#we held hands while walking through the forest together and saw a deer leap out in front of us and back into the woods !!

[pawjamas]

some photos i took on the hike with my beloved yesterday ♡

#we held hands while walking through the forest together and saw a deer leap out in front of us and back into the woods !! #it was so lovely ♡♡♡ #my photos 🌸 #photo diary 📷 #꒰ 5/4/23 ꒱ #🥀 #diary 📖

[rainydaydream-gal18]

(The Bad Batch) Camping: Hunter’s  Ending

 Intro

   “I guess I’ll go with Hunter,” you said, earning a grin from Omega. Hunter glanced your way with a smile- the kind of smile that made your heart do a little flip. You were lost in it before Omega gave you a push in his direction.

   “I think that’s a good idea,” she replied. “Well, you two have fun!”

   “Aren’t you coming?”

   “Nope! I’m going to go exploring with Wrecker. See you!” Omega practically skipped away, and you were left standing there beside Hunter.

   He watched her go, the fatherly affection glowing in his gaze. “She seems to be having a good day already,” he chuckled.

   “I’m glad we came. I think this is really good for her.”

   “I think you’re right.” Hunter walked over to the tent to grab his backpack, unzipping it and fishing out his water bottle. “Alright, you ready?”

   “Yes, sir.”

   He stole a glance over your shoulder, brow raised in amusement. You stifled a giggle and followed him out of the clearing. A small dirt trail began at the edge of the woods. You should have been more focused on the path in front of you, but your eyes were trained on the sergeant in front of you who paused every now and then to get a feel for his surroundings.

   He looked much more relaxed. He donned a green civie t-shirt, a change from his usual armor or blacks, and his expression was not so hardened by the stress of a mission. His eyes didn’t hold that sharpness. His brows were not furrowed in concentration. When he stopped to check on you behind him, he smiled.

   “You good?”

   You nodded. “Yeah, you?”

   “So far.” Hunter took in a deep breath and released it with a sigh. “It sure is nice here. Not a trace of engine fuel stench.”

   You looked at him sympathetically, though his attention was on the path ahead. “That must be difficult for you, to be so sensitive to things like that.”

   “You get used to it,” he replied, though his tone wasn’t as convincing. Sometimes the toll Hunter’s ability took on him was evident. Some days, it wasn’t so bad. But every now and then, he’d disappear to his bunk after a mission to recuperate.

   The train of thought was interrupted when you nearly walked right into him. Hunter held up a hand, signaling for you to halt as well. He looked at you, putting a finger to his lips while motioning for you with his other hand to approach slowly. Peeking over his shoulder, you saw movement.

   It was a mother deer walking through the brush with a fawn at her hooves. The doe paused only for a moment to look at the two of you with her big dark eyes before continuing on her way. The fawn was leaping around, and in a way, it reminded you a bit of Omega.

   “How beautiful,” you murmured.

   “They didn’t seem to mind us,” Hunter replied. By then, they were far enough away that you didn’t have to worry about frightening them. You and Hunter resumed your hike, and you found yourself more conscious of the wildlife around you. He pointed out more creatures scuttling along the forest floor. The twitter of birds could be heard all around, but when you looked closer, you could see them fluttering from branch to branch above.

   “Wow, that one is really singing its heart out,” you commented, pointing to a one with a vibrant orange chest. Its call rang out clear as a bell.

   “It’s probably a male showing off for a female. You know how us males are,” he said, shooting you a smirk. “We aim to impress.”

   “Why yes, I certainly do. I’ve travelled with the five of you long enough. Bunch of show-offs.”

   “And?”

  “And what?”

   “Has anyone succeeded in impressing you?”

   Your face warmed under his playful gaze. He had paused to hear your reply, though you figured he was also enjoying the sight of you getting flustered.

   “I didn’t think it mattered.”

   He chuckled. “Believe it or not, I think everyone had their eye on you at one point. Wrecker especially got a little competitive.”

   Your mouth fell open. “What? I had no idea. I hope I didn’t cause any trouble...”

   “Things sort of died down after some time. We got used to having you around and saw you more as a teammate, part of the family.”

   “Ah,” you nodded, trying to hide your disappointment. You were glad the others saw you that way, but part of you always hoped that you’d caught Hunter’s attention. “I see.”

   “Well, I guess it didn’t totally die down for all of us.”

   Your gaze snapped up to meet his, and your next step was taken out of surprise. A thorny branch caught on your leg, and you drew in a sharp breath from the sting. “Ouch.” Hunter’s attention was drawn to the spot and he knelt down to help you disentangle yourself from the briars.

   “You alright?” he asked.

   You winced again. “Yeah, it just caught me by surprise.” He stood to his feet again, and you stared into his eyes. You weren’t going to let him get away with that statement so easily. “What did you mean by that?”

   “I meant that...not everyone on the squad let go of the idea,” he said, eyes unwavering. You got a pretty good idea who he was referring to. Still, you played along.

   “Really? Like who?”

   Hunter didn’t voice a reply. He kept staring into your eyes with that inviting gaze, as if daring you to take a guess. You ventured forward, noting how his chest moved up and down more noticeably the moment you stepped into his space. His eyes remained fixed on you as you took another step, though this one was smaller. You bit your lip, heart racing.

   It was like two magnets snapping together. There was no drawing back. No retreat. He was suddenly overwhelming your senses; broad shoulders in your view, his scent filling your nose, and his hands resting on either side of your waist. Hunter brought his face closer to yours, breath fanning your face, though he hesitated before your lips touched, giving you a chance to protest or back up if you chose. Instead, you satisfied the urge you’d had for some time and pressed your lips to his. His mouth began to move against yours at the moment of contact, and you could feel the depth of his feelings in his kiss. Your hands clenched over fistfuls of his t-shirt, and his grip on your waist tightened.

   He pulled back to trail a few kisses along your cheek, pausing near your ear to utter in a low voice, “in case you weren’t sure before; it’s me.”

   You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped your lips. You pulled back to see that amused glint in his eye, and you laughed again, wrapping your arms around his neck as you embraced him. His arms slid around your form fully as he exhaled.

   “I have to say; that was really smooth,” you chuckled into his shoulder.

   “It’s like I said. We males aim to impress.”

   The two of you held each other for a while. Your hands idly played with the ends of his hair while he ran a hand up and down your back. It was a peaceful moment, and at the same time, your mind was buzzing with the excitement of the kiss. As the minutes passed, it occurred to you that it would soon be time to head back.

   Hunter seemed to be thinking the same thing because he slowly began to pull away. “We should get back.”

   “Yeah, it’ll be lunch time soon. We still don’t know what we’re going to eat.”

   “Mhm,” he hummed. Keeping a hold on one of your hands, he gave you a flirty look as he squeezed past you on the narrow trail to take the lead on the way back to camp. “We’ll figure something out.”

#the bad batch reader insert #the bad batch #bad batch hunter x reader #hunter x reader #the bad batch hunter #hunter imagine #bad batch imagine #bad batch hunter imagine #hunter x y/n #sergeant hunter x reader #hunter reader insert #bad batch x reader #bad batch hunter x y/n #bad batch hunter x you #bad batch hunter reader #bad batch hunter

[camdentown-library]

🥶 arthur morgan

𝕺𝖍, 𝖆 𝖇𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝖋𝖊𝖑𝖑 𝖔𝖋𝖋 𝖆 𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖑𝖋, 𝖜𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖎𝖙 𝖇𝖊?

Summary: You and Arthur are on the hunt, but Colter's freezing weather doesn't seem to be in your favor, or so you thought.

Genre: fluff ;; Arthur being a sexy cowpoke

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x fem!reader

Colter's chill wind numbed your fingers as you held your bow tight, and your horse obediently followed Arthur's.

You never mind going hunting for a hot meal, but those mountains, that blizzard, the distant howling of menacing beasts and the far too deep snow, made it really, really exhausting.

"Are ye there, Y/N?" Arthur yelled as the wind muffled his hoarse, scraped voice.

"Always, Mr. Morgan" you replied as your teeth chattered. God, if you existed, let the two take a bear today, at least the supplies would last for days.

"Good girl, don't give up and stay behind me, if the tracks don't lie maybe we'll find something up north" he explained to you and then swore through gritted teeth when a pile of snow fell off a fir branch and ended up on the cowboy's hat.

You and Arthur got along well together as a couple in action. He was a bit like a mentor to you, maybe because of your age difference, or maybe because he tended to be more protective of you when certain gang members got too familiar with you. He had taught you many things: to fight with your fists, and to handle a gun well; on the other hand, you were his little voice of reason, in short, Arthur was also a sort of anti-hero, but his ways were certainly not those of a spotless and flawless knight.

A gesture of the man's hand beckoned you to tie your steed to the nearest trunk and then join it, and so you did, leaping down and without realizing it, you found yourself half-torso in the snow, squeaking from the unwanted and frost humidity. Without delaying further, however, you walked, if you can say so, towards your companion who was not slow to point out your awkwardness.

"I always thought ye were short, but now, with half yer body swallowed by the snow, ye look like a goddamn gremlin" he said taking his rifle and some bait for the prey, while a smile could be glimpsed under his hat.

"Ha ha ha, keep laughing, old man..." you commented snorting as you tried to compose yourself "At least I am not afraid that my dick will atrophy under the snow" you continued, while you lifted your legs from the blanket of snow to take some steps forward, only to be swallowed by the white blanket again.

Arthur looked at you raising both eyebrows, pretending to be amazed by your nasty words, but then he returned to his real goal and without further ado asked you to follow him, without making too much noise.

You walked for a few meters until, in the distance, you saw a small group of deer intent on looking for something to eat in the little that the forest offered.

Arthur then blocked the passage by placing a hand on your chest to stop you and crouching towards a dry bush with you, he indicated the next move.

"We have the advantage of the storm that hides our presence and our smell, but we must shoot the arrow well, trying that the wind does not send it who knows where" he explained to you, while you took the necessary and then observed him confused.

"If we needed the bow why did you bring a shotgun with you?"

"Because if some f’cking wolves arrive, I can at least pay to protect ye...even if with this storm the noise would cause an avalanche" he explained, muttering annoyed at the thought of him.

There was a moment of silence between the two of you, as if you were two tired soldiers in the trenches dead in the face of a war that had just begun. This whole Blackwater disaster was still hard to swallow, like cod oil.

"Remind me that as soon as we get back to the camp we won't even give a piece of meat to Micah..." you commented, biting your cheek just at the thought of having to share the air you breathed with that jerk. Arthur smiled too if he probably thought like you.

"Sure, but then ye'll have to fight with Dutch" he said placing a hand on your shoulder.

"Won't you protect me for a good cause?" that you made the eyes of a puppy in need of help, the man clicked his tongue on the palate as if it cost him to deny his support, and then shake his head.

"Think about those deer now, girl. Then we'll think about how to poison Mr. Bell" he whispered in your ear and then hid a wicked smile, earning your excited expression.

You then took an arrow to insert into your bow, and taking a deep breath you tried to keep a clean and straight aim, but something was preventing you from this...Your hands, were shaking like two handkerchiefs against the wind.

"Shit..." you whispered in frustration as you could feel your tense muscles starting to burn from the effort, making your shot even worse "Ah...fuck!" you cursed angrily as Arthur immediately cast his blue eyes on you, immediately understanding the situation.

"Hey hey hey, calm down, girl" he said placing both hands in front, then taking yours "Let me see..."

Your little hands looked so tiny and delicate in his calloused, broad and toned. Your fingertips had begun to take on an eerie purplish color as your palm became less and less colorful.

"Shit, the last thing I need is for you to go into hypothermia" the man muttered, before cup your hands and bring them close to his lips, in front of your slightly surprised gaze, which was almost ready to protest...but when you felt his warm breath collide with your fingertips, you couldn't help but burn on your cheeks too.

His soft and caring gestures made your heart melt as you watched as Arthur was trying to keep you warm.

His eyes reopened to meet yours and for a few moments your breathing stopped working, so was all that commotion of sensations? Arthur could have been almost ten years older than you, he was like a guiding figure to you...yet, that feeling was warming your heart and belly, and your mind was clouding, while a crescendo of tension always screamed at you. more in thoughts of pouncing on him and having sex there, in the midst of that icy storm, in that bush.

"Easy girl, easy..." he said in a low voice as he noticed that your fingers had taken on a more human color and the blood had started to work again "Take the whiskey in my saddlebag, I'll take care of these d’mned deer" he said before kissing a palm of your hand, while you, like an obedient child, walked towards the man's crotch, continuing to nod like a fool, while he let out a soft and satisfied laugh.

* * *

"So, how are yer hands?" the man asked as he joined you after a few minutes, dragging two dead deer with him.

"Well I think...the whiskey helped the process" you replied a little shyly, as Arthur tied the game on him and your steed.

"Sure ye're not drunk, Y/N?" he asked jokingly while you giggled in amusement and then shook your head "Good, why do I need to have ye watchful tonight" he replied in turn, and then let the horse walk right next to yours, so that he could bend his torso towards of you and touch your glowing ears with his lips "Come to my cabin around dinner time, and we could discuss our crazy plan on how to kill Micah" your eyelids blinked several times as your mouth parted...Oh mother of God, what did that voice not do to your psyche...

You knew perfectly well that you were going to talk about anything but Micah that night, but you decided to play along and you answered:

"I won't be late, Mr. Morgan"

𝕿𝕳𝕰 𝕰𝕹𝕯

𝕯𝖔 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖜𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖙𝖔 𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖓𝖎𝖈𝖍𝖊? 𝕺𝖗 𝖉𝖔 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖜𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖙𝖔 𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉 𝖎𝖙 𝖆𝖌𝖆𝖎𝖓?

#rdr2 #rdr2 oc #red dead redemption 2 #red dead redemption imagine #red dead redemption #red dead redemption imagines #red dead redemption 2 imagine #red dead redemption 2 imagines #arthur morgan #one shot #fluff #slight smut #arthur being a sexy dilf we know that C'MON

[superspookywombat]

falling {j.h} chapter eleven

Warnings: a few swear words I think, theyre not too bad though, i didn’t proof read i was too excited to post lol

Taglist: i’m moving it to the comments (or at least I’m going to try to so i’d appreciate it if you could let me know if it works :)

A/n: this chapter’s a bit longer than usual. I’m not totally in love with it but i know i’ve kept you all waiting long enough (oops) hope you enjoy!!

Everything was still. You laid in a sterile room, your torn and bloody clothes dried to a vinyl cot in the middle of the room. Jasper wouldn’t let Alice change your clothes, he wouldn’t even let anyone near you. He sat at your side, never taking his eyes off of you once. The venom was taking longer than usual to take over, leaving Carlisle intrigued. Jasper was worried that his venom didn’t work, but was instantly reassured by Alice that you would wake up. 

It was three nights after you’d been bitten that you began the early stages of transformation. You weren’t awake just yet, but every so often your heart would stutter and slow. Jasper listened closely, and tried his best to radiate calmness for you even though he was feeling everything but. He couldn’t feel anything around you, which was something he wasn’t used to. The rest of the Cullens gave him as much space as possible, almost as if he was grieving. He was grieving, though, because he knew this was the end of an era. This officially ended things between him and Alice. He felt guilty for leaving her by herself, but he knew she was a strong woman and would be better off without him.

“You don’t have to be sorry, you know.” Alice said, approaching him a few weeks ago. He didn’t understand what she was referring to.

“You’re in love with her, Jasper. And that’s okay.” She said softly, reassuring the conflicted cowboy. 

“We were supposed to be together for the rest of our lives.” Jasper had responded, his heart dropping at the sight of Alice’s sad smile. She cupped his cheek in her small hand and he leaned into her touch.

“I know. But this is the start of a new life.” She said. He paused, unsure how to respond. Eventually, he knew.

“Thank you, Alice.” He said, his voice no more than a whisper. He was sure if vampires could cry that tears would be running down his scarred cheeks. She never responded, they just sat in silence while she held him, their love still as strong as the day they met, just displaced. 

Five days after being bitten you started visually reacting to the venom. Sometimes your hand would flinch, or your eyelids would twitch. Mostly, whimpers escaped through your clenched jaw. Your body was changing dramatically, you got slimmer in sections but filled out in others, your lips got plumper and your hair got thicker and shinier. Your clothes barely fit you anymore, not that you’d do anything but throw away the outfit you had on. Jasper finally started to calm a little, but was still on edge because he knew the upcoming part was arguably the hardest. 

Eleven days after you were bitten you had the ability to be conscious, though most of the time you weren’t from the unbearable pain. Your screams were heard throughout the house, including a small part of the surrounding forest causing the Cullens to have a new-found appreciation for the seclusiveness of their house. Bella had visited you multiple times, but Edward wouldn’t let her get too close in case you suddenly awoke and decided that she was going to be your first meal. Being right next to you while you suffered hurt Jasper too. He could feel your anguish, your confusion. When you’d cry out, he’d groan; when you’d squeeze his hand, his other one would crush the armrest of his chair. 

Fourteen days after you were bitten, the pain finally died down. You were unconscious again as the final stage of transforming took place, making major changes in your body- including your heart. Jasper could hear your heart straining to keep up with the venom, but eventually it gave in and stopped altogether. Jasper sat still, waiting anxiously for the next step. A thump at the large glass window had made him jump, which was unusual for a vampire because they were rarely startled. Another thump made him stand, and after another he called for Esme. Birds ran into the windows a lot because of how clean she kept them, and if they were injured either her or Carlisle would aid it. Esme had rushed to his side immediately, most of the Cullens were sat just outside of the room incase of an update on your condition. As soon as she entered, Jasper watched as her eyebrows knitted together. She strode forward and reached to open the window, and almost immediately the room was invaded by multiple birds. Jasper jumped to hover over your body protectively while Esme yelled at the birds to get out. Hearing all of the commotion, Rosalie and Emmett entered the room. Rose helped Esme shoo the birds while Emmett walked over to the window. 

“Oh hell yeah!” Emmett laughs, clapping his hands. Once the window was closed, leaving the birds to sit on the balcony, Jasper felt it was safe enough to leave you unprotected. He walks over to see what Emmett was talking about, only to see a bear standing on its hind legs, pawing in the direction of the window. 

“Good God.” Jasper says, his jaw ajar. Esme walks over, her expression just as shocked as the boys’. 

“It’s like a pizza delivery!” Emmett exclaimes. He places two of his huge hands on Rosalie’s shoulders. “But instead of pizza- it’s a bear!”

“Em, why is there a bear waving at you?” Rosalie asks him. Alice entered the room so quietly that no one had noticed she was there.

“It’s here for y/n.” She says. Jasper whirls around, his eyebrows pulling down to frame his scowl. 

“What are you talking about?” He asks. Her eyes glaze over as she stares into the distance, and Jasper rushes to her side and holds her upright.

“I can see it.. She’s calling them..” Alice says. Jasper glances at your unmoving body. A squirrel leaps from a tree that hangs over the balcony, and scratches at the glass.

“Calling them how?” Esme asks softly. Alice snaps out of her vision, blinking a few times until she sees clearly again. Carlisle walks into the room, followed by Edward and Bella.

“They can sense her pain, she’s reaching out for help and she doesn’t even realize it.” Alice says. A creak from the bed diverts everyone’s eyes to you. 

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

After feeling nothing but unbearable pain for what seemed like forever, it was almost instantaneously that it went away. As if a bucket of water was poured onto your burning body, the flames were extinguished. You could hear before you could see; you could hear so many different things at once. The flutter of a bird’s wings, the rhythmic beat of a heart- who’s heart? Then you heard him. It sounded like him, but clearer. As if someone had flipped a switch to turn his voice into HD. You could hear Emmett and Esme too, along with a melodic unfamiliar voice. Then Alice’s voice. Everyone spoke in worried, hush tones. Worry ran through you, what was wrong? Did something happen? Then, your eyes flutter open.

You sit up with a gasp, your hand instinctively reaching for your throat. It felt so dry that you were sure that if you tried to speak, nothing would come out. The first thing you saw was Esme, a worried expression plastered on her face. You turn your head to find Jasper, but the speed at which you turn takes you by surprise. You lift your hand from your throat, holding it in front of your face. The paleness of your skin shocks you. Actually, everything about your hand does. The room is silent as you place your other hand next to the first one, staring at both in confusion. You don’t recognize them, the only similar factor being the red nail polish you applied the night before. You pull up your sleeve, and you flinch when a loud ripping noise bounces off of the walls. Pinched between your thumb and first finger is bloody fabric. You’re too bothered by your sudden strength to notice that your arms, like your hands, have no freckles or moles. You twist your arm to look at your elbow, surprised to see that the huge scar you got when you were eight is no longer there.

“Y/n?” You hear Jasper say. You over at him, his beauty leaving you wordless. Sunlight from the window streams through the mop of his blond hair, leaving it looking like pure gold. His pale skin glitters- wait, glitters? You stand up, looking down at your bare feet and bloody pants. 

“Jasper?” You ask. Your brain swirls as you think about what happened the night before, but as soon as you smell the dried blood on your clothes you shudder. “I.. I died.” 

“We’ll let you two talk alone.” Esme says softly, walking over to Jasper like she’s balancing on eggshells. She leans to say something in his ear. “We’ll be right outside if you need us.”

Jasper approaches you slowly as Esme, Emmett, and the blonde girl exit the room. He keeps his distance, but reaches out to hesitantly take your hand. You let him, and his skin no longer feels cold.

“What’s going on?” You ask, your voice not even sounding like it belongs to you. He glances over your shoulder, and you turn to see what he’s looking at. Three deer stand underneath the trees outside of the window, seemingly watching you two.

“Y/n.. I had no choice.” Jasper says, his voice sounding unusually stressed. You look down once more at your bloody clothes.

“Had no choice about what?” You ask. He opens his mouth like he’s about to say something, but then closes it again. “Jasper what’s going on? I feel like I’m going crazy. I could have sworn I.. died. I thought I died. But you saved me? And I’m okay now? Did you tell Dr Cullen to do some sort of risky procedure and bring me back to life?”

“You did.” He says. You furrow your eyebrows, unsure of which thing you said he’s responding to. “Die, I mean.” 

“Very funny. Just tell me what happened, I probably won’t be mad. Charlie might be though.” You reply, wishing he’d just blurt it out.

“My family and I.. we aren’t normal.” He says. Okay..?

“Well one look at Edward and that becomes pretty obvious. Not sure what it has to do with what’s going on here though.” You say sarcastically.

“I’m serious. We aren’t like anyone you’ve ever met before.” He says. You sit and wait for him to finish monologuing- which is what he clearly wants. “I’m not as old as you think I am.. I was born as Jasper Whitlock in 1844. My family and I are immortal.” 

You wait for him to say more- for him to laugh and tell you Bella put him up to a prank or something. He stays silent.

“You’re serious? Like, immortal as in you were born in 1844 and you haven’t aged a day and you can’t die and you’ve been through highschool like a million times and-” You ramble, still waiting for him to come clean about the joke. “And.. you’re a vampire?”

“Yes.” He answers shortly. You scoff.

“Bullshit.” You say, anger coursing through your veins. He looks taken aback as you gesture wildly. “I’m not as gullible as my sister thinks, okay? So you can go and run to her and tell her that her stupid prank isn’t funny.” 

“Y/n, I-” He starts.

“No! I don’t like being made fun of.” You growl. You turn to walk towards the balcony. As much as you’d like to leave, he still needs to explain what happened the night before, unless that was somehow a part of the sick joke. As you go to step forward, Jasper places a hand on your upper arm. You shake off his hand and he falls forward a little, making your mind swirl. You step forward and instantly you’re zooming through the air and through the glass doors. You try to catch yourself on the metal railing of the balcony, only for it to bend, letting you fall two stories to the ground.

“What the hell?” You exclaim. You look at your body, which looks and feels unscathed. Jasper runs out of the you-sized hole in the door, jumping off of the balcony and landing on his feet next to you with a ‘thud’. Soon, undoubtedly drawn by the noise, Emmett and Dr Cullen ran- teleported (?) over to you guys. “So.. Uh.. You were saying?”

“Two weeks ago, you were attacked by another immortal. They were here for your sister and while we were fighting a flock of newborn vampires, one broke off from the rest of them and came to your house. He.. he killed you. I made the decision to bite you.” Jasper says, his voice seemingly shaking. Your mind swims as you try to piece together what he just said. Two weeks? But it was just last night. He bit me? Am I an immortal- or vampire now?

“So.. you decided my fate? Whether to let me die or make me a vampire? I am a vampire, right?” You ask slowly, still trying to figure it out. You hear a rapid heartbeat thumping behind you, and you turn to see those three deer watching you a few yards away. You want them to come closer, something about them drawing you to them. As if you had asked them, they slowly trot closer, until they are about an arm’s reach away. You can hear a whooshing sound- the blood running through their veins? Your mouth could water as you deeply inhale, a delicious scent filling your nostrils. You can sense their trance-like state almost radiating off of them as they walk closer. Jasper gets closer to you, as do Emmett and the Doctor. You almost unconsciously lunge at the unsuspecting animal, until another scent hits you. Why was I about to attack that animal? To.. drink it’s blood? The scent is much sweeter than the deers’, it smells more appetizing than anything you’ve ever smelled before. You want it more than anything you’ve ever wanted before. You rush to your feet and sprint around the corner of the house and down the driveway, only to see Bella being rushed into Edward’s car. Your hands shake and your throat burns as her scent surrounds you. Before you even know what you’re doing, you’re crouched in an offensive position. Someone wraps their arms around you before you can lunge, and the scent lets you know it’s Jasper.

“Y/n.. y/n, stop!” Jasper commands as you struggle against his grip, and soon Emmett is there to help him. Your throat feels like it’s going to catch fire and burn into a crisp. You groan as you try to claw out of their grip, but they don’t let up. You sink to your knees, Jasper and Emmett following you to the ground, and anguish rushes through you. Birds caw as they circle around in the air. A bear dazedly walks out of the forest, his eyes glazed over. The deer from earlier walk towards you, not affected by the loud noises. Squirrels run down from trees and snakes slither out from the forest floor coverings. A fat racoon waddles out from behind a pile of logs while two elk walk out of the woods. Alice, Esme, and the other girl come outside. Everyone is silent as they look around in amazement, creatures from all over surround the front of the house where you kneel.

Alice is the first to speak, a small smile on her lips as she utters the words, “She’s a Thiriokinetic.”

#edward cullen #alice cullen #jasper hale #jasper hale x reader #Emmett Cullen #carlisle cullen #esme cullen #fanfic #fanfiction #twilight #twilight x reader #chapter 11

[ladyramora]

Together again

Shadowbringers spoilers.

Submitted by: @lolzwaitwhat

Ramora and Y'shtola walked deeper into Rak'tika Greatwood,  following a path of bright blue flowers that glowed in the shadows of the trees towards Yx'Maja, the taller of the duo scanning the area while the shorter stroked at the medallion that was to help them gain safe passage, her eyes searching for a people who had cut off all contact to the outside world centuries ago.

Thancred, Minfillia and Urianger hung farther back, their eyes searching through the wood as well, although as to what they were keeping their eyes open for, Ramora could only guess.

Since coming to this world, she had found that the one who had brought her here hadn’t realized they had pulled another warrior of light through and had no idea where she was. He knew where everyone else had popped up, as he had many people looking out for them as well as letting the Scions here know if one of their friends had slipped into the world as well and could look for them, but he had no idea where Lolz was. 

She and the others had been searching for her while killing the light wardens that plagued these lands, but had not seen her anywhere. Y'shtola assured her that those who entered this part of the forest without permission or proof that they were trustworthy were often killed on sight, so it would be highly unlikely that Lolz would have stayed, even if this had been where she had arrived, but Ramora had a feeling deep in her gut that the last of her lost companions was close as they continued forward.

Suddenly they heard arrows and she and the nimble Miqo'te leapt backwards to avoid them, the heavy heads landing with powerful thuds into the ground where they had just been.

“‘twould seem we have found them.” Y'shtola purred, pleased that they had found the group they had been looking for, her head held high to look up at three armed vii wearing a sort of uniform armor. The one in the middle held a bow, most likely the one who had given them their warm welcome, the one on her right had a staff and the one on her left welded a spear.

“You tresspass on sacred grounds.” The one in the middle said, her tone powerful with a hint of an accent that made Ramora perk up a bit, a bit enamored as the vii ordered them to “Begone!” As she unleashed a volley of arrows into the air.

Ramora didn’t even have the time to be impressed with her ability to shoot so many arrows at once when she felt her stomach tense at the sight of so many arrows falling towards them and quickly grabbed at her weapon.

Only to watch as something pink flew towards the arrows from behind them and knocked them away before standing, revealing a female with a short stature, pink hair and a lack of bunny ears stand between their group and the vii, wearing the same armor as the bunny girls in the tree, a fan in each hand and no staff to be seen.

“Is-is that?” Thancred began.

“Lolz?” Ramora murmured, stiff with shock.

The figured turned and then gave them a sweet smile, “You’re fucking late again, Rammy."Lolz told her.

"TRAITOR!” The one with the spear bellowed at their savior, “THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US AFTER WE TOOK YOU IN AS OUR SISTER?!”

��Well, to be fair.” Lolz said as she lowered her stance, “These guys became like family to me before you guys did.”

the one with the spear let out a roar before leaping to the ground before charging at them.

“Wait, we did not come to-!” Y'shtola began, only for the Vii to knock her off of her feet and for Lolz to began to fight her one on one, fans verses spear.

“I never thought I’d see the day that Lolz fights with anything other than magic!” Thancred laughed as he used his sword to stop more incoming arrows from striking him or Minfillia.

“Indeed.” Urianger agreed, his tone light and somewhat amused, “If I recall, you have often said that in a battle, you prefer magic over might.”

“that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to fight without magic!” she blurted, somewhat annoyed at their shock as she fought, “I just like magic better!”

Y'shtola looked up at the two other Vii still standing in the tree, “Please, we mean you no harm!” And then held up the medallion to them.

The vii with the spear stop mid strike and stared at it in awe as Y'shtola told them that they were allied with the kingdom of Ronka and that they carried the seal of the emperor.

The vii on the ground began dashing around her squinting at it at all angles.

“For the love of-” Lolz groaned, “Just ask her if you can take a closer look already!" 

The vii stiffened at the command before sheepishly motioning to the medallion, Y'shtola handed it to her and she began doing a proper inspection.

Ramora finally managed to take a few steps towards her no longer lost friend, "You’re-you’re okay…”

“It appears to be GENUINE!” The spear one cried happily.

Ramora heard muffled voices from above as she took another step closer, her eyes watering as she did so.

“Are you okay?” she asked, “Because Your eyes are all shiny and it’s not the happy 'I’m gonna ride tonight’ kinda shiny…” Ramora pulled her tiny friend into a big, tight hug before she could say anymore and started to cry.

Lolz looked towards the others, who seemed to mirror her shock before she sighed and rubbed her back, “Glad you guys are okay too-” she then paused and looked to the others, “Wait a bloody second here, aren’t you three supposed to be out for the count?!” she cried, her free hand moving to point at the three who, last she saw, had been souless husks in rooms back at their base.

But before anyone could answer, the archer of the trio called out, “We acknowledge your seal, but we must be certain of it’s authenticity! Follow the azure flowers to our village, there we will judge if you are friend or foe.” She then seemed to narrow her eyes on the non-vii wearing their armor, “That goes for you too, Lolz.”

“That’s fair.” She complied, “Need me to pick up any extra food for tonight on the way back?”

The archer let out a huff, “You seem confident that your deeds will be forgiven. Or are you trying to bribe us?”

“Confident.” She replied, “Vii aren’t the kind who can be swayed with bribes.”

The archer gave her a small smile before motioning for the other two to join her and then they left. The group waited a beat before Ramora finally let go of her friend and wiped at her face as she regained her composure.

“And how, dare I ask, do you know what kind of people the Vii are?” Y'shtola asked.

“Oh, the village elder back home is a Viera, she used to babysit me all the time when I was little. I used to make her all sorts of little accessories and stuff and she’d teach me about Viera culture and how to fight with fans and basic self defense.” Lolz explained, then rubbed at her shoulder, “She’s also the reason I prefer magic to might, harder to get your ass handed to you when you’re sending blasts of magic at your enemy from a distance.”

“Couldn’t an archer attack from a distance as well?” Minfilla asked her.

“Arrows and bullets can be sent back to the source if you know how to do it.” she mumbled, then motioned towards the path of glowing flowers, “come on, the village isn’t too far and I helped the little ones hunt for a bit this morning, so there should be plenty to eat when we get there, even if we don’t see anything on the way.”

“I must say, you must have quite a diverse culture on this island of yours.” Y'shtola chuckled.

“That’s a nice way of putting it.” She replied, making them chuckle.

Ramora watched in rapt attention as the last friend she’d lost led the way to the vii village, the words their group spoke seeming to be lost to the sounds of the forest and the glow of the flowers, her heart feeling light (no pun intended)

She would probably bombard Lolz with questions later and had no doubt she had questions of her own, but for now, it was just nice having all her friends back.

Lolz note: Yay! Rammy has all her friends back now! 

I kinda felt bad about how I made Ramora cry in alone and when I learned she had abandonment issues… so yeah, I kept trying to think of how I could have them reunite. Then while I was playing the main story of Shadowbringers I was watching the scene where we meet the vii, I was like, hmmm, yeah, Lolz would have the kind of luck where she’d get stuck with the antisocial bunny girls who try to kill anyone who ends up in their forest without any armor or weapons… or clothes for that matter.

Also, I headcanon that Lolz had no idea she was in an entirely different world until Y'shtola explains it to her.

Why is that? Well, she woke up naked and without her bag or weapons and figured the possessed Zenos stole all her stuff and stripped her and left her in some far off place to either die or to keep her busy enough to pull a Thancred so he could do as he pleased without her interfering and upseting Ramora in the process. When she saw Vii running around, she knew she was far away from where she had been, although not much else than that, and threw a shit fit about how she was going to fucking kill the next Ascian she saw for this, but she had no idea she was in the First and not the Source since Vii and Viera have such similar cultures. And as for the Lighteaters, she just figured they were just dangerous and unfortunately common place monsters in the area as her old Viera babysitter never told her about the local monsters she dealt with growing up.

Also, Lolz has another shit fit after finding out she’s been in another world this whole time and is pissed that she couldn’t have come into this world with at least some clothes. “I HAD TO MAKE CLOTHES OUT OF DEER SKIN AND POISON IVY! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG A POISON IVY RASH LASTS, RAMMY?!”

“I’m honestly more curious where you got the rash.”

“NONE OF YOUR BLOODY BUSINESS!!”

You don’t have to post this one, I just wanted to give you a follow up story that has a happy ending after making Ramora cry in Alone. sorry if it’s not as good as the last one but I really wanted to share this with you. 

#lolzwaitwhat writes #Lolz and Ram #the scions of the seventh dawn #Ryne #Lolz #yeah Ram and her abandonment issues #blame her crappy family #At least they have their friends back #ffxiv shadowbringers spoilers #ffxiv shadowbringers #shadowbringers #submission

[starlitsummermoon]

The Black Knight of Stein

Part 1: Nightmare in Black

Story Rating: ADULT 18+ Pairing: Byron Wagner X Kyshimi (MC) Word Count: 5498 Story Summary:  Heading off to Stein for a much needed vacation with her future husband, Kyshimi finds it hard to relax while she’s being plagued with nightmares of a monstrous black wolf. When she arrives during Stein’s most celebrated festival of the year, all the pieces start falling into place, but the most important pieces are still missing. Digging through history, she hopes to find an answer before she’s hunted down. Part 1 is also on Ao3!

[A/N]: Kyshimi is pronounced (kee-shee-mee). This chapter contains no SMUT... but the next one certainly does. I plan on making these chapters long, but I promise I put a lot of work into them and they’re worth it, so bare with me! Part 2 is in the works!

Piercing through the canopy of the forest, rays of sunlight lit the grassy floor at its roots. Birds and deer darted in and out of sight as a woman wistfully skipped in between the trees. Time slowed, each leap and bound lasted forever before her bare foot felt the cooling comfort of the earth beneath her. Following the hidden path, guided by the setting sun, her lips yielded a grin each time she felt the fading heat of the sun on her face.

Farther and farther she skipped, the foliage smoothly transitioned from deep, cooling greens to bright, warm reds. The air grew frigid, her breath visible with each bound. Long grass no longer brushed against the hem of her pure white gown for it vanished with the greens, instead debris of crunchy leaves scattered around her feet.

Without warning, the sky grew angry and dark as the leaves were whisked away by a harsh breeze, leaving the ground bare and cold. The trees became unsettling, their sharp branches piercing the dark clouds above them as they swirled with mighty force. Her skin now ice, her smile left with the leaves as dread seeped into her body. A sharp pain at the back of her head, she dared to glance behind her, wisps of her hair catching in her eyes.

It was following her!

An enormous, pitch black mass sprinted through the trees behind her, swiftly closing the gap with powerful lunges, baring its fangs. Its large white eyes narrowed down to slits as its pointed ears pinned back into the thick, dark mane protecting its neck. Dagger-like claws dug into the earth, throwing twigs and stones behind as it neared its target. Closer and closer it got, the hot, wet breath nearly caressed the back of her neck.

Tears ran down her cheeks as she tried to scream, but nothing came out. Only seconds of a glimpse was all it took to keep her legs going, but her body wouldn’t move any faster. With tears clouding her vision, she tripped over a large root of a tree. Slamming into the ground, her arms and elbows stung as her teeth bit down on her bottom lip in a weak attempt to subdue the pain.

Ice swept over her, turning back to witness wide open jaws swallow her.

Kyshimi shot up, a loud gasp escaping her lungs as adrenaline pulsed through her limbs. Her gaping eyes carefully examined her surroundings. The warmth of the morning sun bled through lace curtains, giving solidity to her furniture. The many bottles of perfume atop her vanity shone, dozens of pairs of earrings sparkled, and the many folds and wrinkles of her sheets formed mountains and valleys.

A deep sigh of relief blew from her lips, now convinced that she was in the safety of her chambers, protected by the warmth of her bed. Lowering her head, her mess of ebony hair flowed over her shoulders and nearly down into her lap where her hands rested, still shaking from the vivid imagery of razor sharp fangs sinking into her.

Throwing one corner of her sheets aside, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, her toes reaching down to feel the cold marble of her floor. Gripping the edge of her mattress, she continued to stare down at her pure white nightgown, her arms shaking.

“That dream again,” she whispered hoarsely to herself, “why do I keep having that dream about that━” An image of nightmare mass flashed in her mind. She swallowed a hard lump in her throat before muttering, “...wolf.” A shiver trickled over her skin, her hands instinctively wrapping around herself, rubbing the back of her arms to warm back up, but it was hard to shake the fear that had been haunting her for several weeks now.

With a hefty sigh, she pulled herself up on her feet and made her way to her vanity. Sitting in front of her enormous mirror, she clearly saw the dark circles underneath her eyes. Tugging at her cheeks and leaning in for a closer look, she groaned. She was to leave to Stein in a day’s time and she hardly looked presentable enough to leave her chambers.

“I’m such a mess,” she vexed, snatching her hair brush. “I can’t let Giles see me like this or he’ll never let me go.” Fixing her hair and applying a bit of makeup helped hide the dark circles, but her eyes gave everything away, and no amount of jewelry or perfume could distract from them. Another attempt was made with the choice of dress, a long frilly skirt and a blouse to match. 

Twirling around in the mirror, the dark color brought a smile to her face. It was autumn afterall, her favorite season, and not only that, but she had been invited to Stein’s All Hallows Eve Festival as King Byron’s honored guest. She was a bit sad that for the first time in her life, she would be missing out on Halloween in Wysteria, but according to Nico and Albert, the All Hallows Eve Festival was a significant holiday in Stein and celebrated a bit differently than most countries.

The mere thought of it was exciting to her as she tried to imagine what it could be like and how different it could be compared to how she was used to celebrating Halloween. Besides being a couple of days long, she couldn’t imagine Halloween being spent any other way; spooky decorations and children running through the streets collecting candy.

Now ready for the day to begin, she took one last glance in the mirror. The distracting thoughts of Halloween and being with Byron cheered her up, nearly forgetting all about dark circles and the nightmarish black mass. She knew, however, that she couldn’t ignore it forever. Thoughts bubbled inside her stomach, ready to burst.

‘I wish Byron was here… he would know what to do, or at least, know what to say.’

Placing herself at her small desk in the corner of her room, she pulled out her ink and quill along with a thick piece of paper. Taking in a deep breath, her quill hovered over the paper as she questioned herself.

‘Should I really be writing to him about this? Is this something he should really be bothered with?’

She felt like a pest whenever she bothered Byron with her personal problems knowing how busy he was as King, but he always seemed to get upset with her if she bottled everything up without even talking to him about it. He always knew what to say to comfort her, what to do to make the situation better, but she wanted to try handling this on her own.

“It’s...fine,” she said with an unconvincing smile, “I’ll just write it and not send it.” Re-dipping her quill, she scratched against the paper with its tip.

‘My Dearest Byron,

I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow night when I arrive. I’ve missed you terribly. Unfortunately, I haven’t been sleeping very well as of late. My dreams have been plagued with nightmares leaving me with restless nights for the last several weeks. What’s odd is that it’s the same dream, over and over. 

They’re becoming more vivid each time, convincing me that it may be real. Because of this, it’s getting difficult for me to feel safe unless I’m locked away in my chambers. I know that’s not healthy, but I don’t know what to do about this anymore. I feel so lost…

 I’m hoping to find solace in your embrace and comfort in your sheets. I await to feel your lips again.

With all my love,

Kyshimi’

Folding it up nicely, she even placed her silver waxed seal over the golden thread that held the parchment together. Ready to be sent with haste, she instead placed it back in the drawer, never to be seen by the receiver's eyes.

Her day was ending early, heading towards her chambers with haste as Giles followed closely behind, summarizing the days events with verbal footnotes. Mesmerized by the patterns of the marble tile and the sounds of her clacking heels, her advisor’s words fell on deaf ears for her thoughts were elsewhere. It was hard to focus with such little sleep for so long.

“Princess Kyshimi?” Giles’s voice echoed down the corridor, loud enough to catch her attention. She stopped, turning her gaze up at him with drooping eyelids. The sight of her worn out expression caught him off guard as it was the first time he had gotten a good look at her face today. “My word! Princess, are you━”

“I’m fine, Giles,” Kyshimi harshly cut him off, facing down the hall to continue her way towards the safety of her chambers. “I just… haven’t been getting very good sleep as of late. Now, as you were saying, when am I scheduled to leave for Stein tomorrow?”

The corner of Giles’ mouth curled unpleasantly in the tuck of his cheek, hesitantly waiting for the Princess to get a few steps ahead of him. He hadn’t been talking about tomorrow’s schedule at all. Clearing his throat, he decided to match her pace and walk at her side again, trying to get a better assessment of her condition, “Ahem, you’re scheduled to leave just after breakfast with Sir Alyn as your escort, but Your Highness…”

“Yes, Giles?”

“...I believe a change in plans are necessary. I shall escort you to Stein in Sir Alyn’s stead.”

“Nonsense, you need to run the country in my stead while I’m away.”

“We’ll return in just a few days, that shouldn’t be bothersome to Leo or Duke Howard if we simply━” Giles’ words faded into silence as Kyshimi grew cold. All of a sudden, he was changing the plans for everything. She was scheduled to be gone for several weeks in order to “learn, understand, and get well-acquainted with King Byron and the people of Stein before she becomes Queen,” or as she liked to think of it, a nice long vacation with King Byron. During this time, Giles was supposed “run” Wysteria in her place to the best of his ability while Alyn accompanied her during her travel’s leaving and returning to the castle. Nico, and occasionally, Albert, were set to be her personal attendants and guards during her stay at Stein castle.

Carefully gathering her thoughts, she took a deep breath and faced Giles with a large, concern-free grin and asked, “Why are you so worried? We’re not changing the plan. You’re staying here while I’m staying Stein for a much-needed vacation, remember?”

“Of course, Princess,” Giles sighed, matching her quickened pace perfectly, “it’s just… I’m worried. I didn’t realize the state you were in… are you sure you don’t want to shorten your stay? Or have me accompany you?”

“I’m 110% sure, Giles. Besides, this will be good for me. I’ll be on a much needed vacation while learning about Stein at the same time. According to Nico, this one of their biggest festivals of the year. It would be foolish to miss out on this opportunity.”

“Excellent point, Your Highness, but━”

“AAND, I wouldn’t want to disappoint any of the monarchs and bureaucrats who are expecting to meet me during my stay, now would I?”

Giles was left speechless. Expressionless, he gazed down at the Princess as they finally arrived at her chamber doors, her smile almost sincere enough to hide her exhaustion. Realizing he wasn’t going to win this battle, he chuckled to himself, ‘Of all times for my tutoring to take effect…’

“Princess, you’re absolutely correct,” he boasted confidently followed by a deep bow, “Please, forgive my doubt in our future Queen. Now, as you requested, your maids packed little for you, as per your request.”

“Yes,” she nodded in agreement, “King Byron informed me that my wardrobe will be taken care of entirely, including anything that I wish to purchase while I’m there.”

“An excellent method in getting acquainted with their fashion, Princess. Just be sure to take a few minutes and pack any personal items you wish to bring along with you. I’ll take my leave now, so please get to bed early and get some much needed rest. We want our precious Princess looking presentable for the King of Stein tomorrow. Goodnight, Princess.”

With a small curtsey in response, Kyshimi watched Giles until he turned down the corridor, finally leaving her to be alone once more, a rare occurrence since Nico decided to remain in Stein after she had announced her engagement to King Bryon. She enjoyed it, though, not having an attendant or an advisor glued to her side for several hours a day, despite the fact that she missed Nico’s companionship.

Locking her door behind her, a wave of relief washed over her as she released a huge sigh from her chest, her back sinking against the door as she did so. The large room was tranquil and quiet, no maids, no attendants, and no responsibilities. Walking to the center of her room, she looked around at her belongings which were starting to become glazed with the light of dusk. Nothing popped. Everything she would need is already waiting for her in her chambers at Stein castle, there wasn’t any personal item that needed to come with her.

Her eyes slowly drifted to the small desk in the corner of her room where a letter to her beloved hid in the confines of the drawer. Fiddling with her fingers, she crept up to the desk, slowly pulling the drawer open until she saw the glint of the silvery wax seal. Placing the letter atop the desk, she stared at it, remembering the words she wrote.

Keeping her eyes on the letter, she backed away until she felt the edge of her bed hit the back of her legs. Sinking into the edge, her feet hovered above the floor as she flopped back onto her fluffy comforter.

“Even if I were to send it now,” she whispered, her eyelids growing heavier as she stared at the blank ceiling, “Byron wouldn’t get it in time.” She shook her head lightly. “No, I don’t want him to worry. Everything will be better when I see him tomorrow.”

A shadow swept across her room. Her eyes shot back open. Bolting back up, her head pounded from the rush, struggling to listen for any foreign sounds as she analyzed her room once again. The windows were all shut, the balcony door was closed, and none of her curtains were moving. No breeze, no draft. She turned back to look at her door, ensuring it was still closed. It was, and she clearly remembered locking it.

The shadow returned, swiftly traveling across her room before it vanished. It was from outside. Her head snapped towards her balcony door, the lacey curtains burning from the light of dusk, the shadows from the tops of surrounding trees were starting to bleed up from the bottom. She didn’t blink, afraid she was going to miss it again. With a swoosh, the shadow passed the balcony door once again, its wings fluttering as it neared the glass before flying away, trying to enter her room before seeing there was no way in.

“Spinner!” Kyshimi gasped, hopping off her bed and to the balcony doors. Swinging them open, she dashed outside, the chilled breeze of autumn kissing her face as she looked up to the tree tops. The heavy contrast of Spinner’s snow-white feathers against the orange and red leaves of the canopy made him easy to spot. Reaching her hands up into the air, the Princess couldn’t hold back a small amount of tears and a large smile as she called out to him, “Spinner!”

Gracefully descending from the sky, Spinner silently swooped passed the Princess and entered her chambers, landing on the wooden post of her sofa; his favorite perch. Carefully following him inside, Kyshimi sat on the sofa, soothing stroking his feathers as he rested.

“It’s so nice to see you, Spinner,” she said softly, scratching a spot right under the owl’s beak, “Did Byron send you to check in on me?” Byron often sent Spinner to check in on her during their extended periods apart, sometimes including a letter or a small note. This time there was none. 

With yet another sigh, which she made a mental note to cut back on in Stein, she happily held out her arm for the bird, who gently grasped it as she stood up and paced around her room, placing featherlight kisses on his beak as she did so. This was routine each time Spinner came to visit.

The sweet comfort of the large bird’s appearance allowed her to finally relax for the first time in days and the reality of her leaving to be in Stein with Byron hit her hard.

“I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” the Princess whispered, “but I can’t help but feel anxious, Spinner.” The owl’s head spun around, getting a good glimpse of the room. “I’m excited to see Byron again, there’s so much I need to talk about with him, but I don’t want to burden him with my problems… is that fair of me? To assume he doesn’t want to hear about my problems, or to assume that he even has time to hear them, being a busy King…?”

The large bird started preening some of his feathers, forcing a small laugh from the Princess’ lips as she gently shook her head. She knew full well that he couldn’t understand what she was saying, and if he could, it’s not like he could repeat her words to Byron. He wasn’t a parrot afterall. Glancing back at the balcony, she was ready to send him off.

“Sorry, Spinner,” she shrugged, keeping the smile on her face, “there’s no letter I wish to send this time, so I’ll see you━ AAH!” Spinner flapped his large wings, releasing his grasp on her arm without harm and flew across her room. He landed on the desk in the corner, his feet pinning the letter. Reaching down, he picked at the golden thread until he firmly had it in his beak. Kyshimi gaped in panic.

“No, Spinner!” she blurted, afraid to move in case it frightened him and he flew off, but it was too late. With a hefty thrust of his wings, the owl flew out the open balcony door with the letter in hand. Darting after him, she could do nothing but watch from the door as he flew away, most likely back to Stein. There was no sense in calling for him, he was too far gone now.

“Damn that smart bird,” she muttered, leaning against the frame of the door.

The carriage left for Stein on schedule the following morning and was now entering the forest dividing the two countries. Sir Alyn Crawford pushed the group of knights surrounding the carriage into the forest without hesitation, constantly on his guard for anyone or anything that had intentions of harming Princess Kyshimi during her journey to Stein Castle. Riding directly next to the carriage as his trusted knights led the entourage and trailed behind, he still kept his eyes and ears open for anything suspicious.

Meanwhile, inside the carriage itself, Princess Kyshimi leaned her head against the window, watching the passing scenery change from villages to open hills to thick forests. A normally soothing way to pass the time on her way to Stein, but she couldn’t relax.

Spinner had taken the letter to Byron. She blamed herself because Spinner was accustomed to delivering letters to Byron from her even if he hadn’t sent one to start each time he flew in for a check up. She concluded the bird knew what her letters looked like and assumed she would want it delivered. A foolish mistake on her behalf.

‘I never should have even written the letter to begin with. I should’ve just waited until I saw him. Why did I write the letter?!’

Her eyelids fluttered, the scenery outside began to blur as she yawned. The rocking of the carriage and the numbing sound of over a dozen horses trodding the already beaten path enticed her body and mind enough to let her guard down just enough to leave her consciousness in a sleep-driven daze.

Just as she was about to surrender to sleep, a sharp pain crept up on the back of her head, threatening to become a full-blown migraine. Straightening up her posture from the sudden discomfort, she started to feel an icy chill consume her fingers and toes. Looking down at her hands, she spread out her fingers and clenched them into fists, over and over to prove to herself she wasn’t going crazy.

“So odd…” she commented to herself, turning her hands over and spreading her fingers out once more, “this… this almost reminds me of━” A quick flash of nightmare-black with white fangs and blood-thirsty eyes entered her mind for the briefest moment. Her entire body froze, terrified to glance out the window to confirm her suspicions.

“I-it’s only a dream,” she shivered, muttering under her breath as she turned to look out the window, trees and shrubbery blurring in and out of view, “it’s only a dream. It’s only a d-dream. It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s. NOT. REAL!”

The carriage abruptly came to a halt, Kyshimi flying forward out of her seat and landing in the cushions of the bench across from her. Several horses outside starting braying, their riders, noble Knights of Wysteria, starting shrieking in panic. Before she had a moment to collect herself, Alyn flung open the door of the carriage.

“Princess!” he shouted in alarm as he found her nearly on the floor. With one, heavy step, he entered to assist her back onto her seat, her hair all over her face. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” she flipped her hair back and did her best to fix it, pulling strands that had caught in her mouth out, “but what happened? Why did we stop?”

“I’m about to find out,” Alyn stepped back out, “I just needed to make sure you were all right after that rough stop.” Without leaving her side, Alyn waited for one of his knights to bring him a report as he still stood in front of the entrance to the carriage. He refused to leave the Princess’s side knowing something dangerous could happen any second.

“Captain!” a knight shouted as he and his horse cantored towards Alyn and the Princess.

“What happened?!” Alyn demanded, “Are we being ambushed?”

“No, Sir!” the knight’s horse nearly skidded to a halt, the creature still spooked, “the horses at the front just got spooked bad. Same with the knights riding them.”

“Spooked? By what?!”

“I.. I don’t know.”

Alyn’s brow furrowed in frustration as he glanced back at Kyshimi and mumbled, “Wait here.”

“If it’s all the same to you,” the Princess stood up from her seat and smoothed out any wrinkles in her skirt, “I’d rather come with you. I want, no, I need to know what your knights have to say about this.” Her stern expression commanded no quarrel as she stepped out of the carriage, ready to follow whoever was willing to lead her to the spooked knights. 

Pressing his lips together into a thin line, Alyn simply nodded. He could understand why the Princess would be upset with a possibly foolish delay, but he was wrong. The chills and the pain in the back of her head, she had to know what happened. She needed proof from these knights that what she felt wasn’t real and was just apart of her imagination and sleep depravity.

The knight on the horse turned around and led the way towards the front of the formation, where a group of knights were sitting on a log on the edge of the road, their horses on the other side of the road being soothed by other knights. As they got closer, Alyn could see more horses and knights than they had brought with them on their mission, except these horses were all black along with their respective riders. Worried, the Captain protectively placed himself in front of the Princess, ready to draw his sword, but the closer they got, the better he could see familiar faces.

“Looks like Stein came to meet us half-way,” Alyn confirmed, turning his head towards the Princess in hopes of reassuring her. Excited, Kyshimi ran ahead to see who had arrived with the Stein knights. Standing before the Wysterian knights that were resting on the log aside the road was Albert and Nico.

“Princess Kyshimi!” Nico was the first take notice of her. “Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, Nico, I’m fine!” she smiled, holding back the happy tears threatening to stream down her face. She was so happy to see Nico, it took everything else she had to hold back a hug, even though most of the people around them knew about their friendship.

“Are you certain?” Albert stoically interjected, nearly pushing Nico out of the way.

“Very certain, Al,” she smiled, her body relaxing in the presence of Byron’s most trusted knights. With a quick glance around, Byron was nowhere to be seen. A twinge of disappointment was felt in her chest, but it was easily ignored. These two were more than enough comfort to last her until she saw him in Stein.

“We heard the commotion just before we caught up to you,” Nico reported, his expression more serious than it ever had been before, turning his attention to the Wysterian Captain. “We arrived as soon as we could.”

“We appreciate that,” Alyn nodded his head in gratitude, “I was just about to find out what the cause of the commotion was.” Only a few feet away from him sat the knights, still shaking with fear.

“S-sorry, Captain,” one of the knights shamefully looked up to Alyn, meeting his questioning gaze, “but I've never s-seen anything like it before!”

“What exactly did you see?” Alyn’s eyes narrowed, getting down on his knee to meet the gazes of his frightened men.

“A b-beast!” the knight shuddered.

“No! A monster!” the knight next to him shrieked. “I thought I was seeing things, Captain, but it’s there!”

“What did it look like?” Alyn asked, his tone a bit more comforting than before. “Can you give us any details?”

“Black,” a knight said flatly, his eyes cold, “black, and larger than any bear. I could barely see his eyes, but his… his teeth! His teeth could probably tear our armor apart. It almost looked like… a wolf. A giant, monsterous wolf.”

“Okay, anything else━”

The group’s words had faded as Kyshimi’s body became numb. It was everything she feared. They saw it. They saw the creature from her nightmare, it was real, and it was following her!

Just like it had in her dreams.

The world around her grew dark. Her knees started to shake, begging her legs to start running, but where? The beast could be anywhere in the forest. She was afraid to look up, afraid she would see its eyes staring right into her soul before it━

“Kyshimi?”

Nico placed a comforting arm over the Princess’s shoulder, taking notice of her suddenly solemn expression. Snapping back to reality, she felt the warmth from his touch and smiled at him, but her smile quickly disappeared and she gently pushed his arm off of her.

“What are you and Albert doing here, anyway?” her question was spoken louder than she had intended, catching the attention of both Captains. “It’s not normal for you to meet us half-way, I mean, you never have before.”

“His Majesty, King Byron, deemed it necessary that myself, along with a carefully selected group of knights, assist in escorting our future queen to Stein’s castle steps,” Albert expertly answered, adjusting his glasses as he glanced over at Nico, “not all participants were my choice, but we all happily obliged.”

Kyshimi lowered her gaze, thinking that Byron must’ve received her letter in time, sending his own entourage to escort her to him. Swallowing back her tears, she lifted her head back up and met Albert with a grateful grin. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Alyn’s disapproval written all over his face.

“Don’t misunderstand,” Albert responded to Alyn’s silent protest, “King Byron does not doubt your abilities to safely deliver the Princess to him. Instead, his concern lies with the fact that this is her first time traveling to Stein as his future Queen, therefore he deemed it wise to send extra escorts.”

“If you say so,” Alyn shrugged, his disapproval disappearing, “I won’t question my future King.” The two captains began to discuss formation changes peacefully, leaving Nico the opportunity to lead Kyshimi back to her carriage, holding out his arm for her.

‘That’s a good cover story,’ she thought to herself, certain that it was because he had received her letter the night before. Gripping Nico’s arm firmly, the knights around them began taking their places in the new formation. The rush of black and white horses around them seemed a bit overwhelming as she held Nico a bit closer.

“I wonder what the knights really saw,” Nico pondered, weaving himself and the princess in between the busy knights and horses.

“What do you mean?” Kyshimi snapped her gaze at him, an eyebrow raised in question as her heart sank into her stomach. The knights saw exactly what she had been seeing in her dreams, she had no doubt it was real now. “You heard what they said, it was a giant, b-black wolf.”

“You really believe that?” there was a hint of a chuckle in Nico’s response. “C’mon, Kyshimi, I was there with you when you did your studies with Leo. There aren’t any wolves in Stein or Wysteria, or even the surrounding countries. There hasn’t been for centuries.”

“Okay…” she knew he was right as she recalled the lessons she had with Leo. Wolves were located in the western-most part of the continent, nowhere near Stein or Wysteria, but her dreams and what the knights described stuck with her. “Then how do you explain what they saw?”

“It easily could have been a bear. Bears can get pretty big, maybe your knights haven’t seen one in a while. They usually stay away from large, loud groups of people like this. Maybe they scared him, eh?”

Nico’s reasoning comforted her to a point, but the feeling in her gut wouldn’t leave. The situation was too convenient. Remembering her vivid dreams, she mentally looked over the creature she had seen over and over again, questioning if she had really been dreaming about a bear instead.

‘No… it’s a wolf, I have no doubt about that…. But what the men saw….’

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Nico leaned in, his lips almost touching her earrings. She heard him very clearly, but her eyes were too busy scanning the trees surrounding her, careful not to seem frazzled to the knights around her, especially the captains. Feeling a cold chill on the other side of her body, she looked towards the forest on that side, and for a moment, she thought she saw a large, black mass flee from sight in the distance.

It was still here.

“Nico,” her grip on his arm tensed, “will you please accompany me in the carriage?”

“Of course,” Nico smiled with relief, “but are you sure you don’t… want…” His words trailed off, his eyes meeting hers. Her cheeks trembled and her teeth bit down on her lip, wordlessly pleading with him. An odd sense of knightly duty came over him as he sternly answered her, “As you wish, Princess.”

With every knight in his place, Albert and Alyn on either side of the carriage and Nico sitting directly across from Princess Kyshimi, the journey to Stein Castle continued. This time, with the carriage curtains pulled over each window. 

During the ride, Nico excitedly caught up with Kyshimi with all that has happened since they last saw one another. He barely let her get a word in, afraid she was going to look at him with those pleading eyes again. The conversations they had easily distracted her for most of the ride, filling the small space with laughter and excitement. Each time any thought of the black beast tried to enter her mind, she immediately thought of Byron and the safety of his arms which she longed for. Her worries, she hoped, would subside during her time in Stein.

As the entourage exited the forest into Stein, the large, black-furred creature watched from afar until it could no longer see the knights trailing behind the Princess’s carriage, daring not to leave the shadowy cover of the forest… yet.

#midnight cinderella #MidCin #byron wagner #giles christophe #Alyn Crawford #albert burckhardt #nico meier #starlit's smutty spooky tales

[stellar-alley]

Everfalls

•Chapter 14•

This is based off of the artwork by oceanteeeth on Instagram! Also shout out to my Beta super.rose.cosplays!

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

(Summary: Eddie hibernates under the covers in his bed while Richie finds himself in a pretty hairy situation.)

~

His face was pale, as if he had just seen a ghost. “Richie?” His voice shook, on the verge of tears. As if Eddie wasn’t emotional before, now he felt like he could cry at the fall of a pin.

Yes, Eddie was fine with Richie being close with the others, but he couldn’t watch Richie be close like that, like how close they were. Deep down Eddie knew that they were more than just close friends, maybe he was finally realizing that.

Richie reached out, “It’s not what it looks like, Eds-“.

“No, do not fucking call me that.” Eddie shook his head as the tears began to well in his eyes. Before anyone could get another word in, Eddie bolted. He ran down the stairs and made a sharp turn towards the back door. He didn’t want to leave, he just needed to be in his element, in nature, he needed air, to breath.

The fresh May evening air engulfed him as he burst out the back door. Eddie didn’t stop there, he kept going until he sat on the edge of the back patio. The commotion from inside the house drowned out by the Ancestor’s heavy breathing.

“E-Eddie?” A voice stuttered from behind him, “Ar-Are you okay?”

Eddie turned his head to see Bill had stepped out onto the porch. His hair glowed a little in the sun’s golden hour as he stepped towards the Ancestor.

Eddie turned back towards the yard, “I’m fine” he huffed.

The Denbrough’s had a nice backyard, the back was fenced in while the sides were left open, but there was still enough privacy to be able to enjoy your own yard. The grass was well kept and their garden seemed to have already been planted, even with how early in season it was.

“You sure? Cause y-you don’t look it.” Bill pointed out as he took another step towards him.

Eddie didn’t say anything, not when Bill stood beside him, or when he slowly crouched down to sit beside him.

“I know you a-and Richie are close. I-I can see it when you two are to-together, y-you two have something special.” Bill said as Eddie kept his gaze on the garden in front of them.

Yes we’re close, of course we’re close, we’re both fucking hybrids and I’m in… I-I, have a crush on him.

Something melted inside of Eddie, as if the realization opened something up deep inside of him.

“Yeah, we are… special” Eddie’s voice drifted off with the wind that blew by.

Special…. gay.

“N-now it just leaves me wo-wo- fuck. Now I wonder how s-special you really are.” Bill’s tone changed, suddenly it became something much more sinister as he jumped up from where he sat with Eddie.

Everything happened within an instant. Eddie barely even had time to process what Bill had said before a sudden gust of wind swept through his hair, his ears.

Edddie leaped off of the porch, eyes wide as he raked his hands through his hair and felt that he definitely wasn’t wearing his hat. His eyes darted to where his dad’s black beanie was held tightly in Bill’s grasp.

Now Eddie’s heart was racing but for a completely different reason. “Bill, I swear t-this isn’t what it looks like.” He held his hands up in defense as he took a step backwards.

“Y-Yeah? The-Then what is it like, E-Eds?”, the name sounded so wrong coming from his mouth, cause it wasn’t Richie. “What are y-you. A-And what the fuck do you have to do with my father’s de-“

The back door swung open and slammed against the outside wall, “BILL!” Richie’s voice shot out like a bullet. The werewolf had to try so hard to hold his eye colour, so far he was doing okay. But his claws had already grown out and were currently drawing blood from the palms of his hands as he clenched his fists.

“Eddie-“ Richie turned towards the other Ancestor but the rabbit was already gone. He used the sudden entrance as a distraction to flee, damn rabbit. He then noticed Eddie’s beanie. In Bill’s hand, he knew it well enough to identify it, he had studied it tens of times as he admired Eddie but now the sight of the hand me down filled the wolf with rage.

“What are you doing with that? Huh? Bill what the fuck did you do?” Richie growled, he took a step towards Bill when someone grabbed his arm. Richie jerked backwards to stare at Stan who stood behind him.

He’d followed behind Richie when the wolf sensed something was off, he made sure to tell the others some elaborate lie about Eddie having an asthma attack. So that way there wouldn’t be even more people on their case than there already was.

Stan had a specific stare he used when he needed to control, tame, Richie. It was similar to his normal stare, but this one was ice cold, stern, almost powerful. He used it in moments like this when he needed to grab ahold of the human side of Richie and make sure he wouldn't wolf out on him.

“You go get Eddie, and I will deal with Bill, alright?” Richie slowly nodded. “Do not fuck things up” Stan growled back as he let go of his arm.

Richie stomped down off of the patio. He took a step towards Bill and snatched Eddie’s hat out of his hands. Richie stormed off of the property. He caught Eddie’s scent quickly after he began searching for it. He knew it well enough considering the amount of time the two spent together. The wolf followed the trail for a block or so until it led him into the forest behind the residential area.

After the houses were fully behind him he unclenched his fists. Pain leaked from his palms as blood dripped from new wounds. He’s never felt this way with someone before. Whenever Richie looks up at Eddie to find that the bunny is already staring back at him, or whenever their hands accidentally brush up against each other, those are the times when he knew that there was something there, something more. Richie just didn’t want to admit it to himself because he knew Eddie didn’t feel the same way.

Richie stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of a breathless Eddie who stood leaning against one of the various trees in the forest. “Eddie” Richie’s lips curved ever so slightly into a small smile. Even with everything that’d happened prior, he was still happy to see Eddie was safe.

The bunny’s ears perked up at the sound of his own name. Eddie slowly turned to look at Richie with his big tear filled doe eyes. Richie didn’t need heightened senses to hear Eddie’s breath hitch at the sight of the wolf. It just broke his heart even more when he did use his hearing to hear the way his heart skipped a beat at the sight of Richie.

“What are you doing here Rich?” Eddie sounded exhausted and weak.

“Bill thinks you have something to do with his dad’s death,” Richie said slowly. He slid his phone out from his back pocket and clicked a few things before holding up a photo of Zack Denbrough he’d taken from Bill’s conspiracy board. “T-That’s him,” Richie stated.

The world stopped spinning when Eddie saw him. Because now he was no longer just outside of Bill’s house with Richie. No… Now he stood on the outskirts of The All Lands. Before Eddie is an unconscious man who was currently bleeding out. The Ancestor didn’t know who he was, but what he did know was that this man had just been shot.

Eddie was wandering around the forests that surrounded The All Lands as Sonia requested he find the purple berries that were currently in blume, they made a very nice jam. Eddie had already filled his basket when he saw the man walking around the woods. Almost no one has ever gotten that close to The All Lands, almost.

The Ancestor crouched behind a cluster of rocks and observed the man as he pointed his large gun at one of the nearby deer. Yes Eddie didn’t want to get caught but he was a boy of the woods, and he wasn't about to let that doe die. He took a step forward and let a twig snap under the pressure of his foot.

Even the smallest of sound allerted the man of Eddie’s whereabouts. He pointed the gun at the rocks and shot before Eddie was able to make another move. The bullet ricocheted off of the rocks with a pang and embedded itself in the shoulder of the shooter.

The rest is patchy. There was a lot of blood, so much blood. If he kept bleeding at that rate he wouldn’t last more than 10 minutes out here. Eddie knew he had to do something, anything, because if there was one thing that Frank Kaspbrak taught his son was that you should always help those who really need it.

It didn’t matter whether Eddie saved his life then or if he let him bleed out in the magically kept grass of The All Lands, because The Council found out. They heard the gunshot. When Eddie was forced to explain what had happened, how close the human got, how much magic he used on him, they knew they couldn’t let either of them keep going. So they executed the hunter right then and there, in front of Eddie.

Those cold dead eyes haunted Eddie every day after. Just the fact that he was at fault for that man’s death made Eddie wish he had never left and just went through with The Council’s plans for him.

Back in the present, Eddie stared at those same eyes, but now they were filled with life and joy as they looked back at him from the screen of Richie’s phone. Eddie took a shaky step backwards almost as if the bullet had hit him in the shoulder, his knees wobble under him, they threatened to give out from beneath him.

Eddie looked up at Richie, who was currently just a blurry image as his tears had clouded over his vision, “When were you gonna tell me?”.

“I-I wanted to know for sure. I didn’t want to stress you out or-”

“No, Richie that was not your fucking call to make” Eddie spat, “I-I killed Bill’s dad, and you were gonna keep that from me?” His voice rose as everything that happened finally settled.

“Eddie it’s not your fault,” Richie reached out towards Eddie but the other stepped back.

He couldn’t hold back the tears any longer, they rolled down his cheeks like hot lava. “You don’t know shit Tozier. You don’t know what happened that day, you don’t know how to fucking control your powers, you barely even know me.” Eddie shook his head as he took another step backwards.

“Eddie please-” Richie pleaded, his own eyes threatening to tear up.

“I-I can’t do this right now Richie…” Before Richie could even respond, Eddie had turned on his heels and disappeared into the forest, leaving the wolf all alone in the woods.

By some miracle Eddie found his way home that night. From there he stumbeled up the main stairs and into his house. He fell into bed, fully clothed, without any seoncd thoughts. Though he was exhasted, it took him hours to fall sleep. The memory of Bill’s dad dying replayed in Eddie’s mind as if he was watching netflix and had the movie on an infinite loop. When he did finally fall sleep it was well into the early hours of the morning. Eddie slept well into sunday afternoon and even when he had fully woken up he didn’t get out of bed, worried that if he got out from under the comforting covers of his bed that everything that’d happened would be real. He didn’t want to face reality, he didn’t want to have to face Bill and his acusations, or see Richie and all of his worries. The wolf was probably disguted that he ever got close to someone with a past like his.

Eddie groaned as he rolled over from one pillow to another pillow on his queen sized bed. The new pillow felt comfy and soft under his head, it was dry after all since his other one was pretty tear soaked at this point.

He yanked the sheets from where they had been laid over his head and pulled them down. He inhaled deeply, the fresh air did wonders for his lungs. Eddie let out a heavy sigh, “Fuck my life”.

~

A knock echoed out through his room, which only made his heart beat faster and his nerves worse.

“Honey, sweety is everything alright?” Maggie called out to her son from behind his locked bedroom door.

Derry’s resident werewolf, stared at himself in the mirror and exmaned the new look he was currantly rocking. He was at home so his ears and tail were out, which wasen’t helping his case at all.

Right after Eddie left, Richie stormed back to the Denbrough residence and went off on Bill for doing this to Eddie. He stopped when Stan pulled (read dragged) him into the hallway where he pratically slapped Richie as he tried to bring him back to reality.

“Richie your eyes” Stan hissed, pulling his phone out from his sweater pocket and showing Richie his yellow eyes in the selfie cam.

“Fuck, shit” Richie cursed as he pulled at his eye lids to get a better look.

Long story short after that Richie hid out in the bathroom for half an hour and when his eyes didn’t change back he bailed and called his parents to come pick him up.

Stan covered for him and dug himself into a deeper hole of lies, saying random shit like he was gonna go after Eddie and make sure he was alright. Honestly Stan wasen’t sure if the other bought it, but if they didn’t then they didn’t say anything about it.

The werewolf was bombareded by questions by his parents about him wolfing out and what the fuck happened to Eddie. Richie answered some of them, but locked himself in his room as soon as he got home, too emotionally tierd after everything and slept like a log.

Sunday morning when he woke up his eyes were still as yellow as ever, his mouth was full of fangs and his hands were all claws out. That’s not even the worst part, not only did he have the normal eyes and fangs, but now his hair was signicantly wilder than normal, his sideburns had grown significantly making him look like some 80’s porn star. Oh, also, the rest of his body hair (Legs & Arms) was darker and so much thicker. He was like in a half shift mode.

“What the fuck” richie gasped, anxiously raked his hands through his hair as his eyes grew as wide as the full moon he feared so much more now.

I’m so fucked. I’m not gonna be able to change back. I’m gonna be stuck in this. Half dog stage forever and ever-

Another knock echoed through the teen’s room, “Richie what’s going on in there I hear you spiraling?” A new voice called out, male, Wentworth’s, “Son you know we’re just here to help”.

“Please honey just open up” Maggie begged.

Richie sighed from the place he stood infront of his mirror. Of course he was spiraling, he looked like the fucking werewolf from that cheesy 80’s movie about the wolf that played basket ball.

“Richie come on-“ Wentworth started then was eventually cut off when the bedroom door to his sons room swung open, revealing his son… his very hair son. “Oh… Kid” Went huffed.

“D-Don’t fucking kid, me. Guys what the fuck is going on?” Richie questioned.

~

“I don’t know what we’re going to do Went” Maggie sighed as she ran a hand through her long brown hair, tugging at the ends.

Went reached out and placed a comforting hand on his wife’s shoulder, he gave it a little squeeze. “I’ve never experienced anything like that, but I’m pretty sure he’s in some weird half wolf faze. It’s gotta be because of the upcoming full moon. That and whatever happened with Eddie last night��� Went glanced away for a moment as he recalled the half an hour session he just had with his son. During that time he tried everything he knew about wolf shifting and controling his inner wolf. None of it worked. “But I have no clue what to do Mags” Went admitted.

The wife turned to her husband, she moved her hand up to cup his cheek, she tilted his face so that he was turned towards her. Maggie shared a look with Wentworth. “Let’s just wait it out? Maybe he’s just stressedd over something? It can’t last forever can it?” She suggested.

No, it didn’t last forever, but it did last the rest of Sunday. Then when Richie woke up the next morning he was sad to see nothing had changed. Nothing had changed when it was time for Richie to go to school, which he obviously couldn’t do because he was half fucking werewolf. So he spent the day at home, alone. As much as Wentworth and Maggie wanted to stay home with their wolf of a son, he wasen’t in any pain, or danger. Plus they knew he could handle himself if something happened so they left for work, leaving Richie alone, for the rest of the day.

He tried texting Eddie, multiple times. Sadly though he was met with a text that wasen’t sent by Eddie.

Eddie Spaghetti <3:

Richie: Eddie how many times do you have to say I’m sorry before you answer me?

Eddie: Richie, it’s me, Stan. Eddie forgot his phone last night at Bill’s, I found it before Bill had a chance to find it and hack it. So please, for the love of god, stop blowing up this phone.

Richie didn’t even bother responding, he just dropped his phone onto the carpeted floor of his room and sighed for about the thousandth time today.

“Fuck me, gently with a chainsaw“ Richie sang out before flopping onto his bed.

He tried to do various things to keep him busy, like finish his homework, but he got frustrated and snapped his pencil. Yeah, his emotions were also kinda all haywire, which affected his powers. Then he tried to read some comics, but ended up shredding them with his claws. Hell he even tried to clean his damn room but he made his jeans into ripped jeans, then gave up. Plus he can’t go outside unless he covered up like a vampire in the daylight, so he was stuck laying in an uncomfortable position in bed, alone.

~

Maggie had pulled into the driveway just as Wentworth stepped out of his car. She quickly parked in her normal spot on the driveway and went to meet her husband where he waited for her, leaning against his car door.

“How you doin’?” He wiggled his eyebrows which got an eye roll from Maggie.

She hated to break whatever moment they were having but she got straight to the point, “Hon I think we should take him to Eddie”.

Went sighed, “Really? You think so?” his shoulder sagged.

“Yes, Went, aside from you he’s the only one who might have any idea how to change him back. It’s not like we can just keep him here until the full moon, I think we both know that wouldn’t work” She sighed at the thought of her half wolf son going through cabin fever.

“I know, Mags, but things are tense between the boys right now, I don’t want to make it worse” He put his hands on her shoulders.

She shook his hands off and turned to make her way towards the front door, “Well they’re just gonna have to get over it!” she called over her shoulder.

~

“No- No fucking way am I seeing Eddie after what happened at Bill’s. He’d probably curse me out or some shit” Were the words Richie had shouted at his parents when they suggested bringing him to Eddie’s. Then Wentworth proceeded to lift his son off the ground and tossed him over his shoulder like a potato sack and carried him out to the car.

“Son just cause we’re both werewolves doesn't mean I’m not stronger than you” Went mused as he put a sulking Richie into his car.

Richie gave up on struggling as he knew that once his dad had his mind set on something, nothing would be able to stop him. So he just sat and sulked in the back of his dad’s car as they drove down the familiar road to Eddie’s. He recalled the days when he drove those same roads in his little blue jeep, with Eddie by his side, hand in hand. When things quieted down, the music stopped and their conversation came to a halt, they would simply sit in silence. It wasn’t awkward or tense, but it was good, it felt right. As if in those moments, it felt as if everything was okay.

When Wentworth pulled into the roundabout, Richie pulled the hood of his sweater over his head, yanked on the drawstrings to tighten it’s grasp and shoved his hands into his pockets, and slid a pair of terminator sunglasses over his normal glasses. He silently led the way into the forest, shoulders slouched, eyes on the forest floor beneath him. Walking that path, had become muscle memory to him. He let his feet take him where he needed to go, and he walked and walked until he finally reached the clearing before the field. The evening sun shone down into his eyes, he raised a hand to block the rays.

“S’up here” Richie pointed to the field and kept going.

Richie stopped a couple feet before the forcefield, gestured towards it to his parents. “It’s protected, invisible, we won’t be able to go in until he lets us” He said before he took another step back.

Maggie gave her son a nod as she got the feeling he didn’t want to do anymore talking than he needed to. She glanced over at Went who returned her nod, “Eddie? Honey it’s us” Maggie called out, her gaze flickering between the various areas in the field, unsure of where she should be looking.

Then they waited a couple minutes until a voice finally broke the silence. “What do you want?” Eddie’s voice called out from overhead, causing their heads to turn in the direction of the voice, which was up. It was as if his voice was being projected from somewhere above, from the forcefield. His voice didn’t sound mad, if anything it was more curious, worried.

Wentworth stepped up, “We need your help”.

“With what?” Eddie asked.

Went sighed, obviously tired and fed up of waiting. He walked towards his son and yanked his hood off as well as his sunglasses.

Richie let out something between a yelp and a gasp at the sudden forcefulness. His yellow eyes burned at the sudden exposure to the sunlight. The wolf ears on top of his head perked up and swayed with the passing wind. Richie starred up towards the spot he knew the house sat.

Went was done waiting. His son could possibly be in danger if he didn’t change back. He had tried everything and he hated the fact that he couldn’t help his own kid. He felt helpless. Went always felt guilty about passing on that wolf gene to Richie, he may have not been ashamed of being a werewolf but he sure as hell knew it wasn't easy. So if Eddie was his last chance at getting his son back, then he was sure as hell gonna take it.

“Son open up!” Went demanded with a stern tone. He hadn't realized that he still had a grip on Richie’s hood. His son shoved his dad away, shaking off his touch.

“Alright you can come in” Eddie called out to them from overhead.

Richie sighed and pushed passed his dad, he walked side by side with his mother through the Forcefield. The wolf watched with a pleased look on his face as he watched his mother’s face when she finally saw the house materialize in front of her.

Eddie stepped outside onto the porch when they arrived. He nodded to them and got straight to the point, “What happened?”. The rabbit tried to keep a neutral yet serious face but he couldn’t help the worry that creased his eyebrows.

When Richie didn’t answer, Maggie cut in, “He hasn't shifted back since Bill’s” she informed him.

The rabbit looked over the wolf, gave him a once over before tilting his head towards the door, “Come in” he advised as he led the way into his house.

Eddie led them into his house, he gave a quick tour as they walked towards the kitchen. Just pointing to the rooms as they passed. He sat them down at the main table in the kitchen then proceeded to explain his plan while he searched for ingredients in his cupboards, “I have a natural remedy that should work, I ah-” he paused for a moment to think about where he had placed the final ingredient, “-Need to go grab something upstairs” he said before he proceeded to go into his room to grab the last ingredient off the list which he had memorized from an old potion he had studied back in The All Lands.

But once he entered his room he released a breath of air he didn’t know he was holding. Eddie ran a shaky hand through his hair and let out an equally as shaky sigh.

Suddenly his bunny ears perked up before a voice broke the silence, “You okay Eds?” Richie asked quietly.

Eddie didn’t bother turning around, “No… No Rich I’m not okay” he responded.

“I am sorry, you know that right?” Richie asked, sincerity laced his voice. He let out a little huff of air through his nose, “If you had your phone with you- then you would’ve seen the zillion texts I sent you. I was worried sick” his voice didn’t sound worried, he was worried before, now he just wanted to make sure Eddie was okay. “I’m sorry I hid it from you. I just wanted to protect you, I know you’ve been through so much shit already and I don’t wanna see you go through anything else” When Eddie didn’t respond Richie continued, “Eddie please talk to me” he begged weakly.

Eddie finally turned to look at Richie, if he wasn't worried before then he was for sure worried now. The poor guy was fully (half) wolfing out. Eddie looked into his eyes and could see how tired he was.

“Richie I just…” Eddie contemplated the idea for a split second, just a split second, “I think there might be something else, because back in the uh” he waved his hand around as he tried to explain his point, “The All Lands” he blurted, “The half change could also be caused by extreme stress and anxiety, which I know could be something that you’re going through because of ya know… everything that happened at Bill’s” Eddie said anxiously.

Richie’s eyes grew as if he was just realizing now how much stress he’s been under. “Yeah” he rubbed the back of his neck and noticed how long his hair had gotten, “that would explain a lot” he laughed nervously. “I just…” Richie started, he paused to think over his words, took a step closer to Eddie and continued. “Eddie I really care about you, that’s why I freaked out so much at Bill’s, because I Love you and I can’t-” RIchie was cut off before he even realized what he had admitted.

Eddie knew he was just going to repeat half the points he already stated so he just decided to cut to the chase. The bunny closed the distance between between them, reached up behind Richie’s neck and pulled him down to kiss him. It was soft, but quick. Eddie realized Richie wasen’t responding which caused him to go stiff. He pulled away with a quiet gasp.

“I-I’m sorry Richie I shouldn’t have done-“ Eddie stopped when Richie’s arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him in to kiss him back. Richie’s lips were soft yet raw, probably from how often he’s been anxiously biting his lips with his new fangs.

When their lips first touched it sent fireworks exploding in both of their chests, it was tender yet passionate. They moved together as if it was something they’d done tens of times before. When they broke apart they were both breathless.

“So you care too?” Richie glanced away, in hopes that Eddie wouldn’t see how red his cheeks had become.

“Yes Rich...” Eddie said quietly as he pulled Richie down and pressed his foreheads against the others’. “I love you too Chee” he whispered into Richie’s ear.

Richie let out something of a moan, which surpsied even himself before he responded, “Fuck I love when you call me that”. Their noses knocked together and Richie leaned down and kissed Eddie again.

Eddie pulled away again, Richie watched the bunny’s big doe eyes wander up and give him a once over, “See I told you it’d work” he lightly giggled.

Richie smirked nervously down at Eddie, “W-What?”.

“Look” Eddie gestured to Richie.

The wolf looked down at himself and saw his hands, his normal hands, no claws, no extra hair. His hand shot up to his teeth where he felt that they were no sharper than any other human’s teeth. “Oh thank god” he sighed in relief.

Richie smiled at Eddie, “Are we good?” His smile faltered a bit at Eddie’s blank expression.

Eddie happily shook his head, got up on his tippy toes and planted a quick kiss on Richie’s lips, “We’re more than good” he confirmed.

~

The two made their way down the stairs hand in hand, a gesture they both enjoyed a lot more than they had realized before.

Maggie noticed, but didn’t say anything. So did Went, but he wasn't as subtle.

He clapped his son on the back “Son! Good to see you’re back to normal” He beamed.

“So everything is… Okay here?” Maggie tiptoed around the situation. She didn’t want to ask them directly but she had to ask.

Richie waved his free hand around as if he was brushing the question away, “yeah, yep, better than ever”.

Eddie rolled his eyes at the comment, but his hand never left Richie’s.

“Do you guys mind if Richie stays over… For a bit?” Eddie glanced up at Richie who stared down at him with curiosity as if he was thinking what are you and your cute ass doing? Actually that’s exactly what he was thinking. “We have some stuff to sort out,” Eddie finished.

Went and Maggie shared a look, “Well, I guess that’s alright” Maggie responded first.

“Yeah just know, no glove no love” Went said and pointed at both of them, amusement filled his voice.

��Oh dear god!” Richie groaned and rolled his neck.

“OKay okay okay” Wentworth raised his hands in defense. “We’ll be on our way I guess” he said and wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders as he led her towards the main door.

Richie and Eddie walked them out and waited until they left the property to close the door and head back into the house.

Eddie watched Richie as he took a seat on the sofa and got all comfy,the way his hair (now back to its normal length), fell in his face, the way his big brown eyes scanned his face and how they light up when he smiles. For a second he questioned it, why do I think like this, especially when he’s around. It’s just like Bill said, we’re special… it’s something more, it’s a crush.

That’s probably what prompted him to ask, “So… What about, us?”. Eddie took a seat beside Richie.

“Us?” Richie questioned with a cocked eyebrow.

“Yeah, us” Eddie confirmed, “What we did upstairs wouldn’t really be deemed a normal things friends do” He nervously laughed.

“Oh yeah that'' Richie realized. Shit I kinda thought that was some horny dream caused by the whole werewolf thing… I wasn't sure if he liked me back, but I guess literally kissing someone has gotta prove something.

Richie finally met Eddie’s gaze, his big doe eyes made his heart do a fucking gymnastic routine, “I guess we could try to be, more” Richie's lips curved into the smallest smile.

“Would you want to?” Eddie asked, eyes filled with anticipation.

“Yeah… I'd like that a lot Eds- I-I’d love that” Richie said sheepishly, looking at Eddie with heart eyes. “Do we wanna be official or-?” Richie asked anxiously as he didn’t want to lose the spark.

Eddie’s eyes grew for only a moment before they crinkled as he smiled, “I’m good with that if you are”.

“Wait seriously?” Richie asked with excitement, he sat up a little straighter as he leaned closer to Eddie.

“Yeah, w-why do you not want to?” Eddie’s stomach dropped for a moment. Richie must’ve noticed cause he immediately took Eddie’s hands in his and gave them a supportive squeeze.

“No- baby, I just thought you would want to go on a first date first or something” Richie supplied

Eddie’s shoulders sagged with relief. “Well, yeah. I’d like to at some point but for now, let’s just do this” Eddie declared as he leaned in and kissed his boyfriend.

Word Count: 5621

DAMN THIS WAS A LONG CHAPTER! If you're wondering why, it's because chapter 14 on its own was only 1800 words and that really short so i merged chapters 14 and 15 to make a MEGA CHAPTER! So yeah I hope y'all liked it! And as I did merge two chapters the final chapter count of Everfalls will go from 22 to 21.

But yes back to this chapter, THE ANGST, THE FLUFF! WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT? You'll just have to stick around and find out!

As you're reading this I'm currently at my Zia's (Aunts) Cottage! And I'm probably finishing up my new Spiderman Eddie Au, which you should defiently go check out! The first chapter is up on my Tumblr (stellar-alley) and Ao3 (Stellar_Alley).

And don’t forget to check me out on Instagram @Stellar.Cosplays if you want to see more of my real life and some behind the scenes content!

Welp that's all from me guys, don't forget to like comment and share!

Until next time,

So Long and Goodnight!

~

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[punky-pinkhaired-hufflepuff]

What dose it matter? (Remus x reader x Severus?)

Back story time. You were in the same grade and year as Lily and James , Remus and Sirius, and none other then Severus Snape. While in school with them you were in the middle constantly. You were first friends with Severus and even as going far for the two of you to be a couple. Tho in reality it seemed Severus was only toying with your emotions in attempt to get over lily. But on the reverse side you were close friends with the infamous group of boys known as the marauders.

He often was angry and grumpy sometimes angsty snippy and Moody wich hurt a lot at times. And who did you run to, the marauders. Yes as much as the four of them loved to bully and pick on the one you held dear, they typically were there for you. Especially one in particular. Remus Lupin. Everyone joked that you should leave Severus for him. To that you would just laugh awkwardly because you felt it was kinda true. You and Remus had a lot more in common then you and Severus. And everytime Severus would be mean or cold to you Remus was there. Remus took you on countless late night walks to clear your mind. He would give you chocolate when you were extra sad, and his hugs were the absolute best thing in the world. You’d be lieing if you said you didn’t have at least a little bit of a crush on him.

Remus loved you, from the moment he laid eyes on you, sorting hat on your head, anxious look on your face, but then a look of pure happiness as you were sorted into (your house). As time went on you two grew closer. He was planning on asking you out sooner but Severus beat him to it. His heart broke. He didn’t hate Severus like his friends but didn’t think he deserved you or would treat you right. And when his prediction came true he was the first person to be there for you. It made picking on Severus easier for him because he now felt he deserved it for treating you poorly. Remus thought the world didn’t even deserve you, you were so pure and sweet and wonderful to him, he couldn’t get it, how someone so full of life, energy and happiness would even want to give him the time of day. It amazed him. But it was one of the things he loved most, you were unpredictable and kind to pretty much everyone. Your laugh, your smile, your eyes it all captivated him from the start.

One day however it got to much, Severus had been crule to you all day, brushing you off ignoring you, giving you snippy come backs and attitude to everything. And just as you had told him how hurt you had been feeling he told you he was busy and couldn’t talk. So you finally did it.

“I’m done Severus” you said as he was walking away from you down the hall. He stopped and turned around looking at you confused.

“it’s clear you don’t truly like me, and that I’m putting in all the effort here, and all I get back is attitude and coldness. I’m tired of it. I don’t even know why you wanted to go out with me in the first place. I think it’s best we stop this, stop the dating, stop the pretending we are a happy couple because we both know we’re not. I’m sorry I can’t be Lily. Goodbye Severus.” And with that you turned around quickly and ran off before he could say anything.

Tho as much as this might not have been what you wanted. You made Severus think to himself. Was it smart of him to use you that way, no not at all. The poor girl wanted a companion in him and all he did was hurt her. Sure it wasn’t her or his fault he was hung up on Lily. Even tho he should have taken it upon himself to build that bridge and get over it. He thought about possibly talking to you and apologiesing for how he’d been. He never realized how truly kind and wonderful you treated him. Even after how cold he could be.

You however where already in the presence of the four boys you called your friends. You sat with all of them in the Griffindor conman room, you sat in between Remus, and Sirius. As much as you didn’t want to cry over Severus it did hurt a little. They all cheered you on and said you did the right thing. The all even proposed you all go sneak out to get ice cream or something, something to help celebrate and to cheer you up. As you got up and began your adventure you noticed Remus wrapping his arms around your shoulder it was warm and conforting and he smelled nice so you didn’t mind at all. He smelled like cool spring air, old books, and chocolate obviously. The sent was sweet and wonderful and you didn’t even question the gesture now. You looked up at him and smiled.

“I thought this might help, let you know your not truly alone, and it seems pretty cold out” he said looking out the window.

“oh damn your right it seemed really cold on my way over here” you said looking out the window with him. You were looking up at the sky to the stars and he was looking out into the forest.

“do you have a jumper or anything?” He asked looking down at you rubbing your shoulder to warm you up.

“no” you pouted “I forgot it in my dorm” you said defeated he chuckled at how cute you were pouting like that.

“ah don’t worry you can use one of mine” he said ruffling the top of your head and heading into his dorm.

“are you sure Remus? I don’t want you to be cold” you called out. He came out a minute later smiling.

“nonsense I don’t want you to he cold and besides do you think I only own one jumper?” He said smiling and handing you the fuzzy jumper. You laughed realizing how silly that must have sounded and took it happily.

On your adventure you didn’t even noticed Remus holding your hand, the entire time. You didn’t mind it once you did noticed, his hand was soft yet still tough and it was warm. However before that you and him had a little bit of a flirty couple moment that didn’t go unnoticed and I’m not talking about the marauders. Severus went looking for you to apologise and caught you and the four boys sneaking out. He realised tattling on you would just make it seem like he was a jelouse sulking boy trying to get his ex girlfriend in trouble for breaking up with him. And he didn’t want that.

He fallowed you and the boys to your destination and watched the whole time without being noticed. He saw Remus holding your hand, and you wearing his jumper a mix of confusion and anger began to brew in him. He knew he still had feelings for Lily but he questioned if he was beginning to have feelings for you now. Also why was it that not a few hours ago you were his, not happily his but still his, and now here you are wrapped around Remus’s fingure. What really through him over the edge was when Remus and you began playfully fighting with each other trying to try the others ice cream. Laughing giggling being cute. Holding out your tongue lunging at each other, one false move and you two would be french kissing. However he was torn. You looked so happy smiling, giggling, he even saw a spark in your eyes. He had never noticed it before, or was it just never there until now. He felt hurt, he understood slightly that he kept you from being happy. The opposite of what one is suppose to do when in a romantic relationship. She didn’t deserve that Lily didn’t deserve that, no one would ever deserve to be put through Severus’s loveless personality. He turned back sadly.

Time went on, you all graduated. You all had your jobs your lives. You heard the news about Lily and James, and Sirius and Peter. You tried to keep in touch with Remus but it got hard. He was lost without them. He travled you travled. You never spoke to Severus after the day in the hall. He pretty much avoided you. You and Remus almost dated but lets be real here, almost only counts in horse shoes and hand gernades. However, a second chance was handed to you. Dumbledore had asked you to join an order, an order of protection for James and Lily’s son, Harry. He asked you to be a professor at the school. He assured you, you would be welcomed in with open arms and protected you would not be alone. You took the offer.

On your first day you were feeling confident. You were set to be a surprise for the other professors. Dumbledore kinda messed up and hadn’t found an actual class for you so instead made you a helper for all the other professors. You were niceley dressed (fav color) blouse and a black penciled skirt and (fav color) (heels or flats). You certainly looked far more professional then you used to. You entered the dinning hall as you heard Dumbledore introduce you as if this were an opening act.

Upon entering you noticed two particular men sitting with the professors, Severus Snape, and Remus Lupin. Both equally shoked by you, but Remus, Remus had only looked better with age, your heart did leaps and butterflies flittered in your stomach. You noticed a blush creep onto both his and Severus’s face. Severus looked annoyed and tired but still shocked. Not that you truly cared. You made your way twords the teachers table as Dumbledore continued to talk. Stating you would be moving around the school helping with any class that needed it. Rounding the table you noticed what seat was left for you,smack dab between Lupin and Severus. You smirked finding it uncanny. You waved to the students and took your seat.

“why hello there long time no see” Remus whispered smiling.

“and who’s fault is that” you giggled back.

“I believe both of ours my deer” he grinned. You giggled. It was true it takes two to tango and two to keep in touch.

“true true how ever will I make it up to you” you said over dramatically.

“how about dinner, just to catch up that is” he said jokingly with a wink. You blushed understanding his hint.

“sounds lovely” you said smiling back at him. You noticed next to you Severus becoming uneasy. He then got up and said he had some paperwork to grade and was off out of the dinning hall.

After that night you and Remus became extreamly close. You spent nights together in his professors apartment, went on plenty of dates, and even helped him through some full moon nights. You were so happy to have had a second chance with him. He was great things were great with you two. Even working at Hogwarts was pretty great. You helped out where ever you could tho you typically went and helped Remus the most. Severus usually denied your help, tho a couple of times you could see he was definitely lieing and over his head in work and thus forced your help upon him. Today was one of those days.

“Severus your dropping things all over the place please let me help you” you said rushing over to him sympathetic look painted on your face catching the ingredients for his various potions before they hit the floor.

“I told you I don’t need nor want your help” he said sternly.

“you may not want it but saying you don’t need it is bullshit” you said taking some more ingridients from his overflowing arms and hands. He sighed realizing there was no changing your mind on helping him. You smirked noting that you won. You walked with him back to his class room still carrying ingredients in your arms. You placed the ingridients on the table as he walked away twords his desk.

“thank you” he said quietly almost unable to be heard.

“what was that?” You asked making sure you heard correctly.

“I said thank you” he said sounding slightly annoyed

“no problem, anytime, it’s kinda my job ya know, typically your not suppose to denie my help but you do you” you said crossing your arms smiling, he rolled his eyes at you.

“well if that is all then you can be off now” he said turning and walking away. You were pretty tired of his attitude.

“is there a reason you hate me?” You asked crossing your arms.

“I beg your pardon?” He asked scoffing while sitting at his desk.

“you, Everytime you talk to me all I get is anger and venom and I want it to stop. Look I know we didn’t leave off on good terms bu-” you were cut off.

“didn’t leave off on good terms then you return making googly eyes at Lupin then proceed to bang his brains out” he said mocking you.

“first I’m not some slut I’m not banging his brains out, and what dose it matter to you who I’m dating?!” You yelled at him.

“because maybe I harbor feelings for you” he shouted back. “Maybe I’ve been harboring feelings for you since the day you left! You leaving made me realize what a miserable twat I was to you!” He snapped. You froze.

“What…” You whispered.

A/N: there will most likely be a part 2 possibly even a like choose your own part where there’s a lupin ending and a Severus ending not sure yet tho let me know what you tnink^^

#severus #severus snape x reader #snape #imagine snape #snape x reader #severus snape #pro snape #imagines #lupin #remus lupin x reader #remus lupin #remus x reader

[kim-sehyooned]

(fic) What a Wonderful World

Pairing: Sehyoon/Byeongkwan

Genre: Fluff, slight angst

Word Count: 3195

Summary: Sehyoon can’t remember where he is or how he got here, but then he meets Byeongkwan. And Byeongkwan can help. 

The sound of the leaves crunching beneath every single step he took was painfully loud in the dead of night, and Sehyoon winced as a particularly loud snap of a twig echoed into the silence.

He held his breath but nothing happened, and he let out a breath of relief and continued on.

There was no end to this forest. Every tree was starting to blend together, until it seemed he was surrounded by an infinite span of black, and brown, and green.

But still Sehyoon continued, determined to find his way out. Every challenge had a solution, and he was sure he would eventually solve this one as well. The only problem was it seemed like the path was repeating itself. He had definitely seen that odd-looking rock before, and he had already passed that same mossy stump three times.

He groaned, momentarily forgetting his attempts to be silent. Where the hell was he? What was this place? It seemed like he had been walking through this godforsaken forest for as long as he could remember.

A low growl pulled him out of his thoughts. Sehyoon froze, holding his breath. This was what he had been trying so hard to avoid. The rumbling growl came again, this time louder and much closer, and without a second thought Sehyoon bolted away from it as fast as his legs would take him.

He ran, gasping and panting, between the trees and over the small stream and under the vines hanging from the branches. The Thing followed, its loud thumping footsteps drawing closer and closer. Sehyoon cursed, glancing back over his shoulder. He could make out the outline of something huge, something on four legs. A bear, perhaps? Some sort of jungle cat?

“Oof-”

His foot caught on a rock that wobbled and gave way, and he flew to the ground, wincing in pain. The Thing slowed to a walk now, and Sehyoon nearly evaporated from fright as it towered over him.

It looked like a deer, large antlers protruding from the sides of its head, but its body was big and sturdy, like a mix between a rhinoceros and a water buffalo. It huffed, lowering its head to smell Sehyoon. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for his fate.

“Shoo! Shoo, go on!”

Sehyoon felt the weight lifted from off his body and slowly peered up again. It was a person, face hidden by shadows cast by the flickering torch he was holding. The Thing backed up, hissing indignantly at the flame. The person waved his torch around.

“Go! Find your dinner somewhere else!”

The Thing finally turned and left, but not after leaving one last angry snort. Sehyoon let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, and let his body lay limp on the ground. The person watched The Thing go, and when it was completely out of sight he chuckled and walked over to peer down at him.

“You looked like you needed a hand.” He held his out and pulled Sehyoon up, who scoffed and looked away.

“I had that under control.”

“Clearly.”

In the trembling light of the fire, Sehyoon caught a glimpse of his rescuer. Tussled, bright orange hair, honey-brown eyes, a tiny, pointy face. Sehyoon thought he looked like a pixie.

“I’m Byeongkwan,” the pixie boy said, his eyes twinkling, and suddenly Sehyoon was all too aware that their hands were still firmly intertwined. He jerked his arm away.

“I’m Sehyoon.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Sehyoon.” Byeongkwan peered curiously at him, and Sehyoon felt himself growing uncomfortable under the other’s piercing gaze. “How long have you been here?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “I can’t remember. What is this place?”

Byeongkwan looked around at the rows upon rows of never-ending trees. “Forever Forest. You’re lucky I ran into you, otherwise you never would have gotten out.”

Sehyoon stared at him. “What do you mean? Who are you? Do you know the way out?” Byeongkwan chuckled and shook his head.

“So many questions. But yeah, I know the way out. Follow me.”

As they walked, Sehyoon bombarded Byeongkwan with more questions, and Byeongkwan carefully answered each one with confusing, cryptic answers that only raised more questions. Finally, Sehyoon huffed in annoyance and stopped mid-step. Byeongkwan glanced back questioningly.

“You’re no help,” Sehyoon grumbled, crossing his arms.

Byeongkwan pursed his lips. “Well, that depends on what you need help on. What do you want to do? Besides getting out of Forever Forest.”

“I want to understand,” said Sehyoon, running a hand through his hair. “I want to know how I got here, and I want to know why I can’t remember anything.”

Byeongkwan paused for a while. “I can help you do that,” he said finally, voice slightly softer than before. Sehyoon raised an eyebrow.

“Really? You promise?”

“I promise. But you have to trust me.”

He considered it. What did he have to lose? “Okay.”

“Okay.” Byeongkwan’s face broke into a bright grin, and Sehyoon’s breath hitched for a second. “Come on, we’re almost out.”

They walked for a little longer, Byeongkwan’s torch leading the way as they carefully stepped over stones and fallen branches. Sehyoon listened as the other told him more about the Forest. There was only one specific path out, and if you didn’t follow it the Forest would reform itself over and over until you were stuck there forever. Hence, the name.

“Here we are,” Byeongkwan sighed, wrapping a piece of leather fabric around his torch to put it out. “We made it.”

They stepped out into the clearing, and Sehyoon had to blink a couple times to let his eyes adjust to the sudden brightness. When he could finally see again, he looked around in wonder at the bright blue sky, more vivid than anything he had ever seen before.

“It’s bright out? But, I thought it was night – it was so dark in the Forest, I – ” In his confusion he turned around, but what had been an endless maze of trees and vines just a couple seconds ago had completely disappeared, and the two of them stood in the middle of a wide, open field. He blinked.

“You’ll find time doesn’t follow the rules here,” Byeongkwan explained, and Sehyoon turned back to look at him. Now that they were standing in broad daylight, he could finally see what the other really looked like. He was petite. Cute, Sehyoon thought, with his oversized jacket and his orange hair brighter than ever.

“You said you would help me remember?”

Byeongkwan nodded, gesturing for Sehyoon to follow him. His sleeve dangled way past the end of his arm. “I’m taking you to a place. Then, you’ll remember.”

They set off in a random direction, not a single thing in sight on the horizon but the vast field, but Byeongkwan seemed to know where they were going. Small, blue vapours drifted down from the sky and formed around their feet, and soon the two of them were walking on a hazy stretch of clouds instead of the ground. Sehyoon felt a bounce in his step.

“Nice, huh?” Byeongkwan smiled his twinkling smile, and Sehyoon nodded. “Nothing makes me feel quite as light as walking on air. Except, maybe – well, you’ll see.” Sehyoon looked at him curiously. Byeongkwan reached down and scooped a bit of cloud up with his hand. “And it’s so soft, too. I like to paint with it. ‘Course, the only colour is blue, but there are many things I can make with blue.”

Sehyoon reached down and scooped up a handful too. It felt like cotton, only lighter, softer. He breathed out a sigh of amazement as he molded the cloud into a butterfly, and its wings fluttered and it flew off into the distance. Byeongkwan watched fondly. “You know,” he said, playing absent-mindedly with the cloud piece he was holding. “When I first saw you, I thought you’d be cold, but I was wrong. You’re warm.”

“People always tell me that,” Sehyoon murmured as he moulded another cloud piece into a butterfly. It flew away to join the first, the two butterflies fluttering and dancing with each other. “They don’t bother looking past what they first see.”

“Well, they’re missing out.” Byeongkwan grinned and reached his hand out to stick a fluff of cloud on Sehyoon’s upper lip. “Cloud mustache!”

“Wh – ” Sehyoon let out a loud sneeze, promptly destroying the cloud mustache as well as clearing away the clouds in front of the two of them so that they were walking on solid ground again. Byeongkwan laughed, eyes disappearing into two crescent moons. He reached out and grasped onto Sehyoon’s hand.

“Come on, hurry. Didn’t you want my help?”

This time, Sehyoon didn’t pull away.

They kept walking until the ground ended. For a while, they stood, staring down off the looming cliff at the unreachable land far below. Sehyoon glanced at Byeongkwan.

“What now?”

Byeongkwan took a deep breath and stared at Sehyoon, and for a moment Sehyoon found himself lost in a sea of honey-brown.

“We take a leap of faith.”

And without missing a beat, he jumped, pulling Sehyoon with him.

When Sehyoon finally stopped yelling in fear, it was because he felt the wind beneath him, pushing his body up and forward. His jaw dropped open and he glanced at Byeongkwan with wide eyes.

Byeongkwan giggled at him. “Close your mouth! Birds will fly in!” He spread his arms and legs out wide, closing his eyes in contentment and gliding through the air as the breeze carried them along. Sehyoon laughed in disbelief and copied him, giddy as he felt the air rushing through his hair and against his face.

In that instant, he felt more weightless than he had ever felt in his life.

They flew hand in hand for a little longer, until Sehyoon decided he wanted to try some tricks and let go to perfect his loop de loops. Byeongkwan played the part of a perfect audience and laughed and gasped and clapped.

Eventually, the thrill wore off, and the two of them glided side by side, enjoying the relaxing sensation. Out of nowhere, a song started playing, a soft, beautiful melody that made them want to smile and cry at the same time. Sehyoon looked around for the source of the music, but it seemed to be coming from everywhere.

“Do you hear that?” He asked. Byeongkwan nodded. “It sounds…so familiar. Like I’ve heard it before.”

Byeongkwan didn’t say anything. He just took Sehyoon’s hand again and flew the both of them down, down until they gently landed back on the ground.

Sehyoon looked around. They were on what seemed to be a beach, except the sand was nice and cool and the water was calm. The water was also a pale pink to match the sky, and he couldn’t tell where the water ended and the sky began.

Byeongkwan led the two of them over to a small boat bobbing up and down, and they climbed in and rowed out into the water.

Or was it the sky? Sehyoon couldn’t tell. They floated among the stars.

The music still echoed in the background, faint but constant. Sehyoon liked it. “Where are we now?” He asked. Byeongkwan paused.

“Sea of Memory.”

“Oh,” Sehyoon breathed.

“I could never stand being alone, you know,” Byeongkwan suddenly admitted, putting the oars down. “But I was getting used to it here. And then you came along.”

“I’m…sorry?”

“No, it’s not a bad thing.” Byeongkwan bit his lip. “Actually, it’s a good thing. A really good thing. You’re…a good thing.”

Sehyoon stared as the other boy glanced at him, and when his eyes met twinkling honey-brown, he leaned in and closed the distance between them.

The kiss was magical and almost too good to be true. Byeongkwan sighed in contentment and melted into Sehyoon, and all time seemed to stop as they sat there on the boat, surrounded by a sea of pink, hearts beating so fast they could no longer breathe.

Sehyoon was the first to pull away. Eyes still closed, he rested his forehead on Byeongkwan’s and whispered breathlessly, “Who are you?”

Purple and blue and white fish swam circles around them, and Byeongkwan sighed. “You should stay here with me.”

“What?”

“We can stay here together. We can build our own life here, in this magical world where anything can happen. What do you say?”

Sehyoon sat back, eyebrows furrowed. “Byeongkwan,” he murmured. “I don’t even know where this place is. I just want to know the truth. You said you’d help me figure it out.”

“You still haven’t figured it out?” Byeongkwan’s eyes blazed, and he sat up straight, tugging at his hair with his hands. “You still haven’t figured it out? We’re in the Sea of Memory. Think, Sehyoon, think!”

And Sehyoon thought. He thought as hard as he could. He tried with all his might to remember.

And he did.

It was dark. Raining. The streetlights hazily illuminated the empty street.

It had been a tough day at work. Sehyoon felt anger, annoyance, frustration.

There was a bright light. It blinded him. He felt his grasp on the steering wheel slip, and a rush of adrenaline as the car swerved in every direction.

He saw flashes of white, of red, of orange, and more red, and then black.

And then it was white again, and he saw the white faces staring down at him, and he felt the hospital lights glaring, and he felt himself being rolled as voices shouted at each other in the distance.

And then it was black again.

Sehyoon opened his eyes with a shuddering breath. Byeongkwan was looking at him, his gaze careful and wary. “You remembered.”

“I – that was – it was a – ”

“Car crash.” Byeongkwan paused. “Coma.”

“You mean…we’re in my head?”

“Not exactly. I don’t know.” Byeongkwan pursed his lips as thought of how to explain. “I don’t know what world we’re in, but all I know is somehow you’re here, and I’m here too.”

“Why are you here, Byeongkwan?”

The other boy just shook his head, refusing to answer the question. Sehyoon huffed.

“How do I leave?”

Byeongkwan’s eyes snapped to Sehyoon. “You want to leave?” He asked quietly. Sehyoon nodded.

“Yes. I want to leave.”

“Are…are you sure? I mean, you’ve seen how wonderful it is here, and we could do so many things, and – ”

“Byeongkwan.” Sehyoon took the other boy’s hand in his. “I know the truth now, and I don’t belong here. I want to leave.”

Byeongkwan stared at Sehyoon, and Sehyoon didn’t look away, and finally Byeongkwan sighed and nodded. “Okay. I’ll help you.”

“Thank you.”

The pink mist surrounding them cleared away, and slowly Byeongkwan paddled his way to a small dock at the edge of the water. They stepped out of the boat, Byeongkwan silently leading the way along worn-down railroad tracks surrounded by shrubs and bushes. Sehyoon wordlessly followed him.

Finally, the tracks disappeared into a tunnel and Byeongkwan stopped. “This is it.”

Sehyoon peered inside. There were lights illuminating both sides of the tunnel, seemingly getting brighter and brighter the further away they were, until the end of the tunnel was just a blinding white glow. “I go in there?”

“You go in there, and you leave forever.”

Sehyoon looked back. At that moment Byeongkwan seemed smaller than ever, his arms folded across his chest and eyes glancing everywhere except at his face. “Come with me,” he breathed. Byeongkwan froze. “Come with me. Let’s leave this place together.”

“I…”

“It’s not real, Byeongkwan,” he continued, making sure to meet the pixie boy’s eyes. “Come with me to the real world, together.”

“I…I can’t,” Byeongkwan whispered, eyes glassy. “I wasn’t happy. I’m happy now. I’m happy here.”

They gazed at each other, both trying to convince the other that they were right, until Sehyoon sighed and pressed a quick kiss to Byeongkwan’s lips. The other boy’s eyes fluttered shut.

“If you change your mind, I’ll always be waiting,” Sehyoon whispered, and Byeongkwan nodded and plucked a flower from a bush off to the side. He tucked it behind Sehyoon’s ear.

“You should go.”

Sehyoon gave him one last, long look, and Byeongkwan smiled softly and waved a hand. “Go on. Shoo.”

Sehyoon turned and walked into the tunnel, and as he walked he felt the light surround him and envelope him until he could no longer feel anything anymore.

He cracked open an eye. Where was he? Beside his ear, he heard a steady beep…beep…beep… He opened the other eye and was met with the shocked face of his mother, squeezing his hand and standing upright by the edge of his bed.

“Sehyoon? Sehyoon? Can you hear me? Doctor!”

He clumsily reached a hand up to his face and from behind his ear pulled out a vivid purple flower. He stayed staring at the flower as his mother ran back into the room, doctors and nurses hurrying in behind her and yelling all sorts of things at him. In the background, the news reporter on the television spoke.

“An update on the accident on the intersection of Oxford Court and Lantern Lane, two victims reported to be hospitalized. Kim Sehyoon, 24, suffered injuries but is stable. Kim Byeongkwan, 22, still in critical condition.”

Welcome New Interns!

The banner hung proudly over the office door, and the CEO stood in front of it, gesturing this way and that as he gave his annual motivational speech to the newly hired members of the company.

Spirits were high in the office as they usually were on Intern Day, but Sehyoon had gotten accustomed to the festivities over the past few years and now would much rather get all his work done quickly and go home earlier. His boss would let him – he had been much more lenient after Sehyoon had finally returned to work, and although a couple years had passed Sehyoon found that he was still receiving a little bit of special treatment.

Not that he minded. Not at all.

He grumbled in annoyance as the vending machine whirred to dispense his candy bar, only for the wrapper to get stuck around one of the shelves and refuse to drop down. Groaning, he crouched down to try to reach for it through the slot at the bottom. It didn’t work. He bent down even further to get a better angle, but no matter how hard he tried, the treat did not budge.

The machine shook as someone gave it a violent kick on the side, and finally the candy bar dislodged itself and tumbled down into the slot. Sehyoon gave a cry of relief and grabbed it.

“Thank you so much, I hate it when that happens – ”

He looked up and was met with a pair of honey-brown eyes twinkling down at him. “You looked like you needed a hand.”

He swallowed. “I had that…under control…” Sehyoon slowly stood until he was face to face with the other boy, who chuckled and held out a hand.

“Byeongkwan. Newest intern. It’s been a long time.”

#choicenetw #choicecreations #a.c.e #a.c.e7 #networkace #fanfiction #kpop fanfic #oneshot #wowson #sehyoon #byeongkwan #is that enough tags skjdfsjkdfh #idk i rlly didnt wanna study for my test this thurs so i just sat down and wrote this #not proof read bc im lazy and honestly idrc #i know its like super duper cheesy and whatever but #whatever #loosely inspired by the it aint me mv by selena gomez and kygo lol #i realize now how it can also be similar to inception #esp the train part #i assure you that was not intentional i just happen to have absolutely no original ideas #:) #thanks for reading if you did!!!

[gurguliare]

the part with gwindor and finduilas's private conversation about turin and beren and etc

[ @crocordile asked for Turin and Finduilas’s “But you are queenly” convo and I kind of folded it into this. WRITING ABOUT WRITING IS REALLY HARD. ]

It was a tradition in Nargothrond that matters of war were debated before an assembly, in the great cavern where the river Ringwil raised all speech to a bellow on its back, and so—though Orodreth and all his councillors were slain, and Gwindor died first of those princes—Dirhaval had only to ask a cook who had taken a shift off to go hearken—and who later had run like a deer through the smoke in the forest, all the way west—to learn what words passed between Gwindor and Túrin before Túrin led Gwindor’s people to war; and, further, what words passed between Gwindor and the king, when Gwindor came unburdened out of Angband to his door.

The cook had short brown hair and a slumbering beauty, a long face with a short nose on a long neck, rounded shoulders not a fault when setting off her face, although she never straightened; she laughed like an old woman when she remembered how Turin had found the dwarf-helm. “Ha! oh, ha! Ha, ha, how daring we thought him, out to out-glower the orcs—none of our lords would have made themselves so ugly. And he said: ‘Valiant defense of the borders and hard blows ere the enemy gathers; in that course lies the best hope of your long abiding together. And do those that you speak of love such skulkers in the woods, hunting strays like a wolf, better than one who puts on his helm and figured shield, and drives away the foe, be they far greater than all his host?’ But I forget what else,” she added, going blank, using a Sindarin term humans had coined. I unremembered. She did not mean ‘I forget’; she meant, ‘I did not hear,’ or ‘I understood it poorly,’ or ‘I am not interested in the wretched end of a memory that began in merriment.’ And he could not press her, who would, in her politeness—determined to match his words to the words that she had learned—would say only and firmly, “I forget.”

But never mind. He guessed the drift of Túrin’s thought. Túrin (he was sure) thought always of his mother and his sister, who were to him the whole of Dor-lómin, who feasted on his feats of arms and withered when he cowered. He knew Túrin. Gwindor was another matter; do those that you speak of love such skulkers, had Gwindor had an answer?

What did Gwindor think of women?

Finduilas, unlucky lady, won passage for her lover and the stranger whom he led. When first Dirhaval heard the tale, she was a second Nienor; high-hearted and sorrowing, golden as dragon-mail—perhaps seven feet tall. She leaped barefoot from the dais, the throng parted for her, and she took Gwindor’s hand between her hands.

Perhaps she had. He found another watcher, a chemist-turned-fletcher who came to Nargothrond in Curufin’s train, and left in Celebrimbor’s ragtag, rallied flock—though now Celebrimbor dwelled with Gil-Galad on the Isle and this chemist, somehow, sat whetting arrow-points in Sirion, warning bystanders from his little pot of poison. This was an elf with weak blue eyes that shivered in their high seat, and vanished when he yawned, which was often; he said that Finduilas, before her father’s throne, pleaded amid a hundred voices, and although her voice was high and pure none other hushed, knowing it too well. First her voice, then her quick feet, and then at last her words were heard through that low hall, before her fair head plunged out of gloom, hands held before her like a diver’s hands. In this description Dirhaval heard the chemist’s blindness and the fletcher’s venomed aim, but nonetheless it lodged in him with barbs, and he dreamed of a lady who in girlhood harbored the gleam of new-hardened wheat, and now was white-haired, clad in white, alone.

But maybe she was brave and not high-hearted. If she came to her father’s other councils, none now living could confirm it: I forget, said the cook. I was away, said the purblind fletcher.

Túrin himself had spoken of Finduilas to the people of Brethil. He called her queenly, and a golden tree, though he said it—said the woodsman—seated by the mound, and meant perhaps to plant one there. Túrin had a straightforward enough imagination.

He took to reading Gwindor’s lines in his father’s louring tone; alone by the creek, he sat perched on driftwood and croaked to himself, “A woman is not easily deceived.” Nay, a woman is not easily deceived. Nor will you find many—nor will you find many who deny that they are loved, if that is true—and he felt a warm glow rise in him, as though he had announced to the forking stream that he was loved. Which he was, he thought; how else to explain the willows touching fingers to the green shapes in the current? Like a wicker bridge, woven for men to climb and meet themselves. Sunlit evening, tall overhead, sewed for the river a shirt of bright rings. To hear there was the spill of the water, going on its belly over stones. Yes: all of that and more. How was it that Gwindor, dead, could make him laugh and look with kindness on his father, who would shortly��in a little while—drive his poor pledged sister mad? Linnor had threatened twice already to turn him out, to make his way—she said—as Dirhaval, in a hut of reeds.

I have a house, Dirhaval argued. Not only that, I will never starve, for every hall accepts me. I have a place in the king’s own lodge when I hunt with his riders. She had his pen out of his fist and held the point very near to his eye. She said, You live in the hollow.

This was Sirion. The reeds grew to man-height, so thickly that they seemed to stand by leaning on stacked neighbors. It was hard enough to find a slender reed to cut a nib from. In wind-tossed thickets on the shore he did hear the whisper of pens dulling on the page, but preferred not to listen, as already he sometimes feared he would go mad.

“Hello,” said the cook.

He jumped to his feet, bowed, smiled; cursing himself indifferently, he relaxed when she smiled as well. She had a basket of baked fish and offered him a trout still on its skewer, and, when he took it, sat beside his place on the log, calling him to sit also. Wind lifted her short hair and showed her reddened cold ears, small and round for an elf’s, but pricked as though attentive to far sounds, and yellow at the center from the light.

“I have remembered something,” she added, inconsequentially. “My aunt’s husband was Guilin’s steward. Everyone in my family hated him because he  because he always making up to us with stories about the great princes. He said that Gwindor and Finduilas fought much over the Adanedhel’s love for her.”

Dirhaval considered the fish with great interest. He had been told triumph lent him a fierce expression. He had no wish to scare his friend off now.

“Raised voices—he overheard—Gwindor said, ‘Why does he seek you out, and sit long with you, and come ever more glad away?’ And that was true, I remember; they sat together in all kinds of places, on the terraces, in the treasury, and even by the earthworks for the bridge. No doubt he told her much you would be glad to know. But as for me, I think Gwindor a fool; few men would have loved her for listening. It reminds them what they hold dear in themselves.”

“That’s true,” he said. The first time he had interviewed her, she had spoken for an hour about the cavern of assembly, like an egg on its side—but so vast!—and with stalactites Finrod himself had sung down into pillars, or was it that he had worn holes in the walls parting small caves, she couldn’t decide; and the window on the river, whence a grey light came, like a shadow thrown on the gliding light of a thousand lamps and torches. And now when she spoke it was matter-of-fact and with hardly a jibe at her uncle. She was Túrin to him in that moment with her straight-sloping neck, the flushed skin of her neck and jaw with her face as fair as fair could be near sunset, the cupful of shadow under her chin. He had burned the roof of his mouth. The fish was tender, almost flavorless, flaking between his teeth like a cake of river-flesh; a little muddy, even, as all water here was. He ate the crisped-black skin for a whiff of charcoal, which coated his mouth. “Don’t you love me, your loyal hearer?”

She gave him a startled wink; and smiled, and smiled.

“I do not think Finduilas loved the Mormegil either. Or, that is, I believe they loved one another as sister and brother.”

Trying to lick his fingers clean just spread around the soot. Among the things she had told Dirhaval was that she was an only child. But he was inclined to believe her, almost. To Finduilas Túrin should have been a child. She must have wanted to love him like a brother—it would have been best, by far clearer and finer, to love him as a brother, even when her death walked near. The death he handed her down to; but if they were kin, it would have been her right to love him, blaming him.

“Do you not agree?”

“I can’t say.” Up again to pace. She followed him, basket on her arm, and settled onto her haunches when she saw he had no journey in mind. He stood when he performed, which was not hard, but it made him more restless when alone. “I think—by the time—no, Túrin did not love her, and as for Finduilas, well, surely she cared for Gwindor? If they argued. Let’s see. And Túrin pursued her at last and fell in a swoon on her grave, we know that. And he loved Gwindor; how not, when Gwindor was with him at Ivrin? But Gwindor—I suppose—Gwindor must have hated him. No. He must have hoped Túrin loved Finduilas, and that was why he couldn’t be persuaded of the truth. For he would have wanted her to be happy, in the end.”

“Oh, no!”

His mood tipped down at once. “Oh no,” he agreed, and took his sandals off and stepped into the stream. His mother had said once that both he and his father were happier than other men, but that they had no ballast, to keep steady the craft. If he took on an ounce of grief he’d sink, and yet he felt the flood almost as freedom. It made him more the master than had his dry, feckless race, his high-riding. As long as he struggled he had yet to succumb; that was the rule for a wasted evening. From here he could trace all the way on to a night of stars. He ought to go and beg a cup of sour milk from Linnor, or go and sing a service for the king. 

But it was day, it was red evening. It was his companion’s grief, filling his mind from above. She crouched and watched the far bank huge-eyed, not a tear in evidence, eyes opened but sealed, as it seemed, against sadness that strove for entry, not escape; she sat with wide mouth cracked, nostrils flared, sucking in great absent sniffs of sea-wind. She was besieged as an afterthought, safe and calm except besieged.

(Gwindor surely wished Finduilas joy. Finduilas, dying, remembered Túrin, and told him where his quest should end. The feathered tops of the reeds glowed on dark stems, like a fire in a field of reeds—there before nightfall he planted for ever the standards of the Noldor and their unsheathed swords, kindling in the dawn.)

He washed his hands and greasy beard in the river. “Your fish will be cold,” he advised. He had abandoned hope of dinner until she brought it, but that was no reason to encourage bad habits in her. Then he had to pick some scales out of his teeth, and couldn’t elaborate, but he heard her uncover the basket, anyway.

He had met her before with a handful of salt, pressing a few grains to her mouth to check their purity. “Dirhaval,” she said wisely, mouth full. “Dirhaval, I have forgotten how to cook.” Meaning she had no spices, witched ovens, and trained assistants—maybe, to her, it was really as though she had forgotten; it was at least something else she had lost.

#vardasvapors #no one expects the fannish inquisition #silmarillion #crocordile #why would i do this meme when it's like... 'watch gogol bend over backward not to name any ocs' #i think most of the Private convos in nargothrond probably/reasonably could have had multiple servant witnesses but also i can't justify #like #any #of those witnesses surviving #so this is my compromise. #... maybe that's not fair?? maybe gelmir poached some valets i don't know #finduilas #gwindor #turin #dirhavel

[redstarfiction-blog]

Hogmanay pt.3 - Sian.

Part 3 sees Jamie and Bree collecting water for the Sian - a blessing that is carried out in the morning of Hogmanay with water, traditionally from the river. The story Jamie tells Bree is of my own creating so any inaccuracies about folklore are my own fault, but the premise of the tale is rooted in Celtic faerie stories. This chapter was a bit rushed as I really wanted to get it up before I go on holiday - maybe it could use a little polishing but I hope you will like it for what it is. Thank you for reading as ever, let me know what you think or any questions you have :) Han xx

Brianna was always eager for any chance to ride one of the Lallybroch horses so when her father had requested her company fetching some sort of special water, she had been only too pleased to go with him. Especially as she had heard him laughing with Mama in their room and knew that if he was in a particularly good mood he would almost certainly let her urge Aoileann to a gallop across the meadow which led to the river.

However as the horses made their way into the woods Bree felt a calm descend over her and no longer wanted to gallop furiously toward their destination. She was happy listening to her father point out which birds made which call and asking him questions about the woods. The air was cold and crisp and everything seems to be tinged with a faint blue light as the afternoon bowed gracefully toward evening and their shadows began to lengthen across the frosty ground.

“What makes the water we’re fetching so special, Da?”

“It is the source we are collecting it from. Your Aunty will have told ye of the ‘saining’ or Sian, aye?”

Jamie gave her a sidelong smile and Bree could tell that there was more to come. She hoped it would be one of his stories, about the Auld Ones or mythical creatures or ghosts that roamed the Celtic isles. Sometimes his stories would absorb her so much that when they were over it would take Bree a while to remember where she was and the best ones made Da’s eyes light up with the telling and his voice would get that deep far away quality as if he was travelling the tale with her for the first time.

“Yes, the blessing of the house and the animals and people to ward off spirits and bring good luck.”

“Aye, and the place we gather the water for the blessing is an ancient river crossing. It is what ye call a living and a dead ford. Have ye heard of such a thing mo chridhe?”

Bree shook her head and grinned at the flash of excitement on her father’s face.

“Ach weel let me tell ye of it.”

Jamie shifted himself in the saddle as if settling in for a long journey and Bree copied his movements faithfully, making sure that she held her head as high as he did.

“Ye’ll maybe no ken this but rivers are the dwelling places of the goddesses of the Auld ones. The waters are their kingdoms and any human that enters their depths must accept the rule of the Auld ones. That is why ye must no’ fight the current should ye ever get too deep, ye must show respect to the goddess by swimming wi’ the pull of the water, allowing her to court ye and release ye at her will.”

Jamie’s voice was softer than usual, his accent broadening as he spoke and his eyes rested on the path ahead of them as Bree watched him intently.

“The old folk of believed the goddess is the one who decides what the river will do, where it will bend and where it will flood and where the creatures of the land may cross safely to the other side. Before men built bridges to satisfy their own impatience they relied upon the kindness of the river goddess’s to provide them safe passage for whilst the deer was given strong legs to spring across and squirrels given agility that they might leap from branches, man needed to ken humility and so he waited on the river’s pleasure.”

Jamie paused to take a drink from his water pouch and watched out of the corner of his eye as Bree squirmed impatiently. Fighting back a smile, Jamie offered the flask to her but she shook her head

“No thank you, carry on Da … please.”

Jamie nodded and thought for a moment before reigning in and swinging down from his saddle.

“The path ahead is too narrow for both horses. We’ll tether Aoileann here and ride together.”

Bree would normally have pestered to be allowed to ride on but she was far too invested in the story to waste time bartering with her Da. Aoileann was tethered to a nearby oak and Bree settled in the saddle between Jamie’s legs within a couple of minutes and they set off again.

“Where was I?”

“Man had to learn humility…”

Bree prompted and he nodded slowly as if to himself.

“Och, that’s right. Weel, twas not only the living who needed a place to cross. Spirits needed to cross from this world into the next and though they could have chosen a passage between the trees or cliffs or over the sea had they wished it, they chose the rivers for they are the most beautiful of crossings in the Highlands and so the goddess of each river made a special ford, a ford where both living and dead might cross in harmony and go on their way in peace.”

“Wouldn’t the spirits mind sharing their crossing?”

Bree asked curiously and Jamie grinned

“No, their journey in this world is at an end and as they cross into the next, it pleases them to walk alongside a living soul one last time. The spirits who cross at such fords are not the same as the likes of the Wild Hunt.”

Bree shivered at the mention of that particular ghost story. The tale of the Wild Hunt had given her the creeps and made her reluctant to blow out the candle at bedtime for several days after the telling of it. She huddled closer into her Da’s chest now, surreptitiously putting her hand on his sleeve, feeling better for having a grip on him, certain that if anyone could protect her from the less friendly spirits of the woods, it was her Da.

“So where we’re going now, to the living and dead ford, it is a spirit crossing?”

“Aye.”

“How will we know if … well if someone is trying to cross it while we’re there?”

Bree bit her lip; the last thing she wanted was to get in the way of a spirit crossing.

“I doubt ye would feel a thing unless they wanted ye to, but we willna be there long. We will fill up our flasks and be on our way.”

Jamie reassured her as the ford came into view between the sparse trees.

*

Jamie lifted Bree down and handed her a flask, she edged toward the water but kept a tight grip on his hand, blue eyes wide with trepidation. Jamie had seen her look so when she was about to try a food that was new to her or confess to some wee foolishness to her Mam that she wasn’t sure would earn her a scolding or not.

Jamie watched her with a curious mix of pride and awe that he so often felt when his daughter was alone with him and his attention could be devoted solely to her. He had spent many hours; countless hours really, imagining the child he and Claire had created. He had usually, to his shame, imagined a boy sometimes with Claire’s dark curls and other times with his flaming hair. He had imagined the detail of his son’s face, small dimples when he smiled and the high arch of his feet. He had brought to life in his mind the crease of skin at the laddie’s elbows and the high giddy sound of his laugh and yet for all his imagining and dreaming nothing had prepared him for the reality of Brianna.

Jamie found himself enthralled by everything she did, her wee quirks and the thoughts she cared to share with him were treasures that he hoarded greedily and stored against the burden of the years he had lost with her.

In the stories he told her he wove the culture of their people and tried to impart the wisdom that he had received from his own father’s tales. Jamie wanted Brianna to have the world laid at her feet and he would do all he could to place it there, but he also wanted her to understand the soil on which she stood. To know the history of her country, to feel that Scotland was in her bones not just in her heritage and so he told her tall tales of kelpies, faeries and maidens in lochs and he brought her to the places that she might feel the connection most strongly, hiking in the hills and riding through the forests of their home so that whatever the future held, she would always ken that she had a place here at Lallybroch, a door that would never close and a welcome that would never expire.

“Should I just … you know … take it or do I have to say something?”

Bree whispered. Jamie considered her for a moment and then dropped to a crouch, the shallow water lapping over the toes of his boots. He closed his eyes and turned his face up to the sun

“Ar n-Athair a tha air nèamh, Gu naomhaichear d'ainm. Thigeadh do rìoghachd. Dèanar do thoil air an talamh mar a nìthear air nèamh.”

He wasn’t sure why the Lord ’s Prayer came to his head but he saw no reason why it was any less valid than another offering of respect and the Gaelic seemed to please Brianna, who with a sigh of relief that he seemed to know the right words to appease the river goddess and spirits alike, let go of his hand and dipped her flask into the babbling water, murmuring a shorter verse of prayer that Ian had taught her, eyes tightly closed, claiming what she needed before carefully tightening the lid and handing it over to him.

“Was that alright, Da?”

“Perfect Bree, utterly perfect.”

#Outlander #outlander au #outlander fanfic #jamie and bree #fanfiction #outlander fandom #outlander tv #redstarfiction #TimeMovesToADifferentRhythm

[blakavalon]

1.01

Figures danced through the burning woods. Keening, inhuman, huge. The wrench in my hand, solid iron though it might have been, felt woefully inadequate. One of them looked at me. Through the smoke and embers, in a haze of heat and death, one of them looked at me. I took a step back. Another. Knocked into something solid and bit back a scream. Brae looming behind me. Wearing one of those masks you saw on museum samurai. An oni, with dancing flames reflecting off lacquered wood.

Brae held two heavily-gloved fingers in a vee, touched the cheek of their mask, and pointed towards the forest. There wasn’t an ounce of accusation in their movement, but I still felt guilty.

I had started the fire, after all. “I know, I know.” It was my responsibility to watch it burn out. Watch them burn out. “Only-” I shook my head. Can’t fight the truth. I turned and watched. The creatures danced and screamed. Howls like twisting metal. They were almost humanoid. Almost. One of them struggled, staggered, towards the salt-rimmed edge of the fires. Towards me. Brae’s pair of big hounds leapt forward, barking and snapping. Scared it back into its final prison. “One haunted forest down,” I managed, but trying to keep my voice casual was damn near impossible. Beyond what we had done- what I had done- my car was in there. It wasn’t a good car or even a reliable one. But it was mine. That car, this wrench, the clothes on my back. All I owned. It was mine. Shitty mustang with seats held together by duct tape. Room for one of us to lay out in the back while the other drove. Maybe Brae got a little cramped, tall as they were. Little nook under the seats for my toolbox- “My toolbox! Brae-?”

Brae held a fist in front of the pile of zippered coats that covered their chest, slid it in a circle over the cloth.

“Not your fault, partner,” I said. “Shit. I can get another one.” Resigned and tired, I backpedaled till the heat was off my face and hunkered down in the grass. Tried to keep sooty sweat out of my eyes. Eventually the figures stopped dancing. Stopped screaming. Their deaths took the fire with them. They burned better than the trees- all dry twigs and stolen human hair, maybe. Never saw one of the folk up close to know. Never saw any that weren’t pulled out by bindings and fire. Even then, only seen that twice so far. Sparks and embers, the flame-ruined remnants of trees. It hadn’t been very big, as forests go. More a stand of trees. Dense in some places. No one from town had come to see just what the hell we were doing. No fire engines had come to halt this destruction. The locals knew what this place was about. Called it the haunted woods, warned their kids not to go near. Crossed themselves when the howls sounded too loud in the night. So. Who was tearing up the road with a cloud of dust a mile long behind them? “Better not be the cops,” I told Brae, standing and hefting the wrench. “You got anything works on humans?”

One hand flat, one with pointer extended. Brae slipped the latter under the former. Their mask held that awful oni grimace and no hints.

“Dunno that one. Hell. Maybe we can talk to them?” I herded the dogs off the road, earning a couple good bites for my trouble, and we walked further from the woods a ways. Tried my best to look surreptitious and innocent. Holding a big wrench with a couple rust-colored stains. Next to a forest fire. With a seven-foot pile of dusty old clothes wearing a samurai mask as a partner. Sure. Innocent. The car turned out to be an oldish jeep. Didn’t look like police, but a man looking like me in this country can never be too careful. Had to go off-road to reach us, followed the tracks of what had been my car. Rumbled to a stop in the ash-dusted grass.

“You two see what happened?” The driver shouted out the open said, as if the crackle of dying fire were still a roar. “Might make a good story, ‘Mysterious fire in haunted woods.'” She hopped down and fished out a camera from the mess in the jeep’s back seat. Youngish. College maybe. Since when are people my age youngish to me?

Brae and I looked at each other. They were covered in dust, ash, and a few stray embers they didn’t seem to notice burning through the top layer of coats. I was a mess of bites, soot, and sweat. “Nope,” I said.

Headshake from Brae.

“Rubberneckers, huh?” The reporter’s? tone was one of intense disbelief, but she raised her camera and started snapping pictures. “Ivy,” she said.

“This here’s Brae, I’m Sefu.” Didn’t bother trying to hide the wrench. Even if my mind was snagged on our incriminating appearances, Ivy seemed more interested in the fire. “You’re a reporter? Live around here?” She didn’t seem to have the fear of the place the other locals did.

“Hm. I’m kind of freelance, if you catch my drift.” She looked at the screen of her camera for a few long seconds. Snapped a few more pictures. Looked again. “Cheap rent around here, if you don’t mean ‘where are you from,’ I guess. Think it’s safe to get closer?”

Brae shook their mask emphatically. Two fingers and a thumb, snapping shut.

“True. All that smoke.” Alicia held her camera screen up to my eyes. “What do you think of this? We’re probably too close as is.” Maybe half a mile away. Much too close, if any of them were alive. I tried to focus on the lit screen. Pixellated digital-zoom. Blackened trees. Smoke in the air. White artefacts from the mess of ash and interference.

“Pretty good, I guess? I don’t anything about photogr-“

“The white parts.” She switched to a different picture. Closer in on the artefact. Something like a fuzzy skull leaned against the base of what was once a tree. “Don’t see it when I’m lining up, but…” Maybe a ram’s skull. Still could have been a trick of the camera. Of the smoke. But maybe those three holes were eye-sockets. Maybe those were teeth. A horn. I felt Brae looming behind me to look before they started walking quickly towards the cooling woods. “What’s-“

I didn’t catch the rest. I started to jog after Brae’s long strides, then running, then sprinting as Brae’s brisk walk turned into their strange, leaping run. Back at the edge of the forest, lungs burning, I hacked up black phlegm.

Brae spread their hands helplessly. No skulls. Of course not. Those things never left corpses. Not that we knew of, anyway. Brae pointed the way we had come. Ivy had followed us a little more cleverly. She had a car after all. She had managed to lure in Brae’s dogs, too. Those things only seemed to act like dogs around strangers. They grey-furred one gave me a baleful stare. Like it could see into my soul. It couldn’t, of course. I turned away to watch the crackling wood anyway. “What are their names?” Ivy’s voice from behind me as she hopped out of the jeep. “Might have some jerky in here.”

Brae must have responded, but I wasn’t going to give those dogs the dignity of seeing me peeking. Which sounds ridiculous.

“Ser and Berus? That’s clever. Who’s a sweet little puppy? Yes you are! Both of you!” Ivy’s babytalk got me to turn around. She had the giant pseudo-mastiffs sat down at attention and begging- begging!- for a handful of jerky. I saw one of those things eat a deer whole once. Begging.

“Hey, Ivy?” I crouched down and held my hands out towards the woods. Salt-ring still intact. No signs of life. No signs of anything impersonating life. “This the one you were shooting?” A charred and gnarled tree, not quite destroyed, but burnt and dusted over pale white with ash. No skull leaning black-socketed on its gnarled roots.

“Yeah,” she said. “Damn. I collect those, you know?” She snapped another few pictures. “Roadkill skulls, antlers, that sort of…” She trailed off and silently held the camera in front of my face. Same tree on the screen, now with a digitized addition: One bleach-white skull, elongated. Three-eyed. Some mix of human, ram, and faun. A pair of curling horns, one broken off at the halfway point. Teeth like one of Brae’s dogs. Eye-sockets no longer empty, but bearing the faintest pinprick of light. I could see a future where that light flared brighter and brighter until the creature awoke. How many must there be throughout these woods? “Tell me you see this,” Ivy muttered, looking from the screen to the empty ground.

“I see it,” I said. “Don’t quite get it, but I see it. Hey, Brae?”

Brae was already at my side, holding a finger up for patience. They dug around in their coats and fetched out a fistful of iron nails. Rusted, rune-etched, comically oversized. They handed a few to me, to Ivy, and kept a few to themselves. Give her credit, Ivy took the strange gift without so much as a raised eyebrow. “Ever see something like this before, partner?”

Emphatic shake of hood and mask.

“Iron always works though, right?” I leaned forward and tried to measure hallucinatory distance. To keep the worry out of my voice. I couldn’t see Brae’s answer, but Ivy’s slight wince translated just fine. Set the nail and, for lack of a hammer, I whacked it with the end of my wrench. There was a soft cracking noise and the skull from the photo sort of- shivered into view, this time with a big iron nail right between all three eyes. Something screamed. not with sound. A scream that bit into the bone, grabbed at the rib cage and started to pull. Then, nothing. The points of light faded. The bone yellowed, grayed, and finally collapsed into dust. Leaving one nail embedded in the roots of the tree. How many were in here, waiting for their time? For the fire to die down and the tools of iron to be carried away. How many times had this happened? “Shit,” I said.

“Shit is right.” Ivy, over my shoulder. Still snapping pictures. Looking as shaken as I did after the scream. Brae was by the jeep, trying to calm their suddenly agitated ‘pups.’ “I’m not usually nosey-“

“Make you a deal?”

“Nope,” she said. “I’m already helping, barter something else.” Leading with her camera, Ivy carefully picked her way through the sweltering remains.

“Brae’s got some money,” I tried, following. “Might not be from this century if I know them, but, uh. Collectors?”

“That’s better.” Ivy pointed accusingly with her fistful of nails. “Here. Here. And right here. This one looks like it’s staring at you, better hurry.” Whack. Whack. Whack. Whinged my thumb on that last one and spent the next few minutes cursing and forcing back tears. Ever hit yourself with a wrench? One of those big mothers, too. Ivy took over for me for a while. I tried snapping the pictures, but they came out normal. Brae followed along, holding the camera where necessary. Couldn’t get the hang of the trick Ivy used either. Glad it wasn’t just me. We had to restock the nails a few times. I could see the hounds patrolling around the rim of the forest. Maybe they couldn’t pass through the salt either. I wonder. We ended up spending a couple of hours tracing the edge of the forest, leaving a border of shattered skulls and iron nails. They weren’t always bone. Sometimes they weren’t always skulls. Unnatural mirages cast in crystal and flesh. A heart made of sodden wood, too many valves. Ivy and I kept quiet after that one. Before we finished, Brae disappeared further into the woods alone. I didn’t dare leave without them. After the last nail, Ivy stepped out of the ring and brushed herself off. Played with Brae’s dogs some.

Brae came back with the last light of day, smelling like sweat and gasoline, and carrying a fire-blackened toolbox. My toolbox. “Thanks, Brae,” I said. It was still warm to the touch. “Don’t know what I’d do if I lost this thing. There’s no chance, but. The car?”

Brae shook their head.

“Dang.” We strode out of the wrecked woods for a final time, Brae shaking something I suspect was holy water behind us the whole way. Ivy was leaned up against her jeep, smoking a cigarette and clicking through her camera. “You should delete-“

“Done,” she said. Her hand shook, only slightly. “Don’t want a haunted camera. What the hell did we just do? If anyone from town thinks I got up to some kind of witchcraft- I mean, you never know with people- I just kind of fell into it, didn’t I?” She offered me a cigarette from an ancient-looking pack.

“I don’t smoke,” I said. “That was the folk. Hey, you give us a ride back to town, I’ll explain on the way. Deal?”

“You owe me some money, too,” she said.

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#fiction #modern fantasy #writing