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maaaaaatryoshka0325 · 4 years

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Shattered Sky - Hwang Hyunjin Zombie Apocalypse AU Part 11

Warnings: Character death, gore, pretty disturbing death scenes

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Your fingers softly ran through your kittens fur as you laid on your bed. It’s been days since you woke up, and not doing a damn thing was driving you insane. The only good it did was helping you pick out your kitten’s name, and you named her C/N (y’all can choose 😊). You laid there with her, letting out a loud sigh.

Your neck had healed pretty nicely, and it should be healed fully within a couple days to a week. You were too restless to wait that long, wanting to at least do SOMETHING. No matter what you tried to do, the survivors wouldn’t allow you to touch anything, tell you to just worry about healing. It was taken a toll on your mental state, not to mention the small amount of weight you put on (I’d be hella mad 😂).

You lightly laid C/N on the bed, making your way out the door. You decided to harass Hyunjin to let you go out, just to hunt. It didn’t take too much enery out of you, and you heard Hoseok and Woobin talking about it. You walked over to the tall tower, Changbin standing outside.

“What are you doing out and about?” He asked.

You and Changbin weren’t close, but he brought you a lot of things you needed while you were being shoved away into your cottage. You liked his presence, as he was extremely kind, despite his intimidating looks.

“I want to talk to Hyunjin.” You said.

“About?” He asked.

“Stuff.” You said shortly.

He chuckled and shrugged, moving away from the entrance. You flashed him a grin and headed up the long, dark hallway. Once again, like always, the only light visible was the one in his office. You slowly walked over, the door already being open. Hyunjin was the desk in the back, writing something down in a paper. You knocked and he glanced up, arching a brow at you.

“What are you doing out and about?” He asked.

“Wow, do you and Changbin share the same brain cell?” You asked with a small laugh.

He gave you a confused look, further arching his brow.

“He asked me the same thing.” You explained.

“Ah, I see.” He said, sitting back in his chair. “Well? Why are you out and about?”

“A girl can only take being bored for so long.” You sighed.

“Bored? Shouldn’t you be tired? Resting? In pain?” He asked.

“Hyunjin, it’s been over a week. It’s almost fully healed. I can never just sit around.” You said.

“You won’t have too much longer until you’re fully healed.” He pointed out, leaning back down and writing on the paper again.

“C’mon Hyunjin, can’t I at least go hunting? I heard Hoseok and Woobin talking about how they plan on going.” You pleaded.

“Why don’t you help Yuna with the kids? It won’t be a tidious task.” He said, not even looking up from the paper.

“Yuna’s good with kids, that’s her own thing.” You sighed.

“Then you should wait till you heal.” He said.

“Hyunjin come on, I need some action, I’m BORED.” You whined, dropping down and resting your chin on his desk.

He looked at you, slight irritation in his eyes.

“Y/N, you’re not healed. You’re not going anywhere.” He said firmly.

You made your eyes get bigger and poked your lip out. You would always jump away or cower when he seemed irritated, but for some reason, you found his intimidation cute today.

“The puppy dog eyes don’t work on me Y/N.” He said, his eyebrow arched.

“Fine. I’ll just stay in here and complain until you agree to let me do something.” You said.

He groaned and leaned back in his chair.

“Why can’t you just do what you’re told.” He sighed.

“Why can’t you just listen to me when I say I’m fine! Hyunjin please, I’m so bored and it’s starting to take a toll, look!” You pointed to the little bit of belly you got while laying around. “I’m gonna get fat Hyunjin, and then I’m gonna complain even more. Then I’m not gonna be able to run away from walkers, or do anything-“

“Alright!” He sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. “Just please stop talking.”

“Really?” You asked happily. “I annoyed you enough?”

“You annoyed me to the point where your voice is starting to give me a headache.” He groaned.

“Should I go see Woobin and Hoseok?” You pressed excitedly.

“I’m going too.” He said, looking at you. “I haven’t gotten out in a bit either.”

You excitedly threw you bow and arrows in the back of one of the black hummers, two guns strapped at either of your sides with your throwing knives in a holder attached to your bicep. Woobin and Hoseok put their own hunting gear into the back of the truck as well. Hyunjin suggested you all go together, making a better chance of catching more than one piece of prey.

You had more mouths to feed since the prison incident, and a lot of them were children. By what you heard around the grapevine, they had lost over half of their population, and just in one night. A lot of the children ended up orphans, like most of the people still alive.

You sat up front with Hyunjin as he drove out of the entrance, the gates closing behind the truck. The day was pretty warm, and you were shocked when Hyunjin opened the sun roof. The way the wind blew his hair made him look ethereal, like a model straight out of a magazine.

“Remember when we used to hunt with Ari, and she almost got us mauled by that bear?” Hoseok asked with a laugh.

“Oh my God, that’s the day we found out you had a girl scream.” You laughed.

“I do not!” Hoseok pouted.

“Do too! It was higher than Ari’s, and her voice was really high pitched!” You laughed.

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Hoseok huffed.

Woobin and Hyunjin chuckled, Woobin patting Hoseok’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, it’s pretty obvious you scream like a girl.” Woobin laughed.

“Can it old man.” Hoseok retorted.

“Hey, at least this old man doesn’t sound like a girl.”

You carefully set up the trap, leaving food on the ground along with the rope. You and Hyunjin took the normal spot, while Woobin and Hoseok found an older spot where you used to hunt. You took the straps that held your guns and placed them down, not wanting any noises coming from you if you had to move.

You both got into the same positions, your bow and arrow in hand, him behind the rock to observe you. You smiled at him and raised the bow.

“Do you wanna try?” You asked.

“You harassed me a little too much to be offering me a go.” He said.

You let out a low chuckle that was cut off when a twig snapped. You both looked up and saw two large bucks approaching the food you had left. You quickly steadied yourself, your mind working up a plan to snag both. You readied the arrows behind you, slowly drawing one back in the string of your bow. You quickly released it, catching one in the neck. You instantly grabbed another bow and shot, getting the other on the chest.

They both went down without a second bow being needed, and you sighed in relief and turned to Hyunjin with a big smile. He smiled back at you and stood up.

“I’m impressed, you were quick.” He praised you.

Your eyes brightened at his praise, and the smile he had didn’t falter. You both walked down the small hill and you examined both bucks, your eyes shining.

“They’re huge!” You said happily.

“I guess we chose a good time to come out.” He agreed.

You both were about to tie both buck’s legs together, when you heard rustling. You both looked up, and your heart sank when you saw a group of walkers. They were coming straight for the two of you, and you quickly felt around for your stuff, your heat stopping when you remembered you both had taken your equipment off while waiting for prey.

“Fuck.” Hyunjin hissed, pushing you behind him as he took out his gun.

He fired into the group of walkers as they began to fast approach the two of you, a couple of them falling. He went to back you away when you gasped, another group of walkers behind you. You heard Hyunjin curse and heard the clicks from his gun, his ammo empty.

“Fuck, Hyunjin what do we do?!” You gasped, tears in your eyes.

He wrapped his arms around you and backed you into a tree as the walkers began to close in. His arms held you tightly, your face in his chest.

Loud bangs made you both jump. You both looked up and watched walkers drop as gunshots rang out. Woobin and Hoseok were running up, their guns firing at the walkers.

“Get your weapons!” Woobin yelled.

Hyunjin grabbed your hand and pulled you to the top of the hill. A walker blocked your path, and Hyunjin quickly grabbed one of your knives and stabbed it in its skull. It quickly dropped and you both ran and grabbed your stuff. You stood at the top of the hill and shot your arrows into the walkers, Hyunjin’s gun firing beside you. You went to grab another arrow, and came to the realization that you had run out.

“Shit.” You hissed under your breath.

“It’s okay, there’s not many left.” Hyunjin said.

The last ones closed in on Woobin and Hoseok, however.

“Fuck!” Hoseok yelled, a walker over top of him.

It was snapping it’s jaws at him, inches away from his face. Woobin was shooting the ones around him, as the rest were after him. Hyunjin kept aiming for the one attacking Hoseok, but he couldn’t get a good shot.

“I’m gonna get them off of Woobin, then he’ll help you!” Hyunjin yelled, shooting at the walkers surrounding Woobin.

Hoseok had shoved his gun in the walkers mouth to keep it from biting him, and your adrenaline was pumping. You shakily reached for one of your guns, which you haven’t used in months. You lifted the gun that had been your favorite, a beautiful rose gold .500 handgun, made by one of the blacksmiths that had lived in your old village. You calmed your nerves, your hands no longer shaking as you shot the gun, the bullet going directly through the walkers skull, blowing part of it’s skull off.

You raised it again and shot at the walkers attacking Woobin, quickly helping him and Hyunjin fend them off. When the last one dropped, you slowly lowered your gun. Hyunjin looked at you, his eyes almost shining.

“You’ve got impressive aim.” He said with a smile.

You gave him a weak smile and headed down the hill. Hoseok was still on his back, panting dramatically.

“I swear every time we come in contact with walkers I get closer to being bit. I was this,” He said, holding his pointer finger and thumb closely together. “Close to being bitten.”

You shook your head with a smile as Woobin helped him get up, Hoseok brushing himself off. He looked at you and smiled brightly.

“I’m glad you used your gun again Y/N, or I would’ve been a goner.” He laughed, patting your shoulder.

You smiled and shook your head, putting your gun back in it’s holster. Woobin ruffled your hair as he walked by, a smile on his face.

“You really are good with a gun, Y/N.” He said.

“Thank you.” You said with a smile, bowing slightly.

“Did you manage to catch anything?” Hyunjin asked.

“Yeah, we’ve got a buck up by the water, but we heard your gunshots and knew something was up.” Woobin explained.

“Thank God you did, or we would’ve been goners.” Hyunjin said, a sigh of relief leaving his lips.

Woobin and Hoseok went and got their kill as you and Hyunjin tied the two you had and hauled them into the back of the hummer.

“I’m proud of you for using your gun.” Hyunjin said, a small smile on his face.

“Thanks.” You said with a small bow before getting in the car.

You used to love using your gun, until you had to turn it on some of the people you had called friends back in the old village. Even just the sounds of gunfire and thunder freaked you out. Today, however, you needed to protect your best friend. One of the only things you have left.

You sat in the front seat as Hoseok and Woobin lifted their kill into the back with your two kills. Hyunjin got in the drivers seat as the other two got into the back.

“Those are impressive kills. You both did really good.” Woobin praised.

“It was all Y/N, she’s the one that got them.” Hyunjin said.

You blushed as Woobin rubbed your shoulder.

“Thatta girl.” He said with a smile.

You smiled back as Hyunjin pulled away from the woods, heading back towards the amusement park. When you got back, your heart dropped. Two of the guard’s that were usually on duty were dead on the ground, and what seemed to be gunshot wounds adorned their bodies.

“Shit!” Hyunjin hissed, driving through the entrance.

When you all got out, survivors were everywhere. Injuries were bleeding, people were crying and screaming in pain.

“What the fuck happened?” Woobin asked.

“They came out of nowhere.” You all heard a raspy voice.

Minho limped towards you all, holding a gushing wound on his side.

“Oh God, Minho Hyung.” Hyunjin gasped.

Hyunjin stepped foreword and allowed him to lean against him, wrapping his arm over his shoulders.

“Where’s everyone else?” Hyunjin asked.

“Jeongin and Yuna took the children and hid them in the basement. I don’t know where anyone else went.” He rasped.

“Hyunjin! Minho!”

You all turned to see Chan, Jisung, and Changbin run over. They had blood on them, their eyes filled with shock.

“Seungmin and Woojin are okay, they were protecting the medical supplies.” Chan said.

“Where’s Felix?” You asked, your heart hammering through your chest.

Chan and Hyunjin’s faces dropped as they looked around, Chan a little more frantically.

“Felix!” He called. “Felix!”

“Y/N, come with me. We’ll find him.” Woobin said, nodding to Chan for him to help the others.

You and Woobin ran in the direction of the theme park, calling for Felix. No response was coming, and you could feel tears prick your eyes.

Please no, please don’t take Felix.

“Y/N! Over here!” Woobin called.

You quickly ran over and saw a little bundle under a fallen tiki bar, and you quickly pushed it all off. Felix was laying there, his eyes closed, blood all over his face. You quickly shook his shoulder, fear filling your chest.

“Felix! Felix please wake up!” You yelled.

Felix let out a small cough and his eyes fluttered open. He turned to you, blinking slowly.

“... Is it over?” He croaked.

“Yes, they’re gone.” Woobin reassured him.

Woobin pushed away the rest of the rubble and lifted Felix over his shoulder, his eyes turning to you.

“We don’t know if it’s clear, so keep a look out while we get him to the center.” He instructed.

You nodded and followed him, your gun in your hand. When you safely got back to the center, you saw relief in Chan’s eyes as Woobin placed Felix into a sitting position. Chan walked over and bent down, pulling him into a hug.

“I’m glad you’re safe, brother.” He said.

Felix smiled and leaned on Chan, relief in both of their eyes. Changbin walked over and dropped beside him too, pressing his face into Felix’s shoulder.

“Y/N!”

You looked over and saw Yuna walking towards you, her large eyes filled with shock and fear.

“Are you okay? Are the boys okay?” She asked.

“Yeah, we’re fine.” You reassured her.

“I bet you are! You left us here unsupervised, and look at this mess!” One of the male survivors yelled, stepping up and getting in your face.

“Hey, that’s not her fault.” Yuna said.

“Shut up. You left us here without a leader or anything at all! We were sitting ducks!” He yelled in your face.

“Sir, please calm down.” You said, trying to soothe him.

“Shut up bitch! You deserve to be the one shot! Not any of these people!” He yelled.

“You shouldn’t talk to someone like that.” You said, your voice faltering.

“You’re nothing but a useless bitch!” The man yelled, raising his fist.

You closed your eyes tightly, a smacking sound filling your ears. You lifted your head and saw Hyunjin standing in front of you, his dark eyes narrowed on the man, his lip bleeding.

“If you want to blame someone, blame me.” Hyunjin said.

The man stared at him for a moment, before getting mad again.

“You know what, you’re right! You’re not a good leader! You left us here undefended!” He yelled, throwing his fist at Hyunjin again.

You flinched as it made contact with Hyunjin’s cheek, as he didn’t try to block it. You looked up at Hyunjin, who had a haunted look in his eyes. His lip was dripping blood and a red mark was on his cheek.

“My wife is dead because of you!” The man yelled, punching his face again.

You grit your teeth and shoved yourself between the two of them, smacking your gun off the mans head. The man fell back on his ass, looking at you in shock and holding his head.

“How dare you call Hyunjin a bad leader! How dare you blame him for all these deaths! You all depend so much on a few guys. You guys do nothing but cower and hide when it’s convenient! Why don’t you pick up a fucking gun and learn how to defend yourself instead of depending on him to protect you all the time!” You yelled. “You’re nothing but a coward, and you’ve done nothing to help out this place! While we’re out risking our lives to feed you guys and get the supplies you need, you just laze around!”

The man went to open his mouth, when you raised your gun to him.

“One more word and I’ll blow your tongue off.” You growled.

He fell silent, and so did the other survivors. You were right, your little group of people risked your lives almost every day for them, while they did nothing. Most of the women farmed, but other survivors did nothing.

“If you think Hyunjin is such a bad leader, then leave. No one’s making you stay here.” You said.

The man was silent as he got up, clutching his bleeding head. You turned to Hyunjin, who’s eyes were blank as he looked down. Both of his cheeks had red marks from the man punching them, and his lip was split open.

“You should get Jeongin to look at your face.” You said, reaching your hand out to him.

He waved your hand off and walked away, a gloomy aura around him. Changbin stood up and gave you a reassuring look.

“I’ll go talk to him.” He said, walking after Hyunjin.

You helped Jeongin and Yuna patch up everyone that was injured. You were working on an elderly woman’s leg injury, when her soft hand came up to your jaw and lifted it.

“You’re doing a good job, dear. I don’t care what that man says, Hyunjin has always protected us. And I’m glad you came along and protect us too.” She said with a kind smile.

“Thank you so much.” You said, holding her hand.

She smiled brightly at you as you continued to help patch everyone up, your body starting to feel tired. You heard the door to the little infirmary open, and Hyunjin’s face was in view. He looked around at all of the injured survivors, the haunted look back in his eyes. He made eye contact with you and backed out of the door. You finished your last patient and went after him, jogging out into the cool night.

“Hyunjin!” You called.

He stopped for a moment, then turned around. You could see his face under the lamp outside, he looked so defeated. You stepped up to him, your eyes meeting his.

“Don’t listen to what that man said. You’re an amazing leader.” You said.

He didn’t say anything, he just turned away. He went to walk away, but you wrapped your arms around him from behind, your face in his back.

“I know you blame yourself Hyunjin, but you can’t be two places at once. You’ve risked your life for them the most, and you’ve kept them alive all this time. This stuff happens, and it would’ve happened if you were here or not. So don’t blame yourself, you all tried your best.” You said softly into his back.

He remained silent, he didn’t move away from your touch or anything. He just stood there.

“And thank you for earlier. You got hurt defending me.” You whispered, burying your face into his back. “Not many people would do that for someone else.”

He allowed you to stay like that for a moment, before pulling away. He turned his head towards you, a weak smile on his face.

“Thank you, Y/N.”

The next morning, you woke up to a commotion outside. You quickly got yourself ready and ran out the door, heading to the center. You nearly ran into Hoseok, who gave you a smile.

“Hey, I was just about to come get you. Hyunjin wants us all in the square.” He said.

You nodded and followed him, noticing all of the survivors were making their way towards the same destination. You saw Hyunjin standing on the stairs that led up to the massive tower, Changbin and Chan below it.

“Last night was a disaster, and I’m very sorry I wasn’t here to defend all of you, or our home.” He started, his eyes scanning the crowd. “As many of you know, they destroyed a lot of our food supply and other necessities we need. It seems as though they were looting.”

Murmurs of agreement went throughout the crowd, as many of them had watched the attackers leave with supplies.

“I’m going to bring a team with me to get more supplies from a town Chan had told me about. Woojin, Seungmin, and Jisung will remain here and on guard. Felix is injured at the moment, but he’ll be healed and ready to bounce back in a few days.” Hyunjin said.

“I’ll be taking Changbin, Minho, Chan, Woobin, Hoseok, Jeongin, and Y/N with me to collect these supplies. We should be back before sun down.” Hyunjin said.

Minho’s coming with? He was hurt more than Felix.

You felt happy to be apart of the team to get supplies, and when the meeting was over, you ran to your cottage and loaded your guns. You had used one the day before, and you knew it was safer, for you and the people you care about. You inhaled deeply, calming yourself as you loaded up your guns and put the safety lock on, sliding more ammo in the bag you keep around your thigh.

You jogged over to one of the hummer’s, getting in the front seat beside Hyunjin. Woobin and Hoseok hopped in the back, Minho sliding in after. His movements seemed really slow, and you noticed Hyunjin eyeing him.

“Minho Hyung, if you’re hurt-” He started, but was cut off by Minho waving him off.

“I’m fine.” He said firmly.

Hyunjin fell silent, but you caught the look of concern and irritation in his eyes. He slowly pulled out of the entrance, following Chan’s truck that held him, Changbin, and Jeongin.

“How far did he say the town was?” Woobin asked.

“He said it was a little further than the prison, so it should only take about a half hour.” Hyunjin replied, his eyes on the road.

He followed Chan’s every turn, the prison coming into view. You all fell silent as you passed, and you noticed just how many walkers were there. Seeing that many out during the day made your stomach turn. You were truly never safe.

You stepped out of the truck and looked around the small town. It was bigger than the last two, and definitely had more options and stores. You grabbed your weapons and walked over to where the others were standing. You felt the hairs on your body stand up, and you looked around anxiously. Hoseok looked at you, tilting his head to the side.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“I don’t know it feels like we’re being... Watched.” You said warily.

He chuckled and rubbed your back, trying to soothe your anxious mind.

“Don’t worry, we’ll protect you.” He laughed.

You looked up at Minho, who winced as he went to move his gun out of the way.

“Hyung-” Jeongin started.

Minho gave him a look and he closed his mouth. Hyunjin loaded his gun and swung it over his shoulder.

“Minho, Jeongin, Chan, and I will take this half of the town. You guys take that half.” Hyunjin instructed.

You all nodded and split up in your groups. You followed Changbin and Woobin as they walked into a small super market. You covered your nose at the smell of the rotten fruits and vegetables.

“Gross.” Hoseok mumbled, plugging his nose.

“You two are such princess’.” Changbin said with a smile.

“I’m a queen, thank you very much.” Hoseok said with an “a matter of fact” attitude.

You all laughed as you went down the aisles. You found a bunch of nonperishables and filled your bag. You slowly stood up and stopped, the feeling of being watched making anxiety eat at you. You began to walk to the end of the aisle, where Hoseok was triumphantly holding a bottle of alcohol.

“I found some nonperishables.” He laughed.

You giggled, about to approach him, when something hit him in the head. He grunted and held his head as it came down and hit him again.

“What the fuck?!” He yelled as a man leaped on top of him, shoving a bat up to his throat.

“Hoseok!” You gasped, running over to him.

You felt yourself being tackled and thrown onto the ground. A woman with crazy red hair was glaring down at you, her hands clutching your throat tightly. You hooked your legs under hers and rolled her off of you, getting up and running over to where Hoseok was struggling with the man twice his size. You felt her hand grab your foot and you fell over, a sharp pain in your calf as she stabbed into your thigh with a dull knife. You hissed in pain and kicked her square in her face, making her scream in pain as you broke her nose.

You scrambled up, blood dripping down your leg as you ran over to Hoseok. Just when you were about to reach him, the woman got a hold of you again, this time dragging her dull knife down and almost getting your throat.

“Y/N!” Hoseok called, trying desperately to get away from the man fighting him.

The woman’s knife was so close to your throat, when an idea popped into your head. Her face was close to your own, blood dripping down from her nose. You slammed your forehead into her nose. She screeched and backed away as you got up, backing into the shelf. She held her nose and glared at you, her eyes wild as she ran at you. You quickly grabbed one of your knives and just barely got away from her own, before you slammed your knife into her, it going through her eye. Her body went limp and fell over yours, and you shakily pushed her off. You never had to kill a human before.

You shakily got up, the world spinning as you saw Woobin appear, a tomahawk in his hand as he brought it down on the man’s head. You heard it break his skull, blood squirting as he collapsed. You all panted as Woobin helped Hoseok up. Changbin ran over to you and helped you up, checking you all over. Before he could open his mouth, gunshots were heard outside.

“The other’s!” He gasped, running out of the supermarket.

You grabbed your bag and ran after them, bringing your gun out of it’s holster. You all ran around the buildings, until you saw Hyunjin. He had blood splattered across his shirt, his knife dug into another man’s chest as they struggled. The man slammed him on the ground, knocking the wind out of Hyunjin. The man ripped the knife out of his chest and raised it high. You lifted your gun and fired two shots, one hitting him in the face, the other in the chest. He fell off of Hyunjin and Hyunjin got up, panting.

“Are you all okay?” He asked.

You nodded, looking him up and down. He had slashed on his arms and one across his chest, and you felt relieved the one on his chest looked like it had just skimmed him.

“We’re fine, but look at you.” You said.

“I’m fine. Have you seen Minho, Chan, or Jeongin?” He asked.

“We’re here.” Chan said, holding Minho up.

“Oh my God, Minho!” You gasped.

You were about to approach them when Woobin came crashing out of a store, landing hard on his back. Four people appeared, guns and other weapons in their hands. You and Hoseok quickly raised your guns as Woobin was able to roll behind another wall, pulling his other gun from his hip. The man in the middle fired first, aiming for you. Hyunjin pushed you over and it missed the both of you. You both hid behind a huge crate as gunfire rained around the area. You quickly shot up, holding your gun up in front of you. You froze when you saw the tallest man holding Jeongin hostage, his arm around his throat.

“Let him go.” You said calmly, slowly approaching them.

“Y/N don’t!” Hyunjin hissed.

“We don’t have to kill each other.” You said calmly, still approaching.

The man fired at you, nearly hitting your shoulder. You jumped but remained calm.

“Please, you don’t have to-”

You all froze when you heard the terrible sounds. You turned your head as a hoard of walkers was approaching you all, the gunshots having alerted them of human presence. The man shoved Jeongin on the ground and their group ran as the walkers closed in.

“Shit!” You yelled, firing into the mass of walkers.

Woobin, Hoseok, Hyunjin, Chan, and Changbin all raised their guns and fired. Jeongin was with Minho, pressing a piece of his shirt that he ripped off too a deep gash that Minho had ripped open after it had been stitched.

“Fuck!” You heard Woobin yell as you all were being pushed back by the hoard.

“Keep firing!” Hyunjin yelled.

You heard more gunshots and looked behind you, Minho was shooting his gun, leaned against a wall as Jeongin shot beside him. Your gun clicked but didn’t shoot, and you quickly grabbed more ammo, your hands shaky. A walker came upon Hyunjin, grabbing him and slamming him down. His gun dropped as he fell, and all he could do was hold the walker away from his face. You fumbled with your ammo, panicking as Hyunjin was struggling to hold the walker away. Hoseok ran up and knocked the walker off, struggling for a moment before he shot it’s head. It fell over and he turned over and got up, shooting at the last part of the approaching hoard.

Hyunjin grabbed his gun and shot at the walkers around you all, until everything fell silent. All of the walkers laid on the ground, their body parts strewn everywhere. You quickly looked at Hyunjin.

“Are you okay?” You asked.

He nodded as everyone came out of their places. Changbin quickly helped Chan support Minho, and you felt relieved he was alright.

“Hoseok, let’s head back to the truck.” Woobin called.

You looked up to where Hoseok was standing, your heart completely stopping when he turned around. A huge bite mark was on his throat, blood gushing from it. Everyone was frozen to their spots, not a single word left anyone’s mouth. Tears poured down your face as you stepped foreword, but Hoseok backed away.

“Stay away Y/N.” He said, his voice cracking as tears slipped past his eyes.

“Hoseok... Please, no.” You whimpered.

You were just about to run to him, when Woobin grabbed you and held you to him tightly. He looked at Hoseok, a look of grief in his eyes as he looked at him. Hyunjin stepped foreword, a lump in his throat.

“Hoseok, I-”

“It’s okay.” Hoseok said with a sad smile, tears spilling down his cheeks. “Protect her, okay?”

Hoseok raised his own gun to his head and you struggled against Woobin, who quickly turned you around and pulled your face into his chest.

“Hoseok!-”

BANG.

A loud sob fell from your lips as you heard the gunshot. Hoseok had killed himself before he reanimated. You heard Woobin’s ragged breathing, his eyes closed tight, his jaw clenched in anger.

Hyunjin slowly walked over to his body, his knees giving out as he landed next to Hoseok. His eyes were open, his dark orbs fixed on the sun. Hyunjin bowed his head, biting his lip harshly.

“Why did you give your life for me... You didn’t even like me.” Hyunjin whispered.

You were a sobbing mess in Woobin’s arms, your whole world crumbling. Minho limped over to you both, putting his hand on Woobin’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry.” He rasped, choking back his own tears.

You pulled away from Woobin, slowly walking over to where Hoseok laid. You dropped to your knees near his head, lifting it onto your lap. Your fingers gently slid over his face, closing his eyes as your tears soaked his paling face.

“You idiot.” You sobbed. “You promised you’d always be here.”

Hyunjin was silent as he stood up, his eyes hollow.

“Get everything in the trucks.” He ordered.

The others nodded as he bent down beside you, pulling you up.

“We have to go.” He said.

“I’m not leaving him here like this!” You yelled at him.

“Who said we’re leaving him here?” He asked.

You shakily stood up as Hyunjin crouched down, lifting Hoseok’s body over his shoulder. He winced as blood oozed out of his wounds, but he pushed it back as he carried your beloved best friend back to the truck for the last time.

You felt empty as you sat in front of the newly dug earth where Hoseok laid. Everyone had come again, as he had helped many of them since your arrival. You sat with your knees to your chest, tears endlessly falling from your eyes.

“Why did you have to be so selfless? Why couldn’t you think of yourself for once?” You asked his grave, before turning to Kin’s. “You too, Kin. Why did you both have to go?”

You buried your face into your knees, your body feeling limp and tired. You heard something beside you and you raised your head as Hyunjin sat down beside you, his eyes troubled. You both remained silent as his eyes stayed focused on Hoseok’s grave.

“I’m so sorry about your friend.” He said lowly.

You didn’t say anything, you just stared blankly ahead of you.

“I really am Y/N.” He whispered.

“What do I do now?” You asked as fresh tears streamed down your cheeks. “He was all I had left.”

You felt Hyunjin grab your face, his hands oddly gentle.

“You have all of us, Y/N. I know it’s hard, I know. I know it hurts, but you have to live for them.” He said, not caring that your tears soaked his hands.

“Kin died because of me.” You sobbed.

Hyunjin pulled your head into his shoulder, his hand in your hair as the other supported his weight as he crouched in front of you.

“He didn’t die BECAUSE of you, Y/N. He died protecting you. And just like Woobin said; he died a hero. Don’t take that from him.” He said softly. “He gave his life so you could live, don’t let that sacrifice go to waste.”

You nodded as you pulled away and wiped your tears, your eyes finally meeting his.

“Hoseok gave his life for me earlier... I should’ve been more prepared.” Hyunjin said lowly.

“It’s not your fault Hyunjin. Like you said,” You started with a small smile. “He died a hero, don’t take that from him.”

Hyunjin smiled at you as he got up and stretched his hand out to you. You slowly took it, your legs numb from sitting in the same spot for hours.

"Woobin is taking it really hard. I think you’re the only one that can talk to him.” He said.

You nodded and followed him to a small hut where Woobin was gutting a deer, his knife aggressively cutting it open. You slowly walked in, a lump in your throat.

“Woobin?”

He stopped and slightly turned his head, his expression stoic.

“Are you okay?” You asked.

“I’m fine.” He said flatly, turning back to the deer.

You fell silent as he rummaged around for something. You flinched when he threw a box against the wall.

“Nothings ever where it’s supposed to be! That fucking kid dies and doesn’t tell me where he put everything! He thinks he can just die and not be responsible!’ He yelled, throwing other shit around.

You quickly walked over to him and hugged him from behind, burying your face into his back.

“Woobin... It’s okay to be upset.” You said.

His body relaxed as you heard a small sob leave his lips, his shoulders shaking.

“He hated me so much at first... Then he acted like my son, and I started to treat him as one... Now this..” He sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect him.”

You buried your face into his back, tears slipping past your eyes.

“He was my best friend too.” He sobbed, covering his face with his hands.

“We’ll get through this.” You whispered. “We’ll get through this together.”

#hwang hyunjin #stray kids hwang hyunjin #hwang hyunjin zombie au #skz hwang hyunjin #hyunjin #stray kids hyunjin #stray kids #straykids #stray kids imagines #stray kids zombie au #skz imagines #skz

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leagueofidiots · 4 years

Note

damn ahegao face spinner is just as cute as normal spinner. the prettiest person in the league is pretty all the time. we done been knew

Welp, now I gotta draw it. But why, whyyy did Horikoshi make the villains so pretty? We have ethereal gamer king, emo edgelord, kawaii gore aesthetic, blonde puppy man, floofy gecko boi, mysterious mist dad, elderly magician with the complex of a 9 year old, mom with muscles, and Gucci uncle. They're all pretty. What even.

#spinner #lov #league of villains

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immiebee · 5 years

Text

Y’all need to give Lucio credit.

Is no one going to be fucking impressed that Lucio was able to kill a Peryton!?

Do you heathens NOT read folklore!? This wasn’t fucking Bambi.

IT’S A MOTHER FUCKIN’ PERYTON!

They can’t be killed by ANY weapon. Practically immortal! UNTIL the creature KILLS a human! Travelers are always killed by them because they are lost/weak/scared/etc.

Lucio has been floating about as an ethereal Goat Boss for 3 years. He probably has scared his fair share of travelers, but just imagine him witnessing a beautiful Peryton attack and KILL a person. Just imagine if it was a lost child or an orphan from the docks! I mean Asra and Muriel found the hut when they were kids so it is possible. Death by a Peryton is not a swift painless death. It’s getting gored in the torso and ripped open. Left there to die a slow death. So fuck that ‘deer’!

And for Lucio to hunt down and kill one WITHOUT a weapon (yes I know he’s a goat monster so I kinda doesn’t count that he was ‘unarmed’ no pun intended) That just goes to show how badass his tribe was and just how deadly and skilled Lucio was/is when it comes to fighting and hunting. Everyone calls him a coward, no!, he’s crafty. Sneaky. He’s patient during the Hunt. (If you think you could do better go jump your neighbors fence and slap their dog in the face, ya little punks. See how fast you get your ass kicked.) please don’t slap puppies tho...

So for Lucio to KILL a Peryton that is the Heart of the Forest. Lucio will probably take the place as the Heart of the Forest.

So let me be the first to raise a glass to Lucio the Heart of the Forest and Protector of Animals and Lost Travellers. 🍷👏🏻💖

#the arcana #the arcana lucio #count lucio #peryton #muriel i know its a pretty creature but im going to have to side with lucio #i still love you mountain man #the arcana muriel

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bamiiib · 5 years

Text

Ethereal | Jung Jaehyun

Masterlist

One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven

You didn’t recognize the man who you used to call your father anymore. Beer bottles everywhere, and venomous words thrown, your entire world falls because of his old habits that refuse to die.

Words: 4.8K

Category: Modern!AU, Angst, Fluff

Song Rec: hostage — billie eilish

Warnings: Extremely Explicit Language, Signs of Physical Abuse, Alcoholism, Slight mentions of Depression.

A/N: This chapter is not for the faint of heart as it also includes very slight gore? Really it’s just a scene that has a little bit of blood mentioned, but it’s not that big. If you are sensitive to physical abuse then please do not read this chapter. Sorry for the late updates, I’m really trying my best to work with a schedule here but expect more this week because it is Spring Break! And who knows, maybe I have some new projects I’ll be releasing very soon ;) I hope you all enjoy reading, and stay tuned for the next chapter. Thank you my loves! :) —bambi

That night you had stayed with Jaehyun, for everything had felt so perfect, and so right in the world, you didn’t want to go back to face the reality that waited for you at home.

You woke up to the faint smell of eggs as sunlight crept through the thin yellow curtains. A hum of content rung in your chest, tossing and turning, you swung your arm towards the other side of the bed.

You expected to feel Jaehyun’s sleeping body by now, but when you opened your eyes, saw nothing more but the sheets pulled back and clustered closer to you.

You sat up, raking your fingers through your hair, sliding them down to cover your face.

You looked around the messy room and turned to the nightstand to your left where your phone had been buzzing nonstop.

With a raised brow, you opened your phone to be greeted by endless unread texts and missed calls from your dad.

Everything had fallen back into place, and you remembered your entire reason why you so desperately wished to stay here. Sorrow clear in your eyes, you didn’t dare look at the messages, and refused to listen to a single voicemail left from him.

You couldn’t help but feel betrayed. Why didn’t he tell you that he was being fired?

Why did he keep his drinking a secret from you?

You felt used—like he couldn’t even trust you anymore, and you couldn’t shake this feeling off like you did with most situations that’d make you upset.

It was your father, of all people, that had made you feel this way. The only person that was ever there for you, defended you, and stayed with you when no one else did.

When your own mother wouldn’t even look at you, because she knew that you were smart enough to know that she didn’t want to be in your life anymore, and your father was the only parent who did.

Or at least, you thought he did.

Your jaw clenched and your hands balled up into fists, gripping onto the surrounding sheets.

You listened to the soft footsteps grow louder, and when the door creaked open, you tossed your phone back onto the nightstand and buried yourself in the sheets, shutting your eyes as tight as you can.

You listened to that laugh that seemed to ease your mind away from your troubles, and the smell of freshly made eggs filled your nose enough to make your stomach grumble. “Get up sleepyhead, I made you some breakfast.” Jaehyun’s voice filled the quiet room. “You looked cute in your sleep and I didn’t want to wake you, so I brought breakfast to you.” He explained, and you smiled.

You peeped half of your face past the blankets to look at your boyfriend, who sat on the edge of the bed, tilting his head like how a puppy would, and a breakfast tray sitting on his lap.

When you watched his dimples pop as he smiled, you sat up fully, your grin turned to a dorkish smile and poked one of his dimples with your finger.

He shook his head, but laughed and reached towards your arm, lowering it and leaned towards you, pressing a short, but sweet kiss to your lips. You felt him smile into your lips, and when he parted from you, reached for the tray and handed it over to you.

Your eyes had widened at the sight of bright yellow scrambled eggs mixed with crispy bacon and two pieces of toast with jam spread evenly throughout on the side.

Just the sight of it made your mouth water, and the smell—it was enough to set you on edge.

You looked over at Jaehyun and gasped, pointing at the contents on your tray. “And you expect me to believe you cooked all this?! C’mon babe, just tell me Taeyong cooked this before he left and I’ll let this slide.” You laughed, pressing Jaehyun’s cheek teasingly as his ears flushed a bright cherry glow.

“H-Hey! I’ll have you know, Taeyong had been teaching me to cook since day one! Not everything you eat in this apartment is made by him y’know.” Jaehyun said with a stubborn grunt, crossing his arms.

You laughed again, nodding your head and reached over to kiss his lips. “Sexy, adventurous, and a good cook? I really won the lottery, haven’t I?” You purred, lips ghosting over his.

So close, yet still so far from reach.

Jaehyun hummed lowly, his eyes fluttered close, a tiny chuckle breathing through his thin lips.

“Yeah, like nothing screams ‘sexy’ like some good breakfast in bed.” He laughed and as did you. Your foreheads rested against each other, you had stayed in silent, just like that, for who knew how long.

You didn’t care to count, you just knew that you wanted nothing more than to stay like that for just one minute longer.

He brought his lips towards yours. One kiss turned to two, turning from sweet to passionate each passing second.

Jaehyun brought a hand to cup your cheek, the other snaking around your waist, and it was when you had to lean closer towards him, that the breakfast tray had poked your thighs.

You were the first to pull away, listening to a quiet whine escape Jaehyun’s lips. You laughed and kissed him shortly before grabbing a forkful of eggs and taking a quick bite.

Jaehyun watched you, at first irritated, but when you took that bite of egg and bacon, and saw your eyes instantly light up, his brows raised in anticipation.

You were quick to notice, suppressing the smile that threatened to creep, and tapped your chin, staring off into the distance. “Well?” Jaehyun asked, but you remained the same until you gulped down the food and grinned so wide, your eyes had disappeared into crescents.

“De-li-cious!” You cooed, reaching down for another forkful, and handing it over to Jaehyun.

“Oh no, it’s okay babe, I made it for you. You eat it!” Jaehyun insisted, but when he saw the stubborn look in your eye and your pouting lip, he was quick to give in and fell in a fit of laughter, biting down on the forkful you had fed him.

The rest of the morning had been spent helping Jaehyun clean the apartment—if there was anything to even clean. You were just more than happy to know that Jaehyun had a total neat freak as a roommate.

You were washing the last dish in the sink, and it was as Jaehyun had gone to go clean his room when you had then realized everything that happened last night.

The words that were exchanged, and the promises that were then made, and although every inch of you had craved to be happy, to jump in glee to know that the love of your life wished to take a bigger step into your relationship, and move in together.

But you didn’t feel that happiness.

You didn’t feel that joy, or that leap in your heart each time you’d try to desperately dream about it.

Something was holding you back, and you knew it. Each time you’d close your eyes in attempts to daydream of the future you so wished to spend with Jaehyun, instead, you’d find the eyes of your father, lost in his drunken state.

Your jaw clenched, your grip on the dish tightening, and the motions of your scrubbing turning rougher.

You knew you had to talk to him, but you didn’t want to. You didn’t want to accept the reality that he had chosen, and you didn’t want to accept that he was so quick to give up on a new life, without your mother.

After all these years, you had hoped that he’d evolve into someone better, and although you love and cherish your father, he was still the same broken man he was when you were just a child.

Your eyes stung with angry tears at the thought, and you wanted nothing more, than to find someone to blame.

Yes, that’s what you needed to do.

You needed someone to blame, and that someone was your mother. This is all her fault. If she never left, and if she stayed with you and your father, things wouldn’t have been this way.

You wouldn’t have lived in the dumpster house you lived in.

Your father wouldn’t wallow his days in liquor every day until beer became his only meal. Why did she leave you?

Did she not want you?

Was she so tired, of facing a broken family?

Did she not want to fix the wounds she had caused?

The pain she has created in your heart, and the fear she had built in?

You wouldn’t have feared love if she didn’t leave.

Even if it was all an act, even if she was just pretending to love your father—it still would’ve been better than screaming and shouting every day to him how much she hated him, and how much she hated you.

Maybe… maybe this was all your fault.

The sounds of glass shattering against the floor echoed in your ears, a sharp breath hitched from your lips when you looked down to see pieces of the cup you were just cleaning scattered all around the wooden floor.

You sniffled, bringing a hand towards your face to wipe away the tears you were late to realize were even there and crouched down onto the floor.

With caution, you tried your best to pick up each piece of glass, and when you heard loud, rapid footsteps rushing towards you, had cursed in your head. “What happened babe?! Are you okay?” Jaehyun panicked, falling to his knees next to you, and reached for your hands rather than the glass.

You shook your head, and when you saw his hands extend towards yours, flinched and scratched yourself with a piece of glass you were trying to pick up. “I-I’m fine!” You insisted, moving your head down so he didn’t see your tears, ignoring the bleeding from your palm and tried to pick up the pieces again.

Jaehyun groaned, shaking his head and this time, had carefully tried reaching to you again, in which you had let him as he grabbed your wrists with a gentle grip.

“Fuck… you cut yourself. I shouldn’t have been so sudden with my actions, I’m sorry baby.” He apologized with guilt as he turned your hand to see the warm blood that trickled down your palm.

“It’s fine. I-I should’ve been more careful. I shouldn’t have flinched like that. It’s not your fault Jaehyun.” You tried to reassure, but failed when he shook his head in protest.

“Here, let’s just get you away from the kitchen while I grab first aid.” He instructed, helping you up and around the pile of glass carefully, and sitting you down on the living room couch.

“What about the glass?” You asked, but Jaehyun shook his head, turning his head to look over at it and sighed, raking his fingers through his chestnut hair.

“The only thing you should worry about is that cut. Leave the mess to me, I’ll clean it up later.” You opened your mouth to speak, but Jaehyun was already running towards the bathroom, leaving you in the familiar silence you wished to stay away from.

Your lips curled into a line, you winced at the pain that radiated from your hand, moving the other that had been holding your bleeding palm tightly to see the blood spread all throughout.

You cringed at the sight, and sighed, falling into your seat.

Everything had been going so well, everything had seemed perfect. Why were you being like this?

Why were you so paranoid?

What did you have to feel guilty about? It’s all their fault.

Both your mother and father. This was the life they chose, and with their choices, had led to how your life would soon be played.

None of it was your fault… right?

“Here, let me see.” Jaehyun’s voice had pulled you back, watching him from the corner of your eye as he sat on his knees in front of you, and placed the first aid box to the side.

In silence, you extended your hand towards him, opening it slowly to reveal the gash. Jaehyun frowned, but remained calm throughout.

He reached towards a damp cloth he had in his other hand and patted away the blood. You didn’t dare speak, and you couldn’t find the courage to even look at him in the eye.

Jaehyun would look at you now and then when he’d apply an antibacterial ointment onto your wound and decided to respect your decision when it was evident that you didn’t wish to speak at the moment.

As he was finishing up, wrapping bandages around your hand, you smiled gently when he finished, and moved your hand to hide in the folds of Jaehyun’s sweater that you had on.

Turning your head, you stared ahead at the glass pile that was still yet to be cleaned. Jaehyun got up, disappearing to put away the first aid kit and wash the cloth, he had quickly cleaned up the glass with a cautious step.

When he had finished, had walked towards you, and rather than speaking, decided to just sit next to you, your shoulders brushing with his.

You moved your head to stare at your feet, elbows leaned towards your knees, you then stared at your bandaged hand, running your fingers against it with a delicate, feather-like touch.

Jaehyun sighed, you sat up and found comfort in resting your head on his shoulder. It stayed like that for a long while, but when the air had then grown tense, Jaehyun placed a hand on your thigh.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” He asked, and you stayed quiet. “C’mon Y/N, you only ever space out like that whenever you have something bothering you.” Your lips curled in a line with his words.

Sometimes, you really hated how well he knew you, but, you still appreciated it.

He was one of the few people who could read you so easily, yet still make you feel comfortable, and willing to listen to your problems, even if you didn’t want him to do anything.

“My dad got fired from his job…” You whispered, your voice raspy, and mouth dry. You cleared your throat, taking a deep breath in and closed your eyes.

“He’s been an alcoholic ever since my mom had left us. I thought he was finally getting better, but last night—I saw the pink slip, and the fridge—” Your breath hitched and voice cracked at the memory.

“It was full of fucking liquor. I-I don’t like to talk about it much. It’s only you and Johnny who know, but that’s because Johnny has been there for me when my dad was at his worst.” Despite the sadness in your tone, you had smiled bitter sweetly.

“One time, it got so bad, I didn’t even know who he was anymore. I remember I had to stay at Johnny’s place for a couple of days. Sometimes weeks… it was like my dad was someone entirely different.” You laughed dryly as the familiar crocodile tears had caged your eyes.

You heard Jaehyun sigh, rubbing your back gently, you moved your head slightly, your forehead brushing against his chin in attempts to look up at him.

He met your gaze, in which you retracted as quick as you looked, and curled your lips in a line.

You held Jaehyun’s hand that rested on your thigh, gripping it reassuringly, you brought his hand close to your lips, and kissed his knuckles softly. “I want to start a new life with you. Like you said. To run away from our problems even if it were only for a second. To create our own little world… that’s what I want.” You breathed, and it remained silent.

“But I have to handle this on my own, if I can even think of doing that. My dad has been my life, but now… I don’t know how long I can help him for. I don’t want to fall apart for him. To continue giving him excuses, and I want him to be the good man I know he is.” You nodded, as if talking to yourself, you sighed, standing up from your seat, Jaehyun following your every step.

After changing into a quick pair of jeans, you walked towards the front door, and smiled at your boyfriend who could only glance at you with a gaze so sad.

You forced a smile and cupped his cheek, pulling him in for a quick kiss.

“I’ll be okay Jaehyun. I’m not as scared as I was when we first met. I can do this. For me, for my father… for us. Our future.” Those last words echoed in the room, and with that, Jaehyun smiled and nodded.

“That’s my girl.” You grinned at his sentence and left the apartment.

——— ——— ———

The drive back home remained in silence, your mind going through endless possibilities, you tried your best to focus on the road ahead of you instead.

Soon enough, you were parking in front of your street, staring at the dirty complex, wondering if your house looked as sad as you did.

You gripped the steering wheel, turning to your phone that you had thrown onto the passenger’s seat, watching it continuously explode with notifications from which you knew was from your father.

You tried to ease your heartbeat, reaching for your phone, and walking closer and closer towards your front door. When it had creaked open, and the bright sunlight poured through the dimly lit living room, your father had been sitting there, hands on his head, mumbling things to himself.

In front of him, scattered the familiar green bottles that had welcomed itself to your family. Your father’s head snapped in the door’s direction, his eyes instantly widening and shot up from his seat.

His hands ready to grip your shoulders, it was when he met your angry glare that he had quickly stopped.

“Y/N, what’s the meaning of this?! No text, no call back, do you have any idea how worried sick I was?! I thought something had happened!” He shouted, and you felt a knot tie in your throat.

“Where were you? With Jaehyun? I’m so sick and tired of you always being with him… I thought it was ‘family first’ with us bud!” His words turned from worry to venom in a flash, and something inside you boiled.

“I don’t like how he practically has you wrapped around his damn finger. You’re with him more than your damn father, I mean, what’s up with that? Since when did you let stupid boys have such an effect on you?!” The more your father spoke, the more you stared at the beer bottles, and the more you could smell the alcohol on his lips, your sanity had strayed further and further away from you.

That was when it had hit you, and your stomach churned.

“A-Are you drunk?!” You shouted in disbelief, staring at your father’s actions, the slur in his words, and when you checked your phone, it was just barely turning three in the afternoon.

He looked at you, stunned, but nothing could mask the guilt that burned deep in his dulled eyes.

He refused to speak, averted his eyes away from you, but you knew all too well of the truth. You sighed, your feet rooted to the floor and your hands gripped into tight fists.

“I saw the pink slip dad. Why? Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped!” Your voice had risen with each sentence, watching with curiosity, confusion, and fear.

A part of you was desperate for answers, but when you continued to watch your father, falling apart before your eyes, you didn’t want to believe that any of this could ever be real.

“I-I don’t understand. How could you get mad at me, giving me this ‘family first’ bullshit, and I can’t even say the same to you!? I deserve to know why you got fired. Why you’re letting yourself fall apart all over again!” You shouted, breaking apart bit by bit.

Your father denied looking at you, walking towards the couch with a stagger, and fell into his seat. “I guess your old man just doesn’t have it anymore.” It was those words that echoed in your ears.

You wanted to let him off this easily. To forget that any of this has happened, to leave it at that, and help him out like always, but as that same sentence continued to echo in your head, deep inside, you knew you couldn’t make up excuses for him anymore.

“I don’t believe you.” You whispered, and his head snapped towards you. “Well what do you expect me to say Y/N?! You want me to tell you that they fired everyone else too? That they didn’t fire just me because I’m not as hardworking and determined as the next fucking guy?!” He snapped, his voice raising to a loud crescendo, you felt your nails dig deep into your palms.

This was just the alcohol talking.

He wasn’t usually this snappy.

Your father would never talk like this to you.

This isn’t him.

“And that gives you some stupid fucking excuse to get drunk off your ass every fucking day?!” You shouted, chest heavy, and your father remaining silent.

“You’re a hardworking man, dad, so quit the bullshit! For the love of God, I’m not mad because you got fired, but that you fucking kept it from me! And your fucking addiction too, I mean—I thought you were moving on from that! Look at yourself for fuck’s sake dad!” You shouted, and felt your eyes sting in angry tears, your lip twitching and your body trembling.

Your father remained seated, but when you watched his fingers reach towards the half-full bottle of beer, you snapped.

Rushing towards his side, you snatched the bottle away from his grasp.

Your father looked up at you with wide, angered eyes. “You need to get rid of this habit dad. I care for you, so quit pity-fucking yourself and move on! It’s just you and me… mom’s not here anymore! She can’t help us! She doesn’t want to, and it’s all because of this fucking habit of yours that she’s gone!” A gasp breathed through your lips when you realized what you had said.

The words had just slipped like it was nothing, but when you saw that spark of anger flash through your father’s eyes, nothing could stop him as he stood up, and lifted his hand.

All fell silent, but the loud crackle that echoed in the room.

It happened so quick, that you went from looking at your father’s glare, to the wall next to you. The tears that threatened to spill gone dry, and your cheek radiating in a stinging pain.

Your hair stuck to your face in cold sweat, you brought a trembling hand to cup your cheek that felt hot to the touch.

You turned back to your father, and for the first time in your life, even after seeing his demons come out—it had felt like you were staring at the devil himself.

“You leave that bitch out of this you ungrateful brat. You don’t realize the sacrifices I have taken to give you everything that you have. You think your mother would’ve wanted you? She didn’t! Not you, not me, not anyone!” You stared at the floor whilst your father shouted at the top of his lungs, and fear rushed through your veins.

“She would’ve wanted us, if you didn’t destroy yourself like this…” You whispered, and with a spark of unknown courage, you shot a glare at your father, who could only respond with a drunken state of rage. “You know nothing.”

“Just listen to yourself dad! What the actual fuck?! I was there! I was fucking there for every single FUCKING argument you guys had! I heard her cries turn to shouts, I watched her depression turn to anger! All this time I thought it was all her fault we’re so broken. All this time, I thought you were the good guy here. But no… I guess I just needed to see this side of you to really believe it.” Your screaming had turned to whispers at that.

You don’t remember when the tears had fallen, but as you brushed shoulders with your dad, had let them trickle and crash onto the floor.

“I’m leaving this house.” You said as you walked up the stairs and heard a short breath hitch from him.

“What do you mean you’re leaving?” He whispered, but still loud enough for you to hear, so with all the crippling strength left in you, with the tears continuing to trickle down, you said, “I’m moving with Jaehyun. We got a place together. That’s all you need to know.” You suppress your sobs until you shut your bedroom door, back resting against it as you listened to your father’s shouts and pleads for you not to leave his side.

You listened to him with a pain-filled heart, flinched when you heard a loud crash from outside, and when you listened to his own cries that had echoed right after, had fallen in harmony with him with your own.

You locked your bedroom door as you packed as much stuff as you could carry, and although you could only carry so much in one tiny luggage, you’d have to come back to take everything else.

For now, you just wanted to be as far away from home as possible.

You had thought back to this morning with Jaehyun, and when you brought up your hand to eye-level, stared at the bandage that was wrapped tightly around your palm.

You sighed. You couldn’t tell Jaehyun what happened.

Not now at least.

You felt like you were already putting enough on his shoulders when none of this was entirely his business either.

He was your only source of an escape from reality, because whenever you were with him, nothing had ever felt so bad. You didn’t want to taint that image. You didn’t want to tell him what a fuck-up your dad is, and how horrible your life has turned because of his drinking.

You’d tell him when you were ready. For the moment, you were just sick and tired of always appearing weak in front of Jaehyun.

You didn’t want him to look at you with pity, but with a look that showed that he was proud of your courage. Courage that you still lacked to find.

Besides, he already has enough on his plate with his plans on dropping out of college, his family, and packing his own things for the apartment he had bought for the two of you.

You groaned, and ran your hands down your face, slipping away into the darkest part of your mind. Your phone rang, slowly, you brought your hands down to your sides and stared at the bright screen in the middle of your mattress.

With an arched brow, you reached over for it, and stared at the contact.

You sighed in relief, and a wide grin itched the corner of your lips as you immediately answered.

“Y/N? Are you okay? Jaehyun texted me of what’s going on with your dad. Is he at it again?” His voice resonated in your ear, and your heart had fallen apart all over again at the memories you had shared with him.

How he would always be there for you when your dad wasn’t sober enough to do so. The amount of tears that’d be shed as you’d both sit on the rooftop, and his hand stroking your back gently, enough to make you feel safe, and give you a sense of hope.

Even if you had a broken family, he had made everything seem just a little better.

“Hey Johnny, I’m fine, and um… yeah. He is.” You whispered, hugging yourself tightly as you tried your best to suppress the tears as you remembered everything that had happened in such a short amount of time.

From when your father had hit you, to that look in his eye, when you realized that you had lost him and his battle with liquor.

“Actually…” You whispered, biting hard on your bottom lip to choke down the sobs that wished to leave your throat.

“I’m not okay… C-Can I just come over? Stay for a while if that’s okay with you?”

“Yeah, that’s fine with me. You can stay with me and Ten for as long as you need. I’m on my way.” You had heard the car engine roar after a moment of silence, and with that, you nodded your head with a sniffle and smiled bitterly, although aware he couldn’t see.

“Okay. Thank you, Johnny…”

“Don’t mention it. Anything for my best friend.”

“Oh, and please don’t tell Jaehyun. I don’t want him to know just yet… I don’t want him to see me like this. Please, Johnny.”

“Alright.”

“Thank you…”

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madman-and-daffodils · 5 years

Photo

11.11.2018 9.10 p.m.

Jerry died on the 26th of February, 2017 somewhere between 2.40 pm to 2.50 pm. We were supposed to write our board exams from March 1. I just completed my morning study and had my lunch. Exactly at 2.35 pm, I was recording this scene where quicksilver evacuates the students from Charles Xavier’s institute from X-Men: The Apocalypse. Somewhere between 2.37 to 2.40 pm, mom got a call from our relatives. I saw mom’s face go dull. My heart rate goes awry when this happens. Did someone die? And mom says, after much coercion that jerry is very ill and hasn’t eaten for almost two days. I thought they were just exaggerating. Jerry was always like that. Doesn’t eat much. In fact, she doesn’t even touch her food when her sons Mani and Subbu eat a part of it. I don’t know if it was some sort of etiquette it followed or it just wanted its sons to eat. Mom brushed it off too. After ten minutes maybe, dad called my mom.

‘’Enna achu?” I asked my mom, my heart thumping.

“Poiduchu.” She said.

“Enna?”

“Jerry. Jerry erandhurchu”

I have to admit something here. I am melodramatic when it comes to crying. You either hear no sound or the roof comes down. So, the roof did come down that day. At least, for me. Without much thought process.

So I started screaming, crying, banging my hands on the wooden sides of the sofa I was sitting, hoping that some other sort of pain would help me get out of this nightmare.

“Epdi ma, epdi?” I ask my mom, between my wails. “Therilaye. Died silently.”

I ran to my room.

A classic jerry. Silent ah, adhu paatuku, orama.

According to me, jerry was more human, than an animal to me. Trust me. This is not some cliché phrase people say about dogs. It was like, I related more to her than any other person in this world. It was never this jumpy, clingy, let me lick your face, I’ll sit on your lap and cuddle kind of dog. Whenever we visited our cousin’s place, all these three dogs (Mani, Subbu, and jerry) would come down the stairs so swiftly. Mani and Subbu would just pounce on us at once, trying to lick us, smell us. But then, jerry, this woman, would just stand there silently, give us a decent head rub on our legs and wag its tail. We used to give her our share of cuddles too and just go about it. Was it giving us our space, by staying back, letting us enjoy with Mani and Subbu or did it just know that it was no more the star dog of the family, though we loved it equally and respected it more for its calmness. Jerry was a very decent dog too. It usually got out of the hall and went to the porch when we sat for our lunch and dinner. Doesn’t, sorry, didn’t sniff around or cause that ruckus our elders hate. It always sat in a corner, not disturbing anyone, ate its meals sincerely whenever they gave it, giving sharp barks and running to the front of the porch the moment it heard footsteps, killing rats and throwing it away.

I didn’t have much pictures of jerry, something I realised after it died. Something I still feel guilty about. I loved you just like I loved the other dogs, jerry. And there was something I noticed. Her profile was dripping of innocence and gloominess. As though someone she was scared of was glaring at her. But her eyes though, her russet eyes, with a tint of ember, was always intriguing me. It was filled with so much life, too much life, gleaming like a bright star. Ava moonji evloku evlo pavama, sogama irundhucho, ava kannula adhukum mela uyir irundhuchu. Anju second ku mela patha, apde nenju ipokooda pada pada avudhu, ipokooda.

Now coming to the part where my family had deduced a probability of how jerry died. A few weeks before, the night of February 10th, jerry’s leg was bitten and parts of her flesh came off in a brawl it had with half a dozen stray dogs. It happened when both the dogs were barking at each other from both sides of a locked gate. Jerry ulla. Avanga veliya. One of those dogs bit jerry’s legs when her leg was exposed through a gap the gate had at the bottom. None of my relatives knew what happened. Jerry never gave any cries of pain. Silence. Jerry. The next day morning, everyone sees the gore. They call the doctor; get the medicines, the cream and all that stuff. Jerry was actually improving. It started to climb stairs after a week, with a bit difficulty though, but it was an improvement we celebrated. And everything went back to normal. But the medicines were still given as it wasn’t recovered completely. Maybe it swallowed the cream and it poisoned her (although the cream was just turmeric and completely organic and it is okay for dogs to lick it, the vet said) or maybe it swallowing the cream inflicted some sort of food poison. The symptoms looked like that, it seems. My grandpa carried jerry to our terrace for it to pee during its last days. She was that weak. And I never knew about it. Was probably learning Thirukural at that time.

I went to our cousin’s place after hearing about jerry’s death. Mani and Subbu jogged and stared at me from the top of the stairs. Only Mani and Subbu. Jerry erangi varala ena paka. And it deepened the wound in my heart so much, knowing that here after, I would only see two dogs every time I visit that place. I don’t know if I would ever be able to describe that feeling in words. Amidst all of us in each corner of the house, I’d say I was the loudest in my wails and there was this one moment, one moment which made me look at dogs as Godly beings. When my Subbu placed its front paw on my thighs and patted me, giving a small squeak. I hugged Subbu. We sought comfort in each other. It was ethereal.

But do you really believe grief over the death of a loved one brings us closer to our family, or friends for that matter? I don’t know. I don’t. When jerry died, it was about who was to blame, for a few people. Didn’t my family take proper care? No? I didn’t really care. During that time, I was off social media too, owing to my exams. I think I told that jerry died only to two of my close friends, when I was filled till the top of my throat with grief. They didn’t know what to say; I didn’t know how to carry myself. I just informed two more of my friends, solemnly, controlling my tears, the next day and I just shut myself out from the whole world. I hated the world. I couldn’t help it. I hated the people who didn’t allow me to grieve your death jerry. A few hours after she passed, I was asked to study. I was sent back home. From that day, till March 3rd, I was, what do you call them? Yes, a zombie. Not having anyone to talk or cry about jerry’s death, I used to simply stare at my books, trying to read the lines with so much difficulty and just start crying suddenly; Suddenly. Just. Like. That. And I made sure no one in my house knew about my overpowering madness at that time. Talking when there’s no one in the room, seeing jerry’s eyes when my tears blurred my vision, waking up early and working out till my body gave up, listening to really, really loud music and not being able to sleep unless I heard these bin aural beats or chakra music which put me into a state of unconsciousness, I would say. I didn’t really feel like I was sleeping.

Some of my friends started to hate on me briefly, for avoiding them during this brief ordeal at that time, some of them gave me my space and one of my closest pals didn’t even know the news. I didn’t want her to be affected by this during exams. Someone who would cry even for a stray animal. Someone who wanted to see jerry for so long. Who wouldn’t see Jerry anymore.

I remember how Jerry looked too when it died. Her mouth open, teeth seen. Her body, a strange kind of stiff, a stiff dead beings have maybe? But its eyes, oh its eyes, they were still the same. Full of life and the same power which drew me to her. Jerry. The puppy that couldn’t even climb the stairs or walk straight when it came to our house.

After a few months, after becoming completely sane, back to normal, my sister and I were sitting in our room. And I said, out of the blue, “Don’t you think Jerry was kinda like me?” It was such a weird question. I myself don’t understand the point of it, that I think about it now. And her answer was something I’d remember and preserve till my last breath. “Yeah. I’ve felt that way too”

Song lyric : [ KARUPPI] Irandhadhu neeya iruppadhu naana Iruppadhu neeya irandhadhu naana

......

Rendu kaalilo naalu kaalilo Indha mannilae ulavittu kedakka Naai illadi nee Naan illayaa nee

#dog #diary #write

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rpg-adventures · 6 years

Text

A New Dawn: Second Darkness Epilogue

With the deactivation of the master glyph and the defeat of Allevrah Azrinae, the terrible doom Golarion secretly faced was averted. The falling star that had been captured by the aboleth magic was released, and the influence of the powerful magic that shielded it from the planet’s atmosphere faded.

Before returning to Kyonin to inform the Queen, the adventurers were met by an emissary of Abraxas who introduced herself as Alistraxia. She informs them that her master, Abraxas did not care if Allevrah completed her goals, he simply wanted to ensure than the Aboleth magic she utilized was not forgotten. To this end, she offers them a magical item if they were to take the research and keep them safe, deep within a surface world library for a seeker to find once again. Though Caeldor seemed tempted by the offer, his companions vehemently disagreed and young Lamia set the research ablaze before the mage had any time to argue.

The loss of the research seemed not to faze the demon, who simply smiled and stated that more copies were sure to surface as time went on. A boon of the human race’s habit of documenting their failures, she mocked, before returning to her realm.

With Alistraxia’s last words spoken and the Aboleth magic turned to ash, the party returned to Kyonin to assure the elves that another Starfall was prevented. Their mission was a success.

---

“Ledhpóna Kyonin!”

Caeldor’s voice echoed with magic. One moment, they were staring at the purple-glow of the Blood Basilica’s runic walls and in the next, bright morning light shone upon them.

Like the Drow they had fought, the adventurers shielded their eyes, briefly blinded by the first natural light they had seen in weeks. Tears stung Uyula’s eyes, as she squinted into the sun.

“Praise Gozreh!” she exclaimed, wiping her face and crouching to feel the grass between her fingers. “I can actually see the sky!”

Slowly the group regained their bearings, adjusting to the light gleaming of the pearlescent spires of elven architecture that surrounded them and the sounds of natural, running water and murmured Elvish reached their ears.

“Suilanna, Master Sanakt,” one of the royal guard greeted from the edge of the courtyard. “I am glad to see you all return.”

“Suilanna, meldir,” the Paladin replied with a weary smile. “As are we, I assure you.”

“The Queen will wish to speak with you,” he advised, looking over the worn set of warriors. His gaze finally rested on Uyula, sitting in the grass stroking the singed leaves of Twill’s wings with an untempered grin on her face as she basked in the sunlight. The guard’s shoulders relaxed somewhat, and he smiled at Sana.

“You seem in good spirits. Would you like to refresh yourself before seeking an audience with Queen Edasseril?” his eyes shifted to the grime on their armor, but he held his smile politely. “Perhaps a bath and some more comfortable attire?”

“A bath sounds wonderful,” Caeldor agreed. “So much more satisfying than a little prestidigitation. Yes, and well earned, I might add.”

“A little dirt never hurt anyone,” Uyula rolled her eyes, before noticing the blackened demon blood that still stained Twill’s ligneous maw. Bits of gore remaining from Allevrah still hanging from her horns, “...but I guess baths don’t either. So maybe a bath?”

Imani locked eyes with Sana, silently conveying her thoughts on the matter. ‘A private moment would be prefered. We should speak before reporting to the Elves.’

Sana nodded and addressed the guard. “Please. A few moments to clean up would be appreciated.”

The guard gestured to one of his peers to join them. “Galan here will show you to the guest quarters and I will inform the Queen of your arrival. Rest well.“

---

The guest quarters were undoubtedly elven, with curved walls and lavish decor that covered every inch of the room. Curtains draped over alcoves with private quarters and the enchanted harp sat by the marble bathing pool in one of the larger alcoves, serenading the space with an ethereal song. A step up from the simple quarters the group had shared during their previous stay in the Elven capital.

Uyula was never one to have a very high regard for strict personal hygiene, thinking there to be much more important things to worry about in life on a day to day basis and cleaning only really needed to happen when you couldn’t stand the stink of yourself or had something really yucky on your clothes with no handy spell to be rid of it - but as the steam from the perfectly heated and scented pool rolled along her dark skin she felt her muscles ache pleasantly for the water. It was time to wash off the land of Black Blood.

She didn’t bother with the sectioned quarters, simply walking up to the side of the pool and beginning to shed her layers and equipment. Weapons, gloves, bag, belt, armour, shoes, all in one unified ungraceful pile. Her clothes felt more like rags now, still damp with sweat and blood and dirt and the shower of conjured water she’d used to put out the fire clinging to herself and Twill. Uyula hummed thoughtfully, noting how strange it felt to think back to things that had happened mere hours ago, but already felt like a distant memory when suddenly surrounded with the life and light of Kyonin. She could barely believe they’d really been there, underground and surrounded by evil for such a long time.

“Come, Twill!” she called, reaching an arm back to beckon her companion as she waded down the steps into the pool. “We hafta wash the Allevrah off you.”

“Won’t that transfer ‘the Allevrah’ onto anyone else who wishes to clean themselves?” The giant wolf asked incredulously, coming to poise at the marble edge of the water sphinx-like, with her bark-tail swishing back and forth along the floor behind her. Bunny and Nutty scampered about over her shoulder, jumping back and forth after each other around the room looking for places to hide, bumping into things and making a great ruckus. Twill’s head snapped back and she bared her teeth with a low, warning grown - Nutty froze still as a statue and Bunny darted under Uyula’s cloak, peering out with its blood-red eyes aglow and nose twitching. At least the polymorphed pets of hers were starting to know their place.

“We can be like barbarians, and bathe in the blood of our enemies!” The half-elf cackled gleefully in jest, swishing her hands through the water to toss some up towards her friend, then ceased with a grin. “I’ll just purify the water when we’re done. Come on, I don’t like looking at you like that.”

Twill crouched down low over her front paws to scrutinise the pool, and after another moment’s thought rolled in with a loud and cumbersome splash. Uyula giggled like a child as she watched her eidolon roll about like an excitable puppy in a summer puddle, the leafy feathers along the ridges of her wings fluffing up with pleased relief even as the water around her started to cloud with the dark blood of vrocks and drow washing from her form. After she’d finished and gotten to her feet, looking far closer to her natural pale-oak colour once more, Uyula sat back and opened her arms, welcoming her close to fondly scrub behind her ears and pluck at stubborn flesh and gunk that still clung to the eidolon’s horns.

“I’m proud of you, Twill,” she breathed, pressing her face to Twill’s wide snout. “We did it, and you made the killing blow. I’m sure Gozreh is pleased for that, that would mean the world was saved in his grace, wouldn’t it? And now we can go home.”

Home. Churlwood. How long had they been gone? Would that tiny forest with its simple rules and easy problems be enough for her summoner when she returned, after all that she’d seen and carried and been through? She’d gone from a quirky, wood-dwelling loner to a world-savior, powerful and with powerful allies, and no longer faceless in a crowd. Soon, if not already, everyone in Kyonin would know their names and faces and celebrate them, and she wondered if the girl would know the Uyula they spoke of.

The great wolf hesitated a moment, her large golden eyes gazing up into Uyula’s own of the same shade, trying to find her answer. She lowered her head and nuzzling to her summoner’s shoulder. “We can go wherever you like, little one. Now clean the water before the wizard pitches a fit.”

Uyula sighed, and glided her hands along the soiled surface, mumbling to it in the secret Druidic tongue. Light shifted through the water, and within moments it was clear once more.

“I also appreciate it,” Imani admitted from the edge of the pool, hanging her heavy coat on a golden branch that seemed to grow out of the mural painted across the wall that curved around the bath. Methodically, she unbuckled and removed the few pieces of armor she wore. Their last encounter in Alleverah’s temple had left her gear in worser wear than normal.

As soon as Lamia placed her gear to the side of the bath, Imani pulled the thin, silk curtain around the perimeter for the scant touch of modesty it offered and began to disrobe.

“Caledor?” she asked through the curtain. “Can you make certain this room is safe from prying eyes and ears? The Elves may be our allies, but indulge my paranoia this once.”

She could feel the elf’s protest on the end of his tongue, but the words caught in his throat. Sighing heavily, the mage set to work on a spell.

“Considered yourself indulged, Imani. Our privacy is assured,” he announced, obviously too weary to argue the superior status of elves for once. In truth, the Winter Council and Alleverah herself had done much to deflate his own thoughts on the matter. “Do hurry it up in there. This ‘ladies first’ business is quite bothersome, you know.”

The tiefling ignored the comment and smiled to herself as she slipped into to warm, scented water. Honeysuckle and lavender, she noted, only just able to hold back a grimace. She missed the heady, spicy scents of Katapesh. Amber and sandalwood, balanced with desert rose. With a sigh, she dipped her hair in the floral bath and washed away the thought of home. It was a place she knew she would not be returning to, despite her hope when leaving Riddleport almost a year ago.

“I do not think it wise to share all of what we know with the Elves,” Imani spoke just loud enough to ensure Caeldor and Sana were still included through the drapes. “They have shown themselves to be seduced by ill-practices, and surprisingly short-sighted for a race who are so long-lived. Coupled with their natural talents for the arcane, I do not feel sharing the existence of aboleth magic, to risk them to seeking it, is a wise venture.”

Her strange gaze flicked up to the shadows behind the curtain. She could not deny her concern for the Paladin’s morals in such a situation. “How much do you intend to tell them, Sana?”

Lamia chimed in as she slowly slid herself into the pool. She’d been quiet for the past while not really thinking it was her place to speak; after all, what did a nineteen year old child know about the machinations of elves and demon lords? What she did know was that no one should have access to such evil.

“Perhaps we just tell them that the drow’s plan has been stopped… and not about Abraxas’ plans. If anything it’ll scare ‘em and probably inspire others to search for the stuff…” She pulled a nervous and lamentful face that was only privy to those on her side of the curtain. She met Imani’s eyes for a moment before shrugging and going back to lazily scrubbing the grime and demon blood off of her.

Sana’s walking slowed, until he stood near the edge of the large pool. He’d barely stopped moving since they arrived at the accommodation, leaving the room and returning multiple times and engaging the guards on the door, as well as his own shield, in muted conversation. His eyes unfocused, he looked as though he were seeing through the walls of their residence. Imani might have believed he was, if it weren’t for her particular ring being decidedly absent from Sana’s fingers. “You’ve both got points, I think,” he began. Although he, too, was speaking softly his voice projected around the room. “It’s not quite right though. Maybe I’ve become to used to the fight, but I feel like now is the time to be proactive.” Sana fixed his gaze on the curtain that obscured Imani and Lamia.

“If I know you at all, Imani, you’ve already started planning something. I’d hear it, if you’re willing. What we do and say in the next few hours could well ripple down the years.”

Imani’s gaze shifted from the paladin’s broad shadow, across the water to the women bathing beside her. After a quiet moment, she nodded softly and spoke up.

“Before we embarked for Zyrnakanin, I sent a letter back to Magnimar for my brother. It was… my resignation from the Order,” she began, sinking down to let the water sit just below her scarred shoulders. “I walked through that portal, and into the Darklands as Imani Fiendborn -- a tiefling free to pursue her own path in service to the Seven Veils. No longer am I a ward of the Kassis family, nor a Shadowbreaker. As such, returning to Riddleport is not an option for me.”

It felt like an awkward admission to leave hanging, lest one of her companions find the chance to comment, so the half breed quickly continued.

“Leaving the Order removes what protection I had. Not only does the blood of fiends run through these veins, but I know their ways, their tactics and safe houses. While it places a sizable target on my back, it also leaves me to pursue matters that my Lady deems more important,” she continued. “The gloating of the maralith has me concerned. There was no lie in her words. Abraxas unearths secrets that should be best left to rest, and as any demon would, cares nothing for the chaos his machinations unleash. For me, at least, the journey is only beginning. Reconnaissance would be my goal for the foreseeable future, and I expect it will take me far from the Order’s gaze for the time being.”

“Should the Elves allow it, I would like to start my research here, in their libraries,” she concluded.

Uyula scrunched up her elven nose, pulling a face. She looked a mix of concerned and disgusted.

“Here? Surely the only one of us who’d happily stay here is the wizard.” She paused and rolled her eyes as Caeldor huffed and muttered about her from behind the curtain. If only the ancient, secret Druidic language had swears, then both of them could curse at each other in other languages.

“Another way you could look at it is,” she started thoughtfully, her head bobbing back and forth to the pandering of Twill’s grass-coloured tongue lapping insistently at her hair, like a she-wolf cleaning her young. “Maybe that Alistraxia told us what she did on purpose, so that we’d pursue these other documents and rituals to keep the curses alive. She did say Abraxas just wanted to be known and unforgotten. What better way than to work up the people who defeated him into a frenzy, looking all over for the Aboleth magic and keeping the knowledge of it fresh?”

Twill’s head rose, her amber eyes regarding Imani, silently awaiting a response as though some undecided action relied on it.

“She also assured us that were we not willing to carry the knowledge to the surface, others would fill that role in time,” the tiefling pointed out softly. “We did not defeat Abraxas in the Darklands, we merely prevailed over Allevrah’s plans. I do not believe staying idle would do much to impede his goal in this case.”

Laima’s eyes were trained hard on Imani like a concerned mother. Though the tiefling had several years on her the simple nature of ‘family first’ the youth had been raised with shone through, and like it or not they were all family.

“If Riddleport is no longer safe for you…” she trailed off as internal debate wore on her face, “... even the Gold Gekko cannot offer safe haven, you have men of your- uhm, ex-Order there. Will they remain? What of my brothers? Would they use us to get to you?”

She found herself rattling off too many questions and bit her tongue for a moment. “Whatever your plans are, I'll be there for you, Imani, I promise.”

The tieflings grey lips curved into a brief smile. The young girl had come a long way since that night following the battle of Celwynvian. Imani inclined her head gratefully. “Thank you. In my letter I had mention of Celwynvian, I expect the men at the Gekko have since be recalled and reassigned to follow that lead. The Shadowbreakers have a weak presence in Varisia, their forces will have to conviene in Katapesh from around Cheliax and Orision before they get organized and move out. Should they still be stationed at Riddleport, they will be no threat to you or your brothers. Simply tell them the truth, tell them we split paths in Kyonin. I will ensure I am not here when they arrive to check.”

Lamia nodded slowly, her brow furrowed for the briefest of moments but she seemed sated by the answer. “Alright. Just remember if y'all ever need a place to lay low, the Golden Gekko is open. I'll have the underground passages made up as a safe house if we ever need it.”

With that Lamia dunked her head under the pools surface for a moment to let the matted sweat and blood wash out of her dark locks. Once reemerged she rested against the lip of the lavish cistern with a happy hum. They'd won the battle and while the fight wasn't over it was still a good time to enjoy the pleasantries of life.

“Uyula has a point too. How do we know this isn't a trap set by Abraxas?” the young woman pointed out.

The armoured figure on the other side of the curtain turned, and his voice was softer, as if speaking away from the bathers.

“It’s a Demon Lord. As much as it wants the Aboleth magic remembered, if we’re even slightly a threat it can simply ignore us until we just… go away. And we will, eventually,” he continued sadly. “Time will take us all. Proactive action, something where we can make a lasting impact is the only way to curb the revelations Abraxas wants to unleash.”

He chuckled, “A trap is ultimately a compliment, like the opposite of damning by faint praise. If it wants us trapped, then I feel there must be more we can do to stymie its plans.” The sound of Sana’s fist meeting his palm emphasised this statement.

“I think reconnaissance is a good idea. Finding out what already exists is a good start. The tunnels under the Gekko are also an exceptional idea. I may see if I can put the Arena to some use for us as well. There’s something else I’m missing; something we, as our Hyena pack can do, even if we have to go our separate ways.”

The shadow made to turn back as if looking at Twill’s bulk behind the curtain when he stopped. “Hyenas...” he muttered softly, the projection gone from his voice. “Which were… and then the priestess… domains…” he trailed off; thinking aloud.

A silence filled the room as Sana paced away from the curtain, before turning back to his starting point. He paused for a moment before his pace accelerated, and he stopped himself just short of swiping the curtain in front of the alcove back. Hand still on the rich cloth, eyes focused as if staring through the walls of the room he began to cautiously speak, as if his words would flee if he tried to speak them too quickly. “Months ago, before we arrived here for the first time, I told Uyula a story from my youth. How a man from the desert hills of Osirion had come to the temple seeking aid against the wild hyenas of the red lands. As he told his story it was my abbott that I watched.” Sana’s head turned, reliving the scene in his mind’s eye. “It seemed the abbott could have told the man his own story and it dawned on me I was living a fable, a parable, a tale where the telling teaches, aside from strict lessons and repetition of lore.

“Later,” Sana’s whole body shifted, as if he were moving to a separate table, to physical evidence only he could see. “When we arrived here in Kyonin, our first accommodation had that book, the one we believed was from Queen Edasseril. We read of the tale of the Priestess and the Quasit. We knew there was a message hidden within; why else would it have been so conspicuously left for us? “I believe now that the Queen was preemptively asking forgiveness on behalf of the Winter Council; they’d schemed for so long they couldn’t help but do otherwise. My tale asked that we stand together in the face of opposition. Each was a story with a separate message, knowledge couched in a format easy to spread, enjoyable to learn. Knowledge where the context was only revealed when it became necessary.” A predatory smile now began to spread over Sana’s face and his pace rushed. “Abraxas’ domains include knowledge, the forbidden. He wants this information remembered, he wants it feared. The maralith implied as much. ‘Fear the Aboleth magic, fear the might of the ancients and fear the being that can gift it to your enemies’. Let’s twist it,” he mimed. “Twist the knowledge he’s given us, remove the forbidden nature of it. Take what we know of the Glyphs, their crafting and their destruction and build a story around it. One where the Aboleths, their falling stars, destruction on Golarion are absent unless you know the real context. We build a fable that only speaks of how to break apart the stabilising and master glyphs, to recognise when they’ve been built. Not to fear them but to render them nuisances to which the answer lies in a childhood fable, the same way one burns incense for the gods or wears silver to deter ‘thropes.

“Destroying the instructions that the maralith and Abraxus would place is but a sliver of our strategy. We’ll poison the well, so to speak, by making the knowledge of the Glyphs and Starfall useless before it’s implemented. One day, the knowledge that the magic came from the Aboleths might be just a historical curiosity. A curious scrap to share when you plan on getting too deep in your cups to know anything else. “What we tell the Queen and her people later today should reflect this goal. They know so much already of what they faced, but we may be able to convince them of our way of seeing things. If they don’t know there is more to find, they think we’re just heroes wanting our story told our way, they may agree.” Sana’s eyes focused again, as he turned back to the concealing curtain and the bearded elf in front of it.

From behind the thin drapes, the tiefling laugh bubbled. It was a rare sound -- soft, but harsh like the light rattling of iron nails in a clay jar. Imani ascended the marble stairs leading from the bath and claimed one of the folded linen towels on the cabinet nearby, grinning to herself.

“My Lady would find much poetry in such a tactic, I should think,” she spoke toward the curtain as she dressed. Though the elven clothes were freshly laundered, the half-breed was about as fond of elven fashion as she was elven architecture. She muttered a soft curse her native tongue as she attempted to fix the laces that held the fitted bodice together.

“Everything alright?” Caeldor drawled, his shadow shifting closer to the curtain.

“Fine,” Imani growled, dissolving into a grateful smile as Lamia stepped up to assist her. “Just marvelling the construction of elven tailoring.”

As the young brunette went to fetch the matching skirts to Imani’s bodice, the tiefling frowned and shook her head, opting for a pair of the soft leather breeches possibly intended for the men, and boots to match.

“Thank you,” she smiled to the girl, retrieving her bladed scarf and ducking out from behind the curtain. The look she saw on Sana’s face was almost as amusing as the clothing had been frustrating. “I apologise, Imani,” he said, regaining composure. “I’d not even considered how the Seventh Veil would respond to such a tactic. That was remiss of me.”

Sana began removing his armour, as if remembering that he, too, would have to clean up before standing before the Elvish Queen.

“Ooooh,” Uyula sung finally, “I get it. You mean to say, because there’s no one here that could challenge our story on what happened, we could twist the truth to our advantage? Removing the dread of Abraxas and the ritual and all of that from the tale completely? That’s so smart, Sana.” She gathered her thick mounds of raven hair up in hand and began wringing the water from it, batting away Twill’s gnarled snout as she stood.

“If we could pull it off, that would cause to happen exactly what he’s so afraid of. He’d be left out of his own story and maybe even forgotten.” A grin spread across her dark lips at the thought. It was such a simple concept, yet could so easily be executed.

“History is written by the victors,” Twill hummed, following suit and standing, shaking out the water from the long thin branches that made up the sort-of mane along her neck and shoulders, littering the pool with leaves and small twigs, “and bards do like a moral to be at the centre of their epic stories. I see no reason not to spite Abraxas and omit him and his omens from our journey.”

“‘The Incredible Adventures of Caeldor the Magnificent’ sounds like a title the bards would love,” the bearded elf chortled from the other side of the curtain. “‘The Many Arcane Bumblings of Caeldor the Treasure-Obsessed…’” Lamia muttered to the ladies as she finished dressing herself in a simple but beautiful elven dress.

“We have plenty of time to build on this,” Sana said with a smile as Lamia walked out from behind the curtain. “But yes, Uyula, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Although I think instead of twisting the truth, we’re encouraging a story to become legend faster than it normally would. Besides, it is our story to tell and we can depict the villain however we like. And if we choose for that to be off-stage, so be it.”

“I think, Imani,” he said, turning to the tiefling, “in answer to your original question, we tell the Queen and her court that we prevented Alleverah’s magic from bringing the star from the sky, and destroyed her research and theories lest we become tempted, let alone anyone else.” If Caeldor felt Sana was deliberately not looking in his direction as the Osirian spoke, he didn’t show it.

“If they ask for specifics, we can provide a series of ritual sites, heavily defended, and state that we feel they are best left alone. The Drow presence may be gone, but there are creatures there that have no love for up-worlders and they remain at large. The Creature at the Crystal Plaza springs to mind.”

Lamia quickly shook her head. “That monster… I don’t think we have the power to defeat it. What kind of thing can exist in all planes at once at once, but I see your point.”

“Then we shall let the two of you bathe,” Imani nodded in full agreement. “Then we shall spin our tale for the Court.”

#imani #uyula #twill #sanakt #lamia #caeldor #second darkness #pathfinder rp

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