#ill go and touch some grass in the meantime | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

blackcherrykiss · 3 years

Text

BLOOD BOUNDARIES - Enhypen OT7 Fanfic (ch.10)

[CH.1] [CH.2] [CH.3] [CH.4] [CH.5] [CH.6] [CH.7][CH.8][CH.9] previous chapters [CH.11] next chapter (unavailable on tumblr but avaliable on wattpad!)

"You'll give me your blood in exchange for theirs."

You could feel his earnest breath against the left side of your neck when he spoke. The proximity was causing you to hold your breath tightly. "Sunghoon please..." You just barely breathed out, fearing anything you said would be the death of you.

"Afraid my love? I'm not going to hurt you unless you let me in." You felt Sunghoon's soft lower lip stroke up your neck until it met your ear, "I'll give you time to think." He pulled away to caress your face with a feathery touch as the sky grew darker and darker.

...

You rested the following day with no intentions of going to classes. You got your dormmates to tell the office about the severe headache you had; too weak to attend that day. To your surprise, one of the nurses at the school had knocked at your dorm to do a brief check-up and ensure you weren't lying.

"You must be Y/N! Sweetie, how are you feeling?" A slim young woman came in with a medium briefcase of supplies.

"It's nothing too serious right now, it's just a slight headache, I think you brought a bit much..." You held your pounding head while staring at the excessive equipment she had in hand.

"Oh, all of this? It's a standard to bring it just in case." The nurse said with a Southern Irish accent, "Now sit down, I'll take your temperature first."

You sat down on your own bed and watched as she took out a pink thermometer and put it under your arm. You yawned while waiting, getting a closer look at the woman. She had naturally fawn-blonde hair that flowed down in delicate curls. Healthy skin that was rosy at the cheekbones.

"Hun, your temperature is just slightly over normal. Is it just today you've been having headaches?" The nurse said while waving around the stick that read 38.1°C.

"I get them from time... Rarely though, I think I've been stressed lately that's all..."

"Perhaps you have low iron? Are you sure no other symptoms and potential causes?"

"Lack of sleep." You admitted, "And probably low iron... My mom has so I must too..."

"I see hun... Many girls call in sick and it's usually related to their menstrual cycles. But recently I find there is some sort of common cold going around. Yesterday this young boy fainted and when I took his temperature he had a seriously high fever." The nurse said while beginning to sterilize the thermometer with some rubbing alcohol.

"He did?!" You blurted out unintentionally, your voice making an embarrassing crack, "Sorry... He's just my friend, I was there when he fainted. Do you mind me asking how Jungwon is doing?"

"Not too well... He seems very sick but... Whenever I try phoning his parents regarding a checkup with a doctor or a record of his medical history, nobody ever picks up." The nurse looked upset and frustrated that she couldn't do much for him.

Little did the nurse know Jungwon didn't even have parents... 'Heeseung would be his guardian at best' you thought. "Oh, that's terrible..." You felt yourself tense up knowing the reason for Jungwon's illness.

"Well, if you have no other questions I guess I will be on my way. Your name was y/n right?" She said while scratching a couple of words on a small pad of paper.

"That's correct."

"y/n... That name sounds familiar... Perhaps you are friends with Kyungeun?" The nurse put her pen and paper down on your nightstand.

"You know Kyungeun?" You rubbed the back of your neck.

"Of course! I visit her often. She's mentioned your name from time to time." She gave a healthy smile before getting up to leave, "She loves you to bits!"

You were touched Kyungeun would mention that to the nurse, it made you feel a little better knowing that.

"I'll get going now then, hun!" The nurse grabbed her case and exited your dorm after you thanked her.

When you went back to your bed you noticed the nurse had left her pad of paper. Taking the paper to go and run after her, you squint to read what was actually written on it. The paper just had blue ink notes in some wavy font about your condition and personal information. When you lifted the notepad up, you noticed a paper fell from the stack. Bending down with just your back, you saw Kyungeun's medical information swirled on the front.

"Anemia?" You read aloud before a semi-aggressive knock was heard from behind your dorm door. You quickly stuffed the paper where it was originally attached, feeling guilty you saw what you should not have. "I was just about to chase you down!" You began speaking before the door was even completely open.

You saw the young nurse once again with a troubled face, "I'm so sorry, I'm so disorganized! Thanks, darling!" She looked relieved as you handed over the stuff she had left behind. You smiled to cover up the actual shock that shot through your veins after seeing Kyungeun's records.

Anaemia is a low blood condition and knowing Kyungeun had it still surprised you. Were you really trying to deny that Sunghoon drinks Kyungeun's blood?

...

You napped the rest of the day, catching up on the sleep you had missed over the past week. The throbbing in your head gladly helped you fall asleep in an instant, but your wishes of having a quiet sleep would not come true.

You found yourself in a fever dream, scenes flickering in your mind at the speed of light. You saw Jungwon's complexion glitter against a deep velvet as he drove his fangs deep into a prominent vein. The vein however on his own wrist; drinking his own blood. The amber-red liquid began streaming down his chin and into an empty wine glass in large opaque droplets. The imagery of the blood in a wine glass was one you had never thought you would see, especially in a dream. The blood was much thicker in consistency compared to alcohol and it made your stomach churn with absolute sickness as Sunoo picked up the glass to swish it around as the adults do with classic red wine. Sunoo then bit down on the heel of his palm, planting a deep bite mark. He began squeezing his hand tightly to release more blood into the glass. When the glass had filled midway, Sunoo chugged it down.

"Y/N?!" You felt Nana shake both of your shoulders, waking you back conscious. You twitched while sitting up from your bed, "You're sweating like crazy. I got scared seeing your distressed face..."

"Fever dream... It's whatever..." Surprisingly your headache hurt a lot less even after the vividly strange dream had seemingly interrupted your off day. The problem was now your stomach that felt awful over the constant blood being displayed in your head, "I think I'll be fine to go to school tomorrow after I sleep on it tonight, my headache has become a mild stomach"

"More rest? You probably just need to get up and out of your bed, it's too warm and stuffy plus you've barely moved the entire day." Nana nagged. To which you agreed, you were getting unbearably hot which might've been the trigger to the fever dream.

"Yeah, I'll go for a walk..." You stared down at your sheets while thinking about what the strange dream meant. Why did Sunoo drink Jungwon's blood? And can vampires drink each other's blood? You immediately thought of the book you had left in the woods the previous night, perhaps there were answers in it. You were just too horrified that day to pick up the book and take it with you. But it seemed it might be of use to you now.

"Have you eaten yet? Hyesun and Dahee are at the dining hall right now and I just came to check up on you."

"No, I haven't eaten the whole day... But I think I might vomit if I eat..." You fastened your eyes shut at the recollection of what you had seen, "Just go without me, I'll go for a walk in the meantime." You said with the means to go off into the forest and find that damned book.

...

You feel refreshed, with the clean autumn breeze gusting your hair back, and out of your face. It was around the time most people ate an early meal, so you weren't surprised to see few pairs of people in the courtyards. Students seemed to be taking it nice and slow under the calm weather, one on one conversations and cloud watching on the wood benches.

You strut along the same path you had gone down the other day, your mary jane shoes getting wet from a puddle on the way. The woods had looked a lot less intimidating during the early evening compared to after sunset. You just had to ensure you were taking the path Sunghoon had led you down and you'd find the book, right? It would be a quick and simple job.

But after taking the seemingly correct path, you found yourself getting more unfamiliar with where you walked. Regardless of where you ended up, the place was a lot more peaceful and pretty than your first impression of it. You skipped along, turning your journey into a leisurely hike now. The sun heavily coated one particular part of the forest, creating a mystic olive glow onto the dried grass. The section of forest, in particular, had fewer trees with a giant rock in the centre of it. As you approached the area, you noticed someone far in the distance laying on the rock, basking in the sunlight with skin so white it looked teal under the reflection of the trees. The young boy didn't have your school's uniform but instead, a rust coloured flannel and some tatteredly torn jeans with cuts all over them. You were willing to just leave the delinquent alone, turn back and give up. That is until you noticed the boy reading.

As you came into a four-metre radius to get a better look at if the book he possessed was the one you were searching for, the boy sat up to gaze dead on at you. You probably looked worse than a deer in the headlights, surprised at his alertness. "Who are you?" The ash haired boy asked before you could.

"I'm looking for a book I dropped around here the other day." You bore your eyes at his hands.

"This wouldn't be it, would it?" The young stranger stood up to scoop the book off the rock so you could see it clearly. He was a lot taller than how he appeared while lying on his back.

"I'm pretty sure it is my book... May I have it back?" You asked politely after noticing the colour of the backing was identical to the one you picked up from the library.

"What's it to you?" He raised a brow while swirling his tongue around the inside of his cheek.

"It might answer some questions I have..." You bit your tongue as to whether or not the boy in front of you was among the vampire pack. It seemed his hesitation to give the book back was telling you undermining something.

"Ahh, so it's you who they talk about?" He nodded to himself, "Heard you were some clever girl who would eventually figure out our little secret." He dozed off into the distance at some withering pine trees. It was clear he was associated with the bunch by now, no surprises there.

"Sunghoon t-told me the other day you were all vampires... He was the one who took the book in the first place and used it to bait me here."

"Then why did you leave the book?"

"Got too shocked and sick, just wanted to escape the place after he told me you were all vampires. Thought I was going to die." You began to sweat. Recalling the situation made you realize you were in the same position once again; alone with a vampire in the woods far away from people.

"Alright? So you have questions about us that you think this silly book will answer? Why ask a book when you could ask the vampire right in front of you." He faced his palms up on either side of him.

You stood astonished by his response. Instead of forcibly taking your blood he was offering some useful information to you, "You mean you're not going to kill me?"

"I considered it... Until I found out who you were." He commented with a hint of disappointment. "Luckily you've caught me at the right time, so ask away."

"Found out who I was? What do you mean?"

"Who knows what kind of shit I'll hear from the guys if they found out I got a lick of your blood." He shut down your further questions about the matter, "Now ask the questions."

Looking around as if you were about to tell a secret, you dived right into the ideas you were given from your dreams, "Can vampires drink their own blood?" You gulped remembering Jungwon drawing blood from himself.

"They can... It helps with blood cravings but it tastes very bitter. Next." He said, treating the conversation as some speed round questionnaire.

"Okay...? Can vampires drink each other's blood?" The last scene of your dream coming to mind of Sunoo taking a swig of the wine glass filled with his blood mixed with Jungwon's.

"Who have you seen doing that? Sunoo? Jaeyun?"

"No one, it was just a dream!? Sunoo and Jaeyun actually do that?" It seemed weird hearing Sunoo's name being directly suggested. It was as if your dream was a potential reflection of reality. How could that be?

"Drinking other vampires blood tastes better than drinking your own blood but it's not often we do that." The boy tapped his head to think.

"So then what occasion would you drink each other's blood?"

"Usually when we can't get ahold of human blood. Survival purposes in short. Put it this way, drinking your own blood won't make you stronger because you're not getting any new nutrients. Drinking other vampire's blood will fulfil that it's just not as vital as half-humans or better yet, full human blood."

"Half-humans?! They exist?"

"Yeah, their blood tastes a lot better than full vampire blood but it's definitely not better than full human blood. Pretty sure Sunghoon feeds off some half-blooded girl, not that I can remember her name."

37 notes · View notes

lenademonn · 4 years

Text

All This Time - 3

*Summary: Elena used to be closed off and composed, always in control of her feelings and actions. She knew how to survive long before world ended and didn’t need anyone to keep her alive. Because attachments are liability, make you weak especially in this new world where dead are walking and living are more dangerous than before.

A slow burn Daryl Dixon x OC; from season 1 forward, ongoing. Angst, Violence, strong language, sarcastic humour and more.

Warnings: Swearing, some anger managment issues.

Chapter 3

Day 45 The next day was quiet; the silence between Daryl and me uncomfortable. He woke me up a few hours before dusk, which meant that he took the long shift, nothing new in this aspect. He laid down without saying anything after waking me up, and I spend the next few hours watching the area and thinking about our conversation from before. Daryl woke up before I even had a chance to shake him awake. So lack of sleep, that's another thing I can add to my list of what I know about Daryl Dixon. We quickly packed what little we had and started trekking through woods, following the tracks we noticed yesterday. Finding them wasn't that hard, especially not for a brown-haired man. What turned out to be a challenge was picking up a fresh trail. We walked around for good three hours before Daryl crouched down to touch a set of hoof prints when I followed his action I could tell that those tracks were fresher than the one we found previously. Next to me, the man looked around the forest ground and pointed the way he thought we had to go. It took us another hour to finally find the animal, we spotted it standing in the middle of a small clearing, nibbling on grass. Daryl stopped and rose his clenched fist, signaling for me to stay still. I stopped dead in my tracks and slowly took an arrow out of my quiver, and lined it up on my bow and stretched the string. Steading my breathing and not taking my eyes out of our game, I was waiting for Dixon's directions. He also prepped his weapon and was watching the animal intensely. "Three, two, one," His whisper was barely hearable, and once he said 'one', we both released our arrows. His bolt hit the deer in its side while mine pierced its belly. Animal yelped in pain and took off instantly, its steps uneasy. "C'mon!" After hearing Daryl's voice, I moved quickly jogging after the animal, to not lose it in the woods again. I was pretty sure that I nicked some significant organs, and even though it didn't go down, it should bleed out soon enough; in that case, we didn't want to lose sight of it and allow geeks a free lunch. We followed the trace of blood left on the ground and leaves for some time when we heard a piercing scream, and I realized how close to the quarry we actually were. It sounded like one of the women or even one of the kids. Oh God, I hope it's not Carl or Sophia and that it's nothing. I quickly looked at Daryl. "That's coming from the camp, hurry up Dixon," Before he could react, I jogged in the direction we heard screaming. It didn't take us long to approach the edge of the camp. Daryl moved in front of me at some point, shoving me behind him when we heard concoction just in front of us. Advancing slowly, we finally emerged into a clearing, and I could see familiar faces of Shane, T-dog, Dale, and others. They all were pointing some sort of weapon in our direction.

"We surrender?" I joked while Shane put his gun down, mumbling under his nose. Dixon, on the other hand... well, he was pissed. And I wasn't surprised when I realized that on the ground just in front of us was a headless geek and half-eaten deer. Our fucking deer, the same we were tracking since yesterday. "Son of a bitch" Brown-haired man moved from in front me, around the bushes towards the deer. "That's mah deer!" His accent deepening signaling how angry he actually was. "Look at it, all gnawed on by this filthy, disease-bearing, motherless, poxy bastard." With each word, he gave a sharp kick to the geeks' side, letting his aggression go somewhere else than people in front of us. "Calm down, son. That's not helping," Oh Dale. Why would you say it to Dixon? Do you have a death wish? "What do you know, old man. Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'On Golden Pond'. I've been trackin' this deer for miles." He pointed a finger in Dale's general direction and moved on to retrieve his bolt. I coughed as a reminder that I'm still here. "We. We tracked that deer for miles, Dixon!" Saying that I finally made my way to the dead animal and crouched down to get my arrow. "And by the looks of it out of our shots, mine was more deadly, so technically this deer is mine, you asshole!" I quickly stood up and wiped the blood off my arrow with my rug, then I put it back into the quiver and made my way back to the camp. On my way out, I made sure to push Daryl out of my way with my shoulder. Who the hell does he think he is? We've been hunting together for months now, and yes, of course, I may not be as skilled as he is, but for fuck sake, I am not terrible. Ignoring the men, I patted Amy and Andrea on the shoulder while walking past them. "Good that you back safe" I gave them a small smile and made my way towards the camp to find Lori. She stood next to the RV with Carol and a few other women. When she saw me she smiled, but I could tell it was strained, and I started to have a bad feeling. I approached them and took the zip bags with meat out of my backpack, watching people in front of me carefully. "That's all the meat we got, it should be enough for a few days. We got a deer as well, but fucking geek gnawed on it before we could get to it." I passed the bags to Lori and Carol, as they were the best cooks out of us, trust me you don't want me to cook you dinner unless you're willing to be ill after eating it. "Thanks, Elena, it means a lot. Listen--" Lori started playing with her fingers, after putting the meat bags on a small foldable table next to the RV's door. So there was something wrong. "There isn't a good way of saying it. Merle was left behind on that run, and we know that Daryl will be so angry, and he is really unpredictable in that state. Can you try to calm him down when the guys gonna tell him?" She sputtered, and for a second there a thought I misunderstood what she said. Merle left behind. What does it even mean? Before I could ask any more questions, I could hear Daryl shouting for his brother, and I felt so bad for him. And angry with everyone who went for that run, how could you leave someone behind?! I mean yeah, sure Merle Dixon is a colossal dick and dumbass, but that's not the reason to just-- "Merle, get yur ass out here. We got us some squirrel." He smirked in my direction when he noticed me looking at him "Yes, I said 'we', women. Merle!" I really hoped that my face didn't show any emotions because that was just heartbreaking. And I was also slightly concerned for whoever will deliver the news to him. "Daryl, slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Shane was the one to speak, and behind him, I could see the rest of men with a new face in between them.

"Hey, Amy, who's that guy behind Shane?" I asked the blonde woman who was now standing next to me on my right.

"You won't believe it. That's Lori's husband." The fuck? I looked at browned haired women and then at the new guy and tried to hide my surprised face. This is going to be interesting. Making a mental note to ask Lori all about that, I focused on the conversation in front of me.

"There was a problem in Atlanta" Shane touched his face for a second, showing how uncomfortable he was saying it and then moved his hands to rest on his hips. Daryl looked around and hold my gaze for a second before he took a few steps.

"He dead?"

"We're not sure." After that, Daryl moved towards Shane, his voice getting louder.

"He either is or he ain't."

"No easy way to say this so I'll just say it." I could see this new guy move forward, and towards Daryl, he wasn't looking directly at him at all.

"Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes"

"Rick Grimes, ya got something ya want to tell me?" Oh, I could tell that Daryl is starting to lose his patience. Yeah, I know, he doesn't have a lot of it in the first place.

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there" When this Rick guy answered, I found myself moving forward too, annoyed at what he was saying. What stopped me was Daryl and his face full of tears when he turned around away from the new guy. He glanced at me for a second before wiping his eyes and then clenched his jaw, turning back to Rick.

"Let me process this. So, ya handcuffed mah brother to a roof, and ya left 'im there?"

"Yeah," Answer was short, and I could hear the shame in the new guy's voice, then with anger on his face, Daryl threw a string of squirrels we caught this morning at Rick Grimes and was ready to beat the shit out of the guy. That was until Shane literally tackled younger Dixon to the ground. Shane quickly stood up while brown-haired men was still lying on the ground, but I could see him reaching for his hunting knife, which was secured on his belt.

"Daryl -" I was cut off by T-Dog, who dropped the logs he was collecting.

"Hey, watch out for the knife!" At this same moment, Daryl got up and swang his arm at Rick, who dodged it. That didn't stop younger Dixon, he moved again, aiming at the men in front of him, but Rick managed to avoid it again and get a hold of Daryl's wrist pushing it away from both of them. Shane sneaked behind Daryl and put him in a headlock. With that, Dixon was shoved to the ground, with Shane's arm still around his neck. In the meantime, Rick pried the knife and dropped on the ground away from the fight.

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl was still struggling and trying to get away.

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't" I rolled my eyes and finally made my way towards the three of them.

"Shane, let him go!" Using my stern 'work' voice, it usually worked well with criminals and kids, mainly with kids.

"Daryl stop struggling, please. Just calm down for a second so we can get a full story out of them." I crouched in front of him and looked into his blue eyes, now full of tears and rage, his chest rising quickly and his fists clenched, one by his side and the other around Shane's arm, trying to ease the hold. He looked at me for a while and nodded, making me smile just a little.

"Shane, let him go! You know I can handle him if necessary." Both of them looked at me now, one unsure of what to do and the other with a look of pain in his eyes, even though it disappeared very quickly. Shane finally let him go, so I took the opportunity to turn toward this Rick guy and T-Dog.

"Great, now can someone tell us what the fuck happened in Atlanta, and how could you leave a man behind?" I put my hands on my hips, face blank, but my eyebrows rose slightly.

"What I did was not on a whim, Ma'am. His brother does not work and play well with others. He beat T-Dog and was shooting from the rooftop, attracting more and more walkers to our location." Daryl and I exchanged a look, he was biting his lower lip, a clear sign of anxiety. Yeah, unfortunately, what this man was saying was sounding precisely like Merle Dixon.

"It's not Rick's fault." That came from T-dog, "I had a key. I dropped it." Now my face was for sure, showing surprise and confusion, but it was Daryl who voiced what I was thinking.

"You couldn't pick it up?"

"I dropped it down the drain" I run my hand over my face trying to compose myself, while Daryl just scoffed in disbelief.

"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't." He finally stood up and tried to walk away from the group—T-Dog's voice stopping him in his tracks.

"Maybe this will. I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him with a padlock." I looked up at them, confused.

"Are you saying that Merle is alive?" I asked in a low voice.

"Yeah"

"You fucking idiots. Don't you think that's the kind of information you should start with?!" I nearly shouted in Shane's face, seeing as he was the one to start all this show.

"Hell with all y'all. Just tell me where he is so that I can go get him."

"He'll show you." Lori's voice was calm, but when I turned around to face her, she was anything but. Oh, I see how it is. The first day back and the Grimes family already got problems.

"Yeah, I'm going back."

As I was getting ready in my tent, I tried to not listen to what else people got to say about all that. I re-checked if my knives were secure and put my short sleeve blue flannel shirt over the reins. I checked if my Glock is fully loaded and put it in the holster on my right side. I put some water and granola bars in small backpack Glenn found in Atlanta some time ago.

I took my machete and made my way to the track I knew we gonna be taking. I could see Glenn already sitting in the driver's seat while Daryl was pacing the truck's back. I walked past Rick and T-Dog and put my machete down on the floor of the vehicle. I pushed myself up on my arms and got into the back of the truck, making Daryl stop his pacing.

He looked at me, his blue eyes narrowing "What the hell ya doing here, women?"

I just looked at him calmly and picked up my weapon "What does it look like I'm doing, Dixon? Did you really think that I would let you go without me?" He just scoffed and mumbled under his nose, something about a stupid woman.

"Hey! Don't go breaking my records now! We went all 15 days without you calling me stupid." At that comment, I could see his lips twitch just a little, and then he made his way to the seats at the front of the car and used his foot to pressed a horn.

"Hurry up, y'all!" Rick and T-Dog made their way towards us, the new guy was wearing a sheriffs uniform, I guess he was a cop just like Shane, before all this.

"Ma'am, I don't think it's safe for you to go with us. The city is completely overrun, and it might be dangerous." I let a small laugh escape my lips, the others following my steps, except Daryl, of course. That guy doesn't laugh.

"Rick, this is Elena, we were telling you about her last night." Glenn introduced me, and it got me really interested in what they were telling him about me.

"SSA Elena James, not that it matters anymore. Trust me, I had my experience with the dead already, and yet I'm still here alive." I spun my machete in a circle, careful to not nick Daryl with a blade. After that, we finally were ready to go, Rick taking the passenger side at the front, T-Dog climbing up to sit with younger Dixon and me.

The journey to Atlanta was uneventful, except few snarky comments from Daryl. Glenn finally parked the car, and we all jumped out, making our way to a chained fence, to go through it. The first time I saw the city after that day on a highway and boy let me tell you it was horrible.

The streets were abandoned except for a few geeks - or walkers, as Rick calls them. I could see abandoned cars and here and there we passed burned down buildings, seeing what napalm actually did to Atlanta and how deserted it looked.

It's kind of image you'd only see in a movie, laughing and asking your friends what would you do if apocalypse, of any kind, would hit. And now we fucking living it and it's scary to think about because it seems like humanity lost and what was left of us was in the minority.

"Merle! We ain't even having this conversation." Daryl's gravelly voice pulled me out of my thoughts. It seems as he and Officer Friendly were having a go at each other. Again.

"We are. You know the geography, it's your call" That last part was intended for Glenn, who, in fact, like I mentioned before, is a walking map of Atlanta.

"Merle's closest. The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first." I was so happy when Glenn said it. I didn't know if I could stop Daryl if he'd decide to punch Rick, or I should say I wasn't sure if I was willing to do so. I was pissed too, you don't leave people behind like that, it doesn't matter how fucking annoying they are.

We jogged through the streets for about five minutes before making it to the convenience store they left Merle in. I heard a low growl behind me and T, so I quickly spun on my heel and rose my blade into dead men's eye. He was wearing a suit, now shredded in many places, his stomach ripped open and once-white shirt now deep red and brown from all the blood.

As quickly as I sunk my machete in, I pulled it out, pushing caracas to the ground, making the rest of my group look at me. I gave a quick smile in their direction before advancing to the front, following Daryl through a ransacked shop. He gestured for me to take a right, while he went to the left and we both slowly and quietly moved forward, I heard the swish of Daryl's crossbow and then sound of a body going down. When I rounded the corner, I was met with an arrow pointed straight between my eyes. I used my left hand to gently push it down cocking my eyebrow a little.

"Come on, Dixon, you would be super sad if you'd kill me. Who would make you laugh and complement that sexy body of yours if I'd be gone?" He just rolled his eyes and scowled at me before going in the direction we should be going. I looked at Rick, and he had a weird expression on his face. Like a combination of disbelieve, amusement, and resentment all at this same time.

"Don't worry, Rick," T-Dog said, chuckling. "That's just the relationship they have, she pushes his buttons, and he tries not to kill her."

I sent a sweet smile in their direction and moved after Daryl. We finally made our way up the stairs to where the roof door was. When on the top, Daryl made space for T-Dog to use bolt cutters on a padlock and then kicked the door rushing first to get his brother. We all followed him through a platform to a pipe where Merle supposed to be. Yeah, supposed to be...

"No! No!" Daryl's cries broke me a little, he was pacing, and tears rolled down his face. The handcuffs were still attached to the pipe blood all over them, on the floor bloodied handsaw and... a hand.

Impatient prick cut off his own hand. Fuck.

Next Chapter

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon x oc #daryl dixon fanfiction #the walking dead fandom #walkers #daryl fanfiction #the walking dead daryl #slow burn #excessive swearing

1 note · View note

thesalemsaga · 4 years

Text

𝟲 — 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝘆

— 𝙨𝙞𝙭𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙢 𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙖.

𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 : 6.4k words

𝙨 : they’ve left the walls, and now it seems like they’re unstoppable. however, having to make a short stop, they soon uncover the savagery that has taken hold of the world, putting their training to the test.

“ doesn’t your eye-sight hurt? ”.

alexander peered up once seren’s voice caught his ears.

she had been sitting at his side for a good hour, glancing over his shoulder whilst his index finger trailed beneath the lines consisting of runes and symbols that she had never dreamt of seeing before. for the first time she took knowledge over how his fingers were tainted with ink, red from hours of writing, pouring every last pint of energy he had into his studies.

seren had seen copious books thrown in front of her when exam season hit the calendar, but nothing could compare to what this boy probably had to sit through to be a qualified cleric. she took to admire alexander for how he persevered, it didn’t seem like it was labor for him, he must enjoy it to some degree. even now, when he could be talking to the others, growing closer to them, strengthening bonds, he continues reading as if to never give himself a break from the school they probably wouldn’t see for a while.

yet, the more she thought about it, the clearer it became. maybe it was for the very reason that they would not face their school for some months that he clung to the only thing that might bring a sense of normalcy. school is hell, albeit the only thing they’ve ever known within the walls. it kept them grounded, centered on something. even seren, an avid daydreamer, allowed herself to be consumed by her studies and let it became the center of her life.

now she realizes that she has to distance herself from the only life she’s ever known and replace it for one she could not control, where the laws didn’t bend at her will, because nature kneels to no one.

alexander was wise, though, to keep something to occupy his mind. who knows how long it’ll be before they start to lose their ways and begin to cave into the reality of the world outside?

“ m-my father got me these at the start of the year after . . . some glasses that made my eye-sight worse. these ones have steadily improved it, though ”, he replied after a moment, immediately drawing his attention once more to the book he grasped within his hands.

seren hummed, swinging her feet slightly. “ is your hair also always like that? ”, she questioned. she found herself in a very questioning mood that day, maybe it was an attempt to distract herself from the utter boredom she might face during this flight to egypt.

“ like what? ”.

“ that bowel-shape cut. ”

his face suddenly incredibly pink, red rising to the tip of his ears. seren’s eyes widened for a moment with slight realization, “ w-well, you get what i mean. always the same style, quite conservative. do you ever switch it up? ”.

“ how? i find it unnecessary. and a waste of time, if you ask me. ”

chuckling, the girl rested her back against her seat and ran her fingers through her own hair, “ not exactly. i find that boys switch up their hairstyles more than girls on some occasions. have you seen percy? one day he has a perm, the next he’s wearing a beret. ” it was super cute.

alexander appeared timid all of a sudden. “ well i’m not percy, seren. i find that i quite like my look. sure, the glasses can be fussy and the hair is hard to cope with in the morning, but it’s my signature look. like your hair bow ”.

seren defensively grasped her ointment, “ i have my bow but i still style my hair differently on occasions. i customize it, explore my way of dressing. it’s actually a great way to learn to appreciate your looks, looking at yourself in different ways. ”

alexander seemed unwilling to counter, attention on the book once more. taking a deep inhale, the girl smiled and reached over. he had a signature look himself, that face. his entire face was a signature because his features were so firm and bold and beautiful, it would still be him even if he chose to wear something different or styled his hair.

she found herself removing his glasses, ignoring the fuss he appeared ready to put on, and messed up his hair, bringing the locks hiding his forehead and pushing them back. thankfully, they fell right into place. capturing a glance at him, seren felt like she was looking at a different person, she smiled to herself, content with the transformation that had occurred under her doing.

“ w-what? ”.

seren shook her head slightly, “ you look good. you look even better, actually. people never realize how beautiful they are when others are looking at them. you still look like you, in case you’re wondering. but just without the glasses. stop squinting~ ”.

“ s-sorry ”, letting out a small laugh, alexander raked a hand through his locks and seren was barely able to contain her excitement, he seemed to be liking it! “ i just really can’t see without my glasses. contact lenses are hard to wear, as well, i tear up and people think i’m constantly upset. ”

seren peered at the frames in her hands and hummed, “ can’t you enchant yourself to fix your own eye sight? or are long-term conditions out of question? i hear only a witch doctor can do that. ”

“ percy could. he’s a mage. the magic i access is limited only to healing and enchanting things that might bring people at death’s door. a stab wound, i can deal with. a cancer or a chronic illness, i’m afraid i can’t deal with that. believe me, i’ve tried ”, he countered, flipping aimlessly through his pages. seren’s eyes suddenly frowned. “ i would ask percy but . . . it’s too much to ask. it would demand a crazy amount of mana. ”

seren held her breath.

she’d witnessed it herself, the moment percy went pale the night before and for just a split second, it felt like he went totally limp before managing to catch himself. mana was the fuel source for anyone dealing with magic, and if you drain it, it eats your energy away in chunks if you use your magic excessively and recklessly.

alexander pushed on, “ besides, he could end up panicking and blinding me for life. i know he feels slightly reluctant when dealing with his magic. he hesitates all the time in magical art lessons. it’s like he’s scared of what he’s capable of. ”

“ well isn’t everyone? having that much power should scare anyone ”, seren shook her head, staring at her feet. “ magic is serious business, that’s why i felt lucky to not have inherited it. because as a swordsman, i have control of who my target is. as a mage, i might end up burning a whole village to kill just one man. ”

the aircraft suddenly shifted, and the girl caught herself in case she went overboard. it wasn’t turbulence, it seemed like they were going to start to make a descent into the territory they’d dreamed of stepping into. she stood up, clinging to the security railings on the roof and walls. “ what’s happening? ”, she called.

perseus peeked his head out of the cabin door with his cheeky, boxy grin. “ we’re about to land! ”, he replied over the sound of the engine roaring, but as they neared their descent, all that she could hear was the whistle of the wind. beyond the windows, she saw red. well, red soil.

the landscape in which they’d landed resembled a savanna region which you wouldn’t have expected to find in egypt a long time ago. the dirt paths were overtaken by spreading grass, tall acacia trees scattered around but not close enough to resemble a full forest. no animals in sight, as expected. and if there were, they probably fled when they heard the aircraft landing.

landing in a desolate terrain that a human being has probably not stepped into yet was a thrilling idea, albeit terrifying. because if there weren’t humans roaming then there had to be something else, lurking, aware that something strange and out of their world had just touched down on their soil.

it felt forbidden, like they shouldn’t be here.

“ are we in the sinai peninsula? ”, seren quizzed.

at the shake of kailen’s head, she was growing confused. “ i made an emergency landing because i need to figure this compass out. if i try to do it on hair it’s just going to waste fuel. we might as well pause here until i get this thing working. ”

“ well, what do we do in the meantime? ”.

“ explore for a bit, i suppose. ”

romeo was the first one out once the hatchet opened. seren stepped out and landed on the grass with her two feet. the sensation was albeit the same but knowing that they were no longer caged within stone walls and now roamed the wild, it was no wonder her heart felt heavier, blood pumping with excitement.

what she did notice was how unbearably hot it was, the sun smiling down at them, toasting the girl beneath her dense military clothes. they only weighed her down, and if she was going to traverse through desserts and dry lands, there was no point wearing it.

after ripping her jacket off, she felt a massive improvement, loosening one button of her white shirt and slipping her gloves off. “ s-seren, what are you doing? ”, she heard perseus stammer behind her. she blinked at him cluelessly.

“ i’m burning hot. besides, these things are only going to slow us down. we’re not representing valhalla out here, we’re by ourselves. ”

pacing forward, she began to investigate her surroundings with a little more liberty. time was of the essence, but they were not expecting to reach salem within a week, that was very unlikely. so whilst tying her hair back with her ribbon, she took to admiring the trees, the landscape, the mountains in the distance.

“ from what i heard ”, alexander began suddenly, crouching down to take a sip of his water. “ the peninsula became densely populated with trees. it used to be more of a dessert, mountain range. now it’s practically a rain forest. most of the middle east is a rain forest. ”

which would mean that there would be less dessert to traverse, which the girl was thankful for. she’d heard rumors that during the apocalypse period, the world underwent a series of freezes that meant temperatures drastically cooled down and even countries that used to be in the line of the equator became sudden areas stained with trees and wildlife. egypt was one of them.

and with cooler temperatures, trees and humidity, the wildlife can be, well, wild. the girl realized that after spotting something on the dry dirt just after a patch of grass. something that seemed to resemble footprints, huge ones.

whoever they belonged to, the creature had hands resembling a human being if it wasn’t so thin and so lanky, and she was certain she had just come across claw marks embedded into one of the nearby acacias. crouching, the girl ran her fingertips over the prints and hummed.

“ you okay? ”, romeo asked.

she motioned him over and pointed to the foot prints, measuring at least at three metres in length. “ what kind of animal would you find in the middle of these plains who could have such a claw? ”, she questioned.

“ dragons, or some sort of lizard-resembling creature ”, the gunner replied, grazing his fingers over the marked dirt. “ these aren’t new footprints, though, they have most likely been here for at least three or four days. they’ve not faded yet because of the lack of wind. ”

seren frowned, looking off at the set of mountains in the distance. casting her memory back to when she met alexander in the library, she had pulled out a book on the creature at hand. it spoke of the domains dragons took to, and long mountain ranges were some of them.

hopefully we’ll be out of here before such dragon can spot us, she prayed.

“ hey, i think i found a lake or pond! ”.

they immediately stood and walked on over to where evangelos stood and pointed. there was certainly a body of water, a stream of some sort that most definitely belonged to a greater source, perhaps something verging off of the nile river. “ it’s pretty cool, i’d suggest maybe getting clean water or cooling down before we head back ”, perseus called.

seren did just that, crouching over the edge and taking the water in her hands, holding it to her nose. no funny odor, and based off of how evangelos was drinking, it had no funny taste either. and it wasn’t pristine, yet she could at least see the bottom of the pond.

she refilled her water bottle and set it to be cooled, and then splashed her face a couple of times and instantly felt better, headache simmering down with each passing second until it stopped. “ you’d never would have thought the world would be peaceful like this after stepping outside ”, romeo began, grinning to himself.

“ this won’t account for the rest of the world. for all we know, the rest could be filled with monsters of all sorts trying to kill us. but it’s nice that there’s a safe haven here, minus the dragon footprints ”, evangelos ran a hand through his now damp hair. “ i asked kailen. we’re apparently very close to cairo. we might even be able to see the pyramids if we fly low enough. ”

“ seriously? ”, seren gasped and beamed. “ that’d be so great! but . . . we’d be best off staying on higher ground to avoid being spotted or alarming anyone we don’t want knowing we’re here. ”

it was unknown just how for salem’s hand stretched. eastern europe was occupied completely by her henchmen and it was why they advanced so easily down into the balkan countries. the empire military was being forced back into greece as their defenses fell, their greatest fear being that salem would find crete soon enough, and the last set of human beings would be crushed under her wrath.

earth would have to start again, smaller, weaker, with no means of fixing what they had since it was going to be stripped from them anyway. seren’s blood boiled, it came to a point where she was done questioning the morale of a person like salem, of why people go to these lengths to pursue things for their own benefit. evil people just exist, they don’t need a reason.

she would be damned if she let the woman get close to her home. having been spotted in russia already probably had her hiding out in fear, but fear brings panic, and in the midst of panic, she might do something catastrophic and seren promised her father the woman would be dead before such thing could happen.

“ do you think . . . there are human beings outside of the walls? ”.

seren turned to perseus and rose a brow, “ separate populations? ”.

the boy nodded. “ yeah. people who weren’t given a chance of treading into the walls like everyone else, people who isolated themselves. people who saw the wild as their home and never thought to abandon it. different languages, a different culture. i think it’d be nice if we came across something like that ”, he suddenly chuckled. “ though, let’s hope they’re not aggressive. ”

“ for all we know, they could also believe they’re the last people on earth. we’d surely give them quite a scare, being armed to the brim ”, evangelos stated, tilting his head. “ human beings can be sympathetic despite their differences. i don’t think we’re going to get killed at the hands of people like that, though. that’d be a waste. ”

it was never said whether there were humans beyond the walls. seren knew the government worked hard to expand the walls at the same pace that the population grew, allowing people to situate their homes in zones they deemed ‘safe.’ never was it said that they made contact with other people, and if they did, they kept it as a very, very good secret.

they suddenly jumped at an echoing sound and threw their gazes over their shoulders to find kailen at the open hatchet, waving them over with a grin. “ i’ve fixed it! ”.

romeo grumbled, “ about time. ”

once inside the ship, seren found alexander tapping away at some control buttons on the board, the compass glowing green and seemingly working pretty well. kailen had pulled out a map of the old world, and he prayed that the land structure hadn’t changed exactly.

“ it seems like we’re going in a more north east direction. as soon as we get into sinai, we’ll start treading through the middle east, and even more east just to avoid the baltics. from what i heard, salem doesn’t have much control over china and mongolia. so we have to enter through there ”, kailen spoke whilst running a red pen, tracing through path and drawing what seemed to be a border around the baltics. it was a good tactic, avoiding where the enemy’s front line was. he looked back at seren who stood just behind him. “ what do you think? ”.

the girl shook her head, “ it’s perfect. what we have to be mindful of is not disturbing any of her minions in the area, but we can worry about that later. how much fuel are we on? ”.

kailen winced, lowering his head. “ three hours, at least. t-though, i hear there is a place where we might find some . . . ”.

time skip . . .

the flight wasn’t too long, but it was long enough for the girl to catch another nap. the seats were incredibly uncomfortable, the components of the seat belt digging into her torso and waking her up when the airship would shift at times. the feeling only relieved when she had an idea.

evangelos had been sitting beside her quietly, doing what appeared to be doodling on his phone. valhalla students were given school phones that aimed mostly at giving them a better experience in their classes, and they had longer lasting batteries, which is why evangelos seemingly whipped it out. some adjustments made by alexander meant that the school could not trace them.

the seat beside the male was free, and the seat belt component was lowered which meant that what she had in mind could work, it was just a matter of whether evangelos would be comfortable. seren bit her lip and sat down beside him regardless, he lifted his gaze and glanced at her. “ what’s up? ”.

she didn’t say a word, resting her head against his shoulder and finding herself feeling way more comfortable as opposed to before, smiling softly to herself. evangelos merely held his breath, but made no attempt at moving or pushing her away. you’d think she would be more cautious around him of all people.

in reality, she would have felt awful for avoiding him because of that dueling incident. her arms were still recovering, albeit slowly. and the burn marks became heavily obvious in the daylight, hence her attempts at hiding them as best as she could.

and she probably to avoid making evangelos feel bad.

“ comfortable? ”.

the girl nodded, crossing her arms over her chest and pursing her lips slightly. she was bothered by the marks she saw on the dirt road despite romeo’s reassurance. in all honesty, she was far more concerned with the idea of there being a dragon roaming the heavens than getting to salem.

kailen had stated there was a nearby bay area on the coast of northern sinai where human dealings had stained. some sort of power plant from a long time ago had exploded, leading to the area becoming unstable and too toxic to support human life. after many, many years, it looked as if the toxicity levels were low enough for the fuel to be deemed safe enough to power the airship’s engine.

what didn’t bide well with the girl was the lack of a hostile presence ever since their journey began. they had not encountered one enemy aside from clues pointing to a dragon terrorizing the nearby area, but to come face to face with an abnormal creature was still on their to-do list. it was silent, peaceful, nothing she was complaining about but it drained the thrill from the situation and made it feel as if they were sneaking out to a party rather than, you know, saving the world.

that would only mean that whatever they encountered soon was going to shake her to her core. hence why apprehension to easing down and resting too much, but she found evangelos’s shoulder to be comfortable. his presence radiated that of protection aside from intimidation. and he was warm.

seriously warm.

“ did it hurt? ”.

“ hm? ”.

his fingers grazed gently over the surface of her arms. his touch was delicate, not an ounce of mal intention with it. it was perhaps the most docile thing she had seen from evangelos from the moment she met him. her thoughts drifted once more to the duel, to the internal shock she experienced after that impact, the agony that came from the burns, the way her bones rattled in fear when she realized her weakness.

“ well, of course it hurt. but does it still hurt? ”, he sounded concerned, and a part of her ached on his behalf. to have everyone glance at you as if you’re some sort of monster when your anger builds and you act upon it must be something nobody wants to necessarily deal with. she hurt for him. and she didn’t see a reason for holding a grudge against an injury that will heal. sure, the marks will always be there. but they will never be a reminder that evangelos was a violent person. ever.

seren glanced at his hand and chuckled, patting it gently. “ it did. but what hurts me most is that you’re still hanging on. it’s healing, as most injuries do. i just want you not to worry about it when there are other things we have to heal ”, she said.

and that was not her attempt at shutting down the conversation, it was simply a way to reassure evangelos in case his thoughts were scrambled, in case he somehow considered himself as the monster people painted him as.

“ like . . . the wounds of people who might have been denied a home within the walls. the wounds of people who never got a chance to be saved. if they’re out there, then we have to help them heal. isn’t that what heroes are supposed to do? ”.

evangelos started, “ y-yeah, but . . . ”.

“ my wounds will heal. memories stay but it’s how you remember them that counts. i don’t remember it as an attack. i remember it as a mistake. and we all learn from them. ”

it was clear she wanted to say more to nurse the situation, to put his mind at rest but she was cut off when the engine began to roar a little louder. upon listening out, it became apparent it was not the engine. but rather, waves crashing against each other. an ocean. a beach.

when the ship landed and the hatchet opened once again, seren felt a chill crawl down her spine when the pristine blue sky she had seen previously turned bleak, grey. lifeless. something you’d expect to see on a cold island in northern europe, not in a tropical region blessed with greenery and life.

upon stepping out, it felt like entering another planet.

craters of sharp rocks and dips made the landscape, the waves thrashing roughly against the shores. it was violent, turbulent, as if a storm slowly crept above them. it was a phantom menace, one that would bare its fangs and strike the rocks with pummeling strength. it took her a couple of steps back suddenly to avoid getting hit by a wave. when her back hit kailen’s chest, she let out a minor squeak.

but he applied a firm hand to her shoulder and nodded to the others, “ alright, there has got to be an oil source nearby. the toxicity will not kill you since it’s harmless at this point. but still be careful. fill the tanks as best as you can. if there’s any sign of movement, don’t wait. just act. ”

the tanks he mentioned weren’t large but it was enough for each member to carry one individually. kailen had suggested that he stayed in the ship whilst they went off to get the oil before quickly returning.

but seren was apprehensive to leave him alone. “ are you sure you don’t want someone to stay behind? ”, she quizzed as they prepared to leave. “ you know we can’t exactly communicate without alerting the academy of where we are, what if something happens to you? ”.

kailen gave her his usual comforting smile, one which causes every suspicion or worry to practically vanish. but it didn’t work this time around on seren. “ i’ll be okay. you just hurry back. it’d be nice to get going before night fall. ”

there was no use convincing him, of course.

seren hurried just like everyone else. it was in their best interest to hurry in order to avoid enemies, but her worry remained grounded on kailen who had stayed in the ship. and although he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, he might not be able to resist a mob of enemies, in whatever form they manifest themselves in. dragons, goblins, maybe even the very henchmen from last night.

“ kailen can handle himself, seren ”, romeo briskly reminded her with a quick pat on the back before hurrying her along. “ he’s an archer, sure. but his semblance won’t fail him in an attack if he gets swarmed. trust me, he will be okay. ”

seren chuckled, “ it’s a habit of mine to worry. i was even concerned when he was with alex fixing the compass. i suppose i feel anxious when we’re not in a group, if you can understand that. ”

romeo hummed, and swung the tank in his arm in a childish fashion that incited a grin from the girl. even if they were escaping mortal danger and running towards the enemy, he still acted as if it was a walk in the park. “ i don’t. but i reckon it’s due to the fact that i know their skills. and i know how strong they are individually. don’t worry, you’ll only exhaust yourself if you keep panicking during the journey. ”

to a great extent, she agreed. but this was also a habit that she has had from a young age, like her habit of taking the blame when it wasn’t hers to claim. unhealthy habits, as one might call it. it was going to take her a lot more time to grow distant from that constant worry. it wasn’t as if she was doubting their skills, they were in higher ranks than her and had stellar combat performances. yet . . .

a whistle from alexander caused her attention to shift. it seemed as if he had found something worth checking, so they hurried over.

what they stumbled across was a bunch of iron barrels with some sort of symbol on them. not the danger symbol, not the flammability symbol, but something else, a mark of manufacture. it was long faded, something that belonged to the old world yet it still sent shivers down her spine. part of the past stood in front of them.

perhaps the most bizarre detail to the scene were the skulls.

skulls.

ribs, skulls, arms and feet. as if a graveyard had surfaced from the soil, the barrels might have been a metaphor for a gold mine but the apparent human remains was what stunned seren the most. and even as the boys moved to fill the tanks, she remained with her feet nailed to the ground, her concern growing tenfold.

there was no use asking for what they believed happened here when it was somewhat clear. it had been a previous power plant, as kailen stated, and after an accident, nobody ever came to look at what remained of the location. craters of oil remained, yet what appeared to be the bodies of the workers also stayed. it was a disturbing sight of which she thought she’d only see in movies.

her steps brought her beside perseus who was studying one of the skulls closely, gloves slipped on and eyes narrowing in thought. “ notice how there is what appears to be bite or scratch marks near the top. that wouldn’t happen if it was a power plant accident, except if they were making monsters instead of oil, which i doubt ”, he stated, looking up at her. “ what do you think? ”.

seren brought her eyes towards the ocean, angry, thrashing, crashing, battling for what seemed to be a victim to pull into its grasps and yank it back into unknown depths.

“ i believe . . . it could have been a monster of some sort. maybe some animals that moved to the area and thought it would be nice to feast on the remains but the toxicity should have killed them and there are no animal bones . . . ”, she spoke, looking around. “ my bet is that it’s a monster. ”

evangelos suddenly grunted as he filled up the tank and screwed the lid shut. “ if there were monsters, they might have showed up by now. those marks look new, if we had the equipment we might have been able to locate the origin. but if it’s monsters, i suggest we hurry up ”.

but what kind of monster would attempt to dig their fangs into a human skull and then leave it aside. it would be normal if the flesh of the bodies had rotted and joined the soil beneath their feet, yet seren was uneasy. it felt too good to be true that this bay, dark and grey, was radio silent aside from the waves crashing ahead of them.

it was a horrible sensation, ignoring that worry gnawing at the back of her mind and then proceeding to fill up her tank with as much fuel as it could carry. she strained to lift it from the ground after screwing the cap shut but she heaved it up and sighed, following romeo who offered the way back to the ship.

with fuel in hand, they will be able to travel a longer distance before sundown and probably find themselves within the rain forest quickly. it would mean that they will be exposed to new danger but it would keep them hidden from any eyes from above trying to track them down.

“ where’s the ship? ”.

huh?

surely enough, when seren glanced up from the ground, her hand suddenly trembled and the tank met the floor within seconds as the ship had vanished. gone, as if it had never been there to begin with.

her first reaction was to believe that kailen might have left them. but if it had been the case, they would have heard the airship taking off and would have come running back long before their current return.

when they heard kailen’s scream, though, they all acted.

romeo suddenly bolted towards the edge of the rocks where he soon spotted the airship being dragged down the rocks, constantly being engulfed by violent waves that they couldn’t stick too close to. what was dragging the ship into the ocean?

seren’s worst nightmare.

mermaids, in mythology, are often depicted as beautiful creatures. alluring, tropical, ethereal. with perfect teeth and hair and stunning voices that will drive a sailor mad, inviting you in with docile smiles and large, curious eyes.

the mermaids that were dragging the ship into the ocean were far from it.

they were scathing around like wild animals, screeching and screaming loudly. there were dozens of them, seren was driven dizzy by the waving tails and the blunt force they used to drag the ship, pushing and pulling and screaming repeatedly and it felt like her ears were going to start bleeding soon, yet she gasped and reached for iron thorn the moment romeo fired a shot from his weapon.

“ kailen’s there! don’t let them get away! ”.

the ship was probably long gone, half submerged under water with kailen in the hatchet, motionless. seren’s food rose to her stomach in heaps yet she managed to fire some essences of ice from her blade, and it reached at least five mermaids, enveloping their tails and pulling them down into the rocks, keeping them from grasping at kailen.

but that still left at least twenty of them that evangelos and perseus were trying their best to blow away with the shots they could fire. evangelos was re-loading consistently, looking fed up by the second and perseus struggled on remaining on his feet. “ kailen! kailen, come on, man! kailen! ”, alexander yelled over the edge, flinching back when a mermaid jumped from a wave and tried to claw at his face. it was only then when seren realized that their nails were razor sharp.

with each stroke of ice and fire, the mermaids seemed to scream their way into the waves but when they began to drag kailen, alexander finally jumped into action and motioned with his hands. when the faint glow swarmed kailen’s body, the mermaid pulling him down shrieked and clawed at him. when alexander began to lift kailen’s body, seren was hopeful he would make it all the way.

when a mermaid jumped and suddenly grasped his ankle, romeo ran to keep the male on the rocks but kailen’s body began to fall back into the waves and seren did the only thing she could. and threw her sword that then pinned the fabric of kailen’s cape against the rocks. and then bolted, running the curve and launching her body over the edge and grabbing him roughly.

and soon, with the little strength she had, heaved him up, caring not for her sword that was probably going to fall into the waves.

“ perseus! ”.

seren busied herself with removing the tight jacket kailen wore as well as the chest coat and yet he made no attempt in breathing or moving. her blood began to run cold and when she began to apply her weight onto his chest, compressing a dozen times, she didn’t notice the hot tears spilling down her cheeks.

she was crying.

“ kailen? kailen! come on, wake up, wake up! breathe for me, kailen, please, we can’t lose you now! ”.

she grunted and pressed harder at a steady pace, her compression only becoming sloppy when she began to realize it wasn’t working. he wasn’t breathing. he wasn’t breathing! choking back a sob, seren pressed harder and felt someone grasping her shoulder but yanked their hand away and brought herself closer to the unresponsive boy. “ kailen, for fucks’s sake, stay with us! please! ”, she cried.

it was only when seren moved over him, pinched his nose and covered his mouth with hers, followed by two steady inhales, that she felt the boy flinch beneath her and jumped back to see the life rushing back to him.

kailen looked pale, coughing up the sea water that had been trapped within his lungs for some minutes. he was drenched, in some sort of pain, groaning through every cough and when he came to a stop, he panted. looking at the concerned faces looking over him, bringing his attention to seren and then looking around, as if to look for the ship.

“ w-what happened? w-why did i black out? ”, he grunted, moving to sit up but being pushed back down by evangelos who removed his jacket and wrapped it over the other’s shoulders. “ where’s the ship? o-oh god, did i lose the ship? ”.

seren’s lip quivered whilst she wiped the tears from her eyes, grimacing at the thought of having lost a team mate in the midst of something like that. the mermaids came out of nowhere, and through the way they shone their teeth at her, they were not good mermaids, not the ones she wold read about in stories and fairy tales. they were monsters.

and they had almost killed kailen.

if they hadn’t arrived faster, kailen would have suffered the same fate as the remains of those people they had come across near the iron barrels. he would have been eaten.

“ they dragged the ship into the ocean. there’s no way we’re going to recover it now ”, romeo voiced with a sigh. seren glanced up when perseus gave her iron thorn. her heart sank once more. if she had lost kailen and her weapon . . . she gave the boy the best smile she could manage and nodded in gratitude, looming worriedly over the boy. “ looks like we’re gonna be walking. ”

kailen sighed and met eyes with seren, smiling timidly at her. “ sorry if i scared you. but thank you for acting so quickly ”, he managed through another cough.

“ y-yeah, it’s no worries ”, seren said and smiled back at him.

but they had a lot to worry about. the day had seemingly grown darker. they had faced possible carnivorous mermaids and they had also lost their ship.

night would fall soon.

they would get hungry.

they lost their direction.

they lost their means of travel.

they were lost. officially.

#chapter six #original writing #fantasy #magic #futuristic #dystopian

3 notes · View notes

1wngdngl · 5 years

Text

Pokemon Shield playthrough

I’ve been playing this game a lot since last night, and I still haven’t gotten on the train yet ;) I like to take games slowly to make sure I notice and experience everything along the way. It looks like the best way to share my game progress is through screenshots, so that’s what I’ll do. Cut for length and spoilers - I’ve been trying to avoid spoilers and leaks for the past couple weeks, so if you want to be able to experience the games fresh yourself, now might be a good time to click away. [This post covers up thru getting the Dynamax band]

I went ahead with the “standard” female character, but you can bet I’ll be customizing her as soon as I can. What’s with that knock-kneed stance, anyway? Pokemon trainers should stand strong and confident!

Chairman Rose greets us. Everyone online was guessing he’ll turn out to be evil or something. He certainly looks suspicious, doesn’t he?

And here comes the first surprise of the LP - a brand-new Pokemon, not even seen in trailers! (except for that fuzzy 1-frame image from a while back.) Its trunk looks kinda like a soup ladle. Maybe it’s a play on a teacup/teapot elephant? I wonder if it evolves...

Here’s Leon fighting an unknown trainer - maybe a Gym leader?

I really like the art style of the map - it’s so whimsical :)

The map also shows current weather for all locations. Look at all the different stuff going on in the Wild Area at the same time! I’ve been to the real England, and I don’t remember it having such extreme weather...

The map also has a few useful features, like displaying your next objective, and showing the facilities in a town (but only once you’ve been there yourself). The towns and such all have really interesting names that emulate that old English sound.

First thing I do when I gain control in a new Pokemon game? Change the battle style to “Set”. It seems more fair, plus it helps make the game just a bit more challenging.

I’m a little sad that the old option to change menu/text box borders seems to be forever abandoned, though... >.>

My house. It’s a pretty decent-sized place. We have a pet Munchlax and a few Budew outside. My character practices her whistling.

My mom. Or “mum” as the game calls her. The dialog is noticeably slanted toward a more British dialect - I wonder how they handled the accent in other languages?

Speaking of my mom, she seems rather big compared to me, doesn’t she? Quite a bit taller. I’m guessing my character is around 12 - when I was that age, I was the same height as my mom and done growing. Maybe they think people won’t believe this character is the mom’s child if she’s too tall?

Also, my dream is to one day have a /dad/ in a Pokemon game. Seriously, why does every other house I visit have a husband and wife, and my character is always stuck being the only child of a single parent? What if in one of these games, my dad was the champion or the evil team leader - how fun would that be?

My bedroom. The pink clock on the wall reminds me of one from a previous Pokemon game - was it ORAS that had those round clocks on the wall that you could set?

My first step on my journey. Looks like my mom spends every minute gardening - I guess the Budew help her?

Ah yes, every Pokemon game needs a “power of science” guy :)

Here’s another surprise - how many Pokemon games give you a fishing rod right at the start?! Usually you have to track down three different fisherman to get the three versions of the fishing rod. I’m also happy to see that Pokeballs have their own pocket again :)

The handy map tells us where to go next, with even a little picture of our destination.

The champion of Galar, of course, has a huge house.

Wow, a Purrloin! I forgot that they stood on two legs. I like its little bed.

Also, Leon’s family decorate their house mainly in trophies.

I guess this is Hop’s room - I like his artwork. I know Leon has a Charizard - does he have these other two Pokemon too, and that’s why Hop has posters of them?

Leon’s room is mostly a shrine to hats.

Speaking of Leon, he really knows how to play to the crowd ;)

So, some people are wondering if /Leon/ will turn out to be evil in the story. I didn’t really get that vibe from him. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, but he does seem like he has some worries on his mind, like his cheer is sometimes forced?

Maybe he actually hates the limelight and gets uncomfortable with attention? Maybe he’s secretly terminally ill? Maybe there’s some massive threat about to attack the Galar region? He seems really concerned with making sure that Galar has lots of strong trainers. Maybe he knows something about the legendaries?

Alternately, some people were saying that maybe Leon isn’t actually a great champion, and his fights are rigged in his favor by the chairman. /If/ that were the case, I bet that Leon is actually unhappy with that situation and wants to make the tournament more fair.

Or maybe everything in the game is exactly as it seems ;)

Nothing important here, I just like this screenshot. I wonder if Fletchling are native to Galar too?

My first Pokemon! (in this game, at least...) I picked Sobble because he’s the most endearing.

My first battle! I like how the interface is laid out, and how detailed the background is beyond the fighters - you can even see Leon standing there.

My Pokemon's details. I don’t play competitively so I don’t know if it’s a particular “good” Sobble. It seems like this species is a fast special-attacker, so I’ll have to keep that in mind.

The Slumbering Weald (my spellchecker doesn’t even recognize that word :) ) It’s very spooky and seclusive - and it’s right next to the starter town too! You’d think if it was really that dangerous, people would put up more than a flimsy wooden gate to keep trespassers out...Hop, of course, is an idiot and runs right into it; and I, the spineless protagonist, have no option to say no. >.>

My first wild encounter! This starts the trend I noticed all during the opening hours of this game - most of the wild Pokemon are brand-new, totally-unrevealed species. Like this squirrel thing. (Although some people guessed we would get a new squirrel based on that shirt design). I wonder if it evolves?

This part was actually pretty scary, with the Pokemon (I can’t remember its name...) suddenly appearing out of the fog. The Pokemon acted almost like a hologram in battle though - my attacks couldn’t touch it.

What if the twist is that the legendary wolf Pokemon are just illusions, perhaps even man-made ones created to keep intruders from discovering some secret in the forest?

Anyway, we escape from the situation perfectly fine, because of course we do ;)

I noticed that this particular generation gives you quite of a bit of money at the start, but I guess that’s because you encounter the first boutique so early. There’s a fair number of affordable options too. Some of these Pokemon shirts I wish were /real/ shirts.

My new look :) Mostly I just ditched the dress for jeans. This looks like a comfortable outfit, although that knapsack is a bit unwieldy.

We visit the professor’s lab. She has a lot of books, plants, and a tea set. I wonder if she ever has problems with Polteageist?

The new Pokemon center design. I love that the move deleter/relearner and nickname functions are all in one place - I always hated flying around the map trying to remember where they were.

That Pokemon behind the counter is another totally new one. Could this be a Galarian Audino?

Using mystery gift, I was able to get this “Gigantamax” Meowth. However, due to my rule of only using Gen 8 Pokemon, it’s just gonna chill out in the box >.>

Leon is very generous with Pokeballs. Even the items you find on the ground are generous, often containing 2 or 3 “copies” of an item when you check it out. Is that a new thing for Pokemon?

Here I battle my first trainer that isn’t named Hop. He has that squirrel shirt and is a total pushover.

Just chilling by the professor’s house. It looks like maybe you can only fish in fishing spots (those darker circles on the water), but at least you get your fishing pole right away.

Also, I discovered that while I could not sit on beds or chairs inside, I am able to sit on this bench :)

The way the Pokemon mill about in the tall grass is very interesting. Some will try to avoid you, others like this Yamper will chase after you. It makes the routes feel a lot more populated.

I guess this is Sonia’s room. It’s very pink. I wonder if she even /wants/ to do Pokemon research, or if she’d rather be a fashion designer or something.

The in-game time of day doesn’t seem to match up with the Switch system clock, at least not from what I’ve seen so far. For example, suddenly it is sunset and I catch a falling star. (look how the reflection in the water changes :) )

I haven’t decided yet if I want to buy the Switch online service, but in the meantime I decided to at least pick my profile picture. The icons you can choose from actually reveal quite a lot about the trainer classes and gyms that are in the game. For the first time ever, we have a Dark-type gym! Their logo is a sideways version of Team Yell’s logo - does that mean that Team Yell or Marnie is the Dark gym leader?

I spent a while catching Pokemon around the professor’s house. I can’t tell if I got every possible species without looking online, but I did build up a good roster.

I found it really cool how many new, surprising Pokemon showed up this early in the game. There’s the fox one (which is a Dark type and reminds me of Zoroark), the turtle one (which has got to be a pre-evolution of Dreadnaw, probably the 1st of 3 stages), the bird one (based on the “Rook” in its name and the fact that it learns Dark-type moves early, I’m guessing it’s a pre-evolution of Corviknight), and the bug one (can’t wait to see what its final stage looks like).

I went through the party to find the best Pokemon that fit my self-imposed rules (only new, Gen 8 Pokemon, no overlap of types). I know that this means I won’t be able to use Galarian forms or Gigantamaxes of old Pokemon, but just because I’m not using them in my main playthrough doesn’t mean I can’t catch them :)

Next time: I step onto the train and leave my home behind.

#pokemon #pokemon shield #pokemon gen 8 #let's play #lps

1 note · View note

ezatluba · 5 years

Photo

Bill Gates says a devastating 'quirk of nature' could kill 30 million people in a year. Researchers are fighting that threat by studying bird butts.

Hilary Brueck

Jul. 9, 2019

Migrating shorebirds stop each spring in New Jersey to feast on horseshoe-crab eggs. The birds have lots of flu strains in their guts.

Researchers swab the birds' butts (the technical term is "cloacas") and pick up their droppings in search of clues about potential future pandemics.

A pandemic flu that hops from birds to humans could quickly circulate around the world, killing hundreds of millions of people before scientists develop a vaccine.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

On a May morning, birders and scientists descended on Reed's Beach with gunpowder and a cannon. They hid in the grass and mud, waiting for the right moment to shoot.

Hours passed as the sun drifted into the middle of the sky, then finally the rifle powder ignited, and the thud sent more than 100 stunned shore birds into a frenzy. They stretched their wings to soar into the air, then quickly tumbled to the ground, trapped in wide nets that had been shot from the cannon.

In an instant, dozens of people emerged from hiding spots in the beach dunes, rushing through the sand to pick the birds up. A few flu researchers went straight for the creatures' back ends.

Ths wasn't part of a war reenactment or violent uprising. It was a meticulously crafted plan to help scientists fight a dangerous yet almost invisible enemy: a potential flu pandemic that could originate from the guts of migrating birds.

Traveling birds are the primordial hosts of influenza viruses, which means they can harbor deadly flu strains that could get transmitted to chickens, pigs, and people. Every pandemic flu the world has ever seen has come from birds like these.

On the beach, the goal is to take a close look at these birds' butts and poop in the hopes of gathering information that could help scientists prevent the next deadly flu pandemic. This particular stretch of beach is especially good for bird research, since of thousands of tiny, well-traveled shorebirds — each small enough to fit into the palm of your hand — flock there during migration to gorge themselves on the protein rich-eggs of horseshoe crabs.

It's a ritual scientists have participated in every May for over three decades, when migratory birds stop along the Jersey Shore as they journey north from South America. For about three to four days, as the birds feast, researchers swab their throats and butts (technically they're called "cloacas") and collect hundreds of poop samples.

Their aim is to uncover clues about what the next dangerous bird flu might look like — while there's still time to prepare.

We are woefully unprepared for the next pandemic

The field work on Reed's Beach helped researchers discover that birds are the primary, natural hosts for pandemic flu.

The last big pandemic flu — the H1N1 virus nicknamed the Spanish flu— killed 50 million people in 1918. American soldiers brought the Spanish flu to the battlefields of WWI before the illness eventually spread as far as New Zealand, but it originally came from birds.

Most scientists agree that the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if. Experts think that if a pandemic flu similar to the 1918 one were to arise today, it could infect one in every three people alive. Without a good vaccine to combat it, the virus could kill more than one out of every 10 humans on the planet — upwards of 900 million people.

More recent pandemics include the 1957-58 "Asian flu;" the 1968 Hong Kong pandemic, which killed at least 1 million people; and the H1N1 pandemic of 2009, from which an estimated 284,000 died. Researchers have compelling evidence that each of those strains also came from bird guts.

The interconnected nature of our modern lives due to air travel and other daily migrations of people and food means the chance that a deadly virus could hit hard is only increasing.

"The world needs to prepare for pandemics in the same serious way it prepares for war," Bill Gates said last year, on the 100-year anniversary of the Spanish flu. "If history has taught us anything, it's that there will be another deadly global pandemic."

One pandemic simulation developed at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security estimated that if a "moderately contagious" and "moderately lethal" virus were unleashed today, it would kill as many as 150 million people in 20 months. That's almost half of the population of the US.

For birds, on the other hand, flu viruses are relatively benign, manifesting as gastrointestinal issues that are of little consequence to their health. The reason some flus become human-transmittable — then proliferate around the globe, with devastating consequences — while others don't remains a mystery.

"At the moment, we don't understand which ones are threats, and which ones aren't," Richard Webby, an infectious-disease expert at St Jude Children's Research Hospital who helps develop the annual flu vaccine, told Business Insider.

By studying the flu virus in birds, scientists hope to discover new strains that haven't hit humans yet and work on ways to fight those illnesses, perhaps by developing vaccines or creating antiviral drugs(like Tamiflu) that can make a case of the flu less severe.

'About 20% of them are pooping out influenza'

The more bird species interact with each other (in places where they congregate like markets, barns, or beaches), the more likely it is that their different flu genes will mix. More flu-virus interaction creates more opportunity for a virus to morph into a new strain capable of hopping into humans.

That's why Reed's Beach is one-of-a-kind: Up to 25 types of sea birds come together there each spring. There's the red knot, which travels more than 9,000 miles from the southern tip of Argentina to the Canadian Arctic, as well as ruddy turnstones on their way up from Brazil, plus sanderlings, semipalmated sandpipers, and several species of gulls.

It's a mixing ground for a hemisphere's worth of bird poop. (Similar research is done in poultry markets in Bangladesh, chicken and duck farms on the Nile river delta in Egypt, and on wild ducks in Alberta, Canada.)

"Those beautiful, healthy birds — about 20% of them are pooping out influenza," Robert Webster, a flu expert who pinpointed the Jersey shore bird hotspot in 1985, told Business Insider. "Where do so many infected birds come from? Where did they get their viruses from? We don't really know."

Flu viruses can morph in two ways. The first is via a routine process called genetic drift, in which a virus multiplies and undergoes small genetic changes over time as it replicates. The second happens when two viruses mix together, which can create new (and dangerous) bugs capable of infecting chickens, pigs, or people.

At least 16 different "A" influenza subtypes — the kind responsible for pandemics in humans — are found in aquatic birds (and two additional influenza A subtypes were recently discovered in bats). Researchers looking at flu strains on Reed's Beach have found close relatives of the 1918 Spanish Flu (in the H1N1 group), as well as other strains that look like the Hong Kong pandemic bug.

"You're never going to know somebody had some bird flu unless they get really sick," Pamela McKenzie, a flu researcher from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital who participates in the annual bird-research frenzy on the beach, told Business Insider as she gathered poop samples.

The birds also harbor some strains that we haven't seen in humans in over 50 years, Webster said. That means if they were to hop into people now, our immune systems would be shocked.

"We know that the H2 viruses are still there in the wild birds and they're a potential threat to humans," he said. "We are concerned that there is no immunity in the human population, or only in the elderly, and so that is why we worry about them."

If a bird flu were to break out, public-health officials have a few anti-flu weapons to deploy. Stockpiled antiviral drugs called neuraminidase inhibitors can help, as long as they're dispensed within a couple days after a person gets sick. Otherwise, scientists would need to develop a new vaccine, but that could take months and ultimately prove ineffective if the virus morphed again before the vaccine was finished.

"Even with the very best technology that we have, it takes six months to make a new vaccine," Webster said. "And in the meantime, the virus is spread all over the world and if it's a deadly virus, it's going to kill many, many, many people."

This is another reason scientists are scrambling to develop a universal flu vaccine that would offer long-term protection against all kinds of flu, unlike the annual shot.

Trapping birds using cannons, nets, and tall grass

Trapping the birds on Reed's Beach is a multi-hour operation that can be easily foiled if the birds get startled.

Before the big cannon-shooting moment, researchers used walkie-talkies to radio to one another in different spots around the bay. Slowly, they worked together to corner the birds into a small inlet. Then after the projectile net sent the birds gently toppling to the ground, the flu researchers unpacked their vials and swabs.

In addition to the live swabs, researchers also gathered about 600 poop samples from the beach using long-stemmed Q-tips.

None of these scientists seemed too concerned about coming into contact with a potential killer flu on the beach — they don't even wear gloves while picking up poop samples (though they do when swabbing the birds' cloacas). Instead, they simply maintain good hygiene on the sand and off, knowing they're more likely to get the flu from touching a door handle or sitting next to a sick person.

Once all the samples were packed in coolers and ready to go to the lab, the research crew left the birds alone on the beach. By the end of May, most of the birds had flown north; their dedicated beach area re-opened to the public in June.

In labs, researchers are now conducting DNA analyses to find out which influenza strains were circulating on the beach this year, how that compares to years past, and whether there was any new flu. That work will take about six months.

So far, after years of field research, scientists have gained some clues about which genes make an influenza strain more likely to be harmful and better able to jump from birds to poultry, pigs, and people. The new genetic information from this year will become part of that catalogue of three decades' worth of flu-gene segments, enlarging the database that helps researchers better track — and potentially fight — pandemic flu.

"You're looking for key components of the genetic sequence that make a gene more dangerous," McKenzie said.

But the scientists said their research is far from done.

"We would like to know if we can predict which are the viruses in the wild birds that are a real threat to either pigs, poultry or humans," Webster said. "We don't know the answers, but as we look at the genome of the viruses that are in the wild birds and in humans and so on, the goal is that in the future, we can make predictions of which viruses are really dangerous."

That research cycle will start again next May, when both birds and bird-catchers return to the Jersey shore.

"Ultimately we dream about having a universal vaccine," Webster said. "In a perfect situation, we would have four or five anti-viral drugs and a universal vaccine. Then I could die happy."

0 notes

themostkawaii · 8 years

Text

Riyira Fanfic

So the other night I decided to write a Hadrian x Royce minific and was instructed to post it online :P It’s not edited so I apologize if I made any mistakes or the formatting is off but maybe someone will like it :)

Royce looked up through the thick canopy of leaves above him, trying to get a good glimpse at the sun’s position through them. He and Hadrian had been heading home from a mission when they’d taken a wrong turn—Hadrian’s idea, as Royce was quick to point out—and gotten lost in an incredibly dense forest. It was only a matter of time until the managed to find a decent vantage point, but in the meantime the detour was a little aggravating for the tense thief. Forests without paths were always something to be wary of.

Hadrian, however, didn’t seem to have that much of a problem with their current situation. He whistled as he began to stack up firewood by a makeshift pit, easily able to carry several cuts of wood over one shoulder. Their horses grazed peacefully a few trees over, making quick work of the available undergrowth. They had slung the saddles over thick, low-hanging branches to air out, and their packs had been tossed nearby. The campsite was relatively quite nice, but Royce was still scowling as Hadrian started breathing some kindling to life.

“Nice day to get lost, isn’t it?” his companion offered far too cheerily as he fanned the infant flames. “Warm weather, plenty of food and supplies left, and just after a successful mission. It’s almost like a miniature vacation!”

Royce rolled his eyes and paced before the fire pit, his shoes started to pad down the grass into a little path. “You do realize that we’re still lost, right? This puts a serious delay into our schedule.”

Hadrian just shook his head. “You take things too seriously sometimes, you know that? Why I remember plenty of times where I was in worse straits than this—hell, one time I got lost all on my own and wandered a mountain for a week before finding any signs of life. Now that was being lost!”

“Ugh, why am I not surprised.”

Hadrian sat back on his heels with a pleased expression and put some logs on the fire as it grew to a considerable size. “Does someone need a hug?” he teased, eyes twinkling with good cheer and mischievousness.

Royce stopped pacing for a heartbeat, attempting to glare daggers at his oblivious friend. “Try to hug me and I will sit you on your ass so quickly.”

Hadrian chuckled. “Oh c’mon Royce, don’t be like that—I could take you any day.”

The dark thief appeared genuinely insulted by that comment. “Are you joking, or are you actually as delusional as I had assumed?”

His partner in crime snorted. “Anytime and anywhere, Melbourne.”

“Oh that is just rude,” Royce snarled as he tore off his outer cloak. He didn’t bear any ill well towards his friend in particular, but he needed to let out the stress that had been plaguing him of late, and Hadrian was a very big, willing target.

Hadrian grinned and relieved himself of his swords at Royce’s reaction, moving out of the way of his fire to a clearer patch of ground. The two were on each other at the next heartbeat, without any need to speak or clarify their intentions. Royce was quick on his feet and slippery, but Hadrian had the clear advantage in size and muscle mass. They were both often errantly dismissed for differing reasons—Royce being considered weak and Hadrian brainless due to their appearances—but that was hardly the case in fact. The men worked well together in part because they were an equal match, and they showed it in the way they fought.

Royce had the upper edge for a while, spurred on by his eagerness to engage compared to Hadrian’s more laid-back attitude, but things quickly took a turn in the opposite direction, and soon Hadrian had Royce pinned to the leafy forest floor. Royce was wholly unable to move or break the younger man’s grip, and his smaller size was only aiding in keeping him down.

He tended to be a bit of a sore loser and wanted to yell and curse and accuse Hadrian of cheating the match miraculously, but something stopped him. Hadrian’s face was so close to his, as the man panted for breath on top of him, and there was something about the way his light hair framed his face in that moment that made Royce incredibly interested and confused.

“What’re you…stop doing that,” he grumbled half-heartedly, still a bit dazed.

“Doing what?” Hadrian asked, voice low but quiet in Royce’s ear.

“Stop the—the thing—the thing you’re doing with your face.”

Even if Royce didn’t understand it at the time, it didn’t take long for Hadrian to. The bulkier man purred and leaned in, his lips a hair’s breadth from Royce’s. “Doing this?”

He found Royce unable to speak, unwilling to even attempt a stutter, with the smaller man’s eyes focused entirely on Hadrian’s lips. Those lips quickly split into a knowing smirk as he leaned down and completed the touch, gently kissing his partner in crime for a moment before pulling away again.

“Or did you mean that?”

Royce stammered, pupils dilated and face almost needy, for a solid minute before he could pull himself together. “What the hell was that for?! Get off of me!” Even his protest seemed rather weak.

Hadrian just smirked and got off him, walking over to the fire adding another log to it before it burned itself out. “What does it look like I was doing?”

Royce rolled onto his side but didn’t bother getting up. “You kissed me!” he accused.

Hadrian just smirked and shrugged. “Your point is?”

“You…you stopped.”

Oh.

“Would you rather I continued?” Hadrian asked, worried for a moment that he’d gotten the wrong impression.

He definitely had not. “Just…just get over here you idiot and finish the job.”

Hadrian laughed and made his way back over to Royce, easily pushing the smaller man down again and pressing teasing kisses to his cheeks, his nose, his forehead, anywhere but his lips. It was only when he heard Royce audibly whine underneath him that he caved again, tasting the man’s soft lips and reveling in the sensation. This was going to be a very interesting night, indeed.

What a damn good day to get lost!

#fanfic #riyira #Royce Melbourne #Hadrian Blackwater #Royce x Hadrian

5 notes · View notes

kristablogs · 4 years

Text

Nature’s best toilet paper substitutes

Slippery elm leaves, Osage orange, and the large, soft leaves of the mullein plant can work as toilet paper substitutes. (Alamy Stock Photo/Dave Hurteau/)

This story originally featured on Field & Stream.

As I write this, Charmin, Cottonelle, and Downy Soft toilet paper, to name a few, are “currently unavailable” on Amazon. This verifies what you’ve always suspected: When things get scary in the US, the first thing most of us think about is pooping. The average American goes through 30 rolls of toilet paper. a year, which is kind of impressive but still not a reason to stock an entire wall of your basement with them. Seventy percent of the world’s population doesn’t even use bathroom tissue. They use a variety of things, including, in some countries, the left hand. I have no intention of covering that technique here.

People have always devoted a lot of thought to cleaning their backsides. As early as the 6th century, the Chinese scholar Yan Zhitui wrote that he preferred not to use paper containing quotations from the sages. The first task-specific toilet paper was invented in China in 1391. The sheets were initially intended for the royal family. They were big and perfumed. A 16th century French writer recommended “the neck of a goose that is well downed.” Doesn’t sound like a bad idea. On the other hand, it’s tough stockpiling goose necks.

The Romans pooped communally—just like they did most things—and used a sea sponge attached to a stick to clean themselves. Between uses, the stick was plunged into sea water. This, incidentally, is where the phrase, “the sh*tty end of the stick” comes from. The Vikings used old sheep wool and smooth pottery shards. They were hardy people. The Eskimos used two of the better toilet paper substitutes: snow in the winter and tundra moss when it was available. Snow, incidentally, is often ranked both as one the best and one of the worst alternatives by natural-bathroom-tissue experts. On the plus side, it is fantastically effective, both smooth for comfort ,and mildly abrasive for effective cleaning. What’s more, it can be custom-shaped. On the minus side, it’s really cold. It’s also wet. A wet butt is not a good thing.

In this country, until the late 1800s, it was common to find a corncob hanging from a string in the outhouse. I know, I don’t want to think about it either. Seems like it would start out too smooth and end up too rough. And, of course, it was communal. Really, I have no idea why it was so widely used.

The Sears catalog changed everything and was a quantum leap in bathroom technology. It was free, contained hundreds of soft, uncoated pages, and gave you something to read in the meantime. The sort of toilet paper we use today wasn’t commercially available until 1857. Gayett’s Medicated Paper for the Water Closet contained aloe and was marketed as being good for hemorrhoids, which were called “piles” back in the day. The patent for rolled toilet paper was granted in 1891. Fun fact for settling bar bets: The original patent drawing shows the paper unspooling from the top rather than the bottom. This is the only sensible way to do it, but some people like to quibble.

If you find yourself in a survival situation—or if you just can’t buy toilet paper anywhere right now—you’ve got options. Believe it or not, smooth stones, like river rocks, of a fairly small size are considered one of the better choices for the task. Not particularly absorbent, but they’re better than a corn cob. The cones of Douglas fir trees are recommended because they are said to be comparatively soft. “Comparatively” is the key word here. A handful of grass stalks, all carefully and tightly bundled and then folded over to create a “brush” is another popular alternative on survivalist websites. It actually looks sort of doable.

But if my ass were on the line, I’d reach for one of these six options, at least one of which is available anytime and almost anywhere in the great outdoors.

Moss

A handful of soft moss is just the thing. (Artem Makarov, Usplash.com/)

The gold standard among natural toilet papers. Think of it as green Charmin. Moss is soft, absorbent, and full of iodine, a natural germ killer. It grows all over the country, and not just on the north side of trees. Don’t be particular about species. For one, it’s extremely difficult to identify. For another, it doesn’t matter. Go for it. Make sure you have more than you think you’ll need. (Note: This should probably go without saying, but the time to go look for wiping material is before you lower your trousers. It’s a lot harder to move around afterward.)

Old man’s beard

A bunch of old man’s beard or Spanish moss gathered from tree limb will do the job. (Jael Vallee, Usplash.com/)

There are 87 kinds of old man’s beard, including Spanish Moss (sort of, it’s complicated) and similar lichens. They all grow on trees and look like tangled fishing line (but make much better, softer wiping material). It also contains usnic acid, which is effective against Streptococcus and Staphylococcus bacteria. Dried, it also makes a great fire starter. Win-win.

Lamb’s ear

Lamb’s ear leaves are soft and absorbent. (Mnsnoddy from Pixabay/)

Another standout. It’s not native but grows throughout the US. The leaves are big, quite soft, and absorbent. They are said to feel like sitting on a cloud, which may be stretching things a bit. Lamb’s ear has natural antibiotic qualities that makes it nice on your backside. It also makes a great alternative to a band-aid if you don’t have any.

Mullein

Mullein leaves are much like lamb’s ears, but usually bigger. (Nature Photographers Ltd./Alamy Stock Photo/)

Similar to Lamb’s ear and found in all 50 states. You just can’t do better than those big, soft, absorbent leaves. It’s also fairly sturdy, which reduces the chance of poking through it. Throughout history, mullein has been used by just about everybody for just about everything. Tribes in the Southwest smoked it to treat mental illness. Eastern tribes used the leaves to treat colds, bronchitis, and asthma. Choctaws used a poultice of its leaves for headaches. Early European settlers used common mullein seeds to paralyze fish. The seeds were also crushed and put into diked areas of slow water. Today, mullein leaves are occasionally used to fashion insoles for weary hikers. You can’t do that with real toilet paper.

Slippery elm

Slipper elm leaves have a somewhat rough texture that help achieve that clean feeling. (Dorling Kindersley/Alamy Stock Photo/)

Okay, these leaves are not soft and absorbent. If anything, they’re kind of like sandpaper because the hairs on them contain silica crystals. On the plus side, that is the same property that makes them effective at cleaning. Just be gentle.

Osage orange

The crevices and bumps of the young Osage orange fruit aid in removal. (Zoonar GMBH/Alamy Stock Photo/)

It’s said to be one of the best butt wipes ever, but only during a small window of time. The mature fruit is too big to get into the relevant area; what you want is young fruit. The small crevices and bumps on its surface are said to be of the ideal texture for cleaning. You want to make sure to use undamaged fruit, because Osage orange contains a sticky sap that you really don’t want back there.

Finally, a couple words of caution. If you can’t find any of the six above and decide instead to just reach for whatever leaf is handy, give it at least a cursory glance before putting it into action. Most will be fine, but you’ll want to stay away from anything on this list.

Also, wash your hands. I know you are already doing a lot of that lately, but fecal bacteria is a major cause of backcountry nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. There’s only one right way to do it, assuming you’ve got a companion. After you’re done, have someone squirt some water and some soap into your hands. Your contaminated hands shouldn’t touch anything. Wash thoroughly. Then, you can get back to scouring the internet for toilet paper.

0 notes

scootoaster · 4 years

Text

Nature’s best toilet paper substitutes

Slippery elm leaves, Osage orange, and the large, soft leaves of the mullein plant can work as toilet paper substitutes. (Alamy Stock Photo/Dave Hurteau/)

This story originally featured on Field & Stream.

But if my ass were on the line, I’d reach for one of these six options, at least one of which is available anytime and almost anywhere in the great outdoors.

Moss

A handful of soft moss is just the thing. (Artem Makarov, Usplash.com/)

Old man’s beard

A bunch of old man’s beard or Spanish moss gathered from tree limb will do the job. (Jael Vallee, Usplash.com/)

Lamb’s ear

Lamb’s ear leaves are soft and absorbent. (Mnsnoddy from Pixabay/)

Mullein

Mullein leaves are much like lamb’s ears, but usually bigger. (Nature Photographers Ltd./Alamy Stock Photo/)

Slippery elm

Slipper elm leaves have a somewhat rough texture that help achieve that clean feeling. (Dorling Kindersley/Alamy Stock Photo/)

Osage orange

The crevices and bumps of the young Osage orange fruit aid in removal. (Zoonar GMBH/Alamy Stock Photo/)

0 notes

ilove-pets-info · 6 years

Text

A Beginner's Guide to Caring for Goats

Your goats need most of their eating routine to be regular roughage from bushes, woody plants, feed, tree cover, and that's only the tip of the iceberg. The roughage they eat will no doubt not give them the majority of the supplements they have to keep up impeccable wellbeing. It is most likely going to be vital for you to enhance their eating regimen with a coarse grain like goat feed, corn, or another great grain item. In the event that you give your goats an eating routine that is practically all grain, they will create kidney issues that can be deadly. They may likewise build up an enlarged stomach or turn out to be excessively fat. A goat must have a fair eating routine that contains somewhere in the range of 75% and 80% of their dietary admission from characteristic roughage giving plants.

You may have heard that a goat can eat anything, or that a goat will eat anything. This isn't valid. Numerous regular plants can either make your creature extremely wiped out or now and again can cause sudden passing for the creature. Plants that will make your goats wiped out.

Hemlock

Wild cherry

Azalea

Black walnut

Rhododendron

Sheep shrub and Mountain Laurel

Juniper

Ponderosa Pine

Yew

Mesquite Pods

Keep a lot of new water accessible to your creatures consistently. The measure of water they will need will change contingent upon the dampness content in the sustenance they are eating. In the winter months on the off chance that you live in a region that sees temperatures fall underneath solidifying for extended stretches of time, you will need to inspire a submersible radiator to put in the water holder so the creature water does not solidify strong.

The sanctuary is a need for your creatures. They need a dry spot where they can get in out of the downpour, and where they can rest without the dew falling on them. Their sanctuary needs to give them away t escape the virus winds that blow in the winter and furnishes them with security from regular predators. Most goat proprietors put a thick layer of straw or feed down inside their safe houses so their creatures will have satisfactory security from the cold and moistness of the ground. You can put a wooden floor in your safe house on the off chance that you pick. An extensive canine house is likewise a decent asylum elective for a goat. The creature will go inside the structure and they will likewise get on the structure. Numerous proprietors purchase the little igloo hound houses and put them inside their nook so their little creatures can go inside them. You should figure out how to trim the hooves of your goats. You can put shakes or solid squares in the pen with the creature to help them normally keep up their hooves, yet every once in a while you have to bug their hooves and trim off abundance.

Great Fencing

You have to introduce wall that the creature can't crush through and can't lift up to go under. Goats are famous for staying their heads through the fence and frequently getting their horns hung up in the fence. You need a solid wall with secure entryways to contain these creatures. They will regularly push against the fence like they are scratching their sides going back and forth so having your fencing material appropriately verified to the fence-posts is essential.

Signs that Your Goat is Sick

Regardless of how great you care for your creatures, there will be times that they become ill. The most ideal approach to deciding whether you have a debilitated creature is to focus on their ordinary practices. At that point when one of the creatures starts to act uniquely in contrast to what they ordinarily do you will rush to see the distinction.

A few indications of sickness in goats are:

When they don't bite their cud

When they won't get up

When they are not eating like they regularly do

When their crap is strong or fluid rather than in pellets like it ought to be

Walk and cry more than typical

They quit drinking

They start to crush their teeth

They have a limp

They are amazing

Their udders are hot to the touch

They are hacking

Their eyelids or gums are beer in shading

They have a runny nose

These creatures have incredible identities and will engage you for a considerable length of time. They will keep the property clear of bushes and weeds, and the youthful ones will bring a reasonable cost when you offer them. Dealing with the creatures isn't generally difficult to do, and the prizes exceed any inconvenience that the consideration presents. Is it true that you are thinking about getting goats as pets, milk makers, or to help keep up the property? Thinking about your new creatures will be a standout amongst the most essential things you do.

Beginners Guide To Raising Goats And Cattle For Profits In Your Own Livestock Ranch

The average cost for basic items nowadays is extremely high and individuals are searching for approaches to spare some cash in the meantime are searching for approaches to make some additional salary. Raising your own one of kind animals is an incredible method to give your family crisp quality items like meat and milk. Then again animals cultivating is an incredible method to profit since you can sell the produce for some great benefits. In this article, we are going to cover how to raise goats and steers for benefits in your very own domesticated animal's ranch.

Raising Goats for Profits

Raising goats is truly gainful and should be possible by nearly any individual who has the enthusiasm for raising this creature. Individuals are beginning to like goat meat more than hamburger and pork. This is on the grounds that goat meat has a ton of supplements and taste better. Goat milk is likewise high sought after, however on just for its nutritious esteem but since it tends to be utilized to create frozen yogurt and cheddar. So as a goat rancher you can create the items the pitch them to profit. When beginning in raising goats you must have the land to keep the creatures. The land ought to have enough space for the animals to touch and ought to incorporate some safe house for them to rest. The asylum ought to be all around roofed and you can put some feed on the floor with the goal that the goats are agreeable and are warm in the winter months. You ought to likewise ensure that you pick the correct type of goat that is reasonable for what you need to create. A few goats are useful for creating meat while others are useful for delivering milk. When you have picked the breed you should simply to deal with the domesticated animals and ensure they are legitimately sustained.

Raising Cattle for Profits

Raising steers is as beneficial as raising goats. Dairy cattle meat is the most sought after animals meat and the milk the most drank too. So in the event that you position yourself to create some meat and milk, at that point, you will profit from being a dairy cattle rancher. Much the same as goats when raising dairy cattle you need to initially pick the breed that is directly for the item you need to deliver. On the off chance that you need to create a hamburger, at that point pick a breed that is directed to deliver loads of meat and on the off chance that you need to create milk, at that point go for a breed that produces bunches of milk. You ought to likewise set up some land for your animals to eat and benefit from green grass. And furthermore, manufacture a well secure sanctuary for your domesticated animals to rest and be drained in the event that they are milk creating steers. When putting the dairy animals in the house attempt to isolate the bulls from the females and there ought to be sufficient space for them to move around openly. So as to make a lot of benefits from your animals you need to stay in contact with the market news. You need to make an exploration to see whether it's increasingly productive to pitch your animals to coordinate clients or butcheries. You can likewise ask other domesticated animals ranchers in your general vicinity or take a gander at online animals discussions.

How A Beginner Livestock Farmer Can Start In Raising Goats And Sheep In His Livestock Farm

Bringing goats and sheep up in your domesticated animal's ranch is an extraordinary method of delivering your own quality tasting meat and milk. These two creatures can be effectively overseen and can be raised by a fledgling domesticated animals rancher. So as to raise solid domesticated animals, it expects you to have some learning of what you have to do when raising sound animals. Beneath we will dive into more subtleties on how you can approach bringing goats and sheep up in your animal's ranch.

Guide To Raising Goats

Raising goats is energizing and beneficial. You can raise these creatures for the generation of meat, milk, and fiber which are all sought after. Goat meat is eaten all around the globe, the milk can be devoured or used to deliver nourishment things like yogurt, treat and cheddar and the fiber used to create quality fleece. When raising goats you should initially decide on what sort of generation you need to deliver. Would you like to raise this animal for milk, meat, fiber or as a pet? On the off chance that you are likewise on spending begin by raising a few goats and produce only the appropriate add up to nourish your family. When you get the hang of raising these creatures than with time you can include more goats for business generation. When you have decided on the kind of goat you need to raise the following stage is picking the correct breed for the creation. On the off chance that you need to raise goats for fiber to take a gander at the Pygora and Angora breeds. Raising goats for meat generation you should get the South African Boer breed since its best for meat creation and for milk generation you should raise the Alpine, Saanen and Oberhasli breed. Manual for raising goats expects you to take great consideration of them by ensuring that they are very much encouraged and have appropriate asylum. You likewise need to ensure they are healthy and convey a veterinarian to come now and then to keep an eye on the animals.

Guide To Raising Sheep

Much the same as raising goats raising sheep expects you to initially settle on a choice on what kind of sheep you need to raise. Sheep can be raised for the creation of milk, meat, and fleece. When you have picked what you need to create the subsequent stage is to pick the correct breed for the generation. When you have picked the breed you need to raise its opportunity to set up some land and sanctuary where they will live in. The land must be sufficiently expansive for the domesticated animals to eat and benefit from some grass. What's more, the sanctuary will help shield the domesticated animals from outrageous temperatures.

You additionally need to set up the hardware and gear utilized in overseeing animals. A portion of the gear incorporates a fence, sharing hardware, and cleaning stuff. On the off chance that you not on tight spending, you can even purchase a gatekeeper puppy to ensure and control your domesticated animals. Sheep additionally need you to appropriately think about them by giving sustenance and clean water to them to drink on an everyday base. When you get this correct you doubtlessly on your approach to bringing solid domesticated animals up in your ranch.

from Blogger http://www.lovepets.info/2019/03/a-beginners-guide-to-caring-for-goats.html via IFTTT

#Farm Ranch #Pets

0 notes

airglowed · 6 years

Note

the ily thing: As an apology - peter n charles

Not here, he’d said.

Charles had shown up breathless, grin wide with a half-drunken glow about him, sweat and perfume and his hair curled wild in the humidity of the evening. Clearly, whatever affair lit up the palace had quieted enough for him to steal away, the night worn late, Peter having wasted the past few hours in the dark waiting for him to appear. There was no promise that he’d show up at all, Peter knew that, but he had enough to busy himself with in the meantime, and he wasn’t about to open the possibility of Charles showing up to an empty stable.

Apparently, Charles hadn’t given himself enough time to change out of his party attire before making his way to Peter, appearing horribly out of place within the setting, all gold and red and pure-white against the dinge and dark of the unlit space. This hadn’t seemed to bother him one bit, slinging his arms over Peter’s shoulders and leaning in close enough for the wine stain on his breath to be obvious, pressing a few grinning kisses to the flat of Peter’s neck. Charles was always affectionate when they’d been apart for too long, and that situation had been no exception, having draped himself across Peter. He’d curled in against his chest to breathe a few fond words into his shirt, say his name on repeat— Peter, Peter, Peter.

This time, however, something hadn’t felt right. Peter had brought his hands to tangle into Charles’ hair but hadn’t made any moves to kiss him hello, instead just tucked his face into Charles’ shoulder to keep his expression hidden, voice muffled. The past few hours of waiting had settled themselves sick in the pit of Peter’s stomach, and they hadn’t yet dissipated as they usually would, even under Charles’ reassurances. The rapid heartbeat in his throat hadn’t felt excited as it usually would have, instead beating haggard, ill-timed. The room had been too hot, the air too thin, the floor too far, and he’d clung to Charles with an urgency that didn’t suit the circumstance. Peter’s uncharacteristic response hadn’t gone unnoticed, even in Charles’ slightly dizzied state, and he’d gotten a grasp on Peter’s jaw to pull him back and look him square on. What is it, he’d worried, what’s happened?

Not here, was all Peter could reply with. I don’t want to be here.

The stable had felt stiflingly small around them, the low ceiling appearing to waver above as though the wind would blow the whole structure off its foundation. He couldn’t tell if this instability had just been something his nerves came up with, but regardless, he couldn’t stay another second inside. The night outside crowded up against the open windows and he could see almost nothing beyond them, reaffirming the claustrophobia of the space. All that he could spot were a few yellowed lights dotting the palace windows up the hill, narrow and dying and no comfort at all.

—Can you take me somewhere?

Guests were still leaving the grounds as the pair of them had crept out the far side of the building. While the confusion allowed them some leeway, Charles couldn’t afford to go far or stay long, though he had wasted no time guiding Peter off. Usually his visits after a party were quick and fervent, and had it been any other instance, Peter would have been happy to just take that for what it was. Then, however, the canned air within the walls had just felt suffocatingly dry and Peter couldn’t breathe right until they were free of it, allowing Charles to pull him away.

What’s wrong?—I don’t know.What can I do?—I don’t know.

They’d ended up just beyond some dirt-packed road, rarely used in the early mornings and never by anyone of any significance, and Peter had apparently determined this to be a safe enough place, now tugging Charles to slow. His last answer wasn’t entirely true but he didn’t have a better way to respond, knew it was entirely unfair to actually expect what he wanted. He could daydream about a few fantasies— Charles running off with him one day to the country, or him whisking him up to the palace, or just kissing him in public somehow without consequence— but he knew better than to mistake them for actual possibilities. Taking deep breaths, he refused to ease his grip on Charles’ forearms, pulling him to follow while his own legs folded beneath him, settling back into the dip of the earth. The incline behind and the dark around was enough cover for Peter to tuck his face into Charles’ neck again, steadying his own panic with the smell of Charles’ coat.

It was obvious that Charles had more to ask but didn’t press just yet, instead getting his palms up on Peter’s back to rub comfort there. Peter settled further to sit, never allowing Charles much room to pull away as he did so, his knees tucked beneath him in the grass. Whatever joviality Charles had brought from the party was well dead by that point, his touch cautious along Peter’s skin and clothes, constantly attempting to say something further but never getting far. Peter—

I don’t know, he repeated, I don’t know. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.

He wasn’t sure what he was apologizing for, not entirely; for this, he supposed, for the way his hands were shaking, for the fact that he’d killed whatever good nature Charles had come to him with, for the absolutely fragility that was the tie between them. Peter sometimes felt as though the was constantly waiting to lose him, that each time he saw him would be the last. For whatever reason, that fear had chosen those past hours as the right time to fold in on itself, burn a hole through Peter’s chest, a sore that was only now starting to recover in Charles’ arms.

I love you, he finally continued, interrupting the soft reassurances Charles spoke into his hair. It sounded more remorseful than his own apology had been, quiet and tired and utterly resigned. He didn’t give Charles a chance to respond before he was saying it again, pulling away from his collar to bring his lips close to Charles’, pausing to kiss him softly before echoing it once more. He didn’t want him to respond, he realized. Peter didn’t know what he wanted to hear, and he couldn’t imagine anything right being said regardless. So he continued to silence him whenever he’d start, barely letting his mouth leave Charles’ for the next hour, kissing him into the grass. He repeated his apology and his admission a few more times after that, despite a few sounds of protest, determined that Charles would know, that he’d listen to him;

“I love you, I’m sorry. I love you.”

#setablaze #god this is. a mess #› ╰ s. peter / charles.#› ╰ m. answer.

0 notes

apsbicepstraining · 7 years

Text

How a Republican baseball rehearse in Virginia became ‘a killing field’

In a rampage lasting 10 sickening instants, a gunman targeted Republican politicians as they impounded an early-morning practise in a picturesque park

America has been made to endure this sting before when a mass hitting desecrates its most cherished infinites: a schoolroom in Newtown; a cinema in Aurora; a religion in Charleston.

This time, with the sunup, a baseball ballpark in Virginia became, in the words of Senator Rand Paul, a killing field.

What legislators who trade their clothings and ties for baseball outfits absence in fitness, they make up for in earnest fervor. Such is the dedication of Steve Scalise, the count three House Republican, and my honourable colleagues that they regularly start rehearsal at 6.15 or 6.30 am at the Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in Alexandria, in all the regions of the Potomac river from Washington DC.

What we know about the Virginia shooting

This allows them to beat both the heat, which was heading towards 90 F( 32 C) on Wednesday, and the clamor of Capitol Hill.

Their surrounds are a serene, affluent orbit of disconnected redbrick houses with porches, clipped lawns and trees where bother is hard to envisage. The baseball field is close to the ballpark where neighbourhoods amble their puppies, a childrens playground and a YMCA. It lies about halfway between Washington DC to the north and George Washingtons farm, Mount Vernon, to the south.

There were 20 House members and two senators present, is in accordance with congressman Joe Barton of Texas, the Republican teams manager, grabbing the last opportunity to touched some dances before Thursdays annual kindnes game against their Democratic rivals.

Just after 7am, a male who would be identified afterwards as James Hodgkinson, 66, from Belleville, Illinois, sauntered up to congressmen Ron DeSantis and Jeff Duncan as they were going into their vehicle to leave the field, the pair recalled.

James T Hodgkinson, the suspect in the Virginia shooting. Picture: AP

Duncan told reporters that the man asked me if the team rehearsing was a Democrat or Republican team. I told him the latter are Republicans. He said, OK thanks, turned around.

Minutes afterwards, as the dedicated amateurs were nearing the end of batting rehearse, there was a thunderous blow. They stopped and stared, perplexed. Congressman Rodney Davis of Illinois said afterwards that he thought something heavy had dropped at a structure site.

Hes got a gun! person screamed. Another person hollered: Thump the ground!

He was hunting us

One of the most color accounts would come from congressman Mo Brooks of Alabama. I was on deck, about to smacked batting rehearsal on the third-base surface of home plate, and I sounded a thunderous bam, and I look around and behind third base and the third base bunker, which is cinderblock, I realise a rifle, he told CNN. And I meet a little of a figure and I then listen another blam and I realise that theres an active shooter.

Hodgkinson, wearing jeans and blue shirt, was exerting a rifle from behind a chain-link barricade near third base. By most forecasts, he would fire at least 50 rounds, the missiles kicking up soil and gravel. There was confusion. Brutally uncovered on the open realm, beings variously hit the deck, dived into a bunker for extend, hastened into the dog common or climbed over a barricade and ran for “peoples lives”. Team administrator Joe Bartons 10 -year-old son Jack hid under an SUV.

Congressman Mike Bishop of Michigan told the New York Times: He was hunting us at that point. There was so much gunfire, you couldnt get up and range. Pop, pop, papa, pa its a tone Ill never forget.

Hodgkinson stopped shooting as he moved from near the third-base dugout towards the backstop behind home plate. He never got on to the field because the chain-link fencing around the park was locked. Barton said eventually: Had he gotten in the fence, it would have been a bloodbath.

A opinion of the baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia, after the shooting. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/ AFP/ Getty Images

Texas congressman Roger Williams, who coaches the Republican team, contributed: We were sitting ducks. We had nothing to fight back with but at-bats, if it is necessary to that.

The first victim was Scalise , 51 , who had been fielding balls on second base. He was smacked in the hip and collapsed to the field, bellowing. He managed to drag himself to the outfield grass, leaving a course of blood, onlookers said later.

Two Capitol Hill police officer, Crystal Griner and David Bailey, who were in Scalises security detail, immediately recalled fervour. Senator Jeff Flake wailed: Are you friendly? Are you friendly?

One shouted back: Yes!

One of the officers suffered a gunshot wind but deterred firing. Both is commonly praised for saving several lives.

Alexandria resident Katie Fillus told the Washington Post she saw a female polouse draw out a artillery and shriek, Drop your weapon! but the gunman killed her. She descended on the ground in front of us, and we were all just trying to lay as flat we are to be able. And I belly-crawled, dragging through the mud. I got to the car and I ducked under the car and I laid as close as I could under the car to hide from the person. Then the police seemed to come.

Congressman Brooks, meanwhile, had thrown himself down at home plate, but decided to take a chance and run to the first base bunker, where about a dozen congressmen and aides were lying. Among them was congressional aide-de-camp Zachary Barth, who had been struck in the leg and hobbled across the field. Brooks took off his region and another congressman exploited a tourniquet to try to slow the bleeding.

In the meantime, Brooks told CNN, Im towards the right-field surface of the dugout and theres gunfire within about five, six, seven feet of my heading, and I look up and theres a guy with a gun exploding away. Fortunately, it was one of the good guys, one of our security item, who was filming back.

Of course it was handgun versus rifle, our handguns versus the crap-shooters rifle on the third-base course just outside the chain-link fencing, and he was cautioning us to stand down.

He included: But for the Capitol police and the gallantry they depicted, it could very well have been a large-scale murder. All we would have had would have been baseball bats versus a rifle. Those arent good odds.

Police arrive

By 7.09 am, Alexandria police had received a request reporting fires fired at the ballpark, according to its leader Michael Brown. Three minutes later they arrived at the scene.

Members of the FBI response team search for prove on the field. Photograph: UPI/ Barcroft Images

Hodgkinson a home inspector who, it was soon uncovered, had volunteered for Bernie Sanderss presidential campaign was shot at 7.14 am. His frenzy had lasted roughly 10 minutes.

Congressman Mike Conaway said: The people down to a handgun, he plummeted his rifle, they film him, I go over there, they applied him in handcuffs.

It was not clear how much season passed before Hodgkinson died. The lawsuit was multiple gunshots to the torso, according to the coroners report.

The coast eventually clear, Brooks, Flake and others ranged towards the wounded Scalise. Arizona senator Flake remembered: I wanted to get at him but there were still fires going overhead from both sides. Lastly, when the crap-shooter was down, I simply operated low-spirited out to Steve.

They put pressure on the hip meander to stem the bleeding while Brad Wenstrup, a congressman from Ohio and a doctor, checked for any other winds.

After medical personnel arrived, Flake said he retrieved Scalises mobile. I got his phone and called his wife, only to make sure she didnt listen the report before. So, fortunately, she hadnt, and I was able to tell her that he gazed to be stable and we were with him.

A helicopter landed in the field and took five people to local infirmaries with gunshot wraps: Scalise, who remains in a crucial situation, lobbyist Matt Mika, congressional aide-de-camp Zachary Barth, a Capitol police officer and the gunman.

Brooks said: At that time, the police were causing all of us to gather outside the first base front and the chain-link fencing and cordoning off the neighborhood is to ensure if there was a second crap-shooter we would be better protected.

FBI special agent Tim Slater summaries the press after the two attacks. Photo: Zach Gibson/ Getty Images

The normally tranquil neighbourhood was stunned. Bullets had lodged in or are going through openings of the nearby YMCA. Alex Heimberg, 19, who had arrived at 6am for a morning exercising, had been in the cellar there during the gunfire. We didnt genuinely know what to think of it, he said. It could be loads declining from upstairs. Its just something weve never knowledge but we were given context when a follower came down and said there was an active shooter and we said, Oh crap, it is also necessary get somewhere safe.

One patron greeted casually, wrapping himself in a towel and using a sauna, Heimberg recollected. The YMCA was on lockdown for around three hours.

A show of solidarity

It soon emerged that the shooter Hodgkinson was a leftwing activist with a record of family violence. He had signed an online petition calling for Donald Trump to be charged and wrote on Facebook: Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed our Democracy. Its Time to Destroy Trump& Co.

Hodgkinsons Facebook page later removed by the company likewise peculiarity photographs of Senator Bernie Sanders, who said he had been informed that Hodgkinson had clearly volunteered for his presidential expedition last year. I am nauseated by this odious act, a shaken Sanders said on the Senate floor. Let me be as clear as I can be: savagery of any kind is intolerable in national societies, and I condemn these recommendations in the strongest possible terms.

The drama in Alexandria all but offset the days business at the White House and Capitol Hill. At 11.36 am Donald Trump, sombre on his 71 st birthday, announced that the assailant have already been died from his injuries. In a partisan and rancorous political climate, Trump also made a measured are calling for harmony. We are strongest when we are united and when we work together for the interests of all, he said.

Bernie Sanders strongly condemned the killing after it came out the believe had volunteered for his presidential expedition. Image: Saul Loeb/ AFP/ Getty Images

And for a date, at the least, the feeling in Washington seemed to have changed. At 4pm, the managers of the Republican and Democratic congressional baseball teams appeared together at a seam press conference and devoted that the game at Nationals Park on Thursday would go on. Barton said: It will be play ball tomorrow night at 7.05.

Mike Doyle, the manager of the Democratic unit, lent: Were not going to let incidents like this change our way of life or daily routines.

The congressmen likewise knew any other message. They guessed the two attacks was a consequence of the increasingly poisonous political climate between politicians, the written press and the public.

Members are not looked at as parties any more, Barton said, indicating on the change since he was first elected in 1985. People think they can come to our town hall gratifies and say exactly “the worlds largest” obnoxious circumstances and well not feel anything personally.

As a first step, Doyle said the Democrat invited Republicans to the Democratic Club for dinner. Barton ribbed him that he would ordering the most expensive steak on the menu. Doyle hit back: Were Democrats. We dont have steaks. Thats your club.

The post How a Republican baseball rehearse in Virginia became ‘a killing field’ appeared first on apsbicepstraining.com.

from WordPress http://ift.tt/2iyekTs via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress