#for** Apologies my paws are massive.

[thecensusbureau]

have you considered a crop top? or maybe like, a suit with suspenders!! or some flowy pants. a sundress!!! im just throwing darts at the wall and seeing what sticks lmao

Oh... Oh these actually sound lovely.

[idiaa-shroxd]

THE PREFECT’S CAT CAFE ꒱ ❝ vice dormleaders. ❞

SUMMARY: after an off-handed comment made by Idia, you find yourself taking what he said into genuine consideration. instead of just bringing some cats into your guest room though, why not find a way to have both cats and profits while being comfy?

warnings; gn!reader x vice dormleaders + ruggie & platonic ortho. long post. rewrote this a bit so sorry if it seems a bit long or short in some places, i just did not like the way some parts turned out. by interacting with this post you agree you’ve read through my navigation and i hold no responsibility for the content you view. part i. part ii. part iii. reading the prologue and first part is highly recommended, before reading this!

HEARTSLABYUL. trey clover.

TREY CLOVER.

“Thank you again for your help, Trey. Thanks to you everything turned out amazing.” You practically beam as you lower the treat onto the floor as the hoard of cats line up politely one by one waiting for their bowls of new and improved cat food. “No problem, prefect. If you ever need any more help with anything I would be happy to help.” He replied, chuckling as he took off his apron and handed it to you to put away.

Fixing his glasses he made his way over to his favorite cat, squatting down and reminding her to eat slowly unless she wanted to choke as she let out a soft meow before hungrily chewing on her food again. As she finished she looked up at him expectantly and her paws tugged onto his shirt’s sleeves. “You can have a treat, just one though.” He relented, not able to deny his favorite kitty. Watching from behind the counter you take a photo forgetting about the sound as you’re caught, quickly looking away. “Hey don’t look at me like that, you’re both extremely cute.”

Trey was quite amused by your business venture when he heard of it, not quite sure whether it would be smart to have animals in a cafe though, considering the food safety for both the people and cats. When he listens to you explain there’s no actual human food, only drinks and snacks from gacha machines and crane machines in a room the cats cannot access he understands and comments that it were a smart idea and he’d be happy to visit your cafe. He even makes you a celebratory pastry as a gift for opening your own business in Twisted Wonderland and comes a bit before opening to hand it to you personally. Perhaps he should of baked it the night before however as one cat locked their sights on him, biting and nipping his fingers lightly that smell and taste vaguely like his treat.

Minutes later after you put your gift away you return to find Trey at your bar counter and a cat in his lap playfully biting him and nudging against his chest as he presses a soft kiss against her head. You decided to stand by and watch the two as he cuddles the cat close to his chest, the kitty headbutting his chin and meowing up at him while a pure and happy smile adorns his lips, a chuckle escaping. You aren’t sure how long it took for him to notice you but he look mildly embarrassed you caught him as the cat is upset at you for stealing his attention away and goes back to meowing at him for love. He ends up staying longer than anticipated as he drinks tea that you brewed and watches you care for the cats before officially opening up. He’s so distracted by you and the cats he nearly forgets he should be working on crowd control at Ramshackle before a card soldier is suffering Riddle’s wrath.

His favorite cat is a maine coon and she has a mix of dark brown and light brown fur, with golden eyes. She’s gotten quite a bit chubbier recently as he tends to feed her a lot of treats, it’s in his nature. Apricot knows very well she has him wrapped around her paws and when you scold her she plays innocent and nudges up to Trey who apologizes to you but defends her. She’s extremely therapeutic for him after a long day as she meows right at his face pawing his chest and stepping all over him. Apricot is also a massive fan of licking his fingers whenever he comes over as he vaguely smells like flowers and he tastes sugary sweet. He got her a new collar, replacing her old grey one with nothing too fancy. A dark green leather collar with golden cake prints, with a silent bell in front and a traditional plain bow in the back. He prefers simplicity over being overly extra.

He does play favorites, he says he doesn’t but he does. Apricot is almost like his child, he babies her, cuddles her, and feels much happier when she’s with him. She’s fairly fluffy so he spends time brushing over her fur as she purrs against him, biting when he stops. He tends to visit on the weekend as he knows there is no way his dorm can survive alone without him on the weekdays, especially with Riddle in charge. He may occasionally try to study while in the cafe but fails to focus for long, she once knocked his glasses off his face by nudging him too hard for attention but he forgave her and apologized to her. He enjoys the way you brew tea for him and makes sure to bring over small gifts for you, and experimental cat treats for your cats to have variety in their meals.

Overall he’s a very good guest. He may try to ask you for an extra treat or two since he can’t help it but he follows the rest of the rules and cats love him.

SAVANACLAW. ruggie bucchi.

RUGGIE BUCCHI.

“Shishishi, are you sure no longer hiring, prefect?” Ruggie asks as you shake your head, already satisfied with your current employees. “No, but thanks for applying, Ruggie. If I ever need someone though, I’ll call you first.” You say with a smile as he nods, coming into the cafe and feeling Pumpkin leap right into his arms the second he entered.

“And besides, if you were working here it would be hard to spend so much time with her, right?” You say, closing the door behind him as you scan the room, pointing to Leona who was hissing at Malleus. “I believe Leona should be right over there! Good luck getting him to go to the dorm leaders meeting.” You say, unsure if he were even listening anymore while petting his cat.

Ruggie was not one to believe in random luck of success. He thought you had zero business experience and would end up quitting within a week, but you didn’t. He had heard all these rumors and just had to check it out since it was the buzz of all other students. After randomly catching you in the halls he goes with you to Ramshackle before you opened, explaining to him the rules and what you had. You had high end pcs and manga? He wondered just how much that would sell for, surely you would not notice one or two of these books missing, right? His mind was more preoccupied on that as you two entered after you made it clear he was not to steal, knowing him. He was actually surprised by just how well you did, this looked like a professional cafe, not Ramshackle. Did you also say you would give him a free drink for being your friend, cause that’s what he heard whether you said it or not.

He was not actually too interested in cats at all, they were all sprawled out all over the place. Sure they were cute, but they were mainly just like Leona. Sleepy and grumpy all the time. As his eyes scanned the room Ruggie ended up spotting a familiar looking cat, as some of them were native to where he lived and prowled the streets looking for food. He thought they were hostile due to how the cats would often hiss and scratch where he lived, but this one was very friendly. Upon making eye contact she made her way and begun licking his fingers. She was so friendly! She were nudging him and pawing at him, crawling up his legs all the way to his arms, meowing louder and louder and acting cute for attention. He knew this cat knew how to flatter others as you gave him a cat treat to try and she was all over him and biting at it. He couldn’t help but laugh and want to play with her just a bit more, he would also take a cup of tea, too since it were free.

His favorite cat is a Sunset Savana (Somali) that has dusty orange-brown fur and bright green eyes. Pumpkin knows she’s a cute kitty and uses it to get his attention, stealing it from others with her soft purrs. She especially enjoys playing with cat toys and getting cat treats from him which comes off Leona’s tab. He claims he would never spend his precious money on a cat collar but surprise surprise her old orange leather collar is gone one day and she is wearing a dirty golden collar with white paw prints all over, and a silent bell. The collar is pretty basic but it is different enough from it’s original collar, it was nice enough for both him and her. Maybe in the future if she were still sticking by his side he would buy her bow or something else, but that would be coming from Leona’s wallet.

He does not play favorites and will pet basically any cat, but does have a soft spot for Pumpkin. He calls her spoiled for eating so much and living the good life, but feels like he can sympathize with her lightly as she used to be a stray before clinging onto you and living the life of luxury now. He does feed her cat treats with Leona’s tab, and gets drinks for himself too, he’s noticed a bit of cat drama going on behind the scenes while picking up Leona one weekend at your cafe and is living for it. Pumpkin is friends with Nebula and Oatmeal, both seem to want to play with each other but Leona and Malleus are enemies, holding their cats in their arms and refusing to let their children communicate in their presence. He’s commented on this to Leona who gave the most disgusted look and claimed Nebula would never like that lizard’s cat. Both he and pumpkin seemed to be laughing at that, with you commenting they were quite alike, just that she seems to be much more friendly and isn’t as self motivated as him.

Overall a good guest. He doesn’t disturb too many of the guests, he did try to steal from one once, but stopped after you threatened to kick him out. He may or may not still be taking from guests but without being caught now, however he gets along well with cats!

OCTAVINELLE. jade leech.

JADE LEECH.

“Ah, prefect. Perfect timing. It is my day off tomorrow and I was wondering if you were available for me to pay a visit?” Jade asked, a business smile presenting on his face. Raising a brow you rephrased what he was asking to yourself and answer. “If you’re asking if you can see Peanut, I’ll allow it. Just don’t bring more than three terrariums this time.” Knowing he would likely bring his latest one to show off to his favorite cat.

“Fufu, you seem to be able to read me quite well, prefect. I hope this means we’re closer now and that you’ll allow me to know you better too.” He said, opening his eyes to look at you as you rolled your’s. “Octavinelle is good at flattery but no more than four hours this time and make your own tea.” You retort, walking off in the direction of your next class as he eyes linger on you a little while longer. Maybe one day you’d realize he were serious about getting to know you better.

Jade was amused by your business idea and kept tabs on it, informing Azul of what was going on when they’d seen a decline of customers. He had never heard of this human concept and the fact it were something common in your world more had caught his attention enough to actually visit under the guise of checking up your cafe for information. He’s unsure what to expect and expects it to be unsanitary and loud but is pleasantly surprised how thought out everything is and how soothing the decor makes him feel. He greets you as you’re surprised he came, making small talk with you before purchasing what you called a cat popsicle and picking up a few cat toys to really “have a true cat cafe experience” as you’d called it.

It doesn’t take long for him to understand the appeal not just from an atmospheric standpoint as your beverages are not lacking in quality and the cats are all well behaved. He finds himself approached by all sorts of fascinating different breeds as he feeds the cat popsicle before playing with the remaining kitty using the cat toy. He finds this certain cat to be particularly endearing as he seems to have a bit of a birth defect with smaller legs than the other cats, asking you about it as you explain you also wanted to give this cat a chance at love. He wouldn’t say he’s smitten but he is amused by the way the cat walks and tries to play with the toy, eventually scratching at his pants before crawling onto his lap to try and reach the toy better, only for Jade to tease him and raise it higher. He’d never thought something so simple would entertain not only the cat but him as well as he finds himself doing just this for quite awhile.

His favorite cat is a Shaftlands (Siberian) that has brown and white fur and green-yellow eyes. He has a natural birth defect that makes it legs shorter resembling a munchkin breed and Jade finds this completely endearing. The cat is completely fluffy and warm in contrast to his colder body temperature and snuggles up to him whenever he visits, Jade can’t help but laugh whenever Peanut makes his way towards him as he helps the cat up onto his lap while he meows up at Jade demanding attention he rightfully deserves. Jade has changed his collar from a plain blue one to a cream white color with orange-golden mushroom prints around the collar, the bell being replaced with a fake leather chicken of the woods mushroom bundle. He can’t help but laugh yet love the way Peanut looks with it on.

He does play favorites and doesn’t get jealous because he knows he’s his cat’s favorite and may occasionally play with the other cats until they get bored, but he mostly pets Peanut. He buys an occasional cat popsicle, maybe once or twice a week as he lets the cat rest on his lap or beside him while he does his homework or paperwork. He’s also brought a few terrariums to show the cat that seems vaguely interested, nudging a glass as he tells them what a great choice they made, whispering an explanation of the contents and where he had foraged them. Despite his sharp teeth and smile Peanut seems to have no sense of weariness as he meows up at him as though speaking before crawling into Jade’s lap for a nap. He unfortunately can’t visit too often since he works at Monstro Lounge but will visit on an occasional day off when you’re closed just to explain his recent forages to his cat.

Overall a great guest that follows the rules and won’t disturb other guests, and he is very nice to his cat if you excuse the occasional comments he makes that sounds like he may be making fun of the cat, or the fact he brings terrariums into your cat cafe.

SCARABIA. jamil viper.

JAMIL VIPER.

Running your finger’s through Jamil’s hair you finish up making the braid and quietly clap to yourself at your hard work. You quietly open your phone and take a picture silently of the view right in front of you, soaking in the very rare occurrence. Jamil stirred ever so slightly in your lap as you placed your phone back down, mumbling ever so slightly as the cat in his hands snuggling against his chest also made a little squeak.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” You asked him as his eyes open up to meet your’s as he shakes his head slightly. “No, ah!” He said coming to the realization he fell asleep on your lap after a long day of practice. He shifted suddenly as his cat stretched, jumping out of his arms and glaring at him for waking her as he gave her a quick apology, pressing a chaste kiss against her forehead as she nudged against him, crawling back into his arms. You weren’t sure which was more precious, a sleeping Jamil or a half awake cat dad Jamil.

Jamil had originally thought of your cat cafe to be a disaster as Kalim had approached him asking if they could go. He did have faith in you, in a way, sort of, but don’t you think this was too much to handle, prefect? He has zero expectations that he would enjoy the place, only expecting it to be somewhere else he had to clean up after Kalim. He hesitantly agrees and after actually entering he’s bombarded with cats, a bit to his dismay. He was the one who did both him and Kalim’s laundry, the cat fur which would stick to them would be crazy. He’s a bit sullen by the thought but the atmosphere and guest room is truly surprising, it actually looks good. On top of that, it does feel really good to be served for once as you make him a coffee, even encouraging him to use a cat toy.

One cat is instantly attracted to him, plopping onto his lap lazily nabbing the toy. She wasn’t overly fluffy enough to shed on him, but her fur was in fact silky smooth as he ran his fingers through, stroking at her chin and stomach as she rolled over, looking at him with curious eyes. For a place with so many cats it was so quiet, enough to make him sleepy if he were not playing with the cat on his lap. Even Kalim was behaving for once, he had to give it to you prefect. He was pleasantly surprised by how quick he was to relax, the sounds of purring like music to his ears as he actually almost fell asleep from exhaustion, realizing just how frustrated he had been lately. He would have to come more often, as long as Kalim behaved that was, if this was the usual experience.

His favorite cat is a Shaftlands (Russian) Blue with black fur and bright green eyes. She’s rather soft despite the short coat, and is not too vocal, but purrs quite loudly once she gets started, spending most of her time napping over being hyperactive and is very low maintenance, which Jamil really likes as it is finally a breath of fresh air, very therapeutic for him. He had replaced her old grey leather collar with a dark brown leather collar that has black and golden snakes engraved, with piercing red eyes. Two snake heads from opposing ends seem to be gripping at the silent bell collar’s mouth as a pretty design, with a brown and a small gold bow in the back to not be too distracting when petting her.

He does play favorites, with subtlety. You know he does prefer short hair breeds and that he tends to favor the quieter cats, but he tends to not play with cats that don’t purr too much. His perfect fit is Cashew ultimately even if he will not admit this out loud out of embarrassment that he had become a cat person like this. He also enjoys coming pre-game to calm himself a bit and enjoys returning after his games. When he wins it feels like a well deserved break and when he loses it feels better than being angry about it in silence as his kitty purrs right against him. You have caught him nodding off a few times before and always try to make him as comfy as possible because you doubt some nights he is even able to get sleep at Scarabia with how often things seem to go wrong and his dorm students need him for help.

Overall a good guest! He’s very peaceful, gets his work done and sometimes tries to get Kalim to not try to move around too much as he pets his kitty!

POMEFIORE. rook hunt.

ROOK HUNT.

“Welcome back, prefect.” Rook smiled at you as he helped you with your groceries, bringing them into the back for you as you give him a quick greeting, kneeling and pressing kisses to the cats nuzzling against you and meowing. “Thank you. Have the kitties been good?” You ask as you look up at him, his arms now carrying an extremely fluffy and cuddly cat that was nudging him. Honestly it would be a cute scene if you actually let him in the begin with. You really needed to change your lock, you don’t know how he keeps getting in without telling you.

“They’re very well behaved, seems they’re as sociable as ever, Mon Trickster.” He replied, helping you up with his free hand as you made your ways towards the back. “Great, glad they’re all good. Since you’re here help me prepare won’t you?” You ask, intending to at the very least get free labor out of him. Maybe you’d actually keep the same lock for a bit longer if it meant a helping hand.

Rook had known you were making a cat cafe even before you had Idia investing. He was watching you stay after class from outside and begun reading your lips, asking Professor Trein if he knew where wild cats were. He of course followed you throughout your entire journey across Sage Island to find cats to make sure you were not attacked by anything feral. Eventually you noticed him and swore him to secrecy about the project until it was actually developed. He was pleased to have a special secret just between you and him even if momentary and helped you take the cats to vets to have all the work done, fascinated by your ideas and the little creatures. He wanted to know all the details of who else was helping you, how long you planned to stay open, your open and closed days, and he sung poetry about it while knee deep in the forest grass picking up a hissing cat.

He was fairly interested with that certain cat, she had kept biting at him, particularly attempting to scratch his face, and you were unsure to bring back as she may of been too feral. Rook assured you everything would be fine as he took care of domesticating the cats and getting them used to touch with you. He once returned and Vil nearly shrieked at him for having bite marks littered across his wrists, but he was smiling the entire time. You were still very unsure about this cat but both she and Rook seemed to have bonded and she calmed down quite a lot and eventually began politely meowing at him and actually going to him of her own volition, a completely glow up you were unsure was even possible considering her previous thirst for his flesh. He only smiled up at you from his kneeling position gently stroking her chin as she purred even louder.

His favorite cat was the former feral Harveston (Norwegian) forest cat that has black, white, and orange fur, with yellow eyes. She’s incredibly fluffy and has gotten pudgier in recent times but she’s very well groomed and doesn’t shed all over the cafe since Rook is the one personally caring for her. He makes sure to use products Vil recommends and likes and that her fur is always glossy, but he also does keep her away from Vil. She never had a basic collar like most of the other cats as he got her one himself, a dark purple-blue collar with gold bows and red arrowheads pointing towards where the silent bell is. Her bow in the back is sort of transparent and a little sparkly with a thin purple-ish fabric and gold stripes. Rook calls the collar Honeysuckle’s reward. He also tends to call her Honey as a nickname since you rejected Neige jr. Neige sr., Roi du Sauvage, or any other name he suggested.

He doesn’t play favorites as he treats all the cats equally, enjoying all their company. However, Honeysuckle thinks otherwise and claims him, every so often a little hiss coming from her lips as another cat approaches her human. He seems to find himself claimed and finds it to be beautiful. An animal seeking human companionship with the one that helped them adjust to domestic life, is there anything more sincerely breathtaking? He does give her a few cat treats but only because she needs to be a good weight and healthy since she didn’t eat much before. He has tried reading manga and playing games but those just aren’t his thing, he prefers telling Honeysuckle about the beautiful things he’d seen that day, including her, and shows her photos he had taken. He also tried to show her his bow but she ended up biting off the string and playing with the string so he learnt his lesson, hopefully. He’s actually trying to find out what kind of string is cat proof.

Overall a good guest for the cats but had unusual quirks. He may stare at some guests and watch them while gently stroking a cat in his arms while whispering to her what they’re saying or doing that was interesting and beautiful.

IGNIHYDE. ortho shroud.

“You look amazing in that gear, Ortho!” You say, clapping your hands as the boy gives you a twirl, excited to show off. “Thank you, prefect! My big brother helped me design it.” He said as you pat his head, happy to have him apart of the team to help you. “Everything he makes is always amazing.” You say as he agrees, happy his brother was praised.

Handing him a tray filled with drinks you don’t even need to tell him which table as he memorized it, heading off to the Ignihyde students gaming away at one of the pcs. “He’ll be fine it seems, Idia.” You say to your loyal customer as he watches Ortho with his face behind manga, squeaking as you spoke to him. “H-Hey I’m not that concerned, I believe in him too!” He says as you giggle, going to make him another juice.

Ortho found out as he was wherever his brother went. He heard his brother telling you about bringing cats to the guest room but was pleasantly surprised you actually did convert the room into a place for cats. He was even happier at the thought maybe you did it for his brother to be happy and even socialize at the thought of pcs and manga! He decided to help you with your plans, getting you materials you needed and staying with his brother who set up the mechanical parts of the cafe. You also allowed him to play with the cats as a thank you for helping you prepare for your cafe! He was ecstatic the first time he got to do so after you and Rook domesticated them properly.

He was so excited to play with kitties, pointing out their breeds and friendliness. As he played with them he noticed a cat from afar with such a genuinely sad face staring at him and he recognized the breed. You explained he was very shy of people still but was slowly getting used to them, and he found himself making his way over. The cat backed away slowly, but eventually came over to Ortho as you handed him a treat to use. He laughed as his parts tickled from tiny cat kisses and from then on he knew what the cat reminded him of, his big brother who tended to have the same look on his face when people saw and spoke to him.

His favorite cat is an exotic shorthair with white-grey fur and orange eyes, and it is 100% because the cat reminded him of his brother and partially claimed him. Taquito is very docile but doesn’t like spending time in large groups, feeling safer with Ortho and Idia. Due to this, Ortho tends to comparing Taquito and Idia, petting the cat and telling him about how his day has gone or what Idia did that day when he is not working. He does enjoy feeding him a lot of treats and since he doesn’t have a need for homework or really plays games and can download all sorts of manga info he spends most of his time working and mainly petting Taquito. Ortho had also gotten him a new collar, replacing the old blue one with a custom black collar with what looked like blue sparks engraved all over. The silent bell is replaced with a flame core’s resembling’s orthos in a yellow color like his eyes.

He tends to come over a lot with Idia even on your days off and has seen the other first years working at the cafe and asked you about it. After explaining to him he had also wanted to try working for your cafe, with Idia and your’s permission. Compared to the others he was a real fast learner and very good with the cats, along with customers. You’ve assigned him to a waiter position and to be in charge of Ignihyde students as they get nervous talking to the other first years. He even had Idia make him a work body that looks similar to the uniforms the other first years wear as well! Ortho and Idia also have no need for money or need anything from you, Ortho instead thanking you for getting Ignihyde to leave their dorm for once but you insisted on returning the favor so he sometimes asks you to cook for Idia so his brother doesn’t just eat instant ramen. Recently though you wonder if you’re cooking just for Idia or the group of men entering your dorm demanding food.

Overall a great guest and even better employee. He does not disturb the kitties and he’s a really positive employee that lightens your burden tenfold.

DIASOMNIA. lilia vanrouge.

LILIA VANROUGE.

“Prefect!” You hear a deep voice as you jump, hands on your shoulder from behind as you nearly scream, falling to your knees. “Khehehe.” You hear the culprit chuckle as you turn around, the diasomnia vice dormleader laughing at you as he got you again. “Geez, I’ve told you to stop doing that, Lilia!” You say while getting up, you should of known better that it was him.

“I’ll stop when it is no longer funny,” he says with a little chuckle. “Then I hope you stop finding it funny soon while you’re reflecting.” You say, a teasing smile on your face as he raises a curious brow. “You’re not going to see Saffron until you’re done reflecting.” You say, walking off as his eyes widened in shock. Wait a minute, prefect. You two can talk it out, right?

He came out of nowhere scaring you senseless while chuckling, inquiring about your new business venture that he’s heard so much about from Cater. Apparently the prefect was going around “collecting stray kitties and making a totally magicamable cafe that you just totes have to visit”, and he was one who had traveled to many places all over the world throughout his time of living, so of course he had to pay a visit. He’d never heard of a cat cafe before and wondered what promise your world’s concepts had to offer as he tagged along back to Ramshackle after your classes, listening to you explain the concept and rules while heading to your cafe. He found it hard to believe that it was your old guest room at first with how fast the wifi was! Those pcs over there were high quality and the latest model designed for gaming, so you actually did get an investor?

He was enjoying the design and atmosphere but upon seeing the kitties he was a little surprised by the sheer amount of them you had. He thought maybe ten as a stretch but you liked smug with over twenty cats. They just kept on coming. You never fail to amuse him, he thought while you were scooping one into your arms as they meowed at you intently, loudly purring against you as they nudged against your chin for pats. He found the scene cute but preferred the pcs over the cats until you plopped the cat into his arms telling him to take a seat, you’d fetch him something to drink. The cat was overly affectionate as he’d nip at Lilia, meowing even louder and pawing at his uniform reminding him of caring for little Silver. He had indulged in that train of thought for a little bit too long as he soon was reminded of his parenting days while cradling the cat, feeding him a treat. This soon evolved into the point where Lilia became a cat dad.

His favorite cat is a Shaftlands (Turkish) Angora with pure white fur and brown-yellow tinted eyes. He’s a very playful cat, slightly fluffy so he combs the cat over every so often when visiting. Saffron loves to tug at Lilia stealing his attention away from everyone, but his lack of coordination always makes him laugh after confirming the cat is okay, helping him into his arms or wherever he wanted to go to like a parent entertaining their child. Due to Saffron watching Lilia play games on the pc he decided to replace his old white leather collar with a new ombre green silk collar, with small white specks engraved. The collar has little weapons on then such as swords or mage books from the games he plays in black, replacing the silent bell with a bat wings in a dark black color and pink-red eyes.

He does play favorites and it is quite clear as his kitty crawls into his lap pawing at him. Lilia is also a pretty big gamer so on certain nights he logs in, he’s coming in early and staying out late as you bring him juice after juice, one hand petting his cat to sleep, the other furiously clicking away to kill his opponent. Sometimes he maybe lose due to his hand suddenly being nudged and nipped due to his kitty waking up and wanting his attention but he’s very engrossed in killing his opponent and looting, however he never blames Saffron since he thinks of the cat as a small child. Other times Saffron may also fall over after jumping onto different ledges, being a little uncoordinated but relatively safe, and Lilia always seem to catch him in time. He murmurs something about “reliving parenthood”, mildly concerning you as you decided to ignore the comment and pour him some juice. He says some really weird things.

Overall a good guest! He may occasionally let out an annoyed grunt while gaming and say his trash talk aloud, but almost every gamer in the world has gamer rage on occasion. The cats seem to be pretty fond of him at least!

thank you for everyone’s support! part two seems to be quiet anticipated but my favorite is probably part three solely because of floyd’s kitty!! nothing makes me happier than floyd finding out about a hairless breed and then going it’s so ugly that is mine. I also plan on posting a au(?) brainrot tomorrow!

（≧∇≦). thank you to 130+ followers and all my reqs from a single post! (*´ω｀*) i’m not too sure what to do for it, but thank you for the support!

©idiaa-shroxd. do not plagiarize, repost, translate, or use my works to train ai.

[ninibeingdelulu]

Silence ✧

Plot: You, one of the nurse of the Task Force 141, take care of his injury.

A/N: Guys— I know I said I’m gonna take a break but this have been in my mind and I wanted to share it with y’all😭 so my final post until exams is gonna be abt kaiser!!

It's been another one of those brutal ops that left the boys of Task Force 141 pretty banged up as usual.

Holed up back at the safe house, you're the only nurse on duty tonight handling their medical needs post-mission.

The door to the makeshift triage bay suddenly kicks open with Lieutenant Ghost himself stalking inside with that icy unreadable vibe he always gives off.

Like he's some sorta apex predator assessing any potential prey in his vicinity even among allies.

With his usual skull baclava, he head toward a chair without a word. Then he just calmly lifts his bloodstained shirt exposing that frighteningly huge, scarred torso built like some kinda walking brick shithouse.

You can't help the nervous gulp escaping as those piercing steel-black eyes bore straight through you standing there frozen.

Sizing you up like some helpless little rabbit ready to be ripped apart by those massive bear-paw mitts clenching fistfuls of shredded fatigues.

Until your medical training finally clicks into autopilot gear catching sight of the nasty bullet graze scorched across his lower abdominal slabs.

Gnarly enough to require patching up judging by the steady trickle still seeping out between those ridges.

You give the subtlest shake snapping out of it then retrieve the first aid kit heading over.

Carefully avoiding those glacial irises still tracking you as you silently kneel before the seated Lieutenant without uttering a word.

Once situated between those tree-trunk thighs you get to work cleaning and disinfecting the jagged wound with the antiseptic wipes.

Ghost barely even flinches when the alcohol solution hits that raw patch of burger meat - dude's an absolute stoic savant when it comes to playing through pain.

At least until you hear the faintest hiss slipping past those clenched jaws when you apply slightly too much pressure against the tender injury.

Instantly you freeze then murmur a hushed apology, letting your touch turn gossamer light yet still effectively cleaning the gash while he stays utterly motionless.

Something about the close proximity between you both suddenly amplifies, like both your heartbeats are syncing up while you focus on meticulously wrapping those sterile bandages around Ghost's midsection.

Even through all that scar-tissue cratering his abdomen you can feel the searing warmth radiating off in pulsating waves.

Against your better judgment you chance a glance upwards to check if everything's still good on his end.

But the second your gaze meets that utterly primal smokey-black stare piercing straight through you, it's like every nerve ending in your body ignites simultaneously.

Those razor-sharp raptor eyes hungrily drink in every subtle shift and flex of your form positioned so vulnerably below him.

Heart thundering against your ribcage now as realization dawns about just how terrifyingly easy it would be for those titanic arms to completely overpower and snap you like a damn twig.

Yet a deeper core-level current also hums between the charged particles gathering unbearably thick in the air around you both too.

Stoking thrills of a different sort pulsing through your veins beyond just the mortal peril his presence typically broadcasts.

By the time you finish securing the gauze wrappings and carefully rise back upright, your throat's gone bone dry.

Forcing you to swallow hard glancing away while reminding him not to overexert. To diligently rest and hydrate sufficiently over the next few recovery days so you don't hafta come redress this all over again.

But the second your back's turned gathering those scattered supplies, you audibly inhale feeling Ghost's furnace-like proximity crowding up against you from behind.

Not overtly threatening yet - rather merely an intoxicatingly heady presence amplifying that strange tension crackling across your hypersensitive nerve endings exquisitely.

Those steel-cable forearms extending across both sides bracketing you in while his ragged whisper ghosts up the nape of your neck with a scorching caress.

"Much obliged, then...for always patching us up good as new, Doc..."

The words alone already skated the boundaries of impropriety.

But coupled with that dangerously carnal subtext rumbling just beneath the surface instantly flash-fried your higher cognitive processes into vapor.

You remained utterly petrified in place absorbing the infinitesimal sensations of his titanium frame pressing so tantalizingly close yet not fully against you while Ghost silently withdrew.

Leaving your entire body combusting from the inside out without another word spoken between you both...

[ilovetoxicfictionalmen]

EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY

Pairing - Jackson Rippner x fem!reader

Summary - You’re house sitting your friend’s whilst her family vacates. Her dog manages to get you into a dangerous situation.

Warnings - Noncon, dubcon, stalking, groping, humping, f! touching, animal abuse?

Word count - 2.2k

Notes - Jackson, oh Jackson. How your toxic soul has my weak heart. @paradiseprincesss hope you’re hungry !!

“Calm down Spike!” You exclaimed as you were yanked down the pavements with an overstimulated boxer charging on the other end of the leash.

What was meant to be a simple daily walk had turned into an endless brutal game of tug and war which you were pathetically losing. The rope around your wrist will leave a permanent mark if this animal doesn’t lead you to a fatal encounter by how dangerously you were crossing the roads. 

Firstly Spike’s eyes were set on a pigeon, then when the harmless bird flew off into the clouds, Spike’s mind and impulses were full steam ahead. How long had it been, a mere few minutes or almost a third of an hour? If you knew he’d be such a nuisance you would have convinced your father to walk him, or even stretched beforehand. 

They say your life flashes before your eyes before you die, and you believe it almost did. It all happened so quickly, you yanked back the leash with all of your strength which made Spike halt at the intersection of two suburbian streets as you fell onto your behind. The black Mercedes Benz slammed on the brakes, the tyres screeched as the bumper stopped shorter a footlong to your face. 

All sound was muffled to your eyes as all you could hear were your thoughts. The driver kept his hand on the horn, his jaw clenched as his blue eyes bore into your soul. Spike barked at him viciously, his paws locked into place as if he was prepared for battle. When you realized the man had no intention of releasing his heavy palm, your eyes darted around the empty streets and you hobbled up and had to beg Spike to calm down whilst tugging him away. Awkwardly you waved your hand in apologies as you tried to steer Spike back to his home. 

However, you quickly noticed that the same car rolled behind you, he was tailing you and it made your heart pound in your chest. Every time you looked back, his eyes were locked onto you, his brunette hair parted to either side of his forehead. Spike took no notice in this, his attention elsewhere now. 

When you ended up having to cut through a small field in between to homes to get to the opposing side of the suburb, you desperately tried to get Spike to run again to force you to run as fast as you could. But he strolled away gradually, breathing heavily with his mouth hung. 

Every few seconds, your head shot back to ease your anxieties of the Benz finding you again. For a moment, you feared you had lost your way. You were housesitting your best friend’s house whilst her family was vacating interstate. 

When you noticed the familiar double story home, you hurried inside, giving one last look before you shut the door. Spike plotted down the hall and you breathed out deeply, your back pressed against the wooden door. Just to ease your anxieties, you poked your head out of the window, confirming the empty road. 

As the sun slowly set, you sat in the guest bedroom, your coursebooks in hand as you had Mozart gently playing on your laptop. You breathed out, your pen tapped on the paper as you read through your essay draft. 

Spike started barking again and you grunted out as you slammed your laptop shut. This dog will be the death of you. As you jumped up from your seat, you headed towards the alfresco when your movements paused after you heard Spike cry out. 

Within a snap, his noises had silenced. It was too quickly to be considered normal and you felt your heart rate begin to pick up again as the fear washed over you. In nothing but your pajama shorts and tank, you slowly tiptoed towards the massive window sliding doors. The back light was turned off, which you remember keeping on. You could hardly see out there, as your finger rested on the switch you gulped as you flicked it on. 

Spike laid unconscious on the deck. A heavy gasp left your lips as you lunged towards the sliding door but you froze in your steps as you saw him in the corner of your eye. He sat at the outdoor dining table, a cigarette in between his lips. Quickly you recognised him, the driver from earlier today. He looked to be in the same suit as earlier today, he leant back in the chair as he casually waved towards you. 

Just when you were going to bolt for the home phone, he pulled out a clean knife from his jacket as if he already knew your next move. It almost sparkled and the stranger pointed it at Spike, a mere few meters away from him. Frozen in your feet, your body wobbling like jelly as you looked back at Spike. Your eyes searched for a pool of blood, a slight sensation of relief as you couldn’t spot it. 

When you dared to look at him again, he stood from the chair and inhaled deeply before flicking the dart towards Spike. The man approached the door and tapped on the glass with the tip of the blade. Naturally, you sobbed out as he tilted his head towards you. 

“I’m not going to hurt you” he assured, the blade vanishing back into his jacket as if to ease your distress. “Unless you don’t unlock the fucking door” he grinned to you, his hand propped against the glass over his head. 

Your eyes were darting from him to Spike like a table hockey puck in play. As you cried, you begged for Spike to get up and run away. But to your stress, he continued to lay still. 

“Come on baby doll, it’s cold out here” he said smugly as he rubbed his shoulders dramatically. 

As your hand rested on the lock you tried to make sense of the situation. Were you really going to let this dog be the death of you? Or was this frightening stranger true to his word about not hurting you. An unrealistic idea came to mind as you forced yourself to unlock the door. 

He wasted no time in pushing open the door and stepped inside. Typically you took three steps back. As he closed the door and locked it, he slowly looked back over to you. 

“You know, your parents should have taught you better about road safety” he grinned as he took a step towards you. 

In a flash, you bolted for the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife in the block. He laughed as he approached you and pulled his much smaller yet much sharper knife back out of his jacket. You pointed your knife at him sternly as he backed you into a corner. Whilst staring at you blankly, the blade spun and flipped in his hand elegantly. It made your hold shake, there’s no way you’d win this. 

“What do you want from me!” You mewled out as you found your body slowly slipping back against the cupboard doors. He didn’t answer you as he intimately stepped to you. “Please don’t hurt me!” You begged for mercy. 

The knife slipped from your hold and it clanked onto the floor. Quickly, your body curled up into a ball as you rocked yourself. You sobbed viciously as your heart pounded all the way up to your head. 

“Don’t give me a reason to baby doll” he cooed as he squatted in front of you after kicking the kitchen knife away. You buried your face into your forearm and his cold hand petted your soft hair. “Look at me” he ordered kindly. 

Fearfully you peaked back up to him. He held his hand out, his knife had vanished once more. You blinked as you stared at him up close. You didn’t realize how charming on the eye he was, it made you gulp harshly. “Please… My parents are going to be home any minute” you lied pathetically, sniffling heavily. 

“Baby doll” he tutted as he gently shook his head towards you. “This isn’t even your fucking house” he laughed, casually pointing his finger to one of your friend’s family portrait on the wall. “Now come on, no more tears… Only little girls cry, I want you to be a big girl for me tonight” he condescended as he gestured for you to grab ahold of his hand. 

“What do you want?” you asked weakly as you grabbed ahold of his hand. 

“To talk” he nodded as he lifted you up. He petted your hair to the side and smiled softly to you. “Well, for a little bit anyways” he added, a gentle shrug of the shoulders. 

Your eyebrows furrowed but you didn’t question him as he led you to the lounge room. Your gaze landed back on Spike, who was perfectly still just as before and you found yourself weeping again. He wrapped his arms around you from behind as he shushed into your ear. 

“Relax, relax, a simple sedative… I hope I got the dosage right, I usually sedate people, not dogs” he whispered into your ear, smirking to himself as you weakly resisted against him as you whimpered out. 

Your head shot down, the guilt of Spike being too much for your conscience. He guided you to the couch and pulled you onto his lap. Your body squirmed on top of his, but he kept you locked in. 

“What are you doing?” you whined. 

But he only hushed you and thrusted his hips up. Instantly, you felt his growing erection underneath you and you froze on him. 

“You gave me a massive fright today, you know that?” He sighed, his hands on your hips as he rotated them in a circular motion. 

Your body shivered as you felt your teeth chatter. “I’m sorry… I tried to control him” you explained through heavy breathing. 

“Yeah I know. A little too strong for you, aye?” He chuckled, his hands squeezing your hips harshly. You nodded your head quickly as you tried to focus your mind elsewhere, but it was pointless by the way he was rubbing his cock against your core. “But then, you know… You just looked so sweet and fragile that I just wanted to make sure you got home safe…” he admitted as one hand ran up your spine. 

“You took an interesting short cut. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to find you. But then, I saw you in the distance, running up the driveway” he laughed softly as he hand slid to your breasts.

You gasped out as both hands kneaded them before they slipped underneath your thin tank. His fingers rubbed circles over your nipples and your head fell back next to his and you tried to silence your clear as daylight arousal. 

“No bra? Naughty girl” he groaned by your ear, his tongue slithered around your earlobe. 

After a moment of groping you, his hands slipped down from your torso as you trembled on him, based on a horrific mixture of fear and desire.  

“I want to apologize” he suddenly professed. 

“What?” You panted. 

“For scaring you. I’ll admit, I lost my temper a little bit… You just scared me so bad, baby doll. How would I have felt if I didn’t brake in time?” He explained himself, his smooth jaw nuzzled against yours. 

But during this confession, his hand slipped into your shorts, right into your panties as he stroked your wet pussy. 

“I’m sorry for scaring you too!” You cried out, your heart thudding against your ribs as you found yourself rocking your hips. 

“No, no… You don’t have to tell me how sorry you are, you just have to show it” he moaned, a smug look on his face as a digit easily slipped inside of you. “We can do it wherever you want to, baby doll… Here, in the kitchen, we can get into my car if you really want and I can take you for a ride. It’s an expensive car” he grinned as he forcefully flexed his hips up making you cry out. “But if you want me to make it special for you, take me a bed, any bed. I’m not picky…” he exhaled as his free hand moved back up to your tits. 

“No, please!” You objected, logic dripping out of your aroused state. You were willingly grinding yourself on a stranger, an intruder, a man much older than you. You were in your senior year of high school for crying out loud. It forced you to try to free yourself from him. It only made him laugh and he wrapped his arm around your waist as he pressed his nose to the side of your heated face. 

“Baby doll… Look at yourself, you’re trying to fuck my hand right now” he pointed out. 

All you could do was sob out in humiliation as his fingers pumped inside of you. Your ass rubbed against his hard on whilst he kissed your bare neck. 

“My name is Jackson by the way” he introduced himself, a satisfied grin on his lips. You told him your name through a heavy gasp as his fingers went knuckle deep inside of you. “I already knew that” he whispered into your ear as he felt your walls clench tightly around his hand

Every dog has its day, but unfortunately for you, today was not that day.

[animusrox]

LETTERBOXD

1.   The Batman 2.   Everything Everywhere All at Once 3.   Prey 4.   Triangle of Sadness 5.   Barbarian 6.  The Northman 7.   Bodies Bodies Bodies 8.   The Banshees of Inisherin 9.   Bones and All 10.   Avatar: The Way of Water

Grade A

11.   Turning Red 12.   The Menu 13.   Babylon 14.   Hit the Road 15.   Cow 16.   Watcher 17.   Funny Pages 18.   Mad God 19.   On the Count of Three 20.   Armageddon Time 21.   Terrifier 2 22.   Marcel the Shell with Shoes On 23.   Smile 24.   Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery 25.   Holy Spider 26.   Aftersun 27.   The Fabelmans 28.   Breaking 29.   Decision to Leave 30.   The Whale 31.   All Quiet on the Western Front 32.   Brian and Charles 33.   Piggy 34.   Saint Omer 35.   Thirteen Lives 36.   Men 37.   The Fallout 38.   Resurrection 39.   Causeway 40.  The Black Phone 41.   Official Competition 42.   Nope 43.  Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio 44.   Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood 45.   Till 46.   TÁR 47.   Happening 48.   A Love Song 49.   The Outfit 50.   The Innocents 51.   Jackass Forever 52.   BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths 53.   Montana Story 54.   Three Thousand Years of Longing 55.   You Won’t Be Alone 56.   The Sadness 57.   Halloween Ends 58.   Pearl 59.   X 60.   Vesper

Click "Keep Reading” For My Full List

Grade B

61.   This Place Rules 62.   Fresh 63.   Windfall 64.   Kimi 65.   No Exit 66.   Top Gun: Maverick 67.   “Sr.” 68.   Farha 69.   The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent 70.   Weird: The Al Yankovic Story 71.   Nitram 72.   Speak No Evil 73.   Run Sweetheart Run 74.   She Said 75.   White Noise 76.   Puss in Boots: The Last Wish 77.   V/H/S/99 78.   The Wonder 79.   Women Talking 80.   Hatching 81.   Soft & Quiet 82.   Scream 83.   To Leslie 84.   Hustle 85.   Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers 86.   Dual 87.   God’s Country 88.   Emancipation 89.   Vengeance 90.   Fire of Love 91.   Bullet Train 92.   Incantation 93.   The Valet 94.   Hellraiser 95.   Christmas Bloody Christmas 96.   Significant Other 97.   Cha Cha Real Smooth 98.   Lucy and Desi 99.   Not Okay 100.   A Christmas Story Christmas 101.   Blonde 102.   Deadstream 103.   Sissy

Grade C

104.   The Bad Guys 105.   The Cursed 106.   Empire of Light 107.   A Man Called Otto 108.   Broker 109.   Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 110.   The Princess 111.   Beast 112.   After Yang 113.   RRR 114.   Fall 115.   Jackass 4.5 116.   Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe 117.   Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 118.   Jennifer Lopez: Halftime 119.   Lightyear 120.   The Pale Blue Eye 121.   The Woman King 122.   Violent Night 123.   God’s Creatures 124.   Ambulance 125.   Elvis 126.   You Are Not My Mother 127.   Emily the Criminal 128.   Crimes of the Future 129.   The Apology 130.   The Lost City 131.   Wendell & Wild 132.   Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99 133.   The Found Footage Phenomenon 134.   See How They Run 135.   Spiderhead 136.   Studio 666 137.   Bros 138.   Spin Me Round 139.   We’re All Going to the World’s Fair 140.   Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank 141.   Honor Society

Grade D

142.   Thor: Love and Thunder 143.   Summering 144.   Strange World 145.   Glorious 146.   The Gray Man 147.   Devotion 148.   Clerks III 149.   The Forgiven 150.   Enola Holmes 2 151.   Father Stu 152.   Jurassic World Dominion 153.   DC League of Super-Pets 154.   She Will 155.   The Bob’s Burgers Movie 156.   Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody 157.   Hellbender 158.   Samaritan 159.   Day Shift 160.   Sonic the Hedgehog 2 161.   Prey for the Devil 162.   Troll 163.   Uncharted 164.  Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile 165.   Dashcam 166.   Firestarter 167.   Do Revenge 168.   Catwoman: Hunted 169.   The Munsters 170.   Amsterdam 171.   Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Grade F

172.   Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris 173.   The Bubble 174.   Dead for a Dollar 175.   Jerry & Marge Go Large 176.   Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. 177.   Infinite Storm 178.   Marry Me 179.   Don’t Worry Darling 180.   Spirited 181.   Disney's Pinocchio 182.   Alice 183.   Black Adam 184.   Orphan: First Kill 185.   The Adam Project 186.   The Invitation 187.   Texas Chainsaw Massacre 188.   Ticket to Paradise 189.   The 355 190.   Umma

Bottom 10

191.   Green Lantern: Beware My Power 192.   Deep Water 193.   Where the Crawdads Sing 194.   Blacklight 195.   Mack & Rita 196.   Memory 197.   Me Time 198.   Death on the Nile 199.   Morbius 200.   Moonfall

[emmyrosee]

You thought he was kidding. Honestly!

Kiyoomi was known for his stubbornness and long fits of pouting holding strong on a point he’d made, but the situation ended hours ago, you thought you’d apologized enough, why was he still being so cruel.

“Kiyoomi, you can’t be serious-“

“I want you to stay on your side of the bed.”

“I can’t sleep without you holding me!”

“You bit me six times today, fuck off!”

Okay. In his defense, Kiyoomi did warn you. He knew you liked to… well… bite, it was something you did to convey your cute aggression (you bit him in place of dogs and babies because you can’t bite them, and that’s the only reason he made this conclusion.)

But in your defense, he’s just so pretty! He’s so handsome while doing the most mundane things, like folding the laundry or flicking through channels on the tv, which were each times you got him today; but it seemed like the final straw was in the shower.

“You came in, asked me for a fucking hug while I was showering, I let you get undressed and come into my. shower. And you bit me in the ribs!” He lifts up his shirt to reveal the left side of his ribs, which look so pretty butterflied out as he stretches, the bite mark settling pink on his smooth, pale skin- “you’re literally going to do it again! I see that feral look in your eye!”

You pout and paw at him as he pulls his shirt down, “I won’t do it again tonight!”

“‘Tonight’,” he scoffs.

“You’re just so yummy, so handsome so perfect so pretty-“

“I’m not Atsumu, you can’t sway me with cute words.”

“Pleaaaaase!” You whine, ignoring his wishes and crawling on top of him. He’s groaning in annoyed agony, but not making any moves to actually still your body. “Let me cuddle you.”

“I don’t want you to cuddle me,” he grumbles, grabbing a pillow to shove between your face and his. You gently nudge it away with your nose, and he groans in defeat. Despite his facade, his arm is keeping you tight to him, still just as comforting and protective as he always could do.

He sighs, “if I feel one fucking gnasher on me, I swear to god.”

“No biting,” you agree, burying your face into his neck. It doesn’t take long, however, for you to start mouthing at his neck, and he groans out in faux agony and lets his arms drop from holding you.

“I’m gonna cry,” he whines around some soft snickers, one of his massive hands coming up to scrub his face. You laugh too, trying your best to nudge him to have his arms around you. “I’m so annoyed at you right now, I just want to sleep. Go away you freak.”

Snorting, you plant a few kisses of truce on his chin and jawline, “you’re literally so dramatic, shut up. You love me and you know it.” Just as a reminder of that, you softly bite at his jawline, relishing in the way he grumbles out but doesn’t make a move to shove you away.

Kiyoomi sighs as he finally lowers his hand, the glare he sends you is weak and shrouded in amusement. “I do,” he mumbles, one of his hands moving to settle on your lower back, his thumb stroking the dimples softly. “And I’ve never forgiven myself for that.”

[lisenberry]

Ngl I feel like price has a size kink… he loves how big his hands look splayed across your waist. His hand completely encompassing the nape of your neck!!!! Don’t get me started on how tight you feel around his thick fingers….

I apologize. That sound you heard was my brain screeching to a halt and coherent thought leaving me for a few days as I pictured John's hand on your hip. 

Nsfw. Smutty smut smut. Bossy, handsy Price.

His fingers gripped you dead center, just above your pubic bone.  His thumb circled around to graze the opposite polarity.  Massaging deep circles where your ass met your spine.

You'd never thought of yourself as small.  No one ever called you 'little' or commented that you would fit so nicely over their knee.  Not until him.

Not until you watched from the mirror above the cold, stainless steel sink as his other massive paw circled your neck.  He made you feel like a doll.  A toy.  A mouse trapped in the jaws of a great beast.

"Just for me, aren't you?"  He raked teeth and stubble along your cheek.  "I need one more."

"No, I c--can't.  Not again."

You were boneless now, even more pliable under his strength.  The hand at your neck trailed lower, and your head rolled back against his shoulder without its support.

"Can't?  Of course, you can.  I've got you."

It didn't stop, only paused to cup your breast.  There was a primal hitch in his breath as he admired the way he could cover it all.  A stiff, darkened peak notched between his knuckles as he gave it a squeeze.

So small and yet he looked at it like it gave him purpose.

He was big enough to swallow the moon.  Eclipse the sun.  Envelope you into darkness.  Nothing but the stars bursting behind your eyelids as his palm slunk lower.

As stealthily as an avalanche of rocks and sand.  Abrading and disrupting everything in its path until it settled down to the core of you.

"Please."  You whispered, whimpered, on some foreign tongue that felt too big, to thick, to be yours. 

It's because he was in your mouth.  Lips against yours.  Skin on your skin.  Body against yours from behind.

You felt the root of him buldge on the other side of layers of fabric.  Yours and his.  You weren't even naked.  Military issued canvas and cotton stood between you.

But he still had his hands.  His fingers.  His tongue.

The grip you had on the sink felt strong enough to leave marks.  Dents.  Tiny little divots like prints in the snow.

"Open up, darling.  If you ever hope to fit the real thing, you still need some practice."

He found you wet, a small accommodation as you muttered a silent thanks to your nature.  Your heart desired him, and your body did its best to oblige.

"I want it.  Let me feel it." 

"Next time, love.  Show me how good you can be."

His long, thick fingers disappeared three at a time, to the gnarled and swollen knuckles before your hazy eyes in the mirror. 

The cry that slipped from your lips would wake up the others if you weren't careful.  The reverant moan from his could conjure magic.  Gods and monsters.  Things best let lie dormant.

He liked it like this.  Where you both could see in the stark, fluorescent reflection.  The dark hair of his hand reemerging from your depths silky and dripping with slick.

It was the barrier that left you both satisfied as he circled those same fingers and curled them inside, tormenting your most vulnerable weakness.  The heart of you.

He felt on top of the world.  And you were his puppet on a string.  Brought to life.

[thewhalesheart]

ch 02 : p 04

the elders' den

i had SO MUCH FUN decorating this den that i spent 10 hours and 40 minutes doing it. oh my god. there are so many tiny details <3

the elders' den is full of little knick-knacks and trinkets that the elders have gathered over the years... animal bones, pretty rocks, shark teeth, shells- nothing is safe from being hoarded in the elders' den! not even plastic cups!!

also, salttuft! he won't have any speaking roles for a while, but he's there! i thought it'd be the perfect time to put some of his equipment on display.

around his body are two straps, each equipped with hooks, which are attachment points for his pack. since his equipment is heavier than say, a healers', AND he has to go from den-to-den often, having a sturdy pack is important! the pack has a draw-string instead of buttons.

inside his pack we can see two pieces of tinder fungus. this is what the soot-pelts use as their fire start!

on the ground beside him are another piece of tinder fungus, as well as a piece of flint.

and of course, the glove! the soot-pelts' glove has two uses: protecting the paw (of course) AND starting the fire. around the palm of it, there is a C-shaped piece of steel, which the soot-pelt can easily use to strike the flint. below the steel is a metal piece that acts as a "thumb". this way, they can grasp wood between their toes and the faux-thumb! this makes it easier for them to move wood around.

two more introduced characters: puffindive and stormtail!

puffindive is the mother of orcastar, the mate of salttuft (they love each other SO MUCH), and the grandmother of otterfern, sealnose, and coastfur!

stormtail is an ex-kittypet, he's based off of @iwannaholdyoulikeyouremine 's deceased cat, Cooper!

apologies for the MASSIVE caption this page- i'm just so excited about it!!!!! if you read this far, hi! i hope you enjoyed my kitty lore <3

previous / next / first

[bonebabbles]

Snake Gets Done Dirtier

In The Blazing Star, Book 4 of DOTC, Snake turned against Clear Sky because he allowed One Eye into the camp against all warnings.

Clear Sky came to take his power and authority back after he massively fucked up, and Snake didn't want this. He didn't accept a bullshit apology, and attacked him.

Here is the passage again;

He turned against him because CLEAR SKY allowed a cat into the Clan that CARVED A TATTOO INTO SNAKE'S FLESH.

NOTHING, NOTHING about this interaction implies that Snake was upset that One Eye got killed. He was NOT loyal to One Eye. He did not WANT the mark. He's angry that Clear Sky "LET THIS HAPPEN" because he got a permanent brand cut into his paw.

Snake is the ONLY character who didn't accept Clear Sky's return. When he hears "We're all family here :) I risked my life to get my dictatorship back which is totally atonement :)" Snake calls it for the bullshit that it is, gets dog-piled by his sycophants, and leaves after refusing Clear Sky's "MY way or the HIGHWAY" ultimatum.

This is incredibly meaningful for the character of Snake, actually, because he was an extremely loyal minion for Clear Sky.

Described as "ugly" and "stinky" for the first books of his appearance sell him as one of the most eager, violent cats in Proto-SkyClan (interesting that the erins immediately attack appearance and hygiene to show a character is 'savage'), Snake eventually carries out Clear Sky's orders to murder cats indiscriminately at The First Battle. Everything he does for his leader is done without question. So, standing up against Clear Sky here is a REAL rejection of what Snake used to be.

Snake's RIGHT. Clear Sky DID let this happen! He's WHY this entire Clan suffered under a bigger, badder tyrant. Clear Sky ignored all the warnings he was given, and even got SO offended to hear them that he threw a fit and called his disabled brother (no, the OTHER disabled brother) a broken cat!

But the writers can't let anyone have a point that Clear Sky is a horrible leader who shouldn't be trusted with a goldfish, let alone an entire Clan. So it's time to throw that out the window and say that, ackshually, Snake was loyal to One Eye the whole time and that's why he didn't immediately bow down to Clear Sky.

In Book 6, Snake is a different character.

He's just evil now, serving the most evilestist character they can imagine.

Snake stood up against Clear Sky because of his BAD JUDGEMENT. He did not like One Eye. Snake was done with tyranny, and that IS a redemption moment. The start of a REAL redemption arc. Not whatever bullshit the Erins think a "redemption" arc is, where consequences are so mean because guilt is enough :(

Nope! Retcon two books later. Either intentional malice because they can't have a reasonable character STAY MAD at Clear Sky, or such utter incompetence that they can't keep the motivations of their characters consistent within their own arc.

[corazondebeskar-reads]

too much

dark!Joel Miller x gn!reader

I know, I know, I already posted a fic today, but I couldn't fight off the ideas bouncing around my head after @ozarkthedog's post about Joel choking you. This is one of two ficlets inspired by Ozzie's post (they're both dark, but this one is darker). The other one, "not enough," is also gn!reader and enthusiastic consent but still dark, but it'll be up to you if it's the same couple. It's just a different take.

words: 431

summary: You don't know when to shut up.

warnings: dark, choking, violent choking (not RACK for sure), smothering with hand, open ending, dub-con, could be considered non-con, mean!joel, dark!joel, implied sexual relationship but no actual sex (ik, sorry, next one has some), no y/n, not proofread, reader is smaller than joel but who isn't amiright

dividers by @saradika-graphics

You hadn’t meant to say it, but you did. Hadn’t meant to provoke him, not while his eyes were hollow and the air parted around him, every nerve in your body alight. But you had kicked down the literal and metaphorical caution tape, and now? Well, now you were going to pay for it. 

There’s really only one of two ways this can go for you.

He’d thrown you against the wall and growled, “what did you fucking say to me?” but you know he didn’t want an answer.

You know that because he’s making sure you can’t. Your feet are on the ground still, just by the toes of your bulky oversized boots, the ones whose incessant clomp clomp clomp drive him up the wall anyway. But he’s got both massive, meaty paws on you now, the first and most pressing of which is around your throat. 

It’s not the good kind of choking where he presses on the throbbing veins that curl up the side of your neck. It’s the scary kind, the kind where he’s pushing the heel of his palm against the hollow of your throat, and little grunts are being squeezed out of your swollen lips.

That was too much noise for him, though, so the other hand envelopes your mouth first. It makes you squirm and thrash, hands wrapped around his wrists to try to pry him away. Light is returning to his eyes, but oh, you wish it wasn’t, as he adjusts his bruising grip on your jaw to clamp over your nose as well.

Your eyes are wide, and your face is burning, failed little gasps barely brushing against his palm. He smirks when you try to bite. 

“You ready to fuckin’ apologize?”  

But you can’t answer, left only to plead with teary eyes.

“You gonna listen to me?” 

It’s too much. You can’t really hear him well now, not over the rush and throb of blood trying desperately to reach your brain. He’s fuzzy or blurry or fading away, maybe all of the above; you don’t know; you can’t think. 

He eases up just a little, shifts his hands to pinch at the sides, and lets your windpipe free. The hand on your jaw offers a brief reprieve to let you gasp and choke on an answer.

“Yes, m’sorry,” you manage to cry. 

He returns his hand to your face and presses you against the wall with his towering body, letting you feel the rigid line of his cock against your hip. 

“Prove it,” he says, and lets go, letting you crumble.

[bonefall]

ITS SNAKE O' CLOCK!!! yay yippee wahoo! have you decided what you're doing with him or are you just thinking abt him :O?

Rotating him in my mind for my own sanity because I got to the part in Path of Stars where they've just. Completely retconned everything about him for the sake of forcefully making everyone of value forgive Clear Sky. The only person who stays mad at Clear Sky forever actually just liked One Eye better

Even though we saw him, on screen, looking at the camera and being like, "I Do Not Like Clear Sky Because His Bad Judgement Caused Us To Be Permanently Branded By A Tyrant Like We Were A Herd Of Texas Steers."

They did him SO dirty, man!! SO SO dirty!!!!!

On that note though, I HAVE decided on a few things!

So, on the note of defectors, Snake is going to be one of the very last ones. While I absolutely adore him, I think it's very important and meaningful that he is one of his most loyal cats.

Snake is a Mountain cat, and it's looking like he is going to be part of the Claw Family.

The Claw Family consists of Fox Claw and Petal Claw to begin with. I have an inkling of an idea that Petal Claw actually leaves while pregnant-- possibly escaping someone unsavory back at home.

I feel like she doesn't really enjoy romance. She's ambitious and ferocious, and whoever her lover was, was quite controlling.

Unfortunately it's a big reason why she's so committed to Clear Sky. She has that sort of unaddressed mindset that abuse often leaves you with.

"No, I know what an awful person is because of what I went through, and I'm telling you, Clear Sky is not that. YOU'Re actually the problem."

And, in turn, Clear Sky rewards her a lot. She is one of his favorite cats, she gets a TON of benefits for her loyalty. Tyrannical, terrible two of them.

Besties (threat)

Snake Claw and Red Claw would have been the first births in the forest, but Bright Storm gave birth early because of the stress and thus Thunder Storm came first.

So Snake and Red were brought up by Petal Claw and Fox Claw, in early Sky's Clan.

Fox and Petal were ADAMANTLY loyal to Clear Sky. They remained behind in the Shadow/Sky split, hissing and spitting at those who chose to follow Tall Shadow.

I feel like Fox was actually their primary parent. They call him Uncle, but he acted a lot more like a dad. It gave Petal more time to go do bad bitch things.

When Clear Sky murders Misty, much much later, Petal is given the kittens as a reward for her loyalty. Having more kits is a point of status, and she's very happy to accept the reward.

So, the Claw family becomes "huge" in a short period of time on this evil action. Petal Claw, Fox Claw, Snake Claw, Red Claw, Alder Claw, Birch Claw.

For Snake, he's raised accepting all this as good and normal. At some point, Fox Claw is killed in some kind of frighteningly violent, unnecessary, bloodthirsty skirmish that Clear Sky aggrieves, and Snake Claw doubles down right along with Petal.

He also does a lot of the WORST things on behalf of Clear Sky. He IS going to have a body count-- though he will no longer be killing BB!Frost (now Sunlit Frost), he does bite him on the good paw during The First Battle.

This bite goes septic, after Sunlit REFUSES to sit out gravedigging, helping to bury his friends and family with an open wound. He already has nerve damage in the other arm from his severe burn.

This choice, because he wouldn't take a break when he was told to, ends up MASSIVELY disabling him. Once a master builder and inventor, he loses his dominant paw and has chronic pain in the other one. He can't build anymore after this.

After Snake Claw defects, I actually really want them to struggle with this. Snake doesn't feel like it's fair to blame him for what Sunlit did to himself, but he's also NEW to Thunder's Clan later, and there's not a lot of people on his side.

And Sunlit is a person who holds grudges... but it's also true that it's kinda not fair, since Snake Claw is trying to apologize for it.

Somehow it's unsatisfying and frustrating, knowing that Snake Claw is only apologizing because everyone wants him to. But how can you expect him to be sincere about something the BOTH of you feel is not entirely his fault?

It's like Sunlit wanted to have him to blame, but that's hard when he's not Clear Sky's Minion anymore.

In the past, I'd gone back and forth on if Red Claw or Snake Claw defected, and now I'm realizing.... por que no los dos? Por que no los TRES?

Since I've committed to adding a third group and expanding on the Forest cats, this is going to mean that Snake's younger "adopted" siblings NEED to have full arcs with this.

While one of them will remain with Clear Sky, becoming a cultural "justification" for the practice of Kitten Stealing, which will plague Clan culture for generations, I think something is fascinating in the idea that they're the ONLY Claw to remain with SkyClan.

Petal Claw and Fox Claw die in battle, "honored" for their sacrifice.

Red Claw defects for ThunderClan first, after falling for the charms of Acorn Swoop

Alder Claw likely follows later... reconnecting with Misty's mate, Milkweed, who has been fighting for MOONS for this very moment

And, lastly, Snake will follow.

(It is also bitterly funny to me that it means Milkweed loses Misty, but then ends up gaining all of Petal's biokids. Never speak to me or my daughter or my son or my son or my daughter or my daughter or my daughter-in-law ever again)

Because Snake Claw will be the very last of the Claw family to defect, I'm thinking it's after the end of BB!DOTC, and over in Thunderstar's Justice.

KEEP the fact that Snake Claw leaves because of Skystar bringing One Eye into the Clan. Even keep the fact that most of SkyClan is loyal to their tyrant-- Snake Claw has woken up to the truth, and realizes he has family elsewhere who loves and misses him.

Well.... hopefully they still do. After everything.

Snake Claw should have a ton of fights with Red Claw and Alder Claw, I think, before the First Battle. Have them all be covered in scars

Because the whole family defects, it's easy for it to become a sensational story about Nepotism/Scabforming. Other Clans probably don't hold Snake, Red, and Alder in high esteem in their myths-- but until Darkstar's Commandment which bans Kitten Stealing, Birch Claw was easily the most venerated.

Aaaand that's it so far! I know for a fact now that Snake Claw is going to be a member of the Claw family, and that he is going to be a MAJOR antagonist through BB!DOTC. In Thunderstar's Justice, he's going to join his living family after finally being able to realize that Skystar is not worth following.

I want to keep that he is a villain for most of the story, because that's what I like best about the way he turns on Clear Sky from canon. He was everything Skystar ever wanted, he did every awful command, the blood is already dried under his claws forever and he was rewarded only with a permanent scarring.

Then, told it's "MY way or the HIGH way," he chooses the high way.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

okay, this is a halfway to 7k unedited fantasy au snippet! Out Of Context as usual!

some warnings for this one: blood, gore, major character injury, graphic description of injury <3 i had fun w/ it not sorry <3

~

The front door slams open, stalling all conversation inside. A flash of lightning illuminates the two forms huddled in the doorway, one considerably larger than the other.

Barnaby staggers a half-step inside, dripping water all over the floor. That alone has Howdy putting down the glass and moving across the bar to better assess the situation. Eddie is struggling to support Barnaby’s listing weight, and both of them are clutching at Barnaby’s belly. They’re both soaked through.

Someone gasps, and the folks seated nearest to the door stand and back away, muttering in alarm. Howdy’s stomach plummets. Some of the water puddling on the floor is too dark to be just that. Barnaby’s front, under where his massive paw is clutched, is drenched dark as well. 

Eddie catches his eye - he looks wild with fear. 

“Out!” Howdy thunders. “Everyone out! I don’t care about your tabs or if you’re not done - if you have a room, go there, if you don’t, scram!”

Some people cast him and Eddie dirty looks, but they start to get up, grumbling all the while. Howdy couldn’t care less. Not when Barnaby is leaning so heavily on Eddie, his breathing so labored that Howdy can hear it amidst the shuffle and scrape of patrons leaving.

“What happened?” Julie yells, running across the room from the neighborhood booth. 

“Make sure everyone gets out,” Howdy says, redirecting her. Julie doesn’t look happy about it, but she complies. The patrons start to clear out faster with her aggressive ‘assistance’. Howdy throws his drying towel off to the side and nearly vaults over the bar to help support Barnaby. He reaches to sling Barnaby’s other arm over his shoulders-

“Don’t!” Eddie cries. He doesn’t let go from the wound, and Barnaby cringes away from Howdy with a breathy echo - “Don’t.”

“Why not?” Howdy says, panic rising in his throat. He looks closer at the wound Barnaby and Eddie are holding - this time he has to swallow down bile. Glistening, blood-slicked pink pulses under their hands. Barnaby whines softly. He’s terribly pale under his fur.

“Everyone’s gone!” Julie announces. 

Howdy snaps out of his horrified trance. He points at the bar. “Clear a spot on the floor for him on the floor, make sure we have room to work.”

Julie makes a frustrated noise but complies once again. Howdy slips around to Eddie’s side and trades places with him, but Eddie doesn’t let go of the wound. The sudden weight makes Howdy stumble, but he quickly widens his stance and starts shuffling them to the area Julie is clearing. They help Barnaby lower to the ground, and every pained whine and gasp is like an arrow to the heart. Eddie whispers apologies all the way down. Barnaby’s free paw leaves scratches in the bar’s cherry wood.

“Ed, I need you to get my supplies from my room,” Howdy says, rolling up his sleeves with quick, expert flicks.

Eddie looks at him like he’s crazy. “I can’t let go!” 

“I’m here to take your place - four arms are better than two, now get!” 

Eddie still hesitates, but slips away once Howdy puts all four of his hands where Eddie’s measly two were. It’s hot, and wet, and - and -

It becomes immediately clear that this is a wound they can’t fix, not without an extraordinarily talented healer. 

“Julie,” Howdy chokes out, “get Poppy.”

“Okay,” Julie says faintly, right behind him. She slowly backs away, and all at once sprints for the front door. A burst of fresh, rain-filled air blows inside before the door closes again. The cold shock makes Barnaby flinch and gasp. 

“Hold on, Barn.” Howdy forces himself to look at Barnaby’s face instead of the pulsing guts bulging from the gash someone sliced across his belly. The soaked fur under and around it looks purple. “Help will be here in a jiff, so don’t you go falling asleep on me.”

“Tryin’,” Barnaby wheezes, and his voice has never sounded so much like music, “tryin’ not to. It’s - stars, it hurts, Howdy-”

“I know, but you gotta hang in there, pal. Poppy will fix you right up.”

“I…” Barnaby makes a wretched noise that sounds like a sob, “I don’t wanna die.” He whines, a leg weakly kicking out as his guts twitch. “M’ not ready, Howds, m’ not…”

“You’re not going to die,” Howdy insists even as Barnaby’s blood soaks his hands and sleeves. 

He doesn’t want Barnaby to die, either, but who knows where Poppy is - there’s no guarantee that she’s home, and even if she is, her abode is clear across town. Julie is a fast runner, but in this weather… with such a distance…

Barnaby is going to die. 

Howdy will do his damned best to keep that from happening. 

Clattering precedes Eddie sprinting around the corner. He checks the bar hard, but doesn’t fall or flinch. He takes the hit and slides to his knees by Barnaby’s side and opens the pack. Howdy almost reaches out to rummage through it himself, but Barnaby’s paw starts to slip from the wound. 

“No no, none of that.” Howdy nudges it back into place with his knee and tries to jostle Barnaby with the same motion. “Eyes open and paw up, Barn.”

“Tryin’,” Barnaby whispers. His eyelids flutter in a vain attempt to stay open. His breathing rattles.

Howdy doesn’t need to tell Eddie what to look for, and thank the heavens for that, because Howdy doesn’t think he can look away from Barnaby’s pained features, much less form words that aren’t incoherent prayers to any god that will listen. Barnaby’s paw slips, and Howdy has to lunge to keep his insides from becoming his outsides. Just his hands aren’t enough - he needs to use his forearms. There’s so much of it. 

Eddie scoots forward and holds up a potion, and Howdy nearly howls in anguish. “Not that one! The healing potions - the red ones!”

“I know that!” Eddie snaps just as viciously, which is enough of a shock that Barnaby gains a moment of startled clarity. Eddie uses it to coax him to drink the golden energy potion. “I have some healin’ powers of my own - I can buy him more time than your bruise busters, and you’re fresh out of those, anyway!”

Out?

Howdy stares at his pack in horror. That’s right. He hasn’t restocked - oh, he’s a fool! He allowed himself to grow complacent and reliant on Eddie and Poppy’s healing. He has no time to thoroughly curse his inaction, as Barnaby’s paw comes back up to the wound, and his back arches as he wails his agony. The potion kicked in. Eddie quickly shoves his paw away again and holds his hands to the corner of the gash, his palms glowing orange.

“Oh, oh no,” Barnaby sobs, his boots and claws scraping wood, “Ed, stop-!”

“I’m sorry,” is all Eddie says. He shoves Barnaby’s paw aside when he tries to pry Eddie away. Barnaby grabs for the nearest thing with his other paw, which happens to be Howdy’s thigh. Howdy bites back a pained hiss at the feeling of claws digging sharp through his pants. The cold water saturating Barnaby’s paw soaks the fabric in seconds, creating a contrast to the pinpricks of hot welling up under the claws.

Howdy eyes the healing glow and the strain on Eddie’s face. It won’t be enough - Howdy doubts it will give Barnaby any time at all. The thin corner of the gash slowly knits together, but the rest of it is too wide, too deep. The only reason Eddie can heal any of it at all is due to how clean the slice is. The blade that created this wound must have been freshly sharpened, or enchanted. Howdy can tell at a glance that it cut through Barnaby like a knife through marmalade. 

Eddie heals the other tapered end. He and Howdy exchange a glance - Howdy sees it in his eyes that the healing is just a platitude. Blood continues to soak Barnaby’s pants, Howdy’s, their hands, Howdy’s clothes, the floor. 

Abruptly, Howdy is keenly aware of how quiet the tavern is. Rain drums on the roof and thunder rolls outside. The fireplace crackles. How long will it take to scrub the blood out of the wood flooring? How long will Howdy spend staring at the scratches etched into the bar?  

“How- Howdy,” Barnaby says. He isn’t gripping Howdy’s leg as hard anymore, but he gives it a weak squeeze. “Gotta tell ya - hng - somethin’. Shoulda… told ya sooner, but-”

“Save it for later,” Howdy says quickly. “You can gab all you want when you’re better.”

There likely won’t be a later, or better, and that’s half the problem. Call Howdy selfish, but he won’t let Barnaby make this hurt more than it already does. More than it will. He would rather live with a might’a than a could’a.

Barnaby knows it, because his eyes mist up and he nods weakly. “Yeah. When I’m… when I’m better. Can I ask a fa-favor?”

“Anythin’,” Eddie murmurs. Howdy had forgotten he’s there.

“Find Wally for me?”

Eddie lays a bloody hand on Barnaby’s arm, steely determination flashing in his eyes. “We will. I swear it on my patron’s light.”

“That’s a…” Barnaby pauses to grimace and swallow thickly, “a big promise, Ed.”

“I’ll make sure he keeps it,” Howdy says.

“M’ sure you will. But, but… if Wally really is gone… hey, I’ll say hi to ‘em for ya.” Barnaby manages a shaky half-smile. “At least that’d be one - one good thing ta’ come outta this, huh?”

Howdy’s composure cracks. He chokes down sobs as he slumps over Barnaby, uncaring of the awkward position or the insides sandwiched against his front, drenching his apron and shirt with blood. He hides his tears in Barnaby’s cold, waterlogged ear. Barnaby uses what little strength he has left to turn his head, weakly nuzzling the side of Howdy’s face. His breath is warm. Weak, but warm.

Distantly, Howdy hears Eddie curse and ask “Where are they?” The clink of his armor fades, and the door opens just enough to let in the scent of rain. Howdy hears more than feels Barnaby breathe it in. As close as they are, Howdy can hear the wet rattle in Barnaby’s chest.

Should Howdy do something to make him more comfortable? Would Barnaby’s herbs ease his pain? Even if it would, if anything would, Howdy can’t let go. That would hurt him more, and Howdy refuses to give up that tiny sliver of hope that something can be done. 

The door slams open to let in a thunder of footsteps. Howdy snaps upright, and he’s certain that if he didn’t have a job to do, he’d collapse. 

“Oh dear, oh-” Poppy squawks loud enough to make everyone cringe, her feathers fluffing up. “My feathers, that’s! Oh! That is much worse than what you told me!”

“One can hardly fault her,” Sally says before Julie can respond. She kneels by Howdy with Poppy right behind her. “Are you with us, Barnaby?”

No response. 

Howdy goes cold. “Barn?”

Sally briskly taps Barnaby’s cheek until he twitches, his eyelids barely lifting before falling shut once more. “Still with us!”

If Howdy wasn’t already crying, he’d start now.

“Can you fix it?” Eddie asks from off to the side.

Julie paces anxiously. “Of course she can! Poppy’s the best healer for miles, there’s nothing she can’t do. Right, Poppy? He’ll be up and joking in no time!”

“I.” Poppy’s feathers shake as she dances them over the open wound. “I will most certainly try, but I can’t do it on my own. It’s too severe for my magic to do much of anything. Sally, dear-”

“No,” Sally says immediately, her glow dimming. “You cannot be serious, I won’t - I simply will not-”

“You must. We all need to work together - Howdy and Eddie need to hold the wound shut. It won’t just be you.”

“We need to what now?” Eddie says, even as he settles on Howdy’s other side. “What’s going on?”

Howdy feels sick. “You and I have to make sure his insides stay inside, while Sally will-”

“Sally won’t,” Sally says. “As much of a nuisance as he likes to make himself, Barnaby is my friend! I could never-”

“Then you’re alright with losing him!”” Howdy snarls. “Perhaps you’d like to trade places with me and feel him die under your hands instead!”

Sally gapes at him, stricken. Her mouth flaps for a moment before she shuts it firmly and turns to the wound, lifting her hands. 

“What does she have to do?” Julie asks.

Everyone ignores her - not out of unkindness. Poppy nods to Eddie and Howdy. Eddie places his hands in the spaces where Howdy can’t completely reach. They exchange a glance and push.

There was a time when Howdy received an overpacked shipment of linked sausages. He had no room to store it yet, but the sack it arrived in tore. Shoving them back in - even with all four of his hands - was nigh impossible. It was impressive how the sausages had managed to fit at all, because the sack was certainly too small. 

Shoving Barnaby’s guts back into his stomach is a lot like that.

Barnaby cringes and moans in his nearly-unconscious state, feebly trying to get away from what is certainly agonizing pain. His brow bunches up, and he whines high in his throat. 

Howdy can’t spare a thought to it. Blood and organs squelch as Howdy and Eddie rush to cram it all inside - there’s no time for caution. As soon as the last slip of pink is inside - it’s so, so dark and red past the blue - they squeeze the wound shut to the best of their abilities. Barnaby sobs quietly.

“Now,” Poppy says, and Sally’s palms burn hot enough to make Howdy’s skin itch.

She holds her hands to the sealed gash, and Barnaby starts wailing. Too weak to thrash, he just writhes softly and keens, tears freely spilling down his face and carving dark tracks in his drying fur. His paw twitches around Howdy’s leg, claws digging in again like he wants to grab or yank or something.

“Almost there, Barn,” Howdy lies. Part of him wishes Barnaby would fall fully into unconsciousness. It would be dangerous, but at least he wouldn’t feel this. 

The acrid stench of burning fur and flesh fills Howdy’s nose. Sally and Eddie both gag. Heels rapidly click across the tavern as Julie sprints to the nearest waste bin, and she retches loudly into it. Howdy barely registers it - he’s barely breathing, himself. 

“Well done, all of you,” Poppy murmurs as Sally cauterizes. She holds her wingtips to the cooked flesh of the wound as Sally continues, and they glow coal red. The wound glows with it, the angry blistered flesh smooths and pales, and blue fur starts to grow back before their eyes. 

Barnaby’s paw falls from Howdy’s leg as he starts to slump, cries petering off into agonized whines. Poppy doesn’t seem alarmed, and Howdy just wants his pain to stop, so no one moves to keep him awake.

Soon, Sally has to shuffle in front of Howdy and Eddie to continue. They’re loath to move, so she awkwardly lies across their laps and reaches. As soon as she burns her way to the end that Eddie healed, Poppy gives them the all-clear. 

Eddie lets go first, slumping back on his heels. Sally is still draped across Howdy’s lap with her head pillowed on Eddie’s. The three of them catch their breath as they watch Poppy brush her healing feathers across Barnaby’s stomach. Julie staggers over to them and kneels next to Eddie. She leans against him, sniffling. Howdy doesn’t have it in him to protest when Eddie not only loops an arm around her shoulders, but around Howdy’s waist as well.

Barnaby is finally unconscious, his features slack  - Howdy places a hand on his chest to make sure, and the shallow rise and fall of it is more priceless than all the coin in the world. Howdy slowly sits. His hand trails down as Poppy pulls her wings back, and his fingertips dance on the silvery smooth line of a fresh scar. 

“I’ve done all I can,” Poppy says with a gusty sigh. “So have the rest of you - again, well done. You all did splendidly.”

“I don’t feel splendid,” Sally croaks.  

“Well… you are. Quite splendid. Let’s get him up and to a bed.” Poppy’s first attempt at standing fails. Sally all but leaps up to help support her, and she laughs nervously. “I’m afraid that took quite a bit out of me. There was more to heal than I expected, dear me.”

“Will he be okay?” Julie asks. 

Poppy looks at Barnaby with a soft, sad look in her eyes. “I can’t say for certain. It’s up to Barnaby, now… all we can do is make sure he’s comfortable. A-and keep a close eye on him! There could be, ah… complications. Infections, and the like. Mh, I’m sure it won’t come to that, though. Sally’s fire should have burned out anything nasty.”

Howdy belatedly realizes that he needs to help carry Barnaby. He kneels on shaky legs and gently maneuvers Barnaby’s dead wei- unconscious weight to the side. Howdy slips his upper arms under Barnaby’s, using his lower set to help support his back. Eddie takes one side, Sally and Julie take the other. Poppy does her best to help, but she can only lift Barnaby’s unbloodied leg with her beak. 

They shuffle their way to a ground floor room. There’s plenty, but Howdy once again chooses to be selfish and brings them to one near to his own. Near is subjective - Howdy lives on the second floor, but the staircase to his private suite is as close to Barnaby’s temporary room as it can get. Barnaby will be sleeping right below Howdy. If anything happens, he’ll hear.

They get Barnaby onto the bed, and all of them breathe sighs of relief - and mild pain, in Eddie’s case as he stretches his back. Poppy asks for Julie to stay and assist her with getting Barnaby adjusted. 

Howdy doesn’t wait for a dismissal. He stumbles his way out of the room with Sally and Eddie in tow, his heart jackrabbiting. It feels like he grabbed hot coals, or swallowed a bolt of lightning. He’s shaky and ill and he just held Barnaby’s intestines in his hands.

Howdy leans over the bar and blindly grabs a bottle from underneath it. He uncorks it with his mouth, spits the cork to the side, and starts chugging. The alcohol burns as it goes down. It’s cheap, bitter, and easy to focus on. He comes up for breath with a small gasp and coughs, wincing at the aftertaste.

Cleaning supplies clatter as Eddie brings them out of the supply closet - Howdy wasn’t aware he knew where that was. It’s just a bucket of water and a scrubber. Not that he’ll do much good. He’s still caked in blood and mud. Dishes clink as Sally cleans up the ample messes that the patrons left behind. Howdy takes another swig and stares blankly at the shelf behind the bar.

The blank eyes of the Wally-puppet stare back at him. At least the real Wally wasn’t here to see that. Howdy doesn’t know what he would have done, or how he would have reacted… best not to imagine. In any case, Howdy hopes that by the time they find Wally, this whole experience will be nothing but another story. 

Howdy goes to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand - oh. Right. It’s still covered in blood. All four of them are. The blood glistens when Howdy holds out his hands. It’s warm and tacky, clinging to his fingers like sap as he spreads them. 

It’s Barnaby’s blood. 

These hands were inside of Barnaby’s gutted stomach, and Howdy can still feel the sickening heat and the way it all pulsed and twitched and-

Howdy copies Julie’s example and vomits into the nearest acceptable receptacle. The alcohol tastes better going the other way, even if it burns worse. 

Once the dry heaving stops, Howdy sinks to the ground, shaking with silent sobs. His legs curl up and he presses the heels of his upper hands to his forehead, hugging himself with his lower arms. The crimson-soaked fabric of his shirt squishes and sticks to his skin.

Everything Sally carries rattles, and every few minutes something falls. Chipped cups, shattered plates, clattering platters. After each breakage, she picks up the shards and keeps clearing the tables. The constant swish, swish, swish of scrubber bristles on wood fill the silence between rattling dishware and rolls of thunder. Eddie scrubs at the one spot on the floor, where Barnaby sat. The water he pours and scrubs quickly turns pink, then red. 

The door opens, letting in yet another gust of air. It slowly closes, and Frank’s shrill voice cries out, “What in the heavens happened in here?”

Anger rises sharply in Howdy’s gut - and vanishes as soon as it came. There’s no use in being mad at Frank - they didn’t explicitly go with Eddie and Barnaby on their day trip. He was gathering information. There was no way he could have known what would happen. 

Frank belatedly notices the thick trail of blood on the floor, and sidesteps it before rushing to Eddie. “Is everyone okay? Who’s hurt? That’s not your blood, is it-”

“It’s not mine,” Eddie says, not looking away from his task. Swish, swish, swish. When Frank reaches for him, he waves them off. “Stay back, it’s a mess. I’ll take care of it - I’m taking care of it.”

He isn’t taking care of it.

Frank takes a step back, his eyes wide enough that Howdy can see the whites of them clear across the tavern. Frank looks over the trail of blood, the puddle, bootprints, the smeared handprints, and the sheer amount coating not only Eddie, but Howdy too. Sally doesn’t make a move to acknowledge Frank as she stacks wood platters and ceramic plates. More blood stains her from where she kneeled in it, and laid across Howdy and Eddie. 

A scraaaaape precedes Julie backing into the tavern proper with a large tub of steaming water. Howdy makes a desperate sound and scrambles over to it. He thrusts his arms into the water and scrubs furiously at his skin and sleeves, ignoring the burn of the slightly too-hot temperature. Julie’s stare sears into him for only a moment before she takes a shuddering breath and steps out of the splash zone. 

“Frank!” she says a touch too loudly, oozing false cheer. “You’re back! Did you find anything?”

“Did I - what does that matter! Julie, what’s going on?”

“Oh, Barnaby got a little hurt, but he’s resting now.”

Frank incredulously gestures to the tavern’s general state. “A little hurt?”

“Barnaby’s fine now,” Julie reiterates. “Poppy is taking care of him.”

“How did - why did - what -”

Howdy slowly stops scrubbing. His skin feels raw under his fuzz as he stands, water sluicing from his arms. He unties his apron as he returns to the bar and tosses it over a stool. He sits on the one next to it and snatches the open bottle of - whatever it is. It’s alcohol. That’s what matters. He rests his head in his hands between acrid swigs. 

“Everything is okay! Poppy is the best healer around, it’s nothing she can’t handle,” Julie chirps. No one calls her out on the proven lie. She starts collecting straggling dishes alongside Sally. “We’re just helping Howdy clean up.”

In his periphery, Howdy catches Frank side-eyeing him. He chugs from the bottle for a moment and slams it back down, if only to make a point. Frank is the only one to jolt at the sharp bang.

Frank slowly crouches by Eddie, frowning deeper than normal. He mutters something too quiet for Howdy to hear from the other end of the bar. Eddie says something back - Frank lays a hand on his shoulder, and Howdy scowls miserably into his drink. His thigh itches.

Swish, swish- the scrubber finally stills. Eddie shoots to his feet, his armor clattering loudly, and he steadies himself against the counter as his other hand flies to his forehead. “Oh no. Oh, no…”

Everyone stills, and the tension in the room thickens palpably. 

“What is it?” Frank asks.

Eddie looks at Howdy with horror in his eyes. “We lost Wormie. Barn dropped his hat when we were ambushed - there was no time to stop. We couldn’t…”

“Show me,” Howdy says, leaping off of his stool and charging for the door. Eddie follows hot on his heels.

The rain is freezing. It soaks Howdy through to the bone as soon as he steps out from under the tavern awning.

Howdy doesn’t dare go back to get a coat, even if all he has on are his thin work clothes. The cold nearly knocks the breath out of him, but he focuses on the alcohol warm in his stomach and plunges into the storm. He slows just enough to let Eddie - and, apparently, Sally - pass him. She carves a way through the pitch black night.

Mud saturates Howdy’s boots and the cuffs of his pants. It sticks unpleasantly to his skin and only worsens the chill as they run past dark buildings. Few windows glow orange, proving how late it’s gotten. There’s no way of knowing how long it’s been since Barnaby was injured. Even with Sally,’s light, it’s going to be impossible to find Wormie in this weather.

Howdy’s eyes burn as they leave the town’s muddy streets and plunge into the terribly dark forest. What if they don’t find her? The thought is almost too much to bear. Howdy doesn’t think he could face Barnaby when - if - he wakes up. They’ve already lost Wally, and that alone has had Barnaby in shambles. But if they lost his beloved little worm, too? 

It feels like they run through the woods for hours. Eddie keeps slipping and tripping, but manages to keep his legs under him. Howdy’s mind whirls with what-ifs and maybes and hows and whys. Eddie and Barnaby were ambushed so far away - why did they come to Howdy’s tavern instead of going right to Poppy’s? How horrible was it to go all the way into town in that state, in this weather? What if Wormie drowned, or was trampled, frozen, taken -

“I think it was here,” Eddie shouts over the thunder and rain. A flash of lightning illuminates the ground through the waving treetops. 

“You think?” Sally says. Howdy wishes he had said it first - now is not the time for Eddie’s navigational dysfunction! 

“I don’t know, Sally! I wasn’t really paying attention on account of keepin’ Barn’s insides from spillin’ everywhere!” Eddie doesn’t say it to be cruel, Howdy knows.

It doesn’t stop him from feeling unsteady all over again, or stop Sally’s glow from dimming. He glances around like he expects to see more blood, though even if this is the correct area, the rain has washed any evidence away. Howdy turns in a circle, tangling his upper hands in his hair. 

There’s no way of knowing. There’s no way of finding such a tiny, sweet little creature- lightning flashes, catching on leather outside of Sally’s glow.

Howdy lunges for the hat, uncaring of how his knees sink deep into frigid mud as he snatches it up. The hat is grimy, but undamaged. Even Ms. Beagle’s feather is intact. But when Howdy turns it over, his heart sinks.

Nothing inside.

Nothing on the ground around it either, even when he digs through the mud to make sure. Eddie hesitantly touches Howdy’s shoulder, and Sally’s warm glow envelops his back. 

“I’m sorry,” Eddie says. He sniffles. “I should’ve grabbed her. I should’ve-”

“You prioritized our bard,” Sally says. “We can’t fault you for that.”

They can’t. Howdy… Howdy wants to, but he can’t find it in himself. He’s cold, he’s tired, he wants to go make sure Barnaby is being taken care of. He looks around a final time, blinking against the rainwater pouring over his eyes.

Nothing but muddy soil, bushes, trees, darkness. 

Howdy clutches the hat to his chest and stands, stumbling slightly. His friends steady him, and his face pinches. He shouldn’t have drank so much at once. It’s finally getting to him, and soon he’ll be of no use at all. He can already feel the faint buzz in his head.

“We’ll come back in the morning,” Sally promises, tugging gently on his lower arm.

Howdy makes a pained noise. She won’t make it to morning. It’s too cold, she’s too small. All they’ll find is her little frozen body. 

“Hold on.” Eddie holds out an arm to stop them. “Can you hear that?”

“It’s impossible to hear anything over this storm,” Sally says. 

“No, no… I’m sure I heard something. It was a - a little, it was a little…”

Peep.

Howdy’s waterlogged antennae snap upright, and he whips around to stare at a nearby tree. A past storm must have nearly blown it over, as half of the base seems uprooted. Gnarled roots arc and tangle out of the ground. Howdy falls to his knees in front of the dark hole under the trunk. 

Another peep comes from inside.

“Sal, I need your light,” Howdy says, fumbling for her. Her golden glow fills the space, and he nearly sobs. 

Wormie squints up at them, curled into a tiny ball and shaking like the wet leaves she lies on. Mud covers her colors - if her eyes weren’t open, one could mistake her for a twig. Her harness blends into the rest of her. She peeps again. 

“Hey, gal,” Howdy murmurs, reaching into the shelter. Her antennae make a feeble attempt at raising, and she stretches her neck out towards his fingers. He slips them underneath her and lifts her out, making sure to shield her from the rain with his body. 

“Thank the stars,” Eddie says wetly. “For a moment there I thought we lost her.”

Howdy curls his fingers around Wormie, his heart breaking at how violently she shakes. 

“Should I take her? She must be freezing, the poor thing” Sally says, holding out a hand. Howdy holds her out, and Wormie lifts her head as Sally’s warm glow washes over her. She blinks at the offered trade, then drops her head and nestles into Howdy’s palm. Sally retracts her hand. “Apparently not.”

Howdy hooks the hat over that hand, and Wormie lets out a mournful peep. He lets Sally and Eddie pull him through the forest, staying hunched over the hat and murmuring reassurances. He starts quietly crying again at some point. The rain washes away his tears and sounds. By the time they return to the tavern, he’s exhausted himself. They all stumble through the doorway as a soaked, grimy trio.

Julie and Frank flurry over to fuss over them, but Howdy staggers past their worries. All he knows through the cotton in his head is that he needs a hot bath. He leaves their chatter behind and makes his way down the hallway, only pausing to listen at Barnaby’s door. 

Poppy is humming to herself. Howdy sags against the wall for a moment, taking solace in how calm she sounds. For a moment, he imagines going inside and resting at Barnaby’s bedside, but… later, he promises himself. When he’s in clean clothes and feels less like collapsing. 

Climbing the stairs to his room is a feat in itself, but Howdy manages it without tripping over the steps. He closes his door behind him and sighs, tempted to just fall asleep on the floor and deal with everything later. But Wormie is still shivering in his hand, and he might as well kill two birds with one stone. 

The hat is placed on the table for cleaning. Howdy hates to let go of Wormie, but he places her on the crown while he runs a bath. Not for the first time he thanks his past self for investing in this revolutionary tech called plumbing. All he needs to do is turn a valve, and hot water pours right into a fixed tub in the corner of his large, open room. 

For a long moment he yanks at the valve, not understanding why it’s not working- ah. He’s turning it the wrong way. He blinks forcibly and twists the right way, and water pours out. He watches it drain until it registers that he should plug the tub. 

Oh, the headache he’s going to have when he wakes up…

Howdy strips as he makes his way back over to Wormie, leaving unsalvageable clothing items strewn about. It’s a blessing in disguise that he was drenched by the rain - it kept all of the blood from drying, so his shirt and pants come off easily instead of sticking to his skin. He’s still stained red underneath them. Howdy undoes his ponytail and picks up Wormie. He carefully loosens her harness and slides it off, revealing a patch of spring blue and green bands underneath. 

He holds her to his chest as he steps into the filling tub. Steam rises off of it, and it clears his stuffed sinuses. He inhales it grateful and sinks into the water, clenching his teeth when it laps over the punctures in his thigh. He closes the valve and settles with a groan.

Wormie peeps at him and looks over the side of his hand at the water with longing in her big eyes. Howdy carefully lowers her until the warm water pools over his palm. Wormie finally stretches out as he rubs his thumb over her. Mud flakes and sloughs off of her, and she wriggles happily. She dunks her face and thrashes a little to properly soak herself. He gently runs a soap bar over her until she’s nearly white from the suds, and lowers her into the water so only her head floats on the surface.

Once she’s clean, Howdy grabs a small hand towel off of a nearby shelf, soaks it, and piles it on the side of the tub. He places Wormie on it and she happily starts burrowing. It occurs to him that he could look for some sort of floatation device for her, so that she could splash around to her tiny heart’s content, but just the thought is exhausting. So, a waterlogged towel it is. 

Before Howdy completely ruins the water by scrubbing more blood and mud into it, he washes his hair. The rain had already undone the ‘do, so at least he doesn’t have to scrub out the styling paste. He squeezes the water out as best as he can and slicks it back.

Watching the red caking his skin dissipate into the water is nothing short of a relief. He stops when he gets to the minor injury Barnaby left him - he can’t tell if he bled or not. If he did, it was overshadowed by Barnaby’s blood. He sits on the edge of the tub to better inspect it.

The wounds are shallow and nothing to write home about. They don’t need bandaging, though even if they did, the time for that has long since passed. Barnaby must not be dulling his claws like he usually does. Thankfully they weren’t entirely sharp, or Howdy suspects he’d have much larger holes in his thigh. Three punctures on the outside, one on the inside. Howdy opens the water valve a smidge just to wet a fresh towelette and properly clean the wounds. It would help no one to get them infected - Poppy needs to save her energy for Barnaby.

By the time he’s satisfied with his cleanliness - if he weren’t so tired, he’d have gone for a fourth round of soap - Wormie is dozing in her damp towel. He opens the drain before grabbing a fresh hand towel, this one dry. He carefully lifts Wormie out of it and wraps her in the soft fabric. Her eyes open for only a moment before she settles again, purring. 

For a long few minutes, Howdy just sits and holds her, watching her antennae twitch as she falls asleep. He absentmindedly rubs the towel, and Wormie’s purring increases as she’s dried. 

The sound of the last of the water draining pulls Howdy’s attention away from the tiny animal. He carefully gets out of the tub and puts Wormie back on the table, still wrapped up. Once again, he looks longingly at his bed. 

Howdy dries off and dresses in loose sleep pants and leaves it at that, not wanting to bother with a shirt. He rarely sleeps with one on, anyway. Too much of a hassle. He slips Wormie out of her towel and brings her downstairs, once again having to move slowly with much paid attention as to not fall with his leaden legs.

Poppy emerges from the room as Howdy reaches the ground floor. She turns and startles. “Oh! Howdy, you startled me. You look much better… though your hair is still wet - you’ll catch a cold if you leave it like that.”

Is it? Howdy brushes his fingertips over cold strands plastered to his neck. Oops. 

“Are you alright? You look quite unsteady…” Poppy comes over to him and squawks softly, her neck pulling back. “Is that alcohol? Howdy, are you drunk?”

Howdy shrugs one shoulder. Talking takes focus and time, but he manages, “I may be a little tipsy. No worries.”

“Many worries, dear.” 

“How is he?” Howdy deflects as he walks past her, partially leaning against the wall. He nudges open the door and rests against the doorframe. The blankets cast over the small room’s bed rise and fall in stark contrast to how shallow Barnaby was breathing earlier. 

“On the mend,” Poppy murmurs, following him inside. He slumps into the armchair already pulled up to the bed. “He might sleep for some time… he’s been through quite an ordeal. Anyone would be tired after so much healing, let alone after… well.”

Howdy carefully places Wormie on Barnaby’s neck. She stirs, and starts forcibly purring as soon as she registers the shade of blue underneath her. She doesn’t perform her usual party-seizure like she usually does when seeing Barnaby - she just burrows into his fur. Howdy has to wonder if she’s simply exhausted, or if she can tell that something is wrong. 

“I don’t believe we’ll encounter any complications with his health, thank goodness” Poppy says. “By my estimates, he should be up and moving within the week. I’d like him to remain on bedrest for a few days more than strictly necessary, but I doubt he’ll want to stay put.”

If Howdy weren’t so worn out, he’d tear up yet again. 

Of course he won’t stay. Barnaby will charge out the door as soon as he’s able, hellbent as he is on finding Wally. No one can blame him. The others will likely continue the search tomorrow, if not the next day. All Howdy can hope is they find something promising for Barnaby to wake up to.

He crosses his upper arms on the bed and pillows his head on them. He fights to keep his eyelids open, watching Barnaby’s peaceful face. He looks calm, his features holding no hint of pain. A warm weight drapes over Howdy. 

He starts to lift his head, but Poppy says, “It’s just a blanket. Rest, Howdy, you need it. Barnaby will be here when you wake up.”

Howdy means to thank her, but the word comes out as a weary sigh. He lets his eyes slide shut, and slips into deep sleep a second later.

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Pairing(s):Edward Cullen x Wolf!Reader, Jacob Black x Witch!OC

Warnings: none

Words: 2764

Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7 Part 8  Part 9  Part 10  Part 11  Part 12  Part 13  Part 14  Part 15  Part 16  Part 17  Part 18  Part 19  Part 20  Part 21  Part 22  Part 23   Part 24  Part 25  Part 26  Part 27  Part 28 Part 29  Part 30  Part 31  Part 32  Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36 Part 37 Part 39

Leah looks at the screen of her phone. Even after all this time, seeing Sam's name lit up on her phone makes her stomach drop. Her finger hovering over the green answer button. She didn't want to talk to him, especially when Dieufel was still over at his house. But in the end, Sam was her alpha.

Jacob leans over to snoop. They'd been hanging out a lot more, bonding through the fact that both of them imprinted on witches. "He's gonna keep calling if you don't answer."

Groaning, she pinches the bridge of her nose and leans back against the raggedy couch that was in the Black garage. "I know. But the moment I switch to my wolf, everyone will know. Ugh, I just don't want to hear anymore of their pity. I got enough of it with the whole Sam and Emily ordeal. Even more when my dad died."

"I don't think it's pity. More like sympathy because we can feel your pain through the pack telepathy." He tries to explain. Then his own phone started to ring. He raises an eyebrow and turns from Leah for a moment. "It's (y/n)." They hadn't spoken to one another since she told Bella about him imprinting on Evita. In retrospect maybe he should have told Bella. They were friends after all, right? She should be happy for him that he'd found his destined mate.

He decides to answer, knowing that there could only be two reasons why you were calling: to apologize or something bad has happened. But the voice on the other end wasn't that of his friend's. It was Edward who started talking. His speech broken up by the sound of rushing wind. Jacob presses the phone closer to his ear. "What's going on?"

Edward raises the volume of his voice. "Irina is heading your way!"

"What?" Jacob still didn't understand what Edward meant. Irina? The issue with the Denali clan had been taken care of. Or, at least that's what Jacob surmised when (y/n) came back alive. Uncertainly he looks to Leah. "He's saying something about Irina coming here."

The call cuts off.

Leah's on her feet and pulling her tank top over her head. "It's a warning idiot."

Her skin ripples, breaking apart into fur and pure muscle. Limbs elongate and form into ginormous paws with bayonets for claws.

Jacob didn't have the opportunity to shift into his wolf. Standing in the opening of his garage was a woman with pitch black eyes staring at them. Her long, platinum blonde hair tumbled down over her shoulders. By the paleness of her complexion, she could only be Irina.

Leah bares her fangs, the gray fur that ran along her back was raised in agitation. Irina glances at Leah, eyes unblinking. "Such an unsightly creature you are. This is what killed Laurent. . .What the Cullens are protecting. I have all rights to kill you."

He notices the slight flair of her nostrils taking in their scent. Also to see if they were afraid of her presence. Jacob takes trained, slow breaths to lower the increasing beating of his heart. His tongue sticks to the roof of his dry mouth.

Irina's lips curls in a distasteful snarl. "Filthy animals." The hatred she has toward them reeks. Leah's snout crinkles at the scent.

Time moves fast. The moment Irina leaps for Jacob has Leah simultaneously leaping over Jacob's car to get to the vampire. They take a tumble, causing a massive hole in the weak, old wood of the garage. Jacob takes the distraction to shift and there's a fury of snapping jaws when (y/n)'s wolf breaks past the lining of trees, Evita, Dieufel and Edward on her back.

"Irina! Stop!" Edward shouts from atop of (y/n)'s back. He launches himself easily off and into the bramble of vampire fangs and wolf snouts. He grabs Leah by the scruff to stop her and tries to peel Irina away. Irina may as well have been another animal as she gnashed her teeth, trying to get a bite of Leah. Jacob and (y/n) stood on the outside, hesitant to intervene lest you risk harming any of them.

Evita digs out from the bag hanging from her hip something that fell like sand through her fingers as she thrust it into the ball of tangled limbs and teeth. After she mutters a few words, the reaction is near instantaneous, a sudden volt of energy that expel the vampires away from Leah. Leah manages to stay on her feet through the sheer will of her claws in the earth. Irina and Edward slide off to the other side. Finally Edward had an opening to fully get ahold of her.

In her craze, Irina launches her upper body forward as Edward maneuvers her into a secure leg lock. "Now Dieufel!"

Both he and Evita speed over to where Irina and Edward struggle on the ground, eyes focused and hands gracefully weaving intricate patterns in the air while Evita is making a large circle around Edward and Irina. His lips move without any sound coming from them. Citrus smell accompanies his use of magic, like with Evita. Everyone could smell the spell swirling in the air. Irina glares daggers at him the entire time all while trying to free herself from Edward's hold. Around the two vampires, the atmosphere seems to crackle. Leah's ears press flat against her skull at the sensation of each strand of fur is standing at attention. Everyone misses the trickling presence of the others in the pack. They remain at the border of trees and open space but ready to pounce if aid was required.

Dieufel continues his chanting and once Evita has made symbols in the dirt with her finger, the circle glows faintly.

"Edward, let go of Irina as fast as you can and grab my hand." Evita instructs him. His bronze head nods in understanding. In a blink of an eye, he unlatches himself from Irina and is being pulled out of the ring by Evita.

Irina surges to follow but appears to slam face first into an invisible wall. Spinning on her heel and near frothing at the mouth, she moves in Dieufel's direction but is met by the same forcefield. They simply have a stare down. Dieufel is unimpressed by her. He actually looks a bit bored with Irina as he spits out the simple command "Sleep."

Her defiance wavered as an unexpected weariness washed over her. She staggers back a few steps before her eyes droop closed and her body crumples to the ground.

"She didn't get you with her teeth, did she?"Jacob sniffs Leah, (y/n) right beside him casting anxious glances between Leah and Irina. With the threat being neutralized, the others of the pack begin to take steps forward. All are hesitant to believe that Irina is actually unconscious. Her platinum blonde hair spills all around her head. Eyes closed.

"I'm fine."She cedes with a partial snarl. She wasn't concerned about herself. Not in a moment like this where everyone had access to her thoughts and memories now. Even though Irina is down, her adrenaline is still spiked. Instead she finds herself backing away from everyone. Doing her best to put a lockdown on her mind. But there was only so much she could do in retaliation.

Seth's gold eyes were rounded once the information from Leah's psyche seeps in. In the pack, nothing was private or sacred. "Leah, why didn't you tell me you imprinted?"He was hurt. He'd always proven to be his sister's number one advocate.

An issue to be addressed later. Sam circles around Irina, mentally snapping at Seth "Save it. We have bigger things."That couldn't be argued.

Edward reaches under Irina and easily lifts her up and addresses Sam "Your's or mine?"

"Your's. I don't want her anywhere near Emily."He resists the urge to growl toward the comatose vampire. His guard would not be lowered. Not if it potentially meant risking Emily's safety.

"I can't believe she's still asleep." Kate murmurs while sadly gazing down at her sister. With a loving hand, she smoothes down stray strands of her sleek and silky mane of hair, so pale and reflective that it almost appears to have a metallic sheen. It was only a matter of hours before the Denali coven showed up at the home. They gave the wolves a wide berth when they first arrived. Quite different from when they'd met you. Uncomfortable probably due to the fact that they were outnumbered and the members of the pack present preferred to stay in their fur around the Denalis.

Keeping a strict vigil on her was Dieufel. Making sure that Irina did not awaken before they deemed it appropriate. Tanya casts nervous eyes at him. Unnerved by his scent and presence. An oddity to the hermit-like vampires. He needed to monitor the spell that was cast on her at all times. Never before had it been used against an immortal. "She will only awaken when I give the command." Dark eyes clash against gold. While Dieufel could be a charmer, you noticed he had the ability to appear just as fierce. His accent seemed to come out more too.

He wanted the Denalis to know that he was not one to be messed with. The message was clear as Tanya flicks her gaze back to her sister frozen in place on the couch. "Thank you. She is. . . unpredictable right now and can't be trusted. This is for the best." Her throat constricts, choking her words with emotion. "I'm sorry we failed to keep her contained."

Esme speaks to Carmen in the corner along with Eleazar. It's Edward who poses the question to Tanya and a quiet Sam "Any ideas what to do with her?"

"We can't awaken her. That much is sure." Tanya admits.

You hear their conversation from the front foyer, waiting outside of the living room with Evita, Jacob and Leah. No one said a thing, especially Jacob and Leah who merely focus on their bare feet. At least the Cullens had offered them robes while they were there. How many other times have the Cullens lent clothes to your naked pack members? Your own was so soft that you kept pinching the fabric of the sleeve.

The matter of Irina didn't involve any of you. There'd be no point to stay but to listen in on the jurisdiction. Your feet refused to move despite your brain sending your leg muscles signals. Adrenaline still spiked in your veins. Even worse were the nerves that wracked through you from being with Jacob and Leah. Another wolf imprinting on a witch. The elders said that one of the theories of imprinting was that it chose the best mate for you that would give one strong offspring. This was starting to appear to be true from what you've noticed. You imprinted on Edward, a vampire gifted with a special ability; Jacob with Evita who had magic in her blood as did Dieufel. Any child from Evita or Dieufel would prove to be strong and have an advantage over anyone else. Whatever child you have with Edward-

You stop yourself right there when you realize the blush that was heating your face just from thinking about it. Too young to be thinking about having kids with someone you just started dating. There hadn't even been an actual date yet, not with all the chaos that was going on.

A warm hands beckons you. Evita is regarding you, worry plain on her face. "Are you tired? We should go back to Sam's. I'm sure they have everything handled in there. Dieufel doesn't require my assistance."

Catching Jacob's reaction to her voice in your peripheral, you bite the inside of your mouth. Leah imprinted on Dieufel, the young man in the next door room. Evita's friend. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

"We can steal some of Dieufel's herbal smokes." She whispers to you in a conspiring manner, a devious grin to follow.

"Sure, I can hack up my other lung." Laughing in unison, you and Evita discreetly enter the sitting room causing eyes to descend on you. "Evita I are heading back. Unless you guys need anything else?"

Sam pulls away from the huddled group around the couch. "No, you guys can go. But before that, I need a quick word with (y/n)."

You nod, aware that it might have something to do with the imprinting mess that still awaited to be acknowledged. Sam leads you to the farthest wall of the living room though it would do little help with preventing the vampires from listening in. Thankfully Dieufel's attention is focused on Irina.

Your pack alpha leans closer to your ear "Can you keep an eye on Jacob and Leah? I feel bad asking this of you but I need to stay here." He sounds pained that he has to be present in case anything happened with Irina. "Dieufel will probably stay here with us just to monitor. That should make things easier for Leah, but Jake-"

Not wanting him to finish that thought, you touch his beefy bicep. "I know. If he wasn't privy to telling Bella though I doubt he'll be blurting it out to Evita." Jacob hadn't said a word to you since apprehending Irina. He was still mad at you which would make keeping him in line a bit tricky. He hadn't even so much as looked at you the entire time all four of you were waiting out in the hall. Did he really think you may blurt it out to Evita herself like you did with Bella? Sam instructed that it was best for the witches not to know about imprinting right now. There was too much to do. Too much at stake. A good outcome heavily relied on the witches.

Back out in the hallway, Evita was waiting patiently. You turn to the other two. "Sam wants you guys to go back with us. We're not really needed here."

Jacob and Leah exchange a glance. They would rather stay in the house of the bloodsuckers than return to La Push. Leah shifts against the wall. "Is that leech really out cold?"

"So far so good. Dieufel's spell seems to be working." You regret saying his name in front of Leah as you notice the slight flinch in her eyes. Immediately you see Leah's fortified wall of isolation go up. This must have been so hard for her to deal with. You didn't want to push for details, not from Leah. She wouldn't give them to you anyway. "Even if something happens with the spell, there's eight vampires in there alongside him. They won't let her get out."

"That's what we thought the first time." Ruefully hisses Leah. "Her own coven wasn't even able to stop her from escaping."

Evita bristles. "Dieufel's spell will not let you down. As long as he wills it, she will remain asleep." You hadn't seen this fiery expression on your new friend before. "His magic is strong."

Subtly, Jacob nudges Leah in the side with his elbow. They share another look of a silent argument being waged. Acceding, Leah takes a step back both physically and mentally as she murmurs out an apology which was enough to settle down Evita. She must have seen Dieufel as family considering how close the older boy had been to her sister Leti. The way Leah phrased her words must have come out as an insult in Evita's ears. Sometimes Leah didn't filter what she said. Doesn't think of the consequences that could from what she says. Her bluntness could be off putting but you and the pack were used to it by now. Evita was not. **

Atop of Washington's many ridged mountains stood Demetri and Felix.

While Jane may have been happing about the outcome of the newborn army uprising, Felix was not. He'd smelled something. . . off about the area they'd been standing in. Jane hadn't picked up on anything, excited as she was by the carnage of the destroyed newborns.

What the others in the small town of Forks and La Push didn't know was that Irina had already passed information onto the Volturi about something concerning that they should investigate. They'd come across Irina just as they entered the Washington state border.

"Do you think these are the same wolves that Caius ordered destroyed centuries ago?" Felix asks his companion.

"We'll find out soon enough."

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[galebrainrot2024]

Gale Seeking Godhood Part VII PATH 2

Wow. This took longer than I expected because it needed to be done justice so I couldn't rush it. This is choose your own adventure, Path 2 and conclusion. Path 3 will be coming soon!

Enjoy!

CW: Death

GALE'S POV

The letters blurred before his eyes, Gale brushing his fingers against his eyes and brought away wetness. Was he crying? What time was it? Gale blinked deliriously, realizing he must have fallen asleep at his desk, now waking from a horrific dream. 

Gale could not shake the feeling that the nightmare left in his gut. It was a dream that was so evocative it gnawed at him - it felt real. One that ruins the rest of a day. 

The dream started with you stood on the docks of Boulder’s Gate, the Chionthar just on the horizon. In the dream you stood between him and Raphael midbattle for the crown, and you - you stepped between them, desperate to help as Gale launched an attack. Gale’s heart lurched and he felt the bile rise in his stomach. The image was worse than he could endure. 

Gale uttered, “Dolor” - the disintegrate spell intended for Raphael - but it missed. Before he woke from this nightmare, the image of you dissipating to nothing but dust was engraved into the darkest crevices of his brain. Gale heaved, the violent sob shaking him. What was he doing?  

For six months Godhood was his focus. He was so close to achieving his goal - he should be elated, shouldn’t he?

The last three months spent in isolation took a massive toll on him. With not even Tara for company, Gale had never felt so alone. He hadn’t heard from her and ignored the constant communication from his mother. Although Godhood was within his grasp, the power of the celestial tempting, there was a deeper yearning.  

The dream shook him to the core, the blind quest for power and its consequences rushing over him all at once. How he had nearly killed you, how poorly he treated you, how poorly he treated Tara. It made him feel sick, disgusted with himself - he was no better than the Gods. He had no excuse and he felt a new determination plant its seed.  

***

YOUR POV

You are sitting on the docks when Tara finds you, something strapped to her collar. It is a warm night, a night that makes the sky blaze a brilliant pink and orange. The clouds look like puffy treats, as if you could pluck them from the air. A cool breeze off the water whispers through your hair. 

“It took me long enough to find you,” Tara huffs mind-landing and brushes her ears with her paws as she settles. You start by the sound of her voice and yelp. “Oh, my apologies, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’ve been give quite the task - Gale -“ 

“Don’t,” you said, holding up your hand as your expression darkened. “I’m not interested in having my heart ripped out over and over, thank you. I cannot help you. I will not help him.”  

“If you’d stop talking and listen a moment, perhaps you’d be inclined to hear what I have to say. If you insist on a closed mind, however, so be it. No wonder you an he got along so famously.” 

You grit your teeth and close your eyes, inhaling. You know if she asks for assistance you will not help. The better part of you is silenced by your curiosity and you indulge, “Fine.” Tara let out a forceful puff, indicating her displeasure. Her tail swishes and you take the warning. “What is it Tara? You came all this way, the least I can offer is to listen.” 

Tara seems assuaged and continues, “Gale wanted me to give this to you.” Tara looks at her neck and you raise a brow. “Yes, that.” You gingerly take the tightly rolled parchment, written on an impossibly small piece of paper. 

“I owe you more than simple apologies… I have been a sorry excuse for both a man and lover, and my behavior has been beyond inexcusable. I know I am not worthy of your time, company, or forgiveness. And yet - I write to ask for it. However long it takes, I will be here, waiting for you. -Gale” 

You feel the blood rush to your face, tears pricking at your eyes that begin to fall in large drops onto the parchment. You see your fingers trembling and Tara notes gently, preparing to take flight: “He forgot to note he surrendered the crown to Mystra.” 

*** 

You wait, absorbing and processing what you learned. You’re not sure how much time has passed since you received his letter. Not only did Gale want to see you, speak to you, he had surrendered the crown to Mystra after all. You fight yourself, unsure of how to feel - as if two parts of your soul tugged at the opposite ends of a rope. 

Your curiosity wanted to indulge this meeting, as did the part that desperately still loved Gale despite everything. Your logical mind, the one that wanted to protect you from further harm scolded, warned against the idea, warned against seeing him and indulging him when he hadn’t chosen you at the start. 

Gale wrote he would wait as long as it took - did he mean that? You are about to test that theory. 

** 

When you arrive in Waterdeep, Tara informs you that Gale is out - teaching - and wouldn’t be back for a few hours. Although you insisted you should leave, Tara refused and warned if you did not that she you would force her hand. You have no intention of finding out what that means. 

You sit for a while in the main hall, sunning yourself like Tara, not wanting to pry. As boredom and the nerves of seeing Gale ate at you, you decide to wander. You allow yourself to explore. You climb the iron stair to his study and the door opens with a click. It looks as it did the last time you were here and you inhale, a sharp pang coursing through you at the memory. 

You walk around the large oak desk, your fingers trailing across the smooth finish and you furrow your brow. Across his desk are all images - drawings. Some are crude sketches, some self portraits and a few of Tara lazing in the sun or playfully chasing a conjuration. A majority, though, shared the same subject. 

You. 

The first you notice was of the moment you pulled him from the portal. You are startled by how life-like it appears, gazing back at what feels like a reflection. There are dozens more, all memories Gale had of you - and some of a future yet to happen. You trace your thumb over the images and feel weak, collapsing into his chair your resolve evaporating. On some of the sketches are brief poems, words of both lament and love. Of a yearning that was visceral and you feel it deep in the marrow of your bones. 

“Oh,” your head shoots up and you and Gale lock eyes for the first time in months. “I didn’t - how are you?” He says breathlessly, although he hasn’t moved from the threshold in the door. He holds a pack, reading glasses a top his head and his gaze bears into you. You stumble as you stand and Gale lurches forward instinctively, “Are you alright?” Your breath catches as you realize the Gale you knew, the one you loved - the one you thought was a casualty of his ambition - he’s here before you now. His eyes are glazed with tenderness and something unconditional. 

“Yes, thank you,” You murmur and he clears his throat and steps into the room awkwardly, as if this is yours and he interrupted you in your own space. He stays on the opposite side of the study from you, seemingly hesitant to approach. You step to the front of the desk, closing the gap between you marginally. “You wrote.” 

“I did,” Gale breaths and begins to rub his chin, “I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see you again. To be clear,” he said abruptly, “I am very glad to see you. I’m a bit shocked actually so please excuse my ineloqunece at present.” You see his face bloom crimson as he maintains eye contact with you and you feel your cheeks respond with a similar heat and you give a wry smile. You forgot how endearing this clumsiness was. It was so raw, so genuine - a part you hadn’t seen in some time. “I am so grateful you came.” Gale took a tentative step forward to test the waters. You allow it and he sighs, his eyes brightening and he takes another. 

You hold up a hand, crossing one arm across your chest. “Why did you ask me here?” 

Gale swallows and rubs the back of his neck. “How much did Tara tell you?” 

“Hm...” You toy with how much to tell him, if any thing at all and decide on the truth. “Only that you surrendered the crown to Mystra.” You see Gale’s expression drop for a moment, his eyes swimming with shame. It makes your chest tighten and stomach clench, your hand reaching out subconsciously though Gale is too far to touch. 

“Ah. Yes, okay. Shall we sit?” Gale gestures to his balcony and you follow, eager for the warmth of the sun and the sound of the waves lapping against the docks. You sit side by side, your knees brushing against each other and Gale combs a hand through his hair, looking out onto the horizon. “I…” he looks down and chuckles, “I wondered whether to share this bit with you - considering how much you sacrificed and did for me, it feels somehow… silly and unfair that this is was the final slap in the face I so clearly needed.” Your body quakes with adrenaline, your fight or flight in full gear and you bite the inside of your cheeks to ground yourself. “Do you want the long, sordid story or just the important bits?” 

You purse your lips, and say, “How about you tell me the important bits first, and then we can decide if I indulge you in the rest.” 

Gale gives a somber lopsided grin. “Very well. Raphael paid me a visit - a personal visit from a devil is not something to be encouraged, as we know. He told me that my having of the crown was for the best - that ambition was a delicious sin for an immortal to wield. At first I thought it was hyperbole, his usual dramatics -“ Gale pauses, looking at you, “I had a feeling that I could not shake, though. What if he was right? What if, despite my best intentions, I corrupted everything? More than just the Weave, more than the heavens - but all in this space and time. That what if ate at me.” You feel yourself smile. Gale is still incapable of telling a short story. Gale seems to realize this, noticing your look. It makes him blush and laugh, “Ah, you did say just the important bits. But this is all important, really if you think about it.” You smirk and gesture for him to continue, not wanting to influence his story telling. “It happened the night before I uncovered the final incantation. The dream, I mean. It felt so real…” Gale’s voice drops and he leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he holds his mouth with his hands for a moment. 

You watch him and he sighs before sitting up again and turns to face you and takes your hands in his. Your breath hitches and you feel the rush of heat flood you. His hands are warm, familiar and it makes your soul ache for him. You allow him to take your hands, chasing the adrenaline of him. 

Gale continues: “Raphael had paid me a visit at this point and I… well, as you might imagine wasn’t exactly in the best of health. I was exhausted. You… I…” Gale’s body shudders and he breaks eye contact with you for a moment before returning to yours. His brown irises are swallowed by black pupils and you feel your lips part. The world seems to slow. His gaze is overwhelming and his tone is one you’ve never heard from him. 

“I killed you. I watched you evaporate before my eyes.” You tense and Gale quickly continues, sensing your discomfort, “The spell was meant for Raphael and you… you stepped between us because you were trying to help. You were trying to help me.” You feel a weight crash down upon you and all at once Gale’s hands are on your cheeks and you feel your hands raise to cover his. Gale’s eyes are misty and his touch ignites you. “It wasn’t real, but I felt it forcefully. I have put you in such danger, harmed you more than I can forgive myself for, and the idea of that nightmare ever becoming a reality was too much to bear. A world without you… at my own hand… that’s no world worth being part of. I am ashamed at what I was willing to give up in pursuit of vain hubris. I am so, so sorry. More than words can express. And I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness and still I ask for it. I will do everything in my power for the rest of this mortal life and beyond to be the man you saw in me from the beginning. I love you.” 

You drink in his words and feel his hot breath against your lips, your vision blurred by how close your faces are. Your mind stills and you say, “I think we have work to do,” you see Gale’s shame for a moment, before you say, “but I’m willing to let you try.” 

You take a breath and Gale grins, tilting your head as if wanting a kiss, “May I?” Your lips part and you nod. When Gale kisses you it’s as if it would be the last. As if he had never had the opportunity before. As if you had died and this was just a dream. Gale kisses you in such a way you cannot doubt the sincerity of his intentions and you allow yourself to melt into him. 

[specksizedgoddess]

saw centaur and fairy in that post and got so horny i blacked out, how about the pretty little fairy getting offered as a cocksleeve to a big rough centaur?~ a massive flared cock so big a tiny thing like you can hardly even reach around it, but she insists you'll be able to fit it inside you! i mean, it might go all the way through you, but that should be fine, right?

don't even worry about it, you'll be in good hands! (her hyenagirl friends who'll be the one using you like a stroker on her. it's not like she can reach under herself like that, after all~)

DHHHHDHFHJFJHFDJCJ OH MY GOSH I NEED THAT SI BADLY <333

Listening to the gentle clopping of hooves, the blushing centaurgirl gently lifting her leg- revealing the absolute monster of a cock beneath her, quickly expanding, throbbing, flared tip jus BEGGING for a pretty toy... and her friends are more than happy to help! Practically drooling as her hyena girl friends snatch me up, positioning me right over their friends cock... shoving it nice and deep, with a loud squeal- their laughter as they attempt to fit a centaur's third leg into something barely an inch tall... but it fits~ and their paws are already pressing to stroke her cock, bloating me full of shot after shot of thick, powerful loads of cum~

Even better if the centaurgirl sheepishly apologizes afterwards, only for me to desperately beg her for more... I'll be so good- I can even service her on the go! And nobody will notice....

[mordremrose]

“I’m not him.” The words were choked, strangled even. Caithe set aside the journal she was writing in, and turned to see Bloom. “Who?” She asked, even if she already knew who he was talking about. “Trahearne.” Bloom muttered, his massive form slowly shuffling forward. “I’m not- I tried, but I can’t—“ He paused and a low rumble rattled the lower portion of his strange form, the plates of bark rising in agitation. His tail lashed and his hands dragged over his face. His palms caught on the spines along half his face and he winced. “I know you all see him. In me. You want me to be him.” Bloom seemed to deflate, sinking down to the ground. All of his limbs folded inwards, curling around his torso and Caithe swore she saw him tremble. “But I can’t. I can’t, I’m sorry—“ “Bloom.” Caithe spoke gently, standing up and coming closer. His eyes were squeezed closed, she noted. He didn’t open them to look at her, until she reached out and laid her palm on his massive front limb— paw? She still wasn’t sure. “Bloom. Look at me. Please?” She repeated, gently as she could manage. Caithe was not a woman well versed in being a comforting figure, in being someone who offered their shoulder to one in need. But Bloom needed her. He chose to come to her, about this. She could only imagine the courage it must’ve taken him to trust her with this, after everything. Slowly, Bloom opened his eyes and leaned down, so his massive head was closer to her. He still curled his arms in around himself, clawed fingers making grooves in the thicker bark along his arms. Now Caithe could see the tears welling up in his golden eyes, and her heart ached. She could see her brother in his face, or perhaps she merely imagined she could. But his eyes, glowing amber in a way that made part of her mind want to vanish and hide away from his gaze... that was not Trahearne. And it never would be. “I’m sorry, Bloom.” She murmured, stepping towards his face. “For making you believe you had to be him.” Caithe hesitated before she reached out, gentle as she wiped away the tears at the corners of his bad eye. It was a little easier for her to avoid the massive thorns along his cheek and jaw, she told herself, but Bloom leaned into her touch and she knew it wasn’t that simple. “It is cruel, to expect you to be a man you have never met.” Caithe muttered. “You cannot choose to be someone you are not.” Briefly, unexpectedly, a memory surged in her mind- a memory of Trahearne saying something similar to her once, years ago.

“You are not as cruel as you pretend to be Caithe. I think we both know that.” He said, his voice calm but sad. Caithe pretended to ignore him. “…I miss Wynne too, you know. And Riannoc as well. It is okay to mourn, Caithe.” “I don’t need a lecture, Trahearne.” “I am not here to lecture you.” Trahearne’s hand came to rest on her hand, steadying her grip on the vial of poison she was preparing. “Aife told me about Faolain leaving the Grove. I promise you, Caithe, you are not alone. You do not have to harden your heart. You do not have to be someone you are not.”

She had yanked her hand away from him back then, snarled something about not needing him to tell her who she was, and stormed off, not ready to confront her feelings, never mind share them. Caithe took a deep breath, letting her hand simply rest against Bloom’s cheek. “You do not have to be someone you are not, Bloom. Just because you do not know who that is yet, does not mean that you have to pretend.” She said, meeting his eyes. “I am sorry, Bloom, truly, that we… that our expectations—“ She shook her head. “We have made you feel this way. It isn’t fair to you. And for that, I can only offer my apologies, and try to do better.” Caithe hesitated. This was where her knowledge faltered. Was this when she offered a comforting hug? Could she hug Bloom? His size certainly made it questionable, and the pain he has described to Taimi made her wonder if a hug would even feel pleasant in his situation, or if it would just be another reminder of how out of place he was among the rest of Dragon’s Watch. Between Bloom and the Commander... she had a life time of apologies ahead of her, and not the kind that hugs would be enough to bridge the gap. “Caithe.” Bloom muttered, and even though he spoke quietly, she could still feel the depth of his voice in her chest while standing this close. “Yes?” “Thank you.”