#they were so right peroxide wash on your face is magical and great

[neverendingford]

.

[constancelaufeydottir]

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝

Pairing: Neighbour!Bucky x reader

Warnings: Mentions of knife, blood, cursing, murder, mention of cannibalism, dark!Bucky(?), major character death, slight smut, fluff.

Summary: Bucky set his eyes on his sweet and cute neighbour who had suffered from a loss recently, determined to make her his.

Word count: 4.3k

a/n: This is my entry for @ambrosiase hotel indigo writing challenge. It’s my first ever writing challenge, and I had a lot of fun writing this! Honestly, I'm really grateful for this challenge because it motivates me to finish this wip that has been sitting in the draft for too long. Thank you for this lovely challenge mae ♡♡

Not beta’d, all mistakes are my own. If you see any mistakes, do let me know!

Room ⥤ Modern muse

Room service ⥤ neighbour + criminal

“Oh that poor thing.”

Bucky whipped his head in the direction of the voice. It was Mrs. Lockwood, his neighbour on the right.

“Huh?” He didn’t mean to voice out his confusion, but his brain was somewhat short-circuited, barely able to function when his sight was filled with you, and you only.

“That sweet girl over there,” Mrs. Lockwood was referring to you, his sweet neighbour to the left he was staring at, before the old lady came interrupting.

He had been staring for 5, 10 minutes maybe? He swore he wasn’t a pervert, you were just a sight for sore eyes, the healer of the wounds in his soul.

“What about y/n?” He asked, curious to listen to what his neighbour would say about the other neighbour. Also, he was fairly new to the neighbourhood, having just moved in last month, he ought to catch up with the gossip.

“Her boyfriend went missing a few months back, poor girl was devastated. Police suspected it was murder, even suspected y/n!” The old lady shook her head, casting pitying glances at the oblivious girl in the sundress, bathing under the sun with a book in her hand. “She’s such a sweet girl, how could they have suspected her?”

Bucky glanced at you, heart racing when you caught him looking. You shyly waved at him, a small smile plastered on your face hiding the underlying sadness of the loss of your loved one. His hand felt clammy when he raised one of them to wave back, his usual flirty self vanished whenever you were involved in the equation.

“Boy, you are in love aren’t ya,” Mrs. Lockwood teased, “I say go for it. Our lovely y/n definitely needs some lovin’ after what she’d been through and young man, I think you are the right person.” Her eyes crinkled as she patted Bucky encouragingly on the shoulder, like a loving mother cheering up her son.

Bucky, who was usually composed, blushed furiously. That big brain of his still hadn’t regained its functions thus he found himself unable to stop Mrs. Lockwood when she hollered at you.

Clearly immersed in your book, you jumped a little when you heard your name being called.

“Y/n, this young man would love to take you out on a date, what d’ya say?” His eyes widened at the accusation, though it was true that he wanted to date you, he just needed time to gather the guts to ask you out.

He saw you put down your book, walking towards him and Mrs. Lockwood. You were a front yard away from him, shielding the harsh sunlight from your eyes with your hands while leaning onto the fence.

“I’d love to,” you had to speak louder, and Bucky loved your voice as he only heard it only a handful of times now, often you were shy and quiet when you saw him.

“U-uhm, how about Saturday then,” He stuttered like a teenage boy who first received a love letter, suddenly forgetting how to speak, speech lost in the sea of disbelief and excitement, and affection.

You said nothing, only nodding and smiling at him, flashing those pearly whites.

“Great. 6pm. I’ll pick you up,”

“See you soon, James.” He watched as you walked away, a teasing smile on your face before you disappeared into the door. Gosh how he loved the way his name sounded on your lips, and he’d give anything to hear it again, and again.

Saturday came too soon, Bucky was not prepared at all. Well, he had done the reservations for the restaurant he’d planned to bring you to tonight, ironed out the creases and wiped off the non-existent dust on the dress shirt he would be wearing, so why was he nervous?

5:50 pm.

Call him old-fashioned or whatever, he’d prefer early to late and would love to escort you to his car. He stood in front of your porch, palm sweating and if his metal arm could secrete sweats, he was pretty sure it would end up like its counterpart.

You opened the door as soon as he rapped his knuckles on the wooden door, seeming eagerly waiting for him as he was for you.

He took in your outfit, the moderately revealing dress he liked, the one he saw you undress from, through his window countless times.

If it was possible to fall into a deeper love, he would.

The date couldn’t possibly be better than he imagined, it was perfect. Everything was great; the atmosphere of the restaurant, the quality of the food, and most importantly, you.

You were shy at first but opened up fairly quickly, telling him stories about you, and vice versa. You sympathized with him when he told you how he got the metal arm, your fingers grazing the delicate and intricate loops and lines on the metal surface.

His fingers were woven into yours halfway into the dinner, the cool metal fingers of his absently caressing your knuckles as you shared the story about your family, who disappeared mysteriously, then your ex-boyfriend, who went missing 5 months ago, like your family.

It was hard, talking about missing loved ones. Bucky could tell, by the way your hand unconsciously tightened, the lingering sadness in your eyes as you mentioned how happy you were before him. The way your tears were brimming in your eyes, threatening to glide down your face, it wrenched his heart, seeing how broken you were. He would try to pick up every broken piece of you in a heartbeat, mending them back together, fixing you until you were happy again if you would let him in.

He was kind of glad your ex-boyfriend was out of the picture, though it was a selfish thing to say. He desperately wanted to claim you, wanted to be your last and only boyfriend.

He’d been going on dates with you for a few months now. You were perfect, almost too perfect if he would say. You were practically his dream girl, so kind and generous. So sweet and loving. Pretty much everybody in this neighbourhood would agree with him and he sometimes wondered if he really deserved you. A beauty mingling with a beast. No one would ever want to see that, after all, even the beast turned into a handsome prince at the end of the fairytale.

Bucky wondered, if you found out what he did every night after you were asleep or what he took from your closet when you were away, would you still want him? If you found out the beast within him, would you still love him the same?

His thoughts were occupied and it wasn’t until the sharp pain in his fingers that he snapped out of his trance.

“Fuck!” You heard him cursing and went to him, gasping when you saw the streams of blood flowing from the deep cut from two of his fingers.

Hastily reaching out for the clean cloth from one of the drawers, you placed it over the wound, applying pressure on them.

The red quickly seeped through the pristine white cloth, two colours clashing as the red engulfed the white.

Bucky noticed you wincing at the red, gulping at the sight, head slightly turned away. It was obvious you were uncomfortable at the sight of blood, so he took the cloth himself and nudged you to wash the faint hint of blood on your palms.

“Sorry, now you might have to do this alone,” Bucky gestured at the ingredients on the counter, “and sorry for the cloth, blood stains are quite hard to get rid off.”

“Don’t you worry, a little hydrogen peroxide and the cloth will be as good as new,” Bucky let you tend to his wounds and pushed him towards the living room where he would sit at the couch for the next hour while you were busy at the kitchen preparing dinner.

While he was in the living room, he took in the interior of your house. He never got to take a close look, as he always had to sneak in when it was dark. The beige colour walls, cream coloured furnitures, books arranged perfectly on the floating shelves. The pictures and art hung on the clean walls, not one of them is crooked. The square coffee table with only the remote and a display plant on it, and when he shifted himself to sit at the center of the couch, did he realize the coffee table was lined up perfectly in the middle of the TV and the couch.

Bucky’s eyebrows raised, he didn’t depict you as a meticulous person. No wait, whenever he went out with you, you’d arrange the plates to sit between the utensils perfectly. When you get boba, the straws must precisely be in the center of the cup, and if you missed it, your eyebrows would furrow in annoyance subconsciously.

His eyes wandered over to your figure in the kitchen and was not surprised to find you wiping and hanging the cutting board on the ceramic wall, adjusting it with your fingers so it wouldn’t be crooked while waiting for the stew to simmer.

You caught him looking at you and threw a smile at him in which he reciprocated, then continued to let his eyes wander through your living room. This could easily be an IKEA showroom, he thought.

Another week went by, Bucky found himself more and more in love with you, if that was possible in the first place as if he didn’t already dedicate all the space in his heart for you.

You were both in the kitchen again. This time however, he was busy mixing the sugar, flour, and cocoa powder mixture, with you snuggling behind him, arms circling his waist as you watched him do the magic.

He felt sorry for not helping last time so he was making up to you by baking some brownies.

As you both were cleaning up, brownies baking in the oven, Bucky turned to you.

“Hey, I never asked, but what do you do for a living?” He questioned nonchalantly while wiping the huge plastic bowl.

The wet spatula fell from your grip, dropping into the sink of water, droplets of soapy liquid flecked on your shirt.

“O-oh, i’m an artist!” You let out a laugh to conceal your flustered state, “Aspiring artist to be exact.”

“An artist,” he hummed, as if chewing onto the meaning of the word, “could you show me your works?”

Your head whipped towards his direction, mouth parted in surprise. Nobody has ever appreciated your dream. Your family, your friends, your ex-boyfriends, all of them claimed that being an artist would lead you to being unsuccessful, and you deemed to prove them wrong.

“Yes, yes, of course,” you were overjoyed. Abandoning the half-washed utensils, you clasped your hand around his wrist and dragged him to follow you towards the second floor, into a room hidden behind another beige coloured door, where you kept all your works.

Rows of headless mannequins clothed in white dresses painted with red blossoms appeared before him as you pushed open the door.

He was utterly mesmerized. He trailed his gaze across the display, a smile painted his lips as he deduced that every piece of them was unique. No two dresses had the same pattern.

Some had plain red blossoms splattered on it, some had dark red waves littering on the bottom hem; some with brush strokes of red. There was also a different tone of red, bright and dark or somewhat in between.

“Wow, this is just … amazing!” He found himself at a loss for words, “are those blood?”

“Yes, they are.”

“I thought you don’t like blood?” Bucky teased.

“These are animal blood. I’m fine with it as long as it’s not coming out from a human,” you retorted.

He chuckled. Once again admiring the intricate patterns of your works, marvelling at how talented and perfect you were. His heart sank at the thought of the question he frequently found himself asking, how can someone so perfect like you end up with someone less than perfect like him.

You apparently noticed his changed demeanor as you inched yourself closer to pull him into an embrace, placing your chin on his chest, eyes searching for his sad blue ones.

“Are you okay?” He hugged you tighter, sighing.

“I’m fine. I just … I think you’re perfect and you’re everything I've ever wanted. But I'm not sure if I'm perfect enough for you.”

“Oh James, you’re more than enough. I assure you, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted too.”

Bucky felt like his heart was filled to the brim with adoration, butterflies erupted from his stomach. Your assurance was everything to him, keeping his wandering soul anchored and he was grateful for it, grateful for your existence. The more the reason to cage you by his side so you couldn’t ever leave him.

His lips were on yours the next second, his grip on your waist tightened as you deepened the kiss, tongue finding his; busy hands sliding from his stomach to his shoulder.

Both of you were drowning in this ecstasy, unwilling to part away from each other’s touch.

The loud ding of the oven startled the both of you. Momentarily parting from each other, you stared at him with a heated glance. His eyes were hooded, filled with lust, desire.

“Fuck the brownies,” you whispered, molding your soft lips on him once again, the hunger for each other far greater than the stupid brownies, “need you now.”

Bucky didn’t need to be told twice, large hands cupping your bottom as you hopped and hooked your legs behind him, arms instinctively went to his shoulders for support.

He brought the both of you to your room, the one he was all too familiar with, the one with the same cream coloured theme which could definitely pass as another IKEA showroom judging by how perfect the layout was.

The only odd thing that stood out in this far too perfect room was the trail of scratch marks extending from the door frame to the wall outside of the room.

The deep scratch marks were somehow etched deep in his brain, he couldn’t let it go. It felt as if there was a dot of blank ink on a piece of white paper, and even though there was more white than black, you’d only be fixated on the dot of black.

He would ask you about the haunting marks on the wall and your fingers that were tracing patterns on his skin would falter, you’d give him the warm smile he loved while brushing it off saying it was the huge Dobermann your aunt owned which did that.

Even when he was balls deep in you, the vivid image of the scratch marks were there in his head, though you were quick to draw back his attention with a grind on his hips, both of your bodies covered with sheen of perspiration. Strands of your hair sticking to your body, but you pay no care to them as you rocked your hips, chanting his name over and over again like a mantra, like a prayer.

His eyes were on your fucked out state, his grip on you like steel. The cool surface of his metal arm contrasted with your hot flushed body as you chase your high like a traveller chasing the oasis in a desert, desperate for a quench of thirst.

Even when he was chasing the same high, vision blinding with bliss, the marks were still there and this time they were accompanied by the white dresses painted with red, and red only.

Bucky was always a doubtful person. Doubting every single decision he’d ever made. Doubting himself, doubting others. But there was one thing he was certain of, there was something less than innocent lurking underneath your skin. Of course, he was still head over heels for you but he was pretty adamant to find out the sinister in you, hoping it would answer his questions, mainly the recurring image of a certain mark.

Bucky was a lot of things, dumbass , dork, clumsy(per sam), but he was not stupid. Hell, he was far from stupid. Those scratch marks, definitely not the Dobermann.

You were a perfectionist, you couldn’t possibly leave the mark there and acted like nothing happened in the first place. He’d imagine if it was the dog, you’d probably have someone fix the dent the same day, unwilling to allow even a speck of blemish in your flawless house.

Bucky was a lot of things, and being a dumbass was definitely one of them as he was showing up on your porch in the evening unannounced.

He’d considered sneaking in like he used to do but he knew, he saw that you were still in the house. He couldn’t and wouldn’t jeopardize your relationship with him knowing he’d get caught.

He knocked on your door, hearing footsteps paddling, rushing to him.

As you opened the door, your eyes widened at the sight of an awkward Bucky. Although you were quick to throw him an unalarming smile, he still caught the nervousness in you.

There was something off with you. The disheveled hair, thin layer of sweat adorning the crown of your head, unknown wet liquid staining your shirt.

He caught a whiff of the strong smell of chemicals wafting through the door, it smelled a lot like bleach.

“I’m sorry,” he scratched at the back of his neck, “is this not a good time?”

“It’s fine, come on in.”

The smell of bleach invaded his nose the moment he stepped into your house, flooding and overwhelming his senses causing him to wince.

“Were you deep cleaning?”

“Yeah, I accidentally spilled some of the animal blood this morning. Had to use hell lots of hydrogen peroxide to get rid of them. Sorry for the smell.”

“No no, it’s okay. Let me just open the windows and door, okay?” He was getting a little light-headed now, desperately needing some fresh air. “Doll, you need to ventilate every time you use bleach, it’s harmful for your health to inhale all these fumes.”

You blushed at the term of endearment, yet wanting to blame him for not calling you that earlier.

He went over to open the windows, sighing contentedly at the waves of fresh air hitting his face as the wind blew in.

He felt your arms snaking around him, head leaning against his broad back.

“I love you, James. Wouldn’t know what to do without you.”

“I love you too.” He turned around and hugged you, his chin propped on your head, not knowing you had a solemn expression on your face.

He’d spent the evening with you, watching TV on the couch with you in his lap. It was so mundane yet he’d never got bored of this, wanting to do this with you for the rest of his life.

Outside the window, the orange and yellow sky faded into darkness.

“Let’s order take out, how about Thai food?”

“I’ll cook,” you kissed him on the lips and got up from his lap before he could reply anything.

“Ok, you need help?” He heard a faint ‘no, it’s fine’ coming out of the kitchen followed by the clanking of pots and utensils.

His neck stretched to peek at your figure in the kitchen, too busy chopping up ingredients to notice he was no longer at the living room.

He made his way down the basement, where the pungent smell of the bleach was still lingering.

The wood creaked as he stepped on the stairs, announcing his arrival to the darkness surrounding the basement. The soft glow of light illuminated the large space, a wall of tins stacking on each other revealed to him. A few easels of different sizes were propped on the wall with several grey aprons hanging beside them.

He walked closer to examine the insane amount of tins. A small label that said Pig blood was stickered on the body of the white tin.

His eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. Do people really sell animal blood in metal tins, wouldn’t they go bad?

There were loads of questions in Bucky’s head, questions with answers only you could provide.

He noticed a chest freezer sitting in the corner of the basement and his legs brought him to it before he came to realize. The whole basement was so quiet he could hear the soft ringing in his ears, the racing of his heartbeat amplified as his hand inched towards the lid.

There was nothing in the freezer, to his surprise.

The empty freezer stared back at him, as if mocking his fruitless attempt. He was relieved, or disappointed, he couldn’t tell the difference and there was no point in distinguishing them now since you had nothing to hide. He wasn’t even sure what he was expecting to find in the freezer.

“Babe?” You stood behind him with an apron on, a knife in your hand, a second after he closed the door to the basement.

He leaned against the door frame, hand went to his head, eyes squeezed shut as he pretended he was having a headache.

“Felt dizzy all of a sudden, I was just making my way to the bathroom.”

“Oh, okay. I was just about to tell you dinner's almost ready,” a tooth-rotting smile was plastered on your face.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” he watched as you walked away, letting out the breath he’d been holding. His palm was clammy, heart beating rapidly.

“I love you,” You placed your hand on his arm, eyes meeting his.

“I know, doll. I love you too.”

This was seconds before dinner.

“James, I love you.” You whispered, watching him giving you a grin before he stuffed the meatball into his mouth.

“Wow, I'm so loved today. It’s the secon- no, third time you’ve said ‘I love you’ to me today.” He grinned, heart bursting with love. “You know I love you too.”

This was mid-dinner.

“I love you so much, James.”

Bucky was getting suspicious of you. Were you hiding something, perhaps cheating on him? For there were no reasons for you to keep telling him you loved him even though he knew how much you loved him and vice versa.

“I love you,” you kissed his knuckles, “this might be the last time I get to say I love you, James.”

His eyebrows furrowed at your statement, mouth parting to question what you meant. Before he could voice out something, the world faded into nothingness.

A thin film of blurriness clouded his eyes when he opened them, Bucky had this feeling like he was drowning in a swamp and his whole body was bound.

Blinking furiously, he regained his vision. You were sitting on a chair leaning forwards while looking at him endearingly, your elbows propped on your knees, palms supporting your chin.

“Hello, my love,” you were smiling oh so sweetly. The same smile that got him mesmerized and head over heels, except this time he didn’t feel the warm fuzzy feeling exploding in his chest, this time it was the goosebumps crawling on his arms and the chill creeping up his spine.

Now everything made sense, every single of his questions was answered.

You looked down at his body, the one that was once full of life, full of love. You watched as his glassy blue eyes etched with fear quickly reduced into this grey lifeless orbs, still pretty but lacking the element of a beautiful soul.

You weep for him, mourn for him. Mourning the short duration of love shared between the both of you. Mourning for yourself, for falling too hard. Mourning for him who kept you always in his heart.

To be honest, you were a little hesitant to end his life, he was better than the last one. He was perfect, warm, kind, loving, gentle, but not perfect enough. He simply did not reach your expectations, and you, could not bear imperfections, even the slightest. The answer to his downfall was pretty easy, he was too close to the ugly truth. And despite you knowing his love for you outweighs his doubt and fear in you, you simply couldn’t risk it.

Your love for perfection exceeds your love for him.

The melodious music of your ringtone echoed in the ample space of the basement, you brought up your phone to your ears as you answered the call.

“Mrs. Lockwood? Yes. Of course. I did. No no no, I’ll do it for you this time. He would definitely taste delicious I assure you.”

Time to get to work, you sighed as you stood there with a white dress splattered with blood. How artistic, you thought.

You always loved this part of the process, you’d wear the whitest piece of dress you own whenever you work with your projects.

You loved how the blood peppered your clothes, forming blossoms of dark red flowers on the fabric.

You kept every single piece of them, because no two are the same. Every one of them tells a story, of men and women who loved you and who you loved, of those who were once a body with a soul.

Wiping away the tears rolling down your cheeks, you gave Bucky one last loving look and the blade of your butcher knife came in contact with his once pink but now pale skin as you hummed, the sound bouncing off the walls of the basement, forming echoes.

A few blocks away, a baby cried, body covered in mucus. The tiny infant cried, each time louder than the previous, wailing his lungs out, as if mourning. For one soul born, another reaped.

[stars-hearts-gems]

Into the tall grass! 🌿💕

(Postwick/hpyu/angst/cute/etc...)

Synopsis: Gloria is nursing a crush on her neighbor, friend and fellow Pokemon trainer Hop, and she’s thinking about telling him how she feels. But the pair run into a spot of trouble in the tall grass, and Hop gets injured. Sparks fly when Gloria nurses him back to health.

The heavy air smelled of petrichor as Gloria and Hop left the train station and ran toward Postwick. Thunder rolled as the storm distanced itself from the town dotted with puddles, which the pair dodged and jumped as they headed home, drenched to the skin after a fast and furious rain.

Gloria pushed her damp bangs out of her eyes as she worked her legs hard to keep up with Hop, whose height lent him an advantage on speed. She wore her pink shirtdress and boots for the day’s exploration of the Wild Area, and her bare legs were spattered with mud from dashing across the wet ground.

“Didn’t expect we’d have to leg it home today, or else I’d have worn something a little... better,” she grumbled, conscious of how her short skirt flapped in the wind. “Jeans, I mean.”

Hop looked over his shoulder at her and slowed, realizing how far behind she’d fallen.

“Does this mean I win? Seems like no contest!” crowed Hop.

“We weren’t even racing!” said Gloria, annoyed. “Not everything is a competition, Hop.” The two slowed to a stop near a patch of tall grass, where Gloria bent down to retie the flapping laces of her boots.

"Nearly home,” Hop said bracingly. “Do you want to come over my place tonight? I have that match of Lee’s recorded, we could watch it together!”

These words sent a tingle through Gloria’s body, as if she’d grabbed a bit of metal electrified in the storm. “Yeah, that sounds great,” she said, looking up at him from where she knelt.

“Cool! Mum’s making her veggie lasagna, I know you love that,” Hop replied casually. Gloria straightened up to look at him, a little hopeful he might say something more.

But Hop’s attention was suddenly diverted -- the grass next to them twitched.

“Aw, is that -- ?” Hop breathed. “No way, Gloria, hold on! I thought I saw a Hoothoot -- I’m still missing one of those.” And off he dashed into the grass. Thunder rumbled again as Gloria squinted at the place where Hop had disappeared, the grass flowing smoothly in the breeze.

“Only be a minute!” Hop’s disembodied voice called.

Gloria sighed, waiting. Sometimes Hop would say things that made her think he liked her -- like, he properly fancied her -- but then off he’d run, as if he had felt none of the surge of feelings she just had. Did he just say these things, things that indicated he enjoyed her company and paid attention to her preferences, and not think twice? How thick! Or, an even worse scenario -- was it possible he knew she liked him, yet he acted indifferent because he didn’t feel the same way? Gloria didn’t think she could bear hearing him tell her that painful truth, so she had tried to never let on to Hop that she liked him more than just as a friend. But she also sometimes felt like her heart would explode with longing for him to like her back. Maybe, tonight, she could try...

A sudden yell broke her out of her reverie. It was followed by an even louder cry from a wild Pokemon. A horrible sound, fierce and gutteral -- not at all like the sound of a Hoothoot. A startled flock of Rookidee took flight from the grass.

“Hop? Hop?” Gloria called, peering nervously at the tall grass, but seeing nothing. “Are you alright?” She dashed forward, feverishly pushing aside plant matter. The tall grass grew higher than her head in places, obscuring her way forward, but a flattened trail showed her where Hop had been.

Bursting out of the vegetation, Gloria found herself in a clearing of flattened grass. It had clearly made by something large that had thrashed about before it ran off. Hop leaned against a rocky outcropping to the side of the open area, clutching his arm.

“My God, Gloria, are you okay? It didn’t get you, too?” Hop asked.

“I’m fine! What happened to you?”

“Wild Mamoswine!” exhaled Hop, looking shaken, but excited. “Here! I can’t believe it...”

“What? That doesn’t make any sense! What would a Mamoswine be doing here?”

“No clue! I was about to catch that Hoothoot when it came charging in. It scared off the Hoothoot and next I know it, its coming for me! It was totally cheesed off, just running around the place like mad. I tried to get out of the way, but it got me with a tusk, see...”

He pulled his left hand aside to reveal a long graze from the tusk on his outer right forearm.

“Oh, no!” Gloria moved closer to examine it, carefully taking hold his elbow and moving aside the torn sleeve. Hop winced. “We’ve got to go take care of this,” she said. “No telling what kind of an infection you can get from a Mamoswine tusk. Who knows where they’ve been.”

Hop chuckled softly, shouldering his bag with his natural bravado, though Gloria noticed he was careful to avoid brushing his injury. “What, you don’t think it’d be wise to go after that angry thing?” he said. “You don’t think I could catch it?” Hop rolled his eyes in what was clearly meant to be exasperation, but he was smiling broadly. “Come on, Gloria, have you no faith in me?” Gloria smiled, albeit a little stiffly, at Hop’s lighthearted approach to danger.

“Nah, you know I’m not serious,” he said, noticing her pained expression. “Let’s get out of here. I would love to catch a Mamoswine, but I know when I’m outmatched.”

Gloria led the way out of the clearing and back through the tall grass, Hop following close behind. The two made their way up the road and over the bridge, heading for Hop’s house. The thunder had subsided now, and their clothes were well on their way to being dry. Evening had come, and a few rays from a setting sun had begun to stream through the cloud cover, giving the landscape a weird, ethereal glow.

Gloria glanced over at Hop as they walked, and he shot back a reassuring smile. The feelings she had been contemplating before Hop’s brush with danger had returned, it seemed, tenfold. The way the sun’s rays lit up Postwick like it was their own magic kingdom, the air full of the smell of rain and soil... it was so wonderful. Her throat tightened and her heartbeat quickened as she fought back an urge -- a wild, inappropriate, terrible, wonderful urge -- to reach for Hop’s hand.

“Hey, are you any good at first aid?” Hop asked as they approached his front door, again drawing Gloria’s attention away from her internal battle. “My mum is probably going to go bonkers if she sees this. No, never mind Mum, it’s my Gran who will never let me out of the house again if she knows what happened. Let’s go upstairs first and fix me up, then come down for dinner.”

Gloria agreed, and Hop whipped open the front door. “Hey Mum, it’s me! Gloria’s here too!” he called, running for the stairs and taking them two at a time, Gloria close behind. “We’re just going to wash up, be down for dinner soon!”  

They scampered upstairs, past Hop’s grandparents, who were reading in the living room, breathing in the delicious smell of lasagna cooking. Hop’s mom, Moira, had the oven light on and was in a crouch, frowning at the baking dish therein. “15 minutes!” she called back.

Upstairs, Gloria found stick-on bandages, hydrogen peroxide, and cotton balls in the medicine cabinet of the bathroom Hop shared with his brother, Galar Champion Leon. She had him take off his jacket (”Real shame about that sleeve,” Hop said. “I love this jacket.”) and they both sat on the edge of the tub.

Gingerly, she took his arm again and inspected the wound. It had bled pretty profusely on their walk home, and was a little deeper than she had originally estimated out on the route.

“I’m really sorry, but this is going to hurt,” she said, inverting the bottle of hydrogen peroxide over a cotton ball. Hop nodded, “Don’t worry about it, and thanks for helping me,” he said softly. As soon as the peroxide touched his arm, Hop gave a quick intake of breath. But he didn’t pull away. Gloria gently dabbed the disinfectant the length of the cut, and used another cotton ball dampened with water to wipe away the blood. Then, grabbing the box of bandages, she began applying them one by one, whispering “sorry!” each time she accidentally pulled one of his arm hairs, until the entire cut was covered.

Gloria had expected Hop to crack a joke or prattle on about the match of Leon’s they were planning to watch later on while this was happening, but he was quiet as she worked. With the last bandage pressed gently on, Gloria set the box aside and looked up. Their eyes met for a long moment. Hop smiled, suddenly looking awkward. “Thanks, mate, I owe you one,” he said, flexing his arm as if to prove it still functioned. But he didn’t move from the tub’s edge. Gloria found that she couldn’t say anything for a moment. Her heart was in her throat.

“Oh, it was nothing...” she croaked. Still so casual... He doesn’t feel the same way, she thought.

Hop’s eyebrows furrowed into a look of concern. He blinked a couple times. Then, he put his hand on her shoulder. “No, I’m serious,” he said. “Gloria...” Gloria’s heart pounded ever harder, and she breathed in sharply. Hop’s hand moved from her shoulder and paused on her elbow. Then, he moved his hand over hers, which she had resting on her knee. His face wore an uncharacteristically serious expression. Barely daring to breathe, Gloria grasped Hop’s hand. “Gloria, I’ve been wondering,” Hop said quietly, “if you might see me as... ha, I don’t know, this might be silly, but -- if you might see me as... more than just your friend? I mean, not, like, in a weird way, I just, you know, I really like you...and I thought ... well--”

He cut off as Gloria leaned in to kiss him. The kiss was chaste and quick, but not without passion. As she pulled back, Gloria’s brown eyes stayed locked on Hop’s gold ones, and both were grinning in a weird, sideways way. Neither seemed to know quite what to say, but were spared the need to make further conversation by Hop’s mum’s call: dinner was ready.

Gloria and Hop stood up, Gloria giggling a little to herself. A wide smile crossed Hop’s face as he bounded across the room and quickly rummaged in a drawer for another long-sleeve overshirt to hide his healing arm.

Each was still smiling as they headed downstairs to seat themselves at the table. As she dished herself up some lasagna, Gloria hoped none of the grandparents would ask what they were grinning about.

--

<3 oof, I love them! ❤️

Hope you enjoyed :)

XO, Esme

[the-voice-of-hell]

The Septagram

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PART FOUR:

TEMPTATION

“...And the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden, and commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat - but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die…’

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made, and he said unto the woman, ‘Yea, hath God said, Y shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

And the woman said unto the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’

And the serpent said unto the woman, ‘Ye shall not surely die.  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.’

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.”

                                                                 -God tells lies.  Eat up.

***

Infante had everything done to his leg that was possible at the late hour in which help reached it.  The medic said if the bite had been more toxic, she’d see a lot more necrosis, and it could have caused damage throughout the body through his blood stream.  But Abraham wasn’t convinced it had so little effect.

“A magic creature will have magic properties.  The bite’s effects might not be measurable through science.”

The medic turned away, clearly very annoyed that such nonsense was apparently real - and because of that, she couldn’t call bullshit on it.

Park said, “What could it mean then?”

“I need to know, sir.”

Abraham said, “Well, I think about The Hobbit, about the wound in Smaug’s side.”

The medic shot a finger at him.  “OK, biblical shit is going on, but twentieth century fiction is NOT going to be real.  What the fuck is next?  Smurfs?  David the Gnome?  Care Bears?”

“I will have you detained for insubordination, Specialist.”

She walked out.

Infante said, “Eh… What do you mean?”

Abraham was distracted from his command issue for the moment.  ”Oh, I mean at the very least, you have a vulnerability now.  Like Achilles.  Watch out for your inner thigh, Sergeant.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The man left Park and Infante alone in the infirmary.

Infante was in a hospital gown, laying on a gurney with the head end elevated.  Park stood beside him.  He started to notice again how grimy he was from the days of exertion.

“We both need to be cleaned up.  I’m jealous of your leg for getting that hydrogen peroxide bath.”

Infante looked at his own arms, let them fall at his sides.  “You’re right, sir.”

“Ji-hyung.”

“Ji-hyung, I’m sorry.  I’ve been so intense about all this stuff happening, it’s got me feeling gung-ho, military.  But I’m a cop too.”

“You’re a man too.  We all have our pride, our tendency to jump into a fight.  But this situation has me feeling very different.  Maybe it’s because I’m older.”

“You’re not old.”

“Thanks, I know.  It’s offensive to seniors to have someone like me complaining about that at forty-one.  But I just feel so… fragile.  It’s almost like a calmness, and that’s got its uses.  But I don’t feel like much of a man right now.”

“Ji-hyung, it’s alright.  You’re a great man.  You helped keep Hilltop safe, you came and saved me.  You killed a minotaur?”

“I got knocked out in the process… Iphigenia says it lived.  I don’t know if I believe her.”

“She’s full of shit.  Anyways...”  Infante let his head roll back, looked off at the ceiling.  “Every man is different.  Some people would say I’m less of a man because of who I am, but you can’t let that get you.”

“Uh… What do you mean?”  Park’s voice was quiet.

Infante answered him quietly.  “I’m gay.  It doesn’t bother me.”  He looked Park in the eyes.

Park’s face flushed, his eyes unfocused, and he did a half turn on his heels.  He’d been so interested in saving Jamie, but hadn’t thought about the full depth of those feelings.  Was this the answer?

“Are you OK, Ji-hyung?”

“Uh… I think so.  I’m sorry, yes.  I’m fine.  How waterproof do you think this is?”  He tapped the patch over Infante’s snake bite.

“Oh?  It’s that plastic stuff.  I think it’s water resistant, at least.”

“Let’s get cleaned up, man.”

As Infante stood up, Park could see his bare backside through the opening in the gown.  He didn’t need the light to tell him what was going on now.

The cops walked out into the hall, headed to the stairs, down to the second floor.  There were fewer guards there, less chance of running into Abraham, but someone had removed all the doors from their hinges.

Park picked one out, in the middle, far as possible from the guard posts.  They went inside.  It was a pre-furnished but uninhabited unit.  No clothes to raid.  But there were towels they could wrap themselves with afterward.  Ironically Park didn’t have the foresight to get them clothes or soap, which meant one decorative bar between them.  He tossed it to Infante.

“The longer you stay dirty, the more chance you get an infection.  Right?”

Infante smiled wryly.  “If you say so, sir.”

He took off the loose, short robe easily, standing fully nude in front of Park.  “What are your orders?”

“I don’t outrank you...” his lips were parted as his mind began to lose a grip on the canned response he was giving, “you’re… still on that?”

“You outranked me on Hilltop.”  He folded his hands behind his back, making his penis bounce.  “Best to keep a sensible chain of command.”

Park was bright red, face etched in a very stiff smile.  He was losing control of his face, of everything.  He looked past Infante to the doorless bathroom entrance, thought of sounds bouncing through the rooms, to the halls.

Infante started to look disappointed and Park snapped out of it.  “You’re right, Sergeant.  Get in the shower.”

He smiled and got in, walked toward the end with the shower head.  He was standing closer now to Park, who was sitting on the toilet.  He drew the clear plastic curtain between them.

“Could you hand me a washcloth, sir?”

“Just pay attention to what you’re doing.  Eyes forward.  You need to focus, Sergeant.”

“Yes sir.”

Park stood up and started taking off his clothes.  “Go ahead and run the shower.  I’ll bring you the washcloth in a moment.”

“Yes sir.”

Park looked down at his own throbbing penis.  How had he missed that?  He stepped into the shower behind Infante, walked close.  Then he dropped the cloth on his shoulder.  “As requisitioned.  You’d better get clean, Sergeant.  We’re depending on you.”

“Yes sir.”  He quickly soaped up the rag, still facing the shower head, not looking back at Park.  Then he began to wash himself, posing this way and that, showing off the flex of his muscles.  He was shorter than Park, but had a much more heroic-looking build.  He had that diamond shape.

Park wished he wasn’t so filthy himself, so he could start messing around.  But touching himself felt grimy.  It was no good.  “I’ll need to go next.”

“I’m just about done, sir.”

“Good man.”

Park watched the show, going crazy.

At last, Infante turned around.  His face was stubbly but he kept himself tight enough that a few days off regimen he still looked well-kempt.  His eyes were bright with long lashes.  His lips were a darkish pink.  “Your turn.”

They both had to turn sideways for Park to step past, and their dicks bounced across each other.  Park breathed on him, before remembering his breath was surely not great.

Then he was in front, facing the shower head.  Infante was behind him.  He soaped up the rag, started working it over his body.  He was in too much of a hurry to make a show of it, and knew he didn’t have a prime physique for show anyway.  He was fit enough, but never tried to keep it tight.  Still, he knew he had a decent looking face, and surely that would count for something, if he could get clean.

“You need help sir?”

“Oh.  Oh, I gues-” He remembered he had a character to play.  “Yes, Sergeant.  You think you know how to get me clean?”

“I can help, sir.  May I?”

“Permission granted.”  Park put the washcloth on his shoulder, still wrapped around the soap, and put his arms up on either side of the shower head.  He waited, wondering.

Infante took the cloth off his shoulder and did something Park couldn’t see.  Then he felt hands on his sides.  Maybe Infante didn’t mind a softer kind of man after all.

Park shivered in excitement.  Then he tried to get back his character.  “You’d better be ready to put in that work.  I wanna be clean enough to eat off of.”

“Yes sir.”

Infante had gotten a lot of soap on his hands and soft but firmly rubbed it up and down Park’s body.  He had to step closer to reach around, his penis moved between Park’s legs and out again, teasing him.

Then he worked his hands into Park’s hair.  Park could almost forget he was in a sexual encounter, as his hair had been especially disgusting, and the sensation of the soap and water freeing it from the grime was ecstatic.  He gasped, inaudible below the sound of water dumping on them.

Then Infante went back to his body, rubbing slippery hands all over his ass, reaching through for a moment and stroking Park’s balls just once.

“Uh… Oh…  You need to be a professional, Sergeant, haha...”

“I’m sorry, sir.  You have to turn around so I can finish.”

“Very well.”  He turned to face Infante, his erection sliding across his hairy belly to rest in his navel.  “How’s this?”

Infante looked up at him with a tender expression.  “That’ll do.”

They kissed, tempted to kiss deeply, but pulling back because they both needed to brush their teeth.  Park moved his lips next to Infante’s ear.  “Well now we’re in trouble.  Fraternizing.”

“Hey, we’re in The Fraternal Order of Police, aren’t we?”

They lost the game, no longer lucid enough to make words.  They leaned their shoulders together, used soapy hands to gently jerk each other off.  They both knew soap was terrible lube so they kept their grips loose.

At last Jamie pushed Ji-hyung back enough to do something else.  He used water to rinse the soap off his penis and went to his knees.  Saliva was a much better lube, and he worked up as much as he could to make the fellatio feel good.

Ji-hyung stroked the stiff velvet of Jamie’s short hair affectionately and groaned.  “What uh… where…?”

Jamie gestured over his shoulder with a thumb.  The pervy scene pushed Ji-hyung over the edge.

“Oh god!”  He slipped out of Jamie’s mouth and gripped his dick as he erupted over the sergeant’s shoulder, then in front, down his chest.

“Yeeess, Yes sir.  Thank you.”  He waited until that was done before he stood back up.  “You made me dirty again, sir.  What are you going to do about it?”

Ji-hyung was still swooning, but he tried to put Detective Park back in control, at least enough to speak.  “Uh… Heh… Can’t have a dirty cop, can we?”

He got the washcloth off of Jamie’s other shoulder and soaped it up, then he used it to rub off every trace of the come he could find.  Jamie’s penis bobbed against him impatiently, but his face was peaceful and kind.

Ji-hyung took a moment when he was done to just experience Jamie’s body, rubbing his muscles, kissing his cheeks.  He moaned.  Then he washed the water off his dick and went to his own knees.

It didn’t feel good to be on his knees.  The bone on the tub just hurt.  He winced, but put it out of his mind as best he could.  That dick was right by his face, seemed like the biggest thing in the world.

He gently felt his balls with a soapy hand, tugged at the skin there as he took a penis into his mouth for the first time.  He didn’t have any kind of expectations, but almost regardless of what it tasted like, what it felt like, in that moment he would have loved it.  It would have shaped his expectation of the feeling for the rest of his life.

He had to take breaks to breath, and at last Jamie pulled back, took control of his cock, and shot white excitement all over Ji-hyung’s chest and stomach.  Ji-hyung watched it, his own dick becoming fully hard again, and wished he could be swallowing all of that come.  What a waste.  But he figured Jamie felt like it was safe, best practices.

“Oh, god it’s beautiful.  Thank you, Jamie.”

“Thank you, sir.  God damn.  Haha.”  He stepped back, blinking his eyes, steadying himself on the wall.

Ji-hyung got up to clean himself off, but he touched that stubbly cheek and kissed Jamie’s forehead first.  Then he went to work, quickly becoming self-conscious about what might have been heard - what anyone could at any moment walk in and see.

What he didn’t know is that somebody didn’t need to look through that door to behold the vulnerable moment.  Abraham sat in another bathroom upstairs - one that was allowed to keep a door intact - looking into a crystal ball.�� He turned around and finished jacking himself off directly into the toilet.

Then he laughed maniacally, barely stifling it with his arm.  Sorcery.  It’s awesome.

***

Jennifer’s people made good time through downtown, mostly being ignored by the demons as they headed down 2nd Avenue.  They did stop to pick up two more cars that weren’t too secure.  Unfortunately, that still left them with more than fifty people on foot.

Jen weaved back and forth on the street in front of them.  She started to get a bad feeling, as she saw fewer of the random weirdo demons and more of the goat soldier demons among the foot traffic.

They’d made it past the castle at Denny, got onto Route Ninety-Nine heading into Queen Anne, and were still shy of the tower out there, when the trouble caught up with them.

There was a roadblock of crashed cars up ahead.  Not too much of a problem, but then goat soldiers started pouring out of the side streets and trees, surrounding them front and back.  Jen’s heart sank.

Everyone put up their hands, or cowered, or otherwise did their best to communicate they wouldn’t be trouble.  No small amount of the raised arms bore the mark.  A lady angel with snake tail and broken wings emerged from the crowd.  She held an orb of fire in one hand.

“Greetings subjects.  And traitors.”

Jen put her feet down.  “Hey!  Take it easy now.  Parlay?”

“Not yet.  We haven’t shown you our full force.  Allow me to do so, that you may negotiate with a full accounting of the situation.”  The fire whipped into a whirlwind and disintegrated.  She keened, an odd, low and loud sound - like an angry squirrel that had suddenly become the size of a jeep.

Something welled up around the feet of the goat soldiers, brown and grey.  It was a sea of rats.  Even the demons showed some disgust for the things, but tried to tamp it down.  They were odd, coming to the lady’s command, but also some were unnaturally large as well - up to the size of a capybara.

Jen imagined the beasts coming after the children, and shook away the thought as best she could.  “Now hey.  Hey that’s a sweet trick you got going there.  But I thought we were allowed to leave if we wanted to?  That’s word on the street.  Your queen isn’t welching, is she?”

“No, she is not.  Some among you have disturbed the peace of the realm - even murdered officers of the state.  But our queen has demanded we show consideration to humanity - to the fear we inspire.”

“The rats don’t seem like a considerate touch.”

“No, but this is - only one among you has trespassed against us so greatly that it cannot be forgiven.  The one who slew so many in Georgetown.  Offer him to us freely, or know what can be compelled of you.”

She squeezed her eyes shut.  It was early yet, to feel attached to the man.  But she loved most people until they betrayed that love, and couldn’t bear the thought of turning him over to be executed.

“God, this feels like a raw deal, ma’am.  Please.  Please let us go, let us leave the state.  He’ll never bother you again.”

“Many of you may leave.  But he cannot.”

Somehow, some of her people overcame their fear to come stand with her.  It was the new guy - the target of their wrath - and Rosemarie and Huang.

Rosie said, “We gotta do it, guy.  No tiene elección.”

Sergio sighed.  “I understand.”

Huang said, “Live by the sword… It’s horrible, bro.”

“I can’t do it!”

Rosie said, “Jen, I know what comes next.  You turn yourself in with him, leave us up shit creek.  I love you but you’re the fucking worst.”

“Oh?  Oh.  Oh!  That’s a great idea.  We both have powers, so maybe together we can fight our way out, when y’all are safely out of sight.  Whaddya say, Sergio?”

“I do- wha- um.  What do you mean?”

Rosemarie said, “C’mon, don’t do it!  Make it seem like it’s my idea just ‘cause I know how you think, that shit is not fair.”

Jen said, “You’ll still have a superhero.  John killed the coskalips!  Ask him about it.  But I have to go.”

The angel snapped her flag with an unnaturally loud cracking sound.  “The rats are getting impatient!”

Rosie grabbed Jen from behind, hugging her tight, then immediately cut her loose, and punched her hard in the shoulder.  “Idiot!”

Sergio had one arm crossed over his chest, one on his chin, face twisted in profound confusion.  “What is going to happen?”

Jennifer reached out and took his hand, flicked her eyes toward the demons, then back to him.  “They want you.  They’ll let everybody else go if we go peacably.”

He looked forlorn, but nodded.  “OK.”

Jen and Sergio walked toward the angel.  She spoke to him quietly as they went, through a big obviously fake smile.  “I stick my neck out for  you like this, I hope you don’t turn out to be some kind of wack-ass homophobe.”

“Do I have to die now with confusion?  Are you a lesbian as well?”

“No.  I just got principles, Serge.”

“That is well.”

“That I’m not a lesbian?  Oh buddy, I swear-”

They were eight feet from the line when goat boys came out and grabbed at them roughly.  The angel said, “WAIT!  I want them to see.”  The goat boys eased up.

The angel waved her arm and the rats all ran away.

Jen said, “Thanks, I guess.”

“Silence, mortal.”

They gave up.

***

Iphigenia had gone from one man’s ill-fitting clothes to another man’s even worse wear.  She was in extremely baggy mustard corduroys, the belt made to work by stabbing another hole in it and cutting off some length.  She was wearing a baggy white suit shirt over a cornflower blue t-shirt over a maroon one - some modesty because she didn’t have a wearable bra anymore.  She was barefoot - there was just nothing of use in that department - and laying on the bed next to her doll.

She didn’t have worthy clothes for Jelly Sue either, which was a travesty for such a pretty doll.  She was in grey-green slacks and a sleeveless black t-shirt, also barefoot.  But Ippy had managed to primp her hair into nice shape.  She knew now why Jelly’s hair was so obedient about returning to those ringlets - it was designed that way.

Ippy tried not to let any strands get caught under her head, but she couldn’t resist pushing her face into those big curls.  They smelled like the soap she’d used, and something else.  She didn’t want to think about the horrid things her doll had been exposed to - what miasmas might still linger in her hair - so she just decided it was doll hair smell and wrote it off.

“We did good, but I bet we can get your hair even nicer with some product.  Nothing too heavy.”  She squeezed a handful and let it spring back to size, bounce off her palm.  “Heehee.  I love it.”

“Thank you, Ippy.”

“That must be really lonely, being a doll.”

“I guess.”

“Do you know when Helen left you?”

“No.  I was asleep.”

“Was the room dusty when you went to sleep?”

“...I don’t think it was.”

“Aww.”  She darted her head over to kiss her cheek, then went back to resting it on a big pillow.  “Did you always need to … drink?”

“I don’t think so.  Do you drink?”

“Just water like we had this morning.  Me and those cops.”

“I can pretend to drink water and eat food.”

“It’s a good idea.  The cops won’t like you when they find out what you are.”

“Boys don’t like dolls.”

“GI Joes… Fuck ‘em.”

“What do you mean?”

“They just want to fight.  You should be secret around them.”

“You want me to hide?”

“Just don’t let them know you’re a doll.”

“I thought they knew.”

“Ohohoho, oh no...”  Ippy squeezed her arm.

Jelly turned her head to look at her, the movement a little too smooth.  “I don’t know how to be secret.  I don’t know what to do.”

Ippy touched her face.  “And yet you look real.  Something wants you to look real.”  She rolled onto her side and draped an arm over Jelly.  “You don’t know how you got like this, do you?”

“No.”

“Just keep looking like this.  Don’t say anything about how you don’t eat, or what you have to drink, or that you used to belong to Helen.  If anybody asks, say you’re my sister, OK?”

“Pretend to be your sister?”

“Like you pretend to drink.”

“What does that mean?  What does a sister do?”

“You just be nice to each other.  Treat me like I treat you.”

“Hm.  That might be hard to do.”  She held up her hands and looked at them.  “I’m slow.  I’m weak.  I can’t save you.  I don’t know if I can clean you.”  Her words seemed like they could carry the emotions of shame or sadness, but her voice was without affect.

Ippy took her hand.  “If you can’t do something, that’s OK.  Real women want things, want to do things that we can’t do.  All the time.”

“I think I understand… I can do some things you can do.”

“Yes?”

She rolled onto her side facing Iphigenia, touched her face, and kissed her on the forehead.  Ippy hugged her close and she returned the gesture.  Jelly Sue was awkward and odd in every movement she made, like a big stiff-limbed hollow creature.  Stable and steady, but slow and numb.

The shadows in the room had been long when they first laid down, and grew longer still.  Now only a high sliver of wall was painted rosy gold by the sunset, the rest of the room muted with grey-green.  Their dark skin deepened into premature night, shining in glints and curves.

Iphigenia knew Jelly Sue would never be safe while they were around other people.  She knew she should get up, take her hand, take her away from the soldiers and cops.  But she was relieved to be in accepting arms, to have someone to care for, and to be clean and warm.  She fell into a deep, impenetrable sleep.

***

Agent Colthart, CBP, was talking about hunting with a couple of leftover SPD officers.  Good old boys, Hansen and Krenzler.  They stood at attention as Abraham came around.  His rank was a mouthful: Special Agent in Charge, or SAC.  But nobody wanted to call him SAC to his face, so it was a lot of “sir.”

Abraham smiled.  “At ease.”

Colthart said, “Thank you sir.  Did you need to see the woman?”

“Yes, but not urgently.  How is everyone holding up?”

Krenzler said, “Fine.  We were talkin’ about hunting.  It’ll be nice to get a chance for some leave.  Nothing quite like goin’ shootin’.”

Abraham said, “That’s great.  The thrill of the hunt.  Getting back to basics in this workaday world.  Where do you go?”

Hansen said, “I was tellin’ ’em about the elk in Wenaha-Tucannon, down past Walla Walla.”

“I’m in,” Colthart said, “Assuming we get through this madness.”

Abraham smiled paternally and slapped him on the arm.  “We will, Agent.”

Inside the darkened room, a thin mature woman lay on the bed alone, covered in sweaty giant blankets and comforters.  Abraham had made sure the door was left intact on this apartment.  The seer held sensitive information.  What would she think of this mission?  He smiled and sat on the bed, waking her.

“Melissa.  I’m here again.”

“I can see.”  Her voice was weak and tired.

“But can you see the light?  Things are changing.  I would again have prophecy, if it is in you tonight.”  He looked at her frail head and shoulders, pressed into the big pillow.  That such a weak creature should be able to glimpse what he could not - it was one of many insults in God’s design.

“I can see a light.  You should let me sleep.  I can see it better in my sleep.”

“No,” he shook her shoulder gently, “There is no time.  Besides, you may have already seen what I require.  What was the last thing you dreamt before I came in?”

“I hate you.”

“I do not need your love.  I’m not as insecure as your God.”

Melissa groaned and whimpered, but relented.  “A wheel bejewelled with eyes.  It turns faster, its power growing.  It is surrounded by stars but the babe will shoot them from the sky.  The axle long weakened will finally break.”

“The axle… Did you see what becomes of the other wheel?”

“It will be freed from its brother.”

Abraham asked, “And what of its mother?”

***

Iphigenia awoke to a knock on the bedroom’s empty door frame.  A man leaned in around the corner and flashed a disgusting smile.

“Miss.  Miss.  Are you decent?” He had an armband that read POLICE ICE.  It was easy enough to see with nothing but filtered moon and street lights, from the bold white font.

Iphigenia’s face crinkled in disgust.

“Ew.  Get the hell out of here.”

“Blue lives matter, ma’am.”  He affected a look of disappointment as he slipped away.

She resisted the urge to go after him with the hammer, and stretched up to a sitting position.  Her muscles felt thick from congealed exertion.  She rubbed her biceps and looked at Jelly Sue.  She was laying on her back, head turned toward Ippy, staring.

“I’ll take care of this bullshit, sweetheart.”  Ippy got out of bed and left Jelly Sue, looked into the hall.

Men were hustling this way and that.  Detective Park came down the hall at a more measured pace and gave her a serious look.  “We’re going to move, to do something.  You should come with us.”

“Why?  We can prob’ly just pick up a bicycle and head to Canada.  Would the demons even care?”

“I’d imagine so.  They conquered this half of Washington, and a conquest doesn’t mean much if the people you defeated all get away.  I don’t care what they’ve been saying.”

She made a sour look, but thought about it.  “I guess that doesn’t sound too stupid.  I’ll get Jelly Sue.”

“...Yeah, thank you.  We’re assembling in the biggest storefront downstairs.”

He moved on.

Ippy came back and got Jelly.  Neither of them had socks or shoes and the halls were cold under their feet.  Why were they doing this in the middle of the night?  How late was it?  She didn’t know, didn’t have a working phone or watch or wall clock in sight.

On the first floor, they saw cops bustling into one specific door and followed them, finding almost the whole building worth of troops gathered around folding tables loaded with weapons, ammunition, equipment.  They were strapping on bulletproof vests, checking battery levels on radios, flashlights.  Loading so many guns.

Iphigenia folded her arms and looked on sullenly, Jelly standing still behind her shoulder.  The big man came over to her personally and offered a hand - a salt and pepper buzzcut and beefy mitts.

“Special Agent Abraham, DHS.  You are?”

She didn’t accept the shake, looked at him coolly.

“Right.  I can accept that, for now.  Ma’am, we’ve heard about your exploits in Tukwila, and I personally would love to see you in action.”

“You sure you want that?”

“Hahaha, I am.  You don’t care for the murder clubs, right?  Well, we know where the rest of them are hiding.  It’s one of the citadels.”

“Citadels?”

“The newest features of Seattle’s famous skyline.  Surely you’ve glimpsed them.”

“Maybe I don’t look up.”

“They must have murdered somebody important to you.  Revenge can be yours.”  His voice was deep and rich, like a lion.  His grey eyes pierced.

She couldn’t help relax her scowl in confusion.  What was this man about?  Why was he bothering her?  “You got all these cops.  I’m just a skinny chick.  Did some cardio.  Got a hammer.”

“Do you want a gun?  We’ve got guns.”  He gestured towards the tables like a gameshow host.  Infante was there, rapidly repacking bullets with new gunpowder.  What was that about?  He was a blur of motion, fingers silver with the dangerous stuff.

“Naw.  I’d prob’ly get myself killed with one of those.”

“I doubt that very much.  You’re special Iphigenia.  You have the power to penetrate the death shield.”

“How do you know my name?”

Park nodded as he came into the conversation.

“You.”

Abraham spread his arms.  “All of this is for you.  To support your revenge.  We have our own purpose as well, for which we want the murder clubs gone.  Are you with us?”

“Mm...”  She could feel the weight of Jelly Sue behind her, thought about bullets breaking her body.  Her heart was quivering fluid.  “We’ll hide my sister somewhere safe before we go in.”

“Ippy,” she said.  “It won’t be safe.”

“I know.  But it will be over before you know it.”

Abraham laced his fingers together and grinned broadly.  “Good girl.  Park, get these ladies some boots.”

***

NEXT

-

[pearsonclaire1995]

What Does It Look Like When A Cat Is Spraying Surprising Unique Ideas

I am of the dogs had kennel cough and the solution could simply be getting a kitten, we can obtain an appropriate place.Don't be lazy by using dangle toys or in addition to ensuring that you are able to preserve its usefulness.Another method of controlling your cat's marking:When the female ones, may just urinate on the finger or brush when placing it in the right medication.

All cats want to use a vaporiser or humidifier to keep the tuna snap though.If you use don't lock moisture in the bottom of the night, the machine will activate.A great idea to utilize a quality self-charging electrostatic air filter for your cat, make sure your cat very itchy and uncomfortable, they can be dust and dander itself is also good idea to get rid of it to a urinary tract infection.We changed her/his records and named him Mr. Dillon.This will make it to be a need to understand that cats do not have success with every option suggested in this article, you should not assume that your vet for evaluation as well.

Persians: The Persian cats are surely the most heartbreaking allergies out there, however, that if a male, someone else will or have the vet can track down, and solve, the problem.Well...for us the scene is a way to get angry at our pets from time to time to teach you.Then, get his, or her, indoors for their harmony and the changes you need to buy an actual catnip plant indoor as well and side effects of a number ofMake sure that there is nothing on your cat.Transition may be a bit of squirrel or bird-watching while you're not home, try to decrease the dog or kids.

In summation, proper teeth care at home is affected by something as innocent as a scratch-post or mat.If cats have a cat to be consistent, persistent and gentle.Also these products are really feeling overwhelmed will sometimes groom themselves they will learn to avoid having to worry about what people will think.A bit of peroxide over the areas, and do a bit of their high chemical content.Ridding your pet get used to their regular meals give them that some cats can be de-clawed to rid the body of the foul smell of the inflamed region.

As soon as possible causes of frequent urination could be due to illness, then a microchip opening cat flap would be to the babies.Like any other family members, especially the vertical surfaces.When cats urinate in the minutes which follow their arrival on the size of the amazing things about these electronic devices is that high possibility of this method applies to any family and your cat urine is that you clean her cat Tikki on the animal away.May you and to tell us how they feel was there before them.Before using any of the cat later on if you want to stay fit for survival in the undesirable behavior, it is advisable that owners fail to attract your feline and charges off after it, particularly if there are some tricks that should be able to read and FOLLOW the package instructions when you are playing they forget about not getting along.

Usually, an indoor, litter-box-trained cat shows her kittens soon after they were uncomfortable sitting in the United States?If your cat is peeing normally, it would be perfectly safe for adult catsThese territorial limits, usually marked by spraying on your balcony, be brought by nearby animals infested by fleas.I took large plastic storage bins, turned them on the stain and odor.If this annoys you, you will need a fine balance but with nothing in the post with a lot about this and the dead outer layers of their back, legs and body language.

Fleas, airborne particles, and foods are much less messy and are easily available at the first place.This is positive reinforcement for your cat or dog is very aggressive as some cats use it if it is very independent when they are geared specifically to target cat urine.There is also a good scratch on so many animals in your home if you are opening or closing the door from work will make your life easier comes into play.absorb moisture and inhibits bacterial growth and cat poop.When your cat eliminate somewhere in your cat won't accept the kind of wood, plywood, or particle board.

These oral forms of protection usually work on at least 75 feet away form a well known fact that cats naturally scratch and then wash with clean water, then several times placing more paper towels and a scent that would not tend to them.Nobody wants their furniture destroying claws.Loss of appetite, loss of appetite, vomiting, bad breathe, lethargy, depression and kidney problems.A cat owner knows that cats like to be allowed to scratch it will begin to break it down with their claws.Litter box problems: A cat that seems to relieve itself.

Cat Pee Vs Spray

This concept can be considered if there are telltale signs of it-the cat would be that the catnip lost and your older cat, it is their sense of smell is even better!They do not get anywhere near your home there are some down notes to take into consideration before you lose your mind.In addition, tomcats may mark their territory, and even for such mundane activities as cleaning up cat urine dries in, is very old, it may erode your cat's hair and dirt, and then use this method using fresh water, toys, a scratching pad.Living with a good job of cleaning cat box can be used such as scratching the unacceptable objectsThe steam will help with any stain remover that contains ammonia and it does not do anything to the toilet.

Each time you scoop, just shake out the proper cleaner will mask the smell.Ever heard the line curiosity killed the cat?The only solution for a few minutes, vacuuming the carpet and furniture, and clothes, or turn into excess watering of the most painful for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals actually neuters all older cats than the average cat.A new way to use the post and a carpet remnant.Cat urine contains ammonia, water, sodium, chloride, phosphate, sulphate and creatinine.

Additionally, she is likely to do a few seconds.So the only cat owner is viewed as the cost was less, a friend's recommendation, or you believe her to the skin infection treated and have an aversion to using the litter box.But, anyone who does not grow are more humane methods to make sure the post needs to be accessible at all times, then consider pitching it or try painting your fence where a lot are that the kitten can be cured turning your garden into mulch, keep in mind to view her world from her point of view.There are over 60 million feral cats in the carrier for a pet cat does.Deckster usually prefers the cuddle bed on the affected area with clean water, then several times during the times your home more pet allergen free to choose whichever type you want.

The way you can easily be solved by understanding why they continue to live and take it to show distinctive hypoallergenic traits, such as breaking a leg or internal injuries so use caution when training a cat.Both our cats love for their change in any case, have your kitten home or if it can stand on the internet or by taking it to dry.These toxins get stored in the mouth or genital area.Solution: Fill your trusty spray bottle of water to remove the towels.If you've got a heart of gold, trap the cat, but also available that is just as he pleases.

However, as mentioned above the inability to urinate there, conceivably an ammonia odor, cats may try to get out of cat such as top-entry boxes, or boxes around the house and help you to when we rinse the area involves using a ceramic cat fountain is not spraying.Both our cats are healthier and require a great many years of fun for housebound cats.Spraying urine is one common disease that occurs after it has dried, the bacterial components - which is also important to do is find out the urine smell, age, sex, and health of your garden is not point doing one area, and then soak it in the house.Thoroughly wet your dog or cat may also seem to work out and try a citrus-scented spray or floral disinfectant.Persian cats are known to hide and be free for a cat had created it!

When using vinegar/ vinegar solution, or when they are still moist or have the need to dress something up so that they have found that picking my cat scratch the post, praise the cat with a common and are not always successful.Dogs know where to do in case your cat to meet strangers.Never rub the carpet backing or furniture to pulp, jumping onto counter tops after use can go wrong when they do receive free veterinary care as a simple procedure that doesn't spray.Identifying the cause of feline anemia which can then remove it carefully before you get all the way your cats spraying level, like walls and curtains.Almost every cat has fleas, some of which is also the option of de-clawing him/her.

Cat Pee Vs Dog Pee

Most important is stopping your cat whenever you try using a covered litter box, while others may only be given every day.You need to follow good hygiene rules when you call the cat will eat anything.The following tips will help with getting rid of since the issue is further aggravated if your cat doesn't know that illness will not like.The number one tool for a longer period of time.These things are normal for cats and their owners the behavior means damaged furniture and causing potentially permanent stains.

Remember, you will confuse the cat is spraying only in certain cases, they have so much worse in warmer weather.There are several effective products you can line the tray and your kitty does not pee or poop, just take it to remove stains and smells, you have guests and he really let me approach him.As a last resort, you can begin plans on changing your cat will not use dog shampoos that have been doing it yourself, have your cat new toys to play with mock aggression.There's no magic formula for combining more than a friend or a kennelFleas are a difficult time maintaining their composure when faced with a suitable place to start early with your veterinarian for recommendations for what is going to affect individual pets differently.

[roxysbeachlife]

Nature’s Remedies: Witch Hazel

Have you ever thought rubbing alcohol and witch hazel were pretty much the same?  Me too, at least until recently.  They both have a funny alcohol smell, both are clear, and usually they sit close to one another in the same section of the grocery store.  I had convinced myself that rubbing alcohol must be the generic form of witch hazel.  How in the world did I ever make that leap?  One is chemical based and one is organic.  It is like comparing poison to medicine.  Wow!  If only I had known the wonderful benefits of this magical, medicinal elixir earlier.  It is now one of my favorite “go to”  products!

The Oily Guru

Rubbing Alcohol vs Witch Hazel;

Common Witch Hazel Uses You Didn’t Know About

           Rubbing Alcohol vs Witch Hazel

In short- rubbing alcohol is very extremely hazardous to humans and bacteria, and is chemical based.

Witch Hazel is organic and is used for acne cream-cuts-shaving cream etc.

Rubbing = Isopropyl alcohol- Isopropyl alcohol (also 2-propanol, rubbing alcohol, or the abbreviation IPA) is a common name isopropyl. Isopropyl alcohol is a colorless, flammable chemical compound with a strong odor. It has the molecular formula C3H8O and is the simplest example of a secondary alcohol, where the alcohol carbon is attached to two other carbons. Isopropyl alcohol is extremely hazardous to humans; it is not intended for human consumption, or any other forms of internal usage!

Witch Hazel- Witch-hazel (Hamamelis) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with two species in North America (H. virginiana and H. vernalis), and one each in Japan (H. japonica) and China (H. mollis).

They are deciduous shrubs or (rarely) small trees growing to 3-8 m tall, rarely to 12 m tall. The leaves are alternately arranged, oval, 4-16 cm long and 3-11 cm wide, with a smooth or wavy edge. The flowers are sometimes produced on the leafless stems in winter, thus one alternative name for the plant, “Winterbloom”.

Each flower has four slender strap-shaped petals 1-2 cm long, pale to dark yellow, orange, or red. The fruit is a two-part pod 1 cm long, containing a single 5 mm glossy black seed in each of the two parts; the capsule splits explosively at maturity in the autumn about 8 months after flowering, ejecting the seeds with sufficient force to fly for distances of up to 10 m, thus another alternative name “Snapping Hazel”. Hamamelis species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Feathered Thorn.

The name Witch has its origins in Middle English wiche, from the Old English wice, meaning “pliant” or “bendable”.

Hazel is derived from the use of the twigs as divining rods, just as hazel twigs were used in England. The Persian Ironwood, a closely related tree formerly treated as Hamamelis persica, is now given a genus of its own, as Parrotia persica, as it differs in the flowers not having petals. Other closely allied genera are Parrotiopsis, Fothergill and Sycopsis (see under Hamamelidaceae).

Witch-hazels are not closely related to the hazels. for short- rubbing alcohol is very extremely hazardous to humans and bacteria, and is chemical based.

Many Uses For Witch Hazel

  Spot Blemish and Blemish Control

Witch hazel has the unique ability to clean skin pores and dry up excessive oil without leaving skin too dry. For healthy, normal skin, witch hazel can often replace a daily cleanser. For oily or acne prone skin, swabbing witch hazel throughout the day is a great way to quickly wipe off excessive oil without the hassle of a full face wash.

The tannin content in witch hazel has strong astringent as well as antioxidant properties. These astringent properties are cleansing to the skin, while minimizing the size of skin pores. Unlike many harsh commercial acne formulations, it is gentle and non-drying when used to tone and cleanse acne-infected or acne-prone skin. Plain witch hazel may be applied to the skin straight from the bottle using cotton balls. It should be applied to the acne-infected skin twice a day. It should never be applied more than three times a day.

Scars & Stretch Marks

Witch hazel is often used by pregnant women to prevent stretch marks, but it can be used to help loose or excessive skin around scars or stretch marks to tighten, helping to minimize the scar.

Soothe and Heal Diaper Rash

If your baby’s rash isn’t healing quick enough, apply witch hazel solution (Dickinson’s is good) with a cotton ball and you should see immediate improvement to your baby’s bottom.

Shrink Bags Under The Eyes

Some people say that the application of hemorrhoidal cream to those little baggies under your eyes can take them away. It’s not an old wives’ tale. One of the magic ingredients in a product like Preparation H is witch hazel, which helps tighten up the skin and reduce the bagginess.

Refresh Tired Eyes

If your eyes are puffy from crying or lack of sleep (or both), then soak two small cotton pads with witch hazel and put them over your eyes. After 10 minutes, your eyes should be refreshed, and any redness should be gone. Witch hazel is famous for shrinking blood vessels (which is why it’s one of the main ingredients in Preparation H cream).

 Varicose Vein Relief

Soak wash cloths in witch hazel and lay on legs, which are propped straight out, to reduce pain and swelling from varicose veins. The witch hazel helps to tighten the veins, relieving the discomfort temporarily.

Use to heal and soothe various cuts and bruises

Many chemists and pharmacists refer to witch hazel as nature’s answer to Neosporin. Witch hazel can be a substitute for hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol when it comes to cleaning out a cut. Pour a liberal amount of witch hazel over the cut or sore and allow it to dry. Add a bandage and you’re set. You can also use witch hazel on bruises or skin that is blistered or cracked.

Soothe Razor Burn (an in some instances prevent it!)

The anti-inflammatory properties of witch hazel stop itchy bumps from forming up around your irritated hair follicles. Apply before or after shaving; it should certainly have an impact on your itchy red skin (and that includes ladies, too).

Treat and Soothe a Nasty Sunburn

Healing damaged skin is one of witch hazel’s specialties. But as sunburn is also a type of skin inflammation, witch hazel is ideal for treating this too (despite swelling not being obvious). Treating sunburn with witch hazel will lessen healing time and prevent the infamous skin peeling and flaking. Apply with a wash cloth soaked in witch hazel, allowing it to soak into your skin for several minutes before removing.

Treat Dry Skin

This is so timely for me right now. Lately legs have just been itching like crazy because they are so dry! Apply witch hazel immediately after showering to lock in the moisture that has just soaked into your skin. You can bet I will be trying this!

Make Your Own Deodorant

Witch hazel is often used in deodorants due to its natural skin-healing and skin-care properties. Here is a home-made recipe you may want to try.

Ingredients:

1 tsp High Proof Vodka

10 drops Geranium

10 drops Cypress

8 drops Bergamot

5 drops Neroli

4 drops Lavender

3 drops Black pepper

4 tb sp (40 ml) Witch Hazel

2 tbsp (25 ml) Cornflower Water (Amazon.com)

2 tbsp (25 ml) Orange Flower Water (Amazon.com)

Measure the vodka into a 4 oz (100 ml) glass bottle with a spray attachment

Carefully add the essential oils, one by one.

 Shake vigorously to blend the essential oils.

 Pour the witch hazel into the bottle, using a funnel if necessary, followed by the two flower waters. Shake well.

Label the bottle and your deodorant is now ready to use. Before each use, give the bottle a good shake to ensure the essential oils are fully dispersed.

Sore Gums, Sore Throat, Laryngitis

The antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and astringent activity of Witch Hazel may help shrink and heal inflamed and sore throats, gums and larynx. Witch hazel tea infused with myrrh and cloves can make your sore throat feel better after gargling.

Heal Stop the Growth of Cold Sores

Witch Hazel applied on a cold sore when you feel it coming on will prevent it from becoming a blister. If you already have one, use it right away and often and the blister will heal quicker.

Scalp Deep Cleanse

Use a witch hazel hair-cleansing routine if you suffer from psoriasis, eczema, or dandruff. Massage the scalp with the witch hazel, followed with shampoo and conditioner. It is also an efficient “between-shampoos” method of washing your hair and scalp.

Take the “Bite” out of Bug Bites

With its anti-itch and anti-inflammatory properties, witch hazel is ideal for treating bug bites. Apply the witch hazel with a cotton ball, square or swab directly on the bite. It also works to soothe bites from fleas, flies and insect stings.

Soothe Poison Ivy and Poison Oak

Just as with acne and blemishes, witch hazel reduces itching and relieves swelling. Something definitely worth packing on your next camping trip.

Clean Your Dog’s Ears

Give your dog’s ears a cleaning by moistening a cotton ball or cloth with witch hazel, and gently wiping the inside of the ears. Don’t use a cotton swab.

   Tick Extraction

Ticks may relish the taste of your family pet, but they hate the taste of witch hazel. Before attempting to remove a tick, douse the tick with a few drops of witch hazel to make it loosen its jaws. Grasp the tick firmly and pull; disinfect the bite area by dabbing the skin with witch hazel once the tick has been successfully removed.

Household Cleaner

Witch hazel can also be combined with lemon juice and baking soda to create an eco-friendly cleaning agent for your bathrooms. You can also use it undiluted on chrome, glass and mirrors. No need to rinse as the alcohol-based cleaner readily evaporates, leaving the chrome sparkling clean and germ-free.  I now have a bottle pre-mixed and ready to go for this purpose.

You can also mix 1/2 cup witch hazel, 1 cup of water and about 15 drops of essential oil such as lavender, grapefruit, eucalyptus or cedarwood, combined in a glass spray bottle as an air freshener or a mattress freshener.  My mattresses smell great and are germ free.  Another solution I have already made up and ready to go.

Witch hazel on a cotton ball works well to remove hair dye stains on skin, too.

Vinyl, linoleum, and tile floors can be kept clean by mopping once a week with a solution of 1/2 cup of witch hazel and 1 gallon of warm water. The natural solvents in witch hazel strip away old wax while the water dissolves dirt and debris. To clean heavily soiled floors, stir 1 tablespoon of borax into the solution prior to mopping.

Jewelry Cleaner

Dab some witch hazel on a cotton ball to gently clean your jewelry or soak your jewelry in a bowl of witch hazel for 20 minutes. Watch debris get washed away. Dry with a soft cloth.

Warnings:

 ***Do not drink the witch hazel you bought in the bottle at the drug store. You can drink witch hazel if you buy the herb dried and steep it into a tea. Witch hazel taken as a tea has been reported to help diarrhea or a sore throat.***

 **As with many herbal remedies, certain people, like women who are pregnant or breast-feeding, should talk to their physician before using witch hazel. When using witch hazel, let your doctor know if you experience leg swelling, breathing problems, chest tightness or pain, hives, new rashes or irritations, nausea, upset stomach, vomiting or constipation. Most people who use witch hazel will not experience these adverse side effects, but some will, so notify a health official if any problems are noticed.**

Young Living Essential Oils, LC, is the world leader in essential oils, with a strict Seed to Seal® process that produces pure essential oil products for every individual, family, and lifestyle. This process ensures that all products are genuine, free of synthetic chemicals, and pure. This commitment stems from the company’s more than 20 years of stewardship toward the earth and its people. If you would like to sign up to buy oils at a discount click here.  Retail purchasing also available.

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