Hence why she needed to save him, and to do that she needed to hurry up with her Iknimaya and stop distracting herself with pretty Metkayina leaders with tattoos.

However, Ronal proves this to be difficult when she, yet again, seeks Kayla out. The Metkayina woman easily rose up to stand behind Kayla on her rock, unbothered by the height nor her rounded belly. And, as blunt as ever, she didn't waste either woman's time in beating around the bush, "You had upset my mate."

The cloud metaphorically above Kayla's head darkened, but she didn't address it, "He shouldn't have interfered with family matters."

It honestly surprised Ronal that Kayla was speaking so boldly in front of the tsahik without any fear of repercussions. The demon woman's manners and patience must be wearing thin after the news of the Sky People closing in on the Sullys' location. Kayla didn't bother to turn around, already aware of those narrowed, suspicious eyes that always seemed permanent on Ronal's face, angry with the urge to lash out at someone who had insulted Tonowari. But, if Kayla had bothered to turn around, she would've instead seen Ronal watching her as if she was analyzing her, trying to piece together the same puzzle her mate no doubt was trying to solve the night before.

"Perhaps you are right," she doesn't get the reaction she was expecting. Whenever Ronal tends to agree with Kayla or compliment her, it usually drives the avatar woman speechless, eyes wide and mouth usually left open. Now, Kayla barely moves other than to continue her task, back still turned to Ronal. The tsahik's upper lip twitched in annoyance, deciding on a different blunt question, "Why do you care so much about the Sky People?"

That earns her a pause, the silence lingering before Kayla continues sharpening her arrows, "I don't."

"And yet you care about..." She thinks back to what her mate had told her when he returned to their marui last night, her distaste still evident on her tongue, "I believe you call him Spider?"

Pricks of irritation rise all over Kayla's skin, and the same words that she's been repeating in her head and to others fall from her lips like a broken record, "That kid is more Na'vi than even me. He was born and raised here, unlike my brother and I, and he learned how to become Na'vi among the Omatikaya, playing and learning and growing up alongside my nieces and nephews. The only reason he doesn't have his own ikran is that he doesn't have the means to bond with one, otherwise, he would have a long time ago. That boy knows the language and culture of the Na'vi far more than I can ever hope to learn... and seeing this place through his eyes helped me learn to love it just as much as he does."

Ronal listened closely, attempting to grasp what Kayla was trying to say. It was hard to picture a demon boy who loved and cherished Eywa and all her creations. There were very few Sky People who respect this world and those who do tend to hide their true faces behind false Na'vi, such as Makayla and Toruk Makto, and those particular Sky People only live among the Omatikaya. Their kind was uncommon anywhere else. Either the Omatikaya didn't have enough spine to turn their chosen Sky People away, or the Forest People saw something worth saving under the watchful eye of the Great Mother.

As the spiritual leader of her clan, Ronal had to believe it was the latter option, but she wasn't as all-knowing as Eywa. Ronal wishes she had the gift of seeing what her goddess saw in humans. Maybe the demons had potential and she had yet to see it.

Only one way to find out. The tsahik turns to walk away, "Come. I have a large fishing net that requires mending."

Kayla sucks in a sharp breath of air, holding it for a moment before slowly exhaling, willing herself to calm down and be mindful. Grabbing her bow and whatever arrows she had managed to make, she did her best to keep her movements loose and relaxed as she willingly followed Ronal back to the village, not wanting to expose how irritated she felt.

They walk through the village and Kayla pointedly keeps her eyes forward, hearing some whispers in Na'vi whenever they pass by any Metkayina. Kayla bit her tongue, translating the language in her head and doing her best not to react in case the Metkayina realized she had heard them, purposely only staring at the back of Ronal's head. She relaxes a little, busying her troubled mind with admiring the texture of the Na'vi woman's hair, and before she knew it, they were at the beach. The fishing net in question was definitely large, stretching out the same width as a tsurak's wingspan. Tonowari was kneeling in the sand, leaning back on the heels of his feet as he worked away at mending said net.

Ah, so that's why Ronal had brought her here. To apologize. Suddenly it was becoming more difficult not to visibly appear irritated with everyone around Kayla who was treating her like a child. Still, she didn't hesitate to humor the tsahik for her hidden agenda and when the chieftain looked up at the sound of footsteps, Kayla flicked her alien fingers from her brow to Tonowari's direction, "I apologize for my temper yesterday, olo'eyktan. I was out of line and disrespectful."

She clenched her other fist when her voice still came out stiff. She kept still while Tonowari's eyes raked up and down her figure, analyzing Kayla while keeping his expression neutral, lips sealed shut and making her nervous as the silence lingered. Even she could admit she deserved the awkwardness after her hostility toward him, but it still unnerved her.

Once she visibly squirms under his gaze, the chief looks away and continues his task, "I will not fault you for simply reacting to the dire news I provided. You are frustrated at the idea of a boy in danger. Children are sacred to Eywa. We would not blame you for simply trying to protect a child."

Ronal clears her throat and Tonowari's ears fall ever so slightly before returning to normal. Kayla felt as though she was having a fucking aneurysm as she witnessed the olo'eyktan of the Metkayina shyly smile up at the avatar as if he didn't have the power to kick her out of the village. To appease his wife, he simply adds, "But you are forgiven."

Satisfied, Ronal lowers to her knees, using a hand on Tonowari's shoulder to help keep her balance before making herself comfortable and placing the net over her lap like a blanket, "Come, Makayla te Suli. Join us."

She felt less irritated by the demand this time, her head still reeling about a mighty clan leader who managed to look less intimidating with just a sheepish smile. Tonowari hums in approval when Kayla finally kneels down to join them, "It's a good day to sit down with some simple work and let your mind relax."

Kayla could clearly hear what the pair was trying to say to her without plainly spelling it out. Deeply sighing through her nose again, she let the scent of the ocean take over her senses and her muscles visibly loosen up under her blue skin. The wind gently caresses her face, the beads in her braided hair moving in tandem like a dance. She takes a part of the fishing net and gets to work, letting her fingers mindlessly weave and mend like she had been taught in the past, clearing her mind.

The three of them work in silence as they often do nowadays, basking in the sun while listening to the sounds of ocean life all around them. Kayla listened to children playing in the shallow water, adult Na'vi indulging in casual chatter that is often drowned out by the occasional splash and the chortle of an ilu. Occasionally, Kayla would spare a glance in her company's direction, and for the most part, Tonowari and Ronal remained silent, eyes glued to their task. There was a time or two, however, when one or both of them looked her way and Kayla could feel the corners of her lips twitch into a faint smile. A pleasant warmth spreads through her body when she receives a smile in kind, even from Ronal. Once the tsahik smiled, Kayla was thrown back to the first time she witnessed such a sight, back when the tulkun returned and Ronal was conversing with her Spirit Sister. Kayla had tried committing that smile to memory given that Ronal had never done so before, but now it was directed at Kayla, and the avatar was struggling to look away from it.

Their peace is interrupted by the sound of a group of ilu approaching the dock nearest to the beach, chattering among themselves and causing a small ruckus. Looking up, Kayla spotted a group of teenagers, and as they walked closer she realized that two of those teenagers belonged to her. Neteyam and Lo'ak were walking with Tsireya, Rotxo, and Ao'nung, each of the teens looking elated or nervous by something.

Neteyam was the first to see Kayla and eagerly waved as they walked up to her, "Auntie! You will not believe what Lo'ak just did."

Kayla snorts in amusement, rising to meet him, net forgotten, "I can believe a lot of things. Hit me."

The boy pauses in his footsteps, sheepishly smiling up at his aunt, "Not seriously though, right?"

She laughed, the rest of her gloomy clouds finally disappearing, "It's just a saying, kiddo. What did he do?"

"He bonded with a tulkun! Can you believe it?" Neteyam reached over and gripped Lo'ak's shoulder, the younger boy looking slightly unsure by the praise, "My baby brother, bonded with the great and mighty tulkun, Payakan!"

"What?!" Ronal roared, getting up faster than Kayla could turn her head.

All teenagers are suddenly frozen to their spots, ears lowered in fear when they remember that Kayla wasn't alone. Ao'nung immediately stepped back at the sight of his parents rising to their full heights, fishing net fully forgotten, while Tsireya tried to play damage control, "Sa'nok, it is not what you might--"

"You look me in the eyes, maite, and tell me exactly what happened," Ronal eyed her daughter down, stepping close until they nearly touched, "Now."

Tsireya shrank in on herself, her eyes darting between her parents, Lo'ak, and then back again, "... We followed Lo'ak beyond the reef. We saw it happen. He... bonded with Payakan."

Both leaders stiffen at the confession, eyes darkening to the point where they made Kayla's attitude from earlier look like sunshine and rainbows. Tonowari was grim, great clouds storming in his eyes as he pointedly stared directly at every teenager, "Come with me. Immediately."

"Rotxo. Go and fetch Toruk Makto and his mate." Ronal demands.

The reef boy runs off the moment he is excused. Since Kayla wasn't dismissed or sent to get her brother, she assumed she was also supposed to follow the clan leaders and so opted to stay in the back of the line, behind the children as they all walked in shame, sticking close to Ronal and Tonowari.

The windchimes dangling outside their marui jingle in greeting as the group approaches, no one saying a word as Ronal beckons them all inside. Tonowari steps up into the pod and the rest of them follow, the children all gathering around the olo'eyktan while Kayla stays toward the back, leaning against the entranceway.

Ronal storms into the marui last and is the first to speak, directing her anger at both of her children while pointing at Lo'ak, "You allowed this! You allowed him to bond with the outcast!"

Tsireya breathes shakily, avoiding eye contact as her father slowly approaches her. Kayla sees movement out of the corner of her eye and notices Jake and Neytiri approaching the marui, hand in hand, their eyes instantly darting to her and then their sons, silently asking her what was happening. Kayla simply shook her head at their wordless question.

"Tsireya."

The poor girl's ears lowered in response to the chief hissing her name, her eyes on the verge of crying as she peered up at her father. Tonowari was relentless in this light, his voice didn't need to be loud and strong to sound so harsh as he muttered, "You disappoint me, daughter."

Tonowari ignores the hurt in Tsireya's expression while he turns to address Lo'ak at the same time he notices Jake and Neytiri finally arrive, pointing to the man who now stands behind the forest boy, "And you, son of a great warrior who has been taught better."

"Payakan saved my life, sir. You don't know him." Lo'ak quickly defends.

"No, Lo'ak." Tsireya gently intervenes.

Her father, quietly enraged and perplexed, gathers his thoughts and motions to Lo'ak, "Sit. Sit," Lo'ak slowly follows the demand, kneeling down across from the chief. When no one else follows suit, Tonowari abruptly shouts, "Sit down!"

Tsireya whimpers, quick to obey her father while Neteyam and Ao'nung slowly follow suit, scared to move too fast as if trying to avoid the wrath of a palulukan. Even Jake and Neytiri lowered themselves into a crouch, just outside the marui, looking in. Once the children are gathered around him, the chief blows sharply, fanning his arms out. It looked as though he was trying to expel whatever demon inside him had encouraged his wrath, collecting himself before he spoke in a more level tone, pointing at Lo'ak, "Hear my words, boy. In the days of the First Songs, tulkun fought amongst themselves," Ronal begins to pace in the background, hand on her heart as if to carry the weight of this story. Kayla, the only one other than Ronal who didn't sit, carefully watches the tsahik while listening to the olo'eyktan's words, "For territory and for revenge. But they came to believe that killing, no matter how justified, only brings more killing. So all killing was forbidden. This is the Tulkun Way. Payakan is a killer, so, he is outcast."

"I'm sorry, sir," Lo'ak exclaimed, "But you're wrong."

"Lo'ak," Neytiri hushed her son, wishing to reach out to him, "You speak to Olo'eyktan!"

"I know what I--"

"That's enough!" Jake roared, driving both Lo'ak and Neteyam to flinch. Even Kayla's heart was ambushed by a small wave of fear, the hair on her skin rising before she quickly stomped the fear down in her gut, letting hidden anger take over as she glared daggers at her brother.

Jake doesn't appear to notice Kayla, and Lo'ak bravely speaks up regardless of the consequences, "I know what I know."

Ronal snarls, displaying her fangs in distaste while Jake quickly moves, his shadow falling over Lo'ak as the boy curls in on himself and refuses to meet anyone's eyes. Jake loomed over his youngest son, teeth bared in barely contained rage, "That's enough," he then looked to Tonowari, "I'll deal with this one."

Without another word, Toruk Makto roughly grabs Lo'ak by the arm and pulls the boy to his feet, dragging him away while Neytiri quietly follows. Kayla considered this lecture over, pushing off the doorway of the marui and turning her head to the remaining forest boy present, "'Teyam."

"Coming." Neteyam rises to full height, respectfully gesturing to Tonowari and Ronal before moving to his aunt, his eyes still wary of them.

Kayla waits until Neteyam joins her side before leaving, holding her gaze on the two clan leaders as she steps outside the pod. Both Ronal and Tonowari stare her down, eyes searching for something in hers, likely seeing where she stood in all of this. She felt apprehensive and it showed on her face, ears lowered as she faintly nodded to the clan leaders before parting, her hand cupping the back of her oldest nephew's neck as she led him away, following their other family members.

She purposely keeps her steps slow and stalls for as long as possible, not wanting Neteyam and herself to walk in on Jake lecturing Lo'ak. Instead, Kayla has Neteyam tell her his side of the story as they walk through the village, trying her best to focus on her nephew's story instead of the pointed stares and hushed whispers she has now become accustomed to hearing. Now that her Na'vi tongue was stronger, she could finally hear what bystanders were saying, and she could faintly see the way Neteyam's ears drooped, only confirming that he had heard the whispers, too. But either for his or his aunt's sake, he didn't say anything about it and instead bravely continued his story. 

Once Neteyam finished explaining everything, starting from when Payakan first saved Lo'ak's life and ending on the events of today, the aunt and nephew return to the pathway leading home and brave themselves for whatever they might face. When they returned to the Sully marui, it appeared as though Jake had just gotten done lecturing Lo'ak and likely grounded him. The second son of Toruk Makto looked like he had just received terrible news, ears pinned back and eyes cast down to his feet, his tail tucked between his legs.

Neytiri and Jake both look up at the sound of Kayla and Neteyam entering the pod, both parents' arms crossed in front of them and tails both waving in annoyance. Jake takes one look at his sister and sees a storm brewing in her eyes, Kayla's gaze subtly flicking to Jake and then Lo'ak. Deciding he needed to get this over with and argue with someone who wasn't afraid to argue back, he steps away from Lo'ak and points to Neteyam, "Your mother will have a talk with you. I'm gonna walk your aunt home." 

Without another word, Jake marched out of the pod and led Kayla back out. They start walking down the pathway and Jake can already feel her eyes on the back of his head. He snarls with irritation, "What?"

"Was that really necessary?"

"He disrespected the olo'eyktan, Kayla," he tilts his head to eye her down with a knowing expression, "You can't disrespect Tonowari, not while he's letting us stay here in good faith."

Kayla rolled her eyes, "Relax. I already apologized about last night and I can see to it that Lo'ak does the same. But I didn't see it as Lo'ak disrespecting an elder. It sounded like he was explaining himself and his actions. Or at least he was trying to whenever you weren't interrupting him."

"It's clear that the Metkayina praise and respect the tulkun and their customs. Not only was Lo'ak outside the reef but he was bonding with a tulkun not even the Metkayina interact with."

"Why does this matter so much to you? Lo'ak is an outcast who bonded with an outcast--"

"He's not an outcast," Jake snapped, "He's Metkayina now and he needs to respect the rules the Metkayina set in place--"

"How could he have known? I was there, Jake. I was listening. Tonowari spoke down on his daughter for not properly informing Lo'ak or stopping him from bonding with Payakan," she snarled, "Not that you would've known that since you were too busy believing that your son was fully to blame. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought your family was only staying here as guests, not permanent residents. Since when did you become Metkayina?"

"It's hard to explain--"

"--Something that isn't true? Yeah, I gathered," Kayla was quick to interrupt, distaste ever prominent on her tongue, "You've been trying to explain that to me back when you said you were Na'vi and not human."

He sighs, resigned and tired by the circle he and Kayla keep going around in, "We already talked about this. I know you think it's easy to juggle two worlds and two different ways of life, but it's not. You'll learn this the longer you stay here."

There it is again. Another comment and another person talking down to her like she was a child. Kayla's only anger returns, flaring up until her own tail betrayed her inner thoughts, the appendage waving erratically behind her. "You can move to different planets, change how you look and how you speak, and move to different clans but that can never change who you are," Jake doesn't respond, instead keeping his eyes forward, focused on the jungle slowly getting closer. Kayla sneered at the clear ploy he was using to try and ignore her, "And sometimes... these people like to remind me. Do you know what the Na'vi call us and your children behind our backs? Vrrtep Mesmuk."

He briefly paused, playing the words in his head before turning his head toward his sister and spelling them out, "Demon Siblings. Who exactly is saying this?"

She shrugged, looking around as they continued to walk, not wanting to see his reaction, "I heard some Metkayina say it when I first arrived, and then once or twice while walking through the village. They're not like the Omatikaya. They don't know you as well as the Forest People do. You might be respected as Toruk Makto, but not as an individual. And neither are your children."

It was clear in his expression that he didn't fully believe her, "I thought we were past you being suspicious of everyone. I thought you trusted the Na'vi."

"Jake, I get I'm not the greatest in speaking Na'vi, but I understand insults when I hear them, even when I'm not meant to understand them. I don't trust people who openly judge me and my family without even knowing us. You've seen what they're capable of if they think we're lesser than them. Your own son got freaking hazed for God's sake! He could've died because of the chief's son's arrogance. Why should I trust someone like that?"

"Are you saying you'd rather be with the Sky People?"

"I don't trust them either!" She shouted back in self-defense, "The only people we can trust are the ones in this family. Trust no one but each other. That's what you and Tommy taught me!"

Jake winced, the words painful and a constant reminder of a troubled past, one that Kayla wouldn't let him easily forget. She continued to drill into him, "These people have done well to remind us that we're demons and nothing more. And unless you expect your son to grow fins overnight, he is Omatikaya and has the right to speak as one of them. Today I noticed how even though he has the right to speak as Omatikaya, you didn't allow him to."

Jake suddenly rears back, spinning around like lightning as his anger flares up again. He glares Kayla down as if he was able to set her on fire with just one look, "Don't tell me how to parent my son until you become a parent yourself. Until then, don't pretend to know what it's like."

Kayla's eyes widen, mouth still open in retort but no sound comes out. When the words sink in, her expression shifts, quickly becoming stone, unreadable, and dark. She stares blankly back at Jake, something vanishing as quickly as it appeared behind her eyes like something was nearly about to burst out but she carefully pulls it back. 

She chooses her next words cautiously like she's about to set off a landmine, "I know enough just by watching you fail. If I ended up having kids tomorrow, I'd already be a better parent because I learned what not to do as I watched you react the way you did today. You tried to parent me once, and you ended up abandoning me. And even though you didn't abandon your children, you still abandoned Spider. Forgive me if I don't believe you have the best track record for ace parenting."

Yet again, her words hit close to home and cut deep into Jake's chest, her words spit like acid now seeping into his skin. She held her ground and kept her gaze on him until he couldn't bear it any longer as if he was staring directly at a blazing sun. Jake breaks the exchange and returns down the path they came from without another word, leaving his sister just along the line of the jungle. His thoughts were a little childish and petty as he begrudgingly stated to himself that she could find the rest of her way back to her camp alone.

~~~~~~~~~

It was only after Jake left that Kayla decided to sever her link and slip back into her human form for the night. Returning to her campsite, she climbs up the tree and secures herself inside her nivi, her eyes slowly slipping shut as she drifts off.

She woke up in her human form lying on her back inside her link gurney. When she opened the gurney and glanced around, Max looked up from his clipboard as he stood beside her link bay, staring with concern through his glasses, "Back again? You do remember that you were just here last night, right?"

"I know, I know. I just..." She slowly sat up, rubbing her forehead, "Have you heard anything?"

"Honestly?" The scientist sighed, setting the clipboard down and rubbing his tired eyes, glasses pushing up to his forehead, "It's... too quiet. Radio silence. RDA channels don't appear to be active and even before you told us about the Recoms and Spider's whereabouts, we didn't hear anything about ships being sent out to the islands. Whatever is happening over there... Ardmore is keeping it top secret. She clearly doesn't want us to know about it even if there wasn't the off chance we couldn't hack their radio chatter."

Kayla simply nodded, hopping off the gurney and grabbing a sweatshirt she had thrown off to the side the night before, slipping her arm through it and then the other, "Okay."

Max peers back at her, hearing the exhaustion and defeat in her voice, "What is it?"

"I have a bad feeling."

He perks up, immediately thinking it had something to do with the neural link, "Nausea?"

"No, I mean... I think something bad is about to happen. Instead of getting further from trouble, Jake's family is now closer than ever."

Max notes the way Kayla's voice is distant and doesn't include herself in her equation about Jake's family, but the scientist wisely doesn't address it, "I know. Keep us updated as often as possible, alright? We won't be able to help if we don't know what's going on."

"Yeah. Have you seen Norm?"

"He volunteered for patrol tonight," she flashes a skeptical expression to which he explains, "Tarsem isn't taking any chances and has ordered double the security. He also thinks something is up."

"Alright. Let 'im know I'll be in my shack when he gets back."

"You got it."

After slipping on a mask and stepping out of the lab, Kayla zips up her sweatshirt and heads in the direction of her bunk, hands in her pockets and shoulders scrunched up, trying to look small and not someone who would be easy to approach and talk to. Luckily, she didn't have a problem getting to the Site 26 shack alone and slipped inside, taking off her mask and getting comfortable sitting at the table, pulling out Norm's whiskey that he now hid from Max by leaving it among Kayla's belongings.

There are more pictures decorating the fridge compared to when Kayla first moved into this place, newer than the ones she brought and the ones that were left behind sixteen years ago. Skimming through the new and recent pictures, she smiled to herself while inspecting one photo that had all of her nieces and nephews surrounding her human self, smiling at the camera together. Another picture had Lo'ak, Kiri, and Spider positioned close together and scrunched in front of the camera like they were taking a selfie, either making faces or in the middle of laughing. Another picture was of Kayla, in her avatar form, posed with Neytiri and Neteyam, all smiling. Kayla likes to put that photo next to another one, an older one, one that Kayla wasn't even a part of. It was a picture of Grace Augustine, in her avatar, holding Na'vi children close to her as they all smiled at the camera. Two of those Na'vi children happen to be a young Neytiri and her sister, Sylwanin. Kayla liked to put her photo and Grace's photo side by side to compare the similarities and differences in Neytiri throughout the years, starting from her eyes, smile, and change of fashion and jewelry.

The hiss of the decompression chamber interrupts Kayla's peace and she straightens up in her chair, pouring two glasses of whiskey just as Norm walks through the door, mask in hand while looking around until he spots her, "Hey, Max said you'd be here. Everything alright? You hear anything from Spider?"

She grimaced, "I doubt he has the means to call me himself, so..."

Norm sucked in a sharp breath and winced, stepping forward and sitting down across from her, "Right. So what's the plan?"

She slides a glass of whiskey to him, "Plan?"

He gratefully accepts the drink, taking a sip before responding, "Well, Max mentioned the Sky People are likely closing in on Jake's location. Are you gonna suggest that you guys move back home?"

Kayla scoffed, taking a sip of her own drink and rolling her lips, "Anything I say to Jake will just go in one ear and out the other, just like everything else I tell him."

"Hm," Norm sombers up, "I take it talking to him isn't going well then."

"It's like talking to a wall. He makes me feel like a broken record sometimes."

"He'll have to listen to you eventually. Maybe after you finish your rites of passage?"

"Which ones?" She asked sarcastically, "My Omatikaya trials or Metkayina?"

He tries his best to playfully smile, "Hey, the best of both worlds wouldn't hurt, right?"

She smiles bitterly. After all, isn't that the exact same thing she's been trying to tell Jake? She tilts her head back until she's able to finish off her whiskey in one gulp, feeling the pleasant burn slowly go down her throat and warm her stomach. Norm decided to fill in the void by talking about his day, telling Kayla how his patrol went and what he had been up to in longer and better detail than when she had initially asked the night before when she last visited. 

Whether it was the whiskey or the friendly chatter, Kayla visibly began to relax, her nerves from before vanishing as she pretended that, just for a moment, everything was at peace in the world-- maybe even the entire universe, "Thanks, Norm. I needed this."

"Anytime. Or at least until the whiskey runs out."

A/N: If you haven't seen it, here's an edit I made for this fic! If you have edits of your own or if you have fanart, please tag me in them I would love to see it!

Let me know either in the comments or in my inbox if you would like to be in the taglist! It's all about to go down in the next chapter so make sure you're the first to know about it 😎

[mermaidgirl30]

Look for the Light

Chapter 24

- Summary: Aly finds herself trying to escape the Boston QZ. What Aly doesn’t know is Tess is pairing her up with Joel to go on a dangerous mission to find Tommy. Will Aly survive the brooding, moody Joel or will she find herself falling hard for him?

Joel’s POV

The night went by in the blink of an eye as the darkness quickly turned to sunlight and the sun crept its way into the sky. Aly was passed out in your lap, her dark hair sprawled out across your jeans. She was sleeping peacefully, her breathing slow and calm.

You had stayed up the entire night thinking about everything that had taken place. The fireflies, Marlene, Ellie, the fight with Aly, and Sarah. It all had completely drained you, sending you into a dark mindset. Seeing Ellie brought back so many painful memories of Sarah. She was nothing like Sarah, but yet she reminded you so much of your baby girl.

Sarah…You missed her so goddamn much. You’d give anything to go back to that day before she was shot, would do anything to fix that. Stop it from happening in the first place, but you couldn’t. That’s not how life worked. Now all you were stuck with was grief and memories of the past.

Now you had to deal with Ellie. Cargo. She was nothing but cargo, an unassigned item to smuggle away from the fireflies. You didn’t want to do this, but now you felt obligated to. You didn’t want to let Aly down, not again. You could see she liked the kid and wanted to help her. She was a better person than you were. You probably would’ve just left her behind. To die.

The minutes passed slowly as you watched the sun make its way high in the sky, daylight covering the land now. You felt Aly shift slightly against you, and then her eyes were open as she sat up slowly next to you.

“Good morning,” she yawned sleepily.

“Mornin’,” you drawled back. “You sleep alright?”

“I slept much easier with you by my side. Thank you for letting me use your sleeping bag. It was warm and it smells just like you,” she said in a quiet, luring tone.

“Is that so?” you asked with a raised eyebrow, a smirk forming on the side of your mouth.

“Mhm,” she answered as she leaned over and planted a quick kiss on your cheek. It was warm, affectionate. Something you still couldn’t quite get used to.

“Well, feel free to use it anytime you want,” you said as you turned your body to face her. Those striking blue eyes gazed back at you, taking your breath away. You pushed back a flyaway strand of brunette hair behind her ear as you leaned in closer.

“Only if you join me…” she said as she batted her long eyelashes at you, a flirtatious smile hanging on her lips.

You smiled and shook your head at her, leaning in closer. “Such a needy girl.” Then your lips were on hers as your hand entangled her dark waves. She pulled at your plaid shirt as she brought you closer, her hand trailing against the back of your neck, right at the curling edges of your hair. You could smell her hair, lilac, as it blew in the wind. It just made you want her more…

“Can you two get a room?” Ellie yelled in disgust.

You and Aly both jumped back in surprise, breaking apart the kiss. You gave Ellie a snarl as you looked up at her, not happy she interrupted. “I didn’t know you were awake,” you huffed as you got up off the ground.

“I just woke up and that’s the first thing I saw. Are you two like married or something?” she asked curiously.

“No,” you growled in annoyance.

“But you’re boyfriend and girlfriend?” she asked as she looked between the two of you.

“Uhhhh.” The question caught you off guard. You hadn’t really talked about it. You had claimed her as yours, so you guessed that was the same thing? You didn’t know, you didn’t date. You didn’t do any of this stuff. It was all uncharted territory.

“Something like that,” Aly smiled as she looked up at you. It automatically put you at ease as you stared into her ocean eyes.

“Well, just try not to kiss much in front of me, okay? That stuff is icky,” Ellie said with a scrunched up nose.

Aly laughed at her response. “We’ll try not to, but no promises.”

“Gross,” Ellie said in reply.

You rolled your eyes as you started packing your things and loading up Shimmer. “Pack your stuff up, we’re heading out in ten minutes.”

“Already?” Ellie whined.

“We need to get back on the road. If we hurry we can reach Tommy’s before nightfall.”

“Who’s Tommy?” she asked as she came closer, crossing her arms.

“My brother.”

“Ahh so that’s why you’re headed to Wyoming? Your brother?”

“Yep,” you stated shortly.

“You have anymore family there?”

“No. Now stop asking questions. Go grab your bag and let’s go,” you said roughly.

“Alright, alright. You’re such a grump,” she huffed as she turned and headed for her bag.

Aly laughed as she came up beside you, hooking the black sleeping bag to your backpack. “You ever going to learn to be a little nicer to her? I think she likes you. She’s trying to get to know you, you know?” she quietly laughed as she put a hand on your arm when she was done latching the sleeping bag. She dropped her hand seconds later, and you wished the contact would’ve lasted longer.

“Well, I don’t want to get to know her. We’re just getting her somewhere safe. That’s it.” You cut the conversation off with a sharp tone.

“All I’m saying is try to be a little nicer. Can you do that?” She was now standing in front of you, staring at you with those deep blue eyes, a question glimmering in them. She was searching your face, hoping you’d break at the sight of her.

You flexed your jaw, your face tense. After looking at her for a few more seconds you went slack-jawed, relaxing all your muscles. Oh, Christ. “Fine. I’ll try.”

Aly put a hand on your scruff and ran her thumb down your jaw. “That’s my Joel,” she said as she released her hand and gave you a small smile. My Joel. You liked the sound of that, a lot.

You finished gathering up all your things from the campsite you had made and packed up Shimmer, now all you were waiting on was Ellie. “Ellie, come on!” you yelled.

“I’m coming, I’m coming! Just give me a second,” she said as she strapped her backpack on and headed your way in a sprint. “Why don’t you guys have a second horse? It’s kinda cramped up there,” she said as she pointed up to Shimmer’s shining coat.

“We found Shimmer. If we would’ve found a second horse then we’d have another one. Just be glad you don’t have to walk the entire way to Tommy’s,” you huffed in frustration.

“Hey, I’ll take what I can get,” she said as her hands shot up in defense.

You made your way atop Shimmer and helped Aly up behind you. “Come on, give me your hand,” Aly said as she stuck her hand out, waiting for Ellie to take it. Ellie quickly took her hand as she pulled Ellie up, grunting in response.

As soon as Ellie was situated on Shimmer you took off, handling the reins and letting Shimmer know it was time to get going. The weather was clear today. The sun was high in the sky, and the air was dry but still bitter as the wind blew through your hair.

“You guys wanna hear a joke?” Ellie asked excitedly from the back.

“No,” you mumbled from the front. Aly hit your leg lightly in response, but you didn’t care. You weren’t in the mood for a stupid joke.

She went ahead and told one anyways. “What do you call a pig that does karate? A pork chop! Get it? Pork chop,” she said with a thunderous laugh as she made some karate motions with her hands.

Aly laughed quietly behind you, but your face was flat. You knew it, another stupid joke. You almost laughed at how corny it was, but you didn’t let it pass your lips. “Ellie, can you keep it down back there with the jokes?”

“What if I just tell them to Aly?”

“No, I can still hear them,” you grumbled. “I’m trying to concentrate.”

“You can’t listen and concentrate at the same time?” she playfully responded.

“No, I can’t,” you said with your teeth barred.

“You’re such an old man,” she laughed. “How old are you anyways?”

“I’m 50, now enough questions,” you spat.

“Wow, you’re old as fuck!” she screamed as a voluminous laugh came out of her mouth.

“Damn right, you little shit,” you growled.

“Joel.” Aly tugged on your coat in warning. You brushed her off in response. You’d talk to Ellie however you wanted to. Besides, she was being a little shit, so you’d call her out on it.

“I’m just teasing you, don’t take it so seriously, Joel,” Ellie said with a small laugh escaping her body.

“Mhm,” you hummed from your lips, annoyance ringing in your tone.

You kept your lips pressed together as you looked around the land. There were towering trees all around you, even more on the mountain tops. It was quiet, a little too quiet, but you’d take it for now.

You dug inside your coat pocket for the folded up map and fished it out. Slowly unraveling it, you carefully moved your index finger across the blue lines of the map. In a few miles you’d come across Green River. A large, winding river that went for miles across the map. That was the only way to get over to Wyoming it looked like. That would be a challenge in itself. You sighed and folded the map back up, stuffing it back in your pocket.

“Everything okay?” Aly asked as she looked over your shoulder, staring up into your face. She must’ve caught your sigh. You were surprised she heard you with how loud Ellie was talking.

“Yeah, it just looks like we have a ways to go if we want to make it there before nightfall. Might be a couple bumps in the road. Hoping that I’m wrong though.” You steadied your hands on the reins again and slapped the leather material against Shimmer’s neck. “Come on, girl. Just a little faster.”

Shimmer picked up her pace, and Aly wrapped her arms tighter around you as the wind raced past you. The rest of the ride was more quiet, the wind too loud to really converse. You didn’t mind. You needed a break from Ellie’s endless mouth. That girl sure knew how to talk. You welcomed the quiet like a nice warm fire in the middle of an autumn night.

A couple hours passed by, the landscape changing just the slightest as the trees turned a more yellowish gold tint the further you went. You could hear rushing water not too far off.

You were making your way through some thick trees on a narrow dirt trail as the trees started opening up slightly. A few more feet and you were out of the tree maze, coming face to face with a giant rushing river.

The river went on for miles. It was roaring and was showing you just how dangerous and malicious it was. The water was crystal clear, but the water was rushing downstream so fast that it was hard to see the bottom. It had to be at least more than 20 feet deep. A death trap at best. You’d have to be careful.

“Whoa, look at that thing! It’s massive,” Ellie yelled in awe of the enormous river.

“Are we going to have to cross that?” Aly asked nervously.

“Unfortunately that seems to be the only way across to Wyoming. We’ll have to find a way to cross though. Ain’t nothin’ getting through that water without getting washed away.”

You watched as her face went from worry struck to cold blooded, her face turning pale. “Joel, are you sure that’s the only way across? There’s gotta be another way to avoid the river,” she said nervously, her blue eyes filled with fright.

“I checked the map. There’s no other way that I can see. We’ll have to do this the smart way.”

She nodded her head in response, but her nerves didn’t slow. She was scared. You had to admit you were a little nervous too. You didn’t know how this would play out, but you’d find a way. You had to if you wanted to get to Tommy.

“Let’s just keep going north a little, see where the river takes us.” You motioned Shimmer forward again, and the clop of her hooves hit the ground. A gentle dusting of dirt, snow and rocks shot up from the back of Shimmer with every step she took. She must be getting tired. You’d happily let her take a much needed long rest when she reached Tommy’s. Hopefully that’d be today, if all went well, which it never quite did.

“Hey, Aly?” Ellie asked as she stuck her head out from behind Aly’s back.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think any of the fireflies made it this far yet?” Her voice was shaky, scared. You looked back and her eyes flicked towards you, her green eyes nervously finding yours. Your back stiffened at the thought of the fireflies anywhere near here. You weren’t ready for that. Not yet.

“I hope not, but I don’t think so. I think we’re safe for now.” Aly’s hold on you tightened as soon as she turned back around to face you. She was as nervous as you about the fireflies. You slowly brought your hand over hers and gave it a squeeze, letting her know it’d be okay. We’d be okay.

“That’s good. I don’t want them following us,” Ellie said in a whisper as she looked over her shoulder as if someone was following us.

“I think we’re okay for now. I didn’t see anyone following behind us. We’re in the clear,” you responded tightly.

“So you knew Marlene before?” Ellie directed the question at you.

“I was acquainted with her for a brief period. She tried to convince me to join them, but I said hell no, and I’m sure as shit glad I didn’t follow them,” you spat.

“Marlene’s not that terrible. She had good intentions at least, but I think she went a little overboard,” Ellie replied.

“You think?” you asked with sarcasm spilling off your tongue.

As you looked back up to the road you saw an eerie looking bridge that connected from one side of the river to the other. It was narrow and looked like it had been there for years, barely hanging on for dear life with its wood panels dug into the worn dirt.

“Whoa, Shimmer.” You pulled on the reins fast and stopped her in her tracks. She came to a halt as you jumped off her back. Aly and Ellie quickly followed behind, hopping down from Shimmer and landing with their feet in the dirt.

“Is that what we’re supposed to cross?” Ellie asked in shock. You looked down and her scared little green eyes were skimming the deep, wide river. She hugged her backpack a little tighter and gulped.

“I’m afraid that might be our one way ticket to Wyoming. I don’t see anything else that’s close that’ll get us across.” You pushed back some flyaway hairs from your eyes as the wind swept across your jacket, tearing through the thick material.

Aly came up right next to you, whispering so Ellie couldn’t hear. “Joel, are you sure about this? It looks dangerous..” Her eyes swept over the flowing river, and then they landed back on you. Worry encased her features. She was scared, tense.

You clenched your jaw and hard lines appeared above your forehead. “I’m pretty sure this is the only way. If there was possibly another way, there’s no telling how long it’d take to get to. It might take days, and who knows if we’d find anything. We might be dead before we find a way around, so we need to take what’s in front of us.”

Aly chewed on the inside of her cheek as she looked from the long bridge to the rushing water beneath it. She slowly nodded and came to the solution that this was the only way. But she was nervous, so nervous.

“Hey, you trust me?” you asked as you turned her towards you, bracing your hands against her upper arms. You could see it in those blue eyes of hers that she was contemplating just what you were about to do.

“Yes,” she whispered back in a hushed tone.

“We’re going to get across that bridge, alright?” You raised your eyebrows, your eyes going wide as you searched hers, waiting for an answer.

She slowly nodded. “Yeah, okay. Let’s just get it over with then,” she said as she turned back to facing the rickety bridge.

You slowly walked up to the swaying bridge. It sat about eight feet above the water as it wavered back and forth in the breeze. The faded, light brown wood looked over a decade old as some of the sides were chipped and falling apart. The side railing weren’t really rails, they were just rope that you could hang on to. This was exactly like something you’d find on a playground, and that scared the hell out of you.

“We’re going to have to go one at a time, no one stands next to each other. We clear?” You raised your voice, specifically at Ellie as you stared her down, making sure she was paying attention. “Ellie?”

Ellie was looking over the edge into the wild river as the waves tossed and rippled over one another. “Huh?” She jumped at the mention of her voice, shooting back a few steps as she looked up at you with surprised green eyes.

“We clear?” you asked as you narrowed your eyes at her.

“Oh, yeah. We’re clear,” she said as she saluted you with her right hand. She quickly tightened her short ponytail and pulled her purple jacket down, putting her hands deep inside her pockets. She looked nervous, intimidated as she looked back and forth between you and the river.

There was something she was hiding, it was clear on her face. “What is it?” you asked as you crossed your arms and shot an eyebrow up, focusing in on her.

“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just that I can’t swim…” she said in a faint whisper.

“Excuse me?” you asked as your eyes went wide.

“I…I can’t swim. I never learned how. No one ever taught me.”

“And you’re just now telling us?” Your voice was raised, anger flaring inside you.

“I didn’t think it was important.”

You put a hand across your eyes and scrunched up your face, running your hand down your face slowly. “Christ, Ellie.”

“I’m sorry…” She looked down disappointed, her converse sneakers digging into the dirt.

“It’s okay, Ellie. We’ll get you to the other side. Don’t be nervous,” Aly encouraged as she walked over and put a hand on Ellie’s shoulder, soothing her.

“But, Joel…”

“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. We’ll get you across safely. Okay?” Aly stood there until Ellie nodded in agreement.

You rolled your eyes and looked back over the entire length of the long, narrow bridge. “Here the fuck we go,” you rasped under your breath.

“What about Shimmer? We can’t leave her,” Aly said worriedly.

“Don’t worry. I’m gonna have her cross first.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Ellie questioned you.

“It’s gonna have to be,” you seethed. “Come on, Shimmer. We need to cross. It’s alright,” you said gently as Shimmer came up to you steadily. She looked at the other side of the bridge and neighed.

You took the reins and started leading her up on the wooden bridge. It squeaked faintly as Shimmer put all her weight on it. You led her a couple more steps and then backed up, letting her cross over. “That’s it, girl. Keep going. You’re doing great.”

You watched her creep along each step, all eyes focused on her. “Come on, girl. Almost there.” A few more steps and she was over the bridge, ending up on the other side. She found a patch of grass and started nibbling at it, absentmindedly waiting on the other side for you.

You let out a sigh of relief. If it held her, it’d definitely hold all of you. “Okay, I’ll go first. Ellie, you get the middle. Aly, you take the back,” you instructed as you carefully put your full weight on the bridge.

“What happens if one of us falls?” Ellie asked warily.

“That’s not gonna happen!” Your mouth was in a tight line, eyes dark and serious. “You just follow my lead. We go slow and pay attention to our surroundings. No running, no jumping. Focus on getting across safely. Got it?” You looked from Aly to Ellie, both of them looking nervous.

“Okay, let’s get a move on then. I’ll feel better once we’re across,” Aly said as she pulled her hair up in a ponytail, her long hair falling across her right shoulder.

You stared at her for a few seconds too long, eyes bleeding into hers. She was breathing fast, her hands turning into fists at her sides. You wanted to comfort her, tell her it’d be alright. You didn’t have time though. You needed to move, now.

“Breathe,” you whispered to her, focusing only on her. She looked at you sheepishly and then nodded in response, breathing becoming a little more calm.

“Alright, follow me. Slowly,” you motioned. You turned towards the bridge, taking a careful step forward, testing the hold of the wood. It squeaked a little, but it held up. You took a few more steps, careful not to step down too hard. The bridge was old, creaky and rusty. The bottom edges of the wood were black with mold growing all over. It’s like it was barely hanging on to nothing.

There was something sinister the way the fog was dancing above the water’s surface, hanging just beneath the bridge, making it somewhat hard to see just what was lying underneath your feet. You could hear how fast the water was being tossed around and dragged downstream. A hurricane like violence as waves crashed against sharp, jagged rocks in the bank. You distracted yourself from the death trap that was just below you, setting your focus to the other side of the bridge.

You were almost halfway across now, moving as slow as a snail. You looked behind you and saw Ellie creeping right up behind you, Aly cautiously setting her pace behind her, a leery look on her face. “You two doing okay?”

“Okay as we’re gonna get,” Aly said in a shaky breath as she held out one arm to grab the tethered rope on the edge of the bridge.

“How deep do you think that water is below us?” Ellie asked tentatively as she stared down into the deep, dark depths of the river.

“I can’t honestly tell you. Probably more than 20 feet,” you said as you took your eyes off the river and back to Ellie. Her eyes went white and her face was becoming pale. “Ellie, just keep moving. Don’t worry about it. We’re gonna be fine.”

You turned and kept trekking ahead, watching your footing so you wouldn’t step on a bad piece of wood. The bridge was damp in the middle as the wood became darker, more slick. Your boot hit a slick spot, but you managed to keep your balance as you grabbed onto the rope beside you.

“Be careful, it’s a little slick up here. Go slow,” you grunted as you focused on your steps.

“Let’s just hurry up, this bridge gives me the fucking creeps,” Ellie sighed as she took careful steps behind you. Jesus, that girl had a mouth on her.

“What’d I just say? We’re going to go slow and do this the right way,” you fired back.

“Alright, just keep going. I don’t like this.”

“None of us like it, just be quiet. I’m trying to concentrate.” You looked ahead of you the rest of the way, just a few more feet. You could make it. Slowly but surely.

You took a few more steps, carefully stepping over the wet spots on the bridge. Crack. You froze, afraid to take another step. “Stop!” you yelled to Ellie and Aly.

Ellie ran into the back of you and then stopped abruptly. “What was that?” she asked with fear taking over her voice.

“Shhh,” you hushed her. You listened for another sign of any other cracking noise, but you didn’t hear anymore. “It was just the bridge. Be careful. I think it’s okay, keep moving.”

You took a few more steps forward, being overly cautious in case another sound struck across the bridge. Ellie was right behind you, right in your shadow.

“Woo, that was a close call I’d say. Hey, when we get to Tommy’s can we..” Ellie’s voice was cut off by a loud cracking noise as a few pieces of the wood broke off and landed with a crash into the water, sending Ellie falling through the gaping hole of the broken bridge. Your eyes went wide with fear as you turned and lunged in her direction.

“Ellie!” Aly screamed in terror as Ellie was hanging with her hands clamped down on a broken piece of wood, holding on for dear life.

“Joel, help me!” Ellie’s screams echoed across the river as the whites of her eyes stared up at you in horror. Holy shit.

“Ellie, just hang on, I’m coming!” you yelled as you took two steps toward her and went down on your knees, grabbing the rope with one hand and holding out your right arm for her to take. “Grab on, hurry!”

She reached up for you but slipped, grabbing back on to the broken piece of wood that was slowly getting lower, about to fall into the raging river. “Don’t let me fall, I don’t want to die yet! Please!” Tears flowed down her eyes as her legs dangled dangerously close to the water.

Panic shot through you, that protective side of you coming out strong. “Ellie, reach out for my hand, come on! You have to grab it, now! That piece of wood you’re holding on to is about to break off. You’re gonna have to trust me.”

“Fuck, my hand, I’m slipping! I can’t…” Her focus was on the piece of breaking wood and the sea of death beneath her.

“Ellie, jump NOW!” you screamed in desperation, arm reaching out as far as it’d go to her.

She snapped her attention up to you, leaving behind her fear of the unknown beneath her. Without thinking twice she swung all her weight and jumped, lunging for your hand. Your hand was sweaty as nerves ran through you, but you grabbed a hold of her and hoisted her up, fighting all the tense muscles in your back.

As soon as you pulled her up, she embraced you in a hug, throwing her arms around your neck as she clinged to you. Her eyes were wet as the tears continued to flow down, silent cries escaping her mouth.

You ever so slowly put your arms around her, hugging her back. “It’s alright. I got you in time. You’re safe,” you breathed out in gasps as you caught your breath. You caught Aly staring, her eyes saying everything they needed to. A small smile captured her mouth as she watched you embrace Ellie.

For a moment it made you think of Sarah, her warm hugs as she’d always run and crash into you after getting home from a long day of work. But then there was that dark day that she was shot. You held her lifelessly in your arms as she passed right before your eyes, no more warm hugs.

Ellie wasn’t Sarah, not even close. What the fuck were you doing right now? You didn’t care what happened to this girl. At least you didn’t think so. Maybe, just maybe you felt a little protective of her. No. Fuck that.

Aly. You needed to help Aly across. You withdrew from Ellie and held her shoulders, looking into her wide green eyes. “Go on across, just a few more steps and you’ll be off.”

“What about you?” she asked anxiously.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Now go on.”

She nodded her head and made her way across as the bridge squeaked with every step she took. You watched her closely, making sure she was safe. Finally she made it across, her feet back on stable ground. Thank fuck.

Now you had to get Aly across. You looked back her way, analyzing the bridge. There was now a large hole in the middle of the bridge as more pieces of wood started to quickly dissolve and fall into the tumbling river below. There was no way she could just step across. She’d have to jump. It wouldn’t be easy either. There were a few feet lengths apart from where she stood on the other side. Fuck.

Her eyes were wide as she looked from the gaping hole back up to you. Conflicted on what she could do. Her grip was tight on the edge of the rope, holding on as tight as she could with white knuckles.

“You’re gonna have to jump, Aly. It’s the only way,” you said with tension in your voice.

She shook her head no as she looked back down into the deep depths of death. “It’s too far, there’s no way. I can’t.”

“You can do this, it’s the only way. I’m right here. Jump to me,” you said with urgency, your eyes looking on as terror filled them.

She took a timid step forward, and then a piece of wood went tumbling down as you heard it splash into the frigid water. Her eyes went wide as she looked down where it had dropped. She was absolutely terrified, frozen in place. Oh shit.

“Aly, you have to move. Now!”

Ellie was yelling in the background at Aly, but you were toning her out, only focused on getting Aly’s attention. She took another step, and then another piece of wood broke off right next to where she had put her foot down.

She screamed out in fear, tears right on the edge from sliding down her face. She was almost trapped as small pieces started falling apart right before your eyes. “Joel, I can’t,” she cried as a teardrop slid down her pale face. She was looking at the hungry river beneath her, tempting her to fall so it could devour her whole. You wouldn’t let the river take her. You’d jump after her, even if it meant killing yourself in the process too. You wouldn’t lose her again, you couldn’t. There was absolutely no fucking way you would let her slide through your grasp again.

“Aly, look at me. Look at me!” you screamed in desperation. “Jump. There’s no time to wait, come on. Please,” you pleaded with watery eyes. You were desperate. Desperate to get her to shore where it was safe, in your arms.

Aly took one more glance beneath her at the rickety wood and then she was staring at you, dread filling her stormy eyes. “Promise you’ll catch me?” she asked in a quiet, unnerving voice.

“I promise.” You held out your arms and motioned her forward. “Come on, baby.” You were way past the edge of desperation. You needed her safe in your arms. Now.

Creak. The bridge swayed underneath you as the wind tore against the wood that was barely holding on under your weight. Come on, baby. Come to me.

Aly took one more look beneath her, and then she was moving fast. She took two large steps and then jumped as high as she could, covering the large length between you and her. Your arms were open, waiting for her body to collide with yours.

She reached out her hand, and you snatched it just in time. Her foot catching on the edge of the massive hole that was in the bridge, but you pulled her towards you before her weight took her backwards, down to her doom. She fell into your arms as she let out a breath she had been holding, her hands finding your face.

“Joel,” she breathed heavily, her large ocean eyes gazing into yours intensely. Before you could respond the bridge made more groaning noises, and the wood began to cave in.

“Run!” you yelled as you pushed Aly ahead of you, making sure she got to safety before you did. That’s all you wanted was for her to be safe, unharmed.

“Come on guys, faster!” Ellie yelled from shore.

Aly was running as if her life depended on it, dodging spots where the wood looked like it was about to cave in. Your feet were moving as fast as they could against the uneven surface, the cold wind about to knock the breath out of you.

The more you ran, the faster the bridge was collapsing. You could hear cracks and pieces of wood land in the turbulent water. One more step and Aly was safe on solid ground. Five more steps and you were there too, tumbling in the grass as your foot caught on a loose piece of rope from the bridge.

You sat up as you watched more of the bridge collapse, crumbling to pieces as it was done for. “Holy shit,” you breathed out as you ran a hand through your untamed hair, letting all the extra adrenaline leave your body.

Aly came over and sat next to you, leaning her head on your shoulder as she sighed heavily. “Promise me we’ll never do that again?”

“Trust me, if we see another bridge like that anywhere we are going around it,” you answered back defiantly.

“I don’t think the fireflies or anyone at that will be able to get across there now,” she said as she surveyed the damage, half the bridge in shambles and half running downstream at full speed in the freezing body of water.

“They’d have to find another way around. Ain’t no way in hell they’re coming this way.” You took your hand and ran it under her chin, lifting it just enough so you could look down right into those glowing baby blues. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

A small smile crept up to the corners of her mouth, spreading to her bright eyes. “Thanks for saving me, again. You really are my hero,” she whispered as she leaned closer, heading straight for your lips.

“I’ll always be there to save you..”

You leaned in closer, almost touching her lips until Ellie jumped in between the two of you, interrupting the moment. “You two are alive, you made it!” she screamed happily as she wrapped an arm around both of you, pulling you in for a group hug.

“Alright, alright. Enough. Yes, we’re alive. Now get off,” you grunted as you pushed her away so you could get to your feet. You gave Aly a hand and pulled her up next.

“We made it, but you should really be thanking Joel. He’s the one that saved both of us,” Aly laughed as she gave Ellie another quick hug.

“Thanks again, Joel, really. I owe you.” She tried to come in for another hug, but you put your arm out, preventing her from coming any closer.

“No, you don’t owe me a damn thing. Your thank you was more than enough.”

Ellie laughed as she acknowledged you and backed off, still looking up at you. You rolled your eyes and headed over to Shimmer, patting her back to let her know everything was alright.

“We should get going again, we still have some miles to cover...”

Click. The sound you knew all too well interrupted your sentence. For Christ’s sake.

“What was that?” Ellie asked with raised eyebrows, her eyes looking around to try to find the source of the noise.

“Clickers,” Aly responded with a gulp, swallowing down the fear that was pooling inside her.

“What are clickers?”

“Nothing you want to be close to, trust me. Their heads are pretty much a flowering fungus spore and their teeth are sharp. They can’t see, they’re blind. But they can hear the sound of a pen drop from far away.” You narrowed your eyes as you pulled your rifle from your back, actioning the bolt so you could shoot when you needed to.

“Can I have a gun?” Ellie asked quickly, her voice high pitched as fear covered her vocal cords.

“Hell no!” you gnashed your teeth at her.

“But I can help,” she whined, defending her stance.

“You can help by shutting your mouth. Now be quiet. I need to listen.”

You walked forward, taking one step in front of the other. Careful not to step on anything that would make a lot of noise. Aly followed behind you with the shotgun aimed at eye level, ready to fire if needed. You looked her over, and she noticed. She took the safety off the shotgun and got into position, ready for a clicker to jump out at any second.

You took your eyes off her and focused back on the mission at hand. There was something about a woman holding a large gun that was just extremely sexy. It was hot, an enticing view you could get used to. That wasn’t just any random woman though. That was your girl. Yours.

Click. Another screech could be heard from around the corner, just feet from where you stood. You walked carefully, your rifle at the ready. “Come on out, fuckers,” you whispered silently with your teeth clenched together.

You took another cautious step and then you heard a loud crunch come from behind you. You looked back in a flash and there was Ellie. She had stepped on a fallen tree branch as you watched leaves fall apart underneath her Converse shoe. Her eyes were wide as she realized what she had just done.

Horrendous screeches shrouded the area as three clickers barreled out from behind the trees. They were fast, coming straight for the three of you. You quickly got to work, aiming the rifle at the first clicker you saw.

You pulled the trigger and shot, watching the first one go down without a fight. Aly took out the second one as it got dangerously close to her, wiping it out before it could leave a mark on her. One more came at you with raised arms and an open, gaping mouth with sharp teeth, looking for something to sink its teeth into. You quickly took the shot and blew its fungus head off, blood going all over the dirt.

You took a breath as that seemed to be all of them. Just for once you’d like to sit down in peace and not worry about what crazy event would happen next.

“Holy shit, that was insane! Did you see how fast they came at us?” she said wildly as she peeked over the top of a dead clicker, analyzing its red blossom shaped head.

You wiped some sweat from your brow and looked over at her as you caught your breath. “Be careful where you step next time, kid,” you warned.

“Let’s get out of here. This area has been nothing but bad luck for us. Maybe we should get back on the road,” Aly said as she put the safety on the shotgun and strapped it around her back.

“I couldn’t agree more. Let’s go.” Before you could move you heard some rustling noises in the trees. “For fucks sake, what is it now?!” you said angrily.

Your narrowed slits turned into wide, gaping eyes as ten fully armed men surrounded you on majestic American quarter horses. They closed in on the three of you, completely surrounding you so you couldn’t escape. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“Don’t move,” a tall, brawny man with black coarse hair and dark eyes spit out. He was aiming a rifle at you specifically while the other men pointed theirs at Aly and Ellie.

You froze, having no choice but to listen to them. You were still holding your rifle up, even if the safety was off. “Drop your weapons. Slowly.” He lifted his gun higher, pointing at your rifle as he motioned you to drop it.

You ever so slowly knelt to the ground and placed the rifle carefully on the ground, Aly following next as she placed the shotgun down and emptied her pockets. You did the same with the handgun and knife that was tucked down in your jeans.

Ellie was holding up her shiny switchblade and showing it to the man, her eyes angry. “Ellie! Put it down,” you whispered in a warning.

“But…,” she tried to protest.

“Now,” you growled. She sighed and listened to you, dropping the switchblade to the ground defeatedly.

“Why are you here and what do you want?” the man on the tall horse asked, his gun still raised at you.

“We’re just passing through. I’m looking for my brother. We mean no harm,” you said with your hands raised above your head, showing you weren’t a threat.

“Daryl, search them,” he demanded. Search them? What was this, fucking TSA?

A man with greasy long hair and a blue bandana around his face passed the swarm of horses as he held a metal chained leash in his hand. An intimidating German shepherd was attached to it.

“What do you need to search us for? We already dropped our weapons!” you yelled with a bitter taste in your mouth, anger inching up your throat.

“Oh, I don’t mean search you. I mean sniff you out. See this dog? She can smell the cordyceps virus on anyone. So if you’re infected, she’ll know.”

Shit. Your face dropped as you looked to Ellie. What if the dog smelled the virus on her? Even though she wasn’t infected, it was still there dormant inside her. What if the dog set off the alarm? Would they shoot her right on the spot? And Aly. Would they shoot her dead too thinking she was infected? Oh,God.

Your breathing became rapid, but you tried to keep it together as best as you could. You couldn’t let them see you start to fall apart. They would know instantly something was up, and you couldn’t let that happen. Couldn’t let them find out just what she was. Even if you didn’t fully understand it yourself.

“We’re not infected,” Aly said desperately, moving in front of Ellie as if to protect her. Ellie looked scared as she stared at the German shepherd that was getting closer with every step it took.

“I’ll believe it after our canine decides. Now stay still,” the man said roughly as he set the leash free and the German shepherd came running at you with big chocolate eyes that were on a mission.

You stayed still as the dog circled around you and sniffed, its fluffy tail hitting you on the legs as it wagged its tail. You held your breath, afraid to move. After a few seconds the dog was leaving your side and heading towards Aly and Ellie next.

Your fists were clenched tight around your side as you watched nervously, afraid of what might happen. You couldn’t do anything. You couldn’t fight because there were too many, you were completely surrounded. So you just stood there watching in horror, waiting to see what would be released.

The dog was now sniffing at Aly’s boots, looking up into her eyes as if it was waiting to see signs of infection. After a minute the dog moved on to Ellie, its paws stopping right in front of her Converse sneakers. You were biting your tongue and then pain was radiating through your mouth, a hint of crimson going down your tongue. Get it together, Joel.

She was just a little girl. She was cargo, nothing more. So why did you care if this dog decided to rip out her throat or alert the men of infection? You shouldn’t care at all, but something deep down inside nipped at you telling you that you should care.

What if that was Sarah standing there? You wouldn’t just let her die, not again. She wasn’t Sarah though. Ah hell. You didn’t give a fuck anymore, you would get this girl to safety if it was the last thing you did.

You took a small step forward, not sure what you were doing but then you froze. The dog let out a low growl as it looked up into Ellie’s green eyes. She gulped and looked back nervously into the dog’s eyes. Fuck. But then the dog’s mannerisms changed. It jumped up onto Ellie in a playful way and started wagging its tail, wanting Ellie to play. The dog licked her on the face and let out a friendly bark. Ellie let out a joyful laugh as she started petting the dog’s head, kneeling down to hug the dog around its neck. You let out the breath you had been holding and relaxed your stance.

You could feel your heartbeat racing in your chest, a storm brewing deep inside you. You needed to sit down, to catch your breath. Today had totally wiped you out. You needed to get to Tommy’s. You had just enough.

“They’re clean,” the man called out to the rest of the group. “Now what do we do with them?”

“Just let us pass. You’ve already checked us. We’re of no harm to you. I just need to go find my brother, please.” You were being polite? Highly unlike you, but you were too tired to care. You just wanted the day to end.

“I don’t think so. Boys.” The first man that spoke to you was about to close in, but someone stopped him quick.

“Wait!” An older woman with a red bandanna and a cowboy hat on stopped the man as she rode up next to him on her spotted white horse. She had short blonde hair and blue eyes. “Who are you?”

“Joel,” you answered quickly.

She gave you a once over and had a raised eyebrow, lost in thought. And then her eyes relaxed, a surprised reaction hitting her features. “Whoa, put down your weapons, boys. That’s Tommy’s brother.”

Your eyes went wide. You didn’t recognize her, so how did she know you were who you said? “Are you sure?” the man asked as he looked you over closely.

“Positive.”

All the men lowered their guns cautiously, eyes still searching you as they were still unsure of you. “You headed to find Tommy? Is that why you’re here?” she asked, coming to stand in front of you.

“Yeah, that’s right.” You eyed her with speculation, wondering why she was being so nice.

“Well, get your stuff and let’s go. We��ll take you to him. We live in the same community as him, so that’s where we’re heading. We were just out doing some border patrol.”

You nodded in understanding and then you were grabbing up your weapons, Aly and Ellie following in sync with you as they did the same. You then rounded up Shimmer and hopped up on her back, helping Aly and Ellie up next.

As soon as you all were settled, the woman motioned her hand forward. “Follow me.” And so you did, giving Shimmer a tug of the reins to move forward. And then dozens of hooves were clanking into the ground, moving swiftly through the covered land.

Aly and Ellie stayed quiet behind you. As you continued on the journey, you looked back eyeing Aly and then Ellie, cautiously evaluating their faces. “You two okay?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Aly said as her arms hugged you tighter around the waist. “Ellie?”

“I’m fine,” she answered quickly. You studied her face to see if she was lying, but she didn’t break her features. She must really be okay. You nodded and turned back around, quiet until being spoken to.

“It’s a couple hours ride from here to town. It should be smooth, we already took out a bunch of infected. Should be smooth sailing from here,” she said leisurely.

“What’s your name?” you asked her curiously.

“Maria. I’ll give you the rundown when we get to town. I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

You nodded your head at her before she turned back around and started talking quietly to a few of the men in front of her. You just hoped all this would work out for the best. You weren’t particularly trusting of any of these people, but if they could get you to Tommy in one piece then maybe they weren’t so bad.

“Do you know her?” Aly asked as she leaned over your shoulder, resting her head in the crook of your neck.

“I have no idea who that is. But whoever she is Tommy must’ve told her about me.”

“I see. Well, that’s a good sign then. Hopefully we can actually get a good night’s sleep tonight. And by we I mean you specifically,” she said as she nodded her head at you.

“I’m fine,” you lied.

“You’re exhausted. I can see it in your face. Your eyes are so heavy that you look like you’re barely holding on to those reins.”

She was right. You were completely drained, needing sleep badly. You were even having trouble holding on tight to the reins, and she had noticed. You had to hold it together though, just a few more hours. You could sleep after you arrived there safely, under shelter, in a warm bed with Aly curled up next to you. You groaned at the mere thought of that, wanting nothing more at this moment.

She lightly placed her hand over yours, running her thumb up the side of your hand slowly. You closed your eyes just for a second, taking in her touch. It felt like a piece of heaven, something you didn’t want to let go of.

“I can sleep tonight. I’ll be okay for a while longer. Promise.”

She eyed you carefully, those blue eyes skimming over every inch of the surface of your face. She pursed her lips and then relaxed them again, going back on whatever she was about to say. “Alright. You can always lean back on me if you need to rest your eyes.”

You looked back at her, eyes locking on hers. “Aly, I’m okay. Thank you though.” You gave her a quick kiss on the cheek so Ellie wouldn’t say anything about it. She kept her hand on yours, lingering there for minutes. And you were more than okay with that.

The rest of the ride was quiet, everyone around you barely speaking to one another. You got the occasional wary glances back and forth from some of the riders, but overall they kept to themselves. You were fine with that, not really feeling like speaking to any of them.

Before long you were passing through a giant sea of deep green trees. As soon as you passed the thick area of trees you came upon a large, towering wooden gate that was guarded on each side by armed men. There was no getting through unseen, and it was too tall to climb. This must be their entrance to their town.

Maria nodded at the armed guards, and they nodded back. “Open the gates!” one of the men yelled down, and then the gates were opening with a creaking noise filling the area.

“Welcome to Jackson. Let me take you to Tommy, just follow me.” Some of the men broke off in separate directions, but some stayed. You were right behind Maria, Shimmer on her heels. You passed through the heavy gates and then you came into a town that was bustling with people.

“Whoa, look at this place!” Ellie shrieked with excitement as she looked around, eyes glowing at all the new surroundings.

You took in the sights, and your eyes went wide. There really was a lot to it. The deeper you traveled into the heart of town, the more you saw. Large houses lined every side of you. They looked nice, fancy. There was a giant greenhouse sitting to the left of the town and so many different farm animals. There was a horse stable that was bigger than the previous stable you had come upon before, earlier in your journey.

Kids ran through the crowd, filling the streets with laughter. You passed a large pack of sheep in a fenced in area and you could’ve teared up right then. That’s what you always wanted. To live in the country, in a large farmhouse with your little sheep farm to keep you company.

You took your eyes off that and noticed all the different vegetable gardens, the bustling community that surrounded you. And there was electricity. Every single house or building you took in had bright lights gleaming from their windows. This almost felt homey, somewhere where you could settle down peacefully. Fuck. You really made it.

As you passed a country style house on the corner of the street, you ended up in the middle of a crowd. You pulled on the reins and froze when you saw him. Tommy. His dark long hair was slicked back, away from his brown eyes. He had on a jean jacket, blue jeans and black boots. He was up on a platform helping someone mount a sign on a tall building.

You jumped off Shimmer and walked to the middle of the street in a trance like state, pushing away a man you almost bumped into. “Tommy!” Your voice came out scratchy, desperate as it rang through the center of town.

Tommy looked up and found you in the middle of the crowd fast. His jaw fell open, and he looked like whatever he was seeing couldn’t be real. You couldn’t be real, but you were here. You made it. “Joel?”

He dropped the screwdriver that was in his hand as it went crashing down to the ground, leaving the man he was helping alone to get the job done by himself. Tommy jumped down the metal stairs and ran to you, clearing his path as he pushed past the women and men that stood in his way.

He knocked all his weight into you, embracing you in a tight hug as his arms crushed against you. “Joel Miller, my long lost big brother, holy shit! I can’t believe it.”

A cold teardrop escaped your eyes as it fell on his jean jacket. You were so overwhelmed with emotions you couldn’t quite contain yourself. You didn’t realize how much you had missed your brother until you were standing back in front of him. It was so surreal, almost like this wasn’t really happening.

“It’s been a long time, Tommy.” Your throat was all choked up, but you spit the words out all while trying to hold back tears.

“You’re damn right it has. I can’t even tell you how many years it’s been now. Too long.” He released you from his tight grip and pulled back, his hands braced on your shoulders. “Let me take a good look at you.” He took a long glance at you as he took in all your features, his brown eyes hazy. “You haven’t changed much except you’re old now. And you look like shit.”

You hit him playfully in the arm as you shot back, “Shut up. That’s what happens when you’ve been fighting for your life in an apocalyptic world.”

“You know I’m just messing with you,” Tommy said as he hit you back just the same way. He looked past you at Shimmer, trying to weigh in on who the two new faces were that had followed you here. “And just who might these two be?” he asked as he nodded his head to Aly and Ellie, eyebrows raised in question.

“That’s Aly and Ellie, they’re with me.” They were watching the two of you carefully, listening in on the conversation. Not wanting to miss the big reunion with your brother.

“Ain’t that something. Well, come on. You must be starving. Let me show y’all to the bar. Seth’s got some real nice chicken stew cooking in the kitchen right now. I’ll get you some drinks too.”

“That’d be great. Thanks, Tommy.” Your stomach had been growling ever since this morning. You were ready to devour anything you could get your hands on. You motioned Aly and Ellie forward, and they jumped down from Shimmer, coming over to join you.

“I’ll have Maria take your things and get you all settled. We have an empty house right now with your name on it. It’s yours, if you want it.”

“A house? With electricity? Fuck yeah!” Ellie shouted with excitement.

You gave her a warning glare, telling her to tone it down. “That one’s got a mouth on her I see,” Tommy laughed. “She your daughter?” he asked with questions filling his eyes.

“No!” The word left you fast. Your voice coming out bitter and harsh.

“Could’ve fooled me. She’s got your same mannerisms.”

“No, she does not,” you snarled.

“Whoa, cool it. It was just an assessment. Chill out.”

You gulped back any other words you were about to spit out. He didn’t mean anything by it. He just wanted to know if she was yours. Hell, he hadn’t seen you in over a decade so how would he know if you had a daughter or not? He was just trying to get to know you again. You needed to calm down. But she was not your daughter, period.

“Hey Jerry, why don’t you take their horse to the stables and fix her up with a good meal and some water? Make sure she fits right in with the other horses,” Tommy yelled across the way as a man with a blue cap and long winter coat nodded his head and hurried over. He came over fast and led Shimmer into the direction of the stables, Maria coming to take your things.

“Well come on now, follow me,” Tommy said as he led the three of you through town. The streets were still crowded, different faces staring and gawking at the newcomers in town. You glanced at a few of them as you passed them by, but you mostly kept your sights on Tommy.

“This place is so big,” Aly stammered as she looked around the busy town, walking right next to you.

“It sure is. Me and Maria helped build this place. I guess you could say it’s our community. We wanted somewhere safe where people could live out their lives peacefully, without fear. We wanted something special, so we made it,” Tommy said with pride showing on his face.

“You and Maria, are you two together?” Aly asked shyly.

“We’re married. She’s my other half, so yes, we are.” That’s when you saw the shining golden band wrapped around his finger on his left hand.

Your eyes went wide. You hadn’t expected Tommy to be married. It was actually shocking, but you accepted it. She seemed like a reasonable woman with a head on her shoulders. “How long?” you asked as you followed behind him.

“A couple years. It was a long time coming, but I knew pretty quick she was the one. I’ve known her for years. Just took me a little longer to make it official.”

“Well…Congrats, little brother.” You patted him hard on the back, your strong grip dipping into his jean jacket.

“Thank you, Joel. Means a lot coming from you.” He looked back at you with a gleam in his eye, nodding his head to you. You nodded back in return.

After a couple of minutes of walking you came upon a large bar. The outside was made from wood, double barn-like doors were open in the front, and a large sign that said Tipsy Bison was lit up. You could smell the stench of whiskey from the entry way as the inside was packed with people.

“Welcome to the Tipsy Bison, one of my favorite places in the town. It’s open pretty much 24/7, and there’s a hot meal anytime you need one. If you ever just need a place to chill out then this is the place. It’s very homey here, people are real friendly. But come on, there’s a table in the corner open. Follow me.”

The three of you followed after him, winding through the crowd and white wooden tables. People were chattering amongst themselves, and there were families sitting together. Two men at the bar were throwing back shots and coursing with laughter, their faces bright red from the alcohol and jokes. You could get used to this. It was so much different than the Boston QZ, more relaxed, calm, no FEDRA around. There was peace, finally.

Behind the bar stood a man busy pouring drinks for customers and chatting with two noisy men that sat on high top bar stools. The bar top was made of dark wood and behind it sat a large collection of different bottles of alcohol. A wide mirror sat behind the bottles, reflecting just how busy the bar was in its image.

In the middle of the building sat a sweeping wooden floor that could be used to hold dances or big events. Dim lights hung low from the ceiling, lighting up every dark corner of the bar. You couldn’t quite wrap your head around just how grand this place was. What Tommy had built. Your little brother, quite the handyman. You had taught him well.

“Tommy, this is really something. You built this place?” You were impressed. Actually, you were more than impressed. You were hanging in a daze.

“All from scratch.” He gave you a wink as he sat down at an empty table in the corner. You, Aly and Ellie sat down across from him.

“I’m impressed.”

Tommy gave you a smile before yelling at the man behind the bar. “Seth, have someone bring us some waters and soup. We’ve got some special guests with us tonight.” Seth called out to someone in the back of the bar, and they went back into the kitchen area, preparing to bring out a meal.

An older woman with a red apron around her waist brought out some waters and passed them around, smiling at us one by one. “Who’s this, Tommy?”

“This here is Joel, my brother. And this is Aly and Ellie.”

“So nice to have you all here, especially you, Joel. Welcome. My name’s Kathryn. Holler if you need me anytime. I’m always here.” You nodded your head in thanks as she turned to attend another table.

Tommy took a large drink from his cup and then looked over at Aly. Questions about to slip from his mouth. “So, Aly is it? How long you been traveling with my brother?” He watched her carefully, eyes focused on hers.

She took a sip of her water and then set the glass back on the table, hand staying around the bottom of the rim. “Close to two months now.”

“And where did you two happen to meet?”

“The Boston QZ.”

“Ahh. So you finally got out of there. They just let you out willingly?” He was looking at you now, waiting for more information.

“Not exactly…”

“Joel snuck us out one night. We barely got past FEDRA, but we made it,” Aly finished your sentence for you, thankfully.

“You two just get sick of the place or what?” Tommy asked as he took another swig of water, leaning back against the chair.

“Something like that,” you mumbled.

“What was your reasoning for leaving?” he asked as he sat forward, elbows on the table.

“I got sick of the FEDRA bullshit and the smuggling. I had enough, but my main intention was to go find you,” you said carefully, looking up into his honed in eyes.

Tommy sat there for a minute, clasping his hands together as he brought them up and rested them under his chin. “After all this time you decided to come find me…how’d you do it? We didn’t exactly keep in contact…” His voice went silent after the last word, eyes looking sad. Regret clear on his face.

“We traveled to Salt Lake City, hoping to find you there, but all we found were the fireflies and Marlene.”

“Marlene? Hell, I haven’t talked to her in years. She told you I was here?”

“Mhm. Might’ve been harder to find you if we didn’t run into Maria and your pack of men first.”

“I see…”

“What happened between you and the fireflies, Tommy?”

He gulped back a breath before answering. “Just didn’t really agree with all their morals. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later, alright?”

“Alright..”

Kathryn came back with a tray filled with bowls of steaming chicken stew with spoons in each dish. “Dinner is served, eat up. There’s plenty to go around,” she said as she passed out a bowl to each of you, placing it in front of you. Everyone said their thanks as she turned around and walked off in the opposite direction, going to pick up empty plates and cups on the table next to you.

“Dig in, it’s the best soup in town,” Tommy smiled as he scooped up a large spoonful and placed it in his mouth, chasing the bite down with his glass of water. “Delicious,” he said as he licked his lips clean.

You picked up your spoon and scooped up some broth and chicken and brought it up to your mouth, swallowing fast. It was hot, fresh and smelled amazing. The flavor was rich and tasted better than it looked.

Ellie was on your left side shoving spoonful after spoonful in her mouth, barely coming up for air. “Slow down, you’re not a dog,” you warned her, an annoyed tone ringing in your voice as you shook your head.

“Shit, I’m sorry but this is really good!” she said excitedly as she shoved another bite down her throat.

“Just slow down, alright? Don’t need you getting all choked up.” Tommy was watching the two of you carefully, crossing his arms as he leaned back to inspect. “What?” you asked annoyed.

“Nothing, just…nothing.” He smiled again, looking like he wanted to say something else. You swear if he said anything about her being your daughter again you were gonna throw something.

“How’d you come across this girl anyways?”

You thought for a few seconds before speaking, not wanting to say anything about the fireflies or how she had ended up in the middle of nowhere. “Found her on her own back in Utah. Thought I’d get her to safety.”

He raised an eyebrow and watched your features to see if they’d change. To see if you were lying, but he let it pass. “You’re telling me you just helped her for no reason?” he questioned.

“That’s what I’m saying, Tommy. Now drop it.” Your voice was deeper, your eyes slightly narrowing. That was a warning on its own, and Tommy got the message. He looked like he wanted to argue and say something back, but he kept it to himself.

“Alright, I believe you.” He took another good look between you and Ellie and then turned to Aly. “You two must’ve gone through hell going all the way across the damn map to get here.”

“You have no idea…” Aly answered with her gaze down, eyes fixed on the glass of water in front of her, fingers lightly skimming the damp glass.

She looked like she was lost in her thoughts, thinking back to the hell she went through back in Colorado. You could see it in her worried blue eyes. The ghost of the past reflecting in her vision.

You reached out your hand and placed it on top of hers, pulling her fingers from the cup and breaking the spell she was under. She broke her stare and looked up at you, her aura automatically calming. “You good?” you asked with worried eyes.

“Mhm,” she nodded up at you as she relaxed her raised shoulders.

Tommy stared at the hand that was placed on Aly’s, a lightbulb forming in his head. “You two, are you dating?”

You ran your tongue over your teeth before you answered, not really wanting to go in deep on that conversation. “We’re together,” you confirmed, moving your thumb over the side of her smooth hand. You looked back at Aly and she was looking at you under long eyelashes, her smile forming dimples on the sides of her mouth. You smirked back, eyes beaming into her dark blues irises. Her smile took your breath away.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Tommy said as he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Joel Miller, my big brother, has a lady? Shit. I never thought I’d live to see the day,” he said with a loud laugh as he shook his head again.

“What? Joel not the type to have girlfriends or something?” Aly asked with a confused look on her face.

“Joel definitely ain’t the type to have no women come knocking at his door. Oh no, he ain’t the type at all. It’s a miracle he pulled you. He’s always been such a hard ass. I didn’t know there was even a single affectionate bone in his body.”

“Shut up, Tommy.” You shot daggers at him, telling him to stop.

“What? I’m just amazed, that's all. You’re not exactly a ray of sunshine to be around. You know damn well that I’m right.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever, now shut the hell up.” The hard line on your face broke as Tommy laughed again. Without thinking you let out a small laugh as you looked at your brother. God you missed this. Missed having him around.

“Cut him some slack. He’s not so bad,” Aly cut in as she smiled up at you while leaning against your arm on the table. You gave her a quick squeeze to the hand as you went back to finishing the bowl of warm soup.

“I missed you, Joel. It’s good to have you back,” Tommy said with watering eyes, tears right on the verge of breaking.

“So did I, Tommy. So did I.”

He quickly wiped his eyes as Maria waltzed into the bar, stopping at your table. “You guys ready to go see the house?”

“You all must be exhausted. I’ll let Maria take you to the house and get you settled. Take a long shower, Joel. You look like shit,” Tommy laughed.

“Watch it tough guy,” you glazed over him, pointing your finger in his direction.

“I’ll see y’all tomorrow. Get some good rest.”

“See ya tomorrow!” Ellie yelled.

“Nice meeting you, Aly. I look forward to getting to know you better,” Tommy said with a small smile.

Aly smiled shyly and nodded in his direction. “It was good meeting you too. See you tomorrow.”

Before you could step far, Tommy pulled you back away from the others. “Meet me here tomorrow morning. Doesn’t matter what time. I’ll be around. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do. And come alone. It’d be nice to just have the two of us talk things out. I know we didn’t exactly leave things on good terms.”

Your face went grave as you tightened your jaw. You knew you had to tie up old loose ends, you just weren’t prepared for that talk. “We definitely didn’t end on good terms, but I’ll be here. We’ll talk. I’ll see you tomorrow, Tommy.” You gave him a strong pat on the back before you turned and joined the others outside the bar.

“This way, I’ll show you the house,” Maria said cheerfully as she led you down the busy street. You passed multiple houses of all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some were larger than others, some were built newer than the next house over, but they were all standing. All seemed like a decent house to stay in.

Maria took a sharp turn left and walked right up to a big white two story house. You could tell it was one of the newer ones and it was huge. There was a wrap-around porch that stood in front with a hanging swing and brown wooden railings with three sloping stairs that led to the front door.

She opened the screen door and then unlocked the sturdy dark brown door that had a small fiberglass window design at the top. If the sun was shining through it’d probably make wall designs on the inside that’d turn to rainbows with the sunset.

You stepped inside the house and it was even better than you could’ve imagined. As soon as you walked in you came to a large living room area with a grey sectional sofa that backed up to the ivory wall.

In the next room was a big, open kitchen with a wide butcher block countertop that was light in color. A small wooden table sat in the corner of the room along with some dark dining room chairs. A refrigerator that was working was in the left hand corner of the room, and on the back countertop sat a black coffee maker. Your eyes went wide at the sight. A real coffee maker? Was this really happening?

Maria laughed when she saw the way you were staring. “Tommy told me how much you loved coffee. Up in the top cabinet is everything you’ll need to make some fresh pots. There’s some things stocked in the refrigerator as well along with silverware in the drawers.”

“How is this even possible?” you asked amazed.

“We have a way of getting resources. Ellie, there’s a room down here for you. Right in the next room. Here, let me show you.” She walked off with Ellie and gave her a tour.

“Wow my own room, and there’s fresh clothes and my own bathroom? This is sick!” You could hear her excitement all the way in the kitchen. You shook your head and laughed lightly.

“This is unbelievable,” Aly said in wonder as she took a few steps and circled the room. “This isn’t like any of the QZs. This actually feels like a real home. What is this place…” She was lost in awe, not believing what she stepped into.

��Definitely better than the QZ,” you agreed.

Maria came back out with Ellie. You caught the last of whatever discussion they were having. “If you like horses so much then why don’t you meet me in the morning at the stables? One of our horses just had a baby foal earlier this week. You could help me out, and maybe I could introduce you to some of the community kids? I think you’d like Jesse and Dina, they’re around your age.”

“Hell yeah, I’ll be there!” Ellie jumped with excitement as she turned to you. “You hear that, Joel? I get to help with the horses!” She was buzzing with energy as she came over and tugged on your sleeve.

“Whoa now, calm down. You’re gonna scare all the horses with that kind of energy.” You tugged your sleeve back as she released her grip on you.

“You’re right. Sorry, I’m just really excited. This is all just so cool.”

You held back a smile and tried to show restraint. No breaking in front of Ellie. You had to not show too much interest. You didn’t need her getting close to you. Besides, she was only supposed to be cargo. Right? But the lines were getting blurred. Maybe you’d let her stay just a little while longer with you and Aly. Maybe just maybe…

Maria interrupted your chaotic thoughts. “I’ll show you two your room upstairs. Follow me.” She turned back to Ellie before climbing the staircase. “I’ll see you bright and early, right?”

“Yes, ma’am! I’m gonna go wash up in the bathroom, but I’ll see you later. I can’t wait!” She left the room with a huge grin on her face as she slammed the door tight to the bathroom next to her room.

“I already like that one. She’s a cute kid. Definitely has a lot of energy. And that mouth of hers, she knows how to use her words alright. You raise her like that?”

You stopped on the wooden step you were on and it squeaked when you came to a halt. Your hand was tight on the wooden railing as you felt your fingers dig into the smooth edges. “She’s not mine. I didn’t raise her.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just assumed she was yours. She’s a lot like you it seems.”

She wasn’t like you. There was no way in hell. You didn’t see it, you couldn’t. Even if there were parts of her that reminded you of yourself, you blocked them out. You weren’t gonna get close to this girl. You refused. You already lost Sarah, you wouldn’t lose another little girl.

“We found her in Utah out in the middle of nowhere. We were just helping her, but she’s staying with us for the meantime,” Aly said quickly.

“Poor thing. Well, I’m glad you two are helping her. She’s a good kid. Seems like she’s got a good head on her shoulders. Anyways, come on. Let me show you where you’ll be staying.”

You dropped the subject and followed after Maria and Aly. When you got up to the second level you turned the corner and came into a master bedroom with a bathroom attached to it. The room was huge. There were luminous, long windows in the corner that overlooked the front yard. A giant oak tree could be seen right outside the window. Long white lace curtains were hung over the windows to keep the sun from beaming in when it was morning time.

A king sized bed lay in the middle of the room with made up clean sheets and a cotton comforter laying over the bed with two fluffy pillows that sat at the top. A bedside lamp was turned on beside it, and a good sized walk in closet sat next to the bathroom.

“There’s some clean sets of clothes for you two in the closet. I’d say at least a week or more worth of clothes. You can bring me your dirty clothes tomorrow, and we’ll get them all washed for you. Let me show you the bathroom, and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

She led you two into the bathroom, and a low whistle escaped your lips. There was a large white acrylic hourglass shaped bathtub that was attached to the shower. The shower walls were coated in white marble and the side of the bathtub had full containers of shampoo and soap, along with washcloths and towels hanging over the edge. The bathtub was so big that two people could practically lay down in it and still have room to move around.

There was a double sink vanity with lights that surrounded the wide mirror, and next to that sat a fully functioning toilet. “Well, this is it. It’s all yours for however long you plan to stay. I’ll let you two get settled and get some sleep.”

“Maria, thank you. This is all wonderful. I can’t thank you enough.” Aly grabbed ahold of Maria’s arm and gave it a gentle squeeze, showing her appreciation.

“Don’t mention it. It’s the least we can do. It’s not every day Tommy’s brother shows up with company. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She gave Aly a tight smile and started walking out of the bathroom.

“Aly, go ahead and shower first. I’m gonna walk Maria out,” you said as you stepped out of the bathroom.

“Alright. See you tomorrow, Maria!”

Maria waved as she walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her. You followed Maria down the stairs and stopped her before she reached the front door.

“Maria, thank you so much. We really appreciate this.”

“Really, Joel, it’s my pleasure. You know Tommy talked about you a lot ever since I met him a few years ago. He really has missed you.”

“Really?” Honestly you were shocked. You thought Tommy hated you.

Her face got serious as her lip curled. “Look, I know you two had a falling out, but this is your chance to make it right.”

You clenched your jaw and nodded. “That’s what I plan to do. I came back to make things right with my brother, so don’t worry.”

“Oh, good. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Joel. Goodnight.”

With that she walked out the door with the screen door shutting behind her as she disappeared down the street. A pile of orange and yellow leaves sat in the front yard as the swing on the porch swayed back and forth in the wind. You could get used to this and quick.

You closed the front door up and headed for the couch, collapsing down onto soft velvety material. You leaned your head back and closed your eyes, finally able to rest a little.

The silence didn’t last long as Ellie came barreling out of the bathroom in a set of purple pajamas along with fuzzy blue socks. She made her way to the couch and jumped on it, making your head jolt against the back of the wall.

“Ellie, be careful!”

“Sorry, did I wake you? I thought you were awake.”

“Barely,” you growled. “Why don’t you go lay down? You must be tired.”

“I mean I guess I am. I was just seeing what you were up to,” she said as she adjusted her position on the couch, grabbing a small pillow and hugging it against her as she sunk into the corner of the couch.

“I was trying to relax,” you huffed out.

“Right. Well always, do you like dinosaurs?”

“What?” Dinosaurs? What was she asking such a silly question for?

“The question was simple. Do you like dinosaurs?”

“They’re alright.”

“I think they’re incredible. I once read a book that showed all about how they used to roam the earth and how T-Rexes were pretty much rulers of the land.”

“That’s nice, I guess, Ellie.”

“My favorite dinosaur is in fact a T-Rex. Wouldn’t that be awesome to see one in person?” she asked as excitement filled her green eyes as she stared up at the ceiling lost in thought.

You couldn’t help but smile at her in that moment. Damn kid telling you about dinosaurs. You shook your head as you let out a big yawn, rubbing your eyes to stay awake.

“You gonna make it back upstairs old man?” Ellie asked as a giggle left her lips when you looked over at her.

“This old man is going to go upstairs to shower and go to bed. I suggest you get to bed as well.” With that you got up and walked up to the staircase. Before you walked back up Ellie stopped you.

“Goodnight, Joel. See you in the morning.”

You turned to look at her as she got up from the couch and headed to her room, lightly closing the door behind her.

“Night, kid,” you whispered behind the closed doors. You heard Aly shuffling around upstairs, so you made your way back up. When you opened the door and stepped into the bedroom, you saw Aly brushing her wet hair in the bathroom mirror.

She had on clean clothes that Maria had given us. You walked over to the bathroom and stood in the open door, hanging on the side as you took in Aly’s image. She was wearing a pink tank top and matching pajama shorts that were laced with a pink bow, keeping them secured to her curvy hips.

Your eyes traced down her long legs as they seemed to glow from the bathroom lighting. Those legs could stop a whole crowd in the middle of a busy, crowded hallway. They were so long…so toned. You could get lost in those legs, your hands running up and down until you couldn’t contain yourself anymore.

Aly caught you staring. She was looking back at you through the mirror as she continued to pull the brush through her long locks. You couldn’t quite tell what was going on in the look she was giving you, but you knew you had been caught red handed staring. You could’ve sworn you saw a smirk play at the corners of her mouth, but maybe you were just imagining things. You were exhausted and needed rest, but first you needed a shower.

“What?” she asked with a smile as she continued staring at you.

“Nothing. Just…you’re beautiful.”

She put down her brush on the sink and turned around to face you, making her way over to you slowly. She placed a hand softly behind your neck as she came dangerously close to your lips.

“You’re sweet.” She leaned in and gave you a quick kiss on the lips, digging her fingers into the hair that stood on the back of your neck.

You wanted to stay right here disappearing into her kiss, but sleep was trying to take over fast so you pulled away. “As much as I’d like to stay right here, I really need to shower. I don’t think my eyes will stay open much longer,” you yawned as you pushed away from her and grabbed some clean clothes from the closet. You settled on a plain white t-shirt and some green plaid pajama bottoms. A pair of black briefs sat in a pile that was made for you. It’d be so nice to have some actual clean clothes on for a change.

“Enjoy the shower. It’s heavenly,” she said with a sing song lull to her voice and a big smile forming on her lips.

“Oh, I’m sure it will be.” You gave her a quick smile as you closed the bathroom door behind you.

You turned the water on high and stripped down, stepping over the tub and into the shower. The water was hot and felt perfect against your dirt encased skin. You let the water run over you as you lathered up some soap on the washcloth, quickly washing from your head to your toes. Making sure every part of you was clean and spotless.

You stayed in there for probably half an hour as you were enjoying the way the water was making your body relax. You were almost dozing as you closed your eyes and leaned back against the marble wall.

You finally decided to get out as you cut the water off and dried off with the burgundy towel. You quickly got dressed and brushed your teeth in the sink, almost ready to get to bed.

As soon as you cut the lights off and opened the bathroom door, you walked over to the bed and collapsed with a thump on the left side of the cloud like mattress. You were completely worn out, feeling like a truck had just run over you.

Aly rolled over and looked at you, her hand brushing back your greying locks of hair that fell to the side. “You’re completely wrecked,” she said with concerned eyes as she ran her hands through your hair. It felt so damn good that she could put you to sleep if she kept doing that.

“I am beyond tired, but keep doing that and I’ll be asleep in no time.” You closed your eyes and soaked in her touch as her fingers continued to rub against the sensitive parts on the top of your head. She was hitting all the right spots as a slight groan left your mouth.

“I’ll do it all night long if you want me to,” she said in a quiet voice. As nice as that sounded, you wanted her in your arms.

“I can think of something a little better than that.” You grabbed her and scooped her up against your chest, sliding your arms around her waist as she let out a squeal.

“Now this is more I like it,” you breathed into her ear as you rested your head on the crook of her shoulder.

“Mmmmm yeah, I’d say I like this better too.”

“Good cause I’m not letting you go.” You hugged her tighter as she brought the blanket up around you, snuggling deep inside the warmth.

“I could get used to this. Sleeping in a comfortable bed with you right next to me. This is…perfect,” Aly said with bliss filling her voice.

“Well, get used to it cause I don’t plan on going anywhere else anytime soon.”

“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”

You found one of her hands as you entangled your fingers through hers. You were fading fast, sleep almost consuming you. “Night, baby. Sweet dreams,” you said with a deep sleepy tone.

“Night, Joel.” You closed your eyes and it didn’t take long for the darkness to take you. Less than a minute and then you were out like a lightbulb.

Chapter 25

Series Masterlist

[cocogrrrl]

drifters

you're willing to put yourself through hell for him, but a freak accident causes the situation to make him the one near death's row instead.

Kenny McCormick x gn!reader (Killjoys AU) cw: injury, mentions of drugs, usage of alcohol, themes of war wc: 4228 (minus the references in the beginning)

an: although its relatively easy to infer the lore and slang, I've provided a glossary n a bit of lore for those unfamiliar :D hope u enjoy this cause i sure did!

After the Fire Wars of 2012, California has been under a tyrannical rule lead by the quasi-governmental corporation named Better Living Industries. The company promises eternal happiness through "the sanctity of monocromaticism." Better Living Industries subjects the people of Battery City to brainwashing, heavily through the use of drugs to negate all emotions and possibly even memories. They keep an eye on every single one of the people under their control, prohibiting them from anything that can make them experience sort of feelings Killjoys are the people who live in the zones outside of Battery City. They oppose the ways of Better Living Industries and work to survive outside of their rule as well as to take them down. KN - Killjoy Name (Separate from YN) Zones - Area outside Battery City. Cordial - Slang for moonshine. BLi - Better Living Industries, can be abbreviated to BL/ind as well Dracs - (Short for Draculoids) Members of BLi’s SCARECROW unit that are ordered to kill (Usually anything that hold emotional attachment, such as relationships). Cloud - A group, and sometimes encampment, of dracs. Pangea - Culmination of three or more groups. Dusted - To die/be dead. Ghosted - See dusted Route Guano - The main road through the zones. Drifting - A relationship that is not platonic, romantic or sexual, but a combination or something outside of it. Often usually portrayed as go-with-the-flow thing. Ray gun - Shoots lasers! Pew, pew, pew! Used by killjoys and draculoids Phoenix Witch - A mystical creature that resides in the zones, guiding departed souls of killjoys. Ember Bridge - To abandon your team. Clap - A fight (not limited to, but usually) between a killjoy and a drac. Costa Rica - to go downhill. ** Very well aware they are from Colorado 😨 It’s just that the setting is in California. ** Tommy Chow Mein is a major supplier of a multitude of products in the zones. I changed it to Timmy Chow Mein in reference to Timmy Burch from South Park. ** The Trans AM is the car that the fab four killjoys drive.

—————

(I refer to the main four here by their hero names, since creating Killjoy names for them would cause a hell lot of confusion.)

“KN,” you heard Mysterion mumble your name with a slurred tongue against your hair, bodies flush against each other. You only hummed in reply. “So fuckin’ pretty. My eyes are only for you.”

“You’re absolutely shitfaced right now, aren’t you?” You laughed, turning your body to look at him and caress his face.

“I didn’t even have that much.” He rolled his eyes, playfully pouting. “Even if I wasn’t jacked on cordial right now, I’d still tell you that.”

“You’re funny.” You hummed, brushing a hair off his face to lean in and kiss him. Kissing him gently and savoring the quiet you two had together.

“Hell yeah, I am.” He started giggling, giddiness radiating from the smile on his face because of your show of affection.

“You ever think this is gonna end? Like, one day, BLI’s finally overthrown, and we’re left to build a new society?” You mused, playing with the flyaway hair spread all over the pillows.

“God, I hope so.” He sighed, his happy smile turning into one of a melancholic grin.

“Yeah? Do you think you’ll be excited if it happens?”

“When it happens, sugar,” he corrected, bringing a finger up to your face. ”But, I think so. I’m not sure what I’ll do after. I’ll definitely be with my family, but I don’t know what comes next.”

“Yeah,” you agreed, burying your face into the warm flesh of his chest. “It seems like war is all we know at this point.”

“I’m gonna have to unlearn it at some point once this is all over.” He murmured, a hand of his finding itself brushing your hair. ”As fun as it is sometimes, hell isn’t worth kicking ass. I’d rather be elderly on a porch than worry if I’ll live to see the next day.”

“You’ll get there one day.” You hummed.

“Yeah?”

“I’ll make sure of it.”  You were just spewing bullshit out of your mouth. These were promises you knew damn well you couldn’t keep. Even if it was a mere stretch away from you, that reality was covered in thorns. Despite your unfaithful oath, it was your personal mission to keep him safe.

 You felt a kiss laid on the top of your head. “Such a darling, sugar.”

“I know.”

———

“Wait, wait, wait,” you sighed, shaking your head in confusion. “There’s a cloud nearby, and we’re gonna storm them?”

“Yeah,” The Coon, promptly replied.

“Just the five of us are going to attack them?”

“Mhm,” this time Toolshed nodded.

“Aren’t we gonna die?! Unless a Pangea’s gonna happen, it sounds like we’re actually asking to get dusted!” You burst, jaw agape in shock.

“KN, we have no other choice. It’s either that or we wait for them to ambush the diner.” Human Kite sighed, parking a little off Route Guano. You all could see the encampment the dracs had set up not too far away.

“I guess you have a point.”

You felt a hand place itself on top of yours. It was Mysterion’s. He gave it a reassuring squeeze. “It gonna be okay, KN.” His voice was barely above a whisper.

“...Thanks, Mysterion.” You couldn’t help but smile at him, knowing his words were tainted in falsehood anyway. There was no way telling of how this was gonna end.

This lifestyle was not one for the romantics. This life was not for the optimist.

Hell sunk itself in the modern day and, as a result, many people of all ages, sizes, and hearts are left to fight for their life depended on it.

You took a deep breath as you five exited the vehicle, finding a few large stones to hide behind. You waited for Human Kite’s lead. At one, you’ll jump in and get in a clap with the dracs.

You could either end up living or be killed, yet both outcomes scared you fiercely. If you survive, then that means you’d have to relive this experience again. If you get ghosted, then it’s game over.

But those two were just mere bad thoughts to the grand nightmare that was losing Mysterion. 

You two weren’t together. You two were just drifters, existing outside of the space of platonic, romantic, and sexual desires. You joked with each other like best friends, kissed like lovers, and persevere like partners—although any sort of action you guys had were few and far between.

You cherished those moments, though. You cherished him. Every single goddamn inch of whatever he had to offer. His touch, his brightness, his smile, his kindness, his scars that littered his body, his heart full of gold that was fueled out of retribution. 

Losing him was your greatest fear, even if you knew he wasn’t yours to begin with.

However, there was no turning back now. You guys were here. For all you know, you could’ve been spotted already.

 Human Kite started to count down as soon as you knew it.

“Five,” he whispered.

“Four,” you held your breath, looking over to the group of unsuspecting Dracs.

“Three,” you tightened your grip on your ray gun you bought years ago at a vending machine—back when you still lived in the city.

“Two,” you swiftly glanced at Mysterion, savoring his beauty with the fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a second you had left.

“One.” 

All five of you jumped into the scene and started to blast the Dracs—dust from the ground quickly flying everywhere and blinding everyone. Amidst the cloud of sand, you could make out faint, white silhouettes. That’s how you knew where to shoot.

Both hands tight on your ray gun, you shot every Drac you saw, inching closer towards the center of their camp—where it was most dangerous. You had to wipe the dracs out for the safety of not just your friends but even the other gangs that settled near here.

One of them came flying at you, and by the Phoenix Witch’s grace, you were briskly able to dodge it. They barely missed you and instead landed face-first into the sand. Putting one foot on their back to hold them down, you shot them in the head. One zap to kill him, and then another to rid your frustrations.

“KN! Be careful!” A name called out. It was Mysterion, signaling to look behind you. You could see him run towards you.

As you turned to face whatever he was warning you about, you were met with the burning sensation of a ray piercing itself through your arm. “Fuck!” You cursed, nearly tumbling over from the pain. You had to hold yourself up, though, and continue fighting.

The moment you were hunched over, Mysterion was right by your side to help you. As you seethed through the pain, rebuilding the strength to stand back up, he acted as your human shield.

Once you were alright, your injured arm held your ray gun up high, the other hoisting it up by the forearm. You two needed to get out of the center quick. Back to back with your ray guns out, you two made a beeline out of the heart of the camp shooting back at the dracs that sent a hail of lasers and bullets toward the two of you.

When you were merely out of their reach, you felt Mysterion lose balance and fall on you. Adrenaline kicked in and, despite the state of your arm, you were able to hold him up. This would all be great if it weren’t for the red you spotted soaking through the grey fabric of his clothes.

“Mysterion, are you okay?” You only got a groan in reply. “Answer me!” You yelled, shaking his body. He was limp, though. 

Only one thought had bore itself in your mind: you are not going to let him let go like this. He’d be ashamed of you, and you’d be ashamed of yourself.

You peeked from behind a rock you two were hiding behind, checking to see Toolshed, Coon, and Human Kite. They seemed alright, none of them sustaining any injury yet. You had to act fast right now.

It seemed like the adrenaline in your body was the only thing keeping you alive since you mustered up the will to grab Mysterion and quickly get into the Trans AM, setting him in the back.

You took off the jacket around you and wrapped it tight against his torso to apply pressure. You shrugged his jacket off to wrap it around his leg for the same reason as well. You lifted the signature helmet he wore, giving him more air to breathe.

“Mysterion. You stay there, okay? I’m gonna tell Human Kite and the others to go.” You said, doubtful that he could hear you. You shut the door, though, and ran back to the field to find the rest of your group.

You spotted Human Kite, cornered by a bunch of Dracs. He looked like he knew he was fucked. Luckily, since you were from a distance, you were able to shoot a few of the dracs from behind. An easiness was now settling on the redhead’s face. You helped him fend off the rest of the Dracs there. After which, you leaned in close to him to whisper something.

“Kite,” you said, pants breaking up your speech.

“Yeah?” 

“Mysterion’s in the Trans. He got shot in the chest, side, and thigh.”

“Fuck.” He cursed under his breath, worry evident in his eyes.

“We gotta either dust these guys right now or book it.”

“Well,” he scanned the area, checking how many more Dracs are left. “There’s not that much left. You think we can take them down?”

“If you wanna go through it, we have to do it as fast as we can, or else we got a dead body on our hands.”

“I know.” He nodded, running to Toolshed and Coon to give them the news, you following behind. In an instant, they all started to shoot, and you did too. It didn’t long before each and every single one of them was ghosted.

Human Kite was in the driver’s, the Coon called shotgun, and so you and Toolshed were left to take care of Mysterion as the Coon asked the Chef for places with medical supplies.

All you could hear was your own heartbeat. Coon’s incessant yelling on the phone, the sputtering engine of the Trans Am, worried back and forths between Toolshed and Human Kite, and the faint sound of the radio in the back were white noise to your ears. All you stop and think about right now was Mysterion.

​The sole reason why Mysterion continued to keep on going was his sister, Karen, who still lived in Battery City. The two were separated after the Fires a few years ago. Ever since then, it's been his sole mission to find her and protect her. God knows if she’s been drugged by Better Living Industries or not, but he was sure of one thing: he was not going to BL/ind make an orphan out of her.

What about you? Did you have any reason to fight? You were stripped of your freedom and innocence at a young age, sure, but so was everyone else. You had no one and nothing in particular to live for, so really you didn’t have any reason to truly fight at first. 

However, when you learned why Mysterion worked relentlessly hard to take down BLi, you couldn’t help but admire him. From the day when you learned about his motivations, you made it your sole duty to protect him. Though you had nothing distinctly notable enough to live for, Mysterion did, and so you found your new purpose. 

It didn’t take a genius to realize how your worries consumed you. Guilt was not a word big enough to describe the insurmountable feeling of responsibility you had bubbling in your gut. You were embarrassed, ashamed to your very core for your carelessness and stupidity. Had you kept a better eye on Mysterion, he wouldn’t be halfway through Death’s front garden by now.

Once you five had arrived in the diner, Toolshed and Coon immediately rushed Mysterion to a small booth to patch him up. Human Kite, on the other hand, assisted the hole in your arm in the comfort of your room.

“You really care about him, don’t you?” He mused, fixing up the burn hole that pierced your arm. You were lucky that it didn’t go through the bone, only piercing your skin, flesh, and muscle.

Human Kite knew about the two of you—or at least had an idea. Neither of you hadn’t told anyone about anything, but you were sure it would be easy to spot if they looked close enough.

Were you two open about your ‘relationship’? Yes. Were you two obvious about it? No, but you’re certain he would be if he could. You two were always preoccupied with taking down dracs and scheming ways to overthrow BL/ind, so you barely had the time for each other. 

You could only love him in unpredictable, small doses, even if you wanted more than that. That made loving difficult, especially when you desperately longed for any sense of stability in your life. 

“Oh, don’t small talk me like that.” You sighed, rolling your eyes.

“It’s true, though, right?” He hummed, tongue sticking out as he redirected his focus on your arm.

“Yeah.”

“Are you two together anyways?”

“No.” You answered hesitantly, a vague image of a pout on your lips.

“Drifters?”

“You know, you’re really chatty right now. Wonder where that came from.” Despite your rather harsh reply, you did appreciate the conversation you were having with Human Kite. It served as a good distraction for the burning cold sensation that was the after sting of the laser.

Human Kite didn’t seem to take your comment to heart, though. “You’re not denying it, though.” 

“So? I’m not confirming it either.”

“Tell him that you like him.” You sucked in a breath, partially out of your discontentment with the idea and partially because of the raw sensation of a needle and thread being woven into your flesh.

“Kite, he’s literally nearing his deathbed as we’re talking. I don’t think I can tell him that I like him currently.” You humorously replied, a dry look on your face as you spoke.

He shrugged. “If he makes it, then.” 

“When he makes it.” You corrected.

“You’re so confusing.” He sighed, shaking his head.

“Thank you. I pride myself on it.”

———

The next day passes by and Human Kite, Toolshed, and Coon had gone to the Kitchen, where Chef’s base resided, and also did his radio concerts. They went to report the outcome of yesterday’s mission and receive their next one. After that, they would pass by Timmy Chow Mein to grab some more power pups and extra supplies.

That meant you were left alone with the recovering body of Mysterion, which was resting on the booth where he was fixed up the previous day. All you had to do was check if he was breathing and alive—which he was.

However, he’s been unconscious since yesterday, so even if blood pumped through his veins, it still meant he was under unstable conditions. You watched over his rather frail and pale body, shirtless and bandages wrapped everywhere.

His poor state made you worried. It didn’t seem like you guys would be getting out of your current predicament any time soon. Hell, you’ve been going at it for years now, the term ‘soon’ just seemed like a hopeless promise to you.

The dead can be many things. The dead can win, find peace, and be freed from the chains that have held them down, but the one thing they’ll never be are survivors.

But, of course, eventually, most things will come to an end, which meant BL/ind would face its inevitable downfall. The question is if you’ll be able to watch and savor the souls (or lack thereof) crashing down.

Maybe Kyle was right. Maybe you should tell him about your feelings.

What do you have to lose? Definitely your god-knows-what of a relationship with Mysterion, but it’s not like you were going to ember bridge your gang. That would be reckless, and even then you were sure neither of you wanted to see the other leave the troupe and get themselves ghosted (or worse, drugged by BL/ind).

You sat on the seat across the booth, watching Mysterion's features shine from the sun that hit his face, adorning his features further. Mindlessly, you grazed your fingers on his exposed skin. You wondered just when he’ll wake up. 

The question of yours did not take too long to be answered.

You heard a groan spill out of his lips, words you couldn’t make out being mumbled by him. Like instinct, you bolted up from your hunch-over position and observed him with a deeper focus in your eyes. “...Mysterion? Are you awake?”

“KN…” He murmured, eyes slowly opening and meeting yours.

“Mysterion!” You called out, leaping across the table.

“Ugh, what happened?” His voice was beyond coarse because of his lack of use.

You stood up and headed to the dirty kitchen behind the counter to grab a glass of water for him. “Things went Costa Rica during the clap, and you almost died—that’s what happened!”

“Mmf, thank you.” He said, finishing the drink in an instant, setting the glass on the table with a light slam. A heave exited his lips as he collected his breaths.

You knew he just woke up but had he no regard for himself? You’ve just broken the news to him that he almost got ghosted, completely dusted. He seemed to not care at all.

“Of course.” You huffed, brushing off your thoughts and rolling your eyes. You’ll probably get back to that later—when he’s more clearheaded.

“How long was I out for?” 

“A whole day.” You sighed, looking at him as your head rested on your arm propped on the table. ”The gang is out to report the mission to Chef and grab some stuff at Timmy’s.”

“Alright.” He nodded.

“You shouldn’t have come back to save me.” You spoke out mindlessly, voice barely above a whisper. You meant it in a way that you regret what you’d caused because of your recklessness.

He might have taken that differently, though. “I shouldn’t have? KN, if I helped Kite and the others out instead of you, you would be totally dusted right now. That’s for sure.”

He was right, though. You couldn’t get mad at that. You were all alone back there, and the cloud of dracs would’ve ganged up on you. With Mysterion, less damage was observed, yet the injuries all targeted him.

Then again, his life mattered more than yours. He had Karen. You had no one.

“Mysterion, you matter more in the grand scheme of things. You have a family to find. I got fucking nothing!”

“Don’t say that, KN. You’re worth a lot more than you think.” He fumed, but his voice did not raise. Not at all. The look of anger on his face was clear, though.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” You shook your head, taking a deep breath before continuing.  ”I know I matter or whatever, but you have something worth fighting for.”

“You’re worth fighting for, though.” He assured, taking both of his hands to hold your empty one.

You snapped. Words fell out of your mouth quicker than you could process the rate of them going. “And you are too! What you want is so much larger than who I’ll ever be. That’s why I’ve been hellbent on saving you!”

“You have?” He mouthed, horror melting on his face.

Hesitant to answer, you paused, body frozen. “Yeah...”

“I’m sure that’s not just why.” He continued—the terror once present now turning into an upset one.

Strike you confused since you didn’t know or understand what he was talking about. “The fuck you mean?”

“Do you like me?”

“Duh.” You bluntly answered, furrowing your brows.

“No, you don’t get it. Do you like like me?”

“Mysterion, you sound childish.”

“Answer my question.” He demanded, his eyes dark and piercing through you.

Well, you were backed into a corner now.

In the end, though, you had already thought about telling him. This was bound to be found out about at some point. Kite likely knew already, so what’s holding you back from telling Mysterion?

Fear, that is—even if it dissolved into nothing when you were with him.

You took a deep breath before you answer. “Yeah. I am in love with you.

“And so what?” You scoffed, finally straightening your posture to shoot him a look of scornfulness. ”I know I shouldn’t want you this way, especially if our lives are on the line every second of the day, but I can’t help it. I’m so hopelessly in love with you that I’m willing to sacrifice myself to get hurt in the process just so I can hold you for longer.

At this point, even if you weren’t even thinking of what you were saying, you couldn’t care less. You were finally able to set the record straight and tell him the truth. Although, you began to falter and crumble with every word you spoke. 

“I want time to fast forward to a future where we’re together, and everything is normal. I can’t, though. That’s why I settle for second best—which is protecting you and waiting for that day to come.

“Is that what you wanted to hear?” You spat.

You couldn’t read his reaction. You were helpless at that very moment. “Sugar…” He mumbled. 

You didn’t want him to call you that name for the longest time. You didn’t deserve a name that praised you to be sweet, to be caring because, when all is said and done, you were a monster.

You only went with the name because he seemed to love calling you that, and you loved him too dearly to stop him from doing so.

Yet, despite the head you held high, you started to crumble. Your words felt selfish and how was he supposed to take you seriously? You’re nothing more than a means to an end. What if he found your confession embarrassing? What if he didn’t want to be with you anymore?

“Shit, I know it’s stupid, but I ju-”

You were cut off by the sensation of Mysterion’s lips on yours.

This was nothing new, though. You two kissed all the time, so why did this one feel so different?

Maybe it was the way it felt like it lasted forever. Maybe it was how your arms were all over each other—clinging desperately as if the other would disappear into thin air if one of you let go. Maybe it was because you could read the desperation and longing on his tongue. The petals of his lips on yours felt like a confession that did not need any words—something holy.

Whatever it was, you didn’t want this to end.

In your mind, the moment you two pulled away from each other with breaths crooked and awry, you knew one thing in that instant: you must’ve been breathing him.

“Mysterion…” You mumbled, forehead beading with sweat pressing against his.

“Kenny. It’s Kenny. Say my name. You already know it’s the real one.”

“Kenny,” you breathed, his name feeling like a cool breeze on your tongue. It’s been years since you’ve last spoken his name.

You felt his lips form into a smile on yours. “YN, YN, YN.” He chanted your name like it was his favorite hymn.

Everything felt like it was in its right place, even for a split moment. It felt that a fraction of a second was all you needed to know everything was alright. To know that everything is, in fact, here. You and Kenny against the world.

“What is it?”

Pulling apart from each other’s bodies, his hands found themselves resting on the space of your shoulders. “I need, no, want you. I’ve wanted you for so fucking long now.”

“Why are you only telling me this right now?” You cooed.

“I was terrified,” he professed. ”I didn’t know if you wanted me as much as I did with you. That’s why I never pursued anything with you. I settled to be needed. It felt more comfortable that way anyway

“Besides, romance isn’t for the zones. If I was with you, my fear of losing you would be too amplified that might even kill me.”

With every word he spoke, you could feel your heart break a little more. He didn’t deserve to think this way, and you didn't deserve him to believe in you like this.

“At least you don’t have to be scared anymore.” You said reassuringly, taking the sides of his face into your hands, thumb caressing his cheek. ”I’ll be scared with you. Two negatives is a positive, right? We’ll find a way to work this out.”

“Please hold my hand as we work things through. Please,” he paused, hesitant to continue his next words. “Be with me.”

You nodded, finding your hand intertwined with his as you laid a soft kiss on it. “For as long as time allows us.”

(You thought to yourself, ‘Perhaps I’m a romantic as well.’)

[lennjamin-o7]

To Be Truly Free

Chapter 12

Previous | Next

Technoblade felt like he’d been slapped.

At their entrance, Wil looked up. His eyes peaked between his brown curls, a grin curling where his teeth were still sunk in Hallowlance’s throat. He let go, his teeth releasing Hallowlance. Licking his lips, Wil dropped him, the Blessed One’s head bouncing off the dias as he fell onto the floor, inches from the ridiculous boar mask. Hallowlance groaned and twitched, but Technoblade barely gave him a glance. Technoblade couldn’t rip his eyes away from Wil. The man he had spent so much time with over the last month, watching in wide-eyed horror as Wil ran a finger over his lips to wipe away a smudge of blood, watching as Wil straightened his gold framed glasses that sat on his nose, watching as Wil readjusted that brown coat he always wore-

It couldn’t be Wil. It couldn’t . This didn’t make sense.

Please. Please don’t let this make sense.

“Dad, you found him,” Wil grinned, brushing his hair out of his eyes. An achingly familiar gesture.

“It wasn’t supposed to be a scavenger hunt, Wilbur, we had a plan,” Emperor Philza sighed, exasperated.

Technoblade felt like he’d been slapped again, watching Wil shifting from foot to foot sheepishly.

“Yeah, I know, but plans change. That’s why I sent-”

Technoblade gasped in pain, stumbling as something tugged sharply on his arm. He looked down to see Tommy, a look of horror on the blond’s face with hands raised as if in surrender. He met Techno’s eye, concerned.

“Dad, he-”

“He’s a bit hurt, Toms, be careful,” The Emperor murmured. Technoblade startled when the Emperor’s hand touched his uninjured shoulder. “Watch over him for a bit, okay?”

“Okay,” Tommy’s brow knitted together in determination.

Dad. He called him Dad . That means-

A deceptively gentle hand nudged Technoblade closer to the blonde child, a whisper an inch from his ear “ Stay with Tommy .”

Technoblade twitched as the strange feeling settled over him again, limping a step towards Tommy. 

“How dare you!?” Technoblade’s head whipped to the side to the source of the sound. He wasn’t the only one. Though Tommy merely rolled his eyes as he guided Technoblade away from the Emperor. 

King Dante had seen better days. His hair wasn’t perfectly coiffed, flyaway pieces framing his face in an unflattering way. His beard wasn’t decorated in gold and braids, instead falling limp and seeming to be balding in places. His robes were wrinkled and rumpled. But as undignified as these details were, nothing could compare to the indignity of his position. 

Flat on his back with his robes bunched around his waist, his underwear obvious for all to see. 

Technoblade was much too overwhelmed to laugh.

The voices in his head were not.

But this did draw Technoblade to notice that there were other people in the room. Priests and Nobles and guards. Though none of the guards were still breathing. Or in one piece. A flash of white fabric caught his attention in the piles of bodies, but he quickly looked away.

He-he should probably look to see who it was. At least remember them for a moment, a small silent tribute but-.

But it was all starting to become too much. 

He really didn’t want to see a familiar face lying in a pile of bodies.

“You’re welcome, by the way,” Sir Wil or…Wilbur said, brushing off nonexistent lint from his coat.

“You're welcome? You’re welcome ?” The King rushed to cover himself, spitting venomous words in Wil’s direction. “What do I have to be thankful for, you treacherous leech? The part where you aided the invasion of my country, or the part where you pushed me?”

“I mean, Little Red Chosen One over there was going to kill you,” Wil nodded to the slightly twitching body of Hallowlance. “At least, I’m assuming you aren’t trying to get a gut piercing? The fashion in this country is, hm, much to be desired, to say the least. But I certainly didn’t hear you ask for a sword in the stomach.”

“W-what?” King Dante stuttered, halfway standing up. The monarch glanced anxiously at the still body of Hallowlance. There was an unsheathed sword on the floor.

“And I couldn’t exactly have you being dead…yet, so, a thanks would be appreciated, saving your life and all,” Wil finished, waving his hand dismissively. His eyes lit up at a thought, turning quickly and pointing a finger. “Oh, and you? Honestly, that kind of treason was the real shock, Mr. Holier-Than-Thou. Getting your pawn to try and kill your king? Now that is an unforeseen betrayal.”

Technoblade followed Wil’s finger to a stuttering High Priest. The High Priest’s gaze flickered between the onlooking nobles, the aghast King Dante, and the grinning vampire before him.

“I-well-I mean-I would never betray my King. This is-I was tricked! Thralled! Yes, of course! I was manipulated by the evil stains that were-”

“Mate, I don’t think anyone here is going to believe that,” The clack of Emperor Philza’s boots punctuated his words, green robes flowing behind him like great wings. But the man didn’t take a single step onto the platform. Instead, he paced around, looking every person in the eye, searching each expression. Wil grinned maniacally at Emperor Philza’s approach but the rest? At every footfall, each important person of Scywar paled, some stumbling back into the people near them. 

“I mean, did I manipulate people and thrall them? Of course,” Wil chuckled.

Technoblade’s injured leg gave out from under him, spurring Tommy to catch him with a worried sound. But Technoblade didn’t notice as Tommy helped him sit on the floor, instead focused on what Wil had said. A horrifying thought solidifying in his mind.

Wil had thralled people?

Wilbur had thralled people.

Technoblade felt the thoughts click together as his heart broke.

He had spent a lot of time with Tommy and Wil-Wilbur. And they constantly were telling him what to do, ordering him around, dragging him to sit with them. And Technoblade had listened? Technoblade? Even though Technoblade had always been stubborn, refusing what the priests had demanded of him even with threat of pain? And-and Emperor Philza had definitely thralled him, he could still feel the unnatural pull to do what he had asked. The desire to stay near Tommy. The somewhat muddled thoughts in his head. And it felt familiar. He had thought that before, hadn’t he? He had recognized it as familiar.

Wilbur had thralled people.

Wilbur…had thralled Technoblade, hadn’t he?

He felt a bit sick.

Was anything he did within the past month on his own volition?

“See! You admit it! You-you forced my hand! I would never-”

“You know, it's funny that you called me disloyal just because I am from L’Manburg. Like, sure, L’Manburg has its…explosive history. But this country has a Prince kill his brother for the throne, and then a Priest tries to kill the King for, what, control of a sinking ship? What would you even get out of this?”

“Lies! Lies and slander! You obviously controlled me. You-”

 “Nope, sorry, would have been a waste of effort. You're just not all that useful,” Wilbur snickered. “I mean, to be fair, most of you weren’t all that useful. Dante the Dickish over here certainly spent a majority of his reign just mercing all of the useful people, didn’t he?”

The King sputtered at the name. 

“Techno? Are you alright?” Tommy whispered, the kid tapping Technoblade gently on the knee. Technoblade didn’t acknowledge him. 

“Like, honestly, do you know how much work it was to find someone actually useful to thrall? Who knew anything important? It took me ages . Who knew that incompetence would be such a good defense?” Wilbur sneered. 

“I think Ashenpike is wrong,” Technoblade started cautiously, voice low. “It’s more likely that the Sleeping Empire will attack from the south, not the west.” 

“Really?” Wil grinned. “Why’s that?”

Technoblade hummed unhappily, rubbing his hands down his face.

“Where do I even start?”

“Seriously, it's a wonder this country didn’t implode on itself before we even got here. Not a single one of you put even the slightest effort to not be fucking morons. Your egos wouldn’t allow you to be wrong about something. Twenty years and the best you could come up with was sending armies of children out with no reconnaissance? Ignoring any useful information just because you were too stupid to realize it was useful? Dismissing the advice of people who knew better? Fuck, even your King didn’t know state secrets that would help you win the war.”

“...You would only take it if you knew it was undefended. But there is a bigger reason.” Technoblade paused, looking at King Dante’s scowling face for only a moment before looking at Sir Wil. “Hacker’s Pass is also a state secret.”

Sir Wil’s eyebrows rose, before settling into an amused expression.

“A state secret?” Sir Wil tilted his head.

“Like, you humans are so laughably incompetent! At some point, I had to start digging through your poorly organized library to find the info that I needed. Because none of you had done even the slightest research. How much money did you waste on educating your child soldiers–who you refused to listen to, by the way– without ever once cracking open a single strategy book?”

“How did you even- this book is illegal! Incredibly illegal,” Technoblade was almost breathless as he greedily took in every word. 

“I have my ways,” Wil’s half-sung. 

“After seeing the utter incompetence of the people leading this country, why would I ever bother wasting my time thralling a complete idiot like the High Priest? A guy who thought a coup in the middle of a war would be a good idea,” Wilbur scoffed. “There were definitely better people I could manipulate than you .”

Technoblade clenched his shaking hands into fists, ignoring the pain in his wrist as he did so.

He was so stupid.

They used him. Of course they used him. Manipulated him. They couldn’t have-they couldn’t have actually liked him. They couldn’t have actually cared . That was ridiculous. He had talked to Tommy for, what, an hour? And the kid was just so impressed with what Technoblade had to say that he and his brother sought him out again? It didn’t make any sense. He should have realized that. He shouldn’t have hoped that- it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what he hoped. 

People don’t like Technoblade, they just like to use him.

How could he forget that?

The trembling wasn’t just in his hands now.

“Techno?” Tommy’s whispering was a little louder now. Techno flinched away from the hand on his forearm. He heard the shifting beside him and Tommy’s face entered his line of sight, concern etched into his face as he twisted to catch Techno’s eye. Technoblade only met his gaze for a second before looking away, turning his face as much as he could and trying to hide in the strands of filthy hair that fell freely into his face. “Techno you’ve gotta tell me if-”

“Seriously, as soon as I convinced the King to bring some of the Blessed into the castle, I had all the useful info I could possibly get from the Church-”

Technoblade blinked rapidly, eyes burning with shame.

“-honestly, they had more knowledge about how the army functioned than you, the supposed head, did-”

A look of alarmed realization lit across Tommy’s face.

“-it only took a few words and they told me everything. And they didn’t even remember doing it-”

“Wilbur, shut the fuck up!” Technoblade flinched at the sudden screech from Tommy. 

Wilbur startled at the sudden outburst, looking at his brother in affront.

“Tommy, what the fuck are you-?”

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” The kid screeched. “You’re being a bitch to Technoblade and you don’t even care!”

“What? What are you talking about? I do care, I wasn’t even talking about-?”

“...Technoblade?” Technoblade froze, his whole body stilling as if it could hide in plain sight. The High Priest’s tone was sharp, cunning, desperate, sending a cold fear around his heart.

“Technoblade, what are you doing just sitting there? Attack these-” A fearsome snarl cut the High Priest off.

“ You don’t get to talk to him, you piece of shit. You don’t deserve to talk to him,” There was a cold calculating anger in Tommy’s words, so different from the boisterous heat the kid would spout in arguments with his brother. The words were clipped, chilling, sharp as a knife. It brought with it the instinctual fear of the night, of the things that hide in the dark.

As terrifying as the sound was, High Priest Jericho had the gall to laugh, a hint of hysteria under the bravado.

“Technoblade is mine, you blasphemous brat. Body, mind, and soul,” The High Priest scoffed and Technoblade looked at his clenched fists, not wanting to look up and see the High Priest. “He is the Blood God’s, forever, which means he is mine to control. I can speak to him whenever I-”

Multiple snarls in the air had goosebumps run up and down Technoblade’s arms.

“Technoblade does not belong to you,” Wilbur said. Technoblade swallowed hard as Tommy gently rested his arm over his shoulders.

“Really? I thought I already explained that to you,” The High Priest sneered, though the shakiness in his voice belied his fear. 

“Choke on a dick,” Tommy spat, holding tighter to Technoblade.

“Technoblade,” The High Priest said evenly, with only the slightest tremble. “Kill that brat that has his unclean arm around you.”

Technoblade stiffened at the order, finally looking up to stare at the High Priest. The nobles shrunk away from the High Priest, fearfully glancing at the Sleeping Empire’s forces. The High Priests' eyes were filled with manic desperation and spite. Technoblade wanted to shrink beneath the gaze. He…knew what was about to happen. He had tried for so long to avoid it. Maybe it was not something he could ever have avoided.

“I can’t,” Technoblade croaked, not looking away from the High Priest. Hoping the man would have some humanity and realize that Technoblade couldn’t , not wouldn’t. He was injured. He was tired. He wasn’t armed. He had no armor. He had already lost. What could any reasonable person expect him to do? 

“I see,” The High Priest’s tone was clipped, a facade of remorse on his face. Tommy gripped tighter on to Technoblade, flinching when his hand brushed against the metal cuff through Techno’s sleeve. “Then, Technoblade-”

“Dad, you didn’t get the brace-”

“Shit!”

Kill Theseus

Technoblade took a deep breath as the bracelet grew hot.

He had spent too many sleepless nights imagining what it would feel like if the bracelet was activated. How could he not? It was the sword of Damocles, constantly swinging over his head. But what it would feel like was unknown. It's not like there was anyone alive that could describe it to him. On his better days, he tried to ignore the weight of metal and the intent behind it. But many times he would find himself waking from a nightmare, absolutely sure that he was nothing more than a doll. That he was already lost. That even as his body moved and breathed, he was long gone. The perfect puppet, a shell of who Technoblade once was. 

He had wondered if he could fight it off. If the tendrils that intended to steal away his consciousness could be beaten back by his very willpower. Because his stubbornness had to win him something other than a smack across his face for a flippant retort. Or, if he couldn’t fight it off…would it hurt? Would he feel his consciousness shredded to threads while the High Priest paraded his corpse around the cloister as an accomplishment? Or would it be like he was trapped in his own mind, helpless as he watched his own body move? Would he howl and scream in the confines of his head, his body as a prison he could never escape?

Yeah, it was something that had kept him up at night. Something that gnawed at his nerves when he was awake. The unanswered questions about a fate he was desperate to escape. But he didn’t ever really think it would be like this .

This was sudden, like a flip of a switch.

Like the moment when you fall asleep, unremarkable and unnoticeable. One moment conscious of the blankets and pillow, the next wrapped in the arms of dreams.

One minute Technoblade was there. His fear, his pain, his regrets.

And the next, well, he was gone.

…

It was an absence of everything. No thought. No feeling.

It wasn’t peaceful because he had no understanding of conflict.

It wasn’t calming as he had no concept of dissent.

He had eyes that could see, that did see, that tracked his own hands as they struck out to push Tommy away from him. But he didn’t feel his palms press against Tommy’s chest, nor the rough rope rub against his skin. The break in his wrist didn’t register. He didn’t feel the polished marble under his knees as he tried to stand. He didn’t think about the consequences of his actions. He didn’t think at all.

He simply didn’t exist . The only thing that existed was Kill Theseus .

For a moment. Only for a moment.

NO!

Like barbed hooks, the voices began to dig into his mind, agony shattering the nothing as the voices pinned his consciousness down like a bug on a display. Stretched and taut as the endless void of Kill Theseus threatened to drag him down into the emptiness. A tug-o-war between the unnatural stillness of his thoughts and the angry mob's obsession. 

ABSOLUTELY NOT

We do NOT want this

TECHNOSUPPORT

He’s Ours!

His hands slipped from the knots tied to keep his hands bound. The rope falling from his wrists as his body moved of its own accord. Bright blue eyes wide with shock as he lunged.

Ours! Ours!

Someone kill the High Priest or Something! Hurry!

We do not accept this!

He didn’t feel the hand that wrapped around his wrist, arm pulled harshly. It should probably have hurt as it jerked his whole body off balance. Dark green robes obscuring his view of the room. 

Mods! Where are the mods? 

You can’t have him! He’s not yours!

E!

Ours! Ours!

Toppling backwards, his sleeve was pushed up and Technoblade swung his free arm at the face above. Blond hair and ice blue eyes not reacting as the punch hit squarely on his cheek.

Get it off! He belongs to us!

How dare they try to take him!

Ours! Ours!

Murder the High Priest, already!

The hand around his wrist shifted, wrapping tightly around the metal band. Another hand grabbing his free arm, an arm wrapped around his shoulders to prevent him from moving. 

Ours! Ours!

A single finger slid under the metal, pressing harshly on his arm to make room beneath the band. A trickle of blood as a sharp fingernail nicked the skin.

Ours! Ours!

oURS!

Mine.

Like a harpoon reeling in its prey, Technoblade’s stomach swooped as he felt his being ripped away, thoughts scattered as they tried to make sense of all the incomprehensible sensations.

He clenched his eyes shut as he desperately wheezed for air. He couldn’t stop shivering, and with every tremble he felt something digging deeper and deeper into his skin. Like a constricting snake, more and more he was crushed by an unseen force. Only unseen because he had his eyes closed , though. He needed to look. He needed to see. Before he was crushed into nothing.

Hesitantly, he blinked open his eyes, instantly blinded by the too bright blue sky above his head, not a cloud to shade him. A pained whimper escaping his lips as whatever bound him squeezed tighter. He blinked away tears, from pain and from the bright light.

Something wet and warm rubbed over his brow, leaving behind a sticky residue that smelled of decay and rot. Technoblade gagged and something roping and sharp wrapped tightly around his throat. Unbidden tears escaped his eyes and ran down the side of his cheek.

Shhhhhhhh. Yes, I imagine this is quite painful ,  Technoblade flinched as the voice entered his mind, amusement apparent in its tone. Once more, the same noxious touch slowly swiped over his brow. But it is necessary. Better a moment of pain than an eternity of oblivion .

Technoblade blinked rapidly, trying to clear the blurry moisture that blinded him. Movement from the corner of his eye drew his attention. He glanced at it the best he could, only able to move his head a few inches.

Red poppies, gently swaying in the wind. 

That-that seemed familiar.

The stem around his neck tightened, causing him to cough desperately for air.

Red liquid trickled into his eye as once more the touch pet his brow.

Lay still. It shouldn’t be much longer , the voice nearly purred. Not much longer now. You can endure this much . 

Tears fell freely now and Technoblade didn’t try to clear his sight, merely watching the wind toss the flowers side to side through watery eyes. He fought back a sob as the pain seemed to increase with every breath. Each gasp of air was desperate and each inhale was agony. Technoblade had too much to focus on to really notice where he was at first.

His head was laying on something. Something with a little too much give under the weight of his head for it to be the ground. And through the tears, he could see there was more than just flowers in front of him. Along the ground there were two legs, elegant red trousers trimmed in complicated gold patterns that would make any priest envious. But there were no shoes, only hooves where the feet should be. Blood spatter covered the legs like paint. 

Technoblade’s head was in someone’s, or something’s, lap. Everytime his breath stuttered in his lungs, once more the awful feeling would swipe across his face. It could almost feel comforting if it weren’t accompanied by a deep feeling of horror and stickiness.

Technoblade closed his eyes, the sight of the shifting flowers and unknown person not helpful as he focused on just drawing breath. The plants rubbing against each other sounded like whispering, giggling, a refrain of “ Ours! Ours!” on loop. But after some indescribable amount of time filled with pain, the thing under his head shifted and Technoblade blearily opened his eyes.

A hand reached over him. The skin sloughed off and coagulated into a glob of flesh before splashing on the ground with a strange sizzling. Instantly, the flesh grew back, this time fuzzy with short fur before seeming to fall off the appendage once more, muscle and sinew visible. Then just as before, the skin grew back, this time a putrid sickly green before repeating the cycle.

Technoblade whimpered as the hand rested its palm over where his heart would be, if it weren’t encircled by thorn covered flowers. 

Be still. You should be grateful to me. For it is I that protected your sanity when those that belong to Her couldn’t protect you , The voice bounced in Technoblade’s head once more. Though their mistake and my captors' arrogance does present an opportunity.  

The hand seemed to glow, a haze of crimson and Technoblade would have screamed if he could draw breath. His chest burned, like he had lit his heart on fire. But when the arm drew back, the pain was doused. Almost as if it was never there. Except, his heart somehow felt heavier.

Technoblade heard a chuckle and the hand moved to cup his cheek. Technoblade shuddered at the feeling.

Remember this moment when you are forced to choose. Remember whose hands held you .

Hesitantly, Technoblade followed the arm with his eyes, scanning up to the elbow, further up to the shoulder, up to the face-

Technoblade’s horror was soundless, breath trapped in his throat from fear. As he saw his own face, but with the skin from his cheek seeming to melt away as he watched, the teeth visible like a cheshire grin through the flesh. The actual expression was blank, unemotional, except for a strange glint of possessiveness from eyes that cried crimson. As he watched, a tusk grew from the being’s skinless jaw, jutting out in with blood dripping from the tip.

A hand, dripping in stinking gore covered his eyes, blocking his sight as his breaths came fast and panicked. The light of the day peaked through the gaps of the being’s fingers, filling his vision with crimson light.

Remember, you are mine. You have always been mine. And I will not lose you again so easily , The being near purred, but the rumble caused the very ground to tremble. 

The stems squeezed him so tightly that he couldn't breathe at all, his chest couldn’t rise or fall to take in air. He tried to struggle, but not a single twitch was allowed. He could only stare into the crimson blindness as he grew more and more lightheaded.

Dots started to fill his vision and the crimson seemed to glow brighter and brighter. The shade faded lighter and lighter. What once was the deep color of blood grew more vibrant and closer to the soft petals of a fresh spring rose. The black spots grew bigger, filling the edges of his vision with the red seeming to glow in the center. The red blob pulsed, taking shape out of the haziness of Technoblade’s thoughts. A few dots of black interspersed in the red coalesced into what seemed to be slits? Eyes, maybe?

Technoblade blinked. He-he could blink. And the blob of red seemed to swing from right to left, taking shape in his vision as he recognized the shape.

A heart. 

Faintly, he heard a woman’s laughter as he studied the heart. Yes, those could be considered eyes on the shape. It was-the heart was hanging on a black leather cord, gently swinging side to side, the glow slowly fading. A necklace? And-and the background wasn’t black anymore was it? It was a dark green. Technoblade blinked again, brow pinching in confusion as he examined it. It was-fabric? Yes, he could see the wrinkles as the fabric shifted. 

He blinked again at the movement, feeling a gentle squeeze on his arm. He glanced over, seeing a hand on his wrist. No, not specifically on his wrist. It was gripped onto a metal cuff. Thick black veins of corruption seeping into the metal as the slight glow around the iron seemed to spark and fade. And before his eyes, the metal seemed to flake and disintegrate into black dust and rust, falling onto the floor with little fanfare. Until Technoblade’s wrist was free, only a garish scar was left in its place.

Technoblade blinked again in confusion before realization struck.

The cuff! The-the curse! His eyes widened as he stared at the now empty spot on his wrist.

“You alright, mate?” Technoblade didn’t answer, still transfixed. The hand on his wrist squeezed gently. “Mate? I’m gonna need some kind of verbal confirmation.”

Technoblade blinked and glanced at the voice, the Emperor. He was kneeling, quickly stuffing the heart shaped necklace under his robe. He was looking down in concern. Technoblade  noticed the many aches and pains of his body start to come back to awareness, a strange prickling over his skin like when a limb falls asleep. He winced.

“Ow,” He croaked, incredibly eloquent as always. His voice felt scratchy. A snort had him looking upward.

“That works, I guess,” Emperor Philza chuckled. Technoblade just blinked at him, confused.

“Dad, what the fuck! You were supposed to-” Tommy started, before being cut off with a look.

“Shut. We will discuss it later,” The Emperor reprimanded. Gently, he lowered Technoblade’s arm to his lap. His fingers twitched, but he didn’t have the energy to move. Technoblade’s eyelids felt heavy and if he wasn’t leaning against Tommy he would probably fall over and go to slee-

Screaming jolted him awake and he turned toward the noise.

The nobles were all struck with looks of horror, one or two bending over to puke. But the screaming wasn’t from them. They seemed locked in silence, legs weak and shaking from fright. Technoblade noticed Wilbur, wiping his hands on his pants, a look of satisfaction. And then Technoblade finally found the source of the shrieking.

The High Priest was collapsed on the ground, right arm ripped off at the elbow. No, not ripped. It was like it had been crushed at the elbow. The remains of the joint were visible and shattered, pieces of bone fragments sprawled in the growing puddle of blood. Strings of sinew hung from the stump as the High Priest grabbed at it. The flaps of skin were unevenly ripped, squishing underneath the priest's fingers.

Technoblade winced as the voices in his head made themselves known again.

Deserved.

Deserved.

Absolutely deserved.

E!

The High Priest sobbed, curling into himself as he wailed nonsense. Maybe in prayer, maybe just in pain. 

“This has all been incredibly dramatic, and I’m not usually one to turn down a little bit of chaos. But I do have better things to do. So, how about we wrap this up, yeah?” Emperor Philza said, finally stepping up on the dias. Wilbur gives his dad a little salute before hopping down and walking to get closer to the nobles.

King Dante puffed himself up, the forced bravado brittle as the king’s hands shook. His face was set in an imperious mask. But Technoblade wasn’t paying attention to his face. Instead, he was watching the growing energy around the crown. It shivered violently, thrashing back and forth vigorously, giving off a sense of cruel delight.

“You have no right to invade the home of the Blood God’s divine chosen voice! His mouth piece! His-”

“You actually believe that, don’t you?” Emperor Philza snorted, shaking his head. 

“Of course I believe in the gifts of the Blood God! I-”

“Gifts?” Emperor Philza’s tone was withering as he paced. “Gifts aren’t stolen. You weren’t given shit.”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” King Dante clenched his teeth.

“Well, I guess that’s not entirely true, is it? You were given a book,” Emperor Philza stalked around the King, watching every twitch. “A very old book. A book that teaches very old magic. But you weren’t given it by the Blood God. No, I’m pretty sure the Blood God gave all of his attention to your brother, right? I seem to remember quite a show at his coronation.”

The aura around the crown swelled, Technoblade tasted iron on his tongue. He glanced briefly at the nobles’ reactions, frowning. They seemed fixed in place in fear, but their eyes latched on Emperor Philza. Technoblade stared back at the obvious magical display that seemed to grow around King Dante’s head. 

“Though, to be fair, you didn’t invite me to your coronation. It would have made your actions much more obvious.”

King Dante was silent, but his gaze burned.

“Oh, I struck a nerve,” Emperor Philza snickered. “Anyways, I don’t care why you thought it was a good idea to bind down a god in metal and magic-”

“I would never do such a thing. You-you blaspheme the Blood God’s will-”

“The Blood God’s will? What would you know about the Blood God’s will?” Emperor Philza sneered. “Oh, is it because of that fun little prophecy?”

“You-!”

“I wondered if you actually believed it. Or if you made it up. Because I know a thing or two about gods. And all of them are vindictive as fuck ,” Emperor Philza emphasized. “So why would a god give you, the man who stole their power for his own gain, a prophecy that benefited you?”

“I never-”

“Shut-” Emperor Philza stopped his pacing right in front of King Dante. “I truly don’t care about your lies or your delusions. What I want to know is the whereabouts of the man who gave you that book?”

King Dante glared, taking a deep breath.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Really?” Emperor Philza tilted his head to the side. King Dante pursed his lips tightly, not backing down. Which Technoblade could almost admire. 

Fast as a striking snake, Emperor Philza hand reached out and grabbed the crown on King Dante’s head. The energy swarmed and swirled, cracking and sparking with a fell light that suddenly had the nobility screaming, pressing against the walls of the throne room. 

Then it stopped. Dante scurried backwards, tripping over the hem of his clothes. 

Emperor Philza held the crown in his hand. It still writhed with energy, but slowly calming 

Technoblade clenched his teeth as sudden desire, sudden need to hold the crown threatened to overwhelm him. But he couldn’t move. He slumped heavier against Tommy, the blond adjusting Technoblade’s weight.

Emperor Philza examined the crown for a moment before tossing it to the side haphazardly. It bounced roughly off the dias. Technoblade cringed as he watched it roll further away from him. 

“Please! Please I just took the book. I don’t know anything.”

“I know that’s not true. A little bird told me they were here recently.”

“I swear. I swear I don’t know anything!”

“You do. The Blood God’s power might have protected you from the worst of Wilbur’s manipulation, but not all of it. Not when it benefited the god. You don’t have that protection now. So I will ask you directly.”

Emperor Philza wrapped his fist in the front of the King’s shirt, lifting him easily.

“Where is the bastard who gave you the book? That showed you how to bind a god?” Emperor Philza growled. “Where is the bastard who took and bound my wife ?”

Previous | Next

[poshfind]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: MICHAEL MICHAEL KORS Army Green Ruffle Trim Babydoll Tankini & Hipster Bottom XS.

[lvebug]

she's doing the most to only make his entrance worse, with a hand tugging at his shoulder and another hand trying to get a grip just above his elbow. it's not her intention. her intention is to help, to guide him in through the window and onto sable ground, but there's not the space for them both and he's twisted like a pretzel at an awkward angle.

peter turns to her, standing on his own two feet now, and tugs his mask off to reveal his mop of brown hair and frantic eyes.   "oh it's not that bad."   she offers, reaching up to pat down a flyaway tuft of hair.   "it usually helps to, like, swing through in like an arc. you'll get it."   her smile at him is wide and genuine and hopeful. practice makes perfect, after all.   "tommy is at the store. do you want anything? i can text him- WAIT!"   she stops in her tracks halfway down the narrow hallway towards her room, to spin on her heels.   "you got me something?"

“nothing! nothing’s wrong with how your room is decorated!” it’s practically screamed into the receiver, eyes wide and large under the mask. way to go AGAIN! he’s handling this whole exchange with the grace of mysterio and the drones.

he tumbles through her kitchen window, crawling around her sink in what can only be described as soul crushingly embarrassing. it’s not his smoothest entry, phone tossed onto the counters, still on the line and cause a small amount of feedback between their two phones. there’s a groan as he finally comes back on his two feet, mask yanked off. “i don’t know how you do that every time. this has to be so much worse than just taking the door.” he shakes his head, hair finally free to toss about. “i had to pick something up for you, tommy home?” maybe they ought to move this to her room. his head pokes around, glancing out what he can see, eyes searching for some sign of her uncle or his belongings.

[grianeveryday]

sketches based off ena poses :D

[mizuboys]

introducing a small animal (creepypasta flesh horror joe) into the wild (beastlife tumblr)

[britishdisasters]

A massive rescue mission to get Afghans on the Taliban’s kill list out of the country is being done. It’s an independent mission and they’re raising money on gofundme.

Or go to

https://tinyurl.com/saveafghans

As posting this the donation fund is at 2.5million $

[greta-van-chaos]

The Reservation // Tommy lee

Summary | You and Tommy have dinner reservations but get sidetracked on the way there

Pairing | Tommy Lee x Reader

Word Count | 1.2k

Warnings | Smut, cursing, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it my dudes)

If you want to be tagged in upcoming posts you can join my taglist!

It's not every day that my notoriously energetic drummer boyfriend takes me out for a nice meal. Tommy is almost always busy, whether he's on tour or making music with the guys, he almost never gets a break, so being able to go out and enjoy a night of fancy, overpriced food is like heaven. We always dress as crazy as we can when we go somewhere fancy, just to make an impression.

As soon as he walked in the door after the tour I practically strangled him, I missed him so much. He was tired and sore from playing so we ran a bath - instead of the usual, drop everything and head to the bedroom - and, well, fucked each other's brains out.

"Are you almost ready?" Tommy calls from the kitchen.

"Yes, I'm just putting on some lipstick" I call back. I coat my lips carefully in a matte black shade of liquid lipstick and check my hair for flyaways. Once I'm sure I look presentable I head downstairs. Tommy is standing at the door and when he catches sight of me his jaw is on the floor. I picked out a tight black latex dress which is short enough that you can see the bottom of my underwear, fishnets that have gaping holes in them - definitely not from Tommy ripping them off of me on multiple occasions - and black go-go boots. I picked out simple silver earrings and a studded leather choker, and straightened my hair.

"Well fuck... we might not make our reservation" He whispers. Tommy picked out a strappy leather vest and pants with heeled boots.

"Yes, yes we are"

"Oh come on, just a quickie before we go?"

I continue down the stairs and huff out a laugh when I reach him, pushing him back by the chest, to which he barely falters. "No Tommy, I have been waiting months for this"

He grabs my hips and brings his lips close to mine "And I have been waiting months for this" He kisses me slowly, contrary to his usual style. I grab the flaps of his vest and pull him into me and he shifts one of his hands to my hair, pulling it back so I'm looking up at him as we pull apart. I let out a low moan at the feeling of him pulling my hair and his eyes glisten. "You are so fucking gorgeous when you moan for me like that"

"Tommy- I- We have to go" I whimper, pushing at his chest.

"Fine" He offers a smile and lets go of my hair "Let's go" He whispers into my ear and smacks my ass as I open the door.

"Can you drive?"

"For sure baby" Tommy winks at me and gets into the car. Once we've both got our seatbelts on Tommy groans. "Oh for fucks sake" He laughs

"What's wrong"

"I think I might need a favor y/n"

"Anything, what do you-" I look down and there's a more than noticeable bulge in my boyfriend's pants. "Ohhh,"

"Would you be a dear and-" He nods towards his lap.

"The reservation" I whimper under my breath and then shake my head, we'll make it, he's quick when it's oral. I unbuckle my seatbelt and then his before helping him shimmy off his pants far enough that his dick is out. He smiles at me and grabs my hair as I lower myself onto him, taking him into my mouth. His hips stutter almost immediately and so I use both of my hands and begin bobbing up and down at a fast pace. He's pulling my hair up and down as I go and all the while he's moaning my name.

"Oh fuck- y/n don't stop, fuck" He starts lifting his hips to meet my rhythm and I gag a few times but in the end, he's cumming down my throat and then pulling me up by the hair so he can look at me. "You're an angel, a fucking angel" He kisses me hotly, my lipstick smears all over his lips and is most likely smeared on his dick. When he pulls away his eyes darken "Get in the back on all fours."

Without question, I clamber into the back and rip off my underwear, casting them aside. I'm shivering with anticipation as Tommy crawls into the back behind me. I feel his long hair tickle my thighs and when I look back I understand. "Tommy, what if I hurt you?"

"Sitting on my face won't hurt me, now lower down a bit or I'll make you" I do as he says and lower myself down onto his mouth. He locks his arms around my thighs and I hold myself up against the window.

I moan as he thrusts his tongue into me "Oh fuck, Tommy!"

He laughs against me and it reverberates through my entire body. He continues to push his tongue in and out of me and I grind on his face, his mouth glistening with my slickness and his own spit. He digs his fingers into the soft flesh of my thighs as I grind harder and push myself onto him. "Mmm, you're so hot baby" He mumbles against me.

My breathing become sporadic as I chase my orgasm "God- please-" I huff and make a squealing noise when Tommy starts to circle my clit with his fingers "I'm so close"

"Cum for me, love" He mumbles, once again struggling to speak. I brace myself against the car door and unravel completely, soaking Tommy's face with my wetness. He slaps my thigh twice, signaling me to move so he can get up. Instead of getting back in the drivers seat Tommy is pulling down his pants and hiking up my dress so it rests above my hips.

"Tommy what about the-" I flatten my hands against the window as he pushes into me and let out a growl like moan.

"Yeah, yeah, the reservation, we'll make it, don't worry" He grunts

I start pushing back against him and when our hips meet he hits my g-spot. Tears start welling in my eyes and can feel my inside tighten with each thrust. "Fuck-" Tommy grabs my hair - he loves to use it to move me how he pleases - and pulls me against him, sliding a hand around my stomach to hold me up. The car windows start to fog up and Tommy takes the hand that was in my hair and wraps it around my neck. Tears are now steadily streaming down my face as he fucks me into oblivion and I cry out when his hips stutter.

"Fuckin hell, you're so hot"

"Tommy" I whine "I'm gonna cum"

We both climax in unison and my whole body shakes through my orgasm. When Tommy pulls out his cum along with my slickness slides down my thighs. "Let's clean you up" He murmurs - more to himself than to me - and he grabs a few tissues, wiping away the residue of our sex. He kisses the top of my head when he's done. "Ready to go baby?"

"Yes, let's fucking go" I exclaim and we both get into the front.

"That was amazing" He sighs "We should do this more often."

[stagandsteer]

vetted reliable links for anyone able to support emergency services and food to refugees fleeing for safety in Afghanistan there are some UK based and some US. give if you can. the people are in grave peril.

https://linktr.ee/Faeiza

UPDATING Google Doc with many, many resources to support:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12CuBRUsTv2cn3vJmm5ULrC_G_vlcS_z-W8Nr96hAe6w/htmlview

these links are at each organization’s instagram or at the linktree posted above. there is also this amazingly massive worldwide crowdfunded airlift rescue mission, which is one place I’ve donated. they are directly funding flights, all the costs incurred such as fuel and security, to airlift at-risk and targeted people, families, journalists and activists out of Kabul. I’ve seen a lot of gofundme’s but never seen anything like this. https://www.gofundme.com/f/flyaway-emergency-afghan-rescue-mission

[staysaneathome]

The Collection

(An Entity-swap WIP, where the swap is the places the Entities hold in the world rather than the people who serve them)

“Something happened to you, didn’t it?”

The man asking him this looks too nice to be here. Fancy suit, fancy hair, fancy clean face with a smug smile. Too clean for the miserable day outside the library, where even the patrons who are in teacher and businessman clothing have flyaway hairs and rain on their shoulders and mud on their trousers.

Jon’s hands tense on the book in his hands, crumpling pages about exotic spiders, giant spiders, spiders that hide in the ground and in the trees, but still not big enough, not sinister enough to be the Spider, the one that—that—

He shudders. “Maybe. Why are you asking?”

The man’s smile grows. He looks far too pleased at Jon’s question, more pleased than any other adult has. “Because I recognized it. When something happens to people, something that everyone else says couldn’t have happened, that you must have been making it up, that the things you saw can’t exist.”

The man leans forward. His eyes are so, so, so bright. Jon’s heart is in his throat and he feels slightly sick. “I believe you, Jon. I know what happened to you. Would you like to know, too?”

Jonathan Sims toddles out of Bournemouth Library, following the man who he never told his name to.

His grandmother spends twenty minutes asking, then haranguing, then begging the library staff for the whereabouts of her eight year old grandson.

Even the witnesses who thought they saw the boy coming in and talking to someone can’t recall a detail about when or how he left, as if some magnetic force directed their eyes to look anywhere else. The cameras spool looped footage, the child there and then gone, as if into thin air.

Jonathan Sims is eleven when he escapes the Collection.

The man didn’t lie to him, is the thing. He knows what Mr. Spider is now. Knows about the Web, about all the rest of Smirke’s fourteen. Knows what a Leitner is. Knows what happened to Tommy after he entered that door, knows it with an intimacy that makes him ill when he thinks too long about it.

But the man didn’t tell him until much later that in return for learning, for knowing, Jon wouldn’t be allowed to stop. That he’d have to keep going, and going, and going, until he can hardly think for all of the awful, awful things he now knows, until the only things that can spill from his mouth are all the stories and secrets he’s learned, in voices that barely sound like his.

It’s changed him. He Knows this. Knows he used to only be able to stomach one story a day, when he looked pitiful enough to wheedle someone into telling it to him.  Now he only needs to Ask the Right Question (and he somehow always Knows what that is, always) and not even all the horrors and experiences of a person’s whole life feel like enough to him, anymore.

The man likes him best, out of everyone in the collection, everyone who stands before him and recounts what they’ve drawn out of their—their prey, feeding on tales of misery and suffering and fear. He calls Jon “my prized Recorder”.

Elias was the last one who was prized before him. Sallow and shaking, always staring at Jon with an expression like disgust, like resignation, like fury. Jon initially thought the teenager had hated him, when he first arrived, when he didn’t know any better.

Now he’s the one with the fancy suits, fancy hair, fancy clean face but with the wrong bright eyes staring out eagerly, fixated on Jon.

He knows he’s next. That once he’s got enough stories in him, once he knows enough, that the man who was known as James before, and now as Elias, will take him aside to the Head Collector’s office, and it will be his turn to come out with wrong bright eyes and fancy clothes and hair.

He tells this to Sasha James, nineteen years old and the closest thing to his friend here, brought into the Collection at fourteen in trade for the key information her father needed to publish his thesis. She had shivered under the thin blankets they used to share and hugged him tight. “It’s okay Jon. It’ll be okay. I won’t let that happen to you.”

But then Sasha is sent out to gather a specific story, learn all about a certain life, absorbing more and more of it until her face doesn’t look like her own anymore, until her mannerisms and personality are that of a total stranger, until she stares blankly at him and answers only to the name “Alexandra Rhodes, of the Orsinov Institute”. And Jon realizes his friend is gone.

He hopes this realization will make it hurt less when she stops coming back to the Collection altogether. It doesn’t, and he shivers under the thin blanket alone.

He needs to get out.

He’s careful to keep that information embedded among more “harmless” memories of terror that he learns instead of tucked away like he wants to. The Watcher he and the others feed loves uncovering secrets, but it’s possible to hide in plain sight from it, if you pretend like you aren’t hiding what you want to hide at all. It’s hard, since Jon’s never been good at lying, but he tries not to think too much about it and is glad he already had the nervous habit of ripping up things as he tears bits of cloth from his blanket.

The Collection moves around, so its searchers can bring in new stories for their patron. On special occasions before they leave a certain area for a good while, there is always a “live account” from some poor sap in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The man who used to be Elias is the one who asks the Question at these events. Everyone will be just as blindly riveted as he is once the speaking starts, so if Jon can use that...

As the young man named Timothy Stoker opens his mouth and begins recounting every thing that he’s ever seen, thought, wondered, believed, experienced, lived, Jon stuffs the strips of cotton into his ears. The blindfold is tight, and he’s scared he’ll bump into something, that he’s misjudged the distance to the door despite counting it out to himself over and over these past few weeks.

Fourteen steps to the exit. Twist the doorknob, left, then right, then left again to open. Move the big brick in front of it so it will stay closed a little bit longer when it shuts.

Then he’s tearing off down the street, pavement harsh and sharp and wet under his tender soles, not Knowing for once where he’s going or what he’ll do when he gets there.

[rihansu00]

"We are coming to you in desperation to conduct an emergency flight rescue of 300+ Afghan souls. I have been working alongside humanitarian aid groups, decorated military veterans, and activists on the ground in Kabul, fighting to save people who otherwise have no chance at survival in the Taliban-occupied Kabul.

The individuals in question are high-value targets - Afghan men and women who have worked as human rights lawyers, champions of Women’s and LGBTQ rights, journalists, government liaisons, artists, and interpreters - all of whom are at imminent risk of being executed by the Taliban, along with their families. We will be taking full family units."