#that lead the way to fixing things on healing/pushing through alone

[clingylilhoneybee]

I am being so goddamn brave

[thatonebirdwrites]

Cheating Death Part 2

Part 1 here.

Only seconds after Lena vanished in the portal, the Kryptonite cage melted into the floor. A yellow light pulsed so brightly, Kara had to close her eyes. Light infused her cells and pushed the pain of the Kryptonite away.

Lena's words echoed in Kara's head. How she'd stomped and shouted, the tears on her face, the desperation in her voice. How heartbroken she'd been when she'd said, "No, no you don't get to tell me who I am anymore."

She didn't know what to do. Lena had been hurting and grieving this entire time, and what had she and her friends done? Celebrated her brother's death, ignored Lena's increasingly isolating behaviors, and pretended everything was fine.

It wasn't fine.

Yet, the yellow light. Why had that activated? Was it Lena or the Fortress?

Kara ran through the Fortress to the control panel. She dug into the log and swiftly found Lena's code. It had been programmed to create the cage if Kara asked about Myriad, but then the yellow light was also programmed to heal Kara after Lena escaped. A note was annotated on that section of the code, and Kara's breath caught in her throat.

"I wish I could stop loving you. This hurts worse than death."

Tears dampened her cheeks and she wiped them away. What would she tell Alex? How can she explain any of this?

She didn't want her friends to turn on Lena, and Alex definitely would go after Lena if she knew about the cage. It'd been temporary, and Lena had programed a healing sun-bed equivalent burst for after. That alone gave her hope that she could still reach Lena.

Because even in her heartbreak, Lena did not want Kara dead.

She grabbed the weapon she needed, the same one Lena had used to stop Leviathan from killing Kara, and re-calibrated security. Her tears froze on her cheeks by the time she finished.

Kara flew out of the Fortress and high into the stratosphere. She listened for Lena's heartbeat, but heard nothing at first. Fear clenched her heart. Either Lena hid behind lead, or something terrible had gone wrong since she'd left. She hoped it was the former.

With a heavy heart, she flew to the DEO. Alex waited on a balcony.

"Kara?" Alex said, alarmed. "What the hell happened? Where's Lena?"

Kara held out the weapon. "It works as hoped. Sustained blast will keep Rama Khan down, and then attach the power dampeners."

Alex took the weapon with a frown. "Kara, what happened to Lena? Where is she?"

Kara shook her head. She couldn't voice it. She refused to believe Lena was lost to them. There had to be a way to save her, to bring her back, to repair what Kara had fucked up.

She pressed her hands against her face and flinched when Alex tried to touch her shoulder. "I got to find her," she whispered. "I got to make things right. I got to."

"Kara, I can't help if you don't tell me." Alex's voice held kindness, but Kara knew how quickly Alex could turn to anger. When it came to Kara's safety, Alex might cross a line she'd regret. Kara had done it for Alex a few times.

But with Lena? Kara had no boundaries. Lena held her heart in a way no one else did. She'd talked herself into settling for Mon-el, but it'd never been who she needed.

She needed Lena.

"Kara?" Alex tried again. "Kara, talk to me."

"She's the one who shot Lex." The words felt unreal.

Alex's brow wrinkled. "I thought he died when he fell."

Kara shook her head. "We never found a body or even parts from his suit, remember? If he had a portal watch, he could have gone anywhere."

Alex sucked in a breath. "And Lena was waiting for him?"

Kara nodded. "She shot him to protect us. She's been grieving and hurting all this time, and what have we done? Ignored her grief! Where were we for her pain?" She paced the balcony as fury at herself and everyone around her built up in her sternum. "I hurt her! I hurt her with my lies, and I have to fix this."

"Kara," Alex hefted the weapon. "Maybe let Lena have her space. We still have to deal with--"

"Alex, you didn't hear her!" Her pacing quickened and a groove appeared in the concrete from her superspeed.

Kara should tell Alex, and yet she couldn't. She needed to save Lena from Myriad herself, but to do that, she needed to find Lena. And she still couldn't hear her heartbeat.

She let out a shout of rage, her fist colliding with the wall and shattering the concrete. "I hurt the person I love! I have to fix this. I have to bring her back."

Her rage petered into sobs, and she fell to her knees.

Her, the strongest and fastest on the planet, brought to her knees by a Luthor.

She thinks of all the times she could have told Lena, and how she'd chickened out, afraid of losing her. Afraid of living a life without Lena's presence. Now a Lena-shaped hole had been carved in her chest, and she hurt.

It felt like Kryptonite all over again.

Was this how Lena had felt the past few months? This agony?

And yet, Lena had still helped. She'd still saved Kara's life. Still built devices that helped others. Why Myriad? Why use that monstrous device? Kara couldn't make sense of it. The months of pretending to be Kara's friend.

She should be angry at Lena. Furious at the betrayal, but she felt only grief. She'd started this with her lies, with leaving Lena in the dark. Lena could have helped so much more if she'd been in on it from the start. Then this never would have happened.

Kara sat there, silent, head-bowed long enough for Alex to leave and return with a cup of herbal tea. Rooibos since most other teas were too intense thanks to Kara's supertaste. Her fingers curled around the warm cup.

"I tasked Brainy and J'onn with the weapons. We'll deal with Leviathan." Alex smiled and squeezed Kara's shoulder. "You do what you need to do, Kara. I'm with you, okay?"

Kara nodded numbly. She sipped the tea and slowly became aware of a high-pitched beeping. "Wait, that's the signal watch," she murmured. She put down the cup and listened. It came from downtown. "Lena," she whispered.

Before Alex could respond, Kara blasted into the sky and broke the sound barrier. The crack whipped across the city and shook windows. She landed on Lena's balcony at L-Corp, ripped open the door, and dashed into a dark room. The beeping came from the stairwell.

Horror twisted her gut. She supersped down the stairs, all forty-three flights, until she reached the stairs just below ground level near the door to security.

She threw open the door and the thick scent of iron assaulted her nose.

Eve lay in a pool of blood, no heartbeat. Someone dressed in black lay crumbled near Eve, again no heartbeat. Blood coated the stairs from where Lena must have crawled.

Lena, her Lena, lay motionless, one hand on the top step. For a horrifyingly long second, Kara couldn't hear a heartbeat. She dropped next to Lena and pressed her fingers against Lena's pulse point.

No, there it was.

A faint badum-badum, the most precious sound in the universe.

She could do nothing for the others, but she still had a chance to save Lena. A scan of her body revealed the bullet in her side, how it pierced a lung.

Kara gathered Lena into her arms, and ran through the security sector, hitting each door with her shoulder to wrench it open, until she finally made her way outside.

Lena's blood soaked into her suit, her head rolling in Kara's arms. She held her close and flew as fast as she dared toward the DEO. "Lena, please," she whispered, "please hold on. Don't you dare die on me. Not now. Not like this."

When her feet touched down, she heard Alex's voice shouting about a Rama Khan sighting. Agents poured into vehicles, and the team prepared to leave.

Kara ignored them. She walked through the bustle, and people parted for her.

Alex turned from where she studied Brainy's screens. Her eyes widened. "What the hell...?"

"Please. Help her." Tears clouded her vision.

"Medical now. Brainy J'onn's in charge." Alex grasped Kara's arm and maneuvered her through the mess of the control center. Technicians worked on last minute fine-tuning of weapons, and others manned screens plotting possible vectors. Activity that meant nothing to Kara, not if Lena died.

Not if she couldn't speak her last truth to Lena.

She laid Lena on the medical bed, and Alex ordered her nurses to get an IV in immediately. Kara began to pace, the blood drying on her suit. Alex cut away Lena's shirt and examined the wound.

"She needs surgery now."

"What do I do?" she asked Alex, anguished. "What do I do?"

Alex shook her head. "You can't help with this. Go help J'onn, and wear Lena's anti-kryptonite suit. I'm not sure how long I'll be in surgery."

"Can you save her?"

"I will try my best," Alex said. She refused to look at Kara, and that told her far too much.

Alex didn't think Lena would make it.

"Promise?" the words came out small, plaintive.

"Promise. Now get out of my way." Alex hooked the IV bag to the pole on one end of the bed, and rolled it toward an interior suite. Two nurses followed along with a second doctor.

Kara closed her eyes and listened to the most beautiful heartbeat in the universe -- it faintly hung on, slower and slower with each passing minute.

She couldn't stay and watch the medical team open up Lena. She couldn't.

Instead, she grabbed the anti-kryptonite suit. As it flowed over her, she almost wept again. It felt like Lena hugged her, the suit entirely her design and her nanites.

She flew outside and listened for J'onn. The fight was to the southeast by the docks.

Hadn't Leviathan been targeting Lena? She'd saved her once from them already. Maybe twice if she counted the break-in that had knocked Lena unconscious.

Now Lena was dying, and Kara didn't just want justice for Lena.

She wanted to tear apart whoever ordered that assassin.

The windows shook at the sonic boom, and the ground cratered when she landed.

Rama Khan and another Leviathan member battled J'onn and Dreamer, who had the weapon from the Fortress. Agents, with adjusted weaponry to match the power-disrupting frequency, scattered around the docks.

Kara didn't care about the risk. She didn't care about the Kryptonite weapons the assholes carried.

She crashed into Rama Khan and threw him into a dock building. The wall crumpled. "Did you hire Lena Luthor's killer?" she growled.

Rama Khan laughed and stood with hardly a mark on him and his ridiculous earth-toned suit. "Those who cross Leviathan do not live to tell the tale. Let you now join her, Supergirl." He extended his hand and the ground shook violently.

A blast from Dreamer's gun sent Rama Khan sprawling. Kara sped over and grabbed him by the throat. Her feet she stomped on his arms. "No one hurts Lena and survives," she growled. Her eyes glowed, and she let out a scream of grief and fury.

She blasted him and punched him again and again. Blood gushed from his face, but then he melted into the earth and stumbled into being a few feet away.

Only for Dreamer to blast him again. Kara pummeled him with the rage of a thousand suns. Her vision red, and the land ripped and shredded in their fight. Part of the pier demolished when Kara threw Rama Khan's accomplice into it. Another building fell when Rama blasted Kara into its walls.

Rama Khan slowed, each blast from the gun scrambled his powers long enough for Kara to rip into him until he bled from multiple places. She lost track of the others, so intent on eliminating the one who ordered Lena's hit.

"Kara!" J'onn clamped the power dampeners on the alien. "Kara, we got him."

Kara clenched Rama's neck and looked down to see the cuffs clasped to his wrists.

How much loss could a heart handle? Why did the universe seek to torture her so? Her entire planet, nearly all her friends, and now the woman she loves most -- loss melted through her crevices, filled her with a blinding fury.

She'd fought to keep everyone alive. It's why she needed to be in control, but that obsession of controlling everything, to make sure she never lost, had poisoned her. She couldn't control everything.

She couldn't even save Lena. The thought of Lena dying in surgery, of never hearing her voice again -- even Lena shouting in anger?

Her fingers crunched bone. Rama Khan tumbled from her grasp and hit the ground with a thump, motionless.

Dreamer and J'onn looked at her, but she didn't respond to their words or looks. Agents swarmed around them to secure the site, while Brainy set up the containment unit for Rama Khan and his accomplices. The ruckus roared like the sea in her ears.

She turned without a word and shot into the sky. She flew as high as she could, to where little to no oxygen existed. The fury burned in her, and she wanted to rip herself apart. She deactivated her helmet, turned off its life support systems, and let the lack of air suffocate her and her emotions.

She'd live. She'd always live, wouldn't she? While all she loved died.

She closed her eyes and let herself fall. Air whooshed around her body, screamed in her ears as she hit terminal velocity. For those brief moments, she heard nothing but the shrill wind, the rest of the Earth drowned out in her fall. A moment of release from the endless soundscape.

Halfway to the ground, she righted herself and flew to the edge of Earth's atmosphere. Again she let herself fall. For a third time, she soared high and fell.

Each time she let herself get closer and closer to hitting the ocean. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't outpace her fury at her own actions. At her failure.

This time she hit the water. She sunk into its depths.

Sea life swam around her, the distant calls of whales rippled through the water. What should delight her brought her sorrow.

No, she couldn't die. Her wretched powers, her curse, kept her alive. Kept her isolated from those she loved. Her careful, practiced control meant even in moments of extreme emotion, she still had to make sure not to hug too tightly. And kissing? How many noses had she broken?

All she wanted was Lena. Even if she could never be with Lena, she needed Lena to be alive. To be healthy and happy. Kara could live with just being on the sidelines, right? As long as Lena was alive.

She burst out of the ocean in a shower of sea water. She hung in the air and watched the waves below her. Her ears tuned to her favorite heartbeat, and there it was, faint, far too faint, but still pulsing.

A slither of hope wove into Kara's wretched spirit. She flew back to the DEO, the wind drying the moisture from the sea.

When she landed, Nia met her at the balcony's doors. "Kara," she breathed out as if she'd been running. "Been looking everywhere."

Kara crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you want?"

"It's Lena. Alex said to let you know the surgery is ongoing and Lena's handling it like a pro." Nia met her gaze, but worry painted across her face. "Don't lose hope yet. She may still live."

Kara said nothing. She heard the rebuke in Nia's words, but she didn't regret her actions. For Lena, there was no boundaries. She'd destroy a thousand Rama Khans if it meant saving Lena.

She followed Nia down the hall, through two intersections, and into the medical bay. Most of the beds were occupied by injured agents from the Leviathan battle. It was the surgery room that occupied all of Kara's attention.

Lena's heart beat still in those glass walls.

Kara walked up to them and pressed a hand against the cool glass. Lena looked so pale. So fragile.

The tears returned. Her chest constricted with a Lena-shaped hole that ached with each beat of her heart.

She didn't move from that spot for the rest of the surgery. Kara held vigil in silence, unmoving. She'd given Lena revenge on those who tried to kill her, and now Kara waited.

Waited for hope to dawn once more.

/end part 2

[poppadom0912]

Together (Epilogue)

Warnings: Mentions of hospitals, injuries, kidnappings and death

Summary: Life moves on whether or not you want it to.

A/N: This is it my lovelies! It's lowkey been two months since I first released my baby into the world and you've received her with nothing but love. Thank you so much for all the support you've shown, it truly makes me want to write more and better.

I hope you enjoy the final part of this series. This has been so much fun and quite a wild ride. Lots of emotions, I won't lie, some parts really got deep but when you read this, it'll all be worth it. 🤍🙃

Did I lie about the fluff? ... I'm so sorry, I just couldn't resist😭

Previous Chapter / Series Masterlist

Black was not your favourite colour.

Some said it nicely complimented your red hair and you kind've looked badass but you couldn't see it. Besides the fact that it was slimming when you wore it, you tried to avoid the colour as much as possible. You much preferred the dark navy and greys instead.

That's why you hated wearing your dress uniform, even if it was for a joyous occasion.

Fixing the black suit, you sighed. According to your lawyer, showing up in uniform created more empathy and so not only were you wearing your uniform, but Jay too.

And Will… Well that was another conversation.

It had been two months since the kidnapping and things were, things were definitely different.

Due to circumstances, the trial had been pushed back a little. Well, their sentencing had, the trial went off without a hitch and all of Intelligence could attest to that but today was the day everyone found how for how long exactly they were going to be jailed.

Everyone had been bitter and rightly so.

Stepping back from the car door, you finished fixing your hair in the car window, happy that no baby hairs were sticking out and the gel was doing its job. You were asked for professional and so a bun seemed fitting.

Going around the car, Kelly joined you by your side but dressed casually. He wasn’t directly involved and your lawyer didn’t make a specific request. According to her, things could go sideways and things needed to look good on your side.

You envied the lack of black your boyfriend was wearing. And what annoyed you even more was the Jay’s uniform was more of a dark blue.

Jay fully healed over the past two months, no injuries for the naked eye to see but the scar was still there on his thigh, the trauma burned into his mind forever after. Similar could be said for you but while Jay was back on duty, you were still taking it slow and doing admin work at the firehouse after being a bored mess at home alone.

Therapy wasn’t much help. Your psychologist wasn’t the problem, in fact she was a darling, but not all things could be fixed. You eventually came to terms with the fact that this would never leave you. As a team, you’d have to turn a new page and keep on going, with the hopes that it became a distant memory no one had to recollect.

“Y/N.”

You could never get tired of hearing his voice, the tranquillity it brought you needed to be studied. His loving face sent you a soft smile, his eyes scrunching up in attempt to keep you calm and collected.

“Jay messaged me, they’re waiting inside.”

With a sigh, you interlocked hands and let Kelly lead the way inside the courthouse. Anxiety weighed down on you heavily, making it feel like you were walking through a sentient sludge that kept trying to pull you down.

A smile graced your lips but at the sight of your older brother in his dress blues, his entire crew by his side, your smile faltered. As soon as it began wobbling, your eyes burned as everything started to go blurry.

Your chest hurt too much, it suddenly felt like you were having a heart attack in the middle of the courthouse.

“Oh Y/N.” Jay sighed, enveloping you in his arms not a moment later. “Please don’t cry.”

“I’m sorry.” You croaked out, huffing into the crook of his neck, being mindful not to mess up his uniform. “Gosh, I don’t even know why I’m crying.”

“Stop that, don’t apologise.” Jay chided, tutting alike to how Will would whenever you two got into trouble. Whenever Will did that, you knew his annoyance wouldn’t last long, he loved you and Jay too much to hold a grudge.

Shit, now your tears were rolling down your flushed cheeks and making small marks on Jay’s shoulder.

“Do you think he’s okay?”

Jay didn’t say anything for a long time. You were almost scared he wouldn’t answer you like last time. The more time past, the more you knew he wasn’t going to say anything and the same exact scene from two months ago flashed before your eyes, almost sending you into a fit of gut-wrenching tears. But Jay proved you wrong.

“I don’t know what to think anymore Y/N.”

*****

Maggie sighed, shoulders deflating as she sat on the hospital bed. It had been a long day.

Whenever she wanted a break from the ED, she usually found one of the rooms in the ICU where the patient was usually either unconscious or in a coma. The peace and quiet provided her the time and space to get back into tune with her thoughts before going back to being the charge nurse of the bustling emergency department.

Looking at this patient, she didn’t need to look at the chart to know what happened, she’d been in this particular room every single day since their arrival. This patient had a certain pull that made her want to know everything about their condition.

“Thought I’d find you here.” Sharon said, her voice calming as she entered the room, closing the door behind her. “Everyone was waiting downstairs, you missed it.”

“I know.” Maggie replied solemnly, her hands readjusting the blanket around the coma patient. “But they did it, right?”

“They did it.” Sharon confirmed as she moved to stand on the other side of the bed. It was great news, news that should’ve resulted in tears of joy but the charge nurse barely moved an inch.

“Life without parole.” There was a pause, beeping and the whooshing of machines filling the silence. “They weren’t going to settle for anything less.”

“Good.” Maggie replied, her lips pulled tightly together.

Neither of them said anything afterwards. There was still so much that needed to be discussed but the right people weren’t in the room currently. The one big question loomed heavily over them like a stormy cloud just waiting for the right moment to start raining.

“Take a break Maggie. Eat a little something before you join the rest of them.”

Without waiting for a reply, Sharon turned and left the room, mumbling she had a meeting in a few minutes when in reality, she hated being in this room as much as the next person.

Maggie stewed in her thoughts, too many flying all around the place for her to properly take a break.

“Still no change?”

Maggie’s silence was more than enough of an answer. She truly hated her job sometimes, especially when she had to break the news to waiting family members.

“No movement since you left last night.”

Jay’s eyes still filled with tears every time he was given news.

“Are we- Do you think we’re doing the right thing Maggie?” Jay tumbled over his words from where he stood in the doorway, too scared to enter the room. The sadness laced in his words made him sound so innocent and childlike, Maggie just wanted to hide and protect all three Halstead’s from the horrors of the world.

But looking at the coma patient on the bed, Maggie knew her words were biased.

*****

One week later

You were going crazy. You didn’t know how much longer you could handle this. You hated playing the waiting game.

It was in the middle of shift when you got the call. You were finally back to full time firefighting, Crocket deeming you fit and healthy two days ago to work again. The happiness that followed his news only lasted so long.

Your emotions were haywire. When you entered the ED for what felt like the billionth time, you felt your heart physically stop at the sight of a red eyed Maggie. From beside you, Jay was scarily silent, not breathing for a good minute.

But then she smiled, dimples and all.

Connor was supposed to tell you but he was rushed into an emergency surgery and entrusted the charge nurse to tell the two most important people in Will’s life the news.

“Will’s going to make a full recovery. There’s going to be quite a bit of rehab and physical therapy but he’s going to be just fine.”

And for the first time since their initial reunion in the warehouse just over two months ago, all three Halstead siblings would be together again.

It was going to be a long and difficult path to recovery. You and Jay had your own struggles and having Will in a coma only made it harder. But now, Will had the love and support of his baby brother and baby sister, the two people he did all of this for.

And yes, maybe Jay would reem his for being a stupid bastard, protecting them from literal criminals with his life. Obviously, you would chime in when necessary but the big goofy smile on your face did nothing.

All was well now. The future was looking bright for the most of it, guaranteed it be a bit rocky in the next coming weeks that would consist of a gruelling recovery process but at the end of the tunnel, you were all coming out stronger than ever.

Series Masterlist:

@mads-weasley @sowrongitslottie @elite4cekalyma @senjoritanana @hufflepuff-blackwidow @mrspeacem1nusone @kmc1989 @goth-cowgirl-03 @daggersquadphantom @photographerkaiya0306 @jamie0515 @samanthavitale @iamasimpingh0e @lanea-1 @swidkid @jamie0515

[mehiwilldoitlater]

No idea, just smnall thing with Kazuha

"It's starting to rain again."

Kazuha lifted his hat, just enough to catch a glimpse of the sky from the courtain of the tree branches. Your hands are close to each other, entangled in a small and warm clutch, trying to keep you close enough to him.

"Yes... We're far from the port; we'll need to wait until the storm passes... Do you think we can wait a little, Y/N?"

"Do we have a choice?"

"Eh, I guess not..."

Your free hand fixed the long shawl on your head, covering as much as it could of your facial expression—a new thing that you started to do only when out of the Alcor. You were no longer alone on the run; your meeting with Kazuha was a fateful change of destiny. I met such a gentle soul that decided to help you, leading you to Beidou, one of the few people on Liyue that weren't interested in killing you or torturing you at all.

She was wise enough to not let her disdain for that man hunt be perceived by others, but she was adamant with her crew to not let anything happen to their new crew member, the so-called impostor. Kazuha became your friend, an ally, maybe more.

Your wounds were finally healed,and now the two of you have been entrusted to run a few errands. It was too bad that the weather had other intentions for the two of you.

Maybe you weren't lucky on your way back, but you were lucky enough to find a small abandoned temple in the area as a small refuge for the storm. Those abandoned structures weren't such unusual things around that area—old homes of forgotten adepti, long lost in the times of their land. Your luck didn't run out even when you were able to make a small fire, enough to warm you up.

Your figure next to his is sensed, ready to strike at the first danger. Despite this, his face was relaxed., like the ones that someone could do during a concert or just hearing some good music in their pown living room.

"You seemed quite happy."

"I'm always happy when nature speaks to me through the rain."

"But you hate being wet, isn't it?"

"Small details."

You both laughed, your heads slowly reaching his shoulder, finding respite in his own heat and calmness.

"I guess it's not so bad. We can have some lone time together."

"Oh, are you starting to find the Alcor crew noisy?"

You pushed his arm a little, holding a laugh through your teeth.

"You know what I mean, Kazuha!"

"Hehe, I know, I know... I do enjoy this too. I love spending time with you."

"...even the wetter time?"

"Even the wetter time."

His lips met the top of your head, his hand holding your shoulder to him. His warmth merged with yours, helped by the fire, now giving life to the inside of the small structure.

Those were the times that you loved him the most with him.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

can I get #6 with keyleth and percy if you're interested?

6. "Don't move, you're still hurt."

Greyskull Keep is in shambles. There is fallen stone and debris everywhere, and among it all, there are people, the refugees from Emon, the sick and the injured and the dying. Keyleth can hardly hear herself think over the din of crying children and calls for aid, but then, she's not in a mood to think, anyway. She's spent the last hour stumbling from person to person, offering what healing she can, bandaging burn marks and tying off tourniquets as best she knows how, and now she's collapsed in a corner of the great hall, staring at the chaos and sinking, sinking, sinking.

She thought the Briarwoods were bad, the worst it could get. She thought a town plagued by vampires and necromancy would be the most horrifying thing she'd ever see. She misses Whitestone now, wishes she were once again facing down a horde of undead rather than four fucking dragons.

Who is she to take them on? Some clumsy girl from Zephrah, no real experience, no real skills to offer in the face of a cataclysm like this. Her father had warned her that the world was far darker than anything she could have studied for, but this...this is too much. She can't do this, can't save the world, can't finish her Aramente, can't lead her people, not the way her mother could have—

Through the buzzing in her ear, a sharp cry catches her attention, tugs her up from the pit. "Help! Someone, please! A healer!"

She may not be good enough to take down dragons, but she can at least do this. She pushes her hands into the stone floor to rise to her feet, but before she can make it up more than a few inches, a hand on her shoulder is pressing her back down. "Don't move, you're still hurt."

She looks up to see Percy, face smudged with soot and glasses cracked, smiling down at her. She's about to argue with him when she notices for the first time, oh, yeah, her body is a screaming ache. She's covered in small burn marks and larger cuts, and she feels as if she's been battered around in a tornado. Still, she frowns up at her friend. "They need a healer. I have to go help."

"There are other healers here." He slides down the wall to sit next to her. "You need to rest. You cannot fix everything alone."

She pulls her knees up to her chest and hugs them. "I can't fix anything. Any of this. I just...I can't do it."

"Keyleth..." He gingerly slides an arm across her back to tuck her into his side. "Not a single soul is expecting you to fix a situation like this, not by yourself. God, we may very well not be able to fix it together. But when we try, we're going to try as a team. I know I can't do it without you, and I don't want to."

She rests her head against his shoulder. She could close her eyes and fall asleep right here, but she worries that if she does, she'll sleep long past the fall of civilization. "I'm really scared, Percy."

He tips his head atop hers. "Me too, Keyleth. But I'm very glad that you're here."

She finally gives in and lets her eyes slide shut, and for a moment, the din is just a little bit quieter.

[scavengedlegacy]

TIMING: Current LOCATION: The Sugar Pot PARTIES: Alistair @deathsplaything and Natalia @scavengedlegacy. SUMMARY: Alistair's magical business gets whispered about and Natalia finds her way through his door as a new client. CONTENT WARNING: sibling death mentions

Keeping tabs on the people who lived in Wicked’s Rest has been a hobby long before Natalia took on the mantle of scavenger. Now? It was an important part of her job. And her job was how she had been traded a rumor about a man who could heal. While still bitter about the bite on her hand from Fredrick, it gave her the perfect excuse to nose around and ask questions.

The shop she had been directed to was a tea shop, filled with all assortment of flavors but gave off a distinctive magical vibe that she was sure TikTok would have loved. She eyed the inside of the shop around the counter, making sure they were alone before she approached. Her right hand brushed against one of the shelves and Natalia hissed in pain. She tucked her arm into her stomach and approached the man at the counter. Natalia pushed an almost shy smile to her face. (People liked smiles, and most men preferred women more on the demure side. So, she faked it.) “I heard you were the one to call for a fix if…” She let herself trail off, intentional in every silent beat she allowed before she picked up again. “I can’t afford a doctor, but my friend said I should get this looked at.” 

—

It was a slower point of the day, seeing as it was close to close. Not a lot of people went for a cup of tea at 3:30 on a random weekday. As soon as the bell rang, Alistair and Melody, behind the counter, put on their chipper smiles, only for Alistair to turn more serious as the girl who entered began to explain her predicament. Melody looked toward the girl, searching for any sign of injury. “She’s tucking her right arm against her,” Melody told the necromancer, who simply stood there and nodded. “Right.” He said before moving from behind the counter toward the girl. Brutus, his guide dog, was ready to work as soon as he started to walk. 

Alistair took hold of the harness’s lead and cast his unseeing gaze in the girl’s direction. “Now what happened?” He asked, raising a brow from behind his rounded sunglasses. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what happened, the truth. Otherwise, it’s not going to work.” He explained to her with that same raised brow. “The name’s Alistair. And you heard right, I can help you. But it’ll cost you.” He placed his free hand to his hip. “And before you take out your money, that’s not what I’m asking. I take something that means something to you. If you need my services badly enough, that’s what it’ll cost.”

—

Her gaze drifted toward the other behind the counter who was describing what she was doing to the man. The dots connected all too fast. Natalia tipped her head, looking the man over once more. He was blind. Partially, at least. Enough that he needed someone else describing the situation. But he asked for the truth of the situation, and her eyes moved back to the woman once more. How much did she know of the supernatural? How much could she say without sounding crazy? A moment of hesitation, and she finally opened her mouth. “One of the strange reindeer that showed up, I tried to feed it and it bit me.”

A cost. In any other situation, Natalia would have shown up at a friend’s home with some alcohol and bandages and sorted it differently, but the rumors surrounding Alistair had piqued her interest. And she wouldn’t have answers if she backed up now that it would cost her something other than money. After all, didn’t she only deal with trades as well? Petty cash had its uses, but in the world she interacted with regularly, some things were far more valuable. “Something that means something,” she repeated quietly. “I didn’t bring anything like that with me, but I have something back home.”

— 

Upon learning that she was bit by one of the reindeer, Alistair realized this was going to be a lot more interesting than he thought. If it was a reindeer bite, that means he would have to get up close and person with his victim’s arm… Alistair concealed the displeased face that curled over his expression by turning around for a moment. Amused, Melody simply walked over to the front door and flipped the sign to “Stepped out, Be Back Soon!” And locked the door. “Follow me,” she spoke with a soft and inviting smile before Alistair could refuse the girl’s promise of a trade. He didn’t like being owed something, but it would have to do. 

Alistair picked up Brutus’s lead and followed the footsteps to the back room that was concealed with the heavy velvet curtain. Melody unlocked the door and opened it for Natalia and Alistair to enter. “Sit on the cushion in the center of the room,” he instructed as Brutus led him to another door tucked away on the far end of the small room. The floor had a large spellcircle drawn out on it, and Melody began to pick up various ingredients and place it at each point of the drawn-out pentacle. 

“Stay on that cushion and I’ll handle the rest.” Alistair spoke as he unlocked the door on the far end of the room and slinked through, shutting it behind him before Natalia could see what laid beyond it. Once he was in the room, he heard the struggle of chains, his victim was awake. “Relax. After this, you’ll be let go and your mind will be erased. Blissful ignorance for you.” Alistair told the chained-up person as if it were nothing more than a random day of the week where nothing interesting happened.

Back in the spell room, Melody finished setting up the ritual and looked to the room that Alistair had disappeared into. “We’re ready over here!” He called out to him. “He does his half of the ritual in the other room, we keep our practice a secret as not to be replicated.” She explained to the woman, taking a seat on the cushion across from her. 

—

Keeping up the act had been challenging in her younger years, but now, Natalia wore the demure victim mask like a second skin. Her eyes tracing the outline of Alistair’s face, memorizing every detail and trying to piece together the secrets that he held. But what he lacked in bedside manners, the woman, Melody, had it in spades. Her gentle smile was greeted by Natalia with a weaker one, not forced, but uncertain. Because she was. The best told lies had a trickle of truth to them, and while she had prepared herself mentally to be alone with this man, she hadn’t prepared for an assistant. Or a dog. Isolation was dangerous… but her desire for knowledge was greater. 

Following as instructed, Natalia let her eyes wander, taking in everything behind the curtain and then letting her gaze fall to the door that the man had disappeared behind. Whatever was happening here, she had a feeling what she wanted to know was locked behind that closed door. But that, she knew, would be a long con. The trust between them was nonexistent. 

Tearing her gaze away, she watched as Melody did the set up. Natalia shifted on the cushion, the feeling of anticipation starting to root itself in her mind. “How can he do what needs to be done if he didn’t get a feel for the wound?” Had the brief description been enough? But also, how could he perform all that needed to be done in an entirely different room? Running her healthy hand on the arm with the wound, she worried at her lip but stayed on the cushion as instructed. 

But seeing Melody on the cushion across from her, she realized now was her chance to at least get a sprinkle of information. “This isn’t dangerous, is it?” Natalia asked carefully. “I mean, not to me, I doubt… well I am sure it could get worse,” she laughed, keeping her voice light. “But this is a lot of set up for a wound like this, I figured I’d just get it cleaned and wrapped. This is… different.” But she made sure that her body language expressed it wasn’t a bad different, just unexpected. 

—

Melody watched the girl as she began to ask her questions. All good ones, but all questions that could lay a sprinkling of truth if she wasn’t careful. “He has his way of seeing,” she spoke in a gentle voice. She offered no further explanation than that. Her gaze flickered to the back door, which opened and allowed Brutus to walk out, who sat right in front of Natalia and stared at her. “Show the dog your arm.” Melody instructed. “This is how he sees.” She explained, gesturing to the dog. “He may be blind, yes, but we have tricks that go beyond what is explainable.” Was she being vague on purpose? Yes. Everyone who knew about what they did was privy to a degree of the supernatural, but she never surmised how much. To do so would be detrimental to what they’d been doing all these years.

From the other room, Alistair observed the bite. It had bitten around her thumb, the bite marks forming a half-moon around it. Nothing too serious, but definitely worrying if left untreated. She could have probably seen a doctor for some antibiotics and been fine, but that would have meant less fun for him. The spellcaster severed the connection and waved a hand. Brutus walked to the door and sat down in front of it, but wasn’t let back into the room.

“Start it!” Alistair shouted from the other room, which caused Melody to stand up and light the candles at all five points of the sigil that she had placed. “This will be an easy fix, you won’t feel a thing.” She explained to Natalia with a soft smile. Instead of using a lighter, the candles seemed to light on their own with a simple flick of Melody’s wrist. 

Alistair scowled at the man who sat in front of him. They were magically silenced, and when they opened their mouth to shout, nothing happened. Panic set into their eyes. Alistair reached out and gripped the man’s face, then let his hand travel down to their bound arm. This was the part that made Alistair hate his power the most; the healing ritual. It was the least awful thing a necromancer could perform, and yet in his eyes, it was still bad. Long had he fought the battle between himself and what he was capable of. Since he’d raised his first creature, he’d lived in fear of himself and his family who embraced it with pride. 

There was no pride where Alistair was concerned. He was damned, and so was the rest of the McKenzie family. He closed his eyes, and raised the hand to his mouth. “I hate this as much as you do,” he snarled at the man before biting down on the man’s thumb. The pale green mist that was synonymous with his casting began to form around Natalia’s bite mark, and around Alistair and his victim. 

The mist covered the bite, and then suddenly as it had appeared, it evaporated, leaving behind a hand that looked as if it had never been bitten at all. It was completely healed. From behind the locked door that Alistair had disappeared into, the necromancer reappeared, taking hold of Brutus’s lead and allowing the dog to bring him back into the room, standing in front of Natalia. “How does it feel?” He asked, brow raised behind his round sunglasses.

—

It was a strange form of magic that Natalia wasn’t expecting. Seeing through the eyes of a dog? Perhaps it was too much to assume that it was magic and not something as simple as an herbal salve that she hadn’t been given yet—but if the rumors were to be trusted? There was so much more to this than what was shown on the surface level. Her dark eyes changed their focus to the dog, not wanting to miss a second of anything in the room, but at the same time, having to choose carefully what she was going to see to the fullest. (Maybe a second trip would be needed.) 

Her uninjured hand still guarded the wound before curiosity beat out the hesitance she felt in her bones. Slowly, Natalia extended her hand to the dog, and before she knew it, the dog was sitting at the door, leaving her more confused than when she had started. Was this all some form of misdirection to keep the mystery up? Was there something more at play here? The woman sitting across from her was careful with her words, delicately navigating the conversation to not trip any alarms—not reveal too much to an outsider. It was admirable. She would have been a good Scribe. 

“That simple?” Doubt touched her tone, despite herself. There was so much more to the world than what Natalia knew, so much more than what was on the surface, what did she truly know about anything? And still, she doubted. Her hand coming back to guard the wound once more, feeling strange and vulnerable, inside a circle that made her skin crawl. The man shouted from the other room and Natalia watched in a suffocating silence as the candles were lit. The motions… that was magic. 

Too enthralled in the scene, Natalia forgot to feign surprise. Instead, she leaned forward, her eyes following the woman around the room, that sparkle of wonder showing through. A mist covered her hand, and then, just a moment later, the bite was gone and so was the pain. Her hand looked as untouched as it had that morning before she had tried to keep that reindeer as a pet. She held out her hand, looking at her skin as if expecting it to burst into flame or something else to happen, but nothing did. It was perfectly fine.

Alistair spoke and Natalia finally looked away from her hand and up toward the man. He might have been blind, but she was looking at him, right where she might meet his gaze. “I almost didn’t believe,” she admitted. “You have a remarkable talent.” 

—

“That simple,” he echoed with a half-smile. Of course, this was a lie. It was never ‘that simple.’ In fact, it was rather difficult. From gathering spell supplies to having to literally bite someone, it was gross and time-consuming. But Alistair believed in helping the right people. This girl, whoever she was, seemed genuine in needing help. And the person in the back room? Well, some people are irredeemable. 

Alistair wasn’t good with compliments. He wasn’t good at receiving praise of any kind. So when she told him he had talent, he shrunk under her gaze. “Right.” He said simply, nodding his head toward Melody, who moved to open the door. “Right, um.” He wiped a hand over his face, then crossed their arms over their chest. “About payment. It…” he sighed, knowing he didn’t do this often. “It didn’t take much. It wasn’t that big of a deal to heal. Just… whatever you see fit as payment is fine by me. It doesn’t have to be a big thing.” 

Sometimes, he felt bad for people. He felt a need to go easy on those who were simply out of options in places to go. “All I ask is that you be careful with who you tell about what I do here. Word of mouth is fine, just… don’t tell the wrong kind of people, yeah?” Alistair felt uncomfortable, the praise still lingering in the air, and he wanted to swat away like a fly buzzing around his face. 

—

Natalia remembered the terms that he had laid out at the start of their conversation. Something sentimental in value. There wasn’t much that she had in the ways that she could pay him, but there was one thing that popped to the front of her mind. The idea of letting it go twisted something inside of her, but a deal was a deal, and even if she wasn’t bound by the laws of fae in this regard, she was going to keep her promise. And as kind as he was being now in the aftermath of having to deal with such a trivial wound, she felt almost guilty that she had kept her true intentions hidden. Now wasn’t the time for a full confession, however, but she’d make a note of his name in her growing list of people that she owed, and give him a free service as the Scavenger if he ever found himself in need. 

“I appreciate this,” she offered with a nod of her head. “I couldn’t—” Natalia sighed, shaking her head with a weak smile. “There was someone I went to before, but I can’t go to them without them reporting it to my family. It’s, well, complicated. I’m sure you can understand.” Pulling her journal, a thankfully new one without too many meticulous notes written in the pages visible to anyone in the room, she wrote down her information and offered it to Melody. “I don’t expect you to accept just my word, but my address is on that paper and so is my number. You can test it now if you want, but I’ll be back…” she looked at the watch on her wrist and frowned. “Well, tomorrow morning? Say around 10?” 

There was a trust that he was extending to her, one that Natalia knew she didn’t fully deserve, but she was already writing the rules of this encounter in her mind. She had traded a trinket for the knowledge of this man and his establishment, but knowing what he could do and how meaningful it could be to those in need? She had quickly categorized this as something that wasn’t going to be up for trade. “I won’t,” she promised. 

—

Alistair listened as Natalia spoke, silent and careful. “Whatever the reason, it’s your own.” He responded with a raise of his hand. “I understand complicated family relationships, believe me.” He added with a roll of his eyes, thinking of his own family back in Scotland. He gritted his teeth, hoping he’d never have to speak with them again. It was better not to dwell on the past. He shook his head, willing the thoughts of ignored calls from his siblings to the wayside. 

Melody took the paper and looked it over, then nodded her head and slipped it into her pocket and opened the door to allow the girl safe passage to leave on her own accord. “Around 10, I’ll be here.” Alistair promised with a nod of his head. “A pleasure doing business, now don’t go around getting bit by more reindeer, yes?” His face contorted as he muttered “Or whatever else could possibly come next.” Knowing the nature of the town they called home, anything was possible.

[inscrutable-shadow]

Whumptober 2023 Day 1 - Brick to the Face

@whumptober-archive

No.1: "But now this room is spinning while I'm trying just to fill in all the gaps."

Safety Net | Swooning | "How many fingers am I holding up?"

contains: nausea (no vomiting), concussion, mild gore

also available on ao3!

“Whoa, Rhys, you okay? How many fingers am I holding up?”

Rhys’s head rang and his vision tilted as he tried and failed to sit up. He couldn’t remember how he’d ended up on the ground to begin with. One moment he’d been rushing through the forest with Landon, chasing a bounty target, and the next he was looking up at the stars through a hole in the tree canopy. “Ugh… Four? what happened?”

“She got you with these,” Landon replied, holding up a set of stone weights attached with rope. “Bolas. Lousy throw, though. Usually, you aim for the legs, but these smacked you right in the forehead. Surprised you’re still kickin’, to be honest.”

He probably wouldn’t be if he were still human. One of the good things vampirism had done to him was strengthen his body so it resisted being smashed to pieces. A thinner skull would have caved and turned his brain into mush, but he’d gotten away with just a massive headache and probably minor brain damage which would heal in a day or so if he got a blood meal. Which he still intended to do. He tried to stand for a second time and found himself once again watching the world spin above him.

“Whoa, dude, holy shit, you passed out on me. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, I just… feel sick when I stand up…” He felt sick lying down, too, actually. Had he passed out, or just fallen?

Landon frowned. “You should probably stay down, then, man. We’ll try for the Nightstalker another day. She’ll turn up again, you and I’ll get that bounty, don’t you worry.”

Rhys was having a hard time keeping his thoughts together, but one word did cut through the haze: bounty. Yes. He was a mercenary, collecting bounties was his job, how he got money and most of his hunts. He needed to finish the bounty, to catch the woman. They wanted her alive, but maybe he could drink her a little? That would fix him right up. It probably took a lot of blood for the Shadow to fix his brain. He was so hungry…

This attempt at lurching to his feet was mostly successful, though he was leaning heavily on Landon, who protested. “Hey, buddy, like I said, give it a rest. You don’t look so hot. Pretty sure I’m the only thing holding you up.”

It was true enough. Rhys’s knees had given out almost immediately, given that it took every ounce of willpower he had not to lose what little blood was still in his stomach. He panted heavily through his nose and wished the stars would leave his vision. He didn’t want to give up on this. Some of it was not wanting to look weak in front of the other mercs when Landon had to drag him back to the tavern to heal up, but mostly he just didn’t want to be shown up by a mark. The rational part of him knew what he had to do though. 

“Give… my scythe, yeah? Won’t make you carry me.” The weapon was lying discarded on the forest floor, and Landon scooped it up with his foot and pushed it into Rhys’s hands. The familiar shaft was comforting, in its own way, and he wasn’t above using it as a walking stick. He still needed Landon’s help, but this way it looked less like he’d nearly died and more like he was fine and just needed to regroup a bit.

“You’re a beast, dude. Glad I got assigned to you, huh? I’d be dead if I were out here alone!” Landon joked, trying to lighten the mood. “Come on, let’s get you back. Next time I get a lead on the Nightstalker I’ll be right at your door.”

Rhys hoped so. He knew exactly what, or rather who, he wanted his next meal to be.

taglist: @milkshakes-lust-and-chiral-dust, @albatris, @thethistlegirlwrites, @athenswrites

[jtl07]

So first I just want to preface that these little rewrites are more just ways for me to understand what it is that irked me personally and also an exercise in writing in general. Not trying to bash anything or anyone, just want to pose a different pov. So if y'all have other thoughts or anything, super open to discussing!

But yeah, episode 6. The thing is, I can see what they’re trying to do here, that they’re trying to show Ava that there’s hope in community, that healing is possible even in the most traumatic of experiences. But for me, I finished that episode feeling disappointed that Ava was being painted as selfish, that other people have it just as bad or worse than her.

The angle that I would have loved is, instead of folks being defensive and trying to get Ava to act a certain way, is to have folks actually try to connect with her. And not in a “let me talk at Ava and dump my backstory to her” sort of way - but actually give Ava opportunity to process what’s going on. (I feel like that’s why she turns to Jillian in e7, to help her get answers to the questions that no one seems to be giving her).

So for this rewrite / alternate take on episode 6 I’m going to ponder adding more opportunity for connection between Ava and other characters, while adding more subtext and “action” (not necessarily fight scenes but having characters being active rather than just static dialogue scenes).

Alright so that said, let’s start episode 6 with Ava dealing with what happened with Lilith (I feel like outside of the funeral in e7, not much attention was given to that event???) - as in, she’s in shock, going through that first town, maybe phases into some kind of locked room and finally breaks down.

Let’s have Mary find her but unable to physically reach her, hearing her in pain and having a moment of sympathy. She doesn’t push but does tell Ava about the village, that it’s safe there, that she’ll be going there and she’s welcome to join.

And since Mary’s still hurt, have her slowly walking, stopping in that cave, alone, but have a moment to also be emotional - over Lilith, over Shannon, over everything - and then in the midst of that, have Ava appear. And maybe Mary stumbles when she instinctively gets into a defensive stance and we still have Ava do her impressive first aid bit. And that could lead us into Mary and Ava connecting, because now they’ve both extended olive branches in a way - Mary not pushing earlier and Ava helping just now - but instead of the whole “you’re not the only one with problems” kind of thing, we could make it about grief and things that are out of our control. They could still talk about finding purpose, finding family, but maybe we could layer onto that a moment where there’s acknowledgement that finding those things doesn’t mean you can’t still be angry (because gosh, both of them - so many of the characters, really - hold so much anger, and rightfully so), that it doesn’t mean everything is fixed; but it helps.

Now the main village/town place - when I watched through the first time, to me, it felt like a sort of introductory/training level that you see in video games where you can try out your abilities in a relatively safe, controlled environment. But this felt weird to me because we’re already halfway through the season…??

So what if instead of this, let's fall back again on connection. Let's lean on the chef dude, have Mary and Ava really get close to him and the restaurant - and then have him be the one that gets possessed. This becomes something new for Ava, because she hasn’t dealt with a wraith in someone she actually knows and cares about, and she hasn’t worked with someone else collaboratively before - plus I just want to have Ava actually learning from someone. Like, during the fight, Mary still gets exasperated but also is teaching Ava and both of them trying not to hurt the dude too much but also having to get the wraith out, and maybe Ava has one of her out of the box but brilliant ideas that drops the dude and ends things and Mary does the “huh, that wasn’t bad” face at her lol

We can still end the episode with Mary leaving Ava behind, but maybe Ava talks to chef dude one more time, maybe have him in the restaurant, patched up but still helping with service. And Ava’s like, wtf are you doing, and the dude says something like, sometimes things happen that we can’t control, can’t understand, can only move forward and do better than we did yesterday. And maybe he says something like, have faith, and Ava can understand the sentiment but doesn’t buy it. Not when she has seen all the pain and death all this causes.

Then idk, maybe there’s a magazine or a tv clip of Jillian and we see a shift in Ava, where it’s like, if she can’t stop all this, she’s at least going to try to understand it (personally, I wasn’t at all expecting Ava to show up at Arq-Tech in e7 so maybe this helps give a sort of through line between episodes).

Yeah, idk, still lots to think about with this episode, and episode 7 as well (mostly about Mother Superion and the rest of the OCS). Lmk if y'all have thoughts, corrections, etc - otherwise, finally going to properly watch e8!

[violetjedisylveon]

Claws & Fangs Ch 1 - The Intruder, The Bat And The Wolf

Summary: Kaeden heads home from a long day of work and finds someone has broken into her house looking for something, the intruder attacks her with a massive bat creature. She gets saved by a massive orange wolf.

Words count: 1.5k

Warnings: an animal attacks and tried to kill Kaeden, I don't think I went into too much detail but I went into it a bit so I'll put this as a warning 🛑, so blood and violence ant attack.

A/N: Werewolf witch Ahsoka and Vampire Kaeden lets gooo!

This idea came to me so quickly I'm pretty sure it possessed me to get itself written. Happy Halloween everyone!

Enjoy my new Kaesoka au fic! I've got like three or four of them now. It's not a problem.

Claws & Fangs AU Masterpost

________________________________________________________________________________

Kaeden Larte had horrible luck.

The worst luck in the entire world? Yeah probably.

First, her parents die when she's fifteen and her little sister is twelve.

Then, after getting a job she could actually hold down as a farmer, rumors start to circulate about her parents, specifically her mother, a scholar and a woman of medicine.

The rumors were that she was a witch or vile sorceress, cause her garden always looked so nice and was never attacked by animals. That was serious nonsense, she had taught Kaeden how to grow plants properly and she knew how to keep the wild life away.

Besides she was already dead so what did it matter?

Third, the witch rumor had the Empire come in and conduct a search of her house, they found nothing and left it. Didn't stop the leering or cruel taunts she got from the townspeople when she went into work. Five years later and she was still being called a witch spawn.

Fourth, her most recent stroke of bad luck, there was an owl hanging around her house poking at her plants.

The stupid little bird kept trying to take from her garden, the damn thing was extra interested in her healing herbs and oddly, her sister's garlic. Miara liked to cook in her free time, she worked at a bakery too.

She frequently found herself waking up in the middle of the night to the cursed being raiding her garden and she had to chase it off multiple times, it just kept coming back.

Oh, and then there was her worst luck ever:

Some crazy madman was breaking into her house, she heard the window shatter as she approached her home.

It was late at night and Miara was staying in town with her "friend" Omega, who had insisted it wouldn't be safe for her to go out at night alone. A clear ploy to get more time alone together before she had to go leave again, but Kaeden hadn't pushed her sister.

Kaeden always felt safer at home and had gone anyway.

She was really wishing she had stayed with Miara right now.

She could see the invader through the window, they were dressed in all black, and had a sword or gun or both at their waist.

They suddenly spun around and fixed glowing red eyes on her.

Her blood froze.

The intruder stalked towards her.

Her brain screamed at her to do something, but her body was fully frozen with fear.

A curious coo snared her attention away from the imposing threat.

The thieving owl was sitting on the fence, a clump of herbs in its talons. It cooed at her and took off.

Kaeden made the decision to chase after it right before the glass broke.

She bolted after the owl as fast as she could, though she had a growing feeling she wouldn't be able to escape her pursuer.

The stupid owl lead her into the forest, the dark forests that most people didn't dare go into because of stories about monsters that dwelled within. It was probably just wolves, or at least that's what Kaeden hoped as she blindly followed a bird.

Oh gods, she was going to die, wasn't she?

The owl took a sharp turn and just vanished into thin air. Her heart pounded against her chest and the blood roared in her ears as she frantically looked around for anything she might be able to defend herself with or some way out of this horrifying nightmare.

Something heavy landed in the trees, she heard the wood creak and groan with the weight.

She spun around.

The intruder turned attacker and probably her murderer if she was being honest.

The ominous eyes glowed dangerously.

Kaeden dared to look up.

That was a massive mistake.

A massive bat… thing was perched in the tree, hungry yellow eyes looking down at her.

Kaeden cursed her horrible luck.

Her pursuer whistled a single sharp note. 🛑

The beast snarled and threw itself from the treetops down onto her.

It slammed into her with enough force to slam her to the ground. The air was knocked out of her chest.

Pain bloomed all over her body, the bat's razor sharp claws slicing up her skin.

Clawed wings cut thin, deep lacerations on her arms when she raised them in a feeble attempt to protect herself. She somehow managed to push the bat up away from her throat.

It snarled madly, savagely slashing at anything within reach in its rabid attempt to kill her.

It snarled and hissed in her face, baring its sharp fangs at her.

She screamed and kicked its underbelly. Her feeble attempt to survive only served to piss it off.

It screeched and thrust its head down.

Its jaws slammed down on her neck. White hot pain exploded in her neck. She screamed at the needle sharp teeth piercing her skin.

Her blood got hot, it was burning in her veins, the fire spread rapidly from her neck to her toes.

She cried out, her entire body was boiling!

Just when she thought it was all over for her, that she'd die here in this forest and never be found, that her little sister would be alone, never knowing what really happened to her, a fearsome yowl erupted from somewhere in the chaos and in a blur of fur, the violent beast was ripped off of her.

Kaeden screamed, the beast's teeth tore her skin as it was thrown into a nearby tree.

She instinctively covered her neck wound to stem the bleeding, but that was hardly going to do her much good with her injuries or the fire in her veins. Gods, the fire in her veins made her want to die right there!

It was all she could do to apply weak pressure to her wound and stare up.

Oh.

The owl was back.

It was perched in a branch above her.

Something growled.

Something big.

Kaeden, to her own surprise, managed to prop herself up enough to see what had saved her.

A massive, truly massive wolf with burnt orange fur and stripes going down its back stood in front of her, growling at the bat, which now looked so small next to the wolf.

The bat was reasonably afraid of the impossibly huge wolf, it cowered at the wolf's presence.

The wolf growled, low and threatening, at the beast and keeper.

The beastmaster grunted and both vanished in a puff of black smoke.

The wolf relaxed slightly but stayed alert, ears swiveling to catch any sound of a follow-up attack.

Kaeden jolted away when someone touched her head.

A hooded figure was sitting behind her, they gently lifted her head to rest on their lap and checked her pulse. Their face was concealed by a mask.

Their fingers trailed along the fresh, raw wounds, she would have objected but the fire in her body made her numb to any pain their touch caused. Suddenly the carefully investigating fingers stilled then pressed in on a particularly painful wound, the sensation of white fire burned in her neck, she screamed bloody murder.

"Ahsoka!" The hooded figure shouted.

The wolf stalked over to her, it was so much bigger than she thought it had been when it was looking down at her. Through the corner of her eye, she saw the hooded figure point out something. The wolf's lip curled up with the hint of a snarl.

It leaned in close, she could feel its hot, wet breath on her neck. It sniffed whatever was so interesting to these strangers.

Idly, Kaeden wondered if this hooded stranger was the same thing as the one who attacked her, they both had animals doing their bidding.

"What do you feel?"

She barely registered the words in her dazed, quickly bleeding out state, the stranger pressed her wound lightly. Kaeden couldn't even hold back the very undignified cry that ripped itself from her throat.

" …fire…" she choked out.

She could taste blood in the back of her mouth as the stranger and their beast exchanged a look.

She let her eyes close, she was getting colder and more exhausted as the moments passed, somewhere in her hazy mind, she recognized it as a symptom of blood loss, that she was going to die soon. She'd lost too much blood.

Something warm and damp pressed against her nose. She blinked open her eyes.

The wolf was standing over her, nose to nose while brilliantly blue gray eyes stared deep into hers.

There was something so human in those glowing eyes, Kaeden felt safe with this massive, deadly beast.

It was probably her dying brain.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of you."

She assumed that meant they'd take her body back home, to let her sister know what had happened.

Kaeden hummed absently, the wolf's eyes were so bright and so blue, she couldn't look away even as death pulled at her.

All she saw when the darkness overtook her was that brilliant blue.

________________________________________________________________________________

This idea is really fun and I think it possessed me cause I already got a chapter 2 started… gays are my jam and so are bats and wolfs.

I've got art ideas folks!

It's spooky season so I give you gay spookies.

Happy Kaesoka week everyone!

I hope you all have a good day, whatever that is for you!

VJS Out!

[caatws]

Thank you so much for your post about Gamora and the way grief has been portrayed for her compared to other characters like vision. I have felt all alone for years in being upset that Gamora's death just didn't get treated like it was supposed to. From the beginning it was mostly framed around what it meant to Thanos and then slowly confined to Nebula before landing on Peter to do all the emotional work while eveyone else who was part of Gamora's life acted like they had no clue what was going on. Vol 3 felt like watching some sort of long con cover up job with people trying to pretend a murder never occurred. I don't know what Gunn was thinking because we all saw Gamora die. It was one of the stand out moments in one of the mcu's biggest movies. We have video evidence of the murder so why are they acting foolish.

Then fandom has been another mess. People thinking there just wasn't any time to have anyone else say any words about her death even though it would take less than 1 minutes for a sentence about how hard it's been for everyone. Some people are acting like Gamora never did anything before dying and the whole team was run by all the guys. On top of that writing fic has been pushed as a solution to this whole situation and it's not that simple. The canon has turned the abuse and murder of a woman into something we're all supposed to be okay with because Thanos was sad and most of her family thinks she has memory problems. Fic isn't going to fix this.

It hurts because you can see how in real life reactions to tragedies and loss can be different when people who aren't white are involved. It feels like the mcu mostly had time and space to care about some characters who died in IW and EG and not others based on the same criteria. I thought as time went on it would get better but instead it kept getting worse. First the idea to have 2014 Gamora instead of bringing 2018 Gamora back to life. Who really sat there and thought doing that was the way to go as if all Gamora's growth and healing was meaningless. Then the holiday special taking no time to address how Gamora's death had been for the team. Now we have vol 3 with its entire debacle of a storyline for Gamora where she's popped back in to deal with a mess she didn't help create with people she doesn't know and with no explanation of what she's been going through in the years since EG. Nobody knew what they were doing or where they were going with any of this and it shows. Gamora never should have been murdered in the first place. But since they went there the least they could do is not treat it with idiocy.

you're definitely not alone anon! the lack of mainstream popularity for gamora's character definitely made the experience of grieving her feel very isolating. like all my irls who aren't In This Deep with mcu who just casually follow were def more focused on the avengers characters and their stuff in iw or just weren't in deep enough to care much beyond it being a summer blockbuster (which is also valid!) so it rly felt like no one else grasped like just how much that movie imploded the gotg franchise

i must admit i second guess myself and my feelings toward the gamora situation a lot bc it just feels so weird that it seems like not many other ppl rly talk abt it the way they probably would if this kind of thing happened to one of the lead avengers characters or something. like it feels like most mcu viewers don't even realize the depth of what's happened which is so ?!?!??? so it's nice to see there are others in fandom like you who get it <3

and yeah, i agree with everything you said here. i think it's fair to say fandom often reflects like society in the ways they regard characters of different backgrounds, and i'd argue that's definitely happening here with gamora at least to some extent

[holisticrecoverybali]

Finding Hope and Healing: The Importance of Drug and Alcohol Rehab

Addiction to drugs or alcohol can ruin your life and happiness. Find a professional drug and alcohol rehab in Bali that can break this addiction cycle and bring you back in the mainstream of life.

You cannot deny that drugs or alcohol addiction push you into a darkness. Many people across the globe have been trapped into it. That’s where trusted Bali Rehabilitation Service offers a lifeline to rediscover a fulfilling life.

The Importance of Drug and Alcohol Rehab:

Usually, the notion of rehab that may come into your mind is sterile clinics and forced sobriety. Well, this is not reality. Indeed, modern rehab centers offer support and care. They boast professionals to guide you on your journey to recovery. We would say this is the first step towards a happy prosperous life. How does a Bali Rehabilitation Service

Breaking the Cycle of Dependence-

Addiction is a complex disease. Once you are addicted to drugs and alcohol, you will crave more to recapture that feeling. Over time, this dependence alters brain chemistry. Later on, you will be trapped and feel difficult to break this cycle.

This is where Bali Rehabilitation center offers a safe and controlled environment for your recovery, encouraging the process of detoxification. These rehabs possess medical professionals to handle your physical symptoms safely. It leads to healing by addressing the root causes of addiction.

Finding The Roots-

Any addiction can also be triggered by emotional wounds, past traumas, or unaddressed mental health issues. You will be offered individual and group therapy sessions. Expert therapists employ different techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to identify your negative thought patterns and fix it. Additionally, you will learn stress management, healthier coping skills development, and self-worth development.

Building a Support System-

Fear not!! You are not alone in a Bali Rehabilitation center. There are people who understand your struggles. You can share your experiences and gain encouragement. In this safe environment, can express vulnerabilities and celebrate victories.

Developing Life Skills-

When it comes to a rehab, it isn’t about quitting drugs or alcohol addiction. It is all about restoring your life. You will learn many basic things through workshops and life skills training. You will back into your society with confidence and resilience at the end of the day. In addition, there are opportunity to practice yoga, meditation, and mindfulness training. Moreover, it leads to a long-term recovery.

Relapse Prevention-

Recovery is a journey. Relapse prevention programs can help you in different ways like identifying your potential triggers. It helps to develop strategies to cope with it and make the best network for continued success.

In a nutshell, don’t hesitate to call a rehab for your recovery. We understand that it can feel daunting initially; it's a courageous act of self-love. Don't let fear hold you back. With the right support and guidance, you can get back to the track.

Author’s Bio: Holistic Recovery Bali is a leading drug and alcohol rehab center. It tailors high-end luxury programs for individuals or couples seeking personalized rehab options in Bali. Your journey towards healing begins with a simple step – a no-obligation FREE one hour assessment. 

[conquerrecoverycenters]

The Role of Rehab Centers in LA in Recovering from Addiction

not easy to deal with the problems that come with addiction. In a big city like Los Angeles with lots of people and places to go, it gets even more complicated. A lot of souls find themselves fighting monsters that are more inside of them than outside of them. But the road to recovery can lead to deep healing if you take the right steps and have the right goals. Individual treatment is a useful tool on this path. As we learn more about the importance of rehab centers in LA, such as Conquer Recovery we'll look more closely at how its individual therapy (part of a holistic plan) can help you get over an addiction.

Getting to the Bottom of Addictions At first look, addiction might seem like it's all about the sin, whether it's a drug or a bad habit. But if you look a little deeper, you'll often find that it's a sign of something else going on. It could be a traumatic event from childhood, an unresolved conflict, mental health problems that haven't been addressed, or feelings of not being good enough that have been hidden for years. The first step toward real healing is to realize that addiction isn't just about what someone uses, but also about why they use it. This is especially true in places with a lot going on, like Los Angeles, where stress can sometimes push people down this rough road. The Power of One-on-One When you think about how to navigate your own healing journey, individual therapy stands out among the many rehab centers in LA as a way to change yourself. Imagine a place where you don't have to worry about being judged when you share your darkest fears, doubts, and pains. You can find your way through the maze of your mind with the help of an experienced therapist in this small setting. Together, you can find hidden scars, figure out what causes them, and plan ways to avoid them. Especially in a huge city like LA, where it's easy to feel alone even though you're surrounded by millions of people, these sessions are the anchor that many people badly need. How Conquer Recovery is Different from Other LA Rehab Centers What makes Conquer Recovery stand out in LA, where there are a lot of different options for rehab? It's because the center is always ready to go deeper. Instead of just giving a quick fix, Conquer Recovery focuses on a more complete way to heal. By combining standard therapy methods with holistic treatments, each person is sure to get a program that meets their specific needs. Here is where the real magic happens. Following detox, individuals transition to residential treatment. Here, therapies aren't just limited to addressing the addiction. Group sessions foster a sense of community. Yoga and massage therapy sessions ensure the mind and body's synchronization, aiming for holistic well-being. Also, our center puts a lot of stress on teaching people life skills, so that they don't just get better, but really change. Creating a Tapestry of Holistic Healing The journey at Conquer Recovery is made up of many different threads, each of which is important and special. It's not only about getting rid of bad thoughts and habits. Yes, that is a key part, but what comes next is even more important. As soon as someone moves into residential treatment, they are embraced by a wide range of therapy methods. There is group treatment, which helps people understand each other and get along. Individual therapy lessons provide detail and time to think about yourself. And let's not forget how important it is to take care of your body. By putting an emphasis on physical health, people find an important but often forgotten way to get better. Yoga therapy helps to ground the spirit, and massage therapy helps to refresh the body. All of this is based on a strong sense of belonging to a group. When you walk through Conquer's doors, you're not just a patient; you're family.

Planning a Journey of Renewal for a Lifetime

It's a good thing to recognize addiction and get help for it. But that's not the end of the trip. By figuring out the root reasons and dealing with them, you set yourself up for long-term healing. Individual therapy has a deep effect that makes sure the trip is both deep and life-changing. Among the many rehab centers in Los Angeles, Conquer Recovery stands out as a light of holistic healing. We have helped a lot of people not only get sober but also find a new sense of who they are. And every Angeleno knows that in a city full of dreams, the most important one is to live a life that has meaning and is true to who you are.

[verendxs]

A Sollenté’s Secret

   Even when Elessar’ah became a goddess, the pain didn’t stop.  Not when the world flourished to life in front of her.  Not when she found her brother.  Not when the old gods took pity on her and made her a new sollenté.  He – Olorian – was every bit a perfect match for her – or so they said.  But even he could not rid her of the pain in her chest.

   The goddess’s heart had turned to stone.  

   Every day that passed, she withdrew further and further into herself, searching for the tools to break apart the stone, only to find that the stone itself still had feeling.  Pain still surged with every attempt to chisel her heart free.  The stone was alive, but nothing soft could touch it.

   Calloused and weary, Elessar’ah spent her days behind a mask of benevolence and love.  But where others acted as if this mask was real, there was one who saw through it and another who felt through it, and one day they conspired together, unable to ignore this festering stone any longer.

   “I hate this, Ruvenel,” Olorian lamented, his head in his hand.  “I feel it in my own chest, and yet she says nothing…  How can I ease her pain when even she does not know?”

   “My sister has always been this way,” Ruvenel explained.  He paced back and forth in front of Olorian, arms crossed.  “Though in the days long before you, her heart was not stone.  I can only guess that losing her first sollenté and then finding none to take his place until now has stunted her healing.”

   “It was supposed to kill her…”  Olorian shook his head.  “I suspect she hated having her life in the hands of another, and so every rejection made her heart grow harder… tougher…  I bet even losing me would not move her.”

   “It would move her, friend… but you’re right.  It would not kill her.”

   “What do I do, Ruvenel?  The sollenté bond should be leading me through this, and yet I’ve hit a wall.”

   “Perhaps… if she knew that we knew, things might be different.”  Olorian stared across the room, brow furrowed.  “I mean… everyone else operates as if she is this savior, this… big figure who couldn’t possibly carry anything else after achieving godhood.  But Elsa was once mortal, and her mind remains so in many ways.  We should tell her that we know… and not let her run and hide behind platitudes when she tries to deny it.  You especially…  If you feel it, then it means you are her sollenté.”

   “But she knows that already.”

   “Does she, friend?  You are a good man to her.  A good lover.  But you cannot fear the sollenté bond either, and what it means for either of you.  Perhaps there is something in your heart that stops you?”

   Olorian finally lifted his eyes to Ruvenel, who was still and peering down at him with an intense gaze.  It sat out of place against his soft features.  “My true mother, Angola, told me that I was made for Elsa, and yet I feel… wrong, somehow.  Like a cheap replacement.  I want to make Elsa as happy as she possibly can be… but I am not Rain.  Nor am I the men she lost in her long journey to bring this world back to life.  I am the one who comes in the aftermath, the one charged with fixing all the wrongs committed by others, and I know not where to begin.  Elsa has never been a first choice, except for Rain… and now she is mine.  But I never had a choice.  Perhaps that is the problem.  I am incomplete.”

   “And what do you think you need to be whole?”

   “I wish I knew.  Perhaps I feel that I am unworthy, in spite of what I am.  That for all the time I’ve spent in this world, it will never mean anything to Elsa, who has seen countless worlds and–”  Olorian covered his own mouth with his hand and sighed.

   “Do you feel that you alone do not have the power to heal her heart?”

   “Maybe…”  Olorian pushed himself to his feet and raked his fingers through his hair.  “I want to punish the men responsible for hurting her.  I want to bring their life force before what they gave up and watch them squirm as Elsa destroys them.”

   “That is perhaps the darkest thing I’ve ever heard you say.  Come…  Perhaps plotting such revenge will make us feel better.”

[cosmicangel888]

I have been sharing for years the games, tactics, harm, damage that has been done by the wounded pushing wounds upon other's ~

How unnecessary, how unusual and blatant it is that narcism, the wounds of childhood, the dangers of black magic, and using and abusing power, title, energy is as disastrous as the not healing;

It is one in the same;

when you, one does so much to see and hope, wish so much wrong, the watching, researching, studying to see how much of the spell work is working, doing its thing, the death threats to pay practitioners to do, cast, and all have a part to play, clear for karma sees and knows all;

All have free will to live the life they deserve and punishment should never be pushed and forced on any other simply because they want to release themselves fro sick, toxic, lifestyles and those that do not want to take accountability for their wounding and actions, and behaviours to all those around them -

At some point - will the healing be priority - none owe anyone anything to stay and be privy to self destruction, part of 3rd, 4th parties, and the damage, mess, chaos created by such depraving activities and beliefs, and none can force anyone off their path, off their soul mission and none write this but each and God;

All must reflect -

Who are you - none are responsible for your healing and setting goals, boundaries, and engagements with those in varying, limiting, differing energies and levels of consciousness - not all are meant to be on the path together - nor can anyone force anyone to be with them,

All play a part in healing - never rely on anyone to give you, be for you, or do for you, lead you -

None have authority over you - none have the pen to write your story - you can agree to disagree and leave each paths alone - allowance, self focus is key; your job is not anothers' path - it is your healing and your path - period.

Know your rights; discrimination, harassment, abuse, neglect is exactly what I have experienced and none, 0 have taken accountability but only continue with their own selfish acts, needs, wants to get what they need, to have their life fixed by my energy and wisdoms, while they take and steal, and use; while providing 0 monetary exchange, credit, nor righteous acts; none will be nor want to be with anyone that is this corruptive - all have their rights to be safe, at peace, and lead a simple life -

You have all taken advantage of me for years and years, while blaming, shaming, lying, twisting truth, blocking, stalking, and harassing me on all levels - it is closed; Spirit has shown you all; leave me be, the more you press me the more tower moments will fall.

Truth is the only way.

Making right legally is the only way.

Respect the rights of all -

The past is done,

Closed, and always will be - all needs to go through legal process; period - all is and closed; spirit will assure it so - damage has been done, forgiveness to all - leave me be and go through the lawyers to ensure all is above board, no manipulation, and deceits done any further damage will not be done;

Find someone else to play with and take from.

Leave me be; closed means closed. Go heal.

Joanna

#ascension

#enlightenment

#healing

[honeyabyss]

Mc falling asleep next to them

Lucifer:

he had been working nonstop for hours now and the pile of yet to be read and signed documents wasn't getting any smaller

you had been sitting in his study silently working on your own assignments, that was until you've finished them about an hour ago

pacing his room in boredom and looking at the stuff he keeps in his closets (mostly books, records and demonus)

"Could you stop wandering around, you're irritating me!" Lucifer is stressed, annoyed, etc and your sighs, constant footsteps and opening and closing of closet doors, didn't help him to concentrate

you could have left the room and found something else to do, but you were determined to spend some time with him, as the evening work hours are quite literally the only hours where you can be alone with him

so instead you seeked permission for putting on a record to have at least some entertainment, which was both a good and a bad choice at the same time

yes you had something to enjoy and relax to, but the relaxing part worked a little bit too well

after a good ten minutes you were sleeping peacefully, stretched out all over his sofa with no care in the world

"I'm going to take a small break and get some coffee. Do you want something as well?" Lucifer asked only to be met with silence, which he didn't appreciate

he was about scold you for being rude, when his gaze fell on your sleeping form and the words seemed stuck in his throat

how could you sleep so peacefully right next to one of the strongest demons of hell, he honestly didn't know if he was pleased you found comfort in his presence or if he should be annoyed that you don't take him serious enough

nonetheless you seemed to have a good sleep and as this is often near impossible in the House of Lamentation, he decided to let you sleep

he got himself his coffee and once back in his study he moved his workplace to the small coffee table and took a seat next to you on the sofa

he adjusted your form so you weren't hanging half of the edge and put his coat over your sleeping form for some warmth

"Foolish little lamb, letting your guard down in a house of wolves, good thing I'm here to protect you..."

Mammon:

"And then I, the Great Mammon, made an action movie worthy escape and totally didn't run away in a panic, because Lucifer was chasing me..."

he had been telling you how exactly he got into the situation of hanging from the ceiling once again, as you've tried as careful as possible to cut him free, which was harder then expected with the way he kept moving around

once finally free, he dropped onto the ground, whining about the rope burns he got basically all over his body, though demons heal quicker, it still wasn't a nice feeling

with a sigh you offered him your hand and pulled him up and away to your room to give him some of the salve Satan had made you the last time you had accidentally cut yourself while cooking

you sat a flustered Mammon onto your bed while you went ahead and searched through your bathroom cabinets that were filled with products Asmo had gifted you, when you finally found it you asked Mammon to hold still while you put some salve onto his burned skin

"W-what?! N-no way! I don't need your help, I can do that on my own!" and with that Mammon stormed away with your salve and locked himself into your bathroom

you knew better then to argue at this point, Mammon would do what Mammon wants to do...until he fails and seeks protection behind your back...

be it because he is embarrassed, doesn't know how to open the salve tube, or because there were so many rope burns...but Mammon took quite long to apply the crème, leaving you to wait for him for at least half an hour now

helping out Mammon can become quite tiring, not that you mind helping him or don't like being around him, but a nap sounds nice right now

and so you lay down in your bed, it is after all your room, and just because Mammon is currently camping out in your bathroom, doesn't mean that you can't take a nap

Mammon comes out of the bathroom a few minutes later, he probably needed a few more minutes to build up courage to face and thank you, but he is met with the sight of you sleeping on your bed

Mammons brain is working overdrive, trying to figure out if he should leave the room quietly, wake you up or stay and watch over you...then again he doesn't want to be seen as a creep by you, but he can't deny that he would like to stay with you

he carefully climbs into bed and pushes you a bit further in so you sleep on the wall side and don't fall off in case you move, it takes five more minutes until Mammon risks putting his arm around you all while holding his breath in anticipation of your rejection, when none comes he settles a little closer to you and falls asleep as well

"Don't worry my human, the Great Mammon is gonna keep you warm and protected in your sleep!"

Bonus: even though you two fall asleep next to each other with only Mammons arm wrapped around you, expect him to wake up on top of you holding you like your his pillow

Leviathan:

it was 5am and Levi and you were currently waiting in line in front of a shop to get your hands on a new limited edition Ruri-Chan figurine

surprisingly enough even though you turned up quite early, there were a good amount of people in front of you

the shop would only open a 9am so you still had a long time to queue in the coldness of the devildom morning

"Ah that is not fair! We planned everything so carefully, it was the perfect timing, why aren't we first in line?" Levi complained while standing on his tiptoes to be able to see and count the demons in front of him, coming to the conclusion that if everyone were to buy one figurine he'd still be able to buy one for himself...and whatever you might want

you weren't the happiest when he told you about his plan a few weeks prior and getting woken up this early you might have been a little slower than usual in getting yourself ready, now that you were here you couldn't help but feel a little guilty

you tried to cheer Levi up with the argument that if you were longer in line that also meant you could spend more time together, which resulted in Levi turning into a blushing but happy mess

you put down the blanket you've brought and made yourself comfortable on it, Levi joining you but looking a bit stiff from the closeness

you ate a breakfast consisting out of sandwiches made with whatever was left after Beels midnight snack, which wasn't much but better than nothing

afterwards as there was still a lot of time to pass you started to play some games on his Switch, trying to stay awake

the emphasis lies on 'trying', because after 2 hours or so you start to fall asleep, eyelids and limbs heavy, you don't have the energy left in you to fight the sleep and so you nod off, your head falling onto Levis shoulder who had been inching closer over the period of time...to be able to better see the Switch display not to be closer to you...

Levi.exe has stopped working

there he sits red as a tomato with Mc sleeping on his shoulder, the queue in front of him starts to pack up and move as the shop gets ready to open up, his Switch display is showing the game over screen, his mind feels fogged over and he has no idea how to react now

Mc just fell asleep and Levi feels guilty to wake them...but they have to move...

"H-hey Mc? T-the line i-is moving? Wake up....please..." his attempts are way to quiet for you to hear and even as he gently shakes your shoulder you do not wake, leaving Levi quiet in a dilemma

"N-no other choice..." he says as he packs up the stuff alone, leaving only you sitting on the cold floor...he can't just leave you here..

Levi turns into his demon form, his hands shaking and eyes flitting across your from and over the crowd of other demons, before he carefully lifts you into his arm, his tail wrapping around you as well for more stabilization, so he has one hand free to carry his shopping bag later

he never bought something faster than that day, he got his figurine and even bought you some anime merch he knew you had stated to like, all while feeling like he was running the worst fever of his life and receiving stares, giggles and smug smiles from way too may people, that was enough attention for at least a century for Levi...but he did like holding you in his arms

"This is not fair! I have to deal with all the embarrassment while you sleep...but I guess it's okay if it's for you..."

Satan:

Satans last anger fit had caused way more damage than usually, it had taken place in the library when Mammon had tried to steal a very rare book about spells, to sell it after he found out how rare it actually is...now that lead to Satan throwing down and emptying almost all bookshelves and kicking Mammon through the room

While Mammon was strung upside down from the ceiling, Satan was forced to clean up the library alone, but you had pity on him as there were quite a lot to clean up, if Lucifer doesn't find out you helped there will be no consequences

Satans opinion about you helping was split, first of all he was really thankful for the help even though he was at fault for the chaos, having to clean up all alone was a bit much, but on second thought Satan was worried that you tried to go against Lucifers orders, he's proud of you for defying his eldest brother but also feels like it's a stupid idea

but you have made your mind up and so while Satan repairs and stands up the shelves, you begin to put the books in, you might not know the exact way they stood like Satan, but for now getting them off the floor is the priority

there aren't many words spoken as you silently work away, only once in a while you point out a book which got a bit more damage, the cover hanging off loosely or a few pages ripped out, you two decide depending on the damage if it can be fixed or not

every now and then Satan asks you to hold a piece of a shelf together while he fixes it, he is surprisingly fast and knows exactly how to repair it...just as if he had to do it more than once in a while...

"Oh Mc? Can you give me the screwdriver? No no that one, the one with the cross head is what I need..." you had no idea there were so many different tools, and wouldn't be the slotted one sufficient if you just angled it right? Satan just laughs and let's you try it for yourself, only for you to fail, he then shows you how to do it correctly guiding you through fixing your first shelf

"The last shelf is standing again, I'll help you with the book now." Satan pointed out, a small ray of hope now that only the books were left, you didn't reply, which honestly wasn't really necessary, but a small affirming noise would have been nice, so Satan tries to keep the 'conversation' going, while he works on the books with his back turned to you

"...you're still ignoring me? Are you angry at me for making such a mess? You know you didn't have to help...you can go, no need to act like all high and mighty!" he was getting angry again, yes he did make a mess, but he didn't do anything to you! Had he? He couldn't remember, but humans might interpret actions and words differently…he didn't want you to be mad at him, and neither did he want to get angry at you, but with you ignoring him it became quite difficult to keep his voice low

having enough and wanting to make up before it gets worse, he makes his way over to you, who was leaning against a shelf with a book in your hand

as he sits down next to you and turns your body to him through a guiding hand on your shoulder, he startles, you fell asleep in a sitting position? That sounds more like something Belphie would do...Isn't that uncomfortable?

You must have been exhausted after filling up three shelves of books and fell asleep midway on your fourth shelf, Satan chuckles amused and relieved you aren't mad at him but simply sleeping

He picks you up and brings you to your room where he lies you down in your bed, covering you with the blanket and hesitantly stroking your hair before going back to cleaning up the library

"Thank you for being so patient with me and helping me! You can rest now and I'll make it up to you later!"

Bonus: he will most definitely take you out on a date of your choice, even if he doesn't enjoy the idea as much as you

Asmodeus:

Asmo had taken you out shopping, as he claimed his wardrobe was not having the right clothes anymore so he had to get new ones fast

he had dragged you through town for the whole day and you two only returned home late in the afternoon, you completely exhausted and ready to drop in your bed, while Asmo while being slightly tired, still insisted on putting on all the clothes and showing them off to you and his followers on Devilgram

he entrusted you with his D.D.D to take some nice amazing shots of him to gain even more followers, though that seemed impossible as it already felt as if the whole population of hell was already subscribed to his account

but as long as all you had to do was hold the D.D.D up and click the screen for a picture, you were fine, you sat down on Asmos bed trying not to disturb the bags of clothes that lay there as well

Asmos screen lit up nearly every few seconds with a new message, how did this man not get crazy with all the message?! And he must check them all, because whenever you write him, he is on and writing back instantly...maybe you should steal his D.D.D from time to time to get him away from it...

While Asmo was changing into new clothes in the bathroom, you could hear him humming a happy tune, clearly in his element and enjoying his time, which made you happy as well, but the exhaustion was still plaguing you and the bed felt unbelievably comfy and on top of that the humming of Asmo was slowly lulling you into sleep

"Oooh Mc~ I especially like this top! Just look how nicely it fits, it shows of my best parts, which are all of me haha...hey Mc?~ Look at me!" Asmo pouted as you stayed put on his bed, and climbed over your form, already expecting you to start pushing him off, only to get concerned when you don't

then he sees your eyes are closed and you seem to be peacefully asleep, he instantly coos at your sweet sleeping expression, the back of his hand caresses you cheeks softly, but you don't react much besides moving a bit into am ore comfy position

Asmo backs off and begins to put down his bags, then he tucks you under his covers and climbs right in with you, pulling you close so that you lie on his chest, his arms encircling you to keep you put

the pictures for Devilgram are forgotten for now, they're not running away anyway, you two can continue another time, but for a beauty nap sounds good

"Oh Mc! You look so cute when you're sleeping...next time tell me you need a break, I'm happy to cuddle you while you're recovering!"

Beelzebub:

you had decided to stay a bit longer at RAD today, because you still had something to discuss with one of the teacher, as well as doing some research for an essay that was due next week

most of the brothers had already left for home or different work related activities, except Beel who had Fangol practice today after school, and as you were not allowed to walk around the Devildom without someone accompanying you for protection, all that was left for you was to wait for Beel to finish his practice, which usually took place for about two hours

you sat down on one of the benches at the side of the field, waving to Beel so he knew you where you were and could keep an eye on you

you worked away on your homework and checked you D.D.D from time to time replying to all the messages you got

the practice seemed to be still not finished even after two hours had passed and you were getting a bit tired from sitting around, but you also couldn't just wander off, Beel might start worry...plus the risk of running into a less friendly demon was still a thing

so you shifted from one position into another not really being able to get comfortable on the hard wooden bench

the ground seemed to be comfier with every minute passing, and so you lay down ignoring the weird looks of the team and trainers, you're body simply wasn't made to sit on this bench longer than necessary

"Here you can wrap yourself in this...it's getting cold. Training is almost over, just hold out a few more minutes!" Beel came over and gave you his jacket and you quickly put it on revelling in his warmth

but here is the problem the jacket made you feel so comfortable that you fell asleep, right on the floor next to a few dozen demons

"We're finished! I'm hungry, let's go get something to eat, any wishes what you want?" Beel was packing his stuff and rambling on about how he could eat at least one year worth of food, training having starved him quite a lot

but when you didn't respond he grew worried and kneeled down next to you, gently resting his hand on your side, he simply laughed when he saw you fell asleep, he is used to it due to Belphie, so he carefully picks you up and carries you home, deciding to order food once there

just Beel giving you a piggy back home, softly smiling to himself and being happy you've come to be so at ease around demons..still at bit worried, but he'll protect you, no worries

"I'll stay by your side until you wake up...and then we can eat lots of good food...please just don't sleep too long or I might have to eat before you wake up."

Belphegor:

so there he was, sleeping, on your bed, in your room, without an invitation...and honestly it wasn't even a surprise anymore, coming home after a work shift at Hell's Kitchen and just wanting to sleep, but no there was no space for you on the bed

I have no idea how, but he manages to occupy the whole bed, and hog blanket and pillows to himself as well

if only he was easy to wake, just to tell him to move over, but no he wouldn't wake up unless you pulled the big guns and nobody wants to face the consequences after one dumped water bottle on his head, it would be a hundred times easier and less dangerous to wake Satan

but you were really tired and just wanted to cuddle into your bed, maybe you could maneuver him with a bit strength..actually forget that...you could always call Beel for help to carry him to his own bed, but by the way he was clinging to your blanket and pillows, that would only end in a empty mattress to sleep on and then you would get cold...

honestly it was his own fault at this point you had threatened him to do it, but he had just laughed it off...

and so you climbed into bed and lay down on top of him, wrapping your arms around him so that you would get at least his body warmth if not the blanket

to your surprise he didn't wake up and he was really comfy, his rhythmic breathing was really relaxing and it didn't take you long to fall asleep

after some time Belphie wakes up with you wrapped around him, he quickly realises that you're asleep, but is stunned nonetheless that you would actually have the guts to sleep on top of him with the risk of waking him up in a bad mood

"That's quite bold of you! You didn't think I will let that slip though, right?" he chuckles amused but shifts nonetheless to make room for you, his embrace is tight, and he hopes just a little bit that you wake up, so he can tease you, but you stay asleep looking content with your new position

"I suppose I could go for another nap...now that I have my favourite pillow with me, sleeping will be even better!" he cuddles you, just like the blanket and pillows...which you don't get any of by the way, but you get Belphie so that's even better, he's gonna keep you warm, don't worry

"You're such a odd human...no idea why I like you...anyway just stay here in my arms and sleep!"

Diavolo:

yesterday was amazing, Dia had taken you to a trip in the human world and you had showed him around, visiting as many places as you two could

what you didn't know was that he had actually sneaked out of the castle to spend time with you

well you didn't know until a very angry Barbatos opened a portal right in front of you two and started lecturing Dia for at least one hour

you felt a bit guilty that you were the indirect cause of this and quickly apologised to him promising to make it up

so here you were in Dias office, overseeing him to do his work so he couldn't sneak out again and Barb didn't have to find him

after all if the reason for sneaking out was right in his room then he had no reason to go, besides the intimidating amount of work left on his desk after yesterdays excurse

Dia worked concentrated for most of the time, only now and then staring out of the window or talking to you

"Isn't it boring to watch me work? I can work alone, I promise to run away...or else Barbatos might get a heart attack from shock of seeing me gone again" he chuckled while signing another document

you reassured you didn't mind sitting next to him in silence, you had a good book borrowed from Satan, tea and cookies from Barbatos and you could stare at Diavolo all day long

your last statement made Dia flush red quite quickly and he tried to distract himself with his work, he slouched over in his chair trying to escape your gaze, but you were having none of it

your arms snaked around his waist and your head came to lean on his shoulder, Dia stiffened not sure how to react he liked the feeling of you hugging him, but now he was scared to move too much as not to disturb you or accidentally hit you with his elbow while trying to write

after a few more documents his eyes flit over to your face, cheek squished against his shoulder, eyes closed and breathing calmly

"Mc? Are.. are you sleeping?" he is whispering trying not to be too loud in case you are truly sleeping, and that you are! A soft smile graces his lips, nobody was ever this relaxed around him, he is proud and wants you to stay asleep as long as possible

he keeps working until Barbatos knocks on the door, coming in and announcing to have brought more tea, only to stop when he sees the sight in front him, Mc holding onto Dia, head resting on his shoulder and sleeping, while Dia put his finger to his lips to tell him not to be too loud

you sleep for an hour or so until Dia really has to move, apologising multiple times for having to wake you

"I'm glad you're able to relax around me, please continue to be yourself! My shoulder is always there for you to nap!"

Barbatos:

"You liked the cake that much? I'm flattered! I could teach you how to make it if you'd like?"

you had been over for tea at the castle and the chocolate cake with black-as-hell cherries was the best cake you've ever ate, it was bittersweet in taste not too much sweetness and not too much bitterness, paired with the melting chocolate, you could have eaten the whole cake on your own

you doubt you'd be able to get the same ingredients in the human realm but maybe you could find similar ones, so you were more than willing to learn with Barbatos

and so you arranged to meet the next Sunday afternoon for a baking session

Barb let you into the castle already awaiting you at the door even though you were early

you two worked on the cake, Barb explaining each step carefully, even for the easiest steps he takes his time to explain and help you, being very patient with you no matter how much you screw up

"Next we have to melt the chocolate in a pot. Wait a minute I turn on the stove for you" while you put the chocolate pieces into a pot, Barb moves behind you and turns on the stove, his arms brushing your sides, yet he stays fully focused, what can't be said for you

the cake is put together quickly with you two working together and while it bakes in the oven and the chocolate is meting, you two go ahead and start cutting and coring the rest of the cherries to decorate the cake later

"Here have a taste, they're bitter at first but the aftertaste is nicely sweet!" He holds out a cored cherry for you to taste and eats one himself, smiling gently at you while you sniff at the fruit first, which smells exactly like a normal human world cherry

the only thing left to do is wait for the cake so you two sit down for some tea at a small table in the kitchen, talking about the week, when Diavolo calls for Barb and he quickly excuses himself to help the prince out

the sweet aroma of the baking cake, the warmth of the tea and the very comfy chair you're sitting in, are a dangerous combination making you fall asleep

as Barb returns he sees you with your head lying on your folded arms on the table, clearly asleep, Barb decides to eave you there while cleans the kitchen and checks on the cake half an hour later

"Mc? The cake is ready to be decorated do you want sleep or do you want to help me?" somewhat embarrassed you stand up and help him with the decorations , Barb acts if nothing happened but he can't help but think about your gentle expression while you slept

"Next time I'll let you sleep longer... I wouldn't mind if you visited me for your naps if that meant I could see you more often."

Solomon:

learning magic was many things: exciting, frustrating, dangerous, fun...but sometimes it also was unbelievable boring

like when you think about magic, you think about casting charms, curses, making potions and all that stuff, but nobody told you that beforehand you have to learn everything about the new spell or etc in theory!

so here you were sitting with Solomon as he rambled on about how while the shrinking charm could have really bad side effects if casted wrong, sure it was important to know how to cast it correctly but did you really have to listen on to everything that might go wrong?

listening to all this just make you feel less confident, I mean technically you were practicing with a tea cup to shrink, so shrinking only a part of it wouldn't be too bad of a side effect, but what if you used too much pressure and made the cup explode and you'd hurt Solomon in the process?!

You took a deep breath, which made Solomon stop talking as he looked at you questioningly

"Anything wrong? Already giving up? Is it toom much?" his light teasing was meant to make you relax, but all you could do was give a small, stiff smile, signalling for him to continue and he did, after messing up your hair with his hand giving you a huge grin, but he talked slower now giving you more glances to make sure you were still alright

"How about a small break? I'll make us some tea..." he stood up and made some tea...in a beaker over a Bunsen burner..this weirdo..

the tea didn't taste weird though, it was just normal tea, even though the preparation would have made Barbatos get a stroke

after the break he was back to full tutor mode and your concentration slipped with each new word, until your head falls down, your chin resting on your chest comfortably, you had fallen asleep right before him

Solomon notices instantly that you're asleep and starts laughing so loud that you wake up again, he is crying and gasping for breath at your flustered state and you hit for good measurement on the arm

"Am I that boring? Fine if you're tired you can rest on my bed. I'll read you a bedtime spell book..." he doesn't stop laughing and teases you endlessly, you better be on your toes around him, you won't be hearing the end of this

"Hey sleepyhead? Do you want me to read you into boredom? I won't take pictures of your sleeping and drooling self...No promises made though..."

Simeon:

He was staring blankly at his manuscript, writers block had been plaguing him for quite some while now, but the new chapter had to be sent to the company until next week

you had offered to help him out maybe you could give him some ideas, so he invited you over and let you read the latest chapter so you'd know what had happened

you sat in his room brainstorming ideas on a small extra sheet trying your best to help Simeon out who looked quite lost

"Do you think that would work? Doesn't if feel a bit too rushed? But maybe if we combined these two ideas together..." he seemed to had found something and began to roughly write up a plan for his further writings

he continuously asked you questions about the smallest details, it was kind of cute that he relied so much on you, he probably could have done the rest himself as well, yet he kept involving you into the whole process

while his one hand scribbled like a madman, his other rested on your arm occasionally lightly squeezing it, reminding you that he didn't forget about you

you slowly fell asleep, the sounds of each others breathing, the pen scratching over paper and the ticking of the clock hanging on the wall, the inly sounds to be heard

"What about this part? How do you think it could go from here?...Mc?" he wasted no time in making sure you were lying comfortably, putting his cloak over your form and still squeezing your arm from time to time while he continued to write late into the night

only then did he notice, the brothers might worry about your absence, should he wake and bring you home? or should he let you sleep here and inform Lucifer about your safety? but the sofa you were currently sitting on, would make your back hurt if you continued to sleep here

it took him some time debating with himself, but came to the conclusion to carry you to his bed and tuck you in, giving you a forehead kiss like he was used to with Luke, only to realise what he'd done and quickly scrambling away in embarrassment to give Lucifer a quick call about the situation

"Have sweet dreams my lamb! I'll be guarding you in any realm, even the dream realm!"

Luke:

Luke, Simeon and you were having a small movie evening, watching some old Disney movies

Simeon didn't allow you to watch something else to protect Luke, but you didn't mind too much

you were having some freshly made desserts by Luke who had worked on them the whole day, as he was very excited for your meetup

you watched a few movies, talking, laughing and joking together, just having fun

"Huh? They called the mean cat Lucifer? Hahah how fitting, he kind of even looks like the real Lucifer! Ah, don't tell him that though!" Luke really liked to compare the different characters to the people he knows, but when there actually were a cat called Lucifer he was quite surprised...who would want their cute pet to be called like a demon? Why not call them angel names? Michael is a pretty cool name...

over the time you became more and more tired and Simeon seemed to notice, suggesting on stopping for today and continuing another time, but Luke convinced you two of one more movie

unfortunately you didn't last the final movie and fell asleep cuddled underneath the blanket between Simeon and Luke

Luke took some time to notice, only seeing it when he turned to you wanting to tell you his opinion about the last scene

"Oh! Simeon... Mc fell asleep..." Simeon already knew, as you had fallen onto his shoulder, not that he minded, he just told Luke to stay quiet and watch the rest of the movie

Luke cuddled up to you to keep you warm and occasionally glanced at you to make sure you were okay, and there cuddled next to you he as well fell asleep...trapping Simeon underneath your combined weight, making it impossible for Simeon to get out of the bed, so you three just slept together that night

"Don't worry Mc! I'll keep all demons away from you while you sleep!"

[triptuckers]

Fix her - Kaz Brekker

Request: nope Pairing:  kaz brekker x reader Summary:  kaz sent you out to gather information, and you always return on time with the intel he needs. well, maybe not always. Warnings: angst, language, mentions of BLOOD, BRUISES, INJURIES, typical soc stuff, slight six of crows and crooked kingdom spoilers Word count:  2.2K A/N: hello my darlings it is I and I have read almost every book leigh bardugo has written in the past month. I am now hopelessly in love with jesper, kaz and nikolai. I'll be updating my character list soon! I still have a few wips but I don’t have any motivation / inspiration for those. so have my first kaz brekker x reader instead! enjoy reading :)

It was a rather easy job, really. Kaz had received word that the Dime Lions had an important meeting coming up. Because he always wanted to know what exactly was going on in the Barrel and with its gangs, he wanted someone to listen in on said meeting.

Normally, he would send Inej. She was the obvious choice when it came to gathering information. But she was still recovering from a rather nasty cut in her side, and so you had offered to go.

Inej insisted she could go. But all it took was you raising your eyebrows when she moved to sit up, only to wince and flop back down onto the bed. Though he didn’t quite like it, Kaz had assigned you to the job. 

No one said it out loud, but everyone knew there was something between you and Kaz. Neither of you had spoken about it. There were just a lot of lingering glances, smiles from you and what you think was almost a smile from Kaz, and you even had stolen his coat once when you had lost your own. He didn’t seem to mind though.

When you had left that evening to listen to the Dime Lions meeting from the shadows, Kaz had sent you a look that you knew all too well. He reserved it only for you. It was him telling you to be safe. You’d respond with a wink that basically meant always am.

The rest of the crows started a card game to pass the time as they waited for you to come back. They didn’t worry, you were always careful and are considered one of the most dangerous criminals in Ketterdam. They knew whatever happened, you could handle yourself.

But after Jesper had lost four rounds of card games, the tension began to rise between them. Most meetings typically didn’t last this long. Still, no one said anything as they started their fifth game. You would show up eventually, probably bringing valuable insight with you.

After two more games, there was still no sign of you. Nina was the first one to speak up.

‘She should have been back by now.’ she says, absently looking out the window into the dark street. 

‘Have a little faith, Zenik.’ says Kaz, though on the inside he was filled with worry. He shook it off and focused on the game again.

More than once he’d scolded himself for allowing you to get this close to him. For putting so much trust in you, especially after what happened the last time he’d really trusted someone. But he couldn’t help it. It was like he was drawn to you like Jespers trigger finger was to his revolvers. He couldn’t help it.

Still, he knew your skills. He knew you were smart, and a fighter. Whatever was going on with you out there, he had no doubt you’d show up at the door in a few moments, cheerfully announcing what good intel you’d gathered and wondering how many card games you’d missed.

But you still didn’t show. And one by one, they all lost their interest in the card game. They fell silent and looked out the window or fiddled with their empty glasses. The tension in the room grew. Until Kaz suddenly stood.

‘Finish the game.’ he says. ‘I’ll go and look for her.’

‘I’ll come with you.’ says Jesper, getting up as well.

‘No.’ says Kaz, earning a frown from Jesper. ‘Just me.’ he says. And with that, he pulled on his coat, grabbed his cane and was out the door.

‘Right.’ says Jesper, sitting back down. ‘Anyone fancy another game? I have a feeling I’m gonna win this one.’

They played three more games. They were tired, and it was well past midnight. Still, none of them went upstairs to their rooms. Too anxious to play any more cards or to even have a normal conversation, they settled for silence and more drinks. 

Jesper was fiddling with his rings and bouncing his leg. Nina had her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands. Matthias was trying to not look at Nina. And Wylan was attempting to build a house out of the cards. 

Finally, they heard the sound of the door opening. All of their heads shot up and turned to look who it was. 

Kaz stumbles awkwardly through the door, carrying you in his arms. Nina gasps softly and Jesper murmurs ‘Saints’ as their eyes land on your body. 

It’s bruised and bloody, and your eyes are shut. Was Kaz too late?

‘Clear the table!’ says Kaz loudly, limping toward it with you in his arms. 

Instantly, Matthias and Jesper seize the glasses and cards off the table as Wylan pulls some of the chairs back to make room. Kaz lays your beaten up body on the table and turns to Nina.

‘Help her.’ says Kaz.

But Nina is looking at you body, bruised and bloodied, nothing like the cheerful girl that buys her waffles and laughs as she teases Matthias. It’s almost impossible to find a spot on your body that doesn’t have a wound on it. There’s slashes from knives everywhere, bruising around your neck and the side of your face, and to top it off, blood is slowly leaking out of a bullet wound in your leg.

An expression of horror is written across Nina’s face, her hands pressed against her mouth. 

‘Nina.’ Kaz presses on. ‘I said help her.’

‘Kaz, I don’t think-’ stammers Nina. ‘Come on, fix her!’ says Kaz loudly, surprised of how much anxiety can be heard in his voice. Fix her, he thinks, because I need her to fix me.

‘I can try but-’ ‘Do it.’ says Kaz and then he turns away, he can’t bear to look at you any longer. Memories of Jordie flood over him, mingled with memories of you. Your laugh, how he fights his own smile every time you wink at him or send a flirty comment his way, the way you smell. How you look at him when he catches your eyes. 

Kaz shuts his eyes, attempting to drown the memories out. Taking deep breaths, he tries to focus on the voices behind him.

‘Jesper get the bullet out of her leg.’ says Nina. 

‘Just pull it out?’ questions Jesper.

‘Saints, you’re Grisha, Jesper, pull the fucking bullet out!’ says Nina in a loud voice laced with fear.

After a while of listening to Nina’s murmuring and instructions to others, Kaz finally turns back around to look at you. A wave of nausea hits him unexpectedly and he swallows hard. 

Nina had treated most of the wounds, with Jesper’s help. But your entire body is still covered in bruises, and now bandages as well. Nina’s cleaned the dried blood off of your face, but your arms and legs are still covered with it. 

They’re all nervously looking at Kaz.

‘I don’t know if she’s going to-’

‘Don’t.’ says Kaz, interrupting her. He needed to think straight. He needed someone to help him focus. Normally, you’d be the one to do so. But you’re in no condition to softly talk to him to reassure him everything is going to be alright. He needed to be his own soothing voice tonight.

‘Matthias.’ he says. ‘Bring her up to my room. Nina, go with him, see if there’s anything else you can do for her. Jesper, get Inej up to speed. Wylan, clean this mess up before someone notices.’

Without waiting for their reactions, Kaz walks up the stairs to his floor. Several moments later, followed by Matthias, who is carrying you, and Nina and Jesper. Jesper disappears into Inej’ room, while Matthias and Nina continue to walk the stairs to get to Kaz’ floor. 

When they arrive, Matthias carefully places you on Kaz’ bed as he was instructed. For a while, the three of them look at you. Until Matthias and Nina go to their rooms as well, leaving Kaz alone with you.

None of them had questioned why he insisted Matthias brought you to his room and not your own. Of course, they were dying to find out exactly what was going on between you and Kaz, but they all knew tonight was not the night to push him.

As he looks at you, Kaz feels the strong urge to touch you. Lay his hand on your cheek, to see if it’s still warm. But he can’t. Instead, he merely pulls out a chair and sits down next to the bed. He lets his eyes travel over your body, wondering how much pain you’re in, and who the hell was responsible for it. 

He needed you to wake up. He needed you to tell him who did this so he could send his biggest most muscular members of the Dregs to them. Kaz wanted them to hurt the way they had hurt you. 

His mind is running at an alarming speed. But eventually, even Kaz can’t fight his tired body anymore, and he falls asleep in an uncomfortable position in his chair.

From that night on, he instructed that you shouldn’t be left alone. He doesn’t want you to wake up and realise you’re on your own. The next day, it’s business as usual. The members of the Dregs are coming and going like they always do. The familiar flow of people helps to take everyone’s mind off things, but as soon as they’re by your side, they remember. 

Nina had tried her best to heal you, but it still took you almost a week to wake up.

When you wake up, your first thought is that your entire body feels way heavier than it’s supposed to. You try to open your eyes but it’s like your eyelids are made of lead. After a couple more tries, you finally open them.

You take in the room, and realise it’s not your own. Kaz. 

Why would you be in Kaz’ room? Why aren’t you in your own room? And why does your body feel so damn heavy?

And then all of the memories flood back. Like a tsunami, they catch your breath in your throat, making it hard to breathe. You try to inhale deeply, but it’s like your throat is sealed shut. You start to panic when you notice you can’t breathe. 

Then a pair of hands land on your shoulders and gently push you back onto the bed. Whoever it is, is talking softly to you. You close your eyes and try to steady your breathing. 

Then the voice yells out, but from much farther away, like they’re standing in the doorway, and not next to the bed.

‘Kaz! Nina! Get up here!’

It’s Jesper. 

You try to ask him what’s going on, but it’s still hard to breath normally. You try to focus on something else. Jesper’s voice trying to calm you down, his eyes looking into yours, but nothing’s helping. 

Then you hear a sound you know all too well. A familiar stumbling, of someone walking up the stairs with a cane. 

Seconds later, Kaz rushes into the room and roughly shoves Jesper away, taking his place next to the bed.

‘Who did this to you?’ he says. 

His voice is that familiar rasp, and normally you love it. But now it just makes your head hurt. You shut your eyes and softly shake your head, trying to drown the sound out. 

‘Y/N, who did this to you?’ says Kaz, more firmly this time.

‘Kaz.’ says Nina’s voice. ‘Let her rest. You can talk later.’ Nina’s voice is softer, more gentle than Kaz’. You try to focus on it as you open your eyes again.

Kaz is close. He looks down at you and you’re surprised by the look in his eyes. Was that a hint of worry you detected? You open your mouth to say something, but Kaz is faster.

‘Y/N, tell me who did this to you.’ says Kaz.

‘Couldn’t see their faces.’ you manage to say in a hoarse voice. Your throat feels dry and you start to cough. Immediately, Nina moves to get you a glass of water and helps you to drink it. 

‘Did you notice the way they moved? How they walked? Were they Dime Lions? Could you see any tattoos? What about scars? Clothing? Voices?’

Kaz keeps on firing questions at you, but you can’t focus on his words. Your head feels heavy and you feel your eyelids slowly closing again. 

‘Kaz.’ you say softly. ‘Tomorrow.’ 

You expect him to press on, to find out who did this to you. But instead, he looks at you and holds your gaze. He doesn’t say anything, he merely nods at you. You know what it means. Despite his harsh voice and the million questions, he’s glad you’re safe. And the ones who did this to you will pay for it. He’ll make sure of it.

You offer a weak smile before closing your eyes, already drifting off. You hear two pairs of footsteps leave the room, and assume Nina stayed behind to check on you.

The chair next to you gets moved back and you hear how someone sits down in it. When you feel something brush against your fingers, you assume it’s Nina checking your pulse.

But then you feel a gloved thumb on the back of your hand. It slowly rubs over your skin. To most people it wouldn’t mean anything. But to you, it meant the world. A tiny smile reaches the corners of your mouth, as you fall asleep. 

A/N: If you want to request something, make sure to read my house rules Here’s the list of characters I write for. Everything that I have written can be found on my masterlist. Please don’t repost my work, as I spend much time and effort on it!! Thank you for reading! Much love, Jo