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oh-no-a-whovian · 11 months

Text

Before I fall apart

Part1

18+

Pairing: Raya x wyvern shifter fem reader

Summary: a sickness is spreading through the dragon species, turning them into vicious beasts. Raya meets a dragon in human form that is searching for a cure before her own time runs out…

Warnings: nudity, dragon themed violence

Word count: 5460

Masterlist

Screaming and crying can be heard for miles as the sky turns red from ash and smoke. People trip and drop their valuables as they flee their homes before they’re burnt to the ground and crumbled into ruins. Just outside the city, the forest and farmlands turn to dust as dragon fire tears through it all.

This isn’t right. They aren’t like this. Some are kind but solitary. Some only leave their caves or abandoned castles for additions to their hoards. Some even work alongside humans, helping them and nurturing little villages, wanting nothing more than success for their little human friends. They got along with humans well enough but now it’s all wrong.

Something is spreading, tearing the minds of dragons apart and leaving them as primal bloodthirsty beasts. It doesn’t matter what branch of the species. Drakes, Wyrms, Amphitheres, Wyverns, no matter the size or age, it ends the same. Once they’re infected it’s only a matter of time. It could be hours, days or even months, you don’t even know, eventually what makes them who they are is torn away and a monster is left in their place. They can’t help but kill whatever or whoever is in their path.

The ground quakes as the city starts to crumble around you, chunks of rubble falling and crashing throughout the streets as you try desperately to get people out. The cobblestone cracks beneath your feet, making the paths ahead uneven and dangerous, one wrong move and you could fall on your face.

“Head towards the river!” You shout, freeing more humans trapped in their homes by the melting stone of the building. Overhead a massive dragon passes, tearing up the tile roofs underneath them with their flaming breath, swiping their claws at any protrusion they missed.

You roll your eyes as you notice a rather portly balding man dragging a large sack, gold and jewels spilling out onto the pavement from the poorly closed opening as he prioritises wealth over his own stupid life. Growling at him, you snatch the bag from his greedy ash covered hands, throwing it into a pile of burning thatch with ease. “Get to the fucking river” you sneer at the greedy man as he tries to gather what you’d thrown from the fire. For a moment you think he’s gonna to fight you, his glaring eyes locking onto you when he realises there’s nothing he can do to retrieve what you threw.

“Fucking bitch” he curses before running off to join the crowds running to the river.

Part of you thinks that humanity deserves this. Nature just taking control and eradicating the pests that tear her apart. If it wasn’t taking the minds of your friends and family, you’d probably even support it.

“Help!” A little voice cries somewhere above you and you step back, your sharp eyes darting around the taller buildings. High up, hanging from the ledge of the bell tower, a little girl cries. Her hands slip bit by bit as the base of the tower starts to crack. “Please help!!” She screams, her little legs flailing to try and find purchase.

Breaking into a sprint, you race toward the tower, your human legs so much slower than your normal method of travel. You leap up the wall, grabbing ledges and dislodged stones to pull yourself up to the little girl barely holding on. The satchel at your side flails wildly as you practically throw yourself up the building, covering the distance within seconds.

Just as her fingers slip, you reach her, wrapping your arm around her waist to stop her decent toward the rupturing ground. “It’s ok, I’ve got you” you whisper as she buries her face in your neck refusing to look at the distance to the street, her arms holding onto you for dear life. “I need you to hold on, ok?” You whisper and she holds on tighter, nodding as her tears stain the shoulder of your shirt. “Shit” you curse at the sight of a Wyvern heading straight for you, her mouth opening as she prepares to burn the tower to the ground.

Without a second thought you release your grip on the stones, plummeting toward the cobble stone below. The little girl screams as scorching hot flames burst above your head tearing through the top of the bell tower and toppling it. though you’re not sure if she’s screaming cause of that or the fact that you’re both falling nearly fifty feet to the street below.

Taking the brunt of the fall, you protect the girl’s head as you roll onto the ground. Forcing yourself up and back on your feet, you stumble through the streets toward the river as the buildings fall around you and the path warps beneath your shoes.

The way ahead is blocked as more debris falls onto the path, so you turn onto the next street, hoping desperately for a way around, only to come face to face with a massive Drake using their claws to tear down a wall to get to a human who’s screaming for the lords help on the other side.

Sniffing in the air, the wingless dragon pauses, and you realise too late that the little girl in your arms is bleeding. Her little palms and shins scraped from trying to keep herself from falling from the building. You hadn’t even noticed it with the smell of blood currently covering so much of the city’s cobblestone.

The Drake snarls as their eyes lock onto you, their massive claws digging into the stone as if it were clay. You prepare yourself to use your magic, to shift back into your true from to defend against the imminent attack, when a horn blares in the distance.

Immediately everything seems to fall silent as the deep ominous tone echoes between the destroyed buildings. The Drake before you races down the street without another thought to you, running in the direction of the horn. the sound of wings overhead slowly fades as they too follow the sound calling to them.

The haunting cries of loss and devastation wail like a bean sídhe. Around you people call for their loved ones, heartrending screams following as they find their loved ones crushed or scorched in the remains of their city.

You’re barely registering any of it though as you stare to the east where the dragons collectively went, following the sound of the horn as if a crew of pirates to siren song. Everything is so wrong.

In your arms the little girl writhes as she tries to free herself from your hold. You snap out of your trance, placing the girl on the ground to watch her run, calling to her mother as she passes through the devastation, flakes of ash catching in her hair as she goes. As soon as you wonder if you should follow, a woman scoops her up, holding onto her for dear life as they cry.

“Oh, my baby. I’m so glad you’re okay” you hear the woman sob out, even from how far you are.

“That woman saved me mama” the little girl says, pointing at you amidst the rubble.

‘Thank you’ the woman mouths out before taking her child to safety, smiling through her tear-stained cheeks trailing through the soot on her skin.

I need to figure out what’s happening. You think as you look back to the east. There was at least half a dozen different dragons tearing the city apart and they just… stopped, following that horn without hesitation. You thought the disease spreading through your brothers and sisters was turning them into mere beasts but clearly there’s something more to this cursed sickness. Something sinister.

To spare the humans more fear you race down the streets and outside the city walls into a scorched vineyard, still smouldering. Heated fruits squish under your boot as you make your way through the destroyed lines of grape vines, and their sweet smells swirl to meet your nose.

You pull off your clothes, stuffing each piece into the satchel as you set it on the ash covered ground. Finally, once the last piece of your clothing is packed away in your bag, you take a deep breath through your mouth.

As you exhale slowly black smoke billows from your nostrils, forming a small whirlwind around your body. The thick dark cloud grows as cyan magic sparks from within it, shifting you from your human form into a massive wyvern with a nearly thirty-foot wingspan.

You stretch your wings out as your tail swings, each movement stirring up the ash that’s settled on the ground.

It’s been a while since you turned yourself into a human, probably the longest you’ve ever been in that form. Because of that your natural body aches as if you’d been sleeping on a pile of stones for a century.

Using the talons on your foot, you delicately grab your satchel, holding it tight as you take off.

You hear the horn sound once more, with more dragons making their way toward it. Keeping your distance you follow them east, wondering how far they’re going and why.

—————

You’ve been flying for nearly a week, far enough behind the other dragons to not be spotted. You have a feeling getting to this point would have taken less time if the dragons ahead of you didn’t leave destruction in their wake.

You stopped at ten different villages and two cities, shifting back into a human to help those in need as their homes burnt around them. Eventually it got to the point that you couldn’t understand the language people were speaking, having to cast a new translation spell just so you could understand them.

You hate seeing the humans dealing with such devastation, and though you’ve been trying so hard to help, you can’t undo what’s happening to them. As much as you’ve learnt from the grimoire you keep in your satchel, you know that even if you could bring back the dead, you shouldn’t. You just hope that you’ll find a cure for the dragons wherever they’re heading, and the humans will understand it isn’t the dragon’s faults. You hope the reputation of your species isn’t tarnished permanently.

You’d lost the hoard of dragons about two hours ago, too busy tying to help the people of the island city in the middle of the river after the hoard had torn up the place with their flames.

You’re glancing left and right, your wings a steady beat as you fly southeast over the river toward a large stone arch. You swear you spotted a familiar wyvern heading this way… The black with green gradient caught your eyes moments after you’d left the city that the people called Fang. You haven’t seen your brother in years, but you’d recognise him anywhere.

You’re not sure how you’d lost sight of him, he was right ahead of you, flying effortlessly toward the stone arch alone. You’d glanced away for only a second, casting your eyes toward the horn sounding out once more, but when you looked back he was gone.

You pause above the river, looking around to catch any sight of his green and black wings around the arch and forest. Your own wings beat powerfully, holding you in place high above the water.

Without warning fangs sink into the shoulder of your right wing, a massive weight crashing into you from above. You try to get him off as his weight sends you plummeting towards the river below. You snap and snarl at him, desperate to get his claws out of your back and his sharp fangs from your shoulder.

Cursing internally, you cast the magic to shift back into a human, slipping from your brother’s violent grasp. You barely get a hold of your satchel before you crash into the water below.

—————

Raya’s POV

The brush in her hand passes gently over the paper, her words filling out the letter to the leader of tail. It’s the final part of her assigned duties of the day before she can finally go meet Sisu and her friends to enjoy her birthday.

Six years have passed since the Druun were defeated, and everyone was freed from their statuesque prisons. Everyone who lives on the dragon shaped river system have come together, finally uniting after years of conflict and mistrust. She knows she was the same, anger and hatred filling her as she searched for Sisu down every river. She had to grow up alone and fast, how could she possibly turn out any other way.

It was hard for everyone, adjusting back into the world with people who’d been stone for years. She cried far too many times with her father, mourning the years they never had together. With all those years lost she worries, even now, that her father will never truly know her. She’s done her best though, to act like everything is fine, like the years alone aren’t a permanent scar on her soul.

As she signs off the letter she grins, hurriedly cleaning her brush of ink and propping it up to dry safely so she can race down and meet her friends at the bridge.

“Raya, have you finished your duties?” Her ba asks when he spots her passing the kitchen doorway, an eyebrow raised in her direction. He’s been preparing her to be leader of heart, continuing the training he’d started so many years ago. He’s been steadily giving her more duties, allowing her to learn to balance them and her life.

She pauses just the other side of the doorway, stepping backward to peek back at him. “Yes ba. All the letters to leaders from Head to Tail are written and drying.” She starts, walking in to stand by her father while he helps craft lunch. “I’ve listed out possible solutions to farmer’s requests for better access to the river water and made sure the imports and exports are flowing smoothly.”

“You’ve taken to leadership quite well these past years.” Her father smiles, his pride for her practically radiating from him, but also the familiar sadness. “I am proud of the woman you’ve become. Now go, enjoy your birthday, but make sure you’re back for lunch.”

“Yes ba, thank you” she bows to him, showing her father the respect he deserves.

————

Her people greet her and give birthday wishes as she makes her way down through the market to the bridge that connects Heart to the mainland. Conversation and laughter fill the air as men and women trade in the market and little kids stand by their parents, rolling their eyes as their conversation goes for way too long.

She smiles as she spots Namaari and Sisu, excited to see her friends after months of focusing on her duties to Her home and people. The others haven’t arrived yet but she’s sure they aren’t far behind, a couple of them have to be brought by their parents after all.

“Hey!” She smiles, hugging Sisu then Namaari, the dragon almost crushing her in excitement.

“Happy birthday Raya!” Sisu says with a sharp toothed smile, her excitable personality shining through, especially strong on birthdays.

“Happy birthday.” Namaari follows, her smile far more placid.

“The others won’t be here for about another hour, maybe we can….” Sisu starts, pausing at a weird noise echoing through the air.

High above the river, a reptile like creature pauses, it’s giant bat like wings steadily beating as it scans the area for something.

From the tips of its wings a deep purple spreads like lighting into the black of its body. The scales down its stomach are light blue, maybe cyan, standing out against the blacks and purples of the rest of it. Like a bats wings, its giant ones are like skin stretched between long fingers, with massive claws at the joint. Its back legs hang down with its long tail. One of its taloned feet seems to be clenched shut, while the other flexes.

A dark dot appears high above it, steadily growing as it seems to plummet straight for the creature above the river.

In a blink another creature like the first but with green crashes into it, sinking its teeth into the wing of the purple one and digging claws into its back. The purple one snaps and snarls as the two plummet toward the river, its neck not long enough to reach around to bite the other. Raya and her friends watch in mute horror as the beasts fall, not even sure what they are.

A dark cloud of smoke swirls around the creatures and one seems to just vanish within it.

“Shit, shit, shit!” They hear a woman shout, her nude body suddenly falling from the dispersing smoke, desperately clasping at a bag falling with her. Her body crashes into the rushing water below, and Sisu dives into the water after her.

Raya and Namaari race down to the riverbank, helping Sisu as she drags the coughing woman back onto land. Above the other creature watches the events happening below it, then simply flies away as if it means nothing now.

“You shouldn’t… have… done that.” The nude woman coughs as she pulls herself onto her knees, staring at the dragon who saved her. The wounds she should have from the attack shrink into tiny scars as she gasps for breath, trying to rid her lungs of the water she most likely breathed in.

“Would you rather she let you drown?” Raya asks, her cheeks warming as she tries to avoid looking at the naked woman before her.

“No, and I… am grateful, but…” she sighs, hugging her soaked satchel to her chest and looking back at Sisu. “You may have just doomed yourself…”

“What do you mean?” Namaari asks, taking her words as a threat toward Sisu, placing her hand on the sword at her hip.

“You’re a type of dragon, right?” She asks Sisu, ignoring the humans present, and the dragon nods. “So am I. And there is a terrible disease coursing through our species.”

Raya’s concern about the nudity before her vanishes, the warmth on her cheeks fading as fear for her friend and the rest of the dragons takes hold.

“What do you mean?” her eyes locking on the beautiful nude woman before her.

“Look, I don’t really have time to explain things here, I’m on borrowed time as it is.” The woman coughs, pushing herself to her feet. The woman’s legs wobble and Raya reacts, reaching for the woman before she collapses.

“You just breathed in a bunch of water, at least catch your breath.” Raya can see the argument in her eyes as she holds her up way too close.

“fine” the woman sighs, pulling away. Raya’s skin tingles where the woman had touched, so warm and soft despite being soaking wet. Her cheeks heat once more as she realises, she was holding onto a very beautiful, very naked woman. She glances to her friends, hoping they hadn’t noticed but they very much had, both of them smirking at her. or at least she thinks Sisu is smirking… “shit” the woman curses, staring dejectedly into her satchel.

“What?”

“My clothes are soaked.”

—————

[Y/N] POV

Six months ago, the first dragon fell victim to a terrible sickness that now runs rampant through the species. A growing Drake, still in his birth cave with his siblings and mother, started acting different. He became snappy, angry, lashing out at even the littlest things. His mother chalked it up to him being a growing young dragon, that he’d soon leave the nest and find his way in the world and all the attitude would mellow out.

One day he just… snapped. He tore apart two of his sisters and there was nothing his mother could do to stop him; she couldn’t bring herself to hurt him. He began to run rampant, burning down the villages nearby and eating any human or farm animal he found until the humans finally put him down.

Eventually the rest of his family started showing symptoms too, and so did others that came into contact with them and him. It was spreading so fast, and there was no way to know who was infected until it was too late.

In moments of lucidity, as the disease seemed to tear into them, some explained they could hear whispers and screams as their minds started to go. Some shook their heads, and clawed at their skulls, trying to get the disease out as if they could feel it writhing within them.

Three months into the spread of the illness the first of your family begun to show symptoms. The irritation over nothing, jumping at sounds that don’t exist, attacking shadows, and eventually the total loss of their higher thinking.

You’d watched in horror from a distance as one by one, your own family joined the hoard of rampaging beasts that used to be highly intelligent dragons.

You studied the grimoire you were gifted when you were a hatchling until your eyes hurt, trying desperately to find a cure using the magics inside. But what could you do? You were one wyvern, barely considered grown to some despite being twenty-five in human years.

The only other dragon even capable of helping eventually went mad too, succumbing to the sickness and killing the few humans that had offered their aid.

All you could do was follow along, help who you could and search for a cure along the way. You’d done your best to keep your distance, but you know it’s only a matter of time. You’d come in contact with too many that had turned for you not to be infected too.

Every step forward you thought you had taken wound up being two steps back. You searched libraries, consulted with witches and thieves for just a tiny piece to this ever-growing puzzle. Nothing seemed to be enough. And you’re starting to lose hope it ever will be.

———————

You wait in silence for their responses, sitting on the stone windowsill of Raya’s room. She’d handed you some clothes after sneaking you in, and you’d told the horrible story of the past six months as you pulled on the simple brown pants and yellow sleeveless shirt. Not exactly a colour you’d usually wear but you don’t have a choice until your clothes are dry.

“How many other infected dragons are gonna be heading this way?” Raya asks, breaking the fearful silence.

“I was following a group of about fifty, but if all the infected are heading this way, then hundreds could show up.” You sigh, watching as Raya starts pacing the room in front of you. “The ones I was following dispersed after attacking a city northwest of here on the river, Fang I think they called themselves?”

“Wait, Fang was attacked?” Namaari practically shouts, leaping up from where she was sitting. “I need to go home and help my people.” She says, grabbing her satchel and quickly hugging Sisu and Raya.

“Of course, be safe.” Raya smiles. “Find the others and tell them to head back and warn their people too.”

“Sisu, you should warn your family and any others. They need to know to stay away from any dragons coming from the west.” You pipe up before Namaari leaves.

“Of course, yes!” The dragon in human form says, fidgeting as she rises from her cross-legged pose on the bed. “I’ll give you a ride, Namaari.”

You move forward before the dragon has a chance to leave, grabbing her arm to stop her. “Keep your distance when you do…” you tell her sadly “you don’t want to be the reason they get infected…”

She looks like she’s about to cry as she nods, making her way out with Namaari. It makes you sick to think that you could be the reason that she’ll become like the other dragons, that her saving your life could be what seals her fate.

From the half hour you’ve known her you can already tell she’s incredibly trusting and caring, you’d never want to see someone like that be torn away.

“I’m sorry” you tell Raya once it’s just the two of you left in her room.

“for what?”

“I could be the reason your friend loses herself, that you lose her…” you breathe, sitting down heavily onto her bed. “That was my brother that attacked me above the river… part of me was hoping… some of him was still in there. That he’d lead me the right direction and help me save him.” You tell her, running your fingers into your hair, feeling the pull against each strand. “But I was wrong… he’d realised I was following and lured me in to attack me.”

“I don’t blame you.” She says, taking a seat arm’s length from you. “Even if Sisu knew, she probably still would have saved you from the river. She’s like that” She smiles, her dark brown eyes showing great fondness for the dragon. “I’m sorry you had to go through that”.

The moment of emotion disappears quickly from her eyes as the worry for her friends and the other people of the region sobers her emotional thoughts.

“What was your plan?” she questions, shifting to face you better.

“I didn’t really have one… I was just following, and I guess hoping I’d just find the way to help them.” You admit, staring at your bare feet as you flex your toes.

“Well, you said the group you were following dispersed when they reached this river, maybe…”

“Raya, are you in here?” a man called freezing at the sight of a stranger in Raya’s room. “Oh, who’s this?”

“Ba, this is….” Raya starts, pausing awkwardly, realising they hadn’t asked your name when they told you theirs.

“[Y/N]. My name is [Y/N]” you bow, the same way you’ve seen a nobleman bow to a king. They both look at you oddly but say nothing, you assume it’s because woman usually curtsy?

“An honour to meet you.” He bows his head before turning to his daughter. “Raya, I just saw Sisu and Namaari leave, is something wrong? The celebration lunch is almost ready.”

“Celebration?”

“oh, It’s my birthday.” Raya says almost dismissively. “How about we sit down and have lunch while I fill you in. Ok ba?” She practically drags the man, her father, from her room, gesturing for you to follow.

Unsure, you glance out the window. You really should continue trying to find where the hoard of rabid dragons went. You’re not sure if this detour is in your best interest, your time feeling far too limited. Yet you find yourself following Raya nonetheless. It sounded like she might have an idea and it might be better than the nothing you’re working with…

-----

You’re fidgeting, your leg bouncing as you stare out the window carved from the stone. You didn’t have time to explain it the first time but now you’re waiting for Raya to explain it all again to her father. He’d placed a bowl of some kind of soup before you, Raya and himself, then settled down as if there wasn’t a massive war breaking out so close to his home. You’ve barely touched it despite your hunger and the delicious spicy taste. All you can focus on is saving your family, your species.

Your mind goes back to your brother as the two humans talk. He’d attacked you, no hesitation or recognition. You hadn’t seen him since long before everything started happening. He left the cave when he turned twenty, you were only fifteen, still a baby in your mother’s eyes. He visited a few times after, but once you too left the nest you hadn’t seen him again. To see him like that… it fucking hurt both emotionally and literally.

What are you supposed to do?

“I want to help her” you hear Raya say over your thoughts and your eyes shift to her brown ones that seem to be seeking your approval.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea… it didn’t end well for the last humans that tried to help.” You don’t want a repeat of that, and you definitely don’t want to be the one that causes it. just being here is already a risk.

“You said there was a horn that called the dragons this way, right?” she recounts, making sure she remembers what you had said.

“Yes…” you hesitate, wondering where she’s going with this. It’s been a constant, for a while the dragons attack places then the horn blares and all carnage stops. The raging dragons simply follow the sound as if all else vanishes.

“So, maybe we can find the source of that?”

“I’ve been trying find the source. But I’m not taking you. I’m not risking any more human lives.” You tell her, glancing at her father as you rise from your seat. “Not only am I at risk of getting attacked, but I could also be infected. I don’t want to be the cause of another death.”

“Do you have any of the symptoms?” her father askes and you shake your head no. “how long after symptoms show do they fully succumb to this illness?”

“Anywhere between a few days and a month.” you sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose in an attempt to remember certain details. “My friend theorised that it’s based on age or size… the smaller and younger ones snapped fastest I think.”

“You think?” Raya questions, the air of unimpressed at your uncertainty.

“He wrote it down, but his notes were lost when he died.” You tell her, rolling your eyes as you look out of the window overlooking to river, your palms leaning on the near smooth stone frame.

“How did he die?” you can hear the frown in her voice so you’re pretty sure she guessed the answer already.

“Burnt to death by one of the dragons he was observing. It doesn’t matter.” Dismissing the line of thought as you turn to face her once more. “What does matter is that I don’t remember his notes and I’m not willing to risk someone’s life if I’m wrong.”

“I think you should stay out of it, Raya, we will seek shelter if needed, rebuild even, but we don’t know enough of these western dragons to help.” Her father states, a sense of finality to his words. but instead of backing down, the young woman glares at him.

“Ba, I spent six years alone, I can make my own decisions.” You notice the way the man seems to flinch at her sharp words, though you don’t understand the full meaning behind them, you can clearly see it upset them both. “She could be the only one trying to find a cure at this point, if she succumbs to it then there will be no one, she needs help!” She left her seat as she spoke, grabbing your wrist and pulling you closer to drive her point home. “we can’t let this happen to the dragons.”

“Raya” her father warns, glaring at her as he too stands, the soups on the table forgotten.

“You told me a leader always does what’s right. I did what was right when the Druun took over and I will do it again now.”

You watch her as she speaks, her determination and passion clear as day. It’s probably her love for Sisu driving her to care so much about this dangerous plague. Maybe her love for her people making her want to stop the carnage before it comes to her door.

“You’re not gonna take no for an answer, are you?” you ask her, her dark brown eyes meeting yours with a smirk on her lips. There’s a fire in her eyes and you swear it rivals that of a dragon’s mighty breath, it makes your heart beat just a little louder at the sight of it. She’s determined and strong willed, clearly no matter what you or her father says she will help.

“no” she says, finally releasing the firm grip she had on your arm. “I’m gonna help, ba. You should make sure our people are ready for if… when the dragons come this way.”

She seems so sure of herself, though you’re not sure if that’s a good thing. You have missed having help… maybe she really can spot something that you can’t… I’m gonna regret this you think to yourself, listening to her ideas as you follow her back to her room.

You just hope you’ll be able to get her out of the way if something bad happens, cause she’s clearly coming with you.

A/N; had this little idea for a while, finally finished the first chapter!! Remember! Like and reblog to share the love!!!

#raya and the last dragon #raya x reader #fem reader #disney characters #dragons #raya and the last dragon x reader

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keremdogulu · 1 month

Text

TYPE: Self Para @berat-yalaz

PART ONE OF TWO.

SUMMARY: This is a part of his reply to @emine--yalaz but also his self para.

Keder, aşk için ödediğimiz bedeldir.

To breathe again, he wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse.

"It's..." Emine had said "Berat."

"What happ-- " he knew. The look on her face, the floor threatened to swallow him whole. "Is...is he hurt?" It was the same denial he'd had three weeks ago, but this one was the worst kind.

Kerem was pretty sure he might fucking pass out.

This surreality? It was roaring in his ears, unable to focus on anything as the world fell into silent chaos. The familiar timber of Berat's voice echoed through his mind, that laugh that so often made him feel at home nothing but dread that was collecting within him. The clogging in the back of his throat, the familiar burning behind his eyes as the pressure built and built.

Gone? Gone, gone? Not just hurt, there would be no recovery.

De-- no. He couldn't.

His world was crumbling, on fire, spreading and catching onto everything he held dear. Kerem was descending into madenning chaos, into the unknown and he'd never known such undiluted terror before. His nose burned every time he tried to bring air into his body, to keep himself from passing out from the spot in which he stood.

The look on Emine's face broke everything he'd known about his resolve, the way she -- for the life of him, it tore him apart to see her in such disarray. In such unbridled pain. He was frozen, unmoving, and unable to voice exactly how the world seemingly stopped moving. Berat was his brother, they'd fought side by side together for so long that it'd been natural.

Three weeks had felt like torture, even if he'd been pissed.

Friends fought...all the time, right?

He wasn't sure if it was because he was scared he was going to collapse, or because he needed to hold her again, but his arms found her, pulling her close as he tried to keep them here. His mind was spinning, and his world was imploding.

He wasn't going to be able to keep this upcoming eruption at bay much longer, he could feel it winding through his bloodstream and speeding straight for his faltering heart. It was breaking, more than anything could ever possibly break.

Irreplaceable. Irreparable.

Kerem tried to swallow, heaving in the process.

This...this was not real. It couldn't be real.

"Please." The words were but a whimper, his lashes fluttering as they collected water droplets in their erratic dance. "Oh god, you're wrong. You've gotta be -- " The second the words left his mouth, they tasted like ash. The truth seeped into the knowing part of his brain. "this is not happening."

Kerem had done this. This was his fucking fault.

They had been laughing so wildly, that he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to stop, ever be able to breathe again with this feeling of freedom. Berat had been narrating some fucking show as they'd lounged around doing fuck all. Those had been simpler times, even if things had never been simple in the first place. Berat had always had a way of bringing out a more relaxed version of Kerem, always pushing him to do things that he might have shied away from. They had been a duo, there had never been one without the fucking other. And now.

Kerem couldn't remember what had been so damn funny now, but he wished he did. He wished he could remember every single fucking moment he'd been blessed by his best friend's presence. How could he have gone back to that, but that voice in his head came for him 'Because you threw him away without regard for everything he's done for you over Nevra'

He slammed backward, pulling away from Emine. His palms found his eyes as he pushed and pushed.

No. No. No. No. No.

He wished he could go back three weeks and say something different. Be different.

Nevra's name came to mind and he couldn't stop himself as his legs rushed to the nearest bin, he emptied the contents of his stomach in such a violent fashion he gasped trying to claw air back into his throat through the blinding tears. Berat couldn't be gone. But he was.

Kerem had hurt everyone he loved in that fallout, and it'd ended with his best friend's life. If the guilt hadn't been there before, it was now attempting a sniper-styled assassination. Was this his fucking fault? Truly? Had he robbed everyone of knowing him because of a stupid fucking fight?

It hit him.

Berat was dead.

He wanted to tare his fucking heart out of his chest and be done. He wouldn't, but he wanted to. Even as the room closed in on him, breath was stolen from his lungs once again at the onslaught of memories. He'd never get to make new ones because drugs had stolen his life, had embedded itself so deep into who he was, it'd warped his sense of self. Berat had so much to fucking offer and give.

But addiction never lets its victims go easily.

Or at all.

"I did this, this is my fault." Kerem sobbed. "This...this is my fault."

#t: Grief is the price we pay for love.#self para #reaction #berat yalaz #berat & kerem #the end of an era : berat #because one part wasn't enough #this is just inital reaction #tw: drugs #tw: death #tw: drug overdose

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lady-ashfade · 2 years

Text

A thousands wishes: The betrothal.

Jacaerys valaryon x Female reader.

Notes: The reader is shorter then him. Her family lives across the seas in a kingdom which they rule, making her a princess. This is not my best work at all and I honestly hate it but I’m putting it out.

This is like a enemies to lovers…But it might in in angst and no lovers at all. You have been warned.

Story warnings: Haven’t really proof read, mistakes and bad grammar, fighting, angst.

Marriage wasn’t something you wanted, nor was it is something you stood against. When someone is to find the person they wish to marry whether it be for love or a agreed arrangement. All your life you are being told about the happy and miserable stories from marriage. It was something you almost feared at thought of being missable.

So this isn’t what you wished for.

Ever since you were a little girl you had your freedom to do as you liked, being the middle child you were able to be not as cared for or watched over as your siblings. In your growing up you took pleasure in the ways of the sword or the bow since it was your favorite, or never being able to put down a book when it was intoxicating.

But as of three months ago you found yourself being handed off to a man you had never met, in a kingdom you have never stepped foot in. Oh, how the gods were laughing at you. It was a marriage to combine the families, the family your mother knew when was a girl but you had no ties with them. And your father who thought it was a fair trade for such a man in high title to marry you even if he was a bit hesitant at first.

Two Royal blood lines. And who are they to refuse a good proposal?

The letter crumbled up into your hand as anger flooded within you. It was the letter the other queen had sent to your mother regarding your hand in marriage to her son. “You truly do not wish for me to marry him mother?” It was a plead of hoping it was a joke, a sick cruel joke.

“I have already sent my reply, you will be married to him soon enough. They have promise time for you to get to know him so that love might grow between you.” Her words spoken so light and lovingly, she must be happy to send you away to someone else.

“Why do you hate me so mother?” Standing upon your feet you could see the expression in her face flitter. “Why do you wish to send me away? I do not want to be married yet- Shouldn’t I get a say in who marry, why must you be so cruel I’m taking that away from me.” Your eyes began to over flow with tears of anger but your voice become soft and whispery.

“My dear girl,” She stood up from her taken set and placed a hand on your cheek as she stood close. “I do not wish to get rid of you. You are my daughter and one of the most important things in my life and that is why I must do this. I have spent years watching you be alone and closed off. I am hoping you find that within him and maybe then you do not have to be alone anymore.” Drying the tears from your eyes with her numb she brings your head down and gives you a soft kiss.

“Give this a try and it may surprise you but if it doesn’t work in the end we shall call it off.” The smile she gave you was sincere and one of a true loving mother.

One you have missed.

“I shall try.”

֍ Wishes ֍

Remembering those words in your head as you walked into a room of strangers gathered to watch you and your family so closely. Holding onto your brothers small hand to make sure he doesn’t run away of cry though, it was you who needed to be reminded to stay.

Immediately you noticed a woman with long white hair smile as she sees the lot of you and then at your mother. She must be Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, the ruler of the seven kingdoms and to the iron throne but also your mothers old friend.

Soon they took each other in one another’s arms and the happiness they shared was easy enough to make you smile yourself.

“Welcome to Westeros, it is good to see you again my friend.” The woman glanced over to you and your siblings and soon her eyes landing on you and her smile grew.

“Is this Princess Y/n?” Your mother turned and gave her a nodded, “My second eldest daughter.” Your siblings moved out of the way as she stepped closer and towards you, she was beautiful.

“You are as beautiful as your mother claimed you would be, if not more.” She took your hands for a quick moment and for some reason you where actually relaxed at her presents presents. Her calling you beautiful made you feel pretty and believe her for a bit because she looked like a story book character by her looks. One of beauty.

“I wish you to meet my son, Jacaerys Valaryon. My heir.” She stepped out of the way and you looked behind her and saw a boy with brown hair step away from his siblings and over to you.

He was looking so soft at you that you felt like a silk blanket. “Hello, Princess it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Taken ahold of your hand he raised it to his mouth and gave it a soft kiss.

He was handsome and he was sweet at the touch. You almost fell for it.

“And I reciprocate that feeling my prince. May we learn about each other in the time we share.” Bowing your head with a smile, it was fake and you felt like pulling out your hair and running away from this place.

But you had to stay for your family and to at least give it a try. So after everyone was introduce you slipped away from him and over to your little brother and used him as a excuse to get away.

Now the halls have grown cold and the breeze from the night caused your skin to feel a bit cold. You wondered where the halls will lead you and if you could somehow find a safe haven in this place just to be alone.

Once you came to a darker hallway, it has a small corner it had a stone bench and a half wall to block it off. This was as good as any place to take a breather.

Jace seemed sweet when he glanced at you or the times the confusion on his face when you would walk away before he could get close to you. You almost felt bad for hating him so much, just the thought of being around him made something in your mind twist.

As you sat on the cold stone with your legs crossed and the knife you love being held in your hands. You ran you finger softly against the blade carefully not to cut yourself as you were lost in thought.

If only you had done something different you maybe wouldn’t be in this situation now: not being betrothed or forced to like someone in the eyes of others. Truly what a pity you feel for yourself, but maybe you were lucky to have such a nice man to marry but that’s not something you can justify.

“I do wish you haven’t be waiting to kill someone with that, princess.” He was there. The one person you wish to not see above all else.

“No one has come by.” Joking you look up to him with a bit of sass on your voice and he smiles and chuckles.

“As I am sure you could, I do believe that isn’t the reason you are awake at such a hour.” He walks closer and leans against the all next to you.

“I am thinking.”

“Care to share?” He was so…Charming by the way he spoke to you. But that only made you more annoyed. Wondering what he was truly finding and how many woman he has tricked.

“I do not think you wish to know.” You fully believed that you might hurt his feelings if you let everything out.

“I think it best to get to know how my wife will think-” he stop himself at the sight of you.

Lifting yourself up quickly and stood up with a look of anger and disgusted. You shielded your blade and walked over to him quickly and pointed a finger at his chest.

He was confused at your outburst and hatred towards him and only him, had he already done something to make you loathe him when he tried his best?

“I am not your wife, we are nearly betrothed and even then I am still not your wife until the wedding.”

“Have I done something to offend you so deeply? I apologize for calling you wife but this is more then just now.” You laugh at his words.

“I can see it in your eyes that you don’t truly mean anything, you might fool others but I will not be so easily tricked.” His jaw tighten and leaned up straight and looked down at you.

“You think of me as low as to do that? I am only trying to treat you well and get to know you, which you have avoided all day at the cost or even a word. How can you know my intentions if you do not wish hear my words.” He fired back with just as much as you did but that only sparked more of the flame.

“I did not wish to be here with you, non of it was my own doing. Maybe try being more quiet and standing far away from me when not needed,” Pushing him back a bit with the fingers against his chest.

“I will never ever love you.”

He did not know why those words hurt him such when he barely knew you. He also wished to be in a marriage for love and when he was a little boy he promised to make his wife feel loved and devote himself to her. A true gentleman would but how can he now as he watched her walk away with no interest in letting him be in her life.

He wished for chance.

She wished to be set free.

#hbo house of the dragon #jacaerys valaryon x reader #jace velaryon #rhaenrya targaryen #house of the dragon #the house of dragons x reader

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clawen-forsurvival · 2 years

Text

held on as tightly as you held onto me

Owen attempts to figure out what exactly is going on with Claire while he once again is faced with a prehistoric playground.

i don’t know what came over me but this second part just appeared in my brain???

continuation from part one AKA claire’s point of view

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR JW: DOMINION

Something is off.

Blue stares at Claire too long, Claire stares at Blue like she knows why.

And as much as he wants to figure it out, Owen can’t tell what the woman he loves and the raptor were telling each other.

Claire looks terrified of the dinosaurs in the black market.

Well, more terrified than she usually would be of them.

She’s done so many search and rescue missions and helped so many of these creatures in the past few years that Owen was half expecting her to run through the black market and open all the cages.

Instead she walks slightly behind him and watches the world around her with trepidation.

He does not look at the dinosaurs, and try as he might he does not keep his eyes on Barry.

Owen’s eyes are on Claire trying to piece together what the hell is happening with her.

When he and Barry trap the atrociraptors he thinks he has it all figured out.

The look in Barry’s eyes, the terror at the thought that one of these monsters could kill him if moved too slow, is clear on his face.

Claire is simply scared.

And she has every right to be.

They’re up against prehistoric animals once again and now Maisie is missing.

(It doesn’t help either that she’ll still wake up screaming every once in awhile, Isla Nublar still haunting her.)

So, Owen figures, it makes perfect sense that Claire is scared.

Because he’s scared too.

Owen has done a lot of stupid shit in his life.

Like a lot.

But driving down an airport tarmac on a glorified dirt bike while genetically fucked up velociraptors chase him feels pretty high up there.

He barely makes it onto the plane, his footing shaky as Claire holds onto him for dear life. He takes a stilted breath, his hands holding her tight to his chest.

She’s scared. And so is he.

They can be scared together. For survival, right?

She needs to go. She needs to go and save Maisie, even if he won’t follow.

“You have to be the one to get her. You’re her mom.”

He tries to convince himself that that’s why he’s sending her. Not because he’s not sure he’ll make it out of this plane alive.

If Claire doesn’t make it, he and Maisie would both crumble. But Claire? She could handle life with her and Maisie.

Claire nods, barely. Her cheeks are stained with tears as he leans down and kisses her. It’s shorter than he wants, but it’s all he can spare.

“I’ll see you again.”

He prays he’s right.

And then, the words he was so scared to say for the longest time.

The ones he’d whispered to her under the dark of night when the world seemed to be caving in around them.

The ones he said before she did.

“I love you.”

The assurance that they meant something.

She closes her eyes and he waits.

She opens her eyes and he’s confused.

“Owen.”

There’s one breath between his name and the moment his life changes.

“I’m pregnant.”

Before he can say anything, before he can react, before he can stop her or urge her on or anything she’s gone.

Claire has flown out of a plane from a fucking eject seat with their baby growing in her belly.

“Watts, you get us out of this alive.”

When he falls through the ice he sees everything.

His mom and dad, his childhood best friend Patrick, his eight grade ice hockey team, the girl he made out with in the back of his pickup truck junior year, his mothers funeral, his fathers funeral, his Navy buddy O’Reilly, the open sea, O’Reilly’s funeral, Simon Masrani, that prick Hoskins, Blue and her pack, Gray and Zach, Claire.

Claire tying her shirt up, Claire running with a flare in hand through Jurassic World, Claire in an airport hanger holding his hand, Claire showing up and dragging him to a bar, Claire’s perfect skin, Claire and Maisie.

Maisie flashes through a few more times and while he loves the girl his mind keeps taking him back to Claire.

Claire, who loves him.

Claire, who’s raising a moody teenager with him.

Claire, who’s pregnant with his baby.

Watts pulls him up and it’s not until they’re in the service elevator that he breathes steadily again.

When Owen pulls the Dilophosaurus off of Claire he wonders for a moment how his life has gotten to this point.

Instead of pondering the thought he pulls Claire into him and breathes a sigh of relief.

“It’s okay, I got you.”

At least for the moment he can rest knowing Claire is okay, that their baby is okay, and that he had them in his arms.

“I got you.”

He’s not sure what compels him to place his hand over Claire’s belly, sending her into full fledged sobs, but he can’t resist the comfort that the action brings him.

He wants to talk to her, to ask a million questions and give her reassurances, but they need to find Maisie.

Find Maisie, then talk.

Maisie finds them.

It’s not lost on Owen how Claire knows their daughters screams before they can see her.

He wraps both of his girls up in his arms and holds them longer than he usually does.

They’re okay, at least for now.

He can’t breathe.

He watches as Claire is pulled across the floor and out the window and he can’t fucking breathe.

His body works on auto pilot, grabbing the rope and pulling Claire back to him.

He doesn’t care that there’s a room full of people around them, he holds her until his lungs inflate again and he’s sure she’s real and there and against his chest.

If he closes his eyes for a moment too long all he sees is Maisie trapped on the ladder and Claire falling out the window.

He doesn’t think he’ll sleep ever again.

“You’re acting weird.”

Maisie doesn’t say anything until her and Grant and him are heading back to the control room.

“Well kid we’re in a prehistoric playground and you were M.I.A. for the better part of two days and your mom almost got eaten by a dinosaur so cut me some slack.”

Alan chuckles as Owen lets out a breath.

Fucking teenagers.

He almost loses it in the rain. He almost pushes Claire and Maisie into the helicopter and lets the t-rex eat him if it means they’re safe.

But everyone is safely inside and everyone is going home.

He breathes out easily, one arm wrapping around Claire while he brings his hand down to press against their baby.

Holy shit. Their kid just survived Jurassic Park 3.0.

“Claire, what in the damn hell were you thinking?”

He means for it to come out softer, but the further away they’ve gotten from Biosyn the more he can’t figure out what the hell she was thinking.

“Owen please-“

“You could’ve died! You went out there, knowing you were-“

And it’s true. Claire clearly knew before they left that she was pregnant and still went.

Owen stutters, remembering Blue’s curious look at Claire.

Blue knew too.

“I did what I had to do!”

“You put yourself at risk and that baby and-“

“I had to save our daughter! I couldn’t not save her!”

He knows she’s right, the same maternal instinct coursed through both her and Blue telling them to protect their babies.

Raptors and humans aren’t all that different.

“I couldn’t let you go alone, I couldn’t just… I couldn’t just sit here. So I’m sorry but-“

He knows she couldn’t let him go alone. She couldn’t sit at home wondering if Maisie was okay, if he was okay.

“You’re here now, that’s all that matters.”

He tries to convince himself and Claire of the matter. She’s here and he’s here and Maisie is here and their child stills rests in Claire’s belly and they’re going to be okay.

His son sounds like a velociraptor.

He thinks it’s karma, Claire laughs at him.

#clawen #jurassic world #owen grady #jurassic park #claire dearing #owen x claire #claire x owen #clawen fanfic #jw dominion

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honeyypotato · 2 years

Text

The Girl in the Woods, Chapter 19: The Rumbling

Here's the link to the rest of the chapters!

Word count: 2,177

Warnings/tags: profanity, injury descriptions, canon-typical violence/gore, gabi is fuckin adorable idk, I tag this every time but soft Reiner

AN:

Happy Reiner Day y'all, sorry this was late :)

I love this man so much hhhhhhh

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

Eren’s entire body is surrounded by light, and then he explodes outwards as the largest titan you’d ever seen begins to form in the spot where his body once was. You drag yourself behind some rubble, feeling a hand on your arm as you look over to see Gabi has made it to shelter as well. You grab her hand and you hold onto each other for dear life as earthquakes shake the ground. You watch the gigantic walls around the city crumble to the ground, revealing the titans that had been buried within the stone. Eren’s new titan form begins to move forward, and the Wall Titans turn to follow him.

Before you can do anything, your vision changes to that odd desert you had only seen in your dreams, the giant pillar of light still streaming from the center. You figured you had passed out, but then a voice echoes in your head.

“My name is Eren Jaeger.”

You stand, planting your feet in the sand, and the voice continues.

“I’m using the Founding Titan’s power to address all Subjects of Ymir.”

Your head spins in confusion–you didn’t think you were Eldian. You gasp when you remember what your father’s notes had said about the Founding Titan’s pure spinal fluid having the ability to alter a person’s genetics. It was starting to make sense.

“I’ve undone the hardening on Paradis Island’s walls, and the titans buried within have begun their march. My goal is to protect the people of Paradis Island–the place where I was born. However, the world wants to exterminate my people–and not just on the island. They will not stop until every last Subject of Ymir is dead. I refuse to let them. The Wall Titans will trample every inch of the world beyond this island, until every last life beyond our shores is wiped out.”

The starry sky vanishes.

You and Gabi lock eyes.

“What was that?” She asks you.

“I…I don’t know. But I’ve seen that place in my dreams.”

“I thought you were Marleyan. How did you see it?” She’s wearing a confused expression.

“I was given titan spinal fluid when I was very young. It must have given me more than just titan powers.” You give her your best small smile, and you try to stand, pulling Gabi with you.

Your leg had begun healing, but you knew you still probably shouldn’t be walking on it. Gabi puts an arm around your waist as you stumble in an attempt to steady you, and Colt appears at your other side, looping your arm around his shoulders. The three of you walk towards the edge of the building, and you shoot the hooks of your ODM gear into the building at your feet, using it to ease the three of you to the ground.

“Can you stand, y/n?” Colt asks softly, and you nod, watching him run off, yelling his younger brother’s name. Tears rush to your eyes as you realize that because he ate Porco, he would be okay, wherever he was. He was the new Jaw Titan. A kid.

You realized Reiner was probably only a little older than him when he became the Armored Titan.

Reiner.

You gasp, looking over to where the Armored Titan had fallen earlier, to see him sitting up out of the nape of the titan. You sob when you see him, and pull Gabi along towards him. He stumbles off the titan and you try and catch him in your arms, but you fail as you try and put weight on your injured leg, the two of you crumbling to the ground in each other’s arms.

“Y/n! Reiner!” Gabi cries out. Reiner wraps his arms around you for a moment, and then gets to his feet, lifting you along with him. He pulls you and Gabi off the street into the wreckage of a nearby house, where you all collapse in exhaustion.

“Reiner–I-I’m sorry–Porco–I couldn’t–f-fuck-ing hell–” You’re sobbing, clenching Reiner’s shirt in your fist as you curl into him, unable to get any more words out. You feel wetness on his face and you realize he’s crying as well.

“You’re okay, baby, I’ve got you. I’ve got you, shhh…it’s okay. There was nothing else you could do. It was his choice.” He’s soothing you, pressing kisses into your forehead, holding you tight to his chest.

“Gabi, go find help.” Reiner looks up at his cousin. She was definitely shaken, and tears had left clean streaks down her dirt-covered face. But, she wasn’t injured. She nods and runs off.

“Y/n, you kept her safe. You saved my life. I can’t thank you enough.” Reiner talks to you softly, holding you with the remaining strength in his arms.

“I’m glad you’re ok, Reiner.” You try and take a deep breath, but it hurts to do so, and you let out a small groan of pain.

“Where are you hurt? And don’t you dare tell me you aren’t.”

“…Left leg, shin broke. There’s rocks and shit in my side, too. My right blade was broken off, so my arm feels weird. I think that’s the worst of it. I’ll heal.” You had other minor cuts and bruises all over, but you had the feeling you’d worried Reiner enough already. “Are you hurt?” You look up at him.

He shakes his head. “I’m alright, just fucking exhausted. Probably bruised in a lot of places.” He sighs.

“Y/n–I don’t know how you saved me.”

“What do you mean, Rei?”

“You were there, and rocks were flying at us, and then there was this bright light and the big ones that were headed straight towards us exploded.”

“I…remember feeling really angry...and running at Zeke. Then the light, and then I was thrown against you. It was a lot like the time I stopped the anti-titan ammo at the final battle of the war, but I was mostly okay afterwards…”

Reiner hums in thought.

“I…I don’t think I actually hit the rocks like I did last time though, I wasn’t trying to hit them. I remember holding my hand out like I was trying to stop them.”

“But…how would you have stopped them without hitting them?” Reiner was confused.

“I don’t know…I don’t really want to think about it right now. I don’t want to think at all right now. I’m sorry.” You let your head rest against his chest as you listen to the stomping of the wall titans marching away from the city and the hiss of your wounds healing.

The two of you sit in silence.

“Y/n?! Reiner?!” You hear Gabi calling for you in the distance, footsteps approaching.

“In here, Gabi!” Reiner shouts back, covering your one ear as to not hurt you more than you already were.

The young girl runs in. “They’re in here!” She’s speaking to someone whose voice you don’t recognize.

Then, a young woman’s head appears around the corner of the hole in the building that you had climbed through. Your eyes meet and you stare at each other in shock for a moment when you recognize her as the woman you fought against during the invasion, the one that had protected Eren from you. Anger rises in your chest, but it leaves as quickly as it had come; you had no strength to be upset at anyone right now.

“Oh. Hello.” The woman says softly.

“Mikasa! What’s going on?” Another voice from outside.

The young woman steps inside the house and then turns her head to answer, just as a young man with blond hair in a short bowl cut steps inside as well. Both of them are wearing ODM gear.

“Reiner!” The man recognizes him immediately, and Reiner gives a faint smile to the two strangers.

“Armin. Mikasa. Hey.”

“Who’s the girl?” Armin asks.

“I’m y/n.” You reply shortly, not appreciating being talked about as if you’re not starting dead at them.

“You’re the one from Liberio.” Mikasa is looking at you through narrowed eyes.

“That’s me, yup. You tried to stop me from cutting Eren to pieces. Look where that got you.” You were too tired for niceties.

“Y/n–” Reiner warns, but Armin cuts him off, holding up a hand.

“It’s alright, she looks injured and we’re all exhausted. Reiner, can you walk?” You look up at Armin, who seemed to be a relatively logical person for someone who just helped cause the end of the world.

Yet, he was defending you despite lashing out at his friend.

“Sorry, Mikasa, for snapping at you. I’m not in great shape right now.” You close your eyes with a sigh, feeling badly for being rude to her.

Her expression softens, but she doesn’t say a word.

“I can carry y/n, if that’s what you’re wondering, Armin.” Reiner almost chuckles.

Armin smiles down at the two of you as you shift off of Reiner’s lap. There was an intense heat in your shin where you figured the bone was probably healing, and you knew it was a bad idea to walk. Reiner stands stiffly and then bends over, cradling you in his arms. You wrap your good arm around his shoulders and he turns to nod at Armin.

“Alright. We should go before any Jaegerists find you here. If anyone asks, you're our prisoners.” You, Reiner, and Gabi follow them out of the building, walking down the ruined streets. You reach the castle, which was overrun with soldiers.

“The hell are these three doing with you?” A hotheaded young soldier stops the five of you at the entrance.

“We’re holding them captive here. Step aside.” Mikasa’s voice is quiet, but stern, and the man steps out of her path.

You breathe a sigh of relief. You didn’t know Mikasa, but you had a feeling she’d stick to Armin’s words. Her and Armin lead the three of you down the corridor to a room. “In here.” She says curtly.

Reiner places you on one of the beds in the room, and you sit up immediately.

“What are you doing? Get some rest.” Reiner raises an eyebrow at you.

“I’m fine.” You wave a hand at him. It wasn’t a complete lie, your leg was already feeling leagues better.

You look up at the two people who had led you here. “Mikasa? Armin? We have to stop Eren. I’m sorry. I know he’s your friend. But he’s gonna kill everyone in the world if we don’t.”

“We’re on the same page, y/n.” Armin looks at you, his eyes sad.

“Will you fight with us?” Your head turns to Mikasa, surprised that she was talking to you. “You matched me in combat. We’ll need your help.” She blushes a little and looks away.

You and Reiner lock eyes, and he nods at you. You turn back to Mikasa. “We’ll help.”

She nods. “We’ll come back for you in a couple hours–don’t go anywhere.” Her voice is a little loud and stern; you figure she’s trying to make any Jaegerists believe you’re really prisoners. She leaves with Armin, closing the door behind her, leaving you, Reiner, and Gabi alone.

There was a pause.

“Y/n.”

Reiner turns to you, yellow gaze burning. You deflate in your seat, when Gabi steps in front of you.

“Reiner, you don’t get to be mad at her. She saved your life. I saw it. I know you love her, but you can’t get mad at her every time she gets hurt.” The kid glares up at her cousin.

His face goes red. “W-who told you that?”

“What?”

“That I love her.”

“No one did! It’s obvious.” Gabi puts her hands on her hips in defiance.

You can’t help but laugh at the look on Reiner’s face. “You just got called out by a kid, Rei.”

“I know that, you didn’t have to point it out.” He rolls his eyes.

“I love you too, Reiner.” You smile up at him, and your eyes meet for a moment before he looks away, blushing, trying to avoid the shining eyes of his little cousin.

“Reiner! Guess what?!” Gabi squeaks.

“What else are you gonna hit me with tonight, kid?”

“Falco told me he loves me!”

Reiner’s face falls. “...When?”

“In the battle! We were trying to get to Zeke, to tell him Falco got the wine with the spinal fluid in his mouth!”

Reiner puts his head in his hands.

“You know what? Good for you, kiddo. I’m not gonna ask any more questions.”

You burst out laughing. “Gabi, I’m happy for you.”

Gabi babbles on, telling the two of you all about her adventures on the island. You think Reiner probably didn’t need to hear at least half of them; he sat there with his arm tight around you and his face white as a sheet while he listened to his cousin talk.

You drifted off to sleep in Reiner’s arms, happy to hear Gabi’s voice once again. It made it feel like things were at least a little normal.

#reiner x reader #reiner braun #attack on titan #reiner x y/n #shingeki no kyojin #aot #reiner brainrot #reiner braun x reader #reiner braun x you #reiner x you #aot reiner #reiner braun x y/n #reiner fluff #snk reiner #the girl in the woods #honey writes

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stupendouspeanutstarlight · 1 year

Text

A Lifetime Apart - pt. 3

Sorry about these all being so fast paced parts. trying to set the scene for what will happen. Let me know if you have any feedback. I changed the writing from using 'you' to I. hope that makes it flow better.

Screaming. That's all I can hear, adrenaline overtakes my body and it's like moving in autopilot exiting the bathroom and into the living room bow drawn. Quickly looking around I see that only the weak chain and my frail mother is holding the dead at bay behind the door. Soon realizing the screaming didn't come from anyone in the family and must have happened outside and that's why mom opened the door. Rushing to the door unhooking a knife from my belt and attempt to stab at the dead through the gap. Stabbing at random, nothing seems to be deterring them and they just seem to be more frantic to grab at anything living. Finally getting a good stab to the head seems to stop them and the door finally closes. Again Daryl's desperate calls can be heard trying to figure out what's happening. Tye is crying into the radio. "Dad!! Please hurry!! DAD!" Sobbing into the mic slowly approach, whilst re-holstering my knife.

"Hush baby it's ok. Deep breaths, in and out." Engulfing both boys into a hug and reaching for the radio, hearing Daryl's desperate pleas.

As the button pressed down, to assure daryl that you're all ok Tye gasps. "Grandma, those freaks bit you!" Then the bombs started to fall and everything went to radio silence.

Shielding the boys from the rubble the bombs shock waves caused, and trying to reach Daryl to let him know everyone is ok and weren't hit. "Dar? Daryl, are you there?" Being met with only silence panic sets in, "Daryl, please we're ok! Please we're ok! Are you safe... Daryl!!" With everything calming down and the manic adrenaline fuelled state crumbling the tears start to fall. Crying to mourn the life that Daryl and I built for our children, the people who just died, the baby to be born and for Daryl, not knowing if you're all alive or dead. Composing and breathing deep, checking to if Tye and Ben are ok I turn to see mom trying to bandage a large bite on her forearm. Unsure what will happen next it's obvious that the building is no longer safe for the family and it's time to grab the prepared go bags. Walking over to mom I squat down and notice she's breathing quite heavily, "Mom, are you ok to move? We can't stay here, more bombs could drop."

"Just give me a second to catch me breath dear, I'll be good to go, just get the kids ready."

Walking over to Ben and Tye, placing both hands on their shoulders, "Ok boys, I know things are scary, but we need to be tough!" Looking Tye in the eyes, "What does your Dad say can kill a Dixon?"

"Um... A Dixon?"

"Exactly! Ben what does Dad say can kill a Dixon?"

Straightening his posture Ben exclaims, "Only a Dixon!"

With that it's time to prepare the boys to go out, each with their own hunting knives from home and some old helmets that are kept at their grandmas. Supporting Mom out the window and onto the fire escape everyone beings the decent to the street. Approaching ground level, and scanning in hopes of finding an older model vehicle to jump to get out of the city. "Wait behind a little. I'll whistle when it's safe to follow me down. Tye watch that nothing, and no one followed us and Ben you watch my back from up here." Managing to get to an older truck with no issue was easy, but getting into it without sounding any alarms would be tricky. Working with an efficiency Merle had showed me, I managed to get into the truck with little issue. Giving one last glance around I whistle for the boys to start heading down and creep the truck over to them. Quickly getting everyone in, we head out towards the country, as long as we're not stuck in the city any longer.

After deciding to pull over far out of the city I crawl into the back to snuggle up with the boys. Kissing them both on the forehead I whisper, "I'll find you Daryl Dixon!"

#daryl x y/n #daryl dixion x reader #daryl angst #daryl fanfiction #daryl dixion imagine #daryl x reader

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tigorrrr · 2 months

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𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗹𝗲 || prompt::running hands through their hair + pushing hair back behind the other’s ear

Ship(?): Rain & Lilly

Rated: hurt/comfort

Warnings: mentions of drug use and drug poisoning, this is a little follow up to what happened to Lilly after "Glittercrash"

It was the end of his 24h shift when he recieved some hot news at the front desk, call it intuition for he usually doesn't pay the eldery nurse a visit on his way home. It felt like he should check in that night, and he was glad he listened to his gut.

"Your sibling was enlisted just two hours ago, doctor."

All what doctor Zeffeero needed is a room number and where the doctors placed his sibling and he ran towards the elevators, stairs, and short-cuts. It took about twenty minutes or less.

He first stopped by the nurse office, to hear the damage and see the file before doing a personal interrogation himself.

"Ah, mister Zeffeero, thought you already headed home." called out a younger nurse the second he stepped in after discreetly knocking on the milky doors. A doctor, one of the few that is close to Zeffeero's age, an old classmate and not necessarily a friend, perked his head over a white monitor screen.

"I was about to..." Zeffeero casually walked over to the stack of drawers and began to look through them.

"Are you looking for your brother's file? I didn't took care of Lyosha but I saw the folder in the hands of another doctor, she just left twenty minutes ago..." Josef appeared by his side, indolent to get up from his rolling chair. "Said she needed to double check some things at the reception."

Zeffeero tsked indifferently, rough and dry fingers gave up separating file after file and idly hanged onto the drawer. "Actually, she's my sister, Lilly, Mr. Vata."

"Ah," Josef straightened in his chair and sheeplishly rubbed at his nape. "I see, I see... Well, now I know."

"Which room?"

"Ten. She's in 24/7 surveillance, is all I know"

Zeffeero nodded his head as a gratitude before leaving his colleagues' office.

As walked through the quiet hall he began to think what he should say to his sister. They don't talk much but they have been very close since, well, ever. Lilly only calls him once or twice a month, her work keeps her busy. They haven't seen each other for at least half a year despite living in the same town, during that time of them separated Lilly went though quite a number of plastic surgeries and Zeffeero is both excited and anxious to meet the new her.

It's not that he wasn't supportive of her choice, quite the opposite, but he was always a little dry when it came to praising anyone but himself. But he always did try to sound as genuine as possible.

He didn't expect for his world to go still. His breath, his thoughts, the air, the world... The silence was... almost loud.

His sister dear laying in that pale room on that salient bed, IV connected to her wrist, the beeping monitor is the only 'alive' thing in the room.

Zeffeero almost hated that he was a doctor. He knew how to help people to a certain extend, as much as he's able to, but the rest is mostly depending on the patient's body and how it would deal with the mess their fleshy cage is in.

People sometimes forget that doctors and nurses alike are human too when they, the responsible ones, have to sometimes turn down all the emotions to be able to pull through their day at work.

Health workers feel more hopelessness than a person feels in a day/week.

Zeffeero, one of the best doctors of this city, felt that hopelessness. But make it five times worse.

He felt his world crumble and his near and distant future felt fatally bleak and empty.

A sight no one wants to see, their loved family member as a corpse that is still holding onto that speck of life within them with machines as their life support because their bodies had failed them.

Whatever poison it is that got into Lilly had unboubtedly damaged some organs, if not irreapearably.

A step forward.

Is what took Zeffeero to bring himself back to reality.

A wretched reality.

He didn't bother with closing the door. All that mattered was that in two big, leaping steps he was by his sister's side.

Zeffeero took her cool hand, gently as if it was porcelain, caressed it, held it to his forehead when his legs finally felt like collapsing. But Lilly was still unresponsive.

He wanted to scream, cry, and hit things all at once. Get that sleazy fella who had comatosed his sister. But he can dream and have nightmares about it later.

Lilly didn't wake in the next hour of his stay. Her older brother sat by her side, talked to her albeit awkwardly, petted her head, pulling long locks from her dust-speckled face.

And Zeffeero could only hope she would wake up soon.

Banners made by @infinitnei

#Rain #Lilly #Skin-Deep AU

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thesecrimsonstrings-if · 2 years

Note

How would the RO’s react to “Look, I can hold the whole world in my hands” then gently cups their face and gives them a forehead kiss?(cuz lets face it those are the best time of kisses)

ronan bennett

a dazzling smile takes over his features and he melts into your touch. only the sunlight from the windows coming close to even competing with the sparkle in his warm brown eyes.

“you always know the gestures to pull on my heartstrings.” his hand reaches up to hold yours.

“it's all for you, my dear. and there's a lot more from where that came.” you say, wiggling your eyebrows comically which draws a laugh out of him.

leaning in to capture your lips in his, he sets off at a deliberately slow pace. he never knew kisses who were so sweet, yet so addicting. if you were poison, he still would have gladly tasted you all in.

you pull away softly, and you notice that ronan still has his eyes closed. the ever-present smile only growing more sincere and lovely.

“thank you,” he speaks after a while.

“for what?”

“existing.”

célia dupont

“and you are an utter sap,” she wrinkles her nose cutely when you kiss her forehead.

“can you blame me?” you exclaim dramatically, “you are my whole world. the queen of my heart. the love of my life, my fut-”

she silences your long string of proclamation with a kiss. it's electric, scorching even, and it tears through another shard of ice that célia had built around her heart. fearless, soaring, it was a feeling that she had never felt in all her life.

célia does not believe in gods, but if there ever was one she'd meet, they'd be you. the world will fall and crumble, but your name will still be a prayer on her lips.

when you pull apart, her human lungs in need of oxygen, she wishes she could live off your kisses instead. the dopey smile you have as you gaze at her, only has her heart reeling more to you.

“my beautiful god,” she whispers, her fingers tracing along your hands. “you are the only constellation i wish to memorize.”

s bakkoush

“now i know you're just trying to make me swoon,” S grins, closing their eyes in bliss.

“was it not working before?” you ask, a teasing smirk placed firmly in place.

”hmm, i don't know,” they pretend to think with a coy smile. “maybe a kiss will refresh my memories?”

you don't need to be asked twice. they hold you close as your lips meet in a passionate clash of want and need. every second of it seared onto their memory. it was you. it will always be you. their heart cries a thousand love songs that could rival orpheus's, and each of them speak of you.

‘sometimes it feels like a dream,’ they think as the kiss gets more heated, their hands trailing down your body. ‘and yet, i feel like i know you more that i even know myself.’

i tachibana

they scoff when you first tell them that, but you don't miss the surprise in their eyes and the red on the tip of their ears.

”when i thought you could not get any cheesier,” I crosses their arms and turn away from you.

“is this your way of saying you're lactose intolerant?” you tease.

they make an offended noise. “that's not what i meant! don't mess with me, MC.”

their ears turn even redder when you can't help but laugh at their embarrassment, grumbling about how you were being sweet just to bully them afterwards. you swiftly wrap your arms around them, leaning forward for a kiss before they can even react to the sudden action.

there's only a brief struggle in the beginning before I's hands come up to hold your face tenderly. the callouses that mar their hands only adding to the gentle side they hold. they don't wish to hurt you, only to love, and you could not think of anything more lovely.

it was agony to hope, for hope was a dangerous thing for someone like the hunter. but seeing you beam at them, an unspoken promise of happiness, they take the plunge.

“you are my beautiful destruction, vampyr.”

#asks #this went... fairly long #not what i intended but extra food for the readers ig #ro: ronan bennett #ro: célia dupont #ro: s bakkoush #ro: i tachibana #ro scenarios #these crimson strings #bonnie nonnie

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uvobreakmylegs · 3 years

Text

Haze

i saw a meme and it made me want to write a Morel piece. then @ramwrites suggested making him a banshee and i loved it

i have definitely bastardized banshee lore but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do for a story

Warnings: manipulation, mentions of death

A hiking trip up to a nearby mountain trail had been on a list of things to do for you and your friend group for a while. Your friend Denali had suggested it, and she assured you all that it wouldn't be anything too difficult; it was just a beginner's trail that would consist of a few hours of walking up the trail and back. And then maybe you all could grab some food after.

You were pretty excited for it, as the idea sounded refreshing to you. Another thing that added to the anticipation of the hike was the fact that it had also been a little while since everyone in the friend group had been able to hang out together.

Or more accurately, it had been a while since you were able to make it to one of these friend meetups.

Some kind of bad luck had been plaguing you recently; the last few times an outing for the four of you had been planned, something unexpected came up for you and you needed to cancel last minute. Be it work obligations, family emergencies or just you getting sick the night before, it had been a while since you hung out with them like you once had.

Aiden, Denali and Colton all seemed to take it well, but you swore you could sense a growing annoyance in them. They seemed to be shorter with you in texts, and there had been a few times now that you'd sent a picture or said something in the group chat and it had been ignored. You worried that they were starting to think you were making up excuses instead of genuinely being unable to see them, but every time you tried to talk with them privately, they told you that there wasn't anything wrong and that you were just overreacting.

That hadn't made you feel any better. You just felt like a bad friend.

But today would be different.

You made a point to ensure that you had the day completely cleared for the hike, getting the day off from your work well in advance and doing your best to stay away from anything that might make you sick. The morning of your friends had all confirmed that it was still on, and after a little while they were going to rendezvous at your place to pick you up before you all headed out to the trail.

Things were going to be different today, and you were excited for it.

And things were different.

But maybe not in a way that you had expected.

You didn't notice the second car that had pulled up behind Denali's initially when they stopped outside your place. You only noticed that something was different when you approached Denali's car and noticed that one of the seats in the back had been taken up by a pile of backpacks, leaving no room for you.

When Aiden stepped out of the first car as you came out to greet him, he explained the situation. Without your knowledge, Aiden had invited someone from his work, a woman named Fawn. Evidently during those times when you couldn't make it, your friends had been hanging out with her a lot, and they had figured that she should be invited on this trip as well.

That they were hanging out with other people didn't upset you; they had every right to spend their time with people that were able to show up. But you felt slightly hurt that you hadn't been asked or even given a heads-up that this was happening. You had been anticipating spending time with your old friend group for this trip and instead you would be trying to reconnect while also navigating a new group dynamic.

But you decided not to say anything about it. You just nodded and smiled when Aiden told you that you'd be riding with Fawn in her car. Although it was unexpected, you told yourself that new people wasn't necessarily a bad thing. You could probably make good friends with her while also berating yourself for your first reaction to her being disappointment. That sort of attitude was no good.

Despite all of that, you quickly came to feel that you didn't like Fawn very much.

For one thing, the woman was one of the most reckless drivers you had ever come across. Virtually blowing through stop signs, running several lights and swerving around drivers that she felt weren't going fast enough, there were several times during the trip that you felt she was going to cause an accident. She also passed by Denali's car for some reason, and when you asked her why, she said she thought it would be fun to see who could get to the mountain first. You didn't agree, but there was literally nothing you could do but hold onto the inside of the passenger side door for dear life. The motion sickness you'd gotten was so bad that by the time you made it to the parking lot next to the hiking trail, you'd needed to lean against the side of her car and take in deep breaths in an attempt to not throw up your breakfast.

At least she seemed pretty apologetic when she saw you like that, and she offered you a bottle of water which you gladly took. But the second Denali's car pulled up she seemed to switch her focus to that completely, going up to the rest of the group to greet them. She had something of a one-track mind, it seemed. It didn't make her a bad person, but you still wanted a bit of distance for now.

After recovering and making sure you had everything you needed in your backpack, you approached Aiden while the others were getting ready.

“Hey,” you said, “you think you and I could switch places for the car ride back?”

“Oh c'mon, it couldn't have been that bad,” he said, “you'll hurt her feelings if you do that. She really wants to know you.”

Fawn walked up right after, and since you weren't willing to criticize her driving right in front of her, you dropped it.

Meanwhile the mountain loomed above all of you. Tall and imposing with a rather dense white fog that almost obscured the very top of it. There were parts that were heavily forested, and you briefly wondered if you would need to worry about anything like bears or some other kind of large wild animal.

“How far up are we going?” you asked Denali.

“Not too far. We'll be sticking to the marked trail; there's a cool little observation deck at the end of it,” she told you, “I figure we'll head towards that and then come back the same way.”

You nodded, but before you could give any real response Colton called her over for something, and she left to help him. Aiden and Fawn were chatting about something, so you stood silent and at the ready, looking up once more at the mountain.

Despite the distance, you swore you saw something moving. You wanted to say it was some large kind of four-legged creature, though it was impossible to tell what exactly it was.

“Are there bears on the mountain?” you asked aloud.

“Nah.”

That was all the response you got.

For about ten minutes after the hike started, Fawn had stayed at the back with you, asking you some basic questions about yourself that you would in turn ask her once you had answered. You hoped that the interaction wasn't as awkward as it had felt to you. Maybe it was but she also didn't want to say anything about it.

Then when your group came across an old, crumbling well, Fawn had run up towards Aiden to get some better pictures of the structure, and when the group began to move again, she chose to stay there next to him.

Denali had taken the lead with Colton right behind. They were talking, though what they were talking about you couldn't be sure as you only caught bits and pieces of the conversation. A few steps behind them were Aiden and Fawn, talking about something that was going on at their workplace. And a few steps behind those two was you, trailing behind the group and unable to join either conversation. Although Aiden had said that Fawn wanted to know you, she hadn't said much of substance to you before she turned her attention back to him. Although maybe that was your fault. Maybe it really was obvious that you didn't care for her much. You thought that you were doing a decent job at being polite, but maybe she could tell that you were still a bit annoyed about her driving earlier.

Or maybe she just wanted to talk to Aiden right now and you were overreacting again.

You weren't sure.

It just felt like you were being excluded.

Of course. The first time in forever that you were able to make it to a meet-up with them, and it felt like you weren't wanted.

You sighed to yourself as you walked behind silently, trying to tell yourself that it was unreasonable to be thinking like that and that you wouldn't have been invited if they didn't want you there. The hike had just started; you couldn't decide that the whole thing would be bad just because of a rough beginning.

At least for now you could enjoy the scenery, and you looked about the woods as you walked along the trail, noting the different types of trees and plants and just how many of them surrounded you as you walked by on the trail. You stopped now and then to take a few pictures with your phone. Although you could hear the distinct chirping of birds in the distance, you didn't manage to see any, and despite the movement you thought you had seen while in the parking lot, it didn't seem like there were any other animals in the area. Denali had said this was an easy trail; maybe people frequented it enough that most animals avoided any areas close to it. That was too bad, but not that big of a deal. At least you were still getting nice pictures of the forest.

Your group came across a wide set of wooden stairs with a wooden barrier on either side after a bit, beginning a steeper ascent towards the higher parts of the mountain. Nothing had really changed within the group, though you noted that the conversations had mostly died down in an effort to appreciate the nature around you. Colton was also frequently looking behind to make sure everyone was still there. The two of you managed to lock eyes at one point, and you smiled at him. He gave back something of a half-smile before looking back in front of him. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but you noted that he didn't look back after that.

The walk continued, and all of you were quiet now, looking about the scenery. Some of them occasionally made remarks whenever they spotted something unusual, like an oddly shaped tree trunk or rock. You stayed silent, though, remembering your messages that had gone ignored and worried that if you said anything, that would be ignored as well.

Were you being too anxious about this? Probably. You sighed to yourself again as you tried to keep those kinds of thoughts from running amok.

Just distract yourself by looking around, you told yourself.

You paused when you glanced over to your right.

It looked like there was some sort of stone pillar standing in the distance. The dark rock was covered in moss and vines, but the shape was such that it couldn't have been a natural formation. Someone human had put it there some time ago. It also looked as though there was similar wreckage behind the pillar, and you wondered if it may have once been some kind of building.

Taking out your phone and pulling up the camera, you zoomed in on the the ruined structure. You briefly glanced over to your friends as you did, making sure they weren't leaving you too far behind.

But when you looked back to the phone, you let out a small sound of surprise.

There was a man standing by the pillar.

Your eyes immediately went back to the pillar as you wondered where this guy had come from.

The shadows over in that area made things a bit darker, but you were able to see a general shape that looked like a person. You squinted slightly as you looked at him, trying to make out any details. But strangely, you couldn't. It was just the shape of a rather broad man, and as you continued to look, you found that it looked almost wispy, like a few pieces of cloud had floated down and arranged themselves to imitate what a person might look like.

…. Why did it feel like it was looking back at you?

“What are you doing?”

Aiden's voice called to you, and you snapped out of your stupor to find that the whole group was standing there waiting on you.

Your mouth fell open to try and offer some explanation, to tell them about what you were looking at, but when you glanced back to where the shape had been-

He wasn't there.

And when you looked back to the camera, you found he was gone from there as well.

Had you imagined it?

The entire thing had happened within mere seconds. The pillar wasn't large enough that he could be hiding behind it, and no one could move that fast without making some bit of noise. Looking between the view from your camera and the pillar a few more times, you decided that you had imagined it. Though you were certain you had seen something standing there, there was no way that could have actually been the case. Maybe a shadow just looked weird within the lighting at that moment?

Aiden called out to you again.

“Sorry!” you called out, putting the phone away as you hurried up the stairs to rejoin them.

“What you were looking at?” Fawn asked you.

“Something back there,” you explained, “ it looked like there were some ruins of a building.”

“Oh, did you get a picture? Can I see?”

“Ah, sorry, I didn't.”

Fawn pouted, asking “why not?”

“I thought I saw someone.”

They both looked at you strangely.

“You couldn't get a picture because you thought you saw someone?” Aiden asked.

“I don't know. It was just weird,” you said, getting a bit flustered as you continued “I thought I saw a guy for a second – or something that looked like a guy – but then he was gone.”

“... 'Something' that 'looked' like a guy,” Aiden repeated.

“Oh wow, I didn't know you could see ghosts!” Fawn exclaimed, giggling a little, “we've got a coworker who swears that the printer room is haunted. Maybe we should bring her here and see if she also sees something.”

…. You weren't sure if she was making fun of you or not, so you stayed silent. Aiden was still looking at you like you had two heads while Fawn was pulling out her own phone, preparing to walk back down to take a look at the ruins herself. Then Denali called out to the three of you, asking what the hold-up was. That was enough to spur you to begin walking again.

“Aw, I wanted to get a picture,” Fawn said as you began climbing the stairs once more.

Fawn then looked to Aiden as he said to her “we can always snap a picture on the way back.”

“That's true.”

“And did Nell say that the printer room was haunted? I thought she said it was the third floor bathroom,” Aiden then said.

“It could've been both. According to her a lot of places are haunted. Something about weird energies,” Fawn responded.

They were talking about something from their work again, and since you still had no way to join in, you walked behind them in silence. As your group continued the ascent, you glanced behind to see if there was anything weird with the pillar from this angle. There was a nagging feeling at the back of your mind, and you felt as if there was someone watching you.

There was nothing, and though the feeling wasn't going away, you told yourself to forget about it.

Time passed as the clouds parted some to show how the sun had moved higher in the sky, and your group came to a wooden platform with benches and tables that were clearly meant as a rest stop for any hikers. The others decided that it was a good time to have lunch and settled themselves at a table. You, on the other hand, were still feeling some side effects from Fawn's driving earlier, and as you really didn't want to get sick in the middle of the hike, you opted not to eat. You sat with them at first, but when you once again felt like you couldn't contribute to the conversation, you stood up, the amateur photographer in you feeling fulfilled somewhat as you snapped a few more pictures of the scenery.

You wandered over to a different part of the platform, leaning your elbows on the wooden fencing as you looked out at the forest.

At the beginning of your trip it had been fairly overcast, and only after you had started this excursion had the clouds thinned and allowed the sun to shine through. But just as the weather started to clear up, it seemed to be turning overcast again as a mist began to fall, seemingly sliding from the top of the mountain and through the thick forest of trees. Was rain a possibility? Maybe, and of course you hadn't brought anything with you if that did happen. You had made a point to bring a first aid kit in case either you or someone else got hurt, but nothing to protect you in case the weather turned bad.

A flash of white caught your eye while you were caught up in your thoughts.

Glancing to your left, you found yourself staring at a white rabbit.

It was nice to finally see some wildlife for the first time since this hike had started and at first glance it seemed perfectly normal. But the more you looked at it, the more.... Odd it seemed.

It was sitting upright facing away from you, not moving at all. That didn't seem quite normal, since you thought most rabbits were inclined to hunker down and try to blend in with their surroundings if they encountered something they thought was a threat. This one didn't seem to be hiding, it just sat still, and the more you looked, the more it didn't seem like it was even breathing. It also seemed strange to find a pure white rabbit up in the mountains. The color was striking against the earthly tones of the forest, and presumably that should've meant that it would have been easy prey for any natural predators that roamed the area. In fact, it didn't look the slightest bit dirty, making you wonder if it was someone's pet that had escaped.

And the more you looked at it, the more something about it just seemed to be off. Like it had some kind of weird energy to it.

And yet you felt an urge to get closer to it.

The instant you moved closer it reacted by twisting it's head around to face you, and you saw it's face for the first time.

Or rather, it's lack of one.

No eyes, no nose, no mouth, no sort of features whatsoever. It's face, and the rest of it for that matter, was completely blank, and it seemed less and less like a living creature the longer you looked at it.

You stared at it, unsure of how you were supposed to react to such a thing.

“The rabbit doesn't have a face,” you said aloud.

Your friends didn't hear you. In their defense, you hadn't spoken all that loudly.

When you moved again it bolted, vanishing behind surrounding tree trunks.

Follow it

Maybe it was because of the shock you felt at seeing that thing that you didn't even question the thought. You just climbed over the fencing and headed out in the same direction you had seen it run off to.

It wasn't long before you caught sight of it again, and once more you were struck by how odd this thing was. It was sitting up again, staring at you. Almost like it was waiting for you.

Did you really want to follow a faceless rabbit into the woods? Apparently you did, because when you got close again it ran off, and the process repeated itself as it began to lead you through the forest, taking you further and further away from the hiking trail and down an unmarked path. The rabbit never got too far before it would stop and wait for you to catch up, and it stayed still during the few times that you would pause for a break. It really was waiting for you, and somehow, it didn't seem like it was running in any random direction. More like it was leading you somewhere.

A haze had seemed to form in your mind. Somehow, none of this seemed questionable to you, that you were running off in pursuit of a white rabbit like a heroine from a Lewis Carroll book. Or at least some darker version of that tale given the rabbit's lack of a face which you still weren't able to make sense of. There was no reason for you to be running off of the trail like this, into terrain that you weren't familiar with, but every time you caught sight of the rabbit, something inside you told you that you needed to go after it.

You did just that for some time until the haze finally broke.

In the midst of your pursuit, you happened to step on a hollow, rotted log, and the wood was weak enough that when you put your weight on it, your foot went right through. You shrieked, stumbling forward as you desperately pulled your foot out. To add to your panic, there had been a fair amount of bugs living inside of the log, some of which had attached themselves to your shoe, and you kicked your foot out rapidly to get them off of you. They scattered, and you stumbled back before landing awkwardly on your ankle. Pain shot through you, and you fell against the trunk of a tree where you sank to the forest floor, one hand steadying yourself while the other was over your chest as you tried to calm yourself down.

What the hell am I doing?

The thought struck you. Why had you gone off the trail like this? And for some weird rabbit creature, of all things? What was the point of this excursion? What if you got hurt?

You put some weight on the foot that had gone through the log and you hissed as another sharp bolt of pain hit you.

Scratch that. You'd already managed to hurt yourself.

It seemed like your ankle was sprained. Clearly you had landed on it wrong after getting your foot out of the log.

Ah, this was the worst.

You gingerly removed your shoe and tried to get a look at the damage. It didn't look too bad yet, but there was definitely something wrong with it as you only felt pain every time you moved it. How fast does the swelling set in? At least you'd had the forethought of bringing a few rolls of elastic bandage wraps, though you felt like you'd need some help to get it properly wrapped.

Which meant you'd need to find your way back to your friends.

How far away were you from the trail by now? You weren't even sure how much time had passed since you had left them. It was all so strange, that you had gotten such extreme tunnel vision like that and had run off. And because of that, you had gotten hurt and would have a hard time making your way back, or else they would need to come in to find you.

They'd be upset with you, wouldn't they?

You probably wouldn't be able to continue the hike, and you were sure there'd be some resentment if this outing was cut short because of you. Maybe you could just wait at the rest area? They'd be coming down the same path when they came back, so maybe they could continue the hike and you could rest up and join them on the return trip. It'd be boring for you but then at least the trip wouldn't be a waste for them.

You sighed as you began to shimmy your shoe back onto your foot. Today was a bust. First the thing with Fawn, then the way it seemed like you were being ignored, and now this.

They hadn't even said anything when you jumped the fence to chase after the rabbit, had they? Not that you'd really been paying attention, so maybe they had, but they sure hadn't gone after you.

… Not that it was on them to look after you. You were an adult and therefore not their responsibility. It was wrong to think like that.

You sighed again.

Everything that had happened today really had been your own fault, huh? It was all you could do to hope nothing else bad would happen.

You remembered some old superstitious saying about bad things happening in threes. If that was true, then maybe your bad luck was over for the day.

Trying to get off of that particular train of thought, you looked about for something that could work as a walking stick, something strong enough to hold your weight for when you made your way back to the path.

A voice called out from far away, and when you paused to listen, you heard the voices of your friends calling out your name.

That was actually really good.

A new creeping fear was that you would be lost in the woods and have a hard time finding the path, but as long as they were calling out to you, you could use the sounds of their voices to find your way back. As you were about to push yourself to your feet, you allowed yourself to be a little hopeful, feeling that the bad things were done for the day.

You heard something then, as though something had dropped onto the ground next to you.

In an automatic response, you turned your head towards the sound and found a pipe laying atop the dirt and fallen leaves.

Had that been there earlier?

It was moderately sized, a black stem with a little bit of intricate gold detailing on either end, while the bowl at the end of the pipe was more of a darker bronze.

Wouldn't you have noticed this earlier? Or had you been that distracted when you'd been desperately shaking all of the bugs off of your foot?

Without really thinking about why you reached out to grab it as you wondered to yourself if there were still people these days who smoked using pipes.

It was warm when your fingers made contact, and as you raised it up to inspect it more, you noted how clean it was. If it had been out here for a day or so there would've been more dirt on it, but with the state it was in, someone must have dropped it not too long ago.

At least it gave you some comfort knowing that you weren't the only one who had wandered off the trail, though you were probably still one of the dumbest to do so since you had gone off in chase of a freaky rabbit.

Should you take the pipe with you? Was there some sort of lost and found box down at the parking lot? Would the person who lost it even still be looking for it, or would they have already accepted that it was gone forever?

With those thoughts swirling around your head, you didn't notice the sound of footsteps that came closer until they stopped right next to you.

“Are you alright?”

A man's voice broke you from your thoughts, and when you turned your gaze upwards, you found an older man standing above you, leaning an arm against the same tree trunk you were resting against. White hair, a gray dress shirt with a red tie and wearing black sunglasses despite the clouds overhead, he looked down at you with a clear look of concern on his face.

“Ah – yes! Well, mostly,” you said once you realized he was waiting for an answer.

“Mostly?”

“I think I sprained my ankle.”

He knelt down next to you, asking “may I?” as he motioned to your aforementioned ankle. You nodded, and he inspected your ankle. He was gentle with you, looking over the injured area carefully and apologizing any time he caused you some discomfort.

“How bad is it?” you asked him after a moment.

“I'd say you were right. It looks sprained.”

You groaned a little, disappointed that you were correct.

“Do you have anything to wrap it with?” he asked.

“Yeah, in my backpack,” you answered, “I was gonna get my friends to help me with it once I got back to them.”

“Where are they?”

“Back by the path, I think. It sounded like they were looking for me just now.”

However, you could no longer hear them. In fact, the whole forest seemed oddly silent now, the only exception being the wind that would at times whistle through the trees. And had it gotten darker?

“That's weird,” you said more to yourself, “I know I heard them.”

The man who sat patiently before you, with your ankle still in his care, looked about for any sign of your friends before he spoke again.

“Well, I'm here now,” he told you, “care if I patch you up instead?”

“Um, as long as it isn't too much trouble?”

He smiled at you.

“It's no trouble at all.”

Saying that it would be easier for him to work on you, the man carefully picked you up and moved you so that you sat on a nearby boulder, kneeling down in front of you again as he waited for you to fish out the bandages from your pack.

“I'm Morel, by the way.”

You gave him a small smile in return, introducing yourself as well as you handed off the bandages.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked as he began to wrap up your ankle.

“Hiking with friends.”

“I figured that much,” he said, grinning a little, “but the trail is a good distance from here. How did you end up off of it?”

“Ah....”

Despite the pain in your ankle and the circumstances between you and your friends, it hadn't been lost on you that Morel was pretty handsome. A bit rugged, but in a good way. And though you knew nothing about this man – for all you knew he had a wife and child at home waiting for him – you didn't want to say something that might make him think you were an idiot. Telling him that you had gone chasing after a rabbit would definitely make him think you were an idiot.

And you didn't want to mention that you thought it had no face. Then he'd think you were crazy.

“I saw some ruins down at the base of the mountain; thought it'd be cool if I went exploring and see if I could find some more,” you lied.

“Unfortunately, any ruins would be down at the bottom. Nobody would've built anything this far up,” Morel explained.

“Ah, I see.”

You stayed quiet a moment, looking back in the direction where you'd heard your friends calling. You still couldn't hear them, and it worried you that something may have happened.

There was also that white mist from earlier that had grown thicker while Morel wrapped your ankle, slowly settling down around you and making the scene around you look more ethereal.

“Why did you wander out on your own? One of them should've come with you,” Morel said suddenly.

“Oh.... I kinda, um, ran off without telling them anything.”

So much for not sounding like an idiot.

Morel paused, glancing back up at you as he asked “did something happen?”

“... Not really? I mean, kind of, but...” you trailed off for a moment, “it's mostly my fault. I'm the one who isn't trying hard enough to talk it out with them. Ah, I really hope I haven't ruined this trip.”

“I doubt you running off could've ruined it.”

“I hope not. But still, I'll need to apologize, maybe take all of them out for a meal after to make up for it,” you said.

There was a sad expression on Morel's face when he looked up at you after you said that. Something in the way he frowned and his brows furrowed at your words made it seem like he knew something you didn't.

You didn't get a chance to question him on it as he finished up wrapping your ankle, handing the remaining bandages back to you as he announced “all done.”

“Ah – Thank you.”

He seemed a bit more cheerful now, though he looked off in the direction you had been looking in.

“Those friends of your still on the trail?” he asked.

“I'm not sure? It really did sound like they were looking for me earlier.”

“I see. Then if they're looking for you maybe we should stay put. Wait for them to get to us. It won't do any good if we all get lost trying to find each other.”

That made sense, and you nodded.

Morel sat down next to you, the boulder being large enough to fit both of you, though he did need to squeeze in a bit closer than you would normally be comfortable with a complete stranger. You found that you didn't mind much, though. Although for the sake of your friend group you wanted to be found soon, you didn't dislike the idea of spending more time alone with Morel. He seemed trustworthy, and being in such close contact more than made up for all the stuff from earlier.

…. Good lord. Were you really this weak for a random guy you found attractive?

The mist seemed to be growing thicker, but you could still make out most of the trees that surrounded you.

“What are you doing up here, Morel?” you asked, “it doesn't look like you're dressed for hiking.”

“I live here.”

“Really? On the mountain?”

He nodded.

“Wow. I didn't know anybody lived up here. Is it just you or are there others?”

“There's a few of us up here, though my neighbors tend to keep to themselves,” he told you, “a lot of them just want to be left alone.”

It seemed surprising to you that there was more than one person who lived up on a mountain like this. Especially since you had been under the impression that the area was part of a park. Maybe his place had been built beforehand and he was grandfathered in somehow?

The more you thought about it, the more you felt that didn't make a lot of sense. But before you could voice that opinion, it was like the thought was forcibly torn from your mind, and something within you encouraged you to try and learn more about him.

“Are you one who wants to be left alone?” you asked him instead.

“For the most part,” he answered, “but I don't mind people on occasion. My neighbors, not so much.”

“Would they have gotten mad at me?”

“Definitely.”

“Guess I'm lucky you found me and not them,” you said.

He smiled at that, but didn't say anything, and you continued.

“Although if your neighbors want isolation, isn't it inconvenient that the trail's been set up here? Don't you have to worry about people trespassing?”

“Most people know not to go off the path,” Morel said, “though I guess you're not one of them.”

“It wasn't my fault!” you insisted, “there was a rabbit, and I just - I don't know, needed to follow it.”

Why had you done that again? You'd been questioning it before Morel found you but you'd gotten distracted. It was strange. And did the rabbit really have no face? Maybe your mind was just tired and had made it up or something and you just ran off because you were an idiot.

Where had it even gone, anyway?

Morel tilted his head, smirking at you.

“I thought you said you were looking for more ruins? You mean you were actually chasing after rabbits?” he asked.

….. You forgot that you lied.

Your fingers fiddled with the hem of your shirt while you looked away in embarrassment.

“.... I didn't want you to think I was stupid,” you mumbled.

He laughed at that, and you felt worse about your lie, turning your head away further as you made a point to not look at him.

“Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean it,” he said, one of his hands coming up to playfully tousle your hair. You glanced back at him then, and the sour look on your face lessened a little when you saw how he smiled at you.

“I've also gone off wandering after random things,” he continued, “I've hurt myself a few times, too, so don't feel bad.”

That made you feel a bit better, and you relaxed a little more.

“What kind of things have you gone wandering after?” you asked him.

“Things that you probably wouldn't believe if I told you.”

That answer was oddly cryptic, though you supposed that made two of you, since you were still too nervous to divulge the fact about the rabbit lacking a face. Maybe Morel had seen freakier things up here. But since he didn't seem to want to go into that, maybe it'd be better to steer the conversation away from the potentially supernatural.

“Were you wandering after something when you found me?” was your next question.

“No, not today. I was in the middle of looking for something I had lost.”

“Oh. Sorry,” you said.

“For what?”

“Distracting you, and making you wait here with me.”

“It's not that important,” Morel said, “and what kind of guy would I be if I left you out here by yourself? Especially with that fog that's settling in.”

“I'd probably be okay. Oh. Unless there's bears. Then I might not be.”

You remembered the shape you had seen when you had first arrived, and you asked him “are there bears on this mountain?”

“I've never seen any.”

You hummed at that, thinking again about what you had seen and trying to figure out what it was.

“Did you see one?” asked Morel.

“I don't know. I saw something weird when I was in the parking lot, and I'm still not sure what it was,” you explained, “I've seen some other stuff, too. Some a bit more freaky than a bear.”

“Like what?”

“.... Do you promise not to laugh at me?”

“I promise, I'm done laughing at you,” Morel said, grinning a little.

Despite being unsure if you could trust him in that regard, you decided to speak anyway.

“So, the rabbit that I saw earlier – I'm not really sure why I followed it, but I noticed it back at the rest area. It seemed kinda weird when I saw it, because it didn't look like it was breathing? And when I got closer, I swear, it didn't have a face. No features at all. It was just blank.”

You prepared yourself for him to laugh at you again. When he didn't say anything, you looked back to him.

Morel looked surprisingly neutral.

“That does sound strange,” was his reply.

“.... Do you believe me?”

Morel looked away from you, leaning back on his hands as his gaze seemed to go to the cloudy sky above the trees that surrounded the two of you.

“You know, I think I do. Living up here, I've had my fair share of strange occurrences. Not quite like that, but maybe I just haven't encountered that before.”

It was a relief to hear that he wasn't mocking you, and it was even more of a relief that he actually believed you, as you had been worried that his reaction might resemble what had happened earlier with Aiden and Fawn. Him believing you spurred you to speak more.

“I saw something before, too,” you said, “down near the ruins, at one point I thought I saw a man standing next to them. But when I looked up from my camera he was gone.”

“What did he look like?”

“Not sure. I saw him, but I somehow didn't really see him? Or I just saw his general shape,” you continued, “the others were joking that it was a ghost.”

“Could've been,” said Morel, “this is ancient land with a lot of older things attached to it. There are probably more than a few wayward souls that have found a home here.”

“..... Do you think they could be dangerous?” you asked him.

“Maybe some of them. But most people should be safe if they stay on the path.”

He grinned again when he looked back at you.

“Who knows. You could've come across something bad,” he said jokingly.

“Don't you and your neighbors live up here? It can't be all that bad if that's the case,” you responded, “though I think I'll try to keep from chasing after anymore weird rabbits.”

“Probably a good idea.”

A comfortable silence settled over the two of you. The mist had expanded as you continued to wait for your friends, who you hadn't heard in some time now. It should've worried you more that you couldn't hear them – they hadn't given up on you, had they? Even if they were really annoyed with you they surely wouldn't go that far. Yet you found yourself thinking even if that was the case, it would be okay. Morel was so nice, he wouldn't just leave you here if they didn't show up, right? At the very least, he'd take you back to the trail.

If your friends had bailed on you, then maybe you should repay him by taking him out to dinner.

The tops of the trees were slowly becoming more obscured as the fog continued to drift down, and all you could think was that it looked pretty.

“Is it nice living up here?” you asked him.

“Yeah, pretty nice. Lots of good scenery.”

He seemed to be thinking about something, and you noticed that his shoulders sagged slightly.

“Being completely alone can get to you, though.”

There was a sadness in his voice. He did say that him wanting to be alone was just 'for the most part'. Unless that was a lie. What sort of circumstance could drive him to be living alone in the wilderness if he didn't actually want to be here? You wanted to know, but worried that might be crossing a boundary of some sort, and that made you hesitate to question him further.

“Do you not want to be here?” you asked him softly.

“No, I do,” said Morel, “but I also liked being around people. It just became hard to be around them after a while.”

“Hard to be around them?” you repeated.

“Yeah. It's.... It's just tough to explain,” he said.

“Sorry.”

He shook his head.

“Don't worry about it.”

It confused you, and while you wanted to ask a few more questions, you got a sense that he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

You found yourself wondering if Morel suffered from some extreme form of anxiety or agoraphobia. He seemed like a pretty calm person, but maybe that was only because he was in an environment where he was comfortable. That could have made sense, although you mentally berated yourself shortly after for jumping to conclusions like that just because he didn't want to talk about it. Maybe you should try to move the topic to something else.

“Does anyone come up to visit you?” you asked.

“No.”

Ah. Okay then.

“Then...” you trailed off briefly as you tried to find the right words, “ as long as it isn't too hard to be around me, would you care if I came back to visit you? I could repay you with all you've done for me with a dinner. Maybe bring it by next week or something like that?”

Morel smiled at that, and yet to you it seemed forced. You got another sense that he knew something that you didn't, and that he was intentionally keeping that information from you.

What would he know that he'd be keeping from you?

The thought left your head just as quickly as it entered when he spoke again.

“I guess I could handle having you stop by,” he said jokingly, “you're pretty tolerable.”

“Ah, that's good. Glad to know I can at least be tolerated,” you answered back in a similar joking manner.

He chuckled at that.

“All jokes aside, it'll be nice to have some company up here,” he said softly.

It felt good that he accepted you so easily. Maybe he accepted you a little too easily given the short amount of time he had known you, but if he was living up here all by himself maybe he was just that desperate.

And the argument could also be made that you were similarly being too trusting of him. It was possible that this was just a facade of his that would drop the instant you were vulnerable. That'd probably be what Colton would tell you if he knew the thoughts going around your head.

Although you were already pretty vulnerable, weren't you? Alone in the wilderness with a man you just met and a sprained ankle, so you weren't even able to run if you needed to. Even with your friends that were hopefully close by, with Morel's size it would've been easy enough for him to drag you off if he wanted. Helping you, sitting down and waiting with you for your friends just to gain your trust seemed to be a bit too much effort if his ultimate goal was to take you away.

You forced down those silly, anxious thoughts of yours. Morel wouldn't hurt you, you were certain of it.

The mist around the two of you was growing thicker still, but you didn't pay it much mind as you looked back down to your lap.

Something was sticking out of the front pocket of your jacket, and then you remembered that you still had that pipe you had found this whole time, having absentmindedly stuck it into your pocket when Morel moved you earlier. A thought then occurred to you as you looked at it again.

“This wouldn't be yours, would it?” you asked him as you pulled it out to show him.

Looking down at it, you noted that he didn't seem too surprised as he said to you “it would, actually.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. That's what I was looking for when I came across you,” Morel said.

“Huh. That's some weird coincidence,” you said as you extended your hand out to give him the pipe.

“It happens,” he said. He thanked you as he took it from you, pocketing it before his hands went back to where they had been before.

There was no urgency within you as you continued to sit with Morel, the mist still swirling and settling around the two of you. The more the mist grew, the more the thoughts of your friends and the worries within you began to slip away.

You had nothing to worry about.

Had you been paying more attention to him, you would've seen Morel stiffen ever so slightly, maybe even heard him curse under his breath as he sensed something that was now in the general vicinity. But you only noticed when he stood up suddenly, hands on his hips as he turned to face you.

“Hate to say it, but this fog'll probably only get worse. I'm not sure it's a good idea to keep waiting here,” he told you.

It had seemed to become exponentially worse as soon as he spoke those words, the fog that had been fairly moderate now surprisingly thick, to the point that you had a hard time making out the trees that were closest to you. Somehow you hadn't noticed just how bad it was until now.

“Ah. Yeah, you're right,” you said, “I think I remember which direction the trail is in. I should be able to make it back on my own.”

“What – no, that's not...”

Morel was rather flustered now, a hand running through his hair as he continued “even if you can make it back there, I doubt you'll have an easy time going down those stairs with your ankle like that. And with how hard it is to see right now, there's a 100% chance that you'll end up falling.”

You nodded, though you weren't certain where he was going. It seemed like a lot to ask him to walk you back in such circumstances, and far, far too much to have him take you back down the mountain.

“Since we're not sure what happened with your friends, I think the best thing I can do is take you back to my place for the time being.”

That hadn't been what you were expecting, and you opened your mouth to second-guess that idea until he spoke again.

“Just until the fog clears,” he assured you, “and this way you can get some actual rest inside instead of sitting out in the cold like this.”

… Morel's proposal seemed a lot nicer, you had to admit.

“I guess,” you began, “as long as you're sure it isn't too much trouble.”

He smiled at you as he said “I promise, it isn't.”

Any worries that this may be overstepping some kind of boundary faded from your mind after his reassurance, and you looked about the forest again.

“I guess we should try to find something for me to use as a walking stick,” you said, squinting your eyes when the fog proved to be too thick to see clearly, “unless you're okay with me leaning on you.”

“I've got a better idea.”

With that, Morel turned around and knelt down, his arms stretched out behind his back as he said “I'll carry you.”

After assuring you that this way would be faster, it didn't take much for you to take him up on his offer. After you made sure not to put any weight on your ankle while you climbed onto his back, Morel slowly lifted you up after he had your legs secured around his waist and you loosely held on around his neck.

With the sensation of you being pressed against him, of your warmth and virtually feeling the way your heart was steadily beating against his back, Morel let out a quiet, relieved sigh as he began the trek back to his home. He was grateful that you hadn't questioned him or tried to insist that he take you back to the trail anyway. If he hadn't been able to convince you, he'd need to take you by force. Such a thing would have been easy for him to do, and it was probably more common for those like him to take their captured humans while they kicked and screamed.

But he didn't want to traumatize you during the journey to your new home.

Luckily his aura that had been slowly engulfing you was able to influence you enough that you weren't questioning him on much, so the trip would be a peaceful one, although it was marred by how dishonest he was being about all of this.

If only he could just sit you down and explain everything, why he was doing this. But he knew you wouldn't believe him.

No reasonable person would believe him if he told them he was a banshee.

Saying that would only make you feel unsafe, maybe try to run from him, and then you'd end up even more injured in the process, and even more upset when you found that you could no longer leave the mountain.

But even that would be better than the alternative.

Morel just didn't like seeing people die.

The role of a banshee was to warn when death was coming. To let out that unearthly wail so the human marked for death could prepare and make peace with their fate. For Morel, when he saw someone who was marked to die, it looked like a cloud had settled around them. An aura that grew darker and darker as the human came closer to the time of their death until the aura had blackened completely. Then Death came to collect that unfortunate's soul.

And Morel was unable to do anything but give a heads up.

It was depressing. Being part of that cycle, watching as human after human had that cloud around them turn black and vanish as it left their lifeless bodies behind. And during the last years he had spent in the heavily populated areas, he found that more and more people were panicking when they heard his warning as a fear of death had grown stronger as time had gone by. The people who feared for their lives did everything in their power to try and prevent their deaths, and more often than not their attempts to thwart death ended up being what caused it. All because they had heard his warning.

It began to feel as though he was the one responsible for those who had died that way, and that felt even more depressing, to know that they had died because of him. By the end, Morel had grown tired of it all.

So he left.

He left the areas that were overrun with humans and found a home on an ancient mountainside. And for a while, he found some peace.

But time moved forward as it always did, and evidently, people forgot what areas were meant to stay sacred when they put together the hiking trail. It had angered many of his neighbors, but most were compelled to stay away from it and leave the humans alone as long as they stayed on the path.

And yet some of them couldn't do that, and on occasion the ones that strayed would run into some of the more malevolent spirits that resided on the mountain alongside him. He could usually tell when someone would die to the supernatural. The aura about them just had a certain feel to it, but Morel chose to stay out of it completely, not wanting to cause problems with his neighbors.

Even after trying to get away, he was still forced to see that cloud of death.

It was no different when he saw you after you first arrived.

Morel had happened to be at the base of the mountain when he saw you, the death cloud around you one shade off of completely black. You'd be dead before the end of the day. Perhaps during your trip in the woods, he had thought to himself. Yet as he observed you more, he felt that wouldn't be the case. Something told him that you would make it through this hiking trip of yours, but you would die almost immediately after. You seemed pretty healthy, so illness didn't appear to be the cause. An accident, then? That would be more likely. While he couldn't determine what exactly was going to happen, whatever it was would be sudden and violent.

Looking at the rest of your group, he found that none of them were marked for death like you were. Whatever happened after you all left, you would be the only one to die.

Something compelled Morel to keep watch over you, and so he followed behind, listening in on the conversations your friends were having and waiting for you to speak up.

You weren't saying much, however, and when he moved off the trail to walk beside you so he could get a better look at your face, he was taken aback by how dejected you seemed.

Something was eating at you, but you were keeping quiet about it as you continued to follow behind, almost unnoticed by the others in your group.

Your last hours of life were going to be spent with you feeling ignored and lonely, and that depression Morel felt when it came to these things returned. You shouldn't need to die today; you should've had years left of your life, not a scant few hours. It wasn't right, but there was nothing he could do.

Or was there?

An idea came to Morel, and he became lost in his own thoughts as he found himself walking away from the trail as your group came closer to the stairs. He made his way towards what had been a chapel for some long-forgotten deity, mulling over the thought in his head.

There was something he could do to alter your fate, both him and the magic still in the mountain powerful enough to allow him to lay a claim on you. But was it worth angering Death itself to keep you safe?

As he contemplated what to do, he looked back to you.

You had taken your phone out, holding it in a way that made it clear you were aiming to get a picture of the ruins he just so happened to be standing next to.

It took less than a second for him to realize what had happened when you blinked in surprise and took your eyes off of your phone.

You could see him.

You may not have been aware of it, but your eyes met his in that moment. Based off how you looked him over, you weren't able to see him all that clearly, but he could still tell when your eyes met again as you tried to make out any features of his face.

Then one of the people from your group called out and you looked away, and Morel made himself vanish. The confusion was clear when your head turned back and found him to be gone, and you ended up following your group again with your brows furrowed.

It was something that happened on occasion with certain people, another confirmation that you were close to death: as your final hour drew near, the barrier between you and the spiritual realm was thinning and you were beginning to see things that you weren't meant to.

When you looked back one more time, you managed to look in the exact spot where he had been standing, though this time he made sure you couldn't see him. He felt the way your eyes met his again before you turned your head back, that black cloud of death still engulfing you.

Something about your situation and that sight made Morel snap.

Screw fate. He needed to save you.

As he made his decision and began to follow you in earnest, a part of him was aware that saving you wouldn't do anything for the countless people that died every day, but he felt that if he could save at least one person from an unfair and untimely death, he could live better with himself. If he could keep you alive and happy, it was worth it.

He'd been worried that luring you away with the rabbit wouldn't work. You were far enough along that you could see it for what it really was: a creation that he'd made out of mist and smoke. Yet during the time you had spent getting up to the rest area, he had expanded his aura around you for long enough that any reservations you may have had about the slightly horrifying thing before you were easily pushed to the side as he compelled you to go after his creation, to get you further into the woods and by yourself.

He hadn't planned on you getting injured in the process, and when he heard your friends calling for you sooner than he expected he threw his pipe next to you in an act of desperation and just hoped that you would grab it. As long as you picked up something that belonged to him of your own free will, then you would belong to him.

You had done just that. And therefore, he was now free to do whatever he pleased with you.

“Is there a reason why we need to get to your place fast?” you asked him as he carried you back.

“You see how thick the fog is, right? I need to get us there before I lose my way,” Morel said, “can't embarrass myself like that, can I?”

Actually he just wanted to get out of there because of the other being that had been approaching the two of you. As much as he was able to hold influence over you, you would no doubt panic if you saw a headless woman sitting astride a horse casually come up to you.

“That makes sense,” you said. Then you giggled a little to yourself.

“I'm still mad that you laughed at me earlier,” you told him, “so if you do get lost, then I'm allowed to laugh at you.”

“Fair enough. If I get us lost you can laugh at me,” he agreed.

You laughed a little bit more.

“I won't actually do that. If we do get lost I'll probably be more concerned with trying to keep calm.”

“Don't worry; I know this mountain like the back of my hand,” he assured you.

If you had really been thinking about it, you might have questioned him on that. If he knew his way around that well, why couldn't he take you back to the trail? Why was he insisting on taking you back to his home?

But with the way his aura was enveloping you completely, no such thoughts came to mind, and you instead softly rested your head against him, feeling content.

You were rather easy to influence, and that fact made Morel feel badly for manipulating you the way he was.

He'd make it up to you, he told himself. He'd done good by wrapping up your ankle, and now he'd take care of you.

Glancing back at you, he felt satisfied to see that the black cloud of death had vanished. You no longer needed to fear anything like that.

You belonged to him now, and Morel would keep you safe for the rest of eternity.

#reader insert #morel x reader #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere hxh #morel mackernasey #morel #yandere hunter x hunter #monster au

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suffering-and-happy-about-it · 2 years

Text

That One Moment When He Almost Died (Love Lies, Part 4.)

“Six summers down, another dreamless night... You're not by my side.” - Orville Peck, Dead of Night

Description: Carcrash, coma, drug usage, partying, heartbreak… You’ve been there. After 18 months of “corrective” stay at your grandmother’s in Minnesota, it’s time for you to move back to East Highlands. Yet, it was to be expected that while some things change, some stayed the same.

A/N: Honestly, I live for Lexi and Fezco getting together, but I really don’t think that it will be a safe relationship for her. Not that Fezco isn’t an amazing guy, holy fuck, he is, but he’s tangled in all the bullshit atm. Also, I fully believe that Lexi is someone who’d understand that Fez and Y/N don’t have everything sorted out as they should have and I think she’d trust them both enough that she wouldn't interfere as long as the reader respects the new relationship. Also, I wanted to really go ham in-depth with the relationship Ashtray and the reader had back in the day, since I didn’t talk about it all in the OG series and just assumed that the audience imagines something, which was such a fucking missed opportunity. I will be going back a lot, setting up the emotional backgrounds for each character’s relationship to the reader and really... Dissecting it basically, as I should've been before.

Word counter: 4.1 K

Tagging: @comedinewithmeyeh @jeyramarie (tagging for the series is opened, just reply to the part or smth)

Masterlist: H E R E

Life is fucking bullshit. Don't take it all for face value, but don't think it's a lie either. Life isn’t fair. It fucking isn't and it will never be - and the sooner you realize, the sooner you learn how to survive. Anytime you think you have chess pieces set in the right exact order to succeed, life just rips the board out of your reach and throws it on the ground, letting everything crumble to small pieces as you sit there and watch everything in shock. It’s not too hard to understand that life is more or less a collection of conundrums, paradoxes, and a shit ton of drama to top it all off.

There are pieces and periods of happiness, but it all crumbles like a gingerbread house eventually. One thing has to be noted - they aren't easily dismissable either; you don't even realize that you're feeling happy and calm when the feeling's present, brightening your entire life for a limited time. It feels as if nothing can hurt you inside that bubble - yet when the happiness and the small, safe spot are gone, you feel this enormous abyss inside your life, taking over you.

Just like for you at the moment when you were running off the hill for your dear life, hearing Fezco sprinting just a few feet away from you. The hill was long and very steep; once, you almost stumbled over your shoelaces, having Fezco catching by the elbow to keep you on your knees. You stopped only for a second, taking in a deep breath as you grabbed his hand and dragged him down. Without hesitation (there wasn’t a single thought flashing through your head about how you should not do it), as soon as you got close to Ash laying on the asphalt full of gravel, you slid on your knees, putting your palm onto the same spot Ashtray held himself. Immediately, you knew that this move wasn't too smart of you; small pieces of gravel and asphalt itself scraped the skin on your knees; not too long after, you felt how it's getting weirdly warm and sticky under them. Even through all the pain in your knees, you kept your eyes on Ash's closed eyes, holding the spot. As soon as your brain connected the two dots, feeling a lot of warm, sticky liquid on your palms, you pressed your palm above his, making sure you're putting enough pressure on the wound. Your breath got shallow for a moment. Holding up your thumb, you could name the liquid reflecting in the street lights quite confidently. The muscles on your shoulder spasmed as you struggled to inhale and soon, your palm started to tremble. Trying not to cry or puke, you turned your head over your shoulder, screaming at all four of them, or someone, anyone, to help.

Jumping a few seconds back, you and Rue walked to the precipice, looking down at Ash standing there with two random dudes; presumably doing business as usual. But as soon as she started paying more attention to what was happening down there, her eyes widened and the blood stopped inside her veins. In the same moment, you realize as well; your reaction being way more extroverted than Rue's. You dropped to the ground, screaming, still holding her hand - before you rushed forward to run to the boy. Somebody just fucking stabbed him two times. And you both watch it live - watching as a boy gripped his body while mumbling something, doing the deed. As the other teenagers saw you, they both ran for their lives, presumably with everything that Ash had on himself. He was left with nothing - they took all his money, all his drugs, and his gun. While you got on your knees, pressuring the wound along with Fezco's assistance, Rue was still standing there in shock, watching the scenery happening. Once more, the whole world was turning so, so fast while Rue stood there, being unable to move, feeling as if she's too slow for everything that was going on. Lexi, Jules, and Archie were standing next to her while you nursed Ash, mumbling some nonsense; until you turned your head to them. Immediately after that, Archibald pressed the keys into Lexi's palm, asking her to get the car with Jules's help while he himself ran down to help with picking Ash up from the ground. - "Can someone get the fucking car already?!"

"Listen up, bucko, you're not bleeding out on me tonight, alright?" - You mumbled, smoothing Ashtray's shaven cut. That palm was shaky and covered in small droplets of blood too, even though you didn't recall how exactly did the blood get there. The boy's belly tensed up as he chuckled, but the pain was so big that he immediately regretted it, closing his eyes tighter than before. This also prompted Fezco to put his palm on top of yours, also feeling the blood pouring out. It wasn't really the blood that was the problem; it was the amount that made you worried. - "Right now, we will rush you to the hospital and a week or two from now on, I will walk into the gas station, finding your annoying fucking ass sitting on the counter, you hear me?" "Worse things had happened to me already, I think you're just freaking out a bit." - The boy said under his breath, but you just dragged your thumb on the boy's cheek, smiling a bit. Quickly, you looked at Fezco on the other side and nodded when you saw his blue eyes gazing back at you with all the thanks he could think of. If he thought that didn't get the message across, his fingers subconsciously caressed the top of your sticky, wet hand.

"This shit ain't good." - Fez said, seconding what you said. - "You will need weeks to get back together, bro. These motherfuckers ain't good people and I told you so." "I let my guard down, aight? It won't happen again Fez." - Ashtray mumbled, letting out a shallow breath. With loud thuds and various curses, Archibald finally made his way down as well, kneeling right next to you. The horror on his face as he realized who the boy was made you worried, but immediately, he went to look at where Ash got stabbed. Thank fucking God he spent more than enough time as a part of voluntary paramedic with all the courses and knowledge he could get. At first, Fezco gave Archie a distrustful look, but there was something in your eyes telling Fez that this might not be just some random chap that was willing to help.

"Will he make it?" - You wondered, watching as Archibald tried to deduce in which part the wounds precisely were. Honestly, it was hard as fuck to tell and he only hoped he's right since he wasn't an experienced hospital worker who had seen thousands upon thousands of things like that. But the relief could be heard coming out of you when Archibald nodded. - "He should if we make it to the hospital fast enough. It doesn't look that they stabbed through the most important organs, but there's a lot of blood he's going to lose. That could be a problem. Just fucking... Keep your hands there as if they're fucking glued there. Sir, I'll need you to help me with getting Ash into our car while Y/N keeps her hand on the wound, alright?" As soon as Lexi parked the car just a bit away from you, the man started acting quickly - one of them took Ash's shoulders, the other one took his feet and with you keeping pressure on the wound, they somehow managed to puzzle Ashtray on the backseat with his head resting in your lap and feet on Fezco's. Even for Lexi, who was sitting on the passenger's seat, if all fell right that way.

Not that they wouldn't know each other, but still; the relationship between you and Ash was much different than hers and Ashtray's. In the end, no matter what, you were the first woman Fezco voluntarily brought home and let her stay overnight. You knew Ash back when he was much younger and when Lexi had never even looked Fezco's way. Over your time in East Highland, you spent a lot of evenings by that kid's side, learning to know him, which wasn't exactly a thing Lexi would do; she didn't have the balls of steel to stay all day at the most frequent drug trafficking spot of the town. You watched movies together, ate meals, shopped, cooked, and laughed at jokes. For Ash, you also might've been the last of Fezco’s girls he'd open up to that degree. Cause it hurt. It hurt to see you come and go, almost dying.

Lexi’s relationship with him wasn't by any means bad, right the opposite, it was cool; but it felt right that you sat at the backseat with your palm on the wound, slowly smoothing Ashtray's head as your tears poured on his face. He didn't mind exactly since he managed to pass out.

Inside your head, you were stuck on that one morning when you officially met this kid. Thinking about it now, he obviously was somewhere between all the people at the party you kissed Fezco for the first time; but you really talked to Ash the following morning. The boy watched over you, in his own way, waking up from a hangover so bad that you blacked out. The first thing, funnily enough, was him asking about a stomach ache - which kind of freaked you out.

Finding a way to make that kid trust you was a pain in the as itself; it took you a good portion of your relationship to even have him take a piece of cake your ma baked. It took another month before he joined a movie night of yours and Fezco’s; at first, he was almost invisible, until he sat on the sofa opposite of you, giving you a shy smile as you cuddled to your ex. And you returned the smile. That was that small moment that seemed to finally break the ice; the next morning, Ash finally accepted your offer to make him something to eat - it was only an omelet and bacon, but it was the foundation of everything. Ever since that morning, you became friends; when Kat couldn’t come to the gas station, Ashtray annoyed Fezco until the point when Fez simply picked up his phone and called you to come instead. The boy always talked you down to watching his favorite movies and to cook with you… Truth was that back in the day, he really, genuinely loved you as much as a kid can. After Maria, who was now bound to her bed with no-one inside that head of hers, you were the only thing to a motherly-like figure Ash ever accepted; and the day you left him to rot in there, the day he got to know that you’re not coming back, he gave up on that sentimental emotional bullishit.

When Fezco told him that you're not coming back, basically straight up screaming it into Ash's face when the kid got annoying about you, Ashtray felt his heart genuinely breaking apart. He didn't say a word as he watched Fezco leaving the apartment, his face didn't change except that one small spark inside his eyes that just... Burnt out. There was a small part inside of him believing that when the doorbell rings and the door open, it will be you. It took him two months to truly understand how serious the situation was. After that point, when Fez started talking to a girl, she was nothing more than that. Just a girl making his bro happy and at most, Ashtray’s friend if they really got along. He never hugged any of them, he never cared about their traumas and feelings, not in-depth. Sure, they were homies, they talked and shared stories, but it never hit the same again.

Although he gave up on all of that bullshit and never wanted to go through anything similar again, it was when you walked in through the door, when he felt something moving inside of his chest. It was warm, comforting, and happy... Which was something he hadn't felt in years. Ash’s heart was beating heavily for a few seconds, reminding him of one of his most favorite evenings ever. You were dancing in front of the stove, making pancakes, as you sang that cheesy awful 3 Nights pop song you loved while dressed only in Fezco’s T-shirt and a pair of his briefs. It was at that moment when Ash had fully seen what being in love means. Fezco wasn't the one to talk much at that time, but he said one thing that stuck with Ashtray. - "I'm a fucking fool for that girl, I think I'm in love with her." - It was more of a mumble under his breath rather than a full-on talking, but seeing you again reminded Ash of this one hasty, blurry memory he had from years ago.

Knowing you were the one next to him when he got stabbed was something that made him pass out (due to a sudden blood loss) with a small smile on his lips. It was like learning how to ride a bike while his mom looked out for him. Ashtray was scared. Holy fucking shit was he scared when he felt the pain in his abdomen; yet having the people he loved the most around was something so powerful that for a moment, the fear disappeared. Until he felt only love inside of his chest; which was also mostly because his brain didn't have enough oxygen inside of it.

As anyone in their right mind would, the nurses called the cops after seeing two barely grown-up men rushing in a kid with two stab wounds while a girl pressured the wounds while panicking - it might've been a really serious situation you've been it, but in a sick way, it was funny watching all three of you running in with you hysterically calling out for any help while tears ran down your cheeks. This time, you weren't scared of answering all the questions cops had - you hadn't to pretend to be sober either since this whole thing made you sober up rather quickly. After cops were done with you, you noticed that your entire outfit is drenched in Ash's blood as well as your knees being fucked up to the point where you could see the small pieces of gravel stuck in what seemed to be the muscles. As the time passed by, you also started feeling that it hurt like a motherfucker.

"Well, what should we do now?" - Archibald asked while Fezco smoked outside of the hospital, trying to keep his shit together. From the tone of Archie's voice, you knew that there wasn't a single way in hell in which he would leave the kid behind before hearing the diagnosis and prognosis; that was more of his volunteer thingy. By the looks of it, Fezco wasn't about to leave either - in the end, it was Ash, for fuck's sake. "We can drive the girls to mine." - Fez said while exhaling the smoke. - "Yannow, let them sleep, shower and shit. I can grab some clothes for Ash." - Saying that he looked at Lexi with a serious expression. Oh, you realized, oh holy motherfucking shit. All it took was a single non-verbal exchange to perfectly understand what was going on. Fuck, you needed a shot of something very strong, a cigarette and paracetamol to help you sleep that night. - "Sure, I'll take care of Y/N and help her with her knees. Haven't talked with her in ages, I'd love to. Only if... If you don't mind of course."

"I'd honestly love to." - You exclaimed way faster than anyone expected; especially Fezco. - "It will be fun. A bit of a girl's night, if you catch my drift. Yea." - If they didn't know, now they all knew you were nervous and confused as all shit. Not that it was your business, of course, but Fez and Lexi? That sweet, sweet Lexi Howard? Shit. As you nodded to reassure everyone, mainly yourself, that it is a good idea, you also gulped. It was to be expected that just like you found someone else to date, Fezco will find someone himself too. That didn't change a single thing about the revelation hitting you like a truck, while you tried to proceed it all. Mainly the person he was interested in which caught you off guard. Especially after your history... Especially after how it all ended up in fucking crumbles. Fuck, he was your ex, you had no right to judge or say anything, but... Holy motherfucking shit on a fan.

As you agreed, so you did; not even half an hour later, you were walking into the apartment you knew so well. It didn't change a single bit. The couches were in the same place, the kitchen was small and untidy, there was uneaten food on the dinner table... This was the precise copy of everything you left behind. Honestly, trying to keep your face cool, you didn't say anything; but it was triggering and scary as all fuck. "Have a shower, take some clothes, food, painkillers, ya remember where the cigs at, whateva man, you know the place like your own home." - Fezco mumbled to you in the doorframe without Lexi or Archie around, informing you that this piece of information was for your ears only and neither of them had to know what had been said. This was why Fezco was probably one of the best people you've met in your lifetime; he kept private business really private, there was this raw kindness coming from the bottom of his motherfucking heart, he never said much but got everything across clear as day and first and foremost, he'd die for his fucking family... And he would definitely kill for it. - "Thank you. I appreciate it, after..." "Yea, don't give me that bullshit. You're Rue's sis and Imma treat you as such, ya get me?" - And with that, he left you standing in the doorframe. Fuck, you remembered when Fezco told you exactly that for the last time. And it was way before any relationship of yours had started... Could that mean he just decided to erase that whole chapter? And was that good or bad?

As Fezco sped through the apartment, you tiptoed to hug and kiss Archie, thanking him for all the shit he has done for your friends that night. As your boyfriend mumbled - "Anything, anytime, baby girl." - and kissed your cheek, that was when it hit Fezco. For a moment, he stood in the doorframe of his bedroom and watched you embracing the boy as you embraced him two years ago. For a second, his brain started to spiral before he shook his head, finishing packing Ash's things and kissing Lexi on her temple, promising her to see her tomorrow. Only when both the men left were you able to sit on the sofa, now showered, and almost clean in a t-shirt you borrowed out of Fez's closet as he instructed you to do, you let your head fall on the armrest as you closed your eyes, letting the outer world fade away for a moment. This was certainly a night to fucking remember. - "Hey, need some help with the knees?" - Lexi woke you up from a light slumber, making you open your eyes again as you nodded; she had also showered with her hair up under a towel. The girl had prepared everything she possibly could; she had a bottle of disinfection, bandages, and tweezers - she even grabbed you a cigarette to concentrate on while pulling out all of the small pieces of gravel.

Lighting it up for you, she let your knees rest upon her thighs as she concentrated. "I'm sorry if I acted up before." - You started after a moment of silence with one of Lexi's playlists playing quietly in the background. The girl smiled at you, shaking her head. - "It was just really fucking stressful... Seeing someone I care about... Fuck." "It's fine. You were never mean to me before and you weren't mean tonight. It's actually pretty nice to talk to the only other reasonable person who knows what literature is... In this entire damn town." - Lexi giggled while concentrating on pulling out everything, making you giggle as well. It was now time to jump to the biggest elephant in the room to get it out before you talk about anything else.

"This whole deal with you and Fez... It surprised me. Not in a bad way, of course, and God forbid me inserting myself into your or his shit it's just... How comes an idiot like him got to date such a beautiful, smart girl like yourself?" - With that, you sat up and licked your lips, still leaving your knees on Lexi's upper thighs. You yourself knew the best that Fezco is a dreamy fucking guy... Yet that wasn't the only thing he was. The other people he was were much worse. Lexi stopped at that and looked you in the face with a small smile, putting her arm on your lower shin. She, in fact, looked comfortable with the question - she knew it was coming ever since the moment she met Jules and Archie at the party, learning he's your boyfriend. It was a reasonable question in her opinion; especially if everyone in the radius of 10 fucking miles knew that some of the personal business you and Fez had still wasn't ended properly. Honestly, he never talked about it with Lexi since he didn't have the reason to do so; who, in their right mind, would take about the night shit went down, the break-up, the follow-up, and the end itself connected to their ex with a girl they were interested in dating? The answer was no one. No one would share that piece of cake, not even Fez was that batshit crazy.

"I don't even know, Y/N. It just... Happened one day. Nobody saw me, but suddenly, Fezco did. And then we talked, we texted, called, and suddenly we went out on a date. And it's been like that since." "I'm happy that you two found happiness in one another. You two might be the best people I got to know all my life." "But that's not all, is it?" - Lexi asked calmly, shifting her attention back to your knees. - "There's something you want to tell me, I can hear it in the context." "Fuck... I... God fucking damn it... I don't want you to end up the way I did." - This made Lexi's heart stop. The girl looked at you once more, hanging her gaze on your lips. She suddenly didn't see this one coming. - "This would be something to swallow anyway from the essence of the matter, but knowing you're like me... At least, you being similar to the person I was before it all went down... That makes me scared. This shit is tricky, sticky, tough and something you need to be careful with." "If you mean his businesses, I don't stick around when he does that. You don't have to worry about it." - And coming from Lexi, you could see the honesty and warm heart under these words. Not only did Lexi mean it seriously, but she appreciated the fact someone was worried for her. - "Thank you. I mean it. Will you tell me how were you doing the past few years?"

And just as Lexi asked for, so you delivered. You gave her the best description of your Minnesota experience along with how you and Archie got to meet each other, letting her take care of the knees. Since it hurt a bit to walk, the girl make sure you gulped a pill of paracetamol before you went to lay in the bed. At first, she wanted to go to wait for them in the living room, but you talked her down to stay with you in the bed for the sole purpose of not being alone. As your eyes got heavy, you looked at her for the last time. - "Yannow, Lexi, I feel like I arrived in this town at the begging of the great depression... I lived through each second of it and when I left, the depression left with me. But now that I'm back, I feel like it won't take too long until everything spirals out of control really quickly and that this time, it will fuck my life up even more."

#lexi howard #fezco x fem!reader #fezco euphoria #euphoria season 2 #i love love love them together #but i'm also really worried since a girl remembers what fez was up to last season #rue bennet #jules vaugn #fezco x lexi #i love the idea on paper #but lexi ma baby #if anything happens to her #ooof #imma have a chat with sam #euphoria hbo #euphoria

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flowerwrites06 · 3 years

Text

thinning thread — jjk

Plot: In the heat of a tumultuous rough path in their marriage, Jungkook is handed their last resort.

Pairing(s): Jungkook x Writer!OC (Name: Belle)

Rating: G | PG | M | R 18+

Type: Drabble | Oneshot | Two Parter | Series

Word Count: 2k+

Genre: Marriage!AU

Tags & Warnings: angst, rough marriage, divorce, explicit smut

Authors Note: sorry the reposting has been a little slow, everyone! the end of feb was a little rough but I’ll try to get the fics out as soon as I can.

ALSO requests are currently open and they’ll close on Sunday! So be sure to fill the request form HERE

Days turned to, weeks turned to months the blanket of home they knitted together now stripped to nothing but a pathetic string. Both of them dangling and swinging on it pretending that the world around them didn’t just crumble beneath their feet. It started with regular fights over the lack of time they spent together; the usual reason most couple would go through a lovers’ spat. Then fights were followed with silent treatments lasting days on end to point where one of them would be out of the house completely.

Paranoia kicked in soon afterwards as Jungkook saw Belle chatting with one of her clients leading to yet another exhausting argument about her supposedly cheating. Jungkook left home that night for three days until he came back without saying a word. Belle spent more nights in her office using a glass of wine to loosen herself up and get some sleep while writing herself to near madness.

Her publishing company even asked her if she was okay after her latest manuscript submission stating it had a lot more disturbing themes than her usual works. Belle simply stated that things changed. Happiness wasn’t a fucking commonality anymore and the themes she wrote now seemed more realistic.

Jungkook spent hours in the gym, punching bags until the skin on his knuckles ripped apart breaking himself down enough to get some damn shut eye. He was getting a lot more complaints from his producers these days saying he had too much of a short fuse nowadays. Which, to prove their point, he ended up snapping and earned himself a break away from sending in anymore songs until he got himself sorted.

Swinging and swinging on this thinning thread, it all dwindled down into one night.

Instead of going back to her office for the night, Belle paid a visit to her lawyer about a set of paperwork that she needed organized. Thankfully the name she made for herself allowed the time to finish all these documents were significantly lessened. The next day after making her request she was able to have the papers in her hand.

As she walked into the apartment the woman realized how long it had been since she walked into their home at this hour. The twilight sky looked like a painting through the large panned windows, creating a beautiful silhouette of the city buildings. For a moment Belle could have smiled until she heard chain clanging and something thudding.

Jungkook began his attack on what could have been his fifteenth punching bag this fortnight, not caring about the world around him.

She sighed, placing her bag on the kitchen counter before stomping over to the man with her brown envelope in hand. “I need to talk to you.” Belle announced trying to sound louder than the punching bag thudding and clanging.

The man gave the bag one harsh punch before letting out a deep sigh, a droplet of sweat . “I’m not in the mood.” He mumbled immediately causing a rush of fury in her belly.

Belle tightened her jaw her whole body urging to just throw the papers on the floor until he sees it. But she took a long, drawling breath as she walked closer to the male who proceeded to assault his punching bag. “This is important.” She spoke firmly. “Just listen to me for one second.” She pursed her lips when Jungkook finally held onto the punching bag to pause for a moment.

Though the male still glared at her a little making her heart drop.

She remembered when he used to look at her with eyes soft and sparkling. Now all she felt was hate radiating from him. Belle handed the envelope over which he accepted, ripping off the top carelessly before pulling out the papers.

Jungkooks’ brows furrowed when he skimmed through the contents of the document. “What the hell is this?” He fumed.

“Divorce papers.” Belle replied simply.

He tightened his jaw still staring at the words on the pages instead of looking up at her. “I need a pen.” Jungkook muttered quietly before walking past her towards the living room.

Chest clenched tightly but she let out a quick breath before following him along watching him walk towards the sitting area.

Belle’s brows furrowed when she noticed they were walking away from the staircase to the study to get a pen. Instead she saw Jungkook pad towards the couches, to the fireplace sitting in front of them still running to keep the place warm and cozy. Even though the atmosphere was anything but that.

It didn’t take long until finally she saw Jungkook tossing the papers and empty envelope right into the fire. Stammering she watched the flames rise higher before dissipating the documents, their names burned away achingly slow. “Jungkook.” She tried to move past him to grab the remnants of the papers but both her arms were grabbed to keep her in place.

“Are you trying to hurt me now? Huh?” Jungkooks’ eyes burned into hers, hair matted to his glistening forehead.

Belle yanked out of his grasp which made his move his arms but he still stood dangerously close. “Don’t try to make me look like the bad guy here.” She seethed. “We’ve tried to fix this but it’s not working. You didn’t even want to talk to me when I walked into the room.”

“Because I thought you were going to start up another fight which clearly you were.” He gestured harshly towards the fireplace.

“Do you have a better idea?” Her vision grew blurry. “Because I don’t want to wake up another morning feeling like you hate me.” Belle hadn’t spoken about her feelings to the man in a long time. So long that expressing it now made her feel utterly exposed.

“You really think I hate you?” Jungkook spoke through gritted teeth. “You really think I’d still be in this apartment because I fucking hated you?”

“When was the last time you told me you loved me then? Hm?” Tears streamed down her face, mascara smudging at the corners of her eyes a little. “When was the last time we actually spoke to each other without yelling or crying?” Belle sobbed out.

“That doesn’t mean I stopped loving you.” He protested, his eyes glistening even in the dimmed warm light. “How did you even think I would sign those papers, huh?”

Belle shrugged weakly, smiling a little sadly. “Maybe you’d be happier without me.”

His eyes twitched as he pursed his lips together tightly. “Would you be happier without me?”

Her heart felt tired at this point tightening around itself as if trying to push out all the hurt or keep it all in. Happiness wasn’t a commonality for sure. But would it be any better if she couldn’t see him altogether? Spending years thinking of what could have happened if they just—kept holding onto that thread?

Without uttering a single word, Belle merely shook her head. In a second she was reminded at how well Jungkook still was at knowing what she needed right at that moment.

A small tear escaping down his cheek, Jungkook grabbed her by her cheeks and pressed a warm kiss against her lips. He could taste a saltiness on her dampened lips before his hands trailed down, wrapping them around her waist to cancel out any distance between them. He was fucking done being so far away from his baby, unable to touch her because they were too stubborn to say sorry. With a swift motion he picked her up and impatiently pressed her down against the fluffy rug.

Belle pulled at her scarf which was quickly pushed away and her cardigan lay as a blanket underneath. Fingers hooked on the hem of his cold T-shirt before pulling it over his head and discarding no one cared where. She felt his nails firmly graze up her thigh, hooking onto her panties and pulling it down only one of her thighs roughly. The thin piece of clothing dangling on her left ankle as Jungkook devoured her lips not wanting to unlock their tongues dancing.

His bulging shorts rubbed against her bare core making her moan against his lips. Jungkooks’ still wrapped hand pulled at her hair to press her further down on the floor. He watched her mouth part, small gasp passing through as his hips rubbed against her pooling core. “Look at me.” He spoke in a raspy voice, lust blown and glossy eyes piercing into her. “I want you to look at me.” He whispered, forehead pressing together as he carelessly pushed down his shorts to let his desperate cock free.

Belle felt his thick, wet tip rub up and down her sleek heat, walls already clenching to a get an aching taste of him inside her again. “Please—” A choked scream broke out of her when the man slammed into her. Her pussy swallowed up every inch of his cock, aching a little after being long-deprived from the stretch. She kept her gaze did not waiver however watching him contort his face in pleasure.

Jungkook could barely hear himself think after feeling his whole member hugged by that familiar heat. So deliciously tight and warm, he could stay like this forever if he could. “Fuck I missed you.” He whispered, hot breath hitting her face before he kissed her again, sighing in relief as he began thrusting into her. Every snap of his hips hit hard and deep wanting to make his movements embedded in their minds so they forget just how fucking good they felt together.

She grabbed onto his shoulders for dear life, legs spread out welcomingly for him to destroy her desperate heat. All her long hibernated nerves now jolted awake by the beautiful friction between them, electrifying her body.

He pulled apart the front of her dress, a few buttons flying off but Belle couldn’t care less. Neither of them could. This was the closest they had been in months. Nothing was going to stop them from spewing out all their bottled frustrations.

Belle felt his hot mouth press wet kisses on the curve of her breast, teeth grazing against the tender skin making her smile in bliss. Fingers gripped at the roots of his slightly damp hair reaching down to kiss his head. A gasp caught in her throat when he thrusted into her faster pushing to the limits of her release but she pushed him away.

“What’s wrong?” He breathed out staring at her confused but he quickly saw what she wanted.

Belle pushed on his chest to make him lie on his back before straddling him, the panties on her ankle slid away. She raised herself over his erect cock and slowly let her core devour him again causing a small groan under Jungkooks’ throat. His hands instinctively moved under the skirt of her dress, squeezing her bottom. Still her eyes fixated on him as her hips swayed, feeling his tip rub against her sweet spot making her legs melt.

She moved her hands to where his were and Jungkook immediately intertwined their fingers together. Belle carefully unwrapped the black cloth around his knuckles as the male sat up now, wanting to feel her closer.

Pressing a small kisses on his healing wounds, she quickened her pace.

Jungkook grabbed the back of her neck and intoxicated her with another kiss while his other hand guided her hips.

Belle held onto his shoulders now and bounced on his cock, the sheer pressure against her sweet spot could throw her over the edge in minutes. Arms wrapped around him as her teeth sunk into his skin, muffling her moans. Fingers ran through the hair on the back of his head, lips pressing messy kisses on his neck and cheek. “I love you.” She whispered in his ear.

The male grabbed the side of her neck again forcing her to meet his gaze. Thumb brushed the corner of her teary eyes, mascara smudging across her temple on his finger pad. Lips were barely hovering one another as Belle slowed her thrusts. “I love you too.” He sighed out the words, grabbing bits of her hair before pressing on her warm lips. “I love you so much.” His latter words were mumbled but Belle still heard them.

A small sob shook through her seeing that warmth again. One she hadn’t seen it in so long that it almost felt like dream but Jungkooks’ hands on her skin reminded her it wasn’t. This was all real.

Jungkook turned her around to lay on her stomach, legs straightened out and spread so he could sneak in between. His cock slid in on its own at this point with how fucked out her heat was and he didn’t waste a single second longer to continue the pace. He leaned into her, kisses lain on her shoulder and sweet words whispered in her ear.

He intertwined his fingers with a hand and Belle hugged it closer, his sweaty torso pressed firmly against her back as the onslaught of thrusts began. It was slow but it dug deep into her core and steadily patterned. Her belly pressed against the floor made it all the more easier to rub against her sweet spot and create some friction against her clit.

“Don’t stop.” She whispered giving Jungkook even more determination to torture her core with incessant pounding. Warmth gathered around her leaking heat and pleasure tickled under the skin of her thighs causing her moans to shake.

Jungkook drilled into her, his own moans melting with her as his climax now flooded his entire form, his hand gripping onto hers like it was a part of him.

Belle cried out, trying to muffle the pitch by pressing her lips against the back of his hand. The heated release making her legs shake under him uncontrollably. Cheek pressed against the rug now, she bit down her bottom lip, tears still flowing out of her from the force of her orgasm mixed with everything else.

He filled her up with his release uttering the most delicious whimpers and moan before kissing her cheek softly. “You okay, baby?” Jungkook whispered, caressing her tear stain cheek.

Belle smiled quickly, nodding even though fresh tears still fell turning to face him properly. “I’m glad you didn’t sign it.” She giggled through her light sobs.

Jungkook chuckled leaning in and lay a soft kiss on her salty lips. “I’d never leave you, baby.”

“Promise?” She asked in a whisper.

“Promise.”

Another thread now knitted with the one they had been dangling on, making them that tiny bit stronger than they were yesterday.

#jungkook #thebtswritersclub #jungkook imagines #bts imagines #jungkook fanfic #bts fanfic #jungkook fanfiction #bts fanfiction #husband jungkook #marriage au #bts marriage au

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yuedama · 3 years

Note

OMGOMG ok so can you do a jealous yelena x reader smut IM SO THIRSTY FOR HER RN

content : nsfw ; vaginal fingering, orgasm denial, petnames

notes : ohoho gotchu anon ;) 'm sorry if it took a while but i hope u enjoy !!

a harsh grip on your chin forced your eyes to stare into pools of grey, the intensity beneath them making you writhe in your place. it all had happened so suddenly— you had been making your way towards the mess hall for dinner when an arm yanked you into a dimly lit room. you had initially panicked, but after seeing who had pulled you into the dark and confined space, you immediately let your guard down.

which, in your part, was a big mistake.

just as you looked up to invite the blonde for dinner, you were met with a glowering yelena, no trace of tenderness in their face as she pushed you against the wall. you reached out your hand to cup her cheeks, but it was quickly smacked away.

“yelena?” your voice was soft as you stared at her in concern, though there was a stinging in your hand from the impact of her slap.

she made no response, only choosing to growl at you before coming down to bite the skin between your neck and collarbone. you whimpered at the attack, face contorting to that of pleasure and pain, hands coming up to her shoulders to push her away.

“hey, 'lena, what's wrong?”

“oh, you tell me what's wrong. why were you getting all friendly with that blond?” hot breath tickled your lips as they maintained intense eye contact with you, lengthy fingers finding purchase on the base of your neck to push you further against the wall. “what was his name again?”

“i-i don't know who you're talki—”

“nice try, doll, but that's not going to work.”

you made a confused hum which eventually turned to a string of mewls as yelena nipped at your flesh, adamant at leaving marks on your skin. they relished in the way you would sigh and pant as they sank their teeth into you, the feeling of your warm body rutting against theirs absolutely euphoric.

“you know who i'm talking about, that blond kid with the undercut.” yelena's eyes bore deeply into yours as she leaned back, one hand cradling your face while the other was gripping your thigh. “you seemed so comfortable around him, leaning against his shoulder as you laughed at whatever pathetic joke he made.”

“you've got it wrong!” you cried, voice shaky for you were out of breath, fingers clutching her dress shirt tightly to ground yourself.

“wrong?” yelena feigned innocence, having the audacity to look hurt as a hand coming to resting on their chest. “you mean to tell me i didn't catch you all over that kid a while ago?”

she leaned in to whisper against your ear, lips tracing the lobe just enough to make you feel hotter. “are you accusing me of seeing things, doll?”

“'lena, let me explain,” a desperate look was written on your face; though you were a little nervous, you also couldn't resist the ticklish curiosity eating at you for what yelena might do to you. all the ways she would touch you, run her fingers on your body as she claimed you were hers. it made you drool at the thought.

“what's there to explain?” the blonde's nails dug into your hips, her head leaning down to tug your bottom lip harshly as she spoke against it. “i saw everything.”

you could only whimper against their lips, eyes closing as you let her have her way with you. before you knew it, your bottoms were in a pool at your ankles, your dripping essences on display for the tall woman.

“you actually got fucking wet from that? how low of you, darling,” yelena chuckled, a dark glint overtaking their expression as her fingers rolled your erect clit. your legs buckled, and if you weren't holding onto her to brace yourself, you were certain you would have collapsed to the floor.

“l-lena a-ah!” the pinching of your bundle of nerves coupled with the biting of your neck quickly riled you up. yelena was ruthless, showing no mercy as she toyed with your clit and marked your neck, choosing places where she knew people could see.

“that's right, call out my name,” she forced you to keep your eyes on her, lips twisting to a sadistic grin as she watched the way she made you crumble; pleasured you like no else did, no one else could. a digit entered your sopping hole, prodding right at your sweet, spongy spot.

black dots clouded your vision as you tried your hardest to train your eyes on the blonde before you, chest heaving up and down as you greedily sucked in air, tongue lolling at the tip of your mouth. she sped up the jerking of her wrist as she added a second finger, thumb pressing down on your clit hard.

broken moans echoed in the room, your mind unable to focus on anything but the way yelena devoured you with her gaze while thrusting in and out of your cunt.

“l-lena n-ngh!”

the sense of pride that bubbled in yelena's chest was incomparable to anything as she listened to you practically scream her name while she made you crumble beneath her.

“who owns you?”

“you...” tears pricked your waterline as you forced your voice out your dry throat, hands pathetically clinging onto the blonde's forearms for dear life.

“louder, darling.” her pace quickened, steel eyes widening in adoration as she watched the way you took in her fingers, drool trickling down the sides of your mouth.

“i'm yours, yelena, all yours!” her lips twitched upwards, a satisfied sigh being drawn from it as she kissed the salty tears away from the corner of your eyes.

“and who's fucking you this good right now?”

“y-you, yelena!” you were going insane from the brutal, inhumane speed she had set, eyes shutting close as the pleasure became too much to handle.

“you think that armin can do you as good as i can?”

“n-no, 'lena.”

“good pet,” the fondness in her husky voice was unmistakable, though it grew in contrast with the way she continuously, ravenously, grazed your slick walls with her rough fingertips. you could only clench your eyelids harder til you started seeing colors, whole body spasming as you were drawn nearer to your high.

“want me to call him and show him just how much of a mess you are for me?”

a gasp left your lips as your eyes snapped open to look at the blonde's face in confusion, searching for any signs of humor in them, though she looked dead serious. “please d-don't. i belong to you, 'lena, only you!”

“you plead me not to, yet the way your walls gripped my fingers say otherwise,” a frown graced her features as she stopped her ministrations, robbing you of the high you were chasing.

“'lena, why'd you stop?” it was so frustrating, feeling the telltale signs of a coming orgasm only to have that sweet moment ripped away from you.

“you'd have to reflect on your actions before you even think of getting to cum.” yelena growled, stepping back to straighten her clothes and make herself presentable.

with that, she walked out and disappeared to god knows where, leaving you sensitive and insatiable, an uncomfortable wet patch in your underwear as you made your way towards the mess hall once more. it had become apparent that luck wasn't on your side, for the only empty seat in the room was beside the blond who was the main reason for yelena's outburst.

#snk smut #yelena aot #yelena x reader #yelena smut #aot smut #yelena brainrot #yelena x reader smut #snk.%!

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eirikaanemo · 3 years

Note

Venti's crush is a sister in the Church of Favonius. That's the entire prompt. Okay, she may have overheard Venti when he asked for the Holy Lyre and maaaaybe she gave it to him (in the name of freedom!), but she probably wouldn't be a sister after that.

Venti x GN!Reader

1.7k Words

Warnings: Eviction? Kinda?

Notes: So, halfway through I remembered "Sister" is a gendered term, so I switched it to "Disciple". Hopefully that still works!

Part 2: His Fight

His Lyre

He first caught your attention while he was doing a street performance. You were walking down the street, minding your own business, when you heard a melody so beautiful that you swore it had to be Barbatos himself. Following your curiosity, you found him performing a ballad for a group of children. His clear tenor painted looks of wonder on their faces as he regaled them with tales of Vanessa and the revolution of freedom.

You couldn’t help but stop to watch as well. He had captivated you as much as he had the children and you didn’t regret a thing. After Vanessa’s tale he sang of the fall of the storm god, the rise of Barbatos, the shaping of the lands, and the rise of Mondstadt. Every song seemed almost more amazing than the last.

It was getting close to evening by the time you were able to free yourself from his spell. Or rather, he stopped casting it. His last few notes rang out and faded into the darkness. You almost didn’t dare to breathe in fear of breaking the serene silence that overtook the scene. Then his eyes opened.

This was your first real chance to get a good look at them as he was usually facing just slightly away from you. Everyone else had gone home, so as he scanned the area, his eyes fell on you. And suddenly all you could see was his eyes. They’re beautiful, you thought to yourself, a hint of blush warming your cheeks.

His braids swayed a bit as he tilted his head curiously and a smile flashed across his lips. “It’s not often I see a Disciple here, tell me, did you like what there was to hear?”

“I did,” you confirmed. “I’m very impressed! It was almost like I was listening to Barbatos himself!”

He looked stunned for a moment, then an odd look crossed his face before he quickly covered it up with a broad smile. “Thanks! I appreciate the sentiment! That’s really quite the compliment.”

You were able to spend the next little while chatting before you had to go, but similar scenes occurred fairly often as time went on. About the tenth time or so he decided that you were friends, which you had no objection to. Though there was always a small twinge in your heart whenever he called you that for some reason.

Along with becoming friends, you started to notice some things. His songs are… very detailed in a way that makes them line up with records that rarely see the light of day. While you do your best to share Barbatos’ gospel of freedom with everyone, some records are just too fragile to be available to the general public. So the Disciples, like you, memorize them and tell them to the worshipers who come to the Cathedral.

However, either on purpose or by accident, most of the time Disciples will mix up little details or paraphrase things or skip over sections in a way that can confuse the story some. But Venti’s songs match every detail shown in the records, and more. You had checked multiple times and it always came out the same way. He was one hundred percent correct, in every song he played.

Then there was his hair. You’d never seen anyone with their hair being tinted at the ends like that. And you couldn’t find the hair dye he used either. And oh boy had you looked. You wanted teal in your hair too dang it! And when you finally asked him where he got it he laughed and said it was natural. How is that fair?

And then there are the times where he just didn’t act quite human. Like forgetting to eat all day without realizing it. Or referring to other people as “humans”, as if he, himself, isn’t human. Or how he only ever wears one outfit. Or the way anemo energy seems to flow through him instead of around him. You wouldn’t even have noticed that last one if it wasn’t for the fact that you are hypersensitive to it due to how you use your anemo vision. From all of that, and more, you can just tell that something isn’t quite what it seems about him.

So when you’re cleaning the cathedral in the back and hear him out himself as Barbatos to Sister Gotelinde something just clicked. Oh, of course he was Barbatos. What else could he possibly be? Too much added up for it to not make sense! Unfortunately by the time you were done reeling from shock Sister Gotelinde had sent him right out the door.

You had caught enough of the conversation, though, that you knew that Venti- no, Barbatos had need of his lyre. So you came up with a plan. This was going to get you in so, so much trouble. But this is what needed to be done. You need to get him his lyre.

It was surprisingly easy to swipe the lyre from its pedestal and avoid the other inhabitants of the Cathedral by taking back passageways. You had almost made it out, you were so close when you suddenly ran into someone.

Holding a hand to the point of impact starting to swell on your forehead, you squint over towards the other group. When your brain registers that you just ran into Venti you gasp and scramble to your feet, still holding the holy lyre to your chest. “Oh my goodness, I’m so, so sorry Venti,” you apologize. “Or, uh, would you prefer I call you Barbatos?”

Your friend blinks once, then twice, dumbstruck by the situation. “Venti is fine,” he scrambles to assure you after a few moments. “How did you know?”

“You weren’t exactly the quietest when speaking with Sister Gotelinde, Venti. And I was cleaning just out of sight. It made a lot more sense than some other explanations for your weird behavior that I’d come up with.” You admit sheepishly. “And I believe this is yours.”

His face lit up as you held the holy lyre out towards him. “The Lyre de Himmel! Thank you so much! See that, Traveler? We didn’t even have to steal it! I promise to do my best to take care of it.” You quirk an eyebrow as the Traveler finishes shaking off the effects of running into you.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, and you better.” you tell him pointedly, causing him to giggle nervously. “Besides, the two of you need to go! I… didn’t exactly tell anyone about this. Good luck with Dvalin, Venti, Traveler. May Barbatos be with you!” You called out the last part out of habit.

Moments later you felt a hand clap onto your shoulder. “Dear,” Sister Gotelinde drawled slightly. “Please tell me you didn’t hand our sacred treasure over to that alcoholic bard.” You’re silent for a moment before years of being at the Cathedral won over your common sense. “You know I can’t do that, Sister.”

She sighs from her position behind you and her hand tightens on your shoulder. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how much trouble you’re in, especially if it doesn’t come back in one piece.” You gulp.

“Yes, Sister Gotelinde.” You murmur.

“Good, now get back to cleaning.” She instructs you curtly.

Nodding, you turn and walk past her towards where you were cleaning. She continued on, likely going to report the situation to Sister Barbara. You really hope that Venti keeps his promise.

While you try your best to put the situation out of your mind, your thoughts keep drifting back to it the whole next day. The nightmare you’d had that night hadn’t helped either. It had been a morbid scene, a broken lyre on the ground with an equally broken Venti as a triumphant Stormterror screeched over their still forms. You’d woken up sweaty.

Logically you knew that Barbatos- no, Venti wouldn’t fall to Stormterror. But the scene still wouldn’t go away. And neither did the awkward feeling that accompanied your usual duties as a disciple. Some of your regular duties were suddenly almost… laughable? You now knew that Barbatos didn’t care about a good chunk of what you did in the Cathedral that some considered absolutely essential.

Your attitude didn’t help your position though, not with everyone now knowing what you did and watching you closely. The day is long and you feel trapped every second of it. Then Venti returns victorious with a broken lyre and everything crumbles around you. You’re kicked out, banned for life, right after him, with a suitcase of your stuff chucked out after you. Even though he ‘fixed it’.

Part of you wants to just lay there and regret your life choices; but you can’t help but smile when Venti reaches a hand out to lift you up, laughing about the irony of the situation. A small smile manages to reach your face as Jean starts chuckling too.

“Don’t worry too much, I know you’ve done a great good for Mondstadt.” She reassures you. “I know you have a vision, an anemo vision at that.” She gives Venti a pointed look. “How would you like to become a knight?”

Your smile grows into something a little more natural. “I’d like that, thank you Jean.”

“It’s no problem, really the least I could do. I’m sorry it had to end like this. Now, come to my office when you have a moment so we can formalize it. But for now I need to go and formally close the Stormterror case.” With a sigh she walked past you towards the knights headquarters and the inevitable paperwork which awaits her.

“I’m sorry that you got kicked out,” Venti apologizes once Jean’s out of sight. “All you did was help and you got in trouble for it.”

“It’s alright, Venti,” you try to claim. “It was kind of awkward knowing that you are Barbatos anyway.”

“Still,” he pressed. “You put everything on the line for me and I really appreciate it. I’m really sorry I didn’t follow through. I’ll have to make it up to you. And I know just where to start.”

His kiss to your cheek was quick but sent a warmth blooming across your face, contrasting with the coolness of his lips.

“Of course,” you mumble, embarrassed. “It was your lyre anyway.”

“It was,” he agreed. “But you believed me. And that really does mean a lot to me. Thank you, really.”

#eirika writes #venti #genshin venti #venti x reader #genshin impact x reader

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julemmaes · 3 years

Text

Like I'm Drowning

Rowaelin Month, Day Twelve

A/N: Sorry about this, blame @thewayshedreamed, she's the one who wanted more angst.

This will have a fourth part, for obvious reasons;)

part one, part two

Word count: 3,874

It was two days after Aelin had left their home. It was about eleven o'clock in the evening when the walls of what had once been his favourite place had shaken with the force of Lorcan's fists on the front door, shouting at Rowan to let him in.

He had not answered.

He couldn't have done so even if he'd wanted to because his legs had stopped working and the muscles in his neck had been reduced to jelly over the last forty-eight hours, sip after sip of whatever alcohol he'd found in the cabinet.

He lay on the floor, his face in a pool of his own vomit, too heedless to care, too sore to move. In any case, he had stopped smelling the stench hours ago.

Another ten minutes had passed, in which his best friend had threatened over and over again to call the police if he didn't open the fucking door, before Lorcan had slammed his shoulder into it.

He hadn't been able to move in time when the door unhinged from the wall fell partially on him, hitting him in the head with one of the now splintered edges. He grunted in pain and could smell the blood as it began to trickle down his forehead, onto his nose, and he was relieved - he wasn't dead. Rowan had not been sure of it until that moment.

The other was there an instant later, taking the door off him, leaning it against the wall.

And the sharp breath he took was a dagger straight to Rowan's heart.

He didn't want him to see him like this.

He had never heard Lorcan's voice like that. So shocked, so worried. Whatever emotions he was feeling at the moment were blocking him from approaching him. Almost as if he was afraid of scaring him. Of breaking him more than he already was.

Rowan shook his head what he could, he didn't want him to see him like this. He didn't deserve his help.

"God, Rowan, what have you done?"

The relief at finding out he was still alive lasted a moment though, as the pain in his chest hit him so hard it took his breath away and he pulled himself up onto all fours before yet another wave of gags shook his body. He opened his mouth, hoping that this time something would come out, but he choked on nothing. His eyes filled with tears and Rowan wondered how that was possible.

There should have been nothing in his body.

He’d been in this conditions since the day before.

He felt a hand settle on his back, rubbing up and down as Lorcan tried to figure out what was going on, and his brain betrayed him, showing him images of a life he had taken for granted all along, from the second she had been his.

Him on the bathroom floor a few months earlier.

A box of somewhat-too-spicy Chinese food on their coffee table.

And Aelin.

Her hands on his back.

He shook off Lorcan's hand, "Don't touch me."

The words burned his throat and another gag went up his esophagus.

He stayed in that position for a few minutes, his back rising and falling frantically with each breath where he seemed to be unable to get enough air in.

"Rowan."

He didn't look at him. He couldn't.

"Rowan, you hear me?"

Lorcan ducked down, crouching beside him, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder, but he seemed to remember what he'd just asked him not to do as soon as he gave him a startled look. If he touched him again, he didn't know what his broken mind would show him. He was terrified of it.

With a grimace, Lorcan clenched both hands into fists and took a deep breath, closing his eyes as the sour smell of vomit and what Rowan was ashamed to admit was his own piss reached his nostrils. When he opened them again there was a distinct determination in his gaze and Rowan had to pull his eyes back to the floor.

He thought he had found a sort of calm in which he might even be able to answer Lorcan's questions, but he was wrong. He was so wrong.

"What happened?”

“I feel-” he tried to speak, failing, “I feel like I’m drowing.”

“Why? What happened?” he asked again. And then the final hit, “Where's Aelin?"

There was no stopping the first sob. His vision went totally blurry, blackening everything in front of him until all he could see was the image of her, and his chest constricted to the point where breathing was no longer even an option. He fell to the side, against the wall, and there was no stopping the desperate crying that washed over him.

***

It was three days after Aelin had left their home. It was eight o'clock in the evening when Elide and Lorcan had asked him if he would like to go back there after leaving the hospital. It was twenty past eight when they had reached his street and he was counting down the seconds till he got to smell her perfume in the air again.

He had entered the house and tried not to breathe through his nose, realising he was not ready to remember what her scent was. He noticed how everything had been cleaned, tidied up or fixed and he didn't have the mental or physical trength to turn around, hug his friends and thank them.

He looked towards the kitchen, on the table. The letter was no longer there.

"Where is it?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

He hadn't spoken in the last few hours. Not to the couple he knew was staring at him from the doorway.

He'd been forced to answer questions from the doctors, from his coaches asking him how much time he needed. Lorcan had warned him that he'd lied for him, that he'd told them someone dear to them both had suffered a serious injury and died.

Rowan had looked at him and said a simple thank you while he lay on his hospital bed, despite knowing how much a fuckup of that magnitude risked not only his career, but Lorcan's as well.

It was Elide who had the courage to answer him, "What?"

"The letter."

"Oh." she whispered, "I put it in your room."

He nodded. Running a hand over his face he turned to them, noting how they both looked ready to launch themselves forward if they thought Rowan was going to crumble once more time.

He saw Lorcan clench his jaw and then look away before saying, "You won't find any alcohol, I threw away what was left."

Elide smiled at him with watery eyes, trying to change the subject as fast as possible, "If you need anything, you can always come to our place. You know that. We have-"

He interrupted her abruptly. He didn't look at her as he said in a harsh tone, "Thank you for everything, you can go now."

She took a sharp breath, nodding dryly and turning, hurrying out of the house. Lorcan followed her with his gaze the whole time, telling her he would join her in the car in a moment.

When he met Rowan's gaze again, the voice was the one he'd used all the years in high school when he'd been his captain. It gave no room for argument.

"I don't know what you're going through. I don't even want to begin to think about how painful it is to lose someone so important."

She didn’t die, he wanted to say. She left me.

I gave up on her. I don’t deserve her.

The steel mask Rowan was wearing seemed to be already starting to crack. He needed Lorcan to leave before he couldn't control his emotions.

He had already done too much for him.

He didn't deserve any of what they were offering him. He didn’t deserve anything.

"I can hardly imagine what I would do if I were in your position. If Elide-" he paused, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry, for what's happening. It's not easy, I understand, but whatever you're doing right now, it's not the solution. Treating me and Elide like this isn't going to drive us away, and before you tell me you don't need anything, let me just say that finding you lying in a pool of your own vomit completely hammered, out of your mind was one of the most horrifying things I've ever had to see." he took a step forward, placing a hand on Rowan's shoulder.

He had the instinct to pull away, but the grip on his jacket tightened, pinning him in place.

"I'm not letting you go, okay? I'm not going to let you throw away your career like this," he told him, looking him straight in the eye. "I'm not going to lecture you about what happened the other day. I know I would have done a lot worse, but you have to promise me that it won't happen again."

Lorcan's voice faltered at last and Rowan was surprised to see his eyes glaze over.

He nodded, his mouth slightly open, shocked at his friend's reaction.

"Promise me."

He hurried to whisper, "I promise."

Lorcan nodded, pulling Rowan to him and hugging him. He closed his eyes as the man in front of him held him together without even realising.

When they pulled away, they pretended not to hear the way they were sniffing, or the tears on both men's cheeks. They said a simple goodbye and then Rowan was alone.

Again.

He climbed the stairs slowly, walking like a dead man down the corridor filled with memories of him carrying Aelin in his arms on that very floor, and when he reached the door to their room, he hesitated.

He brushed against the knob, gripping it in his hand.

He stared at the wood in front of him and felt panic assail him.

Rowan turned on his heel, running for the stairs, the exit, hoping that Lorcan had not already left.

He threw open the door of the ghost-filled house and ran out, intent on never returning.

***

It was two weeks after Aelin left their home. Eleven days since he'd run away in a panic. Ten days since Lorcan had convinced Rowan to go back there, at least to pack up his things.

Nine days since Rowan had destroyed their room, screaming and sobbing as he tore the curtains from the windows and threw what little of her he had left against the wall.

Every ornament, every picture frame.

He'd screamed at Lorcan when he'd tried to stop it.

He hadn't succeeded. Rowan had razed their home to the ground, shattering every happy memory they had created over the years in those four walls.

Only when he'd found Aelin's ring had he stopped, bursting into tears so loud that the first sob had startled Lorcan, holding the small object to his chest.

They had gone back to Lorcan’s, and Elide had stood there looking at him with wide eyes, before running to get the first aid kit to clean the wounds Rowan had caused himself. More or less deep cuts, which his friends said should have been stitched up by actual doctors, but Rowan doubted they wouldn't lock him up in the psychiatric ward if he went to the emergency room for the sixth time in such a short time.

Especially if he came in with shards of glass between his fingers.

He hadn't kept his promise to Lorcan.

He'd drank again. He'd gotten into a couple of fights. He hadn't been back to the rink.

He hadn't skated in a fortnight. Longest period of his life off the ice.

But he couldn't do it.

He couldn't do anything. And it was all his fault.

***

It was three months and one day after Aelin had left their home. He had called Lysandra every day since Lorcan had forced him out of his and Elide's house, finding him a place right outside their team's arena. The woman had never given him any real answers, only reassuring him that Aelin was fine and that he should start moving on, too.

That too had broken something inside of him. The implications that Aelin had found someone else.

He couldn’t even bare being in the same room as another woman knowing they’d all be looking at him trying to get in his pants.

Aelin had always been the only one who wanted him for who he truly was, not his money. Not his status.

She had wished all those things gone so many times.

And she had left him.

He had let her go.

The team had sent a physiotherapist to his house every day for the first month, and then every week, accompanied by a shrink. Rowan had managed to drain them all. One after the other.

He was sure Lorcan had lost all hope too, but he continued undaunted to help him, going to his house every day after practice, without ever missing one day.

Rowan knew that Aelin had called him one night, almost a month before. Lorcan had told him, how she had begged him to tell her that he was alright, even though it wasn't true. His friend had also told him that she'd seemed to be drunk, and when she had hung up and both he and Elide had tried to call her back, Aelin had blocked their numbers.

From what he knew, she'd only unblocked Elide's, but she hadn't given him any kind of information about Aelin and he knew she'd never say anything.

He had hurt her - Elide. Rowan knew he'd treated her like little more than trash, both her and Lorcan, but however much he'd hurt her, it didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

He should have felt something for his friends who had given him everything in the last period, but Rowan could not care less than what they had to go through for him.

Now he was waiting for Lorcan, sitting at the table, to show him he was alright. Putting on his daily show and reassuring his friend that everything was going great, he just wasn't ready to skate again yet. The other one would look at him, yell at him a few minutes before walking out of his miserably empty flat slamming the door.

Rowan was just waiting for the day when he wouldn't show up or when he would tell him he wasn't coming, saying goodbye one last time.

He knew it would happen, one way or another, and Rowan didn't know how to stop the mess that had become his life.

That day it wasn't Lorcan who entered his house, but someone else. Rowan opened the door and saw his agent, his team president, and his coaches, along with the athletic trainers.

They had given him an ultimatum.

Either you go back to slacking off after Christmas break or we break your contract, you're off the team and you lose lots of money.

The president had been particularly emphatic on the subject of money, but for Rowan that would be the least important thing.

It wasn't until the evening after New Year's Eve that he had made a decision.

Lysandra, whom he hadn't seen in person in more than two months, had entered his house looking like someone who hadn't slept in years. She had forced him out of bed, shouting at him to wash up, to clean his house. She had made it so Rowan couldn't talk back, never letting him speak, pushing him left and right.

She had taken him outside, something he hadn't done in weeks, so much so that the sun had hurt his eyes for the first two hours. She had forced him to buy new clothes and all the missing furniture in his house.

She had stayed with him for three days.

Three extremely long days in which she had swore at him, insulted him in every possible way imaginable by the human mind. They'd nearly come to blows when she'd touched a sore spot and Rowan had threatened to call Aedion to haul her away.

She'd dragged him to the party Fenrys had thrown for the New Year and for the first time in months, Rowan had smiled.

Elide had started crying when she'd seen him, Lorcan on the verge of tears as well. They had both hugged him and Rowan had begged for their forgiveness.

That night, Rowan thought things would be different for him for the first time.

He'd been wrong.

Again.

***

It was four years and twenty-seven days after Aelin had left their home. Four years since he had received no news of her. Three years since he stopped asking.

Rowan had been zapping through channels for so many hours now that the glaring light of the TV didn't even bother him anymore. His eyes were slightly glazed over as he stared at the screen, not really looking at the images in front of him. He caught a glimpse of a sentence here and there, ignoring the constant tinkle coming from his phone that warned him that Lorcan still didn't give up on talking to him every day from the moment he woke up to the moment he went to sleep. Even when he was on holiday with his now wife.

They had won yet another cup. The third win in a row.

Sometimes Rowan could hardly believe it.

Three Stanley Cups.

On his dream team.

He should have been excited. No, not excited.

He should have been the happiest man on earth. He should have been out celebrating with his teammates, vacationing on a tropical beach like Lorcan was doing, surrounding himself with girls ready to offer him anything to spend even just one night with him.

But Rowan didn't want to.

Rowan felt nothing – he had not felt anything in the last few years of his life. How did he expect to start now? For a measly win.

He hated hockey. He hated the sport. Hated the fans, his teammates.

He hated his life.

He was about to turn off the TV, confident that he would be able to sleep tonight without the help of the meds the team kept giving him to keep him from collapsing during the games, when his finger froze on the remote.

He didn't know what he was watching, but it seemed to be a channel about gossip, and Rowan felt a pang of anger well up in his chest. It seemed to be the only emotion he still felt from time to time.

Shocked and pissed that someone had felt the need to devote an entire channel to minding other people's business, he stood up, ready to pass out in his cold bed, when the words of the man on the screen stopped him in his tracks.

"And now to the latest news, straight from the social of the Toronto Maple Leafs' rookie player, Chaol Westfall, who has announced his marriage to the stunningly beautiful girlfriend, Aelin Galathynius. She has never been very active on social media, in fact, for somebody with such a charm, she'd be perfect in the role of influencer, but-"

Rowan stopped hearing.

He felt his body's reaction in time, and rushing to the kitchen, he managed to get everything his body was rejecting in the sink. He heaved in there till the last bit of what he’d eaten a few hours ago.

His heart was racing and he had to grip the counter to keep from kneeling on the floor.

That couldn’t be true.

Aelin was getting married.

Aelin was getting married to an hockey player.

The anger blinded him as her words flashed before his eyes.

I can’t do this anymore.

I’m weak. I’m so tired.

This isn’t the life I wanted for us.

I wish I could be your “’till death do us apart”, but I can’t.

The sound that came out of him was not human as he ran to his room and snatched the ring from the drawer next to his bed, the letter that just went wherever he went and raced out of the flat that never felt his own anyway.

***

It was four years and thirty days after Aelin had left their home.

Rowan stood in front of the journalists. Everyone was gaping at him, his teammates on the sidelines were looking his way as if he’d grown three heads.

And he couldn’t blame them, but he had needed to do this a long time ago.

He’d talked to his agents, the team’s president, everyone he had needed to to make this happen and he hadn’t felt such freedom in so long.

The questions just kept on coming and coming and he couldn’t distinguish the words. But he didn’t care.

He only needed to make this statement in front of everyone.

“I’m aware that leaving this team right now is a foolish and completely insane idea, but this world has taken too much from me already. My contract with the Senators ended with this season and I know everyone was expecting me to say which team I’m heading off to, but I’m quitting.

“I should have done this a long time ago and I’m sure the person this is for won’t even see this interview, but I love someone who thought she wasn’t enough for me. She told me four years ago her love wasn’t enough. I’m leaving cause hockey has not been a source of happiness in a very long time and it ruined everything good I ever had.

“I thought I loved playing cause of the adrenaline. The pride in a win. The chills when you score. But no, it wasn't that.”

I loved seeing her smile whenever I scored for her. The way she used to put medications on my wounds and bruises whenever I got hit too hard. Or the way we used to get all cuddled up after a long flight, after weeks of not seeing each other. I loved how my jerseys fit her – the way my clothes fit her.

He turned to his teammates, the people he owned a lot but couldn’t bring himself to care enough of to stay with them, “Being on this team would only make it worse. I’m sorry guys, I hope you can understand. This isn’t what I want right now.”

And right before he could get off the stage that had been set up for him, someone screamed from the crown.

“What are you going to do now?”

He didn’t stop to reply, avoiding everyone’s gazes and keeping on walking until he reached the exit of the arena. The chill air hit him hard as he went out on the street and got on the car.

This was the last time he’d be able to use one of the team’s cars.

The driver looked at him in the mirror, “Where to?”

“The airport, please.”

The man nodded and started the engine and Rowan felt something he hadn’t felt in years.

Hope.

Now, I’m going to get her.

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