#that aloy is still on her own in searching for answers. somehow she knows that these weird powers are from beyond the stars

[gryphonablaze]

while it’s not in either of those earlier two larger aforementioned crosses, it would be interesting to see HZD/BL. Perhaps Aloy inherits lilith’s powers? And in search of vaults sanctuary makes a pitstop at earth and tannis has the Time Of Her Fucking Life with all the Machines and Aloy convinces her to try and resurrect Gaia’s consciousness because she wants to try to meet at least one of her moms face-to-face yknow?....

 After Tannis brings Gaia back, She can see/talk through Aloy’s focus, so Aloy makes a visit back to the beginning of things and introduces her to Rost.

and yes I know forbidden west, I don’t have it so I don’t know the plot, but. with the Derangement under control and Hades defeated*... Rost taught her that even if Aloy did not need the tribe, they needed her. Well, she’s helped them. They don’t need her anymore. And now that she knew where she came from, what she was... in this whole world, just like Rost’s home... there was nothing for her here. Not anymore. Not without Rost. Not without Elisabet. They had been here, but they were gone now. It’s best that she move on. 

Before she left on Sanctuary, she took Elisabet’s helmet, and a stone from Rost’s grave. 

Aloy had always preferred being alone. Sure, she had friends. But that wasn’t what ‘alone’ was. Not belonging to anyone, not being bound to something somewhere. But she would have stayed for Gaia. In all the world, She was the only thing Aloy would have endured obligations for. But, because of something the weird lady from space did to her Focus, even though Aloy was far beyond Earth, she could still talk to Gaia.  

Besides, she had new questions now, and their answers weren’t here. 

Also, since she suddenly gained the ability to set things on fire, and summon blazing wings, the Carja started worshipping her. It was bad enough to be one tribe’s anointed, much less two. 

‘Everyone, please welcome the newest member of the Crimson Raiders!’ The small blue girl wiggled her hands at Aloy. 

Aloy’s brow creased. ‘Nobody said anything about joining any tribes.’

‘Ya don’t have to be a Raider if ya don’t want to,’ The large woman added. ‘Technically.’ 

‘Alright.’ Aloy shifted her posture. ‘So, who is everybody?’

Everyone introduced themselves in turn. 

‘Nice to meet you all. I’m Aloy.’ 

‘Would you like a tour of the ship, dear? I can show you all around,’ Moxxie offered. 

‘Yes, please.’ Aloy did not acknowledge the woman’s suggestive tone. ‘Lead the way.’ 

Immediately after Moxxie was done helping Aloy navigate the ship, she immediately went to the lab. The woman to whom it belonged was the only member of the Crimson Raiders Tribe that hadn’t been on the Bridge. Moxxie instead had told Aloy her name.

‘Tannis?’ 

One half of the room was a mess. Squares of torn-up not-quite-parchment and thread were thrown on the floor. Tannis herself was facing the wall with her forehead against it and arms hanging limply by her sides. 

Just as Aloy had seen before, on the woman’s left arm there were markings. 

‘Is this a bad time?’

‘It absolutely is.’

‘I’ll come back later, then.’

‘No, there is no time in the near future that will be any less dreadful than this. What do you want?’

‘This thing on my arm. You have it too, and so do Ava and Amara. What is it?’ 

Tannis sighed wearily. ‘It is the mark of a Siren. Nobody knows where we came from or how we were made. Only six--or perhaps seven, the number is up for debate--can exist in the universe at the same time. Again, it is not known why. Each of us have different fantastical magical powers. These powers can be passed down to other specific people or inherited at random whenever a Siren dies. The powers are often the same, if not similar when they are passed from Siren to Siren. You inherited the abilities Phasewalk, and Phaseblast, and the related. Your powers came from a Siren called Lilith. She was my friend. She was lost her recently, in uncertain circumstances, and I was holding out hope that she was still alive somewhere.’

‘The fact that I have these markings is proof that she actually died...’ 

‘Yes.’

Aloy paused for a long moment. ‘Thank you for explaining... this.’ She held up her hand. ‘And I’m sorry that you lost your friend. Someone I cared about died recently, too.’ It had been maybe a month since Rost had saved her at the proving. So much had happened since then. ‘Is there anything I can do to help you?’ 

‘No, there is not.’ 

‘Alright.’ Aloy left. 

.

.

.

*Fuck you, Sylens. 

[dawnfromzero]

33. a kiss that shocks the receiver ✨ ✨

(originally from this post )

What had started out as a good day had turned great when Erend wrapped up a patrol through the city (had to keep the Vanguard on their toes even in peace time, after all) just in time to run into Aloy, freshly returned to Meridian from the wilds to restock and check in on a few friends (himself included, he was pleased to be informed). Great had turned to excellent when the huntress had immediately agreed to his suggestion that they grab a meal and a drink (or two, or three) and fallen into step with him, a smile on her lovely, freckled face, as though there were nothing in the world she would rather be doing in that moment.

It was enough to make Erend’s stomach flip and his heart flutter, but then Aloy always had that effect on him. One smile was all it took to have him wrapped around her finger, and a single word to bring him running. Better men had been ruined by less, but for all her strength, Aloy was a gentle hand with the people who loved her, thank his lucky stars. The Oseram were well known for the durability of their armor and the strength of their weapons, but Erend had no defenses when it came to the huntress that had so easily snared his heart, and he’d rather bare his throat to her than ever raise a hand in her direction.

The sun fell and as the night finally brought a reprieve to the blistering heat of the day, Erend coaxed Aloy into a walk along the canals. It took surprisingly little effort on his part, and the man wasn’t sure if that last pint of ale had given his already silver tongue an extra edge, or if it had simply made his lovely companion more amenable to distraction; he wasn’t about to question his good luck either way.

Conversation flowed easily as they walked side-by-side under the pale light of the moon, and Erend’s heart felt lighter than it had in ages as he watched Aloy throw her head back and laugh at his latest tale, red hair cascading down her back in heavy waves the man longed to run his fingers through. He knew he was grinning like a besotted idiot, but he allowed himself the luxury of watching her for a moment longer, at least until she got herself back under control and looked at him again, tears of mirth in her bright eyes. Erend turned his face from her in hopes of schooling his expression into something less obvious, one hand absently smoothing his mustache to disguise the infatuated curve of his lips.

Distracted as he was, Erend was caught off guard when he turned back to look at Aloy and found her significantly closer than she had been the moment before, scant inches between their bodies. The shock of it made the man inhale sharply, filling his nose with the scent of her; the ale they’d just drank, the leather of her tunic, and a pleasant blend of herbs and flowers he couldn’t begin to identify. Rattled, heart pounding frantically behind his ribs, Erend tried to ask what she was doing, but the words wouldn’t come, seemingly dried up at the source, and only retreating further when he saw her gaze drop from his eyes, to his lips, and then back up again.

Aloy closed the remaining distance between them, hands lighting on his chest for support as she went up on her toes to catch his lips with hers and Erend wondered if he hadn’t had too much to drink after all and was passed out face down in his pillow at home. That’s usually the sort of circumstances he wound up having these dreams in, after all. But then, he didn’t think he had the imagination to fabricate the way her fingers felt as they curled into the fabric of his shirt, or the pleasant solidity of her body pressed flush against his.

The kiss was forthright and sincere as the woman herself was; inexpert but tender, and completely breathtaking. So much so that Erend forgot to breathe at all until Aloy broke contact, settling back on her heels once more, flushed and pensive as the vanguardsman finally managed to take a ragged, unsteady breath. He opened his mouth to try and speak again, but only managed a croak, making the pretty redhead lift a brow and purse her (wonderfully soft) lips in an attempt to school her expression. She withdrew her hands from his chest and Erend immediately missed them, kicking himself mentally to say something, say anything before she wound up with the wrong damn idea-

“I-… why?” he finally managed to say, voice rough, but a long sight better than the croak that had escaped him a moment before. It wasn’t the question he wanted to ask, but it was the one ricocheting most violently around his, ecstatic, if bewildered, brain like a charger in a pottery shop.

Aloy’s other brow went up to match the first, then relaxed again as she studied his face, seeming to search for the reason behind his question. He had no idea if she found her answer, but after a moment, direct as ever, she answered,  “I like your mouth.”

Erend blinked. “You… like my mouth,” he repeated dumbly, completely thrown by her unexpected answer.

She nodded, the blush across her freckled cheeks deepening under his regard and, possibly for the first time, her gaze darted nervously away from his. “You know-” Aloy tried again, gesturing helplessly towards his face as she glanced back up at him from under her lashes. “-the shape of your lips. The way they move when you talk. How you, uh… smile. I like it.” The huntress recovered enough then to lift her chin in silent challenge and met his gaze once more, as if daring him to laugh at her.

He didn’t of course. Erend was too busy marveling that Aloy had somehow managed to make him love her even more, though if you’d asked him five minutes earlier, he would have claimed that such a feat was impossible.

Still, he was mischievous by nature and, despite feeling like his heart might give out at any moment, Erend couldn’t help but ask, “Oh yeah? What about the rest of me?”

Aloy scowled and he smiled, unable to resist doing so any more than the sun could cease rising in the east. He half expected her to call him a chuff, but instead, she went quiet for a moment, then crossed her arms over her chest and said, “I like that too. For some reason.” Erend’s smile widened into an outright grin and she quickly added, “All-mother only knows why, th-”

This time, it was the huntress caught off guard as her would-be prey stepped in close and silenced her with another kiss. Erend didn’t wrap his arms around her out of concern that he might scare her off (or get punched), though that didn’t stop him resting one hand along her jaw so he could sweep the pad of his thumb across the swell of her cheek. Aloy was totally still for a moment, long enough that Erend nearly pulled away, worried that he’d misread her, but then her lips were moving against his, mimicking the gentle coaxing movement of his own. He’d long suspected Aloy was inexperienced, but as in everything the woman put her mind to, she was a quick study, and it wasn’t long before Erend found himself questioning his initial assessment on the matter.

They parted after a minute and Erend knew he was grinning like a fool, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, not when Aloy was smiling right back at him; sweet and shy but thoroughly pleased with herself.

“I like your mouth too, just for the record,” he informed her.

Aloy laughed, then got an impish look in her eye that made Erend’s heart leap alarmingly and beat a frantic tattoo against the inside of his chest. “Good thing,” she said, then planted her palms on his chest and pushed gently so the man was forced to take a step back, and then another, until he found himself pressed up against the nearest wall. Erend swallowed thickly, all his funny, clever words leaving him again as Aloy regarded him almost hungrily, and he wondered at his good luck as her hands slid up to his shoulders until her arms could wind around his neck and pull him down into another kiss. It was deeper this time, more demanding, but as he slipped his arms around Aloy’s waist and pulled her in flush against him, she found Erend was more than happy to give the woman he loved everything she wanted and more. 

[crackimagines]

Sorry if this seems like spam, you're just the best and I keep getting ideas for you. Anyways, maybe one where Child!Blyeth gets sick, like bed-ridden, barely coherent sick, and Jeralt's out on a mission, so it's Big Sisters Mercedes and Annette to the rescue to help their tiny professor until he feels better?

child!Byleth Post Masterlist here!

Thanks for the compliment, I’m glad you enjoy the blog! And don’t you worry a thing! I love the prompts you guys send me, and I checked, and you’ve only sent in like 2 asks anyway.

plus you were there that night when I fucking axed these sweethearts, i gotta make it up somehow

I’m also going to be combining these 2 asks since they’re pretty much the same

Thanks for the ask,  merciful-chaos and anon, hope you enjoy!

—-

MEDIC! (FE: Three Houses Short Fic)

Child!Byleth Professor AU

Byleth becomes sick due to overworking himself. So, there’s naturally only two people who can help with this situation…

—-

The tiny professor sighed loudly as he finally left the Blue Lions classroom. Grading the papers had been exhausting for him. He had recruited so many students to the point of absurdity, and that meant way more extra work.

Then again, he couldn’t exactly say no, so this was mostly his fault of why he had to work so hard.

As he walked, Sothis materialized next to him.

“You look quite pale. Are you alright?”

Now that she mentioned it, he wasn’t exactly feeling his best as of late.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine. Nothing some sleep can’t fix up.”

He continued walking towards the offices, there was at least one more bit of work to do before the night got too late.

Right now it was about the dinner hour, so he could still finish at a reasonable hour.

The more he walked however, he began to feel lightheaded.

“Perhaps we should get back to the room. The work can continue at a later date, off to bed with you!”

As much as he hated leaving work half done, she was right. He sighed again, and started headed back to his room, until he felt his legs give out, and his face planted into the floor.

A squad of knights were patrolling by the entrance to the offices, and saw Byleth on the floor.

(Knight 1) “H-Hey! Professor! Go call for a healer!”

(Knight 2) “Yes sir!”

(Knight 3) “What happened to the kid?!”

(Knight 1) “No injuries, pulse is still good…He may just be exhausted. That said, search the area! I want every nook and cranny checked! Split into teams of two, and alert the other squads!”

…

…

…

When Byleth opened his eyes back up, he was in a bed, and slowly looked around, the room much too bright for his liking.

(Girl’s Voice) “Oh, professor, you’re awake!”

He could barely make out the voice as he started to gain back his sight.

After a few seconds of the world finally coming back to view, the entirety of the Blue Lions class was standing in his room.

(Dimitri) “There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know!”

(Byleth) “S-Sorry for worrying you all. What time is it? We need to-”

As he tried getting up, he felt a sharp pain in his head, to which he was gently pushed back to lying down by Dimitri.

(Dedue) “Professor, please get some rest. The healers said you have become sick through exhaustion.”

(Ingrid) “No need to worry about us sir, some other instructors are filling in for you.”

(Byleth) “…S-Should I even ask?”

Everyone awkwardly looked at each other. They knew if they said that Alois of all people had to be their substitute, he’d have a heart attack.

(Felix) “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.”

(Sylvain) “Regardless, hope you feel better teach! We have some very capable people to take care of you while we’re off!”

Byleth felt his anxiety lessen when he heard Sylvain say that.

(Byleth) “Flayn?”

(Annette) “Even better!”

(Mercedes) “We’ll make sure to take good care of you!”

…Byleth’s anxiety then went through the roof.

(Ashe) “Professor, you’re starting to sweat up something fierce. Maybe we should let them take care of you-”

‘PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME HERE WITH THEM’

…is what he wanted to say, but he started coughing, letting everyone leave the room.

(Bernadetta) “Get b-better soon, professor!”

(Marianne) “We’ll pray for your fast recovery.”

(Raphael) “Yeah, we’ll get a good dinner once you’re out!”

(Caspar) “You make it sound like he’s in prison…”

Caspar had no idea how right he was.

Once the doors closed, Annette nodded and took some soup out.

(Annette) “Here you go professor, I made this soup personally!”

AND NO ONE STOPPED YOU?!

…Is what he was going to say until he felt his throat finally give out. It was clear that he wasn’t going to speak anymore today.

Sothis materialized behind Mercedes and Annette, looking at the soup and shuddering.

That was NOT a good sign.

He was crossing his fingers under the blanket in hoping they weren’t going to do something as humiliating as spoon feed him like an infant.

Luckily, they gave him his own spoon, so he nodded as thanks and took a bite out of it.

He was also luckily that Sothis was the only ones who could hear his thoughts.

BY THE GODDESS THIS IS DISGUSTING!

(Sothis) “I have no concept of cooking but…I wish I said something earlier BEFORE you took a bite…Can you not speak to say that this is horrible?”

Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t do it. Take a look at their eyes.

Sothis did just that, and saw them sparkling. They finally had a chance to be the big sisters.

(Annette) “I-It’s okay? No spitting it out! OH MY GOSH, MERCIE I FINALLY DID IT!”

(Mercedes) “I’m so proud of you, Annie! Your cooking is finally improving!”

Like hell it was.

(Sothis) “…I…I suppose you’re right. What are you going to have to do with that slop?”

Well, considering it’s helping a bit with my illness I…I think I’m going to have to eat it all.

(Sothis) “…Just this once, I will allow you to turn back time outside of combat.”

He honestly considered it until he heard Annette speak up.

(Annette) “You know, I was so worried you wouldn’t like it! When I heard you were sick, I wanted to make sure we could help you get over it as fast as possible!”

(Mercedes) “Annie spent all night trying to get the soup to perfection, and it’s relieving to see its helping you!”

(Sothis & Byleth) “…”

(Sothis) “On second thought, I’d feel too bad.”

Same.

Byleth worked up a smile and nodded at them, which mad both of them smile even wider.

This was going to be the longest day in his life.

Later that night…

Mercedes and Annette did a fine job of taking care of their tiny professor, though it was quite a rough start. They constantly insisted he take naps, which he refused, trying to do paperwork instead.

They eventually had to convince him by saying that he’d get brownies if he cooperated, which was his breaking point.

He hated the fact it had so much power over him, but he had to comply.

Mercedes’ cooking WAS that good…Well, her baking anyway.

Though when Annette offered to sing him to sleep, he said no so fast she didn’t even finish her sentence.

On that note this was the first time he was ever given attention like this. Usually when he was sick, he didn’t make a fuss and just slept it off unless it was very bad in his mercenary days. 

Though, having a healer just do their job would’ve been sufficient he…didn’t entirely hate the fuss Mercedes and Annette caused for him.

Once he finally drifted off into sleep, Mercedes put a blanket over him, and both her and Annette quietly walked out, leaving their tiny professor to rest easy.

(Mercedes) “That was quite fun! There were so many things I didn’t know about Byleth until today!”

(Annette) “I know! We’re finally his big sisters!”

They began laughing, and chatting about how childish Byleth was on the inside. All the while, Sothis watched from outside his room, smiling to herself.

“Oh man, that child is NOT going to be happy once they begin spreading the news…”

Spoiler: HE WASN’T.

[gracevilliers]

Blood of my Blood, Part 3 || Grace & Yamina

It was amazing how many things she had taken for granted as a human. Grace had spent so much time occupying the night. The night was when the vampires came out to play, so it was the time when Grace hunted them. She had never imagined she would be confined to it just like they had been. Stefan had been able to go out during the day. For years she had puzzled over it before discovering the well hidden secret of the daylight charms, but how to get one, and from whom? Grace didn't know. So she had been nothing but a creature of the darkness. Two weeks she had been on the run, leaving Constantinople, travelling through Hungary and then finally, Romania. 

She had left a trail of bloody bodies in her wake, her self loathing growing stronger every time she was unable to stop herself. She'd tried to eat other things. Rabbits, birds, even rats, but none of it ever satisfied her. She had asked everyone who she thought might know of Fane Savin, or his older name, Andrei, but she had found no answers. Only ghosts. Nobody had seen him in years, if they knew him at all. It was the same empty story she had found years earlier when she had tried to find him. His old home was empty of him. She was exhausted. Grace hadn't had a moment of rest of peace since the moment the vampire's blood had touched her lips. 

Even when she slept, there was no peace. It was probably a miracle she hadn't broken down sooner, sheer grit and determination the only thing that kept her going. Until it didn't. The cemetery in the town Fane was from was only filled with ghosts too. She hadn't even been able to find a grave for him, as if it would have shared some sign of where he had gone, some clue. As if it hadn't been just the last piece of closure for a family whose child would never come home. She was only glad most of hers was already dead to be saved such grief. "Why won't you ever let me find you?" she asked the night, something akin to a sob falling from her lips. "You just bloody left me. You couldn't even let me die in that room. You had to be noble... to let me live, for what? For this?" She smacked her hand against a dry tree, bark and wood splintering beneath her fist. "God, I hate you. I hate you." She wished she wasn't lying.

All this time, Yamina had followed Grace around. Everywhere her progeny went, Yamina followed. She had a new goal now, away from the hustle and politics of the Vampire Councils, and now no longer being hunted down and on the run. Yamina regained some finances at her leisure and then turned her full focus on Grace Villiers. She ended up in Romania of all places, but it seemed she was intent on her search, for someone specific, it seemed. A Stefan Savin. Yamina was sure she heard the name but didn't think much of it. Her focus was on the welfare and protection of her child. When Grace ended up in a cemetery, weeping and talking so plaintively, Yamina's dead heart couldn't take it any longer. She approached, her hand outstretched. "Grace, my child. My poor unhappy child." She looked a the splintered tree. "Still instinctively reacts with violence I see. Your Hunter training still lingers." She didn't even sound angry at that, just observant and sympathetic.

Grace straightened, stiffening as her maker approached. She should have known. She should have felt it. Sensed it somehow. But she was just a newborn as far as nosferatu went, a mere two weeks old. Perhaps the sire bond didn't work that way. Perhaps it remained the same no matter where in the world you were. She cradled her hand. It should have hurt, but didn't. She was too inhuman for those mere aches and pains now. "I told you not to call me that," she replied, but her voice was weaker somehow, less convincing. God, she hated crying, and now this woman had found her, sobbing in a cemetery because she couldn't find her ex-boyfriend's grave. "You weren't supposed to follow me."

"By who's command was I not supposed to follow you? I made you in my image," Yamina said soft but unwavering as always. She reached out and touched Grace tentatively. "You loved this man. I understand what it's like to love, and lost. It tears at your soul. And yes..." she lowered her head, eyes still on Grace. "We vampires do still have our souls. All is not lost. Did you wish to find him? I promised you we would, and I do not break my promises. We don't even have to kill him. Whatever you'd like, my dear. I just hope you don't intend to sleep here..." She gave a light laugh. "I may still slumber in coffins but I am not about to resign myself to a mausoleum."

Grace rolled her eyes, responding with a meager, bitter chuckle. "Really? Funny. I don't think we look alike." Even in such a state, if seemed she still had her sarcasm. She almost regretted it as her sire reached out for her. Grace couldn't even pull away. She had a need for it, one she couldn't explain. As desperate as she was to drink, she was as desperate to be comforted. Her sire had told her if she chose to die, it would make her weak. This felt weaker than anything, and yet somehow it was what she chose. She squeezed her eyes closed for a moment, exhaling and leaning against the woman's hand. "I love him. I hate him. I miss him. But he had every reason to leave, and every reason not to want to be found."

Yamina gave a small laugh, appreciative that Grace was able to pull enough perspective in all this to see some humour in it. Not jovial humour but dry and brittle and appropriate for her situation. Yamina didn't stop touching her when Grace let her, stepping a bit closer. It felt good, being here for one of her progeny, taking care of them in her own way. "That's all well and good but my question still stands: do you wish to find him?" A pause as Yamina looked around and she sighed. "Well, I suppose that's exactly what you've been trying to do all this time. If you want to live the rest of your life for him, that is your choice. I will not stop you from doing whatever you feel you need to do. However, I have a proposal, if you choose to continue your search. Allow me to show you how to make the most of who you are. Do not live like a puritanical ascetic, self-flagellating yourself across the continent. Let me show you how to live again, my dear Grace."

Grace pondered the question. So much of what Fane had told her had been lies. Even his name had been a lie. She could find no headstone for Fane in his home town, and upon showing his picture around, locals had reported passing resemblance to the Aloys heir. She'd tried to pull on that thread and found some stories of someone matching Fane's description who had gone missing some two hundred or so years ago, but no real answers, just a cloudy blur of mystery. Fane Savin, Andrei Aloys, she couldn't find either of them, so what did it matter? "I used to want to find him so I could kill him. Then I tried to find him so he could help me, perhaps even forgive me, but he doesn't want to be found." She was Lady Grace Villiers, from a family of Dukes and Earls and a King's Lover. She didn't live her life for any man. Fane didn't want her. It was a cold truth, but a truth nonetheless. "I've never been ascetic a day in my life, but I never wanted to live like this." She was quiet a moment, pondering. "But I don't want to die, either... It seems self-preservation weighs more than duty."

"Self-preservation is certainly a noble aspiration," Yamine replied evenly. She looked down at the graves around them. "My kin - my family when I was human - were killed save one. That child grew and had children, and those children had children...but the longer I lived the faster they seemed to respawn and die, over and over." Grief wracked Yamina's voice, but as always it was controlled, calm. "I've lived in abject poverty and the lowest of forms, and I've risen to the highest of riches and power as a vampire. But in all of my life, the only thing I've truly treasured, were my own children. I want to show you what it's like, Grace Villiers. I want you to know who you are in this new gift of a life, and from there whatever choices you make will be yours. I want you to have freedom and..." She paused for a moment. Revenge had created Grace, made her into a vampire. But Yamina always enjoyed her revenge. And if she could make Grace Villiers into an impeccable pinnacle of vampireness, then her revenge wouldn't just be on the Hunters. It would be on those betraying vampire Councils as well. So she went ahead and said it: "...love. As only a mother can love her child. A unique bond that only we could ever share, together."

Grace didn't see what was noble about self-preservation. It struck her as selfish by its very nature, and yet it was a natural state for living things. She would do her best not to be too hard on herself for it, yet she knew this acceptance would take some time. She shuddered every time she stood over the corpse of one of her victims, no matter how good it felt in the moment. "I'm sorry," she said, because it sounded like the police thing to say, and anything more than that would most certainly be hollow to the point of falsehood. She needed to process the woman's words. "Love?" It seemed a serious offer, but one made so freely? It had taken her months to even think of saying such a word around Fane. Was it the nature of the sire bond, or something else? "I... I don't even know your name. Two weeks ago I was planning to kill you while you slept."

“My name is Yamina Moire. I could give you all the titles that go with it, but you'll learn that in time, child. I already know all of yours. It's handy to learn the names and lineage of my enemies," Yamina said in amusement. It was typical Hunter arrogance in her opinion, that all this time this Huntress didn't even know her name. Hunters relegated vampires as a whole to beasts; but then there were many human groups who were also categorized as sub-human, or primitive, or uncivilised by so-called 'superior' races. Particularly in England. If they couldn't even respect their own kind, how could they ever hope to be sophisticated enough t understand vampire-kind? She held out her hand, an invitation to Grace. "Let us return to my home in Italy. I shall remain there and we can travel together, or you can travel alone. However as you have much to learn and I do worry about my fledglings, I would be honoured to accompany you. Think of me as...." A small smile played on her lips. "A chaperone. For the time being. You're a quick learner, as I've come to observe."

Grace repeated the name in her mind. Yamina Moira. No doubt she would never be able to say it as beautifully as her sire did. Would she ever call her 'mother'? Over the years, she had known vampires make progeny for many reasons. Sometimes it was merely because someone was useful, because someone begged, because they fell in love, and yes, to make children. "I don't want to kill if I can help it." She furrowed her brow. She had killed so many in her life, but they were all vampires. Now the shoe was on the other foot, so to speak. "Well... perhaps some men deserve to die." She shot her new 'mother' a harder glance. "And I'm not sleeping in a coffin. But... I've always liked Italy." She needed someone to help her with this. That much was obvious. If Fane was gone, then why not take a chance on a woman who had offered to love her in the most open of terms?

"What a change of heart," Yamina murmured in some amusement, not believing for a second that Grace wouldn't kill again. Not just kill out of desperation, but out of enjoyment. She knew a Hunter like Grace had derived that heady thrill of destroying vampires, that sense of power and (what she considered) goodness. And Yamina also remembered how much Grace delighted in killing that red-headed criminal, despite how much she wanted to fight against that bloody pleasure. "Some men do deserve to die, and the world will be better off without them. You have a hero's heart, my love; it would be a shame not to put it to use, hmm?" She held Grace's hand, then put an arm around her shoulder and walked them slowly out of the graveyard. "Now let's leave this dour and ghastly little country and return to culture and commerce and other charming things." A pause, and then Yamina added. "And you must at least try the coffin, my dear. Something plush and exquisitely made, from purpleheart wood and the finest silks and batting. It's simply the most divine way for a vampire to sleep."

The irony wasn't lost on Grace. There was a certain thrill that came with standing on the victorious end of a blade, She always thought she killed for a reason, but the dramatic change in her life (or afterlife) made her feel more like an animal than a hunter. She didn't want to kill under those circumstances, but perhaps once she felt like a person again, killing when she felt it necessary might have been on the drawing board. "No bloody coffin," she repeated, and for just a moment they were two people boasting about their wealth. "I sleep in a Queen size canopy bed, and I have my own velvet and mahogany."

Yamina snorted delicately. "Tell that to the sun when you forget to close the curtains one morning. Why do you think vampires sleep in coffins, Grace my dear? A well-made coffin is completely light-proof, and portable. Unfortunately, a canopy bed is not, unless you plan on making a spectacle of yourself." Without even realizing it, Yamina was getting a motherly tone to her voice, the tone that disapproved of her child's fanciful ideas. "You mustn't be so obstinate about it without even trying it first."

Grace huffed, rolled her eyes, and started walking out of the cemetary. She could see the logic, but she wasn't so keen to be diving into a coffin regardless of how light-proof it was, but she needed to make this work. "If I try it, will you get off my arse when I decide to go back to my own bed?" Or at least one similar enough. "And I don't forget to close the curtains."

"After a hundred years, you might," Yamina replied, but seemed a little huffy about Grace's language. Of all things, the vampire got prudish about Grace's modern slang. Instead, Yamina tried to turn the conversation to something more civilised. "Perhaps if we end up being suitable traveling partners, we can look into getting...daylight charms. Those tacky little witch trinkets that supposedly keep a vampire safe during the day. Half the time it doesn't even work, but...for you, perhaps. Perhaps..." Yamina smiled to herself. "It's hard not to spoil my fledglings."

That got her attention. Daylight charms. "I know them," Grace said quickly. "Fane had one. That was how he fooled me for so long. The vampire hunting order in London know about them now, but it's one more layer of protection against--" just days ago she'd have been saying 'us' --"them."

Yamina "Of course," Yamina said dryly. She hoped after a few months of good living, that Grace would stop pining after this vampire lover of hers. He seemed like a charmer of the highest sort. Usually she would've found it amusing that he duped a Hunter so thoroughly, but now that Grace was her progeny, Yamina felt protective over her feelings so carelessly mistreated. "It won't solve all your problems, just so you know. It's only a charm, nothing more. It doesn't make you more human to wander in the day. We don't have to adhere to their schedules anymore. We are not slaves to their clocks of industrialist toil and rote."

Grace felt like they were going to have these conversations a lot. "Thank goodness we're both so stubborn..." She said with an arched eyebrow to match her dry tone. Two weeks as a vampire and she was already getting ready to bicker with her maker about what was the best way to live as a vampire. "There's time yet for all these conversations..." she said as they wandered out. 'Thanks to you,' she could have said, but bit her tongue.

 Yamina stayed silent as they walked. She couldn't use her vampire speed since Grace was so untrained, so all they could do was tirelessly walk. And when Grace thanked her, Yamina's throat tightened and she pressed her lips together, thinking of her beloved dead children, and this new one before her. And, of course, of the revenge in all of this. But she said to Grace instead, "Our meeting would've ended in death. Yours, or mine, or both. I chose life - for the both of us. You're too precious to waste on something as paltry as death, my dear."

[overclicked]

Staring at the Sun

MicroWriMo 2017 Prompt: Compliment Fandom: Horizon Zero Dawn Pairing: Aloy x Vanasha  Words: 1499 ---

There had been no shortage of challenges in Aloy’s life, especially lately, what with her mysterious new ally Sylens, the fragile peace in Meridian and the looming threat of Hades.  Yet somehow none of that seemed to hold a candle to the decision facing her this morning.

“What about this one?” she asked, pointing to the stalker lens shimming on the sunlit rock.  The overridden Watcher companion she’d nicknamed “Blinky” stared at the lens for a moment before looking back at her, just as blank and silent as before.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”  Aloy shifted to a sitting position, looking at the other two treasures on her short list.  The second was a bright bracelet, a trinket of the Old Ones that shone silver and gold.  Aloy picked it up, feeling the smooth metal between her fingers, contemplating the strange images on its face and wondering what they meant.

“I don’t know,” she sighed, setting the bracelet down.  “It’s not like she needs any of this, really.  But what do you get for someone so...so...”  Blinky tilted its head curiously, the front plates over his aperture shifting upwards into an oddly human expression.  “...resourceful?” Aloy offered, not wanting to say any of the first dozen words that came to mind.

She sighed again and leaned her head in her hands, feeling the heat radiating off her cheeks.  This was so ridiculous.  She had taken on leagues of Shadow Carja, toppled a corrupted Behemoth, and even challenged Erend to a drinking contest.  This was nothing.

And yet every time she tried to think about how to even approach this challenge, her mind became a great, useless soup full of fluttery thoughts and second guesses. It was beginning to feel more than a little hopeless.  

Just as she picked up the last trinket, Blinky’s light shifted from blue to yellow and the watcher perked up, scanning something over Aloy’s shoulder.  She’d been so lost in her deliberation she hadn’t heard anyone approaching.  She was close to Meridian, so bandits weren’t much of a worry, but her hand instinctively reached for her spear all the same.

Vanasha chuckled, stopping short and holding up her hands in a halfhearted gesture of surrender.  “Whoa there, little huntress. It’s just me.”

Aloy’s pulse only quickened.  Vanasha was dressed in yet another new outfit - how she made them seem so effortless, Aloy would never know - and it did an alarmingly good job of drawing attention to the woman’s well-toned midsection.

Scrambling awkwardly to her feet, Aloy remembered too late to try and laugh off her own reaction.  “Sorry.  I’m still getting used to having a safe place where I don’t have to be so...”  Vanasha smiled, and Aloy lost whatever words she’d carefully gathered to finish that sentence.  Instead she gestured vaguely at the spear, looking to Blinky as if the machine might somehow help her out.  It only tilted its head in puzzlement.

“I understand,” Vanasha said, circling around Aloy to greet Blinky, rubbing the underside of what passed for its chin.  Blinky chittered eagerly, its light blinking back to a soft blue again instantly.

Aloy’s mind seized the momentary distraction to draw her attention back to the row of prizes she had laid out specifically to pick the best one to give to Vanasha.  She hadn’t even gotten around to figuring out a pretense for the present yet, she certainly wasn’t ready to field any questions about the items if Vanasha happened to notice them.  And Vanasha noticed everything.

“So, uh, what are you doing here?” she asked, taking a broad step closer to the woman to plant herself squarely between Vanasha and the collection of shiny trinkets.

“Well,” Vanasha purred, still doting on the watcher, “I was going to see if you were up for lunch by the lake, but then a little birdie told me that some Shadow Carja scouts had been spotted sniffing around Brightmarket, so I thought I’d ask if you were up for joining me to investigate.”  She stood up to her full height and finally turned her attention to Aloy with a look that made the Nora realize just how closely they were now standing.  “And then maybe lunch after.”

She smiled again and all Aloy’s carefully crafted responses ran into one another in one great jumbled mess.  “Sounds fun,” she managed at last.

Vanasha narrowed her eyes, her smile no less bright as it shifted to the fox-like grin Aloy had come to associate with the spymaster picking up on the scent of secrets in her midst.  She glanced down at Aloy’s hands, where Aloy was terrified to realize she was still holding the shining ring she had been considering among the other trinkets.  Panicked, she immediately hid it behind her back.

Vanasha laughed, stepping even closer to try and peek over Aloy’s shoulder.    “What have you got there, little huntress?”

“Nothing!” Aloy stammered, twisting about to try and keep her hands hidden behind her back.  Vanasha was so close it was intoxicating, leaving Aloy caught between wanting to flee and wanting to rush headlong into the promise of danger.

“All right,” Vanasha conceded, leaning back and holding up her hands again in a sign of surrender.  “I won’t press.”  She glanced down to spy the other trinkets on the ground, and Aloy could see her instantly connecting the dots.  “A gift for that special someone?”

“Sort...sort of.”  Aloy felt the heat roaring to her cheeks.  No doubt by now her face matched her hair, something Vanasha had teased her about more than once.

“Need any advice?”

Aloy froze, meeting Vanasha’s eyes.  The panic and worry over her feelings being discovered was suddenly replaced with a mixture of curiosity and worry.  Vanasha’s voice had taken a sudden turn, its playful brightness tinged by something like loss.  Vanasha, for just a moment, sounded wounded.  Aloy just couldn’t put her finger on exactly why.

Grateful for the excuse, she finally revealed the ring in her hands.  It was marred and colored by years atop the ruins of the Old Ones, but the damage only lent an added beauty to what was once a simple silver ring.  

“I, uh,” she stammered, slowly finding new strength in Vanasha’s sudden lack of confidence.  “I know someone.  And she’s...amazing.  Clever.  Funny.  Beautiful, like...like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

“And you’ve seen a lot,” Vanasha mused, unable to take her eyes off the ring.  That sad tinge to her voice remained despite her efforts to hide it.  Suddenly Aloy felt much more like a hunter again.

“Yeah, but...nothing like her.  I wanted to get her something, something that showed her how amazing I thought she was.  But she’s already so resourceful.  What do you get for the woman who can get anything?”

Vanasha looked up suddenly, searching Aloy’s eyes for meaning her words had teased at.  “Well,” Vanasha said, her eyes not leaving the Nora’s, “if she can get anything, then you need to get her something...priceless.”  

She took a step closer, cupping her hand under Aloy’s and raising it up to examine the ring without taking it.  Her touch was rougher than Aloy had been expecting, and she seemed to be spending more time inspecting Aloy’s hands than the ring in question.  “Like what?” Aloy finally managed, her tongue tripping all over the words.

“Something...strong,” Vanasha replied, “colorful, perhaps a little sharp, and certainly one of a kind.  Something that makes the Sun a little jealous it’s so far away.  Something no one else can have.”  Her eyes met Aloy’s again as they drew even closer.  “Something like...you.”

“Like me?” Aloy repeated, her eyes darting to Vanasha’s lips for just a moment, feeling her own part in anticipation.

“Is that too much to give?” Vanasha asked, tracing her fingers along Aloy’s palm.

“For her?” Aloy answered, feeling draw into the kiss like she were falling off a high mountain.  “Nothing is too much.”

“Hey Vanasha!” Erend called, clanking his way down the hill from the bridge in his Oseram armor.  “We goin’ or what?”

Aloy and Vanasha sighed, letting go the breath they’d both been holding.  Vanasha turned to Erend with a look that stopped the man cold in his tracks.  Aloy just chuckled, reaching down to pick up her spear.  “Yeah,” she said.  “We’re coming.”

Vanasha sighed again, staring at their hands still interwoven around the ring.  Aloy smiled, leaning in to dart a quick kiss before the urge completely left her. The look of surprise on Vanasha’s face filled her with laughter as she started off after Erend with Blinky not far behind.  “Come on!” she called.  “I don’t want to be late for our lunch date!”

Vanasha reached up to touch her cheek, watching the little Nora practically skip her way toward the bridge.  Her smile returned in force as she hurried after her, the two of them turning it into a race on their way to Brightmarket, leaving a very confused Erend in the dust along the way.