#she is cautious & distrusting with new people and can come off quite cold in some cases | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dirtyrottenraskel · 3 years

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my take on yueki's personalities

yue

notes / personality

cocky (but also like understated confidence - r e g a l af)

kind of a nerd

maybe a little entitled, and a little bratty and suki loves to indulge her or to rile her up depending on her mood

books

seems soft but made of steel

strong sense of duty

socially intelligent - can be manipulative and suki (the dork) thinks it is so hot

aloof queen bee typa beat

supportive, both in ur day to day and in going after your big moral life goals

deep water - steady and powerful, often underestimated

untold depths, private yet surprisingly nurturing - master of deflecting away from herself

political nerd - well read, and when she has someone she trusts not to take advantage of her, she goes OFF

distrusting of most people, has been used and ignored and underestimated her whole life

patient - homegirl knows how to play the long game

excellent at pai sho / chess

she and suki have epic battles of wits - dif types of strategy but both are really into it and get a little too competitive (multiple board games have had to be replaced over the years)

loves travel bc wasn’t allowed to much, esp when she was sick

was super repressed growing up - never let her be herself or really have any sort of independence

used to sneak out and wander around in rebellion and casually sabotage plans and decisions she didn’t agree with

introverted, many opinions but keeps them to herself, discreet but well spoken

weaponizes secrets and information - doesn’t often use it but...she could

definitlyyyyy worries and overthinks and re-evaluates - worries ab social politics a lot

obsessive about picking things - wants it to be perfect

shes growing into her confidence as a leader

prefers quite intimate places

incredibly romantic

classic lit

planner for the future - visionary

kind / sweet / gentle - yes, but that’s also her “front” to a degree (seriously, i feel like she gets painted as so sweet and submissive and one dimensional by the fandom a lot of times and it freakin kills me)

INFJ-T (The Advocate) ((yes this is from 16p which i know is not super accurate but u can still catch her overall vibes from it ya know)

Creative/insightful/principled/compassionate/altruistic

sensitive/reluctant to open up/perfectionist/prone to burnout/not a fan of the ordinary

friendships / relationships

(<> indicates that they’re one of her best friends)

sokka - puppy love crushes, laugh ab it now, get into deep late night talks about responsibilities and leading, water tribe culture, prank wars (no one believes sokka when he says yue is a mean prank master (expect suki comes to see it in action lol))

katara - <> badass women friendship, totally would go to matches and protests together, tough girl shit, waterbending practice/duels - start of cautious, but then get rough in a good way bc they trust each other, they do water tribe food adventures together

toph - indulges her chaos, bonding over stupid royal upbringings, odd yet weirdly endearing pair

zuko - both sort of standoffish gay royals, but once they come to see that they are friends - take up similar spaces though, so only hang out in a group or rarely by themselves, they do hang out at like political parties and stuff when they get more comfortable together

aang - <> he has an impressive world view, yue is super studied and well read, so she and aang nerd out over past cultures together, and also their peace keeping nature, they have tea together often - usually after she and katara wipe the floor w/ each other

clothing / aesthetic:

blues and pale colors

classy and understated wealth

like those cute feminine button down shirts

dresses

like cold weather classy

complicated braids

sort of soft girl aesthetic?

pleated skirts !!!

i feel like she would wear ethically sourced fur (i don’t wear fur but idk how to get it in an ethical way - maybe it’s just fake??)

knit sweaters and skinny jeans and heeled ankle boots

light academia !!!

hella funky earrings - to mark her native pride and also cuz gay

from my readings, tattoos have a lot of cultural significance for Inuit women, and so i feel like yue would totally have some (when she comes of age ofc)

suki

notes / personality

extroverted

also very strategic

more spontaneous tho - will totally calculate the odds in a spilt second in her head and then just go for it

like still a careful planner, but willing to say fuck it, yolo if it seems right

reflects on her mistakes, but more in like a healthy way - unless it was a leadership mistake, then it eats her up inside - worries more ab keeping her girls safe and making the right call

likes lively places

total bashful romantic

manages the present and the short term - realist

loves to do lists

a little punch happy - loves to make violent threats, but also does it out of excitement and she’s just a really physical person tbh

steady, can come off as stubborn and abrasive but she really just wants what’s best for everyone she loves

harsh on herself and worries about her girls a lot

always ends up in the oddest situations

totally would kick someone’s ass for being racist/sexist/homophobic/etc

dedicated to her training and her regime

not a great cook, but she can manage

would drink monsters

has a weird relationship with femininity - took her awhile to reconcile strength and toughness and being assertive and aggressive with also wanting to feel pretty and feminine and embracing being a girl and how those things can coincide and amplify each other

abandonment issues - parents absent/dead

was imprisoned - obvi she had several almost successful escape attempts, but she got really close to breaking

was incredibly independent really early, grew up really fast and tries to make up for that now by sometimes being reckless

tough/assertive/woman of action

dry sense of humor/sarcastic - not good at nickname/pun humor tho

practical/dedicated/strong-willed/direct/honest/reliable/loyal/patient

stubborn/judgmental/difficult to relax/difficulty expressing emotions/too selfless

friendships / relationships

(<> indicates that they’re one of her best friends)

sokka - <> man they’re like platonic soulmates - she beat him up, and now they spar all the time, totally funny and crack jokes all the time, go skating together, they do shitty art together, and then show their lovers after zuko and yue come back from their high society mixers, broke her out of prison, m/f friendship !!!

katara - also sparring buddies (suki will throw down at any literally moment (and tbh so will katara)), not close but will hang in a group - go to each other for advice

toph - <> listen these two wreak havoc together, they help each other out a lot, i feel like they’re shopping buddies (similar enough style to frequent the same shops) toph knows suki won’t judge her for wanting to feel pretty and suki knows toph will be honest, they are both blunt sarcastic assholes and get along like a house on fire

zuko - <> shows zuko how to like,,,enjoy things (and how to let go of some of that pressure to be always right and the adult and in charge bc they were raised with so much responsibility on their shoulders even tho they were just kids)? she is also super protective of him (once she trusts him), one of the only ppl who can match suki fully in hand to hand combat, both do the Disappointed Parent Look when the group falls into chaos, but by themselves, the two of them end up in hijinks

aang- suki enjoys his optimism and they’re just chill bros, they love exploring abandoned placed together

clothing / aesthetic

sporty and skater mixed

ripped jeans, crewnecks, vans

green and yellow and dark red

gym clothes/athleisure - lifting style gym clothes - cut off t-shirts and bike shorts

skirts too, likes to play into femininity

she’s a gold jewelry kinda girl - but stuff that won’t hinder her movements

necklaces that end in the hollow of her throat & occasionally rings

definitely cuffs all of her jeans (it’s just bisexual culture ya know)

so many crop tops - some came like that, some were more of a diy project

yueki’s relationship!!!

nerd/jock solidarity

feel the burden of responsibility and the weight on their shoulders

they create a safe space between them, full of trust and warmth and vulnerability

yue will read suki sappy passages from poetry books while suki polishes her fans

they slow dance in the kitchen a lot

they get good at ordering takeout - and they have some weird decision making process that only they understand - bc neither of them are great cooks

yue would feel jealous of suki and sokka, if it weren’t for how stupid in love sokka was with zuko and yue can see that suki really only has eyes for her

yue is taller than suki and it amuses her to no end to pick suki up and carry her away from a fight (we all know suki could get away if she wanted to, but when ur hot tall sexy gf throws u over her shoulder,,,,,,u don’t complain)

joke they’ve adopted kataang and zukka, bc they’re all dummies, but in reality every last one of them is stupid LMAO

they love to do each other’s hair and it’s like super intimate and really cute

sometimes it’s these epic elaborate hairstyles and then at other times, they try to see how many ponytails they can fit on suki’s head and how many little braid yue can do

they travel EVERYWHERE

since yue is royalty and suki is her body guard,,,, well i mean, they totally have to see these kingdoms they are doing trade deals with in person

it helps that they're friends with a lot of them

they stay over in everything from camping so they can stargaze to ritzy hotels with hot tubs in the bathroom

yue gives suki rocks she finds on all their travels and suki lines them up on their mantle around the pictures of them in increasingly weird locations

suki loves guarding yue’s meetings bc she gets to watch her absolutely rip a new one into misogynistic old men and it never fails to bring her joy

While yue doesn’t love getting attacked, the ruthless efficiency suki defends her with is like,,,,,stupid attractive

#wow this got long #this is a mix of modern au and canon verse headcanons #but yeah #let these girls have more dimension than just soft uwu gfs #esp yue #yueki #headcanon #atla #yue #suki #yue x suki #wlw #zukka #kataang #sapphic

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ineffablecolors · 5 years

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The Wife [4/?]

The Wife || Ch 4 ~ 4.2 k || Ch 1 Ch2 Ch3 || FF.NET&AO3 Summary: No one knows all that Emma has been through and certainly no one knows all that Killian has been through and being husband and wife doesn’t make them any less unknown to each other. And really, how can you help someone heal when you don’t even know how hurt they are? A/N: Do check the notes on chapter 1 and fair warning - they touch again.

Dear Emma,

If Emma had any doubts about Killian’s claims, the letter she receives from Mary Margaret the very next day would’ve put them to rest. As it is, she is grateful to be forewarned so the information Mary relays is not as much of a shock to her as it apparently was to her friend.

Still, her heart can’t help but constrict painfully at Mary’s badly hidden distress. The indignation on the sheet of paper is palpable – how the last cup of tea Emma shared with her friend wasn’t even washed yet when Mary’s apartment became the preferred destination for good Samarians who wanted to warn her that she’d better wait a fortnight before paying her friend a visit as some people expected Killian Jones to put her out of his house in no time at all.

Emma is not terribly surprised. Whatever rumours might circulate about Captain Jones, he is still a man and one with a decent income at that. Society may wag its tongues but it will never spit him out. It obviously has no such qualms about Emma.

Mary, however – with her less than favourable opinion of Emma’s husband, is obviously incented by the mere suggestion that Killian might be the one to find fault with Emma rather than the other way around. Yet, Emma can’t help but notice that it has taken more than a week for her friend to write to her. She believes this as well probably stems from Mary’s distrust of her husband, rather than a desire to set herself apart from Emma and, while the latter would have been truly devastating, she finds that the former causes her a fair bit of annoyance as well.

She can’t help the spike of irritation when her friend’s manner of writing adopts the style of one addressing a prisoner – as if she were a princess locked in a towel guarded by a dragon. Though that image is only wrong in spirit for, compared to her life with Regina, Emma does feel rather like a princess and, reading about the social fires raging in town, she rather appreciates the protection of her public-shunning dragon.

Thus, Emma sits at her desk, staring out of the window and wondering what on earth is the proper thing to do – invite her closest friend to visit her in her new home like any newly married woman would or absolve her of having to associate herself with Emma at least for the near future. Eventually, as with most things, Emma decides to trust the feeling deep in her gut. She writes back to Mary Margaret, inviting her to visit if and only if she is confident it won’t prove too much of a stain on her snow white reputation and, as kindly as she can, asks her not to abuse Killian’s name without reason.

*****

But it is not that letter which takes Emma by surprise, expected even earlier as it had been. It’s the one she finds the morning after, when she and Alice are sorting through their correspondence and Emma is trying – as she does every morning – not to notice the steady flow of letters Alice receives – all carrying the same pretty cursive.

She gets up and heads for Killian’s study, turning the letter over and over in her hand.

“I think you forgot this one,” she says when she is within reach of his desk and he can get a good look at the name.

He looks up and Emma purses her lips so she doesn’t grin at the way he squints and pushes his glasses up his nose.

“I did not. It’s addressed to you.”

“Yes, but it’s from your sister-in-law.”

“Aye, but it’s addressed to you. I’m not going to go around opening your correspondence, Emma, no matter who it might be from.”

Emma draws her hand back to her side and mulls that over. Privacy is most certainly not something she has been deprived off in this house but she appreciates the freedoms that she keeps discovering, freedoms that she thought – still thinks really – not many women enjoy.

“May I?”

She waves a hand toward one of the armchairs in Killian’s study and he blinks at her a couple of time in surprise before he nods his affirmation. Emma drops into the chair’s soft depths slightly less gracefully than she intended and a sly look at Killian shows that he might have noticed, if the way he focuses hard on the papers before him and purses his own lips to keep them from stretching is any indication. She does her best to control her blush and turns her attention back to Elsa’s letter. Elsa’s invitation, as it turns out.

“There’s to be a dance.”

“I expected as much.”

“You did?”

“Hmm. You and Alice should pick some new gowns this week.”

She laughs.

“I just finished filling a whole wardrobe, I believe I’ll manage to find something to wear. Does that mean we will be attending?”

Killian finally looks up again and Emma thinks that surprise is definitely the reaction she seems to inspire the most in her husband.

“Even I don’t refuse invitations extended by my own brother and his lovely wife. Especially when the whole affair is organized to welcome my new wife.”

He gives her a pointed look and Emma feels her eyes widen, the letter almost slipping from her cold fingers.

“Oh. But… this can’t— You must tell them there is no need—“

Killian waves his hand in a gesture that seems to say nothing can be done about it now.

“Do not concern yourself, Elsa would seize any and every opportunity for a ball. I would’ve been concerned for my sister’s health had she failed to send such an invitation before the close of the month. It will also…” Killian looks her in the eyes, a certain amount of caution and gentleness swimming in the blue. “Well, it will be a good thing for us to do.”

There is no blush on her cheeks now, she is certain, for while the feeling for one is there, her face must be quite pale as she realizes that the Jones’s are throwing a ball to demonstrate that Killian has not married her just to hide her away like a shameful secret.

“Oh, this is really—“

Emma flounders for a bit before she drops her face in her hands and tries to master her emotions, her shoulders hunched and her fingers digging into the roots of her hair as she breathes through her nose. Focused as she is on that crucial task, the warmth of Killian’s hand on her knee is like a jolt to her entire system. She looks up to find him kneeling in front of her, a cautious and concerned expression on his face.

“Emma, there truly is nothing to worry about. It’s not at all unusual to celebrate an addition to the family with a—“

“Yes, except,” her voice is choked but she soldiers on. “This is not a celebration but a demonstration—“

“That depends entirely on how you choose to see it.”

She opens her mouth to protest but the calmness on his face stops the words in her throat.

“Papa, I have decided what— Oh. Is something the matter?”

The concern on Alice’s face is the last push Emma needs to pull herself together and she smiles up at the girl the best she can as her hand reaches to quickly squeeze Killian’s in silent gratitude – the warmth of it almost seeping into her own fingers.

“It would seem we are going to a ball.”

“Ah, is that what aunt Elsa wrote you about? But… do you not wish to go, Emma?”

“No, no, I do. I was just… surprised, her requesting that I be her guest of honour is a bit... I’m sure to muck it up.”

Alice laughs at her choice of words and shakes her head as Killian gets back to his feet.

“It’s really not that difficult. You just have to look nice but also not overshadow aunt.”

Emma takes her own turn to laugh.

“I’m quite certain there is no danger of that.”

“What did you come to tell me, darling?”

“Ah, yes,” and just like that the sparkle is back in Alice’s eyes. “I’ve decided what we are to do today.”

“And you have been so kind as to come pass your sentence personally.”

Alice rolls her eyes in a manner that Emma is sure many a proper lady would have quite a few choice words for but no one in the room seems to mind.

“We’re going to the lake. Ruby is already preparing a basket.”

Killian casts a mournful look at his desk before he sighs and turns back to his daughter.

“Aye, aye, cap’n.”

*****

Ruby tries to stifle her laugh as she watches the mistress of the house rub mournfully at the heel of her foot.

“I have never seen a woman this fond of walking and riding, and running, and really any physically taxing activity on the face of the earth.”

Now she can’t help but chuckle in agreement.

“She was much worse when she was little, if you can believe it.”

“Oh, what did she do then? Fly?”

“She tried it once. Thankfully, she was already smart enough to choose a window on the ground floor. Granny says half of Captain Jones’s gray hairs are from that very day.”

Emma shakes her head and fits her foot back in her soft slipper with the slightest whimper before she takes the other one in her hands. Ruby adds one last log to the fire in the library and turns to leave when Emma speaks up again.

“Ruby, did— Was there a ball given when… when the late Mrs Jones became… Mrs Jones?”

Ruby frowns a bit, digging into her own memories and trying to order what her grandmother has told her.

“Well, I think I wasn’t old enough to be helping Granny around the kitchen yet. She’d only been here for a year or so. Ever since the captain had come back from the war and taken the house, you know? And she—” Ruby smiles at her first memories of sneaking rolls behind Granny’s back. “She’d bring me round from time to time, she couldn’t always leave me with neighbours and all and she says Killian never minded. Now, she minded plenty but she had bigger messes to make to bother with me.”

Granny being the irreproachable fortress than she is, Ruby always gladly takes on the role of a more welcoming and engaging presence, but even she made an exception for Eloise. The woman scared her as a child and then—

She shakes her head and focuses her eyes on Emma’s curious green ones. Her mouth is set in a line that tells Ruby whatever she has heard has been enough to incite less than tender sympathies toward the previous Mrs Jones.

“But, no. No, I was told the whole thing was very quick and quiet. No announcements, no fanfare. I don’t think anyone was at the ceremony except for Admiral Jones. And then… well, she went into society a lot, I think. But never with the captain. There was this group of women – they’d come here often and then she would visit with them for long periods of time. I think everybody rather preferred it that way.”

She closes her mouth and sucks her lips in, sensing that she might have gotten carried away. Emma only asked about a ball and Ruby doesn’t want her thinking that she’ll grasp at any opportunity to gossip.

“Thank you. I umm…,” Emma’s own discomfort puts her more at ease. “I didn’t mean to pry into— I just wanted to get an idea. No matter. Thank you.”

Her smile is a little forced and nervous and Ruby returns it with a warm and genuine one. She has been watching Emma tiptoe around the house and the family even since she got here and she finds it both endearing and a little saddening. She almost wants to tell her that there is little she can do that will stand in a bad light compared to what came to pass before her, she wants to tell her that a little calmness and a little softness is all they all need and she seems to have enough of both within her.

But she doesn’t say any of that. It’s not her place and her grandmother will have her head, if she does. Ruby doesn’t get how she can still be suspicious of the new mistress’s intentions but she knows there is no use arguing with her – no one but Granny can convince Granny that she is wrong. So with another smile, she turns to leave, stopping with the door handle in her hand.

“Another thing, Miss Alice’s secret might be retiring to bed before the witching hour. Which cannot often be said about her father and yourself.”

*****

Emma stretches her aching legs in front of her one more time before she gets up and makes her way to the study at the end of the corridor for the second time that day.

The late summer day on the lake proved a nice distraction. Alice is something of an expert on lake and woodland creatures alike, Ruby is most certainly an expert on putting together a picnic in an hour and Killian apparently likes to pretend that he is an expert at stone skipping even though she defeated him twice as often as he did her. But, most importantly, none of them seem to be experts on ball etiquette and, rather than make her more anxious, this seemed to calm Emma’s nerves concerning the whole affair.

Back when she first came out into society, Regina was willing to let her go to as many dances as three gowns per season would permit her. But after a certain point in her young life her public appearances steadily decreased. At first, it was deemed the wise thing to do – to just disappear for a bit, to not fan the rumours’ flames by showing her face all around town, and then afterwards, Emma herself had lost all interest in the frivolities of meeting young ladies and gentlemen who cared more about what was being said about her and what she was wearing in her hair than what was in her head, let alone her heart – the latter was almost unmanageably heavy and after some time she tried to keep the former as blank as possible.

Obviously, whatever good her restrained and demure presence had achieved was undone by Regina’s candidness and desperate rush to find her a husband and now, in a few weeks’ time, Emma will have her first chance to hopefully start anew as Mrs Emma Jones. She tries to chase the thought away before it can seep all the way inside her and twist her all up, instead she takes the open door as a good sign and leans her hip lightly on the doorframe as she waits for Killian to look up from whatever he is scribbling furiously.

It takes long enough that her feet start tingling in protest again. Finally, his eyes rise and then so do his eyebrows – the question obvious and underlined with a touch of annoyance. She concentrates on not shifting nervously on her feet.

“Did you need something, Emma?”

“No, just trying to determine the chances of me having married a vampire.”

He snorts, obviously unwillingly amused.

“I assure you, I age,” he sets his pen down and reaches for his glass, lifting it to his mouth only to find it empty.

Emma shakes her head and turns on her heel without another word. In the kitchen Mrs Lucas informs her that Ruby has gone to bed.

“Oh, I don’t need anyone. Just to know where the chamomile and valerian root are.”

The cook huffs and crosses her arms in front of her chest but she points out where everything Emma asks for is and leans back against the table with a look that tells Emma she is watching every move she makes in her kitchen.

“That’s not gonna work.”

Emma shrugs her shoulders as if it’s all the same to her.

“And I could’ve done it for ya.”

“And what should I do?”

“How should I know? Whatever it is that you ladies do when you are all provided for. Prop your feet on a pillow, admire lace, get one of them small dogs.”

Emma laughs at that last part.

“I prefer cats.”

“Cats are kitchen animals.”

“Well, maybe that’s why I like the kitchen quite so much,” she replies with a little challenge in the tilt of her chin as she arranges her tea tray under the older woman’s hawk-like gaze.

Mrs Lucas grunts in displeasure.

“Between your liking and him taking his breakfast in here all the time, I might as well leave the kitchen to the masters and go have all the rest of the house to myself.”

It is certainly an amusing image and, ever since first finding Killian here, Emma can’t say that she terribly minds the idea of them being locked in the small space and letting Mrs Lucas reigned over all else.

When first faced with the reality and imminence of it, Emma looked toward her marriage with a cool sort of resignation, then, much as she tried to maintain that detachment in front of Mary Margaret and Regina, and even herself, Emma inevitably started planning how to make her life as a married woman the most painless and bearable. She started envisioning a day in her future and trying to determine which moments she will be able to steal for herself, what spaces she will be able to carve out for herself. Most of all, of course, she thought her evenings and nights would not be her own and she most definitely did not envision fancying the idea of being shut in a small room with her husband.

Now, she is relieved to see that Killian has not shut the door to his study after her abrupt departure and she only has to nudge it slightly with her foot so she can carry her tea tray inside. It is as she looks for a place to put it that she realizes for the first time how rigidly ordered everything on Jones’ desk is – she deposits the tray a safe distance away from all the perfectly aligned piles of papers.

“Umm, thank you,” Killian doesn’t go as far as to eye the tea with distrust but it’s a near thing. “You needn’t have… I lean towards something a tad sharper in the evenings.”

Emma looks at the small arrangement of bottles on the high wooden table a few feet from his desk and approaches it slowly. She takes the silence as permission and leans down to inspect the bottles. Save for a couple of scotches, they are all different bottles of rum and even Emma’s meager knowledge is enough to determine that some of them are rather exotic and have probably crossed the ocean to find themselves here. She takes an opened and unremarkable one that she is almost certain she has seen before and turns around.

By now Killian is leaning back in his chair and watching her with undisguised amusement. At her questioning look, he swipes his arm in a gesture of generous invitation and watches her as she returns to her tea with the bottle clutched in her hand so tightly that her fingers look even more pale than usual.

Some small part of Emma wants to back out now and even that part knows that it’s too late for that. So she tries to loosen her shoulders as inconspicuously as possible and unscrews the cap on the bottle. She pours a small amount of the dark liquid into each of the two teacups – just enough not to be laughable, closes the bottle and sets it to the side.

Killian has put his writing instruments aside since she left to prepare the tea she is now pouring.

“You are finished?” she asks in her surprise.

“I still have to read through these,” he inclines his head toward a small pile of papers set front and center.

“Do you have to do that here?”

His right eyebrow climbs up, creasing his forehead and disappearing somewhere under the hair that has fallen over it.

“I suppose not.”

Emma picks up the tray again and thanks whatever star she was born under that it doesn’t shake in her white-knuckled grasp. She takes to steps backwards, careful not to step on her own dress and make a fool of herself, and lifts an eyebrow of her own.

She turns around at the door and heads for the library, her heart performing an admirable attempt at escaping her chest as she tries to focus on not spilling anything and not on listening if there is another set of footsteps coming up behind her.

As soon as she makes it inside, she sets the tray down with a clatter and takes a seat, her hands balled into fists in her lap. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath and now she cannot help but strain her ears toward the corridor. Nothing. She bites her lower lip and tries to quickly wall in the feeling of humiliation that threatens to wash over her whole body.

Then she hears a door close. It takes less than half a minute to cross the distance between Killian’s study and the library and it’s a lucky thing indeed, seeing as Emma doesn’t breathe until he quietly slips into the room.

The look Killian gives her as he sits on the other end of the settee is downright evil but it doesn’t detract from her feeling of victory in the least. Nor does the pointed way he deposits his small mountain of papers beside the tea tray before he picks up one of the cups.

Satisfied, Emma takes the book she set aside and tucks her tired feet under her – the very picture of innocence that’s only ruined by the way she chokes a little on the first sip of the concoction in her teacup.

“Aye. Next time don’t use the rum I used to disinfect Alice’s scrapped knees with.”

She chokes a second time. That seems to satisfy Killian’s need for revenge and he settles more comfortably, adjusting his glasses and focusing on the document in his hand.

Mrs Lucas comes in a short time later to stoke the fire and ask if they need anything or she can retire for the night, looking at the teapot as if she still can’t quite accept that Emma has taken charge of it.

Emma has made some admirable progress with her book when her yawns start getting longer and harder to swallow around, her eyes watering a little more with each one.

“You really needn’t wait for me, love.”

Her hand freezes midway to her mouth and her eyes snap to Killian who somehow still manages to appear deeply engrossed in his own reading, though she is sure it is much drier and more complicated than her own. The endearment bounces in her mind for a moment longer and she tries to keep her face impassive – neither surprised, not pleased. But she can’t deny – and is only mildly startled to find – that inside she is both.

When Killian doesn’t look up, she eyes the sheets that he still hasn’t gotten to and sighs. She tries to concentrate on her book again long enough to finish her chapter before she gets up to return it to its shelf.

“You know you can leave it out, don’t you? Or take it up with you.”

She hesitates for a moment before she comes back and leaves the book on the side table. When she reaches for the tea tray Killian’s voice derails her again.

“I’ll put it away later.”

“You don’t have—”

“Emma, it’s fine, just leave it.”

She sighs again and thinks it probably sounds more like a huff, the way his mouth twitches at her exasperation.

“Alright. Good night.”

“Good night.”

She hesitates at the door long enough to glare at the way Killian rolls his knuckles over his forehead and pinches the bridge of his nose.

Really, it’s a fine thing that they don’t sleep in the same bed or there is no way she will let this happen night after night.

*****

For such a heavy door, it closes with the softest of clicks – which doesn’t stop the sound from echoing around in Killian’s mind long after.

As light and quiet as her presence is, the moment it is gone is much like a pitch black night at sea following on the heels of a full moon. There is a reason the moon recedes bit by bit, waning sailors off its light before it leaves them completely in the dark – the shock would be much too jarring otherwise.

And Killian Jones thought he of all men was prepared for anything when it came to taking on a new wife. Killian Jones was wrong. He is not at all prepared to enjoy having one.

Taglist: @bmbbcs4evr @laschatzi @darkcolinodonorgasm @shireness-says@profdanglaisstuff@courtorderedcake @passports-and-postagestamps @nikkiemms @winterbaby89@wyntereyez@sherlockianwhovian @mayquita @cocohook38 @aloha-4-ever @idristardis @snotelek@yasbio2015 @superchocovian @facesiousbutton82 @lawgeeks @whimsicallyenchantedrose If you wanna be tagged in future updates (or if you want me to fuck off your mentions :D), just drop me a line ;)

For more: MY FANFICS MY BOOK MY BLOG

#captain swan #cs ff #cs au #captain swan fanfics #the wife #i've never written this slow a burn yall

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askxayah · 5 years

Text

Invictus Storyline

Basically this timeline is their darkest timeline. They're both the worst versions of themselves. Xayah is even darker and more nihilistic than ever. Won't trust anyone and manipulates without a care.

Rakan is entitled, vengeful and bitter. Wants what he wants and will take it without asking. Has extra darkness and creepyness in him compared to OG Rakan

-¯\_(ツ)_/¯ this is really long btw sorry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

They meet for the first time when they're both after the same target. Xayah is already on her way to forming her rebellion, she has a group of vastayan soldiers following her at this point. She's well established as a rebel leader.

Rakan is with the invictus team and they're just about to go in on a target when Xayah appears on the scene. Rakan is intrigued with this beautiful vastaya and watches keenly while she makes short work of his enemy. The Invictus team discusses quickly what to do as their job is technically completed but there is this vastayan woman that they don't know what to do with.

They decide to move on and report the threat dealt with since they have no orders to kill the stranger. Rakan hangs back, wanting to perform his own investigation. The team agrees and tells him to tail her for a few hours and meet them back at their temporary camp.

He watched her for a short time before approaching her. She snubbed him immediately, being turned off by his overconfidence and aggressive approach. Rakan persists and is annoyed that she isn't charmed by him.

This leads to him pursuing her romantically and her shutting him down even harder. His choices in romantic gestures dance all over the line between romantic and creepy.

Xayah sees that she can use his obsession with her to her advantage. She asks more and more of him for her cause and manipulates him consistently, several times using her sexuality.

Before he pursued her completely he did check in with Invictus basically telling them he was quitting to follow this girl he claimed to love. The team was against and attempted to persuade him against it. Rakan didn't care and left to find Xayah again, His team didn't contest it more as they didn't have orders to stop him.

Although when they reported back to their superiors they were ordered to get him back dead or alive. If they couldn't do that then they've failed as a team and would be disbanded, etc.

This moves into the story line of mutual emotional abuse and sometimes physical altercations between Xayah and Rakan.

Xayah up until this point has been working and moving non stop with relative success in achieving her goals.

Years younger her tribe was attacked and decimated by a group of humans armed with Ionian and vastayan weaponry. It was a complete ambush and only Xayah survived, hiding as a corpse amidst her family.

She was only a teen at this time with no where to go. She waited 2 full days after the attack to leave, gathering everything she could for resources from her dead tribesmen, along with a couple mementos of her family. She eventually stumbled onto another vastayan village half dead since she had run out of food too soon. She was welcomed with open arms as a sister to their tribe despite lhotlans not being the new tribes greatest ally.

She lived there for 2 years, growing stronger and more bitter every day before leaving at 18 (ish). She moves on to visit more vastayan tribes and persuade them to join her cause (in this au it's specifically to take their lives back from the humans, take back their land and people and remove humans from the area - all humans. No more sense of mercy like the small sense of mercy that OG Xayah had. She manages to get a lot of support and is travelling with a very skilled team of vastayan 'soldiers' as their leader. She takes in any vastaya that's willing and has rescued entire families with children and brought them along when they became homeless. She has become a shepherd of her people and rebel leader of them at the same time. She doesn't encounter Rakan until she's around 25 and has brought many victories (and a few tragic failures) to her people.

All of these events, especially the horrible tragedies, made her heart cold. She had become manipulative and cruel to anyone outside her circle. She had compassion for her people but she still couldn't relate or bond with them as easy as they bonded amongst eachother. She remained stoic and strong for them, to be a better leader. She did shady things to achieve victories because she knew if she did, it would spare vastayan lives.

Running into Rakan, a fellow lhotlan but an outsider allied with humanity, Xayah was naturally cautious and distrustful of him. She held him at an arms length and used his infatuation to further her goals.

He proved helpful in many ways and was awarded with certain affections when she deemed it necessary. It soon became not enough for Rakan and he demanded more of her. One night he walks in on Xayah with a lover and he completely goes off on her and her lover. The moment he lays eyes on them he flys forward and attacks them with his magic, his hands burning scars into Xayah's leg and her lover's face. (Her scar mostly heals and the guy's face is never the same) Xayah understandably retaliates at this and shoves him off of them, throwing feather daggers to prevent him coming forward.

He confronts her manipulative ways and expresses his doubts about her. Xayah defends herself and it escalates to verbal attacks until they started to hurt eachother again. Through the fight they reveal more about their deeper emotions and start to see the others perspective. It's the closest they've ever gotten to eachother emotionally and the fight soon turns into sex.

Although they shared a good moment, Xayah wasn't prepared to call Rakan hers yet. It takes many months of similar issues (but growing better together) before something happens that makes them official. Xayah is essentially pushing down her own feelings for Rakan and subsequently pushing him away too.

Rakan's first proper I love you came when a few months into their 'benefits/we're feeding off of eachother but refuse to commit' relationship, Xayah has shown Rakan more of her softer personality and the love that's buried deep under her pain (angsty I know shut up) and one day she selflessly- I mention this because until now she's been very self serving- brings him a gift. Just something small she saw and thought 'Rakan would like this'. Rakan immediately blurted out his love for her when she gave him it and she was completely thrown off by his declaration. In her mind this was such a tiny gift and it surely didn't warrant that kind of response. She didn't accept or deny his feelings, but she didn't say it back that's for sure.

A few months after that is when she admits her love for him. Her people have been loyally following her but some didn't like or trust Rakan. They worried he would betray them and go back to invictus. They worried that he's been a spy all along. They worried that their leader had fallen for the enemy. These 4 vastaya had already become a problem within the makeshift ranks so it wasn't inconceivable that they would conspire to torture Rakan and find out for sure where his allegiances lie. When they did, Rakan expressed over and over again how he felt about them and about Xayah and about the cause. The group wouldn’t believe him and decided to remove him from the equation. They beat him viciously and tortured him by pulling out his feathers, cutting his hair, bruising his skin and scarring him. Before they could kill him Xayah flies in and attacks the lot of them. She had heard whispers of their treachery from trusted soldiers and friends, so when Rakan suddenly wasn't anywhere to be found Xayah grew suspicious. She asked around and no one knew what was going on, one of the conspirators wives had sheepishly mentioned that her husband wanted to question Rakan about his motives and revealed where they planned to do it.

Xayah ran off to find him and found him in a bloody mess. She flew into a rage and killed everyone of them all the while yelling and cursing them for hurting her 'mate'(her first time calling him that) and making grand promises and threats about anyone touching him(very possessive but cute for these two wackos). Once they were dealt with, she picked up Rakan and tearfully told him how sorry she was that this happened. How she should have found him sooner, how it was her fault that she let this happen and finally how much she loved him. His response was 'I love me too' which made Xayah laugh through her tears.

She helped him up and brought him to the medic tent, leaving her most trusted to guard him. Then, after regaining her composure and rage at this treachery she rallied her people around her to make an announcement.

She announced what had just happened, how she dealt with them, and made a grand proclamation of 'he is my mate, you will respect him, etc.' and that she will deal with anyone who has a problem with it. She calls out to the group immediately for anyone who has a concern to stand up cause she wants to hear it.

One person does, bringing up issues of loyalty and other things the traitors had mentioned. Xayah vebally obliterates all arguments against him and the person sits their ass back down and everyone's settled after that.

Rakan clearly hears all of this and is just so happy to hear how much she cares.

From here the story line is close to OG. They've become a power couple and although they still have bad habits and issues they're much better together. They continue to grow their ranks and take in more and more homeless vastayans.

One point is that although Xayah is fairly cold in this au, she has a lot of compassion for the young vastaya. She is active in looking out and caring for the young ones. Even taking time to educate and entertain them in her own way. Rakan especially loved to play with the youngest of the children as they were so exciteable. Xayah always preferred the older children as they had more comprehension of what was around them and could truly listen to her.

They made a good team of makeshift parental figures but had decided against children of their own. Rakan definitely wanted kids but Xayah was resolute in her decision not to. She wanted to bring more little lhotlans into the world but couldn't bear to do it herself as she knew she couldn't raise them properly. She was constantly in peril and would never be sure she would be alive to come back to them. Plus there was still so much left to do for the cause there just wasn't time.

They go on for a few more years like this, gaining ground and thriving together. Their story does end though, unfortunately.

Eventually Xayah becomes pregnant -accidentally- and it turned into a huge problem. Rakan and her fight on and off about what to do, him wanting to keep the baby and her wanting to terminate the pregnancy. It was a wild ride of emotions and serious issues if the baby was kept. Rakan stopped pushing after seeing how much it was hurting Xayah to make this life changing and tragic decision. He told her whatever she decided would be the best way to go and that he loved and supported her no matter what.

Xayah decided to end the pregnancy, but before she could, there was an attack on their encampment. It decimated over half of their ranks within moments. Invictus was behind it, they had been ordered to squash the rebellion and had made many attempts in the past but this was their first success to everyone's dismay. Everyone left over including Rakan and Xayah fought off the the attack and managed to make invictus retreat.

Unfortunately, the half that was decimated happened to be where all the families lived. Every child had been killed, including most of the parents and elderly. Xayah was broken by this crippling loss and decided to keep the baby, even if she wasn't the one to raise it most of its life.

Together the survivors continued on, more cautious than ever. Some had abandoned the cause as it was too much to handle after that disaster but the majority remained. For the 7 months it took to bring their baby into the world (pregnancy takes less time for Vastayans), Rakan and Xayah fought and planned and fought some more. (Fought for the cause, not eachother)

Eventually Xayah was only a week away from giving birth, so she and Rakan left alone with one of the healers to have the baby in a secret location. Everything went well, the baby was born healthy and strong, fortunately Xayah survived the pregnancy itself and was healing steadily. The three of them shared a moment together just curled up in a pile of blankets (and blood) crying tears of joy that their daughter made it and they were here to meet her.

They stayed one more night before going back to camp. Rakan was perched close by, keeping watch over his wife and child when he spotted a flicker of fabric in faraway trees.

He watched and waited in fear, recognizing the the colours immediately. He watched all around, waiting to count how many knew they were there. He saw movement again, this time closer. As far as he could tell, there was only the one enemy. He waited another moment for the intruder to come closer before rushing out to attack them. His fears were realized as he saw it was Kai'Sa, he confronted her and nearly killed her, but she got away. He was gone for no more than 5 minutes as Kai'Sa was merely scouting. Rakan knew the others would be coming soon so he rushed back to bring his family to safety.

He stepped into the cave where Xayah and his child slept, only to find their bodies in pools of blood. Killed in an instant. He didn't think they even woke up to know they were being murdered… he collapsed in sobs, holding his dead family, calling out to the gods for help. Xayah was incredibly strong, and a brilliant tactician but she was completely exhausted from bringing a child into the world. She was too exhausted to keep a proper watch. In this state even she was helpless against an enemy that could enter, kill, and leave within a blink of an eye. Rakan knew he couldn't grieve for long since his enemies were coming for him. He gathered the bodies, noting the healer was nowhere to be found, and ran for all he was worth back to the encampment.

Rakan knew of only one person with the ability to kill so fast and be gone in the next moment. LeBlanc. From the moment he left the cave he began plotting. He never was one for a plan, but this time he was precise to every single detail. He tricked his old team into meeting him within a temple in their own city, he knew they would attack him as soon as they were alone. He knew they would have to kill him too. He planned every move, every word, to getting the 6 of them into the temple. On the way he manages to get revenge on the healer that betrayed their location as well as expose another traitor amongst the ranks. He delivers an amazing monologue and burns the building to the ground with the 6 of them in it.

AND THAT’S HOW THEIR STORY ENDS SORRY

@charmedfleece and I literally plotted this all out in one night. I feel like it took me longer to compile it than it did to plot! We had so much fun though, going back and rereading all the extra details and mock conversations between them was my favourite part.

☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️

Hope y'all enjoyed. Sorry the formatting is weird, mobile sucks with spacing.

#league of legends #xayah #rakan #plotting #rp #Invictus AU #headcanons #xayahcanons

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bruhchantite · 5 years

Text

Apprentice questions

I stole this from @pumpkunbread !!

Maybe some basic information first?

1. Where is their favorite place to hang out in Vesuvia? Why?

The shop, because they love to see the different kind of people to come through and look at their things or have a chat. Also the marketplace, mostly because of the Baker but also some other people with their shops and stands who treat them nicely.

2. How does your apprentice feel when they are called a witch?

They don’t specifically like it, mostly looking a little annoyed by it, but it really depends on the way the word itself is said.

3. Do they have a familiar? Why did you choose that animal? How did they meet?

Yes, they have a Crocodile Skink named Kankangre, Kan for short. They got her on a walk through a far off city’s market place, passing through a stand that sold all kinds of animals for pet keeping or eating. They caught her just as she escaped a customers hands, hiding her out of instinct before anyone saw. Nien felt a connection the moment they touched.

4. Are there any of Nadia’s sisters your apprentice would like to hang out with?

Most likely Nazali and/or Natiqa.

5. What is their opinion of each of the courtiers?

Very wary of all of them, but they trust Vulgora the most, funnily enough. (”At least they’re honest about loving violence”)

6. What did they do while at the clinic?

Nien helped where they could, specializing in numbing pain and helping to a calm undisturbed sleep, which they have gotten quite good at. They are not specifically open with emotional support but if someone wanted to know the truth, they would tell them. Some appreciated it, some didn’t, so Nien learned to differentiate between the people who actually wanted to hear it and those who just thought they did.

7. What are their tasks around the shop? What can they make?

They are very good with different tinctures, pain killers, sleep medication but also calming and soothing food. The mostly medical things come, in fact, from their time at the clinic. Even after being revived they seem to have the muscle memory to make these potions and herb packs.

8. Describe their daily routine.

They wake up early in the morning, mostly well rested since they go to bed early, too. They get ready for the day with some washing up, getting dressed and then heading out to the market, often when it’s still dawning. They get bread from the baker, take it back to the shop and have breakfast with Asra if he’s around. After, they open up shop until taking a break mid day, to get some food and rest while the day is the hottest, before returning to the shop.

In the evening they often wash up any dirty utensils and dishes, before heading out to go for a few drinks or just to spend time with their friends (with Fae, @wir-sind-jaeger ‘s Apprentice, for example). Occasionally they stay in and chat with Asra, play games and just enjoy each others company.

9. What Major Arcana would they be closest to? Is their a Minor Arcana card that suits them more?

Likely The Hermit

10. Describe their magical abilities. What are they best at? Worst?

Easing pain and, (very special Snowflake here, I know but let me have fun) every now and then they have visions in the form of feelings and presentiment of events to happen. They haven’t completely figured out what triggers it or how they can best pin point what exactly will happen, but they have been right not too rarely, earning them the title “The Oracle” in some parts.

They’re not very good at tracking spells and, sadly, protection spells above the easier levels of magic. Some simple disguises work, but anyone with a little knowledge of magic could easily look through those if they wanted to.

11. How do they get along with all the animals in the game? (Faust, Malak, Chandra, Pepi, Inanna, Camio, Melchior and Mercedes)

Mostly fine. Animals are a lot easier to handle than humans, since they don’t concern themselves with lies or half truths. Not that Nien is bad with people. Animals are just easier to get along with when you know what they want or how their minds work.

12. Did they have a certain opinion about the palace and court before the events of the game? Did it change?

They did not like the way the count handled the city or the people in it. Generally, Nien tends to be distrustful and suspicious of any wealthy and royal folk. They find that they often can’t and do not want to understand the struggles and problems of the common people.

13. How do they feel about traveling in the realms?

They are very excited and honestly, they will explore anything they can find out about it as soon as they have a little breathing time.

14. Where is their least favorite place in Vesuvia? Why?

The Castle always gave them a constant feeling of dread and uneasiness. In Lucio’s times as well as after.

15. How did your apprentice feel about Asra leaving all the time? Taking care of them?

They certainly get annoyed, especially with all his secrecy. They don’t like spending weeks alone in the shop. A day or two are fine, but after being used to constant contact it feels weird for longer.

Asra never really took care of them after they recovered from… uh... death and relearned to speak and do things on their own. Sure, he taught Nien the magical basics again, helped them discover lost things about themselves, but they generally are a really independent character. A lot of the times it ended up being the other way around, when they noticed Asra was having trouble with memories (we all know which) keeping him from sleep or upsetting him.

They appreciate everything he has done for them greatly.

16. Name one thing your apprentice wants to see happen, or say to someone.

Before their death they wished Asra and them could have spoken one more time, but generally they didn’t regret a lot about their life.

Now they just really want to tell half the royal court that they can’t stand their faces.

17. What is the outcome you see happening for your apprentice and their significant other?

I haven’t thought about this enough, yet but I am a big fan of the Asrian/Apprentice OT3. Hah.

18. What would drive your apprentice so far as to strike a bargain?

They are very cautious with dabbling in that kind of magic, but probably what most others would: Bringing back loved ones, fixing major mistakes with horrible consequences, etc.

19. At this point in the game, do they care more about recovering the rest of their memories or living as they are now?

They want both. Nien can’t stand to not know something this vital, they are very curious and hungry for knowledge.

20. Would they be up for another Masquerade despite all that has happened? New outfit theme?

No. No way. They prefer drinking in pubs and making fun of people there.

21. What is their first reaction seeing their LI cry?

Irritation and confusion. They don’t always know what to say in situations like this but they will comfort them, after some initial shock.

22. Are they scared of what they have learned? Of the powers they have developed?

No, they are rather happy about how much they figured out, even if not all of it is positive.

23. Do they like snow? Have they seen it before?

They have. Before their death, before they got the shop, they lived in a colder part of the world. Snow reminds them of home and they feel it brings some well liked nostalgia with it.

24. A magic lamp is found in the shop, and a genie inside gives them three wishes. What are they?

They will think very, very long and thoroughly about their wishes and will formulate them over and over before actually wishing for things, if at all. Genies are dangerous and the consequences of your wishes can be awful.

They wouldn’t wish for things immediately, more when there are no other ways out of a situation without its help or something they vitally need.

On top of this they would expect that, whoever left the lamp in the shop wanted to harm either them or Asra more than do them any favors.

25. Are they still scared of the Lazeret?

No, they never were. When they entered the Lazaret they had already accepted that they were going to die. It was more of a comfort to know their suffering was finally coming to an end.

26. Do they have nightmares? Will it continue/develop after recent events?

They get nightmares when they start remembering. Dying takes its toll on everyone and they are secretly horrified over the fact of it even being possible to bring people back from it.

27. What is the best thing their significant other could do to cheer them up?

Physical affection, lots of attention and good food are all Nien actually lives for. Also a good wine or other alcoholic beverages.

28. Describe what their magical realm gateway would be like?

A great valley surrounded by enormous mountains. On one side is a big, clear lake you can see the bottom of if you step close. It seems to have big colorful fish, scales reflecting the sun and colors of the valley and the water plants are a dark, rich blue-green dancing softly to the waves. Around the lake are full, thick meadows full of exotic plants and grass. The air is clear, fresh and cold and it seems to always be dawn. A forest is on the other side, almost only pine trees with only few softer trees. But don’t step to close to those, they can be dangerous and never lead anywhere good.

On the tips of the mountains there is snow. You might reach it if you take one of the many rocky paths.

#the arcana #the arcana game #fan apprentice #apprentice questions #spoilers #Nien the Oracle #ocs #writing

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amremington · 6 years

Text

Mitch and Alec ch. 1 part 2

part 1 is here also tagging @veronicabunch bc they asked me to <3

Somedays, Mitch really wishes Alec was a normal type of vampire hunter and would just stab him in the back. Literally. With a stake. It might be less painful than actually living with Alec.

And maybe... death is what Mitch needs. Even if it means an eternity in hell. Living on earth for an eternity doesn’t sound much more appealing.

But then Mitch opens the fridge and sees that Alec picked up more spinach and pomegranates for him, and his cold heart softens just the tiniest bit.

Mitch eats a lot of iron rich foods. It helps limit the amount of blood he really needs to consume to live, and the less blood he needs, the better. If he could figure out a way to completely eradicate the need for blood at all, he would. He doesn’t enjoy being a bloodthirsty monster. Also, it’s quite difficult to steal a lot of blood from the hospital in one go. Getting a couple bags every couple weeks isn’t as alarming to a hospital as tens of bags at a time. They can write off a couple bags going missing, but too many make the hospital staff suspicious. And as Alec says, “Suspicion drives superstition.”

Too much suspicion means people rely on old stories to make light of the situation, but... they’re not always wrong. One nurse was quoted in the local town newspaper, claiming that vampires were stealing their blood bags. He wasn’t wrong, but he was laughed at and ridiculed. Mitch still sends him some money each month - anonymously - as an apology. The message probably isn’t getting through, and if it was, the retired nurse probably wouldn’t be too happy knowing a vampire was funding his new RV.

Not that Mitch keeps up with Luke Hershaw.

Mitch quickly makes himself a salad with a side of fruit and goes back into the living room, glaring at Alec’s legs until they move out of his way.

“If looks could kill,” Alec snorts, curling his legs up to his chest. Once Mitch is sat, Alec stretches them back out, tucking his toes under Mitch’s thigh.

Mitch doesn’t respond, but he stabs at his salad a little more aggressively than he normally would, which just makes Alec laugh. That’s all Alec does: laugh at Mitch. Again, it would be so much easier if Alec was a normal hunter.

But he isn’t. Instead, Mitch is stuck with a roommate hellbent on torturing him for the rest of his life because that’s the kind of hunter Alec is.

If only he hadn’t decided on that university. Honestly, Mitch could have picked any university in the world and gone there, but no. He decided that sunny, sunny California was the best idea since Claudia casted a spell on him so he could go out in daylight for the first time in three centuries. He was a little anxious to try it out and see how long it could last.

Five years later, it’s still going strong surprisingly. He does see Claudia every so often to charge the spell and also to visit because she is a delight. She often makes Mitch tea and gives him gossip on her coven that he never has and never will meet. If anyone found out she was helping him... it wouldn’t be good. Not even Alec knows.

Mitch shivers at the thought of Alec finding out. He wonders if Alec would finally have to report him to his family.

“Hey,” Alec says softly, nudging Mitch’s thigh with his big toe. “You got all rain cloud dark and gloomy over there.”

Mitch rolls his eyes because Alec is severely exaggerating it. “No, I didn’t.”

“Are you thinking about him again?” Alec asks, knowingly.

Mitch shakes his head and takes a huge bite of his food so he doesn’t have to answer the next question.

“Oh, is it one of your...,” he stops before he finishes the sentence.

“Victims?” Mitch supplies helpfully around the food in his mouth. “Surprisingly no. It’s nothing.”

“Is it about how you can walk in the sun?” Alec continues his questioning. He has always wanted to know how Mitch can walk in the sun, and Mitch will never tell him. It would be dangerous for both of them, but mostly it would be dangerous for Alec.

“Yes,” Mitch answers truthfully.

“Not that you’ll tell me how you can do that,” Alec grumbles, not even bothering to hide how upset he is by Mitch refusing to tell him.

Mitch doesn’t say anything in response. Instead, he keeps eating and asks if they can continue watching their current show. Alec leans over to grab the TV remote and turns on their show. He’s uncharacteristically quiet for a while, but his toes are still wedged under Mitch’s thigh, so Mitch puts his hand on Alec’s ankle, who flinches at the cold touch, but he relaxes immediately.

It took a while for them to get this comfortable with each other, and it definitely has been a while since Mitch had someone he was this comfortable with who he hasn’t known for centuries. Even the people he has known for centuries aren’t exactly... open-minded. Claudia is distrusting of everyone, especially humans. Frederic is overly cautious and never comes out of hiding. In fact, Mitch isn’t even sure where Frederic is right now or where his new hiding spot is. He does know it changes every ten years, and it’s never in the same place.

But Mitch? He’s always wanted a companion, but he knows Alec can’t be that. Alec is human and will die sooner than Mitch is prepared for. Still. Alec has vowed to be Mitch’s “pain in the ass” for as long as he lives, so at least Mitch will have a good friend for that long.

The show is paused, so Mitch looks over at Alec with a raised eyebrow.

“Dude, your vibe is bringing me down,” Alec explains. “It’s ruining the show. You either need to suck it up or we’re going to go do something fun.”

Mitch grimaces. “You think it’s so easy to just suck up the guilt of what I’ve done, what I’ve put people through?”

Alec groans. “Mitch, seriously. You made horrific mistakes in the past. You are an evil creature of the night, but you’re not still the monster you were.”

Mitch thinks through that for a moment. While Alec is right, it’s not easy to accept every wrong act Mitch has committed. It’s been almost a century since he last killed someone, but there isn’t enough good he can do to right the wrong he has done.

“Are you really going to spend the rest of your immortal life feeling guilty about succumbing to your instincts?” Alec asks.

“Yes,” Mitch immediately answers.

“How is that going to make up for anything you’ve done?” Alec looks genuinely interested in the answer, but also doubtful that Mitch even has an answer.

Because he doesn’t have an answer, Mitch asks, “Do you have a better suggestion?”

“Keep doing what you’re doing.” Alec waves his hand at the empty salad bowl. “Keep figuring out ways to cut down on the amount of blood you consume. Keep leaving people’s lives better than when you found them. You’re doing good now, so keep doing that.”

Mitch doesn’t really have a response, so he doesn’t say anything. He stares at Alec, confused because why is this vampire hunter helping him? It’s been years, and it still baffles Mitch. Alec’s excuse of, “You don’t kill anyone,” for not killing him doesn’t make enough sense. From what Mitch has seen of vampire hunters, they teach their children from young ages that vampires are immoral monsters. No exceptions. The question is, why is Alec making an exception?

#original #original fic #original character #mitch and alec #mitch #alec #tyler writes

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heyitsdoe · 3 years

Text

Perhaps We'll Meet Another Day | One Piece | #29 - It's Us Or Them

Words: 5.9k

<- Chapter 28

Lexi allowed the boys to sleep for as long as they wanted to. She didn't see the point in waking them up in a hurry. No obligations, no alarm clocks, and certainly nowhere to really be anymore, they all deserved a long rest. The clothes they'd worn throughout the night were still mostly wet and cold, and Lexi shivered in her seat by the window. She really wished they had second sets of clothes to change into, but in an effort to save room for supplies, they'd ditched their secondary pairs at the last place they'd barricaded.

Since she'd been the last watch of the night, she felt well-rested already and surprisingly didn't feel the need to get any more sleep. It gave her an opportunity to have some time to herself to think, too. To…reflect.

Being in a group again was…new. Definitely not easy, per se. Sometimes, she surprised herself by seeing one of the boys behind her, or she'd turn the corner of a room and see all three of them and have a mini panic attack. Being solitary for so long had changed her outlook on other people. And after being captured by Damien's group, she'd been sure that she'd never integrate well with anyone else again.

Thankfully, that wasn't true. Despite her small moments of fear at seeing them nearby, Lexi was still very grateful that they'd taken her in. Traveling by herself was so very lonely, and it was a dozen times more stressful securing a place to sleep for the night when there was no one around to help keep watch. She couldn't recall a time when she'd had such a deep sleep like the one last night. It did wonders for her mental fortitude.

Not only that, but seeing that they weren't any different than how they'd been every time they'd encountered each other before was comforting. Their personalities were genuine. Real. She could be certain that they were indeed who they presented themselves as. Penguin and Shachi always bickered quietly between themselves, and Law was still the same, moderately distrustful and stoic man she'd always recalled him to be.

But she'd also seen an entirely different side to him as well. He still cared about people, and maintained some level of humanity. Though, she hadn't been around them enough to know exactly how they reacted to some harrowing situations…Rescuing her and the other women of Woodsfield had definitely shown that they are at least capable of kindness. He could have simply allowed them to be killed, but he'd gone out of his way to establish them somewhere else. She didn't blame him for not sticking around longer. His obligation had only extended so far, and it wasn't as if Lexi had any connections to them either. They'd resented her almost the entire time they'd known her.

Law intrigued her so much. Maybe that was why she trusted him so much. Maybe it was why she…wanted to get to know him so badly. Without really meaning to, she turned her head from the small hole in the duct tape and watched their unspoken leader's peaceful expression. When he was awake, it was always marked with lines of worry and concentration. His focus was never turned off. But while sleeping he…looked so handsome. Not that he didn't while he was conscious, but…there was something about his face that was so visually appealing to her when he wasn't thinking hard about what their next step would be. When he wasn't worried whether they'd live to see another day or not.

She caught herself staring and quickly jerked her gaze back to the window. Thank goodness he was still sleeping, because it would have been hard to explain why she'd been laser focused on him for so long had he asked her about it.

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After some time, the boys began to stir from their slumber. Shachi was the first, groggily turning over onto his side with a groan. With a hand swiping at his crusty eyes, he sat himself up.

"Mor'ing…" He yawned blearily, looking around at the others. "How was watch?"

Lexi shrugged, watching him. "Eh. Nothing worth waking up over. Just a few that came close to the window. They wandered away after a few minutes. Sleep well?"

"For only having the hard linoleum floor beneath me…not bad. My back is gonna hurt like hell once we get moving though. Always does when we sleep rough." He responded quietly, leaning forward and rubbing at the part of him in question.

"I always tried to find apartments or a place with an actual bed just for that reason." The brunette smiled, glancing at the window again when movement caught her eye. Just a newspaper flying along with the wind. "Sometimes I didn't have the option, but I'd much prefer a mattress over the floor any day."

"Same." He visibly shivered. "Fuck, it's cold as hell…That storm didn't do us any favors."

Lexi didn't know if their quiet discussion was what woke Penguin up for not, but he gave a long stretch from his spot on the floor as they talked. He gave a loud sniff to clear his nose, which inadvertently woke Law up as well. The survivor's eyes snapped open with a start, before realizing where he was and relaxing just a tad.

Lexi and Shachi watched their friends wake from their sleep, slowly orienting themselves to their surroundings and the fact that their limbs were sore from the hard surface of the floor. Penguin bemoaned this, just as Shachi had done.

"Son of a bitch…I almost feel worse than yesterday." He gritted out, trying to stretch out the kinks in his side without much success.

"How aren't you used to this by now?" Law muttered, running a stray hand through his mess of hair.

"It sucks just as much as it did 6 months ago, that's all. I'd love to wake up one day without any aches and pains." Penguin said.

Shachi gave a humorless huff. "Maybe the next person we recruit will be a masseuse. Unless Lexi has been holding out on us this whole time." He swung his gaze over to her and she grinned.

"You're outta luck, sorry."

The group all took a few minutes to fully wake from their rest, stretching and groaning and standing to walk around a bit and loosen their limbs. Law did a sweep of the place to make sure none of their defenses had weakened overnight. Lexi had raised a brow, feeling as though there was being cautious, and there was whatever it was Law was doing.

"He's like that." Shachi had explained when their leader had left the room. "You'll get used to it pretty quick."

"Yeah, I'm starting to see that now." She replied, spotting him crossing the hallway further on to check the mail room. "Seems a bit excessive though. We had someone on watch all night long. Nothing happened."

"He won't take any chances." Penguin added with a shrug.

None of them really had anything else to say to that, so they went quiet. Law returned a few minutes later, satisfied that no one had tried getting in the night before without them knowing. He leaned against the doorframe and addressed them all.

"Looks like the rain has stopped. The skies look pretty clear. We shouldn't have a problem moving around today."

"Are we scavenging, then?" Shachi guessed, and Law nodded. "Maybe we can find a new set of clothes for us to wear. These are still wet." He said, picking at the damp shirt that still stuck to his skin uncomfortably. They were all in a much similar state of discomfort with their clothes.

"I agree. Clothes will be a priority today. And anything else useful we can find. Food and water are always needed, of course. Medicine, if possible." Law listed out, giving examples just as an aside.

"Should we split the group, two and two? We can cover more ground that way, while still having someone to watch each other's back." Lexi suggested.

"Hmm." Law thought on what she'd said, before eventually nodding. "Now that we have another person, I actually agree with you. We can hit double the number of buildings in half the time. Good idea."

Lexi smiled, feeling proud that her suggestion was being acknowledged. It felt nice to contribute something, even if she knew one of the others probably would have said the same thing had she not done it first. Small victories.

"Penguin, take Lexi and see what you can find up North. Shachi and I will head East. We'll meet up here to regroup and assess our next move." He pushed off from the doorframe and stooped to grab his backpack. "Let's eat something first, to get our strength up."

No one was going to complain about that, and the group settled in for a quiet breakfast together.

Well, as quiet as Shachi and Penguin could manage. As usual, they couldn't help but bicker between themselves. Lexi couldn't help but feel that, with time, she'd come to appreciate their useless arguments. As she sipped at her water bottle beside them, the corners of her mouth were upturned on either side of the bottle's opening.

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"We should stick to the middle of the road, just in case." Lexi suggested, hiking the worn backpack a little further up her shoulder after they'd waved their goodbyes and good lucks to Law and Shachi. They'd split up right in front of the post office, off to explore and scavenge their own parts of the city. "We'll be able to see behind and in front of us a lot easier that way. And I don't like the idea of getting trapped in some back alley."

"Hmm, sounds just like something Law would say." Penguin said with a nod, following her as they walked right down the middle line in the road. "You two really are scarily similar, you know."

Lexi made an incredulous expression, glancing his way for a split second before returning to the road. "I don't see it."

"Pff, that's because you don't want to. But to me and Shachi? It's so obvious."

Lexi wasn't quite sure in which regard her and Law were supposedly similar, nor was she inclined to ask, and decided to drop that particular subject then and there. But, of course, with it's mention, she couldn't help but begin to wonder and ponder the idea internally for several minutes after they'd stopped talking. Were they alike? In what way? Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Damn Penguin and his big mouth, she thought with a shake of her head.

Their steps were quiet, despite the emptiness in the street. Well, near-emptiness. The occasional zombie dotted the area, shuffling towards them at various speeds when they noticed living, breathing humans were nearby. Their rotting and decaying skin and meat produced a foul smell that fortunately-or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it-both survivors were fairly adjusted to.

They had little trouble killing them off, save for the moment where Lexi tripped on a piece of trash by her feet and nearly went sailing straight into the maw of the hostile zombie in front of her. Penguin was able to stab it through it's brain before the point of no return, and so she windmilled for a few seconds before falling to the side as it collapsed. She'd never hear the end of it, by Penguin's own admission. Great.

The buildings on both sides of the street were visibly looted and decrepit, as most places were now. A few stood out whose integrity looked less compromised, but cautious and quick searches gained them nothing of value in the end. Another hour into searching yielded nothing. They didn't have much time to just waste wandering around, and they both were growing frustrated. Surely there was somewhere here that had yet to be taken already?

The rain storm from the night before had passed entirely, and the sun was out in full force now, shining freely down on the two survivors. The warmth felt amazing on their still-damp clothing. Lexi took a moment to appreciate the moment of peace and tranquility it somehow brought her, before realizing something as she peered up and down the street.

"Doesn't this place feel a little...strange?" She asked suddenly, and Penguin looked at her.

"Strange how?"

"I don't know, just...I expected there to be a lot more zombies around here." She gestured to the barren street before them with a shrug, and he followed her indication. "Seems a little too empty."

"Kinda, but we've seen something like it before. Back when we found Woodsville, the city nearby was mostly cleared out of zombies. The survivors had slowly killed them off over the past few years, so...it's not entirely impossible." He concluded, not thinking too much about it. "Maybe there are survivors who've holed up in this city and are doing the same thing."

"Yeah. Maybe." She finished, figuring she was just looking into it way too much. If something had a simply solution, chances are that was most likely to be the truth. They had to traverse a four-car pile up that blocked the width of the main road, and they filed that fact aware for later, just in case a fast and tactical retreat was needed.

They continued walking and searching for places to scavenge, eventually coming across a big outdoorsman's depot at the corner of one of the streets. Lexi and Penguin shared a glance.

"Ten bucks says we find beef jerky somewhere inside. Not the cheap, shitty kind, but like, the premium kind that's still juicy and easy to chew." Penguin mused aloud, and Lexi's head tilted to the side briefly.

"Neither of us has money to bet anymore." She logically reminded him, then shrugged. "But twenty says this place is actually gutted on the inside."

The place was surprisingly intact. Windows that had been shattered had been boarded and barricaded rather effectively with sturdy wood timbers and planks. Most of the glass panes were still intact, though rather dirty given how long it had been since anyone had cared to wash them. The front sign proclaimed it to be a S-ortsman's -areho-e, as a few of the letters had fallen to the ground outside the front entrance.

"Sortsmans are hoe..." Penguin muttered under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear. He let out a snicker and Lexi elbowed him in the side.

"Real mature." Unfortunately, she couldn't prevent the grin from spreading across her own face.

Of course, what with power having been cut off long ago, there were no lights inside of the building to see the state of the interior. They wouldn't be able to know what was inside until actually entering. They came up to the front entrance and tried the handle, but it was futile. A large metal chain was wrapped around the handles tightly, preventing it from being opened.

"Damn." Lexi muttered. "Someone really didn't want anyone getting in here."

Penguin stared at the chains for a second, but eventually shook his head. "We don't have anything that could cut it. Maybe there's a side or back entrance." He suggested.

Figuring he was right, Lexi followed her hatted friend past the front entrance and around the corner of the main building. A metal fence blocked their way, but chain links had never stopped them before. Well, at least, after humanity went to shit, that is.

The fence rattled under their feet as they swung over to the other side and dropped to the ground. Despite keeping a vigilant lookout for any sign of the undead, there didn't appear to be any in the fenced-off area behind the department store. Strange...They expected at least a handful if nothing else.

Penguin went first, slowly edging his way against the building's concrete wall further into the lot. Large pallets and shipping containers were laid out in neat rows. Most of the pallets were empty, save for bits of the clear plastic covering they'd been wrapped in, breezing gently in the soft wind. One of the shipping containers was open and apparently empty, but the rest appeared untouched.

"Wonder what good shit is in those things..." Penguin muttered eagerly.

Lexi sighed. "We'd need a sledgehammer to break those padlocks, though, and that'd basically be ringing the dinner bell for any nearby zombies if we tried."

"That's always the case, isn't it? The best stuff is always just out of reach somehow. Fucking sucks..." He grumped, knowing she spoke the truth. Still, both of them were insanely curious and yearning to get a peak of what goodies were laying inside those containers.

Forgetting them for the time being, Lexi followed after Penguin as they neared a side door. They stopped and hesitated, Penguin placing his ear against the outside to try hearing anything. With a glance and a shrug at his companion, he reached for the handle and tested it...

There was a small creak as the door swung away from the frame, making Penguin freeze. Then, he slowly opened it further when the noise quieted, peering inside the several inches gap he'd created.

"Looks clear." He whispered, finally opening the door in full so they could enter the place. He disappeared in the darkness, and Lexi took one final cursory glance around the fenced-in area before trailing after him.

They found themselves in a small office, which was a mess of clutter and trash. Debris and years worth of dust had settled itself in every nook and cranny available. Just as Lexi suspected, any valuable contents had been long-ago scavenged, leaving virtually nothing left to pick through. Even the furniture was chipped and broken in some places. Either there'd been some sort of scuffle here, or someone had just gone through with the intent to vandalize and destroy.

Lexi saw a darkened red stain of old blood splattering the floor, and decided it was definitely the former assumption.

"Definitely ransacked." She commented.

"Yeah. Hopefully they left something behind that we can use." Penguin pushed forward towards the opposite door, which they both assumed led into the main department store itself. This one was much quieter and didn't cause both of them to tense up as it opened.

Lexi was pleasantly proven wrong, as just down a short hallway lay the brunt of the department store's interior, which was not completely gutted of supplies as she'd suspected it would be.

"Called it." Penguin whispered proudly, pumping his fist once in celebratory fashion.

"We haven't found any jerky yet, so don't go thinking you've won." She reminded with a smile.

"You're just salty you were wrong."

"Shut up."

While they conversed, they walked out into the store all the while still looking out for any hidden undead amidst the shelving and clothing racks. The darkness was only punctured by randomly intact windows along the walls, filtering in bright rays of light amongst the dimness within the building. It was a surreal effect, and Lexi couldn't help but stare for a moment at the contrast. Abandoned and forgotten.

"Come on, Lexi." Penguin nudged, gesturing towards some of the closer racks with merchandise still hanging. She nodded, nonverbally apologizing for getting distracted.

They'd wandered into the clothing portion of the store. Most of the camouflage jackets and pants that hunters would use to blend into the forests were left behind, sitting dusty and unmoving on their hangers. They were way too heavy for the currently turbulent and fluctuating weather of fall, even if they'd be immensely helpful in a few months time when the snow fronts would roll in. Having them around just in case would take up too much precious space in their packs and weigh them down in the meantime. What a dilemma.

A few pairs of long underwear and thermal materials were left, and they took a pick of the sparse sizes and types. Penguin seemed to know the others guys' sizes, and packed a few for them as well. If the jackets were too much, then at least they had these as an alternative.

"Ooh, look. Canteens." Lexi said, pointing to a shelf that was bathed in a rare ray of sunlight nearby. "Maybe it would be worth getting some? That way the water bottles won't take up so much space in our bags. We could just sling them over our shoulders or something."

"Alright, grab a few. Wouldn't hurt to bring them back." Penguin encouraged, walking past her to see what else the store had in store for them.

A skittering noise echoed off the walls on the opposite side of the building, and both survivors froze in place. Their eyes having adjusted somewhat to the dim light, they stared at each other with bated breaths. Penguin grabbed his long-bladed knife and held it loosely at his side, alert for anything nearby.

Another sound, much softer and less distinguishable, followed it. Lexi mouthed the word 'zombie' to him, and he shrugged. Normally the undead were pretty noisy creatures, groaning and growling as they shuffled along their random paths without destination in mind. But without prey in sight, who knew? Maybe they just didn't make much noise if left to their own devices.

Several more moments went by without another sound, and that feeling of tension in her shoulders was slowly beginning to dissipate. She shrugged, then pointed to the next row of shelves nearby.

"Let's keep going. There might be more to grab." She whispered.

Penguin stood there for another few moments, listening intently, before nodding in agreement. They'd come this far, and found a promising start of useful stuff. To go back now would be a real shame.

Her friend still maintained a grip on his knife, holding it at the ready should anything jump out and surprise them, so Lexi continued on scavenging for the both of them.

The nearest section to the clothing was the hunting and weapons section. Predictably, the entire gun counter was ransacked. The glass counters and display cases were bust open, a glittering array of shards littering the carpeted flooring. It crunched quietly beneath their shoes as they passed it by. It would be a waste of time to even check, they both thought.

A section past that, taking them about halfway into the bowels of the store, was equipment for camping and fishing. Tackle boxes and jars of bait were broken and mostly taken already. Dozens of poles were tangles together, though a few survived without damage. It wouldn't make much sense to drag along something as long and easily breakable as a rod, but Lexi thought catching their own fish would be a great source of food, should they happen upon a lake or pond.

Tents, generators, lanterns, and sleeping bags were all but cleaned out. Stuff that was all but useless in this electricity and fuel-free world were left sitting dusty and forgotten on the shelves. Lexi was half right, most of the store was left gutted, but some things still remained.

Grabbing a few packs of gloves and a flashlight that had been left there, they moved quietly through the shelving, searching for anything that would be worth bringing back. A nearby, unbroken window provided light for the area, which made scavenging much easier.

"I was hoping for more to be here..." Penguin let out in disappointment, gazing upon the remnants of the merchandise blandly. "Not even a single box of matches, or lighter, or anything."

"Not really surprising, though." Lexi added. "There's nothing left anywhere nowadays. Soon enough, we won't even be able to find this much." She held up the flashlight before stuffing it in the bag.

"Don't bring it up...I don't like to think about it." He replied quietly.

"I just can't help but...sorry."

She felt bad for being so blunt and bring it up in the first place, as Penguin's expression fell in worry. Lexi knew it was true. So did he. Supplies would only last so long. Especially food and water. Soon enough, everything left from the world before would run out, and then what would they do? She'd remembered in history books what sort of measures crisis survivors would resort to in order to survive, but...

A shudder ran down her spine. Not really a comforting train of thought. She shook it aside and discarded the conversation from her mind.

"There might be something left in the sports section." She said, changing the subject in a hurry. "I don't know what, but-"

Cutting off her sentence was the shuffling sound of feet, and they were startled when two people sprung out from the darkness. "Don't fucking move! One step and I blow your brains out!"

"Woah, woah!" Penguin held up his hands, knife still in hand, to show that he wasn't intending any harm. "Easy!"

Adopting a similar pose, Lexi stood beside her friend and faced their two sudden and hostile guests. The man who'd threatened them harm stood rigid, holding the business end of a rifle in their direction. He was scruffy with a unkempt beard and a twitchy right eye, licking his lips to wet them. His hands flexed and clenched the barrel of the rifle, as if he was unsure about using it. His nervousness only served to make the brunette more nervous.

Beside him was a thin woman with short blonde hair. It was badly cut, as if she'd just taken a knife and hacked it off just below her jawline. She had a pistol in hand, though the way she was holding it was shaky and unconfident, as if she'd never held a weapon in her life before.

"Who the fuck are you? How did you find us?" He demanded loudly. Lexi worried he would draw in even the zombies from outside the building at this rate.

"We didn't know anyone was here, dude. We thought this would be a good place to try finding supplies." Penguin placated, keeping his voice calm and his hands up. "We won't cause you trouble, just let us go and we won't come back."

"Bullshit!" He cried out, jabbing the end of the gun a little closer to Penguin. The woman glanced between her husband? and the strangers, a pained expression on her face.

"Ok, I'm gonna put this knife down now," Penguin said quietly, slowly moving into a crouch and setting his weapon on the floor. The gun was trained on him the whole way down, "and then we can have a harmless conversation, right?"

The man said nothing, just squinted at them suspiciously. He suddenly gave Lexi a piercing look, obviously waiting for her to do the same. One hand still raised in the air, she slowly brought the other to her knife holster and unclipped it, letting it fall to the ground uselessly. Just for good measure, she kicked it another foot away.

"There, see? We aren't here to hurt you. We didn't even know anyone was inside of here." She said.

"Yeah. Sure. You didn't noticed the chain front entrance or the barricaded windows? Nice try." His cynicism apparently ran deep.

Finally, the woman at his side spoke up, her wobbly grip on the gun lowering it closer to the ground out of distraction. "I think they might be telling the truth, Jude..."

"For fuck's sake, Amy, they're trespassing on our hideout. You can't believe anything anyone other than me tells you!" He spat in condescension. She bit her lip and looked away quickly, shutting up after that.

Lexi narrowed her eyes with displeasure, learning more about this couple's dynamic in the span of a few seconds than what she'd wanted to. She didn't like Jude at all. If Penguin picked up on the same thing she did, he didn't visibly react to it.

"Now that they know we're here, they could bring back a bigger group and kill us when we least expect it. You can't trust anyone now." He continued.

"We'll leave now and never come back." Penguin promised, meeting the man's wild stare. "We promise you."

"Why the fuck should I believe anything that comes out of your mouth?" The gun in his hands had slowly lowered down so it wasn't pointing directly at Penguin's chest, just in his general direction now, but Lexi still kept her eye on it.

"Because you're survivors just like us. We get it. You have to think about your loved ones and that might mean causing other people harm in some cases to survive, but we aren't looking to start something here. We don't want to hurt you. We just wanted supplies."

"And now that we know they're yours, we'll back off." Lexi added.

"Exactly."

Amy shifted from one foot to the other, the gun now completely down at her side, staring up at Jude with a hopeful expression. Maybe she believed he would do the right thing and let them walk out of here.

Lexi could see it in his eyes. Calculating his next move. But not one made of mercy, no. She tensed when something clicked behind those dark brown irises, and he smiled in an easy-going way.

"You're right. We do have to think about our loved ones." He said in a calm manner, and Penguin gave a returning smile, muscles a bit more relaxed. The moment his smile dropped, Lexi knew.

The end of the gun's barrel swung up just as the brunette jumped towards her friend, trying to push him out of the way of what was coming. Penguin let out a shout of surprise as Jude pulled the trigger, a deafening bang echoing around the decaying space. The both of them landed in a heap, and Penguin let out a cry of pain.

She couldn't waste time checking on him now. Grabbing his knife that he'd placed by his feet, she sprang up and threw her arm back. She wouldn't make it in time by running up and trying to stab him, so she did the next best thing she could think of. She hurled the knife with as much force as she could, hearing the bolt of the gun reload as he cocked it.

Amy screamed out loud as the knife struck home through his eye socket, burying deep enough to pierce his brain. The expression of shock was frozen on his face as he went limp and collapsed to the ground, his gun falling beside him with a loud clatter. In a flurry of ranting sobs and unintelligible muttering, Amy landed at his side on her knees, cradling his face in between her hands. Her own gun was dropped next to her knee.

Lexi hesitated, witnessing her sorrow, before glancing back at her own injured friend, who was sitting up and cradling his arm with a wince. She pushed back the sympathy with a wall and squashed it to the very back of her mind. No. Penguin would have been killed because of them. Over a stupid misunderstanding and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her optimism and belief that humans could still be good people in this hellish world only extended so far.

Grabbing her knife from the holster on the ground, she walked back over to where Amy was mourning her husband or boyfriend or whoever he'd been to her.

When she got close, Amy scrambled for the pistol on the ground, but strangely, Lexi knew that despite her grief and assumed anger at the fact that she'd killed her companion, the brunette wasn't in any danger of being shot. The gun wobbled and bounced in her shaking hands, a tear-streaking face laying just behind it.

"He was...all I...had left..." She choked out, gasping in breaths. Lexi stopped, staring down at the distraught woman, swallowing down the lump in her throat. "He's the only reason...I'm still here."

The air felt stale and the heavy metallic scent of blood began to seep into the space. For several seconds all the two women did was stare at each other. Lexi could see how tired and terrified Amy was, now that Jude was dead. She had no survival skills, no experience with weapons, and now she was alone. This woman wouldn't last a week without her male companion.

"I'm sorry." Was all she replied, before pushing the gun away and stabbing her in the head. She made it quick, as painless as possible, out of respect and mutual pain. Her face stony, she yanked out the weapon and allowed her to fall to the floor, her blood pooling and mixing with her companion's.

"I guess this means you saved my life, huh?" He said with an easy grin. As if he hadn't just been shot a few minutes ago. "I'll even forget the whole 'I slipped and fell into a zombie' incident from earlier as thanks. You're seriously badass."

Lexi shot him a fake smile for his sake. He didn't need to know about her inner pain right now. "I'm glad you're alright. But we need to get that wrapped so it doesn't keep bleeding."

"No worries." He stripped some of the bottom hem off of his t-shirt and used it as a makeshift wrap, tying with a wince and giving a soft pat for good measure. "There, good to go."

He looked over and picked up Jude's gun, checking the ammunition. He also tucked Amy's pistol into the waistband of his pants. "It didn't sound like they have anyone else here. We should check the place for stuff." Penguin suggested, standing straight. "I can keep going, it doesn't hurt too bad. Come on."

Her friend finally grabbed his weapon from Jude's skull and went forward down the shelving. Lexi couldn't bring herself to look away from Amy's prone body, but at Penguin's insistent call for her to catch up, she forcefully tore her stare off the woman. A strange mix of feelings settled in her chest.

Penguin was alive, at the very least. The bullet had gone straight through a non-major part of his arm, and wouldn't cause him too many problems. That's something Lexi was extremely grateful for.

Chapter 30 ->

#one piece #fanfic #fanfiction #zombies #zombie au #post apocalyptic #horror #blood and gore #tragedy #romance #trafalgar law #law #law x oc #oc #mature #shachi #penguin

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brymione-nettle · 5 years

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Character Profile: Brymione Nettle

Name: Brymione Nettle (Brim-eye-oh-knee)

Aliases: “Brie”, Miss Netty, Madam Wren

Profession: An official notary who moonlights as a tattoo artist; also a struggling novelist.

Appearance: In human form, she’s a bird of a woman, coming to just over five feet—five feet and a half with the right pair of boots—with a slim, banana shaped build. She is tan, especially so about the neck, face, hands, and the tops of her feet; peppered with freckles. The palms of her hands are almost as rough in human form as they become as a worgen—nails kept short that while otherwise healthy, are perpetually caked with dirt. Her eyes are hazel green with flecks of dark gold. Her lips are rosy, but thin unless she paints them, and seem naturally wrinkled with a soft frown unless she thinks to smile. Her hair is a curly walnut mess that either hangs along her shoulders or is piled up atop her head while she works. She wears clothing that buttons high up on her neck. But in the crutch of shoulder where she was bitten, she has had a tattoo penned over the scar of the bite--made to appear as though little wildflowers flowers are blooming from the old wound.

In worgen form, she is quite a bit something else—taller, faster, stronger, of course—with slate, cowlicked fur and eyes of piercing gold.

Personality: Brymione is highly independent, organized, and no-nonsense. Naturally distrusting of most, but anyone attempting to be kind, she always suspects an ulterior motive. A serious and somewhat cynical creature, she often comes off as condescending and out of touch with her own humanity. And yet many of her actions, while executed with cool logic and an air of begrudging, belie a deep concern for others over herself that is not easy for her to express in a way that would be better understood.

Childhood: Brymione was the youngest child of a wealthy Gilnean merchant and a young woman he was not married to. For Eleanor Nettle, this was hardly the first grand mistake she had suffered of her high-functioning alcoholic of a husband Maurice, but it was certainly the grandest nonetheless. Regardless, Elle took pity on the babe left at their doorstep and raised and loved his daughter as her own.

She was a bold and fearless child, always running off into the woods when she should have been doing—well, anything else. If she was not digging in the dirt, she was atop the tallest trees trying to journey to the moon. One day, a fierce storm rolled in while Brymione was out playing. Elle went looking for her and in a freak accident, a decrepit tree branch fell and struck her dead. Her death took a hard toll on the Nettle family, but especially on Maurice, who had depended upon Eleanor for everything. When his business suffered and his debts ran high, her half sisters went to live with his mother in law—but not him and certainly not Brymione, whom the noblewoman refused to acknowledge as a legitimate member of the family. She remained with her father when he sold their family home and much of their belongings to settle his debts, and they moved northward, into a smaller shack on the outskirts of a hamlet in the Northgate Woods.

Maurice loved his daughter, but in his mind, she symbolized all his faults and mistakes turned manifest, and was a constant reminder of Eleanor’s death. To numb the guilt and resentment in his heart, he drank away what money he managed to make and fell into deep despondence. It fell to Brymione to provide. She made herself a helpful nuisance to the locals, doing a bit of everything from milking cows to fixing fences—as well as assisting an old hermit named Cheryn tend her garden when her eyes had begun to fail her.

Cheryn was a harvest-witch, and while she carefully kept this from Brymione’s notice in the beginning, she weighed child’s worth as a pupil. When it was clear the girl would make a suitable successor of her knowledge, and that her time was dwindling, the harvest-witch revealed the truth. In the years that followed, Brymione spent all of her time with Cheryn, learning to hear and tend to the heartbeat of nature, and to even write living magic upon a page with careful instruction.

But even as level-headed as she was, she had unrealistic ideas of what could be done with her newfound strengths. Brie began trying to work her magic on her father, penning soothing glyphs beneath the flower pots she placed strategically at his sill and by his bed—hoping to cleanse his “corruption” and bring him clarity from the unending grief that kept him from being the father she remembered. Not only did it not truly work (as Cheryn warned her), but when Maurice discovered what she was doing, he became violently angry and frightened. Things were done and said that could not be undone or unsaid, and he returned to the city without her. Brymione lived with Cheryn from that point on, in her home in the thickest point of the wood, on a knoll that the locals called Wren Hill because the birds that loitered there.

Recent History: When Cheryn died of old age, the locals who had once gone to her for aid now sought out Brymione instead, the new Madam Wren. Having lived much of her formative years in the shadow of the Wall, her heart was with the Rebels and more so, with their people abandoned beyond the colossal impasse, left as fodder for the Scourge and wolfmen by a selfish King. She ignored the increasing correspondence from her loyalist father demanding she return to his side and the safety of Gilneas City. Instead, she remained in Northgate Woods to provide succor to those rebels she could reach, and sanctuary to those rebels who could reach her. She became familiar with the shotgun, entangling wards, and some of Old Cheryn’s more…’offensive’ remedies to ‘discourage’ loyalist soldiers and civil war ‘opportunists’ from harassing her or her patients. When the rebellion failed, and those who were not brought to court fled into hiding, her name came up and she was brought to trial. But because it could not be proved that she did anything more than provide medical aid to wounded rebels and there were far bigger fish to catch, she was released. (After all, you can’t prove much without a body.)

But the divided nation’s troubles and her own were just beginning. The worgen curse infiltrated the walled in nation, and what seemed at first like terrible accidents led to truths much more sinister. People came to her with wounds and stories of fearsome wolfmen—and then never returned. The nighttime howls became ever louder, ever closer. Then one day she went to the hamlet—and it was abandoned, all except for the dead.

“Run,” a man told her as the life fled from his eyes and onto the ground through his wound, too quick for bandage or magic to mend. “But don’t go to the city. They are damned—we are all damned.”

Her haven became a lonely prison. By day, she watched the feral worgen prowl past her home in packs from the loft of her boarded-up shack with her gun in her lap, waiting for the right moment to sneak out and collect the wrens and rare vermin that lay across her yard from drugged seed to cook and eat. She purified rainwater collected in her gutters with cleansing magic. By night, she dwelled in the cellar, busying herself in her journals by cautious candlelight to the sound of distant howling and screams beyond her door and boarded windows—taking detailed accounts of what she saw and heard, and studying the more complex spells and rites left behind by her mentor, though much of them seemed indecipherable without Old Cheryn’s guidance.

Then one day, she heard a sentient beating on the door, and a familiar voice yelling for entrance. And that was the day she was bitten.

When her mind returned to her much later, she was in Tal’doren. There was still wildness in her blood, and fleeting memories of nights with cold dirt in her nails and moon in her eyes.

But there was balance now—and most importantly, control, which she resolved to never lose again.

Not to anything. Not to anyone.

Usually Found: In Old Town, where she holds a position as an official notary. After hours, some may know that other ink-related services are available. Alternatively, she can be found at quiet taverns, nursing wine and trying to write the Novel.

Strengths, Talents, and Points of Pride: Brymione is a survivalist, and keeps a rational head when most people lose theirs. She is a talented writer and scribe, and while she hasn’t penned any novels under her own name (yet), she has helped pen some beautiful tomes of others fledgling authors’ works and designing tarot cards for coin. Her knack for trivia is useful, and she isn’t afraid of dirty work. Her actions are often driven towards her concern for the welfare of others, and to revealing the heart of any given matter.

Weaknesses: Her inability to easily trust others or to relinquish control to someone else makes it difficult for her to work well in groups, and to have meaningful friendships. She is always ready for the other boot to drop, and her rationale can come off as cold and condescending. Her anxiety that she may cause undue harm with either her magic or her existence as a worgen can send her into death loops of inaction as she overthinks herself into a corner. Inaction also has its consequences.

Unless she is in worgen form, she is not very strong at all, she no longer has access to most of her druidic abilities. But she is starkly adverse to that side of her, and retains her human appearance in towns and populated spaces unless necessary.

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