#Spear likely got theirs after their mission?

[xylo-art]

some slug designs part 1/?

[siren-amung-the-mermaids]

Chapter 7

A look into the Saraphan

The Stronghold of the Saraphan was shrouded in brilliant light, marbled stone walls well guarded and kept. Trainees practiced swings on dummies made of sticks, others helped in the ward to watch the chosen use their healing powers. Thorn was in a meeting hall with other warriors, discussing an important vampiric target: a vampire by the name of Janos. He apparently was one of the originals, who first gave humanity the curse that now plagues the streets.

“Up in the mountains he has a hold, preying on innocents below and cowering back in the shrouds of the volcano.” The man talking pointed to the map.

“No ordinary vampire hunters can raid this place, which is why we call on you all to get this done.”

Thorn nodded. “We leave now.”

It was almost noon. The warriors lifted their arms to the sun and a drop of sunlight fell on them, transforming them into angels, wings erupting from their backs. Thorn’s was the only pair of black wings in the camp, dark as ravens. The others are pure white, like a goose. They took to the sky, Thorn leading them.

Thorn’s mind was focused on this mission. This life was his purpose, and this he saw fit for himself. He watched the ground rush below him, and could almost see the kids in the village's point and cheer. The target was clear; and they met the mountains after a couple hours in the air.

Their wings collapsed as soon as they landed in a good spot, and they could see the entrance clear as day. No rabid vampire would be seen out here in light so bright. They readied their weaponry before proceeding into the darkness of the cavern.

Immediately they met resistance, but they were no match. When one was injured they fell back, a companion healed them in the sunlight outside, where their magic was useful, then returned back to battle. Blood stained their spears and swords, the walls and the floors, but not theirs.

“Spare that one.” Thorn commanded, and the other warriors binded his arms.

The puny vampire struggled desperately but to no avail. Thorn forced a silver plate adored with the symbol of the Saraphan to the vampire’s chest.

“Where is Janos?” Thorn asked the fiend.

The vampire hissed at Thorn, unwilling to answer. The others began dragging the vampire towards the sunlight, and upon realizing this, the vampire begged for mercy.

“We are here for Janos. Be a willing champ and we might spare you, some vampires have their use.” Malek, another warrior, commented.

They paused moments before the sunlight and once again, Thorn brought the silver to the vampire’s flesh.

“So I ask again. Janos is?” Thorn said.

“If you kill him you will unleash a rage more dangerous than his! I promise!” It pleaded.

“More dangerous than my rage, monster?” Thorn scowled.

The silver did not yet burn the vampire, and Thorn took note of that. He tilted the vampire so it was partially exposed to sunlight, and it began to burn fiercely. It howled in pain.

“He is here!” It yielded. “I don’t know exactly where -just look for him.”

“Many thanks.” Malek said sarcastically before shoving it into the sunlight, and it promptly turned to ash within moments.

“Was that necessary?” Thorn asked.

Malek shrugged. “Better ash than a stain on my chainmail. We got what we needed. We find Janos before nightfall.”

He turned to the sunlight and summoned a drop of it, collecting it in a small vial around his neck. Others followed suit, and they all turned to delve deeper.

Janos didn’t hide. He patiently waited for their arrival, comfortable in his chambers. His stature was tall, almost a titan, but without the build. Short raven hair, signature silver eyes and hideous hands, three sharp cloven claws. He was pale, and wore black and gold, he turned to meet their gaze when the warriors entered.

“We meet at last, Thorn Audren.” The vampire oddly addressed Thorn with his full name.

“You meet death at last, creature.” Thorn corrected.

“Death with a pair of black wings? I suppose that's rather fitting.” Janos said. “I don’t suppose that rubbed off on you when Raven adopted you?” Janos hinted.

“You know Thorn's dad?” Malek asked suspiciously.

“We met briefly on several occasions.” The vampire replied.

“On what business?” Thorn asked sternly.

“Family matters.” he smirked.

The more this monster spoke the more enraged Thorn became. This fiend is nowhere near his kin, no matter how he viewed Raven now. It did bring up so many questions, but none Raven could’t answer later.

“I will hear no more of this nonsense. All you are is a cunning, deceiving monster.”

“By all means, I will answer to your silver. Ask me my name and you will have it.” Janos held out his palm.

Thorn couldn’t help but think; Silver? My dagger is made of silver. He promptly stabbed him, surprising the old vampire.

“Vae victus.” Thorn muttered.

In an instant he thrust the dagger upward and tore open his chest, ripping out his still-beating heart. The others relished to the sight, and he held it like a trophy. At that same moment the caverns began to collapse in a sudden earthquake. The details are not important now; they all survived and flew back home with a new trophy hidden in a jar of dirt.

[bowloficecubes]

Siren, Pt.2.

<previous l masterlist l next>

4 . 11 . 20xx

Good evening,

it is 2:46 AM at the time of writing.

My eyes cleared up enough to see the lines on the paper, my irises are still inflamed and white but it’s better than the previous morning.

Our hunt today was fruitful. The submarine was in range for long enough that i am now familiar of its disturbance of frequency, so now I can locate it in the case they pick up speed again.

On the other hand, I am slowly becoming more of a liability than a help, my body is so strained that ol'ocra had to get me back on deck after 5 hours. They had to go back to the ship's sonar to attempt to keep up. My corneas haven’t been recovering in the speed they used to, and my throat feels as if I was swallowing chainsaws. I hope we can get this mission done soon, or else it will just become worse.

Amidst the interlaced panic of the ship, I asked Sirius to take a picture of my eyes at their current state, I thought Midoriya would like an addition to his notebook. At least I would have been useful for something.

Till next time.

" Akito and I's town is..... old-fashioned."

Shoji was laying on the bed of the musician, explaining how far back he and Akito go while she was replacing her guitar strings.

" Their family hasn’t had a visible mutative adaptation in the previous generation , only certain attributes or little physical traits, for example, their sister has a slight grey undertone, which is only visible when the blood drains from her face when she’s panicking or low on sugar. I think their dad has webbed feet. Their quirks are not impressive, they’re a family of fishers. But Akito is a fucking mystery. How they won the fucking genetics lottery is insane, going back into the archives to explain the difference of quirks when registering their quirk revealed that 3 generation ago her family tree had way more prominent features of meropeople, but because of how bad the quirk discrimination was, they kept to themselves, some even living their entire lives underwater. What fucking gets me is how their own parents shame them, imagine also getting bullied by your own mom and dad? ", at this point, Jirou was already tuning her guitar, with hundreds of questions flowing in her mind.

" But Akito was an absolute menace, you see how they are,

still, people got to us, my scars are mostly on my mouth, but theirs are on their legs and neck, aiming for the tail and gills. But what was far scarier than getting attacked by the townspeople was how they’d stand up after it, in a puddle of our mixed blood, and just offer me their hand."

Jirou settled next to the shivering boy on her bed, slowly wiping his tears away with her thumb. it has been 2 weeks of Siren's absence and everyone was. Miserable. Shoji had it worst since they were basically inseparable before, the updates becoming less frequent till this morning, when their homeroom teacher burst into their english class, holding his phone high, reading out a message he had received from the Oki mariner ship:

" The ship got semi fucked so this is the only way i can talk to you, the mission was a success, the submarine was captured, the trigger drug confiscated, and the culprits are tied up right now, including a little girl? she couldn’t be older than 7 years. During the capture, the submarine attacked using shot spears and explosives, both at us and the ship. We were able to dodge, but Siren's tail got sliced to the bone. They saw the young girl with no oxygen mask 40 meters under water. I'm glad the waters have no sharks. The legs are stitched up now but they lost some serious volume of blood, we’re doing our best, I wrote this immediately after checking up on the wound. I expect we will be back at the harbor by midnight. I will contact them to prepare police backup and an ambulance."

Jirou felt 3 buzzes from under the blanket, a little lightning bolt keychain peeking through, she picked up her phone to see texts in the 1-A groupchat;

Icythot: Where is Shoji?

Icythot: he isn't in his room

Icythot: Won’t pick up his phone.

Jirou showed her phone to shoji, who told her to answer on his behalf.

Beats by Dre: my room

Icythot: ok

A knock was soon heard at the door, Jirou stood up to open, revealing two boys.

"Bakugo?"

"Shut the fuck up"

Shoji sat up on the bed, quickly wiping away any remaining tears. Todoroki and Bakugo pretended not to notice, as the first sat at the desk chair, Jirou in her drum-set's stool, and Bakugo standing with his back to the now-closed door.

"...so?"

"what does Amagai like?" Bakugo finally cut the awkward silence. "Excuse me?"

"what Bakugo means to say, is that we’re wondering what to include in a welcome-back basket for them, and since you’re the closest to them, we thought we'd ask you." clarified Todoroki.

"oh, I uh, that’s actually a really good idea, I bet it’ll cheer them up, and i know of some things they’ve been really needing for a while."

"Perfect, we’ll be waiting downstairs, get dressed.", said Bakugo, already outside, soon followed by Shoto.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Suicide Squad Team A

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS! Seriously, as soon as you click that read more, you’re gonna be smacked with SPOILERS! Don’t say I didn’t give you ample warning this time!)

The world’s in danger yet again, and Amanda Waller is in need of some expendable forces to take on some dirty jobs in the name of preserving peace. Last time she did this, it seems like she hired the wrong people. Nice guy Will Smith Deadshot? Bland, boring Killer Croc? El Diablo, who became attached to a bunch of reprobates after spending a couple hours with them? The only one who was useful in that squad was Katana. She had their backs, could cut all of them in half with one sword stroke just like mowing the lawn, and her sword traps the souls of its victims. Unfortunately, she was decidedly not expendable, so what is a girlboss like Waller to do?

Easy: Assemble a brand new squad of criminals to do the dirty work. Harley and Boomerang are the only ones she brought back, because let’s be real, they’re the only ones we give a damn about. Filling out the rest of the squad are the stoic, craggy crackshot Savant; the handsome, German spear-thrower Javelin; the alien warrior Mongal; the frothing, psychotic animal Weasel; the confident and all-powerful TDK; and Blackguard, who is literally just a guy. Together, this team gets deployed to Corto Maltese to do what no one else can do, and with skills like theirs, they are absolutely unstoppable!

They all fucking die before the opening credits.

Motivation/Goals: Considering the goal of the squad is to shave time off their prison sentences by going on the mission, it’s ostensibly the reason every single one of these goons accepted the job. Savant and Weasel are pretty well established in this regard; we get to focus on Savant for much of the opening, so we can get a sense of him, and Weasel is stated to have murdered no less than 27 children. So, yeah, they need to do this mission.

The rest, though? Who knows! Why are Mongal, Javelin, and TDK in prison? How did they even get an alien like Mongal? What did they do to land in the position they’d need to go on a suicide mission? Why doesn’t this movie have flashy, intrusive cards explaining everything to us in a throwaway gag in a montage?!

Blackguard, at least, has some other motivation. He sold out the entire squad to the military of Corto Maltese, which is why they’re ambushed. Now, there’s actually some ambiguity here: Did he do this of his own volition, and was this a complete surprise, or is it, as it is heavily implied, all part of Waller’s plan and she let this happen as a diversion for the other team to get in unnoticed?

Honestly, though, it doesn’t matter what their goals are. They’re all dead within five minutes of the movie starting, with one exception.

Performance: So, the reason these guys are even worth talking about is because, despite their minuscule screentime, all of their actors manage to cram in enough humor and characterization that they’re all pretty fun and likable. Michael Rooker is as stony and stoic as ever as Savant (until he hilariously isn’t), Flula Borg’s Javelin is really sweet and charming in his interactions with Harley, and Pete Davidson’s Blackguard is just amazingly douchey and pathetic. Special mention goes to Nathan Fillion’s TDK, who has an utterly endearing and unwavering faith in his astoundingly crappy ability to… detach his arms. It’s honestly kind of beautiful. Then there’s Weasel as portrayed by Sean Gunn, who is just a hilarious crackhead of an animal man.

Final Fate: Literally every single one of them die horribly thanks to Blackguard’s betrayal. He’s the first to go, because as soon as he walks out saying “Hey guys, it’s me, the one who contacted you!” he literally has his face blasted clean off. The rest go soon after. Mongal, in one of the most astounding moments of idiocy I’ve ever seen, leaps on a helicopter despite Rick Flag telling her specifically not to. Her weight and strength send it careening out of control, which leads to it shredding Captain Boomerang to bits before exploding, burning her alive as she painfully screams and writhes in agony. TDK gets his arms shot into Swiss cheese, leading to him bleeding out since even detached they still are part of him. Javelin is also shot, but gets a dying moment with Harley where he passes her Checkov’s Javelin. Finally, after witnessing all of this carnage, Savant completely loses his shit and tries to swim away, leading to Waller blowing his head up.

You may be wondering what happened to Weasel. He appears to drown as soon as the Squad deploys, because despite being actually smart in this movie, Waller forgot to make sure everyone on the Squad could swim. Thankfully, this lovable child-murdering crackhead rodent was just sleeping, and wakes up in the first credit scene.

Best Scene: Obviously, it’s their one and only scene. It’s a magnificent slaughter that puts the X-Force scene from Deadpool 2 to shame.

Final Thoughts & Score: I’ve gotta hand it to James Gunn. Even though these losers are only onscreen for a few minutes, they all get to cram a lot of charm and personality into that time, to the point it’s actually kind of sad seeing them all die. It’s a beautiful mix of comedy and tragedy. Since their screentime is so limited, though, I’m mostly going to be grading them on style, performance, and so on rather than on villainy like normal. They are all bad guys, as they don’t really get a chance to redeem themselves like the other Squad, so I’m still counting them as villains, which means they could potentially score above an 8 (which is the highest score I’m willing to give heel-face turn villains, because they end up being better as characters in general than as villains).

I’m also not going to talk about Boomerang (I’ll talk about him when I review the original Squad) or Harley (because she not only lives, but deserves her own solo Psycho Analysis). Now here we go, from best to worst:

TDK

If you thought anyone but TDK would get top marks, you’re sadly mistaken. Seeing Nathan Fillion proudly wield the insanely lame power to detach his arms to lightly tap soldiers on the head and gently grab their guns is a sight I never knew I needed to see until this movie. The fact he just seems so darn proud about this power that he doesn’t even bother to use in any way that would be remotely useful is honestly really endearing. Frankly, the sheer fact they adapted Arms-Fall-Off Boy in any way is enough for me to give him a 10/10.

Weasel

Weasel is just disgustingly delightful. He’s just a horrible, nasty, ugly little bastard… But he’s kind of adorable? He clearly has no idea where he is at any given time and is just so goddamn freaky that I can’t help but love him. The fact that, despite being a character who in the comics is noteworthy only for dying on his first mission with the Squad, he manages to survive the entire movie is pretty impressive. Hopefully he comes back in the future, but either way he gets an 8/10 from me.

Javelin

Honestly, aside from Boomerang, his death stung the most. He’s just so cute and charming, and he doesn’t even get to fling his javelin at anyone! Thankfully, he passes it on to Harley, and boy does she ever get to use it! He’s so cute, I have to give him an 8/10. I just wish we got more of him.

Savant

Savant is just an absolutely hilarious bait-and-switch. We follow him through the prologue, with everything seeming to point to him as our main character and the Squad leader. He’s stoic, he’s cranky, and he has impeccable aim… and then we get to the beach and he just freaks the hell out and starts screaming and crying and running away like a little bitch. Seeing Michael Rooker act like he’s shitting his pants after playing a badass like Yondu is just the sort of hilarious subversiveness that James Gunn loves to do when you let him loose. The fact that he looks like, to paraphrase the TVTropes YMMV page for the movie, a “cyberpunk Tommy Wiseau” is the icing on this 7/10 cake.

Blackguard

I was prepared to hate this guy just based on how lame Pete Davidson’s costume was, and you know what? I do hate him. But I love to hate him. He’s just an utterly pathetic scoundrel and a coward, true to his name. The fact he is the first to die, as just about everyone predicted, and is killed absolutely gruesomely makes any annoyance he could provide moot, and his freeakout over being seated next to Weasel on the plane is actually kind of funny. I was originally going to give him a 6, but you know what? He can have a low 7/10. He’s like the only member of this particular Squad to actually do anything evil, so I gotta give him props for that.

Mongal

Let me make this perfectly clear: I do not blame James Gunn or actress Mayling Ng. I’m not actually mad at either of them for what they chose to do, because it is ultimately hilarious and sad. It suited the narrative of the film, and I’m not actually, genuinely mad.

With all that out of the way, Mongal is one hell of a stupid cunt. It is one thing to cause your own death with your stupidity, it is something else entirely to cause the death of a beloved character with your poorly planned attack. The fact she didn’t take into account how her weight and strength would effect an airborne helicopter makes one wonder if she is really supposed to be based on a character who can take on Superman and live to tell about it.

Let’s compare her to two similar characters to really show how bad she is. Like Blackguard, she is directly responsible for a death on the beach, Blackguard being responsible for everyone by selling them out and leading them into an ambush (and yes, I’m including him as well), and Mongal killing Boomerang with the chopper. The difference is, Blackguard’s betrayal was deliberate, he meant to sell the team out, he was actively doing something evil there, while Mongal killed Boomerang out of sheer idiocy.

Now, let’s compare her to Zeitgeist from the similar bloody massacre that occurred during X-Force’s deployment in Deadpool 2. Like Mongal, he accidentally kills a teammate. The difference is, in the case of Zeitgeist, he only accidentally melted Peter, it was a freak accident, and ultimately it does get undone by the end. Meanwhile, Mongal made a conscious, stupid decision and ended up killing her squadmate with her own idiocy. She sucks, hardcore. I don’t do this lightly, but I’m giving her a 1/10. Villains just don’t get much stupider than her.

I will giver her this, though: the makeup work on her is good. She’s lowkey kinda hot if I’m being honest. But being hot and having good makeup does not a good villain make.

[casanovawrites]

random sentence starters from the walking dead (part 2)

did you mean what you said last night? that you’d go with me?

why did you come for me?

there’s nothing wrong with me. 

i’m gonna die, so there’s nothing wrong with me anymore.

you can look away now, and someone else dies.

give them what they want, and we live in peace.

now’s not the time.

this is not our life.

there’s nothing left in this world that isn’t hidden. you just have to find it.

if you’re still standing, it’s always on somebody else’s back.

sickos, headed this way!

how do you sleep at night?

this sounds like a suicide mission.

this was our world, apart from everyone else, in every way.

you did this. this is because of you.

what happened here?

how the hell are we supposed to do this? are we supposed to just stop fighting?

to get to our future, it’s going to take more than just fighting.

there’s got to be something after the fighting.

all i’ve done are things i’ve never done.

there are people coming right now to hurt this place, and i’m standing here waiting to help.

stop asking me what i’ve done and start telling me what to do.

growing up is making yourself and the people you love safe.

things happen. they happened before, too.

i want to make you feel safe.

i want you to feel like i felt when you held my hand. 

you’re selfish, and you’re a coward, and you’re a traitor. 

you turned your back on the only friends you ever had.

you’ll get what you want, you’ll live, but we’re gonna force you to do something useful with your pathetic life.

let’s draw strength from each other and do what we need to do.

think about everything they’ve done to you.

the way out is working together.

start over. you still can.

winning is about killing every last one of them. 

it was dangerous, i didn’t think about that. i should have.

all that's left of the people we lose, what was theirs... are their ideas.

to justify everything we’ve lost, we must risk losing everything.

we’re not losing shit.

you can be here, but you’re not with us.

we are worse than we were, me and you.

we lost everything good. 

we haven’t lost everything. not yet.

there’s got to be something after.

we are life. that is death, and it’s coming for us.

me? i’m a piece of shit.

you go. you keep going. don’t you ever come back here again.

you still have time to make it right.

i’ll make sure they’re protected.

a horde’s coming. bug out, now!

we gotta get the hell out of here. 

you got something for the pain?

i don’t regret what i did. 

some people can be redeemed, but others can’t.

you think i’m picking a fight, think i’m being unreasonable?

there’s a new enemy out there.

we all set out with the best intentions.

i don’t regret the time i spent out there with you. i don’t.

now we know what’s out there, and we can’t pretend otherwise.

there is a group dressed as the dead trying to kill us.

by the time you see them, you’re already dead. 

what the hell was that?

you choose self preservation over revenge, and you think that earns you my trust?

that is god telling us to turn around.

you have to do whatever it takes to protect what you love, even from themselves.

i thought a spear might be easier for you.

why are you doing this? helping me?

you didn’t want to go back, did you?

there’s no reason for you to risk your life for me.

you live with it by staying who you are and not letting the bad things change you.

i don’t ever want to let go of you.

i’m gonna be okay. so will you, okay?

the world is just shit sometimes, and you live with it. sometimes that’s all you can do.

i did what i had to do today. we all did.

these people, they won’t stop. 

i couldn’t live with it.

you said i had choices. you have them, too.

it could be 30 years for us here. that’s still too short.

if you have a roof over your head, you have food, you have walls, then you have choices.

i thought that i couldn’t ask you to risk your life. but i can, ‘cause i know what you’d be risking it for.

i get that you’re afraid.

you don’t have to do it. you don’t have to be alone again.

i wanted you here because you’re alone, probably for the first time in your life. 

don’t kill any more of them than you have to.

wait - thank you.

i hate this. i hate this. 

your world is already dead. 

i’ll handle it, okay?

you already screwed up once. i’m not gonna let you get us all killed.

you trust me, don’t you? how about trusting a few other people who made a change?

all this loss will maybe add up to something.

i’ll try to find a way to make everyone feel safe.

words are a lot easier to live with than actions, alright?

i’m not letting go of this baby.

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] To Save A Brother

 He has the other half.  Darkness's fingers brushed across the medallion that hung around his neck.  He wanted to duel this person.  He could sense other things as well - this carrier of a Spirit Gate Key was a powerful Firestarter as well as -  he frowned, taking one more step forward.  Perhaps being closer would tell him if he read this correctly.

Oh.  He was.  It wasn't something he'd expected, not here and not now.  Darkness did not like this.  The bearer of the Gentle Darkness, here and now?  That would make for an excellent duel without a doubt, but it would stand a risk of awakening the power itself should it still sleep.  He didn't want to take the chance on facing his old adversary without being properly prepared.

A movement in the shadows caught his attention.  Someone walked towards the dorm building - Osiris Red, he knew from the memories of his current host - though it didn't seem that this person belonged there.  They wore a blue uniform, and though he was too far away to see the tab on their collar, another part of him whispered strongly that they too were a Firestarter.  Perhaps not quite as strong as the one who wore the other half of the medallion, but still quite strong.

His host twitched harder inside of him.  Darkness took a better look at this new person as they came closer to the dorm.  He had access to all of memories of his host and it took a few moments to click.

Well.  It seemed that this was the sister of his host.  How interesting.  He'd been aware that his host had a sister, who was a Firestarter, but he'd never thought that he would encounter said sister on this mission.  He considered for a few moments, then made up his mind.

Power stretched outward, encircling both the girl and those in the building who he could sense as being awake.  There were only four of those, and one of them was the other Key Carrier who wore the half-medallion.  Once he disposed o the girl, Darkness, decided, he would duel that one as well.  If they knew one another, then seeing her defeated would dishearten him and give him a better chance to win without awakening the other Darkness.

Not to mention, he just couldn't resist the urge to cause despair and heartache no matter what.  The thought of doing so to his host and his host's sister at the same time was far too tempting to resist.

Asuka had been on her way to talk to Juudai, worried that he would be the first one targeted by the Seven Stars.  After all, he was an Osiris Red, and while he'd proven his talents more than once over the last handful of months, these strange evil duelists might not be aware of that.  She fidgeted with the Key that hung around her neck, wondering again what it would be like to duel in one of these Duels of Darkness.  She'd heard they weren't the sort of duel that Duel Academia had all the time, but she wasn't certain of what they would be like.

The circle of dark energy engulfed her without warning.  She'd barely even reached Juudai's door when it swept over her and into the room beyond.  When she could see again, she stood on a silvery disk, and she wasn't where she'd been before.  It took a moment to grasp where that was - at the volcano.  Right over the lava, in fact. 

"Asuka!"  She jerked her head around to see Juudai, Shou-kun, Hayato-kun, and Theodis-san a distance away, also on a disk like hers, but theirs was more enclosed.  The Healer Cat sniffed around, tail lashing, clearly uncomfortable without solid ground underneath her.

She started to take a step towards them.  But before she could, lava leapt up all around, arching in graceful smooth arcs over the shining disk beneath her feet.  The lava shaped itself into something that resembled dragons, roaring fiercely before they splashed into one another and out of the lava there stepped a new figure.  He stood taller than Asuka, with brown hair tinged by the light of the lava. 

Most of his face was hidden behind a black mask that resembled a dragon's features.  Around his neck there hung a medallion similar to the one Juudai had taken to wearing after their experience in that other world.

"You're one of the Seven Stars,"  Asuka declared, staring at this stranger. He smiled - it wasn't a smile that fit on his features.  What little Asuka could see told her that he should smile freely and happily.  This near-smirk wasn't his at all. 

"I am Darkness,"  he introduced himself with a tiny nod of his head.  "And you are one of the Keepers of the Keys.  I challenge you to a duel."  Before she could answer, he raised one hand, and a card flickered into existence there.  "The loser will have their soul sealed into this card."

Asuka tensed herself at once.  She'd not thought that she would be one of the first challenged.  But she'd been entrusted with this key and she refused to let it go without a fight.

"If that's what you want, then I'll fight you!"  Asuka declared. She glanced once again to where her friends stood surrounded by lava.  "But when I win, I want my friends released!"

Darkness chuckled, a very low, dark, smooth sound.  It didn't fit him any more than the smirk did.  "Of course.  But the question is, can you win fast enough?"

No sooner had he asked that then Shou yelped, and Asuka looked in time to see him pulling his hand away from the lava.  It didn't look as if he'd been more than mildly scorched but she could tell Juudai was the only one who might be enjoying the heat.  She squared up her shoulders - time to fight.

"I will take the first turn,"  Darkness declared, shuffling his deck.  Asuka got ready.  This wouldn't be an easy duel at all.  "I summon Spear Dragon, in attack mode, and set one card face-down."  Spear Dragon appeared, mostly brilliant blue wings and a long sharp beak, pointed towards her.  "Turn end.  Do make this interesting, Tenjoin Asuka."

How does he know my name?  She hadn't mentioned it.  Perhaps they all somehow knew the Key-Keepers?  She didn't have time to worry about it now.  Instead, she drew her first hand and checked it out.  She could work with this.

"I summon Cyber Gymnatics!"  Before her there appeared one of her favorite monsters, clad in a tight-fitting black outfit, well-muscled, and long blonde hair.  She didn't have the highest attack but what she had to make up for it was her effect.  "I activate her affect by discarding one card from my hand.  I can destroy one face-up attack position monster my opponent controls - in this case, Spear Dragon!"

Cyber Gymnatics leaped upward and spun towards the far side of the field, slamming one foot hard against Spear Dragon's neck.  The dragon let loose a cry of pain before vanishing in a spray of light.  Asuka wasn't done yet, though. 

"Now that you don't have any defenses, Cyber Gymnatics attacks you directly!"  Once again her monster leaped forward, and this time slashed her hand directly into Darkness, who barely flinched back.  He chuckled as the attack ended and Cyber Gymnatics returned to Asuka's side of the field.

"Is that all you're going to do?"  He asked.  Asuka didn't like the way that he smiled. 

"I set one card face down and end my turn,"  she said.  Whatever he tried on his turn, she'd be able to handle it.  This wasn't as terrifying as she'd feared it might be.

But Darkness quickly disabused her of that.  "I activate Call of the Living Dead, summoning Spear Dragon back from my graveyard!"  Once again Spear Dragon appeared before him.  Asuka tensed even more; he could have done that earlier and prevented all damage to himself if he had.  What did he have in mind? 

"Next, I summon Mirage Dragon!"  The second dragon appeared there now, this one a half-see through creature of gold scales and silver hair.  "While Mirage Dragon is on the field, you cannot activate trap cards during the battle phase."

Asuka's eyes widened and she took a step back.  Her eyes fell to her face-down card - Double Passe.  If she couldn't activate that, then she would have to revise her strategy and fast. 

Darkness laughed.  It scraped against her soul, like a sound that she knew should be pleasant and yet it had been warped beyond all understanding.  "Are you afraid?  Do you understand that you're going to lose now?"

"Don't listen to him!"  Theodis snapped, voice rising above the sound of the lava.  "You haven't lost yet!"

"She's right!"  Juudai agreed wholeheartedly.  "You can take this guy, Asuka!  We all believe in you!"

Shou nodded, casting repeated nervous glances to the lava.  Juudai had slipped himself in the front of the little group, one hand resting on Theodis' head, staring at the duel displayed before them, as if he weren't surrounded by boiling lava.  Asuka wondered for a heartbeat if he could hear the voices of the lava.  Any Firestarter could hear the voice of fire, but lava was another thing altogether.  She knew she wasn't that strong, but Juudai wasn't a normal Firestarter at all.

She shook her head to clear it, focusing back on what was happening before her.  Darkness wasn't finished at all.

"Battle!"  Darkness declared, pointing towards her.  "Spear Dragon, take out Cyber Gymnatics!  Spear Crash!" 

At once the blue dragon surged forward with a mighty flap of its wings and stabbed that long sharp beak right into Cyber Gymnatics' heart.  Asuka screamed as pain racked her, flowering outward from her own heart.  She didn't fall but only by sheer stubbornness.  Slowly she shook her head again, trying to think instead of just suffering.

"Wh-what was that?"  She murmured.  Darkness chuckled. 

"This is a Duel of Darkness.  The pain of your monsters - that's your pain too.  You'll feel every bit of damage done in this duel.  And so will I, of course."  Darkness waved one hand casually.  "But I think you'll not enjoy it the way that I do."

Had he felt this when she'd attacked him directly?  He hadn't acted like he did.  Was he lying about that?  Asuka couldn't even begin to guess right now and had no time to think it over. Not when Darkness hadn't finished his Battle Phase.

"Mirage Dragon!  Attack her directly!  Mirage Crush!"  Forward it surged, claws raking her from head to toe.  Asuka screamed, falling back again, dropping down to one knee as her life points dropped to thirteen hundred.  She almost expected to see blood when she looked down at herself, and only when that didn't happen did she remember that to some extent, these were still holograms.  They weren't solid - yet she'd felt the weight of the claw sinking into her flesh and ripping through her.

"If you want to surrender,"  Darkness told her, "then I will take your Key and seal your soul into this card.  The pain will end.  You'll know nothing, ever again."

Asuka's eyes narrowed.  Slowly she pushed herself to her feet, swaying ever so lightly as she did.  She'd never heard the voice of the lava, but the fire it sparked called to her.  The volcano had always been friendly to the Firestarters of Duel Academia and now wasn't any different.  She could also hear the voices of her friends, Juudai and Theodis, Shou and Hayato, demanding to know if she was all right, encouraging her to keep on going.

For his sake,  she told herself.  I can't find my brother if I don't keep on going.  If I lose this fight, I'll never see him again.  She'd waited too long, searched too long.  She wasn't going to let that happen.

She glanced towards Darkness, and thought she caught a glimpse of brown eyes behind the mask.  The light of the lava made her uncertain of what she saw, but - was it?  Fubuki wasn't the only person with brown hair and brown eyes in the world.  But he did play a dragon deck.  It had been a long time since she'd seen her brother duel, so she couldn't be certain.  But - she pressed her lips together.

"Is that all you've got?"

Darkness laughed, and the heat around him rose, to the point even she noticed it.  That was wrong by itself; Fubuki was a Healer, not a Firestarter.  This heat felt wrong.  Not like a Shadow Flame; but something else altogether. Asuka had no names for it, but she knew wrong when it presented itself to her. "Turn end.  Do your best."  Darkness taunted her.  Asuka fully intended to.

She drew her card for the turn and relaxed a fraction.  She had cards enough to deal with the situation but this would make it that much easier.

"All right, Darkness, you'll see just what my best is!  I activate Cyclone, targeting your Call of the Living Dead!  When that goes to the graveyard, it takes Spear Dragon with it!"  And that removed the strongest monster from Darkness's side of the field.  All she needed now was a way to get rid of Mirage Dragon - and she had that already in her hand.

"Now, I summon Cyber TuTu!"  Before her there appeared the low-level ballerina, who spun into place delicately and fiercely, regarding the dragon before her without a scrap of fear. 

Darkness chuckled as he regarded her.  "She's not very powerful, is she?  I don't think my dragon has anything to fear from her."

"No, your dragon doesn't,"  Asuka agreed, allowing herself a grin.  "But you might.  I'm not attacking with Cyber TuTu.  She's not here on the stage for long.  I brought her out in order to call someone else!"  She flicked out another card.  "By the effect of Prima Light, I sacrifice Cyber Tutu!  Cyber Prima, dance on in!"

A tight silver bodysuit covered her new monster, along with golden hoops that hovered at her hips, and smaller ones in the form of bracelets at her shoulders and wrists.  A fall of silver-white hair gleamed bright in the lava-light, and she stood fiercely in front of Asuka, ready for battle.

"Cyber Prima!  Take out Mirage Dragon!"  This wouldn't cause nearly as much damage as she would have liked, but even seven hundred was better than nothing.  She couldn't guess yet what his ace card might be but the sooner she finished this duel the better.  If she kept feeling the same damage that her monsters did, then she wasn't sure of how much more she could take.

Mirage Dragon vanished in a puff of sparkles as Cyber Prima slammed into him, Darkness's life points dropping down to twenty-five hundred.  Still a long way to go, but Asuka believed she could do it.

Darkness brushed it off easily though as she set her last card face down and ended her turn.  "You're not that bad.  I might almost regret finishing you off - but probably not."  He regarded her thoughtfully before he drew his own next card and then pointed towards her.  "Do you hear the cries of those dragons that you've destroyed?  They shriek from the graveyard, demanding vengeance for their passing!"

"You're getting into this a little much,"  Asuka muttered.  She'd never been fond of those who were too over-dramatic in duels.  Spirits or no spirits - and she hadn't made up her mind on that - it was still a game.  Though a very deadly one right now.

But Darkness continued as if she'd not said a thing.  "You will suffer for what you've done! The souls of the dragons demand it!  Now it begins!  I summon Black Dragon's Chick!" 

In front of him there now appeared a large red egg, From the egg there burst a small dragon, not quite small enough to hold in one's hands. It glared at her and Cyber Prima, hissing in anger as it did.  Darkness wasted no further time.

"I send Black Dragon's Chick to the graveyard and summon Red Eyes Black Dragon from my hand!" 

The chick explode into light and that light coalesced into a gigantic dragon, sleek and black of scale, with sharp red eyes that peered as her as if she were the source of all it hated in the cosmos.  Asuka's attention shifted from the dragon to Darkness's mask and back again.

It's the same.  He's wearing the Red Eyes Black Dragon Mask.  Something else clicked.  She couldn't see his face properly still, not with the mask there, and the shadows cast by the lava made it even more difficult to be sure.  But the more she listened to his voice and the more she stared at him, the more certain Asuka became.  She wasn't sure at all of how or why, but - but she'd done it.

She'd found her brother.  Now she just needed to find a way to find him inside of whatever it was that used his body.  She didn't know how this Darkness entity did it, but he wore her brother like a suit, and that wasn't going to happen any longer if she had anything to say about it.

"Your dragon only has a hundred more points than Cyber Prima,"  she pointed out.  "That's hardly anything at all."

"Oh, you're quite right on that."   All around Darkness, shadows cast by the lava stirred and twisted and rose upward, dancing in a frenzy that sent chills down Asuka's spine.  "Therefore, I send Red-Eyes Black Dragon to the graveyard to summon Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!" 

The shadows converged on the great black dragon, wrapping all around it and blocking it from sight.  When they pulled away, the dragon looked larger, but slimmer, with a sense of intelligence that Asuka didn't find reassuring in the slightest. 

"Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon draws power from every dragon that's been sent to the graveyard," Darkness declared.  "With Spear Dragon, Mirage Dragon, Black Dragon's Chick, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon, that makes his attack 3,600!"  He regarded her carefully.  This strike would finish her, taking her last thirteen hundred life points in one fell swoop. "Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, attack!  Bring me the victory with Darkness Giga Flame!"

"Not so fast!"  Asuka declared, gasping the words out as quickly as she could.  "I activate my traps!  Spirit Barrier prevents me from taking damage at all, and Doble Passe allows me to make this attack on my monster a direct attack on me - and then I can directly attack you with Cyber Prima! Go! Closing Reverence!"

Even as Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon blasted a stream of intense black fire at her, Cyber Prima leaped over the flames, dodging them gracefully, and landed in front of Darkness, striking at him with all of her might. Darkness fell back a step himself, his life points dropping to a mere two hundred, and he snarled, eyes flashing like red coals.

"You won't do that again next turn,"  he promised. Asuka knew he was right.  Doble Passe would go to the graveyard at the end of this turn.  Spirit Barrier would remain, being a Continuous Trap, but it required her to have a monster on the field.  If he could destroy Cyber Prima, then she would have no defense whatsoever. 

If this were her brother - if he used Fubuki's deck - then she knew that in that deck rested cards that could either destroy Cyber Prima, destroy Spirit Barrier, or inflict effect damage, which Spirit Barrier wouldn't negate. 

He wasn't done with her now.  Two more cards remained in his hand.  He tugged out one of them.  "I activate Fire Dragon's Blazing Bullet, and choose the effect of dealing eight hundred points of damage to my opponent!"

Asuka had time to think of how petty this was before fire engulfed her.  Firestarters weren't burned by fire, no matter how weak they were, and she'd always been one of the strongest.  For the first time in her life, she knew what it felt like to burn, and not in that glorious way that Firestarters did.  She screamed, falling face forward, trembling from head to foot.

Firestarter.  Firestarter.  Another voice whispered to her.  She flinched at first, but then others joined in.

"Asuka!  Asuka!  Stand up!  You can do this!" 

"Yeah!  You've got this!  He's only got two hundred left!" 

"Idiots."  That voice cut over the other ones.  "She's lost already.  All she has to do is stop breathing.  Then I will duel you, Yuuki Juudai."

Slowly Asuka's head cleared.  She dragged in a breath.  The fires called.  She glanced over to where her friends were and saw that whatever it was that protected them from the lava had drawn backwards. They'd not fallen in yet but it wasn't that far away.  So she needed to finish this.  She needed - she didn't know what she needed.  All that she could think of right now was to win, to overcome that dragon and destroy those last two hundred life points.  But Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon had thirty-six hundred - even with Cyber Blader, she had nothing that could top that.

Wait - wait.  One card. One hope. 

"So you don't want to peacefully lay down and die?"  Darkness taunted her as she swayed to her feet, small flames of her own beginning to dance around her.  "I'm going to extinguish those fires of yours!"

"My fire will cut through your shadows to what lies beneath, Darkness!"  Asuka shot back.  "All I need is one card to finish you off!"

"Try your best!" 

Asuka drew her card.  "I activate Pot of Greed, and draw two more cards!"  She knew how slim her odds were, but if she were going to go down, then she'd go down fighting every step of the way.  She smiled at the sight of her two new cards - exactly what she needed.

Juudai always thanked his deck when he got a good draw.  Asuka wondered if she should start doing the same thing.

"I summon Cyber Petit Angel! When this card is successfully summoned, I can add Machine Angel Ritual from my deck to my hand!"

She'd only recently added Ritual monsters to her deck.  Perhaps this was why she'd wanted to do so.  Regardless, it was time.  Cyber Petit Angel wiggled little metallic wings and the card she needed appeared in her hand from the deck.  She moved on; better to get this done before Darkness could counter her.

"I activate Machine Angel Ritual!  By tributing Cyber Prima and Cyber Petit Angel, I Ritual Summon Cyber Angel Dakini!"

A tall armored woman spun into existence before her, blue-skinned and red-haired, with armor of gold.  The top two of her four arms held swords while the bottom two held a long staff.  "When Cyber Angel Dakini is summoned, then you select and destroy one of your monsters."  Asuka smiled a thin-lipped smile.  "And you only have one monster."

Darkness jerked in surprise as Dakini struck his mighty Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon with her staff, and it exploded into a pile of scales and dust that faded away a breath later.  She could see his eyes widen as he understood what was about to happen.  Asuka didn't give him time to fear it.

"Cyber Angel Dakini!  Direct attack!"

At once Dakini leaped forward again, this time swiping both of her swords across him.  His life points drained away entirely, and he fell, screaming, the card that he'd declared would hold her soul on her defeat now glowing ever so softly.  Asuka wasn't sure how she stayed on her feet, but she tottered towards him, even as light flared up around them.  When that light cleared, they weren't over the volcano anymore, but on the side of it.  Her flamelets faded away and she collapsed next to the black-clad body.

"Asuka!  Asuka!"  Ryou hurried closer, Misawa and Professor Chronos with him.  Juudai, Shou, Hayato, and Thordis hurried as well, coming to check on her.  She didn't care; she was fine.  But she pulled the body into her arms, noticing vaguely that he still breathed.  She slipped the mask off of his face, hardly able to think or breathe right now, especially as she saw that it was Fubuki, it was her brother, he lay there unconscious, but alive.  Tears coursed down her cheeks and she didn't care.  She'd held those back far too long over the last two years.

Slowly she looked up at Ryou, the only other person who might understand how she felt right now. "It's him,"  she whispered.  "It's Fubuki.  That other soul - Darkness - it's gone now."  She could see the card discarded to one side.  There was Darkness, staring back at them through the chains. Maybe 'gone' wasn't the right word, but it would do.

Asuka closed her eyes and let herself slump forward, her mind going dark and restful.  This time when she woke up, Fubuki would be there, and she could get answers on what happened, how he'd vanished and why he'd vanished, where he'd been all this time, and why he worked for these people wanting powerful and evil cards. 

She'd done it.  She'd saved her brother.

The End

Notes: Okay, let's face it. Asuka was robbed when it came to her search for Fubuki. All it really did for her in canon was get her kidnapped by Titan (an event I can assure you didn't happen in this AU), and then after that she just kinda floats around uselessly in the plot. She wasn't even allowed to be the one to set Fubuki free. No, that had to take second place to Juudai and his eternal need for fun duels! Not this time, though. Also, I mainly set this in my Healer/Firestarter AU for the grins and giggles. This might not be the best duel but I think it works.

Lastly, I sorted out this duel and wrote it all today. The idea has floated in my head for ages and it just slammed in that this would be perfect for today's prompt, even though I had my other fic ready anyway. Meh, ideas.

[princess-peregrine]

I heard you are doing storm hawks writing prompts. If you still doing writing prompts how about something about young Dark Ace arguing with Lightning Strike about a mission or ignoring orders.

Okay like this was really hard for me since I for one forget that Lightning Strike existed at any opportunity because the things I assumed and headcannond make me not like him like, in an unfun way. like that guy had no lines and was a background character but I still really don't care for him or the lore about him bc I ignore canon. and the Dark Ace is just a silly little man to me. so I have no attatchment to these characters and didn't know how to make them argue or anything and this was all I could think of, it's not exactly what you wanted so sorry for that but I have zero ideas for these guys.

So instead have a you are Dark Ace POV of just straight up not liking Lightning Strike

1.3k words, fighting

The thing about a good fighter, like most of our crew, is that they can take down an enemy without killing them. They're also smart enough to not kill everyone they fight. Some fighting styles required killing people, but not directly, meant to conserve energy and strength. Like Sky Fu, disrupting your opponents balance and knocking them off their craft. The issue was him. Lightning Strike isn't a good fighter. His swings are heavy, he's uncoordinated, he aims to hurt people and kill them, and he gets out of breath often. Our leader didn't deserve the position, he only cared about praise and looking cool. Doing stupid poses when he beat someone or to intimidate them. The council sees him as an effective fighter, what they don't see is the fights he's a part of. Spilling unnecessary blood at any opportunity. I'm convinced he became a Sky Knight just to hurt people, we're just lucky he's on our side. Large, fast, able to dodge quickly, and not stopping his attacks, all the qualities a fighter should have. But he's also our leader.

I'm Ace, Lightning Strikes right hand and co pilot. The only reason he says he 'allows' me to be his co pilot is because I'm the only one to beat him in a fight. No matter how many times I beat him though, he doesn't show me respect.

So I hate the fact that I'm rushing in behind him to protect him. The Jerk should focus on the people around him. He just rushed headfirst into a group of Talons chasing after one soldier of theirs just because of a stupid insult. He tackled the soldier, leaving his back open. Fortunately for me everyone was focused more on that brute than me. I got there just in time to stop a Talon from bringing his blade down onto Strikes neck. I used the dagger in my right hand to parry the blade to the side while my left dagger went under the shoulder, severing the tendons that supported the arm. He screamed, he would be fine his arm would be useless for a few years but he'd be taken out of the fighting, but the important thing would be that he would live. Lavinia had been close behind me and started fighting at the front of their lines.

Lightning Strike is back on his feet, already swinging his sword blindly taking down anyone getting too close. I feel a bit of sympathy for the Talons in his path. I recognize the style they're using, doing their best to use Lighting Strikes swings against him. Lightning strike shrugging them off and bringing his blade down on them.

I am about to get away and get back to the front to help the rest of the crew when an arrow landed underneath my feet. A red arrowhead, jumped in the direction the arrow came from and the small explosion from the arrow threw me even farther. I wont have the balance to land after this so I braced my arms in front of my face, hoping I can roll it off and get back to the fighting.

My arms hit the ground first and I know my plan didn't work. My body turns upon impact and rolls sideways. I'm dizzy but I try my best to get my bearings as my vision focuses. It looks like it was a good thing I landed here, I thought, I'm even farther behind enemy lines and only two Talons are focused on me. One's rushing at me with a spear and the other is reloading his crossbow, fumbling with the arrow.

I try to stand and feel a sharp pain in my left arm and ribs, I ignore it and try to push myself forward as I get back on my feet. The Talon rushes me and aims for my side as jump to the left and use the dagger in my right hand to push the spear away. The Talon is off balance now, leaning over when I had pushed the spear. With the distance closed I grapple his waist and throw him over my back. I hear him land on the ground behind me with a large metallic thud, the sound of air leaving his lungs let me know he couldn't move and I jabbed his head with the brunt of my daggers, knocking him out.

The archer had reloaded and moved deeper behind enemy lines, not watching where he was going. Lighting Strike slashed him down the back when he got too close. The fight is nearly over now, and it looks like Lightning Strike didn't kill most of them, just brutally injured them. They needed to get to medics quick though. All of the fighting seemed to be focused at the rest of the crew, nothing they couldn't handle. I breathed a sigh of relief and gripped at my ribs as our leader approached me.

“We still have the tents to search, can you keep going?” He isn't asking out of concern, I can tell. He's mocking me, while I'm standing here struggling to stand straight and refusing myself to clutch at my ribs he has this huge grin on his face since he didn't get hit. Lucky bastard. I can see in his eyes that during our next spar he'd use my injuries against me.

“Of course.” I said with a forced smile.

The first few tents were empty, save for a Talon who cowered away from fighting. Lightning Strike had the sense to knock him out and drop him outside the tent. With only one tent left Lavinia approached us, asking what we should do next. Before Lightning Strike could tell them to relax I quickly gave them the orders to collect the Talons and get them to the ship and get them to the nearest med unit as fast as possible. Watching the rest of the crew gather the injured Talons my leader only gave a scoff and headed towards the last tent.

Lighting Strike pulled back the tent curtain and leaped backwards as a blade came out and swung at him. A kid no older than sixteen in only leather armor swung his sword up and down slowly, clearly not used to the blades weight. Another kid roughly the same age ran out of the tent and away from the fighting. I rushed the one swinging his sword and kicked his hands up, knocking the blade out of his hands and swung my leg to the side, hitting the kids chest and knocking him on his back. Lightning Strike ran after the other kid and grabbed him by his arms.

“I had heard Cyclonia had started using child soldiers, didn't think we'd run into any though.” Lighting strike said. Throwing the kid he caught onto his friend. Both of them looked up at us, fear obvious in their eyes. Cole quickly rushed over with handcuffs and took the kids away. Lightning Strike put his hand on my shoulder, I didn't notice before but he had been wearing a smile since the kid came out of the tent. “This is great news Ace!”

“Sir?”

“Come on Terrance, think about it.” He placed both his hand on my shoulders. “If they're really using child soldiers now then that means their army is falling apart. The Sky Knights have more people than ever now. If we attack now then it's an easy win.”

I watched over the next few weeks as his ego grew in size. He gathered the other Sky Knights and convinced most of them into an all out attack against Cyclonia. His plan could work. Child soldiers weren't as skilled in combat, they couldn't fight back against such a large attack. I fought him countless times leading up to the attack. Trying to get him to call it off. He wouldn't listen to me. A brute like him never should have been calling the shots. It should have been me. I was stronger, faster, knew how to fight, and best of all smarter. If it wasn't for me he'd be dead. I should be the leader.

My eyes traced over his back as we flew into battle against the Cyclonians. I drew The blade on his back, and his confused and scared expression as he looked up at me was priceless.

[mariahthelioness29]

Remember the time

Pairing: SamBucky! X Black! reader 

WC: 7.3K (EYE... idk why they keep getting longer)

A look into y/n’s relationship with Sam and Bucky years after Send the Addy.

Send the Addy was part of @blackmissfrizzle  and her Frizzle’s 2K Follower Celebration & Bad Bitch Challenge. I had the song Send the Addy by Flo Milli.

Warning: Angst, fight, violence, minor character deaths, SMUT, light D/s dynamics, threesome, sir and daddy naming, shower sex, rough sex, rimming, oral (male and female receiving), fingering, masturbation (male), fingering, cum eating.

@sambuckyslayallday @blackmissfrizzle @xbuchananbarnes @avintagekiss24 @helahades @sapphirescrolls @rasberrylemon @saltball @honestlyfrance @black-mcu-imagines @blacklavenderjade @saintsebastian-stan @deansblackbeauty @marvelmaree @honeychicanawrites  @siancore

“y/n,what's your status”, Bucky asks in his coms.

You heard Bucky’s call but you decided to ignore it. 

“Hang on”, you gruffed him through the coms. 

You have to save the Ihumann all in chains by the Kree. 

You are appalled that slavery is a reality, still. 

Only this time is among aliens. 

You are gathering information on the Kree and Skrull cold war for Sam and Danvers. 

You jumped down from a level to the other and appeared in front of the Kree soldiers. 

“ Hey, sailors”, You salute the Kree soldiers before frying them with energy coming out of you.  They drop calcined. 

The poor Ihumann are shaking like leaves. One of them grabbed a kid for dear life. 

You assume the kid is theirs. 

“ I am here to help”, you signed to them in their language. 

They nod like bobble heads, still terrified.

“Here”, you signed 

 You hand them some guns and retractable Wakandan spears. 

“ Walk behind me and when I say attack, you do as I say”. You signed to them. 

“You walked fast with them and you signaled them to hide. 

Some hide behind columns with you and the others blend in with the wall.

Everything was going great, according to plan. 

Until other Kree Soldiers noticed you and the Ihumann. 

You make them rush to the spacejet. 

You press a button to open the spacejet from behind  

 You gave them all the space suits buttons you had including your own and only a young Ihumann stayed with you. 

“ I’ll fight with you”, he signals. 

Hissing and groans in pains, screams in agony , the Ihumman slashed through the Kree Soldiers. 

You electro shock them until one the Kree soldier you did not see, impaled the Ihumman from his back. 

You hear a strangled scream, that is deafening. 

You all wince and turn around. You see blue blood pouring, hands over their mouth, eyes wide in shock and a spear through him. They drop to their knees and they look at you. 

“NOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!”, you screamed.

Being distraught, the Kree soldiers took advantage and put a stabilizer on you.

A silent scream escapes your throat, the stabilizer bites in your skin, rendering you powerless.

The Kree soldiers put you in chains and make you walk with them. 

You are going to another section of the massive compound floating along the sky. 

"Huh? , a Terran, Quu, told me they are exquisite, I will find out  with this one". He tugs at your chain.

" Save a spot for me, I am trying to find out too". The other soldier says.

You feel a presence. 

You see a black shadow. 

You hear shots and you flinch. You hear the men trapping you, dropped like a potato sack. 

You are relieved to see Bucky but suddenly you are not. 

You realize why the man is feared and why the name Winter Soldier exists. 

If looks can kill, you would’ve been 10 feet underground. 

“ Buck, I can explain”. You say all breathy. He walks to you. He gets you out the chains. He barely acknowledges you, hands you a glass like chip, takes you by the forearm, puts the space suit button on you and taps on it. You are surrounded by the space suit. 

Through nooks and crannies, you reach the underground, shooting some soldiers down the way. You manage to escape, through a narrow exit near the underground motors of the compound.

You float to the spaceship and enter it. You click on the button and the space suits disappear.

He makes you sit and he takes the aid kit, injecting a little local anesthetic. 

He cuts around the stabilizer and then takes it out with some tweezers. It is hard work cause the stabilizer has some hooks in it.

He takes the bloody stabilizer out of your neck, dropping, stomping it on the floor. He puts some nanobites to close the injury and some alcohol.

You hiss at the feeling of the alcohol and the nanobites.

Bucky’s jaw is square with anger. 

He looks at you with the corner of his eyes. 

He sees the Ihummann in the spacejet. 

“ Translate for me, you are safe and welcome” ,he orders you in a robotic tone. 

You sign what he says. They smile at you and they all say thank you to you. 

Relieve is all over their faces. Some of them sigh, others with tears of happiness. 

“ They say thank you”, you whisper to him. 

He smiles at them but you know it is a smile that does not reach his eyes.

He bows to them with his fist on his chest. 

A sign of “your welcome”, a reverence you taught him.

They all do the same to him back. 

He goes to the cockpit of the spaceship and you beside him. 

“ Bucky”, you try to talk to him. 

“ Not now, y/n”, he gruffs. 

You know, you are for one hell of a talk with him and Sam, when you’re back on Earth. 

It took you three weeks to get back on Earth. 

It was the route where Kree least looked for you. 

Sam and Danvers are aware of what you did, but they cannot help with resources for now. 

You stop in several planets, from negotiating some of your arsenal, curing aliens, selling some Earth trinkets, cage fighting, even some stripping. you and Bucky did on Traia to have food, oxygen, water, special water for the Ihumman and a place to rest. You were a success on Traia, they never saw Terrans before. So much, you and Bucky needed to fight the bar patron to let you out.

Bucky only said good night and talked to you the necessary. 

You slept with your backs against each other. 

He is still mad at you. 

You arrived at the headquarters. 

Bucky's hair was to his ears. His beard was full. 

Your hair looks tired and ran through. You all stink. 

The Ihumann stayed in the jet. They need to stay since Earth’s oxygen is nauseating to them, but you promised them you will find a way they can have a shower too since Earth's water makes them ill. They have to talk in signs all the time cause their voice is too high for human ears. 

Once you shower, you put on some comfortable clothes. 

You go to your office. You dread in your spirit, the debriefing and the report you have to do. 

“ ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKIN’ MIND!!!!”,Sam screeched, entering your office with Bucky. 

“BOY, DON’T YOU YELL AT ME, I’M NOT FIVE”, you yell back at him. 

“This the welcome I get, you two ganging up on me”, you huff. 

“ I am not the one, who went head on to Kree soldiers, put Ihumann in the jet, got captured by the Kree, Bucky reminds you. 

“We had to do everything to stay afloat for three weeks alone in space or did you forget Traia”. Bucky reminds you again.

“You jeopardize this whole mission, are you aware of that”, Bucky seethes. 

“ Oh!, you act surprised with your hand on your chest. “Ladies and Gents, Non-binary peeps, he speaks”, extending your arms to the side.

“Yes, I did and I’ll do it again, I will not be impartial, waiting for instructions  while beings are put in chains, used as live-experiments, to appease some bullshit power”. You demanded. 

“ You sidetracked this mission and brought Ihumann to earth, what are we going to do with them,the air makes them nauseous, they do not even drink the same water as us, it makes them ill!,Sam speaks with disbelief, pointing to the spacejet.

“ I will find a solution, I am the doctor here, don’t you worry ‘bout it”, You answer him. 

Sam huffs in disbelief with his hand on his hip. Bucky just sits on the chair, rubbing his temples. 

You throw the chips on the table . The one that Bucky gave you ,two chips extras. They were not even aware of the other two. 

Their eyes are wide. They look at the two extra chips and then each other.

“Here is your mission”. You say to them.

“I AM NOT STUPID, YOU TWO ALWAYS CUT MY WINGS IN MISSIONS” your voice hoarse with anger. 

They both look at each other. 

“ That’s not true!”, Sam rushes out. 

“ Oh no ,it isn’t?, I've always had to ask Hill and Danvers, because you never want me to do outside work.”

“ All the schedules for the mission, I am the one that receives a little thing and some bullshit paperwork”. 

“ I do it, 'cause I want you safe”, Bucky says trying to calm down. 

" I don't want another kidnapping and you receiving the full force of a dying star on you”, Sam say pointing at you and getting closer to you.

"I know what I got myself into, when I decided that this is  what I'm going to do for a living and I survived, I am here".

“We need to help the Ihumann, there are the ones suffering the most”, you plead to Sam. 

“ We are trying to find a solution for that  cold war, this can affect earth, our galaxy and you bringing Ihumann will jeopardize that. This will make us look biased! .” Sam defends.

“ Oh, I read the debriefing documents, the idea is that the Kree colonize Koraa and let them have their way and pretend we do not see it”, You answer with venom. 

“ That looks like the most wise decision, for now, y/n, let them believe they have a little power and when they least expect, we come in”, Bucky defends. 

“ Do you both realize that by doing that it is the ⅗ compromise all over again ?” You look at them with disdain. 

“ y/n, Buck and Danvers are right”, Sam touches your arm up and down, but you retreat your arm from him. 

“ Have you lost your sense of self!”, You look at Sam up and down. 

“ Black people, Native Americans, we are the products of that atrocity to this day. 

You, Danvers, and him think that is the best solution for the Ihumann”, you ask in disbelief. 

“ Y’all disgust me, get the fuck outta my office, the door is right there”. You say to them with a tear in your eye. 

They both look at you, with pleading eyes. 

NOW!!, you shout at them.

Bucky stands from the chair, eyes down. Sam eyes down too and they leave. 

You drop on your chair, your head down, you let the tears win. 

You sob loud, letting the three weeks of stress get out of your system. 

You cry for the young Ihumann that you saw dying, fighting for freedom, defending his folk. You will mourn for him according to their tradition. You take deep breaths, you dry your eyes, after some time. 

Your ears still hurt from the strangled scream of the Ihumman. 

 Feeling a little bit better, you walk out of your office to the main kitchen. You take raw fish and poultry, portion them in Ziploc bags. You take more fish and poultry out of the freezer,  defrost and portion them in Ziploc bags and put it all in a big shopping bag. 

You enter the front doors and you give the Ihummann the portions. 

“We can help you with the oxygen machine and water customization”, three young Ihumann women sign to you. 

“We have enough oxygen, for a couple of days, in the space suit, we can do something that can filter the oxygen here and the water, my name is Kala”. She signs. 

“I’m y/n, nice to meet you Kala, we start tomorrow, at dawn, it is not much, I’m sorry”. You signed pointing  at the food. 

" and I am sorry for losing one of you", you signed, regret all over your face.

“It’s okay, this will really do, my name is Jouuma”, she signed to you.

"Moab, he died a hero, it hurts but it was not in vain, He would've been happy seeing we are free.",Joumma signed to you. You come close to her and extend your arm to hug her. You hugged each other and you distanced from each other 

You put your hand in your chest and sigh in reliefs. They smile

 They nod and yawn. “Get some sleep”. You signed.

“ It’s okay, again thank you for saving us, my name is Ula, goodnight”. One of them signed.

“Goodnight”, you signed to them, with a smile while exiting the spacejet. 

You go back to your office. You take the mattress out of the sofabed.

“Thank Jesus, I bought this”. 

You tiptoe to your shared bedroom with Sam and Bucky. They look asleep. You take some heavy blankets and then to the kitchen for some ice cream and chocolates. 

You were watching some series, but you felt your eyes closing, you were full of chocolates and ice cream and you fell asleep on the sofabed

Sam and Bucky come to your office later in the night. They open the door and tip toe in. 

They are both restless, you are not there. The bed feels cold, without you. 

“Do you think she will get mad when she wakes up on the bed instead ?”, Sam asks.

Bucky shrugs. 

“I just want us to sleep comfortably, I miss her and my bed”, Bucky says voice full tiredness and he yawns. 

They see you deep in sleep. A pint of ice cream and chocolate wrappings inside the pint on the floor next to the sofa bed. The T.V projector on. 

They see your alarm set at the crack of dawn and some calculations on the desk.

Sam, moves the curtains and sees the spacejet.

“She is going to work with them in the morning”, Sam states to Bucky. 

Bucky nodded with his lips pursed. 

Sam and Bucky’s eyes are puffy from crying. 

Bucky carries you out of the office bridal style. 

Sam puts the mattress back in the sofa, turns T.V off and takes out the pint of ice cream with him to the kitchen. 

He goes to the spacejet to talk with Ihumann, with a translator. 

In your bedroom, Bucky puts you in the middle of the bed. He sets the alarm the same time you had the alarm in the office.��

He caresses your face with a delicacy to not wake you up. He ghosts his lips over your hairline and breathes you in. He realizes there, that you are not the same wide eyed sugar baby at the start of your relationship with them. It cost him to shake that state.

 They were your providers, you called for them when you were in trouble, but you grew out of that. 

You are now Dr. y/n. y/l/n, pioneering space anthropologist, alien anatomist and alien rights advocate and scientist.

He sighs and tangles his leg on top of yours, facing you and goes to sleep. 

Sam enters the bedroom 

He sees the beautiful sight of you and Bucky breathing deep asleep.

He realizes, it is true what you said earlier. He has lost his way. In his way to mitigate the scandal that was the world knowing their relationship with you, he began to be more complacent to the point, he is not the same Sam Wilson.

 You are showing him that when you cannot compromise, you won't. You are trying to prevent a system of discrimination. All of the things, he should be doing. 

He goes to the other side of the bed next to you, facing your back, he sleeps the closest he can to you, breathing you in and ghosting his lips over your shoulder.

You woke up and groaned at the sound of the alarm beeping for the third time. You feel two weights next to you. Bucky was cocooned next to you with his leg tangled in yours. Sam was on his back but he has your arm extended on his chest.

You detangle yourself from them and get out the bed. You see them stir a little in their sleep, their faces screwed up. “Hmm, even in their sleep , they can feel whenever I go”, you thought. You shake your head. You love them so much but you cannot let them stagnate you because they want to protect you. You know they mean well, but you are your own person, you have to be. 

You take a shower, put on some comfortable blue overalls and a blue shirt with some blue working boots and you go to the spacejet with the Ihumann. Blue is the mourning color of the Ihumann. 

Kala, Jouuma and Ula are up in their spacesuits. 

“Morning”, you sign

They salute, signing morning. “You are wearing blue”, Ula noticed. 

“I am in mourning for Moab, I will shop, some blue clothes for you later”, you told them. 

“Thank you but we do not want to become burdensome to you and your “husbands” ”, Joumma tells you through signs.

You point at them, then do waves on your face , put the number three with your fingers and a circle with your hands, you wiggle your finger and then throw your hand behind your back hard. 

That means:

“You deserve mourning for Moab, it is not a burden”, you assure them. 

“ How do you know I have “husbands”?”, you signed. 

“ Yesterday night, a man of your color introduced himself as “Sam”, your husband and said the other man with the metal arm “Bucky” was your husband too, that you are working hard to give us a space, he translated with a virtual translator. If we need anything, press this  for any emergency, they will come cause you need sleep”, Ula signed and pointed to the emergency tablet.

“He said, he will try his best on the council to give us our land back”, Jouuma signed.

You sighed. You are happy that the Sam you know is still there. You know, he does not make empty promises. 

They are in awe seeing the dawn and the birds fly.

They are smiling at each other and at the sky. You know that feeling. Whenever you are in space, you are like them, excited from everything around you.

With that all of you go to the basement of the compound

Later that day, you brought all of regular clothes and blue clothes for them and cut holes in the pants so that their tails were free. You wore blue and did intermediate fasting with them for three days in honor of Moab

You were working day and night for a week straight. Kala, Jouuma and Ula were the test subject for the chambers and they gave some recommendations.

 You enlisted the help of Shuri, Tony, Bruce and Helen to make the lowest part of the basement of the compound suitable for them. The basement was big enough for some chambers and a couple of showers with special ionized water for them. Your other work was deciphering the encryption on the chips with Carol.  

It was mostly a reading and staying quiet affair. There was still a little animosity between you and Carol, since you did not agree on the conditions for the end of the cold war.

You have given her the cold treatment. She has apologized already but you were not going to let her off the hook that easy.  

“y/n”, Carol says your name soft. 

You turn to her. 

“I am so sorry, for not seeing the Ihumann how the conditions of armistice can affect the Ihumann, I was shortsighted and I brought Wilson and Barnes to my lack of vision, It was completely insensitive of me not thinking not seeing this from your point of view. I understand if you do not accept my apology. Regardless, I will work on seeing things from different points of views and that these solutions actually help the people that needed the most. I hope de-encrypting this can give us the upper hand so that we can help the Ihummann, Carol apologize. 

you chuckle. 

“That was nice”

“Hmm, how does those words taste coming out of your mouth”, you tease Carol smirking,

She rolls her eyes, “like the worst kind of vinegar, It feels horrible when I fuck up, horrible but they are necessary”, She admits. 

“I hope we can find something with the program we installed”, You go and lay your head on her shoulder. 

She sighs and nods, looking at the chips with connected to the projector, 

“When are you going to resolve your differences with Wilson and Barnes?” Carol asked. 

“I have never seen two men so lovesick and sad. It is like a Skrull tragedy”, Carol expressed. 

“Maybe tonight, but I will have a party with the Ihummann to celebrate in the basement, you are invited too”. You hand her a face mask with a filter and a pair of headphones. 

She is surprised with the mask  and headphones on her hand. “The party is in the basement”, you say walking out. 

The basement is nice, It is their environment, they even manage to start growing some of their vegetables. Ula had some seeds in her pocket.

You are there with your oxygen filtering mask and some headphones to hear the music to your frequency, courtesy of Tony and Shuri. They designed a surround system that was on the frequency of sound apt for them but not deafening for the rest tower.

You were showing different music of “Terra”(Earth), you were showing them Afrobeats, now they are listening to Beyonce's ``Already. The video was there on the projector and they were imitating the dance steps, step by step perfectly. The Ihumann have amazing photographic reflexes. They understand the lyrics, they love the rhythm. There is a translator embedded in the projector. If you take your headphones off, you are sure you will be deaf. They have the volume so high. That’s why you talk in signs. Human voice or humanoid voice and its frequency is too low for them and their voice is too loud for your ears.

They ask you if the blue men in the video are alien, they have blue skin. You signed to them they are human but painted blue. They all signed oh.. 

You signed that you will show them another genre and another artist from you were a little bit younger. You play Send the Addy and 19  by Flo Milli. “It is called Rap/ Hip-Hop and this one of my favorite artists, Flo Milli”. 

They start jumping to the song and then imitating how you dance.

You start dancing just like how you remember doing the way you used to. Going all down and starting twerking to the floor and they all do the same. You laugh seeing them twerk

You remember that night in the hotel years ago.

How lively and also kind of naïve you were. 

How dependent you used to be of Sammy and Buck. You miss that girl from time to time. 

Before trending on twitter as #blackmonicalewinsky, before going with the Guardians to escape all that scandal, change your identity, become a pioneer in a career made by Jane Foster and Carol Danvers, going to missions on different planets, before being an avenger, before escaping from space pirates and rather jump on a dying star than to be theirs, Carol finding you passed out floating in space and getting your powers.

Carol arrived at the celebration and you know she likes Classic Rock. 

You signed to them that the type of music they are going to listen to is Rock and the band is Gun n Roses, that they are classic and renowned here on Terra. They all have wide eyes and they mouth Oh.. 

After a while of rock music videos, they were listening and watching Michael Jackson’s Remember the time. You told  them that Michael was one of the best artists to ever grace Terra. He made moonwalking famous and he is a staple of Terran music. 

They all watch your signing intently to remember what you said, like good kids in school.

They were like little kids in a movie theater. You look at them screaming scared when Michael appeared from the dust in the video. 

“Those sweet memories

Will always be dear to me

And girl no matter what was said

I will never forget what we had

Now baby” Michael was singing. 

Your mind went to all the amazing times, Sammy, Buck and you had. All the times when you felt on top of the world. The song is one of Sam and Buck’s favorites. You need to make amends with each other. You want to but you just haven’t got the time. You are scared your fights were never this long. It has been a month. You are in that weird grey zone. Not that mad at each other but there is still not a proper closure to this.

At the end they were imitating the dance moves in the dance break of the video, perfectly just like the dancers in the video. It was outstanding, seeing Jouuma imitate Michael Jackson so good like she was some live extension of him.

“Michael would’ve been proud; aliens listening to his music and enjoying it”, you thought. 

“ I am going to get ‘em and resolve our differences”, you say to Carol. 

“ Go, get’em, tiger, You will be wobbling to the office tomorrow, I just know”, Carol snickered, you shove her. She laughs and you shake your head and stifle a laugh. 

Talos was with Sam and Bucky and some of the Ihummann with their oxygen filter mask. 

Sam and Bucky were smoking.

Sam was smoking a Cuban cigar, Bucky a plain Marlboro. 

They were all concentrating on a game of poker. 

It was ridiculous how many times they have lost to the Nuk, Cab and Ilu,the Ihumann playing poker with them.

You smell tobacco and you roll your eyes. You hate tobacco, but your heart softens. They only do that when they are too stressed.

You saw them playing. You went to the table. You sat on Sam’s lap, you kissed him on the corner of his lips. You did the same to Bucky, you sat on his lap, you kiss the corner of his lips. You get up and walk , then you turn around your head, looking at them with desire and continue walking, swaying your hips. 

All the Ihumann, Talos, the other Skrulls, look at Bucky and Sam. 

They start either signing whistling sounds or whistling to Sam and Bucky. 

Sam feels his cheeks heat up, Bucky actually gets red in the face. 

“I see you will get lucky tonight,boys, I don’t know much about Earth women, but that is a woman after something, Talos said to them, wiggling his eyebrows. 

“You know that is the first sign of loving, we have received in a month”, Bucky tells the group.

“What the hell are you here for, GO!!!, to where she is, Nuk, the Ihumann signed to them. 

Bucky and Sam understood with the translator. He and Sam get up from the table and walk to their room so fast, one probably could see the dust in shape in their form, just like the cartoons. 

You took all your clothes. You went straight to the shower. 

The water was relaxing and giving you courage. 

You hear their footsteps in the room and you smile.

You  are vibrating with anticipation just like that one time in the hotel or your first time together. 

They hear the shower. They take their clothes in a frenzy. In a second,they are only in their boxes. 

They enter the bathroom. They see you through the glass and their mouths water. 

“May we join, ma’am ?”Bucky asks all breathy, eyes darkening, taking you in. 

“You may”, you whisper to them, sliding the glass barrier.

Sam and he take off their boxers and step into the shower, enter in and  slide the door close.  

You feel the air change when they step up. 

The way they are surrounding you. 

Bucky goes behind you and Sam in front.

Your lips are quivering, feeling Sam and Bucky this close.

He cups your face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs on your cheeks.

He ghosts his lips on top of yours and kisses you unhurried. 

He increased the pace of the kiss. He sweeps his tongue on your lip. Your lips part giving him access. You are making out with him, massaging each other’s tongues.

You are falling in that feeling of surrendering to them. 

Bucky hugs you from behind then he starts massaging your breast. The water, the contrast of metal and flesh. You throw your head on his shoulder. Your breathing is getting ragged. 

Bucky is hissing in your ear. The rubbing of your ass against his dick was making him dizzy. 

Sam brings you close to him again, to kiss you with all the passion he has.

Bucky entered his finger in you. You gasp into the kiss and Sam starts to suckle on your neck. You are so soaked, and warm on his fingers. “ Fuck it, I can’t wait, I going to take you here ”, Bucky rushes out 

Sam stops the water. 

He makes you find support by putting your hands on the tiles, caging Sam in.

He brings your ass to him and he lines up with your entrance. 

He thrusts into you in one go, groaning “Goddamn”.

You cry out “Daddy, fuck!”. 

Sam drops on his knees in between your legs, flicking his tongue on your clit.

You go cross-eyed. “Sir, fuck, that’s so good”, you whine

After a while, he starts flicking his tongue on Bucky’s balls and Bucky stutters his movement moaning. 

“FUCK!!, you two are going to be the death of me”, Bucky rushes out in between groans and moans. 

You can only moan and bring  your ass back to him. 

“Daddy, you feel so good”, you shrill. 

“Fuck, baby, bring that ass to me, sweetheart keep doing that”, he moans.

Sam keeps flicking his tongue, humming, moaning against Bucky’s perineum. 

He is jerking himself hard, he stops when he feels he is too close. He walks on his knees a little so that he can stand up from Bucky legs. He just looks at sight of you and Bucky ravishing each other.

“Yes, yes, fuck yes”, you babble.

You feel yourself tightening around him.

“Daddy, please, I…”, you scream

“I am close too, honey”, Bucky breathes out. He is going in and out unrelentingly. You come with a strangled high pitched moan. Your whole body shakes with release. 

“Baby, I love you so much, baby, y/n”, he groans, picking his pace up to a new speed. 

Damn!!, you cry out at him going faster. 

You feel his dick twitch 

After a few thrusts, you feel the warmth of his cum inside you and him groaning your name. 

“Wow”, he breathes out. You catch your breaths.

You hum in response, you feel light and relaxed. 

He pulls out, turns you to face him and kisses you. You both smile into your kiss. 

You hug each other tight. 

He runs his hands up and down your back to your ass. 

You breathe him in. You missed this and both of them so much.

You both approach Sam. 

Bucky grabs Sam’s head, kisses him hard, they hug each other,  grope each other, rub against each other. 

They are making out. All tongue, moaning and humming. Bucky kisses his neck and sucks on it to leave a mark. Sam moans and hiss.

“That was so hot, baby boy”, Sam tells Bucky out of breath.

“It was so good, you under me and our baby girl fucking herself on me”, Bucky responds out of breath. They both look at you. 

Your mouth waters and your pussy throbs, watching them. 

“How about we take this to the bed ?”, Sam asks, his voice raspy, deep. 

You look at him. He is rock hard. You bite your lip and you nod. 

“Yes, sir”, you answer him.

You exit the shower.

You all take your towels and dry in a rush, leaving the towels there on the counter.

In the bedroom, you kiss Sam, all tongue, your hand on his ass, his hands on your ass. 

You are both touching and groping each other. 

You kiss his neck then his chest, leaving a trail of kisses until you drop to your knees.

Bucky was enjoying the show, laying on the bed. One hand behind his head and the other jerking himself off slow.

“What do you want, pretty baby ? Sam looks down at you, grabbing his dick. 

“ Use my mouth, sir”, you look at him with doe eyes.

He taps his dick on your lips.

“Open up”, he says. You open your mouth wide.

He goes slowly into your mouth, “Fuuuck”, he rasped.  

Then he pulls slow, “Goddamn”, he rasped.

You choke on his dick over and over again.You bobbed your head up and down, gagging

You jerk the part you can’t reach.

 He groans “Shiiiit”,feeling the back of your throat. 

“That’s it, honey,  deep just like that, you are so good with that mouth, Bucky encourages while stroking himself.

You take Sam out your mouth and lick his head full of pre cum with kitten licks. 

“Ahh,baby” he rushes out.

He fucks your mouth without mercy.

He stops. 

He sits on the edge of bed, he wiggles his finger to come to him. “Crawl to me, like the good girl you are”, he demands. “Yes sir”, you answer, crawling to him. 

You reach to him and he grabs the back of your neck. Driving your head up and down the way he saw fit. He threw his head back, lips parted, eyes to the ceiling, he was breathing heavy, moaning, hissing, groaning. 

Bucky crawled next to Sam and kiss him.

He whispers to his ear: “She sucking your dick good, sweetheart?, I know she is good at that, that mouth of hers does wonders. You keep sucking him, taking a breather here and there and going back to business.

You hear what Bucky says and Sam moaning, your pussy feels wetter.

Bucky grabs your head, making your head go up and down to his pace, while kissing Sam’s neck .

Sam nods fast, moaning.

Bucky pulls your head off Sam's dick. 

“Baby girl, come up, put that ass on daddy’s face”, Bucky rasped. 

You put your ass on his face and you're facing his dick, you stroke it and he hisses. 

“Fuck you’re dripping wet, you like sucking dick that much, pretty girl?” Bucky asks you then lick your slick. 

You mewl; “Yes, Daddy” 

“Come here, Sammy, give our girl what she needs”, Bucky tells Sam. 

Sam crawls to where you are.

He is on his knees, legs a little wide, each on each side of Bucky’s head. 

You are your hands and knees and Bucky is under you. 

Sam lines up with your entrance and thrust in. 

“Sir!!!”,you scream

He rams into you, he spanks your ass cheek. 

You jolt and whine; Sir, that feels so good, spank me, please”. 

He spanks you hard, you feel your ass tingling and burning. You hiss.

Sam fucks into you, groaning, moaning, breathing heavy. 

He grips your hips hard and thrust into you fast, while bringing your ass to him. 

You let out high pitch moans and groans. 

“That’s it baby, I wanna hear you, I’ve missed those sounds”, He says driving into you with force. 

Bucky is under seeing the connection between Sam and you. 

He scoots a little and he is under your clit.

He licks fast on your clit, humming, while jerking himself off. 

His licks, the vibration of his hum, Sam unforgiving pace.

It is too much. 

“Sir, daddy, I’m…”, you cannot not even finish your sentence. 

Sam levels a brutal slap to your ass. 

“You are going to take what we give, baby”, Sam grits out, still fucking you non stop. 

You mewl: “yes, sir”.

You feel him so deep, you close your eyes. 

You scream: “Fuck, sir, Fuck”. 

He yanks you by the hair. You hiss. 

“Who am I, naughty girl ?”, He grits out,

His bottom lip between his teeth, He is going somehow deeper. 

“YOU’RE MY SIR !!'', you scream so hard, the Ihumann would finally hear a human voice for the first time in their life. 

Bucky still licking you, Sam yanking your hair and his pace. 

“GOD!!, you scream, you feel your insides tighten hard and clear liquid comes out.

You come gushing out. 

Sam pulls out and he wets his fingers with your juices.

“Fucking sweet”, he states and hums at the taste. He stares at how you squirt and Bucky laps it all up.

Bucky catches it with his mouth. He jerks himself faster. He comes with a moaned version of y/n , Sammy. 

You grab the sheets hard. Your comfort is Bucky warm abs against your face. Your face has Bucky cum.

Sam thrust in hard again. 

“Baby, squeeze me like that, it’s so fucking goood”, Sam rushes out of breath. 

He is going at it, fast, demanding. 

You mewl, moan and groan. Your eyes closed and lips parted.

He keeps the pace and cries out “SHIT!!!, He groans: “Oh, my God”. 

His eyes close, breathing ragged, he comes with a long, loud moan. 

He empties inside you. 

Sam pulls out, taking deep breaths. He lays on his side of the bed.

You catch your breath, resting your head on Bucky’s abs. your ass is still up. 

Your pussy pushes all the cum out and Bucky laps it all up.

“Ahh fuuckk”, you sigh, you are so sensitive, feeling Bucky's tongue slowly eating you out. 

“You taste so good together”, Bucky says savoring you and Sam.

You scoop Bucky’s cum and lap it all up. 

You stand up from him and go to your spot in the bed. The middle.

Bucky goes to your right and puts his head on your shoulder. 

Sam puts his head on your other shoulder too.  

There is a comfortable silence. 

You all look at the ceiling in a sort of trance. 

Your bodies are still vibrating from the pleasure. 

You remember this feeling. You felt like this, when you were together for the first time. 

You smile and start singing: 

Do you remember when we fell in love?

We were young and innocent then

Do you remember how it all began?

It just seemed like heaven, so why did it end?

Sam followed with: 

“Do you remember, back in the fall?

We'd be together all day long

Do you remember us holding hands?

In each other's eyes, we'd stare

Tell me” 

You sign all together: 

Do you remember the time?

When we fell in love

Do you remember the time?

When we first met, girl

Do you remember the time?

(Oh, I)

When we fell in love

Do you remember the time?

Sam continue singing: 

Do you remember how we used to talk?

You know, we'd stay on the phone at night till dawn

Do you remember all the things we said?

Like, "I love you so, I'll never let you go

Bucky sings, horrible out of key; 

Do you remember, back in the spring?

Every morning, birds would sing

Do you remember those special times?

They'll just go on and on

In the back of my mind

You laugh after that. 

“What made you remember “remember the time”?”, Bucky asks you 

“ We were having the party in the  basement, the Ihumann were watching the video and dancing to that, when I went looking out for you’, you answer to him. ‘It is amazing how they catch on moves so damn fast, they dance the same as the video dancers, like outstanding and it is a little bit eerie like Jouuma was like a reincarnation of Michael.” You add on. 

“Okay, space nerd”, Sam teases you. Bucky chuckles at that. 

You glare at them

They face you. Sam faces you with his weight on his elbow so that he can see your profile. Bucky does the same. 

“I am sorry, y/n”, Sam starts.

“You were right, I was losing my sense self, we need to help the most vulnerable,

 We will find another solution for the Kree and the Skrulls and the Ihummann. 

You show me what I should be doing. When you can’t compromise, don't. 

I am sorry for holding you back. I just want to be your protector, just like I was once ,but I know things are different now. It just cost me. You have been through a lot and I wanted to save you from all that and I couldn’t. I will change. I will ask you what you need instead of assuming, I am sorry, baby ”, he states and he chokes a little sob on the last part.

“Aww, Sammy, you and Buck are the people that make me feel safe and loved. It's just that I’m not in college anymore. A lot happened and I’m not the same person but I love you and how you two always are there despite our differences ” you say while sitting up against the headboard.

You let him put his head on your chest. 

“ I am sorry, I sidetrack the mission but it is just that when I see something go south, I can’t ignore it”, I am sorry I kicked you out of my office like that. I will try my best not to lose my temper like that again”, you apologize to them.  

“You are right, y/n, It is a horrible plan, we need to have some alternative and I know it is in those chips. I am sorry for being an ass to you in space and I am sorry for making you feel bad to save the Ihumman, like Sammy said we want to protect you and we feel we have fail at that, when everyone were against you for this relationship, the scandal, the kidnapping, you getting your powers  but you are right you are different but at the same baby we fell in love with and I love you and I promise not to be overbearing”, Bucky apologizes. He puts his head on your chest too.  

“You were right in saving them, I was so far removed, that was me and Steve in the 40s.

If he didn’t disobey orders to save me constantly, I wouldn't be here”, Bucky states 

You kiss his head. 

" Buck, it's so good that you think that way, I am thankful for you and Sammy, you two did what you can, you received a lot of backlash too . You are enough more than enough ",you say to him, rubbing his back.

“You still owe me a fucking car, asshole, you rip my fucking steering wheel”, Sam tease Bucky with faux offence. 

Bucky sighed  “I am sorry, Sammy for damaging your car and rip the steering wheel”, Bucky apologizes

You all laugh. 

“What are we going to do if we do not find anything on those chips”, You worry. 

“Hey baby you are one of the most brilliant minds there is out there , you will figure it out and we will  be right here by your side”, Sam reassures you and Bucky nods in agreement.

“Let that grey matter of yours, rest a minute, honey pie”, Bucky said to you while bopping your nose.

“You are right and I love you so much”, you answer.

“We love you so much, pretty baby, Sam answered you and kissed your cheek”. 

You all went to the bathroom and shower for real this time. They were kisses here and there. 

You brush your teeth.

Sam grabs the cocoa butter and he moisturizes you and Bucky then moisturizes Sam. 

Bucky wraps the night scarf around your head for your hair with a good knot

. Sam changed the covers and put the dirty covers in the dirty clothes basket. 

You change into your PJS. You wore a silk camisole. Bucky some loose shorts, no underwear and no shirt.  Sam wore some sweatpants  and no shirt.

You kissed each other goodnight and slept tangled with each other. 

[nothingbutfangirlsmut]

The Trials of Emi

Pairing: A little Minho. A sprinkle of Frypan. Gally x Emi(OC)

Summary: Emi, her twin brother Thomas, and a small group of gladers had been rescued and taken to a safe haven. Or so it seemed. It doesn't take long for Thomas to realize something is wrong. What happens next is a true trial for all of them but Emi's trials began the moment she was ripped away from a dying Gally. Watching someone you love die right before your eyes truly takes a toll.

Finally meeting the right arm could have been the end but betrayal leads to even more chaos and loss. A new mission to rescue those taken from them leads them to a city. The last city. After Emi finally comes to terms with everything that's happened something unfolds that changes everything again. She will have to not only deal with helping her brother take down WCKD and save their friend but also deal with all the new problems in her head and her heart.

Rating: As of right now it’s at most PG13. Some strong language that’s about it but it could change.

(This is the 2nd part/book to my other story "The Maze trials: A Gally Fanfiction". This will cover the events of the scorch trails and the death cure.)

Chapter One

The helicopter landed after what felt like forever. People were shouting frantically as we were rushed off and down a concrete platform.

"Cranks!" I heard someone shout.

Shots started to ring out all around us as we were pushed forward. I managed a glance backwards to see a group of people running quickly down a hill towards us. The people with guns picking them off one by one.

Once inside the building a large heavily reinforced door slammed down behind us. We could stop and breath for a moment. I realized I was holding Thomas' hand tightly. He didn't seem to mind it though. I noticed Minho glance back at me then step closer. I instantly stepped back going to hide behind Thomas as though afraid Minho would attack me. I knew in reality he would never do such a thing but I couldn't get the thought that it was his hand that had thrown that spear into Gally out of my head. He was the reason Gally was dead.

We were ushered farther into the building and into what looked like some kind of doctor's office. Each of us were pulled to do different things. Each taking tests to make sure we were strong and healthy. They also gave us shots of vitamins we apparently needed. I was left to my tests with the boys but they had taken Teresa away separately.

After we got finished with our tests we got to enjoy our first hot shower in what felt like eternity. I don't remember anything feeling this good. My heart gave a lurch as I stood under the water. Gally would have loved this. What would it have been like to hold and kiss him under this hot, clean water? I felt the tears in my eyes threatening to spill again. I reluctantly pushed Gally out of my mind as I finished my shower. Thomas was pulled to talk to Janson while the rest of us were shown to the cafeteria.

I froze right inside the door at the sight of all the kids inside. Ranging from 11 or 12 up to 18 or 19. Newt grabbed my hand and squeezed. He pulled me gently behind him following the others to a counter. We were each given a tray of food then sent to find a seat. Minho led the group to a half empty table in the middle of the room. Minho gestured for me to sit next to him but I moved to the other side of Newt making sure there was enough space between us.

"How you holding up?" Newt asked me quietly.

I just shrugged. I had no words. I felt like I'd probably never have another word to say the rest of my life. No one needed to know how I felt. No one deserved to know. Not anymore. Newt sighed but patted my arm affectionately. He joined the animated conversation the other boys were having with another group. They too were in a maze a lot like ours but theirs only had one girl in it at the end like Teresa in ours. Why was I different? Why did I seem to be an anomaly?

I was half way done with my food when Newt suddenly scooted away from me and closer to Minho. A second later my brother filled his empty seat. He glanced at me wearily.

"I know how you feel right now but we are gonna get threw this. It's gonna get better." He told me quietly.

I gave him a "sure it is" look and nod that I know was oozing sarcasm. It might get better for him. From the looks of it he and Newt were growing even closer. He had something to look forward to. I on the other hand only had him and I barely knew him. The rest of our group were my friends but none of them really meant much to me anymore. To be honest nothing really meant much to me anymore.

"Alright when I call your name please step forward." Janson ordered loudly from the front of the room.

I watched as he unfolded a paper then started to rattle off names. Each name prompted someone to stand and come over to him. Once he was finished with his list the room gave a disappointed sigh.

"Don't be upset. Theres always tomorrow." Janson said with a friendly smile.

He led the small group out of the cafeteria behind a guarded door. Just as the group disappeared I saw Teresa being escorted threw the glass window. Thomas shot to his feet noticing her too.

"Teresa!" He shouted.

"Teresa!" He ran for the door.

The guard stopped him immediately causing a scene. I rolled my eyes then went back to my food.

When it was our "curfew" as they called it they showed us to our room. Once again they made no move to give me separate treatment from the boys. They closed and locked the door behind me after shoving me into the room with them. It was full of bunkbeds and actual mattresses. A few of the boys fought over the top bunks but I silently went to the bed in the farthest corner of the room to claim it as my own.

I laid down staring up at the bed above me just begging for sleep to take me over. I needed a few hours to just not think. A sudden hand grabbing mine made me jump. Minho looked taken aback by my reaction but he stayed close. I glared at him then pulled my hand from him.

"Please don't be mad at me forever. I know what I did and I'll have to live with that forever but I had no choice Emi. I'm so sorry." He said quietly so I was the only one to hear him.

I said nothing. I glared at him harder then turned over putting my back to him. I heard him sigh then step away.

—

It was dark but I seemed to know where I was going. I could hear noises and voices in the distance. I kept walking getting closer. "Emi!" I heard a voice shout my name. My blood ran cold as my feet picked up the pace. I ran as fast as I could threw the darkness. The voice was shouting my name drawing me closer.

I suddenly broke threw the darkness coming to a halt as the light burnt my eyes. I was back in the glade. I turned around seeing that I had just come from the maze. In front of me on the grass a boy was sitting on his knees with his head down. He looked broken and defeated. I stepped closer cautiously. I knelt in front of him. I grabbed his hand.

His hands grabbed my biceps roughly holding them tight enough to bruise. His head snapped up looking me in the eyes. His face was sickly pale. His eyes were cold and dead.

"You left me Emi!" He shouted angily.

Any words I had caught in my throat.

"You let him kill me!" He growled.

I shook my head choking on a sob.

"You stood there and watched!" He screamed furiously.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no-" I kept repeating shaking my head furiously as I watched in horror.

—

"Emi wake up!" A voice shouted shaking me violently.

I bolted upright almost hitting my head on the bed above me. Thomas, Newt, and Minho were in front of me looking more worried than I had ever seen them. The other boys were sitting up in their beds watching me. I just stared blankly at Thomas.

"You were shouting in your sleep." He said timidly.

"And thrashing like a loon." Newt added.

"Kept saying no repeatedly and calling out for Gally." Minho said quietly unable to meet my eyes.

I just looked at each boy except Minho before falling back in bed. Minho walked away but Newt and Thomas stayed. I glanced over at them raising a brow at them.

"You ever gonna speak again?" Newt asked softly.

I shrugged then looked away from them again. They both sighed then finally left me alone.

—

[thatsouthernanthem]

I uh, got inspired to write something soft and baby-centric for Kassandra and Brasidas. It’s just...mostly an exercise to get back into the brainwaves of these babes. Anyway: 

title: for we are bound by symmetry  pairing: braisdas/kassandra characters: brasidas, kassandra, alexios, ocs, a baby

He’s enamored before he ever meets them. All he can feel is the swell of his wife’s belly, the push of a foot under the skin, the ripple of a flip when the child grows restless. All he knows is the groan of Kassandra’s discomfort as she presses her fingers into her lower back, desperately trying to stretch her spine; the tossing and turning as she tries to get comfortable now, in her last months of pregnancy. 

He’s never been happier. 

There are moments in his life, when he looks at the farm, at the helots turned mothakes that he trained in Messenia, on that fool’s errand of a mission in Amphipolis, that he is certain he should have died there. It’s a festering seed in the pit of his stomach that whispers to him as he surveys the good in his life, at the men and families around him in Helot Hills, that he helped free, a cold voice that tells him: you should be dead. Deimos wielded your spear and it should have been your end.

Even so, the flash of Kassandra’s smile, the murmur of love against his neck as she curls as close as she can in their bed, separated only by the growing child inside of her. Her hands chase away his fears, his worries, running them along his arms. “You’ve a tan,” she whispers, grinning at the swath of skin paler than the rest, where his chiton covered him. “A true farmer.”

He never thought he’d be anything but a soldier. He thought he would live and die for Sparta, and yet, this woman beside him showed him a world that was better: a world in which he could love, freely, and be loved in return. Where he could reap the benefits of what he literally sows: beans, pomegranates, wheat, vegetables. Where the people who work for him call him philoi, not kyrios. 

Overcome and unable to say what he means, Brasidas drags Kassandra closer, his hand possessive at her hip, his thumb stroking the swell of her stomach, and he kisses her with everything he has in him. 

“You should be inside,” Brasidas is telling his wife as he leans against the hoe he’s struck into the earth. He squints at her, the sun blinding and he refusing to wear a hat. Kassandra does, though, her braid swept to the side and the wide-brim of the straw hat shading her face. She’s tanner too, now, after months of readying and planting and perfecting the farm’s landscape. Sweat drips down her neck, another reminder of Lakonia’s scorching summers and he frowns as she shakes her head. 

“I’m waiting for Alexios,” she replies, her hand resting against her stomach and he can’t help himself--he reaches forward and covers her hand, his smile soft as their child presses against them. Kassandra turns her hand, capturing his fingers with her own. “He sent word earlier that he was coming by. I think he’ll be heading out on the Adrestia again soon.”

Brasidas nods, humming his agreement. Alexios has withdrawn from them again, as he often does before turning to the Adrestia in the middle of the night and asking to be taken away. He’d demand, Brasidas is sure, if Odessa would be swayed by that sort of talk. But the woman merely stares the boy down, and he relents. 

Now, if only Brasidas could master this sway over Alexios. It would save the time spent in awkward, stilted silences or the arguing. He tries, so hard, for Kassandra, but there is still an undercurrent of distrust between the two men--and who can blame them? For Brasidas, he faces his near death in the guise of brother-in-law, and for Alexios, Brasidas is a constant reminder of what if. 

He’s saved from answering, and pulled from his own mind as a figure appears on the road and the workers call out to him in greeting. Kassandra smiles, joy and relief radiating from her as it always does when she spies her brother. Brasidas can’t help but smile at her in return, her joy infectious. 

Alexios looks grim as he comes closer, his arms full of a bundle that Brasidas cannot discern from here, but Kassandra stiffens as her brother’s steps bring him forward. Then, with sudden clarity, Brasidas realizes: the bundle is moving, squalling. 

A baby. 

Alexios’ face is tight with anger, but his hands are gentle as he steps up to them, as he presses the bundle into his sister’s arms, pressing closer to kiss her cheek. There are words murmured between the siblings but Brasidas cannot hear them, and possibly, he would not hear them, for he is enamored and worried and terrified as he takes a look at the baby pressed into his wife’s arms. 

She is tiny, her little tan face reddened with the force of her cries, hunger and fear in every single wail she produces. Kassandra rearranges her, cradling her close and shushing her in a way that seems to frighten and shock her but she continues, bouncing slightly to calm the child. 

“Where?” Brasidas croaks, his finger brushing the tiny foot that has escaped the blanket she’s wrapped in. It’s softer than the lambs he raises, softer than silk on their bed. His heart skips a few beats. 

Alexios glances at his sister and then back to Brasidas, his jaw tight. “Let’s go inside. It’s hot and she’s uncomfortable.” 

Leaving the hoe struck into the ground, he follows Alexios in, stopping to let Kassandra pass before him, watching as she stares down at the infant in her arms, finally quieting when she lets the baby suckle at her pinky. His mind is blank, shocked perhaps, at the gift his brother-in-law has given them. 

Because, he already knows, staring at Kassandra as she lifts her gaze to his, that this child will be theirs, just like the one growing in her belly. 

She settles on the kline, murmuring to the child quiet nothings and Brasidas, at a lack of what to do next, moves into the kitchen, toward where he knows the former helot Arisbe will be. Maybe she’ll know how to comfort a hungry child. 

And it’ll give Alexios a moment to unclench. Perhaps it will be easier for him to tell the story of how he came to possess an infant if only his sister is there in the room. 

Arisbe is kneading dough for flatbread when he walks in, humming a tune he’s not heard before. She glances up at him as he walks in and he can see the process of her mind run across her wrinkled face: deference for her kyrios, remembering she is free and that Brasidas is not her master, then the schooling of her face into a smile that is warm and true. He wishes she could just skip to the end every time but knows the woman spent most of her life a slave and that the undoing of that torment may never happen. 

“Brasidas,” she murmurs, reaching for some spices to sprinkle across the dough before folding them in. “No snacking, I’m making dinner.” 

He grins at her, all of the tension and worry he holds within him disappearing at her joking tone. “Ah, if I were to snack, Arisbe, I’d do it in the fields where you cannot see me.”

She tsks at him, narrowing her eyes as her gaze flits over his face. “You’re burnt. You should wear a hat.” 

A constant battle, one he will undoubtedly lose one day, with both Arisbe and Kassandra on his case. But it can wait for today. There’s no easy way to ask, so he goes for it: “Arisbe, how does one feed a newborn when their mother is not around?”

Panic fills her eyes and then leaves as she rounds on him. “I assume this is not about Kassandra. I doubt you’d be standing here as you are if something had happened.”

“No! No, I don’t know what happened, but Alexios found--”

A cry rises from the andron, half explaining the situation for him. Arisbe moves to a lower shelf, pulling out a pitcher of goat’s milk from the morning’s chores. She fills a small cup and gestures for him to follow her. 

In the other room, only the baby makes noise. Kassandra is staring at her brother with a heat in her eyes that would spell out certain doom for anyone else. Alexios keeps her stare within his, his eyes filled with the cold fury that is his constant companion. The cold fury that turned him into Deimos, the cold fury that still haunts Brasidas’ nightmares at times. He shudders, moving to the side as Arisbe steps between the siblings, reaching for the child. 

Kassandra’s arms tighten instinctively around the babe, but Arisbe is resolute, tugging the child from her arms, rearranging the baby in her own as she sits on a chair, bringing the cup of milk up to the baby’s lips. It’s a messy, slow process, but the child quiets, gulping down little bits at a time. Arisbe glances up at Kassandra, then down at the swell of her belly. “You’ll be able to feed her yourself if you wish. I give it a day, maybe, before your body reacts to the cries of the baby, and readies itself to feed her.”

Her face pales even as Kassandra nods. His wife reaches for him, and Brasidas sits as close as he can to her, their legs pressed tight against each other’s. “Alexios found her,” she begins, her hand closing on his, “at the Taygetos foothills.”

Abandoned. Left for the elements. There’s plenty of reasons why any Spartan family may do so: deformity, too many mouths to feed, simply because she is a girl. Plenty of reasons and none of them good enough. Anger boils his blood, and when he makes eye contact with Alexios, the younger man almost flinches--a mere tightening of the skin around his eyes, but that is enough. 

“Despicable,” Brasidas spits, his voice harsh. It startles the baby, who hiccups and wails, and earns him a deserving glare from Arisbe. He aches to move, to stand and find whoever did this, to make it right, but Kassandra’s hand keeps him still. “We haven’t fucking changed a thing, have we?”

Kassandra moves her hand to his neck, a solid and comforting presence as she strokes his hair, the braid that marks him Spartan. A mark he wants to be rid of at this moment. She reaches her other hand out for Alexios, and he takes it, immediately, his hesitation only showing when she drags him closer to the pair of them on the kline. His hesitation to be nearer to Brasidas. 

“We will take her in?” Her voice lilts, in a question. 

“Of course,” Brasidas nearly snarls, his hands tight on his knees. 

In front of them Alexios sags, slightly, as if he was worried he’d have to find someone else to take the child. His eyes train on the baby, then out the window. “I’m setting sail in two days.”

“I know,” Kassandra murmurs. “I mean, I knew it would come soon.” She falls silent, fiddling with Brasidas’ hair before leaning into her husband. “At least we are prepared. You have built a bed for our child, and now we can use it for this one. We have cloths and blankets. Alexios--”

He turns to her, the cold rage in his eyes gone and replaced with a sadness that makes Brasidas shiver. Kassandra’s lips thin into a straight line before she pushes herself up from the kline to wrap her arms around her brother. He grips the back of her peplos immediately--his actions for his sister always immediate and without hesitation, as if he’s worried any pause will cause her to forsake him. 

“Thank you,” she whispers, just loud enough for Brasidas to hear. “For bringing her to us. She will be loved, I swear to you.”

Alexios’ answer is muffled in his sister’s clothing, but his fingers tighten at her back before pulling away and walking straight out the door. Through the window, Brasidas can see his sagging shoulders as he makes his way across the fields toward the little house they made him, the little house he calls home. 

Inside his own home, Brasidas watches as Kassandra takes the now silent baby from Arisbe, carefully arranging her in her arms. He watches as her finger strokes the bridge of the tiny nose, smoothing out the wrinkled brow. “She’s tiny,” she murmurs, moving to sit beside Brasidas again. “Perhaps they found her wanting in that regard.”

Anger, quick as lightning, flashes through him again. He takes a deep, calming breath in through his nose, eyes closed. They open again in a near panic when Kassandra presses the bundle into his arms and his breath catches when the baby opens her eyes to blink up at him. Her hair is wispy, golden--rare in Sparta where dark hair and eyes are readily found. Her eyes are dark blue, but Brasidas knows that may change--he’s seen enough barn kittens born in the last two years to know that, let alone his workers’ children. 

“What will we call her?” He whispers, smitten as the baby brings her tiny fist to her mouth, sucking on it. 

Kassandra hums, her hand smoothing her peplos over her belly. Idly Brasidas realizes they’re alone, that Arisbe has disappeared. “Well,” his wife murmurs, “we have names picked for this one, and that only took us the last four months to decide. So I assume we’ll have a name for her in the next year?” 

Grinning, Brasidas lifts the baby onto his shoulder, patting her back like he’s seen the women on the farm do. It feels right--it fills him with warmth that threatens to burst out of him. He can’t stop smiling. “Phaedra, I think.”

“Kretan princess, daughter of Minos, wife of Theseus,” Kassandra recites, then rolls her eyes at Brasidas’ raised brow. “Barnabas is rubbing off on me.” She falls silent for a moment, then: “Phaidros. It fits. She is a brightness, will be.”

Leaning forward, Brasidas kisses Kassandra, sharp and quick, careful not to jostle the child--Phaedra--at his shoulder. “Can we handle two children at once?”

“We’ll have to,” she shrugs. “Your newest strategic puzzle, strategos. Keeping two children and a farm happy.”

Carefully, he rises, walking toward the bedroom off the andron, the one he and Kassandra have made their own. He lowers Phaedra into the cradle he built, the wood sturdy and safe for her. She looks tinier in the bed--maybe with a sibling, she will look safer. Turning, he smiles tiredly at Kassandra. “And a wife. Keeping two children, a farm, and my wife happy.”

“That one is easy,” she moves into the room, grabbing his hand and placing it against her belly where his child stretches under her skin. “Just be you, strategos, and I am delighted.”

[ineffably-good]

The First Heist Of The Rest Of Their Lives

I wrote this story for two different people -- first it was for @tlou15, who asked for a story about Aziraphale and Crowley finding one of their skulls from a prior incarnation. And then I also worked it around to cover the heist story I promised  @lovermrjokerr for their 8k writing challenge, which I signed up to participate in two months ago! I’ m two days late posting my story for that challenge -- but I had to get through the rest of my May story prompts first! Too many irons in the fire, as they say!

Summary: Aziraphale and Crowley come across a relic of one of their former corporations in a museum, and immediately realize they have to liberate it. Hijinks ensue. 

______________________________

There were times when being an ethereal entity capable of dying and recorporating came back to bite you in the ass.

Over the years, Crowley and Aziraphale had become increasingly good at limiting their discorporations. It took a couple millennia of practice, however, to learn to recognize and avoid the obvious dangers in this new world of theirs. At first, the fatal accidents were more frequently and somewhat unexpected. A fall from a high cliff (demon), simply because neither of them knew that a fall could kill them. A rather unnecessary drowning (angel), simply because the entity in question didn’t know that failing to hold one’s breath underwater would result in death. A kick in the head from a large land ungulate (demon) with a grudge. A rather deep spear injury (angel) that could have simply been side stepped. The list went on and on.

Luckily, Above and Below were also somewhat more accommodating and liberal with the issuing of new bodies than they came to be in later years.

As time passed, they got to better at the protocols of losing a body, too. Go back to home base, fill out the paperwork (in triplicate, for hell, using a scratchy pencil whose point always broke off), be polite (in Heaven) or surly (in Hell) to the body clerk, and get a new one issued as quickly as possible. Make your way back to Earth and then go back and clean up the scene of the crime, so to speak, so you didn’t leave the remnants of an ethereally-issued skeleton around. Tidy up the memories of anyone involved in the incident, and reassume your old life if possible, or, if a funeral had already been held and too many people were involved, simply move on to a new location or assignment. It all worked out.

For the most part. 

Being, as they were, two of the more lackadaisical, non-detail oriented entities ever stationed in this sphere, though, it was natural that here and there a few of the details got missed.

Which is what led to the two of them, standing in front of an exhibit in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, filled with a deep sense of foreboding.

“Is that…” Crowley muttered.

“No, it couldn’t possibly be…” Aziraphale said under his breath.

“I’m fairly certain it is…”

“Oh, dear lord,” Aziraphale breathed. “Yes, that’s one of mine!”

In front of them, an exhibit on the Mayans did an admirable job showcasing their culture and achievements, dispelling the pervasive myths of human sacrifice, and above all showing a recreation of a temple display used to honor their dead. By punching holes in each side of a series of skulls and stringing them on a pole, like beads, to be displayed and revered.

And right smack in the center, oddly devoid of the same signs of aging and decay as the ones around it, was a brilliant white skull that bore more than a passing resemblance to the man staring at it in horror through the glass. To the human observers, it just appeared oddly pristine. But to Crowley and Aziraphale and any other ethereal entity who bothered to take a look, it was pulsing with remnants of celestial energy.

Crowley dissolved in laughter. This earned him a stern glare from the angel.

“What?” he said, snorting. “Your skull is hanging like a pendant on a stick in the Natural History Museum and I can’t laugh? How could you just leave one of your skulls laying around in – in what? Peru? Where did this come from?”

Aziraphale sniffed. “Mexico, I believe. I spent some time there, in San Lorenzo, the first Olmec capital.”

“You did?” Crowley asked. “Why didn’t I know about this?”

“We weren’t speaking at the time,” Aziraphale said. “Remember that big fight we had in Persia?”

“Oh, that…” Even after several thousand years, Crowley still managed to sound vaguely resentful. “You mean when you clocked me unconscious with your fist?”

“You hit me first!”

“Not the same, and you know it,” Crowley sulked. Being hit by a snake demon who was not bred for fighting was nothing like being punched in the jaw by the Guardian of the Eastern Gate. It was like being hit by a locomotive – although the comparison wouldn’t come to him for a few thousand years.

Aziraphale glanced over at him, taking in the sulky look on the demon’s face. “Oh, come now, my dear,” he pouted. “We’ve long sense settled that particular kerfuffle. I apologized multiple times, didn’t I?”

Crowley mouthed the word ‘kerfuffle’ to himself with a grin. “I suppose we did, yes.” He stepped over a few feet and read the long and detailed card about the skulls in front of them. “Oh angel, listen to this.”

He read from the placard:  

Called a tzompantli by the Mayans, these ritual displays were believed to be used to showcase were originally thought to be a grotesque display of slain enemies, placed to rally the Mayan’s support for their leaders and to serve as a warning sign to others to stay away from Mayan territory. Although rumors have abounded about human sacrifice in Mayan culture, recent evidence reveals that these displays may have been more funerary in usage, highlighting the revered ancestors and that many of these skulls shows signs of being dead long before the post-holes were cut in them.

“How, pray tell, did you become one of the honored dead for the Mayans?” Crowley said, grinning. “Or were you actually sacrificed at one of their temples? Drowned in a cenote?”

Aziraphale frowned. “That’s a story for another time, my dear.”

“Oh, but I haven’t even gotten to the good bit. The part where they talk about the gleaming white skull in the center and how it shows signs of having been treated with some unknown and lost technology that made it ‘impervious to decay’.” Crowley chortled.

“I really should find a way to remove it from the display,” Aziraphale fretted. “Before someone decides to take a closer look at it under one of those – scanning microscope thingies they have now and discovers it doesn’t appear to be fully human. Or before one of the archangels finds out about it…”

“Ha!” Crowley shouted. “Imagine the uproar. Evidence of ancient aliens discovered in Smithsonian Museum! The chaos around the world!”

Aziraphale turned fully towards Crowley and looked menacing in the way that only he could. “Whatever foolish idea you’re forming right now for mischief,” he said warningly, “I absolutely forbid it!”

“Aw, angel,” Crowley whined. “Come on, I never get to have any fun.”

“You can have some fun by helping me pilfer this exhibit once the museum is closed tonight,” Aziraphale said. “I do believe the security here is rather prodigious.”

“You intend to rob the museum on our vacation?” Crowley asked, astonished. “You could just… you know… miracle the skull out, replace it with a duplicate.”

Aziraphale studied the exhibit for a long slow moment, considering, then turned and settled a blinding grin on his demon spouse. “I could,” he drawled, “but where would the fun be in that?”

Crowley felt a warm rush of something run through him. Love? Joy? Slight anxiety? Who knew. All he knew was the angel was quite possibly the most perfect thing on the entire Earth. No, in the galaxy. Quite possibly the galactic cluster.

“So,” the angel continued. “Are you in or out?”

“I’m in,” Crowley managed to croak, through his haze of feelings. “I’m so in.”

Aziraphale rewarded him with a peck on the cheek, then offered his arm to the demon and shepherded him down to the café, murmuring something about having heard they had the loveliest cakes here. Time to do a little planning, and what better way then over a little dessert?

 --

They hunkered down in the museum’s café, over a gaudy orange tray that held two lovely napoleons and two cups of a rather poor excuse for tea, and started making plans.

Aziraphale surveyed the room around them. “We could just – you know, hide somewhere until everything is closed tonight. Saves breaking in.”

Crowley took a sip of his tea, made a disgusted face, and nodded neutrally. “We could, of course. That’d be the sensible thing to do.” He took a smaller sip. “Or, we could really go for it. Assemble a crack team, get some tech, do that thing with carabiners and cables.” He mimes a Tom Cruise, Mission Impossible style, arms-out float down from the ceiling and manages to convey that he would also be holding a knife in his teeth at the same time.

Aziraphale smiles, noncomittally. “Well that does sound exciting, my dear. But I can’t quite imagine that we have time to set that all up by tonight. And I do think we ought to get my skull out of there as soon as possible. It could hardly be a coincidence, don’t you think, our running into it here today?”

Crowley frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, just that we have a way of stumbling onto things at exactly the right moment,” the angel said. “Who’s to say that if we put the recovery off for a week, we wouldn’t somehow have Gabriel leading a team of school children through here tomorrow for some reason and discovering it, or some stupid Earth magician about to steal it for his own magical purposes?”

Crowley blinked at him. “You’re saying it’s fate that we came here today and that we’re not meant to leave without the skull? It’s not Armageddon, angel.”

Aziraphale took a bite of his napoleon and then delicately tapped the edges of his mouth with the napkin. “Well,” he said, leaning forward. “Doesn’t it feel a bit urgent to you? I mean, underneath it all?”

Crowley had to admit, the angel had a point.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “No tech. Can we at least synch our watches or something?”

Aziraphale stared at him flatly for a moment and then pulled out his ancient pocket watch, complete with chain. “If we must.”

Crowley grinned.

 --

It was funny, Crowley thought, that it was Aziraphale who insisted that they be appropriately attired for their heist. They’d hidden themselves away in a maintenance wing close to the Mayan exhibit, and Aziraphale had first used a miracle to suit them both up in black, skin tight cat-burglar type outfits, then another miracle to cover those up with maintenance worker uniforms and caps which made them fit right in so that no one would give them a second look.

“Stop fidgeting with your coveralls, Crowley!” the angel hissed, handing him a push broom. “You look very suspicious. Now get out there and let’s figure out where all of the cameras are.”

It was nearly closing time, and no one noticed anything awry when they wheeled their carts out into the Mayan area and began putting up bright yellow “Wet Floor” signs and started sweeping up the debris of the day. A quick, small miracle made them completely unnoticeable to the other maintenance staff – just two ordinary guys, no different than the guys they saw every day working this area, obviously well underway on their evening chores and with no need of any further supervision.

Soon enough, the building was closed and even the maintenance staff was putting away their equipment and getting ready to leave through the service entrance, leaving the building in the hands of the security staff. Crowley and Aziraphale made themselves scarce in a storage closet, until all the sounds in the building had ceased. Then they took off their coveralls and headed out to the exhibit in their dark-colored gear.

A quick miracle took care of the cameras, shifting them just slightly so that they showed everything except the skulls display. After that, they stood in front of the glass case, examining it closely.

Aziraphale rolled his shoulders. “Shall I just dissemble the case, then?” he asked quietly, reaching up to place his hands on either corner of the front panel.

“No!” Crowley all but shrieked. “Stop. Look, there’s a laser, right there.” He pointed at a small blue light that was shining on the edge of the glass door, just above the lock. “Clearly if the door is opened and the light beam gets interrupted, an alarm will go off. Don’t you watch movies, Aziraphale?”

Aziraphale dropped his hands and stepped back. “Not unless you make me, no. So, what do we do about this laser?”

Crowley thought for a minute. What would James Bond do? Shoot someone and kiss a girl, probably. He failed to see how either was helpful at this point in the process. And if he was kissing anyone, it was going to be the angel, and he had that activity slated for quite a bit later in the evening. He sighed. What was the world coming to when even James Bond couldn’t provide insight?

Aziraphale looked at him, a little worried, and that spurred him into action. Crowley held out his pointer finger and concentrated until a demonic claw sprang into existence where his fingernail should be. He sharpened it, made it harder, and whittled it down to a fine, fine point.

“Stand back, angel,” he said. “If we can’t open the door without setting off the laser alarm, we’re just going to go in above that.”

And feeling just like every bad-ass heist hero he’d ever watched in a movie, he started carving a large circular hole in the glass case in front of him. This normally wouldn’t work on the specialized shatter-proof glass that the museum used, but the one thing the special chemistry of the glass wasn’t prepared to repel was demonic intention. It cut before him like butter, silently and gently, until a large, 12” circle of glass fell loose in his other hand.

Crowley turned and handed the removed glass circle to Aziraphale, who carefully put it on the floor and gave the demon a bright smile.

“Oh, that was very nice, dear,” he whispered. “Very slick.”

“Now,” Crowley said, aware he was showing off a little bit, “we just reach in there and remove your skull from the pole –”

He stuck his hand through and then froze as several things happened at once.

One, a large alarm started blaring.

Two, they both suddenly realized that the skull was affixed to the horizontal pole through both sides of the brainpan, and that they could neither straight-out remove it nor could they slide it off the pole because of the number of other skulls hanging from the same pole on either side of it.  

Three, a huge puff of some kind of gas came shooting out of the display case, hitting Crowley directly in the eyes. He dropped to the floor like a stone.

Aziraphale, having a slight second more warning than Crowley did, immediately stopped breathing, picked up his demon, and bent time and space to manifest them both back to their hotel. He put the demon down on the bed, covered him up, ensured he was breathing, and then realized he’d forgotten the skull.

“Oh FUCK,” he exclaimed, using the word for what was only the third time in his life. He snapped again, miracling himself back to the scene of the crime, and used magic to remove the central skull (and a portion of the pole with it) from the display. He had just raised a hand to disappear himself home when three security guards with guns drawn came running into the room.

“Freeze!” the shouted, their flashlight beams playing over him. “Hands up and turn around!”

Aziraphale turned slowly. “I can’t put my hands up, as you can see --” he called out in his most soothing voice, blinking through the blinding beams of light to try to see who he was dealing with, “-- because I am holding a rather priceless artifact. Please stay calm.”

He heard the safety on a gun click off and did his best to raise both hands and the pole with it over his head. The skull – his skull, disturbingly – rattled ominously as he did so. This was most offputting, he thought.

“Kneel!” the frontmost officer shouted, and Aziraphale sighed and rolled his eyes at the absurdity of all of this, but did so, carefully balancing the – his – skull overhead the whole time.

“Really, gentlemen,” he said quietly, using a tad of angelic influence. “We can talk this out. No need for those weapons.”

“You can talk it out with the police,” the front man said. “Lay down the artifact in front of you VERY SLOWLY.”

Aziraphale sighed. “I’m so sorry, but I’m rather afraid I can’t do that. You see this skull is nearly three thousand years old and if it touches the ground it might disintegrate.”

“Lay it down, NOW!” the man screamed, and Aziraphale suddenly noticed a couple of red laser sight dots playing about on his chest. This, he decided was getting much too serious.

Oh botheration. He usually left this kind of manipulation to Crowley to carry out – he was so much better at it. Nonetheless, Crowley was home and unconscious and possibly injured, and he wasn’t helping anyone by allowing himself to be shot or captured, and there was no way it was going to get back to heaven that he had been arrested – and for BURGLARY! – so with a deep, dejected sigh, he conjured up his powers and sent a wave of gentle but unavoidable exhortation and watched as all three men froze in place.

He slowly made his way to his feet, cradling the skull to his chest with one arm, and walked over to the exhibit, where he created and inserted an identical but non-ethereal copy of the skull and pole he’d removed, replaced and repaired the glass, and turned off the alarm. He checked the cameras to ensure that they were all still off. They were. And finally, he walked over to the armed men and gently touched each of them on the temple, one after the other.

“You will not remember the events of the last fifteen minutes,” he said, poking around the tiniest bit to ensure that this was true. “You will wake in a few minutes, after having a lovely dream about whatever you like best.”

And with that done, he returned to the hotel to tend to his demon.

 --

Crowley woke up a few hours later, groggy and confused. “Angel?” he shouted, leaning up to look frantically around the room. “Angel?”

“Hush, dearest, I’m here,” Aziraphale said, sitting down on the bed beside him.

“What happened?”

“Oh, well,” the angel said. “We got interrupted. You set off a second alarm when you reached into the case and were sprayed with some gas that essentially knocked you out for a few hours. I brought you home and then went back for the skull.”

Crowley moaned and flopped his head back down on the pillow. “You mean – I missed everything? You went back without me? Angel, how could you?”

“You were unconscious, my dear,” the angel said reasonably. “And it wasn’t so hard. I removed the skull, put in a duplicate, wiped the memories of the three security guards who were thinking about shooting me, and popped back home, quick as a jiffy. No harm done.”

“Three men with guns?” Crowley said, looking suddenly very alert. “You went back alone to face three Americans with guns? You know how they are, angel.”

Aziraphale tutted. “Well in my defense, there were no men with guns when I left, so they were a bit of a surprise. However, I assure you that I was never in any danger. I turned their bullets to marshmallows as soon as they entered the room.”

“Marshmallows,” said Crowley flatly. “Really?”

“What’s wrong with that?” the angel asked, a tad indignantly. “I thought it was a rather nice solution to the problem.”

“Not very criminal of you,” Crowley muttered. He looked, the angel thought, jealous and pouty.

Aziraphale smiled softly. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to finish the heist with me, my dear. It would have gone so much more smoothly if you were there.”

“’m good at heists,” Crowley mumbled.

“The very best,” Aziraphale said, wondering if he was laying it on too thick. “Definitely as good as anyone in the Bond films.”

“Only as good?” the demon said, with the hint of a smile.

“Oh, definitely better than some,” Aziraphale replied. “I’d say you’re head and shoulders above Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan.”

The demon preened a little, although he was clearly trying to hide it. “And Sean Connery?” he asked.

“Hrm,” the angel said, consideringly. “I’d say you’d give him a good run for his money.”

Crowley sat up more fully, looking much more like himself. “And let’s not even start on Daniel Craig,” he said. “Hey, do you think the hotel television has movie channels? Maybe we can find a couple Bond films to watch before we eat dinner.”

“Might be wise of us to lay low tonight,” the angel said. “After all you were injured and we did just break into the Smithsonian. Perhaps we’ll order room service instead of going out.”

“Dinner and a movie?” Crowley said.

“That sounds just lovely.”

In the corner, in a duffel bag, a blindingly white skull with two large holes in it just above the ear canal sat quietly, a piece of ancient wood tucked carefully in beneath it. They’d take it back to London, Aziraphale had decided, and find some way to dispose of it there, or simply lock it up in one of Anathema’s spell-guarded chests if they couldn’t destroy it. It could take up a new life beneath the floorboards of the bookshop, somewhere where no one could find it or use it to cause them any trouble.

They were safe as houses, Aziraphale thought, problem averted. But just in case, he carefully warded the doors and windows as soon as dinner had been delivered so that no one could enter or leave for the rest of the night.

You could never be too careful.

[angelicthor]

the nineties

decades dance: part 5

pairing: steve rogers x reader x bucky barnes

summary:  unrequited love was painful. To have to endure it from two people was something else. Loving two super soldiers that didn’t return your feelings was agony but what if they did? Events unfold when Tony plans to throw a party for every decade Bucky and Steve missed out on.

warnings/genre: +18 only, explicit smut, attempted sexual assault

masterlist | decades dance masterlist

Your plan to throw the other’s off your track worked, after the last party it was assumed that when Steve and Bucky disappeared, it was with the girls they were seen with and Nat’s ruthless questioning had somewhat eased. The three of you were able to breathe a sigh of relief at this, your relationship remaining a secret between you for just a while longer.

You did, however, need to somewhat hide just how worried you were when Steve and Bucky had to go on a mission. This was the first time since you’d began your relationship that the boys had been away from you; you kept reminding yourself that it was only a week, that they had more experience under their belts than the rest of the Avengers combined and they would never let anything happen to each other, but it did little to diminish the nagging fear that was eating away at you.

Sensing your nerves with the boys being away, Tony decided that the Saturday they returned would be the next party, giving you the chance to relax with everyone once they came back. You enthusiastically agreed to the plan and in your next video call to the boys, you told them about the party: they promised to be back by Saturday but told you they may be a little late, and that they would have to come in their uniforms, not having time to find costumes.

The idea of Steve and Bucky in their respective uniforms had your thighs clenching together and a part of you believed they were doing this on purpose somehow, knowing the effect that the black leather of Bucky’s vest with all those goddamn straps had and what the sight of Steve’s stealth suit did to you. The slight smirk they both wore as they told you the news gave you a good enough idea of their intentions.

Saturday came and the boys had sent you a message that morning letting you know they were on their way back to which a sense of relief and glee filled you. You spent the rest of the day with Nat and Wanda, chatting and laughing between you, your excitement at the thought of your boys being back mistaken for your anticipation of the party later.

A few hours before the party, you found yourself once again getting ready with Nat and Wanda, practically buzzing with eagerness at seeing your boys again. The time you had spent apart had been filled with worry for their wellbeing, the only reprieve you got from your anxiety was when they called you, as soon as the call ended though it returned ten-fold. You just couldn’t wait for them to back with you where they belonged – if their mission away did anything, it made you release just how much they meant to you, how much you missed being next to them every day and it got you questioning whether you were ready to bring your relationship into the open.

You figured that it was something you could discuss when they got back, for now you focussed on getting ready. Your costumes for this party were far more out there then they had been for the others, but you blamed that on the fact that it was the 90’s. Looking over your reflection in the mirror, you adjusted the shirt that was tied in a bow under your breasts, the bright bra you wore peeking through the open buttons. Your skirt resting on the tops of your thighs, barely covering the plump cheeks of your ass, knee-high socks and heeled pumps completing the look. You tied your hair into pigtails, the fluffy pink ties completing your look, if you didn’t know any better, you’d have thought that you had just walked out of Britney Spears’ ‘…Baby One More Time’ music video.

You turned to Wanda and Nat, admiring their outfits in turn; Wanda was wearing Belle’s iconic golden dress, her hair in the half-up bun that helped bring her look together and part of you wondered if Vision would be dressed as the Beast. You were going to need to see that. You had no idea where Nat was coming up with these ideas but you loved each one more than the last, the Black Widow herself was in front of you dressed as Ginger Spice in what has to be one of the more memorable moments of the 90’s. The tiny Union Jack dress didn’t even cover her crotch, the navy panties peeking out from under the material of her dress that you were pretty sure was actually a vest whilst red platform boots adorned her feet.

You giggled at the complete difference in their outfit choices, Nat revealing so much skin whilst Wanda looked the carbon copy of the iconic Disney princess. Nat arched a brow at you, eyes wandering over your revealing outfit as a smirk played at her lips, “Wow Y/N, who are you trying to impress?”

You blushed at her words, mind racing with thoughts about your soldiers and how they would react; how their eyes would dilate, their jaws clench, how every muscle in their body would tense as they were forced to watch you strut around all night in such attire. You had to blink away the images that conjured of what they would do when you were finally alone, realising that Nat and Wanda were staring at you expectantly.

“I’m not trying to impress anyone: w-who would I be trying to impress?” You stuttered out, trying to hide your evident nerves with a laugh, cheeks burning as a knowing smirk crossed Nat’s lips and Wanda shot you a smile that let you know she knew more than you thought she did.

Hurrying to change the subject, you linked both your arms with theirs and headed out the door, heading towards the elevator and towards the party the floor below. The doors opened and the sound of TLC immediately met your ears and as you entered the room you noticed the numerous inflatable chairs scattered around, glow-in-the-dark stars stuck on every space of wall available. It was as trashy 90’s as you could get.

There were posters of Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, Forrest Gump and other renowned films of the decade whilst TV stations around the room showed news clips of Bill Clinton’s presidency and Princess Diana’s death. The three of you made your rounds around the room, finding the others quickly and admiring their outfits: Tony was dressed as Austin Powers, Sam was channelling some strong Fresh Prince vibes, Vision was in fact dressed as the Beast to match Wanda (something you found adorable) and Clint was wearing Neo’s iconic black ensemble from The Matrix. All in all, everyone looked amazing but you couldn’t help notice the absence of your boys.

Seeing how your eyes roamed the room for any signs of Steve and Bucky, Tony leaned towards you, murmuring in your ear that they were only twenty minutes out when he last checked and that they had promised to come straight here when they landed. You couldn’t prevent the relieved smile that spread across your lips at the news, at this point you just wanted them back with you, everything else be damned.

Trying to occupy the time until they arrived you asked Wanda and Nat if they wanted to dance to which they hastily agreed. The dancefloor was rather full this time around, unlike the previous parties, and you could only assume that it was because the music was more familiar to those dancing on it. After a few songs, you lost Nat and Wanda in the sea of people – every now and then you’d see a flash of Nat’s read hair or the golden skirt of Wanda’s dress but you didn’t feel like pushing yourself through the mass of people and so you left the dancefloor to stand on the side, watching with a smile as everyone danced the night away.

Leaning against the wall as you watched everyone dance, your eyes kept flittering to the door, waiting for the moment Steve and Bucky would walk in and finally be home. In your distracted state, you never noticed the body creep along to your side until you felt their breath on your neck; jumping in shock, you spun around to face the intruder of your personal space and recognised him as the man you flirted with at the last party in order to make Steve and Bucky jealous. Boy oh boy did that work.

Giving him an awkward smile, you took a small step away from him to try and regain some of your boundaries and you couldn’t help but grimace when he followed your step away, pressing his body into yours.

“Hey there sexy, I lost you at the last part – glad I found you again,” His tone was smug and his smirk dripped with indecency. There was something about him that just made you feel dirty in all the wrong ways and you wanted to wash yourself of him as soon as you could.

What was his name again? Chuck? Chad? No, no -  Brad! That was it!

Before you could open your mouth to kindly reject his advances, he was already speaking: “Want to dance? Pretty sure we have some unfinished business from last time.”

Ew, not in this life or the next buddy.

“No thanks, I’m actually waiting for my friends – they’ll be here any minute so-”

“Oh come on, they aren’t going begrudge me a dance – plus it’s kinda obvious what you’re after dressed like that.”

Your attempts at keeping this civil went out the window with his words, your brows raising in indignation as your eyes narrowed at the man in front of you. “Excuse me?” You spat out at him.

His hand circled your wrist with a strong grip, harshly pulling you towards the dancefloor but you managed to pull yourself out of his grasp which only served to infuriate him further, “It’s just a dance sexy, why are you being so difficult about it?”

“Because I don’t want to dance with you, now leave me alone.”

A dark look crossed his face at your rejection and a chill ran down your spine, as an Avenger you were used to being attacked by all sorts of creatures but you had a feeling what was about to happen was a whole other kind of attack from a whole other kind of monster.

Your back hit the wall as he roughly shoved you against it, his hand pinning your wrists above your head as shock flooded your system, tears pricking at your eyes as you struggled to free yourself from his iron grip. “Such a fucking slut, teasing me at the party just to fucking vanish and now, now you’re here parading yourself in this fucking get-up and saying no? No sweetheart I know what you really want and I’m going to be nice and oblige,” He snarled in your face, spit flying from his mouth as his hand creeped under your skirt, edging their way closer and closer to your panties as you squirmed under him.

Panic completely took over you, your knee coming up hard between his legs and he released your wrists with a groan. “I said let go!” You yelled at his bent over form, tears streaming down your face and the attention of the party firmly on you and Brad.

Out of the corner of your eyes you saw two figures rushing towards you whilst the red of Nat’s hair could be seen pushing her way through the people who stood frozen on the dancefloor. Your eyes, however, remained focus on the man in front of you, too afraid to let yourself let your guard down and turn away from him.

Just as he stood up, absolute rage painting his face as he took a step towards you, two very familiar bodies jumped in front of you and you had never been happier to see them. Nat was at your side a moment later, leading you away from your attacker and out of the party, you weren’t even aware you were shaking until you entered the elevator, your legs giving out as you collapsed to the ground.

Nat was beside you instantly, pulling you into her embrace as your cried into the skin of her neck, as you rubbed her hand up and down your back in a soothing manner, trying to bring you back to the present and away from the dark thoughts filling your mind of what very nearly happened to you. You felt numb as Nat hoisted you from the floor, leading you to your room and sitting you on the bed, wrapping you in her arms as she whispered comforting words to you.

You barely registered the sound of your door opening and the heavy footfalls of Steve and Bucky, only recognising their presence when they were both kneeling before you, concern swimming in their blue eyes as they locked their gaze on you. Bucky’s hand rested reassuringly on your thigh as Steve wiped away the tears that were cascading down your cheeks, you were so focused on your soldiers crotched in front of you that you never noticed Nat sneak out of the room.

“Doll,” Bucky’s voice croaked out timidly, as if he was afraid he’d startle you, “Are you ok?”

You numbly nodded your head, offering them both a watery smile as you tried to reassure them that you were ok: “I’m fine Bucky, I promise. It’s stupid, I don’t know why I’m so shaken by him.”

“It’s not stupid sweetheart,” Steve cut you off, taking on his Captain voice to try to get you to listen to him, “It’s only natural to be upset by this; he’s a fucking monster for what he tried to do to you, I’m just sorry we weren’t there to stop him but you handled it pretty well on your own – nice hit by the way beautiful.”

Steve tried to lighten the mood but you could still see the anger in his eyes at the thought of what Brad was planning on doing. You saw a similar glint in Bucky’s eyes, knowing that he was in a very dark place in his head and slid down from the bed, nestling yourself between their bodies, head buried where the shoulders were pressed against each other and wrapping your arms tightly around them, bringing them in closer to you. They immediately circled your waist with their arms, pulling you into their solid chests as you burrowed your face further into their shoulders.

You felt them press a kiss to either side of your temple, Bucky’s hand rubbing up and down your spine in an attempt to ground you whilst Steve tugged your hair free of their ties, twirling the loose strands around his fingers, knowing how much having your hair played with soothed you. You melted further into them at their actions, your breathing starting to regulate as your thoughts of Brad were overpowered with Steve and Bucky; the feeling of their strong bodies against you, their familiar scents, their relaxing touches - the fact that they were finally home with you.

You pulled away from them, kneeling in front of them, a small smile growing on your face as your gaze flittered between the two sets of gorgeous blue eyes locked on you, filled with concern and undeniable love, and you felt an overwhelming need to just be with them; to forget every single thing that was outside of your bedroom door and focus on nothing but the three of you. Now that your thoughts were no longer on the harrowing events of the party, you were overcome with relief that they were both home, safe and sound with you and you wanted nothing more than to bask in the comfort of your soldiers’ touch.

Your hand cupped at Steve’s face as you entwined your fingers with Bucky’s. “You’re home,” You voice was barely louder than a whisper, raw and vulnerable as your forgotten anxiety for them was remembered. They both seemed to understand what you meant, realising how worried you’d been for them, how terrified that they may have not come home because Bucky brought your hand up to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the back of it as Steve let out a breathless chuckle, lips curving in a gentle smile.

“We’ll always come home to you Y/N, you know that – nothing could ever keep us away from you,” Steve murmured, pulling you into his chest as his lips softly kissed the crown of your head.

“We’d cross heaven and hell for you darlin’.” The conviction in Bucky’s voice warmed your heart, providing a strange sense of reassurance that not only would they both do the impossible in order to make it home to you, but also provided comfort that the relationship between the three of you would endure whatever it was tested against.

Maybe it really was time to tell the others…

You peered up at Bucky from the corner of your eye, still buried in Steve’s chest, and the adoration in his eyes cause a blush to burn your cheeks. Leaning forward, you captured Bucky’s lips with yours in a languid kiss, completely unrushed as your tongue caressed his, burying your hand in the hair at the nape of Steve’s neck as you did.

Pulling away, Bucky rested his forehead against yours, eyes searching your own for what it is you wanted. There was a different energy between the three of you – this wasn’t like your normal trysts in the bedroom, it was lacking the burning lust that normally fuelled your every move, instead the air between you was heavy with adoration, a different kind of need filling you.

Sex with Bucky and Steve normally left you bruised, thoroughly fucked-out and completely satisfied as you would lay panting and motionless on the bed, unable to move a single muscle. It wasn’t that it was purely physical, you knew they loved you, you could feel it in their gentle caresses as they brought you back down from the euphoria they had propelled you to but the way they were both staring at you now, as if you had the andromeda galaxy captured in your sparkle of your eyes, had you knowing that something different was about to take place between the three of you.

You wanted gentle touches, soft kisses, sweet murmurs whispered in your ear as you called out their names – not their ranks – into the otherwise silent room. You wanted to feel every tender embrace, to bask in the beauty of them and only them. You wanted them to make love to you and for you to make love to them.

“I-,” You cut yourself off, voice raw as if it hadn’t been used in days, trying to figure out how exactly to tell them what you wanted, “I need you: justyou.”

Your gaze flickered between Bucky and Steve, relief flooding you as their confusion melted into understanding, a warm yearning visible in their relaxed expressions and you knew you didn’t need to try and find the words that would never truly compare to what you felt, you could simply show them instead.

Moving forward, you cupped Steve’s jaw in your hand, thumb tracing over his cheek as you delicately moulded your lips against his, Steve’s own hands gliding into your hair as you hummed into it his mouth, feeling Bucky move to kneel behind you, littering kisses along the exposed column of your neck as his hands started to roam over your body, content at simply feeling you under his sturdy hands.

You broke the kiss with Steve, head lolling back to rest on Bucky’s shoulder with a blissful sigh at the feeling of his hands reverently wandering your body; fingertips grazing the exposed skin of your thighs, lightly trailing up to your waist, the flimsy material of your skirt trapped under his hands as they travelled north only to cup your breasts through your shirt.

Breathy moans escaped your parted lips as Steve joined Bucky in his delicate assault on your neck, one hand weaving through Steve’s short blond hair as your other buried itself in Bucky’s thick chestnut locks, pressing yourself against his unwavering chest for the support you oh-so-desperately needed to stay upright.

You were hoisted from the ground by Steve, strong arms surrounding you and laying you on the bed, both of them immediately surrounding you. Two sets of hands started to tug at your clothing: Bucky slowing pulling your skirt down your legs, throwing it to the side as Steve pulled each button free on your shirt, gradually revealing your skin to their appreciative gaze. You were soon completely bare beneath them and a flash of vulnerability struck you, arms coming to cross against your chest in attempt to block their view – not that they hadn’t seen you in such a state of undress a thousand times before but the overwhelming sense of love the three of you made this far more intimate then any time before you couldn’t help but feel self-conscious.

Bucky’s hands gingerly wrapped around your wrists, prying your arms away from your chest, his eyes not once leaving yours: “You’re so beautiful babygirl,” he mumbled under his breath, lips curling in a small smile as he spotted the blush that painted your cheeks at his words.

“We’re so lucky to have you doll; never doubt that,” Steve said, voice sincere and his eyes locked on yours, not giving you any room to argue with him.

You bit your bottom lip to try and fight the cheek-splitting smile threatening to take over, sitting up on the bed as your hands started to pull at the combat suits still adorning their bodies; stripping Steve of his navy stealth suit and unbuckling the black leather that stretched across Bucky’s chest until they were both as undressed as you.

They sandwiched you between them, Steve pressed against your back as Bucky was against your front, hands roaming over your bare body as you slung one arm over Steve’s shoulder, pulling him flush against you as you writhed at the feeling of their calloused hands over your skin. Your lips once again found Bucky’s in a passionate kiss, tongues tangling as your free hand tangled itself in his hair, moaning into the embrace as Steve’s hands started to massage your breasts, fingers tugging on your already hardened nipples as his lips peppered kisses on the skin of your neck.

The feeling of their cocks hardening against your thigh sent a surge of need through you, wanting to show them both how much you loved them and to satisfy the desire that was beginning to pool in your core, wetness making itself known between your thighs. Manoeuvring out of the walls of muscle you were currently trapped between and breaking the kiss with Bucky, you kissed down his body to where his hard cock was arching against his stomach, you pumped it in your fist before you licked him from base to tip, revelling in the sharp hiss that escaped him when your tongue twirled around his head, lapping up the precum gathered there.

Not wanting to leave Steve out, your other hand came up to cup his balls, moving up to work your hand up and down his pulsing length, using the precum pooling at his tip as lube and smiling around Bucky’s cock as you heard Steve’s muttered praises nearly being drowned out by the heavy pants and low groans spilling from Bucky’s lips.

Feeling the vein on the underside of Bucky’s cock throbbing as your tongue traced it - a sign he was nearing his end - you released him with a lewd pop, moving to work Steve with your mouth, taking him deep into your throat as you bobbed your head along his aching cock. Steve’s hand cupped your jaw, thumb tracing over your cheek and feeling his heavy cock through the skin as you continued to slowly pump Bucky’s cock, his hips thrusting into your spit-slicked fist.

You pulled away panting when Steve tugged you off of him, a string of saliva and precum connecting you both as you did, Steve letting out a mangled groan as your soft lips left his sensitive cock and Bucky practically whined when your hand released him. Steve pulled you into a hungry kiss, not minding the taste of both him and Bucky that lingered on your lips before he gently pushed you back on the bed, your legs falling apart and your glistening pussy on show to their eager eyes.

They both collapsed next to you, nuzzling your neck and scattering the sensitive skin with a multitude of kisses as they both whispered sweet words into your ear.

“Sweetheart, we love you so much,” Bucky muttered against your skin, littering kisses along your collarbone as he lethargically made his way down your body, paying close attention to your breasts, suckling on your sensitive nipples before descending to your stomach, pressing kisses across your hips as he worshipped you, “So fucking beautiful.”

“You mean the absolute world to us, you know that right?” Steve questioned you, his brow furrowed as his eyes had a resolved determination lighting them; Steve needed you to know he meant the absolute truth, needed you to understand just how much you meant to both of them and you couldn’t help the smile that broke out at the thought.

“Yeah Stevie, I know.” You pulled him down to you in a tender kiss, only breaking it when you gasped at the feeling of Bucky plunging two fingers deep within you, seeking out your g-spot and easily locating it, watching in glee as your face contorted with pleasure, moans and pleas spilling from your lips as his fingers repeatedly worked you closer to the edge, the coil within your core tightening with every pass of his fingers over your special spot.

You barely registered Steve’s dark chuckle or the fact that he moved off the bed and towards the nightstand, far too focused on the pleasure Bucky was providing you, eyes screwed shut as you clawed the sheets beneath you, knuckles turning white with the strength of your grip. Your hips shot up of the bed, rolling in an attempt to pull Bucky’s digits deeper inside you and you nearly cried when his fingers slowed their assault on you, eyes opening to see what was stopping him and you gasped at the sight.

Steve was kneeling beside Bucky, lube in hand as he applied a generous amount to your ass and you moaned at the cold liquid hitting your heated skin. Steve massaged your tight hole before slowly pushing in one lube-coated finger, stretching you out before adding another; you lifted your hips off the bed to give them both more room and you couldn’t stop the wanton cries that escaped you as the both began to thrust their digits into you, preparing you for what was soon to come.

By the time they had deemed you ready, you were a panting mess on the bed, so so close to completion before they pulled away from you, helping you up to your knees on shaky legs and using Bucky for support, his strong arms wrapping around you and pulling you into his chest.

His fingers combed through your hair, pulling it away from your face as he smiled down at you, pressing a chaste kiss against your lips before he lifted your legs over his, your knees straddling his own as his cock pressed against your entrance. You wrapped your arms around Bucky’s shoulders, tangling your hands in his hair as you shared a deep kiss, his own hands landing on your hips to guide you as you lifted yourself up to slowly impale yourself on his cock.

You both groaned at the feeling of being so intimately connected, Bucky pressing his forehead against yours, eyes screwed shut as the feeling of your silken walls around his cock nearly made him cum then and there.

“Oh, fuck Bucky,” You breathlessly moaned out, rolling your hips against his in a dire need for more.

“I got you baby, fuck, so fucking perfect,” Bucky’s hands traveled the skin of your back like he was trying to feel every inch of you before they settled under your knees, lifting you up as if you weighed nothing and settling your legs over his arms until he was holding your full weight by the globes of your ass.

You couldn’t help but throw your head back and groan as Bucky man handled you, the new position pushing him further into you and giving you such a sense of fullness you felt tears prick at the corner of your eyes. Bucky’s lips caressed the skin of your neck, not kissing it but simply ghosting over it as if he was trying to memorize the feel of you, the taste, under his lips and you let out a blissful sigh at the sensual feeling.

Bucky’s hands gripped your ass, spreading your cheeks and you felt Steve’s chest press against your back, his hard cock lubed up and pressing against the ring of muscle his fingers were buried in only moments ago. Steve nibbled on your ear lobe, whispering dirty praises into it as he slowly thrust forward, “You feel so fucking good babygirl, so perfect, fucking made just for us.”

The boys gave you a moment to collect yourself, and if they were being honest, themselves too – the feeling off your tight walls surrounding their already sensitive cocks threatening to make them cum before the show even started. When you were all ready, you wrapped on arm around Bucky’s broad shoulders and the other around Steve’s back, pulling them closer to you as you rolled your hips, all three of you groaning at the feeling.

Taking your silent signal, Steve and Bucky began to gently thrust into you; Bucky’s hands keeping a firm grip on your ass as Steve’s cupped your breasts, rolling your nipples between his thumb and forefinger. Bucky kept his forehead pressed against yours, blazing eyes locked on your face, his harsh puffs of breath hitting your face as Steve buried his face in your neck, eyes screwed shut at the feeling of your tight ass surrounding his cock, muttering curses into the sweat-slick skin of your shoulder.

You could feel every thrust in and out of you, every unhurried roll of their hips and every pulse of their cocks. It was completely relaxed; no bruising grips or teeth-marks, no ranks or punishments, no games or contests. It was just the three of you basking in the love you felt for each other and the intensity of it all caused tears to slip from your eyes.

You weren’t going to last long, not with Bucky hitting your g-spot so expertly with every push of his hips into yours, and you knew they weren’t going to last much longer either.

“Fuck doll, you’re killing me, feel so fucking good around my cock,” Bucky choked out, his intense blue eyes locked on yours and you could see the lust and love there enough to make you whimper.

You could feel your orgasm encroaching, your clit throbbing with need to be touched and Steve must have sensed this as his hand crept down your body and circle the engorged nub, finally triggering your release. Your hands clawed at Bucky’s back as your body shook violently, pleasure shooting through every synapse in your body as your orgasm washed over you, threatening to pull you under in the abyss.

Your cunt clamped down on Bucky’s cock and his hips stuttered into yours a few final times before his release coated your walls, cumming with a groan as you milked him of his release. The feeling of you spasming in his arms and the sound of your high-pitched cries threw Steve over the edge too, his cock twitching as he came, hips flush against your ass, muttering curses under his breathe all the while.

When the three of you finally returned from your euphoria, Bucky and Steve tried to pull out of you as delicately as they could, knowing how sore you could be after sex and Steve stumbled into the bathroom as Bucky lowered your aching legs back to the bed. However, you didn’t have long to rest before he was swooping you into his arms again, carrying your dozing form into the bathroom after Steve where the shower was already on and warming up.

The two of them held you up, cleaning you and themselves as you barely managed to stay awake, sleep so desperately trying to take you. Their soft touches and sweet words did nothing to help the matter, feeling so content and at peace that you could have sworn you could have fallen asleep standing up given the chance.

Your eyelids grew unbelievably heavy as they dried you off and your limbs became weighed down as you fought so valiantly to stay conscious. They dressed you in one of their shirts and carried you back to bed, the three of you climbing in and you couldn’t help but sigh at the feeling of the cool sheets caressing you skin, such a contrast to the warm bodies of your super-soldiers cuddling up to you.

You knew then and there what you wanted. You wanted this; Steve and Bucky and everything that a relationship with them entailed, now and forever. And you wanted everyone to know it.

a/n: i don’t have a tag list but if you want alerts please follow @angelicthorwrites and turn on notifications

[loyalflutist]

Stony Expression (F!Byleth x Edelgard)

Rating: General Audience Archive Warning: Major Character Death Category: F/F Summary:  It's a compliment to Byleth. Any sort of emotion beyond the generic smile and cheeky attitude never saw the light of day, even in extreme situations. But in her life, there were only three people who saw through her facade.

A/N: RIP, I had an idea after reading the screenshots of dialogues from Byleth in Fire Emblem Heroes. Decided to write a somewhat... heartwarming... not really... kind of work? (We need more Mama Edelgard, if you know what I’m saying.) Hope you enjoy the work! 

----

“Gosh, don’t you think the professor is scary, Dorothea?”

“How so?”

“She’s never shown any sort of emotion to us!”

“Um… why are you so bothered about it? Isn’t that the point of keeping cool-headed?”

“It is, to an extent.”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard that when her dad died last week, she didn’t even shed a tear!”

“Whoa. Talk about creepy.”

“You sure you’re telling the truth, Ferdinand? You always seem to blow these situations out of proportion.”

“Um, duh, Casper. I’m sure someone else can attest to it.”

“I doubt so—”

“I did.”

“Lindhardt? YOU?”

“I saw it with my very own eyes. Mmgh… I’m gonna skip class and take a nap, ‘kay?”

“HEY! Don’t you leave us hanging like that!”

“Geez, why are you so loud, Petra?”

“U-Um… don’t… you think we should be… you know… comforting her?”

“I would, Bernadetta, but Teach is clearly keeping her guard up. I mean, just… look at her right now.”

Caspar, Dorothea, Ferdinand, Lindhardt, Petra, and Bernadetta shot a glance at their professor. In the classroom where lecture won’t start for another fifteen minutes, the early birds were given the treat to gossip, jest, and horseplay. The perfect occasion for learning about the hottest rumors too. Today, Ferdinand brought up a rather morbid rumor—No, it wasn’t even a rumor. It was facts about their professor, Byleth.

They kept an eye on Byleth. The young woman in her early 20s fingered through the worksheets behind her desk. Based on their observations, their instructor remained the same. Diligent in her duties, attentive to her colleagues, and always there for her students. That’s the Byleth they knew all too well. However, Ferdinand wasn’t wrong from his remarks. The Byleth they envisioned was a bit more… reactive. Byleth’s stony expression and lack of anything beyond her rare, cheeky attitude painted her in a different light. Strange is a euphemism about the older female. Cold-hearted as a dysphemism about the ex-mercenary.

‘ I’m used to it. ‘

Byleth was not oblivious to their dagger-like stares. It pierced her exposed skin and armor without a moment of hesitation. Despite the mental remark, her shoulder’s muscles became rigid, hidden by the worksheets tossed onto the wooden podium.

‘ They’re just like everyone else. ‘

The male student was not wrong with his impression of her. Her father, whom she looked up to so dearly, died in the heat of battle. It was supposed to be a practical lesson in warfare for her students. The once-a-week “field trip” the staffs put together as part of the Officer’s Academy curriculum. Tragedy hardly described the scene that had befallen them.

Byleth and her father were chaperones and commanders of last week’s trip. A simple mission of pushing back the rebels that dare disrupt the peace near the monastery. It was the usual skirmish to counter any troublemakers and doers. Little did they know of the rebel’s leader. It was an old-time friend of theirs back when they were mercenaries. An older male roughly the same age as her father now stood on the opposite end. They tried to reason with him. The students were uncertain of their role in the fight. He rejected their proposal with a spear thrust into her father’s chest.

The spear

that

pierced

his heart.

It was a complete blur afterward. Byleth knew she didn’t lose her composure. That would be disastrous for the remaining troops and students left on the field. In lieu of fury, she coolly commanded the units to defeat the rebellion. Victory was easily achievable… but at what cost?

She shook her head and refocused her attention to the present time. From the far back, the green-haired spotted Edelgard and Hubert make their entrance into the classroom. The chatters from the other Black Eagles simmered down at the appearance of the two intimidating figures. Both the noble Edelgard and commoner Byleth made eye contact. Byleth smiled. Edelgard’s cheeks reddened before hurrying to her assigned seat at the front. Hubert narrowed his eyes at the professor and seated himself in the back. As if the death of her father hadn’t occurred, her classroom ran exactly as how it should’ve operated. Even the addition of a romantic relationship that recently sparked between Edelgard and Byleth didn’t disrupt the natural order for education.

It was

all so normal.

Like he

never

died.

Was this… really what she wanted though? Did Byleth want some sort of validation?

“Good morning, everyone.”

Byleth’s mature voice rang throughout the premise. If there were any remaining whispers and giggles, they were hushed by the more responsible scholars. She approached the podium. Then, with both hands lightly gripping the surface’s edge, she scanned her surroundings.

Nothing out of place. (Right?) Lindhardt was also present, which was a bit of a surprise. Byleth had lowered her expectations ever since he skipped class for a nap in the garden. The fact that he was here was a huge plus. That amusing idea screeched to a complete halt when he began to nod off. The corner of her lip twitched. At least he did try to come to class…

As for the others… Ferdinand was eyeing the white-haired rival with a small smirk. He twirled a feather between his index and middle finger, eyes twinkled in excitement. A typical reaction from their competitive relationship. Petra toyed with her hair and rolled her eyes at the sight of Ferdinand’s obvious reaction about their future lord. Casper stifled a yawn, elbows on the table and chin resting on the palms of his hands. Bernadetta had beads of sweat fly out of her head as her thumbs toyed with one another. Dorothea sat at the front like an obedient puppy. Maybe a bit too obedient since she was clearly shooting heart eyes at the professor in a playful manner… And then there was Hubert. Oh, Hubert. He was always a loyal servant to Edelgard. The man is kind, but ever since Byleth started a private and secretive relationship with the noble, he has been awfully overprotective with the young lady.

Byleth suppressed a sigh. She closed her eyes and, after counting to five, reopened them and flashed her signature smile.

“Let’s review some materials from last week. It doesn’t hurt to get a little refresher after the long three-day weekend.”

The three-day weekend that was partially due to her absence to quietly mourn for her father. Byleth had disappeared from existence to visit his grave. Accompanied by the ever-so-noisy Sothis that she can only see, speak, hear, and touch, the two paid their respect. Numbness. Byleth felt numb during those three days. No—she still felt numb right now.

“I’m surprised you can still hold yourself together, mortal,” Sothis muttered. She crossed her arms and looked up to the female. “But don’t hold it all in. The bottle is going to explode one day.”

Sothis was one of the few individuals who saw through Byleth’s brick-like features. The second person is her father.

She lowered her gaze. Soon, the woman got down to her knees and reached out to touch her father’s tombstone. His name will forever be immortalized on the thick slab of rock. Unfortunately, it won’t be immortalized for a reason worth celebrating.

“…leth.”

The ex-mercenary now found herself staring at an empty desk. This shared office with other staffs not prestigious enough to earn their own office (like Byleth), who were crammed into this one area. Her father was one of them, yet he never complained. In reality, he had actually enjoyed it. The daughter would always hear his jolly laughter and gruff voice echo from within. Students unfamiliar with his booming personality were in for a shock every single time they walk past the room. To Byleth, she welcomed it. After all, he is her father and she is his daughter.

Most of his supplies were placed in a rusted chest box. If there were any supplies to begin with, that is. Her father was not one to possess many materialistic items, save it for his clothes, weapons, armors, and whiskey. There wasn’t even a family portrait in his possession! He was always a firm believer that memories were picturistic enough. Seeking nostalgia? Dig even deeper into the memory zone. Forgot about it? It was probably not important enough to remember!

“By…”

Byleth sat on her mattress, her knees held close to her chest. She hugged them and stared at the somewhat decorated wall. Unlike her father, she allowed a bit of flair to settle in her personal space. Student notes were pinned to the wall. Some portraits and doodles hung alongside with them. One of them was a portrait of everyone in the Officer’s Academy. All three houses were together, and all of the staffs stood for the shot. It took the artist more than five hours to get them squeezed into this magnificent art. The process was excruciating but worth it.

It was the only physical piece of evidence she has in memory of her father. Her heart clenched at the thought of his death. Flashbacks replayed over and over in her head at the time of his doom. She nearly scoffed at mental torment. How much longer was this going to go on?

It

was going to

keep

on

going.

“Byleth.”

The older female blinked. Warmth enveloped her entire being in one swoop. Frantic, she rapidly examined her surroundings—until Byleth considered the context of her current situation. Edelgard held her seated mentor in an embrace. The two were safely hiding in the professor’s now-closed office. It was still early evening where students ran amok in the monastery. Musical melodies from talented choir members faintly trickled through the glass windows. A light breeze ruffled nearby leaves of a tree. Birds chirped alongside with the singers as an accompanist. It was a pleasant day.

Well, it was supposed to be for the two. Edelgard fingers began to run through her lover’s hair, nails satisfyingly brushing the scalp. She planted a gentle kiss to Byleth’s head.

“It’s okay to show what you’re feeling, Byleth.”

No—That wasn’t right. It wasn’t Byleth’s nature to show her feelings to the public. The stony expression, the bland reaction to extreme situations… those were compliments. She’s been told that she lacks emotion since she was a little girl! Even the Black Eagles think she is cold-hearted and cruel in the face of battle! Many of the students and paid troops think of her as an anomaly. Byleth thinks it’s natural.

But when it came to grief this strong, Byleth felt her heartstrings tug. For once, she wanted to let someone know about how she felt. It’s not an easy feat, though. The other half of her rational personality scream that she keeps it to herself. There was no use in burdening others of her sorrows and mourns. The death of her mother was a shining example of this. Besides, even if she did try to open up, she couldn’t. This nature of hers was just too ingrained into her system.

Edelgard continued to smooth through Byleth’s hair. In response, Byleth buried her face into the noble’s abdomen. The aromatic scent blossomed in the teacher’s sensory nerves. She gradually wrapped her arms around the student. Byleth deeply inhaled. A shaky exhale. At that instant, the floodgates from her lacrimal glands came loose as she felt her respiration shudder. The mentor slowly shook her head against Edelgard.

“Why did he have to die?”

She bit her lower lip hard. Eyelids stiff, throat scratchy, a choking cry erupted from her lips.

“I should’ve died in his place!”

Edelgard simply ran her fingers through the green locks, her eyes focused on her girlfriend. Soft “shh”s emitted from her lips as she planted another tender kiss on the head. Small whispers of “you’re going to be okay” and “I’m here for you, Byleth” sprinkled during the breakdown. It caused great agony to the empire’s upcoming lord to feel powerless for her teacher. However, unlike Byleth, who beat herself up, Edelgard’s emotional and mental health was far more resilient. Could it be because she was able to properly grieve when the time came? To release her anger unto others in an appropriate manner? Perhaps. For Byleth, she had always held everything inside.

“Oh, I miss him so much!”

She curled her fingers inward and dug her nails into Edelgard’s clothes. A slight wince from the student went unnoticed as she continued to wail uncontrollably. It was so unlike Byleth. If anyone else were to witness this, they would have assumed a trickster replaced Byleth with another person!

This is no good. Byleth is breaking free from her nature. She shouldn’t be venting, let alone blast her emotions to another person… even if that person is her significant other. Yet it was too late for Byleth. She became oversensitive from being honest with her feelings. The fear. The sadness. The grief. Out of all the people that saw through her façade, for Edelgard, she was the third person in her life to have seen through her stony expression.

[celticfeather]

Chapter 1: https://celticfeather.tumblr.com/post/188433697686/akatsuki-fic-campfires

Cannibals Chapter 3: The Lineage of Izanagi

-Uchiha Itachi-

Something particularly loveless prodded Itachi awake.

"You're the last watch till dawn," Kakuzu said. Itachi activated his sharingan as he woke, his dark eyes shifting to red. He could see Kakuzu's green ones were dilated near-sightlessly in the blackness.

Itachi rose and leapt up their chosen watchman's tree. The sharingan allowed him to see a wider spectrum of visible light than a normal human, and what should have been the black jungle night gained a strange ultraviolet tinge, a whitish-purple color somewhere between neon and dark that his language could not well describe. The stars and chakras shined different, coldly-bright, minty colors too. But he saw no glows of enemy shinobi in the night, just the gentle silver chakra silhouettes of sleeping birds and insects, and the three ninja below him. He let his sharingan fade. In an hour it had become bright enough for ordinary humans to see.

He alighted between the three ninja sleeping on the ground to no response. So much for Kisame's 'I only half sleep' claim.

Unsure of the best way to wake them, Itachi announced at normal volume, "It's dawn."

They rose quickly and quietly, professional in every mercenary sense of the word. For a troupe of cantankerous rogues, Itachi was surprised no one complained. He supposed that would resume once they decided they were no longer being hunted.

"No sign of the enemy since I've been awake," Itachi reported.

"Time to get the hell out of the land of Lightning. Anyone gotta take a piss, now's the time," Kakuzu said. After a short moment, the four ninja oriented themselves against the eastern dawn, and began leaping through the trees.

"Where's Zetsu when you need him?" Deidara muttered as they ran. "He'd say what Pain wants us to do about this."

"You don't need Pain or his pet mushroom. You have me," Kakuzu said.

"Yeah? And who made you second in command?"

"I'm the one who actually talks with our contractors. So naturally, I have our mission intel, and there's no reason to stop work."

"Hmpf," Deidara said.

"Since you fucked up the least, Kisame, I'll let you pick what you do." Kakuzu said. "You want to fix this Raikage incident, or make some money?"

Kisame looked at Itachi for his opinion. Itachi merely raised his eyebrows in reply.

"Make money," Kisame answered. Good. Itachi wanted to be away from this disaster.

"Great. You two go to this shithole village and kill their patriarch. When you're done with that, some pirates could use a lesson in not leaving witnesses." Kakuzu tossed a scroll to Kisame and one to Itachi, who each caught them deftly. Kakuzu then looked at Deidara.

"Deidara, you and Sasori will fix your fuck up. We don't want the Cloud or Mist investigating the Akatsuki. Blame it on different terrorists."

"How do we do that?"

"Doesn't matter," Kakuzu said.

Deidara frowned. But his calmness suggested he thought Sasori would know how to fix it.

They were soon over the border of the Land of Frost, where they said the brief goodbyes of stiff men. Itachi and Kisame continued west. Deidara went north. Kakuzu south. They stopped at a collection point on the way to get Kisame a new robe and gear, and began their ascent to the next mission's village in the afternoon.

They stopped along a river to prepare. The mint-colored alpine meltwater cooled the air in a low dense pocket from the beating sun. Itachi opened the scroll of mission intel and familiarized himself with the details. "Small town. Better we don't make a stir."

Kisame grunted in acknowledgement and stepped towards the river, swinging Samehada off his shoulder. He summoned a large deep-blue shark along the bank. It opened its mouth, and Kisame pressed the wrapped Samehada inside its white-fleshed throat. The two ninja being armed to the teeth was useful for intimidation, but a hindrance to infiltration. As if it was a loyal horse, Kisame patted the magical shark once on the muzzle once it closed its jaws around Samehada.

"You ever touch a shark before, Itachi? Try it."

Like he had been invited to partake in the most dangerous petting zoo, Itachi wet his feet at the bank where the shark, high as his hips, swayed half submerged. He thought the shark would look at him, or at least acknowledge him, but its circular black eyes didn't waver. With a slowness Itachi hoped the fish would interpret as respect, he brushed his palm against its exposed gray flank.

"It feels like sandpaper."

Kisame smiled. "Shark skin is actually made of dentin, the same material as teeth."

Because they need more of that, Itachi thought. He removed his hand, and deeming its duty done, the huge probably-sentient carnivore disappeared with a puff of mist to the realm Kisame had summoned it from.

"It's not easy to make a summoning contract with a shark, you know. Ninja tend to not come back," Kisame said.

"I thought you said sharks don't like how people taste."

"Oh, the sage sharks of Koraru Depths make exceptions for arrogant Mist chunin. You don't taste that bad."

He sent Kisame a reproachful look at his choice of pronouns, but Itachi's face was something of a resting scowl, so Kisame seemed not to notice.

To appear like a traveler of the civilian sort, Itachi untied his shuriken packs and the ninja headband. They kept their robes, no one yet recognized the red clouds as unique. He thought living in the forest on the run gave him enough of a convincingly rough appearance. Lifting his gaze from the water's reflection, he regarded his partner.

"Do I pass for a trader?"

"You look fine. It's your voice that's the problem."

"My voice?"

"I don't know how much you know about the Hidden Mist, but there we have a caste system, and the Hoshigaki belong to a certain caste. And people like me can tell by your dialect, Itachi, that you come from a noble family, and there's not a chance in hell you're a traveling merchant."

Itachi never thought of himself as in an upper class, and caste had been abolished in his land seventy years ago. Kisame's background in the Mist allowed him to perceive things that Itachi never intended to exude. "I see."

"Try gotcha, instead of I see."

"Gotcha."

Itachi pulled a piece of paper from the scroll and unfolded its careful nine-faceted square. A sketch of the man they were paid to kill stared back at them. Taika Hiroki. About sixty years old, leader of the local clan, someone had it out for him. Kisame nodded, having committed his face a last time to memory. Itachi burned the incriminating documents between his fingers.

The pair climbed ancient stairs carved from wood, stone, and roots, along a humid forested mountain crest. Traditional torii winged gates arched over their heads, and the small village soon appeared along a glacial lake between the mountains. A chunin posted at the doorless entrance looked the two travelers up and down. He pulled a root of wild licorice from his teeth before he spoke.

"What brings you to Honomura?"

"We're merchants," Kisame said.

"Here for the festival?"

"Of course."

The guard escorted them in. A minor official who clearly did not get enough visitors gave them each wooden travelers' passes. What a bothersome village.

Itachi felt more endangered in these hamlets. He paradoxically would be less noticed in a large ninja village. It was in these tribal redoubts, where most of the settlement consisted of a single clan, that he knew he was immediately recognized as an outsider. By the introductions they made with petty officials, the pair gleaned that three quarters of the settlement's two-hundred-odd population had the surname Taika, and it would not be easy to find theirs.

But the presence of the foreigners attracted mercifully little attention at the festival. Like moths drawn to the warm haze of paper lanterns, the outlaw pair wandered dazed to the center of the fairgrounds. After weeks in the forest they were transfixed by the live music, the vendors, and best, the greasy scent of real food -not whole animals- which glistened with salt and sauce. They looked at each other with testing eyes that betrayed the same poorly concealed thought.

"How much money do we have," Itachi said.

Kisame checked himself. "I've got eight hundred."

"I have one thousand."

Crap.

"I'll find some more money," Kisame said. Good. They were on the same line of the same page. In less than two minutes, Kisame had stolen a two centimeter wad of cash from a food stand.

Itachi's eyes darted from stand to stand. "What do you want to eat?"

"Do I look picky to you?"

Bristling with treasures —foods on sticks and cups of tea and sake between their knuckles— Itachi and Kisame seated themselves at one of many low tables near the town's stage and began to eat. Soon enough an announcer entered stage center, and introduced an act on the origin of deities.

"How's your knowledge of religion, Itachi?"

"Average."

The play began as they ate, and rusted to art forms, Itachi found himself paying rapt attention. Two actors dressed in white robes, a woman and a spear-wielding man, stepped onto the stage, where white lanterns cast the empty scene in an ethereal fog. Dipping his spear into the water, or rather tapping the stage floor, the man created land, and the white-clouded lanterns slid on the string to be replaced with ones tinted a jungle green.

"Izanami and Izanagi," Itachi whispered to Kisame. "Siblings, but also..." he waved his hand in esoteric explanation.

The creation gods Izanami and Izanagi had several deformed and normative children. First born was Hiruko, stricken with a hunched back, and cast into a river. They had many others, at last birthing Kagutsuchi the fire god. Izanami died giving birth to the flaming infant.

"And with Izanami's end, the world's first death occurred, and with it the age of creation. Intent to amend his wife's unjust fate, Izanagi plunged into the underworld, which then, was not separated from the realm of men," the narrator read.

Izanami wandered through a darkened stage, and stopped short. Behind a veil shined the unmistakable silhouette of his beloved wife.

The curtain lifted, but the woman it revealed was not fair Izanami. The actress's serene white face-paint had become putrefied in death. Children's gasps accented the moment. Fingers curled in shock at his rancid beloved, Izanagi turned away. His wife was enraged at his superficial rejection, and spurred demons after her former lover. Izanagi raced from the underworld, off the stage, where demons in fur-rimmed masks chased him through the audience until Izanagi circled, panting but safe, back onto the stage of the surface world. He pushed a prop-boulder over the cave, forever sealing life from death.

The narrator stepped onto the stage, and a spotlight centered on him, with Izanagi bathing himself in background.

"Izanagi cleansed himself from the underworld in a rushing river. The water that streamed off his face became three new gods:"

The spotlight jumped to greet the new characters in regal dress:

"From one eye sprung the proud moon god, Tsukuyomi."

"From the nose, the mischievous god of sea and storm, Susanoo."

"And from the other eye, artful and enlightened, patron of our village: Amaterasu the sun."

"Amaterasu was by far the most righteous and beautiful of the three new gods," the narrator crooned, and stooped low to leer at her backside. Amaterasu raised her fan to her face, whumphing the announcer without a lapse in grace, and the audience laughed.

The three new gods greeted the world of men -the audience- each with kabuki flourishes that reflected their personalities. He thought Amaterasu made eye contact with him from behind her fan.

"Hm." Kisame smiled slightly and his pupils slid to Itachi.

Itachi sipped his tea. "We might be the most interesting thing that blew into this town in a week."

"You should talk with her."

"I'm not good at flirting."

Kisame snorted. "Just like your knowledge of religion."

"I'm not being modest. I haven't spoken with a girl my age in years. In this town, I'm just a merchant."

"A kind, handsome one."

Itachi was struck that Kisame had called him 'kind.' He did not think Kisame would evaluate someone with that category. Not knowing how to take the compliment, Itachi stared back at the stage. Amaterasu and Susanoo competed over who was a stronger god. Amaterasu had just turned Susanoo's sword into five human beings, versus Susanoo's ability to spring only three from her necklace.

Their low table quaked. Kisame had plunged his cup down so hard and fast that his drink sloshed over the rim. His wide nose wrinkled and the stare Itachi met was battle-urgent.

"There's blood, buckets of it, enough to drain ten men."

Itachi forced his shoulders to relax. They must not act or show awareness of this yet. His eyes scanned the crowd as a cheering arose and the taiko drums beat an excited sinister trot into the space between his ribs. A column of fifteen men and boys carved a path like a wild river through the parade grounds, a coarse wooden platform undulating on the men's shoulders. Atop it glistened a bleeding heap of fresh red muscles and white fascia. It was a dead, skinned, horse.

Kisame squinted. "What the hell?"

"The crimes of Susanoo. Upset with his sister, he flayed the skin off Amaterasu's horse," Itachi explained. He also noted that in these conditions, Kisame could not differentiate human from animal blood.

Susanoo charmingly presented Amaterasu the horse carcass from the audience. Amaterasu strode off the stage in grief and anger, her silken white-red sleeves snapping, and the stage darkened with the egress of the dawn goddess, plunging the realm of men into darkness. Susanoo smirked and laughed, and the loping demons in fur-rimed masks began to howl. String instruments climaxed crescendo and fell, marking the end of the play's chapter. The audience gasped and clapped. The festival night was now without the Sun's guidance, and any kind of crookedness could occur before dawn returned.

The men heaped the horse onto a pyre, and a chunin lit it with a fire jutsu, enflaming a birchwood pile which was small enough that the meat might be cooked rather than carbonized. The village had a dark interpretation of their worship: Itachi thought that the goddess Amaterasu would not appreciate the flaying of another horse in her name. But the villagers seemed to like it.

"The Leaders of the Mist would consider this barbaric," Kisame said, his sly eyes smiling behind his cup.

Itachi matched Kisame's sentiment. No, the great ninja villages did not sacrifice simple horses to gods of sun, but sacrificed men and souls to gods of war. Gods they hailed each time they smithed a kunai, and who licked their lips at each newborn baby.

The next performance started, some students playing taiko drums. It was a banal sight compared to the play. Itachi ate his dango and drank his tea, listened to the music, and watched thick smoke rise from the pyre.

A gang of the village's teens stood by the pyre, the actress for Amaterasu among them. She had removed the headdress and white facepaint, but she still wore Amaterasu's red and white wake-sleeved furisode. One of the group looked at him and Kisame and giggled, as if discussing a dare. Then Amaterasu looked at the two travelers and grabbed a tray. He realized with a start that she was coming towards them. Kisame, who smelled caste like he smelled blood, tugged Itachi's robe, telling him that this is when merchants stood.

She dipped her head in greeting. "Excuse me sirs, my name is Taika Hato. I'm priestess at our temple and actress at the theater. We noticed you're not from around here. Would you like some horse flesh?"

Itachi blinked: the sun goddess Amaterasu had just offered him to eat her horse. He stumbled out a yes.

"And you, sir?"

"Please give me the shoulder, Miss Hato."

"Sure. May I ask your names?"

'Itachi' meant weasel. Weasels were small, ambitious, mean, and hungry. His parents' birth judgement had been imperfect: Itachi had become a man who was calm, sharp, and observant.

"I am Karasu. And this is my companion, Mekajiki. It's very good to meet you, and thank you for the food." Itachi bowed his head and gave himself a name meaning crow, and swordfish for Kisame.

"You're welcome! How was the show?"

"Your performance was stirring. I only hope your next act is soon: if I remember, demons terrorize everyone on earth until Amaterasu comes back," he said, trying his best to exude friendliness, but he had not spoken to anyone he considered a friend in years. He sat down, and with a gesture to the empty space, he invited Hato to join them if she wanted. He noticed Kisame's chin dip near-imperceptibly in approval of his manners.

"You know your religion," she said, taking a seat. "Stick around tomorrow at seven to see me kick Susanoo's butt. What brings you two here?"

"You mean, you can't tell by our dress?" Itachi asked.

"It is odd," she agreed.

Itachi smiled. "We're charcoal burners."

"So you...?"

"We fell trees, burn the logs in an earthen kiln using fire and water style, and then travel from village to village selling the charcoal. Smiths burn it to keep their forges at the correct temperature. It's also used in cooking, fertilizer, detergent, explosives, traditional medicine- even cosmetics. We've got a wagon full of it down the road."

Her look between the two men deduced Itachi was the fire user. "How good is your fire style?"

"Just the basics," he said modestly.

Hato's eyes changed from simply friendly to that of intrigue, and her expression became appraising and hopeful. "For the last act, the village guards cast fire jutsus as tributes to Amaterasu. You should join them."

"I couldn't possibly intrude on your ceremony as an outsider."

"When it comes to this ceremony, I am the authority. Plus, gifts from strangers mean more than gifts from friends, we say."

Itachi nodded. He would make an offering of flame to Amaterasu. And the girl, her representative, smiled with her eyes. "Thank you, Karasu! They'll love it."

Kisame stretched, looked at the two youths, and stood to leave. His gaze alerted Itachi not to expect his return. "I'm going to… get some more sake."

"You don't want to watch your friend perform?" Hato asked.

Kisame grinned and waved. "He's not so impressive."

Hato led Itachi backstage to meet the village's top military brass: a gaggle of four men spanning years fifteen to thirty who passed a ceramic bottle between them. The root-chewing gatekeeper was youngest among them. Hato was received warmly by the soldiers. She introduced Itachi as a pious charcoal merchant, and he was quickly ignored by the men.

For this dangerous and final act of the night, the stage had been stripped bare of its curtains and paper lanterns, and strapping men spilled buckets of water across the hardwood stage. A grinning bucket-spiller splashed the remaining water dregs onto the squealing children in the front row. From the backstage tent, Itachi watched the first four performers submit their offerings, each casting the biggest sun he could into the night sky in honor of Amaterasu. The crowd shrieked and laughed, fire reflecting on their wide scleras. Stepping forward for his turn, Itachi decided he would create a fireball that was the third largest- no need to upstage the locals.

Itachi mounted the stage as the penultimate performer left. His eye caught on Hato staring at him encouragingly, she flashed a thumbs-up, and he was bolstered with a better idea. Halting just one step onto the stage, Itachi faced profile, and his chest swelled like a bird. He blew, and his fire bloomed a deep ferrous red sparking with trace elements, and the chakra fireball sprinted across the stage in the shape of a stallion. Mane flaring, embers sparking from its light hooves, the fleet, shrieking horse appeared and faded in a vacuum roar. He returned backstage to raucous applause. When the soldiers' mouths gaped wide enough to catch frogs, a quiet grin cut Itachi's lips.

It hadn't been larger than yours, he thought.

Hato linked arms with him and led him through the festival crowds. She would introduce him to people and he would forget their names. Villagers welcomed him like a hero and plied him with sake. A kind old lady handed him a skewer with cubes of horseflesh. Any friend of Amaterasu was a friend of theirs. He was happy. Kisame was gone, the mission was something for tomorrow, Hato was a nice girl, and he could pretend to be normal for a night. Her attention made him feel pleasantly male, that he wasn't strange, isolated, murderous or evil.

She had showed him around the small town and they found themselves walking along the cold, white-graveled shores of the glacier lake. The gentle summer alpine night glowed cobalt blue, lightened by a huge low moon, whose coolness was relieving compared to the warm and dark frenzy of the blood festival.

"Actress and priestess," Itachi said as they strolled. "One's devout, and old people would say the other is sinful. I haven't met a person who's been both."

She smiled. "Each coin has two sides, and the same goes for you. Where'd a merchant learn ninjutsu like that?"

"The road is dangerous… and," he whispered like sharing a secret, "Sometimes really boring."

"Hah! Can't be less interesting than here."

"Did you know, that was a curse you'd tell your enemies in the old days? 'May you live in interesting times'?"

"Sounds menacing when you say it. Can you do other ninja tricks?"

In a heartbeat, he threw three kunai in a perfect line along a slender birch, each resonating a deep thunk that merged into one. A white and gold moth fluttered impaled on the center knife. She gasped.

But when he looked back at her, her face seemed uncomfortable. The throw was well above chunin level, above most jounin. Itachi knew he should not be careless in his desire to impress her by throwing beyond the abilities of a merchant. But somehow, the throw had not pleased her.

"Is something wrong, Hato?"

"What I liked about your fire jutsu wasn't its killing power; it wasn't a weapon, it was art."

"Art..."

"It's like how you and Mekajiki use fire and water style to make charcoal. Your fire style painted Amaterasu's horse, and it was beautiful. Performance is art, and it makes people happy."

Itachi regurgitated what he knew of art. "Do you think art is a single rapturous instant, or eternal?"

"Weird question. Art isn't a period of time, but a place. It transports you somewhere you've never been before, to some feeling you've never felt before"

"Hm," Itachi pondered. He thought that was a better philosophy than that of either Deidara or Sasori. He wondered how mad they would be if he answered like that, and decided he would next time they asked his opinion. Which would probably be never.

She smiled at him. "I've got a stupid dream. Wanna hear it?"

"I'd love to."

"I dream to lead a group someday that practices more peaceful uses to ninjutsu than war. Even if it was just a traveling circus of theater artists, and all we accomplished was making some villagers laugh."

"You've already got a talent for performance. The road is dangerous, but train and surround yourself with others like you, and only a fool would rob you."

She smiled sadly. "Dad wants me to marry a prince in the next village."

"Bring the prince along."

The actress said nothing and skipped a stone over the lake. It failed after two stops, and she made a noise of embarrassment. Itachi picked up a small flat stone and also skipped it badly. Ripples in the lake reflected the moonbeams like bobbing driftwood.

"It's late," Itachi said after a while.

"Do you have somewhere to stay?"

Itachi did not answer right away. She said, "Stay the night at my house."

Itachi bowed. "That's very generous of you. I would be happy to stay overnight in your stable, and my partner as well, if possible."

There was a sly shift of her eyes, lids heavy around her big, black pupils. "I think he'll have found an inn by now. But that shouldn't stop you."

Hato escorted him across flagstones that shone silver in the moonlight. Carrying their shoes, opening a sliding door with the utmost care, the two tiptoeing teens entered her sub-clan's complex and slipped into her bedroom.

Itachi set his shoes along the wall, wondering to what extent he should undress himself. When he turned around, Hato had knelt on her white futon. With her eyes trained at him, she slowly loosened the belt of her furisode to bare her chest. Itachi did the same. He reached to kiss her, she kissed him back. He shed the rest of his clothes, then did the same for her. He leaned into her. This is what people did.

He shuddered at the unfamiliarity when her weak hands touched his neck, they were warm and soft, hot as death-blood. He banished the rising memories, memories from the last time he did this, no, from the last time he thought he did this with Izumi that terrible night. Their bodies fit together like hot white ivory, and like smoke and steam, a very un-normal man tried his best to do this very normal thing.

Author's Note;

Heyo, thanks for supporting this fic. I plan to post Chapter 4 around Friday Nov 23. This will be a long dramatic fic with probably about 10-15 chapters this length, and I have a lot of progress made already.

Let me know your thoughts. And thanks of course to thanks again to beta myochiikurin!

Steadfast,

Kelto

Follow on FF or Ao3

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13409132/1/Campfires

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21019778/chapters/49992863

[visionofnoxus]

☠

// And here you go. Last but not least. I hope it pleases you. Decided to do something of an origin story. Please let me know what you thought of it.

“Secure the perimeter. Two guards on every patrol. And no open fire” Swain commanded, walking through the improvised camp. The soldiers all around him nodded, but did not respond, beginning their preparations for the night immediately. “And should any of the guards get any funny feelings, alert others. I’ll have the first “independent investigator” flogged once the Placidium is ours” he reminded his men, leaving the perimeter patrol and heading deeper into the noxians’ camp area. This was one of the several hidden camps in the surrounding valleys, all of these camps containing seasoned veterans in many hundreds. Together, they’d be thousands. And not one ionian knew they even were here. Leaning down as he climbed inside his tent, general Swain sat down on the bedroll. Putting aside the officer’s sword and the hand crossbow he carried on field missions like this. Making sure the flap of the tent was truly closed, he lit a candle, rolling open a map of the surrounding area, going through his plan once more. 

The islanders were finally beginning to find their fighting spirit, monastic orders starting to offer assistance to the village militias. These monks, assassins and martial artists were strengthening the opposition greatly. Looking at the city of Placidium on the map, the Master Tactician nodded to himself. The noxians were overreaching, advancing too quickly, not fortifying the ground taken and reinforcements that were promised from mainland kept being redirected to chase all kinds of wild rumor. If the Noxians would somehow suffer some catastrophic loss somewhere, the islanders might very well be able to just drive them back all the way to the southwestern coast with ease. An irritated sigh left the ambitious commander. Sometimes he felt like the very land itself was fighting their invasion.

They needed to take bridges, break strongholds and capture the population centers before the entire nation would unite against them. Instead they were raiding country side. Raping, pillaging and terrorizing population, running field tests with zaunite weaponry because Darkwill was curious about the results. Terror was an excellent tool of control and a way to break morale, but this… Frankly speaking genocide was not serving the empire. Once the island nation was theirs, who’d work the fields? Assuming that the soil had not been corrupted by some chemical “test”. Who would produce trade goods? Who would the noxians have digging ore in the mines they’d start here? And that was if they managed to secure the nation. He looked once more at the map. 

Taking Placidium, Swain intended to draw out the ionians from their guerrilla warfare tactics into an open battle for survival. And then he’d crush them there, crippling the defenders. With the capitol of Navori under control, Noxians could start fortifying their holdings, focus their efforts to a single location at a time instead of running about everywhere, burning and destroying yet achieving precious little. Tomorrow, his hidden legions would emerge and assault Placidium in blizkrieg style, and they’d take the city intact. The buildings, the riches, the people. He’d turn the entire city into a hostage and a bait so irresistible that Ionians would march to their own doom to save it. 

“Sir. There has been an issue” Came the muffled voice of his lieutenant from outside the tent. A frown rose on Swain’s face. Since he did not hear any ruckus suggesting they’d been had… “A patrol missing?” The Tactician made an educated guess, one which his officer confirmed moments later. “Get me 6 good men. I’ll be out momentarily”. Taking a gulp from his waterskin, Swain fastened his sword on his hip again and grabbed the crossbow. “What is another sleepless night, when I already have so many?” He let out a dry chuckle, blowing the candle and leaving the tent.

The patrol had gone missing on the eastern side of the camp, the side which was covered with more dense forest leading up to the mountains. It offered plenty of cover for would be assassins, but something in the night air gave the noxian commander the gut feeling this wasn’t one of those “ninjas”. Glancing at the tiny flowers glowing in the otherwise dark forest, he scoffed. “Magic everywhere. And somehow I have hunch this is one of those creatures again” He said quietly, gripping the shaft of a spear. Were this once again some oversized animal with wings, he’d rather keep it a shaft’s distance away from himself rather than try his luck with a sword. “Lieutenant, you have your orders about the main mission. And send a second troop five minutes after us”. “Sir”. With that, the seven noxians began moving, four moving us scouts at front while Swain and two others waited for the first sign of trouble.

Half an hour later they had found the lost patrol. Stepping next to the soldier inspecting the two corpses, Swain frowned, kneeling down as well. “They… This is odd” The scout muttered, motioning at the two dead men laying on their backs. Both had similar situation. Their weapons had been drawn, but no signs of combat were evident. It was like something had pushed them down and they’d just… Stopped breathing. No injuries. Though curiously… Swain brought his hand to hover above one’s chest. “The armor… It’s radiating warmth” The man observed, the scout confirming same on the other victim. “Something hit them in the chest and they died… But not of injury”. Magic. Everything on these cursed islands had to do with magic. A femine chuckle caught the general’s ear and he blinked in disbelief, cautiously standing up. “Sir did you…”. “Yes. I heard it as well. Weapons ready!”. All the noxians readied their weapons, peering into the darkness. 

A second chuckle reverberated through air. What a beautiful, sensual voice. It stirred something in him. Something very primal. “I’d like to give this vixen a shafting of different sort…” One of the soldiers crudely remarked, shifting his grip on his halberd, few others snorting nervously. Swain took that as a confirmation. The spike of sudden lust had not been his imagination. “There” one of the soldiers hissed, pointing ahead. And indeed, on the path lighted by the small glowing flowers stood a young woman, dressed in some kind of very simple and hazy dress. But what a woman… The dress did very little to cover her feminine charms, barely concealing the crucials but those few furs wrapped around her waist did their best to cover her. Her hair was dark and a bit messy, unkempt, but shone like most well kept fur only could. And then there was the face. Slightly alien, yet distinctively human, she was gorgeous. And then there were those cute fox ears. “It’s a demon. Kill it!” Swain snapped the instant his mind connected the dots. Unfortunately her men weren’t quite as strong of mind. A bright orb of light shot out of the woman’s hand while she dashed to the side. The ball struck one of the noxians, man flying on his back lifelessly, the something shifting in the orb, a sliver of some new colour being added as the ball grew ever so slightly.

So that is what happened, Swain thought grimly, observing how two of his men leveled their crossbows at the seductress but missed. She dashed and leaped around with grace of a cat, showcasing no issues in switching between running and occasional dash on all fours for a pounce off a tree. Attempting to get in melee, two noxians charged shouting at her, and Swain saw the golden eyes flash, flames appearing on the tips of her nails moments before those flames set the men alight. The armor resisted the burn, but did precious little to save their owners’ lives, the men falling on the ground while screaming in agony. it might be possible to save their lives, but Swain already scratched them out of the roster. He had no time to care about two wounded. “Watch the magic! It’s eyes glow when it casts” He shouted, the fox-woman’s head snapping in his direction and as her golden irises met with his, Swain felt himself swallowing nervously. The full lips formed words. There was no sound, but somehow the noxian heard her in his head. “You are the alpha then..?”. 

Whatever that meant, Swain did not intend to find out. Another burst of fire shot out, the soldiers it was targeting dodging, but one of them got caught by the glowing orb instead, his cruelly taken and added to the orb’s beauty. “Harrowing take you!” Swain cursed out loud, tossing his spear with a trained and drilled practice. Not his chosen weapon, but the fox appeared to had been briefly distracted by the orb’s growth, Swain landing almost landing a hit, earning him an angry stare and a hiss showcasing the sharp fangs of the foxlady. Drawing his sword and bringing up the crossbow, Swain shouted: “Pull back! Focus on avoiding it’s spells” He shot two of the three bolts towards the fox, her attention now completely on him. Oh no… Throwing her arm forward, Swain saw the orb accelerate towards him, stepping hastily to the side and behind a tree. Supporting his arm, he took aim, letting loose the third bolt and discarding the weapon. Time to run. “Retreat!” He barked, dashing away from the creature, not bothering to check if he’d landed anything. The few remaining soldiers did not question the order, discarding their heavy weapons and opting for speed instead, following their commander. To their great relief, the she-devil did not pursue, instead disappearing into the forest and the morning mist slowly rolling in as the night began to fade.

Hissing in pain, Ahri limped herself to safety higher on the forest-covered slopes. Reaching one of the pristine ponds offering clean water that flowed downwards alongside a tiny river, she crouched down, hissing and staring at her thigh. A crude human made stick had pierced the skin, sinking into her leg. A cruel move by the alpha of the Noxian pack. She wondered why they’d chosen to run, for with her injury, her greatest defense, her speed and agility, had been taken. Knowing what must be done, having witnessed the villagers nearby do similar things after fighting with the noxian packs, she gripped the shaft. Gritting her teeth, the vixen yanked the bolt out, her eyes tearing with pain. Why was it, that humans started leaking water from their eyes when they hurt, she wondered as she ditched the offending stick to a nearby bush. Wiping her tears, annoyed at them, she limped closer to the pond. Ahri would have to wash the wound and rest a few days before she could hunt more foreigners.

[creator-zee]

163

       We laid on our stomachs on the alien planet keeping watch from above as the rest of team advanced below. We saw the aliens before we saw our team come into view. They were about half our height and had spikes protruding from their forearms, well some of them did. It looked like others had them sheathed. I heard Cal gasp quietly to my right

        “I have so many questions for my mom.” She muttered.

         “I did too, but I had no idea how to bring it up.” I spared a brief glance at her.

          She brought her hand up and tapped the comm in her ear. “Aliens inbound.” She reported.

          “Copy.” Our Leader, Rachel, replied.

          We saw our team enter the area.

          “In our sights.” Cal reported.

          “Copy.” Rachel replied again.

           We watched as our team and the aliens approached each other. Our team was made of twelve people, so ten were down there. The aliens had twenty people. We were outnumbered two to one. I heard Cal shift next to me as she lined up her sniper rifle, preparing for a fight to break out.

          The alien leader and Rachel were talking, but Rachel had her comms off so we couldn’t hear. I heard something behind us and I flipped around to see five of the aliens behind us, brandishing spears. Having noticed me move, Cal also turned around. She immediately aimed her gun at them.

         “Where’s the sniper coverage?” Someone crackled across the comms.

          “Help.” Someone else requested.

          “We’re surrounded.” Another person said.

           Neither Cal or I moved. She had her gun at the ready, but my own was still on my leg. I had my electro blade in my hand though. It wasn’t activated, so I had the element of surprise. I leapt into action. Activating the blade and charging the aliens, I met the first one head on. I heard Sar leap into action as she began shooting. Our teams cries for help still crackled across the comms, as we dealt with the aliens surrounding us. 

        “Can you handle any more that come?” Cal asked, as she positioned herself on the cliff again.

         I nodded. “I’ll keep them off you.”

         I heard her gun fire again and again as she fired into the crowd down below. Cal suddenly scrambled up and grabbed my arm.

          “Time to go.” She said, and began dragging me through the woods slinging her rifle over her shoulder onto her back.

          “What’s going on?” I asked, as we bang climbing trees.

          “There were reinforcements. They are captured. I couldn’t kill them all. They sent a large group off to look for us. I know you’re good, but you’re not that good.” She explained. “We’ll have to find another way to save the rest of them.”

           I overtook her as we made our way through the thick jungle. Trees were always easier for me although I longed to use my wings. I made sure not to get too far ahead though. As I glanced back to check on her, I noticed that she was wincing every time she used her arms even though she was trying her best to hide it. She must have cut recently.

           I saw that the trees stopped going and we just had reached another cliff. I began dropping through the tree heads towards the ground, catching myself every so often. Cal followed close behind me and soon we were breaking into a sprint on the ground trying to get as much distance as we could. We reached the cliff and skidded to a halt, no bridge to be seen.

          “Fuck.” I cursed, between panting breaths.

         Cal glanced down the cliff and back where we had come from. Then she looked left and right. She was also panting, and I noticed that blood spotted her sleeves in some spots, but there was nothing we could do about that now.

          She took off to the right and I followed her as we ran along the cliff edge. I realized why when I saw the other cliff nearby. She climbed a tree, yanking one of the vines free and tying it to the branch before jumping off in a leap of faith. She let go mid air and rolled, breaking the fall on the other cliff. I followed her lead, grabbing the vine as it swung back. 

         As I flew through the air, I once again wished for my wings, but sighed and rolled, breaking the fall. Cal set off running again, but we found that the stony tower we were on wasn’t very big. And none of the others were near enough to jump too. I could fly, but I wasn’t ready to expose myself like that. 

        Cal stopped and I ran up next to her. We were behind the tree line, but looking at the other cliff, for what, I didn’t realize until the aliens came into view. Cal had her rifle back at her shoulder, but didn’t fire, knowing that it would draw attention to us.

        I grunted as something from behind me pinned me to the ground. Somehow the aliens had gotten behind us. It took two each to pin us, but they managed it, shackling us hands behind our back. 

       I heard Cal whimper next to me as they grabbed her forearms. I struggled again, but it was useless. They had us captured. 

        They led us down a thin path that we had missed and to where the rest of our team was chained to posts in the ground.

        The aliens tied us up next to our teammates. One of the aliens barked an order to the others. And someone began patting us down. They pulled my gun from my leg and several daggers from elsewhere and took my electro sword from its sheath on my back.

       I watched as they took everything from Cal too. I watched as they patted down her arms and she couldn’t stop from wincing.

       The leader barked another order and the unshackled her, bringing her hands in front of her, and pushing her sleeves back to reveal the bloody bandages.

        Another order was given and they began undoing the bandages. She began struggling in their grip, but she was completely surrounded. 

         “What are you doing?” I shouted at the aliens. “So what she’s injured? Leave it be!”

         “She hide weapons.” The leader said in broken common tongue. 

         They finished pulling off the bandages and Cal’s face was soaked with tears as uncontrollable sobs racked her body as her injuries were revealed.

        The leaders face contorted in rage as he recognized the wounds. “You force Kleptid to cut off docles. You cruel. Very cruel.”

         “You’re one of them.” A teammate, Ash, spat. “No wonder they got the jump on us.”

         “No, no I’m not.” Cal pleaded.

         “You’re a freak.”

         “You never belonged.”

         “This is all your fault.”

          I saw Cal crumple with every insult. I knew how it felt to have those words dig into you. I lost it.

          “Leave her alone.” I growled.

           “You hurt her.” They accused.

           “I would never hurt her.”

I growled, lunging against new chains as I shifted, breaking the chains that held me. I beat the Kleptids back with a sweep of my wings as I grabbed Cal and took off, climbing high into the sky. 

        “Half-dragon? I have questions for your mom too.” Cal joked weakly.

         “Dragons are shapeshifters.” I explained. “That’s how I could hide myself so easily.”

         “Why expose yourself then?” She asked as we landed in the middle of some woods far away from the village we flew over.

          “They were hurting you.” I answered.

          “Thank you.” She sobbed into my chest, not pulling away even though I had loosened my grip.

          “Let’s take care of those arms.” I said, stepping back and looking at them. She had definitely cut recently, the wounds had barely started to heal. I pulled off my shirt which was already torn from wings, leaving me in just a tank top-bra combo built for winged aliens.

         I began ripping the shirt into thin strips before tying them together and then bandaging up her arms, it wasn’t the best but it would do.

         “We’ll never be able to go back now.” She said sadly.

         “We were never happy there.” I reminded her. “At least here we can be ourselves.”

         She chuckled weakly. “Thanks Sar, but I think you’re glossing over the whole stranded on alien planet part.”

         “Could be a worse alien planet.” I pointed out.

         “I’ll give you that.” She admitted. “Come on, let’s find someplace to set up camp until we can figure out a way to leave.”

164.1 (a while later) (Cal’s POV)

        I was sitting in a tree looking at the spikes or docles as the Kleptids had called them. We were lacking in weapons and pretty much everything, only the fact that Sar was a half-dragon kept us alive, since she could hunt and kill with her claws. I had nothing to cut my spikes off with and no reason to so they had grown, grown longer than I had ever let them before. They were probably full grown now. I had seen the Kleptids retract theirs but I still couldn’t figure out how to do it. I stare at the blue spikes with scars around the bases willing them to go in. They didn’t. I sighed and climbed back down the tree. It was nice being able to use by arms without feeling the familiar pain that came from my cutting, but I still wasn’t use to the docles and kept knocking them on things.

        I landed on the ground and made my way over to Sar who was sitting by a fire. She didn’t comment on my reappearance, just lifted an arm in offering. I sat down next to her, careful to not accidentally impale her with my docles as I leaned into her. It was getting cold here now, but Sar was always a source of heat. 

        She laid her arm around my shoulder and pulled me tighter against her. I relaxed into her. I had been skeptical at first, but I a weird way the terrible outcome of that mission may have been the best thing for us we could just live in these woods, free. The Kleptids hadn’t bothered us, and we no longer had to hide what we were.

          My docles slid into my arms and I sat up straight.

          “Sar, Sar.” I exclaimed, holding up my arm.

           “Holy crap.” She muttered, then smiled at me. “See, I knew you could do it.”

           I extended them then retracted them, the motion suddenly natural after they first retracted. It felt odd to say the least but my excitement at finally getting control of them drowned that out.

          “Now we can cuddle without worrying about me stabbing you.” I laughed, only half-joking.

          I’m response, Sar turned and grabbed me before falling backwards, pulling me against her chest. She rolled to one side and wrapped one wing around me.

        “Now you’re never escaping.” She joked, as she held me tightly.

        “I’m not complaining.” I muttered into her shoulder. 

         That lasted for a few minutes before I was drenched in sweat. Sar was really hot.

         “I’m complaining now.” I said. “Let me go.”

         “No.” She refused playfully, but folded her wing back. 

         I wriggled my arms so that they were against her side.

          “You wouldn’t dare.” She said.

         I laughed and began tickling her. She couldn’t stop laughing as she rolled onto her back and released her grip. I tickled her for a little longer before wriggling free, and stepping back.

         She picked herself up and dusted herself before glaring at me, spreading her wings slightly. “It’s on.”

          I extended my docles and got into a ready stance.

           “Oh no fair.” She gestured to my arms.

          I gestured to her wings in response. She rolled her eyes.

           “Fine.” She said as she lunged forwards. I brought up my arms to block her, but she reached around and started tickling me. I started laughing uncontrollably as we fell to the ground. I couldn’t get her back as we grappled on the forest floor. Eventually, Sar stopped when we were both panting and out of breath, and we went back to sitting by the fire.

          “One thing’s been on my kind for a while.” Sar admitted, speaking up suddenly. “How are you so tall when you’re half Kleptid? I mean you’re almost as tall as me and I’m half-dragon. We should have a bigger height difference.”

          I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe human height genes are just dominant over Kleptid genes. Why? Do you want to date someone half our size?”

         “Not half...” She muttered, then got a playful glint in her eyes. “All I’m saying is that if you were tiny it would be much easier to cuddle you to death.”

          “Oh no.” I said with faux-horror as I scooted back as she lunged for me again, wrapping her arms around me. I didn’t fight it though just relaxing into her hold. “Is it really that hard right now?”

         “I suppose not.” She muttered, as she pulled me back to the ground.

163.2 (still later yet) (still Cal’s perspective)

        I was out hunting when I heard a familiar sound, but one I hadn’t heard in a long time - the landing of a shuttle. I immediately forgot about the alien mammal I was chasing and quickly scaled a tree to see the shuttle flying down from orbit. It wasn’t marked with the HSO symbols. I had no idea if it was friend or foe. I just knew I needed to find Sar.

        I landed in a roll next to our campsite. Sar looked up at me registering my spooked appearance and lack of prey.

        “Hey, woah, Cal are you okay?” She asked, stepping closer to me.

         “I saw a shuttle. Didn’t recognize the symbols. It wasn’t HSO.” I painted out between breaths.

          “Hey, calm down, you’re fine okay. We’re fine. This could be our chance to get off this planet.” She reassured me, running one hand through my hair.

          I leveled out my breathing, calming under her touch, before it started rising again as my brain started asking questions. “What about - what if they - we are half-breeds?” I stammered.

       She slid her hands down to my shoulders and squeezed firmly. “Hey, it’s okay. I can shape shift and you can retract your docles now. We’ll be fine. We can pass as human.”

          I nodded and tried to calm myself. It was harder to retract my docles if I wasn’t relaxed. I managed to do it and pulled my sleeves down, only to see that they had large rips in them that revealed my docles. 

          “Relax Cal.” Sar said, pulling something out of her pockets. “We still have the remains of my shirt from when we had to bandage your arms. We can use those again.”

         I nodded, fighting to keep my breathing steady, and my docles retracted. Sar wrapped the fabric around them quickly and efficiently, hiding any sign that I wasn’t human.

         “Let’s go see if we can get off this planet.” Sar said, heading in the direction I came from. It didn’t take us long to find the shuttle, although I paused in the tree line. Sar placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

        “We got this.” She said and stepped into the clearing.

        The aliens were small scuttling around in four legs while using their arms to manage things. They reminded me of tiny centaurs if centaurs were covered in fur all over had feline like tails and ears, and were three feet tall.

        They spotted us and one rose up onto its hind legs giving it another foot of height. And asked us something in a strange chirping language I couldn’t understand.

       “Common tongue?” I asked hesitantly.

        “Why here?” The alien asked.

        “Stranded.” I answered.

        “Humans no like aliens.” They said, skeptically.

         “Not all.” I said. “We like.”

         “What you want?” They demanded, huffing.

        “Ride.”

        “You work. We give ride.” The alien offered. 

        “Much work?” Sar asked, wary.

        “Fair amount. During trip and stay.” The alien said. That sounded reasonable. I glanced at Sar and she nodded.

      I turned back to the alien. “We accept.”

      The alien chirped in what seemed to be joy and fell back down on its legs. “Come help. You big strong.”

        I nodded and followed the alien. That could’ve gone worse.