#and never mind the (very probably) infected cut right smack in the middle of my chest too...

[dubiousdoctors]

ow ow ow ow OW

[emy-loves-you]

Sanders Sides AU-gust Day 5: Post-Apocalypse

Remus gets injured while running away from a hoard. Janus tends to his wounds, and they make a new friend

Janus POV, Dukeceit, parental Moxiety and slight parental Anxceit

Day 4 | Masterlist | Day 6

“What on earth were you thinking!?!”

Remus smiled, completely ignoring the large gash in his arm. “They were after me! And I had to get back to the love of my life!” He waggled his eyebrows, and Janus barely resisted the urge to smack him.

“Why didn’t you go around the barbed wire fence? You knew where the entrance was!”

“Because it was quicker to go over the fence, duh. And so much more fun. I felt like I was in an action-horror movie!” He pumped his arms into the air, completely ignoring his injury.

Janus sighed, moving to grab the first-aid kit. “And why didn’t you wear your jacket? You know how difficult it is for zombies to bite through that thing. And you probably wouldn’t need stitches right now if you had worn it.”

Remus pouted. “Because you were sleeping with it! And if I’d woken you up you would’ve convinced me to stay.”

“Yeah, because there definitely weren’t over 300 zombies in the area!”

“You know I would do it again in a heartbeat!” Remus’ smile was completely gone (was it ever truly there in the first place?) and Janus sighed as he directed Remus to sit on the nearest tree stump. They stood in silence for several minutes as Janus tended to Remus’ injury. For the first half of the procedure, there were no sounds beyond Remus’ quiet hissing when Janus tugged too harshly on a stitch.

After most of the wound was closed, Janus spoke up. “You know he’s probably dead.” He kept his eyes trained on the stitches. He didn’t need to look up to know what expressions lied on Remus’ face. They’ve had this conversation dozens of times, after all.

Remus sighed. “I know. But if there’s even the smallest chance that Ro’s alive, I’m gonna find him.” Janus offered no sympathy. He knew that would only fuel the fire. “I can’t lose him, Jan. Not again.”

Janus remained silent as he tended to Remus’ wound. As he finished stitching and moved on the bandaging, Janus let his mind wander. It’s been almost 3 years since the outbreak started. Janus and Remus were just friends at the time. Remus and Roman (Remus’ twin brother) had gotten into an argument right before Roman moved across the country. After the outbreak started, Remus had made it his goal to find Roman. A difficult goal, especially since the zombies had multiplied overnight, making it impossible to travel on road or through cities. But Remus never gave up. So here they were, over 2,000 miles away from home, searching for any signs of life while barely surviving themselves.

Once Janus had Remus completely patched up, they packed up to leave. The scent of Remus’ blood would eventually attract zombies. It would be best to travel as far as possible before setting up camp for the night.

They walked for around 6 hours, talking about whatever topic came to mind. Well, it was more of Remus bringing up a random topic and Janus bringing up different counterarguments. They eventually made camp down by a stream in the middle of the woods. The sun was close to setting as Janus collected wood to start a fire. Remus moved deeper into the forest, likely searching for deer or rabbits. Janus quickly set up the fire, dragging a fallen tree nearby to use as a bench. Just as Janus was starting to wonder what was taking Remus so long, he heard a rustle from behind him. “Finally decide to show up, Remus? Did some sort of poisonous or toxic creature distract you?” He turned around to see someone that was decidedly not Remus.

Crouching in the thick foliage was a child, no older than 6. He had long brown hair and oversized black hoodie. His hair had multiple braids running through it, but it had obviously been several days since they were put in, judging from the multiple twigs and knots that Janus could see. Large brown eyes fearfully stared into Janus’ soul.

Janus slowly moved to sit on the log behind him. It would be better if the child believed he wouldn’t run up and grab him. “Hello, little one.” Janus’ voice was much softer now, and he noticed how the child appeared nervous but didn’t flinch. “My name is Janus. What’s yours?” The child didn’t answer, instead looking over at the decently-sized fire. “Would you like to join me? My partner should be here soon, and he’ll have food for us to cook and eat.” The child glanced between Janus and the fire, seemingly weighing his options. “If it makes you more comfortable, I promise I won’t get off of this log unless absolutely necessary. You needn’t be afraid. Neither my partner nor I would ever harm a child.”

The child weighed his options for a few more moments before stepping forwards. He slowly approached the fire, not taking his eyes off of Janus. Once he was in grabbing range and Janus hadn’t reached out for him, the child’s entire body seemed to relax. Janus watched as the child winced and pulled a stick out of his hair. “Would you like some assistance with that?” The child looked up at Janus, his shoulders tense again. “I could clean and rebraid your hair, if you want me to.” The child stared at him for a few moments before slowly approaching. After a few more minutes of coaxing, the child was soon sitting in Janus’ lap, watching the fire as Janus fixed his hair.

For once, Janus was grateful that the virus killed off kids rather than infecting them. He could bash in the face of a 30-year-old zombie any day (he usually did so daily). But if he had seen this child running after him, bloody and rotting? Janus didn’t know what he would do.

The child winced as Janus pulled out a stubborn stick. “My apologies.” Janus murmured softly. “I’m afraid it’s been many years since I last dealt with long hair.” The child seemed to relax at Janus’ tone, so Janus kept talking. “I’m surprised that you managed to find this campsite, much less approach us. You must be very brave, child.” The child muttered something under his breath. “What did you say?”

“m not brave, ‘m just Virgil.”

Janus smiled softly as he worked on braiding Virgil’s hair. “Well, Virgil. I feel like you’re not seeing what I’m seeing. I see a strong child who faced his fears and did what he had to do to survive. What do you see?”

Virgil started shaking, and it took Janus a moment to realize that he was crying. “They said I couldn’t do anythin’ ‘cause ‘m small.” Janus started to rub the child’s back as he shook more. “I thought I could do it on my own but I can’t! I miss Uncle Lo and his facts. I miss Uncle Ro and his songs. I miss my Papa!”

The child was sobbing by this point. Janus turned Virgil around so he could bury his face in Janus’ chest. Janus rubbed small circles into Virgil’s back as he cried. “There there.” He whispered. “It’s alright. We’ll find your Papa.” Janus did not like to make such claims. He never did so with Remus with his quest to find Roman, so why should he do so with Virgil?

Maybe it was because of the way Virgil relaxed after he’d said it. Maybe it was because Virgil was just a child, and will hopefully forget the promise. Maybe it was because Janus didn’t want this kid to grow up an orphan. But it didn’t matter, because he’d already said it.

Once the kid stopped crying, turned back around so that he continued facing the fire. Janus smiled as Virgil leaned back so that he was laying against Janus’ chest. They stayed like that for several minutes before they heard more rustling from the other side of the fire. Virgil seemed to see the person’s face before Janus did. Instead of burying himself into Janus, like he’d expected, Virgil instead jumped out of Janus’ lap. He quickly ran around the fire, shouting in relief. “Ro! Ro! R- oh.”

Janus kept his eyes on Remus, who was staring at the child with a carefully blank expression. Before he could potentially frighten the child, Janus spoke up. “Virgil, I would like you to meet Remus, my boyfriend. Remus, this is Virgil. I was hoping we could watch over him until he is reunited with his father.”

Remus’ face went through a myriad of emotions before sticking with happy. For once, Janus was grateful for Remus’ obsession with theatre. It made him an amazing actor, after all. “Of course! There’s always room for one more!” He reached down to poke Virgil’s belly, and Janus was surprised to hear the child giggle. Remus stood back up and offered Janus the deer carcass he’d hunted earlier. “Sorry it took so long. I spotted two giant spiders mating in the woods. The female bit off the male’s head!”

Virgil mumbled something as he made his way back to Janus. “What was that, Virgil?”

“...spiders are cool.”

Remus’ smile became less forced. “I’ll take you to see them tomorrow.”

They sat in relative silence as Janus worked to prepare the deer meat. Remus had already drained it, thankfully, so Janus mainly needed to skin it. Janus watched out of the corner of his eye as Virgil attempted to scoot closer to him. “Would you like something, Virgil?”

Virgil seemed surprised that Janus had called him out. “Nothing!”

Janus internally sighed. It would take a while for Virgil to fully come out of his metaphorical shell. “Do you know how to skin a deer, Virgil?” The child shook his head. “Would you like to learn how?”

Virgil suddenly found his shoes extremely interesting. “I’m not allowed to touch knives.”

“I didn’t ask that.” Virgil’s head shot up. “I asked if you wanted to learn how to skin a deer.” Virgil nodded frantically, and Janus barely stopped himself from smirking. “Alright, come closer and I’ll show you how.”

Virgil sat in Janus’ lap as he carefully removed the deer’s skin. After a few minutes of explanation and demonstration, he handed Virgil the knife. He kept his hands on Virgil’s the entire time, and there were luckily no injuries from the experience. They lost a little bit of meat from where Virgil cut too deep, but it wasn’t too bad for his first time with a knife. While Janus cooked the meat, Remus told Virgil whatever stories popped into his mind. Janus was glad that Remus kept the stories PG, and was surprised that Virgil preferred some of Remus’ darker tales.

After a few more hours of eating and storytelling, Virgil let out a yawn. Janus smiled. “Are you tired?” Virgil nodded, his eyes already starting to close. “Then we’ll wake you in the morning. Sleep tight, Virgil.”

Once the two of them were sure that Virgil was asleep, Remus started whispering. “Okay, what the fuck is going on!?”

Janus sighed, making sure to keep his voice down. “From what I’ve gathered, Virgil and his father travel with your brother and a third adult that goes by ‘Lo.’ A few days ago, one of them told Virgil that he couldn’t help them because he’s too young. Wanting to prove them wrong, he ran away and found our fire.”

Remus was in deep concentration. “So Roman IS alive.”

Janus nodded. “Possibly. If he is, than he is most likely nearby, searching for Virgil.”

Remus nodded before looking over at Virgil. “I don’t know why they wouldn’t let him help.”

Janus sighed. “He is rather young, Remus.”

Remus waved him off. “I know, I know. And before all of this shit happened, I would’ve agreed. He’s way too young to handle knives or fire. But we’re not living anymore. We’re surviving. And this kid needs to learn how to survive in case he’s on his own again.”

“And I perfectly agree.” They sat there for another hour as the fire started to dwindle. Remus offered to take first shift, so Janus kissed him goodnight before laying down next to Virgil. And if Janus’ heart melted a bit when Virgil grabbed the front of Janus’ shirt in his sleep?

Well, no one had to know about that, did they?

[yeet-imma-skeet]

Great, There’s Sky Everywhere

(Based in @starr-fall-knight-rise 's unique universe. Part 6 of the story)

(Part 1: https://yeet-imma-skeet.tumblr.com/post/613232997621202944/the-sky-is-falling)

"So, Olive... what is it that is so important that you need to tell me in the middle of a lake?"

The head human doctor, Olive as she goes, laid still on her floaty as she eyed around the bio-dome in suspicion. Captain Silva waded near her, shaking droplets of cool water off his peppery hair at her squinting. Both were inside the bio-dome of the strange alien ship along with quite the gaggle of humans and drev exploring within it. Raucous laughter could be heard through the whispering of ruffled leaves. The low rumbling of drev voices and the clanging of weapons echoed from the wide plains as they sparred each other with glee. A few adventurous humans attempted to climb the tall trees and rock formations, only to fail in climbing the plants. Their bronze trunks were strangely smooth with no handholds to grip. The vines that grew from them were the same, though the yellow leaves proved to be sturdy enough to hold their weight somehow. The doctor and captain absentmindedly watched some crewmen climb up the dangling vines like demented ladders. A leaf managed to smack one across the face as she fell down in a heap, rubbing a leaf-shaped mark across her head before she angrily chased her laughing crew mates.

Silva was happy to see them up and about, giggling like children after all that happened. He really wanted there to be nothing else after their ordeal, but the grim look across the doctor's face only concluded his fears.

"The...disease," She started, "I've finally looked over it and the research the AI-ball-thing did and... it’s disturbing."

"More disturbing than the dead zombies?"

"Yes. I've noticed some subtle affects it causes besides pigment changes, uncontrolled strength, and neural decay. It nearly matches the affects caused by the Infected Starborn Incident a while ago."

His heart pounded at the implications, "What?"

"Well, like I said, not exactly the same. Of course we're dealing with an entirely new species unlike ourselves, but the amount of residual brain activity the AI managed to capture before they died showed similar symptoms."

She somehow brought out a tablet as she swiped through it, never mind the fact that she was wearing nothing but a skintight swimsuit, "In the accounts of the Incident, the Starborn Convict described the spikes in brain activity in these logs as the infected humans receiving some sort of communication from somewhere. After that, they went nuts as they were... mentally tortured."

"...Go on."

"The AI's records found the almost exact same reaction in the infected that it scanned. The infected was closing in on its position in the med bay, sort of sluggishly like a fictional zombie would, before they heard the cry of another being taken down by Galia at the time. Their brainwaves spiked in response and so they went into a frenzy. Thankfully, she got there in time to kill them, but it’s a terrifying thought."

Silva bobbed in the water, barely hearing his crewmen's laughter, "We are safe from this, right?"

"The bodies are quarantined in the lab, there’s no sign of potential infection from the disease, and we have made vaccinations in case so we are safe in that aspect..."

He noticed a hesitation, "But?"

"Let's just be happy that we're in space with no chance of meeting a live one. It would very well snap us in half before we could get sick."

—————————

Galia watched as another caldat—er marine, tumbled off the vines like a newly hatched sky dweller. She had to admit, they were remarkably good climbers despite not having claws. Instead of forcibly marring the plants, they would search for existing handholds as they slowly made their way up the trees. A quiet huff made her perk up an arial as she remembered the marine perched beside her on the rock plateau, the very same marine who had crashed his wheeled plank of wood in front of her before. Apparently he did reckless things on the daily, his resilience showing as he climbed everything inside the bio-dome with nary a complaint after falling so many times. He joined her in her people watching, quietly appreciating the view atop the tallest pillar.

Despite their differences, she was reminded of her planetary days when she would perch up high with her fellow Vigils. They were strong, aloof, untouchable to many, and she was one of them. But at the same time, she wasn’t. Her insides did a flip as she remembered those times, always doing something past what should be done. The only thing that kept her sane was the thought of seeing her litter mates again wherever they were.

“Uh, are you okay?”

She glanced over at the sitting marine, noting his concerned look as she tilted her head in confusion.

“Your nails—er claws are kinda...” He motioned towards their perch.

Twelve jagged lines cut through the hard stone leading to her clenched fists. How she missed her own hands grinding down rock unnerved her as she flapped her arials in nervousness. Surely the human would be terrified by the show of strength.

“As cool as that is, are you really okay? You were looking pretty off.”

She gave him an incredulous stare, “I’m fine, but aren’t you... scared?”

“Scared? Of what?”

Galia didn’t know what surprised her more, the fact that the human looked so genuinely unafraid or that he was still insistently asking about her condition. A quiet hum of laughter escaped her as his face changed from confused to weirded out.

“Ah, pardon me.” She curled her tail around her sitting form once again, “Any show of emotion is forbidden for my occupation. Unless it is an order, I should not convey any.”

“Well that sounds like a load of bull.”

“What?”

“I mean, it sounds like a stupid rule. You mean to do that all the time and don’t have any breaks?”

“It is required if I don’t want to be terminated.”

A flash of some unknown emotion crossed his earthy eyes, “Term-Terminated?”

“I am a Vigil, a weapon and shield for my king’s use. If I break or warp, I’ll be tossed away.” Her body seemed to stiffen, “There is no use for a caldat who knows Vigil training yet can’t utilize it to their best ability. Holding any of that knowledge is a threat so it must be controlled.”

A terse silence grew between them as the joyous sounds below did nothing to break it. The marine, in question, felt quite awkward. Like celebrating a birthday next to a funeral home awkward.

A quick idea popped into his head as he though of a way to change the subject, “Wait you guys have a king? Like crown-wearing, sword-wielding, do-as-I-say king?”

Amusement crept into her mind as he swung an imaginary weapon, “We have three who share Farris, our planet. One for each people and place.”

“Each people?”

“Though we are of the same species, we have three variants made for each dwelling on our planet.” She flexed an arial towards the gigantic dome, “The sky, the sea, and the land.”

“Sky... So where we are now? This rock thing and the forest?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re a sky person?”

“The official term is sky dweller and not exactly...”

“Oooooh, so you’re half and half? What’s the other?”

A flicker of anger and confusion reignited itself within her, “I don’t see a reason to tell you.”

His eyes widened as he watched her tufted tail hackle into spikes, “Oh shit, I’m so sorry if I offended you!"

For a moment, he thought that she would deck him flat and that he totally deserved it. His big mouth managed to piss people off for all the wrong reasons so it wouldn’t be the first time he got what he asked for, even if he had no bad intentions. Her golden eye seemed to burn a hole into his head as he kept apologizing. Damn, he just had to piss off the one person who owned the cool spaceship.

“...I am part land dweller.”

His bowed head perked up as the alien’s tail tuft flattened and her head turned towards the expanse of savanna below. He followed her gaze to see some of his crew mates playing a game of tag in the tall grass. The drev stood at the sidelines, sometimes serving as living obstacles to dart around much to their amusement. With a pounce, an engineer managed to tag a marine as she scrambled atop one of them. The drev took one look at the determined tagger, and before they could react, had two humans dangling from their body as they ducked and weaved around.

A question snapped the marine out of his observation, “What do you call that game? It looks similar to one we have.”

“Tag. Where one person is ‘it’ and they have to touch another person to make them ‘it’ and it continues from there. It can get pretty intense.”

“Hm.” Her tail flicked back and forth, “You humans are okay land dwellers, but we can be much faster.”

Sensing a challenge he grinned, “Oh yeah? Care to demonstrate?”

“If it will keep you from asking too much next time.”

He sheepishly nodded as she stood to her haunches, stretching a lithe leg behind her. The marine's eyes widened even more at the full length of the leg that almost reached his height. With little hesitation, the white alien began to skid down the cliff, leaving a trail of cuts down the side. By the time he scrabbled down to join her, the small gathering of his crew mates ended their game with gasping breaths, watching her stroll by in curiousity.

She crossed her arms, a new intimidation tactic she picked up from the humans, "Who's the best sprinter out of all of you?"

The panting humans and bystanding drev all pointed to the last human that was 'it'. Galia had been watching them and knew that this man had been 'it' a lot less than the rest as he ran literal circles around the others. The strangely bald, lanky, and dark skinned man straightened his back at the guard's scrutiny, exuting a challenging puff of air. Knocking him down a peg would probably make her feel a lot better.

[drabbles-of-writing]

Can We Keep Him? (pt 3)

This is part of my Uncursed AU

AO3

Masterpost

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

For the first few weeks, their routine worked.

Eda would open the portal to the human realm, warn King to be careful, and have him go at it for about an hour before reopening the door and sorting through whatever he had collected.

The first day King mostly only got food, and Eda could barely sell any of it. Half because it was too disgusting by Boiling Isles standards and half because King kept eating it.

The second day King grabbed anything he could that looked vaguely like a crown. Eda made him sell each and every one, much to his distress. She did, however, save a silver and blue plastic tiara that she gave to King, who was thrilled. Even if his crowns never lasted very long, it was worth it to see him so happy.

The third day King didn’t make it back to the portal because he had been caught by the human version of animal control and Eda had to break him out.

But aside from those hiccups and a few others, it went fine.

So fine, in fact, that Eda was nearing enough money to finally get a place of her own instead of crashing at Lilith’s and sometimes her dads when Lilith accidentally locked the doors.

Things were starting to look up...almost.

,

King was absolutely, positively, not worried.

It was un-kingly like for the King of Demons to be worried about a witch.

No, he wasn’t worried.

Simply...curious. Wondering. Questioning.

“Have you seen Eda?” King exclaimed, jumping up onto some poor unsuspecting witches table, scaring the life out of them. “She’s tall, I think, with hair that looks like a rats nest on fire, usually causing trouble and scamming people?”

“Beat it, you overgrown rat!” A second witch at the stand snapped, swinging a broom at the demon.

King yelped and leapt off the table, hitting the ground awkwardly before scuttling further into the marketplace.

“Have you seen Eda?” He asked a passing cyclops, clinging to his leg. “The witch who sells human collectibles? Looks like she probably stole your wallet?”

“Get off!” The cyclops demanded, kicking out his leg and sending King right back to eating the dirt.

King sprung right back up, fiddling his paws together as he rushed down the marketplace, asking any witch, demon, or vaguely-sentient being if they’d seen Eda. Most brushed him off, others only shook their heads.

Normally, King wouldn’t be so worr--er, inquisitive about where Eda was. She had a new place she set up shop every day, and it was always fun to hunt her down in the morning.

But Eda had told him where she was going to be this time. Right smack in the middle of the marketplace, so to sell more stuff today.

She wasn’t there. Or anywhere, for that matter.

Not a single sign, disgruntled customer, nothing. Eda rarely missed a day to sell. And whenever she did, she would always make sure to tell King beforehand. He had to be extra careful with his crown of the week when she wasn’t around to replace it, after all.

King swore he’d searched the whole marketplace from top to bottom three times around. He couldn’t find Eda anywhere.

It was nearing afternoon, and he was getting tired.

“Aw, I’m sorry to hear that, sweetie,” his most recent inquiry said sympathetically. “Maybe she was just sick today. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“Yeah...yeah! That must be it!” King said. “Eda’s just sick. I’ll see her tomorrow.”

“There you go,” The nice lady smiled. “Run along now, you look tired.” “Oh you have no idea,” King agreed. “Thanks, random minion!” He called before turning and trotting back through the marketplace.

Of course Eda was sick! It made perfect sense. She wouldn’t dare to come near the King of Demons if she thought she could infect him. No subject would wish that upon their ruler.

Still, he’d make sure Eda found him the best crown tomorrow. He broke his weird circle crown yesterday and was anxious for a new one.

It wasn’t long before King made it out of the marketplace and began making his way to the playground. It had become his kingdom, since it was close to the marketplace and he got to survey his land from the top. Though the small raiders were always a nuisance.

The things King put up with for that witch.

As he wandered down the street, he passed a row of old broken benches. Not many people took this route towards town, since it had yet to be fixed from a rogue Slitherbeast attack and was faced with only the backs of houses.

So King was rather surprised when he saw a witch sitting on one of the benches, knees curled up to her chest and face hidden under a nest of orange hair.

Wait a second…

“Eda!” King cried, racing on all fours across the ground to the bench. “There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Eda jerked her head up, strands of hair rumpled and sticking out everywhere. Her eyes were wide and...King would dare say hurt.

King paused, one jump away from leaping onto the bench beside the witch. He blinked up at her, now noticing that her face was very damp.

“...Eda?” King asked, quieter now.

“King! Ah, sorry, sorry,” Eda sniffled and quickly wiped a sleeve over her eyes. “Took me a minute. I, ah, I missed opening the shop, didn’t I?” She said, giving a small strained smile.

King thought he preferred her old smile better.

“Missed it? It’s noon!” King exclaimed, crawling up onto the bench beside Eda. “I thought you were sick or something.”

“Sorry, pip-squeak.” Eda said, her voice hoarse. “I didn’t realize the time.”

King sat in silence for a few moments, his little legs splayed out as he looked at the stone street before looking back at Eda. She was staring off again, arms crossed on top of her knees with her chin resting on them. She looked like she was about to cry.

“Not that I’m worried or anything, but...” King hesitated a moment before placing a paw on her arm. “Are you okay?”

Eda gazed down at King for a moment before sniffling and a fresh wave of tears spilled from her eyes.

“...no,” She said, shoulders hunched as she buried her face in her legs again, trembling with choked back sobs.

Well this wasn’t something King was prepared for.

King flinched back, looking around for anything that could help him. But nobody else was around. Just the open, broken street.

So, with nothing else to really do, King pushed his head underneath Eda’s arms, startling her. He wormed his way into her lap, which was a very cramped space at the moment, and lay across it. His limbs were hanging off at an awkward angle, and his head was smooshed between her legs and body, but it didn’t feel right to complain.

“Is, uh,” King glanced up at the young witch. “Is this better?”

Eda stared before she let out a weak chuckle, the shaking of her body jostling King a bit. She lowered her legs, freeing King of his prison, and wrapped her arms around him instead, bringing the small demon closer to her chest.

“Yeah, that helps.” Eda said quietly, stroking a hand down King’s back.

King was stiff as cardboard before, worrying any movement would mess it all up. Once he felt Eda petting his fur, however, he visibly relaxed and became loose like a noodle.

“Oh, this is nice,” King purred.

Eda giggled slightly and brought one of her arms underneath King to hold him steady and pet him with her other hand, smiling as he curled closer to her to get more pets.

“Thanks, King.” Eda said softly, scratching at where his skull met his fur.

“Don’t mention it,” King said, still happy from the pets. “...again, not that I care, but,” King paused again and flicked his tail. “Did something bad happen?”

Eda went still for a moment. King, admittedly, got worried again. Fine, so maybe he cared. What of it?

“Just my dad.” Eda said, stroking her hand along King’s back again. “He thinks he knows everything and...well, he thinks I’m doing things wrong. Just an argument that got out of hand. I can always crash at Lilith’s, anyway.”

“I thought you liked your dad?” King looked up at her, turning over on his side for Eda to pet there.

“I do, I do.” Eda agreed, relentining in scratching his stomach, making him twitch and kick out a leg happily. “But...he sometimes...isn’t all that great. ” She said, eyes glazed over in thought.

“He’s a good person...but sometimes I wonder what it would be like if my mom was still around.”

King opened his eyes from his momentary bliss, and Eda’s hand slowed as well. He squirmed in her arm a bit so he was sitting up and lay his chin on her shoulder in an attempt of being comforting.

“Sorry,” King said quietly.

“Don’t be. I’ll be alright.” Eda lay a hand across his back to hold him there. “If anything, I should apologize to you. I don’t normally info-dump my life to demons I work with.”

“I don’t mind,” King said, standing in her arms and placing his paws on her one shoulder. “I mean, I am the King of Demons. It’s only natural that I must inspire my subjects when all seems lost.” He said, placing a paw on his chest.

“Whatever you say, weirdo.” Eda rolled her eyes.

She looked away for a moment, staring off at the silence and nothingness around them both.

“But I guess I’m a weirdo too, huh?” She said, giving him a smile.

“Eh, everyone’s a little weird.” King shrugged, laying back down in her arms once more. “You sell human junk and refuse to join a coven, I live at a very small kingdom, that one weird lady down the street calls herself Tiny Nose--”

“A small kingdom?” Eda cut in, sounding amused.

“Yeah, back where you gave me my first crown.” King explained.

“You live at the playground?” She gasped, all amusement lost in an instant.

“I prefer the name ‘King’s Kingdom,’ thank you.” King said. “Wait, that doesn’t sound right…”

“Alright, that settles it.” Eda said, picking up King from under his arms and holding the demon in front of her face. “I have seen what nightmares those kids are at the playground, and if I’m being honest, I feel really guilty letting you sleep on the streets.”

“My kingdom is not ‘the streets!’” King grumbled. “But continue.”

“I’m going to be buying my own place soon, and at this point, I’ll likely be living with Lilith for the next week or two.” Eda said. “So, as a…” She thought about her words for a moment. “A token of my gratitude, how would you like to sleep with an actual roof over your head?”

“I get to live with you?” King blurted, wiggling happily from his place in the air.

“I take that as confirmation that you want to?” Eda laughed, setting the demon back down on her lap.

“Yes! I always wanted to see what the inside of those houses looked like!” King jumped up and down in her lap. “Is it true you have fresh uneaten food?” He asked, his eyes practically sparkling.

“Bud, you don’t know the half of it.” Eda said, picking up King again and getting to her feet. “But it’s only just past noon. Why don’t we try and sell the scraps you got from yesterday first?”

“Fine, if you insist.” King muttered, huffing as Eda began carrying him back to the marketplace. “But I deserve two new crowns, you hear me? I spent all morning looking for you! It was exhausting.”

“Of course, of course.” Eda nodded. “Anything for a king.”

,

Getting Lilith to let King stay, however, was going to be a lot harder than selling a few human trinkets.

Which is why Eda didn’t plan on letting her know right away.

“I am a king! Why do I have to be smuggled in like some common thief?” King huffed, hiding in Eda’s arm in a cloak she had been recently using to hide from any nosy guards.

“Because Lilith isn’t keen on getting a third roommate.” Eda replied, walking down the roads towards Lilith’s Emperor Coven mandated flat. “She already complains enough about getting food for the both of us.”

“If it’s such a hassle, why does she let you stay?” King wondered. “You said she was in the Emperor’s Coven, didn’t you?”

“She may be annoyed by it, but we’re still sisters.” Eda said. “She promised that when we made it to the Emperor’s Coven, we could get a place of our own. We love our dad, he’s not exactly...well-off.”

“But you’re not in the Emperor’s Coven. Didn’t you say you were covenless?” King pointed out.

“Eh, dreams change.” Eda shrugged. “Now keep quiet. For now, you’ll hide in my room. I’ll just have to warm up Lilith to the idea of you.”

She stopped in front of the door of one of the small, stone houses. It was far too close to Emperor Belos’ castle for her liking.

Luckily for her, she didn’t have to stick around for too much longer.

Eda held the front of her cloak closed with one hand, holding King under her arm with the other. Taking a deep breath, she opened the front door, which was thankfully unlocked, and slipped inside.

She barely made it ten feet into the door before she was hounded.

“Eda!” Lilith exclaimed, bolting from around the kitchen corner and rushing over. “I heard what happened with dad,” She said and Eda visibility recoiled. “I’m so, so sorry. You know he didn’t really mean it, right?”

“Maybe not that harshly...but I think a part of him did mean it.” Eda mumbled, stepping around her sister. “What are you doing back? It’s barely dusk.”

“I managed to get in a good word and cut my training short,” Lilith said. “I should be free tomorrow to help you sell that junk at the marketplace, too.” She said happily.

“Excuse you,” Eda huffed, tightening her hold on King as he squirmed. “I prefer the term ‘human collectibles.’” She said with a teasing glint in her eye. “Helps sell it a lot easier to suckers off the street.”

“Whatever makes you feel better.” Lilith rolled her eyes. “Are you hungry? I got some bloodrain noodles from the pitstop a few streets over.”

“Oh, uh, actually...I already ate.” Eda lied, looking everywhere but at her sister. “Hey, remember when I mentioned I met a funny little demon two weeks ago?”

“Yeah…? Why’s this come up? You haven’t spoken of him since then.” Lilith said, raising a brow. “Did he get you in trouble?”

“No, no, not like that at all.” Eda insisted. “But, what if, hypothetically, he didn’t have a place to stay? And I could, I don’t know...share my food with him?”

It was a long shot, she knew. But hiding King of all people in a flat as cramped as this would be next to impossible without trying it the easy way first.

Lilith narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, glaring at her sister.

“What’s in the cloak, Eda?”

“What? Pssh, nothing, nothing at all.” Eda said, pulling it closer around herself as King stiffened up. “I was just wondering what you’d think. Testing the waters a bit, you know?”

“Take off your cloak, Eda.”

“Why? It’s my cloak, and I can do what I want with it.” Eda said, stepping back and giving Lilith a firm look. “And you can’t make me.”

Lilith uncrossed one hand and drew a circle in the air. Eda’s cloak suddenly lit up before going flying across the room and out of her grip as it hit a wall before sliding to the ground.

King, who was currently being carried like a football, blinked at the sudden light and craned his neck to look up at Lilith.

“Huh, I guess wild hair runs in the family.”

“Edalyn!” Lilith accused.

“What else was I supposed to do? Let him live on a playground full of screaming kids?” Eda demanded, re situating King so he was curled up in her arms like a baby. “Come on, Lilith, he’s not even that big!”

“Eda, I understand your worries,” Lilith exhaled, pressing her hands together in front of her face like she was trying to steel herself. “But I can’t extend my generosity to random stray demons you find.”

"Hey!” King cried indignantly. “I’ll have you know I am the King of Demons! You should be honored to house me.”

“And you found a delusional one, too?” Lilith groaned.

“Alright, hey, that’s a bit harsh.” Eda defended, laying a hand over King. “So what if he’s a little weird? I am too! Besides, he’ll only be here to sleep. The rest of the time he’ll be helping me sell in the market.”

“Edalyn, please,” Lilith rubbed at her temples. “I’m having a hard enough time at the Emperor’s Coven, I can’t worry about a demon you’ve gotten attached to.”

At that, King looked up at Eda, almost seeming surprised. Eda sighed, shoulders sagging.

She got a sudden idea and perked up. She slowly held out King like a doll in front of Lilith’s face, a smile growing on her face.

When Lilith opened her eyes, she was immediately greeted with a confused King staring back at her.

“But he’s so cute,” Eda whimpered, giving her sister a pleading look.

“I am not cute!” King squeaked, kicking about as Eda giggled.

“You should hear him when he’s mad,” Eda said, lowering King but still holding him. “He’s got a squeak of rage. It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” She grinned.

“You can’t buy me with cuteness,” Lilith crossed her arms and turned her head away.

“Aw, please?” Eda tried, sliding up beside her sister and holding King in front of her again. “I promise to take full responsibility for this little brat.”

“Responsibility! Ha! As if I cause trouble everywhere I go.” King snorted.

Eda knew very well how true that was, and thankfully had enough self-control to keep her mouth shut.

Lilith cracked open an eye, and Eda gave the biggest puppy-dog eyes she could muster.

“Please?” She begged. “I’ll be moving out soon, anyway. You won’t even know he was here!”

Lilith curled her lip and glared for a few moments. Her eyes shifted between Eda’s begging face and King’s naively hopeful one.

Lilith sighed and uncrossed her arms, letting her head hang back.

“Fine,”

“WOO!” Eda pumped a fist in the air, almost dropping King. “You won’t regret this, Lily. I promise!”

“I better not.” She warned, though her tone held no real malice.

“Huzzah!” King cheered. “Does this mean I can have uneaten food now?”

“Buddy, you can have as much uneaten food as you want.” Eda grinned.

“From your share, Edalyn.” Lilith sternly reminded her.

“...you can have almost as much uneaten food as you’d like.” Eda corrected herself. “C’mon, I think I have some scream bars in the pantry.”

“I have no idea what those are, but I am ready!” King agreed as Eda set him down and raced into the kitchen, the demon following after her.

Lilith watched her sister vanish around the corner, talking excitedly with the demon as she took her own food to feed to him.

As much as Lilith didn’t want another mouth she’d inevitably be feeding…she couldn’t help but feel happy.

It was worth it, if only to see that smile on Eda’s face.

[rattyoakenbitch]

Hey there! can I request an angst-smut starring Fili and the human reader? she was sucked into Middle Earth, taken from her life back on earth as one of the most well acclaimed surgeon in her country, Fili recognized her as his One yet all she wants is to get her old life back because she has worked so hard for it (even though she enjoys her adventure with the company), Fili asked her “Can you pretend to love me back just for tonight?” as they make love for the first and last time Thank you!

hii! thank you for the request! it’s my actually my first, so i was a bit nervous while working on this. there won’t be as much smut as you may have expected because i wouldn’t consider myself to be good at writing it. and this may be a bit longer than i intended it to be. there is a timeskip so i don’t have to write a whole lot, in case you wanted to get to the fili x reader part quicker. hope you enjoy it! <3

pairings: fili x modern reader

warnings: slight smut, angst

You awake, feeling your head pound. You looked at your surroundings, and nothing seemed familiar. You didn’t even remember how you got there. You stood up and dusted yourself off. Your blue cargo pants were dirtied, along with your white top and cardigan. You decided to get a better look at the place; It looked like a forest, but you lived in an urban area, and there was no way God just decided to move a forest right by your city. Despite your weak state, you continued to explore. In other situations, you’d be very excited. You always dreamed of having your own little adventures, but all you wanted to do was go back home. Off in the distance, you saw a light, and heard faint chattering. You cautiously approached the camp, and ducked. There were three hideous trolls circled around a campfire. You nearly threw up at the repulsive stench they emitted, and the fear arising in you. There was no way this could be real. You tried pinching yourself and smacking yourself in the face, but to no avail. As much as you were in denial, thinking this to be a nightmare, something felt real about it.

The trolls continued to argue back and forth, unaware of the smaller creature behind them. You watched the “child” intently. You really couldn’t do much but watch the events unfold. The gathering of trolls soon caught the child and started to interrogate him. “What are ya? An oversized squirrel?” Stuttering, the small man responded, “I’m a burglar- a Hobbit!”

Okay, this wasn’t a child. Whatever this Hobbit creature was, must be some sort of teenier version of a human. The trolls continued to chase the Hobbit, and eventually got a hold of him. Then, one of the trolls let out an ear-piercing, pained shriek. “Drop him!” Your eyes darted to the source of the voice. Below the injured troll stood a short man, dressed in some medieval looking clothing, with a stubble beard and chocolate-brown hair cascading down his shoulder. He wielded a sword and pointed it up to the troll fearlessly. “You what?!”

“I said,” the man swung the sword around his hand effortlessly. “Drop him.” As the troll was told, he dropped the Hobbit.. right atop man. At that, a whole group of abnormally short men (ranging from 4′5 - 4′9) leaped out of their hiding spots and charged at the trolls. The battle was short lived when the Hobbit was captured again. The trolls demanded the men surrender, or they’d tear the Hobbit apart. So surrender they did, and soon enough, they were thrown into sacks. While some men were set aside in a pile, the other group were tied onto a spit above a fire, making a Dwarf kebab.  Among all the clamoring, one troll suggested, “They should be sautéed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage!” The troll continued to circle the Dwarves with a hungry look in its eyes.

“That does sound quite nice,” the first troll agreed.

“Eh, never mind the seasoning. We ain’t got all night! Dawn ain’t far away. I don’t fancy being turned into stone.” You processed the troll’s words, and an idea popped into your head. It may not work, but you wanted to give it a shot. Taking a breath, you stepped out into the light.

“You’re making a terrible mistake!” All eyes were on you now. The pile of Dwarves watched you curiously, scanning you from head to toe. One particular Dwarf’s eyes lingered on you. Though you couldn’t see him all of him well, you noticed the intricate braids in his long, blonde hair, and his stunning eyes. You snapped out of your short daze when one Dwarf from the kebab spoke up.

“You can’t reason with them! They’re half-wits!”

“Half wits? What does that make us?!”

“No, I meant with the seasoning!” The biggest troll leaned over to get a look at you.

“What about the seasoning?”

You raised an eyebrow, “Haven’t you smelt them? You’re going to need something stronger than sage if you want a better meal!”

“What do you know about cooking Dwarf?” another troll asked, eyeing you suspiciously.

“Shut up! Let the kind lady speak,” the troll in front of you said.

You stammered, now not knowing where to go with this. “Uhm, the secret to cooking Dwarf is.. to skin them first!”

More shouting arose from the Dwarves.

“What a load of rubbish! I’ve eaten plenty with their skin on.”

“You’re right,” the smallest troll said, picking up the fattest Dwarf from the pile. “Nothing wrong with a bit of raw Dwarf!” Before he got the chance to stick the Dwarf in his mouth, you interfered.  “No-- Not that one! He looks infected!”

“You what?”

“He’s got parasites..”

With a disgusted look on its face, the troll threw the Dwarf back onto the ground. “In fact, they’ve all got parasites! It’s a risky business and I wouldn’t eat them if I were you,” you shrugged. As confident as you sounded, inside, you were trembling in fear.

“What would you have us do, then? Let em all go? You don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to?!”

“This little ferret is taking us for fools!”

“The dawn will take you all!” You all spun around to look at a tall figure standing on a rock, staff in hand. He looked like one of those cliche wizard characters from the storybooks you read as a child. Then, the wizard stabbed his staff into the boulder, splitting it to let the sunlight flow into the forest. Soon as the sunlight came in contact with the trolls, they were turned to stone. You blinked, processing what had just happened. “Is this for real?” You mumbled to yourself. At this point, you were convinced you weren’t dreaming, and definitely in a whole other world.

“Hey, you saved us.” You turned your head and met eyes with the blonde Dwarf who was eyeing you earlier. He was still looking at you curiously. After all, you were from a different world and probably dressed way different than the way women dressed here.

“Oh, uhm, it was nothing,” you muttered nervously.

“What’s a woman like you doing out here?”

“Well, it’s a long story..”

Since then, you’ve been traveling with The Company. The blonde Dwarf, who turned out to be named “Fili” and his brother “Kili” were very interested in stories about your world. You explained to them how you managed to get there, why you dressed the way you did, etc. It didn’t take much convincing and they all believed you. You grew closer with Thorin’s Company, especially Fili.  The way he looked at you made your heart flutter like no other man has. Fili was very kind, not to mention brave and at times, playful. You made a strong connection with him, and you almost wanted to stay in Middle Earth just for the sake of being with Fili. But every day, your family, job, house, and all the things of your world crossed your mind. You knew you had to find of way of getting home. It would break both of your hearts if you eventually found a way to return to your own world. So you started to become more distant with Fili, hoping not too catch feelings or get too attached. Fili was quick to catch on as soon as you started to cut conversations short and distance yourself from The Company. One night when he had the chance, he figured he’d confront you about it.

You sat alone in the dark, away from the campfire where the rest of the Dwarves were gathered, singing to yourself. You were unaware that Fili wasn’t far off, just coming to talk to you. He stopped when he heard you singing.

Oh, I hope some day I'll make it out of here Even if it takes all night or a hundred years Need a place to hide, but I can't find one near Wanna feel alive, outside I can fight my fear Isn't it lovely, all alone? Heart made of glass, my mind of stone Tear me to pieces, skin and bone Hello, welcome home...

“That was beautiful, Y/N.” Startled, you nearly jumped from your seat. You realized it was Fili who spoke, and calmed down. Without another word, he came to sit beside you.

“Oh, thanks. It’s just a song from my world..”

He hummed, “Do you miss your world?” You didn’t make eye contact with Fili, and instead continued to stare off into the sky.

“More than anything. Gandalf said he’d take me to Rivendell and speak with some Elves to see if there’s a way I can get back home..” Fili felt his heart shatter. You were going back home? As much as he liked you, he knew it would be selfish to make you stay in a place you didn’t belong in. 

“Y/N, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something..”

You give him a confused look, and turn to face him. “And what’s that?” He took a breath and opened his mouth to speak, but stayed silent and shook his head. “Fili?”

“I don’t know if this is a thing in your world, but us each of us Dwarves have a One. Which means we only have one love, and we don’t marry after that, so..-”

“Fili, what are you trying to say?” you ask, heart beating fast. Is he about to say what you think he is? 

He sighs and takes your hand in his. “As soon as I saw you in the forest, I knew you were my One. You may not feel the same since we’re born in different worlds, and I know you’re going to have to leave, but please..” Fili gives you a sad look, causing tears to well in your eyes. 

“Can you pretend to love me back just for tonight?”

“I don’t have to pretend,” you say. At that, he pulls you into a sweet, passionate kiss. You don’t fight back, and wrap your arms around his shoulder while straddling him, deepening the kiss. Fili’s hands wander up the tunic you had borrowed from him, cupping your breasts. You let out a small moan into the kiss, encouraging him to keep going. He parted from the kiss, and placed his soft lips on your neck, slowly moving down to your collarbone as if he was trying to memorize your skin. You pulled your arms away from him and quickly undid your tunic, throwing it off you. Fili moved back to get a good look at you, causing you to blush.

“Y/N, you’re beautiful.” The way your named rolled off his tongue sent tingles done your spine.

“Your turn,” you say boldly, catching him off guard. He quickly undos his own tunic, shrugging it off him. You ran your hands up and down his chest, causing him to shiver slightly. He again dove in to attack your neck with kisses, now more eager but no less gentle. He continued to litter your chest with kisses and love bites, until he made it to the waistband of your pants. Fili looked up at you with longing eyes.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’ve never been more sure in my life, Fili. Please.”

He went back in for another kiss and slowly lowered you onto the grass. Without parting the kiss, Fili tugged at your pants, and eventually pulled it off, leaving you in your undergarments. He again leaned back to get a look at your body from head to toe. Fili began rubbing your inner thighs, but moved up to caress your face lovingly. 

“I’m going to miss this..”

“Then treasure it tonight, my love.”

[ruvikkin-art]

The two made their way outside and Lenny was lucky to catch himself before he vomit all over the porch of the sheriff's office. Arthur grimaced and turned away, blinking at the sunlight since he hadn’t fully adjusted to it. “So… Charles huh?” Arthur perked slightly at hearing Lenny say his name and glared at him. Lenny was younger than him, probably drank a lot less, so of course he’d remember anything Arthur said. “What about Charles?”

Arthur was mad when he rode back up to camp.

He hated debt collecting, hated seeing the poor people who had struck a deal with Strauss, he hated the fact that he seemed to be the only one who ever did it, and he sure as hell hated going on chases just for some petty amount of money. After he arrived back and dropped the money in the box Strauss had walked over and handed him a slip of paper, telling him that he had forgotten someone, a rancher he had run into in Valentine. Arthur shrugged it off, he knew who Strauss was talking about because he had seen the man preaching in the middle of town- and the rancher had even tried to give Arthur advice about his ‘flower problem.’

Going into town now was hard, he had heard people talking when he was down there about how he had ‘flowers in his lungs’ and some people actively avoided him. He didn’t know if that was because they thought he’d infect them or because of the bar fight, but it made him all the more upset about his situation. He wanted to talk to Charles, every part of him wanted to know if the flowers would spread and kill him or if they’d go away, but he was nervous for what felt like the first time.

He’d had girls before, Mary and Eliza, but they were women and that was a whole different world from falling for a guy. Yes, he knew Hosea and Dutch had been a thing for a long time and they were never bothered by people turning their heads and giving them looks. Eliza had once told Arthur one evening while walking through town that he needed to stop caring what other people thought of him. Mostly people just called him stupid or just a big idiot and he didn’t really mind that. What he minded was the looks people would give him if they knew who he was or if he had done something that might seem stupid to another person. Those were the looks he got when riding into Valentine now.

Arthur decided to go take his anger out on the O’Driscoll they had brought back, Kieran he said his name was but Arthur didn’t pay that any mind. He scowled and walked over to the boy tied to the tree and heard him plea to be let go. Arthur got ready to punch him in the gut- face or whatever- when Dutch strolled over with Bill.

“Hold your horses there!” Dutch grinned and walked over, obviously smug about something. “It seems the cat has our friend heres tongue. I was thinking Mr. Williamson could have a word.” Dutch ushered to Bill, who got close to the O’Driscolls face and practically spat in it while speaking to him.

“I told you all! I don’t know nothin’ they ain’t no friends of mine. I just been ridden with them for awhile-”

“Horseshit! We heard that part so how about you tell us the truth?” It became obvious quickly that the O’Driscoll still wasn’t going to talk and Bill scoffed, turning to Dutch. “What should I do Dutch?” “Hurt him! So the next time he opens his mouth it is to tell us whats going on.” Dutch glared at the O’Driscoll who had turned and looked away, whimpering as he knew he’d get punched if he didn’t speak up. “Ah who am I kiddin’. One of O’Driscolls boys couldn’t open his mouth but he’d tell a lie. Screw it, lets have some fun. Geld him.” Dutchs words made Arthur blink in surprise, he hadn’t expected Dutch to throw out a threat like that, and for Bill to just walk off so easily and grab something sharp made a shiver run up his spine.

“Whats he doin- wheres he goin?!” The O’Driscoll was obviously panicked as he watched Dutch tug his pants off and finally everything clicked. Arthur hoped to himself that he would just speak so they didn’t have to deal with the screaming that came with this. He’d seen it happen only once to someone, some man who was caught having an affair, and Arthur swore to himself he’d never watch it again. He hoped Dutch thought the same thing. Bill made his way back over and held the hot metal down by the O’Driscolls balls, getting dangerously close which made the O’Driscoll shake and shout at them.

“-Now you are going to talk the question is, now or after we get those little fellers off?” With that he finally gave in, finally speaking.

“Okay! Okay Listen. I know where O’Driscolls holed up, and you’re right he don’t like you any more than you like him. He’s at six point cabin! I’ll take you there, serious. I don’t like him. I like him less than I like you. No offense.” Arthur scoffed at the words, he knew Colm didn’t treat anyone right but knowing that the O’Driscoll tied to the tree and almost had his balls cut off still liked Dutch more than Colm, just made it all the better to go and kill him.

“Okay then partner, why don’t you take a few of us up there right now.” Arthur pulled his knife out and cut the rope tying the O’Driscoll to the tree. He let the O’Driscoll pull his pants up before leading him away, calling over Bill and John to ride with him.

“John you take this rattlesnake up with you, any nonsense you kill him.” John shrugged and agreed, getting on his horse first before he let the O’Driscoll climb up.

With John leading the way the four of them left camp, with Arthur just barely catching the look Charles was giving him- one that spoke a thousand words and one that made his heart ache. He didn’t know how much Charles had seen, but considering the man looked disappointed then he probably heard all of it. Arthur coughed into his fist as they rounded the corner and swore to himself. He’d talk to Charles when he got back.

`````````

Arthur wasn’t any happier after shooting up the O’Driscoll camp. He had slipped up, almost got shot and Kieran had to come up and save him and of course Colm wasn’t even there. He had gotten away with a new gun and some cash, but all it really ended up doing was stirring up the law around them so Arthur didn’t even have a chance to look for anything more before he had to high tail it out of there. As he rode back into camp he noticed Charles was nowhere in sight, he had probably gone out hunting which threw a wrench in Arthurs plan to talk to him. He got off his horse and decided to talk to Dutch about what had happened, if John and Bill hadn’t told him why Kieran came back safe and alive without the threat of being tied to a tree, he was sure Dutch would want to know. Dutch was in his tent reading with Molly and it made Arthur wonder again why Molly had even joined up with them, this life wasn’t her style and she barely did any work around the camp but Dutch let it pass.

“Dutch, Miss O’Shea.” He tipped his hat down to her and Molly simply nodded, closing the book up as Dutch stood looking as happy as ever.

“Arthur, it feels like we are finally getting back on our feet.” Arthur nodded in agreement, it seemed like someone had explained it to him so Arthur decided it was best to not bring it up.

“Yeah. You find a buyer for those bonds yet?” Dutch shook his head and lit a cigar, assuring Arthur that Hosea was working on it. “When are we movin’ west Dutch?” Dutch let his shoulder slump at the question.

“Soon. I don’t know.” Dutch sat in the chair outside his tent and took a long drag from his cigar.

“It feels like… Like the whole worlds turnin’ on us Dutch. Like folk like us, we ain’t wanted no more. We’re bein�� hunted.” Dutch couldn’t help but chuckle at the statement, shaking his head.

“We are smarter than them. Only the feeblest of men take a job in the government.” Arthur agreed, but before he could get the words out he heard the sound of hurried horse hooves and Lenny shouting along with them, something about Micah. Arthur was quick and alert as Lenny jumped off his horse, stumbling and looking like a wreck. The two of them made their way over to Lenny who was very much shaken by something.

“Dutch! Arthur! They got Micah! He- He’s been arrested for murder. He was in Strawberry and-”

“Its okay son, breathe.” Dutch put his hands up to try and calm Lenny down. Lenny let out a sigh and bent down, catching his breath finally.

“They nearly lynched me. They got Micah in the sheriffs in Strawberry, and theres talk of hanging him.”

“Heres’ hopin.” Arthur nodded and Dutch just about smacked him upside the head, saying his name in a disappointed tone. “What? The fool brought this on himself. You know my feelings about him Dutch.”

“You think I can’t see past his bluster to the heart inside?” Arthur almost scoffed, he knew Micah didn’t have a heart but if Dutch thought someone did there was no talking him out of it. Arthur tried to argue out of heading out to get Micah but it was no use. Dutch told him to go get Micah, and then when they both noticed how Lenny was still shaking he told Arthur to get Lenny into Valentine and get him drunk. That one Arthur could do with ease, as for Micah he’d love to see him hang if he was given the opportunity.

Arthur took Lenny down to the bar, asking him about Micah and what he had done on the ride down. Hearing Micah was drinking while scouting made him angry and then hearing he had killed someone just make his blood boil. He knew that sooner or later Dutch would need to know about this, and he figured after he had taken Lenny to calm down and pulled Micahs ass out of jail he could tell Dutch the whole story with Lenny.

When the two of them walked into the building they got looks from the patrons, which Arthur promptly ignored as he made a beeline to the bar, ordering himself and Lenny each a drink while tipping out the bartender with an assurance that he wasn’t planning to get into a fight tonight.

“Just one drink, right Arthur?” Arthur nodded and took his drink, clinking it against Lennys.

“O’ course. Just one.” Arthur pressed the bottle against his mouth and tipped it back, easily finishing off his first drink for the night.

```````

“Arthur! Arthur!” Lennys voice woke Arthur up and he groaned, sitting up and rubbing his face. His head was throbbing which only made Lennys voice seem to echo around him. “You alive?”

“Shut up…” Arthur rubbed his eyes and he heard the lawman laughing at them. Drunken violence apparently, he didn’t remember enough to start an argument about it and just waved it off while Lenny gave the guy ten dollars so they could walk out. The two made their way outside and Lenny was lucky to catch himself before he vomit all over the porch of the sheriff's office. Arthur grimaced and turned away, blinking at the sunlight since he hadn’t fully adjusted to it.

“So… Charles huh?” Arthur perked slightly at hearing Lenny say his name and glared at him. Lenny was younger than him, probably drank a lot less, so of course he’d remember anything Arthur said.

“What about Charles?”

“Asked you last night who you’re coughing up flowers for and you went on tellin’ me about Charles and how great he is.” Arthur sighed and covered his face, of course he had done just that. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him, ain’t my place to anyway.” Lenny wiped his mouth off and called his horse over, climbing onto it. “I’m heading back to camp, I gotta sleep this headache off.”

“Go on ahead, I got shit to get to anyway.” Arthur sat down on the porch and covered his eyes as Lenny rode away. He waited until the world stopped spinning before he got up and whistled his horse over and mount onto her.

He rode out of town before he stopped, leaning over the side of his horse to vomit as his head continued bangining. Arthur was angry at himself for slipping up and telling Lenny who he was pining after- who he was in love with technically- and he could only be grateful it was Lenny and not someone like Bill or Pearson who was with him. Lenny was good at keeping his mouth shut when he needed to and he knew that Lenny wouldn’t judge him on it. Arthur still scowled at himself and rode off on his horse, he figured he could pay that Downes man a visit while his head was still pounding before he got Micah out of jail, he didn’t want to go talking to a sheriff and end up vomitting on him if his head didn’t stop spinning.

The ride down to the Downes place was uneventful, with his head soothing from the fresh air and a drink of water on the way down. Upon arriving he could hear Thomas coughing already and remembered the man was sick every time he saw him in town. Arthur sighed and got off his horse, making his way over to the field where the man was working. “Thomas Downes.” Thomas turned and looked at him, seeming scared all of a sudden. “You owe me money.”

“I’m afraid your trip here-” Thomas was stopped by a cough and Arthur watched him carefully, noticing the blood coming out of his mouth. He made a choice then and there not to get any closer to Thomas than he already was- he didn’t want to get sick and really beating up a sick man for a couple of dollars made even his stomach flip. “Your trip here has been in vain.”

“We ain’t a charity Mister Downes.” Arthur leaned on the fence and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it quickly. Thomas put his hands up a bit and shook his head.

“Please, I have a family we just need a bit of time. I’ve been sick I-” He stopped again and bent over, hacking up more blood onto the ground. Arthur grimaced at the sight and took a long drag of his cigarette while he watched the man hacking and wheezing in front of him.

“You better get that damn money you borrowed, its payday.” Arthur could hear the door of the house swing open and he saw Thomas wife and son rush outside, probably running as they saw him coughing and of course Arthur looked suspicious as hell.

“Thomas!” The wife rushed up to her husband while the son stood off to the side. Arthur put his cigarette out and shook his head, going back over to his horse.

“You owe us some money, I’ll give you time since he’s sick but you better have it next time I come or he wo

n’t be so lucky.” Arthur didn’t wait for a reply from any of the family before he rode off quickly on his horse. The threat felt heavy in the air even as he was well out of sight of the farm, he knew explaining to Strauss that the man didn’t have the money yet wouldn’t go over well but Strauss wouldn’t do anything to him, and if Dutch asked he could easily wave it off as the man being on his deathbed and it felt wrong to beat him.

Arthur checked his map and decided it was time to head to Strawberry and get Micah out of jail before he’d head back to camp. At least he could do that much, and maybe he’d get hunting done on the way home to compensate for the Downes situation.

[muzeez]

Sunday

10th May 2020

Sunday

21:22

Today has been cloudy and windy and guess what?? There's been no sign of Henrietta, Merlin, Persia or Folie. They've kept their behinds indoors all day long. It's not rained and it's not been cold but it's not been good enough for them.

So, a cloudy sky and a slight wind can keep them indoors but the thought of a killer disease that they could inadvertently kill others with can't keep them indoors. Which just proves my point. Most people will only play by their own rules, no matter how dangerous the consequences are to others. Yet, they'll be the very ones what bang on the most about how much they care about the NHS and moan about how lockdown is affecting them so badly. When the sun's been out they've not even tried to stay inside. They've just been doing what they've always done on a sunny day and today they've done what they've always done on a non-sunny day.

I've still had to have my white noise playing all day though because Henrietta has been "facetiming" and talking loudly and obnoxiously. At about 5pm ish,I turned my white noise off because I needed to phone Rasbach about something.

As soon as I turned it off, the first thing I noticed was that Henrietta was totally silent.??! Makes me wonder if she can hear my white noise and because she knows her voice isn't reaching me she gives up. Bitch!! Another thing I've noticed is that when I play my white noise, the window and door banging seems to begin. Henrietta with her windows (it can be like 6 or 7 window shutting slams all consecutive and aggressive. She's only got three windows.) Then there's Persia and Folie with the slamming of the doors. Then there's Merlin with his feet and thuds, like he's dropping a bowling ball on the floor.

It might sound like paranoia on my part when I say this but I believe they're all secretly messaging eachother in spite of and against me.

Maybe I am a little bit paranoid but I'm certainly not stupid. Not entirely anyway. 😂

At seven o'clock I turned it onto BBC1 because Boris Johnson was doing a speech about taking steps to lift the lockdown. Suddenly, Henrietta started talking loud!!

'Bitch!' I thought to myself. Shows you how little of a f**k she gives about what's going on. Her facetiming is more important than the information we're about to receive on coming out of lockdown. Also, I found it odd that she would start smack on seven o'clock.

I turned the tele up so her high pitch, irritating, aggressive, nasal voice wasn't cutting into Boris's words but I could still hear her. I sighed in exasperation and jumped to my feet (without making a thud on the floor... it's possible) and went to my little stereo to put my white noise on. It's only that that seems to drowned her out. Cue the banging and the slamming. The white noise doesn't drown that out.

If I ever confront them. I say 'them' because they're in a click and I know that if I'm confronting one they'll all be jumping in. If I confront them about things, they'll probably turn around and be like, 'oh what about you, the other day, slamming your door and screaming and what about when you play your music and what about that white noise and what about when you're talking.

Door slamming and screaming abuse. There's a big difference between one off episodes of out of control rage and malicious, continuous deliberate banging and slamming and talking loud on a daily basis.

Playing my music and singing. I play my music at a reasonable time during the day at a volume that I'm entitled to play it at that time of day. I've never played my music late at night, which funnily enough Henrietta has, when she's had karaoke parties and Merlin has on a couple of occasions on a Saturday and Friday nights through to daylight. Which, I don't mind, music is a good thing but don't dare have a go at me for playing mine loud during the day.

White Noise. Henrietta, you talk extremely loudly and not just on one off occasions. Ev-er-y single day for 10 whole years. Somedays, I've known you to start your "facetiming" at 8am in the morning and you'll carry on all through the day, through to the evening and you've even carried on till after 12 midnight, shouting and laughing and making childish yobbish jeering noises like you're in the middle of a bustling nightclub. Over the years it's contributed to me drinking, developing ear infections because of using blu-tac as earplugs. These things have played a massive part in me having massive mood swings at work, to me becoming ill and being, I'll be totally honest, Mentally Unstable, you know, over a long stretch of time. Earlier this year, I discovered that white noise is the only thing that has drowned you out and stopped me having to have my tv on so loud. After 10 years of suffering with your shouting Henrietta and your constant heavy footed pacing the floor, you are not going to make out my white noise, which is a neutral noise by the way, is bothering you.

As for me talking. Again, there's a big difference between one off conversations I have on my phone, one off rants that I'll admit I've had, due to the exasperation you guys have put me through and constant agitated shouting, childish jeering, heavy footed pacing, loud SEX, (yes I heard that). Things which are constant and relentless and I feel alot of the time malicious and deliberately inconsiderate. There's a massive difference between my noise and your noise. Mainly because it's your noise that has triggered the majority of my noise and I'm NOT doing mine out of malice.

Also, don't get me started with drunken returns from the pub with Jack the drunk. Screaming abuse effing and blinding, dropping trails of kebab meat allover the foyer, crashing into the walls. Those haven't been one offs either, they've been every single night. Late.

Then there's Persia. Folie's not always been on the scene but having Persia next door has had more than it's fair shares of trouble. Different boyfriend every month, thugs trying to kick her door in then making gun gestures towards MY window shouting 'WATCH! WATCH!" Blatant drug purchases right outside the building.

All that what I've had to put up with from you guys and then you all wanna get into a little exclusive click with eachother, clapping for the NHS but then creating your own rules when it comes to lockdown , so-called "social distance" gatherings right outside my window and outside the main entrance of the building where other people have to pass you all, attracting other individuals from other buildings to approach, chatting, faces uncovered, 2 metre rules gradually turning into 1 metre, drinking alcohol. You welcome Asbo George with open arms who lives God knows where and who once threatened to smash my face in and put my windows through and doesn't even fucking LIVE HERE.

You're all laughing and joking and being boisterous, then I stop by for 5 seconds on my way to get essentials and you're putting on an amicable act but I'm picking up on all the little mannerisms and body language and you allowed that Bastard Asbo George to start having a go at me about stuff at work, which he's totally wrong on and slagging off my friend Rasbach then waving sarcastically at me when I go inside.

All these subtle shady behaviours all because what? Because you've maybe heard some raw hometruths about yourselves in my one off meltdowns. Which you can't prove I was talking about any of you anyway because I don't mention people's real names when I'm ranting or talking on the phone when it comes to complaints. So, if you think you've heard your name you've MISheard but that's what happens when you evesdrop, you can get the wrong end of the stick (apart from when I hear someone telling someone else that I work at ******* and mimicking a banging noise just after I had banged on the floor.) And even IF I had used your proper names, so fucking what? I'm saying nothing that isn't true and what I've suffered, at your hands, this last ten years totally outweighs any anything you can say against me. I'm not saying I'm perfect but I'm pretty damn fucking close. Because I think, I'm a thinker, I take people to heart, I learn people's names, I'm aware of people and who they are as people. I don't have a desire to mess with people's heads, I don't set out to manipulate people or make friends with a person just for the sake of alienating another. I set out to treat everyone with respect and like human beings because I am one.

So, maybe it's about time you as my neighbours started taking a leaf out of my book and stop acting territorial over a building that we are ALL tenants in. You don't own the outside of this building, just you four. There's other people that live here including me and you need to stop being clicky with eachother, so you think you've got the power to behave as you want, sit where you want and ostracize people just because you don't like the look of their face. Everybody here is a tennant and everybody is a human being with equal rights and if I'm forced to confront any of you again about your unreasonable, inconsiderate persecutory behaviour, towards me or any of the other tennants and you try again to argue with me and throw things back at me, I will report you without any hesitation and I won't be as polite as I'm being now.

Maybe you can start behaving right now by getting your arses indoors and abiding PROPERLY to these lockdown regulations.

Don't make me suggest it twice. 😁😁😁😁😁

Oh and Henrietta, if Asbo George turns up, you ignore the door because he's nothing but a user and a bully. I know you've been letting him in your flat and I also know that deep down you are worried about your health and Coronavirus but you feel you can't say no to him and to looking after his dog. If he starts being persistent you call the police. Don't let him push you around. He's an arsehole and if the police are useless or he starts turning nasty and I have to come downstairs and run his ugly arse out the building, I will. Because right now, I'm in the fucking mood cos if he thinks he can be threatening and intimidating, I'll show him threatening and intimidating. In fact, I'll make it so he daren't even show his claaart passed his own front door.