#they leave the clues right in front of you but most are too hypnotized to see beyond the cultural trance | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

weirdthinkingdragon · 3 years

Text

Dragons’ Biggest Treasure

Yandere dragon shifter erasermic x reader

Fantasy AU

Here’s a long one for you guys! (10k) FINALLY WROTE A FIC AGAIN! YAY!(hahaha I’m so exhausted)

Warnings: Swearing, graphic fights and scenes, multiple character deaths (not EraserMic or reader), harm towards reader (again, not by EraserMic. Well, mostly), burn mentions (with dragons it’s gonna happen), and a handful of times about eardrums bursting (the harm towards reader by EraserMic). As well as dragon abuse. This does have much darker stuff than I usually write. Also a slow start for the yandere stuff. Pretty happy with the details in it. Hope you guys like it!

dragonerasermicdragonerasermicdragonerasermicdragon- *gets smacked*

These two as yandere dragons will now forever rot in my head. Hng, why have I not thought of it sooner!? Just THINKING of them as yandere dragons makes brain go brrr. Obviously going to write them as yandere dragon shifters again at some point. More than once too.

----------------------------------------

I’m close to the entrance gates to the kingdom ruled by a man that calls himself All For One. No one knows his real name. He’s a sick bastard that no one wants to be around, but no one can do anything since he’s a lot smarter than he looks with that damn mask over his head. My job by him is to heal dragons after their fights he forces them into, like the most recent one who is incredibly injured in front of me. He likes them by the entrance to torture them with the taste of freedom they will never get from the enchanted chains wrapped all over them.

While using my natural healing abilities that are actually a pretty rare thing, there is a commotion over towards the gates. The large metal doors open to reveal many men on horses and even a few on their feet holding ropes, pulling something large behind them. I sadly already know what’s being brought in. A saddened sigh escapes me at the sight of two new dragons that are heavily wounded being dragged in through the gates at the end of the ropes. More dragons that are bound to reach their unfortunate fate until they die.

Looking a bit closer, there are arrows sticking out of the two of them, and blood trailing on the ground. Both of their bodies are black, but one has everything black but a grey underbelly. Instead of spines, it has a feather-like long mane that is also black. The skin on their wings matches the grey of their underbelly. It’s impossible to know the eye color since they’re asleep for the moment.

The other quite possibly has the largest yellow spines I have ever seen. The same with his horns, they’re curved upwards at a slight angle. Their underbelly, as well as their wings match the color of the spines and horns. There are odd scales around their eyes with orange closer to the center, and a white outer rim, almost like it’s wearing sunglasses.

The dragon I was tending to just curls itself as much as it can away from me after healing it a small amount. I was ordered to only heal them enough for their wounds to not need stitching so they will still be rather weak to even try escaping. Why he would need enchanted chains then I have absolutely no clue. He takes a sick pleasure in his favorite dragons having such an advantage in the arena.

I lock eyes with Masura who gives me a giant sadistic smile in return. He enjoys hurting dragons way too much. A few have even ended up dying on the way here from wherever he and the others keep finding them.

“Brought some fresh meat for you to take care of. These two put up an incredible fight. Can’t wait to see what they will do in the arena.”

He and the others go to the line of chains near me and hook them all over the two dragons, including the specially created muzzle. Specially created by it having holes so they can dip their snout in the trough of water and get it in that way, and fire can’t get through. Feeding is still a bit of a problem though. Especially since I’m stuck being in charge of that as well. So many times being bitten or burned from having to remove it for that time.

I gently rub the scarred burn on my right forearm from a problem with an incredibly feisty and almost explosive yellow dragon before. Miraculously, he was the first and only dragon to escape alive. Then again, it was the turn of a different caretaker that night who ended up sentenced to death for it.

They quickly leave to let me tend to the injured duo. I sigh and quickly finish up the one in front of me with a rather large wound on its right hind leg. The bucket of healing water I enchanted helped the wound close up to a point. It can sadly easily be ripped open, which it obviously will tomorrow in its next fight. I would love nothing more than to be able to heal them better than I have to. There are serious consequences if it’s found out I did though. Emi was proof of that. Despite her joking personality, she really cared for the dragons. That was her downfall when a dragon was healed too much and almost overpowered one of All For One’s most prided dragons. Can’t remember which, but I’m pretty sure it was the female dragon named “Toga”. She- no. Don’t think about Emi’s final screams of pain.

I scan over the two dragons to see who is worse off. By far it seems to be the black one with the mane instead of spines. The most concerning is the arrow that seems to be in one of its lungs. It’s going to die if I don’t do something. I don’t want it to die so soon. Well, I do, yet I don’t. Do just so they don’t have to suffer fighting in battles, but don’t since they have such a long life to live yet. I just wish they’d be able to really be free after being caught.

Damn it, I might get into so much trouble for this…

A bright green glow comes from my hands as I wrap one around the arrow and one on its underside right next to the arrow. A quick and firm tug is able to get it out. I quickly enhance my healing power further to fully heal this one wound.

Not even a scar is left behind. Hopefully, they forgot the arrow was around there when they brought the dragons. I lean on the wall to steel my groundings from being exhausted from it. Ugh, it’s been too long since I’ve done that. My body is no longer used to my own powers. How sad. I’m the only one known for being born with such power. Emi was gifted it by enchantment by All For One. How he has the power to do that no one wants to know. We all just know he does, and he gets whatever he wants since no one can stop him.

After collecting myself for a moment, I scan the rest of their injuries and find out both of them are male. The maned one has more slashes on him than arrows, but the other has an incredible amount of arrows. Luckily, none of them are in vital places though.

The already reddened bucket shows it doesn’t have much more healing capabilities. I’m going to have to get a new one for healing. As long as it’s clear, the water covers the rag in a way it can close wounds. It’s an odd thing that somehow works and helps the healer keep more of their energy.

I decide to leave for a minute and refill the bucket. After dumping out the blood water, I refill it from the rather clean river that runs through this place. Using my healing ability, I stick my hand in the fresh freezing water and stir it around to leave a green glow for a moment. It will quickly warm up in this rather hot weather.

I go towards the two again to finish up their wounds. What surprises me is both have already woken up and are glaring at me greatly upon entrance. The maned one has the most piercing steel-white-like eyes I’ve ever seen. The other has bright green with an odd circle swirl in them I’ve never seen before. Have to say they almost seem a bit hypnotic.

The wonder doesn’t last long though as the green-eyed one lets out a noise that greatly hurts my ears. With that sound and this close proximity, my eardrums more likely than not just burst with the severe pain that came with it. A few tears threaten to escape with a pain I’m not used to.

The mask wasn’t made for dragons with a sound ability! We’ve never had one of these! Why didn’t Masura warn me!? Or more importantly, how wasn’t he heard before being dragged here with how loud he is!?

With my hands instinctively on my ears to try preventing it from bursting my eardrums again though it would be useless, All For One enters right after. Out of nowhere he summons another enchanted chain that wraps around his snout, preventing him from doing the same… Screaming? Shouting? Whatever that ability is to be used again.

He waits for a minute for me to heal my eardrums before attempting to speak to me.

I nearly start shaking as his head turns towards the non-wound area on the maned one. Masura must have informed him or slipped up talking about it.

Quick, I have to save my own skin! “I had to remove the arrow and fully heal it, otherwise it would have died from the arrow puncturing its lung, as you most likely knew already. I understand that’s no worry for you, but it would have been rather annoying if he died before being in even one fight to watch, right?” Oh please tell me that works!

A dead silence looms for a second before All For One turns towards me and gives me a curt nod. I almost heaved a sigh of relief. Almost being the key word. I held it in to make sure it wouldn’t annoy him. Probably wouldn’t, but it’s safer to not take a chance.

He creates another muzzle that’s more fitting for this dragon. He removes the chain around the snout and puts it on before he can get snapped at, or possibly screamed at? By said dragon. The belt part is wrapped rather tightly around his snout, making it look impossible for him to even move his jaw. At least the other has a bit of loose room for it to open ever so slightly so it doesn’t become stiff. That one is going to be a lot harder to take off for feeding them.

As if All For One could read my thoughts, which is terrifying to think, he glances at me. "You have a healing ability. If it screams with the muzzle removed, heal yourself. Don’t disappoint me." He then walks off. Probably to his dragons that he treats like gods to keep them loyal to him. Even one of them being obsessed with blood getting a human a week to feast upon. Usually, it’s prisoners that have tried to kill All For One or “dragon liberators” that caught wind of how he treats most of the dragons and tried to free them. Obviously with no succession.

I let out the unknown breath being held. Man, he’s terrifying and can suffocate someone by just his presence alone. The maned one looked almost worried at the other one while he almost seemed to be panicking with the tight muzzle around his snout. Can’t blame him. Imagine being in something similar. I’d be scared too.

His glance shifted from the still-panicking dragon towards me, glaring ten times worse than before. I sigh. “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t want you two to be here anymore than you do.” Can dragons even understand human speech? The explosive one that burned me before almost seemed like he did, but maybe it was just my imagination. The other turns towards me and tries to scream, or whatever it is again with no succession. Makes me wonder if he hasn’t had a similar experience somehow in the past. Ugh, thinking of that just makes me feel worse. Finally free only to be dragged back to somewhere that will probably be worse.

Saying “probably” because there are no branding marks or dents in their wrists from ropes that are usually on dragons from other places.

They’re probably already going to be fighting in the arena tomorrow. Thinking about that reminds me of how exhausted I am from healing the maned one. It’s going to be good for them to get names tomorrow in the arena. Already tired of trying to think of what to call them separately.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

I was right. Miraculously, All For One wanted it to be the last fight of the day involving those two. He wants me to be there to take off the loud one’s muzzle for every fight now and in the future. Starting to hate my healing ability now.

The chains are still wrapped around the two, and they’re led into different stalls for the arena. Of course, I was left alone with the loud one. Don’t know how that could POSSIBLY go wrong. Note the sarcasm. At least All For One was able to make it where the chains are held on the sturdy walls until he can let them leave. His sound should be plenty enough signal for All For One to release him.

He looks at me as I reach up to take the muzzle off. He stays quiet for a moment once it’s off, moving his more than likely stiff jaw around. There’s already a slight dent around his snout and jaw.

I shake my head disappointedly. “This is beyond fucking inhumane.” Leaving him waiting, my body goes towards the doors in front of him and opens them. They lead into the arena, which has a net high up in the air so dragons can’t fly away. Not like they could anyway with how fast All For One can summon chains to drag them to the ground.

The peace wasn’t kept long though as he uses his ability again. The chains snapped free off of him and he immediately charged out into the arena, where the other already was. Wait, he’s having double dragon fights? That’s new. He’s never done that before. On the other side of the arena, The wounded one from yesterday and a very feisty solid white one were on the other side. The white one looked like it was too eager to try to kill. The two closer to me were more on edge and almost seem like they really don’t want to fight the other two.

They didn’t get the chance to reject though as the white one immediately lunges towards them. They separate and dodge out of the way of it. It keeps snapping and blowing ice towards the maned one. He slams his front claws on the snout of it to prevent the ice from freezing him or the other. He screams at the ice dragon. It’s not as loud as it was when he yelled at me yesterday.

It’s almost as if… They’re more humane? This doesn’t make sense. Dragons are usually down to fight to the death, even when not healed much. At least, that’s what seemed to be until these two.

I look towards the other one who doesn’t seem to want to fight, but it knows as well as I this fight will go on until at least one dies.

As the two new dragons kept easily dodging and not striking too hard back, the crowd watching are not too happy with the lack of injuries. Some booing, and others even attempting to throw their held items like food at the dragons. The loud one snaps and uses his ability towards the crowd, almost or possibly even louder than yesterday. At least that shut them up.

I lean against the right door and snicker. “Serves them right.” For a quick second, the loud one turns his head towards me. There’s no way he could have heard me, right? Especially with that ability. Or maybe his body was born with being able to stand it? Super hearing yet super loud yelling doesn’t make sense to have though. Dragons are incredibly strange in the ways their bodies work. It’s also quite possible to just be thinking too much.

Fuck it, don’t think too much about that.

The wounded one from yesterday half-heartedly swipes at the maned one. Even he seems to notice the odd behavior of the wounded dragon. Then again, three out of the four are acting a way I’ve never seen before. I look up towards the “throne” All For One has. He’s shaking his head and points towards the other side of the arena. The male with glasses sitting next to him nods and lifts one of the levers next to him.

Oh no. Not already.

Two familiar dragons exit the cell they were comfortably kept in. They’re not his top ones, but still get the job done in killing dragons when given the chance. He calls them Spinner and… I think the other was Moon something if remembered correctly. He’s not used as often as others, so his name isn’t exactly remembered. Calling him Moon is enough for me.

The crowd goes wild for the two. They know things get messy when Moon gets let out because of his freakish weird teeth ability. And… How he eats parts of dragons he kills.

In speaking of killing, immediately those two go for the kill. The wounded one didn’t stand a chance and had its neck snapped instantly by Spinner. Moon something lashes its teeth out and almost punctures the ice dragon.

Just watching the moon one move is quite unnerving. He’s so insanely fast and agile. Still wondering why he’s basically bound in a way. Then again, he’s at least twice as unhinged as Toga. I fear how fast he might be if he wasn’t bound.

In the blink of an eye, these two were much more defensive as the teeth blades went to strike them again. The ice dragon stopped going for them, and tries going after Moon Something. Ugh, what was that something? MoonFresh? No. MoonFlesh? I don’t think so.

He makes his teeth curve like a hook and tries again towards the ice dragon. It dodges again. Wait, hook… Fishing… MoonFish! That’s what it was!

I feel like slapping myself stupid for forgetting that.

Spinner jumps onto the wall and tries to use that to sneak up on the loud one. It doesn’t work as he was focused on Spinner as soon as the two new ones entered. He moves out of the way and instead of screaming, screeches this time. It’s much higher and worse than any sound he’s made yet. The maned one doesn’t even flinch, but the other three definitely do. Spinner was right beside the loud one. He recoils in obvious pain and stands there shaking his head.

It hurt my ears as well, but this time it didn’t make them burst, surprisingly. I don’t think the same could be said for Spinner. They have internal ears, so I’m not exactly sure if they burst, or whatever it is their species’ ears do.

I look up to see All For One leaning a bit forward in his chair, now taking slight interest. Moonfish recovers incredibly quickly and lunges his teeth again. This time it punctures right through the ice dragon’s chest as they did a final ice breath. At the same time, a few land on the other two, causing some decently deep cuts. The ice breath freezes the rest of MoonFish’s body.

The maned one wastes no time in swiping his tail towards the frozen body, shattering it upon impact.

The crowd goes eerily quiet. Looking at All For One, he remains indifferent. It’s too hard to tell his emotions about what just happened. Spinner tries again to sneak behind the two and breathe his fire. The two seem so focused on the death of three dragons in one fight. Are they not used to it?

They still haven’t noticed Spinner on the wall. At least I thought. The loud one instantly turns and rears onto his back legs and slams Spinner onto the ground with an almost punch-like move of his right talon.

Before anything can be done, these two are chained again. The loud one being yanked off of Spinner, who instantly retreats back towards the open gate he came from. I’m honestly a little disappointed he wasn’t finished off as well.

I sigh and go towards the stalls again, preparing to heal them. An already created healing bucket sitting in the same spot I used for them yesterday.

It doesn’t take long for the two to be dragged in again by Masura and the bunch of… well, meatheads to say the least. I swear none of them even think half the time about anything. The two are definitely fighting and struggling with the men.

The loud one goes to use his ability again. “Pipe down you overgrown lizard!” Masura punches the dragon in the jaw as hard as he can. It makes a sickening “crack” noise.

The maned one gets pissed and starts snapping at him as well. The only reason I can think of why he’d do that is he knows the other one. Why didn’t I make the connection sooner? These two must know each other!

Masura rolls his eye at them. So glad some good dragons before were able to take out one of his eyes. If only they could have taken out both. The chains get put where they were before, making the two unable to move much again.

I’d put the muzzle on the loud one, but with his now broken or dislocated jaw it wouldn’t be the best and needs to be healed first. I can tell Masura is itching to punch one of them again.

He stands there and smirks with his arms crossed as I dip the rag into the bucket. The loud one’s jaw is first. That’s now by far the most concerning injury. Looking a bit closer, it is definitely dislocated. I shake my head in disapproval at Masura while remaining eye contact with the dragon. It almost feels like he’s able to read me. “Did you seriously have to dislocate his jaw?”

“Heh, the damn thing deserved it for trying to use their voice at me,” I roll my eyes at his comment. Of fucking course he’d try to use his ability. We kidnapped, or more like dragonnapped him and are forcing him to fight other dragons. I’d use anything I could too. “Not everyone has a goody-perfect healing thing like you either,” he continued.

I shrug, then gently try to grab his lower jaw to try setting it back in place. “I’d just have to heal your sorry ass.”

“Tch, my sorry ass? You’re the one who always seems to get all buddy-buddy with dragons. You heal them too gently. You’re the one with a sorry ass.”

Cue my sarcastic mode. “Oh, I’m sorry for calling you a sorry ass. I must so clearly be the worst one since I’d rather not have dragons fight me all the time like you,” There was another sickening “crack” as its jaw was put back into place. The dragon hisses in obvious pain. I bring up the rag to the side of his jaw to try quickly relieving it. “Easy bud,” I try to whisper to make Masura not hear. Thankfully he didn’t seem to since he didn’t comment on it. “We can’t all think with our muscles rather than with our brains. Nothing would get done right,” I continue, but this time out loud. The loud dragon lets out a snort.

His footsteps go away, indicating he left. Probably upset. Good. I roll my eyes at him as I look over the dragon’s jaw. Good as new. Good thing about that is there’s not really any way to tell if I healed it all the way or not. Broken or dislocated bones are crazy enough easier and faster to heal than wounds. How that works with leaving the layer right under cut open and easily able to tear open again, but heals bone instantly is beyond me.

Looking around and closing any other wounds, I then go to the maned one. He nips at me to try getting my hands away. It’s far more gentle and human-like than the others that have tried to bite me before. Almost like he’s telling me he doesn’t want to be healed by human hands. Understandable.

… wait a minute. Bite, or opening jaw… I look towards the loud one and flinch, preparing for his voice. Of course I can heal, but it still hurts. My shoulders even tense upwards. It never comes. Looking at him, he still just looks at me.

Well, now I’m in a dilemma. Do I put on the muzzle now, and possibly break this trust or whatever he seems to somehow already be giving me, or leave it off and possibly get yelled at later by him, or even someone coming in to see him without his muzzle?

Ugh, I might regret this. Might as well risk it for now. I can just lie that it was forgotten to be put on if someone asks about it. Turning back to this one, I heal him anyways. He makes a slight hissing fuss but accepts it after a moment. After finishing, I leave to get them some raw meat to eat. Sadly, the biggest thing available is some moderately sized fish. They don’t seem like river or ocean dragons, so chunks of deer will have to do. It gets placed down not too far from them. They look at me warily for a bit. Maybe they don’t want me to watch them eat? It’s time for me to leave anyway.

Ugh, but the muzzles… Hopefully, they’ll eat when I’m away for a bit. I have a stupid idea I’ve never done before. Sleeping beside the dragons. Walking out lets me give that a little more thought. At least one night to see how they do couldn’t hurt. But first, there is a need to talk to All For One about their names.

I enter the area he usually is with his prized dragons. Most are pretty indifferent to me, except for Toga who has tried to stab me more than once with her blade-like tail.

I stand behind him awkwardly while he pats Spinner’s right shoulder. “They’re both… Interesting to say the least. A shame for Moonfish, but the ones tomorrow will be entertaining as well. Let’s see if they can handle Toga and Dabi.” Dread slightly seeps into me. He’s already making them face all his most dangerous ones?

“What about their names if you decide to manipulate them after and keep them as pawns?”

He shakes his head. “I have enough pawns. The audience has decided on Shatter for the loud one, and Lion for the other..”

… What? “Lion?”

“Must be the hair on it. I don’t name the things. The people do. The one thing they do have control over.” Which is beyond sad. Fucking tyrant.

I nod in reply. “Sounds good.” After that, I leave before he could say or do anything else. The less around him the better, even if he hasn’t done anything negative towards me yet.

Upon entering the same place again, they did eventually eat the meat while I was gone. That’s good. There’s an open area a bit to the left and away from the dragons. I plan on laying there for the night. It’s only to make sure no one comes in and sees them without their muzzles. No one but me knows a feeding schedule so it’s a good lie saying they were just fed. I’ve decided to think they can understand human speech, even if they don’t. They’re more pleasant to talk to than most people around.

“All right you two, I normally don’t do this, but I’ll be sleeping in here a bit away from the both of you for a few nights. My back won’t appreciate it, but I sure hope you two do. It’s only because I’d rather not put those muzzles back on,” I look at the still slightly dented skin of Shatter. Damn, and that was only for like what? Half a day of him wearing it? “But if someone comes in, I will have to temporarily put them back on. Please don’t fight it too much.”

Shatter tilts his head in an almost cute type of way. Well, that’s certainly unique. I go over to the corner and sit down against the wall. Leaning slightly back so my back fully touches it, and tilt my head up. My ass won’t be too happy tomorrow either. Maybe bringing my pillow for tomorrow night or something will help.

---------------------------------------------------------

I am rudely woken up by something sharp stabbing my foot. Looking down, it’s a feisty Bombay kitten biting and clawing at it. Where did it come from? Another thing noticed is my body is now fully laying sideways on the ground. “Ouch! Hey there you little feisty thing.” I go to grab it, and it notices. It then takes off towards the dragons, making my heart sink thinking it’s about to become a tiny snack for one of them. Strange enough, neither do. Lion just looks at it in an almost caring way. Shatter looks at Lion in a way I can’t fully understand.

Looking outside, the sun is just starting to fully show. That means in just a few hours the arena fights will begin again. Knowing All For One, he’s going to save these two for last again. Turning back to the two, Lion has one of his claws gently extended for the kitten to play with. That is once again extremely odd behavior for a dragon. Maybe everything known about them is wrong?

“Be careful today. I was informed of who you two will be fighting. They’re much more dangerous than the other two yesterday. One has fire hot enough to burn scales off dragons. The other is agile and very good at injuring.”

They just look at me.

A few fights have already passed, and my anxiety increases for the two. I’ve already had to heal the other dragons that fought today. Except for the ones that died. Getting really tired of seeing so many die for no cause other than the sick entertainment of humans.

The muzzles were already temporarily put back on the two. Shatter’s is rather loose, just to help him not freak out again, and he obviously doesn’t deserve something like that. Luckily once again, I’m the only one taking care of Shatter. He doesn’t scream at me as I quickly take it off. I risk it and pat his shoulder. “Good luck out there. You’re going to need it. He doesn’t bite me! Man, this is crazy.

Again, the gate opens and his chains come off of him. Lion bolts out of the stall next to us, and glares inside it, probably involving Masura.

Straight to the chase, Toga and Dabi are released from their places. Dabi almost gets a grin on his face from his teeth being shown in what seems to be a smile. Or maybe even a sneer with how stuck up he seems to be. Toga immediately poises her sharp tail above her.

It feels like everyone holds their breath for a second as the four stand still in the arena. Toga is the first to charge for Shatter. He immediately jumps out of the way, and tries to swing his tail towards her legs to make her fall off balance. She jumps over his tail and stabs it in the process. She then licks the blood off of the blade of her tail.

Shit! I forgot to warn about her transformation! The one thing though it could still be easy to tell which is the real shatter from his ability, and he wouldn’t attack Lion. I don’t think All For One knows they care about each other. Wait… But if she fights Shatter in his form and Lion tries to help… Oh no.

Dabi starts using his fire towards Lion. It slightly grazes him before he can get out of the way. He lets out a growl in slight pain as smoke comes from some of his scales. Shatter goes to use his ability at Dabi, but stops abruptly as Toga transforms into him. She goes to attack him again. She might remember his ability from listening and possibly watching yesterday. They’re able to watch for an even better chance at winning.

She swings her claws at his throat, making him go to the defensive and try to back away.

While that is going on, Lion is too busy being focused on Dabi’s fire, and constantly jumping from it. It gets to the point Lion is facing me, and the back of Dabi is visible. He glares at Dabi, and I see his eyes turn red. Why the FUCK are these two dragons so much stranger than most!? What is up with his eyes changing color!? Dabi goes to use his fire, but… It doesn’t come out?

… !!! A cancellation ability!?

Now that seems to catch the attention of everyone, especially All For One. He leans a bit forward in his chair. I can’t see Dabi’s face, but I bet it’s one of surprise judging by his tensed body. He freezes for a moment, giving Lion the chance to strike first. He’s able to manage a pretty deep slash onto Dabi’s side when he tries to move away. One quick glance shows Lion’s eyes are back to his steel or whitish color. He only manages another rather deep slash to Dabi’s shoulder. He tries to use his fire again, and succeeds. With the close range I worry that Lion was burned to a crisp immediately.

He glares again to cancel the fire again before it can do serious damage to him. Ah, so there is a timer-like thing for it. He slams his tail into Dabi, knocking him towards his back. He’s able to manage another slash onto Dabi’s exposed stomach. It’s easy to tell Dabi is slightly panicking, not used to never being hit so much before. Probably the cancellation as well.

Presumably Toga notices Dabi having a hard time, meanwhile, she’s giving Shatter a surprisingly hard time, and a lot of injuries. She charges towards him still as Shatter and manages to get a clean deep swipe to his right eye. My heart sinks to my stomach.

Lion hardly gives it a chance though since he notices Dabi trying to get back up. He claws again at Dabi, striking his chest. There’s now a good pool of blood being trailed onto the ground from all Dabi’s wounds. Now that Shatter has a bit of freedom, he’s able to scream. Just like yesterday, it’s much more of a screech than a scream. Again like before, Dabi and Toga flinch in pain at the sound. It gives Lion the chance to injure the Shatter that attacked him, making the transformation wear off.

Before anything else can be done, chain envelops the two again, allowing Dabi and Toga to get away freely. Of course the coward would do this when his precious pawns are losing. “Cheating bastard.” I mumble with obvious frustration. Shatter looks towards me again.

That’s the least of my concern now though. Lion’s eye needs to be looked at ASAP. I go back to their stalls to prepare for their return.

Again, it doesn’t take long. Neither are wearing muzzles, but Shatter doesn’t scream, possibly in fear of his jaw being dislocated again. Masura almost seems disappointed when he and the others drag them in. It was almost too much to wait for all of them to leave before rushing towards the two dragons, especially Lion.

When reaching up for his head, I almost yank it down to my eye level to see the damage to his eye. They almost seem surprised by my concern. Thankfully, his eye was missed, just barely. My foot nervously taps onto the ground for a second while in thought. It’s still a really deep wound, but fully healing it would raise suspicion, and All For One already isn’t too happy with these two defeating so many of his favorites. Not many have been able to beat Dabi and Toga. My hand gets its familiar glow and comes into contact with the wound. I don’t heal it all the way. There’s a giant scar left instead. They gave me a look. “I’m sorry. I really badly want to heal it fully, but I don’t want to die by healing you guys too much like the last person did,” I look towards the burned scales as well. “Those can’t be fully healed either. Some reason my healing doesn’t really work on burns.”

Their eyes almost seem to widen.

Shatter looks towards the entrance instead a moment later and hisses. I rush for the muzzles. Obviously, they’re really resilient to them being put on.

I get Shatter’s on just in time for All For One to enter. He goes right up to Lion. “A canceling ability. Simply magnificent. I wonder, how many can he cancel at once? Guess tomorrow we will see,” He almost seems to glare at Shatter. “Although I do not trust that one to not get in the way. Tomorrow will be just Lion, or now given the name Suppress.”

He goes to touch the now named “Suppress”, but he smacks his head against All For One’s hand, making him pull it away. “Ah, still got good fight as well. Good. Tomorrow will be interesting.”

“Uh, S-sir? If I may ask, what is your plan for him tomorrow?” Damn it, why did I have to stutter?

He turns his masked head towards me. I can almost FEEL his grinning under the thing. “He’s going to fight Tomura as well tomorrow.”

I’m pretty sure I stopped breathing. There’s no way he can fight Dabi, Toga, AND Tomura at the same time without being killed!

He doesn’t say anything else as he turns and leaves. I quickly take their muzzles back off. There’s nothing that can be done. I can only hope he’s strong enough to survive. No dragon has survived Tomura though. I sigh heavily and look at Suppress. “I hope you can handle a lot at once. If I’m right, you might be against three tomorrow. Be as ruthless as you can. They won't be holding back.”

I leave and grab food for them again. This time, they eat it with me there. I sit in the same spot as before.

-------------------------------------

The next day comes too soon. This time I’m woken up to the sun shining right on my face. That means it’s much later than yesterday. I go to sit up, and nearly groan in stiffness. Yep, here comes the pain and stiffness of laying on the floor. The two of them are staring at me while growling, or probably talking to each other. Well that’s a little weird.

I get up lean backwards, giving my back a good crack. It felt satisfying and did relieve the tiniest bit of discomfort. Using my healing, it doesn’t take long to feel fully normal again. I look at the giant scar still under Suppress’ eye. Pity courses through me at it. Well, at least she didn’t strike slightly higher, permanently losing his sight. Judging that Suppressor might be taken soon for a final fight today, I get up and grab the muzzles yet again. I’m so sick of even seeing these damn things. Suppressor’s gets put on properly, but I keep Shatter’s a bit loose again. He almost seems appreciative of it. “When they come to take you, save your energy for the fight. You’re going to need everything you can get.”

They were put on just in time too since Masura comes in with a few others to take Suppress. “Already?” I question.

“Yeah, he wants this to be the only fight today. He couldn’t wait to see what this thing is made of.”

This “thing” is a he, you overdeveloped rotten cabbage.

The dragon must have been able to understand me since he doesn’t fight them that strongly as they drag him out by the chains. I sigh and look towards Shatter. “I hope he’s strong. He’s going to need everything he can get.”

I follow Masura into the stall. It’s odd being in a different one for once, and I’m horrified with how roughly they throw him around with the chains. I go up front and take off his muzzle yet again, allowing him to snap at the people. I smirk as he gets dangerously close to his teeth meeting the flesh of one of the men close to me on my left. He shrieks and stumbles far away.

He then gets shoved forward out of the stall into the arena. Masura and the others quickly leave, probably to the stands to get a better view of the fight higher up.

It’s dead silent in the stands. “Now, I know there are usually a few every day, but this is a chance that can’t be taken up. Today is a one fight only, and three against one. Now, that usually doesn’t happen with the lack of action that would normally cause, but this dragon has an incredibly special ability I want to see how they fare on their own,” three separate gates open, revealing what I feared. He’s given them a higher advantage by not all being together to have their abilities eliminated. Now, Toga’s not really a problem since Suppress doesn’t have an ally, but she’s still incredibly agile and dangerous.

Tomura is probably one of the oddest dragons. His scales look incredibly dry, despite not exactly being a desert dragon. Bright red eyes glowing with hate, and talons of dead dragons latched onto his body. Don’t know why they’re there, but it’s still such a sickening thing to see.

Dabi looks good as before with no slash wounds to be seen. Of course the fucker is willing to fully heal his dragons whenever they’re injured.

Toga is in front, Dabi on Suppress’ left, and Tomura on his right. There was an eerie stillness for a moment, almost like they're all waiting for something. That something was Tomura. He hissed something, and they all lunged for him. He manages to dodge all three. Tomura is trying to get a grip on him for disintegration, or decay, or whatever terrifying thing it is he does. Suppress is trying to keep an eye on him and ducks down in time to avoid Dabi’s fire. Toga tries to stab him with her tail while he’s lowered against Dabi’s fire and watching Tomura.

Turns out he was somehow also able to keep watch of Toga. He brings his tail in front of him and pushes Toga up without her realizing. Dabi’s fire hits her for a moment, making her let out a sound that makes Dabi stop. Even from here smoke is coming off of her back.

She jumps out of the way for Dabi to continue. He uses his ability to stop Dabi from using his hot fire. Since he’s so distracted by keeping his sight on Dabi, and ends up focusing more on Toga’s location. Tomura is able to get up on him again. He manages to grab Suppress' right arm. It’s not for long as he seems to notice immediately what the dragon’s ability does. It stops decaying as he glares at Tomura instead.

Dabi notices and tries to use his fire again. It works. So his ability must need to keep his eyes in contact with a dragon to stop their ability. Chunks of his arm fall away, leaving his arm to start bleeding rather heavily. Suppress flinches is obvious pain. He’s able to keep a level head and use Tomura’s grip on him to pull him in front in the path of Dabi’s fire. Really clever using a long-range foe’s ability to harm its allies.

Dabi doesn’t stop in time, greatly charring Tomura’s already bad scales as well.

All For One isn’t too happy of his favorite pawn being injured so quickly already. Well, it’s obviously his fault for the other two joining in the first place.

A sick pleasure grows in me at his frustrated stance of tight grip on his chair. Though pity courses through me as well looking at his partially decayed arm. Should have warned him about that.

Toga manages to ignore the pain of her burned scales and attempts to attack Suppress again. He swipes his tail as hard as he can, making Toga go flying and crash into the wall from her rather small size. Especially compared to the others. The back of her head hit the wall as well, and she slumps to the ground, unmoving. She doesn’t seem to be dead though, her stomach still slightly rising.

Now All For One seems to be getting angrier. He doesn’t seem to be the only one. Tomura lets out a rather angry growl. Suppress is facing me again, and blinks, though he really didn’t seem to want to. That’s all the two needed to go all-out on him again.

Tomura tries to grab him again but wasn’t able to. Suppress grabs right above his two front talons to prevent more decay. One thing going for him is he’s much stronger physically, so he’s able to manage quite easily keeping him pinned down.

With Dabi’s fire consistently being shot at him, he does something his body shows he didn’t really want to do. He tilts his head and leans down, biting into the sides of Tomura’s neck. He slowly continues to bite down harder as Dabi doesn’t cease using his fire at him. Tomura is visually starting to panic at this point.

I think I know his plan, but it probably won’t work. Dabi doesn’t really care about the others but tolerates them for his own enjoyment of the arena.

Looking at All For One, I freeze. He’s angrier than I’ve ever seen him. I can swear I see his hands shaking from here. Huh, he’s not usually the type to have strong visual emotion besides slight interest.

Eventually, there was a sickening “crunch”, indicating that Suppress must have bitten into bone. Tomura’s neck slumps to the side, and he can’t seem to pick his head back up.

All For One had enough as he stood up from his chair for the first time and I can see the chains going for Suppress again. The chains yank Suppress so harshly that he drops Tomura, and ends up being slammed into one of the walls himself.

My body freezes completely as All For One’s head turns to look directly at me. I’m happy Suppress was able to survive, but now I’m dreading what All For One’s going to do to him.

I rush back to Shatter since I can tell All For One is about to come in this time. He seems desperate to have the muzzle off again. His eyes almost light up as I enter. “Sorry, I can’t take it off yet. Your friend is in pretty bad shape though and will be coming shortly.”

I almost waited with bated breath for a good few minutes. This time, instead of Masura and the others, it was All For One himself, easily dragging the dragon along. The chains pull him back by the other and latch back onto the walls. He has chains wrapped around his snout like the other did before. He’s between me and the dragons, and I can see their expressions behind him. Suppress is still flinching in pain from his decayed flesh.

He turns his head to me. “Kill them both.”

I was in shock. I have never been demanded to kill a dragon, yet alone two before. He won fairly! Even with injuries! He and Shatter deserve to be let free!

I notice the two dragons tense behind him.

“I will not repeat myself. They nearly killed my best pawn. Nothing gets to pass my pawn. That will not stand, so they will be killed,” He looks at Shatter’s loosened muzzle. Fuck. “I noticed they seem to be trusting of you, so I’m making you do it. You have one hour,” he turns around and leaves.

I look at the wounds of his fight from earlier. You know what? Fuck him. If I die, I die.

“I think you both more than earned your freedom by now. Hell, neither of you should have been here in the first place. Do me a favor and warn the others to not come near here ever again.” Shatter tilts his head at me again as I take off his muzzle and the chains around Suppress' snout. Here’s to hoping they can understand me. The sword hanging on the wall out of reach of the two dragons should be able to break the chains.

My first priority is to fully heal that decayed part. The scar under his eye is sadly permanent now though. My hand glows its familiar green and it hovers over the wound. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be fully healed either, but the scar is much smaller than it would have been. I try my best with the burns, but it doesn’t do much.

The longer my hand hovers right above his scales and heals him, the more drained and tired I feel. It gets to the point my body tries to fall forward. I push my hand onto him to try keeping my balance. “Whew. Not quite… Used to using so much energy. Haha.” His shoulder that I’m leaning against twitches. I take it as my cue to step away and end up leaning against the wall not far behind me to catch my breath. Looking towards Shatter, he’s still in pretty good shape, but the wounds from before can be healed a bit more to make sure they don’t reopen.

I trudge over to him and do the same, ending up leaning on him like Suppress. This time even more tired though. I can’t rest yet. There’s so little time to get them free yet. I push myself off him and go to grab the sword. With my tired state it’s almost too heavy to be lifted.

The first thing was their wings with metal being wrapped around them and pulled outwards. I grab the chain closer to him to try preventing it from pulling. The sword gets slammed down as hard as possible, making the chain break. One by one, the others were broken too. Eventually, all were broken off of both. My arm is so sore from lifting the sword so many times, and being drained in the first place. My breath is incredibly ragged.

After dropping the sword after the final chain, I close my eyes and lean against the wall. It’s hard to stay awake. “There. Now… Get going before someone returns.”

Both of them stop towards the entrance and look at me. “Go!” I yell at them and point forward. They stay for a moment longer, then bolt out.

I stay leaned for a few minutes. That was beyond exhausting. Two familiar sets of footsteps enter.

“You damn traitor. I really thought you’d be better than the last. I should kill you now!”

I look towards the entrance. All For One and Masura. Guess just get it over with then.

All For One stops him with an arm in front of him. “No. They deserve much worse than death for their betrayal.”

Well shit.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Locked in a dark cell for a good week. Hardly any food, and quite possibly the bare minimum of water given for me to stay alive. At least it wasn’t permanent. Almost wish it was with that happens after leaving the cell. After leaving, he gave the others free rein to injure me whenever they pleased. Masura was more than happy to oblige, leaving me with some rather problematic injuries that made me so tired to heal I could barely heal dragons if I tried. Of course, now someone is always watching me when it’s my time to heal the dragons. My job is only partial now though since he wants someone more “loyal” for the job. Hopefully, those two are happy at least. That’s all that matters.

In speaking of that, today was a day I wasn’t in charge of it. But Masura sure as hell had a lot of fun tossing me around like a ragdoll. Many show pity for me, but they know not to help. I can’t blame them no matter how much it hurts. A younger one with green curly hair looks like he wanted to deck Masura himself. Same with the dual-haired one beside him. Another rather tall one with glasses stops them and uses a chopping motion to tell them something, making them not intervene. They were a bit too far to be heard. My body is too tired today to heal the recent wounds from him as well. Pretty sure my right eye is a black eye from it being stuck partially closed and obviously the pain.

While looking around to make sure he’s not near me or any of the others for now today, I stumble upon a rather intimidating-looking man. His back is facing me as someone with really long blue hair is talking to him. He just radiates a strong and uncomfortable type of feeling. Never seen them around before. He doesn’t even turn around. “Sorry, sir.” Some reason that seems to catch his attention. The other two, which is a rather pretty woman. Rather long and messy black hair turns around to lock steely-gray-like eyes with mine.

That scar reminds me too much of the dragon from before. Wasn’t the scar about the same place too? Huh, he must have been too interested in that fight and lacks self-preservation or something. His eyes widen for some reason. He must have been told by others to not even come near the now outcast.

I don’t even get to blink when he grabs one of my arms to pull me towards him again. My body instinctively flinches and gets prepared to be hit again. It never comes. My eyes open to see him staring at small cuts still bleeding slightly. His sight then immediately goes towards my swollen eye. There’s an odd fury that grows in his eyes the more he sees. Too tired to think what that must be about. I try to pull my arm free from his grip. ‘I’m sorry sir, but could you please let me go? I’m really tired and just want to go home for the day.”

He doesn’t. If anything, his grip gets slightly tighter from me trying to pull away. Not painfully so, but it’s there. The other turns to look, and her eyes widen a substantial amount. She looks at him. “They the one? They’re not looking so hot.”

“We got what we need. Tell Zashi and the others.”

She nods and pushes something hidden against her ear. “We found the target.” She says something else too, but my mind is too caught up in the “target” part.

T-target!? That snaps me to attention. What did All For One tell them? Are they looking for something and he pinned the blame on me that I have it? Did he hire them to make my life more insufferable?

A set of footsteps comes up rapidly. They must be running as fast as they could. It’s another male. He has incredibly long hair and some rather odd facial hair. He suddenly hugs me. “So glad to have finally found you! The week has been terrible! Sho! We shoulda taken then with us!”

I don’t know you weirdos. What kind of sick prank is this? I try to push him away. “You must have the wrong person. I don’t know either of you.” He latches on tighter. “C’mon, we’re not dragons now, but you gotta recognize us! Especially Sho’s scar!

...What? Looking closer, the blond one seems to have small scales poking at his clothing. That… This cannot be possible. I shake my head in disbelief. “There’s no way! Dragon shifters aren’t real!”

“Oh, we definitely are, dear- what happened!? Why do you have so many injuries!?”

“That Masura man I’m guessing. Problem child informed me of it not too long ago.”

Problem child?

The blond one almost seems to growl. “Don’t regret our decision for today then.”

“Decision?” I question.

They both grow a rather sadistic smirk. I can’t tell which is more unnerving. The blond’s is bigger and shows more of his teeth, but there’s just something about the black-haired one’s that seems more unnatural.

“Well, we’ve been lookin’ for ya for about a week now. We were starting to think he did kill you, and we weren’t happy. Besides! A dragon killer like him can’t live anyway. He’s a danger to our kind!” he turns towards the woman. “Give everyone the signal,” He turns towards this ‘“Sho” or whatever he is. “You should take them. Don’t want any more damage to our poor lovely healer, huh?” He smiles at me.

I’m… still trying to wrap my frazzled mind and body around this. I don’t get to though from the sudden thing of many of the people around suddenly growing rapidly in size, and obtaining dragon qualities.

It doesn’t even take a minute for them all to be full dragons, and ripped clothes everywhere. As well as the two familiar ones right in front of me. Shatter and Suppress.

Shatter picks me up and flies up a bit, being careful with his claws. He places me on Suppress’ back.

Can things please stop for two minutes to let me think!? Again, I don’t get to as Suppress takes off into the air. There’s nothing to really grab onto to not fall off, so I grab his hair. It’s surprisingly soft. Wasn’t expecting that. My hands make the hair wrap around my hands a few times to not have to clench it so tightly. I’d rather not fall to my death.

He either dosn’t feel me pulling on his hair or doesn’t care. I lean closer to ignore the air whipping by as he speeds around flying. The screaming of the people is also a bit too much. They have nothing to fend themselves since dragons have never attacked this place before. Usually they get caught before they do.

There’s the familiar screaming or yelling of Shatter in the distance. I look over to see him with multiple other dragons against All For One. He’s gotten a few chained to the ground, but the sheer amount of them that keep using their abilities against him is making it really hard for him to focus.

A familiar exploding dragon zooms past to fight one of his prized dragons he must have let free to help. They’re not helping much. They can’t. There are too many. Toga tries to stab him with her tail, but the exploding one is relentless. He has a sick smile, almost like he’s enjoying the fight. He almost too quickly manages to pin her to the ground and slams explosion after explosion onto her face.

Dabi is being managed by an oddly colored dragon that reminds me of the red and white-haired one from earlier. With him fighting Dabi is a green one with an oddly long tongue, and a pink and brown one who somehow can move large buildings to fall onto Dabi, making him constantly jump around to avoid being hit.

Tomura doesn’t seem to be having much luck either. The two must have informed the others of his ability. He’s against multiple with long-ranged abilities like Shatter.

Despite all the noise around, I’m getting even more tired with the rocking of his body with the movement of his wings. Same with his oddly warm scales being rather comforting, and hair draping around me like a blanket. Exhaustion overtakes me as the sounds of screaming people, roaring dragons, and crackling fire of houses slowly fades to silence with me drifting off.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not edited to the fullest capability. We die like captains with their sinking ships. Will be doing a part two with better yandere stuff...

….. Eventually…...

#yandere erasermic #yandere dragon erasermic #x reader #mha au #dragon shifter au #hizashi yamada x reader #shouta aizawa x reader #yandere hizashi yamada #yandere shouta aizawa

294 notes · View notes

praxeus-13 · 3 years

Note

Hello! So happy to see a new fic blog, especially one that has fics for the Master! May I request a fluffy Dhawan!Master x reader in which the reader is the doctor’s companion but doesn’t want to admit she’s in love with the Master? And you can choose the circumstances, but maybe the master “captures” and hypnotizes her in front of the fam and she accidentally reveals it? Thank you so much! I loved “warmth” a lot. 🥰🥰🥰♥️♥️♥️

Thank you so much! I absolutely loved this request as I was already planning on writing something along these lines. I couldn’t find a way to get the hypnotism to work but everything else is there so I hope you enjoy!

Well Kept Secrets

Pairing: Dhawan!Master x fem!Reader

Word Count: 2800

Summary: (what the ask says)

For: @agentmalfoy24601

Warnings: None

You really hadn’t meant to fall for The Master, but intention never seemed to stop anyone when it came to falling in love.

When you first met him, as O, you weren’t quite sure what to think. He was a bit strange, but still sweet - and while he wasn’t your type, you couldn’t deny that he was very attractive. However, there were a few moments when you would look at O and see someone else, and that person interested you. Looking back now, you knew that you had seen his persona slip, even if just for a second, and that had been what had drawn you to him.

When he had revealed himself on the plane it had only drawn you in more. Of course, you had been terrified in the life or death situation, but you had also felt a buzz of excitement and intrigue. If he hadn’t have left you to die on that plane, you know that there was a chance you would have gone with him.

Then The Doctor had sent him off to the Kasaarvin’s dimension and you had lost hope of ever seeing him again, only for him to show up two weeks later.

The Doctor had taken you all to some market planet, given you a credit stick and told you to go off and explore. Originally, you had been wandering around with Graham, but then you had gotten sidetracked and lost sight of him. You had also lost sight of anything else that you recognised so you had started to amble around in hopes of finding someone or something to help.

At first, you hadn’t even seen The Master, so focused on your surroundings that you almost walked right into him, and you barely understood what was happening when he grabbed your arm and dragged you down a quiet side alley.

When you had finally recognised who he was and what had happened, you had been to shocked to stutter out a full sentence. That had caused him to smirk and cockily ask if he was the only one who could leave you speechless, which only made you more flustered.

Once you had finally managed to compose yourself you asked how he was alive, a question that he had ignored in favour of pushing you up against the closest wall and kissing you. It took your brain a few seconds to catch up with the fact that he was actually kissing you before you started to kiss back. Then he had swiftly broken off the kiss and told you that he’d be seeing you, before walking out of the alleyway and back into the bustling streets.

By the time you had finally made it back to the rest of the group, you had managed to get your brain back to its normal working order. Though, when your friends asked you where you had been you told them you simply told them that you had gotten lost after spotting something interesting, resolving not to bring up The Master at all.

True to his promise, he had shown up again about a week after that, kissing you senseless yet again and leaving with little explanation.

After this happened a few times, always when you got separated from the group, you started to have proper conversations with each other. A first they were only about whatever trouble he had caused on the planet to distract The Doctor with, but soon you had started to talk to each other more and more about your lives. He wasn’t as stingy on details as The Doctor was, but you could tell he was still keeping quite a bit of information from you.

Then he started showing up at your apartment, which was a little bit concerning, but he always knocked rather than just bursting in like you knew The Doctor would, so you didn’t really mind. Soon enough your relationship had changed from just meeting up and making out for five minutes, to meeting up and talking for a few hours. Though it was slow, you felt yourself start to fall in love with this strange alien man.

Of course, this caused a lot of internal conflict, especially considering you were still travelling with The Doctor and the rest of the fam. You knew that they were your friends - practically a second family at this point - but you feared that if they ever found out about your relationship with The Master you would loose them. So you kept quiet and tried to pretend that you weren’t secretly dating the man who had tried to kill you all. Every time the two of you met up on one of your trips with The Doctor was both exhilarating and frightening, and while you loved seeing him all the time you were always worried that one of your friends would catch you with him.

When The Master invited you to travel with him instead of The Doctor several months into your relationship, you didn’t quite know what to say. You knew that you loved him, but you had never been able to say it aloud, and you weren’t even sure if he loved you back. As well, it wasn’t like you didn’t like travelling with The Doctor and the fam; it was brilliant, even if you did end up running for your life on most adventures, and you weren’t sure if you were ready to leave them just yet.

Unfortunately, you had taken too long to give The Master an answer, and he ended up storming off without stopping when you cried out his name, not caring to listen to any explanation you had to give.

That had been a month ago and you hadn’t heard a word from him since, which had only upset and worried you. Even if you weren’t ready to travel with him then, you had hoped that you could still be in a relationship with him. You knew that your friends had noticed your mood, and they had all tried to talk to you about it, but you reassured them that you were okay and didn’t say anything more.

————

Now you were on another adventure with your friends, using it again to distract yourself from debating whether you and The Master had broken up or whether he was going to randomly show up and pretend that nothing happened. The planet that you had landed on was overrun with nature, and the ruins of whatever civilisation had been there previously were barely noticeable.

Somehow The Doctor had managed to find a very large cathedral-like building that was still mostly in tact, which was what you were currently exploring.

Without any warning you were grabbed from behind and pulled into someone’s tight grip, causing you to yelp and try to struggle away. Then you noticed who exactly had a hold of you and you stopped struggling as much, making a conscious effort to not relax completely into the hold that you had gotten so used to after the last few month.

Your friends had turned around at the noises and their faces were now a mix of anger and concern, glaring at The Master.

“Let her go.” The Doctor told him, her tone indicating her worry.

“Well, I would, but I think (y/n) is quite comfortable in my arms Doctor.” He spat his response at her, tightening his grip further, but still making sure not to hurt you.

You were trying to resist looking up at him, because you knew you wouldn’t be able to hide the love that your expression would hold.

“No, you’re scaring her, now let her go and I might consider giving you whatever you’ve come here for.”

In your chest your heartbeat had started to pick up speed, you could see that The Master was trying to let onto your friends about your relationship, and you only hoped that he wouldn’t actually say anything.

“Hmm, seems I know your companion better than you.” At this comment you finally looked at him, hoping that he would see the look in your eyes and just walk away without saying anything.

He didn’t look down at you though, and just stayed glaring at The Doctor.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The Doctor was starting to sound irritated, but there was a hint of fear in her voice as well.

Still trying to stop him from revealing your relationship, you squeezed his hand and tried to get his attention. Unfortunately, he continued to ignore you, and you started to feel much more anxious.

The Master let out a hysteric sounding laugh at The Doctor’s question, and it wasn’t anything like the soft laugh you had grown used to. Though you hated to admit it, he was starting to scare you.

“You don’t even have a clue of what I’m talking about.”

Looking back at the four of them to gauge their reactions, you could see that Yaz and The Doctor were very close to piecing it all together, and Ryan and Graham wouldn’t be too far behind. Instinctively, you pressed further into The Master’s hold, trying to feel some semblance of comfort or safety. Obviously he knew what you were trying to do, he had gotten used to you snuggling close to him whenever you watched a scary movie or had a nightmare, and, either consciously or unconsciously, he started to stroke the back of your hand with his thumb.

“No…” The Doctor’s gasp could barely be heard, but it still caused your gaze to fall to the floor in shame.

You knew that you probably shouldn’t love him, but you did, and now you were going to face the consequences. All you hoped is that after loosing your friends, you wouldn’t loose The Master too.

“Yes.” The Master replied gleefully.

“You can’t- you must have hypnotised (y/n)! She wouldn’t willingly enter a relationship with you.”

“Well, clearly she would, because she did. I haven’t hypnotised her, or threatened her, or drugged her. (Y/n) is with me by choice.” The Master was very clearly pissed off at the implementation that he would do anything to injure you.

Honestly, you were slightly annoyed at it too, the only time he had ever come close to harming you had been on Barton’s plane, and you had gotten out of that alright in the end. You squeezed his hand for comfort again, and this time he squeezed back, calming you down slightly.

“Stop playing games and give (y/n) back.” The Doctor’s voice sounded almost dangerous now, and you were starting to worry for both your safety and The Master’s.

However, The Master seemed unfazed as he ignored her and continued to hold you, “You know it’s true, I can see it in your eyes, but if you’re still having trouble believing it then why don’t you just ask (y/n)?”

Of course he would put you on the spot, you had known him long enough to realise that this whole setup was coming from a place of vulnerability. He was worried that you were going to leave him, that you didn’t care for him anymore, and instead of talking to you about it he was lashing out. It was something that you had been trying to work on with him, but after your hesitation to answer his proposal of travelling with him, he had jumped to conclusions and this was the result.

The silence after he had told The Doctor to question was so deafening that you swore your frantic heartbeat was echoing around the abandoned building. You forced yourself to look up, to look at The Doctor in the eye, and it seemed to be the push she needed.

“(Y/n)?” She didn’t need to ask the question, it was already hanging in the air.

“I chose to be in a relationship with him, he didn’t force me into it.” And then, much quieter, you added on, “I love him.”

Part of you had hoped that no one would have heard what you said, but the room you were in had been dead silent. The Master’s grip on you relaxed in shock, holding you as though you were fragile enough that you could shatter like glass. You tilted your head towards him so you could see his reaction, still slightly worried that he wouldn’t reciprocate.

He seemed to be staring down at you with awe and love, and you couldn’t quite believe that he was looking at you like that.

“You love me?” He asked you, his voice impossibly soft.

You simply nodded in response, unable to form any words. The Master bought one of his hands up to cup your face lightly, as though he was still afraid of breaking you.

“I love you too.” He was almost whispering when he said it but a smile immediately formed on your face.

He leant in to kiss you and you kissed him back eagerly. Unfortunately the kiss was cut short by a not so subtle cough from the direction of your friends.

Still comfortably in The Master’s hold, you turned to face your friends again, feeling your face heating up as you blushed.

“Okay, am I the only one who’s really confused?” Ryan asked, looking around at the rest of your friends for confirmation.

He got a chorus of ‘no’s’ in response and if it wasn’t such a strange situation you might have laughed.

“Yeah, how come you’re in love with the guy who tried to kill us? Cause I feel like I’ve missed a lot.” Graham asked, as clueless as he usually was.

“I’m pretty sure that (y/n) has been secretly dating The Master.” Yaz piped up, and you were slightly glad that she had answered for you.

“Yeah that’s basically the gist of it.” You laughed awkwardly, yet again squeezing The Master’s hand for comfort.

They seemed to mull over this for a few minutes, before The Doctor finally spoke up again.

“(Y/n), are you sure that you want to be with him?” She asked you, and for once it was a question that you could answer easily.

“Yes, I am.” You smiled at her, and you knew that The Master was probably smiling at you.

“Then I suppose I can’t do anything to stop you from loving him.” Then she turned her focus to The Master, “but if you hurt her expect serious consequences!”

He rolled his eyes, “I wouldn’t expect anything less, but I won’t hurt them.”

The Doctor and your other friends then proceeded to interrogate the two of you (though they were mainly focused on The Master) about your relationship. Even if it was slightly annoying, you appreciated their concern and protectiveness over you. During the ordeal The Master constantly acted as though he was extremely annoyed and offended at their interrogation, though you could tell that he was glad you had such good friends - even if one of them was his best enemy.

Eventually the six of you made it back to the two TARDISes, and you all paused outside. He hadn’t bought up the question of whether you would join him in his TARDIS since the first time, and you were still slightly worried that you had missed your opportunity.

Then he turned to you, still holding on of your hands even though you were no longer in his hold, “Want to travel with me?”

He asked with such hope in his expression that you felt your heart melt, even after you had rejected him the first time he was still holding out hope.

A wide grin formed on your face and you nodded, “I’d love to.”

He grinned back and pulled you in for another kiss, much to the disgust of your friends.

The next thirty minutes were spent packing up your possessions and moving them from The Doctor’s TARDIS to The Master’s. That was then followed by teary hugs as you said goodbye to your friends and made promises to call and meet up with them whenever you were all on Earth at the same time. The Doctor made sure that you knew to call her if anything ever went wrong, promising that she’d be there immediately.

Despite the grief that you felt leaving your friends and that chapter of your life behind, you were eager to start travelling with The Master and to see how your relationship would develop. The Doctor, Graham, Ryan and Yaz had definitely become a second family to you, but you knew that this wasn’t going to be the last time you saw any of them.

Holding The Master’s hand, you let him pull you into his TARDIS as you waved goodbye to your friends, before turning around and beaming at him. As soon as the door was shut he pushed you up against it and kissed you senseless - reminding you very much of your first kiss with him.

“Where to first, love?” The Master asked as he brushed a stray piece of hair away from your face.

“Anywhere, as long as it’s by your side.”

#the master x reader #dhawan!master x reader #dhawan!master

117 notes · View notes

neptunesfullbuster · 4 years

Note

hi there! omg I’m so happy to find someone in Tumblr who takes fairy tail requests 🥺 thank you thank you thank you! I was wondering if you would write a one shot with a f!reader and Natsu where they’re in a battle where he thinks the reader was hurt and he freaks out and goes ballistic? Gotta love angst right? But in reality the enemy could use hallucination magic and Natsu was just imagining it? And after it’s Natsu finding the reader okay and fluff?? I hope this is okay! Thank you 🥺

- hypnotic hallucinations

summary ; a mission goes south and some mental damage occurred

pairing ; natsu dragneel x fem!reader

word count ; 1607ish

authors note ; god i finally got time to write this, i’m sorry for the wait!! also you are so cute omg! i’m so bad at writing fight scenes ahh so i’m sorry it might suck. one more thing i kinda of wrote reader as a earth mage, i hope you don’t mind it just made more sense to write it like that instead of not specifying what mage type she was.

(what is this title and description ? it’s so bad ik but i had no clue what to title and the description could be so many things heh)

It was supposed to be simple, get in, grab the necklace and get the heck out of there. However, nothing was simple when it came to you and your team. The client was an elderly woman who had been robbed by a group of bandits. They stole the family’s heirloom, which was a necklace that was worth lots of money. The woman gave you the ideal location of their camp and sent you away to retrieve it.

Your plan was for Natsu and Erza to enter through the camp and distract the bandits while you, Lucy, Gray and Happy went looking for the heirloom. You and Lucy would grab the necklace while Gray would keep watch.

Well, that did happen.

The camp was huge, but no one was there as if it was abandoned. It was apparent they knew you were coming, so you didn’t make a move to enter.

“What should we do?” You asked. Your eyes scanned the area, you weren’t able to spot anyone, but the feeling of being watched wouldn’t go away.

“Don’t move, not yet,” Erza told you, ready to attack if anyone jumped out.

“I think they are watching us,” you added.

It was quiet and unsettling. You didn’t know how many men there were, nor did you know what they were waiting for, Natsu sighed beside you.

“If they aren’t going to do anything, why don’t we just go in?” Natsu started to walk towards the camp, but you grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

“You idiot, that’s what they are waiting for.”

“But I’m bored.” He groaned. It wasn’t the time for his whining. You had a job that was going a different route than expected.

“Natsu, shut up,” Gray mumbled, which didn’t do anything besides pissing him off.

“What did you say?”

“Natsu!”

Suddenly men jumping into sight, ready to attack. If you were to survive this job, you were going to kill Natsu yourself back at the guild.

“Y/n! Natsu! Go find the heirloom!” Erza yelled at the two of you while getting into battle.

The group held off some of the bandits while the two of you ran in. As you watch your friends defeat the bandits, you noticed that there was something off.

“Natsu!” You shouted. Grabbing his attention, he stopped running and turned to you.

“I don’t think they are regular bandits,” you told him, catching up.

He looked over your shoulder and watched what was going on.

“Well, I guess we’re going to have to get out of here fast.”

Inside the camp, it was empty and quiet. The only noise you could hear was your teammates fighting in the distance. It was suspicious you knew you weren’t alone, but you didn’t have time to worry about it.

“Happy, since you can fly, see if you can see anything up high. Natsu and I will look on the ground.” You ordered. Happy nodded and flew up.

A large cliff loomed over the entire camp, so you decided to see if there is a secret entrance by there. Natsu decided to search through the tents and small buildings. You didn’t how quiet it was. It made you uneasy you couldn’t stop yourself from peaking to see if you could see Natsu making sure he was okay.

You ran your hands against the rock to see if there was a hidden area, but there was nothing. You sighed. Suddenly you felt something approach behind you. You got ready to strike and turned, but there was nothing. Confused, you decided to see if Natsu had found something.

“Natsu?” You yelled, walking to the center of the camp.

Happy flew down next to you, “I couldn’t find anything.”

“Maybe it’s in a different location?”

“Y/n! Happy! Watch out!” Natsu screamed, running towards you.

A group of more bandits jumped out behind you. Happy quickly grabbed you and flew off, but one of the men was able to get a hold of your foot and swung you into the cliff.

“Guys!”

You groaned in pain, “Don’t worry about us!” you stood up quickly, running into action.

It was two against four, not exactly a fair fight, but you had to make it work. Natsu was having an easier time than you. His fire magic was performing well against them while your earth magic wasn’t doing much. The enemy was quickly breaking through your vines when you tried to tie them up in them.

You were able to trap one in a biome of rocks. It wouldn’t hold them down, but it would long enough for you to get rid of the other one. In the corner of your eye, you spotted a figure creeping behind Natsu. It had the same eerie feeling that you felt earlier. Natsu didn’t seem to notice it as it approached him. He was too focused on the enemy in front of him.

“Natsu!” You scream, but he didn’t hear you. You had to move on your own. You quickly summoned large boulders around the bandit and collapsed them, trapping them like the other one.

“Natsu!” You shouted once again, running towards him.

“Watch out!”

Natsu turned to look at you, but you weren’t there, no one was there. His eyes scanned the area; it was dark and gloomy. The air was thick, and he smelt, blood. He looked down. His body was completely painted in the dark red liquid.

“Guys?” Natsu looked up. The area suddenly changed, people were scattered around dead. He was confused about what happened. You were all doing well and had almost defeated the camp.

“Hello?” Natsu started to feel exhausted. The stench of blood was helping. He began to walk, but something grabbed his foot. He yelled and looked down.

“Erza? Wha-”

“Natsu.” She choked out, using his leg to pull herself closer. Her body was covered in blood, and most of her armour was ripped off her body.

She took a breath, “You could of done something. Why didn’t you?”

Before he answered, she fell and stopped moving. Natsu knelt to her level.

“I’m sorry.”

“Natsu!” A familiar voice screamed in the distance. It was clear they were in pain. He ran, jumping and almost tripping over bodies.

“Yeah!” He shouted back. He knew that he was close. He could someone groaning in pain.

Natsu spotted something moving behind a collapsed tent. “Hey!” He called out, running to it.

“Natsu.” They choked out in agony. It was you. You were sat against some rocks. The only thing keeping you up was the large spike that was in your shoulder.

“Y/n.” He cried out, falling right in front of you, panicking.

“No, no, no!” He didn’t want you to leave him. He wasn’t ready, nor was he prepared.

“Natsu,” you mumbled. Your eyes were starting to become heavy.

“No, stay awake, Y/n we’re going to get you outta here.” Natsu moved to your side and tried to unjam the spike that was stuck between two rocks.

“Stop! It hurts!” You screamed, Natsu immediately stopped. His eyes were becoming teary.

“Please don’t go.” he choked, holding onto your hands’ tears now falling from his eyes.

“Why didn’t you help us?” You mumble, zoning out.

“What?”

“You could of prevented this, why didn’t you?”

“Y/n I-”

“No.”

Your eyes bore into him. You seemed empty like a zombie.

“Natsu. Natsu. Natsu.” you started to repeat over and over again.

Natsu was confused, “What? What is it?”

“Natsu, wake up. Natsu. Natsu, wake up.” you continued to repeat.

His vision started to go blurry, and your voice began to sound like you were calling for him, but it seemed to get louder and louder.

“Natsu, wake up!”

He shot up, his body was hot and sweating, and he couldn’t control his breathing. His panicked eyes search the room as his vision started to focus. He was suddenly in the guilds med bay.

“Natsu?” He felt a hand be placed on his arm, and he quickly shook it off.

“Don’t what did you do to them!’ He shouted, trying to get up.

“Natsu, it’s me Y/n.”

“What?” His eyes landed on your concerned features.

“Y/n.” Natsu pulled you into a bear hug. His arms were tight around your figure, and his eyes were teary.

“I thought I lost you,” he mumbled.

“They were messing with your mind.” you started to explain, trying to get him to release you, but he was budging.

“Natsu let go so I can explain, please.”

“No.”

“Natsu, your a sauna let go.” He let you but not fully while he was still holding your hand.

“Hi.” You smiled at him, “It wasn’t real, these bandits were heavily into hallucination magic, and when you weren’t paying attention, one of them was able to sneak up on you and made you imagine one of the worse outcomes.” you explained

“What about the job?” he asked, tracing circles over your hand.

“Erza found the heirloom, it wasn’t even near there at all. She and Lucy went to return it to the owner. They explained what happened, and we got some extra reward money.”

“You were gone.” He placed his hand over where the spike was impaling you. His face cringed. You put your hand over his and smiled at him moving his attention over to you.

“But I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.” Natsu gave you a small smile and pulled you back into a hug.

“Wanna talk about it?” you asked. You could feel his head shaking.

The two of you sat there embracing each other until the rest of the team ran in to check on him.

Natsu was clinging by your side the rest of the day and was not planning on letting anytime soon, though you didn’t mind one bit.

#fairy tail #fairy tail fanfiction #fairy tail x reader #fairy tail imagine #fairy tail imagines #fairy tail fanfic #natsu dragneel imagine #natsu dragneel imagines #natsu dragneel x reader #natsu dragneel #sarah writes

246 notes · View notes

prurientpuddlejumper · 3 years

Text

Don’t Look! [Part 3]

<- Part 2 | Part 4 ->

Frederick Chilton x Reader

Once again, transformation AU by @we-are-all-just-a-bit-crazy, I’m just making a fic with it! (Going to try to wrap this series tomorrow; we’ll see if I can keep up the pace). Mutual pining + Chilton having trust issues.

2,160 words

The door opened a crack, and Dr. Chilton’s eyes appeared, searching up and down the hallway. Your pulse quickened. Finally, you were going to get answers—some logical explanation for what you’d seen last night. At least you could show him support this time instead of leaving him trembling in the dark.

He seemed to be human again. You found yourself checking and rechecking the texture of his skin for lingering signs of spikes and swirling darkness. A chill ran down your spine at his proximity, like it did when you saw a spider. You wished it wouldn’t. You didn’t want to be afraid of spiders. You didn’t want to be afraid of him.

Finding the coast clear, Chilton opened the door another few inches and stepped out wearing your grey hoodie and sweatpants. His hair was a mess, the hood pulled down to hide it.

“I cannot be seen this way. If you need me, I shall be at home. You have my personal number. Please call Nightengale Restorations and have them fix the office. Tell them I will pay a fifteen percent bonus for having it done this week,” he prattled in his professional tone as if this were just another workplace matter. He walked away, a slight hitch to his swift gait, but turned after three steps and met your eyes. “Thank you,” he said.

***

There was no confrontation after that. Dr. Chilton resumed work the next day, and things simply went back to normal. That is to say: awkward silences, reading novels into every word, and the simmering tension of pretending everything was normal when, in fact, nothing had been resolved.

Questions burned in your eyes, but fear restrained your tongue. The answers would only make you more afraid, and so Chilton did not volunteer them.

You didn’t run away, but you didn’t ask, either. Chilton was satisfied that you were just as in denial as he was.

The daily routine went on exactly as it used to: you would arrive at 7:30 am, knock at his office door, hand him a coffee, and take the file of paperwork he wanted done that day. Only there was hesitation in your knock, and you waited for him to say, “Enter,” instead of sauntering in like you owned the place. He had you put the coffee down on his desk so you would not risk brushing his fingertips as you sometimes did. When you took the file, you stared at him like he might bite.

“That will be all,” he said, dismissing you before your stoic mask faltered and you showed your true disgust.

***

Chilton’s skin crawled beneath his suit from his arms to his feet, and his scar throbbed for the first time in weeks. Having Abel Gideon back under his care was disconcerting, but a necessary part of Will Graham’s therapy—or rather, another clue in the case Graham was building against Hannibal Lecter.

He was skeptical at first. Graham was a lunatic—a sociopathic manipulator. Delusional. Yet, even a sociopath could not fabricate such elaborate lies with that much sodium amytal running through his veins.

The nightmares would be worth it when he was the man famous for bringing down the Chesapeake Ripper.

“Hey.”

Chilton looked up, eyes rimmed with red from hours of staring at a computer screen, working late yet again. You held up a bag of takeout, a weak smile on your lips.

“Need a break?” you offered, moving to sit across from him at his desk. Everything in the office was tidied up—you had cleaned most of it yourself the day Chilton went home in your sweatpants. The damage wasn’t as bad as it looked. Most of the furniture was simply overturned, not broken. Only the antique in-wall shelving waited for professional repair.

“No. Thank you,” he said, waving away the food. His lips thinned wanly. “You may help yourself if you like.”

He was equally surprised and suspicious when you stayed, unpacking the container of vegetarian pesto tortellini. He watched hungrily as you lanced one with a plastic fork and brought it to your lips. His stomach growled.

“Are you alright?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, straightening defensively in his seat.

“With Gideon here. That must be difficult.”

“I manage.”

You chewed another pasta in silence. Finally, he couldn’t help it and grabbed the second fork, stealing a tortellini off your platter. It was rich and flavorful—a bit heavy on the salt, but obviously from a fine restaurant. He held the bite in his mouth. No strange aftertastes. He did not feel woozy after swallowing. There was always a chance you were willing to drug yourself to get to him if you had an accomplice waiting to spirit him away to some secret facility.

“All right,” he snapped, chair shooting back toward the wall as he stood. “What are you after?”

You gave a startled “Mmph?” around a mouthful of pesto.

“What is the catch? A price for your silence? Why are you here, bribing me with dinner?”

“I… I’m not—what? I was worried about you.”

“Unlikely, considering the circumstances. Tell me what you want.” His eyes locked onto you, cold and piercing.

“Fine!” you broke. “I want you to forgive me!”

“For what?” he sneered, half believing your words were a veiled threat.

“I’m sorry, OK? Please—what can I do to make up for it? I tried giving you space, but now you look at me like I’m going to kick you, or”—your eyes widened at the plate of food he only touched after you ate some—“poison you! I swear I never meant to hurt you. I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” he asked in an entirely softer tone. He sat back down, hunching forward across the desk to search your face.

Your head hung low, and you murmured quietly, “I know I didn’t handle it well. I should have left when you asked. Now I understand… you didn’t want anybody to see that. I invaded your privacy. And then I freaked out!” Your voice broke. “And I’ve been trying to… to make up for it. I know you don’t want to talk about it, but—dammit, I’m pushing you again! Sorry.”

The urge to hug you overwhelmed him. If there wasn’t a deliberately massive table in between you—meant to keep others at a distance—he would have hugged you.

“Are you not afraid?” For once, the broadness of his desk seemed obtrusive.

“I could never be afraid of you.”

Your arm crossed the divide, reaching for his hand. It touched, warm and easy, and gave a sympathetic squeeze that set his blood racing. Then it retracted, and his skin ached for the lost contact.

“I just got scared because I didn’t understand what was happening. I still don’t. Maybe I am still afraid, a little. But not because—! Please, just… tell me what that was. What happened to you?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. Eyes narrowing, he answered cagily, “First, what do you think you saw? Light can play tricks on the eye, especially after long hours in a morbid environment, possible exposure to hypnotic drugs… Let us be sure we are on the same page.”

“Are you seriously going to gaslight me now that we’re finally talking? I’m not an idiot. You still owe me those pants back!”

While he floundered for words, your eyes squeezed shut, and a hissing laugh burst from your nose. A red flush crept up his neck, under his shirt collar. It was inappropriate to laugh in this situation, but perhaps that was why it was so contagious—it had been too long since he’d seen you laugh, and even longer since he’d done so himself.

“Those cheap, scratchy, torture devices? Consider it a favor that I tossed them,” he quipped. (Forget the fact that he had been sleeping with his face buried in them for the past week and simply did not wish to return them before wringing them for every drop of your scent.)

“And yet you wore them, which means I saved your ass. Checkmate, doctor.”

“Please. It is barely a Vienna Gambit.”

Laughter felt foreign in his throat. It was soft, and only lasted a brief second, but it was cleansing. You smiled at him, rolling your eyes, and his soul lifted.

“Very well,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “Ask your questions.”

Your eyes darted to the windows. Another late night. Stars appeared (the handful not blotted out by Baltimore’s light pollution). You chewed your bottom lip.

“Are you going to transform again?”

“Only on the night of the new moon, when twilight gives way to the black of night. No need to worry.”

“Just once a month, then? Werewolf rules?”

He shot an offended glare, though you weren’t wrong. “Sometimes two, near the aphelion. And during an eclipse. It… hates sunlight. Even the reflection of the sun. It wants to be in darkness.” The thought disturbed him—the way the beast called him to the shadows. He always fought it to stay indoors, locking himself away from any nocturnal roving. It frightened him what might happen if he gave in. The coppery taste of blood haunted his dreams.

“Then… would you transform if you went spelunking? You know, in a cave? Or a submarine?”

“I have not tried. A darkened room is not enough. I would not tempt it.”

You swallowed and thought. Your lips twitched, building to the important question: “Is it still you in there?”

“Yes. More impulsive—I would never have smashed the decor—but I am still there.” It brings my true self to the surface, he thought, but withheld this. A slimy, dangerous, unlovable wretch. He looked at you, sitting across from him in front of a container of food you brought to share, and wondered what you were doing there after seeing it. How could you bear to be near him?

“But you’re not going to… eat me or something?” You were embarrassed to ask, and he gave you a fittingly scathing glare.

“No. I would not eat you.” He stabbed a tortellini and popped it in his mouth.

“Then I want to see it.”

He choked.

“I want to get a better look. To wrap my head around it. Besides, it seemed painful—next time I could bring you a hot towel, or… a cold pack, or… I don’t know, some tea? An ibuprofen?”

“There is no next time. You were never supposed to see that in the first place.”

“Please? If it’s going to happen again in two weeks, I want to be there. Prepared this time.”

“This is not a zoo. I am not some freak show to be gawked at! What happened to you being sorry?”

“I just want to get to know you,” you answered, and your voice sounded so small his heart reeled. You snapped your head up, “I mean—I want to be there for you. You shouldn’t be alone.”

He scoffed, defensive again. “Why? Because I might do something dangerous? I am more than capable of controlling myself.”

“Because you deserve to be comforted when you’re in pain.”

Your words struck him like a nuclear bomb of basic human decency. Deserved? Comfort?

“Does anyone else know? Does anyone… take care of you when you change?”

Only his family knew, and they certainly did not take care of him. Bringing him that bag of clothing in the morning was the first time anyone had done something thoughtful for him—helped him with his condition. Even if you had run away at first, you wanted to be supportive. To know his dark side.

Why?

Was it possible? Did you feel the same way about him as he did about you? His hand still felt warm from where you had briefly touched it.

He had to admit, it was nice having someone be there for him. Even a small gesture like old, loose-fitting sweatpants in a bag made a world of difference. Or dinner at his desk. He imagined you pressing a steamed towel to his forehead, and he did not hate the idea—doting on him like a spa therapist, taking the edge off the pain as his hair fell out and skin split open. Or watching him become hideous. Vomiting at the sight of him. Losing all interest you might have had. Realizing it was a mistake to be there.

“Thank you for dinner,” he announced in curt, clipped syllables. “That will be all.”

“Frederick…” Your voice was low, personal. Pleading. He did not like how personal it was. How you were giving him everything he wanted, like you were baiting a trap.

“Fascinating as this must be for you, I still have work to do. Your shift ended an hour ago. Go home.”

“OK. Right. I’ll see you in the morning.”

You didn’t see him trembling as you left, clutching his hand over his fluttering heart.

• ● • ━━━━━─ ••●•• ─━━━━━ • ● •

Taglist: @beccabarba / @itsjustmyfantasyroom / @thatesqcrush / @dianilaws / @permanentlydizzy / @mrsrafaelbarba / @madamsnape921 / @astrangegirlsmind / @neely1177 / @onerestein / @dreamlover31 / @isvvc-pvscvl / @shroomiehomie / @storiesofsvu / @welcometothemxdhouse / @feedthemadness-sweetie / @law-nerd105 / @amelia-song-pond / @michael-rooker / @xecq / @madpanda75 / @alwaysachorusgirl / @bananas-pajamas / @leanor-min / @mad-girl-without-a-box / @katierpblogg / @worldofvixen

#Frederick Chilton x reader #Frederick Chilton #Hannibal AU #my writing

59 notes · View notes

mimisempai · 3 years

Text

When I lean on you, my weakness becomes streng

Summary:

Mobius is sick and Loki is going to prove to him that he doesn't need to be strong all the time and that he can lean on him.

Tumblr request : Can I have...extreme fluff....Mobius gets sick and Loki freaks out because he has no clue how to help humans?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33034006

1038 words - Rating G

"Mobius! Look at that kitten lifting his paws like that, he's so adorable."

Mobius, standing in the doorway of the living room, sighed.

Usually he found it amusing to see Loki all excited on the various videos he could find on the net, but not today.

"Loki... wouldn't you like to drop your laptop for two seconds and Aaaaatchi!"

Loki, startled, turned around to look at his lover and realized what state he was in.

Mobius’ eyes were red and glassy, his complexion was gray and he had black circles around his eyes.

Loki rushed to him to support him.

"Mobius... you're not going to tell me it's just tiredness. You're going to have to accept the fact that you're sick. Yes, even the big, strong Mobius can be brought down by a little virus. So go to bed! Right now!"

"No... I have too much work, I can't miss a day."

"I don't want to hear anything, there's nothing urgent that can't wait until you get better!"

Mobius protested, "But-"

Loki sat Mobius down on the nearest chair, pulled out his tempad, made a timedoor appear through which he disappeared before reappearing only seconds later.

"Loki?"

"I've informed HB, Casey and the team, you're on indefinite medical leave. And before you protest, HB has me tell you that she doesn't want to see your ass again until you are fully recovered. Her words!"

Mobius obviously disagreed, stood up abruptly, but felt dizzy and had to sit back down immediately.

Loki made him stand up and supported him to take him to the bedroom.

"Mobius, now you go to bed!"

"But Loki... dinner..." the protests of Mobius became weaker and weaker.

"You are sick Mobius. You go to bed and I'll make dinner."

Mobius scowled and in the midst of a coughing fit tried to tell Loki, "But... kof... you're not the best... kof....cook, sweetheart."

Loki gently pushed him onto the bed, so that he could sit on the edge. He began to take off his shoes and socks. "You are sick! It's my turn to take care of you and I'm a good cook, I've been making progress."

Mobius came forward to wrap his arms around Loki, and kissed his forehead.

Loki sensed from the burning lips that Mobius' temperature was not normal.

"Mobius you have a fever..." He sighed, "Why didn't you say you were feeling so bad?" He shifted his hand into his Jotunn form and gently ran it over Mobius' face and lingered lightly on his forehead.

His lover's face relaxed under the coolness.

Loki pushed him back so that Mobius lay down on the bed.

He took Mobius' burning hands between his cooler ones and asked him gently, "Mobius, would you allow me to use magic to undress you and put you in a more comfortable attire to rest?"

Mobius, feeling the fatigue creeping up on him now that he was lying down, replied with his voice still hoarse from his coughing fit, "Yeah, go ahead."

Loki just twirled his hand in a gesture now familiar to Mobius, and in less than 10 seconds, Mobius found himself clad in a pair of sweatpants and a cotton henley, reveling in the feel of fresh, clean clothes.

"Thanks..."

"You're welcome love." replied Loki while covering him with a warm blanket.

Then he stood up and said softly, "I'll be right back."

A minute later, Loki was back with a glass of water and a fever pill.

"Here love, take this."

Loki sat on the edge of the bed and supported Mobius while he took his pill and the glass of water.

Mobius didn't take it right away and said softly, "I don't like that you have to do all the work." Then after swallowing the whole thing, he laid back down, exhausted and Loki put the glass of water on the nightstand.

Loki sighed, "Mobius, when I'm sick, do you let me do all the work?"

Mobius merely stared at him.

"Well?"

"Loki... you are never sick..."

"Well I should correct," Loki rolled his eyes before continuing, "when I'm not well, or I've been hurt, do you let me do anything?"

Mobius replied, frowning, "No of course not."

"There you go. Remember that time you literally locked me in our room? "

Mobius's lips twitched a little and he was about to answer but was taken again by a coughing fit. Loki's hands were immediately on him, rubbing his shoulders.

"Mobius, you need to rest, love."

At Loki's genuinely worried look, Mobius smiled gently and obeyed.

"You're right. I'll stop being annoying. But I hate that you see me being weak."

Loki ran his cool blue hand over his forehead again and replied softly, "Mobius, you have seen me weak countless times and yet you don't love me any less, do you?"

"No, of course not Loki! »

Mobius began to get agitated.

"Shhh Love..." Loki continued his hypnotic caresses on Mobius' forehead, "so know that it's the same for me. Let me take care of you for once. I love you no less"

He leaned over Mobius and pressed a long kiss to his forehead.

A few moments later, Mobius finally fell asleep. Loki stayed a few more minutes to watch over him, to make sure his rest was peaceful.

He returned to the open kitchen, suddenly finding himself helpless. Because contrary to his bravado in front of Mobius, he had no idea what to cook for someone who was sick. But he wanted to do it, to prove to Mobius that he could also rely on Loki.

After a while of contemplation, his eyes fell on his laptop.

He went to get it and typed, "Soup recipe for the flu."

Ten minutes later, after checking that he had all the necessary ingredients in their fridge and cupboard, he started to prepare a Chicken Noodle Soup.

As he prepared it, he was somehow filled with warmth because he was making it for Mobius. He was doing something for someone he loved. Every gesture he made was only to make his beloved feel better. It was a feeling he couldn't get enough of.

That too was a glorious purpose and probably one of the most beautiful.

__________

Belongs to this one shot series : X

Thanks for reading this far, feel free to leave a comment, I always reply! As always, bear with me as it is not beta'd and english is not my native language I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless🥰

#lokius fic #lokius #established relationship #sick character #domestic fluff #loki series #loki #mobius m mobius #moki #wowki #loki x mobius #time husbands #timefrost

24 notes · View notes

deafeninggardenerpanda · 4 years

Text

The Town of Light was still. It was the middle of the night, and all of the aristocrats were sleeping peacefully. There wasn’t a single person to be found on the streets, but behind one large mansion, two people were hiding. Meta Knight and Daroach whispered to each other.

"I was surprised when I read your letter. No way, the gear is in Fugo's mansion? Why?"

"This town has changed a lot from its beginnings," Meta Knight responded. "I did some research. This area used to be a temple. It was an unpopular site, so it was a convenient place to hide the gear."

"A temple? How ironic that a rich mansion now sits here," Daroach grinned. "I can’t believe a clue to the gears just came and knocked on your door. Honestly, is it okay to trust this Magolor guy? I’m not sure about him."

"I agree. His story is too good to be true, but there are no other leads. We have no choice but to believe him. Let’s go."

Daroach took out a grappling hook and latched it onto the high wall surrounding Mr. Fugo’s mansion. He climbed the rope gracefully. Meta Knight watched with admiration.

"As expected from an experienced thief. You have great skill."

"You shouldn’t be so impressed, already. The show’s just started."

Meta Knight climbed the wall as well and landed in the garden. Daroach looked up at the towering mansion.

"Now the question is, just where in this huge mansion is the gear?"

"Is there a strategy?"

"Of course. Watch." Daroach whistled low and short. Out of nowhere, small creatures appeared and gently gathered around him. There were about twenty in all. Meta Knight blinked.

"What are these guys ... "

"My highly skilled subordinates, the Squeakers. Meta Knight, hand me the magic eye drops."

"Uh, okay ... "

Meta Knight handed him the vial. Daroach crouched down and began distributing the eye drops to each of the Squeakers, one-by-one. Their eyes were so small that only the smallest amount was needed. Once all of them had their eyes dropped, Daroach whispered something in a low voice. The Squeakers nodded and ran all at once towards the mansion.

"They’re perfect for this job. They can go anywhere, don't make footsteps, nor leave a trace. Fugo wouldn’t even notice if they ran laps around his bedroom."

"I see ... it's true ... " Meta Knight was deeply impressed from the bottom of his heart.

Daroach put his hand on his red, silk top hat and spoke in a pretentious voice. "’Get treasure the smart way.’ That’s how the Squeak Squad does it."

After a while, the Squeakers returned. They surrounded Daroach and told him several things in high-pitched voices. Daroach bent over, listened, and nodded.

"Okay, the gear is in the kitchen on the north side of the mansion."

"Kitchen ...? "

"Apparently it’s floating near the ceiling above the countertop. Oh, and one more—the Squeakers found something interesting."

"What?"

"I'll tell you later. First, the gear." Daroach started running towards the mansion, however, all of the mansion’s windows were protected by state-of-the-art security.

"How will we get inside?" Meta Knight asked. Daroach put a hand on the frame.

"The window is already open."

It was just as he said. The window opened without a sound. Daroach turned to Meta Knight, who was staring wide-eyed. "The Squeakers are excellent. This is a cakewalk for them."

"As expected from the Squeaks."

The two entered the kitchen. They used the last of the magic eye drops and looked up towards the ceiling.

"That's it." A beautiful, sparkling gear hovered where Daroach pointed.

"Even though it's shining so brightly, no one’s noticed it until now ... " Meta Knight murmured.

"Without the eye drops, it can’t be seen."

"Ancient magic really is mysterious."

Daroach gently jumped onto the counter and grabbed it.

"See, this is the magical gear." They stared at it.

"What beautiful, mysterious brilliance. A work of art that can never be made with modern technology ... " Meta Knight said. Daroach squeezed the gear tightly.

"Oh, it’d look lovely in my collection."

"Collection? Don't you want to expose Fugo’s wrongdoings?"

"Of course I do. After revealing everything, I just want to have this gear in my room, I mean. Do you want the gear, too? We can settle it with a game of rock-paper-scissors."

"I'm fine. I just want to know what Fugo is planning to do with the ancient machine."

Daroach stowed the gear in his hat. "By the way, what about Magolor? Doesn’t he want the prize?"

"Oh. I'll pay Magolor a thank-you in Point Stars. The gear was found because of his information."

"You’re generous, as always ... Then, it's time to move on to the next job."

"Next job?"

"I told you earlier—the Squeakers found something interesting. It seems there’s a hidden room on the second floor of the mansion."

"A hidden room?"

"Yep, a dead ringer for nefarious activity. There may be clues about the ancient machine in there. Let's go."

The pair left the kitchen and proceeded down the corridor silently. Daroach lit a small lantern to illuminate the dark, and a number of expensive paintings emerged. They covered the walls on either side of the hallway. The frames, made of solid gold, were embedded with diamonds, rubies, and various other jewels, like emeralds, that sparkled in the flickering light.

"What is this awful taste!" Daroach laughed. "The beautiful paintings of flowers and landscapes have been ruined. The glamour of the frames overtakes them."

"For Fugo, it's not about the beauty of the paintings. It's about showing off how rich you are."

"Ha. The kind of person I hate the most." The two quietly climbed the stairs, passed several rooms, and headed towards the back of the hallway. Daroach opened the door of the farthest room and went inside. It was a small room with a bookshelf along one wall—a reading room. As far as one could tell, there was nothing strange about it.

"Where is the hidden room ...? " Meta Knight looked around. Daroach walked over to the bookshelf.

"It's behind this. The Squeakers saw the hidden room from a narrow space in the attic, but we can't see it from here."

"What are we going to do?"

"There should be a way to move it ... Wait a minute." Daroach peered up at the bookshelf in the light of the lantern. "All of these books are shiny as if they’re brand new. There's no sign of them being read ... Oops, but this book has been removed and put back into place so many times the letters on the spine are faint."

"Is that the switch?"

"Oh, not just one book. Here ... here, also ... " Daroach pulled out the worn books in order. There was a rattling noise, and the bookshelf began to rotate slowly. Meta Knight was surprised.

"There’s such a trick hidden in the bookshelf ...!? "

"To have something so exaggerated to hide something ... This guy is up to no good." Meta Knight and Daroach entered the small, secret room behind the shelf. Documents covered a small table and a safe sat in the corner of the room. Meta Knight picked up several papers and examined them.

"It's about the ancient machine. There are pictures taken from various angles ... What a strange shape. Even though it's a machine, it looks like a face. Big eyes ... cat-like ... It’s creepy, and a lot bigger than I imagined!" Meta Knight couldn't hide his excitement. "This ... This is a testimony from when the ancient machine was discovered! What, what ... ‘While digging in the diamond mine’ ... ‘I discovered a huge machine’ ... "

While Meta Knight looked at the documents, Daroach turned his attention towards the safe.

"The important treasure is always in the safe. It's common sense." He knelt in front of it and took out one of the seven thieves' tools: a stethoscope. He then put the diaphragm of the stethoscope on the safe and turned the dial lock little-by-little. A soft tick could be heard when he matched a correct number.

"Three on the right ........ Seven ..... Two on the left ....... Eight ... One also on the right ....... Good." There was a clicking noise and the safe opened. At that exact moment, an alarm rang loud enough it shook the mansion.

"Oops!" Daroach caught his tongue. "I wasn't careful enough. There was an alarm in the safe."

"We need to go, Daroach!"

"Oh." Daroach grabbed the photo in the safe. The building filled with noise and footsteps approached.

"Thieves! Thieves have invaded!"

"Upstairs! Hurry up!"

The two hurried back into the reading room.

"What do we do, Daroach!? We can't escape from the hallway!"

"This way ...! " Daroach pushed open a large window facing the garden. "Meta Knight, can you jump?"

"Of course."

"Then, let’s go!" They jumped out of the window. Right as they did, the doors opened and guards rushed in.

"They went out the window!"

"Capture them—!" A large number of guards leaped out and followed them into the garden.

"Jeez! Why are there so many of them!?" Daroach exclaimed.

"Daroach, I'll take care of this. You run away."

"What are you saying? It’ll be the opposite." He pushed the stolen photo against Meta Knight. "You are an aristocrat. It’ll be big news if you’re caught. Take this and leave it to me!"

"But ...! "

"Do what I say. When it comes to heists, I’m a veteran."

" ..... Alright," Meta Knight nodded. "I'm sorry, Daroach. I leave it to you!"

"Go, quickly!"

Meta Knight turned sharply.

"One of the thieves is getting away! Catch them!"

The guards sprinted until suddenly, Daroach blocked their path. He spread his bright red cloak and tipped his brim.

"Come on, you lot! I am your opponent!" They were all hypnotized by Daroach’s majestic appearance, illuminated under the light of the moon, and quickly forgot about Meta Knight running away.

"There, the thief! Catch the thief!" The guards attacked all at once. Daroach flew through the air and evaded their attacks.

"Hahaha! Slow, slow! You all lack training!"

"This——!"

"Hahahaha!" He flitted around and continued to draw their attention. The guards grew exhausted chasing him. One person, after another, and another, began to drop, until—

"Ah ... ah ... aughhhhhh ...! " The last person finally collapsed. Daroach shrugged.

"I’m sorry. Next time, do better! Try to keep up!" The bandit jumped from the earth and soared high into the air. He disappeared into the night.

< Previous | Table of Contents | Next >

#kirby #meta knight #daroach #Kirby: Search for the Dreamy Gears!#kirby light novel #translations

80 notes · View notes

emily-the-fae · 3 years

Text

Sound of a Heartbeat

Part 4. Negotiations, Exortions and Stories of the Past

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 5 - Part 6

Surprisingly, this story continues to move further for me.

Back to the characters where we left them in the previous part - with some heated arguments and intimate talks.

Pairing: Dracula x OC

Warnings: none, apart from lung diseases, wounds and Adrian being a total sweetheart

Next morning Shari woke up to sounds of footsteps and hushed speech. Straight away she knew the upcoming conversation will have to be one hell of a diplomatic achievement – how do you explain your sudden desire to leave to a group of half vampire, speaker and a vampire hunter who were most probably fighting for your life during the last three days. Trevor would be completely furious. Better stand next to Sypha when presenting the decision, just in case he suddenly has the wish to use his whip. You never know how the Belmont reacts, though possibly Shari could still drag it through without making a big fuss – Lisa was definitely right about one thing: she has made a habit of negotiating her way with people, especially the ones that were apprehensive or disliked her. Truth to say, nine out of ten were either of the two.

- And don't forget, you are our healer, how are we...!?

- So far I wasn't so much required, you guys can carry on perfectly well without me.

- I'm still not sure if it is a good idea, Shari, if you want to get some rest by leaving... It may only be more dangerous for you, - Sypha argued.

- Don’t you even think of supporting her! She took a few years off our lifespans with this incident! We can’t just let you…

- No, wait, you don't get it, I...

- Shari!

- Stop bossing me around, Trevor, I am not a child! I have not finished.

- Trevor, please calm down, she is neither under your command, nor your sibling. If she wants to leave, it is her choice, - Adrian stepped in, clearly annoyed with the three.

- See? I can perfectly… - Shari tried to pick up.

- Shari, - Adrian interrupted. – Can I speak with you privately?

The healer was genuinely startled for a moment. She turned to look Adrian in the eyes – probably for the first time since the incident – trying to estimate his emotions and plan her defense strategy. She was never scared of him – or at least she never showed that he scared her sometimes, because surely being sane and realistic she could not ignore the obvious danger presented by those sharp fangs and golden eyes. Still Shari was used to considering him a friend, his malevolent side almost unable to turn against her.

Now she was startled and – honestly – slightly scared. For a moment she thought she saw it in his eyes that he looked right through her: that he perhaps watched her and Lisa or sensed her thoughts or some other vampire telepathy kind of thing. That maybe he thought she was a traitor.

Then he smiled warmly and nodded his head to the side, gesturing for her to follow him away from Trevor and Sypha – and Shari straight away knew whatever it was, he was ready to be on her side.

- Are you sure you need this resting? I mean clearly you do, you are paler than father when he wakes up, but still… Sari, I know you are stronger than you look, but a witch traveling alone during such a time doesn’t seem the brightest idea to me, - Adrian spoke quickly and quietly, for others not to hear their discussion. Shari felt ashamed for how it continued to surprise her that he sounded genuinely concerned.

- Adrian, I’ll be fine. I swear. I just… I don’t feel well…for, let’s say, various reasons, not only the attack. It just suddenly occurred to me that since your father seems to be watching and purposefully slowing you down, it may be a good decision for me to…

- To not stick around and lower the risk of encountering him or strong specifically directed demons? – she nodded in response. – Well, I can get that… And Shari, - he suddenly took her hand, his tone turning uncharacteristically warm. – I’m sorry.

- You don’t have to. We already spoke about…

- Not about that. About your disease. I’m so sorry. If only I knew how to help you – I could have known the way, you know, I once had the access to knowledge that could have… I’m so sorry for you.

They stood in silence for a few moments. Shari found herself unable to look into his eyes, staring at the ground.

- For how long have you known? – she rasped, barely recognizing her own quiet voice.

- Almost as soon as we met… Shari, I…

- Don’t. It’s alright, Adrian, I just didn’t realize you knew and this struck me a little…

- Do you know where you will be heading? – if she ever was grateful to him for anything – though she was grateful for plenty of things to be fair – it was his ability to catch onto the atmosphere and change the topic when it is very much needed.

- I… yeah sure, of course I do, I have a rough plan of what to do. Thanks, - she coughed dryly a few times, still refusing to lookup and meet his gaze.

- Shari?

- Yes.

- Promise me you will be fine. Not to be dramatic, but I… have gotten used to you quite a lot.

Shari chuckled.

- Will do my best, - she finally looked up at him and saw the half-vampire smile broadly. – I’ve gotten pretty used to you too, you overgrown puppy, - they stood in silence for some time.

- Almost forgot, one last thing before we face the storm of unacceptance named Trevor, - he blurted out, when she moved tostep away and turn back to the campsite.

- Yes?

Adrian did not say a word – he simply opened his arms and Shari fell into the embrace without even thinking. She felt utterly childish for being this familiar with him. She also felt it was nice to have someone to turn to when feeling torn and exhausted without having to explain the whirlwind of emotion in your head.

Shari shouldn’t have been surprised that it was Adrian who let her go with such ease. He knew he could trust her decisions, he always did. She was somewhat flattered by the way he treated her as an advisor and assistant even though she was no way as knowledgeable as him; the half-vampire always showed that he believed she had an own analyzed perspective of things, that she wouldn’t be reckless. This time though his trust in her rationality might have failed him. Any way it was, he openly supported her decision and expressed the hope that she would be able to catch up with them in some time.

Shari knew Trevor thought Dracula hypnotized her into surrender and laughed at it to herself. If only he had a clue that it was the human Dracula's wife who controlled her.

In the end of that emotionally exhausting morning they finally parted ways: the trio went in the direction of the closest town, hesitant to leave their friend, but unwillingly agreeing it should be done for greater good; Shari stayed at the campsite with Rodo for a bit longer, motivating it with the need of rest. Adrian threw a concerned glance in her direction, but said nothing. The vampire felt there was something wrong, but decided to let it slide, since he had already supported her decision; if she said she needed rest, then so be it.

In fact, although Shari did tell him she had a rough plan of further action, in reality she had little to no ideas in which direction to move and absolutely no wish of discussing it with thin air in front of her disbelieving friends: they would definitely not see Lisa and they would definitely think she was hallucinating after the attack. To be fair, she could never herself be sure if that wasn't exactly the case. Maybe she was talking to an imaginary friend. However, since she had already decided to believe in the ghost's existence, she had to play along that assumption.

Lisa didn’t leave her waiting and appeared as soon as they were left alone, Shari sitting by the campfire a little lost and a little tired; a victorious smile played on the ghost's lips, as she sat by the fire next to the girl. Rodo made no sign of noticing their guest, only slightly shaking his furry head and letting out a jawn.

- What? - asked Shari, annoyed by the constant attention of the ghost. She took the cattle off the fire and set it aside to cool down a bit. She needed something warm to drink if she wanted to keep her blood and lungs inside her body.

- We have to move out, - Lisa smiled, now more gently, watching the human's movements.

- It would be nice if I knew where we went, - replied Shari, slowly looking around, taking in the little amount of her personal belongings lying about - there wouldn't be much packing when she would have finally decided to pick herself off the ground.

- I'll guide you.

- What if you disappear?

- I won't.

- What if I don't want to go? What if you only tell me that you are leading me to the castle, while in reality you will lead me to Dracula? That is actually most probably what is going to happen, - Shari finally expressed her greatest worry and doubt. She could not just trust Lisa, she wanted to, but couldn't bring herself to do so. The woman was most probably still here because of them - Dracula and Adrian - so her greatest concern would be to stop their fight in any way possible in order to finally peacefully leave them, not care about some girl getting hurt in the process.

- I believe you will just have to trust me. I have told you already, I only want to stop this war with as little blood as possible, especially when it comes to Adrian’s or Vlad-I meant Dracula’s blood. You will be of very little help to me if I simply spend time leading you to your death. Besides, I shall remind you, that your illness is not exactly leading you to a happy life, so you decided trusting me on that one, - Lisa winked at her and stood up; Shari clenched her teeth: well, that was a very good point, but definitely a blow-below-the-waist strategy. - We should move out, the sooner we start - the quicker we'll be there.

- You know, you're like an older sister that I never wished to have, - Shari huffed in annoyance, but finished her tea quickly and proceeded to pack. The fact that she was annoyed didn't cancel the fact that Lisa was right. She had to move out.

***

The day trip was completely uneventful. The few villages they had passed didn't show any signs of having been attacked, but Lisa still made Shari keep away from them - maybe it was for the best, people were very unsafe these days, the fear made them aggressive to any newcomers. Especially to ones possessing magical powers and followed by black wolf-demons. Going alone to such a village could be suicidal.

It was only at the age of ten, that Shari found out she had it in her. That one trait that made people wish your head on a pike no matter how you behave. Animals weren't just "friendly" with her, no-no, friendly is one understandable thing, especially with a little child. However, "friendly" is definitely not the most accurate description of the behaviour of the large black wolf that almost attacked her one day on the edge of the woods, stopping in mid-jump as the girl turned to face it - next picture: the wolf rolling on the ground before her like and ordinary dog demanding bellyrubs. The animals would not simply like her, they would obey her as if she spoke to them directly. She had no idea where the power came from and so preferred to think she was born into her witchcraft. Her mother insisted upon it too, saying that poor old gramma was the same odd thing in her youth. At least that was what Shari remembered her saying when they did discuss her little problem. That was until she turned sixteen – until she suddenly was separate from her family and out on her own. Until the first time the people wanted to get her burned. First of many more to come.She had learned to control herself and make use of herself, never expressing anything people would see as dark wizardry, nothing even seemingly malevolent, working for the local healer, helping out as much as she could and learning some things here or there by herself about herbs and illnesses - not a study, barely a child's curiosity.

Then it was a year of particularly poor crops after an awfully dry summer, Shari sensed it was coming before she ever knew why it was so - the villagers had no other way of dealing with such misfortunes. They placed all the blame on the odd girl who learned to cure wounds and diseases and spoke to the wild animals as she pleased. Burning witches was a very common sacrifice, after all.

The night before the burning was the night she ran. She knew they would come for her, so she escaped before they could get her, left her home to set to travel into unknown. And never truly stopped running ever since.

Lisa pitied her for that, even though Shari tried to brush it off as nothing. She was a witch after all and turned to be quite a good thief, quite some reason for the other humans to hate her already, even though she couldn't say theft pleased her herself - she was surviving the way she could: moving about and healing didn't ever buy her enough bread or material. The longest she ever stayed in a town was three months - then the cycle had to start over.

Lisa understood her reasoning for that quite well. At first she wanted to argue that staying longer might have bought Shari some trust, but held her tongue - she wasn't one to give that sort of advice, not now, not after everything that happened to her exactly for staying a little too long.

When they finally stopped for the night, Shari was almost falling - her legs unwilling to carry her anymore - and bending over in loud wet coughs, feeling the taste of her own blood in her mouth and suffocating in attempts to hold back from even more coughing. The freezing weather and bloodloss, even compensated with Sypha's magic, were not going to make this journey easier for her. Shari felt the feather light caress of the ghost's hand on her back and breathed in deeply, trying to calm her heartrate.

There was pain in her ribs now too - she was scratched quite badly a few days ago by one of the attacking demons. They were fighting off several of the things and one jumped her from behind: neither she nor Rodo had noticed it before. Shari succeeded in turning to face it, making the demon bounce off her and back away as soon as she made eye contact - these things were usually not much harder to control than wolves, especially with Rodo at her side. Unfortunately, before she managed to kick it off completely, the demon had left an unpleasant scratch across her ribcage, making her fall to the ground and lose the mental contact - the beast jumped back on her in a matter of seconds and for a moment Shari thought that would be her end. Only by luck Adrian was swift enough to protect her, fighting the thing away and aiding her to recover later - the sharp claws left three deep gashes on her skin and the girl had to spend a long time tending to herself after the fight, hoping the wound would not get infected with whatever those things could carry on their paws.

The wound had been nicely bandaged before, all was going well, but apparently Dracula's attack had erased that bit of responsibility from her memory and now Shari suddenly faced yet another problem: rebandaging was not only desirable, but very much a necessity by the time she dropped to the ground, settling for the night. The soaked and dried blood on the old bands now scratched and tore at the healing wound, causing her pain.

- ‘T is okay, - she told the ghost, quickly going to sit down on the ground. Removing the band did not take much time as well as putting on a new one-not when she was used to doing it anyways, but removing a part of her clothes let the cold bite her even more in the process, so when she was finished, she was freezing to the bone, so she wrapped herself in whatever warm cloths she had left and pressed closer to Rodo, to keep at least some body heat to herself. They decided to make no fires, as Shari was now mostly defenseless and the girl already felt how much she would regret parting ways with her friends. Lisa's care and Rodo's warm side couldn't do much to keep away the cold and her lungs were almost screaming in protest. She looked at Lisa's pitiful apologetic face and whispered: - I'm already used to it, - no you aren't, this is getting worse by second and you desperately need a fire.

- You have to fall asleep quickly. Tomorrow we'll start off at dusk, - Shari lay between Rodo's back and a large tree trunk; Lisa sat next to her head, looking down at the tired healer.

- I wish it was just as easy for me to move as it is for you, - Shari whispered sleepily.

- Trust me, you don't, - both laughed.

- How much is there left? Of the way?

- If you're lucky - and persistent, we may be there by tomorrow night, - Lisa answered reassuringly.

- Really? That's so fast... Too fast, to be fair. I thought the castle was hard to catch, - she stared back at Lisa.

- Parts of it yes, it moves as a whole. But there are stable parts - that one particular entrance was the one I used when I first found him. It was very hard to track - not many know about it, it's kind of in magically protected grounds or something - nobody has the incentive to go there, - the ghost explained.

- But you had, - Shari smirked.

- Of course I had.

- I wonder how he hadn’t killed you straight away.

- Oh, but he wanted to. He tried to frighten me – told me he would drink my blood, all that classical stuff.

- So what did you do?

- Told him his manners needed repolishing.

Pause. Shari chuckled. Then snorted. Then laughed out loud.

- And he did not murder you for such an offense?

- I believe he wanted to for a moment, but was too startled to act… And then it sort of…happened. I believe it was a big “why not” for both of us, until we suddenly saw something deeper to it, - Lisa smiled to herself, seemingly diving through memories.

- Sounds a little like me meeting Adrian for the first time – God knows I saw those large fangs and yellow eyes straight away, I knew very well what he was, just couldn’t…

- Can’t beware the dark, when it’s choice between stepping in or watching someone suffer?

- Something of the kind. My self-preservation goes way below. I called him in when I saw him bleeding out by the edge of the town – half expected him to drain me as soon as I bandaged him and when he… well, as you can see, didn’t… We just talked. He stayed over for a week gaining strength, not attempting to eat me – I guess that was the first out of the only two occasions when someone I have helped did not try to accuse me of devilish business in one way or another and just accepted the help. Of course he had to be not human.

- The second time that happened was with Rodo, wasn’t it? Humans don’t tend to be overly grateful.

Both chuckled.

- Adrian seems quite attached to you, - Lisa turned to Shari. – Thanks for that. For accepting him. I was always worried that he will have a hard time fitting in…pretty much anywhere, being what he is. So thank you.

- No need to. He is nice, your son. Feels like having a friend for once.

Pause. Shari shrugged and sighed.

- Tomorrow, you said, right? Though I can't say that I'm exactly lucky, so your prediction about the time is probably too optimistic, we are bound to have some struggle tomorrow,- she huffed, turning to her side and snuggling to Rodo's furry back.

- The castle shouldn't be so far away, it is quite close to Tragoviste, shouldn't have taken us long, - Lisa explained. - And you are lucky, sunshine - remember? You survived Dracula's bite. That mark on your neck is your lucky ticket now, - Lisa winked and lay back against the tree trunk. Shari wanted to think of a witty reply, but was interrupted by another violent fit of cough and decided to let it go. The healer cuddled into Rodo’s warm side and fell into uneasy sleep, hoping that the morning would bring at least some relief.

#castlevania #dracula x oc #dracula x reader #adrian tepes #alucard #sypha belnades #trevor belmont #adrian is such a sweetheart #lisa tepes

37 notes · View notes

katzkinder · 3 years

Text

Tag, You’re It

Servamp Week Day 2 Entry: Pride/Hospitality

—

In retrospect, you should have realized sooner that something was wrong.

This family was rich. Filthy, stinking, rich, with the kind of wealth that never came from clean hands. Their estate was massive, with such eccentric building design that being a recluse was nearly a given, with an absolutely obscene amount of land surrounding the main house, a veritable forest planted right on top of it, and all smack dab in the middle of Tokyo.

Charity be damned, these people had to be embroiled with something beyond shady to even amass an ounce of the ridiculous fortune that sat in their coffers, and you had been the unlucky soul who thought it would be a good idea to try and rob them blind.

The security, or lack thereof, should have been your first clue that something was horribly, terribly, wrong.

As things were, though… You’d felt uneasy, but pressed onward. No dogs. Cameras at the front gate, but not much else. Guards? You could see none, find none, no matter how many times you staked the grounds.

No one noticed you doing it, either. Or so you had thought.

Now… You realize that they probably just hadn’t cared. Hadn’t thought you worth their time.

You? Were merely a bug, barely worth a thought, and as you stand in the checkered hallway, with its black and white marbled tiles, being stared down by two small children with their red, red eyes, a creeping sense of dread informs you that you are no more than the most insignificant pawn on their board.

Which was ridiculous.

They were only children.

"You shouldn't take that," one says to you, a little girl no more than seven. Her mousy brown hair is in ribbons high on the side of her head, edged in white frills that match the baby pink of her frock. You don’t remember your research turning up a daughter.

"It's bad to take things that aren't yours," says the other, a boy of maybe five with a jet black mop, bright green clips holding his too long fringe out the way. A toy car is in his hands. He’s too young, you note dimly, to be the heir of Alicein.

"Put it back," says another child, with her shiny black mary-janes and kitty patterned coveralls. Her voice makes you jump. You don't know where she came from. She wasn't there a second ago.

More eyes peer from around pillars, around corners, from inside a coat closet where a game of hide and seek had been interrupted, staring you down, and they only seem to be multiplying the longer you stand there, the heirloom you'd been attempting to pilfer clutched tightly in your hands. Their voices rise in volume in their attempts to chastise you until it's all unintelligible.

Abruptly, though, they go quiet, listening to the steady, unhurried footfalls of what's unmistakably an adult. Corn silk hair flutters delicately just above his shoulders, and the smile on his face is sweet, unassuming, red eyes the same as these children deceptively gentle.

"My, my, what do we have here?" His voice is smooth as silk, almost mesmerizing, even, unhurried and unconcerned as children, children, more children, clamor around him and tug at his sleeves, point at you and the proof of your guilt.

As if a spell has been broken, you whip your head around and realize you're surrounded on all sides.

There is no escape.

The man before you realizes it the same time as you do, head tipping coquettishly as he takes a step forward. You take a step back, and the throng of tiny bodies behind you move to become a wall.

“Now now, everyone, let’s not be rude to our guest,” he chides, tracking your every movement, every breath, every twitch. “So..." he starts, clapping pretty, milky white hands together beside his head with cheery glee, "Who wants to play a game of tag~?”

A chorus of meeee! sprouts from each child, hands waving and legs bouncing excitedly, giggling laughter as the fear seeps into you in this dark, awful place, guarded by what are most certainly monsters.

Stupidly, you find yourself worried for the young heir, a boy of only fifteen and whose health is reported to be in poor standing.

Any other thought is scattered when a pathway parts, each and every child running this way and that, leaving you open to attempt to flee. ...And yet you remain frozen as the beast wrapped in beauty’s guise bears down on you, glistening fangs revealed from between grinning, pale pink lips, shining like precious pearls in the light of the moon through window panes.

“I guess,” the man starts, and cold sweat trickles down the back of your neck as you beg your legs to move, move, move, “that makes me It~”

You finally find the energy to bend your traitorous body to your mind’s bidding when a weapon appears in his hands, death’s scythe, beautiful and terrible, dark blade curving elegantly and swinging through the air with far too much grace.

He lunges, and the last thing you hear is that voice, hypnotic and soothing even while your heart pounds so loudly everything else is drowned out by your own terror.

“Have a good dream…”

#kat's katerwauling #servamp #servamp week 2021 #day 2: hospitality #snow lily #pawprints

27 notes · View notes

bungou-stray-dingus · 4 years

Text

Precious

Pairing : Ranpo x Fem!Reader

A/N : WE BACK AT IT WITH THE SUPER SAD SHIT AND BY WE I MEAN ME! ITS SAD TIME! BIG SAD TIME! Ranpo deserves betters, yes I know, but I just want to make him sad. I’m sorry <3

T/W : Pregnancy ; Murder ; Torture ; Kidnapping ; Blood ; Gore ; Angst

Angstember Day 11

Every day with Ranpo was the highlight of your life. He was sweeter than the candy he snacked on, he treated you like an absolute queen, and every queen needed her king and he was just that. He would do anything for you, he protected you with everything he had, he absolutely adored you. You worked at the Agency alongside him, an ability user yourself. You were able basically predict the future, but only ten seconds ahead. Everyone called you the Agency Forecaster, as you were able to tell them what someones next move will be, you were an asset to the Agency. When you got pregnant, Ranpo had wanted you to lay off Agency work, deeming it too dangerous for you and the baby, but you loved your job, you loved helping the Agency, and that would be your downfall.

Six months into your pregnancy and you were still able to conceal it well enough that everyone at the Agency had no clue. Your clothing was a little baggier but not by much, nothing that was noticeable by the members, and you had went from wearing heels to flats. The baby bump wasn’t much, and although it worried you in the beginning, the doctors had said that everyone’s body was different, and yours just decided to not show as much, but the baby was healthy and okay, and that’s all that mattered to you and Ranpo.

“I don’t know why you won’t tell anyone about him. Most people would be excited to announce their pregnancy.” Ranpo began the usual conversation that you always had over breakfast. He was always trying to talk you out of going into work, but you were persistent.

“Of course I’m excited, but you and I both know that if I tell them, they’ll ask me to sit out on cases. I love my job, and... they need me.” You explained, watching his reaction to what you said. He couldn’t argue with what you said, he never could. He knew how much everyone there needed you, but it still worried him. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, defeated by your logic. You reached across the table and grabbed his hand, brushing your thumb across his knuckles. “You know very well that my ability isn’t combative. I won’t get hurt.”

He nodded, but he still wasn’t comfortable, every second that you were in the office he was on edge. Every time you had to go out on a case, he was a nervous wreck. You always came back unscathed, unharmed, not a scratch on you. You were thoroughly protected at all times, you were just as important to the Agency as Yosano was. It wasn’t just you that he had to worry about now though, you had a child, his child.

Work started just like any other day. Ranpo and you walked into the office, hand in hand, his other hand was carrying a box of sweets to get him through the day. “Ah, Y/L/N! You, Atsushi, and I have a mission to go on today!” Dazai called from the other side of the office, waving to you as if his voice hadn’t gotten your attention enough. Ranpo’s hand squeezed yours tightly, he obviously wasn’t ready for you to go out so early in the day. He hadn’t had enough time to prepare himself to deal with the anxiety it caused.

“What kind of mission is it?” Ranpo asked, his hand no longer in yours, instead it was wrapped around your waist, pulling you to his desk so he could set down his sweets and sit comfortably with you next to him while he listened to Dazai explain the specifics.

“Oh, it’s just some crap with the Mafia. They want to talk about something, they wanted me to bring Atsushi, so I’m sure it’s something about handing him over or there will be a fight. Y/N will be able to let us know if they’re planning on something. Don’t worry though, everything will be fine.” Dazai said it so nonchalant, but Ranpo was losing it over just the thought of you being near anyone from the Port Mafia.

“I can do that. I’m sure everything will be fine.” You reassured Ranpo, turning to kiss his cheek. He had you sitting on his lap, and at this point, no one in the office was phased by you sitting there anymore. They would be more shocked if you weren’t sitting on his lap honestly.

He wrapped his arms tighter around you, hiding his face in your back. He mumbled against the back of your shirt, the vibrations from his voice and the warmth of his breath seeping through the fabric of your shirt sent shivers up your spine. “I don’t like this, cinnamon bun. It’s not safe.”

“We don’t have a lot of time. We have to get going.” Dazai said, noticing the way Ranpo held you tighter. “Y/N will be okay, Ranpo. Atsushi and I won’t let anything happen to her.” He walked over to pat Ranpo’s shoulder, you felt his breath hot against your skin again as he sighed, but his arms loosened from around you.

“Be careful.” He murmured, casually rubbing his hand over your stomach. The baby kicked against his touch causing you to giggle slightly. You leaned over to kiss him quickly before getting up from his lap, walking with Dazai and Atsushi out the office door.

The three of you got to the Mafia building, the boys both stared at you, their way of silently asking if anything was going to happen. You quickly shook your head no, giving them the nod that as of right now and ten seconds into the future, everything would be okay.

Dazai led the way in and you followed close behind while Atsushi stayed behind you. You felt safe with the two of them, knowing Atsushi’s ability and Dazai’s natural charm and the way he was able to sweet talk, you were sure that you were safe and you would be able to go back to the office and be with Ranpo rather quickly. Nothing would go wrong, at least, that’s what you thought.

The boys ran into the office, both their faces filled with worry and fear as their eyes scanned the office for Ranpo. He was already standing, staring at the door expectantly, waiting for you to walk in behind them. It took him a second to fully register the looks on their faces, that’s when his stomach sank and he had to fight the urge to puke right then and there.

“I’m sorry Ranpo-san.” Atsushi muttered, bowing in Ranpo’s direction. What did he mean sorry? Had something already happened to you? Were you dead? You couldn’t be, he couldn’t lose you and his son. That couldn’t be the case. You were still alive, he could still feel it, like your hearts were beating as one, and yours was still hammering in your chest. He still had time.

“You left her! Why would you leave her!?” Ranpo screamed, his voice reaching an octave unheard by anyone else in the room. They all turned to face him, his distress and obvious desperation all had them standing from their chairs.

“Ranpo, calm down. She’s fine. She’ll be fine.” Yosano attempted to reassure him, but he only shook his head, walking past her to stand in front of Dazai. His height didn’t deter Ranpo, instead he craned his neck, his emerald eyes meeting Dazais brown irises.

“You know I didn’t mean for anything to happen to her Ranpo. They took her while Atsushi and I were distracted. I didn’t think that it would turn to this.” Dazai pleaded with Ranpo, it was a first, his usual cocky attitude seemed to have disappeared under Ranpos glare.

“I told you not to take her. It’s too dangerous, and like always, I was right. Now, take me to her.” Ranpo ordered, but everyone’s attention was diverted when Fukuzawa stepped out into the main office.

“Everyone goes. We make sure to bring Y/N back safe.” His voice was powerful, almost hypnotic as he spoke. There would be no disapproval, no hesitation.

“Thank you, sir.” Ranpo bowed to the President before turning back to Dazai. “Lets go.”

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

You sat on the concrete floor, your back against the concrete wall. The entire room was bare aside from the shackles and chains hanging from the walls, the same shackles and chains that they had used to bound you there. You hadn’t struggled, you knew it wasn’t safe for you to do so. The baby hadn’t stopped moving since you had been captured, but you tried your best to hide it and not react to his movements.

“Your ability is far more useful than the were-tigers. They’re all foolish to not see that. I’ve only known of two other people with an ability like yours, they’re both dead, but not even they were able to see as far as you do.” Chuuya paced back and forth in front of you, his hands behind his back, he rarely ever looked at you, but when he did his eyes were like daggers. “Why waste such a useful ability on the Agency. You’d get paid well here.”

“It’s not about money. I want to help people. I want to save people. I don’t belong here.” You tried to speak calmly, you didn’t want him to know you were scared, it would only give him more power.

“That’s what I don’t understand about you and your people. You never actually save people. All the people you say you save, they’re already dead. Most of the time you can’t even bring those people justice without killing someone else in the process. The Agencies body count is higher than ours, but we’re the evil ones?” Chuuya knelt down in front of you, his face was smug, arrogant, his eyes squinted as he stared at you. “You’re no better than us, and we’re no more worse than you.”

You heard the voice of another man calling from down the stairs, the sounds of explosions going off over top of you. “What’s happening?” You asked, trying to pull your hands out of the shackles.

“Looks like the cavalry has arrived to try to save you. Don’t worry, they won’t get down here.” He patted your head before getting on his feet and walking towards the stairs. “Come down and watch her. If anyone gets through, you know what to do.”

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

The group powered through the guards at the doors, Ranpo was flanked on all sides by everyone trying to get him through. Dazai knew exactly where you would be at, he was in charge of leading the way.

“I swear, Dazai, if she’s hurt...” Ranpo growled. No one had ever seen his so angry, so distraught. He rarely cried, and although he was doing his best to hide it at the moment, everyone could see how glossy his eyes were, he was holding it all in the best he could, but he was about to burst.

“She’ll be alright, Ranpo. You have to trust us, we’re gonna get her back.” Yosano murmured, her voice soft as she spoke to him. She only ever used that tone with him, it was almost motherly the way she tried to console him.

They moved deeper into the building, taking down everyone they came across. It was mainly guards at this point, everyone knew that they would be saving the worst for last. “Right over there! Come on!” Dazai called out, pointing to an elevator at the end of the hallway.

The group piled onto the elevator, Dazai pushed to button to take them down, knowing all too well where you were being kept. “This is too easy... They’re waiting for us, aren’t they?” Atsushi asked, but he knew the answer, just as everyone else did. They were all ready though, they would power through anyone to get to you.

“You all showed up, now that really is something. How much is she worth to you?” Chuuya asked sarcastically. He was leaning against the wall next to the stairs that led down to you, his arms folded across his chest. Hearing him say that made Ranpo want to charge, but he knew he had to hold back, just long enough to get down those stairs. You would be there waiting for him, he would save you, he would bring you back home where you belonged.

“The members of my Agency are priceless, not one is worth more than the other. We just want to bring her back safe. I’m sure you wouldn’t want any harm to come to the young woman.” Fukuzawa, always the peace keeper said, his voice calm as he eyed Chuuya. Everyone was on the ready though, ready to charge, ready to attack, ready to kill just to get to you.

Chuuya chuckled, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t harm her, of course not. I’m not that kind of person. There is however, one person here who could care less.” He turned to look at Dazai, one eyebrow raised, his fingers tapping against his arm. “You know who I’m talking about, don’t you?”

“Akutagawa...” Ranpo and Atsushi turned to Dazai as he said the name. Everyone knew who he was, and now they knew how much danger you were really in. “If anything happens to her-”

“Yeah, yeah. Spare me the speech. I’m not here to stop you. I’m here to watch him tear you all to shreds.” He moved away from the stairs, extending his arm down the staircase to let everyone through. “Have fun.”

Ranpo didn’t wait a second before pushing through everyone that had surrounded him, racing down the stairs. They all called after him, begging him to stop, but he didn’t listen, he didn’t want to stop. He wanted to pull you into his arms, he wanted to shield you, protect you with himself.

The second his feet hit the landing at the bottom of the stairs, Akutagawa had the chains undone, cutting through them effortlessly with Rashamon. You screamed at the sharp dark black masses that entangled you, pulling you up off the floor and close to Akutagawa. Ranpo didn’t move any closer, watching as a blade of the mass trailed across your torso, he watched your body quiver with fear as your eyes locked.

“A pitiful attempt of a rescue, honestly, I feel kind of bad. Of all the people to send down first, they send you?” Akutagawa almost growled with disgust, like he was disappointed in the lack of fighting that would ensue. “Although... I don’t feel quite that bad...” Akutagawa didn’t smile, there was no hint of malevolence, his face was as straight as ever as he plunged the blade of Rashamon through your chest.

Your scream was cut off almost instantly, the only sound was the gurgling of blood building up in your lungs as you attempted to breathe. It wasn’t enough though, it was never enough. The blade dragged down, the sound of skin and muscles being torn through filled Ranpos ears, as if the volume was turned up to the highest level. He watched on in both shock and horror as you were practically gutted right in front of him.

The blood pooled at his feet, there was so much, it splashed against the soles of his shoes as Akutagawa dropped your body to the ground. The other members of the Agency had been standing on the stairs behind Ranpo, they watched it happen just as he had. The anger that emanated from each and every one of them was palpable, it could have been cut with a knife, it was thick and it hung in the air like a storm cloud.

Akutagawa coughed, staring up at Dazai on the stairs. “I’ve done good, wouldn’t you think? Spare no one, show no mercy, just like you.” He rolled your body over with his shoe, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he looked down at your body. “Two for one.”

Ranpos eyes grazed over your abdomen that had been swollen with his growing son just this morning, now cut open, the torn muscles and tissues exposing your uterus that was also slashed open. He fell to the floor, his knees splashing the blood, droplets flying up and landing on his face, his shirt, his coat. He crawled over to where your body lay, he saw his son in your womb, small, not fully developed, but he had ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes, his nose like a button, perfect and round, curled up in a ball with his thumb in his mouth. He finally screamed, screeched, slamming his palms down into the pool of blood that surrounded him and you.

Akutagawa started walking away as Dazai, Kunikida, Tanizaki and Atsushi tried to pull Ranpo away from your body. He stopped on the stairs next to Fukuzawa, looking him in the eye as he spoke. “I’ll let Mori know to prepare for a fight.” He didn’t wait for Fukuzawa’s response before continuing up the stairs, a trail of bloody footsteps stained the floor where he walked.

“No! No no no no no!” Ranpo fought everyone off, pushing them away as he held onto your carcass. “I can’t leave them. I can’t! I won’t! Let me go!” His screams sounded more like cries. They were choppy, choked off, high pitched, the cries of a broken man, a man who had lost everything in one fell swoop. He had nothing, he was nothing if not with you. Life had gone dark for him, there was no light at the end of the tunnel, only darkness, a darkness that suffocated and blinded him. He would never escape the darkness that was now his life, it would only continue to consume him until he was just an image, no longer the man he used to be. He would never go back to being that man, not without you, not when you were the one who made him the man that he was.

201 notes · View notes

youshouldhavepaidattentiondad · 3 years

Text

Slow Descent: Chapter 3: Totally Wigging Out, Man (Why Don't You Take a Chill Pill?)

Day 3 entry for @hatchetober

Prompt: Fear

Ao3

Early morning sunlight streams through the big picture window. Arlen sits at his kitchen table, sipping from a mug. There may be a lot of coffee shops in Hatchetfield, but he prefers tea. He sets the mug down with a soft clack. The blank pages of a notebook stare up at him. He ignores them in favor of staring at his phone. He had sent Duke a text right when he had woken up and only received silence in return.

With a resigned sigh, he reaches for a pen. He supposes he can do some writing while he waits. As soon as he touches the pen, his phone lights up. He snatches up the device instead, quickly opening his most recent text. It's from Duke, but all it contains is an address and a time for later that afternoon. Arlen frowns as he texts back see you then.

That afternoon, Arlen parks by the curb in what appears to be an abandoned subdivision. Again, he finds himself wondering exactly how big Hatchetfield is. Small towns don't have subdivisions.

As he steps out of his Corvette, Duke steps out of the station wagon parked in front of him. Duke nods in acknowledgement before he walks up the crumbling drive to an olive green house.

Arlen follows, glancing at the overgrown yard. "Who lives here?" He asks.

"Nobody anymore," Duke answers. He pulls a key out of his pocket and inserts it into the lock of the front door. The door creaks open and Duke walks inside.

That's sketchy.

Against his better judgement, Arlen follows him inside. A thick layer of dust covers the carpet, muting its brilliant real color. The walls are mauve and covered in pop art pieces and band posters. He swallows nervously at how many dead houseplants there are, their leaves dry and brown. The couch and armchairs are brightly colored, segmented into random geometric shapes. "Uh, so the 80's called-"

"And Miss Holloway always picked up," Duke says with a fond sigh. "Come on." He leads Arlen down a narrow hall, past a corded wall phone, and into an office.

Well, office might be a bit generous. There's various glass tables around, stacked with thick tomes and piles of loose leaf paper. One table has some sort of tray on it. There's a chintz couch in the middle of the room. On the wall to the right, there's a collage of some sort.

"What is all this?" Arlen asks in a low voice.

Duke takes a deep breath. "This is what Miss Holloway was working on before…" he shakes his head.

Arlen walks over to the collage, eyes trying to take in everything at once. There's newspaper clippings too faded to read. There's handwritten notes and sketches. There's Polaroid snapshots littered amongst them. One near the middle catches his attention. Carefully, he pulls it off the wall.

There's three people in the shot. In the middle is a young woman with teased red hair, wearing a denim jacket with pins and holding on to the arm of the man to her right. The man she's clinging to has a kind smile and a crooked jaw, but something in his eyes makes Arlen uncomfortable. On the woman's left is a clean shaven man with shoulder length hair, a cigarette between his lips and a watch on his right wrist.

He stares at the picture for several long moments before looking at Duke. "I am completely lost," he admits, "Please explain."

Duke sighs as he settles on the sofa, seemingly not caring about the dust. "You have to understand all this information is secondhand. There are parts I don't even understand." He takes a deep breath before looking at Arlen seriously. "Miss Holloway was a witch."

"... okay."

"I know it sounds insane, but she had this power. She could hypnotize people, enter your mind. I have no clue how she did it, but she did. She could probably even do more." Duke glances at the tray on its own little table. "Before she died, she told me there was a powerful entity at work, who had ill intent for the world as we know it. She said the entity's envoy was a man named Wiley, who wore all denim, like you said."

Ice cold fear pierces Arlen to his core. That would make sense, but does it really? "So what happened?" He asks as he walks over to the tray. It has a velvet inlay, with a knife shaped indentation, but it's empty.

"She said she had to fight Wiley and one of them would have to die." Duke lets out a shaky breath. "Her body was found in the Starlight Theater. The building had been closed for repairs. The work crew came in to find her body in the middle of the stage. They still don't know how it got there, the theater was locked when they arrived."

It feels like his veins are turning to ice. "So what does this Wiley bastard want with me?"

"I have no clue," Duke says.

That's reassuring. On a whim, Arlen flips over the Polaroid. On the back, in purple glitter ink, is written W. Cross, Me, J. McNamara, followed by a date some twenty odd years ago. There's a small heart next to Cross' name.

"Maybe this stuff can help though!" Duke suggests, "Maybe-"

Arlen cuts him off with a laugh. "If a literal witch didn't stand a chance against this guy, I doubt I do." He turns to walk out. "Thanks for telling me all this, Duke. Take care."

The entire drive home, Arlen feels numb. His head is swirling with thoughts, trying to connect the dots. Is any of this even real? Maybe Duke is fucking with him for asking about his dead friend. That's a possibility. Something deep in Arlen's gut tells him that's not what's happening though.

He parks in his driveway before climbing out, still holding the snapshot. It feels important, even if he's not sure why yet. Like writing an amazing piece of dialogue and not knowing where in the story you're going to put it.

He flips on the light as he walks into the house. He heads to the kitchen, turning on the light there as well. He puts the Polaroid on the fridge, keeping it in place with a magnet, before opening the fridge to pull out a hard cider. He twists the top off and takes a long drink before turning around.

His heart drops, ice cold fear creeping through his body at the sight of a green apple sitting on his island counter.

Note: *baseball slides across the finish line* I made it! Arlen Mercier is my original character, please do not use without my permission

#slow descent #hatchetober 2021 #hatchetfield universe #black friday #tgwdlm #starkid #fic #arlen mercier #duke keane #miss holloway

6 notes · View notes

inkandpen22 · 4 years

Text

Time is Irrelevant (2/?): Vive La France

Pairing: Eleventh Doctor x Female!Reader

Warnings: swearing, mention of death

Word Count: 4.5k (she’s long lol sorry about it)

Part Summary: Y/N wakes up dazed and confused. From then on, things only get more confused as she starts to realize she’s in 18th century France with a strange man.

Masterlist

I gradually open my eyes, my vision blurry at first. A bright light burns them and I feel as though I’m staring into the gates of Heaven. Then, the memory of what happened jolts me awake. Startled, I frantically scan my surroundings. I come to the horrifying conclusion that I’m no longer at the table in the student union. In fact, I have no clue where I am! I’m in a bedroom, on a bed with tall dark wood posts. The room looks too grand and vintage to be anywhere on campus. It’s baby blue walls and crown molding don’t exactly scream cinderblock dorm room. The furniture appears to be so detailed and too fragile to touch, which will be a problem because I woke up on the bed. Am I in a museum?

I stand up cautiously, afraid someone may barge in. I glance down and I see I’m in a white cotton nightgown. A grandma nightgown, seriously? How did I get here and why am I in grandma's pajamas? As I take in my appearance, I don’t see any injuries or bruising, that’s good. I feel alright, panicked, but alright. My brain is pounding against my skull. I can hear my mom now, ranting in my mind. She’d say, “don’t hurry to get up! You could have a concussion.” I rarely listen to her and I don’t plan on starting now.

I step closer to what appears to be a balcony and I peer out to get an idea of where I am. Leaning over the iron rail, I see a dirt road below. People crowd the streets, they maintain a loud banter. Their clothes, they’re odd. Wait, is that man wearing a white wig? Where the hell am I? A gold plated carriage goes by down the street and a man yells at the top of his lungs in what sounds to me as French. As I focus on the commotion, all I hear is French. I take note of the architecture of the surrounding buildings and it all is very French, specifically Parisian. I’m not an expert who has never been to France but I would say the architecture of Paris is pretty iconic. Wait no, this can’t be real! It couldn’t be possible in Paris! How could I possibly be in the United States one minute, then wake up in France? It’s not possible. My heart drops, I’ve been kidnapped and taken out of the country!

“Good! You’re awake!”

I jump at the sudden voice. When I whip around, I spot the strange man from before entering the room.

“Put this on,” he instructs, tossing me a gown nonchalantly. “You stand out like a lily in a field full of daisies.”

I take in his appearance. He’s decked out in colonial-era clothing like the cluster of people down below. My mind screams, reminding me that this is all ridiculous. There’s no way I’m in France and there must be a good reason as to why everyone is dressed as though we’re about to go eat some cake with Marie Antonette. I snickered lightly, baffled at the idea of any of this being real. I’m clearly still asleep.

“Y/N!” The strange professor snaps his fingers and I'm pulled from my thoughts. “Please, before we’re late!”

I snap out of the daze and remember that this man has kidnapped me. Chucking the dress onto the bed, I proceed to bark at him. “Where am I?! Where have you taken me?!” My voice progressively escaping me in screams.

He grins slyly, staring into my soul. “I believe you've already figured that out for yourself…”

I shake my head, laughing at what he’s suggesting. He must think I’m an idiot. He narrows his eyes at me, curious.

“Oh please,” I tease him. “You can’t possibly think I would believe any of this? I’m in college, not kindergarten! Now, let me go!” I start to approach the door but he steps in my way.

His fingers wrap around my forearm with a forceful grip. “Look Y/N, we don’t have time for this! You ARE indeed in France. You ARE in 1778! Now, get dressed! We can’t be late!”

I stare into his eyes as he shouts this nonsense to me. The miniature oceans that encompass them. They have this electricity about them that draws me in and I feel hypnotized. Yet, I must remain level headed if I plan on escaping and surviving this.

Aggressively, I yank my arm free. “Let go of me you psycho! Have you lost your mind? There’s no way-”

The professor wraps his arm around me and presses his free hand over my mouth. I scream for someone to help, but my words are muffled against his hand.

“But it is!” He argues, “I possess the ability to time travel! Okay! The Eye of Harmony, Rassilon's Star, it exists!”

Upon hearing his words, I stop fighting him, utterly stunned. His hands ease off of my face and release my arm. My chest rises and plummets at an inconsistent rate. There are very few people who speak of the star. It’s legend, ancient mythology, lost in history.

“But…” I struggle to find the words, “but that's not possible.” My volume has lost its touch. My words flowing out like little puffs of wind.

“But it is! Now, get dressed and I’ll explain everything!” He tells me, seemingly eager to clear the air.

I watch silently as he turns to leave abruptly. Does he drop the bombshell that he may have the most powerful stone in the world then goes to leave? Of course, he would.

As he walks away, he presses, “we have somewhere we need to be and soon!”

Processing the situation, I take matters into my own hands. “Will you just wait for a second?!”

Irritable, he crosses his arms, “what it is?”

“I believe I deserve some sort of explanation! Now! I’m not going anywhere with you until you give me some sort of explanation now!”

He huffs, rubbing his temple. “We’re in France! I need you in that dress! We have an appointment and running late! There’s your explanation! Now if you’ll please,” he gestures towards the gown on the bed.

Swallowing hard, I comprehend the fact that he won’t be so forthcoming with me. I’ve seen plenty of thrillers where a girl is kidnaped and she acts out or doesn’t do anything which leads to her demise. I always shout at the girls to play along until the right opportunity arises. For all I know, I’m somewhere close to school and he’s messing with my head. All I’m sure about is I have to make it home.

“1778 you claim?” I clarify as I pick up the dress on the bed. As I examine the attire, I’m reminded of how uncomfortable women dressed. “This should be interesting...” If I’m going to play along I’ll need the proper attire and this isn’t it. I huff, “I’ll need a corset, heels, shift, pannier-”

The professor waves his hands for me to quiet down. “Yes! Yes, I know! I’ll be sending Joséphine in to help you. Any further questions?”

I shake my head, still struggling to cope.

“Very well,” he bows his head. As soon as he appeared he disappears into the halls. As soon as the door shuts, I feel as though I’m on the verge of fainting. I stumble over to the balcony in search of an escape route. I may only have minutes before he returns.

“I must be dreaming,” I tell myself to remain sane.

He’s really taking this whole charade about time travel seriously. Apart of me wishes to believe what he’s saying is true, the part of me that loves history blindly. If I’m truly in 1778 Paris that would incredible. Yet, I know logically time travel is impossible. Except, according to legend, the Eye of Harmony is said to allow time travel. Of course, that’s just ancient mythology, folklore. There’s no one alive that’s seen the star.

I watch the people in the streets below in awe. It all seems so real, the wagons, women dressed in corsets, and men dressed like the Founding Fathers. He must’ve drugged me, that’s the only explanation. Suddenly, the door creaks behind me and I jump like a scared cat. A lady, whom I assume is Joséphine, enters the room.

“Bonsoir Madame,” she greets me with a curtsy.

“Bonsoir…” I mutter, terrified but trying to remain calm.

Joséphine offers me a reassuring smile. I’m guessing she’s about my age, perhaps a few years older but not much. She guides me over to the vanity gently. At first, I stay as still as a statue. I watch as she picks up a few containers on the table and skims the labels.

“Ah oui!” She blurts out, apparently, she’s found what she was looking for.

After she selects a brush from the jar, she prepares to start on my makeup but I stop her.

“I’m okay, really! I just-”

“Non, non, non,” she objects. “ce soir madame vous devez avoir l'air parfait!”

Great, so if this really is 1778 then I’m about to get a heavy dose of lead poisoning. This white powder she’s spreading on my face makes me look like Casper. I respect the bold fashion of this era but rosy cheeks, cherry lips, and silk white skin, not my best look.

Once I’m suffocating in my dress, she pushes me down into the chair in front of the vanity and roughly yanks my auburn hair up. I study in the mirror as she pins my hair down to my scalp and digs the pins into my head. How the hell am I supposed to balance this clump of hair on my head? It’s taller than my entire head.

“Ouch!” I bark.

“Pardon, Madame,” she apologizes softly.

After I appear the part, Joséphine leads me through the house. It’s beautiful. The detail in the crown modeling and art-like wallpaper are so unique. I gawk at the walls as we walk through each room. She leads the way through the double front doors to a carriage where I’m met by the strange professor.

“Merci,” I thank Joséphine, though the experience wasn’t the most enjoyable.

She bows her head and leaves to return inside. I approach the professor, who’s dressed in the traditional french male attire of the time, wig in all. For a moment, it takes my breath away. I read so many books and seen so many movies about the era but nothing as felt more real than this.

“Nice wig,” I tease a bit, stifling a giggle.

“Dido,” he jokes in return.

“My head feels ten pounds heavier,” I poke at the cotton ball on my head. “How do I balance it?”

“You’ll learn. Takes practice.” The professor chuckles then snap his fingers for the footman to open the door of the carriage. Gesturing toward the door, he allows me to enter first.

I swift my gaze toward our mode of transpiration. I’ve never seen an authentic 18th-century carriage of this magnitude. The gold frame and light baby blue fabric are luxurious. I can only imagine how much history is within this carriage, at least will be I suppose.

“Are you admiring it or afraid of it?” The professor chuckles beside me.

“It’s… I’ve never seen anything like it.”

I’m not saying I entirely believe him with his fairytales but nonetheless, this experience so far has been like passages from my textbooks. I can feel him staring at me as I examine the carriage. It’s all too remarkable for me to look away.

“I see Joséphine did your hair and makeup as well, good,” He states with a grin. “If we’ll be at court, you’ll need to look the part.”

Before I have the chance to question his meaning, he offers me his hand to help me into the carriage. I’m hesitant. After all, this dude did kidnap me. As for his reasoning, I’m still in the dark. All I know is, possibly, that I’m in an entirely different country and almost three hundred years in the past, so he claims. I have no idea who he is or why he has me here. Yet, for some strange reason, I find myself trusting him slightly and against my better judgment. It’s his eyes. Every time I fall into them my gut tells me to trust him.

The professor sits across from me and settles in. The footman shuts the door and the driver calls to the horses to go along.

“Court?” I interrogate him, “as in the royal court?”

“Yes, precisely,” he replies as if it makes perfect sense.

He must be bonkers! There is no way we could be on our way to Versailles during the era of the monarchy and dressed like this!

“Right, right…” I raise a brow, “and who is king exactly?”

He rubs his hands up and down his thighs nervously. “That’s where you come in!”

“Me?!”

Quite frankly some rulers were just plain crazy and were temperamental! Plus, the French and English were constantly at war during the 18th century! This isn’t the time to visit for peace and quiet.

He scoffs, leaning forward to keep his voice down. “That’s the reason you’re here Miss Historian! You’re in charge of knowing everything about every century we visit!”

I narrow my eyes, “every century? Last I checked I never agreed to travel across time with you?!”

If that’s even what we’re doing. If he expects me to go to another destination with him he’s sorely mistaken.

He grins, not believing me for a second. “Oh, so you much rather go home? Sit behind a desk instead of meeting the very people you’re studying?”

If any of this was true, he’d have a point. I’ll never grant him the satisfaction of admitting that.

I scoff, “fine! You said it was 1778, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right,” he answers quickly.

“Okay… ” I stare up at the ceiling to focus, reviewing my knowledge of the French monarchy. It appears in my mind like a timeline. I mumble, “1778… that’s in the middle of the American Revolution which means it’s before the French Revolution so the king would be… oh my god!”

My hand flies up to my mouth. I can’t believe it! If this man is telling the truth, then we’re in quite the most interesting year.

His eyes widen in horror and he grips my hands between us. “What?! What is it?!”

“Louis XVI! Louis XVI is the king! Oh, this is too good! Marie freaking Antoinette! Seriously? I can’t believe this!” I squeal, jumping up and down in my seat uncontrollably, causing the carriage to rock.

A part of me is starting to fall for the man’s word, perhaps I really am in 1778. At least then I could actually meet Louis XVI. For a second, I felt myself believing wholeheartedly.

“Is he cruel?! Kind Hearted?! Best king France has ever had?!”

I laugh, has he never picked up a history book?

“Sir, have you never heard of Louis XVI before? He’s infamous! What about the French Revolution? I mean… if we really are where you say we are, we’re living in it!”

He pouts, peering at me like an offended child. “No actually, I have heard of him! I guess you could just say he’s after my time. I’m better acquainted with his father,” he adds in a mutter.

I scrunch my eyebrows, “after your time? How could he be after-”

He cuts me off, “forget it. I’ll explain at a better time. As for now, your job is to inform me of everything I need to know about the French court. I know how to handle royalty and the protocol. All I need is for you to help me with the background information on these individuals. Though all royals are superficially the same I have to gain their trust on a personal level. In exchange, I’ll help you play the part of a lady of the court.”

I huff as I readjust my skirt, somewhat offended. Simply because I wasn’t born an aristocrat with a stick up my butt doesn’t mean I don’t know how to act civilized.

“I know how to be a lady! I can curtsy and whatnot!”

He stifles a laugh, raising a brow. “Y/N, have you ever even met a royal?”

He’s right once again. In my defense, America isn’t exactly crawling with monarchs. We got rid of that whole issue centuries ago.

“No…” I timidly admit.

He has a point, which annoys me. I may have been taught table manners and proper etiquette by my grandmother growing up but her rules are nothing compared to a royal court’s. I would be walking into a lion’s den without Danny’s guidance.

“So then, do we have a deal?” He holds out his hand. A mischievous grin coats his lips.

For all I know, I could be agreeing to anything. He could turn back on his word at any moment. I don’t trust him, not in the slightest. Yet, If I agree for the time being, it could buy me my freedom. I take a chance.

I shake his hand, “deal.”

His eyes widen, “almost forgot!”

He reaches into his frilly French jacket pocket and reveals a key. A standard old, metal key with a long string attached.

“You’ll be needing it.” He assures me as he shifts toward me and begins to put it around my neck.

“What is it?” I ask, still in awe.

“A key…” He sasses.

“Ugh,” I roll my eyes, “obviously! I’m asking why do I need it?”

“It’s to my Tardis,” he states as though everyone has one.

“What the hell-”

The carriage jolts to a stop abruptly. Soon, the driver opens the door for us and offers his hand for assistance. My mind is still focused on the blast the professor just sent in my direction. I’m still stuck on his statement, he’s after my time. What did he mean by that? Then, I learn that magic is basically real, along with time-travel.

My train of thought is soon interrupted by the professor calling my name. I hadn’t noticed him climb out of the carriage I was so deep within myself. I accept the hand of the driver and step down out of the carriage. Many of them that are similar to our own are lined up single file. Danny offers me his arm which I take instantly. I gawk at the copper-colored palace with gold embellishments. I’ve always wanted to visit Versailles. I never would have guessed it would be in this setting. I imagined hundreds of tourists with their phones out, too occupied to enjoy the magnificence in front of them. Instead, I’m surrounded by men in bright colored breeches and women wearing wigs that could reach the heavens.

“Are you alright?” he peers down at me, worried.

“Yes, it’s just… I’ve never seen anything like it,” I admit, breathlessly.

Men and women dressed in extravagant jewels and clothes. Only the highest social figures are gawking at the palace, arm in arm.

“It’s the king’s twenty-fourth birthday ball,” he informs me as we stroll into the palace doors behind various couples of the time.

My pulse must be through the roof I’m so anxious. My mind is racing. Danny is putting on a convincing show that we belong here. He has is his role well-rehearsed it appears.

“Stay close,” he instructs, searching the entrance hall.

I grip his arm, halting before we go in.

“What is it?” The man questions.

“What your name?” I comprehend I’ve never learned it. With everything going on, there was never a proper moment. Now, I realize there will never be.

“I’m the Doctor,” he answers with a sly grin.

“’ The Doctor?’ Well, I’m sorry to break it to you but there’s more than just one doctor in the world,” I laugh, this man can’t be serious.

“No,” he huffs, “my name is Doctor. I’m a... you know what, never mind. I’ll-”

“You’ll explain later,” I finish.

“Look at you catching on quickly,” he compliments and pinches my cheek. I swat his hand away with a frown. Geez, he’s annoying. He’s like the Energizer bunny in human form.

“Let’s head inside,” he instructs, guiding me along.

I adjust my skirt briefly, correcting any wrinkles from the ride here. He clears his throat and my eyes meet him as he gestures toward the ceiling with a smirk. It takes every cell of my being and a lot of self-control to not let my jaw drop. Absentmindedly, my arm falls from the Doctor as he continues to walk down the Hall of Mirrors and leaves me in awe of the architecture. I slowly come to a stop as I become engrossed in the details.

It suddenly hits me like a pile of bricks, this is all real. Everything the Doctor has said must be true. I went along with his word but now I truly believe it. The hand-painted ceiling, the solid gold statues that reflect in the mirrors, the marble walls surrounding them, and the crystal chandeliers that line the grand hall. The remaining light of the setting sun pours in through the windows and bounces off the floor. There is no possible way Versailles could be like this in modern times, it’s far too untouched and pristine. This means I’m honestly, without a doubt, in the year 1778. My heart feels as though it’s plummeted to my stomach. Oh my God, this is remarkable! This is every history lover’s dream! I’m living out my textbooks. I’m experiencing history first hand!

It must’ve taken the Doctor very little time to notice my absence. He calmly approaches me, visibly aware of my clear baffled state. I believe my reaction is valid considering the circumstances.

He whispers, “is it what you imagined based on your history books?”

I shake my head, nearly speechless. All I can do is gawk at everyone and everything around me. “It’s beyond anything I could imagine!” I finally break my attention away from the exquisite art to meet his gaze. “I believe you,” I confess to him.

Slight grin forms on the edge of his lips and his eyes fall to the floor with a slight chuckle. “I always knew you would…” He mutters under his breath.

Offering me his arm, he escorts me into a crowded ballroom. The Doctor must know the layout of the palace quite well unless he’s simply following the flow of the crowd. An orchestra plays in the background as drinks are passed around by servants with trays. I spin around slowly, staring up at the ceiling and chandeliers. All of the stories in these walls, the royals that have lived here, what will become of this palace, my head is spinning as I review the details. The music comes to a sudden halt along with the movement and banter in the room. All attention turns toward the double doors across the ballroom as they swing open. People shuffle closer, peering over each other’s heads to sneak a peek. Trumpets play a melody familiar to anyone, the signal of the King and Queen entering the room. Through the space between heads, I can see glimpses of the young notorious couple. Marie Antoinette’s tall and decorated wig, her pale and porcelain-like skin, her extraordinary gown, all perfect. The crowd disburses and form their miniature groups again. The Doctor snatches two champagne flutes from a passing tray and hands one to me.

“Doctor,” I whisper to him cautiously, in case of prying ears. “Why are we here? Don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic but I don’t understand the purpose?”

He pulls me aside behind one of the pillars for some privacy. He scans the room to make sure no one is watching us. His actions have me wondering if our purpose here could put us in danger.

“How much do you know about the monarchs and the palace itself?”

My brows rise in astonishment, I start to question myself on how he doesn’t find the answer obvious by now. I spent a whole semester studying King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, the French Revolution, and Versailles alone. Of course, that doesn’t make me an expert by any means but I would say I’m well-read.

He catches on to my sass and dismisses it. “Fine, fine fine, so you know a lot! Tell me more please!”

I nod, gathering the important bits from memory to summarize it all. To condense all of this history into such a brief yet crucial conversation is anything but fun.

“Okay well, I think the most important fact we have to consider is currently Her Majesty is pregnant with the couple’s first child. The baby will be a girl. Her name will be Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte de Bourbon. The couple will attempt to have more children, to have a male heir, but none will live past the age of eleven. The French Revolution won’t begin for another ten years. Both the King and the Queen will lose their lives, sadly, along with many members of the aristocracy. Then, Napoleon will become emperor. As for Versailles, it was completed in 1668 for King Louis XIV. During the revolution basically, everything will be taken from here. In modern times, the 21st century, most of it will be returned. That’s a summary of some basic information.”

The Doctor gawks at me, “you know all of this by heart? You wonderful little human. How do you memorize it all?”

I shrug, glancing in the direction of where I last saw the royal couple. “I suppose I’ve always cared so much about these people and their stories that it never really leaves me.”

The unfamiliar faces in this room are forming the world I must live in hundreds of years from now and none of them know it. The world will be completely altered by the end of the century. Every single person in this room is set to believe their roles here are unwavering. Little do they know that in less than a decade, all of it will be gone, nothing but a memory.

“I forgot to mention,” The Doctor mumbles and holds up the key that has slipped beneath the front of my dress. “Never lose it. Draw as little attention to it as possible. While we’re here, your job is to play Miss Know-it-all and mine is to find this journal.”

We’re interrupted by the grandfather clock when it dings in the corner. The Doctor’s head whips over in its direction, he checks the time.

“I have to go,” he informs me in a rush.

“But I-” I start, having a million questions.

“I’ll be back. Blend into the crowd! We’ll leave as soon as possible,” he instructs before disappearing into the cluster of people.

I stand awkwardly alone, afraid to move the slightest step. I’m surrounded by a bunch of dead people. Well, they’re not dead now, but when I’m alive they will be. I’m Versailles, holy shit! And I’m not even on a tourist trip to Versailles, no I’m at a ball in the Revolution Era! I would jump up and down squealing but I doubt that’s allowed. Instead, I’ll just smile to myself like an idiot and sip on this champagne.

__________________

Masterlist

#eleventh doctor x reader #doctor x reader #eleventh doctor x you #eleventh doctor #doctor who #doctor who imagine #doctor who fanfic #dw #fanfic #imagine

45 notes · View notes

mischiefandspirits · 3 years

Text

Doppelgänger (15/19)

Previously on Doppelgänger ~ Masterlist ~ Next time on Doppelgänger

Danny, Sam, and Tucker were just 14 when they took a look inside the portal Danny’s parents had built. From there, everything changed. They woke up with white hair, green skin, and powers they could learn to control. They were hybrids, halfas.

They were the hero Doppelgänger.

{Doctor's Disorders}

“Ugh, what is that smell?” Danny asked as he and Valerie approached Tucker.

“This,” Tucker held up a spray can. “It’s my new all-over body spray. I made it myself, I call it Foley by Tucker Foley. It combines with your natural odor to create a sweet, manly scent that smells different to everyone who sniffs it.”

Their noses scrunched up as Tucker started spraying himself.

“Tuck, you smell like a sweaty cookie.”

“By choice. The ladies will be swarming all over me.”

“Doubtful,” Valerie snorted. “You smell horrible.”

He pointed at her with the can. “You don’t count. You’re already dating Dan-”

The can slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground, spraying Valerie in the process.

She scowled as the smell of sports bra and sugar cookies washed over her. “You better hope this washes out,” she growled and shoved past him towards the locker room. Thankfully she had first period free so she could shower and drown her clothes in perfume. It didn’t completely help, but it was better. Maybe she should consider keeping a spare set of clothes in her locker. It’d help for the times she tears her clothes in a fight.

“Anyone in here?” Tetslaff called just as she finished fixing her hair.

“I’m here,” she said, tossing her mini curling iron into her locker. She grabbed her bag and walked towards the door to see Tetslaff eyeing her.

“You feeling okay, Gray? Any bug bites?”

“No. I’m fine. Why?”

“All students need to report to the gym. Anyone else here?”

She shook her head. “Bailey was in here, but she left a few minutes ago.

The PE teacher nodded and escorted her to the gym. She was surprised to see the entire student body either sitting or laying on the floor and bleachers, most of whom were glowing. The teachers were hovering over everyone as a man in a doctor’s uniform drifted through, occasionally stopping to talk to the students.

When he saw her, he came over. “And who do we have here?”

“Valerie Gray, what’s going on?”

“What symptoms is she showing?” he asked Tetslaff, ignoring Valerie’s question.

“None as far as I’ve seen,” she grunted and the doctor frowned behind his mask.

“Interesting. She’s the fourth one. Sit her with the others.” He gestured to the corner and Valerie smiled to see Danny, Sam, and Tucker waiting there.

They looked surprised when she joined them and Danny pulled her into a hug. “You okay?”

“Other than still smelling a little awful, I’m perfect. What’s going on?” she asked, pulling back but staying pressed into his side.

Sam gestured to the other students. “Some sort of ghost bug, literally. A whole swarm attacked the school and started phasing into people, resulting in that. You didn’t notice?”

“I’ve been in the showers.” She sent Tucker a look and he ducked behind Sam. “None of you got the bug?”

They shook their heads and Danny pointed off to the side, “Jazz did though.”

Valerie looked over to see Danny’s sister curled up on a mat, her body fuzzy at the edges. “Well, there goes the idea that prolonged exposure to ghost hunting equipment is what’s protecting us. Are your parents doing anything?”

Danny shrugged. “We’ve been in here the whole time. The doctor said he wanted us close since we’re the only ones showing signs of immunity. And they took our phones so I can’t call my parents.”

She smirked and took out her phone. “Looks like they forgot to take mine.”

Danny took it and the three crowded around him to keep him from sight.

“Do your parents have something that could fix this?” Sam asked as Danny dialed.

He thought about it for a second then smiled. “Mom, Dad… Yeah, I’m okay… Really? That’s weird. Why wouldn’t they tell you anything? Nevermind, I’ll explain everything, but can you guys grab the Ghost Catcher before you leave?”

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

“Is it just me or does Dr. Rand look really mad that his patients are being cured?” Valerie hummed.

Said doctor was currently standing off to the side as the teachers lead students through the ghost catcher, Danny’s parents sucking up the ghost bugs as they were pulled out.

Jazz took in his scowl with a frown. “Maybe it’s a pride thing? He was pretty much useless.”

“Or maybe he was part of a government conspiracy to experiment on us while we possessed ghost abilities,” Sam suggested.

“Sounds like something the Guys in White would do,” Danny muttered sleepily from his spot in Valerie’s lap.

“He’s a doctor. All doctors are evil,” Tucker agreed.

“What’s his problem?” Valerie whispered to her boyfriend.

“He’s afraid of doctors, nurses, hospitals, so on.”

“What’d you say his name was again?” Jazz asked, still staring at the man.

“Dr. Bert Rand.”

“Bertrand? Like Ms. Spectra’s gh-assistant?” Jazz stuttered.

The trio turned to her, then groaned, “Oh my god, we’re idiots.”

Valerie frowned as their voices nudged at her, but pushed it aside as Jazz asked, “What?”

“Spectra was a ghost, same for Bertrand. They must be behind the attack on the school,” Sam explained.

Valerie narrowed her eyes and moved Danny off of her. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

Jazz bit her lip as the girl left, then nudged Danny. “You three should go too. You, uh, don’t know when you might get another chance.”

They frowned, but agreed quickly and left.

Jazz smiled and leaned back. Those three could take care of the ghosts. Now she just needed an excuse for when Valerie got back.

{Pirate Radio}

Jazz sighed as she relaxed on her blanket, only to frown when someone started messing with the radio.

She sat up to glare at Tucker. “Knock it off!”

He held up his hands and backed up.

“Come on, Jazz. This music bites,” Danny said. “It’s our turn to pick something to listen to.”

“I like it. It relaxes me.”

“Well, we do outnumber you four to one,” Valerie pointed out.

Jazz grabbed the radio and held it close to her, scowling at the younger teens that she had joined on the Ops Center for stargazing.

Just then, the ground began to rumble and a pirate ship of all things burst intangibly out of the street.

Jazz jumped to her feet and gestured her brother back. “Danny, you, Sam, and Tucker need to go. Uh, go get our parents. Downstairs. Out of view.”

“R-right, we’ll go get them,” Tucker said and the trio ran off.

“I thought your parents were out,” Valerie said.

“Oops, I forgot.” Jazz turned to the girl and was surprised to see her pulling a ghost pistol out of her bag.

The girl froze. “Oh, uh, Danny gave it to me. For, you know, protection?”

As cute as it was that Danny was so worried about his girlfriend, Jazz would have to talk to him about handing out weapons of all things.

“Got anything else in there?”

Valerie tossed her a thermos just as a group of pirate ghosts landed on the Ops Center. The two girls went to work blasting and sucking up ghosts. Jazz saw a pair heading for the shield and pointed them out to Valerie, but Danny or one of his partners cut them off. She turned back to the main group of pirates and smiled when she saw the other two flying through the air.

She frowned when they seemed to fire on nothing. “What are they doing?”

Valerie looked up, then gave her an incredulous look. “Fighting the ghost captain.”

“I don’t see anything.”

“Weird,” she shot a headless pirate and Jazz sucked him in. “Can you hear him?”

“No.”

“Lucky you. He’s a brat. Maybe eight or nine years… Okay, so he’s eleven. Like that makes a big difference,” she snorted. Then her eyes widened and she barrelled into Jazz.

Something exploded behind them.

“You’ve never babysat, have you? Jazz asked as they picked themselves up. “Kids don’t like to be told they’re younger than they think they are.”

“I’ve only babysat actual babies. They don’t talk back,” Valerie said.

The ghost ship flickered then disappeared.

“What happened?”

“Doppelgänger caught the brat.”

The sound of a guitar-strumming echoed around them and two of Danny’s trio slammed into the ground in front of the girls.

“Ember’s back,” they said, rubbing their heads. “You guys might want to either get inside or put on Specter Deflectors before you get hypnotized.”

“M. Bersback? The guy who gave us that awful Vapor Drone? He’s a ghost?” Valerie asked.

They stared at her blankly, then one threw their hands in the air. “Oh come on! That's not a clue. That's a billboard! We really got to start paying more attention to these things!”

{Reign Storm, Part 1}

“Did you get the book report done?” Valerie asked as she passed Danny a water bottle.

“Mm-hm.” He took the bottle and tried to drink it.

“Lid Danny,” she chuckled.

He scowled and took the lid off. “I think you beat the ghost out of me.”

“Then I did my job,” she chuckled. “Seriously though, you’re doing really good.”

“Can I have my black belt then?”

“Not quite. Now come on, we’ve still got fifteen minutes before we need to clean up.”

He groaned, but pushed himself to his feet and followed her over to the wrestling mat. Jazz had somehow talked Tobias, the wrestling coach, into letting them use it for their sparring in the morning after Tuesday’s practice in return for cleaning up after. It was a lot better than sparring at home, even if it did mean getting up way too early.

Of course, being at school meant there were sometimes distractions.

“Think fast, Fentoni!”

Danny turned just as Valerie caught the football that was headed for him.

“Unless you’re here to spar, then get lost, Dash,” she huffed, tossing the ball to Kwan.

“Spar with Fenton?” Dash laughed and Kwan joined in.

“You’d snap him in half before he could even throw his first punch!”

“I thought I said to get lost,” Valerie growled stepping between them and Danny.

Dash leered at him. “You gonna let a girl fight your battles.”

Danny raised an eyebrow as Valerie stiffened. “Now you f-ed up.”

“And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean, Baxter?” she asked, cracking her knuckles.

Kwan grabbed Dash’s shoulder and whispered something that made Dash pale.

“J-just that Fenton’s too weak to fight his own battles, he has to rely on his girlfriend to do it for him. I did-din’t mean, you know, that a girl couldn’t kick butt.”

“Nice save,” Danny said and Dash gave him a death glare.

“Leave,” Valerie said.

They did.

“I’m definitely going to pay for that later,” Danny chuckled as he got into position on the mat.

“If you’re not going to fight back then stop antagonizing him,” she said.

“I’ve considered fighting back.”

“Then why don’t you.”

Danny raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t met Sidney Poindexter, then.”

“Who?”

“He’s the ghost who haunts my locker. He gets huffy with me if I try to get back at Dash. I was putting my annoyingness to full use on Dash when we first met and Sidney is paranoid I’ll do it again. According to him, I’m just as much of a bully as Dash if I do and he hates bullies.”

“Need me to take care of him?”

“Nah, we’ve got a truce. He’s not too bad. I just can’t pull anything on Dash without risking a lecture from him. And he’s still learning modern slang so a lecture from him is even worse than one of Lancer’s hip and funky fresh talks.”

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

“Do you guys know why Nathan’s been giving me evil eyes?” Danny asked as the trio walked home.

“He’s got a crush on Valerie. He’s ticked you and her are dating,” Tucker explained.

“He came up to me the other day and tried to tell me I needed to, Get your cheating boyfriend away from my Valerie! It took me fifteen minutes to get him to back off and I think he still believes you’re two-timing Valerie and I,” Sam said.

“We’re dating? Sam, why didn't you tell me? I'd have put my book down.”

Sam shoved him towards his stoop. “I want to break up. It’s not me, it’s you.”

“Okay, but I get Tucker in the divorce.”

Tucker shook his head and linked arms with Sam. “Sorry, Danny, but you knew I was a gold digger going into this.”

Sam shoved him away as well. “You can have him.”

“Changed my mind, he’s yours now.”

“You’re both awful,” Tucker fake whined and marched off.

“See you tomorrow,” the two yelled at his retreating back.

Danny turned to Sam. “Are you going to head out for patrol or do you want a snack first?”

“Depends, what’s the likelihood your food’s contaminated?”

“My mom and dad are partway through a new invention.”

“Pass.”

“You guys are ridiculous,” he called as she went to the nearest alleyway.

“Ectoplasm’s not a veggie,” she called back.

“Okay, fair,” he snorted and opened the door. “I’m home. Anything happen while -”

Danny cut off as he saw his family in the living room surrounding a certain fruit loop.

“Ah, hello, Daniel!”

“You!” he shouted, tossing his bag aside and marching up to the group. “What are you doing here?”

Some of his anger lifted as he saw his mom accidentally poor tea right onto Vlad’s lap. “Totally valid question.”

“Still steaming?” Vlad asked in his creepy stalker voice.

“You have no idea,” she growled.

Vlad turned his attention to Danny. “I was just, you know, passing through. And then I saw that marvelous battlesuit and thought, since I can't just destroy Jack and take it, I suppose I'll steal its secrets right out from under his nose!”

Danny’s fists clenched as Vlad met his dad’s eyes with a smile and the two started laughing.

“Oh I swear, I am such a josher,” he held his cup up to Danny’s mom. “More tea please.”

She poured it on his head.

“Not there! Ooh!”

Danny’s mom stomped off and his dad followed.

“I don't know what you're up to, Plasmius,” Danny started in a whisper, then blinked. “Actually, I do. You just told me.”

“That’s right! And say a word and I'll share your secret with your little friend.”

Danny stared at him blankly. “What friend?”

“Miss Gray.”

“How do you even -”

Danny was cut off when an alarm sounded through the house. His dad ran back into the room and hit a hidden button to bring up a radar system.

“Galloping goblets, it's the Ecto-Exodus Alarm!”

“The Ecto-whaty-what?” Jazz and Danny asked.

“The Ecto-Exodus Alarm! An alarm that only goes off when we're about to face a massive ghost invasion!”

Danny faked reaching into his pocket so he could grab the Fenton Phones out of his Space Fold. “I need to make a call!”

He felt Vlad’s eyes on his back as he ran upstairs, but ignored them.

“Sam, Tucker, please tell me one of you can hear me?” he said into the phones and through their link as he shut his door.

“What’s wrong?” Sam said.

“Ghost invasion. Big one. Coming right at us,” Danny said and transformed. “We need to get back here right now.”

Danny’s ghost sense went off.

“Too late.”

Danny flew out of the house as ghosts came pouring out of the portal and onto the street. His eyes landed on Johnny and Kitty and he flew towards them.

“Hey Thirteen, what’s going on?” he asked as he came level with the bike.

“You mean you haven’t heard?” Kitty said, turning to him. “Pariah Dark’s back.”

“Who?”

“If you don’t know, we’re not going to tell you,” Johnny snorted.

“Come on. We’ve been letting you mostly run wild as long as you don’t hurt anyone or destroy anything. Can’t you just tell us?”

Johnny growled and stopped the bike. “Look, we don’t know too much. He’s way, way before our time. All we know is that he’s called the King of All Ghosts and someone woke him up. Now he’s trashing the zone and looking for some ring that will give him ultimate power or something when paired with his crown. He’s powerful so everyone’s getting while the gettin’s good. Speaking of which.”

Johnny took off, but Danny didn’t bother to chase him. Instead, he turned to Sam as she joined him.

“This is bad. No kidding.”

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

Tucker flinched as his ghost sense went off for the fifteenth time. Where were all these ghosts coming from? He hoped he got into range of the mind link soon. Sam at least should be transformed so he should be getting close. Why did he have to choose today of all days to visit the gaming shop in Elmerton?

Someone blasted him and he groaned. He’d wanted to regroup with his partners before picking any fights. He turned to his opponent and groaned again. “What are you doing in town, fruit loop?”

“Haven’t we already been through this, Daniel?” Vlad asked flying closer and Tucker rolled his eyes.

So Danny or Sam have talked to him then. He hoped they were okay. “Refresh our memory.” Goosebumps swept over him and he gestured towards the ghost. “Are you the reason all these ghosts are around?”

“I’m flattered you think I could organize all this.”

“You’re right. We forgot you put everything into intelligence and strength. No way you could convince all these ghosts to listen with your charisma being a dump stat,” Tucker said, nodding. “Our bad.”

Vlad looked confused for a moment, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m not here to play games, Daniel.”

“Then you’ve got the wrong half-ghost.” If he didn’t want jokes, he should have gone with Sam.

Vlad scowled at him, then he was being grabbed from behind. He looked up to see another Vlad holding him. The older halfa pinned one of his arms behind his back and held the other out to the first Vlad.

“Let go of us, creep!”

“Calm down, Daniel. I’m not going to hurt you,” Vlad one said, flying closer and grabbing his wrist. “I simply need you to hold onto something for me.”

“And why would we ever help you?”

Vlad one disconnected his glove from the hazmat and pulled it off, revealing green skin and black nails.

Wow, Sam would like those.

“Because this is a powerful relic,” Vlad two explained as Vlad one slipped a green and black ring onto Tucker’s middle finger. “One which I’m sure you’d want to keep safe and out of the hands of dangerous ghosts.”

“Like you?”

Vlad one smirked and replaced his glove.

“If it’s so powerful, why would you give it up?” Tucker asked as the Vlads let him go and merged together.

“That is for you to discover on your own. Ta!” He teleported away.

“We need to get a restraining order or something,” Tucker muttered, rubbing his shoulder. He glanced down at his hand uncertainly. Vlad could certainly have been lying, but if he wasn’t, Tucker couldn’t just toss the ring and risk it ending up in the wrong hands.

With a sigh, he continued on his way. The trio could figure this out together. Thankfully he only had to fly for a few minutes before his mind connected to Sam and Danny.

#danny phantom #valerie gray #jazz fenton #sam manson #tucker foley #Doppelgänger au

19 notes · View notes

officialscaramouche · 3 years

Text

Companions

pairing: Chongyun x Xingqiu

summary: As playful, oddly suspicious, and teasing big Xingqiu was, the duo leave with some pretty good intel. With the end in sight, little Xingqiu feels a sudden disconnect with his traveling partner and begins to worry about going back to his time period.

warnings: none

word count: 4,106

also posted on ao3!

Ch. 4 of 5 < prev | next >

Xingqiu crossed his legs, leaning back against the tree. The bark dug into his back too uncomfortably but he knew that if he sat up again, it would tug at the delicate silk fibers and he didn’t want to ruin it any more than he already had. He admired the sunset before him as it flowed into the edge of the plains across the river. This was nice, he admitted, eyeing the area they had come from and began to understand a little bit about why he chose this secluded area to reside in later in life.

He observed the river closely, watching the current pull gently along, leaves drifting unbothered in the slight breeze. Lolling his head to the side lazily, he watched Chongyun drop small stumps of wood onto the ground. He stripped himself of his long, linen vest, his arms stretching either way to shrug the material off. Then, he rolled up his sleeves to air off his arms that procured a bit of sweat from cutting the small trees, his moisture-wicking sleeves clinging tightly to his muscle. And one by one, Chongyun placed a small log onto the large rocks there and brought down his blade with harsh force, splitting the wood in two. The longer he did this, the more tired he became. Soon he was panting heavily and sweating more than before. He tugged his sleeves off, exposing the skin finally, and wiped his forehead with the cloth.

Xingqiu was in a trance. Watching the exorcist chopping wood over and over again had him hypnotized. It wasn’t until the pole in his hands flew off his lap and down the river that he came back to Teyvat. “A-Ah!” Xingqiu dashed after it, feeling the bark pull apart the silk threads once more. “The pole!”

Chongyun, sitting on the rock now catching his breath, groaned when he saw the young boy chasing after the fishing rod knowing that he had to get it himself. He gets up reluctantly and begins a light jog that quickly becomes a sprint, swiping the rod from the river and pulling it back to at least try to catch the fish. He tugs it back firmly, reeling it in when the line tightens. He’s wrestling the fish as it tries desperately to swim away with it’s free meal but Chongyun is just as desperate to catch it after Xingqiu let every other fish go. “X-Xingqiu!”

The boy perks up and looks at Chongyun for orders. “Y-Yes! How can I--”

“Get the knife! I’ve almost got it!”

Xingqiu grimaced. “You want me to touch--”

“Quickly!!”

The scholar whines a little, stomping his feet in disgust. “Oh..fine!”

The boy kneels by the edge of the water, watching with disgust at the water thrashing about. Behind him, Chongyun plants his feet firmly on the ground, turning to the side and, with the last of his strength in a final attempt to get some food, he swings his arms down with a guttural shout, sending the fish flying into the air. It flies right over Xingqiu’s head and onto the ground, flopping in the dirt and grass. Chongyun tumbles to the ground, exhausted from the sudden burst of energy. Xingqiu stood there, holding the small pocket knife with both hands and staring at the fish. “Will you stun it already?” Chongyun breathes, his chest heaving.

Xingqiu shuts his eyes tightly, and slams the blunt end of his knife into the fish’s head. When he feels the fish still in his hand, he falls back and lets out a dramatic sigh. “I killed a fish…”

“Yeah and you’ve eaten plenty of em. Hurry up, give me the knife so I can clean it.” Chongyun crawls over to the boy and grabs the knife from his limp hand before crawling over to the fish and taking it to the rock. Xingqiu lifted his head slightly to watch Chongyun cut the head off the fish and slice it in half along the bottom. He stares intently at his back, admiring his broad shoulders for the first time since they left his estate. Oh, Xingqiu quit it, he thinks, laying his head back down. He rolls over and slowly picks himself up, dusting off his now ruined outfit.

He watches on, again, now filled with a tinge of sadness. After being on such a wonderful adventure-- his first adventure-- Xingqiu had briefly forgotten that he didn’t belong here. The Chongyun in front of him was not his Chongyun. This Chongyun was a seasoned exorcist. This Chongyun had lost his innocence a long time ago. This Chongyun does not look at him the way he looked at him. And most importantly, this Chongyun belonged to a different him. It was painfully obvious how loyal he was to his Xingqiu. His expressions when he talks about him are softer and kinder. His words are carefully selected and intentional. But when he talks to this Xingqiu, he’s terribly sarcastic and irritable.

Xingqiu missed his Chongyun. He missed the puppy-like devotion and the few words spoken. He missed being looked at like a treasure and being touched like a paper thin vase. His Chongyun was always so gentle and tender with him. His Chongyun appeared anywhere he wanted him to and at any time. His heart ached at the idea of not seeing Chongyun again, perhaps the same way that this Chongyun ached for his Xingqiu.

The boy watched as the older man ran bamboo sticks through the flesh of the fish, each puncture meticulous and careful. He placed them on his linen vest that he discarded moments ago to prevent the fish from getting dirty and opened a rolled-up pouch that had little vials neatly stored inside. Taking only a specific few, he dusted the fish skewers with what was inside the vials and the smell wafted over to Xingqiu. He recognized the smell of salt, pepper, dried onions, parsley, and mint. These were the spices Xingqiu liked in his fish. The boy shakes his head slightly and sighs with a small smile on his face. Maybe this Chongyun wasn’t very different from his at all.

It was quiet with the exception for the croaking frogs, the rippling river, and the fire cracking. The stars twinkled particularly brighter this far out from the city. Xingqiu had never seen the sky so plentiful and bright before. He stared up at the sky, resting his head on his arms beneath him. As he was getting lost in the stars, a bouquet of fish skewers wrapped in a leaf popped into view. Xingqiu sat up and took the skewers, noting the absence of any more on the fire. “You’re not gonna eat any?” Xingqiu took a bite out of the chunks of fish on his skewer and watched as Chongyun crushed different dried herbs between two rocks.

“No,” he answered, twisting the stone to grind the flowers into a fine powder. “I need three of them to give to the you hun ye gui. There’s only two left.”

Xingqiu blew gently on the steaming fish. “Yeah, two. One for me and one for you.”

Chongyun funneled the powder into an empty vial with a leaf and continued with other herbs. “Two would hardly be enough for you. It’s fine, I don’t eat much. I’m okay with fruits and nuts.”

Xingqiu peered at the exorcist through his lashes and pursed his bottom lip into a pout. “Is it because I’m a ‘growing boy?’”

“No, it’s because you’re a glutton.” Chongyun held the half-full vial up to look at it.

“What are you doing?” Xingqiu scooted over to the other side of the campfire, cradling the other skewer in his arm.

Chongyun gathered the next dried herb onto the center of the rock and began grinding it beneath another rock. “Making incense.”

“Oh yeah,” he said with a mouth full of fish. “What else did I say we needed?”

Chongyun paused and sighed. “...Guidance talismans.”

“Oh right...and you can’t make any?”

Chongyun chuckled, shaking his head. “No way. I don’t even know how to.” The man turned to face Xingqiu. “See, the difference between guidance talismans and, say, a sealing talisman is that it moves. It’s easy to make a talisman that doesn’t need to make its own decisions-- especially since I have no clue as to what this demon wants. But if you need a good one that stays still, I’m your man. The only person in my family that could make guidance talismans was my great aunt…”

Xingqiu tossed his bamboo skewer into the fire and eyed the last one. “I’m assuming she didn’t leave any notes, huh?”

“No…” Chongyun placed his elbow on his thigh, resting his chin in his hand. “The steps can’t be any different, though...right?” Xingqiu shrugged. He didn’t read a lot of exorcist, Taoist, or talisman books. He always kind of assumed that Chongyun knew everything. Chongyun leans back onto the ground, laying in his hands. “Well you should go to sleep. We’re gonna set off bright and early.”

Xingqiu felt that wave of sadness wash over him again as he looked on at Chongyun laying down and gazing at the stars. In the beginning, he felt like his journey would never end but now that they knew how to quell the demon, he wasn’t all too sure about what would happen for him next. Over these past days, almost week, he had grown attached and used to this older Chongyun. He found himself accustomed to sleeping in the dirt rather than a freshly made bed. And he found a bit of joy from traversing over the spanse of Liyue. But the most pressing question was whether or not he was going back home.

When Xingqiu woke up, Chongyun was sitting criss-crossed with his hands on either knee, his forefinger and thumb touching delicately as his palms faced the sun. He was incredibly still. Xingqiu had never seen Chongyun meditate as he wasn’t very good at it. He was always too restless and often found himself bored and seeking enrichment elsewhere. But Chongyun was a master exorcist now. Xingqiu wasn’t sure why he imagined that Chongyun couldn’t meditate now, and perhaps he did this often while he slept, able to rest peacefully while also keeping watch of their camp. And he knew Chongyun was aware of the area surrounding them, because when Xingqiu opened his eyes, he was greeted almost immediately with a grumbly “good morning.”

“Ah, good morning,” he croaked, his voice laced with sleep. “Did you sleep?”

“I haven’t slept this whole trip. Not like you, anyways.” He was right, he had been meditating all this time. “Are you ready?”

Xingqiu smoothed down his bedhead and combed his fingers through the knots. “Can I at least rinse out my mouth?”

Chongyun stood up, twisting left and right to crack his back. “Fine, but be quick.” Xingqiu hurried to the river to swish water around in his mouth, remembering his lingering thoughts from last night. If he could return to the beginning of this adventure, he probably would once more. But he was also very anxious to return home to a bustling harbor.

When the scholar returned, Chongyun wrapped something neatly into a thick leaf, tying it closed with strong fibers into a little box. Xingqiu’s footsteps grew louder as he approached the exorcist and he extended the box over to the boy. “What’s this?”

Chongyun chewed something and spit it onto the ground, wiping the corner of his mouth with his thumb. “Mint. I use it to freshen up when I’m out on a journey.” Xingqiu untied the fibers and inside were crushed up mint leaves. The refreshing smell wafted out of the box and Xingqiu smiled, putting his nose to the rim. “You can do this,” Chongyun swiped a finger through the mint and Xingqiu watched as he rubbed his teeth and gums with the mint. “Then you can chew it until the taste is all gone.”

Xingqiu mirrored his best friend, swiping a finger through the mint to gather a bit and rubbed his teeth, cheeks, and gums before chewing it. “Thank you for sharing your mint,” he sings, handing the box back to Chongyun.

“No, that’s yours. I picked the mint this morning while you were sleeping. Keep it.”

Xingqiu looked at the box in his hand and blushed, tying the box closed to save the mint. “Thank you,” he said with a toothy grin. “So where are we headed now?” The boy asked, seeing Chongyun straighten out his linen robe and setting off. “Closer to the harbor.” Chongyun turned around and extended a hand for Xingqiu to grab, helping him up and over a big step. “The you hun ye gui stays in that area. I’m assuming it used to live here when the harbor was still being built.”

“I don’t know,” Xingqiu hummed, recalling one of their earlier nights together. “You said it only sought out exorcists and others similar. Didn’t exorcists only grow popular a couple of generations before you?”

Chongyun ran his hands through his hair, pulling his fringe out of his face. “Exorcists have always been around. It just didn’t become a large career until a few generations ago.”

“So I’m guessing that guidance talismans weren’t often made way back when either, huh? Since it’s hardly in production right now.”

“No, they were made more in the early years of Liyue. People were still very close with their archons and were often granted ‘favors,’ if you will.”

“Like what? What do you mean?”

“Exorcists weren’t a thing until Rex Lapis shared his power with my ancestors. Mortals were not to interact with the dead, but you can consider Rex Lapis as the escort to the other life.” Xingqiu closed his eyes as he thought, listening to Chongyun’s history lesson very carefully. “Now, the archons’ powers are watered down into these little pendants we call visions. We get a bit of their elemental prowess, but none of their omnipotence. I’d eat a million chilis right now if it meant Rex Lapis would reincarnate and give me but a pinch of his power.”

“Wow, I didn’t know that about visions! But why don’t we have geo visions?”

“We were recognized by other archons, that’s all. Anyways, we’re here so get comfortable.”

Chongyun dropped to a grassy spot underneath shade and crossed his legs once more. “What’s the plan?” Xingqiu sat atop his knees and placed his palms delicately in his lap.

“This whole trip, I’ve been meditating to try and communicate with my great aunt...but so far nothing has worked,” Chongyun said, without opening his eyes and with only moving his lips. “Hopefully I’ll be blessed by Rex Lapis’ spirit and he’ll give me wisdom.”

Xingqiu clapped his hands together in excitement. “You can speak with Morax when you meditate?!”

“I’m being sarcastic.”

“Oh.” Xingqiu sat back down and enjoyed the moment in silence for a bit. He studied Chongyun’s perfectly straight posture, the entirety of his body as still as stone, and his breathing so small that his chest was not visibly rising. “Is there anything I can do in the meantime? “Yeah, see if that book says anything more.” Chongyun opened his eyes suddenly and slouched a little, relaxing his hands. “Shit, I should’ve asked Xingqiu for the enochian decoder. Oh well.” Just like that, he resumed his straight posture and closed his eyes again.

Xingqiu pursed his lips and quirked an eyebrow. “Hmmm.” He laid the book flat on the ground, flipping through the pages and scanning the text for any recognizable words. Only few and far between words were revealed, but none of it helped to translate. ‘Demonic hatred coursed through the fingers wrapped around my throat. This is where I die, without answers, in the hands of my beloved.’ He revisited the early translations to try and find similarities in other words.

He looked back to Chongyun who sat motionless. He looked peaceful-- the most unbothered he’d looked this whole trip. Chongyun had grown into a capable young man who can take care of himself all alone. And he, too, became a successful individual doing what he loved. It was clear to himself, though, that he may not have gathered the courage to do certain things but he was still as constant in Chongyun’s life as much as he could. He remembered the somber look on his face when Chongyun explained to him that they’d both become busy. And when he got sick, Xingqiu was hardly around to help him get better. The boy sighed, telling himself that he needs to do better. He looked back to the book and clapped his hands on his cheeks. They were going to be here for a while, he might as well be productive.

‘The privilege to be bored was something I took for granted. I had realized that I had done not a single thing, not been helpful with the exception for entertainment. Which, in hindsight, I believe is what kept us together for so long. I am intolerable and loathsome, but my dearest sees through me and the facade and brings me along anyhow. Quiet moments like these will forever warm my heart in memories. We are not sharing a single activity, yet we are bonded by the coexistence. The rays of the sun stunk like poorly washed laundry and our hair clumped together from the bodily oils but it is fun to reminisce and I enjoy being sullied every now and then.’

“Ugh!” Xingqiu threw his brush as far as he could across the plain in frustration. “This has nothing to do about the demon! Stupid book!” Xingqiu crossed his arms in anger and huffs to the air. He jumps a little, afraid that he had been too loud and slowly turned to peek at Chongyun. He continued to sit there as lifeless as a rock. The shade he was in had now moved as the sun positioned itself differently in the sky and his cheeks began to flush a bit red. The stray strands of hair stuck to his face from the sweat, but he still looked as cool and collected as ever. But Xingqiu had an idea.

“Hey, Chongyun!”

The exorcist was shaken awake. He opened one eye to see what the matter was. “Yes?”

Xingqiu pushed something into his lap. Chongyun closed his eyes. “Can you freeze this for me?”

Chongyun, in a desperate attempt to get back to undisturbed meditating, grabbed the round object and coursed ice through it. He held it out for Xingqiu to grab.

“Thanks!” Chongyun could hear the young boy shuffling around. The sound of water being sloshed around hinted that he used his vision. Then, the boy came running back. “Here!”

Chongyun huffed in frustration, irritated by the harsh sun. “Please, I’m trying to--”

The exorcist opened his eyes to an amateur wooden carving of a bowl filled with a messy, dirty looking bowl of frozen water. Inside, he could see little blades of grass and granules of dirt but also recognized the petals of the qingxin flower. “I don’t have popsicle sticks, but I still remembered how to make it!”

Chongyun took the bowl in tired, shaking hands and stared into it in shock. “You made this for me? Where did you get the flowers?”

Xingqiu pointed to a small hill behind him. “I climbed up there! I got a little dirty, but that’s fine. Taste it! Is it good?”

“You climbed up there?!” Chongyun shot a finger in the direction of the mountain, his brows turned down in anger. “That’s dangerous!” Xingqiu didn’t know how to respond. Chongyun had never yelled at him before. Maybe raised his voice, but never yelled. “Ah, I’m sorry. I’m burning up.”

Xingqiu sat next to the exorcist. “Then eat up!”

Chongyun eyed the contaminated water in the bowl in his hands and shrugged. He held a hand out to the scholar. “Can I borrow your short knife?” Xingqiu slipped it out from the inside of his boot and Chongyun hacked at the ice deliberately, cutting out a small piece and popped it in his mouth. He sucked on the ice for a bit before it started to melt and gulped down the ice. It didn’t take long for the medicinal properties in the flower began to take effect. Chongyun continued to tear pieces out of the bowl, popping them in one by one each time with more vigor. Once the bowl was empty, Chongyun got to his feet with newfound energy, his sweat nearly gone. “That was so good, Xingqiu! Thank you!”

Xingqiu stood too, and tugged at Chongyun’s sleeve. “Before you go back to meditating, I want you to look at what I’ve done these past few hours!” The boy leads him to where his book lay and pulls out a paper from underneath it. “I haven’t got much, but I managed to decode some of the script.”

Chongyun looks at the messily written notes. There were enochian scripts next to legible characters and various drawings of symbols. “These,” Chongyun references, pointing to the drawn symbols. “Are the designs for the talisman. You did all this?

Xingqiu grins, holding his hands behind his back. “Yeah! And look, I got some of this translated. I didn’t care to check the beginning yet because we’re nearly done, so we only need the ending, right? But none of this seems relevant to the demon and what we’re doing.”

Chongyun reads the translated text and looks at Xingqiu who stood on his tippy toes to see the book. “Can I?” He asks, lifting the book and paper.

“Well, sure.”

Chongyun leads the two of them to a shaded area and he sits against the side of the mountain, flipping the decoded notes over to the blank side. His eyes shift from the book to the paper, making notes as he reads. They sat there until the sky had darkened and the book was no longer legible. “You were right,” he says with a smile. “This is a diary!”

Xingqiu snaps awake and throws himself over the book. “How do you know?”

“The writer continually refers to himself in first person. And these last two chapters are all written from his perspective. He’s travelling with his significant other and he’s talking about the you hun ye gui. The style of writing though…”

“Hey! Kind of like us!” Xingqiu grabbed the paper and read what Chongyun translated.

“Anyways, what I translated gave me an idea. Can you fill this bowl again and also draw me another talisman, but bigger this time?”

“Sure!”

Xingqiu pulled his finger out of his mouth and held it in the air. “The wind stopped, finally.”

Chongyun organized the fish on a large leaf and picked up the incense on the floor. “Good, maybe this time it will stay lit.”

The moon was high in the sky and the world was oddly quiet. At least to Xingqiu. They weren’t close to the harbor, but usually the liveliness could be heard from out here. He looked back to the moon and felt his stomach flip. He missed home. “How do you think I’m gonna get home?”

Chongyun struck flint, causing sparks. He stopped to look up at Xingqiu, who stood above his kneeling form. “I don’t know, I’ve never dealt with time travel before.” He looked down to continue striking the flint. “You’re probably the first.”

“Do you think I’m stuck here? Forever?”

The incense lit and Chongyun stuffed the flint into his pocket. He threw an arm around Xingqiu’s neck and they walked back towards the mountainside to hide behind some shrubs. “Well...if you’re here in the future, doesn’t that mean that you do? I mean, we grew up together. If you didn’t then you’d probably have disappeared by now. Or I might have even lost my memories of you.”

“Maybe another Xingqiu took my place!”

Chongyun laughed and ruffled his hair. “I think I’d be able to recognize a fraud, fanboy!” Chongyun paused and blushed. “But, in all seriousness, I did have fun on this trip.” Xingqiu looked at him quizzically. “And...seeing you as a kid again...I should’ve told you how much you meant to me more. I really did-- and still do-- enjoy hanging out with you. So thank you for being my friend.”

Xingqiu felt his heart beat a little harder. It was relieving to finally know that his strong feelings weren’t unrequited. But he might have to work on expressing his feelings just the same.

#companions #chongxiu #xingyun #writing

9 notes · View notes

mantrabay · 4 years

Text

Saturday an overarching day that's both conduit and shelter for souls in transition.

Thoughts of the more disturbing kind and their covert operations intrude even in our leisure time.

Little did I know what lay ahead.

All these scenarios flashed across my mind as the wheels of my car screeched to a halt.

Shafts of radiant sunlight revealed an embroidered placard.

A cryptic but apocryphal question -

Going somewhere?

Light green brush strokes and entwined leaves garnished the borders of this plaque.

A hitchhiker appeared with the most expressive eyes.

Like shining windows openly admitting the rush of a golden dawn.

A rippling nuanced voice spoke.

“Hello, I'm Lelia. Life is a series of stops

and strange encounters.

A journey of some kind.”

Thought-provoking stuff!

She extended her supple skin right hand.

“Hop in.

I'm Joshua King. Going anywhere in particular?"

I enquired archly after the ritual handshake.

"Besides going somewhere or nowhere in particular.”

I continued.

"In one sense I'm not sure. But there is this place we should all go to.

You'll know what I mean later.”

Lelia mysteriously.

"Not to worry.

Travel is therapy for me."

What made me, Joshua King , say that?

The mind can be overpopulated with figments.

Frustrated figments waiting for that freedom dash.

Some have the seeds of alternative visions.

A svelte lady wearing an azure blue padded jacket and sea blue denims glided gracefully into my car.

Hatha yoga asana entry.

My pinstripe attire seemed conventional.

It was at odds with this philosophical journey man.

"Love the aroma ....air freshener.

Orchard in a vehicle tantalising nostrils.

Symbol of attempted purge."

Her voice dropped a few keys to a lower register.

Redolent of metaphysics classes I had to abandon.

I was naive enough to believe that attending these courses would fix my “issues.”

They were more than just momentary bugs.

They couldn't be spray canned away.

I was, however, adept at avoiding their resolution.

Draft dodger or fugitive adept.

My “issues” were other "selves.”

I called them timid, anxious, fidgety,scrupulous withdrawn.

“What’s more I chat to them.

Under my breath. These chats I call the "whispers.”

Will Lelia notice?

Will she spot them?"

My twin brother Jonah, a twin in every sense could point out my tendency to flee.

We spot each other’s flaws with aplomb.

The twinning of tortured psyches.

Banter between mirror images of real selves!

Jonah was an integral part of these "whispers" too!

All these thoughts were doing hula hoops in my head as Lelia made herself comfortable.

In the process peculiarities surfaced which seemed more than the usual passing quirks.

"I'm Lelia, again. Don't forget. You probably won't.

This place I alluded to is but a distance from here.

Distance is a gulf whose magnitude is shaped by it's smoothness of passage.

Or the fate that awaits one at journey’s end.

My destination is another world altogether."

A lady who could structure her sentences with the adroitness of a cryptic crossword clue setter.

Tapping me on the shoulder at the most obscure angle she extended her hand again.

Her fingers and thumb spatially arranged with the tutored

stillness of a TM Guru.

Was that repetition a neurotic oddity or a symptom of a deeper malaise?

I nodded to the said hand gesture.

We both brushed this bizarre incident off as it had no instant moment.

It seemed as if I was talking to someone quite out of the ordinary.

The spot on asides and the strict avoidance of that verbal litter referred to as small talk suggested as much.

Pauses. They did surface periodically.

The silence was then punctuated by a sudden remark.

"All those conifers. Look at how they reach out to the sky.”

This was just the start of one of Lelia’s poetic observations.

“They seem so close yet isolated.

There is something almost within their grasp.

Almost.”

Lelia nonplussed.

“See the adjoining fields. The green is but a cover. They are as neighbours in a high rise flat.

One could say they are both connected and disconnected at the same time.

As for those dips in the valleys? Well, they could signify some sort of rise and fall."

Lelia resting her case momentarily.

“A resurrection. After the fall.

Oh the Lazarus within us all."

Joshua deadpanned.

“I'm a bit of a writer and maths researcher.”

I proffered.

"Recluses some say.

Oh, I didn't mean you

Necessarily.”

Ouch, said my shattered Id.

Lelia, archer of the scar inflicting verbal.

Bow and arrow baroness of stinging broadsides.

This offshoot to our conversation was infused with a wry allusion.

Insight on a whim. Fleeting.

We both laughed at the incongruity of a conversation that had become very elliptical in form.

Tangents cropped up as impetus to the other person's willingness to reveal themselves.

Lelia didn't exactly volunteer her vocation but left clues.

“You didn't say what you did?

Student ...essayist ...author."

Me sounding Lelia out.

“Oh no children….dashing right across the road in front of us.

Squealing with delight. Whoops of innocent joy? They are sticking out their tongues now!”

Hair-raising moment I hadn't anticipated.

I spied Lelia sticking her tongue out at those reckless varmints.

She stopped the minute I noticed.

“Children …….sometimes you have to act like a kid when dealing with kids."

Straight and to the point from this hitchhiker.

She now resumed the thread of an earlier topic.

“Work ….you asked about work.

I sort of work and play with the mind.

Play act too.”

A retort of sudoku like complexity.

As I digested lelia’s response it dawned on me how much like people my "selves”were.

Even when driving I "dialogued” those various aspects.

“You've an interesting face. The face is like a map, I say.

Heard you mutter about your "selves."

Leslie being cheeky..

Silence as challenge started to creep in.

Russian roulette within the rules.

“Watch your driving, there." Lelia in a more down to earth tone.

Her different voices now somersaulting..

“Very quite aren't we, Josh?"

Josh mark you!

Sounding me out like an interrogator trying to crack a stubborn suspect.

Without a word of warning Lelia raised her voice and got into a tantrum.

“What's the matter ….lost something ?”

Joshua said anxiously.

A curious search resembling a scrum ensued.

Then more silence..

I craned my neck and spotted an uncanny regression.

Lelia talking to herself in a child like manner and then changing tack..

“Don't worry. Found what I was looking for.”

Another void.

A tense lull. A little lockjaw appears when the juice runs out of discourse.

I squinted in the mirror once more.

This time Lelia was talking to her palm..

Staring vacantly at it she kept repeating the name Linda.

Lelia continued oblivious to what I saw or might be thinking.

She hummed this strange lullaby..

Suddenly my "selves" surfaced in an uncontrollable flurry.

I tried to suppress them but failed abysmally.

The "whispers and selves" started to have a life of their own.

This car is getting a bit crowded.

It's being converted into a train with fantasy passengers on board.

The sort one hears late at night hurtling through the countryside with dim lights flickering.

Both inside and outside this vehicle a tumult of events was taking place.

Out of the blue the rain poured heavily.

“The gods or the elements must be cross or something.” Lelia opined.

“Let’s get introduced to my playmate in a palm.

Linda, these are Joshua’s true other selves.”

Lelia chuckling.

A comic situation arose where I changed my voice for each of my "selves" by way of introduction.

My great powers of concentration helped while driving.

"Pleased to meet you, Linda.”

Lelia altered her voice when teasing all my "selves."

She had some experience as a ventriloquist.

But Lelia was having this hypnotic effect too.

I was being manipulated.

One by one my highly personalised complexes were being extracted and subject to a rigorous grilling.

This was some hitchhiker.

Was this car journey now becoming a high rent farce or a mock therapy session from an amateur shrink?

The rain continued to lash and my other "selves" felt like the last sting of a dying wasp.

A certain lightness ensued.

Almost as if my “aspects” were floating away.

For the first time my "other selves“ didn't seem to have this grip on me.

But deep down I knew I wanted to keep a little of them.

Although they were a burden they did have their positive aspects.

“Jonah … he still bugs doesn't he.

He’s almost like one of those "other selves!"

The "whispers" I heard earlier … I've a very delicate ear.

Those under the breath "whispers" gave the game away.

The names and complex relations between them."

Lelia now probing very deeply.

The wind howled and the rain splashed across the bonnet like seafront waves.

There was a warped synchronicity..

As my complexes receded so did the thunderous weather.

They were working in tandem.

“Wash it all away. Come on, come on

See me waving my wand.”

Lelia chanted.

The Exorcist film had nothing on this.

Before his very eyes Joshua's "reticence" and the other "selves" were disappearing virtually.

Against the backdrop of all this inner and outer ferment Lelia kept looking out the window.

Was that this home she mentioned earlier getting closer as Joshua was

"going home” to himself?

“Windows are amazing.

They show us the world but sometimes screen us from it.”

Lelia wiping

fog from the car window.

“Trees and branches swaying. Clouds darkening.

Thickening ominously.

Exodus of pedestrians seeking answers.”

Her voice penetrating Joshua.

“Am I being cleansed of what they call inner demons?"

Joshua panic stricken.

"This other worldly person has me spellbound.

There's a chessboard in this moving vehicle.

A total stranger has me in her palm.” .

Lelia assumed various postures.

As Joshua was the driver she didn't want to send him to sleep.

Lelia's voice was either a hypnotist's drone or excited sports commentator.

Joshua could never forget this encounter.

“Don't forget Jonah too. Joshua wherever he might be.”

Her sinister tone rising.

“The name on your credit card.

I found it earlier when searching for my script.

Joshua Jonah king.”

Joshua confessed he was an only child.

“Am I a prisoner?.

Must button my lip.

I'm being freed and incarcerated by this person, the likes of whom I've never met before.”

Joshua felt this final therapeutic process coursing through him.

Very little was left of his "selves", “whispers.”

Joshua drove through a stoically preserved area whose haunting nature was blurred by this encounter.

“Terrible to have all these half worlds revealed with such clinical accuracy.”

Joshua to himself.

Lelia's voice gradually lost its domineering tone.

At this point by accident or design the tense atmosphere eased.

“You are probably wondering where this is all going to end.

Maybe I have whispers, Jonah's and selves to face too.”

A casual Lelia random comment.

On this occasion a composite of adult confidence and infantile charm.

“Oh here we are, this place.

She stated.

Joshua had undergone a sea change catharsis due to the “selves” and “whispers” being evacuated.

“Should I thank this lady or what? I’ll never be the same again but is that for the right reason?

Jonah my make-believe twin. Don't really need him do I?”

Joshua pondered.

“Back to earth my dear.

This is where we shake hands and part.”

Lelia again.

“Better change the name on that credit card.

Keeping stuff like that from credit card companies could land you in trouble.’

A cackle from Lelia this time.

“See that building. That's what I meant early on.

It's called Another World School of Acting.”

Lelia alighted and pointed to this centre.

"Acting is therapy. That's their motto.

Therapy in every sense!

But you don't want to take every word I say literally do you?

Forgot to mention they are auditioning for a play.

It's called “Inside The Split Mind." She said.

"Wonder will I get the part?”

As she leant over to shake hands her eyes had a certain lost look about them.

13 notes · View notes