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zepskies · 7 months ago

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The Honorable Choice - Part 1

Pairing: Dean Winchester x OFC

Summary: June 1872. Captain Dean Winchester of the U.S. Cavalry is tasked with one job: break a wild mustang. He just didn’t expect the woman who infiltrates his camp, intent on freeing her tribe’s horse.

AN: I got inspired after a recent rewatch of Spirit: The Stallion of the Cimarron (literally a perfect movie), as well as having Yellowstone in the back of my brain. I thought this idea might be a good fit for this @jacklesversebingo prompt.

Disclaimer: I’ve done extensive research for this one, both on the American Indian Lakota tribe, and on American history during this time in the late 1800s (AKA: the Old West, during the American Indian Wars and the Sioux Wars). Of course, one of my main goals is to avoid inaccuracies, both historical and cultural.

Jacklesverse Bingo24 Prompt: Western AU

Song Inspo: The Spirit Soundtrack

Word Count: 4.6K

Tags/Warnings: 18+ only to be safe. Racism/racial slurs, attempted sexual assault (not successful), protective Dean, angst, some violence and some action.

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🎙️ Listen to the podfic version here!

Part 1: Pride & Prejudice

June 1872

Dean hears some of his men shouting, along with the telltale cracking of bone that would make a less seasoned soldier wince. He spares a look to Benny, his Lieutenant, and sets down his glass of whiskey.

Dean’s path takes him brusquely out of his office and toward the stables. He grabs his gun and his hat on the way there, setting the latter on his head.

Is it too much to ask for one night where he can drink in peace?

Dean comes to find a young woman being detained by two of his men, Kline and Novak. Roman sports a bloody nose and his eye is already beginning to swell. The woman fights against their hold.

Even under the pale moonlight, Dean notes the way she’s dressed: a deer skin dress cinched at the waist, over thin pants and shoes. He surveys her tan skin, her black hair that blends into the night, twisted into a long braid, and the anger in her dark eyes.

“What have we got here?” Dean says. He stows his gun in its holster as he approaches her, resting his hands at his belt.

“I caught her breaking into the stables, Captain,” Roman says. He prods with a hiss at his busted nose while trying to stem the bleeding. That’s going to be a bad break.

She remains tight lipped, stubborn.

“Probably doesn’t even understand English. Savage bitch,” he says. Dean shoots him an impassive look to cover up his annoyance.

“Put a cork in it, Roman,” he orders. Then, he focuses back on her. “You’re a Lakota, aren’t you?”

Aside from their main mission here in the Dakota Territory, the Colonel has been fixed on fighting back against the Lakota Indians, especially after they sabotaged the supply line last month.

The proud tilt of the woman’s chin is her only answer to Dean’s question. Her gaze drags down his form with disdain, like he’s the savage. His mouth twitches mirthlessly.

“The Lakota rear up their own horses pretty damn well. Why would you want to steal one of ours?” he asks.

She glances away from him, first at her feet, then over at the camp’s latest “guest.” Dean, Benny, and a few of his men wrangled up a horse a few days ago. He’s a beautiful Kiger mustang with a nasty mean streak. He barely got through a trim this afternoon, and almost took a chunk out of Rufus when he tried to brand the horse.

The Colonel ordered them to tie the horse up to a post just outside the corral—no food or water for three days. He’d turned to Dean with a firm set to his face and issued a single order.

“Break him.”

Now, Dean catches the furtive look the Lakota woman gives the horse, who flicks his tail. The animal stares right at her, as if into her eyes.

“Oh, don’t tell me you here for him,” Dean says with a chuckle. “That thing’s a little too much for you, sweetheart.”

That earns her attention, steely and unimpressed.

“He is too much for you,” she says. Her voice is smooth, and would even be pleasant, if not for the circumstances. “He is one of ours. You will never break him.”

Dean's eyes widen a fraction. He glances back at the mustang.

So that's why she's here, he thinks. She's trying to mount a rescue. Dean feels a twinge deep inside, but he can't allow himself to care about that. They've collected a strong horse that will be a good support for their objectives here, once he's broken.

“Ah, well see,” Dean says, tipping his Stetson up to meet her gaze. “That’s kind of our specialty.”

“Sir, should we take her to the stockade?” Novak asks. He seems reluctant to do so to a woman, even an Indian, but he’s always been good at following orders.

Dean opens his mouth to reply, but another voice cuts him off. Colonel Asmodeus Sanderson steps out and takes a look at their captive.

“Not the stockade,” he says, with that Southern drawl that betrays his Kentucky roots. “Not yet.”

He approaches her with a slow, calculated gait. His hands gather behind his back. Dean gives her credit for looking Sanderson in the eye. She seems rightly wary, but not afraid.

“We won’t hurt you. I give you my word,” the Colonel says, “if you’ll lead us to your people’s camp.”

He takes a hold of her chin, turning her face this way and that, like he’s examining a dirty animal, and all that he’ll have to do to make it clean. She spits in his face.

Dean bites the inside of his lip against a smile. She’s got as much fight in her as the mustang. However, he has to school his face back into stoicism when Sanderson rears back in anger.

The harsh smack rings out in the clearing, along with the woman’s cry. Dean doesn’t allow himself to outwardly react, but inside, his spine tightens as he fights his instincts.

Only Kline and Novak’s hold on her arms keeps her upright. She pants for breath, but again, she meets the Colonel with a face that doesn’t give away anything, despite the reddening mark on her cheek.

“The post,” he barks. “Three days. No food or water.”

Dean is kept busy by his duties. He makes sure the camp is running in order, accepting shipments of supplies and ammunition, among other things. Cas Novak is in charge of the stables, caring for the horses and putting them through their training. Jack Kline is young and strong and a good assistant, along with others in his unit.

Right now, Dean and Benny are going over the plans with Colonel Sanderson for continuing construction on the railroad, from here to the Black Hills. It’s a path that cuts straight through Sioux territory—the bands of Dakota and Lakota Indians that occupy the land.

“The natives are fightin’ us tooth and nail,” Sanderson says. “But maybe our guest will be able to help us…negotiate.”

Dean remains quiet, ignoring yet another uneasy twinge in his gut. He didn’t join the army to fight the Indians. He doesn’t always understand their way of doing things, but he understands why they fight—to protect their land, and to protect their own. It’s the same reason Dean fights, when he has to.

He joined the army because…well, it felt like the right thing to do at the time. His father had been a Cavalry Major, and he’d died an honorable death, now about a decade past.

Has it really been ten years? Christ.

Dean wipes his brow. Even with the windows open, the office is humid and smells like ass. He glances outside, where both the mustang and the woman are tied to their posts under a sweltering sun at high noon.

Not for the first time, Dean wonders what his dad would think of him now.

After the meeting, Dean and Benny fall into step together to inspect the camp. The summer sun shines hot on their blue uniforms, and occasionally they raise their hats to mop the sweat from their brows.

Things are running as usual, but many of the men’s eyes occasionally turn to the posts. Dean’s attention wanders there too without him realizing, catching on the woman’s dark hair. It shines even blacker in the sunlight, like a raven’s wing. He knows the shade because his dad used to have a feather kept in his journal, like a bookmark.

“You okay, brother?” Benny asks. Dean realizes what he’s doing, and his attention returns to the task at hand. Get it together.

Always forward, never backward.

“Just fine,” Dean replies. Benny gives him a knowing look.

“A bit unsavory, ain’t it?” he says. “Keeping her chained up without even a lick of water.”

“The Indians are getting smarter, bolder. They’re ambushing our men, going after our supply lines, and now, stealing our horses,” Dean says. “This is strategy.”

Benny shrugs slightly, making a sound of agreement. Dean hesitates, his gloved fingers flexing against his sides.

“If she was a man, you guys wouldn’t give a shit about putting a bullet through her head,” Dean says.

Benny’s gaze shifts downward. He doesn’t reply, but he concedes the point all the same.

They continue their route, and Dean keeps the rest of the conversation on the work at hand.

Mila has gone far longer without drink, but the sun is particularly unforgiving today. She’s prayed and prayed for even one cloud to glide overhead and shield her for a while. It’s not much better for her companion. He paces in place, occasionally tugging his head against the rope that binds him to his post.

She makes a clicking sound at the horse, getting his attention. She calls him by his name, and his ears flicker in her direction. He offers her a short whinny in response.

“I see you, Mato. I am with you,” she says in her native tongue. She hopes the sound of her voice will soothe him. He looks tired and hungry, but his eyes flick hard and untrusting on any man who comes near him. His spirit isn’t broken.

“Hey! Shut the hell up over there,” Roman shouts at her from where he and Cas are taking a short lunch break. Cas gives him a certain look, crossed mostly with annoyance.

Mila resists the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she closes them and tilts her face back to the sun. In a way, it feels cleansing. Maybe it can wash away the stench of the White Men’s hands on her body, manhandling her, checking her for weapons.

She spends the rest of the day watching the camp. One of their leaders, the Green Eyed One, called this a fort. It does look fortified, with tall walls made of thick wood constructed to form a cage—whether to keep others out, or to keep the men and horses in.

She identifies the Colonel as their chief, of a kind. Green Eyes is second in command, followed by the Bearded One with a strange voice. Even the scruffy Blue Eyed One has some authority, mostly over the Child Faced One. There are too many others to rank them all, but she knows the Loud Mouthed One is arrogant, even after she broke his nose. The way he carries himself, he clearly thinks he has more power than he actually has.

In her mind, Mila conjures up different plans of escape. All of them fall short in some way. The men didn’t find all of her weapons; a small knife is hidden deep in her boot. She could saw at her binds within an hour, but even with Mato to carry her out and away, the problem is escaping this camp without alerting the men. Without getting shot.

She has three days to think.

That night, the moon refuses to give her clarity. Her stomach is too empty, her throat too dry, her tongue thick in her mouth. Her attention shifts in and out of consciousness, until the sound of boots crunching in the dirt trills unease down her spine. More alert, she sits up straighter.

The Loud Mouthed One. The one they call Roman comes to taunt her, offering her water, then drinking for himself instead. He comes closer to examine her. He has a small bind over his broken nose.

“You know, you’re a pretty one,” he says, taking another cold sip as his gaze drags over her form. “For a wild thing.”

His face nears hers, clean shaven, though his thin smile reminds her of a rattlesnake. Dread and repulsion churn at odds in her stomach as she realizes what he's really here for. It doesn't matter if he truly wants her, or just wants to pay her back for his face. Either way, he means to take her here in the dirt.

She looks away, not wanting to let him see her fear, or the dread tightening her stomach, rising into her throat. He winds long fingers into her hair. At first the hold is gentle, deceptive. Then it's tight against her scalp. She hisses in pain when he tugs her head back and forces her to look at him. Her breathing quickens as she tries to pull away.

He draws in close to try and claim her in a kiss, but she head-butts him, hard.

He cries out and stumbles back, his flask falling to the ground.

He angrily grabs her and hauls her up to her feet. He pushes her hard against the post and unbuckles his belt, just to stuff it in her mouth. With his free hand, he begins to undo his pants.

She refuses to cry out, even though she spits out his belt and fights him, trying to kick out his knees.

Suddenly, the man’s body is ripped away from her. Mila loses her footing and falls to the dusty ground, sliding against the wooden beam she’s tied to. The wind is knocked out of her, but when she raises her head, she watches with wide eyes as the Green Eyed One beats the other man into the dirt. It doesn’t take much, just a few well-placed fists.

Roman lies there catching his breath, and he spits a wad of phlegm and blood. His left eye will match his nose, that’s for sure.

Green Eyes looks angry and disgusted. He huffs and puffs while staring down at his subordinate. He pushes back his short brown hair and points an ungloved hand at Roman.

“Get back to the goddamn barracks. You’re gonna be mucking out stalls until shit’s coming out of your ears,” he growls.

Roman doesn’t argue, though it’s obvious that he wants to. He just picks himself up, makes a show of straightening up his open uniform jacket while catching his breath. He walks past Green Eyes with a resentful, angry look. Green Eyes watches him until he disappears inside.

Then, he turns to her. His gaze softens somewhat, but it’s still unreadable. He crouches down in front of her, resting his arms on his thighs. Mila’s gaze briefly falls to his hands. They’re calloused, the hands of a laboring man. He carries himself like a warrior.

“Sorry about that,” he says.

It’s not what she expected. Mila eyes him warily when he moves closer. She presses her back against the post until it hurts her spine. He raises up his hands placatingly.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” he says.

“That is what your Colonel said,” she says. Her voice cracks with dryness. “I didn’t believe him either.”

His lips flicker at a rueful smile. It wrinkles crow’s feet around his eyes, breaking his stony face.

“Fair enough.”

He reaches for his belt and retrieves a flask, similar to the one his subordinate carried. He extends it out to her.

“It’s water, unless you prefer whiskey. I know I do,” he says.

She raises a brow at him, but hearing the sloshing inside the flask, her thirst takes over her wariness, and even her pride. She tentatively leans forward. He brings it closer so she can press her lips to the opening. Despite his Colonel’s orders, he lets her drink as much water as she’s able. When she’s done, he pockets the flask and sighs, running a hand through his hair.

“What’s your name?” he asks.

That, she will not give him. Names are sacred to her people, and this man, while seeming to have a shred of honor, isn’t worthy.

“Don’t wanna even tell me your name?” he says. He nods slightly. “Okay, well, I’m Dean. Captain Winchester, to this band of delinquents.”

He gestures around the camp with a dismissive hand. Mila only watches him. She’s never seen a White act like this, breaking his leader’s rules, being…kind.

What a strange man.

But if he had any real convictions, he would untie her and let her go, along with Mato. She won’t hold her breath.

Dean’s brows raise up toward his hairline, and his full lips form a pout. Realizing he’s not going to get anything more from her, he lets out a tired huff and straightens up.

“Well, goodnight,” he says.

He finally leaves her alone, but she can’t help but follow the swaggering path of his bowed legs and heavy boots. They carry him away and back indoors.

A strange man.

By the morning of the third day, Dean is ready to do what he does best. Or at least, one thing he does best.

He’s no stranger to horses. He grew up on a farm in Lawrence, Kansas, where he and his brother would help take care of the animals. Dean was older, so he helped his father till the land and train the horses. Sometimes he and Sam would sneak off and race their favorite ones, until their mom called them back for dinner.

In fact, part of what earned Dean his rank in the U.S. Cavalry was how well he could command a horse. His own is resting in the stables.

Today, he’s getting in the ring with the mustang.

…Well, not right away. He lets a few of his guys go first to tire him out. Even after three days of no food or water, the horse is living up to his bad attitude. He bucks each of them off after just a few seconds in the corral. Dean can tell it’s becoming a kind of game for the horse. His dun-colored coat shines in the sun, his brown socked legs kicking up dust and manure as he brays angrily at whoever tries to mount him.

Dean notices the Lakota woman watching with an amused smile on her face while she sits with her hands tied to her post. She’s enjoying the show, like she knew this would happen. It seems to give her energy every time another man is thrown off the horse and limps out of the ring.

Dean shakes his head. Pitiful.

He puts two gloved fingers to his mouth and whistles the entire clearing to attention. He saves Kline the chance to bruise his spine and pats him on the shoulder. Dean steps into the corral and positions himself into the stirrups, wrapping the reins around his hand. The horse is breathing hard, but he’s not done. He’s still got fight in him. Dean sees it in his brown eyes.

“All right, mustang. You’re big and bad. I get it,” Dean says lowly. “But I don’t scare easy. Gimme your best damn shot.”

Cas and Benny give him wary looks from where they stand outside the gate.

“Hold onto your hat, Cap,” Benny mutters.

Dean adjusts his hat and rests his gun on the post for safe keeping. He wants to feel as natural as possible, like it’s just him and this horse, out back in his family farm. He holds on tight to the reins. He’s fully prepared for how the mustang takes off at a galloping clip around the ring. He twists and bucks, but Dean claps his thighs tight and holds on for the ride.

The horse gets smarter.

He runs for the water trough just outside the ring. He slams Dean against the side of it once, twice—and manages to throw him off, with Dean landing right in the water trough.

He bursts out from the dirty water, sopping wet and spluttering in anger. He looks over at the horse trotting around, whinnying and tossing his head like he’s laughing. Dean can’t help it. His anger fades, and he smiles.

This guy’s got some brass balls, I’ll give him that.

The Lakota woman laughs. Dean hears it and his head swivels toward her. She bites her lip, but she knows she’s been caught. Despite his injured pride, Dean’s lips curve with a smirk. Just gonna laugh at me, huh?

“I see things are going well,” comes a familiar drawl.

Dean’s face falls as he looks up and finds Colonel Sanderson. Dean pulls himself out of the trough and tries to squeeze some water out of his uniform. He clears his throat.

“Well, uh, it’s going, sir. Just gonna take a little more time than I thought,” Dean says. He quickly reclaims his hat from the ring, giving the mustang a smart berth. After he climbs back out, he goes over to the post where he left his pistol.

“Hold him steady,” Sanderson barks out the order, but not at Dean. The other men wrangle the horse back into the pen, where Sanderson climbs up and mounts the horse himself.

To his credit, he stays on longer than even Dean thought he would. The mustang gallops and circles. He tries slamming Sanderson on the sides of the corral, tries bucking him and bucking him, but the man clings on, even when his hat falls into the dirt.

The horse is exhausted. He eventually stops in the middle of the ring, panting for breath, his legs shaking slightly. Dean straightens at attention.

So does the Lakota woman, he notices. She looks worried, her brows furrowing.

Sanderson swipes a hand over his graying hair and moustache to collect himself. He raises his head with an arrogant smile.

“You see, gentlemen. Any horse can be broken,” he says. He kicks the horse with his spur. “Move along, mustang.”

To everyone’s amazement, the horse obeys him. He moves forward at a slow clip. All the men applaud, even Dean, belatedly.

“There are those in Washington who believe the West will never be settled,” Sanderson continues. “The Northern Pacific Railroad will never breach Nebraska.”

His gaze draws over to the woman. Her eyes are filled with tears as she watches the Colonel makes his rounds.

“A hostile Lakota,” he says in derision, “will never submit to providence.”

She stares back at him with steel in her watery eyes.

Dean doesn’t realize his jaw is clenched tight until he feels the strain in his jaw. He forces himself to relax, with his hand on his dampened belt.

“And it’s that kind of small thinking that would say this horse would never be broken,” Sanderson says. “Discipline, time, and patience. That’s all you need to level a wild thing.”

Just then, the horse stops abruptly.

“Mustang?” Sanderson asks in warning.

Dean tenses. He knows what’s about to happen.

“Sir!” he calls out.

But it’s too late.

The stallion revs and charges, bucking even wilder than before. He swings his head and rears back high on his hind legs with a powerful bray. Sanderson yells in fear and strain, but he stays on the creature’s back.

The horse’s angry eyes take on a darker shade of conviction. When all four of his hooves hit the ground, he finally bucks hard enough to get the Colonel off his back, though he still clings to the reins near the animal’s head. He comes face to face with the horse’s crazed eyes. His own are wide and full of terror.

Hot breath heats Sanderson’s face. Then the horse swings his head and tosses the man out of the ring. In the process, the horse falls on his side and shatters a section of the wooden beams that fenced him in.

While he shakes his head and gets his hooves under him, Dean and Benny help the Colonel up to his feet. His uniform is a wreck, and now, with a bruised body and likely a couple of broken ribs, the man is fuming.

Kline and Roman wrangle the horse’s reins and keep him more or less in place. The Colonel shoves Dean and Benny off of him. He reaches for his gun at his belt and aims it at the mustang. Dean goes rigid in shock, but he knows he can’t interfere. If he does, it could warrant some major discipline.

The Colonel pulls the hammer back on the revolver, but before he can pull the trigger, the sound of cutting rope and a feminine yell breaks the silence in the clearing. The Lakota woman pulls the Colonel’s arms down, and the gun goes off into the ground. Her elbow comes up quick to strike the man between the eyes. He careens back into Benny, who catches him.

Meanwhile, the woman swings up onto the mustang. She grabs a stronghold by the neck and barks something in her native language. It spurs the horse onward, and he breaks through the crowd of men at a gallop.

Dean watches with widening eyes and furrowing brows. “Shit!”

He runs to the stables where he finds Baby waiting for him. Her black coat ripples as she stamps impatiently.

“Come on, sweetheart,” he beckons. He leads the mare out of the stable, and after grabbing a coil of rope from the supply bench, he mounts her smoothly. With a subtle kick of his heel, she picks up speed to follow the mustang and his rider.

They’re already approaching the gate where the men are quickly trying to close it. There’s still a window of opportunity for escape, but not only is Dean on their heels, Roman also stands on a pile of crates filled with iron parts that are due to be shipped out in the morning for continued construction on the railroad. Roman holds a rifle. He trains his weapon on the woman, taking deadly aim.

Dean’s jaw clenches and his brows furrow. He knows then, in the breadth of a few seconds, that he has to make a choice. If he does nothing, both she and the horse are as good as dead.

Sam used to call him reckless, stubborn as the horses he spent long hours taming.

Right about now, his brother is probably right.

Dean reaches for his gun, aims, and shoots within the span of those seconds. Roman goes down before he even knows what hits him. His chest plumes with blood after he slides down the crates and flops heavy to the ground. His eyes stare unseeing at the crisp blue sky.

The mustang tears through the narrow opening in the gate, and Dean isn’t far behind. The woman is an excellent rider, far better than he expected her to be. She clings to the horse’s neck and mane, and she doesn’t even use the stirrups. She clings on when the horse leaps over rocks, and when she notices Dean tailing her, she urges the horse at an even faster gallop.

Dean’s face furrows with determination. Baby is built for speed too.

He gives her a little kick with his heel. “Come on, Baby. Go!”

He’s able to keep up with the mustang just a few yards behind, even when they reach rougher terrain, going further up and into a canyon. He follows them through every curve and dip, guiding his horse just as much as she's guiding him.

Dean takes his rope in hand and turns it above his head, but his attempt to lasso the mustang's neck fails; the woman saws straight through the rope with her knife.

"Damn it!" Dean mutters.

He's forced to let go of his frayed rope when he and Baby nearly careen off the edge of a cliff. His heart settles high in his throat as he grits his teeth, but he pulls back on the reins hard and leans in the opposite direction. Baby's able to bank left, saving them from a long way down to certain death.

They continue up the narrow path the mustang has trod ahead. It carves around and through the mountain.

Dean mentally grasps for a plan, aside from just keeping up. Without even a bit of rope, he doesn’t know how he’s going to slow the woman down without hurting her or the horse. He doesn’t want to have to use his gun.

Eventually, the canyon breaks into a patch of desert, and then, grassy plains and tall forest trees. The mustang begins to tire and slow to a stop. His rider murmurs soothing things to him, stroking his neck. She turns back to look at Dean over her shoulder in dismay. She knows she’s caught.

“All right, sweetheart. That’s enough,” Dean says.

He sidles up next to her and intends to grab the mustang’s reins.

That’s when her swift kick comes, dead in his forehead.

AN: And here we go! 😅 Feels right that November is Native American Indian Heritage Month. 🫶🏽 For that reason especially I've done my best to do the Lakota people justice, even in this little series and complete work of fiction.

There's a lot packed in this first chapter, and yep, I did borrow a bit of scene from one of the best scenes in Spirit as an homage. From here on out, we're literally going off road...

Next Time:

Dean falls out of his saddle with a yell, landing hard in the grass. The impact knocks the air out of his chest and his hat off his head, not to mention the pain that rattles down his back.

“Son of a bitch,” he wheezes, while trying to get back up.

The woman jumps down from the mustang’s back and all but leaps on Dean. Straddling his waist and grabbing a fistful of his collar, she lets out a battle cry and raises a small knife at him. It’s probably no more than two inches long.

Dean may be on the ground with a smarting forehead, but he’s still got the upper hand. He grabs her knife-wielding arm and whips out his pistol from his belt. Her eyes widen, and she stills above him. The gun lies between them, aimed for her chest. They’re both breathing hard.

Dean has a problem.

Looking into her eyes, soulful and brown, the slope of her nose and her full lips, parted with shock…

▶️ Keep Reading: PART 2

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heli-writes · 1 year ago

Text

A dragon's heart, part 7.

Pairing: Barbarian!Bakugou Katsuki x female!reader

Summary: The dragonblood tribe is known for being cruel, barbarian warriors that slaughter, loot and rape all places they pass through. They are feared among the villagers and even bigger cities. Having lost most of their women to a plague, they're trying to ensure their tribe's survival by kidnapping women from other places. However, they're not the only monsters in human form out there. When y/n experiences this first hand, she has no choice but to ask for help from no other but the barbarian leader Katsuki Bakugou himself.

Disclaimer: mentions of injuries, mentions of dead animals, hunting of animals, kissing, allusion to arousal

[Please don't read if you are sensible to or triggered by the topics mentioned above.]

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

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~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

„You shouldn't move yet!“, y/n says angrily. Katsuki is up and walking around camp. It seems as if he's getting ready to leave. Y/n follows him closely.

„Seriously! This wound is not even close to being healed yet. You can still rip it open again!“, y/n keeps scolding him but Katsuki simply ignores her. Y/n grips his arm and pulls it which has no effect on Katsuki whatsoever. He's just too strong.

Y/n doesn't give up yet. Quickly, she catches up to him and stands her ground in front of him. „I'm not joking, you need to sit down!“, she says loudly and stares up at him.

Katsuki almost laughs in her face. She's glaring up at him, anger twinkling behind her eyes. She has put her hands into her sides and huffs at him. Her cheeks are slightly red. He doesn't need to understand her language to know what she is saying. „I'm fine, you little shit. I've had worse injuries and went into battle with them.“, he grins at her. Y/n shakes her head in disapprovement and Katsuki ruffles her hair.

When they're all packed up, it's time to mount the dragon. This time, y/n pulls her up by herself and even helps Katsuki up with his injured leg.

Y/n doesn't want to admit it yet but she's growing more comfortable to ride the giant beast. She clutches the handle of the saddle a little less tight and even takes a closer look at the view.

She's never been this high before. Everything looks so small. Hungrily, she takes in the landscape around her. Now and then, she gleefully points out things to Katsuki.

Katsuki doesn't catch on the things y/n discovers but he's content watching her this excited. It's the first time she truly enjoys flying and her reaction makes him want to take her on a joy ride more often.

This makes an idea pop up in his head. He grips the reigns and y/n tighter and grumbles in her ear: "Hold on tight".

His deep voice sends shivers down y/n's spine. Her neck and stomach suddenly feel really hot. Before she can recover from this sensation, the dragon takes on speed. The wind makes her eyes water and she presses her legs into the saddle.

Suddenly, her sight turns and before she knows it, she's upside down in the air. It happened so fast, that she didn't even have time to scream. It's over just as fast again. Katsuki's booming laugh can be heard against the wind.

Y/n turns around to him and shoves his chest. "You asshole!", she yells half laughing. "Asshole, hm?", Katsuki repeats with a grin. He knows that's an insult. Y/n huffs. "Of course, you know that word.", she says sarcastically and twists around again.

Katsuki laughs again and pulls her closer to his chest. "You're naughty, eh.", he grins.

They fly only for a little while longer before Katsuki lands in a secured area. He leaves the dragon to rest and prepares for hunting. He secures his weapons and then gestures at y/n to come over to him. He gives her a hunting knife and a spear.

"Are we going hunting?", she asks him unsurely. She's pretty sure she will only stand in Katsuki's way but the man gestures to follow her. The dragon takes to the air and follows them as a small point above their heads.

Katsuki scouts the area looking for tracks. Y/n follows him trying to be as quiet as possible. Her father and mother took her hunting a few times and she learned that being quiet is essential to being successful. Once her father wanted to shoot a pheasant and y/n stepped on a branch scaring the bird away. While trying to conceal it, her father was really angry and she had to promise to gather vegetables for the entire family to make up for the lack of dinner.

She watches Katsuki closely. He crouches to the ground looking at the ground intently. Y/n knows what he's looking for. While she's not an expert at reading tracks, she knows how to identify tracks of certain animals: foxes, rabbits, deer, pheasants...

Wanting to help out, she looks around for tracks as well. It's hard for her untrained eyes to see more than leaves and dirt. She can hear Katsuki curse behind her.

Then, she finally sees something that might be interesting. An imprint of a hoof in the dirt.

"Katsuki, look!", she whispers excitedly and waves behind her. Katsuki stops his string of curses and walks over to her. Y/n points at the hoof print.

"Jackpot", he mumbles and gives y/n an appreciative pat on the head. His eyes follow the rest of the trail that y/n didn't notice. He gestures y/n to follow him which she does so on quick and light feet.

They follow the trail for a good half an hour. Eventually, y/n doubts that Katsuki even knows where they are going but every now and then she recognizes a hoof print in the dirt.

They arrive at the edge of a clearing. Katsuki gives her a hectic sign to get down and y/n quickly ducks behind a bush. Katsuki crouches next to her and readies his spear. Y/n lures over the edge of the bush and sees a flock of deer resting in the middle of the clearing. There's a mighty stag just in the middle of them.

Knowing Katsuki, that's probably what he'll aim for. Katsuki nudges her and gives her a sign to stay down and be quiet. Y/n nods and Katsuki gets in position.

The element of surprise is an essential part of the hunt, y/n knows that. She can see how Katsuki's brows furrow in concentration. He looks pretty like this, y/n thinks.

Then, he tenses his muscles getting ready to jump. Before y/n can blink, Katsuki's in the middle of the clearing. Even though y/n knew it was coming, his speed still surprised her. Y/n raises her head above the bush. Almost she gets run over by a fleeing deer.

Then she sees Katsuki ramming his spear into the stag and wrestling it to the ground. The stag tries to defend itself by throwing its antlers into Katsuki's direction but Katsuki throws himself onto the stag's side pushing its body and head down. Katsuki lets go of the spear and struggles to get his hunting knife out. When he has it secure in his hand, he expertly cuts the stag's throat.

Slowly, the stag's movements become heavier. Katsuki stays on top of it nonetheless. It seems as if he's whispering to the stag. Y/n gets up from her position at the edge of the clearing and walks closer as the stag takes its last breath. Katsuki puts his hand on the stag's head and mumbles in his language. To y/n, it seems as if he's saying a prayer. Katsuki closes the stag's eyes and gets up. He lowers his head in respect and y/n stays silent. This seems like a sacred ritual that y/n doesn't want to disturb.

When Katsuki raises his head again, his eyes meet hers. Y/n gulps. She doesn't really know how to behave in this situation. Katsuki removes the spear from the stag's side. He dips his thumb into the blood and draws a line on his forehead. He dips his thumb into the blood again and gestures for y/n to come over. He draws a similar line on her forehead.

"You're a successful hunter, too.", he tells her, "Without you, I wouldn't have found the flock."

Y/n looks up at him with those big, clueless eyes and Katsuki almost has to laugh again. He pats her head then turns to look at the sky. He whistles and the small point in the sky becomes bigger and bigger until the dragon lands at the clearing.

Katsuki drags the stag to the side into the shade. After that, they set up camp. The dragon is relieved of the weight it is carrying. Y/n and Katsuki stack the bags in a way that makes it easier to get ready to fly in the morning. When a bonfire is lit, y/n and Katsuki settle down to eat. They still have some leftovers from yesterday which they eat in silence.

The cold slowly creeps in once the sun has set. Y/n shivers and holds her hands towards the fire in an attempt to keep warm. Katsuki chews on a bit of meat as he watches y/n. Y/n rubs her arms. Katsuki swallows the last bite. Then, he grabs y/n's waist and pulls her over to him. Tucking her into his side, he drags his cape over y/n's body. Instinctively, y/n leans into his warmth and Katsuki puts his arm around her.

Unknown to her, Katsuki's heart starts pounding. Now's the chance to find out if she's interested in him like that, he thinks to himself. Slowly, he shifts and grabs her legs. Y/n is startled when she's suddenly pulled into Katsuki's lap.

Katsuki pulls her close and y/n's head rests on his chest. She can hear the beating of his heart and his raspy breath. Katsuki runs his hands up and down her arms and legs. Y/n's own heart starts to pick up. What is he doing?, she wonders.

When she looks up, his intense red eyes meet hers. There's a certain determination behind them that makes y/n swallow thickly. There's that warm feeling in her belly again.

Slowly, Katsuki drags his hand up her arm, along her shoulder, up her neck until it lies firmly against her cheek. Y/n's breath comes out heavy in anticipation. She knows exactly what is going to happen next. She'd be a fool not to notice how Katsuki's eyes flicker down to her lips.

Then, Katsuki pulls her face closer and presses his lips against hers. Electricity shoots down y/n's spine. It takes a second for y/n to react. Katsuki is just about to pull back in defeat when y/n jerks forward putting pressure behind her lips. She helplessly grabs onto the necklaces that hang around Katsuki's neck.

Relieve floods Katsuki's veins. His hand finds y/n's lower back and he pulls her closer, deepening the kiss. Y/n kisses him back more feverishly. Her arms snake around his neck and one of her hands find their way into his hair. Katsuki kisses back just as feverishly and he pulls her body flush against his.

He can feel the mounts of her breast against his chest and he feels blood rushing into all the wrong (or right?) places. He shifts y/n on top of him so she doesn't notice. It's not the right time for this.

He groans as he lets go of y/n. In all honesty, he didn't expect y/n to go all in like this. She did strike him as one of those shy, easily sexually intimidated girls. Seems like y/n hides a lot more behind her kind, soft eyes.

Y/n's cheeks are red and her breath comes out in slight puffs of air. Katsuki has to smirk at her disheveled appearance. He pulls her close once again giving her a quick, but deep kiss. When he lets go of her, she looks embarrassed.

"Seriously", y/n huffs, "what are you doing to me?".

Katsuki presses another kiss into her neck with a chuckle. He feels happy, triumphant even. This makes it easier on what comes next. He'll take her home and present her to his mother. Then, he'll take her as his mate.

He leans back stroking over her back as she leans into his chest. Bringing home a mighty stag and a woman to his people. How better can he prove himself worthy to be their leader? He's securing their future, no matter what comes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

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lostinwildflowers · 8 months ago

Text

To Befriend A Dragon

Shoto Todoroki x Reader

Summary: Shoto will always deny his father's wishes to find the rarest Mystery Class dragon out there. You're his long-time best friend, and you happen to have a dragon. Things grow intense as your dragon grows more and more hostile toward your friend.

Word Count: 7.3K (...oopsie)

Warnings: Best friends to lovers, idiots to lovers, fluff, mutual pining, smidge of angst if you look, jealous dragon(think Maximus and Flynn Rider), erm... Enji Todoroki mentioned, like 2 cuss words, and a small cut/blood mention

A/N: Hello my lovelies, I have emerged from my cave to finish this Shoto x HTTYD fic! I have been super excited about this one for a long time(like, April of 2023), and I really do love the plot. Be sure to give me your feedback, and please, enjoy!-Birch<3

Useful Info:

Scauldron

Inspo for wet Shoto(This isn't graphic, this is just a wet Shoto XD)

Part i. Romantic Flight- Katsuki Bakugou x Reader

Part ii. Dragon Island- Eijiro Kirishima x Reader

"Y/n!" the call came. It was light, not angry; soft, and yet still somehow loud enough to hear over the crashing of waves on the old wooden fishing docks.

"Y/n?" the call came again, less sure than the first time. It sounded like an ancient hymn, floating on the ocean's fine mist, disappearing just as soon as it arrived.

"Y/n, there you are," this time the voice was just behind you. It was the voice of someone you could spend your entire life listening to. Deep and rich at the same time, tranquil but firm in its timbre.

Your gaze was fixed on the moving waters in front of you, (colored) orbs scoping out every cresting wave, waiting. The gentle touch of a hand on your shoulder draws your attention away from the sea for a split second, long enough to see who was looking for your attention.

Unnaturally white hair. Unusually bright red hair. The locks were split down the center of his head, messy around his eyes, but delicate braids danced around the nape of his neck. One eye was a deep stormy grey, the other a piercing icy blue.

His smile was as warm as the summer rain that fell in the late morning. His posture was straight yet relaxed, just as he was trained. His presence and demeanor were kind, yet stoic.

Shoto Todoroki. Your long-time best friend.

It all started way back. Even further than the village could remember. Your cradles after birth were almost always next to each other growing up. The two of you spent almost every waking moment together as toddlers, mainly being raised by the village elders.

The pair of you spent hours playing on the light, sandy beach looking for unique shells or conches. Hiking through the woods to find interesting colored stones and lush mosses to build forts outside of your houses became an every-summer activity.

You even snuck out to watch the young vikings train their dragons in the middle of the night with the young Todoroki boy. When the flames stopped dancing in the sky, you both would gaze up at the stars, wondering what your lives would hold.

Yes, you had other friends as well, but none of them understood you as deeply as the two-tone-haired boy who you spent every day with. You were the finest of friends, no one could separate you two.

The one thing that could twist your whole relationship with the Todokori boy was the fact that he was the chieftain's son. The Todoroki Tribe was known for finding and taming the rarest mystery class dragons, the most dangerous of dragons.

Shoto's oldest brother had managed to find and tame a gnarly male Bone Knapper, while his sister gentled a Light Fury while traveling. Even Shoto's other brother trained a Changewing that had tried attacking the village.

But Shoto didn't have a dragon. He didn't want a dragon. He loathed his father for forcing such pressure on him, to find the rarest dragon yet and force it to respect him. Shoto didn't ask to be raised as the next leader of his village.

All he ever wanted was a normal life with you, his best friend.

But while Shoto didn't have his own dragon, which was an ongoing argument he had with his father, you did. Your family loved the sea, building a home on the water's edge so you could grow up right next to its murky depths. When you came of age, it was only fitting that a dragon of the water became your own.

When you were just eleven years old, a Scauldron drakaina laid her clutch of eggs on the beach just down the shoreline from your house. She was a gorgeous turquoise-scaled dragon, and her eggs reflected her light bluish-green colors.

You watched her tend to her eggs for several weeks, even going as far as to tend to her needs. You didn't mind making sure she had enough food, you were right next to the sea. You checked to make sure the eggs were warm enough and in a safe location where they wouldn't get crushed when she left to hunt.

When her clutch finally did hatch, one of them instantly chose you. Storm. He was born a deep, steel grey color when he hatched, and the color of his scales reminded you of a summer thunderstorm.

Over time, Storm grew into a large and strong Scauldron, with thick muscle that grew from his swimming in the ocean and eventual flights with you on his back.

As you grew older, so did Storm, the two of you forming a strong connection and bond as a dragon and rider. From the start, he was always a... well, opinionated dragon.

Yet, through it all, Shoto was nothing of supportive of you and your dragon, knowing that his father would never let him have a common dragon such as yours.

Years passed as you and Storm bonded and grew up, and Shoto continued to spend time with you. He would be there to watch you ride Storm, help you teach him a new trick, or even go fishing for the dragon.

Shoto would spend as much time with you as he could to escape his lessons, being the chieftain's son. Holding a bag of fish for you, helping you fit the saddle to his body, anything he could do to be near you. You and Storm were his escape.

"Y/n, there you are," the voice behind you rings out, and a slow glance over your right shoulder allows you to see Shoto standing still behind you, a small leather bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey, Sho," you say with a smile as you turn to face your best friend. "Did you bring lunch again?" you ask cheekily, trying to peak into the leather satchel on his shoulder.

Shoto's lip curls into what you can call a smirk. To the outside view, there was no change to the young man's face. A scoff falls from his lips as he moves to sit beside you on the edge of the wet docks, "You could call it that. What were you looking at? You seem kind of distracted, Y/n/n."

And distracted you were. You see, years of friendship with the youngest Todoroki boy did not leave you blind. He transformed from a boy into a teen into a man. His voice deepened, his shoulders broadened, and girls flocked to his door in hopes of catching his attention.

Shoto became evidently attractive, and while you tried to brush it off, he was a deadly combination. Sweet, maybe a little daft, and breathtakingly handsome.

A hand on your thigh catches your attention, and you jump at the warm touch, and you whip around to look Shoto in the eyes. There was concern on his angled features, a gentle furrow to his brow at the unusual scatter-brainedness of your actions.

"Are you alright?" he asks again, his low voice just barely more than a whisper as his bi-colored eyes bore deep into your own (colored) ones.

His grey eye reminded you of the scales on Storm's back. Dark, firm, unwavering. His blue eye reminded you of the sea. Piercing, knowing, deadly.

The intensity of his eyes paired with the concerned look on his face was enough for you to shake off your thoughts, placing your hand over his own. Your fingers graze his, and you take the push to thread them through his long digits.

"Just fine, Sho, I was thinking about Storm. I haven't seen him for a while since he went out hunting," is what you manage to croak out.

Shoto squints at you, uncertainty lacing his gaze. "You're lying," he states blankly as if it's a matter-of-fact statement. You huff at him in an almost-offended disbelief, turning to face the clouded blue water in front of you.

"No, I'm not," you grumble out, "I haven't seen Storm in almost two days, he usually comes back faster than that. I'm worried about him."

Shoto's grip on your thigh tightens a little bit as he squeezes the flesh there and replies, "I don't doubt that, Y/n. I think you're lying about being okay. You've been like this for a while now. What's going on with you?"

Deep down, Shoto was afraid you had found someone, or that your parents had found a nice young viking for you to get married to and you wouldn't see him anymore. You had been starting to pull away, and it scared him to death.

In reality, you were scared to death because you had just started to realize why your hands got shaky around Shoto. You had started to realize why his compliments made your cheeks burn and your voice weaken.

You liked him. But he was your best friend, you couldn't like him. He couldn't possibly like you like that... right?

You stay silent, so Shoto takes a moment to continue, "Y/n/n, I have spent every day of my life with you, I can tell when something is wrong." You regain eye contact with him, your lips parting as your thoughts raced through your head.

You could feel your heart pounding harder and harder with every second, the butterflies building and swelling in your stomach. The words were just on the tip of your tongue-

A roar splits and cracks the air open, an enormous wave of seawater heading directly for you and Shoto. You find the head of the dragon in an instant, and you let out a yell as the icy water coats you and the boy sitting next to you.

Storm lets out another roar, diving back into the water and splashing his tail in your direction, the water smacking an already drenched and shocked Shoto in the side furthest from you.

"What the hell, Storm!?" you screech as your dragon dove back into the depths of the water, peeking his head up above the surface once he swam far enough away he couldn't get scolded by you.

There's one important part about your dragon- he hates Shoto.

From the day Storm hatched, he disliked the two-toned head of the youngest Todoroki boy. Shoto never did anything to make the Scauldron hate him, but the steel-colored dragon always had a bone to pick with your best friend.

As a young hatchling, Storm had a tendency to nip at people who weren't you. It didn't matter if they had food or not, he was always a little tense around others. When you introduced Shoto to Storm, your dragon took it upon himself to launch at your best friend.

He had latched onto Shoto's boot, his razor-sharp teeth cutting through the new leather, and ripping it right off of his foot. Shoto had been knocked to the ground, the air pulled from his lungs.

You had immediately scolded Storm, putting him in a large cage in the corner of your room while you tended to Shoto. His sock had been shredded from Storm's teeth, but otherwise, he was left unharmed.

That first incident with Storm should have been Shoto's first clue that things wouldn't be smooth sailing anytime he tried to be with you.

When the two of you were older and allowed to roam freely, you often took hiking trips into the woods. You both still had the hearts of children, but were more competent and aware of your surroundings.

Plus, you had a dragon.

But, Storm still found a hatred for the Todoroki boy, tripping him when the paths in the woods got rocky. Shoto ended up with several rolled ankles, to which he would tell his father he was training and got hurt.

Your Scauldron would knock Shoto into the water when you would haul in the fishing nets at the end of the day. The air would have cooled off, leaving you chilled if you got wet.

Storm learned that you and Shoto hated it whenever Shoto got soaked. So he did it more and more often.

Shoto somehow put up with it. Ever patient, ever forgiving, Shoto never once tried to put up a fight against Storm or got truly angry with him. He had his moments where he wanted to get the dragon back, but he knew you would be angry with him.

Shoto had such a care for you that he couldn't take out his frustrations on your dragon, no matter how much torture he was put through.

It drove Shoto insane from the inside, but he could never show that to you. Storm was your dragon, and you loved him, and Storm loved you. Shoto knew there was no way he could get between you and your dragon, so he learned to live with it.

Shoto did try to befriend Storm, but he was unsuccessful every time. He would bring the large dragon an extra fish he caught when he dropped by your house. You showed the red and white-haired teen where to scratch the dragon's chin the way he liked.

The boy even went as far as to change Storm's bedding in his nesting stall. None of it worked. So, Shoto did his best to be kind to the dragon while not making it an apparent issue to you.

In an instant, your clothes were clinging to your frame, the iciness of the water chilling you to the bone. You were in shock, first at the surprise of being drenched in cold, salty seawater, but also at the fact that Storm went out of his way to be mean to Shoto.

Your mouth had dropped in surprise, the tang of salt clinging to your lips as you brushed a sopping piece of hair out of your eyes. You turned to look at Shoto, who was in a similar state as you.

His pink lips were parted open, water streaming down his face and dripping off at the edge of his sharp jaw. Shoto's hands clenched at his sides, instinctively trying to shy away from the dragon who sprayed the water in the first place.

"Sh-Shoto, are you alright?" you manage to stumble out, your teeth clacking together, out of your control. He turned to look at you, shock also evident on his features. He just shook his head once, water droplets spraying everywhere, much like a wet dog.

It took him a second to respond, but he managed to murmur, "Yeah, yeah, I think I'm good. I wasn't expecting that at all."

Once Shoto locked eyes on your drenched figure, he swallowed thickly. Every ounce of your clothing was clinging tightly to your body, outlining every curve and dip.

While you noticed the way Shoto grew up, he also noticed how you changed. He saw how maybe your height didn't change that much, but he saw your hips widen and chest fill out.

Shoto saw the way your hair grew longer and your cheeks became less round. He saw the way your lips would catch between your teeth when you were concentrated and the way your eyelashes fluttered when you laughed.

And now, a developed woman with clothes hugging your every curve, Shoto did his best to fight to pink that was rising to his cheeks at his unholy thoughts.

He had to stop those thoughts from swirling around in his mind. You are his best friend, for Odin's sake! He can't be thinking about you like a lover.

Shaking his head less aggressively again to clear his thoughts, he gently urges, "Let's get you warmed up." He pulls his hands from where they were clutching at his sides and offers one to you. You shudder as a chill washes over you, slowly grabbing his outreached hand.

As Shoto pulls the two of you into a standing position, you glance back into the water to see Storm's figure had disappeared. A lump forms in your throat at the cruelness of your dragon for no apparent reason.

Shoto releases your hand, instead, bringing it up to your shoulder. He lightly rubs at it, trying to get your attention, "Come on, grab your things." You turn back toward him and nod shakily, reaching down to grab your own small pack.

How could Storm do that? I know he and Shoto haven't always gotten along, but this is cruel, even for him.

While you got lost in your thoughts, walking up the length of the pier, you missed Shoto falling into step behind you. You didn't even notice him stalling, pulling his drenched shirt off to wring it out over the shore.

Your footstep creaking on a slippery wooden board makes you notice that it's quiet behind you, save for the crashing of waves. You look over your shoulder to see Shoto's back facing you.

Taut, lean muscle laced his back, the skin pale as porcelain, but intricate like a marble statue. Only then do your eyes catch a glimpse of his wet shirt in his hands, drops of water falling from it as his hands worked over the fabric.

Your eyes follow his back to his shoulders, pausing over the bulge in his bicep. He must have really started training hard, the thought races through your head.

Your (colored) gaze flicks up to find Shoto's piercing one already latched onto you.

Shit. He so just caught you staring.

"Sh-Shoto, what are you doing?!" you yelp out as you spin around as fast as you can. The slippery board under your foot gives way as heat rushes to your cheeks at the sight of your best friend undressing.

A million thoughts are racing through your mind as your knee slams into the wet dock, a cry falling from your lips. You don't hear his response as pain takes over as your main concern.

You hear a curse fall from Shoto's lips as he tosses his wet shirt over his shoulder, carefully making his way over to you. His hands, now cooled from the water, reach out to you as he replies innocently to your question, "My shirt was wet, I was trying to remove some of the water out of it."

He then offers you his hand, a kind look on his face. Ever the gentleman, you think to yourself as the pain in your knee radiates and then slowly dissipates away.

You scoffed internally as he pulled you to your feet, How many times have I seen him without a shirt on, and here I am making a big deal out of it?

A moment passes and the touch of his other hand on your shoulder makes you about jump out of your skin. Distracted (colored) eyes lock onto his own bi-colored ones, and you feel like a blubbering mess as your eyes dart between the grey and blue colors, and the toned, naked, chest in front of you.

Once again that day, Shoto has a look of concern on his face as he asks, "Are you alright, Y/n? This isn't all that strange, remember? Your dragon has hated me as long as I remember."

Just as you open your mouth to answer him, a large wave hits the dock again, and a split second later, you feel Shoto being ripped away from you and knocked into the water off the side of the pier. You catch sight of Storm emerging from the ocean, a scowl coming across your face as your lips part in anger.

A yell rips itself from your already opened mouth, and you lunge forward as Shoto is swept away in the current below the docks. His wet shirt landed on the pier next to your feet, thankfully, but that wasn't your main worry.

You were already nervous about it being so cool and then being drenched, but panic overtakes you as you realize what Shoto was headed straight for.

The fishing nets.

Storm flaps up and onto the shoreline a few yards away, looking proud of himself as water slides off of his deep grey scales. You turn toward the dragon, tears of anger pushing at the edges of your eyes as you scream, "Get out of here, Storm! Go away!"

The large Scauldron huffs out an angered roar, but with a few massive wingbeats, hauls himself into the air and flies toward the village. You don't wait to see him leave, instead turning your attention back to your best friend in the water.

Shoto had resurfaced and was coughing on seawater, his arms and legs caught in the holes of the netting. With his limbs tangled and airways full of water, this could be bad. You don't waste any time after that realization, and you dive into the water, aiming to stay away from the net.

Your limbs ache at the instant coolness of the water, and you gasp as you enter the icy sea. Forcing your arms and legs into motion, you aim toward Shoto as you feel your body slow down.

Limbs flailing to get closer, you call to him, "Shoto, hang out!" In a desperate grab, your fingers latch onto the edge of the fishing net, and you use all of your strength to start pulling it to a depth where you can stand.

You manage to take a deep, gasping breath when your feet feel sand underneath them, and you cry out as you tug on the net. "Are you okay?!" You manage as you pull the net through the shallows, still hearing Shoto coughing up water.

Shoto goes to answer you as you see him start to untangle himself, but all you hear is a "Ye-" before a wave crashes into Shoto's bare back. The force of the water knocks him face-first into the shallows, and you lunge toward him to try to help pull him up.

Fingers grasping for his arm, you tug him back up, hearing him spit out more water, exhausted from fighting the net, the salty water filling his lungs, and the effort of his body to keep him warm for so long.

Your fingers, now throbbing from the cold, fumble as you search your belt, the digits slow and uncoordinated. You grip the blade as tightly as you can once you find it, cutting at the tangled nets.

Shoto manages to sputter out, "Y/n, I- I'm o-okay," coughing and trying to regain his air. You finish tugging the final piece of net away from his feet, the two of you heaving yourselves out of the water.

Worry overtakes you as you regard your best friend, "Shoto, are you alright? Oh, my heavens..." Your eyes lock onto his paled face, white and red hair splattered across his forehead.

You lunge forward, catching his cheeks in your hands as your eyes detect pink water trailing down the side of his face. Shoto brings his hand up to push the hair off of his face, a small grunt leaving his mouth when he comes in contact with a scrape hidden on his forehead.

This scrape was the source of the pink water, and even more worry overcomes you, but not before the thought of how oddly handsome he looked at that moment.

Compared to his usual hair styling, the red and white locks were intertwined with each other. Pushed up off of his forehead into a messy comb-over, your breath was stolen for your lungs.

He looked devilishly handsome. It was a terrible thought to have when you should have been rushing him off to clean up his wound and put warm clothes on.

But he did. He looked so good, you couldn't help the way your mouth parted in shock as you gazed up at him.

Shoto, mistakenly thought your reaction was to the throbbing in his head, which he assumed to be a cut. "Is the cut that bad?" he asks daftly, the hand which had been running through his hair coming up to cover one of your own.

His other hand finds its place on your hip unknowingly, stabilizing his unsteady stance. You blink, your mind still reeling as you process his words, "N-no, it's not that bad. Just, uh, caught me off-guard."

Shoto's heterochromatic eyes fix on you, waiting for you to elaborate. It's quiet for a moment, with your hands on his cheeks, his hand covering your own.

He takes it upon himself to fill the silence, his hand moving to cup your own cheek, brushing a stray piece of wet hair away from your eyes. He takes a shivery breath and starts, "Y/n, I-" "Let's get warmed up," you state at the same time.

A flash of an unreadable emotion washes over Shoto's face, and you internally curse yourself for cutting him off. You open your mouth to ask him what he was going to say, but he beats you to it.

"I was going to say the same thing," he said slowly, dropping his hands from your face and side, taking a step back. You instantly retract your hands to your chest, nodding once as you glance at the ground.

Shoto doesn't say anything as he slightly limps back to the pier, grabbing his drenched satchel and his shirt, which is now soaked again. You bring your arms to wrap around yourself as you stiffly cross the beach, heading to the pier to grab your own small sack.

You move to pass Shoto, aiming for where you had been sitting on the edge of the wooden dock, but an outstretched arm stops you. You look up at him inquisitively until he rotates his palm to face you. His fingers open up, his large hand revealing your small leather sac.

"I figured it would save you the hassle," he murmurs lowly, setting it in your awaiting hands. You give him a small nod in thanks, clearing your throat to say, "We can go get warmed up at my house if you don't want your father to see you like this."

Now it's Shoto's turn to nod, gesturing with his chin, he asks, "Lead the way?" You offer a small smile before ducking your head down, trudging your way up the dock toward you home up the shoreline.

It was quiet at your house - it was only you who lived there, after all. You had moved out of your family home once you came of age, but you couldn't bring yourself to leave the shore.

There were still embers burning in the hearth when you pried your door open, Shoto not far behind. The two of you were quiet on the walk to your house, an unspoken tension thick in the air.

You couldn't deny it now. Your dragon was trying to drive a wedge in between you and your best friend.

A sigh falls from your lips as some weight leaves your shoulders upon entering your home. Shoto quietly closes the door behind you as you walk into the living room.

You make your way over to the hearth, trying to keep your teeth chattering to a minimum. Shoto, who was still shirtless, followed close behind.

Your hands wavering and numb from the cold, reached for small logs you had chopped a few days before. They were set off to the side so you could throw them on as needed.

Shivers start racing up and down your body as you fumble with the log, your teeth clacking together unceremoniously. "Let me," his deep voice sounds out, his hands coming into view.

He grabs the log from you, with much less shake than you, and gently tosses it on the fire. Shoto quietly grabs your shoulder, pulling you away from the fire. You willingly let him manhandle you, watching silently as he takes your place, throwing more kindling on the growing smoke, softly blowing to ignite a flame.

"Sh-Sho, y-your head," you stutter out as you catch sight of red leaking down his forehead. With the hair still pushed up out of his eyes, you could see the gash still oozing.

He turns to you, cocking one eyebrow as if to say, What about it? You shift on your feet as you motion shakily to his head, "It's s-still bleeding. We need to get it-t cleaned up. N-no sense in getting dry clothes d-dirty."

You offer him a crooked smile, clenching down on your teeth to stop them from chattering. He stands up and walks over to you, his height looming over you.

"You're cold," he states blankly, noting the blue tint to your lips and the short, shallow breaths you were trying to calm down. But he also knows you won't rest until he's cared for, watching your eyes flit between his and the cut.

Shoto sighs through his nose before whispering, "Alright, work your magic." With a slight roll of his eyes, you drag him toward your table, where you sit him down on a tall stool.

You struggle to take off your vest, which is drenched, but Shoto sits still and watches, his cheeks once again heating up at the way your clothes cling to your body.

You roam around for a few minutes, lighting a lantern to set next to Shoto, gathering a clean bucket of water, some clean towels, and a soft bandage that you could wrap his head with.

The moving around seemed to help warm you up a little, but you were still feeling chills run up and down your spine as you stopped in front of Shoto.

"This may sting a little," you mumble softly, "The seawater probably got dirt in there." It's a bit of an obvious statement, but you didn't know how else to face the tension of Shoto. As long as you've known him, he's been intense.

But he's never been intense like this.

His gaze is sharp and almost narrowed. There is a furrow in his brow that makes you almost nervous, but you know you have no reason to be.

Your own brows knit close together as you regard him, softly urging, "Shoto, is that alright?" His eyes seem to focus on you a little more at that, and he gives you a nod, straightening up a bit on the stool.

You quietly set to work, delicately pushing the hair off of his forehead and dipping a clean towel in the water. As you bring the towel up to his face, you can suddenly hear blood pounding in your ears.

A wave of butterflies washes over you when you realize how intimately close you are to Shoto's face. If he notices your pause, he doesn't say anything.

The towel makes wobbly contact with the edge of the cut, and Shoto draws back with a sharp hiss of pain, his hand reflexively coming up to pull your wrist away from his face.

A startled look comes across your face and you take a step back, trying to pry yourself away from him. Shoto realizes his mistake instantly and rushes, "Y/n/n, I didn't mean to-" "It's fine," you cut him off with a squeak.

Shoto can see the look of hurt on your face, and a part of his heart crumples at the sight. He releases your wrist, but he doesn't let you get away from him. Instead, he grabs you by both hips and parts his legs, allowing you to stand in between his thighs.

"I'm sorry for pulling away, I- I wasn't ready," he says lowly, looking up at you with a sincere look on his face. If you thought your blood was rushing before, now it is roaring in your ears.

You just bite your tongue and give him a small nod of your head, slowly bringing the rag up to clean the edge of his cut again. You feel Shoto tense beneath you with a fast breath, but he transforms his pain from pulling away to a tightened grip on your hip.

His jaw clenches as you work as quick as you can, cleaning his wound before reaching for the soft bandage you had found. Just as you finish securing it around his head, Shoto stops you.

"Do you know why Storm hates me so much?"

The question makes you halt, every part of your body going still. You stare at your best friend, your mind whirring as you wonder where this is coming from.

You shrug and start to dismiss his question, but he stands up, his presence regaining that oddly intense feel. His eyes darken and his voice lowers a notch as he repeats, "Do you know why Storm hates me so much?"

Your mouth falls slack and your mind goes blank as Shoto moves closer and closer to you. As you take one step back, he's already filling the space. Before you know it, he has you backed into a wall, his heterochromatic eyes never once leaving your (colored) ones.

"Sh-Shoto, I don't know what you're talking about," you stutter out, this time, not because of the cold. Your heart is racing, your cheeks are burning, and it's becoming harder and harder to breathe.

A dry laugh falls from Shoto's lips as he rests his arms on either side of your head, trapping you in. "You really don't know?" is all he asks, with no hint of emotion or degradation in his voice.

You shake your head left and then right, feeling an immense amount of pressure on your face. Shoto takes a deep breath to re-center himself before he asks, "Why doesn't Storm hate all of the other guys my age?"

A frown etches itself on your features as you ponder his question. Why didn't Storm hate all of the other guys in the village? Your lips fall open in thought, and you look down as you try to come up with a suitable answer.

Shoto's right hand moves from its place on the wall to cup your jaw, his thumb tucking itself under your chin. He pulls your head up slowly so that you meet his gaze again.

"Why doesn't Storm hate all of the other guys my age? What makes me so different?" he repeats, this time a little more emotion, a little more urgency.

You look at him again, and only one thought comes to mind. I can't. I can't say it's that. I don't even know if that is the reason.

"I don't know, Shoto," you start to whisper, but he cuts you off, "You're lying to me," and this time his voice is thick. You scan his face for emotion, and you finally start to see his walls caving.

His grey and blue eyes are beginning to line with tears as he repeats again, "What makes me so terrible that he treats me this way? Why am I his only target?"

Shoto shuffles, caging you in closer and closer until you have no other option than to answer him. Your mouth parts, your skin burning where his large hand has cupped your jaw, lips loose from the way your best friend is falling apart in front of you.

But he's not really your best friend, is he?

You go to talk, but there is even more urgency when he almost growls, "What did I do to him?! What did I do to you?!" As he talks, his grip on you gets tighter and tighter, and you notice tears starting to fall from his eyes.

Your eyes snap shut as you burst out, "You made me fall in love with you!" A rush of butterflies floods your stomach and you feel like you're about to throw up.

A moment passes and you wait to feel Shoto pull away, you wait for him to pull his hand away from your face and ask you what the hell you were talking about.

But instead, you hear him whisper, "Open your eyes." You tighten them and shake your head once, "I- I can't." You feel him shuffle and his grip on your face loosens, repositioning his hand to brush that wet, stray piece of hair away from your face.

"Y/n, open your eyes, please," he requests, his touch softening and his presence becoming less intense, "Look at me when you tell me you love me, so that I can say it back."

His statement has your eyes opening from where they were scrunched shut, and they are wide as they gaze up at him. Shoto has a smile on his face, tearstains running down his cheeks.

"Shoto, you-" "You made me fall in love with you, too," he murmurs, a soft huff of a laugh accompanying his words. A smile breaks out on your face as you lean into him, your hands coming up gently to brush the tears off of his delicate cheekbones.

Shoto leans into your touch as he explains, "From the moment Storm saw me, he has seen me as a threat. Dragons are much more emotionally intelligent than they let on. He always has known that I-"

And then his voice catches in his throat. Your heart swells at the emotion you hear in his voice, but you don't stop him. Shoto clears his throat as his hand works its way into your hair, "Storm has always known that I love you."

"Shoto, I am so deeply in love with you," you rush out as you lean into him, "I just never thought you would-" "I always have," he cuts you off, his voice rough and meaningful.

Shoto is looking at you like you hung the moon and stars, but as his gaze locks onto your (colored) one, it dips a little lower. Before you know it, your nose is brushing his, Shoto's breath hot on your face.

Butterflies rekindle in your stomach as you lean into him even more. Shoto is no better, his mind is only focused on you, and how badly he wants to kiss you.

Just as your lips start to graze his, there's a knock at the door. Shoto pulls back a few inches and you hear him whisper under his breath, "Fuck."

The curse word coming from your best friend, no, lover, draws a laugh from you, but you can't blame him. You had been dreaming of this moment for years. Then, a pang of nervousness washes over you as you realize - it's probably Enji Todoroki at the door.

"Fuck indeed," you whisper back as you look up at Shoto. Shoto, who is still very much shirtless and in wet clothes. You, who is still dressed in your drenched clothes, pinned against the wall.

You swallow deeply and say, "It's alright, I'll go check the door. I can say you're getting changed in my room. I'm pretty sure there's a spare set of clothes in there."

Shoto nods and begins to pull away, but something changes in his gaze, and he leans back in to press a soft kiss to your forehead. It's not what you had been expecting or wanting, but nonetheless, it makes your heart rate skyrocket again.

Shoto chuckles at the way your brain stalls, and he backs away into your room as you sway against the wall. Another knock sounds out from the front door and you call, "C-coming!"

You can hear another laugh come from Shoto at the waver in your voice. Damn Shoto, now he knows the effect he has on me. Your legs are wobbly as you walk up to your door, and you have to give yourself false confidence as you prepare to face Shoto's father.

You swing the door open and are met with silence. Confusion floods over you as you look to the left and right of your door, and there is no one present.

A frown etches its way onto your features as you call out, "Hello? Anyone there?" A moment later, loud scuffling sounds ring out from your roof, and then, Storm jumps onto the ground outside of your front door.

The large grey Scauldron holds his head low, a solemn look on his face. You let a sigh out of your nose as you look at your dragon, who was bearing the look of a kicked dog.

"Alright, Storm. I get it now. You were jealous because I didn't have eyes just for you. Come here, big boy," you say, opening your arms to his head. Storm swings his long neck and head over to you, cuddling into your frame in apology for his actions.

You hear footsteps behind you, and when you pull away from Storm, you are met with a freshly dressed Shoto. The red and white-haired man looks between you and the dragon, initially with distrust on his porcelain features, but then he gets a good look at your face.

You nod your head toward Storm as if to say, See? It's over now. Shoto slowly walks up behind you, offering his hand out to Storm in a friendly manner. Storm pulls away from you, looking at Shoto in a similar distrust.

I'm not letting this happen again, you think to yourself as you cut in, "Storm, stop it." The dragon turns to look at you, and you take a step closer to Shoto, taking his hand in your own.

"Storm, you are my only dragon," you tell him, and then you glance at Shoto with a smile and say, "But Shoto is my only person. You have to accept that he will be in my life."

Storm stares at you for a second before letting a low roar and breath out. He lowers his head to the ground again, pressing his large skull against Shoto's outstretched hand.

Both you and Shoto can't stop the electric smiles on your faces as Storm pulls away, kindly. The dragon turns to walk away, his wings spreading out on either side. In a couple of large, dramatic flaps, Storm heads back toward the village.

Shoto watches your gaze follow Storm until he disappears, tightening his grip on your hand. "Y/n/n, I think it's time you get changed. I don't want you to get sick because of me."

You turn to look at Shoto, and with a sly grin, you mumble, "But at least I'll have you if I get sick, right?" Shoto shakes his head with a smile but replies, "You'll have me regardless if you get sick."

He then gets shy for a moment as he says quieter, "That is, if you'll have me." You squeeze his hand before letting it go, and you see a moment of panic flash across Shoto's face.

But you wrap your arms around his neck, your fingers threading through the drying locks at the base of his head, finding the damp braids on his nape. You smile up at him gently as you lean into him slowly, "You made me fall in love with you, Shoto. I will have you in whatever ways you give me."

And that was enough incentive for him. One of Shoto's hands finds its place on your jaw, while the other grabs at your waist. The clothes are damp under his touch, but he doesn't seem to mind.

Shoto tilts your head back, moving quickly at first, his mouth chasing yours. But just as his lips go to brush over yours, he slows down. His nose brushes against yours, and a shaky breath falls from your mouth as you await his kiss.

Shoto lets out a sigh, "I will have you in every way, but you need to get in dry clothes first. I have waited my whole life to kiss you, I can wait a few more moments."

A groan builds up in your throat, but you comply, pulling away from him slowly and starting toward your house. You turn and look over your shoulder, calling out, "Shoto Todoroki, you will be the death of me."

Shoto smirks and faces you, calling back, "And befriending your dragon will be the death of me."

-The End-

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fyxestroll · 14 days ago

Text

Sweet Old Hereafter (2)

<<prev

pairing: sanguinius x reader (fem.)

description: why does the embrace of a stranger, a god feel so familliar?

warnings: mentions of blood

notes: ill post some requests soon-ish. haven't been feeling well and busy with school </3

To an extent, they had prepared for this, they had prepared for worse. Chapter Masters of the past had ensured so. Wards were placed, maintained for millennia and in Dante’s reign, improved but such precautions only delayed the inevitable.

The signs began within the death companies. Brothers lost to the Rage gained moments of twisted clarity, recognising brothers and acting as they were before they fell. Then the next night, without either care or awareness, they’d stalk the halls as if on an infiltration operation, slaughtering whoever stood in their way.

And this phenomenon was not limited to the Blood Angels. Three months ago, the Golden Sons had caught two battle brothers and a dreadnought of their death company attempting to hijack a transport ship headed for Baal. Other successor chapters have reported similar incidents.

Soon.

All the signs pointed to it.

Whatever it was, it would emerge soon from their gene-sire’s corpse.

But when it did. When the Chief Librarian had walked into his quarters and announced. “It has come.” Dante felt a primal sense of fear spark within him.

Foolishly, he had thought there would be more time, that it would stay dormant long enough to allow the chapter to rebuild.

Foolish indeed…

Promethium-induced flames burn in the evening sky. Embers cackle as the building burned, mocking him. Brothers in and out of armor run into the chapel with reckless abandon, attempting to purge the fire.

He hears his Sanguinary Guard wizz pass, giving chase on their jump packs. His vox bead comes to life with chatter, faceplate cogitators pinging information rune after information rune. All said the same.

An unknown flying object had flown past, attacking whoever it saw.

Firing up his jump pack, he leapt, his weary soul feeling the non-existent creak in his bones. He pulls himself up into the sky, a familiar weightlessness coming over him. The cogitators inside his helm perform a brief auspex scan, highlighting it a bright red.

Silently, he prays that his chapter will weather this storm as well.

By now, He has thoroughly wet your shirt, soaking it with His tears. The thin fabric sticks onto your sweaty skin creating an uncomfortable feeling.

You could feel eyes on you—well, Him but His firm embrace ensured the two of you were entwined. He is still muttering apologies in a foreign tongue, voice becoming hoarse. The frequency has lessened but the sincerity remained.

Pity.

You feel pity.

What an odd thing to feel for the Great Angel.

A Primarch, a son of the Emperor, was the furthest thing you should pity. But as he cried, you couldn’t help it. Immodestly, He and His distress reminded you of yourself. Of you and the nights you spent curled up in a cot, reliving horrors you faced like a coward; nights where you cried for your sister and wept for a young boy you should have been proud of.

Compassion was inherent in humanity, it is it’s greatest gift and its greatest weapon. Compassion was what led the tribes of the Blood to spare the Great Angel and in turn rid Baalfora of its mutants. Pity does not have that sort of effect. Pity was not compassion.

But for a wretch like you, it was close enough.

Hesitantly, you wrap your arms around His neck. Sanguinius does not react negatively to your touch. He holds you tighter, in an almost bone-crushing manner and lets out a warbled sob. You half expect to be struck down by a bolt of light as a punishment for daring to hold Him. Divine punishment never came. Or maybe it was delayed.

The most you felt was the overwhelming sense that this is right.

Becoming even more daring, you begin carding a hand through His hair. It was neither soft nor silky as you expected, instead, it was oily and covered in soot and grime. When was the last time He washed His hair?

You do not ask. You do not dare.

Sanguinius croons in approval, wordlessly telling you to continue. His wings sag as He lets out a breath, body relaxing. Your body strains to stand as He settles His weight on you, his armor doubling the mass.

Wings cover you, shielding you from the outside world and blocking the sight of anything but Him. It’s warm, to an almost uncomfortable extent, but safe. Against your better judgement, you let yourself relax into His hold, forgetting any and all decorum—not like this situation held precedent for such.

The spell of the moment is only broken by the sound of jet engines and the firm thunk of ceremite onto the wall’s reinforced surface.

Sanguinius was the first to react by unceremoniously lifting you off your feet and pulling you close to His chest. You fuss, of course, prey instincts taking over, and also no one appreciates being treated like a stuffed animal. His hold is tight, bone-crushing.

It hurts.

Feathers cover your sight, making it so that you can only see slivers of what is happening.

You see the lower half of an Angel clad in golden armour. He speaks. It’s Lord Commander Dante. You recognise it from his broadcast speeches. He speaks to the Primarch in a booming voice, exuding authority. Sanguinius talks back full of malice and with a rasp.

You do not understand what is being said as they speak in High Gothic.

Tensions rise, the air becomes electric, and silence becomes more pronounced. No one in the vicinity dared to move as the Primarch and Lord Commander conversed. It is not a friendly conversation. They do not talk to each other like father and son

This is not a reunion but a hostage negotiation.

And unfortunately for you, you are the hostage.

Two figures, legends—a hero and a god to the mortals of Baal, stand off against each other. Sanguinius is hunched, ready to pounce and while you cannot see, the Lord Commander has likely assumed a similar position. A fight was brewing.

Your stomach twists.

Why are they fighting?

You cannot understand why.

Unless…

The Lord Commander recognises something foul with the Primarch.

You look up, taking a peek at His face. There, you see them: fangs. They are long and sharp, protruding from his upper jaw as he hissed at Commander Dante. You freeze at the sight of them, mind providing two words.

Monster.

Inhuman.

Panicked, you wiggle against his hold, hoping he’d drop you and you could somehow run to safety. Your actions result in the opposite, his hold becoming firmer. He (it?) looks down at you with puffy, blood red eyes, then—

Click!

The sound of a bolter being removed from its maglock. It echoes.

—he tosses both of you over the wall.

The feeling of free-falling is not unlike those dreamless dreams of the same manner. Though, instead of an agonising pull from the gut, it felt like you left your stomach, alongside your soul, behind entirely.

Heart pounding, you shriek, curses and more spewing from your lips as your hair whipped around. You keep your eyes on the yellow-green sky, hoping this was a bad dream. Sadly, dust gets caught in your eye, and the pain reminds you that this was sadly not a dream.

White feathers come into view as Sanguinius (the monster?) spreads his wings, slowing down your fall. The action lacked any of the finesse you’d expect from someone known for his flight. It was like seeing a runner be challenged by the act of putting one foot over the other.

He heaves his breath and, with great effort, he flaps his wings, pushing up and forward. Increasing his speed, he leaves no time for your heart to steady. He flies against the wind, and soon the Arx Angelicum, the largest structure you’ve ever seen, is nothing more than a distant outline.

Your stomach itches. Dying felt too real of a possibility now.

Sanguinius flies throughout the night and only stops when exhaustion comes over him. By then, it was already morning. Clumsily, he lands on a craggy cliffside perch, sending you toppling while hitting the rocks, inertia sending him forward.

The cuts on your face sting mutedly, adrenaline numbing the pain.

This time, you get onto your feet almost immediately and shakily. A quick view at the horizon tells you were far, far away from the Arx Angelicum. (You couldn’t even see the same mountains!)

You turn to the cloud of dust a couple of meters from you.

And you were stuck with what was likely a monster wearing the skin of the Great Angel.

Great! Great! You feel like crying a lot!

Your hand grips your arm, fingernails digging into your skin. It hurts. It’s an old habit you could never get rid of. Not even your father’s and sister’s incessant nagging did anything to help.

Thone!

Your sister!

What would she think? What would she feel? What would happen to her? First, mother, then father and uncle and Hanif is as good as dead. Sure, she had her husband, but what if she gets divorced or widowed? You’re her only blood family left, and here you were on some random rock in Baal with its most dangerous predator playing with its food. If you didn’t by him, you’d die from the radiation.

And just your luck! You didn’t even have a ticker with you!

So this is what I get for not taking Sanguinala seriously, you joke, a sardonic smile on the edge of your lips. A lone tear slides down your cheek, followed by another and another until you realise you were full-on crying.

The ground looked nice so you sat down on it, contamination be damned. If you were gonna die, you’d die doing whatever you want, and what you wanted right now was to wallow in your terrible circumstance.

Shortly, a shadow covers your view of the yellow-tinted blue sky. You could only groan as you come face to face with…whatever he is nearly chocking your own snot in the process.

To say that he was unnaturally beautiful. His face was a work of fine art crafted by the Emperor Himself, sharp and soft in all the right places. It invoked something in you, an abnormal urge to be at his beck and call. The only thing that stops you from doing so is the odd queasiness the idea invokes.

He bleeds.

He bleeds from the side of his head, staining his golden blonde hair the same shade of crimson as the Angels’ armor.

Whatever he was—the real deal or impostor, he was at the very lead some form of human. Deep down, you already knew that. Somehow.

He pays his wound little mind, not even acknowledging its presence as blood covers his left eye.

Gaze trained on you, he observes, head tilted slightly to the right. You don’t dare to blink.

He kneels. An armored hand, gentle and curious, reaches out. Fingers graze your cheek before briskly moving to stroke your hair. He pulls you to his lap, letting you lie on it. Too exhausted, you can’t find it in yourself to be surprised or feel blessed by his actions.

Again. Again, he speaks that foreign tongue. It sounded unlike any language you’ve heard from pilgrims and tourists. The tone, sound and structure were entirely foreign—a rare instance. The countless tongues of humanity always had a similarity or two to one another.

His brows furrow. He repeats himself. This time, you hang onto each and every syllable. You piece together that he is asking you a question. You have not, however, figured out what he was asking.

At your lack of response, his voice becomes filled with worry. He repeats his question, this time adding something that shakes you to your core.

“What?!” you shout in your native Baalite.

He draws back, surprised at your outburst. Or more so, at the language you spoke.

Hesitantly, he says it again.

He says your name.

You never told him your name.

How does he know?

The pronunciation was a little different, foreign wrong but it was still the same.

You try to escape from his grasp, but it’s futile. His hold on your is tight, firm. You weren’t going anywhere soon. His eyes narrow into a predatory expression.

‘…, when did you learn how to speak Baalite?’

You—he??? SPOKE into your mind. It felt like a giant hand was squeezing your head as he did.

“I…” you choke, afraid and out of breath, but something compels you to speak, to speak the truth. “It is my… mother tongue.” In an instant, he releases his hold on you and you roll onto the ground unceremoniously.

Rising to his full height, his wings tensed and drooped. One was bent at an odd angle. Even then, even with his injuries, you immediately knew that standing before you is the Great Angel, the Brightest One, the noblest son of the Emperor, Sanguinius in the flesh.

The realisation is followed by an overwhelming urge to defer, to submit.

He looks down at His hands covered in your blood and then at you.

Anger. Grief. Rage. Overwhelming. All-consuming. He exudes all three. The air boils.

He changes.

He changes from an angel to a monster. Fangs grow from His upper jaw, feathers sharpen into blades, and slaughter clouds His vision.

You don’t dare breathe.

You can’t.

You can’t breathe. A heaviness settles into your chest like someone has sat on it.

You remain still, a feeble attempt at survival. You’re forced to look at Him, to watch as He pieces together the elements of your slaughter in His mind.

He hisses.

He charges.

You face divine punishment.

#warhammer x reader #warhammer 40k x reader #sanguinius x reader #sanguinius #primarch x reader

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wildernessuntothemselves · 1 month ago

Text

Now See Them Burn in Fire | Part 4

Genre: dark fic, smut, angst

Word Count: 17.8

Chapter Excerpt:

“I was invited,” He says simply, and you feel a heat crawl up your spine. Invited. No. No, you didn’t invite him. You didn’t ask for this. You didn’t want any of this.

“I… I didn’t—” You croak, your throat tight around the words. Panic claws at your chest, and your breaths come out shallow, frantic. Your gaze snaps to your mother, desperate to explain to her that you had nothing to do with this, but when your eyes meet hers, you see none of your own horror in them, none of the shock.

Instead, there’s an eerie calm in her eyes—a nauseating resignation.

“I did,” She tells you flatly, her voice steady, emotionless “I said I would end it, didn’t I?”

You stare at her, your mind struggling to comprehend her words. End it? What does that mean? Your heart hammers in your chest as it refuses to put the pieces together, to admit to what your mind already knows.

But it can’t hide away from it for long. Not when your mother blatantly proclaims it to the world to hear, not scared of how her act of betrayal against her own daughter might incur the wrath of the gods.

"Take her. Do what you want with her. Just release me."

Warnings: fem!reader, DARK FIC, FUTURE NONCON/DUBCON, mentions of people being burned alive, iron age au, supernatural au, yandere beomgyu, allusions to child sacrifice but nothing graphic, character death, smut, blow job, handjob, riding (lol the warnings be giving you whiplash)

______________________

The high priest’s burning sparks a twisted revelation in Beomgyu’s mind. Why should the tribe carry the burden of those marked by the curse—housing them, guarding them—when he could rid the land of them as he did with the priest? With each body he casts into the fire, he sees it as another step toward his grotesque mission of purification, purging the tribe of these cursed souls and claiming victory over what he calls the evil that threatens all of you.

It is not difficult for him to rally the tribe to his cause. After all, the afflicted were all but dead in the eyes of the people, their fates sealed as soon as the first sign of the curse was seen within them–and Beomgyu presents the purge as an act of deliverance, allowing the tribe to turn its gaze away from the humanity of the victims. With his power to draw out the mark before the curse could completely corrupt their bodies and souls, he convinces everyone that the victims’ removal is not only justified, but humane—a mercy killing.

The first of these so-called purifications unfolds in a scene of dreadful cruelty. Dozens of men and women, their voices silenced by gags and their limbs bound tight, are led to the center of the settlement where the flames are stoked high, eager to consume their bodies and drown their cries in the crackling and snapping of its fire.

The cloud of smoke that results from the horrid act is putrid and choking, hanging over the settlement like a deathly veil. It clings to everything—clothes, hair, even skin—until it becomes part of the very breath the people take. For days, the ash lingers like a dark miasma, a constant reminder of the atrocity that has occurred, haunting the people like a second shadow.

Though the smoke eventually begins to lift, it never fully dissipates, for the fire is never allowed to die. As long as there are new victims to be found, it continues to burn, fueling Beomgyu's influence over the tribe, as if his dominion is sustained by the very lives he consumes.

You confide in your mother, knowing full well that you cannot speak of your suspicions to Kai or his family. They would not understand. She listens, appearing perturbed by what she was hearing. But instead of confronting the horror you both know to be true, she retreats further into her work, her magic now consuming her every waking and most of what are supposed to be her slumbering hours. Though she does not say it, you know she believes you.

She has become a shadow of her former self, her body ravaged by the dark forces she’s courting. Her hair, once thick and full, falls away in brittle strands. Her eyes, once bright, are now hollow and drained of life. Her once-strong frame is now emaciated, the dark powers stealing away years of her life in mere weeks.

The sight of her chills you. If Beomgyu doesn’t kill her, the magic will. Either way, you fear for the fate of her eternal soul.

Not that she welcomes your concern. With each passing day, her bitterness toward you deepens, winding its tendrils around her heart, suffocating the remnants of warmth she once held for you. She holds you accountable for the blight that has befallen the tribe. In her eyes, you are the harbinger of doom. She insists that, were it not for you, none of this would have come to pass. She believes you were sent by the gods to curse your family, as Beomgyu cursed his, and that, unless she can find a way to break the curse, she will succumb to the same fate that afflicted your father and Beomgyu’s parents.

Oh, how Beomgyu would delight in this, were he to hear her words—or perhaps he already does, watching from some hidden corner, amused by your suffering. It must be endlessly entertaining to him to witness you enduring the very fate you once abandoned him to escape from—the distrust of your family, the suspicion in the eyes of your people, the public fall from grace. Could this all be an act of vengeance devised by a scorned man?

It can’t be… Surely he would not go so far just to hurt you. To curse the innocent, scorch their bodies, to raise those long slumbering powers—

Overwhelmed by it all, you flee to the hills that embrace the settlement, desperate for a breath of air that does not taste of ash. But when you reach the crest and look down, your heart falters.The village lies beneath you, shrouded in a veil of black smoke. It rolls across the earth, giving shape to the curse, devouring home, streets, and souls alike.

From this height, it’s difficult to find hope to cling to. From where you stand, all seems lost.

Should you flee? Kai and his family still rule the tribe, but for how long? How soon before Beomgyu weaves his schemes to undo them, just as he did with the high priest? His influence grows with each passing moment, and you wonder if their reign will slip through their fingers like water in the palm of a hand.

But where would you go? Would it be better to die under the claws of a wild beast than at the hands of Beomgyu and his men? Everywhere you turned your gaze you saw only death.

Your families were still fighting—that much was true.

Your mother, Kai’s family, and the remaining elders had bound themselves in an uneasy alliance, pooling what power and knowledge they possess between them in a last, desperate attempt to stall Beomgyu’s creeping dominion.

But as it was necessary for your mother to conceal the full truth from them in order to shield you both from suspicion—much of her work had to be done in secret. And due to that secrecy, she often found herself with no choice but to turn to you. Her summons were never tender. Your obedience never willing. It brought her no comfort, and you no peace.

Ever since that dark ritual she performed on your father’s lifeless body, your mother had spiraled deeper into the abyss of dark magic. Each incantation drew her further from the path of righteousness, binding her more tightly to shadowed forces—those ancient, insatiable beings whose whispers came with a price. Their demands grew darker, their hunger more cruel, and with every new pact, a toll was taken.

Her body suffered. But it was her soul that bore the deepest scars.

You tried to distance yourself as much as you could. Surely, fighting darkness with darkness was not the path of the gods. This calamity should have been an opportunity to prove your steadfastness, to remain true to your faith even if it meant your death. Better, you thought, to endure a slow, agonizing end upon this earth than to be cast out of the eternal bliss in the shadow of your beloved gods and into the fiery depths of the underworld.

You have come to realize a bitter truth: that despite all your knowledge, all your years of training and sacred rites, you are no different from the common folk when true peril knocks at your door. In the face of such a threat, even the wise falter. Even the learned cling to superstition, whispering half-remembered prayers, and committing the most desperate and selfish acts in the name of survival.

“You’re a long way from home, flower.”

Terror seizes your body at the sound of his voice. You hadn't heard him approach—not a single footfall, not the faintest rustle of leaves. How could you have believed that the wilderness could shield you from him when this is where he has always found refuge, where he has long conspired with the unseen forces that dwell in the shadows of the wild. This has always been his domain for as long as you can remember, his secret kingdom. Here, there is no escape from him.

“I just wanted to breathe,” You murmur, your voice barely a whisper, your body stiff with terror, refusing to turn and meet his eyes.

“I see,” He replies, his tone flat, undecipherable..

A silence hangs between you, as stifling as the black cloud of smoke. He is content to stand there and let the stillness suffocate you, and you realize you must break it yourself before it breaks you. “Are you going to kill me?”

“Do you think I am going to kill you?” He throws your words back at you, replacing your fear with amusement. They come out slowly, as if he’s savoring them, relishing in the terror he’s created in you. It is clear that your discomfort, your fear, pleases him.

“Is this funny to you?” You frown, unable to mask the disgust in your voice. He was the one who brought about this catastrophe, and yet here he stands before you, unburdened by any hint of guilt. His cold indifference to the suffering he has caused, the destruction in his wake—it’s almost worse than the act itself. He watches you, as if this is all some twisted game to him. He truly is a monster.

“I must admit, it is.” He replies, his voice light, almost playful.

“Why are you doing this? Just... please, tell me,” You plead, the desperation clear in your voice, seeking to find the real reason for his actions, to finally make sense of why he has seemingly decided to throw the world into chaos one day.

He laughs and you stare at him in incredulity. “What is so damn funny?”

"I find it rather amusing," He says, his tone laced with a quiet, unsettling humor that is only funny to him, "how not long ago, I was beneath you. And now, here you are, so eager to talk to me."

“You still are beneath me.” You proclaim proudly, no matter how dearly that would cost you. If he insists on this path, so be it. The monster standing before you has no shred of mercy within him so there is no point in trying to appeal to it. “Just because you’ve maimed and killed your way into this farce of a leadership among your band of savages, does not make you worth anything.”

The false lightness in his expression slips away, replaced by a burning hate. "And just because you married into power," He spits with bitter disdain, "does not mean they will protect you or your kin. When the time comes, they will stand aside and watch your bodies burn, all to save their own hides. He would, too."

“You know nothing of him.” You hiss at him, feeling defensive of Kai. “Your wretched soul cannot even begin to fathom the love his heart can hold. He would lay down his life to protect us.”

“But how will he protect you when he’s not even here?” Beomgyu tilts his head, feigning curiosity. In that moment, the reality of your situation comes back into clear focus and you remember where exactly you are, and who the man standing before you is.

He steps closer, his presence looming, and reaches out to gently grab your neck in his large hand, pressing down slightly. The absolute emotionlessness in his expression sends a shiver down your spine. You dare not resist; there’s no point. Any struggle would be futile, and you know all too well how easily he could overpower you. You’d be on the ground in no time like you were the last time you were alone with him. At least if he kills you now, you will die standing.

“If I wring your little neck and bury you in the earth under our feet, how will he stop me? If I choose to end this now, would he even know where his lovely bride laid? ” He taunts you, “Tell me, did you even bother to tell him you’d come here?”

He feels your gulp under his hand and his grip tightens in response, sensing your answer without you even needing to utter a word. A rush of regret floods over you—no, you hadn’t told anyone where you were going. You had acted carelessly, and now, that recklessness may cost you your life.

“Figured as much. You’ve always been pretty, but not too bright, my flower,” He remarks with a sneer, and you're taken aback by how his words sting. Though your death by his hands seemed imminent, you had still believed your past friendship was genuine. The thought that he had always harbored such disdain for you cuts deeper than you expected. It tarnishes the memories you thought were safe, innocent. Had he been deceiving you all along? Was he always the monster everyone had warned you about, and you’d simply failed to see it? You really are stupid…

It doesn’t matter now, does it?

But then, unexpectedly, he laughs and releases his hold. “How has your mother been?”

The sudden shift in his tone catches you off guard, and you freeze, unsure of what to make of this abrupt change. For a brief moment, confusion clouds your mind, but that confusion quickly turns to dread as the true implications of his question settle in.

“No. Don’t you dare!” You warn, your voice trembling despite your efforts to sound firm.

He chuckles, a hot, bright sound that scalds its way down your spine. “Dare to do what?”

You have no time for his games—they serve only to entertain him, offering you nothing but distress in return. Whatever truth he holds, he’ll twist it into something unrecognisable just to watch you suffer. The only way to find out what this threat truly means is to go find your mother right now.

So with a shaky breath and even shakier limbs, you take a step back. “Are you going to let me walk away?”

He grins, the expression predatory and playful, as if this is yet another game to him. “Why don’t you give it a try?”

You draw in another shaky breath, bracing yourself for what’s to come, before you sprint down the hill, heart pounding in your chest. Each step feels frantic, as if you’re trying to outrun your fear, the thought that Beomgyu could be hot on your heels unshakable. Every part of you expects him to leap from the shadows and drag you back into his grasp, to make good on his earlier threats. The world around you is a blur of trees and underbrush, and despite your desperate pace, the tangled roots and uneven ground slow you down, making you stumble and fall as if the earth itself, subject to his swat, has conspired to bring you to your knees.

By the time you see the familiar sight of home, you’re battered and breathless. Mud streaks your clothes, and your skin is marked with scratches and bruises—a testament to the battle you’ve waged against the wilderness. But none of that matters now. As you stand before the entrance to your home, a dread unlike any you’ve ever felt sinks into your bones. What will be waiting for you inside?

The possibilities rush to your mind, each one worse than the last. Will your mother be missing? Dead? Bound, tortured, andleft to the mercy of those dark forces she meddled with? The thoughts gnaw at you, and the images they summon are near enough to fell you where you stand if you let them continue to run wild.

With a quiet prayer to the gods above, you steel yourself, pushing the terror down into the pit of your stomach, and step over the threshold.

“Mother?” You call, the word leaving your lips with an urgency that belies your composure. There is a long, drawn-out moment of silence before you hear her answer. Weak, but unmistakable. Her voice, though faint, is still there—and in that small, fragile sound, you find a breath of relief. The tension that had wound so tightly in your chest begins to loosen, though you remain on edge, knowing the fight isn’t over yet.

You follow the direction of her voice, finding her hunched over her cauldron in her usual spot—her ghastly face illuminated by the flickering candlelight, casting eerie shadows as she stirs whatever concoction brews within.

At first, you don’t notice it, the strange lighting obscuring your view. But when she looks up at you, taking a step back from the cauldron, your eyes catch it—the faintest discoloration on her skin, a sickly, blackish hue that sends a rush of nausea through you. You’re so struck by the sight that you can’t hide your reaction, and it’s then that she sees your dismay.

“What?” She croaks, her voice trembling. You remain silent, a lump forming in your throat. “Is it on me?”

“Mother, I’m sorry–” You apologize as if you truly believed it is your fault. Maybe she’s right. Maybe it’s all because of you.

Your words have the opposite effect than you hoped. Instead of evoking her sympathy, they seem to fan the flames of her fury. In an instant, anger takes hold of her, and she thrusts herself toward you, scratching at your face. “You fucking slut. You did this. You brought him into our lives.”

“I am sorry.” You weep, holding your hands to your face to prevent her from clawing your eyes out.

“I ought to kill you right now, bury you alongside your father and rid us of this evil. No, you do not deserve the dignity of a burial. I should slit your throat and leave your body out to the vultures to pick at your innards and the beasts to tear you apart from limb to limb.”

“Please, mother, I did not mean for any of this to happen.” You try to reason with her, but even you feel yourself choking on your own guilt.

“Shut up! Shut up!” She snarls, striking you repeatedly.

Fortunately for you, her strength has long waned, the dark magic sapping what little power she had left. You manage to push her away, stumbling backward toward the door, your heart hammering in your chest. As you flee your home, your tearful apologies echo behind you, but they feel hollow—an empty attempt to ease the guilt that eats at you with every step you take.

Kai is taken aback by the state you’re in when you stumble through the door of your married home—disheveled, wounded, your eyes wide and wet with grief. He asks what happened, tries to coax even an explanation from your lips, but you are in such an inconsolable state, you could not have given him any even if you had wanted to. So he stops asking.

All he can do is gather you into his arms and hold you close, rocking you gently as if the motion might carry you out of your despair, and futilely drying off your unending tears as he whispers meaningless reassurances to you.

It’s all worthless. Beomgyu is going to win. He will take each and everyone you love away from you and then he is going to kill you.

________________

You fabricate a story to tell your husband, weaving it with just enough truth to make it sound believable. The words flow from your lips with effort, each one stinging with betrayal. You tell Kai that you had a falling out with your mother over your decision to venture into the woods in search of a rare herb that would aid in her potions—potions that would ultimately benefit his family. You tell him that you ignored her warnings and ventured out alone, only to be attacked by a wild animal. You describe how your mother arrived just in time to save you, though her fear of losing you—much like she had lost your father—left her furious. Her anger, you say, led her to say things she didn’t mean and ultimately cast you out of her home.

It would have been a convincing story had the scratches on your face not looked so human and had you not been so reluctant for Kai to attempt to mediate any form of reconciliation between the two of you, fearing that your mother would be angry enough to expose your secrets to him, even if it meant her doom. After all, what has she got to lose? She’s already been claimed by the curse.

So imagine your surprise when she was the one who extended an invite to you to talk things over at your family home, telling you that she has found a way to get rid of the curse once and for all.

You felt exceedingly nervous about it, especially that she had specifically instructed you not to tell anyone you'll be meeting her. It made sense that she didn't want anyone to know about the secrets you've been harboring, but after the way she had spoken to you the last time you saw her, you worry about this being a trap to get you within arms reach so she could act on her previous threats.

Still, you had no other choice but to go. If anyone could find a way to break the curse, it would be your mother. And if not, you die. Either way, you die, right?

Your mother looks nothing like herself anymore. The curse has latched onto her like a parasite, rapidly consuming her body until she’s nothing more than skin on bones. She’s covered with it from head to toe. It writhes and pulsates over her in deep slow breaths.

“Mother…” You speak slowly and she grimaces.

“Don't you dare look at me in pity. You did this. You're the one who invited the evil in. But I'll be the one to end it.” She tells you resolutely, but before you can seek more answers, before you can ask her what she means, a sudden suffocating presence presses down on your chest. The room grows impossibly still, and the world outside seems to fade, leaving only the rhythmic pounding of your heart in your ears.

Your gaze is drawn, unconsciously, toward the front of your home. There’s a shadow, a figure standing just beyond the threshold, barely visible in the dim light of the evening. It feels like you’ve been here before, the vision cut right out of your nightmares—the figure so suffocatingly familiar to the deepest, most primal part of your brain, bringing forth images of deathly blue eyes, and with them, the paralysing fear.

The figure moves, a silhouette cloaked in darkness, each step slow, deliberate. Your pulse quickens as your mind races, your body rooted to the spot, unable to move, barely able to breathe. But when the figure steps fully into the light, the air in your lungs escapes in a sharp, panicked gasp, for the monster it unveils is even worse than the one in your nightmares.

Beomgyu.

A mixture of disbelief and terror floods your veins. You try to speak, to say something, anything, but your voice falters. He’s standing there, more real and solid than the ground beneath you that threatens to fall away from under your feet to escape his presence.

"W—what? What are you doing here?" The words stumble out of your mouth, barely more than a breath. Your legs feel as if they’ve turned to stone, unable to carry you to safety even as terror pulses through you. The monster in the doorway, Beomgyu, stands with an unsettling calm, his eyes fixed on you, something predatory in the curve of the smile lingering on his lips.

“I was invited,” He says simply, and you feel a heat crawl up your spine. Invited. No. No, you didn’t invite him. You didn’t ask for this. You didn’t want any of this.

Instead, there’s an eerie calm in her eyes—a nauseating resignation.

“I did,” She tells you flatly, her voice steady, emotionless “I said I would end it, didn’t I?”

"Take her. Do what you want with her. Just release me."

The words hit you like a bolt of lightning, sharp and burning. You can't breathe. You can’t think.

“Mother!” You shriek, shaking your head in denial. “What are you saying?!”

Her eyes meet yours then, but there’s no softness, no comfort in them. Her expression is cold, like she’s already detached herself from what’s happening, like she’s already let go of whatever bonds once tethered her to you, allowing her to commit the unthinkable against her own flesh and blood without her heart giving way in protest.

Beomgyu doesn’t make any move. He just stands there, watching your reaction with curious intensity, studying your every flinch, your every gasp, as if to see if this will finally break you. The room feels impossibly small, as though the walls are closing in on you, and the darkness of his gaze—of his presence—fills every inch of space, suffocating you.

He tilts his head towards your mother, his voice laced with false sweetness as he continues to wear that chilling smirk on his lips, like a tyrant delighting in watching his subjects perform their misery for him.

“Look at you, Mother. You are unwell. It's making you delirious.” He coos, his eyes glinting with amusement as they flicker toward you. “I have nothing to do with this or your daughter.” “Don’t you dare mock me,” She spits out, her voice fierce, but there’s something hollow in it, something broken. “I know it is you behind all of this. I know you want to have her for yourself, so do it. Take her and do what you will with her. I won’t tell anyone. Just let me go.” The words send a tremor of revulsion through your body. Your stomach lurches, nausea rising like bile in your throat at the sheer abhorrence of what she’s just said. Your mother, your own mother—the woman who should have been your protector, the very one meant to shield you from the cruelties of this world— is willing to give you up, to throw you out to him in order to save herself. How could she? She has seen what he's capable of. How could she hand you over to him like this?

But to your surprise, Beomgyu doesn’t act on her offer. He doesn’t step forward, doesn’t claim you the way your mother so coldly suggested. Instead, his grin widens, and he chuckles softly, as if amused by the entire exchange.

“No offense, mother,” He says casually, his voice smooth and playful despite the jarring reality. That lightness, that ease, only makes it more terrifying. “Your daughter is a beautiful lady, and I understand that every child is precious and priceless in their mother’s eyes. But do you really think I’ve set the netherworld loose on my own tribe just so I can have her?” He pauses, letting the silence stretch between his words and wrap around your throats, before he continues, “I think you might be overestimating her worth a little bit.”

You halt at his words. When he says it like that, it sounds almost absurd, doesn’t it? How highly do you think of yourself? How inflated is your own sense of ego, that you could ever believe that a man would go to such lengths just to possess you?

You suddenly question everything—the beliefs you held, the assumptions you made. Have you completely lost your mind? The realization hits you like a wave, washing away your certainty, leaving only the salty sting of embarrassment in its wake. In truth, are you nothing to him but an insignificant pawn in a much larger game? All this time you had convinced yourself that you were his sole obsession, the source of his dark desire and unquenchable wrath, when your suffering may be nothing more than an afterthought to him.

But your mother is not so easily dissuaded.

“Don’t you dare lie to my face,” She snarls, voice shaking with fury, and lunges at him. “I know who is killing me.”

A blade flashes in her grip and for a moment your heart lurches in your throat as visions of blood, of Beomgyu’s skin split open and carved by her fury, flash through your mind unbidden—but she is much too slow. Whether it’s the curse draining her strength or the unnatural force thrumming through him, it hardly matters, because Beomgyu catches her arm mid-swing and twists it with savage ease, a sickening crack echoing through the room.

Her scream is as mangled as her arm and the fight leaves her all at once. She would crumble to the floor if it wasn’t for Beomgyu grip on her arm holding her up

“Mother, is that the mark of the curse?” He asks emotionlessly, bringing her now deformed arm to his face so could have a closer look.

Your mother pales at the realisation of what she's inadvertently revealed and tries to pull herself away from him but he quickly grabs her by the throat with his other hand, ruthlessly cutting off the protests she tries to utter.

No, this cannot be happening. You cannot bear to lose another parent to him.

Desperation surges within you, and you rush forward, falling to your knees. “No. Please, don't. I beg you. Don’t take her from me.”

He gazes at you, bemusement flickering in his eyes. “You wish for me to spare her? She was prepared to sacrifice you to me.”

Yes, you’re acutely aware of that fact, but she is the only family you have left. Without her, you would be utterly lost. How can you ever hope to stand up to him if the only remaining person who knows the truth about you and him is gone? The only person remotely capable of devising a plan to stop him?

“She’s the only family I have left. Please, don’t take her from me.”

The world seems to hold its breath as Beomgyu regards your pitiful form at his feet. His expression reveals nothing, his face carved from stone. You cannot begin to decipher what he's thinking, and that is the most terrifying thing of all.

You want to save your mother. That’s what you tell yourself. But as you kneel before him, a dark terror coils in your chest—tight and shameful. Because in pleading for her life, you’re leaving ajar the door your mother had opened—an invitation to come in and steal you away.

And what if he does?

You are all too aware of his hatred for you, and the thought of him finally getting his chance to unleash that festering rage, not on strangers or enemies but on you, the one who left him behind and chose another—it makes your blood run dry. Because you know you won’t be treated with the same twisted cruelty he treated them. No, what he has in store for you will be far worse.

And yet, when he finally speaks, it is not with fury—but with cold indifference.

“She has been marked. Her fate is no longer in my hands.” Beomgyu finally declares, his voice devoid of human emotion.

Without another word, he turns, dragging your mother along, and you follow in frantic pursuit, but neither your mother's wailing and flailing nor your screams and attempts to separate them yield any success. He leads you both toward the heart of the settlement where the bulk of the cleansings have been taking place.

“I have another,” Beomgyu announces to his men, who are tending to the ever burning flames at the center of the ritual site, keeping it well fed with daily sacrifices.

“No, please, don't do this.” You plead hysterically, but Beomgyu’s men have long forgone any trace of mercy. They move with grim efficiency, one tearing you away, another seizing your mother. There is no flicker of hesitation or remorse in their eyes, as though this act of unimaginable cruelty—this tearing apart of families, this march to feed the flames—has become second nature to them…mundane. “No, please, please!” You thrash and scream until your throat burns, but still you cannot break free of the grip that holds you. People gather quickly, drawn like moths to the flame, eager to feast their hungry eyes on the latest sacrifice to the fire that rages like a god over their lives.

And before long, so do your husband and his family.

A sense of nauseating terror and shame fills you as you see them make their way through the crowd, for in that moment, your greatest fear is not the impending loss of your mother—but the dread of what they might see, the secrets that she may expose in her desperation and anger at you.

“What is happening here?” The leader’s voice rings out, commanding attention, but Beomgyu does not flinch. His expression remains impassive as he calmly reveals the mark on your mother’s body, exposing it to all who have gathered around, and the sound of shocked gasps ripples through the crowd, echoing in the air like thunder.

The leader is struck into a disquieting silence, wearing a grim expression that tells it all. You shake your head in disbelief, the words tumbling from your lips in a frantic plea. “No, no, it’s a mistake. You must do something.”

But he does not answer you. This man—your leader, your shield, the one who once stood bold and brave against a whole horde of enemies at your gates—cannot even summon the strength to meet your eyes.

He doesn’t speak, because he doesn’t have to. His silence confesses what his pride won’t—that he is too afraid to challenge Beomgyu. Too afraid to stand between her and the flames. And in that moment, whatever faith you still held in him withers away completely.

So you turn your gaze to Kai instead, pleading for him to save your mother. And your husband, your precious Kai, tries to move forward, tries to do something, anything, to stop this madness. But before he can act, hands seize his arms. Not Beomgyu’s men, but his own family.

“She bears the mark,” His father declares, his voice flat, stripped of emotion. A wave of disgust churns within you, not just at his words, but at the apathy with which he speaks them, as though he agrees that condemning your mother to a fiery grave was the only possible solution.

"I have to do something!" Kai shouts, his voice raw, his body taut with urgency, but his family does not yield, they keep their grip on him iron-clad, unwilling to let him risk his life to save your mother’s.

Left with no other recourse, and desperation all but consuming you, you throw your body around, managing to somehow slip away from the man holding you.

“She didn’t do this. You know she didn’t!” You dash towards Beomgyu, but one of his men quickly intercepts you, shoving you back roughly, the force causing you to crash onto the ground–and you lay once again at Beomgyu’s feet.

He looks down at you, his expression blank, unnerving. “I know—or you know?” He asks, his words laying out a trap for you. “Is there something you’re hiding from us? Do you know who is behind this?”

A knot tightens in your stomach, and for a moment, the world stands still. You know you cannot accuse him, not without proof.

And without proof, nobody would ever believe you—they would turn on you as easily as they have turned on everyone else. They’re itching to burn you too, you are certain of it. This must be what Beomgyu wants. He seeks to provoke you, to drive you into a corner, to force you to reveal your own culpability in front of them all and seal your own fate.

“I—I don’t,” You stammer, flinching as you crawl back, the fear in your chest tightening around your lungs like a vice.

“Then how do you know she’s not involved?” Beomgyu takes a step forward, like a panther stalking its prey.

You hesitate, your mind racing for an answer that could save your mother without giving yourself away, but you cannot find a lie convincing enough even if your mother’s life depends on it.

So you turn your face away in shame, just like Kai’s father did. You’re all nothing but cowards and he will pick you off one by one.

“I don’t.”

A cold sneer curls on his lips, and he spits the words at you in contempt. “Then don’t waste our time.”

“He did this. He's the devil.” Your mother finally screams, not afraid of holding back anymore. But it’s too late for her now. No one listens to the ravings of the condemned. No truth she speaks will save her life—But that doesn’t mean her words won’t damn yours.

“Are you happy with what you’ve done?” She snarls, her voice trembling with fury as her eyes bore into yours. And in that gaze, you see it—a hatred deeper than any she could ever hold for anyone else, even Beomgyu. “You’ve killed me. You’ve killed your father!”

Your heart lurches in your chest, your mouth running dry. Is this it? Is this how you burn?

But before she can speak further–before she can offer you up to the hungry crowd, Beomgyu steps in, wrapping a strip of cloth around her mouth–silencing her.

Your mind reels. Why did he do that? Why did he save you? Is it so he can trap you a little longer in this waking nightmare? To force you to watch as everyone you love is devoured by flames? So he can draw out your agony, savor it, let it rot in your bones before he finally claims your life?

You watch as Beomgyu’s men bind your mother in the same manner they did the high priest, the ropes biting into her skin as they force her to her knees and hold her there. She struggles but her muffled screams are lost behind the cloth gagging her.

Then Beomgyu approaches her slowly, in his hand he carries a censer of burning myrrh, thick smoke billowing from its bronze mouth in slow, curling tendrils. He swings it over her head, his movements rhythmic and purposeful, the scent heavy, cloying, smothering.

"Spirits of darkness, foul ones born of shadow and hate, hear my warning and depart from this vessel. Recede back into the deep earth, to the cold underworld below our feet. Linger not, lest you perish with the flesh that binds you. Let her soul rise, carried by wind and smoke, to the gods who dwell above, that she may finally find peace and forgiveness in the light of the heavens."

A strange wind answers. It weaves through the crowd like a living thing, burrowing through cloth and skin alike with claws that cannot be seen–sinking into flesh with a chilling sense of foreboding and terror. Something ancient has stirred, and it is listening.

But even in the chaos of your frantic thoughts, an unsettling detail strikes you.

Why is Beomgyu invoking the evil spirits to depart? Why not bind them within her, trap them in the flesh they defiled, and let the flames consume them?

Surely, if his goal was to destroy them, this would be his chance. Unless… their destruction was never his aim. Unless this ritual is not a cleansing—but a deliverance. A gruesome offering to those same dark spirits.

You glance around, your eyes darting from face to face, searching for even a flicker of doubt—some glimmer of recognition that this is not right, that someone sees through the veil he’s cast over their eyes. But no one stirs. They stand in still, vacant silence, their faith—or fear—rendering them blind.

And so, without question, they watch as his men step forward and present him with a shallow dish filled with a foul-smelling ointment—thick, dark, and reeking of rot. Beomgyu takes it with solemn hands, dipping his fingers into the paste and leaning over your mother. Then, in slow, deliberate strokes, he begins to smear it across her forehead, tracing a shape you do not know—Not of your people. Not of your gods.

It is other. Ancient. Wrong.

“O watchers beyond the veil, turn your gaze from the mark that stains her flesh and upon the weary soul beneath—lost, bound, and cursed,” He intones, his voice echoing inside your skull. “Unbar the gates, and let her spirit pass into your keeping.” His words fall with the cadence of prayer, but they ring hollow. The chant drifts, aimless and meandering—lacking the clarity, the structure, the intent of true communion with the divine. He names no god, directs his plea to no realm, invokes no power.

To the unknowing, it may pass as a true prayer. But you know better.

The hollowness of it unsettles you—for it either speaks of his ignorance of the sacred rites he dares to mimic, or more chillingly, his deliberate intent to obfuscate the ritual’s true nature so as to confuse and mislead those who are watching.

Your suspicions are all but confirmed when Beomgyu is handed a ceremonial knife—its blade dulled by time but still sharp enough to serve its purpose. Without pause, he presses it to the center of his palm, unflinching as he draws a thin, precise line of blood.

Then, with grim ceremony, he places his bleeding hand upon your mother’s chest, the crimson smearing across her skin like a second mark. His chanting continues—a dissonant blend of the familiar and the foreign. Words you half-recognize, twisted into forms that sound unnatural to your ears.

It soon becomes clear—this is the true spell, veiled beneath the pretense of prayer and cloaked in the cadence of forgotten tongues. Yet its purpose still eludes you. There is no revelation in his words, no guiding light—only a slow, suffocating dread that wraps around you tighter with every utterance.

Whatever he calls upon is not merciful. It is old, it is patient, and it is hungry.

As his chant begins to wane, Beomgyu looks to his men, and with a single, commanding gesture, they seize your mother and drag her toward the fire. He lifts his hands to the heavens, his voice rising in one final invocation—deep, resonant, and utterly unintelligible–spoken in a tongue long forgotten by time, its meaning lost to all who hear it.

But you’re no longer listening.

You are rooted to the ground, eyes fixed on the figure of your mother as she’s cast into the fire. Her small frame is devoured almost instantly, swallowed whole by the flames. Even her screams are soon lost to the roar of the inferno.

You stand there, motionless, the tears that should have sprung forth remain trapped behind your eyelids, their ghostly tendrils burning hot on your cheeks. Around you, the world feels distant, veiled behind a wall of smoke and ash.

You stare at the faces of those around you–everyone who has come to witness your tragedy. Beomgyu stands at the center of it all, the firelight casting haunting shadows across his blank face, untouched by the horror he has wrought. His men, however, are alive with twisted fervor, their eyes gleaming with bloodlust as they watch their sacred flame consume your mother's body.

And the common folk… they are no different. They whisper among themselves with eager smiles, reveling in your tragedy—gleeful to see another of your kind consumed by the flames.

And then there is your leader—your brave leader who cannot summon the courage to lift his gaze to you, nor to your mother’s fiery grave, his shame shackling him.

They do not mourn for you. Not him. Not his family. Not the crowd that gathers like vultures at a feast. It is just as Beomgyu had promised. They would all stand back and watch, silent, eager, complicit, as you and everything you cherish burns to ash.

____________________________

Kai tries to explain, to excuse—offering hollow apologies for his father’s shameful cowardice. He promises you protection, swears by all the gods that he will keep you safe.

But you no longer have the patience for these white lies. You remind him that he couldn’t protect your mother from Beomgyu and he cannot protect you from his family.

Because now, just as Beomgyu had warned, his family force you to take her place—pressuring you to fill the role she left behind before her ashes have cooled. They drape her robes across your shoulders and place her tools in your unready hands. You are expected to brew their potions, chant their spells, stitch their wards—positioning you as a shield between them and Beomgyu. They do not care about the risk to your life or the toll it would have on your soul. Just as they hadn’t cared about what it did to her.

But the joke is on them, for you are not your mother. You possess not her strength. The power that once coursed through her blood lies dormant in yours. You cannot command the dark forces as she did, and so your body is spared the toll that broke hers—not out of mercy, but out of lack.

And with that lack, their terror grows. Beomgyu stalks their nightmares still, and without your mother’s protection, they are left vulnerable to his attacks.

In their fear, they grow more and more callous. They demand more. Always more.

They hold Kai over you, blaming you for any harm that would befall him should you fail. They shut you within the cold walls of your mother’s now empty home for days on end, leaving you to choke on the air heavy with long-spent incense and bitter memories. Days pass, and still they demand, pressuring you to invoke powers that should never be meddled with.

And when your hands falter, when the spells fail, they turn cruel. They tell you that if Beomgyu should come for you, they would not stop him.

But their threats fall flat. If they had possessed the strength to stop him, they would never have turned to you. And if your mother had failed, how could they have ever thought you would succeed? This was all an exercise in futility, and they know it. Only they cannot bear to face that truth. They would wear you thin, grind your bones to dust, bleed you dry, tear your soul from your body and lay it bare before the void—before they would ever face the reality of their own doom.

But before they can sacrifice what little you have to offer, Kai steps in.

He cannot silence their demands, nor can he shield you from the endless expectations they heap upon your shoulders—but he can, at the very least, keep them from raising a hand against you.

Not that any of them would admit to considering such a thing—yet you see it clearly in their eyes, the desperation, the growing contempt. If it came down to it, they would throw you to the flames if it meant they could delay their own reckoning, even if for a day.

And so, in the wake of your failure and inadequacy, Kai’s grandmother, a former temple priestess herself, has to step in—the magic in her bones faded but not gone.

She arrives at your mother’s house with two men in tow, straining to carry a heavy stone slab between them—its surface worn but unbroken. She bids them to place it at the centre of the room before she dismisses them, leaving only the two of you inside. You and the dark stone.

She tells you it was once part of a great altar, built by your forebears in time before memory, when your ancestors called down unknowable powers before the tribes bowed to gods with temples. This fragment is the only piece that remains. And for that, it holds power—ancient and terrible, capable of channeling the kind of dark magic Kai’s family so desperately needs.

She begins by laying down the materials atop the cold stone—arranging them carefully in the shape of a cross, each point aligned with one of the five cardinal directions: north, south, east, west… and the center—the axis, the bridge to the underworld.

To the north, bat wings—thin and crumbling at the edges—symbols of the veil, laid down to draw the unseen from its hiding places, to give shape to powers were never meant to walk in flesh.

To the west, mugwort— dry and heavy with scent—laid at the feet of the dying to open the path between worlds, to beckon what lingers between life and death.

To the south, wormwood—gnarled and acrid—burned to rouse what sleeps beneath the earth, to tempt spirits into the realm of the living.

To the east, a hare’s thigh bone—scrubbed clean, wrapped in ash-dyed twine– a vessel of passage, used in rites that tread the seam between realms, where breath falters and blood is the price of entry.

At the center, cedar—weathered, etched with faded sigils—It anchors what is summoned, lest it drift and devour. Once it touches the stone, the rite takes hold.

She murmurs to herself as she places each item, speaking in a tongue you barely recognize—an old dialect of the priestesses, near-extinct, clinging to life only through the lips of women like her, remnants of a world that has all but turned to dust.

Your pulse falters, skipping once—twice—before racing on. Though she has not said it, your heart knows it to be true. Each item, taken on its own, could belong to any number of rites. Harmless, even sacred in the right context. But not like this. Not laid out in this formation. Not chosen in this combination.

This is not a rite of protection. It is a summoning. And whatever it calls forth will demand a price.

Then, without saying a word, she leaves you, disappearing into the shadows outside your home, and when she returns, you see a babe sleeping quietly in her arms. Swaddled. Unaware.

Your breath catches and your stomach turns.

“Grandmother,” Your voice barely leaves your lips, “what are you doing with that baby?”

She places the child at the centre of the altar, directly atop the cedar. Her eyes find yours with an unsettling calm.

“You did not think blood magic came without blood, did you?” She asks. “The old rites demand life in exchange for power—untainted, pure life.”

The air grows colder, thicker, as if the house itself is holding its breath. You stagger back, one hand clutched to your stomach. “No—I will not do this.”

“You must,” She tells you, her voice low and final as she begins to light the materials one by one, the flames catching like a stuttered breath. “It is the only way.”

Your eyes remain fixed on the child, so small, so still. The flickering shadows from the burning herbs dancing across his skin like claws waiting to dig into flesh.

“Whose child is that?” You whisper, heart hammering in your chest. She meets your gaze without flinching.

“The debt has already been forgiven by his family,” She replies, as if that excuses the butchery. “They gave him to me willingly. They understand what must be done. He will save us all.”

“Save us?” You spit out, disgusted. “You think salvation could ever come from shedding the blood of the innocent?”

She says nothing, only stares—her eyes empty, carrying the same vacant look you saw in Beomgyu’s. They are no different than him. None of you are.

“You’ve lost your mind,” You hiss, stepping back, bile rising in your throat. “This is madness and I will not be part of it.”

The flames crackle louder, as if stirred by your defiance.

“It’s either this child or everyone else.” She tells you, her voice sharp like the crack of dry bone. “If you will not help us defeat him, you would doom us all. If you do not stand with us, then you stand with him.”

“I don't.” You insist fiercely. “I won’t be made his champion just because I refuse to slaughter an innocent.”

But she only narrows her eyes, her voice rising with condemnation. Then if the ritual fails because of your cowardice, do not dare to weep as your husband is dragged to the fire for you will have no one to blame but yourself when he becomes the next sacrifice to feed the fire you refused to quench.”

“No! There has to be another way.” You cry, refusing to believe that Kai’s salvation could be bought with the life of a child barely given to the world—a soul still cradled in innocence, not yet touched by sin or time.

“There isn't'.,” She tells you cruelly, banishing your hopes away. “Spare the child, and he’ll burn with the rest of his kin before the season turns. His death is mercy. His death is salvation.”

You recoil from her words, your voice breaking. “The gods will not forgive this.”

A cruel smile twists across her lips. “What do you know of the gods, foolish girl? The old gods demand blood. They always have. They have slept long and deep, and now they wake—and they hunger.”

“I won’t be a part of this.” If you stand on nothing, then you must at least stand on this.

“Then you are every bit the failure your mother feared you would be.”

Her words almost knock you off your feet yet she does not bother to waste another glance on you. Without another word, she turns away and begins to chant. At first, her voice is thin, worn by age, but as the words spill forth, it begins to shift. It deepens. Fractures. Each syllable splits into layered echoes, as though more than one voice now speaks through her. The sound slithers across the stone, coils around your spine, and settles behind your ribs.

The air shifts, darkening, as if it’s remembering a time before light. The walls of your home seem to breathe, expanding and contracting with each syllable of her chant. And somewhere just beyond your sight, you feel it—the veil thinning, the world bending. And something drawing near.

The moonlight recedes completely, swallowed into shadow, until only the dim glow of the burning herbs remains, their smoke rising in faint spirals. The scent of mugwort is sickly sweet in the back of your throat, mixing with the acrid tang of wormwood to churn your stomach. The symbols carved into the slab—ones you hadn’t noticed before—began to glow as if sensing the offering.

A strange power stirs within you, rising without warning. It shivers along your skin, flaring at your fingertips, lighting your nerves with wildfire. It fills you to the brim, heady and intoxicating, making you feel more alive than you have in moons—whole, strong, near invincible.

You glance at the old woman, and her face—withered and worn mere moments ago—now seems to shine with youth, her features blossoming by a vitality not her own. The dark force that is sparking within you has rooted itself fully in her, feeding her strength beyond what her flesh should hold. A faint smile graces her lips as she looks at you, knowing, triumphant.

And for one breath, you waver. For a moment the power calls to you—sweet and seductive. With this power, you can make the world right again. With this power, you can save Kai, you can save the tribe, you can restore everything to order. Perhaps one life is a small price for peace. Perhaps some sacrifices are necessary for the greater good.

But then, the child stirs.

And your eyes fall on him—-small, fragile, alive. His chest rises with each shallow breath, lashes trembling against his cheeks, tiny fingers curling as though instinctively reaching for comfort he will never again receive. And in a flash, his future unfurls before you like a vision—the laughter of boyhood, the wild courage of youth, the heat of love, the wisdom that only time can bestow. All of it devoured by a power that prowls around him like a beast, eager to tear into his soft flesh.

And then—suddenly—all that power is gone. It departs your body in a violent rush, leaving you gutted and raw. You stagger back, breath caught in your throat, bile rising. The strength that once made you feel godlike now curdles from the guilt and shame brewing in your gut.

You turn around, fleeing from the horror of it all. Your feet slamming against the ground as you run—out of what was once your home and into the cold night. You don’t stop to think. You can’t. All you know is that you have to get away.

From the altar.

From her.

From the child.

From what you’ve all become.

You flee the settlement in a haze, your feet carrying you into the wilderness before thought could catch up to you. You don’t pause to consider that if Beomgyu finds you alone, in the dark, he might not spare you a second time. Perhaps, somewhere beneath the panic, a part of you hopes he wouldn’t.

The forest swallows you whole. Branches clawing at your skin. Rocks biting into the soles of your feet. You wander deeper, breathless, until the walls of your world are replaced by thorns and shadows.

The air out here is biting—cold enough to make your teeth chatter, and still you welcome it. The frigid night air is a balm against the fever that has clung to you ever since the night-bloomer scorched its way through your blood. That cursed flower was the beginning. It opened something inside you, and whatever stepped through never left.

From the edge of this high ridge, you watch the settlement below. Its fire flickers and dances—no doubt being fed new sacrifices even now. It has become a nightly ritual. You have stopped asking who, or why, or what it accomplished. It no longer mattered. One day, it would be your turn. Perhaps soon.

You stay there for hours, curled against the earth like a wounded animal, until the morning sun breaks the night open with its blinding light, its heat beating ruthlessly against your back, pulling you from your icy resting place. Only then do you begin the long walk home. Step by step, as though the daylight could erase what you had witnessed from your mind.

As you approach Kai’s home—the one you had once tried to think of as your own—dread blooms anew in your chest.

Kai is waiting inside for you. He sits stiffly near the hearth, though no fire has been lit. His eyes, hollow and rimmed in red, snap to you the moment you enter. He hasn’t slept. You can tell.

“Where were you?” His voice is rough, dry. You open your mouth to answer, but the words catch. “I—I was just…”

He turns fully to you, something brittle in his expression, like a man one breath away from breaking. “Were you with my grandmother?”

Your heart seizes up, scared to beat lest it betray you. He knows. He knows what you've seen. What you’d almost done. He knows what you are now. A monster.

“Did my grandmother slaughter a child for blood magic?”

You open your mouth, but no words come. What is there to say? There is no explanation, no defense that wouldn’t rot on your tongue.

But he does not wait for your answer. He seems to barely even see you.

“She’s gone,” Kai tells you, his voice hollow. “They burned her.”

You stare at him, quiet, still, guilty.

“She was caught trying to dispose of the body,” He continues, looking somewhere past you. “The villagers found the remains… and the altar. They saw what she had done.”

He swallows hard, his own words hard for him to stomach. “They dragged her to the fire—And they threw her in.” His breath hitches, faltering for a moment. “My father tried to stop them. He tried to save her.”

Kai’s hands tremble, fingers curling into fists in a futile attempt to steady himself. His eyes shine with unshed tears. “He stood before them all and called Beomgyu the devil. Said he’d cut him down—and every last one of them who stood with him. Even if it meant slaughtering the entire tribe.”

Kai looks down, and for a moment, you fear he might shatter into a thousand pieces that you’d spend the rest of your short life trying to piece back together. “Beomgyu didn’t even need to say a word. His own people turned on him. Just like that. They dragged him to the flames and threw him in after her.”

He lifts a trembling hand to his face, his fingers press against his skin like a dam against a flood, but it’s no use. The tears spill anyway, silent and searing. “I only survived because my men held me back. They stopped me from running into the fire after them.”

Silence settles between you for a few long moments—pressing in from all sides, crushing. Then, finally, Kai lifts his gaze to you, and for the first time, you see him utterly broken.

“I’m next. I know I am.” He swallows hard, voice thinning to a whisper. “You were right. I can’t protect you. I can’t protect anyone.”

____________________________

Kai watches, helpless, as more and more of his family fall like winter leaves—plucked from the tree one by one, their faces lost to the fire.

He moves through life like the dead, a ghost barely bound to flesh, walking only because he does not know he has been claimed. Each morning he wakes is not a mercy, but a sentence delayed. Each breath drawn is a borrowed one.

And still, you try to protect him.

You surround him with wards, cleanse the air around him with sacred herbs, speak the old words over his sleeping figure. You draw on all the knowledge you had learned from your mother and your masters—every charm, every rite, every shred of knowledge that has been passed down through the ages.

And still, it is not enough. You can see the darkness seeping in through your protective walls, like water through cracked stone. So you shift course, forced to adopt a new approach if you wanted any hope of making it out alive.

You form an alliance with Beomgyu, offering him the illusion of compliance. You adopt the language of compromise, of reason—anything to buy time. You push Kai to yield, not just out of fear, but out of strategy. Because if Beomgyu truly means to rule, he cannot do so alone.

Let him burn the priests, let him silence the elders—but he cannot kill everyone. If he erases every trace of the ruling line and all religious authority, there will be no one left to legitimize him. The people may fear him now, but once the blood stops flowing, they will begin to question. And power built on fire alone will, in time, burn itself to ash.

You believe this. You hold onto it. Because the alternative is too monstrous to bear.

So you and Kai play your parts in this madness. You nod in silence to Beomgyu’s demands. You keep your gaze lowered when they drag another innocent soul to the pyre. You swallow down your shame, choke on your disgust, and wear your submission like armor.

And it works. For a time, the sickness slows. The village breathes. The sacrifices seem to satisfy something—if not Beomgyu, then whatever he serves.

But even that isn’t enough to save him.

You notice it first, of course. A faint shadow, just beneath Kai’s skin. A sheen of black along his collarbone, no bigger than a bruise. He doesn’t see it, but you do. You press your fingers to it, try to rub it away like dirt, but it stays.

And if Kai can’t see the rot slowly overtaking his body, he can still see your reaction to it—your alarm, your despair, and eventually he has to ask. “What is it?” He says softly, his voice quiet, resigned, as if he already knows the truth you cannot bear to speak.

Instead, you burn more herbs until your eyes sting from the smoke, steep roots and resins until your hands are raw, chant until your voice grows hoarse. You bathe him in salves, wrap him in spells and prayers—but still, it spreads.

The darkness that clung to your mother has found him now. It festers beneath his skin like rot, blooming slowly. The same black veins. The same sleepless nights. The same flickers of pain he tries to hide behind weary eyes and quiet smiles.

And with every passing day, you watch as you fail the one person you have fought so desperately to save. You wonder if this is why Beomgyu has spared you. So you would live long enough to witness your lover’s slow and torturous demise. So you would be forced to bear the agony of helplessness, to watch as love turns to ash in your arms. So he can see how much more you can take before your heart splits open under the weight of your grief.

_____________________

The fire in the hearth has long since died out, but you don’t have the strength to reignite it. The shadows stretch long across the room, and Kai lies beneath them—asleep, his breath shallow, his skin dark with the unmistakable touch of the curse.

You sit with him, legs folded, his head resting on them. You haven’t left his side since the coughing began—since the first flecks of blood stained his lovely lips.

His eyes flutter open, slow and unfocused, but when they meet yours, he offers a weak smile. “You’re still here.”

Your throat tightens. “Where else would I be?”

He shifts, just barely, wincing from the effort. “I keep dreaming… that you left me. That you–” He frowns, not continuing, and you did not wish him to.

You brush your fingers through his hair, slow and gentle, as though trying to smooth the sickness away. “I wouldn’t leave you. Not now. Not ever.”

Kai’s hand finds yours—shaky, and weak—and he brings your knuckles to his lips, resting them there. There’s no heat in his breath anymore, just the ghost of warmth. The silence between you is thick, filled with everything you feel and everything you don’t have time to say. Outside, the wind howls like it mourns for you.

Kai’s hand moves slowly, fingertips brushing your cheek. “Do you remember the first time I saw you in the temple gardens?”

You smile weakly, the memory fond and precious in your mind. “You asked me if I was a spirit.”

“You looked like one,” He murmurs, awed. “Too bright to be real.”

You let out a soft laugh—real but slightly bitter. “I think you’re the only one who’s ever looked at me like that.”

It’s true. No one has ever looked at you so kindly. Not your parents. Not Beomgyu. Not anyone.

“You’re the only one I ever looked at like that,” He tells you, his weak voice sounding firmer than it has been for a long time. “If my end is near… I’m glad I get to spend it with you.”

You press an aching kiss to his forehead, your lips lingering there, as if the love you press into his skin can sink deep enough to drive out the curse.

“It’s not the end,” You lie gently. “You’re still here. And I’m not letting go yet.”

He looks up at you, and there’s something in his eyes that breaks you—resignation, sadness, the desperate look of a man who knows he’s fading and wants to feel alive just one more time.

You shift, laying his head down on soft fabric so you can climb over him, breathing him in. His hands reach for your waist, tentative, as if asking permission. You don’t pull away. You wouldn't dream of it. Instead, you lean into him, your foreheads touching, the tip of your nose brushing his.

His fingers graze the back of your neck, sliding into your hair, and you press your mouth to his slowly. The kiss is soft. His lips part against yours, and you drink in the faint warmth of him while it lasts.

You pull back just enough to look at him again, eyes shining with love. He tucks a lock of hair behind your ear, thumb brushing the side of your face.

“If I die, I want to die like this. Holding you. Not in—” He gulps, and you shush him, quickly pressing another kiss to his lips.

Then his cheek, then lower—to the hollow of his throat where you feel his thready pulse, to his chest, where his heart beats faintly beneath your lips. You take your time with him. Every brush of your fingers, every kiss, is slow, deliberate—like you’re trying to remember him—not just his body, but everything about him, the way his muscles tense beneath your touch, the way he sighs your name like it’s the only thing keeping him tethered to this world.

You make your way down his stomach, lingering where the faint little hairs rise from under his breeches, listening for the way his breath hitches at your proximity.

Then you pull them down, exposing his hard member to you. You gather it in your hands, placing a few gentle kisses along the length before taking it in your mouth. You shudder at the soft moan he lets out. He lies still and pliant, chest rising and falling in rhythm with your movements. His hand finds the back of your head, not pushing, just holding—like he needs you to anchor him.

“You feel so good.” He chokes out, breath quickening as the heat of your mouth gets to his head. “Gods, I love you so much.”

You slow down again, needing to savor the way his hips twitch beneath your touch, the tremble in his legs. You can feel his restraint, the way he’s holding back, not wanting to overwhelm you with his urgency. It makes your chest ache. Even now, with his body failing, he’s still thinking of you.

“I know, darling. I love you too. So much.” You whisper, taking your mouth off him to pump his length in your hand instead, your pace fast and easy over the wet member. “Want you to give in to me. Forget everything and only focus on my touch, the tightness of my grip, the softness of my lips…”

You talk him through it, punctuating your words with open-mouthed kisses to his cock, until his head falls back and a quiet, broken sound escapes his lips.

“I'm right there. I can't–I need you!” His body arches, shuddering as you draw every last drop of pleasure from him, and then he collapses back against the ground, boneless, eyes fluttering shut.

You move back up his body slowly, pressing soft kisses to his stomach, then to his chest, then to the curve of his jaw. When you finally reach his lips, he pulls you in, arms around your waist, holding you close like he never wants to let go.

“I don’t deserve you.”

Your heart drops in guilt, and you hush him with a kiss. “You deserve more than I have given you. More than I can ever give you.”

He shakes his head. “You’ve given me everything.”

No, you’ve taken everything from him, and soon you’ll take his life too.

Still, you stay close to him, selfishly curled along the length of his body, his skin damp with sweat, his breath still shallow but slower now. You rest your head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat—faint, yes, but steady. Strong enough to ease your worries, if only for tonight.

His fingers thread loosely into your hair, his other hand cradling the back of your neck, as though he’s afraid you might disappear if he lets go. Neither of you speak for a while. The silence full of things too heartbreaking to put into words: thank you, I love you, I’m scared.

You kiss the skin over his heart, once, then again, and he hums softly, tired but content.

“You're warm,” He murmurs, and you frown. Does he feel the burn of the curse too?

You shift to look at him, your leg draping over his hips, hands resting gently against his ribcage. You can feel the sickness thrumming under your fingertips. You know it all too well now—the slow, merciless crawl of it. The way it spreads inward, inch by inch, carving through flesh and spirit alike as it creeps toward the heart, and yet he holds you like he’s still whole.

“I wish I could take it from you,” You whisper, fingers pressing down firmly as if you could draw it out through touch alone. “I’d carry it all, if I could. Every ache, every breath. I’d let it tear through me instead—if it meant saving you.”

He shakes his head resolutely. “I would never let you. I would die a thousand deaths before I let it hurt you.”

There is no use arguing with him. For all your declarations, neither of you can save each other. So you lay your head back down on his shoulder and fall into a rhythm with his breathing, your hand moving slowly up and down his side in a soothing motion.

“Tell me something good,” He asks you quietly.

“Like what?”

“Anything. A lie, even. I don’t care.” He says, and his desperation breaks you.

You think for a moment, then smile to yourself, picking the most beautiful lie. “You’re going to get better. We’re going to beat this, beat him, and restore everything to what it was. Then we’ll rebuild—cleanse the tribe, shape it into something kinder, somewhere safe. A place worthy of the children we’ll raise together. And one day, there’ll be stories about us. Legends. Our descendents will speak about how we saved the world from darkness.”

Kai chuckles, low and raspy. “That’s a good lie.”

“I’ll keep telling it until it’s true.” You lean up and kiss the corner of his mouth. He turns his head and kisses you back, more desperate and needy this time—the kind of kiss you give when you don’t know how many more you have left.

He touches you more boldly, his hands running along your sides, to your hips, pulling your dress up and guiding you over his cock until you’re sinking down on it, making you both cry out in relief as you become one.

If you could, you would never let this moment end. You would stay here, forever bound to your beloved.

Your hands slide across his chest, your mouth trailing close behind it, kissing every inch of skin as if each touch could buy you another day. He murmurs your name like a prayer, over and over.

When your bodies meet, it’s not rushed despite your desperation. It’s not even just about pleasure. It’s about closeness. Skin to skin, breath to breath. You move together in the dark, your hands tangled in his hair, his fingers grasping your waist, your shoulders, your arms—anything to keep you near. You feel him tremble beneath you, from the strain of his pleasure, from the emotions he can no longer hold in.

You kiss his tears away. You give him your everything—every thrust of your hips, every desperate moan, every gasp as you ride him until neither of you can tell where he ends and you begin.

“I’m so sorry.” You tell him, fighting to hold back your own tears as you watch him ache beneath you, his cock hot and twitching inside your fluttering pussy. “I’m so sorry.”

He can’t hear your apologies, and perhaps that’s a small mercy. Better he never knows what you’ve done. The curse might claim his body, but to live his final days with the knowledge that he has been doomed by the very person he loves—that is a fate more cruel than death.

You can tell that he’s close, and you let one of your hands drop between you to brush against your pussy, pushing yourself over the edge so your contracting walls can milk his cock dry.

“Oh, gods!” He groans, his eyes fighting to stay on you as his second release wracks through his weak body. “I love you. Thank you.”

You cannot bear to receive his gratitude, not when you know that the slow ruin overtaking his body all began with you. So you kiss him until he can no longer speak, until the tension fades from his limbs and his body yields to exhaustion. Only then do you stop.

You collapse beside him, your bodies pressed together, limbs entwined like roots grown from the same tree. You rest your head in the crook of his neck, your hand over his heart once more.

It still beats. Not strong. Not for long. Not if you do nothing.

You cannot let him die. You need to save him. You’ve been selfish enough, watching him suffer for far too long while you cling to your fear, your pride, your hope that there might be another way. But there isn’t.

And you know what you must do.

_________________

You slip out in the dead of night, silent as the grave, your heart pounding so loudly it feels like it can be heard through the stillness. The village sleeps around you, tucked into an uneasy slumber. You should be asleep too—wrapped in your lover’s arms, but instead your feet carry you forward—to the one place you swore you’d never go.

Beomgyu’s home looms ahead, shrouded in shadow, the darkness pooling thickly around it, making it seem larger, more oppressive than it is. The door hangs slightly ajar, as though left open for you. And perhaps that should have been your first warning.

You step inside, breath lodged in your throat, every footfall echoing loudly in the unnatural stillness. You half-expect to find him asleep, or hunched over in some twisted ritual. But instead, he’s standing in the center of the room, perfectly still, eyes fixed on the door, on you, as if he knew you were coming. That should have been your second warning.

The hairs on the back of your neck lift. Every instinct screams at you to turn and run and not look back until you’re far away from here. But it’s already too late. You’ve stepped into his grasp, and you know he will not let go so easily.

“What are you doing here, flower?” He asks, his voice quiet—almost gentle. There’s no surprise in it. No confusion. Just a calm certainty. As if this moment had already taken place in his mind a thousand times before.

You open your mouth to speak, but your words fail you. You’re struck by the softness of him—not the snarling cruelty you've come to expect, not the hollow-eyed hatred he’d worn all these weeks since you’d first rejected him.

Gods—has it only been mere weeks? It feels like the terror and grief you’ve lived through can fill up a hundred lifetimes.

“Is it proper,” Beomgyu murmurs, his tone and expression almost… fond. As if you were lovers meeting in secret. “for a married woman to be alone in another man’s house at such an ungodly hour?”

His tone is light, but beneath it lies something darker—a knowing, a warning, a welcome. And though you haven’t yet said a word, he already knows why you’ve come. You see it in the way he steps closer, in the slight, assured curl of his smile. He’s been waiting for this.

“There is no such thing as an ungodly hour. The gods watch over us always.” Your voice is steadier than you expected, the defiance slipping out before you can stop it—small, trembling, but there, surprising even you.

Beomgyu smiles wider, and you can’t help but feel mocked. In this house of darkness, you worry that the gods can’t see you.

“Indeed they do,” He takes another slow step toward you, hands clasped behind his back as if he does not need to lift a finger to bring you to your knees. “Does he know you’re here?”

You shake your head, already struggling to breathe. “No.” Your voice is quieter now, more weak. “He can’t know. He can’t know any of it—so please, just… stop.”

Your mouth fills with saliva as bile rises to the back of your throat. “I don’t know why you’re doing this. I don’t understand what you want from me. But please… no more.”

You hate how broken you sound. You hate the way the shadows press closer around you as if they can sense your weakness, how he watches you as if he’s ready to devour you.

“So you’ve come here all alone… behind your husband’s back… to another man’s home?” He advances on you slowly, like a predator savoring the moment before the strike. “That’s not very wise.” Another step. “What if I do something to you?” His head tilts, eyes gleaming with something far too close to hunger. “What if I decide to take what I have always wanted?”

His words hang in the air like incense smoke, thick and cloying. He watches you the way a cat watches a mouse it had battered within an inch of its life—curious to see what you will do, knowing you can’t run.

Your breath is shallow, but your pulse is a thunderous roar in your ears. You flinch when he finally closes the distance between you and reaches out. You brace for the worst, but his fingers merely brush through your hair to tuck a loose strand behind your ear. The gesture may seem sweet, but it only serves to remove what little separates you from the depthless darkness of his eyes, and that is exactly his purpose.

He hates you and he wants you. This isn’t about affection—it’s about conquest. About proving that he can take what was once denied him. That he can make you his, if only to undo you. You feel it in his gaze, in the sharp softness of his touch. This is the revenge he’s always hungered for.

Your voice comes out quieter than you had hoped, but it remains resolute. “Do what you will… just stop this.”

“Stop what?” The corner of his mouth twitches. That cruel little glint of satisfaction, duper’s delight, flickering in his eyes like he can barely contain his pleasure at seeing his plans unravel so perfectly. “I am only purging this tribe of those infected with the curse,” He says, mockingly pious.

You stare at him, heart thundering, disgust bitter on your tongue. “Then go jump into that fucking fire. That will cure us all.”

He laughs, the sound battering against your weak heart and making it want to shrivel up and die–his apparent good mood more unnerving than his anger. You feel like prey already halfway into the lion’s mouth.

“Why, surely you’re not implying that I am behind the curse?” The mockery drips like poison honey from his tongue. He’s daring you to say it, daring you to try to strip away the mask he wears for the others and face the monster you’ve unknowingly nurtured.

“You are!” You cry, your voice thrumming with a courage you do not truly possess. “I don’t know why you’re doing this, or how you can find any of it amusing, but it’s not. You’re killing people—innocent people!”

Beomgyu doesn’t flinch, your fury and disgust scattering around him like ash in the wind. He merely tilts his head, a slow, mocking gesture, and drawls, “Who is innocent? Your mother? The woman who tried to barter your life for her own?”

That silences you—but he isn’t finished.

“Or perhaps your husband’s father—our brave leader—who threatened you, used you, and would've cast you at my feet just as your mother did, if it meant I’d spare him.”

You don’t respond, the truth of his words piercing your skin like blades.

“No one in this tribe is innocent,” Beomgyu continues, his voice low, almost mournful. “They care for nothing but their own safety. Their own comfort. They would let the world burn just to keep themselves warm.”

His fingers lift—gentle, too gentle—and brush against your cheek. The touch is soft, but it feels like it brands you. “They condemn that which they don’t understand and cast it out without a second thought. Without mercy.”

You swallow, forcing down the lump in your throat. “Is that what all of this is for? To punish them? To take revenge for what they did to you?”

His gaze darkens, like a storm passing over still water. You've struck something raw. “Do I not deserve revenge?”

“For what?” You ask, incredulous. “Because they looked at you in distaste?”

“You think that’s all that was done to me?” His false smile finally slips from his face, revealing the raw edge beneath. “I was feared by my own mother, hated by my own father, then blamed for their deaths. I was judged before I even had the chance to defend myself. I was stripped of everything, my family name, my birthright, my future, and you all watched it happen. No one came for me. No one defended me. My bloodline was doomed to rot while others like yours were revered. I was condemned to nothing—and still you call it distaste?”

You feel the world bend around you—as if even the night itself recoils in fear of his wrath.

“If you think all that was nothing but distaste,” He murmurs, his voice stripped of all pretense, “then why are you here, begging for it to stop when it’s finally happening to you?”

You blanch, the breath catching in your lungs like smoke.

Suddenly, everything begins to make sense. His aim was not just to dismantle and destroy those in power so he could rise to take their place. No—he wanted you to suffer as he had suffered. To feel the whispers at your back. To endure the suspicion in your family’s eyes. To suffer the isolation that gnaws at the edges of your sanity. To see your name soiled, your future crumbling in the palms of your hand.

He wanted to ruin you, just as you watched him get ruined. “Please,” You whisper, voice quivering with the tears of despair and utter hopelessness you’re struggling to hold back. “Whatever justice you believe this to be, you’ve delivered it. Let it end now—please.”

“But I am not doing anything, my flower,” Beomgyu says, his voice once again cloaked in silken innocence. “This is the gods’ wrath, sent down to punish the sinners.”

You recoil as though scorched, fury and dread climbing your throat like smoke from a pyre.

“Liar!” You hiss at him. “It’s you. This is all your doing.”

He feigns confusion, his smile soft and patronizing. “How can that be? I have no power, remember? I am nothing, no one. Not compared to you.” His gaze sharpens, though his tone remains deceptively light. “Wasn’t it your family who was entrusted with the sacred arts? The divine craft passed down through generations? Wasn’t it you who once told me of the dark magic that is kept hidden behind the walls of the temple? The spells marked in blood beneath the altar?”

The implication in his words is clear. You cannot give him up. If he burns, you burn with him.

Your knees nearly buckle under the weight of it all—his threat, his power, the noose he’s been quietly tightening around your neck seemingly since the moment you met him.

“Please,” You plead, voice frayed. “Spare them. Spare him.”

He regards you in a silence that stretches between you like a taut thread ready to snap. Then, calmly—almost kindly—he says, “Only the innocent will be spared.”

Your heart thuds heavily in your chest. “But… you said there are no innocents.”

His answering smile is slow, terrible, and you finally start to cry, the tears falling faster than you can wipe them away. “He is innocent.” You insist, wailing.

“Is he?” His voice is not raised, but sharpened—like a blade sliding between ribs. “His family is the reason mine is dead.”

“Lies!” You shout, desperate to drown him out, to push back against the tide of his hate. “He is good—he’s good.”

But your words barely leave your mouth before his hand strikes like a snake, fisting in your hair and yanking your head back sharply. You gasp, pain blooming across your scalp, your neck straining as he forces you to look up at him—his eyes dark and gleaming with fury and hurt, long-fed and allowed to fester.

“Tell me again. Tell me how good he is.” His grip tightens, uncaring that he’s hurting you as he watches your tears stream down your cheeks.

“Tell me why you chose him over me.” For the first time, his voice rises, a crack forming in his composure, letting you glimpse his hurt. “Was it because he is respected? Because his family’s name sits high on the tongues of fools while mine is dragged through filth? Because the people love him—trust him—as a matter of birthright—while they hate and fear me for the lies his family told? For the poison your elders whispered into my father’s ear? For the lies they let fester until they bled into every home in this cursed tribe?”

You try to shake your head, to deny it, but his grip holds you fast.

“You’re lying,” You manage, the words brittle, barely holding shape. “Why would they do that? Why would they want to hurt you?” You ask as if you’ve never heard the rumors. As if you don’t remember the whispers that once buzzed like flies around a fresh grave, speaking of his father’s untimely death and how fortuitous it was for Kai’s father to survive his only real rival for leadership.

Beomgyu’s laugh is empty, humorless. “Ask your precious husband. I’m sure he won’t lie to you—not now that you’re one of them.” The accusation in his voice burns like his fire. “You’re both cut from the same cloth. Liars and hypocrites. You wear righteousness like a veil, pretend to be pure, pretend to be above me—” He sneers down at you, his shadow devouring your light.

“I’ll strip away that veil—thread by thread. And when there’s nothing left to hide behind, not your name, not your blood, not your husband’s family, I’ll show everyone what you really are. What you’ve always been—rotten underneath.”

You stare at him, heart fluttering in your chest like an injured bird. “You’re insane,” You whisper faintly to whatever monstrous creature is wearing Beomgyu’s face.

And yet, the cruelest truth is the one you cannot deny—he is not wrong. You’re no better than him. You have brought death to your parents, ruin to your husband’s bloodline, and doom to the tribe. Every choice you have made has carried you further from the grace of the gods, and you fear that their gates have been long closed to you.

He leans closer, until there is no air between you and him. Until the warmth of his breath ghosts over your skin, and you can smell the faint trace of herbs and smoke clinging to him like a second skin. “Maybe I am after all,” He murmurs, voice low and intimate, as if sharing a secret only with you.

“What do you hope to gain from this?” You sob, wondering with growing terror if there remains any plea, any offering, that might yet stay this madman’s hand. “Just to kill us all for crimes you’ve imagined we committed?”

“Oh, flower,” He murmurs, almost fond. “You’re even more beautiful when you cry but I must warn you that those precious tears you shed only burn me with more hatred.”

He cups your cheek in his hand, and though he stands suffocatingly close, you can’t pull away, not with his fingers tangled in your hair like claws hooked into flesh. “It makes me want to kiss you until I've taken all your breath away, to fuck you until you have no tears left to shed and your throat bleeds from screaming my name.”

There it is—he no longer makes any effort to conceal his ravenous hunger. You came knowing this moment could come, hoped for it… but to say you were prepared for the violence of his desire would be a lie. Still, if surrender is the price for a little more time, you will pay it. If he harbors even a sliver of mercy in that withered heart, you’ll trade whatever pieces of yourself he demands so he will let you breathe a little longer. Not for you, but for it…

“Please…” You tremble, the words tearing your throat like thorns. “Spare my child. It is innocent.”

He stills, his haughty expression faltering. “You’re… with child?”

For the first time, there is no mockery in his voice. No smile on his face. No anger in his eyes. Just curiosity. And a flicker of something you’re scared to name.

You nod, tears blurring the shape of him, but never softening it. The despair wells up like a maelstrom in you as your thoughts drift to the life inside you. So small, so fragile. A child who may never see the light of day because of the monster that stands before you.

His shadow spills over you—vast, engulfing—larger than any mere mortal’s. His hand moves. Down. Until it lays gently over your abdomen.

You still, every muscle in your body tightening. You want to recoil, to strike him, to run. But you can’t. You’re afraid of what he might do if you try.

His touch is warm, gentle even, but it makes your skin crawl just the same. He is silent, contemplative, as though he could feel your child's lifeblood pulsing beneath his fingers. Then comes the faintest curve to his lips—a small, inexplicable smile that unnerves you. You can’t make sense of it and that terrifies you more than all the threats he’s made. Is he marveling at the life within you… or planning how best to use it? Will your child be spared, or sacrificed?

Your mind spirals. Behind your eyes, that horrible image resurfaces—the one you’ve tried so hard to banish: the infant Kai’s grandmother laid on the altar, soft and helpless, its innocence consumed to feed something foul and ancient.

Will he slaughter your child the same way—spill its blood to sustain whatever darkness writhes beneath his skin?

You wish you’d never told him. You wish your child would slip into the silence of your womb, its life fading before it could be used for something unholy. Before he could defile it, as he has defiled everything he’s ever touched. Before he could stain its soul so utterly that even the gods would turn their faces in disgust and refuse to welcome it home.

“Please,” You sob, barely able to speak through the wave of panic drowning your lungs. “Please don't hurt my child.”

He brushes away your tears with the pad of his thumb, his touch so gentle it only deepens your horror, convincing you that he’s preparing you for the slaughter. “Hush, flower,” He whispers. And then, slowly, he leans in—

His lips find your cheek first, kissing the trail your tears have burned down your face. He follows them as they run, until they pass over the corner of your mouth. There, he catches your lips in a kiss. Uninvited. Unwanted. Unstoppable.

You do not dare fight him. Instead, you kiss him back, desperate, needing to appease him. You let him draw you closer, pliantly responding to his terrifying hunger. You suppress your flinch when his hands start to roam, caressing and groping places only a husband should claim.

His pleased sighs are hot against your mouth, and you force yourself to swallow them down—burying your revulsion, your horror, your shame. You feel the hardness of him pressed against your hip, and everything inside you screams at you to stop this.

But you can’t. Because if this is the cost to keep your child alive… If this is what it takes to keep him from burning the only person you have left… then you will endure. Even if it breaks you. Even if the gods forsake you. Even if you never forgive yourself.

Your breath hitches as his hands roam lower, kneading the flesh of your hips, fingers digging in as though trying to mold you to him. You feel his hips grind faster against you—firm, insistent. You hear the roughness in his breath as he leans in closer, burying his face in your neck, breathing you in. And still you don’t pull away.

“So soft,” He murmurs, voice rough with need. “You don’t even realize what you do to me.”

You’re filled with revulsion—at him, at yourself. It sickens you to hear him all but admit to having viewed you so lewdly, to having lusted after you. But what makes your stomach turn even more violently is the way your body still reacts to his touch, despite everything—despite the monster he’s become, the horrors he’s unleashed, the blood he’s spilled. Despite the fact that you belong to another man, one you love. You hate it. You hate yourself for it.

And you begin to wonder if this too, is just another step in his cruel design? Not just to take you, not just to break you down and claim the pieces for himself—but to make you complicit? To make you question your purity, your loyalty, your sanity?

His lips press along your jaw, down the side of your throat, trailing heat and dread in equal measure. You close your eyes and try not to feel any of it. Try to think only of the child inside you. Of Kai’s face. Of anything but this.

You pull back, breathless, your lips damp with the salt of your own tears and the taste of him still clinging to your mouth. “Please, if I let you have me… will you spare them?”

He cocks his head to the side—eyes wild, feral. He lets the silence stretch until your heart is pounding against your ribs as if it wants out. You’re the first to break. Of course, you are. You cannot bear it, and so carefully, slowly you push one hand between your bodies to find his hard length and wrap your fingers around it in a tentative stroke. His jaw parts on a groan—a low sound that rumbles from deep in his chest. His lashes flutter shut, and for a few breathless moments, his body is open to you.

You study him—the quiver of his lips, the tension in his brow, the ache he hid for so long.

You watch his lashes, long and thick, fan out softly against his cheeks. His nose rising in an elegant silhouette from his handsome face. And his lips—soft, full, and delicate in a way that doesn’t belong in his world of ash and fire. You wonder how someone so lovely could hold so much darkness. With his eyes closed, he looks almost peaceful. Serene. Like an angel caught between two worlds, reminding you so much of the young boy you once held a small flame in your heart for, and your heart breaks. Not for the man in front of you, but for the boy who never stood a chance.

For a few moments, all you see is the boy who once waited for you at the edge of the woods with dirt on his knees and wildflowers in his fists. The boy who laughed too loudly and asked too many questions, excited and eager to have a friend, to get a glimpse at a world that never made room for him.

You wonder if he is still in there, if the fire burning through him hasn’t completely consumed him. You wonder if it’s not too late, if the monster still remembers what it means to love. You wonder if maybe, just maybe, there is a way to pull that boy out from underneath the embers.

But even with his eyes closed, you feel watched. Not by him—but by whatever always clings to him.

You keep stroking him, slow and measured, your other hand braced on his chest to keep some distance between you because despite all your mournful ruminations, this is not an act of tenderness, of love. This is a bid for salvation. He is no longer the little boy who yearned for belonging, who begged for your attention. That boy is long gone, if ever he existed. In his place stands a monster who slaughters those who once shunned him, carving out the place he was robbed of with blood and ash, and forcing you to bargain for the life of your unborn child with your chastity and dignity.

Beomgyu’s head drops back to your neck—gravitating there like it’s in his nature to tear you apart. His lips are hot and open, teeth scraping against your skin with something between hunger and rage. You wince, swallowing down your cries and moans. You can already feel the bruise forming there, how you’ll have to hide it later. If you live long enough to care.

He drags your dress up with possessive hands, fabric sliding over your thighs like a shroud being lifted. You shiver, the cold air meeting your bare skin, but that brief moment of chill does not last long for it is quickly replaced by his burning touch, his cock pressing—hard and hot, against your bare pussy.

You try not to cry out, try not to feel, but every nerve in your body seems to betray you, registering the pressure, the heat, the terrifying intimacy.

“What a pretty, pliant little whore,” He breathes against your ear, voice low and filled with a dark kind of awe. “Look how easily you break for me.”

You squeeze your eyes shut, shame burning you alive. You want to vanish, to disappear inside yourself—anything so you won’t have to endure the shame and guilt of your body reacting to his touch.

But you stay still. You let him. Because there’s nothing else left to give. No more bargains to make. Just this. Just your body. And he knows it—He savors it.

You feel it in the way his breath turns ragged, in the low hum that escapes his throat like a growl. His hands tighten on your hips, fingertips digging into your flesh like he’s trying to imprint himself on you, like he wants you to never forget this.

His thumb brushes against your clit, touching you with slow intent, forcing you to feel as he drags his cock against your wet pussy. His satisfaction is palpable in the heat of his body, in the raspy moans that break from his lips like prayers through clenched teeth. Each breath he takes sounds like hunger. Each sigh, like triumph.

“Gods,” He mutters, voice shaking with pleasure. “I can eat you whole.”

“P-please…” You barely have the power left to speak, your shaky voice sounding repulsive to your own ears. Oh, how deep you’ve sunk. “Whatever you want. Just… just spare my baby. Spare Kai. Please.”

Suddenly, he pulls back, and the shift in his demeanor is swift and jarring. His mouth that was open in pleasure snaps shut. His brows that were furrowed in pleasure take on a furious look. And his dark gaze that is no longer tempered by pleasure—locks onto yours.

His hand wraps around your wrist and you swallow down the trepidation at the back of your throat, bracing for him to pull you in for more, to finish what you started. But instead, to your relief—and despair—he doesn’t. He pushes your hand away and steps back, shaking his head.

You blink, uncomprehending, as the distance opens between you. His eyes stay on yours, and for a heartbeat longer, he allows you to see the storm behind them. The rage. The grief. The boy who was buried alive beneath years of humiliation and exile, and who clawed his way back from the grave with nothing but the hatred and pain burning through his veins.

The full revelation of it, wrapped in a single, horrifyingly calm moment, almost knocks you off your feet.

“Can you give me back respect?” He asks, his voice low, his anger barely contained. “The dignity they stripped from me? The place in the tribe that should have been mine by birthright—stolen by your husband’s family?”

Your stomach knots. “No,” You shake your head, denying it until the end. “That’s not what happened. You brought this upon yourself. You killed your parents. You gave yourself to the dark.”

“Why is it so hard for you to believe they conspired to ruin my family in order to keep their place atop the tribe?” His eyes blaze, his tone bitter, “And yet so easy for you to believe that a child—a child—could murder his own parents? His unborn siblings?”

You struggle to meet his gaze as if the hatred within it has the power to fell you. “Because you’re evil. Everyone can see it.”

The words hang in the air, quivering like a blade waiting to drop.

His smile returns, and your stomach drops. That’s when you know—you’ve said the wrong thing. You’ve broken whatever fragile thread held back the monster. “Then everyone will see their evil too. And they won’t be given mercy, just as no one showed me mercy.”

“Please,” You try again, voice cracking and hands trembling as you try to reach out for him. try to fix it. “Please, Beomgyu.”

But his eyes remain cruel, pitiless. You’ve squandered your one chance.

He seizes your arm, his grip bruising, and hauls you toward the door. “Save your tears. You never shed them for me. Why should I care if you shed them for him?”

With a final shove, he casts you out. “Go to him,” He spits, looking down at you. “Save him if you can.”

And just like that, the door slams shut behind you—snuffing out the last flicker of hope you still dared to cling to.

__________________________

A/N: There is only one chapter left because this one was humungous. please let me know what you think and how you think the story will end

and just for fun though i already know the answer

#txt smut #beomgyu smut #heuningkai smut #supernatural au #dark fic #yandere au

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aventurineswife · 12 days ago

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I have a request, what if the reader was a shapeshifting creature called a basalisc, she has to eat residual elemental energy in order to use her abilities to change her appearance. She escaped from Dottore and ended up in Natlan, she was using her human appearance when she accidentally got caught in a wire trap and revealed her true appearance, luckily Ororon was nearby, but the reader wasn't able to transform back into her human appearance completely because they hadn't eaten any type of elemental energy for a while. https://youtu.be/1etdx9-BbQU?si=SMQcwZ0JcWZ63VP5

To Be Named, To Be Known

Summary: After escaping from Dottore, you—a shapeshifting basalisc—find yourself in Natlan, struggling to maintain your human form due to a lack of elemental energy. When you accidentally trigger a wire trap, your true form is revealed, leaving you vulnerable. Fortunately, Ororon, a mysterious outcast from the Masters of the Night-Wind tribe, finds you. Instead of reacting with fear or hostility, he offers you his understanding—and the energy you need to regain your form.

Tags: Ororon x Reader, Shapeshifter!Reader, Hurt/Comfort, Soft Introspection, Kind Stranger Vibes, Found Family Themes (Implied).

Warnings: Mild Body Horror (Reader's shifting form), Mentions of Past Experimentation & Abuse (Dottore’s involvement), Themes of Identity & Acceptance, Mild Injury (Reader caught in a trap).

[Header credits]

The wire trap snapped around your ankle, its metallic twang cutting through the dense jungle silence. You barely had time to react before you lost your footing, the undergrowth beneath you giving way. Your body twisted midair, instincts screaming, but there was nothing to hold on to—nothing to stop the inevitable. The wind rushed past as you crashed onto the damp earth below, leaves crunching under your weight.

And then, something worse happened.

Your human form flickered.

A shudder ran through your body as the illusion wavered, like ripples on water, before finally breaking apart. Your skin darkened, shifting into the textured scales of your true form. Your limbs lengthened slightly, talons peeking from your fingers, and your pupils turned slit-like, glowing faintly with a residual, hungry energy. The shift was incomplete—stuck between forms—because you hadn’t fed on elemental energy in too long.

Panic shot through you. You reached for the trap, tugging at the wire, but your strength wasn’t what it should have been. If anyone saw you like this—

A rustling sound. Someone was nearby.

You froze, heart pounding. Then, from the thick shadows between the trees, a voice—smooth, even, and laced with something unreadable.

"Ah. A name misplaced in the wind, a shape caught between dreams. How strange. How... fitting."

A figure stepped into the clearing.

He was tall, his presence neither imposing nor soft—just there, like a shadow moving with the night breeze. His navy-blue hair, streaked with pale highlights, shimmered faintly under the filtered sunlight. One magenta eye, one cyan/dark blue. A deep blue marking under his left eye, and capeq—black, bat-like, shifting slightly as if adjusting to some unseen current in the air.

Ororon.

You had heard whispers of him—a recluse from the Masters of the Night-Wind tribe, a man who named things as easily as others breathed. And yet, here he was, watching you with the patience of someone who had seen strange things before and had never feared them.

You struggled again, your breath uneven. “Don’t—” you managed, voice hoarse, but you weren’t sure what you were asking of him. Don’t look? Don’t come closer? Don’t see?

Ororon tilted his head slightly. Then, he crouched down in front of you, one hand resting on his knee, the other tracing a vague shape in the dirt.

"Trapped," he mused, as if testing the word on his tongue. "But not caught. No, not caught at all. The wind still moves, even when tangled in branches."

You blinked, struggling to make sense of his words.

He reached out, and for a moment, you flinched. But he didn’t touch you. Instead, his fingers brushed the wire, inspecting it.

"This is a name, too, in its own way," he murmured. "A thing that calls out, a thing that binds. But it is not your name. No, yours is something else."

Your breathing was still ragged, but you forced yourself to speak. “I—I need elemental energy,” you admitted, ashamed of your weakness. “I can’t… shift back until I get some.”

Ororon’s gaze lingered on you for a moment longer before he closed his eyes, as if listening to something only he could hear. When he spoke again, his voice was softer.

"Names need sustenance, just as bodies do."

Then, without another word, he stood and turned, cape shifting as he moved toward the trees.

For a moment, you thought he was leaving, but then he raised a hand. A moment later, a faint pulse of energy flickered in his palm—a harmless wisp of air, but filled with enough residual energy that you felt it hum against your senses.

He turned back to you.

"Eat," he said simply. "Or do you prefer a different kind of offering?"

You hesitated. You weren’t used to kindness. Certainly not from strangers. Certainly not after Dottore.

But Ororon—he wasn’t looking at you with fear. Not with disgust, nor curiosity, nor pity. Just… patience. As if he had already accepted the shape you had taken, the shape you would take, and any you might be in between.

Slowly, you reached for the offered energy. The moment it entered your system, warmth spread through your limbs, and you felt the shift begin again—scales retreating, talons withdrawing, skin smoothing into human form once more.

Ororon watched, expression unreadable.

"Ah," he said finally, once you were fully changed. "And now the wind moves freely again."

You exhaled, steadying yourself, before looking up at him. “…Thank you.”

He gave you a long look, then nodded.

"Your name," he said suddenly, "what is it?"

You hesitated. The name you had once been given by Dottore was not one you wished to keep. The name you had called yourself since your escape was one that still felt foreign on your tongue.

And yet, Ororon asked not with ownership, but with understanding. As if he knew the weight names could carry.

“…I don’t know,” you admitted.

He considered that.

Then, after a moment, he turned his gaze to the sky, as if consulting the wind itself.

"Then perhaps it will find you," he murmured, "when it is ready."

And somehow, that was enough.

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marielle555 · 2 months ago

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Astarion's past as a magistrate and Astarion's scenes from EA.

“Who needs morals when you have good hair?” Astarion.

“Two hundred years ago, Astarion was a corrupt elite of Baldur’s Gate with a taste for power and a hunger for eternal life. It wasn’t long before these desires became a nightmarish reality. Transformed into the vampire spawn of a sadistic master, Astarion was kept as a slave to lure fresh noble blood to the palace of Cazador – all while subsisting on the putrid blood of rats. Astarion’s design is inspired by his story of indentured servitude and told through scar tissue and rogue garb. His leather armour still boasts the fine golden embroidery of high society, an aesthetic inspired by 18th-century libertines and European rock stars of the early ‘90s – two subcultures that echo Astarion’s desire to live a life without restraint. But beneath this costume is a constant reminder of the centuries spent enslaved, in the form of a poem carved into his flesh by his vampire lord.”

The first lines of the artbook tell us that our beloved vampire in the past belonged to the corrupt elite of Baldur and craved power and eternal life. And his desire for eternal life was fulfilled, but in a horrible, twisted form - in the form of his worst nightmare - Astarion became the spawn of the sadistic Kazador. In the final of Sun King (Astarion Origins), Astarion recalls how he judged the fates of others in the past. Now in the game we can learn very little about Astarion's past, although it is known that Astarion was a Magistrate. And references to his past are present in several scenes:

References to Astarion's Past as a Magistrate - BG3

youtube

The first mention of Astarion being a magistrate we can hear is if we ask Astarion to tell us about himself (“Tell me about yourself”), Astarion replies, “Oh, what's to tell? I'm a magistrate back in the city - it's all rather tedious.”

After a closer encounter (after the bite), we can also ask: “You must remember your life before that?” “I was a magistrate, working to keep the peace in Baldur's Gate. Imprisoning trouble makers, that kind of thing.” And he adds bitterly: “I can't remember much, truth be told. Centuries of torment will do that to you.”

And if you imagine what Astarion experienced during his years of slavery to Cazador, you can understand, why his past life became something distant for him, why many of his memories are lost. Also according to DnD lore, once a person is converted to a spawn, some of the memory of a person's past life is erased. That said, it's hard to say with that, how much Astarion even wants to tell Tav about his past. “Why do you insist on exhuming the past?” - Astarion sounds tense in this line, somewhat angry, he is distrustful and suspicious.

Three lines in the game in which Astarion talks about what happened to him on that fateful night when Cazador found him:

"I was attacked. A gang of vagrants, a tribe of wandering 'Gur', took issue with a ruling I'd made.”

“They beat me to death's door when Cazador appeared. He chased them off and offered to save me. To give me eternal life."

"Not him, no. A gang of thugs attacked me, angry about a ruling that I'd handed down as magistrate."

The reason the Gur gang attacked and nearly killed Astarion was because of his decision that Astarion made as a magistrate. The reason why the elf noble magistrate was in unsafe parts of the city, where he could be attacked by the Gur gang (this could hardly happen in the Upper City or in a safe neighborhood guarded by guards), and why Cazador happened to be around at the right time and place, is left out of the picture. Astarion also mentions that he had his own “history” with the Gur: “The point is I have history with these barbarians. Cazador's sending a message.” And most likely, this “story” with Gur had to do with the very decision that Astarion once made as a magistrate, and that caused Gur to hate him. Cazador may well have sent him such a “message” as well, and Astarion thinks so. (“My old master sent that vagabond after me.”) He is confident that more thugs will come after him, and we learn with him much later (when we meet Gur in Act 3) that the Gur are looking for their children.

“A Selunite necklace, if I'm any judge. And I am.” - Astarion's banter when finding the Selunite Necklace. Another reference to his past. Doing Wyll's quest (to find Ansur) you can get Astarion's opinion as a judge when we solve the “punishing the thief” puzzle.

In Astarion Origins, during his conversation with Wyll, Astarion also tells Wyll about his past as a magistrate (“I was a magistrate once, I could see if you missed any loopholes in your contract.”), offering to help Wyll find some loopholes in his contract with Mizora.

By the way, this shows that Astarion's legal experience did not disappear anywhere and remained with him. And Astarion had definitely studied the terms of the deal with Mephistopheles regarding the Ascension ritual, which was so important to him (Raphael's tale, the description of the ritual in The Necromancy of Thay, the Vellioth's scrolls - he had three sources of information during this time), and he knew exactly what he was doing. Those who claim that “Astarion found out about the ritual five minutes before it started”, or that Astarion is a silly scared kid, who just this second suddenly decided to do the ritual out of fear, simply don't know the game's plot well.

Final of the Sun King (Astarion Origins). Narrator's line:

“It’s been a long time since you’ve stood in judgement over others, holding their lives in your hands. But after everything you’ve done, doesn’t this feel right?”

In this finale, Astarion seems to reclaim his past self, only becoming much stronger, more powerful, and more majestic… His story began as a magistrate, he aspired to the top, fell, went through hell, broke free, took revenge, and rose again, only now to a much higher peak. This looks like the fulfillment of his wishes and the victorious conclusion of his story. And Ascended Astarion in the epilogue also says, “I'm who I always wanted to be. I have everything I ever wanted.”

In Astarion's Character Sheets, his backstory is told as follows:

“Astarion prowled the night as a vampire spawn for centuries, forced to follow the orders of his sadistic Master, Cazador: Seduce every fool with a pulse, and lure them back to my lair. Free for now, he will do anything to keep his life in the light. He can see but one way to ensure his liberty for good: become many times more powerful than his old abuser even could dream of being.

His body is forever tainted by the intricate, patterned scarring Cazador carved upon his back, and the elder vampire seems set on sending waves of hunters seeking to capture his lost spawn.”

Personal Traits:

“Astarion drips with charm before everyone he meets. How much of it is an act, even he himself isn’t sure of any more”.

Ideals:

“Freedom almost tastes finer than blood, and Astarion will do everything he can to secure it”.

Flaws:

“While he has hoiled seduction down to a fine art, and can quickly win over almost anyone, keeping and trusting a new-found ally is another challenge altogether”.

Sure, I would have liked to see more of Astarion's backstory revealed within the game, but that's not going to be realized. For me, as a fan of this game, the biggest regret was the Astarion scenes from EA, which were made and were in EA, but they were not included in the game after release, now you can only see some of Astarion's banters from those scenes. For example, Astarion's nightmare can now only be seen in his Origin, and in EA we could talk to him about it. In those scenes Astarion was revealing himself wonderfully, he was bright, expressive and very emotional. But, fortunately, the authors of youtube channels, who went through the game in EA, saved his scenes, and we can still admire Astarion in them and have a deeper look at his character.

Astarion about the "little death" (Early Access patch 4):

youtube

“Astarion often uttered the phrase "Little death" and I started looking for information about this expression and I came across a quote in which for me it is still the essence of the relationship with him.

The French expression for orgasm, la petite mort ("little death"), implies an orgasmic loss of oneself that destroys the pain of separateness — the lonely Self disappears into the resulting We." © AlexKhodja (channel Arts&Games).

Also, the “little death” scene complements Astarion's line at the Tiefling party: “Not at all! I was hoping for companionship and - well, maybe a little death. Figuratively speaking.”

“Who needs morals when you have good hair?” (Astarion and Gale monster hunter conversation):

youtube

Astarion's comment on Goblin Sazza:

youtube

Astarion doesn't suffer weak minded fools - (Patch 4) Fisherman Conversation:

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"Sweetie, you can't murder 'vermin'":

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Astarion wants to stay and party with the goblins! - Patch 4 Baldur's Gate 3 Early Access:

youtube

I managed to catch a shot of Astarion looking frustrated at having to search for some druid instead of having fun at the party:

And then those satisfied, sly eyes:

Astarion about slaves of myconids [Baldur's Gate 3] [Early Access] [Patch 5]:

youtube

Astarion Comments on Mayrina's Situation (Astarion just has an adorable laugh in this scene):

youtube

A collection of Astarion's heavy emotional reactions - when he's angry or scared, but it's so strong, it's just impossible to watch indifferently:

youtube

It's heart wrenching and makes me want to comfort him as soon as possible, but it's such a strong and impressive range of emotions that it just knocks you off your feet. It's hard to understand why most of these dialog lines were removed in the release version. Neil played incredibly well, Astarion is so alive that watching these scenes you feel fear, when you see his fear, and pain for him, when you see his pure rage. When Tav insults Astarion, he responds (2.51): “There has to be a way you know what, separates us from animals, - choice. I choose to travel with you, a dog would do it on instant to fulfill, a need. Disrespect me again and I won't choose to kill you. I'll do it on instinct to fulfill my need to hear you scream”. And what a huge contrast to that practically devastated, emotionally repressed Astarion, who on the “path of redemption” in the graveyard scene dutifully accepts insults from his “partner,” replying, “I will endeavor to please” or “If it has, it might be for the best” with his head down.

Astarion was a deeply traumatized person, but he was strong, and he knew how to snap back. And he could bite. He was not one to give up easily. And it was all the more valuable to earn his trust and the opportunity for Tav to become a close person to him. It's a pity, if Larian decided to “soften” such a magnificently evil character by not including his strong and vivid emotional reactions in the release version. It would have been much better, in my opinion, to reveal his softer side by enriching the roleplay and adding those lines and actions for Tav that would have helped Astarion feel better and start to trust Tav more, an emotional, multifaceted and complex character is a true diamond for any game, capable of making you fall in love and bond with him. Of course, they did a lot of good things in the release version too, in particular I really like Astarion's appearance in the game, all the little wrinkles on his face that make him even more alive and real.

I think Astarion's EA scenes are an important part of his story too, and thanks for having them. I'd certainly like to see a director's version or a gold edition that includes them, but it's unlikely to come true. These scenes added and deepened Astarion's character for me in many ways, and allowed me to understand him even better.

#Youtube #astarion #astarion bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #astarion ancunin #astarion early access #astarion backstory #bg3 early access #bg3 #bg3 astarion #baldurs gate #baldurs gate 3 early access #bg3 ea

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lusty-stallion · 2 months ago

Text

Plus 3 on a travel coach

CAN BE READ AS A STAND-ALONE STORY WITH NO PRIOR ENGAGEMENT WITH PREVIOUS STORIES

Guys, as always plus 3 was a genius invention of Derek Williams all credit goes to him for such an awesome idea. Check out the inspiration to this series by reading the master himself. Plus 3 - the original Plus 3 - in the library

Also, I’ve evolved as a writer particularly through writing my own continuation of Derek’s masterpiece. The first ones are like fast food, but hopefully this one feels more descriptive.

And the AI images are just for fun, obviously they haven’t kept complete consistency between images.

---

Genie isn't your typical lamp-bound spirit from the movies. He's a free force, not constrained by the shackles of a lamp, able to weave his magic in ways that makes your skin crawl with anticipation. His power lies in the subtle art of manipulation, adding just three words to every wish to twist reality in delightfully naughty ways.

In his previous mischievous escapades, Genie had indulged Matt with a 24/7 live porn palace Harem within a lavish mansion. And after a wild cruise around the local area, where even the shopping mall succumbed to his whims, Genie sought a change of scenery—a campsite nestled in the hills. He was tired of the same old faces, the same old bodies. He wanted fresh meat, new toys to play with.

The coach journey up to the campsite had been rather eventful. The coach was loaded with men and women and a number of kids, all looking for an adventurous week camping.

A three-hour coach tour from the city to the country was of course the perfect place for Genie to have some fun.

The air at the rear of the coach hung thick with the scent of cheap beer, sweat, and the overpowering mix of cheap deodorant which clung to every college student on a budget. Ten college lads claimed the back with their youthful energy, bursting laughter, shouting, and the occasional belch that echoed through the cramped space. Each of them falling into a caricature of the stereotypical frat boy: the jock with the bulging biceps and a brain the size of a pea, the preppy kid with the trust fund and the entitlement to match, the awkward nerd trying desperately to fit in, the class clown who lived to provoke and entertain and so on.

Their immaturity was their way of life, with crude jokes, off-colour remarks, and a complete disregard for social norms. They were a pack, a tribe, and no one had the courage to ask them to quiet down.

And they were driving one man to the brink of insanity.

The gentleman in question was Mr. Davenport, a man in his 60s with silver neatly combed hair and a face etched with the wisdom of a life well-lived (and perhaps a few regrets). With his current frustrations at the young men, he sported a perpetually furrowed brow, sat just a few rows ahead of the lads, his body rigid with barely contained fury. He had boarded the bus hoping for a quiet retreat to the country, a chance to escape the stresses of his business. But these irritating frat boys had other plans. Their incessant noise, their vulgar language, and their complete lack of respect for their fellow passengers were a constant assault on his senses.

He had tried to ignore them, to block them out with his headphones and his book. But their antics were relentless, their laughter became a constant reminder of his own fading youth and his own missed opportunities. He was a man who had followed the rules, who had played it safe, who had sacrificed his dreams for the sake of stability. And these frat boys, with their carefree spirits and their blatant disregard for the consequences, were a punch in the gut.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he could take no more. His face contorted with rage and unleashing his pent-up frustration he declared: "I wish those lads would just grow up!" The words hung in the air, a pathetic plea for sanity in a world gone mad. But the frat boys hadn’t heard his cry to the universe, and they seemed to laugh louder, their immature humour only amplified.

Genie, however, did hear and he smiled as time rewound, and the man declared, “I wish those lads would just grow muscle and hunk up.”

The sense of change sent shivers down Mr. Davenport's spine and he turned to look at the lads, his face looking daggers. He had barely finished his pathetic plea for maturity when the transformation began. It started subtly, a slight tightening of the fabric across their shoulders, a barely perceptible swelling of their biceps. But then it accelerated, a runaway train of muscle growth that defied all logic and reason.

The frat boys, who had been moments before a collection of average-sized college students, were now swelling before his very eyes. Their clothes, once loose and comfortable, were now straining at the seams, threatening to burst at any moment. Their faces, once soft and boyish, were hardening, their jaws becoming more defined, their eyes taking on a predatory glint.

The navy t-shirt of one of the frat boys on the back seat, ripped with a sound like thunder, exposing his taught, hard pecs. His chest expanded, his nipples hardening as if in anticipation of some unseen pleasure. His arms, once flabby and weak, were now bulging with muscle, his biceps straining against the confines of his sleeves.

The chubby guys physique now transformed into that of a built model, sat in his new green hoodie which clung to his bulging biceps.

The other frat boys were undergoing similar transformations. Their shoulders broadened, their chests expanded, their abs hardened into washboard perfection. Their legs, once spindly and weak, were now thick and powerful, their thighs straining against the fabric of their shorts.

The silence that followed was deafening. The frat boys, stunned by the sudden and unexpected changes to their bodies, could only stare at each other in disbelief. They flexed their newfound muscles, marvelling at their newfound strength. They ran their hands over their hardened abs, revelling in the feeling of power and sex appeal.

The air in the coach simmered with an almost unbearable tension. The newly built bodybuilder nearest Mr. Davenport, a closeted jock named Chad, relished the older gent's uncontrollable stares through the transformation. He had always found guys hot, yet had hoped he’d develop latent desires for women eventually, but he had never dared to express his desires openly. Now, with his muscles and his newfound confidence, he couldn't resist the urge to test the waters.

"I wish everyone was as interested in our bodies as that guy there," Chad muttered under his breath, his eyes fixed on Mr. Davenport's crotch, which showed no signs of arousal at all.

Zip, time struck back a chord, and his wish was amplified, twisted into something far more explicit: "I wish every male was as interested in our sexy bodies as that horny guy there."

The effect was instantaneous. The other frat boys, who only moments before were a collection of confused and horny straight young men, were now consumed by an overwhelming desire for each other. Their eyes locked, their bodies trembled, and their heterosexuality dissolved like sugar in water.

"That was such a gay wish man, what the fuck bro?" One of the young hunks, his name was Jake, said with a mixture of shock and excitement. His already strained white polo shirt, unable to contain his burgeoning muscles, shrank down to a tank top that clung to his large, sculpted pecs. He reached over and gave his mate, the guy next to him, a cheeky peck on the cheek, making the other hunk, whose name was Tyler, blush.

But Jake wasn't satisfied with just a peck. He wanted more, he needed more. He wanted to taste the salty sweat on Tyler's skin, he wanted to feel the heat of his body against his own.

Brad, the most aggressive of the bunch, wasn't about to be left out of the fun. He had always been the most sexually adventurous of the group, and he wasn't afraid to take what he wanted. His eyes burning with new lust for his friends, he pushed his way between Tyler and Jake, his muscles flexing with each movement.

"Guys, I'm getting in on this," Brad growled, his voice thick with desire. "Let me get a taste of that mouth of yours Jake."

And without waiting for an invitation, he lunged forward, his hands tearing at Jake's now-grey tank top. The fabric ripped with a satisfying sound, exposing Jake's hard, sculpted chest. Brad didn't hesitate; he climbed onto Jake's legs, straddling him like a bucking rodeo rider. Brad didn't ask; he took. He slammed his lips against Jake's, a brutal, possessive claim. Jake's surprise quickly shifted into a desperate need, his own mouth opening wider, inviting Brad's invasion. Brad's tongue plunged into Jake's mouth, a thick, muscular spear exploring every corner, every crevice, leaving no doubt who was in control. He tasted Jake's fear, his excitement, his lust, and it only fuelled his dominance. One hand snaked around Jake's neck, fingers digging into the soft flesh, holding him captive, while the other squeezed his bicep, testing the muscle, claiming it as his own. Brad ground his hips against Jake's, letting him feel the hard ridge of his cock pressing against his thigh. He bit down on Jake's lower lip, a sharp, stinging sensation that made Jake gasp, and Brad used the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue now a relentless piston, pounding against Jake's. It was a kiss that stripped Jake bare, a kiss that left him breathless and trembling, a kiss that marked him as Brad's.

Brad's hands roamed over Jake's body, exploring every inch of his fresh musculature. He squeezed his pecs, he ran his fingers down his abs, he cupped his bulging crotch and then made his way to wiggle his middle finger into his hole.

Jake gasped at the intrusion, initially surprised by Brad's aggressive advances, but he quickly succumbed to the pleasure. He wrapped his arms around Brad's body, pulling him closer, his own tongue darting out to meet Brad's. He moaned softly, his body trembling with anticipation.

The other frat boys, caught up in the moment, began to pair off as well. Tyler, not wanting to be left out, turned his attention to Chad, the closeted jock who had inadvertently started this whole orgy. He grabbed Chad by the shoulders, pulling him close, his eyes burning with desire.

"You started this, Chad," Tyler whispered, his voice husky with lust. "Now you're going to finish it."

And with that, he leaned in and kissed Chad, their mouths meeting in a passionate embrace. Chad, who had never kissed a man before, was initially hesitant. But the heat of Tyler's body, the intensity of his kiss, quickly melted away his inhibitions. He wrapped his arms around Tyler's body, returning the kiss with equal fervour.

Mr. Davenport, meanwhile, was in a state of complete shock. He had never witnessed anything like this before. He had always prided himself in his heterosexuality and his composure. But now, with these frat boys engaging in a full-blown orgy right in front of him, he found his inhibitions crumbling, his desires shifting.

He watched, transfixed, as the frat boys kissed, groped, and fondled each other. He could feel his own body stirring, his cock had been hard since Chad wished he was horny, and it had never felt so painfully constricted. He knew that he should look away, that he should try to maintain some semblance of decency. But he couldn't resist. He was drawn to this orgy of young men like a moth to a flame, and he was willing to burn for the chance to experience its forbidden pleasures.

The older gent, couldn’t take his eyes off the younger men, his cock raging hard. He was disgusted at himself, but for some reason he couldn’t break his eyes away from the display of youthful lust from the adolescent hunks. Come to mention it, the other men in the coach found their attention moved toward them.

Jake broke from Brad’s kiss to say “I wish Tyler was a sexy stripper slut who loves seducing men. I also wish his muscles would grow when he’s seducing.”

Genie grinned “I wish Tyler was a sexy stripper slut who loves seducing men for a living. I also wish his muscles would grow thicker when he’s seducing straight men.”

Tyler, the only lad left in a top, which was now stretched to its limit, emboldened by the attention and the sudden surge of testosterone, locked eyes with the older gent. A wicked grin spread across his face, revealing a hint of the devil within. He pulled away from his make-out session, leaving Chad panting and flushed.

"Hey, old timer," he drawled, his voice now deeper and more resonant, "you seem to be enjoying the show. Why don't I give you a private performance?"

Before the older gent could respond, Tyler sauntered down the aisle, his newly acquired muscles rippling beneath his clinging tank top. The other passengers watched in stunned silence, their eyes glued to his every move.

He stopped directly in front of the older gent, his bulging biceps practically brushing against the man's face. He leaned in close, his breath hot and heavy against the man's ear.

"I bet you've never seen anything like this before," he whispered, his voice laced with a seductive purr.

With a sudden, unexpected move, the frat boy seductively placed himself on the older guys lap, gyrating into the older man’s crotch. Then he began to strip. He slowly peeled off his tank top, revealing his massive, sculpted chest. His pecs bounced with each movement, drawing gasps from the onlookers.

He then unbuckled his belt, his eyes never leaving the older gent's. He slowly slid his shorts down his hips, revealing a pair of tight, blue boxer briefs that barely contained his bulging package.

Mr. Davenport's eyes widened in disbelief, his face a mask of conflicting emotions. He was both horrified and aroused by the spectacle unfolding before him. He had always considered himself a respectable, heterosexual man, but the sight of this young, muscular frat boy stripping and grinding on his lap was stirring something deep within him, something he had never dared to acknowledge.

He even witnessed Tyler's muscles pump bigger, growing larger and more defined as he gave in to his advances. It was as if the act of seduction was fuelling his physical transformation, turning him into the ultimate object of desire.

Tyler, now completely naked from the waist up, straddled the older gent's lap, his rock-hard thighs pressing against the man's groin. He began to grind against him, his hips moving in a slow, deliberate rhythm that sent shivers down Mr. Davenport's spine.

"How's that feel, old timer?" Tyler purred, his voice now dripping with lust. "Bet you wish you were young again, huh? Able to handle all this muscle."

Mr. Davenport groaned, his self-control crumbling like a dam about to burst. He reached out and grabbed Tyler's ass, squeezing the firm, muscular cheeks. He couldn't help himself. The feel of Tyler's body against his was too intoxicating, too overwhelming to resist.

Tyler let out a throaty laugh, then leaned in and licked Mr. Davenport's ear, sending a jolt of electricity through his body. "You like that, don't you?" he whispered, his breath hot and heavy against the man's skin.

He continued to grind against Mr. Davenport, his movements becoming more and more frantic. The other passengers watched in a mixture of shock, arousal, and envy. Some averted their eyes, pretending not to see what was happening. Others stared openly, their own desires ignited by the scene unfolding before them.

Chad, inspired by Tyler's success and aware his previous wish had been granted, decided to take things even further. He approached Mr. Davenport, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

He ran his hand down to Mr. Davenport’s crotch and felt the hard shaft of the older man, straining against his pants. He smirked, a wicked glint in his eyes.

“I wish you only desire sex with young men now who call you Daddy,” Chad whispered, his voice laced with seduction.

The Genie, who had been observing the scene with amusement, smirked. This young lad had been a straight, awkward college boy until only a few moments ago. Now, he was a professional rent boy, a master of seduction, with a very naughty kink for seducing older men.

He wound back time desiring to unleash Mr. Davenport's deepest, darkest desires, to transform him into the ultimate object of lust.

“I wish you only desire sex with young, dumb, hunky men now who call you Leather Daddy,” Chad whispered, his voice dripping with anticipation."

As Chad whispered the words "Leather Daddy," a surge of raw, untamed power coursed through Mr. Davenport's body. It started in his groin, a throbbing, insistent ache that demanded release. It spread through his chest, tightening his muscles, hardening his nipples. It surged into his arms, making his hands clench into fists.

He felt his skin tingle, his senses sharpen, his inhibitions crumble. He was no longer Mr. Davenport, the respectable businessman. He was now a Leather Daddy, a master of pain and pleasure, a connoisseur of young, dumb, hunky men.

He looked down at Tyler, still straddling his lap, his body glistening with sweat, his eyes burning with desire. He saw the potential, the raw, untapped masculinity that was just waiting to be unleashed. He saw the perfect blank canvas, ready to be moulded and shaped to his every whim.

A primal growl rumbled in his chest, a sound that was both terrifying and exhilarating. He reached out and grabbed Tyler's ass, squeezing the firm, muscular cheeks.

"You're mine now," he growled, his voice now deeper and more resonant. "You belong to me. I’ll pimp your sexy ass out to whomever I choose and you’ll make me a lot of money boy!"

Tyler, still riding high on the adrenaline of his performance, simply smiled and leaned in to kiss Mr. Davenport again. But as their lips met, something shifted. Tyler's eyes glazed over, his mind went blank, and a dumb smile spread across his face.

The transformation was complete. Tyler was now a dumb, muscle-bound stud, perfectly suited to the desires of his new Leather Daddy and he was proud to make money for Daddy with his sexy body.

Mr. Davenport pulled back from the kiss, his eyes burning with lust. He ran his hands over Tyler's body, feeling the warmth of his skin, the hardness of his muscles.

"Daddy," Tyler said, his voice now deeper and more resonant, "take me."

He needed to claim Tyler, to mark him as his own, right here, right now, in front of everyone.

He grabbed Tyler's face, his fingers digging into the young man's cheeks, and pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss. He kissed him hard, his tongue exploring every inch of Tyler's mouth, his teeth nipping at his lips.

Tyler, his mind now a blank slate, responded with a fervour that was both thrilling and terrifying. He wrapped his arms around Daddy Davenport's neck, his body pressing against the older man's, his hips grinding against his groin.

Daddy broke the kiss, his eyes burning with lust. He looked around the coach, taking in the shocked, aroused faces of the other passengers. He saw the envy in their eyes, the desire in their hearts. He knew that they all wanted to be Tyler, to be the object of his desire.

He smirked, a wicked glint in his eyes. He was going to give them a show they would never forget.

He grabbed Tyler's hand and pulled him towards the nearest seat, where Chad and the other jocks were sitting, their eyes wide with anticipation.

"Move," Daddy growled, his voice now a low, menacing rumble. "This is my seat now."

Chad and the other jocks scrambled out of the way, their faces a mixture of fear and excitement. They knew that they were about to witness something extraordinary, something forbidden.

Daddy sat down, pulling Tyler onto his lap. He straddled the young man, his thighs squeezing his waist, his groin pressing against his ass.

He grabbed Tyler's head and forced him down, his fingers tangling in his hair.

"Suck my cock," he commanded, his voice dripping with lust. "Suck it good."

Tyler, his mind completely blank, obeyed without hesitation. He opened his mouth and took Daddy's throbbing cock inside, his lips wrapping around the shaft, his tongue dancing over the head.

Daddy groaned, his head falling back, his body arching with pleasure. He closed his eyes, savouring the sensation, the warmth, the wetness. He felt the other passengers watching him, their eyes glued to the scene unfolding before them.

He didn't care. He was a Leather Daddy, and he was going to take what he wanted, when he wanted, how he wanted.

He opened his eyes and looked down at Tyler, his face buried in his lap, his cheeks flushed, his eyes glazed over. He saw the other jocks watching, their cocks straining against their pants, their hands reaching for their own dicks.

He smirked. He was in control, and he was loving every minute of it.

---

TBC tomorrow

#Wishes #Genie #Plus3 #Muscle #Jockification #Straight to Gay #sexy hunk #bodybuilder #male transformation #mental change #Leather Daddy #College #frat boy

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alicesivory · 11 months ago

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Old Habits Die Hard [4/?]

Previous Chapter // Main Masterlist // Next Chapter

Pairing: Nightwatch! Aemond Targaryen x wildling female! Reader

Genre: Historically accurate Aemond

WC: 3370

Summary: Aemond ventures beyond the Wall.

“Your hair looks nicer when it’s braided now.”

It seemed that the she-wildling could not keep her mouth shut. Rolling his eyes, Aemond changed the subject quickly, “How long ‘til we reach your people’s camp?” Aemond asked. “Just keep the horse in a steady pace up ahead and we’ll reach them in no time,” she answered him whilst comfortably sitting in front of him, between his arms that held the reins of the stallion. The reins were relaxed, and the stallion responded effortlessly to his light guidance through the cold and dark forest. The forest stands in eerie silence, its dense canopy casting a perpetual twilight over the twisted, gnarled trees. Shadows dance menacingly across the forest floor, where fallen leaves and branches lie in disarray, as if disturbed by some unseen force. The trees themselves seem alive, their bark scarred and contorted into grotesque shapes, carrying with it the faintest whisper of forgotten secrets, and the occasional creak or groan of the wood echoes through the stillness, adding to the sense of foreboding.

No wonder they call this the haunted forest.

“What lies in these woods?” Aemond asked once again. “Wild animals, mostly. But we don’t really hunt at night. It's a bad omen,” she replied. “Sometimes we see them at night, that’s where they emerge.” Her words made Aemond wonder, “Who do you speak of?”

“What do you think the walls were made for?”

Aemond thought for a moment.

“To keep your kind away from entering the realm,” he said, hesitantly. Not quite confident with his answer. For he knew that the wall’s purpose was more than just keeping a few wildlings out of Westeros but, he does not know what. “It wasn’t even built because of us. My people were separated from yours because we were unlucky enough to live beyond the wall when it was built,” she explained. “It was the others that they were afraid of.”

“Others? Other tribes?”

“No. The undead.”

Chills ran down from Aemond’s spine.

The White Walkers.

He has read countless books about the white walkers and the long night. How the battle for the dawn unfolded, yet all he knew was that it was all a myth. A fairytale. Stories to scare your child so they would sleep for the night. He recalled how the White Walkers were first written and mentioned during the Age of Heroes. Born of powerful and untested magic, they were created to protect the Children of the Forest during their war with the First Men. What once used to be puppets and soldiers for the Children of the Forest, the magic within the white walkers took a turn and rebelled against their creators and brought nothing but destruction to the realm.

“But they were nothing but old stories. Fiction, even,” Aemond protested.

“They are far from fiction, snow-hair.”

The wildling looked back to him, surprisingly close since they were cramped at horseback.

“What did they call you back there? I couldn’t recall. Was it Almond?”

“Aemond,” he grunts.

She chuckled, “I like snow-hair better.”

“And what of you?” Slowly speaking her name which seemed foreign to his tongue.

“Close enough,” she shrugged with a smirk, looking back into the road. Aemond wondered once again of the undead she mentioned. Were they lurking behind the old trees of this very forest? Were their lives at stake when they stepped their foot to this forest. “They took my brother,” she said, capturing Aemond’s attention. “The undead?” She nodded at his question. “He seemed to forget about time that day. But what kind of child remembers time, really? They wanted to play all day. So he did, running inside the woods without me or my mother’s attention, wanting to become a great hunter who enters the forest with no fear like my father. And he never came back.”

He felt sorry for the girl, for he himself had felt the same kind of grief when he heard of Aegon’s death. Especially when they could’ve done something to prevent their deaths. “Sometimes I wonder if they buried him at all. If they did, I wonder where they buried him,” she said, spacing off into the distance. “There is no sympathy from the dead. Nor do they care for the living,” he said to her. “I know. But I’d like to think they did. He was just a child.”

The whole ride quickly became gloomy and sour as the pair battled their grief as bad memories and remorse overcome their thoughts. “Does that stop you from hunting in the forest?” Aemond asked, trying to bring peace to her. “No, not really. I think I became eager to hunt here. Maybe one day I can find him well and just…cleverly hiding between trees,” she said with a bitter chuckle, sensing her denial of her brother’s disappearance. A sense of protectiveness washed over Aemond, knowing what it felt like to see light in the midst of darkness. Denying the truth to comfort yourself. He knew of that feeling.

“Maybe one day you would. One day.”

Crack. Swish.

“What was that?”

Crack. Crack. Crack.

“A wild beast?” Aemond asked.

A figure emerging slowly behind the tree as they pass. “That is no beast,” the wildling alarmingly said, taking over the reins and snapped it making their horse gallop through the dark forest. “I would’ve preferred it to be a wild beast so we can take it home, yet you and I know that is no beast, snow hair,” she spoke as the harsh winds of the north hits their faces. Aemond looked back, seeing two..three...four figures catching up onto them.

“How do we escape them?” He asked.

“Hold on tight.”

She took a turn in a swift motion, galloping off the road going between trees. In hopes for them to stop gaining on them. The wildling kept snapping the reins ordering the horse to go faster with only the moon being their source of light. “C’mon…c’mon…,” he heard her grunting as she took a glance behind and saw some still following their tracks. Galloping between trees, their horse finally took them to safety at the edge of the forest, to a clear opening.

Making Aemond have a clear vision of the undead.

Their skins were pale, almost blue.

They look like humans yet they were not at the same time.

The creatures frightened him more than anything else, but as they neared the edge of the forest, the White Walkers ceased their pursuit and vanished behind the trees. Aemond exhaled deeply, relieved that they had escaped the forest unharmed. Suddenly the horse neighed, abruptly stopping. Making both of them grunt in pain when they nearly fell. “What’s wrong?” The wildling asked the horse before an arrow striked a tree behind them. They looked around, trying to find any signs of life.

“What are you doing?” Aemond hissed when she stepped down from the horse. “Where’s my dagger?” She whispered, ignoring his previous question. Aemond sighed, tossing her the dagger beneath his black cloak. Catching it with ease, she spoke into the air,

“It’s only me! Gruff? Yuri?” Aemond was curious about those people she called out. Were they one of her people? Who were they?

“Blimey kid, you scared the shit out of us!”

A loud booming voice suddenly said, emerging from the snowy ecosystem. Their thick fur coats also seemed to be efficient for camouflage. Aemond saw how his peculiar she wildling smiled brightly when she spotted her friend, running towards the tall red haired man giving him a tight hug making them both laugh as he picked her up in his arms.

Aemond rolled his eye.

“Thought you were gone for! We saw those creepy dead people- thank the gods!” The red haired wildling said, ruffling her hair. “Oww! No! Do you think that low of me, old man?!” She asked with a laugh, shoving the man away from her. “Oi, I'm not that old, young lady.” Locking her head once again with his arm. “Yuri! Look who just came back from the dead!” The red haired shouted, now another wildling emerged from the opening. His hair was blonde, almost as light as the hair of the Lannisters. “We really thought you were dead, kid,” Yuri said, patting her shoulder.

Who were they? Why were they awfully close with her?

From what he witnessed, a young woman could only interact like this with the opposite gender if they were siblings or wedded. Even he never saw any of his wedded acquaintances interacting this way. Were they her siblings? They don’t seem to resemble one another, were they bastards? Did they came from different mothers?

Aemond cleared his throat, stepping down from his horse, interrupting their reunion.

“Ah yes- Gruff, Yuri, this is ehm..Aemond Targaryen. The man that I spoke of to the both of you,” she said. The red haired, who was named Gruff looked Aemond from head to toe. “Gruff and Yuri are my hunting friends. We’ve been hunting together since we were children and fun fact, we have the same grandsire.”

Gruff slowly approached the one eyed prine, keeping an eye on him. Aemond straightened his back to appear taller, gripping the handle of his sword, preparing himself. Once Gruff stopped in front of him, their noses bumping into each other, he spoke,

“Did your mum fucked a snowman?”

“I beg your pardon–,” Aemond stepped closer, ready to draw his sword out.

“–Alright that’s enough!” She quickly stepped between the two men. “What Gruff was trying to say was, how is your hair silver?” She asked. "My father, my grandsire, my great-grandsire—all of them had silver hair," Aemond hissed, his gaze fixed on the red-haired wildling. "How did they end up with silver hair?" the red-haired wildling asked, crossing his arms. Aemond couldn't believe how absurd this conversation had become. Frustrated, he let his hands drop. "We're from old Valyria," Aemond explained with resignation. "It's simply a trait we have—silver hair is just part of who we are."

“Valyria? What’s that?” The blonde wildling asked curiously. “It's a place far from the north, Yuri– Now come on! We must bring him to the Chief.” Walking past them, she held the horse’s reins and started walking ahead. Gruff purposely bumped Aemond’s shoulder as he passed through the one eyed prince. Aemond rolled his eyes again, resigned to the childish behavior of these people, before catching up and walking alongside her. Compared to the two wildlings, he found her more tolerable. At least she didn’t ask pointless questions.s. “I have told our Chief about you,” she said. “I am sure he will take it easy on you,” she said.

“Does he takes it easy with anyone else?”

“No, not really. He’s quite rude if you ask me.”

“As rude as your friend there?” Aemond chuckled bitterly.

“You’re in for a ride,” she chuckled, patting Aemond’s shoulder.

As much as Aemond would like to worry, he could not as he knew that she was the one who brought him to her people. For her people needed him, not the other way around. He hoped that this agreement would be the means for her to fulfill her promise and return him to Westeros once and for all. Additionally, he couldn’t help but notice her diminutive stature compared to his own—she barely reached his shoulder, smaller than any lady from Westeros yet possessing a fierceness and demeanor that defied conventional femininity. A smirk tugged at his lips..

And there he saw it. In the vast expanse of snow-covered terrain, a tribe lives a nomadic life, their existence marked by resilience and adaptability. Their tents, typically made of sturdy animal hides or woven materials, scattered across the field. The tents are insulated with layers of fur and cloth, designed to withstand the biting cold. The camp itself is a lively hub of activity despite the harsh environment. Smoke curls up from several central hearths, where fires are kept burning to provide warmth and to cook meals. The scent of roasting meat and simmering stews mingled with the crisp, cold air when he stepped closer to them.

Like when he first entered Winterfell, all eyes fell upon him, following him as he walked side by side with her. “It seems you have captured the people’s attention,” she teased with a cocky smile. “Why is it because of my hair or my eye?” He asked. “Neither. It’s your attire.” Aemond looked down to his clothing. Of course, he’s still dressed like a member of the night’s watch.

“We hate the crows in here, so it’s better for you to strip those clothes after you meet our Chief,” she said, giving him a wink. Before he could protest, a snow hit his cloak, making him flinch. Turning around, he saw a couple of children running around, even snickering at his presence. “Careful now boys!” She chuckled, greeting some of those children. “Never seen a crow, huh?” She crouched down, talking to the children surrounding her.

“He only has one eye!” One of the children tried to whisper to her. “Scary, isn’t he? Tell you what, I’ll let you pick on him when I’m not around,” she said to the kids, making them snicker and giggle in excitement.

She was really good with children.

Throughout his life, he rarely sees his mother or even his sister being this natural with children. It makes him wonder if she has one.

“For the meantime, can all of you keep an eye on our horse?” Offering the rein to the children, in which they eagerly accepted before taking the horse away. Aemond curiously kept his eye on the horse as the children led it away. “Don’t worry, they are very gentle with horses. They know their purpose,” she reassured him before she started to walk once more.

Approaching one of the biggest tents in the area, the spearwife stops beside him, “If the Chief likes you, you’ll live another day.” Before smiling mischievously stepping inside the tent. Slightly on edge, he hesitated to follow them inside. But he would not cower in fear and enter anyways. Reminding himself to keep himself in check if he wants to go home. He stepped inside, his eye falling onto a man sitting in his chair as his companions surrounded him, whispering to each other.

“Chief, I would like you to meet the crow I spoke of. This is Aemond Targaryen,” she introduced him. Aemond nodded with respect to their chief, an older wildling who carefully inspected Aemond, standing up from his seat. “Targaryen,” he said. “A peculiar tribe. Was it true that your family had power over dragons?” The Chief asked in which Aemond instantly nodded, “Yes, my Lord.”

All of them chuckled humorously.

“Lord? I’m flattered to be called a Lord,” the chief said in humour.

“So, where is your dragon now?”

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Aemond spoke.

“She was killed at war.” A sense of bitterness, trying to mask his grief and sadness for Vhagar’s death.

“A shame,” the Chief said.

A pregnant pause.

“I want everybody out of this tent.” Aemond’s eyes widened. Was he going to be murdered? Did he not fulfil the Chief’s expectations?

“But Chief–,”

“–Especially you, girl. I shall talk to you when I’m done with this crow.”

Aemond instantly locked his eye with hers. Even her expression was unreadable as she hesitantly turned around to exit the tent. She gave him a nod, giving him support before leaving him alone with the Chief. Aemond turned his gaze back to the Chief who was crossing his arms inspecting Aemond from head to toe.

“The girl likes you,” the Chief chuckles. “If it wasn’t for her you’d probably be dead by now. Killed by those crows.” Aemond kept his expression stoic as he brushed off the Chief’s words. “Speaking of crows, she told me you were forced to be one. Was that true?”

Aemond nodded.

“Yes, Chief.”

“What was your crime?”

“I was called a traitor to the Starks. Yet I beg to differ, for it was them who were traitors,” Aemond bravely said.

“Traitors to whom?”

“The Throne. My brother.”

“Your brother? Your brother sat on a throne?”

“Yes, Chief.”

“That makes you a prince, then.”

A title he deeply missed. Aemond stood proudly, straightened his back as he kept his chin up high.

“I am–,”

“You were.”

“For you are currently not in Westeros, my boy. You are beyond the wall. Everyone beyond the wall fights for survival. For nature does not care if you’re a king or a criminal. And so far as I know, you stand before me,” the Chief said, telling Aemond to abandon his title as prince. “Where does your loyalty lie, boy?” The Chief asked, stepping closer to the one eyed prince. “To the crows?–”

“–No,” Aemond spoke with no hesitation.

“The Starks?”

“Never.”

The Chief hummed in agreement. “The girl told me you wished to be rewarded. To go back to your family.” Aemond nodded, wishing nothing more than that. “So you’re loyal to your family,” he pointed out.

Aemond nodded.

“Good. A man should always stay loyal to his family.”

He poured his drink onto his cup, “But will you stay loyal to us as you serve my tribe? And lead us to victory?” Aemond looked down, seeing the cup lent to him. Offering a friendship– an alliance– trust. Trusting a wildling. It seemed impossible for him, but he recalled simple questions by those wildlings about his hair. They were a simple tribe, living out of the complicated politics of Westeros. He could outsmart them easily and they’re offering him friendship.

She paced back and forth in front of the Chief’s tent, waiting for the Targaryen to exit the tent unharmed. “You seemed stressed, kid,” Gruffed snickered, crossing his arms as he took notice on worried expression. “Of course, I am,” she said, stopping her steps abruptly. “May I know why?” He chuckled.

“Is it because of the crow?–”

“–He is not a crow. He loathes the crows as much as we do.”

Gruff chuckled amusingly.

“And? I bet Chief will tolerate him–,”

“–What if he doesn't? What if he beheaded that man and puts him on a spike?!–”

“–So what? What if he were beheaded? You should not care for that outsider—,”

“–I don’t care about him! I-I-I just want what’s best for our people–,”

“–You like him,” Gruff points at her with a mocking laugh. “I don’t! You pig!” She shouted defensively, quickly slapping Gruff’s arm repeatedly. “You do! You like that snow haired boy!” Gruff kept pointing at her as he teased her. The young she wildling grunts in frustration as he denies her feelings for the Targaryen. “If you speak of this one more time, I will kill you in your sleep, Gruff.”

“Oooh you’ll kill me in my sleep, eh? Right, sure you don’t like that boy, surely if he one day betrays us will you kill him in his sleep?”

“I will. And I’ll cut off his cock and hang it in front of your tent,” she speaks bluntly.

“Right, you sure you won’t use that for anything else?”

Her face turned red before she threw a hard punch across the red haired’s face. Groaning in pain, Gruff still laughed at her being so flustered with his words. “Why do you like him anyways? Is it because of his hair? His eye? Ooh his other eye, the sapphire?” Gruff asked, sitting up curiously looking at his friend. “For the last time, I do not like our new comer,” she repeated herself. “Keep telling that to yourself, kid. If I see silver haired babies one day–.”

The tent opened, Aemond stepping out of the tent.

Unharmed.

“Ah, so he gave you a chance to live another day,” she said quickly, changing her once worried demeanour into the confident young wildling she is. Aemond could only nod, towering over her. “I shall, and I will.”

His purple eye fixed on hers, “Where can I find new clothes?”

a/n: stay tuned for the next chapter and I apologize if this is not my best work but😊✨

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damnation-valley · 1 year ago

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hey guys you ever think about how since ulysses had his tribe assimilated into the legion he was never allowed to grow his hair out so he couldn't practice the twists? and about how, when he finally got the chance to let it get longer, he realised he barely remembers how to do it? and now that he's alone there's no one to guide him, and he's left carrying the half-forgotten remains of his culture like an incomplete set of shards of a vase broken long, long ago?

anyway i sure do think abt that idk abt you guys though

#oh god i have to tag this #fallout new vegas #fallout new vegas ulysses #fallout ulysses #fnv #fnv ulysses #is that good enough? hopefully #tomfoolery (own posts)

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zepskies · 5 months ago

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Outlander - Part 3

Pairing: Dean Winchester x OFC

Summary: Dean Winchester has been stripped of his military rank, but he’s living happier with his new wife, trying to adjust to a new life in her tribe. What will it take for her people to accept him, especially when the battle for her heart might not be completely won?

AN: Back into the saddle, so to speak. 😏 Plus, we have a very special guest joining the cast...

Disclaimer: I first got inspired to write The Honorable Choice for @jacklesversebingo after a recent rewatch of Spirit: The Stallion of the Cimarron (with a tinge of Yellowstone in the mix). I’ve done a fair bit of research for this now ongoing series, both on the Native American Lakota tribe, and on American history during this time in the late 1800s; AKA: the Old West, during the American Indian Wars.

Jacklesverse Bingo24 Prompt: Western AU

Song Inspo: The Spirit Soundtrack

Word Count: 8.1K

Tags/Warnings: 18+ only! Smut, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, blood and character death.

🐎 Series Masterlist || Bingo Masterlist

Part 3: A Warrior’s Death

Mila has never enjoyed being an early riser, but sometimes, it has its benefits. In the rare times that she wakes up before Dean, she’s taken to counting the small nicks and scares that mark his body, from his chest and arms and back, down to his calloused hands. They mark him as a warrior.

Today, she slips her fingers through his brown hair. It’s grown a little more, and it’s easy to spike wildly in all directions. His breathing shifts from the deeper, slower ones of sleep to shallower ones.

“What’re you doing?” he grumbles, despite the way his lips twitch at a smile. His eyes are still closed.

“It’s morning, and I’m lonely,” Mila teases. She leans in to kiss his chin, then slowly and sensuously across his prickly jawline.

“Can’t you entertain yourself until the sun comes up all the way?” he says, in a voice laden with grit and sleep.

“That is what I’m doing,” is her cheeky reply.

Dean releases a deep breath that’s more like a sigh. Mila continues, smoothing her hand across his shoulder and squeezing warmly as she makes her way down his neck with kisses. She takes to nibbling his skin, then soothing it with her tongue. He makes a throaty sound of pleasure, gripping her hip.

“Wake up, my love,” she whispers.

Dean feels the shape of her smile against his skin. His lips tug upwards too, before he chuckles and finally succumbs to her wily ways. He twists onto his back and takes her with him, guiding her leg to slip over his lap. She squeals in surprise to be moved, but it ends with her smiling down at him as she straddles his hips. His hands travel under her the thin fabric of her shift and squeeze the supple flesh of her thighs.

Her fingertips drag down his chest, teasing his nipples along the way. She begins to tease him in other ways too, subtly rolling her hips, rocking against his hardening length. She wears a heated, playful look he knows all too well. He smirks up at her lazily.

“You’ve been more demanding than usual,” he remarks. His hold on her hips tightens, encouraging her to grind down harder onto him. He groans in pleasure at the feeling of her bare, wet folds against his clothed erection. Still, he can’t help but tease her too. “You already got what you wanted. I got you good and pregnant.”

His knees slide up to press against her ass, angling her more firmly against his cock. She hums in pleasure at the feeling of him, nice and hard and ready to fill her. It doesn’t matter that he’s right.

She’s pregnant, and has been for over a month now, according to Eyota. Even so, Mila still craves her husband. She wants to take advantage of a good morning, one where she doesn’t feel sick to her stomach.

“Yes,” she agrees, “but you think that means your duty is done?”

She takes his hands from her thighs and moves them up her body underneath her shift, until he can palm her breasts. He obliges her, rolling the sensitive buds under his thumbs.

Dean chuckles deeply. “Haven’t you had enough?”

“I will say when I’ve had enough,” she quips back.

He smiles, more genuinely this time. “Yes, ma’am.”

He takes back control of his hands. One holds her steady by her waist, while the other drags back down her body, brushing over the thatch of hair covering her mound. His fingers slip between her wet folds, and they find what they’re looking for.

She utters a keening moan when the pads of his fingers probe gently at her entrance, pushing inside for a few pulsing beats. He gathers some wetness there and begins to circle the sensitive bundle of nerves above her entrance. She grinds her hips down as she tries to press into his hand. A shudder of pleasure tingles down her spine and throbs deliciously in her core.

She grips his arms tight. “Please,” she says, “I’m ready for you.”

“Already?” he smirks. “I’ve barely touched you.”

Instead of answering him, she drags down his pants herself and reaches for his heavy cock. He moans at her touch, demanding, but still careful as she pumps him to full readiness. Then she notches him at her entrance. Dean grabs her hips and slowly guides her over him in one smooth plunge.

Their breathing becomes more labored as they take beat, just to revel in the connection.

During the day, they both lead busy lives. They each do their part for the tribe to make sure there’s food to eat, clothes to wear, and that the tribe stays protected—but the time they spend together here doesn’t need to be rushed. This is their time.

Mila hesitates to move though, her hands flexing on his shoulders. Her thighs squeeze his hips experimentally.

“How should I move?” she asks in a whisper. “I’ve never…ridden you.”

Dean grins. He rubs her thighs encouragingly. “Trust your instincts, baby. Try just rocking on me.”

He helps her by guiding her hips in a smooth, rolling rhythm, in and out. Mila moans as the shallow friction builds a slow momentum inside her.

“See,” he pants, “you’re a natural.”

She smiles, her face warming in a blush. As she craves more, she becomes bolder, letting his cock drag out of her almost to its tip, before she pushes all the way back in. Dean utters a faltering moan, and tries not to let his eyes close in pleasure. He wants to keep watching the way she gets herself off on his cock, the way her full breasts bounce with her movements.

Dean’s hands slide up her back to feel the gentle slope. He leans up to kiss and suck at her tightened nipples, his teeth catching on them. She gasps and arches against him. Her nails scramble for purchase between his shoulder blades.

Dean chuckles into her skin. “So sensitive. Being so fucking good for me, huh baby?”

Mila nods, half out of her mind. He blazes an upward path, kissing and sucking between her breasts, along the line of her collarbone, and then at her neck. He stops there to suck hard at her pulse point, burying his fingers tightly in her hair.

She moans and clings to him as she rocks a harder rhythm on top of him. She chases her release, and tries to help him reach his. But when his fingers slip in between them to massage her clit again, she shudders deeply and gasps. “Dean.” Her inner walls clench tightly on his cock and begin to flutter and pulse around him.

He drives his hips up into her with a few wild, harsher thrusts with his own release. He grunts sharply into her neck as he spills deep inside her.

Mila holds him tightly to her while her heart races. She pants for breath, huffing because her hair has fallen into her eyes. Dean brushes the strands behind her ear as he too catches his breath. He lays back down and takes her with him, gratefully stroking her back.

“Well, good morning,” he says. His voice is like hot gravel. “Fuckin’ hell…”

She giggles breathlessly against his chest. By now she’s learned many of the English curse words. They often sound both harsh and funny to her. Though she knows that right now, it’s a compliment.

They lay together for a while, even after she untangles herself from him and grabs a washcloth to clean them both. She finds herself led back into Dean’s embrace under the warm furs. His large hand spans her lower belly, resting there.

“You want a boy or a girl?” he asks. His deep voice is still a bit coarse with sleep.

Mila considers his question while pillowing her cheek against her folded arms.

“I want to give you a son,” she says.

Dean’s lips twitch into a smile. He hums thoughtfully while he slips his fingers through her hair.

“I guess that means I’ll have to teach him things. Things about the world,” he says. She turns in his arms to face him.

“What would you teach him?” she asks, with a smile of her own. She asks the question not only because she genuinely wants to know, but because she likes the soft glow of optimism and possibilities reflected in Dean’s eyes. In some ways, he’s already different from the hardened soldier she first met. Or maybe she’s just continuing to learn more and more of who he really is—layer by layer.

“Well, how to learn from his mistakes, for one thing,” he says. “How to protect himself, and his family. How to survive, but also how to live.” He thinks about it a bit harder for a second.

“Come to think of it, I’d teach my daughter all that too,” he says. “So I guess I’ve got no preference.”

And we can always try again, he thinks.

“He will be strong, like his father,” Mila says.

“Or like his mother,” Dean playfully replies. She smiles back, and she leans forward to kiss his lips. She cups his cheek with a gentle, loving hand. Dean squeezes her waist and pulls her tighter against him.

“Are you two going to sleep all day, or are you going to join the rest of the world and start working?” Šóta interrupts, loudly from outside their tipi. “The horses need to be fed, Horsemaster.”

Dean and Mila break apart from the kiss, and they share a look, hers more annoyed than his. Her cousin has taken what she said to him before about being a leader to heart, if in some unexpected (and annoying) ways.

She sighs, but unfortunately, Šóta has a point. It prompts them to get up and start getting dressed.

“What do you got planned today?” Dean asks, while he tries to find a clean shirt.

“I have some mending to do and laundry to take down. Then I will help my aunts skin the hides and prepare the vegetables for lunch and supper,” she says.

He pauses, leveling her with a warning look. “Hey, remember to take it easy, all right. Don’t strain yourself.”

She just smiles and touches his cheek. This man is a protector in all senses, and it seems, also a worrier.

Dean takes pride in corralling the horses and making sure they’re fed, brushed, and given water. Just like he suspected would happen, Mato and Baby have been getting along a little too well. She’s now pregnant too.

Ironically enough, it means she’ll give birth to her foal around the time Eyota believes Mila will deliver their child, maybe a month or two after.

Ain’t that just life, he thinks.

There’s another colt that Dean has spent the past week breaking in. He’s wily and precocious, giving Dean a challenge, but that’s what he likes about the guy.

“You’ve got spirit, kid, I’ll give you that,” Dean says.

He has a rawhide lead tied around the horse’s neck while he runs around the corral. He’s waiting until the horse tires himself out, so Dean can really begin training him, getting him used to a bridle, teaching him verbal cues, and all the rest.

Back at Fort Laramie, there were those like Colonel Sanderson, who believed that breaking a horse meant you had to break his independence, his spirit. Dean’s father had always taught him that a bond between him and an animal, a bond based on trust, will serve him better with a loyal horse rather than just an obedient one. He’s glad that the Lakota here share his views on horse rearing.

At about mid-morning, Chatan comes over to inspect Dean’s progress. His ankle has healed, mostly, but he’s allowed Dean to take over the harder work when it comes to breaking the horses. Chatan is still teaching him their ways in training them, making bridles and simple saddles, and all the other ways they care for their horses here. He inspects Dean’s work with the colt and nods.

“You’re doing well,” he says.

That’s a big improvement from all the times he’s given Dean some form of correction or instruction. Dean is about to reply, when Šóta and Takoda come over the hill on horseback. Šóta calls for both Chatan and Dean—especially Dean.

“You should see this,” Šóta says.

“Are the other men coming?” Dean says, keeping his voice low as Baby plods along beside Šóta.

“No,” Šóta replies. “We must keep the group small.”

Dean namely meant Otaktay, who still tries his best to ignore him.

Takoda has warmed up to him more though. He doesn’t call him Outlander anymore, let alone wašíču. He’s also the tribe’s best fisherman, and when they eat lunch together, he’s started to save Dean the second-biggest fish after Šóta.

Takoda even showed him how to fletch his own arrows. And when Dean broke his whet stone while sharpening his knife, Takoda gave him his own whet stone.

“I make new one,” he said, in broken English, even with a smile. “This one old anyway.”

At first, Dean used to wonder why some people in the tribe seemed to have better English, like Mila, Tahatan, and Šóta, but others didn’t. After he thought about it more, he supposed he wouldn’t want to learn his enemy’s language. He asked Šóta about it once.

“It’s the opposite for me,” Šóta told him. “I want to know what my enemy says behind my back. Then, I will be ready when he strikes.”

He now leads them away from the forest and across the grasslands. In an hour, they reach a desert valley, where Dean already hears the construction. A new stretch of railroad is being laid out, courtesy of the U.S. government. Dean even spots Benny, Jack, and Colonel Sanderson himself supervising the construction.

Shit, Dean thinks.

They stealthily crept back into the forest and returned to the village. They bring the news of what they saw to Chief Tahatan in his tipi. His wives are there, along with Chatan, Weaya, Mila, Eyota and her husband Hanska. The last two are the medicine man and woman of this tribe, but Hanska is also their wiseman. He advises the Chief.

“We should move the village again, farther north along the river,” Hanska suggests.

“And what? They will keep pushing us back until there is nothing left—until we fall of the edge of the earth!” Šóta shouts. He’s getting more and more angry as the conversation becomes a deliberation on what to do next.

“It’s the Northern Pacific Railroad,” Dean says. He doesn’t know if it’s place to speak, but he feels that he has to. “They mean to keep building until they reach the coast in the Northwest.”

“See? They will rape more and more of the land to do it,” Šóta says. “Our land. We cannot let this stand.”

Dean gives him a wary look. “This is bigger than the tribe. If you try to hit them, they’re just gonna hit back harder. And they’re going to bring the full weight of the U.S. Army on top of you.”

“So what do you suggest we do, Dean Winchester?” Tahatan says. “Sit and do nothing while they continue to carve into our home, where we have lived and died for generations?”

“I think…you should look at the faces around you,” Dean says. “Ask yourself how many of them you’re willing to lose.”

That evening in the privacy of their tent, Dean tries his best to soothe Mila’s worry, but his own trepidation and sense of urgency wins out as he paces back and forth.

“Just moving up the river won’t be enough,” he says. “We could go southwest into Montana, towards the Yellowstone River.”

Mila shakes her head warily. She sits by the fire and watches him cross the room again. He makes her anxious, and so she grabs onto his hand and leads him to sit beside her.

“The Crow people live along Yellowstone,” she says. “The Lakota have fought them for generations.”

“About what?”

“Land,” she admits. “Our tribes are proud and do not like to share hunting territory. The Crow are bitter enemies. They will not accept us there.”

That is putting it mildly. She shudders to think what the Crow would do to them if they crossed paths in their own land.

Dean nods. “Okay, well, what about if we go further north?”

She ponders the idea. Even though she doesn’t like the idea of leaving the river, where her people have settled for decades, she believes what he says is true. Her people wouldn’t win in a head-on fight against the U.S. Army.

“East of Big Cheyenne, there is a bigger territory of land. Other Sioux tribes live there,” she says. “The path is long from here to there, but it could be the answer.”

“Okay, that’s good,” Dean nods. “…I just don’t know how Tahatan and the rest of ‘em are gonna take the idea coming from me. To them, I probably sound like a coward.”

Mila shakes her head and grasps his arm. “You are no coward, Dean. I will help you talk to my father. When he understands, then we will speak to my uncle.”

“And Šóta?” Dean says wryly.

“Šóta is young and wants to prove himself to my uncle. He is brave and strong, but doesn’t consider what we could lose,” Mila says, holding a hand over the small swell of her stomach. Dean covers her hand with his.

“Whatever comes next, I’m not letting anything happen to you. You understand?” he says.

Her face, and the tension in her shoulders, relax. She doesn’t quite manage to smile, but she rests her head against his shoulder.

“Yes,” she nods.

Days become a week, and the men of the tribe begin to notice Cavalry patrols edging closer to the village. Too close.

Dean tries to convince Šóta to let them pass by in ignorance. Attacking them would not only heighten the risk of the military discovering Dean’s alive, but it would just put the entire tribe in more unnecessary danger.

It’s getting harder and harder each day to persuade Šóta to stay his hand, so it becomes even more important to convince the Chief to mobilize the tribe.

While Dean and Mila manage to get Chatan to see the wisdom in the idea of moving the village north of the railroad, Tahatan isn’t so easily convinced that they should leave the river where their tribe has tilled the land, fed their families, built their traditions and their way of life. It’s understandable, but it leaves Dean with a worry in his gut that only grows with every new day.

Mornings are no longer peaceful for him, and while he knows Mila’s beginning to notice, it’s something he can’t help.

They dress for the day in silence after breakfast. He straps his gun to his right thigh and his knife on the other—a new precaution he’s started taking.

“Don’t go past the corral by yourself,” he warns Mila, when he sees her piling up a bundle of clothes for washing. She glances up at him with raised brows.

“I’m only going to the river,” she says.

“Take someone with you,” Dean says, shaking his head. “Like your mom, or a couple of your aunts. Hell, take Šóta with you. Or at least Takoda.”

She gives him a look that says she’s trying to be patient. “I will see if others have washing to do.”

Dean stops her with a hand on her arm.

“Or you could wait ‘til I get back,” he says. “I don’t mind going with you.”

“Dean,” she replies, her brows furrowing. “I may be with child, but I don’t need a caretaker. I’ll be fine.”

Again he stops her from moving past him. “Hey. Just listen to me, damn it!”

She gives him a sharp, surprised look. He stops himself short and realizes he’s losing his temper. He takes a breath, his face tight with frustration.

Mila frowns at him, trying to keep her own temper from rising to the surface. She knows he only wants to protect her, but nothing has even happened. Cavalry patrols haven’t gotten more than a couple of miles close to the village as the railroad construction continues. She’s begun to wonder if it’s necessary to move north after all.

Dean sighs, raising his hands in apology. He gently grasps her arms and looks down at her, meeting her gaze.

“Sorry,” he says. “Just…humor me, okay?”

Her brows furrow. “Humor? You want me to laugh at you?”

At that, he actually breaks into a chuckle. It eases some of his tension, but doesn’t completely expel his worry.

“What I mean is, I know how I’m being right now. I just want you to be safe,” he says, staring into her eyes. “Actually, I need it.”

Mila softens with a sigh. She reaches up and caresses his cheek, and she nods in agreement. She reaches up for his kiss, and he holds her tighter, more securely.

Okay, he thinks.

Dean leaves her to see to his responsibilities, caring for the horses, while Mila goes her own way to resume her daily chores. But when she asks her mother, Misae, and even Eyota if they want to go with her to the river, they say they’re too busy with other tasks to wash clothes. Her mother does give her an extra bundle to do for her though.

So even though it makes her uneasy to go against Dean’s wishes, she carries the bundles by herself to the river. Honestly, she prefers to do this alone sometimes, so she can be alone with her thoughts. Dean’s being overcautious.

Sure, it takes extra effort for her to get down on her knees at the riverbank, considering her protesting back, but she manages to do it. Because in her tribe, one does what they need to in order to live and eat.

She settles into her work after a few minutes, and bit by bit, she feels settled enough to relax. She even hums a little tune to herself. It’s part of a lullaby her mother used to sing to her when she was little, and now Mila sings it for her child, even before she gets to meet him…

Or her, she thinks, smiling to herself.

Her smile drops with a sharp inhale of breath.

She hears hoof falls on the earth. A horse treads nearby.

Slowly, she lowers the wet clothing back into the basin. She sees two reflections growing on the water: a horse and a man. The man gets down from his horse first.

“Hey there, miss—”

Mila swiftly turns and unsheathes the knife she keeps strapped to her ankle.

Dean finally takes the colt out for his first ride out in the open. He’s a little twitchy, but he responds well to Dean’s commands, enough that he chances leading the horse farther out of the village.

Maybe he’ll join Šóta and the rest of the men. They’re likely planting in the fields today, some of the women too, if they’re done at the river. Dean thinks of Mila then, and he hopes she’s finished her work there. He wonders if she got her mother to go with her, or maybe a couple of her friends. They’re new mothers, just a few years older than her.

I’ll just check on them, make sure everything’s on the up and up, Dean thinks. He guides the horse towards the river. He’s relaxed and focused on how the colt is behaving, until he hears a man’s voice on the wind. Dean looks up sharply and sees his wife there alone, crouched down on the riverbank.

A man stands just a few feet away and towers over her.

Dean’s gun is in his hand before he realizes it. With a small but purposeful kick, he urges the colt to a full gallop.

The man seems to be approaching her, taking meaningful steps forward. Mila says something sharply to him as she brandishes her knife and prepares to use it. He stops short.

“Hey!” Dean shouts.

He aims for the dead center of the man’s chest. His hair is long enough to brush his shoulders and obscure his face, but the closer Dean gets, a certain twinge runs up his spine and triggers his senses.

When the man looks up and raises his hands in shocked surrender, it’s like a physical blow to Dean’s chest. The man staring back at him is broad-shouldered, slightly taller than him in his dark brown duster coat, Stetson hat, and boots. He’s scruffier than usual, but unmistakable; he too stares at Dean like he can’t believe his own eyes.

“Dean,” he says, a hint breathless. His gaze drifts from Dean’s face to his pointed gun. He chuckles. “You gonna shoot me?”

Slowly, Dean lowers his weapon. He quickly moves to Mila first and slips an arm around her waist to help her stand with him. He makes sure she’s all right by the silent conversation that passes between them, through their eyes.

Then, he looks over at his brother and smiles, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Hey, Sam,” he says. His gaze roams over the younger man’s face, sporting what he’d call half a beard. “What the hell’s that ferret on your face?”

Sam laughs. It ends with a too-bright smile that’s a little teary. Dean’s throat begins to close up on him a bit as well, but feeling Mila stir at his side, grasping his arm with a questioning look on her face, he gives her a reassuring look.

“Sweetheart, this is my brother. Sam,” he says.

Her eyes widen, but as she looks between the men, her face dawns with understanding. She smiles and releases him, only to guide him towards his brother with a gentle push.

Dean needs no further encouragement. His grin widens as he goes to meet Sam, who’s already coming straight for him. They meet in a warm, solid embrace, even if they’re both still on shaky ground on the inside. Sam’s grip is just as strong and desperate as Dean’s is reassuring, cupping the back of his neck.

“They told me you were dead, you bastard,” Sam says. His laughing words have a suspect shake in them.

“Yeah, my fault,” Dean says. He chuckles too, as if that can make this easier. “Why’d you come all the way out here?”

Sam pulls back after a moment. “Because I didn’t believe them.”

Dean’s smile falls. How the hell is he going to explain this? To Sam, to the Chief and the rest of the tribe…

He notices Sam looking past him, and finally Dean remembers himself. He keeps a hand on Sam’s shoulder and beckons Mila over to them. She’s hesitant, but she trusts him. She goes to him and leans into his side while he wraps his arm around her waist.

“Sammy, this is Mila…my wife,” he says.

Sam brows raise high, his mouth nearly falling open. Dean recognizes the question in his eyes.

You married…an Indian?

Dean just raises his brows.

To his credit, Sam gets ahold of himself and internalizes most of his reaction.

“Ah, right. Nice to meet you…ma’am,” he says, chuckling awkwardly as he extends the offer of his hand. She just looks at his hand curiously.

Sam clears his throat and takes his hand back.

“So, when did—uh, how…”

Dean smiles slightly. He can’t remember the last time he saw his brother this tongue tied; maybe since the time Jessica Moore kissed his cheek when he was nine after he gave her his last juice box.

“Come on,” Dean says, tightening a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve got a lot to tell you before we get back.”

“Get back? Where are we going?” Sam asks.

Dean doesn’t answer him just yet, but he wishes he had brought Mato. He doesn’t trust putting Mila up on the colt, who’s still being broken in, but he doesn’t think she’d feel comfortable riding with Sam. So they walk back together to the village while leading their horses. Dean tells Sam the story of how he and Mila met—the good, the bad, and skimming over most of the ugly. Though he does admit to killing Dick Roman. And Dean admits that he made a choice to help her based on gut instinct alone.

“I knew what I was supposed to do, but…” Dean trails, glancing over at Mila. She’s been holding onto his arm as they make their way up a grassy hill, and now, their eyes meet. “I guess I’m just not the man they wanted me to be.”

She smiles a little at that, squeezing his hand.

Sam watches them together. He’s unable to stop the wonder from crossing his face, along with his smile. But his smile fades.

“You let us believe you were dead, Dean,” he says. Anger creeps into his voice, earning Dean’s sigh.

“It’s not like I could mail you a letter, Sam. It was…easier this way.”

“Easier?” Sam scoffs. “You think it was easy for me? Easy for Mom?”

Dean looks away. This chips open every part of his grief.

“We had a funeral for you,” Sam says. “Not that we had anything to bury.”

“Okay, I get it,” Dean says, rubbing at his eyes. “Maybe easier was the wrong word…safer is. For you, for me, for my wife, and for her people.”

Sam glances at Mila, who stares back at him with reservation in her eyes. She understands his anger, but she’s grateful to Dean. She knew what he’d done to protect her all this time. However, faced with part of the family he let go for her sake, she now feels guilty. So she doesn’t speak as she walks beside Dean.

Sam also stays quiet for a while. The gentle plodding of the horses and their boots on the grassy earth are the only sounds for a while, along with the wind in the distant trees of the forest.

“So, her tribe just…accepted you?” Sam asks.

Dean chuckles, shaking his head. “Well, it hasn’t been that easy.”

“He has worked hard to earn the Chief’s respect, and the respect of everyone in our tribe,” Mila says. It’s the first thing she’s contributed to the conversation, but she feels that this is something that must be said.

Once again, she and Dean share a meaningful glance. He’s going to need all of that respect and goodwill if he’s going to bring Sam to meet the Chief.

Dean is actually glad Šóta is gone on a hunt with most of the other men. Tahatan, Chatan, and Hanska are enough of an audience when he brings Sam to the Chief’s tipi. He and Mila explain why his younger brother came to find him, and Sam fills in the rest of the blanks from his point of view.

Apparently, he and their mother, Mary, received a letter from the U.S. Cavalry that Dean had been killed in the line of duty, but when Sam reached out to military personnel through his law connections, no one could tell him specifically how Dean had died.

So Sam took a train out of Lawrence, Kansas and headed to Wyoming. He travelled the rest of the way on horseback to Fort Laramie. There he requested to speak to Colonel Sanderson, but the only one who would talk to him was Captain Benny Lafitte.

“Captain now, huh?” Dean remarks. He smiles to himself. “Good for him.”

“He’s the one who told me that you had fallen into the canyon…in pursuit,” Sam says, tactfully when he glances at Mila. “But I looked all over that canyon. I never found your body, or your horse. So I just kept looking.”

Dean sighs. He can’t fault Sam for not leaving it alone, because he knew if he’d been in Sam’s shoes, he would’ve been searching all over the state for his little brother too, even if it was just a body to bring back to his mother.

“What if they followed him here?” Chatan speaks up. It reminds Dean that it’s not just him and his brother here. In fact, his father-in-law and the Chief are wearing similar grim looks while they seize up the younger Winchester. To see if he’s a threat to their tribe.

Dean meets his brother with a firmer look. “What did you tell them, Sam?”

“What do you mean?” Sam asks. “They lied to me.”

“Yeah, but what did you say to Benny? To Sanderson. To anyone. Did you tell them you didn’t believe I was dead?” Dean asks.

“No, I didn’t even talk to Sanderson. He couldn’t be bothered with me,” Sam says. “All I told Captain Lafitte was that I was going to find your body.”

Dean breathes out in relief, but the feeling is short lived. Šóta and Otaktay bring in a wounded Takoda into the tent. He’s bleeding and groaning in pain, clutching at his chest with a hand covered in scarlet. Blood drips to the ground where they lay him before Hanska. Tahatan calls for Eyota, the healer. Mila and Dean go to help Takoda.

“What happened?” Tahatan demands to know.

Šóta can’t look his father in the eye at first. He opens his mouth to reply, but Takoda groans in agony. Mila pillows his head in her lap and brushes her half-cousin’s hair from his face. She feels someone’s gaze on her, and she finds that it’s Otaktay. He hasn’t spoken to her since his fight with Dean several weeks ago, and she’s certainly not gone out of her way to speak to him. But there’s no time for awkwardness right now. Takoda writhes in pain while Hanska examines his wound.

Dean recognizes what it is right away. Takoda has been shot twice—once in the shoulder, and once all too close to his heart. Dean looks up at Šóta with furrowed brows.

“These are bullets, not arrows. Where did it happen?” he asks.

“I warned you not to engage the White Men!” Tahatan reproaches angrily. “Now look at what has happened!”

Šóta looks like he wants to bow his head, but he holds stubbornly to his convictions.

“They’re starting to build closer to the village. We were just watching them at first, but we were spotted,” he says.

“You got too close!” Chatan growls.

Eyota arrives with more supplies to help stem the bleeding. Dean is no doctor, but he knows a gunshot wound better than the others do, even Eyota and Hanska. The problem is, they don’t have the tools to get at the second bullet in his chest, and he’s bleeding out fast.

“I gotta dig it out,” Dean tells Šóta in English. He translates to the others. Dean looks down at Takoda and tries to reassure him. “This is gonna hurt like hell, brother. Just hold on.”

Takoda nods. He literally holds onto Dean’s shoulder and pleads without speaking. Help me.

His jaw clenching tight, Dean tries his best to find the bullet with the thinnest utensil Eyota has for him. Takoda attempts to keep still. His writhing is too much though. Even Sam comes to help hold him down. He’s a lawyer, not a doctor, but he knows what Dean is doing is the man’s only chance.

It just takes too long. Dean eventually does find the fat piece of the bullet and pulls it out, but the fight has drained from Takoda along with his life blood. His sweaty chest stills in its movements. His grip on Dean’s shoulder and Šóta’s knee become lax, and then limp.

His dark eyes stare up at the ceiling of the tipi, now unseeing as the light drains out of them.

Takoda. His name meant Friend to Everyone. And so he was.

After Hanska and Eyota clean his body, they dress him in his best clothes and wrap him in robes. Then they bring his body to the highest point near the village, at the top of the grassy hill. Under the night stars, it’s the closest they can bring him to the heavens, where the Lakota believe his soul will ascend to the spirit world. They won’t bury him in the ground, but instead will give him an “air burial” for a warrior’s death.

When a member of the tribe dies, usually the night is spent telling stories, laughing at old jokes, and food passed around. But this isn’t a night for joke-telling. The whole tribe is gathered in mourning at the foot of the hill.

Tahatan sings a somber song for his second son, and his voice rises high over his second wife’s wails. She kneels beside her son and cuts her long hair jagged with a knife while she weeps. Mila grieves more quietly, but she tells Sam and Dean that hair cutting is part of the custom, and even cutting at their own bodies if their grief is that great.

Eventually, the tribe disperses for the night. Tahatan leads his wife away, but Šóta and Otaktay stay with his body. They will sit in a vigil with him all night.

Meanwhile, Mila and Dean take Sam to their tent. She finds bedding and furs for Sam to sleep on, and Dean helps her lay it all out.

“Thank you,” Sam says to her sincerely.

She offers him a small smile, then she prepares to sleep herself. Dean stops her by taking her hand. He leads her into a comforting embrace. She lets out a shaky breath as her fingers curl into his clothing.

“I’m sorry…I couldn’t save him,” Dean confesses quietly.

Mila shakes her head. “It was not your fault.”

In her mind, she can’t help but put that blame on Šóta. It hurts to have that anger in her heart, but it’s there, no matter how hard she tries to let go of it. She clings harder to Dean, pressing her face into his chest while her body shakes with silent sobs. He caresses her hair, kisses the top of her head, and then her cheek.

After a little while, she pulls away from him and rests a grateful hand over his heart, before she goes to bed. Dean helps her settle down on the ground and pulls the fur blanket over her form. He squeezes her shoulder one more time before he joins Sam on the other side of the room.

All the while, his younger brother has been watching him, admiring the way he’s always been a protector, but also a man who takes care of the people around him. Sam remembers it well, when they were kids.

Dean gives him some bison jerky to snack on, and for a few minutes they eat in silence while a small fire burns in the coals piled in front of them.

“You’re all in danger here, Dean,” Sam says, breaking the silence. “It’s only a matter of time before the Army finds this place.”

Dean nods slowly. “I’ve been trying to convince the Chief to move the tribe up north. Other Sioux tribes have been able to settle there, but more and more, they’re being forced out of their land.”

Sam considers that with a slow nod. A grim realization dawns in his eyes.

“It’s not fair,” he eventually agrees. He falls into his thoughts for a moment, trying to decide how to say what he wants to. “You should come home, Dean. Come back with me.”

Dean sighs. He knew this was coming. It might as well be now. He glances over at Mila, who finally seems like she’s sleeping peacefully. He rests an elbow above his knee and looks back at his brother.

“You’re asking me to leave my wife?” he asks. “She’s pregnant, Sam.”

Sam’s eyes widen. That news probably shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did, but he’s a little hurt that Dean would think he’d suggest leaving her.

“No, Dean, of course not,” he says. His frown fades, turning into a smile. “Congratulations.”

Dean lightens, his lips curving slightly into a smile as well. He nods in thanks.

Sam sighs. “Look…ask her to come with you. With us. You can live out with Mom on the farm and raise your kids there.”

“You forget that I’m supposed to be dead? Hell, for God’s sake, you already had my funeral to prove it.” Dean rubs tiredly at his face. “Lawrence is a small town, and Mom has, what, fifteen, twenty people working that farm? Word’s gonna get out, one way or another. If the Army hears it, I’ll be court martialed for desertion, not to mention all the rest of it.”

Sam opens his mouth to argue back with that earnest, determined look in his eyes. Dean expects nothing less. It’s what makes his brother a good lawyer, but Dean raises up a hand against whatever he’s going to say. Again, he glances back at Mila.

“Sam…this is what she knows. These are her people, her family,” he says. After a hesitant pause, he adds, “They’ve become my family too.”

Sam’s jaw clenches. He glances down at the ground between his feet, before he’s able to meet Dean’s eyes again. There’s hurt and anger in his own.

“And me?” he asks. “What, I’m not your family anymore?”

He doesn’t know just how deeply that hurts Dean. He shakes his head, drops his jerky into the dirt. He reaches out and grasps Sam’s shoulder.

“Sammy,” Dean says. For a moment, he can’t speak. His throat constricts, and no matter how tight he presses his lips together, he can’t stop the slight tremble in them. “You don’t know how hard it’s been…to convince myself that I wasn’t ever gonna see you again. But I’m happy. I’m so fucking happy that you found me.”

Dean tries and fails to blink past the way his eyes burn with tears. Sam’s eyes are getting just as red and shiny. He lays a heavy hand on Dean’s knee, and they sit like that for a while in silence, until the embers on the coals dim from red to black.

Šóta hasn’t slept. It’s evident in his red-rimmed eyes and unkempt, dirty clothes, but he’s still adamant about hitting back against the railroad construction.

“Father, they stand at our doorstep!” he argues to the Chief. “They take our horses, run off our wild game with their machines, cut down the forest, and now they build iron tracks through our lands. You went to war against the Crow for less!”

Tahatan seems heavy in his thoughts as he listens. The words of his eldest son, and from his first wife, have weight—not just with him, but with the entire tribe as they sit together in the place where they typically have group feasts. Otaktay stands behind Šóta in support.

Dean is reluctant to single himself out, but after sharing a look with Mila, he stands.

“Chief, what happened yesterday was more than just a tragedy or a crime. It’s a warning,” he says. “We need to leave, before the Army finds this village.”

“You suggest we run like cowards,” Otaktay says. His tone is icy and angry.

Dean shakes his head. “I’m not doubting your courage or your skill. I’m not doubting any warrior here. But this ain’t a fair fight.”

He shifts his gaze, addressing Tahatan directly.

“We’re out-manned and out-gunned, literally. Arrows and knives against bullets—pistols and rifles,” Dean says. “They’ll tear through this village until there’s no one and nothing left. We have to go north. It’s the only way we’ll survive.”

Chatan sides with Dean, and Mila stands with him too.

Tahatan thinks hard. After a long, silent moment, he stands from his chair of whicker and wood.

“We will pack the caravans today and move out tonight,” he says.

Then he commands Šóta and Dean to start preparing the horses. Šóta shoots Dean a hard, angry look, but Mila steps in and pushes at her cousin’s arm.

“Don’t look at him,” she warns tersely in their language. “This is the cost of what you have done.”

Šóta is affronted by her words, but he doesn’t answer her. He just turns away with a sharp pivot on his heel. Otaktay glances back at Mila and Dean impassively, but he follows after Šóta, his friend and his leader.

Dean understands what she said; he’s spent enough time here that he’s able to follow every word. He gives her a look that’s mostly resigned, but he holds her to his side in comfort. He knows this isn’t easy for her either.

“I will start packing,” she says.

Dean nods. “I’ll come help you in a bit.”

He watches her leave his side to make her way back to their tent. Sam approaches him, and together they walk to the horse pen, where his horse is grazing with the others under the great sycamore tree that shields them.

“We’re leaving tonight,” Dean says. “You should head home.”

“What if something happens to you on the road?” Sam says.

Dean smiles ruefully. “I could say the same thing to you…but it looks like you don’t need me to protect you anymore.”

“Yeah well, doesn’t mean I won’t always need my brother.”

They share a smile, followed by a strong embrace. Dean thumps his back.

“Take care of yourself, Sammy,” he says, a coarse whisper.

Sam chuckles weakly. “You’ve got a harder road than I do.”

“Hey, you’re the one who’s gonna have to face Mom.”

Dean says it as something of a joke, but all it does is sober both of them. Sam pulls away reluctantly.

“I’m not going to get to meet my niece or nephew,” he says.

“I’m sorry about that too,” Dean says, meeting his brother’s glassy eyes. “Hell, I’m sorry about a lot of things.”

Sam jaw clenches, and he shakes his head. “Don’t do that.”

Another beat passes between them. He clears his throat.

“I’ll tell Mom…”

“Take care of her,” Dean says.

Sam nods his agreement. Dean finally releases his brother’s shoulder, and there below the sycamore tree, the brothers part ways. Sam straps up his provisions and climbs up on his horse. Dean opens the pen for him, long enough for Sam to ride through.

He stops at the foot of the hill and looks over his shoulder at Dean, who gives him one more lax salute. Sam smiles, nodding back at him. Then he keeps riding.

Dean watches him cross the grassy plain until it becomes too hard to look straight into the afternoon sun. Distantly he hears Šóta’s voice behind him, giving out orders to other men. Dean looks away from the sun.

He has work to do.

He locks up the rest of his grief to begin with the horses, not knowing that Otaktay watches him.

Dean doesn’t want to load up Baby with too much cargo. She’s still early in her pregnancy, and he could even ride her if he wanted to, but he can’t help but want to protect her more. It’s going to take days to move the tribe across the state, maybe longer. So instead, she can help pull one of the caravans with the colt and a couple of the other horses.

He saddles up Mato to ride. Hopefully he actually cooperates with Dean this time.

Mato begins to stamp nervously though, like he senses something coming. Dean perks up and notices the way the horse’s ears flick back and forth. Baby makes an anxious sound as well. Dean turns his head in the direction of the village with furrowed brows.

Šóta draws near to find his horse, who’s just as unsettled as the rest of them.

“The horses are spooked,” he says.

“Something’s wrong,” Dean nods in agreement. His gut tells him so, while a spark of unease licks up his spine.

And then he hears it. A warning blow of a buffalo horn on the air, followed by screaming, shouting, and gunfire in the village down below. His eyes widen.

Mila.

AN: 😬 Sorry about the cliffhanger, but we're almost to the end! What did you think of Sam's big entrance into the story? 😉

Coming up, the grand finale...

Next Time:

Gritting his teeth, Dean brings Mato to a short stop in front of the Chief. Dean aims his gun at the Colonel. By now, the man is clutching his bleeding shoulder and staring at his former captain in disbelief. Benny is maybe a little less shocked to see Dean, but there’s conflict in his eyes—happiness mixed with turmoil.

The other officer is Jack Kline. He recognizes Dean too, with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

“You…” Sanderson trails. He blinks, his brows furrowing. “Dean Winchester.”

Pronunciation Guide:

Wašíču ("wash-ee-jew") Šóta ("sho-tah") Chatan ("chat-tan") Tahatan ("ta-hat-tann") Otaktay ("ogh-tac-tay") Weaya ("we-ayy-ya") Takoda ("ta-koda") Mato ("matt-toe") Misae ("mee-sah-eh")

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