#[ i bet the woods around here are going to be stunning!! ]

[despairforme]

      Hot chocolate season incoming.

[in1-nutshell]

(One I am sorry if I am flooding your ask box is just I really love how you write) maybe old Predacon buddy get transported into the Earth spark universe how would they interact with Megatron from that universe possible hostility and will possibly gush over the terrans(is that how I say it?) Just overall more grandpa vibes

Old Predacon Buddy is going to start their own passport or scrapbook filled with their travels to other dimensions with all of their alternative grandkids.

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy the Old Predacon meeting the Terrans and Megatron

SFW, Platonic, Cybertronian reader

TFP/TFE

Buddy was going to start keeping a personal travel log on all the different places outside their universe if this keeps up.

One minute they were peacefully watching Bumblebee and Bulkhead spar in the training room.

The next thing they knew they were thrown into a small clearing in the middle of the woods.

It was a peaceful piece of land if they were being honest.

They knew they needed to start thinking about how to get back home, again, but the scenery caught their optics.

Full of nice trees and moss, a perfect spot to nap.

Snap!

Buddy turns their helm to spot two small Bot and human girl and boy.

“…Hello?”--Buddy

“Hi!”—All of them

Buddy, a little stunned by the response, waves their tail.

The little girl and the bot next to her come closer.

The other two come after wards.

“We heard a large thud noise and found you here.”—Small red bot

“Did you now?”--Buddy

“Bet that was you making a crash landing.”—Small human girl

“You could say that. These portals aren’t known for giving bots nice landings.”--Buddy

“Portals? Like a spacebridge?”—Small human boy

“…Yes, like a spacebridge. How do you know what a space bridge is?”--Buddy

“Dad and Dad 2 talked about them.”—Small red bot

“Dad…Dad 2?”--Buddy

“Yeah well, Dad talked about it in the comics.”—Small white bot

“Excuse me, comics?”--Buddy

“Yeah, these things!”—Small white bot

Buddy is shown a comic with Optimus and Megatron fighting on the front page.

“Do… do all humans know about our species?”--Buddy

“Duh. You’re not from around here, are you?”—Small white bot

“I’m not. I’m from another dimension.”--Buddy

“Wow! So Cool!”—Small human girl

“Mo, they need to get back home.”--Small human boy

Buddy tilting their helm a bit.

“Mo? Is that your name little one?”--Buddy

“Yep! This is my big brother Robbie and our other brother Thrash and sister Twitch.”--Mo

“Brother… and sister…”--Buddy

“We found them in a cave, well more like created.”--Robbie

Buddy sitting down putting a servo over their face.

Buddy vents hard.

“Hold on a second kiddo. This…this is a lot to process at the moment.”--Buddy

“Robbie! Mo! Where did you guys go?”

“Wait I found them!”

Three more bots come from the brush.

Buddy just stares at them.

The orange and green one transform into their beast modes and stand in front of group. The large purple one looks like they are ready to fight.

“Who are you!”—Green owl bot

“Nightshade wait that bot’s friendly!”--Mo

“How do you know? They look like they can eat you whole Mo!”—Large purple one

“We should judge a book by its cover Hashtag.”—Small dinobot

“If it helps, I can give you my name. But you must promise not to ask questions about it.”--Buddy

“Deal.”--Mo

“Buddy.”--Buddy

“…Your name is Buddy?”--Robbie

“Yep.”--Buddy

“…okay! These are our other siblings, Hashtag, Nightshade and Jawbreaker.”--Thrash

Buddy nodding before taking notice of how young these bots looked.

“You said you found your siblings in a cave, correct? How long were they there?”--Buddy

“I think less than a year ago.”--Mo

Buddy looks like they are about to have a stroke.

Mo mentioned that their mother and father would want to meet them. Maybe even help them find a way back home.

As the little group walked towards the farm, Buddy followed making sure to watch each one carefully.

There was no way that these literal sparkling’s were leaving their sight.

Alex and Dot were extremely surprised to see the kids bring in a giant mechanical dragon home.

They looked even bigger than Megatron!

“Kids… who’s your new friend here?”--Alex

Buddy bowing their helm a little in respect.

“Hello there. My name is Buddy. I am an Autobot from another dimension. I fell into your world through some sort of portal.”--Buddy

“Wow…”--Alex

“Your name is Buddy?”--Dot

Buddy venting a bit.

“Yes Ma’am. That is my name it suites my personality, I’ve been told.”--Buddy

Dot looks at her kids.

“Did any of you—”--Dot

“We didn’t bring the giant dragon here!”--Thrash

“I am a Predacon little one.”--Buddy

“What’s a Predacon?”--Jawbreaker

“…I’ll explain it later. Umm…”--Buddy

“I’m Dot, this is my husband, Alex.”--Dot

Alex looking starstruck at Buddy.

“Hello—”--buddy

“Can you fly?”--Alex

“Dad!”—the kids

“Alex!”--Dot

Buddy chuckling a bit before dipping their helm to the ground in front of him.

“Would you like to see for yourself?”--Buddy

“I like them!”--Alex

“Can I go too!”--Mo

“And me!”--Robbie

“And me!”--Hashtag

“One at a time little ones. Dot? Is there someone you can contact that could--”--Buddy

“Already calling the big guys. They should be here any minute.”--Dot

Buddy was pleased and agreed to wait.

In the meantime, Buddy had already taken an oath to protect the young ones with their life while they were still here.

Buddy also wondered whose alternatives they were going to run into this time around.

Buddy played around with the little ones when a yellow sports car came speeding in and transformed.

“Dot! I got the call—SWEET SOLUS PRIME!”--Bumblebee

Buddy turning to the yellow bot with a happy grin on their face plate.

Buddy easily walks up to him with four of the Malto bots hanging from their frame.

“Bumblebee! My, my I haven’t met an alternative of you yet. And your voice!”--Buddy

Buddy looking around his neck cables.

“Not a scratch!”--Buddy

“Can someone explain!”--Bumblebee

“Oh sorry! Where are my manners. My name is Buddy, I am an Autobot from another dimension and Dot dear here was nice enough to contact some bots that could potentially help me with my problem.”--Buddy

“…”--Bumblebee

“It’s a lot to take in. Take your time little one.”--Buddy

Did Bee feel a bit intimidated about the giant dragon talking to him in such high regards.

Yes.

But at the same time, he didn’t.

Despite the grand size of the bot, they were a softy.

They really lived up to their name.

Soon enough a familiar truck comes in.

“Is that Prime?”--Buddy

“Oh yeah Optimus is here.”--Dot

“That’s—”--Bumblebee

A grey helicopter starts hovering above the truck.

“…Bumblebee. Who’s that?”--Buddy

“Megatron.”--Bumblebee

Buddy nearly snaps their neck at how fast they look at him.

“Excuse me?!”--Buddy

“What?”--Dot

“Megatron? Here? The leader of the Decepticons?”--Buddy

“Oh, he isn’t a Con anymore. He’s one of us now.”--Bumblebee

Buddy’s wings drop as the kids go welcome the Prime and ex-warlord.

“Your war is…is it over?”--Buddy

Bee and Dot look at Buddy who seemed to have aged dramatically in the few seconds of hearing that news.

“Yeah, its over…I take it yours isn’t?”--Bumblebee

Buddy shaking their helm.

“What about the other Decepticon’s?”--Buddy

“Some are doing their own thing and others do cause trouble from time to time.”--Bumblebee

Buddy huffs a bit.

“Next thing you’re going to tell me is that Starscream is the leader.”--Buddy

“I mean—”--Bumblebee

“This is the part where you tell me that isn’t true…”--Buddy

“Well…”--Dot

“…please say sike right now…”--Buddy

 Prime and Megatron start walking over.

Buddy straightens themselves and transforms to go shake the Leaders servos.

“Optimus. Megatron.”--Buddy

“That’s us. And who might you be stranger?”--Megtron

Buddy suppressing a tiny sob.

“Buddy, sir. My name is Buddy.”--Buddy

“Strange name, but it looks like it suites you well.”--Optimus

“Thank you Prime. I take it that you two can help me get back home?”--Buddy

“We will do our best Buddy.”--Optimus

Buddy smiles at the two.

“That’s all I could ask for. Thank you.”--buddy

Buddy eventually sat down and talked to the two mechs while more bots were coming their way.

Buddy met the alternatives of some fellow bots they knew or had known throughout the war.

They nearly got teary eyed when they met this alternative of Elita One.

Buddy found it a bit hard to connect the dots between this version of Arcee and Wheeljack.

According to Wheeljack, it was going to take a couple of days to make sure that Buddy would get sent to the right dimension.

Buddy didn’t mind too much as they spent most of their time with the kids.

These kids lived for Buddy’s play time and stories.

“Then what did you do?”--Jawbreaker

“Well kiddo, I took that hammer and threw it at our Commander. He was able to help our Wheeljack and Bulkhead while I managed to get us some cover from the Vechicons.”--Buddy

“Cool!”--Thrash

“Buddy, I have a question.”--Nightshade

“What might that be Nightshade?”--Buddy

“You mentioned once that you were a gladiator of sorts right?”--Nightshade

“Yes, that was during my younger years.”--Buddy

“How young though?”--Nightshade

“Hmm… probably around the first hundreds of years give or take.”--Buddy

“…”—The kids

“Kids?”--Buddy

“How old are you?”--Robbie

“…How about another story?”--Buddy

“How old!”--Twitch

“Storytime!”--Buddy

“How old Buddy!”--Hashtag

“Dot! Restrain you kids!”—Buddy

Soon enough it was time for Buddy to go back home.

Buddy made sure they hugged every single one of their new friends before going close to the portal.

Buddy made sure to give extras as they were leaving.

Buddy came out of the portal and into the halls of the base.

Only to get immediately hit in the helm by a lob ball.

“OW! Who threw that!”--Buddy

“Buddy!?”--Miko

Miko starts running to Buddy in the Apex armor.

“Wait Miko the armor—”--Buddy

Miko jumps into Buddy’s open arms.

Buddy falls backwards with a hard thud.

“Miko, I’m not as young as I was before.”--Buddy

Miko doesn’t listen, too busy hugging Buddy.

“You need to stop disappearing like that.”--Miko

“Trust me if I had a choice I would stay with the team. The universe seems to have different plans. At least I always end back home.”--buddy

“You got that right.”--Miko

[sparkbeast20]

Chapter 8: Other Demon

This Chapter is part of "Seven Masters" an Roleswap AU.

Seven Masters (List of chapters)

Summary: Someone cuts the power in the house, and you sense the same demon from before inside the house.

Warning: A bit of Violence.

“A Demon for a day?” you sounded shocked while Solomon just gave you a sly grin.

“Why not? Not only we get to experience how they live aka “Walking a mile in their shoes” thing. But we can also…—-----------”

“I don’t know Solomon… I know that I said that I —--------”

“----------------------------” Solomon grins and quickly gets up on his feet and stumbles over to one of his shelves and quickly pulls out an old looking book. “I bet that —---------------------- and —----------------”

“Would it have —--------” You ask as you watch him open the book and stop at the page he needs.

“It’ll be fu-”

Before you know it, something wakes you up from your strange dream with a white haired man you call Solomon.

You flutter your eyes open and turn to see Levi have his arms wrap around you trembling even more now. It seems whatever he has is getting worse.

You wrap your arms around him, and slowly sit up lifting him along with you then you lean on the edge of the tub and let him lay on your chest.

It is frustrating that you have this strong attachment yet you have no memory about him or the other humans in this house. Still, you have this instinct to keep him and the other safe. No matter what.

Right at that moment, Mammon bursts into the room and immediately stops right in his tracks as soon he lays his sights on the tub where he sees you holding a panting Levi in your arms.

“What happened?!?” He quickly rushes over to the tub, looks over Levi’s not-so-sleeping form before placing a hand over his forehead. Mammon quickly felt that Levi was burning up. “Shit! He has a fever-” Before he could finish what he was about to say, all the lights of the rooms, Levi’s monitors and Henry’s Aquarium suddenly went out. Both you and Mammon looked around in shock before he cursed his breath.

When the lights suddenly went out, Asmo immediately shrieked then quickly clinged to Satan’s arm. Barbatos immediately got to his feet and stood in front of Diavolo out of instinct, he might be human at the moment. But he’s not going to let anything happen to Diavolo.

Beel quickly arm Lucifer by his arm and sling it over his shoulder getting his stunned brother on his feet, with Belphie standing next to his twin.

Simultaneously Satan and Barbatos shush everyone in the room and all quickly keep quiet, leaving the whole room utterly silent.

After a few seconds, both Asmo and Belphie shiver when they hear the sound of the floor cracking right above them. Soon they heard the sound of footsteps coming from the second floor. In each step they heard Asmo and Beel who bit his lip to stop himself from making any noise.

Satan quickly pry Asmo off his arm, and he along with Belphie quietly leave the room, and make their way upstairs. As both of them made it up stairs and silently creep through the halls, they slowly approach a corner, Satan pause and peek around only to pull back and stop Belphie he made a silent shush gesture and mouth he saw what’s it is. Belphie nod and the two move close to the corner, Belphie couch down and Satan bends over him and the two quietly peek around the corner, and at the end of the hall with only the moonlight, they could only mange get a glimpse of what’s been creeping around in the second floor. They saw wings, before it disappeared around the corner and heading straight where the bedrooms are.

Satan and Belphie quickly move and quietly follow the intruder from afar.

You can sense it again. The same thing that attacked you in the woods, its here. Inside the house. Right outside the room.

What’s more infuriating, you can smell them. It irks you to know the end. You’re letting another demon leave their scent in your domain. How pathetic, you thought to yourself.

It got to the point that you can’t take it anymore. You unwrap your arms and quickly slip out under Levi and the tub, which Mammon notices and acts quickly and grabs Levi before his head hits the edge of the tub. “MC!” He quietly yells out your name, but you ignore him and crawl towards the door. You couch down onto the floor, then peek into the crack of the door and see nothing. Then you take a whiff and then it hits you. That rotten stench of the other demon on the other side of the door.

But before you can act, the door bursts open by an arm punch through the door. It drew back and there the other demon peek through the hole. You quickly got to your feet and snarl at the demon peeking in.

You and Mammon saw it smile, its eyes and teeth stand out in the dark. Then it reaches in and grabs the door knob and turns it. You slowly walk back to the tub and stand before Mammon in a defensive stance, as you and Mammon watch as the other demon slowly opens the door and steps in the room.

Even with the little light from moonlight from the halls, Mammon can see most of the other demon’s face and he was shocked to see it’s Solomon with Unsettling grin on his face, his eyes glow a mixture of pink and teal green, horns sticking out of his head with the left horn broken off in the middle and his scale wings folded behind him.

Before Mammon can snap out of his shock, you roar and lunge at Solomon, tackling him out of the room. He watches from inside of the room. You two pulled away, you were in your demon form on all fours snarling and tail thrusting back and forth. While Solomon purrs aggressively with a smile on his face. Both of you are at a standoff. Waiting for either of you to move so the other can make the first move.

You stare into his eyes, growl before lunging at him. Solomon side steps, avoiding your attack before he quickly reaches and grabs you by your horn and arm with his hands. Then he pulls you up and spins around and tosses you right into the near window sending you flying out of it. You broke through the window and fell out of the window and crashed into the front yard, you painfully landed on one of the tombstones on your side, you can feel one of your ribs crack causing you to groan in pain. You roll off the tombstone and fall onto the grab and quickly grab your side where you fell.

Solomon peek out of the window before getting it, grabbing on the sides and leans forward, so he can look down on you. He smiles before leaping out of the window and quickly spreads his wings and starts flying right above you.

He kept his eyes on your curl up form as he circled around you like a vulture does when they know an animal is about to die.

He was about to swoop down and grab you, when suddenly he dropped his smile and his face morphed into a shock expression. Before he could react, he suddenly found himself in a net made out of magic. Trapping his arms, legs and wings into the net. He quickly pluments down onto the ground right outside the graveyard and a couple of feet away from you.

Solomon roars and growls as he tries to get out of the net. 

Hearing the noises right outside the house, everyone who stayed on the ground floor rushes out of the house and sees Solomon in the net and you curl up next to the grave.

Asmo sees you and quickly rushes to your side followed by Beel and Lucifer. While Barbatos stares at Solomon, then he hears someone landing behind him, he turns to see Diavolo shifting back to human form as he walks over to Barbatos. Diavolo had his eyes on Solomon before he turned to his butler.

“Now that we have Solomon here. We can figure out how this all happened in the first place.”

Note: I'm mix how this turns out 🥲

I was half way through this part when my writing mood shifted. Anyway I hope I can get back into the swing of things. If not with this series then with the others that I have backlog

If there’s grammar or spelling error, please let me know and don’t be shy to leave a comment or reblogging with cute tags. I just love to see you guys thoughts on this :3

[samantha-rae-velcher]

Two hearted Love

Aaron x Fem reader

Requested by: @flowercrowns-goodvibes thank you for the request ❤️

Warnings: Swearing, Gracie (Because she's fuckin adorable), Aaron (Cuz he's fuckin hot), fluffy af!

A/n: This one is definitely on the cute side, extremely fluffy.

Summary: Aaron, Gabriel, and Paul "Jesus", are going out on a run. Aaron has Y/n watch over Gracie, but little Gracie tells Y/n one too many of Aaron's secrets.

___

"You guys gonna be okay?" Aaron asked, Y/n and him stood next to the gate watching Judith and Gracie play on the porch.

"Yeah, we'll be fine." She chimed. "Im worried about you, Aaron. You're going out there, and I know that you can handle yourself. But it's still extremely dangerous, so stay alert."

Aaron smiled and nodded at her words, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. Y/n embraced it and snuggled her head into his shoulder.

"Keep her safe." He whispered.

"You know I will."

Y/n watched Gabe, Jesus, and Aaron walked down the road and into the woods before she closed the gate. Gracie came walking up and leaned her head against Y/n's hip.

"Daddy will be okay, right?" She asked.

"Nah, he's as good as walker food."

Gracie gasped.

"I'm kidding, Pumpkin. You're Daddy is one of the most bravest men I know, he'll fight to his dieing breath to get back to you. He'll be perfectly fine, I bet you he won't come back with a scratch."

"Really!?" Gracie asked, sounding cheery.

"Damn right, Princess! Now let's get inside, it's hot out here."

The two walked up to Aaron's house, Y/n was about to walk in, when she stopped. She turned back around and faced the street.

"Hey, Jude! Wanna come in? Imma make some Mac!" Y/n yelled.

Judith got up off her spot on the grass and ran up the steps. The three went inside, and like a pack of Lil Jabba the hutts, they headed for the kitchen.

___

"You alright?" Jesus asked, looking at Aaron.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Im just worried about Gracie."

Gabe chuckled. "Y/n will take good care of her. She loves that little girl like she's her own."

His comment making Aaron smile, the thought of himself, Y/n, and Gracie all being a family made is heart beat faster.

"Y/n is a lovely person. Very kind, someone a lot of men must've chased after in the old world." Gabe continued.

"I know I would've." Jesus said. "A girl like that-"

"Hey!" Aaron interrupted.

Paul threw up his hands. "Im just saying! Besides I thought you guys were a thing."

"Well quit saying! And no we aren't."

"Why are you so salty? You like her?" Paul asked.

"What? No."

Gabriel and Jesus looked at him as Aaron walked in silence, looking down at the road.

"She is beautiful isn't she?" He asked.

"Y/n? Hell yeah!" Jesus looked at Aaron like he was insane. "I didn't want to say anything because I thought you two were something, but now that I know you aren't....I might try my luck."

Aaron then tackled Jesus and wrestled him into the dirt. Gabriel stood on the sidelines laughing and the two men fought like boys.

___

Y/n served up the Mac and cheese and sat down with the girls.

"So, what were you guys up to out there?" Y/n asked.

Judith smiled. "We were drawing."

"I remember doing that with my big brother." Y/n leaned forward. "My drawings were always better."

The girls giggled and pulled out their drawings, Y/n looked at Judith's first. It was dog, the drawing was actually really good.

"Nice job." She said.

Y/n then looked at Gracie's, it was a picture of three people. The smaller one was obviously her, and the taller one was Aaron. She pointed at the woman in the middle.

"Who's this?" She asked.

"That's you."

Gracie's words stunned Y/n, she looked back down at the picture.

"Why am I on there?"

"Because Daddy talks about you all the time. He's always saying how proud of you he is, and how he enjoys spending time with you."

Judith nodded. "I over heard him talking to Mom. He was saying that he trusts you with his life and that he really cares about you."

Gracie smiled. "Only I think he likes you. Like really likes you."

Y/n chuckled at their enthusiasm.

"Well, your dad and I are friends."

___

Aaron, Jesus, and Gabe began heading back when the sun started to go down. The three all laughed and joked about Y/n and Aaron. Jesus was making sarcastic comments while Gabe was speaking words of wisdom.

"I think you should talk to her." Jesus said. "Have you seen the way she looks at you? The way she blushes when you look at her!"

Gabe turned back to the men. "And that hug." He said. "At the gate, that wasn't any normal hug of friendship. Or as Y/n likes to call it "Foo foo shit", there was a spark in there."

Aaron smiled and looked at the sunset.

"You think there could be something between us?" He asked.

"Definitely." Gabe replied. "Or you'll fuck it up and she'll move to Hill top."

___

Y/n put Gracie to bed and went downstairs, she began putting the dishes away when Aaron walked through the door.

"I was wondering when the man of the house would get back."

Aaron chuckled and set his knife down on the table. He glanced up the stairs and looked back at Y/n.

"She's sleeping, I took care of your little angel."

Aaron nodded and looked over at the drawings on the table, he picked up the one that had Gracie's name written in the corner.

"Who's this?" He asked looking at the woman in the middle.

"She said it was me....along with a couple of other things."

He looked over to her, she was faced away from him setting a bowl in the cupboard.

"Other things?"

She turned to him and tossed the hand towel over her shoulder.

"You got something to tell me, Aaron?" She asked.

She walked closer and took the paper out of his hand and set it on the table. Y/n grasped his hands and smiled.

"Your little girl told me that her Daddy appreciates my work. And that he talks about me a lot, and that he really likes me...like really likes me." She said in a bold tone.

Aaron smirked. "Well, she isn't lying." He copied her tone of voice.

Y/n smiled again and rose up onto her tippy toes, to where there lips were almost touching.

"So what are we gonna do about that?" She asked.

He leaned in and closed the gap between them, the kiss wasn't rushed, it was slow and loving. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Only stopping when they heard...

"Ew." Come from the staircase.

THE END ❤️

I hope you enjoyed!

[vladiator]

Birdwatching for Dummies

A Sansan fanfic that you can also read on AO3

Rating: Explicit Fandoms: Game of Thrones (TV), A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms Relationships: Sandor Clegane/Sansa Stark Characters: Sandor Clegane, Sansa Stark, Jorah Mormont, Robb and Arya briefly Additional Tags: Sandor is a creepy creep but does feel guilty, Sandor is oblivious, Pining, Oral Sex, This is horny then fluffy then funny then fluffy then sexy, Lady is a cat, Stranger is a dog, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Modern AU, age gap, Older Man/Younger Woman Length: 16,486 words

Sandor's not a bad guy, he's just got a bad habit. And that bad habit is watching a certain red-haired young woman through her window.

(Previously titled 'The Birdhouse' but I changed the name)

She thought she was safe.

Sandor chuckled as he watched the red-haired girl dance around in her living room in her pajamas. Of course she thought she was safe, she was in a second-story apartment in an expensive gated complex. Her balcony faced the woods and the whole building was fairly isolated. Sandor almost would have bet that that's what made the girl want to move here; he could practically hear the office manager, a man named Jorah Mormont, tell the girl something like, "You'll have a scenic view of the trees, and you'll be in the last building on the road, away from any and all prying eyes." 

Mormont wouldn't have bet that said prying eyes would find a perfect little spot on a small hill. He also wouldn't have bet that the prying eyes would belong to the complex's resident handyman. 

Sandor didn't like to think of himself as a pervert. He normally wasn't. He'd found this spot on the hill a few years earlier but hadn't used it, because there was nobody in that apartment worth spying on. The day she moved in, she grabbed his attention immediately. Mormont had asked him to help her move some furniture up the stairs, but he didn't give the girl's name nor did Sandor ask for it. They headed to her apartment, where both Mormont and Sandor were surprised to see that the young woman had four brothers and a sister helping her move in that day, and their services were unnecessary. He saw the girl going up the stairs, and he was entranced.

"She mentioned she had a big family," Mormont had said when they'd returned to the office on that first day. "I just didn't think that big."

Sandor hadn't seen the girl's siblings after that. They probably lived too far away to be regular visitors. That made him wonder what the girl was doing in their city. She was pale, clearly not used to the Casterly Rock sun. That was what had really enchanted Sandor the first time he saw her: her porcelain skin, smooth and unblemished, a stark contrast to his own. And her hair – red as the embers that had burned him all those years ago. She was stunning, unbelievably so, and Sandor found himself frequenting this spot in the woods once or twice a week in the few months since she'd moved in. 

Even if somebody else found out about the secret spot, it would be of no use to them. The little hill wasn't big enough for an average-sized person to see into the girl's apartment. But Sandor wasn't average in any way, shape, or form. He was big enough to see through the two separate sets of French doors on the balcony. The balcony was wide, and one set led to her living room, while the other led to her bedroom.

The curtains in the bedroom were always closed, but that was fine by Sandor. He got enough jerk-off material from the view of the living room. She was never naked in there, but she often wore thin pajamas, and that was all he needed. 

After the first week of watching her, he'd bought binoculars, which he did feel a bit gross about. He managed to square it away in his mind by thinking, I could be much worse. I could be Gregor. Then this girl would be in real danger. I just want to look.

Sandor’s older brother Gregor was doing time in another city for a string of rapes. Sandor had actually been the one to dob him in to the police, because despite how sloppy the crime scenes had been, the cops had zero leads. That was why Sandor had moved to Casterly Rock, because he knew that once Gregor got out, he'd hunt his little brother down. 

As he watched the girl twirl about in her apartment, Sandor imagined that she was running from something, too. Maybe she was a runaway bride, so desperate to avoid her ex-fiancé that she moved away from home. Or maybe she'd done something to piss her parents off and they kicked her out. In reality, her backstory was probably quite boring, but this was one of his tamer imaginings, so he let himself daydream and wonder. 

The girl stopped dancing for a second to bend over and pick up her cat. Sandor relished the short view of her backside through her night shorts. She then held the fluffy white cat in her arms and twirled around the room again, smiling and probably laughing. The scene was adorable, a picture of perfect domesticity that Sandor would never be able to experience. He'd be no good at it anyway. 

After a few minutes of dancing with her cat, the girl put the feline on the couch and then disappeared further into the apartment. The sun was setting, so Sandor supposed she would be getting ready for bed soon. The girl seemed to have no particular schedule. She'd wake in the mornings and dance around for a bit, then head off to work, which was clearly only a part-time gig because she'd be back home in the early afternoon. She had a keyboard in the apartment and sometimes she'd play it in the evenings, and Sandor was sure she played beautifully even though he couldn't hear it. Everything about her was beautiful.

The girl re-emerged holding what Sandor thought at first was a pamphlet, only to quickly realize when the girl opened her mouth that it was sheet music. She was singing, probably a haunting and mournful song judging by the stern look on her face, but all Sandor could think about was her lips and how they'd feel around his cock. He didn't know what her voice sounded like but he could almost hear her gagging as she took him in her mouth, as he grabbed her by the back of her head and shoved himself deeper into her throat–

Fuuuuuuuck, thought Sandor. He was growing hard in his work jeans. Normally he could keep himself under control while he watched her, but sometimes his fantasies would run away from him. But he'd always manage to save it until he got home. He didn't want to be the creeper jerking off in the woods, even though he knew damn well his behavior was creepy enough. But she was just too perfect, too hard to ignore.

Sandor decided to cut his little visit short and head home. He lived in a ground floor apartment near the main building. The complex had its own pool, and as Sandor walked home he thought about how if the girl ever went swimming, he'd be able to see her from his balcony.

He shoved the door closed and locked it, before pulling off his clothes frantically. His dog Stranger, an old Doberman, was sleeping on the couch, and didn't even stir as Sandor shuffled to his bedroom, his pants now around his ankles. As soon as his bedroom door was shut behind him, he began to stroke his cock while thinking of that beautiful redhead. He imagined her on her knees for him, her mouth open wide, her blue eyes looking into his grey ones. At least he thought her eyes were blue, it was hard to tell from the woods. But that didn't matter right now. All he could think of was her lips, how they'd look around his cock, how they'd feel on his own lips. He would come in her throat and then pull her by her hair up to look him in the eyes, then slam his mouth into hers. 

Sandor came hard, his seed spilling all over the carpeted floor. Fucking hell, he thought. Good thing I'm never fucking leaving this hellhole. 

He stripped off the remainder of his clothes before cleaning up his mess as best he could. He could only afford to live in this fairly nice apartment complex because he worked there, so he didn't take anything for granted. His apartment was mostly bare except for the necessary furniture items, which were all mismatched because he'd found them all at separate yard sales and thrift stores. Once everything was clean to his satisfaction, he crawled into bed and fell asleep, hoping to dream of that beautiful girl. 

—————————————————

Sandor was woken up the next morning by the sound of his phone ringing. His ring tone was the same basic one that every phone came pre-installed with, because he couldn't be bothered to change it, and it also served as a fairly decent alarm for him. He shot up in bed and grabbed his phone like it was a bomb about to explode. 

"Hey, Clegane," came Mormont's voice on the other end. "I got a job for you."

"Yeah?" Sandor could hear the grogginess in his own voice. He'd slept longer than he'd planned to. 

"Miss Stark says she's got a leak in her kitchen, you think you could check it out today?"

"Miss Stark?" Sandor didn't know most of the names of the tenants, so he immediately pictured that one old lady in Building 4. 

"The young lady in apartment 620. I'm sure you've seen her around. " 

The realization hit Sandor like a slap in the face. Miss Stark was the girl, his girl. 

"Yeah, I can check her out. Check it out. What time should I head that way?"

"If my memory serves me correctly, she works from 9 to 3, so any time between then would be good."

"Got it." 

Sandor hung up the phone and collapsed in his bed. That redhead, that gorgeous gorgeous redhead, needed him. And he was ready to answer the call. Of course, it was only half past eight now, so he had more time to lie in bed and think of his girl and her porcelain skin, think about how her slender fingers would feel on him. 

—————————————————

Sandor decided that 10 was a good time to show up at the girl's apartment. Of course, it wasn't like anyone was keeping track of him, but he still felt that going there right at nine was a bit much. Besides, what if she was running late that day, and he ran into her in the stairwell? She'd walk right past him, completely unaware that he'd watched her the night before, just like he'd done many, many times, before going home to fuck his fist to the thought of her. She'd have no idea that the man she was passing was going into her apartment, the same apartment he'd been staring into with binoculars.

One of the fun things about being the complex's handyman was that he essentially had the keys to every single apartment in every single building. If he wanted to he could walk into any young woman's apartment like he owned the place and ransack the fridge and sniff the underwear and do whatever he wanted to do. But he didn't do that, because he did have some semblance of a moral code, even if it was hard to find. Besides, the only woman worth the trouble was his little redheaded Miss Stark, and he actually wanted to avoid her like the plague. He was certain that if they ever made eye contact, he'd explode. 

Sandor bounded up the stairs, toolbox in hand. Apartment 620 wasn't hard to find, because a lemon-shaped welcome mat sat in front of the door. God, is everything about this woman fucking adorable? he thought as he jammed the master key into the lock.

The sound of the washing machine running was the first thing he noticed. There was an odd rattling sound, and for a moment he wondered if he should look at it while he was there. But, as Mormont had mentioned many times before, in-apartment washing machines were the tenants' responsibility. They bought it, they broke it, they fix it.

The apartment was just as cutesy as the welcome mat, with pastels and floral designs abound. Sandor knew based on it being in Building 6 that it was a similar layout to his, but larger and with an extra bedroom. He wondered who or what that extra bedroom was for. Maybe it was just for storage. Maybe it was so if one of her five million siblings came to visit, they wouldn't have to sleep on the couch. Or maybe it was just in case. Just in case she got knocked up after a one-night stand, or something. Sandor chuckled quietly at the thought of his little redhead getting pregnant after just one night with him. But in his few months of watching her, he hadn't seen her bring anyone home nor stay out late. He guessed all of her friends were back home, wherever that was.

Despite how often Sandor tried to tell himself he wasn't a nasty creepy bad man, he still had to fight the urge to snoop around the girl's bedroom and rifle through her unmentionables. He was able to power through those urges but he did allow himself to stand there for a moment and take it all in. He imagined what it would be like to burst through that front door and yell the classic line, "Honey, I'm home!" In his fantasy, little Miss Stark would then waltz into the main area entirely nude and ready for him. Sandor felt himself growing a little hard at the thought of that. 

Then, the bedroom door opened. And she walked out, wearing nothing but a tight tank top and baby blue underwear. Her mouth fell open when she saw him, and she screamed at the top of her lungs. 

"No, no, don't scream. I'm here for your leaky sink," exclaimed Sandor, waving his tool box in the air, as if the presence of tools would make anything better. He didn't blame her for being startled and scared; he was well over a foot taller than her and muscular, and Mormont had once told him that he had "resting monster face," whatever that was supposed to mean. 

Miss Stark looked close to hyperventilation, but managed to calm herself down and stutter out, "I– I'm so sorry, I didn't think you would be here so soon–"

"Mormont told me you'd be at work."

The girl ran her fingers through her thick red hair and said, "I'm supposed to be. As soon as I got there I was told all my students had canceled on me, so I came home and started doing laundry. I kind of forgot about my sink. Let me go see what other clean clothes I have to wear."

She dashed back into her bedroom. Sandor had wanted to tell her not to worry about it, and that she could stay in her underwear and the world's thinnest tank top all damn day. But that would be unprofessional, so he held his tongue. However, he was definitely saving that lovely sight to the ol' wank bank database. 

Sandor awkwardly went over to the kitchen and set his toolbox down. A few seconds later, the girl came back out from her room, now dressed in a pastel pink onesie that was clearly designed to look like a fox. "I'm sorry for my appearance," the girl said. "All of my clothes are in the wash." 

"It's fine. I've seen worse," grumbled Sandor, but he immediately regretted his words, wondering if she'd be offended. He had seen worse though, in the form of an old man who lived in a pair of ratty boxer shorts no matter the weather. He'd lived in Building 2 and was constantly clogging the toilet, so Sandor was out there pretty much every other week. The old man had died a few years back, and Sandor definitely didn't miss him. 

Sansa walked around the kitchen island and stood near Sandor as he inspected the sink. "There's a slow leak in one of the pipes," she explained, gesturing to the cabinet below the sink. "It was dripping onto this pan I was storing under there all night and I kept hearing it and it kept waking me up."

"You must be a light sleeper." Sandor knelt down and opened the cabinet door, and immediately saw the leak. 

"Definitely. My mom says that when I was a baby I would sleep like I was dead, but now that I'm an adult I wake up at the slightest of noises."

Sandor didn't respond to the girl, focusing entirely on the pipes in the dark cabinet. Miss Stark clearly took his lack of response as a cue to shut up, because she stopped chirping at him. But Sandor didn't want her to shut up. In fact, he could have listened to her all day, if there wasn't a job at hand. Her voice was as perky as her tits, and she talked with her hands as well, moving and flapping them about. This was the closest he had ever been to her, and he was more entranced than ever.

Luckily for the girl and unluckily for Sandor, the sink was an easy fix. Sandor opened his tool box and set to work. After a few minutes of twisting and pulling and other plumber-type actions, he stood up and said, "You're all set."

Then, the most amazing thing happened. The girl looked up at him and smiled. She smiled a genuine grin, not the fake shit he'd seen so many times before. It was a smile that reached her sparkling blue eyes, a smile of joy and gratitude. Nobody had ever smiled at Sandor like that, and he was sure that nobody ever would again. She was so ridiculously beautiful that it pained him. 

"Thank you so much, Mister–?"

"Clegane. But just call me Sandor."

"Thank you, Sandor." The way she said his name made him want to melt all over her. "I should have some cash around here somewhere to give to you..."

"No cash. It's part of my job," replied Sandor, even though he could definitely think of a few things he'd want from the girl in exchange for his services. 

"Still, I am so grateful. And next time I'll make sure to tell Mr. Mormont if I'm going to be home early. I can't believe all my students canceled on me."

"Students?"

"Oh, I teach piano at this music place." She waved her hand in the air as if that explained anything any further. "Maybe I'll give you a lesson some time?"

Sandor couldn't think of an appropriate response, so he just forced an awkward smile at the girl. "Is there anything else you need fixing? Besides the washing machine. I can't touch that." 

"Oh, is there something wrong with my washing machine?"

"It's not supposed to rattle like that." 

"Oh!" said the girl. "I guess I'll have to call someone about that. You know, you look familiar." 

"You've probably seen me around. I live here, too."

"You're in Building 1, aren't you? I've seen you helping your mother up the stairs."

It took Sandor a second to realize what she meant. "That's not my mother, that old lady just lives above me and I help her sometimes." Mrs. Tyrell was half blind but still insisted on living on the second floor. Occasionally she'd knock on his door and ask for him to help carry her groceries up the stairs, and because he never had anything else to do, he'd always say yes. 

"Oh. Well, that's really sweet of you. But that's all for today, I guess."

It almost seemed like the girl didn't want Sandor to leave. Perhaps she was lonely, which was a shock to Sandor. He couldn't imagine this girl being short on people who wanted to spend time with her. He was also surprised that she'd noticed him around the complex, but then again he was unnaturally large. The thought that she had seen him and he didn't know about it was kind of funny to him, considering how often he watched her when she didn't know. 

Sandor shuffled out of Miss Stark's apartment and began his walk home, the image of the girl in her underwear still fresh in his mind. The fox onesie was pretty appealing too, though: he could envision himself pulling down the zipper in the front to reveal her pale breasts, then he'd take her nipple in his mouth and she'd moan for him and–

As soon as the front door was shut Sandor pulled out his cock and began to jerk off frantically. He imagined sweet little Miss Stark bouncing on his lap and whimpering his name. He came with a moan so loud he was sure anybody walking past his building would have heard it. 

While cleaning up this day's mess, Sandor decided not to go to his little spot in the woods that night. This shit can't be healthy, he thought as he scrubbed the carpet. Maybe I need to take a break.

—————————————————

Sandor's break didn't end up lasting long. Two days later he was in the woods again, and to his delight, Miss Stark was wearing her fox onesie, but this time the zipper was unzipped a third of the way, showing off a bit of cleavage. She was singing again, and Sandor desperately wished she would open the balcony door just a crack so that he could hear her. She had the body and face of an angel, so surely she must have the voice of one too. 

It seemed that little Miss Stark was trying to learn a song, because she kept staring at the sheet music and singing, before stopping and playing the song on her keyboard. Her face changed from serious to perplexed to annoyed to excited and back to serious again. After about an hour of this, she tossed the sheet music onto her couch. Then she grabbed a hair clip from her coffee table and used it to pin her hair up. She did a little stretch and a little dance, and she disappeared further into the apartment. 

Sandor was almost ready to give up for the night when the curtains that blocked his view into the bedroom opened. She pushed them to the side and gazed through the glass of the door at the trees above Sandor. Although it was definitely not meant in this way, Sandor took it as a sign to stay right where he was. 

The girl then went away again, leaving Sandor waiting for her excitedly. This was the first time he'd ever seen inside her bedroom, and it was as perfectly pink as the rest of her apartment. Through his binoculars, he could see a painting of a white flower hanging on the wall above her bed. Her bedroom was messier than his, but still wasn't particularly bad. A few articles of clothing were scattered around on the floor, as well as a striped throw blanket. She had a large floor mirror that leaned against the wall, and a punch of photographs were stuck to it with magnets. Sandor couldn't see what was in the pictures, but he guessed it was her family. 

Around twenty minutes later, the girl came back into the room. She now wore a red robe, and had clearly just gotten out of the bathtub. Her hair was still pinned up and looked dry, but her skin now looked dewy and extra soft. Sandor briefly wondered if she was the kind of girl who touched herself in the bath. 

Then, she untied the belt around her waist and shimmied the robe off of her shoulders. Sandor couldn't believe his eyes. That's my girl, he thought as the bathrobe hit the floor. She was standing right in front of the glass door, completely unaware that someone was staring at her from the woods below. And she was perfect. Her tits were everything he'd ever hoped for, and he could see himself burying his face in them. He desperately wished he could reach out and feel her curves. But the best and most surprising part was the bush of hair between her legs. It was red like the hair on her head, but a little bit darker. He thought about what it would be like to stick his tongue in her sweet cunt and have her writhe around in pleasure for him. 

Sandor couldn't control himself any longer. He quickly looked around to make sure nobody could see him, then with one hand he freed his cock from his pants, while his other hand held the binoculars. It was dark now, and he watched as Miss Stark stretched and yawned and reached up to pull the hair clip from her hair and let her red curls cascade down. She then walked over to her bed and flopped over on it. She was probably warm after her bath and wanted to cool down. She looked like a princess out of a fairy tale, waiting for her prince to come and wake her with true love's kiss. Sandor stoked himself and thought about climbing on top of her and kissing her neck, running his fingers through her hair, shoving his tongue in her mouth and his cock in her cunt. As he came, he thought about how it would feel to come in her, to come with her.

Now that he was done, he felt gross, and not just because he had his pecker out in the woods. He'd always had some shame about what he'd been doing, but now it was hitting him harder than ever. He wasn't a bad guy, so what was he doing, spying through a window and jerking off to a girl half his age? What the fuck is wrong with me? he thought. 

Sandor put his dick away and began his walk home. This beautiful girl, little Miss Stark, was taking over his mind.

And he wanted to let her. 

—————————————————

A few days passed by and Sandor managed to avoid the girl. Not that that was particularly difficult; all he had to do was stay home. Trying not to think of her was the truly hard part. Mormont called him at one point to tell him his services were needed, and the second Sandor's phone rang he hoped that the redhead's sink was broken again. And when Mrs. Tyrell needed help with her groceries again, Sandor hoped that the girl would see him and run up to him and fall into his arms.

Sandor had never been obsessed with anything before. He'd never cared about a TV show or book series the way he cared about a girl whose first name he didn't know. But he also thought that care was probably the wrong word – he was infatuated with her, in the least healthy way possible. He knew that a decent break from her would do him good, but it was painful. 

He knew little about this girl but he would have let her ruin him a thousand times over. The way she said his name echoed in his mind. Fuck, I'm pathetic, he thought to himself as he walked to building 5 to fix a broken light in the stairwell. 

Sandor reached his destination and set up his ladder. Because of his height, he only had to climb halfway up to reach the light bulb, and he was able to change the bulb quickly. As he came back down, he heard what sounded like an angel singing. He looked around, and there she was, his precious Miss Stark. 

She had probably just gotten home from work. She had probably had to park closer to Building 5 than Building 6, because the parking lot was oddly small for such an expensive complex. She had probably not realized that there was someone near to hear her as she sang on her walk to her apartment. 

But her voice was everything Sandor could have hoped for and more. He didn't know much about music, but thought what she was singing was most likely opera, but no matter what it was absolutely amazing. She was absolutely amazing. 

Once the girl's voice faded into the distance and was replaced by the chirping of nearby birds, Sandor picked up the ladder and headed back to his own apartment. He still felt guilty and gross for jerking off in the woods the other day, but it had felt extremely fucking good. Miss Stark was like a siren luring a sailor to his death, and Sandor was all too happy to follow her to the bottom of the ocean.

Once back at his apartment, he changed from his work clothes into his regular jeans and shirt and readied himself for a trek through the woods. Binoculars in hand, he set off from his apartment while thinking, I could be a lot worse. I could be taking pictures of her through her window. I just want to look and listen.

Sandor found himself practically jogging to his spot in the woods, hoping the girl would be singing with her balcony door open so that he could hear her. He knew there was a slim chance of that, considering the prissy little cat he'd seen her dancing with the week before, but he didn't deny himself the pleasure of hoping. 

Sure enough, Miss Stark was still singing, but her balcony door was closed. Nevertheless, she was in nothing but a T-shirt and comfy-looking pajama pants, and that was good enough for Sandor. In all his fantasies of her, he never pictured her in fancy lingerie or anything like that. He'd rather her in comfortable clothes, or, ideally, entirely naked. But there was something about seeing her in her pajamas that placed an ache in his heart. Somehow it was more intimate than seeing her in lingerie, or even nude. If she was in her pajamas with him, even her pink fox onesie, that would mean she was comfortable with him, comfortable with sharing her most intimate moments with him. Of course, having raunchy fantasy sex was pretty damn intimate, but having this woman enjoy his company was truly the dream. But he knew better than to expect a dream like that to come true. And he knew how pathetic he was, the way he'd gotten so riled up over her smiling at him after he fixed her sink. But some fantasies were never meant to become realities. 

Then the girl stopped singing. She seemed to think for a moment, then she wandered over to the balcony door and opened it, stepping outside. Sandor froze in panic, wondering if she'd be able to see him from there. She can't see me, he told himself, I'm too well hidden.

The girl paced around on her balcony for a minute, then leaned back against the railing, her hair cascading down the side like an auburn waterfall. Then she stepped away from the railing, only to move back toward it a second later. She looked over the side, then, her back towards the woods, she put her hands on the rail and hoisted herself up into a sitting position on the railing. She now balanced there, facing her apartment, her legs dangling just above the balcony floor.

Sandor had no idea what the girl was doing. This didn't look like a suicide attempt, but he couldn't think of many other reasons for someone to sit on a railing on a balcony by themselves. Maybe it's one of those dumb fucking challenges young fuckers do these days, he thought. Kids are fucking strange. Then he remembered why he was spying on this "kid" and decided to stop thinking about why she was sitting there, and just enjoy the view of her ass. 

Then, the girl lost her balance. Sandor watched in slow motion as she fell backwards, tumbling down to the grass below. 

Panic overcame him. From where he was stationed, he couldn't see her. But if he ran to check on her, she'd be wondering what he was doing in the woods looking at her apartment. 

Fuck it, he thought, as he dropped his binoculars and ran towards her. 

The girl was laying on her back on the ground, but as Sansor approached her he couldn't see any blood. She was groaning in pain as she tried to sit herself up. Sandor came up behind her, startling her slightly as he said in as gentle a voice as possible, "Hey, hey, try not to move."

"Sandor," breathed the girl. The way she'd said his name like he was her knight in shining armor would have made him a little bit hard if he wasn't panicking that she was seriously injured. 

"What hurts? What did you land on?"

"I flipped over," she said through jagged breaths. "I landed on my feet. I hurt my ankle." 

Sandor looked down at the girl's feet and saw that one foot was contorted at an unnatural angle. "It's broken. No, no– don't look at it." He put a hand on the girl's shoulder to stop her from sitting up. "I'm going to get you to a doctor."

The girl bit her lip. "Okay."

Sandor reached for his pocket, only to find that he'd left his phone in his apartment. He cursed under his breath before saying, "I'm gonna have you pick you up, okay?" 

After a frantic nod from the girl, Sandor reached underneath her and lifted her. He carried her bridal style to the front of the building then down the sidewalk towards his truck. Once she was in the passenger side, he got in the truck and they sped off.

The girl was crying in agony and Sandor was panicked. All he could think about was trying to remember the directions to the nearest emergency room. Luckily one wasn't too far away, and once they made it there he picked her up again and carried her inside. 

—————————————————

The next few hours were a blur. Sandor had been made to sit in the waiting room. He knew he didn't exactly have a calming presence, considering his size and his scars, but he hated that the girl didn't have a friendly face with her as the doctors examined and treated her. 

Eventually, a nurse wheeled Miss Stark out into the lobby in a wheelchair, a large black medical boot on her left foot. She smiled when she saw Sandor. 

"You okay?" he asked. 

"I should be, eventually," she replied. "I broke my ankle but it'll hopefully heal in a few weeks."

The nurse added, "She's very lucky that you were nearby when she fell. You saved her from injuring herself any further."

Sandor shrugged and said, "All in a day's work."

"You guys are good to go," said the nurse. "You'll get the bill in the mail in a week or so." The nurse then walked away, leaving the girl in Sandor's care.

The girl's blue eyes were on Sandor once again, and he could feel his unscarred cheek turn slightly red. "Thank you so, so much," she said softly. "I'll make it up to you."

"You don't have anything to make up to me, girl. I wasn't going to just leave you there."

"I'm just so glad you were walking past when I fell. I hope I didn't take you away from any of your responsibilities."��

Walking past? thought Sandor. God, this girl is innocent. "No, I wasn't doing anything important. I was just... birdwatching."

 As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. But to his surprise, Miss Stark only beamed. "Birdwatching? I love birds. There's a cardinal that comes and sits on my balcony sometimes."

"Is that what you were doing out there, trying to attract a cardinal?" 

The girl laughed. "No, I was practicing for my audition next month."

"Were you auditioning for the part of a baby bird falling out of its nest?"

"The local opera group is doing Romeo and Juliet. Juliet obviously has to be on a balcony, so I was trying to get myself used to singing up in the air." The girl sighed. "But it looks like I won't be getting the part now."

"There's always next time." 

"Yeah. I mean, maybe I can still audition. I can see the headlines now: Sansa Stark, world's first singer to play Juliet on crutches!"

Before Sandor could stop himself, he muttered, "Sansa." So that was the name of the girl he'd been jerking off to for months. Fucking shit, that's the name of the girl he'd been stalking for months. 

"Yep, that's me." Then the realization hit her. "Oh my goodness, you saved my life and you didn't even know my name! I'm such an asshole!"

"Don't worry about it," said Sandor, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Let's get you home."

—————————————————

On the short drive back to the apartment complex, Sansa talked Sandor's ear off, probably to distract herself from the pain she was no doubt feeling. The docs had given her some meds, but they definitely didn't make everything better. But on this drive Sandor learned that Sansa was from Winterfell, a town a few hours north of Casterly Rock. She'd moved in search of an opera career and was only teaching piano lessons in order to pay the bills, but she was no starving artist; her parents were fairly wealthy and very supportive of her dreams of operatic stardom. 

Luckily, a parking space had freed up near Building 6 and Sandor pulled in. Once he'd parked his truck and turned it off, he looked at Sansa and stated, "I'm gonna have you carry you up the stairs."

Sansa nodded. "Okay. I trust you."

Those three final words hit Sandor's heart in a way he didn't expect. She trusted him. This beautiful girl he'd been fawning over trusted him, because why wouldn't she?

Sandor went around to the passenger side and opened the door, before gently scooping Sansa up in his arms. The stairs were rather steep but he strode up them with the same confidence as always. Sansa's arms were around his neck as he unlocked her door with his master key, and she seemed to hesitate in letting him go when he set her down on her couch. 

"Thank you," she said meekly. "You've been so kind to me."

"I'm here to help," he replied with a shrug. 

"I'm so embarrassed, falling off my balcony while in my pajamas. I feel so pathetic."

"You shouldn't. Worse things have happened." He sat down on the other end of the couch. 

She anxiously twirled a strand of her red hair around her finger. "At this complex?" she asked, her voice full of sadness and hope. 

"Yeah. There was a guy who died here from autoerotic asphyxiation a few years back." 

Sansas eyes widened. "Nasty."

"You're telling me. I had to call that shit in."

"Well, at least you can't be embarrassed if you're dead."

"Maybe so." Sandor then found that he'd quickly run out of things to talk about. He'd never thought he'd be having a casual conversation with the object of his obsession, so he had no idea what to say to her. You're so beautiful it's ruining my life. I think about you all the time. You should probably get a restraining order against me. "I can go run to the nearest store and pick up some crutches and whatever else you might need." 

 Sansa's eyes welled with tears, hopefully of appreciation. "You've been so good to me already, you don't have to do anything else."

"It's not like you can go get shit," he replied, his words coming out harsher than expected. "Give me a list of things you want and I'll pick them up. I can give you my number and Mormont's personal number in case you need anything."

"My phone is on the counter – pass it to me and I'll text you a list. And I'll pay you back, I promise."

Sandor fetched the girl's phone and told her his number, then he was on his way. He was surprised that a girl that beautiful could be so unused to kindness. But then again, she saw him as a stranger, whereas he saw her as someone he owed penance to. 

As soon as he got in his truck, he received a text from an unknown number saying, "Hi! It's Sansa!" followed by a ridiculous amount of flower and heart emojis. A list of things she wanted from the store came shortly after.

—————————————————

When Sandor opened Sansa's door, grocery bags in hand, he saw her quickly wipe her eyes and force a smile. She'd clearly been crying, and he felt incredibly awkward standing there. 

After a moment, Sansa said, "Hi, sorry." 

"Are you okay?" 

"I will be," Sansa whispered through her sniffles. "I'm just... in a lot of pain."

"I've bought you extra pain meds." 

"Thank you. It's not just physical pain though, I'm so embarrassed and upset and disappointed that there's no way I'll get the part of Juliet and I feel like a burden on you and I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "You're not a burden, on me or anybody else. You're just in a shit position, but you'll get out of it soon enough."

"I hope so." 

Sandor went over to the kitchen to put away the ice cream he'd bought her. She didn't ask for any, but she looked like a girl who appreciated a good pint of mint chocolate chip. Then he went back downstairs to get her new crutches from his truck.

"Is there a way I can send you money?" Sansa asked when he came back to the apartment. 

"No." He leaned the crutches against the wall near the couch. 

"I probably have cash somewhere."

"Don't worry about it."

"You just bought groceries and medicine and crutches for me."

"It's fine."

"No, Sandor, it's not," she said. Sandor was surprised to hear her attempt at a stern voice, and his heartbeat quickened when she said his name. "I owe you." 

Sandor knelt down on one knee next to Sansa, who had propped herself up on her elbows on the cushy couch. "All I want is for you to rest and heal. Do you think you can manage that?" 

His words came out of his mouth a lot more intense than he'd wanted them to, causing Sansa to squeak out a tiny little, "Yep."

"Now, is there anything I can get for you?" 

"I have some flavored water in the fridge—"

Before Sansa could finish her request, Sandor was already at her refrigerator asking her, "Which flavor?"

"Lemon, please! It's the yellow one."

"I know what color lemons are, girl." When Sandor turned around, he saw her smile bashfully. He went back to the living room and handed her her drink. 

"Thank you," said Sansa. "I'll call my mom soon and tell her what's happened. I bet she'll want to come down here and help out."

"Might be a good idea. Then you won't have to put up with my ugly mug."

"Oh no, you're staying right here!" Sansa playfully demanded. "If you want to, of course. If you don't have anything better to do." 

"I definitely don't have anything better to do."

"Good! I mean, not good, but I'd really love it if you stayed with me."

Sandor didn't know what to think. He'd spent all his life being either feared or pitied. He had no idea why such a beautiful girl who had a family who loved her would want his company. Maybe she feels bonded to me because I helped her, or some shit, thought Sandor as he looked at the girl. Or maybe she's just in a fuckton of pain and she doesn't want to be alone. Sansa was staring up at her with big blue eyes, eyes bluer than any ocean, and he desperately wanted to jump in them and drown. 

He didn't realize he hadn't repsonded until Sansa asked, her voice just above a whisper, "You'll stay with me, right? At least for this evening?"

"Of course." 

"We can order some pizza."

"Sounds good to me." 

—————————————————

Pizza was ordered and delivered, and Sandor sat at the other end of the couch as they ate off of ceramic plates that had floral designs. He finally was able to take a moment and glance around her apartment as Sansa talked his ear off once again. After a while, her white fluffy cat came out of its hiding spot and came over and sat in between them. "Oh!" said Sansa. "Lady, meet Sandor. Sandor, meet Lady."

Lady gave Sandor a quick sniff before curling up into a ball and falling asleep. 

"She's a prissy little princess," Sansa continued. "Just like me."

"I wouldn't say you're prissy."

"Oh, but I am. For example, I've been talking nonstop and you haven't been able to say anything."

"I don't talk much anyway."

"You should talk more, you have a nice voice," she said, before immediately blushing. "I mean, you know, it's unique."

"I've been told my voice is scary." 

"It is! In a good way. Like a villain in a movie." 

Sandor couldn't help but laugh. "How is that in a good way?"

"Ugh, I need to stop talking, I keep embarrassing myself. But tell me about you." 

"You've only had a broken ankle for a few hours, you can't already be stir crazy enough to ask for my life story." 

Sansa frowned at him. 

"Fine, fine, but there isn't much to tell. My upbringing definitely wasn't as picture-perfect as yours. Abusive father, dead mother, abusive brother." 

"And yet, you turned out to be so sweet."

"You can call me a lot of things, but sweet isn't one of them." It made Sandor's stomach turn when he thought about what he'd been doing when he saw her fall from her balcony like an angel out of heaven. If she found out, she'd hate him, and rightly so. 

"I think you're sweet. You've helped me and Mrs. Tyrell. I bet you even get things from the top shelf for people at the grocery store."

"No, nobody ever asks me to." This was true, because Sandor looked far too intimidating for anyone to come up to. 

"But I bet you would if they asked."

"Probably not." When Sansa's smile fell, Sandor added, "But I probably would for you."

"So, you're almost sweet," joked Sansa. 

"Almost."

"I know I come across as naive, but I like to think of myself as optimistic. I want to see the good in everyone and everything."

Sandor smirked. "You weren't feeling so optimistic earlier."

"But now the meds have kicked in and I'm slightly better." She then yawned, and the image of Sandor shoving his cock in her open mouth flashed across his mind. "And slightly tired."

It was growing dark outside, and Sansa had been through quite an ordeal. Sandor stood up and said, "I'll let you get to sleep, then. Anything else you need from me before I go?"

"A new ankle."

"I can only do so much." 

 Sansa waved her hand at him. "You've done more than enough. Thank you so much, for everything."

"You have my number if you need anything. And I can check on you tomorrow morning, if you want me to."

"Yes, please."

"All right. See you then."

"Goodnight, Sandor," called Sansa as Sandor left. 

Sandor had never been in love before, but he did know that it was normally a two-way street. He didn't want to say to himself that he loved Sansa, but damn, he felt pretty close to it. She was perfect in every way: she was beautiful, bubbly, talented and ambitious. His heart skipped a beat every time those blue eyes were on him, and he was already addicted to her attention. 

As he got in his truck and drove the incredibly short distance between her building and his, he thought about how she looked at him like she wasn't afraid of him. She looked in his eyes instead of at his scars, and she didn't seem to notice how unworthy he felt to be in her presence. He was enamored with her, but he knew that she would never feel the same way. How could she? He was probably twice her age and practically twice her size, plus he was a grouchy old asshole, whereas she was the human embodiment of sunshine. And, of course, there was the fact of his half-scarred face, and the fact that even if he wasn't scarred he'd still be fuck-ugly. But even though Sansa acted like she didn't notice Sandor's scars, Sandor definitely did, and he knew he didn't belong next to someone like her. 

—————————————————

The next morning, Sandor knocked on Sansa's door and was immediately greeted by a sing-songy "Come innnnnn!"

Sandor opened the door and saw that Sansa was sitting on the couch, propped up by pillows, her cellphone to her ear. 

"He's here now, I'll talk to you later," Sansa said into the phone. "Love you too. Bye."

"Your mom?" asked Sandor as he placed a box of pastries on the coffee table. 

"My dad, actually," replied Sansa. "He's really glad someone was there to help me right after I fell, but he wishes it wasn't a big and brawny man."

Sandor smirked. "He's protective, isn't he?"

"Massively. I don't mind it, though. Except for when he tries to insist that I should have a big mean dog to protect me, when he knows I'm a cat person." 

Before he could stop himself, Sandor said, "You've got a big mean dog now. Me."

Sansa laughed. "I'll make sure to tell him that. But you shouldn't call yourself a dog." 

"It's an old nickname. Well, Hound is the nickname, and that's close enough." He sat down on the couch. 

"Why did people call you Hound? Because of your big puppy dog eyes?" 

"Puppy dog eyes?" laughed Sandor. 

"Yeah, has no one told you that you have puppy dog eyes?"

"Absolutely fucking not. And if someone had, they wouldn't have lived to tell the tale."

"Fine, is it because you've got a good sense of smell?" guessed Sansa, her eyes full of whimsy.

"I do have a fairly decent sense of smell, but no."

"Do you howl?"

"Do I howl?"

"Yeah."

"I don't even know how to answer that question."

"Well, why are you called Hound?"

Sandor shrugged. "Fuck if I know. When I first moved to this city fifteen years back, I worked as a bodyguard for a rich family. One of them started calling me the Hound, and it stuck."

"So it's because you're loyal." 

"Maybe so."

"Either way, you're probably a better guard dog than an actual dog. You're better at conversation, anyway."

Sandor chuckled softly. "So, are your parents coming to visit?" 

"No," replied Sansa, a forlorn look on her face. "My dad's busy, he can't leave Winterfell. My two older brothers are doing military stuff and the other three are still under 18, so they're not going anywhere."

"What about your mom?" 

"When my dad's busy, she's busy. Perks of being a politician's wife and all that."

"Politician?" 

"Yeah. He's running for mayor again." 

I've been playing a dangerous game, stalking a politician's daughter, thought Sandor. "You never told me your dad was mayor of Winterfell."

"That's one of the good things about moving to a new city, nobody knows you."

"Doesn't Winterfell have an opera thing? I bet they'd let you be Juliet, broken ankle and all."

"No, we don't have anything like that back home, but that's also the point. I want to be Sansa Stark, I want to be my own person. I don't want to be Mayor Stark’s daughter and be perfect all the time."

Sandor wanted to say, You seem pretty damn perfect to me, but he bit his tongue. "You want a pastry? I stopped by the bakery on my way here." He picked up the box and handed it to her. 

"On your way here? You live a five-minute walk from me, and the closest bakery is a ten-minute drive." 

"I might have taken a detour."

 Sansa laughed. "A very appreciated detour." She reached into the box and pulled out a lemon tart. "Oh, Sandor, you're the best! These are my favorites!"

Sandor had had no idea which were her favorites and had selected entirely randomly, but he accepted the compliment. "I try."

Sansa beamed and took a large bite out of the lemon tart. Her excitement for the food led to there being crumbs all over her chin, but she didn't seem to notice. 

"You're a mess, girl," said Sandor. Without thinking, he grabbed a napkin from inside the box and gently wiped at her chin with it. Only after she was cleaned up did he realize how intimate and wonderful that short moment had been, and he wished he had appreciated it more. 

But, because the gods seemingly never smiled on Sandor, Sansa's phone rang. 

Sansa took one look at her phone screen and her face lit up. She answered it with an excited, "Hey!"

The voice on the other end of the line was definitely male, but Sandor couldn't make out what he was saying. Sansa was grinning from ear to ear as she said into the phone, "I thought he said you couldn't come!"

One of her brothers? wondered Sandor. 

After a quick chat, Sansa hung up the phone. "He'll be on his way later today!"

"Who will?"

"My brother Robb. And he's bringing my sister Arya with him. You know, it's funny how much I miss her when we always fought like cats and dogs. Literally, sometimes. She's got a big husky who always liked to annoy my little Lady."

"How long will they be staying?"

"A week. I don't know where I'm going to put them, though. My extra bedroom is just for storage. I guess Arya will have to sleep in the recliner." 

"Well, you can always call me if they get on your nerves. I'm sure I can scare them off."

Sansa laughed. "They don't scare easily, especially not Arya. When we were kids she used to tell me ghost stories and I'd be awake all night."

"How old is Arya?"

"17. Two years younger than me."

That math was way too easy for Sandor to do. He was sitting in the apartment of a 19-year-old. He'd been obsessing over a 19-year-old. Sansa surely thought that he was doing a good deed by helping her, but he was only feeling worse and worse the more he learned about her. 

 Sansa continued, "As kids we would fight about every little thing. She made fun of me for being a 'girly girl' and I made fun of her for being a tomboy. If you look at us you'd never guess we're related."

"I wish I had that luxury. My brother and I practically have the same ugly face," said Sandor. "Except mine is scarred, obviously." 

"Don't call yourself ugly. You're not ugly."

"Sitting next to you, I am." 

Sansa's cheeks turned bright red. "You're too sweet." 

Sandor couldn't tell if she felt happy or embarrassed, so he quickly changed the subject. "Is there anything you need done around the apartment before your family gets here?"

"I have a basket full of dirty laundry, but I can't expect you to do that."

"I can if you want me to. How hard can it be, just dump it into the washing machine and press a few buttons?"

"When you put it like that, it does sound easy."

"Exactly. So where is the basket?"

"In my bedroom." 

Sandor felt like he was going to lose his mind. Her bedroom. He'd only seen that room once but he'd fantasized about it numerous times, long before he even knew what it looked like. He'd daydreamed about her giving him a sexy look and taking his hand and leading him to that very bedroom, where he would commence to ripping her clothes off and fucking her like there was no tomorrow. 

"Sandor? You okay?" asked Sansa. "I can probably talk Arya into doing my laundry if you don't want to."

Sandor hadn't realized he'd fallen silent. "I've got it." He stood up and headed to her bedroom. 

He opened the door slowly, as if something was going to jump out at him. The room was bathed in pastel pinks and pale yellows, floral designs and a strong lemon motif. A framed picture of a white rabbit hung on the wall. It was painfully cutesy, and very much Sansa. 

The pink basket sat in the corner of the room, next to her nightstand. A charging cord led from the wall into the drawer of said nightstand, and Sandor immediately imagined that there was a vibrator or something of that ilk hiding in there. A young woman like her has to have needs, he thought. I just wish she'd do it with the curtains open.

Sandor shook the inappropriate thoughts out of his head. Until Sansa's siblings got there, he was the one taking care of her, and he needed to control himself. One wrong thought, one wrong brush of hands as they both reached for pastries at the same time, and he'd be hard and she'd probably see it and panic. He didn't want her to think of him as a dirty old man, even though that's how he felt, and he especially didn't want her thinking he was only helping her out in return for something.

Sandor picked up the basket and took it to the small laundry room that was just off the kitchen. "No problems with your sink now?" he called to Sansa. 

"Nope, no leaks or anything," she called back. He could hear the smile in her voice. 

"Good. I pride myself on excellent service," he joked. He tossed the clothes into the washing machine, and fought off urges to sniff her underwear. Laundry detergent in, door closed, buttons pressed, thought Sandor as he went through the motions, trying to distract himself from his thoughts. 

As soon as the machine started, so did that awful rattling noise he'd heard back when he'd fixed Sansa's sink. He shut the laundry room door but it was still annoying. He tried to ignore it, and went back to the living room. But just as he got comfortable on the couch, his phone rang. 

"Fuck," he muttered as he took the phone out of his pocket. It was Mormont, of course, because nobody ever called Sandor except Mormont. Only three people had his phone number, and that was Mormont, one of the rich fuckers Sandor had been a bodyguard for, and Sansa. Sandor answered the phone with a quick, "Yeah?"

"Where are you? Your car's not in its usual spot."

"What are you, my owner?"

"There's been a power outage in Building 3. Meet me there in 10?" 

"Yeah." Sandor hung up the phone and looked at Sansa. 

"What's with the sad puppy dog eyes?" she asked. 

"I gotta go. Duty calls."

"The bathroom's that way," Sansa joked, gesturing to the door across from her bedroom door.

"There's a power outage in Building 3. I've gotta get home and get my shit together and go fix it." 

"Oh." Sansa seemed genuinely disappointed that he'd have to leave. "Well, I'll see you later, I guess." 

Sandor stood up. "If you need anything, call me." 

"I will." 

With that, Sandor was jogging back to his truck. He drove to his own apartment and changed into his work clothes, then grabbed his toolbox and headed to Building 3. Mormont was waiting out front. 

"You get a house call or something?" asked Mormont. 

"What?"

"Why were you driving from Building 6?"

"Why do you care?"

"Any maintenance requests have to be sent in through me. You know, for financial shit." 

"I was just doing somebody a favor. So which apartment is the problem?"

"All of them."

"Fucking hell."

"Yeah. So let's get to work." 

—————————————————

It took a few hours but power was eventually restored to Building 3, much to the enjoyment of its residents. Once he was done, Sandor headed in the direction of Sansa's apartments once more, his toolbox in his hand. He knocked on the door and when he heard Sansa welcome him in, he went inside.

To his immediate horror, Sansa wasn't on the couch. He looked over to the kitchen and there she was, balancing between her good foot and a crutch, trying to put leftover pizza into the microwave. Sandor put his tools on the ground and rushed over to her. "Hey, you need to be resting," he said. 

"I'm fine, I've got my crutches."

"You've got one crutch, so you're not fine. I'll finish the pizza." 

"Sandor–"

Before Sansa could protest any further, Sandor grabbed her by her waist snd picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder as gently as he could. He could have sworn he heard a giggle escape the young woman as he carried her over to the couch. He set her down where she had been that morning, and she said, "Well, at least heat yourself up some pizza too while you're at it." 

"Plan on it." Sandor went back over to the kitchen and set to work. 

"I see you're still on work mode," Sansa called over to him. Sandor looked over his shoulder and saw her pointing to his toolbox.

"Yeah, I came straight here. Didn't want to leave you here by yourself for too long, in case you got any bright ideas." 

"I made it over to the kitchen just fine, thank you very little," teased Sansa. "But it's fine. I do love a man in uniform." 

"My nasty work overalls hardly count as a uniform, but I'll take that as a compliment." 

"As you should!" 

"You're a funny little bird, aren't you?" 

"Little bird? Why, because I sing?"

"Yeah."

Sansa laughed. "The Bird and the Hound. We should start a band."

The microwave beeped and Sandor removed the pizza before bringing it over to Sansa. As he handed her the plate, he noticed a distinct lack of annoying rattling noise. "Is the laundry done?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I haven't moved it to the dryer yet."

"Good. You don't need to do that, I've got it." 

Before Sansa could protest, Sandor was in the laundry room again, pulling the wet clothes out and putting them into the dryer. Then he went back to the living room and picked up his toolbox.

"What are you doing?" asked Sansa. 

"Fixing your washing machine."

"I thought you weren't allowed to fix my washing machine?"

"What Mormont doesn't know won't hurt him. Just promise you won't sue me if I set it on fire or something."

"If my apartment burns down I think I have the right to sue," joked Sansa. 

"We will cross that bridge when we get to it. Enjoy your pizza." 

Sandor began to inspect the washing machine and immediately found the problem. Unfortunately, the issue would require a quick trip to the local improvement store, as Sandor didn't keep spare washing machine parts on him. He went into the living room and explained the situation to Sansa, who yet again looked disappointed to see him go. She must be lonely here, with no relatives to visit her, Sandor thought. She'll be all right once her brother and sister get here. 

"You have to let me pay you for the part and the service," insisted Sansa. 

"I don't have to do anything." 

"You're the nicest person ever, please let me pay you back." 

I'm only nice because I want to fuck you, thought Sandor. "How about you cook me dinner when you're feeling better? That would be a good enough payment."

Sansa smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

With that, Sandor left. He didn't expect his trip to be long, but every minute away from Sansa pained him. He zoomed to the store, through the store, and out of the store, making it back to the apartments in less than an hour. 

But when he knocked on the front door, he heard a man's voice say, "Who is that?"

He then heard Sansa reply, "It's just Sandor. Open the door for him, please."

The front door opened and Sandor was face to face with a young man who was obviously Sansa's brother. They looked incredibly similar, from the wavy red hair to the ridiculously blue eyes. Sandor remembered Sansa saying her older brothers were doing "military stuff," and aside from the fact that he had too much hair on his head to be active military, he looked the part. He was tall, though not nearly as tall as Sandor, and he looked like he worked out religiously. But his muscles looked like they were more for show than anything, and the grumpy look on his face told Sandor he was just as protective as their dad was. 

"I'm just here to fix the washing machine," said Sandor, "then I'll be out of your hair." 

Sansas brother allowed Sandor to come inside, but his eyes scanned over him, as if to determine if Sandor was a threat. It's a bit fucking late for that, he thought. She already trusts me, despite the fact that I'm probably the biggest threat she's ever known. 

"Sandor!" chirped Sansa in her usual sing-song voice. "That's my brother Robb, and this is my sister Arya." Sansa gestured to the short tomboyish girl sitting on the other end of the couch, who seemed to have a permanent scowl. Sansa had been right; she and her sister looked nothing alike. 

Sandor offered up an awkward wave and shuffled into the laundry room. Once the door was closed behind him, he could hear Arya ask, "That's the guy who saved you?"

Sansa scolded in a hushed tone, "Arya, be nice." 

"I'm surprised he saved you and brought you home. He looks like the kind of guy who'd kidnap you."

"Arya! He can probably hear you. And just because he's a little scary-looking doesn't mean that he's a bad guy. He's actually really sweet."

"How did he even see you fall? Where was he?" asked Arya while laughing. "Was he hiding in the woods spying on you?" 

"He was birdwatching."

Sandor could hear Arya cackle. "Him? Birdwatching? Oh, he was definitely spying on you."

Sansa probably shot Arya an icy glare, because the younger Stark stopped jabbering for a moment, and Sandor kept on working. He managed to replace the part rather quickly, but he almost didn't want to leave the laundry room and face the Stark siblings. 

He finally gathered up his courage and walked out, only to find that the siblings were lost in conversation. Despite his large stature and heavy footsteps, he was able to sneak to the door mostly unnoticed. Only when he closed the front door behind him did he hear Sansa's voice ask, "Sandor?"

He knew it wasn't right to just leave her without saying goodbye, but she didn't need him anymore. She had her family now, and, despite how genuine she seemed, she was probably only nice to him out of pity. 

Sandor was self-aware enough to know that nobody actually wanted to spend time with him. He did have a few beers with Mormont on occasion, but that was only because Mormont needed someone to whine to. Sandor knew that he only had himself to blame; he was horrendously grouchy and kept everyone at an arm's length. And most of the time his solitude didn't bother him at all, because he had always been a loner and all he really needed was his dog. But now that he'd had a small taste of domesticity with his girl, his Sansa, he found himself wanting more, even though he knew he wasn't made for that. 

He walked back to his apartment and shut the door behind him. His dog Stranger perked up at his presence.

—————————————————

Two weeks came and went, and Sansa's brother's car stayed parked in front of Building 6, meaning the two Stark siblings had extended their stay by a week. That was definitely a good thing, because Sansa had clearly missed them and she needed all the help she could get. 

Sandor walked toward Building 5, where a broken air conditioning unit waited for him. Summers in Casterly Rock could be brutal, and he knew he had to get there fast before the tenants melted. That would be a nasty clean-up job, he thought as he bounded up the stairs. We'd have to tear the whole building down if humans melted into the carpet, or else we'd never get rid of the smell.

It took a few hours to fix the AC unit, but Sandor did get it done, and he packed up his tools and left. On his way down the stairs, he saw a glimpse of a silver car speeding by. When he walked out to the sidewalk, he cast a glance down towards Building 6, where he saw that Sansa’s brother's car was now gone. 

He's probably going to the store or something, thought Sandor as he walked home. I would hope they're not heading back up to Winterfell and leaving their sister by herself. 

Sandor knew logically that Sansa could take care of herself. As delicate she looked, she was clearly resilient, considering how she was handling everything. She'd told him on the drive back to her apartment that the doctor didn't want her to go to work for a while, and she was upset and stressed by that, but she remained confident. Little did she know that Sandor was prepared to pay her rent if she couldn't. 

Sansa's brother's car didn't return that afternoon, nor the next day. Sandor pretended to himself that he wasn't watching but he was, and any time he had any reason to go around the complex he'd look for the silver car. It wasn't there, which annoyed him. He knew that Whatshisface and Whatsherface had lives to get back to, but he was concerned for Sansa. Didn't they understand how precious she was? How could they just leave her?

 Sandor tried his best to not think about Sansa for the next few days, but failed miserably. He hadn't been back to his spot in the woods since she'd fallen, which he guessed was probably good for his health, but he was missing her. She occupied his mind at all times. But, in fear that she secretly hated him and was glad to be rid of him, he didn't text or call her even though he could've. He knew she wouldn't answer anyway.

—————————————————

He woke up on a Thursday morning to his phone ringing. He answered it with a "Yeah?" 

"Miss Stark in 620 is having sink troubles again. She said she'd like for you to come check it out."

"All right." 

"She also said that she's definitely going to be gone today at her usual time, and that you don't need to worry. Not sure what that's supposed to mean."

"I'll head to her apartment at 10," said Sandor as he hung up the phone. He rolled back over in his bed, not even wondering where a girl with a broken foot would be running off to.

—————————————————

At 10, Sandor opened the door to Sansa's apartment, and to his surprise, she was sitting up on the couch, as if she was waiting for him.

"Sandor!" exclaimed Sansa. "How nice of you to join me."

One of Sandor's eyebrows shot up in confusion. "I was told your sink was leaking again."

"Well, I wanted to give you something but I didn't know which apartment is yours, and I didn't think you'd check your texts, so I thought I'd call you out here."

"Give me something?" asked Sandor. "I told you I don't want to be paid for helping you."

"Good thing I'm not paying you, then." Sansa used her crutches to stand up, and she leaned over to grab a white envelope off her coffee table. "Here you go."

Sandor hesitantly took the envelope and opened it. Inside was a card that said in gold writing, "You're invited!" 

"What's this?" he asked. 

"Open and see!"

Sandor did as he was told and saw, in Sansa's perfect handwriting, the words, "My place. Spaghetti. Friday at 5."

"This doesn't explain anything."

"You told me you wanted dinner as payment. I'm feeling better and my ankles not so bad anymore, so I've invited you for dinner!"

 Sandor shook his head. "Sansa, you don't owe me anything."

"Yes, I do. And by requesting dinner that day you pretty much already said that you'd come."

"Fine, I'll come." 

"Perfect!" Sansa beamed at him. "It's a date!!"

I fucking wish it was, thought Sandor. "But I don't have anything nice to wear." 

"So? I've been living in my pajamas for two weeks. Wear whatever."

"Okay."

"I mean, if you really don't want to come, you don't have to. I just want to show my appreciation to you."

"No, I want to come. I'll be there."

"Good. That makes me really happy." 

Sandor was anxious about this little dinner date, but he would have done anything to have Sansa smile at him. Besides, he thought, a little spaghetti never killed anyone. As far as I know. "So, your sink isn't leaking again?"

"Nope."

"Well, in that case, I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow." Sandor didn't really want to leave Sansa, but he desperately needed to wallow in self-pity and that was an action best done alone. 

"Yep!"

Sandor nodded and left, unsure whether to be excited or anxious about their little 'date.'

—————————————————

Sandor showed up at Sansa's apartment half an hour early, because he couldn't bear pacing around his apartment in his nicest jeans for any longer. His nicest jeans were just really the pair with the least amount of holes and stains that wouldn't come off. He thought about bringing flowers, but decided against it, because he didn't want to make things awkward. 

He knocked on the door, and could hear a loud gasp inside the apartment, followed by Sansa's sing-songy "Come innnnn!"

Sandor used his master key to unlock the door and stepped inside. Sansa was hopping around the kitchen on one crutch, humming as she cooked. She was wearing a red and pink dress, covered by a white apron that had strawberries embroidered on it. 

"I thought you might need some help in here," he said. 

"I've got this," said Sansa. "You can't help me cook or else I'll owe you another dinner." 

"That's fine by me. You shouldn't be cooking on one foot anyway," joked Sandor as he stepped into the kitchen. 

"And yet, I'm doing it flawlessly!" Just then, a timer went off and Sansa yelped, "My garlic toast!" 

"Let me," insisted Sandor. He grabbed an oven mitt off the counter, but it didn't fit on his large hand so he just held it as he opened the oven door. Using the mitt as a barrier between his hand and the pan, he pulled the pain out of the oven. 

"There's a potholder on the table you can put that on," said Sansa, gesturing to the dining area. Sandor followed her instructions and put the pan on the lemon-shaped potholder. "Now go sit on the couch and wait. I'm almost done here." 

Sandor sighed playfully and went to sit on the couch. It was a funny sight, seeing the beautiful Sansa frantically hopping around the kitchen, but Sandor couldn't even truly enjoy the humor of it because he was so worried she'd fall over.

Finally, dinner was ready, and Sansa allowed Sandor to help set the table. Once they were seated and food was served, Sansa looked to him and asked, "So, how've you been?"

"Bored. Haven't had any girls fall off balconies lately."

"Darn, I really thought I was going to set a new trend," joked Sansa. 

"Should have fallen off the front side of the building, then." 

"Yeah." Sansa's smile then suddenly fell, and she twirled her spaghetti around her fork. "So, what kind of birds do you normally see out here?" 

Fuck. This was clearly a test. Her sister's words must have been bothering her. Sandor didn't know shit about birds, but he knew he couldn't afford to fuck this answer up, so he tried to think of the names of different birds he'd seen around the complex before. "Uh, depends on the season. But I like looking for crows. And there's always seagulls around, and cardinals."

Sansa beamed. He'd passed the test. "I love cardinals. I've seen a few outside my window. I love their spiky little heads." 

Sandor tried to not breathe his sigh of relief too loud. "This spaghetti... it's really good."

"Thank you! I love to cook and bake but it's not as fun if you don't have someone to share the food with," said Sansa. "You're kind of my only friend around here. The only other person I talk to outside of work is the girl who owns that candle shop nearby."

"The blonde?"

"Yeah, her name is Daenerys. You know her?"

Sandor laughed. "I've never met her. But Mormont's got it bad for her." This was true, despite Sansa's incredulous look. Mormont had once gone to Dragonstone Candle Company to buy a gift for his teenage cousin, who would sometimes spend weekends with him in the summer, and he immediately fell head-over-heels for the silvery blonde woman who ran the shop. 

"She hasn't mentioned him, but we don't talk that much," said Sansa. "But some ladies have a thing for older men."

"I don't think he has a chance in hell, but he's probably the best customer she's got. He's always buying new candles from her."

"I did think the office smelled good the last time I was there."

Sandor nodded. "But I find it hard to believe someone as young, fun, and adorable as you don't have any friends around here."

Sansa blushed. "You think I'm adorable?"

Sandor hadn't realized he'd said that part out loud. "I just mean that it's strange you'd have to resort to hanging out with a big ugly fucker like me."

"No no no," scolded Sansa as she waved her winger at him. "You are not going to call yourself ugly in my apartment. Or else."

"Or else what?" teased Sandor. 

"Or else I'll..." Sansa clearly hadn't thought this through. "I'll make you stand in front of the mirror and repeat positive affirmations until you believe them."

"Then we'll be at it all night." 

"Fine by me. It's not like I've got anywhere to be for a while." 

Sandor chuckled. "You're a stubborn girl, you know that?" 

"Thank you, I try."

"When do you think you can go back to work?"

"In a few more weeks, I think. I mean, I can still play the piano because I didn't break my piano-playing foot, but the doctor said she wanted me to rest as long as I could. What am I even supposed to do by myself for a few more weeks?"

"Enjoy your time off. At least you're not on-call at all times."

"It would be weird to be an on-call piano teacher. I don't think there are piano emergencies, outside of cartoons."

"I can handle it if you fall off a balcony, but if a piano falls on you I don't think there's much I can do."

"Oh, come on, you're strong, you could definitely lift a piano off of me." 

"Wouldn't do much good if you were flat as a pancake," joked Sandor. "Besides, how do you know I'm strong? I could just be big." 

"You could lift me up with no problem."

"That could've just been adrenaline." 

"Sandor!" chided Sansa. "Why can't you accept a compliment?"

Sandor shrugged. "Because I'm not used to them, I guess."

"Then it is my sacred duty to get you used to them." 

"Don't get me used to something I'll never experience again."

Sansa's smile fell. "It breaks my heart that you have such a low opinion of yourself and such a pessimistic view of the world." 

"It's not pessimism, it's realism."

"That's what every pessimist says."

Sandor didn't know what to say. He had clearly upset Sansa and had no idea how to fix it. She stared down at her spaghetti, a disappointed look on her face. He thought for a moment, then slowly offered, "I've been thinking... I could build you a birdhouse."

Sansa looked up at him. "A birdhouse?"

"I could build a birdhouse and you could paint it. And we could hang it on your balcony."

"Will Mr. Mormont allow that?"

Sandor shrugged. "He'll have to. Or I'll threaten to go to the candle shop and tell that girl he likes her."

Sansa giggled. "You're evil."

"Yes, I am."

"I'd love it if you made me a birdhouse. But then I'd owe you another dinner."

"You wouldn't owe me anything, it would be a gift."

"Nope. I'd have to have you over for dinner again. Twice, actually. A dinner for you to deliver the birdhouse and another for you to hang it once I've painted it."

"If you insist."

"I do." Sansa seemed to think for a moment, then asked, her voice quiet, "Sandor, can I ask you a question?"

"Anything."

"If you were in Mr. Mormont's shoes and you were developing feelings for somebody, but you couldn't tell how they felt, would you still give it a shot?"

Without thinking, Sandor answered honestly. "No." 

"Oh."

"I might can scrap together a birdhouse by next week. And we could have dinner on Friday again."

Sansa grinned. "It's a date."

—————————————————

The two spent the rest of that night eating and chatting, until Sandor eventually wandered home, his head full of images of red hair and porcelain skin. Their dinner had almost felt like an actual date, not just a turn of phrase Sansa had haphazardly used, completely unaware of how besotted he was with her. 

It felt like a fairytale. She was the beautiful princess and he was the monster who wanted to steal her away from her castle. But when she fell, she'd looked at him like he was her knight in shining armor.

He had no idea why she wanted to spend time with him, but he knew he needed to take this opportunity to prove to her, and himself, that he wasn't the kind of gross asshole who jerked off in the woods. 

—————————————————

"Mormont."

Mormont looked up from the papers he was looking at at his desk in his office in the main building. "Clegane?"

"You got wood?" asked Sandor.

"Wood?" asked Mormont. 

"Wood to build a birdhouse with." 

"Build a birdhouse?"

"That's what I said," said Sandor. Mormont had a perplexed look on his face. "Do you have wood or not?"

"I do, in the storage shed out by the dumpster. Why are you building a birdhouse?"

Sandor sighed. "It's a long story."

"Does it have something to do with the amount of time you've been spending at Building 6?"

"Are you fucking tracking me?" asked Sandor. The stalker is now the stalked, he thought. 

"I'm not blind, Clegane. I could recognize you or your green truck a mile away and I've been seeing both heading in the direction of Building 6." 

"I've been birdwatching."

Mormont leaned back in his swivel chair. "Yeah, sure, bird watching. And I go to Dragonstone Candle Co for the candles."

"Fuck off, Mormont." Sandor turned around and left the building. 

—————————————————

Sandor gathered the wood from the shed and set it on the floor of his apartment. He stared at it for a few minutes before picking up a piece of wood, turning it over in his hands a few times, then tossing it back down to the pile. 

Maybe I should just go buy a birdhouse and say I built it, he thought. But he couldn't lie to Sansa like that. Besides, she deserved the best. Being a handyman, he already had all the necessary tools, but he didn't know where to start. 

At least I've got until Friday.

—————————————————

 Sandor showed up at Sansa's apartment thirty minutes early again, proudly holding a birdhouse. It wasn't perfect, but it was sturdy and mostly symmetrical, and was somehow a more intimate gift than flowers. 

Sansa called for Sandor to come in, and when he did, he found a similar scene to the week before, with her back to him as she hopped around in the kitchen. Today she wore a baby blue dress and an apron embroidered with lemons. She looks like a fucking 1950s housewife, thought Sandor. She's so fucking perfect.

"What's on the menu tonight?" he asked. 

"Crockpot meatballs and rice," she replied. "I know we had meatballs last week with our spaghetti, but this is different. And I never get to make them since they take around four hours in the crockpot, and I normally don't have the time."

"Now you have nothing but time."

"Exactly! I feel like you just get me, Sandor." 

Sandor walked over to the kitchen but stood out of her way. So lost in her cooking, Sansa didn't notice the birdhouse. "Normally when I cook, I put on music and I sing and dance, but I can't when I'm still on crutches."

"I'm sure there's a dance you could do with just one functioning foot."

"But those dances require a partner," said Sansa, as she finally turned around to face him. When she saw the birdhouse, her mouth fell open. "Holy shit! You built that for me?"

"I said I would, didn't I?" 

"It's amazing!"

Sandor chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it's not bad for my first time building one."

"Thank you so much, Sandor," said Sansa as she hopped over to him. "I can't wait to paint it."

"Painting it red will attract cardinals." Sandor only knew this information because he had Googled facts about cardinals in order to seem like an actual birdwatcher.

Sansa beamed as she took the birdhouse from Sandor. "It's perfect. Thank you." 

"All in a day's work."

"I knew, from the moment I first saw you helping Mrs. Tyrell with her groceries, that you were a big ol' loveable sweetheart just pretending to be a tough asshole." 

"No, I'm still an asshole." 

"No, you're not!"

"I'm definitely not lovable."

"Let's agree to disagree on that one. But I'm glad my intuition was right. The more I get to know you, the more I like you."

Sandor only smiled at her, fearing that he would say the wrong thing. Sansa put the birdhouse on the counter and went back to cooking. 

Soon the rice was done, as were the meatballs, and Sandor helped set the table again, before helping Sansa into her chair. "You're such a gentleman," she said.

Sandor thought, I wish I was half the gentleman you think I am. 

—————————————————

"And that's why I think it should be illegal to chew gum in public," said Sansa as Sandor helped her recline on the couch after dinner. He sat down at the other end.

"You make a compelling argument." 

"Of course I do." She tried to adjust her feet on the couch, then winced in pain. "God, my foot hurts."

"Healing takes time."

"I know, but I'm ready to dance! Sometimes I pick up my cat and dance around with her. She only hates it a little bit."

Sandor laughed. "You need a proper dance partner until you get better."

"Yeah. Do you dance?"

"Fuck no."

"I can show you!"

"Not a good idea." 

"Why not?"

"I've got two left feet. Two gigantic left feet. What if I stomp on you?"

"If you stomp on me, I get even more time off work. And if I die because I gambled on dancing, I'll still die happy."

"You're absolutely fucking ridiculous, you know that?"

"Someone's got to be. Dance with me, Sandor."

Sandor couldn't resist those hypnotic ice blue eyes. "We can try." 

"Good. Now help me up."

"Don't be so demanding, princess," joked Sandor as he stood and extended his hands to her. She took them and hoisted herself up. Unsteady without her crutches, she leaned against his chest as her hands found their way up his arms, across his biceps and to his shoulders. Every touch from her felt like a jolt of electricity shooting through his body, and the feeling of her breasts against his broad chest made his cock begin to hurt, but he tried his best to ignore all the nasty thoughts running through his mind. I have to pretend to be the gentleman she thinks I am, he thought.

"Okay, put your hands around my waist," said Sansa. 

Sandor did as he was told. 

"Now we just have to step around the room in a pattern and pretend there's nice ballroom music playing."

"We probably should have put on music before I helped you up."

"Too late now. Let's sway."

"Sway?"

"Like a branch in the breeze. Come on, birdwatcher, sway with me."

Sandor stepped to the side, and Sansa followed suit. "Walk around like you're walking around a square," she instructed.

Sandor stepped backward, and Sansa nodded her approval. He stepped to the side and then took a step forward. Sansa followed his lead with ease, like a professional. Sandor had no doubt that as the daughter of a local politician, she'd have to learn how to be as ladylike as possible. They continued this pattern in relative silence for a minute, until Sandor tripped.

Just like when Sansa fell from her balcony, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. A look of fear flashed on Sansa's face as both of them tumbled to the carpet. But luckily, she landed on top of Sandor.

"Are you all right?" asked Sandor. 

"Yeah. You?"

"I'm fine. I'm glad you landed on me. Can't have you breaking something else."

"Honestly, if I break something else just call me an Uber. You've been too good to me already." 

Sandor shook his head. "You'll need your guard dog with you."

"That's true." Sansa was laying on top of Sandor, and they were face to face, but neither of them made any effort to move. "You know, I've never really been particularly clumsy until I moved here."

"You're a Northern girl. I bet you're used to walking on snow."

Sansa laughed. "You're right." She adjusted herself so that she was propped up on one elbow, her hand supporting her head. Her face was right above Sandor's and her elbow was next to his ear. Her long red hair fell down and tickled his skin.

Sandor glanced down and saw the tops of Sansa's breasts squished up against him. Her dress wasn't extremely low cut, but it was low enough for him to see her cleavage, which he had been trying very hard to ignore. Sansa adjusted herself again, leaning over slightly. She smelled amazing, like lemons and something else he couldn't quite place, and her warmth was intoxicating. He would have gladly stayed in that moment forever.

"Sandor?" asked Sansa quietly.

"Yeah?" He looked to her face, to see that she was seemingly studying his. 

"If I ask if I can kiss you, would you say yes?" 

Sandor felt like he must have misheard her.

"What?"

"If you want to say no, that's okay. We can just pretend that my pain medication messes with my brain. Maybe it does, I don’t know."

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I would say yes."

Sansa beamed. "Good. So can I kiss you?"

"Yes." 

As soon as the word left Sandor’s mouth, Sansa leaned down, her lips meeting his slowly and gently. Sandor’s hands found their way to Sansa’s back, and he knew he had never been happier in his life. Sansa smiled against his lips, then lifted her head up. “Sandor?”

“Yes?”

“Is that a screwdriver in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”

Sandor was petrified, but decided to take a risk and match her jovial manner. “A screwdriver isn’t nearly as thick.”

Sansa grinned. “Thought so.” Her hand was on his chest, and it snaked its way down, nearing the top of his jeans.

Sandor grabbed her hand and stopped her. “Don’t start something you can't finish, little bird.” 

“Who says I can’t?”

“I need a favor first.”

“Oh?”

“You have to let me thank you for dinner.” 

Sansa smirked. “And how would you do that?”

It’s now or never, he thought. “Let’s stand up.”

Sansa did as she was told, and once both of them were standing, Sandor picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, eliciting an excited google from her. He carried her to her bedroom, where her cat was curled up on the bed. When she saw him coming, the cat darted out of the room, and Sandor gently laid Sansa on her back on the bed. 

“How's your ankle?” he asked her. 

“Fine,” said Sansa. She was breathing heavily, and her eyes remained fixed on him. 

“Good.” Sandor then climbed on the bed to where he was right next to Sansa, leaning over her. She grabbed him by his hair and pulled him in for a kiss, which he enjoyed thoroughly, pushing his tongue inside her mouth like he’d always dreamed. She seemed surprised but didn’t pull away from him, and he took that as a sign to continue. He buried his face in her neck, nibbling gently, and he began to fondle her breast with one hand. She let out a small whimper and reached up, trying to pull the top of her dress down. He kissed her on the lips again, softly biting her bottom lip, and he slid his hand all the way down her body and up under her dress. He slid two fingers into her underwear to press against her, and to his delight, she was perfectly wet for him. 

Sansa broke from the kiss to whisper, “Take off my dress, please. If you want.”

“So polite,” Sandor said with a snicker. He helped her sit up a little more so she could pull the dress over her head and toss it onto the floor. Her bra came off next and was similarly discarded. Sansa tried to wiggle out of her underwear, but Sandor stopped her and growled in her ear, “Leave that for me.”

Sansa bit her lip and laid her head back on the pillow as Sandor crawled on top of her and scooted down the bed. He was too large to fit on her bed so he had to get off the bed and pull her by her bare thighs toward him, until his face was just above her crotch. Sansa shivered with excitement as he delicately pulled her underwear off of her. He gently eased the same two fingers as before into her, his thumb flicking her clit softly. She let out a gasp, which turned into a quiet moan when he pulled his fingers away from her and replaced him with his mouth. 

Sansa reached down and ran her fingers through his dark hair and when he pushed his tongue into her she arched her back. He brought one hand up to tease her clit with the thumb while his other hand reached up and grabbed a handful of tit. So fucking perfect, he thought as his lips kissed and lapped and sucked at her pussy. Sansa bucked her hips up reflexively, which only buried his face further into her. Her hand tightened around his head and her legs began to twitch, before she finally came in his mouth.

After a moment, Sandor sat back, still kneeling on the ground at the foot of the bed. Sansa was staring up at the ceiling, having clearly enjoyed what he’d done to her. Finally, she softly said, “Nobody’s ever done that before.”

“What? Licked your cunt?”

“That, too.”

“What, then?”

 Sansa propped herself up on her elbows so she could look at him. “Made me orgasm.” 

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” 

”It’s true.”

Sandor crawled back onto the bed next to her, propping himself up so he was still above her. She was sweating, which made her body glow in the most entracing way. After months of daydreaming and fantasizing, he finally had the real thing, up close and personal. He could hardly believe it. “I live at 106 if you ever want more.”

“Definitely.” 

“I’ll even let you ride my face, once your ankle is healed.” 

“Ugh, Sandor, I’m obsessed with you.”

You have no idea what obsession is, he thought. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. “Anything else, princess?”

“Yes,” said Sansa as she looked up at him, her icy blue eyes staring into his soul. “I want to finish what I started.” He then felt her hand caressing him through his jeans. 

Sandor kissed her on the lips and reached down to unzip his pants. Soon he was pulling them down along with his boxers,  and he immediately felt her slender fingers around him, pulling and twisting. Her hand felt amazing, better than he’d ever dreamed, but he still couldn’t resist the urge to moan, “Spread your legs.”

Sansa opened her legs for him and he slid on top of her. Her soft pale skin was a stark contrast to his rough hands as he cupped her breasts, then grabbed her by the hip and positioned her how he needed her. Bracing himself on her white headboard, he kissed her collarbone and angled his cock against her, before easing himself inside her. She gasped loudly as he entered her, but the initial look of pain on her face faded away as she began to grind around underneath him. Her leg with the non-broken ankle wrapped around his hips, locking him to her, and he shoved in deeper, rocking back and forth. Her moans were the prettiest sound he’d ever heard and they grew louder and louder as he pushed into her. Her cunt was warm and tight around his cock, and he knew he wouldn’t last long. He came into her with a loud grunt, filling her up with his seed like he’d always imagined. But she kept grinding against him, bucking her hips, so he didn’t pull out of her. One of her hands scratched across his back while the other pulled his hair, and it felt as if she was pulling him in as close as humanly possible. Finally, she orgasmed again, a gentle sigh escaping her lips.

Sandor rolled off of her. “Sansa–”

“I love the way you say my name.” 

“The feeling’s mutual.”

“Do you wanna stay the night?”

Sandor looked over at the stunning woman beside him. “More than anything, little bird.”

[ieatyourbeauty]

Stir the Blood *demon Soap fanfic*

A woman Summons a demon that she nicknames Soap, some demon hunting ensues maybe a romance.

MDNI

warning: some sexual content.

(might be a series might not be we will see)

A abandoned church on hill a dark cold stormy night sounds like a starter for a horror novel, and I guess you can call it that. A girl by the name of Josey lights candles and draws a symbol with chalk on the floor of the church her footsteps echoing in the empty cathedral as she stands in the middle of the circle she takes a knife out making cut on her hand wincing in pain and squeezing it to make it drip on the summoning circle.

Josey: This has to work...please this just has too I have no other choice!

A strong wind enters the old church blowing out the candles the room got colder she could see her breath and she was shivering.....she could only hear her breath and the rain outside, she heard a noise and looked around seeing nothing, she smelled something weird.....laundry soap? stepping away from the circle she took out a rosary in her pocket and grabbed it saying a silent prayer for herself.

Josey: I know I'm damned to hell for doing this but it needed to be done.

Then she heard a voice seeing a figure in front of her she steps back her eyes wide a man with a red skull mask and horns staring her down his wings torn from millennia of use.

???: You are not the first to call me out, and you will not be the last. What is your desire, little mortal.

Josey: I summoned u here for a reason demon the tomb on the book said if I summon u, you have to do my bidding.

???: really now.....why would I do that you only just summoned me you haven't bonded me to ya

He grins approaching her she takes a step back terrified he gets close to her she's breathing heavily looking up at his blue eyes weird set of eyes for a demon she thought she was expecting goat eyes or cat eyes something like that.

???: I won't always be in your control what's stopping me from just killing u here and now...or using you for my own pleasures little mortal.

Josey: ARCO!

All the sudden the demon felt his power draining he dropped to his knees feeling a restraint on his neck choking him he glared up at her his eyes full of rage reaching up at her, she moves away from him a shocked look, stunned that the words actually worked.

???: Do you know what demon your messing with human bitch?!

Josey: DEORSUM!

The spell pins the demon down she stands over him now determined.

Josey: if u even think about doing me harm this enchantment I put on u drains your powers so you'll feel like a mortal I know yall demons hate that!

The demon snarls at her, but is powerless to do anything else, and glares at her as she stands above him she puts a collar on his neck.

???: You really have no fuckin idea what you've done, mortal. When the time is right, I will break free. Then I will make you regret this witch!

Josey: right... until then come with me demon my home is in the woods I will discuss my plan with you there.

The demon had to think of a plan how was he going to break this mortal woman betting? seducing? Anything? She walks away the demon reluctantly following her behind, he's seething with rage and plotting on how he would try to betray the woman. As the demon and mortal are walking through the forest she looks at him and smirks.

Josey: you know when I summoned you I expected to smell sulfur and brimstone but oddly enough it smelled like laundry soap.....ah I have to give my new pet a name right?....hmmm I'll call you Soap!

Soap: what a stupid name! that's no name for a demon!

Josey: your name is Soap now deal with it ahhh home sweet home.

She laughs as they approach her house, They enter the home and go upstairs to her bedroom and she discusses her plan with Soap the demon. Soap crossing his arms leaning on a wall waiting for her to talk not like he has a choice still livid over the name she forced onto him..

Josey: There are demons in this city with human's who do their bidding and I'm going to kill them all with your help of course. you can take care of the demons while I take care of the human part of the problem I need to hunt these fuckers down.

Soap: so you need me to do your dirty work why not do it yourself.

Josey: well as u so pointed out Soap I'm a mortal I cant exactly kill a demon which is why I summoned you supposedly your a powerful demon though being contained by me I might have made a mistake and gotten a weakling...

This pissed soap off as he got closer to her but he couldn't do anything but stare at her his blue eyes piercing hers, Soap chuckles.

Soap: Weak? Weak, you say? Just because you bound me, you think you have the advantage, woman? I could blast you out of existence, in this moment I could ravage you and take you as my personal slave.

She gets close whispering in his ear, teasing him her body close to his he feels her figure. Soap feels her tug at his collar.

Josey: yet who is the one collard Soap.

Soap: don't try and seduce me mortal..I am much beyond the need for such...distractions.

Josey: hmm yet I see you blushing Soap...curious I didnt know demons could blush...anyway that collar on your neck is infused with my blood ....virgin blood so if u planned on seducing me that enchanted collar is staying on your neck.

For the first time, she see's Soap look...nervous. And this, of course, amuses her His face flushes, and he looks away. Josey laughs she liked humbling this demon He growls, in an attempt to play off the situation.

Josey: Don't worry ill give u something better you like eating souls correct taste better than candy? .....if u partner up with me u can eat all the souls you want the more corrupted the better they taste correct?

He takes off his mask and smiles widely, teeth sharp.

Soap: Now you're speaking my language, woman. I get to eat souls with your help?

Josey: yes and hell at this end of this journey u can even have mine......a promise....Do we have a deal?

She extends her hand, Soap hesitates for a moment, before taking her hand and shaking it. Soap pulls her close their lips almost touching he makes one last threat.

Soap: you have a deal woman, but just remember the moment you fuck up I will make your mind and your body mine.

He kisses her, his lips soft, his tongue pushes against hers, and he pulls away again, his grin ever present. Josey blushed never been kissed like that but she composed herself but on the inside just a kiss from him made her cunt wet.

Josey: I'll take your word for it demon now get some rest we have a long road ahead of us....rest well....Soap.

The demon glares at you, still angry that you forced him into this.

Soap: Very well. I will go rest, but it's not because you told me to, witch.

She enters the bathroom closing the door she leans on the door breathing heavily she gets undressed her panties drenched. She enters the shower fingering herself thinking about Soap fucking her covering her mouth so her moans don't reach his ears and hoping the noise from the water covers it.

Josey: fuck....fucking demon I gotta be more careful.....he touches me like that again I'm done for, I gotta keep my head straight.

Meanwhile Soap lays on the couch tugging on his collar still pissed that hes in this situation and that if he was in hell other demons would laugh at him being bonded to a human woman.

Soap: I hate this. I hate this human If I could escape, I would. If I could kill her, ohhh I would make her sorry one way or another.

He continues muttering angry comments about you, but eventually falls asleep despite it. Josey steps out of the shower a towel wrapped around her body she sees Soap sleeping on the couch approaching him she lowers her face towards his wanting to touch his lips again before backing away and putting one a tshirt and shorts and going to bed.

(idk i might do more lemme know what yall think.)

[a-vvenger]

can i request headcannons of eddie x gn!reader, where reader is his number one buyer, like most loyal/consistent costumer (to the point he gets worried) but he ends up falling inlove with them (and reader is kinda an asshole to him but theyre inlove with him too)

eddie munson headcanon

pairing: eddie munson x gn!reader

a/n: oohhh i’ve never done headcannons before so i’m so sorry if this sucks lol. also i put pet cus i didn’t want to put a random parent or sibling idk it just didn’t feel right lol. this was fun tho!

my masterlist

you started buying from eddie after your pet died, you loved that little creature with everything and the grief was too much

you needed a distraction

so you approached eddie one day after a hellfire meeting

he was quite confused because you had never talked to him before

the first thing he noticed was that you were nervous

your arms wrapped around your body, picking at your nails

“uh hi?” he questions you

“i need a hit” you basically yell out

and then a couple days later you meet in the woods at a picnic table

eddie looks at you concerned the whole time but decides not to question it

from then on you become a regular for eddie

you moved past your grief (did you though?), now you just do it for fun

some may say you might be addicted

especially eddie

you were his number one buyer now

and as much as he loved the business he couldn’t help but grow concerned for your well being

and everytime he would ask if you were okay you’d get defensive

“what’s it matter to you, munson?”

paired with “fuck off and mind your own business”

and yes you did feel guilty after the fact but you didn’t need anyones help

especially your dealers help

all you needed from him were drugs

and yet you found yourself time and time again in his uncles trailer

the two of you would just smoke together in silence a lot

and when you would talk it would be casual talk

nothing deep, just light

and eddie found himself falling for you

everytime you would laugh at one of his jokes or even smile at him

and even when you were being an asshole towards him

he was falling more and more everyday

he would never dare tell you in fear of rejection

little did he know you were falling for him too

you deflected your feelings by being mean to him

you wanted to tell him all your troubles but as soon as you opened up, you’d be forced to admit those feelings to yourself

so here you are sitting on the couch in his trailer, passing a blunt between the two of you

neither of you says anything

a comfortable silence fills the air

until eddie breaks it

“y/n”

“yea?”

“why did you start smoking?”

you sigh and close your eyes

“why the hell does it matter?”

there it is, the defensiveness

it’s his turn to sign

“i was just wondering, god, why do you always do that?”

he’s never gotten angry with you when you were being defensive but he was becoming tired of you being an ass to him when he was only trying to help

“what?”

“why do you always get defensive and become an ass when i try to ask you anything personal? do you not trust me?”

you can see the sadness in his eyes

“i do trust you eddie”

there you go again with the defensive tone

he groans

“then why do we never talk about our lives?”

“we talk about our lives”

defensive once again

“i don’t mean talking about our days, i mean talking about our lives. we never talk about anything outside of school and drugs”

“that’s not true”

“yes y/n, it is and i’m sick of it”

he’s annoyed now

“you’ve become my number one buyer, in a matter of a couple months, that’s not healthy. and everytime i try to ask if you’re okay you get defensive and become an ass. and i get not wanting to talk about certain aspects of your personal life, but i just want you to know that i’m here. that i care for you.”

you’re too stunned to speak

“and maybe you don’t like me, but i’m willing to bet that you do. you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t enjoy my company. you need someone to be there for you, to listen to you. so let me be that person.”

“eddie i-“ you sigh

he cuts you off

“why did you start smoking?”

oh god here we go, you think to yourself

time to cry in front of eddie freaking munson, the boy you’ve fallen for

you take a deep breath

“my pet died. it was my first pet. we had it since i was born. i’ve never lived life without it. and the grief was becoming sickening.”

you start to tear up as eddies eyes soften at your words

“i needed a distraction. so i came to you. i needed something to change. and it did. and i convinced myself that the drugs were stopping the grief. but they weren’t.”

eddie looks at you confused, wondering why you kept taking them then

“you are,” you confess, “everytime i’m with you it’s like time stops, i can’t focus on anything but you.”

he’s shocked at your words

“i’m not addicted to drugs, eddie, i’m addicted to you”

you look up at him and see the blank look on his face. you’ve freaked him out, you think to yourself

“i- im just gonna go”

you stand up to head towards the door

but as you go to turn around, eddie grabs your wrist pulling you toward him

then, he smashes his lips against yours

you kiss him back, quick and needy

you pull apart for air

“i think it’s safe to assume i feel the same” he says

you smile at him and wrap your arms around him in a hug

he pulls you over to the couch and you guys sit down

and then for the rest of the night until early morning, you talk about your lives.

[abyssal-cryptid]

I keep playing Tears of the Kingdom (SPOILERS)

The Like enemies are the worst

I hate them

Yona is such a sweetie

They wrote Sidon and Link's relationship to be romantic in this and added a girlfriend to Sidon for deniability

Yona even calls me Sidon's 'true companion'

The people making tutorials for every little thing have my heart because I am dumb of ass

I cant be the only one who avoids the depths like my life depends on it

Its not even the depths, the chasms just make me almost have panic attacks

Anyways there is a chasm under Zora domain

Its free on enemies and has a forge

Im terrified of the dark

Also there is Zora statues

Why is Link dick sucking height for everyone

Sidon, Rauru, Ganon

I mean

I dont write porn someone else do that for me

I write sad Link

Not that sad Link cant suck dick I just cant write it

Anywaysss

I would go to the Tulin air temple but there is an ice spider there

FUCK I FORGOT TO TAKE A PIC OF THE BOSSES IN WATER TEMPLE NOO

MY COMPENDIUM

Also the boss bokoblin marches are so scary wtf

I saw group of black bokoblins paradin around and immediatly dipped into the ocean

Safety

Cant follow me

I was excited for pirates

But no its just monsters

Uhhhh quick tip dont sleep in the middle of killing the Lurelin village pirates

You bet your ass Im spending my precious time fixing up the village with Bolson

Its so fun

Im helping

I love these types of quests

In going to Hestu after this

I dont want to

I so dont want to

WAIT I WAS LIED TO

HESTU MY DEAREST

HE'S AT THE LOOKOUT TOWER

BABY BOY

I hate the depths

WHY IS THERE LIGHT EATING ENEMIES

But I need bombs and theres a lot of them here

Stop making me go down there

Let me be

Back to rebuilding

Im sure I was doing something but I cant remember

I need more space for meals

YAY WE DID IT

REBUILT

Roman is now 4*-5*-4*-3* horse and I love him so much

He looks like Epona and has flowers in his mane

Ive gotten like 9 memories

I love the animation for Link gaining hearts or stamina

Why cant the musicians walk

I love Mastro

His little ya yahs

Their band is really good

Makes me want to run in the woods

Anyways more great fairy!

Why is there no great moose

Why do I have to pay the great fairy

HOW DO I KEEP PREDICTING BLOOD MOONS TO A TEE

They gave Link so many slutty slutty outfits

Making Link wear the hylian hood when he opens a memory looks funny

LEAVE ZELDA ALONE

Why doesnt Master Sword ever talk to ME

Why does it only talk to Zelda

Maybe there was a mix up because goddess Hylia only talks to Link

Imagine

NO ZELDA NO DONT DO IT

ZELDA BABY PLEASE

ZELDA

NO

ZELDA DONT

ZELDA

Im going to write Zelda-Link fanfiction about this

Typhlo ruins being visible is kind of strange

Wait I can have a whip

Okay I admit I like the vehicles

All great fairies opened

Stable Trotters play so beautifully

The scales on the great fairies clothes are so pretty

Sidon's avatar has scared me so many times

Can I please get the ancient saddle back

YIGA FIT AQUIRED

I slayed

Literally

Got all the rewards possible from the hideout

Rauru is dumbass a little bit

Ganondorf is so hot here

Ganondorf is a liar but my god

Sonia is so beautiful my god

Zelda looks kind of like Sonia's daughter and I wonder if Ganon thinks she is

The Zonai clothing is stunning

Why does Ganondorf have to be so evil

I GOT THE HYLIAN SHIELD

OMG

I NEVER GOT THIS IN BREATH OF THE WILD

Slip resistance is like the most useless thing in this fucking game

Because it does nothing

Even on level 3

Nothing

NOTHING

WHY DID YOU PUT THIS IN GAME THEN

The Dream Homes are so cool

They cost so many coins

But Im so excited

Its so cute

I CAN HAVE ROMAN IN A PERSONAL STABLE

I got a kitchen too

And a study

And weapons room

I love it

Is it time for Gerudo town clearing? Yes yes yes

I hate this sandstorm and love the desert so

The Lightning Temple is so cool

WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT

WHAT

WHEN DID THIS BECOME A HORROR GAME

I HATE THAT

The puzzles are hard, I have so little brains

Boss battles are so hard

The Lightning Sage is majorly hit

Why is Demon Ganondorf so hot

WAIT DAYBREAKER WAS HER SHIELD

Is this like a traditional shield and weapon of the Lady of Gerudo?? I thought it was just Urbosa

Btw Urbosa is my favorite Champion and I adore her

Simple lesbian brain

Once again Zonai Zelda is the prettiest person in any room

Please Can I Marry Her

Why does Zelda have tear tattoos? Like did she just get them to complete her fit

Iconic

Why cant we see the faces of the Sages

Me every time they call Zelda the Sage of Time

Riju is adorable

She's grown so much

I intended to write a long fic about BOTW with my interpertation of Link and all

But then TOTK released

I do keep thinking about it

There is so many ideas and headcanons I have

I do miss dressing Link as a girl

He has slutty outfits but like let me explore Link's gender

RIJU'S AVATAR IS SO PRETTY

LIKE PRETTY AND FIERCE AND SCARY

I LOVE IT AND HER

I so had a crush on Riju in BOTW I was just dumb and in denial

GERUDO TOWN IS BACK TO NORMAL

MY BELOVED

FAVORITE CITY

I want to write a desert civilization inspired ny the Gerudo and also real desert civilizations

But idk where to start

Oh I need to take a picture of Mattison for Hudson

I love Patricia

*feeds fruit to her*

I love that Padda also loves her despite her puns

WHY IS BOZAI STILL HERE

HOW DO I GET RID OF HIM

A VOE IN THE CITY

I really like the custom they have of the vai coming to live and grow in the city after certain age

FINALLY I CAN HAVE A NOBLE PURSUIT

I love the thunder helm

Haha you cant touch me

Its 3.30am rn

I should sleep soon, the sun wakes in like an hour

Impa, staring at me publicly in Gerudo town: I did not expect to see you here

She has the same energy as Yoda

[wispstalk]

Baurus has always kept a number of street urchins in his employ. The best sources may spot his soldier's posture from a mile away and steer clear, but they'll readily gossip with some hardscrabble grubby teen.

There are some types, however, to whom he would never in good conscience send an informant to wheedle. For example: the men Coradri is currently flagging down.

Two of them, conspicuously displaying the cudgels on their hips and the gold rings on their fingers. Walking with the type of swagger that says they deliver beatdowns with impunity, and there's nothing you can do about it. Tanis Irathi has some of that air about him, but where he's rangy and athletic, these two are big rectangular slabs of muscle. No necks in sight.

"Hi! We're passing through. Can you give us some directions?"

The orc squints down at her as if she'd just asked him for permission to bed his mother. Then he looks to his companion.

"You hear a fly buzzing around here somewhere, Bazur?"

Coradri wrinkles her brow. "I'm just wondering how to get to Lake Arrius—"

"Buzz off, little bug," says the second man, Bazur, and they walk away cackling.

Coradri stands there, stunned, in the middle of the street, until Irathi drags her out of the way of a passing cart.

"I was just asking for directions," she huffs. "What did I do wrong?"

"Some people are pricks," Irathi offers helpfully. "Not everyone is going to like you, scribling."

"But you're a prick, and you like me," she says, uncomprehending. Irathi only spreads his hands and shrugs, conceding the point.

"Coradri," Baurus says, smothering a laugh, "has no one ever been rude to you in your life? Not even, say, a city watchman?"

"Why would a guard ever be mean to me?" she says indignantly, as if Baurus didn't notice those quick hands and shifty eyes within seconds of meeting her.

Irathi waves a hand, impatient. "What about that woman with the wood cart, over by the inn? A woodcutter would know the forests around here."

"You two can do that without me," Coradri says, her eyes glinting with mad determination. "I'm going to go make some new friends."

And she sprints off after them. Baurus shouts for her to come back, but Irathi just folds his arms and watches her go.

"You think that's wise? They'll crush her into paste. I'd bet my last penny those two do the dirty work for some disreputable outfit."

Irathi flashes a lazy grin. "One whole silver says we'll find the three of them drinking at the Bridge Inn later like old war comrades. That's just how she is."

They shake on it. Baurus would be glad to lose this one, steep as it is. But he'll have to dig around his pack and see where he stashed his purse — for some reason, it's not in his pocket.

[nom-central]

Rayquaza?

SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER it’s way longer than a drabble! i wanted to do a lot of new things w this one and used your request to experiment with some stuff...i hope you like it! 

Carrying a basket full of flowers, Meille leaned down and plucked a few from the meadow she was walking through and tucked them away. She smiled to herself looking at her haul, this should be plenty of flowers to weave into a lovely wreath to offer to Lord Tropos. He quite liked the scent of the flowers that grew here on the mountain, it would make for a nice offering to adorn his domain with.

Lord Tropos was the guardian deity of the humble mountain village Meille called home. He watched over not only the village, but the ruins nearby and whatever they contained. Despite his size and intimidating appearance, he was a rather kind deity and enjoyed interacting with the villagers. A little wreath of flowers was a humble offering to him, but it was one she knew he’d appreciate. Now to get back home and get to work on it…it was a bit of a trip to the temple he resided in, and she wanted to deliver it before sundown! With this goal in mind Meille started the trek back home. It shouldn’t be long, it was just a stroll on this path through a little wooded area….

However, before she could make it far, growling from someplace among the trees caught her attention. There weren't many hostile things that lived up here, could it just be a hurt animal? There was a little grove close by, it sounded like it came from there…not one to shy away from someone or something in need, Meille abandoned the path to investigate. She stumbled over a thick green vine on the ground on her way to the clearing, but upon closer investigation…it was a familiar scaly tail. Something was wrong. Carefully sneaking around it and following it back to its source and hiding behind a tree to see what was going on. Lo and behold, there was her village deity coiled around some poor soul, and he looked furious.

"Interloper," he hissed, glaring at the man in his coils. "Did you truly think I wouldn’t notice you and your group skulking about? Plotting in the shadows?” His coils grew a little tighter, and the man in his grip whimpered. “N-no, we’re just l-lost! We were gonna ask for directions in that nice village close by-” He was cut off with a groan from the tightening coils around him. “So you could bring harm to them? I am no fool, boy…” The god leaned down, his bangles and jewelry jingling as he met gazes with the man. “I’ve been to your camp. You came here prepared to steal, and fight if you must. You know this village hides treasure…and I’m willing to bet you thought the village’s guardian was just a mere human, hmm? You thought wrong.”

Meille could hardly watch, but something transfixed her to the scene unfolding before her. She had never seen Lord Tropos act this way before…he was always gentle and kind, he treated everyone with care and was always mindful of his size and strength. But here…he was downright frightening. "P-please! If you let me go, I’ll never set foot on this mountain again! I-I swear!”

"Oh, you most certainly won't." He bared his fangs, a low growl starting in his throat. "I have no patience for petty thieves who think they can stomp around and rob who they please. I'll show you how I deal with scum like you entering my domain."  Tropos' next movement was so swift, neither Meille nor the thief in his coils had any time to react. His mouth opened wide, clamping down over the poor man’s head and half of his torso. Meille could only watch in shock and stunned awe as her guardian deity started to swallow, pulling the thief into his throat. He was devouring someone alive when she knew Lord Tropos to be a peaceful and gentle sort…yet something about this scene transfixed her rather than terrify her, and she watched the wriggling form of the thief slowly vanish between his jaws. It was fascinating to watch each gulp pull him deeper, the little bumps and bulges he made slowly vanishing into his body. It was over rather quickly thanks to Lord Tropos’ size, and he reclined in his coils with an irritated sigh as his meal settled into his first stomach and promptly started to kick up a fuss. Meille knew she should run, if he had a taste for people like that he could definitely make short work of her for seeing! But…something told her that wasn’t the case here.

Not like she had the chance to run anyhow, because he just so happened to look over and spot her staring at the wriggly bulge in his middle. His expression went from annoyed to surprised, face flushing in embarrassment as he had been caught full-bellied. “Ah!” Meille shrunk back behind the tree, causing his face to soften. “It’s okay little one, the danger is gone now. I…can explain, if you’ll allow me.” The god’s tone was back to its usual softness he often addressed the villagers with…hesitantly, Meille nodded. 

“Good. Come closer, if you would.”

Meille obeyed, gently setting down her basket of flowers and approaching Lord Tropos. He smiled at her, hoping to ease her tensions as he shifted to pick her up and place her on his emerald green coils. Meille shifted, eyes still on his stomach which was still twitching and wriggling about. This close she could hear muffled protests accompanied by gurgles…were they going to be okay? As if reading her mind he spoke. “I know it looks…bad, yes, but do you remember the promise I made to your people? If I had truly wanted to hurt him I would’ve bit him in two.” His voice lowered to a whisper, hoping his dinner guest wouldn’t hear this. “I have no intentions of harming this man or his colleagues, I only do harm when absolutely necessary. It’s not necessary to now, this was just to give him a scare…I’ll release him near his camp later, where he’ll turn tail and flee before they all get eaten. It works every time.”

Now reassured that nothing bad would happen, Meille continued to study the bulge in his stomach. She was more curious than anything else, wondering how it must feel to be in a stomach. This fellow certainly didn’t seem to like it much, if the muffled curses were anything to go by. “Um…does it hurt, having him wriggle around like that?” “Not particularly. It is rather annoying though, eating like that takes so much out of me…it’s hard to rest with him fighting so hard. I’m impressed.”

Meille frowned, he couldn’t rest…maybe she could do something about that. She moved closer, causing the god to shift to accommodate her as she planted her hands on his stomach, feeling the subtle movements beneath them. “Hmm? What are you doing, little one?” “I-if it’s not too forward, um…I want to help you relax! Think of it as thanks for keeping us safe…I know most of us don’t really touch you without permission, but…” Lord Tropos laughed. “Don’t be so stiff! That’s rather thoughtful of you. You seem quite curious about this anyhow, and I’m not one to stifle that. You may carry on.”

Despite his reassurance she still felt a bit nervous to be so up close and personal to him, but she eased her hands into his stomach and began to massage it. The thief inside registered this movement and started to squirm harder in protest, but with the combined internal and external massages his movements gradually started to settle. The dragon’s stomach appreciated the attention, happily burbling and grumbling as it harmlessly worked beneath her hands. Lord Tropos sighed, reclining further in his coils as he began to relax. “My my…you’re quite the little masseuse, aren’t you? Thank you. You’re welcome to rest here with me if you’d like, I know the village is close by…but that was quite a bit of excitement, don’t you agree? I’ve been told my tail is rather comfortable, too.”

It was surprisingly soft, yeah. If he was offering, it shouldn’t hurt…Meille pulled herself away from his stomach and opted to rest on his tail, closing her eyes and enjoying the sunlight on her. Now beginning to doze, her final thoughts before sleep claimed her was how comforting the sound of his stomach was.

[sl-newsie]

Spelled (Carlos de Vil x Sanderson Daughter) Descendants 2- Ch. 1: Letting Go

It’s been 2 months since I’ve left Auradon Prep. Part of me says it’s saddening to be left alone with 2 cats in the middle of the woods. But on the other hand it’s been so liberating! I’ve finally mastered the difficult draughts and elixirs in mother’s spellbook, as well as being able to move objects with my mind.

The empathy path between me and Carlos has helped keep me updated on how things are back at school, letting me know that my true love has been feeling content and happy. Which is… nice? Is it selfish of me to be jealous that Carlos is doing fine without me? Does he miss me as much as I miss him?

“Magica! I have returned!”

I keep stirring my moonlight elixir and pay the black cat little attention. “Greetings, Binx. Sorry if I’m a bit vague but I’m feeling dragged down today. Did you bring the ginger root I require?”

He hops up on a nearby stack of books. “Um… actually I brought something better-”

“Knock knock, trixie!”

My jaw drops. “No!” I open the door to find the 4 VKs standing on my doorstep and a wide grin sets on my face. “Goodness gracious! Hey, guys! Come on in!”

They’re just as I remember them! It seems longer than 2 months since I’ve seen them, and in the short time I can already see they’ve changed a bit. Most noticeable is that Carlos has grown his hair out a bit.

Evie looks ecstatic as she examines my newly-colored hair. “I must say, your new look is stunning! Why purple?”

“Yeah, well… I kinda got inspiration from Mal. This year purple is the new pink!”

They all give me one big hug and then start taking a look around my small dwelling.

“Wow. You’ve really gotten hooked on this witch stuff,” Jay gawks when he sees my overflowing shelves of books and potion vials. “Hey Binx- think fast!” He tosses the black cat a ball of twine, which Binx bats away at like a madman- er, madcat.

“Sorry I didn’t tidy up, but in my defense it isn’t often I get visitors. Once in a while FG drops by to see how I’m doing, but other than that the only conversation I get is with Binx.”

“That sounds lonely,” Carlos frowns.

I shrug. “It took some getting used to but I actually enjoy it. So, why the pop-in?”

“We wanted to stop by to invite you to Ben and my Cotillion next week,” Mal says as she examines my herbs. Meanwhile Evie keeps taking sneak peaks in my closet and mentally judging the wrinkled clothes.

“Is that… like a dance or something? Also yes, Evie, I know my clothes aren’t the best. But when you live in the woods you lower your expectations!”

She pouts and crosses her arms. “Fine. But when you come to cotillion I’m making you a proper gown!”

I frown. “Who says I’m going?”

“We do, because we miss you!” Carlos pulls me in for a hug and my heart does a flip.

“Aw, you’re too kind, Freckles. Oh! Evie, how’s the fashion business going?”

The blue-haired VK’s eyes light up. “I’m already booked with dress orders! Doug’s been helping me set up a real designer business!”

Ooh, I bet Doug’s loved that! I really hope they stay together.

“So what should I do for Cotillion? I’m a weird scary witch, remember? I haven’t spent 2 months alone in the woods for nothing!”

“You’ll be an honorary guest on behalf of Ben and me.” Mal takes my hand and gives me a stern look. “If people have a problem with that, they take it up with us.”

“We actually came here for another reason…” Jay eyes Mal, who snickers.

“We need your help to brew a catastrophe draught for a school prank. I’ve got a spell from my book that’ll heighten its power, then we’re-”

“We’re going to dip some apples in it and give them to the other students!” Jay laughs. “It’s gonna be hilarious!”

Evie smiles. “And we know your mom’s spell book would have the best recipe, since your aunt’s into crazy potions and all.”

My mouth twists into a lopsided grin. “Gonna make ‘em all dance, huh? Sounds familiar.”

Carlos nudges me playfully. “Thought we’d take a page out of your book. So will ya help us out?”

I look around at the VKs’ hopeful faces and smirk. “And waste a moment to make Audrey look like a complete fool? Definitely!”

“Um, actually she’s been away visiting family for summer vacation.”

I rethink. “Then we’ll make Chad��look like a complete fool! Let’s get started.”

After emptying my moonlight elixir I start scurrying around and preparing the proper ingredients for the catastrophe draught while the others pull out a bag of apples and find the spell in Mal’s book.

“Think FG will suspect I’m involved?”

Jay shakes his head and keeps playing catch with Binx. “Nah. You’re all she talks about in goodness class. Always going on about how ‘evil triumphs over good!’ and your whole spiel about ‘don’t let your heritage define your future.’ All that nice stuff.” 

“Let’s give Auradon a taste of evil…” Mal says smugly as she tosses some apples into my cauldron.

“Well, this’ll do the trick! With my mom’s magic brew and your spellbook bewitchment this’ll turn the whole school into a gang of hooligans! I wish I could see it.”

Out of the corner of my eye I see Jay give Carlos a nudge.

“You could come back, you know.” The freckled VK gets closer and I try to ignore my racing heartbeat. Don’t get your hopes up, Magica.

I keep stirring the draught and shake my head. “I’m sorry, Carlos. But it’s best if I stay in hiding until I can make my appearance at the cotillion.”

By now the brew starts glowing an aqua green and is ready for Mal’s spell.

“Wicked ways beneath the skin, let all who taste it now join in!”

We pluck the apples from the draught and they turn a bright red, causing Mal to nod in approval.

“Perfect.” She gathers them into a bag and turns to head off for the door, motioning for the others to follow.

“You’ll be at cotillion, right?” Evie asks in a hopeful voice.

At first I’m against it, but the thought of spending another two months alone here makes me cave.

“Oh, alright! Count me in!”

Jay gives me a thumbs-up and Carlos tugs me in for one last hug.

“See you soon, trixie!”

“Maybe try to stop by before cotillion?” Carlos asks after planting a quick kiss on my lips.

My smile falters but I keep a steady head. “I… might pop in for a visit.”

The VKs give a wave before shutting the door and leaving me with a very worn-out Binx.

“Had fun? You could have informed me you were bringing guests, Binx.”

“And spoil that face you had when you opened the door? Never!”

I finish cleaning up my workstation and sweep the dirt from the floor outside. “It’s just that I’d like more of a warning. There’s some magic I’ve learned that I’m not exactly fond of sharing at the moment.”

The truth is, I’ve been practicing more magic from mother’s book than I’ve let on to Fairy Godmother. She sent some approved spellbooks and potion manuals, but doesn’t know about my spellbook. I’ve found and used many useful spells, none of the dark ones. Just enough knowledge to know when to draw the line. In doing so, my usual pink magic has turned into a deep purple. I feel that if I reveal just how much I’ve read into then I’ll be grounded to learning only pocket spells again. I am no mere child to be monitored- I am a Sanderson witch.

Carlos’ POV

We get back to school and head off to start handing out the bewitched apples. I find Dude waiting for me in the gardens with an expectant look on his face.

“Sorry, bud. She’s not coming. At least for now.” 

It really tore me up when I had to leave Magica alone again, but at least this time I have an idea of when I’ll see her again.

Before I pass around my helping of apples, Jay nudges me over to a corner.

“Real quick before the fun begins, I gotta say something about trixie. Sorry to say this Carlos, but you might wanna start thinking about finding another girlfriend? One who’s… actually around?”

He thinks I- what?

My jaw drops. “How can you say that? You know I love her, Carlos! Magica’s one of the only people I completely trust. Just ask Dude!”

My canine friend joins my side and gives a loud bark as he hops up and down at the sound of Magica’s name.

But Jay’s still looking doubtful. “She says she wants to be left alone. I’d say that’s a fair turning point for any relationship you guys have.”

She- she- But she only wanted to be alone because she thought she was dangerous! Because she doesn’t like people… Isolation, being excluded… Is that a sign that she doesn’t want to be in my life? After all, every time I’ve asked her to hang out with us she’s refused and acted distant. If that’s truly what she wants…

“But you know how much she’s had to go through! If I consider this then it’ll tear her apart.”

Jay takes out an apple and tosses it between his hands. “I know, I know. But some good things aren’t meant to be. She’d say something if she wanted to be with you. Sometimes you need to let things go.”

He goes off to start spreading mischief and leaves me with Dude, who lets out a whine.

“I know, buddy. I miss her too.”

Maybe it is time to start letting things go...

[jomilky]

jo, i've gotten back to it way too often now, so, please. that gods au. first off - how dare you not show us the kind of dirty talk ian throws at mickey? second off - what's the hook? what's terry's agenda? and, most importantly, when will mickey lose it, give up his cover and finally let ian rail him?

you got me hooked, it's not my fault you got this big brain of yours, okay.

Mickey watches how Ian hooks up with a guy at the bar and flashes his room key between two fingers, inviting the guy to his motel room. This’s the second time today, the second time this horny redhead has to jump on somebody between going around and asking things about Mickey’s mother. He can’t help wondering where Ian’s got all those energy, even as a God. What’s worse, he can’t help wondering what cheap pick-up lines Ian says to those people.

The same shit he says to him all the time, he’ll bet. “You look gorgeous today, Mickey. Your wings are glowing. Why don’t we have some fun and see how it feels if you put those wings around my cock. Maybe just the tips.” “You never wear anything when we’re in the upper world, Mickey. When you fly, I can see your fat ass jiggle. Gives me a wood every damn time.” “C’mon, Mickey. At least try once with me. I promise I can do a great job taking care of you, sweetheart. Me pounding your ass would be the most sacred music ever.” - It’s always Mickey, Mickey, Mickey, and some cheesy pet names.

Mickey puts the bottle down and walks towards the door, since the redhead’s gone having fun now, he might as well go to inquire about his mother himself too. He almost bumps right into a tall guy’s chest by the door. Looking up, he finds a pair of familiar green eyes.

“Mickey? What’re you doing here?” Ian seems a lot more surprised than Mickey. Mickey doesn’t come down to mortal’s world very often. “You look stunning when you’re wearing clothes too, gorgeous. Although I can always use some eye candy.”

“The fuck are you doing here?” Mickey shoots Ian a dagger look. For fuck’s sake, he hopes he doesn’t sound jealous and desperate.

“I, um, just, hanging out and wanna grab a few beers.” Ian nods at the bar.

Lie. Mickey swallows hard in the attempt to douse the fire in his chest. He gives Ian a rough push so he could make it out of the door.

Something new, dark, unrecognizable shoots through his shaking body when Ian follows him into the dusky back alley.

“Hey! Mickey! Where’re you going?”

Mickey stops abruptly and turns around.

“Suck my dick, Gallagher.” He calmly makes his command.

“Wh- what?” Ian can’t believe what he just heard.

“Suck my dick. I saw you do this to someone yesterday, in the woods.”

Ian has never been more confused in his immortal life. “What? You’ve been following me?”

“You gonna do it or not.”

“Well, yes. Of course yes.” Ian steps forward and tries to yank Mickey’s shirt off his head. Finally, Mickey finally breaks down for him. But Mickey grips his wrists.

“Why’re you taking my shirt off? Just pull down my pants.”

“No, Mick. If you still wanna wear clothes when we’re done here. You should take it off. Your wings will come out when you cum, trust me.”

“I can control my own wings.” Mickey sounds offended.

“I know you can, but not when it feels this good, trust me.” Ian cups Mickey’s crotch without warning.

“Fine,” Mickey mumbles while taking his clothes off. Ian’s already on his knees and unbuckling Mickey’s belt. “How many winged Gods you’ve fucked to learn this?”

“Hmm, am I smelling envy here?” Ian smirks smugly before he bows his head and takes Mickey’s cock in his mouth. When the weight of Mickey’s cock lays on his tongue, it feels just like - no - it feels even better than he has imagined all along. He puts both hand on Mickey’s ass, keeping his balance while bobbing his head back and forth, eager to offer, to please.

And God, Mickey cum so fast it’s embarrassing. With an uncontrollable low yelp, his wings spread behind him gloriously and wrap around both of them, forming a beautiful white shield as he pants, trying to come down from his vulnerable high.

Ian swallows every last drop and cleans Mickey’s cock willingly, pressing soft kisses on the half-flaccid length, until Mickey suddenly flinches violently and backs off.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!” Mickey looks left and right with shocked eyes. His voice boiling with anger and fear and confusion. “What’ve you done to me, Gallagher?!”

Ian looks up. Mickey’s white wings are tipped with black now, shading into grey as the new color spreads downwards.

“Mickey, Mickey.” Ian pins Mickey against the wall to stop him from fidgeting. He forces Mickey to look at him. Tears of mixed emotions are shining in Mickey’s blue eyes. He swears to himself that the next time he sees tears in those gorgeous blues, it’d be tears of joy and lust.

“Mickey, listen to me. You’re not God of Purity. You’re God of Defiance. Your wings are meant to be all black.”

[sycamorre]

Ori 🏆 , Wysteria 🔥 , Indes 🌞 , your half orc chevalier 🎨

[OC Memory Prompts]

You spoil me c:

🏆 —A proud memory. (Oriana)

The small temple was barely a quarter of the way full, but that was ideal for Oriana. Only those who she cared about and would appreciate the moment were here. She knelt in front of the altar to Lathander, very aware that everyone behind were watching. But instead of the usual nervousness that she would normally have, there was a hint of what felt like... excitement. She resisted the urge to fidget with her hands, resisted adjusting the stole and other ornamental pieces of her robes to make sure they were still in place, and tried very hard to be patient as the harp played and they waited for the right moment. Oriana locked eyes with her brother, who stood next to the altar in front of her in full paladin regalia, beaming in her direction.

Not a moment too soon, the colors of the dawn began to fill the glass windows behind the altar as the sun rose, and Cassio stepped forward, a chalice in hand. He gave Oriana a bright smile before looking past her to address those seated in the pews.

"Dawn's blessings to all of you. We are overjoyed to see you all here on this momentous morning to honor one of our own. Many of you have heard the stories of what has happened in the last few months. Oriana has shown tremendous bravery and faith throughout it all, and it is my joy to be here with you today and welcome her as a Dawnbringer amongst our ranks."

There was a pause as Cassio turned back to Oriana, the smile still stretching across his expression. "And I am so proud of what she has accomplished today. May she always walk proudly in the Light of the Morninglord." Oriana could not say anything, but she returned the smile, barely holding in happy tears.

🔥 —An angry memory. (Wysteria)

"I cannot believe this!"

The sounds of the feast were fading behind them as the group of bards traveled down the halls to their own room. Wysteria was easily the loudest of the four, both in the volume of her voice and the way both the jingling of her jewelry and the clicking of her heels against the tiles echoed off of the walls of the palace. She continued her tirade after barely catching her breath.

"We come all this way, give a stunning performance-" her arms spread out, the flowing sleeves normally used for her dancing emphasizing her movement and frustration, "His Grace's own words, I heard him - only to then be told to leave immediately because they had not prepared us anything to eat, or even a place to sit! The nerve! I bet that Lady Helefina had something to do with it. Was she not the one who wanted her own troupe to be here instead?"

"Please quiet down, darling," came the voice from Amaryllis behind her, readjusting the way she was holding her harp. "You remember what happened last time?"

Wysteria suppressed an aggravated sound, arms going stiff at her side. "Spare me. I am not going to lose my temper, but I will not stand for it this time. We were invited here freely. Are we not members of the court as well? We are not servants and I refuse to be treated like one anymore!"

🌞 — A happy memory. (Indes)

"Yield, or I will strike you down!"

Vialgo was doing his best to be scary, head held high as he pointed the stick he found at the edge of the garden up toward Indes. But at such a young age, and with him puffing out his cheeks a little too much, it just made him look far too adorable. It took everything in the wood elf's power to keep from laughing, and instead to play along.

"Ah, you seem to have tracked me down, noble knight! But I will not yield unless you can best me in a duel!" She quickly stepped around the boy and found a stick of her own about the same size, assuming a much more practiced stance. "Show me what you can do!"

The young Imperial beamed, then charged forward with a battle cry as the began their play duel. Though she was supposed to be doing other work around the estate's grounds, she always had time to make him smile, as it reminded her so much of when she would watch over Nidhel when she was young, too. And she knew one day these play fights would almost certainly turn into Vialgo begging for her to teach him real swordplay, but that time was far enough away. For now, she hoped he could enjoy these moments, too.

🎨 — A nostalgic memory. (Kela)

The sky was just beginning to grow dark and the horses were settling in their pen for the evening. The young half-orc, however, had no intention to move anywhere just yet, despite knowing that supper would be ready soon and she would be scolded for not being there when it was. But for the moment, she found herself trapped in the horse pen with a snoozing foal who had decided that her lap made a fantastic pillow. Kela was too busy stroking his short mane and watching his lips twitch in his sleep, as if he were eating something tasty in his dreams. It was too easy to smile down at the innocence of it all.

The colt did not have a name yet. He would get one when he was weaned and proved himself strong enough, but his dam had already produced two strong foals so there was little worry about that. But unlike the first two, this one was special to Kela. She was at the age where she would soon begin her apprenticeship, learning how to handle and train the horses that they used to hunt and fight. And this little one would be the first colt she would help train from the start, and would officially be hers by the time they were done. The thought excited her, but she also wanted nothing more than to make their bond something special. So she was making it her duty to spend as much time as she could with him after her chores while he was still little. The best riders were the ones who could communicate with their mounts the best, after all. A perfect team.

And besides, the quiet of the evening was one of the best times to just sit and think of names. Or at least try to narrow down the excessively long list she had thought up.

[harmcityherald]

ok I got seeds for tomato, squash and sunflowers. lettuce and onion are already coming up on their own.

Im going to get more, of course, because its me, and Yea those are my grungy plastic tubs. I sure do get the use out of them for the price. laundry and storage bins, growing food. a good couple years running. will I build something more aesthetically pleasing? I would love to. The plastic bins go a long way for dissuading the rat population from stealing it all though, and they are prolific. Its amazing to me I live directly on the city line. urbanis giganticus. I've seen foxes and coyote down in our more wooded areas. seen a fox the other week and I said to him, hey buddy. ur ok. and he looked at me then trotted along. So I love we have the wildlife we do. The rats are like the rabbits in watership down they wont be controlled lol. The county and the city don't do enough to keep the rat numbers down while fining citizens over trash can lids and grass cutting to rake in revenue. We should remember the bubonic plague came from fleas on the backs of an out of control rat population but we don't. Some future pandemic might teach us. I love rats and I have had a few as pets, really they are smart and lovable and loyal!! ...but the current numbers of rats in baltimore, city and county is really quite stunning. Im here to say its every city, everywhere. In the US I bet. so there I said it. Its a common thing that we aren't supposed to mention? shit, my city has been represented by a giant inflatable rat. just say it. I do what I can on my little island. we are but a drop in the ocean. Tangent aside, that's why I grow a garden on raised plastic tubs. the little guys go around them. It would take a 2ft rat to climb up the slippery plastic. Not that I have any confidence there not being a 2 ft rat in harm city but it hasn't happened yet. So in a roundabout way this is my official garden lift off post for this year. oh, and lookie here, meet Samson and Delilah. They live on the 2nd fl, 3rd tree to the left. they're newlyweds.

we always have room for more at the manor. Doves are supposed to represent peace but they are the meanest of the bunch, they even bully the black birds. not crows or ravens but those poor tweener black birds. :-p my attempt at bird identification. but they are still the happy couple. ~throws confetti that scares the birds away~

[xykesh]

The Girl in the Cage, Part 4

Genre: New Adult Fantasy, D&D-esque Fantasy, Action Wordcount: 2,346 Summary: Valerie and List face off against the village’s monster. List’s true nature is revealed.

List’s head snapped toward the jail’s door at the sound of the lock turning. Her tail went rigid as she backed into a corner of her cell, and her hands curled into fists.

Sheriff Darshan staggered into the jail, his steps lumbering and off balance, like at any moment he might double over. His breathing was ragged, and his forehead glistened with sweat.

“You. . .” he grumbled. As if to punctuate his sentence, thunder rolled in the distance.

“What do you want?” List snapped.

She jumped as the sheriff lurched forward, rattling the cage as he slammed into the bars.

“You have to go.”

There was an edge to the sheriff's voice, a growl in the word “go” that unsettled List. There was violence in that voice. Her unease only grew when the bars of her cage began to groan, and she realized it was because under the sheriff’s grip, they were bending.

She found herself even more grateful to the girl who’d removed her chains. At least now, she’d be able to defend herself. Even if she was cornered. And even if the sheriff was apparently strong enough to bend iron with his bare hands.

Her heart began to race, and her body tingled in anticipation. Then a familiar voice came from outside.

“Evening, Sheriff.”

Valerie stepped into the jail, her wristbow loaded and leveled at the sheriff’s chest. The man snarled.

“You. You shouldn’t be here.”

“I’ve been getting that a lot today.”

“This isn't your business, outsider. Leave.”

“From what I hear, it only recently became yours,” Valerie said. “When did you and your wife move here, Sheriff? A few months ago.”

“Stop talking.”

“Right around when some people started hearing a monster in the woods, I’d imagine.”

“Stop.”

“Did you ever hear one, on all those nights you and your wife disappeared into the woods? Because I bet if I asked around, I’d find out people always heard those monsters on the nights the two of you went out.”

“Or was that little cabin the two of you built soundproof? Certainly looked strong. Maybe even strong enough to lock up a monster on nights you couldn’t control it. Until it got stronger. Until it got out.”

“You don’t know me,” Darshan growled. “What I’ve been through.”

“Maybe not,” Valerie said. “But I know that you’ve got a girl locked up that you know is innocent. I know that your shack in the woods was built to keep something in, not out. And I know you were the one who killed your wife.”

An animalistic roar tore itself fromDarshan’s throat as he lunged for Valerie. On instinct, she loosed a bolt into the sheriff, hitting him square in the chest with a wet thud before she leapt out of the way of his charge and let him crash face first into a wall.

“Holyshit,” List said. “Is he dead?”

Valerie stared at the body with ice in her veins. He ended up crumpled on the floor, half slumped against the wall, the bolt jutting out just to the right of his sternum like an off kilter flagpole as blood began to leak from it.

“I . . . he came at me,” Valerie said, stunned. “He—”

For a moment, Valerie’s mouth went dry as she stared in stomach churning horror at the first human being she’d ever killed.

And then the sheriff twitched.

“Don’t move,” Valerie warned. “If you disturb the bolt, it—”

"You . . ." Darshan growled. "Should have stayed . . . away."

With a grunt, he grabbed at the wall, trying to find purchase to haul himself back onto his feet. His fingers carved grooves into the wood, growing larger as they dragged down. With a sickening snap, his back doubled over in an unnatural hunch. His jaw jutted forward as his teeth grew and his hair became thick and coarse. His face went from scraggly, to bearded, to completely covered in hair. His muscles swelled, with his clothing and even skin ripping open as it failed to stretch with his body.

In the span of a few seconds, the sheriff grew into a hulking, bestial form that struggled to fit inside the cramped space of the jail. Its body was covered in coarse, black fur. Already massive hands sported elongated, gnarled fingers tipped in claws. And its face had morphed from a man’s into a wolf’s.

A single, hoarse whisper escaped Valerie’s lips.

“. . . werewolf.”

“What?!” List balked.

“Werewolf!”

Darshan lunged again, and this time Valerie had to dive out of the way. With his considerable bulk, he smashed into List’s cage, buckling several of the bars as she instinctively fell back, landing on her ass.

“Shit!”

Valerie loosed another bolt, then another, then another, all while backpedaling across the floor and desperately trying to scramble back to her feet. Darshan barely seemed to register the shafts as they sank into him, his advance relentless.

He brought his claws crashing down, and Valerie only narrowly rolled away in time. By the time she got to her feet, she had to duck again just to avoid his next swipe. Every time he missed Valerie, he tore further into the cramped interior of the jail, leaving it covered in claw marks and broken boards.

Valerie had dodged everything so far, but given how easily he was tearing the jail apart, the sheriff would only need to hit her once to end this. Trying to reload in the middle of their melee was too hard, so Valerie stopped trying, and the next time she saw an opening, she jumped into the air, and jammed a bolt straight into the werewolf’s eye.

The monster gave a yelp and swatted her out of the air and into the bars of List’s cell hard enough to knock the wind out of her. Clutching at his face, Darshan barreled for the door, breaking it and its frame as he retreated.

On the floor, Valerie coughed once, finally able to breathe again. “That . . . hurt.”

“I’m sure. Not to be insensitive, but can you get me out of here?” List asked, shaking the bars of her cell. “Preferably before that thing comes back.”

Valerie grunted as she got to her feet, her body still aching from the last hit she’d taken. After a bit of wondering and an attempt to squeeze List through the warped bars, Valerie found the keys to the cell in the shredded remains of the sheriff’s clothes, and managed to get the damaged cell door open enough to let the hellborn girl slip out.

As the two of them stepped out of the jail, stray raindrops began to find their way down from the dark clouds above, and Valerie cursed under her breath.

More rain.

“Where did he go?” List asked.

“Not far,” Valerie said, finally reloading her wristbow while she had the chance. “Werewolves are territorial, and as far as he’s concerned, I’m trespassing.”

“You’ve dealt with a lot of werewolves, then?”

“Not exactly. I’ve read a lot about them.”

“That’s encouraging.”

“I know what I’m doing. Just stay close, and we’ll get you somewhere safe,” Valerie said.

“Tell me you’ve got another weapon I can borrow.”

“Not unless you count a whip.”

“Why do you have a whip?”

“It’s an exercise in—it doesn’t matter. Just stay with me.”

List groaned, only for her frustration to be replaced by panic as she spotted a large, dark shape looming on top of the sheriff’s home. She had just enough time to register the look of murder in its one remaining eye before it leapt down, coming straight for them.

Valerie shoved the two of them apart just as Darshan's hulking body crashed down onto the spot they’d been standing a second earlier, and loosed another bolt into the creature’s back. She rolled with her own momentum, creating distance as she reloaded. She came up spattered in muddy water, weapon loaded and ready to fire.

On the opposite side of the werewolf, List recovered her own footing, and with a flick of her wrist, unfurled a long, leather whip. Too late, Valerie registered that the weight of the weapon was gone from her hip.

“List! Be—”

With what could only be described as expertise, List twirled the whip around her body before cracking it straight into Darshan's face, leaving a gash on its cheek. The werewolf turned to face her with a snarl, lunging forward, but List was already moving, keeping the whip thrashing around her as she did.

As Darshan closed in, List leapt back, clear of his reach, and delivered another whip crack, this time to the monster’s throat, before immediately cracking it again, striking it in the eye Valerie had stabbed earlier.

The werewolf recoiled and howled from the pain, instinctively retreating a few steps and giving List time to pull further away. She yanked the whip's length back to her, catching it in her off hand.

Valerie stared, dumbstruck and catching rainwater in her open mouth.

“. . . careful.”

List caught Valerie’s eye before jerking her head toward the werewolf. “Come on! Or did your werewolf books tell you to just stand there and gawk?”

That, and Darshan recovering from List’s attacks, finally snapped Valerie back to her senses, and she took aim once again as the beast charged. Questions about when and how List had learned to use a whip even better than Valerie could wait. There was a monster trying to kill them.

As the fight progressed, Valerie found herself working with overtime, and struggling to keep up. List’s surprising proficiency with a wildly inefficient weapon aside, she was severely lacking in other fundamentals. She fought with a wild abandon and no heed of her surroundings—including Valerie’s line of sight. The girl's constant, erratic movements didn’t make lining up a shot any easier. But she had to try.

A whip could sting something fierce, and it certainly made for a spectacle, but it wasn’t going to put down a beast like a werewolf any time soon. Truthfully, Valerie wasn’t sure she could either, given how most of her shots went ignored by the sheriff.

Aiming for a clear weak spot, like the head or vital locations, at least provoked a reaction, but the constant holding and repositioning List’s fighting forced her to do made the opportunities for such shots few and far between.

And as it turned out, List wasn’t the only one not minding her position. Valerie got so caught up in trying to line up a shot, she didn’t realize until it was too late that she’d positioned herself directly in the werewolf’s path of retreat. The next time it recoiled from one of List’s strikes, it retreated straight toward Valerie. And in an instant, she was too close.

In the split second she realized her mistake, she panicked, and the werewolf pounced. Before she could react, she was on the ground with the werewolf’s jaws caught on her wristbow. The metal apparatus crunched and buckled under the beast’s teeth, ruined.

Valerie kicked and shoved, trying to get free before she lost an arm, but it was like kicking a brick wall. One of the werewolf’s claws dug into her shoulder, and she screamed. In a last, desperate play, she grabbed hold of one of the many crossbow bolts still lodged in its hide, and started stabbing. There was no thought or strategy to where she stabbed—only a desperate, animal desire to survive.

It didn’t stop the werewolf. But the whip that wrapped around its throat did.

The weapon went taut as, at the other end, List dug her heels in and pulled with everything she had. Between her and Valerie, the two of them just managed to hold the monster back from tearing Valerie apart.

“Get back here, you overgrown mutt!” List grunted.

The werewolf responded by jerking hard against the whip, yanking List off her feet and straight toward it. It swiped at her in the air with its claws, and Valerie screamed as she watched blood spray out from List’s face.

When she actually caught sight of List’s face as the girl tumbled through the air, Valerie’s scream got stuck in her throat.

A massive red gash had opened on one side of her face, starting part way up her cheek and reaching all the way up to her hairline. Blood ran freely from the wound, leaving half her face almost completely covered in her own blood.

And she was smiling.

Never once letting go of her whip as she careened through the air, List yanked hard on it, pulling herself back to the ground as she twisted mid air to land on her feet. Her whole body tensed from head to tail, and energy like red lightning crackled across her whole body as the tattoos on her body glowed blood red.

“Is that all you’ve got?!” She screamed. “You're boring me!"

List yanked on the whip again, uncoiling it from around the werewolf's neck as she readied another swing. The energy dancing all across her raced down the length of the whip, and it flashed as cracked it one last time. The entire whip became a blinding length of bright, glowing red light, tinging the rain and mist around List as it cast her features in its bloody glow.

When the whip struck the werewolf, it slashed through his neck as if it wasn't even there. Blood gushed out from the wound, spattering against List as she stood, shoulders heaving as blood ran down her face. The werewolf gurgled, limply grabbing at its throat as it dropped to one knee, and then to the floor. After one last twitch, Darshan went still in a pool of his own blood.

The wicked grin never left List's face.

As Valerie stared at the hellborn girl standing bloody and victorious over the broken, bolt-ridden corpse of the werewolf, a part of her wondered whether or not the town might have had two monsters in it after all.

[sussex-nature-lover]

Sunday 9th October 2-2022

Bateman’s Gardens in the Autumn

*bold type is an outside link if you click through

We’re still getting very heavy rains, fortunately over the last week or so it seems they fall mostly overnight. So now all the lawns are nice and green and of course everything’s growing like crazy. Yesterday we had Ms NWtE, her husband and their dog visiting and so we took advantage of fine, dry, sunny and really warm conditions to take a nice walk at Bateman’s (see the National Trust link in the header) It was absolutely glorious, didn’t even need a cardigan.

We go so often that we don’t always go inside the house, but yesterday there was a demonstration of spinning with local sheep wool, so we did pop in to watch that and talk to the lady while she was at work. She was taught by a local group of farmers’ wives when she moved in to the area 16 years ago. It’s quite mesmerising to watch.

When you enter into the gardens the first section you come to is the higher level vegetable beds and orchard, with far reaching views and a glimpse of the house lower down into the valley.

Despite the summer’s drought, the vegetable beds seem quite fulsome now, although it’s a slightly in-between period with some going over and some yet to reach harvest.

Above, these were the artichokes

There was some evidence of broccoli, perhaps heading for quiche in the Orchard Tearooms at some stage?

National Trust aim to be benign gardeners - we saw quite a few caterpillars from the large Cabbage White butterfly, having a feast and more evidence of nature helping nature.

One bed had a good amount of healthy looking leeks 

At the bottom of the kitchen garden the pear arch, beside the greenhouse, is a lovely feature. This is from a previous year. I’m looking forward to seeing the new scheme.

One of the things I love about visiting National Trust properties is that whether it’s in the house or the gardens, you always discover something new. Above is the Medlar tree in the orchard, but yesterday I found another round at the side of the house.

Not only is the fruit unusual looking, it has to be treated quite differently too, being stored carefully and allowed to ‘mature’ before it’s fit to eat. This process is known as bletting. I quite fancy one of the trees as they sound delightful and easy peasy to grow too. This is a description and guide through all its stages.

My other link tells what you can actually do with the fruit, which is related to apples and quince. The suggestions are mostly jelly and jam type of thing, but there is a kind of fruit cheese curd, although I do like the look of the tart...realistically I can’t see me ever getting around to the faff with the fruit and then making it.

I just enjoyed the blue skies and the photos I could take. Here’s a new flower on the Magnolia Grandiflora. It’s much later than we’ve had in our garden, but it is sheltered against the stone walls of the house.

Talking of trees, down in the wild area by the river, I did my annual sniff the air test as we walked past the candy floss tree.

Katsura Tree on the far right here  (Cercidiphyllum japonicum)

I’ve dried some leaves from yesterday, not quite the glorious colour we spotted last year. It was absolutely stunning and the perfume really is strong. I’m not sure why they’ve taken away the sign because I’m betting lots of people stroll through and don’t even register it. I want one of these too.

Back through the rose garden, which still had plenty of late blooms, we could see that the benches and seats were being well used. It was quite a busy afternoon for visitors walking dogs and enjoying the sunshine. The tea room and outside seating was absolutely packed.

In home based nature news we’re still seeing deer across the lane and the garden feeders are busy with great spotted woodpeckers, starlings, house sparrows, marsh, blue and great tits and the long tailed tits are here several times a day on a flying stopover between their nest areas and the woods. In smaller numbers there are robins, goldfinch, dunnocks and nuthatch, plus the ever present wood pigeons who are displaying - obviously to no avail! The robins have been singing and chatting. They’ve done really well again this year.

Inspector Pritchard has spent a bit less time with us, lured away next door but one by a superior brand of cat biscuits and his very own food bowl. That boy’s treated like a prince, no, a king. No wonder he hasn’t strayed further since he landed on his feet round here.

Garden tree watch: we have a real splash of colour, but apart from that, only glimpses of what’s to come with the oak showing a tiny bit of yellow.

Next door’s willow tree still has all its leaves

And in much neglected kitchen news, the smell of supper simmering earlier was mouth watering. It’s Indian spiced shepherd’s pie. One to eat and one for the freezer. The spices were cooked down and are then mingled with the meat, onions and other veg. It’s very simple but smells like a lot of effort’s gone into it. This is the basic recipe. I haven’t linked to the chef’s own site as she now skips all the spices and includes a pre mixed kit for sale in supermarkets. Years ago I invested in a couple of masala dabbas and so I have all the spices I need to hand, stored so I can see them in the airtight container that lives inside a dark cupboard.  Usually we’d have the recipe as a cottage pie, so the lamb is a change for us - one link remains though, I include carrot, mainly because I’m a big carrot fan, but more veg is good, no?  I’m watching collie dogs hunting for white truffles in Piedmont on TV, but our tastes are much more simple and this is a go-to autumn and winter staple that we never tire of.