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andreafmn · 3 years

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I'm Not Afraid - Chapter 5

xWord Count: 3,374

Characters: Female Reader Argent Character, Original Male Argent Character, Derek Hale, Allison Argent, Scott McCall, Stiles Stilinski, Isaac Lahey, Lydia Martin, Chris Argent, Jackson Whittemore

Story Description: (Y/N) Argent arrived at Beacon Hills to put to rest her father’s sister, Kate Argent. For the first time, her family has decided to settle down and sustain a life in this interesting small town. After 17 years, (Y/N) has the opportunity to establish interpersonal relationships but will she be ready to face the complications that come with relating to her cousin’s, Allison, friends; especially, the infamous Derek Hale. She will face the adventure of being associated with the Derek and McCall pack as well as being faced with the discovery of certain aspects of her life she never imagined.

*DISCLAIMER* I do not own in any way Teen Wolf, all credits of the pre-established characters, script, and storyline belong to Jeff Davis and MTV Network. The only thing I own is Argent Reader insert, her immediate family, and her storyline, as well as her effects in the others’ storyline.

Chapter: 5/?

A/N: If you enjoy my writing I’ll also be posting them in AO3 and Wattpad along with other stories (I also hope to start taking requests if ya’ll want) Hope you enjoy and all constructive criticism is encouraged.

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Chapter 5

I woke up to a heavy and warm wight around my waist. As my mind started registering the scene around me, I noticed the soft snores that were filling the room, the strong smell of cologne, the rough skin encircling me, the chest in front of me that raised and fell at a slow pace. At some point during the night, Derek must have crawled into bed, and I couldn’t say that I minded.

He looked peaceful when he slept. No supernatural problems, no feuds, no hunters, just peace. My hand unconsciously landed on his cheek, softly stroking his cheek. Still succumbed to slumber, he leaned into the touch, nuzzling his head onto my hand like a puppy. I wish this could be the way it always was, but now that I knew the reality of the world we were in, there was no chance it would ever stay this way.

Deciding to let him sleep longer, I tiptoed down the stairs to the kitchen where breakfast had already been prepared. I looked around and noticed that their car keys were gone, which meant they had left early in the morning to do whatever it was that they always did. I greeted Brody who had trotted my way from the living room, and filled his dog bowl, adding a few tasty treats. While I served two plates, I put the coffee machine to run, ensuring the freshest pot for the morning. I looked around for a tray to take the breakfast upstairs in case my parents came back at any moment, eating my food as the coffee brewed. Placing some cream and sugars on the tray, I made my way back to the bedroom where Derek was starting to wake up, Brody following behind.

“Morning, sour wolf.” I softly pushed open the door, the tray in front of me. Derek was rubbing the night from his eyes, a soft smile playing on his lips. Upon seeing the man, Brody jumped on the bed greeting him with slobbery kissed. Derek laughed and petted his head as he laid at the foot of the bed.

“Morning,” he yawned. “Whatcha got there?”

“Some eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Also, some coffee.” He took the tray from my hands and set it on the bed. Taking one of the coffee cups, I sat over on my desk to work on the homework I had left pile during the week. Derek grabbed the plate and came to stand behind me, leaning down to rest his chin on my shoulder.”

“What are you doing?” He inquired, downing the food from the plate quickly.

“Homework. You know, the thing people my age have to do to be able to graduate from high school with good grades.” I looked to the side, my heart beating faster noticing the closeness of our faces. “I’m sure you wouldn’t know much about that.”

“I’ll have you know I was a good enough student.”

“Emphasis on good enough.” I booped his nose with my pen and continued my work. “When you’re done you should head home, don’t want my parents catching you here just in case.”

“Why? We’re not doing anything.” He sipped his coffee and sat down on the bed, Brody laying his head on his lap. I turned my chair and faced him, a laugh escaping my lips.

“I think you’re forgetting who you are and who my family is. Apart from that, I don’t think my dad will particularly enjoy the fact that a 21-year-old werewolf is in his teenage daughter’s bedroom, alone.” I grinned. “But suit yourself. I’d love to see how it will play out.”

“Alright, but can I at least take you out some time this week?” My heartbeat quickened, the sound loud enough for me to hear. “Is that a yes?”

“It’s not a no,” I grinned.

“I kind of need an answer,” he pressed. A grin played on his lips by the point he had stood and rested his hands on the arms of the chair.

“How about, I’ll let you know?”

“I’ll take it,” he smiled. “I’ll text you.”

“Alright, I’ll be waiting.” He kissed my cheek and grabbed his jacket to head towards the door. “Where are you going?”

“Home?”

“Not through the door you’re not.” The dumbfounded look on his face was hilarious. “what would I do if my parents walked in.”

“I’m fast, you know. Like supernaturally fast.”

“Mm, I’ve seen you. Not fast enough.”

“Fine,” he surrendered. “Keep watch of your phone.”

“I will,” I smiled. He took a step back and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Brody got alerted by the sudden move and jumped off the bed to bark at the window, standing on his hind legs to prop his eye out. I joined his side and saw Derek standing normally in my backyard as if he hadn’t just jumped out of a two-story window. He waved and I waved back as he became a blur, vanishing before my very eyes.

I slumped down on my bed and ran my hands over my face. What was I doing? There were so many things that were pit against us. My 18th birthday was still a little less than a year away, he had something going on with Erica, my family and he are natural-born enemies, we are currently under the terror of a reptilian shapeshifting Jackson, and that was just scratching the surface. I couldn’t scrutinize why he would ask me out too much, it was probably not even in a romantic way. It could just well be that he wanted to keep an eye on me since I was new to this whole werewolf, Kanima, hunter thing.

A couple of hours went by where I took Brody out for a walk, finished what was left of my homework, and started watching a movie when my phone went off.

“Hey, I heard the good news! You’re staying in town.”

“Hey, Allison. Yeah, it looks that way.”

“Well then, I believe you owe some people an apology.”

“What could you possibly mean?” I scoffed. But she was right, as hard as it was to admit.

“Don’t act dumb, (Y/N). You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“I don’t like it when you’re right,” I sighed. “What do you think I should do?”

“I could invite them over to your house and you could apologize to them. They never object to free pizza.”

I was glad. Instead of sulking on the 'he likes me, he likes me not' nonsense, I prepared the house for Allison and her friends, the people I hope to win over. One by one they arrived at my doorstep. Scott, Stiles, Lydia, and Allison. I had put out some snacks and the pizza I had bought. Scott and Stiles were not shy about their hunger as they dove in right away.

"So, what's the purpose of this meeting?" Lydia asked, her usual cocky attitude on full show.

"Uh, well, I wanted to apologize for being such a bitch these past few weeks."

"Hm, understatement of the century." Stiles chuckled with his mouth full.

"Actually, she can be 1,000 times worse. That was just level 1 bitchiness."

"Point taken. But why would you apologize? We get it you don't want to be our friend."

"That's not it, it's just... ugh... Look, it’s honestly a very long story, but moving around it’s hard to cut ties and start over for so long. After a while it’s easier to builds walls up and maintain everyone at arm’s length." They all stared at me. Hopefully I was getting through to them. "But this time I'm changing that. I want to be your friend and that's why I'm apologizing."

"Well, I don't know about the other guys, but I've always considered you my friend. I mean, I've considered Lydia my friend and she hates me."

"Oh, please, Stiles. I don't hate you, you're just, um.... special."

"I'll take it."

"We understand. And of course you're our friend, (Y/N). You were just too stubborn to notice." Scott smiled at me. "Now, is there more pizza?"

"How the hell did you two boys just finish two boxes of pizza?"

"We're growing?" Stiles said with his mouth full.

"Barely," Allison mumbled.

"You know I can hear you, right?"

"That's the point, Scott."

The whole room laughed and continued to enjoy a very pleasant afternoon. It felt weird to finally feel like I belonged somewhere; that there were people around me that cared for me despite my flaws. As I looked around the faces of the group that had welcomed me with open arms, I couldn’t help but feel that someone was missing; the person that had first accepted me.

The clock had hit 4 o’clock when the last piece of food was gone, and the gang had gone home. After cleaning up, I decided it was time to call Isaac. I didn’t like the person he had become after the bite. But I couldn’t say I didn’t understand. He felt confident, strong, but he was using the wrong outlet. Just like I was.

“So, you’re finally talking to me,” Isaac chuckled, a cocky tone to his voice.

“Only if you’re done being a douche.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ever since you turned into a werewolf you’ve been nothing short of unbearable with your cocky behavior and holier-than-thou attitude.” I could hear him shifting on the other line, the news taking him aback. It seems Derek hadn’t told his pack that I knew everything.

“H-how… who told you?”

“Derek, your alpha. He told me everything the other day. I know all about werewolves, kanimas, hunters, pack, blah, blah, blah. But none of that excuses your behavior,’’ I sighed. “So, are you done being a dick?”

“Maybe,” he chuckled. “Can I see you?”

“Sure. Why don’t we go grab a bite? I’ll pick you up.”

“Alright!” He sounded excited. “I’ll text you the address.”

After hanging up I decided to take a quick shower before leaving. I threw on a white t-shirt and jeans and paired them with my leather jacket. As I tied my boots, I reached for the keys of my dad’s Chevrolet Suburban. Hopefully, I didn’t crash. In the car, I typed in the address Isaac had sent me. It was an industrial loft not too far from my own home. I honked my horn to notify Isaac I was there as well as sent a text.

“Are you stalking me now?”

I jumped at the sound of Derek’s voice and the knock he left on my window. . He appeared like a ghost and leaned on my door. “I could say the same about you. I’ve never been here before.”

“I live here,” he laughed, pointing at the building. “It’s my loft.”

“I’m here to pick up Isaac,” I said sheepishly. “So, he’s been staying with you. I thought you live in the woods.”

“It’s my family’s house and it’s under my ownership, but it’s not under livable conditions. And, yes, Isaac has been staying with me.”

“Hey, Derek.” Isaac finally emerged from the doors and jogged up to my car, patting Derek on the back. The man’s expression rapidly changed as soon as Isaac joined the conversation. The playful smile he wore had been replaced by a menacing scowl. “We’re going out for a while. I’ll see you later.”

We said goodbye and as I drove off, I stared at Derek. His body was tense, and his jaw was clenched. He was angry, but I didn’t know why. When we were alone, he was a completely different person than what he showed to others. There was this terrifying façade that was impenetrable by everyone else, yet he was a completely different person with me; he was an Alpha to the others, but he was just Derek to me.

I parked the car at a small burger joint Isaac directed me to. It wasn’t too full, so our food came out quickly. We sat at a table in the back, far from any prying ears.

“So, what did you mean about this cocky attitude?” He popped a french fry into his mouth, playing around with his food. “You seemed quite mad about it. Mad enough that you avoided me for some time.”

“Ever since you transformed you’ve been carrying yourself like you’re above everyone, you don’t even bother to be respectful of teachers or anyone for that matter. I miss the old Isaac.”

“You mean the pushover wimpy kid?” He scoffed. “I can’t say the same.”

“That’s not what I meant.” My hand reached out to his clenched fist and his hold softened. “You were nice and respectful, and knew how to treat others because you knew how it felt to be mistreated. Of course, you could have done with more confidence, but that’s not what this is. It’s almost as if you’re turning into Jackson, heaven forbid.”

His eyes softened and I knew I was getting through the wall he had built up.

"I'm sorry, (Y/N). It's just… this is the first time in my life that I have felt powerful, like nothing and no one can touch me. I've dealt with so much shit that I thought I deserved to act like that," he sighed. "Can you ever forgive me?"

“You’re practically my best friend, how could I not?”

“Thanks.” He gave me a smile that I happily reciprocated. For the first time in a while, I was seeing the Isaac I had met some time ago. “So, what is it that you needed to speak to me so eagerly.”

“Remember how I mentioned that I would be moving at the end of the year so you shouldn’t get attached?” He nodded. “Well, it seems you’re gonna have to put up with me for a long time. Beacon Hills is now my home.”

“What?! That’s great!” He exclaimed a little too loud. Heads turned towards us and Isaac tried to hide his blush. “Does that mean we can truly be friends now? Not just study partners or casual conversation acquaintances?”

“Yes, Isaac. That’s exactly what that means,” I laughed. His face had lit up as the hard mask he wore finally broke apart. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you, what happened the night that I picked you up? It was such a weird night.”

His whole demeanor changed, clearly a sore subject to talk about. "If Derek told you what we are I presume he told you about everything else." I nodded. "The Kanima. It killed my father. We, um, had gotten into a fight and I ran out. It seems he went out looking for me but didn't get to me. I found him dead in his car, but I ran and called you."

" Isaac, why didn't you tell me? I mean, I know why you didn't tell me, but something; you should have told me something.” I looked into his eyes, worry evident in them. He had gone through such a traumatic event basically by himself. “Is that why the police were looking for you?"

He nodded. "They thought I had something to do with his murder because of something Jackson said. He was unfortunately my neighbor and had seen me running out of the house, but there were no tracks leading to me. I'm not a fugitive anymore." He smiled softly.

“I’m glad, Isaac, really. And I’m truly sorry for everything you’ve had to endure alone for all these years. You didn’t deserve it.”

“Thanks, (Y/N). At least that part of my life is over.”

“Now we just have to get that damn Kanima and get on with our lives.” We laughed.

Before we knew it, the sky outside had turned dark, signaling the arrival of the night. The car ride back was filled with mindless chitchat and soft background music. It had been a long few days and exhaustion was evident in both of us. Soon enough, the grey building had come into view.

“Do you want to come in for a bit?” Isaac leaned into the open window of the driver’s side.

“I think I’m just gonna head on home. I’m a bit tired and we have school tomorrow.” I smiled. “But, I’ll take you up on the offer someday.”

“Isaac, good to see you’re back,” Derek announced himself, his two betas following behind. “You’re late for training.”

“Sorry, Derek. Time slipped away.”

“Sorry won’t cut it.” His voice was commanding and a bit intimidating. I could see why everyone around me feared him. “Go with Erica and Boyd. Get started.”

'‘Bye, (Y/N). I’ll see you tomorrow.” I smiled and nodded, trying my best to comfort him.

“See you.” Derek stood back as we both watched the three figures disappear into the building. His chest moved, heaving, and he reeked of jealousy. “What’s your problem?”

“What?” Did he truly believe I was that oblivious? “I just…”

“You’re acting like a prissy child, Derek. You knew where Isaac was, who he was with, and that there was a possibility that he would come back late. There’s no need to grill him that hard.”

“He’s old enough to manage his time correctly, (Y/N). He needs to learn discipline. This has nothing to do with you.”

“Clearly, that’s not what’s happening here,’’ I laughed dryly. “Look, pardon the metaphor, but this whole alpha male act is gonna get very tiring, very quickly. If this is how you’re gonna be, don’t bother on scheduling that date this week.”

“Don’t be like that, (Y/N). I swear this has nothing to do with you. There are certain rules that we have to abide by, a different life. It’s complicated.”

“You’re not making any sense, Derek.”

“It’s hard to explain.”

“Yesterday we said no secrets, Derek. What changed in the hours that have passed?”

“Nothing’s changed. I’m sorry if I seemed too harsh on Isaac, but I have to be. They’re young and reckless, and it’s my job to make sure they stay safe. No matter the cost.” He ran his hands across his face as he let out a loud sigh. “Why don’t we just keep the supernatural and our personal lives apart.”

“We can try that for a while, but they’re bound to intersect at some point.”

“I know, but…”

“Let’s play it your way and see how it goes, okay? And lay off Isaac and the others? They are just kids.”

“I’ll try,” he smiled softly. “Text me when you get home, okay?”

“If I remember.”

I backed the car up and sped back to my house. When I opened the garage, my father was sitting on the spot where the car usually went. I had forgotten to tell them I would be gone, and my phone’s battery had died a while back. I was in so much trouble.

“Good to know you’re alive, darling daughter.” The sarcasm spewed from my father’s mouth, and it stung.

“I’m so sorry. I went out with a friend and my phone died. And I know I forgot to say I was leaving the house, but I rarely do that, so please forgive me.”

“Calm down, (Y/N),” he laughed. “We just wanted to make sure you were okay. You weren’t answering your phone, so we got worried. But remember, there’s a tracker on the car. We figured you were out. And I’m glad to hear you have a friend. It’s about time.”

“Thanks, dad.” He wrapped me in a hug and patted my head. If he knew who my friends were I’m sure he wouldn’t feel the same way. “But, if you knew where I was, what was this whole scary setup? I for sure thought you were going to kill me.”

“Nothing like that, honey. But your mother and I have something we have to talk to you about.”

“What is it? You can’t take back that we are staying.”

“It’s not that, but it is serious. Let’s go, your mom is waiting in the kitchen.”

My heart was beating at a rapid pace, a million thoughts running through my head. Although, at the bottom of my heart I knew what this talk was going to be about.

Tag List: @hellowinterlane @lokisgoddesofpower @mersuperwholocked-lowlife @malar-region

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blue-mint-winter · 4 years

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Dune trailer reaction/analysis

Paul’s vision

Paul’s whispering voiceover resembling Lynch’s Dune (also Leto II My skin is not my skin. Something’s changing in him, something’s happening.)

seeing Chani in casual outfit first, very nice. She’s a woman and she’s special to him. Though it is also total opposite of her book introduction in which when Paul first saw her in a stillsuit, he thought she was a young warrior.

kissing scene - looks tender and with chemistry + stillsuit is very prominent in it

the trailer promises an emphasis on their romance in the film which is good because this wasn’t done well before in previous adaptations (or the book itself lol because they just got together and that was it, no extra drama.)

the eyes of Ibad! and she calls him - his destiny calls

he wakes up in the dark, and the headboard of his bed is gorgeous!

also this is literally “The sleeper must awaken”

but the contrast between the dream full of light and waking in the dark bedroom, mmmm nice

“there’s a crusade coming” - Paul knows what’s up, the vision of him looking at war and devastation with Chani is very foreboding - AND it doesn’t say what’s this war about and who’s fighting which is a clever set up - if you don’t know the book, then you know all of it XD. But this gives the plot the sense of mystery and danger and stakes.

GOM JABBAR

I am gushing over the symmetry of that shot in the dark room, with Paul at the center and HIS LEGS. Look how he’s standing!

His face when she asks him about his dreams!

that Atreides sign on the collar! He looks so good!

“From director Denis Villeneuve” and the cut to above clouds and a lightning - a storm is coming. Also a shot VERY reminiscent of his work on Arrival and those clouds.

The most famous, iconic, first scene of the book is in the trailer - well, it makes sense to use it to get people interested.

I LOVE Gaius Helen Mohiam’s costume design in this. I think it might be the best ever. Also, her voice, her acting, it all fits. She’s mysterious, hides her face, she’s dangerous, she’s fast, sharp, dangerous, wise. It is her.

Caladan

Flying boxes - ships/drones/tech because this is still the future despite the feudal system

Paul on the shore on Caladan

I really LIKE the music here. Gives me PoP vibes :)

Anyway, the whole idea of making Caladan the total opposite of Arrakis by making it so dark - that’s different than what I’m used to. I always imagined it as a very green, fertile world, abundant with water, life and plants. Traditionally Giedi Prime is the dark planet. BUT I can see the logic behind making Caladan so sunless, cloudy, water and stone kind of planet - illustrates the stark military nature of Atreides rule just as well as Paul’s uniform-style clothing. They are war-like. And it is very opposite to the scorching sun of Arrakis and lack of water on the desert. And the similar austerity of both is thematically appealing. We get a sense from those surroundings and gom jabbar scene that Paul wasn’t just a duke’s spoiled son.

“You inherited too much power” - hmm, that does sound ominous, GHM wants him gone!

THAT training scene with Gurney!!!!!!

first of all, the actor looks just right, I think it’s Josh Brolin? I like that I didn’t immediately think Thanos when I saw him, instead I recognized it’s Gurney!

They made the fight FAST!!! And it looks awesome! The issue is that in the book those fights are slow because they use the energy shields, but it would look stupid on film, so instead making it fast was a stroke of genius - visually great and also makes you think the characters are total badasses (which they are)

Is Paul looking at a sunrise or a sunset over the ocean? My guess is sunrise, but it’s pretty ambiguous, could be either and fit the theme of him leaving Caladan/beginning his journey towards destiny. And he looks so handsome in this shot.

Atreides Family

Paul needs to surpass his ancestors - and the shot on some ancient sculpture with Greek writing referring to the mythical Atreides he’s descended from. Awesome, really awesome since his powers as Kwisatz Haderach are based on the ancestors.

Oscar Isaac introduced as Duke Leto and the shot of the palace on Caladan - nice, looks very much like fortress, surrounded by sea and protective stone

Greek style pottery in the palace too

Jessica too! she looks worried

seems that Leto is putting a hand on her nape, an intimate gesture but also kind of... possessive?

Arrakis

They arrive, Paul smiles

more foreboding despite everything looking fine, they have an army, they look strong and prepared

freaking Jason Momoa as Duncan greeting Paul LOL - but this had a right, genuine emotion to it. Very nicely done.

Stilgar! Harkonnen troops! Rabban! Baron!

Doctor Yueh, at last

More foreboding and Duncan being Duncan, but Jason Momoa style - he’s kind of “if Ronon was cocky and loud”. Alright. I had concerns about him, but he might work out in this role. I just don’t see him as a heartthrob knight type honestly. Really wonder how he and Jessica would be done. And I don’t know about him and Alia or the ghola fuckery in later books. (They would have to get a different actor for Duncan in Heretics, there’s no way Momoa could work.)

Paul in stillsuit, ok.

Back to gom jabbar and Chani - he sees she’s real!

The chorus sounds good with the explosions

Ornithopters look like dragonflies, I like it.

Baron... in a bath??? Is it spice bath?

some other iconic scenes from the book only hinted but who knows, knows what they are :)

SHAI-HULUD!!!

Paul in full stillsuit gives me life. Cover up completely, because you gotta save all the water

Final thoughts

This is an amazing trailer. THE HYPE IS REAL. This movie might be the definitive Dune adaptation. I love the visuals, costumes, scenery, designs, cinematography, music. Actors seem to fit well in their roles. Especially Paul rocks.

The focus on Paul and his journey is good, but I am a little worried about Jessica, because she’s barely in the trailer and in the book she’s the character we start with. She’s a co-protagonist and I would hate for her to get sidelined like in Lynch’s film. I am hoping they’re saving her for the best.

Also, no sight of Alia? Is she going to be in the movie at all? She might not if this is adapting only the first half of the book.

Anyway, I am very excited. As far as trailers go, this was awesome. It gave enough info but didn’t try to explain everything about the world and the characters. We get the basic premise and some of the characters, but it left out most of the surprises. As an ad, this is solid and gives us a taste of what it’s going to be like to watch this movie. Good job, Denis Villeneuve. I knew you could do it.

#dune #dune 2020 #trailer reaction #my thoughts

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gypsyweaver · 4 years

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Excerpt 3 -- Signed and Sealed

Still deep in NaNo land. Here’s the aftermath of Gabriel wrestling with Jacob.

Oh, and here’s a link to the fic that’s going to have all of this in it eventually. Weekly updates to Signed and Sealed are set to begin in early December: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21231668

~*~

Gabriel slapped. Jacob grunted. This is what they were doing when the day finally broke.

The first kiss of silvery blue light touched Gabriel’s brow and he looked to the east.

“Behold, the dawn,” Gabriel said. “You survived.”

Jacob panted, staring as the sun touched the morning sky.

“I meant to,” the human replied.

Gabriel stepped off of the man and hauled him to his feet.

Jacob stood before Gabriel, shivering with his exertion and fear. “Am I free to go, then?”

“One more thing,” Gabriel said. “I bless you in the name of God. I bless you and your children, which shall grow to be more numerous than the stars in the sky, than the grains of sand on the beach.”

Sometime later, the same scribe that called the wrenching of Jacob’s hip a “touch” would write that God was held fast in Jacob’s strong arms. That Jacob demanded a blessing. That Jacob refused to release God until he was blessed.

A gross exaggeration. Gabriel laid his hand on Jacob’s bloody face, and blessed the man. Jacob closed his eyes to receive God’s benediction. When he opened them again, he said, “Am I free to go now?”

“Jacob, son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, God’s chosen--you are hearby called Israel. Know that you are a Prince among man, with all of God’s favor behind you.”

“A prince?” Jacob said, and laughed. Gabriel could hear Sarah’s laugh echoed in Jacob’s. “God names me a prince?”

“Yes, Israel. As a prince, you must name this place, where we fought.” Gabriel paused. “What do you name this place?”

“Does it not have a name already?”

“A new name. What do you call this place, where you survived?”

“I think I shall call this place Peniel.”

“Peniel?”

“I have surely seen the face of God...and felt His wrath, but I have survived.”

Gabriel kept his face still, attempting to show his approval.

He greatly wished to laugh at this human. This was not the wrath of God. Gabriel knew the wrath of God. The wrath of God was slaughtered babies, cities in smoke, and the dead animals choking the clean streams with blood and rot.

He nodded at Israel. “Behold, Peniel, where you survived.”

Abraham’s grandson, the son of Isaac, formerly Jacob and now Israel--the bloody man in the torn robes, stinking of his own urine, of river water, of blood, and the leavings of his own bowels, bowed to Gabriel.

As he did, his clothing mended and cleansed itself. The blood and filth of fighting vanished from his skin. He stood in the weak light of morning, all of his wounds healed except his hip, and before him, an ironwood staff of a good length for him.

Israel picked it up.

“I thank you, oh servant of our Lord.”

It was Prince Beelzebub’s gift, and Prince Beelzebub’s healing. Still, Gabriel bowed his head to the man.

“Go with God,” Gabriel said, stepping backwards into the wing realm.

The man watched, confused, as Gabriel vanished from his sight. Slowly, he picked up the staff, wincing and grabbing his wounded hip. He staggered away, in the direction of his family.

Gabriel smiled as Israel tottered out of his sight. He turned to where he had left Prince Beelzebub.

His prince was sitting on the ground. A crumpled form lay beside them, with its wings curled behind and its head on their lap. They idly curled the long, black hair around their fingers.

Israfil slept, deeply.

Gabriel rushed to his demon’s side. “What happened?”

“He showed up after you threw Jacob into the river,” Prince Beelzebub said. “He’zz...he’zz no longer my kindly mazzter...”

Prince Beelzebub lifted Israfil’s sleeping head from their lap, and laid it gently (very gently) in the grass that they had vacated. They stood slowly, and Gabriel saw how clean and how perfect their robes were.

Sometimes, absence could tell a story as well as presence.

They went to him and wrapped their arms around him. They were shaking.

“What did he do to you?” Gabriel asked, holding them tight to him.

“Nothing I could not fix.”

“No secrets, please. No secrets from me, Beelzebub.”

“He tried to rip my wingzz off. Said he wanted me back in featherzz. Zzaid that he could craft me wingzz like my old onezz.” They looked up at Gabriel, their eyes storm grey in the morning light. “He’zz mad. She’zz driven him mad. My mazzter would not, would never...”

The tears, fat and clear, rolled down their cheeks. Gabriel gathered their face in his hands, and kissed their sweet forehead.

“That wazz not my Raphael,” Prince Beelzebub said. “I made him zzleep.”

Gabriel nodded.

“I am not waking him...but...” They pulled away, disentangling their arms from him, and stepping away. “I have thizz one thing that I can do for him.”

Gabriel watched, ready to assist if he needed to.

The demon pulled Israfil’s sandaled feet, straightening his legs. They smoothed his robes around his legs, and then turned his head until he faced the sky. They laid his hands over his chest, and smoothed the long sleeves of his robes.

Prince Beelzebub sat beside their old master and twisted his hair into soft curls. Once they were happy with the way that his hair was arrayed, they raised their hands up. In their hands, a crown of white, purple, and blue flowers began to weave through infernal miracles. They laid that on his brow, and then they called a bouquet of white and gold star-shaped flowers into their hands. These flowers, waxy-petaled and sweetly fragrant as the riverside that they undoubtedly came from, these flowers were tucked in Israfil’s hands.

They slipped flowers in between his feathers. Beautiful blooms in blue and white and golden yellow. He laid, sleeping, in a copse of grass, which Prince Beelzebub scattered still more blooms in.

“In the Garden, I wove many crownzz for him. And for Uriel, our zzizzter,” they said. Their voice was soft and sad. “Thizz izz an apology.”

“Do you have something to be sorry for?” Gabriel asked.

“I have zzomeone to mourn,” Prince Beelzebub said. “When zzomeone izz gone from you, the humanzz zzay, ‘I’m zzorry.’” They paused, and a sob slipped from their lips, one that wracked their whole being. “I’m zzorry, Izzrafil. Raphael. I’m zzorry that She izz torturing you thizz way.”

#ineffable bureaucracy #good omens fanfic #good omens #beelzebub x gabriel #beelzebub/gabriel #good omens raphael #genesis

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verai-marcel · 5 years

Text

Better Than a Dream (RDR2 Fanfic, Arthur x Fem!Reader, 18+)

Summary: It's 1895. You've been with the Van der Linde gang for 12 years, about the same time as John. Arthur has been your most trusted friend all this time, and you've watched him pursue other women while suppressing your own feelings, complicated by his alpha scent and your omega heats. Will you ever confess to Arthur that your love is true and comes from the heart?

Author’s Notes: A gift for my dear @jezzeee, you gave me so much backstory and answered all my questions, thanks for your cooperation!

Tags: A/B/O dynamics with my own twist, high honor Arthur, fast forward slow burn, pre-rdr2, smut, rough sex, biting, marking, doggy style (heh)

Word Count: 4164

AO3 Link is over here, darlin’.

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

You didn't dream often. When you did, it was always of the past.

Tonight, the dream started the same. Your pa, lying on the ground, blood everywhere. You, fleeing town after running home and grabbing what you could, knowing that your pa's killers wouldn't show you any mercy.

Months of working as a hired gun, another body, another dollar. Too many close calls to count. You should've been dead.

Then you ran into Hosea, who saw your skills, and offered you a home.

Dutch van der Linde was a charismatic man, leading a small gang in the pursuit of freedom and riches. At first it was just Hosea, Dutch, Arthur, and John, another new kid. Soon after, Susan & Tilly joined. People came, left, died, or were killed, but the core group became your new family.

You were a frustrated and scared fifteen year old trying to survive in a brutal world. After getting to know everyone, you relaxed, and began to trust.

But when you presented as an omega two years after joining the gang, you panicked; would everyone treat you differently? Would you be kicked out for being a liability, a weakness?

You need not have worried. The moment you went into your first heat, and for every time afterwards, Susan became a tigress, whisking you away to a cabin or safe house somewhere and taking care of you until it was over, making sure no alpha would dare to come near you. She comforted you, told you that no one would drive you away, that you were family.

When she and you returned to camp after three days, everyone still treated you the same; that was the true sign of a good family. Sure, they kept an eye on you to make sure you were never alone when your heat approached, but for the most part, they trusted you to take care of yourself. You had proven yourself time and time again to be capable, resourceful, and resilient.

Over the years, the core group became the most important people in your life; you’d do anything for the gang.

But it was Arthur who earned your trust the most. Capable, calm, and reliable, he was your first choice if you needed a partner on a job.

He was twenty when you first met him. At first he kept you at arm's length, treating you like the obnoxious kid sister he never wanted while he ran off courting Mary. As that relationship fell apart, he found himself coming to talk to you about his thoughts, his troubles. You always listened and gave him perspective without judgement, and he grew to appreciate your straightforward analysis.

You noticed he always fled when your heats came, as if he couldn’t stand the sight of you when you were weak and needy. As the years passed and you grew older, you downplayed any injury, any emotional weakness, trying to be stronger, strong enough to be accepted by Arthur. As your trust in him became love, you realized that he’d never love you back, not the way you wanted him to. He loved you, sure, but it was clearly as family.

You watched as Mary broke his heart. You watched as he met Eliza, had Isaac, and had his heart torn out when he lost them both.

Nowadays, there was a wall around him; he still cared, but he didn’t show it as much as he used to. Behind a sardonic smile and biting remarks, Arthur was growing bitter, even though he was still playful at times, if you could cheer him up enough.

Usually the last thing you saw in your dreams was Arthur walking away from you, and as you ran to chase him, you'd wake up, your blankets tangled around your legs.

But not this time. This time, when you called out his name, he turned to you. His smile lit up his face, and he held his arms out to you, saying your name softly, like a lover's caress. You leapt into his arms…

And promptly rolled off your bed.

You sat up, shook the cobwebs out of your mind, and slowly got up.

"You alright in there?" Arthur's muffled voice floated through the door.

"I'm fine."

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Arthur opened the adjoining door between your rooms at the hotel, only to immediately turn his back on you.

"Jesus, warn me if yer just in your sleepin' clothes."

You shrugged. "You've seen me in this growing up, what difference does it make now?"

Arthur waved his hand dismissively at you. "Yer all…" He gestured wildly. "Jus’ put yerself back together, then we'll talk."

He scurried back through the connecting door and shut it softly.

You were a bit stunned at his hasty exit. Back at camp, he didn't give two shits what you had on, he'd wake you up by tossing your satchel at you so you'd get ready faster.

Finally you glanced down at your cap sleeve nightgown and noticed one of your sleeves had slipped off your shoulder and down your arm, and the gown had hiked up to your thighs, revealing more of your skin than normal. Sighing, you worked on getting up and throwing on your shirt and work pants. You tried to ignore the heat blooming in your cheeks. How much did Arthur see? Did he peek at the swell of your cleavage while it was exposed? Did his gaze linger on your bare legs?

God, you wanted him to lust after you. Then the pining you felt wouldn't be so one sided. And it wasn't just a physical attraction; that had come later, after you had grown to trust Arthur unconditionally. He had helped you out so many times without saying a word, and you always repaid the favor. You didn't take him for granted, like a lot of other folk in the gang, and you always made sure he knew how much you appreciated him.

Which is why, for this simple train job, you opted to take Arthur. John offered to come with as back-up, but you knew it was because he wanted a piece of the take.

When you were finally dressed and ready to go, you knocked on the adjoining door.

“C’mon in.”

You let yourself into his room, where he was sitting on the bed, putting his journal away into his satchel.

“You ready?”

“Sure,” you answered, “but I could use some coffee.”

Arthur observed you for a moment. “Same dream?”

You nodded, giving yourself a moment to compose yourself before spitting out a lie. “Yeah, same dream.” You didn’t want to tell him that the ending was different than before.

He raised an eyebrow at you. But after a moment, he let it go. Getting up, he held the door open as you exited the hotel room, leading you outside and back to your horses.

“We’ll make some coffee when we get to the overlook,” Arthur said over his shoulder as he pulled himself up onto his horse.

“Alright,” you said, getting onto your horse and following him out of town.

***

The two of you rode half the day to the top of a cliff that overlooked the tunnel where the train would come from tonight.

“Wondered when the two of you would show up,” came a scratchy voice behind a large boulder.

“Shut up Marston. We’re here, ain’t we?” you shot back.

John laughed. “Full of spit and vinegar, as always. Why’d you hafta bring the old man? We coulda done this on our own.”

You glanced at Arthur before responding. “You know we need him. Hafta make up for your dumb ass.”

Arthur laughed as he walked to John and clapped his shoulder. “You heard the lady. Her job, her rules.”

***

Waiting until nightfall, the three of you made some coffee and shared stories, talking about the old days, when it was only the five of you.

When you heard the train whistle in the far off distance, you got up and stretched.

“Well boys, it’s time we earned our keep.”

The three of you got up on your horses, both of the men turning serious as they followed you to the ambush point. The plan was simple: hop onto the train from a low hanging rock outcropping, rob as many people as possible, and hop off.

As you reached the ambush location, you scouted out a good spot to wait. Taking a deep breath, you got off your horse and crouched to watch the train approach. Jobs like this were always risky, but the rewards were worth it.

And with Arthur at your back, you felt like you could take on the world.

***

“This is a robbery! Put yer valuables in the bag, and no one gets hurt.”

A slight shiver went down your spine as Arthur yelled and growled his way through the passenger car. The way he stalked around, using his size to his advantage, did something to your insides like nothing else.

You were almost at the end of the passenger car, when you heard gunshots and voices outside.

“We’re comin’ for you!”

“Time to leave,” you barked as you took the last necklace from a rich lady and stuffed it into your bag. There was no arguing as the three of you booked it to the exit. Looking outside, you whistled for your horse as you took in the three flat bed cars that you’d need to run through to get to the last train car. Taking a deep breath, you started to run towards the end of the train.

Gunshots rang out near your head as you ran across the flat bed cars, splinters from the crates flying everywhere. Quickly rolling down and hiding behind a pile of bags, you looked over to Arthur and John as you pulled out your cattleman.

They had also hunkered down behind piles of cargo and pulled out their guns. Arthur gripped his rifle as he looked at you.

“We hafta move!” Arthur yelled to you over the gunshots.

“I know, I know!”

Peering over the cargo, you waited for a lull in the gunfire and dashed for the end car. You knew Arthur & John had followed you from the sounds of them running behind you. As the three of you dodged and weaved from cover to cover, you looked back and saw Arthur’s hat get shot off his head.

Without thinking, you turned around. Ignoring Arthur’s shouts of your name, you dove out to grab the hat, rolling through the gun fire to duck behind the nearest crate.

Putting his hat on your head, you took a deep breath. After firing a few cover shots, you quickly weaved back towards the boys, who were firing furiously at the lawmen who were riding next to the train.

You barreled past them, through the last car. Opening the door, you saw your faithful horse, galloping with John & Arthur’s horses.

As Arthur came up behind you, you silently plopped his hat back on his head.

"You coulda-"

"You can thank me later," you said, interrupting Arthur as you took a leap off the end of the train, landing near your horse. The men followed suit, the three of you quickly mounting up and galloping away from the tracks towards the forest.

The sounds of other horses coming up behind you made you feel tired more than scared.

"Split up, meet y'all back at camp," you commanded as you made a hard right turn deeper into the forest.

***

You were pretty sure you had lost the men who had followed you. Hiding in a thicket near an abandoned campsite, you and your horse were resting for a bit before taking the long way back to camp. After about half an hour, it finally seemed safe, and you slowly rode out of the thicket and cantered north towards more open ground.

A rope suddenly came out of nowhere and yanked you off your horse.

"Gaaaah!" you yelped as your butt hit the ground. Instinctively you rolled to your feet, only to be tackled back to the ground by a heavy body.

"Finally caught you, little bitch," the man panted as he got up and turned you over to tie you up. You felt him lean into your neck and breathe in deep.

"An omega… Interesting."

You froze. Betas usually couldn't smell you. Which meant…

The man turned you over into your back and stared down at you, his eyes glowing red.

"You'd get a much better price at a brothel than at the sheriff's." He grinned, his eyes gleaming with lust. "Maybe I'll try you first, make you keen with my cock deep inside-"

The man didn't finish his sentence as he dropped dead, a knife embedded in his neck.

Arthur came out of the shadows, looking furious.

"What the hell were you doin', lettin' someone catch you?"

You felt a rush of relief.

Relief that he came back.

For you.

Looking at all the blood on Arthur's shirt, your eyes followed a path to the gash on his left arm. You met his eyes, a questioning look on your face.

"I'm alright," he answered.

You sighed. "I thought I told you to go back to camp," you said, trying to sound annoyed.

"Like I ever listen to you," he grumbled, walking closer to you. Almost in slow motion, he reached up and stroked your cheek, his eyes scanning you for any injuries. Then his eyes came back up to yours and for a moment, you hoped for something more.

Then the moment passed, and his arm came down once more.

"Best be goin', before more hunters come fer you," he muttered, turning back to get his horse without waiting to see if you'd follow.

He knew you would.

You got back on your horse as he got back on his, the two of you riding back to camp in silence.

**'

Arriving in camp well after Marston, he heckled both of you until you pulled out the bag of valuables and counted the small fortune inside. Dutch and Hosea, proud of your efforts, broke out a case of whiskey and gathered the gang to celebrate your victory.

After a few drinks and singing with everyone, you noticed that Arthur still hadn't dressed his wound. Taking him by the elbow, you pointed at his tent.

"Let's get that cut taken care of," you ordered as you dragged him up and led him to his tent.

***

“You’re a damn idiot.”

“Then you’re a fool for following this damn idiot.”

“Never said I wasn’t!”

Arthur childishly stuck his tongue out at you, and you pinched near the graze on his arm.

“Ow, now why would you do that to an injured man?”

“Because you’re clearly not injured enough if you have energy to stick your tongue out at me,” you shot back.

Arthur looked at you, and you looked at him. After a moment, the two of you burst out laughing. The feeling of irritation was gone; now only a sense of camaraderie and trust remained, as it always did at the end of a job.

But tonight there was still a tension between you two, as you slowly finished wrapping the bandage around Arthur’s arm. His skin was hot, his scent strong. You wanted to curl up into his arms and just let him hold you forever.

You resisted taking a deep breath; taking in his scent like that would only make things worse. You had to get out of the tent.

“Hey.”

You looked up and focused your eyes on Arthur.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his eyes searching yours, worry written on his face.

“I-I’m fine.”

“Yer lyin’.”

“I'm not,” you protested ineffectively. After a look of skepticism from Arthur, you sighed. “How can you tell?”

“By how your eyes dart to the left when yer thinkin’.” He reached up and stroked your lower lip with his thumb. “By how your lips twitch to the right while yer talkin’.” Then Arthur leaned in closer to you, his face unbearably close to yours. “And by how your eyelashes flutter when you finish lyin’ to me.”

You couldn’t stand it any longer. You surged forward and kissed him. He was stock still, his body stiff as a board as you pulled away from him. Looking at his shocked face, you instantly regretted being so bold. In a moment of emotional overload, had you ruined your friendship?

“I’m sorry, I’ll go-” You stammered as you got up to exit the tent.

Arthur’s hand shot out lighting quick. Grabbing your wrist and pulling you back to him, he sat you back down. Leaning in close, he looked at you, his gaze searching you for something.

“Sweetheart,” Arthur breathed. “Every feelin’ behind that kiss. You mean it?”

“Yeah, I do. Every damn feeling.”

He suddenly tugged you into his arms and kissed you like his life depended on it. The dam had burst; the longing and yearning that had consumed you both for years was finally being fulfilled. With each kiss, your hearts grew closer and closer, culminating into this one moment, where you and he could become one, forever more, never to part.

“Arthur, I never… I never thought you’d feel the same for me.”

“I think I have for a long time, just… didn’t want to admit it. I thought you’d think it’d be weird, havin’ me love you like this.”

“We’ve wasted so much time…”

“Let’s make it up, here and now.” He kissed you again, picking you up and laying you on his cot. “We won’t ever be apart, darlin’.”

He kissed you, slowly savoring your sweet surrender as his hands clasped you close to him. Feeling his warmth, his heartbeat, his lips as they trailed down your neck, you felt your body reacting, changing.

"Arthur," you purred, feeling your slick start to drip from you.

Eyes flashing red, Arthur cupped your cheek with his big hand, his thumb caressing your temple. "Yer eyes, they're the most beautiful gold," he murmured.

"I need you," you whispered desperately.

"You have me." He started to take off your clothes, eagerly kissing the revealed skin as you reached for his buttons, helping him to remove whatever you could get your hands on. For each piece of your clothing that came away, you pulled off a piece of his.

You were in just your chemise and drawers, and he in his short drawers, when you felt yourself heating up. Your heart pounded, your vision blurred slightly around the edges.

Arthur sniffed the air, paused for a moment, then his pupils nearly dilated as a deep rumble came from him. He grabbed your drawers and nearly tore them off before grabbing your knees and spreading you open to his hungry look. He looked at you, his eyes glowing an alpha's deep red.

"Darlin'," he rumbled, "is all that fer me?"

You nodded.

He dipped his head down and lapped languidly at your core, sending ribbons of pleasure through your system. His hands reached under your chemise, grabbing at your breasts and squeezing, palming, massaging you. Teasing your nipples with his fingers, he kissed his way up your stomach.

"Let's get this offa you," he said as he helped you sit up and pulled your chemise over your head. Sitting naked before him, his gaze roamed over your body.

"Fer the first time, I truly see you," he said, leaning in and kissing you gently, a reverent touch on your lips. He moved to your cheek, then down your neck, where he took in a deep breath, drowning himself in your pheromones.

Stepping back for a moment, he let his own drawers drop to the ground. Your eyes widened as you saw all of him for a split second before he climbed on top of you, covering you as you lay on his cot, surrounded by his scent.

Arthur returned to your neck, nipping lightly as he ground his body against yours. His attentions grew heated as he began to suck on your skin near your collarbone, hard enough to leave a mark.

Your gasps were followed by his quiet laughter.

"Just a li'l somethin' to remember me by."

You wrapped your arms around him as he grinded against your core with his hard shaft. He kept kissing you, giving you love bites, and burying his face in the crook of your neck as he worked his member between your folds, lubing himself up in your slick.

After a little while, he sat up. Your eyes followed his hand as he reached down to grasp his cock, a look of need on his face. Slowly, he guided himself into you, meeting your eyes as he started to enter, your body accepting his so willingly. Sliding inside, he held his breath as he felt you gripping him, a warm, soft feeling that he never wanted to end.

You took shallow breaths, trying to relax your body to take in his girth. He was thick, filling you up and making you feel so damn good. You wrapped your legs around his and reached out to squeeze his butt. Under your hands, his muscles flexed as he pushed the rest of the way inside of you, his pelvis flush with yours.

"Better than I dreamed," he said, looking at you with a torrent of passion in his eyes. "Like we were made to be together."

Arthur slowly pulled out and pressed his forehead to yours.

"I'm gonna take you now, alright?"

"Yes, please Arthur!"

"That's my girl," he rumbled before he slammed back into you, making you choke back a cry. His thrusts were strong, deep, making sure you were completely filled with each shove of his hips.

"Mine," he growled as he increased his speed, rutting into you so hard that the cot creaked. He no longer cared if everyone could hear; he wanted to make it known that you were his, and if anyone even thought about touching you, they'd suffer for it.

You mewled his name, your heat in full bloom, driving you to sheer ecstasy as you lost your sense of self, drowning in Arthur's possession of your body. Scratching his back as he started to give you love marks all over your chest, you moaned at the feel of his lips and teeth on your skin. The sweet balance of pain and pleasure pushed you into a trance, where all you could focus on was where your bodies met, the possessive crush of him against you.

Arthur growled into your neck, a reverberation you could feel through you as his hips began to grind into yours, putting a glorious pressure on your clit. Arching your back, you wantonly rocked your hips in time with his thrusts. Your breath came out in short puffs, your heart beat a million miles a second, and you could feel the heat rushing through your entire being.

"That's it darlin'," he murmured. "Give me everythin'."

He covered your mouth with his just as you let out a cry of ecstasy, your eyes squeezing shut as your climax swept through you like a thunderstorm, the beat of your blood in your ears, lightning bolts of pleasure coursing through your veins.

And all the while, Arthur had not stopped taking you, pistoning in and out as you writhed under him.

As you became limp, he pulled out of you and rolled you over onto your belly. Lifting up your hips, he entered you from behind, filling you up from a different angle. You let out a low moan, biting his pillow to muffle your volume. Arthur reached down to play with your center, rebuilding your desire, one stroke at a time.

Leaning over you, he kissed the back of your neck. As he made soft hums of approval at your moans and whimpers, he sped up his thrusts. Just as you were reaching yet another peak, you felt his teeth scrape the back of your neck.

"May I..?"

"Yes, do it," you pleaded.

Arthur wasted no time sinking his teeth into your neck as he plowed his cock deep into you, his movements erratic. He made low sounds of satisfaction as he spent himself inside of you, the knot at the base of his shaft growing to lock him to you.

"No place I'd rather be," he mumbled against your hair as he rolled the two of you onto your sides and held you close. “Been dreamin’ of this.”

“For how long?”

“Longer than I care to admit.”

You laughed. “Too long, then.”

He caressed your cheek and smiled wryly. "Didn't realize how much I needed you."

You smiled back. "At least you figured it out."

Arthur let out a soft chuckle. “Better late than never.”

Nodding, you held his hand and brought it up to your lips. Kissing his fingertips tenderly, you held back your tears of joy.

“Yes, better late than never.”

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

End Notes: Tried my hand at A/B/O dynamics, and while it’s a little tame compared to what’s out there, I felt that I needed just enough to accentuate the main story. Hope you all enjoyed it!

#arthur x reader #arthur morgan #writing #fanfic #lemon fanfic #alpha beta omega #rdr2 fanfic #tumblr request #tumblr gift #nsft

188 notes · View notes

boffeeceanside · 3 years

Text

Change Your Life

Chapter Seven

Ao3

The meeting with Colm turned out to be a whole lot of nothing, all Colm did was talk bullshit and aggravate Dutch. And then he just left, leaving Arthur, Dutch and Micah dumbfounded. 'What the hell was that about?' Arthur thought as they rode back to camp. It could have gone a lot worse, they could have gotten stuck in a shoot-out, or dead.

Arthur half expected an ambush on the way to camp, but it never came.

When they arrived back at camp Arthur wanted to talk to Beatrice for a bit, maybe try and get her to tell him what the hell was going on between her and John. Knowing John it probably wasn't anything good. But he noticed that Dynamite was gone so that was out the window. He spotted John and contemplated asking him where she went but figured that he wouldn't know and he probably also wouldn't tell him what was going on. Instead, he decided on asking one of the girls.

Mary-Beth sat peacefully in the shade with her nose buried in a book.

"Hey Mary-Beth," Arthur said.

She looked up from her book and smiled when she saw him, "Oh, hey Arthur."

"Do you know where Beatrice is?"

"I saw her leavin' a little while after you guys,'' She said, "Though she didn't look too happy. Maybe she went out hunting to clear her head?"

She did seem to do that often, the gang hasn't been this well-fed in a while. "You're probably right, Thanks Mary-Beth."

She smiled again and continued reading.

Arthur waited for her to come back all day and started to get worried when the sun went down and there still was no sign of her. Hosea calmed his nerves by telling him that a hunting trip can take a few days and that she'll be back.

The next day came around and she still wasn't back. And the day after that there was still no sign of her. Until late in the evening when Dynamite came running into camp without a rider. Arthur couldn't ignore it any longer, he had to go looking for her. To his surprise, John joined him. He would argue but didn't have the time. He had to find her and fast.

They rode out without a trail to follow or any idea where she might have gone. No one in town had seen her, no one that they passed on the road had seen her. No one had seen her. They had been looking for almost two hours now, but every trail ran cold.

"What did you do, anyway?" Arthur asked John, voice gruff and sounding agitated. worry was taking over him and he needed answers.

"Why do you always think I did it?" John said, also agitated and worried.

"Did you?"

John huffed and looked back to the road. He did do something and he would blame himself if anything happened to Beatrice, but telling Arthur wouldn't result in anything good. Stupid, that's how he felt. Stupid for kissing her, stupid for feeling the way that he does, just stupid in general. He steered Old Boy in a direction they haven't been to yet, "We should try this way."

Arthur opened his mouth to say something but got interrupted.

"Arthur!" Charles came towards them at full speed, "She's back."

Relief washed over both Arthur and John, "Is she alright?" John asked, beating Arthur to it.

Charles didn't have to say anything, the look in his eyes was enough. Arthur didn't hesitate and turned Gwendolyn in the direction of camp, making her go as fast as she could, with Charles and John following close behind.

---

Arthur sat on a chair in his tent, listening to Beatrice’s heavy breathing that filled the air around him. He couldn’t help but think that he could’ve prevented this whole thing from happening if he had just paid more attention. The thought of losing her like he lost Isaac and Eliza wouldn’t leave his mind, He wouldn’t be able to go through that again.

He looked down where her hand was in his, it was small compared to his, but just as calloused. He thought about how many times she picked up a gun; taken someone’s life. She was too young to know what that’s like, too young to live the way they do.

“Dad?”

Arthur could barely hear her and he wasn’t sure if he heard her right. She gave his hand a light squeeze and he looked up to meet her eyes, half-lidded and tired.

“Did you-”

“No…, I didn’t say anything.”

Arthur chuckled and decided to drop it for now, “How you feelin’,” He asked.

“Like shit,” Beatrice said and tried to shit up, “but I’ll be fine.”

Arthur helped her up, knowing that there was no point in arguing with her. He’s quiet. Thinking. He knows he should tell her at some point, and now might be the best time.

Beatrice noticed that he was struggling to say something, so she decided to just ask.

“What’s on your mind?”

Arthur moved from the chair to sit next to her and takes her hand in his again.

“I had a son,” He said, “His name was Isaac. His mother was a waitress I met, Eliza.”

Beatrice didn’t know what she expected, but it wasn’t that. She didn’t know what to say. Arthur continued. He told her that Isaac was a good kid and that he loved him, Eliza too, he supposed. And that they were robbed and killed for all but ten dollars.

“I thought I lost you like I lost them and I can’t go through that again.”

“You ain’t losin’ me,” Beatrice said, “I was distracted and not thinkin’ right. Something like this won’t ever happen again.”

“I just want you to be careful.”

“I will be, from now on if I'm goin’ somewhere I’ll… tell somebody, or I’ll take someone with me, alright?”

“Alright.”

Beatrice rested her head on his shoulder, “I’m sorry.”

Arthur wrapped his arm around her, careful not to hurt her shoulder, “It’s alright, I’m just happy that you’re back.”

“Me too,” Beatrice said, trying her best to stay awake, “How’s Elijah?”

“I uh… Don’t know. Haven’t seen him.”

Beatrice sighed, “Of course, try looking up.”

And Artur did. He looked up, confused.

Beatrice laughed, followed by a small groan, “Not here, dumbass. Outside. In the trees.”

“Right,” Arthur chuckled.

They just sat in silence for a while, with Beatrice dozing off again. Arthur tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and kissed the top of her head.

“You should get some sleep,” He said.

Beatrice nodded and Arthur moved so that she could lie down again. He was about to leave the tent but then Beatrice spoke.

“Hey,” She said and Arthur turned around to face her, “You know you didn’t have to tell me, right?”

“I did, and if not for you then for me.”

She smiled, “Thank you. Good night, dad.”

He smiled back at her, “Goodnight, Peach,” He said and exited his tent. He stood there and could hear her giggle to herself, it was like he could finally breathe again.

He could see Hosea approaching from the corner of his eye and turned to face him

“How is she?” Hosea asked.

“Surprisingly well,” Arthur said and smiled to himself, “She’s strong… like her mother. You uh, heard of Elijah yet?”

“No, I haven’t. Beatrice told you anything?”

“Yeah, I think I might know where he is.”

“Good luck,” Hosea said and patted him on the shoulder.

Arthur nodded and started walking towards the trees. He passed John, who immediately looked away and got himself busy. They hadn’t talked ever since they got back. Arthur was too busy worrying over Beatrice, and John. Well, John probably wouldn’t say anything he wanted to hear anyway.

He stopped walking when he reached the only tree around camp that was big and strong enough to sit in. He looked up and saw the faint light of a lit cigarette.

“Elijah?”

“Get lost.”

Well, going great so far.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“You got here, didn’t you?” Elijah said, “Using your legs I’m assuming, so you can use those legs of yours to, y’know, get lost.”

So great. This was not how Arthur expected it to go, but then again he wasn’t really expecting anything. He needed to say something. Something that would get Elijah down from that tree.

“She woke up,” Arthur said, hoping it would work.

Elijah didn’t say anything at first, he just cleared his throat and shuffled a bit.

“Good…”

God. Arthur was hoping this could’ve gone as easy as it did with Beatrice, but clearly, that wasn’t an option. He didn’t know what to say or what to do except waiting. So that’s what he did. He sat down with his back against the tree and waited. And waited, fell asleep for a bit, and waited some more until Elijah finally decided to come down from the tree.

“What the hell are you doin’?” Elijah asked.

“Waitin’ for you,” Arthur said and got on his feet.

“Well, I’m here, what do ya want?”

Arthur didn’t think this far. He awkwardly scratched the back of his neck and gave Elijah a once-over. He was covered in blood, it was in his shirt, in his hair, just everywhere.

Elijah scoffed, “It ain’t mine.”

“I guessed that,” Arthur said, “come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

“Fine,” Elijah said after just staring at Arthur for a moment.

They walked back to camp, the morning sun washing a soft glow over everything. Elijah was uneasy, walking through this new place with new people. God knows what Beatrice told them about him, truth or lies, neither would work in his favor if he knew her at least a little bit.

Arthur brought him to a barrel filled with water and told him to use that to wash up while he got him some clean clothes. Elijah gripped the sides of the barrel and looked at his reflection. ‘Take care of your sister. Keep her safe.’ His mother’s voice echoed through his head.

He failed them; his mother, his sister, himself, too. He had been acting like a fool and Beatrice got to pay for it. It was time for him to clean up his act, go back to how he used to be.

He took a deep breath and dunked his head into the water, raising back above it after a few seconds. He watched as the mixture of blood and water dripped from his face and back into the barrel.

“You must be Elijah.”

“Elijah looked up and was met with someone who he guessed was around his age, “That me, and you are?”

“I’m Lenny, I got you some clean clothes,” Lenny said and handed him a shirt and a pair of pants, “Think they should fit.”

“Thanks,” Elijah said and took the clothes.

“Of course, just holler if you need anything else.” Elijah gave him a nod and Lenny walked to the campfire.

Elijah sighed and undressed, he got as much blood and dirt off himself as he could and put on the clean clothes He looked around for Arthur and found him sitting at a table by himself. Elijah approached him and took a seat, “I uh… I’m sorry, for being such an asshole.”

Arthur looked at him from the corner of his eye and shrugged, “She did warn me.”

“Really?” It didn’t surprise him, they hadn’t been getting along at all the few months before he left, but it still hurt a little, “What she say?”

Arthur turned his head to fully look at Elijah, “That you’re an asshole.” He decided to spare Elijah the ‘I wouldn’t care if he was dead’ part.

Elijah chuckled, “Sounds like her… She gonna be alright?”

Arthur nodded, “Yeah, I think so,” He sighed before asking, “What happened anyway?”

“I already told Dutch, I don’t know. Don’t know why or how she ended up there,” He said, “Just know that I have half a mind to go back there and kill every single one of them.” Not that going back would do anyone any good. The chance that they were still there was slim, and if they were and he did decide to go, he’d be dead.

---

“Bea-”

“No.”

“I-”

“No.”

“But-”

"No.”

Beatrice watched as Elijah left with a defeated sigh. She was still and refused to talk to him or listen to what he had to say. Sure, he saved her life, but that doesn’t make them even.

On the upside, she was doing good. No infection. No fever. Just exhaustion and pain. Healing was a process that Beatrice did not like going through, it meant sitting still and having nothing to do other than reading and thinking. All she wanted was to get away from camp and go for a ride or something.

“Still not talking to him, huh?”

Beatrice scoffed, “Can you blame me?”

“Beatrice,” Arthur said, “It’s been three days.”

“So what? He’s the one that left…”

“But he’s back now, just give him a chance to explain himself.”

“I guess…” Arthur was right, but she didn’t want to. Being mad was easier than feeling sorry. However, there was one person that she wanted to talk to, “Hey, can you uh, get John in here?”

“John?” Beatrice nodded, “Why?”

“I told you I’d fix whatever's goin’ on, so that’s what I’m gonna do.”

“What is it that’s goin’ on between you two?” Arthur asked.

“Nothin’ important.” Kind of important, especially after that kiss, “Just get him in here.”

Artur thought for a moment, he wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do, but not getting John probably wasn’t the right thing either, “Alright.”

While Arthur got John, Beatrice got some more time to think. She had no idea what to say after… that. Oh, this was a bad idea. What if he thought the kiss was a mistake? What if he and Abigail were still together? What if she was going to have to live the rest of her life knowing she couldn’t get the only guy she really wanted…

“You wanted to talk to me?”

Oh shit, “I-'' Say something. Anything. “Yeah!” Too loud… “Just,” She patted the spot next to her, “Sit.”

Beatrice fidgeted with the blanket and thought about what to say while John sat down, but he beat her to it, “Me and Abigail are done, have been for a while.”

“Alright,” She said as a simple smile graced her lips, she couldn’t help it. Never had anyone made her feel the way John made her feel and the feeling only grew when he gently placed his hand on her cheek. He moved closer but stopped when his face was only inches away from hers. He looked her in the eyes and said, “You’re not gonna run this time?”

Beatrice’s smile grew and she replied, “I wouldn’t even if I could.”

And then he kissed her, and she kissed him back. Once again found herself in heaven and she didn’t want to leave, but she had to. She slowly pulled away and darted her tongue across her lips, still smiling. There was something she needed to know, well, didn’t need to, but wanted to.

“When… when did you realize that you uh, liked me?” As soon as she said it she regretted it. And the look of confusion and surprise in John’s eyes did not help, “Y’know what, forget I said anything, that was stupid-”

“No,” He said and cleared his throat, “I think I knew when I looked into your eyes before we left Horseshoe Overlook. But I know it started before that.” His eyes didn’t leave hers while he spoke and Beatrice clung to his every word, “What about you?”

“Uh… I knew when I asked about your scars and you laughed at how I stumbled over my words,” She said, “Back then I thought I would get over it, but you looked right into my eyes and I knew I was too far gone.” Beatrice reached out and brushed her thumb over his scars, “They suit you, by the way.”

---

Watching John enter that tent the past few days and stay there for hours without knowing what the hell they were doing was driving Elijah crazy. He couldn’t stand it that Beatrice would talk to John, but not him. From what he understood the two of them hadn’t been getting along lately.

He thought of something that might get her to talk to him again though. Something that he hasn’t done in almost a year, he wasn’t sure if he could even do it, but he would try if it meant that his sister would at least look at him.

Elijah stood in front of the tent, the tight grip he had on the neck of his guitar turned his knuckles white. He entered, grabbing Beatrice's attention and causing her to look up from her book. She scoffed as soon as she saw him and looked back down, “Still don’t wanna talk,” She said.

“You don’t need to talk, you just need to listen.”

He sat down on the chair and propped the guitar on his leg, he glanced up to Beatrice. She didn’t spare him or glance or say anything, but she let him stay which was an improvement. He cleared his throat and placed his fingers chords and after a deep breath he started, “Sing, Sparrow, Sing. Hide under here.”

The song he sang had always been a comfort for both of them. Their mother would sing it to them if they couldn’t sleep, were scared, or had a fight. Ever since she died Elijah hated that song, hated the sound of the guitar and singing in general. He didn’t want to remember her. Remembering her was like drowning. He was drowning at that moment, with that stupid song and stupid guitar and Beatrice, who wouldn’t even look at him for longer than two seconds.

At the end, he could barely get the words out right and he kept playing the wrong chords. He stopped and a silence filled the air between them. what broke it was the sounds of tears hitting the guitar’s body. Beatrice took the object from his hands and placed it on the ground so it could lean against the table. She took his hand in hers and pulled a little, indicating that she wanted him to stand. And he did, but this time he was the one that didn’t look at her, his eyes stayed fixed on the ground. She wiped the tears from his cheeks and sighed before pulling him into a hug.

Elijah wrapped his arms around her and rested his head in the crook of her neck, “I missed you,” He mumbled.

“I missed you too.”

#red dead fanfic #rdr2 writing #rdr2 oc #Arthur Morgan #John Marston #red dead redemption 2 #CYL

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whump-tr0pes · 5 years

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Honor bound - 9

This is a series. Start here. Previous chapter here.

Back to Isaac. Be gentle with me, I’m not used to writing “mental” whump so I did my best. I’m hoping to get my Bad Things Happen Bingo card here soon and then...I’m gonna have a field day.

Cw: death mention, death threats, kinda walks the line between self-sacrifice and self-loathing a little bit..., drowning, asphyxiation

AO3

Isaac groaned at the sound of the door opening again. “No…”

“Oh, come on,” Gavin huffed, walking into the room with Leo close behind. “I gave you 20 minutes to recover. And didn’t you just beg me to torture you? Come on, Isaac, mixed messages here.” He grinned and turned to Leo. “Get him up.”

Leo yanked him to a seated position. He cried out weakly as the welts on his back stretched and bled a little more with the movement. Leo pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked one of the manacles. Confused, Isaac raised his eyes to Gavin. He paled when he saw that Gavin was carrying a bucket of water.

“What…no…” The tears started again as Leo wrenched his arms behind his back and shackled his hands behind him. “Wait…”

Gavin set the bucket on the floor and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “I swear to god, if I have to remind you about Sam every damned time I start into you, I’m gonna get real tired of that real fast.”

Isaac’s eyes were wide and fixed on the bucket. “I…I can be scared and still know why I’m here…”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “And why are you here? I’m sure we could all use a reminder.”

Isaac swallowed hard and closed his eyes. “Sam. I’m here for Sam.”

“Good. Come here.”

Trembling, Isaac drew himself to his feet. He stopped in front of Gavin, staring at the water.

“Get on your knees.”

Isaac fought back a sob. Of all things, all things Gavin could have done, he decided to start with this…

“Get on your knees. I’m not going to ask again.” Gavin’s voice had a hard edge to it.

This is…this is how… Isaac couldn’t seem to think straight. He couldn’t think of his team. He couldn’t picture their faces. The only thing that occupied his mind was the bucket of water in front of him and what he knew was about to happen.

He went down as Leo kicked him in the back of the leg. Leo forced him to his knees and yanked his head back with a hand in his hair. He could barely draw breath past the sobs. “No no no no no no…”

“Isaac.”

“No no no no please no…”

Gavin slapped him across the face. “Isaac.”

That brought him back, a little. “What…”

“You’re the one psyching yourself out right now. Have I done anything to you? Seriously.”

“No… No, I…”

“Then chill out. I’m just talking to you right now.”

Isaac nodded, shaking from head to toe.

Gavin laughed. “Well, if I doubted you were scared of drowning before I wouldn’t doubt it now. Christ.” He watched as Isaac did his best to draw in deep inhales and blow out slow exhales. He waited a few breaths. “Isaac.”

Isaac tremulously met his gaze. “What?”

“Do you know why I decided to do this next?”

Panic clutched at his stomach again. “No…”

Gavin’s slap knocked Isaac’s head to the side, despite the hold Leo had on his hair. Isaac cried out. Gavin shoved his face at Isaac as he trembled in Leo’s grasp. “I swear to god, Isaac, get your shit together right now or I kill you right here and go after Sam.”

Not Sam.

Isaac blinked the tears out of his eyes and dragged in another breath. “No.”

“Ok then. Can I continue? Please?”

Isaac nodded and pressed his lips together.

“Thanks so much.” Gavin rolled his eyes and sat crosslegged on the ground in front of Isaac, the bucket between them. “Let’s talk.”

Isaac watched him warily, his head still pulled back by Leo’s hand in his hair.

“Do you know how I knew bringing this in here would freak you out?” He nudged the bucket with his foot. Isaac flinched away as the bucket moved and stiffened as Leo tightened his grip on his hair.

“No,” he whispered.

“Oh, come on. Not even a guess?” Gavin grinned up at Isaac.

Isaac felt a chill creep into his stomach. He kept his eyes fixed on the wall behind Gavin and pressed his lips together.

Gavin glanced up at Leo and nodded. Without hesitation, Leo forced Isaac forward and plunged his head into the bucket.

Panic gripped him immediately. The feeling of cold on his face made him gasp and he drew water into his throat. He bucked hard against the hands on his shoulder and hair, but Leo’s grip was like iron as he held his head under the water. He screamed as his pulse raged in his ears. His lungs spasmed as he choked, dragging more water in.

Abruptly his head was pulled from the water. He dragged in a ragged gasp and coughed until his ribs ached. Water poured from his nose and mouth. Tears mixed with the water on his face.

Gavin reached out and grabbed his chin. “That is gonna happen every time to refuse to answer me.”

Isaac’s chest heaved with each breath as he began to sob. “You’ll…never…get anything out of me.”

Gavin tilted his head. “Aw. There’s that strong leader Sam kept going on about. But I don’t want information from you. Even if you do know things Sam doesn’t, I don’t really feel the need. I’m content I have enough if I ever need to hunt them all down.”

“No…”

Gavin held up a finger. “I’m not here for information. Like I said, I just want to talk.�� Water dripped off Isaac’s face onto his bare chest and onto the floor. “So. Do you know why I knew to do this?”

A whimper made its way out of Isaac’s throat. “Sam told you.”

“Bingo!” Gavin laughed.

Isaac shook his head. “I don’t blame them for that.” His knees were beginning to ache.

Gavin grinned wickedly. “Oh? Would you blame them if I told you they volunteered that information?”

Isaac swallowed hard. “There’s…no way.”

He laughed again. “Think again! I told you they broke, and they broke fast. This was, like, day one.” He gestured to the bucket. “All I told them was to tell me something interesting about you. They volunteered your greatest fear all on their own.”

Isaac clenched his jaw. “They’re young. And inexperienced. It’s not their fault.”

“Oh, please. How old are they? I know every single thing they’re afraid or ashamed of and yet…how old they are just never made it into the conversation.”

Isaac hesitated before speaking. “They’re 19.”

Gavin snorted. “Ok, yeah, that is pretty young. But still, aren’t you even…the slightest bit mad at them?”

Isaac shook his head. “You tortured them. It’s not their fault.”

Gavin’s eyes narrowed. “What are they to you? You’re so god damned protective of them, to the point of idiocy. There was absolutely no need for you to take their place. If anything, you’ve left your team vulnerable without you. So why?”

“They…” He swallowed. “They’re Sam. They’re just…good. They didn’t deserve this.”

“People don’t go to their deaths for people who are just good.”

Isaac’s voice shook. “I didn’t know you were going to kill me.”

“Would that have changed anything?”

“…no.”

“You know what I think?” Gavin scooted himself closer until his shins were pressed against the bucket. “I think you would have done this for Ellis, or Gray, or anyone else on your team. Yes, of course I know all their names. And do you know why?” Isaac glared at him. “This team is all you have. And I don’t mean just, ‘they’re family’ or anything like that. No. You came because…what else do you have to offer them? Besides your life?”

Isaac swallowed.

“Really, I mean it. You’re not the smartest on the team, that’s obviously Finn. You’re not the best at taking care of people. That’s Gray. You’re not the most skilled, that’s Vera. And Ellis obviously has a sense of humor, so they’ve got you beat there.” Isaac’s eyes widened. “Oh come on. I had almost three days with Sam. You think I didn’t get to know your team intimately well? But what do you bring to the table?”

“I…”

His head plunged into the bucket again. He did his best not to breathe the water in but his body betrayed him. He yanked hard against the hand in his hair, but it was unrelenting. When the hand let him up again his lungs were burning for air. He choked on the water in his throat.

“What do you bring to the table, Isaac?”

He couldn’t answer. His throat was too constricted with coughing.

Gavin sighed. “I’ll wait.”

When Isaac could finally catch his breath he said, “I’m their leader.”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Obviously. But what do you actually do for the team that no one else does? More importantly…” He adjusted his seat. “What it is about your life that makes you so keen to give it for another?”

Tears burned in Isaac’s eyes. “I…don’t…”

“Let me tell you what I think.” Gavin’s voice was intense. “I think you know you’re not the hero Sam thinks you are. You aren’t even a particularly good leader. After all…” Gavin clicked his tongue. “I took Sam because of a mistake you made. I think you came to me because you know that’s all you’re good for: dying so someone else doesn’t have to.”

The tears spilled over.

“Aw, someone’s sensitive. I’m right, though, aren’t I?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“Oh, yes I do.” Gavin got up on his knees so he was at Isaac’s eye level. “I think you know, deep down, that you’re not the person Sam thinks you are. You came here because you wanted to earn that place in their eyes. With Sam, with everyone. Deep down, you know you’re as weak as they are.”

“Sam’s not weak!”

“You keep saying that with all evidence to the contrary. But I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about you.” He tapped Isaac on the nose. “See, by coming here you guarantee the last thing they remember about you is this incredibly brave and selfless thing you did for your sweet and innocent Sam. Everyone will love you for it. Sam will hold you in their mind as their hero forever. And the team doesn’t ever have to see you when you’re at your weakest.” He grinned. “They don’t have to see how you begged before the whip even touched you. Or how you begged just because you saw a bucket of water. They don’t have to see how terrified you are…” He made a beckoning motion to Leo. Leo slowly forced his head down to the water.

“NO! No no no, please, PLEASE, don’t…” Leo stopped with Isaac’s face an inch from the water. He sobbed and writhed against his grasp. “Please…”

Gavin chuckled. “See? My point is made.” He placed his hand on the back of Isaac’s head and dunked his face into the bucket. He allowed him right back out of the water and let Leo draw him back upright. Isaac coughed and spluttered. “And I think you refuse to believe that Sam is weak because you want to believe you sacrificed yourself for someone good. Because if your sacrifice means nothing, and you are nothing without your sacrifice -”

“You’re wrong. Sam is good. And brave. And kind.”

“…that’s all you’re gonna correct me on? Does that mean everything else is true?”

“You’re a coward,” Isaac spat through his teeth.

Gavin’s face slid slowly into a smile. “Wow. You’re really taking this personally. Methinks I hit a nerve.” Isaac clenched his jaw shut. “You didn’t correct me, though. Which means you know. Deep down, maybe, but you know that you’re weak, you’re nothing, and this was the only thing you could think to do to convince your team that you’re worthy of the trust and love they give you. Or maybe you needed to convince yourself.”

Isaac held his gaze with a glare.

Gavin smiled. “Tell me who you really are, Isaac.”

Tears dripped off his face onto the floor.

“Isaac, you have a choice here. You can either…” He put his hand on his head and forced his face down toward the water. He cried out in protest. “…drown again, or tell me the truth about who you are.” They stood still for a moment, Isaac whimpering as he stared down into the water. “Wow. You would rather face your worst fear than tell me the truth about yourself?”

It’s not the truth. He tried to steel himself for the water, tried to push down his panic. But he broke. “Ok,” he gasped. “Ok.” Gavin released his head.

“Yes?”

Isaac swallowed hard. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Dunk him,” came the order. Leo shoved him forward and forced his head into the water. He tried to hold his breath. A hand pressed against the welts on his back to keep him there. For one beat, two, three…

He was pulled up again. He gasped and coughed. When he opened his eyes, Gavin was leaning towards him.

“This isn’t complicated. I want you to tell me why you’re really here.”

“Is this what you did to Sam?” Isaac panted. “Tried to get inside their head?”

Gavin smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes. “Oh, I didn’t just try. I convinced them you were there to torture and kill them, remember?”

Isaac pulled against the thug restraining him. “What did you do to them?”

Gavin laughed. “It didn’t take much. I just helped them realize they were weak and a liability to their team.”

“Screw you,” Isaac said bitterly.

“Should you be so lucky,” Gavin murmured, leaning closer. After a moment, he sat back. “But I digress.”

Isaac struggled against Leo’s hands. “What’s the point of this? You want me to say I believe my life is worthless? That I came here to try to make it up to Sam for failing them? Fine. If you want to put words in my mouth on pain of torture, fine. There you go. I said the words.”

That terrifying smile again. “I never actually said those things. You came up with them on your own.” He signaled to Leo again.

“No!” Isaac screamed. Before Leo could get his head under the water, he threw himself to the side and slammed his leg against the bucket. It tipped over, splashing everyone with water. Gavin shouted and fell backwards away from the spray. As Isaac fell to the floor, Leo’s weight crashed on top of him, pinning him to the ground. He cried out as the thug moved his knee onto Isaac’s lower back, his hands pinning Isaac’s head to the floor and his hands against his back.

Gavin laughed, surveying his wet clothing. “Fair enough.”

Isaac’s face was pressed against the wet concrete floor as the water rushed to the drain. He groaned at the weight on his back. Gavin got on his knees beside him and smiled, bringing his face so close to Isaac that he could feel his breath. “Alright. No more drowning for now. I’ll have to move on to something else.” He got to his feet. “I’m going to go change. Leo, tie him up. I don’t want metal on him for the next part.”

Next chapter

@untilthepainstarts, @womping-grounds, @blue-flare10, @free-2bmee, @quirkykayleetam, @walkingchemicalfire, @inpainandsuffering, @redwingedwhump, @burtlederp

#honor bound #whump #torture #self-sacrifice #mindfuck kinda???#emotional whump #forced confession #take me instead #my oc: Isaac #my oc: Gavin #my oc: Sam #cw: drowning

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isaac-d-buchanan · 4 years

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where: Isaac’s flat when: more than a week after the Easter Festival who: Isaac Buchanan, Jonas Travers (@jonastravers), and Evan Rosier (@evcnrcsier) what: Evan and Travers caught wind that Isaac had a DE’s wand and decides to pay him a little visit tw: slight torture

Returning from Ollivanders, ISAAC finally has a name. It didn't mean anything to him yet, but once he gets back in the Ministry of Magic, he can pull up records on the man who attacked Tarquin. Finally identifying one Death Eater, perhaps it won't be hard to get them to name the others. He was just sitting, looking at the wand as if it was going to give him answers to the questions he has when he heard a noise coming from outside.

TRAVERS thought it was a rather irritating situation - seeking out some moron who had stolen a Death Eater's wand, who was also a moron for getting it stolen in the first place. Still, he might as well revel in whatever humor he could find in it. Rather than simply opening the door, or blowing it straight off its hinges, Travers rapped three knock, knock, knocks with a sneer on his lips. This was going to be fun. Unfortunately, the Dark Lord forbade Evan and himself from killing the poor lad, but that was where his orders ended.

EVAN had overheard Isaac's plans at the Ministry and honestly, they had better things to be doing than correcting some idiot's mistakes and yet here they were. This was why Evan was against recruiting such unskilled wizards who apparently couldn't even handle their wands but perhaps this could serve as a stress relief. Evan couldn't help the amused smile when Travers knocked, not that he could see because of the mask. Evan never wore the mask when the plan was to kill - he liked his victims looking in his eyes and knowing they were in their last moments - but he was planning on following orders tonight and he would, unfortunately, have to see Isaac at the Ministry. It was late enough and there was no one around but Evan had also cast a strong Invisibility Charm so no one would be able to notice their coming and going.

ISAAC heard the knock and stood up from his couch and walked towards, wondering who it was visiting him. Kingsley? Augustus? Both his friends recently dropped by so it didn't seem likely that they'd return so soon. It was an odd time to visit too. "Who is it?" he asked, one hand at the knob with the Death Eater's wand in the other, waiting to hear a familiar voice before he opened the door.

TRAVERS rolled his eyes. This mask was so annoying. Let people know who he was, what he was striving for. It seemed foolish to hide his identity, yet he didn’t question the order. At their victim’s question, he replied simply, “Some friends, if you choose to cooperate. It seems you’ve stolen something - we’re here to get it back.” There was a snarl in his tone, something dangerous. Something that implied this sliver of wood between them would do little to stop his wrath.

EVAN was not a patient man and he was quickly getting tired of this. He drew out his wand, prepared to blast the door off its hinges the moment he thought Isaac might get it in his sorry little head to try to escape. "You have three seconds, Isaac. Open the door before we decide to pay a visit to that blood traitor father of yours." Evan had charmed his voice to be unrecognizable but the edge of danger was unmistakable. He started counting down, "One.. Two..."

ISAAC stepped away from the door. He didn't recognize the first person's voice. Stolen something... The wand! Isaac thought. A Death Eater? A million questions that erupted in his head about how they found out about the wand and where he lived were silenced when a second voice called out his name. They know me, he thought. A good distance was between him and the door which he expected to open any second now. Isaac readied his dueling stance and considered his options, one against two. If they think he'd be an easy target, they're dead wrong.

TRAVERS grinned in sick satisfaction. "Three," he finished. Barely a second passed between that spoken number and a well-aimed spell that blasted the door straight off its hinges, as he would have preferred to do in the first place. There, they were faced with a man who perhaps thought he stood a chance, perhaps would try to play the hero. "We have our orders, Buchannan, don't you worry. Hand over the wand and we'll play nice; don't and, well, we'd rather not play nice anyway."

Everything about EVAN'S stance said he was exactly where he was supposed to be. He was almost relaxed. He had done this countless times before; it was second nature to him. He idly flicked his wand at the entrance to seal it before glancing at Isaac and he almost laughed. "You know what?" He tipped his head towards Travers, "I'm not in the mood to play nice at all." He had barely finished speaking before he pointed his wand at Isaac, silently casting a spell to knock him back against the wall.

Without uttering a word, ISAAC shot a Jelly-Legs curse at the man who spoke first. He tried running behind something that could give him cover but he wasn't fast enough. The second man blew him towards the wall. A loud thud jogged Isaac's head as his back hit the wooden wall adorned by a framed painting. He heard glass shatter and break as pieces of the frame fell on the floor along with him. The boy managed to keep hold of the Death Eater's wand so he shifted to aim at the second Death Eater. "Expelliarmus."

TRAVERS could have laughed. A jelly-legs jinx, how unoriginal. He countered it easily and was about to fire a spell of his own, but Evan beat him do it. "Nice job," he congratulated, a sneer barely visible beneath his ornate mask. He prowled toward their target, now sprawled on the floor. It was amusing for desperately he was fighting them off.

EVAN countered the curse easily enough. As he walked towards him, he pulled out one of the many knives he carried with him on these missions, the light glinting off the sharp blade. "Wrong move," he tutted, "This will hurt more."

ISAAC saw the knife. Branding the second Death Eater as an immediate threat, Isaac forced himself to sit up and point his wand at the man walking towards him. "Don't come any closer," Isaac warned. He might be on the floor but his voice was rock steady, determined to throw a barrage of spells should the man attempt anything.

TRAVERS figured Evan could take the reigns on this one, despite how glad it would make him to finish the job himself. “Or what? You’ll throw another infantile jinx my way?” Like a wolf his bared teeth, he prowled closer and closer to the man on the ground. “Expelliarmus,” he cast with a casual flick of his wrist.

EVAN kneels down next to him, holding his arm down, and before Isaac could blink he stabbed his palm, pinning him in place. The wound wouldn't kill him, which was a shame really but it would hurt. He smiled underneath the mask, wishing Isaac could see him. "Now-" he grabbed his chin, "Where's the wand?"

ISAAC's wand flew from his hand as the first Death Eater disarmed him. Before he could react. One of them pinned him to the ground. He screamed as the knife lodged through his left palm and into the wooden floor. He writhed in agony but he can't move his hand away as every movement caused the blade to dig deeper into his flesh. His free hand tried to tug at the arms that held him down. With the Death Eater's hand forcing him to look up at him, Isaac simply glared at the mask before him. "Show me your faces, you cowards," he sneered.

TRAVERS let out a disappointed huff as if he were dealing with a pair of petulant children. "Please, have some manners. Buchanan here has welcomed us into his home, and you've attached him to the floor." He said this with little regard for the man's health, though, as he strode over to where the wand landed. If his suspicions were correct, he was using the wand in question. If they weren't, then he'd have a new one for his collection. Travers picked it up, examining it carefully. "Although, I suppose we should make it an eye for an eye? You stole from us, what shall we steal from you?"

"Brave words for a man currently pinned to the floor," EVAN laughed tauntingly as he easily managed to pull away from Isaac once more."As compelling as your argument is, I'm going to have to say no." Evan idly twisted the knife currently pinned in his hand, only digging it deeper in his flesh. "I don't know- I don't feel very welcomed." The amusement in his voice was clear, "What do you say, Isaac? Do you have anything worth taking? Your life certainly isn't worth much."

In the middle of tears, ISAAC's eyes darted between the two men. He glared at the man who picked up the Death Eaters wand. He didn't know what it is the Death Eaters wanted but he knew he still had a chance. His actual wand was still tucked in his pocket. If only he can distract them for a little while longer. But before he can plan anything the searing pain drowned any other thought as the one closest to him twisted the knife in his palm. Screams of agony filled his flat as the knife scraped against muscle and bone. Blood was pooling on the floor now, soaking his sleeves. Once he finally stopped screaming, Isaac spoke between his teeth, "What do you guys want?"

TRAVERS was getting bored of this all. Normally torture was fun, but Evan was the one on the floor there with the knife, stealing up the only enjoyable part of this visit. "You have a friend's wand. We want it back." He dangled the item between his fingers and added, "Is this what we're looking for? A simple yes and we'll be on our way - if we believe you." Travers had been told what the wand looked like, vaguely, and the one in his hands matched the description enough for him to know it was the one they were to sent to retrieve. Still, toying with the writhing man...Who was he to stop Evan's fun?

EVAN still wanted to make Isaac pay for his arrogance even if they had orders not to kill and he so enjoying his screams. He glanced at the wand Travers was holding before looking back at Isaac and shrugging, "I can't say I feel like trusting you right now." He stood up then, taking a couple of steps back in a clear indication for Travers to step in and take over if he wanted to. After all, he didn't want to keep all the fun to himself and as much as Evan was enjoying this he always had liked watching Travers work. He glanced at his friend and Evan was smiling under the mask but his amusement was obvious even in his tone, "Do you?"

Do you? ISAAC saw his chance as the Death Eater who stabbed him walked away. Blink and he would have missed it. But Isaac considered his options. Should he try to pull that knife now, he would still be outnumbered, and his room doesn't really provide him much cover. Maybe his best bet was to keep the two of them satisfied. After all, nothing's stopping them from killing him right away. If they wanted to kill him, they probably would have done so already. Begrudgingly, Isaac chose to stay still and answer the Death Eaters.

He glared at the first Death Eater. Was he the one who was going to torture him now? There was no guarantee that they'll leave him unharmed after they get what they came for but since he was already where he was, he might as well use the situation to learn more. "Who's this friend of yours?" he asked as if he hadn't learned the Death Eater's name already. Since he already identified the owner, Isaac wouldn't mind letting them have the wand right away. But answering too eagerly, he feared, would only make them suspicious.

A laugh escaped TRAVERS lips, although not one of joyful humor - it was wry, taunting. “A valiant attempt, Buchanan, but still pathetic.” It was almost sweet how the boy on the floor thought his tauntings would have either of them release valuable information. They were smarter than that, but they still had to be careful.

He swaggered over, in no rush to reach the pile of blood pooling around the gnarled hand. Then he knelt, avoiding that crimson from staining his robes, as he faced Isaac. The color of his eyes was the only thing visible beneath the mask and he let them bore into those before him. He forced every ounce of menacing prowess into that glare that he could as he said, “you are only alive because your death is not enough to send a message. No one would miss you, mourn you. The Ministry would not panic. Your name would be buried in the eulogies, ignored in favor of sports and gossip. So, you live, because you are worthless either way.” Then he stood, just as slowly as he approached, and pocketed the wand he knew to be their goal.

EVAN had to laugh, this attempt was absolutely pathetic but he couldn't say he wasn't enjoying it. He smiled because as much as he enjoyed Travers speeches this had a note of finality to it and as Travers walked away, Evan approached him once again. He knelt down, holding his arm down and pulled the knife out in one swift motion. Blood gushed out of the wound, "I'll take this back," Evan said, wiping the knife on Isaac's clothes, "Too good a knife to be wasted on someone like you." He stood up then, "Well this was fun-" he said as he started to turn away, "Maybe we'll see each other again."

If only his glare could throw actual daggers, ISAAC would have killed those men ten times over. His eyes may be laden with tears that wouldn't fall but they still glowered, hot with anger as the Death Eater goaded him by telling him that his life was meaningless. That it's the only reason why he's being spared. The only thing he took from it was that he gets to live another day and have the chance to catch these sons of bitches someday.

Isaac cried out as the Death Eater pulled the knife out of his hand. "FUCK!" He turned to press his wounded hand into his chest, hoping to stop it from bleeding. Blood seeped into his shirt as Isaac applied pressure. Fighting through the pain, his anger kept him from passing out. He forced himself to sit up and give the Death Eaters one last look before they disapparated, committing their silhouettes into memory. "For your sakes," Isaac managed to speak out, his voice hoarse from the screams "pray that we won't."

TRAVERS was almost impressed by the tenacity of the man on the floor - almost. “However scary you’re pretending that you are, I can assure you that you’re not. You stole a wand. We’ve taken lives. You’ve heard what we can do, now you’ve seen it. You should be praying that you never see us again, or you’ll get a knife in your other hand. Isn’t that right?” He turned to Evan for a reply, but waited only a beat before he turned leisurely to exit through the door they’d already destroyed.

EVAN shrugged, "Next time he's going to lose the hand," he replied to Travers casually but then this conversation was normal enough for them. He didn't even spare Isaac a backward glance as he followed Travers out through the door though he couldn't help but smile in amusement at the thought of running into Isaac at the Ministry.

#RIPevan001 #RIPjonas001

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stereksecretsanta · 5 years

Text

Merry Christmas, @dwarvyn!

Read on AO3

*****

Different

It would be fair to say Derek has been looking forward to the holidays this year. Usually, the thought of Christmas crowds, overplayed jingles, and endless hints about presents has him in a mood that is not so much “merry and bright” as it is “grin and bear it.”

This year is different.

This year, Stiles is coming home. He’s submitting all of his finals online, so he’s coming back after the last day of classes, December 12th. And he’s staying into the New Year, a whole three weeks to spend with his dad, with his pack, and hopefully, with Derek.

His hopes for the holidays get turned sideways when he overhears a conversation between Stiles and Scott.

Scott is cradling the phone against his ear so he can make a sandwich in Derek’s kitchen, and he’s “mm-hm”-ing and “I know”-ing along in time to what sounds like a rant. Derek doesn’t intend to eavesdrop, and it’s really not his fault his hearing is so good, and his brain so attuned to Stiles’s voice. He starts to get phrases, and is just about to dismiss the conversation as yet another complaint about Stiles’s criminal justice professor when his tone changes, and Stiles says, very clearly:

“Max, the love of my life.”

Derek leaves the kitchen in a hurry.

After that, it’s like Derek never hears Stiles talk about anything other than his new boyfriend, to anyone and everyone, including Derek.

He texts, can’t wait for you to meet max btw!!

Derek sighs. He wants to be happy for Stiles, he does. Is max staying for the whole trip?

Lol obviously dude

“Not a chance,” Stiles is sighing over Skype with Isaac and Allison. “Besides, I’m not looking for a date. I have Max. And I haven’t even introduced him to the pack yet!”

Derek hates himself for it, but he’s shattered to hear Stiles has someone he wants to introduce to the pack. None of his other significant others have been significant enough to bring home.

Max even manages to ruin a pack meeting phone call with Stiles. They’re not even talking about it, how instead of coming home for three weeks, he’s coming home with Max for three weeks. They’re talking about other things, like Christmas plans, how the solstice ritual will go, whether the Nemeton might appreciate decorations. Derek thinks not, Stiles declares that shiny garland will make even the grumpiest tree happy, and this ritual is all about making the Nemeton happy for the upcoming year, and there’s nothing wrong with celebrating the solstice with a bit of good cheer, and his dad already put up their tree without him, please let him decorate this one…

And suddenly it’s Max again.

Stiles yawns and says he has to get going. “I’ll be up at 5:30 with Max.”

“Why so early?” Kira asks, leaning in toward the laptop they’ve got set up for Skype.

“We’ve been walking with Mrs. Bailey next door. She’s taking care of her son’s lab while he’s overseas, and he can be too strong for her. We try to run off some of his energy in the mornings before classes. I take an extra lap around the park with Dodger and Max chills with Mrs. Bailey and they watch the ducks.”

“That’s so sweet,” Kira says. “Do they get along?”

“Yeah!” Stiles nods excitedly. “I didn’t know how Max would do, but he’s been great with Dodger.”

“Enough about Max,” Derek snaps.

Everyone stares at him.

Derek walks out, even though they were Skyping Stiles from his house. He runs the perimeter twice, making sure the conversation will be long over before he returns.

Stiles returns as planned, but since he’s working on final essays he holes up at his dad’s for a few days. Scott goes over several times, until he’s kicked out for being distracting. Derek doesn’t stop by, and Stiles doesn’t text after the first day.

The first time Derek actually sees Stiles, he’s sitting at Beacon Beans with Scott and Kira. He’s lounging back in his chair, one hand wrapped around a mug. He looks relaxed, so finals must be over.

There’s no sign of Max, thankfully, so Derek decides to get his coffee and go over and say hi. He knows Stiles is taken, but he wants to be near him after so much time apart. Seeing him on the screen is nothing to seeing him up close and real.

While he’s staring, Stiles glances over. His eyes light up and he smiles.

“Stiles, are you bringing Max to Derek’s?”

“I don’t know,” Stiles says, glancing Derek’s way with a sad tilt to his lips. “I don’t want to cause trouble. Max is kind of stupid around strangers.”

“Didn’t he do okay when he met your dad?”

“Yeah, when it was just us,” Stiles says. “but when we went to Jack and Eric’s for Thanksgiving, Max couldn’t handle himself and snuck into the kitchen and ate a whole pie before we even sat down to turkey.”

“Oh no,” Kira giggles.

Stiles nods. “He spent most of the day sleeping it off on the couch. Like I said, stupid around strangers.”

Derek turns away to collect his coffee and misses the next thing said. He hovers by the counter for a moment, considering going over to say hi or just head out.

“Eric was ready to throw me out because of Max, dude. That’s serious! I think Jack put in a good word, plus I’m pretty sure some of their old teammates put away a pie each.”

Scott and Kira laugh, but Derek rolls his eyes. The guy sounds like he has no self control. Derek’s trying not to judge, really, but the more he hears about Max, the less he thinks of him. He’d at least be civilized enough to stay and socialize, especially with Stiles’s dad.

He leaves without acknowledging them. He has shopping to do, anyway.

He gets a text from Stiles as he gets into the car. Just saw you at bb. You didn’t come over?

He doesn’t reply, but by the time he’s heading home he feels guilty, so he stops by the Stilinski house on the off chance Stiles will be there. He stands on the porch, reluctant to knock, but Stiles is pack, and Derek needs him to know he can tell him anything, and he can bring his boyfriend to Christmas if he wants to.

He knocks.

Stiles opens the door. “Hey, I was just going to go for a walk with Max. Wanna come?”

Absolutely not. “No,” he starts, “I just wanted to talk to you.”

He hears nails scrabbling against the kitchen floor and pauses.

A brown and white, floppy-eared dog pokes its head between Stiles’s legs to stare at Derek. Stiles stumbles and laughs, pushing at its snout. “Max, did you hear the word? Go find your leash.” He grins at Derek when Max - Max - scrambles backward and bounces off, presumably to retrieve his leash. “Come on, we haven’t had a chance to talk yet, and I’ve been back almost three days already. Walk with us.”

Derek smiles. “Okay.”

He waits by the door while Stiles crosses to get his keys, then hurries back to the kitchen for plastic bags, then stops in the living room to slip into a jacket, sidestepping Max all the while, who follows dutifully with his leash in his mouth and trailing between his feet, tripping him. The two look ridiculously well-suited, long-legged but not graceful, a chaotic but not uncoordinated dance.

Finally, Stiles shuts and locks the door. Max leads them eagerly off the porch and down to the sidewalk, tail wagging and nose twitching.

“When were you going to tell me you had a dog?”

“I talk about Max all the time. In fact, I’ve been reliably informed I talk about him too much,” Stiles says with a wry grin.

Derek shrugs. “I was out of line.”

“I never figured you’d be so against dogs, dude. More of a cat person, sure. But I would’ve assumed you’d have sort of an in-built affinity for the lonely, lost pups of the world.”

“I like dogs,” Derek says defensively.

“Then why were you so mad I’d gotten one?”

“I didn’t know Max was a dog!” Derek says without thinking.

“So what, you thought he was a person? Oh, shit, you thought he was a person,” Stiles says softly.

Derek can see his clever mind putting the pieces together all too fast.

“You thought he was my boyfriend.”

“The love of your life, you called him,” Derek says. He might as well throw that out there, let Stiles know exactly how much to mock him. Except no, Stiles wouldn’t do that. He’s a better friend than that.

“Wait,” Stiles says, reaching out to stop Derek walking on. “You thought I’d met the love of my life? And that upset you?”

Derek can’t look. He knows it’s going to be disastrous, but he just can’t watch it dawn on Stiles’s face.

Stiles is quiet for a long moment, and then with just a gentle pressure against Derek’s shoulder, he asks him to turn. Stiles searches his face for something, and starts nodding before he even says anything.

“I think I have, actually,” Stiles says. “Met the love of my life, I mean. I didn’t think I had a chance, but…”

Derek can’t stamp down the hope rising in him. An ugly voice whispers that this isn’t real, but Stiles’s earnest face tells a different story.

“You have a chance,” Derek says. Please take it.

“Me and Max, we’re a package deal,” Stiles warns with a smile.

“I think I can handle it,” Derek chuckles.

Max trots back to them, pushing at Stiles’s legs like he needs a reminder that they’re supposed to be on a walk. They both smile at him, and Derek takes a moment when Stiles is looking at Max to dart in and kiss his cheek. He starts walking again, making encouraging noises at Max until he’s pulling Stiles along.

“Hey, wait,” Stiles protests. “I didn’t get to kiss you back! That’s not how this works, Derek!”

Derek laughs. “Max needs to walk, Stiles, keep up!”

Stiles curses and jogs to catch up, which just encourages Max to pick up his pace.

Derek smiles. Yeah, this Christmas is definitely going to be different, and he is looking forward to it.

#dwarvyn #stereksanta19 #*fics19 #*gifts19

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rcris123 · 5 years

Text

“Did you see that kid Kieran?” Arthur asks Dutch next day; asked the others too, no one knew a damn thing, but all of ‘em said something of Kieran being scared the O’Driscolls been stalking him.

And there’s an idea already forming...

“No.” Dutch replies, then, letting his book down: “Why do you care?”

Kieran van Der Linde is what that boy said once when the three of ‘em went fishing, but there’s more than just mere sympathy:

“If the O’Driscolls took ‘im then they know we’re here and they’re gonna blast us all to hell.”

“You really believe he ain’t just run off?”

“If he ain’t run off ‘till now, why’d he do it?” A pace away. He’s trying to convince Dutch go let them have a look – or maybe he ain’t needing no permission; him and Sebastian are enough to take down the lot of ‘em. “Besides he was still a prisoner.”

Dutch laughed: “Where you even getting these ideas from, my friend?”

Arthur shakes his head, scoffs: “Well... thanks anyway...”

“I need you to stay strong, Arthur.”

More and more those words feel somehow empty, like he’s bringing them up just so he has the last word. But Dutch’s always been like this, why is he only now taking notice of it? Was it Blackwater? Was it Isaac? Was it Sebastian and Isaac? Who the hell knows... But this doubt’s starting to itch inside him and more and more he’s feeling like he’s tearing this place apart and the reasoning behind it is as vague as a pang inside his chest and a ‘It ain’t right’ dangling inside his skull. It feels like it’s all become a chore, suffocating like this goddamn swamp and how goddamn good it felt to get out and do fishing with the kid, Sebastian. What fun they had catching that monster o’a sturgeon.

A sigh, ‘cause he’s still wanting to find out what the hell happened to that Kieran boy. He loves these people, Dutch, Hosea, John, Charles, Lenny, Sean, the women, everyone. He always did it all for them. Why stop now?... And he’d mount up, but instead just ends up giving scratches to Ghost. The bullet wound doesn’t seem to bother her all that much anymore.

If he were to go, Isaac’ll have to come with him.

“You know I saw a couple of them O’Driscoll Boys runnin’ around.” That’s Sadie’s voice.

“Oh, really?” Arthur turns around

“Yeah.” She even climbs in the saddle. “No one seems to care when I get out of camp so I followed them around a bit. Seems they’re holed up in some abandoned town in Lemoyne.”

His face lights up.

“Can you tells us-”

“I’m riding with you, Arthur. I can’t forgive them, you know that.”

“And Kieran?”

“Boy’s harmless. A bit whiny, but harmless.”

“Okay.” Arthur rubs his chin. “ ‘kay. You wait here, I’m gonna get some people.”

“The two of us is all we need.”

“I know, but my heart ain’t letting me.”

Sadie snorts: “You’re one sappy old man.”

“Very funny.” Arthur beckons as he gets back upstairs; Sadie’s got her charm about her, never once sounding truly mean spirited.

Inside Sebastian was still asleep; man barely got any rest last night, tossing and turning, breaking into cold sweat. He even managed somehow to scratch a scab away. It bled. Isaac found himself something to read, legs to chest, on the floor against the dresser by the bedside.

“Mornin’.”

“Mornin’.” His son greets back with a thin smile.

“Got any breakfast?”

Isaac shakes his head and places the book on the dresser behind him.

“Get downstairs and eat somethin’, Isaac. Pack some for the road too.”

Boy gets up: “Where we headed?”

“Getting that kid Kieran back.”

Isaac’s eyes grew wide: “Ain’t that official business?”

A look at him, a sigh: “No.”

It’s a bit too much o’a request for a boy like Isaac but his childhood’s fast coming to an end and no matter how much he tried keeping him clean from outlawing and gunslinging, the noose’s getting tighter by the day and he’s much rather know his son can fight than lose him ‘cause he ain’t been enough a man to teach him.

Maybe he ain’t ever been much of a man to begin with, all queer like he is – he heard Tilly insulting Bill like that once. She knew, they all knew, and now Arthur ain’t no different.

“Okay.” But his son still trusts him; and that’s enough.

Arthur sits on the edge of the bed, compelled to run a hand through the rough hair on the side of Sebastian’s head, lean in, whisper something for good morning.

“Good mornin’, you stubborn ol’ buck.” He did just that in the end.

“I’m middle-aged.” Sebastian muses, a smile drawing on thin lips.

“And I’m a grandparent.”

A snort. A flutter of brown doe eyes, then an inhale as Sebastian tries to turn on the other side:

“Good morning to you too.” A stretch, then a grunt and the man rolls back to face Arthur: “What you up to?”

“Finding that boy Kieran. I want you to ride with me.”

“Always.” It’s soft the way he says that and once more Arthur finds himself running fingers through the rough hair on the side of the man’s head.

“Managed to catch some sleep?”

As hand threatens to let go Sebastian catches it into his own; holds it.

“Not really...”

“What kept you up?” A sigh; he looks away and Arthur squeezes his hand. “Talk to me, would you...”

A huff, a tug of the arm closer: “I’m afraid... That they gonna take it all- and then I remember I have nothing left anyway...”

“That ain’t it, Sebastian.”

“If this counts-“ another tug of the arm. “If this is me having something how do I know it ain’t gonna end up the same. You. The kid. Why are these fucking things up again-” He growls, suppresses a sob, the closes his eyes and exhales with difficulty.

“Sebastian...” And the man draws him closer in. “You gotta trust ye’rself. And you gotta trust this poor ol’ fool’s luck, ‘cause he ain’t died just yet.” It’s absent minded again how he touches the medallion, ‘cause it dangles heavy from the neck, and Sebastian catches that.

Looping an arm around Arthur’s back the man props himself up with yet another groan.

“I ain’t seen anyone more stubborn than you.” Arthur speaks up again.

“Yeah. Me either...”

He liked that: looking at him. He’s handsome and not deserving the shit this world gave him.

“Now let’s get that kid Kieran.”

“Yeah.” Determination grows on Sebastian’s features.

Downstairs they couldn’t help running into Sean; boy’s been frantic trying his best to keep up with camp chores and whatnot, but somehow still ended up sleeping somewhere in some uncomfortable pose. He ain’t gonna question that. And maybe that was for the worst ‘cause now Sean tagged along with them and the moment he saw Isaac there lad knit his eyebrows and felt like he swore on Christ and the Virgin Mary not to let any harm come to the boy. And that’s just hoping trouble ain’t finding Sean first.

But Sadie ain’t protested so it’s the 4 of them and the kid that set out and for now he ain’t as scared as he could be.

The road takes them past Caliga Hall, towards the Kamassa River, they follow the water’s bend, until he recognizes the Eris Fields to their left, and further up ahead he remembers that bridge: took towards the Marshes, Bluewater were they called? Sadie rode hard the entire time. Sean tried talking, maybe ‘cause he ain’t doing good in the silence, but silence’s what he got.

“If we’re lookin’ for a spooky place that one’s pretty much fittin’ the description.” Sean spoke again.

It looked like an abandoned town. He’s passed here before, he remembers that collapsed church, the graves. Isaac read them all –all died 1893, just a month after it was all built. And at that moment Isaac looked at him:

“Ain’t this?-”

Sadie jumped down from saddle: “We take it from foot here.” She took her gun.

“We sure there’s O’Driscoll’s there?” Sean wasn’t all convinced. “It’s lookin’ pretty quiet for the lot of ‘em if you ask me.”

“There still looks to be guards out.” Sebastian intervened. “Look. There.”

A man in the characteristic green, slumped over with what looked like a riffle for support. He ain’t looking at all lively. Something felt off.

“Me and Sadie go up ahead.” Arthur said. “Sean, Sebastian, you hang back for support in case there’s more o’em coming from behind-” Sean almost protested. “Don’t want a word of it, Sean. Isaac, you too, go with ‘em.”

His son picked out the riffle that was now stored on Big Sir – it previously belonged on Ghost.

No turning back now; Sadie already went up ahead. It’s with big steps that Arthur follows behind, one pat on the revolver’s bed, synching his movement for a quick draw. Hands quickly return to holding the Repeater.

It’s Sadie that shoots first; there was no opposition from that guard except one panicked jerk up. Body falls. She rushes inside. Arthur takes one more glance back at the other three before heading in himself. There’s already gunshots. A scream from Sadie. Guns blazing, there’s already 2 dead inside. Arthur adds another to the count.

“There’s more in the other room!” Sadie shouts, and indeed O’Driscolls pour out.

One’s shot right in the doorframe; the one behind stumbles over it. He meets the same crude fate with a bullet to the head. Arthur took care of the 2 other left in that main room.

There’s gunshots outside now too. And a muffled scream for below the floorboards. Kieran? Sadie caught that too: her gaze darts downwards.

“Guess he’s in the cellar-” Arthur speaks but he ain’t getting to finish that.

Sadie rushes by him joining the gunfight outside. A peak out: there’s at least 13 of them. But he ain’t sure about the rest of ‘em.

They gotta hold out.

“Com’on.” Arthur psyches himself up while darting past the battlefield.

There’s a few stray bullets that try to get a hold of him. Better luck next time. He searches for the entrance to the cellar- Another O’Driscoll jumps out, knife in hand. Arthur darts back; the tip of the blade cut his vest. Arthur ducks and tackles the other with force to the ground. Man swats the knife, before dropping it on impact. Fists come raining and the O’Driscoll ain’t moving soon, face a pool of blood.

It’s only now he notices the rashes on the man’s skin. The fact that he had a gun he ain’t used... Heart sinks. He turns the downed O’Driscoll’s face with the tip of his boot as he stood up, the sin looked like that of a carcass and that can’t all be his doing...

He gotta find that Kieran soon, that if these bastards ain’t eaten him alive, or worse yet, left the job half finished.

There’s the cellar. He blasts the lock open with the sawed-off shotgun and dashes inside. There ain’t no light down there and Arthur’s feelin’ like it takes too goddamn long until he fumbles the lantern alight. There’s growling around him.

And when he shines light into the room he sees no less than three O’Driscolls drooling and clattering their teeth, hogtied with rope, as if they belonged in an insane asylum. And then there’s Kieran, bound and gagged with an arm bleeding. When seeing Arthur boy struggles against the restraints.

“I gotchu now, stay calm.” Kieran relaxes onto the chair as he goes to cut off the rope and take the gag out.

One glance is spared for that wounded arm: someone gnawed at it. Jesus Christ! Poor bastard... And as soon as he’s free Kieran clutches that arm against his chest with his other one. A hand on the back to guide him out. The gunshots stopped.

“Th-thank you, Arthur.” Kieran mutters on the stairs.

“Don’t you worry ‘bout it.”

“Y-you saved my life...”

“You saved mine once before, it’s the least I could do.”

“I... Thank you.”

Arthur pats the boy on the back: “It’s okay, kid.”

“Arthur!” That’s Sean calling, he came running. “Sebastian’s calling for ya’.”

Arthur strides forward, letting go of Kieran, then before he forgot turns to them: “Sean, help him up on Big Sir, would you.”

“Sure.”

When he reaches around the house, Sebastian was buzzing from place to place like an angry hornet while Sadie stared at the barn doors. They were sealed shut and it read: STAY OUT PLAGUE. A hand rushes up to cover his mouth and rub his beard. Christ. So a plague is what caused them undead.

He goes to meet Sebastian, whose head was in the ground, deep in thought; man wanted to shake Arthur off when he put his hands on his shoulders.

“Look at me.” Arthur tells him quietly. “Sebastian-”

“That Cajun was right.” Sebastian growls, muscles releasing the tension they were holding before. “If only I was here back then-” Arthur holds him firmer. “Joseph might still be-”

“Shshsh...” Hand switch from cupping the man’s shoulders to cupping his face, but Sebastian grits his teeth and grips Arthur’s collar between his fists.

“You don’t get it. I let this happen. It’s my fault-”

“You ain’t lettin’ it happen again.” His voice raises only to meet Sebastian’s volume.

“PA!” Isaac shouts from somewhere, and his attention’s fully focused on that now; and so’s Sebastian. “Com’ere a moment!”

They both rush to do so.

There’s more writing on the walls of that home: BEWARE RUVIC, though he ain’t sure if that’s an C or a K ‘cause half of it is missing’, the other smudged off at the corner. He also ain’t sure if RUVIC’s two words or one. Arthur takes out his journal and the engraved pen from his satchel to start drawing it. The blue lines hold out better.

“You think that’s a name?” Isaac asks.

“Could be.” Sebastian muses. “Or some abreviation.”

“From what?”

“Don’t know.”

“We gonna find that out.” Arthur scratches his beard again, “But first we gotta take Kieran back. Those undead took a bite outta him.”

Isaac’s mouth hangs open, while Sebastian’s scrunches shut.

“He’s on your horse, Isaac, you can go on ahead.”

Boy nods, springs up and sprints away.

Sadie hands back and so does Sean:

“So what the hell’s this all about?” Sean speaks up.

“It’s some disease.” Sebastian says, mounting up. “It turns people idiots and deranged.”

Isaac’s off already, Kieran holding onto the boy for dear life ‘cause Big Sir sprung straight to a swift gallop.

“So they lose the ability to speak and go wild like animals?” Sadie asks.

“Pretty much.” Arthur chimes in. “Saw a couple of ‘em chained up in the basement next to Kieran.”

“And they gain a taste for human flesh.” Sebastian elaborate further.

“Jesus!” Sean and Sadie alike.

“Ain’t sounding like it’s anythin’ natural.” Sean throws out his opinion.

“Are people even capable of doing that?” Sadie ain’t fully convinced.

“If RUVIC’s anything to go by,” Sebastian starts. “I’d say it’s a human. Or a bunch o’em.”

Sadie sighed: “Then it’s a good thing we got rid of ‘em, I say.”

“Yeah.” Sean chimed in.

The road back feels faster, mind’s a’gallop, runnin’ to catch some coherence before it goes entirely insane. It ain’t no wonder such things are making Sebastian toss at night. They tortured him once before and now came for seconds. And for that man’s sanity and the hope that the world ain’t entirely gone to shit they gotta find some reason to this – the man, or men, behind it all.

And for that they gotta set out again.

Only their welcome back ain’t one reserved for victors.

“What you done now, Morgan...” Micah cackles from where he was leaned on a tree, sharpening something with a knife.

He ain’t replied, but Dutch glared at him as if he just murdered a gang member. He can’t stand it, and soon neither can Dutch:

“Did I tell you you can go fetch him, Arthur?” Tone’s low and scolding.

“I told you why.”

“Not that you were actually going through with it?” Dutch stepped forward, eyebrows drawn together. Arthur squared his shoulders. “What the hell happened to you, Arthur?...”

“Could ask the same of you, Dutch...” They’re measuring each other up with glances. “What happened to taking care of folk?”

“And what happened to loyalty, son?...”

“Been loyal, Dutch. Always.”

Dutch slowly backs away as if he’s letting Arthur have this, but no, now he spoke louder: “Then don’t you trust my judgment!?”

“Well, me and Sadie felt different.” Arthur retorts.

“Then what next!? You gonna feel different and put a gun to my head, Arthur?”

“Now that ain’t true.” Sean butts in. “Ain’t you heard him, he cares for folk. It’s why we all went to get that other Irish bastard. Can’t stand the focker but I ain’t standing Micah either ‘n Arthur busted that walkin’ shite outta prison anyway.”

Dutch’s scowl could have murdered on its own. Arthur holds Sean back before either of ‘em draw or throw a punch.

And in all o’ this Hosea was quiet. But Sadie wasn’t:

“Unless you wanted to fight diseased, half dead, feral O’Driscolls I’d say we did you a favor.”

“The what?...” Now Hosea spoke up.

“Yeah.” Sadie continued. “The bastards that came and took Kieran were more dead than alive.”

“Found 3 of ‘em chained up in the basement growling and drooling like animals.” Isaac chimes in.

Dutch’s eyes grow wide.

“Ain’t you seen the bastards bit chunks of that boy’s arm off?” Sadie continues.

“... I guess in that case... thank you.” Hosea at least had the dignity to accept defeat. Dutch didn’t, just stood quiet where he was. “Arthur... Maybe you should keep an eye out for that.”

“Already on it, me an’ Sebastian. Found this person, RUVIC, his name on the walls where Kieran was held.”

“Okay...” Hosea sounded half terrified. “I’ll see if I can poke my nose into it too.”

“Thank you, Hosea.”

#arthur morgan #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #rdr2 tag #rdr2 fanfic #kieran duffy #isaac morgan #sebastian castellanos #sebthur #and zombies #and :3c ruvic

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acatalepticdreamer · 6 years

Text

Fading

I need to get back into writing and I’ve been wanting to try to improve my narration skills for a looong time. Then, I got inspired by this lovely art from @artful-browniebites and well… :3c

Warnings: Uuh, you know, car accidents. Mention of injuries? It’s very light though.

Summary:

He screamed.

He didn’t know if it was because of the pain after feeling half his face run across asphalt or at the sensation of something being torn from inside him as he saw the blue fragments from his spectral energy fade away. But he screamed since his vocal cords was the only thing to destroy at this point.

He screamed.

They had been on their way back from a mission in Spender’s car. Inside the vehicle could be heard their chatter with the muffled sound of the adult man’s music taste that they had been making fun of filling those times when the group stopped their conversation to laugh.

Being spring, it was a nice day to take in the sun rays that managed to seep their way through the leaves of the trees belonging to the forest they were coming out from. Isaac had his side of the window open. Max didn’t, he wasn’t fond of the light shinning right into his face to start with. Isabel complained beside Isaac about his decision to slide the windows all the way down and having the wind making her hair a mess. Ed laughed commenting about having the girl’s hair in his mouth.

He didn’t remember what he had said. Something about him wanting to take a picture of the trees passing by. He had started to take pictures whenever he was happy lately, after feeling like his life was finally starting to go towards a good path. Now that he finally felt like there were memories worth remembering.

Holding his phone, Isaac stuck his hands out of the window and his fingers slipped when trying to snap the picture. Adding that to the strong wind that passed by, it wasn’t surprising when his phone fell from his grip.

The conversation he had been immersed in with his friends was cut short as he quickly unbuckled his seat belt and stuck half his body out the car’s window without much notice. If he acted fast he could use his powers and save his phone from hitting the ground, he thought.

If he had followed Spender’s advice he had been ignoring the entire time saying to maintain his hands inside the car he wouldn’t have ended in this situation. If he had listened to Isabel and decided to be sentimental during another time he wouldn’t be the way he was right now. There were a lot of things he could’ve done but fate wasn’t by his side. When was it ever really?

Spender was glancing back to Isaac begging for the boy to sit down immediately when someone in the back shouted. Some animal got in the middle of the road but Isaac never got to take a glimpse of it. The brake was pressed so abruptly the force made everyone inside the car lean forward, hitting the seats in front of them and the steering wheel in Spender’s case.

Before his body ended up on the ground, Isaac felt the sensation of being light. He never felt the hit but he knew he had rolled across the floor like a rag doll. He realized soon enough that King C had taken possession of his body during the milliseconds that passed between him falling out the window and touching the road. Isaac was sure without a doubt it wasn’t to protect him but himself. King C taking the hit would have more probability of saving the body he was trapped in than Isaac doing it. Maybe he managed to make something powerful enough for him to take the hit without any injuries?

That was one of the many reasons as to why Isaac hated his spirit taking control, he never was conscious when he did so and never got an explanation of what even the plan was.

When Isaac focused his eyes again, he was already face down on the ground. The left side of his face burned so intensely he knew he was bleeding. His attempt to take in oxygen were cut short by his sharp high pitched inhale at the feeling he could only describe like his chest opening. Isaac tried to stare down at himself, not even being able to move his neck without feeling pain, watching his spectral energy come off of him specifically from the center of his torso and that’s when Isaac noticed the glowing cyan marks that he had grown accustomed to seeing around his wrists start to fade away.

He didn’t sense his spirit.

“ISAAC!” He heard his teacher yell in the distance. Isaac’s only response was to scream.

And that’s were he was right now. Groaning while trying to keep his sobs at bay as he heard ushered footsteps grow closer.

“Someone call an ambulance! Now!” Isaac heard Isabel say and he went to speak up but it only came out as a pained exhale, not knowing why he was refusing help for, considering he hurt all over and wouldn’t be able to even stand up without aid.

Someone ran and crouched, nearly completely dropped, next to him. One knee on the floor, they leaned down trying to get closer to him. “Isaac, you hear me?” He recognized the voice to be Max and a cough came out instead of an answer which only made his chest ache more.

“Maybe that’s a yes.” Ed commented sitting down behind Isaac trying to notice any serious injuries on him.

“Could also be a coincidence.” Max’s leg, the one that didn’t have his knee touching asphalt, started to bounce sign that he was beginning to get anxious. “Hey, tap your fingers if you hear me.”

Isaac groaned, lifting his hand from the floor multiple times trying to make a point by frowning at Max through his tears once the boy met his eyes.

“Alright, sorry.”

“Hurts.” He managed to say with a hoarse breath.

“I know”

“Let’s get him inside the car and drive to the hospital ourselves. We can’t wait a lifetime for an ambulance to come.” Isabel said, her voice quivering in the middle of the sentence before gaining back a steady tone though louder.

“We could make things worse by moving him. We don’t know if he has internal injuries.“

Isabel silently crouched right in front of Isaac, her gaze switching from the brunet next to her to him when she noticed movement. Isaac’s fingers twitched, just enough to grace his own skin on his wrist, the traces of blue fading as the seconds passed.

Isabel could only watch, the mix of emotions in her face getting stronger as she was met with troubled blue eyes and found out she didn’t have any answers that would make the situation better. She could only bite her lips, softly brushing away a wild strand of orange hair that fell in front of her friend’s line of vision. Curly orange locks that she hadn’t seen in ages and yet never expected to see again so soon.

The blue eyes widened not realizing what Isabel had done at first. Then, Isaac’s hands trembled, turning into fist at the feeling of being unable to even move to confirm his own suspicions.

His already uneven breath hitched when warm hands found his, laying on them as if they were glass. By observing the arm that followed it, which was decorated in multiple colorful wristbands he recognized that it was Ed, who was strangely silent and made Isaac forget he had been laying giving his back to the blond this whole time.

The unconscious tremble his lips had gotten into stopped. Loosening the grip in his hands Isaac tried to focus on other things that wasn’t his ragged breathing: the warmth of Ed’s hand, Isabel and Max’s muttering to each other, low enough to only make out a few words of what they were saying… Were they really talking that low? Was it possible for their voices to resemble as if they were going through a tunnel, echoing through imaginary walls around them?

Without being able to move from his position, his eyes ended up focused on what laid in the distance beyond his two friends before him. He recognized the back of their teacher in the distance. Crumpling rocks beneath black shoes with his pacing, his steps going from side to side as he heatedly talked on the phone. One, two, three, four. Turn. One, two, three, four. Turn.

Fingers snapped in front of Isaac’s face making him jump. When had he closed his eyes? Max shook his head, his gray eyes clouded with worry. “Please, don’t.” He muttered. “Just wait ‘til the ambulance comes, please.”

Isaac stayed silent, swallowing as he avoided Max’s eyes. Whatever it was he had in his mind, it wasn’t a good memory.

Despite Max’s plea, the growing guilt forming in the pit of his stomach mixed with the physical pain he was being subjected into made the idea of fainting far more inviting.

Nevertheless, Isaac hummed.

The people around him exhaled.

For the extent of the time, they did their best to remain calm except for the moments one of them raised their voice asking the older man still on the phone how long it would take for the so-called help to arrive. Max complained about it taking so long. Ed lets slip about it taking usually longer in places like Mayview. Nobody commented on Max’s leg bounce becoming quicker.

Their teacher joined them from time to time, checking on Isaac before going back to pacing around, asking for the twentieth time already the same question himself.

His friends tried to maintain a conversation, making the ginger focus by asking him short questions when his eyes showed his mind starting to slip to another place.

Long torturing minutes that felt like never-ending hours passed until the distant sound of sirens was heard. Getting closer and closer. As if they all had had something restraining their lungs from breathing and not just Isaac, they all inhaled sharply and those who could move turned their heads toward the vehicle.

Isabel laid her hand on Max’s knee, not pushing but the touch enough to make the bounce stop. She looked back at Isaac and smiled reassuringly

Isaac observed as Max let out a low quivering breath, “he’s okay, we are okay” was something he heard the brunet murmur to himself.

Ed’s hand never left his until more people started surrounding him and suddenly there were too many things happening at once.

Someone asked him something, Isaac didn’t know if he answered coherently. Too many voices talking. Too many sensations. Closing his eyes seemed to be effective enough to block it all out.

Somewhere during the time he had been taken up the ambulance and gotten inside the hospital Isaac realized he had fallen asleep. Or he fainted, which was most likely.

When he awoke, he didn’t expect being in a comfortable position on his back. Not after finally starting to understand how to accommodate a pair of small familiar orange wings that had grown in his lower back months ago.

Sitting up on the hospital bed turned out to be impossible. As he tried to do so he propped his right hand on the bed, only to realize the stinging pain that seeped through his arm from the shoulder to the wrist. In fact, his whole torso ached.

Settling on being able to move only his neck, Isaac glanced at the window by his side. The blinds on the outside were closed and so, instead of the scenery of what he assumed would be the small garden beside the hospital, he was met with his reflection against the glass. The numbness in the left side of his face was explained when he observed the bandage completely covering his cheek along with the one wrapped tightly enough around his forehead. His glare stayed on the wild strands of orange curly hair poking from the top of the white cloth.

Unable to maintain his eyes on his reflection for too long, Isaac looked at his fingers from the one hand he didn’t feel like it was completely ruined and tried to make thunder. Or just a small crackle. Anything. Please.

Letting his head heavily fall on the pillow below him, Isaac closed his eyelids right when they started to get blurry. He closed them with enough force to make white shapes behind the complete darkness appear.

He wasn’t going to cry. Not for a spirit that only had cared about his own being and had made sure on making such intentions clear time and time again.

…And yet it was the one that brought him the powers Isaac had related with himself since the beginning.

As sad as it sounded Isaac had been relying on such things to shape his personality for as long as he has known this world.

Take away the strange features.

Take away the powers.

Take away being a medium.

Who was he now?

Isaac laughed, yet as his eyes opened, affixed on a blank point on the white ceiling above him, they didn’t show a trace of amusement. “Well,” the beeping of the machine beside him muffled the strained voice that barely came out, “goodbye then.”

#paranatural #pnat #isaac o'connor #mel writes #me: someone please give this boy a break #also me when i see angst: oooooh yeah i gotta write about this #i hope i did justice to brownie's amazing art and headcanons ksjdhf

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the-fiction-witch · 6 years

Text

Doctor And Witch P9

MOVIE: MAZE RUNNER AU X SLEEPY HOLLOW COUPLE: NEWT X READER RATING: SWEET

When I woke up it was still raining the sky still as dark and the sounds of the rain still on the roof y/n was still fast asleep in my arms so I gave her a little kiss and quietly got out of bed trying not to wake her as I stood and got dressed giving her one more kiss before heading downstairs and having a cup of tea looking out at the rain the streets had now flooded with the water around ankle level now the garden at the back of the house seemed alright the little tree we first planted at the end now growing fairly large it must like this sort of weather I sighed remembering I need to send out those letters today so I got my boots doing them up and putting my jacket on just as I grab the letters putting them In my inside pocket just as I saw Akiko coming down the stairs “Meow?” she said questionably

“I have to go out Akiko Look after y/n till I get back” I told her and she came close rubbing her head against my face “I’m sorry Akiko you can’t come you need to look after y/n till I get back” I tell her so she Meowed sitting on the rug “good girl” I tell her giving her a stroke before heading out the door and locking it behind me and with much regret I stepped down onto the ground and the freezing cold water and stepping though it trying to rush though it all trying to get away from it as I went into the centre of The Town everyone seemed to be about their normal business as if it were a normal day carts still going down the streets, horses still going up and down even though the water just a little way away stood little Lilly even playing in the water with her rag doll and she waved at me so I smiled and waved back to her “Morning Dr Newton, Isn’t summer lovely” a man asks to my side and I turn to see it’s just Thomas a man that works out in the farms I often see him in my line of work he was a very nice guy very strong with very cut short hair he was lifting a few empty crates from the floor into the back of the cart the cart was in front of the grocers so he must have just dropped off some crops

“Your right Thomas, such lovely summer weather” I laugh

“What are you doing about so early?” he asked

“Got some mail to send off” I shrug

“Oh…hope it’s not going too far with this rain” he laughed

“Yeah Hope it stops soon” I smirk

“Oh when you’re done in the mail carrier's I found something in the fields last night thought you might have some idea what it is” he explains shouting over the rain

“Of course I’ll take a look give me a minuet it shouldn’t take too long” I answer quickly rushing off once I got in the door my body met the pleasant warm air the building was old with an obvious smell of mould and burning paper the walls where just here pain dark wood and in the middle was a little desk with a lot of shelves behind it and at the desk stood a man he looked old but still very active and happy so I went over to him “hello sir” he said hardly looking up from the different sorting of paperwork he was doing

“Hello, I’ve got letters to send out,” I tell him leaning on the desk

“Sending too?” he asks

“London and Salem,” I tell him

“Very well” he says holding out his hand so I hand him the letters which he happily took and began sorting them out so I went back out the rain still heavy and the sky still very dark so I went back to where Thomas was still packing things up “well what did you need to show me?” I ask him

“It’s out in the fields, follow me,” He says so we wander off towards the fields and there was just a little hole where they had clearly been digging an odd looking black slime “any idea what it is?” he asked

“Bad news is, it’s not oil,” I told him

“Damn” he sighs with a laugh

“I’m not too sure what it is” I shrug

“It’s alright, If I find any more I will go over and tell you” he sighs after a few other little things I wandered back home and the place still seemed very empty and quiet so I went upstairs and saw y/n still peacefully sleeping in bed with Akiko sat sleeping on my pillow so I climb into bed with y/n and give her a few kisses “y/n It’s time you woke up” I told her sweetly

“Ummmm I don’t want to” she giggled sleepily

“But you need to, you need to open the shop today y/n,” I tell her

“No the water will get in the walls and the whole shop will be damp” she explained still sounding mostly asleep

“Well alright,” I tell her giving her shoulder a little kiss

“Have you checked the basement yet?” she asked

“Oh No” I say sitting up more “No I haven’t, Thank you for reminding me” I told her giving her cheek another kiss before getting up and lighting one of the larger candles and rushing downstairs grabbing my jacket just as I did y/n trudged down the stairs in her nightie rubbing her eyes and yawning “I’ll be back in a bit” I told her giving her cheek a tiny kiss making her smile a little

“Be careful” she told me sounding very concerned

“I will” I told her picking up Akiko and sitting her in y/n’s arms and heading out into the garden, down at the bottom of the garden was the storm shelter a couple of little dark wooden doors with nothing much more than a small gate latch to hold it shut opening in the door trying to do it quickly so I could get inside without the candle going out and I stepped in going down the first couple of steps turning back to the kitchen window only just about clear enough to see y/n making sure I was alright it fuzzy and unclear because of the heavy rain waving to her for a moment having her instantly wave back before shutting the doors again. And heading down into the basement once I got down there It seemed alright hardly any water was getting in it all so after a few more little checks of the foundations and such like I headed back up the rain still pouring out of the sky and the clouds still as dark as night, letting the candle go out as I now didn’t need it and walking back around to the front of the house going back in and taking off my jacket yet still being wet though so I locked up the house again and headed back upstairs to y/n who was now laid back in bed in her nightie cuddled up with my pillow so I sat back in bed with her moving my pillow out of her grip and snuggling into the pillows position so she was cuddled up with me “It’s all fine hardly any water is getting in but if the rain keeps up I will check it again tomorrow” I explain to her

“Alright, Thank you for checking” she smiled snuggling her head onto my chest but she groaned UN-Happily UN-buttoning my shirt “Your All wet” she groaned pushing my shirt off my shoulders and throwing it off in another direction and snuggling onto my bare skin

“Aww y/n” I giggle at her

“Shh” she tells me giggling quickly falling back asleep on me

“Aww y/n, come on you need to wake up” I told her lightly shaking her

“No” she giggled

“y/n, come on” I laughed at her

“But we don’t need to work today” she groaned

“Yes we do…or well, I do” I told her trying to sit up but she just pushes me back down again

“y/n I’m serious” I laugh at her

“No” she says

“y/n!” I laugh

“NO!” she giggled so I gave up moving away from her arms and out of bed completely and going over to my chest of draws to get another clean shirt for the day “well you can stay in bed all day if you like I have to get the office open” I laugh at her doing the last few buttons up on my shirt, once I was done I went over pressed a tiny kiss to her lips before going off downstairs going into the office and trying to start the fire but because of the rain coming down the chimney had dampened the wood in the fireplace and made it impossible to light a fire so I lit a few candles lightening it up but the room stayed as dark as night and I stood leaning against my desk frozen having to add two jackets but still freezing I stood around for a few hours still as frozen as before having to often blow warm hair into my hands just trying to stay warm but often having to yawn as I sat on the table trying to stay awake watching the rain falling even though the darkness outside so much I felt myself drifting off to sleep but trying to stay awake anyway but I kept feeling like I was going to sleep until I shut my eyes just giving them a rest just for five minutes but I woke up in my chair with the living room fire going a warm blanket wrapped around my shoulders and another blanket over my legs as well as my feet up on a soft footstool, and a soft pillow wedged between my shoulder and my neck and Akiko sat asleep on my lap I sat up slightly confused how I got here I only shut my eyes for like five minutes I’m sure of it “So your awake?” y/n giggled

“How long was I out?” I ask her

“About six hours” she smiled I looked over at her sat in her chair in her little blue dress with something in her hands I couldn’t quite see what,

“Did you-“ I Begin

“I did, You passed out in your office, So I shut the office down and brought you in here by the fire it was so cold in there you were frozen” she explained

“Humm, Thank you y/n” I told her

“You’re welcome” she giggled

“What are you doing?” I ask her

“Knitting” she smiled

“Oh?” I ask her “what are you kitting?” I ask her sitting up more

“I’m not too sure just yet, I only just started” she smiled “I was thinking maybe a scarf, or a blanket, or maybe even a teddy bear” she giggled

“For…who?” I ask her

“Now that…I’m not too sure” she giggled making me smile too

“I can’t wait for this rain to stop” I smile at her

“Why? So the sun will finally shine again, so the streets will be walkable again, so that the fire can burn properly, so we don’t risk death Itself by going to sleep, so that at last the roof will be quiet” she giggled

“No… so that I can make you my wife” I smile at her

“Aww Isaac, That’s sweet” she giggled

“Isn’t there like a weather spell or something you can do to make the rain stop?” I ask her

“I can, under normal circumstances” she explained continuing her kitting

“What makes these not normal circumstances?” I ask her

“This isn’t normal rain, which is very clear. But what it is… I don’t know, this dark cloud hangs over The Town and only The Town go beyond The Town and it stops but something is hanging over us” she explained

“Do you think it has something-“I begin

“Of course it does, ever since his rain began things began to happen the baby, the woman, this odd sickness that seems to be affecting everyone...” she explains

“The boys found some dark sludge under the ground yesterday do you think that-“I begin

“Almost defiantly, something is happening, something is coming and whatever it is. It isn’t good” she says “Come On, It’s time you get some rest, real rest Isaac, Come on” she smiled putting her kitting down to help me up “I think you’re coming down with a cold” she said happily dragging me up the stairs with her and making me sit in my bed

“y/n I’m fine” I laugh

“Oh no you’re not” she says sitting on the bed with me and putting the back of her hand on my head “you’ve been sleepy all day and you went out in the rain twice today and sat in the wet clothes you could been getting a cold” she explains

“I’m alright” I tell her

“I just want to make sure” she says before rushing off again and within a couple seconds she was back with a little box of things and she sat on the bed again

“y/n, Really I’m fine” I laugh

“Under the tongue” she says trying to stick a thermometer in my mouth so I sigh letting her do it she then got another blanket and used it to tuck me in and she took the thermometer out checking it “Very high, You’re getting sick” she says

“I’m fine y/n I swear” I tell her

“No work for you, not till this Illness clears up” she says fussing over me

“y/n really I’m fine” I laugh

“I’ll get you some soup before bed” she smiled “And maybe a cupcake” she giggled giving my cheek a kiss “don’t worry I Will Take good care of you” she smirked

“Ohh, then maybe I uh am coming down with something” I say faking a cough

“Oh really?” she laughed crossing her arms

“Yeah I feel really sick” I tell her

“Only now you feel sick?” she asks with a smirk

“Yeah, you need to take care of me and …maybe skip soup and go right to cupcakes?” I ask her

“Nice try Isaac, You get soup and then a cupcake” she laughed rushing off downstairs again one she had bought me the soup It tasted awful like all the trimmings and horrible bits of meat and veg no one would eat all mixed with water I could only manage half of it as not to be mean to her before laying back and nibbling away at my cupcake as y/n changed into her nightie and sat in her side of the bed kitting away “Get some rest” she tells me

“I will, when I get a kiss” I told her

“I know” she giggled giving me a little kiss

“You should get some rest too” I told her

“I will, as soon as I finish this part” she explained

“y/n, Come on you can finish in the morning” I told her making her giggle putting her kitting on the table and laying down in bed with me as Akiko climbed over and laid in her usual spot and blissfully I fell asleep.

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musicalshards · 6 years

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some things from off-west end heathers (26/07/18)

- jd is SO good, oh man. i feel like in the original cast, jd’s character can be taken less seriously because he goes more for the manic grinning psycho character, whereas jamie muscato’s interpretation was scary. when he snaps towards the end of the show his voice changes into this raw, rough scream-like thing so he’s almost yelling some of his bigger notes. it feels so much more threatening, especially in the moments where he’s holding and fighting veronica, and much less like the UWU MY ANGSTY BEAN character that i ocassionally see in fandom shit, which i thought was great

- carrie hope frickin fletcher. oh man. she was so awesome. i LOVED her veronica, loved loved loved! there were so many little quirks in her performance that were so theatrical and nuanced, little stops and razor-sharp raising of eyebrows; she felt like a really strong, sparky character, even through the heathers slowly turning her into a bitch, her sass and original character quirks still stayed throughout. this is explained terribly, but essentially i loved it

- the heathers were grEAT. just GREAT. oh man, they were so good

- the ensemble were aboslutely tight as BALLS, man! they were incredible and i dont think we realise on cast recordings how much of the songs they sing through to make everything sound tight and punchy. ‘new wave girl’ and ‘stoner chick’ were my favourite

- fight for me had been modulated down a tone or so

- the second verse in big fun was changed, all centred around ‘veronica looks hot tonight!’ it worked really well and i loved it

- instead of the “so it’s salt, then lime, then shot, YOU’RE DONIG IT WRONG” moment, heather mac told her the order, veronica aced it, mac said “you’re a natural! just like my mom!”

- the “quit it jackass get off of me” and the freshman sneaking over the pool fence section was cut

- “sorry but i really had to wake you” was changed to “had to see you, hope i didn’t wake you”

- some of the biggest notes in veronica’s part the show were cut, which of course is a tad disappointing to not hear live, but you’d have to be superhuman to sing those insane parts without vocal damage anyway, so i totally understood, the songs still went HARD

- after dead girl walking when veronica dreams of heather coming back and thrashing her for the whole martha-pig-vomit scenario, she’s wearing this massive ass red scrunchie that went round her entire head it was hilarious

- whenever the ensemble come into somebody’s imagined scenario (we the students of westerberg high will die), dream (aforementioned giant scrunchie dream) or general creepy bit (shine a light reprise), they all wore those white frame red-and-blue 3d glasses

- they changed ‘heather touching me’ in me inside of me to kurt and ram instead of a girl :/

- heather chandler running round the stage when she’s going ‘I’M BIGGER THAN JOHN LENNON’ was the funniest thing, she like ran around the characters singing about her and did shitty leaps around the stage it was the BEST

- the new song ‘you’re welcome’ was really great and veronica was a badass. i kinda wanted to see blue live because it’s my #problematic fave, i know it makes light of issues around assault but also the song is so ridiculous and i love it, it was the first song i ever heard from heathers that @pjfangirllvnda shoved into my ear one day with absolutely zero context and i was like what the actual fuck. however, in terms of the show, you’re welcome worked really really well and i think it’s a better song for the show

- because of the aforementioned jd performance, our love is god was incredibly powerful, especially at the end when veronica was like wtf you killed them, you could tell she wanted out but jd was holding her and it seemed like he had her trapped and she looked terrified, his stage presence was so menacing it worked great, you could see him co-ering her into joining in with the final ‘our love is god’s. ALSO ram had a shitty tie and veronica was like “oh i like your tie ram’ (she did the best ever act of OMG YOU’RE SO HOT STRIPPING FOR ME it was brilliant) and he was like ‘thanks, my mom got it for me.’ he’d just taken it off, so he went in the pile of clothes and put it back on. ‘thanks, mom!’

- heather duke’s song was BOSS and included the ‘big swordfight in her mouth’ part, but as a reprise of ‘big fun’ than blue which worked really well. there’s a little reveal in the song, which i won’t spoil (i didn’t have it spoiled for me and i squealed) but it was so GOOD, shoutout to t'shan williams for being so damn great

- dead gay son was so great and the whole audience went MAD when kurt and rams dads started making out

- shine a light had been modulated down a semitone i think. the ‘steve, i’m ending our affair’ was hilarious, she was like “oh god is that your wife,,, and your children?? you bought your entire family to our school assembly?? wellllll this is awkward,, hi i’m pauline,,, hope you’re enjoying the show,,,” miss fleming’s voice was amazing AND they had those light-up books to dance with in the ensemble which was cool

- lifeboat had been modulated somewhere, i could have sworn it went up, i LOVED heather mac’s voice, particularly her vibrato was so well controlled and not just super-fast manic it fitted the mood of the song so well, shoutout to sophie isaacs you’re awesome

- in shine a light reprise, “you don’t deserve to live, go on and bitch and moan, you don’t deserve the dream, you’re gonna die alone” or whatever, instead of repeating the same melody twice, she just kept going up on every line DAMN did i mention she was awesome

- kindergarten boyfriend was never a favourite song of mine but DAMN did jenny o’leary do it justice. there was this big pause when she sang ‘certain girls are meant to be alone’ - she was sat at the top of the upper level of the stage stage with her legs danging over the edge, at that line she stood up and went to stand in the centre of that platform in this big silence it was like the whole theatre held its breath

- meant to be yours was terrifying due to aforementioned jd awesomeness, oh MAN

- my favourite line ‘cheek to cheek in hell with a dead girl walking’ YAS

- i am damaged i think had a lyric or two changed and it seemed like jd was less regretful, more like ‘you beat me there’s nothing i can do’ rather then the kind of ‘i’m playing fair so i’ll stand down because i have some human-like regrets’ that i got from the original cast recording, which again i liked because it feels truer to the movie and the fact that jd is always a seriously messed up guy, not just a #edgy teen

- standing ovation and seventeen reprise as we all cheered off the curtain call was awesome

- THE BAND WERE ABSOLUTELY AWESOME AS A SAXOPHONIST I WAS WEEEEEPPIIIIINNNGGGG I WANNA PLAY IN THE BAND FOR HEATHERS

- everything was g r e a t and as my first ever live musical i am STOKED it was so awesome

- (bonus: we saw a matinee so there wasn’t anyone doing signings because of the second show later on, but my friend was the only person i’ve ever seen to cosplay martha and she got a photo with jenny just as she was leaving!! how cool is that!!)

#heathers the musical #veronica sawyer #jd #carrie hope fletcher #the other palace #off west end #hannah what the hell #heathers spoilers #idk what else to tag it

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anne-lida · 6 years

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[SPOILER] My Thoughts on “Venom” Movie

So yesterday and today, I (finally!) watched the movie with my mom in flippin' 4DX (but with 2D graphic though). We never watched a movie in 4DX before, but I saved the moment and the money for this movie. ;)

Also, I repeatedly lost parts of my long review seven times. I was losing my patience, my memory, and my excitement each time I had to rewrite my review. So I decided to just make... commentary for my expectations and (stupid) wishes that I posted days ago.

n.b.: there will be so much spoilers after this (hence the title). You've been warned. Plus, there was two types of commentary here: the bold commentary (and most of "My Other Thoughts" part) is from my first watch, the italic is from my second watch.

My Expectation (what I think the movie would be/what would happen in it):

- I can see myself squealing like a fangirl at any random moment in the movie. Probably most of those moments are reference from the comic that I know. XD --> I was so noisy (my mouth almost never closed at the entire movie). I screamed or "aww"-ed like... every five minutes at the rarest? I was sitting on the farthest row from the screen and I saw almost everyone looked behind their chairs everytime I screamed. XD --> still screaming and "aww"-ing, except that no one cared about me. XD

- After I watch it, my thought might be ranging from “omg, I love the movie! I don’t care what they say, but this is the best movie ever!” to “I love the characters, I love the concept of this movie. But may I rewrite the story, please?”. --> it's in between? Like there's still something that should be fixed, but maybe not the story. Maybe it's just the pacing?--I said the pacing towards the end is too fast, my mom said the pacing at the beginning is too slow. Maybe one caused the other. But then we kinda agreed that the time from after Riot bonded with Carlton to the end of the final fight is too short compared to the other part of the movie. I think this could be fixed in some kind of novelization or... what people called for "comic version of novelization". I won't even complain if it will be a 1000 pages novel with story like this. :) --> apparently love comes from understanding and understanding comes from time; I totally forgot about those flaws after watching it for the second time and just took all the goods.

- I think the ending would determine whether I like the movie or not. I have a feeling there’s something great at the end, something… surprising. But if apparently not, my love to the movie (not the comic) might be gone. Also, I think the ending might be–no, must be based on “Planet of the Symbiotes”. --> apparently the ending is much happier than the comic, especially because Anne is not traumatized after biting a head off (at least not traumatized enough to kill herself).

- No matter how many times Venom said that it want to bite people’s head off, I highly doubt that we would see a “solid proof” that a head is actually being bitten off, even before it was announce as PG-13. What I think would happen is… something like this level of violence. We might see Venom opened their jaw, the victim and people around them freaking out, the victim’s body stop moving and thrown away, but… it might be just that. (I might called every “bite your head off” lines as BS) --> I slightly surprised that Venom bit a head on camera. No one's bleeding though. (also Venom is a big hungry boy in general, not because of lacking phenethylamine like in "Venom: The Hunger")

- I have a strong feeling that in the end (probably in the post-credit), Eddie would be thrown into jail (to the prison where he did an investigation that led him to Life Foundation) after all the damage he had done as Venom and he would meet Cletus. Begin the film in the prison, end it in the prison. --> yes, there was Cletus in the one of the post-credit scenes (mid-credit scene, to be exact). But Eddie was just interviewing him, actually (and that's the only scene that took place in San Quentin prison).

- I know that this is impossible, but why I still have a feeling that Spider-Man would appear in this movie, even though I don’t want it to happen? --> yes, he is in the post-credit scene (which is shockingly a clip from "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and almost everyone in the theater were disappointed XD. Fun clip, though). --> my mom refused to wait until this post-credit scene. XD

- I have a feeling that the “Venom” name origin would be either so cheesy or the idea just came out of nowhere. --> it came out of nowhere. It's also the symbiote's individual name and it doesn't make sense to me (also Eddie didn't even question that?). Like if the symbiote is called "Venom", then both Eddie and Venom called themselves as "Venom", doesn't that mean Eddie is also a... symbiote? (this might be my brain farting, but still) --> maybe it's too confusing if the symbiote doesn't have an individual name and too risky to give him other name.

- Someone might be pulling my heartstring at the end. --> "Goodbye, Eddie." "VENOM, NO!" ...and there goes my heartstring.

n.b.: When they lowered the age rating, I tried to lower my expectation, just in case the movie is terrible. But the hype tho. --> I was spoiled from here and there (I was so bad at dodging it). Yet the movie is still so fun to watch that we both agreed to watch it again on the next day. XD --> ...and somehow the movie became much better after the second watch (it's like from 80-85% good to 100%). XD

My Wish (what I want from the movie):

- A flair of chocolate in Venom and Eddie relationship (this version of Venom symbiote needs chocolate real bad). --> not much as I want (just a barely mention), but it's better than none. Plus, me and Venom have a common ground now: Tater tots. --> I might be up to tater tots dipped in chocolate sauce. :d

- At least one soundtrack that I like because it is actually good, NOT because I like the movie it comes from. --> at the early part of the movie, there was "Eddie's Blues" that makes me think this movie will be different than other comic book movies nowaday. I feel like it has that mystery, private-eye movie vibe in it. (somehow it makes me think of "The Wolf Among Us"?) --> "You Belong to Us" is pretty good too. Its happy, slightly jumpy tune became a great refreshment after those tense, ominous, dark music.

- A touching interaction between Venom and the civilian (especially kids and/or women –> maybe with Mrs. Chen? She seems like a lovable side character) --> I don't think there's any (I didn't count Eddie as "civilian" in this case). Yet speaking of kids, the interaction between Carlton and the kids at the beginning made me forget that he's the antagonist :3. Also Maria wrenched my heart. )": --> Eddie is so nice to every woman.

- Please, for the love of God, just for once, let me love the protagonist more than the antagonist. --> I guess I did it? I like how Carlton's "persuasions" made me almost don't believe that he's the villain (especially in his conversation with Isaac), but every time he said "open", it broke that impression. Guess I still love Eddie-Venom duo more.

- This seems almost impossible, but somehow I want at least one song that Venom sang in the comic be featured in the movie? Or maybe a tiny scene with “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” in it? --> no, there was none. --> "I move to San Francisco for you. You are my home." Well, still sounds like "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" life to me.

- It might sounds odd and cringey, but guys, there’s a rapper in the movie. Are you seriously not letting him rap even just for the credit? --> same as above.

My Other Thoughts:

- at the entire movie, my sitting position was either way too near to the edge until my mom held me back (afraid that I'm gonna fall off XD) or pressing my back to chair way too hard and I still wished I could press it even further (omg that Riot jumpscare... my poor heart... DX). Also I raised my feet so many times because the wind effect kept hitting my feet each time someone shot or kicked other's legs.

- dear symbiotes, why did you have to land in Malaysia? Dear female EMT whoever-you-are, why did you speak in Melayu? Why this movie is already so relatable in first two minutes?

- what happpen to Yellow (I assume that's its name since the other symbiote is called as "Blue"?) and the rabbit's fate? Did I miss something?

- it might be just me, but something in Carlton's appearance or face makes him seems like a nice person who can't do "angry/pissed off villain" expression. Like he's almost as innocent and curious as the kids that he interacted with. At least until he started to kill people.

- some of the 4DX effects for this movie are not necessary IMO. My chair was vibrating when Anne hit Eddie with a pillow, and I was sprayed (like a big spray) when Eddie picked a lobster and ate it (and it scared me. Twice).

- Idk if it's because of the 4DX effects, but the street chase is so awesome ("It's incredible," said Carlton Drake--seriously, he did say that himself after that scene XD). Also, this is the scene when I slowly leaned to my mom and whispered, "Let's watch this movie again." ;). This is also the point when I felt that this movie is so impossible to be hated.

- although people said that this movie sucks, I think we all still agree that the scene where Venom called Eddie "pussy" because he didn't jump off the building and took the elevator instead is funny/amusing (even though I'm also scared of height and would do the same XD. But seriously, I would rather be called "pussy" and lost my dignity than hyperventilating or getting heart attack and lost my life). --> also the scene when Anne demanded Eddie to go to hospital made the entire theater giggles at the least.

- omg, Venom likes Anne! Venom literally said he likes Anne! Omg, I don't think this OT3 even existed in the comic. :O

- I was about to ask how Riot's journey from Sibu to San Francisco is even possible, but somehow after the second watch I just don't want to ask it? XD

- the moment Venom was separated from Eddie, I immediately thought of "Planet of the Symbiotes" comic and I... gdi, Eddie. :"(

- I was expecting Venom bonded with Mr. Belvedere for some reasons. But of course, Venom is a dog perso--I mean, dog... symbiote?

- am I the only one who see the "making out" scene as an OT3 kiss, instead of just OTP kiss? Like both Eddie and Anne were actually kissing Venom, then Venom was like, "Okay, I had enough. I'll let you both have your moment alone now while I move to my favorite host." XD

- Venom being protective to Anne even when Eddie disagreed with him? Y'all, in Venom: Sinner Takes All, Venom protected Anne only when Eddie ordered him to. But this? What the duck is this movie trying to suggest us?

- "You belong to us, Anne." *me biting my bag, trying to hold back the squeal* oh my God, Venom told her to join the OT3! Three's a family! I can't--oh God. >O<

- I quoted what Venom says (and listed what Venom eats XD) at the scene after the street chase and at the ending, almost didn't lose a beat (because I watched the trailers too much XD).

- how could I didn't expect Stan Lee to be in this movie? (and of course Tom Hardy would pet a dog :3)

- the way Eddie taught Venom how to know the difference between good and bad people is somewhat cute (almost like teaching a kid >< And Venom later acted like a kid when he demanded Eddie apology for calling him "parasite").

- I told you that the movie would be good and enjoyable even without (directly interacting with) Spider-Man. I told you that despite the trailers being dark and edgy, the movie has its own "unexpected cuteness". :)

- when can I buy the DVD or Blu-ray for this movie?

- outside me liking the movie, I watched the movie twice because I was kinda hoping that by buying more tickets would help the possibility of the sequel becomes higher. And honestly, this is the first time I watched the same movie twice in the cinema.

- also I love how the fandom reacted to the movie (especially on Tumblr). You are the best! XD Keep it up, y'all! :D

I think that’s it for now. If there’s anything else that I remember, I would update this post. Maybe.

#Lida's rambling #Venom #Venom (2018)#Venom (movie)#spoilers #I took too much time than I needed for this that I haven't even sketched for day 6 Inktober #finally it's done though #at least for now

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lilacmoon83 · 6 years

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Finding You Always

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 135: Duality

Snow and Eva trekked through the woods and found a good tree as a target, before putting their stuff down.

"This looks like a good place," Eva said, as they readied their bows. They spent several arrows from their quivers and shared a smile when they finished the first round.

"I've missed moments like this...spending time with one of my babies," Snow mentioned.

"Me too, Mom," Eva replied.

"So...how are things with you and Paul?" Snow asked, as they collected their arrows.

"Mom…" she chided, but knew her mother simply couldn't help herself.

"You know I can't help myself. Besides, you and Paul did share true love's kiss back in that warped world Isaac created. That's kind of a big deal, honey. Things have just been so crazy non-stop that we never really got a chance to talk," Snow mentioned. Eva nodded.

"Things are great...it's a bit surreal sometimes," Eva replied.

"What do you mean?" Snow asked in confusion.

"Well, I mean...I guess I always thought that just because I came from a true love as amazing as what you and Daddy have, I knew there was never a guarantee that I'd find it myself," she replied. Snow smiled.

"But you did...and don't negate how important that moment was for you and Paul," she added, as she put a hand on her shoulder.

"Remember, there was a time when I didn't believe in true love at all. I thought it was all a lie when I was living as a bandit, just trying to survive," she reminded.

"Then Daddy found you," Eva said. She nodded.

"Mmm...it took us a while to find our way to each other and stop denying what we both knew we wanted," she said, as she trailed off for a moment.

"What is it, Mom?" Eva asked. Snow recalled that moment in the woodcutter's mobile dungeon when she had held his arm back and allowed the stranger to dispatch him, saving her life. But that man was no stranger and she remembered the connection she felt when their hands brushed briefly. Her husband had saved her life, long before he even knew it. Her encounter that day with him had led her to change her course completely. She had planned to leave the Kingdom that day, possibly for a new life across the vast ocean and beyond the Queen's reach. But he had changed her decision that day. Their encounter had changed her mind and she decided to stay and fight, even though the Blue Fairy had warned her about the bad things that could happen if she did not leave. Bad things had happened, but more good and bad, for finding herself in that net months later was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

"Mom?" Eva asked, breaking through her reverie.

"Sorry sweetheart...I was just thinking about all we've been through and I realize that even the bad was all worth it. True love is worth fighting for," she assured. Eva nodded.

"I know...I just wonder sometimes if I'm strong enough. You and Daddy have fought so hard and you're still fighting, this time because of some mad scientist that keeps trying to find love in all the wrong places. How do you do it, Mom?" Eva asked curiously. Snow sighed.

"Well, I may seem all put together right now, but I'll be honest, honey. I was a mess last night. I tossed and turned all night...your father probably didn't get any sleep either. We both felt a little helpless and we hate that. We don't do helpless well at all," she mentioned.

"But I find hope and love every time your father kisses me or touches me. I find hope and love every time I look at you and your sisters and brothers. To be honest, Jekyll's infatuation with me is puzzling, because he knows he has no chance. It has seemed to only make him more determined," Snow explained.

"He certainly fooled everyone at first into thinking he was harmless. But you know Daddy. He'll find him and lock him up. He's the hero in your story, not Jekyll," Eva reminded. Snow smiled. Her daughter was so right. Charming was the hero of her story and no one could ever replace him. Jekyll had his chance to find his own story, more than once, and had blown it each time by turning to the darkness.

Snow smiled and cuddled the baby and her daughter close.

"You're right, your father will always be my hero, in any world," Snow agreed, as her phone rang. She saw it was Regina and immediately answered.

"Hey Regina…" she greeted, but her smile faded into a frown.

"She did what?" Snow exclaimed, as her mouth hung ajar and Regina continued to explain the newest predicament.

"Hang on...Eva is with me. We'll be right there," Snow said, as she hung up the phone and looked at her daughter.

"We need to get to the hospital and fast. You're never going to believe this," Snow said, as they hurried back through the woods toward town.

It had been a relaxing day so far. Robin may not have been exactly himself, but after breakfast, they had gone horseback riding and then had lunch at Granny's. It felt almost like a typical family day for them, so she shouldn't have been surprised when her sister showed up to make sure it all went to hell.

Zelena showed up on her door, knocking frantically just a few moments ago. And if it hadn't been for the round bulge in her stomach, Regina would have slammed the door in her face.

"Zelena...what the hell?" she demanded to know.

"Please help me...she did something to me," the redhead pleaded.

"You want me to help you? Seriously?" Regina hissed.

"Regina...please," Zelena begged, as another contraction ripped through her and her legs nearly buckled.

"What kind of trick is this?" Regina demanded.

"It's no trick...I'm pregnant, barely a few days along and now I'm this!" Zelena tried to explain through the pain.

"The Queen…" Regina realized, as she brought her into the house. Robin was stunned when he saw the state she was in as well, but there was no time for them to process what was happening.

Regina magicked all of them to the hospital and chaos erupted around them. Paul was shocked to say the least when they wheeled a very pregnant Zelena into the delivery room.

"How the hell did his happen? I didn't even know she was pregnant," he exclaimed.

"It just happened and then the Queen used some kind of magic to accelerate it. There was no way she would want to wait nine months to throw this in my face," Regina replied bitterly. Paul gave her a sympathetic gaze.

"I'm sorry," he offered. She nodded and looked at her stunned husband.

"Robin…" she started to say.

"What do I do?" he asked. Regina felt her heart pulse with an aching.

"You need to be with her...that's your child," she urged. But he surprised her and took her hand.

"I need you there too…" he said, as they went into the delivery room.

"Arghh...it hurts! Can't you make it stop?!" Zelena cried.

"I'm afraid it's a little late for an epidural. Your water just broke," Paul responded, as Eva rushed into the room with Snow behind her and the witch glared murderously at the raven haired princess.

"Get her out of here!" she cried.

"None of this is Snow's fault...the Queen did this to you!" Regina snapped.

"But she...she started all of this! Oh, I can't wait until the Queen finally makes you pay, you little retch!" Zelena screamed.

"I'll watch Roland," Snow offered, as she held Bobby and went out into the hallway where Roland was waiting.

"Come on sweetheart, let's go get you a snack," she suggested, as he took her hand and they went to the cafeteria.

The morning search for Jekyll so far had yielded no results. Even more frustrating, James and Aphrodite had seemingly disappeared into thin air. The locator potion that Emma and Xander used failed completely. They knew that didn't mean they were dead necessarily, but only that some other kind of magic was blocking them.

Leo and Chad were tracking and had reported that they thought Wilby might have a scent, but had yet to report back yet. In the meantime, David and Emma got a call from Gold about a break-in at the shop. He was unsure off the top of his head what was missing, but demanded they find the culprit straight away.

They knew that if someone had broken into the Pawn Shop and had not been vaporized by any of Gold's magical protections, then they knew what they were doing.

"I can't believe that creepy doctor. I swear, the moment I get my hands on him, he's getting another punch in the face," Emma promised, as they trekked through the woods. David chuckled.

"I'll gladly let you...he's definitely mentally unstable. You know, his admiration of your mother unnerved me from the moment he stepped through that portal. But even I didn't peg him to go as far as to drug a woman and try to assault her," he lamented.

"Dad...he is not touching Mom and from the sounds of the story, hopefully Rose Red found Fandral and they escaped Jekyll's reach. This is one monster that we're going to lock up in a padded room," Emma assured.

"I know...he's smart though, Em. Really smart...I feel like a physical fight isn't going to work with him. He's the type that can outsmart me at every turn," David said worriedly.

"Dad...you are not stupid, far from it. He may be a super genius, but you and Mom have the one thing on your side that so far no villain has been able to defeat," she reminded, as she looked at him. He smiled slightly.

"Love," he said knowingly.

"Exactly and for all his book smarts that you and I both lack, I happen to be a pretty good strategist when it comes to battle and one guess as to where I learned that," she added, as she looked him fondly.

"I don't know, your Mom is pretty good at it too," he reminded and she lightly nudged his arm.

"Stop...I'm trying to talk you up here," she retorted. He smiled.

"I know...thanks Em. It's just...not really the first time I've been made to feel like I might not be good enough for your Mother," he muttered.

"Daddy…" she chided, pulling out all the stops with the title that she knew was an instant way to melt him.

"You are everything to Mom...and to us! You are an amazing husband to Mom. You're also the best Dad any kid could ever have and believe me, I feel like I can be an authority on that," she reminded. He put his arm around her and kissed her forehead.

"I know...I still hate that those first ten years you went through what you did," he lamented. She smiled.

"I had hope though, because of the book and my blanket. And then I found you," she said. He smiled.

"You did," he agreed.

"But enough about me, how are you doing lately? Your Mom mentioned that you had a couple of dreams," he inquired. She shook her head.

"They were nothing...just memories of a few times they tried to put me in therapy, you know, because of the whole "My parents are Snow White and Prince Charming thing," she replied.

"I can't imagine trying to deal with people from outside Storybrooke all the time. I mean, those two FBI agents literally saw full scale magic in front of their eyes and were still skeptical," he mentioned. She nodded.

"I know...I don't even know why those memories surfaced all the sudden," she replied. He glanced at her.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked. She gave him a look and he shrugged.

"You and I are A LOT alike, Em," he emphasized.

"To quote your Mother, to a frustrating level," he added. She sighed.

"I'm fine...I guess with the Queen back, it just got to me a bit finally. I guess I'm scared of losing you and Mom. I mean, there was crazy Drizella Tremaine and then the dreamshade poison in Neverland. Then Atlantis and Zelena and Camelot and then the Underworld...I thought that one really might be it. And now some crazy mad doctor is fixated on Mom and the Evil Queen is intent on making her suffer," Emma lamented.

"Hey...I know this family has been through more than any family should ever have to endure. But we're going to get through this...together," he assured. She nodded.

"I know...and I haven't had another dream since that one. I talked to Killian and he offered kind of the same perspective; that it was just my subconscious worrying about going back to the life I had before I found you and Mom. But I know that wouldn't happen," she responded. He nodded and sighed.

"So Killian...you guys seem like you're getting close," he mentioned.

"Oh God...are we really going to go there?" she asked.

"I know, but you know, you're my little Princess and no one is ever going to be good enough for you," he replied stubbornly.

"Do I have to remind you that my little sister is also dating?" she teased.

"Yeah, I really don't want to talk about that," he grumbled.

"You like Paul and Killian, I know you do," she said, casting him a sideways glance.

"Paul is a good man...and Killian's kind of grown on me, I guess," he grumbled. She let out a laugh.

"Yeah, he has that effect of people," she teased and he gave her a withering look.

"It would just help if he wasn't a three-hundred year old pirate sometimes," he complained.

"Well, to be fair, Paul should actually be pushing fifty," she reminded. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I really really don't wanna talk about this," he complained and she giggled.

"Oh Daddy...Eva and I may both have men in our lives, but you're always going to be Daddy and we're always going to need you," she assured, as she held onto his arm.

"Promise?" he asked.

"Pinky swear," she answered, as she hooked her pinky with his. He was about to say something again when he heard faint footfalls. Emma heard them too and they stopped dead in their tracks. He looked at the large tree trunk on their right and she nodded to him, as they split their defenses.

Sure enough, a hooded figure ran from behind the tree and through the woods. Emma ran after the person and tackled them to the ground.

"Get off me...I didn't do anything!" a female voice cried.

"Oh yeah? Cause I'm thinking that you're the person we're looking for that broke into the Pawn Shop. Gotta say, you've got guts. Gold has fried people for way less than stealing from him," she warned, as she cuffed the beautiful dark haired woman. David picked up her satchel and pulled out an intriguing sword.

"Let me guess, this isn't yours," he said, but she only glared at him, as he pulled out a second item.

"A genie lamp?" he asked curiously.

"I need it…" she pleaded.

"Wishes always come with consequences, you know that, right?" he asked.

"What would you know about it?" she hissed.

"More than you think. My wife's father once found a genie lamp and let's just say, it didn't turn out well for him," David replied.

"I need it...to find my missing Kingdom," she begged.

"Missing Kingdom...who are you?" Emma asked.

"Jasmine?" a new voice asked. They looked over, instantly recognizing the unique accent.

"Aladdin?" she exclaimed.

"You're back…" David said, as the former street rat rushed to Jasmine's side.

"Come on David...why the cuffs?" he asked.

"Well, she kind of stole from Gold's shop. But I'm guessing there's a much bigger story behind all this," David replied, as he made the decision and removed the cuffs.

"Thank you…" Aladdin said, before turning his attention to Jasmine.

"And you...breaking into Rumpelstiltskin's shop? The hell were you thinking? If he caught you, who knows what he would have done," Aladdin scolded.

"Excuse me for trying to find a way to save Agrabah! What the hell have you been doing? Running away again?!" she shouted.

"That's not fair! I got scared, but I was going to come back when I realized I couldn't leave you and Agrabah behind. But then...I got caught up in the Dark Curse. My father and I went back to the Enchanted Forest though to try to find you and Agrabah," he shouted back.

"But you couldn't," she said knowingly.

"No...it's gone. I don't know how it's possible, but it's gone," he replied.

"It's my fault...I failed the Kingdom. Jafar did something...that's why I stole the lamp," Jasmine explained.

"Is that why you two came back here? Because Agrabah was gone?" Emma asked. Cassim nodded.

"We realm hopped for a while with what beans we had, trying to find a way back to Storybrooke. And then on our last bean, we ended up in another Enchanted Forest," the elder man explained.

"Yeah...thought we were going to be stuck, but then we ran into a couple of people that helped us find Storybrooke again," Aladdin added, as they moved and revealed that there were three more people with them. Emma gasped, for if she didn't know any better, she would have sworn she was looking at her parents.

"You're…" she started to say.

"Rose Red and Fandral," David finished.

"You know us?" Rose asked curiously.

"Oh, when the people from the Land of Untold Stories came to our town on the Dirigible, it came with a book of stories. Yours is one of them and my wife and I have been reading it," David replied.

"Rose and Fandral provided us a direct path to Storybrooke via the Bi-Frost," Cassim informed.

"Seriously...the Bi-Frost is real?" Emma asked in amazement. Fandral smiled.

"Quite real. We decided to accompany your friends when we heard Jekyll and Hyde had left the Land of Untold Stories," Fandral explained.

"And we knew we needed to come, especially after Aladdin told us of your wife's resemblance to me. He was quite upset when we escaped him and I couldn't knowingly rest if there was a chance that he might fixate on another," Rose added.

"I'm afraid he has. Our son it actually out trying to track his whereabouts now, but Jekyll has teamed up with the Evil Queen. It's a long story, but I'm afraid he's now fixated on Snow," David explained.

"It seems we have much to sort out then. Perhaps there is a better place?" Cassim asked. David nodded.

"Yes...let's go back to town. I'll call Snow on the way," he said, as they led the way back.

Regina couldn't believe it. This morning, she had breakfast with Robin and Roland in their home. And now she was standing in a hospital room where her sister had just given birth to Robin's child. A baby girl...a baby girl that he was holding. He was in shock and awe, but she could see the wonder on his face.

Snow had offered to take Roland home with her, but she politely declined and held his little hand, as he peered down at his new sister.

"She's beautiful," Regina offered and he smiled at her.

"This all seems so impossible…" he said.

"You think it's impossible for you...I was barely pregnant yesterday and now I'm a mother," she uttered. Regina gave her a stiff look.

"The Queen did this for a reason, Zelena," Regina interjected. As she said that, the Queen appeared in a puff of purple smoke.

"Speak of the devil," Regina growled, but her counterpart ignored her and peered down at the baby.

"Ah, I see the little bundle of joy is here," she cooed, but Robin pulled his daughter away from her. She frowned.

"Don't be rude...let her Auntie get to know her," she demanded. Regina stepped forward to intercept her, but the Queen's magic tossed her back against a wall. Robin was unable to move, as the Queen gently took the tiny pink bundle from her arms.

"Why did you do this?" Regina demanded. The Queen smirked.

"Oh, I didn't do this," she said, indicating the child.

"That was all Zelena and Robin," she added, enjoying the pain on Regina's face.

"You pretended to be Marian...I would have never…" he said vehemently, but stopped short of actually saying the words.

"Believe me, I didn't have much interest in you either," Zelena retorted.

"No...but you knew how much it would hurt me, so I'm sure part of you delighted in it," Regina spat. Zelena smirked.

"A bit...though the whole baby thing was pretty unexpected and I'm a bit miffed that you decided to magically move the whole thing along," the wicked witch replied, as she cast a withering glance at the Queen.

"I'm impatient. I wanted to meet my niece," she cooed.

"No...you wanted to twist another knife in me," Regina refuted. The Queen smirked.

"Well, there is that bonus. But I assure you, my revenge is far from complete," she added.

"I think we can be much more comfortable elsewhere," the Queen decided, as she, the baby, and Zelena's bed disappeared from the room. The loss on Robin's face was palpable and despair threatened to swallow Regina. She vaguely wondered if this was karma's way of paying her back for all she had done in the past. She had ripped Snow and Charming apart and with that Emma from them. Now she was forced to watch part of herself do the exact same thing to Robin, the man she loved. Snow, Charming, and Emma had long forgiven her, but could Robin truly forgive her for everything when he got his memories back? Could he forgive her for her part in cursing him with false memories, sleeping with someone else essentially against his will, and her part in the death of the real Marian. Could he forgive her for her part in any future trauma his daughter might have to endure with Zelena as a mother and the Queen still lurking since there was no known way to rejoin them. Or would this be the line that was drawn on forgiveness?

Snow heard the door open, but had felt Charming getting closer to home long before he walked through the door. Summer ran to him and she followed with Eva beside her.

"Daddy!" Summer called, as he scooped her up and kissed her hair. His free arm went around Snow's waist and they sought each other's lips. Snow kissed him desperately, as Bobby cooed between them. As their lips parted, their eyes met and they spoke without words. He knew the Queen's attempts to wreck havoc in their lives and Jekyll's persistence was wearing on her, but his determination and resolve to protect her had never been stronger. He kissed her again, just as his father arrived behind their guests.

"Cassim?" he called.

"Xander," Cassim said, as they shared a brotherly handshake. Snow and David's lips parted, but he held her close, as he turned to their guests.

"You're back," Snow greeted them. Aladdin nodded.

"Then you must be Jasmine...you found her," Snow said, as hope returned to her voice.

"Not exactly…" Aladdin responded, causing her to frown.

"He couldn't find me, because I've been in the Land of Untold Stories up until Hyde brought us here," Jasmine explained.

"My father and I couldn't find a trace of Agrabah, so we realm hopped until we ran out of beans trying to get back to Storybrooke. Fortunately, we found a bit of help getting a direct path here," Aladdin added, as he gestured to the people behind him and Snow finally saw them with gasp.

"You're here…" she uttered.

"Snow White, I presume?" Rose asked. She nodded.

"And your Rose Red…" Snow answered, as both women seemed absorbed by the fact that they were nearly identical, despite Snow's hair being shorter.

"Wow...this is trippy," Leo commented, as he filed in behind them with his animals.

"Perhaps formal introductions are in order?" Fandral suggested.

"Of course. I think you've guessed by now that I'm Snow White and this is my husband David, or Charming as I like to call him," she said, as she took his hand.

"This is David's father, Xander. Our daughter Emma, our twins, Leo and Eva, our youngest children, Summer and Bobby," Snow said. Rose and Fandral looked at them incredulously.

"They're all yours?" Fandral asked. David smirked.

"That's another long story," he replied.

"A story I think we'd eventually like to hear, I'm sure. For now, allow me to introduce my family. I'm Fandral, formerly of Asgard and now Prince consort to Queen Rose Red. And this little one is our tiny angel, Princess Carina," he introduced. Snow smiled.

"It's wonderful to meet you both...I feel like I know you just from reading your story," she said. The other raven haired beauty smiled.

"Aladdin brushed on your story a bit. I only hope you'll regale Fandral and I of some of your adventures as well," Rose replied. Snow nodded.

"First thing is first though...did you find anything?" David asked their son.

"Uh yeah…I think I know where he is. That's not the problem though," Leo said, as he held up his hand and they saw what looked like burn marks on his hand and forearm.

"Honey...what happened?" Snow asked in concern.

"I'm okay...but Zelena's farmhouse is protected by a shield. I think it's powered by the same energy that Jekyll used to build that baton we used on Hyde," Leo said, wincing. He was trying to hide his pain from his mother, but she saw right through it. Her face had gone even paler and the tears gathered in her eyes. She walked over to the covered mirror that they had in their entryway and pulled sheet away from it.

"Is it not bad enough that you stalk me and insult my husband last night, but now you're harmed my son?" she cried.

"Mom...I'm okay, don't give that bastard the satisfaction," Leo pleaded. David put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back.

"He's right, my darling," he assured, as he pulled her into his arms. Emma covered the mirror again.

"He's looking upon you from mirrors?" Rose asked.

"He's teamed up with the Evil Queen and mirrors are power to her. She can use any reflective surface to spy if she wants to," David explained. Rose glanced at her husband.

"We were right to come...it's far more serious than we thought," she murmured to him. He nodded.

"Have you seen Hyde?" she asked.

"Here and there. He's teamed up with the Queen as well, but to what end, we don't really know," Xander responded.

"Hyde may listen to me, but Jekyll will continue to grow more unstable, I'm sure," Rose offered.

"We got to the part of your story when he saved you, but not much further than that. Obviously you managed to find each other though," David mentioned. They smiled.

"Perhaps we can regale the rest of the tale," Fandral offered. Snow nodded and motioned them into the living room.

"It's best we hear the whole story and then find a way into the farmhouse. The sooner we can lock up the doctor, the better," Emma mentioned.

"And find James and Aphrodite," Xander added. Chad looked down, feeling a bit of relief that they automatically assumed that their disappearance was related to Jekyll or the Queen. He felt the slight twinge in his heart. The Black Fairy was impatient and he didn't know how much longer he could hold her off. He clutched Leo's hand, knowing that he would soon be forced to shatter his heart and his own alike. And there wasn't anything anyone could do to stop it…

Jekyll's eyes locked on her, as she appeared in the mirror. He imagined tasting the tears on her skin and what it might be like. He was long past trying to keep the demons inside his head at bay. These days, his fantasies that he normally would not allow to be entertained were unrepentantly clouding his mind. This was the reason he had worked so hard to rid himself of Hyde. He had long been convinced that Hyde was the reason for his depravity and possessive nature. He was so sure that once he permanently separated himself from that demon that he would return to being a purer man; that he would no longer desire to fulfill such evil indulgences. How he had fooled himself, for the moment he and Hyde became two people, the goodness in him dwindled. It started slowly at first and he truly believed that what he had for Snow White was simply a healthy admiration for the beautiful, brilliant woman she was.

Then it began to evolve into more. He started thinking about her more and more. And then, he had been privileged to spend an entire day with her, working in his lab.

That had been where the downward spiral began, for once the day ended and he realized that was it, he simply could not accept it. Life had been so unfair to him that way. He was giving her a way to subdue Hyde and yet he still wasn't seen as the hero. He had given her the means, yet he was sure that once the Prince used the serum to dispatch Hyde, he would reap all the glory and be showered with Snow White's affections.

He had done this...he had manipulated the situation to keep them from working together again and he had never wanted to make someone pay more than he wanted Prince Charming to pay. Snow feared him now, all because of Rose Red and her cruel rejection of him. He could not deny that her fear excited him though and thoughts of having her invaded his mind. If only she could see how good they would be together, the brilliance they could gift to people. But as long as she was wrapped in that handsome idiot's arms, she'd never see what he could show her. Getting to her with him around was almost impossible...but if he was taken out of the equation, then that would be a different story. She would have no choice but to see then what they could be. Oh, the images of her nearly bare form and what it would be like to touch her filled his mind again. The fear in her eyes would be quite thrilling, but then once he showed her what they were like together, she would see the truth; that she belonged at his side.

"Fantasizing again about what shall never be yours again, Doctor?" Hyde questioned, as he strode into the basement lab.

"What do you want?" Jekyll snapped.

"To warn you that this path is foolhardy," Hyde responded.

"And what do you care of what becomes of me?" Jekyll spat.

"Need I remind you, Doctor, that your fate is intertwined with mine. I do not fancy meeting my end, because you are unable to keep your delusions of having what you cannot at bay," Hyde spat in return. He glared at his counterpart.

"You know very well that you poisoned Rose Red against me! Had you not interfered, she would have eventually forgotten Fandral and fallen for me!" Jekyll growled.

"You mean after you sent hunters after his cursed form to kill him?" Hyde countered. Jekyll slammed his fist on the table.

"It would have been for the best!" Jekyll shouted.

"Only in your twisted mind, doctor. Do be cautious or the next thing you know, Prince Charming's sword shall slay the monster you are. And that comes with a grim fate for me as well," Hyde warned, as he left the cellar and the doctor behind.

#Snowing #SnowxCharming #Charming family #Daddy Charming #Mama Snow #OUAT reimagined #season 6 AU #split!Queen #Jekyll and Hyde #romance #adventure #ouat fanfiction #outlaw queen #zelena

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iamwhelmed · 7 years

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Win One, Have Two: Chapter 4

Let me preface this with an apology to all of you. I know I’ve skipped updates for over two months now, and I’m so so sorry about that. A huge load of things happened, and they happened all in a row. My birthday, and then my entire family got sick enough that I had three or four nosebleeds and my mother considered antibiotics. As of today, we’re still not all quite over that. And then, in late November, I lost my cat. She was my whole world. I loved her. She was older than I was and this was coming for a long time, but it still hit me, and it hit me hard. I won’t go into all of the details, but for a few weeks there I just couldn’t find the inspiration to write-- er, well, anyway. I had to write something for my creative writing class and... let’s just say it’s one of my least favorite pieces. Either way, I’d lost inspiration long before this train of events hit, and the train only made it worse. However, I think as a writer, one needs to push theirself, even if they don’t feel like writing, to write. That’s how we grow-- the difference between a hobbyist and an author is that one finishes their work. I intend to finish this fanfic, dammit. Anyway, here are the links on AO3 and fanfiction.net. Hope this extra long chapter was worth the wait!

Here it is on AO3

Here it is on Fanfic.net

He was early, he thought, glancing down at his watch-- early by a day. Ed snickered to himself and climbed the steps up the Guerra dojo, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Isabel was never a fan of surprises, but he had a feeling this would be different-- after all, it’d been a little over two weeks since he’d last seen her, last saw her smile and felt her nearly lift him off his feet. He was growing stronger, gaining muscle and therefore weight, and she wouldn’t be able to do that past the the next season, but for the moment he’d enjoy it. She probably wouldn’t be too proud to be lifted off of her feet, but he’d certainly try to repay the favor.

It was silently that he pressed his palms against the door and inched it open. There were a few grunts, and the sounds of bodies hitting the floor along with the occasional yelp-- telltale signs of a sparring match. He pressed further in, peeking inside with a grin.

Isabel and Dimitri moved back and forth, throwing punches and kicks and dodging each blow all the same as they bent forward and backward in a limbo, in a dance. Isabel winced when Dimitri’s hand came too close to her head, brushing by the tip of her ear as she sidestepped and brought her forearms up to block a surprise blow to her chest. Dimitri seemed less distressed than she was, but Ed could see the bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head. He plopped down on crossed legs by the doorway, setting patient hands in his lap as he watched them duke it out. It’d been a year or so since he’d last seen the Activity Club’s strongest have at it-- a treat he was beginning to realize he’d sorely missed.

Isabel’s sidestep left Dimitri falling forward with the force of his fist, and she took the opportunity to throw her arms around his waist and dig her head into his stomach, sending both of them falling to the ground. She’d been set on cornering him, then, too distracted to notice the way Dimitri tangled their legs on the way down, use the twist of his heel to change their momentum. She squeaked as she landed back-first on the floor, Dimitri pinning her with his hands locking her by the elbows to the floor. She squinted at him from behind the one eye that wasn’t covered in her unruly bangs, and he smirked at her the way Dimitri smirked at everybody, but with a blood-boiling hint of smugness in the glint of his eye. He leaned down, close enough that his nose was hardly an inch from her own, and whispered. “You’ve gotten stronger, Iz, but not strong enough.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.”

He wasn’t expecting her legs to wrap around his upper body, or for her to use that surprise to flip him over her head. He exhaled, sharply, and grunted as she flipped over on top of him, knee pressing against his stomach, hands curled around his shirt, tugging him up as she leaned down. She gave him her own haughty grin. She didn’t realize her breathing was labored until she spoke, or that Dimitri’s lungs were just as constricted. “Is that strong enough for you?” He took a moment to process how she’d won, or more accurately that he hadn’t, then snorted and smiled, lips, which her eyes-- for some weird reason-- fell to without her explicit permission, parting to say something.

And then there was a whistle.

They turned to look so fast they might have made themselves dizzy, eyes falling to their secret audience, who was then standing and clapping with a smile as wide as his face. “That was so cool, Izzy! Man, where’d you learn that? No way the old man has started teaching you judo.”

Dimitri blinked, and in the next moment he’d been dropped to the floor, suddenly much lighter without the weight of a second person towering over him. “Ed!” He sat up with one hand rubbing his head, eyebrow rising as Isabel rushed into Ed’s arms, wrapping her own around his neck as he took advantage, digging his head into the volume of her hair, of her neck, with a face so bright he’d have thought he was a man home from war. Isabel was no less buoyant than the enduring wife, laughing and swinging herself around and squeezing him closer every time Ed so much as made a move to pull away. Dimitri frowned.

Then he shook his head and smiled, and raised a hand. “Ed! Long time no see, my man.”

The two finally pulled away from their embrace, and Ed waved back with a grin and a flick of his wrist.

Isabel’s eyes met Dimitri’s, wide and-- good lord, glowing. “We were just sparring, since our resident AWOL club member is a little rusty.” She stuck her hands on her hips, and he snorted to the side, gazing at her in his peripheral.

“I must be if I let you pull what you just did…”

Her smile doubled in size, and he could have sworn the shimmer in her eyes diminished to a dull brown, sharp, like a predator, like an animal. Isabel turned and nudged Ed with the bend of her arm, playfully. “What do ya say? Wanna face the winner?”

He and Ed locked eyes, and for a second, just a second, there was a question hanging in the air-- something unspoken, something he wasn’t even sure Ed knew himself to be asking. Dimitri shrugged and leaned forward over his knee, and from there, Ed sprung to life again. “I’m as ready as a lunatic preparing for the apocalypse!”

“What do you mean you haven’t found anything? You’re the police! He’s a missing rich kid! What could possibly be higher on your priority list, woman?”

Suzy, Collin knew, was a fierce girl, and would become all the more tiger-like as the years passed them by, and he thought for sure that, given time… she’d get herself brutally murdered, or locked in a high-security prison. He’d just hoped, prayed, wished on several wishing wells and multitudes of tossed coins in fountains, that he would not be present, nor an accomplice when that day came.

The woman, the small, bony, wide-eyed woman, no younger than fifty, trembled in the presence of Suzy’s wrath, fingers shaking so terribly that she couldn’t even type a word, although Suzy had echoed the command like a mantra: Look up Isaac O’Connor. Has the case been solved? Any traces?

He wasn’t about to tell her they probably wouldn’t share that sensitive information with a couple of middle school kids, and he doubted the poor thing she was terrorizing would. “I-I’m afraid we h-haven’t found anything new, yet--”

“Are you serious right now?” Suzy pointed to the keyboard with one rigid finger, teeth grinding as each word fell from the wall of bone with a hiss. “Look. Again.”

“I-I’m sorry, miss! There’s simply nothing else to be done! Our men a-are working very hard to find your friend! I-I’m sure he’ll--” She squeaked when Suzy’s fist came down upon the desk, shuffling and unsettling stacks of papers, sending white sheets flying and swaying in the dead air of the police station. She wrenched her back against her desk chair until it hit the other side of her circular desk, wincing the more Suzy leaned closer.

“I don’t want excuses, Margaret! I want results!”

Collin sighed and pulled away from the front revolving door where he’d been standing; the red of Suzy’s cheeks meant trouble was brewing, and he didn’t want to be around to hear the tea kettle sound. “Suzy,” he set one hand on her shoulder, pulling her an inch or two off of the front desk, which she was near laying across by that point. “You need to calm down.”

“Calm down?” He winced, unprepared for the level of “shrill” in the height of her tone. “How can I calm down?” She raised one hand, gesturing to the frail woman behind the desk, who’d taken the opportunity to step away-- presumably to get help. “How can I calm down? These nicompoops can’t find one blue-eyed ginger kid, and I’m the one out of line?”

“Yes! Now come” he tugged at her arm “on!”

Her feet skidded against the floor, and though she waved around and pulled back and dug her heels into the floor, he somehow managed to wrench his arms enough to get her out the front door, down the front stoop. She tried to snatch her wrist away as soon her her toes tipped into the final step, and he let her. “What” she huffed, and he wondered, sardonically, if she’d tired even her lungs out with all the screaming she’d just done. He felt a deep, connected sympathy for the poor child she’d presumably have one day, then cringed and swept away the thought of Suzy as a mother immediately. “What did you do that for?”

“You are literally going to get yourself arrested.”

“For what? Complaining?”

“No! For being a public disturbance! In a police station!” He gestured to the still-swinging doors and the mess she’d left on the other side of them. “That’s like going to a train convention before proceeding to mock trains as the inferior public transit system!”

Suzy blinked at him, then glanced to the station doors, then back at him, and crossed her arms. “So?”

“So?” Collin bit down on his lip so hard he was sure it was going to start bleeding, swallowing the complete and utter disbelief and resentment that was starting to swell within him at a more alarming rate-- and higher volume-- than usual.

But blowing up and ranting at her about the poor ethics of the life she led was going to do nothing but get him drowned out like always. He had to be smarter about this-- had to be more like Dimitri about this.

He ran both his hands down his face and sighed into them. “Suzy, look,” he pressed his palms together and placed them at his chest, mildly surprised when she looked at him instead of through him, blue eyes narrowed, but for once, focused. “I miss Isaac, too. I’m worried about him. There are a lot of things that can happen to a missing kid our age out there and few of them are good-- but listen to me. There’s gotta be a better way of going about this.”

Suzy’s nose wriggled and she pouted up at him from when her downturned chin was set, looking like a scolded child as she wrung her fingers through the sleeves of her pink jacket. He would have been more in awe if he wasn’t so worried he’d lose her attention; there was something tamed about Suzy when she was quiet, when she was thinking and not scheming, and the serenity made her something to observe, like the return of the ocean after a tsunami, or the white flag on a battlefield as either army slept through the night. He couldn’t help but think that he should have taken a page out of Dimitri’s book a long time ago. She huffed. “Like what?”

She’d listened to him. She’d really listened! “I’m not sure, but maybe Mister Spender will have some ideas?”

Suzy sprung back to life then, tamer than before, but still fiery and still spoiled. “I don’t wanna ask him for help!”

Collin blinked, hands falling to his sides. Of all the--? “What? Why not?”

Her cheeks bloomed red, and she stomped her foot on the sidewalk for good measure, hands balling into fists. “I just don’t want to, all right!” She passed him by, then, each step as heavy as the irritation radiating off of her, almost like the auras Isaac had once described, and he watched her with a curl in his lip and furrow in his brow.

She must have been six, maybe five, and Catriona wondered how she was already seeing spirits-- how she already felt comfortable enough around them to be playing with them so carelessly, so freely. She could hear the girl’s mother somewhere, in the distance, like a bird chirping completely unaware of the woodsman coming to chop down its tree.

She placed a hand against the tree she took as cover, watching the child from the shadows as the spirit led her to and fro, from one end of the small stone bridge to the other. It was small, small enough to fit into the palm of her tiny hand, and fast, and it flew, in all probability the factor that drew the little girl to chase. It was cute, Catriona supposed, with a bushy tail like a squirrel and paws tinier than the smallest leaf, pure white with a stroke a red along its head to its hind end. Its ears twitched when the girl giggled, beady red eyes blinking back at her because it had no mouth to chirp back.

Catriona was sure it meant no harm.

Meant.

Perhaps it was a misstep, or the culprit was the sleekness of the stone after it’d rained in the early morning.

She slipped. She slipped and stumbled into the running river below, into the heavy crash of wave after wave as her small arms reached helplessly above the raging waters. Her mother drew closer, then. Probably heard the splash.

“Aggie!” Her mother was, understandably, panicked, eyes wide, hands shaking, screaming and reaching a powerless hand out to the wandering, blind fingers of her child. Catriona grimaced, licking her lip and cracking her knuckles.

“Love, I’m going in.”

Though she heard no response, she could feel his approval-- warmth, then something hotter, a passion, a drive.

The little girl, Aggie, floated down the river, out of sight of her mother, who’d only just begun climbing off her knees to chase her down the forestside. She called out to her all the while, heart racing, pounding like the veins in her chest were ready to pop, a hand outstretched in fear, in so much fear. She could only see the tips of her baby’s tallest fingers, overarching the water only enough to draw the attention of the only audience she had. “Aggie! Aggie, hold on! Hold on, baby!”

“It’s okay!” She paused, nearly tripping over her own two feet as a black-gloved hand raised in the air behind the bend of the river and trees, fingers beckoning her closer. “Aggie, right? I caught her, she’s fine!”

Lo and behold, just around the corner, she found a woman with hair the color of an orange sky-- the sunset-- holding a soaking wet Aggie in her oddly-covered arms. But that was her least concern, not when her baby was reaching out to her with tears in her eyes, fingers opening and closing with every inch she reached for her mother’s embrace. With a gasp, with a choked sigh, with a smile, she took her daughter in her arms and swung her around in a circle, holding her close, taking in breaths of her damp hair and laughing to herself as tiny hands clasped at her blouse. She turned to the stranger, her hero, hero daughter’s savior, and took in her odd state of dress with less scrutiny and more curiosity.

Her dress was long and formal and black, as though she’d stepped fresh out of a church, out of a money man’s funeral, though the lengthy slits on either side of her long, slim legs gave that thought pause. The woman smiled and straightened out her dress, shifting the shoulders so the straps of her off-shoulder neckline fell, well, off the shoulder and not on, giving her a smile as she set her hands at her hips. “My, my, little one, your mommy should be more careful with such an adventerous soul like yourself.”

“I’m so sorry!”

The stranger raised both hands defensively, eyes wide and lips curved. “Oh, dear, no, I’m not scolding you! No need to apologize! I was the same way, myself, when I was her age. My mother had quite the handful to deal with.”

She sighed and offered the stranger her hand, surprised when she took it to feel nothing but warmth. How were her hands not wet? Come to think of it, she looked untouched by even the wind, let alone water or the dirt of the forest floor. Odd... “My name is Mari. This is Aggie. I was-- I was so busy watering Mister Carver’s yard, you see, I’m a gardener, that I hardly noticed there was a river nearby and--!”

“You take your daughter to work with you? Well,” the stranger leaned forward and pressed a finger to Aggie’s nose, who giggled. “That seems an odd practice for a woman in this day-and-age. Does your boss know about this?”

“No! But I’ve been trying to find a proper daycare, I really have! It’s just that everyone is full, and babysitters are so expensive in this neighborhood--!”

“Lucky I’ve run into you, then!” The woman reached out of her pocket-- that dress had pockets?-- and held it out for her to take. “You see, I’ve just started my own daycare service, and I’m yet to find any children to, er, look after. Now that you mention it, it must be because they’re all already in established daycare communities.” She clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth and smiled. “My name’s Catriona. I’d say you and I need each other!”

Mari had only just finished typing her home phone number into the stranger’s-- Catriona’s-- contacts before she all but shoved the phone into her hands. “Yes! Please! Thank you so much! Give me a call at 8:30 when I get off and we’ll set our schedules out, okay?”

Mari and Aggie disappeared over the hill from which they’d came, and for a moment, Catriona felt deeply satisfied. She ran one hand over her arm and sighed. “My only regret is that you and I could never bear a child.”

She could feel him, his essence, enclose around her, then, drag her into his realm with all his stars and lights and the empty black sky. There was something so reassuring about his world, something so welcoming, though his space mirrored nothing but the emptiness of the night sky and the land above the clouds. “I know, my love.” He set a hand on her shoulder, and effortlessly, she fell back against his chest, placing one hand over his own. “Though, perhaps now, we could have a family.” She glanced over her shoulder to find him looking back at her. They smiled as she laced their fingers together.

“Max! My boy! You’re just who we’re looking for!”

Max squeaked and jumped three feet in the air, clutching the family album he held squarely against his chest. Dad peeked around the corner of the kitchen, and though Zoey didn’t go to poke her head out, too, he had a feeling she was in the other room, making popcorn; she had to, otherwise it’d be left up to their dad, who had a bad habit of decking each bowl in so much black pepper and salt (and sugar?), it became inedible for anybody but himself. Max had the sneaking suspicion he planned it that way. “What? Why?”

“We’re going to get a round of D&D in! You up for a fight against an ogre? Now mind you this is very different from the ogre from the last game! This one is the king of resentment, the last one was the king of righteous unfounded anger.”

Max sighed. He got enough monster-fighting a month ago, and if he never saw another monster for as long as he lived, until he died and started roaming the world as a ghost (because he would unarguably stick around just to do sick scooter tricks in the afterlife), it would be too soon. Besides, there was something he wanted to do…

“Sorry, dad. Maybe another night.”

His dad might have called after him again, he’d been clingy like that lately, but he stuck to pretending he hadn’t heard him over the slam of his door. He padded, slowly, over to his bed and climbed atop, resting his back against the headboard as he flittered the front pages of their family album open.

I just need to think for a little while.

He stopped on the latest pictures of his mom, pictures around maybe a year, maybe a month, before… He exhaled through his nose and smiled to himself, thumb running over her face as she tried to pick out a slice of cake in the heated window of a Baxborough bakery in the upper city. He always told himself, that if he could do it again, if he could go back and say things he hadn’t said, or take back things he had-- Max grimaced.

And yet, there he was, thinking the same thing again. He hadn’t learned anything the first time around, and now…

He ran his thumb over her picture again, wondering if he’d get it right a third time.

Isaac could only take a gasp of air before he was lurching over the toilet of another state park bathroom, hands clenching the side of the bowl like safety bars on a rollercoaster. His stomach clenched and he was throwing up all over again. His hands were clammy, and his entire body was sweaty, hot, leaving the bandages on his body clinging to him like a second skin.

His stomach wavered, and for a moment he thought his body was calming, that he could finally take a moment to breath.. And then he tasted bile in his throat and his face was once again uncomfortably close to the toilet bowl.

It took another fifteen minutes for the vomiting to stop, and another five for him to clean up. He left the bathroom with his hands in his pockets, feet swaying from side to side, but he could still walk… a little.

Why was he sick? He’d thought he’d taken all of the necessary precautions to keep his wounds uninfected, keep his body healing-- what had he missed? As far as he could tell, the wound in his arm was scabbing over, as was his eye (though it still stung like a fresh wound when he cleaned his face), and he’d cauterized the wound in his abdomen without it opening up on him. That was all he had to do, right? He frowned. The lever had been rusty… had he given himself tetanus? He’d had all of his shots?

He winced as his stomach once again became unsettled, raising one hand to set it against the churning skin. Not good. He was starting to get dizzy. He winced and watched the park move on around him, trying to clear his eyes. He could make out a dog catching a frisbee in the top of his mouth, hear the proud owner egging and cheering him on to bring it back to her “like a good boy”. He could make out a couple-- he thought, were they holding hands? Locking arms? Oh no, the world was starting to spin.

Isaac paused and tried to steady himself, closing his eyes and clutching the fabric of his jacket.

He could hear children laughing, hear people jogging by and the loud music pounding out of their earphones. There were girls giggling, gossiping, and some old woman talking to the birds she was feeding. And then-- police sirens?

Isaac inhaled, sharply, hand twisting into a fist at his stomach, teeth grinding together as his aura grew to tower over him.

Then it was okay. The police cars were only passing by, only chasing down a speeding driver. He was fine. His world was fine. He didn’t notice the woman walking by, didn’t notice her notice him.

He shook his head slowly, to clear it, and took one step forward, then another shaking one, and another, and before he knew it, he was walking to the exit. His aura died down, came to sit right above his shoulders. He didn’t think it’d left him very often in the month he’d been away from Mayview. There was always danger, always something to keep a lookout for. Sometimes it was monsters, surprisingly enough, sometimes it was the spirits he was looking to spend the rest of his time undoing the evil of, and sometimes it was other people.

He took another step forward, and for a moment his vision gave out, blacked out, left him blind and unsure. He squinted and blinked, but he couldn’t move his head freely. When his vision returned, and the world around him came into clearer view, he saw why-- he was face-down on the ground, knees freshly skinned from the brush with the sidewalk, palms of his hands itching and red and stinging. He took a moment to reorient himself, and by the time he did that, he had an audience.

Isaac tried to shoot up, tried to push himself off the ground at the first site of unfamiliar shoes as his feet, but his arms had lost all strength, and he found his mouth full of splintered, cracked concrete in the next moment.

The people around him started whispering, some asking if he was okay, others asking what happened because they hadn’t seen it but they’d noticed the crowd-- crowd, crap.

You’ve got to get up, Isaac. You have to! You’ve come so far, it can’t end like this!

He took a deep breath and pressed his palms to the sidewalk again, willing his arms to work-- work, please, just for a moment-- and still, he fell back to the ground, cheek scraping against the ground. That meant his hoodie had fallen down, which meant--?

“Oh my god! Oh my god, is that that missing boy?”

Isaac grinded his teeth and gathered the strength he didn’t have, using the tops of his feet to push him forward and not his hands to pull him up. Instead, he skidded forward before he could push himself up, and when he was on his legs again, he shoved past the crowd that’d surrounded him, giving every hand that reached to grab him a small shock, incentive to keep away. No bigger than static. He bolted for the woods, pulling the hoodie back over his head and tightening it by the strings.

“Hey, wait!”

A woman’s voice trailed after him, no different than the rest, so he sucked in his grinding stomach and pressed onward.

He didn’t see a woman reach out after him, see her stumbled up to the woods and pause, or her wide eyes as she followed the trail of blood he had no idea he was leaving behind, or see her steel herself and straighten up, hands clenched at her sides.

The next one was a teenager-- younger than the first, maybe fourteen or fifteen. He was alone, on a street corner in the wealthy, artsy area of the town, performing the act of a mime for free, save for the tip jar he’d set clearly to the side. She approached him silently, head tilted, folding her arms over her chest. He’d noticed her, and in an instant he went from pulling an invisible rope to forming an square-- a box-- around himself, went to work pounding against the fake wall soundlessly. His legs slid below him, and he began raising his hands above his head as though the ceiling was-- ah, she nodded-- the box was closing in.

“Do you really feel that box of yours?” He blinked at her, and she shrugged. “Unless, of course, that’s a trade secret?”

He frowned and, rather than forgetting the box he’d “formed” around himself, he pressed open the top and climbed out of it. It was all very impressive to see, especially for a boy so young. He stood up straight, and fixed her with a glare as he crossed his arms over his chest. “A mime isn’t supposed to talk you know?”

She laughed, waving an apologetic hand. “I know, I’m sorry about that. I just, well, I couldn’t help but notice that you’re performing for people who… aren’t really there?”

He sucked in his cheek and glanced away. “So? Somebody could be watching me from their cozy little apartment, right?”

“I have a feeling that isn’t who you’re performing for.”

He sighed and glanced around, like he was looking for art critics to pop out of nowhere and accuse him of ruining the name of the good ol’ mime. When he looked back at her, his lips were in a thin line. “Look, lady, what do you want? I could be ruining my whole career by talking to you in costume!”

“I don’t want anything, dear, I just want to talk!” She offered him her hand. “My name is Catriona. I think I know who you’re performing for. Tell me, have you had any near-death experiences, dear?”

Isabel was all smiles as she waved Ed and Dimitri off in the evening, which was great because an all-smiles-Isabel was Ed’s favorite Isabel. Even as they came to the front of the tunnel leading to the rest of the city, they could still turn around and see her standing on the front porch of the dojo, waving whenever they’d take a moment to glance back. Ed and Dimitri laughed together and gave her another wave; this time, she laughed too and went back inside.

“I’m glad I got to see Izzy again” Ed had a habit of mumbling to himself these days, the habit of a boy often scolded for his volume, he guessed-- he hadn’t expected Dimitri to hear him.

“Ed.”

“Yeah?”

Dimitri came to a halt, and a few steps later so did Ed. Something had changed in the air, subtly, quietly, but Ed had become more familiar with the world around him, more familiar with the way his lungs seemed to grow heavy--or his heart-- in preparation. Why? Well, that was anyone’s guess. Dimitri always had a lot on his mind, was always thinking, always considering. Ed stood still and waited patiently, while Dimitri stood even stiller aside from the motion of sticking his hands in his pockets. His head was down, and still, he was looking up at him. “You and Iz are still friends, right?”

“Wh-- yes! Of course we are! Best friends! Why? Wh-was it not obvious?”

Dimitri shrugged, eyes falling to the side. “No man, it’s just… it seems like you kinda want more?”

Oh no. No. Not this again. Not from him-- not from the Master Observer of their entire dang club! Ed screamed and tossed his head back, hands pulling and tugging at his hair. “Not you too! We’re just friends! I don’t like Izzy! Why does everybody keep saying that?”

“I don’t know, man” Dimitri usually started to grin there, and for a faint moment he did, and it faded into the same thin line with a downward twitch. “ ‘ts just the way you look at her.”

Ed balled his fists at his sides, face heated enough that he hardly felt the cold air of fall, and he was sure that heat reflected on the red of his cheeks. “Well I don’t like Izzy and I wish everyone would stop” he kicked the dirt “implying I did!”

Dimitri sighed. “Whatever man,” he began walking again, moving past Ed, carrying on down the road where they’d separate-- Dimitri would return to one half of Mayview, and he would return to the other. Ed exhaled through his teeth and followed. “I just thought you should know…”

He blinked. “Huh?”

“If you do like her,” Dimitri paused again, but he had no intention of looking back “you’ve got competition.”

Ed’s hands became dead weight, falling limply on either side of his legs, jaw just as loose.

#Paranatural #maxaac #imaax #edsabel #Isabel Guerra #Dimitri Danger #Ed Burger #Maxwell Puckett #Isaac O'Connor #pnat #Suzy Paranatural #Collin Paranatural #WOHT #The Monster Trilogy

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