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ghoultramp · 3 years

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the phoenix & the raven [five]

▷ original fiction

↳ content: fantasy, mutual pining, romance, action/adventure, angst

↳ words: 1.2k

▷ [ I ] - [ II ] - [ III ] - [ IV ] - [ V ] - [wip]

Dark shuffled anxiously as he waited for Rae to return. The storage outhouse was cramped and his demons were beginning to quarrel amongst themselves. He growled low in his throat, a futile attempt at quelling them. The skin on his knuckles started burning with the strength he exerted while clenching his fists.

Dark tried to focus on finding her footsteps, and although the air was cool and calm, the shrill cry of crickets made it near impossible for his already distracted and distressed mind to be successful.

He closed his eyes so tight he saw white and whispered her name repeatedly under his breath, manifesting her to walk through the door with everything he had. His heart beat ferociously against his chest and he tried to calm his breathing but he felt like he was suffocating.

Now that he had found her, he didn't want her to leave his sight. They would know to come here eventually, they would know she was the one way to get to him.

"Dark?" He heard her voice call to him. The hairs on his arms and neck prickled uncomfortably as he became shackled to the spot. "Can you open the door, please?"

His breath hitched in his throat but he noticed the voices stop. He tried to steady his hand as he reached out for the deadbolt and unlatched it cautiously.

"I'm sorry I took so long," she told him, careful not to open the door too wide as she entered, holding a knapsack out to Dark.

"Is this honestly necessary, Rae?" he was exasperated, but found charm in her need to protect him. He pulled out a shirt and gave her an incredulous look. "This is Cedric's, isn't it."

Rae waved a hand in the air to dismiss him as she wordlessly brushed by him, pushing aside empty barrels to reveal a concealed nook. Dark took a step forward, peering his neck over her shoulder to look at the space.

"Bit small, isn't it," he noted. "Why is this here?"

"You can stay here until I close up," she told him, feeling his hair tickle her cheek. "And I've known you long enough to now have a back up sleeping place for-"

"I'm that cat that buggers off for months at a time but always comes home, right?" he interjected, a grin across his face.

"Not quite," she retorted. "What I was going to say before you so rudely interrupted me is," Rae held back a smirk, "there's always one fellow who pays for a room that can't quite make it up the stairs." Dark attempted a playful glared at her and she patted his cheek with her palm. "You can fill me in on everything later and we can figure it out from there."

Dark stiffened, she made it sound so easy, she always did. It was at that moment he knew he had possibly made one of his biggest mistakes yet and he scolded himself for his selfishness. Rae turned around and patted him on the chest before advancing toward the door. She smiled widely at him but his heart dropped and, this time, he wasn't able to smile back at her.

No other words were exchanged between them before Rae left the outbuilding, hanging her head as she trudged her way back to her post behind the bar. She didn't like leaving him, but he was right, none of them were safe now.

"What did you do, Dark?" she caught herself asking out loud.

* * *

The last bolt she slid across the wood made an eerie echo throughout the tavern's public room, Cedric looked over at Rae with concern on his face while he wrung a ragged cloth between his anxious hands.

"Miss Rae, what's going on?" he asked her, his weighty footfalls echoing a thud as he closed the space between them.

"The less you know, Cedric," she began, turning on the heels of her boots, "the better."

Cedric thought before he chose his next words. "That scruffy fella's brought you trouble, ain't he."

"Please, Cedric," Rae spoke softly, "If anyone asks about me, or him in particular, you tell them that I'm having some much needed time off and you haven't seen him – or anyone looking remotely like him – at all. You got that?"

"As you wish, ma'am," he told her.

Rae was thankful for Cedric's loyalty and ever so grateful for his friendship but she wondered how long anyone would believe that she was taking time off. She told herself they would have maybe a day or two if they were lucky.

She flitted over behind the bar and lifted herself onto it. Cedric watched as she levered herself on her tiptoes to reach for her weapon; the grip was intricately woven with black and purple fabric that snaked down to the chappe where a dark byzanitum jewel had been embedded in the leather and steel. She pulled the scabbard down half-way to check her blade, the steel tarnished from years of use.

"Good girl," she whispered to her weapon as she sheathed it and jumped down from the counter. She looked in Cedric's direction, his hands were still anxiously pulling at the dishcloth. "Take care of yourself, Cedric," were her parting words before she disappeared through the back and into the shadows.

The crisp air hit her cheeks with a sting, it was eerily quiet and it made her uneasy. Her sword wobbled in the awkwardly fastened loop at her hip and a provisions sack hit against her back as she moved as quickly and quietly to reach the outbuilding.

Rae listened out in the dark with her sensitive ears for any signs of life and picked up her pace when she couldn't hear him; she reached out with what little utility magic she still had left to search out his aura and her panic began mounting.

She stood in front of the door, short and sharp, anxious breaths escaping her lips. Rae clenched her eyes and swung her leg, punting the wooden door with a clunk that successfully opened it. Her small feet carried her forward quickly before she dropped to her knees before the bundle in front of her. The tears betrayed her before she even had time to think, holding her face in her hands.

"How could you?" she cried, slapping her hand against the bundle. Dark groaned. "I thought they'd found you!" He shot up to look at her.

"What do you mean?" Dark reached his arms out to hold her by her shoulders, he could feel her shaking under his hold.

"I couldn't hear you, I couldn't sense you, I--" she was speaking too quickly, her words almost stringing together as one until Dark pulled her close into him, cradling her tightly.

"Slow down," he cooed as he stroked her hair. "I guess that's another thing I should explain when we have the time, right?" He felt her head nod against his chest, breathing in deeply.

Dark let her pull away from him, but not without reluctance, she rubbed her face before pulling the sack from her back and placing it between them. He gave her a sad smile when he noticed her faithful sword at her side, but a fire inside him yearned to see her fight once more.

With a tired groan, Dark pushed himself to his feet, stretching his arms high enough that he comfortably touched the ceiling. Comfortable luxuries would soon be a distant memory again, he told himself. Dark held out a chivalrous hand for Rae to use.

"I'd be lying if I said I was sorry I came to you," he told her truthfully as she took his hand, making direct eye contact with her, "But I'm sorry for what might happen."

#original fiction #original writing #original story #sfw #angst #fantasy #romance #action/adventure #mutual pining

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