#several tries were taken. each pup was harmed at least once

[horizonandstar]

wanted to draw borrower au stuff AND im obsessed with my totally real children so i drew them about it together

[eeriestatic]

📜📜 Liam

📜📜 Knox

📜📜 Lex

Liam:

📜 Much prior, he was actually pretty close to all his brothers until the over exposure manifested a troublesome image for him, ultimately it made lies in his mind overtime for he was considered the more sensitive sibling to the world. It made them drift, but neither did he address the problem with them - all after what was happening as well. It could’ve been prevented if he spoken up, but at most, he’s been much preferred to be a quiet child and that became an unfortunate reflection on his brothers. Especially Knox, given he looks a lot like his father and even shares in many of his traits. But neither is he that, given from the poor parenting, Knox had to make up for that for sometime until his siblings were older. Leading to Liam’s unstable sense of security along the way, despite how close he was to his siblings, he wasn’t able to talk to them and mostly due to Knox. Lex was already too far gone in those lines, given what he done, and it stuck to him hating his siblings and comparing them to only his parents. Niles as well(the middle supposed perished brother), but he wasn’t put in the same spot as the other two were. That was a strange brother, but he was the only one safe from his wrath due to his condition, Liam didn’t have it in him to hurt him. Although, when he found out Jojo oof him, he wasn’t really happy about it and it really broke his heart. However, the leonte brothers are all understanding and it was action done in self defense, it didn’t hurt him any less but he didn’t bear any anger in response and it didn’t damage their friendship. And surely enough, they others would understand.

📜 Liam could really make due without putting Lex in harms way, but in the end, neither sibling knows what troubles him, and even their efforts were fruitless in nature as well. However, it only feels extra personal against Knox, due to the face he had no choice having sadly. Despite all the things Knox did just to appease, didn’t help, but it was all difficult for a family oriented image of siblings. Though his fathers image was projected onto Knox, so was Liam’s exposure of their doing and it targeted him the most, leaving his eldest brother to bear the weight of his hate the most. Perhaps even a little insecurity, but he knew nothing of what was happening to Knox either, as odd as it was to feel insecure about that kind of attention he gained, despite being the one who was the favourite. His problem was most on their though inability of him, but it could’ve been resolved before it got worse if his parents weren’t so selective in terms of use.  But just as his brothers didn’t know what Liam’s intention was after things started going downhill, he neither knew what the others were or Knox’s, even if it was all good intention on his side. With one trouble though, their parents didn’t try doing anything to help them and fix what spiral hell they lead the siblings into with each other.

Knox: 

📜 As much as Knox had to fill many shoes for his parents thanks to their uselessness, he was the sibling who had to step in, once against his parents once they had the intention of dispatching Niles from his manifesting issues. He was already and eyeless serpentine when he was brought into the world, they didn’t want to deal with anymore problems- although Niles wasn’t helpless like that. Though they considered him defective, and much to their dismay, deadweight from the other problems he was having and forming. But of course, Knox didn’t like that, and while his parents chose to bear that mercy, they wanted nothing to do with him and Knox was left to take care of him after that. Even being in the same household, it was no different in the end, Knox didn’t want anything bad to happen to his brothers even if it slowly deteriorated his own mental health from what was happening. Niles was the unfortunate brother to harbour a developing dissociative fugue as he got older, if not following first with traces of echophenomena in the beginning - unfortunately that was far out of his control. Though after a certain of period, he was taking care of him to the point Niles didn’t know himself anymore and who Knox was either. Yet, still he done everything for him, just as he would his other brothers, even if he didn’t know what caused it, Knox was subject to numerous mimicry even if he was seen as a stranger after. Let alone periodic times trying to help him keep his name in mind and who he was. In time, once Niles vanished and forgotten who or where he was and his past decayed with his memory that wasn’t resurfacing, Knox was searching for him just as much as he was looking for Liam. He’d lost two siblings.

📜 He often taken up many things for his siblings, much so they didn’t need to. Though that also meant that the responsibilities were compiled on him and so was the punishment, should things go wrong. However, yet he found the time to take care of his siblings as well, even if that meant he often carried them around when they were smaller snakes. Often was the case, they were still considered kids, and he’d cart them around with them on his frame during his work and chores. Though even if that meant he had do go out and do business, they still came with him, for he didn’t think they were safe at home either with the poor parenting. As much as his parents would splay they loved them all, and whole, Knox had a hard time taking that into any reason, even if he believed they could be better if they tried. Knox was simply protective over them, what more they were more vulnerable as they were. Even if that meant they could lose their minds and use him as a snake jungle gym, he wanted them to have fun too.

Lex: 

📜 Lex was considered a monster, according to his parents(more so his father). Given at the time he got his messed up mutation, he didn’t like it and simply used him as the last line of defense incase something happened to Knox. Although he had a blind affection for his parents thanks to the snakes that chewed up his memories somewhat, but even then, he still thought they could do better like Knox. Surely they could’ve been called blind, though they didn’t want to think ill from how strong they had a family orientation. Yet Lex still values his parents in the end, he’s not nearly as blind to the reality they face. But not only did he get chosen to be the counter measure against Liam, he agreed to it for the sake of keeping Liam safe too if he ever did somehow reach them. Sure his mutation was considered monstrous, it was also strong enough to fend off his parents incase they decided to fight back against him, in which they could severely harm Liam without intention to kill him. In the end, if it came down to the two, he’d side with Liam even if he himself, would die too for it by him. He’d not have the ability to fight or hurt Liam, only protect him in hopes he can at least be happy after the end concluded.

📜 Lex’s snakes can be very active at any point, even while he’s sleeping. Or unconscious as well, but the one thing he finds a lot of comfort in is when they’d coil around and wrap him up when he’s sleeping. Like a bunch of dogs on the bed, but it’s just him. They often only come out during times like that because they know he’s most vulnerable and they also want to bring him comfort, even if that means acting like space consuming pups and clingy ones. He doesn’t mind, for it does their intended purpose and they keep him comfortable and safe. Although now, that’s not only exclusive to him because of his partner. Given sleeping with Maestro, he’d likely be subject to that too, even if he might not need it of course, they would still insist on trying to wrap him up and cuddle him with Lex too. Sorry, Maestro, there isn’t warding them off no matter what you do, it’s full struggle snuggle if you try getting away(gfhjs)

[nileshollowthorn]

The Mortal Guard - Update 5: Unholy Flames

Creature Case: Unholy Flames

The vivid colors of fire have always been one of the most beautiful sights the eyes can lay upon. The white core, the glowing oranges and reds that dance in the reflection of the pupil, the way it enchants the mind and draws you in to watch the flames flicker. There was no doubt about it: Fire was mesmerizing.

But it’s also dangerous. It spreads quickly and turns anything in its path to dark ash and fills the lungs with toxic gray smoke that makes it hard to breathe.

Nick stood, transfixed on the sight before him. It took him several seconds to process the fact that the grey wolf that had originally been in front of him had erupted into flames from within her own body, throwing balls of fire about the house and setting everything ablaze, the ceiling already being lined with smoke and the alarms blaring in the hyena’s ears.

He knew that this particular mission was going to be dangerous. When Richard had come to him with the case file, he had a choice whether he wanted to take it on, knowing full well it could get him killed. Richard strongly advised against it, but Nick being Nick, he took it anyway, thinking he might be able to help the folks involved.

Unholy Flames are a nightmare to deal with. It is unknown how they are formed, but the common theory is that anger built up over time forms the strange occurrence within one’s body. The issue is that this doesn’t explain the strange behavior of the flames, which completely latch onto the entire family it’s involved with. It starts relatively tame, with the Firestarter (the original victim) having random bouts of aggressiveness. From then on, they get more and more angry at the littlest things and from there it spirals into yelling, then violence, and finally they erupt into the very flames burning inside them, immediately resulting in death. The flames aren’t physical until the eruption phase.

But even before the Firestarter is killed, the other members of the family become aggressive just like they had and in most cases, the family becomes extremely dysfunctional, to the point of not even being able to stay in the same room as one another. Another result is that the victims don’t separate and end up killing each other in their rage, not even reaching the final stage where the flames release.

There’s only one cure for the Unholy Flames, which is that the victims must be kept in a very cold environment until the flames are extinguished, as any magic spells just make the fire stronger. It’s usually recommended that the victim be sedated and under close watch, as even the littlest thing could set them off at this point.

Knowing this, Nick still said yes, even though it had nothing to do with saving Boris. At least, he assumed. Luckily, the fire only affects the family, so he wasn’t in danger of it spreading to him.

He and Richard were given the case file. A grey wolf couple concerned about the husband, Kyle, who had been showing strange signs of aggressiveness out of nowhere, even though he used to be one of the kindest animals.

When told he should get therapy, he blatantly refused and left for a few days and when he came back, the wife, Michella, said his fur was hot to the touch, and that his temperature was higher than even a fever should be, though he said he felt fine. She consulted the neighbor for advice, seeing as he was a doctor.

Luckily for the duo, the neighbor was part of the Mortal Guard’s Medical Sect, which means the operation was set in motion. He met with the husband and found strong signs of there being Unholy Flames within him.

Knowing that the memory erasing procedure came at the end of the whole debacle, the doctor, Dr. Stanford, explained to the wife that it was a sickness that made you more aggressive as it went on. She didn’t learn that her husband could end up erupting into flames.

Having dealt with Unholy Flames once before, Stanford knew that Kyle would not be taken in easily and because he was part of the Medical Sect, didn’t have the skills to fight him. The Creature Hunting Sect was contacted.

Nick and Richard arrived at the house. By this point, there was room to be reckless, considering the Mortal Guard would erase the family’s memories at the end.

When the door opened, Michella was considerably confused, wondering how a 19-year-old boy could help in such a situation. Even so, after some talking, she let them in.

Kyle was sitting in a recliner and immediately, he was angry about his wife inviting strangers into their house. This turned into an argument that grew in intensity as it went on. At one point, Kyle tried to get violent with Michella and Richard had to grab him.

Kyle didn’t like this one bit, so he fought back against Richard, but Nick reminded him of the sensitiveness of the situation. The wolf was a ticking time bomb. They needed to sedate him, and fast.

Unfortunately, Kyle slipped out of his grasp rather easily and escaped. Knowing that it would be way too dangerous to let him out in public where he could harm someone or multiple people, the couple chased him by car, all the way...to a forest.

One of the first things Nick had learned in his creature hunting courses was that you can’t save everyone. Unfortunately, that was the case here.

Kyle was just beyond help at this point. No matter what Nick or Richard said, it just went through one ear and out the other, and as Kyle’s yelling got louder and his boss more wrinkled in anger, it became more apparent to the creature hunters that his time was nearing end and they had to step back.

Suddenly, true to the first victim’s nomenclature of Firestarter, Kyle burst into an explosion of Unholy Flames, the grass around his feet alighting and one of the fireballs made from the burst hitting a tree.

The fire spread fast...unusually fast, and it was clear to the two that these weren’t like other flames. They ran from the blaze as quickly as they could, as burning oranges of the disaster flashed all around them.

Richard contacted the Disaster Sect once they got back to the car and, even though the two were instructed to go to the Trauma Sect, the raccoon worried that Michella might be dangerous. They had to go back.

The moment they arrived, the female wolf was upon them, asking what happened to her husband. Where was he? What did they do? What did they do to him?

Richard and Nick felt stuck. How could they tell her what happened softly? Her spouse had just blown up and died a fiery death. Knowing the details of the case...Michella was at risk of this too.

But she pressed the two males on and on with questions about Kyle, growing more angry at their lack of any response. Finally, Nick, as slow and calmly as he could, explained the situation.

Michella was understandably horrified, violently shaking her head and screaming that Nick was a liar, fleeing upstairs and claiming they killed her husband. The hyena followed her and confronted her in the hall, where she became even angrier, growling and swiping at him, becoming more desperate with each movement.

Nick stepped forward and she screamed and as she did so, her entire body erupted, just like her husband’s into flames.

Now, Nick was staring at the sight before him as the house was set ablaze. When Kyle had exploded, they were further away. Seeing it this close was just…

“Nick! Nick! Get out of there!” Richard called, snapping the young creature hunter out of his dazed stupor.

“Huh?” Nick shook his head as his flight mode engaged and he made his way quickly down the hall’s rug, finding it was loose too late and slipping, hitting the ground. “Agh!”

No, that’s good. He wanted to be close to the ground to avoid the smoke getting into his system. He crawled quickly toward the stairs as the roaring sound of the flames grew louder and louder, completely enveloping him in the nightmare that was occuring.

He made it to the stairs and was about to descend when he heard a familiar sound coming from a white door close to him. Was that…?

The hyena crawled forward, coughing as the temperature increased. He reached up and opened the door, his breath hitching as he gazed upon a crib, surrounded by a ring of flames. The wolf pup inside was crying out and squirming.

There was no time to even think. Nick stood on his feet, covering his nose with the crook of his arm as he ran forward through the flames, remembering that his pants and jacket were flame resistant.

Once inside the ring of fire, Nick rushed to the crib and reached inside, the baby wolf crying out even louder at this stranger touching him.

Nick wanted to tell the child that it would be okay and that he wasn’t going to hurt him, but he didn’t think there was any time to even talk. He needed go get out of there right away.

He ran back the way he came as the room fell apart, some of the floorboards falling in on themselves and a clack as they hit whatever was below.

Suddenly, the ring of fire began to spin around Nick and the pup, and his eyes widened in horror as he tried to figure out a way out of this. Out of nowhere, a fireball launched from the ring at him and he just barely dodged it, falling to the floor again with the baby clutched to his chest.

The ceiling was black with smoke and he was sweating profusely as his mind became clouded as well. This didn’t feel like it was happening. His body felt like it was moving on its own.

Another fireball. Nick quickly leapt forward as it hit the crib, destroying it in an instant. The baby continued to cry. There was so much happening...so much…

The sound of ambulances? Was he just hearing things?

Another fireball.

Dodge.

Another.

He tumbled to the ground.

Orange.

Hot.

Was he holding something?

He felt it.

Fireball.

Pain.

Screaming.

His own?

Burning…

What’s that smell?

Me.

The hyena somehow got to his feet, even though he didn’t realize it. He didn’t feel anything but heat. Was he still holding onto the baby? He didn’t know.

Nick moved forward (was he moving?) to the hole in the wall that had been created by a fireball, digging into his pocket and pulling out a small capsule, which he crushed in his hand and tossed out of the hole, lightly.

Ring of fire? Ring of fire? Ring fire?

Where did it go?

Was it still spinning?

Any more fireballs?

Any more anything?

Something in his arms.

Turn around.

Orange.

Destruction.

Black.

Devastation.

Weightlessness.

Falling?

———

Nick awoke on gurney, looking up at the smoky sky. There was shouting and screaming and he sat up.

“Nick!” A familiar voice called, and his head turned. A chubby calico cat stood there, relief on his face, two little horns between his ears.

The hyena blinked. “Eli...What’s going on?”

“You were burned badly. You fell out of a hole in the house, but your drop cushion saved you. Normal firefighters were called to the scene, but they couldn't put out the fire, so the Disaster Sect was contacted. We’re currently still battling the forest fire that happened earlier today. As for this one…” The incubus gestured.

Nick’s head turned and where the house of Kyle and Michella used to be, there were only charred remains of what once was. The family’s home was ruined. “...”

“I healed you up with magic which returned you to your normal state, but as you know, you’ll have to go to the Trauma Sect after this. Especially now.”

Nick just nodded, then gasped. “What happened to the wolf pup I tried to save?!”

“He’s okay,” a deeper voice stated from his other side. He turned his head and Richard was there, holding the child, who was no longer crying.

“Rich…”

“I know what you’re going to say.”

“We failed, didn’t we?”

“Even if that may be the case,” Eli spoke up.“We’re still going to erase the memory of the folks around this area. Maybe get some new recruits. As for the burnt house...the disaster team is going to have to magically repair it. Dr. Stanford will make sure no one knows that anything ever happened here.”

Nick sighed. “I don’t understand what happened in there. I don’t remember anything after the wife erupted. All I can remember is how hot it was...It was like my mind was clouded with smoke.”

Richard thought for a moment. “I’m unsure, Nicholas. I was close to the front door at the time so I escaped rather quickly. Seeing you burnt and your fur singed like that was difficult, though. Thank goodness for healing magic.”

“Hm,” was all Nick responded with.

“Well! We have work to do,” Eli clapped his hand together. “You’ll be taken to the Trauma Sect shortly. Just wait a bit. I’m going to go help elsewhere. Bye, Nicky~” He wiggled his fat fingers as he turned and sauntered off.

The hyena sighed and turned to his partner. “Be honest with me.”

“Okay.”

“There wasn’t any way to succeed, was there?”

“...It’s hard to say. I think it was just too late in the game for us to save them.”

Nick looked down, thinking.

“But you did save their son.”

“Yeah...I guess so,” the hyena shrugged. Even though that was a good thing and he was happy to have done it, the thought of knowing the whole family was torn apart and that this baby would grow up an orphan tugged at his heart strings. Then, a realization hit him.

His head turned to see Richard tickling the baby and his giggles made the hyena’s ear twitch. Nick just stared, dread filling his soul as the baby continued to laugh.

[yawninginf]

(Ch.1:) Instinct

Okay..This is my first fic ever written and it hasn't been edited properly so it may have grammar/vocabulary mistakes or even wrong game/world facts. If you spot any mistakes please correct me.

World belongs to the extremely talented artist @jojo56830 /@linkeduniverse. Additionally, I want to thank @jinmukangwrites for inspiring me to actually start writing, with their great stories.

Forgive me for not having experience and writing trash

Summary: Are you always aware of your actions?

The night had been rough. Slow raindrops that seemed they would never stop falling from the dark, cloudy sky, would wet the panicked faces of the sleeping heroes and blend with cold sweat. They were having nightmares. It was something they had grown used to, except that they would feel helpless every time. Helpless, with the most haunting memories of their journeys reawakening, the most painfull wounds reopening.

The last watch had been kept by Time, who had felt more than relieved when Warriors woke him up. He had stood guard over the rest of the heroes until dusk, however, it wasn't necessary. Everyone had lost sleep by then; even Sky was wide awake.

Wild gave them some jerky he had saved in his bag, for breakfast. Few ate, even fewer finished their short meal. The lack of appetite was a cause for various leftovers. They eventually ended up in the stomach of a bear who invaded the camp. The pyromaniac aimed at it with an arrow ready, yet Twilight didn't let him release the bowstring.

◇•◇•◇•◇•◇

-"What were you thinking Twilight?! It's a wild animal it could have harmed us!"

-"Still, it didn't! If you hurt it, it would try to defend itself by attacking us. We both know a single arrow would not take it down!"

-"--Now we have no food resources!"

-"Is food all you really care about?"

-"Well if you end up starving don't run to me saying I was right."

The hero of Twilight rolled his eyes and continued the arguement "That's not the--"

"Guys, please stop it! The bear is gone now, okay?" mixed emotions were showing on Sky's face, hesitation, anger, sadness, tiredness"We all had a hard time last night and there's absolutely no point in fighting over such non-essential things!" His voice was a stage away from cracking.

"Fine." they said with one voice and rolled away their eyes, arms crossed. The spark of anger feeding the fight inside them couldn't stay lit. Exaustion was all they could feel, every other feeling slowly fading away. They ought to put an end on the, slightly aggressive, disagreement before it evolved in sword fight. They had been acting instictively since last night, they weren't thinking clear. Anyhow, they let it roll. For now.

◇•◇•◇•◇•◇

Wind was slightly afraid. Twilight and Wild hadn't been at eachother's throats for a really long time. He couldn't even remember the last time they had fought over something other than Wild recklessly taking irresponsible risks. He expressed his thoughts to Hyrule, who agreed with him but found it wise to keep this contemplation to themselves.

Legend considered all this being too much. The nightmares, the lost food, the argument between two of the people he was least expecting to see crossing words...He would bet his sword and shield that things were just about to get worse, had he wanted to jinx it.

Sky was...elsewhere. Dreaming of an entirely different world, one he had lost but wholeheartedly desired to return to. He just wanted to go home and pretend none of this ever happened. Go home and ride his loftwing beside Zelda, have a small talk, hear her crystal laugh and watch her eyes joyfully looking around. He missed her. Her gentle smile, her golden hair, her sweet voice and kind personallity. Sky stopped thinking about Zelda and his far away from reality home. His eyes were cloudy and his vision blury from the memories coming back to his mind and he could barely force back several, bitter tears.

Twilight was sitting on a rock, not very close to his protègè, looking carried away while watching an ant carry a tiny leaf. Time gave him a pup are you ok, cause you don't look ok look that went unnoticed. The thought of talking to him was unreasonably rejected by his brain. He needed some time alone to try and put all of the memories his nightmare had awoken back where they belonged; the past. He supposed pup needed some time too. It wasn't in him to react like that. No, his protègè was always reasonable and the type of person that thinks before je acts. Time sent a worried look directed at him, then walked away.

◇•◇•◇•◇•◇

The heroes packed their stuff and set forth again, eyes red and legs shore from exaustion. Nobody spoke while they were travelling, which was extremely odd for Warriors and Wind; the most talkative of the group. Considering the circumstances, Four realised it wasn't at all weird. He attempted to break the silence; "So..uh..where are we headed for? I don't remember having an update this morning.."

Wild looked away in unexpected annoyance, his hair following the direction of his head. Sky rubbed the back of his head. Warriors restyled his scarf with akward and rather goofy movements. Hyrule and Wind directed a soft, curious glare first at Four, then at Time. He got the message and answered after adding a small pause, without being more expressive than stone.

"Wherever the road takes us"

The truth was that he himself wasn't sure if he knew the answer and, if he had actually learnt something about Wild, the hero whose Hyrule they were in did not know either.

The shortest hero did not bother trying again. The veil of absolute hush fell once again on the adventurers. He couldn't bear watching his companions be so troubled and...lost, but he also couldn't force them to act as if they were fine. He himself was being tormented by his own demons and after the events that had previously occured, he could wholeheartedly relate to them.

◇•◇•◇•◇•◇

They had been walking for quite a while now. Wind stopped to rub his feet and sent a complaining look at Time. Sky felt his eyelids heavily falling onto his eyes. Legend saw him struggling to continue and offered him his asc of water.

Wild's eyes fell on his Shiekah slate. They were at the Great Plateu. It was the same as the rest of the hundred times he had been there. It should be. Notwithstanding there was a, rather strange sign, coming from the Shiekah technology. It was the first time he had taken sight of that. Following it leaded northeast and Wild did not hesitate to change his direction. No hero realised the adjustment of his plans, for some of them were closed up in their own thoughts and Wild had improved his ability to hide his change of emotions.

Suddenly, he stopped to get something from his pouch. It was a paraglider. Dark red, with nice paterns on it, it seemed royal. At least it would if it didn't have all those patches every there and there. Wind sweared he had seen it before, though he couldn't recall the time. His friend took it and started gliding down the Plateu.

"Wild! Where are you going?!" Warriors shouted at him when he realised they couldn't follow wherever he was going--gliding to. The questioned hero gave a serious look at the hero of Warriors and rudely turned his head away without bothering to give an answer.

Time asked him to explain himself while Legend and Twilight were giving each other looks that gave out how tired and sick of this they were. Wind grimaced, making a face that Four was sure no human being could possibly make. Sky's thoughts were travelling at the fact that they hadn't encountered any monsters yet. He found that intimidiating and his deep frown was passing similar feelings to Legend as well as Hyrule. The last was silent as always: he prefered to watch everything around him without taking part.

The group of heroes could now spot Wild landing near the ruins of what used to be a military outpost many years ago. The paraglider became a small dot and they completely lost sight of it when its owner put it away to continue travelling on foot. Despite their fear of supposably being left behind they felt the need to observe the place. It was...stunning. If that was meant in a good or bad way, they couldn't decide. The whole view was..nice, though the feeling of abandonment and loneliness framing their location made them feel a weight on their chest. There was only one question spinning in their minds with every other query developing from it.

Where was Wild going?

◇•◇•◇•◇•◇

Outpost ruins. That's what the place is referred to in his map. Ruins. Just like the majority of his hyrule's once glorious (or not) monuments and buildings, they're just ruins. Reflections of a painfull past. A past without a hero to save it. Wild used to put the blame on himself. He still does in fact. Ruins, a reminder of his inability to protect this land, his land, one hundred years ago. His failure.

Anyway it didn't matter at that moment. Wild just wanted to find that "treasure" marked on his shiekah slate and head back to the others before they got mad at him, well, before they got completely mad at him.

There was just a journal. Misko's journal. He wasn't aware of that name. He quickly flicked through the pages and spotted an instructional guide, map to an ancient relic. He moved his hand to put it in his pouch but stopped half way. He inspected the journal from all corners and a thought flashed in his mind. No second thoughts. No hesitation. Something told him he had to go get it. It was his duty. He didn't know why. He took the map in his hands and slowly vanished in blue lights.

◇•◇•◇•◇•◇

"We can't wait any longer" Legend was losing his temper, tapping his foot to the ground "what if monsters find us? We have been here for almost half an hour now and Wild is yet to be seen."

"Is he not coming back?" Wind's secret fear was no longer secret. Twilight tried to comfort the youngest hero, in an attempt to convince him that Wild was about to return any moment now. To convince himself that cub would return, he ought to. Twilight believed he was mad at his protègè. Yes, he was mad, and the pyromaniac would have to face a really-angry-mom-Twi when he decided to show his face again.

He spontaneously directed his look at Time. His mentor's eyes were meating the morning sky. The others didnot seem to notice this habit the oldest hero had, but Twilight did. His mentor seemed as he was silently praying for mercy, with an expression that showed he never believed his prayers would be heard. A sadness faintly carved in his face even when he was smiling. He wouldn't let it show. Still Twilight could not let that go. He couldn't accept his mentor's "need" to stay alone, to remain silent. Not if he could help. He would try, although something inside him screamed he couldn't. He hated that, but deep inside he thought he knew that he wasn't the one to bring the light in Time's eyes again. And it ate him inside.

Legend felt abandoned, though he tried to convince himself that Wild is real and that he won't leave them like that. He felt as Wild had tricked them all by pretending he was one of them. He always feared something alike would happen. That he would be fooled in attaching to someone and then not being able to let go when they left him. He was sick of that and ,though he had promised himself not to let his feelings overcome him again, he couldn't do it. He was angry at Wild, angry at himself and an emotional reck. He had always been like that and he used his snarky behaviour to cover his weeknesses. Yet, he had failed, once more.

They were all gesturing with slow movements, not knowing how to react. Their confused looks would match at eachother's, troubling their thoughts a bit more than necessary. Wind felt restless, putting his weight on one foot and then on the other. Warriors put a tuff of hair back where it should have been on the first place and Twilight was frowning although he didnot seem to notice. Sky bit his lower lip and Hyrule's palms were starting to become sweaty. His hands reached his tunic in an attempt to dry. Four frowned and glared at Time. Legend tried to say something but Four interrupted him by shushing him and pointed at Time; "Look. The old man's senses have caught something" he whispered with a slight tense perceived in his low toned voice.

Indeed, Time had heard a weird sound and was trying to understand which direction it came from. With a nod, he let the rest of them know they needed to keep their mouths shut and quietly prepare themselves for battle. Twilight nodded his head, as if he was unknowingly accepting the place of the leader. Warriors would have made a snarky comment on that, Legend would have smirked and Twilight would have hated them for it, but it was no joking time. The sound could belong to a wild animal, if they had been lucky enough. However, by the looks of it, it was probably because of monsters approaching.

Another weird, unexplained sound. They couldn't describe it. They couldn't see where it came from despite the fact that the place was at most open. Hyrule's face became white out of a sudden, fear hugging his whole body, a shiver running down his spine. "Wild has told us about these...things. They shouldn't be here-it-it isn't natural for them." Still, was anything natural since they were all there, together?

Curse you Wild.

A lazer ready to fire.

[lubdubsworld]

A change of Heart.( Taehyungx OC)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Three days later, I was dragging myself back to my room , early in the morning. it had been a hectic few days but there had been a breakthrough the previous day and some of the doctors had managed to isolate the particular strain of virus that seemed resistant to attack the particular gene related to lycanthropy. A virus that spared humans and targeted werewolves was unheard of and almost all werewolf extremist groups were gearing up in protest, claiming that the government had engineered the virus as some sort of twisted biological warfare weapon. 

I didn’t want to think too much about the details of it. 

I was more worried about the three young pups, struggling to breath in the NICU. They’d caught the virus from their mothers who were also deathly ill.

My room was located off campus, down a narrow pathway and a few yard into the surrounding woods. it was a cabin of sorts, with a built in bath and kitchen and a spacious living/dining/bedroom space. it was still dark outside, as i trudged wearily across the damp foliage, my shoes squishing into the wet earth and leaving muddy streaks on the white surface. 

“What were doing out this late?” Taehyung’s voice caught me off guard and i felt my heart leap into my throat in surprise.

“Oh, Christ...” i whispered, clutching my bag tightly as i tried to push down on the panic. Taehyung looked unimpressed as he stared at me. 

“well?” He demanded, when i ignored him and moved to open the door to my cabin.

I sighed, exhausted. 

“Can i help you?” i said wearily.

He stared at me for a second.

“I have a proposition for you.” He said , voice a little stilted , teeth worrying his lips as he stared at his shoes. If I didn’t know for a fact that this man was richer than 90% of the people in my country and pretty much the definition of powerful, i would almost think he was nervous.

I didn’t respond, waiting for him to continue.

“My daughter....she...” He sighed.” She’s taken a real shine to you. She refuses to stay with any of her usual babysitters and insists that unless I invite you over for dinner, she will not in anyway listen to me.” 

He looked like the words tasted bitter on his tongue.

I stared at him.

“And?” i prompted.

He glanced at the cabin.

“I told you to quit your job. Why are you still here?” He asked, eyes narrowing.

“Oh wow. it’s almost as if you don’t have any say in what i do with my life, Mr. Kim...isn’t that shocking?” i smiled brightly, already turning around to open the door.

i yelped when his hand shot out, gripping my wrist hard. I whimpered and his hold loosened, but he didn’t let go .

“Nobody wants you here, Mirae ssi...” He gritted out. “ You and your kind are the reason we’ve been subjugated and oppressed for centuries, and I’ll be damned if I let you people infiltrate the once place that is supposed to be a safe haven for wolves everywhere....” 

His eyes flashed red, lips twisted with burning anger and I tried to pull my hand out of his grip. 

“And yet....you want me to have dinner with your baby daughter...” i snapped and his eyes narrowed.

“She’s a child. She doesn’t know any better. And i don’t want you to have dinner with her... i want you to come over and tell her that you’re never coming back here because you don’t fucking belong here in the first place....” He snarled.

i shook my head.

“i’ve done nothing to harm your species. I’m only trying to help...i know your anger is justified but you’re taking it out on the wrong person...”

I yelped when he let me go, but only to step  in closer, both hands closing around my arms and pushing me up against the side of the building. i flinched, when the old wood pressed against my skin, the harsh rub of splinters evident through my thin blouse. 

He was taller than me by almost a foot and I turned away, heart pounding as he ducked his head, nudging my cheeks a little.

“Am I? “ He whispered softly.” You’re not welcome here and yet, you can’t seem to want to leave. So what’s the catch? Did some rough old wolf catch your fancy....You wanna find out what its like to fuck an animal, sweetheart?” He huffed out a breath that was sickly sweet and warm against my neck.

 “What are you-?” I flinched when he growled and pressed in closer, this time his body pushing me into the wall. 

“I know that most of you women think that fucking a werewolf is the ultimate fantasy. A forbidden fruit. A sick little fetish. Isn’t that what we are to you?” He drawled and despite the almost seductive tenor of his tone i could hear the undercurrent of fury behind it.

“You’re being unfai-” I stopped breathing as he snarled , teeth closing over my throat , just shy of actually sinking in. i shut my eyes , my fingers clenching into fists as i willed myself not to burst into tears. I’d never been more terrified in my life.

“Am I? I’ve lived in this preserve all my life , Yoon Mi Rae ssi... Not one wolf has propositioned to me or behaved in an unseemly way  but every time i visit your mainland..” He made a noise of disgust.” Your women throw themselves at me like flies.” 

i’m not one of them!!, i thought miserably.

 “Let me go.” I shuddered out, voice barely a whisper and he chuckled, pulling away a bit. I stayed still as he stepped back fully, moving away and staring at me.

“Quit the job and get off the island. This isn’t the place for you. ” He said sharply. 

“Tell your daughter i said hi. And that I’m glad she’s nothing like her rude , obnoxious father!!! ” i snapped, because apparently, i was suicidal. 

Taehyung stopped to throw me a glare before turning on his heel and stalking away. i watched him disappear into the night before slowly sinking to the forest floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“.... do you think that humans in the preserve are in some way contributing to the deterioration of the community?” 

Taehyung took a deep breath.

“i think, every community needs to reach within itself and build and find its own stability. Wolves have been suppressed and denied opportunities for centuries. Most of the time, the excuse is that we aren’t meant to mingle with humans because of our dangerous attributes. By that logic, there’s really no reason why there should be humans employed at the preserve. But mostly, I think there are several qualified wolves who could take up the three posts currently held by himans at the research center alone. If you don’t want us in your space, you need to at least let us take control of our own....”

The interviewer nodded, making notes. “understandable. What about the current strain of influenza going around... It seems to be targeting lycanthropes in particular. “

Taehyung nodded.

“it’s quite unfortunate. Most of the affected cases are young pups. Humans themselves act as carriers without displaying any symptoms, so there’s another reason, humans ought to be kept away from the preserve. At least till this whole thing is resolved....”

“There’s talk about this strain of flu being man-made...” The interviewer said softly.

Taehyung shrugged.

“i don’t have any proof for such claims” He said quickly but next to him Seo Joon piped up. 

“ Well,  if certain factions of the human race did decide to develop some deadly viral strain as some kind of biological weapon against my people....well....it wouldn't be the first time would it?”

  The crowd went into a frenzy, muttering excitedly and Tahyung flinched. He didn’t want people to start attacking each other. Seo Joon wasn’t a pacifist like him. The dude wanted a full fledged war. Taehyung wanted no part of his aggressive attack. 

He stayed quiet for the rest of the interview while Seo joon rallied about how humans were responsible for the deterioration of the preserve. 

When the program ended and he began to leave the studio, he found Jimin waiting for him near the door.

“That was a bad idea.” His friend said quietly. 

Taehyung sighed. 

“Seo Joon is one the most respected men out there. i can’t antagonize him. At least till i win....”

“There are violent factions everywhere Tae... do you really want to fuel a full out war between us and the humans?”  

Taehyung brushed aside his concerns.

“i just want them out of the preserve. And most of them have left. There’s still just a few foolish stragglers. In a way i hope this motivates them to leave. ” 

His mind flashed back to her..

To those, wild brown eyes, whiskey deep and scared, her fear so tangible and real that it had appealed to ever base instinct in him. the wolf in him had preened at the idea of being feared....

And the way  her silky smooth hair looked as it flowed over shoulders, the pale, fragile perfection of her body, the smooth unblemished skin that had felt like silk under his lips. How tempting it had been, pressing her up against that wall, that insatiable urge to just sink his teeth in and bite and turn and claim....

He shook his head to clear that thought. He wasn’t attracted to her as a person. it was just the way she seemed to carry herself, like the perfect prey....

“i still think that idiot  should have worded that better.” Jimin shook his head.

Taehyung shrugged.  He didn’t want to talk about Seo Joon. 

“Let’s go get something to eat. Drinks on me.” He smiled, slinging a hand over his friend’s shoulder.

Jimin sighed but acquiesced, letting him lead him to the glittering black Bugatti near the parking lot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a little past one in the morning when Taehyung finally reached the pier, ready to take his personal boat to the island when he noticed the commotion near the loading dock. 

He felt his eyes widen, when he saw a couple of humans, looking frazzled and upset as they climbed out of the ferry.

“what’s going on?” He asked his skipper urgently and the man looked up from where he was lifting the anchor.

“There’s been some sort of riot on the island, sir. some of the wolves got together and tried to attack the humans in the research center.” He said casually.

Taehyung felt his heart leap into his throat.

“What?” He croaked. 

“Yeah, they got all of them off i think. The wolves are nearly feral with anger out there. Something about the research people being the reason the kids were sick in the first place...that they were the ones who brought them to the preserve in the first place...”

Oh fuck.

Oh  fuck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She wasn’t there.

 Taehyung went through the two halls where all the humans from the preserve were sitting. once. Twice. And then again. 

 They were all wet and shivering, clutching their meager possessions and looking lost but he couldn’t focus on any of them. He tried to catch her scent, that soft buttery smell of cinnamon and lavender... but it wasn’t there. 

She wasn’t there. 

He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to bring himself to think. 

Seo Joon. He had to call Seo joon.

“Hello...” Seo Joon sounded groggy. 

“Mirae’s still on the island.” He choked out.

Seo Joon groaned.

“Who?” He croaked.

“Yoon Mi Rae....that  tech from the research center.” 

Seo joon scoffed.

“That little lab rat? Didn’t she get on the ferry that was carting all the rest of the vermin back to the mainland?” Seo Joon sounded bored.

“She isn’t here, Seo joon..this is your fault. You shouldn’t have talked that shit on  TV..... you need to go find her and make sure she’s safe...I’m coming over...” Taehyung snapped. 

Seo Joon made a noise of impatience.

“I’m sleeping Tae. And besides, if she stayed behind, she’s probably been ripped to shreds by now. Serves the little bitch right.” 

Taehyung felt the blood freeze in his veins. 

“Seo joon, we can’t let a human get hurt under our watch.” He said shakily. 

“Really? why the fuck not... it isn’t like they have any qualms about hurting our kind. its her own damn fault, coming here and acting like she’s fucking mother Teresa...I hope they fucking ravaged her. Should be a nice message to any other fool that wants to come traipsing into our land..” 

Taehyung realized he couldn’t speak sense to the man. He hung up quickly, calling for him chuffeur. There was not enough time to take the boat... 

“Lee?” He said sharply. “ I’m gonna need the chopper.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He found her in her cabin, tied up and tossed in a corner while some of the betas shifted around the entrance. They had been growling and gnashing their teeth when he had arrived but some kind of restraint had kept them from actually killing her. 

But they hadn’t left her unscathed.

 Taehyung tried not to let his claws pop, his eyes taking in the way she looked.

Her clothes were torn off and she had clearly been sleeping when they’d broken into the cabin , dressed as she was in a tattered white t shirt , plain white panties and mismatched socks. Her jaw was bruised, a trickle of blood dried down her chin. Her left eyes was swollen shut and her breathing was ragged and came in short, painful little rasps and it clearly hurt her which meant that she definitely had a few broken ribs. 

Fuck. Fuck. 

“This wasn’t right.” He said sharply and the betas cowered. 

“She’s the reason the pups are sick...” one of the men said and the others mumbled their assent. 

“Where is the proof?” Taehyung snapped.” We do not mete out punishments when there is no proof. We’re better than that.” 

The betas shifted guiltily and the stench of wolfsbane made him sigh. They were mostly drunk.

“Get out of here. The whole lot of you and get ready to get carted off to prison tomorrow when she presses charges.”

He watched them leave, waiting for the last wolf to leave before turning to her. 

She was staring at him with her one good eye. 

“You gonna...” She began and then stopped, shutting her eyes in pain. “ tell me you told me so...” 

She was clearly in agony, the putrid stench of her pain filled the room and Taehyung couldn’t breathe.

“you need to get to the hospital.” He muttered, frozen in place. She sighed.

“Can’t... Don’t want anyone...to know.” 

He stared at her.

“Mi rae...”

“itll make things worse....for your kind.... “ She rasped out. “ Won’t press charges...”

He couldn’t believe her.

“You’re willing to not press charges...?” He said slowly.

She sighed and nodded a little.

“Please help me.”She said softly and his heart lurched.

He moved quickly, crouching next to her and popping his claw to cut through the ropes binding her. She fell into his chest at once, crying out in pain when he gripped her arms to steady her. 

“It’s okay... I got you...” He said softly, loosening his hold and cradling her in his arms. She blinked at him.

“i don’t have anyone.” She said suddenly.

“What?”

“Family. i don’t have anyone.... You need... You need to let me stay with you. Till i get better...Can’t let anyone know....what happened....” She whispered.

He was nodding before the words even registered. Staring into her eyes, he felt like he could have agreed to any damn thing she’d ask him. 

She nodded and then closed her eyes.

“i’m gonna sleep now.” She said weakly. 

And then went limp in his arms. 

Fuck.

 Fuck. 

[rookno]

@ghostinbone   Tell me more about Staci and the Judges. Bunker, post-bunker, the whole shebang.

I plan to write a long, long thing about Staci and his wolf family eventually so have some points that I've figured out.

- The bunker that Pratt made his way to was planned to keep animals away from radiation - it's full of small herbivores like rabbits and guinea pigs. Although not as big as the bunkers meant to house families or congregations like the Seeds' bunkers it's pretty damn big.

- The Judges were cooped up in tiny mesh cages when they were hauled in. I'm talking the kind of slapped together holdings a rescue organisation might put together when they hear that 40 odd dogs are coming in on late notice. The heavy black fabric thrown over them is nearly completely shredded by them pulling it through the mesh with teeth and claws. Most of them have lost incisors from gnawing at the metal by the time Pratt gets around to them. 

- Staci's not sure why he starts feeding them. The bags and bags of dog food piled up in the larder is the logical reason he tells himself. It's got nothing to do with him sitting in one of those cages, starving and desperate.

- The Judge's room fucking stinks of piss and shit. Staci wishes that he could pour bleach over the floor and call it a day but that potable water needs to be saved.

- That said he ends up spending as long as he can stand in the Judge's room - It's the biggest female that manages to break out of her cage. A whole wall of the cage gives out and she's suddenly got access to her neighbors' cage and the open space next to it. Her neighbor eats his way through a 20kg bag of dog food and then pukes it right back up. Mayhem occurs.

- When Staci comes in to feed them...he opens the bulkhead to crashing noises and 6 very snarly wolves huddled in the corner. Pratt refuses to bolt back to the door, terrified that they'll give chance. A long staring contest ends with him slamming the bulkhead shut and the wolves chow down on the food he bought them.

- The judge that overate and made himself sick is named Dumbass even while Staci tells himself not to get attached.

- This continues for a long, long time. In the end it's the stink that forces Staci to keep the bulkhead open and try to lure the group out. Even while opening the bulkhead he's muttering 'stupid, stupid, going to get yourself eaten then everything down here will die' under his breath.

- The big female, Sheriff, very clearly works as the group mother and is the first to check out the larger space. With the rabbits and cavvies closed off in their own room she patrols the new area and straight out steals some of the bundled sheets Staci can't wash. Several of those sheets get shredded before Staci can try and pull them away but at least the wolves aren't just pacing in their room anymore.

- Dumbass is the one that steals into Staci's room the one time he leaves it open. He gets a can stuck on his head. Staci laughs for the first time in what feels like forever when Dumbass tries to howl through an empty peach can. He's also the first judge that lets Staci touch them. To get the can off.

- Although all the judges are skittish Dumbass is the most inquisitive - possibly the youngest, or had the least time under Jacob. Sheriff is slower to trust and is not afraid to use her larger size to get what she wants. Ginger has a touch of auburn in her fur around the ruff and is highly food motivated, she leaves scratch marks on the concrete near the herbivore room. Scaredy Cat refuses to have his back toward an open room and is full of territorial aggression, backing himself into corners and showing teeth. Teddybear shows his belly at the smallest sign of aggression from the others.

- At this point even though the judges and Staci are sharing a few small rooms they're not friendly at all. Staci tries his best to herd them into their old room to feed them since human vs 6 food motivated wild animals = a shitshow.

- Sherrif gets pregnant and Staci just doesn't know what to do. She plants herself under his bed and open mouth lunges at anyone who tries to get close. Staci spends quite a few nights huddled in the herbivore room.

- When the two tiny cubs grow a little they're much more human friendly. They're born black with blue eyes and tiny little paw pads and Staci can't help himself when they toddle over to him. He holds his hand out like he's greeting a dog. Sharp little milk teeth sink into his finger and he yelps. 'Welp, I'm fucking dead' Staci thinks. But rather than the attack he was suddenly expecting Sheriff knocks the little one on his ass like he's saying 'Hey that one has thin skin, no teeth.'

- Once it's obvious that Staci is expected to do his part in raising the babies the rest of the pack relaxes a lot. Dumbass pushes his nose into everything Staci handles to the point he's a tripping hazard, even if he has to climb Staci to get there. Staci gets a little more relaxed about sleeping around them when the two cubs take to multiple naps a day on some part of his body.

- The cubs get christened Sweetheart and Bumble. Staci has no idea what sex they are but they're precious. Bumble breaks into the herbivore room and slaughters 4 guinea pigs before Staci drags them out. Staci swears that Dumbass looks proud.

- When the cubs hit that super hyper puppy stage they get super destructive. There's not a lot of fabric left without huge holes left in it by Sweetheart's teeth and Bumble has worn grooves into the concrete where he has run in circles. 

- Sheriff is clearly in charge. She has a second and third litter, 2 and a whopping 5 pups each. 

- Ginger has a secret litter of 3. It's not really a secret but Staci bodily puts himself between her and Sheriff for about a month. Ginger lets Staci have a bigger part in her pregnancy and takes to his room much sooner than  Sheriff did. Staci can't even be mad since she seems more tolerant of him using his bed to actually sleep.

- Years go by. Staci cries for days when each of the original wolves die. Sheriff is the first. One of Ginger's litter steps up as the new mother figure. Her name goes from Bitey to Mama. 

- The reason Staci opens the bunker is simple: they're almost out of potable water. Turns out the Peggies weren't planning to stay in this hole forever. 

- Bumble proves himself Dumbass' son by figuring out how to climb the ladder out while the rest of the pack bays at him. Staci can't even be mad. It takes all of five seconds for a very careful scouting mission turns into chasing a grinning Bumble around the super bloom.

- Although the bunker stays their base of operations the pack quite happily runs out to hunt when Staci makes a way the non-acrobat members can climb out. Staci builds up a smallish area above the entrance like a deer blind to keep it hidden from...whatever would try to harm them.

  - A second generation male from Sweetheart and Ginger's male pup Rust' litter ends up leading the hunts for the most part. He stays black from the second he's born. If he's named Elijah well...it's not like there's anyone to judge Staci's choices.

- Despite Jacob’s teachings it turns out that animals who are well fed and cared for will beat natural selection in the nuclear wasteland. The new wolves tend to stay in smaller groups and are much easier to spot. Eli and the pack quite easily drive them out of their new territory. A red male hangs around Eli’s sister Apple and the pack makes sure he knows that Staci is friend not food.

- Staci puts together a rifle and a silenced pistol from scrap. He’s mostly a stealth hunter and would really rather kill things with a knife than spend ammo. 

- The first time the pack sets eye on a raider...well, let's just say the raider should not have tried to grab Staci. One or two wolves they might have taken, but the pack? Well the man should have kept a hand on his rifle while he laid hands on their human.

[theramseyloft]

Pigeon domestication: Feral Pigeons are not wildlife.

There were some inaccuracies in the first post on this topic, so I’m making a new one. A second edition, if you will.

One of my followers once asked me why it was that pigeons in wildlife rehab should be held when other animals should be handled as little as possible.

I misunderstood the crap out of her question! And it took three posts to realize I had!

Injured or orphaned Wildlife in a rehab center need to be handled as little as possible to avoid imprinting onto humans. They need to be able to survive on their own, and developing the habit of asking humans for hand outs will lead it to becoming malnourished at best and get it killed for being a nuisance at worst.

Mammals in particular may be killed on approach as fearless approach of humans by a wild animal is one of the warning signs that it might have rabies, which requires brain tissue to test for.

Pigeons are not wild animals. On principal, imprinting avoidance should not apply to them.

Furthermore, it causes them a lot of harm.

Pigeons are intensely social birds! Nestlings suffer from touch starvation as intensely as a human infant and can be mentally stunted or even out right stress to death from lack of interaction.

More urgently: We are simply not capable of teaching a domestic pigeon peep to survive in the wild.

Pigeons are social and observational learners, with cognition equivalent to a human 5 year old. Like human children, pigeon squeakers are TAUGHT how to be pigeons. 

Their social structure is VERY human like! Their father takes them out on foraging trips (because mom either has or is getting ready to lay the next clutch) and teaches them where to find food, water, and nest materials, what to eat, where to shelter, and how to interact with other pigeons. How and when to defer to the status of older established flock mates to avoid a fight and how and when to stick up for themselves to make sure they get their fair share of resources.

Songbirds and nearly all other columbids kick their kids out as soon as they are self feeding and they either make it or they don’t. Their parents will chase them out if they come back.

Feral Pigeons only leave their families if the flock has grown too large for local resources to support. 

Truthfully, orphaned feral pigeons do not belong in wildlife rehab at all. Pet shelters should be set up for them. 

Feral Pigeons are not wild animals. Imprinting avoidance should not apply to them any more than it should apply to an orphaned puppy.

Feral puppies don’t get raised among fox kits or coyote or wolf pups at a wildlife rehab and sent out for release “into the wild”.

Seriously. Take a moment to consider the following scenario:

A shelter gets an orphaned or injured puppy. They bottle feed it until it can reliably feed itself, heal it’s injuries, and clean out its parasites.

And then they return that just weaned, newly healthy puppy to the alley from whence it came.

How many of you, of you actually saw this happen, or heard the plan for the puppy’s release, would not be INSTANTLY concerned for its well being?

How many of your guts just clenched at the thoughts that flooded your minds of it getting hit by a car? Going hungry enough to have to eat garbage? Getting into something poisonous or sharp? Dying because it was left alone with no shelter or resources in a hostile environment?

How many of you, upon hearing that that puppy was going back into the street, would protest that it needs a home? That it’s a pet? That it’s helpless? That it’s most likely to die if it’s released?

What would your reaction be if that rehab brushed all of those aside by pointing out that there are adult strays eating garbage and dodging cars, and they’re fine?

How many of you would get upset? How many would protest that those strays aren’t healthy? That they are skinny, full of parasites, visibly sick, and limping from old wounds?

How would you react if that rehabber looked you dead in the eye and said “Those are wolves and they should be free.”

What if, at all shelters, only purebred puppies, or puppies with obvious fancy traits were put up for open adoption, and all mutts were “released” back onto the street, with all offers to adopt them turned down because they were born outside? What if you could only request to take home a mutt puppy if it lost the use of a limb and was deemed unreleasable?

This happens to pigeons every day, and they are no less domesticated than dogs are.

Dogs have been traveling with humans since the time when there were several species of human!

But pigeons have been with us since our settlements became permanent, and that relationship is nothing to sneeze at!

Do you know why doves have the religeous significance they do?

Because of the Wild Rock Dove, which is to domestic pigeons what the wolf is to domestic dogs.

Rock Doves are cliff nesters native to Turkey, India, the northernmost coast of Africa and southern Europe, who live only in very specific locations: Seaside cliffs on the edge of deserts.

They are grain eaters that need to drink a certain amount of fresh water every day.

If you were lost in the desert, finding a Rock Dove would save your life, if you could keep it in sight. 

During the day, it would lead you to water because it can’t go a day with out. 

At night, it would lead you back to safe, habitable shelter. After all, if there are predators or noxious gas in abundance, the Rock Doves couldn’t live there either.

It’s true that pigeons were initially domesticated for meat, but the Rock Dove’s bond to a specific home site and the unerring navigation that returned them reliably to it every night lead them to being domesticated more like dogs than any other livestock.

Pigeon holes are really easy to make. It’s just an even opening in a mud or stone wall deep enough for a fully grown bird to be completely sheltered and wide enough for two pigeons to build their nest and raise two peeps in.

Babies could be collected from the wild at around two weeks of age, feathered enough to thermoregulate and just starting to wean from pigeon milk to seed. At this age, they could be moved into the man made pigeon holes and hand fed until they could feed themselves.

It would be three to four weeks before they began to be really capable of flight, so the man made dovecote became the Home site onto which the babies imprinted to just as much as their handler.

If the keepers were smart, they brought home a group of babies, because rock doves are social with a cooperative family structure.

If taken at the right ages, that group formed a mini flock, just big enough to watch each others backs and their surroundings on foraging trips farther and farther afield. 

When pigeons take mates from another flock, the pair decides which family to join based on the security of the nest site and availability of resources, so pigeons from a man made dovecote always had the advantage of superior security. New mates came home with the tamed peeps and learned by observation that the human care takers were harmless protectors.

If the farmer was smart, they’d only harvest meat or eggs sparingly and at night so that the pigeons would not associate the human with being preyed upon.

Because pigeons could go out and forage for themselves and be trusted to return, the farmer didn’t have to feed them, and a person could not be too poor to own pigeons.

Not only were they live stock that fed themselves and brought more birds back with them, the guano of a well fed pigeon is one of the most nutritious fertilizers on earth!

If you want crops to grow in a desert landscape, moist pigeon guano worked into the ground will work wonders!

Pigeon guano eventually became so highly prized that people who could afford to hired armed guards to protect their cote!

We kinda ALWAYS knew about pigeon navigation, but the Greeks and Romans wrote a LOT about their use as messengers.

Messengers were not just any domestic pigeon! Speed and navigational accuracy were the traits their lines were selected for exclusively, so these were expensive specialty birds, especially beloved by the well-to-do and the military.

Every fort and palace had a cote for messenger pigeons so that they could recieve the most urgent of messages in situations where a human runner was just not fast enough.

Royal emissaries and platoons of soldiers out on a mission were sent with a supply of birds from that palace or fort so that if they needed to get a message out, they could send it by the fastest carrier over the straightest path.

Pigeons continued to be used in the messenger capacity until only about 50 years ago. 

During this time when every one depended on them for swift communication, EVERY ONE loved and revered pigeons!

Their diversity so inspired Charles Darwin that he did a TON of his genetics research using them as models! And pigeons were so beloved by Victorian England that his editors tried to twist his arm to write a book entirely about pigeons instead of what became the Origin of Species!

When Eugenics began to fascinate the European well to do and dog shows came to be, pigeon varieties also blossomed! 

There were pigeons all over the world at this point, and different regions had so many different ideas of what shape and color and pattern made a beautiful Pigeon! While some valued the appearance, others valued a unique areal performance or a more musical singing voice.

There are at least as many distinct breeds of pigeon now as there are of dog! I have heard that there are more, possibly even considerably more, but I don’t know enough about dog breed diversity to say for certain whether or not those assessments are accurate.

We have taken pigeons EVERYWHERE with us! And when we loved and took care of them, everybody benefited.

But about 50 years ago was when technology caught up with and surpassed the speed of pigeon borne messages, and pigeons were slower with more expensive upkeep.

As previously stated, the military were not the only people who loved pigeons.

But a LOT of the people who kept them after the military phased them out in the US were immigrants and people of color. 

It was a status symbol not to need gardens or farms or livestock, so pigeon coops became associated largely with poor neighboorhoods and immigrants. 

As pigeons fell out of favor, and more and more ferals started living on the closest thing to a comfortable environment: Buildings. 

As they were fed by fewer and fewer people and had access to less and less grain, it became more common to see the white streaked splatters of the pure uric acid that pigeons excrete on an empty stomach.

Uric acid eats stone, concrete, asphalt, and especially metal.

Feral Pigeons thus became linked to property damage, and the smear campaign that coined the description “Rats with wings” ( http://www.audubon.org/news/the-origins-our-misguided-hatred-pigeons ) and linked them with filth and disease was the final blow to the public’s esteem for this animal that has been our partner and companion through THOUSANDS of years of history.

That description of pigeons was all it took to turn thousands of years of adoration and respect into knee jerk revulsion. 

Add the fact that domestication favors year round reproduction, and 50 years later, the feral population of pigeons is staggering. 

Millions are spent to kill them off and drive them out using everything from poison to spikes to nets, tar, traps, and fines levied on the kind souls that recognize their hunger and feed them.

The Street Pigeon Project spearheaded in Germany has found that the most effective way to decrease the feral population and minimize the damage they cause to buildings is to, get this: Take FUCKING CARE OF THEM!!!

They built a big, comfortable rooftop loft with lots of nesting spaces, provided a good mix or grain, seed, legumes, and calcuim, and swapped out the eggs with fakes.

The unrestrained, non-coerced feral pigeons spent 80% of their time in that loft, only leaving to stretch their wings.

It was more comfortable than the awnings, eves, attics, and signs that had been the best nesting grounds available, so they left! 

With no need to range out to look for food, they didn’t go very far.

On full bellies, with good food, their poo wasn’t just pure uric acid anymore!

With eggs swapped out as they were found, reproduction decreased by 95%!

And the best part? It cost SO much less to house and feed the ferals than it did to try to exterminate them!

That’s not even scratching the surface of the OTHER benefits that could be extended from that project!

Pigeon eggs are edible! Even if the thought squicks out people and they can’t be regulated, animals can eat pigeon eggs too. They could be donated to wild life rehabs and animal shelters.

A street pigeon project could partner with community gardens to clean the lofts and keep the fertilizer they gather. THEY could also use the eggs to compost!

Cleaning the loft could also count as community service!

Pigeons did not invade cities. We abandoned them there, after they helped us coordinate building and connecting them.

They are, in every sense of the words, abandoned, forgotten sky puppies.

And they deserve to be treated with the same concern and compassion as every other lost pet.

Adult ferals would be more hurt than helped by capture, but they should have the option of a safe place to go to be fed and cared for, and weaned babies deserve to go to loving homes.

I know there are too many to home right now and that isn’t feasible for rehabs that get hundreds of them, but where rehoming isn’t an option, they should at LEAST be acclimated in a group with supplemental feeding until they find their way in the world.

Pigeons were made what they are by us. They were abandoned by us. 

Everything we complain about regarding pigeons are traits WE intentionally bred into them! And we inexplicably treat *them* like the invaders after abandoning them the second they were no longer deemed useful. 

We even forgot that the pidge we see every day on the street are domesticated birds! 

They are literally stray dogs with wings!

It’s time we remember that relationship and remind other people.

And please, please… be kind to the Sky Puppies. 

They deserve to be loved again.

[kittypatra-zosan]

ZoSan Egyptian AU: Baby Borky Butt Drabble

"Teach him his native tongue, they said. It will be fun, they said. Little shit hasn't stopped barking FOR WEEKS." ~Mihawk, probably

Being a god was easy compared to this.

Mihawk had spent countless eons as the God of Death, watching over the scales and the underworld with only minor incident. He’d created a home out of the dark nightmare known as the underworld and he was fine to spend his free time lounging in his obsidian temple that overlooked the lake of fire.

It was a good life; a simple life and one that Mihawk highly enjoyed. Yet, he felt something was missing and he couldn’t quite figure out what it was. It had taken some time to finally pinpoint the exact thing Mihawk was looking to fill the void with, but eventually he figured it out.

Wrapped up in a tattered blanket, Mihawk almost walked passed the bundle until he heard a small whimpering. He’d never once thought of himself as a parent, but the first time he had laid eyes on his son, Mihawk knew that had been what was missing. Zoro, as Mihawk would come to decide his name should be, was one of the smallest beings he’d ever seen. He was a chubby little thing, blinking bleary and clouded eyes up at Mihawk as he waved fisted hands in the air.

Mihawk had never known such great joy and vowed to keep the young child safe from harm. Cradling Zoro in his arms, Mihawk had first gone to the stables, picking out a sleek red jackal pup to stay by his son’s side as he grew. It was Mihawk’s hope that Zoro and the jackal would bond and spend the rest of their lives together, much like the several that Mihawk had himself.

He’d never regretted making a decision as much as he had that one.

Rubbing at his ears, he flattened them back against his head in an attempt to lower the volume of noise that bounced around the room. It was tiring and endless, hurting his ears and giving him a headache. Yet, he had to constantly remind himself, he loved his son, even if all he seemed to do was yell as of late.

Zoro had grown quickly, but was still very young, toddling around the throne room while Mihawk looked on, keeping a watchful eye on him, as well as the rest of his undying kingdom. “Teach him his native tongue,” Mihawk muttered under his breath as another chorus of Bork Bork Bork filled the air, accompanied by the high pitched yips of the jackal pup. “It will be a way for you two to bond.”

Mihawk was going to kill Thoth, he was sure of it.

“Bork bork Bork!” Inhaling sharply, Mihawk bit his tongue before he snapped at his son. He knew what Zoro was trying to say, but the fact that he couldn’t pronounce the single word, even after all the time, and all the attempts Mihawk had tried to correct him, was frustrating.

Things were quiet for a moment before Zoro gave a high pitched squeal, something close to a giggle and Mihawk dropped the scroll he was reading to his lap as his ears shot forward in alarm. The pup, who Mihawk was calling “Demon” until Zoro was old enough to name him, was growling, all four feet planted as he tugged at the clothing Zoro was wearing. There was a loud ripping sound and another squeal of joy as Demon ran off with Zoro’s shendyt between his teeth.

Mihawk groaned and rubbed at his temples, knowing he didn’t have the energy to chase after the little red jackal. Shaking his head, he looked back to Zoro, who had his arms out, teetering on one foot as he tried to walk across the floor toward Mihawk.

Sitting up straight in his throne, Mihawk held his breath as he watched his son take his first real steps. Zoro had been crawling around for weeks and was able to stand against things, but he’d never seen the young god actually walk. Three steps in and Zoro faltered, dropping to his hands with his butt in the air as he wagged his tail. “Great job, Zoro,” Mihawk found himself saying, his own tail thumping against the back of his throne as pride swelled in his chest.

Zoro’s ears swiveled toward Mihawk as he picked up his head, the tip of one still drooping down as Zoro gained the strength to hold it up properly. He grinned up at Mihawk, eyes bright as he sputtered, drool trailing down his chin to drop to the polished floor. “Bork Bork Bork!” Childish glee bubbled up Zoro’s throat as he bounced on his hands with each word that left his throat.

Zoro kept bouncing on his hands, the single word repeated each time his hands hit the floor and soon enough he was actually jumping, his entire chubby little body leaping off the floor with each loud Bork that came from his mouth. Mihawk sighed, rubbing at his temples. Of course it would be his son that thought himself an actual jackal, jumping around as crazily as a playing pup, instead of trying to learn to walk.

There was a scrabble of nails of stone and Demon was flying back into the room, barking and yipping as he jumped around with Zoro on the floor. Each time Zoro would screech out the single word— “BORK!” —and the jackal would yip back, as they jumped around the room, their combined high pitched voices only making Mihawk’s headache worse.

He wasn’t going to get any work done, Mihawk was sure of it. Closing his eyes, he sighed heavily, resigning his afternoon to listening to his son pronounce his name wrong over and over again, while his pup played along with him. Resting his chin in his hand, Mihawk leaned his elbow on the arm of his throne and sorta dozed on and off. He was aware of the commotion around him, however, perking up when the noise suddenly stopped.

Thinking something was wrong, he sat up straight, looking around the room and only finding Demon sprawled on the floor, all four feet in the air as he slept. Tipping his head to the side, Mihawk perked his ears forward, wondering where his son could have gotten off to, when he felt a tug on his shendyt. Looking down, Zoro was looking back up at him, his golden eyes bright as he grinned up at Mihawk, small canines poking out of his otherwise toothless gums.

“Bahk,” Zoro questioned, his mouth forming awkwardly as he actually said the word correctly, tugging on Mihawk’s clothing as he did.

“That’s right.” Reaching down, Mihawk picked his son up, placing a still naked Zoro in his lap as he twisted his head to look at him. “Bahk; father in our native tongue.”

Zoro squealed again, the sound much louder with him being so close. On the floor, Demon twitched his sleep, rolling over and groggily sitting up at the sound of Zoro’s voice. “Bork,” the young god screeched and Mihawk sighed heavily. At least now he knew for sure, Zoro knew how to actually pronounce the word, even if he never seemed to use it.

(story by @cyriusli, art by @mossybrows-draws)

[mel-loves-all]

A Olicity Historical Romance AU: Touch can be so much more than just, physical.

A/N: There are quite a few flashbacks of dialog and scenes in this final chapter so I have made them italicized and bold.

Thank you all so much for reading my story and caring for and loving my AU Olicity.  This version of them was especially poignant to write and are extra special to me.  And one last thank you to @quiveringbunny for the gorgeous cover art she made for it. xoxo

You can read previous chapters HERE and AO3.

~~~~~~~

Chapter 6

Oliver had taken his mother to London knowing she would enjoy the end of the season, to be around friends and society, instead of the isolation of their ancestral home in Devonshire, which is where he was headed next.

Each mile he had traveled away from Somerset, away from Lady Felicity, had been painful and had felt, wrong.  He felt it in his gut and his heart.   He just hadn’t allowed his mind to feel it.  Compartmentalize, that is what he did.   He hadn’t allowed his mind to acknowledge that the wrongness had truly begun after he…could not and had not declared his love for Lady Felicity.  

She sat before him, in the intimacy of that dressing room surrounded by puppies and a tired Hanna, with love in her eyes.   Love for him and he…had let her go.   Or at least was trying to let her go.  Every hour since his departure he fought the need to go back to her.  To beg forgiveness and the right to adore her.  But, he would not.  

The feel of her skin, under his thumb as he wiped her tears away, haunted him.  He touched her and there had been no physical pain, but there had been true, blinding agony as he held back the words he wanted to say.  That he had loved her from the first moment he beheld her.    

His mother had asked if he would stay in London a few days, not to go to the balls, but to spend time with her.  Their two story town home, with a warm Bath-stone facade and whose Grecian ionic columns faced the West side of Hyde Park, had once been a favorite of his.  One side of the property offered the hustle and bustle of city life and the other the serenity of a park with sculpted mazes and riding trails.  But none of that mattered at the moment.   Every day, had been worse than the last.  He’d had episodes for most of that time and their length and severity worsened.

“Some of our hearts are too scarred. Too fractured. Too weak,”

Oliver wasn’t numb enough yet, to attempt to sleep.  He took another sip of the amber liquor from the thick, heavy glass in his hand and it burned going down his throat.  The fire in his master suite’s hearth cast flickers of gold up along his black trousered legs and disheveled shirt and cravat as he sat slumped to the side in his arm chair.  

“You are beautiful when you smile,”

He shook his head as Lady Felicity’s voice whispered to him from the shadows of his mind.  He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the chair.  He fought to keep her visage and her words locked away, but it wasn’t working.  

“Why aren’t you married to a man who adores you? A man who would gift you the moon.”

He swirled the liquid around and around in the glass as the anger, from thinking of any man other than himself touching, kissing, adoring Lady Felicity, built up and then erupted.  He threw the glass against the wall and shards of crystal shattered onto the floor.

Had he ever wanted anything more than to be whole again for her?    

“We just need to accept that we will never be who we once were…we have to accept who we are now. Scars and all.”

And that was the problem was it not?  He couldn’t be whole again for someone else.  He couldn’t be whole again for his mother.  He couldn’t be whole again for Lady Felicity.   He needed to be whole again for…himself.

He had tried so hard to make himself who he once was….and that man, that boy, was no longer.  Oliver felt a cold wetness on his face.  As he wiped it away from his cheeks he realized he was crying.   He hadn’t cried once since his return from the war.  He hadn’t cried since….

Draw in.  Ease out…..

He couldn’t breathe.  And he couldn’t stop crying.  He never, ever deliberately allowed himself to think of his captivity and his torture.  They only seeped through the cracks of the door in which he barricaded them behind.  Compartmentalize.  Compartmentalize.  

Draw in.  Draw in.  Draw in.   He shook all over.  

“Shhh, it is all right,” a warm hushed feminine whisper, only just barely penetrated his stupor. He tried to surface. To follow its warmth.  “Oh, please don’t make a sound,” there it was again. Oliver’s mind followed it. He could not understand the words, but the voice…it was safe. And then his face was cradled within hands that were petal smooth and then a firm softness pressed against his mouth.

He mind split in two.  

Tethered, anchored and kept safe, only by the memory of Felicity’s words and touch behind that library curtain, he finally…faced his nightmares.

He watched his body break under blow after blow delivered by black hearts, angry hands, and wood and metal weapons.  He smelled the foul breath and sweaty bodies of the deliverers of that hatred and that evil.  He looked…at the faces of the men who did him harm; who left him to die.  He. Looked. At. Them.  And he…survived.  He lived.  

“Our hearts still beat. We still live.”  

~~~~~~

Felicity peeled off her gloves, untied her straw hat and set them all down on the table in the foyer.  The day had been beautiful, a never ending expanse of blue and clouds of cotton white puffs, and she had not seen it.  She had walked and walked and still, she felt…heavy.   She had been sleeping a lot.  As if, she could not face being awake.   It had been two weeks since Lord Archer and his mother had left and yet, it felt like forever.

Katherine had known something was wrong almost immediately, as she had watched Felicity and Lord Archer, two people who clearly did not wish to part, say goodbye with hypersensitive politeness, but respectful dignity.  Felicity did not wish to talk with Katherine and after a few gentle attempts at coaxing, she had been hugged and quietly loved with an unending supply of hot chocolate and treats.  

It had been William who had finally broke through Felicity’s depression.  He had brought Hanna and her pups to visit her in her bedroom.  After setting the new family alongside where Felicity lay resting, William sat down on her bedside.   He simply stroked and pet the adorable pups and waited for Felicity to speak.

The warm bodies squirmed against her chest and she looked up at her brother and said,  “I love him, William.”

“I know,”  he replied, gently.  “No one, who looked upon you two, would think otherwise.”

“He left.”

William took a deep breath and nodded, “I cannot speak for Archer, but you know how much I fought against my feelings for Katherine.”

“Yes, it was difficult to watch when I knew you two belonged together,”

“It was difficult to live through.  I knew I was hurting her, but…I didn’t think I was worthy of her and Felicity, it took me a long time to heal,”

“And you did.  I’m so grateful,”

With his finger, William tenderly pushed a wayward wisp of Felicity’s hair away from her eyes and said, “Allow Archer to heal.  And if his heart is true…it will come for you.”

She had woken the next morning with the same broken pieces of her own heart yearning for his, but now their jagged edges were a little less sharp.  As the pieces inched closer together, trying to mend themselves whole again, she hoped and prayed Oliver was all right.   Was he taking care of himself?  Was there someone to help him when the terrors came?  

A package, left on the foyer table, caught her eye.  

“That would be for you my Lady, it came by special delivery,” said George the butler, as he stood by the door.

“Thank you, George,” Felicity said as she carried the package into the family room.  She set it on the tea table and unraveled the string and parted the heavy layers of cloth that kept its contents safe.

A small envelope rested on a beautifully bound book.   She noticed the title, Emma, was engraved on the book’s leather cover.  As she opened the note, it contained only two short sentences, but with them came a light blush and a joy she had not felt in weeks.  

~~~~~

A small token of my gratefulness.  May it find a warm and pleasant welcome in your library. Archer

~~~~~

He thought of her.  

Knowing this brought her immense joy and incredible sadness.  She had crossed his mind like he crossed hers.  Did she walk with him through the day or share a look or a touch…like he did in hers?

It was bittersweet.  She delighted in his thoughtfulness and his humor of their moment in the library, but…she wished for more.  She wished he was hers.

Sometimes, such wishes, do not come true and she would have to remember that.  They may never be more than just friends, but friendship…was another kind of love that should be just as treasured.  

Felicity wrote a thank you note, to her friend, and in a few days time received a letter back.  In it contained an enquiry as to Hanna and her puppies’ health and thus begun an easy and precious correspondence.   Her beloved friend shared his love of many things such as the lakes and countryside of his Devonshire, albeit they were not wild as the ocean of Somerset, but his words spilled the unique images off the parchment and he in return grew to learn more of her.  Her favorite books and authors, what flowers reminded her of her mother, her opinions and her thoughts.

Friendship.  It was to be ardently cherished.

~~~~~~

London, Autumn 1816

“Sweetness, you forgot your dance card in the parlor,” Katherine said, as she came to stand with Felicity at the edge of the dance floor.   Katherine’s distant cousin was having her first season in London and Felicity, William and Katherine found themselves there for support.  With the arrival of crisp autumn weather came the excitement of new faces and the thrill of finding love.  The ton was vibrating with possibilities.

Silk gowns and joyous festive couples flew by in a blur of dancing colors as Felicity sighed and said with light sarcasm, “Thank you, Katherine. I would have missed it dearly,”

Felicity had never felt as if she was missing anything by never being asked to dance, but it now tugged ever so gently at her heartstrings. Now, there was someone she wanted to dance with.  Lord Archer.  The months that had passed had not dulled the exacting details of his beloved face.  She remembered every moment they had had and every word they had shared in their letters.    She had read within their sentences his sense of self returning.  They had not directly written to each other of his “struggles,” but each post had grown longer and reflected a life that was slowly and carefully beginning to be lived.  

“Oh, I do believe you have indeed missed…something,”  Katherine replied mischievously as she leaned close and whispered into Felicity’s ear, “Open it,”

With confusion as to what Katherine was up to, Felicity opened her dance card and did not understand at first.  Every dance entry was filled…and filled with the same name.  The Earl of Archer, Oliver Queen.

“Good evening, Lady Felicity,” came a sinfully delicious voice that caressed her as lovingly and as sensually as the blue eyes she looked up into with surprise.

Felicity could not believe he was there.  Her eyes soaked in every inch of him.  His black evening wear showcased his body to perfection.  He looked so healthy and so alive.  Eyes that had once held back so much now beamed with an openness that welcomed her.  

“May I have this dance?”  

Felicity was so happy to see him.  Words could not form quick enough as she placed her hand into his offered one and whispered, “Yes,”

~~~~~~

Everything fell into place as Oliver swept Felicity into a waltz.   She was breathtaking in her forest green gown with elegantly embroidered red peonies sparkling through the folds of its skirt as it swirled and brushed against his legs.  

His heart healed as he held onto her, turn after graceful turn, and her smile grew broader and wider till she laughed at loud.    

He wanted to explain how much her letters had meant to him.  How much her support and friendship had been a beacon to him on his darkest days.  He wanted to tell her that he heard her voice in his head and it always soothed and eased.  He wanted to tell her he still had the terrors, but that he had chosen to live…and to love.  

He wanted to tell her how sorry he was to have hurt her.  He wanted to tell her so much, but the most important thing he wanted to tell her was…

“I love you,”

He felt her entire body shake from his declaration and in his arms, in the middle of a magical and extraordinary waltz, the woman he loved, said it back.

Felicity’s eyes shimmered with joyous tears as she said, “I love you, too.”

~~~~~~

“My Lord, someone will catch us,” a breathless voice said, from a window seat hidden behind thick curtains in a moonlit library as strong, devilishly dexterous fingers slid under the hem of an evening gown and up along silky thighs.

“Then we best make this quick,” was teasingly whispered back as insatiably hungry lips placed wet, open mouthed kisses down a graceful swan like neck, till they found the luscious top curves of heavy, full breasts.  A tongue peeked out to lick and savor and a long sigh of feminine pleasure echoed off the book filled shelves.

“Oliver, I feel as big as the whales we see off the cliffs of Somerset,” Felicity moaned again, from behind the curtain, as her prominent belly bump nestled against the hard muscled torso of her husband as she sat straddling his lap in the privacy of their home library in Devonshire.  

“You are beautiful, desirable and I adore you,” her husband of one year and two months said to his pregnant wife as his hands threaded through her hair, pins flying everywhere as her golden curls cascaded down over his arms and her shoulders.   The daring neckline of her gown showed off the bountiful expanse of her satiny skin and it glowed under the worshipping beams of moonlight.  

Oliver’s words filled Felicity’s soul with incomparable love as they always did.  Her beloved still fought against his darkness, but now…now, on their life’s journey, there was an inner light that shielded him as he held fast, to the hand of his best friend and other half of his heart.  

“So very beautiful.” Oliver murmured as he tightened his hold on her hair and pulled her in for a kiss.

She eagerly welcomed the slide of his tongue between her lips. He tasted like the strawberries they had for dessert and love. He always, always tasted like love.

~~~~~~~~

*****The End, but really a happily ever after.*****

~~~~~~~~

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