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thebluevipersden · 1 year

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Tales of the Flame and the Rain

Star Wars fanfiction / PART 02 / Words: 5123 // AO3 Pairing: Cad Bane X female OC Tags: Slow Burn, Creatures, Tension, Angst, Thriller(ish), Hurt/Comfort, Blood & Injury, Roughness, Action, Age Difference Summary: Yrsa and her dangerous acklay, Cog live peacefully in their shipwreck home, until a mysterious man in a hat suddenly bursts into their lives. In this episode, the bounty hunter begins to hunt down his prey.

Warning: This part contains some slightly nsfw drawings! Thanks to @deepbluespace4 for the beta reading! 🎵 Music for the vibe (an eclectic journey of melody) 🌧️ Storm ambience for the second half of the story ← Previous episode Next episode →

CHAPTER TWO Deadlock

Yrsa was very tired. It’s been the second day when she could barely get any sleep. This time, because of the proximity of Cog, she managed to fall into a sleeplike state, but that wasn’t relaxing at all. At least her evening was a tiny bit calmer. She wanted a little refreshment at last. Yrsa and Cog headed towards the lake. Cog was an excellent swimmer, because he was partially an amphibian and loved to stay in the water that was his strongest element. The animal gladly lingered underwater even for up to half a day. Yrsa checked the reactions of Cog. The girl trusted the instincts of her beast and he seemed relatively calm, so she thought she could afford a quick bath for herself without worry. With him by her side in the water, she was as safe as possible. Yrsa undressed and walked into the lake.

Yeeesh… Cold, cold, cold, cooold… - She shivered then subdued the feeling. The cool water somewhat enlivened her. Cog enthusiastically rushed forward into the lake. He liked it very much. Then he swam next to Yrsa and watched his master. She looked back to him and swam to his side. The girl gently touched the huge head of the creature and softly leaned her forehead to his. Cog growled slowly.

- Thank you, my friend... What would I do without you?- Said Yrsa to him.

They lingered in the water for a while, then Yrsa swam a little further. She heard Cog splashing then saw him going ashore and lying down there. The animal looked back to Yrsa. The girl continued to swim, then lay on the surface of the water and began to float. It was a nice, comforting feeling. Finally, a little peace. But this calmness lasted no longer than a split second.

She shot a glance at the landscape and suddenly noticed the familiar figure with the cowboy hat on a cliff in front of her. He stood in the backlight of the Sun. The stalker didn't even try to hide, just loitered there and looked down at her. The girl’s feelings were overflowing. She quickly jumped up and shouted to the vexing man:

- Enough of this! If you want something from me, come and tell me right to my face!! - Yrsa was so upset and annoyed. She panted and looked in the direction of the cliff. The mysterious man with the hat tilted his head, stayed there a bit, then disappeared from her sight. Again.

- Hh... Um… - She sighed deeply. Yrsa regretted her former outburst a little bit. The girl submerged into the lake. Only half of her head was visible in the water as she slowly peeked around. At this point, she really didn't know what to expect from this stalker. She didn't understand why he fooled around with her, and... Wait a minute… Where is Cog? He was there by the lake shore. Yrsa lost sight of him. She decided to swim ashore and wrapped the towel that she left there earlier around her naked body. She wanted to find Cog immediately. Then something happened that she didn't expect

She heard footsteps from afar and the rattle of nearby bushes. Someone lurked behind, then sneaked closer to her. She spun around her axis and found herself face to face with her voyeur.

- Well, as ya' requested, youn' lady… - The stranger tipped his hat with delicate movements.

Actually Yrsa was now seeing his shady figure clearly for the first time. But the feeling of the dark shadow around him was still there. The strange man was tall and cobalt blue skinned. She had never seen an individual of a similar race of his. He was almost like a reptile, walking on two legs and had minacious deep red eyes. He wore a long brown leather coat, a conspicuous wide flanged hat and some kind of breathing device around his neck.

Bane walked with heavy footsteps towards Yrsa. She couldn't observe him better, because he acted faster than light. The hunter jumped in front of the girl and pinned her to a nearby cliff in a split second. Yrsa tried to escape and shout for Cog, but Bane wouldn’t let her scream. For now… He plastered her mouth with his boney fingers. The girl looked at him in surprise mixed with fear. But she didn’t want to give up so easily. She wanted to fight back. Yrsa fiercely bit into the stranger’s hand.

- Ouch! - hissed Bane and narrowed his crimson eyes. - Sssavage lil’ wildlin'… - His lips curled in a chilling sneer.

Then squeezed her to the cliff even harder. Yrsa could barely breathe or move in the grip of this demonic blue man. He leaned closer to her, all the way to her ears and slowly swept the girl's hair away from there with a surprisingly gentle movement. Bane just breathed there for a few moments and remained motionless. Then he started to speak. He had the most grim and deeply vibrating rusty voice she had ever heard. The hunter almost whispered and was so close to her that she felt his cold breath all over her ear. Yrsa closed her eyes. She began to tremble.

- Heeey… Don' play with fire, because one day it’ll burn ya' so badly, lil’ misss…- then he smirked at her. Yrsa couldn’t speak a word. She didn't dare to look at him at all.

- Ooh… What’s it? Did the loth-cat take yer lil’ tongue? - said Bane really cynically and he smirked even wider than before. He flashed his sharp teeth threateningly.

- Hmmrh... If you apologize to me nicely, maybe I'll consider lettin' ya' go …- He said with a grin. The bounty hunter relaxed his grip on her mouth just a tiny bit.

- Wh... What? - Asked Yrsa. Her startled eyes met his. She didn't believe what he said even for a minute.

- Come oon... Sssing to me, birdie… - hissed Bane and measured her like a piece of raw meat.

Yrsa tried to avoid his soul-penetrating gaze and couldn’t say a word. The darkness emanating from him completely settled on her with its whole weight.

- Nh... No… - Said the girl in the quietest possible way.

- Tsk. Say... It.... NOW!! - He thundered.

Yrsa was so confused. A lot of weird feelings stirred in her at once. She felt herself weak and immensely vulnerable. But as soon as her thoughts cleared, she acted quickly. The girl began to say a sentence softly. During this time, Bane scanned her face with his cold gaze. He waited for some kind of reaction.

- ...No ...I ...I …Ngh. CoooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOGGG!! - She screamed her beast’s name as loud as she could.

- HEY!! You... - Bane covered her mouth with his hand as rough as he was capable.

- Sssssh… Sh-sh-ss-ssh… - He silenced her. - This was a rrreally bad idea, lil' lady...

- Mfh… - Yrsa frowned her eyebrows and looked at him intensely. But this time, she glanced right into his blood red glowing eyes and didn't look away.

Cog wandered around the forest. He felt a burning need to follow the sense of his prey. It was huge. It was enticing. Something lured him into this very area of the forest. Cog curiously stared at a buzzing electrical box and sniffed it. He didn’t recognize what kind of animal it was, but knew there was something important in that thing and he wanted to open it immediately.

- Must... Observe... It... - Thought the creature.

- Where... Is... My prey? Where... Is... It’s meat? - Cog scratched the buzzing box with his claws. He felt the body electricity given off by this strange entity.

- It... Is... An iron animal...? - He lurked around it and poked it a few more times.

- I… Must… Eat it. - He bit into the box. It tasted weird.

- Where… Is… The meat? I... Must... Kill it... - Cog continued to chew on the iron animal.

Suddenly a desperate scream of a girl broke the tranquility of the forest. It was Yrsa and she shouted Cog’s name from somewhere nearby. Cog awoke from his trance-like state. The voice pulled him back into reality.

- The... Girl... The... GIRL...

- Something... Wrong!

- Must...

- Protect...

- Her...

Cog screeched into the air and threw away the chewed box. The furious creature started to run fast towards the origin of the girl’s voice.

The bounty hunter was still pinning Yrsa tightly to the cliff.

- Well, let’s go then, lil' wildlin'… Time to go! - Said Bane.

He grabbed the girl and started to drag her with him. Yrsa gasped and tried her best to resist. No matter how she squirmed, she couldn’t get rid of the bounty hunter’s grip. In that very moment Cog jumped out of the bushes, infuriated. The beast stopped when noticed Yrsa and Bane and shot his raging gaze at them. So, that blue shadow was his enemy…. He fixed all three of his eyes on Bane and screeched loudly towards the duo. Cog wanted to destroy him.

- Oh, is another one joinin' the party? How amusin'… - Said Bane and smirked towards the enraged creature. Then with a firm and harsh motion he yanked Yrsa in front of him as a shield. Bane pulled the girl close to him and clasped her neck from behind with his arms. He fixed his gaze on the furious animal in front of them. Yrsa tried to move towards her beast and started to call him:

- Coghh… Ngggh…

Bane squeezed her body hard and the girl’s voice trailed off.

- No sudden move… - He hissed to her, meanwhile still watched the angry creature and began to back away slowly with the girl. Cog didn’t wait any longer. The animal just wanted to tear his master out of the intruder's arms and began to run towards them with a loud and sharp shriek. Bane was fast too, he picked up Yrsa on his shoulder and they took to the air with Bane’s jetpack on his legs.

- Hah! So long, creep! - He shouted malevolently and continued to fly in the direction of the steep cliff next to the lake, from where he had previously observed Yrsa and Cog. Yrsa reached her arms towards Cog and watched his receding shape.

- No... Coog! Cog!

- You’ll never see him again, lil’ one…- Said the bounty hunter. Meanwhile they reached the cliff and landed on it. Yrsa became angry and worrying at the thought that Bane wants to separate her from Cog. From her only friend. From her only family…. That thought drove her crazy and she tried to break free even harder. She fidgeted, squirmed, and tried to scratch and bite stubbornly.

- Sigh… Eaasy nooow... - Said the hunter.

Yrsa tried to bite him again, but Bane was much faster. He catched her chin with the reflexes of a rattlesnake and held her tightly. The bounty hunter looked deep and cold into her eyes. From that the girl froze for a moment.

- Wanna’ get a muzzle, darlin’? - He still held her face.

Yrsa didn't say anything, just growled at him and flashed her teeth. Her eyes were on fire.

- I won't leave my friend behind... - She said with a slightly weak but angry voice.

- Ha-hahh! I’ll be curious ‘bout that... - Bane wanted to continue what he was about to say, but he couldn’t.

From the edge of the cliff, out of the coverage of the trees, Cog suddenly appeared and rammed swiftly into them with his huge forehead. The creature swept them both. It happened so quickly they didn’t even have time to grab onto something, so Bane and Yrsa fell into the lake from the edge of the cliff. Cog didn’t wait a minute, immediately jumped after them.

Yrsa was underwater and sinking. She lost her sense of direction. Suddenly she didn't know where was up and down and descended deeper and deeper towards the bottom of the lake. When she suddenly regained her clarity she saw the two crazy opponents fighting in the water. They spun around each other like the alligators executing their prey. In this case, it wasn't sure at all who was whose prey.

Yrsa needed air so badly. She floated to the surface of the water and went ashore. She was shocked by the events and anxiously watched the surface of the lake. It had been a while, but none of them came out of the water. Then bubbles gathered on the surface of the lake and Bane burst out of the waves with his half-working foot jetpack and landed on the waterfront. He suffered some injuries, but stood proud and looked at the water in front of him, pointing his weapon in that direction.

- Come!! Catch me!! Frrreak!! - He breathed quickly. Bane noticed the girl not far from him on the shore.

- Oh, hello there… - He winked at her. Even in this chaotic situation there was some cheeky playfulness in him. Yrsa just watched what was happening with widened eyes. Cog came out of the water right away and ran at a crazy pace towards the hunter.

- Now you are at my playgroun' !! - Bane hissed at Cog and shot him continuously with his two blasters, but the creature had a hard shell on its back and the bullets bounced off it. Cog on the other hand tried to catch him, but the hunter was always faster, even with his injuries. It was a tough fight, like an endless dance between two brutally fast and skillful opponents. The rumbling water finally met with the burning fire. Yrsa couldn’t even intervene. It was pure madness.

- How disappointin', I thought an acklay is faster than this... - Bane constantly taunted his opponent. In response the teeth of the creature snapped at him repeatedly, but they never hit him. - Hold on, Cog! Hold on buddy! - Shouted Yrsa exalted to Cog. Bane shot a quick look at her and grunted bitterly.

- Rrgh… Playtime is over.… - Grumbled the hunter. He knew the animal’s belly was more vulnerable than the other parts of its body, as the flesh covering it wasn’t as tough as it was elsewhere. Bane knew he could shoot there and finally kill the beast.

He quickly slipped under the animal and pointed his weapons at the belly of the creature. He fired a few times, but then he suddenly got unpleasantly surprised. Barely visible, it looked exactly like the animal's own skin - A thin plate of armor protected Cog’s vulnerable parts. It was made by Yrsa.

- What the hell... - Said Bane in surprise. He didn’t expect that at all. The shield seemed as if it was an integral part of the creature. Cog didn't hesitate, taking advantage of his momentary dominance, struck down ruthlessly to the bounty hunter. He started to maul him.

Yrsa shuddered in horror. She was glad the beast was protecting her, but she didn't want to kill his opponent.

- Cog!!! STOP IT!!

Cog continued to chew on him, but for a fragment of a moment stopped and looked at Yrsa. The badly wounded Bane, in that stolen split second, lifted his arms and fired from his flame thrower attached to his arms. Cog backed away and screeched.

Bane quickly looked around and assessed his situation. Due to his injuries and damaged equipment he couldn’t get too far and he was out in the clearing by the lake. There were no tall trees within a close distance. Then the bounty hunter catched sight of something nearby and didn't hesitate any longer.

- The… Shipwreck… - Thought Bane. - The only logical step left was to hide there.

Gathering all his strength, he began to rush towards the Shiphome. He was almost there when he heard the clacks of Cog's claws behind him. The animal almost breathed into the nape of his neck. Bane turned back quickly and shot the creature in the eye with a well-aimed shot.

- Eat THIS!!

Cog recoiled and screamed in pain, followed by the cries of Yrsa. Meanwhile, the hunter quickly kicked in the spaceship door and slammed it behind him tightly. Well, this was a complete disaster for all of them.

The blue fire tornado struck again and left destruction after him.

Cog was insanely angry. He screamed in fury and flashed his sharp teeth. It was awful to watch as the animal raged. Yrsa rushed to him without a question and with fast movements jumped on Cog’s giant head and clung to it. The girl hugged his head as tightly and steady as she could.

- Sssh… My dear... - Cog was still terribly angry. Suddenly he jumped in the direction of their home with Yrsa on his head. He knew his enemy was there. He smelled that. Yrsa nearly fell off by the animal’s sudden movement. She quickly covered his two intact eyes with her arms.

- Easy, eeeasy, easy now boy... - Cog growled wrathfully but he started to slow down a bit. The creature tossed the girl on his head up and down with his nervous movements. Yrsa held on and continued to reassure him. She caressed the animal with definite tenderness. After a while Cog moved more and more slowly but he was still very upset. Yrsa smoothed her forehead to the animal's and still kept his two eyes closed with her arms.

- It’ll be alright… - She said quietly. Her soothing voice had a good effect on the creature. He got gradually calmer by the touch of the girl. Cog stepped forward a few more times without seeing anything and stopped but he was still loudly growling.

- Poor thing, your eye….- Yrsa looked sadly at the gaping hole in place of the animal's third, middle eye and kissed his head softly. The bounty hunter shot out one of Cog’s eyes. He was able to deliver such an accurate shot even in the heat of the fight.

- Hold on, buddy, I’ll get help! - She carefully climbed off the head of the somewhat calmed but still very upset animal. She wanted to bring bandages and some herbal medicine for Cog but knew that the bounty hunter was inside her home. Yrsa really needed that medicine so she gathered all of her courage and approached her occupied home.

- Come on, come oooon, comeoncomeon, do it…. For Cog. - Thought the girl. She slowly opened the door and entered it. Darkness hung around the small room.

- Please, don’t shoot! I just want to bring some medicine to my friend!

She received no reply and felt unusually cold air on her skin.

- I’ll come in… - Her words got cut off - Huh? - Yrsa gasped at what she saw.

Bane lay unconscious on the floor in the middle of a large pool of green blood. He was in a very bad shape. Cog almost tore off his left arm and also heavily wounded other parts of his body. Yrsa ran for the medicines, during this time she watched the figure lying on the ground constantly.

- Oh my… Is… Is he moving at all? - He seemed unnaturally still. Especially after the speed with which he had moved before. The girl didn't see if the wounded bounty hunter was breathing at all. She didn't know what to do, since Cog also needed her help. Yrsa headed to the door to go out to her injured animal but after a few steps she stopped.

- I can’t… I just can’t… - She sighed and looked back worried to her disarmed stalker.

She ran back to Bane and knelt beside him. Cog wasn't injured fatally after all and by all means, he was though as hell. But if she leaves this man here now, he'll surely bleed to death. Is he still alive at all? Yrsa didn't want anyone to die if she could help them. She couldn’t remain idle.

- Hold on, Cog! I’ll be there soon! I promise! - Yrsa looked at the injured bounty hunter...

- Please don't make me regret this... - She whispered, then she began to take care of the wounds of Bane. He was barely alive. Yrsa didn't understand why, but deep inside, somehow hoped that he would survive this.

🌧️🌩️🌧️ Storm clouds formed from the gray of the sky. It was beginning to rain. The droplets pattered rhythmically on the firm metallic surface of the shipwreck home. It's been a while since Yrsa helped the bounty hunter. She had a hard time laying him on the bed by the window. He was heavy but with the help of her lifting gadgets she could manage at last. The man was so tall that his lower legs were hanging from her bed. He was still alive, but badly injured. Especially his left arm. Yrsa had only a few herbal medicines at home and the bandages made from the fibers of leaves and other plants found in the forest. She hoped that this would be enough for saving his life.

Yrsa had already taken care of Cog, luckily he was only easily injured despite losing one of his eyes. The beast physically seemed to be fine, but he had a newly conceived hate against the intruder. He couldn't forget what Bane did. Cog wanted to tear him apart. The feeling spreaded in him like a deadly virus. He lay outside in the rain in front of their home. He was annoyed but motionless and had been watching the door from outside ever since the incident happened.

Yrsa was inside, next to the unconscious Bane. She sat pondering with her knees in front of her chest and observed the hunter. She gingerly pulled herself a little bit closer to him and measured Bane with the curiosity of a naturalist.

- Who are you? - Thought the girl. - What kind of species could he be? Some kind of reptile?

She leaned a little bit closer to his head and touched it very softly. It radiated cold.

- Hmh… What an interesting livid blue tone… His skin is at least as cool as Cog's.

The coldness… Yrsa suddenly remembered what had happened at the lake. She could almost feel the chill of his breath in her ear and started to shiver. To be honest, no one has ever been so close to her before. Yrsa suddenly didn't know how to feel and was embarrassed by it but somewhat she liked this new feeling. Actually she hadn’t met and talked to anyone but Cog since she crashlanded in this very place as a small child. She was completely cut off from everyone. Then he suddenly showed up and burst into their lives, out of the blue.

- What should I think about him? He hurt Cog and I really hate that fact, but….

At that very moment the hunter started to speak on his gravelly voice:

- Are ya' entertained, missy? - Bane didn't even open his eyes.

Yrsa nearly had a heart attack, then skittered back all the way to the wall of the shipwreck behind her. The girl’s back slammed against the metal wall.

- Heh… - he laughed at her with a slight mock in his voice.

Bane sat up a bit on the bed with slow and careful movements. He could barely move from his injuries. They silently stared at each other for a while.

- That little troublemaker… She treated me? Just why? - Thought the hunter and continued to look at her suspiciously. When he collapsed on the floor he thought he would never get up. He wanted to know why she hadn't let him die, but he didn’t ask anything. Bane was just waiting to see what would happen next. But Yrsa didn't move either, just sat there speechlessly and observed him.

The angry growling of Cog broke the silence from outside. The creature felt the presence of his nemesis. Bane grunted and looked sullenly at the direction of the rain soaked creature. Yrsa began to worry so she started to speak:

- He... He is just upset about what happened.

- Upset? Hah! That frantic meatbug of yours almost ripped off my arm…- Grumbled Bane.

- He just tried to defend us and… He is annoyed about his missing eye...

- Oh no! It has two more perfectly good eyes left. For now... - Bane's sneer gave way to a grin.

Yrsa shot him a savage glance. She started to say something but he interrupted her.

- I would be careful of what I'm goin' to say if I were ya'...

Yrsa took a deep breath and calmed down.

- He is just an animal driven by his instincts. Please, don’t hurt him...

- Usually I don' bargain with my prey, ya’ know, lil’ miss… - Bane locked his gaze on the embarrassed Yrsa. - Anyway, without my blasters, I would have a hard time with that kill, rrright? Can I have 'em back? - He asked, but it sounded like a threat.

So he noticed it. Of course he did. The girl hid them well while Bane was unconscious.

- Umm… Over time, maybe… - She replied slightly unsure but perkily.

- Ain’t ya' mischievous? - Bane tried to get up fast to threaten the girl, but his attempt failed. There was a sudden pain in his body and he slumped back on the bed, exhausted.

- Aaarh… - He grunted in pain. The girl was frightened to see this and started towards him.

- Don' move! - He growled at her.

- I… Your wound. - She pointed to Bane’s belly.

He looked down at it. The wound was ruptured and started to bleed. Green spots appeared on the bed. Bane felt very dizzy. The world began to revolve around him but he tried to pretend there was no problem at all. He didn't want to show any sign of weakness. That would be pathetic, he thought.

Despite the threat, the girl moved towards him. Bane didn't take his red eyes off her.

She warily sat down next to him and tried to touch the belly of the hunter. Bane caught her wrist with an indefinite but quick motion.

- Don’ try… Anythin' silly… Birdie… Ugh… - He said in a voice struggling with malaise.

Yrsa didn’t hesitate. She reached for his wound and started to re-bandaging it. The girl didn’t even look up at Bane’s face. She was somewhat embarrassed. Embarrassed? That term wasn't expressive enough. At that moment her face technically radiated more heat than the Sun itself. But she tried to focus on the healing process.

Bane, on the other hand, was suspicious. Very suspicious. He watched every movement of the girl. But in the end, he let her help him. Actually, the gentle touch of hers wasn’t so bad at all… It wasn't exactly the thing Bane was used to in his dangerously cruel life. He just growled and observed the process speechlessly.

Silence settled into the room again. Only the sounds of the strengthening rainfall could be heard. The healing process took a while, then the blue stalker fell asleep from the significant blood loss and exhaustment. Yrsa ruminated about him and the still growling Cog.

I think I’m stuck between two reckless, wild animals…

Bane had a terrible nightmare.

The whole world was falling apart. Everything blazed around him and was engulfed in devastating fire. The bounty hunter strode on glowing embers and ashes, his feet stirred them. The cinder crackled under his footsteps.

And he loved it.

- That's it, nnngh... - He closed his eyes and hissed, satisfied - ...More ...Moooore! - He shouted, electrified.

- You're DONE! You'll not run away from me!- He shouted. The flames flared even higher around him, answering his voice. Bane's blue face was painted slightly purple by the color of the blood-red fire. He grinned and walked out of the billowing black smoke and went after his prey.

- Heeere, kitty, kitty... Where are yaaaa'? - He said in his raspy, humming voice.

The dark outline of a gigantic creature slowly emerged from the smoke in front of him. Its night black shape was formed by the ashes and was so huge like a leviathan. It glowed subtly from the lava flowing in its body.

- Leave my prey alone! - Bane shouted, then shot at the lava beast with his two blasters. The creature immediately threw itself at him, its shape elongated like a shadow or a long dark wave. It wanted to eat him. Bane easily dodged its jaw a few times.

- Hah! Is dat all ya' know? AMATEUR! - He said smugly.

Then the ground beneath him turned into a huge mouth of the creature and it swallowed him.

Bane was angry. Really angry. And just fell and fell ahead. Suddenly he hit the ground and jumped up.

- Where are ya'? Coward!! SHOW YOURSELF!!

Countless arms grabbed him from below. He groaned in surprise.

- Geeet off! - hissed Bane

- Cooome... Join uuus.... Joiiiin uuuus.... Jooooin… - The owners of the many hands whispered and laughed. They formed a huge mass of various faces and arms and other bodyparts.They roared beneath him like an ocean of blood and pain. Bane tried to get out of their grip, but the more he struggled the deeper he sank. He recognized in them the faces of his former bounties. He tried to shake them off his body and kicked and bit relentlessly wherever he could reach them. He sank further into this abomination, it was like a swamp of horror.

- Cooome, cooooome! Heeeeehhehehe. Joooin us! Jooooin! - They whispered and laughed at him continuously.

- RRrggh… SHUT UP!! - He shouted, full-throated. Bane felt powerless and that was worse than anything.

Within a short time, only his left hand remained visible from the mass then it swallowed him completely. He appeared on the other side of the fleshy ocean. There was nothing else than blackness. Full, lightless pitch black. He heard growls and laughter echoing around, but saw nothing of them. He tried to get his gun. But… His left arm was nowhere to be found. He looked at the empty space instead of the limb.

-....What? - Said Bane quietly, surprised. Then he felt mind shattering pain in the place of the missing body part.

-Aaaaargg!!

Bane woke up immediately.

The bounty hunter was slightly shocked and panted heavily. He quickly raised his left hand to see it. It was still there...

- Huh… Bane was relieved and sighed really deeply. He buried his forehead into his right hand and slowly calmed himself down with some deep breaths. He was getting used to these dreams. It was a part of his everyday life after all and he learned to repress them within himself. Bane looked at his injured hand:

- I still need ya, ol' frien', heh... - He smiled slightly then hissed in pain. The limb hurt a lot.

He leaned back on the bed and glanced out the window of the shipwreck. Outside he saw Yrsa with Cog. The girl gently smeared some kind of medicine on the animal's forehead, then stroked it. With those soft and smooth lil’ hands of hers…. Hmmmh… Bane brooded over it a little bit.

Meanwhile, Cog stared at the direction of the window where the hunter lay. Bane flashed his eyes. Their cold gazes locked on each other.

- Yooou… Let’s call it a draw… But ya' better be afraid of the rematch... - Hissed Bane with confidence in his voice.

There is the water. It can crash you at ease with its harsh weight but it can also gently caress you with its silky waves.

To be continued... Next episode ➔ ← Previous episode

Footnotes: -Thank you so much for the reading! ♥ - My drawing of the hands was originally made for this story. :) - You can find some awesome divider for your writings here. - Here are some extra pictures, early concept drawings and sketches for this tale:

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