#yes they wouldn’t hesitate to hunt anything that harms the girls but they have been spending thousands of years sleeping at the bottom-

[thehappiestgolucky]

I admit. Upon seeing Deep One of the Abyss, my first thought was "Wow if this guy(gender neutral) comes to be fond of Dawn and Odessa Volo, Giratina, and potentially Arceus are SCREWED."

Volo was just generally discussing legends but also wanting to scare the girls into not investigating this legend not just because “oh dear you could get eaten” but ALSO because the nature of legends can be skewed and if this legend turned out nice it would be very bad for his plans-

And wouldn’t you know it! They’re more concerned about two tiny children being lost in their realm than the fact they haven’t eaten in a millennia-

[theodora3022]

Playing tricks with the trickster

Summary: Failed escape attempt from yandere Childe. He lets you play your cards, even playing along, just for his own amusement.

Notes: My first genshin piece yay... I had a sweet and terrible dream of me running from Childe in the woods. Also some inspiration was drawn from @cinnamonest‘s this post, one big virtual hug to her! I hope I did Childe justice, what can I say I love manipulative smiling boys. It has become a pattern as I dash from one fandom to another. This is had turned out to be longer then I expected...Ginger boy demands my time and energy too much omg. Mind the warnings, although there is nothing extreme in this.

Fun fact, I was looping to Nintendo game by Alessia Cara when writing this down. I believe it fits the theme of this fic quite well.

Tagging: @akutaguagua a great friend who patiently beta-read this mess of a horror dream and gave me lots of kind praises! 

(Offical art belongs to miHoYo! This is a cover page of this video, if there is any issues, contact me and I will remove it at once)

Warnings: Implied past abduction,dub-con touching, mild degradation, drugging(not on reader), implied non-con/dub-con at the end, this is not healthy love and I do not condone this irl.

It has been nearly a month since the youngest Fatui Harbinger had “taken you in”. After a few tries, you were too horrified by the punishments to continuously fight him. You learned on the first day that Childe’s smiling, the friendly mask would come off towards you. Your behaviour would decide if that is a curse or a “blessing”.

So you had quieted down, struggling to restrain yourself from yelling or screaming, carefully not to provoke his anger. Despite being compliant to his orders, you never truly showed him any affection either. Sure, you would sit on his lap if he asked, but you never initiated anything intimate with him. No matter how much Tartaglia spoiled you with clothes, books, jewelry or other luxuries, he is still the one who holds the commanding end of your shackles. It’s the best not to get used to all of that when your sight is set on the door.

Although he has taken your freedom away, you are not kept in a windowless room. On the contrary, you have too many outings now. Wherever he goes, you have to be present in a 2m radius, including meetings. Being a Harbinger is no easy job, so he prefers not having to worry about your safetly during buisness hours. The best way to do that is never let you out of his sight.

“Love, no one should witness our little problems. Well, no one alive that is.” Of course you wouldn’t want to put innocent people's lives at stake. You never dared to act out when you two are in public, and no one would bat an eye if a Fatui had taken a lover. 

You had taken an emotionless approach towards him. If Childe wants a kiss on the cheek, you’ll give him a quick light peck. If he wants breakfast, you’ll go make some pancakes with the topping he likes. Luckily, Childe had not done anything too extreme yet. If cuddling to sleep does not count as extreme that is. The only time you slipped up is when he suddenly hugs you from behind when you’re cooking.  

You thought maybe, just maybe, by being as boring and dull as you could, this bastard might just get tired of you and let you go. Childe only loves the fun of it right? Or maybe it could lower his guard.

Oh, how naive you are. You should have known better than to underestimate a Fatui harbinger. See, this is exactly why he needs to keep you around. Yes, unfortunately for you, Childe loves you, so very much. Speaking to him with a monotone voice isn’t going to alter that fact.

You have been devoid of emotions as of late. While Childe does appreciate fewer screams for the sake of his eardrums, this schemer can sense you are up to something. Perhaps this is the peace before your “storm”(he thought of it more like a drizzle)

You want to play a game? Okay, why not? Childe cannot wait to see what tricks you got on those sleeves. Are you ever getting away? Does an amateur ever win when they play a game with a professional trickster? Never.

Still, nothing bites like a cornered rat. You are no airhead, and he is fully aware of that. Just not as cunning and observent as him, that’s all.

The way you just kept your emotions sealed up is impressive, even to someone like him. Even when he got hansy, you did not flinch and just stared at the corner. Childe can only catch faint glimpses of anger when you thought he wasn’t looking.

Hm, when are you pulling your trigger? Tonight, or tomorrow night? Not that Childe is impatient, anything from you is worth waiting. But he would need to dismiss his patrolling underlings in the nearby woods beforehand. No extras would be allowed to disturb this game.

There is no chance during the day, a somewhat mutual understanding for you two. Night time in comparison, is a different story. 

Anyone’s sleeping hours is their most vulnerable time of the day, Childe is no exception. You do not plan to harm him, not that you don’t want to. But you are willing to swallow the pent up frustration towards him if you would never see his face again after this. Maybe beating up some slimes would help with the release?

You somehow managed to slip a mixture of herbs into his tea. Since he would buy cooking ingredients for you from time to time, you had requested a bunch of herbs along with the ingredients of a sleep inducing medicine you remembered. Although Childe does all he can to keep you near him, there are inevitable hours that he needs to be somewhere without you. He cannot jeopardize your safety with troublesome monsters. On a side note, he loves showing you off to anyone, his colleagues, acquaintances, business partners, anyone he does not deem a threat.

Enough time for you to make those herbs into powder and cover it up with a few spoons of milk. Tea with milk has become quite popular in Liyue as of late. Childe has grown to love them, so you have learned how to mix it up. He always let you handle his food and drinks, saying that he “trusts you”. What you do not know is this is one of the openings he exposed on purpose. It’s not like you can aquire anything deadly under his suffocating supervision.

Your plan will work, or so you think. Childe will not wake up when you wiggle out of his grasp, because dreamland will keep him occupied. All you need is a glider and a usable sword from Liyue and you’ll get your life back. Bottling up extreme emotions has certainly taken a toll on your mind, but it will be worth it if that is the prerequisite of being free.

Something about this being so easy sits ill with you. Have you really been with the youngest Fatui Harbinger this whole time? But that was brushed off your shoulders by the sheer excitement of regaining your long lost freedom. You know Liyue is in walking distance, all you need to do is cross these woods and-

The moment you dive into the forest, you think you heard an amused chuckle. 

That smooth voice terrifies you to no end, the same voice you took orders from for the past month.

Oh, how Childe loves seeing you happy. It’s priceless, both literally and figuratively. No matter how many things he buys you, you had not shown him even one small smile. Enjoy your sweet freedom, because it ain’t going to last. You certainly will know your place after this right? If not you are just dumber then he give you credit for.

That glow of relief in your eyes is worth every last bit of this intense dizzying feeling to Childe. To make sure your plan go through, he had drunk the tea without hesitation, quick enough to catch the momentarily excitement you expressed. He knows the game is on, therefore he had given the night patrol guards the entire evening off. Forcing himself to stay concious by digging his nails into his palms, Childe followed you into the woods.

Your potion is quite strong. Excellent, you’ll have to give him the recipe for informational purposes later. Especially how you managed to achieve such effects with a few herbs you had. He never took you to be anything less than a smart girl, but this has exceeded his expectations. Where’s the fun in a game without challenges?

How you storm through the forest wearing that cute terrified expression looks so endearing, it’s surely not his fault if he wants to enjoy this sight to be longer right.

So, each time you feel the slightest at ease due to whatever reason, expect Childe to make some sound to send you running like your life depends on it again. The sadistic man is hunting you down playfully, like a cat chasing a stray mouse to the inevitable corner.

You know he is toying with you. There is nothing you can do to make him shut up though.

“Love, you had scratched your leg. Must hurts by the looks of it.”

“Liyue is that way, you know.”

“Are you tired? If you want to jog in the middle of the night, you should have called me to come along!”

How can he say those things nonchalantly while you are trying to escape from him?  Here he is, daunting you with that signature smile he wears so very often. That is when reality slaps you right in the face. No matter how hard you plan, no matter how fast you run, there is no getting rid of him.

When your stamina runs out, a simple pull and push on your left wrist is enough to let you fall onto the ground panting. Even now, you still refuse to beg for mercy. You would take the cold grounds to the warmth of Childe’s embrace anyday. 

“Aw, burnt out already? Pathetic. Looks like we need to work on your stamina more. But this is not the place for exercise.”

“Look at me.” His slender but forceful fingers tilt your head up, making you look into those ocean blue orbs. There is anger present in his eyes, but those emotions are more a mixture of delight and that. His smile had also been replaced by a mocking smirk. “You, trying to leave me? Your sense of humor is...well, let’s just call it unique. Lucky for you, you amused me nonetheless.”

“I know what you’re thinking. How I’m a selfish jerk and you hate me. Why be so ungrateful? You get to live in luxury thanks to me, you know. I am selfish, yes, but look how stupid you are. I know you added something extra in my evening tea, my beloved.”

“Come now, we are going to do some exercises suited for a night like this once we’re back home. It is our one month milestone, after all. You had already given me your gift, it is only fair for you that I do the same.”

Childe is not making a sarcastic remark. The thrill of that chase was the best fun he had in months. And you are going to love his gift too, maybe not right away, but surely sometimes after. 

You have to mentally prepare yourself for the worst as he dragged you back to the prison, hopefully you’ll still be able to walk properly after whatever Childe got in store.

[anemo-writes]

hello travelers! i’m sorry for the late of inactivity recently, i’m working on some of my one-shot requests and obviously that will take a bit longer than writing headcanons; anyways, the genshin impact characters would like to wish you a very merry christmas!! the rest of the characters are below the cut to avoid clogging, so be sure to check them out too<3 happy holidays everyone, stay safe!

much love,

~ anemo-chan <3

The (Playable) Genshin Impact Characters Wishing You a Merry Christmas

Albedo: Merry Christmas. Ah, that reminds me—I hope that you do not mind, but I have sketched a portrait of you and want to give it to you as a gift. When did I do this, you ask? Why, it was during our time together in Dragonspine. It would have been a shame to not create something to remember one of my fondest memories, no?

Amber: Hey! Happy Christmas—Oh, I meant merry Christmas. Anyways, I have a gift for you! I noticed your glider was getting a bit worn out, so I got you a new pair; why don’t we go for a test run together? What? Oh yeah, gliding in the snow probably wouldn’t be the best idea, would it?

Barbara: Hehe, do you like the dress I’m wearing?—I made it myself! Oh, that reminds me, I made you a matching outfit to go along with mine when we go caroling together—huh? You’ve never been caroling before? No worries, Idol Barbara will teach you all you need to know!

Beidou: Yo~ Merry Christmas! How does the ship look? The crew and I spent the last week trying to decorate it accordingly. Say, how about you aboard the ship and join us for a few drinks? There’s nothing like a few mugs of eggnog on Christmas!

Bennett: Merry Christmas! Huh? What am I holding behind my back? Haha, well it was actually supposed to be your present...until I accidentally squashed it when I tripped walking out of the store, that is. Maybe I should’ve asked for extra luck for my presents this year...

Chongyun: Merry Christmas. Please accept this gift of a flower made of never-melting ice—I carved it myself. Yes, I partook in an ice-carving class when I was younger, so I suppose it does look somewhat like a professional’s; I hope to grow better at it, however. Perhaps I’ll gift my next creation to you, if you do not mind.

Diluc: Merry Christmas. I hope you do not mind if I gift you a bottle of a new line of wine we are producing at the winery—if you happen to enjoy it, do not hesitate to let me know; we have plenty of other bottles and I would be happy to give you another bottle or two. Ah, there’s no need for you to gift me anything back; your presence is a gift enough already.

Diona: Would you mind trying this special batch of eggnog that I made? It’s non-alcoholic, so hopefully my father—I mean, you won’t be able to taste the difference. That is, only if you want to—it’s not like I’m asking you to do me a favor or anything! Oh, and merry Christmas...

Fischl: Well, if it isn’t the merriest of the holidays! It won’t do to prepare a present that you would possibly not like, so please allow me to accompany you on a journey to find a gift of your deepest desires! Come, you have my full attention—what is it that you wish for?

Jean: Merry Christmas. It is another joyous occasion to celebrate. Ah, I apologize—I haven’t had time to buy you a gift. Why don’t we go together to find something you’d like? Please do not care about the price, see it as something I must repay you for for not having it wrapped and ready for you to open already.

Kaeya: Merry Christmas. You don’t happen to believe in Santa, do you? Oh, you do? Now now, that is very interesting. Haha, of course there’s no harm in believing in such a legend; that is, unless you’ve been naughty this year? Who knows what Santa does to bad little boys and girls...

Keqing: Merry Christmas! Here is a specially-crafted latern fueled by a part of my Electro-vision; it’ll never run out of charge, so please use it on your journey to light up the darkest of your days. I truly hope you enjoy it, and may the next year be filled with better luck and prosper.

Klee: Merry Christmas, best-friend! Here, look! Mm, it’s a bomb I made especially for you—it’s shaped like an ornament. Isn’t it the best? Don’t let Jean see though!! I’ll have to go solitary confinement for weeks if she catches you with one of my latest creations!

Lisa: Merry Christmas, cutie! As a gift, I’ve crafted you an amulet to match with one I’ve made for myself, so be sure not to loose it! It’ll look bad on my part, and we don’t want that, do we now?

Mona: Ah, the starry night always look brighter on such a merry holiday, don’t you think? Oh, that reminds me—here, take this. It’s an object to help you look for certain gems along your journey; it will glow when near, so be sure to keep an eye out. Once you find it, polish it well, and it will shine as bright as the night sky.

Ningguang: I would like to wish you a very merry Christmas. However, I was not too sure on what to get you as a gift, so please enlighten me on your preference. Go on, I am listening; anything will do, if it is to your liking.

Noelle: Merry Christmas! While it is a very merry day, it is bound with overwhelming errands and things to do—but fear not, your dutiful maid is here to serve you! Purchasing presents, wrapping them, or whatever else you would like me to do, I will do it—I am yours to serve for today, so please do not be shy to ask me to perform a task today.

Qiqi: Merry...Christmas? Yes, I believe that’s right. Baizhu told me that during these times friends often gift each other things, so I have brought you a bag of herbal medicine to use during your adventures because we are friends.

Razor: Ah...it is holiday today? Christmas...it does not sound familiar to Razor. But if you celebrate it, Razor is more than happy to celebrate with you; come, we will go hunting to prepare for our feast tonight.

Sucrose: Merry Christmas! Take a look at this, I’ve finally perfected the formula to this potion of mine! What does it do? Well, I’m glad you asked—if everything works accordingly to the plan, it’ll formulate a box of your most favorite memories of the past year into a physical memento! Doesn’t it sound wonderful?

Tartaglia: Hohoho~! Merry Christmas, comrade! Oh, that reminds me!—Teucer has been asking about you recently, so why don’t you join us for dinner? I’ll even escort you to Snezhnaya myself—perhaps we can even find some enemies to kill along the way. Haha, surely you won’t decline such an invitation?

Venti: Merry Christmas, dear friend! What is it that I’ve prepared for you on this joyous holiday, you may ask? Well, you’re in luck—I’ve written a new song just for you! Hehe, don’t worry about repaying me back, this song is completely free! Generous, I know! If you want to help though, make sure this song is passed down for multiple generations—I spent a long time writing it!

Xiangling: Merry Christmas! Look, look! I’ve prepared the two of us a whole feast for tonight’s dinner—what’s the bandaid on my finger, you ask? Oh, it’s no biggie, I accidentally cut myself while chopping some of the ingredients—oh, forget it! Let’s dig in! Be sure to tell me which one is your favorite; I’ll add to the menu at the restaurant!

Xingqiu: Merry Christmas, my liege! I have brought you one of my most treasured books as a gift for this joyous occasion; there is no need for you to return it! It is for your keeping. May the next year and years to come be filled with prosper and mirth!

Xinyan: Woohoo, it’s Christmas! What a rockin’ excuse to shred some Christmas tunes, amiright? Oh, you’ve got a pretty good voice if I do say so myself! Say, why don’t you join me up on stage today? I’ll play guitar, and you sing! That’s sure to rally up a crowd!

Zhongli: Merry Christmas—although I am not too familiar with the exchange of gifts, I have collected a rare flower for you which is native to Liyue only, and only grows during this time of the year. I hope to be able to exchange gifts with you next year as well.

[rose7420]

It All Works Out In The End

A request from @laurenandloki!

Loki is trying to be a better human from the guidance of Tom Hiddleston and he messes up when he finds a borrower.

“I have to leave for a few hours, please don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Tom informed Loki. Loki looked up from his novel, his long-form curled comfortably on the couch in the living room. He only spared Tom a glance in his general direction before focusing on the bland words of the page. Truly the book wasn’t worth his attention, yet, neither was Tom. Tom grabbed his backpack, dressed casually in dark jeans and a navy blue shirt, and closed the door behind him. He was neither impressed nor disappointed in Loki’s progress at becoming a “better” person. As long as he didn’t commit any serious crimes he would be relieved.

Loki closed the book when Tom left. He stood and ambled aimlessly around the large apartment. It was a good size living space, not comparable to that of Asgard but still admirable. His steps echoed on the hardwood floor as he arrived in the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator, looking for what the mortals called ‘strawberries.’ He had taken a liking to the sweet fruit after he had tried it out of curiosity one day. They hadn’t had any type of treat like that on Asgard.

While searching, he heard a small noise come from beside him as he hunted the second shelf. He put back the carton of milk he held and shut the door. His eyes searched the counter. He heard another sound, which was easier to make out now. He could now tell it was some sort of squeak. His gaze flicked to the jar on the end of the counter. Slowly, he approached and slid the jar over revealing a very tiny creature. It was humanoid and appeared to be female by the curve of her waist and long hair. As he took away her barrier she whipped around and let out another squeak. This time it was fearful as her head craned back to look at his face. He couldn’t make out her face and ached for a closer look, he instinctively reached for her. She backed up as far as she could, stopping when she reached the edge of the counter. He knew she was cornered and had nowhere else to go. That drop would certainly kill her should she jump. He smirked as he knew he had won this short chase and wrapped his fingers around her capturing her in his fist.

She struggled, twisting to escape his hold but it was futile. He was much stronger and bigger. He opened his hand letting her breathe for a few seconds in an open palm, sensing her trembling form as she was on hands and knees. After, letting her believe she was free for a moment, he closed his fingers over her entirely, marveling at the fact that he could no longer see her. He felt her tiny fists hit the inside of his curled fingers as he walked to the dining table set in the middle of the kitchen. He opened his fist and let her fall the short drop to the table, hearing her squeak as she hit the hard surface. He lowered his head onto his arms to see her better, watching as she raised herself to a sitting position.

“Aren’t you a little thing?” He teased, reaching out to pinch her thin arm. He twisted it carefully, minding the fragility of her tendons and joints. Despite his gentleness, she whimpered, attempting to tug her limb out of his pinched grip. He loosened his grip, allowing her to think she’d won this match. Her small victory gave her the courage to stand in hopes of running away. With a single finger, he pushed her chest and forced her to fall back onto the tabletop. He was unaware that he had caused all the breath to leave her lungs as he picked her up by the middle with a pinched forefinger and thumb. Another cry escaped her from the sudden elevation. He pinched her jaw to keep her head still trying to gain a better look. Tears escaped her eyes but he paid no attention to that. Releasing his hold he prodded at her form. His finger aimed for her cheek but he accidentally poked her nose. A simple prod to him, but a full punch in the face to her. Her nose leaked blood, dripping from her chin to her shirt. And right at that time the front door opened.

“I’m back, didn’t take as long as I thought it would,” Tom shouted, Loki heard him drop his keys in the dish on top of the table in the hallway. Loki looked down at the tiny girl struck by the blood on her shirt his fingers reaching for her. She cried in horror and pushed his fingers away, tears streaming down her face. His heart rate elevated and he lifted her to his face to examine where the blood was coming from.

“What is that?” Tom exclaimed from behind him. Loki felt him lean in closer and flinched at his voice right next to his ear.

“Why is she crying, and bleeding?” Tom asked worriedly, then looked at Loki suspiciously.

“What did you do?” He questioned. For once Loki was at a loss for words. He truly had meant for no harm to come to the tiny being, he only wanted to tease her a little. She had done nothing to him, and he had scared her immensely and hurt her in the process.

“Give her here Loki,” Tom ordered, holding out a raised palm. Loki did as he asked and watched as the little lady backed away in fear from the new giant. She whimpered audibly and cried loudly when she hit Tom’s curled fingers.

“Shh, you are in no danger here Little One,” Tom coed and reassured. He tentatively rubbed a finger upon her back when she did not flinch away. Tom walked to the counter and went to set her down, but she clung tightly to his finger and wouldn’t let go.

“It’s okay, I’ll be right back. I just need to set you down here.” She shook her head and held steady.

“Alright, I think I can manage with one hand.” Tom kept his voice low and soft as if speaking to a child. He tore a piece of paper towel off and wet it under a stream of water. He handed off the damp towel to the girl.

“Here you go, use this to stop that nose bleed. Make sure to keep your head down and pinch the bridge of your nose. There you go, great job.” He rubbed her back again and looked up from his palm to Loki who stood a few steps away. His face was sad, downturned to the floor, and sneaking glances at Tom’s hand every other minute. Tom knew he felt guilty and was disappointed in him but not angry.

After her nose had stopped bleeding the girl looked up at Tom. He raised her to his eye level so she wouldn’t have to strain her neck. He instantly noticed the bruises on her arms, legs, and one dark one on her cheek.

“Were those bruises there before?” Tom asked.

She shook her head, eyes glistening with fresh unshed tears.

“I’m so terribly sorry Little One.” He apologized but also realized he had no idea what her name was. So he asked for it.

“I-It’s Y/N.” She said meekly. Tom nodded, “My name is Tom, and that’s Loki.” He gestured to the moody god. Loki walked closer, keeping his steps light, attempting to make himself less menacing.

He felt utterly terrible. He had hurt her, made her bleed, marked her skin, and caused her to cry. Standing beside Tom he cleared his throat nervous to speak. He watched Y/N back away from his imposing frame and huddle next to Tom’s thumb. She clung to it like a lifeline, terrified of Loki himself. He imagined if it was quiet enough he could hear her tiny heart pounding in her chest.

“I would like to apologize for my actions earlier. And the harm that I caused you.” Loki wasn’t very familiar with apologizing and the words were awkward, but he deemed them necessary. Y/N said nothing, practically ignoring him, only clinging to Tom’s digit. He walked away, back to his room to clear his head.

Tom had found out that Y/N had lived in his house for years. And he hadn’t even noticed. She was looking for food today and had been trying to get the lid off the jar when Loki had found her. Tom had cooked a nice, hot dinner for them to eat especially after finding out she had never had a hot meal. He had managed to calm her down enough to sit on the counter while he cooked, being extra careful to not knock her down in the midst of the process of cooking. Tom had called for Loki to come to eat but Loki ignored him, locking himself away in his room. He sighed in frustration but made sure to not think too much about it, afraid Y/N would think he was mad at her. The poor thing had been through enough already today.

After eating, Y/N was happily full. Tom let her sit on his shoulder as he cleaned up and talked to her like an old pal. He went into the living room and turned on the television.Y/N had never seen the moving screen up close, and was mesmerized by all the colors and sounds.

“Do you want to watch a movie, Y/N?” Tom asked.

Y/N nodded enthusiastically. Tom laughed from her excitement and set her on the coffee table promising he’d be back soon. After a few moments, he returned with Loki. Their footsteps were hard to miss and vibrated the ground beneath her. She stared up in fear at Loki, backing away from his presence.

“Loki has promised not to touch you, Y/N. Isn’t that right Loki?” Tom explained. Loki grunted his agreeance. Scooping Y/N off the table, Tom let her settle on his shoulder. He scrolled through a bunch of different pictures and settled on one that looked scary. Tom asked if it was okay and she hesitated. Y/N didn’t really like being scared on purpose but she felt like a wimp after today and how pathetic she was with Loki. So she said yes.

A few minutes into the movie she knew she was completely screwed. Five people had already been brutally murdered and it wasn’t stopping anytime soon. She huddled closer to Tom’s neck and buried her face into the warm skin trying to shield her eyes from the screen. He assumed that she was cold and raised a hand to blanket her with.

“Is she alright?” A deep voice asked, Loki’s voice.

“I think she’s cold,” Tom explained.

A second later Tom was handing her a woolen blanket of her own size.

“H-How?” She asked astonished.

She looked over at Loki who winked and settled his back against the cushion wordlessly.

“Hey Y/N I need to go switch out my laundry so I need to put you down. Don’t worry Loki won’t mess with you.” He assured her and plucked her up effortlessly blanket and all setting her upon the middle cushion on the couch.

She looked up at Loki who had his eyes trained on the screen, paying her no attention. She copied his action and regretted looking at the screen at all when a particularly gory scene happened. She whimpered quietly, not noticing how Loki looked down at her worriedly. A loud scream broke through the silence frightening her out of her wits. She dropped the blanket around her shoulders and ran to Loki’s lap. She stayed close to the outside of his thigh and attempted to climb the fabric. Loki looked down at the ticklish sensation and saw the cause. He slowly reached down and boosted her onto his lap letting her rest upon his thigh. She scooted backward burying herself in the bunched-up fabric of his shirt and nestled herself in the soft cloth.

“Are you scared Little Miss?” He asked, feeling the nod of affirmation against his abdomen. He reached over and picked up her blanket and draped it over her dainty shoulders. He wasn’t sure what to do with his hand, so he cupped it around her serving as a barrier from the screen and her sight.

“I’ve got you. Nothing can hurt you now. You’re fine.” Loki repeated, calming her. Soon her breathing slowed and she stopped trembling. He peeled his hand back to view her sleeping form curled into his shirt. Loki smiled with relief as he realized she no longer viewed him as a bad guy.

Tom stood in the corner smiling as he realized his plan had worked perfectly. KnowingY/N didn’t like scary movies, got cold easily, and leaving at the right time. The only thing that had gone wrong was how long it had taken Y/N to seek Loki out for comfort.

[baby-blossoms]

Protective

Pairing: Sam Winchester x Reader

Word Count: 1696

Summary/Request: could you possibly do a sam x reader fic where sam is really protective to the reader even with dean or cas idk why i just love really love protective relationship tingz but please take your time and focus on your school work, I hope your have an amazing week ❤️

Warnings: None really, Sam is just protective

---

       You, Sam, Dean, and Cas all sat in a diner near the motel you were staying at during your upcoming hunt. Sam was typing away at his laptop, not stopping his research on this particularly hard case for a moment. Dean and Cas chattered to each other off and on while Dean practically made love with a huge greasy burger, and you sat and watched people walking by outside of the window. People watching was something you did often when Sam was busy. You usually didn’t get along too well with Dean, so people watching kept you thoroughly entertained for the time being. Conversation between you and Dean wasn’t worth the struggle and inevitable disagreement, and trying to talk to Cas with Dean near him was like trying to get a puppy to listen while someone else was dangling a treat in front of them.  

    “You okay?”

Sam asked in almost a whisper. You jolted out of your thoughts, bringing your focus to Sam. You had strained your neck and left shoulder pretty badly fighting off a vampire during your last hunt and Sam kept continuously checking to make sure you were really okay.

    Your heart always jumped at the sight of him. His wide hazel eyes were warm and filled with love and concern.

    “Yes, I was just watching people walk by.”

You responded quickly. Placing a hand on top of his, you smiled as he took it and gave it a soft squeeze before letting go. 

    Years ago, Sam had found you half-dead in a witch’s house. He and Dean hadn’t thought twice about saving you. Sam had nursed you back to health himself, and being a stereotypical romantic story of the two of you coming together, you fell in love with him fast and hard. It was almost amusing how surprised and slightly offended Dean had been when you didn’t swoon over his cheesy pickup lines and signature smile once you were up and hunting with them. Your attention was always drawn back to Sam, even in the middle of conversations with Dean. Sam was so soft with you, often reassuring you that you were the only girl he had eyes for, but his mood would quickly change the moment any man tried to take you home. A very protective side of him came out, and they were met with glares and sharp replies as Sam practically carried you away from them.

    “What do ya’ say we go to a bar tonight?” Dean asked abruptly. Apparently, his and Castiel’s conversation had ended, and he glanced eagerly between you and Sam, practically begging you to say yes with his eyes.

    “Why?” 

You asked, genuinely confused as to why Dean was inviting you anywhere when the both of you said no more than often.

    “Come on sweetheart, you both need some loosening up. Maybe you won’t be so uptight if we get a few drinks in you.”

    You glared at Dean for a moment. Dean seemed to love throwing that word around, especially because he knew how much it got on your nerves. 

    “I’m not uptight.”

You replied before taking a sip of your drink.

    “Then come to the bar with me tonight.”

Dean challenged with a smirk. You took in a deep breath, trying to keep your language in check in such a public environment, but your response was cut short when Sam slammed his laptop shut. 

    “First of all, Dean, don’t call her sweetheart. Second of all, she doesn’t have to prove anything to you by going to a sleazy bar just to get hit on by every man in the damn place.”

You held back a laugh, simply taking another drink of your coffee. 

    “How about we make her wear a big flashing sign that says ���Property of Sam Winchester.”

Dean said, shaking his head at his brother. 

    “Dean.” You said sternly before Sam could reply. You could see genuine anger igniting in his eyes. “I’ll- Sam and I will both go tonight if it will shut you up for once.”

Dean gave you a delighted smile, then quickly got up from the table.

    “Oh, you are not ready for a night out with me, toots. I’ll get your sign ready.”

    You heard Sam huff angrily as Dean left with Cas following awkwardly behind. 

    “Look, I know you don’t like bars that much, but this will shut him up for at least a little while. Plus we’ll be there together, so it’s not like anything bad will happen.” 

Sam hummed, acknowledging that he had heard you but still wasn’t very happy about going to the bar.

    “Come on, baby,” you sighed, getting up and kissing him softly on the cheek, “it might be fun, you know?”

    Sam looked at you, his expression softening before he gently kissed you back. He shook his head with a slight chuckle and got up from the table, getting ready to head back to the hotel with you.

    “I just hate how people talk to you when we go out. It makes me uncomfortable, so I can’t even begin to imagine how you feel…” He trailed off, eyeing you for a moment before letting in, “Being around you is always fun, though.”

You quickly replied,

    “You’re damn right it is.”

----

    You had changed into a y/f/c dress that fit you in all the right places, and you stood checking your appearance in the mirror when Sam walked in.

    “Hey, beautiful.”

He greeted you with a smile. You grinned back at him, laughing as he took your hand and slowly spun you in a circle, leading you with the arm that wouldn’t hurt your shoulder. He pulled you back into his arms and peppered your face with kisses, making you melt into a fit of laughter, your heart filled to the brim with love for him. 

    “Well hey there, handsome.” 

You purred, returning his kisses softly. 

    The sweet moment between the two of you was interrupted by the abrupt appearance of Castiel.

    “Sam, Dean sent me to tell you…” he cleared his throat, saying the next few words in a questionable impression of Dean’s voice, “hurry the hell up lovebirds.”

You laughed lightly, responding lightheartedly,

    “Thanks, Cas. Next time can you just knock before you come in though?”

Castiel looked to you and glanced back toward the hotel room door.

    “Oh. Yes… Sorry.” He paused for a moment, watching silently as Sam walked toward the bedside table to grab his phone, then looking back to you. You watched his eyes trail down your figure for a moment, then reconnecting your gaze.

    “That dress is very beautiful on you, Y/n. I’m sure you will get a lot of free drinks tonight.” 

    He said. You laughed, thinking back to when Dean had explained the free drinks that kept appearing before you the last time you all had gone to a bar.

    “Thank you Castiel, that’s very sweet of you to say.”

You replied, holding back further laughter at the compliment. Cas nodded, closing the awkward distance between the two of you so you weren’t talking across the room. 

    “I could also ease your pain if you would like.”

Cas said, smiling softly. 

    “Oh, you don’t have to do that, Cas. It’s just a little bit of a sprain or something, I’m fine though.”

Cas tilted his head at you, expressing his doubt clearly before stating.

    “Y/n, you have obviously been avoiding using your left arm, and you can barely turn your head. Healing you would be more of a convenience than a hindrance to me. You can’t defend yourself in this state.”

You frowned, knowing he was right, and nodded slightly, flinching at the pain that stabbed at your neck when you did.

    Castiel softly placed two fingers on your forehead. You closed your eyes, sighing in relief as the pain nagging at you washed away easily. 

    “Is that better?”

He asked, moving his hand to gently press at the muscles in your neck. 

    “Yes, thank you so much, Cas. You really didn’t need to use any energy on me, though.”

Cas chuckled, smiling in amusement.

    “Y/n, that isn’t necessarily how healing works, but either way, you are welcome.”

You smiled at him, nodding.

    “You think her shoulder is fine, Cas? Or do you wanna keep rubbing it?”

Sam’s voice interjected sarcastically. Cas’s hand shot away from your shoulder and he looked to Sam quickly.

    “I’m sorry if I offended you, Sam.”

He said without hesitation. 

    You laughed, shaking your head at Sam. 

    “Cas please go tell Dean we’ll be right there.”

You said softly, gesturing to the neighboring room. Cas nodded, disappearing a short short moment later.

    “Sam, I’m pretty sure Cas means no harm. You don’t have to get so protective with him and Dean.”

Sam let out a small cynical laugh.

    “Y/n, I know my brother. He wouldn’t help you cheat, but I know how he thinks and how he looks at you when he thinks I’m not looking. I absolutely need to be protective of you with him.”

Sam said quickly. You raised an eyebrow at him.

    “Okay fine, but Cas?”

Sam frowned, avoiding eye contact for a moment.

    “Okay maybe it was a little unnecessary. I’m sorry, I just love you and it sounds stupid but I’m always scared someone’s going to steal you from me, or worse, hurt you when I’m not around to protect you.”

You smiled softly at him, 

    “Sam, I’ve been beaten and bruised and scratched and bitten by every huge, ugly, smelly, disgusting, and outright dreadful monster you could imagine. Do you think I couldn’t handle some run of the mill horny asshole? Do you really think any man could steal me away? I’m in love with you, Sam. There’s no need to worry about me.”

    Sam walked toward you, giving you a soft kiss.

    “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

He said with a soft sigh, pulling you into his arms.

    “You saved my life.”

You replied softly, leaning your head against his chest. Sam held you tighter, kissing the top of your head.

    “No, I think you saved mine.”

[mor-beck-more-problems]

Breaking Bonds || Morgan & Bea

TIMING: Current

PARTIES: @beatrice-blaze & @mor-beck-more-problems

SUMMARY: Bea invites Morgan over to share a new discovery. The world will not consent to be fixed, but somebody has to try.

CONTAINS: references to Bea’s, Morgan’s, and Adam’s deaths

There were not many people in this world who understood life and death in the same manner Bea did. They may never have been close before either of their deaths, but after, Morgan and Bea were implicitly connected. This connection made Morgan the clearest person to go to about what Bea had found through her research. The kettle let out a shrill cry for attention as the witch finished lining up the tomes she had flagged for this discussion. It was good timing that Bea’s bracelet informed her that Morgan had crossed into the Vural’s property as she began steeping the tea. She went to the porch with a smile, Dia weaving between her legs as she waited for Morgan. “The tea should be ready soon! I hope you don’t mind that I tried to find something you’d like to eat, though I wasn’t completely sure what would be palatable,” She told the zombie, thinking of the container of meat that she had waiting for Morgan, if she wanted it.

It was no small relief to visit Bea at her place. Morgan didn't know her as well as she did Luce and Nell, but she had an ease with Bea that she couldn’t have with the others either. They had died and come back around the same time, and they were both determined to have a whole life as their altered selves. As she came up to the porch to meet her friend, she sighed and let that ease pull away some of the tension her body carried.

“I don’t mind,” she said, smiling with gratitude. “I will try any and everything you have prepared. I literally can’t get food poisoning, so there’s not much to lose. And thanks for having me over. I want to hear all about New York and Felix and whatever else people who haven’t seen each other in a while swap. But uh, you said there was something you wanted to talk about, right?”

Small talk, Bea had almost forgotten that she should be engaging in small talk because she was so excited by what she had found. “Oh yes! I need to hear all about what you’ve been doing too, I’m sure things have been very exciting over here.” And she did, just like she wanted to see how Morgan was, especially since Morgan was taking care of so many people at the moment. Still, that could wait until after.

Bea invited Morgan in, before walking over to the table and lightly touching a book. “But, first, you should see what I found in here,” She couldn’t help the excited tilt her voice took. Flipping open to the first tab in the book she pointed to a line and read,“‘I have found that some of the new undead can be controlled, tamed if the right-hand guides them.’ The wording is awful, but doesn’t that read like I could help people who are struggling with this? You were the first person who seemed right to call about this.”

“Oh, you know,” Morgan said dismissively. “Been better, been worse. Still kind of a mess. But as long as we have each other, or as much of each other as we can, and if we can keep trying to make hope…” She smiled, weighed down by every terrible thing that had happened over the past month, though no less genuine for it. “We have to get to ‘okay’ eventually, right?”

She followed Bea in eagerly. Distractions were good, learning and projects were better. If she was moving toward something, she might still be able to make something better, or at least be better. She came over to the book and looked at the words. Controlled and tamed were two different things, but maybe this meant that there was an under-utilized conditioning process. Use magic at first to mitigate the damage and get them used to things, Let them choose the right thing for themselves later. “With--by ‘this’ you mean undead hunger cravings, right? Like, if I lost myself in front of a dead body, or a vampire was trying to stay off people. Do you think…” Her hand went to her lips as she thought of Ashley the zombie last year and Nico Jemisin in the thrift store. She shouldn’t get too excited, she shouldn’t brew hope over just a stray phrase and an untested experiment. She shouldn’t, she shouldn’t. And yet. “How far have you gotten on this? This could be…it could save so many people.”

A small, sad smile took Bea’s lips as Morgan spoke. She knew that hope as well as she knew her shadows. Before all of this, the necromancer had never had to worry about being okay, she had simply trusted in the universe to balance itself again. Being hit with hardship after hardship had created that doubt in the world’s ability to allow her to have a break. “We’ll be okay eventually, Morgan,” She said softly, “We’ll be able to create our own okay, you’re strong enough for that.” Anyone who had survived what Morgan had already was more than capable of bending the world to her whims.

She nodded eagerly, “That’s what I would intend to find out at the very least. I’d like to think that the word ‘tamed’ would imply that, though I do hate the implication that the undead needs to be tamed.” She had found herself drawn to the power of necromancy at the beginning, the ability to twist death itself to what she wanted. Now, though, after experiencing that power, she had found something softer, something that could change lives, save them. That part of herself she felt had left in death was returning, the part that could help and care for others without asking what they could do for her. She could grant people some form of comfort again, she could help facilitate something beautiful from a hardship. “I’ve marked every mention I’ve found of it, but there’s not much I’ve seen. I think we can write something together on this, we can find a way to get this information out there to help others.”

A piece of Morgan’s heart unclenched at Bea’s reassuring words. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding something in, but she was swallowing tears and so loose in her bones she felt like she might fall over. It had been a while since someone had tried to comfort her, and even longer when she was able to accept their gift without any guilt. Morgan smiled, lips quivering, and whispered, “thank you,” before putting her attention back on the main subject.

“What would you need? In terms of resources or experiments?” Morgan asked. She was self-conscious enough about her now-constant discoloring at all times, but as she considered the possibilities, she felt the hollowness of her stomach too. Morgan shouldn’t be this excited for Bea’s idea. Fuck Odell, and fuck her hold on this cursed town. “Would it...I mean, you’re the expert, so you would know whether it’s safe or too dangerous if you...tested it on me?” She met Bea’s eyes with trepidation. “I’m not high risk or anything, obviously, and a year does a lot for a girl’s impulse control around viscera, but...I wouldn’t say no to some extra help.”

There were many forms of strength that Bea has seen over the years, many of them represented by the women she surrounded herself with. Morgan, she found, had one of the softest forms she had seen yet, but that did not mean she didn’t respect it. If anything, it proved to Bea that she could be strong without violence and anger. Her sisters, for as strong as they were, often hurt themselves from it. Luce with her anger, an all too powerful storm that untethered her, but kept others aware of who they were dealing with. Nell with her fierce strikes, hunting beasts and controlling demons that left her all too vulnerable to the world’s evil. Bea couldn’t always be like them, but she could be softer, she could adopt some of Morgan and create her own brand of strength that did not always mean striking first.

“Well, we’d need an area far from anyone else just in case something went wrong.” Bea wouldn’t risk doing it at her home when her sisters were so close by. She looked at Morgan for a long moment, she trusted the zombie, but it put Morgan in a hard situation if something were to happen. “We can try it on you, but I would want other people there, just in case. Who would you feel comfortable with helping?” Bea had her own list of who they could call, but Morgan was the one being controlled. She was certainly in a much more vulnerable spot. “I think we should start with small portions and then work our way up.” This would be a long process, but it would be worth it to explore the possibility.

“Well, there’s plenty of spots in the woods,” Morgan sighed. “If screaming moose can hide, so can we. Especially on the outskirts, near the border, I don’t think there’ll be anyone for miles.” She wasn’t that worried. White Crest liked to keep its secrets to itself as much as possible. But Bea’s second question was another beast. Deirdre came to her mind briefly, but her love had promised to never physically harm her on purpose and refused to be released. And then, Bea wouldn’t want to endanger her sisters after all they’d been through. Who did that leave? Mina, who barely spoke to her anymore?

At last, Morgan had to admit defeat. “I...don’t know. If you know someone or have ideas, I trust your judgement. You know about discretion as much as anyone, so. But, little bits at a time! That sounds good. Reasonable. It’ll, you know, probably come in handy some time. Even with someone like me.” Or especially, with how things stood at the moment. “You’re the one channeling big magic, so you should probably set the pace. I’ve got that infinite stamina going for me. So I...I can take it. Whatever might happen, I can take it. I want to, if it means having more control over myself.”

With everything, Bea had good and bad days. With the woods, she had bad far more often. She controlled her face as well as she could, only hesitating for a moment. “Let me pick the spot in the forest? I’ll find something in the outskirts for us.” She would pick somewhere far from the place it happened, where even on her bad day she could hold herself together. Her first thought would be to ask Leah to help, but that could be very dangerous for the phoenix. Her sisters weren’t an option. Maybe this wasn’t as easy as she had originally thought it would be. “I could see if Kaden was willing to help.” She trusted him to behave with Morgan, but she had no idea if they were on good terms anymore. “If you are feeling comfortable with that.” That was a good point, Bea had no idea how much energy this was going to take. If it was anything like the other necromancy magic she had done, she was going to need to work her way up. “We’ll go slow, there’s no need to rush what’s going to happen. Especially as we need to get more people on board to help.”

“Of course,” Morgan said. To her shame, she only remembered how much the woods had taken from Bea when she saw the look on the woman’s face. Morgan, for her part, never lingered on the part of main street where she’d felt the sun on her back for the last time, and ice cream trucks made her feel sick and bitter. But these were small things, specific. As much as the spot where Bea died was cursed ground, for all Morgan knew, every dark cluster of trees held the shadow of her trauma. Too late now.

Morgan considered Kaden. She didn’t want him to know she was struggling. She didn’t know how much of his fear and disappointment she could bear. And would he feel guilty for helping? Would he doubt himself? Or feel as though he were betraying himself? But a hunter was a clear and obvious choice, for Bea’s safety as well as Morgan’s own. And the only other hunter Morgan trusted was dead. “It makes sense. If you think he would, and that he wouldn’t...feel wrong or bad about it, yeah. That sounds like a good idea. And you’re right about needing others, strong muscle-y others probably, but don’t know who else is left.” She met Bea’s eyes slowly, knowingly, and ached as Adam’s loss stung once again. She cleared her throat and let the spectre of his memory pass. “Later, when we’ve got the basics down, I’ll be of more help. I’ve got lots of fresh experience with my muscle strength, and fighting off people, living and undead. But, slow and steady first.” With difficulty, she summoned a smile. “Who’d have figured it would take two people like us to make a new magic discovery?”

Oh, Bea thought, Of course Morgan knows. A fragile, brittle smile made its way onto her face. As the days went on, as his loss compounded, the closer she felt to slipping away. She was teetering on a precipice, close to falling over the edge of understanding grief as other people had. Her understanding before had been abstracted at best, a twisted and strange version of an emotion that everyone around her seemed to understand better than she did. A necromancer who had faced death, danced with her, but did not comprehend her affects seemed like an oxymoron. The room was spinning, twisting around her as she tried to focus on Morgan’s words. “Oh, I don’t know it makes sense, doesn’t it?” She replied weakly, “We like pushing and figuring stuff out. We’re fixers.” Fixers in a world that could not be fixed, would not consent to be fixed. Adam had been a fixer too, it was why he was gone.

“Fixers, huh,” Morgan repeated, her own smile turning sad as well. She didn’t think of that word often except in terms of her own shame and desperation. She broke something, therefore she had to fix it. But to hear Bea say it, they were doing something better than hastily atoning; they were solving the world. Not all of it, because no one could do that. But little hurts, difficulties, problems. They knew how to seal cracks in people’s hearts and put in new supports where old ones had snapped. And it didn’t have to mean that any of it was their fault or their responsibility. Just that they happened to know how. They happened to have the strength to try. And when everything broke all over again, they would fix it again. On and on.

The future stretched out in her mind’s eye, a line of patch jobs into centuries. Nothing holding or staying for long. She wondered if Adam had ever seen the future that way, and if he ever let himself dream of a green field and a quiet existence where the only things that needed fixing were fence posts and kitchen appliances, as she often did. She didn’t know which answer was sadder.

“I guess we are,” she said quietly. “I guess somebody has to be.”

[drowningisinevitable-retired]

Bad Blood || Athena & Mina

TIMING: Early June PARTIES: @drowningisinevitable and @athenaquinn LOCATION: The Toll Bridge SUMMARY: :) CONTENT: mentions of past emotional abuse

It was very, very, early, and Mina was running. Her leg muscles burned in that good way that came from physical exertion, not just from being hurt or harmed. She forgot how much she missed this. How much she needed this. Yes, Mina was a water nymph, but she was raised as a hunter, and hunting did not allow for extended time in the water. Hunting was a human pursuit, and training was a hunting pursuit, so she’d adapted. She’d learned to like running, to like being on land, to seeing water as a necessity, not a want, and she was good at treating it that way. Sometimes, now that she was in White Crest and running was less about learning to flee for her life and more about just being exercise, she even listened to music. But, even with Barrett Wilbert Weed singing “Dead Girl Walking,” she still heard the sounds of voices, some deep, some high, and Mina squinted as she looked into the distance. There was some sort of bridge, and her eyes widened as she took in the familiar figure of Athena Quinn standing with… a troll. Mina slowed to a jog as she got closer, not sure what she was supposed to do, here.

After everything with the whole tree growing out of a spriggan thing, Athena had been hesitant, for a little while. Hesitant wasn’t a word that she’d ever, in all twenty-one years of her life, ever used to describe herself. Hesitant didn’t get things done. Hesitant let humans die. Hesitant cried on the floor unable to move on the day of her birthday and made it so that her brother had to deal with everything. She’d been different since October, she knew that much, and she kicked herself for it all the time. So she’d gone out - not even to hunt, not necessarily (though she still had all her knives on her, of course, always, always), and yet, as luck would have it, she’d happened upon a troll. Which was certainly not anything ideal, though for the moment she was standing about twenty feet away from it when she felt another, more unfortunately familiar feeling shoot up through her whole body. Fae. Rolling her eyes, she whipped her head around, her high ponytail swinging. Mina. Former not-really-needed math tutor who she’d tried to go on a hunt with and was possibly more than met the eye. “Mina.” Crossed her arms.

“Ah, hi,” Mina said as she jogged up to Athena. She didn’t… quite know where she stood with the younger hunter. A warden, at that, and quite the impressive one despite being a few years Mina’s junior. Better than the other warden she’d run into as of late. Off in the distance, the troll seemed to be… talking to itself in several different voices. Or maybe there were others? Mina couldn’t make out anyone else on the bridge. It was just… a troll on a bridge. “So…” she trailed off. She didn’t really know what to say. There was always the question of where she stood with wardens when they realized that she wasn’t as much of a threat as she appeared. Some of them still attempted to go after her until her dad said no. But Mina’s dad wasn’t here anymore, and she couldn’t use the “I was raised a hunter!” thing without a lot of people just not believing her, despite the whole being unable to lie thing. Still, small talk would be awkward, wouldn’t it. Not that it wasn’t already awkward. “I don’t suppose you have an idea how to pass… that?”

“Hi.” Athena replied, tone terse. Mina was an unfortunate conundrum. Unfortunate, namely because killing her hadn’t proven to be fruitful at all, so far. Every time, something came up - either they were in the middle of a library at school, or they’d gotten attacked by something that had proven to be far more necessary to deal with in the moment than Mina was. “So…” she raised an eyebrow, looking straight at Mina. “No, I do not. Otherwise I might have already gone by it.” Trolls weren’t something she was an expert in, but she did know enough to know that even if the troll seemed relatively unbothered at the moment that could all change in a second and that then they might both be in a bit of trouble. Don’t get a headache, she had to remind herself. Just deal with this whole situation. Troll and maybe even the fae, too. “It is quite a that, though, and it’s just about ruined my whole afternoon, how unfortunate.” She clicked her tongue against the back of her teeth.

Athena was one of those hunters that had the capability to make Mina feel small, even though she was the taller and older of the two. Mina had never carried herself with such confidence, even in situations that she thought she had some semblance of control over. This wasn’t a situation that she felt she had control over. She looked away from Athena, not particularly wanting to show that she was unsure about this. “Right.” She looked towards the bridge, towards the troll that seemed to be talking to itself, though Mina could hear other voices answering back from under the bridge. The only thing she really knew about trolls was that they were very, very distantly Fae (though, she didn’t think this particular kinship would matter) and that they were hard to kill. They’d do better off just trying to talk their way out of this. Or… they’d do better just turning around. “How do you want to go about this?” she asked. “I mean, would you like to turn around? It’s a troll. Those aren’t… fun to deal with. Or they like to make-- to make deals, maybe, so safe passage over the bridge?”

She hated trolls. They were stupid and bothersome and actually vaguely dangerous (though Athena had dealt with worse), not to mention they were a pain to kill. Mina would have been easier to kill. So much easier, even though she could hold her own surprisingly well. She didn’t like the fact that there were voices replying under the bridge. Being outnumbered wasn’t anything that truly fazed her, but it also didn’t mean that she liked it. “I mean, we can stab it.” A harsh giggle escaped her lips. “I’m good with a knife, and you know that we’re not in some children’s tale that my preschool told all wrong. Why would goats go over a bridge anyhow? Never mind, not the point. Also I don’t do deals. Not with anyone but those I trust, and especially not around you.” Athena frowned. “You’ve dealt with them before?” The question escaped her before she could stop it, but she was admittedly curious. The troll was grumbling now, and Athena took another step away from it.

“It’s skin is quite thick, otherwise stabbing it might work,” Mina said, considering the situation. “They’re practically made of rock. Not really! But there’s a lot of minerals in their skin. It’s best to go for the stomach, it’s more sensitive, but I imagine they’re aware of that fact and try to keep everything protected.” She shrunk in on herself, brushing a few fallen strands from her ponytail out of her face and looking away from Athena. Of course she wouldn’t make deals around Mina. Athena was smart. She was a good warden. She knew better than to be stupid. “Right,” she said, quietly. “Sorry. I could make a deal to make sure you can pass? Unless you want to stab it. I’m also good with knives.” Probably not as good, though, but still. “I helped my dad and a few others deal with one before, and it took a bit of time to take it down..” It followed her to its doom without even realizing it until it was too late. Troll body parts were pretty expensive, her dad had told her. He ended up making a pretty penny off of it.

“YOU THERE!” the troll called, causing Mina to jump. “YOU THERE COME HERE.”

“What a bummer,” Athena replied, voice just edging on the verge of whining, though not crossing over quite fully into that territory. “I was so hoping for a chance to use my knife.” She continued, pulling one out. Her lips curved into a smirk. “Yes, they just might be aware of that, though it might not hurt to try. You know?” Mina was shrinking away just a bit and Athena felt proud of herself for that, though it was hardly anything to make a big deal of. She knew she was good at being more collected than most, and she felt grateful that she hadn’t started to hear her parents’ voices again too much, yet. “It is just in your nature to try, it is no fault of your own.” She replied, her voice changing to one sickly-sweet and patronizing, “oh? Well, stabbing might be good. Otherwise I might have to find another use for these.” She didn’t hide her glance at Mina's neck and chest. “I might like to see how you do it.” She bit her lip, chewing on it for a moment. A moment that was cut quite incredibly too short by the troll’s voice, and she found herself stiffening.

“Which one of us?” She called out, crossing her arms over her chest, twirling the knife in between her fingertips. “We just want to pass, and I can make things so very difficult if you don’t let us, you know.”

“I mean, you’re welcome to try,” Mina said, swallowing down nerves. She’d worked with hunters like Athena, their words laced with malice and something harsh. The difference now was that they had known Mina was working with them. Athena probably still thought that she was a very unusual, very dangerous Fae. “The worst that could happen is that they kill us.” Athena for trying to stab them, Mina for allowing her to do so and not leaving. “Right. My nature.” But Athena really had no idea what Mina’s nature was. Or maybe she did, but she didn’t know how hard Mina fought against it all the time. There was no way to tell the other girl that and have her believe Mina. She could say that she spent her entire life fighting for people, and she’d probably still be accused of lying. Even when it was almost impossible for her to lie. She made eye contact with Athena after the intent of where those knives could go was clear. Oh no. This was not being careful, was it? This was willingly putting herself into a dangerous situation. The situation just so happened to be a short blonde girl twirling knives between her fingers. “Wait, do you want me to try too--”

“Me. My turn now.” And the figure on the bridge was jerked down and replaced with another. “YOU.” Pointing at Athena. “AND YOU.” Pointing at Mina, too. “COME HERE.”

“Maybe I will.” Athena giggled, though it was softer this time. Except she knew that at least some people had seen her with Mina, and though she doubted any of this could be directly traced back to her, she did have to give it a moment’s pause. “Well, it’s in their nature to do so anyhow, so I wouldn’t be surprised, even if they weren’t specifically provoked.” She gave a small murmur of agreement at Mina’s statement. No matter what confusion the fae made her feel, she was still fae and that wasn’t good. She might have been relatively well-behaved thus far but it was always relative, and Athena knew better than to let her guard down. She flashed her another grin as she made eye contact - at least she seemed to know her place. “I -” she began, though her words were quickly cut short by the trolls on the bridge.

“You know,” Athena began, taking a few steps forward, “I don’t especially like being told what to do.” She could hear the trolls grumbling and could also practically hear her brother sighing at her potentially angering a bunch of rock-monsters. “Did nobody ever teach you any manners?”

Feeling her heart plummet, Mina wondered just how smart it was to go about tempting a hunter like this, especially so soon after she’d been attacked by one. And she… It wasn’t that she necessarily liked Athena. The younger girl made her vastly uncomfortable at times, and made her feel small, and made her feel like she was so much younger, still working with her dad and an endless parade of hunters and slayers and wardens that hated her more than she hated herself. It wasn’t that she liked Athena; but she understood Athena. So she wouldn’t beg, if the younger girl decided to turn that knife on her. But she would run. “Athena, I know that you think I’m dangerous, but I promise I--” Once more, she was cut off by the sound of the trolls. She watched as Athena walked forward, and there was a part of Mina that considered just walking in the opposite direction, but she didn’t. She took a few steps forward of her own. She wasn’t going to leave Athena to deal with this alone. She couldn’t help but flinch at Athena’s words, though. Trolls were stupid, but that didn’t mean they should be antagonized.

“YOU KNOW NO MANNERS,” the troll grumbled back, his voice sounding like boulders tumbling down a mountain side. He was tall. Not the tallest creature ever, but he clearly towered over the warden and the fae, and that was clear to see even from a distance. “YOU WANT CROSS TROLL BRIDGE? YOU PAY TED’S TROLL TOLL.”

Athena’s smile was still cruel - and perhaps Mina didn’t deserve it, but she didn’t care. Maybe she could up and get rid of some trolls and a fae all in one fell swoop. “I do not think you are,” she rolled her tongue around in her mouth - over and over again - “well, you said it, not me. I’d say more of a pest than anything else.” Lydia had been dangerous. Mina - she was a nuisance. Athena still held her knife out in front of her. She killed flies and spiders with her hands or with shoes, but that wouldn’t work when the pest in question had a good few inches on her.  “Do not promise. Do not use that word.” She could feel herself bristling. You’re weak. Her father’s voice. Not now. Please, not now. She had to concentrate. She had to, had to, had to.

She stiffened as the troll’s booming voice echoed through the forest. “I don’t pay tolls for this. This is a public space, so let us go by or else you might have a little more of a problem on your hands.” She spun the knife quickly between her fingers. “How does that sound?”

Leaning away from the knife, Mina muttered, “Right, just a bloody pest, then.” She was beginning to realize that she needed to leave. Athena was going to try and kill her, and Mina… she was supposed to be not ending up in these situations. But Athena hadn’t attacked her yet. She didn’t think she’d get a chance to explain herself, but she could at least try to prove to Athena that she didn’t need to die, that she’d actually really, really prefer it if she didn’t. “Sorry, sorry. I-- No promises, but, please, can’t we just make it across the bridge and go our separate ways and… I’d just like to get home,” Mina finished, quietly. “I have people I’d like to get home to with minimal injuries.”

“YOU CROSS TOLL BRIDGE, YOU PAY TROLL TOO,” the troll, Ted, apparently, shouted back at them, stomping his foot and causing the ground to shake.

“Sheisse,” Mina said under her breath, as she looked between Athena and the troll. To the warden, she said, “Why are you antagonizing them, there’s only two of us. We can’t take them on our own.” To the troll she called out, “What… what is the price?”

“WE WANT SOCKS. YOU GIVE US RIGHT SOCKS,” the troll yelled. “MUST BE RIGHT SOCK.”

“Yes. Exactly.” Athena clicked her tongue against her teeth. “Pest. Not a threat. I’ve dealt with worse.” Besides, you squish pests, which is what I should have done with you before. She could feel her whole body tense up, because she was bad, she’d let too many things go, and wasn’t even always hunting as much as she used to. She didn’t like to focus too much on that, but far, far too often it just came all flooding back to her, and sometimes, the fact that she wasn’t what her parents had expected of her (even though she did still hunt - heck, she’d killed that spriggan just the other month) felt like she was drowning. She couldn’t mess up here. “Yeah, well, we can see. Maybe you should’ve brought one of them with you.” Maybe that was too harsh to spit out, but she couldn’t help herself. Might’ve nearly been valedictorian, but that didn’t mean she was always careful with her words, just good at using them. Most of the time.

She steadied herself as the ground shook, before turning to Mina, her nose wrinkled in disgust. “I’m just being honest.” She replied, drawing out the ‘o’. “Isn’t that what you like? Honesty?” She turned to the troll. “Seriously? That’s - ew. What exactly are you gonna do with them, anyhow?”

Mina didn’t think Athena had dealt with anyone like her at all, but she decided against saying it. She was tired. “Not a threat,” she said, and the words were acrid. She didn’t believe them. She wasn’t going to hurt Athena, though. She’d been raised not to. She knew better. She stayed small, cowed. “How gracious of you. I appreciate you considering that.” Thinking about it, really, who could Mina have possibly brought with her? She said she had people to that cared about her, people to get home to, but she’d been distancing herself from the people that remained in her life. Instead, she said, “I guess I should have. Really did think this was just going to be a quiet run, though.” She sighed, rubbing her eyes. “Honesty’s fine, not antagonization. There’s at least two of them, and it’s bad enough to attempt taking on one.”

“NO EW. IT’S--” The troll stopped speaking and looked behind him, before disappearing under the bridge.

In his place, a much, much smaller troll stepped out, completely different from the other two. “It’s no ew!!! You give socks, I keep and let you go!”

Mina blinked. How strange. “And… you… just want our socks?”

“Right socks!” the tiny troll said. “You give right socks, and Ted let you pass his bridge!”

“Mmm,” Athena simply hummed in response. She knew that she really should just kill Mina and be done with it. Kill her, turn around, walk the other way. She didn’t need to go across the bridge, though the fact that horrible-ugly-grotesque supernatural creatures were blocking her way made her more keen to attempt it, to do it even if it wasn’t a must-do. She’d always been stubborn that way, climbing up play structures and trees with Dani, even when her brother told her all the ways that she could probably hurt herself. Which was outrageous, especially since she had far superior reflexes than just about anybody else she knew. “This town doesn’t always know the meaning of that, though.” She giggled. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She gave a dismissive wave of her hand in the air.

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, knife still dangling between her fingers, Athena looked at the trolls as they had their exchange. “I’ve dealt with enough creeps in my time who like my clothing items.” She wrinkled her nose. “What are you going to do with them?”

How hard would it be for Mina to retaliate? She thought Athena was a good hunter. She thought Athena was dangerous. All of her life, she’d been taught not to hurt humans, even humans that threatened her. She wondered if she could snap Athena’s wrist before she could use those knives. She wondered if the knives would even hurt that bad. Wouldn’t be the first time she got stabbed with something iron. Mina had no doubt it would be the last. But she didn’t. She didn’t. She couldn’t. She just sighed. She was tired. She was so wretchedly tired, and she knew she wasn’t going to sleep, even if she did make it out of this without a tiny warden girl stabbing her in the forest. “One day, you’re going to come across someone who isn’t a pest, Athena. Hunting isn’t a game. I thought you’d know that.” She kept her eyes on the ground, though, and her voice quiet.

Mina turned her focus back to the short troll in front of them and called out, “Do… do all of you want socks or--”

“All?” the troll squeaked out. “Who is all? There is just we, just you and Ted.”

“But there’s two other trolls at least under the bridge, and--”

“Just Ted I am Ted!!” the troll said, his voice growing higher and higher with indignance. “You come here and give Ted socks or face the consequences!!”

“Kurwa mac,” Mina muttered, certain that both the warden next to her and the troll wouldn’t understand Polish. “Fine. I’m crossing the bridge, and I’m going-- going home.” Another lie, bitter in her mouth. She fought it down. She’d go somewhere. She started untying her right shoe.

“I do know that.” Of course she did. Athena narrowed her eyes. The very fact that Mina was even halfway implying otherwise was revolting and infuriating and she figured, for a moment, that perhaps she should just slit the fae’s throat and be done with it. Squish the pest, make sure she stopped talking and talking and even though Athena knew that Mina wasn’t being very loud or even especially long-winded (asking her about math got more out of her), it was still almost too much. But she was determined to not get a headache, even though that particular fight might end up being a losing battle, depending. She knew that she should be better - after all, she was an actual adult, and the fact that fae sometimes still gave her headaches was something that made her stomach twist itself into knots.

“All.” She raised an eyebrow. “I -” bit her lip for a moment. Because she needed to think. She wasn’t keen to give away socks to something, even if it would make for easier passage. The troll’s rising voice did make her ears hurt, but she pushed the feeling aside.

She wasn’t going to let them get the best of her. Athena knew she was better than that.

“I don’t think you’re going home.” She moved closer to Mina. “Why are you giving into their wishes anyhow? Just move on by.” Athena huffed, hearing the troll’s voice rising in pitch. “Don’t untie your shoe, come on, grow something of a spine.” She ran her tongue over the front of her teeth, picking up a stick. “What about this?” She waved it at the troll - she knew it likely wouldn’t do well, but it was worth an attempt. “I’ll give you this, you let us go, and then everyone’s happy.” She flashed them a bright, wholly fake smile.

“I just wanted to make sure,” Mina said, looking up at Athena with tired eyes. She wondered, if this became a fight, how long it would take her to hold the smaller girl off before she could run. She’d just have to keep the knives away from anything vital, possibly throw Athena on the ground. She could get away like that. She’d just have to be quick. At the very least, it’d be a nice work out. It’d be something to think about that wasn’t the ache in her chest that still hadn’t dulled.

Mina got up and leaned away from the smaller girl, but her eyes narrowed as she finally looked at Athena. “You caught me,” she said, the tone of her voice growing dry. “I’m not going home at all. Why, I’m headed out into the woods with the other Fae to lure unsuspecting humans into faerie rings so that we can have our wicked ways with them.” Mina was so tired. The lies scratched at her throat like nails. “The faster we give them our bloody socks, Athena, the faster we can leave. It’s that simple.”

Ted, meanwhile, was looking at the stick, the frown on his pinched little face almost comical. “Stick? You give Ted stick? Ted can get better stick! Give Ted sock or else!”

“Do you have a legitimate plan on how to deal with three trolls, or do you have a death wish? I’d really like to know,” Mina asked the younger warden.

“Oh, of course you did.” Athena shrugged. Mina looked tired - and if the warden were to be totally honest, she looked the way that Athena had felt more often than not in these past months. It was overwhelming, sometimes - the way that it could seem to nearly swallow her up. She hated it - but, the one positive of running into a fae in the middle of the woods was that for once, her own insecurities that gnawed at her were not the most bothersome thing around.

“Nice sarcasm, Mina.” She huffed. Athena knew it was an exaggeration - probably - but that didn’t mean that she appreciated what the fae was alluding to much at all. Especially because there were fae (too many fae) who did, or something similar (something worse) which made this not funny to make light of. “I still don’t want to. Why do they get to demand that we give them things? What happens when they want more than socks?” She sneered, voice turned mocking, “what about if they want someone’s arm or foot or more than that?” She didn’t think most trolls did that (she might have been set in her beliefs but she wasn’t entirely keen to over-exaggerate

usually.)

“Or else?” Athena whipped her head back to the troll. Then back to Mina. “I’m working on a plan.” She hissed. Her brother would probably give her whatever his version of an I told you so look was. She knew that angering trolls was, quite frankly, not smart, but she didn’t believe in regrets.

Except that she figured she might want to start, because one of the trolls (she hadn’t paid attention to their names - name?) was starting to walk their way with an angry look on his - its - face.

“Sarcasm? Who said anything about sarcasm?” Mina asked. She was playing a dangerous game, between the warden and the trolls,  but she was beginning to care less and less the longer they stayed out there. “The implication of sarcasm makes it seem like I can lie, right? But I can’t. I’m really going to go out into the forest and lure people to their doom. Isn’t that what you want to hear?” Wasn’t Athena just looking for an excuse to attack? Well, there. Mina was giving her one. She wanted an excuse to get out of this situation, no matter what. “And what if they just want socks? I mean, really, I feel like, if they wanted an arm or a foot, they would have already asked.” She started turning in the direction of the Teds… the trolls. “Hey, would you prefer an arm or perhaps a foot? What about-- fuck!”

Ted, in all of his not even five foot tall glory, threw a small boulder in Mina’s direction. She ducked out of the way, moving closer to the smaller warden.

“Give Ted socks or leave!” the little troll said.

One of the other trolls came out from under the bridge. “LET TED HANDLE THIS. TED WILL DEAL.”

“No, Ted has this!” the smaller troll yelled back.

Mina looked at Athena. “How’s that plan coming along?”

“Exaggerating,” Athena practically hummed to herself. “I have no specified thing that I want to hear, Mina.” She sighed. She didn’t know why she was choosing to be actively honest with a fae (or, at least, as honest as was possible for her). She chewed her lip. She didn’t know why she hadn’t attacked Mina yet - it would have been so easy (so so so easy) but she couldn’t bring herself to. Her father would have been so displeased, and the thought of that made her stomach twist up in knots. “Could be leading up to it and -” she took a few steps away from the fae as she moved closer to Athena, but not before one of the trolls threw another rock in their direction, causing her to duck down.

The back-and-forth of all the Teds was becoming more and more bothersome by the moment. “Plan is going fine.” Sure, I didn’t take into account the whole rock throwing ordeal, but hey. I’m quick on my feet. “I just have to get to one of their stomachs, and then we’re good to go.” Athena ducked away from where Mina was, sneaking towards one of the more distracted trolls - or Teds, or whatever they were calling themselves now. She aimed one of her knives towards its stomach, but before she could send it into the creature, and this Ted had turned around and raised its arm, and Athena twisted away just before the troll’s fist came crashing down onto the ground.

“TED DOES NOT LIKE WHEN HUMANS DO NOT LISTEN.” It grumbled.

“You want a good excuse to stick that knife in me,” Mina said. “Not that you need one. Not that that’s stopped anyone. But it always makes people feel better to have a reason.” She’d always felt better when there was a reason for her dad and his cohorts to kill whatever supernaturals they were up against. She felt better when she thought that they were murderers, thieves, the worst of the worst. It made it seem like there was a reason for what they were doing. She was doing her duty, leading these people to their demise. It was a good thing. She wished it still felt like a good thing. “They were just asking for bloody socks. That’s the deal, and— Would you stop throwing things, please?!”

“TED GOT THIS. TED DEAL WITH PUNY HUMANS.”

“TED GOT THIS. TED THROW ROCKS.”

“No, Ted deal with puny humans!!” The smallest one was trying really hard to be heard, but it wasn’t working.

The trolls were closing in and clearly not listening to Mina, and Athena was attempting to attack their stomachs, but all three of the Teds were coming out from under the bridge. They bickered and ignored each other’s commands, much like Athena and Mina did. They all really thought they were one creature, Mina realized. They all thought they were Ted, but they were arguing over who got to be Ted. Clearly, they were used to fighting at all. Especially not with each other. Mina turned to Athena. “We shouldn’t go for the stomachs. We should use them against each other. Make them fight themselves and then make an escape.”

“I mean, yeah, obviously.” Athena didn’t see any purpose in denying it. For all that she drove her up the wall, Mina was intuitive enough and she did understand things, even if she’d been unaware of what Athena was for a good few months of the beginning of them knowing one another. Though that was part of the beauty of being a hunter - you could sense other species, but they didn’t have any sort of an idea of what you were - until it was too late. She didn’t like how Mina was talking to her. She could never understand why Athena didn’t want to just give in. Giving in made you weak, and she would never be that. “I guess it makes some people feel better.” She shrugged. “I’m just trying to deal with them, since you clearly seem incapable of doing so.”

She didn’t like how loud the trolls were. They were giving her more than a bit of a headache and unlike the children at Sunday School who sometimes managed that with how busy and noisy they could be, the trolls had no positive side to their headache-giving abilities. “Stomachs are how you deal with them.” She quipped back. “I’d prefer to be rid of them altogether.” Athena dug the toe of her shoe into the ground and rolled her shoulders back. “Besides, I want my knife back.” Except she did at least sort of maybe see the point in Mina’s idea. “What if they still attack us?” She grabbed another knife from by her ankle. “What then?”

“I’m just trying to give you a good excuse,” Mina said. “Get this over with. I know how this works. I’ve lived it. It’ll make you feel better to have an excuse.” And, if Athena attacked her, then Mina wouldn’t feel as bad about dealing with the trolls her own way and attempting to go back to her run. She knew how this was supposed to go; she should be deferring to Athena in this situation Athena was the proper hunter. Athena was the human. Mina should be listening to her. Instead, she was butting heads. She should stop. Instead, she gritted her teeth. “What you’re trying to do is get yourself killed, whether you realize it or not. There’s three of them and two of us, and one of you, Athena. They have size and strength. They don’t have brains. This isn’t about fighting them. It’s about outsmarting them.

“YOU NOT EVEN REAL TED. I TED.” The two bigger trolls were pushing each other, the sound of it like rocks running down a mountainside. The smallest one was jumping around them, trying to get them to pay attention.

Mina said, “Certainly, if there was only one of them or we had a hunting party together.” She looked at the knife in Athena’s hand and wanted to slap herself again for coming into the woods so under— There was a small iron blade in her shoe. She bent back down, pulling the shoe off enough to pull the knife out of the makeshift sheathe she’d built into the sole. The iron pricked her finger and burnt the tip, but she didn’t care. It felt nice to at least be armed. “If they still attack us, then we fight, but we’re outnumbered, and they’re significantly stronger than us. This is about survival, now, not hunting. We can agree on that, yes? And we can get your knife back, as well.”

“Aren’t you accommodating.” Athena rolled her eyes. Your existence is excuse enough. It was true, it was what her parents had always said. By virtue of existing, fae were a threat. Even if they behaved for a moment, there would always come a time when they didn’t, and so it was best to just do away with them when the opportunity arose. Preventative, the same as bringing bandaids or an umbrella or whatever it was she’d told her brother. “I’m not, I am just doing what I am supposed to do.” She narrowed her eyebrows. It was bad enough when her brother told her off - but a fae? Even if it was one as confusing as Mina was, she didn’t like it one bit.  “Why not both- ?” She began, before being cut off by the trolls yelling.

They pushed at one another and she wished that they would just fall over the edge of a cliff but there were no cliffs in their immediate vicinity which was really unfortunate, right about now. Athena could have used that - especially because the trolls were arguing about what was likely one of the stupidest things possible.

She watched Mina bend over and remove a knife of her own, rolling her eyes. “It is about survival, sure, fine, but I’d also prefer to deal with the problem, because what about innocent humans who might come across them?” Athena scoffed. “What if they kill them? That’s on me, for letting them go.”

“Yes, well, I was raised to be,” Mina snapped back. This wasn’t the time or place to explain that she had just as much hunting experience as Athena. Maybe more, given that she’d travelled so much. Maybe less, given that she’d never killed anyone. Mina had the experience of time, of bearing witness to countless deaths. Athena had the experience of actual practice, execution. If they fought, Athena would follow through with her actions. Mina couldn’t say the same. She didn’t want to fight, anyway. She didn’t. She didn’t. “Is doing what you’re supposed to charging head first into a fight against three creatures who have size, strength, and most likely stamina on you? You’re really quite smart, Athena. I know you didn’t need me to tutor you. But that’s just stupid.”

“WHAT ABOUT YOU TAKE ONE AND TED TAKE OTHER?” one of the larger trolls said as the grappling stopped, albeit briefly. The little one was jumping up and down, still begging to be seen, to be heard, but the larger two of the three seemed to be getting scarily close to an agreement.

Mina gripped her knife a bit tighter. “I imagine that anyone else that comes across them would simply give the trolls their shoes and leave,” she said. “If you want to deal with the problem, I’d prefer you didn’t do it while I was here. I’m not going to leave you to deal with three trolls alone, but--” She sighed. “But I think it’s stupid to do this.”

“So was I. Just only to humans, oopsie daisy.” She giggled, a sharp contrast to Mina’s voice. Maybe she did that just because of how satisfying it was to be Mina’s opposite. Athena didn’t pay too much attention to that, because it didn’t really matter, not in the end. She still didn’t know a great deal about the fae’s past, and she frankly didn’t care so much to learn about it. That didn’t matter. “You’re right, I just wanted an excuse to get close to you.” There was no use in lying about that particular tactic. “I was acing that class even before you came around, but you offered, and so I just didn’t want to turn you down. Also, maybe it is what I’m supposed to -” her voice was cut off by the sound of the trolls arguing about taking them down and that absolutely wasn’t what she’d had planned. She’d have the reflexes to fend off a few more haphazard punches, but if they really tried - well, Athena certainly wasn’t keen to get squashed by a mountain. Not today, and not ever, if she could avoid it.

“So you don’t want to deal with the -” another rock, thrown by the smallest of the three, came zooming between them, “problem, but you won’t leave me to do so?” Athena rolled her eyes. “But you do know that leaving four monsters alive is quite a bit of an issue, don’t you?” She wove the handle of the knife between her fingers. “So what am I supposed to do about that?”

Mina laughed. There was nothing funny about this. “Coincidentally, so was I. Only to humans.” Oopsie daisy. Athena still treated this like a game. She treated this like it was something that could be enjoyed, laughed at. Was that what duty was to her? Was that what killing was to her? Mina didn’t understand. She wasn’t raised like that. Her training had always reminded her that it wasn’t a game. It wasn’t something to laugh at. “Right, well, congratulations. You did peg me rightly as a fool that would help you.” Mina had opened herself up from an attack, and yet Athena had never taken it. It was understandable that she wouldn’t attack while on campus, and Athena had made it abundantly clear that she wanted Mina dead. But she kept hesitating. Even now, Athena was hesitating. Mina didn’t understand it.

The trolls were still debating among themselves, but there wouldn’t be much more time before they reached a consensus.

“No, I won’t leave you to deal with this alone,” Mina said, her voice resolute. She didn’t care if Athena hated her. She didn’t care if Athena wanted to kill her. Mina refused to leave the younger girl to deal with this alone. “Four? But there’s-- oh.” Right. Mina was the fourth monster. She was a monster. She forgot that, sometimes. Swallowing, she looked down at her feet before looking back at Athena. “What do you want to do about it? Decide quickly. We don’t have a lot of time.”

“Figures.” Athena rolled her eyes. She still didn’t know much about Mina’s history, but she did know that some aspects of it had been atypical. Or something. She only knew that she didn’t really care enough to actually learn the truth behind it. She knew that her parents wouldn’t have approved of the laugh, but she couldn’t help herself. “I mean, you offered. You know there’s others out there who’d stab you in public. Who don't care so much about public image as I do.” She’d never been this honest with Mina before, but the incessant yelling of the trolls was really starting to get to her. She was weak - she’d stopped being golden the second her parents had come into the kitchen on her and Rio’s twenty-first birthday. The thought made her stomach turn and she pushed it aside - box it up, ignore it, bury yourself in blankets when you’re back in the apartment. If she were still golden she’d up and stab Mina right in the heart and then deal with all the trolls, no matter the outcome.

So why wasn’t she?

“You - because of duty?” Her words still had a bite, but it was weaker, more tired. “Four.” She repeated. Three trolls and a fae who would have-could have-should have been a friend were she an actual hunter. Athena glanced over at the trolls. I want to kill them. “I want to kill them.” She huffed, blowing a few strands of hair out of her face. “But I’ll settle for injury.”

“You’re not--” Mina cut herself off, frustrated. Athena wasn’t going to listen to her. She wasn’t going to care. Nothing Mina said mattered. She couldn’t even goad Athena into a fight. She sighed, thinking about the warden who had attacked her in front of Rio out in the woods, how he hadn’t cared at all about another presence, how he’d attempted to kill Rio, too. “I’m well aware that there are plenty of people out there that would attack me in public, I assure you. I do appreciate you not attacking me in front of my colleagues.” Though, it was just as much for Athena’s benefit as it was for Mina’s. Athena struck Mina as someone who did care about her public image quite a lot. There’d be no furthering her education if she went to prison for murdering a TA on campus.

“Yes, because of duty,” Mina said. Why did everyone say it like that? Even Athena, someone who should understand duty said it like that. Maybe it was just about Mina being Fae. She hated being Fae sometimes, most of the time. She closed her eyes tightly. She didn’t want to deal with trolls. She opened them, looking at Athena. The younger girl looked tired. Mina almost told her to join the club. “Alright, fine, you want to injure the bloody trolls? Then let’s injure the bloody trolls.” She looked back to where the trolls were still arguing, trying to figure out which of them was the real Ted. That didn’t matter, in the end.

“Yes, of course.” Athena sighed. “Wouldn’t want the department to have to waste time finding a new TA.” She could tell Mina was annoyed, and well - if she couldn’t kill her, then maybe she could settle for just driving her up the wall. She figured her brother would probably say she was equally as good at that as she was at hunting. In another life, she might have complained about that but she couldn’t bring herself to be so bothered by it now - not if it would benefit her. Even if not too many people knew she was connected to Mina, and even if they were in the middle of the forest, she couldn’t bring herself to kill the other fae.

Maybe another time. She tossed her hair over her shoulder again. Besides, it’d have to be quick now and she’d prefer for it to not just be a stab-and-go.

“Divine power too,” she said, voice softer. Divinethebestthemostdeservinggolden. For a moment, Athena couldn’t catch her breath, but then she let it steady again. Everything was fine. Everything had to be fine, no matter what her personal opinion on that was. Personal opinions weren’t something she had about this, because too much thinking just got her in trouble. It was why she’d almost gotten squashed by the trolls and why she hadn’t just done away with the fae in front of her. “Yes. I’d like something good to come out of this. Have you ever injured a troll before?”

“You’d be surprised with how hard it is to fond and keep TAs at UMWC, especially in the maths department,” Mina muttered. She and the three guys she shared an office with were the last line of defense in a revolving door of graduate students in the department that had somehow managed to survive this town. If they didn’t annoy her on a regular basis, she would almost be endeared to them. If Athena didn’t annoy and terrify her in equal measure, she might be endeared to her, too, after tutoring her for so long and because she was another hunter. Instead, she was just annoyed and tired.

“I don’t do divinity,” Mina said. “There’s duty. There’s a code. And anything that follows is second. But, sure. Have you divine power.” She’d never met any hunters that were so steadfast in their believe that it was the divine that gave them their abilities, but sure. She could see them believing that. It made sense. As much sense as anything else she’d been told over the years. Mina wasn’t taught to put stock in divinity. There was only herself and her obligations and, before, the knowledge that humans were good and everything else was bad. She’d changed that line of reasoning, but she still believed in her duty. “I’ve…” She’d run distraction while other people had stabbed a troll. “I’ve got a good aim. If I can see where to aim at, I can probably throw a knife hard enough to injure.”

“I don’t know if I’d be that surprised. So many people go missing.” She muttered right back. Athena was practically positive that only Mina could hear what she was saying - for one, because she doubted that the trolls could fully comprehend anything halfway resembling complex language, and for two, because her voice was barely above a whisper. Unless there was a beast hunter nearby, nobody else would be able to hear.

“All three.” Athena gave another shrug. Her parents had always remarked that she and her brother were blessed with a divine ability, and that said ability permitted them to do their duty. It wasn’t what every hunter believed, but it felt comfortable. Solid, even when other things felt more fragile. She needed something to hold onto, because otherwise she knew that she’d feel like she was drowning. Even if holding onto her parents’ words perhaps kept them in her mind more than they should have been, she needed it. It made her feel like who she’d always been. “Works for me.” She quipped back. “If I can’t kill, I need to do something. I can’t just… walk out of this without doing something.”

“Yes, well, it’d be a shame to add to that number, wouldn’t it?” Mina asked, hoping to still try to appeal to the part of Athena that cared about her public image. Would it work? She didn’t know. Even if she made it through this encounter, Mina had no doubt Athena would try to kill her again. Or at least corner her and attempt to annoy her to death. The younger girl seemed to have a knack for that.

“Sure. Fine.” Mina couldn’t understand Athena’s logic, but she supposed that’s what it was; an absence of logic. It made no sense to believe in such things. Then again, wasn’t she starting to slowly think that Deirdre might be onto something about the idea of Fates? She didn’t know. “Then let’s do something, yes. We hit what we can and run for our bloody lives, and we can both live to have you threaten me at knife point another day.”

Reaching down and picking up a rock, Mina threw it at the closest Ted. “Hey! Only the real Ted would be able to come after us,” she called out, hoping to goad them into action. Her hand tightened on her knife. The three trolls looked up, ceasing their arguing. And then they immediately started charging forward, pushing and shoving at each other in their haste to get to the warden and the Fae.

“I suppose so.” Athena tapped her fingers against her thigh. It was true that enough people went missing (or died) at the university, and it was also true she’d been the reason behind at least some of them - and given that she and Mina had been seen together there was part of her that knew killing her would make it almost too easy to point fingers. Though she wasn’t the only warden on campus - and she’d always been good at faking things, after all.

“It’s how I was raised,” and perhaps, if Athena thought about it too much, it didn’t always make sense - but then again, it had to, didn’t it? If she didn’t hold onto that belief then where would she be left? She didn’t like to think about that, about the foundation of who she was being pulled out of her. “Works for me. It’d be a real honor to hold you at knifepoint without trolls around.” She managed to fight back the giggle that time, instead flashing a smirk at the fae.

At Mina’s words, the trolls began running toward them and Athena took a few steps back, holding out another one of her knives. “She’s right, you know. Only the real one can do anything about us intruders.” The sounds of the trolls pushing against one another sounded like the clattering of rocks and boulders, and she took a small glance over to Mina. “Ready?”

“We’re all just a product of our raising, aren’t we?” Mina asked, her voice dulled. Athena didn’t realize just how similar their raisings were. Except, where Athena was taught that she had some sort of divine purpose, Mina was taught that, if there was a divinity, she was nowhere near it. Her purpose was to serve and die serving, not for a god but for people. She still took that to heart, even if she’d adjusted just what it meant to be a person. “I’m sure, and there’s really just nothing I’d like more,” she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice, the tone foreign. She’d never used sarcasm; it was basically lying. But, then again, Mina had been lying a lot, lately. It only somewhat turned her stomach.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Mina said, looking down at the one knife that she had, looking up to the trolls fighting for a taste of blood. Off all the situations, and with all the people, she didn’t expect to be facing down a group of trolls with Athena. Mina steadied herself, her heart, and prepared to throw at the first opening and run. Run from the trolls, and run from the girl that might still try to kill her if given the chance. She’d really rather live another day, if it was all the same to everyone around her.

[writings-of-a-daphodil]

Fire Keeper: Chapter 19

Douxie x fem reader

Masterlist in Bio!

Series Summary: You are Jim’s older sister who is taking a break from college and has moved back home to Arcadia. You end up joining Jim and his friends on their adventures.

Chapter 19 summary: The past gets messy. It's got a very fluffy ending.

A/n: It’s finally here and it's 7,547 words, yay!!!

“Death to all trolls!” Called Arthur as he rode towards the forest.

“Death to all trolls!” His knights repeated.

“Let's get out there, boys, and rip their faces off!” Galahad cheered and you wrinkled your nose at the violence.

“Medieval Bessie, go! Ho-ho! Cow-ho!” Steve prompted his cow forwards and you decided to do the same with your horse. Past Douxie was supposed to be helping you ride, but he was overly excited to be going on a mission.

You tried to steer the horse in the right direction, but he just went towards the left. You huffed in frustration when he wouldn’t move. You knew it wasn’t the horse's fault, but that didn’t stop you from getting a little irritated.

“Would you mind helping me?” You asked Past Douxie, but he was in his own world.

“What a beautiful day for a ride. It just makes you want to-“ he stopped talking and suddenly you noticed that he wasn’t on the horse anymore.

“Huh?” Steve asked. You looked to see your Douxie moving past Douxie back inside the gate.

He came over to you. “Would you like to help me?” You asked as he got onto the horse.

“Gladly,” he responded, taking the reins.

“You do know that repeated sleep spells can cause memory loss permanently,” Archie informed, soaring past you.

Douxie shrugged. “Huh, don't remember that. No matter. Let's go! The king needs us!”

You held onto Douxie as he sped up the horse. It was both exhilarating and terrifying to be on one, but it calmed you to know that you could catch yourself with magic.

~~~~

Eventually you had to abandon the horses and while you had enjoyed riding him, you were glad to be on your own two feet again.

You went to walk with Merlin so you could distract him from Douxie’s plan. You silently followed the old wizard, doing your best not to irritate him, while also trying to keep him away from Claire and Douxie.

Your job was going well, Merlin seemed to be content with ignoring Douxie and just focusing on protecting the king. He occasionally talked to you, inquiring after your name and whether you had magic or not. He seemed satisfied with your answers, but he warned you about using your magic.

“Arthur has never been fond of magic and he also doesn’t like strangers. You’ll need a good excuse if he notices you,” Merlin was saying.

“I was just going to say I was hoping to be your new apprentice,” you said and Merlin considered it.

“That should be fine,” Merlin eventually responded.

You looked over to Douxie as you and Merlin settled into vigilant silence again. He looked tired and you frowned. He was putting too much pressure on himself. He had been stressed before you had gone into the past, but now you didn’t know how he was able to function.

When he saw you staring at him he gave you a small smile and a wave. You waved back, focusing on a knight as you felt your face heat up.

“No sign of them, sire. Trail's gone cold,” the knight announced. You looked past him and saw the trees swaying gently. You would have expected a place called the wild wood to be more creepy, but it seemed like a nice place.

Douxie began to walk over to Arthur who was looking into the woods. “Say, my liege, didn't you used to spend time in this wood?”

Arthur sighed wistfully. “Yes. As a boy. Much time was lost in this accursed forest. I often fled to these woods to escape from my growing responsibilities.”

Douxie gave you a bright smile, full of hope before waving his hands discreetly. Bright Blue magic bloomed around you, bringing to life three children. You smiled as they laughed, remember it when you and Jim were carefree and could just play together. Now he was somewhere in these woods and you were supposed to be hunting him, not that you’d ever harm your little brother.

“On your guard, men! We've been bewitched!” A knight called and you rolled your eyes, they were so scared of magic.

“What's happening? It's coming for me!” Another painicked. “It's dark magic!”

Merlin scoffed. “Stand down. We're not in danger. Uh, my lord...”

You turned your attention to Arthur, who seemed to actually be bewitched. “Gwen,” the king breathed. “My betrothed. My beloved. She was the heart of me.”

Morgana came over. “Mm, we loved these woods. The freedom they offered. The wood showed us kindness for our courage. Gwen and I were never scared. Arthur, however...”

You smiled as a creature that looked like Nari offered the two girls a gift. However, your smile faded when a much younger Arthur pulled a dagger on her.

Arthur scowled. “I knew what danger lurked in the darkness.”

“Gwen! Away from her, demon!” Young Arthuer yelled, scaring Nari away.

“As we grew older, and duty kept me inside, Morgana encouraged Gwen, brought her out when she should have stayed safe within Camelot,” Arthur explained.

“Arthur always blamed me for our moonlight trips. But that night, it was Gwen pulling me out of the door. We'd stumbled into a Stalkling nest,” Morgana said sadly.

“Gwen!” Past Morgana yelled as a Stalkling growled.

“It was afraid,” Morgana said and you looked away as you heard the illusion scream. You recalled that a Stalkling had hungered your brother on his birthday, it was scary to think of what could have happened to him.

“That night, Gwen went into the woods and never returned.” Arthur sighed. “You, sister, should have known better.

Morgana looked away. “You never forgave me. And when my own gifts blossomed, you saw yet another abomination. Ordered Merlin to teach me to control that part of me... though Gwen loved magic as I did.”

“Yes. Yes, she did. I... I miss her terribly,” Arther whispered.

“As do I... brother,” Morgana whispered back. You felt a tear slip down your face. It was so sad what had happened to Gwen. Having lost friends, you knew how hard it was to come back from it. You couldn’t imagine losing Jim or Douxie or anyone.

You hadn’t known Douxie for as long as Arthur knew Gwen, but just thinking of losing him made the tears fall faster.

Lancelot snapped you out of your thoughts.    “Troll! We found one!”

Arthur growled. “I will lose no one else to those creatures. To arms!”

Douxie sighed. “No, no, no, no, no! Not now!”

Claire looked over to you. “Oh, no! Jim!”

“Steady, men! Remember your training. Kill the beast!” Lancelot ordered.

“Wait, kill? I thought this was catch-and-release!” Steve yelled as he ran off.

“Using magic? On the king? Are you mad? Come, we must protect Arthur,” Merlin hissed at Douxie and you followed him silently.

Douxie fell into steps beside you. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying.”

“Oh...their story really got to me,” you mumbled.

“It’s gonna be okay Y/n, Jim will be safe.”

“I hope so,” you replied. You ran over to another clearing where you saw the knights take down a gumm-gumm. You couldn’t say you were too heartbroken over it, but Morgana didn’t seem too happy.

“Take the beast down!” Arthur ordered.

“Arthur, no!” Morgana cried out.

Lancelot threw his sword to Steve. “Squire Steve, will you do the honors?” Steve hesitated and the gumm-gumm tried to attack him. You got ready to use your magic, but Arthur stepped up.

“Careful, young squire. Show these beasts no sympathy.” Arthur killed the gumm-gumm and the knights cheered.

You watched them, but when a scream sounded behind you, you whirled around to see Bular by Steve. Protective sister mode kicked in and your hands glowed orange as you got ready to fight the gumm-gumm prince to protect Steve.

Bular grabbed Steve by his collar and threw him aside. You ran over to the poor boy and caught him with magic. You were honestly grateful that you didn’t have to take the beast on. You had seen how hard it had been for your brother to kill him.

“Thanks, Y/n,” Steve rasped. You helped him to his feet and went over to help deal with Bular. He couldn’t die or the future would be changed drastically for you and your brother, but you also couldn’t let him hurt anyone here.

“The Gumm-Gumm prince himself!” Galahad laughed “Oh... Come on, let's see what you are-“

Bular threw Galahad to the side and with that Arthur charged. “For Camelot!”

“I'll drink your blood out of a goblet made of your skull! I'll carve you open, let your guts spill out!” Bular snarled. You ran over to the knights with bows and got ready to redirect any arrows as Douxie and Merlin went to help Arthur.

“My king!” Galahad cried.

“Arthur!” Lancelot ran over to help. Bular raised his hand for the finishing blow, but Douxie stopped him.

“There's no spilling anything today!” Douxie grunted as he did his best to keep Bular from killing Arthur. Merlin used his own magic to create a seal on the floor and when Douxie dragged him to it, a bright green net of magic trapped Bular.

Arthur stood and walked over to the troll. “Finish it, then, fleshbag!” Bular taunted.

“The spawn of Gunmar. I won't dull Excalibur's edge with you,” Arthur snarled. “Drag this monster back to Camelot! I have plans for him. The rest, with me! My blade hungers.”

“As you wish, milord. Onward!” Lancelot called.

“Who's the monster here?” Morgana asked.

None of you knew how to answer, so when you continued walking you went back to your respective posts. Merlin walked by Morgana, so you got the chance to talk to the sorceress. It was pretty interesting getting to know this side of Morgana.

Once you told her you had magic she gave you tricks, asking if you could do shadow magic. When you said ‘no’ she was understanding and told you about this tea recipe should you ever need it. Douxie already had the recipe, but it was kind of Morgana to think of it.

As you talked you began to wonder how Morgana could have possibly turned evil. Of course you had never met her back in your time, but you had heard horrible stories about her.

You heard Arthur shouting ahead and you all ran over to the clearing.

“Wait!” Douxie yelled.

“My king, it's not safe!” Merlin tried, but Arthur ignored them.

“Oh, no,” Claire muttered and you nodded your head in agreement.

Morgana waved at you and Claire to follow her. “Come, handmaiden. Not a moment to lose.”

“What are you gonna do if we catch them?” Claire asked.

“Whatever I have to.”

With that the three of you ran over to another clearing.

“This way!” You whispered, trying to guide Morgana away from Jim’s aura. But suddenly you heard a clatter and panting. Morgana ignored your advice and went the other way. You had no choice but to follow her and help Jim.

“There you are,” Morgana shouted, jumping off a ledge. You followed her, ready to use your magic.  

“Morgana?” Jim asked.

“Jim! Jim!” Claire called. She hadn’t made it to the clearing yet, but you would do your best to battle Morgana. You went to stand between Jim and the sorceress, ready to protect your little brother at any cost.

“You will not hurt him!” You growled, your hands already lighting up, ready to fight.

However, Morgana surprised you. “Don't be afraid. I won't hurt him,” she promised, kneeling next to Jim.

“Jim! Don't kill him! You said-“ Claire cried, not yet in the clearing and seeing what was happening.

“I'm sorry you were ever in a cage,” Morgana apologized.

A knight shouted in the near distance, “Down in the clearing!”

“Go. I will draw away the others. Go!” Morgana ordered, helping Jim up.

“I'll find you,” Jim promised. He gave you one last look before going to run. You got ready to face the knights when you heard Jim cry out behind you. Now it was Arthur about to kill him.

“Arthur!” Morgana yelled.

You didn’t care about being inconspicuous anymore, you had to keep Jim safe. You raced over to him, ready to fight King Arthur himself if it meant saving your brother.

Claire followed you. “Jim!”

“So, sister. Your true loyalties stand revealed at last. I warned you not to return with a clean sword,” Arthur growled. He brought the sword down, but yours materialized and was right there to meet it. Unfortunately, Arthur was stronger and you began to struggle.

“Can’t. We. Talk. This. Out?” You gasped. Suddenly, when you were sure your arms were about to give out, Morgana took your place, using the staff to keep Arthur’s sword off Jim.

“What? What are you doing?” Arthur asked, addressing his sister, completely ignoring you.

“What I should have done years ago,” Morgana retorted.

“You dare raise arms against your king?” Arthur asked, shocked.

“Run, Jim!” Claire cried, helping you get him to his feet.

“Get back here, you gravel-eater!” Lancelot yelled, shooting an arrow at you. Both of your hands were holding Jim, but thankfully Claire took care of it, blasting the arrow aside with her purple magic.

“No!” Claire screamed.

Lancelot stared in shock. “What the...? She's a wit-oh!”

Steve hit him on the head with a rock. “Oh-ho, man! That troll-that came out of nowhere! Right, guys?”

Lancelot got up again and Steve hit him. You winced and turned back to Jim.

“Go!” Both you and Claire ordered. He gave you and Claire a quick hug each before running off. You watched sadly as he faded into the forest. You hated letting him leave. You were so very worried about him. It just wasn’t fair that you couldn’t be there to protect him.

Eventually, you turned and ran back over to the clearing. You heard the clanging of swords and raced over to Merlin.

The old wizard gasped. “Morgana? She takes Arthur's life?”

“No, no! No, wait, wait! We don't have to figh-“ Douxie ran to stop them, but Merlin blasted him to the side. You went to help him up.

“Are you alright?” You asked.

“Yeah, I just don’t get why they won’t listen to us. They’re supposed to be the adults, but all they do is fight.”

“We’ll figure it out,” you promised.

“Defend the king at all costs!” Merlin ordered.

Morgana glared at him. “You, too, old man?”

“I do what I must for the greater good!” Merlin yelled.

“Traitors!” Morgana yelled, flying into the air. “You throw us in chains, fearing what you cannot control, but we of magic are not lesser creatures, we are more!”

That was when you realized that maybe Morgana wasn’t right. You believed that everyone should get along, it wasn’t right that one species was better or something. They should be equal. Morgana and Arthur were on opposite sides of the spectrum; he believed that humans were better while she believed that magical creatures were better. History was on Arthur’s side when it came to people and trolls finding peace, so you would have to side with him if you couldn’t reason with Morgana.

“Stop! We found another way!” Claire yelled, coming into the clearing.

“We did, this doesn’t have to get any worse!” You cried.

“We can do this peacefully!” Douxie added.

Morgana sighed. “The time for peace ended long ago.”

Morgana continued to attack Arthur and you and Claire went to stop her. “Morgana, he's not the enemy,” Claire yelled.

Morgana scoffed. “I trusted you! Now you side with my brother over your own kind? You're one of them. You're all against me, but I am more powerful than you know. Ortum obumbratio!”

Gold and black shadows of Morgana rose from the ground and you screamed. You looked to your own shadow and you saw it rise to fight you.

“Oh, buckets,” Douxie cursed and you backed over to him. The shadows chased you all out of the forest to a cliff.

Had you been there in any other situation, you would have stopped to admire the beauty; the sun was setting and the ocean was magnificent, but now you had to fight for your life. Once Morgana had deemed you a traitor to her cause, she was ready to end your life.

“Your cruelty towards magic-kind knows no bounds! You have taken and taken, and now we take back!” Morgana cried.

“Protect the king!” Merlin ordered again. You blasted your shadow in the stomach and went to help Arthur. However, his shadow sent him tumbling to the edge of the cliff. You raced to use your magic to help him up, but he ignored the offer. He climbed up on his own and stood his ground.

“Enough!” Arthur yelled, raising Excalibur to the sky. The clouds parted and a beam of light came down, enchanting the sword. Arthur brought it to the ground and a ball of magic exploded from it, knocking you to the ground. You flew away from the king, hitting the ground hard.

The air was knocked out of you and you struggled to get up.

Morgana cackled at him. “You outlaw magic, but fight with an enchanted sword! You snuff out any power that isn't yours, but I won't go so quietly.”

“I denied your true nature for so long because you are my sister. But when I look at you now, all I see is a demon! A witch!” Arthur roared and he and Morgana continued to fight. You watched in horror as the time map showed the timeline deteriorate. It flashed red and blue, but red seemed to be winning.

“And all I see is a little boy driven mad by hatred and prejudice! Goodbye, brother.��� Morgana cried. She waved her arm to do a spell, but Arthur got to her first, cutting off her hand. Morgana gasped.

“Morgana! No! No, no, no!” You and Douxie yelled.

Arthur hesitated. “No...”

“Brother?” Morgana whispered, she took a step back, underestimating the distance between her and the edge of the cliff. You watched in horror as she disappeared.

“Morgana!” Douxie yelled.

“No!” The rest of you echoed. You watched as Arthur took a step away from the cliff. He eyed his sword and smashed it against the ground. Pieces flew everywhere and you created a shield as a piece of shrapnel almost hit you.

You let your shield down and looked over to Douxie. He looked absolutely beaten and hopeless. You didn’t know how you were gonna fix this.

~~~~

After a while Merlin convinced Arthur to leave and you walked home in silent defeat.

“Now magic has truly taken everything from me,” Arthur muttered angrily.

Claire looked over to you. “She's gone. We failed.”

You opened your mouth to say something soothing and optimistic, but nothing came out. Instead Douxie spoke, “No, I failed. Master I-I'm so sorry.”

“This is why you don't meddle with time,” Merlin said.

“But I tried. I tried to fix it,” Douxie argued.

Merlin sighed sadly. “Don't you see, boy? There is no 'fixing' anything. Every change has consequence. Knowing the future is a responsibility to bear with caution, lest you cause worse things to happen.”

Douxie sank to the ground, staring at the flashing time map. “Morgana's dead, Excalibur's broken. That never happened.”

You and Archie went to go and comfort him. “We are in uncharted territory.”

~~~~

You couldn’t believe it was only a day ago that Merlin was vowing to save the king. He had accomplished his goal of course, however, he had failed to save Morgana. After you had spent time with her in the wild woods you felt awful about her death, but there was also the fact that she wasn’t in her right mind. It was all very complicated.

Now you were about to go with Merlin to help fix Excalibur. You huddled up in a jacket that Douxie had found for you. It was freezing and the fog wasn’t helping.

Archie sat by you on the rail of the boat, gazing at the sea. “I try to avoid water.”

Steve came over to the two of you. “Personally, I always pack my swimsuit. Extra-personally, it's actually my birthday suit.”

You rolled your eyes at him then looked at Merlin. “When are we going to get there?”

“We’ll get there when we get there,” Merlin stated harshly.

“I was asking if I had time to check on my brother,” you responded, giving him a dead look. You had the patience to wait, you had taken a trip to the moon that had lasted forever without complaining after all.

“Ah, yes,” Merlin said and that was all the confirmation you needed before closing your eyes. You felt the shift and focused on what you remembered Jim’s aura to be like. When you opened your eyes you were no longer on a boat, but in a room.

You looked around and saw Jim, his friend, and...Blinky.

“Clearly he’s delusional,” Blinky was saying to Dictatious. He suddenly raised his hand and slapped Jim. “Snap out of it!”

“Ow!” Jim yelped as Blinky continued to slap him. “Blinky, it’s me, Jim!”

“‘Blinky’? For the last time, that’s Blinky’s Gakadrigal to you, outsider.”

“And my nightmare’s real,” Jim muttered.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Dictatious said, shaking Jims hand. “Forgive my brother. Your traveling companion was a little more hostile upon waking up.”

“I startle easy. That’s on you,” the other troll said.

Blinky began to rant and you snuck over to Jim. “Are you okay?” You whispered.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. How are you?” He whispered back.

“I’m alright, I’ll try to check in daily okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you then. Stay safe.”

“You too.” You gave a small smile before returning back to your body and to the freezing cold boat.

“How is he?” Claire asked.

“He’s fine.” You chuckled. “He just met a very irritated Blinky.”

Claire smiled. “Good, I’m glad he’s safe.”

You were cut off from saying anything more when the boat turned the corner. You walked over to the edge of the boat by Douxie and saw a bunch of wrecked ships.

“Whoa, it's a ship graveyard,” Steve marveled.

“We've arrived,” Merlin announced.

“Huh. The Lady of the Lake is real! I thought she was just a myth,” Claire said.

Douxie smiled. “Oh, no, the Lady's very much real. Though, only Merlin's allowed to meet with her... until now.”

“Because her power is beyond your comprehension. It was from her mystic waters I helped Arthur first retrieve Excalibur and unite the kingdom. Hisirdoux, the sword please,” Merlin requested.

“Yeah! Quest, quest, quest, quest!” Steve chanted.

Merlin hopped off the ship and began to walk towards two face carvings. “Watch the ship. I shall return shortly.

“What? We have to wait in the car?” Steve whined.

“But I thought we were doing this together,” Douxie protested.

Merlin sighed. “You should be thanking me. I got you out of Camelot. Arthur's unstable and the people are afraid. And not only that, Y/n practically committed treason, so the less Arthur sees her the better.”

You smiled sheepishly as Douxie tried to go after Merlin. “I thought you trusted me. I won't just sit here without making things right!”

“And I will not lose another apprentice!” Merlin shouted and it echoed throughout the cave. Douxie took a step back and you grabbed onto his hand in silent comfort.

“Who dares to disturb my slumb-“ the door on the right asked suddenly asked and you jumped. Douxie chuckled at you and you gently elbowed him.

Merlin cut the door off. “It's me, Merlin. Open up, you idiots.”

“Oh, it is you! All right, walk in,” the other door said, sliding apart so Merlin could enter.

Douxie ran after him, but the doors slammed shut before he could get through.

“Lake's closed!” Righty said.

“None but the master wizard shall pass. No amateurs. That's you,” Lefty taunted.

Douxie stood back. “Causa crepitoose!” He yelled and a blue blast hit the doors, doing nothing

Righty laughed. “Is that all you got, punk?”

“Come on, get close so I can bite your legs off!” Lefty howled with laughter and you rolled your eyes.

“Come on, ignore them,” you said, leading Douxie over to Claire and Steve.

“Ugh! Merlin's magic is so annoying!” Claire groaned.

Douxie sighed. “The talking door is right. This sorcery's uncrackable.”

“Well, at least we don't have to see Steve's birthday suit,” Archie said optimistically.

“Too late! Whoo!” Steve yelled and you were glad he was by the water where you couldn’t see him.

“Oh, no! My eyes!”

“Oh, I can't unsee that now!”

The four of you minus Steve walked over to a grassy area and Archie helped you collect sticks. Once you assembled them he set them on fire.

“Thanks, Archie,” Douxie said, giving a small smile.

“Jeez, how long is Coach Wizard gonna take? It's been forever!” Steve whined, walking back to you.

“What if the old man needs our help?” Archie asked, curling up onto your lap. Even with the fire and your jacket you were still shivering.

You watched as Steve stood and charged at the doors, trying to scare them open. You weren’t surprised when it didn’t work.

“Uh, Open Sesame! Abracadabra! I'm begging you, man!” Steve tried after violence failed. “Hey, door dorks, open up!”

“Why don't you open up?” One of the doors mocked.

Steve huffed. “Maybe I will! So, I'm-I'm really scared that I won't be a good knight.”

“Well, you won't be, but don't be scared about it. You know, then you worry about, like, what is your purpose on this planet?” Lefty said.

You turned away from Steve to face the fire again. Douxie scooted close to you and wrapped his arm around you.

“Thanks,” you mumbled, trying to hide your blush.

“You seemed cold, so...yeah,” Douxie explained.

You faded into silence, the only noise in the cavern was Steve’s therapy session with the doors.

Claire opened up her book on shadow magic and Douxie stood up excitedly.  “Merlin doesn't know shadow magic. Claire! You could make a shadow portal and slip us right through!”

Claire hesitated. “I don't know, Douxie. I don't have my staff.”

“I've seen you do magic without it,” Douxie said.

“But Merlin said-“ Claire started.

“Merlin's not here,” Douxie countered and you noticed Claire’s aura twist with fear and anger.

You were about to tell Douxie to drop it when Claire yelled, “I don't wanna become her!”

She went to sit on the log by the fire. “What if the darkness takes over, like Morgana?” She asked. You walked over to her and gave her a hug.

“Claire, you are nothing like Morgana, you are way better,” you reassured her.

Douxie sighed, coming over. “Claire, look, I know you're scared, but you're not her. You can make the magic your own. I never had the gift for shadowmancy, but you do. You can do great and wondrous things. I've seen it.”

Claire sighed and nodded. “Okay, Douxie, I'll try. But I need you to walk me through the spell book, Teach. I don't speak Wizard-ese.”

Douxie shook his head and backed away. “You want me to teach? I'm not even a good student.”

“You've got that right.

“The worst!”

You glared at the doors. “Back off!”

“Quit it!” Claire snapped.

“Who asked you, knobhead?” Archie growled and you smiled a bit at how you all defended Douxie.

“Why are we yelling?” Steve cried.

You turned to Douxie. “Some of my favorite spells are the ones you taught me in Bulgaria, you’ll be a great teacher.”

Douxie laughed. “Right. Put your hands out like this. Beyond there is your destination, your emotional anchor.” He put his hands out and Claire mimicked him while you levitated the book in front of them.

“Got it,” Claire said.

Douxie nodded. “Then pull the magic around you. It will be your door to the Shadow Realm. That's it, that's it. Steady. Focus. Eyes on point, mind on anchor. You got this.”

“I'm scared,” Claire cried as the portal began to form. You saw how her aura twist and you began to sing a lullaby.

“Magic is emotion. Don't let fear control you. Use it! Stay true to yourself. That will protect you from the shadows,” Douxie encouraged and you saw Claire’s aura slowly start to go back to normal.

“Uh, Doux?” Claire asked, her aura suddenly twisting again.

“Don't be afraid, Claire. This is your magic. You can control it,” Douxie reassured. “Keep your eyes on point.”

Claire started panting and you tried to sing louder, but suddenly the portal rushed at her, taking her.

“Claire!” All of you screamed in unison.

“Doux, how do we bring her back?” Archie asked as Douxie flipped through the spell book.

“Hold on. I can figure this out. It's gonna be fine,” Douxie said, sounding anything but fine.

“Fine? Shadows just ate her alive, man! What are we gonna do?” Steve asked.

“We will figure something out,” you promised, already trying to hold your hands out like Claire had done. You may have not had the tolerance for shadow magic, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t perform it.

“Whoa, whoa, Y/n, stop,” Douxie said, rushing to stand in front of you. “You can’t do this, you’ll get sick again! There’s got to be another way!”

“I’m going to get her back,” you said. Your heart was racing with panic and you tried to take that fear and use it to bring Claire home. You focused and just when you felt the portal expand in front of you, Claire made her own. She dropped back into reality, right on Douxie and Steve.

“Are you hurt?” Archie asked Claire.

“Claire! Claire, are you all right?” Douxie asked, rushing to get up and help her.

“Give her some space,” Archie ordered.

“I saw her-a vision of Morgana!” Claire exclaimed.

“Oh, hot dang,” Steve whispered.

“Was it really her? Or was it guilt, or fear, or...“ Claire started.

“The Shadow Realm is a place of mystery. We understand if you don't want to go back in,” Douxie said.

“Yeah, shadow magic is nasty stuff,” you mumbled, swaying on your feet before crashing into Douxie.

“Y/n? Are you alright? Talk to me, Y/n,” Douxie begged.

You let out a string of coughs as Douxie helped you sit down by the fire. “I’ll be fine,” you promised.

“What happened?” Claire asked.

“Y/n used shadow magic again,” Douxie said and you could hear the disappointment in his voice.

“I’m sorry,” you apologized. “I wasn’t gonna let Claire get stuck in the shadow realm. I knew what I was doing and I will be fine with a little rest and tea.”

“Mhmm,” Douxie mumbled, but he still seemed upset with you.

You sighed before turning to face Claire. “How do you feel about getting us past those doors? You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“No. It's okay. I'll be all right. Thanks for talking me through it, Teach,” Claire said. “And thank you, Y/n, for trying to go in after me.”

You coughed. “Of course.”

Claire stood up and got ready to open a portal.

“No way this works, witchey!” Righty taunted.

“True.”

“Not your fault your teacher's a dunce.”

Douxie ignored them and you glared at them even though you were sure you just looked like an angry puppy with your watery eyes and runny nose wrapped in a large jacket.

“There is your anchor,” Douxie said, using magic to send a glowing blue orb towards the doors and past them.

“Let go of the fear,” Claire mumbled.

“No, no, don't do that,” Lefty said.

“Uh, no, no, no! Not good! Bad, bad idea!” Righty cried as a large shadow portal formed.

“Yes, yes, yes! Claire, you did it!” Douxie cheered.

“Yes! That's what I'm talking about! Shadow magic!” Claire celebrated.

“Whoo-hoo!” Steve shouted.

“Nice job Claire!” You smiled before coughing again.

“Wow, she picked that up fast.” Douxie grinned.

“She had a stellar teacher,” Archie praised.

Douxie smiled even wider. “What are we standing 'round for? That magical sword won't repair itself. Let's go! To the Lady!”

“Gentlemen, after you,” Claire said, gesturing for them to go into the portal. You went to walk into the portal, but Douxie stuck his hand out, blocking you.

“What are you doing?” You asked.

“Are you sure you should be traveling through a shadow portal right now?” Douxie asked.

“I’m fine and I’m not letting you go alone,” you argued.

Douxie opened his mouth to counter, “You’re sick and I’m plenty capable o-”

“I never said you weren’t capable, I’m just saying it doesn’t hurt to have back up. If you guys don’t come out later it will be a suiside mission for me to go in alone, but if I go in now we have each other's backs.”

Douxie slowly removed his arm and you felt bad about arguing with him. You walked through the portal and shivered, Douxie was right, it did make you feel worse and so, when you were out on the other side, you threw up. Thankfully Douxie didn’t see and so he didn’t force Claire to send you back.

“We made it!” Claire exclaimed as she walked through.

“Thanks to you.” Douxie smiled at her, creating a magic light.

Steve sniffed. “Ugh! This lake stinks like butt thunder!”

Douxie frowned. “I'd say we've arrived.”

“Yeah, but where's Merlin?” Claire asked.

“Gah!” Steve yelped as you heard wood creak near you. Douxie shined his light on a boat. It would have been already scary for an old piece of wood to be floating in the creepy lake, but this one had to have Excalibur on it, putting it on a whole other level.

“Uh, he can handle himself. L-Let's just stick to the plan and find the Lady. And everything will be fine,” Douxie reassured, not sounding at all confident. You walked over to him and he helped you onto the boat. You shivered and coughed and Douxie put his arm around you. You looked up at him, but he was looking ahead.

You knew you had worried him when you made the portal. You felt really bad that he seemed to be upset with you.

“What the...?” Steve screamed as lanterns on the boat posts lit up and you began to move. You huddled closer to Douxie who thankfully didn’t protest.

“Come on, Steve. Get it together. Knights don't scare,” he whispered to himself.  You watched as the water in front of you began to glow and up rose a turquoise lady in an odd veil.

“It's... It's her!” Claire marveled.

“I am the Lady, Nimue, Eldest of Oracles. Why do you seek me?” She asked in a clear voice.

“Okay, everyone, just be nice to the goddess. I'll sort this,” Douxie cleared his throat. “Oh, mighty Lake Lady... we are here to request your aid.”

“And we're missing an old wizard, if you've seen one,” Archie added.

“I can give you what you seek,” Niue said.

Douxie took this as a sign and continued. “Only you can help us on our quest to fix Excalibur and save Camelot.”

“That is not which you truly desire.” She gestured to Douxie. “You seek redemption from a scorned mentor.” She moved to Claire. “Escape from guilt.” She went to Steve. “Validation of knighthood.” Finally she moved to you. “Safety for you and your friends.”

You sighed in relief when she didn’t say ‘Douxie’ or something embarrassing. You had half expected her to say Mao, though, you really missed the kitten.

She moved on to Archie next, but she seemed to hesitate with him. “And you seek...roasted salmon?”

“Guilty,” Archie admitted.

“What? Come on, Arch!” Douxie glared at his familiar, but turned his attention back to Nimue as the boat rocked.

Nimue moved away from the boat. “You are not the first to try and deceive me. You are not worthy!”

“Uh, guys…” Claire panicked as the water around you began to bubble.

“Uh, Mr. Magic Man?” Steve asked.

“That is no lady!” Douxie yelped as tentacles came out of the water.

“You seek, you take, and all receive their final reward,” Nimue rasped in a gravelly voice.

“Time to prove my knightly skills. I'll protect thou-thee. Uh, huzzah! Huh?” Steve screamed as Nimue picked him up and dropped him in her mouth.

“Steve!” You all cried.

“Now, onto your rewards,” Nimue threatened.

“Y/n, get out of here now, you’re not fit to fight,” Douxie said, trying to persuade you.

“Not without you,” you responded, shielding all of you as one of her tentacles whapped the boat.

“Such puny creatures make tasty meals,” Nimue laughed, a tentacle wrapped around Douxie and you yelped, doing your best to blast it without hurting him. Douxie reacted though, cutting her with what was left of Excalibur.

“I hate to say it, but perhaps we should've stayed in the ship!” Archie called as he flew around breathing fire on Nimue.

“We need to subdue her so she'll fix Excalibur!” Douxie said. Once Archie was back on the boat you and Douxie worked together to send the boat backwards, rocketing away from Nimue. Archie helped by sending fire.

“We need to get Steve out of this seaside freak show!” Claire countered.

“Oh, fuzz buckets.” Douxie cursed as the Lake Lady rose up infront of your boat again. Douxie sent a blast at her. She retaliated by ripping a piece of the ceiling off and hurtling it towards the boat. Thankfully you and Douxie reacted fast. The chuck of ceiling glowed orange and blue and

“You've been a very bad Lake Lady!” Douxie yelled as you rammed the pillar at her stomach.

You watched as Merlin and Steve fell out and you did your best to cast a spell that would slow their fall.

“Oh! Hey, I-- I did it. I'm a hero,” Steve slurred before collapsing.

“My revenge tasted so sweet,” Nimue groaned.

Douxie scoffed. “Wait, revenge? What revenge?”

“You attacked us, lady!” Claire yelled.

You opened your mouth to add your own retort, but you stopped when you noticed symbols around the cavern. They were written in green magic, Merlin’s green magic.

“Long ago, I gave him the blade, but he imprisoned me here in this cave without hope,” Nimue explained.

“Wait, Merlin trapped you here?” Douxie asked, shocked. You went to grab his hand.

Nimue roared. “Now my prison will be your tomb!”

“Take her down, man, or we're all gonna get dead!” Steve cried.

“But who'll repair Excalibur, Douxie?” Archie asked.

“Well, she's not going to! What do we do, Douxie?” Claire asked and you sensed Douxie begin to have a panic attack. You smiled at him and squeezed his hand and he smiled back.

His decision was made and you watched as he raised the broken Excalibur and blue lightning coursed up it. “Tenebris exilium!” Douxie shouted, throwing the sword at the wall. It shattered, creating a way for Nimue to leave.

“Wait, you let that tentacle lady bounce?” Steve asked, you looked back to him, he was clutching a tooth next to an unconscious Merlin.

“And destroyed Excalibur?” Archie stated.

Douxie looked away. “What are you waiting for? Just go! I may not know how to fix this...” he sighed, “but I do know that you shouldn't be stuck in here.”

Nimue hesitated. “You are... different. You are kind. This gift must be repaid. The sword was meant for those worthy. Do good with it.”

The way the lady phrased that made you pause. Nimue never said he should give it to Arthur, she told Douxie to ‘do good with it.’ You put that thought aside and focused on what was happening.

“I shall return it to its rightful place. Thank you, Scary Monster Lake Lady,” Douxie said.

Steve waved goodbye as Nimue left. “Good-bye! Sorry I almost slayed you, Monster Lady!”

Merlin coughed. “Hisirdoux, what have you done? Uh... oh. Is that Excalibur?”

Douxie smiled proudly. “Indeed. I've resecured Camelot's stability, just as you'd planned.”

Merlin looked around, getting his bearings. “Ah. We must return to Camelot, where we will discuss your blunders later.”

Claire nudged Douxie. “Nice work, Teach.”

“And I got a monster trophy! Whoo! Quest!” Steve whooped.

~~~~

It was a day later when Arthur threw a ball. The next day there was to be a tournament. It was supposed to be a ball of mourning and everyone was dressed up.

When you had gotten back from your quest Douxie had given you some tea and you were feeling much better, though you knew you and your friends were still in trouble. One of the many things troubling you was how Douxie seemed upset with you. It was hard to tell, but you could sense some sort of underlying anger or something at you. But it could just be all in your head. After all, He had found the gorgeous black dress you were wearing.

It was stunning, with silver embroidery along the skirt and over deep black silk. You felt absolutely amazing, you just wished the dress wasn’t for a funeral. It was your first ball and it was one of mourning.

You looked at the crowd at the courtiers. Many of them didn’t look to be in mourning. You had stopped reading their auras long ago, but those you had read didn’t seem too upset by the death of Morgana. They were only excited about the return of Excalibur and what that meant to them.

You were only at the ball because Arthur wasn’t going to be there. Merlin was still concerned that you’d get in trouble if Arthur saw you.

Many people tried to talk to you. It was the court gossip that Merlin had taken a new apprentice, and people wanted to know everything about you. It was kinda funny watching people fawn over your lies.

You looked around for Douxie, maybe less people would ask you to dance if you could find him. Steve was off doing knight stuff and you didn’t know where Claire was.

You made your way through the room, eventually realizing that Douxie wasn’t there. It made sense, even though he was proud of himself for getting Excalibur, he was upset that he hadn’t saved Morgana.

Once you were out of the ballroom, you began reading auras again. It would be easier to find Douxie that way.

It was like deja vu searching for him through the castle just like you had done on your first day in Camelot. It felt like forever since then, so much had changed.

You finally found him in the gardens, an area of the palace that you had never been to. “Hey,” you called, walking over to him. You could hear the music from the ballroom and you realized that you were right below it.

“Y/n,” Douxie said and you took a step back, he still seemed to be kind of upset with you.

“Douxie, I know you’re not happy with me,” you started, “but I made the choice to use shadow magic. I knew what I was doing.”

“I’m sorry if I came across as upset. I was just scared and it’s terrifying to see you so sick, it’s like I could lose you any second.”

You gave an understanding smile. “I’m sorry about that, but you know what, you need to relax. You have so much on your shoulders, you should have some fun tonight. This is my first ball and I want to enjoy it.” You grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet. Grabbing his other hand you began to dance. The song that was playing was clearing one that you would waltz to and you were glad you knew how.

“I’m so sorry I pulled you into this,” Douxie said, twirling you.

You shook your head. “You do know I had magic long before I met you and that my brother was fated to be the Trollhunter, right?”

“Well, yeah, but I got you stuck in the past.” He lifted you in an arch and you smiled brightly.

“No...a piece of ice from the Arcane order did that. You need to stop blaming yourself for everything Douxie. I know things are bad, but we will find a way to fix them.”

Douxie looked ready to argue with you, but instead he leaned forward, it was a good second before you realized what he was doing and you moved to close the gap.

It was definitely something to be kissing Hisirdoux Casperan, something wonderful. It was so full of love and you smiled into it. It was a sweet little kiss, filled with the promise of more. And it was all too soon though when you broke apart.

“So, uh, that happened,” Douxie stuttered.

“I’m glad something happened,” you heard Archie mumble and you twirled around to see the familiar sitting on the bench, you hadn’t known he was there. “It’s been painfully obvious that you two like each other from the moment I met you.”

You laughed a little. “Huh, that obvious?”

“Very.”

****

Tada! I really hope y’all liked it and are excited for more. I have no clue when more is gonna happen, but it will happen soon. I have a fun idea for chapter 19.5! Anyways, thank you all so much for all the kind comments and I hope you have a fantastically safe and wonderful day!!

P.S. if you want to be on the taglist feel free to ask. I hope it works and please message me if it doesn’t.

[shoutoismybaby]

WereDragons

Can I get a Fantasy AU scenario with Half dragon Kirishima where he’s just sent to find some food by bakugou and during the trip he sees a group of dragon shapeshifters around a half dragon girl who looks terribly hurt (like arrows and just sword wounds) and he sees the group just leave her there sad flushing away and he rescues her and from then on they fall for each other?

***

This is a repost bc tumblr ate the old one

This is sooo cute! Sorry its so long, Warnings of Blood, injuries, mention of Bakuraka

***

Kirishima didn’t usually mind being sent out for food by bakugou. He actually enjoyed getting his alone time to enjoy nature or walk through towns without the blonde yelling at him. Of course there was a reason Bakugou would often yell at him, especially in towns. The reason being that it could be dangerous for him to enter, no matter how much he loved talking to the new people he would meet, it was not a good time to be a weredragon. Dragons were known to be evil, greedy creatures who destroyed homes. So even being part dragon got you stuck with that reputation, and the horns, wings, and sharp teeth that remained even in human form made it hard to hide what he was. Kirishima knew that humans often attacked unprovoked because they were scared, but that didn’t make the wounds any less painful. He would fly away from every attack if he could, but weredragons had an extremely long transforming time due to the large size difference between their forms. Not to mention how helpless they were during the transformation, it often left them unable to fight as their body shifted, making Kirishima never transform without Bakugou around to keep a lookout. 

Kirishima considered himself lucky that he had never been the target of an attack, most likely due to the fact that he found Bakugou when they were both young. The feral boy growing into a possibly more feral man whe chose Kirishima for a best friend. They would both defend one another to death, even though a certain person would never admit to such.

Being friends with Bakugou, however, meant being away on a constant adventure. Not that Kirishima really minded, he really never found a village he truly fit in at, even those that were peaceful. Plus, he loved exploring and could never turn away helping whatever village they came across. Which is why he often walked instead of flying when in search of food. It was harder to come across villages, yes. But he often found people in need of assistance. He liked to think he was changing the world's perception of dragons little by little, but Bakugou just thought he was gullible and too selfless for his own good.

But there was nothing the horned boy loved more than being someone’s hero.

So of course, when he heard panicked voices on his search for food he jogged towards the commotion right away. Quickly coming across a small clearing not too far away from the main path, littered with what looked to be other weredragons. Despite how his heart jumped in excitement at seeing some of his own kind, he remained hidden behind a tree. It was well known that some tribes of his species were, for lack of a better word, savages who attacked outsiders. It was while he was trying to see through the sea of about 10 bodies while also remaining in hiding that he began to hear soft whimpers and cries. From in between their legs, he spotted you. Laying on the ground as though you had collapsed, well you probably had. Your body was covered in blood and various arrows stuck out all over. Your face was contorted in pain, eyes squeezed shut. Kirishima's heart began to beat rapidly, why weren’t they helping you?

“how could you be so stupid?” Kirishima’s ears finally caught bits on the conversation.

“You weren’t raised to be so weak!” A males voice seemed to overpower the rest, he looked to be the leader, standing closest to you but showing no motive to tend to your wounds. “You know we can’t help you.”

Kirishima's eyes furrowed, what was this guy talking about?! You had fatal wounds that required treatment immediately.

“Please,” Your soft voice cut through, cutting off all other conversations. “I didn’t see them coming and there were so many.”

“That's your fault, and now you’ve probably led them to us!” The leader of the group spoke once again, and you visibly flinched. It was then that Kirishima's hunch about coming across a tribe was confirmed. Tribes had a hierarchy and, due to the current hunt on dragons in certain kingdoms, they valued strength above all else. And you getting attacked and so badly injured would do serious harm on your reputation. But from what it seemed, it was earning you excommunication.

“I’m sorry,” A sob racked your body and Kirishima couldn't tell if it was because of the pain or what was happening.

“Let's go.” The leader demanded. Kiri wished that he could jump into action right then. Convince them to stay and help you, but revealing himself would only put the both of you in more danger. Especially if they were right about the human that attacked you heading towards the group. The group seemed hesitant until the leader spread his wings, beckoning for the others to follow his example. A few looked sympathetic, but took off as the man did. Once they had finally taken off, shapeshifting into dragons once in the are, Kirishima made his way over to you. You had now curled into a ball as much as you could manage without inflicting even more pain to yourself. Your wings laid over your body, in a way that was hiding your face and that revealed how broken it was to Kirishima.

Upon hearing his footsteps you only curled into yourself more, releasing a pained hiss as the arrows were moved.

“I don't want to hurt you,” Kiri said, holding up his arms as though you could see them, “I just want to help. Your injuries look really bad. They could get infected... Or worse, if you don't let me help you.”

At this, you moved your wing from your face with a wince, and Kirishima's breath caught in his throat. He didn't think you’d be so beautiful up close.

“They’re probably not far behind, it would be smarter of you if you just left me.” You muttered, refusing to look him in the eye.

“Maybe, but I couldn't call myself a man if I did that either. Let me help, please.” He begged, getting increasingly worried as he noticed the blood pooling on the ground.

“What do you plan on doing then?” You asked,

“Well, I have a mage friend named Uraraka that lives in a small village a day or two from here called Tokyo. She’s taught me and my friend some healing remedies I could use in the meantime.” Kirishima explained, kneeling down next to you.

“You're planning on taking me to a village over a day away?” You asked, “Why?”

Kirishima looked up at you and sighed,

‘I don't know if you can feel it yet, you might still be in shock. But all these wounds, their fatal and-”

“And why do you care!?” You yelled, the people in your tribe had never done anything that didn’t benefit them. So what did he think he was going to get from this situation? A girlfriend? Because if so he could think again. “You don't know me, or anything about what happened to me. Why does it matter to you if I live or not if it's only going to inconvenience you?” Kirishima was taken back at your outburst. No one had really ever yelled at him when he was just trying to help them before. Well, other than bakugou, who ended up being his best friend. Which is probably why he didn't let your outburst faze him for too long.

“I don't know why I care, but I do and I want to help you. It wouldn't feel right to leave you here to die. What happened doesn't really matter to me. Now can I check your wounds?” He asked. You hesitated before accepting that he was your only chance at survival and nodded. You're adrenalin was wearing off and you could feel it. You knew the lack of blood was beginning to hit you, you began to feel drained and so, so sleepy. But each time he moved you to count your injuries a sharp pain from all over your body reminded you that you were very much alive. And you wanted to stay that way. It was a couple minutes before he spoke again, and you felt a lot calmer for some reason. “I’m going to pick you up and put you on my back okay? Its gonna hurt a lot but I need to get you to where my friend and I are staying.”

“A different friend, how many do you have?” You chuckled, “What are they like?”

“He can be aggressive and temperamental. And he doesn't really like other people.”

‘He sounds like an ass.” You yawned, but Kirishima just shook his head.

“He comes off that way, but he’s really not. Plus, he’s much better attending to wounds than I am.” Kirishima explained, and you had meant to respond. You really did. But it was at that moment you gave Kirishima a mini heart attack because you had blacked out. 

The poor dragon boy had thought for a minute he had already been too late to save you. But in the end, he was glad you had passed out because it ended up making the travel to the cave he and bakugou had claimed much easier.

Sadly, it didn’t help with convincing Bakugou to help him.

“Bakugou please,” Kirishima pouted,

“Your pet, your problem.”

“She’s not a pet.” Kirishima frowned, laying you on the ground. “Please, her wounds are fatal.”

This is what made Bakugou look down from his spot on top of the cave.

“What happened?” He asked, making his way down to the ground. 

“I think she got attacked by humans,” Kirishima explained,

“Wait, you don't know for sure!?” Bakugou asked, “How do you know she's not some sort of villain?” “Well, I watched her get kicked out of her tribe-”

“She’s from a tribe?!” “And it seems that she got attacked by humans. Please, Bakugou!” Kirishima begged once more, Bakugou took his sweet time thinking it over and glanced at your limp form. “Fine, but if she ends up trying to kill us. It's your fault.” He made his way down from the cave and growled as he got a better look at your condition. “Start cleaning her wounds, she’s going to end up needing a healing spell, but the potions I know how to make should help until we can get her to Uraraka. Also, you owe me for this”

Bakugou kept watch over you as the feeling of wind gliding through your hair brought you back to consciousness. Eyes opening to reveal the night sky, and you suddenly knew you were being carried on a dragons back. The tough scales under your fingers a familiar feeling, and the warmth that radiated from them was comforting. But you knew that no one in your tribe would ever carry you like this, and thus you began to remember what had last happened to you. You attempted to shift, being able to sit up once you got a hang of how the bandages around your body were wrapped. You went to pick at them only to jump when you heard a gruff voice sound from behind you.

“Go back to sleep, we’ll be there in a couple hours.” You turned your head to see the grumpy man who had finally decided to grab your attention. It didn't take you long to figure out that this must be the friend the boy had mentioned.

“Where?” Bakugou already decided he was annoyed with you, but he didn’t want to deal with Kirishima's whining if he ever caught wind Bakugou was anything but”pleasant” towards you.

“Tokyo, where the mage lives. He said he told you already” His red eyes rolled and he leaned back against the base of the dragon's neck, closing them. It was then that you realized you could probably get answers to the questions that had been brushed off before.

“When I asked him, he didn't really give me a clear answer but, why are you guys helping me out?” You asked, watching as he seemed to get more annoyed that you weren’t going back to sleep like he told you.

“Kirishima has a heart too big for his body, he’s always liked helping people even if it puts him in danger. Like an idiot.” You nodded your head and looked back out at the clouds and stars you were passing. “Since I answered your question. Answer mine. What kind of tribe were you a part of?”

“Well, it was,” You paused and thought for a moment. “The emphasis was on being the strongest. The stronger you were, and the better you were at hunting, the higher status you had. Which is part of the reason I got, you know, after being attacked.���

“You’re not strong?” The blonde cocked his brows,

“Not compared to the tribe, no. But I also wasn’t born there so I was always at a disadvantage to start with.” You explained,

“You weren't born to the tribe?” The boy began to look even more questionable of you. Tribes didn’t take anyone in. What made you so special?

“No, umm. My village got destroyed when I was little, leaving me alone and afraid in the woods. Where they found me and agreed to take me in. If that clears up anything for you.” You didn’t end up receiving a verbal response, but he seemed to be thinking it through. “What’s your name?”

“Bakugou. Don’t wear it out,” He demanded, “Yours?” He asked,

“(F/n).” He didn’t respond, and eventually, the exhaustion caught up with you once more and you laid back down. Letting the stars lure you back to sleep.

***

It didn’t feel like long before you were awake again, it was warm and you could feel the blankets piled on top of you. Your eyes found the detailed ceiling of a cabin. You sat up, realizing that the only thing left from your wounds was a dull ache. The room was empty, save for a small table holding various books and beakers filled with colorful fluids. You assumed you had made it to the mages, and the window near your bed informed you that it was almost dusk. You gently pulled yourself out from beneath the covers and walked over to the window, you seemed to be on the second floor, giving you a good view of what you remembered was called Tokyo. It was a busy village, you could many see shops and people bustling around below. The shops to close before dark, and the people to buy before the stores closed. Looking directly below you could see the blond from last night, Bakugou, who was talking to a short brunette in front of the cabin. She was handing him a piece of paper and he looked strangely calm, it didn't fit his face well. You would have continued watching, but you heard the door open from behind you. You jumped and turned towards the noise. But the impact of your knees back on the floor caused your knees buckle. Before you could hit the floor, however, you felt strong arms around you.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” You looked up to see the face of Kirishima, his sharp teeth appearing through his smile.

“I-its okay.” You blushed, allowing him to help you up and sit you back on the bed. “Thanks for saving me, again.”

“Oh,” he scratched the back of his head, “It’s not a problem.”

“How long has it been? Since we met.” He paused and thought, sitting down next to you.

“About three days.”

“Three days! I’ve been with you guys for three days?” You asked,

“Did you have anywhere else to be?” He looked concerned,

“No, I don’t really have anywhere to go now. Can’t go back home.” You looked at your hands as you said this, the reality setting in. You were alone, you had no one and no place to call home anymore. The scars that littered your fingers seemed to mock you, you had worked so hard for so long. Now it just didn’t matter.

“Why don’t you join us, we’re always going on adventures and doing quests for money. And even though Bakugou says its dumb I think we can really help change how people see dragons. Really make a difference, you know?” You could tell there was a hidden meaning behind his words,

“Get humans to stop trying to kill us like they did to me.” You muttered, clenching your fist. Sure, you didnt have anywhere to go. But try to help humans to change their minds?

Humans didn’t seem the type to ever realise they were wrong.

“Yeah,” He sighed, “I know you probably don’t like them much but, they’re just like us! They get scared and-” “They almost killed me!” You turned to him, wide eyed and teeth bared.

“And two of them helped save you.” He pointed out. “If we want humans to stop assuming all dragons are bad, maybe we have to put faith in them. Even if they dont deserve it. Plus, you can leave whenever you want. It’s not like I’m trying to force you. Just, give it a try?”

His large hand was held out to you, big red eyes sparkling, and you couldn’t bring yourself to refuse him.

And just like that those three days turned into a year. A year that you spent traveling, going on adventures, completeing quests, and what had become your favorite of all. Helping people, and maybe the rewards that came with it. You couldn’t deny your inner want of a shiny hoard no matter how hard you tried. Especially when the group that had become your best friends also seemed to indulge in the occasional collection of jewels. It had been just you, the mage, Bakugou, and kirishima for the past 12 months, and it was the best time of your life. You had never been more free, but as the winter drew near, there was still something you wished for.

“(Y/n)?” You turned to look back into the cave your group had claimed for hte night,seeing Kirishima make his way over to you. “What are you doing up?”

“Can’t sleep.” You answered simply, shivering as a cool breeze moved through the opening where you sat. You looked behind the half-dragon to see Bakugou and Uraraka cuddled up near the fire, you were happy for them. Yet bitter. You turned back to admire the stars as Kirishima sat down next to you.

“Not a comfortable enough cave?” He attempted to joke, but you just shrugged.

“No, it’s just,” You shifted, “cold.”

There was a sudden warmth through your body as he set his arm around your shoulder, and pulled you close.

“You could have just said so,” You let yourself relax into his hold, “but I dont think being so far away from the fire is helping any.”

“Probably not,” You chuckled, “but I needed some time to think.”

“About what?” Your eyes widened at the question, if he really knew what you were thinking about he wouldn’t have asked. Day dreaming about an impossible future you had with him was stupid. Bakugou would have mocked you for being as airheaded as Kirishima, but you couldn’t help it. Not when he smiled like that. “You can tell me anything, you know that.”

You sighed, turning your face towards his own. You were so close. His nose almost touching yours and you could feel his breath fan over your face. It made your brain scramble.

“My lips are cold, too.” You blurted out, face immediately turning red once you realized what you said. But you weren’t going to back out now, you weren’t that kind of person.. “If you want to, you can warm the-”

You didn’t get to finish your sentence before his lips were on yours. They were hot, almost burning, but you loved it. Too soon when he pulled away, a dorky smile on his face.

“I want to warm your lips up for the rest of my life.” his voice was breathless and you couldn’t help but giggle at him,

“I won’t stop you.”

***

[flowersandskeletons526]

“Broken Noses and Bad Ideas” - Glitradora Fanfic Part 7

It has been so much fun getting back into this! Enjoy!

----

Catra bared her teeth at the lanky blonde. Double Trouble grinned and threw their arms around her. “Oh Kitten, I missed you! We left on such bad terms!”

Muttering curse words, Catra shoved them away. “Yeah, and whose fault was that?”

“Well, usually I’m never one to admit fault, but we can go halfsies on this one.”

“Halfsies?! Are you fucking - you know what, forget it. What are you doing here, DT?”

“I wanted to visit. Am I not allowed to see you anymore?” 

Catra bit her tongue and tasted blood. “Come outside and we’ll talk.”

She stormed out of the house with Double Trouble in tow. She leaned against the van, arms crossed, tapping her foot in the dirt, while they stood before her with a wicked grin. 

“Well?” she snapped. “What do you want?” 

“I told you - I wanted to visit. We haven’t seen each other since-”

“Don’t.”

Double Trouble snickered. “Not one for reminders today, are we?” 

“I told you to stay away from me!” 

“Oh, come on.” They grabbed her chin and leaned close. “Did you really mean that?”

Catra slapped their hand away. “Yes, I did. I meant it when I told you to stay away from me, I meant it when I said I hate you, and I meant it when I said I never want to see you again!” 

“Ouch. That stings, Kitten.” 

Catra lurched towards them. “Stop calling me that!”

Covering their mouth with their hand, Double Trouble laughed and walked in a slow circle around her, watching her suck her anger back through gritted teeth. “Me-ow! So agitated! I mean no harm, you know.”

“What. Do. You. Want.” 

“I heard you and your little band were playing around here and decided I wanted to visit.” Standing behind Catra, they drummed their fingers along her shoulders. She clenched her teeth and watched them from the corner of her eye. She knew this game. “Well, more than that.”

Of course.

“I have a bit of a proposition. I take it you’re still working for everyone’s favorite edgelord?”

“What makes you think that?”

“Yes, then. I was hoping you and I could go back to our previous arrangement.” 

Catra bristled. “If you think I would ever-”

“Not that arrangement. Our original one. The one where I find the people your boss sends you after and you give me a generous stipend for my efforts. Take some of the stress away so you can focus on your personal ventures.” 

“Personal ventures. Like you.” 

They grinned and wrapped their arms around her shoulders. “I didn’t say it.” 

Catra laughed coldly. “You don’t have a job, do you?”

With a gasp of indignance, Double Trouble jumped back. “I am in between roles, thank you very much! There’s not much in the way of the Etherian theater scene.”

“How long have you been here?”

“A few months now. I found a lovely hotel I’ve been staying at between auditions.”

“You can afford a hotel?”

“They don’t check the cars in the parking lot.”

“There it is.” 

“Which is why you should bring me back onto your team. What do you say?” They dragged their long, sharp nails down Catra’s arm. “Just a few trips down memory lane?”

Catra hesitated. The worst distraction in her life behind Adora was back, right when she needed her focus the most. She had to deal with Hordak, she had to keep up with her work, she had the band to manage. And now with this old case coming back to haunt her, her and Glimmer…

Glimmer. She had to keep all of this away from Glimmer. She only had to keep this up long enough for the heat to blow over, for the cops to move on to another cold case, for Hordak to send her along to another city and away from the mess she fell into. Away from Glimmer. Maybe she could convince Sparkles to come with her. 

No. No, she couldn’t even entertain that thought. There was no way that could even happen, not with Adora hanging around.

Fuck, of course she had to be here! Of course she had to end up being Sparkles’ best friend, too. Why did this shit always happen to Catra? 

She bit her tongue. Dealing with that case was her main objective at this point. It couldn’t hurt to have someone dealing with the other aspects of her work, could it?

“Fine,” she finally said. “You find my targets for me, like you used to, and that’s all.”

“Oh, wonderful! I knew you’d come around, darling!” 

“And you’re sleeping in the driveway in your car.”

Double Trouble forced a smile. “Always a catch with you. I’ll go get my things and be back tonight.”

They started for their car. Just as they grabbed the door handle, Catra called to them. 

“And just so we’re clear, Trouble, this is business.” She narrowed her eyes as they turned back to her. “What happened between us? Never again. Ever.”

They winked. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Kitten.”

“And don’t call me that!” 

Double Trouble took off with a roar of the engine and a cloud of dust. Catra coughed and wiped the dirt out of her eyes. She watched their car until it disappeared down the road. Biting her tongue hard, she spun on her heel and marched back inside. 

She swung the door open, and Scorpia stumbled back from her place pressed against it. The taller woman laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of her neck. “Oh, hey Catra! I wasn’t listening.”

“They’re going to be staying in the driveway for a while. Just while they’re in between roles or whatever.” 

“O-Okay. Um, why are we letting - oh, alright.”

Scorpia stepped aside as Catra swept past her. “Don’t worry about it,” she dismissed.

“Noted.” Scorpia hovered near Catra’s shoulder as she sat at the table. “Didn’t, um… Maybe this is a sensitive subject but, uh, didn’t you two have a, well, a thing?”

“Scorpia,” Catra snapped, “what part of ‘don’t worry about it’ wasn’t clear to you?”

“Yep. You got it. Hear you loud and clear.” She paused. “But just so we’re on the same page-”

“Scorpia.”

“Okay, shutting up now.” 

“Thank you.” 

Catra’s phone rang. She bristled at the name on the screen. 

“Catra.”

“Out!” 

Scorpia bolted for her and Lonnie’s room without further comment. 

Catra answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Catra,” Hordak growled. “I have another job for you.”

“Already? How extensive is your business in Etheria?”

“That is none of your concern. Your job is to go after who I send you after. Am I understood?”

“Yes sir.” 

“I will send you the details. Take care of it.”

“You had to call me for this?”

“Watch your tongue,” he barked. “We have more business to discuss. The case we discussed - what more have you found out?” 

Did she give him Glimmer’s name? She had to. He would kill her if she didn’t and he found out!

If he found out.

“Nothing. I haven’t heard anything about it.”

“Excellent. I expect regular updates.”

“Of course.”

The line went dead. A text message with addresses and names popped up on screen the next moment. Catra dropped the phone onto the table and took a deep breath. Pushing her fatal lie from her mind, she grabbed the car keys and left, hunting down another poor bastard who crossed the wrong man. 

How long until her name was on that list?

----

Glimmer called just as Catra stumbled back to the van, covered in blood that was not her own. She sighed and let it ring as she fished a stained rag out of the glove box. She wiped away as much of the blood as she could, taking special care to get it off her face before tossing the cloth somewhere in the back seat. 

The ride home was quick. She was greeted with loud squabbling coming from the kitchen, something to do with Kyle as usual. Only Scorpia greeted her, and she waved her off, retreating to her room. She plopped down on the bed with a heavy sigh. 

She picked up the phone and dialed Glimmer’s number. She needed to have some fun tonight.

The punk princess answered after two quick rings. 

“Hello?”

“Hey, Sparkles.” 

“Catra! I was starting to think you weren’t going to call me.” 

“Ah, work stuff. Got pulled away for a little bit. What, did you really miss me that much?”

“You wish.” 

Catra laughed. “Damn, alright then. So does that mean you wouldn’t be interested in joining me at the club tonight? I’m in the mood for dancing.”

“Don’t you have a performance?”

“Not tonight. So Princess, are you in or out?”

“I’m in. What time?” 

“Meet me outside the Seaworthy Tavern at nine tonight.” 

“The Seaworthy? Isn’t that place a little seedy?”

“Oh, the magic princess is bougie now. I found you laying in a pool of blood the second time we met and you’re worried about a place being a little seedy?”

“Okay, I get the point. I’ll be there.” 

“Good. See you then, Princess.” 

Catra tossed her phone aside. She smelled at her shirt and recoiled. Fuck, she needed a shower. Running her hands through her shirt, she headed for the bathroom. 

Double Trouble was standing outside her bedroom door when she opened it. “What’s this I hear about clubbing tonight?”

“Ah! Fuck! How long were you standing there!”

“That’s besides the point. I’ve been waiting to have some fun in this town. Can I come? Oh, pretty please?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever, I don’t care. Just leave me alone.” She shoved them aside and continued. Their eyes bored into her back as she left. 

----

Glimmer waited for Catra outside the club. Scorpia and the rest of the band tagged along and parted from her with a wave. Double Trouble headed straight inside with them, not noticing Catra slip away to join the pink and purple leather clad girl standing on the edge of the building. Catra wore tight black leather pants and a red corset with a long leather jacket over it. Her wild hair was pushed back from her face. She stood in front of Glimmer, who was focused on her phone, without speaking. She looked up after a moment and immediately went red in the face, violet eyes wide. 

Catra snickered. “How do I look?”

A string of nonsensical noises left Glimmer’s mouth before any real words formed. “You look, um, well, you - wow.”

“That good?”

“Yeah.”

“Right back at you, Sparkles.” 

Glimmer blushed again and tucked her hair behind her ear. She nodded towards the door. “Want to head in?”

“Sure.” Catra offered an arm that Glimmer accepted, holding onto her as they strolled inside. 

The club was lit with blue and green lights that rippled like water on the walls. The dance floor was packed with people and more crowded around the bar, tossing back shots and chugging cheap beers. Cigarette smoke hung in the air. Glimmer squeezed Catra’s arm and headed for the bar. 

“What are you drinking?” she asked. 

“Vodka cranberry,” Catra said with a nod to the bartender, a tall, built woman with a bandana and a messy white undercut. A fish hook tattoo was inked on her neck. 

“Whiskey on the rocks for me,” Glimmer added. 

The bartender nodded and made their drinks. She passed Catra hers and then slid the other to Glimmer with a coy smirk. “Yours is on me,” she purred. 

Catra growled, nearly cracking her glass in her grip. She swooped in before Glimmer could respond, wrapping an arm around her neck and flashing her fangs with a sneer. She leaned into Glimmer.

“Thanks for the offer, but you can just put it on my tab,” she drawled. 

The bartender scowled at her. She stuck out her tongue and steered Glimmer away. Glimmer laughed as they found an empty spot along the wall. She leaned her shoulder against the wall and sipped her drink. 

“That was a lot,” she remarked, raising an eyebrow. 

Catra grunted. “Didn’t like her face.”

“Are you usually possessive like that?”

“Why? Turn off?” 

Glimmer shrugged. “We’ll find out.”

“Is that a proposition, Princess?”

“Dance with me first and you’ll see.”

Catra grinned and abandoned her drink. She let Glimmer pull her onto the floor, their hands landing on each other as they moved to the music. Catra watched Glimmer, completely enraptured by the way she glowed and sparkled in the dim light, staring at her eyes as they lit up. The bass from the speakers boomed in her chest and amplified her own pulse pounding in her head. She sucked in a sharp breath as Glimmer wrapped her arms around her neck, their bodies pressed together. 

Glimmer sighed, her breath hot on Catra’s ear, and pressed a soft kiss to her neck. Catra tried to hide her shiver. 

“Thank you for showing up in my life,” she murmured, her voice cutting through the music. “You’re the only thing keeping my head on straight lately.” 

“That’s a bad thing to rely on me for.”

“I don’t care.” Glimmer tangled her fingers in Catra’s hair and tilted her head back to look at her. “There’s something about you that I can’t name.”

“My charm? My wit? My dashing good looks?”

“Not that.”

“Ouch, Sparkles.”

“I didn’t mean it that way. It’s something else. Your edge, maybe, or the fact that you can go whatever you want. I wish I had freedom like that.” 

“Mm. I’ve got more responsibilities than you’d think.”

“What responsibilities do you have tonight?”

“Nothing but what you tell me.”

Glimmer giggled, her lips brushing Catra’s. “I like the sound of that.”

Catra pressed her lips together. They spent a brief eternity on the dance floor, squeezed together in the crowd, their hands and lips on each other’s skin. Even with so little liquor in her system, Catra was drunk off the feeling of Glimmer against her. At one point, they pulled apart and pressed their foreheads together, simply swaying as a slower song played. 

“I wish we had more chances to see each other,” Glimmer said. “Besides going to your shows.”

“You know Adora would kill me if this got back to her,” Catra pointed out. 

“I know.” 

“Is the thrill of sneaking around losing its edge?” 

“Life is more entertaining with you.”

“The feeling’s mutual, Sparkles.” She kissed Glimmer’s cheek. “I’m going to go get us another drink. Same thing?”

“Make it a double this time.”

“Got it.” 

Glimmer stepped off the floor and went to stand with Scorpia and Lonnie by the wall while Catra went to the bar. She exchanged a quick glare with the bartender. As she watched the woman make their drinks, she sensed someone standing behind her. 

Double Trouble leaned on her with their arm draped over her shoulder. “Now tell me, Kitten,” they said, “who on earth is that tooth-achingly cute ball of glitter you’ve been dancing with all night?” 

“A girl I know,” Catra said dismissively.

“Oh darling, that is not how you act with ‘a girl you know.’ That’s why you were so angry about me showing up! You didn’t want me butting in on your little romance!”

“I didn’t want you showing up because I hate you.” 

“You and half the theater business. So, give me the details! What’s her name, how did you meet, is she good in bed?” 

“Shut the fuck up. You said you would leave me alone tonight.”

“I lied. Buuuuuuut maybe I will if you give me a little information.” 

“That’s all you care about, isn’t it?”

“Information runs the world, darling. I thought you would have learned that by now.” 

Catra snarled and turned away. “Her name is Glimmer. That’s all you’re getting.” 

“For now.”

“Period.”

Catra grabbed the drinks and stormed off to find Glimmer. The moment she found her, she pulled her into a searing kiss and pushed the drink into her hand. 

“Finish that quick and let’s get out of here,” she growled. 

Glimmer grinned. “Let’s skip it and go straight back to my place.”

“Sounds good to me.” 

Catra couldn’t get back to Glimmer’s apartment fast enough. Glimmer pulled her into a harsh, bruising kiss the moment the door closed. Catra barely locked it before Glimmer pulled them towards the bedroom. Their clothes ended up discarded on the floor. 

Catra stopped them just as they fell onto the bed. “Are you sure you want to do this? I know last time you said-”

“I’m fine. I want this.” 

“Okay.” 

Glimmer grinned and pulled the covers over them. 

----

They laid awake in the middle of the night, curled up with each other in the low candlelight. Glimmer’s head rested on Catra’s chest. Her hair was messy and swept back from her face. Catra carded her fingers through it as Glimmer traced the various scars covering her body.

“What’s this one from?” she asked. 

“Adora and I went rock climbing when we were little and she fell so I went jumping after her.” 

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Let’s talk about a different one.”

“Okay.” Glimmer reached up and traced a long scar stretching from the back of Catra’s neck down her shoulder. “What about this one?”

“I got into a fight and the guy pulled a knife on me.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m completely serious. I ended up winning, too.”

Glimmer propped herself up and leaned over Catra. “How do you get into so much trouble being in a cover band?”

“Hey, we have original songs, too.” Catra’s mouth continued before she could stop it. “And I have more business than the band.”

“Like what?”

Fuck.

“Just… dealing with people. Fights. Issues people have with us and stuff like that. The music industry is surprisingly cutthroat, you know.” 

“Hm. Weird.” 

“Mm.” Catra yawned and stretched. 

“Tired?” 

“A little.” 

Glimmer snuggled up to her and closed her eyes. “You can stay the night, you know.”

Catra smiled and laid back. “Whatever you want, Princess.”

She woke up with Glimmer still cuddled under her arm. Late morning light streamed in through the curtains, casting a halo around the sleeping girl. Rubbing her eyes, Catra stretched her arms above her head. Glimmer stirred as Catra untangled herself. Catra smiled.

“Morning.” 

“Good morning.” Glimmer rolled over and draped herself over Catra’s stomach. “How did you sleep?”

“Good enough. You?”

“Good. What are your plans for today?”

“I’ve got to get back to the house eventually for rehearsal. Scorpia starts getting anxious if I’m gone too long.” Catra brushed Glimmer’s hair out of her eyes. “What about you?”

“I have stuff to get done around the store. It’s the one day I’m closed so I have to get paperwork and cleaning and stocking done.”

“Wow, sounds boring.”

“Is it,” Glimmer whined. 

Catra chuckled and brushed the side of Glimmer’s neck, tracing the purple marks on her throat. “You should probably cover these before you go anywhere.”

“Ugh, who cares? I would rather stay in bed all day.”

“You know, you could always-”

“Glimmer!”

Catra jumped at the sound of Adora’s voice. Glimmer flinched. “Son of a bitch, Adora, what are you doing here?” she hissed. 

“Does she usually just show up unannounced?” Catra growled. 

“Yeah, she does. Coming, Adora!” 

Glimmer hurriedly changed into new clothes, picking a shirt that covered her neck. While she hid their clothes strewn around the apartment, Catra had enough time to pull on pants and crawl beneath the bed. 

Glimmer crouched and frowned at her. “What the hell are you doing?” she whispered. 

“What part of ‘Adora will kill me’ do you not understand?!” 

Glimmer rolled her eyes. Catra made sure she was hidden as Glimmer answered the door, but she maintained a clear line of sight into the living room. She caught a glimpse of Adora’s stupid peppy face over Glimmer’s shoulder. 

“Hey, I haven’t heard from you, I wanted to check on you,” the blonde said. 

“I’m fine, I’ve just been working,” Glimmer dismissed. 

“Are you cold? Why are you wearing a turtleneck?”

Catra bit back a laugh. 

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I just woke up feeling cold.”

“Are you sick? Here, let me feel your forehead.”

“Adora, Adora, stop. Get off, I’m fine!”

“Okay! Look, we were - wait, is that liquor? Were you drinking again?”

“Adora, you are this close to getting kicked out if you don’t leave me alone.”

Catra raised an eyebrow. Interesting… 

Adora raised her hands. “Alright, I’ll stop. Anyway, Bow and I both have nothing to do today so we were gonna go check out the ice cream shop we used to go to and maybe walk around town. Do you want to come?”

“Adora, I’ve got so much paperwork to do and-”

“Please, Glimmer? I can help you finish when we get back and it’ll get done in five minutes!” 

“Ugh, fine. Wait for me downstairs, okay?”

“Okay!” 

Adora disappeared downstairs. Catra crawled out from under the bed as Glimmer stepped back into the bedroom. Catra raised an eyebrow. Glimmer cringed and jerked her thumb towards the door. 

“I have to go deal with that,” she said. 

“Yeah. Have fun with that.”

“Look, I had a lot of fun last night. I’ll call you, okay? You can stay as long as you want and eat something before you leave if you want.”

“Thanks, Sparkles. I’ll be out of here once Adora is.”

“I didn’t know she was going to show up.”

“I know.” Catra grabbed Glimmer’s collar and pulled her into a harsh kiss. Glimmer smiled against her lips. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you.” 

Catra collected the rest of her clothes once Glimmer was gone. Slipping on her shirt, she looked around the empty apartment. 

She grinned. Perfect. Now she could find some information.

[shinidamachu]

No Place I Would Rather Be

Summary: We're a thousand miles from comfort. We have traveled land and sea. But as long as you are with me, there's no place I'd rather be. Word Count: 3.617 Genre: fluff Fandom: InuYasha Pairing: Inukag Format: oneshot AO3 Link: 🌹 Fanfic.Net Link: 🌹

Boredom was eating him alive.

Days had passed without a single lead about the jewel fragments. So much that their little group had disbanded for the time being. Sango went back to what was left of her old village. It had been a while since she last paid homage to their dead. Kirara, of course, was her loyal company — and also ride. Miroku was visiting Mushin’s Temple, as if the place hadn't been profaned enough, already. Shippo was still around, but keeping his distance due to InuYasha’s stormy mood.

The frustration of it all got him desperately wishing for some kind — any kind — of action. Something that didn’t involve sulking under a tree and watching time crawl. Every second of this idleness meant another second Naraku was out there, still breathing. Collecting the shards was a small mean to achieve a bigger, imperative ending. It gave him purpose, a sense of getting closer to his ultimate goal step by step. Waiting got them nowhere. It only granted him to be alone with his thoughts and the combination was nothing but disastrous.

Lucky for him, his private source of distraction was not too far away.

Kagome was humming a foreign tune, the same one she liked to sing whenever she was happy. Following the melody was almost mandatory. InuYasha didn’t realize what he was doing until he arrived to the other side of it, where the girl thumbed through her hair in a futile attempt to tame her hair, the lake’s surface a natural mirror at her convenience. InuYasha made his presence known before his own reflection joined hers.

“It’s no use, ya know.”

“Jerk!”

The girl glared at him and retaliated by splashing water on his direction — of which he easily dodged. InuYasha had to admit her reaction was justified, given his past tendency to be utterly unkind to her. This time, however, although his tone wasn’t devoided of casual teasing, he was being completely honest. When you spend sunrise to sunset with someone for so long, it was inevitable learning a thing or two about them. Kagome had a wild hair. Not in a bad way, but it sure had its own will. Especially in the humidity, which was definitely the case of that afternoon. To an outside viewer, the strands could pass as straight. Noticing the shy waves at the end and how they used to stand out after getting wet was a privilege for the few allowed to look closer — a privilege InuYasha cherished. She always had her hair down and he liked that she did. It was destined to be free, to go with the wind. And it had grown a hell of a lot since they first met. The half demon wondered if Kagome was aware of how much. He certainly was.

Then she got up, revealing clothes that were undoubtedly new to his eyes. It was one piece, all lime flowers and malleable fabric against her cream skin. A bit longer than what she usually cared to wear, but leaving her arms and shoulders at plain sight in compensation. The view was thrilling, until his eyes caught the yellow backpack laying by her feet, causing his grin to falter. He understood the implication behind it, even if the question had yet to pass his lips.

“What’s with the weird kimono?”

“Oh, this.” Kagome lowered her gaze, inspecting for herself. Her combative attitude swiftly turning into a cautious posture. “It’s a sundress. I’ve been meaning to ask… can you please give me a ride to the well? I’m going home.”

There it was.

Somehow, getting his suspicions confirmed did nothing to prevent the scowl from forming on his face.

“Thought the school thing were over for the summer.”

“Well, yes...”

“Then why the fuck ya going home for? We still have plenty of supplies!”

“Because I promised I’d go to the movies with Hojo and now that we’re on vacation I don’t have excuses not to go, anymore. My grandpa literally ran out of diseases I could have. And what’s the point, anyway? Jewel hunting is going through a dry spell, everyone left… and I haven’t seen my family in weeks.”

Half of what she said didn’t make any sense to him and InuYasha positively hated the half that did.

“What if something comes up? I can’t see the damn shards like you do.” He argued.

“You jump through the well and get me.” She shrugged, as if the idea was highly unlikely. InuYasha opened his mouth to list the many, many reasons her solution was flawed. She bit him to the punch. “Listen, it’s not a big deal. I’ll be back tomorrow. I bet Miroku and Sango won’t even be here yet.”

It wasn’t fair.

In general, storming off to her era was Kagome’s way of punishing him for being a massive asshole. He got that. To tell the truth, more often than not he deserved it. But InuYasha was in his best behavior — despite feeling rightfully entitled to throw a tantrum, given the circumstances — precisely because he needed her close. He needed her to stay. Picturing Kagome hanging out with someone else instead was the worst kind of self torture. Would she change her mind if he swallowed his pride long enough to say so? Would he ever get the guts to let it out? She hadn’t invited him to come along. Was this Hojo guy really that important to her? More than InuYasha was? Trying to talk her out of it was a dangerous move. He’d put his foot in his mouth, she’d put his face on the ground. That’s what they did.

Either his expression betrayed the turmoil inside or Kagome became too good at figuring him out. Whatever it was, her smile shined, reassuring and warm.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be so quick, you won’t have time to miss me.”

“Who says I’d miss ya?” He dismissed, his indifference unconvincing even to himself.

InuYasha perceived another presence approaching. Shippo. His arrival couldn’t be more providential. Kagome had a soft spot for the brat. If anyone could get her to stay, it was him.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just the runt.”

Like he had been announced, the kid emerged from the trees in a hurry, Kagome’s bow and quiver looking gigantic on his tiny hands.

“Kagome! InuYasha!”

“Shippo-chan! What’s going on?” She asked, as soon as the boy reached them.

“There are rumors of a jewel fragment, two villages to the west.” He explained, with the pomposity the information called for. “Kaede sent me.” His chin was up high, like the statement added a final hint of importance to the message. “Here,” continued the kit, offering Kagome her weapon in a formal manner.

She hesitated.

“Kagome, let’s go!” InuYasha was prepared to move at the sound of the word ‘jewel’, their earlier argument happily buried and forgotten.

“Wait! Don’t you think it’s strange? For days we had no leads, and now, just when we splitted up…”

“Yeah, well, so what if it’s a trap? It wouldn’t be the first.”

Coward that he was, Naraku resorted to the nastiests schemes in order to get what he wanted. His disgusting fingers laid on every happenstance that had ever caused them harm. What choice did InuYasha have, though? Ruse or not ruse, he had to check it. Regardless of anyone else’s help, it was his duty to get vengeance on the bastard — for Kikyo, for himself — and Kagome knew that.

She sighed and took the bow and arrows from the fox’s hold.

“Thank you so much, Shippo-chan! Now can you do me another favor?”

“Anything!”

“Go back to Kaede. Tell her InuYasha and I are on our way.”

“I’m not coming with you?” He whined, as confused as InuYasha. They never traveled without the child.

“That’s right. We don’t know how dangerous this may be. I need you to stay and if we don’t come back tomorrow by noon, get Miroku and Sango and send them to us. Can you do that for me?”

Shippo resolutely nodded .

“I won’t let you down, Kagome.”

“I know you won’t.”

And through the same path he had appeared he went. Kagome fixed a pleading glance at InuYasha.

“Can I at least change clothes before we g—”

“No time to waste.” He said, grabbing Kagome and her bag to leap towards west.

Kagome was whistling that same song again.

It took him an enormous amount of self restraint not to whistle along.

He was happy. So wonderfully happy. It was astonishing, the effect that tiny, bossy human girl had over his humor. The fact they were following the possible whereabouts of a lost jewel piece also played a role on his attitude swing, there was no denying that. But even if this turns out to be nothing at all, it would be a small price to pay in exchange of spending more time with her.

“Weren’t you mad about not coming home just now?”

His curiosity was genuine. Kagome had been angry since they left and InuYasha would be the person to know. She had two kind of anger. The one he could hear and the one he could feel. Even though she had been unusually silent, her frustration was palpable at first. Mercifully, it seemed to fade away the more ground they covered. Her one complaint was the soreness that too many hours on the same position inflicted upon the muscles, which was why they were both walking. As a rule, he was strictly opposite to anything that might slow them down, and the human pace was unbearable once you had a taste of demonic speed. Running free, with trees and people alike turning into a blur on each side of him, was an unparalleled sensation, amplified tenfold whenever Kagome was riding his back. He didn’t regret giving in, though. They weren’t far from their destination, after all. In addition, her comfort came to be a priority, despite him still being unaware as to when or how.

“Well… yeah, but… what can I do, right? Besides, I haven’t realized how much I missed this.”

Clueless, InuYasha searched their surroundings, unsuccessfully intending to spot what she could possibly be referring to.

“Whatcha talkin’ about?”

“This!” She spinned around, open arms and face to the sky, chasing daylight like a sunflower, the movement bringing her garment to life. “You. Me. An adventure. Don’t get me wrong, I love Shippo and the others, I’m glad they joined us. It just feels like we haven’t had as much quality time together as we used to, after they did.”

“Y-you miss that?”

She shook her head up and down with enthusiasm and a content smile fought its way across his lips.

“I know we could hang out in Kaede’s village, but it’s not the same as going out. O-on a trip, I mean.”

Although InuYasha couldn’t make out why her cheeks were suddenly burning red, he did see the logic her reasoning, and the feeling was mutual. There was a certain level of closeness only the road could provide. No curious eyes. No sly comments. No need to explain themselves. InuYasha had missed that as well.

He often played with the thought of stealing her away, of placate his selfish thirst for her undivided attention. Not once had he imagined Kagome would be as eager to go as he was to take her. Regardless, the timing wasn’t right. It never was. From the moment they met, they were tossed into a mission and there was hardly space for anything else. So he settled for whatever he could get until it was over.

“Why would you miss those trips? It ain’t like I was nice to ya back then.”

It didn’t make sense to him that she would. His memories were of a spoiled little girl, complaining about the bugs and her aching legs and the fact she hadn’t bathed in days. There was no escaping InuYasha’s share of responsibility on the issue. He could have made her life easier, had he bothered to. But at the beginning he saw Kagome as a potential threat he would eventually get rid off. How could he have guessed, after the many betrayals he had endured through the years, that his heart would be safe on her hands?

Kagome limited herself to a shrug.

“You are now.” She stated, as if it made up for his unexcusable former behavior. Her unconditional forgiveness amazed him, no matter how regularly she had shown it to him. “Also, it feels like old times.”

“It doesn’t unless you get kidnapped, somehow.”

“It happened once or twice!”

“Keh! Stop kidding yourself.”

“Shut up.”

“You shut up.”

“No, shut up. I’m sensing a shard and it’s moving away.”

Wordlessly, InuYasha returned the backpack to her and offered her his back.

They raced at full gallop, Kagome guiding their course. The forest transitioned into arid highland, where dirt, thorns and rocky surfaces took place.

“Hey, you!” Kagome yelled at the youkai emerging in their camp of vision. Their target. Over his shoulder, the startled creature sneaked a peek at them and increased speed. Growling, InuYasha matched his rhythm. “Wait up! We won’t hurt you.”

“I’m pretty sure Imma hurt him.”

“Give the jewel fragment to us peacefully and you’ll be free to go!” She went on, his snide remarks as ignored by her as her plead was by the demon. InuYasha’s patience was wearing thin. Now that the rumors turned out to be true, his focus was entirely aimed at the task at hand.

“Are those fancy arrows of yours just for show?”

Kagome let out a deep breath. Shooting was her last ressource. She preferred to sort things out with words first. It rarely worked. Still she always tried.

“I suppose we have no choice.”

The arrow hit the creature in the calf and his groan of pain reverberated through the field. Not lethal, but enough of a nuisance to make him drop the run. InuYasha closed the distance between them within seconds. Kagome climbed off him and together they inspected their opponent.

On the floor, a possum demon hissed and exhibited his fangs at them, his ugly face twisting in agony while he pulled the arrow out. A cascate of blood immediately flowed from the wound. InuYasha was not fooled by it. Being a full youkai, he would be healed soon.

“Where is it?” InuYasha asked Kagome, not daring to leave the bastard out of his sight.

“His belly.”

“Step away, you filthy half breed!”

“Excuse me?” Kagome defied, any trace of courtesy forgotten.

“That was quite the damage she did on ya, there.” InuYasha released Tessaiga from its sheath as he approached the fallen man. “Think I can top it, though.”

“Step away, I said!”

His fear was palpable. InuYasha could feel it. See it. Smell it.

Smell it.

Faster than realization, the odor filled his lungs. It burned his nostrils, his throat. He could taste the toxic substance on his tongue. It was unbearable. And gasping for air only resulted in the pungent scent flooding him further, overwhelming his senses. A defense mechanism, he thought, his vision blurring, his knees giving in. I’m going to faint. No. No, no, no, no, no. Kagome. He had to protect Kagome.

There was a cry of his name.

And then an awful lot of darkness.

InuYasha came to abruptly, uncertain and alarmed by the new reality.

In one minute, the sun was up and he was succumbing, his consciousness leaving him to drift. In the next, he was awake and crickets sang the night’s arrival.

It was tempting to think he had dreamt the whole thing. A stupid, ridiculous, crazy ass dream. However, the lingering smell left no room for argument. It happened. The scent was weaker. Fading. But was there, overpowered by a significantly nicer aroma. A familiar one, sweet on the nose and soothing to the soul. Kagome’s.

He was lying half naked in her sleeping bag.

Sitting up, InuYasha seeked for the priestess, desperate to make sure for himself she was safe and sound.

The fragile light of her modern lantern illuminated the cavern that sheltered them. At its entrance, a girl rested — her silhouette contoured by a starry sky. 

“Kagome.”

“You’re awake!”

She rushed to him, tripping over her own eagerness. Her beautiful clothes were dirty and a bit ripped at the hem. A small scratch cut her cheek, remnants of dry blood tainting her skin.

“Are you alright? What happened?”

“I’m fine!” Kagome kneeled in front of him, a gesture he appreciated. There was no peace for him without an up close inspection of her well being. “I purified the demon after you blacked out. Turns out it was a trap. Thousands of Naraku’s second-class demons came for the shard when I took him down. I tried to purify those too, but more of them kept coming and I ran out of arrows, so I casted a barrier and—”

“You casted a barrier?”

InuYasha was beyond impressed. Barriers required great power and discipline. Even from Kaede or the monk. Kagome had apparently done it all by herself. Effortlessly. On the spot.

“To be honest, I don’t know how I did it. I just… I saw you lying there and I… anyway, the barrier purified the ones who touched it. Eventually they all died or left. How are you feeling?”

InuYasha didn’t answer the question.

“I’m sorry, Kagome, that you couldn’t rely on me.”

Guilt pulsed within him like a heartbeat. Constant and compulsory, expanding the outcomes of its work through every inch of his body.

“It’s not your fault. Your nose is too keen, of course you’d be affected the most.”

“But you got hurt!”

“In the thorns. I was careless. Don’t worry about it, it’s not even going to leave a scar.”

“It shouldn’t have even happened. I’m supposed be the one protecting you, not the other way around.”

It could have been worse. InuYasha should be grateful for that. He wasn’t. It could have been worse. And he wouldn’t be able to help her, to save her from this insignificant peril while she had already saved him in every conceivable way there was for a person to be saved.

“I’m not as helpless as I used to be, you know? I’ve grown a lot.” She had a point. InuYasha himself had told her that much, once. Kagome had faced scarier dangers than that. And she could absolutely take them. But he didn’t want her to have to. “Not to mention, it was totally worth it.”

As a proof, she exhibited a jewel fragment, glowing in the healthiest shade of pink.

“You got it!” InuYasha captured the shard, glancing at every angle of it in awe.

“Don’t act so surprised.”

Kagome went for her backpack and came back, falling on her knees again. Her hand dove in and emerged holding the glass container in which they kept the other pieces. She opened it and tilted the receiver to InuYasha, hinting for him to do the honors.

It was as if she had been waiting for him so they could do it together.

As if it was their private, sacred ritual.

He did as she wanted, mirroring her satisfied smile.

“Where’s my haori?”

“Oh! I… I put it away.” Blushing, Kagome tore her gaze from his and InuYasha followed it to a corner of the cave, where a huddle of scarlet fabric laid forgotten. “I figured you’d heal faster with that smell gone and your haori is soaked on it. Sorry.”

“D-don’t apologize, stupid. It was the right call.” To feel useful — and to occupy his brain with something other than the image of Kagome undressing him — InuYasha searched her backpack for the first aid kit, a tool from her era he was sadly too intimate with. “Now let’s take care of this cut.”

“Okay. You have to g—”

“I know what to do. I’ve seen you do it a thousand times.” Her lips parted, and InuYasha added: “Don’t act so surprised.”

He cleaned the wound with cotton, water and soap, then used a different ball of cotton to carefully apply the content of a smelly little bottle to the extension of it. Kagome hissed, but he ignored it in favor of wrapping it all up with a band-aid. To ensure it was properly stretched, he gently ran his thumb through it, allowing the touch to linger more than necessary and his stare to go from her cheek to her eyes.

Her eyes.

The most stunning maze.

Let yourself get in, you are sure to get lost.

She blinked before he could, keeping them closed and leaning into his palm, her hand lifting to cover and caress his.

It would be so easy to grip her chin. To turn her face to him. To bring her to his lips. 

So easy to steal a kiss.

Why do the easiest actions have to carry the most difficult consequences?

Clearing his throat, InuYasha transformed present into a loving memory.

“Take some rest. We leave first thing tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me.”

On the way to claim Kagome’s prior guarding position by the entrance of the cave, InuYasha collected Tessaiga while she busied herself with getting cozy inside the sleeping bag.

“Kagome?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“InuYasha, I think we’re way past saying thank you for saving each other’s lives.”

“No, not for that. I mean, for that too, but... for coming. For staying by my side.”

“Stupid.” She mocked him, her voice lethargic as exhaustion finally caught up to her. “Where else would I be?”

A/N: this was some serious self indulgent bullshit. I regret nothing.

@inukag-week​ here is another piece of contribution. Kind of merged the Loyalty and the Instinct prompts here. Oops.

[2-cute-4-school]

Hiraeth

Group : NCT

Pairing : Lee Donghyuck/Haechan x f!Reader

Genre : fluff, angst

Word count : 4K words - Part 1

Mafia AU   |   M.list

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 - Final 

Chapter summary :  “Y/N please tell me you’ll always love me.” |  “You know I do. I love you and I’ll keep loving you no matter what.”

“Hiraeth - (n) a homesickness for a home you can’t return to, or that never was.”

Haechan was always by her side, her guardian angel and her partner in crime at the same time. Sure, he wasn’t ecstatic about having a little girl around them at all times in the beginning, but Taeyong was their leader and what he said had to be done. He remembered the day he met her so clearly, a lasting impression on him.

Taeyong had told them beforehand that a new member was going to arrive, but none of them ever expected her. Their squad was made up of only boys so seeing a frail girl trailing behind their leader left them shocked and frozen in their spots. Her eyes were wide, scanning her new surroundings and future teammates while tightly griping Taeyong’s shirt until her knuckles turned white. She tried to put on a brave face, but anyone with a decent sight could see that she was trembling like a leaf.

He later learned her name, Y/N and that she was training for the spy position. Same as Haechan. They seemed to be around the same age but he still felt a strong need to protect her, shield her from any harm. She looked so small that day, meeting the other members who swarmed her as soon as she peeked out from behind their leader. The way her face broke into a grin as she found out she would be training alongside Haechan as spies broke his hard exterior and made him decide he would take her under his wing.

And now, years later, Y/N became the light in the endless night, a breath of fresh air after drowning in the fast waters of a rushing river, although neither Haechan nor the rest of the boys would ever tell her that. But it could be seen in the way they looked at her, drops of honey and stardust swimming in their eyes whenever they caught sight of her or in the relieved exhale of air whenever she hugged them, her warmth enveloping them like a comfort blanket. It was the subtle hints that showed their love for her and the other way around.

“Y/N, I’m going to murder you!”

“Taeyong told me to wake you up, why are you such a bitter bitch?”

“I’m not the bitch here, dear”

“Is it because of old age, Doyoung? I know old people can get easily irritated, but damn gurl, you’re on another level”

A vein popped at Doyoung’s temple and he deeply breathed in, trying to keep his composure before he went nuts and burned down the entire household.

“Y/N, I’ll give you three seconds to vanish from before my eyes”

And she didn’t need more as she zoomed past the rest of them, her giggles echoing around the hallways.

“This is what I get out of raising children” Doyoung sighed before plopping down on the couch beside the younger ones.

To be honest, Haechan wanted to murder both of them. As much as he liked making fun of his members, being dragged out of his room for an unknown reason wasn’t on his to-do list today. He simply wanted to play some video games with his roommate Johnny and Y/N, maybe eradicate their self-confidence when it came to survival games with his unmatched skills. What he didn’t want right now was petty bickering, even though it’s usually his forte.

His train of thoughts was interrupted by the slam of the front door. Taeyong stormed inside, draping his coat and leaving his shoes by the door. His hair seemed messy and his movements were quite tense, very unlike for him.

“Are all of you here?”

No greetings, no smile. Something was going on.

Y/N trudged back in the living room with Yuta in tow, hearing the ruckus created by Taeyong’s hurried entrance. She sat down on the arm of the couch, beside Mark. Haechan took a moment to look at her. Her eyes turned serious, no glint of mischief in them anymore, her lips set in a straight line. Haechan gulped before turning his eyes back to their leader.

“Yes, what’s going on, Taeyong?” Taeil voiced out all of their thoughts. He also seemed tense, it was very weird that Taeyong hadn’t told him anything beforehand.

“I know none of you will like this, but we have a new mission” 

Everyone looked at each other. Missions weren’t anything new and it’s been quite some time since the last time they all went on one so they didn’t understand Taeyong’s worry.

“Alright, so? Things were starting to get boring anyway, so I don’t think anyone minds. What’s the job?” Johnny seemed even more content than the others at the mention of a mission

“Park Ji-won and his goons are having a party. All rich and influential people are invited. They’re probably trying to make connections with powerful people, maybe get them involved in their business. Wendy said he’ll have a USB flash drive with him. It contains future plans and reports of his actions if we get our hands on that he’s done for. Unfortunately, we’re not sure where it will be exactly. He probably won’t have it on him, it would be too risky, but other than that it could be anywhere in the house although his office seems most likely.”

Park Ji-won, the leader of one of the most powerful gangs in the country, a master of assassinations and other dirty deals and NCT’s biggest threat. He hunted them down with every chance he got and killed any allies of Taeyong’s he could. Everyone knew it would be a hard mission. 

Johnny was the first one to break the silence.

“We can handle this, we’ve handled worse”

Taeyong bit his lip, anxiety showing on his face.

“The mission is tomorrow evening”

Silence. And then chaos. Questions and remarks were flying everywhere, most members in shock before Taeil shushed everyone. He looked Taeyong in the eyes, his glare ice cold.

“Do we have a plan already?”

Taeyong sighed before answering.

“Nothing out of the ordinary. Y/N and Haechan will go in dressed up, blend in with the crowd. The hackers will stay here and monitor everything with some of us. The rest will wait in cars scattered near the party. I’ll fill in our spies with some info about the people there and come up with an inside plan, but that’s all”

Haechan’s hands started to sweat and his breathing became irregular. His mind was running wild and he seemed restless. His heart seemed to climb up his throat and jump out any minute. Haechan knew what this meant.

“Taeyong, this is too rushed and you know Ji-won isn’t a man to mess with” Taeil tried reasoning calmly.

“We’ll have to, this is a one time chance”

“BULLSHIT!” Johnny exploded. His excitement from earlier seemed to turn into anger at the announcement of the time of their mission “This is bullshit and you know it, Taeyong! What you’re doing is sending us, sending them” he gestured wildly to the couch where Y/N and Haechan were seated with wide eyes “on a suicide mission.”

“No, I’m not. We have a plan, as long as we don’t stray from it we’ll be fine”

Johnny was seething. He gritted his teeth, barely containing himself from exploding. Anyone could see his clenched fists by his side.

“I’ll shove this poor excuse of a plan so far up your ass it will reach your brain and unclog this shitty mindset of yours, I swear to God-”

“Let’s stop this, please” Y/N voice was weak, any smaller and no one would have heard her. She was looking at her elders fighting with a sore expression on her face “If we have to do this, let’s at least try to come up with something better, this is no usual mission.”

Taeil sighed as he gently pushed Johnny back.

“She’s right, you’re acting like clowns, did the hair dye fry through your scalp and to you neurons?’”

His words seemed to cool down the room, but burn Haechan’s heart. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was in the early hours of the morning when they finally settled. Although their plan didn’t stray too much from the original one, details were added and the spies knew perfectly what they had to do. Things were still riskier than ever and tension was high in the air of the dorm.

Y/N stayed close to Haechan the entire time, his presence calming her down. As long as he was there beside her, she felt as if nothing could touch them, neither one would allow it. Over the years, their bond that first started as a simple partnership soon developed into what they liked to call a soulmate bond. They could understand each other without words and trust tied them together tighter than anything else.

“You should head to bed, bub. You need all the rest you can get.” A warm hand petted her hair, as she lifted her head to meet Johnny’s eyes. He could see the unspoken anxiety behind her fatigued orbs and he wanted nothing more but to wrap her in a fluffy blanket and protect her forever. But everyone knew it would never be possible.

Y/N tried to offer a smile, but it was weak and it didn’t meet her eyes. She was clearly feeling oddly off about their mission too.

“Right, goodnight then.” She lifted herself off from the armrest of the couch and began trudging back into her room, which she shared with Haechan. Said boy didn’t waste another second before following her.

“And kids?” Johnny waited a second until they both turned their heads towards him “Don’t worry too much, we won’t let anything happen to you.”

He smiled kindly, showing his fatherly side which surfaced only around them and it was enough to get Y/N to smile, even in the slightest while muttering a broken ‘thank you’ before continuing her short walk to the bedroom.

Haechan instead lingered a few more moments, eyes shining as he stared at Johnny’s retreating back. He shook his head as if snapping himself out of a trance and rushed to catch up to Y/N, who was already fluffing up her pillows to settle down.

As she finally stretched herself out on her mattress, Haechan hesitated nervously near her. His bed looked cold and lonely and right then, his mind wouldn’t have been able to achieve peace without the help of his lifeline. His soul was too agitated and his heart was beating erratically, almost shattering his rib cage to escape its dark prison and find itself into the warm hands of their real owner, the girl whose eyes would disgrace all the stars in the sky.

“Are you going to fall asleep while standing or do you plan on joining me?”

She could read him like an open book. Through just a few words, Y/N could rip his thoughts out of his fuzzy mind and present them on his sleeve.

Haechan said nothing as he dragged his feet over to her bed and plopped down beside her. Without a second thought, he wrapped her in a protective cocoon of his arms, trapping her against his chest. He worried for a second. What if she could hear his heart? What explanation would he have for the way it betrayed him and threatened to simply jump out at her mere presence? That he was more afraid of losing her than losing anything else in the world? That he wanted to end his own pathetic self at the thought of the next day? That losing her meant his end, the edge of his sanity that he would throw out the window?

“I’m scared.”

It was only the second time he ever heard these words coming out of her mouth. The first time was on her first mission when he had to hold her hand all the way to the house they had to infiltrate in, just to keep her grounded. But that was such a long time ago when she had no experience in the field and her innocence was still intact. So hearing her say these words now unsettled him greatly.

“Why?”

“Is that even a question?”

“We’ve been on countless missions before, we’ll be fine.”

“No, no we haven’t. Not on one like this.”

“Y/N, as long as we stick to the plan, nothing will be different.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Neither did we before any of the past missions.”

She went silent. Y/N knew he was right, but she could only admire curiously the firmness in his voice. Was he really this fearless or did he only keep up this facade to lessen her worry?

“Maybe you’re right.”

“You know I am.”

“Shut up, Hyuck”

He softly laughed at her tone as he let his fingers run through strands of her hair as if mesmerized by the way she was really there, tucked in his side as her index finger traced patterns mindlessly onto his chest. And he was scared too. 

He was scared that the patters would slip through his skin and burn his hurting heart. Scared that tomorrow could bring an end to him, to them. Scared that he would knowingly let his lifeline vanish before his eyes, taking with her his whole being. He wasn’t scared for himself, no. He was scared for her and only her.

“Y/N please tell me you’ll always love me.”

“Ew Hyuck, what the heck are you talking about?”

“Y/N please”

His voice trembled then and broke at the end of the sentence. Y/N craned her neck in order to lift her gaze to his face. She found his eyes already trained on her, staring through her soul with an indecipherable look. That seemed to wake her up a little.

“What is this all about? You said nothing will be different. Why should we- “

He seemed to realize his mistake as he softly shushed her, cradling her back in his comforting embrace.

“It doesn’t have to mean anything, I just want to hear it from you”

It was silent for a few moments and his caresses seemed to slowly lull her to sleep, hopefully, a soothing one.

“You know I do. I love you and I’ll keep loving you no matter what.”

Her words were muffled, barely audible, but they resonated through Haechan’s entire body. It was a matter of minutes before Y/N was off to Dreamland while Haechan came undone in the darkness of their shared room. Hot tears rimmed his eyes before slipping down his cheeks, leaving trails of ashes from fallen stars. He closed his eyes tightly, feeling the utter dread rip apart his body, burn every piece of him down to nothing as the only witness to him falling apart was the moon which seemed to shine shallowly through the lids. He lifted a hand to cover his mouth, to keep the devastation inside himself, to let it eat him inside out.

That’s how he finally fell asleep, heart in his throat, weakly yelling at him to give up, to allow her full control and his mind, fighting against it, destroying him from both ends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N’s hands were sweating as Mark went over the plan for the millionth time, talking endlessly from the passenger seat. Johnny was sat behind the wheel, gripping it so tightly, Y/N was afraid it would bend and break anytime. She did her best trying to shut down her emotions ever since she woke up that morning, falling into her way to cope with unwanted uneasiness that came every time she had to go on a mission.

“Are you sure you’re feeling well, Y/N?” Mark’s voice snapped her out of her state.

“Huh?”

“You seem a bit out of it”

“I’m alright, don’t worry,” Mark still seemed reluctant and she could feel Johnny’s gaze through the mirror in front of him “really, I promise.”

Mark sighed as he turned back around, settling down in his seat as silence enveloped the car. Suddenly, fingers slipped through hers, intertwining their hands with a strong grip. Y/N’s head snapped towards Haechan who watched carefully with worried, but soft eyes. She could tell he was nervous too, but he tried to push that aside just to make sure she was fine. In return, she squeezed his hand back fiercely, trying to show him he could also lean on her, that there was nothing to be afraid as long as they stayed together.

As they neared their destination, the tension in the car intensified, almost suffocating Y/N as she struggled to keep her mind clear and not let her evident fear unleash and swallow up her sanity. The car stopped just short of the entrance gate as they unbuckled their seat belts. Y/N watched as Mark checked Haechan’s in-ear one last time before leaning forward herself. Mark did his job, but before she could bid goodbye and exit the car, Mark’s warm hand cupped her cheek affectionately, instantly grounding her with his reassuring touch.

“Come back safely, okay?”

“You know I will, we always do.” Y/N tried to bluff her bravery in a poor attempt to convince everyone, including herself, that she didn’t doubt herself. But Mark didn’t fall for it, and she knew none of the others did either. His eyes looked deeply into hers, searching her orbs desperately.

“Y/N.”

“I will, Mark. I really will.”

Johnny patted her head as Mark let his hand fall back in his lap.

“You too, devil child.” Haechan’s head snapped up and he had to force the smile on his face to seem genuine.

“Wow, I can really feel the love here, we’ll be fine.”

With that, the two youngest exited the vehicle, letting the light breeze brush away their nerves and bring them their usual mindset. Quick, quiet and clean. That’s how their jobs went every time. This had no reason to be different. They easily passed by the guards with the fake invitations Wendy provided them with and they stepped inside.

The first thing you could feel once you entered the party hall was definitely the stuck up atmosphere, which wasn’t shocking considering the people present there. The lights were dim and conversations were kept hushed. The tables on the sides of the room were filled with glasses of probably expensive champagne with fancy names and the occasional plates with small sweets. Y/N and Haechan spent the next 15 minutes checking their surroundings, blending in with the ever-growing crowd. They did catch a few glimpses of Park Ji-won caught up in conversations and Y/N could feel her blood start to boil at the sight of him. But she knew they weren’t there to kill him, so she kept a safe distance, far enough to keep out of his sight but close enough not to lose him in the crowd.

“I think we should get this going,” Haechan whispered subtly in her ear. She eyed the stairs she had to climb to the floor where the offices and a few other rooms were located, their best bet at finding the USB. Haechan was supposed to remain downstairs, monitor any weird actions and watch her back. Y/N nodded and immediately disappeared into the crowd, missing the indecipherable look he threw her.

Nearing the stairs, she quickly slipped upstairs, tapping her in-ear once, sending the boys outside and back at the dorm the signal that the plan was put in action.

“Alright, be careful” Taeyong murmured.

She checked the first few rooms nearest, so quietly you could hear a fly buzz around. Every room was empty, both of any people and the USB. Ji-won’s office was still yet to be found, but Y/N’s chest was uncharacteristically beating uncontrollably. Everything was so silent, only the ruckus from downstairs could be heard faintly. Haechan had been silent the entire time and Y/N clung onto her hope things were going well since he hadn’t said a word since she left.

The blood was rushing through her veins, adrenaline high and keeping her going as she neared the next door. Her eyes were focused and it seemed as if no emotion was displayed, her face muscles completely lax. Her footsteps were light, making no sound against the carpet beneath and adding to the eerie silence that threatened to cloud up her throat and spillover.

A loud bang resonated in her ear and she was instantly snapped out of her trance. She barely contained herself from lifting her hand up to touch the device settled inside her ear, but it was enough to make her freeze in her spot, waiting for something, anything, for someone to guide her, to calm her and keep her steady on her feet just for long enough to finish her task. But her guide never came, at least not in the form she hoped for.

“Y/N! Haechan! Get out of there! NOW!” Taeyong sounded more frantic than ever. Never had Y/N heard their reliable leader scream that way, not with such raw desperation and never to abandon their mission, never. Several gunshots now echoed in the background and her teammates’ yells could be barely heard over the ruckus created. “We’re getting attacked! Get out-” Another gunshot, incredibly loud and it was enough to cut off the connection, their only link to the outside.

Y/N felt herself getting dizzy. She was trapped, with no help, her brothers were in danger back home and she could do nothing besides muttering a broken ‘no’ and turning around harshly, not wasting a second to get out of here and back home. Her feet carried her thoughtlessly, to hell with the stupid USB and the cursed Park Ji-won, nothing mattered more than her family who needed her help now more than ever, and she would be damned if she doesn’t get there fast enough to fight alongside them. 

Her entire world was shattering and she was hopelessly and blindly running back to gather the shards.

A hand reached out, grasping her arm and turning her so her back was pressed tightly to a chest as a hand came around her to embrace her tightly around the shoulders. Y/N reached out immediately, ready to fight back but settled for a few moments one sensing the familiar scent of Haechan.

Right, Haechan was still there, still with her. Her lifeline was still there, keeping her alive, clinging to her sanity. Her soulmate was there and anything would be alright as long as their fates stayed intertwined, she would fight until her last breath with him by her side. 

“Thank God you’re here, we have to go, come on, the rest are in trouble.” 

Y/N urged him to get moving, tugging on the arm wrapped around her and trying to step forward. But the boy behind her didn’t seem to budge, frozen in his spot like a cold statue, roots keeping him planted into the ground. She felt him let out a shaky breath, the warm air blowing a few strands of her hair as she struggled to snap him out of his daze and run back to her family, their family.

“Haechan come on-” 

But her words were cut, just like Taeyong’s as the same arm that hugged her protectively in her safe heaven the night before, slipped up and tightened around her neck, cutting off her air supply. Her eyes widened, trying to comprehend what was happening right under her fingertips, the way the pieces of her world were falling apart, becoming dust in the wind with every second that passed. She struggled both physically and mentally. She tried to wrap her mind around the situation at hand, the way her vision was turning black and her will to keep going faded with it, the cruel way everything was ripped away from her in a mere second, the simple way her small world she worked so hard to gain along the years was vanishing into an endless abyss filled with bitter reminiscences.

Y/N struggled to grasp her Haechan’s sick betrayal.

[imomomi]

Warnings: Some violence towards the end.

Word Count: 1,535

         “Kita-san,” you called, dismissing the rest of your advisors. Two lone servants remained in the room, both women. He nodded towards them, a small smile building at the shock one of the women displayed. Servants, he found, often worked the hardest and were given little praise for it. Honest work would only keep someone honest if it was rewarded. He settles the box on the table, ignoring your curious glance for the moment.

           “I apologize for interrupting you,” he started. You shook away his concerns, reshuffling the papers you held in your hands. He caught sight of the few on top, bearing the emperor’s seal and wondered just how deeply your relationship with the man went. What could motivate their emperor to save a single life?

           “It’s nothing to concern yourself over, Kita-san. I’m happy to be rid of them,” you said. Your smile felt more genuine than it had yesterday. “My brother told me that you refused our accommodations.”

           “You don’t need to waste such luxuries on us,” he said. Your smile faltered slightly, and you looked away from him. Had he said the wrong thing?

           “When I was younger, Nobuko would sleep in my room. He hated being alone after our parents died…if it’s anything like that, I understand the desire to stay with the people you’re familiar with.”

           “You’re close with your brother?” he asked. He had inferred as much yesterday, but hearing you speak now, he realized that you were capable of great affection. The same fondness that you carried for the people you ruled over was echoed in your family. It reminded him so much of his grandmother, that he had to force his gaze away to temper the uncomfortable tightness in his chest.

           “Nobuko is my best and only friend. He might resent being stuck here with me, but I’m glad he is.”

           “How long has it been since you left the compound?”

           “The day before the attack, I went to the markets. I wasn’t gravely injured, only some bruises, but I preferred the situation kept private.”

           “Are you scared?”

           “Yes,” you answered and shifted your gaze to look at him directly. “I don’t want to die…but I also want peace at whatever price it comes.”

           “Even if it’s your own life?”

           “Kyoto will be safe. Nobuko is smart and kind where I’m not…sometimes, I think that the world would be a little better had he been made Clan Head.”

           He didn’t answer you. Regret was something Kita had trouble understanding. If you tried your hardest, with all the skills and determination you had, then what was there left to regret? He often found that people allowed their doubts to weigh down their abilities.

           “What’s it like in Hyōgo?”

           “Our estate overlooks Hyōgo’s rice fields. In the morning the sun shines over the grass and trees, hitting the dew so that everything looks as if it were riddled with diamonds…I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” he admitted. There was a hint of envy in your gaze, but it passes quickly. Your eyes narrowed in his direction.

           “Are you married, Kita-san?” you asked. The unexpected question has him choking and a laugh burst from your mouth, so loudly it startled one of the servants. You stopped almost immediately and cleared your throat. His neck feels tight and itchy, the way it always does when he’s caught in an uncomfortable position. These are the types of situations that Suna thrived in. A mix of laziness and cunning lending him the right words and gestures to play the game of seduction. He didn’t think it was your intention to seduce him. The suitors that came to your halls had more than Kita ever would, but you seemed curious, as if he were a puzzle to solve. It troubled him. If you wanted to dig, their mission would be jeopardized.

           “No,” he answered curtly, “I have no need for a wife.”

           “I envy men for having the ease to choose between what they need and want. If I am lucky enough to be reborn, I think I should like to be a man.” Your words were softly spoken, barely louder than a whisper, but filled with a yearning that Kita could not comprehend. You had everything and still wanted more.

         “Your servants,” he muttered, glancing again at the two women. The forgotten box rustled before them.

         “Leave,” you ordered sharply. The women moved quickly, bowing low as they left the room. Kita circled the table, coming to a stop by your shoulder. He knew it was inappropriate, but his name had never been spoken in those types of rumors.

         “We found this messenger crow late at night,” said Kita. He pulled the top from the box housing the crow. Kita turned and noticed that you had not moved since the crow was unveiled. A thousand thoughts crossed his mind at once. Did you know? Was it a spy or a message from another prefecture? Why had the emperor moved his hand to protect one woman? How far would this rebellion go? What kind of ruler were you?

         As a child, he’d often prayed to the gods for peace. They were words he repeated because he’d heard his grandmother say them. His belief mattered little, but he liked the steadiness that came with visiting a temple. Did you pray for the same? Or had a rebellion risen to overthrow a tyrant? The files he received told him that you were kind, benevolent, and gentle. Words told him nothing of your actual temperament.

         “That bird has been coming for months,” you said, turning to him with sharp eyes.

         “Then you have housed a spy for months,” he answered. He stood, the silk of his kimono flowing like water around him.

         “A crow could come from anywhere.”

         “It could,” he agreed. You followed as he paced back and forth. It was rare that they worked with their client directly and the echo of your footsteps behind him felt like a cage. He needed room to move without you watching, but trust was not something he had.

         Kita stopped.

         “Whatever you wish to know, I will tell you. But, do not ask who sent me or why,” he said.

       “Why are you walking through my home as if you have lived here all your life?”

         “I had a map. I know every room in this compound, as do my men,” he answered. His voice rang with sincerity, no hint of a lie lingered in his face. You hesitated, unsure of what to do or say when met with the truth.

         “Are you here to harm me?” you asked.

         “No,” he paused, weighing his words and added, “not unless you give me reason to.”

         “I don’t trust you,” you admitted, sighing heavily, “I want your men gone. I want this whole thing to end, but I cannot change the fact that you’re here. Refusing your help when you offer it freely would be foolish.” You turned and looked at him directly. It was hard to be intimidating when you were forced to wear heavy silks and stood shorter than most men, but years of fending off political attacks had given you a clarity that few had. In the end, what happened would happen. The only thing you could control was your own actions.

         “If you betray me or my clan, I will hunt you to Jigoku and back,” you warned. The threat hung heavy in the air. Kita bowed his head, acknowledging its severity.

         “You have my word that we are here to help,” he said. “There is a woman we wish to speak to. A servant in your household.”

         “A suspected traitor,” you mused.

         “Yes. If it’s true…”

         “The penalty for treason is death.”

         “You would kill her?”

         “I assume that’s your job. Take what information you can and deal with her quietly.”

         “She should be sent to Hyogo as a prisoner. A death would be suspicious.”

         “I don’t give people out as gifts, Kita-san,” you said. Your lips pursed tightly and he felt your offense hanging in the air between them. He hadn’t meant to imply anything, but before he could apologize, you moved forward, colder than before and more aggressively. Your hand caressed the rounded belly of the crow, a finger stroking its head softly. In a move so swift, he would have missed it had he blinked, your fingers twisted around the bird’s neck and pulled tightly. The crunch of bones filled the air.

         “That is what we do to traitors in Kyoto,” you said, blankly. “Do with the girl what you wish, but if she betrayed me or my family, I want her dead.”

         You walked away, black feathers following your path as you shook away the last remnants of the crow from your person. Kita watched them fall, his stomach twisting with both fear and respect. People who could stomach death that easily were far and few between. Another part of you had been unveiled and slid into his mind the way a key unlocked a door, reminding him that there were things about himself that he didn’t know. The memory of your fingers, twisting and pulling, go through him like wine.

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[ancientstone]

Alright so AU where Geralt doesn’t realise he’s been given a decoy Ciri

Perhaps Geralt goes to fetch Roach, maybe someone stops him to mention the ballads they’ve heard or some guard decides to question why he’s there, either way, he doesn’t notice the hidden passage in the palace, and therefore, not half an hour later, leaves Cintra not with Ciri sat scared under a cloak on his horse, but this girl:

In my head I’ve taken to calling her Alice, so that’s her name now.

Full name: Alice Cavannah of Cintra

Calanthe needs a child who can pass as Pavetta’s daughter, and it just so happens that currently staying in the palace for the banquet set to take place that night is a nobleman and his family - in particular, a nobleman who is on the wrong side of Calanthe’s temper, has been trying to redeem himself for years and gain a better position in court, and has a daughter roughly Ciri’s age.

For her parents, the decision wasn’t hard, mainly because her Father, who she is almost completely distant to, declared that she would go. In comparison, Alice is far closer to her Mother, but that doesn’t stop anything as her Mother goes along with whatever her husband says, merely absently nodding her consent as if being asked if she would like fish for dinner.

Alice also has an older brother, one who would be knighted not a few hours later (the knighting scene in episode one), and sending off their daughter in place of Ciri and having a son knighted in Cintra firmly puts their family name in Calanthe’s good books, much to their delight.

It also helps that Alice had a similar schooling to Ciri, and knows of the local nobles, lords, and ladies. If they tried to play off a peasant girl, their ploy would be blown within minutes.

“You’ll be back soon, I’m sure.” Calanthe promises breezily as she digs through Ciri’s wardrobe to find a dress for her to wear, to give her a more princess-like appearance. “Once all this nonsense with Nilfgaard has blown over, the Witcher will bring you right back.”

“Yes, your majesty.” Alice whispered, squeezing her hands together tightly to try and save off crying.

She’s told to quickly says her goodbyes, and then gets a cloak dumped over her head to avoid prying eyes who could call out the fraud. The Witcher, who she is told is named Geralt of Rivia, the Butcher of Blaviken, helps her onto a horse, and slowly they leave the city, Alice glancing back to see if her parents are watching. They’re not.

Her brother is, though. He waves at her from a window. She hesitantly waves back.

So, they head out, a tense silence between them. Alice is scared stiff, mainly because she’s never heard much about Witchers, being in Cintra most of her life. She knows Calanthe hates them, and doesn’t entrust this Witcher to look after her granddaughter, so tries to be as quiet as possible, less she angers the man with two very sharp-looking swords. 

Alice is also terrified that Geralt is going to figure out that she isn’t Ciri, and, not being a princess, will be killed for it. Her parents are unlikely to avenge her death (gods, her death might even be good for them - sacrificing their only daughter in the name of the Queen is sure to get them higher titles), so it wouldn’t matter if he did.

She spends the time nibbling her lip, a habit her Mother is always scolding her for, and praying to any God willing to listen to the thoughts in her head that she sees this out alive.

Geralt, meanwhile, is having a Panic™

What do you say to a princess? How does Ciri expect to be treated? Will she mind camping, or will he have to get inn rooms every night? Does he have enough coin for that? They gave him a bag of her belongings, does she have a bedroll, blankets, more suitable clothes for travel, better shoes? Is it rude to ask? 

The only other princesses he’s ever met either stabbed him in the gut or tried to eat his organs. Ciri probably won’t do that. He hopes. Then again, if she’s Calanthe’s blood, maybe he’ll be dead by morning.

Should he take her to Kaer Morhen? Or will the Nilfgaardian threat blow over before they get there? Is it better for them to head to the Blue Mountains or should they just hide out in the forests somewhere and wait and see?

Whatever he decides, the one thing he does know for sure is that this girl is completely petrified.

“It will be okay, Princess.” Geralt says roughly, as awkward as anything. “No harm is going to come to you.”

Her eyes are huge as she stammers, “T-Thank you, Witcher.”

“Call me Geralt.”

She flinches, squeaking, “Thank you, Geralt.”

Fuck, Geralt thinks.

They don’t come to any inns as dusk begins to fall, so Geralt tries to find the cleanest spot he can among the trees for them to make camp. He helps her down, and she shies away from his offered hand as if expecting to be hit before eventually taking it, and then sets about making camp.

Turns out, the palace didn’t think to give her anything practical, surprising for the granddaughter of the Lioness. The bag is mostly dresses, shoes only suitable for palace floors, and a hairbrush and a few toiletries.

He goes to swear, and then reminds himself not in front of the Princess.

“We might have to get you some new clothes.” He says, and she jumps at the sound. “We want to hide from Nilfgaard and anyone else who may try and find you. That will be easier if you dress plainly.”

What Geralt expects, he doesn’t know, a bit of a tantrum, perhaps? Something about how a lady of her status can’t go around in cheap fabrics like a commoner? Tears?

He doesn’t expect the girl to bite her lip, nod, and then hunch her shoulders around herself, trying to look as small as possible, swamped in her cloak and eyes to the floor.

The night is spent almost entirely silent. He goes out and hunts, gutting and skinning the hares away from camp so he doesn’t spook her, and then cooks a pretty bland stew that the Princess seems to force down out of politeness than a real hunger. He then gives her his bedroll, something she’s hesitant to do until he reassures her that he can go without sleeping, and meditates most of the night, listening for threats and the sound of her breathing. 

She cries at one point, trying to stifle her sniffles in her hands.

Over the next two days they move fast and far, not talking to anyone and putting as much distance between Cintra and them as possible. Slowly, as if she realises that Geralt is not going to eat her alive, the Princess begins to relax. That doesn’t exactly make her chatty by any means, or any less stiff and jumpy, but in their brief, stilted conversations, she seems less worried that he will bite her face off. A small improvement, but an improvement nonetheless.

Surprisingly, it’s Roach that brings them together.

Ciri takes to the mare straight away, and voluntary begins brushing her down each night, muttering soft things that she thinks Geralt can’t hear into the horse’s ears.

“She doesn’t tolerate most people.” He says as he builds a fire, pausing to observe them.

The Princess ducks her head. “O-Oh.”

“It means she likes you.”

“Oh!” For a split second, her face brightens, and she spins on her heel to gently pet Roach’s nose. “I like her too. What’s her name?”

“Roach.”

The Princess turns towards him, her face not quite disgruntled, but showing more emotion than she has so far. “Like the fish?”

“Hm.” Geralt nods.

“Why did you name your horse after a fish?”

“My brother named his horse Scorpion.”

“Is it...A Witcher thing?”

“Not reall-” Geralt stops, thinking about it. “Actually, I suppose it is.”

The Princess turns before he can see her expression, but he thinks she may be giggling. A lump forms in his throat, and he swallows it down.

Meanwhile, with Alice, she can’t decide if this is fun (she gets to explore the countryside, see other places, have a horse, camp, get dirty) or most frightening thing she’s ever done (she’s pretending to be the Princess of Cintra, if she messes up, the Lioness with solely blame her, not to mention punish her family. There’s so much on her shoulders that at random moments all she wants to do is weep)

Geralt doesn’t seem as frightening as he first appeared, and he’s actually been really nice, not asking complicated questions she doesn’t know the answer to (does he already know about Cirilla’s life? Her favourite foods? Her favourite song? She doesn’t, and dreads saying something that could contradict what he already knows) and keeping his distance.

He also named his horse after a fish.

On the morning of the second day, they camp outside a town, Geralt wanting to wait until most of the main morning traffic has passed before entering. To pass the time, she carefully twists braids into Roach’s mane (who preens under the attention), watching out the corner of her eye as Geralt goes over sword practice.

In a brief moment of boldness, Alice asks, “Is it...Hard, to use a sword like that?”

Geralt pauses, glancing towards her. “In a way, like most skills it becomes easier over time.”

“My-” Alice nearly outs herself by saying brother, quickly redirecting, “Grandmother uses a lot of swords.”

“Yes. Did she ever teach you?”

Oh Gods!

“My...My Mother didn’t let me. Said it’d make me brutish.” The news of Pavetta’s death was widespread, when it happened. She can recall her parents talking about it for years afterwards. “When she died, my Grandmother kept her wish.”

Geralt’s expression does several different things, and the longer the bout of silence draws on the closer Alice finds herself huddling against Roach, as if asking the horse to hold her up.

Stupid! She chastises mentally. That’s the Lioness! Of course she taught Ciri! And you just insulted her daughter! Wait until the Queen finds out about that!

Finally, Geralt grunts, something he seems to do regularly, before easing his stance, relaxing his shoulders. “Would you...Like to learn?”

Alice blinks.”M-Me?”

“Being able to defend yourself is one of the most important skills you can have, and I’m sure your Mother would prefer you alive and wielding a blade than dead and weaponless.”

The Lioness is going to be fuming by the time she gets back.

Still, somehow, Alice finds herself nodding , and Geralt hums, putting down his sword and pulling out a smaller dagger. “Come here.”

She does, and he places the dagger into her hand, adjusting her grip and inching her fingers into the correct positions. It’s heavy, surprisingly so, and Geralt carefully puts his hand around her wrist.

“Ideally we’d do this with one made of wood, but I only have this, so we won’t do much just to be safe, but I can show you how to hold a blade, and how to use it in a pinch.”

“Okay.”

“It’s not a toy.” He says sternly, meeting her eyes. “Don’t swing it wildly, don’t touch the edge, and when in doubt, drop it and step back, understand?”

“I do.”

He hums again, pleased, and then carefully starts the lesson.

Alice, surprisingly, finds herself enjoying it. She can see what her brother saw in it when he was younger and still in training. There’s something about learning the different stances, the hand positions, the control, that feels good, right, almost like the beginnings of a new hobby.

Her favourite hobby is still needlework, though. Alice adores a night by the fireplace carefully stitching away.

They keep on going until lunch, which is when they stop to eat (a little to her disappointment), and then head into town, Geralt dropping a handful of coins into her palm and pointing out a shop.

“Go buy yourself a few set of clothes, ones good enough for a winter outside. Don’t go with fashions, go with practicality. I’ll be outside.”

“Okay, I understand.”

The fabrics on offer are cheap, bland, and all variations of dim green or brown, however, with a little help from the shopkeeper, Alice is able to find some items which work. She switches into one of her new purchases, pulling on a new pair of boots, before heading back outside.

She keeps the dress she’d been wearing, though. It belongs to a Princess, and the Queen may be angry if she loses it. Alice gently tucks it into her bag.

“Good.” Geralt nods his approval and Alice finds herself smiling shyly, before they turn to leave.

It is as they walk away, following the road northwards, that they catch wind of a conversation by another set of travelers passing by, on their way south.

For a split second, Alice freezes, before whipping around so fast that her head spins dizzy. Her eyes follow them, and her vision mists with fear-struck tears as her jaw drops low in horror.

Beside her, Geralt goes as still as a statue, his skin pale.

Cinta has fallen.

......

Anyway, this is getting super long so I may have to come up with a part two, but I’ll leave this here for now

Oh, and I’m totally naming this the Double Trouble AU

[loominggaia]

Fanfiction: New York (part 9)

This is a good long chapter, so get a snack and strap in!

Anonymous asked:

Trigger warning about this chapter. It contains Alaine and lukus beating up a sexual predator and Zeffer murdering a drug dealer. You have been warned.

Evan sat in his hospital bed pondering what nurse kimi told him. On one hand he was happy to know who was here to rescue him. He already knew Elska was here due to the news stories and was told Alaine, Lukus, Jeimos and Issac where here. He had a hunch Zeffer was here too, based on a news story he saw this morning of an local robber/murderer being killed in an unusual way. Found drained of blood with strange wounds on his neck. He wondered who else was here that just haven’t been confirmed.

On the other hand he had no way of contacting them and the rescue crew his location. Evan sighed, he’d have to get out here one way or another. His plan to act sane and be discharged seemed to be working, his doctors and therapist seemed happy at his ‘recovery’ but where not yet fully convinced. While progress was being made to get out on his own it was still slower then he wanted it to be. He needed to get out and stretch his legs, he was feeling rather weak staying in one room all day.

Alaine and Lukus took to the streets, ready to start their little hog hunting trip. Lukus was hesitant to do a hog hunt here but Alaine managed to convince him, it be a fast way of getting some cash and take out some frustration and some degenerates. They started their hunt in an allyway, Alaine leaving her armor back at base and picking up a discarded bottle, putting on her best giddy drunk girl act. Lukus followed close behind, staying hidden behind some trash cans to spring their trap.

It took awhile to get anything interesting, the few peoplethey encountered either completely ignored her or trying to help her. Thinking they wouldn’t get anything Alaine suddenly heard a male voice behind her. “Excuse me miss” Alaine turned around readying herself to see… Evan and Conner!? Alaine jumped at the sight, was that really him! Had she finally found him! And what was Conner doing here? Her moment of shock wore down quickly realizing ,no, It wasn’t them.

While these men may not have actually been Evan and Conner it was unsettling to Alaine how much a look alike’s they where. The Atlas look alike’s in blue uniforms introduced themselves, the Evan twin introduced himself as Officer Mattews and the Conner twin as Officer Conway. Officer Mattews told her they where here because they got some complaints of a drunk girl wandering around and where here to check in on her. “Shit” Alaine thought to herself.

They just had some questions for her like who she was,? Why she was here? If they could escort her home? The longer she spoke to them the more like Evan and Conner they seemed, Officer Mattews being calm and gentle sounding when speaking whereas Officer Conway just eyes her up suspiciously and was abit more rude with his questioning. Officer Mattews apologized on his behalf, saying he’s new to the force and not to kind him, they just wanted to make sure she was safe and sound.

Alaine was being friendly with the officers no matter how unsettled she was by them, keeping up her drunk girl act the whole time. She just wanted to go, clearly their hunt wasn’t gonna have any success here and she really didn’t want to get involved with this worlds police. She lied to them saying she had an apartment close by and was fine by her own, Officer Mattews was insistent on walking her back with clear worry while Officer Conway just looked indifferent and more judgemental.

Just as Alaine almost had them off her back Officer Conway saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned around, pulling out his taser and shouted at the trash cans “ I saw that, get up and hands where I can see them!”. Lukus had been watching everything from behind his post, also being shocked at how unsettlingly close to the real Evan & Conner these two police men where. His cover had been blown, guy must of seen him out of the corner of his eye. “Dammit” Lukus thought.

Lukus emerged from his hiding spot at the officers request, hands in the air and a look of bitter spite on his face. Conway kept his taser pointed at him with Mattews pulling his out and aimed his way. Officer Conway aggressively asked who he thinks he is, why he was hiding behind the trash and why’s he’s dressed like some wanna be Robin Hood? Lukus dodged the questions and shot some jabs back at him, only pissing the officer off. Mattews just asked him more calmly and walking closer to him.

Lukus was once again unhelpful to the officers request. Alaine was freaking out, they need Lukus here and he’s no use to Evans rescue behind bars. Needing some way of salvaging this and getting the officers off their backs Alaine made a quick move. “Lukieeee”!!! Alaine shouted in a high pitched, giddy tone, running up to Lukus and clinging to him. She kissed him on the cheek and was babbling about how he came to check on her. The officers lowered their tasers in confusion, Alaines plan working.

She introduced Lukus as her boyfriend to the officers, saying he’s alright and not to worry. Lukus was just as confused as they where but went along with the lie, saying he was just worried about her and making sure no one harmed her. The officers didn’t look entirely convinced but afew more kisses on Lukus’s cheeks by Alaine got them to back off, wishing the couple well. As soon as they where gone Alaine got off him and gagged, wiping off her lips much to Lukus’s amusement.

He tried to shoot an insult her way but just got a slap to the face. Alaine grabbing his shirt collar and with rage in her eyes said nobody is to ever know about this and she’ll beat his ass if he ever tells anyone! The pair moved on, clearly this was not that great a hunting spot and they needed somewhere alittle seedier. They contemplated giving up but the rumbling of their stomachs and the knowledge that they needed earth money pushed them onward.

Finding a new spot they set a different trap this time, Lukus fake tied Alaine to a gutter and simply waited behind a dumpster. The pair waited awhile for anyone to show up, wondering if anyone will? After what felt like hour of waiting their first customer arrived. A man in a business suit talking on the phone was coming down their way, the perfect prey. With their target in sight Alaine readied herself, letting out a panicked scream and pleaded for help!

The man got off his phone at the sounds of a women’s scream. He came running down the path to see a panicked women tied to a gutter, desperately trying to free herself. Alaine in her best hysterical crying was thanking him, begging for help. He asked her what happened and with fake tears streaming down her face and panic in her voice, she cried that some guy came out of nowhere, robbed her and tied her up and was asking him to free her and call the police!

The guy seemed to be buying Alaines sob story, Alaine amplified herself to full blown ugly crying and was saying she just wanted to go home, that she willing to do anything to be freed. At this their was a change in the man, “Anything”? He repeated. A wide, hungry smile spreading across his face. “Jack pot” Alaine thought. She shook her head, keeping up her act. The man eyes looked down lustfully at her and said he’s free her, if she’s willing to do something for him first?

Alaine in her best shaky voice asked what he wanted. His eyes traveled all up and doen her body as he told her that if she wants to be free, she has to let him have his way with her. If she said yes he’ll call the cops and get her untied and home safely. If she refuses he’ll simply leave her their to rot. He also told her to not even bother telling anyone about this arrangement, cause he’s got some rather very, very good lawyers that will sue her into the ground if she dare makes a peep.

Alaine knew she was gonna have some fun with this pig! She’d seen sick bastards like him before, knew his type all to well and was just to deliver swift justice onto this creep. She played up the act, asking in panic if their was any other way to which he simply told her it’s let him screw her or leave her their. She hesitantly agreed to his condition, his perverted smile spreading ear to ear and his bulge rising in his pants. Today was his lucky day he thought to himself.

Lukus watched this gross bastard from behind the dumpster, readying for his attack picking up a rusty pipe. The man was unzipping his pants and leaning over the helpless women, ready to claim his prize. As he reached over to grope her breast suddenly he felt a foot slam straight into his jaw. He nursed his jaw and saw that his soon to victim had kicked him, a smug smile on her face. This enraged him, he fumed and yelled, calling her a little bitch and raised his fist to hit her.

He never got his chance as just as he was raising his fist he felt a something hard hit the back of his head. He fell to the ground, his head spinning and bison blurred from the impact, he saw a hooded figure standing over him, a rusty pipe in hand. The women congratulated the assailant and pulled herself free and loomed over him. He tried to say something but a swift kick to the face shit him up, the women leaned over him with a sinister smile and for the first time in awhile, he felt pure fear

To say Alaine and Lukus made of mess of this pervert is an understatement. Having beat him every shade of black and blue to unconsciousness and robbed him blind, ending their torture by cutting off little manhood and tounge. Counting their prize money of nearly a thousand dollars they fled the scene of the crime, leaving their not so innocent victim behind to rot. The whole morning up till the afternoon they spent on this little hog hunt and saw some major success.

While as usual most people either ignored Alaine or tried to help her they managed to bag three more degenerate swine that day. A man and women who attempted to rob Alaine while she pretended to be either drunk or tied up and the third being another wanna be rapist, giving all three a good thrashing, robbed them blind and leaving each with a permanent reminder of their misdeeds. While Alaine was having fun she did have to admit, hog hunting just didn’t feel the same without Glenvar their.

She missed him, she missed him dearly. She wondered how Glenvar was doing back in Gaia? Probably trying to drink himself under the table again as usual? Alaine couldn’t wait to see him again and tell him all about this trip to another world, but to do that they need to get the captain back first. The two had a really good cash haul for today, their other three pigs hadn’t been nearly as rewarding as the first but it still seemed like a decent amount. They’d round the day off with one last hunt.

Alaine was in a back ally, luring in swine number 5 with her cutsey drunk girl act. This obvious creeper had been following her all the way down the allyway as she fake stumbled around, staring directly at her butt with an excited look on his creepy face. Alaine was leading him straight to Lukus’s hiding place, readying for another attack. Once the guy followed her into the spot and got greedy, moving faster and trying to reach out and grab her, only to get knocked to the ground in one swift hit

The pair wasted no time tag team beating the creeper to the ground, the pair kicking and hitting the dude as he cried out for help. The pair tried to silence him, delivering a quick kick to his face but he only screamed louder. “What’s going on back that their”? a familiar sounding voice called out. Two police men suddenly showed up, Officer Mattews and Conway arriving on the scene, seeing a familiar pair of faces beating a seemingly helpless man.

Lukus and Alaine felt an overwhelming sense of shame wash over them, Evans look alike making it seem as if they had been caught by their captain. Mattews looked over them with a stern gaze while Conway already had his hands on the taser, asking them what they think their doing? The creep crawled his way out from under them, thanking the officers for coming to his rescue and shamelessly trying to blame the attack on them. That their crazy and he didn’t do anything wrong.

The pair told the officers it was self defense, Alaine saying the man tried to grab her. The perv had an over expressive shock adamantly denying her claim and saying she’s a psycho, that they need to lock those two up. Conway just eyes the three in distain and told Mattews why don’t they just arrest all three of them and get it done and over with? Mattews shot him down, they where not gonna arrest anyone yet but where gonna bring all three down to the station for questioning and sort this out.

Alaine and Lukus where panicking, they couldn’t afford to be sitting in a jail cell while the real Evan was still out their! They looked to one another as the officers approached and in a unanimous decision, bolted! Alaine took of one direction and Lukus the other direction. The officers shouted and took off after them, Officer Mattews Pursuing Alaine and Officer Conway towards Lukus. With the cops gone and no threat of a further beating the creeper fled as well.

Alaine ever thought she’d have to run away from Evan, much less his clone to avoid being arrested but here she is now. Alaine sprinted at full speed with Officer Mattews keeping a close pace yelling at her to stop. She made her way to the Main Street, opening up to massive crowds of people and asked no time slipping into the faceless hordes of people. Mattews still hot on her tail frantically searching around the crowd trying to follow her but losing her in the crowd.

Lukus never thought he’d have to run away from Connor of all people, much less his extra dimensional twin brother. Lukus bobbed and weaved around the alleyways, tossing trash cans and hoping fences to block the officers path with little luck. Officer Conway keeping a steady pass with Lukus through out the path, aggressively pursuing him. Lukus was gonna need a diversion of some sort to get this prick of his trail.

This diversion would come from a far nearly running into them on a side street. Slowing Officer Conway down enough to give Lukus enough time run and find some hiding spot. He spotted another dumpster in the allyway, hopping right into it to hopefully hide from Connors doppelgänger. Thankfully this worked as Conway ran right past it, cursing and trying to catch up to Lukus. Lukus waited inside the dumpster for alittle while after the footfalls stopped, exiting once the coast was clear.

Hours later the two managed to return to base individually. They took afew extra twist and turns as to make sure they where not being followed by the cops as they returned. Everyone was back at base already, settling down for dinner that night, this time being three big boxes of pizza. The two found out what the others where up to that day, Jeimos and Issac where out finding scrap metal to sell and Elska just did the same she did yesterday in searching the woods.

The pair dodged questions about what their day was like, just telling them about the Evan and Connor look alike’s they ran into and they got money. They ate their pizza in peace, Alaine, Lukus, Jeimos and Issac eating half the pizza and Elska eating the other half before heading off for bed. Zeffer was awake by now and got ready for his nightly patrol.

Zeffer searches the whole night once again, fortunately not running into those weirdos he had the night before but didn’t find Evan either. It was getting late and his vampiric hunger was calling to him once again, he needed a meal before going back to base. Stalking the allyways he came across a potential victim, seeing a pale man in wifebeater and jeans, smuge grin on his face talking to two junkies. Handing them so packages before telling them to get out his sight. He would do nicely.

Zeffer approached the dealer, keeping his face hidden. The dealer saw him and smiled, saying he hadn’t seen him around here before? Asking if he needed a little pick me up and what he’d like, opening the truck of his car showing a variety of drugs, everything from needles, bags of rocks, powder and plants Zeffer didn’t have the names for. The dealer stared at the stranger, thinking he could make one last sale for tonight and go home. He never would as Zeffer attacked, sinking his fangs into him.

The dealer screamed and shoved Zeffer off, grabbing his wounded neck as blood leaked out. Only then did he see his attackers face, the ghostly pale skin, sunken burning eyes and fangs dripping in his blood. The dealer screamed in pure terror, reaching for his glock but was intercepted, the vampire grabbing him and finishing him off. He kicked and screamed but his efforts where futile, his body falling lifeless to the ground after Zeffer was done.

Having finished his evening meal Zeffer took a look at his victims belongings. Pilfering his cash and leaving the drug filled car behind, he had quite abit of money on him and defintion wouldn’t be needing it anymore. Zeffer headed back to base for tonight with his bounty in tow. After he left some druggies made their way through the allyway, all eager for their next hit with cash at the ready. Instead of seeing their usual dealer they saw the grizzly sight before them, looking on in horror.

The also noticed his trunk was open and all his stash exposed. Stepping around their former dealers body they took everything they could grab and booked it. Eager to enjoy this big hit and didn’t want to stick around to see if whoever killed their dealer was still around.

 *

I love this story. Anon, everyone is so in-character and it’s great! Every chapter just leaves me wanting more. TO BE CONTINUED...?

[alleiradayne]

Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story…

THE MIDNIGHT RIDE

Long is our list of ghost stories laid to rest. But when the dark rider returns thirty years after his exorcism at the hands of the Winchesters, Sam, Dean, and I are faced with the possibility that we’ve been wrong about one thing.

Some urban legends never die.

Part IV - The Midnight Ride

Summary: The end of an era. Warnings/Tags: Some fluff, general elements of horror and fear, graveyards, brushes with death again... Characters/Pairings: First Person Female!Reader/Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester Word Count: 5,104

"You alright?"

Lost in thought, I had hardly heard Sam. But the warmth of his presence roused me from my stupor. I shook my head and rubbed the burn from my eyes as I spoke. "Yeah, I… I'm just exhausted. And this research isn't exactly entertaining."

Sam took a seat beside me at the small motel table and pulled his chair so close I might as well have sat in his lap. The warmth of one massive hand enveloped mine, and he set the other on my bouncing knee. That quake subsided beneath his touch, something no other person in my life had managed. But then a sudden awareness sent a shiver down my spine, and I scanned the motel room, searching. Sam, perceptive as ever, answered my unasked question. "Dean's in the shower. He'll be a while. We've got some time. To talk. Only if you—"

I didn't want to talk. At all. What I wanted betrayed every common sense I had. At that moment, I’d do whatever I could, use whatever magic at Sam’s disposal, make a deal with Rowena, anything to cleanse last night's stain of indelible memories from my mind. And yet, I knew those options were anything but. Between Sam’s apparent affection for me and Dean’s overprotective brotherly nature, neither would allow me to harm myself willingly just to get rid of a few nightmares.

But as I stared into Sam’s prismatic gaze, the desire to replace those memories, to shadow them with newer, happier moments, overpowered me.

No. I didn’t want to talk. So, instead, I kissed him.

Myriad descriptions, all vastly varied from one to the next, could never capture the feeling of Sam's lips on mine. I could regale you with comparison after comparison. But none of them would do him justice. Though the moment lasted but a breath, eons passed in that explosive connection where I knew and felt and lived a thousand lifetimes with him. I wanted to do nothing more in that breath than melt into him forever.

My tablet chirped, and the case loomed at the edge of my subconscious. All those imaginary lifetimes vanished as I parted from him, replaced by a cruel reality. Not that I'd squander a reality that consisted of Sam Winchester's love. Or his crooked grin and half-lidded gaze.

"Good talk."

Despite my sour mood, I laughed. "I'm glad we could come to an understanding."

His fingers slipped between mine as he spoke. "Thing is, I forgot… what I said about us last night. When I asked if you wanted to talk now, I meant about what happened to you."

"Oh." Well, shit.

I have never known a person wiser, more emotionally aware than Sam. And Dean often gave him a run for his money. But after all the years hunting together, Sam and I operated on an uncannily similar wavelength. The guy read me like an open book. And when I balked at recounting my harrowing journey beyond the veil, he understood without another word.

"Only if you want," he repeated with a reassuring squeeze of my thigh. "Otherwise, I wouldn't mind a little more of your…" he paused with a coy smirk as his eyes darted to my lips and back. "... preferred method of communication."

"I…" My tablet chirped once more, obliterating the one desire I'd felt in months. "Sam, I promise, we make it out of this case alive, I won't leave your bedroom for a week."

His smile widened as he said, "Only if we spend the following week in yours."

I kissed him again, a little harder, more insistent. Parted, I agreed. "Done."

My tablet chimed for the third time, and I turned to it at last. Sam pointed at the screen and said, "What's cockblocking me?"

Though I laughed, a furious sting prickled my cheeks at the thought of Sam's… I forced the imagery from my mind and decidedly focused on the tablet instead of his face. "I was emailing the curator at the museum. She just sent me some documents about Sleepy Hollow's history."

"Oh?" Sam mused. "Anything worthwhile?" He reached for his laptop, pulled it across the table, and flipped up the lid.

When I opened the attached documents, my heart sank. They merely verified much of what I'd already learned. "Sleepy Hollow was a part of the Tarrytown settlement, originally called North Tarrytown. Most of this information is just facts and history about the town. While the Ichabod Crane story is all rooted in it, the urban legends and folklore are only related so far as this jackass on a horse with no head."

"Not surprising," Sam stated.

"No,” I whined, “but it is a little disheartening that he has next to nothing to do with the town he haunts.”

Sam nodded, then said, “There might be more, though. Earlier this morning, I read that Washington Irving was born in Manhattan. He traveled for many years, but he eventually returned to New York and lived out the rest of his life in Sleepy Hollow. He's buried in that cemetery."

"I suppose," I replied, "but I was looking for something a little more concrete than the author lived and died here. Like actual people that Irving modeled his characters after. Or other legends. He traveled in Europe for quite some time. There's even a Scandanavian story, The Wild Hunt, that has the same throughline. A headless rider that lobs his head at people."

Sam piqued at that, eyes narrowed and head tilted. "But Ichabod Crane is the original telling of the story here. Right?"

I nodded. "Forgetting that it's a hodgepodge of cultural ghost stories, yes."

He laughed at that. "I haven’t read it since I was a kid.”

“Me neither,” I replied. “I only know bits and pieces.”

Dean burst from the bathroom at that, a towel wrapped around his head and one about his waist. “Ichabod Crane was a new school teacher in Sleepy Hollow. And he was hellbent on marrying a woman, Katrina, who was set to inherit her father's very wealthy farm estate.”

"Oh," I mused with a mocking smirk at Sam. "Sounds like we have an expert in our midst."

Dean waved me off as he dug through his bag at the end of the bed. "Sam knows it, too. Right?"

“Yeah," Sam started, "there was another suitor, though. Arthur Van Brunt. He went by Brom Bones Van Brunt.” He paused as he stood. “It’s kind of funny, really, this story reads like a high school drama. The lanky geeky nerd and the oafish jock fight over a girl. Except they never get into the physical altercation Brom wanted. He goaded Ichabod constantly, pulling pranks on him. But Ichabod never took the bait.”

I looked at my tablet, where a black and white photograph of a man stared back at me, then returned to them both. Dean withdrew a change of clothes from his bag, then headed back to the bathroom. Through the open door, he said, “So the story goes, Ichabod went to a party at the Van Tassel farm where he intended to woo and win over Katrina. Brom, instead, scares the living piss out of him with a bunch of ghost stories, one of which was the Headless Horseman.”

“Yeah, I remember that much,” I said. “And then he tried to propose to Katrina, but she shot him down.”

“Exactly,” Sam chimed. “I love how ambiguous the ending is here. Ichabod leaves the party all upset about Katrina. He gets on his horse, Gunpowder, who is very skittish, and heads home. But the Hessian shows up and chases him. Ichabod had just learned the legend, so he heads for the bridge near the Old Dutch Burying Ground. He knows the spirit can’t cross the bridge. Ichabod would have made a decent hunter.”

Dean’s laughter echoed from the bathroom, and he emerged dressed and hair coiffed. “I forgot how innocent this story is. He gets to the bridge and crosses it, but the Hessian hurls his freakin’ head at him before disappearing. The head domes Ichabod and knocks him off his horse. Nobody ever finds his body. Only his hat, Gunpowder’s wrecked saddle, and a randomly smashed pumpkin were found near the bridge.”

A thought bubbled up in the back of my mind and raced to my lips. “So that’s where the jack-o-lantern head comes from. What if… holy shit, what if it was just a prank gone wrong? What if Brom was playing another trick on him and accidentally killed Ichabod?”

Hesitation stalled them both as Sam and Dean regarded one another. Then Dean turned to me and asked, “That does not explain what the hell happened last night. No fucking way that was a prank.”

I hated it, but I knew he was right. “But then what the hell! I’m almost beginning to think it is a tulp—”

“It’s notta tulpa!” Sam shouted. Dean clamped a hand over his mouth, and his shoulders shook with uncontrollable laughter. Sam rounded on him and barked, “Shut up!”

“I can’t help it,” Dean managed through peeling laughter. “Your Arnold impression is improving.”

“C’mon, guys, we need to figure this out,” I groaned.

Dean settled through a deep breath, although his face remained far too red. Sam slumped into his seat again, his stare glazing over, unseeing. When he remained silent, Dean said, “Alright, let’s say they’re spirits. And it’s still this mess of combined ancient myths, ghost stories, and cultural legends. We’re still on the same page there, right?”

Sam and I nodded slowly. “After what happened last night, there’s no way they’re anything else.”

“If they’re spirits that haven’t moved on, we have to burn the bodies,” I stated.

“Or destroy an object that might be keeping them topside,” Dean added.

Scrambled thoughts rattled through my mind as I ran down a list of objects. I soon found myself lost in a warren of possibilities, and as I stared ahead at my tablet, equally dazed as Sam. An answer picked at the edge of my subconscious, like a half-remembered dream. No matter how hard I tried to grasp it, the thought slipped through my hand like water.

“None of it is real.”

From the corner of my eye, I glared at Sam. He remained still, his glassy far-off stare yet unfocused as he spoke. "It's all stories. They're all stories that are too much of a mess for a tulpa. So none of it is real. Whatever these spirits have latched onto, it's nothing from those stories." 

With his words, the image on my tablet clarified as my mind focused. Understanding crept along my skin, raising gooseflesh in its wake. I stood then, spurred to my feet, and spoke. “The unmarked grave never mattered. It’s fake.”

Sam nodded. “There aren’t any bodies to burn because those bodies never existed to begin with.”

“It’s all fairy tales and make-believe bullshit,” Dean declared.

I looked first to Sam, then Dean, then back to my tablet, where an image of Washington Irving filled the screen. I turned the tablet to face them, and all at once, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Together, we spoke.

“Death of the author.”

Never in my entire life had I wished to be anywhere else more than at that very moment.

Three stark-white flashlights illuminated a grand headstone, memorialized by the town of Sleepy Hollow, for one Washington Irving. After so many years without care, overgrowth covered much of the base, and the stone desperately needed a washing. Beyond that, none of us made a single move to start the arduous process of digging five feet into the earth. We simply stood there, silent as the dead beneath our boots.

"Either of you uncomfortable with this?" Dean asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Sam and I replied.

Dean started towards the headstone and said, "Good. Glad it's not just me. Something about this feels wrong."

"It's because we've never seen someone's spirit manifest as anything other than itself," Sam stated. "We're literally digging up a guy because his spirit might have transfigured into characters from his own story."

"Can spirits even do that?" I asked as I scanned the treeline of the graveyard. Though dense fog had choked the grounds last night, literal clouds suffocated the entire cemetery where we stood. "That seems like a lot of power for a single spirit."

Dean posted at the head of the grave. "Only one way to find out." He pocketed his flashlight and hefted his shovel. When he saw us still standing at the foot of the plot, he said, "I'm not digging this grave on my own."

Despite the need to end such a vengeful spirit, I had little motivation to help. Slower than necessary, I picked up my shovel and shuffled to the center of the plot. Sam stepped in behind me, shovel at the ready.

Dean raised his shovel to his waist. Before he moved further, a distant, indiscernible sound echoed through the woods. What was once visible of the nearby treeline no longer was. That thick fog filled the darkness, and I saw neither trees nor sky nor stars. I heard the sound again, too far to tell what it was, but not far enough to miss. My flashlight shook violently as I spun about, but I found nothing besides the Impala behind us.

I turned back to Dean just in time to watch as he plunged his shovel's blade into the dirt. Agonizingly slow, it descended each inch slower than the last. That distant sound echoed once more, ever so slightly closer. As though he conducted an orchestra, that sound crescendoed into an unbearable scream as Dean’ shovel descended until metal returned to the earth.

Earsplitting thunder exploded overhead, and instinct forced all three of us to our knees. That booming drum rolled, mutated until it rumbled through the ground. I knew that sound, too familiar with the feel reverberating through my feet. A fresh wave of icy dread coursed through my veins as those thundering hooves pounded the dirt.

Over the headstone, I pointed my flashlight as I stood. Terror incarnate barreled through the graveyard astride his deathly steed. Above his head, a readied missile sprouted flames as he raced towards us. Every instinct screamed to run. Fuck everything about the legend, the haunting, just get the hell out of there.

But I couldn't move. Frozen solid, I merely gripped my flashlight and shivered.

"Run!"

Dean's shove launched me into Sam's arms, kickstarting my senses. I sprinted for the Impala, desperate for her salvation. I reached it a beat behind Sam and Dean and dove into the backseat. The engine roared to life with a sharp snarl as Dean twisted the ignition. He wrenched down on the shifter, slammed on the gas, and I launched into the backrest as the car sped off in reverse.

"What are you doing?!" I screamed.

"What I should have done last night!" he barked.

I opened my mouth to demand a better answer but only managed to scream and gesticulate wildly. The Headless Horseman vaulted Washington Irving's headstone and, in one smooth motion, launched his flaming cannonball directly at the car.

The sickening crunch of iron on steel paled in comparison to Dean's wail of rage. He threw the wheel to the left, and I grasped onto the backrest as the car lurched, spinning about-face. The transmission groaned in protest as Dean threw the shifter into drive and slammed on the gas once more. With all her horses leaping down the road, the Impala raced into the night, and I flattened against the backseat.

"Mother fucking piece of shit ghost!" Dean bellowed. "Fucking hit my car with a god damned cannonball! I’ll kill you! Do you hear me?!"

“Dean, just watch where you’re going!” Sam shouted as he braced against the backrest and the frame of the car.

The speedometer slid past eighty, and I gripped the leather backrest, nails scoring the supple hide. Sweat coated my palms, and my heart railed against my chest. "Dean, what the hell are you doing! You're going to get us killed!"

The fork in the road appeared around the sharp corner, and Dean roared, "Just trust me!" as he took the paved road to the left.

One hundred. The blinding flash of a memory overpowered my senses. Nearly forgotten, the dull vision replayed in my mind, muted, as though it belonged to someone else. A car sped along a country road. A dog. Spinning, careening, crashing. I screamed as my seatbelt failed. Blood pooled in the cornstalks beneath a sky so blue.

"Try to follow me now, you son of a bitch!"

Dean's voice snapped me back to reality. Behind us, the Headless Horseman gained, and his whip gathered with a flick of his wrist. The vicious bones uncoiled, and another memory threatened to take me under once more. It seemed that death had its own wish for me and would not rest until it came true. Another flash of a fresh memory consumed my senses, dragged me down to my own personal hell. But then a light emerged amidst the darkness, warm and enveloping. I opened my eyes to find Sam holding my hand.

"Focus, Y/N. Stay with me, we're gonna get through this, I promise."

"There's the bridge!" Dean shouted as he pointed. The engine whined, straining under his insistent foot. He glared in his rearview mirror as he growled, "Let's race, motherfucker."

The Impala raced over the transition from asphalt to old stone and wood, rattling the car from nose to rear end. Sam’s fingers turned ghastly white in my grip, but he paid that no mind. His focus remained steady, wide eyes staring into mine. Though he tried to reassure me, the roar of the Impala swallowed his words, and they fell on deaf ears. Like a moth to the flame, I turned back to the Headless Horseman one last time.

The coiled whip unfurled laboriously, each bone rolling over the next and slower than the last. That crawl, that agonizingly painful creep blurred the liminal space between truth and myth’s fabrication until nothing but a swathe of gray smeared reality. My mind filled in that blank void, and I knew then that death had arrived to collect his escaped prisoner.

But the end never came. That infinite second ticked by, lost to the endless depths of space and time as the car breached the end of the bridge. I braced myself against Sam as he reached over the backrest for me. Dean stood both feet on the brake, and the car lurched forward as the tires seized, shredding on the asphalt. When the deafening roar of the Impala faded to its soothing idle, I eased my grip on Sam's arms, and he returned to his seat. Dean checked both of us before scrambling from the car, and we followed not a beat behind.

In the center of the bridge, the Headless Horseman and his nightmare steed hung in the air, suspended mid-gallop. A deep purple glow seeped through the grouted stone surrounding the horse, and beneath his hooves, the bricks quaked. Violent flashes of an eerie green mist lanced from the cracks in the centuries-old rock and lashed the rider’s raised arms to drag him from his horse. Wrenched free of the saddle, he crashed to the stone, his metal armor clattering with a sickening crunch. I winced, unsure of what I was witnessing, an unwitting and unwilling voyeur.

But I forced myself to keep looking. I had to. I had to see it through to the end, to know without a shadow of a doubt that we had indeed laid such a vengeful spirit to rest.

The Hessian launched into the air with a vicious twist of the mysterious green lashes. Gale winds swept over the bridge, filling my nose with burning brimstone, and then the horse burst into flames. He screamed his unholy cry, and I startled into Sam's arms. Though I continued to watch, I cowered into him, and he held me close without a word. The vile inferno consumed the horse in seconds, reducing him to a pile of ash.

The rider convulsed as though in pain, writhing and contorting so awkwardly to be free of his bonds. Metal twisted, grinding and scraping against itself in his bid for escape. I realized then that, in his death throes, the Headless Horseman would emit no other sound. He could not beg for forgiveness nor absolution. He could not plead for his continued existence nor one last moment on earth. No last words with a loved one. And for a minuscule second, I pitied him.

Lightning fractured the sky as the purple glow between the bricks focused in a circle encompassing the rider. As the edges brightened, the bricks inside slipped away into an endless darkness. I had seen nothing like it in all my years hunting. And as the green bonds lowered him towards the void, he thrashed, deeply aware of the end that approached.

A scream rent from my mouth as an arm of sinew and bone and rotted flesh burst from the black depths and grasped the rider's leg. Metal collapsed like tissue paper beneath the fierce grip, and bone crumpled to dust. Another arm lunged for his chest and cleaved his breastplate in two, embedding in his ribs. A third nearly ripped his arm from its socket, his forearm crushed, and a fourth pierced his thigh. Those horrifying limbs dragged the Headless Horseman to his doom, jailors imprisoning their captive.

Feet, legs, and torso succumbed to the darkness, and a defeated stillness settled his ruined body. At last, his arms and headless shoulders sank beneath the zenith, and The Headless Horseman was no more. Like so many grains of sand through an hourglass, the ashes of his steed followed him into the void. 

A final flare of purple and green light surged as lightning illuminated the sky once more. Wind settled, and clouds parted to reveal a full, brilliant moon and a night sky full of glittering stars. At last, the void receded, and the bridge stood whole once more. The sounds of night creatures returned, and the clearing surrounding the bridge expanded as though it took a full, deep breath to hold, its first in thirty years.

Maybe, it knew. Just as I felt it in my bones, the trees, the stone, the tall grass, and the creek beneath the bridge all felt it down to their tiniest molecules. It was over. At long last, the Headless Horseman was no more.

For now.

A clattering of bones cut through the peaceful calm, and I flung my arms out ahead of Sam and Dean. Not that I would protect them from much of anything, what with nothing but my bare fists at the ready. Tension crept across my shoulders when I spotted the source of the sound, and the three of us scrambled backwards towards the car.

The bone whip rattled to a stop a few feet from us, perfectly coiled with its handle extended towards my boots. I regarded Sam first, then Dean, only to then turn back for the Impala's trunk with a scoff. A readied can of salt lay on top of the stockpile, and I grabbed it as I grumbled to myself.

"Unless something's keeping it topside.” I slammed the trunk shut. “Gimme a break. Of course, something was keeping it here," I continued to myself as I stomped back to Sam and Dean. I prodded the latter in the shoulder and asked, "How? How the hell did you know?"

Dean shook his head as he held his lighter in one hand and withdrew a motel matchbook from his pocket. "I didn't. I didn't know the bridge would work. And I didn't know the whip had anything to do with it. I just had a—"

"Remember the last time I had a hunch and convinced you to drive the Impala over a hundred?" Sam interjected.

Before Dean could respond, I spoke. "Speaking of which…" I paused as I finished pouring a generous amount of salt on the neat pile of bones and snapped the can shut. "Don't ever drive that fast again."

Dean’s brow shot to his hairline as his jaw dropped. He gestured to the bridge, looked to it, then turned to the pile of bones and gesticulated wildly at them. After he stuttered the beginning of a few statements, he blurted, "What was I supposed to do?!"

"Not one-oh-five, that's for damn sure!" I stated. "We could have died!"

"We would have if I hadn't—"

"Alright, that's enough!" Sam interjected. "I'm sorry I brought it up. Let's just put this son of a bitch away for good this time."

"Yes, sir," Dean agreed. "One salt and burn, coming right up."

The book of matches took the flame of Dean's lighter with a sharp hiss. A flick of his wrist sent the little ball of fire cascading to the ground, and in a single beat of my heart, red consumed the world in a crimson concussion.

The ring in my ears faded, and the blinding light dimmed, darkness settling around us once more. Flat on my back, I stared up at the shimmering night sky, beyond dazed. When I sat up, Sam’s hollow voice called from afar. But the moment his touch soothed my shoulders, a shock of clarity rushed through me, and I saw he knelt over me.

“Talk to me, Y/N,” he repeated. “You okay?”

I thought for a moment, taking inventory once again. No broken bones, no blood. Not even a hint of pain despite the lingering soreness from the previous night. “I… I think so. What happened?”

Dean strode into view, an ornately gilded box cradled in his hands. He set it on the ground at his feet, and then I spotted it. The whip lay intact where it had rolled to a stop earlier. Salt scorched black cowered beneath the pale white bones as though frightened of its failure to purify the whip. I pointed at it and repeated myself. “What the fuck just happened?!”

Sam spoke when Dean hesitated. “It looks like the whip is protected. Somehow. Whether the Headless Horseman did it or it’s part of his curse, I’m not sure. And it’s irrelevant anyway. We’ll have to find some other way to destroy it.”

“But then… What happened last time? With your dad?” I asked as I stood. Sam hopped to my side once more, his gentle strength lifting me to my feet.

Metal rasped on metal, and my attention snapped to Dean. His hand rested atop the box, the metal gears working with fine clicks and clanks. When he removed his hand, the lid lifted half an inch and hissed a violent release of pressure. Of its own accord, the lid then continued to rise, revealing rich black velvet. Darker than night, the fabric lined the entire box, and it absorbed the moonlight, much like the void that had taken the Headless Horseman. When Dean withdrew a similar thick velvet cloth from the box, he spoke. “John did put the Headless Horseman away thirty years ago.” He paused as he grasped the whip with the velvet. Gingerly, he eased it into the box, then spread the cloth over it. The heavy lid shut with a hollow thunk and the metal gears worked once more, sealing shut on its own. “But, he came back.”

“Because of the whip?” I asked.

Dean nodded as hefted the box and turned for the Impala. Sam and I followed, eager to be on our way. Given our cargo, I doubted Dean would want to stay another night in Sleepy Hollow. Resolved, I figured I’d at least steal a pillow for the ride back.

We followed as Sam said, “We’ll take it back to the Bunker and find another way to destroy it.”

“Otherwise…” My question drifted, lingering like an unwanted guest that had overstayed their welcome.

With a grunt, Dean shoved the box into the trunk. “Otherwise, the next unlucky bastard that touches this thing will become the Headless Horseman.”

The terrifying implication settled in the pit of my stomach. An indestructible weapon possessing unwitting people. And yet, I knew that dichotomy well. Old as time, that one. The immovable object, an inanimate manifestation of immortality, meets the unstoppable force, the perpetual stupidity of human curiosity.

“We need to get on the road,” Dean stated as he shut the trunk, then strode for the driver’s door. There, he cried a soft, short sob and spoke to the car. “Oh, Baby, look at you. We’ll get you home and cleaned up.” Then he ripped the cannonball free, wrenched the door open, and slid into the driver’s seat. The awkward crunch of ill-fitting metal joints damn near broke my heart. And not just for Dean, but for the Impala as well, for she had seen us through a most harrowing night yet again.

Sam leaned in beside me then and asked, “Mind if I sit with you?”

“I’d… I’d like that. Very much,” I replied as a sudden chill crept beneath my skin. “I don’t think I could handle the whole ride back by myself.”

He opened the door and gestured ahead. “I make a pretty good pillow.”

As he slid in beside me, I said, “I look forward to finding out.” The warmth of his entire body, so close to mine, pulled me in, a moon to her earth. His long arm draped over my shoulder, and I curled into him. For a brief moment, the case ceased to exist. Only my exhaustion reminded me that I had gone toe to toe with the Headless Horseman and, for the most part, won.

But then a familiar thought occurred to me, and my weary eyes snapped wide open. “It’s true, then.”

“What is?” Dean asked as he turned over the backrest.

My breath caught in my throat, unwilling to put into the universe my worst nightmare. But between Dean’s confident stare and Sam’s soft gaze, I’d never felt safer. Even in my darkest moments, the Winchesters would be there for me. I put my faith and confidence not only in them but in myself as well. No matter what happened next, I believed in us.

“What’s true, Y/N,” Sam asked.

I gave him my best smile and spoke.

“Some urban legends never die.”

Dean shook his head as he turned back to the wheel and twisted the key in the ignition. The Impala rattled as she started, exhausted as each of us. When she settled to idle, Dean looked at me in the rearview mirror and spoke.

“No. They live just long enough to meet us.”

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