#until you see her secret interests in her hut | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

neteyamb · 2 years ago

Text

ashes to ashes: chapter three

pairing: loak x f!omatikaya reader

summary: as a healer, y/n had taken an oath to treat every patient with their best interests in mind. this hadn’t been a problem, until loak’s petty injuries become a routine. she has to swallow her pride and feign concern, feign kindness, and face the ugly hate that has been brewing between them for years.

tags: enemies to lovers, slight angst, best friend kiri, mentions of blood, mentions of war, language

word count: 2.2k

notes: you know exactky as much as i do what will happen next. its a secret to the both of us, babe!

⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧ ‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧ ‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧ ‧͙⁺˚*･

billie bossa nova

love when it makes you lose your bearings / it might be more of an obsession / you better lock your phone / and look at me when you're alone / won't take a lot to get you goin' / i'm sorry if it's torture though / that heavy breathin' on the floor / i’m yours, i'm yours

nova – a star that suddenly increases its light output tremendously and then fades away to its former obscurity

when the RDA returned to pandora six years ago, young and promising navi warriors got beaten to a pulp left and right. some of them never made a full recovery. now familiar with human weaponry, the omatikaya were able to push back in the war significantly, but this didn’t come without the help of maiya. she was swift to open the doors of an additional healing hut. moat, as tsahik, had hers located centrally in the village while maiya placed hers on the outskirts; readily able to patch up any injured that limped in from the forest by foot.

the raids became even more frequent, and maiya was quick to recruit new healers. you were seventeen, and roaming aimlessly with empty hands. while you were capable enough to be a warrior, she had convinced you it was better to have another healer than another soldier in the battlefield. at the time there were–what, three or four healers? and thousands on the frontlines? the ratio wasn’t effective, and she urgently needed help. you promptly agreed.

✶✶✶✶

humiliation twisted in your gut as she spoke. “i will not accept this behaviour in my own hut, y/n. you are too old for this.” you look down at your feet, ears ringing as her sharp voice filled the silent room. “do you know how bad it would look if my own apprentice was the cause of our soldiers’ injuries? i cannot allow it.” she rubbed her temple, sighing in defeat. you choked on the air in your lungs as if you were suffocating under the weight of her disappointment. “fix this,” she muttered, “don’t come back until you do.”

✶✶✶✶

loak thunders into his family’s hut, arm bloody and face pinched. kiri eyes him from the corner, placing her yarn down carefully. “what happened? you’re walking like an orangutan, i can practically see the stream leaving your ears.” he didn’t appreciate the joke, instead flopping onto his hammock with a defiant grunt. “so broody! loak, c’mon. fess up.” he tries to swat her off his conscious like a bug, but she wasn’t having it. “i can’t weave if you’re gonna be mumbling and grunting every few seconds.” he rolls over to face her begrudgingly, and she raises her eyebrows. her words are firm, and he sighs, giving in. “y/n and i got into a little spat. i’m sure maiya’s getting her good right now for it.” he winces, awaiting her response. he knows how it sounds, but you were a little too good at aggravating him. everytime you’re within his eyesight, his gears start grinding like an explosion in slow motion. you were electric, equal to him in emotion as well as verbal combat.

kiri’s eyes fall on his wounded bicep, and she points. “is this the result?” he’s quick to ease her alarm. “no–no, this is unrelated. that’s actually why i went to see her.” her shoulders relax and she takes her seat again. “grandmother��s hut is far closer. you could just go there.” kiri picked up her yarn once more, fiddling with it as she spoke. loak’s gaze lowered and he chewed his lip, hoping that stubborn silence would end the conversation. “you know, if you just pulled your head out of your ass, she might actually like you. she’s cool like that.” loak suddenly felt restless. he abruptly got to his feet, heading out as quickly as he came. “yeah, yeah.” he muttered under his breath, trying to brush her observations off in vain.

✶✶✶✶

your eyes swelled in frustration as you left the tent, but you were too embarrassed to cry. this was your own doing. your feet padded on the dirt, steadily increasing their speed as you travel deeper into the forest. after running for what felt like hours, the air was bitter in your lungs and they heaved with effort. you crumbled beside a small creek, throat still tight like a vice enveloped it as you dropped your feet in the water. you were unmoving for several minutes. a flat stone flies past your arm, and you look in the direction it came from with trepidation creeping into your muscles. loak follows the flying stone with his eyes as it skips over the water’s surface, face stoic. you don’t relax at the sight of him, instead rigidly turning back to the creek as you anxiously run your tongue over your teeth.

loak stands still for a moment, staring at the tension in your shoulders before apprehensively sitting down a few feet away from you, letting the water lap at his calves. eyes glued to the folded hands on your thighs, you ask, “why are you here, loak?” with quiet defeat in your tone. he begins absentmindedly moving his feet in the water. “i probably shouldn't have done that back there. it crossed a line.” you scowl at your hands, uncomfortable with his pity. “i don’t know what you’re talking about,” you bristle. there were never apologies, never any outright confrontations like this. not with loak. he throws his head back, sighing through his teeth at the clouds above as a silent plea for the virtue of patience. “cut that shit out. i know she yelled at you.” his eyes drop, watching as you twist your hands. “thanks for the pity, you can be on your way now.” you snap, challenging him as your narrowed eyes bore into his own.

loak huffed exasperatedly, laying on his back as his feet swayed in the cool water. “when my dad found out the RDA was back, he really grilled us with training. more than before. i got yelled at left and right,” he licks his lips, aware of your now attentive gaze on him. “and it fucking sucked. i’m just saying, i get it.” you hummed lowly, pursing your lips and pinching your brows together. “you probably had it coming,” you inhale sharply through your mouth, “but yeah. it fucking sucks.” this was uncomfortable; toying with an unspoken boundary. you didn’t like the vulnerability that hung in the air.

you bite the bullet. you knew you had to have a word with him eventually, for maiya, but you didn’t expect it to happen when you were still licking your wounds. “maybe i shouldn’t be beating people up in a healing hut.” laughter rolls through his torso, hands on his stomach. “you did not beat me up, y/n.” you allow a small smile to play at your lips, cautiously shuffling closer. if he noticed, he didn’t say anything about it.

the two of you sat awkwardly by the creek for some time. loak confided in you about how he felt he didn’t belong in his father’s squad, and you did the same. the conversation was timid, unsure, but wholehearted. as you spoke, his eyes fell to the dip in your cupid’s bow before snapping back up to your bright eyes. it happened so fast, he was sure you weren’t aware. to put it plainly, loak was nervous. your closeness made his heart pound in his chest, and he struggled to control his breathing. he didn’t know where to look; your eyes felt too intimate, but if his were to wander it would be moreso. he restricted himself to watching the gentle breeze rock the water, but still your voice infiltrated his ears, your scent filled his nose. you were overwhelming, everywhere, and it made him uneasy.

✶✶✶✶

loak had walked back with you to the village, tail stiff behind him. you now stood outside of maiya’s hut, fretfully alternating your weight on each foot as you listened to her soft hums inside. you were close to chickening out, but before you dejectedly turned back, you hear her sigh. “come inside, maite.” you suck in a breath before lifting the entrance flap, looking sheepish. “i am so sorry, maiya. it’s been resolved. please forgive me.” the words are escaping your mouth like vomit. she rests a heavy hand on your shoulder and rustles your hair with a soft smile on her face. “all is well. come, i need a second opinion on this paste.” she turns back towards the counter, mixing peacefully. you’re rooted to the ground for a moment, processing her words slowly, before stepping to her side.

the sky had grown dark, and you put your fingers to your forehead to bid maiya farewell. as you walked home, something curled in the pit of your stomach. you were sure you had overshared with loak, and regret was creeping its way into your mind. only when you climbed into your hammock did it begin to unfurl. it was unlike him to reach out to you like he had, and you feel skeptical about the unfamiliarity of the situation. hopefully, it was a misnomer you could write off.

✶✶✶✶

it was noon, and loak was flying his ikran closely above the treetops alongside his dad, brother, and a handful of other warriors. the raid had gone as planned, but there were knicks from bullets painting his skin and he was almost positive there was blood running down his spine. as they landed, loak removed his queue from the animal and walked wearily with heavy footing towards his grandmother’s hut; the fact that it was closer than yours and he was exhausted was a bonus, but his main concern was the on-edge feeling you had given him the day before. had he made a mistake, allowing himself to be close to you? he didn’t have the energy to entertain that line of thought. loak peeks into the entrance to find his grandmother already working on several of his colleagues, most of which are substantially more injured than he is. moat sees his shadow on the floor and looks up, pulling a tight smile. “tìrol, i am afraid i cannot assist you right now. will you need help getting to maiya?” he grimaced internally, before responding, “no grandmother, i’ll be alright. thank you.”

he departed swiftly, feeling pain shoot up his left leg with every step. you were prepared with abundant supplies, already tending to one other navi soldier. in the entrance, he watched your brows pinch as you stitched up a deep gash in the man's thigh. maiya wasped around you, analyzing your skill as she prepared gauze for the wound. loak almost forgot why he was here, why he didn’t come here sooner. his eyes drank in your graceful movements; after you expressed your lack of confidence in being a proper healer, he was sure you would go pale at serious injuries, but instead you worked fast and calm. he watched your hands caress the skin with calculated movements, watched as your smooth voice eradicated the fear in the warrior’s eyes. only when maiya took over with the gauze did you see him in the entrance, stricken with grief at your skill.

for an awful moment, there were flashes of envy in his gut; he had devoted his life to reminding you that he was better than you, but you were here all this time actively making a difference in the clan while he disappeared into a sea of identical soldiers. and the way the warrior looked at you kindly, with blind appreciation–he had never been able to wear that look on his face with you. loak suddenly feels cheated by life; it was really that easy? his gut became heavy. you offer him a clipped smile, motioning him inside. feeling sick, he was grateful to take a seat on the mat, tucking his legs underneath his thighs in earnest. “how are you feeling?” you ask, already bringing an array of remedies to the mat. “tired,” he mumbles distantly. you trip over your words, embarrassed at his blunt misunderstanding; surely asking on his emotional wellbeing was too intimate? “i mean–well, are there–do you feel any pain anywhere?” he feels dumb, a blush beginning to raise on his neck. “my leg hurts,” he admits uncomfortably. you nod, holding your hands out apprehensively in question.

loak understands, unfolding his legs and pushing the left one towards you silently. you feel for any fracture or break in bone, and allow yourself to breath out when there aren’t any. still, you apply a numbing cream and move to his back. your fingers were so light on his spine they almost tickled, and he shifted awkwardly under your touch. he prayed wordless thanks that he wasn’t in need of stitches; he wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. tentatively, you fill the heavy silence. “okay, i think you’ll be fine–” your breath hitches as you move around to his front, catching his dazed eyes with your own. your interactions with loak now felt clumsy, full of doubt and hesitancy, and you didn’t like it; you could no longer predict his thoughts, much less his next move. he clenches his jaw and brings a shaky hand to the floor, pushing himself up and moving his eyes away from you. “thanks, i’ll be on my way now.” you share a look with maiya as he walks off, still shaking.

⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧ ‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧ ‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ ☽༓･*˚⁺‧ ‧͙⁺˚*･

notes: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

taglist: @weasleytwinwheezes

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ariel-seagull-wings · 1 year ago

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THE UNDERWATER PALACE

@the-gentile-folklorist @princesssarisa @the-blue-fairie @themousefromfantasyland @bixiebeet @spengnitzed @inevitablemoment @grimoireoffolkloreandfairytales @softlytowardthesun @adarkrainbow @professorlehnsherr-almashy @amalthea9 @faintingheroine @thealmightyemprex @lord-antihero

@janeb984 @natache @tamisdava2

(A Czech Jewish Tale)

Long ago, in the city of Prague, not far from the river Moldau, there lived a wealthy merchant whose name was Kalman. He had but a single child, a daughter, whose name was Haminah. She was so beautiful that many thought she resembled a princess. Her adoring father had betrothed her to a young man who was a fine match, except that she could not bear the thought of marrying him. For if she did, she would lose forever her true love, the one who came to her every night. But no one knew of this, for she had kept it secret.

Every evening at twilight the maiden Haminah would go down to the bank of the river Moldau in Prague, unobserved by anyone. There she would wait in a ramshackle hut until it grew dark. Then she would go outside to the old dock and peer out over the river. At last the boat she was waiting for would come into view, and a young man of striking appearance would step out of the shore.

They would embrace for a long time, and before parting he would always say, “Let us leave together tonight.” And as hard as it was for her to say, she would always reply, “Not yet.”

Now as the time of the wedding approached, the secret lovers began to grow desperate. When only a few days remained, and Haminah had replied “Not yet” still another time, the young man rowed away in silence, and beneath the light of the full moon Haminah saw his boat stop, as if it had dropped anchor. Then the young man stood up in the boat and cried out, “If you truly love me, follow me!” and he dived into the waters and disappeared.

When Haminah did not return home that evening at the usual time, her father and her fiancée went out looking for her. They found her standing on the muddy riverbank, staring out over the waters, as if in a trance. They called out her name, and at that moment she made her decision. They saw her run into the river, where she soon vanished, carried off by the currents. Her father ran into the waters after her, but it was too late.

Nothing was to be seen on the surface of the water except for the reflection of the moon.

In the days that followed, fishermen searched for the body of the young girl, but in vain. And every day the broken hearted Kalman sat at home, waiting for the news that she had been found. Only when the time of mourning came to an end did Kalman resign himself to the fact that he would never see his daughter again, dead or alive. And after that he became a different man, losing all interest in his possessions. He became known for his generosity to the poor, but it gave him no pleasure, for he was walking toward the grave without offspring.

Now Kalman had a sister, whose name was Shifra. She lived in a narrow lane of Prague with her husband. Although she had no children of her own, she had brought many into the world in her role as midwife. She would often visit her brother Kalman, who seldom left home, preferring to remain in isolation with his grief.

One day when she was visiting him, her brother stood at the window and stared out at the river. He was thinking of Haminah, and he relived for the hundred thousandth time how his beloved daughter had run out into the water and had been carried off by the currents. So too did he know again the bitterness of his loss. Then he turned to his sister and said, “How long has Haminah been gone?”

And she replied, “Soon it will be a year.”

Just then Frau Shifra became aware of a black cat sitting on the wall outside the window. It stared at her with green eyes full of sadness and wisdom and looked as if it were trying to speak to her, to beg her for something.

“Look at that cat,” she said to Kalman, hoping to distract him from his grief. He looked down at the wall and at the same time the cat looked up at him, and for a long time they stared at each other. And it seemed to him that he recognized the cat from somewhere, but he couldn’t remember where. Then the cat suddenly jumped down from the wall and disappeared.

During the night a sharp wind blew from the direction of the Moldau, and all the weather vanes and merchants’ signs were creaking. Frau Shifra was unable to sleep. The wind howled through the narrow lane, and the raindrops clattered as they fell in the chimney. Once she raised her head and peered out the window, and she saw that same black cat sitting outside, looking as if it wanted to come in. When Frau Shifra finally fell asleep she dreamed that she opened the window, called the cat, and it was about to enter. Just then Shifra was awakened by the sound of knocking at the door. It was the middle of the night, but such things were not unusual for her, because she was a midwife.

Already exhausted from her lack of sleep, she got out of bed, walked to the door, and looked out the peephole.

“Who is there?” She asked.

“Someone who needs your help,” came the reply. So she opened the door.

There stood a servant, elegantly dressed. Frau Shifra was very surprised, for she assumed that he served a nobleman, and those who came to her were all Jews. She tried to elicit some information, but he was in a great hurry, so she dressed quickly and left with him. He led her through the rain to the Moldau, where he had fastened a boat to the dock. As soon as Frau Shifra realized that she was expected to cross the river on such a stormy night, she wanted to turn back.

The servant turned to her and said, “What are you afraid of?”

And she replied, “The wind and the waves.”

But no sooner had she spoken than the wind calmed down and the water became smooth. Much amazed, Frau Shifra sighed and entered the boat, and the servant began rowing. Soon the bank receded into the distance, and Frau Shifra again became fearful. She closed her eyes and decided not to open them until she reached land once more.

When the boat finally bumped into another dock, she opened her eyes. To her great astonishment she saw before her a palace more splendid than that of the emperor. Its spires and curving walls were green and blue and glistened like a waterfall. All things around her glowed with a soft light, that of neither night nor day, and she did not know whence it came. Strange plants grew in the palace garden, and it appeared that a faint breeze was constantly fanning them.

Frau Shifra finally took heart and climbed out of the boat. That was when she discovered that she did not walk in that place, but floated, as if lifted by an invisible power at every step. In her confusion she looked up, and above her she saw schools of fish swimming about, and she realized, with great amazement, that she must be beneath the river. She was breathing, but how was that possible? She did not have long for such musings, however, because the servant hurried off, and she followed as quickly as she could.

The servant knocked on the palace door, and a splendidly dressed young man opened it, who Frau Shifra knew at once must be a prince or a king. He was dressed in a green coat and green pants, and his buttons, rings and buckles were all made of gold. The young man smiled at her and said, “We have been expecting you, good woman. Please follow me.”

Then he turned to go and she hastened after him, floating through the halls, which were illuminated by a mysterious light the color of pearls.

At last they arrived at a glowing green door, and when the prince opened it, Frau Shifra had the shock of her life. For there, lying on the bed inside, was none other than Haminah, holding out her hand to greet her aunt. The room glittered with gold, pearls, and diamonds, and the curtains that floated behind the bed had been embroidered with the colors of the rainbow. When Frau Shifra saw the miracle of Haminah, who was not only alive, but ready to give birth, she began to feel faint. But she pulled herself together, for she knew that she must not fail her niece. Haminah said, “Will you stay and help me?” And Frau Shifra said, “Of course.”

Frau Shifra wished to ask questions but there was no time, for Haminah was well advanced in her labor. And before long a fine infant was born, a son.

Frau Shifra gave the news to the young man, who was filled with joy, and happiness radiated from all corners of the palace.

Before long, lovely singing and harp playing were heard, although the musicians kept themselves hidden. Frau Shifra listened with pleasure to this supernatural music, then turned to Haminah.

“Tell me, my child, how did you come to be here? For your father thought you were drowned on that terrible night, and he has never stopped mourning.”

Haminah held her baby close and said:

“I had a secret love whom no one knew. We met at night on the bank of the Moldau. When I refused to elope with him he dived into the waters and I thought that his life was lost. At the time my father reached the river I decided to follow my love into the grave. I descended farther and farther into the depths, certain that my life was lost, when I saw a green light glowing from the river bottom. Suddenly I was embraced, and I knew that I had been reunited with my loved one at last. He brought me to this water palace, for it is from here that he rules the river. And it was here that we celebrated our wedding.”

Frau Shifra heard this explanation, but if she had not been in that very palace, she would not have believed it. And for the first time in her life, Frau Shifra found herself speechless.

Haminah continued:

“You must know that my husband is not a human being. He is the ruler of the river Moldau, but the king of all waters cursed him and condemned him to live on the land. He had to wander throughout the world until he found someone who loved him so much that she would be willing to sacrifice her life. Only then would the spell be broken. Throughout the ages he was engaged to many maidens, but none were willing to follow him into the realm of the deep. Only I did and thus redeemed him from that terrible curse. Now he once more reigns over the river, and our love for each other is strong. Yet, there is pain in my heart for causing grief to my father, and I long for him and the rest of my family, including you, my dear aunt. And when this longing begins to overwhelm me, my husband permits me to take the shape of a black cat and to visit the world above.”

And suddenly Frau Shifra realized that Haminah had been the black cat outside her brother’s house and the one of which she had been dreaming when the knock had come on her door.

And she said:

“Your father felt there was something familiar about that cat, and I did too. Wait until I tell him!”

But Haminah grew pale.

“No, my aunt, you must not, for if those in the world above should learn of this kingdom, our existence would be endangered. As much as I would like to let my father know, I cannot.”

Frau Shifra understood, and she vowed to keep all she had learned secret. But she also became afraid that she would not be trusted to remain silent.

“Will your husband let me go back?”

She asked, and Haminah replied:

“As long as you do not eat or drink anything here, or accept any of the rewards that are offered to you, you will be free to leave. But if you do accept anything, you will be forced to remain here for the rest of your life. All that you may safely accept are some pieces of coal you will find lying outside the door of the palace. Take a handful of these with you, and be careful not to lose them.”

At that very moment the ruler of that kingdom entered the room and beckoned for Frau Shifra to follow him. She said a fond farewell to Haminah, knowing that she might never see her again, at least not in human form.

As they floated down the, the ruler told her that she was welcome to dine with them, but she replied that it was still the middle of the night for her, and she was not hungry. Then he led her into the treasure room, where she saw great heaps of gold, silver, pearls and jewels.

“Take whatever you like.”

Said the ruler. But Frau Shifra replied:

“No, thank you, what my husband and I possess is sufficient for us. And I have been rewarded enough to learn that Haminah lives and that her life here is a happy one. My only desire now is to return home.”

Then the ruler thanked her for all her help, and he called the servant who had brought her there. As she left the palace, Frau Shifra noticed pieces of coal sprinkled on the ground, and she bent down and picked up a handful, wrapping them in her apron. Then she climbed into the boat and closed her eyes once more, in order to forget just how far beneath the surface she really was.

Some time later the servant informed her that they had arrived at the riverbank. Frau Shifra opened her eyes and gave thanks when she saw the familiar shoreline of Prague before her. She climbed out of the boat and took leave of the servant. And when she turned around to watch him go, she saw that the boat had already disappeared, and there was nothing to be seen except circles on the surface of the water, as if someone had thrown a stone into it.

As she walked along, yawning, Frau Shifra began to realize just how exhausted she was. And she held her apron carelessly, not even thinking about the pieces of coal she carried in it. When she reached her home, she crawled into bed beside her husband and was sound asleep in no time.

In the morning she was awakened suddenly. Her husband was holding a large lump of gold in his hand, and he was jumping for joy.

“Look,” he shouted, “at what I found at the foot of the bed!”

Frau Shifra rubbed her eyes. Was the visit to the underwater palace not a dream after all?

A moment later a great commotion was outside the house. Frau Shifra and her husband ran to the window, and they saw that people were streaming from all directions along the path to their house. Some of them were running around, scuffling and chasing each other, and others were hiding something in clenched fists.

“They must have found gold too,”

Her husband said.

“Let’s go outside and search with them. Perhaps gold has rained from the heavens instead of manna.”

“We shall do no such thing,”

Said Frau Shifra. But suddenly she thought of the apron, with the pieces of coal, and when she untied the knot she found a heap of gold glittering there. Her husband danced around the room and gave thanks, for never again would he have to worry about making a living.

Frau Shifra smiled but she remained silent. She knew that the gold on the path had fallen from her apron as she had returned from the river. And she thought of her niece Haminah with gratitude, and she recalled her promise not to reveal what had happened. So too did she keep that promise until the day she stood by the deathbed of Kalman, Haminah’s father, and then she whispered the truth to him about his beloved daughter, so that he departed from this world with a smile on his face.

In the days that followed, the narrow lane outside Frau Shifra’s house became known as Gold Lane, because of all the gold that had been found there. And from time to time a black cat would walk down it to sit outside the midwife’s window. It was said that Frau Shifra always let it in so that it could hear all that was said inside. And the eyes of the cat were always melancholy, as if there were something it wanted to say. And there are those who insist that the same cat can still be seen wandering the streets of Prague.

Eastern Europe: Nineteenth Century.

#fairy tales #folk tales #folktales #folklore #fantasy #literature #jewish representation #jewish folklore #judaism #eastern europe #czech republic #czechia

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labellefleur-sauvage · 2 years ago

Text

A Most Dangerous Magick

Summary: Deep in the woods, the villagers say a forest witch dwells in her hut, alone, tending to her garden. They say she’s mad, that the bones of children hang from her ceiling and that people who enter the woods and stray from the path never leave.

When Elain Sees a nefarious visitor is on their way to her forest cottage, she decides to entertain her guest for an evening they both will never forget.

I was inspired by this post by @bittermuire, saying that Elain should have been creepier in canon. I wholeheartedly agree. I took it a few (a lot) steps further and made her a violent, bloodthirsty, unsettling forest witch, because, at the end of the day, Elain deserves it.

Rating: Mature/Explicit. Violence, animal death, bodily harm, body mutilation, smut. This might not be everyone's cup of tea but if you're in the mood for unhinged Elain, read on.

Word Count: 10K

Read on AO3. There are research notes at the bottom of the AO3 link, if anyone is interested.

XXX

Elain could feel change in the air like a punch to her gut.

It came on suddenly: the sensation lit across her fingertips like little shocks of static and settled on her arms like an unnervingly thick coating of dust. It filled her lungs like smoke from a forest fire and its bloody metallic tang hung in the back of her throat and coated her tongue.

It disappeared just as quickly as it had come on, leaving her slightly disoriented and gasping for breath. She spat on the ground - bloody. Elain frowned slightly. Yes, change was coming, and soon, though she chose to keep optimistic until she could divine more of the situation.

She hurried through the forest towards her house. Her dinner - a rabbit, neck broken - hung from the ratty belt around her waist. Her feet were bare and covered in dirt; a few twigs were tangled in her long brown hair. Her dress was filled with rips and stains, the hem nothing more than a tangle of threads.

“How interesting,” she mused aloud. “It’s been… decades, I think, since something has happened here. Not since that silly little human marched here with his fancy horse and iron weapons to try to take the woods away from me.” She looked down at the dead rabbit hanging from her belt, its body bouncing against her leg as she walked. “What do you think, Mrs. Rabbit? Is someone coming? Or perhaps a storm or drought?”

The rabbit did not deign to give a response.

Elain tsked. “Well you’re not a very good conversationalist.”

She was close to her home - she could feel her magic traveling through the earth under her feet. The trees around her reacted to her presence, dragging their leaves and branches across her body as she passed. They whispered their tantalizing secrets they had plucked from the air to tempt her to stay. She closed her eyes and sighed, enjoying the feel of them around her but sadly called out, “I really must hurry home.”

The forest groaned its lament but obliged. The trees picked up their roots and moved, revealing a small clearing ahead. She waded through the knee length grass towards her cottage, smoke billowing from the chimney. Her goats and chickens were in their pens, pawing and pecking at the ground, and her lone cow stared balefully at Elain as she passed, a large wad of grass sticking out from her mouth.

She threw open the door to her hut and tossed the dead rabbit on the table. A large tabby cat sat on top of her shelves, glaring at her as she entered.

“Hello Gray,” Elain chirped. The cat arched its back and hissed at her, its hackles raised. Elain ignored the cat’s frosty response. “Where are The Ravens? Have they dropped by while I was gone?”

The cat only growled. His memories were apparently sharp today.

As she did whenever she entered her home, Elain moved to the altar dedicated to Mother and added her new offerings she had collected while she had been out. She lovingly caressed the bit of bone and hair that had once been a part of Mother’s body that now blessed and protected her home before moving away.

She unlocked her corner cabinet and pulled out her grimoire, the cover cracked and slightly peeling. Elain frowned - she would need to capture another child to repair her book’s damaged skin. Gently she flipped the book to the ‘Prophet and Premonitions’ section and began reading.

Different spells required different ingredients, with the most powerful spells in her book demanding personal sacrifice as well. She didn’t really feel like offering anything of herself at the moment - the fingernails on her left hand were still growing back after she had ripped them out to ensure her chickens laid enough eggs so she could make her prized lemon bars- so she decided on a basic precognition spell.

This particular spell was rather simple with its three requirements: something from the earth, something from the sky, and something vital to life. The first two were easy - she plucked a bunch of henbane from her extensive herb garden and rooted around in her cabinets for the preserved sparrow entrails she kept on hand - but the third had some leeway.

‘Something vital to life.’ This was up to the discretion of the spell caster. Most people used an object that made their own life worth living - a bottle of their favorite liquor, their most prized book if they were a great reader, or perhaps their favorite food.

Elain tended to be more literal with her interpretation. Walking out to her chicken pen she surveyed the animals. She needed to keep her sole rooster and most of her chickens were on the younger side.

She sighed. “Sorry Nan,” she apologized, stepping over the fence and plucking her oldest chicken up. Nan squawked indignantly and tried to flap out of Elain’s arms.

“It’s alright,” she cooed in Nan’s ear, stroking the soft downy feathers of her head. A firm hand on the chicken’s body, another on the head and Elain snapped the chicken’s neck in one smooth, practiced motion.

Back inside her house, she set the dead chicken on the table next to the rabbit and hauled a bucketful of her Cauldron blessed soil to the wood floors and scattered it in an even layer on the ground. Crouching down, she began tracing the image of a Daisy Wheel in the blessed soil on the ground: a large flower with six thin, oblong petals evenly spaced apart, all contained within a large circle.

She laid her ingredients in the center of the Daisy Wheel then dug her teeth into the soft chicken’s body, covering the spell components in a thick layer of blood. The blood seeped into the grooves she had drawn. Elain plucked a few feathers from her mouth and daintily wiped the chicken’s blood running down her mouth and neck away on a stray kitchen cloth.

Elain knelt on the ground and took a deep breath. One had to go about witchcraft with a clear mind, lest one's thoughts and emotions muddle the results. She let her body relax, her muscles and bones becoming soft and pliant like the dead animal bodies littering her home. Her eyes drifted closed.

“One two three, one two three,” she muttered to herself in a sing-song voice. “Oh Mother dear, what will you reveal to me?”

Nothing. Elain waited for several moments, still as a stone. She opened one eye, looking around her expectantly for something to happen. A breeze drifted through her open door, wafting around her head, carrying the faint, cruel sound of mocking laughter.

Elain huffed like a petulant child - Mother did always demand more from her daughters. She angrily tore at the flesh of her palm. Her blood sprayed out onto the floor, mixing with the soil and offerings she had laid out.

The effect was instantaneous. A happy sigh on the breeze, then, like her blood on the ground was a living thing with a mind of its own, it raced through the grooves of the Daisy Wheel, coating each petal before zooming around the outer circle to complete its bloody mission.

When her ichor completed its route around the symbol, it began beating and pulsing like the heart of an ancient slumbering beast taking its first breath of fresh air after a thousand year hibernation. It shuddered and quaked, sending small vibrations through the ground, before small tendrils of blood began branching out from the daisy wheel.

Elain sat, transfixed, as the blood snaked its way through the dirt and began forming an image of its own: a snout, two pointed ears, four legs supporting a small body, a long bushy tail. It was an obscene two-dimensional masterpiece. Finally the blood finished its painting. All was still as she studied the drawing in front of her.

A fox? Elain hummed thoughtfully to herself. All of the predators in the woods knew to stay as far away from her clearing as possible, guided by a deep rooted instinct that they most likely didn’t fully grasp. A simple fox couldn’t do any harm to her or the woods.

But what did foxes represent? Cleverness, cunning and mischief. Elain swiped a finger through the bloody fox and brought it to her lips. Images like lightning came to her in flashes: a lone figure in a deep green cloak walking through the woods; a handaxe, gleaming, attached to a hip; a sheath of long, red hair; a large golden brown hand squeezing her hip -

Elain found herself on her back, eyes closed, a heavy weight on her chest. She wasn’t sure how much time passed. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes to see Gray sitting on her collarbones, one clawed paw extended towards her throat, his eyes narrowed in anger at his plans being thwarted.

“Oh hello silly,” Elain said weakly, reaching up to scratch his ears. A growl - too deep for a cat - rumbled in his chest before he slunk off under a cabinet, his yellow eyes the only thing visible.

Elain let out a deep breath, still laying flat on the floor. Change was coming, in the form of someone out to deceive her. Did they want to hurt her or the woods? She would never let that happen - the only way she would ever be separated from the woods was if her head were no longer attached to her body and plenty of people had tried and failed over the years.

There were only two reasons anyone came to her remote dwelling: the first was if a wayside witch or warlock came to trade stories or materials or spend the night; the second was a mortal arriving to kill the bloodthirsty witch rumored to live in the forest. She didn’t get the sense that this person was magical - her territorial instincts would have been set off much sooner if a fellow witch was near. No, whoever was coming was definitely mortal.

All this meant was that she was getting a visitor.

Elain sat up and clapped her hands together, beaming. “Well ladies!” she said brightly, addressing the dead chicken and rabbit around her. “It looks like we’ll have a guest sometime soon - time to make the home presentable!”

XXX

Hosting an impromptu dinner party for a yet to be seen guest was not a skill Elain could say she was blessed with. She had already spent hours cleaning up her cozy and charming home and had to admit that anyone other than a fellow witch would be horrified at what they saw.

Her altar to Mother was covered in dried blood and offerings; her apothecary filled with jars clearly labeled with all manner of poisons that would kill a human in seconds; a collection of bones, animals and human, children and adults, hung from the ceiling in the corner; and her fireplace was embarrassingly sooty and grimy.

Elain bit her lip. Cleaning all this was a daunting task and she wasn’t sure how much time she had until her visitor arrived - the sun outside was beginning its journey towards the tops of the trees and it would be dark soon. She could cast a glamor but the magic required to transform her entire house for an extended period of time would take a significant sacrifice. Slave away to clean and put away her private items, or glamor her house to make it look like a normal human house?

She had balked earlier today at the thought of giving any more of herself than needed to perform some basic Seer work and here she was, debating on sacrificing a not insignificant part of her body to hide her home and transform it into something human-like. Heaving a great sigh, she consulted her grimoire. More skin flaked off the cover. She thumbed through the pages as she went, ignoring spells allowing for someone to read other’s minds (too intrusive for Elain’s sensibilities), granting someone giant bat wings (cumbersome, how would they put shirts on?), and a potion granting the ability to change into a great beast (something to keep in the back of her mind, she thought appreciatively, if a man ever dropped by). Finally she found the glamor spell, written in old spidery handwriting.

She bit her lip and groaned - she had never cast a glamor and didn’t realize the cost: a long list of herbs, various potion ingredients, an essence of the space being glamored and a sacrifice from the bearer.

There was a sudden flapping at her window. Elain looked over to see The Ravens pecking at the window, begging to be let in. She opened the window and they hopped in, yammering at the tops of their voices.

“A stranger! A stranger approaches!”

“Deceit crowns him like the flames around his head!”

“Yes, yes, I know this already,” she snapped, her head beginning to throb. “It would have been nice if you two would have shown up earlier!” Gray hissed at her tone of voice and Elain hissed back.

Elain threw her head back and groaned. Why did she even care who this person was or what they wanted? She could rip them to shreds as soon as they crossed the threshold of her clearing, dead before their body hit the ground.

“Kill him and be done with it!” A Raven cried. Something soft twined itself around her ankles and she looked down to see Gray sitting dolefully at her feet, his prior memories gone for the moment.

Because your familiars don’t talk back the way a human would, a taunting voice whispered in her ear. It was true. Elain was terribly lonely, having no one but The Ravens and Gray to talk to, and they never talked back - not in any meaningful way. She was so desperate for any type of interaction with something that didn’t either squawk or hiss at her, that she was willing to harm her body to give the appearance of normalcy so this stranger would spend time with her before trying to kill her, based on the handaxe they carried.

Despite the threat of violence that hung at her doorstep, Elain couldn’t help but feel a small sense of elation that someone was coming to visit her. If she could perhaps persuade or trick them into thinking she was somewhat normal and not a witch, they might even stay for a while and have a chat. She could make a normal human meal and talk about… What did humans talk about? The weather? Their occupations? Regardless, she would find out when her visitor arrived.

It seemed her decision was made. Taking another look at her grimoire, she began gathering the needed ingredients: pressed chamomile flowers, fresh sage, vervain, foxglove, a sprinkling of dried meadowsweet, nightshade, dandelion leaf, lemon balm, hibiscus and finally freshly plucked rose petals. She had nicked her fingers on the rose thorns as she collected the rose petals and cursed the plant, thinking that she should enchant her garden gloves to protect herself.

She placed the plants in her large mortar and consulted her ingredients cabinet. She began pulling the rest of the potion ingredients and adding them to the mortar as well: an owl wing, a mummified finger bone from a fellow witch who had died several centuries ago, a bit of a tongue from a man sentenced to hang for thieving, and her last vial of virgin’s tears.

(Adding the virgin’s tears to the mortar brought up fond memories of the sniffling man she had killed to obtain said tears. Elain smiled softly to herself as she remembered collecting the tears from the dark haired man beneath her, after he had foolishly tried to seduce her by gifting her a glittering necklace. She had cut his throat with the glass charm and then wrung him dry.)

“Ravens,” she called to the twin birds, “could you bring the Cauldron blessed soil over here?”

Ever the dutiful servants, the birds glided down to the large pail full of soil and flew it over to her workstation, setting it next to the mortar. She scratched them behind the ears before shooing them away.

This next part was perhaps the most difficult: an essence of her space being glamored. She glanced around her home. It was small but it had everything she needed: a small kitchen space, a cozy armchair by her fireplace, cabinets and nooks and crannies to store all her ingredients, books and knick-knacks, even a separate bedroom off to the side of her altar.

The altar. Of course. It was the only area in her entire home that defined her space, as it was Mother’s relics - her bit of bone and hair - that had literally brought the cottage into existence.

Nearly a century ago, after Elain spent months wandering woods and swamps and glens, she had taken a rest in this empty meadow with her few meager belongings: some clothes, her grimoire, and those physical bits of Mother that connected Elain to her ancestor and the original witch. When she awoke, she found herself on the ground in front of the entranceway of a small cottage. The only thing inside the empty cottage was a clean altar, Mother’s bone and hair placed neatly front and center.

Mother’s relics were sacred and nearly impossible to come by now - for Elain to have two spoke of how highly Mother favored her, and why she pushed Elain to give more of herself than other witches. But could Elain sacrifice even a bit of these precious objects, items with which she derived her power and gave her everything she had and made her who she was? For a chance to have a normal conversation, to relieve this unending loneliness she experienced day in and day out?

She took her knife and began shaving a bit of Mother’s bone away. Yes, she would definitely give a bit of Mother in exchange for a normal house for her visitor.

The bone shards fell into the mortar; black smoke wafted from the bone. She was almost done, just a sacrifice from herself. She knew it had to be significant. She had just given a bit of bone from Mother for the glamor - surely she would demand bone from Elain as well, or something similar.

She ground her teeth in frustration - and did it again. Teeth were similar enough to bone and the effort and pain that would go towards getting it out of her mouth would surely count towards her sacrifice as well. Besides, her tooth would eventually grow back.

Elain grabbed a pair of rusty pliers out of her ingredient cabinet and steeled herself. Not giving herself time to talk herself out of what needed to be done, she wrapped the tip of the pliers around a back molar and tugged with all of her weight.

A burst of white hot pain, some of the worst she had ever experienced, shot through her head. She gasped, choking on the blood that instantly filled her mouth and dripped down her throat and flooded over her lips. Elain stumbled, nearly falling to her knees and dropping everything that was in her hands. Whimpering and groaning, she blindly grabbed a kitchen towel and stuffed it in her mouth to try to staunch the flow of blood. She bit down gingerly with her back teeth and moaned at the excruciating pain that rocketed from her head all the way down to her feet.

She could fairly hear The Ravens squawking in concern around her, the slight breeze from their wings beating near her head wafting her hair away from her heated face.

“Up, up, up!” one screeched, while another alighted to her side with a shiny red button in its mouth. It set it down on the ground and hopped back, looking at her expectantly.

“Oh thank you,” Elain gritted out through the blood and towel. “What a nice gift.”

Taking a closer look at what The Raven had brought her, Elain saw that it wasn’t a red button but the tooth she had just yanked from her mouth. Reaching forward with a shaking hand, Elain grasped the slippery tooth and pushed herself up on colt-weak legs. She stared at the tooth in her hand. Bloody nerves and blood vessels dangled from the pale roots obscenely like a second pair of legs.

Elain struggled to stand and threw it in the mortar without a second glance. The pain was nearly blinding and she wiped the sleeve of her dress over her eyes to collect the few tears that were threatening to run down her face. She reached over to grab the pestle and began pounding and grinding the ingredients into a thick paste.

She could feel the magic growing and forming as she continued working the mixture into a more coherent paste. Some of it traveled through the arm working the pestle and moved to her mouth, settling in the empty tooth socket and filling the void where her molar was just a few moments before, leaving a sharp zing in her mouth in addition to the throbbing ache in her jaw. Other traces of the magic traveled through her torso into her limbs, stretching all the way down to her toes, through the skin and seeping into her bones and marrow.

Finally the glamor paste was mixed and done; it had turned an oily black color, thick and sticky like molasses. Pure, raw power thrummed through her veins. This was what being a witch was all about, what made every sacrifice and day of loneliness worth it. The access to so much strength and potential made Elain feel drunk with giddiness and excitement and she realized belatedly the muffled, choking guffaws were coming from her own mouth.

The energy running through her veins was masking the pain in her mouth. Removing the bloody towel and replacing it with a clean cloth, she quickly consulted her grimoire for what she needed to do with the glamor paste. The paste needed to be spread around every opening of the space being glamored. She only had one window and the front door, so it didn’t take her long to spread the mixture around the frames with trembling hands, making sure the paste formed complete borders with no gaps.

Almost there. All she needed was to imagine the space she wanted and the glamor would take effect, and not too soon. Her hair was plastered to her forehead and the back of her neck with sweat, she could taste and smell nothing but the thick, metallic tang of her blood in her mouth and her legs felt like they were going to collapse under her at any moment. Turning and gripping the sides of her altar so hard her knuckles turned white, Elain thought of her cozy home free of anything that mortals might think odd and unseemingly. Gone were the bones dangling like a grotesque weeping willow in the corner; gone were her apothecary jars filled with poisons and items no one but witches would possess; gone, too, were the suspicious rectangular holes and mounds of all sizes behind her house, temporarily hidden from sight. Gone was her blood consecrated altar to Mother. The process of temporarily glamoring it felt like an act of betrayal to her very core.

Elain opened her eyes. If she hadn’t been intimately familiar with every inch of her house, she would not have believed she still stood in her abode. Her bone collection had been transformed into dried stalks of corn. The apothecary cabinet had been filled with a series of glass jars holding cooking herbs. The altar was now a basic three drawer bureau and her grimoire was disguised as a cook book.

Her fireplace was clean, and a bubbling pot of chicken and rabbit stew was placed over the hot coals. A fresh loaf of steaming bread was on the clean kitchen table, already set for two with what appeared to be a bottle of wine set in the center. The floor was swept and a clean rug was in the entryway and a coat rack - with a coat and scarf she had never seen before - delicately hanging on a hook.

Elain sucked in a breath, looking around her in awe before registering the lack of pain in her mouth. Her tongue darted to the corner of her mouth where her missing back molar was. The tooth was still gone, the space empty in her gums, but it was no longer bleeding. She touched her mouth, face and hair, startling at the feel of suddenly soft locks framing her face. Racing to the small mirror she kept in her bedroom, Elain lifted it up to look at herself.

All traces of blood, grime and dirt had been cleared from her face. Her dark brown hair, impossibly shiny and fluffy, hung around her round face in long, delicate waves. Her lips were parted in shock, her cheeks tinted with the light pink blush. Her large brown doe eyes were framed with long, dark eyelashes.

Even her outfit had been glamored. Her dirty, rough dress she had been wearing was replaced with a pale pink dress with long sleeves, a buttoned bodice and a cinched waist that flared out to a pleated skirt. A white apron was tied around her waist.

She had never seen herself look so… different. She no longer looked like a forest witch who regularly communed with nature; she was otherworldly in her beauty, stunning enough to bring anyone under her spell just by her appearance alone.

Elain laughed in disbelief at everything around her. Mother went above and beyond what she had requested in her glamor.

There was a crash from the front room followed by screeching from The Ravens. She ran out to find them flying around the room near the ceiling, a broken butter crock on the ground.

“The Fox approaches! He aims to kill!”

“The Fireling is near!”

Gray was sitting on the altar-turned-bureau, hissing and swatting at The Ravens as they flew around.

“Yes, yes, I know they're near!” Elain shouted over the squawking of The Ravens. She moved Gray off of his perch as she tried to corral the birds towards their clean golden cage in the corner and picked up the broken butter crock and threw it in her waste can.

Elain took a deep breath. Besides her familiars running around like chickens with their heads cut off, everything was in order and ready. A mixture of excitement and nerves coursed through her veins. She felt drained from all the magic she had performed today but couldn't find herself regretting any of it. Soon, very soon, someone would be here, with her, in her house, hopefully talking and conversing with her like mortals do all the time. They would share a meal and some drink and she’d learn what was going on outside of the woods, what petty issues the humans concerned themselves with. It was terribly mundane but Elain had to pinch herself to keep from screaming.

And then this visitor would most likely try to kill her, but she could preemptively forgive that, as long as they behaved like a decent guest for a short time before they attempted to murder her.

Suddenly Elain could feel the change in the air and knew the visitor was here. Smoothing out her dress, she swung open her door to reveal a tall, hooded figure, one hand raised as if to knock on the door. Their green hood fully obscured their face but she could make out a few deep red strings of hair peeking out.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds before the stranger lowered their hand.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” the stranger said in a deep voice that shocked Elain and sent a ripple of excitement through her body. “I’m a traveler who has gotten lost in the woods. Would I be able to shelter in your house for the night?”

Liar, Elain thought with a smile on her plump lips. “Oh of course,” she replied graciously, her smile never straying from her mouth. “All manner of beasts lurk in the woods at night - do come in.”

The man stepped inside and threw back his hood, revealing the most magnificent man - mortal or otherwise - Elain had ever seen. He had golden bronze skin, framed, like The Ravens had said, with flaming fire-like hair falling past his shoulder blades in a long, straight sheath. He wore a clean tunic over dark brown pants with knee high boots and though he most likely thought himself clever by trying to hide it, she could see the outline of his handaxe on his hip under his clothing.

“Would you like to hang your cloak by the door?” Elain asked.

Her visitor didn’t answer right away, taking a moment to study Elain and his surroundings and refusing to meet her gaze. “No thank you,” the man replied. “It’s rather cold outside and I’ll need it to warm up.”

Elain nodded and moved aside so she could close the door behind him. An awkward silence followed, with Elain staring at the stranger and the man staring anywhere but her, his eyes narrowed slightly. She realized she had no idea how to be a good host - must she insist he take off his cloak or shoes? - but thought offering some comfort would be a good start.

“I have stew,” she said cheerfully, moving towards the fireplace. “Wine as well, if you’d like.”

“What’s in the stew?” he asked sharply, still standing stiffly by the door like a caged animal.

“Uh, chicken and rabbit. I threw in some carrots and potatoes - ”

“I - yes,” he said, coming to stand next to the kitchen table, flexing his hands. His eyes finally darted up towards hers, looking slightly abashed and surprised. “I apologize for my tone. I was rather nervous that I would be lost in the woods for the night.”

Liar, liar, Elain thought viciously to herself, turning her back on the man to stir the stew as she smiled to herself. You knew exactly where you were going.

Ladling two bowls of the stew, she turned back to him with a pleasant smile on her face, batting her eyelashes over her large doe eyes at the man. “My name is Elain, by the way. Stew?”

It had the desired effect - the man almost dropped the bowl she handed him, stammering his thanks, before he placed the stew on the table and drew back a chair to sit.

Elain settled across the table from the man and opened the bottle of wine, pouring it into two glasses. It was a light golden color that sparkled in the firelight.

“Honey wine,” Elain said without thinking, a tone of surprise in her voice - her favorite. The stranger raised an eyebrow at her, as if she should know what she had put on the table. Rushing to cover her slip up, she said, “Made from honey from my bees.”

The man sniffed his drink before taking a sip. “I didn’t notice any beehives as I was walking to your house.”

“They’re around the back,” Elain improvised. “With how cold it is, they’re not producing anything at this time of year.”

She took a sip from her glass, enjoying the sweetness that flowed over her tongue. Seeing Elain drinking, the man also took a sip and began eating his stew.

Companionable, if a little awkward, silence followed. Elain couldn't help herself from sneaking glances up at the mystery man, who steadfastly ignored all further eye contact with her and focused instead on his food or trying to discreetly look at her house, no doubt looking for evidence of witchcraft. Doubt was marring his face, however. He had clearly come here expecting some wizened hag and her bloody ramshackled abode, not a clean young lady in a homey but isolated cottage.

She wasn’t sure how long the glamor would hold but prayed it would be long enough to get to know the man better.

“You know,” Elain started in a light teasing tone. “I’ve now invited you into the goodness of my home, and provided you with food and drink. I believe you owe me something in return.”

The man tensed in his seat; she noticed one of his hands leave the table. “Oh? What are you thinking?”

“Hmm.” Elain made a show of placing her chin in the palm of her hand, her fingers drumming along her cheek, her brows furrowed is if deep in thought. “Let’s start with your name. I’ve been calling you ‘Man’ and ‘Stranger’ in my head and that seems rather rude.”

The man relaxed. “My name is Lucien. Lucien Vanserra.”

Now it was Elain’s turn to narrow her eyes in thought. “Vanserra? Are you related to the local baron?”

“Aye,” Lucien answered, relaxing fully and grinning softly, confidently, as if he thought the power and prestige of his family could protect him from the horrors Elain was already picturing for him. “My reputation precedes me. The seventh son of the Baron. With six brothers ahead of me, I’ve had plenty of time over the years to travel the land, get to know the people here very well,” he smirked.

Elain could see the exact moment when Lucien no longer suspected her of being the gruesome witch the local villages gossiped about: his body loosened like jelly, his eyes stopped taking in his surroundings and his sultry gaze focused solely on her. The heat from the fire was nothing like the fire in Lucien’s eyes as he openly gazed at her and discarded his traveling cloak over the back of his chair.

She felt her inner witch awaken and stir with hunger, the need to tear, rip, kill rising, boiling her blood and causing it to sing in joy and exhilaration. Soon, she thought to herself. For the time being, at least, she was still a gracious host to her lordly visitor and would need to wait to pounce on her prey.

“And why was such an esteemed and noble gentleman like yourself wandering the woods this late at night, unarmed and alone?” Elain asked innocently, taking a sip of her wine. Her tongue peeked out from between her lips to gather at the liquid on her lips and she noted Lucien tracking the movement of her tongue like a hawk.

He drew in a stuttering breath. “I’m on my way to Alton to look to purchase a new riding coat. It’s an easy enough walk that I've done dozens of times so I didn’t bother bringing anyone with me. I got distracted and found myself off the trail, wandering the woods until I came across your little cottage.”

Liar, liar, liar. Whatever he said, Elain knew Lucien originally came here with all intents and purposes to harm her even if he no longer thought her a witch but she could barely stifle her feet from tapping the ground excitedly. Here she was, talking and eating with a handsome mortal who talked back in complete sentences, who answered her questions and no longer believed she was the fearsome witch everyone thought lived here. All it had taken were her precious ingredients, a bit of her most prized possession, a tooth pried from her mouth with her own hands and the most pain she had ever experienced in her life.

What an utterly delightful evening she was having.

Lucien smiled lazily at her like a cat that got the cream as he leaned back in his chair and finished his wine. “Now, what’s a beautiful young lady like yourself doing out here in this remote place? Does anyone live here with you?”

Elain blushed. No one had ever called her beautiful before. “I… ah… moved out here a short time ago. I’m originally from a small village down south but when my father died I had nowhere to go so I started making my way north. I heard of this abandoned house and that’s that,” Elain ended lamely.

Lucien hummed as he poured himself another glass. “And no other family?”

“Nope. No one but me.” Elain took a large mouthful of her stew to buy her more time and hopefully distract Lucien from asking any more questions.

She did have family but she hadn’t seen her two sisters in years. She had no idea where they were or what they were up to; knowing Nesta, death and destruction, and Feyre, hunting mortals for sport.

The light from the fire reflected off his russet eyes. “It must be lonely, being here all by yourself.”

Before she could answer, The Ravens started cawing from their cage. Lucien jumped, spilling some of the wine on his tunic.

“Oh, ignore them!” Elain called, rushing over to The Ravens and dragging a blanket to cover their cage. “Just some noisy birds -”

“Ah, so you don’t live here by yourself,” Lucien said conspiratorially, grinning at her. He walked over to the cage before Elain could cover them. They began screeching even louder as he approached, puffing their chests and flapping their wings at him.

“Stranger! Stranger!”

Lucien tilted his head and stared at the birds. “Fascinating,” he whispered. “I know ravens can sometimes imitate speech but it’s rare. Did you teach them this?”

“Oh no, they, uh, came with the house,” Elain laughed weakly, throwing the frayed blanket over their cage. Immediately the birds settled and quieted.

Elain was about to suggest they head back to the kitchen table when a small mass streaked by her and stopped at Lucien’s feet. Gray hissed at Lucien and butted his head against his ankle, herding Lucien away from the birds - and towards the front door.

That little bastard. Ignoring Lucien’s confused stutters, Elain picked up Gray and bundled him to her so he couldn’t claw and bite her. Gripping his body and neck tight, Elain hurried towards the bedroom. “Behave, or I’ll slit your throat,” she whispered in the cat’s ear. Gray growled and Elain tossed him in the bedroom before quickly shutting the door behind her.

Elain turned back to see Lucien staring at her. “An old forest cat,” she blurted out. “He’s rather resistant towards staying indoors.”

Lucien huffed a laugh. “You didn’t tell me you already had houseguests,” he teased, smirking at Elain with a heat and familiarity that far exceeded the short time they had spent together.

“Well, a couple of loud birds and an angry housecat don’t make the best guests,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and grinning back shyly. “I was hoping they’d all be on their best behavior.”

“And have you?” Lucien asked, sitting in her single cozy armchair. His voice had lowered an octave and he was staring at her with an intensity that rivaled the fire just a short distance away.

“Am I what?” Elain asked, walking to stand a few feet in front of Lucien, keeping her breath steady.

“Have you been on your best behavior for your esteemed guest?” His hand shot out to grasp her wrist and dragged her on top of him, her knees bracketing his hips. His warm lips placed small kisses on the inside of her wrist, moving up her forearm.

“It must be so lonely, being here all by yourself, with only some half-feral animals to keep you company,” he whispered, his voice low and deep. One hand kept her wrist steady in his grasp while the other trailed lazily up her body, along her outer thigh, a hip, then moving to her back and moving higher and higher up her body.

For as long as it had been since she last talked to someone, it had been even longer since she’d been intimate with another. She had had plenty of affairs with fellow witches and some warlocks over the years. Most recently a gorgeous blonde witch with the most beautiful red cape had spent the night in her bed and fucked Elain so thoroughly she had needed days to recover.

To say she was going through a dry spell was an understatement.

Elain took a shuddering breath, both to steady her nerves from his words and the feeling of his hand that had reached the back of her head and was now tangling in her hair, his fingers lightly massaging his scalp. She placed her hands on his shoulders and felt him flex his muscles. “It’s not that bad. I have my garden and my animals and my bees - “

“Oh, you lovely fawn,” Lucien whispered. “You wear your loneliness like a second skin, tighter than this dress you have on.”

She froze. That he had managed to get to the crux of her deepest shame so swiftly felt more damning towards her than any intelligence on his part. Had she been that obviously desperate? Should she have not been so inviting when she let him in and fed him? She had only wanted to be kind and welcoming to make him doubt, if only for a time, that she was a violent and bloody witch who could easily flay him alive.

Elain swallowed. “You must think yourself so clever to come to my home and attempt to make the measure of me based on knowing me for only a short amount of time.”

He chuckled. “Do you know what they call me? Lord of the Foxes, because I’m so smart and adept at reading people, figuring out what they want, what they desire.” The hand holding her wrist released her, his fingers weaving a delicate trail along the sensitive skin of her arm.

“Oh yes?” Elain said imperiously, trying desperately to wrest some control back into her hands. “And what is it that I want?”

Lucien smiled, all teeth and for a flash of a moment, Elain thought she had underestimated the man beneath her. “Me,” Lucien snarled, bringing her head down to his and claiming her lips in a brutal kiss.

A bolt of lightning must have struck the house and landed squarely on Elain. That was the only explanation she could think of when Lucien’s lips met hers and a zap of heat moved through her entire body. His lips were plump and slightly chapped and they moved effortlessly against her own. His one hand remained tangled in her hair, pulling softly, while his other hand moved to her chin so he could better direct her face over his. His tongue stroked against her closed lips, begging for entrance, for more, and she obliged, parting her lips with a gasp as she tasted the sweet wine on his lips.

He wasn’t entirely wrong, Elain thought dazedly. She did want him - just not the way he was perhaps thinking.

“Such a perfect flower you are, blooming for me so prettily,” he rasped against her jaw. His hands had dropped to her hips, squeezing the flesh there in his big hands. The honey wine had clearly given way to honeyed words, if his soft ramblings were anything to go by: she heard compliments - so beautiful, such perfect lips - and praise - yes, move your hips like that, you’re doing so well - and fevered confessions - I want nothing more than to hear you moan for me. His words sent a frisson of heat between her legs and Elain was helpless to do anything more than feebly clutch his shoulders and take whatever Lucien was willing to give.

His hands left her hips to move to her bodice and began slowly thumbing the buttons there. Elain was in no mood to be teased; she swatted his hands away and began unbuttoning the top of her dress herself, staring down at Lucien through heavy half-lidded eyelids.

The sides of her breasts were just visible after Elain had finished. Apparently no longer wanting to delay any longer, Lucien gripped her bodice and tugged, exposing her pert breasts to the warm air.

Lucien groaned at the sight of her breasts and immediately moved to cup the small swells in the palms of his hands. Elain gasped and shuddered, silently begging him to do more than just fondle her tits. He pressed between her shoulder blades towards him so she was forced down closer to him and his lips sucked a peaked nipple into his mouth.

“These tits are perfect,” Lucien groaned, sounding drunk off her body. Elain let him suck and caress and lick her breasts, feeling the rush of his fevered touches and words move through her body and end on her throbbing center. She wanted too many things at once - she wanted those clever lips of his elsewhere on her body, she wanted more confessions spoken into her skin like a sinner at church. Most of all, she wanted to see and feel more of the hard length she felt twitching against her covered center.

She settled on moving her hands to his luxurious hair and threading her fingers through the deceptively thick strands, giving a slight tug on his roots so he was forced to detach himself from her breasts and stare up at Elain, wild-eyed, lips swollen and glistening, his chest heaving.

She stared unblinkingly into his eyes, willing him to see and sense her desire for him - not just physical but emotionally, mentally. Damn him, but she wanted him more than she anticipated. She had only set up this farce of an evening as an excuse to temporarily fool the stranger beneath her to spend time with her, talk with her, before he undoubtedly went about his murderous plot. Now here she was, a writhing, panting mess in his arms and lap, letting him lick and fondle her to his - and her - heart’s content. She couldn’t get any more attached to this arrogant mortal than she already was.

Lucien stared right back at her, one of his hands drifting upwards to cup her cheek in his hand in the first bit of tenderness he’d shown all evening and she’d received in years. She melted into him like a newborn deer, turning her head slightly to kiss his palm. A spark ran through her lips at the contact with his warm flesh; based on the surprised gasp from Lucien, he felt that same spark as well.

A pause that lasted two, three heartbeats, then Elain tore into Lucien with a ferocity that surprised even her, and Lucien met her with a frenzy of his own.

His big hands rushed down her body and forcefully bunched up her dress so he had unguarded access to the heated flesh between her thighs. His fingers glided along her bare thighs towards her center and they gasped in unison at what he found.

“Oh, my darling fawn,” he groaned, lightly brushing a finger through the wetness between her thighs. “Do you always walk around bare, with nothing under your pretty dresses?”

Elain whimpered against his neck, too flushed with arousal to answer that yes, of course she never wore anything under her dress, why would she, when his cunning finger rubbed against her clit. Elain could feel the heat from Lucien’s eyes trained on her face the entire time he rubbed and caressed her folds, a satisfied smile gracing his lips whenever he found a particularly sensitive area.

Without warning, a single thick digit entered her pussy. Elain gasped at the sudden intrusion, shocked at how good a single finger could feel. She crashed her lips against his, clutching his upper arms for dear life and shifting her hips over his hand when another finger entered her slick channel, stretching out her sensitive walls and stilling inside her. Lucien nipped her chin and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Elain gave a shaky nod and Lucien began moving his fingers inside her at a leisurely pace.

It would be a shame that she’d have to kill him after this night.

As Lucien’s fingers picked up their pace inside her, his thumb slid up her folds to circle her clit in quick motions at the same tempo as his fingers. His clever fingers, so thick inside her, reached ridges and flesh her own fingers couldn't. Her hips were moving over his on their own volition, rocking onto his hand for more thrusting, more friction, more anything.

She was so close. A little more, a little more, she begged, not realizing she had spoken aloud until Lucien answered, “Yes, yes, anything -”

One last quick flick against the side of her clit and Elain was tumbling down an impossibly deep mountain, falling and falling, gasping her pleasure-filled moans for anyone to hear. Lucien worked her through her orgasm, his fingers steady inside her before she grabbed his wrist to stop his ministrations, the nerves in her pussy hypersensitive to any more stimulus.

No, Elain thought, as she came down from her high, Lucien’s smug grin highlighting his perfect face, why must she get rid of him? She bore him no ill will for his original plans, even if he hadn’t confessed as to why he originally came to her home. He was a handsome man that coincidentally also found her attractive and freely gave her pleasure. Why should he be separated from her?

A plan, half formed in her hazy post-orgasmic brain, was taking root. Why indeed should this exceptionally stunning man be reduced to spare parts around her house? She originally thought to strip his skin and bind her grimoire with it, pluck out his eyes and install them over her door to serve as an alarm system, cut his lovely hair and use it as thread to mend her pillowcase, or perhaps make a lovely decorative wreath with it.

Using his body and discarding it would be a waste when it was his charm, his cocksure grin, his breathy moans and whispered words that attracted Elain and made her mad with desire. She couldn’t stand to be parted from this man after tonight.

Reaching down to his breeches, she began fumbling with his ties with trembling, excited fingers, barely able to contain her glee. She pulled his hard cock out from his pants and wasted no time in wrapping her hand around his length and pumping her fist. He was harder than a rock and thick, covered in the same golden bronze skin as the rest of him. Small tufts of amber pubic hair peeked out around his cock and Elain was desperate to get him bare, to see how much hair crowned his length but she could be patient and wait another time.

There would be plenty of time for that later, after she had bound them together.

Elain continued moving her hand up and down his swollen cock, twisting her wrist at the fat, red tip and squeezing slightly. Lucien threw his back and screwed his eyes shut, his hands grasping his hips and thighs.

“Look at me,” Elain commanded. Lucien snapped to attention, transfixed as he watched Elain spit in her hand and continue moving her hand up and down his cock, squeezing his base as well as the sensitive tip.

“Fuck,” Lucien gasped. He grit his teeth and a vein popped out of his neck; Elain resisted the urge to bend down and bite and tear the vein out and slurp it down, instead leaning forward to nip at his lips. She bit just hard enough to draw blood and delighted in his moans as the taste of his heady, metallic blood filled her mouth.

“Gods I’m close,” he groaned against her lips. Elain doubled her efforts, her wrist and forearm beginning to ache but she dared not stop, needing to see Lucien combust at her hands.

“Come for me,” Elain whispered in his ear, tugging his earlobe between her teeth as her hand clutched the tip of his cock, “and I’ll show you even more of what I can do.”

With a strangled moan, his spend spurted over her hand and landed on his breeches and her dress. She kept moving her hand up and down his length as he climaxed, feeling his cock pulse and throb in her grip. He had made a thorough mess of her but she found she couldn’t be angry - not when she suddenly had everything she wanted.

Lucien lay boneless beneath her, his body twitching with the aftershocks of his orgasm as the final drops of his come tribbled out of his softening cock. Lifting her come-covered hand to her lips, Elain took a tentative swipe over her fingers, then another when Lucien let out a wrecked groan at the sight of her licking his spend from her hand.

He grinned lazily at her. “How fortunate for both of us that I became lost in the woods this evening.” He was breathless, still recovering from his orgasm, his half lidded eyes taking in her flushed cheeks and disheveled appearance.

Elain leaned forward and brushed her lips against his before moving her lips to kiss along his jaw, one of her hands trailing down his body. “Well, we both know that’s not true, is it?”

Lucien froze beneath her. Her lips moved to his neck and she could feel his pulse beating wildly against the skin of his throat, could hear the rush of blood through his veins and arteries as his heart began beating a wild staccato in his body.

“Elain?“

“You were never lost. You entered the woods for one purpose: to kill the witch who lives here.” She leaned away from his body but kept herself on his lap. His eyes were wide with shock and a hint of fear. Only a small sliver of russet shown in his nearly black eyes.

“How - what -”

“You’ve been lying to me the moment you stepped through the threshold of my house,” she tsked. “Naughty boy. And once you decided I was no threat, merely a mortal woman, you decided to seduce me instead?”

Lucien stared at Elain with a mixture of blatant fear and rage roiling in his eyes. Neither moved for a second before his arms suddenly reached down to his side while his hips tried to buck her off of him. With preternatural speed and strength, Elain squeezed her thighs around his hips to prevent him from tossing her off him, while one of her hands shot out to wrap around his neck and squeezed.

“Looking for this?” From behind her back she pulled the handaxe that had been on his hip. She applied a bit more pressure to his neck, watching with delight as his face slowly turned more and more red. One of his hands flew to her wrist at his neck and the other reached towards the handaxe feebly. Elain chuckled. “Men really get far too relaxed with women after their cock’s get a little attention.”

Lucien’s eyes were becoming bloodshot as she strangled him, his face swelling and small, purple clusters of broken blood vessels appearing over his skin. He thrashed against her like a bucking bull, trying his hardest to escape.

Elain shushed him gently. “This will all be over soon,” she cooed. “Be still, just for a moment.”

Elain brought the handaxe down on the largest expanse of his available skin - his face. She only intended to skim his cheek but he jerked at the last moment and the sharp blade of the ax ran down the side of his face, too deep, over one of his precious eyes.

She threw the handaxe away after she had cut Lucien and removed her hand from his throat. Lucien screamed in pain as his hands went to his face to cover his bloody, mangled flesh and he threw his weight around to try to force Elain off of him.

She tried to pry his hands off his face but he refused to budge, moaning to himself through his pain. “Lucien, stop, I can make it better -”

“Get away!” he gasped, shaking with fear and blood loss, a whimpering mess. “Gods, please, just let me go!”

Elain sighed sadly. “I can’t do that. I told you I would show you even more of what I can do.”

Ignoring Lucien’s shuddering moans, Elain forced her hands against his bloody face, letting some of his blood mix with his come still on her hands. She licked at the mixture, her eyes slipping closed at how good Lucien tasted.

Cutting her palm with her nails, she let her own blood mix with Lucien’s fluids. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, clearing her mind of all the external forces around her. Steadying herself, she began chanting:

Seed of my enemy, wrought from my hand

Blood of my enemy, I command

Transform this man, bound to me

Into a beast, ne’er wild and free

Lucien’s eyes rolled back in his head as the spell took effect. Scrambling off his lap, Elain watched in breathless delight as his body seized and twitched, his blood seeping into the fabric of the chair around him. His body slumped in the chair and he gave one last heaving breath before his body went still and silent.

Elain smiled. Now all she had to do was wait.

XXX

Hours, then days, passed. Lucien’s form was curled in front of the fireplace, now as sooty and dingy as ever. The glamor had remarkable staying power - it had lifted only earlier that evening in waves and pieces until finally, her beloved cottage had returned to its normal appearance.

A soft whimper came from the bundled mass in front of the fire. Elain shot up from her chair and rushed to kneel next to Lucien, cooing softly and running a gentle hand down his body.

Russet eyes shot open in fear and alarm at the sight of her. He tried to back away from her but his body was weak after her spell.

“It’s alright,” she murmured softly. She gave him her nicest smile, showing her lovely sharpened teeth. “You’re fine. You’re safe with me.”

Lucien finally got ahold of his bearings and tried raising himself off the floor but was hampered with his extra limbs. Flailing about, he looked wildly at himself as best he could in his new body. No doubt he could make out the most impressive features: four slim, strong legs and a small body covered in an auburn pelt with a long, bushy tail. Lucien fumbled about and began barking, his fear palpable.

It was only fair that a man who thought himself as a Lord of Foxes would turn into such a lovely fox himself.

Elain waited patiently for Lucien to settle down. “Do you really think you’re the first person who’s tried to kill me?” She cocked her head at him. “Hardly. In fact, I've had plenty of practice turning violent men into my pets.”

A soft fluttering and then two light weights perched on her shoulders. Elain saw Lucien’s panicked eyes dart to The Ravens who had appeared.

“These two,” she said, motioning to the birds, “were the first. Sent by some of my father’s acquaintances after I murdered him and fled. Twins. For human men, they put up a decent fight. I was going to just kill them and throw them in the chicken coop but thought, two assassins who call themselves The Ravens may have their uses. They’ve been like this for so long they’ve completely forgotten they were ever humans and only answer to me.”

Lucien now appeared paralyzed with fright, too scared to do anything but stare between the two birds cuddling against Elain. His terror was palpable and was the most delicious thing Elain had ever tasted.

Some softness grazed Elain’s leg as Gray rubbed himself against her, purring loudly. She smiled and reached down to stroke him behind his ears.

“And this one,” she said fondly, “was the son of a local lord who thought himself a general, with his impressive horse and iron armor. He came with his men to kill me and take the forest from me.” Elain laughed but there was no humor in her voice. “He was before your time - maybe the people still talk of the missing lordling who entered the woods one day and never returned. He’s still resisting the change but it’s been nearly fifty years - soon he’ll have forgotten all about those pesky human memories and emotions.”

Lucien was making soft whining sounds, his ears flat to his head, his body trembling. He was looking around wildly like he might escape but Elain saw defeat cloud his eyes.

“But you’re different,” Elain said indulgently. “None of the others tried to get to know me, none of them told me I was beautiful and made me come on their fingers. I’ll admit, I was just going to kill you but thought how nice of an evening we had together and what a waste it would be if I never got to kiss those lips again. When I allow it, you’ll be able to change back into your human form temporarily - when I need someone to talk to, or when I want you to use those clever fingers on me again.”

She patted his head and felt a growl rumble in his chest. His lips were in a snarl, his canines gleaming in the firelight. He raised himself on his new four legs and puffed himself up to make himself appear larger than he was.

Elain sighed happily. He was adorable, and all hers.

“Welcome home, my clever little fox.”

#elain archeron #lucien vanserra #elucien #acotar #a court of thorns and roses #witch!elain #human!lucien #debatable happy ending #elains having a good time tho #and thats really all that matters #my fic

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amenders93 · 1 year ago

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12 Weeks till Chicken Run 2

Love interests in movies (live-action or animated) can start with the simplest thing - the first time the couple ever see each other. Sometimes these first meetings can be romantic, sometimes they can be casual, and other times they can be really awkward. That’s why for the first weekly countdown post of Rocky and Ginger, I’m doing the scene where they first see one another.

This scene starts with Ginger coming out of one of the huts after the secret meeting. She’s frustrated because even though she tries to stay positive that the chickens will be free from the farm soon, it’s hard to when the other chickens are always doubtful and also just not as smart as Ginger is. Ginger starts to pray for a much needed miracle.

Then we hear an explosion and what sounds like someone screaming. Ginger hears the screaming as well and turns in the direction of the sound. She looks up to the sky to see what looks like a rooster flying through the air screaming, “Freedom”. Ginger is truly amazed at seeing another chicken flying over the fence, but what’s even more amazing is that this chicken is a rooster; a rather handsome rooster to boot.

Up in the air, Rocky is soaring over the farm enjoying his freedom and then glances down slightly until something, or someone, catches his eye - a rather pretty hen looking up at him. She chuckles with delight and he gives her a friendly salute.

Looks like a rather friendly first time meeting until it doesn’t end well. Because Rocky wasn’t looking where he’s going, he ends up crashing into the weather vane which spins him around and ends up flying towards the other direction. He then ends up into the power lines which springs him toward the chicken coop. He falls down into the chicken feed through and slides down inside it, then popping out into a couple of flips until he lands on his feet, right in front of Ginger. Rocky seems rather disoriented as he strikes a “ta-da” pose and groggily says, “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. You’ve been a wonderful audience.”

Ginger looks at him a little worried. And if that wasn’t bad enough, when Rocky popped out of the trough, he managed to get it up on one side tipping it over towards him. It then crashes right on top of him, causing him to sprain his left wing and knock him unconscious. A poster then drops from the sky and lands right into Ginger’s hand. After looking at it, she realizes this is the answer to her prayers - this “flying” rooster will teach all the chickens how to fly out of the farm. Hearing the dogs barking and Mr. Tweedy coming, she ushers the other chickens to rush Rocky inside a hut to hide him from the farmers and bandage up his sprained wing.

This first time meeting of love interests is one type of classic example of an awkward meeting. Rocky and Ginger first laid eyes on each other and were impressed with what they saw until it ended badly with one of them getting hurt and knocked out. Despite that incident, every time I see this scene, I cannot help but thinking to myself how they never knew it but they end up seeing their future husband/wife, not to mention the future mother/father of their future daughter as well.

Anyway this is my first weekly Rocky/Ginger moment post commemorating the upcoming sequel to Chicken Run. I hope you enjoyed this post. There will be 11 other posts about the first film coming up in the future as well as 2 monthly posts about the sequel. Waiting for this long-awaited sequel may not be easy but these posts are making it easier as the release date draws nearer.

#chicken run #chicken run 2 #chicken run dawn of the nugget #dawn of the nugget #ginger and rocky #rocky and ginger #rocky #ginger #countdown

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ascendancy-echoes · 2 years ago

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Maya’s Secret

582 AG, Albero, a small hamlet in the Province of San Dorino

Maya had been watching the other children play for a week or so now from a distance, trying to build up her courage to ask if she could play with them. They were the first children that she had ever seen that were around her age. They looked so strange with their rounded ears and earth-tone hair. Momma had called people like them ‘humans’. She had warned Maya that humans were terrible monsters but these were children just like her, not scary monsters…

Cautiously, she approached the group of children. She smiled brightly, trying to show that she was friendly.

“Hi! Can I play too?”

The children stopped their game and looked at her. A heartbeat later, they were running away and screaming for their parents. Maya stood there, frozen in fear and unsure of why the other children had run away from her screaming. She wasn’t trying to be scary.

“Ah! It’s one of those fiends!” shouted a gruff voice. “Damned devil child!”

Realizing her mistake now, Maya turned to run. However, before she could escape, she found herself in the grip of an angry grownup human. He had a knife in his hand and he looked ready to strike her with it. Panic set in. She screamed for the man to let go, that she just wanted to play with the other children. A cold darkness filled her to the core.

Now the man was screaming. He had suddenly let go and Maya’s hands felt sharp and wet. She didn’t waste time trying to figure out what had happened, she simply ran as fast as her little legs could carry her into the forest. She didn’t stop running until it hurt to breathe and she was covered in scratches from the bushes and bramble.

Finding a hiding spot under a large root of a tree, Maya finally looked down at her hands. They were covered in blood and had sharp claws. It scared and amazed her at the same time. It scared and amazed her more that all it took was the thought of her hands being back to normal and cold black smoke appeared on her hands. The smoke dissipated and her hands were back to normal.

Finding a nearby stream, Maya frantically washed the blood off of her hands. There was still some blood stained on her dress so Maya decided the best thing to do was just jump into the stream and get muddy and wet. Momma would still be mad but at least she wouldn’t see the blood and ask where it came from.

Maya quickly made her way home, but it was almost suppertime when she arrived at the village. Maybe there was still a chance she could sneak home and change her clothes.

“Maya! Where were you?!” yelled a familiar voice.

Maya flinched and cautiously turned around. “Hi Momma…”

“Don’t ‘Hi Momma’ me, young lady!” bellowed her mother. “Where were you?”

Maya said nothing. What could she say? Soon her mother had a firm grip on her arm, so firm it hurt. Maya whined to her mother that she was hurting her but that just made her mother pull her faster towards their home.

Now inside their hut, her mother forced her out of the wet dress and into a dry one.

“Wallowing in the mud like some imp?” snapped her mother. “I expect better from you.”

“Sorry…” Maya mumbled. “I was just playing in the forest and then I fell in the mud coming home…”

“You left the village?!”

“I didn’t go far,” Maya lied. “Just the forest….”

Her mother sighed. “No one leaves the village, Maya. There are humans out there and they will kill you if they catch you.”

Maya nodded. She realized that now. Humans were dangerous just like Momma said. Even so, there was something interesting about them. Later, as she helped her mother make dinner and set the table, Maya couldn’t help but think about the human children again. Her momma and her looked somewhat human the more Maya thought about it. The only difference was that she and her momma had sharp teeth and pointed ears and their hair was the color of roses.

The rest of the village was filled with a few Imps, plenty of Naga, Gargoyles and Kotengu but Maya, her momma and her older cousin were the only Daemon. Momma said there were other Daemon out there but Maya had never seen any as far as she could remember.

Of course, no one left the village and she couldn’t remember anyone coming in from the outside either. The reason had always been alluded to but now Maya understood what her momma meant by ‘your father, uncle and aunt were lost to us long ago’. The nearby humans must have killed them.

“Maya,” Momma sighed as they sat down to eat. “Promise me that you will stay in the village. For your own safety and my sanity.”

Maya nodded, only half listening. Her thoughts had wandered to how her hands had grown claws and she found herself wondering if she could make it happen again. “Yeah, okay.”

That night, after her momma had fallen asleep, Maya slipped out of bed and snuck back to the kitchen. She always liked the darkness, it felt comforting. Under the cover of night, Maya held out her hands and tried to imagine the claws again, how it had felt to grow them.

A shiver ran up her spine as the cold black smoke appeared again and completely covered her arms and hands, stretching her fingertips. The smoke evaporated and her hands were clawed just like she had imagined. Quickly she imagined them returning back to normal and again, the cold black smoke returned, covering her hands and returning them to normal as the smoke vanished.

Maya may have been very young and admittedly didn’t know a lot about the world but she did know magic when she saw it. Her momma had explained many times that all Daemon have magic, just as Kotengu, Imps, Nagas and alike did. That’s why the humans hated them. They hated anything magical.

A thought occurred to Maya in this moment of discovery… if she could change the shape of her hands, what else about herself could she change? She looked around and spied the copper kettle momma had left over the cooking fire. In the moonlight, she could see her reflection on its metal surface.

Staring at her reflection, Maya thought of those children. The ones with the round ears and dark earthy hair. For some reason, she especially thought of the ones who had short hair. She thought of the coldness that filled her when she changed her hands and thought of her own hair and ears changing. The black smoke covered her body, she briefly lost sight of the world around her, as if she was lost in a void. As the smoke dissipated, Maya saw not her reflection, but a mix of her own features, her sharp teeth and red eyes… and little round ears and dark red hair. She touched her ears. They were so small… and human.

A giddiness filled Maya. She could use magic to pretend to be human! Hearing her mother shuffle in her sleep in the other room, Maya quickly imagined herself back to normal and snuck back to bed. As she settled back into bed and fell asleep, Maya decided that she would practice this magic and keep it a secret. What Momma didn’t know, couldn’t hurt her… right?

#chrono trigger au #echoes in time #flea chrono trigger #long post #chrono trigger #Chrono Trigger Flea #zeal ascendancy #missing moments

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writingspacetrash · 2 years ago

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Stranded

1,773 words

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Zoe cursed and kicked the hull of her broken-down, smoking spaceship. Well, more of a space-boat anyway. She instantly regretted it, as a searing pain shot through her foot and up her ankle. She inhaled sharply and glared at her ship. Boat. Which only smoked and creaked sadly in response.

Zoe looked around and threw up her hands.

“Where the hell am I even?” She was standing on a rather regular beach, at which rather regular blood-red waves were lapping. Behind her, rather regular dunes obscured the rest of the land from her view.

The map had last shown her plummeting through the atmosphere of some planet at the edge of the Kryx-System, but that couldn‘t be right. There was no water anywhere in the Kryx-System. Her expression turned sour as she realised that maybe the blood-red waves weren‘t water. God she hated the Kryx-System She glanced at her shipwreck again. A little red light was blinking somewhere in the midst of the smoke.

“Fuck you,” she whispered. The red light went out. Zoe propped her hands up on her hips and turned around to see if there were any interesting new additions to the landscape since she’d last looked. The beach stretched on into the grey horizon in both directions. She climbed the dunes to get a better view. There was a forest nearby, and when she squinted, she could see a little hut behind the first row of trees. She looked at her wristwatch, which she had repurposed to a communicator long ago. (Don‘t ask her how. It‘s not important.) The blue light indicating some sort of network was still tragically off. No chance of calling Martyn.

Zoe sighed a tad too dramatically and stomped towards the little hut.

As she entered, the floorboards creaked. “Okay you little spooky house,” she said. The door shut behind her. It was cute. The smell of mould hit her nose, the kind of mould that only grows in wet places, the kind you would sometimes fatally confuse with moss. There is no such mould on Earth, and that‘s very good.

The entrance led to a small living room, dust covering the sofa, the armchairs, the bookshelves. An abandoned, pelt-covered mug stood on a small table, emanating the horrific smell that haunted the hut like a ghost. Zoe stepped carefully through it all, trying not to touch a single thing. Trying not to breathe unnecessarily. Who knew what kind of spores flew through the air.

Despite the dust and mould, the room looked rather peaceful. As if someone had left for a Sunday walk five years ago and never returned.

In all the muted colours, something caught Zoe‘s eye. Next to one of the bookshelves stood a little commode with a glass door. Its inside was tiled with mirrors, reflecting a quiet, pulsating light. It was leaking from a jewel, carefully placed on a silver tripod, of a colour Zoe had never seen before. She approached the dresser and crouched down to get a better look at the jewel. As she studied it, the inside of the jewel seemed to stretch out, reflect her own eyes a million times until they blurred to a dark, deep nothingness, into which she fell, seeing all that was, is, and will be, the horrors and the wonders of creation and destruction, she saw the secrets of the universe and heard a voice, older than time itself, say Death is an illusion, Time is an illusion, the Self will persevere and the Self will be there to see the End of all that Is, and she understood, she understood everything, and she saw that she was both insignificant and the only real Thing there had ever Been.

Zoe blinked and stashed the jewel in the depths of her jacket. She wiped her hands on her pants, her fingertips tingling. She sniffed. A blinking blue light on her wrist drew her eyes away from her own reflection and she shook her fists in triumph like a little kid. “Yesss!“ She stormed out of the hut, barely noticing the shadow moving in the corner of her eye, and called Martyn as soon as she had reached the wreck again.

“You are the dumbest person I‘ve ever met, Zoe,” sounded Martyn‘s tinny voice from her communicator. Zoe clicked her tongue.

“That is not true! What about… Mick Spindle?”

“Mick Spindle would‘ve known the difference between Kryxian and Immenish.”

“Well sorry that I‘ve only been learning Kryxian for like, two months? That could‘ve happened to anyone!”

“Choosing to say the only Immenish word that‘s also an insult in Kryxian doesn‘t just happen to people, Zoe.”

Zoe shrugged. “It happened to me.” Something like a sigh crackled out of the loudspeaker.

“Yeah, a lot of things happen to you. Anyway, could you describe the damage to your Tonner?”

Zoe took a step towards the wreck and peered inside the fist-sized hole. The smoke had mostly vanished.

“Well… there‘s a hole in the… left side?”

“What do you mean, left side?”

“When you‘re sitting in the ship, it‘s on the left. Sort of behind you.”

“You mean portside.”

“That‘s what I said.”

“Anything else? What‘s inside the hole? How deep is it?”

“Uuh… about five centimetres deep, there‘s some wires inside… blue and green. Some are definitely fried. That‘s probably bad.”

“Depends on how important the wires are. Can you try and turn the entire ship on again?” Zoe peered at the hatch on top of the ship. It was ajar, a tiny trail of smoke curling its way outside.

“I don‘t know if it‘s safe to go in, Martyn.”

“She is a Tonner, Zoe. She can survive anything. That was the only reason I lent her to you.” Zoe pulled a face and mouthed only reason I lent it to you.

“Are you making fun of me?”

“No.”

“Okay, there‘s another way to try and fix this. I think they only hit your cooler, which should be fine to fly without, at least to the next workshop, which shouldn‘t be far… where exactly were you again?” The distant cracking of wood made Zoe‘s reply die in her throat. She spun around and scanned her environment. She could only see the tips of the first trees from here.

“Zoe? Everything okay?”

“No,” she whispered into her communicator as she scrambled up the dunes as quickly and quietly as she could. “I think I heard something.” She lifted her head over the dune just so she could see the edge of the forest. The gaps between the trees looked darker than before. There was no wind stirring the grass atop the dunes. Another crack. Zoe ducked below the dune again, pressing against the sand. She could feel it pour into her shirt.

“Zoe,” whispered Martyn. “I am locating the Tonner. You have to get out of there as soon as you can. Kryx can be very deadly.”

“No shit.”

“I‘ll send you the route to the closest workshop as soon as I have your location, okay? You just have to-” Zoe pressed her hand over the loudspeaker as she heard another crack, this time louder. It was followed by more and more cracks and rustling, like footsteps through a forest. Zoe lifted her head again, slowly. A face was only inches from hers.

She screamed and pushed herself down the dune, skidding down the sand. Her feet sank in, she fell over and crawled down to the beach. A wet breeze was blowing down her neck, like the devil‘s breath. She didn‘t dare to look behind her as she ran to her ship. Her hands searched frantically for her gun, she never kept it in the same pocket, she really should get a belt.

Zoe reached the ship and climbed up its battered hull, to the hatch, and let herself fall into the seat. She hammered on all the buttons she could reach, and after a few seconds only filled with her panicked breathing, the ship started humming and the lights blinked on. She locked the hatch and ignored the little red warning light. It was labelled Cooler. She laughed hysterically. “I‘m so fucking stupid!”

A dull banging on the hull made her focus again. “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck,“ she murmured while pressing buttons and shifting levers she didn‘t know if she needed. Finally, she‘d hit the right combination and the windshield was cast over by the green space map, the ship began to vibrate and finally, finally lift off. An ugly scratch and a primordial howl accompanied her as she made for the atmosphere. “So long, sucker! Wohoooo!“ The Tonner rattled and creaked, but it kept speeding towards the stars.

“Um, uh… Zoe?” She started in her seat.

“Jesus, Martyn, forgot you were there. I‘m back in orbit, well almost! There was this weird thing in the woods, ugh, you should‘ve seen it.”

“Yeah, about that… I can‘t locate you.” Zoe frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the Tonner doesn‘t show up on my radar. Is she sending the signal?” Zoe checked the screen in front of her.

“Yeah?”

“That‘s… weird. Are you out of the atmosphere yet?”

“Almost. In five, four, three, two, one-” The ship dived into outer space and stars surrounded her. The rattling died down as the vacuum enclosed her, and Zoe breathed out. On her right, there was the giant Tirs with his pink cloud formations, and not far off she could see his moon Liren. This was the Kryx she knew.

“Ha, there you are! I‘ve got- Zoe, what the hell have you gotten yourself into again?” Zoe sighed.

“What are you upset about now?”

“There‘s no planet next to you, except for Tirs.” Zoe raised an eyebrow and turned on the back camera. “There absolutely- hm. There‘s no planet. What the fuck.”

“We can worry about that later. You need to get to the next workshop. I‘m sending you the route right now.”

“Oh yeah, Tricia says I have like, five minutes left to live.”

“Who‘s Tricia?”

“The board computer.”

“Yeah. Ok. Tricia‘s right. And Zoe?”

“Yes?”

“Kryxian, not Immenish.” Zoe rolled her eyes and turned off the communicator. The route Martyn had sent her now popped up on the screen, and the ship shifted to correct its course. Zoe looked at her reflection in the windshield and brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face. She winked. The reflection winked back. Back on the planet that didn’t exist, a creature called its master for the first time in ten years. Inside Zoe’s pocket, the jewel glittered with the light of a thousand burning stars.

#my own writing #original writing #scifi #oc #long post #1 #writblr #creative writing #beginner writer #god i'm sorry about the inconsistent punctuation i wrote this on like two computers and three programs

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orinviasjournal · 4 months ago

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Thinking about Orinvia who is also a dragon trainer n to make things chaotic Zero is a dragon hunter who was hired by a king who is totally not Varis

🌸

You see, Orinvia adopted a baby dragon named Aurene n has been keeping her secret from her clients who likes to come n bought some lotions n potions n other favors from her, she kept her in a cave nearby but Aurene grow up so fast n was a little bit fussy. She likes to go outside of the cloaking zone where her cave is supposed to be hidden

So people starts noticing some strange sound n roars coming from the cave near Ori's hut, the people also notice they started catching less fish cus aurene has been hunting them n people found some solid evidence that a dragon might be nearby

Their complaints were heard by Varis so he sent Zero to check out the village where Ori is at to hunt the dragon. Zero would eventually meet Ori n ask if she had seen any dragons around n blablabla, Zero was suspicious of Orinvia so she starts stalking around her place n then insert dramatic scene where Ori begs to Zero to leave baby Aurene alone when she finds the truth

What if i made the two of them having a hot fight n both are equally strong, but even so non of them actually want to kill each other--or atleast Orinvia doesn't want to kill Zero while Zero just want to finish her job which is to hunt down Aurene

Insert where both of them are already so weak n Zero is now just kneeling on one knee with her sword plunged into the ground

Insert dramatic scene

"Why do you even bother protecting that monster"

"She's not a monster, she's my daughter"

Insert better wording but that's atleast the main topic of the argument they're having

Lets say Varis is pretty much a tyrant right, if Zero didn't come back with proof of her kill, she'll be the one getting killed

So what if Ori gave her Aurene's shedding scales and claws n maybe baby teeth lmao, n perhaps a slight bit of her bloond in a bottle, it's fantasy anything can happen, so what if Ori also has spare dragon bones preserved from an old fella who had passed away n also gave it to zero. But bones can blablblabla, let’s say it's preserved nicely n it looks like a dragon has been freshly killed. Ori's a witch she will know what to do

After giving zero all the things needed for proof, she tend to her wounds n Zero is still staring at her unbelievably. She could have killed Zero after she tried to kill her 'daughter' but here she is tending to the wounds that Orin herself had inflicted on her.

How about a cute scene where Aurene licks Zero's face playfully

Zero stayed at Orinvia's place for a couple of days n that's where they start to get to know each other uwu

But she found out Ori's shop were closed, the tiny hut is now filled with nothing but dust like it has been left alone for a very long time even thought she was just here last week

Zero brought the proofs back to Varis n got a large sum of gold ofc, so she went to visit Orinvia again to share some gold with her cus she thinks that she deserves to have it too after saving her life from Varis' clutch

Sad isn't it 😔

How about a good ending where Feo Ul showed up and said that she can relay a message to Ori whenever she desires to talk to her as a thank for sparing their dragon friend

Until she can finally trust that Zero would never ever harm Aurene, she will only talk to Zero through letters that Feo Ul will send. She's interested in Zero but her baby dragon is her priority 😔💕

#halu ori

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freshfacefun · 5 months ago

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My Different Travel Guide to Goa

Ever since I chose a life of travel over settling down, Goa has become my top place to live and work during the rainy season. I enjoy riding a scooter by the never-ending rice fields and palm trees. I work in cozy cafes with reliable Wifi. I love tasting authentic Goan curries and meals from organic cafes. For a few weeks, I stayed in charming old Portuguese houses, interesting spots, and hotels in Goa.

This hidden part of Goa, which most people miss, is great for unwinding, catching up on work, and finding peace.

Discovering a different Goa beyond the beaches

Get away from the crowded beaches and loud crowds with my guide to secret, peaceful places in Goa. Here, you'll find peacocks dancing in fields during the rainy season and locals gathering at nearby churches to pray and talk. Those who live here for a long time like living naturally, and artists get lots of inspiration.

Slow down, extend your stay, and uncover the less-explored parts of Goa by practicing responsible travel and embracing sustainable living practices.

Unique accommodations in Goa

Cozy family-owned guesthouses

To tell the truth, I hadn't experienced the unique aspect of Goa until I stayed at Cancio’s House with the Amaral family in a traditional Goan village.

Their house, constructed over 500 years ago during the time of the Portuguese, has numerous stories yet to be shared. They still use water from an old well for drinking. The cottage in the backyard, surrounded by ancient jackfruit trees, provides ample privacy. But most likely, you'll feel like you belong to the Amaral family's lineage of three generations before you depart.

Unique and environmentally conscious bed and breakfasts

Helene and Derek beautifully restored their family's 150-year-old house, known as The Secret Garden, in such a way that it's impossible not to love it the moment you step through its charming blue gate.

This home, designed in the Portuguese fashion, sits in a Saligao village with cobblestone roads and picturesque rice fields nearby. I felt luxuriously treated with Helene's delightful breakfasts, featuring her homemade sourdough bread, hummus, vegan pancakes, and traditional Goan snacks. And taking a dip in the pool late at night, mostly cleaned by nature, beneath the moonlit sky, was truly memorable!

Modern and trendy Airbnb accommodations with minimalist design

Bungalow 598 used to be an old Goan residence, but now it's been remodeled into a collection of fashionable, minimally furnished rooms and communal spaces. With its glass walls, you can see the verdant Assagao neighborhood from this environmentally-friendly and trendy location. I enjoyed the innovative design and the convenient proximity to popular places in North Goa.However, I really wanted to open the windows to feel the cool sea breeze and enjoy the beautiful nature around me.

Chic and stylish boutique accommodations

Finding unique hotels in Goa can be a challenge among the many ordinary ones. Yet, with some exploration, you may stumble upon Alila Diwa, a special hotel with sunny courtyards and a stunning infinity pool overlooking vast rice fields. Their restaurant, Spice Studio, serves delicious curries and hosts a monthly 'Dine in the Dark' event.

When looking for hotels in Goa, it's crucial to consider the Goan ambiance along with your budget.

Offering to work in exchange for complimentary accommodation at unique places in Goa

The simple eco-huts and vegan café at Saraya offer a unique opportunity. By dedicating a few hours each day to assist at the café or in the organic garden, you receive complimentary meals and accommodation. It's a fantastic deal!

Unique spots in Goa to enjoy genuine Goan cuisine

Britto’s and Susa Lobo used to be well-known for their food in Goa. However, nowadays, their dishes are just average and don't capture the authentic taste of Goan cuisine.

Don't bother with those spots; instead, try out small, lesser-known, family-owned restaurants for an authentic Goan dining experience.

Royal Fantacy, situated in Ponda.

One day, as we were driving from North Goa to a spice plantation stay near Dudhsagar, we got really hungry. We took a chance and decided to stop for lunch at the old and rundown Royal Fantacy (yes, spelled with a “c”). We were pleasantly surprised by our luck!

Nostalgia by Chef Fernando (located in Salcete)

Nostalgia by Chef Fernando is well-loved by locals and located in a delightful old Portuguese house. They've discovered unique Goan recipes that are either old-fashioned or not commonly found in other eateries.

The wide range of vegetarian (and vegan, as traditional Goan dishes are dairy-free) options is perfect for those who like plant-based mealsI really like their seasonal Goan curries served with sana (a sweet bread) and a refreshing glass of urrak (a local cashew drink, which is lighter than feni) mixed with Limca.

Voltaire (located in Bardez)

On the other side of the Mandovi River, Voltaire focuses on Goan cuisine with Hindu influences.I've only found one spot that offers vegetarian/vegan versions of udamethi and tonak – they're packed with flavor and delicious, served with une, a local bread similar to pao.

Traditional Goan meal sets

As a vegan traveler, I've witnessed my friends enjoying their fish meals at Ritz Classic while I had no options. So, you can imagine my joy when the hosts at The Secret Garden recommended a nearby eatery with vegetarian/vegan options. And that's how my search for the finest traditional Goan meal sets started!

Right now, I'm really enjoying places like Wood’s Inn in Porvorim, Manisha’s Home Food, and Kokni Canteen in Panjim. When you dine out in Goa, you often find yourself in small, intimate spaces with locals. A standard vegan meal usually includes rice, seasonal vegetables, Goan sauces, lentils with coconut flavoring, a mix of grated papad and coconut, and a spicy kokum to complete the feast. Don't forget to come hungry!

Additional genuine Goan dining establishments

Over time, I've talked more about my favorite Goan dining places. Andron in Nachinola continues to offer some of the finest food I've ever had in Goa, but remember to reach out to Anthony beforehand if you prefer vegetarian/vegan choices.

Top cafes to include in an unconventional Goa travel plan

All the cafes I've listed in my Goa travel guide are friendly for vegans/vegetarians, have free wifi, and stay open even in the rainy season.

Bean Me Up, situated in Anjuna

I didn't get to taste the food at Bean Me Up for a while because I typically visit Goa during the rainy season when it's closed. However, in 2019, I finally got to experience dining there, both during a spring visit and when they chose to open part of the restaurant during the monsoon.

Now I see why Bean Me Up is so well-liked – they provide a diverse selection of plant-based meals.I love eating their "middle eastern flavor," Buddha Bowl, and tofulafel wrap.And don't forget to try their delicious chocolate mousse cake!

Saraya (located in Saligao)

I've been to Saraya numerous times over the years because I adore their farm-to-table cuisine sourced from their own organic garden!

My favorite dishes include the Summertime Sandwich made with mushroom mince and vegan cashew cheese, their homemade hummus served with toasted pita bread, and the wood-fired vegan pizza (which is only available in the evening). And don't forget to sample their revitalizing lemongrass and mint iced tea!

Ruta’s Roadhouse (located in Assagao)

Ruta’s Roadhouse is a cafe that I enjoy working from when I'm in GoaI picture myself sitting near the curved windows, admiring the natural surroundings on a rainy day, and relishing homemade hummus with Moroccan-style chickpea curry and couscous.

Unique activities to experience in Goa

Sunday mornings spent at the Museum of Goa

We wouldn't have known about this if our hostess at Secret Garden hadn't told us. Every Sunday morning, residents of Goa and foreigners come together at the Museum of Goa (MOG) in Bardez for discussions led by locals engaged in unique pursuits. We watched a short play by a theater startup and then had an interesting discussion about Konkan versus international theater.The next week, a documentary was presented by a local artist.I think it's an excellent way to uncover the artistic aspect of Goa.

Paddle through the backwaters in a kayak

Before this, I didn't know that Goa had backwaters, let alone that you could go kayaking there. Taking my time to explore more, I found out from the hosts at Cancio’s House about these hidden mangroves in Goa that you can reach by kayak. So one rainy afternoon in July, we went paddling into the pristine backwaters in northern Goa. Among the mangroves, we heard peacocks calling and saw eagles perched on leafless trees – all while getting soaked in the rain. It was such an incredible adventure!

Participate in a morning heritage stroll at sunrise.

Normally, I don't wake up early, but I made a pledge to see more sunrises, and I kept it on my last day in Goa during the rainy season. I'm glad I did because witnessing the mist-covered rice fields was truly breathtaking. You can experience it too, either on your own or by joining a heritage walk guided by Subodh Kerkar, the founder of MOG. During the walk, you'll explore fascinating places and hear interesting stories.

Attend a jazz evening.

Going to the clubs in Goa with other tourists is fun, but dancing with locals to jazz music at a local spot like Cantare in Saligao until late at night is a different experience. It's not something I usually do, but you might really enjoy it!

How to get from one location to another

Motorcycles or scooters that run on their own

Definitely rent an automatic scooter and enjoy the wind in your hair while you explore Goa! Use Google Maps to discover less crowded paths away from the busy highways and main streets.

I'm a fan of Honda's latest 125cc motorcycles, but the Activa, which is more widely available, is also a solid option. Your hosts can assist you in securing a competitive rate – typically about INR 300 per day for short-term rentals and INR 250 per day for longer durations.

Renting cars for self-driving

It's a convenient option for getting around when it's raining or when you need to travel a long distance, like from the north to the south of Goa. Renting a basic car like a Maruti or Indigo usually costs around INR 1200 per day.

Other options for Goa: Unique places to visit and stay

What's happening in Goa

Their events calendar is a fantastic way to find out what’s going on in Goa during your visit.

Odette Mascarenhas, a food critic from Goa

I've found many of my favorite places to eat in Goa because of Odette’s honest food reviews!

Bohemian in Heels

ana, who moved from the US to Goa, writes a travel blog.Her list of volunteer spots in Goa is very useful.

Traveling around the world

Emma, a travel blogger who left her job in the USA and now lives in Goa, has suggested some great books about Goa’s hippie history.

Bulletin boards in coffee shops

There's always something happening in Goa, like yoga classes, talks, movie screenings, and live music. Look at event posters in cafes such as Saraya.

#goa trip #travel tips #goa beaches #hotels and resorts

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yostresswritinggirl · 2 years ago

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10/09 brainrots:

1. Welcoming Arms - Desert Dweller Reader that's very interested in the rainforest because they've never crossed the Wall of Samiel. After overthrowing the Sages, their friend Cyno refers them to Tighnari to be a Forest Ranger. Reader is VERY CLUELESS about the forest plants. Cute and cracked, Tighnari is always on his last straw.

"If I had one mora for every time I've adopted a random person you brought along, I'd have two mora - which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice."

"These ones have tiny furs, trichomes, that are almost microscopic." Pulling his hand away, he watches you gaze at the plant with genuine curiousity, hand reaching out to copy his motions earlier. "Wait, you don't have gloves, do you?" His hand gently pushed down on your wrist, stopping you from getting any closer to the wild plant.

You looked at him with a worry that showed your overthinking mind, thinking you've almost made a grave mistake. Tighnari was quick to dismiss said worry with a smile and a shake of his head as he unbuttoned his leather gloves. "There's no cause for concern, the sap is just too annoying to wash off from your skin."

Reaching for your hand, he made quick work to equip his gloves to yours. It was a perfect fit. "You can keep this, I don't mind." "Huh? But what about -" His bare fingers brushed against your cheek with a gentleness so foreign to him. Tighnari's smile too soft, too meaningful to just be a simple gesture. "I have spares back at my hut. Please, keep it."

2. Kasala Simp - I'm just projecting on this one for real, damn hot npcs and Hoyoverse killing them off

Sending one last look at the jackal tomb, Cyno turned to follow the others out of the ruins when he realized you had stayed back too. Staring not at but through the statue, a hand on your chest the same way the former Matra was earlier. His stern gaze softened at what he thought was a kind gesture.

"Paying respects too?" But the facade broke the moment your hand gripped your chest instead, your darkening cheeks making him confused and worried.

"Priest Kasala looked hot-" "This never happened." "Okay."

3. This gives me Blood Money vibes - An admirer who didn't know better gifted you an undiscovered flower, unbeknownst to the dangerous effects it had. Your secret boyfriend now had to deal with the unknown flower, the admirer, and your sick self. Trigger warning on some, angsty:

Alhaitham - genetically modified flower encased in a glass cylinder that had a paralyzing effect, your bf saves the day from a potential kidnapping. Overworks himself with researching in Akasha and canned knowledge for a cure, carrying you around. Lots of guilt, desire to come out to make admirers back away/use his position to get you bodyguards. He is there giving you psychical therapy, helping you get back to walking normally again.

Tighnari - a new forest ranger professed her love by shoving a bouquet of said flowers into your arms, Tighnari rushes in to slap it out of your arms but your arms were already blooming with angry red rashes. Forced to stay in his hut, your arms are wrapped in bandages and constantly tended by him. Unbearable pain, god, he feels pain everytime he sees you cry and becomes your temporary set of arms. Fires the ranger that did this to you, his love and care for you is so obvious that Gandharva Ville finally realized your relationship.

Cyno - a secret admirer replaced the flower in the vase on your desk. Thinking it was a gift from Cyno you continued with your work, unknowingly inhaling the poisonous pollen until your boyfriend walked in to find you bleeding from the nose, you looking very confused before passing out. Full on investigation to pass judgment on the perpetrator, whether it be an admirer or an assassination attempt. All Matra work halted to focus on the investigation, him always by your side during the rare times you are wake up. Public trial and coming out with your relationship, threatening death to anyone who so much as look at you wrong.

4. More Poly Cyno Tighnari Brainrot - a commission had you so busy for weeks and your boyfriends are not happy, especially when you can't tell them the details of your mission. Turns out you were commissioned by Zubayr Theatre to play as the Scarlet King because the person supposed to play got injured, lacking enough members, you were asked by Nilou since you also perfectly fit the already made costume.

Your boyfriends watched the play in awe but also jealousy with how good you looked partnered with Nilou. Jealousy also increased tenfold when you gained so many admirers, girls and boys alike who loved your performance despite knowing you're taken. Just imagining clingy and territorial Tighnari and Cyno in broad daylight.

Oh yeah you're banned from taking play commissions after that btw.

5. Kasala (don't judge me) drabble to add to my collection of dead npcs and their spouses, you know, the greatest form of devotion to your husband. (Sati)

My brainrots knows no bound so I'm going to start documenting them like this now. Please do not take my ideas cuz I might write for some of them - but if you really want to try em, please ask first.

#exile.circlet #sumeru arc #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #queue #exile.reader

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lostgirl677 · 2 years ago

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We’ll find a way Part.2

Peter Pan OUAT serie Part2

I never planned doing a serie out of this imagine but thank you @freshwitchpost for this idea.

I hope it’s not that bad, and again sorry if my english is not correct

Masterlist

Part1

In Neverland

Today, I was close to killing Wendy. This bitch is so annoying, always screaming for help whenever she sees the tiniest bug or hears the smallest noise. If it was possible, I would send her back to London with a simple kick in the ass but Peter sadly still needs her here for now.

Thankfully, I am alone with him right now. ‘How was your day, love ?’ ‘Fine,I guess’ ‘You guess ? Come on dear, tell me’ ‘You really need her ?’ ‘Her ? Oh, Wendy. Well, as long as she’s convenient but when her role in this is over, I’ll send her back. But you know what, love ?’ ‘Hm ?’ ‘It’s our time alone of the day, we should focus on us only. What about going to our secret spot until the sunrise ?’ he said, raising his eyebrow. He knows that I can’t resist the view of the night sky. He grabs my hand and we fly away from the camp

Once we arrived, everything was settled. He definitely planned this.

The night was magical, we talked for hours while looking at the shooting stars and a little before the sunrise, we made our way to our shared hut.

In Underworld

We talked about what the other did during all these years. 'After Cora made my parents disappear, Emma and Hook kind of adopted me.’ ‘Hook ?’ He said, almost choking. ‘Yeah I know what you’re thinking but he’s been really nice to me. I know you’re still enemies but I was all alone…Lost and I couldn’t make it back to Neverland because, you know…’ he regained composure and seemed to calm down.’ It’s okay love. I’m not mad at you and if he treats my queen right, I can stand the idea.’ I sigh ‘What about you ?’ He cleared his throat ‘Well, I take care of this bloody pawnshop, waiting for something, anything. All the days look the same. If I wasn’t already dead, it would kill me. I miss our place’ I can’t help but blush at ‘our’ . ‘I know this feeling, Peter. I’ll find a way.’ Then in a flash, I remember something important. ‘In fact…’ ‘Thanks, love. But don’t make promises you can’t hold. It’ll just hurt both of us in the end.’I take his hands in mine ‘Listen to me, I can’t share my heart with you because of the spell but…’ I reach my pocket when suddenly I hear someone clear their throat behind us. ‘Y/N, Papa. Sorry to interrupt your…hm…little reunion but I thought that I should pay a visit.’ Without even turning my back to face Rumple I reply dryly ‘Well, that’s pretty rude to interrupt a moment between your father and your stepmother, but go on’ Then I realized with shivers of incomfort that what slipped out of my mouth is true, I am indeed his stepmother. Family dinners are gonna be interesting… Rumple looks at me weirdly while Peter smirks. Peter leans against me and murmurs in my ear ‘I missed your inner fire, love.’ while his hot breath fan on my neck. Rumple’s face wrinkles in disgust when he looks at his father’s action. ‘What do you want, son ?’ `I think we have time to catch up, you and I. Maybe Y/N should leave’ The way he looks at me says it all. Peter takes my hand and kisses it. ‘It’s okay love, you can go. I’ll be fine. Meet me in the shop whenever you want.’ I kiss him on the lips just to bother Rumple then throw to my stepson a death glare on my way to the door.

While I walk on the street, I take off all the ivy I had in my hair and catch sight of Emma’s red jacket so I run toward the group. ‘Y/N ? God damn, where were you ?!’ she yells worriedly at me. Before I had the time to say anything, Regina answered rather angrily ‘Where, or rather with who do you think she was ? With Pan of course !’ ‘I didn’t even know this place existed about 4 hours ago. So yeah, I explored a bit but who I met or not is solely my business. Also, I thought we were there to find Killian and not to argue about my potential meetings’ I say flatly and raise an eyebrow. I really don’t have the energy to confront Regina about the spell she casted on me. Her neither apparently, since she just threw a glance at me.’Okay… I have to admit that Y/N’s right, we’re here for one reason, we don’t have a second to waste with accusations, screams, insults and all the joys of a good heated argument. So we better leave that for later and organize ourselves to cover as much ground as we can.’ says Emma calmly.’Sounds good to me.’ said Robin ‘Me too.’ said David. So we split up.

It’s been hours since the last time I spoke. I am okay with being silent and kinda lost in my thoughts. ‘Are you okay Y/N ?’ asked Mary Margaret. She can be a bit irritating from time to time but she’s nice, so I can’t push her away. I know what she’s thinking about. After all, she was there when Cora did what she did to my parents and even though she kept reassuring me for years by affirming that they were still alive, she wasn’t even convinced herself. ‘Yes I am, thank you. I know that you think that my parents are here but my guts tells me otherwise. If they were dead, I would feel it deep in my bones. When it comes to this kind of thing, I’m rarely wrong.’ ‘I know Y/N. But we never found them since then, we went to every known land and kingdom. This means that…’ ‘I won’t give up on them !’ she flinches at my sudden outburst. ‘Oh God ! I’m sorry Mary Margaret, I didn’t mean to scream at you, it’s just…’ ‘It’s okay Y/N. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything about it, it must be hard for you.’ ‘No, I’m really sorry, I’m stressed out and here I am lashing out on you.’ She places her hand on my shoulder and smiles reassuringly.

I’m walking a little faster to calm down a bit, looking at my necklace that keeps its green light and I almost bump into Emma. ‘Sorry’ I mumble. ‘It’s okay. So about what Regina said’ Here I am. ‘Listen…’ ‘I don’t judge you, Y/N. You didn’t choose your True Love. I remember how it feels to be a teen in love. Now you’re almost an adult and even though I don’t like him, I’m nobody to tell you who to love or not. My parents didn’t approve of Killian and I at first and still, they’re here almost literally in Hell to help me to bring him back. I saw how he treated you back in Neverland, it was like he kind of worshiped you or something. Even Killian had a hard time recognizing him and thought it was another sick game of his. The thing is that he’s dead and’ ‘Killian is dead too but it doesn’t stop you from trying to bring him back’ She’s about to reply but I say ‘Don’t you dare say it’s not the same because you’d be wrong. They’re both supposedly villains but they can change and deserve a second chance. If you gave the benefit of the doubt to Killian, Peter can have it too. What I have with him is something I never experienced before and I know you heard it a million times from others or even yourself. It’s my story, let me live it and make my own choices.’ ‘Fine, Y/N. I just want you to be careful. And not to defend her in any way, but Regina wants your safety and does what she thinks it’s right for you.’ She looks me in the eyes and smiles and I can tell that she’s sincere. I smile in return.

-Timeskip-

The first day of research was completely unsuccessful , a wild goose chase. At least, now I’m free to go and find Peter. I practically ran away from the group. I changed my outfit as fast as I could and ran again. Then I see the shop. Thankfully he is alone.

‘Love ! I missed you. How was your day ?’ ‘Unsuccessful. It’s so much bigger than the actual Storybrooke ! I wonder if we’ll ever find him. But enough talking about me, how was your day ?’ ‘Awful, Rumple is terrible. But now that you are here, everything’s better.’ he said, kissing my hand. He put some music on an antique gramophone and we began to dance. He murmurs in my ear ‘Love your outfit, darling’. We kept dancing until the end of the song. He takes another glance at my dress. ‘Is this Skull Rock and the Jolly Roger ?’ ‘Yes, Jefferson did it for me since I love you so much’ ‘Love, I can’t believe that you are really here with me’ he looks me in the eyes and kisses me softly. When we part, I say ‘Peter, I was about to say something when Rumple barged in the shop and I really need to talk to you about this.’ ‘What is it ?’ ‘About two days ago, I sneaked into Rumple's shop and managed to steal some magic beans because I wanted to go back to Neverland and when Emma had decided to come here, I thought that maybe I should take it with me just in case.’

His eyes widened ‘If it’s a joke, it’s not funny love’ ‘I’m serious, I really have magic beans. Now, I have to find a way to break Regina’s spell and we can get the hell away from here… no pun intended’ he smiles and kisses me. We spent a good part of the night discussing a plan and the time to part arrived. ‘See you later, love’ ‘See you later, Peter’ and we kissed again.

I’m on my way to find the group again when I feel a huge pain in the back of my head and fall to the ground. Before I black out, I see Rumple above me. ‘Really sorry about that, but you’re interrupting my plan’ he says laughing maniacally and everything goes black

#peter pan ouat imagine #peter pan x reader #underworld #killian jones #ouat imagine #ouat #Robbie Kay #peter pan #peter pan ouat x reader #robbie kay x reader #robbie kay imagines

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cherrycocaineee · 3 years ago

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6. Draco Malfoy - Rainy Nights, Warm Drinks

*Warning - smut*

“I want you.”

“Keep your eyes open, look at me, baby.”

Draco’s p.o.v

Loud chatter filled the jam-packed dining hall as students discussed their Christmas plans while their grubby hands reached for the feast laid out before each house. My gray-blue eyes stared blankly at the turkey and sides that touched my plate, my fork picking at whatever it could reach without me moving too much. I was counting down the moments that led up to Dumbledore clinking his fork against his glass that would dismiss everyone from Hogwarts, sending them home. Each single tick drove me crazy as I shook my leg, desperately pleading for time to move faster. At the end of this feast, everyone would be on the train heading to their families, while I would finally get to see the one person that I couldn’t get off my mind. Even now, the only thing I could think about was seeing her beautiful face and hearing her soothing, angelic voice, tuning out the voices of my friends.

“Draco? Earth to Draco!”

Pansy’s voice sliced right through my current thoughts involving my plans after school. Blinking a few times, I turned my head to see Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, Pike, and Nott staring at me. While Pansy stared at me with concern, the guys stared at me skeptically.

“What?” I muttered, dully.

“Pansy asked you what you were doing during the break,” Blaise informed, taking a sip from his cup.

“Yeah,” Pansy agreed, “I was thinking you and I could go on a date since we won’t be in school.”

A date? I had broken up with Pansy a year ago with the excuse that dating her had become boring, which it had, however, the real reason I left Pansy was because I had fallen in love with another girl. The whole thing had torn me up since day one because I hadn’t believed that I, the Slytherin Prince, could have fallen for a muggle, and yet I did. After a whole week of thinking about it and running everything carefully through my mind, I finally decided that I didn’t love Pansy and needed to end it with her before things got too serious.

“I won’t be returning home this Christmas,” I stated, “Dumbledore has asked me to stay and help tutor some second years in potions.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Pansy sneered, “it isn’t your job to teach those brats.”

“You’re dad’s okay with that?” Nott asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

“He wasn’t at first but once Dumbledore told him that I was the highest ranking student when it came to potions, he settled down and decided that I’d make a great leader for those snot nose brats,” I spoke, pride dripping from my lying tongue.

Of course, staying at Hogwarts wasn’t a complete lie, it was just not the full truth. For the first four days of break, I’d be staying with Maggie and her Grandmother then I’d come back to Hogwarts to help out with tutoring, and it’ll keep going like that until school starts again. It was an agreement that I had worked out with Dumbledore after he found out about Maggie, which if I’m being honest, I’m not even sure how he found out.

“And you’re okay with it?” Blaise asked, amused.

“Doesn’t matter to me,” I muttered.

I looked back down at my plate, feeling their eyes still watching me but not paying attention to it. Eventually, Dumbledore stood up from his seat and clinked his silverware against his wine glass. The chatter stopped immediately as everyone turned their impatient attention to the headmaster. Excitement was bursting through my chest, something I never thought I’d ever feel for a girl like Maggie. Dumbledore started by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and happy holiday, then proceeded in telling everyone what to expect when they got back from break. We were expected to practice and prepare for our O.W.Ls that were coming up, which Umbridge decided to announce after interrupting Dumbledore. I may have pretended to like Umbridge and do as she said to appease my friends, but in all honesty, I hated her more than I hated anyone else.

After all of Dumbledore and Umbridge’s talking, the feast disappeared from our tables and it was time for everyone to head to the train. I saw my friends on the train. Pansy turned around.

“Well maybe I can stay here with you, so you aren’t alone,” she offered.

Annoyance broke out across my face, “I’ll be fine, Pansy. I’m not interested in spending time with you anyway, so you’ll just be alone.”

She started pouting while the other snickered behind her back. Scoffing, she stormed past everyone onto the train. I waved goodbye to the others and they followed after Pansy to the cart. Those leaving for the Christmas holiday were finally headed towards the platform and those who would be staying at Hogwarts for the vacation headed back towards the school.

As I was approaching the entrance, I saw Dumbledore standing there waiting for me, a smile on his face.

“Good evening, Mr. Malfoy,” he stated, “have you gotten your belongings together?”

“My bag is sitting in my room,” I replied.

“Once you collect it, go to Hagrid’s. He’ll be waiting for you there to help you get to the muggle world. Have a safe trip.”

With that, Dumbledore walked away allowing me to go fetch my belongings.

I grabbed my trunk out of my dorm room and carried it all the way towards Hagrid’s small hut just a little ways from the school. Hagrid was outside playing fetch with his large hound as I finished walking towards him. Immediately, he looked up after tossing the rather large stick across the field.

“Malfoy,” Hagrid said, “what brings you here?”

I raised an eyebrow. He was kidding, right?

The big oaf laughed heartily and patted my shoulder with his gorilla sized hand.

“I’m messing, is all,” he bellowed, “let’s get a move on it before anyone notices.”

Hagrid opened the door to his home and gestured me inside. Sitting on the table when he opened the door was a thick, black bag filled with dark, gray powder. Hagrid scooted around me and picked up the black bag before meeting my gaze. This was awkward for me, and I knew he could tell but fortunately he didn’t say anything to make it worse. Instead, he told me that the floo network would take us to Diagon Alley and we’d have to walk through another entrance into the muggle world. From there we’d take a wizard bus, which I found odd, straight to Maggie’s farmhouse just on the outskirts of London. However, I grew bored with being explained the plan and just wanted to get there already.

I went through the floo network first and waited for Hagrid patiently for a moment. Once he was standing by my side, he took my luggage and walked with me through Diagon Alley. We both walked through the less populated parts of Diagon Alley until the two of us reached a dead end. Hagrid tapped his umbrella against the wall in a pattern and they started pulling apart revealing the empty alley of the muggle world. The smell was different from the one back in the wizarding world. I could definitely smell freshly mown grass, but there was an oil smell mixed in too. As Hagrid and I walked past all of the people and shops that adorn the streets, I could smell pastries, coffees, and other foods that I recognized. I could feel the inside of my mouth water.

We waited on the sidewalk near a coffee shop for what seemed like forever before a bus came to a sudden stop in front of us. No one seemed to notice its incredible speed.

“Why hello there, Hagrid,” said a frail, stubbled face man wearing a purple suit.

“Hello to you too, Stan Shunpike,” Hagrid laughed, “starting work a bit early, aren’t you?”

Shunpike gave a crooked smile and nodded his head before gesturing us on. I went to grab my trunk when Shunpike grabbed it instead, pushing me inside. The smell was something to gag at. It smelled worse than anything I could imagine. Hagrid took a seat.

“Aren’t you going to have a seat, Malfoy?” He questioned.

“No, I’d rather stand,” I muttered, disgust lacing my voice.

“Where to?” Shunpike asked.

Hagrid gave the address and Shunpike looked at us confused.

“That’s a muggle household.”

“Not completely,” Hagrid said, “Loral Belle is the homeowner, Dumbledore’s friend.”

A slow nod bounced off his thin shoulders and sat down.

“Ernie, you know where to go.”

As soon as the knight bus took off, the speed pushed me back. Not even my grip was strong enough to keep me in place and I ended stumbling backwards until Hagrid’s large hand grabbed ahold of me. I pretty much clung to Hagrid’s large arm as we whirlwind through the busy streets of London. Two trucks stood in the way of the bus and I thought we’d slow down. However, we didn’t. Instead, the bus warfed itself so that it was thinner and we slid right through the small crack separating the two muggle vehicles. It wasn’t long before we reached the dirt road that led to Maggie’s farmhouse. Hagrid paid Shunpike and told him that there was extra in it for him if he waited for him and kept this visit a secret. Shunpike agreed with a large smile on his face.

Hagrid grabbed my trunk and led the way to Maggie’s. He tried to make small talk with me as we hiked down the dirt road, but neither one of us knew what to say to each other.

“How did you meet her?” He finally asked, catching my attention.

“My father had some work to do with an old, retired friend,” I said, all of the memories flooding back to my mind, “I saw her sitting by the fountain reading a book when a group of guys started harassing her. I watched her try to get away from them, failing miserably, so I stepped in despite her being a muggle. A gentleman never lets a woman get pushed around. She already knew I was a wizard when I helped her, she said that her Grandmother had taught her to tell the difference from a young age. The more I talked to her, the more I liked being around her.”

A goofy smile appeared on his face, “she sounds like an amazing young woman.”

“She is.”

Sitting on the porch when we got there was Grandma Loral rocking back and forth while a red scarf was being knitted next to her in the air. When she saw us, a smile appeared on her face and she climbed to her feet, approaching us at the edge of her porch.

“Hagrid,” she greeted, “it’s been years.”

“Nice to see you too, Loral,” Hagrid said, “I wish I could stay long, but I’m only here to drop off Mr. Malfoy. I’ll see you in four day.”

I looked up at Hagrid, “thank you, Hagrid.”

If I didn’t know any better, which I didn’t, I could have sworn I saw tears in Hagrid’s eyes. He tried to push it away and claimed that dirt had gotten in his eye, but I knew the truth. No one was use to me being so nice, and seeing me do so meant to them that I was finally deciding things on my own and not because my father wanted them. Just like my decision to continue seeing a muggle. Grandma Loral and I waved goodbye to Hagrid, once he was gone, Grandma Loral sat back in her seat.

“Maggie’s in the garden out back,” she said smiling, “thank you for coming, Draco. I know that the decision couldn’t have been easy.”

“Actually,” I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck, “it was the easiest choice I’ve ever had to make in my life.”

Grandma Loral told me to head back there and she’d take care of my trunk. Nodding, I walked down the steps and headed down the cobblestone path to find Maggie sitting underneath a tree reading a book. Dozens of flowers of all shapes and colors surrounded her and blew in the breeze. Her brown, curled locks of hair brushed delicately against her freckled face. She was as beautiful as the day I first saw her. I walked over to her and smiled at how deeply invested she was in her novel.

“Mind if I sit?” I asked.

Her body jerked and her head whipped around to see me standing there with a smirk on my face. A large grin stretched against her face from ear to ear before nodding eagerly. As soon as my body was positioned next to her, she threw her arms around me and squeezed tightly.

“I’m so happy to see you,” she said, releasing me from her tight grip.

“I’m happy to see you too, Maggie,” I said, “how have you been?”

“I’ve been fine. Things have been a little difficult lately.”

When I asked her why, a sad expression came to her face. I thought maybe she was being bullied more, but as she explained, I realized that it wasn’t that. Grandma Loral was getting sick and it was getting worse and worse. Maggie was worried that she’d lose her grandmother and have no one once she’s gone. I touched her hand and told her it was going to be okay. She looked up at me.

“How have you been?” She asked, her smile trying to distract me from her growing tears.

I told her about Umbridge and my family, she never looked away from me and held on to my hand the way I held on to her’s when she told me about her Grandma. It seemed we were both going through some stuff right now and all we wanted was for someone to talk and relate to.

The remainder of the day moved quicker than I had hoped. Maggie was now in the kitchen cooking up some soup for dinner while I set up the dining table. From the kitchen, the two of us could hear Grandma Loral coughing up a storm. Maggie grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and brought it to her grandma before returning to finish dinner.

After supper, Maggie helped her grandma to bed before joining me in the living room with two glasses of hoto cocoa. Rain started to drum against the roof of the farmhouse, lightning slashing against the darkened sky and thunder rolling across the heavy clouds. With each passing second, the rain got harder and louder. I sipped on my warm beverage and looked at Maggie. She had whipped cream sitting above her lip and I laughed causing her to look at me.

“What?” She asked, an innocent smile dancing on her face.

“You’ve got some whipped cream on your lip,” I chuckled, leaning forward and wiping it away with my thumb.

A small red tint appeared on her face as she tried to avoid eye contact with me. I could tell she was embarrassed and I found it to be more attractive than ever. I scooted closer to her and she looked at me.

“Draco, is everything okay?” She asked.

“I love you,” I blurted out.

Her bright green orbs widened in shock and I started to regret saying anything to her. I looked away from her, but she grabbed my shoulder, pulling it to face her.

“I love you too,” she hummed.

Before I could stop myself, I smashed our lips together, saying a silent prayer that neither of us were holding that hot beverage. The kiss deepened and I pulled her into my lap, gripping her waist tightly to keep her in place. When we pulled away, she was panting from the lack of air, her lips red and slightly swollen from the heated kiss. I leaned down and started nibbling on her neck, earning a small whimper from her.

“D-Draco,” she gasped.

I unattached my lips from her warm flesh and peppered her jaw with kisses before reaching her ear.

“I want you, Maggie.”

Her body shivered at my words and I smirked. Maggie was gripping onto my blazer tightly.

“But I-”

“Shh,” I cooed, “I’ll be gentle.”

I waited for her to give me the signal to continue. When her head nodded, I laid her down on the cushioned couch and began kissing her again. I traced my tongue against her bottom lip and tasted the cherry lip gloss she had coated her plump lips with after dinner. My fingers squeezed her thigh and she gasped, giving me full entrance to the inside of her mouth. I slipped my tongue into her warm, wet mouth and our tongues fought over dominance, however, Maggie’s submissive side kicked in and she let me take control easily. Quiet moans spilled from her muffled mouth. When I pulled away from her, a small string of saliva pulled from both of our lips. A rosy tint illuminated off her face and her green eyes were hazy, her floral shirt was pulled up, revealing her black, laced bra.

“Fuck,” I hissed, my pants growing tighter at the sight of her coming undone from my touch.

Pulling myself up, I removed my blazer and tie before unbuttoning my white, dress-up shirt. Her glistening eyes watched my every move, widening at the sight of my bare chest. She started nibbling on her bottom lip as I pulled at the hem of her shirt.

“Let's get this off,” I muttered, my voice husky and dripping with arousal.

Maggie didn’t argue, she just pulled her shirt above her head revealing more of herself to me. I groaned as I leaned down and started sucking on her exposed skin, leaving wet kisses against her porcelain skin. Her heartbeat was pounding against her chest, her skin was heating up, and her fingers gripped the couch cushion. I reached behind her and unclipped her bra clasp. Immediately, her hands moved to cover herself up. I lifted her chin.

“Don’t hide yourself, baby girl,” I whispered, “let me see you, please.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

She allowed me to remove her bra from her small body and I tossed it to the side with the rest of our clothes that littered the living room floor. I pressed my lips against hers once again, my left hand gripped her left breast and I almost melted at the feeling of her perfectly soft, fleshy breast. Her pink, peachy nipples hardened from both the cold air and my calloused hands pinching at them. Her moans were becoming louder, but not too loud since her grandmother was sleeping.

“Draco, please,” she moaned, her hips moving against my own.

“What is it?” I moaned back, “what do you need, baby girl? Tell me.”

“I-I need you. Please.”

Those words turned me on even more. I unbuttoned her shorts and pulled them off, her black matching panties hugged her hips. I hooked my fingers to her lacy panties, pulling them down and revealing her perfect pink cunt. My pants were becoming more and more uncomfortable by the second, so I quickly removed them from my body, discarding them to the floor with the rest of the pile. I started kissing her breast, sucking on her nipples, and tracing open mouth kisses against her body until I reached her lower area. The sweet aroma coming from her was intoxicating and I felt drunk from the scent alone.

I traced my tongue against her already soaking slit causing her to shiver and moan. My tastebuds were coated with her delicious nectar and I couldn’t help but dive in quickly. Her small fingers tangled themselves into my gelled hair, messing up every strand. A list of moans echoed off the walls as I flicked my tongue hungrily over her clit. Maggie tried to close her legs, but I pinned them back down. My gray-blue eyes flickered up, meeting her lustful orbs. She was covering her mouth because she was becoming too loud. Careful not to hurt her, I slipped a single finger between her folds and she flinched. I stopped.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, “do you want me to stop?”

“N-no, it’s okay,” she panted, “i-it’s all just a n-new experience.”

Nodding, I went back to lapping up her flowing juices and started entering my finger again. This time it slipped in with ease. A few seconds passed and I added another finger, moving them slowly in and out of her.

“D-Draco, faster.”

I didn’t waste time and started moving my fingers faster and faster into her sex. Her back arched off the couch, I could feel her clenching around my fingers and I could tell she was getting closer and closer to her release. I started sucking on her swollen clit and she yelped out before cumming all over my fingers. I removed them from her then placed them in my mouth, sucking every last drop off of them. Groaning against my fingers, I pulled them out with a pop.

“Delicious,” I hummed, watching her chest move rapidly as she caught her breath, “have a taste.”

I captured her lips with mine and rummaged my tongue around her warm mouth. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head making me smile at how undone she looked for me. I pulled away.

“Doesn’t that taste amazing, sweetheart?” I whispered in her ear.

All she could do was nod her head. Sweat was beaded against her forehead and her hair was starting to cling to her face, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

“Ready?” I asked, “and use your words for me.”

“I-I am,” she muttered, “I-I’m ready.”

Climbing on top of her, I aligned my hardened member with her entrance before pushing it, peppering kisses against her face as she cried out in pain. Once I was finally nestled inside of her aching cunt, I stayed there to let her adjust to my size. A minute passed by when she gave me the okay to move, then I started moving my hips at a slow pace. Every time I pulled out and pushed back in, I felt myself get squeezed around.

“God damnit!” I groaned quietly, “so fucking tight. It feels amazing, Maggie.”

“D-Draco, you’re s-so…” she couldn’t even finish her sentence.

I started moving faster and harder with each stroke and both of our moans filled the room along with the sound of our sweaty skin slapping against each other. Despite the noise coming from us, we remained quiet enough so we didn’t wake up Grandma Loral.

Maggie squeezed her eyes shut as I started snapping my hips harder to meet hers. I grabbed her chin with my right hand and pulled her head to meet mine, my lips feathering over her. Her warm breath fanning over my chapped, slightly parted lips.

“Keep your eyes open. Look at me, baby,” I said strictly.

Maggie’s eyes opened and our eyes stared at one another as I drilled into her repeatedly. Her nails raked into my back causing me to growl at the stinging pain. I lifted one of her legs over my shoulder for a better position, my cock now going deeper into her sweet sex.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I moaned, resting my forehead against her, never tearing my eyes away from hers.

“Oh my God,” she said.

“Feel good, huh sweetheart,” I praised, “you love being fucked like this.”

I didn’t want to take it too far, afraid that me being rough or even degrading her would cause her to push me away. She was sensitive. But Maggie seemed to love my words and nodded her head furiously as she started meeting my thrust.

“Yeah you do, fucking slut.”

Her moans were like music to my ears and I could feel her tightening around my throbbing cock. I wrapped my hand around her throat, not too tightly, her free hand gripping my arm as I practically slammed into her with inhuman speed. I didn’t know what came over me, but everything felt intoxicating and I felt energy rushing through me.

“I-I’m going to cum,” she whimpered.

“Then do it,” I growled against her lips, “cum.”

Her body started shaking as pure pleasure rushed over her small form. I watched her emerald eyes roll to the back of her head as I continued to slam into her, riding out her high. Our moans got louder, and we didn’t care that we were being loud. If we got caught, we got caught. All that mattered to me was watching her, being with her, loving her.

My thrust started getting sloppy as I felt myself coming to my end. I removed my hand from her throat, letting her lungs collect the well needed air, and buried my head into her sweaty neck. With a few final, strong thrust, I came inside her dripping cunt and moaned in her ear, or more like growled with pleasure. Her body shivered at the sound as she knotted her fingers in my hair. My body collapsed onto her, our chest heaving up and down as we tried to settle down. Once our breathing returned to normal, I pulled myself out of Maggie and laid next to her. I looked at her.

“Sorry,” I whispered, as I tiredly chuckled, “I didn’t mean to finish inside you.”

She giggled and shook her head, “it’s okay. I’m on birth control, so it’ll be fine.”

I smiled at her and leaned down to pick up my dress-up shirt. It was cool to the touch and as I cleaned up the mess on Maggie, she closed her eyes enjoying the welcoming, cold cloth. After I cleaned the both of us up with my shirt, I laid back down. Lightning flashed against the sky once again as a loud rumble of thunder hit the clouds. Maggie sat up and cracked the window open, the cool breeze washing over our sweaty bodies. I pulled her into my arms and nuzzled against her.

“I love you, Maggie,” I whispered.

“I love you too, Draco,” she said, “now and forever.”

Forever, huh?

A smile appeared on my face as I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep next to the one girl I would sacrifice everything for. All of the thoughts that once invaded my mind, the unsureness of being with a muggle, how my father would act once he found out, all of it, disappeared. The only thought left was how I would protect her from Voldemort, and if she would still be by my side when she found out I was destined to be a death eater. But all of that could wait. I wanted nothing more than to enjoy the next four days with her.

I’ve never felt so relaxed before.

Forever sounds nice.

#draco malfoy #draco smut #draco imagine #draco lucius malfoy #draco malfoy smut #draco #malfoy #muggle #harry potter #harry potter smut #smut #dm stories #hp smut #draco fluff #draco fanfiction

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midautumnnightdream · 3 years ago

Text

Friendship

For Cosette Appreciation Week

If she was to be perfectly honest, Cosette wasn’t sure she liked the convent of Petit-Picpus all that much.

It was important to be Perfectly Honest: Mother Innocente had said as much, when she showed Cosette around the classrooms and the dormitories and explained all the Rules a schoolgirl must concern herself with. Being honest must have been the most important Rule of them all, for Mother Innocente had mentioned it no less than three times, her dark eyebrows forming a severe line under her coif as she peered down to Cosette.

(“Don’t lie to me, you little wretch” Madame had said, and truly Mother Innocente was nothing like Madame at all, except for the eagle sharpness of her gaze, the lightning abruptness of her movements and Cosette –)

Cosette had bowed her head and nodded and smiled and understood.

She had been nodding and smiling ever since she bade farewell to papa and uncle Fauvent earlier, promising to have fun and make friends and to study well. She had nodded and smiled though Mother Innocente’s lecture, and through introductions to the eight curious-eyed schoolgirls waiting in her dormitory, thankfully already in their beds, and to Mother Saint-Ange, who came to wake them in the morning and asked if she was settling in nicely.

(Cosette thought of the worry in her papa’s eyes, when he first explained that the convent was to become their new home. She thought of their nighttime flight through the streets, as strange and wondrous as a dimly recalled dream, and the odd adventure with uncle Fauvent’s melon basket. Madame was looking for her, papa had said. Madame was outside the convent and must be looking for her even now.

Honesty was important, Cosette understood. She also understood that to say Right Things was even more important.)

The dormitory was filled with chatter of eight sleepy little girls, going about their morning procedures: one struggling with her dress buttons, two braiding each other’s hair, several more grumbling over the early hour as they made their beds. Cosette, already dressed, hovered uncertainly by the window, casting wistful looks at the gardener’s hut, just visible in the predawn light of early March, as she tried to ignore the curious glances thrown her way. Papa had tried to comb and braid her hair, she recalled, during their first days in Paris. However not even the most gentle teasing could untangle the knots, let alone the sticky patch that papa had declared with some wonderment to be stained with wood resin. He had seemed so terribly sad when he cut her hair, despite Cosette’s assurances that she didn’t mind at all.

All the same, she thought with a pang, it would be nice to have someone make her braids.

It wouldn’t be so bad, she thought to herself, as Mother-Saint-Ange came back to usher the group to their morning prayers, if she could live in the little house with papa and uncle Fauvent. She liked the gardener’s hut; it was small and warm and cosy, much cosier even than their room in the Gorbeau house. The convent was too big, too dark, and filled with strangers – far more strangers than Cosette had expected, she realised as they entered the church. She kept an eye on her companions, carefully copying each action, but her mind was much too preoccupied to focus on prayer. She wondered if her papa was present in the church, in some secret corner out of sight of the students. He must be, she decided, and allowed herself to relax into the moment of imagined closeness.

All too soon the girls were sent to their way towards refectory. Cosette trailed after her dormitory mates, anxiously aware of the whispered conversation that had broken out and the glances thrown her way. She crumpled her apron tight between her fingers as she steeled herself for the inevitable encounter.

If Cosette was Perfectly Honest – and Mother Superior had been very insistent on that point – this merry group had worried her more than the nuns, or echoing corridors, or the looming promise of the lessons that she felt terribly unprepared for. Certainly, the nuns intimidated her, but she knew, knew that they were nothing like Madame, that papa would never leave her someplace terrible, or allow another adult to hurt her. But the girls were a different matter. Cosette had listened to their conversations, peppered with references to things she knew nothing about, observed their manners and the games they played, and had instantly understood that these girls were true little ladies like ‘Ponine and ‘Zelma – perhaps even more so. Surely these girls could tell that she wasn’t like them, that she didn’t belong here – and once they realised that, well. At best they would simply dismiss her like the children in Montfermeil, and ignore her until she inevitably got in their way, but then? Certainly they would complain to the nuns about having to share their room with l‘Alouette, the werewolf child, and she would be punished for lying, maybe even thrown out and sent back to Madame?

This won’t happen. Cosette reminded herself. Papa would never allow it. If the nuns don’t let us stay, we’ll just have to run away again. Thus reassured, she felt almost ready to face the tribunal, when one of the girls exclaimed “Well, just ask her!” and turned to face Cosette.

Cosette slowed. The girl was three or four years older than her own peers, and judging by the avid gazes following her progress, a subject to some interest. The solemnity of her gaze was rather reminiscent of the prioress; she stopped in front of Cosette and demanded:

“Crickets or spiders?”

Cosette blinked.

The girl’s lips twitched ever so slightly, but her serious gaze didn’t waver.

“Do you prefer crickets or spiders?”

Cosette rallied herself. “Crickets,” she said.

The girl grinned. “That’s well! You will come join us in the Cricket Corner. We’re closest to the kitchen.”

Cosette blinked again. “Will there be... crickets there then?” she asked, feeling a bit foolish.

Her new companion only smiled amiably. “There might well be. There might be caterpillars and wood-louses too. Possibly spiders. You’re not afraid of spiders, are you?”

Cosette shook her head. “Not at all,” she answered, more or less truthfully. She wasn’t afraid of spiders, not really, but something about watching the flies twitching and trapped in their webs gave her a funny feeling.

The older girl smiled her approval. “That’s good,” she said, and then added. “I’m Anne-Marie Bouchard.”

She then continued to introduce every girl who followed them into the Cricket Corner, before pointing out and naming a number of pupils from the other tables who she declared to be “of interest.” Cosette, seated between Anne-Marie on her right hand and her dormitory mate Jeanine on her left, tried her best to keep up with the sudden flood of information, until paternoster put an abrupt end to all conversation.

The breakfast itself was a hushed affair, not even a whisper interrupting the story of Saint Genevieve, read by one of the big girls from a pulpit under the crucifix. Cosette considered her new friends with a mixture of bafflement and gratitude as they ate, her natural shyness warring with the urge to offer them something, to give back a little bit of the kindness and trust that was extended to her.

“Do you know, I always quite liked crickets,” she eventually confessed, as the pupils gathered around ronds d’eau to wash their cups. “I used to listen to them when everyone had gone to sleep, and sometimes I thought, if I followed the crickets, they would take me to my mama.” She flushed and fell silent.

However, her story seemed to delight Anne-Marie. “Adventure! Oh but I like this!”

“Were you fostered in the country too then?” asked Jeanine. “I used to live in Montmartre for years. My brother Alain, he was terribly sickly when he was born, so we were both sent to live in a vineyard. But mama still came to visit us all the time. Did your mama not visit?”

“My mama is dead,” replied Cosette.

“Oh!” Jeanine flushed. “Is that why you stayed fostered for so long?”

“Yes that’s why,” Cosette said, then added, as a guilty tribute to honesty “I didn’t like it there. Living with papa was much better.”

“It is a pity,” Jeanine sympathised. “I really missed Montmartre at first, and then I missed living with my parents. When I first came here, I cried all night! But I got used to it, and now I’d miss the school just as much!”

“Ah children! you’re easy to please!” said Anne-Marie a little dryly. But upon seeing the expressions on the younger girls’ faces, she relented a bit. “All the same, it’s truly not so bad, this place. You can have a lot of fun here, if you let yourself.”

Perhaps sometimes, Cosette reflected, Perfect Honesty simply meant repeating the Right Things until you could make them become true. “I’m sure I will,” she promised.

#Cosette Week #Les Miserables #Les Mis #Les Mis fanfiction #Cosette #Petit Picpus #Autumn writes

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liums · 4 years ago

Text

Leona x Reader (ft.vargas camp event)

Important information- y/n is female but is pretending to be male.

Context- This happens in a timeline where when Yuu (aka y/n or mc) arrived to the NRC, since it was an all boys school, Crowley asked y/n to pretend to be male and keep it a secret.

In Leona’s version, he found out when a teacher made him go check on y/n because “he” did’t show up in class.(Ruggie was too busy to go) When Leona arrived and knocked, since no one awnsered he just entered anyway lol. He saw a bunch of bandages on the floor and when he found y/n in a room, even if he saw y/n with unuasual long hair, he called and when y/n turned arround, Leona saw you were naked from waist up, with exemption of a bra....he was as shocked as he could be, and just turned arround and left. Y/n ran after him while dressing a shirt, explained the situation and he agreed to keep it a secret with a “What a pain I have gotten myself into” while rubbing his neck. (this happened after Jamil overblot and the two of you had a “I don’t mind his company ” relationship)

Now, with the story:

It was the end of the first day one and every club had just returned to the camp, exausted by the harduous day of challenges, ones more than others, since some didn’t even raise a finger. Y/n and Grim however were having their share of fun, they weren’t allowed to participate in the challanges, but recording such good memories with their friends was very fun.

Y/n was reviewing the photos that were taken during the first day while Vargas was speaking with everyone. Just as you and grim were wondering where you two would sleep, professor Vargas came over and explained he was going to sleep in the Dawrfs hut and both of you would sleep in a tent next to it.

....

Grim and you had just settled inside and were about to change to comfy clothes to sleep when you noticed the inside of your bandages were all sweaty, well that was to expect after such a day. After wiping the sweat you still felt the need to take a bath, most obviously you wouldn’t ask vargas to take a bath in the hut due to certain circunstances.... You were thinking about what to do when you remembered there was a lake nearby, and it had a small and clean beach so it was secure...decided, you glanced one last time to check if Grim was asleep, picked a small bag with a spare of clothes and a small towel you brought, and left the tent.

.....

On the camp site Leona had just left to his tent, leaving Ruggie and the other members of the Magift club discussing who would stand watch and look after the fire. He was lying down trying to sleep when he felt a familliar scent. The noise outside was preventing him from sleeping, so he might as well just go check what the hell you were up to this time.

He migh not admit it, but since the Octavinelle Incident, more specifically, since you had threatened him (when mc threatened making noise every morning outside of Leona’s room if he didn’t help them), he had grown an interest in you, and by now he really didn’t mind your company or when you showed up in the gardening house when he was napping, or even when you sat down next to him. Actually, it seemed that he slept better when you were there. But he would never admit this.

Leona quietly left the tent and went in the direction of the forest where he felt your scent. Leona had light feet and walking at night in the forest was almost as easy as it was during the day, so he reached you pretty quickly.

You were walking steadly but slow, walking in a forest at night really wasen’t one of your skills, you almost tripped a few times. Of course Leona was nearby just watching the whole thing from behind with that smirk of his, he was even eating an apple, he was wondering how come you didn’t ear him.

Well anyway, after a while he grew tired of seeing you strugle, and finally aproached you. He had just lightly touched your shoulder and calling you”Herbi-” but he couldn’t finish because you jumped from the sudden touch, screamed high enough to make Leona turn his ears backwards, and were about to trow a punch to whatever had just touched you when Leona caught your fist midair with ease. “Tsk, why so damn lound” he said while rubbing his temple with his free hand.

“Le-Leona?? Why are you here?” You had just finished your sentence when you saw his green eyes narrowing a bit, and it finally came to you you had tried to punch Leona Kingscholar. Your face went white in a matter of seconds, it’s not like you were afraid of him, you could say your relationship had reached the level of friendship more or less, but this was pushing the boundaries quite a bit!

You quickly retreated your fist, who was still in Leona’s warm hand, and apologized “Ah-! I’m so sorry Leona!! It was a reflex!”. Much to your surprise, Leona didn’t do anything and just crossed his arms “So? what are you doing at this time of night in a forest?”

“Ah- I was.. heading to the lake...” you shifted your gaze to other side while scratching your cheek and smilling awkwardly. It’s not like you were lying to him, but you didn’t really want to say you were going to take a bath. Leona concluded you probably had run out of water and didnt think more about it. You were thinking about what to say next, when Leona just started walking and passed by you. “Hmm, Leona? Where are you going?”you asked.

He didn’t even bother to turn arround and said “You are going to the lake right? hurry now or you will get left behind”.

Uncounsciously you hurried to his side “You didn't ’t really have to come....”you said only hearing a “hmnn” coming from him.

And maybe due to the shock you suffered a while ago or to the fact you were distracted by Leona’s presence, it still didn’t hit you that his presence migh make your task of taking a bath a tad more difficult. And when it did, you hurried to say “ Leona, you should really go back, I don’t want to take any more of your sleeping hours....” you really enjoyed his presence, but you really really hoped he went back.

“Now that we are already here its a bit late” He rubbed his head. He was right, you two had already reached the lake. You were taking in the beautiful scene of the lake and the moon reflecting on it when Leona spoke up “We don’t have all night” he was now leaned against some rock, and honestly he looked stunning in the moonlight with those emerald green eyes of his, but this was not the moment to be thinking about this! You gave a few steps forward but stopped and looked at Leona “Could you..could you turn arround?” you shyly asked, your face with a light shade of red.

“Hm? What’s the problem of me staying here” he moved one of his hands to his hip and tilted his head a bit waiting for you to awnser.

This time you couldn’t really look at him at all, you stiffened your shoulders a bit and finally said “I came to take a bath” In a voice so low Leona almost had trouble hearing it.

He looked a bit anoyed now “Ah?Then again what is the prob-” Leona stopped mid-sentence when it came to him. He had actually forgotten. He massaged his temple with his eyes closed and said ”I will be over there” and left to behind a strocture of rocks a bit farther away.

You muttered a “Thank you...” and went towards the shore.

There. you began by removing tha bandages arround your chest, and then the shirt you had used during the day whole day, you kept your pants since you just really needed to clean the sweat in your upper body. You emersed a towel in the water and when you finally felt the clean water of the lake in your skin, you let out a heavy sigh.

On the other side was Leona, leaned against a rock, backwards to you. To anyone who saw him it would look he was sleeping, but he was actually dwelling on what had just happened. After he had found out and agreed to keep it to himself he did think about it for a while, but at that time you two were no more than aquaintances who meet a lot and sometimes went to classes together, so in the end, your situation had slipped to the back of his mind. He had a frown on his face but it wasent out of anoyance, but rather due to his own actions up until now.

Leona was thinking about how the hell he had grown comfortable arround you recently when his eyes shot open by a splash sound and a high pitched scream coming from your direction. He got up and was ready to complain about the noise and about how come you fell in place with only sand ,when he heard that sound that had been perturbing his sleep the whole day. fairies. They were nothing to him, but you were a human, a non- magical one at that, so leona just made a tsch and prepared to dispose of them.

“Ah, what a pain” he said to the air while going to take them out. “Herbivore you stay.....”

You were already dressed, but soaked from head to toe and with an unsetling expression Leona had never seen you doing, he would be making a smug face while mocking you if he warent too busy scaring that water fairy to death with his glare only. "Scram" he didn't scream, nor use an aggressive tone, but the way he said it had an imposing and superior aura.

And the fairy probably felt he would squeeze her to death next because she flew away in a blink of an eye. He was still making a mixed expression of anger and anoyance when he turned to you. “Thank you Leona, they came out of nowhere” You were trying to wipe away the water from your clothes , and only noticed Leona’s expression when you looked at him “Ah.” You looked troubled “Did I...did I perhaps wake you just now?” Anyone who spend more than 5 minutes with Leona would know how much he liked sleeping, and in your point of view, you were preventing him from sleep by having him acompany you to the lake.

Seeing your troubled expression made Leona get more at ease, and his brows weren't frowning anymore “Now it dosen’t matter, does it” he said while rubbing one of his ears.

You were still doing your best to get most of the water off your clothes, but this didn’t go unnoticed by you “Have I hurt your ears too?” Your voice was now in its normal tune, sweeter, since now you didn’t need to pretend being male.

“Two times in a single night is too much, no?”He retreated his hand and returned it to his pocket.

“The first time was your fault though....”You looked to the side and had a troubled smile on your face “But I apologize, sorry”.

Leona analized your expression and half serious said “You don’t look so sorry however” he started rubbing his chin and curved a little to match more your height “What will you do to compensate me?”. With this statement you looked away and let out a troubled, very fake half laugh “Ahahaha......”

Leona enjoyed seeing you troubled, more than he did the others, but in a good teasing way “*sigh*you should start thinking about drying yourself herbivore”.

Oh don’t you say, It’s not as if you weren’t trying!!! “How come I didn’t think about that” you said while squezing your hair to get most of the water out of it.

Now that Leona thought about it, this was the first time he saw you with long hair after that one day, and even if uncounsciously, he couldn’t bring himself to stop looking. “W- what? is it so weird I have long hair?” you had now cleaned most of the water off yourself, and Leona didn’t help one bit.

(Normally, you do your hair in a specific way so it looks short even though its long, i took that idea from Lucina from FE, i’ll drop a picture of how the hair is done at the end)

“What a problematic thing I have gotten myself into...” Despite seeming he was complaining about coming along with you to the lake, he was refering to spending time with you in general, somehow you were the kind of person who sooner or later would get involved in the most weird problems, and it seemed this time you had dragged him with you.

However despite complaining, Leona had began enjoying your company for a while now. It had even reached the point that seeing you two napping side by side in the botanical garden was frequent. No one dared mentioning it though.

You noticed your bandages floating in the water "*Sigh....* it seems I cant use these anymore" you looked pitifully at the drenched bandages you picked up.

"Just use another shirt as a chest binder. If you hang it tightly enough it will have the same effect" Leona said as if this was the most normal situation in the world.

You looked at him for a second "that is actually pretty smart you know" and proceded to do as he had suggested. After finishing and seeing how it looked you let out a pleased ‘hum’ sound and said “As expected of the great Leona!” you made a few moviments to see if it was comfortable and turned to him with both hands on your hips and a confident look “So, how does it look??”

Leona made an over exagerated expression as if the was thinking hard and made a “hmmm” sound for a long time just to keep you waiting. “Leonaaa!!” you cried, he intended to keep his teasing but after looking at your face again he noticed despite having a smile, you looked scared, afraid of something.

No normal person would be able to see this, not even Deuce or Ace could, but after having you bugging him for so long, Leona had started getting more aware of things like this, so he stopped and let out a sigh of defeat. Honestly, only y/n to make leona give up his teasing.

“No one will notice” he said with a rare reassuring tone while tapping you on the shoulder.

Hearing this, you let out the air you were unconsciously keeping on your chest. ”...thank you”. With that, you seemed more relieved, you really did trust Leona’s judgement huh.

“Heh, if you are really that thankfull then next time you go to the botanic garden bring me food” Well, that seemed fair enough, you thought, but then a smug grin grew on his face “Actually no... that dosen’t seem enough to compensate my great effort.”

“Oh no...” you thought. At this point you could only prepare for what was to come. Leona could get tyranical at times with his requests, but he should have mercy on you......right?

After a dramatical pause, Leona continued “Next time my brother trows that furball of a nephew to me, you, my dear herbivore, will be so kind to take care of him for me”. What? That cute angelic cub? You saw no problem at all. At least on him you could release your hidden desires of petting lions ears. But looking at Leona, he really did look overjoyed he could get rid of Cheka next time he came visit. You couldn’t possibly ruin his moment by saying you would love to take care of his nephew, that would ruin part of his joy, so you just went along.

You were going to start talking again when the wind blew strong, Leona had his super comfy looking camping coat, but you? In your still humid clothes it felt way colder than it actually was.

Meanwhile Leona had already went to pick up your bag ”Herbivore!” but as you turned to him, you saw only black ”Catch!”. You ‘eh’ed and expected your bag hitting you hard on the face, but next thing you knew, a fluffy warm feeling hovered over you.

After roaming arround with your hands you were able to take the ‘thing’ from your head, your hair was now a mess, but your eyes lit up when you saw that in your hands was Leona’s camping coat.

You probably spent a while looking at it, because Leona said “You gonna stay there eating my coat with your eyes, or you gonna return to the camp”. And when you looked at him again, he was already heading to the woods with your bag in hand.

“I’m going Leona, i’m going. wait for me!” you said while you hurried to his side and tried to put in the coat in a very sloppy way. You didn’t notice, but he was looking at the scene with a smug smirk. And by the time you had reached him, somehow, you managed to dress it wrongly.

“You know, I’m not an expert, but i’m pretty much sure that’s not how you dress a coat” He said while examining the way you had dressed it. “*sigh* come here”.

Leona then fixed the coat’s sleeve and helped you dressing it correctly while mumbling something about herbivores being too dependent.

------

You two were basically half way back to the camp, and you weren’t already there because you kept on misplacing your foot and almost falling, plus, the way back was upwards and it was dark.

You had misplaced your food at least 30 times now, and in way too many of those, you had to grab Leona’s shirt so you wouldnt fall. And for someone who enjoyed their personal space, he didn’t seem to mind too much.

You did try to avoid doing that as much as you could, but, just like now, you really had no other option if you wanted to avoid falling, so for the sake of your face staying off the ground, you grabed Leona’s shirt hem again.This time, with quite a lot of streight, and when you looked up, the first thing you saw was Leona’s ears turned backwards and he turning to you.

“Oi, don’t pull the hem of my clothes just because you have bad footing” (yet again I cannot decribe his expression properly, so I just drop an image of it, here)

.(yes i edited it to match night time)

Tsk tsk, it’s not like you could help it! it was dark! and the ground was irregular as hell! and you didn’t have a tail or godamn cat eyes! And the coat was so big on you couldn’t even move properly your arms! And it even had his scent!

Well, that last one wasen’t really aproblem, actually you were quite pleased with it, but you were running out of things to complain about!

This venting was only half hearted though, you were really comfy and warm due to the coat Leona lended you, plus it had his scent all over it, and even if it looked huge on you, it was quite the cute sight, and even Leona thought it, but that aint ever coming out of his mouth.

You were still trowing half hearted insults at the situation when a ‘oh’ sound came from him, and you uncounciously looked at him. Big mistake, since he had a ever so smug expression “Or perhaps....can it be that you are scared?” his smirk widened even more , if that was even possible, and he had a hand supporting his chin.

And this was it, you could almost feel a vein poping on your forehead “Who is scared??? you say that because you have good night vision and a fluffy tail to maintain your equilibrium!” you pounted and went pass trough him without caring anymore.

It was very rarely you had these little outbursts, so Leona felt pround he was able to stir up one and was enjoying the situation the best way he could: with his eyebrows up, a smug smile, both hands on his hips and ready to tease you more.

You were still walking forward, and Leona was still talking, but all you could hear was ‘bla bla bla’ in your head. So when he stopped and said “wait, there’s a-

You were too late to realise there was a huge root in front of you, and triped over it, you quicly used your hands to protect your head and brace yourself for the impact.

That never came, because as we can expect, when you opened your eyes you were still mid fall, and there was an arm arround your stomach supporting you. “That’s why you should listen to me herbivore, why are you always giving me work” He said while massaging his temples, his arm still around you.

Now realizing how childish your small tantrum was, and how much of an help he had been, you were more composed “You didn’t need to catch me...” you said in low voice, now looking at the ground you would be in if not for him catching you.

“Ah? What crap are you saying now? after all the work I went trough, if you get full of dirt now it will all be for nothing” He looked a bit annoyed, but just like your insults earlier, it was half hearted.

And after lecturing you, Leona finally let go of you after assuring you were steady on the ground, “Let’s go now” he began walking again, only to stop moments after, for some reason his ears were a bit down ”Next time just grab my shirt again or something”. Despite looking uninterested, he was actually waiting for your reply, more specifically, you thanking him.

So he couldn’t help but look back when he heard you saying “Leona...” in such a sweet tone. Though what he was not expecting to see when he turned back, was a lock of your h/c hair stuck in a three branch. “My hair is stuck...” you said with a voice of someone who still had a lot to lose, but needed help regardless.

Leona however, had the look of someone who was not paid enough to handle this, but it’s not like he could leave you there, so yet again while lecturing you on how herbivores should be careful, he helped you.

While he was, doing it more carefully than he would have with anyone else, trying to free your hair lock from the tree branch and telling you multiple times to stay still, you couldn’t help but wonder, a sad look now in your face.

“Hey Leona...” you began while facing the ground. Receiving a “Hah? what is it now?” from him. You were glad he was behing you, and you were facing the ground, because the look in your face was probably really pityfull. “Do you really not mind...?” You began stroking your hands with your thumb in a nervous way “you know, me being....” You really tried to finish the sentence, but Leona cut you off “It’s not like it makes any difference is it? Why the question”

You thanked he couldn’t see you, or else he would have noticed your trembling hands. You valued a lot the bound you had with Leona, more than he could imagine. Ever since you arrived at NRC you felt you didn’t belong ,out of place, but when you were with him...that feeling disappeared. You were really afraid this could affect your relationship, so hearing him say this, did reasure you a lot. “No particular reason, i was just asking haha-Ouch!”

You felt a pitch in your head, but your hair was already free. “Next time don’t be this reckless” Leona scolded you. Did he just flick you.

“Did you just flick me”

“Got a problem with it? If possible I would like to reach my tent tonight” He was already walking again, just a bit slowler so you could easily reach him, and it was not like you could do anything againt him so while you massaged the spot, you just picked your pace and headed to the camp together.

----

You two had finally reached the camp, more specifically, Leona’s tent. “Oh, we are here...I should get going, thanks for coming with me” you gave him a small smile, and began walking away.

“Oi, aren’t you forgetting something?” You looked back to find Leona with his arms crossed looking at you. Only then came to your mind that you were still wearing his comfy outdoors coat. At the realization you quickly tooke it off and hand it to him, feeling a bit sad you could no longer feel his scent. “Here you go, then I will be off, good night Leona, see you tomorrow” you gave him another warm smile he so much apreciated and walked off again.

However, had you not walked 3 meters Leona spoke up again “Herbivore, come here” You wondered what could he want, so you turned to him again, and as soon as you did, he continued. “Sleep in my tent”. He had a calm expression and said it with the most normality ever, yet you were only able to let out a ‘eh?’ sound before he resumed. “It’s not like we haven’t slept together in the botanical garden before, and I doubt you are down to spend the night near that bastard. He dosent know, does he” On this last part he put a hand on his hip and gestured with the other, as if he knew he was right. Wich he was.

You instantanly knew the ‘bastard’ he was refering to, was your teacher, since he always adressed him that way. “Well...you are right...” That was the reason you had gone to the lake in the first place.

But before you had the time to actually awnser his question he made a smug smirk and spoke again. ”Plus, won’t it be better to have the real thing instead of just my scent in a coat?” he said jokingly, yet again trying to styr up a reaction, but instead of doing that, you looked away a bit flustered. ‘Have I been caught?’ you thought while laughing nervously.

Seeing this, his eyes widened a bit and Leona’s own cheeks became a little red too and he hurried to say “Anyway, I’ll go sleep. Don’t make noise when you come in” And he headed inside, You hadn’t even agreed to his offer! But for some reason, you said “Wait, I’m going in too!” And went in after him.

His tent could bear 2 people and still have plenty of space left, however, as expected there was only one cushion. And of course the great Leona wouldn’t give up on his sleeping place, and this was his tent after all, and since you didn’t want to impose yourself on his space, you just went to the corner and setled yourself on the bare ground of the tent.

Leona was busy setling himself to sleep, so he didn’t notice you doing this right away, but when he, did a small frown appeared on his face. “Oi Herbivore, do you really plan on sleeping on the ground? Hurry up and come over already” after saying this he moved a bit to the side as if to show you there was enough space for both of you in the cushion.

Well, you were already inside and it was too late to back away, and it was defenitively better than sleeping on the ground, you just never thought he would give up on his personal space this much. Lately he did let you stay really close to him in the botanical garden, and there was this one time his tail was even touching you, but....was this really ok??

You knew Leona enjoyed his space so you were a bit nervous, but it went away as soon as you laid down on the comfy culshion and he turned to the other side while pulling the blanket to cover himself. “Finally some peace and quiet...” he said before going silent again.

You covered yourself as well, and even if you were a bit tense, as you looked at the top of the tent, and felt Leona-s warmth beside you, you slowly became drownsy “...hey Leona...?” there was no awnser but you went on anyway, probably due to the sleepiness taking over you. “I’m grad it was you who found out...” and finally, you fell asleep.

If he heard you or not? Well, we will never really know.

*This could end here, but I decided there wasent enough bounding nor fluff*

It was now arround 2 or 3 am, and the night became colder, you weren’t awake, but it did bother you, so you moved a bit more towards the midle of the culshion trying to escape the cold, settling only when you met some warmth, a nice one at that.

-----------

Leona never had problems falling asleep, this time was no exeption, he had fallen asleep seconds after he had covered himself. But it was a bit hard not to wake up when something, or rather someone was snugling onto your back. Even though his eyes shot open the moment he felt you, he didn’t move or speak, since he could tell you were asleep by the sound of your breath. Well it really was cold, and he knew he was hot, (take this in the way you want XD) so he couldn’t blame you.

Instead, he waited some minutes to assure you wouldn’t wake up, and then turned to you. You were peacefully sleeping turned to him, with your hands clutshed together in your chest and your h/l (hair lenght) h/c hair all messy. He had a hand supporting his head while looking at your peacefull sleeping image.

During the times you fell asleep beside him in the botanical garden you looked nothing like this, at those times you looked more composed, as if you had a wall arround you, your hair looked way shorter too, but also...in none of those times you looked as vulerable and comfortable as now, it was like he couldn’t take his gaze away from you, greedly taking in all he never could. As a matter of fact, he even fell asleep like that.

-----

You were still asleep, but the morning rays of light began bathing the tent making the inside getting brighter and disturbing your sleep. Of course, as any person who was awake until lord knows how late, you shut your eyes tighter and tried your best to sink further in the blankets. Fortunately for you, you didn’t need to move much, since something was now sheltering you from the sunlight, and much to your pleasure, whatever it was, it was really warm too, wich made you cling onto it even more.

After you began to regain a bit of counsciousness, you felt something heavy hovering over you, and your pillow felt a bit harder too...only after a while did you notice this wasen’t normal, and slowly opened your eyes, afraid of the morning light hurting them, but you only saw darkness, only after trying to understand the situation did you start feeling soft breathing on top of your head, and a familar scent came to your nose. You did try to pull away to see what was happening, but you only got pulled closer, now concious, you felt two arms tighttening arround you.

When you finally managed to join the pieces together, your face reddned at an incredible speed, and a “Leona..?” scaped your lips, realising what you had just done, you quicly covered your mouth with your hands, hoping he didn’t listen. However some seconds after, he made a low and deep growl, as he so many times did when you had to wake him for class, exept you had never been this close when he did it.

Honestly? From a 3rd person view, it it looked like a lion holding his prey, and it sure felt the same to you!. I mean, holy- the man was strong! you tried to get free from his grasp multiple times, but he didnt even flinch! You needed to get out of there, and fast, you were a blushing mess, and out of everyone, Leona was the last person you wanted to see you like this, he wouldn’t let you go without mocking you about it every hour .So when he began moving again you froze on the spot.

Leona began by closing his eyes thighter, as if trying to deny the morning sunlight. With his eyes still closed, he stretched his neck and afterwards tried to do the same with his arms, but seeing he was unable to, he opened his eyes with much relutancy only to see a Y/n under his grasp. He was quite surprised at first, and if you weren’t so embarassed, you migh have noticed the small blush that appeared on Leona’s cheeks, but such a surprised expression was quickly replaced with his usual smugness.

”Hmmmm....Look at what a small herbivore has been caught...” You felt his jade eyes sharply looking at you, but you refused to meet his gaze. “L-Leona I..I have to go” you said. Now that he was awake there was no need to be carefull, you simply got up, and tried to leave the tent. Seeing this, Leona quickly called you “Wait y/-” only to be interruped by a sharp pain and you triping and falling.

Despite being awake for just a short while, you were quick enough to use your arms so you wouldn’t fall face on. You and Leona let pain growls out, and looking at eachother afterwards, you noticed what made you fall. On your right leg, there was something wraped around your ankle.

You had now the most complicated expression you had in a while “......Is that....your tail?” you crouched down and looked at it closer “Did...did you really just wrap your tail arround my ankle?” You thought of touching it, but he would get angry so you ignored your desire to do it.

Leona was still rubbing his lower back, and only then did he look at you “Ha?What are you saying, of couse I didn’t” He had a small frown, but his voice didn’t have any ill intent.

“It is-” You didn’t even finish your sentence, Leona had already wnraped his tail. He semed to be somewhat sulking. This however made a sweet yet mischievous smile grow on your face. You thought he was just messing with you, but...he clearly hadn’t intended in getting his tail wrapped arround you. Did this mean..earlier when he had his arms around you, he really wanted you close??

Either way, you couldn’t let a flustered Leona scape so easily, it was your time to have fun. “Hmmmm... I wonder how did this tail get arround my ankle then...” you said while you sat on the couch and faked being thinking hard about it. ”Could it possibly be that the great Leona-san does actually enjoy my company?” you pointed at yourself while your eyes were closed and went closer while a smug smirk grew wider on your face. “..Ah! Will you purr for me nex-”.

What happened now was too fast for you to say anything, but next time you knew, you were in Leona’s grasp again. “Shut up”. You were both laid on the couch again, but this time your back was on his chest, and he was hugging you closer from behind. ”You are anoying” he said in a low voice while he tried to get comfortable on the pillow, nudging his nose a little on your hair while doing it.

So, this was so sudden you were no longer working at all, your eyes were wide open and “??????” was all that was in your mind for some good 6 whole seconds. Only then did you regain your rationality, and you had to admit, this was pretty soothing if you thought about it...having him embracing you, it really was comfortable...and his warm breath slowly hitting the back of your head... maybe...a little...”just a ...little... longer then...” and you drifted off to sleep once more. Leona who was already half asleep himself was only able to muster a “...good” and clinging more to you, his tail rested now atop of you, he drifted off too.

---------

~6 minutes later~

*CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG*

“!????!!??” Your eyes shot open because of the lound noise, and afraid someone would come in, you tried to get up and leave as fast as you could. However, before even being able to sit, you were pushed back to the place you were before “Stay” Leona said with a sleepy voice, his eyes not open yet.

“Leona..! wake up..!!” you cried while trying to move him.

*CLANG CLANG CLANG*

Hearing the call to wake everyone, you looked in the direction of the tent entrance. Meanwhile Leona let out a small growl of protest while finally letting go of you and sitting on the couch “No one is going to some in” he finally said while massaging his temples because of the lound noise, his ears a bit turned back.

Hearing that did reasure you, and looking so relaxed as he did, it was hard not to believe him, though it was leona who we were talking about so....

You were looking at him with the helpless expression of someone who knows it’s a lost cause. Though as soon as he noticed you looking at him he said with the still narrowed eyes of someone who just woke up from a pleasant sleep and a grin growing by the day, his fangs now showing “hmn, like what you see?”he said, stretching afterwards.

You just let a “mhum, right” and stood up “That one is getting old Leona”. Just as you had devoleped the habit of always going to the botanical garden to see him, recently, he too, had devoloped this tendency of showing off and praising himself everytime he woke up and you were there. So you were quite used to it by now.

You streached and picked up your bag, and noticing he was looking at you as well, and turning back to him “And you? Enjoyed having this ‘herbivore’ as an hostage?” you said jokingly. Leona, still laid down, with his hand supporting his head, smirking tenderly yet smugly at the same time ”If I remember correctly, the ‘herbivore’ entered the lion’s den by it’s own will”.

Not having a way to argue back, you changed the subject “I really should get going now.” You said while quickly looking arround to check if you didn’t leave anything behind. And as you were going to exit, Leona grabed your wrist “For someone being so carefull the whole night, you sure can be reckless” He released your wrist and you looked at him with a confused expression, seeing this, he let out a sigh “You sure you want to get out with your hair like that?”.

Your face went blank for a split second at the sudden realisation you had lost your hair elastics at the lake last night. What were you gonna do? Seeing this, Leona shook his head slowly as if asking himself why did it sometimes felt like he was babysitting you, and more importantly, why did he actually enjoy it. “Here” he said while taking off his own hair elastic and handing it to you. “I don’t have another one, but this should solve the problem until you reach your tent”

Receiving his hair elastic in your hands, your eyes were sparking with thankfullness. Quickly, but nimbly you did your hair in a similar way you always did. Finished, you swiftly left, but not one step later you turned to him again. You had an earnest look in your eyes “....Thank you Leona, for everything. Imean it” you finished with a small smile on you. Leona was going to say something along the lines ‘You should, I don’t usually put this much effort, I expect you to pay me back’ , but you went to him and did the impensable.

You were going to leave, but before you turned completely to the exit, you turned back to Leona again, and walking rapidly towards him, and without thinking twice, you hugged him. Despite being friendly with everyone, you had never done this before, nor to him, nor to anyone since you had arrived to the NRC (I’m sorry if you are a hugs person).

Needless to say, even Leona was speechless during the whole thing, its not like just anyone could try to hug him, much less being allowed to, there was only Cheka, but that was a special case.

That being said, this was so unexpected that even when you let go of him, exited swiftly and without looking back, he still had his jade green eyes wide, only regaining his senses several seconds later. A deep blush formed on his cheeks, you had quite the audacity for a magicless herbivore who saw what he was capable of with his magic....though he dosen’t dislike it when you do it...

He thought just before leaving the tent for the morning meeting.

-E N D-

I can’t believe it took me so much time to finish a one shot... I wanted it to be small but it turned out with 5k words.... I can’t control myself haha...

anyway, I dont own Leona or any of the Twisted wonderland characters, only my oc, this is only a fanfic therefore not canon.

---

The art was drawn by me and I will apreciate if you followed me on instagram or Twitter if you liked it.

Liums twitter

Liums instagram

Let me know if you like this kind story, where I shift a bit the already existing one.

here is the pic I mentioned :

(Didn’t draw this one)

BTW requests are open

Also, add me if u want uwu

#leona kingscholar x reader #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #twst imagines #leona kingscholar #disney twisted wonderland

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maybege · 3 years ago

Text

Safe And Warm - Part 1

Summary: Din convinces Paz to find the long lost Princess and bring her to her family in Coruscant. What Paz did not expect was her very beautiful companion and the feelings she would wake in him. (Anastasia AU)

Pairing: Paz Vizsla x fem!Reader

Wordcount: 6.1k | Rating: T

Warnings: one (1) tense moment of threatened violence, otherwise Disney-level fluff, also Mandalorians do not wear helmets in this AU

FINALLY! When I start writing this in November of last year I certainly did not expect it to take this long until I would publish it but the writing gods had other things in mind. This is a loose Anastasia AU with a bit of a mixture of like 1920’s fashion/aesthetics set in the Star Wars Universe. It was a lot of fun to write and – in my mind – is like a 90-minute fun Disney movie with romance sprinkled in.

Because there will be two parts of The One posted next week, the second (and final) part of this story will be posted on July 23. Always, feedback is greatly appreciated and I hope you enjoy it!

masterlist | crossposted on AO3

Paz was sure that Din had lost his mind.

To be fair, he had thought that more than once but this time he was convinced that it had finally happened. Din Djarin had lost his stars forsaken mind.

But, as always, Din did not seem to be deteriorated by his friend’s disapproval.

“Valoria has been destroyed a long time ago now,” Paz said, “And everyone on it has been destroyed with it.”

“Yes, except maybe what if it hasn’t?”

Paz scoffed, “I very much doubt that.”

His eyes wandered around the cantina they were sitting in. The bar was packed by what seemed to be the crews of the trade ships, gambling and laughing at their tables, and over on the other side of the glittering gown of the singer caught his eye. Stars, he just wanted one calm evening …

“Paz,” Din grabbed him by the upper arm, “We all know the remaining Valars are Coruscant royalty so to speak and them setting out a price for the lost princess? That must mean she is out there somewhere. And wewill be the ones to bring her home.”

Paz did not say anything. He wanted nothing more than another drink and maybe watch a good fighting match. Stars, maybe even participatein a good fighting match.

But Din did not give up. He never did.

“Think of the money, Paz,” he implored, “That would be more than enough to build a new classroom in the covert and get you one of those fancy new blasters the Armourer has been eyeing – and that would only be with half your share.”

Paz hesitated.

They did need a new classroom. Or at least some improvements on the current one. Last week, some bricks had tumbled down and it had been pure luck that none of the foundlings had been there.

He would have never been able to forgive himself if something had happened to one of his students.

He sighed in defeat, his shoulders dropping and he leant back in his chair. “How do you plan on finding – what’s her name again Thama-something?”

“Thalassa,” Din corrected him with a smug grin on his face. He had probably realized by now that he had captured Paz’s interest. Smug bastard.

“And you’ll be glad to know that I have found her already.”

“Found her?” Paz was stunned, “I am impressed, vod. You never seemed like the planning type.”

Din ignored his jab and set out the map, the galaxy lighting up between them. “A reliable source told me we can find her here,” he pointed to the very end of the map, symbolizing the edge of the Outer Rim, “All we need to do is get her from here to here,” he drew an imaginary line all the way to Coruscant, “Without having anything happen to her.”

“Seems easy enough,” Paz commented, brows furrowing, “So why do you need me for it?”

“There might or might not be a price on her head … from the Imps,” Din admitted.

He knew there had to be a problem somewhere.

“Do you have any idea how many things can go wrong? This is asking for trouble Din,” Paz cursed, clearly unhappy with that tidbit of information, “No credits in the whole wide galaxy would make this worth it. I have no desire to have a run-in with the Imps any time soon.”

“Vod, please,” Din said, “I – kriff, I need the money to get stuff for the kid,” Paz's eyes fell to the little pod in which the green child – his honorary nephew – was sleeping, “I need him safe, alright? And I need your help, brother, please.”

“Alright,” Paz murmured, nodding, “But I already know this will go wrong.”

Din’s ‘hot tip’ led them to a planet on the Outer Rim. The very edge of it, to be exact.

They had gotten a ride on a friend’s ship much to Paz’s amusement. Din begrudgingly calling Boba Fett of all people for help all the way from Tatooine was the highlight of his week – month, even.

The Razor Crest was hopelessly broken down and Paz was sure that Din would use significant amounts of his share to get the ship and his home back on track.

They had left Grogu with the covert under the watchful eye of the Armourer, knowing that the mission would be too dangerous and too risky to take him along. That was the moment Paz knew that Din was serious about all of this. For his vod to leave his kid somewhere that was not with him – that was a big step.

A step which both of them seemed to regret as they landed on the planet in question. It was muddy and green and brownish, a wholly unappealing colour palette. The sky was dark or … well, not dark. But it seemed to be a permanent twilight no matter what time it was and with the small drizzle, the rain seemed to paint the whole world a constant grey.

The only homes that littered the streets – or rather trampled paths – were small homes, only distinguishable from the grey horizon by the small fires that lit up their windows.

Paz had never been so sure that there would never be a princess here. But maybe that was exactly what made this the perfect hiding spot.

And so, he hoisted his bag higher on his bag as they trudged through village after village in search for whatever sign Din deemed to be worthy to stop for. As the rain lessened, the sky lightened up a little but they were still wet to the bones and Paz hated it.

After hours of walking, Din finally stopped in front of a small hut.

Children were playing in the space between the houses and the few adults that seemed to be working outside eyed the newcomers suspiciously. Paz’s hand felt the blaster on his hip, a strange feeling overcoming him at being watched.

“I don’t like this, vod,” he murmured, “I really don’t.”

Din hummed in agreement before knocking on the door.

A few moments passed and then an elderly man opened. Both his eyes and his hair were grey, he seemed … worn. Tired and worn. But when he spotted them, and his eyes flew immediately to the weapons on their hips, he tensed. And so did Paz.

Surely this was not the best first impression they could make.

Then again, he was impatient to get away from here.

“I know why you are here,” the man said, his eyes lighting up in excitement as he motioned for them to come inside.

Paz was confused by this but he did not complain. The man did not seem to have any weapons on him and, as surprising as it was, he seemed genuine.

The house they were led into was simple. The downstairs consisted of a single room, serving as both the kitchen and the living room, and a set of stairs led to what Paz assumed to be the bedrooms.

A hearty smell wafted through the air and he spotted a pot hanging over the fire. His stomach growled.

“You are here to bring her home, aren’t you?” the man asked excitedly and both he and Din tilted their heads questioningly, making no secret of the fact that they were surprised by his warm welcome.

“We have been waiting for years but you see,” the man explained, gesturing to the outside, “there is no way to send reliable messages out there without them being able to be transferred.”

A woman came through a backdoor, clearly his spouse. She wore an apron and a suspicious look on her face as she spotted the two intruders. But even then, she did not acknowledge them. Instead, she walked over to the steaming pot of soup and set it on the table in the middle of the room.

Paz heard Din’s stomach grumbling and grinned.

“They are here to bring Thalassa home, darling,” the man explained, looking almost relieved and Paz furrowed his brows. He did not put it past the stranger to genuinely be happy for the girl to get back to her family but somehow, he had the feeling that the man’s happiness had a different reason.

“Where can we find her?” Din asked gruffly, shifting his weight on the other foot, “We want to get going as soon as possible.”

“Why should I tell you where she is?” the woman spat, “I cared for her like she was my own, what makes you think I would so easily give her away?”

“Because she deserves to be reunited with her family,” Din stated drily, “And her family wants to see her. They have waited a long time for this to happen.”

Paz held onto himself to not roll his eyes. Din could always be so dramatic if he wanted to and he hoped that it would work. He just wanted to get on with it.

The spouses looked at each other for a long moment and Paz could tell that they were having a conversation without words.

“Alright,” the woman finally relented, before adding, “But I do have one condition.”

“What is it?”

“I want you to take my niece with you. She – she has been stuck on this planet for far longer than she needed to. She is a good girl, she deserves a chance in the big worlds.”

Paz could feel how tense Din was. His first instinct was to disagree. They would have trouble smuggling one princess across the galaxy but a princess and another random stranger? Besides, who knew how this niece would hinder them on their quest to keep the princess safe?

No, that really was a ridiculous idea.

But Din was better at lying than he was and so he agreed with a reluctant nod. Nothing would speak against just taking the princess with them once they found her, right?

“Where is she then?”

“Oh, they’re just outside, working in the gardens,” the older woman says, wiping her hands on her apron, “You can tell them dinner is ready. You’re invited to stay as well, you won’t be able to walk back to your ship in that darkness.”

Both of them nodded and Paz was happy to set down his bag at the door that led outside. He kept his blaster on his hip though and he knew that Din had done the same. His thoughts were rushing with how quickly they could get Thalassa out of here and how long they would have before any of the Imps had an inkling of where she was.

But as he stepped down the stairs all thoughts left his head because … because …

There you were.

Like the lady had said, you were working in the gardens. You were kneeling on the muddy ground, your hands full of wet earth as you cleaned the plants of any weeds. Your companion was next to you, sitting on a small chair and talking to you. She must have said something funny because you threw your head back and laughed.

You – stars, you were beautiful.

How could people not see a princess when they saw you?

Noticing the newcomers, you raised your head and your eyes grew wide as you saw the two big men walk determinedly towards you. You hurried to stand up, wiping your hands clean on an apron. “How can we help you?” you asked carefully.

Paz did not slow his steps. He felt how flushed he was, even the tips of his ears felt hot as he walked towards you. His chest was oddly warm and tight as he looked at you, your eyes big and your mouth opening with another question.

“Your Majesty,” he murmured, lifting your hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it. You had wiped them clean on the fabric of your skirt and he felt how soft it was and he heard you gasp and oh stars how would he ever be able to forget this very moment.

The other woman seemed to be more excited rather than surprised and he heard her talking to Din in a high-pitched voice. But what did he care about that woman’s niece when you were there right in front of him?

“Oh I – I’m not,” you said, clearly embarrassed. You held your hand to your chest, the one he had kissed and Paz frowned. Shame filled him when he realised that he had made you feel uncomfortable but then he was also confused by your words. What did you mean?

“If anyone’s a Majesty, that would be me,”the woman behind him said, “It’s been time I would think.”

“We’re here to get you back to your family, Your Majesty,” Din said, throwing an amused look to Paz who was still standing in front of you. He looked from the other woman to you and back again. She – she was the princess? And you were the niece?

“We will start our journey to Coruscant tomorrow,” Din announced, “We got a ticket on a freighter ship booked. It will be a long and dangerous journey, princess, but you will see your family again soon.”

“Well, I should hope so,” Thalassa replied, wholly unimpressed, “It’s been years, I almost thought I’d never leave this forsaken place. Oh, is that dinner I smell?”

The princess walked off without another word, leaving the basket and little chair behind as well as Din and Paz looking at each other and realizing that keeping her safe might not be the issue – enduring her might cost them their last nerves.

Paz watched as you kneeled down again quickly putting some of the vegetables in the basket.

With the basket in your hands, you stood up again, looking at Paz for a long while. He felt how this warm feeling came back and nervously shifted on his feet. He could not figure out what it was about you but he – he wanted more. Wanted you more.

You took a deep breath, seemingly gathering your courage for something, and he resisted the urge to take your hand.

“When, uh, when you said you would go to Coruscant did you mean … me too?” you asked quietly and the small hope in your eyes made his heart clench.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Din opening his mouth. He knew that look on his face, knew that Din would reject your request just like they had planned when your aunt had first voiced that condition. Din would tell you that they would leave only with the princess in tow. And he was right, probably. Fewer people meant less danger.

But you did not look at Din.

You looked at him with a small smile on your lips as if you did not allow yourself to be hopeful yet but as if you wanted to be. Wanted to be hopeful. Wanted to be excited. Wanted to be on this journey.

He wanted to change that.

“Yes,” he said, already feeling Din’s eyes on him. But when you looked at him like that there was no way he could say no, “Yes, you will come with us too, if you’d like, of course.”

To no one’s surprise (and Paz’s excitement), you wanted to come along.

Already the preparations for the trip were eating at their nerves. Thalassa was more than annoyed that she was only allowed to take one bag with her. But Din was adamant and surprisingly patient with the demanding princess and soon she had reduced her luggage to only the essential items. It was not like she would need her muddy dresses in the high society of Coruscant.

Paz felt like he could not wait until the trip was over.

The next morning, they were able to borrow speeders from the family which would take them to the capital of the mud planet. From there, they would take one of the big cruiser ships to Naboo.

It was the easiest method to fall under the radar – by blending in with the large crowds that flocked to the core worlds. Paz had worn his best suit for that exact purpose.

The only downside was that the Imps were slowly becoming aware of that loophole and more and more of them infiltrated the standard ways of travelling.

Already in the terminal did Paz spot a few suspicious-looking people. They were most likely bounty hunters but he was not too worried. The ship they were boarding was enormous and so was the number of passengers. The odds of them crossing paths were very slim and so he and Din decided to not change their plans at the last minute.

You, on the other hand, seemed to be intimidated if not scared. Din has assigned you the space on Paz’s speeder and with your arms wrapped around his middle, you had driven hours on end until you had reached the spaceport. He had liked the proximity, the way you had pressed your cheek against his back and how your arms had sometimes tightened around him.

He could very well get used to it.

Now, even as you were in the terminal, ready to board, you stuck to his side. It flustered and pleased him to have you so close that your arm was brushing against his constantly. But he was also relieved to have you this close because everywhere he looked, strangers were walking towards the gates and he did not want to lose you in this chaos.

And so, he made it a point to make himself seem bigger, pushing out his chest and straightening his posture to make sure that none of the other passengers would stray too close.

You sent him a grateful smile.

A few rows before you, he could hear Thalassa’s high-pitched voice complaining about one thing or another and soon he recognized Din’s dark hair in the masses. He wondered if his brother in arms was even listing to her. Her voice was shrill and she had not stopped talking for one moment since leaving the house this morning so Paz found it hard to imagine that Din could just tune it out but he hoped for his sake that he could.

He did not want to imagine the next few days on the ship.

“Do you have the tickets?” you asked quietly beside him, pulling him out of his thoughts. Paz nodded and rummaged in the inside pocket of his jacket. He brought out two data chips, handing you one.

“Stick close,” he advised you, “It can get a little chaotic, getting through the gates.”

With big eyes, you nodded. He watched how you took a deep breath and then you were separated from him, being pushed towards another gate. There was a sea of people trying to get through the electronic controls and Paz did not like this suffocating feeling that came over him

He pushed the chip in and the gate opened with a beep before he was swept up again by the masses making their way into the hull of the ship. But there was something – or rather someone – missing.

Paz turned around, trying to spot you. When he did not see you, he grew panicked. He could care less what happened to Thalassa but you– he wanted to make sure you were safe.

Hoping that it would help, he shouted your name over the chatter of the other passengers. He turned around, fighting his way back to the gates, pushing against people and getting insulted in more languages than he understood.

A soft hand grabbed his and he froze. He whipped his head around and there you were, looking clearly a bit overwhelmed but smiling at him. He breathed a sigh of relief, his shoulders dropping. Out of instinct, he grasped your hand tighter, rubbing his thumb over your knuckles.

“Ready?” he asked and you nodded with a smile.

Neither of you let go of each other’s hand.

Hours later, when the ship finally started taking off, you were settled in the cantina.

The ship had dorms and suites and common rooms, more than anyone could ever count, but Din and Paz had decided that it would be safer for the time being to be in the cantina before figuring out any sleeping arrangements.

“I don’t understand why we couldn’t have gotten a suite,” Thalassa hissed, looking around her with disdain. It was clear that she did not appreciate being around ‘commoners’ as she had called them before and Paz wondered how she had lived her life in poverty and still ended up like this.

Fittingly enough, he could see how Din’s jaw clenched, how his eyes flashed with annoyance, and grinned. When he had thought of credits he certainly hadn’t thought of how annoying royalty could be to deal with.

“It would be too obvious, Thalassa,” you explained gently, sitting next to Paz and a datapad in your lap, “They already explained before. It will only be for a few days. Isn’t that right, Paz?”

His heart skipped a beat at you saying his name. You were already looking to him for backup, as if you trusted him with it, and the way his name rolled off your tongue … stars, he would dream of that tonight.

“Very right,” he replied, “Three days at the most, all of this will take less than a week if we’re lucky.”

“And if we’re not?” Thalassa challenged.

“Then it will take longer,” Din hissed.

Paz grinned. This would be a long journey.

When dinner had been served, the group had barely moved from their spot in the cantina.

Thalassa had been busy watching some holovid or another on a datapad and the best part about it was that she was silent. Under different circumstances, Paz might have been annoyed by how loud she was playing the holovid, the actor’s shrill voice sounding all the way through the cantina but he could not be bothered to care when the alternative was to explain to her for the hundredth time why she needed to be happy with the lower standard of accommodation.

Din was sitting next to the princess, thoroughly entranced by studying maps or researching new parts for the Crest or something.

But whom Paz was most focused on was you.

You had started to doze off in your seat next to him for a while now and your head kept leaning dangerously to the side, threatening to fall on his shoulder. Paz was tense. Slowly, he shifted closer to you until your cheek rested fully on his shoulder and he heard you sigh in your sleep and then … you shuffled closer to him.

Paz tensed even more, pretending to read the ship’s safety manual in his hands.

He still felt Din’s amused gaze on him though and he furiously tried to ignore the heat that rose in his cheeks. But you were soft and warm against him, completely relaxed now that your head was supported by something.

He wondered if you were cold. It was drafty in the cantina, maybe he should put his jacket over you? He would be fine with just wearing his shirt and the vest but he would have to move and what if that would wake you?

And how would he get you to your sleeping quarters without waking you? Would you be angry at him? He knew some people had trouble falling asleep on spacecrafts and what if you were one of them and you had finally managed to fall asleep only to be awakened by him and then you would not be able to sleep again and –

“Guess it is time to talk about the living arrangements,” Din muttered.

Thalassa put her datapad on the table with a clatter. “Finally,” she sounded exasperated, “I hope at least our sleeping accommodations will be sufficient.”

At the sound of her voice, you stirred next to him, your brows furrowing. Paz thought you looked adorable, like a loth cat that had fallen asleep in the sun with your cheek squished against the tweed of his suit.

“Hey, love,” he whispered, hoping no one heard how that pet name had slipped out of lips so naturally. He rose his hand to your cheek, gently coaxing you awake.

“Huh?” you murmured, blinking up confused at him before a small smile appeared on your lips.

Then you noticed the position you were in and, clearly embarrassed, scooted away from him.

“I am so sorry,” you mumbled, “That was very inappropriate of me.”

Paz wanted to protest and say that he would hold you in his arms for however long you wanted. He would be gladly at your service should you have need of a human pillow again. But even in his lovestruck state, he knew how ridiculous that sounded and so he managed to keep his mouth shut and only smile tightly at you.

“So,” Din pulled the attention on himself, “We have three beds and four people. One private room for two and one bunk bed in the larger dorms. I’d suggest you girls get the room and Paz and I take the bunk.”

“Absolutely not,” Thalassa protested, completely horrified. Paz furrowed his brows confused over why she was this opposed to something that should actually please her. Having a private room had to be one of the points on her secret lists of requirements, he was sure, why in the stars would she not want to stay in one?

“If people are out there searching for me I want to be roomed with someone who can protect me, not – not her, no offence, honey,” she gestured towards you.

“None taken,” you smiled slightly, then turned to Din, “But Thalassa is right. If people are hunting her like you say they are, then – maybe I should sleep in the dorm? I – surely, it won’t be thatbad.”

Everything in Paz’s stomach turned at the idea of you in one of the big dorms. This was the first time you had ever left your planet and you thought they would throw you into a dorm with a bunch of rowdy passengers? No way.

“Well, then how do we proceed?” Din asked, throwing a knowing look his way, “I guess it is best if Paz would be in the dorms with you, he is intimidating enough that people wouldn’t want to approach you.”

“Intimidating?” you asked confused, turning to look at Paz, “I – I don’t think he’s intimidating at all.”

Paz was positive that he had never been this flustered in his life. You didn’t think him to be intimidating. You were not intimidated by him. You were comfortable with him. Comfortable enough to even share a bunk with him.

“Is that so?” Din asked, hardly able to hide his grin, “Well, isn’t that interesting, Paz?”

Shut up, Paz thought, too focused on how you were still tucked into his side, the sleep barely gone from your eyes, Shut up and let me enjoy this.

The walk to the dorm was long and dark and for you, probably quite scary.

Paz was convinced that he had already witnessed at least two spice deals and you weren’t even halfway to the dorm. He was happy about it though because he was not sure what would have happened if anyone thought you had noticed their illegal wrongdoings.

But you were probably unaware of it.

You seemed to make sure never to stray too far from him or the path that you had set out for yourself, your hesitant footsteps echoing around the labyrinth that was the ship. He could see how tightly you were clutching your bag to your chest as he walked beside you and it took everything in him not to put his arm around your waist.

Where did this endless need to touch you come from?

When the door to the dormitory came into view, Paz took a deep breath, shouldered his bag. The weight of his blaster against his hop was a comfort as he braced himself for the worst. Dorms on ships these big … they could be bad.

“We’re bed 32B,” he told you and you nodded your understanding as the door slid open with a creak.

It was a huge room and it seemed endless. Paz could not even see the furthest wall from where he was standing at the entrance. But no matter how big the room seemed, it was absolutely packed with people of all ways of life and it was loud.

You backed up into him, your back bumping against his chest as a sound of fear escaped you.

“It’ll be alright, mesh’la,” he promised quietly, his hands finding your hips as he gently guided you forward. There was a resistance in your steps as he saw you watch your new surroundings. There were several bet games going on and from further down the room he was sure he heard some illegal loth cat races and even more angry shouts at a commotion just to your right.

The bunks that lined the walls each had four levels and Paz was somewhat relieved to find that your assigned bed was on the third one. Far enough up to avoid getting pulled into any of the conflicts. Far enough out of reach that he would have enough time to react if someone tried to come for you.

“I hope you don’t get claustrophobic too easily,” he muttered as he spotted how dark and small it looked. You might be able to sit up fully but he was certainly not.

Before you could step towards the ladder, however, a bright red arm stopped you, blocking your way. You squeaked and stepped right back into Paz’s chest whose arm came around your waist, holding you to him. He tried to ignore how fast his heart was beating at having you this close. Instead, he eyed the man in front of you who grinned confidently.

The alien’s eyes roamed over you slowly, dragging over every single inch of your body and Paz sneered, pulling you closer.

“Oh, where did you get this beauty, Mando?” the stranger asked, his tongue darting out to wet his lips as he leered at you, “How much for a night of entertainment, girly? I promise I pay well.”

Paz did not even blink as he pulled his blaster and held it against the man’s forehead. “Touch her and you are dead,“ he growled, arm tensing around you.

Instantly, all eyes in the room focussed on the three of you and the charged weapon but he could not bring himself to care. His eyes were cold as he stared the man down, his other and still on you and he noticed how your shoulders relaxed.

The man shifted uneasily on his feet before he lifted his hands in a gesture of peace. “Alright, alright,” he muttered, taking a few steps backwards, “She’s yours, I get it, I’m backing off, you see, Mando? No need to point that thing at me.”

Paz did not lower the blaster until the man had disappeared into the darkness of the room. Soon the other passengers started minding their own business again, the chatter picking back up and the hissing of the loth cats sounding above everything else.

“C’mon,” he muttered to you, gently pushing you towards the ladder, “That one’s ours.”

You climbed into the bunk before him and scooted to the very edge of it to make space for him as well. Just as he had suspected, the bunk was too low for him and he needed to duck his head before he could even thinkof crawling into the small space.

The bunk was outfitted like most bunks he had slept in, a curtain to pull close during the night, a net at the side to store a small bag or other belongings and a dim night lamp. He pulled the curtain close immediately, fastening it at the side so no one from the outside could open it easily. Then he switched on the small lamp, flooding the little bunk with warm light.

The first thing both of you did was take off your shoes and putting them at the very end of the bed where a small shelf was located. Paz decided to store his backpack there as well. It did not necessarily feel very safe but he also did not want you to feel uncomfortable. The bunk was slim as it was.

“I – I still need to change,” you noted, shifting in what he now recognized as discomfort.

Paz felt his cheeks heating up at the implication.

“I’ll turn around and, uh, let you change,” he decided and turned his back to you. The only problem was that in his haste to offer you some privacy, Paz forgot that the bunk was not built for people of his size and smashed his head against the ceiling.

“Ouch!” he cursed, “Kriffin’ bantha –“ he grumbled, holding his head and hearing your giggle behind him.

“I’m sorry,” you managed to bring out between your quiet laughter, “It just looked so funny.”

He only grumbled, his head still pounding but his heart fluttering because you sounded so happy. It was lovely.

He took the chance to slip off his suspenders and unbutton his dress shirt, only leaving him in his Henley and his pants. It would be comfortable enough for a night’s sleep, he supposed.

When he felt you shift and rustle beside him, he took it as a sign that it was safe to turn around. This time, he ducked his head, making sure to not even come near the hard ceiling. You were dressed in your night shift, fiddling with your hands in front of your chest.

“Does – does it hurt very badly?” you asked guiltily, “Maybe we can find a bacta pill or something?”

Even in the dim light of the bunk, Paz could see the unease and guilt on your face. And he rushed to make you feel better.

“No worries, mesh’la,” he assured you, “It was just a bump and I suppose from the outside it must’ve been pretty funny.”

You smiled shyly at him, “It was and … if it makes you feel better, the next time I bump my head, you’re allowed to laugh as much as you want.”

With that, you settled down under the blankets, your cheek hitting the pillow as you expectantly looked up at him and patted the spot next to yours. “Aren’t you going to sleep too?”

He had no words. Not only were you smiling at him like that but now you also wanted him to – to really sleep beside you. No staying on top of the covers. No sitting at the end of the bed and looking out for trouble. You wanted him to sleep.

He laid down, turning so his back was towards the curtain and he was facing you. “It’s, uh it’s a tight fit,” he murmured trying to arrange his arms somehow. You smiled, carefully taking his hand and stars your skin was soft and put it behind you on your waist.

Immediately, his fingers spread out on your back, pulling you closer. The fabric of your nightdress was soft under his fingertips and he wondered if your skin felt like that too. He heard you take a deep breath and then he felt your fingers on the exposed skin of his chest, playing with the buttons of his Henley.

His eyes fluttered closed, enjoying your soft touches on him.

“Are you comfortable?” he whispered, your head tucked into his chest, “the blanket’s not very thick I could try and see if they have some more on -“

“It’s alright,” you cut him off, smiling up at him, “I’m – you – you’re very warm, but what is that?”

You shifted again and he felt something hard brush against his belly. He chuckled and put his finger to his lips to shush you with a conspiratory grin. Lifting the blanket, he revealed the blaster between the two of you.

Your eyes widened.

“Safety’s on,” he revealed, “but I don’t want to take any chances.”

You shuddered, “I’m not used to all this – this danger,” you confessed, your finger brushing against his chest and he made sure his hand didn’t flex too much on your back.

“I worry about it,” you said, “Of the things that could happen. Thalassa and I – we’ve never been anywhere but home and now this – this is so much.”

“It’ll be alright,” he promised quietly, “it’ll be alright. Just rest and as soon as you can blink we’re one day closer to Naboo.”

“W-will you be there when I wake up?”

“Yes.”

#maybege writes #paz vizsla x reader #paz vizsla x fem!reader

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