#ruffleloo

[fanastywhump]

Whumptober 9. Shackled

(Repost from @fanastyfinder )

“Can you just keep still?” Griffon hissed. “It is almost time to start.”

Raphael tugged at the red hood that covered the sides of his face, and more importantly, hid the long ears that identified him as a halfling. “I don’t know why we didn’t just storm behind there and grab him before any of this mess began.”

Griffon kept his eyes forward towards the stage. “Because if we just play along, there is less risk that someone has to die.”

“And if we grab him and go, than he doesn’t have to go through the humiliation, Griff.”

“And what of the other ones? What happens if one disappears and the others see us? They will be tortured or worse.” Griffon sighed heavily. “I am not saying it is the right choice, Raphael. It is just the one I feel we must take.” He hung his head.

Raphael rested a hand on his hunched shoulders. “I know, Griff,” he said gently. He watched as the officiators strolled on stage, waving to the small crowd that jostled closer to the stage. They moved forward with the mass. Then the slaves were paraded across the raised platform. The posters had proclaimed seven Ruffleloos for sale. There were all ages, with the youngest being no more than five years old. Each one looked worse than the next, but the ruffles on their ears and tails were full and well groomed. They were shackled together by the feet and hands, shuffling together as a unit, each tiny step moving them all only so far. The littlest Ruffleloo, a little girl who was coming in from off stage, was crying, a pathetic hiccuping noise that broke Raphael’s heart.

“That could be Marlee,” Griffon breathed, and Raphael could hear the tears in his voice.

“Thank the Ones that it isn’t,” Raphael said. He took note of the dead expressions on the ducked heads, the defeated way they huddled together, it was too horrible. “I want to take them all,” he said.

“Me too,” Griffon whispered. He began to say something else, but the little girl stumbled over a board. She almost went down, but the Ruffleloo climbing the stairs just out of view, shot an arm out and steadied her before moving to his place beside her. He was the last in the row, a young boy no more than thirteen. He looked defiantly out at the crowd, his tail swishing in agitation. His glare met with Raphael’s gaze and hope immediately sparked behind the rage.

“He sees us,” Raphael murmured to Griffon.

“Let’s get our Avery back then,” Griffon said. The bidding began, the Ruffleloos who had been sold unshackled from the line and led away. The prices did not match their appearances, but it was the ruffles that they grew that made the prices jump so outlandishly high. Ruffleloos produced the highest quality materials that Verascass had ever seen. The little girl was by far the most expensive, purchased by two women who caressed her face before throwing a blanket around her and leading her off. Raphael prayed that they treated her for what she was, a child. Then it was time for Avery.

Raphael did the bidding, his hand raised far higher than those around him. Griffon stood stiffly beside him, keeping his eyes on the boy. Fortunately, no one seemed too interested in an obviously unruly slave, except for one sleazy looking man, but he threw down his number and spat at the duo when Raphael bid twice the previous amount. Raphael paid the auctioneer silently and grabbed Avery roughly. The boy played along, fighting against him until they were safely out of the market. With a cry, Avery tackled Griffon, hugging him tightly. With his face crushed in Griffon’s shirt, Raphael barely made out the small “You came for me.”

Griffon smoothed down his hair reassuringly. “Of course we did.”

Joining the huddle, Raphael said, “We always come back for family.”

[fanastywhump]

Whumptober 6. Dragged Away

“Come here, you little brat!” the man seethed. Avery scrambled up the rocks, loose stones flying from beneath his feet. He tried to concentrate, to go back into his feral form, but the panic flashing through his brain was all he could see. Still, he climbed on all fours, the sharp rock slashing his palms and his bare soles. Higher, higher, higher, he could hear the poacher behind him, clambering to reach him. Chest heaving, Avery could see the small opening at the top of the small mound, knowing it led to a tunnel that the man would never be able to fit into. Avery prayed to the Ones that his own scrawny body would even fit.

It was right there! Avery dove for the entrance, but a rough grip on his tail dragged him back. He screamed in pain, in fear, sobbing as the man threw him back to the bottom of the hill of boulders. Avery tried to scamper away, struggling to crawl anywhere but here, but the poacher placed a lead boot onto the small of his back, pinning him to the ground. Howling, Avery tried to reach behind him to claw at the man’s leg, to do something, but he couldn’t move. He knew he would be dragged right back to his tiny cage in the dark.

[fanastywhump]

Intro to TLMGO Characters

I wrote up this stupid little introduction to my characters for Whumptober 2019, but let me know if you want me to throw up my actual references to my OCs (because I do actually have fullbody colored references for these brats)

(REPOST)

I have been quiet enjoyer of the whump community for a long time, but wanted to try and complete Whumptober using my original story, This Light Must Go Out.  I will be writing canon and non canon stuff to my storyline, whatever floats my boat. TLMGO  is set in an old fantasy world for context

Little run down of the characters:

Griffon Rakell: 18, thicc thighs save lives, smol boi, fire powers, anxious lil planner, bffs with Raphael

Raphael Nicolais: 21, tall and fine, hair for days, lil shit, halfling (half human half Sylvian), bffs with Griffon

Marlee Rakell: 6, precious cinnamon roll, blind, lil sis of Griffon (and basically Raphael)

Knox Nikkel: 31,  tired reluctant mercenary, prematurely gray, stuttering baby

Brayford Brith: 57, giant bear of a innkeeper, married to Annetta

Annetta Brith: 55, tiny spitfire round innkeeper, married to Brayford. The two have an active sex life.

Lord Alistair Woods: 29, Bitch Lord, pretty af, spoiled af

Avery: 13, sassy lil baby, Ruffleloo (turns from human into little fox thingie)

Lillianna: 20, halfling, broken. Works for Z

Z/Them/They: stand-in pronouns/name for The Villain, dont really want to reveal them yet.

Monarch Society: good guys

Blight-oath: bad guys

[fanastywhump]

Whumptober 20. Trembling

(repost from @fanastyfinder )

Griffon jerked upright in bed, hands immediately igniting at the sound of his door creaking open. The light flickered across Avery, who was now cowering in the doorway. “Oh Ones, I am so sorry,” Griffon said, quickly shaking out his hands. He rubbed both eyes with the heels of his palms, glancing out the window at the moon. Inwardly, he groaned. It couldn’t be later than 3 am and he had only flopped into bed an hr or so earlier. Blinking away spots, he realized Avery still had not moved. “Avery?” he questioned. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Griffon sat on the edge.

“Nothing,” Avery muttered into the pillow he was clutching to his chest. Knox had given him some old shirts to sleep in, but they swallowed his skinny frame, billowing down to his knees. He looked barely older than Marlee like this and not his actual age of 13. Poking out from under the shirt, his tail hung unmoving, and Griffon noticed that his fluffy ears were down and back. That was taking some time to get used to, identifying Avery’s moods through his more Ruffleloo parts, but they were all getting it. The adults had been comparing notes whenever they discovered another indicator. Right now, it didn’t seem too good.

Griffon leaned on his knees and rested his cheek on his palm. “Nothing doesn’t bring you sneaking into my room in the middle of the night.” Avery just looked sulleningly at him over the top of the pillow. Griffon sighed. “I’m going back to sleep. Please knock next time.” He flopped over on his side and closed his eyes, making sure that he was still facing the door. A few moments passed. He was just wondering if he misjudged the situation when he heard the padding of feet. Opening his eyes just a crack, Griffon saw that Avery was now crouched directly in front of his face, watching him.

“Can I help you?” Griffon asked. Now that he was closer, Griffon could see that Avery was trembling. He silently patted the space beside him and turned over to face the young boy as he crawled onto the other side of the bed. He was as far away as possible from Griffon, hunched against the headboard. After nothing for a few minutes, Griffon rolled to his back and stared up at the ceiling. Marlee was never this moody. She always just came in blubbering and told him immediately what was wrong. He never had to work it out of her, but he was painfully aware that Avery was oh so different. Snappish and mistrusting, he was surprised that the young boy was even here at all. For some reason that Griffon could not even begin to fathom, Avery had taken an interest in him. He had noticed the boy lurking behind corners, following Griffon at a distance. Raphael always tried to call him over, but that made him scamper away. The only one who he had really shown any kind of actual affection for was Marlee, and it was a fierce kind of protective bond. Still, he was here now, which had never happened before.

“I can’t sleep,” Avery finally said. Griffon looked up at him, but he was just staring across at the wall.

That much was obvious, but Griffon just replied, “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Avery was silent for a few more moments. “Nightmares.”

“Want to talk about it?” Griffon asked. This is what you’re supposed to do, right?

“No.” Well, that conversation had gone swimmingly. The silence dragged on even longer this time and Avery still had not stopped shaking.

“I have nightmares too,” Griffon began. He felt Avery stiffen slightly at his sudden start, but continued. “Why do you think I stay up so late?” He laughed bitterly. “It haunts you. Stuff that has happened a long time ago. Stuff that you did,” he paused, swallowing hard. “Things that you wish you could change.” He looked over and realized that Avery was looking at him now. Meeting his eye, Griffon clasped his hands on his chest. “Nightmares can’t stop us from living though.”

“They hurt me in the nightmares,” Avery whispered. His knuckles were white where he was clutching the now wet pillow to his chest. His big eyes glistened. “It was okay, you know, when it was happening. I knew it would be over soon.” He curled his tail even tighter around himself. “But nightmares, they don’t stop. They just keep going.” Crying harder now and furiously scrubbing away the tears as they came, Avery sniffed and shook. Griffon moved his hand to rest on Avery’s pillow and soon, the young boy had seized it and was squeezing it in a death grip, as if afraid that Griffon would let go.

“I can’t stop the nightmares, Avery. But I want you to know that you are safe here. Annetta and Brayford don’t let bad things happen to people who don’t deserve it. That’s why we are all here.” Griffon awkwardly rolled back to face Avery, still gripping his hand. “That’s why we came and found you. That’s why we want you to stay, Ave. You don’t have to if you don’t want, but we would love it if you stuck around for a little while longer.” Griffon smiled gently. “You’re part of the family for as long as you want.”

He didn’t expect Avery to tackle him, knocking the wind out of him in a desperate hug. The young boy was sobbing now, clinging to Griffon as if his life depended on it. Sitting up the best that he could, Griffon started rubbing his back in small circles. “Hey now,” he murmured into Avery’s hair. “You’re safe. You’re safe.”

Eventually Avery fell asleep there in his arms. Griffon thought about carrying him back to his own room, but thought what Avery would feel about that, back where he had started. So instead, he lay the curled up ball beside him in the bed. Exhaustion overwhelmed him and he was out as soon as his head hit the pillow.