#can you tell its my first time drawing sierra

[xyaltos]

aa noco doodles mostly fanart for @starryluminary 's au bc i felt like drawing some of the scenes in my style ＿|￣|○

[that-one-pretty-bitch]

Hi! Can you please do sierra agriche x fem shy child reader. Of course platonic. The reader was adopted by the agriche because she's an orphan and wants to be with sierra agriche because she sees her as her late mother. Also on side note, even though Roxana didn't not spend much time with sierra, let Roxana have a sister bond together along with sierra since I love sierra more than other characters pls.

Yessss babe, this is such a cute request, I was screaming while making this.

𝒮𝒾𝑒𝓇𝓇𝒶 𝒾𝓈 𝓁𝒾𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓈𝑜 𝓀𝒾𝓃𝒹, 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇!!

         ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯

                ↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤:

Okay, so your father was a business partner of Lant’s and Lant had been close with your father.

Your mansion broke into a fire. You were not home at the time and realized that you had lost your parents through servants that made it out alive.

You had to have been from a powerful family and there was lots of potential in you.

Lant knew that your family was very powerful and you would grow up to be powerful too. So you were a perfect addition to the family.

However everyone in this mansion was out of their mind and he did not know who he should ask to take care of you.

Sierra was walking by when you tiny self just flung onto her, you most likely screamed “Mommy!!”, taking Sierra by surprise.

She just thought you were so cute and missed her own babies so she picked you up and hugged you. There were definitely tears in her eyes as she hugged you tightly.

Well, Lant’s problem was solved. From now on Sierra would raise you.

He spoke to Sierra about raising you to be a true Agriche and she agreed.

Sierra was really loving and constantly dotted on you

Probably a few days in you met Maria, Sierra’s wife and Maria ADORED you.

It's canon that Maria likes pretty things and you were a very pretty kid so Maria also doted on you.

Now you have two loving moms.

Soooo Sierra would be the kind of mom that would force you to eat vegetables and less junk food. Whereas Maria would be that dad mom that would secretly give you a candy bar or chocolate cake and say stuff like, “Shhh~ don’t tell Sierra okay?”

It was about time the others noticed you.

Charlotte secretly liked being an older sister even though she would never admit it. She would always bring you candies and toys but never admitted that she brought them for you like, “Roxana told me to give these to you,”

You knew Charlotte was the one who got it though.

Grizelda was the cool older sister that you looked up to. She would read with you and teach you how to draw and write.

Grizelda was literally so patient with you omg. She would reward you with dark chocolate mints they tasted like shit, because she cared about your health.

Grizelda was that strict mom kind that would take away any candy from you that looked too sugary. Because sugar was bad for you.

You once gave Grizelda an awfully made drawing of the two of you and her heart melted.

"Lwok swistaw its uwssss"

ISTG reader you are too precioussssss

Roxana would act like she wanted nothing to do with you at first but eventually she would give in. ( In like a day )

Roxana would be the sister that would bring you nice dresses and jewelry. She would always give you fashion inspiration even though you were like 6.

Roxana would also secretly poison your food to build your tolerance and you would find out YEARS later and be like…. ????? You poisoned my food????

As you grow older Roxana would also teach you the arts of seduction, because you were pretty and pretty people are weapons.

She would keep you away from her poisonous butterflies and protect you from some of the gruesome scenes that happened when Sierra was busy having a panic attack.

Dion was like that mysterious older brother.

He would randomly pop into your room in the middle of the night, covered in blood with the toy you wanted in his hands.

He would buy the things you wanted whenever he was out on his mission

Okay hear me out : Sugar daddy material-

Also one who would sneak you yummy snack and then be scolded by Sierra, Roxana and Grizelda. ( The moms squad )

He would show you different kinds of weapons and think you were taking an interest in them

While you were sitting on his lap and reading he would randomly hand you a dagger and tell you to go stab a maid that wasn’t doing her job properly. He would even demonstrate for you.

Jeremy was the older brother that was more immature than you-

Hear me out, whenever you cried and threw a tantrum he would join in.

So basically, Roxana had to take care of two annoying children.

You and Jeremy are part of the Roxana fan club that Fountain tried to join but you both kicked him out.

Y/n 🤝Jeremy —> Adoring Roxana

If anything happened to you Jeremy would be the first one to commit arson.

Cassis had once called you adorable and the next day the Pedelian mansion was up in flames.

This was the work of your ~~Very~~overprotective brother Jeremy

So overall your life was good, you had it easy. Everyone loved you, cute baby.

[brilla-brilla-estrellita]

15 Question, 15 People

Thanks for the tag @martsonmars ! I love this kind of stuff. But first…

Fifteen people??? Ok. I can do this. I tried to do a quick check to see if any of you have done it already, but I also didn’t try too hard: @ic3-que3n @onepintobean @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @thewholelemon @alexalexinii @palimpsessed @skeedelvee @youarenevertooold @agni-ashes @cutestkilla @iamamythologicalcreature @ileadacharmedlife @bookish-bogwitch @theimpossibledemon @whogaveyoupermission

1. Are you named after anyone?

Nope! My mom wanted a name that sounded good in both English and Spanish. She looked at a map for inspiration and saw the Sierra Madre Occidental range in Mexico and the Sierra Nevada range in California and went "aha!"

Sierra has never been a super popular name, at least not spelled my way, and she'd never heard it before, so it was perfect! Imagine her dismay when a few years later we discovered another Sierra, one year older, living a couple streets over in our tiny neighborhood. I also went to high school with one other Sierra. The mid-nineties was "Sierra's" time to shine, apparently.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Yesterday

3. Do you have kids?

Nope

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

I’ve recently realized I don’t use it as often as I think I do, but I think it’s still pretty often.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

I think it’s their expression, particularly if they are smiling or not. If they are, what kind of smile is it? Is it telling me they don’t want to be here/don’t want to be talking to me? If they aren’t, do they look upset/frustrated or just busy or distracted?

6. What’s your eye color?

I think I’ve settled on grey. It changes drastically depending on what I’m wearing. Sometimes I look and they’re super blue. Other times I’m like wow those are so obviously green. Most of the time I’m like “wtf is this color?” My mom used to say they were “blue, like the ocean,” but I think we need to specify that it’s the ocean during a storm. A little grey, a little green, a little blue. Depends on which ocean and which storm.

7. Scary movie or happy endings?

Happy endings! I like some scary movies, but really I’m all about a happy ending.

8. Any special talents?

Ummmmm…. Mr. Brilla says my special talent is dropping stuff I had a solid hold on a second ago.

9. Where were you born?

Texas

10. What are your hobbies?

I’m a hobby collector. I try stuff and drop them all the time. I lean toward crafty or creative hobbies, like embroidery and cross stitch, sewing, drawing, writing, painting minis. I also love to dance (social and ballroom— partner dances) and sing (by myself in the car/shower…), and read.

11. Do you have any pets?

A chihuahua mix (mostly chihuahua) named Dulce!

12. What sports do you play/have you played?

I played soccer for 2 seasons when I was 7 because I liked being on a team and wearing a uniform, but I hated practice and games and, you know, playing soccer. I also tried gymnastics for a day and cried. I’ve never been a sports kid.

I do social dancing now, which still ain’t competitive, but it could be, ya know?

13. How tall are you?

5’2”

14. Favorite subject at school?

(American) schools try really hard to make interesting stuff really boring and hard. I think my favorite was Spanish because I already knew quite a bit and already loved the language and was very good at it from the start. It was easy and I got to learn more about something I already loved.

If school were better, I would have loved more subjects because I love learning, in general. I find history and social studies and cultural studies all absolutely fascinating. I also find sciences really interesting, as well, but the classes were so rough in school that they were never a favorite subject. Math had its moments, too, but again… not always the greatest teachers or curriculum. I love reading and was very good at essays, so English/lit were ok, but the books were soooo hit or miss for me.

15. Dream job?

My dream job would be part-time teaching a high school Computer Science class (and would throw in Spanish I, too!) and part-time software engineer at some sort of “tech-for-good” company working in something worthwhile and/or cool.

[nightingaelic]

I was reading your "Fallout 4 companions meet Arcade Gannon" reacts when I had an idea. FO4 companions reaction to visiting the Mojave Wasteland with the Sole Survivor.

"She was Boston, I was Vegas

She was Crêpes Suzette, I was pie

She was lectures, I was movies, but I loved her."

- Frank Sinatra, 1981, "I Loved Her"

Cait: "I've never been much of a gambler, but where there's gambling, there's usually a good time to be had."

While Cait finds the casinos of the Strip a little too ritzy for her liking, she rather enjoys the smaller, satellite venues: The Atomic Wrangler in Freeside, the Vikki and Vance casino in Primm, even the saloons in Goodsprings and the Mojave Outpost (the latter of which being where she foolishly engages in a drinking contest with Cass and happily gets her ass kicked). Her greatest enjoyment, however, comes upon discovery of the Thorn in Westside, with its arranged bouts between wasteland critters and the opportunity to go a round yourself if you're feeling lucky. Instead of the trapped horror she felt when the Combat Zone was taken over by raiders and she was forced to fight, Cait revels in the glory she reaps when choosing to face off against a fire gecko, a night stalker or a cazador with her trusty baseball bat. By the time the visit is over, she and Red Lucy have grown close, and the Thorn's mistress is going around openly calling Cait "my hunter."

Codsworth: "Ah, Las Vegas! Why, I can recall when you considered a quick getaway to this paradise just before young master Shaun's arrival. It appears we aren't too late, after all."

Codsworth is somewhat comforted by the lack of overt nuclear devastation in New Vegas, but that feeling wears off as soon as the first set of thugs in Freeside tries to corner him and the sole survivor and take their caps. Once the would-be muggers are laid out on the ground, Codsworth abandons his rose-colored glasses and puts his quippy, dismayed personality back on. Still, he loves the Strip, particularly the Ultra-Luxe with its refined guests, decor and hygienic practices, but he quickly sours on their hoity-toity attitudes. Instead, Codsworth turns to the presence of the NCR as a sign that civilization is creeping back into the wasteland. He's also tickled pink by the Kings and the Chairmen, but not the mobster-esque Omertas: They remind him too much of the pre-war mob activity in good old Boston.

Curie: "Excusez-moi, but what is that structure there? The tallest one, with the blinking lights."

Curie is thrilled to be out in the desert, observing the local populace and documenting their survival techniques, social structures and power struggles. She's fascinated with the area's history, and drags the sole survivor along to seek out the Mojave's most (in)famous individuals to record their stories for her research into post-war civilization. This lands her in quite a few questionable situations, but her general attitude of perseverance and wide-eyed wonder about the world open a lot of doors for her. She makes a lot of friends at the Old Mormon Fort among the Followers of the Apocalypse, though most of them assume her frustration about her own "biological reactions to extreme living conditions" is just her complaining about the heat like everyone else. Arcade's pretty sure she's a robot, though he's too polite to ask about it outright.

Danse: "We're close now, to the birthplace of the Brotherhood of Steel. This is an honor I never thought I'd experience."

Though it's boiling hot inside his power armor under the desert sun, Paladin Danse is overjoyed that he's accompanying the sole survivor on this journey into the cradle of the ideology that he's devoted to. He's heard about the Mojave from Brotherhood of Steel veterans, those who traveled with Elder Lyons when they initially came to the Capital Wasteland and those who accompanied Elder Maxson when he was just a Squire, and he keeps spouting off random trivia about the area. Any run-ins with disillusioned Scribe Veronica might leave him a bit put out, but it's overall a fun trip for him through a part of the continent that's a little less smashed to rubble than the rest of the world. He especially enjoys visiting the NCR and Brotherhood military outposts, if only to offer critiques and suggestions to any soldiers that give him the time of day.

Deacon: "Sheesh, visiting the Mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter, am I right?"

Deacon has been here before. Well, he doesn't actually say he's been here before, but he keeps dropping hints to the sole survivor that he's somehow on a return trip. He knows the legends of the Sierra Madre and the Blue Star treasures offhand, he has a whole conversation with the Securitrons guarding the Strip about what happened to Robert House, he even knows how to competently play Caravan. Every time the sole survivor asks him about how he knows so much, though, Deacon just grins and keeps chugging his Sunset Sarsaparilla. Obviously no one recognizes him by face, but he does have a setting-appropriate wardrobe along that includes NCR bandoleer armor, a coat-tailed tuxedo, top hat and White Glove Society mask, and a black leather jacket to go with his pompadour wig.

Dogmeat: [curiously sniffs everything]

Dogmeat can't figure out why this place is so dang dry, but he's on his best behavior for the sole survivor as they make their way over the dusty roads of the Mojave. He politely greets each other traveler on the roads, who keep asking his companion where they got "a non-cyber cyberdog." For the most part though, the trip is pretty in line with everywhere Dogmeat goes: Big rodents, big bugs, tired people and plenty of ruins to explore. Dogmeat's one outstanding adventure comes in the form of an attempted kidnapping by some of the Kings, who think their leader needs a new dog after Rex hit the road with some fool. The King doesn't take kindly to this, and graciously has the dog returned to his friend.

Hancock: "Oh, man, how does anyone live out here? I'm drying out, I feel like a radroach husk."

Hancock is having the time of his life in the Mojave, apart from constantly complaining about how he prefers the Commonwealth's weather. He's chummy with everyone, but especially with the ghouls he encounters. He buys Raul a bunch of drinks and asks him about his past, he suggests future career paths and hobbies for Calamity, and he is absolutely enchanted with Beatrix the dominatrix. He's also rowdy enough to attract the ire of nearly every casino in New Vegas: The White Glove Society seethes when the sole survivor points out that his Revolutionary War outfit technically meets the dress code, the Omertas howl when he starts encouraging the strippers and sex workers to band together and take over the casino, and the Vault 21 dwellers keep asking if he's liable to turn feral. The Chairmen, however, treat him as something of a novelty and gift him with a seersucker suit to go with his jaunty personality.

MacCready: "You know, I played cards with a guy from out here once. He tried to teach me a game called... what was it, Candyman? Kilogram?"

MacCready has the barest smattering of knowledge about the Mojave Wasteland, and he keeps injecting it into conversations no matter how inaccurate it is. He's fascinated with the sole survivor's recollections of what Vegas was like before the Great War, and his expectations are sky-high by the time they arrive on the city's outskirts. Those expectations are absolutely met once inside the Strip, even if the sole survivor's are let down. MacCready is just tickled by the existence of a city that is solely dedicated to parting you from your caps, and he settles into each new business for the express purpose of people-watching. He only tries gambling once, and immediately quits after he loses all of his pocket change.

Valentine: "Good old Las Vegas. Somehow, I'm not surprised it's still got a reputation as 'Sin City,' even this long after the bombs."

The Nick Valentine of old never visited Las Vegas, but he certainly knew about it well enough for the Nick Valentine of today to draw on those impressions. He's extra-wary about the city as a result, an attitude not helped by the many people staring at him because of his detective getup, jagged edges and golden eyes. Some people are polite enough to walk up and ask what he is: Others offer to buy him off the sole survivor directly, much to Nick's chagrin. When James Garret offers him a thousand caps for "one night of his services," Nick puts his foot down and starts glaring at everyone who so much as walks up to him and the sole survivor during their trip. The exceptions to this rule are Veronica, who is extremely polite and non-invasive with her questioning; Arcade, who is too polite to even mention Nick's synthetic state; and Raul, who finds the whole thing hilarious but admits that his ghoul status has landed him in some similar situations.

Piper: "I've heard plenty of stories about this place, and if even a quarter of them are true, I ought to get a good travel piece out of just about anyone we pass on the street."

Piper's on a mission to track down the history of New Vegas, which, like Curie, sends her on a path toward its biggest political figures. Aside from them, she's particularly interested in the services of the Mojave, like the Gun Runners, the Crimson Caravan Company, and especially the Mojave Express. Piper gets along swell with just about everyone, and she basks in the widespread acceptance that she lacks back home due to her chosen profession. She desperately tries to get Johnson Nash to ship a case of Sunset Sarsaparilla cross-continent for her, but he gently turns her down and tells her that the only courier he knows crazy enough to undertake a trip to the Commonwealth is too busy nowadays.

Preston: "They're not too friendly to outsiders here, or so I'm told, but there are always good folks to be found if you know where to look."

Preston, true to form, offers help to every little settlement he and the sole survivor come through on their journey, which delays their path to Vegas quite a bit. He makes a beeline for the Old Mormon Fort as soon as he hears the Followers of the Apocalypse have a base there, though, and spends most of his visit picking the brain of its leaders about the best ways to aid those in need in the wasteland. He and Arcade get into some spirited debates about the pros and cons of having a civil service force focused on military matters versus civilian matters, and the Minutemen leader leaves the Mojave with a lot of new ideas to carry home to the Commonwealth.

Strong: "Strong not looking for 'good time,' puny human. Strong looking for thing that make super mutants stronger."

Strong hates New Vegas, but that's nothing unexpected. The sole survivor tries to limit their time in the city and take him around the desert to locales where super mutants are more likely to be found, which brings them to Jacobstown. Surprise surprise, Strong hates Jacobstown - at first. Little by little, through talking with Lily, the other nightkin, and Marcus, Strong starts to realize that the super mutants of the town are doing exactly what he values and sharing their resources among each other for the good of the community, just minus the usual violence associated with super mutants. He struggles with this alternative way of life for a bit, but eventually comes to accept that to be a super mutant, you don't have to constantly attack those around you to show off your strength.

X6-88: "Be careful. The Institute's records about this area indicate high levels of theft, murder, and unsavory characters. It would be best to keep our guard up."

Like Nick, X6-88 greets everyone in the Mojave with open suspicion, and can hardly be convinced to leave the sole survivor's side for their entire journey. His dedication to this task leads those around him to joke about him being "a human Securitron," which the sole survivor finds amusing: X6-88 does not. Still, the ability to hire and maintain a professional-looking bodyguard while visiting New Vegas doesn't go unnoticed, and most people assume that means the sole survivor has a lot of money to spend or be separated from by force. Criminals are more likely to be ruthless, hell-bent on stealing the loads of caps the sole survivor surely has tucked away. Business owners, on the other hand, are more polite to the pair on their travels, giving them better service and goods that ingratiate X6-88 a bit more to the common people aboveground.

BONUS!

Ada: "Jackson brought us out here once, when Zoe decided she wanted to try acquiring a Securitron. The leader of the Strip turned us down."

While Deacon is playing coy about his experience in the Mojave, Ada is completely open about hers. She hasn't been to the Strip, the dam, or any of the Mojave's "fun" destinations, but she remembers the Crimson Caravan Company headquarters, the 188 trading post, and many of the small towns along the way. Her fondest memories are of scavenging around the ruins of the REPCONN test site, the Aerotech Office Park and HELIOS One. She also recalls that her caravan friends came to visit primarily to find a Securitron to take apart and repurpose, but won't say exactly what happened when they tried to do so, other than warn the sole survivor "not to invite the wrath of the House."

Gage: "Now this is a town that knows how to run a successful racket. We need to find out who's in charge, see if they can give us some tips."

Porter Gage walks right up the steps of the Lucky 38 as soon as he finds out that someone inside is running the Strip, and demands that the Securitrons let him in to "talk to the boss." The robots aren't impressed, of course, and toss him out straightaway. Gage, not one to be discouraged easily, tries to find information among the nearby raider gangs instead: Fiends, Vipers, Jackals or Great Khans, he's not too picky. The current state of the raiders in the Mojave quickly informs him that they're failing one by one against the power of New Vegas, and he renews his efforts to find the recipient of the endless streams of caps. Thwarted at every turn, he and the sole survivor retire to Gomorrah, where they bemoan their bad luck while the courier sits a few seats down from them, listening in and smirking.

Longfellow: "Just point me to the nearest saloon. If I can't cool down, I'll try to forget I'm hot."

Longfellow parks himself at the nearest watering hole and does his best to avoid the scorching Mojave heat. The Maine-born grandpa is pretty miserable during the daytime hours unless he's sitting in front of a fan with a cold beer, swapping stories about Far Harbor critters with the bar regulars. At night he's a bit more open to adventuring with the sole survivor, when the desert cools down and he can see the sights by moonlight. Although he's not a fan of the hustle and bustle of the Strip, most of the large casinos there have air conditioning thanks to the Lucky 38, so he claims a table in the back and glares at anyone who disturbs him and his drink. He gets along with most of the New Vegas crowd though, if they agree to pick up the tab.

Maxson: "We came this way, when the Elders sent me to the East Coast. I wonder if the chapter here is still persevering."

Elder Maxson is surprisingly reluctant to visit the two things that the sole survivor would've thought he'd be interested to see in the Mojave: The Strip, or the Hidden Valley bunker. If pressed, he'll admit that he's not the type to cut loose and gamble, drink or participate in general debauchery as a result of his upbringing and position of authority, but neither is he keen to drop in on the dying Western chapters of his order and become stifled by protocol and ass-kissing. He prefers to wander the desert itself, seeking solitude among the cacti and under the stars. Given the chance, he'd probably nip off to Quarry Junction and anonymously solve the NCR's deathclaw problem, if it hasn't already been taken care of. He refuses to wear his uniform for the entire trip.

Desdemona: "The Mojave probably wouldn't know what to make of our mission, which is how you know it's a good place to hide. I wonder if any of our rescued synths made it out this far."

This is by far the most relaxed the sole survivor has ever seen Desdemona, and why wouldn't it be? She's so far removed from her usual sphere that she drops her usual, tight-knit demeanor and embraces loosening up. She's still not talking openly about the Railroad's operations, but she is more likely to answer questions both personal and professional. Like Deacon, she knows a bit about the Mojave, but not so much that she can blend in completely. Instead, she embraces being a tourist and does all the usual things that go with it: Visiting the Strip, the Sunset Sarsaparilla headquarters, the Thorn, and especially Hoover Dam. When she's looking out over Lake Mead, with the sun getting caught in her hair as it sets on her left, she almost looks happy.

[abbysfrenchbraid]

hi! i love all of your writing, especially your abby fanfics. i know you’re in the middle of your eivor series right now, so pls disregard if you don’t feel like writing this request or don’t want to write for abby, but i was wondering if you could maybe write a hurt/comfort type imagine where abby either comforts the reader when they’re sad or after they have a nightmare. i get really frequent nightmares and love to read fanfics like this but totally understand if you’re not into the idea. all the love and i hope you’re doing well; merry christmas if you celebrate!

so this is half a year late, but I finally have a little more time to go through my requests so here it is! this is also the first time I've actively avoided gendering the reader as I've gotten a few requests for a nonbinary or genderfluid reader. This is not a cop-out on that, I definitely want to write an explicitly nb reader but I figured this would make the reading experience better for quite a few people!

Summary: The reader has recently lost a family member and stranded with the WLF. They struggle with frequent panic attacks and nightmares. Abby notices and tries to take care of them.

CW for loss of a family member (sibling), death and grief, heavy trauma, panic attacks, anxiety, nightmares, and struggling to breathe. The nightmares are also fairly violent and creepy so please watch out for yourselves and only read this if you're in a good state of mind <3

I've Got You

The truck rattled as Leah drove it up the road to the WLF stadium. It had been a particularly rough day on patrol. You and the other wolf had run into a group of freshly infected that seemed to have been three families once. The children had been the worst. The youngest had probably been about ten years old before she had turned, her eyes bright blue and her blonde curls matted with dried blood. You had taken care of them all, of course you had. But it had been horrible. You folded your hands in your lap to keep them from shaking.

You had joined the WLF a few months ago after losing your team and your little sister in a clicker-infested cellar you had set up camp in. It had been so fucking stupid, so careless. But everyone had been tired, you hadn’t seen any infected in days, and so only one of you had kept watch. He barely had time to scream before the clicker had ripped out his throat. It had been chaos, madness, everyone scrambling to escape into the network of damp corridors and storage rooms, more and more clickers being drawn to you by the noise.

Leah raised her hand at the armed guards at the gate and they opened for your truck. The sun was setting behind you and most people were inside the stadium now, eating or spending time with friends. Both of you were quiet. Leah’s legs were covered in slowly darkening blood and the smell was nauseating. The tall wolf pulled the truck into its designated spot and took a deep breath.

“Y/N?” You looked up at her. The circles under her eyes could compete with yours, but her face was still as kind as ever.

“Yeah?”

“You take care of yourself today. Take a long shower, get something to eat. I’ll let Martha know to give you a double portion for dinner.”

You smiled faintly at her. This was how it was here. All the wolves had seen terrible things and probably done even worse. They all chose to let it out in training and then leave it behind them. No sense in holding on. You nodded.

“Thanks, Lee. See you in the gym tomorrow.”

The brunette grinned and patted your thigh.

“6 am sharp!” She jumped out of the car and gave back the keys at the checkpoint, then she vanished inside the stadium.

You stayed in your seat. Your fingers had cramped up and you were scared to unfold them, scared you would never be able to stop them from shaking again.

Sierra had held your hand all the way, not letting go as you dragged her through the darkness, fought off four infected, stumbled up stairs you had not come down on, and found yourself in a ravaged theater. You had run all night and only stopped when you were unable to go a single step further. When you had found a small pawnshop that you could lock up safely, you had made a bed of your jacket and a moth-eaten blanket from the theater. Sierra had started to cry. You would never forget the way dread had started to creep into your limbs, seeping into your skin and stretching dark tendrils toward your throat. You had rolled up Sierra’s sleeve and there it was. A relatively small mark, just the puncture wounds from two teeth turned into mean scratches as Sierra had pulled her arm from the jaws of a clicker and kept on running. But it had already begun to fester, the edges of the wound an angry red contrasting the white blisters forming around the site. It felt like the ground had been pulled from below your feet. You fell and fell, unable to speak, to do anything, just staring at the thing that meant the end of the world. The end of your baby sister.

A shout caught your attention - another car had returned to the stadium and was pulling into a spot a few paces away. It was Manny and Abby, everyone’s favorite duo. The attractive joker and the stoic warrior. They were among Leah’s best friends and she had introduced them to you a while ago, all of them welcoming you warmly. It had been strange, being part of a group again, a team. Your heart was still too sore.

So you had quietly pulled yourself out of most of the group evenings, the film nights and game nights and arm wrestling tournaments and what else there was to do. Manny had tried his luck flirting with you a few times and one time you had even joined him for a dance, but after realizing he wouldn’t land with you he had respectfully backed off and now treated you more like a little sister. Mel and Owen had been nice, too, both very secluded when they turned up together, but Owen was funny and enthusiastic and always yelled your name across the cafeteria or the training course when he saw you. He was one of the few people who could make you laugh no matter how hard you tried not to.

Nora was a whirlwind, the smartest person you had ever known and unfaltering no matter what the universe threw at her feet. She liked poetry and hard rock music, big men and even bigger women. You had often wondered whether she and Abby had ever hooked up. But you weren’t sure of anything concerning Abby. Always the stony face, the impenetrable wall, the arms-length smile and polite nod in the hallway. It could be infuriating at times. Especially because despite it all, against all your better judgment, you could feel yourself growing more and more interested in her, constantly looking for her in a crowd and sneaking side glances to see if she was listening to you or laughing at the same things.

The car doors banged and the sound echoed through the small space. Manny was laughing about something Abby had said and walked with a bounce in his step as he approached the counter to hand back his keys. Abby looked like she always did, khaki cargo pants and a black cutoff, her green backpack slung over one muscular shoulder. Some strands of hair had escaped her braid and curled up at the back of her neck, slightly damp from her sweat in the hot summer air. Trying to calm down and distract yourself, you let your gaze wander up her strong build, freckled biceps flexing as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. And then she looked straight at you. You didn’t move, stayed frozen as you had for the last few minutes, wishing you were invisible.

Your face felt hot and suddenly there were tears blurring your vision - what was happening?! Your knees started shaking as well, bouncing uncontrollably as your nails dug into the backs of your hands. Your throat was closing up and your bottom lip was quivering. All you saw were specks of grey and green, all you felt was your body resisting every command and rebelling against you, trying to hold you in place and suffocate you silently.

Suddenly the door opened beside you and a soft, deep voice said your name. You tried to blink the tears away but your vision wouldn’t clear up, panic blinding you further. You began shaking your head as your chest convulsed in a desperate attempt to draw breath.

“Fuck, Y/N, okay.” Abby’s voice was determined and suddenly her hands were on your wrists. Her skin was warm and dry, her grip firm. She softly shook your clasped hands and somehow moved so her face was in front of yours, a mess of green and brown and there, soft pink where her lips moved, speaking quietly and telling you to breathe with her. One hand stayed on your wrist and her thumb massaged the cramped up muscle there, digging painfully into your flesh but pulling you back to her slowly. One hand came up closer and a calloused thumb brushed the tears from your cheek before her hand landed on your shoulder, fingers pressing into your upper back.

“Hey, look at me, look at me, Y/N, you’re okay, I’m here. Can you try to breathe in with me on three? Just stop fighting for a moment, count with me and then we’ll breathe in together. Okay? One.”

You tried to sit up straighter and stop the erratic twitching of your chest, still choking on your breath as you waited for her commando.

“Two. Three.”

Her hand pressed between your shoulders from behind and suddenly you could breathe again, a loud gasp that turned into quiet sobs as you fought to release the air from your lungs before breathing in again.

“There we go, you’re doing so good,” Abby’s hand was on your cheek again, “so good, Y/N, breathe with me, that’s right.”

Your vision slowly returned to you now, though it was still distorted by  tears. Abby had half-climbed into the truck, one foot between yours and one dangling out of the open door, her weight held up only by her right leg as she pressed her back against the dashboard. A wet laugh escaped you. Abby shot you a confused look, paired with the hint of a relieved smile.

“What?”

“You’re gonna get a cramp as well,” you rasped, “if you keep that up.”

You slid further to the inside of the broad seat, making room for Abby next to you. She grinned and sat down, one hand still on your wrist. Her eyes went down to your trembling hands, your knuckles still white from your iron grip.

“Okay, let’s take care of your hands, hm?”

Her fingers wandered softly over yours, then she rested one hand over your tangled fingers and pushed her other thumb between your palms, gently loosening your hold. She pulled back each finger slowly, starting with your thumbs and stroking each one as they relaxed. Finally, your shaking hands lay freely on your thighs.

“You’re doing so well, Y/N, don’t worry.” She took one of your hands in her lap and started massaging the inside of your palm. “Wanna tell me what got you there?”

You sighed, breath still shaky with tears.

“Um.. We ran into infected today. Runners. Families, it seemed.”

Abby sucked in a breath and gave you back your hand before taking the other and starting the same gentle procedure.

“Those are the hardest. Kids?”

You nodded and Abby made a soft noise. You took another rattling breath.

“I… I lost my little sister. Back when… before I came to you.”

Her head shot up and she stared at you, shock and sympathy playing over her features.

“Fuck, Y/N, you never said…”

“I know.” You lowered your head.

When you had stumbled out of the woods around the WLF stadium and begged them to let you in, they had stripped you and searched you before bringing you to their leader. After hours of questioning to make sure you weren’t a spy for any other group, he knew about your team and everything you had done in the last three years, but you hadn’t mentioned Sierra once. It wouldn’t change anything anyway. They had brought you to Nora who had patched you up, examined you, and fed you before showing you to your new room. It was a small closet on the base level of the stadium, with only a tiny window letting in some light. You were thankful for a roof over your head and the armed posts surrounding the stadium.

“I didn’t want to talk about her. I didn’t lie to Isaac or betray you. It wasn't anyone's business.” You gave Abby a fierce look. Nothing would change your mind about this. She just nodded, her eyes wide. You sighed, brushing your hands against each other.

“She was bitten. I see her every time I close my eyes. It wasn’t fair.” You dropped your hands into your lap. “I just don’t… I can’t -”

Abby’s hand was on yours again, her fingers sliding between yours.

“Hey. I won’t tell anyone. But I’m here, okay? If you want to talk.”

You scoffed.

“No one ever talks here. You’re all made of stone.”

Abby contemplated this for a few seconds, then she squeezed your hand.

“My dad was murdered a few years ago. Almost all of our families are dead.” Now it was your turn to be shocked. Fuck. You had been so insensitive. “By us, I mean Owen, Nora, Jordan, and me. Owen lost his parents to infected and his brothers to the scars just last year.”

Abby leaned back and stared out of the windshield, the garage now dark except for a few small lamps at the exits.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry. Of course, I’m in no place to tell you how to deal with it.”

“No, it’s fine. You’re right, you know. We don’t talk about those things.” She looked at you, her gaze so intense you almost pulled back. “Would you like to?”

You forced yourself to hold her gaze.

“I think I would. Now that it’s all… further away.”

Abby nodded, squeezing your hand again.

“Then we’ll talk. You can tell me all about your sister. And… I haven’t talked about my dad in a long time. I think I’d like to tell you about him, too. He was great.”

A small smile played around her lips and you felt a rush of gratitude for this wonderful woman. You could practically see the memories playing through her head behind those green eyes. She blinked, looking back at you.

“Wanna get something to eat? You must be starving. I know I am.”

“Sure.” You shared another smile and exited the car together, fingers still intertwined as you crossed the lot and Abby held the door open for you.

Dinner was already over, but Leah had kept her word and the elder woman at the counter gave you both gigantic bowls of beef stew with thick, coarse bread. You told Abby about your patrol that day and she hummed sympathetically. She knew what it felt like to deal with infected children. After a while, the door to the cafeteria flew open and Manny came in, sleek black hair still wet from a shower. He grinned brightly as he made his way over to you and sat next to you on the metal bench.

“You coming along tonight?” he asked you, drumming his fingers on the table. You raised your eyebrows.

“What’s happening tonight?”

He tutted at Abby and gave her a theatrical frown.

“You didn’t invite Y/N? It’s Mel’s birthday! Owen got his hands on some prime hooch. You celebrating with us?”

You smiled at your plate. The last thing you needed was to get wasted and completely lose any shred of sanity you had left.

“Thanks, but I don’t think I’ll join you. I still haven’t showered and I had a terrible day. I’m just gonna read a bit and pass out, I think.” You gave him an apologetic shrug.

“Oh, come on, Y/N. Read and pass out? It’s a special occasion! You sure?”

“Yeah, but really, thank you for inviting me. Maybe next time.”

He sighed heavily, then he clapped his hand on the table and stood up.

“Abby, you need to get moving, girl. We’re meeting in 20 and you stink.”

Abby just raised her eyebrows and shook her head, finishing her stew. Manny's laughter echoed through the empty room as he left.

“Do I really smell that bad?” There was a twinkle in her eye, a conspiratorial smile on her lips. You smiled back.

“Not at all. He probably smelled me.” You grabbed her empty bowl and placed it in yours. “Go have fun, I’ll clean this up. See you at training.”

Abby cocked her head to the side, seemingly not sure what to do. You gave her another encouraging smile.

“Really, I’m fine. Thank you for taking care of me, I owe you. Go celebrate!”

The tall blonde stood up slowly. She still seemed hesitant.

“I’ll come check on you later if that’s okay. And you can always come over and talk to me if something’s wrong, alright?”

Your chest felt tight all of a sudden, but not in the way it had earlier. It was the feeling of reaching for something knowing you’d never have it, of wanting something so bad and only being able to admire it from a distance. It felt like being homesick. You thought of Sierra again and how she had been your home, the only anchor in your life. Fuck, not now.

You shook your head as if to get rid of your thoughts and gave Abby a brave smile.

“Okay. But I’ll be fine. Promise.”

“Okay. See you later, then.”

“See you.”

Abby gave you a last look over her shoulder before exiting the cafeteria and you made your way over to the kitchen. The cooks had already left and a lanky red-haired boy was the only one still there, washing dishes and listening to music on an mp3 player. The metallic sound in his headphones echoed through the peacefully quiet kitchen. He almost jumped two feet into the air when you approached from the side, bowls in your hand.

“Fuck, you scared the shit out of me! Jesus Christ.” He pressed a wet hand to his chest, the suds leaving a dark print on his shirt.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know how not to scare you, music and all. Sorry.” Both of you had to laugh and he held his dripping hands out for your dirty bowls.

“Don’t worry, I just wasn’t expecting anyone this late. You just come back from a mission?”

“Just a patrol run.”

You leaned against the counter and watched him clean the dishes.

“Anything exciting happen?” His eyes were bright and excited. He was even younger than he had looked at first, he couldn’t be older than 15. “My brother is on patrols too. Maybe you know him, his name is Danny.”

You crossed your arms and tried to remember the face that matched that name. Danny had been on patrol with Owen for a while when you had first arrived, but now he was stationed on some outpost and you hadn’t seen him for a long time.

“Yeah, I think I do. He’s not here at the moment, right?”

“He’s at the Serevena Hotel. I may be able to visit him there soon, depending on how my training goes.”

You raised your eyebrows.

“Training to be a soldier?”

“Of course.” He stood up straight. “I want to do my part, protect our people. Fight the scars.”

You didn’t really know how to respond to that. Even though you were thankful the WLF had taken you in and even though you had also participated in rigorous training from the first day on, soon being cleared for missions, you didn’t really have the same loyalty and faith for the organization. The seraphites were your enemies now, of course, but they were just people. You all were. Sometimes you wondered how it could have come to this - so few people left on this earth and here you were, slaughtering each other.

“I hope you can visit your brother soon.” You let your arms fall to the side and turned to leave. “Thanks for the dishes.”

“No problem,” he mumbled, putting his headphones back in.

You were in no rush to get to your room and so you took a few detours, passing the gym which was filled with quite a lot of people getting their training in after work. You looked into empty classrooms, trying to decipher what was written on the board. Would Sierra have studied here? Sat in the front, eager to learn the things you hadn’t been able to teach her? What if you had come here earlier, before it all happened? Could they have protected her better than you had? She would probably be walking next to you now, telling you about her day.

When you finally arrived at your room, you just quickly grabbed a towel, a clean shirt, and some shorts and headed for the showers. The hot water seemed to help somewhat. You wondered what Abby was up to right now. Probably getting drunk and having fun. Was she the type of person who danced? You had never seen her dance before. Maybe Nora would persuade her. There it was again, that heavy, pulling feeling. You turned the water off, got dressed, and went straight to bed. Enough heartache for one day.

-

You woke up confused, not knowing where you were at first. It was pitch black and there was some kind of noise outside. You reached around you and finally found the flashlight next to your pillow, turning it on and trying to wipe the sleep from your eyes. What was going on?

It had to be after midnight. The lights in the stadium were only on from 5.30 am to 10 pm in order to save power. You untangled yourself from your sheets and got on your feet, swaying a little. There it was again, that strange scratching noise accompanied by a quiet mumbling sound. It wasn’t directly at your door but seemed to come from further down the corridor. There were a few other people living down here in storerooms and sectioned hallways.

Yawning, you walked to the door and opened it ever so slightly, pressing the flashlight to your thigh in order to keep the light down at first. You couldn’t see anything, so you waved the flashlight around the corridor. Your stomach dropped.

At the far end of the hallway, a small figure stood in front of one of the doors, trying to open it to no avail. Small hands scratched at the wood, quiet brabbling reached your ears. This was wrong. Very wrong. The figure hadn’t noticed the light yet. It went on to the next door, trying the door handle and whining in frustration when it didn’t open.

Why didn’t the people inside wake up from the noise? You stood frozen as the figure tried the next door. It was a child, dressed in dotted pyjamas. Its blonde hair was shoulder length and tangled in knots. You slowly pushed your door open wider in order to step out into the corridor. Suddenly, the hinges squeaked and the sound echoed through the hallway.

The child slowly turned toward you. Blood was dripping from its mouth, its eyes were cold. It took a step toward you. You looked down and realized you were holding a gun. Oh. Right. Infected. You were supposed to shoot them.

As the kid made another strange brabbling sound, more blood ran down the front of the cotton pyjama shirt. You raised the flashlight with shaky fingers and aimed it right at the child's face.

Your blood froze in your veins. No. This couldn’t be. You had taken care of her, you had made sure she wouldn’t… wouldn’t turn into one of these… No, you had given her a peaceful ending.

“Sierra.” Your voice was raspy, quiet with terror. “Sierra, what are you doing here, baby?”

She growled. A horribly wrong sound, coming from someone so small and so lovely. Only she wasn’t lovely anymore. She was sick. Infected.

“Sierra!” You spoke louder now, your voice pleading. “Baby, please don’t do that. It’s me, see?” You raised the flashlight to light your own face for a moment. When you put it back on her, she had stopped walking. Her face was a mask of ice-cold fury. When she spoke, her voice rattled like nails in a metal box, rough like chalk on board.

“Y/N… Why?

You sank to your knees.

“Oh baby, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know what to do. I’m so sorry Siri, I was so helpless. I didn’t know, I didn’t…”

“You… killed… me.”

She was getting dangerously close now and all of a sudden you could smell her, too. Foul, dead, vile. The smell of sickness and decay. You raised the gun, a war raging between your head and your heart.

“Sierra, stop. Stop.” Tears were streaming down your face. “Please stop, Siri. Don’t come any closer. Stop, stop! Please stop!”

Your little baby sister was so close that you could have reached out a hand and brushed through her hair. You stood up and took a step back.

“I’m gonna have to shoot you if you don’t step back. You’re infected, Siri. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but you can’t, please Sierra. Don’t, please don’t…”

She hissed at you and lurched forward. A shot rang through the air and the girl fell to the floor right before you, her tiny body at your feet, blood slowly pooling around her head. You dropped the gun and it clattered on the concrete floor. You clapped your hands to your mouth and screamed into your palms, crying out again and again, trying to gasp for air. It felt like your heart was being torn in two.

Suddenly there was a hand on your shoulder. You whirled around, but there was only darkness. You let yourself fall to the floor and kept weeping into your hands. Someone gripped your wrists and shook them slightly. You opened your eyes.

Abby was sitting on the side of your bed, her face right above yours and full of worry. You shook your head, frantically looking around your room for any kind of danger. The room was almost dark, light just seeping through the crack under the door. It was still early in the night.

“Y/N? Hey, hey. You’re okay.” Abby slowly let go of your wrists. “You had a nightmare. You’re okay now, I’m here.”

You were still too terrified to speak, so you just scooted further to the side and grabbed Abby’s hand, giving her a pleading look. She understood immediately, kicking off her shoes and climbing into bed next to you, holding out her arm for you to crawl into. You pressed yourself to her side and rested your head on her chest, feeling yourself tremble in her arms. She just held you for a while, letting you listen to her heartbeat until your own body began to calm down.

“Hi,” you whispered into the dim room. Abby stroked your hair while she held you tightly.

“Hey there,” she mumbled back. “Feeling better?”

“Not really.” You looked up at her. She smelled faintly of alcohol and something sweet. “How was your party?”

The corner of her mouth twitched.

“It was absolute chaos. I had to escape from there before it could consume me. And I also had someone to check on.” She squeezed your shoulder. You cringed at the thought of her finding you like this, writhing and talking in your sleep, crying out or even fighting her without knowing who was in front of you. You had always had horrible nightmares and Sierra had taken the brunt of them, waking you countless nights and trying to stay brave when you yelled at her or shoved her away in the first moments of consciousness, not yet fully back in the real world. Now that she was gone, they were a hundred times worse. You pressed your forehead to Abby’s shoulder.

“Did I scream?”

“Not really. I just knocked a few times and then I heard you talking, and you sounded so panicked that I thought I should make sure… I’m sorry I just came in like that.”

You shook your head.

“No, don’t. Thank you for waking me. It was… God, I hate this.”

Abby’s fingers combed through your hair, massaging your scalp. It was heavenly.

“Does this happen a lot?”

You snorted involuntarily.

“Every night. Several times. I never sleep through and I never sleep enough.” You wiped a hand over your face. “Sorry, I know I’m not the only one and it could be worse. It’s just… hard.”

“Excuse me?” Abby’s tone made you look up at her. “You’re telling me you have several panic attacks in your sleep every night but it’s fine because others have nightmares, too?”

You frowned. Panic attacks? You’d never thought of it that way.

“Y/N, you’re allowed to complain. To me especially. Remember, we wanted to talk about our problems? Be open about all this?”

She was right. You pressed yourself closer to her.

“I guess, yeah. Thank you for… for being here.”

“Wanna tell me about your nightmare?”

You held onto Abby’s shirt, clenching the fabric in your fist as if she might be ripped from you at any moment.

“I don’t know… I mean, why not. Well…” How were you even supposed to explain all this? How would you ever talk about your sister without freaking out again?

Abby pressed a kiss to the top of your head and you felt the tension in your stomach dissolve. You took a deep breath.

“I can never tell I’m dreaming. This time I thought I heard something in the corridor and I went to see what it was. A little girl was scratching on doors, trying to get in. She looked like the… like one of the infected we ran into today. But I made a noise and when she turned around she was... She was -” You gasped for air, trying to keep your calm. Abby hummed softly, stroking your back and giving you time to think.

“She had the face of my sister. Sierra.” You hadn’t said her name out loud in so long, only in the nightmares. Maybe it was time to rid her name of that terror, that fear, and grant it the love and warmth it deserved. “Sierra was my little sister. We ran with a group the last few years, stayed with them after our mom died. But she was bitten and I had to… I had to let her go.” You swallowed hard. Abby’s thumb drew circles on your back.

“So in the dream… the girl turned around and she was her . And I didn’t know what to do. I begged her to stop, to not come any closer because she was infected, she was bleeding, and -” You drew in another breath and buried your face in Abby’s chest. “She asked me why I’d done it, why I had… and she kept coming and then she attacked me and I - I had to, I had to shoot her.”

Hot tears were burning in your eyes and your throat was impossibly tight again. Abby gently placed a hand on your cheek and turned your face up toward her.

“I’m not gonna tell you it was just a dream because I know it's more complicated than that. I get them, too, sometimes. But what I can tell you is that I’m here, that you’re safe now, that your sister is in a better place and that one day you will be able to speak about her without feeling like you’re falling apart.”

“You think so?”

“I’m sure of it. And now you're with me. We can heal together. I’m here, I’ll always be here for you, okay?”

You raised your head from her chest and turned a little in order to get face to face with her.

“Abby?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you doing this? Why now? I didn’t even think you liked me. You don’t have to take care of me.”

Abby’s features softened and she huffed out a silent laugh.

“I don’t know. I really… You were right when you said we keep everything to ourselves. But some of us do it more than others. And I guess I’m the worst when it comes to showing what I want.”

The sentence hung in the air for a moment. Abby took a deep breath.

“I like you, I really do. I just thought you needed more time. I know what it’s like to suffer and to feel like you can’t breathe. I wanted to give you space. But then I saw you in the car and I immediately knew what was happening. And I finally realized that I wouldn’t make things better by staying away.”

She held your gaze and you felt something shift between you. Her hand on your back came to a halt. You smiled softly.

“I always thought you didn’t find me interesting enough to talk to me. I was so jealous of the others for being this close to you and for making you laugh. I wanted that, too.”

“You’re the most interesting person that’s ever walked into this stadium,” Abby said softly. “God, I’m so sorry. I never wanted you to feel left out.”

You rested your head back on her shoulder.

“You made it up to me already. Really, you saved me today. Twice.”

Abby chuckled.

“Just wait until I have my next breakdown and then you can return the favor. Shouldn’t be long, they get to me every few days.”

You wrapped your arms around her torso.

“Well, then you’ll just have to stay close by.”

She hesitated, holding her breath for a second. You waited.

“Do you want me to stay? Tonight?”

You smiled to yourself.

“Would you?”

“Of course.”

You kept talking for a while. Abby told you about the party and about the cook Nora was currently hooking up with, and you told her about the boy in the kitchen. She recalled training with Danny when she first joined the WLF, laughing about how he had boasted that he wouldn’t lose to a girl and how she had him on the ground in a headlock in about two seconds.

At some point you must have fallen asleep, because the next thing you knew you were in the truck again, sitting in the passenger seat as the car flew through Seattle at top speed. You looked over and in the driver's seat there was the red-haired boy from the kitchen. His face was determined, a hard mask of concentration. He was panting hard, driving as fast as he could. Arrows were flying around you, soaring through the broken windows of the car and missing you by mere inches. A horse was whinnying. Scars. You immediately pulled out your gun and started shooting at everything that moved outside, hitting at least three people and a horse.

“Sorry,” you whispered as you reloaded. Animals weren’t fair.

You looked up and suddenly there was someone standing in the middle of the street. A small girl, brown-haired and in a red dress. Her back was to you. You screamed at the driver, but it was too late. The truck hit the child and it was thrown against the windshield, making a horrible noise as it cracked the glass and rolled over the roof to the back of the car where it fell to the ground. The truck came to a shrieking halt and you jumped out, gun drawn. The scars had vanished. You and the redhead ran back to where the girl was laying in a heap on the street, so small and fragile. Blood was running through the cracks in the pavement.

You turned the girl on her back and froze when you saw her face.

“Sierra! No, no, no, oh god no, what have we done - Sierra, Sierra, baby, look at me!”

“Y/N!” You heard your name but Sierra��s lips weren’t moving. “Y/N!” You whipped your head around and woke up.

It was dark and Abby had an arm wrapped around you, the other was holding your cheek. You swallowed and struggled for air.

“I’ve got you, hey, just breathe for me, I’ve got you.” Abby’s voice was sleepy and rough, something you'd have never thought you’d have the privilege of hearing. It calmed you down instantly. You dug your fingers into her arm, strong muscle flexing beneath your touch.

“Shhh, that’s right, just hold on. You’re okay.” You melted into her arms, hands and legs still shaking. She made a quiet humming noise in the back of her throat and pressed another kiss to your scalp. “I’m here. I’ll take care of you. I’m here.”

“You’re here,” you whispered and she hummed again in response. You rested your head against her chest and listened to her breaths as they slowly became more regular, chest steadily moving against you. Her heartbeat thumped softly in your ear. Cocooned in the wolf’s arms and serenaded by the quiet symphony of her sleeping body, you finally drifted off to sleep again.

[fly-you-dam-fools]

aight, what's your social security number?

Jkjk lol hmmm what is your favorite fic that you have ever read on tumblr? 👀 *cough cough* i still need to read that fic you recommended me ahh

😂😂😂ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

gEt oUt a pEn iTs-

Ok favorite fic?

Um Sierra this question is too hard??? Probably everything on your masterlist, Sarah’s masterlist @moon-write, Zee’s masterlist @softbobamilktae, B’s masterlist @alpacaparkaseok, Ashley’s masterlist @jinnie-forthe-winnie, @kookiesbuckethat’s masterlist…

I honestly don’t know 😅 I’ve read so many amazing fics on tumblr from multiple fandoms… there was one that I noted down when I first wanted Tumblr but hadn’t gotten yet, was “Tell me all about it.” By @nxwtimagines (it made me cry) and I went back to read it so so many times and it didn’t help that that was the song we were singing in choir at the time…. 😭

There was also a very good series by someone named Colette I think @sad-blue-ravenclaw but unfortunately shortly after I joined Tumblr and followed them they disappeared. It was an amazing Soulmate AU about Fred Weasley and Y/N and Y/N kept her identity secret but they talked to each other all the time by writing on their hands? (It was the soulmate can see the writings/drawings on your hands au type) I don’t remember the name of the series, I just know it was a series 😅

Ok by now my mind is kinda blanking and shifting over to quotev and wattpad 😅 but majority of them i don’t remember their names either because I didn’t have accounts for them.

One last thing, I’d like to shoutout to all the fanfic writers I’ve read (and everyone of course) but I’ve literally never cried for a published book before but all of your guys’ work has been so good?!? Like I cried during The Pact, Tell me all about it., you got me., so many others I just- 😭🥺🥰 Hope you are having a good day

But I’ve got to say Tumblr is my favorite place to read fanfics because of the format and the community 💕

*can i take this chance to once again promote dancing with a stranger by @kookiesbuckethat because yes that was amazing*

Yes go read that fic sierra

[wonderwomanfantasy]

snake in the clovers

all of the snake facts in this one are brought to you by my younger brother, all of the moss facts are brought to you, by me.

Naga! Aizawa x Fox! Reader

warnings: none

word count: 1,300 (about)

summary: a work-study in Mexico leads you to discover not only some fascinating bio diversity, but fascinating creatures as well. 

Lots of your friends went to Mexico for spring break, I mean you were college students after all, but instead of spending a week getting trashed in Cancun or even on a beach somewhere in Cabo you were on a work-study with your botany class spending your time swatting mosquitoes away on the peeks of Sierra Mader Occidental, the mountains of Sinaloa. 

And you wouldn’t have it any other way, where else would you be able to see this beautiful greenery surrounding you, and you should feel lucky to see Amoreuxia Gonzalezii bloom in person, The only real draw back wasn’t even where you were, but who you were with. 

“Does this mushroom look poisonous to you?” Nate, a boy from your class who was also on the work-study.  You glanced at the spore he was holding

“Its Amanita Verna,” you identified than when you saw the blank look on his eyes you added “Fools Mushrooms”

“So is it edible or not?” Nate asked. You huffed and swallowed a bitter responce.

“It’ll kill you in five to twenty-four hours and your death will be excruciating,”  you said and Nate dropped the mushroom.

Maybe it was because of your fox-like quirk that you felt so close to nature, and why this field of study came so easy to you. Never the less you slightly resented your classmates for not taking the class as seriously as you did. 

Just as you were thinking that you heard a loud shriek. You whirled and saw Amanda cowering from a patch of clover.

“S-Snake!” She whaled. You stepped closer and saw the snake in question. He was a medium length and striped with black and gray scales. Phyllorhynchus browni. his pink forked tongue poked out and he stalked slithering towards Amanda. You quickly grabbed him holding him aloft so she didn’t stomp him out of reflex. 

“Jesus Christ! Drop that thing before it kills you!” She yelled. 

“It’s not Venoumus,” you said flatly dropping the snake to the side and watching it slither away into a nearby bush. 

“Of course you’d be able to tell,” Amanda scoffed, embarrassed now that the apparent danger was gone. “I bet you were planning on eating that thing if we weren’t here to judge you,” She sneered.  The others laughed before your professor quieted them. You could feel your cheeks go pink.

“Just because I’m a fox doesn’t mean I eat snakes,” you murmured, but no one was listening. The hike continued, deeper into the woods. Taking notes, pictures, and samples of the local flora as you went. 

“We should start heading back down the mountain,” your professor said you looked up at the sky and saw the sun hanging surprisingly low in the sky. How time flys when studying fungi and soil you guessed. 

“Hey (y/n),” Nate snickered falling in step beside you as the class made its way back down the trail. 

You weren’t supper in the mood to be teased but you answered him anyway.  “What is it?”

“Well I was looking at this moss-” he unclenched his hand and showed you a patch off moss in his palm “-and I wondered if you could use your fox senses or whatever to tell me what it is,”

 You could hear other people laughing behind you but you ignored it. 

“It’s sphagnales,” you said simply. 

“Okay, but what’s the lamen term- you know what would the rest of us normal people call it?”

“Sphagnales,” you frowned. Not understanding what he was saying, sphagnales didn’t have a common name. 

You were looking at him confused when you stepped down on a vine and your ankle rolled. You yelped and fell staggering back. You had been distracted by the moss and you hadn’t been paying attention to what part of the trail right next to a sharp drop into a ravine. You felt your stomach drop as you fell. You clawed wildly for something to grab. Nate’s eyes went wide and he reached for you. He missed. 

You wailed as you fell through the trees, crashing against the solid ground before rolling down again.  You landed against the thick trunk of a tree and finally, the world stopped spinning.  You couldn’t breathe there was a seaering pain in your left leg, your vision was swimming. There were scratches along your face and arms some of them were bleeding. You needed to call out, yell so your class could find you. But you couldn’t muster it. Your vision went blurry, then completely black.

Dimly you heard the sound of dripping water. Your body ached and slowly, you forced your eyes open. The first thing you saw, once your eyes adjusted to the darkness, were dozens of tiny purple flowers on the ceiling of the cave you were in. Barkeria Dorotheae. A type of orchid local only to these mountains. 

Where were you? You remembered falling down the mountain-side but not how you had come here.  You shifted and realized you were on something soft and downy, that’s when you heard the voice. 

“Don’t try to move, you’re hurt badly,” you looked and saw a man with long black hair and stubble looking at you from the mouth of the cave, at least the top half of him was a man,  the bottom half of him was a coiled scaley tail. He unfurled himself and slithered towards you. It was hard to see color in the dim light but you made out the color of his scales, black, and grey stripes.

You’d read stories of Naga, creatures that were half snake half man. You remembered reading in at least some myths that these snake-men were helpful. And since you really had no other choice, you decided to trust this man and stay still like he asked. 

“Where m I?” you croaked, your voice raspy from lack of use. 

“Still on Sierra Mader Occidental, just in a cave on the mountain,” he explained, curling up next to you in the nest. 

“What- why-?” 

“When I found you, you were unconscious and badly hurt and unconscious, so I took you here to dress your wounds but you still need rest, your party continued down the mountain, planning to come back for you tomorrow when it’s light out and with help,” He explained and you saw that he had in fact bandaged you up. 

“Oh, I don’t know how to thank you,” you breathed. 

“It’s fine, I couldn’t just let you die there,” he grunted. As you looked at him you realized how handsome he was. 

“What is your name?” you asked. 

“You can call me Shota,”

“Well, I’d still like to thank you Shota, for all you’ve done for me,”

“Like I said think nothing of it,” he repeated. 

“Do you think they, er my classmates that is, do you think they will find me here?” you asked and silently you wondered if half of your class would even bother looking for you, it wasn’t like any of them liked you. 

“I’ll do my best to lead them here,” he said, then added “most people aren’t as calm when they see me as you were,”

“And what if they don’t find me?” you croaked. 

“I am more than prepared to provide for you until you are well again, or until you are found, whichever comes first, and if you don’t mind me saying, I saw the way those humans interacted with you I almost think you would do better in the forest here then where ever you are from,” he said. You thought about it. You had always liked camping, spend days alone out in the forest alone. And it wouldn’t be bad to live in these beautiful woods with an equally beautiful creature. 

[itisannak]

Homesick (Calum Hood Smut)

Summary: Calum is on tour, and (Y/N) is having a hard time away from him.  (Smut / Unprotected Sex) Based on Sleep Prompt #2: "I can't sleep, you've been gone for too long." (Request) (Words: 3.7k)

This time was supposed to be easier. This time, Calum promised it would be so much easier. I would be living in our house, which would be full of our happy memories and that would make me feel better about him being away. I would be having Duke, whose company would make the days go by faster. But it was all bullshit.

This time is the absolute hardest of any time before. He is gone, and the house is empty and every corner holds a memory of us being happy, which makes it harder to overlook the fact that if he were here, we would create many more memories. And Duke is in an even worse state than me, whining and looking at the door for his pops to walk in.

It sucks; I know that the moment he is going to be back, all of this will faint from memory and I am only going to savor in the good times. But right now, this sucks. I feel like I am drowning in this house like I am suffocating while he is gone. Not because I can't live without him. I can, I have, I just don't want to. But the thing that bugs me the most is the thought of him being able to live without me, or realizing he can actually live without me. It is selfish, I know. But I don't want him to wake up one morning and realize his life will be fine or even better if I never woke up next to him again.

It drives me insane, to the point I have to drink myself to sleep, to the point of not sleeping anymore because I realized this is how addiction starts. And being addicted to Calum is enough addiction for a lifetime.

I pick my phone, scrolling through my contacts until I find his. My thumb hovers over the icon, my gut telling me that if I call him now, I will regret what I am about to say. Nonetheless, I press on the contact, putting him on loudspeaker and leaving my phone on my lap. He picks up fast, almost as he was waiting for that call. "(Y/N), princess... It is like 3 in LA. What are you doing up?" He asks me, his voice groggy. "You didn't call me." I point out, biting the inside of my cheek. "I was spent from all the traveling and then the show. I am sorry. I put an early alarm though, to call you in the morning and wake you up for work." He says with a familiar smile on his voice. I stay silent, my heartbeat throbbing in my brain. "What is going on, love?" He asks after a minute of dead silence. "I can't sleep. I can't sleep, you've been gone too long. I can't sleep, Calum. I drank myself to sleep too many times for this to be healthy. And I can't breathe, Calum. I can't breathe in this house. I miss you so much and you are gone. You are gone, god fucking damn it. You are gone for too long. And you don't call me anymore. You always have excuses, and you don't call anymore. I miss you, I can't sleep without you. I am a shell of myself nowadays and Duke is looking for you. He is behind the door, whimpering for you. And I don't know what to do. I have no idea what I should do. You are gone and I don't know if you'll be back again. And you lied to me. You lied to me, Calum. You said this was going to be easy and it isn't. And it hurts, it sucks. I don't know what to do. Please, tell me what I should do." I am sobbing by the end of my monologue, my lip quivering and my body trembling. My bones hurt and I am scared of what he is going to suggest. "You should go to sleep. We will talk tomorrow." He simply says; I can't read his tone, I can only tell his voice is significantly lower than before. "I am having a breakdown and you are telling me to go to sleep? You think sleeping is going to fix that hollowness inside me? Screw you, Calum. Fucking screw yourself. I am dying and you are telling me to go to sleep. I told you I can't sleep. You heard that, right?" I ask and hear him draw in a breath. "Go to sleep, baby. You are sleep-deprived and you need to rest. We will talk tomorrow." He says, still holding onto his calmness. "You think I will be different tomorrow? I have to go sleep on a bed that doesn't have your smell anymore, a bed that has been empty. You think I will be able to go to bed, lay there, and fall asleep?" I ask him, almost screaming at him with fury. "Then fucking sleep on the couch or in the guest room. I can't fucking help you more on that. We will talk tomorrow." He growls now, letting out his frustration as well. I chuckle through my tears, wiping away my cheeks. "Yeah, you can't fucking help, Calum." I reply, pressing the end button. I throw my phone across the couch, bringing my face to the cushion and crying on it.

He is going to break up with me. He doesn't want to upset me more now, but he is going to break up with me, I can feel it in my stomach. He is going to lay on his bunk bed now and think how easier it would be for him to just drop me already and live his life without me being a bitch about him being away. Fuck.

The night went by and the morning arrived, leaving me once more unable to rest. I feel like calling in sick, but going to work is the only thing that distracts me from the situation I am living in. So, I pulled up my big girl pants and got to work, hoping that whatever I would have to deal with today would actually allow me to take my mind off of Calum. But I found myself looking at my phone every five minutes, getting frustrated over its silence.

I walk in the house, finding Duke by the door, wagging his tail slowly at me. I reach down, petting him behind his ears before I drag my feet up to the couch, and plop my body on top of it. I feel numb, empty, hollow, and I am used to it by now, but today it is even worse. I am waiting for him to call, but I am too scared at the thought of what he might tell me. He is going to break up with me, I know he is, I am waiting for that, but I just don't want it to actually happen.

Time drips slowly, I can feel every minute passing. I have nothing to do but wait and waiting messes with my head.

I imagine him already moving on, finding someone new, having fun with that person who is not me. My paranoia is only growing bigger by the second, until my phone rings. I grab the phone, staring at Calum's caller ID. My heart stops as I contemplate whether or not I should pick it up. I don't want to lose him. "Hey." I say as I pick it up. "I don't have much time before I go on stage. Check your emails." He orders, making me furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "Are you breaking up with me over email?" I ask, stuttering. "It is a ticket for you to visit me this weekend." He replies, making me sigh a little. "I would never break up with you in any setting other than in person." He continues, making my eyes go wide. "Are you flying me over to break up with me?" I ask, putting on a fight to not stutter. "I have to go." He replies before hanging up. It is enough of an answer for me.

I open my emails, finding the digital print for my tickets. I sniffle, biting the inside of my cheek before I open Apple pay, sending Calum the money he paid for the tickets. If he is breaking up with me, I still get to keep my dignity.

I pulled a Princess Diana for the visit. First, I left the house, booking myself a hotel room to practically force myself to fall asleep. Duke is with Sierra; I told her I am visiting, but not the reason why. Sleeping did wonders for me; I look a little more human and I am thinking a little clearer now. I decided that if he is going to drop me, I am going to show him what he is going to miss from now on. Taking a whole flight in a tight dress and high heels certainly attracted a couple of stares. Yeah, I would stare too at the weird lady on my flight who's dressed to get dicked down. There was a driver waiting for me at the airport, with a cheesy sign that bared my last name in a boring font. I am not even worth him picking me up in person. The driver took me to a hotel, handed me a keycard for the room, and let me get up alone, to what I am sure will be the emptiest, most pathetic room. I wonder why he bothered with booking a room, he could have just done it in the lobby, or even outside the hotel. And I wonder why my return flight is not until Monday morning. Breaking up with me will only take him an hour maximum.

I go up in the room, unlocking the door and letting myself in, ready to play the waiting game until he arrives to give me the boot. "Welcome home, princess." I hear his voice coming from across the room. I raise my gaze to meet his figure, keeping my expression neutral for now. "Home?" I ask, leaving my carry-on on the ground before I walk further. "You were clearly homesick, even though you were staying at our home. So I figured, since you are my home, I must be yours. So, welcome home." He smiles at me. I scan his body; he is either pulling a Lady D on me, or he dressed up in his whitest shirt and best trousers by accident. "Cut the bullshit. We both know why I am here. Go ahead, say it." I provoke him, looking at him in the eye. "You look gorgeous." He states, licking his lips. "Yeah, yeah... Just break up with me already." I say frustrated, making him furrow his eyebrows in confusion. "What?" He asks me, causing me to roll my eyes at him. "Come on, Calum. Be a man already. You told me you would never break up with me in any other setting but face to face. I am here, I am looking at you, and you are looking at me. So, go ahead and let it out." I throw my hands in the air; I am certain my face is bright red by now. "Why would I break up with you? I told you I would never break up with you over the phone. I didn't mean I would fly you here to break up with you. I thought you would break up with me." He points out, making me look at him in confusion now. "Why would I break up with you?" I ask. "Because I am always away. Why would I break up with you?" He asks me again. "Because I am always nagging and whining about you being away." I reply and he chuckles. "Not always. And you are not nagging. You had every right to tell me how you felt. Just because I signed up for that life, doesn't mean you did too." He replies, making me sigh and mentally slap myself in the face. "Well, I kinda did. I chose to be with you, I knew what I was getting myself into. And it really felt insignificant. Still does. I was just... I am sorry." I exasperate making him chuckle and pull me into a hug. "It is fine, baby. You don't need to apologize. You just missed me..." He strokes my cheek, making me look at my feet. "I am so stupid." I groan and he chuckles, tilting my chin up. "Love makes you stupid. I would know, it has made me an absolute buffoon." He strokes his thumb over my bottom lip. "You dressed up for me..." I mumble, placing my hands in the collar of his shirt. "And you dressed up for me..." He replies. "Meh... I dressed up for revenge. I thought you would be breaking up with me, I wanted to show off what you were giving up..." I shrug and he gasps. "Naughty little girl..." He mouths, leaning down to kiss me. I practically melt, and he has to hold onto me to prevent me from falling. I missed him, too much to put into words, but the moans falling from my mouth as he slips his tongue against mine.

His hands go to my lower back, feeling the fabric of my dress before they rest against my ass, first brushing over it and then just fondling, squeezing a bit harshly, enough to make me whimper and jolt. "You look so fucking hot..." I moan, pulling away to catch my breath. I throw my head back, giving him access to my neck as he brings his lips to my jawline. "Oh, yeah? You find me hot? Do I make you wet, princess?" He asks, grazing his teeth over my skin. I take his hand, bringing it under the hem of my dress. He trails his fingers up my thigh, making me erupt in goosebumps under his touch. He moves his hand to touch my core, pressing his fingers against my sex. "You are soaked, baby... Need me that much?" He asks me, making me grip onto him as he rubs my clit. "Now... I need you now... Please." I gasp, eyes closed and lips parted as I throw my head back in pleasure. "Yeah, baby? Well, you are lucky I need you just as bad..." He whispers, removing his hand slowly from between my thighs.

He kisses me as his body guides me to the bed, his hands holding onto me tightly. My back collides with the mattress, and he is still pressed against me, resting between my thighs as he pries my lips apart with his tongue. "You are hard..." I point out, feeling his cock pushing hard against my lower stomach. "I know... It's your outfit... And the fact that you smell so good... And that I have missed you... All of you." He mumbles, working his way down my neck. "All of me?" I ask, surrendering to the haze his breath fanning on my skin causes. "All of you, princess. Want me to show you?" He asks, moving his hands down my body. He strokes them over my hips softly, moving his fingers under the hem of my dress. He raises it up, letting it rest just below my navel. "Please do..." I mumble, making him smile at me. He moves up, bringing his lips to mine, kissing me roughly. "Let me ride you..." I whimper against his lips, my fingers tangling in his hair and pulling at it a little, taking advantage of what a big pain slut he is. "Go ahead, wildflower. I can't say no to you." He states, letting me flip us over, with him on his back and me straddling his hips. I grind my clothed core over the bulge in his pants, wiggling my hips on him. "Lower the strap of your dress, baby... Give me a little show." He suggests, licking his lips. "This one? Or this one? Or maybe both...?" I ask, playing with the straps of my dress. His eyes are glued on me as I unzip the dress and let it slide down my body. "Look at you... Fuck me, princess... You are going to be the death of me." He groans while I raise my dress off my body. "That's the endgame." I smirk at him, working on unbuttoning his shirt. My hands slide down his chest, feeling up his skin, getting enough satisfaction from just touching him. The tip of my nail traces over the tattoos on his chest and collarbone, mouth agape and eyes nearly burning into his skin. He groans, gripping onto my hips harshly, early impatient from my stalling. "Come on, princess. Let me slip inside you." He pleads, making me chill at the sound of his voice. "Yes, daddy." I cheer, leaning closer to him to kiss his neck. I reach down, unzipping his pants and lowering his briefs to free his cock, which now rests on his lower stomach. My brain goes fuzzy as I nearly drool over it. Fuck, I've missed sex with him.

I push my underwear to the side, lining him up to my entrance before I sink my hips down on him. I take in nearly half of his length, already feeling my stomach tighten as I ride him. "You are so fucking wet... Holy fuck..." He mumbles, the grasp on my hips still tight enough to leave a mark there. "Come on, princess. I know you can take more of me in your tight little pussy..." He encourages me, while I buckle my hips back and forth. "You are so big, daddy. You are stretching me..." I whimper, arching my back and pressing my hips down until all of his length is inside me. I shudder, angling my hips to get his tip to hit on my spot. "You fit so well around my cock, fuck..." He hisses, moving his hands until they cup my ass. His cock is throbbing inside me, his veins adding to the sensation building inside me. My hands move to his biceps, nails digging into them as they flex. I practically bounce on him, taking as much of him as I can, while he kneads and slaps my ass. He makes this orgasmic little sounds as we fuck that mess with my head, making me wiggle on him. "Come a little closer, princess." He says through raspy breaths. I lean down, until my chest presses to his, but he lifts it up and brings his lips to my chest. His mouth latches onto my nipple, making me cuss under my breath. "Fuck... Calum... Harder." I beg, grounding my hips on his, causing his cock to press on my cervix and myself to sink into the feeling of his cock stretching my walls and his teeth grazing over my bud. One of his hands travels up my spine, finding its way to pull at my hair. He bucks his hips up, thrusting forcefully in me now, and doing it oh so right. "Calum... I am going to cum..." I cry out, gripping the bedsheet, by each side of his head. I buck my hips, wiggling them back and forth without taking his cock out of me. I need him, right where he is right now. "I want you to cum, princess. Cum around my cock. You've been so good for daddy." He praises me, pulling my head back by my hair. "Daddy..." I whimper, shutting my eyes tightly. "Come on, princess. I need just a little more." He sounds way too close, and his dick is twitching inside me, so I decide to hold on a little longer, cum at the same time as him. He groans as he gets closer and closer, his body glistening with sweat under the light dimming in the room. "Fuck, (Y/N)..." He gasps, gluing his hips on mine as he cums inside me. I let go, grinding on him to accelerate my orgasm as I arch my back and throw my head back, my nails digging in his forearms.

I collapse on the mattress by his side, gasping and shaking as I come down from my orgasm. I am speechless, but the smile on my face seems to be stuck there, not fading away even an inch. "Hi..." He mumbles as he rests his weight on his elbow to look at me. "Hi there." I say softly, bringing my hand to stroke his cheek. "I missed you. So much." He whispers, kissing the inside of my palm. "I missed you. It is super hard living without." I sigh, making him hum in agreement. "I am sorry, baby. I really am. If I could..." He begins but I press my thumb to his lips to stop him. "No... Don't apologize... Just... Promise to call me every night while you are gone... And promise you are going to spend the first weekend you are going to be back with me, and only me." I state and he smiles, nodding his head. "I cross my heart and hope to die." He replies, pressing his lips on my forehead. "Did you really drunk yourself to sleep?" He asks, his voice barely over a whisper. "For a few days, I did. Then I stopped. Addiction is tricky, and being addicted to you is enough for me." I reply, taking his hand in mine. "Oh, love. I am sorry for all that suffering." He sounds honest, which only makes my heart skip a beat over his wholesomeness. "I am so scared you are going to leave me. And I know you've never given me any reason to think of that. But the thought eats me alive." I admit and he sighs softly. He presses his lips on my forehead, stroking my hair softly. "I am never going to leave you. Ever. Take my word for it, wildflower." He looks me in the eye, and I can see his honesty reflecting in them. "Promise?" I ask and he nods. "I promise. I swear on anything sacred." He lays on his back and brings me to his chest. I lay my head there, tangling up to him as I yawn. "Tired, wildflower?' He asks, making me hum in agreement. "I am... I really am." I reply, cuddling up to him. "Let's get some sleep, then. And then get something to eat, call the guys. They've missed you..." He suggests, bringing the covers over my body. "Sounds like a plan..." I blink slowly, kissing his chest sleepily.

My Masterlist

[awilddreamermain]

Hi, Chels! Congratulations!! I'm so happy for you! You deserve every follower and more! That is a threat, I'm holding everyone hostage 🔪

I would love to get a MHA matchup, I wanna see who you'd match me with! Got me so curious! SFW & NSFW if you'd be willing!

My name is Chloe but I prefer May, nicknames include May-May, Maybell or Chlo.

I'm 25, pronouns are she/he, Cancer Moon, Aries Sun and Virgo Rising. Quite the weird mash of zodiacs, huh?

My favorite colors are pink (that soft pastel kinda baby pink), red (especially blood/garnet red) and...can I add pink again? Any shade of pink this time. Bubblegum or hot pink.

Favorite AU's include A/B/O, Mafia, Historical, Fantasy and does Mythical Creatures count?

Oh...oh boy, I gotta look deep for some fun facts that aren't just...facts but I'll do my best!

1) My sneezes are so short and high pitched I go "chu".

2) I have vitiligo, makes me look like a dog because it's mostly around my mouth and my right eye so I have a spot!

3) I have atrocious balance, my knees and shins are always banged up because I cannot for the life of me walk correctly.

4) I have a stutter, on top of speaking so quickly it turns into a jumbled mess. So good luck understanding what I said because I have no idea either.

5) I have a growing unicorn plush collection. My favorite is Cupcake, one that's actually taller than I am. Big chunk.

My likes are pretty simple. Cute & soft sweaters, blankets, warm coffee and strawberry milk, pastries and the cold! Winter is my favorite season. History, particularly the Medieval and Victorian times.

My interests revolve around creativity and you could say they're my hobbies as well. Drawing in particular, I used to do digital but I'm stuck with traditional pencil and paper at the moment. I'm dipping my toes into painting and its very fun! Obviously writing and reading and if I'm not doing of those listed then I'm definitely playing video games.

Personality I might say I'm quite split down the middle. At first, to a complete stranger I might come across as cold, stoic, with a resting bitch face, that just wants to get whatever I'm outside for done so I can leave. I'd create a witty or sarcastic comeback if I was given sass by a Karen but with my speech issues? I'd be lucky to get one coherent word out at her...and spend the rest of the day fantasizing what could've happened. So I'm rather quiet, agoraphobia hits hard in large or crowded places so I'm an anxiety riddled mess on the verge of a panic attack. In private or with people that I'm comfortable with? Complete opposite. Happy, bubbly, cracking puns and jokes so get those groan worthy reactions. I try to be the "mom friend" and get over my issues if someone is having it worse, I'll march up to a counter and ask for ketchup if someone wanted it but was too scared to do it themselves. The shoulder to lean and cry on, I'm highly empathetic and understanding, compassionate at times. But I have to actively try and keep myself positive and say good things about myself because I do fall into the pit of self-loathing and hate.

For appearance I'd say I'm average height, pale with white splotches that are inching larger due to my vitiligo, chubby, ashy blonde, blue eyes, button nose. I'd say I'm decently cute? I don't know if I can rate myself.

Okay I know I said I'd be looking into Zodiac compatibility for this but— I literally just screamed internally "KIRISHIMA" when I was reading this. You two would be perfect omg. This Libra king would do anything for you. For this you're an artist and the daughter of a mafia boss :) I like to think of ship names sometimes so like, yours would either be like Eijmay or Mayjirou or Kiriloe— that last one and first are awful I know so lets go with the second? I can't write a proper stutter for the life of me so I tried to keep your dialogue to the minimum.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ Pairing: Eijirou Kirishima

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀AU: Mafia

⠀Theme Song: You're The One That I Want - Alex & Sierra

How you meet (his point of view):

⠀⠀The gallery was full of black and white suits, tight, floor length dresses with the sounds of laughter and clinking glasses meeting his ears. It was a joyous evening, celebrating the wonderful art work created by the boss's daughter. He had never met her before but he had heard whispers, all good as no one would dare slander the name of their leader's precious little girl. You were the boss's pride and joy, thus he kept you as far away from the darker side of the family business as possible.

⠀⠀Kirishima was still a new hire, a bodyguard of sorts and would consider this his first gig. He had an idea of who he was looking for as he walked further into the mass of people admiring your work but didn't expect what he would eventually come across. You were as far away from the crowd as you possibly could be, guzzling glasses of wine and over all appearing to be a deer in headlights. He couldn't fugure out for the life of him why you seemed so frightened until he watched people approach you to talk, noticing the stutter in your voice when you replied to questions and greetings,your body language telling people to stear clear of you.

⠀⠀So, he did what he was hired to do. "Kindly step away from the lady." He said with a smile, approaching with his large arms crossing over his broad chest as he towered over the guests. They looked at him as if he were a giant shark looking to devour them before scurrying away, leaving the two of you alone. He stood quietly, listening to the voices on the other side of his ear piece as his ruby eyes scanned the area around you. He made sure to not stand so close and avoided in letting his gaze wander.

⠀⠀He couldn't help but admire your skin in quick glances, finding the spot over your eye to be quite adorable. Your silky, ask blonde hair was all dolled up for the event, light make up on your face but not enough to cover the vitiligo. You were stunning and his heart hammered against his chest. So the rumors were true.

⠀⠀You thanked him, voice quiet and careful as you set down your wine glass and clasped your hands together. Out of the corner of his eye he watched you twiddle your thumbs. You didn't want to be here, did you? This obviously wasn't your idea, how could it be? A girl like you, timid as a mouse, didn't want to be surrounded by strangers. "Miss..." He began, thinking carefully because the last thing he wanted to do was piss off the boss and likely get himself killed. But this was his job wasn't it? Making sure you were happy and safe? "Would you like to leave here for a bit? We'll come back of course, but you look like you need some air."

Extra.

He ended up taking you to a drive thru restaurant and got you whatever you wanted, letting you talk about whatever you wanted or sat quietly if you chose not to talk at all If it was quiet in the suv then that was fine too, he just wanted to help you in any way he could. Eventually the silence becomes small talk and then leads to a rather deep conversation about whatever the hell was going on inside that beautiful brain of yours. Kirishima wasn't the smartest man but he wasn't stupid, he wasn't as clueless as most thought he was. You told him how your father made you do this as an attempt to get you out there, to socialize and possibly find a suitor. This was the mafia after all.

The Confession:

⠀⠀It was a tradition now, every Sunday you and Eijirou would go to your favorite café to have coffee and enjoy the early day weather before it got too hot. You sit at the same table, in the same chairs with him facing the door. You get the same drinks and food and just overall enjoy each others company. After that night at the gallery you two became fast friends, which your father obviously had to approve of but thankfully he did. Kirishima was a good man, he's trustworthy and puts you before himself.

⠀⠀The day he approached your father and asked to speak in private was the day he knew he was likely to get thrown in the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean. He has confessed his feelings for you to your old man, who listened intently with a blank face behind his desk. "Sir, I'm in love with your daughter, and with your blessing I'd like to... court her." He was utterly terrified when your father cleared his throat and sighed, shifting where he sat so he could stand and move around the desk. He reached out for a handshake which Kirishima looked up at him with a questioning look.

⠀⠀Your father gave his blessing and now... He just had to tell you, his best friend, that he loved you. God he loved you so much— "Kiri," you interrupted his thoughts, bringing him crashing back to reality," a-are you alright? You seem nervous." He swallowed hard in response but cleared his throat, taking a sip of his cappuccino.

⠀⠀"Oh yeah— definitely." He breathed with a laugh, moving a hand to the back of his neck to scratch. How was he going to say it? "So, uh—" he licked his lips, adjusting himself in his seat multiple times until he groaned and leaned forward. "Fuck, I'm just gonna say it— Maybell, I love you. I have for a long time now and I talked to your father and he said—"

⠀⠀"Said what, Eijirou?" Your eyes widened at his confession and he felt like a complete idiot. Should he had said something to you first? Was this a mistake? What if you didn't feel the same way? God his mind was going to explode—

⠀⠀"That I could... court you. With your permission." You were quick to nod and smile to his surprise, which prompted a grin if his own.

Extra.

Kirishima HAS to be facing the door in any public place you go to. I don't make the rules.

He never let's you walk close to the road, he has to be between you and it at all times when you're walking.

He oders your food and drinks for you when you can't but is there for moral support when you do. He wants you comfortable and happy. He wouldn't ever dare get in your way though, you're a lot stronger and braver than most may think you are.

The Relationship:

⠀⠀On days like this, Kirishima can't help but admire you. He catches himself staring wuite often but he just can't help it. What did he do to deserve such a beautiful partner? He looks at you and all he can think about is how much he loves you and wants to see you smile. He watched you from the kitchen island, leaning against it as you waltz around the kitchen in your pinky fuzzy slippers and one of his shirts that's much, much too big on you. He remembers your surprise when you found his clothing was actually too big on you and how happy you were.

⠀⠀"Maybell?" He hums, adjusting his stance and crossing his arms on the counter. He listened for you to him back in response, a smile on his lips. "You look so cute in my clothes.

⠀⠀You giggled, shaking your head and continued putting the dishes away until Eijirou appeared behind you, arms wrapping around your waist and his forehead coming down on your shoulder. "Need somethin' baby?" You turned your head just slightly, a brow cocked inquisitively. He squeezed you in response, swiftly lifting you and making you squeal. Thankfully you didn't have anything in your hands at the moment. He peppered kisses all over the side of your face, setting you down only to lift you again bridal style.

⠀⠀"I've got all I need right here in my arms." He chuckled and you playfully smacked his chest, letting him carry you to your shared bedroom.

Extra.

TICKLE FIGHTS.

He thinks your sneezes are the cutest thing in the world.

He loves your god awful puns, they crack him up every time.

Adores the fact you're a nurturer, especially with your friends. He thinks you'd make a great mother but if that's something you don't want he respects that.

You take care of everyone, but who takes care of you? Eijirou is always there to be your shoulder to lean and cry on, he's your sound board and is always happy to let you talk about your feelings with him. You're allowed to not be happy and bubbly all the time, he realizes how staying positive all the time can actually do more damage than goof, especially if you bottle everything up.

If on a particular day you're struggling with your speech he's happy to be your voice as well. He understands you better than anyone, even your own father.

Speaking of your father, he can't wait to make Eijirou his son-in-law! He's a good man with a good heart and treats you right, what's not to like?

He has trouble saying no to you and spoils you quite a bit.

The Fights:

...

Extra.

There's nothing, what you say goes and all he can say is "yes dear". He knows better than to argue with you, however when he's right and he knows he is, he finds a way to prove it without making you mad.

The Sex:

⠀⠀"Fuck baby—" he hissed, hands finding your hips and guiding you as you rub yourself on his cock. Your hands are on his thighs and your head is tossed back, giving him the perfect view of your tits. God he loves them, he loves the plush skin of your stomach and your thighs, your ass too, he loved seeing all of you. He was so happy that you allow him this privilege of seeing you, granted you've been dating a while now but still. Your sounds are music to his ears and all he wants is to make more, make you feel so good you're calling his name and making a mess.

He wanted— no, needed, to feel you, to feel inside your warm and wet cunt, to feel it squeeze him and milk him dry. He was quick to flip the two of you over, careful to not hurt you as he did. You gasped and giggled, reaching up to hold his face as he smiled, leaning down to capture your lips in a searing kiss. He loved your taste, he could go on and on about all the things he loved about you all day if he could. "You want it baby?" You nodded excitedly, lip caught between your teeth. He smirked and reached between the two of you, thick fingers tracing a line between your lips and slipping inside your soaked pussy.

"D-Daddy—" you whine, a slight pout on your lips as your face morphs into one of pleasure. He chuckled, pumping his fingers in and out a few times before removing them and grabbing his cock. He coated it more in your slick, guiding it between tge lips of your cunt before slowly pushing inside, groaning at how tight you are. You squeal of course, gasping for breath because Kirishima is an impressive size, you still struggled to take him sometimes but like a good girl you always managed.

"That's my good girl." He cooed, moving so his forearms were on either side of your head. He gave a couple test thrusts, waiting for you to adjust u til you nodded for him to continue.

Extra.

Terrified of activating his quirk while he's fucking you, but he keeps himself under control.

He loves his hair pulled and he loves to be bitten, he especially likes it when you scratch his back when he hits that good spot.

Eats you out for his pleasure mostly, but for yours as well. He loves when you grind on his face and moan his name when you do it. Speaking of, please sit on his face, he loves that shit. He knows how to be careful of his teeth!

If you have pets they CANNOT be in the same roon when you're doing the do, it's just weird.

He'd happily bend you over in the kitchen and do you right there. Hell, he'll fuck you anywhere you deem suitable.

He likes to do a mixture if praise and degradation with you, and edging and overstimulation is a big go-to. He just loves seeing you squirm under him, hr loves hearing you beg and say you need him.

[mellifluoushood]

calum: you were playing dumb drinking games with friends and you confessed you didn’t know what calum liked in bed. everyone was teasing him for it so when you got home “i’ll tell you what i like”; rough, ropes, or nice and slow, mmm yes i need this honestly take this wherever you wanna

Thank you for requesting, baby girl. Let me know if you want a Part 2 ‘cause I would love to write one. I didn’t include the smut in case you wanted it as a longer fic. xx

She had admitted she had never played a drinking game. That was her first mistake.

She agreed to sit down with the boys and their girlfriends to play her first drinking game - truth or dare with a twist. That was her second mistake.

She picked ‘truth’. That was her third mistake.

She watched as the smirk quickly quirked at the corner of Michael’s lips. He took a drink without the game prompting him to,

“What does Calum like in bed?”

Her brows furrow and she draws her lips to purse, looking down at the drink in her hands and gripping the glass of tequila tightly. Luke had shoved the glass of tequila, the drink that matched his, into her hands before the game started. Suddenly, the downing the whole thing seemed tempting.

“I, uh,” she stutters for a moment, “I don’t know.” She mutters and doesn’t hesitate to down the half-full glass. The group looks at her in surprise but quickly switches their glances to Calum, who’s gripping his glass so tightly it might shatter in his grasp. His eyes read with disgust at Michael’s question, not even bothering to hide the look he’s sending to Michael, who’s avoiding his gaze.

Luke’s ignorance stemmed from the tequila, “What do you mean you don’t know? Cal, c’mon man,” he laughs, sipping at his matching glass. Calum’s glance turns to him, the anger burning through the stupid silk shirt Luke had adorned for the second day in a row. 

“Looks like Calum doesn’t-”

“Alright, next question!” Sierra notices the way her shoulders have curled into her chest and her head has dropped. Sierra casts a glance around the group, a warning group to not pursue the touchy subject when her eyes fall on Ashton, “Truth or dare?”

Ashton notices her tactics and follows along, nudging Calum gently to get his attention. Calum looks at him briefly, when Ashton nods in understanding, Calum picks up on his silence and looks down at his girlfriend. He notices the way her chin is tucked to her chest and she’s refusing to meet anyone’s concerned eyes. He bites at his bottom lip before pulling her close to him. His left-hand wraps around her left thigh, his warm hand startling her. His palms feel rough against the soft skin of her upper thigh and he’s dangerously close to the curve of her hips. She finds her breath hitching in her throat.

His neck cranes down to run his lips along the shell of her ear and it hasn’t been the first time. He can feel her shiver against his touch, “Do you wanna leave?” His voice is deep, rasping against the depth of his chest.

She looks up at him, biting at her lip before looking away, embarrassed that she had gotten so upset. He can read her like a book. Her body is responding to the way he’s moving his hand along the curvature of her leg, but she’s still flustered. Her cheeks are tinted pink, her eyes only meeting his for a brief second so he can’t see the small tears forming. Calum stands to his feet, quickly grabbing her hand closest to him and pulling her up with him. The sudden movement causes her to stumble into him slightly, but she finds herself giggling, the redness in her cheeks dissipating as her focus turns elsewhere. Calum’s lips quirk into a small smile at the sound.

“We’re gonna head out,” he makes sure the tone in his voice is suggestive. He rolls his lips between his teeth before giving Ashton a subtle wink and pulling her along with him. She sends a meak wave to the group before following him. She doesn’t miss the sound of a smack against the back of Michael’s head and Crystal’s voice,

“You know how young that relationship is, Mike.” She smiles to herself, listening to the other woman sticking up for her. She turns her head, trying to catch Crystal’s eyes. When she does, she sends her a grateful smile. Crystal winks and mouths, “Always.”

She turns her attention to the man pulling her away from the group, her eyes watching as his jaw was locked tightly in its place and his brows furrowed as he leads her out the front door and closes it behind them. His mind raced at how to handle the situation in front of him. He’s angry that Michael tried to get involved, full well knowing that they had only been official for a couple of weeks. But, he also can’t help but feel grateful that Michael handed him the perfect scenario on a silver platter. 

Calum doesn’t waste a moment, taking the hand that he had grasped and using it to pull her to him. He uses his hips to press her against the front door, ducking his head to her neck and running his lips along the expanse of her skin.

“I’ll tell you what I like, my wildflower, if you want,” he pokes his tongue past his lips, gently caressing the goosebumps that began to form. He can feel her pulse against his nose and he nudges her chin with it. He knows she loves when he trails his lips like this, teasing her. The new, yet still somewhat familiar scent of her perfume weaves its way into his conscious. He always admired the tingle of the woodsy scent in his senses when he got close enough to her.

Her hands grasp at his hips, tilting her head back against the front door. She’s been waiting for this moment since the day he asked her to be his girlfriend. And he feels the way her hips respond to him, pushing into his.

“Please,” she whispers.

[thiswasinevitableid]

if you're in the mood for requests i would absolutely LOVE something from the hidebehind au? (maybe including blindfold sex??)

Here you go! I decided to do this for monster march. We’ll figure this counts as prompt 18: claws.

All things considered, Duck is lucky. He’s employed which, given when the newspapers are calling the great depression raging across the country, is a blessing. His days are spent among the mighty trees of the Pacific Coast, he has a small cabin all to himself, and a cat to keep the mice away. 

He just wishes he wasn’t working for a fucking logging company hundreds of miles away from anyone he’s ever known. 

Winthrop Logging needed someone with an arborist or botanists training to make sure the woods stayed healthy before they were chopped down. So they pay Duck a fine sum to make sure diseases or pests don’t send their prospects toppling like dominos. As he traverses his usual route between the trees, he wonders if there will ever be a way to convince them to preserve some of the land rather than profit from it. 

He stops, studying a pine. There it is again, the feeling that someone, or something, is behind him. Watching. Waiting. 

It started three weeks ago, when he was deeper in the woods than usual, humming to himself and occasionally talking to the trees. The skin on his neck prickled, all his senses forcing him from his thoughts and into the present moment; something was there, tracking him as he moved. Not a bear, our a cougar, as the birds still called and the insects chorused. Whatever it was stood directly behind him, yet when he turned to look, there was nothing but the path. 

For the first few days he tried to spot it, never got more than a flicker in the corner of his eye. He came home exhausted, the day spent on high alert as the primal part of his mind demanded he remain on guard for the moment his hunter decided to strike. 

The moment hasn’t come, and Duck is growing used to the gaze crawling up his spine. He decided to ignore it, pretend it was just his imagination and some days that worked. 

Today, there’s no getting around the fact that something is peering over his shoulder. Twice now he’s felt fingers millimeters from his neck. When he feels them again, he reaches his arm back, eyes firmly on his notes, and grabs hold of his stalker.

----------------------------------------------

Humans are not known for their speed. Indrid’s foresight showed this one as no exception, so when the man is fast enough to grab his leg, he chirps in surprise. 

“Fuckin knew it, there is someone back there.” Warm fingers smooth across the short down of his leg.

Indrid appreciates being called a someone instead of a thing, but not the position of Duck’s hand. 

“Please let go. That is my thigh you are grabbing. My upper thigh.”

The hand stays put, “Anyone ever tell you it’s mighty rude to stand right behind a fella when he’s tryin to work?”

“I cannot stand anywhere else, though the proximity is due to-”

“Uh huh, sure, just like you can’t help but play and hide and seek whenever I try to figure out what’s goin on. Lemme guess, you’re one of the other fellas from the loggin camp playin tricks on the new guy?”

“I am nothing of the kind.” Indrid contemplates moving the hand himself, but it feels so very nice.

“One of the locals then? I keep tellin you, I’m a country boy, I’m not gonna get scared by campfire tales or weird noises in the woods. Try that government fella instead.”

“What about the part of me you are touching suggests I am human?”

“Probably a left-over monkey suit or somethin’ from Halloween.”

“I am not a costume, I am a Hidebehind.”

The human pauses, then shakes his head, “No such thing.”

“You are literally touching one.” Indrid stamps his foot, frustrated by the turn this is taking and the fact that futures do not show the human believing him any time soon. 

“Don’t believe I am.” The human turns his head. Indrid’s body whips sideways, keeping him from view. The human holds on, tries again from the opposite direction, only for Indrid to be wrenched back the way he came. 

“Stop movin!”

“Stop trying to look at me!” He’s twisted to the side once more, wrenching the humans arm in the process. 

“Ow!” The grip on him tightens, “quit this fuckin game right now. You don’t lemme see you, I’ll drag you right back to camp with me.”

“I can’t!” Indrid chirps, panicked, the noise continuing into a wail of alarm at what might happen if he’s surrounded with nowhere to hide. 

His fear must register as genuine, as the human releases him with a sigh. After a moment he removes his hat, running his fingers through his hair but not turning around. 

“You still there?” 

“Yes.”

“Why are you even followin me in the first place?”

A peek at the futures says the truth will be most effective, though almost all timelines end with the human telling him to “get gone.”

“I find you intriguing. You do not chop or hack at my home, you study it. You speak to the trees when you think you are alone. You look soft to touch, especially the fur on your head. I like looking at you and being near you. That was why I stood so close.”

“...You been followin me because you’re sweet on me?” The drawl, as soothing as movement of water through plant limbs, seems confused. 

“I do not find you sweet. I could only do that if I ate you. Which I do not want to do.

A chuckle, “Not quite what I meant. You been hangin around me because you think I’m swell and wanna get to know me. Guess I can’t fault you for that, I'm a decent fella to know if I do say so myself.  You got a name?”

“Indrid.” This is an unexpected turn of the timelines. 

“Nice to meet you, Indrid. I’m-”

“-Duck” Indrid says along with him, “apologies, I can see the future and am thus a bit ahead in conversations.”

“Huh. Well, I gotta head back to town. If you wanna talk again, I won’t mind. Just tell me you want to instead of lurkin, you hear?”

Indrid grins, “Yes. I hear you perfectly.”

----------------------------------------------------

“Fuck” Duck picks himself up from the dirt where he fell, brushing pine needles from his coat. He’d been angling for a better look at a set of roots and tripped over a different set in the process. 

“Are you alright?” A now familiar voice asks from behind a tree to his left. 

“Depends. You see me make a fool of myself by fallin on my face?”

“Yes.”

“Then my body is fine but my dignity is real wounded.”

A laugh like spring breeze through new leaves, “I suspect it will recover. You do have quite a deal of leaves in your hair. May I help you with them?”

Duck nods. Slender fingers pluck at his hair.

“Ohhh, it is just as soft as I thought it would be.” Indrid murmurs, “does it feel nice?”

“Don’t feel like much--oh, uh, fuck, that does though. Feels damn good.” Duck groans as claws scritch his scalp. The first time he felt them on his shoulder when Indrid was talking, he tensed; The hidebehind isn’t small, and the claws suggest he could shred Duck to bits and scatter him across the woods. But after weeks of keeping him company, Duck knows the worst Indrid might do to him is steal too much of his lunch. 

The hidebehind, endlessly fascinated by Duck’s job, will sit out of sight as he works. Duck asked him if he only watched Duck the entire time. It turns out the creature draws as well, and Duck now recognizes the sound of a pencil under the rustle of leaves and calls of wildlife. Indrid also spares Duck dangerous climbs into the trees, offering to look at marks or discoloration and describe them if they’re too high for the human to see. 

Turns out he also gives a mean rubdown, his claws moving from Duck’s head to his neck, banishing the knot that’s been bothering him all morning. 

“I like touching you.” Indrid chirps. Duck hasn’t forgotten their first meeting; if a man had come to him with such flattering shyness in his voice and an interest in Ducks body, he’d have been in Duck’s bed by the end of the night. 

He’s not ready to take a hidebehind home, but he’s ready to tease one.

“Seems mighty unfair that you get to touch and I don’t.”

“You would have to close your eyes to so much as shake my hand. My form does not care how little of me you would see, it will pull me into hiding regardless.”

“Then I’ll close my eyes.” Duck does just that, tips his head back so Indrid can see it’s safe. One hand continues massaging his head, while a spindly arm reaches around his chest.

“Bring your arms up, towards you a bit more, yes, there we are.” 

Duck runs his hands over the limb; it reminds him of Manzanita bark he saw in the Sierra Nevadas, smooth but unmistakably of the woods. Towards the elbow the texture changes to soft, short feathers, like the ones on Indrids leg. 

The hidebehind tightens his hold, pulling Duck to his torso. More feathers prickle the back of his neck and the creature shudders. 

“You alright back there?”

“I...it has been so very long since anyone or anything touched me. I foresaw my body being sensitive to it but the intensity is, is-” he lets go so suddenly Duck stumbles, “I am sorry, it was too much and yet I wanted, wanted more.”

Images of Indrid surrounding him, chirping and purring as Duck touches him all over, flood his mind. The embarrassment in his voice keeps the arborist from acting on them. 

“You, uh, gonna show me that Saw-Whet Owl nest?”

“Of course, sweet human. Take the right fork of that deer trail just ahead, and we shall go from there.”

------------------------------------------

“I have something for you. Close your eyes.” 

Duck, still perching on the stump he was using as a lunch chair, does as instructed. Indrid sets a piece of paper in his right hand. 

“You may now look.”

An illustration fills the entire page. It shows a being with stick-like arms and legs leading to a narrow body covered in short, leaf shaped feathers in mottled browns and greens. The face is angular, shaded to suggest it’s dusted with fuzz, and leads to several stick-shaped horns. The eyes are wide and black, the claws long, and there are short, triangular shapes behind its shoulders. 

“Holy fuck, you’ve got wings?”

“Indeed. I do not use them much. I believe they help my kind migrate when our habitats dwindle.”

Duck traces the face on the paper, “How long did it take you to make this?”

“Two days, as the lakes I use to study my reflection tend to attract townspeople and loggers looking to take a break from their toil.”

“You did all this just ‘cause I said I wished I knew what you looked like.”

“Not solely. I...I wanted to show you it as well. So you might know the face of the one who, ah, whose days you brighten.”

Carefully, Duck folds the portrait and tucks it into the inside pocket of his coat, “Find I like my work even better with your company too, ‘Drid. Would you, uh, be okay if I tried to match what you showed me to what I can feel?”

An intrigued chirr floats through the air as Duck shuts his eyes and waves to the ground in front of him. A scuff and rustle of dirt and leaves, and then he feels Indrid in front of him. Cool hands guide his own onto the multicolored feathers.

“Shoulders?”

“Correct.” Indrid moves their joined hands upwards, stopping on velvet-dusted cheeks, “oh, oh goodness, I have always wanted to be held like this.”

“Yeah?” Duck’s heartbeat is in his fingertips, “what else have you always wanted?”

“To, to be touched, to be known, toMMMphohh” a rough tongue laps at his lips as he pulls Indrid into an awkward, bowed kiss. 

“How’s that, darlin?” Duck kisses along what he thinks is Indrids’ jaw, “that the kind of knowin’ you in the mood for?”

“Yes, oh my sweet human you spoil me, oh” claws grab his shoulders, “I, do you really wish this, with me? This was in so few timelines I assumedAH” he squirms adorably as Duck gropes the feathers of his chest.

“You better believe it, sugar. It’s the weirdest goddamn thing I ever wanted and I want it, want you, more than I’ve wanted anything in a long fuckin time.” Curious and eager to fill every one of his senses with Indrid, he buries his face against his upper chest, finds skin beneath all the camouflage and bites down. The hidebehind keens, pulling Duck from his seat into his lap. Duck laughs, bites down once more and gets a nose full of fluff. 

“AhCHOO!” His eyes pop open on reflex after he sneezes, sending the hidebehind out of view and Duck flat on the ground. 

“Blasted physiology” Indrid chirrs, frustrated. 

Duck sits up, Indrid’s cries of pleasure ringing in his ears and giving him all kinds of reckless ideas. 

“Don’t worry, darlin. If my hidebehind wants to romancin’, that’s what I’m gonna do.”

-------------------------------------------------

He takes to wearing a kerchief around his neck at work. The loggers and company pencil pushers assume it’s an affectation, not a tool for covering his eyes for some uninterrupted kisses while deep in the woods.  Today, he’s not sure kisses will be enough. 

Duck woke up hard, dream of Indrid looming above him in bed fading into the morning sun. His hidebehind has yet to show himself, so the humans mind has nothing but his fantasies to distract him on his trek through the woods. 

He’s ahead on his tasks for the day. He’s five miles deep in the woods. And he’s got an idea. 

After rinsing his hands with water from his canteen, he leans back against a tree and undoes his suspenders, followed by his fly. Closing his eyes, he slips his fingers into his underwear, teasing himself and sending soft moans into the air. It doesn’t take long before he’s wet enough to push two up into himself with ease.

“‘Drid” he gasps, letting his head loll back, “‘Drid, fuck, that feels so fuckin good.”

A single leaf crunches in front of him, and his kerchief slowly slides up his face to shield his eyes. 

“It is about to feel much better, dear one.” Indrid kisses the top of his head, “Shall I take this shameless display as evidence that you wish for me to, ah, fuck you?”

“That it does. And I’ll have you know I got plenty of shaAAmeWHoah.” Duck flails as his pants fall down and his body flies up in one smooth motion. Indrids claws prick his thighs as he spreads them open, holding him against the trunk with ease. 

“So very polite of my sweet one to prepare himself for me. It makes this all the easier.” A round, bumpy cock teases his folds, pressing in with a stretch that makes Duck twist in his lovers hold. 

“Fuck, fuck, that’s so fucking good but holy fuck, are you packin a fuckin pine tree down thereOH, ohfuckdarlin, that’s, that’s as far as it’s gonna go.”

“Half of it? My, who knew my human could take so much? Wait, it is not too much, correct?”

“N-nope, just the right amount” the bumps rub every inch inside him, one on the shaft catching his cock as Indrid thrusts and wiggles his hips. 

“Wonderful” Indrid purrs, “I have dreamed of this all dayAHnnncareful” he chides after Duck bites the part of his arm he’s able to reach, “or I shall take you so roughly your back will wear imprints of bark for days.”

Duck whimpers excitedly, very aware of thick pre-cum dripping into him, “Yeah lets do that.”

He can hear the grin.

“If you insist.”

“FUCKohfuckohfuck” his hands scrabble at the tree and at Indrid’s arms, “that’s it darlin, that’s it, fuck, gonna give you the best goddamn rub-down after this, touch you until your body forgets what it’s like to be without my fuckin hands on it.” Leaves scatter in his hair and down the back of his shirt as Indrids fucking turns frantic. 

“I, I shall hold you to that AHhnn, sweet one, you are so tight, so deliciously slick and inviting, I, I am not going to last long, you are too perfect, just touching you makes me burn like wildfire” His thrusts sharpen, never pushing too deep but making Duck feel like a log split beneath an axe of ecstasy, “Duck, sweetheart, yes, yesyesyes” Indrid spills into him, cum running out of Ducks body and back down his shaft. 

For a minute, Duck is nothing more than a pinned specimen, spread eagle on the tree as Indrid shudders, purrs, and drags fuzzy kisses along his throat. Then his shirt rides up as he slips down the tree, but Indrid doesn’t put him down. Instead, a rough tongue glides up one thigh and then the other. The human gasps, gripping Indrid’s horns for balance as Indrid buries his face between his legs.

“Ohhhhhh, oh I do so love tasting how we mingle together.” Indrid’s breath is ragged and hot against his dick, “I am going to do this every day.”

“Please” Duck squeezes his horns, his orgasm painfully close, “please ‘Drid, wanna cum on your tongue, want you holdin me up while I, I-ohfuck.” His legs kick weakly as Indrid sucks him off, tongue lavishing his cock with so much friction he goes hoarse from moaning. The fact he cannot see makes it all the better, makes his world nothing more than Indrids mouth, his claws, his desire that wraps around Duck like vines. 

He cums, arching his hips into the “thank yous” Indrid presses to his legs. 

When his boots touch the ground, deft claws begin pulling his clothes into order, Indrid kissing and caressing him as he does. 

“Y’know, I can get my own britches up.” Duck ruffles a nearby patch of feathers. 

“I know, but I wish to take care of you. Hidebehinds are attentive to our mates, and while I cannot build you a nest, and I can least clean you up after you let me do something so wonderful with you.”

Duck wraps his arms around the cryptid, resting his cheek against him, “Would you wanna do this, uh, wonderful somethin again?”

“Of course.”

The human smiles, reaches his hand up to stroke Indrids cheek. This means he feels the hidebehind smile when Duck says, “Glad to hear it. But I’ll have you know, one of these days I’m gonna expect a nest.”

[enkelimagnus]

A Castle in the Forest

Percy x Vex’ahlia, Chapter 3, 3387 words, 

A Modern AU, in which Vex is a park ranger taking over the Alabaster Sierras post, and finds much more than she bargained for

Read on AO3

-------------

Keyleth was right about the trail. She’s the only one that really takes it.

It’s a month into Vex’s stay in Whitestone when she bumps into the red-haired half-elf again.

It’s a late morning with a pale winter sun, the kind that doesn’t really warm you in any way. Vex hasn’t had to take off her coat through the exertion of work in a couple of days. The cub plays in a pen she’s hammered into the side of the path when she got there.

She’s a couple of miles into the trail now and it’s getting harder by the day. The further away from civilisation, the more tangled the branches and roots are. She doesn’t easily fall to the ground but even her sure footing fails her regularly.

The trail now snakes along the mountainous platform Castle Whitestone sits on. A thin layer of bushes provides a buffer between the path and the rock, thicker in patches where certain harsher varieties grow. There’s some berry bushes in there, thorny but with delicious fruit that will make Vex’ delight in summer.

She decides to stop for a bit of lunch, gives the cub some milk and solid food. She’s trying to wean him off, regularly asking advice to her old mentors. Once she’s done taking care of him, she sits down on a bigger rock and starts to eat her sandwich of brown bread, cured meats and cheese, with dried fruit on the side. She’s completely out of spices and Vax won’t be there for a week at least.

It’s all a little drab. Despite the pale sun, she can feel the rain coming, and she doubts she’ll be able to spend most of the afternoon working here. She’ll have to pack up and start the hike back down to the edge of the path, for almost two hours.

She stretches out once she’s done eating, closing her eyes and letting herself dig. She settles her feet into the ground, straightens her spine and digs herself into the forest.

Her consciousness expands, past her skull, through her entire body until she’s one with her mind. And then it pushes past her physical form. Through every pore, through her feet’s connection to the ground, she breathes her mind out and lets it tangle with the forest.

It’s a strange sort of feeling. Vex stops breathing for a second as she sinks into the sensation of letting her mind run free. It’s primal. She remembers being taught this strange instinctive ability by other rangers, being taught to let herself be. Let her nature breathe out.

She stops floating after a moment though and focuses on what she’s doing this for. She’s searching for an enemy.

More specifically, she’s searching for a fey. A part of her doesn’t believe she’s truly alone and free of Saundor’s influence, so she searches. She doesn’t find any fey, nothing in the six mile radius her consciousness stretches in. What she finds however is a fiend.

She can’t tell exactly where it is, her powers aren’t that specific, but she knows it’s there. It’s in her radius, in her home, in the place she’s sworn to protect.

The trance ends and she snaps back into her body like a stretched-out rubber hand. She shudders violently, her eyes adjusting to her surroundings. She’s forgotten her own name for a second there.

The fiend’s presence leaves an ashy aftertaste in her mouth. She’ll need to go and talk to a priest about this. She has no idea what the creature’s power is, but she’d rather have some divine magic by her side if she has to root it out.

As she packs her things to get back to work, she hears something. A light footstep, to her right, coming from the south.

Vex’s hand flies to her bow. Lightning-fast, she notches in an arrow and draws it back, focusing on her target.

A half-elf with red hair, tan skin and green eyes. Her hands are up, she has a sheepish smile on her face. Keyleth.

Vex exhales. She doesn’t lower her guard, because Keyleth could still be the fiend, but she relaxes somewhat.

“You startled me,” she says in explanation, but not apology, for the arrow pointed at her.

“I’m sorry,” Keyleth replies, her hands still up even if Vex has lowered her bow. “I wasn’t expecting someone there either.”

Her eyes dart over to the rock formation for a second.

“I’m making sure this trail is secure,” Vex explains. “You can probably handle yourself, but unmarked paths like this one are just begging for idiots to climb up and get themselves injured. And then I have to deal with it,” she mutters. “And it’s a major liability.”

“I get it,” Keyleth hums. Her right hand settles on the rock.

She seems anxious despite her relaxed demeanor. It may simply be a façade. Her eyes dart to the stone right behind Vex, or up to the castle regularly, as if checking if something is still there. She’s much more nervous, almost hostile towards Vex than the first time they met. Something’s wrong.

“I was wondering,” Vex starts again, and green eyes snap back to her. “I did some… energy checks around here earlier and something was wrong. I felt a-”

“There are many wrong things in the Parchwood Timberlands,” Keyleth snaps, cutting Vex off. “Undead sometimes, some elementals too. Comes with the territory. A lot of magical energy here.”

She’s trying to distract Vex’ attention. She’s lying to her, it’s almost too obvious. The red-head is not good at deception and it immediately pings Vex’ radar. Her eyes are darting back to the stone almost in panic now, her arm not holding her staff is stiff to her side with the fist closed.

“I’m not talking about those,” Vex coldly points out. “I felt a fiend. A couple undead or werewolves or elementals I can deal with, and was warned about when I took my post. But not fiends.”

Keyleth is stiff as a board now. “I… I don’t know. I don’t come here often, and I only come on this trail. I can’t help you,” she mumbles under her breath.

She’s still lying. Vex feels the rise of anger in her throat, anger at this girl who is not letting her do her job correctly.

“Listen, I don’t know why you’re lying to me but this is dangerous. I don’t know what your business with this situation is, but whatever you’re protecting, it’s gonna kill people. That’s what fiends do. They’re evil.”

Keyleth shifts, her grasp on her staff white-knuckled. “I’m not protecting anything,” she answers tightly. “I can’t help you. I’m a druid, and a weak one at that. I can’t help anyone.”

Now there is a light tone of despair in her voice and Vex can feel the guilt coming off of the young woman in waves. She sighs deeply. She hopes this one’s problem won’t be something she bumps into in the dark of the forest.

“Fine,” Vex huffs. “Do whatever you were here to do. I’ll go get the local priest of Pelor for help with that creature anyway. We need divine power to combat fiends.”

Keyleth shifts again, staring at Vex with a strange intensity. She’s maybe not as hesitant as before. There is something stronger and harder about her. Vex wonders why she would be protecting a fiend.

Evil has many faces, and maybe Keyleth was seduced by one of those. Vex couldn’t blame her if she was. She’d made that mistake before. She just wished she could save Keyleth from this.

“I… Sorry for bothering,” Keyleth mutters before she starts walking northward, to the part of the trail Vex has yet to work.

“Good luck,” Vex replies similarly as she watches the druid walk away. She seems to relax as she moves away from Vex. Well.

She screwed that one up. Keyleth could have been an ally, but her… nervousness around the topic of the fiend didn’t make her seem trustworthy.

Vex sighs heavily, closing her eyes a little. This city is much more of a mess than expected, and now she really will have to go to that Temple of Pelor and see if there’s a priest that can help her root out the fiend.

Maybe that can be her late afternoon trip, she realizes. She’s made enough headway for today, and she has no desire to stick around to see Keyleth again once she walks back down the trail in a couple of hours, hopefully satisfied with her hike.

Now that she thinks of it, coming to one specific trail once a month or once every couple of months and never any other is a strange habit. What is Keyleth finding up that trail? Is there a hideout that Vex will walk in? She should have asked her that, fuck. If that druid knows all about this trail, Vex needs to know too. She has no desire to find herself falling into a trap because she didn’t ask the person who knew.

She packs up her things and gets the cub back from his pen, before starting the long walk back down to her truck. It takes her about two hours, and she makes sure to drive home and leave the animal there before she heads into town.

Whitestone looks beautiful in the winter light, she has to admit that. It’s like the city is made to exist in this weather. She hasn’t spent enough time here to gauge if this is the average weather or not.

The high walls are almost blindingly light as she drives on the driveway surrounding the city, from the west side where she came out of the woods to the eastern side, where the cemetery and some of the temples are.

She’s done a little research and talked to some people. The Dawnfather is the main deity of the city and has been the patron of Whitestone and its ruling family, the De Rolos, since they arrived from Wildemount. Some stories say that the Parchwood Timberlands were created by the conflict between Pelor, the Dawnfather and Tharizdun, the Chained Oblivion, during the Calamity.

Stories of divine battles mark the entirety of Exandria. Fallen giants make for mountains and greatswords fit for deities are considered responsible for rivers or valleys opening into land. The supposed origin of the Parchwood Timberlands is not the only story of this kind. The place she used to call home, Syngorn, is situated in the middle of a forest known for growing from the ley energy left behind after the Divergence.

Vex has never been the most faithful. Her mother worshipped in that way that many do, partially and because of tradition and habit more than motivated by faith. When she and Vax left her for Syngorn, they found a city where the Elders’s very parents had been betrayed by the Arch Heart and left behind in the time of the Calamity. Though some had forgiven the deity and seen it as a gift, as it allowed them to become a people of the Feywild, some still held a grudge.

She guesses she took in the grudge part more than the forgiveness part.

The influence of the Dawnfather runs deep in Whitestone, from what she’s read. The Sun Tree towering in the center of the city, also represented on the city’s crest, was supposedly given by him. The Dawnfather’s temple, the Zenith, is a major place of worship, with the Lady’s Chamber. And it’s exactly what she needs.

Vex parks in the lot by the walled-up enclave of temples and cemetery. The Zenith leans against the Southern wall, towering over it. The Eastern gate is right in front of it, allowing a view of the tall wooden doors.

She steps into the yard in front of the temple and swallows. The door seems closed, but she doubts it actually is. She doesn’t know any reason why the temple would be closed today. Every house of worship of Pelor she’s seen before has been opened every day and night.

The doors are beautiful, dark wood carved with wreaths and sun rays, flames licking up the sides of it.

There isn’t anyone outside, the yard quiet and empty. As she walks across the grass, she tracks more mud than green. Vex sighs before she uses the thick iron knocker on the door. It used to be painted in gold, it seems. There’s still chips of paint in some untouched corners.

Her knock seems to echo a little inside but there is no immediate response. She waits there, wind slashing stray strands of hair into her face and sipping through her thick winter coat. From the corner of her eye, she notices that a part of the western wall of the temple is being rebuilt. She can’t imagine the cold in there.

She’s about to go and look closer at the fallen stones of the wall when something slides behind the doors. Bars probably, heavy iron locks opening. Within a few seconds, a smaller door opens in the massive right one.

Behind the panel is a human, with salt and pepper hair and a matching beard. They wear cream robes with red and gold embroideries and detailing representing suns and shields, with a golden sash wrapped around the waist. Vex can’t see exactly but they seem to be wearing several thick layers of fabric. Something about them is familiar, as if she’s seen them before.

“Sun’s Greeting, what can I do for you?” They say in a low, soft voice that must sound beautiful in a song.

Vex smiles. “Sun’s Greeting to you,” she responds. “I’m the new ranger of the Alabaster Sierras park, and I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time to discuss something I’ve sensed.”

They nod, something shifting in their eyes, though Vex cannot tell what.

“Vex’ahlia Vessar, right?” they ask. “I’ve heard about you.” They’re still smiling at her, but Vex feels frozen in place.

She hasn’t told anyone her last name yet. She’s been very careful not to. Many people and tribes do not use last names, and it is not uncommon enough to raise suspicion. The fact this person she has never met before knows a name they shouldn’t know is terrifying. She would drop into her trance and search for fey if she wasn’t in the middle of a conversation.

“Just… Just Vex’ahlia,” she replies, her voice wavering frustratingly.

“Father Reynal,” he introduces himself. “The current head of worship of the Zenith. Please, come in.”

He takes a step back to let her walk into the temple. Vex’s eyes stare at the mark of the door on the stone of the floor, but her legs walk her in automatically.

It’s almost as cold inside as it is outside, despite the large roaring fireplace behind the altar, across the room from the door. Candles are lit as the pale sun struggles to shine through the tall stained glass windows on the walls. There’s three on each of the longest walls.

Her muddy boots dirty the red carpet, but the priest doesn’t seem to pay that any mind. He’s looking right at her. Vex swallows. The door closes behind her, leaving her in the low-lit empty church.

The wall to her right is partially fallen, covered by large blankets suspended from the ceiling and attached to below the holes, to try and provide cover from the elements. It’s not working well.

Something has happened here, Vex can’t shake that feeling. The fallen walls and chipped paints and that thing about the De Rolos that the owner of the Alcove was so reluctant to talk about. Something terrible happened in this city, it hangs from the walls and through the air like ash after a catastrophic fire. It makes Vex want to cough it out, even if she knows it’s not really there.

The priest starts walking deeper in. He’s limping quite heavily. Vex follows him, dread coiling in her stomach. This is not the sunrise of divine positive energy she’s expected.

“What can I help you with? What have you sensed?” Father Reynal asks and Vex manages to make her brain start again.

“I sensed a fiend. In a six-mile radius from the stone platform on which the castle sits,” she explains. “I’ve dealt with fiends a couple of times, but not knowing what this one’s power is, I was hoping to gather some divine help.”

The priest raises an eyebrow at her. “I’m afraid a couple hours of hiking up the mountains is out of my current capacities,” he replies. His voice is much heavier, much more haunted. “That’s all you felt, right? A fiend, somewhere in that area. No specifics?”

Vex shakes her head. “My training only offers rather… general information,” she sighs. “That’s all I can give you.”

“I don’t think I can help you in any way,” he looks rather saddened by the fact.

“Maybe there is another member of your house of worship that would be up for some fiend hunt in the woods?” She asks, raising an eyebrow.

Father Reynal huffs lightly. “I’m the only one here,” he says. “The only one taking care of this temple. If I can’t help you, no acolyte of Pelor can, in Whitestone.”

Vex looks around the temple. The pews wear a layer of dust she hadn’t noticed originally. A gust of wind slips under the blanket trying desperately to keep it out. The candles’ lights tremble. It’s desolate. Father Reynal looks more tired and older like this, shadows digging in his face.

“I thought the Dawnfather was the most worshipped deity of the city,” she whispers.

The priest chuckles humorlessly. “He’s still worshipped alright, but the people don’t find the time or energy to come to the temple anymore. They haven’t in years.”

A lot of her information is wrong. Way too much for her comfort, actually. Not only did she not know the de Rolos were all dead, but now this too? The nagging feeling of dread tightens in her chest again.

“I’m sorry,” she swallows.

Father Reynal sighs. “Whitestone hasn’t been the Dawnfather’s beloved city for a very long time, but it has only recently become this visible. We should have known something was wrong a long time ago but we were all blind.”

The state of the city, the thing that happened, are weighing on this man something awful. Vex swallows.

“Do you know of anyone who could help me? I think the fiend is powerful enough for mind control.” She then starts recounting her encounter with Keyleth, who the half-elf is and why she’s worried about her, with the priest watching her intently. When she’s done, she looks at him honestly, earnestly. “I really need some help in this matter. A life may be at stake.”

“I know the druid you’re talking about,” Father Reynal nods. “But I wouldn’t worry. She has a strong mind, and she knows the path well. She’s not enthralled. I would be aware.”

That feels final. He’s shutting her out of that topic, shoving her worries away. He probably knows better than her about fiends and enthrallment but Vex can’t shake the stress in her bones. Maybe it’s only her own experience with Saundor, maybe she’s projecting it all on Keyleth and that fiend…

“Unless you have something else to ask…” the priest points out. “I will see you out. Things need to be done here, work.”

He coaxes Vex back to the door and opens it. She’s being shut out of something, again. It’s what comes with being a stranger to Whitestone, but she’s here to take care of people and nature alike, not to hurt anyone. Why won’t they tell her things she needs to know?

“I understand,” she says between gritted teeth as she steps back through the door.

Right as the man is about to close the door back on her, he stops. His eyes land on her again, heavy and sad.

“Maybe go ask in town. The Lady’s Chamber might know if there are good clerics in town,” Father Reynal advises. “And the tavern is always a good place to ask.”

And with that, the thick carved wood slams in Vex’ face.

[chiimmchiimm]

❝𝓰𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓭𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷 !¡ 𝓳𝓳𝓴❞

The enemy of your enemy is your friend and that for Lexa was the most important thing. So, when Commander Jungkook made her an offer, she couldn't refuse.

𝒫𝒶𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔: Jungkook x (femile: Lexa).

𝒢𝑒𝓃𝓇𝑒:  smut, fluff, angst, one-shot.

𝒲𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈: 26 k

𝑅𝒶𝓃𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓃𝑔:  +18  

𝒲𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔:   dirty vocabulary, explicit language, feeling of loss, burials, treatment by duty, commander duties, sexual attraction, love at first sight without knowing and knowing it, violent scenes, blood, very sexy scar, fights, jealousy, many unjustified jealousy of best friend, Jk is a love, enemies, intimidation, excessive harassment that ends in violence, aggressive situations, mention of death of secondary characters, dirt on the field, hormones, unprotected sex (use the gum for god xd), kisses with tongue, rough sex, woman fingering, creampie, loss of virginity, standing female oral, scratches on her back, spectacular body, big cock, abs out of this world.

𝒜𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇’𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝑒: I want to thank you, wonderful readers, for giving love to history. As a reward I made it much longer. Without more to say to enjoy! 

𝓥𝓸𝓬𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓵𝓪𝓻𝔂:  

✚ Heda*   → commander. (WanHeda*    → Commander of death) 

(FireHeda*   → Fire commander)

✚ Ste yuj.* → stay strong.

✚ Yu gonplei ste odon* → your fight is over. 

✚ Jus drein jus daun*  →  Blood must have blood.

✚ Shof op*   → Shut up!

✚ Dann*  → death 

✚ Leidon*     → Bye.

✚ Ge smak daun, gyon op nodotaim*  → If you fall, you get up.

✚ Ai hod yu in*   → I love you.

The green forest on the slopes of Cóndor was the place with the greatest host of species on the entire land surface. The savages lived on their land, warriors divided into clans who fought for a prosperous life. During the harsh winter, the snow was stained with blood as it witnessed the brutality of the war. One hundred years after the first peace treaty the slopes lay more uneasy than ever. The beings that inhabited the forest knew what would come so they fled to save their lives.

Food began to become scarce, people began to suffer from severe malnutrition that led to death. After the border pact, each clan decided to relate the territories to manage food. With the mountain warriors remaining at the peak of the sierra, the Iron Legion to the east, and the heavenly clan to the south. Each of them had a Heda *, a commander who watched over the safety of his people.

Over the years, the generations were changing. The Hedas had children who in turn had children. This is how little by little each clan was taking its place on earth. The offspring ensured the clan's legacy. They must be the strongest, the most cunning.

But sadly not everyone was equally obedient.

"I see you," Lexa murmured in a low voice so as not to alarm the large prey that lurked. Her feet were firmly on the ground as she slowly made her way toward the large deer eating. In complete silence, she reached behind to reach an arrow to pass it through the bow. She kept her breathing calm as she had been taught. Her whole being blends so well with the forest that they seemed like one. She braced herself, pointed her bow at the deer. With one eye closed and the lip brushing the tip of the arrow. Her father would be proud if she returned to the camp with such a copy. She was certain that he would overlook her continued acts of rebellion.

However, luck was not with her that day.

Branches creaked behind her, drawing the deer's attention, causing her to run away to take refuge in the brush, making it impossible to be captured. Lexa turned on her heel with the agility of a lion to take aim at the intruder when she saw the boy appear among the trees under the gun immediately as she sighed annoyed.

“I could have killed you piece of asshole!” I exhale furiously as I hit the wood of the bow against her thigh for helplessness. Suho completely came out of her hiding place with some red on her cheeks.

"My duty as a protector is to ensure your safety," Suho completed with frustration. Her brows furrowed and her arms crossed tightly just above her toned chest.

"Apprentice of protector." And I'm not a commander yet, besides, your stupid clumsiness has made me lose my prey.

"You shouldn't go out hunting the ...

"Yes, yes, those from the mountain are close and could attack blah, blah, blah ..."

"Alexa, it's not a joke they could really kidnap you to torture you and then kill you."

"I know," he snorted. She was fully and plainly aware that the threat from the mountain tribe was real, but she couldn't stay locked up at home with her mother. Less when she got up and saw how the bright sun invited her to go out and explore the forest. Suho's words declined her mood for a few minutes. "I just wanted a little time alone to think nothing more ...

"We should go back, it will be dark soon and the forest is not safe at night," Suho advised, stepping aside so that Lexa was first. The girl nodded resignedly. Time flew by whenever he went hunting. Since her father wouldn't let her go out alone, she hardly ever, really, ever, used to be accompanied by Suho. A strange but very skilled boy whose primary function was to control even his own shadow. Over time she ended up getting used to her company, forging a small friendship that flourished over the years. Now he was her best friend. Your confidant. It's all.

But that did not remove the fact that she was too strict on issues related to her protection and security.

Sometimes she just wanted to leave. Runaway where no one will find her to live the life she chose to live, not the one others decided to live. She was not unhappy, of course not. She lived a life full of joy and love within her clan. But the whole problem centers on her father not believing her. Since she was little she learned to fight, to hunt, to do any task to be a good leader. But her mistrust placed a big blindfold on her eyes.

I was willing to show her how much she was worth.

[...]

She bit into her apple slowly to focus all her energy on the small group of novice soldiers who had gathered in front of the door of the wall. She had learned from Suho's carelessness that the Heda* took these inexperienced children to the riverside training area for routine training. Actually, she was not very curious about these types of activities, since she always followed the same routine. However, for some strange reason, she felt she should go. I did not know, I did not know it. She just followed her instinct.

They soon set out on their way, going Lexa a few meters behind so as not to be seen by her father and win a fight. Although she had tried to be calm before the threat of the mountain soldiers, she knew him like the back of her hand, she knew that Heda was not so calm and that in fact, his insistence that he would not leave the camp had increased since that Suho had come up with the brilliant idea to tell him about the episode in the forest.

When the group stopped, she decided to hide among the trees to see from a distance. Heda kept her arms glued to each end of her hip as she ran those teenagers with her typical leader's gaze.

"When the alpha team crosses the white line of the tree the beta team ..." Heda began before her daughter deftly interrupted by reciting the words from memory.

"They camouflaged themselves between the sheets to cover them."

“Well then...”

"The archers will go behind to secure the air." The fluidity of their talk was a reflection of all those sleepless nights as she was studying her father's strategy books. She did not know but had stolen them from her cabin when she was marching on reconnaissance missions. She knew that stealing the material could cause her a terrible headache, but she decided to take the risk because she knew that her father would not teach her feats in combat on her own initiative.

"Okay, get ready. This may be a drill, but the threat is real.

“What was that, Commander?” Asked a short boy with barely a gram of fat on his body. The leaves of the trees began to shake mischievously creating a rather striking sound. The humid air that covered the environment gave the premonition that it will rain soon. The children beside him began to mumble in fear as they trembled from head to foot. Heda applauded loudly to silence the scandal.

"It was the wind that anticipates tonight's storm." The commander's words reassured the children, although there were still some who continued to wave their weak arms. Without further ado, the two teams split as Heda had explained. Lexa raised a skeptical eyebrow at the children's inaccuracy when placing herself. The posture of the body was very important since it depended on it that the movement to be executed was launched accurately. They did not put the back straight and the shoulders separated as it should be, but on the contrary, they could not shrink their bodies more by bending their backs in such a way that still from their position I could see the body. She denied with a curse in her mouth as the children began to move forward creating too much noise when crawling. The dry leaves creaked, and soon a white smoke began to form above their heads from the stirred earth.

Lexa dropped her body to rest her back. She crossed one leg with the other and then did the same with her arms. Suddenly, a rather annoying light began to blur the view. She put her hand in front to cover the thread of the sun. She followed the path of annoyance until she came across a hill.

Quite suspicious cracking sounds started at the top of the mountain. When Lexa looked in his direction her eyes widened in surprise.

“Wild!” The boy's scream alerted the rest of the group. Heda glanced at the hill across the river just following the direction a boy was pointing. Her skin turned white instantly when she saw a group of twenty people slide down the slope. Then she turned to the scared, runny children.

"Roi take them back to camp!" The rest with me we can not let pass!

The sunny one nodded at her order, shouting nervously at the children to follow her and not look back. Lexa saw it necessary to get out of her hiding place to run to help her father. When she saw her daughter appear the first thing she did was frown in annoyance.

“Save the sermon for when they're not attacking us!” Lexa shouted, upset by the soldiers' shouts of struggle as they rushed forward. She reached for her backpack to grab a pair of arrows. She aimed at one in the leg, causing her to fall on her face, taking two more with her. The strength of her enemy was more capable than she thought. It was about fifty now that he had them closer. I glance quickly, closing my eyes in frustration when she barely realized it was just five soldiers without counting her father and herself. She knew they weren't enough that no matter how adept the enemy's strength was, it was far greater.

Even so, she would give even the air that was missing in her lungs so as not to let that strategic position fall into the hands of the mountain clan. Stunned by the imminent approach of his enemy, the Heda screamed at the top of their lungs that they took cover behind some trees.

The rough wood received Lexa's back as she abruptly leaned back. The hair in a ponytail stuck to her forehead from the sweat accumulated by so much stress. She breathed with her mouth open even though she knew she shouldn't waste oxygen.

She turned to her right, meeting two soldiers sheltered behind a huge rock. One of them had an arrow stuck in his thigh where a lot of blood was coming out. The other seemed almost dead, collapsed on the ground.

Overcome by courage, she comes out of hiding for a moment to shoot an arrow. She returns to her place with her eyes closed and her chest restless. The situation is so overwhelming that he cannot avoid hitting a huge stomp on the ground accompanied by a blow with a closed fist against the bark.

"Lexa." When she hears her father's weak voice she immediately looks for her position. She is relieved to see that she was not wounded like her soldiers. Although he seemed equally or more overwhelmed than her, his composure remained firm. It was totally admirable to see how cold it was in a situation like these. "Do you remember the trees that guard the bridge?"

"The red oaks."

"Those," her father agreed enthusiastically for her knowledge of the subject. Lexa hears screams near her position, wrinkles her nose furiously, and shoots an arrow that fits right into the hollow of her heart. Then she looks back at her father with interest.

"There are two standards of fire above the bridge. If you manage to fire at that fire, you will give us the time we need."

"I will, father."

"We will cover her." Two voices spoke from behind them from the two wounded soldiers. Lexa nodded confidently before gripping the mast of her bow tightly.

"Lexa." She looked at him again this time with caution. Her father's eyes shone with more than fury, they processed fear but at the same time security. Lexa knew in that instant that everything depended on her and she would not disappoint them. "Show them that you are not only the best archer but you are the best daughter they will ever have." Ste yuj. *

"This yuj. *" He repeated with all the feeling in the world. She puffed into the air, fixed her target intently, and started running toward her. She had only a few minutes to reach her goal or else it would be over. Her legs ached from the effort but that did not stop her from running. Upon reaching a standard she tore her sleeve with her teeth to wrap the fabric at the tip. She glanced back, meeting the soldiers and her father trying to endorse the enemy. His chest clenched when one of his friends fell to the ground for a date on his chest. She returned to her task with tear-filled eyes. This was not the time to cry. It had to be strong. She tried to be with all her soul. When the cloth was finally wrapped he carefully carried it toward the fire. With the flame lit, he stretched out his arm toward the oaks, remembering the exact spot where the powder was camouflaged. She closed one eye to sharpen the precision and stopped breathing. An arrow brushed her arm causing her to lose focus and she could see that there were three men running towards her with war cries. She was forced to retreat to protect herself behind the standard.

“Fuck!” Lexa moaned frustrated. She placed the arrow between her teeth and started running towards the oaks. When she was close enough to shoot, she tried again, being interrupted by the same party of men. The arrow painfully brushed her arm causing it to fall to the ground. The arrow holding her lips inevitably fell beside her. His good arm-hand wrapped his fingers around her. She got to her knees feeling the stones dig into her skin. She groaned in pain. The earth had mixed with sweat and blood. His eyesight had begun to tremble from the venom of the wound. Taking one last scream of breath, she closed her eye and shot at the oaks.

The fiery arrow impacted a perfect movement in the network of powder boxes. Immediately everything exploded creating a great avalanche of huge rocks that crushed anyone who was standing in their way down. Lexa was pushed by the explosion force. Her body rolled until she fell into the stream, which fortunately lay almost without water. With narrowed eyes she brought her palm to the wound on her arm and then brought it to her eyes, affirming her suspicion when she saw the black blood that the arrow was poisoned. Her limbs felt heavy, her hand fell to the ground almost immediately. I hear hasty footsteps heading towards her. He turned his neck to meet one of the men who was chasing him, heard how he laughed evilly at seeing her so helpless. The man threw the bow aside, seeing as the best option to remove her small knife from her belt. Lexa tried to get up but her body did not respond. As she had predicted, it was not a deadly poison but a paralyzing one.

Suddenly time began to run too slow. Just before the man reached where she lay defeated, a blue arrow pierced her chest causing her to gasp out of breath before falling forward. Lexa tried to stay awake but the tiredness had added to the terrible effect of the poison. Her eyes slowly closed. The last thing she was aware of before she fell into deep darkness was that something was lifting her along with the scent of honey.

[...]

“But what?” The whole room was spinning when she had enough strength to open her eyes. It took her a few minutes to get used to the red light in the cabin. Her palms brushed the comfort of the soft surface of a bed. When she was aware of all the above, she got up exalted. I gulp out of necessity as I anxiously traveled every inch of the room. Recognizing her cabin, she sighed with relief. As she looked down at her body, she managed to see a great revenge wrap around her wounded arm. She put a hand to her head as she placed her feet on the ground.

As she left the cabin, chaos engulfed her in the worst way. Screams of pain. Begging groans. To her relief, all the few soldiers who had fought with her father had survived, were wounded but alive. Remembering the image of her father, she walked the pile of wounded. When I couldn't find it, she started to worry. As she could, she set her feet toward the Seokjin hut, the chief healer of her clan. When she was about to enter her cabin he himself came out with a serious face that ended up scaring her. He held in his hands a white cloth stained with blood that helped him to clean himself.

“Jin what?” His questioning ended completely when his mother came out from behind him crying.

"I've done what I could, I'm sorry," said the curandero under his breath before heading towards the pile of patients. His mother watched Lexa with dead eyes. It was there that the young girl's heart was completely paralyzed.

[...]

She closed her eyes tightly to hold back the tears that threatened to come out. It was not good to be seen so openly. But it was so difficult. So difficult when her father's body lay on that pile of wood. Her heart ached to the point of not knowing if it was still beating from her weak heartbeat.

Unfortunately, her father was not the only one buried that night. Luckily for Lexa, eyes would not be on her now that the Heda was dead. I knew that later they will ask for answers but now I just didn't want to give them. She needed time to assimilate everything that had happened. Everything.

She ended up sticking out slightly as a warm hand wrapped around hers. Turning her head, she met her mother's grief-stricken smile. With her other hand, she offered her the burning stick that would burn the remains of her father and the other soldier.

"Yu gonplei ste odon *," Lexa murmured weakly. With all the pain of her broken soul, she threw the stick lighting the wood in seconds. Her mother covered her mouth with her palm to silence the sobs. Lexa simply watched as the fire created the smoke that transformed her father into the air.

[...]

She had decided to withdraw before becoming the question center. She was resting her palms on her desk with a lost gaze. Her shrugged shoulders were the living image of pain. The feeling of pain in her chest would take time to fade. Which made her wonder if she really wanted me to.

"You must follow your father's legacy." Her mother's muffled voice was heard after the movement of the cabin door.

"I don't want to talk about this now." Her voice sounded dark, sorer than ever.

"Lexa," her mother warned, approaching her daughter carefully so as not to disturb her loneliness too soon. The diadem that her mother held in her hands was what most caught her attention. "You have to wear this to ..."

"Don't ask me to use this when my father's body is still warm!" She roared loudly, grabbing the chair and knocking it to the ground, scaring her mother.

"Lexa listen to me!" The clan needs a boss. Someone who will give you security and peace.

"Don't you understand that putting that on means accepting that he's gone?" I bow my head again. She let out a piercing scream impossible to contain. She was tired of growing strong in front of people. I couldn't do it anymore. Her mother reached out to hold her in her arms. Lexa's hands were trapped on her mother's chest, simulating the gestures she gave him when something disturbed her in her childhood.

"It is your duty." her mother whispered softly in her ear knowing that the ancient language could reassure her. The little saying made him clench his fist and crinkle his clothes.

[...]

She had not slept all night. Her mother had stayed with her holding her, stroking her head from time to time so that she knew she was there, that she was not alone. At dawn he had decided to leave, leaving his mother to recover the hours of sleep that she had stolen from him.

The forest birds had stopped singing as if mourning for the dead. The roar of the forest had diminished her strength almost as much as her body movement. Getting back there after a week had been more than difficult. Probably the stupidest decision he had ever made. But I needed answers. According to Jin, the soldiers had found her on a road near the camp and not in the river where her body fell.

She decided to focus her gaze on the ground so as not to look at the mess of blood-stained rocks. Enough memories of death in your dreams.

When she got to where she thought she remembered landing, she was surprised when she recognized from a distance the lifeless body of the man who tried to kill her. Now, with her newly recovered mental abilities, she could better see the arrow stuck in her back.

A splash of water turned her stomach in such a panic that she gripped his sword tightly before aiming at whatever was behind her.

“It's me!” The man shouted desperately with his hands up as a symbol of surrender.

"Suho could have killed you!" Lexa threatened rather annoyed by her appearance. She put the sword back in its holster without taking her disappointed gaze from her friend.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to accompany you, it's not good that you're alone right now."His reasons were disdainfully stated as she just approached crossing a small puddled area. —Why did you come to the river?

"You see that man over there?" Lexa pointed with his head making Suho follow her, ending up surprised. "He tried to kill me and someone stopped him."

"A soldier of ours?"

"No, I would swear not." He deepened with doubt as he approached the lifeless body. She bent down and when she was at the perfect height she took out the arrow. He brought the tip to the river to remove it from the blood. "It is an iron arrow." She spoke surprised, slightly opening her mouth.

"But that cannot be we have been at war with your tribe for hundreds of generations." Why would they help you?

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

[...]

"Heda, I know that the death of Commander Hyun is present but we must make a decision regarding the attack of the Highlanders." One of the advisers asked furiously causing the rest to rise up carrying the cry to heaven.

"Yes!"

"My son was there!"

"Mine too!"

"Revenge!"

"Shop op! *" Lexa demanded with authority, rising from her seat with force. The councilors stopped raising the scandal by lowering their heads in regret when Lexa's piercing gaze corrected them.

"We have all lost loved ones in that battle." Raising another dispute when our people are barely recovering is not a good idea.

"The commander is right." We can't start a war, it would be stupid to do it when we are weaker than ever. ”Suho leaned in beside her. Lexa immediately looked at him gratefully with a small smile.

“And what are we going to do?” Another counselor asked desperately. Lexa recognized him as the father of one of those who were injured.

"We can't just do nothing while they breathe in the oxygen that our children should have breathed," said another counselor, but with an air of revenge hidden in his calm tone.

"Revenge will come, I swear." My father's death will be paid for with the blood of his executioner. Jus drein jus daun * - she exalted with fury nailed to the pressure of her teeth. Her nostrils ended up dilating when the image of her father returned to her memory.

"What shall we do while we wait?"

"Find allies." Lexa reacted slowly.

"Where?"

"In the iron soldiers," Lexa said cautiously, knowing that the news would not be a good dish.

As predicted by the councilors, the scandal of screaming and wailing began again. Lexa returned to her seat, her eyes sharp in her reactions.

“No!” A veteran counselor yelled.

"They are worse than the mountaineers have been in permanent war for years!" I finish lamenting another.

"We have a common enemy," Lexa interrupted causing everyone to shut up again. Not wanting to go into detail, she knew that silence could be interpreted as acceptance. The councilors looked at each other with wide eyes having everything that would happen next. "Sohu, prepare three horses." We will leave at dawn to the iron village."

[...]

"But three horses?" Her mother asked fearfully as she tried to follow Lexa's hurried steps on her way to the entrance of the camp. Of course, she knew that her mother would oppose what she did not know was that Lexa had already made a decision and that she would not change her mind.

"Mom, it will be fine," Lexa assured, climbing nimbly on her dark brown horse. She gripped the reins tightly, then led the horse out of the camp. The animal meekly followed her request.

"You must take more protection, those savages are inhuman." Her mother commented too shakily. Lexa smiled faintly as she remembered the iron arrow in the river.

"You'd be surprised to know that not everything bad is always bad," was the last thing she said before shaking the reins of her horse and completely leaving the camp.

[...]

Fortunately, the path to the Iron Clan Village was not far from their encampment. In just three hours they galloped to the borders. It had been a good idea to leave early so they would not return at night being aware that the attack by the mountain tribe was still very recent.

As his ingenious thought predicted, they soon came across soldiers from the Iron Village who will try to stop their advance. He was aware that what had happened in the river had probably reached the Iron Clan and that they had reinforced their vigilance. It is for this reason that he only decided to take three soldiers so that they did not see his arrival as a surprise attack.

“Who's going?” A muscular and built soldier roared forcefully. Despite not having a great height, he was in front of the two soldiers who accompanied him, so Lexa deduced that he was his superior.

"I am Lexa Skycru, the new commander of the celestial people." And I come because I want to speak to your commander. — she spoke with the same force as the soldier so that she could see that she was not afraid. The soldier, a blond man with small eyes and prominent lips, analyzed his horse from top to bottom and then his two soldiers and Suho before observing his own and finally nodding slowly.

[...]

"Sorry but no weapons allowed." The blond man said kindly as he pointed with his finger at the sword tucked in his belt. He noticed how Suho tensed from head to toe when I looked askance at him. Lexa nodded, then began to strip off her weapons one by one and place them in a wooden box. When she was finally clean the blonde nodded and opened the door.

A firm hand on her wrist held her back.

"I'm out here," Suho muttered to Lexa. He was careful to speak slowly and fluently so that she understood his message. When Lexa nodded to reassure him he finally released her.

As soon as she entered, she found a row of seats occupied by men who looked down on her as she advanced. Glancing ahead, she found a tall, strong man playing with a knife.

“You the one who killed thirty mountain warriors with a single arrow?” Her skin bristled as the man used a dominant low tone to address her. He wasn't looking at her but that didn't stop him from knowing that with his eyes he could melt anyone. To her surprise, the man had her eye area covered in black ink typical of a soldier ready for combat. The red stone pasted on his forehead confirmed his identity.

"I did my best to protect mine." I wasn't sure why I was reacting defensively. She only had the need to explain that what happened was not for the mere pleasure of killing but for an unselected need.

Her words evoked curiosity, she directed her gaze towards Lexa, keeping her still, that despite the black paint in her eyes, she managed to see from afar some deep eyes that could read thoughts. As if her comment had caused him any amusement, he cocked an arrogant smile as he stabbed the knife into the back of his large chair.

“What are you doing here Lexa Skycru of the celestial town?” She asked again with that finishing tone that left her brain without connections for a brief moment.

"I can help you beat the Men of the Mountain." She started with what she had come to say by making the Heda increase her ego smile. Her advisers began to mumble nonsense, but that didn't stop her or cut her eye contact with him. "The only way to protect our people is if we unite."

"I'm still waiting for a proposal, princess." The commander threw with mocking daggers causing his allies to start laughing at her.

Lexa clenched her fists tightly to calm herself even knowing that the urge to punch her would soon outweigh that of standing still.

"We have more gold than you can imagine."

“What makes you think I need gold?” She slowly lifted her body from the wooden throne without taking off losing eye contact to load the tension situation. The Heda raised an eyebrow as he approached slowly. "I have everything I need."

"As much as he has a person, he always wants something more." It was not difficult for Lexa to think like this due to the constant discussions her father had had with one of the advisers on greed issues. They were almost always due to the extreme desire to seize someone else's land. Even with everything, they wanted more and she was sure that the man before her would not deny that theory.

"Well ..." He stretched the word creating a silence in the room that caused Lexa's heart to stop when perceiving how Heda's eyes traveled up and down her small body. "... yes, there is something that does not I have and I would like to have.

[...]

She left the cabin looking blank. Suho, true to her word, had waited in front of the horses with her bow and sword in hand. Seeing her approach, he straightened up worried. It was not long before her eyes caught the man outside the cabin watching Lexa's departure. Suho closed his eyes to the stranger who for some strange reason did not give him a good feeling. He did not like the arrogant smile on his mouth, much less that he did not stop looking at Lexa as if his visit had caused him too much satisfaction.

When Lexa reached her side, Suho returned the weapons, which she began to put in place immediately.

Seeing her head down speechless Suho bowed his head sadly.

"You're good?"

"Not now, Suho." Let's just go.-she asked quite urgently. She mounted her horse quickly causing Suho and the other two to imitate her gesture. As the last action, Lexa squinted at the hut, made brief eye contact with the Heda again before leaving with her horse.

[...]

Jeon Jungkook. The Heda of the Iron Legion.

She couldn't get that name out of her head. Now much less. Since her arrival, she had been harassed with many questions from the council, from the soldiers, but especially the most exhaustive were those of her mother. She had not wanted to answer, did not see the situation as adequate. She decided that the news of the inter-tribal union would come later when it became formal. It wouldn't reveal something when it might not happen in the future. Actually, I still hoped it didn't happen.

"You didn't want to explain it to anyone, but I know it will be different with me." Her friend Suho's safety was perhaps the one that woke her up from her isolation from the outside world. The man approached with her typical persuasive smile. Lexa wanted to smile but could only wince.

"It's complicated, Suho. If I'm honest with you, I don't know what has happened or what will happen." Lexa confessed dubiously, drawing the attention of her friend who began to worry when the girl hid her head in the hollow of her legs.

"Has she done something to you?" Something changed within her when she thought that this proud commander stained her honor. Or worse ... She dared to touch you!

"No," Lexa denied, offended by her projected attack, so inappropriate and unnecessary. Lexa sighed when she was overcome by the situation. It was the first time that I didn't know how to solve any problem. Suho kept her eyes open with a wrinkled nose as she breathed hard through her mouth until Lexa dismissed her thought. Afterward, she relaxed but was not entirely calm. "Actually, he's been ... generous, so to speak."

"Have you accepted the gold?" After speaking, Suho noticed how Lexa's spirits fell even further. She slowly denied it.

"So what did she ask you ..."

"For me ..." He swallowed, continues. "... He wants me to be his wife."

"Than!" I could have sworn that Suho's anguished roar echoed throughout the forest. She approached a rock. She picked it up and then threw it against a tree causing a terrifying crunch as a pile of leaves fell to the ground. She seemed to be gone, more than that, her bloodshot eyes begging for Jungkook's head. When he finished expressing his anger, he turned to Lexa, who was still in her hunched position. "Did you refuse?"

"I can not do it..."

"Shit!" This time she screamed again, scaring Lexa at seeing her so out of control. He wanted to return, he wanted to have entered with her, to have accompanied her. She knew that she shouldn't have been taking care of the horses that should have been by her side to avoid these things. He felt a great avalanche of contrary feelings, he had a lot of furies that activated him violently, but he also had a lot of guilt for not having done the only thing he should do.

Protect it.

"It has been a good counteroffer that has ensured the protection of my people and Ronald's head," I yell desperately with a lump in my throat that makes it difficult to stabilize his tone.

"But are you listening to yourself?" Suho intervened hysterically. He put his hands to his head and ruffled his hair. "You can not do it ...

-It is my duty.

"Since when the fucking duty of a Heda is ... Damn!" Other than if he started walking in circles. He tried to calm down, but the image of Jungkook smiling lit the fuse again. He knew from the moment he saw that arrogant attitude that something had happened that he never imagined was this. She could not marry him. I couldn't when she ...

"What about you, what do you really want?"

"What I want doesn't matter."

"No, Lexa! It does matter! Yes ..." Lexa suddenly lowered her gaze to Sohu to find her gaze fixed on the ground and with the reflection of a tear on her cheek. "You can not do this ...

You cannot do this to yourself.

"A good leader has to think of others." And for better or for worse, it is my last word on the subject.

“Lexa!” Even though She's screams were heartbreaking, she forced herself to continue on her way to her cabin, leaving aside the river of tears that fell down her cheeks.

[...]

"Put your signature here to finish the process," explained the counselor, annoyed at his lateness. It had been on purpose. The longer it delayed the union the better. He looked at the opaque paper carefully. The feather had begun to dance on his fingers in sweat. He pursed his lips. I swallow deeply. He hadn't even dressed appropriately for the occasion. Certainly, she had never wasted time thinking about what her perfect wedding would be like but she knew that it was far from being it.

The pen hesitated in her hands. The first to sign had been Jungkook. To her surprise, she didn't seem to have much doubt installed on her face. Virtually the ink ran down the paper for his surprising interest.

Was I doing the right thing?

What if Sohu was right?

You don't even want to imagine how you will be when you find out that you have married Jungkook. Of course, the council was not far from being horrified, but he cared little for the opinion of four insufferable old men. He reminded himself that it was the best option. Jungkook put at his disposal an army ready to follow his orders and a promise to finish off the mastermind of his father's death. And you would have just that with just one signature. Looking at it from another perspective, actually, the loser was Jungkook. But from his, of course, that she lost much more.

I rest the tip of the pen on the paper, it did not move. Jungkook looked at her seriously. He knew that he doubted and for some strange reason his doubt made him think for a brief second.

"Congratulations." The tired counselor finished when, after an eternal wait, Lexa finally drew her signature on the paper. Jungkook smirked at the man before he left the hut leaving them alone.

"Why don't we go to my cabin?" We have to adjust a few things. ”She didn't even look at him, just nodded too lost to make the connections necessary to speak.

[...]

"Tomorrow I will send a pair of warriors to guard the wall of your camp," Jungkook commented as he entered his cabin. Lexa passed under it as Jungkook held it with his eyes. "Don't do it again if you want to keep your hand."

“You're my wife, get used to being touched!” He returned forcefully, approaching her to keep his gaze just as wild. A roar came from inside her chest when she was so rejected.

“I will have the title of your wife but I am not your wife!” He swept her body with a contemptuous look causing Jungkook to widen his nostrils. The vein in his neck was protruding from the blood pressure in his head.

Jungkook made an arrogant smile. "You will be what I want you to be, princess."

"No, I will be what I want to be." His voice was so hard and firm that Jungkook broke his smile. Raising her head high above Lexa again swept her body with more than contempt. "I'll be your fucking woman in front of the public but don't expect anything else."

Leaving her with the word in her mouth, she left the cabin furiously back to her camp.

[...]

The horseback ride to the river was smooth, with no enemies in sight. This time it had required bringing in more than three soldiers. This time the leaders of his warriors' brigades were with him. They were heading towards the southern part of the forest, just the point where a rock ended the river. It was in that place where she had arranged to meet Jungkook and her men.

The Heda had kept his word and had sent a party of men to assist his own in protecting the camp. Some disputes had arisen between newcomers and residents but Lexa managed to logically eradicate the problem. He provided them with food and water as well as a roof to sleep in but in exchange, they could not approach the villagers unless necessary.

"Sorry." A soft voice beside her made her turn her head in search of the owner. Suho had his head on his shoulders as a sign of regret along with a look full of regret. Lexa offered a small awkward smile. It was true that lately, she had distanced herself a lot from Suho since she learned the news of their marriage. She had been so busy organizing meetings with her allies that she had not had time to think about her personal life. Fortunately, Suho had.

"I'm sorry too," she replied with the same distress. Her smile turned into a pout just before it turned into a grimace. “Just because I married her doesn't mean I should change my life, Suho. I hope you understand that.

"I know, it just took me a while to figure it out." She swallowed, embarrassed by her immature attitude. Really, she would not have wanted Lexa to see her in that facet of her personality. " You did what you thought was best for your people. Your sacrifice deserves all my respect."

"I am his paper wife but not in fact." I will not stop being who I am and I will not stop being your friend.

"Glad to hear that," Suho said brighter as she smiled. Lexa nodded a little better now that the rancor was gone.

"We have arrived, Heda," announced a commander, interrupting the small competition of glances between the friends. Lexa saw from afar a small tent tied to some rocks as support. She sighed deeply before getting off the horse. It was the same blond warrior from the last visit who met them at the door. Like the other time, they had to divest themselves of weapons before entering. From what Lexa could tell, the warriors inside the tent weren't very equipped either.

"I thought you dumped me, princess." The clear mockery in Jungkook's voice caused a forced smile. Suho closed his eyes around Jungkook who was leaning against a wooden table. The black-haired man shook her hair as she straightened, surprising Lexa when she noticed the lack of black ink. It was the first time that Jungkook showed the skin of her bare face. His features were exposed before his eyes. Big deer eyes, no matter how expressive they emitted force. Bushy eyebrows that perfectly matched the color of his brown eyes. His nose was large but surprisingly in complete symmetry with his perfect face. He looked at her mouth, those gullies that smiled wickedly whenever they could seem soft and fluffy. Arguably, her beauty lived up to her ego.

Lexa followed her mocking smile to dominate the situation. "I'm not going to apologize for being busy."

"No, of course not," she added keeping the same mischievous tone.

Jungkook kept looking at her and she at him. Without knowing it, they had started a war of glances that none wanted to lose. Absent to the warriors that were in the place. It was just Lexa, Jungkook, and her higher ego.

[...]

"They have two settlements here and here," the blond commander whose name was known to be Jimin said aloud. He pointed with the tip of his finger at two marked crosses he had drawn on the map. Lexa frowned thoughtfully. She analyzed the strategic points in her head.

"Then let's attack," Suho concluded simply. The sound of an ironic smile made Lexa look at Jungkook.

“It is not an important military zone. If we attack we would lose the surprise factor. And they will strengthen the vigilance of those that do interest us. ”Jungkook added with an air of superiority. It sounded so obvious that Suho's brow furrowed as she perceived Jungkook's clear intentions in lowering her opinion. The warriors began to present their ideas, but Lexa could only focus on the red circle that she had drawn on top of a set of mountains.

"What's that?" All the men stopped talking when Lexa intervened. Jimin raised his eyebrows disoriented, emitted a confused low before answering. Jungkook immediately watched her closely.

"That is your most important military zone. I have underlined it in red because it is almost impossible to get to it without going through others before." It is very well protected.

Lexa narrowed her eyes as a crazy idea began to develop in her head. "It's near the river."

"Am, yes," Jimin commented again, confused by his sudden interest. "Well, it's a good place to settle down."

"I propose that we attack this area here," proposed a warrior from his clan, taking some objections from the other soldiers. Despite the hubbub of low voices, Lexa's mind remained clean and clear. She bit her indecisive lip. She was staring intently at the map for answers. When the gear on her head finally clicked she raised her eyebrows and looked straight ahead. To her surprise, she met Jungkook's curious gaze that watched her closely as if she were having the same mental fight.

"Let's attack the red zone." After Lexa's words, the men closed their mouths. They all acted incredulous with their eyes wide open.

Suho blinked at Lexa as if her friend had suddenly gone crazy. The warriors of her clan chose not to oppose her out of respect even though they were of the same opinion as Suho.

The only one who reacted favorably was Jungkook.

" I agree. Let's attack the red zone. ”She pursed her lips in a pout in her assent. This time it was the warriors of her clan who watched her as if she had lost her mind. Lexa eyed her intrigued by her unexpected support. Jungkook rested his big hands on the table so the distance between the two was not very long. Jungkook reciprocated brought his eyes from the map to her with such intensity that a chill ran down her spine.

"No intention of offending Hedas but ... That area is practically inaccessible, there are many warriors and we do not know the area as well as they do." A warrior intervened with respect but with a clear caution in his tone of voice, taking his gaze instantly. Jungkook and Lexa's.

Suho ducked his head towards Lexa to say something to him in a low voice. “You are right, Lexa. It is crazy.

Lexa stared blankly at the map. I knew it was. That is, who in her right mind would get into enemy territory and attack one of its strongest points with hardly any superficial information. Of course, she knew, but her instincts told her that she must continue forward.

"If what is on the map is true, the only source of food and water is the river." She spoke more to herself than to the rest. There was no doubt in her voice just a little uneasiness. She was letting herself be controlled too much by the voice in her head and was beginning to wonder if she should let it interfere with her decisions. "There are much closer military settlements but if we get them to move they will leave us free."

"Okay, suppose we unknowingly leave the way open." How would we do it? ”Silence reigned in the store due to the lack of answers.

"Contaminating the river," Jungkook said in her deep low voice.

Lexa looked back at him quickly, finding herself strangely connected to his gaze on her.

[...]

The meeting didn't take long after Jungkook's idea. They planned an interim plan to have something done for the next meeting. Lexa left the store satisfied. The meeting had exceeded her expectations in every way. Certainly, if she was honest she had always thought it was a waste of time. That they would not agree. But it was just the opposite, her warriors and those of the iron clan got on so well that there was hardly any discussion outside the main topic.

Lexa went to her horse tied to a tree located a few meters from the store which they had begun to dismantle. Suho was at her side, accompanying her as always.

“Princess!” The familiar mockery of her voice made him stop short. Lexa made a forced smile and then turned to Jungkook heavily. "Do you have a few minutes?"

Lexa swept her body suspiciously before nodding. "Sure."

Jungkook stretched out his arm in the direction of the riverbank. His arrogant smile made her nervous. Lexa sighed and started walking in that direction.

"Alone," Jungkook roared loudly towards Suho when she saw her intentions to follow Lexa. Suho formed a forced smile while emitting a short sarcastic laugh.

"I will leave if Lexa asks me." The same roar returned. Jungkook also laughed with the same intensity as she took a few steps in their direction so that they were face to face.

"Lexa? What trusts are those with your commander?" Jungkook spat with a hard look.

However, Suho saw the right moment to form a more than sarcastic smile. "She is much more than that to me."

After his deep confession, Jungkook brought out his teeth when he smirked. His tongue came out of her mouth to touch her fang. Then he hit his inner cheek. All that while watching the horse behind his Suho. When he turned his hard gaze again, it had intensified even more accompanied by a wicked smile that shouted nothing but pure contempt. Suho was not left behind crossing his arms as he bravely kept his gaze up.

"Suho, stay," Lexa interrupted, holding her arm in a warm gesture. Suho looked at Lexa with doubt over her eyes. Her expression had relaxed as she felt the warmth of his touch wrap around her arm. Action that Jungkook silently watched. He didn't know exactly what bothered him the most if he saw how her voice managed to control him or the delicacy of his grip. After a stare fight with her friend, Lexa looked closely at Jungkook.

"She couldn't hurt me even though she will try."

"Okay ..." Suho agreed quite calmly until he looked back at Jungkook leading his gaze back to anger.

Jungkook smiled triumphantly despite his sour character. He did not detach his gaze from Suho walking backward until he reached the open area of ​​the river where Lexa waited impatiently with his arms crossed.

"What do you want?" Seeing his voice so changed Jungkook felt more annoyed than before. Before he could bear the contempt of his gaze but not now when he had witnessed that he could look with other eyes.

"This was not what we agreed," he accused indignantly without taking his gaze from Lexa's. Jungkook wanted to be indifferent and he succeeded but when Lexa smiled the same way his gaze doubted a second. Really, he wasn't used to anyone standing up to him. Much less a woman.

“Haven't I married you?” Jungkook growled annoyed at the irony scattered in his tone of voice. I look away from the river in search of tranquility. His sharp jaw gleamed almost like an apparition from the reflection of sunlight. It was not the only thing that caught his attention but in fact, the scar he found on his cheekbone was more entertaining. He wondered its origin, it was not very large, nor very visible. It was the perfect combination that hardened his angelic face.

"You know what I mean." Annoyed, he replied through a whimpering moan.

He looked at her again unsatisfied, Lexa blew out annoyed.

"I think my point was made clear the other day." She exposed resentfully as she uncrossed her arms and let them drop heavily on either side of her body. "If that's all."

"No." Jungkook stopped him in his escape attempt. Lexa rolled her eyes returning to her position. She raised her eyebrows indicating that she should continue speaking. "Our camps are protected by different walls."

"Yes and what?"

"Well, I really see foolishness to have two camps with two different walls when their bosses are married." As Jungkook was exposing her headache, Lexa's eyebrows were rising. "I've thought of building a common wall."

"Joining the camps, is that what you're trying to tell me?" Lexa asked. In response, Jungkook nodded seriously. Lexa averted her eyes to the stream at her feet as if seeking inspiration. She moaned thoughtfully.

She dropped her defensiveness to a more open one. Jungkook's proposal had taken him by surprise, but he had not liked it too much. Having a common wall means increasing the territory of both fields. More space to plant, more space for families, proximity to the river, more protection ... It was a quite smart proposal because the military strength would also increase.

Jungkook raised an eyebrow while waiting for an answer.

"If you don't agree, I will accept it."

"No, no ..." he interrupted quickly. Jungkook let him continue speaking patiently. "... actually, it's a good idea."

"Fine," Jungkook simplified.

"Yes," she agreed in the same way.

"I will test the proposal on the council, but for me, it will go ahead."

Jungkook nodded his head. "I thought the stone area would be a good place to mark the new joint wall."

"Yes, it is a good area," she agreed in the agreement. Then he pursed his lips in pleasure. Jungkook nodded again, ending the conversation. "Leidon. *

"Leidon. *" Jungkook replied.

Lexa circled her body to return to her horse. Suho stopped looking at Jungkook's back to focus on her. Lexa sent a reassuring smile before her body fell to the ground.

She moaned dizzy. Everything was spinning. She put her hand to her head. She looked at her hand and found it flooded with blood later, with her eyes closed.

[...]

"You're protective shit," cursed a distorted voice that echoed inside his head. She groaned disoriented. I try to open my eyes but couldn't find the strength to do it. The senses began to perceive things again. Weakly closed his hand noting in his inner palm a kind of soft surface.

"Shut the fuck up!" Another different but equally deformed scream collided with the other voice inside the dark pit of his head.

"Enough both!" The third exciting voice-activated enough mechanisms to start reacting. "Sorry, but he is her husband, he has more right to be here than you, Suho ...

“Suho?” Lexa stuttered dizzy, catching the attention of the three pairs of eyes. The nominee hurried to the gurney when I hear his faint voice.

“Lexa? OMG. No, don't talk. Save your strength. ”He shook her hand with his to make her feel like he was next to her. Lexa slowly opened her eyes feeling overwhelmed for a few seconds by the focus of light after so much darkness.

She brought her free hand to her forehead, meeting the rough touch of a patch. "What happened to me, Suho?"

"They tried to kill you," another stronger voice replied. With improved eyesight, she saw Jungkook appear at the foot of her stretcher sending a serious look.

"I ..." A sob turned his attention to his friend. "... Sorry." I didn't know what was happening until you fell to the ground.

"You should rest. You hit yourself in the head very hard." Jin interjected kindly, appearing next to Jungkook with a worried look.

As if the number of people who had so suddenly invaded his field of vision was not enough, a Jungkook warrior joined the meeting and whispered something in his ear, then left as if nothing had happened. He analyzed Jungkook's serious expression so he assumed he had received bad news.

"My men have caught her," Jungkook said in the neutral voice typical of a person announcing something unpleasant.

Lexa frowned."Her?"

[...]

They waited in the council room in complete silence. Jin had advised Lexa to continue resting but she refused to do so. Even more so when the identity of her aggressor would be revealed in the assembly. She could see that there was no one from her clan, so she assumed that her mother had not been informed of the attack, otherwise she would have been there screaming in the sky.

His chair was next to Jungkook's. An egalitarian gesture that he certainly did not see coming. The rest of the councilors waited patiently in their respective places on either side of the thrones.

A high pitched scream of fighting began to sound closer and closer. Lexa tensed in the seat straightened her body. Jungkook felt the force of his nails dig into the wood out of the corner of his eye so he immediately put his hand on it to reassure her. Lexa stopped losing air through her mouth to look at him surprised without success as Jungkook looked straight ahead.

"Hedas," said a soldier by way of greeting. He bowed his head in respect. Then, Lexa turned her eyes to the front, what she found was completely paranoid. A girl of no more than thirteen years old lay at the feet of the warrior tied hand and foot with her knees on the ground and her head down.

Lexa blinked at Jungkook before whispering in a confused whisper.

"It's a girl."

Jungkook watched her closely, then nodded almost as shocked as she was. Lexa watched her tiny figure cautiously.

"You tried to kill me, why?" Lexa raised her voice so that the message would reach the end of the cabin where the girl was waiting gagged.

The girl used her straight blonde Caucasian hair to cover her face. She raised her head to Lexa, who was waiting impatiently for her answer, but lowered it again, ignoring her question: "Is Ronald sending you?"

“Answer!” Jungkook demanded, burning with deep rage. Lexa jumped out of the seat briefly at the poisonous impact of her voice.

"My soul is at peace because I will die knowing that I will try," the girl recited weakly. Everyone in the room looked at each other as they muttered.

"Try what?" Lexa asked, still not overcoming the strangeness in her voice.

"Kill my parents' killer," he roared in response, his voice dark and bloodshot.

The room was once again in deep dazzling silence.

"I didn't kill your parents." Lexa frowned in confusion.

"You killed them when you decided to shoot that arrow of fire." The murmurs soon returned with full force. Lexa was static in the seat. Memories of the chaos she caused hit her mind too hard. Screams of pain and suffering echoed inside her head. She wasn't aware of the present until she heard hurried footsteps heading toward her.

-Murderess! Murderess!

“Take her away!” Jungkook growled furiously at the warriors who had intercepted the girl on her way to Lexa. The girl resisted. She kicked the air and she didn't stop screaming until she was taken out of the cabin. Looking blankly, Lexa realized that the nightmares of her dreams were her fault. She had summoned her demons and that girl had just reminded him of the disaster they had caused. Now!

Jungkook's scream lifted the advisors from their places. Murmurs flooded the cabin until the last of them came out. Left alone, Jungkook frowned in concern at Lexa.

"We are not that different," she assumed in a neutral tone. She kept her gaze focused on the gap where the warriors had dragged the girl. Lexa sighed deeply and then bit her lip restlessly. That girl wanted to end the murderer of her parents. She wanted to do the same. They were the same intentions but different contexts. Her chest was tight with guilt.

"You chose to save yours above all else," Jungkook argued in a persuasive tone. He rose from the throne to place himself on his knees in front of his. With the kneecap glued to the step. I try to meet her gaze but Lexa did not respond.

"I have left that girl orphaned." The neutral tone repeated itself this time being much more serious. Lexa swallowed hard as she became aware of the consequences of her actions.

"You killed so they won't kill you," Jungkook corrected gravely, causing the seriousness of his voice to activate the mechanisms of his head and finally react to his gaze. There was so much intensity in those brown eyes that I almost begged him to keep talking. "The path of a Heda is not easy, Lexa." I know you will make the right decision.

The right decision.

It is amazing how three words can change a person's destiny. Whether she will live or die. Their traditions were clear. Asking blood for blood but ... Was that really the damn right decision?

Did that girl deserve death for wanting to avenge her parents?

Did that girl deserve punishment when she craved the same?

[...]

Quite possibly it had been the worst night of his life. The nightmares returned with force, upsetting his sleep so much to the point of preventing it. If I closed my eyes I saw blood. If I closed my eyes I saw a fire. If he closed his eyes ... he saw the death of his father.

She closed her eyes in anguish. The time helped to clarify the ideas but in her case, it had only served to fuel further doubts. I know that many people were waiting outside, wanting to hear a sentence. The screams managed to interfere with her cabin as if she were there. But she didn't know if she preferred silence more.

As she came out of her cabin completely, the outside noise hit her ears harder. As the intuition of people following an event like this had intuited was countless. Making her way between her subjects out posing right in front of the girl who was tied to a wooden stick. Jungkook was just behind sitting on his throne patiently awaiting his arrival.

When he did, he got up, which made everyone present obediently shut up to listen to his Heda.

"We are here for trial on charges of attempted murder." Lexa Skycru of the Heavenly Clan will be the one to sentence you. ”Jungkook shouted dominance at all his subjects. Lexa turned her head back to watch when her eyes made contact. Jungkook nodded.

"Let her die now or be silent forever."

"Yes! Death! ”A maddened warrior ruled causing others to rise up with the same messages."

—Jus drein jus daun! *

"Let it burn!"

"Yes!"

Lexa squeezed her eyes shut at the rumbling so disturbing the warriors' uncontrollable and disorderly screams caused.

"There will be no death!" Lexa cried with the same dominance as Jungkook. Then she looked at the soldier who was closely watching the girl. "Let her go." The screams thundered again for her incomplete satisfaction. The girl slowly raised her head towards Lexa who did not stop looking seriously. "You will give a message to your commander." Let him know that the heavenly tribe and the iron tribe are going to kill him. We give you two weeks to remove all women and children from your territory. After that time a blood fight will open.

"What makes you think I will comply?" Answered the girl, forming a hypocritical umbrella.

Lexa took her lips off. "I couldn't avoid the deaths of your parents. I ask you to help me avoid others."

[...]

A couple of weeks had passed since the bonfire incident. Everything had passed without further interruption. According to the testimony of a soldier sent for recognition, the threat to Ronald's clan had taken effect because he witnessed people leaving their lands to head towards the mountains. Arguably, that had been a small victory in the war that was about to take place.

Now, for the moment, having controlled the war theme, Lexa decided to focus on the construction of the wall that would unify the celestial lands with those of iron. As expected, some snags had arisen from her advisers, but Lexa had managed to persuade them by showing them the many advantages that it would offer. Of course, the one that was most accepted was the extension of land and therefore wealth.

She had been in her hair for about two hours, observing from a distance how artisans worked. She ran her forearm across her forehead to wipe away the sweat. The sun shone hotly high in the sky, suffocating her presence. Despite being sheltered under the shade of the tree, the temperature was inhumane. When the reflection of the river water called her in a mirage, she came to him like bees to honey.

Jungkook, who was also in the same conditions when she saw Lexa heading to the river to cool off, decided to follow in her footsteps.

Suho, who in fact was also the same decision to do the same but with other intentions being stopped by a familiar voice.

“Where are you going?” A hand attacked by the passage of time wrapped her forearm holding. Suho blinked at the woman he recognized as Lexa's mother. The woman looked in the same direction as him, clicking her tongue. "Let them speak."

"I don't want to let him clear the way," Suho confessed with a deep tone full of jealousy, still watching Jungkook approach Lexa from behind.

"Suho ..." However, Kerin's melancholic whisper diverted him from his focus. The woman watched him sadly. "There was never away."

[...]

She left her shoes on some rich ones to put her feet in the water. The cold sensation sent cramps all over her body. She sighed thoughtfully as her gaze fell to the shell necklace her father gave her when she hunted her first rabbit. Unconsciously she held it tightly between her malpa as if the gesture could make her return. In fact, no. The whole situation with the girl had unearthed a pain that he thought was relieved.

The night before she had had what she believed to be one of her worst nightmares. Eg the dream, her body took the place of the girl. Her hands were painfully tied with string. In front of her was the girl holding a stick with fire on its tip. Her macabre laugh sounded when she saw that her attempts to free herself always end in failure. Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared just behind the girl. Lexa smiled at her father who was looking at her with pity. But everything became darker, more confusing. Her father had stopped smiling, now, now she was pushing the stick down so that it caught the leaves under her feet. Everything seemed to go further and further until she woke up.

"It hurts, it's normal." A voice behind her spoke. Lexa slowly opened her eyes out of her reverie. Then, she looked at Jungkook who was looking at her worried from the top of a rock. Unlike her eyes that contemplated her beauty reflected in the sun, his followed the path of the tear that ran down his cheek. "I also thought at some point that I would not overcome pain but I did."

"How?" She asked. Her chest tightened accordingly as her distressed voice shone from her appearance.

"Recognizing what it is: weakness," Jungkook replied seriously. Keeping his gaze fixed on her until Lexa lowered his towards the river.

"Love? I can't live like this. ”I groan angrily, then, turning around, she grabbed her shoes and walked to her horse, leaving Jungkook silent.

[...]

Burdened by the endless hours of council meetings she ends up running away from the back of the cabin. She coughs in the face of the unwelcome sting of the sun that blinds her until she is used to her vision.

“Get up and fight!” A wild scream draws her attention completely. Looking for the origin of the problem, he sees from afar a group of children sitting in a circle. In the middle, a tall woman with brown hair pulled back into a braid, thin but with a muscular body, keeps them with their heads down while yelling at a child on the floor.

"I'm tired ..." Her voice sounds so weak and it is when she finishes approaching that she notices the brightness of her tears on her cheeks.

But the woman laughs. "In war, death does not distinguish who is and who is not. Raise!"

"Hey!" Lexa growled annoyed, catching the attention of the woman and the children who looked back immediately. "He told you he can't take it anymore."

"It is an exhaustive training I already knew what I was facing." The warrior answers with hypocrisy giving her a look of few friends.

"Besides, it is her punishment for being the weakest."

"And it seems fair to you? Who fights against you who have more experience?"

Lexa raised an eyebrow as she placed her hands on her pitcher-shaped hip. The children's eyes went between Lexa and the warrior with caution.

“Are you free if you want to take her place?” She offered, giving him a mocking bow.

Lexa walked confidently towards her until she stopped when she reached the center of the circle. A child helped the wounded man to get up to sit him completing the circle.

“What are the rules?” He shook his head in her direction.

"Until you can't take it anymore," she added with a hint of wicked amusement in her voice. He smiled as the tips of his fingers enthusiastically brushed the edge of his sword. Lexa pouted her mouth before nodding.

The warrior attacked first with all her might. Lexa dodged the blow with agility and then returned it with the same force. Their swords clashed screeching at the contact.

Lexa's feet were firmly planted on the ground providing stability. The warrior slapped her shoulder against his but Lexa held her position as if nothing had happened.

Then, the warrior brought out a toothy smile. "You are skillful who would say it when ..." She brought her mouth to whisper in her nose.

Lexa ironic river."The value of a woman is not measured in the number of cocks she raises."

Their swords unhook and collide again this time with more fury. Lexa glared at her with a hard but triumphant look when she realized that the warrior's feet were dragged along the ground by her strength.

"Of course not," she growled in response, pulling away. She stepped back to catch her breath as she swung her sword gracefully.

"Because I'm only interested in lifting one."

Lexa frowned in surprise when she realized the gaze was directed at something behind her. Curiosity won the game when he followed the direction, meeting Jungkook and two warriors in the middle of a conversation in the distance. Lexa swallowed hot with the inexplicable heat that began to melt her insides.

She'd lost track of time so much that she didn't see Raven kicking her back, knocking her to the ground. Lexa coughed when dirt got into her mouth. Then, she turned angrily towards Raven who was smiling victoriously. Lexa was mentally punished for being so foolishly distracted when she was in the middle of a fight.

"It's funny that you are husband and wife but you sleep in different cabins," Raven continued with provocation.

"Trouble in paradise? Already realized that you are not worth anything?"

Lexa threw a blow to her stomach so hard that the warrior's body landed two feet away.

"If you're so anxious to take my place, do it." Lexa roared with her fists clenched and her nostrils dilated by her altered breathing.

Raven dropped to her knees with her hand on her stomach as she laughed wickedly and watched her in pain. "I already have."

Lexa blinked, not knowing why her body was completely paralyzed. Raven scrambled to her feet trying to punch directly into her jaw but Lexa didn't fall that time, intercepting her arm to twist him in the back and then kneeing her in the mouth, knocking her to the ground proclaiming herself the winner.

"Well, enjoy it," Lexa yelled passively, not showing the least bit of affection. He watched her from above in disgust as he circled her to get away from there not before releasing his last attack. “So much that you like to lift things try to get up now.”

[...]

"What was that?" Suho asked, walking slowly through the trees as he approached. Lexa under the arch, forgetting about the rabbit that ran free through a clearing. When he saw the expression on her face, he clicked his tongue at the surprisingly fast rumors that ran through his people.

"Comprehensive training," she clarified simply by pointing back to the clearing. She pursed her lips in a dissatisfied pout when she found it empty.

"And since when do you take a thorough training so seriously?" Suho scoffed, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Do you like me?" Lexa asked hastily without a hint of lucidity in her voice or disturbed expression.

"What?" Eyelid Suho.

"As a woman."

"Oh," she uttered in surprise as her senses returned to stress. Suho gulped foolishly for taking a few seconds to start the mechanisms in her head again. "Are you smart, fair, and brave who wouldn't like you?

"I don't mean that, but the physical." Do you think men can like me? ”She sighed. She frowned sadly and bit her cheek nervously. Lexa had never been an insecure woman but she couldn't help falling into the labyrinth of doubt since she had that fight with Raven. Her voice sounded confident and firm without hesitation in her advances. She hated feeling so affected. She was envious of her experience and a strange avalanche of punctures in her stomach when she pictured her with Jungkook. Because it was obvious. There was something between them, why else would he let go of that without foundations on which to lean. There was also the possibility that she just wanted to give him a hard time but his head guided her to the first option over and over again.

-Why do you ask me that?

"It doesn't matter." Lexa smiled sheepishly avoiding her curious gaze. Never. But never. I would tell something so intimate to Suho.

"I think ..." Suho whispered, drawing her attention to the intimate tone she used. "... you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." You have the most beautiful smile in the world, Lexa.

Suho couldn't help but spread a medium smile. There was a warm glow in her eyes, too revealing a glow with feelings so far hidden from her. Lexa opened her eyes in surprise.

Feeling against the sword and the wall before her revealing gaze.

"Hmm ... do you think this area is suitable for camping?" Lexa added, turning her head towards the map.

"What?" She said absently. "Oh, yes, it's good," she answered calmly, still admiring the way her hair covered her left profile. Suho couldn't help but smile relaxed. "It's very good."

[...]

"This is it, thanks for listening." Lexa finished towards the councilors, saying goodbye with a polite smile. After the third and last meeting of the week on the previews of the new wall, she felt less weight to worry about. She sighed resignedly turning to Jungkook who kept his eyes fixed on the marked area simulating the limits just discussed. "I had thought we can use the old materials to build the wall." This way we will use the brick and we would have more to build more houses. — she said, looking askance at him, waiting patiently for the chestnut tree to react or say something that it did not do. for...

She wasn't aware of how quickly she stopped talking until Jungkook pressed her lips together in a desperate kiss. She opened her mouth, tucking her tongue in without warning. Lexa moaned in complete shock with her eyes open. Jungkook's hand tightened on her waist, pressing her to his chest. Lexa's hands were trapped in her shoulder area. Jungkook tilted his face and intensified the kiss.

Lexa closed her eyes slowly, letting go. Opening her mouth to receive her tongue. She sighed discard as she slid her hands up to his neck. His fingers gripped her hair and she stretched. Jungkook growled ecstatically bending down to lift her by her thighs and place her on the table. The map crumpled as her butt landed on top but they cared little.

Jungkook broke the kiss, creating a wet snap. Panting, her breath hit his face with a dark, wistful, wild gaze full of unstoppable lust. He brought his hands up to his cheeks. He moved his thumb affectionately, delighting in the softness of her skin to end up pressing his thumb to the soft skin of her lower lip. He approached in a quick kiss, letting out a satisfied moan when he felt her participation.

"Jungkook ..." He threw his head back as wet kisses began to come down his jaw. She stretched her roots again with excitement, taking another guttural growl. His hands slowly lowered down a path to his lower back until… “Jungkook!” An annoyed scream caused Jungkook to blink in confusion. He pouted his lips as he hugged her chest. Jungkook looked at her with a frown. "No, of course not." What's wrong I'm talking to you about important things?

"Why did you tell Raven that she liked to lift things?" He blurted out without warning importing anything or little that his thought had come out loud.

“What?” This time it was he who blinked in confusion. “It was just to provoke him.

"You spoke very loudly," he said, raising his eyebrows.

Lexa rolled her eyes. "Can we focus on this, please?"

She indicated the map with her hand, looking down at it again. Jungkook couldn't help but think how good his hair was.

Others would think it was foolish to notice that Lexa really had a beautiful profile. Her small and delicate jaw gave her face that innocent point that drove her crazy. She did not know but her face was very expressive showing everything that crossed her mind. He could tell when she was sad at the tilt of her mouth or how upset she was when she wrinkled her nose shrugging and making it more adorable.

Jungkook smiled mischievously at the conversion that began to play in his head as if it were his favorite song. Of course, I hear what Raven said what was not seen to come was that Lexa reacted so annoying. Her heart warmed to beat faster.

Then, she took advantage of the fact that she was distracted to approach from behind and stick her lips to his ear.

"She will never lift my cock as you do."

[...]

Hunting day.

Without a doubt, his favorite activity of the week. He was looking forward to it because it was the only time of the day when he could relax and breathe deeply the oxygen-rich air of the forest. Her lungs are grateful and certainly her head clear too.

Carefully advanced through the field by the number of thin sticks that will not hesitate to break at the slightest touch. She didn't know the area as well as she usually would, but that didn't stop her fighting spirit. She swore to herself that she would hunt good prey today.

A small innocent laugh changed the course of her attention. Not far from where he was he saw a girl of about eight years old smiling as she curiously observed a small bird on top of Jungkook's palm. Practically the smile was drawn alone on her face. Next, the little bird flew off causing the girl to rush out after him. Jungkook had a small smile making him look innocent and youthful.

Her disunited face in contrast to sunlight was, from now on, her favorite concept.

"I didn't know you could treat the children," Lexa commented, approaching slowly while sending her an amused look.

"I adore children especially how they are made," she said gracefully when she felt their steps approach from behind.

Jungkook looked at her recreating his typical arrogant smile in which his tongue struck the inside of the cheek.

"You are incredible," Lexa confessed, tempted. "It is not a compliment."

Although Jungkook clearly knew how to perceive the mockery and irony in his voice, something inside him was excited. He proceeded to follow her slowly, earning a sidelong glance from her.

"Your ass is also amazing." Lexa stopped walking and turned around with her eyes open. When she saw his eyes go up to her face when she turned around she couldn't help but blush. Jungkook raised an eyebrow. "Oh, it's not a compliment."

His mischievous laugh was a harsh blow to her who spread her blush to the tips of her ears in embarrassment. She had fallen into the game that she herself had created. Feeling too insulted when she looks at the ground, she doesn't think twice and bends down.

Jungkook stops when she notices something hit her back.

“Did you just throw a handful of dried leaves at me?” He asks, surprised, then slowly turns around.

Lexa refuses by pressing her lips together as she passes by like she's nothing.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

-No? Okay — falsely accept. Because when Lexa turns her back on him, Jungkook bends down and throws a dried pineapple at him.

"Hey!" She cries complaining and turns around. Bring your hand to your lower back to caress the area and thus relax the pain. Of course, Lexa frowns when Jungkook innocently shrugs. He raises his eyebrows and laughs wryly. Then he reaches down and throws a handful of dirt at her with small stones that end up dirtying her cheek. Jungkook coughs and Lexa laughs maniacally. She acknowledges that when Jungkook throws another dried pineapple at her chest, she starts having fun. Both succumb to the game and start throwing everything they see on the ground. They laugh together for the first time. Lexa can not help thinking that her laugh in a normal state is quite pleasant away from that dry sound that she usually emits when she laughs without emotion or grace.

When she stops listening to that melodious laugh she drops a handful of leaves and looks at it. She lets out a groan of surprise as her back hits the wood of a tree. Jungkook corners her in less than a second. He doesn't know what's going on but he feels a chill when he feels the hardness of his thigh brush against hers.

"Don't move, I've seen something among the trees," he says uneasily. He is about to complain when Jungkook places a hand on his shoulder and pushes him back towards the tree.

"It must have been an animal," he growls uncomfortably. His body is so big that it covers him in seconds. Her heart beats so hard that she's afraid Jungkook will notice if her chest keeps pressing against her like that.

"It wasn't a fucking animal." Jungkook's voice turns serious and dangerous as he lowers his head to look at her. Lexa is connected to her eyes without being able to avoid it. They are so dark that you could lose yourself in them and not complain about not finding the exit. Jungkook's breath directly hugged the upper skin of his lips making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He had never been so close to a man so he attributed his nerves to lack of habit but that did not take away the fact that he was also the first man his body trembled with the slightest touch. One hand was held firmly on top of his head while the other was off to the side. They were so close that the tips of his feet touched hers. Jungkook's lips remained in a neutral grimace combining with the seriousness reflected in his body. He knew he was tense from the way his shoulders were not resting from that straight line. He intended to say something but his mouth did not respond to his commands as if the connections in his head had lost touch with reality.

By having him this close he could have the privilege of analyzing his features in more detail. He hadn't even realized, until now, that just below his lower lip was a mole. And for some strange reason, he wanted to stretch a finger and squeeze it. Jungkook cleared his throat to catch his attention. Lexa cast a curious glance at him and then her cheeks turned red.

She looked away embarrassed for being so impulsive and caught on the spot. When in reality, Jungkook's discomfort hadn't been precise because of over-gaze but because of the way he did it. The dream returned to his mind when he noticed how his eyes traveled to detail his lips and certainly, this was a moment that could not be carried away by his primary impulses. So she decided to return to her tough posture. "I'm going to look at stay in place again."

Lexa rolled her eyes when I hear him so demanding. As she indicated, she walked away completely and then returned to where they had been playing.

"Do you see it? Nothing happens… Jungkook! ”Lexa shouted in fright as an arrow grazed the right side of her head knocking him to the ground. Jungkook was swinging his head on the ground while complaining sore eyes tight. Lexa ran towards him in a panic attack. She knelt down and tried to lift her head. "No, no shit." Jungkook? ”He was desperately searching for an answer, but Jungkook only produced moans that were getting weaker and weaker. I tilt my neck carefully to look at the wound. When he touched the blood on the tip of his ear and saw it black he cursed under his breath. "Poison ..." This one was different, this one was much more powerful and dangerous because it was not just a paralytic. He swallowed hard, laid his head gently on top of a mountain of leaves, and then got up. "Hold on, I'm going to get help, please just hold on."

[...]

Despite the fact that things had gone well and no misfortune had arisen, she could not feel completely relieved. As he ran toward the camp, he caught a glimpse of a man running in the opposite direction. He forced himself not to follow him because Jungkook was more important. He was afraid that the man would come back and hurt him at seeing him so unprotected but again, he forced his legs to keep running.

This was not the time for his paranoia.

Fortunately, Jin was in his cabin and in possession of the antidote. He dipped the red seaweed tea in a handkerchief and placed it on his ear to absorb the poison. Two hours later, Jungkook woke up and as soon as he regained the notion of reality he returned to his clan's affairs. He ignored Jin's warnings and left as soon as his legs left him.

For that very reason, after his last meeting with the council, on his way back to his cabin, he ran into a worried Jin. After that, he wasn't even aware of what went out the door.

"Jin said you didn't want to heal yourself." The girl's voice sounded annoyed as she made her way deeper into the cabin. Jungkook, who had been studying a map on the table, turned irritably.

"It is foolish to waste supplies when there are bigger wounds to take care of."

"At least let me take a look at you," he asked, pulling up the small white bag to put it in his line of sight. "Sit at the desk, please."

Jungkook frowned at her but finally ended up obeying and going to the table to sit down. I interlock my fingers and click my tongue in annoyance. Lexa ignored her childish attitude. She indicated with her fingers to tilt her head. A gesture she made against her will but in silence.

"You see?" Jungkook replied wryly, raising his eyebrows. Lexa looked at him seriously when Jungkook turned his head again.

"What I see is an open wound that, if not healed, can become infected," he reproaches with annoyance. It was true, Jin's superficial treatment had made the wound a mere scratch, but she still had a fresh layer of dried blood on the tip of her ear. He breathed in focusing on the task. He reached out for a piece of cotton, dipped it in rubbing alcohol, then put it on the wound. Jungkook groaned plaintively at the sting moving in place.

Lexa pursed her lips. "Sorry."

"Were you worried about me?"

Lexa stopped looking at the wound as soon as she perceived the softness of his tone. Flashing nervously, she cleared her throat and concentrated on cleaning the blood again. "Don't be so self-centered, I worry about everyone the same."

“Sure?” Her tone had suddenly dropped, becoming intimate and personal. The cotton was suspended in midair when Jungkook turned his head to connect his gaze to hers. Lexa frowned a few seconds before relaxing her face. He perceived her seriousness in his penetrating gaze. Set and firm on yours. They had never looked at her like that. They had never left her speechless with a glance. And when Jungkook slowly started to get closer his mind flew into dangerous territory.

"Don't turn your face I can't see your ear." She growled annoyed to hide her nervousness. He caught her chin and turned her face again.

"Are you going to see your mother tomorrow?"

"Yes, I haven't been in a while."

"Then I will go with you."

"No need, Suho ...

"I do not care. I wanna go."

"Okay," she accepted, confused by his sudden interest. "You saved my life, I'm going to have to start taking you with me everywhere."

"I was used to it ..." Jungkook pronounced, taking a scowl from Lexa. Seeing that he was not responding, he shook his head in denial and returned to his task.

[...]

Now that the two clans were unified and the roads opened, the distance and time to travel were considerably less. Before, when he suffered those longings for freedom and escaped to the forest, it took him more than half an afternoon to return home. Now he realized that time was no longer going to be a tedious burden.

But undoubtedly, a considerable change to consider was the look of his subjects. Before, they treated her as an equal now they watched her from a distance with a shy look. But he knew it was not for her, the citizens did not fear his presence but Jungkook's. And it was normal, he was a foreigner who had been forced to fear above all else.

His mother was still occupying the usual cabin, so when she was at the beginning of the camp, it didn't take long for her to stand in front of their doors. The atmosphere was tense, he knew it very well because he could feel the thoughtful air. The two men behind him had been silent the entire way creating an atmosphere filled with awkward silence.

He tightened the reins to hold the hair still so he could get down from it. Suddenly, he noticed movement in his rear when he turned his head, large hands adjusted at his waist, and helped lower it. Lexa widened her eyes when her feet finally landed on the ground. Intuitively she placed her palms on top of her chest to stabilize her body. When she noticed the hardness of her muscles, she looked up. Jungkook intensified him as if he wanted to speak to her from that gesture, show him a longing that he had not seen reflected before.

The sound of a cracked door opening made them slowly come to their senses.

“Lexa?” With an excited tone, her mother turned to her, surprised by her visit. He wrapped his arms around her neck to press her against his chest as he had always done. Lexa inhaled the smell of roses from her mother's feeling at home. "What are you doing here ...

When her gaze fell on Jungkook as they parted, the words got stuck in her mouth.

"It's been a while since I came and I missed you," Lexa added with a melancholic smile capturing her mother's attention. She pursed her lips in delight as she analyzed her daughter. I caress her cheek and then gently curl a strand of hair.

"You are prettier, you eat well, right?"

"Yes, mom," he replied monotonously, but still emitting that smiling aura.

"I'll be back later so we can get back together." When Jungkook spoke his mother frowned and Lexa looked at him confused.

“Aren't you going to stay for lunch?” After her mother's offer, Jungkook felt her body freeze.

"I don't want to disturb her, ma'am." Although Jungkook's voice had come out it would be his calm face hiding nothing but shame. Ever since he had noticed her presence Lexa's mother had been nervous and certainly he too. She did not like to be observed, much less annoying than the reunion between mother and daughter.

Lexa's mother protested. "That I have not agreed to the terms of your marriage does not mean that I do not respect my daughter's decisions. As things have been you are still my son-in-law and therefore part of my family now. So if you both go inside ...

Lexa looked around with a frown meeting only the three of them. Suho had left without saying anything and that started to worry.

"... and by the gods call me mother no lady."

Jungkook nodded rhythmically as if he had just received a military order. His mother re-entered the cabin followed by Jungkook, Lexa said goodbye to the outside with a sorry look still looking for his friend.

[...]

The food had not been as tense as expected, his mother had managed to get Jungkook to release his tongue and that he would abandon that serious and lonely posture for a moment. When Lexa finished her last bite of roast chicken, she slowly got up from the table and proceeded to carry the plate into the kitchen. I put it on top of the steel counter and then turned to go back. However, a small drawing hanging on the wall with a skewer caught her attention. She came closer to admire the painting more closely.

She couldn't help but chuckle shaking her shoulders at the poorly scribbled paper. It was her father and her. Lexa had given that drawing to her father for her birthday, immortalizing that day when they went to see the birth of the tents. She certainly did not expect her mother to keep her away.

Hearing the sound of a plate hitting the counter behind her, she rolled her eyes and broke her smile.

"If you're going to tell me again that love is weakness, better go back the way you came." I exhale tiredly facing the wall. She did not feel like arguing knowing that her mother was only a room away and that she could hear everything but she could not shut her mouth and let it pass because she was not for talks full of the pure and empty feeling of life.

"It's what my father taught me," Jungkook said calmly resting a hand on the counter. Lexa raised an eyebrow and turned on her feet in annoyance.

However, when I did not notice that mischief in her voice nor that arrogant posture, she began to feel intrigued. Her shoulders leaned down and her gaze seemed to be drowned in rage. I've never seen her like this. Then, she repeated her words in her mind slowly, paying attention to each one of them. She had just named her father. The ancient Heda of the Iron Clan. She couldn't help but feel curious about him because his father didn't even tell him those things claiming that she wasn't ready for such.

“Since when are you Heda?” The question came out on its own as if it were in thought out loud that it needed to get out before it rotted inside.

Jungkook raised his eyebrows contemptuously as he said, "Since I was thirteen."

"And your mother?"

"She died of an infection in a pandemic." She didn't seem hurt at all treating the subject as if it were just one more in her life. Lexa felt terrible grief adjust in her chest. She was really so calm that she was scared of her indifference.

"Don't you miss your parents?"

"They never acted as such because they should?" And there was the reason. Jungkook demonstrated so many things at once that his confused brain was slow to see them all at once. Answered questions normally. He hadn't even been affected by answering the age question. By God, since he was thirteen years many others have passed. How can a child face the role of Heda when she, at her age and with a supposed training and maturity, still showed some discomfort when assuming responsibilities. It must have been quite shocking and disturbing.

"And you?"

Lexa blinked lost. "A lot." He confessed weakly. Then a small nostalgic smile filled her lips. "My father was a little harsh sometimes but not too much he always fixed it with a smile."

Jungkook nodded instantly with the same aura of nonchalance. He didn't know exactly why, but seeing him so serious and frigid, his body began to walk alone forward. Jungkook's arms were suspended in midair as Lexa buried her head in his chest and wrapped her small hands around his waist. It took Jungkook a minute to react by wrapping his lower back and pulling her to his body so that his chin rested on top of his head.

"I'm supposed to be comforting you," Jungkook commented closing his eyes as he felt the warmth of Lexa tuck him in gently. His strawberry scent went up to his nostrils, making him his favorite scent.

Jungkook smiled helplessly as his tired sigh bounced off his chest. "Stop growling so much."

[...]

She turned her fifteenth turn on the bed before finally turning on her side. His hand was under her pillow and her legs were on top of each other. Although she will try to close her eyes and allow herself to be overcome by fatigue, her body had other plans that night. It was so strange because I was sleepy. Her eyelids drooped wearily but her eyes didn't want to close. Finally, and after half an hour later, she sighed in defeat and closed her eyes to sleep.

A sharp surface brushed her neck causing her eyes to squeeze uncomfortably as she brought her hand to it a strong arm turned her face up.

"I should have done this from the beginning." Realizing that it was not a dream and that both the pressure on her neck and the terrifying voice were real she desperately opened her eyes to meet a man on top of her body. She opened her mouth to ask for help but her hand covered her mouth immediately. "No bitch tonight you won't be the same luck."

The fingers around her nose closed, pressing on her nostrils. The man laughed pleased when his legs stirred urgently. I was so scared. So annoying. So disgusted by feeling so touched. With her hand on her mattress, she began to feel the surface quickly when she brushed the ass of her glass bottle she didn't think twice before hitting her on the head.

“Bitch!” She moaned loudly, touching her head. Her body fell to the side from the impact giving her the space to sneak towards the door. But when she was about to open the door, her filthy fingers pulled her ankle down causing her to have to put her hands forward to avoid hitting her mouth on the ground.

Lexa threw a kick that landed on her face. The man cursed when her plant deflected the septum from her nose. But that only caused the rage to turn into a fire that was impossible to quench. He tugged on her ankle, dragging her back under him. This time he wasted no time and his fingers wrapped tightly around her neck. Lexa sucked in strangled moans as she felt oxygen leaking from her lungs. Her legs were flailing furiously but when her thumbs clenched the hollow of her windpipe the movements stopped executing due to lack of oxygen supply. With her last breath, she continued to search for something on the ground when she felt something sharp lead her forward, driving a piece of broken glass into the socket of her eye.

The man released her in a brutal scream bringing his hands to her pierced eye as she crawled over to her chair to rest her back.

The door opened so hard that the hinges broke. Jungkook ran into Lexa as two soldiers approached the man to arrest him on the ground.

"Lexa!" Jungkook yelled desperately but she had already passed out from the effort.

[...]

"Swallow," Jin asked worriedly. I remove the spoon from his mouth and Lexa swallowed the jelly with difficulty. He closed his eyes when the softness touched the walls of his throat but soon after the pain began to lessen becoming bearable. When Jin noticed the relaxation on his face, he smiled regretfully. "You will take this every time you eat or talk a lot. It will help with swelling and reduce itching.

Lexa nodded so as not to form the vocal cords. Sometime later the door opened, causing her to divert her attention to it.

"How are you?" Jungkook asked, seriously leaning against the door frame. The tension in his shoulders told him that he was still on alert, his hoarse tone still annoying.

"Where is?"

"He's in the dungeons. Now answer me."

"Is he the one who attacked you?" She didn't need an answer when he noticed how Jungkook's eyes hardened. "I don't understand, Suho was at my door like ha ... OMG! Suho okay?"

"He's fine."

"Then why don't I believe you?" She frowned in annoyance at his sudden caution. Jungkook avoided his gaze making him more nervous. "Can you speak clearly?"

"We have found Suho unconscious."

Lexa opened her eyes in fright. "Has that man done something to you?" If something happens to her because of her, she would never forgive me ... I have to see it."

Jungkook strode to the stretcher when the girl tried to get up from the stretcher to run towards the door.

"Lexa, stop." Jungkook's large hands tightened on her shoulders to sit her down but she hysterically denied.

"Don't ask me when my friend is hurt!"

“He's not hurt, he was drunk, dammit!” Jungkook's scream stopped all activity in his system. His face paled and his chest clenched.

"What?" I breathe incredulously.

Jungkook looked down before looking at her indecisively. "That's why that son of a bitch could easily pass because your friend was sleeping."

[...]

After an arduous week on the stretcher in Jin's cabin, he was finally able to be discharged and take up his duties again. Jungkook had been holding the position of Heda Celeste in his absence, which he was grateful for, when he took over again he realized that there was not much work to do. The only pending thing that could not be attended to by him was the man who slept in the dungeons.

He had explicitly ordered that he should not be given water and that he should be given only a piece of meat a day. That man was a bounty hunter with many deaths behind him, he deserved nothing more worthy.

“Are you going to judge me?” He asked, staring blankly at the floor. She was sitting on the throne in the assembly hall waiting for Suho. When he entered, he looked at her so seriously that he knew what she was thinking.

"You are my Heda, I will accept everything you decide." She did not like the respectful and distant tone he used.

Lexa frowned in embarrassment and then looked at him.

For God's sake, how did they get to this?

"Is what they say true? You have sentenced a man."

"He was a murderer."

"He was unarmed!"

"Me too!" She screamed loudly causing an outrageous echo to form. Suho raised his chin indignantly. "I don't expect you to accept it because I no longer require your morality."

"You are not the same."

"Neither do you," she replied with all the pain in her soul. Suho stopped forcing his gaze relaxing her in a full of regret. He took a step toward her but she reached out, stopping.

"It won't happen again, I promise."

"I can not risk."

"You know I would give my life for you."

"I know."

"He put it in your head."

"Jungkook has nothing to do with it."

“Then why are you looking at me like I want to hurt you!” He roared furiously, causing Lexa to leap onto her throne. Her jaw clenched so tightly that blood began to collect in her head. When she saw how fearful Lexa's eyes expand, she stopped clenching her fists and straightened her regretful body.

"Have you been drinking again?" Lexa asked, leaving him speechless. Suho felt so ashamed and so insulted at the same time that he turned around and ran out of the room. Lexa pursed her lips to hold back a sob. Tears welled up in her eyes almost out of necessity out of helplessness.

"You shouldn't let a simple soldier affect your decisions." A serious voice sounded from behind her but she never took her eyes off the door.

"Suho only wants the best for me," I whisper shattered in a passive tone. Jungkook swallowed hard when he couldn't stop his emotions from overpowering his character.

"Me too." He sighed on his knees in front of her. Lexa looked at him instantly with longing. "And so, I ask you to let me protect you."

[...]

"The decision is yours," Jungkook mentioned, turning his head in her direction so that only she would get the message. Lexa maintained too insane eye contact with her attacker who lay tied hand and foot to a stick in the middle of the plaza. Just below him were the woods. Around her, the crowds screaming for justice.

"Dann*." The sentence came out so easily that it scared her. She kept a stiff expression to avoid being affected by the looks that began to haunt her.

Automatically the citizens shouted euphoric at her decision.

"Jus drein jus daun! *"

She opened her mouth, removing her sitting posture when she saw a warrior light the torch and lower it towards the branches to light them. When the fire came Lexa closed her eyes instinctively. However, feeling a glance over her, he opened them again. When she found that pair of eyes among the people her stomach clenched. Suho watched her disappointed, sad, and lost. Lexa pursed her lips as the pressure on her chest caused her eyes to water. After that Suho was disappearing among the people until no trace of him was left.

Screams of pain rang out loudly, Lexa diverted people's attention and when she looked forward her chest heaved and her eyes widened in horror. A tear ran down her cheek at the scene so macabre. The smell of burned skin was the one that urged her to get up from her seat and flee traumatized to her cabin. When she slammed the door shut, she started screaming hysterically.

By the gods what have I done?

What the fuck have I done?

She covered her mouth with her palm to keep the sobs from coming out but it was too late all she did was delay it. It was already wrong from Suho's disappointed look and that of the man ...

Holy God!

The air began to lack so badly that she began to sweat and consequently feel overwhelmed when the dress was embedded as a second skin. She reached up to her dress and pulled it out desperately. She hugged her bare breasts as the night breeze blew in through the window. Her shoulders trembled with cold and her wailing muffled moans. She closed her eyes tightly trying to calm herself but ended up opening them exasperated when she saw in the dark the image of that man burning alive.

A finger stroked the line of her spine, bristling her skin. She bit back a gasp and her body stopped shaking as the softness of lips caressed the skin of her ear.

"Are you sad?" He whispered hoarsely, allowing himself to be filled with sweetness. Her eyes closed again as a hard chest completely covered her bareback."Let me comfort you. Just let me help you forget about everything. I can do it I'm very good at it."

"Then do it," she asked without being aware of her actions. Her arms still tightened crosswise as she turned to face him. She opened her eyes slowly, meeting a gaze as dark as night. She was scared because she had gone from controlling her movements to letting go. Jungkook stretched out one of her hands to stroke her cheek with the tips of her fingers. Jungkook suddenly stopped smiling, replacing her expression with a more serene and analytical one. She stepped closer, closing the distance. Her slowness was sweet torture but deep down she was grateful that it gave her time to get used to it.

He brought his fingers to her chin and lifted her head. Lexa closed her eyes and parted her lips. Then, Jungkook bowed his head and kissed her sweetly. It wasn't a quick kiss, nor was it a proper kiss, since there was only a superficial contact. When Jungkook separated almost instantly Lexa opened her eyes weakly. Her gaze had darkened, she had grown wilder, more eager.

Lexa parted her lips again but closed them again when Jungkook pounced again this time more eagerly. The passion of the kiss took her by surprise but she didn't complain because when Jungkook opened her mouth tight to deepen the kiss she let it dominate her mouth. Jungkook's hands snapped to her waist, pulling her body forward to hit her chest.

She felt comforting heat build-up on the skin under her palm. Her hands were so large that they practically covered her entire back. Jungkook groaned and raised his hand to his face to incline him further.

Lexa gasped as she felt the tip of her tongue touch her lower lip, she wasn't even aware of what was happening until Jungkook's tongue entered her mouth to embrace hers with passion.

Lexa uncovered her arms feeling suddenly brave and brought them to the nape of her neck. He dipped his fingers through the strands of her hair and stretched them ecstatically as Jungkook reached down to his behind and knead it hard. Jungkook let out a throaty moan and leaned his body closer, holding her almost under him. Lexa took a step closer by sticking her tits to her chest. Her nipples bristled completely from the rubbing of the fabric of his shirt. Jungkook put his hand to the nape of his neck and formed a fist of hair as he opened his mouth more for a stronger kiss. Saliva gushed from their corners like a waterfall but they didn't care because the wet sound of their lips coming together was worth it. Taking advantage of his hair grip Jungkook cut the kiss in a snap. His altered breaths cooled and heated the skin of his lips creating such an exciting contrast. Jungkook rolled his eyes down his face analyzing his appearance. His cock jerked into his pants when he saw her with her mouth open as her lip trembled and her eyes narrowed with excitement. He growled desperately drawing her to his mouth eagerly. Lexa hugged the back of her neck receiving her kiss submissively.

When Jungkook again separated god two steps back to contemplate the fullness of his body. Soon his eyes delighted in the turgidity of his pale chest with spiked nipples, the wonderful line that went down to his navel from training and especially the tiny white panties with a dark stain.

"Shit, you're beautiful." Jungkook sighed gone. Lexa was too embarrassed to see the hunger in her gaze proceeding to lower her head to hide her flushed cheeks.

But Jungkook had other plans, he brought his fingers to his chin and lifted her so that he could see her eyes. Lexa held what little breath she had left after the kissing session when Jungkook gave her the warmest smile she had ever seen while as she approached, she rested her eyes on her bare breasts. When she was close enough that there was almost no distance between them, the fingers that hugged her chin went up to her mouth to run her thumb over her lower lip. "Be a good girl and let me prove you."

She pressed her lips together in a slow kiss with her tongue before abruptly parting causing Lexa to follow her mouth unconsciously.

I blink drunk with pleasure watching Jungkook guide his mouth down her cheek giving her a wet kiss that also caused her bottom to get wet. He rubbed his thighs urgently as his tongue drew a line down her lower jaw almost touching her neck. The fingers at the nape of her neck tugged at the root inadvertently causing Jungkook to growl and go on to attack her neck mercilessly. Lexa squeezed her eyes shut at the feel of his lips closing on her skin to suck. His mouth began to travel to the area of ​​her clavicle where he bit her and pampered her with kisses with his tongue.

She kept going down to the line of her breasts where her tongue slipped. Then she brought her mouth to an already erect nipple and bit into it as one hand came up to knead the other.

His hand clenched the fist of hair at the nape of his neck and pressed it to his skin. Her belly flinched as her tongue sank to her navel but what undoubtedly made her body shudder from the balls of her feet to her head was the kiss she gave on the line of her pelvis. I swallow nervously when I notice how the garment swirled around her fingers. Jungkook raised his eyes to hers to get his blessing when Lexa bit her lower lip and closed her fist on the nape of her neck. Jungkook smirked, lowering afterward still with eye contact his lips towards the stained area of ​​her panties. Then her fingers proceeded to stretch the garment down until it was jammed at her ankles. Lexa shifted her feet so that she will leave her body completely. Jungkook grabbed her leg and placed it over her shoulder. Next, he placed a small kiss on her inner thigh area. Lexa swallowed nervously when she noticed that the kisses did not stop and that they were on a descending path. She didn't know what she was doing until she jumped embarrassed when she felt his cold tongue caress her folds mischievously. A shy moan came from her lips as she ran her tongue back this time going deeper. God, never, ever, thought that someday he could feel so much pleasure. Never, ever, she thought that Jungkook on her knees could be the most exciting thing in the world. She brought her fingers up to separate her lips for better access. When he kissed her red button it swelled accordingly earning a loud moan. Lexa threw her head back at the endless sensations she began to feel. Without hesitation, he inserted his tongue into her hole making Lexa squeal and then cover her embarrassed mouth.

Jungkook laughed still with his lips pressed to her skin causing her too sensual a vibration. He brought his mouth back to her swollen clitoris to suck with force, then Lexa felt a cramp run through her body that ended up causing a ball inside her belly to explode and her body to suffer spasms. Jungkook licked him to orgasm with delight, kissed his clit again, carrying a whimpering groan from the overstimulation, and then sat up again. He brought his hands up to his waist to keep Lexa's body from rushing back. The girl opened her eyes dizzy when she felt his breath hit her nose. Jungkook licked his lips gladly tasting and tasting again the product of his orgasm causing Lexa to blush immediately.

He hooked his leg to her hip and laid her on his bed, placing himself on top of her. Afterward, Jungkook kissed her lips again ecstatically making Lexa feel his taste in her saliva. He returned his kisses down the column of her throat stopping this time in her ear to whisper hoarsely. "Your pussy is so sweet ... I wonder if it will feel like that around my cock." He caught the earlobe with his teeth and I stretch it sensually. Lexa groaned, crinkling her shirt eagerly. His hand went down her skin, ending in her pelvis, which took the boldness of a palm tree. "Open your legs more, baby."

Lexa obeyed dazedly, dizzy from so much pleasure. Jungkook stuck out his thumb and stroked her clit in a circular motion. Lexa moaned softly, opening her legs wider. Next, she sank the same finger slowly into her hole, taking another cry of complaint from the girl.

"It hurt..."

"Yes, I know ..." he whispered softly on her cheek before kissing the tip of her nose. "... but you have to prepare for my cock since your small pussy is too tight." lips. Lexa nodded slowly. She brought her hands to the area of her shoulder blades and squeezed hard when she felt another finger go through her hole. Bufo buried his mouth on her shoulder as he tried to focus on the pleasure that gradually began to lessen the sting. She moaned with pleasure, spreading her legs wider, urging Jungkook to introduce the third. Movement shoves out of her fingers soon became insufficient.

"Please Jungkook ..." she pleaded breathlessly, running her nails through the fabric of the shirt.

"Please what, baby?" He whispered with too perverse amusement as he kissed the shell of her ear and increased the movement of her fingers.

"I want ... I want ..." but she was silenced by a needy moan when a fourth finger entered inside her small vagina.

"Fuck ..." he cursed under his breath, giving her a quick kiss before getting down on his knees in front of her. She pulled the shirt over her head, exposing her wonderful puffy pecs and her wonderful chiseled belly with stone-like abs. Her legs spread wider on their own at the image causing Jungkook to growl like a horny animal as he brought his free finger up to her clit to stroke it in circles. When Lexa lashed out at her second orgasm, I swear her breath was out. With her eyes clouded she saw how she could as Jungkook got up to take off her pants. He was surprised that she didn't bother wearing underwear but all those thoughts stopped making sense when she looked down at his cock. Her eyes widened at his width and length. Her mouth practically opened by itself when she saw how big it was. She panicked because she began to doubt if that big cock would fit in her inexperienced little hole. Jungkook brought his right hand up the spine and slowly muttered himself, still looking into her eyes. He groaned plaintively at feeling so needy. I bring two fingers to her mouth and place them on her lip.

"Open her" he ordered hoarsely but very needy. Lexa opened her mouth wider allowing both fingers to enter her mouth to bathe with the moisture of her tongue. Then, he brought those same fingers to the base of his cock to stroke it over her. Jungkook moaned, nodding backward, then stared at her sharply. Lexa swallowed nervously. Then his great body fell on top of hers to give her a wet kiss. Lexa spread her legs wider so that she will be more comfortable. He circled her waist and squeezed her hard when he felt his cock hit her stomach. She almost died right there, feeling the inhuman softness of her cock's skin. He parted his lips in a wet snap and looked at her seriously again. Jungkook drove the tip of his cock into her entrance to caress her up and down to cover her with his juices. Lexa spread her legs wider and he growled, kissing her again. She parted again and sighed on her lips.

She put a hand to her chin to connect her eyes. "Tell me if it hurts and I'll stop. Please tell me."

Lexa nodded as the last answer before everything will begin. Of course, it hurt when she inserted the tip. She felt a hideous tear of skin that ached like a thousand demons. When she complained in a silent moan Jungkook froze and looked at her cautiously.

"Don't stop ..." he pleaded without air. I scratch his lower back causing him to tuck in a little more. Jungkook groaned as he lowered his nose to hers to brush against her movement. When he finally reached up to the hilt Lexa groaned in need as she gazed at him pleadingly, her eyes teary with emotion.

Jungkook rushed his lips to hers as he began his coupling slowly. Lexa broke the kiss to moan eagerly bringing desperate hands to the nape of her neck to continue with the kiss. Jungkook released an animal roar as he rolled his hips sensually and she clenched her fingers.

"Fucking tight pussy," he growled giving a deep thrust that made them both moan. Lexa began to notice how their bodies floated with sweat. Her demolishing eyes kept a frown as she increased speed. She let out an open moan before smiling wickedly over her mouth. "So good to me, my baby."

Lexa automatically brought her nails to her back and squeezed. Jungkook had just claimed as his own and although in other circumstances he would have yelled a couple of insults at him, this time, he opened his mouth more to moan.

"You sweet baby can only receive my cock." No one else's. Only mine. ”She growled in her ear, annoyed, hitting her thigh causing her to moan and jump hard. She left a path of scratches on her back that ended at the nape of her neck again. Jungkook came back to face his face with pressed noses. "Say you only want my cock. Say only this pussy can be fucked by me. ”He shouted ecstatically as he increased the depth of her hips. Lexa threw her head back but Jungkook's fingers tightened at the nape of her neck and forced her to look at him. A spanking on his butt made his moan.

"Yes ..." I sob from the force of his thrusts. "Only you ... Only you can fuck me ... Oh shit!" She screamed when her orgasm came with more force than the previous ones. She collapsed onto the bed, leaving herself at the mercy of her need.

Two more thrusts and Jungkook was jerking wildly to drop his load on her stomach.

"Shit ..." he cursed contentedly as he fell to the side of the girl's body. He covered his eyes with his forearm widening his bicep. Then he wrapped his waist around her and pulled her to his chest with his leg pressed to her hip. Lexa frowned tiredly feeling suddenly at ease when a honey scent completely seduced her.

[...]

In caresses, his finger wandered down her back from top to bottom. He couldn't stop staring at her and he certainly would never tire of admiring her natural beauty as he slept on her chest. If Jungkook was completely honest, there was no adequate sleep conciliator because his eyes did not want to close for fear that what was in front of him was nothing more than the product of a good dream. And if so, he did not want to wake up.

I gently brush stubborn strands of his cheek to better admire his profile. His face was so serene and so pure. It seemed like a mirage for how the light that filtered through the window panes reflected on his face. He looked like a clear angel that his character was far from one. Jungkook smiled at his thought. Afterward, he placed his lips gently on her forehead and hugged her to his body, growling in satisfaction as he closed his eyes.

"Ai hod yu en * ...

“Lexa, can we talk?” A male voice and the sound of a squeaking door put him on alert acting as a reflex act to catch the blanket to cover their bodies.

“Call before you come in, asshole!” Jungkook growled, radiating as he got up, helped by the support of his hand. The scandal of the voices was so disturbing that Lexa groaned sleepily and then opened her eyes.

“Mmm?” She murmured groggily as she waited for her gaze to adjust to the intensity of the light. When she did, she watched Jungkook absentmindedly, then looked at her blanket-covered body. He frowned looking in the direction he was glaring at and then saw it. To her best friend with wide eyes and a look full of pain and sadness. "Suho?" But he wasn't looking at her but at Jungkook. When her mind was fully awake, she opened her eyes in exaltation. "No, wait!" Lexa cried desperately, extending her hand forward as if she could touch him from a distance, but Suho quickly left the room with the door slamming behind her. He'll come in! "he yelled in the direction of Jungkook who frowned annoyed. It was ... It was on purpose! About last night..."

“Last night has nothing to do with this!” She roared in outrage as she denied.

Lexa blinked. "I shouldn't have trusted you," she sobbed, getting out of bed as fast as she could grab the dress, put it on over her head, and run out the door. "Suho!"

“Lexa!” Jungkook called desperately but she ignored him. When he slammed the door, Jungkook cursed, throwing the pillow on the floor. "Fuck."

[...]

"Suho stop!" Lexa ran after him, not caring about curious glances, not caring about the sharp stones that puncture his plant, but he didn't seem to care either. "I order you to stop!"

Suho stopped his body abruptly and then turned around. There was so much pain and so much anger in his gaze that Lexa gulped.

"That you want to explain you are his wife, it is normal that you take care of him." He assumed with a venomous irony so harmful that Lexa does not remember another scene in which he will behave so impulsively.

"I don't want to hurt you," she shook her head. She frowned sadly and pursed her lips regretfully. Really, hurting her was never in her plans. He never wanted to break her heart but he couldn't lie. Jungkook awakened things that he with so many years of friendship never managed to develop. He didn't know when it happened alone that it just happened like that, without realizing it.

"Well, you already have," Suho sobbed painfully before making his way back and leaving his chest tight.

[...]

The tension was palpable in the environment. He had decided to march in front of the warrior formation so as not to meet Jungkook as well as Suho. I was confused. She never had been. Her head ached from all the feelings she was unable to command. She felt happy because she had spent what would probably be the best night of her life but at the same time, she felt like a total hypocrite because her happiness had destroyed his friend.

As Lexa thought with her head down, Suho followed Jungkook's horse closely. She struck her back with so much hatred that it could form a whole. When they reached the river bank and decided to take a water break, Suho soon followed him toward the shore.

"What a coincidence that you suddenly become interested in Lexa when all you have done is harass her." He did not hide the contempt in his voice as he approached where Jungkook filled his canteen with river water flexing his knees.

“Harass her?” Jungkook asked smiling, still looking at the stream. Then she got up slowly and denied. "At least I'm able to respect your feelings, asshole."

"Because of the affection I feel, I will not allow you to play with her."

"Is that all you feel for her?" Honey? ”Jungkook replied with a dangerous grace. I raise an ironic eyebrow as I scanned his body.

"You don't know anything about me," Suho growled feeling disgusted by also feeling too observed.

"It is not difficult to know. Surely you have been in love with Lexa since childhood, you always approached with the excuse of wanting to protect her when we both know that you had other intentions."He took a break before smiling again." It must have been quite shocking to see us together in her bed."

"No, not really," Suho replied nonchalantly. Jungkook nodded in amusement. "Because I know he didn't stop thinking about me."

Jungkook gave a wicked chuckle.

"You don't think much when you fuck like that."

"Just because she was forced to marry you does not mean she is forced to love you," she replied to his laughter with a more concise and borderline. Jungkook hardened his features. "I am his best friend, do you really think that for a moment she would choose you?"

"I wouldn't make her choose to begin with," Jungkook sentenced seriously. He left there before he really lost his temper and hit the punch he so badly wanted to land on his stupid jaw. She closed her eyes trying to calm down. I really didn't want to cause Lexa more trouble.

[...]

From the bottom of his chest, he emitted a bleak sigh. Things were going from bad to worse with Suho. A couple of hours ago I had seen him leave with a group of soldiers. They had seen each other from a distance but immediately Suho looked away and then disappeared through the gates of the camp as if nothing had happened. He couldn't help but feel bad, but should he? She was so confused ... So upset with the voices in her head. She had to act like an adult and speak things or she had to act like a child and leave things to be fixed over time, no doubt, that was the worst option.

“Are you going to continue to ignore me?” A hoarse voice that he recognized instantly broke into the council room. Lexa reached up to the ends of the table to squeeze the wood.

"Because of you, I have lost my best friend." She tried to sound cold and hard but the only thing that succeeded with that was that when looking at her and observing her furrowed gaze her chest oppressed.

"You are fucking unfair, Lexa." Her annoyed voice reflected what she felt right now. Her gaze was so intense that the girl looked away like a coward. "Do you think this is easy for me?"

"What do you want? You don't even know, do you? "She snorted as her sharp words slipped with difficulty out of her lips." Last night was a mistake, I was in low spirits and you took advantage of it."

"That's really what you felt or what you've forced yourself to believe so as not to disappoint your fucking friend!"

"You don't know me." Hearing his growl, she responded with the same intensity.

"It is true because the Lexa that is in front of me now does not look at all like the Lexa that was with me last night." She perceived so much nostalgia and longing that her anger quickly evaporated from her body. She looked up and looked at him hesitantly. Why listen to him so hurt and see how his gaze hardened by his rejection developed in her a feeling of guilt that began to come out in the form of an uncontrollable tremor.

"I don't want to hurt his," she finally confessed the demons that torment her head. It was true. Suho was probably one of the most significant people in his life, if he didn't want to be a part of her anymore, surely Lexa would never meet someone so special again. But then, then there was Jungkook. That arrogant, arrogant chestnut that had not done anything since he met him always put her in a bad mood. Until last night, when she showed him with her kisses and caresses that the connection that united them from the first time she looked into his eyes was not temporary. It was her first time. Her first kiss and quite possibly the first man to shake her heart so hard. But then, she would go back to Suho again. She wouldn't approve of it and that meant she had to get away from Jungkook until she cleared her feelings.

Jungkook clicked his tongue.

"And would you rather do it?"

His words burned into her memory. Not only for the softness but also, for the sentimentality with which he had spoken. So much feeling in a damn phrase that made his come out and mix with his.

He swallowed hard. "I ...

Lots of screaming immediately distracted the two of them. They both looked at each other in alarm before running out the door. When they saw the environment at the entrance to the camp they knew that something was wrong. Lexa desperately searched the crowd for brown hair when she couldn't find it, she desperately marched towards the only soldier in her unit she knew.

"Ton, what happened?" Lexa asked, suffocated by the screams of pain from the wounded. There was one who collapsed to the ground and started screaming as if possessed. A nurse came up and helped carry him into a cabin. As the scene receded the soldier looked at him again.

"The mountain soldiers attacked us when we crossed the river," he said, agitated by the pain of his poorly healed wound in the leg. Lexa increased the frequency of her breathing almost instantly. Her eyes widened and then she asked altered:

"Where's Sohu?"

"In Jin's cabin," she pointed out quickly. She didn't even finish talking because the girl had started running towards her friend's cabin. She started to get worse. Stretching at the roots hysterically when it dawned on her that if she was in Jin's cabin that was more serious than the rest.

When she came banging the door hard against the wall, she covered her mouth when she saw her lying on a stretcher. Her shocked gaze scanned the bandage on her belly where a bloodstain leaked through the bandage more and more.

"Lexa plugs the wound so it won't bleed!" Jin shouted, suddenly appearing at her side with a needle in her hand. Lexa reacted almost as desperately with him and reached out to her friend to squeeze her belly. She immediately noticed the wetness of the blood but did not care. She wiped away her tears with her elbow and looked up at Jin who sighed. "Well, we're going to have to sew."

[...]

She caressed her cheek gently noticing the heat that had returned after the operation. Her face no longer looked so pale, recovering a little that orange color. She slept with slow breathing although from time to time she couldn't stop complaining moans from her lips.

Lexa took the cold compress from her forehead and changed it by turning around. As she felt the coolness return to her forehead, Suho sighed with satisfaction.

"You should sleep." Jungkook's voice scared her from behind but she was so tired from being awake for hours that she could hardly react. She just kept giving her unconscious friend slow strokes.

"I don't want to leave him alone," she said in a low voice almost like a whisper. Jungkook noticed the guilt in her tone besides her drooping shoulders and blinked, looked away, and closed her eyes in anguish.

"How is it going?"

"Stable but Jin says the lack of blood is going to start working," Lexa commented worriedly. She huffed in regret as she got up from the stool, turned around, and looked at him rubbing his arms to get a little warm.

"Are there no donors?"

Jungkook raised an eyebrow intrigued.

Lexa denied decay. "Sohu's blood is special not easily found."

"How special?"

"Negative rh," she whispered softly, giving him a quick glance to check that her chest continued to move regularly. Noticing Jungkook's silence, she turned to him curiously.

"Lexa, I have that blood group."

[...]

She shifted her foot restlessly as she waited outside the door of Jin's cabin. Her friend had kindly asked her to wait outside because she was very nervous and would end up distracting herself. Of course, she understood and even if she didn't want to, she listened to her. Jin was also human. She felt the same biological deficits due to lack of sleep and rest, so she decided to give her a truce and not complain.

When the door opened her friend came out with a rag in her hands that she used to remove the remains of blood.

"How is he?" Lexa asked immediately, feeling too much pressure on her head from her nerves.

"Better, now that you've received the transfusion," Jin replied relieved.

“May I see you?” He swallowed hard when he inadvertently raised his voice. Fortunately, Jin understood his situation and ended up walking away from the door.

Although his initial intentions were to walk directly to the bed when he saw Jungkook leaning on the table with two fingers tightening a small bandage on his forearm, his feet only walked towards him. When he saw her coming from the periphery, he stopped looking at Suho and focused on her.

"How are you?" Lexa said, pressing her lips together as she pointed at the area she was squeezing.

"I'm fine, a little weak from lack of blood but Jin says that in a couple of hours ...

"Thank you," he snapped, leaving him stumped. Her eyes widened longingly at his face at the current of concern that suddenly engulfed her.

Jungkook frowned. "Don't give them to me."

"Yes, because you didn't have to. You and Suho don't get along and I have misbehaved with you since we met."

"I suppose so am I," Jungkook said with false grace as he smiled. Lexa took another step, shortening the distance between their bodies without knowing the reason. She just felt too needy to be enveloped by his body heat. Jungkook straightened his body following in his footsteps. When Lexa took another step ... Suho coughed and she stiffened instantly, averting an alarming glance.

"You love her, don't you?" Jungkook said with pain accumulating in the hollow of her heart. He knew this was not the time for his jealousy but he couldn't help but feel annoyed when he saw how she was looking at him.

"I would give my life for him," she confessed as a secret.

"You should stay, maybe I'll wake up tonight." The pain in his voice was perceived by his receivers in such a way that I can't help looking at him in silence as he watched as he walked out the door without saying goodbye.

[...]

“Lexa?” Her head snapped up from her arms when I heard her sorry voice. He approached the bed and stroked her head lovingly.

"Shh, save your strength, you've lost a lot of blood."

“Where am I?” Her gaze was disoriented as she scanned the room intently.

"In Jin's store."

“Soldiers!” She jumped out of her bed, shaking her body with such force that she ended up bent over from the pang in her belly.

"Suho, calm down," she said altered as she lay him down resting her palms on his bare chest. "This offense will be returned, I swear."

"I don't want you to expose yourself more, Lexa. Please, let's go. Let's go far away. To the mountains to the south. " She did not take her eyes off as she settled herself better on the stretcher.

Lexa laughed incredulously."What do you say? I can `t go."

"Yes, you can."

Suho squeezed his hand as he looked pleadingly at her.

"Let me be your protector again." Lexa squeezed her eyes up and stood up from her stool with her back to him leaving her hand hanging on the edge of the stretcher. Suho sat carefully on the headboard and continued in her pleading tone: "I promise it won't happen again if you promise me it won't happen again either."

Lexa pursed her lips when she understood exactly what she was talking about.

"Running away like a coward is a good solution." Jungkook's voice came out loud. Lexa turned to the door as soon as she heard his hoarse voice. Jungkook advanced, approaching the stretcher where Suho looked at him with contempt. "It has been proven that wherever he goes, there will always be someone who wants to harm him." Nothing will happen to Lexa because she is under my protection now.

"She was, too, when two assassins tried to kill her," Suho said in immature reproach causing Jungkook to giggle.

"Well, at least I caught the killers." Tell me, what did you do apart from following her like a dog everywhere.

"Jungkook," Lexa chuckled immediately, taking a quick glance from Jungkook.

"I'm right, Lexa." She defended herself with pride as she returned her withering gaze to Suho. "She doesn't need a protector, she needs a man."

"And you are that man?" Suho replied with a mock too false as she swept her body with contempt.

"He's right, Sohu." Lexa added catching the gaze of the two men. "If I leave they'll think I'm running away, I'm weak and I'm afraid of them. And I'm fucking not afraid of them."

[...]

She wiped her brow from the sweat with her forearm as she walked in the scorching sun on her way to the stables. However, just as she saw the wooden structure from a distance, a nearby voice caught her attention towards a cabin.

“Lexa, do you have a moment?” Jungkook asked patiently while raising an eyebrow. Lexa looked at the stable and then looked at him again and nodded, approaching with slow steps.

"Yes, what do you want?"

Jungkook entered the cabin so Lexa had to go behind him. When she closed the door, she found her on her back.

"No one will use the council room today," he announced hoarsely, leaving her intrigued. When she turned around, she gave him a smile that made her uneasy.

-So what? What are you planning? ”He nodded at her body, distrusting her calm posture.

“Are you expecting me to do something?” He asked mischievously as he took threatening steps toward her, causing her to back off in reflex and her back to hit the wall when the ground was gone.

"No, I don't expect anything." She swallowed hard as she felt her body slowly cover her with his near heat.

"Yes?" He whispered huskily close to her face using his typical arrogant tone.

“What are you doing?” He couldn't help but giggle as Jungkook's compact thigh slipped between her legs. The seriousness he suddenly showed on her face left her paralyzed.

"I'll make sure no one touches you. You said I had to find out what I wanted. I already know it. But what do you want? Tell me? ”When he leaned his face against hers brushing her nose teasing, Lexa swore the breath left her body. She opened her mouth reflexively drawing the attention of Jungkook who looked at them instantly. He brought his fingers to her cheek and stroked her gently. He leaned her face towards his making her imitate her gesture with his eyes closed. He felt the sweet skin of her lips and opened his mouth as he did. He felt the tip of his tongue brush against her teeth when ...

"Fuck," a voice coughed at the entrance to the cabin causing their bodies to part as if they were burning. Lexa moaned in surprise and ran towards Suho who kept one hand on her stomach as her body bent forward.

“Are you okay?” She asked worriedly as she stroked his back. Suho squeezed the door handle for support and looked at her with a smile.

"Yes." He coughed dramatically again. Then, she observed Jungkook with a look full of arrogance causing her to laugh sideways. "Now you better be with me."

[...]

"Two weeks ago a message was sent to Ronald. He has responded with the attack of the river, well, let us respond as well." Jungkook shouted to the warriors who shook their weapons above as a sign of emotion.

Lexa sighed seeing how what she most feared would come was beginning to do so. Despite the joy in the environment, she could not help thinking that not all those warriors would see the sunlight again.

A horse caught her attention. She recognized the blond rider who climbed off the horse masterfully.

"Our observer has seen troop movement from the south," Jimin announced to Jungkook who nodded with the seriousness required under the circumstances. Lexa knew she wasn't the only one thinking about death, she knew it when she saw his tense shoulders.

"That they come this time will not catch us by surprise," Lexa roared loudly, taking an exciting look from the blond warrior.

"Yes, with FireHeda on our side nothing can go wrong."

"FireHeda?" Lexa asked confused but with a smile on her face.

Jungkook rolled his eyes. "Jimin, I told you you won't call her that."

“Why do you call me FireHeda?” She turned his head towards Jungkook who sighed hesitantly.

"You killed thirty savages with a single fiery arrow," Jungkook said delicately knowing that the subject was still disturbing. Lexa looked down at the ground making Jungkook feel guilty and will look back at the soldier with a serious threat in her gaze. "I'll make sure no one ever utters that name again."

"No, leave them. I like FireHeda."Lexa answered indifferently. She nodded with a small smile on her lips. She had to start making peace with her past if she really wanted to move on.

[...]

She kicked his stomach causing the man to fall unconscious to the ground. Then he wiped the sweat from his face, wiping the blood from his mouth. She sighed wearily and raised her head to watch the battle. She smiled when she saw that her warriors had escaped unharmed at the first offensive. In fact, it was not difficult to beat them. Since both her and Jungkook's were used to enduring the sun for many hours to protect crops, the summer sun did not affect them in the same way as the savages, who always lived in a cold and freezing climate.

“They're retiring!” Her squad leader shouted loudly for all to hear. Lexa looked at Jungkook instantly. They were both looking confused.

"What?" Lexa asked, busy between standing up and being able to breathe. Jungkook came to his side and although he did not process it out loud he was glad that nothing had happened to him. Between fights and fights, she had given herself the privilege of observing how she was fighting and she was more than impressed. He was undoubtedly a Heda for something. He couldn't help noticing how good his hair was tousled and bathed in sweat as his chest rose and fell in agitation. Her cheeks heated as her wicked mind reminded her that it was not the first time she had seen her like this.

A horse bolted out of the trees scaring them. Jungkook stood in front of Lexa protecting her with his body. She watched him with a small smile of excitement at his tender desperation to place her behind.

A horse stood up right where its feet were shaking in the air and then fell with the same intensity. Lexa came out of Jungkook's body to look at the mountain speaker suspiciously.

"WanHeda * wants a reunion at dawn," the man announced with superiority, looking at them with disdain still mounted on the back of his horse.

Lexa forced herself to hold back the emotion because she knew what that meant.

"Tell Ronald that the truce will be honored."

[...]

"Tomorrow it will all be over," Jungkook announced calmly as he wiped his extensive bareback with a damp towel. He swept the dirt off the ground from the turmoil of battle as she washed her face by sinking her hands into a bowl filled with soap and water.

"I keep thinking about the lives of the innocents who left in battle," she whispered, lost in her guilt, remembering the bodies that were collected and the families that would never see them again.

"Ge smak daun, gyon op nodotaim. *" Jungkook muttered softly proclaiming her attention. Lexa immediately turned around at the hoarseness of her native language. Her lips parted as her golden chest welcomed him. He wanted to bite his lip as he got closer to her his pecs moved with the movement and the muscles of his abs tightened just inches from his fingers. He forced himself to stay sane because this was not the time to lose his mind, no matter how good the chestnut tree was. "You are a good Heda Lexa." If I died tomorrow my spirit will rest in peace knowing that my clan has you.

"Don't say that," she growled softly, frowning in disgust.

"Death is the war's greatest ally," Jungkook pronounced with passive normality that frightened her, prompting her to capture his cheeks and fix his gaze on hers pleading.

"Shop op! *" He ordered, his breathing altered. "Don't talk about death when you're alive. I already lost my father, I almost lost Suho I don't know what I would do if I also lost you ...

The tremor dominated her tone of voice to the point of gradually fading towards the end. Jungkook tightened the nape of his neck and buried his face in his chest. Lexa clenched her biceps in need causing him to squeeze her harder.

[...]

She had not slept at all but passed her into Jungkook's arms while caressing her head had diminished the effects of the dream.

Jungkook looked at the door of the store with the same mistrust as Lexa. They both sighed and walked towards her. Jungkook pushed aside the cloth but he passed first as a precaution. She accepted because she did not trust Ronald at all.

Upon entering, they found the Heda sitting on a throne made of bones and decorated with bearskin. Ronald smiled hypocritically and then got up.

"I admit that you surprised me," he began to comment amused as he walked down the steps and approached them, especially Jungkook. "I'm not going to sign my surrender."

“So what the hell do you want?” Jungkook asked furiously as he stepped forward-facing up. Jungkook was much taller than Ronald so his body absorbed hers.

"I have come to give an alternative to war," he pronounced innocently, knowing that his words penetrated deeply into Lexa, who soon joined the conversation.

"Talk," she said, taking Ronald's gaze.

"The main conflict is due to the death of the previous Heda Skykru."

"Say it by his name murder," Lexa snapped with fury running through her tone. Jungkook narrowed his eyes glaring at Ronald's body as he moved away to get a better look at her.

"The war is here." Death too. But it is avoidable. As an alternative, I propose that Fireheda fight my brother. If FireHeda wins I will withdraw from the territory of the mountains, if he dies I will stay with his clan. You have until dawn to make a decision. "When she told her plans, Lexa lifted her chin and looked at him full of pride." FireHeda finished off my army with an arrow. I think dealing with a single soldier will not be a problem for her.

[...]

"It's a trap," Jungkook commented with confidence in his gaze and stretched posture.

"I know," Lexa accepted thoughtfully.

Jungkook approached her quickly causing their eyes to connect.

"You don't have to accept that you know that he has agreed because he has no other way out."

Of course, she knew. As well as that Ronald was treacherous shit that he wouldn't mind killing his own mother to get what he wanted. He had been behind his clan's territory for years, and the only thing that had frustrated his plans had been his father. Now that he was gone, he thought that he could finally fulfill his desire. Of course, it was a trap. I knew Ronald's brother well. A barbarian as tall as an old pine, cunning and scarred from training. Anyone would think she was no match for anyone but they did not count on her also flooding those rumors since the bridge attack.

"Ronald is a murderer who doesn't care about anything if it is in my power to prevent more people from dying tomorrow, so be it " Lexa accepted with will power. She raised her head so that she could look him in the eye since she had gotten too close.

"We have a pending conversation," Jungkook uttered deeply as he lost himself in her eyes. Lexa blinked weakly as she sank her cheek back into the comfort of his chest.

"After...

[...]

She shook her hands hard and automatically the muscles in her arms flailed. She twisted her neck in circles to warm the head area. Then she took a deep breath and left the store. Sunlight landed on her eyes blinding for a moment until she got used to it. The sun was shining as much as if it was giving him good luck. As she crossed the line of the arena she heard excited screams from her soldiers and also demeaning screams from the enemy. The drums were played with force following the rhythm of their walk. Upon reaching the center of the arena, he clenched his teeth as he watched Kye talk to her brother, who smiled triumphantly as if victory trickled from his mouth.

"She attacks from the left and when you knock down her defenses I want you to kill her." Keep your eyes open there is no greater weakness than underestimating your enemy. - Ronald whispered to her brother who nodded obediently. Then he walked briskly to stand beside her. A councilor from her tribe climbed onto the wooden platform in front of the field where there were two chairs. One of them was occupied by recently arrived Ronald and the other by Jungkook who was watching Lexa seriously. When she responded to his affective call he nodded giving her strength.

"In hand-to-hand combat, there is only one rule ... Today someone must die!" Shouted the counselor amid the exciting tumult of the masses. She raised her hand and lowered it with her finger pointing towards them. "You can start."

Each one walked towards her warrior to collect her weapon. Kye quickly unsheathed the sword and ran towards Lexa believing that it would catch her off guard when she did nothing but make the first mistake in battle.

Never underestimate your enemy.

Lexa masterfully unsheathed the sword as she spun nimbly, sticking her elbow out and driving it into Kye's back as he ran the blade down his right leg causing it to drop to his knees. The screams of her warriors enthusiastically urged the feat as Lexa walked to the center of the arena still on alert waiting for Kye who rose heavily from the ground.

Upon reaching her, Lexa attacked with her sword. Kye stopped the attack with her sword. It was a match worth seeing from outside. On the one hand, Kye used his brute force to destabilize her with his body. And on the other, Lexa used her wit and agility to dodge everything and return it with more force. After clashes and clashes of her screeching metal, her swords end up crossing. They slid toward the hilt leaving everything at the mercy of force. Kye pulled her teeth out and growled like a dog in anger as he tried to knock her down. Lexa crushed her feet to the ground, holding on with all her being.

When her body began to bend downwards Kye smiled. "You are finished."

Lexa clenched her teeth as she reached for Kye's sword bewildering him. Long enough for her to tuck one foot between her spread legs to drop her to the ground. Kye staggered away, dragging his body across the floor as Lexa waved her hand to ease the pain of the cut. Fortunately, she had thought that wearing gloves would be a good way to protect herself, she had thought well.

She bent down slowly and grabbed Kye's sword from the ground, climbing up next to her to threaten from a distance.

The crowd roared with excitement as Kay disoriented like a headless chicken began searching for something to protect herself from. She found it in a warrior whom she kicked to remove her sharp spear. Lexa turned the swords in midair and approached attacking first in a battle cry. Kye tried to drive the point into her belly but the attack was deflected thanks to her sword. The spear almost escaped from her sweaty fingers but she knew how to catch it in time.

Lexa kicked his leg, knocking it to the ground, but he took advantage of his position to attack hers. Lexa intercepted the attack again but the sword forcibly left her fingers, leaving only one so she was distracted for a second following the path of the sword. She received a punch in the belly causing her to double from the pain, she was kicked in the chest, knocking her down.

Kye tightened her grip on the spear and when she was about to drive it into her neck she cocked her head and was embedded in the ground. She moved her legs nimbly and stood up. She hit her jaw hard leaving her dizzy on the floor. Lexa turned, picked up the spear, and placed it on the column of her neck.

"Do what you have to do," Kye whispered in a strange tone. Lexa frowned and it was then that Kye sneakily showed him the little mirror on her wrist.

"Jus drein jus daun *," Lexa said carefully just before throwing the spear into the throne area.

The screaming stopped as the tip of the spear pierced the bowels of Ronald who did not see his last breath go out.

"Why?" Lexa asked puzzled as she offered her hand to Kye to help lift him up.

"War is not the solution. Ronald killed our parents to become Heda. I take off my family I think I see just ending his reign."

Lexa nodded, satisfied with her answer. The murderer had perished and now new times full of hope would come.

She turned to the crowd and shouted:

"Now the mountain clan will have a new Heda!"

She watched Kye smiling and she nodded in respect as her warriors screamed rather than accepted.

[...]

The parties after a battle were undoubtedly the best. People drank and sang around a bonfire regardless of gender or origin. They were only humans enjoying the end of the war. Lexa smirked as she looked around for a man named above.

But someone enthusiastically stepped in front of her making her stop.

"You've been amazing, Lexa." God those blows. Those kicks. That guy Kye was lucky not to ...

"Suho, sorry I have something to do," she cut when she saw him leaning in the distance against a tree. Suho mumbled something but she kept walking like bees towards the skin.

When he got in front of him Jungkook smiled as he raised an amused eyebrow.

"Hello," Jungkook said calmly.

"Hey," she replied with the same serenity. One that was short-lived as she immediately jumped into his arms desperately. Jungkook squeezed his body, delighting in the comfort of his small figure.

"I knew you would win," Jungkook whispered into her hair. She took off her head with her hands on her chest but still not undoing the hug.

"Ah yeah? So why did you have that scary look all the time?"

Jungkook smiled. "It wasn't because of you, it was because of Kye. Who in their right mind would dare challenge you for a ...

Her mouth was immediately closed by anxious lips. Lexa opened her mouth when Jungkook tightened her nape and brushed her tongue against his lower lip. He kissed her eagerly, eagerly as he leaned her against the tree.

"Does this answer your question?" Lexa said shaken by the recent kiss.

Jungkook smiled mesmerized as he leaned closer to whisper on his lips, "I always knew it was you."

"What?" Lex laughed confused.

"When I saw you run to the bridge and shoot that arrow, dammit, I don't think I was ever so attracted to someone." When Jungkook confessed that, Lexa's eyes widened.

"Were you there? Your...

"Yes...

Now it all made sense. The heat of his body that exuded tranquility and security. Her strong arms that she unconsciously recognized and that fucking honey smell that had driven her crazy from the start.

Lexa filled her hands to her face and cupped her cheeks excitedly.

"Why did you not tell me?"

"Would something have changed?" Jungkook said with pure amusement.

“Why did you ask me to marry you?” He waited anxiously for her answer as he frowned happily.

"I guess for the first time I didn't know how to approach a woman."

"And do you think it was the best idea?"

"Has it worked or not?"

Lexa pursed her lips thoughtfully before nodding.

"Yes, it has worked."

[wanderesshuntress]

Workin’ That Mime to Five || Morvern & Alain

Missing her dreamboat, Sierra decides that it’s high time two old as fuck Hunters catch up. A mime guest stars. He’s not going to make series regular.

@carbrakes-and-stakes

Like all devoted couples, their love could be… tempestuous. In need of intervention. With her husband, they’d once laughed over the idea of a marriage counsellor but hell, what else could she do? Sometimes you just had to have some things hashed out, but now it seemed like every few months they were at the door of Garage Babineaux. Truth be told, Morvern suspected that Sierra (GMC Sierra 1500 to call her by her full Christian name) had a thing for the French therapist of all their troubles. Sure explained why she decided to keep playing up all the time.

There was a distinct rattling noise as Morvern swung Sierra up into the bay of the shop, a chattering of discontent that was getting more and more frequent. Fuck, she hated nagging. Putting the truck into park, Morvern clambered out of the driver’s side entry, scanning for Alain Babineaux. Didn’t take too long to spot him, his back to her, and when she did, a grin began playing at her mouth. Was he seriously in fuckin’ black and white striped overalls? Heading on over, the grin began to falter when she got closer. Her brows knitted together.

“Uhhhh….”

Sure, it was Alain. With a beret. Covered in face-paint. Really getting in touch with his roots? Morvern didn’t even know what to say. Still, how the man chose to get in touch with himself was up to him and that was to be… respected. She supposed.

“Jesus. Should I try an’ fill you in usin’ my words or through performance art?”

Alain, down in the oil pit, was busy with his wrench and had not noticed that a stripped version of himself had made his way inside his shop. With both Margot and Dario gone on their lunch break, the mime had had the opportunity to wander all around the garage all he wanted, and yet, he had found no trace of his stripeless double whether inside or around the garage. The mime was careful not to make any noise as it walked around the workshop, he would not have allowed himself to be any other way. There was something telling him that if he made a sound, then things would not end well for him.

Meanwhile, the mechanic was still busy changing oil, and ignoring whatever was happening around him. It was not until he heard the sound of a car entering that he considered leaving his pit. He recognized the woman’s voice and raised an eyebrow as he heard her talking to someone. He had not heard either Dario or Margot come back, which was odd, although it wouldn’t have been his first time missing something because he focused on something else. 

The mime, who had not given up on finding his human double, tilted his head to the side to look at the woman speaking to him. So loud. Slowly, he moved his index to his lips and frowned dramatically at her before nodding frantically as she asked if performance art would be preferable. However the mime’s expression changed, he motioned her to stop moving and started drawing the shape of a sword in the air, pretended to pick up the air sword and to have trouble lifting it. Approaching the woman, the mime moved carefully however. Anyone who had ever seen the real Alain fight would have recognized this change in the mime’s way of moving. And speaking of the real Alain, he was  just done changing the oil, and standing behind the mime, a honest to God : “C’est quoi cette merde?” left his mouth. “Morvern, watch out!”

Only out of pure confusion did Morvern play the perfect audience to the mime, crossing her arms as bemusement caused her to follow through with the whole Be quiet and stay still thing. He was drawing something in the air – a long angular rod of some kind, something jutting out of the side… she knew what that shit was. It was a sword, and when he pulled it from the air like French King Arthur, his knees immediately buckled. She didn’t smile at the sight. This was way too fucking confusing.

The second he began moving towards her she took an instinctual step back, bracing herself. The way he was moving – the grace was almost unnatural. “Babineaux?” she called, stained with uncertainty. Her hand crept towards the holster under her jacket as she kept her eyes trained on mime Alain and she dug her nails into her palm, stopping herself from getting too ahead of reason. The sudden appearance of Alain – normal Alain – kicked her into gear, but no sooner did Alain shout the mime charged forward, air-sword brandished.

So this must have been what all the mime shit was about.

Morvern’s grip tightened against her Colt Python and a burst of pitch-black ooze rained across the cement as the revolver discharged, hitting the mime in the shoulder to disable him as he staggered back, silent shock and agony distorting his greasy face as he clutched the wound. His sword-palm splayed open and he sunk to his knees, arm stretched out towards her like this was some great of his hand went to his forehead he crumbled to the ground completely. His tongue slid from his mouth like a dead dog, the black ooze puddling around him and staining the Beetlejuice overalls. She had to hand it to him, it was a pretty good performance all things considered. Too bad that shouldn’t have been a mortal wound, but who fucking knew when it came to mimes?

Turning her attention to Alain, she scrutinised his oil covered uniform and nodded towards his mime ‘dead’ body. She didn’t want to get near this fucking thing – it was tripping her out something wild. “You wanna go kick him? Looks like you’re already covered in black shit. ‘Sides,” she added, “I think you’re the next of kin.”

Alain had never been fond of firearms, and the sound of Morvern’s gun brought a grimace to his face. Maybe one day he would get used to it, but today was not that day. As he expected from Blanche’s description, the mime started to bleed black goo. Seeing someone who looked exactly like you fall to the ground was quite the experience, and kept the hunter frozen for a couple seconds. It was the sound of his friend’s voice who brought him out of his shock.

Although even as he approached his mime double, he couldn’t help but stare at its face. How in the goddamn did they manage to create a double of him. Even the ring finger was missing, he noticed. This was not just a clone, this was an exact copy. Grabbing a monkey wrench from the workbench, he stepped over to his double and not waiting for an explanation or worse, for the goddamn thing to wake up, he swung the wrench up in the air and flung it at the mime’s face. Crushed skull, ooze flying around, then the coveted silence. 

He already knew that the thing would disappear, but hoped at least the ooze coming from the mime would stay and that perhaps they could have a better look at it. And just as planned, just a few seconds later, the mime burst into a cloud of stripped smoke. Truth be told, even if he had been warned that this would happen, he was still surprised. What the actual fuck was wrong with those fucking mimes ? “What the actual fuck.” 

His wrench still in hand, he dropped it in the sink, then pulling himself up to sit on the workbench. Pulling a piece of paper towel from his pocket, he started cleaning his face. “Well, that was fun. Thanks for the help,” he sighed and glanced over at Morvern, then her car. “What’s wrong with your girl?”

Morvern kept her distance as Alain approached his mime twin, not yet holstering her gun. If he were a younger slayer, she would’ve become more inquisitive for his sake, but that wasn’t the case and the man could handle a goddamn mime one way or the other. So she merely watched and said nothing as he clobbered his clone’s skull in with the monkey wrench, but she wasn’t going to deny it – it was kind of a disturbing sight to see the face of a friend suddenly become a mush of black ooze and caved in bones and teeth. Still, better it than them any day of the week.

The whole bursting into cloud bit, though – that was unexpected. Her eyebrows shot up and she glanced back up at the real Alain. “Goddamn,” she intoned. What the actual fuck, indeed. Finally holstering the revolver, she meandered up to Alain as she dug into her jacket pocket, pulling out a pack of Marlboro Golds and a hotel slip of matches. She struck one, cupping it to light then waved it out as she silently pored over the black stains on the ground for a moment that the mime had left. Really, it’d blend in with the rest of the oil and hydraulic fluid and whatever the fuck other fluids that you found in a mechanics perfectly. Which was… interesting. Again, Morvern’s eyes slid over to Alain as he wiped his face. She didn’t know what was grease and oil, and what was dead Alain mime blood.

Curious.

“Don’t mention it,” she replied. “Can’t have that asshole leavin’ Garage Babineaux with a bad name, can I?” At the mention of Sierra she shook her head, pursing her lips. “Reckon it’s jus’ that she’s in love with you. Been rattlin’ like crazy whenever I slow down, but it’s always something.” She smiled affectionately for a moment, but she couldn’t help but have this mime shit keep tugging at her over whatever issues Sierra was having. Her eyes cast downward again.

“…Say, you know Kaden Langley?” she inquired after a brief silence. “He was goin’ on about bein’ attacked by three of these bastards. An’ now I jus’ seen this one leak what looks like graphite grease over the whole damn place. Kinda wonderin’ what the connection is here.” She took a long drag of her cigarette, exhaling smoke slowly as she mulled over her thoughts. “All’s I’m sayin’ is you’re both French an’ you both got mimes, an’ that’s all I know about it.” An’ if I cut you, you’d probably bleed engine grease at this point, too. She looked Alain in the eye, tilting her head slightly. “How come you ain’t been at the Bullet lately? What you been busy with, Babineaux?”

 Alain’s eyes wandered away from Morvern’s car and for a few seconds - it could have been 10 or 30 seconds- he stared blankly at the black goo that colored the floor, right where his double used to be. Even if the fight had been more intense than it had been long, he could not erase the mime’s face from his mind. Dear Lord this was grotesque. He rubbed at his face and snapped out of this state of void. Fucking mimes and their fucking mime bullshit, motherfucker. If he saw her look at him, he did not think much of it and figured that she was just checking on him like a normal person. “Careful with that,” he knew better than to tell her to turn her cigarette off, but at least he could get her to walk away from anything that could catch fire. 

“Let’s go have a look at her, shall we?” From what Morvern was saying, he could easily bet on what he’d have to inspect, and so, with no questions asked, he opened the front door to have a look at the board. Turning the car on, he glanced over at the woman. Once again, he knew better than to ask for how long this warning light had been on. All that mattered was that he knew what was wrong. “I figured that it would be the brake pads,” and since he would have to wait for the car to cool down to even touch these, he turned off the car and took the keys out, sticking it under the visor. “I’ll have to keep her, you’ll be alright until tomorrow?” 

Walking over to the counter to register the car in, he listened to her talking, and his eyebrows shot up as she mentioned Kaden and how he’d ended up fighting three mimes at once. “You know him, always trying to look better than us old folks,” he scoffed, sitting down again to fill the paperwork. “The connection here is… You’re going to hate this,” he cleared his throat. To say that he was not proud of what they had done was a euphemism. It was clear that the restaurant exploding, and mime clones appearing the next day was no coincidence and so, he had to be honest right now. “Kaden, I, and a couple other folks blew that damn mime restaurant up, and well… I think we unleashed this,” he pursed his lips and looked up at her with a look on his face that could only express one feeling: My fuckin’ bad. “Though, there are people who weren’t there who also had a mime version of them who attacked.” He sighed heavily. None of this made sense, and he felt like no matter what happened next, they wouldn’t get the truth as to what this all meant.

Now, he really would have wished that she did not ask that last question, because he had always been a shitty liar and his cheeks were already turning to a pale shade of red as he tried to think of an answer. “No reason in particular. I stopped drinking, apparently it makes me a shit person.”

With one last look at the mime muck to log it into her memory, Morvern followed Alain over to the truck and leant against the rear door to watch on as he looked Sierra over. At the prospect of keeping Sierra overnight, Morvern usually would have shrugged and told him to do what he needed to. This time, however, there was some serious shit going on and both the French hunters she knew in White Crest were at the centre of it. As far as she saw it, there was still some explaining to do and hell of a lot of it.

The explanation she got, however, was not the one she expected. Alain was wrong – she didn’t hate it. In fact, after a moment of stunned silence her guarded composure broke and she began to break into raucous laughter, choking on her cigarette smoke as she did. “Goddamn, Babineaux! You were involved in that shit?” Langley, too? She took a moment to settle herself, returning her cigarette to her lips, dragging thoughtfully. “An’ what were the events precedin’ this? An’ who are these other folks. Hunters? Langley mentioned some guy called Felix. He connected?”

Morvern didn’t try to fight the urge to roll her eyes. She took the cigarette from her mouth again, pinching it between her two of her fingers as she jabbed them in his direction. “Or you stopped because these fuckin’ mimes got their grip on you. An’ this assessment is accordin’ to who, exactly? I ain’t even sure if I can leave my Sierra with a goddamn teetotaller.” Morvern patted the teal steel behind her reassuringly. “Hell, maybe you’re gonna be a heartbreaker after all.”

Alright, this was not the reaction he had expected. Alain cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest, if he kept a straight face, a smile tugged at his lips after a while. There were not many people who had a contagious laugh but Morvern was one of them. “Are you done,” leaning back in his chair, he didn’t have to look at the plate to write to licence number on his paperwork. This was far from the first time he was seeing her truck, and while he could have been easily been a lot richer by working on this car alone, he preferred to ask the owner for help once in a while, to get rid of a particularly mean vampire, for instance. 

“Well, as you may know, Kaden had a few misadventures with those silent fuckers,” the cardboard one, the sewer one, the strip club one and the cat eating one. Quite the collection, when you thought about it. And now you could add spider mimes and clone mimes to Kaden’s list. That was starting to be a lot. “There was a friend of mine, someone I saw before but I don’t know remember…,” he started to ramble about how terrible he was at remembering faces before he continued : “and Felix, whom I did not want to have around after he planned that awful mime party for Kaden’s birthday. Shit, it’s a shame you were not there. You would have had so much fun,” he stared blankly at the ground with his eyes wide open, suggesting that no, there was nothing fun about this birthday. Nothing.

“What?” He put down the clipboard on the counter and looked at her. Oh no, she did not look like she was kidding. “Are you seriously suggesting that the mimes made me quit drinking ? Morvern, fuck off,” he didn’t really feel like justifying himself, but clearly he was offended. “What the fuck. It’s not that I can’t drink, but I think it’s not reasonable. I’m not reasonable, and so maybe I should stay away from it,” however he did miss the social aspect of it. It had been a while since he’d seen some hunters, just because he avoided their bar. “I will never break Sierra’s heart, I would never,” he shook his head. “You know, I think I actually missed you,” the nonsense, the taste for conspiracy and all those little things that made Morvern who she was. “If you can keep me from drinking too much, maybe I’ll come back sometimes.”

“So you were at the shindig, too?” Morvern asked. “What about these other people? They also there?” Honest to God, Langley was a fucking idiot if he saw no connection here. And whoever this Felix feller was? He was beginning to sound like the knot tying the threads together. It was to the advantage of no Hunter to be so blind. Or to anyone, really. “I already know he set up the party.” Him and Langley’s girlfriend, apparently – but right now, whoever she was, she wasn’t a suspect and it wasn’t any of her business to ask after. “Reckon he plays into this somehow?”

Honestly, the way Babineaux and Langley were making it sound, she wished she could have at least sussed it out. What was life without a little disharmony to keep you on your toes?

She cracked a smile again when Alain told her to fuck off. “Christ, Babineaux. Like anyone gives a shit how reasonable you are.” And on a level, it was true, too. Regulars who disappeared from the Silver Bullet were regulars who had relocated six feet under. Even if they were trying to start shit, it was better having them swinging fists at you in a bar and knowing they were still breathing than having a brother out dead in the field. And in Morvern’s experience, there were just as many corpses laid in the ground that she knew the names of as there were friends and rivals still living.

“Yeah, well. I missed you too,” she said matter-of-factly. She crossed her arms. “Hence the askin’.” She dropped the half-spent cigarette to the ground, crushing the embers with her foot. “You crawl back through them doors after so long spent away? I can’t promise shit. Maybe you should try being responsible for your damn self for once.”

“I guess so, it was not my idea, although I did not exactly discourage it,” if Alain snorted, it was because he was suddenly reminded of how much of a huge, enormous mess this night had been for each and everyone present there. And yet, Morvern’s question brought him back to reality, a reality in which she had joined Kaden’s idea of a mime conspiracy. Just what he fucking needed. “I’m going to need coffee if we’re going there.”

When he came back from his office with two mugs of coffee, he finally replied, “I know he almost died trying to get rid of the fucking horror that lives behind the damn restaurant,” so no, it was unlikely that Felix had anything to do with the fuckery that had cursed the town. His gaze wandered back to where his double had vanished, and his calm expression shifted slowly to worry. Who else would get attacked like this, possibly hurt, killed and maybe replaced by their double ?

“Apparently, some people do. Not hunters, regular people,” a hunter would have never given him shit for drinking too much, they both knew that and even if he had been tempted to have just one drink one in a while, he figured that it was best to just avoid that too. Now time would tell how long this would last.  

Biting the tip of his tongue, he pursed his lips and shook his head. His eyebrow raised as he watched her throw her cigarette to the floor. “You do plan on picking that up, right?” If he had never been fond of smoking, what he liked the least about it, was finding damn cigarette butts on the pavement, and everywhere else he went. 

Still, his expression softened as she put him back in his place. “Being a responsible person? Well that sure as hell sounds boring,” he hid his smile in his coffee cup and sighed. “I don’t know. I suppose an effort could be made, for folks like yourself,” this was a disaster waiting to happen but that wouldn’t clash too much with the rest of his life. “I don’t know, I guess we’ll see. Besides, I met someone, and I’m not sure she’s going to like that,” he observed. He figured that dropping this news like a hair falling on soup was the best way to tell her. It wouldn’t be long anyway before Kaden started talking about it.

When Alain handed her the mug of coffee, Morvern found herself eyeing the swirling black liquid with suspicion. Weren’t even sure if she could trust the stuff or not yet. So for the time being, she was just content to use it as a hand warmer, fingers tapping it absently as she listened to the French Hunter.

“So what’s that supposed to mean?” she asked. “That almost dyin’ absolves him from further investigation?” She scoffed, shaking her head. Far as she was concerned, that detail made him even more suspicious. Sounded like the kind of thing someone dedicated to the mime cause would stage just to pull the cotton over everyone’s eyes. She took a sip of coffee in as she mulled it over then realised what she had done the moment it slid down her throat. She frowned. Shit.

Trying to ignore the idea of having potentially just swallowed ichor du mime, Morvern forced a groan that tried to claw its way out of her throat back down as Alain chided her. Hunkering down, she picked up the crushed butt to tuck into her pocket. “You know somethin’? You’re right. Bein’ a responsible person is borin’ as hell’,” she replied, voice thick with irony. Wait, what was that? He’d met somebody? Morvern straightened up. At first, she almost grinned at the news until the true meaning of his words caused her to switch gears immediately. The man had landed himself a damn ball and chain!

Before she had the chance to spring the third degree on him, Alain’s guardian angel in the form of a complete shit-box Chrysler rumbled up into the drive. Whoever this goddamn witch it was keeping Alain from the Silver Bullet had probably summoned it. All the same, it was business. Real business, not mime business. Far be it from her to get in the way of Babineaux making a dollar. Setting the cup of joe down on top of Sierra, Morvern shot Alain a look. “But what, no problem with Romeo puttin’ his neck out on the line near every night?” Her laugh was unusually acerbic. “Sounds like a real doll,” she added as she made to leave just as the customer headed over, knocking on Sierra as did so. She could walk. She knew where she was going. And whether it was in the grave or with the drink, all Hunters ended up in the same place. Where else was there to go?

[calpalirwin]

Night Out

A/N: Remember my post about the high-heeled princess vs the muddy sneakers tomboy? Yeah, this is that blurb.

And away, and away we go!

~~~

“Just a Friday night with the boys,” I told my reflection, my hands gripping the bathroom counter as I tried to slow my breathing.

If it’s just a night out with the boys why are you so nervous?

Because you’ve had a crush on Ashton since you met and now you’re both finally single?

Shut up!

These are your thoughts, you know that right?

I said shut up!

“Just a Friday night with the boys,” I repeated to myself.

Oh, if only that were true.

~~~

I had first met Ashton and the rest of 5SOS at a photoshoot after my friend had called me up asking for extra help when a colleague bailed on her at the last minute.

“Please Y/N?” Katie begged me over the phone. “You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

“And you know I’m not like you. I take photos on my phone for fun.”

“Good photos!”

“I’m not a professional like you are, okay? I’ll ruin your business.”

“No you won’t. C’mon, at least let me tell you who the photoshoot is for.”

“Who?”

“5SOS!”

I sighed. She knew that band was my weakness. “Damn it, alright. I’m in.”

“Yay! You won’t regret this Y/N!”

~~~

“So, did Katie just hire you?” the tall man with brown hair and hazel eyes asked me. He had on a white button up shirt with short sleeves and roses on it tucked into fitted black slacks.

“What?” I sputtered, looking around to see who he was talking to, because it certainly couldn’t be me. Only it had to be because it was just us in the room. “Me?” I asked stupidly, pointing at myself.

He giggled. The real-life, not from a video clip, giggle. “Yes, you. Who else?”

“Casper?”

He giggled again. “You’re funny, you know that? Name’s Ashton,” he said, offering me his- very large- hand.

“Y/N,” I choked out, shaking his hand, trying not to drool over how warm and soft it felt despite his rugged looks. The man looked like a god, not a drummer.

“Funny girl with a cute name,” he noted. “So, how do you know Katie?”

“How do you know Katie?�� I challenged, my brain forgetting how to work.

“She’s my photographer…?”

“Right… um…”

“Jesus, you are new,” he giggled a third time. “Relax. Loosen up a bit.”

“I am not new. I’ve just never done this before.”

“Think that makes ya new, gorgeous,” he winked.

Oh, God… I was gonna pass out. I reached past him for the water bottles on the table, busying myself with taking a sip, trying to ignore his presence.

“Wow, you are impossible to get to know. I asked a simple question. It wasn’t a rude one, was it?”

“She’s my best friend. I’m just here to help her out,” I said, trying to appear more confident than I actually was.

“Oh, so you’re not like a real photographer?”

“Nope,” I said, popping the “p” loudly. “I’m a writer. Well, I work for a publishing company anyway.”

“Oh, that’s cool. You do know how to use a camera though, right?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not an idiot.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, just checking. My livelihood depends on you and Katie not making me and my bandmates look like shit.”

“My bandmates and me,” I corrected under my breath.

“What was that?” he asked, leaning down to hear me better. “Sorry, my hearing’s shit.”

“I said that’s impossible!” I blurted, my cheeks flushing as I realized I had just more or less confessed that I found him attractive.

He just giggled again.

~~~

What I thought was just a one time occurrence quickly spiraled into more. The next time Katie called me to help with a photoshoot, she jumped straight to what I needed to hear.

“It’s another 5SOS one!”

“Great, so you want me to make a fool of myself again?” I asked, even though we both knew I was going to say yes.

“Oh, c’mon! Your pictures came out great, Y/N. And the boys liked you.”

“I tripped him!” I said, meaning Ashton. It had been unintentional. I was sitting with my legs kicked out when he had walked backwards into me. He had fallen, then did a weird backwards sort of skip to get his other foot out behind his falling weight to catch himself. “Make all the men fall for you like that?” he had winked.

“Oh, please! It was an accident! That man needs to watch where he’s walking.”

“That man needs to do a lot of things…” I mumbled under my breath.

“I heard that!”

~~~

“You’re not gonna trip me again, are ya?” Ashton’s voice sounded from behind me.

I whirled to see the man sporting short sleeved white collared shirt, similar to the one he wore at our first meeting, only without the roses decorating it. “You should watch where you’re walking,” I said, using Katie’s words as I scrambled to find my own.

“You this flustered with everyone, or am I just special?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

This time, instead of giggling, he smirked.

~~~

“Y/N, I gotta another 5-” Katie started.

“I’m in,” I responded.

This time, Ashton Irwin would not fluster me.

~~~

“I think you were stalking me if I didn’t know any better.”

I narrowed my eyes at the man, whose leather jacket and slicked back hair made him look like a modern-day James Dean. No! His antics of riling me up ended here and now!

“Trust me, I’d rather be anywhere else,” I lied. Well, it was half a lie at least. I would rather be somewhere else- a somewhere else that included him in a bed with our clothes on the floor. But, he didn’t need to know that.

His face fell at my words. “Oh… sorry if I made you uncomfortable…” Long gone was the usual giggle and smirk of a man who knew he made heads turn. In its place was a sincere apology that he had crossed some imaginary line. Even his hazel eyes, which usually danced with mischief were sorrowful.

“Oh, no!” I rushed, feeling guilty my words gave him the impression that he had done something wrong. “I’m sorry. I just… you… friends?” I asked, biting my lower lip. Friends? Really? That was the best I could come up with?

“Friends,” he nodded, a small smile coming back to his features. “You know me and the guys really like it when you work with Katie. We, uh… might have requested you this time?” he admitted, a hand coming to rest at the back of his neck as he dodged my gaze.

“You requested me? I’m not even a photographer…”

“You do good work. Plus, you’re like really chill and easygoing. Now that we’re friends, you should hang out with us sometime.”

“Yeah, that’d be cool.”

~~~

That was when our friendship really took off. 

Ashton quickly became one of my best friends and I got along really well with the other 3. They were my boys and I was their girl. I quickly earned the title of honorary bro, a role that I took seriously, suddenly grateful for a lifetime of being a tomboy.

That being said, I was still jealous as hell when I had to play his wingman, wishing that one day he would see me as one of the girls he flirted with instead of the girl-bro who helped him seal the deal.

To take the sting out of the wound, I dated around myself.

But tonight? Well, tonight Ashton and I were both single at the same time. And I was determined to get my man.

~~~

The night out had been my idea. A lie that I needed a bros night out after a hard week. In truth, I just wanted a night out with Ashton, but was too nervous to blatantly ask him out. So, I was going to hide under the guise of a harmless boys night out, and pray I blew him out of the water.

I took one last look at myself in the mirror: my hair curled, bright red lipstick drawing attention to my lips, my black dress drawing attention to my curves, and my heels giving me just enough height to hopefully reach Ashton’s lips.

“Just a Friday night with the boys,” I said one last time before heading out.

~~~

Calum let out a long, low whistle when I walked in. “You said guys night, not girls night,” he said, wrapping me in a hug.

“I take it I look good?”

“Stunning. Is this for-?” He let his question hang between us. He knew I had a crush on Ashton. They all knew. All but Ashton.

“Damn,” Mike choked from behind me. “Keep me out of your selfies, please.”

“Too much?” I asked, biting my lip, suddenly feeling very nervous I was overdoing it.

“Oh…” Mike said with realization. “Operation Get Yo Man?”

I nodded my head fast, biting further down on my lip.

“Stop, you’ll ruin the lipstick,” both men scolded me.

“Whoa, Cal got a girl already?” Luke asked, rounding the corner. “Y/N?” he gasped once he realized it was me, his blue eyes wide in shock. “I can’t… you look… wow…”

“It’s Operation Get Yo Man,” Mike told Luke.

“Yeah, I can see that. Has Ash seen her yet?”

“He’s not here!” I said worriedly, twisting my hands. “Oh, this was so stupid!”

“Relax,” Calum said, his hands coming down on my shoulders, turning me to look at him. “Ash is gonna flip when he sees you. This is gonna work.”

“Really?”

“You look like a fuckin model,” Mike said.

“Says the one engaged to a model…”

“So, who better to judge?” he asked, his green eyes twinkling.

“Okay, picture!” I said, feeling excited again as I pulled out my phone. “C’mon, you two,” I said when Luke and Mike hung back. “Crystal and Sierra are both well aware of my feelings.”

“Alright,” Luke shrugged, throwing an arm around me, while Mike came to stand behind me, and Calum threw his arm around me from the other side of Luke. “Say Operation Get Yo Man!” Luke teased, my phone in his hand as he had the longest reach.

“Operation Get Yo Man!” we grinned at the camera as Luke snapped a series of pictures.

“Oh, post that one!” Calum said, once we let go and looked at our selfies.

I quickly put the photo on my Insta-

thefaby/n: Operation Get Yo Man with the best wingmen a girl could ask for! #boysnight #operationgetyoman #myboys

~~~

“Really? You took the selfie without me?” Ashton’s voice said as he slid in the booth.

“Sorry,” I shrugged.

His hazel eyes locked with mine, before scanning my body. “Whoa…” he breathed.

“Mate, you knew what she was wearing. You saw the post,” Calum smirked.

“No, I didn’t. I saw that Y/N posted, and i just assumed… whoa…” he said again.

From across the table I could see his Adam’s apple moving as he struggled to come to terms with the girl I normally was in comparison to the girl across from him. Good. He could be the flustered one for once. “Problem?” I smiled.

“No, no problem,” he said, shaking his head, going back to being unbothered. “You look good.”

“I know,” I smirked, taking a sip from my drink, making sure he was watching as my red lips wrapped around the straw.

“So, what’s the plan for tonight, boys?” Ashton asked, drumming his hands on the table and avoiding my eye.

“It’s Operation Get Yo Man,” Mike said, throwing his arm around me.

“Oh, so we’re her wingmen tonight? Alright,” Ashton said, licking his lips and looking around the rest of the bar. “See anything you like so far?” he asked, as simply as if he was asking if I wanted him to pass over the fries.

I drummed my fingers against my chin, drawing his attention to my lips again. “You know what? As a matter of fact, I do. Cal, care to dance?” I said, offering my hand out to Calum who sat on the other side of the booth with Ashton.

To his credit, he kept his face calm as Ashton got out to allow Calum to pass as Luke moved to let me out on our side. “What are you doing?” Calum whispered, wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“Trust me. Now put your hand on my lower back. Touch my ass if you have to.”

His arm slid down my back, giving my ass a small squeeze before resting his hand on it as we walked off. I could swear I heard Ashton mutter a “Motherfucker.”

“You know, a lesser man would be mad you’re using him like this,” Calum said.

“You’re not mad, are you?” I asked, turning and wrapping my arms around his neck as he swayed me in time to the music.

His cheeks crinkled with his smile. “Nah. You help me get laid all the time. Glad to repay the favor.”

“Thank you,” I smiled, lifting my heels up to peck his cheek. “Think it’s working?”

“If it doesn’t, he’s an idiot. So, out of curiosity, why Ash?”

“Aw, Cal, are you jealous?”

“I’d be lying if I said you weren’t turning me on right now. But, I’m more than fine with our friendship staying a friendship. If you ever wanna fool around though…”

I placed my hand on his chest and laughed, feeling him rumble with his own laughter. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it. But…”

“But, Ash.”

“But, Ash,” I nodded. “He just… he went out of his way to make me feel welcome. You all have. But, he did it first. And I thought he was actually flirting with me whereas you guys were just being nice to me. And just…” I sighed, closing my eyes as I collected my thoughts. “Did I misread everything? Am I only friends with you guys to get close to him? Am I only friends with him because I want something more?”

“Hey, stop,” Cal said firmly. “Whatever the original intentions were, you’re one of us now. That’s not gonna change. Yes, we all know you’re closest with Ash. But our friendships are still real friendships. This doesn’t go away if things with you and Ash go wrong. You know that right? We’re your boys and you’re our girl. End of discussion. Case closed.”

“Thanks, Cal,” I said, resting my head against his chest.

“Anytime, Y/N, anytime,” he murmured against my hair. “Oh, looks like my work here is done,” he said, his chin rubbing at my head as he nodded at Ashton walking towards us. “Hey, mate.”

Ashton nodded his head curtly, his lips pressed tightly together. He was mad. But why? I liked him, but that didn’t mean my feelings were reciprocated.

“Need something?” I asked. I wanted him to want me. But I wanted him to want the real me. Not the girl dressed up who was dancing and flirting with his best mate. 

“Yeah, can we talk? In private?” His gaze shifted from mine to Calum as he asked his second question. 

“She’s all yours, mate,” Calum said, stepping away from me. But not before he placed a kiss on my cheek and whispered, “Get yo man, girl.”

I mouthed a thank you as the darker man strolled off back to our booth, leaving me alone with Ashton. “So what’s up?”

“Stop playing innocent,” he snapped. 

“Excuse me?”

“This act you’re playing. It’s not cute.”

“What act?”

“This!” His hand waved about my whole body.

“I can’t dress nice for a night out with my boys? You’re not my father, Ashton.”

“No, but you’re like a sister to me. And I would hope my sister’s friends would have enough sense to call her out for acting like a… like a…”

“Like a what, Ash? Like a girl?” I challenged. I knew what he was trying to say, but I also knew he respected women too much to ever say they were acting like a tramp. He was all about women being unapologetically themselves. Why was he on my case about it?

“You know what I mean. This isn’t you.”

“Spoiler alert: I can be a lot more than the girl-bro. I can be the girl-girl too.”

“Yeah. But are you doing this because you want to? Or are you doing it to impress someone?”

“What does it matter?” I continued to challenge, even though part of me knew he was right. Either he liked me for me or he didn’t. So why had I dressed up for him?

“Would you quit dodging the question and answer? Is this really a night out with your boys, or is there something more? Operation Get Yo Man? Really, Y/N? Is it Cal?”

“What? No, it’s not Cal. God. You really don’t see it. do you?”

“See what? That you’re crazy?”

“I like you, dumbass!” I blurted. “I liked you the whole time!”

“Oh.”

“Look, I get it, okay? I’m not some tight-skirt, high-heeled princess. I’m the blue jeans and muddy sneakers tomboy.  Both are beautiful. Both are dangerous.”

“Both are you,” he cut me off.

My face flushed. “Both are not me. Look, I get it. I’m not the conventional beauty you normally date. But, I’m tired of hiding. So, I’m putting myself out there. Ball’s in your court, now,” I said. 

“Jesus, took ya long enough…”

“What?”

“Y/N, I’ve liked you since I met you. You’ve got spunk. You’re unapologetically yourself 100 percent of the time. More than that, you’re my best friend. You see me for me. And I see you for you.”

“You like me?”

“Of course I do! God, I was so nervous around you, I literally tripped.”

“You played it off well…”

“That’s because while you make me a nervous wreck, you also instill a level of confidence in me I never knew I had.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“So… where does that leave us?”

“I think it leaves us right about here,” he said before ducking his head down to kiss me. It was soft. It was sweet. It was fierce. It was everything I dreamed it was.

“Here’s good,” I smiled, breathless once we pulled apart.

~~~

The next morning, I woke up in a bed that was not mine in a shirt that was also not mine. “Oh, fuck… what happened last night?”

“You got rip roaring drunk, and ended up in my bed,” Ashton’s voice sounded from where he was lying next to me in bed, shirtless and scrolling through his phone. “Aspirin and water’s right there for ya.”

“Thanks,” I said, quickly swallowing the two small pills with a swig of water. Waking up in his bed with him next to me was nothing new. But, given what I thought I remembered about last night…  “Ash, did we… ?” I asked, both afraid of what I had done last night and what we had done.

His phone clattered on his bedside table and he rolled over to face me. “What’s the last thing you remember, Y/N?”

“Let’s see… dancing with Cal. You and me arguing. Did we kiss?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Then what?”

“Then nothing. You continued to dance and drink, saying that it was the best night of your life. Then you asked me to take you home. You’re a very needy drunk, Y/N.”

I leaned my head in one of my hands and shut my eyes in a wince. “Oh, God… Sorry… So we didn’t… ?”

“Have sex? No,” he shook his head.

“Thanks for not taking advantage.”

“Ew, don’t thank me for doing the right thing…”

I sighed. “We don’t go back to normal after this, huh?”

“Oh, you mean back to before we confessed our feelings for each other, and you ended up safely in my bed, untouched?”

I let out a weak laugh. “Yeah, that.”

“We don’t.”

“Oh, cool,” I fake-smiled. “I’m gonna get an Uber. See ya around, I guess,” I said, offering a small two-finger wave and throwing back the covers.

“Y/N.”

“What?” I asked, the room spinning.

“You can’t just leave.”

“Yes, I can, Ash. I’ve already made enough of a fool of myself. Let me go nurse this hangover in peace.”

He scoffed. “You can barely walk. Get back in bed.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” I said, taking a few unsteady steps forward before falling on the floor. “Ow… Ash…”

I heard his giggle as he got out of bed. “Told ya,” he smirked before scooping me up like a small child and placing me back in his bed.

“Shut up…”

“You’re ridiculous, you know that? Do you know why we kissed?”

“Because I’ve been wanting to kiss you for the past year and a half?”

“Well… maybe. But, it’s because I kissed you. Because I like you.”

“Well, that’s dumb of you.”

“Hey. Be proud of yourself. Operation Get Yo Man was a success. You got him.”

“I do?”

“Honestly, woman. Am I gonna spend the rest of my life reassuring you that I’m into you?”

“Maybe?”

“Alright then. Victory selfie for my hungover girlfriend?”

“You know me too well, Ashton Irwin.”

“Get over here,” he giggled, pulling me to lay against his shoulder, phone already posed for the shot.

I closed my eyes against him, grinning and breathing in his scent, feeling his lips kiss my hair as the camera shutter clicked rapidly. “Perfect,” I said, looking at the picture of us before putting it up on my Insta.

thefaby/n: Status Report- Operation Get Yo Man: successful. #operationgetyoman #successfulmission #myman

[relatablemormonmoments]

October 2019 Saturday Session Notes

Morning

Jeffrey R. Holland

Anonymous women and men identify Christ as reason for clamor

Find Jesus at center of it all

Our faith can be overwhelming

Love of heavenly PARENTS

Recieve your sight, your faith has healed you

Skeptics and faithful still contend

Faith and service

Terrence M. Vinsen

Build the lord's temple instead of staying in our safe houses

Earneth wages to put in a bag with holes (oooo graphics)

Less wifi and more Nephi

We shouldn't let the gospel be an added extra or just go to church 2 hours on Sundays. Church is extended 6 more days a week

Fair Dinkum->being commited

If we think things will be easy we will lose

Parable of the Fat Lip and Broken Jaw -> resulted in giving our all

Giving our all =/= blessings and success, Giving our all=Happiness

When he falls he shall rise again

Never waivered in faith and goodness, but deeply hirt for a long time

Wound expanding over our hearts

Pain in heart = Pain in soul, If we go to God it can be taken away

What should I do ghat I may have eternal life, that I shall return to God?

Prepare to give up all we have

Consider your ways

I hope this guy becomes an apostle 😍😍😍

Stephen W. Owen

Cellphone intentions quickly become distractions

Missed scripture study and subsequently the blessing and spiritual healing that comes with it

24 gour news cycle = bad

We must learn to recieve revelation

Herd of deer trapped outside of habitat-could starve. Deer can't eat well meaning hay -> starve to death with stomachs full

Spiritual nourishment is not trending on social media

Pride of world causes us to abandon church

Motions of spirituality do not mean true conversion

We need to be faithful, not faithless

Home centered church helps us thrive in days of spiritual malnutrition

Master of distraction, author of procrastination = Satan

Children need more of your time, not less

Curriculum for meetings is being adjusted

Moved to new neighborhood at age 14-> feels like tragedy

Parents, let youth know they are not alone as they walk

Your influence might be the church support that that young person needs.

D. Todd Christoffersen

We can feel joy regardless of what is happening or what's not happening in our lives

Those who serve God and are chaste are more joyful than those who are only obedient

Recieving the gospel makes us feel like a free bird

Be of good cheer

Joy of returning to geaven

Bring light, relief, and happiness ro our brothers and sisters

Michelle Craig

How can I tell when God is trying to tell me something?

Be intentional about creating time and space to hear God's voice

Imagine what would happen if we were as intent in staying connected to heaven as we were to staying connected to wifi

Lord can use your ordinary skills to accomplish his extraordinary work

Dale G. Renlund

New but unwavering commitment to Jesus Christ

Unchanging fidelity to God

MY ARCHAEOLOGIST BRAIN ISNT HAPPY WITH THE IDEA OF THROWING THE ITEMS RELATED TO OUR OLD IDENTITIES AWAY AND COMPLETELY DESTROYING IT

Begin new life in Christ

Spiritual sneeze, faithful flu- doesnt work

Recieve Christ's image more fully.

Constant flow of Faith

"Isn't this the truth that we have heard"

Anchor yourself to the Savior

Oaks

No.

Afternoon

David A. Bednar

Yesss its my boy

Camoflauged cro odiles -> Satan vs. Youth (Packer)

Cheetahs, fastest accelerating mammals on earth

Cheetahs stalk Topies while working in tandem to hunt them.

Alternating pattern to dostract and decieve the Topies and keep them from knowing there was any danger

Older Topies watching give warning and Topies escape.

Cheetahs still pursue, restless.

Beware of evil's beguiling disguises

Restored Gospel light in our lives

Stay awake and be alert

Don't be complacent or careless

A cheetah is a predator, Satan is the enemy of Righteousness

PLAN OF HAPPINESS Provides direction and enduring joy to God's Children

Lucifer seeks to frustrate our progression via misusing our bodies

Powerful parables are obtained from our daily lives

Ruben V. Alliad

Jesus is the Lord of Lost Things, he loves Lost Things

200 copies of the book of mormon in one room

"And when ye shall recieve these things..."

Pray about book of mormon and you WILL know that its true

Found directly through power of BOM

Think hard and answer honestly, follow up on baptism promises

Diligently seek the BOM

Holy Ghost confirms our knowlege

Russell M. Nelson

Youth Battalion

(If any of you saw my previous post this talk is what tipped my Grandmother off about Hitler's Youth)

Quentin L. Cook

Smartphones = bad

Youth must be the focus of Bishops and other leaders

Youth have more personal responsibility at you bf er and younger ages now

Announcements do not limit bishoos responsibility over Young Women

Young Women leader is besf for meeting the needs of Young Women

YOUNG MEN PRESIDENCIES NO MORE

Ward youth council, mutual is retired

Mark L. Pace

God loves us

70 steel piles provide firm foundation

Increase faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement

Adversaries increasing attacks on our faith

Come follow me a chance to bear testimony and learn differently

Consistent Effort throughout the week

Remodel home into center of Gospel Learning

Come follow me helpsnus establish foundation

L. Todd Budge

Peace and Joy when we surrender ourselves to God

Afflictions and Sorrow prepare us for joy -13th century poet

Afflictions are small

Life full of purpose and meaning

The lord will not allow us to suffer in darkness

How can we make it through the day without the Lord?

Questions and concerns -> Faith and Love

"I don't feel safe, but I am"

Wind never ceases to blow us towards the promised land

Didn't cease to praise the Lord

I really like this guy. He gives me peace and brings me joy

Jorge M. Aluardo

Some blessings come soon, late, or not until heaven, but they will come

Temple

Works at temple bless you with increased revelation and peace

Example of righteous parents

Strong familial chain link

Follow your own council (kid eating too much candy)

This man brings me joy

"Amazing Papa!"

Ronald A. Rasband

Grateful for the Lord's eternal companionship

Promises to improve

Promises to eachother increase promise to the Lord

Partnership with the Lord

The lord will be with you

Women's Session

Reyna J. Alberto

Black clouds which blind us and cause us to question God

When our minds are suffering, it is appropriate to seek help

Together we realize there is hope, and we do not have to suffer alone. Find resources about emotional illnesses!

Isolation thrives in secrecy and shrinks in empathy

When it comes to healing, we all need Him desperately

Nothing you have experienced will change the fact that you are God's child

Lisa L. Harkness

Living under Christ's name

Jesus is here for us

Do we honor the name of Christ

Bonnie H. Cordon

Sure knowlege of divine purpose and identity

NEW YW THEME ( I DIDNT CATCH THE WHOLE THING BUT): I am a beloved daughter of HEAVENLY PARENTS

Shift from we to I

Peace and Guidance will be yours

We need to have shelters and sanctuaries from life's storms

Be a light to those around you.

All classes are now unified under one name: Young Women

Every class should have a class presidency

Make the calling of leading class presidencies a priority

Revelation is real

We need the Wisdom, Council, and Energy in youth council

Henry B Eyring

Divine mission is to help lift the souls of others

We do not know the time or duration of our assignments

Preparation of a powerful loving heart

Minister to every stranger as a neighbor and a friend

We must be a mother in some way

Mold living clay to your hopes in tandem with God

God loves you

Oaks

NO!!! (Homophobic version)

Russell M. Nelson

He is now the church grandpa

Access to all spiritual treasures for Lord's children

How do we draw the savior's power in our life? Holy Ghost will prompt you

Bad men are not allowed- men must drink respect women juice

RESPECT WOMEN JUICE!!

Misogyny bad

Women are society's guardians, wonderful, magnificent

Covenants = Priesthood power for women

I LOVE MY NEW GRANDPA

Encouraged to participate in ward councils

166 temples and more to come (TEMPLES ANNOUNCED IN WOMEN'S SESS? THIS IS A FIRST)

8 new temples -> sierra leone, utah x2 , arkansas, philippines, texas, guatemala, utah

Strengthen your faith in the Lord.