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lovelyyandereaddictionpoint · 2 years

Note

Hello! I'm not sure if your open for requests or not but recently I just watched Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

(I'm pissed at myself for not watching that movie sooner it was amazing)

And I was wondering if I can request a MC who somehow befriends a wild horse that was put in the equestrian club and now they basically have a bodyguard that follows them around

(Horse girlbosses, gaslights, and gatekeeps)

And what would the dorm leaders (or if it's not too much everyone's) reaction to MC's new body guard?

(Btw i love your writing btw 😩👌🏼)

Spirit Stallion Guardian vs Yandere Twisted Wonderland

Mysteriously coming home with a beautiful stallion in tow the only way Crowley will let him stay is if he stays in the stables. He and everyone soon realizes that latches and chains are no barrier to being by your side. Oddly enough you don’t ride your horse friend as much as your friends would expect, but everyone will soon know that you two are practically inseparable. What should be a wonderful thing for the non-magical prefect proves to be quite troublesome for some, especially the dorm leaders of Night Raven:

Riddle Rosehearts

“Grrr this stupid mule is utterly untamed! He should be put down!”

Riddle has a short fuse

But he’s especially patient when dealing with horses

So it takes a lot before riddle is sure that this horse has it out for him

Kicks his shins

Practically running over him when you come to the stable

Eating his ties

or grabbing his crown and throwing it a distance away

Crashing his unbirthday parties even when you are not in attendance

But eventually, he snaps, and somehow its in front of you

Perfect for him to be scolded by you for wanting to bring harm to your stallion-friend

He gets really fired up at the mention of your dear Spirit

“Do. Not. Mention that…hazard on four legs! He’s just playing off your tainted view of him I’msojealous”

He gathers the only way to win you is to finally tame this beast

He’s the prodigy of prodigies this will be a small task

But should he have trouble…taming your guardian

Well it wouldn’t be bizarre if he left large amounts of chocolate out before your guardian came to trot on his unbirthday party

“That donkey is getting in my way! Off with his head!

Leona Kingscholar

“Seriously? Do you have an actual herbivore to follow you around?! Might as well stick with me if you're going to stoop so low.”

Cheap tricks are done, similar to how Spirit treats Riddle

But Leona is a predator and while he may not be a hunter he can wait long enough

But your dear Spirit is just as smart

Aware of the carnivore’s threat level he ups the ante

Somehow releasing all the other horses from the stable to stampede into the botanical garden…where Leona is sleeping

But he gets accusing glares/questions when he’s caught trying to use King’s Roar on the horse

“It was asking for it…but if you feel so inclined to deter me from ever trying this again I could use a living pillow"

When he ultimately gets the true prize of you snuggling up to him

He still ejects his claws to pierce into the stallion’s behind before getting away

When you do find it, you chalk it up to an injury created in his many escapes

“Man, that is one clumsy herbivore…I say you should get a deadbolt for his stable.”

Azul Ashengrotto

“Oh…it came too.”

He’s not particularly fond or familiar with horses

All he knows is that it's a land animal that's much more powerful than him in this form

Thus he is an obstacle in his love for you

Contracts goading the strongest students and those with the best access to the stables are flying out of his office

He can’t attack head-on

Not here anyway

“This really would be so much easier if we were back in the coral sea…wait that gives me an idea!”

Because he can tell when the horse puffs with pride when you leave the Monstro Lounge

Or dismissing yourself to brush the stallion instead of talking to him

He gets your attention in a better way

“It’s a shame your horse can’t come with you to visit our Coral Sea location. So let’s have enough fun for him, shall we?”

Kalim Al-Asim

“That’s so cool! Do you think he can fit on the magic carpet?”

He cannot but Kalim doesn’t mind

He’s plenty friendly and willing to entertain a horse

Especially when it has you smiling like it does

In fact, you’ll come over more if your horse is here right?

So maybe getting your stallion guardian hooked on Jamil’s cooking is a good thing

“Here you are Spirit, have all you want!”

“Kalim! Don’t give him too much sugar!”

“I’m sure it's okay! My pet elephant loves these sugar cubes.”

He doesn’t do much with ill-intent

He loves you more than ever and your pet is just an extension of that

He could never fathom being rivals with such a cute pet

“(Y/n) can we ride on Spirit together? I want to be close to you!”

Vil Schoenheit

“An equestrian’s wild dream. Perhaps for perfume commercials, maybe even movie-worthy.”

He wants him out

Maybe it's his flowing locks

Or the majesty that has everyone’s jaws drop when he trots towards you

So he can’t help but compare

“(Y/n). Come. I saw how you brush hair on the stallion, I’ll show you how to do this properly.”

When he feels like ultimately he can’t compete he tries a different method

He’s aware of this horse’s mind and awareness

So he uses that protective instinct against him

He knows the right people to work with a horse like that

All he has to do is sell the…hay if he would call it that

“Don’t you want to help them..Spirit? Help them raise money for their hovel?”

By the time he’s done, you will be left with him to comfort and your beloved Spirit will be the next show pony

Idia Shroud

“I’ve seen a movie like this somewhere before.”

This is no different than having your bigger extrovert roadblocks friends blocking his way

But he’s also interested because of his favorite movies centered around taming wild horses

He’s smitten anyway with the sight of you in that position

He only really gets annoyed when Spirit takes a direct attempts to stop him

“Uhm S-spirit c-can you move…Please!?”

He gets irritated real quick when he finds that the times he’s courageous enough to face yourimmaculateperfect you is being thwarted by the horse

Don’t stop him

When Ortho starts up with a horse tranquilizer

Idia’s not all that keen to stop him

Even going so far as to purposely word out his desire before conveniently leaving his AI brother to make the decision

“Hishishishi, to think you thought you could get in the way of me and my love interest! Ha, now you’re going to be pulling some wagon or maybe becoming an experiment!...(Y/n) is mine. I have enough normies leeching off of them, already.”

Malleus Draconia

“Your stead is awfully valiant and especially brave to guard you against me.”

The way he says it makes it sound like one of those weird comments he just says

But he’s genuinely upset

He already feels like he doesn’t get to spend time with you enough

And now he has to share with a spoiled horse you don’t even invite him to ride on

“You don’t ride it? What good is it if it doesn’t have a use? I could give you a ride and so much more…”

This is one of the only times he wishes this animal was scared off by him

To see you out late at night with this beast instead of him

It’ll be a shame when a random thunderstorm is burning the Night Raven stables

Specifically, the one that your dear Spirit is in

“My condolences for your stead; shall I accompany you in your grieving process. I will no doubt be more than enough than that thing could ever have been.”

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ellieluvr420 · 8 months

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We meet again, Darling pt.7 (detective Abby Anderson x criminal reader)

Synopsis: Abby Anderson is a skilled detective that's never let a criminal escape her grasp, until you. You've infiltrated every part of her life and she still can't get you. As she grows more and more intrigued by you she finds herself descending further into darkness until there's no way back. She takes your hand and follows you as if your presence is the only thing giving her life knowing that you are the most dangerous thing for her. Her life will never be hers again and she will stop at nothing to keep following you down your path of corruption.

SMUT... like fr this time. MDNI!!!! pls and thanks x

The energy in the car between you and Abby is so hot you expect the windows to start steaming up. As you pull up to your apartment building you slip Jeremy 200 and squeeze his shoulder. He's always been discreet and you're grateful to him for that. You hadn't noticed that Abby had already climbed out the car until she was opening the door for you and holding her hand out. You take it and waste no time dragging her inside the building. You nod at the security guy and he punches in his code that allows you to use the elevator. You swipe your key card on the fob and it opens for you. As you walk inside the elevator you turn to Abby.

"See, this is good security."

"Shut up." She grabs your face and walks you backwards until your back hits the wall of the elevator and she presses herself impossibly closer to you. You both waste no time in pressing your lips together in a messy, hungry kiss as she grabs one of your thighs and wraps it around her waist. She runs her hand up it until she reaches the holster where your gun sits.

"Do you ever go anywhere without a weapon?" She whispers into your ear. You shiver as her breath tickles and her raspy voice sends a thumping heartbeat straight to your core. You reach round her waist and put a hand firmly on her holster that sits at the back of her belt and pull on it once.

"Do you?" You pull her further into you and start kissing her neck, leaving faint bruises in your trail. She groans as the elevator reaches your floor and the doors open directly into your penthouse. Abby turns around and walks out completely in awe.

"You call this an apartment?" She scoffs and looks back at you with a face of disbelief.

"I suppose I was being modest." You giggle as you press your key card to the scanner by the elevator to lock the doors and send the elevator back to the ground floor. As you turn back to face Abby she's already crowding into your space and attacking your neck and jawline with kisses, giving you bruises to match her own. You pinch her side and she pulls away confused with dark eyes like a predator hunting its prey. "Business first, play later."

"You are such a tease."

"I know, follow me this won't take long." You walk Abby to your office and unlock the door by waving your wrist over the fob on the door. Abby wants to question what just happened but she doesn't want to waste any time. She needs you now. She'll question you on that later. "So, there are a series of packages within this one parcel, they're all numbered. All I need you to do is feed this information to your men when I tell you to. It's all phased and made to look like each catch leads you to the next. I know this gang and they'll turn on each other the second you threaten them with a harsh sentence which will help you out a lot. You got it?"

Abby has been standing behind looking over your shoulder as you explain pressing light kisses to your shoulder blades. "Mhmmm." She purrs.

You turn to face her and push her back by her chest. "Abby, this is serious, you got it?"

"Yes I got it. No one will ever found out what we did."

This makes you smile as you know she's talking about your plan but you can't help relating it to what you're both about to do too.

"Good girl. Come on let's go." You don't even stop to look back, you just grab her collar dragging her out of the office "Shut the door behind you."

"Yes boss." You know she's joking but you feel a twinge of excitement at the name. You drag her up the stairs and into your bedroom where you stop still facing away from her and slowly unzip your dress and let it fall to the group so your left in only your underwear and heels. Abby rushes up behind you and attacks your neck with kisses while one hand lightly chokes you as the other unstraps the holster of your gun. She places it on the arm chair next to her and squeezes your thigh hard. You crane your neck to face her and kiss her with a fervour. Her hand dances over your legs and palms your pussy as her middle finger rubs up and down your slit through your underwear.

"Aw you're so wet. Did I leave you feeling needy this morning?" At her comment you scoff and spin to face her. You rip her blazer down her arms and make quick work of removing her shirt too. You wrap your arms around her waist and kiss all over chest as you unclip her bra. As you pull away you drag the bra straps down her arms and throw it behind her. You start walking backwards as you grab onto her belt, pulling her with you. You push her down onto the bed and immediately climb on top of her. You feel her arms wrap around your waist and before she can flip you both over, you grab her arms and pin her wrists above her head. She could easily overpower you and you both know that but she stays where she is.

"Uh uh. It's my turn now." You keep her wrists pinned above her head as you kiss down her chest until you reach her right nipple. You look up at her through your eyelashes and suck it into your mouth as you play with the other. As you see her moan and her head fall back you bit down harshly and she yelps. You smile as a response to her scowl and pull on the pink bud just a little with your teeth. You start kissing the left nipple and then sucking it into your mouth as you flick the right. You pull away and blow on both of them and sit back pleased with yourself as you see her shiver. You press a chaste kiss to her lips, forehead, nose, both cheeks and her lips again. You pull away and smile. "Don't move a muscle."

You shuffle down her body, kissing every inch of her as you go. You settle yourself between her legs arching your back to give her a show. She groans at the sight of you and gasps when she feels you press a kiss to her heat through her pants.

"God these are getting in the way." You undo her belt, placing her holstered gun on the bedside table, and an idea flashes across your mind. You smirk at her and lean up, wrapping the belt around her wrists and securing it tightly.

"Wha- what are you doing?"

"Just making sure you stay right where I want you. Don't worry, I'll be nice." You grin at her as you start yanking down her trousers and briefs all in one go. You push her thighs apart and lick your lips when you see how wet she is. "You're dripping darling."

"Like you're not. I bet you're aching down there right now." At her back talk you scowl and stand up off the bed. You inch your panties down your thighs slowly and turn away from her as you bend over to pick them up. You straddle her once again and shove your balled up underwear into her mouth. She groans at the taste of you and you smile with satisfaction. "There! much better." You go back down to her pussy and wrap your arms around her strong thighs. You kiss and bite both thighs and kiss her clit sweetly. Without warning you suck it into your mouth while humming against her. You hear her muffled groans and feel her legs shake at the continued, overpowering stimulation. As you swirl your tongue around her clit you prod a middle finger at her entrance. You moan at how wet she is and slip your middle and ring finger inside. She gasps and then moans at the stretch. You search for the g-spot and smile when you find it and she rewards you with a muffled cry of pleasure. You massage that spot and keep sucking her bud until her legs are shaking and clamping around your head. She finishes with a guttural groan and as you feel her body go limp you gently pull you fingers out. You climb up her body once again and remove your panties from her mouth.

"Holy fuck."

"I know, you could be a porn star you know, you are hot." She looks unimpressed and you giggle. Then you take your ring finger into your mouth and moan at the taste of her. "One for me and... one for you" You press your middle finger at her lips and she takes it into her mouth while keeping intense eye contact. Your pussy throbs and you groan quietly.

"Take. This. Off." She points at the belt around her wrists with her eyes and you oblige. The second her wrists are free she grabs you by the waist and throws you down on the bed next to her, immediately climbing on top of you and pinning you down by your neck, firm but gently. "Hope you had your fun. It's my turn now."

You gulp at her sudden change in demeanour as her hand that's not pinning you down touches, squeezes, scratches any part of your body it can reach. She reaches her hand down and runs a finger up your slit before sucking the finger into her mouth. You groan. "God, please Abby, I need you."

"You want me that bad?" You nod your head vigorously and bite your lip.

"Awww, so desperate... Beg."

"Wha-"

"You heard me. Beg."

"Fuck's sake Please Abby, I'm begging you to touch me, please I need you so bad." You pull her down by the back of her neck until her lips are ghosting over yours. "Please fuck me." It seems that was good enough for her because she immediately straddles one of your thighs while pinning the other over her shoulder, kissing and biting your calf. She lifts your hips to slot the two of you together and starts rolling her hips into you.

"Oh fuck" Your eyes roll to the back of your head and you grab onto the covers below you. You feel like if you don't you'll float away and all you can think about is staying right where you are forever. She speeds up and grinds into you faster and it brings you back to reality. "Oh my god Abby- fuck- I'm so close please don't stop!"

As you feel yourself speeding towards your orgasm you notice Abby's legs shaking and her moans getting louder and more frequent. "Oh fuck... please cum with me." As the words leave your mouth you gasp and groan as she mirrors your actions. She slows and collapses on top of you, both of you completely spent. You scratch your nails up the expanse of her back, hard enough to leave a mark but not to bleed. She hisses and reaches behind her to pin your arms above your head. She leans down and you share a sweet but passionate kiss.

"You are gonna get me in so much trouble."

"We'll have fun doing it though." You smile wickedly at her and lay your head back. Abby keeps her eyes trained on you even when you are no longer looking at her. Her eyebrows knitted together as she contemplated what she had become, for a second she felt guilty but her thoughts were clouded by you, and the money and the power and she felt herself smile. She kissed your chest and laid her head down.

"Yeah, you're right."

psa: heyyy guysss, how we doing? I hope this makes up for the wordy chapters and theres gonna be a lot more drama in the acc plot coming up, but i hope whoever reads this enjoyeddd and i am loving writing these little notes ngl.

#abby anderson x fem!reader #abby the last of us #abby x reader #abby anderson tlou2 #abby anderson x you smut #abby anderson fanfic #abby anderson tlou #abby anderson x female reader #abby anderson smut #abby anderson x reader

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artzychic27 · 3 months

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Here’s just some Croods/Dawn of the Croods and Flintstones quotes for this au

Marinette: With every sun comes a new day. A new beginning. A hope that things will be better today than they were yesterday. But not for me. My name is Marinette. And this is my family, the Dupain-Chengd. If you weren't clued in already by the animal skins and sloping foreheads, we're cavemen. Most days we spend in our cave, in the dark. Night after night, day after day. Yep, home sweet home. When we did go out, we struggled to find food in a harsh and hostile world. And I struggled to survive my family. We were the last ones around. There used to be neighbors. Uh, the Hapréles, smashed by a mammoth. The Kantés, swallowed by a sand snake. The Kurtzbergs, mosquito bite. Couffaines, common cold. And the Dupain-Chengs, that's us. The Dupain-Chengd made it, because of my dad. He was strong, and he followed the rules. The ones painted on the cave walls. Anything new is bad. Curiosity is bad. Going out at night is bad. Basically, anything fun is bad. Welcome to my world! But this is a story about how all that changed in an instant. Because what we didn't know was that our world was about to come to an end. And there were no rules on our cave walls to prepare us for that.

—

Adrien: Chloé, we're ready to leave. Chloé?

*Silence, Marinette looks hopeful*

Chloé: Still alive!

Marinette: It's still early.

Chloé: And you're still ugly!

—

Adrien: Okay, now you can look.

Marinette: *looks down at her shoes and screams in panic and excitement* AAAHHH! I LOVE them! Where are my feet?!

Adrien: They're still there!

—

Adrien: Don't do that! He will cut you! That's not food, he's a pet! My pet!

Kim: What's a "pet"?

Adrien: An animal you don't eat!

Kim: Ha! We call that "Marc". *Points to Marc chewing on a rock*

—

Alix: I almost feel sorry for him.

*Kim falls down and gets run over by the boulder*

Alix: Oh-hohoho, no, I don't!

—

Kim: Hey, everyone, you'll never guess what I just- *gets attacked by the others*

Juleka: Sorry, Kim. We thought you were a predator trying to kill us.

Kim: Never apologize for an effective kill circle.

—

Alix: *To her staff* Come on stabby! Time to get stabbing!

—

Max: No, no. It's "Fire".

Rose: Where did it come from?

Kim: *lovingly* He made it.

Alix: *Shakes Max* Make some for me!

Kim: It doesn't come out of him.

Alix: Make! MAKE IT!! *accidentally crunches Max’s back and drops him*

Kim: Oh, great! Now he's broken!

—

*As they’re hunting*

Kim: RELEASE MARC!

*Ivan lets go of Marc, and he runs on his hands and feet after a prehistoric animal*

—

Jean: I thought cave people died off years ago.

—

Ivan: It's not just punch monkeys. It-it's kick monkeys, headbutt monkeys, low-blow monkeys, bite monkeys, ab-tight monkeys, shoulders that punch, tails that crunch, tail-stranglers, strange danglers, fang manglers, mouth breathers, brain squeezers, and a dude with... weird eyes!

—

Myléne: You know, Kim, I hear that eating too much red meat is bad for you.

Kim: What a load of bunk! My father ate it every day of his life and he lived to the ripe old age of thirty-eight.

—

*Years back, Alyssa and Penny adopt their five-year-old son, Marc*

Alyssa: Does he have a name?

Mme. Mendeleiev: Marr-Marr.

Alyssa: … Is that short for something?

Mme. Mendeleiev: Marr-Marr-Marr. But, for simplicity, Marc. You're going to have to take it slowly with this one. He doesn't speak yet and is a little skittish around humans, but, then again, I would be too if I'd been raised by wild saber tooth tigers. Hahaha!

Penny: Saber tooth tigers?

Mme. Mendeleiev: Let's not nitpick! A mammal's a mammal.

—

Nino: What can I do? I gotta think of something...

*a thought bubble appears showing Gabriel struggling in the mouth of a Brontosaurus. Nino chuckles*

Nino: Not now… Later.

—

Alya: You used to be such nice people, but now... you're just a couple of rich snobs!

Kim: Better than being a couple of petty ingrates.

Alya: Come on, Nino! We are moving out tonight!

Nino: Hang on, Alya. I forgot to punch out. *punches Kim in the face; he faints*

—

Marc: Before hunters go, Simon just share sad news. Marc not sure how to say this, but… Bustier’s class am dead!

Simon: Uh, that’s “Bustier’s class is dead.”

Marc: Oh, right, that how you say it.

Zoé: No! Not them! I was Chloé’s only friend… Wait, no, I was her sister.

Nino: *Limping over* Guys! Over here! Was sleeping on a bear- It’s a long story- You know, you think you could uh, share some of today’s catch?

Marc: … Uuh… Marc may be asking dumb question, but if Nino dead, how come he standing over there?

—

Nora: Come on, Alya! We're going outside!

Alya: I don't wanna! I'm watching birds. *Points to the window*

Nora: We’re cavemen! We don’t stare at birds. We fight them!

Alya: Let me live my life!

—

Marc: Rose prove she best hunter. Now, she boss of hunt. *Removes the amber stone from over his eye*

Rose: You had two good eyes this whole time? What’s with the eyepatch?

Marc: Eh. Went nice with pelt.

—

Nathaniel: *Drags a giant mosquito into the cave by his teeth*

Alix: Nath? Have you been up all night hunting?

Nathaniel: No! No, no, no. This crawled into my mouth. *Glances at the other dead massive insects he dragged into the cave* … Yeah.

Alix: Okay, we seriously need to talk.

Nathaniel: *Sniffs the air* Can’t! Morning hunt! *Runs out of the cave on his hands and feet, howling*

Nino: What is happening to him?

Alix: He’s been taking his wild side for too long, that’s what.

—

Kim: *Sitting in a tree, muttering* Can’t believe he made me lookout.

Alix: *Sitting on a branch* Shh! Don’t taunt Nath.

Nathaniel: *Snarling, chasing after a mastodon*

—

Rose: You don’t eat friends!

Marc: Agree to disagree.

—

Ivan: Marc bit me!

Max: Then bite him back. Show him who’s the alpha.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #the croods #the flintstones #mlb au #incorrect quotes #akuma class #random post

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katrin-may · 2 years

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defective

CW: reader na'vi x neteyam, fluff, cuddles, cute nicknames, little kisses.

TW:.blood, meat, carnage, self-loathing, tears.

A/N Hi honeypie's! it turned out quite a lot this time, but I think it's pretty similar to my previous work. I really want to consult with you and hear your opinions as well as suggestions. I would be very happy to see your ideas, enjoy reading everyone! Also, I won't forget to remind you: English is not my first language, so there may be spelling errors. Thank you!🥰

- I bet you can't kill any of them," L'oak asked suddenly, and his eyebrows rose, sliding back and forth between you and the animal. You were sitting in a tree.

- What?" You raised your eyebrows in surprise and stared at your friend. - I'd better let you go ahead.

- Weak girl, I get it," the guy rolled his eyes.

- Go to hell," you jerked his shoulder, and then stared at the group of Hexapede.

- What if I told the Neteyam how you feel? - My heart started pounding again.

- I don't have time to fool around," you said without looking away.

- You're boring," L'oak leaned back on the branch and closed his eyes on his chest, his arms crossed grudgingly. A tanator came into view. That gave you something to worry about.

- Look who's here," you began rubbing your friend's knee, and he stood up when he saw the wary creatures.

Thanator was pacing beside the Hexapede beasts, intent on attack.

- Prepare to retreat, on one... Two... - Before you could finish your sentence, L'oak burst out of his seat and launched himself at the herbivores. - What the hell are you doing?

- Getting lunch! - His friend shouted back merrily. He climbed up the hexapod and rode it like a Direhorse The lad had removed his knife from his belt and was about to sink it into his throat. L'oak didn't notice the predator until the herbivores were gone, and the one he had saddled abruptly dropped the lad and joined his group. Saliva flowed thickly from the beast's mouth, watering Na'vi like a bucket.

- Shit. We need backup, now! - Calling for help, you went downstairs.

- Good tanator... Good... - the guy laughed nervously and raised his hands in front of him. The animal was an inch from L'oak's face and he regarded it. Then you saved the boy and put him on the run.

- You fool! - You ran through the foliage, trying not to touch the animal. - I told you not to be a fool! - You ran as fast as you could, but it was hard to outrun the thanator, and when you came to a bend you hit a dead end. Waterfall. Without thinking, you pushed your friend into it, and you remained standing on the ground. The consequences were not long in coming. The predator jumped on you. You tried to push it away, but to no avail. The tanator began to scratch your body, leaving deep marks. You screamed and cried. The next clawed paw struck your arm, then your legs, and then your face. That was it. Blood became critically lacking. You could no longer breathe properly. It was the end. He sank his teeth into your shoulder, a punch followed, and your body fell. Your vision is blurred, but you recognize Netheyam's silhouette from a thousand.

It is dark. The light was barely visible. You opened your eyes, looking around, you realized you were in a room, and not alone. There was a guy sitting next to you, making your heart skip a beat. He was asleep.

- Am I in heaven? - You whispered, examining him. The man's ear hissed, his eyes opened. Did you notice that you're covered in bandages? And your hand resting in your friend's hand.

- Y/N?! Oh, holy Eywa, thank you! - There were tears in the corners of Neteyam's eyes.

- How did I even survive? How long had I slept? Where is L'oak, is he all right? - You tried to rise to a sitting position but Neteyam's arms stopped you, gently pulling you back to your previous position.

- Don't make any sudden movements yet," he said as he gently placed his hand on your head. - In any case. It's been two weeks, L'oak is perfectly healthy, he told us everything as it was and his father put him under house arrest," your eyes widened and you began to breathe heavily, the boy noticing your unease and beginning to stroke your hair.

- Two weeks? Like two weeks," you seemed oblivious to what your friend had said about L'oak.

- Oh, it's all right. It's all right now that you've finally recovered, well, almost..." He pursed his lips and looked at me. - He pressed his lips together and looked at your feet.

- What?" You raised your eyebrows to the bridge of your nose, and your eyes quickly darted upward. Neteyam's presence confused you, and you didn't even pay attention to your condition. You looked around, and this time the following view opened before your eyes: in addition to the bandages, you noticed the absence of a very important detail: your right leg. - My leg! Where is it? - You sat up abruptly and began to cry. Your gaze fell on your hands, which now had seven fingers instead of eight.

Then you ran to the bucket of water and saw your reflection, which showed a huge scar across your face. - Goddamn it! - You sobbed again, it was hysterical. Neteyam tried to calm you down, but apparently all his verbal attempts were unsuccessful. He took your hands, sat across from you, and stared intently into your eyes.

- Look at me," he ordered, trying hard to see your tear-stained eyes. - On the count of three, take a deep breath in and out. One... Two... Three," he took a deep breath, waiting for you to exhale.

You overcame yourself and repeated after him. - That's it! Well done! - You made him smile. - Now one more time," you both repeated two more times, and he brought you to your senses. - You're good!

- Thank you... But what am I supposed to do with this now? - You pointed at your leg and then looked at your friend again.

- With the help of human technology we were able to develop some kind of prosthesis. Oh shit! I completely forgot, I'll be right there.

A few minutes later Mo'at and Kiri appeared in the room.

- Petal! - That's what Kiri called you and she ran up and took your hand. - How happy I am to see you!

- How am I! - You smiled at the girls.

- How are you feeling? - Mo'at asked, while she was doing something on the table.

- Incomplete," you were still looking at your leg. Kiri decided to help your grandmother and made you some herbal tea, but it didn't smell quite right and you grimaced.

- Drink it! - you decided after all your disgust. Your intuition was right, the tea was indeed disgusting.

- How did I manage to survive?

- Only Eywa knows, but our powers were not superfluous," the woman finished the ointment and walked over to you with it. Kiri helped untangle you from the bandages, and you noticed the claw scars all over your body, it was obvious. The girls' gentle hands applied the cold ointment to your body and began rubbing it into the marks. - It didn't hurt?

- Not really, it just tickles," you grinned. Kiri was very pleased with your reaction and couldn't help but smile. - What happened after my rescue?

- Neteyam brought you in covered in blood, you weren't breathing, but we managed to get you back. In the end, the only thing we couldn't save was your severed finger and your severed leg. And the scars didn't go away. - The last drop got on your face. Your eyebrows furrowed in surprise, and then you ran your hand over your face and felt some dents, forgetting that your face wasn't clean either. - Hey! Don't touch that! - The woman slapped you on the arm and continued.

- I don't know how to thank you, a simple thank you isn't enough," tears came to her eyes, Kiri noticed it and quickly wiped them away.

- All that matters to us is that you're okay," the girl kissed the top of your head. You smiled.

- When can I go back to my old way of life?

- It will take another week or so, besides the adjustment to your new way of life," Mo'at pulled away from you and stood up. - We'll bring you some supper and you get your thoughts together.

The woman left, and you and Kiri were left alone. You chatted about all sorts of things that had happened over the past two weeks, but nothing serious had happened. Kiri's grandmother brought you dinner, you ate quickly, and then Neteyam showed up at the door.

- Oh, you're having dinner here, bon appetit! - The guy smiled and then sat down next to you.

- Where are you going? - You asked, looking at the huge bag in his hands.

- I'll show you," he unfolded the paper, and from it you saw what appeared to be an iron prosthesis. - This is what I was talking about! - smiling, the boy looked at the leg. It wasn't just gray-iron, it was blue with dark blue stripes.

- It's just incredible! - You sat down closer to Neteyam and ran your hand over his leg.

- Ah, that," he said embarrassed, "I thought it might make you feel more comfortable," you blushed.

- That's very sweet, thank you," you kissed him on the cheek and went back to your previous position.

- Of course," he coughed and smiled. - Let me try it on," you nodded, and he brought his leg up to your thigh. After a while, he managed to attach it to your leg. - How was it? - You were embarrassedly silent for a while, but then you answered.

- Well... - he didn't understand your reaction until he noticed he was holding you by your hips. He abruptly jumped back, and you and Kiri smiled.

- Ahem, excuse me.

- Shall we try to stand up?

- Let's try," Kiri and Neteyam stood up and lifted you under your arms. You could barely stand, but thanks to the support of your friends, you kept your balance. - That's good! Let's try walking," the boy said and moved quietly forward. You could push off the surface but your prosthesis wouldn't listen and you couldn't walk forward. - I don't think everyone can do it the first time, but you're good enough! - They led you in. Mo'at burst into the room.

- Kiri! Come here, we have a wounded man," the woman glanced around the room.

- Yes, I'm coming! Bye, petal! I'll be back for you tonight," Kiri threw on her bag, you waved back and she ran off after her grandmother.

You and Neteyam were left alone. He decided to spice up the awkward silence by telling you about the capabilities of your prosthesis. It's getting dark.

- I'd like to check on L'oak," you yawned.

- I'll speak to father about it, don't worry," you smiled at each other, then grasped his arm.

- Don't leave me alone for the night.

- But can I stay? - He squeezed your palm.

- Your parents will understand, Kiri will probably explain," you pleaded, placing your hand, the one with three fingers, on top of his. Remembering your peculiarity, you jerked it away sharply. But Neteyam caught it before you could.

- Are you ashamed of her? - You nodded, but he was not satisfied with your answer. He brought your hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. Then he kissed every phalanx of your fingers, and then he moved on to your face. First your nose, then your chin, your forehead, both cheeks, but he didn't dare cross the line, and your lips remained untouched. - You are beautiful, whatever you are," he intertwined both his hands with yours.

- Neteyam... - Tears came to your eyes. You were very touched by his words and actions. You began to cry. This reaction really surprised the guy and threw him into a stupor.

- What happened? - You didn't say anything and just hugged him. He hugged you back and soothingly stroked your hair.

- You're so cute, you're so damn cute, how can you be like that! Why are you so," you sobbed into his chest, and the guy, in turn, was even more confused. You don't know what this sudden and fickle mood had to do with it. - How much I love you," you said, and continued to shed tears. End of the line. The boy's brain exploded.

- "You... are you... are you serious? - Neteyam pulled you away from his chest and looked into your weeping eyes, simultaneously wiping away the remains of tears on your cheeks. You nodded. - No, wait, as a friend, right? - You continued to sit in silence. Silence is a sign of agreement. The boy smiled softly and pulled you to his chest again. - I love you too, little flower. - You immediately feel better. - Let's not be in a hurry, okay?

- Let's take it slow, okay? Sure. - He kissed the top of your head.

- How are you feeling?

- Actually, your body still burns a little when you touch it, but it's bearable. Oh, and it's still hard for me to sit up.

- Oh, that's right! - You disconnect, and he starts to adjust your sleeper. - Well, here it is! Lie down, my lady," you laughed and lay down. He's on his back and you're on his chest, though he expected you to be on his right, but that was okay too.

- Tell me about your two weeks.

- Well," Neteyam rubbed his forehead and wondered. - It wasn't really as eventful as you think. - He looked at you. - I've spent them here with you, running errands for my father from time to time. To see you in your usual state is an incredible happiness to me.

- And to be near you is true happiness for me.

#neteyam x you #neteyam x y/n #neteyam x reader #neteyam imagine #neteyam fluff #neteyam fic #neteyam #avatar #atwow imagines #atwow

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undertheopensky · 1 year

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Moorhaunt 1

Whumptober Day 4: “You in there?”

Characters: Legend, Four, Hyrule, everyone’s kind of there

Trigger warnings: Discussions of suicide and self-harm

Read on Ao3!

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It takes them way too long to realise Legend is missing.

This is Hyrule’s Hyrule. They should never have lost track of one of their own, not in a place this dangerous. How could they have lost someone, lost Legend of all people? Not even Wild goes wandering alone here, there are so many monsters, traps and poisons and people who aren’t. How could he have lost someone?

Frantic barking distracts Hyrule from his panic. Wolfie comes barrelling out of the woods and skids to a stop on the trail in front of them. He yips twice, as if to make sure he’s got their attention, before diving back into the underbrush the way he’d come.

“Wolfie’s got something,” says Time, unnecessarily; everyone’s already racing after the wolf.

They follow the sound of him more than anything. The undergrowth here is dry and sickly, and makes a lot of noise when a hundred kilograms of anxious wolf goes crashing through it. Dead leaves drift to the ground in his wake, only to be stirred up again by seven pairs of boots. How far off trail did Legend go? Why?

By the time they make it to Twilight, Wolfie has vanished, job done. Hyrule gets a good look and stops dead.

Twilight’s wrist deep in the black haze hugging Legend’s upper body. “I can’t - I can’t touch it,” he’s saying, panicked. “I found him like this and he’s still breathing, but -”

“Oh no,” Hyrule moans. “No no no no no -”

He’s only seen them twice before. But the creeping black fog, too cohesive to be anything but alive, clinging and crawling and strangling -

“It’s a moorhaunt.”

“You know what it is? Great! How do we kill it?” Warriors is all business.

“We can’t, we - it’ll hurt Legend, we have to get it off first -”

“How do we do that?”

“I don’t know!” Hyrule wails. “It’s not - it should already be - be drifting between us, trying to feed from all of us at once, they don’t just - they’re opportunists, not true predators, this makes no sense -”

“Hyrule, breathe,” Time interrupts. “How much time do we have? How long before this is fatal?”

Hyrule bites his lip. “It’s - it’s not. Not directly. Moorhaunts don’t kill their hosts.”

That ratchets the tension down - somewhat. It looks bad - like Legend’s wearing a thick hood of shadows - but he is breathing, steady and strong, and he’s sitting upright without aid. They’re not running on a deadline. Warriors just narrows his eyes.

“If it’s not lethal, then why are you so scared?”

Hyrule flinches, mouth wobbling, then firms up his shoulders and makes himself say it. “About seventy percent of people commit suicide, within a week of the attack.”

Everyone jolts. Twilight casts a horrified look at Legend, still sitting placidly on his knees with a black haze shrouding his face.

Hyrule continues, “About ten percent recover okay. The rest of them… seem to recover, but within a month or so, as soon as someone takes their eyes off them -” he cuts himself off with a grim twist to his mouth. “Well. There’s a reason they were hunted almost to extinction in the Hero of Legend’s time.”

“Okay, so what do we do about it now?”

The noise Hyrule makes is somewhere between distress and despair. He doesn’t know.

Warriors breaks into his panic. “Hyrule. You said, ‘host’, and that it should be trying to feed on us, too. What exactly is its food source?”

“They’re… a kind of energy parasite. That’s why we can’t just - cut it off, it’s all up in Legend’s life force, it might - it could hurt him if we do anything to it, I don’t usually deal with them when they have a - have a person already, or if they do they’re willing to jump for me and then I can kill them -”

Again, Warriors stops him. “Hyrule, what’s its food source?”

“It’s - pain. Not physical pain, but -” Hyrule scratches at his ear, then his neck; his skin is prickling all over. “They don’t - cause pain. They just - trigger it. They infiltrate the host’s mind, and force them - make them relive their worst memories. And they feed off the pain it causes them.”

Warriors isn’t the only one to jerk back. Hyrule’s shaking like a leaf just standing next to the thing. All of them have things in their pasts they don’t like to think about. To have those things come alive again - trapped in your own memories, unable to escape -

“That’s why the suicides,” Four says, eyes dark. “And why it’s so fixated on Legend, I bet. He’s been through a lot. Why abandon a high-value food source for a less certain one, or one that’s less concentrated?”

Wind makes a high-pitched noise. “We gotta get it off him!”

“Think maybe we can intimidate it?” Twilight asks Warriors.

“I don’t want to -” Hyrule waves his hands and grimaces, struggling for words. “I’ve never dealt with one that’s so - entrenched. It’s wound right through Legend’s life force, and if we hurt it, or shock it, it might hurt him.”

“Well we can’t just leave him like this!” says Wind.

Theoretically, they could. The moorhaunt wouldn’t kill Legend. But what it put him through in the meantime - no, there has to be a way. He just has to think.

Four’s thinking too. “Hey, Hyrule. It took time to get this way, right? So that it’s hard for us to remove?”

“Yeah.”

“So if we can convince it onto someone else, there’s a window where we can kill it before there’s a risk of damage to the host. Is that correct?”

“Yes, but - it hasn’t reacted to any of us at all.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” One small hand pulls the feather earring from his ear and tucks it away. “Just get it off me as fast as you can.”

Then before anyone can protest, he’s kneeling right next to Legend.

The response is immediate - the moorhaunt visibly loosens its grip. It’s not like an octorock, with distinct, visible appendages; it just - expands in space, becoming slightly more transparent, like the black fog is lifting, or spreading. Then a tendril reaches out, light and fine as black silk fibre, to stroke Four’s face, almost curiously.

Four doesn’t flinch.

The moorhaunt shifts to Four in layers of gossamer black. Dark haze peels away from Legend to wrap around the smaller smithy, and it’s terrifying to watch his face disappear under the dark veil, but Legend’s becoming more and more visible as it eases free of him.

The last few wisps linger, reluctant to leave behind their last meal, but Four takes a deep breath and draws them in.

Like its psychic grip had been the only thing holding him up, Legend slumps sideways. Hyrule grabs him, sends a useless pulse of healing through him - he knows it won’t do any good but it’s instinct when Legend is so pale and drawn.

Dried tear tracks trail from unseeing red eyes, tight with pain. With the moorhaunt gone, they start to flutter closed, exhaustion draining the last of his strength. But his heart is still strong, and his breathing is steady - for now, for now, he’s okay.

“Hyrule - is he clear?”

Hyrule triple-checks. There’s nothing in Legend’s aura but his own tired energies.

He nods. “Yeah - kill it.”

Sky wastes no time. He draws the Master Sword, and almost delicately flicks it through the moorhaunt, as close to Four as he dares.

The scream is warping metal and wind through hollows. Sky slashes again, chasing the shadow’s retreat, and this time, it fades away to nothing; burned to ash in the light.

Four falls.

Legend is stable. Hyrule leaves him with Twilight and bolts for Four, supported against Time’s armour and tears coursing down his face. No, no, no, it was only a few seconds, he’ll be okay, he’s got to be okay. “Four? Four, talk to me. Do you remember where you are?”

Four’s jaw is clamped shut, and he’s making no move to answer. A faint tremble is starting to make itself known in his hands where they hang loose at his sides. He’d only been under a few minutes, but he’s in the same empty-eyed state as Legend.

“Fuck,” Hyrule mutters, “fuck.”

He scrubs his hands over his face, then runs them up through his hair and pulls. Two people down. In the middle of a dead forest. Black-blooded monsters yet to be found. They’re all tired, and stressed, and desperately worried.

Hyrule hates being in charge. But nobody else here knows the wastelands of his kingdom like he does.

“We need - we need to find a safe place to stay put for a few days.”

“The fairy fountain?” Time offers. It was where they’d been headed originally, before Legend went missing.

“No.” Hyrule’s refusal visibly surprises them. “No, that’s too enclosed, too much chance of an ambush.”

Warriors scowls. “Then why were we going there in the first place?”

“Because it is safe, briefly. But the entrance is a bottleneck, and if monsters realise you’re there, all they have to do is camp out by the entrance until you leave. And we’re going to need somewhere to make camp for several days at least.” The healer’s face is grim. “These two won’t be fit to travel for a while.”

Everyone’s gaze slides sideways.

Legend almost looks like he’s dozing, collapsed into Twilight’s side. There’s no way to make the same mistake with Four - he’s crying, shaking. Every now and then he shudders, and swallows, gaze fixed on something none of them can see. He’d done it to save Legend, without demand, without complaint. Hyrule still feels sick with guilt.

“It’s okay,” he whispers through the tightness in his throat, “it’s okay. You’re safe now. We’ve got you.”

Through it all, Four doesn’t make a sound.

-----

Read Part 2 here!

#whumptober 2023 #linked universe #lu legend #lu hyrule #lu four #lu fic #this one fought me EVERY STEP OF THE WAY #so if it feels unpolished that's why #hyrule you are really fucking hard to write when you're panicking #skies writes #tw: discussions of suicide

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up-to-some-good · 1 year

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Probably the most micro I've ever ficced. Written for @wolfstarmicrofic prompt March 29th - mythical (~600 words)

No matter how hard he tried, Remus had never been able to get animals to like him. Not since he was five years old. Creatures both muggle and mythical seemed repelled by him, backing away in fear or snarling in aggression.

Which is why, in third year, he'd chosen to take Arithmancy instead of Care of Magical Creatures with his friends and why now, in their final year, he was sceptical about following Sirius into the forbidden forest for a "surprise".

Sirius held his hand gently as they walked, guiding his boyfriend easily over various tree roots and patches of vine until they reached a clearing and let Remus go.

"Just stay here for one second, okay?" he said. "I'm going to bring him a little closer then I'll explain."

He disappeared behind the trees for longer than Remus expected, leaving him wondering if this was all a prank and James would jump out any second. Instead, Sirius walked out with a rope in hand, leading a hippogriff into the clearing and tying it to the tree a few feet away.

Remus immediately took a step back, ready to run back to the school when the creature attacked him.

"This is a bad idea, Pads."

Sirius paid him no mind, walking over and resting his hands on Remus's shoulders, the gentle weight reassuring him.

"Hear me out, okay?" he asked. "Every time you've been confronted with an animal, you've been so aware that you're a werewolf and therefore a predator that I think they can sense your anxiety. I know your dad warned you when you were a kid that they'd be scared of you, but I don't think that's the case. I've never felt it as an animagus, and neither have James and Peter. So I want to try something."

"Yes, okay, fine. But only if you promise me you have a way to get help if you need it."

Sirius grinned.

"Cross my heart, Moons. All I need you to do is close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. When you're ready and feeling calm, I want you told hold out your hand and I'll bring Buckbeak over. He's the calmest of the lot, and he trusts me already, so we should be okay. Take as long as you need."

Remus nodded and swallowed before closing his eyes and focusing on his breaths. He felt Sirius press a kiss to his cheek before the weight disappeared from his shoulders and the sound of his footsteps carried over.

After a minute or so, he steadily moved his hand upwards, reaching in the direction of Sirius and Buckbeak. In a few seconds, his hand was met with feathers. His hand was shaking as he gently stroked the creature, marvelling at the feeling of its smooth beak and soft feathers.

"Okay, Moons," Sirius's soft voice started again. "Whenever you feel ready, open your eyes and take a bow. He'll bow back at you as long as you don't break eye contact."

Remus did as instructed, keeping his eyes on the yellow ones in front of him. Buckbeak didn't wait a second before bowing low to the ground and stepping towards Remus to get his hand back on his head.

As Remus petted the hippogriff he stared at Sirius, his eyes burning with tears. For years, he hadn't so much as gotten close to an owl, but this beautiful boy had finally proven what his friends and boyfriend had been saying all along.

He wasn't a monster.

#remus lupin #sirius black #wolfstar #wolfstar fic #wolfstar fluff #wolfstar microfic #mythical #buckbeak #buckbeak and sirius were friends from day one

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saints-who-never-existed · 6 months

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Rereading The Terror

Chapter Fifty-Four: Des Voeux

Oh gang, we're rapidly running out of living POV characters as you can see. But that means we do get a glimpse into the inner life of the Notorious C(F)DV, a generally sweet lad more akin to his real-life counterpart than to his gremlin-like show one.

Des Voeux is deliriously happy, right off the bat. As well as successfully hunting and gorging themselves on seal out on the pack, his party have spotted real proper leads in the ice with clear water all the way to the Adelaide Peninsula and Back's River. "Everyone could leave Rescue Camp. Everyone there now had a chance at survival." :(((

His joy doesn't last for long, however, as his party returns to camp not to fanfare but to abject misery. The men at Rescue Camp are so despondent that they don't even react to the eight tasty seal carcasses Des Voeux and his men haul behind them. "Did someone die?" asked Charles Frederick Des Voeux

The last men standing with any kind of seniority/rank gather in a tent to fill Des Voeux in, all but one of them smoking like chimneys all the while. They are: Second Mate Edward Couch, First Mate Robert Thomas, Captain of the Hold Joseph Andrews, and Captain of the Maintop Thomas Farr. They've found the bloody carnage that Hickey's party left behind them: "[the remaining bones and flesh] Had knife marks on them" finished Robert Thomas. "Lane and Goddard were butchered by a human being" "Not a human being" said Thomas Farr. "But some vile thing in the shape of a man."

The conversation that follows has definite shades of the E10 Lawful Mutiny scene with Des Voeux cast in Little's role instead. "We have to go after him and the murderers with him," said Des Voeux No one spoke for a moment. Then Robert Thomas said, "Why?"

It's hard to disagree with them really. They discuss the lives that would be wasted in such a battle, mentioning Thomas Johnson again who - as we now know - was sent to track the Mutineers to ensure they really left only to fall bloody victim to them. Des Voeux argues first for Crozier and then for Goodsir but the others reason that they don't even need the surgeon any longer - Tom Hartnell has learned enough to be able to administer what few medicines they have left and as for surgeries... Couch smiled sadly, "Lad, do you really think that anyone who needs actual surgery from this point on in our travels is likely to survive, no matter what?" That ever-so-slightly condescending reference to Des Voeux's youth gets to me especially, it really does! He's just a wee guy!

The assembled men still worry about predation from Hickey and the Mutineers as well and have some choice words to say on the matter: "... He sees all of us as livestock. What if he's just waiting out there beyond the next rise, waiting to attack the whole camp?" "You're turning the caulker's mate into a bogeyman" said Des Voeux. "He done that to his self already." said Andrews, "But not a bogeyman, the Devil. The actual Devil..." I feel like that specific phrasing - his self vs. himself - can do SO much heavy lifting if you want it to. You could interpret it as Hickey not just being corrupted but as devoting/losing his entire sense of self to that corruption. Delicious stuff!

The remaining men decide explicitly that Des Voeux should lead the Expedition entire as he's the highest ranking left among them. He accepts this though he vows to continue to consult closely with the other four in the tent where necessary. Poor Hodgson is mentioned here, in a way that makes me laugh much much more than it really should: "Technically," said Thomas Farr, "Lieutenant George Henry Hodgson is in charge of the expedition now" "Oh, fuck Lieutenant George Henry Hodgson up the arse with a hot poker," said Joseph Andrews, "If the little weasel were to come crawlin' back now, I'd strangle 'im with me own hands and piss on his corpse."

It's not long before Des Voeux faces his first tough decision as official leader and, when it comes down to it, he turns more Le Vesconte than Little. You're not going to like this one, gang, or what it means for poor scurvy-ridden Jopson...! "Here is my first decision as new commander of the Franklin Expedition. When we drag the boats to the ice in the morning, any man who can walk to the boats and get into harness - or even into one of the boats - comes with us... But tomorrow, only those who can walk to the boats will leave Rescue Camp." :(((

#The Terror #The Terror AMC #Observations #Random Observations #Meta #Rereading the Terror #Terror Spoilers #Charles Frederick Des Voeux #Edward Couch #Thomas Farr #Robert Thomas #Joseph Andrews #Cornelius Hickey #George Hodgson

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talesfromthegameff14 · 13 days

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Prompt #7: Morsel

A rat scurried along the edge of the wall, stopping to eye the crumbs left under the nearby table. The morsels looked delicious, but there were still feet at the table. Feet that smelled of predators, danger. But the food also smelled good, hunger driving the rat to stay put instead of scurrying away. “Did you get the bitches?” “No. The pair proved to be stronger than expected.” “You let two old ladies win?”

“Do I need to remind you how many those ‘old ladies’ killed in the war? They proved to be just as effective now as they were then.” “How many did we lose?” “Everyone that went.” The silence that followed the statement lasted long enough that the rat thought the danger had passed, that the men were asleep. It started to creep towards the table only to scurry back at the sound of a fist hitting the table hard enough to set the cups on it clattering. “Curse them! Why won’t they just die?! Do we know where they are now?” “No, they have gone to ground. The house is empty.” “Of course, how about the two raen? Any luck on finding the younger one?” “No, the student has disappeared as well. Xiao remains visible. But as the acting leader of a Yakuza clan he is well protected.” “I expected him to be difficult, but not that much so. The xaela?”

A moment of silence as the answer is weighed, the rat starting to move along the wall again. Maybe from a different direction he could avoid the wrath of the feet that were too close to his dinner. It was so close, a quick scurry there and back, but the feet could be just as fast. His broken tail attested to that. “Something watches the house since the failed attack.” “Something?” “Yes, no one can say what it is. Only that when they get close they can feel breath on the back of their necks. Some have said they heard the distant rattling of bones or a running horse, but when they look nothing is there. One stayed anyway after reporting such, she was found a few days later with more broken bones than whole and a single hoof shaped bruise in the center of her back.” “She didn’t survive.” “No, she did not.” The gusty sigh had the rat scrambling back towards the narrow hole between boards that allowed it into the room to begin with. He disappeared behind the boards, but didn’t scrabble off far. Just to the safety of wood to peer out of the hole, waiting as his whiskers twitched. Scary feet! “And the secondary targets?” “One has been dealt with, the other two remain. They are proving harder to reach.” “Of course...” “We are doing our best!” “Do better. I expect a written report with the details of your failures and how you are going to fix them within the next moon on my desk by tomorrow morning. If your plans are not satisfactory you will find out just how displeased I am by them at that time. Understood?” “Yes, Primus.” The feet left then, leaving the room in silence. Cautiously, the rat crept out from where it waited. A few steps in and it sat back on his haunches, sniffing the air to make sure he didn’t miss any feet. Abruptly it bolted forward to grab the hunk of bread dropped earlier in the day. Another sniff of the air and the rodent settled in to enjoy his meal.

#ffxiv rp #oc stories #mateus rp #an xiao #ayanga uyagir #featuring the bony pony!#ffxivwrite2024

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wellthebardsdead · 1 year

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The loved & the forgotten pt16

Part 15 here

———

Vivienne: *hidden from prying eyes with the ring of khajiiti, only his under cloth and Kaidans cape covering his blood soaked skin as he runs through the bulwark and out into the ash wastes, covering his mouth as he sobs, feeling disgusting from being touched by a man who’d used him so viciously in the past, feeling disgusting for being used at all and daring to find love thinking he’d ever be worthy of it, and feeling disgusting as the blood painting his beautiful body dries and sticks uncomfortably to every crevice it can* I need- I need to be clean I need a bath I need to be clean- *chokes in a mouthful of ash as he hyperventilates as a panic attack wracks his body and the sounds of his loved ones calling his name ring in his ears* I need to be clean in- *coughs and sobs as his foot finds clay amongst the dry earth* wh-what?… *looks up slightly to see a small stream, babbling down the hill from a waterfall tucked away behind rocks and trees* … *walks to it and gasps softly, seeing it forming a large pond, filled with giant lotus leaves and blossoms towering taller than even Kaidan, and the water itself, guarded by the cliff face and towering trees, free from ash fall and so clear he can see goldfish the size of his head swimming beneath its surface* … *drops the invisibility and sheds Kaidans cloak and his under cloth before stepping in and shivering at how cold it is, reasoning it must come from the snow near the Skaal village* f-fuck… *wades his way in and slowly stares down at his reflection rippling in the crystal clear surface… his reflection… his face, stained with blood not his own* …I’m not Vivec… but… who are you?…

*meanwhile*

Kaidan: *standing with the group by the abandoned farmhouse theyd first met captain Veleth at* The suns going down he’s only got my cloak and his spear he must be terrified out of his mind and he’s caked in blood! Predators will hunt him from all the way across the island if they catch a whiff of him!

Taliesin: kaidan he’ll be okay we’ll find him-

Kaidan: There’s werebears on this island! Dragons to- where’s miraak?

Miraak: *suddenly flies overhead on sarhrotaar followed by other dragons loyal to him*

Taliesin: searching by the air…

Veleth: it’s no good us searching as one group. I’ll lead my men past the standing stone and see if he went that way.

Kaidan: *sighs* okay, Tali, you’re with me.

Taliesin: *nods sadly just looking so tired and worried* okay.

Kaidan: hey… *gently strokes his cheek* we’ll find him…

Sero: I’ll stick with inigo and Lucien so they don’t get lost. Solstheim is even more dangerous after dark.

Kaidan: Aye, we’ll meet back at the bulwark in 3 hours. Everyone keep a torch spare in case you get lost so miraak can find you yeah?

Everyone: *nods*

???: If we may, we’d like to help too.

Everyone: *turns to see nerevar & voryn both approaching, dressed in their armour and looking more suited than everyone (except teldryn) to handle the islands elements*

Kaidan: oh I- I don’t mean to ask for your help again sir but, we really need it.

Nerevar: *nods* no no please it’s no burden we… We knew him… when he was Vivec… I know we did not have a chance for proper introductions before and time is of the essence now but, I am Indoril Nerevar and this is my husband, councillor and guard, Voryn Dagoth.

Voryn: *nods* …He’s calming down…

Taliesin: what?

Vivec: oh he’s attempting to scry on him but it’s as if somethings blocking him… he’s calming down then?…

Voryn: …I hear water… search near water.

Kaidan: …Were on a focking island.

Taliesin: *slaps his arm* They’re trying to help!

*an hour later*

Vivienne: *scrubbed himself clean all over, quietly hiding away amongst the lotus leaves and flowers as he hears dragons fly over head, too fragile and tired to fight, too scared to face his friends, too ashamed to face his beloveds, and too cowardly to face the beautiful mer from his memories of vivec* … *looks at the golden hue casting over the rocks and trees, blanketing the ashy landscape in long shadows and a fiery sunset as the sun gleams its last light* … *sighs and turns back to the waterfall and flowers, gently patting the fish as they swim up to him and away again, not noticing the two figures casting a shadow by the stream as they follow it all the way up to his little hiding place…*

Voryn: *gently pulls nerevar behind a rock* stay here, I’ll speak with him-

Nerevar: Ryn… please… *holds his hands gently in his* let me try…

Voryn: … *sighs* okay… I’ll wait here…

Nerevar: *gently kisses his helm where his lips would be and steps out, approaching cautiously trying not to make too much noise, only to audibly gasp as he takes in the vision before him* gods…

Vivienne: *a good few hundred years younger than him, his body smaller and slender in build but still fit and somewhat muscular, like a well toned dancer. His clean white hair falling into damp curls and waves over his shoulders and face, and his blue and gold skin sparkling in the water, looking like a painting come to life as he stands amongst the water flowers* …huh? *ear twitching hearing nerevars awestruck whisper*

Nerevar: *bends down a little, hands up where they can be seen, wanting to appear as friendly and non threatening as possible* Vivienne?…

Vivienne: *spins around, eyes wide as he backs up in a panic, clinging to the wet rocks near the waterfall* g-GO AWAY! L-LEAVE ME ALONE!! *screams and tries to claw his way out of the water but can’t get any grip*

Nerevar: *immediately backs up seeing he’s still in shock* easy, easy shhh shhh… *removes his sword and shield and sets them down* shhh, im a friend-

Vivienne: NO YOURE NOT!! *sobs* shaking his head* You’re here to punish me for what I did to azuras shrine! For what I did to boethias shrine! You’re here because you think I’m Vivec! I’m not Vivec! I’m not a monster I’m not! I’m not him! I wasn’t the one who killed you it wasn’t me! Please just leave me alone I won’t bother anyone I won’t! I won’t ever bother anyone again please- p-plea… *looks up feeling a warm towel suddenly wrap around his shoulders to see nerevar standing in front of him, still in his armour but unarmed* I…

Nerevar: I brought some clothes you can wear… im sure you’d like that more than your partners cape yes?…

Vivienne: *visibly trembling and staring up at him as vivecs memories flash through his mind* v-vivec is sorry…

Nerevar: I… what?… *looks down at him confused*

Vivienne: v-Vivec told me he’s sorry for what h-he did to you- I promise I’m n-not lying- im not crazy or a liar he told me himself in a dream please b-believe me- I don’t want to be sent back to work in a-a b-brothel I don’t want to be in jail again.

Nerevar: shhh shhh. *pats his hair gently seeing another panic attack starting up* you’re not in trouble, you’re not crazy either… I believe you…

Vivienne: wh-why? I sound I-insane it doesn’t sound real I sound like I’m lying…

Voryn: *steps into view holding a warm blanket* I have the clothes ready…

Nerevar: *smiles back at him then looks back at Vivienne* because someone else close to me experienced the exact same thing…

#voryn dagoth #Vivec #vivienne dragonborn #nerevar #Kaidan skyrim #skyrim taliesin #lucien flavius #inigo skyrim #teldryn sero

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someone1348 · 2 years

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☁️⚘; hii !!! idk if you've gotten sick of me reaquesting but if you dont mind reading this , that be awesome !!

how about a rottmnt!boys x GN!reader ? Y/N was able to sneak up on all of them and tickle them , so when they all realize Y/N's done this to them all they them back with no mercy what-so-ever?

tysm , liy and make sure to take ur time while writing !! it always comes out awesome 💖

Hey Jay! I could never get sick of you or your requests! I hope you enjoy this! Ily2 💖

The people in this: Ler!Turtles, Lee!Reader (GN!)

Key: (n/n)= Nickname

Tw: none this is adorable

And with all of that being said enjoy!!

-K :]

____________~☆°♡°☆°♡°☆~_____________

Leo!:

You really thought you could sneak up on HIM and he wouldn't get his revenge? Pfft think again my friend! The minute he caught his breath from your tickle attack he was up and ready with his portaling sword. He didn't need it, he's fast enough already, he can easily catch you without it but he just enjoys seeing your reactions.

"Oh (y/n)~" he smirked following close behind you with wiggling fingers before he opened a tiny portal right in front of you making you stop in your tracks "boo!" He giggled, pulling you through it as the two of you landed back on his bed, him on top of you with your arms pinned above your head with one of his hands

"Hi~"

"Hihi"

"Giggling already are we?~" His smirk grew before his six didgets danced their way across your tickle spots. Uppp and down they wandered leaving no tickle spot of yours untickled!

"Awww is someone too ticklish to handle what they dish out?~ that's what I thought~" He giggled moving to your worst spot

"Awww look at that reaction~ I could listen to you laugh alll day long" He teased as he continued "Tickletickletickletickle~"

"LEHEHEO PLEAHAHAHASE"

"Okahay okay!" He giggled, stopping and rubbing away the ghost tickles "never sneak tickle attack me again m'kay?" He smirked booping your nose

"No promises~"

Donnie!:

Ohoho geez I would say run but you're not going to get far! If you found a way to sneak up on Donnie and wreck him, be prepared for the revenge of a lifetime my friend! Soft shell turtles are natrually more aggressive because they have to protect their soft shell from predators so if you somehow found a way to do this! You're amazing but you're also doomed!

He's already got his two robot arms grab you and pin you to the wall, this man has teched out the entire lair! So even if you did run you'd still end up right where he wants you to be with a click of a button!

"Well well well what do we have over here?~" he smirked tapping his foot as he spoke to you "someone thought they could sneak attack me and get away with it hmm?" His smirk grew before he scoffed jokingly

"Why do you look nervous, this won't hurt a bit!~" he giggled before going to town, skittering his fingers up and down alll over your tickle spots

"Oh? Is someone ticklish?~ Does this tickle? How interesting~" He continued, moving to your worst spot

"Fascinating~" he smirked, teasing you "Have we learned our lesson yet (n/n)?~"

"YEHEHES IHIHIM SOHOHORRY"

"Apology accepted!" He smiled setting you free and rubbing away the ghost tickles

Raph!:

I don't know how in the world you managed to sneak up on the big man but bravo to you my friend! That's fantastic! He's going to get his revenge but he's a lot more gentle then Donnie that's for sure! The sweetest snapping turtle out there I swear!

"Gehet back here!" He giggled as he raced after you "no one sneak attacks Raph and gets away with it!" He smiled before picking you up and spinning you around before crash landing you down and into his lap.

"I got you now (n/n)! Any last words?~" he giggled tickling you alll over your tickle spots, from top to bottom leaving no tickle spot untickled!

"You thought you were slick huh but nothing gets passed Raph!" He giggled blowing a raspberry to a particularly ticklish spot of yours

"Tickle Tickle tickleee~ awwwwww!!!!" He cooed in a baby voice before moving to your worst spot enjoying your reactions and laughter

"RAHAHAPH IM SOHOHORRY"

"Apology accepted!" He smiled, rubbing away the ghost tickles before holding you close, enjoying your presences

Mikey!:

You know you would think that it would be easy to sneak up on Mikey but really it's not that easy most days! He's got his gaurd up most of the time from all the scary videos he's watched plus going on dangerous missions and stuff! One day though you managed to do it! You snuck up on him and brought the tickle attack of a lifetime; but you forgot one thing, you just pranked the prank master! I'd start running if I were you!

He giggled using his whip-o-rama to wrap around your hands and safely pull you back into his lap

"Looks like I've caught myself a little prankster who thought they could take on the master! We'll today's your unlucky day baby! Get ready for the tickle attack of your life!" He giggled before scribbling alll over your tickle spots, Upp, Downn and alll around leaving no tickle spot of yours untickled!

"Tickletickletickletickle dawww you're so adorable, did you know that? We'll you should cause' you aree!" He smiled brighter blowing tiny raspberries to various tickle spots of yours before moving to your worst spot.

"MIHIHIKEYY PLEAHAHAHASE"

"What's this?! Is someone ticklish?~ I think sooo~" he continued making tickle sounds with his mouth "tktktktktktktk!"

"Okahay okay! You're lucky you're so adorable or else you wouldn't be spared as easily!" He giggled booping your nose and rubbing away the ghost tickles

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

I'm so sorry if a couple of these are short but I hope you all enjoyedd! Have a great day/evening or night! I am so proud of you and you are loved!

-K :]

#k writes tk things #rottmnt tickle #rottmnt tickle fic #ler!leonardo #ler!leo #ler!donatello #ler!donnie #ler!raphael #ler!raph #ler!michaelangelo #ler!mikey #lee!reader

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screechthemighty · 2 years

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God of War fic posting has RESUMED. This one is for memories of mother, so it won't be entirely Ragnarok compliant, but we all saw that coming I think.

Anyways, this is part one of two of a little fic called the hawk and the bear. I'll post part two in a reblog, and the whole thing will be up on AO3 as well (with the link to that in the same reblog)! I hope you enjoy it. :3

the hawk and the bear: part one

{cws: alluded to suicidal ideation and depression.}

The deer was dead when she reached its side, and Faye was grateful for that. She wasn’t sure she could handle finishing a sloppy kill today. “Thank you,” Faye whispered quietly as she stroked its head. It was a good sized doe. She shouldn’t have to worry about hunting for a while.

It was another thing to be grateful for. She was starting to get better about leaving the house, but it could still be a struggle. Now she wouldn’t have to worry about starving if she went through another spell of staying inside.

A few leaves drifted past as she started tying the deer’s feet together to drag it back. The forest would be all red and gold soon. She was almost looking forward to it. But after fall came the winter, and...

Well. She’d cross that bridge when she came to it.

As Faye started to lift the deer, a sudden feeling of dread swept up her spine. She straightened up and looked around. She thought at first that it was a predator, perhaps a wolf seeking to try and steal her kill. But there was nothing there.

Then why...?

Shit. The stave. Something had passed through somewhere.

Faye dropped the deer and started running, following the tug of magic to the point of entry. It didn’t make any sense; the magic should have kept anything threatening out. Was it something she hadn’t accounted for? Or maybe someone who needed help, some poor soul that had managed to wander this deep into the woods and gotten lost? She wasn’t sure. She wasn’t going to let her guard down until she knew for sure.

Please don’t let it be Aesir. Please…

Faye stopped at the top of a ridge, bow ready but lowered. She saw a hulking figure in the valley below her. She thought, at first, that it was a bear–the figure was hunched over, draped in dark furs, no visible human features at first. Then they straightened up and turned around, freezing at the sight of her.

He was…

Faye’s breath caught in her throat.

Why does he seem familiar?

This man was no human, but he wasn’t a giant, either. Not any giant she knew, at least. He was tall, taller than her, with a shaved head and dark, unruly beard. His skin wasn’t fair, not even extremely fair like hers–it was white, unnaturally ashen white, cut through with a few scars (one over his eye, a much larger one cutting up his exposed stomach) and blood red tattoos stretching across his face and up one arm. His molten gold eyes fixed on her, his brow creasing with confusion. He made no move to attack her–in fact, the feeling she got from him was one of complete confusion. Like he hadn’t expected to see anyone here.

But he was bigger than her, muscular, definitely armed. His build reminded her of Magni, or the beserkers from home, and that thought alone was enough to make her wary. “Don’t come any closer,” Faye called. “What are you doing here?”

His head tilted slightly, like he couldn’t understand what she was saying. He took a few steps closer. Faye’s body reacted before her good will could, making her raise her bow and fire a warning shot. That was all it was meant to be, at least; one arrow in a tree nearby, just to show she meant it. “I said don’t!”

The man froze again, looking back at the arrow. Then he turned to face her.

He didn’t look happy.

Uh oh.

It had been days since he’d last eaten. Possibly longer.

The days were getting shorter, colder; it made finding suitable prey difficult. It was why he had chosen to continue chasing the deer, long after he usually would have given up. Despite his best efforts, the creature had gotten away.

Kratos growled to himself as he stopped to examine the tracks. He was beginning to think he’d picked up the wrong trail. These seemed more degraded. Damn it. All this way, and what did he have to show for it? Nothing but an empty stomach.

Pointless. Pointless.

Kratos straightened up, swallowing past the hollow feeling that flooded his chest. The urge to just sit down there in the mud and let the cold claim him returned. It wouldn’t work–he’d been here too long for mere cold to claim him–but the urge remained.

Keep going. You abandoned your camp. You need to find someplace new.

Kratos turned to survey his surroundings…and froze.

There was a woman standing on a ridge behind him.

She hadn’t been there before. She was tall for a woman, only a little shorter than he was. Her hair (partially braided but coming free in loose curls) was golden red, her clothes shades of blue and gold. Her fair-skinned face was covered in a spread of freckles, and her blue eyes stared down at him.

Was she real? He didn’t recognize her, but she seemed so…vivid. Too bright and alive to have simply appeared behind him like a ghost. The woman spoke, but his mind was so trapped on her sudden appearance that the words meant nothing to him. His body moved as his mind struggled to determine what he was looking at. Who are…?

The arrow whistled past him, striking a tree over his shoulder. Kratos looked away, long enough to confirm…

Yes, that was real.

He turned back to her, his face set and hard.

Fine, then. This again.

She barely had time to draw Leviathan and block his first blow. It damn near knocked her over. He was strong. She’d gone toe to toe with men bigger than him, and even they didn’t feel like they hit as hard.

Right. Okay. I set him off. Bad plan, well done, Faye.

She probably could have tried harder to kill him, but something in her said not to. She had started it; there was a chance he was just trying to defend himself. There may not have been any time to explain herself now, but the least she could do was spare him. I just have to drive him off. I just have to get him out of my forest and then everything will be fine.

Assuming she survived the fight. This man was clearly experienced in combat. This was no mere scavenger, not even one of the reavers. This man was a warrior. Maybe that berserker comparison was more apt than she’d realized. Definitely not a berserker, he would have turned by now if he–

Faye wasn’t sure what he did. She just knew that one moment Leviathan was in her hands, the next it wasn’t.

Shit!

She was good, he’d give her that.

The woman had switched from bow to battle axe–and a formidable one at that. He assumed the weapon was magical. Its blade felt cold whenever it swiped too close to him, as if the metal were permanently frozen. I just have to disarm her. I don’t have to hurt her, but if I can disarm her…

He could what? Run? He was the fucking god of war. He didn’t run from combat. But…

No. He couldn’t kill this woman. If he disarmed her, perhaps knocked her unconscious, if he just knocked her down long enough that he could flee…

It had been some time since he’d fought an enemy with an ax like this, but he remembered how to defend himself. Once he had the right open, disarming her was easy. The woman staggered back, and Kratos readied himself to take out the bow next.

Instead she held out her hand.

Something whistled past his head, barely missing it as it landed solidly in her palm. The axe. The axe had returned to her.

Shit.

The startled look on his face when Leviathan came back would’ve been funny if he hadn’t recovered so quickly. He went back on the offensive within a second, his shock giving way to resolve again. Fortunately, Faye’s plan of driving him away was working; they were moving back towards the borders.

Drive him back, then try to lose him. It had worked before with far stronger enemies.

Except…

It took her some time to notice; she had been extremely focused on not getting her head cut off. But the longer she fought, the more she realized: he wasn’t trying to cut her head off.

He was fighting more aggressively than her, that was for sure. But at some point, she made a mistake–misstepped, slipped on some leaves, left herself wide open. He didn’t go for a kill hit that she barely blocked; he went for her head with the hilt of the sword. It was still a blow she barely blocked, but…

He could have killed me. He didn’t even try.

And from there, she realized that there were several points he could have killed her. The longer the fight went on, the more she noticed it. He wasn’t using full strength. It was as if he were sparring, not fighting for his life against someone he perceived as an aggressor. So if he could kill her, but hadn’t…

Oh. Oh!

The fight grew easier the longer they grappled with each other. Kratos had always been adept at learning the fighting styles of others, even more so once he ascended to godhood. Drawing out the fight was risky, but it did give him more information to use. And as he learned how she fought, he noticed something…abnormal. Something about this fight wasn’t right.

Then, he remembered a lesson from long ago.

You have more energy than a predator. Wear them down if you cannot defeat them, make it clear you are not worth the effort, and eventually they will leave.

That was how she fought. Defensively, driving him back. Not trying to hurt him (not yet, at least), but trying to make him go away.

A woman with a bow like that wouldn’t miss a target as clear as him, and her hands were too steady now, too skilled, for that first shot to have been a mistake.

That meant…

She isn’t trying to hurt me.

He isn’t trying to hurt me.

He dodged back from her next axe swing, putting as much distance between the two of them as possible. He kept his stance defensive, ready to continue if she did, but did not make the first move.

The woman nearly did, caught herself mid-step, and froze as well. He saw the brief, confused frown that crossed her face, followed by what might have been wary relief. More wary than relived. She hadn’t let her guard down entirely. “I’m starting to think this was a misunderstanding,” she said.

Kratos grunted in response. His eyes scanned the surroundings. He didn’t see any sign of lodgings, but…

“These are your woods?” he guessed. She nodded. “I did not know. I was…” He had to pause to remember the word. A part of his mind still called him to combat, to finish the woman who had dared raise her bow against him. It made remembering the language of his land difficult. “Following a deer.”

Her eyes scanned him slowly. As he watched, something in her eyes softened. He wondered if he looked hungry to her. It had been so long since he had eaten…even if his body did not change with the lack of food, his godhood keeping his form from cannibalizing itself, it may have showed in his eyes, in the tension in his shoulders at the thought of a meal slipped from his grasp.

The woman’s eyes widened, a curse leaving her lips. “Ah….” She glanced over her shoulder, a gesture that surprised him more than anything. They’d been fighting seconds ago, and yet she still took her eyes off of him. “…You can have some of mine if you help me chase off whatever might have come for it?”

Some of hers? The promise of proper food nearly overrode his lingering wariness of her. Nearly. He took a second to examine her. The look in her eyes was one of frustration; she seemed truly annoyed that she had been taken away from her own kill, which could have been claimed by an opportunistic animal. He did not sense any deception in her, and even if there was…

He had held back until then. He did not have to continue doing so.

“Very well.”

She was off like an arrow at those words. Kratos struggled to keep up. She was certainly more familiar with these woods than he was. The kill wasn’t far, and by the time they arrived, there was only a small creature, its fur a mottled mixture of brown and white, gnawing at the dead doe’s rear leg. “Hey!” the woman scolded. The creature jumped back, but did not retreat entirely. “That’s mine, you little bastard.” She made no move to chase the creature off any further, however, sighing with relief instead as she approached the deer. “All right…all right. Do you know how to clean a deer?”

Kratos hesitated. “What?”

“It will go faster if we work together.”

She was correct, but Kratos was surprised. They had only just met, and their first interaction had been one of violence. And yet…

His stomach rumbled. That pushed past any confusion he might have felt. “I know how,” he said. He was still careful not to crouch too close to her as he settled down next to the deer. “What do you want me to do?”

They made short work of the deer, as the woman had predicted. She divided up the meat and skin as she went. Kratos found himself glancing at the two piles more and more. Focus, he scolded himself. The task is not yet done. He shoved all thoughts of food aside, focused on carving away at the deer.

He saw the creature approaching again as they worked, staying just out of reach, eyes fixated on the deer. The woman glanced at it and sighed. “What? Are you hungry, too?” She took a piece from one pile and tossed it in the creature’s direction. “There, go on…”

The creature hesitantly grabbed the chunk of deer, running as soon as it was in its grasp. The woman chuckled quietly. “Don’t worry, that’s my half,” she reassured him. “I’m sorry, by the way.”

It took him a moment to realize what she might be apologizing for. “You were defending your home. You owe me nothing.” Including his own pile of venison, which seemed ridiculously large. An unnecessary kindness, considering…

“Did I hurt you?”

The woman stopped, her eyes darting back and forth. After the pause, she shook her head. “No, I’m all right. Are you hurt?”

He almost wanted to laugh. She was an adept fighter, he could tell, but she was still mortal. There was nothing she could do that would hurt him for long. “I am well.” He glanced at the ax by her side. “Your axe is…”

He might have used the word beautiful, because it was. The craftsmanship was obvious, the faint aura of magic radiating from the blade even when it was at rest…even small flourishes meant to give it some artistic value, not just functional. But he did not know how to convey that in this tongue, so instead he said, “Good. It’s a good axe.”

She looked pleased. “Thank you. I’m friends with a few smiths. It’s worked out well for me.”

That was fortunate. Kratos had taken his current weapon off a corpse–not someone he had killed, simply a body discarded on the road somewhere. He had, at least, stopped to bury the body, so he considered it a fair trade. “I’m Faye, by the way,” the woman interrupted suddenly. “What’s your name?”

Kratos froze.

He hadn’t gone by his name in…years. Decades. Even this far north, even when it was reasonable to assume that no common person knew who the Ghost of Sparta was, he kept the name hidden, buried. He spoke to others so infrequently that he hadn’t come up with a false one. He didn’t think anyone had asked for his name before her. If they had, he could usually deter them with a stern glare. This time…

Kratos looked away from her to what was left of the deer. “I think this is done,” he said clumsily. “I’ll…go. I apologize for trespassing.”

“Oh, it’s…” The woman–Faye–stood up as he did. “Don’t worry. I’m sorry for shooting at you.”

“You were defending your home. Don’t apologize for that.”

“Well, we’re in agreement then,” she said. She picked up Kratos’s half and offered it to him. “It was all a misunderstanding and neither of us did anything wrong.”

Kratos huffed in response and took the offering. He wasn’t sure he should, but if she truly wanted to be so foolish…

Kind, he corrected himself. She is being kind.

“Be careful out there,” she said to him.

“...you as well,” Kratos said.

He felt her gaze at his back as he walked away.

He tried to ignore the urge to turn around and meet it again.

“That went well,” Faye said aloud.

Her voice echoed around the clearing as she set what was left of the deer down in the hut. She knew she should get to work preserving it, making dinner, starting on the hide, but she just sat on the floor and thought about what had happened. The strange man in the bear skins. His tattoos, the fierceness in his eyes, the way that fierceness had turned to wariness when they finally stopped fighting each other. He reminded her of a hound that had been kicked by its owner one too many times and expected that treatment from everyone.

Who are you, stranger?

She should start on the meat. She should check on the stave. If he’d been able to get in, someone else may have as well, and she didn’t need more trouble right now. But…

His eyes were so sad.

Faye sighed heavily and shook her head. “Get it together, Laufey,” she told herself. “Keep your head on straight. You can’t get unfocused just because you finally spoke to someone again.”

…Wait. Damn it. How long had it been since she’d last spoken to someone?

I need to get out more.

#god of war #fayetos #fic: the hawk and the bear

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wiltingdecay · 1 year

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Something's not right about that child

Defending herself from a vicious attack, seven-year-old Ruadhán Ní Loinsigh discovers that she may be far stranger than anyone around her had ever realised. (Word count: 5,055)

Trigger warnings: physical and verbal bullying, violence, ableism and ableist language including the use of the r-slur, all of these towards a young autistic child, animal death

A/N: Finally, the Rowan backstory is here! This is part one of (at the moment) a three part series, covering the events leading up to their arrival in Vesuvia for the first time. I can't promise that parts two and three will be out soon, but I've been cooking them up for a long time now and I'm excited to share them! As indicated by the content warnings, this one is quite heavy, born from me partially projecting my experiences growing up as an autistic child in an ableist society. If any of this hits too close to home, I absolutely wouldn't blame you for skipping this one. It was difficult to write and even more difficult to share. That being said, if you do read, I really hope you enjoy.

A part of Ruadhán - the part that wasn't already occupied by her struggle to break free - thought that this wasn't a particularly fair fight. There were three of them, for starters, and only one of her. Aside from that, Ciarán and Diarmuid had been ten for months now, and their big sister Eimear was nearly twelve. Ruadhán hadn't even been seven for a week.

Then again, she'd be an idiot to expect fairness from any of them by now.

The three of them must have been lying in wait for her to show up; one second Ruadhán thought she was alone, and then the next they were on her, faster than she could react. She hadn't even had the time to try and run before Eimear had tackled her into the muck, getting her clean clothes that Saoirse had only finished drying that morning all dirty. Before she could wriggle free, Diarmuid had wrenched her arms behind her back so hard she'd screeched in pain, and Ciarán had taken hold of her flailing, kicking legs by the ankles. They'd lifted her up, leaving her able to do nothing but squirm and grunt into empty air. When struggling proved futile, she tried screaming for help, but they were too far up the cliffs by now for anyone in the village to hear, the sound snatched away by the bitingly cold wintertime winds.

Ruadhán knew exactly why they had ambushed her. For her seventh birthday, Da had gifted her with a necklace that had once belonged to her mother, Síofra. An oval locket embedded with a smooth piece of bluish-green marble that was ribboned with gold, it was beautiful in its simplicity. She'd been so pleased with it that she'd worn it every day since, proudly showing it off at school and delighting in the jealously of her classmates - and she'd especially delighted in rubbing bullies like Eimear's noses in it. At the time, she'd felt positively gleeful about all of the attention it had brought her.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. She should've known that it would all blow up in her face in the end, just like it always did.

"What should we do with her?" She heard Diarmuid ask from somewhere behind her head. She took a small amount of satisfaction in the strain in his voice, his difficulty in keeping a tight enough grip on her arms as she tried to pull them free. Her head jerked back, butting him in the stomach; she almost smiled at the quiet grunt of pain he let out, but she wasn't able to put enough power behind it to hurt him properly.

Eimear stood over her, looking - leering - down on her, like a predator over its prey. Ruadhán glared right back, her teeth bared in a snarl as a growl rumbled in her chest. She fought to keep a brave face on even when Eimear wound her fist into her hair and yanked, hard and fast enough to bend her neck back and make tears spring to her eyes.

"Take her up the cliffs," Eimear said dismissively, finally letting go of her hair. "We can throw her off after I get the necklace off her. Keep her from following us."

Ruadhán's heart started to hammer painfully against her ribs. Down by her feet, Ciarán started to splutter.

"Eimear, we can't!" He protested. Ruadhán wasn't surprised; Ciarán was always a lot nicer to her when his siblings weren't around. "She might drown! You said we wouldn't actually hurt her, you said- owww!"

He was cut off with a pained grunt as Eimear punted him in the belly, almost making him drop Ruadhán's legs in the process.

"Oh, would you ever give over! One of the little cliffs, you gobshite, not the big one. People go diving off'a them all the time." She snorted derisively, giving Ciarán another shove for good measure before turning back to Ruadhán with an ugly sneer. "We're hardly gonna drown her. Just 'cause she's retarded doesn't mean she can't swim."

Ruadhán snarled again as she gave another violent wriggle, kicking and flailing with all the strength she could muster, but try as she might, there was nothing she could do to prevent it when Eimear grabbed her underneath her jaw and forced her head backwards. Forcing Ruadhán to look up into her eyes.

"Though I'll tell you what, I am in a pretty good mood today," she said with a grin that was almost as sickening as the soothing tone she'd adopted. "Maybe if you ask me very, very nicely, Ruadhán, I might just take your necklace now and let you go."

A yawning pit of dread opened up in Ruadhán's belly. This was a trap, it had to be. If she fell for it, the consequences would be disastrous.

"It's alright, Ruadhán. All you have to say is "Please, Eimear, please let me go. You can have my necklace. I promise I won't tell anyone", and we'll leave you go home right now." Eimear's grin, all big teeth and pink gums, was practically splitting her face in two by now. She was clearly having the time of her life. "That's all you have to do. Even a retard can do something as small as that, right, Ruadhán? You can say that one little sentence back to me?"

No, she couldn't. And Eimear knew she couldn't. Her trap had been set, and now all she had to do was wait for it to be sprung.

Eimear's hand squeezed her neck sharply, just long enough to make Ruadhán gasp for breath. "Go on. Say it."

And the worst part was that even though Ruadhán knew it was a trap, she had no choice but to take the bait regardless. Her freedom, an opportunity to escape from here unscathed, was on the line. She'd be a fool not to take it.

She licked her dry lips. Tried to swallow past the hardened lump of anxiety that had formed at the base of her neck, barely allowing her to breathe.

"P..." She tried, she really did, but it was like her throat was full of burrs and brambles, snagging and clinging onto her voice and refusing to let it go. No matter how hard Ruadhán tried to force the words out, they stubbornly stayed stuck behind her teeth. She licked her lips again, started over. "P-puh..."

Eimear's hand tightened on her neck, fingers digging painfully into her jaw, and Ruadhán knew with a sinking heart that she had failed the challenge she'd been set.

"Puh," Eimear mimicked, her voice high-pitched and nasty. "Puh, puh, puh!" Spittle sprayed across Ruadhán's face with each mocking syllable from her thin, sneering lips. "Gods, Ruadhán, how thick are you? Even our baby sister isn't as stupid as you are, and she can't even use a toilet yet. But at least she can fuckin' talk."

"D'y'know what, I bet Ruadhán can't even wipe her own arse, either," Diarmuid snickered. "I bet she gets Saoirse to do that for her as well."

All three of them guffawed, and Ruadhán burned with humiliation, her face as red by now as the fox she'd been named for. She thrashed under their hold, opened her mouth to let out another desperate scream, and got nothing but another grip around the neck from Eimear for her trouble. Her shriek cut off abruptly with a guttural choke, and Eimear gave her one last threatening squeeze for good measure before finally releasing her.

"G'won, lads, let's bring her up already. I'm sick of the sight of her."

And so Ruadhán was carried further up the cliffs by her arms and legs, as if the three siblings were hunters and she a deer they had freshly killed. With Ruadhán's head hanging the way it was, she could only watch as the ground beneath their feet became less grassy and more rocky, until they finally arrived on the clifftop.

It was as Eimear said; they were only on one of the littler cliffs, the "baby" cliffs as the older children in the village would call them. People would dive off of these all the time during the height of summer, enjoying the coolness of the ocean below.

But this was not one of the warm, sunny, summer months, it was approaching the middle of December, the wind and the waves crashing against the cliff-faces below bitingly cold. Eimear had been right, Ruadhán could swim, but what if she ended up dragged under by the current, the freezing water stealing the strength from her body and drowning her before she could struggle back to shore? What if they didn't throw her out far enough, and she broke her arm, or leg, or worse on one of the rocks near the bottom? What if, what if, what if-?

"No no no," she gasped desperately, flailing and thrashing with renewed vigour, flapping her arms as hard as she could against Diarmuid's grip and kicking her feet out at Ciarán. Her pleas rapidly increased in pitch, from a panicked mumble to a last-ditch, frenzied scream. "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO-!"

Eimear seized hold of her face, hand clamped over her mouth to muffle her cries. "Shut-" She squeezed as hard as she could, fingers and thumb digging in harshly on either sides of Ruadhán's face. "The fuck up! I gave you a chance to talk already, you're not getting another one. I'm sick to the back teeth of your screeching." She used her grip to push Ruadhán's head backwards, exposing her throat. From the angle she was forced into, Ruadhán couldn't see Eimear reach for it, but she felt when the chain of her necklace scraped against her skin as Eimear dragged it forwards, searching for the clasp to open it.

To steal her necklace. To steal her mother's necklace. To steal the necklace that Da had given her for her birthday, pressed it into the palm of her tiny hand and curled her fingers around it protectively, telling her with tears in his eyes how important it was that she have it, and that she keep it safe. (Da almost never cried, so Ruadhán knew it must have been the truth).

Ruadhán felt herself growing hot with anger with the indignity, the cruelty, the violation of it all. Eimear didn't even want the necklace. She just didn't want Ruadhán to have it. After she took it and Ciarán and Diarmuid pitched Ruadhán into the sea, if anyone were to tell on her, she'd probably end up throwing the necklace into a ditch or down a well just so nobody could prove it.

There was no way Ruadhán was going to be able to escape. It would be a cold day in Hell before she had a chance of breaking free of the grip of three other children, all of them so much older and stronger than she was. No matter what she did, this would end with them throwing her to the piercing winds and the mercilessness of the ocean, like a rat tossed into a bucket to drown.

But she would be well and truly damned if she let a horrible, sneaky little bitch like Eimear Ní Dubhuir take her mother's necklace without a fight.

So she snarled. She thrashed. She jerked her head backwards as sharply as she could, breaking Eimear's grip on her face. And when she moved to clamp her hand back over Ruadhán's mouth, a deeply irritated expression twisting her face ("Oh, don't fucking start that shit again-!"), Ruadhán was ready for her. As soon as it was close enough, Ruadhán reared forwards and bit down hard on Eimear's hand, her jaws closing around it with a snap.

Ruadhán's baby teeth hadn't come in quite right, and the small handful of adult teeth she'd since grown were even worse; they were crooked and snaggled and ugly. But beyond their looks, they were strong and they were sharp, tearing through Eimear's skin to sink into her flesh and refusing to let go.

The reaction was well worth the hell she was sure to pay later. Eimear shrieked like a newborn baby, all her swagger and pride gone in an instant. She tried to yank her hand free, but Ruadhán snarled and clung to it like a rabid dog, clenching her jaw as tightly as she could, her teeth digging in so deeply she was sure they would soon reach bone. Even as Eimear wailed in pain, tears running down her cheeks as she tried over and over again to wrench her hand free, even as Ruadhán's mouth filled with the salty, metallic taste of blood, she refused to be shaken off; her anger towards her assailants and the satisfaction of her revenge fueled the fire she felt building within her, aiding her strength to hold on. Her whole body felt white-hot with rage, even hotter than the blood that was starting to drip down the corner of her mouth; it was as if she was burning up from the inside out.

After what could've only been a few seconds (certainly not long enough for her liking), Ruadhán felt a hand wind tightly into her long, thick curls and tug backwards, hard. She tried valiantly to hang on, but with Eimear pulling from once side and Diarmuid from the other, it was only a matter of time before her head was sharply wrenched away from Eimear's hand, finally releasing it from the vice-like grip of Ruadhán's jaws. Diarmuid held onto her even as Eimear staggered a step or two backwards, clutching her forearm and staring down at her hand with a mixture of horror and revulsion as it twinged in pain. It was smeared all over with a mixture of blood and drool, already bruised an ugly shade of reddish-purple around the ring of ragged, oozing indentations in the perfect shape of Ruadhán's teeth.

Ruadhán grinned at the sight, her ugly, bloody teeth on prideful display. She hoped it would scar. She hoped Eimear would never be able to look at her hand again without remembering what Ruadhán ní Loinsigh was capable of.

"Eimear..." Ciarán's voice shook when he addressed his sister, his touch gentle on her shoulder. "Are you-"

Eimear's head snapped up. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, but they did absolutely nothing to disguise the pure, unadulterated hatred within them when she fixed her gaze on Ruadhán.

"You..." Her voice trembled with equal parts rage and pain as she took a step closer. "I'm going to fucking kill you, you-!"

Ruadhán never found out what choice insult Eimear was going to use next. As soon as she was close enough, she pursed her lips and spat a mouthful of blood and saliva directly into her face.

Eimear froze up. Her uninjured hand twitched erratically by her side before she brought it to her face, scrubbing harshly as she shuddered with revulsion. She breathed heavily through clenched teeth, her face and neck blotching a deep red with anger. Ruadhán barely had time to brace herself before Eimear swung her hand back down, slapping her so hard across the face that her head snapped sideways.

"You stupid-!" Slap. "Retarded-!" Slap. "Little-!" Slap. "CUNT!" Slap.

By the final slap, Ruadhán's face was aflame with sharp, white-hot pain that nearly rivaled the anger burning in her chest. She could barely hear Eimear's screams - "I'll do your Da a favour, we all know he fucking hates you!" - above the buzzing in her ears, but she certainly felt it when Eimear wrenched her out of Diarmuid's grip and threw her to the ground, the impact knocking all the breath out of her lungs. In an instant Eimear was upon her. Ruadhán's eyes widened with horror as the realisation of what was about to happen dawned on her, panic seizing her mind just as Eimear seized her throat.

Everything after that was a blur. Ruadhán was vaguely aware that Eimear was still screaming obscenities above her, that both Ciarán and Diarmuid were trying in vain to pull their sister off of her; all of it was lost in the rush of blood pounding in her head as Eimear's hands tightened around her neck, like she was trying to squeeze the life right out of her. She kicked, she thrashed, she gasped for breath; none of it did her any good. Her lungs were already burning.

Not just her lungs; every part of her was burning. The flame in her chest that had been lit by her anger had only been fanned by the satisfaction of getting her own back, then fueled again by her panic, and now it felt as though her whole body was ablaze. Her vision blurred, seemed to tint red at the edges, every ragged breath she struggled to take scorching her throat. Was this what it felt like to die? Was Eimear really going to kill her?

Desperation lacerated the sluggishness that panic had formed in her mind. Her arms were still free - in her blind rage, Eimear must have forgotten to secure them - and so she reached up, jabbing towards Eimear's eyes with her fingers and thumbs, but she couldn't reach, she couldn't reach, she couldn't reach, and now it was getting harder and harder to breathe, and her head felt so hot, the buzzing in her ears so loud, and everything she could see looked so blurry and so so red, she was sure she must really be dying... in one last desperate attempt to free herself, she grabbed at Eimear's jumper, hoping against hope that she could muster the strength to pull her off-

Her eyes widened. The relief she felt when Eimear let go of her throat and jumped off of her, screeching like a banshee, was muted; she barely even noticed it. Surely she must have been wrong. Surely she must have been hallucinating.

Surely she hadn't seen flames spring up beneath her hand where she had touched Eimear's cardigan, igniting the fabric like it was little more than dry straw.

She could do little more than stare in disbelief as she watched Eimear frantically tear the burning garment from her body, the skin underneath it red-raw and blistering, and throw it to the ground where it continued to burn up in unnatural red-gold flames. Even as the cream-coloured wool gradually reduced to little more than a pile of ashes, all Ruadhán could do was stare. She stared, and stared, and stared, and still none of it made sense.

Ruadhán was startled out of her reverie by a long, low, agonised moan from Eimear as the adrenaline of the situation clearly started to wear off, allowing the pain from her injuries to hit her in full-force. Diarmuid ran to her side, catching her by the elbow and supporting her just before she crumpled to the ground. Ciarán took a few slow, cautious steps backwards, his gaze fixed on Ruadhán with a mixture of anger and horror in his eyes.

"What..." His voice trembled with trepidation. "What the hell have you done?"

"Me?" Ruadhán would have asked incredulously if her voice was anywhere to be found. How could this possibly have been her fault? Indignantly she pushed herself up into a seating position, already vehemently shaking her head-

Only to stop dead when she looked down and saw two blackened scorch marks imprinted into the dirt and rock below her, one on either side of her body, and both in the perfect shape of her hands.

For a moment, time stood still. In that moment, Ruadhán took note of several other things. The fear in the eyes of all three siblings as they looked at her like she was a bomb about to go off. The way her whole body burned like she was sick with fever. The heavy, acrid smell of smoke in the air (it was in her nose, her throat, her eyes)...

The realisation that the smoke was coming from her.

Pouring out of her skin.

Her mouth.

Her eyes.

Her red, red eyes.

When she scrambled to her feet and bolted back down the cliffs, she left a trail of it behind her, lingering in the air for just a moment too long to be natural before it was lost to the winds.

The base of the cliff split off into two directions. One lead to the main path into the village, barely two minutes' walk away. The other lead to the forest; thick, dense woodland that one could get lost in for hours. Save for the road out of town that merchants sometimes took, the trees surrounded the town completely; along with the coastline, it gave the little village a feeling of seclusion, like it truly was isolated from the rest of the world.

And now, it would be the perfect place to hide.

Ruadhán ran like the devil itself was at her heels. The buzzing - crackling, she realised now - in her ears was so loud, she had no idea if the three she'd left on the cliffs were shouting after her; or worse, if they were chasing her. Even if they were, she didn't care anymore. All that mattered was getting far, far away from what she had just done. Before too long, the muck and grass under her feet had been replaced by a thick carpet of slippery moss, damp leaves, and scattered twigs that snapped with every other step. Soon after, the foliage high over her head became so thick and dense the weak sunlight above could scarcely hope to penetrate it.

Still, Ruadhán ran. Even when brambles snagged her ankles and branches whipped welts into her face and arms, she kept running. If the unnoticed tree root sticking out of the ground hadn't sent her sprawling to the forest floor, perhaps she might have run forever.

Groaning, Ruadhán rolled onto her back, tears evaporating into steam on her scalding hot skin before they could roll down her temples. She brought her knee to her chest so that she could grasp her injured foot in both hands, almost reeling all over again at how hot they were even through her boots. It was a reflexive gesture; she barely cared about the pain. Her entire body hurt like nothing she had felt before. Her face and throat ached from everything Eimear had done, her hands and ankles covered in little stinging lacerations from her mad dash through the forest. Really, what was one more injury to add to the pile?

Alone with her thoughts, and at this point desperate to focus on anything other than how much everything hurt, Ruadhán allowed her mind to wander back to what had happened up on the cliffs. As much as she didn't want to believe it, it seemed undeniable that she had been the cause of the fire that had burnt Eimear. It flashed brightly once again in her mind's eye, its colours a deep, dark red and a contrasting warm gold, so unlike a fire lit by natural human hands. Each time she blinked, she could see it burning there, lighting up the darkness behind her eyelids.

Eimear's screams rang out in her ears, and she shivered despite the heat of her body. Not out of guilt, and certainly not out of sorrow, but she did feel a deep, foreboding sense of regret at the thought of the inevitable consequences. Nobody would believe that she hadn't meant to do it. Nobody ever believed her.

Dread rapidly seeped in, making Ruadhán's body feel hot with panic all over again. She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind, taking deep breaths to calm herself down and turning instead to wondering how exactly she had done what she did.

She knew that magic existed, of course - everybody knew that. Magicians were hardly uncommon on Iniscrainn. They were as ancient as the country itself, if not older. The village even boasted its very own wise-woman; a grouchy old crone living in a cottage near the edge of the forest, who spent most of her time foraging ingredients for the potions she sold at the market. She knew that her mother had been a magician of sorts, as well, though she didn't know to what end - Ruadhán had never really known her, and neither Da nor Saoirse liked talking about her. Really, it wasn't all that surprising that Ruadhán seemed to have magic of her own.

Magic of her own...

Ruadhán thought back again to the cliffs, to how the three of them had backed away from her. They had all been so confident before, so willing to hurt her, to make her cry and beg for mercy, to punish her for the crime of existing in a way they deemed unacceptable. All of that had been gone after she'd started the fire. They had looked at her like she was something dangerous, a force to be reckoned with.

They had looked at her with fear.

And Ruadhán - bruised, tear-stained and terrified - had never felt more powerful.

A smile slowly curved her bloody lips. She wondered if she could do it again.

Now that she had stopped running, stopped panicking, she became aware of just how peaceful the forest around her was. Dim, dappled sunlight peeked through the treetops. Aside from the distant trill of birdsong, all was quiet. Ruadhán raised her hand up to the sky, surveying it from where she still lay on the ground. A few trails of blood ran down from the worst of the cuts. She watched as they trickled down her wrist, the stillness in the air allowing her to hear how they sizzled against her skin. She focused on the fire she felt burning in her chest, fueled now not by anger and desperation, but by pride; she took hold of it, grabbed it in both hands and pushed, imagining it travelling out from in between her ribs, past her shoulder, up her arm, and now she could feel it bright and hot and right there in the palm of her hand-

With a crisp snap-whoosh that pierced the silence around her like an arrow through a heart, a flame leapt to life in Ruadhán's cupped hand, as red-gold and brilliant and beautiful as the one that had saved her from Eimear. She couldn't help herself; she laughed with delight, the sound bold and bright as she marvelled at the sight of her magic taking shape and crackling merrily away.

Closing her fist, she extinguished the flame once more, content now with the knowledge that even though she would surely be punished for what she had done, nobody would ever dare to hurt her again.

And even if they did, she would make sure they lived to regret it.

She was just about to get back up, to go home where she could lick her wounds and recover from the rollercoaster that had been today in the comfort of her bed, when she heard birdsong ring out again, closer than it had been before. Tilting her head back to investigate, she smiled brightly again at the sight of a robin, perched on a tree branch not far above her head. Ruadhán loved animals, and quite unlike people, they always seemed to like her back. This delightfully round little fellow was no exception. It tilted its head curiously as it chirped at her, almost as if it were asking her what on earth she was doing down there.

"Fell over." She chuckled, albeit wincing slightly as she did; it hurt to speak, her voice hoarse and raspy. "Wanna help me?"

The robin let out another tittering trill, ruffling its feathers just a little - then, to her utter delight, it hopped from the branch it had been sitting on and swooped down through the air towards her. She uncurled her fingers again, allowing the robin to land neatly and nestle itself rather comfortably on her outstretched palm. Oh, it was just too cute for words. Ruadhán giggled, lifting her index finger so that she could gently stroke the soft red feathers on the little bird's chest-

By the time Ruadhán realised what was happening, it was already too late. One second her hand was cupped around the robin; the next it was holding little more than a charred mound of flesh, bone, and feather, the agonised screech the bird had let out as it died still ringing in Ruadhán's ears even as the flame she had created consumed its body whole.

At first, all Ruadhán could do was stare, her eyes and mouth wide in abject horror.

Then she screamed, the sound tearing her throat open and adding a metallic tang to the taste of smoke in her mouth. She flung the burnt corpse of the bird - or what was left of it, anyway - away from her, but still the flames in her hand continued to burn, continued to mock her, and no matter how many times she clenched and unclenched her fist, they wouldn't go away, they wouldn't go away, they wouldn't go away -

"I didn't mean it!" She cried out, tears streaming down her face, smoke and steam blurring her red-tinted vision. In a blind panic, she shook her hand back and forth in a desperate attempt to put the fire out. "I didn't, I, I didn't, I didn't mean it-!"

She repeated this mantra over and over again, until the words lost all meaning, until her voice quietened from an ear-splitting scream to the faintest of whispers. Somewhere along the line, the inferno created and housed by her body had died down, extinguished by perhaps her anguish, or simply her sheer exhaustion now that all the fight had left her.

Ruadhán wasn't sure how long she lay there on the forest floor, feeling cold and numb now with the absence of her magic. Even though she was tired, she kept her eyes wide open. She didn't want to close them anymore. Every time she did, she saw herself killing the robin. Saw herself burning Eimear.

Saw the monster that she really was.

It was dark by the time Ruadhán picked herself up, arms wrapped around herself as she slowly limped towards home. Whatever punishment was waiting for her there, she knew now that she deserved it.

#fern's writing #rowan aisling

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alexandersimpleton · 6 months

Text

Cursed

When Prez finds Frederick in the woods, cursed and hurt, she plans to fix him up and make him his family's problem as soon as humanly possible.

Prez starts to realize quickly, however, that sending him back may not be the best idea.

Prez was just wandering through the woods at this point. The club had all been dancing, it had been fun, and then Prez heard a rustling in the woods. She had wandered off to make sure it wasn't a bear or something, and here she was.

Honestly, she thought, if it was an animal than it had certainly run off. Even abush predators didn't take this long to attack their prey.

Prez was about to find her way back when she heard breathing. Breathing so quite that a pain drop would drown it out. And it was nearby.

Prez silently decided to pray she wasn't in a horror novel as she checked behind a tree. But it wasn't a monster. It was a kid, looking to be barely 16. He had blond hair, sticking every way at once, and his eyes were so green she swore she could see them even when the boy blinked.

There were also some.. less human attributes. A long, thin tail swished back and forth, his eyes were wide and dilated, his arms ended with sharp claws rather than human hands and his legs were digitigrade, kind of like a cat's without fur.

Prez didn't really notice any of that. She noticed that he was scared. He tried to get up, but winced, cradling a nasty gash. He tried to back away from her, but he couldn't get away before Prez grabbed his wrist.

"Whoa whoa whoa, I don't wanna hurt you you." Prez sputtered, panicked, as she grabbed the boy. "Let's all just calm down."

The teen tried to yank his wrist away. "L-let go of me!" But he quickly realized the effort was fruitless.

Prez realized something too. Green eyes, messy hair... This was Frederick.

Prez's hand unconsciously clenched harder upon the realization. The act caused the boy's ragged breathing to return, so she tried her best to relax it again.

"Oh, kid, I- uh.." Prez sputtered before mumbling "you know what lying never ends well" and decided to just play it straight. "Look, kid. I don't like you. I don't like you, or what you did to my friend."

Frederick's eyes got wider as he wondered what she'd do to him. "But that's no excuse to leave you out here to die. Come on." The woman lifted him up, giving him her back to lean on. "We're gonna make sure you're all right here, and then we're gonna get you back to your family.

As Frederick staggered, he asked a question. "What did I do to your friend, exactly? I'm sorry, I just don't know who you are and-"

Prez frankly didn't know how he'd react to the news. Maybe he'd be a cackling misogynist psychopath, but now that she had met the boy for more than a singular second she doubted that.

She at first decided to take it show before a realization struck her. "Uhm, you're Frederick, right? Of the plaid kingdom?" "Oh, uhm yeah?" "Okay good. That would have been embarrassing if you were someone else." The two both laughed a bit.

Anyways, back on track. "So, do you.. do you remember that wake you went to yesterday? With the pastel princesses?"

Frederick groaned and slammed his head into Prez's shoulder. "Oh yeah, that dumpster fire."

"What do you mean, dumpster fire?"

"Okay, here we go. Long story short, me and my brothers were supposed to marry these girls, I thought mine was beautiful, turns out I was looking at the wrong princess, I tried to go home to process everything but my family didn't let me, me and Blaine got in this fight, I said something about that princess that I'm really glad she didn't hear and then I had a panic attack in a bathroom. As I said. Dumpster fire." The boy paused for a moment, before realizing one last piece. "Oh, and apparently some witch heard that, somehow, and now I'm stuck like this." Frederick waved his tail in front of the woman.

"Well, uhm, you know how you said you were glad Gwen didn't hear that."

Frederick let out a long sigh. "Let me guess, she did and I hurt her feelings way more than I thought I would?"

"Bingo."

"God damn it."

Prex only heard defeatedness in his voice. Had this happened multiple times? Had Frederick done nothing to stop hurting people?

"Does- does you family just let you get away with this?" That was the only question Prez could ask.

Frederick panicked to correct the misunderstanding. "What!? No, I'm not some spoiled brat or anything, I'm just an autistic freak with the social skills of a senile earth worm! Look" Frederick stumbled forward enough for Prez to see his face. "The mark is still there." There was a red patch on the boy's cheek, slightly faded now but still clearly in the shape of a hand.

His family didn't let him just walk off scot free, but somehow Prez was left more disturbed than if they had.

They faded off into silence after that. That was until Frederick thought of one last thing to say.

"If you know Gwen, than.. am I really just being dramatic? Blaine says I'm just being a baby and that Gwen is a sweet girl, but I still don't.. I don't want her to hurt me-"

Frederick cut himself off as the finally entered the clearing, in which Curtis had seemingly been waiting. He took one look at the gash on Frederick's leg and took him straight to the infirmary, leaving Prez with a sense of dread in her stomach. A familiar sense of dread.

But Prez had to talk to the club. They had stopped dancing, and now stared curiously at the drops of blood that were left on the grass. Gwen in particular looked conflicted. Prez walked to the front of the ground to explain.

"Okay. Guys. Don't freak out, but that was prince Frederick." The club promptly freaked out. "Everyone calm down!" Prez yelled. "Look. I'm just as upset as you guys are, but the only alternative was leaving him to bleed out in the middle of the woods." Some CPC members still grumbled, but most ultimately agreed that taking him here was the right choice. "Now," Prez smiled "that doesn't mean we can't mess with him a bit." The club erupted into cheers, save Gwen, because Gwen. "Mess with him all you want, but there are three rules. One, don't touch him. He's already hurt pretty bad, we don't want to make it worse, Abbi. Two, don't like, bully bully him. Just because he's a bad person doesn't give us an excuse to stoop to his level. Three, only one or two people are allowed in there at a time. Crowding might lead to accidents, and none of us want him here longer than he has to be. Everyone got that?"

The crowd all said yes.

"Cool. Than, go nuts."

Most of the club continued their activity, not really wanting to associate with Frederick. A few chatted about him behind his back, which was ironic. Gwen however, went into the CPC building, not to see Frederick, but to do something in the kitchen.

That sinking feeling him her stomach was still there, so Prez figured she had to acknowledge it some time. So she went to the infirmary to talk to Frederick. He was lying down with gauze on his leg.

"Hey, kid."

"Uhm, hi? Why are you here? Didn't you not like me?"

"Yeah, and I still don't, but I've gotta make some things clear. About that question, the one I never got to answer. I know Gwen pretty well by this point, and I happen to know she's the sweetest girl you'll ever meet." Frederick couldn't help his face dropping a bit. He was glad he wasn't engaged to a witch, but somehow that was overshadowed by that familiar shame. "But if you get to see that for yourself, that should be your choice. If you choose to keep your distance, even after all this is is over, than I won't stop you."

Frederick looked up at the woman with what could only be described as wonder. "Thanks. I know you said you didn't like me, but I think I like you a lot."

"Really?"

"Yeah you just.. you just make me feel like I matter." A soft smile, so small it could hardly be noticed, dropped from Frederick's face. "When I tried to stand up to my father and refuse the marriages he.. he put a knife to my throat." Prez startled, little to Frederick's notice, and started to realize why he was so jumpy when they had first met. "He said that I should "show my devotion to her her or he'd.. y'know..."

Prez put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Your father was wrong."

Frederick nodded, seemingly unconvinced.

Before Prez could say anything else, the door opened, revealing Gwen. The girl looked at Prez, than at Frederick. She was holding a bowl of something.

"Uhm, hi, Frederick. Prez said you got hurt so I made this. I hope it helps." The girl passed Frederick the bowl, which he realized was full of piping hot soup. He hesitated for a moment. He looked at Prez, than at Gwen.

When the boy took a bite he felt warm. It wasn't the burning he felt when Leland or Blaine hit him. It wasn't the shame he felt when he messed up in front of Blaine. It wasn't the acid he felt in his heart when Leland threw a snide comment, or even that fire he felt when Lance got too into training. It was a warmth he couldn't describe. One he hadn't felt before.

Prez smiled at him, and suddenly all of it was gone. Frederick felt drowsy now.

"By the way, I'm sorry for what I said." Frederick looked at the girl, seemingly about to leave, as she tensed up. "Prez said I really hurt your feelings. I didn't really consider you'd take that to heart. Sorry."

Gwen looked back at him sadly. "It's.. it's alright." And then she left.

Prez turned to Frederick, smiling. "Thanks for giving her a chance. You're not so bad kid."

"M hm." Frederick unconsciously leaned on the woman. Part of him registered he should be surprised she wasn't shoving him off and calling him some bad name, but frankly he couldn't bring himself to be.

"Also, you're not a freak."

As Frederick drifted off, he finally realized what that warm feeling was. It was love.

Frederick woke up groggy. He didn't know what year it was. Maybe that soup was poisoned.

He heard two people. One was Prez, and he didn't recognize the other.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes..."

Frederick cracked open his eyes. The man he didn't recognize wore the kind of doctor attire he'd see in one of his kids books.

Frederick sat up in his bed, causing both the adults to look over to him. "I'm up. What are we talking about?"

The two looked at each other. "I can tell him." Prez told the doctor. The man nodded. "I'll get him a glass of water then. He might be dehydrated."

"Okay, so, kid. You know that curse that you got from that witch."

"Yes, I don't see how I could forget." Frederick raised his still inhuman leg.

"Yeah, so, the doctors can't actually cure it."

Frederick's eyes went wide. He stared at Prez, hoping she'd say that it was a joke, but she didn't.

Frederick looked down at his, at least for the foreseeable future, permanently inhuman legs. "I won't be able to go back to my family like this, will I?" The boy brought him legs up to his chest, curling up in a ball.

"Considering how many other long term health issues you had, we weren't doing that anyways." Prez mumbled. No sane adult would let a kid's health get this bad. "Kid, I'm gonna be honest with you. I wasn't going to tell you what this place was so you couldn't rat us out, but that doesn't seem like a problem anymore. So, this place is a support group for people who's curses can't be cursed. And Gwen."

Frederick stared at Prez, confused. "Are- are you serious?" Prez nodded "What are the odds?" "Astronomical. But yeah, you probably couldn't have picked a better place to get cursed. I won't make you stay here with us, but just know it's an option." Frederick nodded as Prez got up to leave the room. Just before she could go, the boy asked "I.. uhm.. could you get me a book? It's fine if you don't want to you're already doing a lit my keeping me here but just-"

"Sure. Anything you got in mind?"

"I, uhm, I like fairy tales. If that's alright..."

"Sure thing kid."

#cursed princess club #cpc fanfiction

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pocket-lad · 6 months

Text

CH 7- And Then Everything Went Wrong

TW: Death

The Humans backed themselves against a wall, trying to keep hidden from the windows as best they could. Adelaide thought she was much too close to Nick, but she was far beyond complaining right now.

The moment stretched out for an eternity. Nobody wanted to say anything. Nobody wanted to move. The only sound coming from the trailer was the rapid breathing of the Beans and the rain pounding on the roof.

Seemingly impatient, the T-Rex on their right let out a deafening roar, demanding its baby back now . Sarah screamed and Adelaide plugged her ears. But the dinosaur wasn’t done; It nudged the trailer with its snout. Unfortunately, a nudge from something that large was more than a nudge, and it sent everyone falling to the left.

Adelaide yelped as she fell into Ian’s neck, clinging on for dear life. She then felt Ian’s body get yanked backward, and when everything stabilized, she found herself within arm’s reach of Nick’s jaw. If she thought she was too close before, she was certainly too close now, and her only thought was get away . As she looked up at him though, he looked down at her, and his face poorly masked his fear. There was recognition there. Human or not, they were all just scared, and they had no idea what to do.

Adelaide whipped forward again, deciding that, of the predators in her vicinity right now, Nick was the least of her concerns. If she didn’t look at him, he didn’t exist, even though she could feel his hot breath run down her body.

Another long stretch of silence was punctured by Sarah. “This isn’t hunting behavior, Ian. They’re searching. They came for their infant.”

“Then let’s not disappoint them,” Ian said.

They made a move to pick up the baby Rex, its leg now bound in bandages.

“What happens when we give the baby back? They just walk away? Leave us alone?” Adelaide asked, doubt clear in her voice. What if they wanted revenge? She saw what those dinosaurs could do on multiple occasions, and if one decided to attack, their survival odds were dead zero.

“No clue,” Sarah said, out of breath from supporting the baby’s squirming head. And that was the only answer Adelaide was going to get.

They approached the door slowly, and Nick tugged his belt off the baby’s mouth. It immediately began wailing. With it so close, Adelaide wanted to plug her ears, but if she did, she was certain to fall off Ian’s shoulder.

She watched the Rexes follow as they made their way down alongside the trailer, eyes trained on their every move. Adelaide wondered if it could see her. It was so large and she was so small, and sometimes even Beans had a hard time seeing her. But one look at its eye told her everything. It didn’t just see her, it studied her. It was probably deciding whether she would be worth eating.

“Hold on, Della,” Adelaide heard before Ian bent down to open the door. She rooted her feet firmly into his shoulder and grabbed a fistful of fabric. That would have to do.

Surprisingly, she was able to hold on, even as his shoulder went nearly vertical. Her arms and legs strained, but there was no falling right here. She’d be dead.

Overall, Adelaide was doing pretty good at keeping her fear at bay this time around. She didn’t want to cry and she certainly didn’t want to freak out, so she pushed everything to the back of her mind to save for later. However, when the T-Rex looked directly at her with its menacing yellow eye, Adelaide felt her heart drop into her stomach. This was happening, and it was real. And all they could do was cross their fingers and hope for the best.

Sarah laughed as the baby made its way to its mother and Ian closed the door. Adelaide distantly recalled something Sarah said about Tyrannosaurs being nurturing parents or something. She was glad Sarah was happy, but Adelaide couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t over.

The phone rang, making Adelaide jump ten feet into the air. Ian answered it.

“Yes, Eddie?..... I know, I see. Is uh, how’s Kelly?.....Kelly, how are you? Are you okay?...... Okay, listen. Stay right where you are, don’t move, I’m gonna be right back up, you understand? Don’t move.” And with that, he hung up.

Adelaide hardly listened, still trying to process what happened. Sarah seemed to be doing the same, but Nick was already back to fiddling with his camera. She couldn’t believe they made it out of that relatively unscathed. That wasn’t the T-Rex she knew. The T-Rex she knew sent a fully grown human flying thirty feet into the air like he was a ragdoll, seemingly for no reason. Adelaide’s body was still expecting something, but there were no immediate threats, so she just felt jittery.

“You know, I beg people to listen to me. I use plain simple English. I don’t have any accent that I’m aware of-” Ian continued.

“Aw, shut up,” Sarah and Adelaide said at the same time.

Ian pushed on. “So that should make an interesting chapter in your book, eh?”

Sarah started rambling about parental instincts again, but Adelaide tuned her out when she heard stomping. The dinosaurs hadn’t gone away.

“Shhhh shhh shhh!” Adelaide said as she bolted to her feet. Looking back on this, she was surprised she had the courage to shush giants, but in the moment, urgency took over. Adelaide looked up, and it wasn’t good.

Ian followed Adelaide’s line of vision to see what could possibly have her shushing giants, and what he saw terrified him. The Tyrannosaurs weren’t gone. In fact, one was gearing up to smash into the trailer.

He too stood up. “Hang on. This is gonna be bad.”

Ian reached up to wrap his hand around Adelaide and she braced for it, but he was too late. The T-Rex plowed into the trailer with enough force to knock it on its side. Everyone, Beans and borrowers alike, went flying. Glass shattered and random objects fell everywhere. Most of the lights went out, casting everyone in darkness as the trailer was once again tipped on its side, now completely upside-down.

Adelaide didn’t know where she was. One second, she was on Ian’s shoulder. The next, she was laying on a hard surface with a pounding head, bruised ribs, ringing ears, and little visibility.

She had to get up. She had to do something. The trailer was in shambles and she would die if she didn’t. Adelaide forced her eyes open just in time to see a massive pot plummet directly toward her. Scrambling out of the way, she barely dodged it, but debris continued to fall. It was like dodging rain in a rainstorm, only the rain was made of giant plastic and metal objects that could kill her on contact.

Adelaide was also aware of the giants stomping this way and that, trying to find their way around in the dark and regain some of their bearings. Every step shook the ground enough to send her sprawling, but she had to keep moving. Where to, exactly? She wasn’t sure. But if she stayed still, something would eventually fall on her.

Adelaide’s eyes adjusted much faster than the giants, but in her panic she may as well have lost her vision completely.

A falling, splintered pencil barely clipped her leg, and Adelaide fell into a pile with a shriek. The wound burned like hell, and when she looked at her leg, a bruise was already forming and it was bleeding slightly. She couldn’t sit here, but she couldn’t place weight on the leg.

“Della!?” Ian shouted.

“Here!” she yelled back desperately, but there was no way she could be heard over the commotion.

Nick’s voice rang out. “I’ve got her!”

That was all the warning Adelaide got before she was scooped up by Nick Van Owen. His grip wasn’t tight, but his fingers still touched her on all sides. Her mind went elsewhere as her body instinctively took over. She freaked out, squirming around in the small space despite the pain, trying to find an exit, but his hand did not budge.

Ian said something, Sarah said something, but none of it made its way through to Adelaide. Glass shattered and her body was thrown this way and that. In the end, it was unceremoniously tipped upside-down, and she found herself flailing as she hurtled toward the Earth.

Her panic was cut short though, because not a moment later, Adelaide was staring up at the face of Ian Malcolm. She was in his hand.

She exhaled a sigh of relief, letting her head fall back into his palm. The relief was short-lived, as the trailer lurched backward. Ian cupped his palm higher. There was no time for the usual ‘are you okay’s’. “Once we’re out of here-”

“-into the woods,” Nick finished.

“Straight into the woods,” Ian repeated. He and Nick kept shoving on the door, willing it to budge, but that was where the dinosaurs hit it. It was stuck. The trailer lurched again.

“Hang onto something!” both Ian and Nick yelled. Ian glanced down at Adelaide, who stared worriedly back up at him. She was scared beyond belief, but she trusted him. He could get them out of this.

With one final shove, their half of the trailer swung over the edge of the cliff, going completely vertical. Ian held Adelaide to his chest tightly, not wanting to risk anything, and Adelaide let him. She felt his body swing around as he dangled there, trying to find purchase wherever he could.

Then, a scream. Then, a loud crack.

“Don’t move!” Nick yelled.

“I’m coming down for you,” Ian’s voice came out so loud that it made Adelaide jump. Once she calmed down, she actually registered his words just in time for him to pull his hand away from his chest.

Adelaide searched Ian’s eyes to see what he was planning to do, and all she saw was guilt. He stared at her for a second, working through his thoughts without voicing them aloud.

Adelaide realized why he looked so guilty. “Don’t you dare-”

Ian’s hand shot out over the abyss towards Nick. “Nick-” he began.

“Yeah, sure,” Nick said.

“No, no, no, no, no, wait, wait, hold on!” Adelaide yelled, clinging to the edge of Ian’s sleeve. It wasn’t much, but it gave her a much better grip than his slippery skin.

“I uh, I gotta go down, Della,” Ian explained impatiently. Adelaide glanced down to see Sarah at the bottom of the trailer, frozen in place on top of glass with slowly-spreading cracks. He had to go down to get her.

“Then I’ll go with you!”

“You’ll fall, Della. We don’t have time for this!”

“NO!” Adelaide cried. Tears formed for the first time since they made it to the island. She had been doing so well at holding them in, but this was the final straw. Ian made a promise and she would not let him go back on it, even if it killed her. “You promised,” she said forcefully.

Ian gave her a sad look. He hated himself for this. “I know,” he said quietly, then glanced up at Nick. Nick took the hint and grabbed at Adelaide, curling his fingers around her body and holding tight.

Adelaide screamed, gripping on to the sleeve as tight as she could, but it was no match for a giant. With the slightest tug, her fingers came free and she was ripped away from her best friend.

It was all too familiar. The T-Rex. Alan. Nick. Ian. Screaming. Crying. Begging. She couldn’t go through this again.

“Let me go!” she shouted over and over. Adelaide wriggled and squirmed and did everything she could to get out of that hand, but he held tight. Tighter than usual, too, with how slick everything was. Her knife was out of reach and his hand wasn’t within biting distance, but she didn’t give up.

“I’m not going anywhere, Della,” Ian called as he climbed down, hoping his words would break through to her. He kept talking in hopes of calming her down, but had no way to know if it was working. “I promise. I’ll be right here the whole time. You’re here. I’m here. Sarah’s here. Nick’s here. Nick’s great, aren’t you Nick? And then we’ll get out of this, and we’ll go - we’ll go home, and we’ll never see another dinosaur again. You've just got to hold on another minute. Nick- The satellite phone. Get it.”

The satellite phone’s strap was hooked around a lamp, but it slowly slid off toward the void below. They couldn't afford to lose that phone. Ian then turned his calming words toward Sarah, assuring her that he was coming to get her.

“I’m kinda out of hands here!” Nick said, but set to figuring it out. “You probably wouldn’t like it if I held you with my teeth, would you?” Nick mused, but Adelaide certainly didn’t register the joke with his flat tone. Her struggles amplified. She was going nowhere near a giant’s mouth. She’d rather fall to her death right here and now.

“Okay,” Nick said. “Not funny. You promise not to jump if I set you on my shoulder?”

Adelaide didn’t respond, partly because she was so consumed with escaping and partly because she didn’t know the answer herself.

“I’ll have to take that as a yes.”

Nick quickly dropped her on his shoulder, and the combination of the rain, his thin T-shirt, and sporadic movement made it hard to maintain her footing. He stretched his hand out toward the phone, but it was just out of reach. It slipped closer and closer to the edge of the light it was hooked on, threatening to drop to the ground below and shatter the already delicate glass.

Nick wasn’t going to grab it in time. Adelaide considered leaping toward Ian and hoping for the best, but instead she could help. Without thinking much about it, she sprinted down Nick’s outstretched arm and sprung off his hand toward the lamp.

She landed hard on her stomach, knocking the air out of her lungs, but she quickly wrapped her arms around the top before she could fall, yanking herself up. The strap of the phone continued to slowly shift away.

Sitting on the curved, unstable surface, Adelaide gripped the strap and pulled with all her might. She tried to ignore the giant hand reaching toward her, reminding herself that it was reaching not for her, but for the phone.

The strap slipped again, tugging Adelaide with it. She grunted and pulled harder. She wouldn’t be able to hold it forever, but she could at least delay the inevitable until Ian had Sarah safely off the glass. Or until Nick could figure out a way to get a hold of it.

It slipped again.

She pulled.

It slipped again.

She pulled.

Every time the phone moved, the strap burned Adelaide’s hands and she was nearly yanked off the light and into the abyss. There was nothing to hold on to and there was no guarantee anyone would catch her. She was on her own.

It was right at the edge now. One last shift and they were both going over, so Adelaide was forced to let go with a warning. “Look out!” she cried, as loud as her voice would allow, as Nick yelled, “Heads up!”

Adelaide watched helplessly as the phone fell toward the Beans. Ian desperately grabbed onto Sarah’s pack as the phone came in contact with the glass, smashing it into a million little shards. Sarah dangled there from her backpack, and Ian began to pull her up next to them.

Nick glanced up at Adelaide and, assuming she would be able to hold herself upright for a little while longer, descended to help Ian.

Adelaide let out a small sigh, relieved she was no longer held under his gaze. Her body stayed rigid though in case she lost her grip. Now that she wasn’t preoccupied with escaping a hand or keeping a phone much heavier than her whole body upright, this was unlikely, but she wasn’t taking any chances, especially in the rain.

From somewhere in the near distance, a voice called out. “IAN?!....SARAH???.....NICK?” And then a hesitant, “ADELAIDE?”

“We’re in here!” Nick responded.

“Kelly! What’d you do with Kelly?” Ian shouted.

“She’s okay. She’s in the high hide. Who’s hurt? What do you need?” Eddie’s voice was a lot closer now.

“We need rope,” Ian said.

“Rope,” Eddie confirmed. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, four double cheeseburgers with everything.”

“No onions on mine,” Nick said.

“And an apple turnover,” Sarah added.

There was a moment where nothing happened. Adelaide thought he might have abandoned them, or the T-Rex came back for Eddie, but a rope was thrown down momentarily.

Adelaide weighed her options. She could climb down using the various objects around her, or she could use the rope. She was already close to the trailer wall and she had plenty of options to choose from, but the rope would be much more stable and therefore much faster. She could sink her fingers into the fibers to get a secure grip.

Feeling impatient, Adelaide chose the rope. She tied her jacket around her waist, said a small prayer to whatever deity may have been listening, and pushed off of the light, aiming for the rope.

She fell a little short, causing her to drop a couple inches before she got a firm grasp on it. She slid from the momentum and gasped when it burned her hands further.

As the Beans climbed upward, Adelaide climbed down. Unfortunately, the trailer chose that moment to lose its footing, and it slowly started slipping its way off the cliff. The rope stayed in place, but Adelaide was too scared to move. Whatever Eddie was doing up there, he better do it fast.

After a terrifying minute, the trailer halted and the climbing continued, albeit a little more cautiously than before. W hen Ian glanced up to see Adelaide moving the wrong direction, she was nearly on top of them. “Della, up ! Climb up !” he yelled.

“I won’t leave you!” she yelled back. She’d already been separated once, she wasn’t going to do it again.

“If one of us can make it, it’s you! Now go!” There was a finality in Ian’s voice that made Adelaide consider listening to him. She had to admit she was no use to anybody right now, so maybe she could get help up above. How, exactly, she wasn’t sure, but she’d cross that bridge when she came to it.

Adelaide began her ascent as quickly as she could. It was a much longer, taller climb than she was used to, but she was made for this. She could do it.

Sweat dripped down her back and her arms shook with exhaustion halfway into the climb, which slowed her down immensely. After what felt like an hour, but was more likely two minutes, Adelaide made it to where the trailer sat horizontal and she could stand on it, giving her arms a break. She flexed her fingers and ran to the edge. Then the ground started to move.

The trailer was too heavy. It began to fall again, dragging the car it was attached to with it.

“Eddie!” Adelaide yelled. He glanced her way and saw where she was pointing. The car. He hopped in, putting it into reverse and slamming on the gas pedal. It was just enough weight to keep the trailer from slipping further, but the whining noise of the engine meant it probably wouldn't last long.

A rumbling sensation shook the ground, but nobody noticed it.

Adelaide’s body lurched when the cable between the car and the trailer pulled taught, and she decided she’d have to jump. Running as fast as her feet would allow, she leapt through the smashed glass windshield of the trailer and fell toward the mud below.

Knees bent, Adelaide landed in a small puddle with a plop and rolled to break her fall. Seeing Eddie as her only option, she turned forward to make a break for it, but stopped dead in her tracks. The Tyrannosaurs were back, and they were ripping the roof of the car to shreds.

Eddie cowered in the bottom of the car, trying to pry his gun loose from the net it was caught in. Adelaide watched helplessly. Her feet were stuck in the mud, and it was only rising around her from there.

The dinosaur on the right decided it was done toying with its prey. It reached into the car, grabbing Eddie by the leg and hoisting him into the air. Adelaide heard a sickening snap, and then the other one grabbed at Eddie’s top half. Together, they pulled the man in half and knocked the trailer over the edge. It plummeted toward the rocky sea below.

Adelaide screamed. Her hand went to her mouth in shock and she started hyperventilating. Was that what happened to Genarro? She was no stranger to blood and gore, but this was the most gruesome, horrifying thing Adelaide had ever seen. The image seemed to burn itself into the back of her eyelids.

The T-Rexes left, and just like that, Adelaide was alone. There was no way to know if Ian, Sarah, or Nick survived. Eddie was gone. She closed her eyes and sobbed, wishing that she could have done something. Anything .

Adelaide couldn’t move her feet, couldn’t even turn around. The mud had now risen to her mid-thigh, holding her fast. She was going to drown, and she couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it.

Through the pouring rain, Adelaide picked up more voices. At first, she thought her friends had made it, but the sound came from the opposite direction. The voices rapidly approached, and when she opened her eyes, twenty-something men emerged from the woods carrying guns and spears and other weapons she couldn’t name.

Adelaide didn’t even have time to worry if they could see her. They plowed right past her toward the cliff, and she threw her arms over her head as if that would save her from a boot the size of a truck.

The motion caused Adelaide to fall, and suddenly her hands were now stuck in the mud. She yanked and pulled and got nowhere as the mud slowly but surely crept up on her.

The ground quaked to her right, and Adelaide looked up to make direct eye contact with Sarah. She was alive! Which meant Ian also had to be alive, right?! Sarah gave her a look that she couldn’t interpret, and then everything went dark.

#jurassic park #ian malcolm #g/t #giant/tiny #jurassic park g/t #gt #size difference #tw: death

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