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jaehotbuns · 3 years

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idolboyfriend!mark

♡ 2.6k, fluff =^._.^= ∫

you first met Mark on a Nature Republic photo shoot where your friend was a hair stylist

she called you frantically because the SM staff caught multiple employees from each department posting on their personal social media stories the location and whereabouts of the members and dismissed them from the site

they were shooting at an island in the middle of nowhere which you were conveniently writing a thesis on different landscapes of South Korea

you had no experience of styling other people and only did it for yourself but you knew you couldn’t leave your friend deserted so you came to help in any way that you could

half of the staff were fired on the spot so they immediately pushed you towards the members to prepare them for their next shoot after threatening legal action if you decided to act as stupidly as the other stylists did

you saw your friend quickly adjusting the collar of theHawaiian shirt that was roughly put on Jaehyun and she gave you an apologetic look and mouthed a ‘thank you’

you were assigned at styling Mark’s hair, which you were scared of because you had never styled a man’s hair before never mind a celebrity but you squared your shoulders and hoped for the best

he was already used to the chaos but he was slightly concerned at how well you would perform considering that your eyebrows were furrowed and had sweat rolling down your temples as you scrunched the ends of his hair with mousse to create beachy waves

every stylist that he met was always either professional and stoic or overly friendly to try and get with the members romantically but he tried to suppress his laughter when he saw your distressed face under your medical mask

in such a stressful and hectic situation, he would never talk to the staff to help them focus but he couldn’t help but strike up a conversation with you

you looked younger than him too so he felt more comfortable

“first time?” he asked with a smile on his face as he looked up at you

your hands stopped in the middle of combing the fluffy mousse through his hair and your face dropped slightly, “you could tell?”

Mark covered his laugh with his hand as he didn’t want to discourage you but couldn’t help but chuckle at the cute expression on your face

“yeah,” he answered but then realized that it came out meaner than he had intended

“but you’re doing a great job! Keep going!” He tried to encourage you by motioning with his hands to continue

you patted his hair into place for finishing touches but you pouted under your mask when you realized, “how would you know? You can’t even see it”

there were no mirrors in sight except for the hand mirrors that stylists held on their belt

he choked on his saliva out of embarrassment and rubbed his hand awkwardly on the back of his neck

“well let’s see then!” He exclaimed and you begrudgingly gave him the hand mirror to see

you were bracing yourself in case he thought you made his hair into a bird’s nest and demanded you to be fired on the spot but he let a “wahh” escape his mouth as he admired the hairstyle

“this actually looks great!” He said a little too excitedly

“we were both expecting it to look bad then, huh?” You joked but really you were relieved that he thought it didn’t look atrocious

Mark shook his head to deny but you held his shoulders in place to not disrupt his hair

his face went pink and you realized that you just touched a client, a very influential client

you lifted your hands off of him quickly and stepped back so that he could stand up from his chair and go in front of the cameras to prepare for the shoot

“thank you” he said and you both exchanged bows before awkwardly getting back to work

you stayed on the set with your friend for the rest of the day until the sun went down and the sky turned a bright pink from the previous ocean blue

luckily, that was the last hair and clothes change that NCT needed and everyone started to pack up after the photographer and managers shouted “thank you for your work” and everyone bowed and clapped to each other

while each member started to load into their vans to get back to the city for their next schedule, Mark ran up to you and asked if you were apart of the SM staff or were for hire from another beauty boutique

“oh, I just came last minute,” you said

“I’m not actually licensed for this I came to help”

he let out a disappointed “oh” and decided not to take your number down since it was unprofessional and knew that after the fiasco today that there could be anyone around to expose him if he did

“good night, see you around,” he said in hopes that he would see you again

you doubted that he would see you around but you repeated what he said and waved at him as he ran into the van

the other members were confused as to why he ran off to greet you and were ready to tease him since they noticed that you were his type physically

but he knew that they were about to so he lied and said that he forgot to take a bracelet from you and pretended to fall asleep so that they couldn’t question him further

you thought about that was a once in a lifetime experience until 2 weeks later the campaign was a hit and everyone was fawning over Mark specifically since he looked like boyfriend material in a white button up shirt and blue jeans with messy beach hair

your friend called to tell you that she recommended you as a freelance hair stylist after they asked her who did Mark’s hair

as a broke college student living in another country you took the offer but felt guilty getting an amazing job with no credentials so you got licensed at a beauty school within 2 months

the next time you saw Mark was on the Punch music video set

he had everything on except makeup and hair

you were taken aback at how different he looked with the leather pieces, chain jewelry, and overall bad boy vibes

he was sitting in front of the dressing room vanities and his face lit up when he saw you stand behind him with your cart of hair products and tools

usually he’d stay still in his chair but this time he turned around to face you, “hey! I thought you said you weren’t even licensed?”

“I decided to after getting offered a job” you smiled

he turned around and looked at you through the mirror’s reflection, “or did you come back because of me?”

you coughed through your mask and felt the heat creep from your neck all the way to your cheeks and temples

Mark smiled to himself when he saw your bright red face and was even more excited for the music video shoot knowing that the stylist he thought was cute would be doing his hair on a regular basis and could see him act cool on stage

to not let you out of his sights again, Mark pulled his phone off of the vanity table in front of him and went straight to his Instagram search page, “can I have your Insta by the way?”

you were combing the translucent gel through his hair when you tilted your head out of curiosity of why he would want your socials

“I send what kind of hairstyles and concepts I’d like to try to stylists on here,” he said

in actuality Mark wasn’t one of the idols that really cared of how his stylists dressed him like Johnny or Jaehyun but he wanted an excuse so that his interest in you was too obvious

“oh sure,” you spelled out your Instagram handle and you saw him follow you right away

for the rest of the shoot for the two days that it took place, Mark would admire you every time you came up to him between scenes to wipe the sweat off his forehead and to spray his hair with setting mist

although you were a fan of the group, you didn’t want to make them uncomfortable so you invested all of your focus on making them look their best

Mark appreciated that; you weren’t completely cold and professional but you also didn’t cross any boundaries by asking him about his personal life or interviewing him like some new stylists did

when you got home you decided to look at Mark’s profile and saw that he was only following his family, friends from Vancouver, idols friends, and a few celebrities that he looked up to

you were the only staff member that he was following other than his managers

but you didn’t think for a second Mark liked you

even though during promotions he would text you on his time off about your day and ask you about yourself

“because I don’t want to be to formal” was his excuse to his unofficial game of 21 questions

even though after promotions when he was on his break, he’d ask you to go shopping with him “to get some inspiration from uh hair stuff”

at one point he was bold enough to ask you to go to a cafe because he said he felt like you two were friends at one point

behind the scenes, Johnny caught on quickly at how Mark was on his phone more often when he’d usually just use it to play mobile games or listen to music

“I don’t think you left the bracelet with the pretty stylist,” Johnny would tease Mark one day when he saw him re-reading your texts and smiling to himself

“you left your heart,” he’d say and slap himself on the knee from laughing too hard at his own joke

“can you get out of my room?” Mark would retort in embarrassment but it was worse for him from there

Johnny told both floors that Mark had a big fat crush on the young stylist and was flirting with them 24/7

Mark wasn’t really the type to get in his feelings

sure he’d find different celebrities or employees that he’d work with attractive but he knew it was for business or that they’d just be really good friends in the industry

but you felt like home

like he could imagine that if he was back in Vancouver that you two would meet at a library or something and he’d ask you for a coffee after you asked him to watch your bag to go to the washroom

that was what he’d imagine before he went to sleep at night anyways

half of the time he’d stay up thinking about asking you out officially and keeping your relationship as a secret and the other half of the time he’d kick his blankets scolding himself for even thinking that because it would put both of your careers on the line and he didn’t want you to feel the burden of dating in secret

you also had feelings for Mark but thought that he was just friendly and flirty

even if he did have feelings for you, you thought that it would be best to just stay as friends because you didn’t want to get in the way of his career

one day Mark couldn’t take it anymore and went to the convenient store by himself instead of riding bikes with Haechan and Renjun like he originally planned to

they noticed that he didn’t get embarrassed or annoyed at the teasing anymore and just kept to himself so they followed him to the store and found him outside on a bench with a beer in his hand

both of them sat beside him and Haechan grabbed the beer and took a swig, “just tell her”

Mark placed his elbows on his knees and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, “I don’t want to ruin it for us… Or for her”

Renjun placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, “if you both have strong feelings for each other then it’ll always work out in the end”

Mark shook his head although he appreciated the support, “what if the stress gets us to break up? What if I make it awkward for her at work?”

Haechan stopped him and told him sternly, “I see the way you two look at each other and I know that she’d accept if you asked. If the press or pressure causes you to break up then at least you tried.”

Renjun added on more gently, “do you just want to continue suffering forever? What if she’s waiting for you too?”

Mark didn’t want to think about it any longer and as a lightweight, the 2 cans of beer in his system were already giving him courage

if he had another night to think about it, he’d probably never confess to you so he decided in his tipsy state to confess right then

with urgency, he told you to meet you at Hangang River right away

“thank you guys,” he said while standing up too quickly

he stumbled a little bit before starting to walk towards the meeting place, “I can do it!”

“you can do it!” Renjun laughed while holding up too fists to show his support

Haechan on the other hand held up his phone and started to record Mark walking clumsily towards the river, “don’t mess up loser!”

you were finishing up on your readings when you got Mark’s text

it sounded like he was going to confess but you shook the thought out of your head at the thought of a global star asking you out

“probably wants to de-stress with a friend,” you thought before putting on a hoodie and jeans before walking to Hangang

when you arrived you could smell a mixture of beer and mint in his breath

His face was flushed pink which was a result of the alcohol and the 2.2km he had just walked

“why did you call me out all of a sudden?” You asked

“will you go out with me?” He said a little bit too loudly

you quickly looked around to make sure that no one was within a kilometre near you too and asked in a hushed voice, “what?”

“I like you!” He nearly shouted, not aware of his volume due to the nervousness of the chance of rejection

“I tried not to like you ever since I met you but I can’t get you out of my head,” he avoided your gaze and couldn’t believe how cheesy he sounded

Mark continued regardless, “I know that we have to date in secret if you do like me but I promise to protect you and I won’t regret my decision if anything happens. So uh-”

“yes,” you grinned. “I’ll go out with you”

he was surprised at how you accepted with ease, “oh wow I wasn’t expecting this. Thank you for listening to me talk on haha, I don’t even know what to say I-”

to stop his blabbering you held onto his arms to steady yourself for when you went on your tippy toes to peck him on the lips

“that’s not fair” he pouted

“what’s not fair?”

“that’s it?” He murmured under his breath

“then get some more” you teased

his hands cupped the sides of your face and bent his neck down to reach your height

your hand wrapped around his waist to pull him into a hug while his warm lips pressed onto yours

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burnedbyshoto · 4 years

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strawberry milk & watermelon seeds

How to get through the worst summer heat: have a sweet drink, eat a sweet fruit, and have someone with the sweetest kiss around.

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pairing: todoroki shouto x reader

warning: fluff, cursing, one year later rewrite

word count: 2,855

a/n: so today is my one year anniversary of this blog. it’s been a rather weird and unknowing journey that I still cannot comprehend or put into words as to how this has changed me. one year later and I still love todoroki shouto the most, one year later and im still as invested into bnha as the day I first watched it. wild. anyways, thank you for watching my growth as a writer, and thank you for 14k followers in this single year. anyways, if you want to read the original to compare, here it is.

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“This day can not be any worse.”

With your sweating forearm thrown over your face, and the heat emitting from your face scorching your skin, your clammy skin provided small comfort from the overwhelming heat. Today, according to every news outlet in Japan, it was the hottest day recorded ever. At first, you didn’t believe it; your condo had cooled to near completion with your AC unit running happily in the background. You had spent your day free from work, merrily doing house chores while watching your old classmates text message thread blowing up with complaints about how torturous it was to be outside in this heat. (Even Bakugou who enjoyed hot weather because it benefitted his quirk was ready to go home and get into an ice bath.) That is, you were merry until your power went out.

“I thought you would be happy that you aren’t working right now?”

Ignoring the sweat the slowly pooled down your neck, you turned your head to look at your phone that stood against a stack of books. On the bright screen was Todoroki Shouto, who was wearing a shirt and a jacket despite the heat of the weather. Curse his fucking quirk.

“It was a happy day until the power blew, and I was told that the power wouldn’t be back on until night!” you whined, fingers pressing to your forehead to wipe the annoying sweat on your face. “Now I’m miserable at home, it’s hotter than balls, I have no snacks, and I am not going outside like this!”

You lifted your legs off the couch, shuddering at your sweating thighs sticking to the material. This was the worst.

“I can come over in a bit; it’ll take me about twenty minutes.” Shouto hummed, his left wrist rising as he looked at his watch. His face had a small smile painted on; it was a new look he was trying as he had stated earlier. As part of being a hero that reassured everyone he rescued, he was working on his smile.

While you would never complain about seeing a kind smile on Shouto’s face, it didn’t help your hammering heart when he looked at you with it.

“What?!” you exclaimed a bit frantically, your hand snatching your phone on the table while sitting up on the couch. Your flustered face a bit too close to the camera while you watched Shouto stand up from his seat and gather his things without minding your attempts to have him not come over.

The thought of being horrendously sweaty around your crush was not something you wanted to do.

“Do you like strawberry milk?” Shouto asked you, his head tilting to the side. At the same time, he picked up his phone, leveling the camera, so it angled below his chin (and you immediately noticed that even with the awkward angle, he was still unfairly hot). “There’s a store on the way to your place that I like.”

A strange noise that crossed between a whine and a sigh emitted past your lips when his eyes locked on yours in question. It seemed that you didn’t have much of a choice.

“I love strawberry milk,” you begrudgingly admitted, watching with heating cheeks as Shouto’s face spread into a bigger, more full, and genuine smile.

“Okay, I’ll see you in a bit then. Bye.”

You couldn’t say goodbye back, your finger immediately hanging up on him and your body shaking in your nerves. For right now, you couldn’t tell why you felt overheated: the record temperature or the smile that made your heart stop.

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If your mother could see how you cleaned your home in the twenty minutes it took Shouto to get to your place, she would cry in joy. In fifteen minutes, you had swept, mopped, and cleared the countertops of the slight messes they had been and quickly bolted upstairs to change into something less sweaty while reapplying perfume and deodorant because you would not make a fool of yourself.

“You look like a mess,” Shouto called out immediately as he stood at your front door. Despite his introduction, his hands lifted in front of him, and he showcased the bag of snacks and tea he brought.

Despite the initial feeling of wonder at opening the door to see him standing there in all his glory, his words' sudden bluntness immediately made your eyes narrow.

“I don’t come to your house uninvited and roast your appearance,” you scoff, turning on your heel and letting him in.

“Oh, was I not invited? I assumed I was allowed to come over, sorry,” Shouto’s voice followed after you, but it did nothing to keep him from staying. The two of you had grown incredibly close as friends. It was without question that he was allowed over whenever he wished, a detail that had taken quite a while for Shouto to accept.

“I wouldn’t’ve opened the door if you weren’t,” you sigh, your hands fanning the back of your neck as Shouto placed his guest slippers on and walked over. He put the bag onto the kitchen counter before walking over to you, taking your hands and pressing his right hand to the nape of your neck.

“Just making sure,” he said softly, his eyes meeting yours in a careful gaze before his hand dropped in temperature. For the first time since your AC broke down, a shiver went through your spine.��

You had no idea whether it was from the sudden loss of heat from your body or his gentle yet strangely warm touch. But with the loss of being overheated and reaching a better point of homeostasis, you realized that you had been wordlessly staring into his eyes. Falling deep into the blue and grey, drowning in the way they bore into you gently, intently.

“So, uh, what else did you bring me besides your stupidly advantageous quirk?” you asked, your mouth feeling unbelievably parched. At the same time, Shouto’s fingers slowly pulled away from your skin, leaving behind nothing but an exploding heart and raised skin.

To that comment, Shouto’s eyebrow lifted, and his lip quirked a bit too, a teasing look on his face while the two of you began to walk to the bag he had brought. He grabbed the bag before you, bringing it close to his chest as if to keep it from you.

“Sounds like you’re using me for my quirk, y/l/n. That wouldn’t be very heroic of you.”

“I’m off duty, I can be an asshole,” was your quick response, your heart beating faster at the chuckle that rumbled deep in his chest as he untied the bag. His eyes rose to yours, inquisitive and teasing, and an eyebrow raised.

Shouto seemed to debate whether he should say something or not, your locked stares never wavering. But before you could question what was running through his head, he pulled out the items from the bag. Your jaw dropped in your sheer love for what he brought you: two sealed cups of strawberry milk, half of a watermelon with two scoops, and an arrangement of other snacks you loved. There was nothing he could do to stop you from scooping up your nacks in your arms, tears misting your eyes because, at this moment, your lousy day had become good again.

“I hope you still like all these snacks, you always used to talk about them,” Shouto rubs the back of his neck, his gaze falling onto the sweet pink drinks before him. He grabbed the straws and punctured the drinks for both of you, and you looked at him with a smile of pure joy and disbelief.

“This is perfect, Todoroki, really! I love this so much!”

Maybe if you had been looking at Shouto and not at the bags of snacks he had bought for you, you would have seen the flush color climbing the back of his neck.

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It had taken Shouto precisely two seconds to bring your condo back to a habitable environment, a feat that had you quite literally jumping into his arms in your excitement. But in your sudden burst of emotional energy, Shouto had been taken back so abruptly by your arms thrown around him that he had iced over your entire living room. Both of you had stared at the iced room with shocked gazes, and while he looked on in horror, your face split into a shit-eating grin.

So despite his initial decision to defrost the entire room, you said it was fine. Grabbing the frozen watermelon (you had to tear the melon and the two scoops off the counter as it had also been frozen, not to mention you almost ate shit if not for Shouto easily catching you) the two of you retreated to your shaded patio, sitting on the brick and tasting the sweet melon while idly chatting between the both of you.

“You got the watermelon with the seeds!” you laughed loudly, letting the small black seed fall from your bottom lip and onto your await palm. “We have transgressed the need for watermelon with seeds! Have you never gotten seedless watermelon?!”

Shouto shoved you with his shoulder, his face grimacing a bit when a rather sharp crunch came from his mouth. Your laughter growing louder when a fractured watermelon seed fell from his tongue.

“The sign said it was seedless, besides it takes two seconds to get the seeds out, stop complaining.” Shouto groaned, placing the seed onto the pile the two of you had created. You had been taking a drink of the sweet milk as he said this, and his smile grew into a crooked grin at the sight of your eyes widening with the need to speak.

Tearing the cup from your mouth, you swallowed the liquid quickly before jabbing a finger into his shoulder, “Tell that to my face after I accidentally swallow a seed and a watermelon grows in my stomach!”

“The day that happens, I will personally let you dress me up in Endeavor merch.” Shouto wagers, his eyes watching as you scooped out a bit of the watermelon and shoving it into your mouth. You contemplated his words, thinking about the horrendous merch his father had and the humiliation he would have if he had to wear it.

Your teeth bit onto a black seed, and instead of politely removing it from your mouth as you had been doing, you turned your head toward the fence and spat out the watermelon seed.

“Oh, that’s tempting!” you sing out, your fingertips dancing against each other, a very comically villainous sight.

Shouto scoffed, his head shaking as he chewed his own watermelon before spitting out his own seed. You watched it soar through the air before falling somewhere near where your seed landed. Ever the competitor, your head tilted, trying not to take it personally as Shouto finally spoke.

“Is it? Well, we both know it’s impossible.”

You shake your head at his true remark, your mouth once again full of watermelon, and you concentrated on the two black dots on the grass. Rolling your shoulders, you spit the seed sitting on your tongue, and you refrained from sounding too victorious when your seed was now the furthest one out. So with the calmness of a child who had done something terrible and was attempting to not be caught, you turned to Shouto with a wink.

“Nothing is impossible!”

Shrugging, Shouto took another mouthful of the watermelon before sending a seed flying, landing what seemed like a centimeter further than yours. Your eyes narrowed at the taunting victory.

“Oh, but some things are,” it felt like he whispered that in your ear, and you turned onto him. Your fiery glare matching his while he took yet another bite of the watermelon. He did it without breaking his gaze with you, and an astounding grin spread on your face at the pure childishness of this all.

“...are you… are you challenging me?!” you accused, your eyebrows shooting to your hairline and your finger connecting with his nose.

Shouto smirked, his face turning back to the grass, and he spat out the seed, sending it much further than it had gone before.

“No. Not at all,” he said smoothly, his sight coming back to you, and as if to rub in the salt, he added, “We both know who’ll win.”

So, under the blazing hot sun, both you and Shouto sat with sticky sweet watermelon juice dribbling down your chin and black seeds soaring as far as they could go to only pathetically landing on laps. Slandering words were thrown about, but the echoing laughter told anyone who tried to overhear just how unserious this entire predicament was.

Your fingers wiped at the bottom of your chin again while tears streamed down your face from the laughter. Shouto was in a similar position, his head leaning against yours as three black seeds failed to leave his mouth and chose to stick onto his chin.

“Imma - holy shit STOP - Imma fucking pee my pants!” you wheezed, trying to focus on anything that wasn’t Shouto right now. “You look so dumb right now!”

“Your insults mean nothing to me because you’re jealous I’m winning,” Shouto forced out, his voice wavering with his own laughter and fleeing concentration.

“Only because YOU CHEATED!” you exclaimed, your fists weakly pounding onto his arm. “Who the hell burns a watermelon seed flying in the air if not to keep me from winning?!”

“Because you took five steps closer! That’s cheating!” Shouto pointed out, the back of his hand, wiping the sheen of watermelon juice and seeds from his chin.

“Whatever, I’ll end this all right now!” you rolled your eyes, and the both of you directed your attention to the nearly empty watermelon. Almost empty, save for one part that would be enough for one last scoop.

“That’s the last of the watermelon…” Shouto spoke softly, his hand grabbing his spoon the same time you did.

“Yeah, and?” you pressed, your gaze narrowing as he lifted his spoon, moving it to push against yours.

“You were the last one to spit,” he said, trying to box you out of the melon.

Your jaw dropped, and you pressed against his again, trying to keep him from doing as he pleased. “I called it first!”

“You can’t go twice!” he pointed out, his hand wrapping around your free wrist to keep you from potentially hitting him with that arm.

“You went twice earlier!” you countered, pushing forward, leaning on with all your weight in hopes he would back off. You had to win.

“I’m the guest at your house, be better accommodating!”

Push.

“Oh yeah?! Well, ladies, first!”

Shove.

“Clearly, I am acting more ladylike right now, so it’s not you!”

But in an unequal push, you sent Shouto and you tumbling off the patio and onto the floor with a thud. Your eyes were squeezed tight as the earthy ground made contact with your back, and you sighed, knowing you hadn’t been hurt. You saw the watermelon on the floor, the last scoop of the sweet fruit ruined with dirt and grass, but you froze when you became aware of the way Shouto had landed.

His forearms were planted onto the ground by your head, his eyes wide and his mouth parted slightly. His warm and minty scent easily carried into your nose like this, and the smell of the strawberry milk still clung to his lips. Immediately your face exploded in heat, and your sight went dizzy in the situation you were in.

“...the watermelon… um, you dropped the watermelon, Todoroki,” you painfully whispered, unsure if speaking would send him away from you, acting like this didn’t just happen.

Your beating heart was loud in your ears, almost washing out the summer day's sounds as Shouto studied you carefully before turning his head to look at the indeed ruined watermelon. Still, he made no attempt to move off from on top of you.

“We can go buy some more in a bit.”

“I… but Todoroki--” you almost shuddered, unsure as to why that simple sentence ignited something profound from within you.

“Don’t-” Shouto interrupted, his brow furrowed, and his eyes dark while he looked down. Shaking his head, your breathing stopped when his eyes met yours. There was no hesitation, no doubt, and something you never knew you would see in his eyes: adoration. “Shouto. Call me, Shouto.”

“Shouto…” you breathed out, the sound of his name on your tongue foreign yet otherworldly pleasant.

And his eyes warmed at the sound of his name, and you could do nothing when his sugary sweet lips connected with yours, pressing thoroughly and gently against yours. Today had been a mix of goods and bads. Still, the moment his lips claimed yours, everything in the world quickly faded away. There was nothing to focus on except Todoroki Shouto and the way that you would forever crave the way his tongue and kisses tasted like strawberry milk and watermelon seeds.

#todoroki x reader #todoroki shouto x reader #bnha #bnha x reader #mha

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3laxx · 3 years

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Beneath Hexside High

When Boscha accidentally trashes the gym in Grudgby practice, Luz panics and pulls her in Gus' tunnel to avoid getting in trouble. Unfortunately for them, that only gets them in more trouble, as they discover some dark secret beneath Hexside...

Luz and Boscha fall through the floor into their rival school's ruins, Glandus, and discover that they aren't alone down there. Begrudgingly, they have to work together.

The summary is a little questionable but I'm tired xD I'm glad it attracted you anyway! Also I'm very open for summary suggestions, just shoot them in the comments!

In any way, have fun with this Oneshot, I had a lot of fun writing it and will hopefully be able to write more over summer.

Ao3 / FF.net

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Grumbling, she leaned against her locker and let her head knock against the hard surface. How these things were actually alive while feeling so much like metal was still a mystery to her, even after the four years she had spent on the Boiling Isles.

She was nearing graduation now, and her choice to take all tracks took its toll now. Nowadays, she was hurrying from one class to another, trying to perfect her glyphs skills while also trying to cram as much theory into her head as possible.

Her ADHD wasn’t making her life easy, with just scribbling down notes while listening to professors droning on about something, but usually, it helped when the magic theory showed itself in the more practical lessons. Naturally, she had a lot more trouble getting all the history right, since the Boiling Isles had an entirely different chronology and events from the human world.

Here, nobody knew about the invention of the printing machine, the World Wars, or John F. Kennedy.

Instead, she was learning about the Savage ages, the emperor’s version of the history of the Boiling Isles (while Eda was teaching her all about the true history) and the different laws and establishments made over the past fifty years.

Well, her friends kept an eye on her at least.

Eda always made her eat enough, so much that she started reminding her of her mom back in the human realm by now, and King always managed to make her smile.

Willow and Gus helped her with Plants and Illusions and when Boscha had started being a little more open to the friendly human, her clique had started helping Luz along as well. With their help, Luz had managed to find a lot more glyphs still, and now at the age of eighteen, she had mastered plants and ice magic, as well as discovered useful glyphs for abominations, oracles, lightning, teleportation, and her personal favorite, mist. Well, it was more of a combination between fire and ice glyphs, which she had first discovered by mixing up drawing her glyph in class and accidentally created the mist glyph, which held properties of both the fire and ice glyph.

She could also summon clear water and had even managed to find a shield glyph, making it a lot easier on Eda and Lilith to protect the House from boiling rain.

She had even been able to find a healing glyph, which she had immediately given to the Healing Coven as well because they had a deeper understanding of their magic, and paired with the glyph, Luz had been able to learn advanced healing outside of Hexside classes together with some glyph interested healers.

By now, she could easily attend to scratches, wounds, lacerations and even ease the pain of broken bones. The healers over in the Coven loved using the glyphs as a first-aid painkiller.

The best aspect of staying here on the Boiling Isles was, of course, her chosen family and friends, but one person had managed to make her stay way sweeter.

Her girlfriend.

Opening her eyes, Luz smiled towards the chattering group of her friends closing in on her locker and locked eyes with Amity. The young witch smiled back and, upon reaching her, leaned next to her on the lockers, not minding the eye above her head blinking sleepily before closing again, and took Luz’s hand to interlace their fingers.

“Hi babe.”, she greeted and got a small meep! in return, making her smirk. Amity was still so easily flustered, she almost felt bad.

“Hi. You look tired.”, there it was. Luz hummed when she gave a noncommittal shrug, then she turned to Willow who was waiting for her attention to talk about the upcoming test in plants.

Amity and she had started dating two years ago when they had confessed during their Azura Book Club meeting. Or well, Amity had confessed, Luz had awkwardly laughed and kissed her hand.

Fond memories.

She bit back a chuckle before answering Willow while squeezing Amity’s hand softly.

“Hey Willow, by the way. I’ve had some trouble with the speed of growing flowers. Either I grow them too fast and they break or I grow them too slow and can’t get them to full bloom. What’s up with that?”, she asked, getting Willow’s full attention – and enthusiasm – for her question.

After Willow had switched to the plant track, it had become evident that the plat witch not only had quite some skill to show for this track but also the enthusiasm and interest to study hard for it. She had caught up with theory a lot faster than Bump would’ve anticipated.

Her girlfriend rested her head against her shoulder before answering Skara who had been gushing about some up-and-coming singer she heard about, and Luz couldn’t help but overhear the mini yawn she tried to cover. Apparently, she had studied all night again, and then she was calling her tired.

Luz nodded to the answer Willow gave about managing to bring the flower up to full bloom before keeping it right there, when the bell screamed and she reached down to shoulder her bag again, waving the others goodbye and tugging Amity along who was just laughing about a joke Gus made before turning back to her.

Another little yawn.

Luz hummed at that, kissing her temple. She didn’t even get a chastising clap on her shoulder, just a quiet, satisfied hum. Normally, Amity was pretty adamant about keeping public affection to a minimum, especially while they were nearing graduation. But sometimes, Luz couldn’t resist.

“I look tired while you’re dead on your feet.”, she mumbled and Amity tried to bite something back but instead, a big yawn now sounded. She grinned at that and lifted their hands, pressing a soft kiss to her fingers and coming to a stop in front of the abomination’s classroom.

Luckily, they would attend a practical class today. She was sure Amity would doze away otherwise with the state she was in. Humming, Luz turned to her and softly took her in her arms, resting her chin on the side of Amity’s head. Thanks to her heels, Amity was just tall enough for Luz not to reach the top of her head, but she was still small enough for Luz to cuddle her in properly. The abominations professor would still take a while, Luz had heard about some hold up in the oracles hallways and he had been called there to keep whatever it was under control.

Amity sighed and buried her face in her girlfriend’s uniform, before nuzzling her way up to Luz’s neck, breathing against her brown skin. Luz loved the way she was snuggling up to her, like a little cat. Whenever she was given the chance, Amity would take up any and all physical affection. Preferably in private, since she wasn’t a big fan of being observed doing so, but with her sleep deprivation, her boundaries had seemed to be somewhat adjusted.

Not that Luz minded. She loved affection from her, and she didn’t care about being in public. Sometimes she even liked it, because she could show people how much Amity was her little girlfriend.

“… Mm md m stud all nmmght…”, she mumbled and Luz strained her ears but couldn’t actually make out what Amity had meant.

“… What did you say?”, she asked and the witch huffed, before turning her head a bit so her mouth wouldn’t be pressed up against Luz’s collarbone and muffle her words.

“Mom made me study all night.”, she replied, now much clearer and Luz grumbled at that, “For the last test I got.”

Furrowing her eyebrows, Luz held her tighter, genuinely confused.

“Your last test was an A, how could she be angry with that?”, she asked and Amity huffed.

“I don’t know. I think she had a bad day.”, she sighed, then she pressed a small, hidden kiss to Luz’s neck and shook her head.

“No talk, more hug.”, she demanded and Luz knew exactly why. After this class, she would have to go to the gym to train for Grudgby and Amity didn’t like hugging her when she was sweaty. She assumed her girlfriend just didn’t like the smell. And after lunch, they both had some extra activities, which meant no Azura Book Club for the afternoon.

Luz already missed her until tomorrow.

Even after two years of a happy relationship, the longing for close proximity hadn’t lessened. Even a weekend occasionally was too long, resulting in some snippy, well-meaning comments from Eda until Luz would see her again on Monday.

The witch nuzzled closer to her and Luz leaned her head against hers, experimentally blowing some tiny baby hairs that stood away from her little ponytail, observing how they fluttered in the wind. Amity had tried resisting her mother’s demands to dye her hair again about a year back but had quickly lost the fight. Luz wondered what her hair would look like now since Amity had let it grow out a little more and kept it wilder and unruly. She would really like to see her naturally brunette hair on her. Maybe as soon as Amity turned eighteen, she was allowed to let it grow out.

Humming, Luz let herself fall back against the wall, pulling Amity with her and letting her rest on her chest due to the slight angle they stood in now, but Amity didn’t seem to mind. They waited for another bit until it became clear that the professor wouldn’t turn up anymore, so Luz coaxed Amity into following her to the communal space of the graduates, a room that was reserved for the grad class only, where they lied down on a couch together.

Sitting down against the backrest, Amity immediately slumped against her and Luz adjusted accordingly for her girlfriend to sit comfortably, before nuzzling her nose into her hair.

“What class you got after abominations?”, she asked softly and Amity hummed, a little strained.

“Runes. Can you just hide me?”, she asked and Luz had to smile about that, softly kissing her temple. Amity wasn’t even bothered by the handful of other students in the room, which painted a full picture of her exhaustion for Luz.

“I don’t think I have room to hide you in my Grudgby uniform.”, she timidly replied and Amity let out an exasperated groan, before turning to Luz and throwing both her leg over her lap and her arm around her chest.

“Pleeease, I’m so tired, I don’t wanna go to Runes.”, she whined and Luz decided she had never heard anything more adorable than her girlfriend’s whining.

“You’re top of the year. You’re not allowed to say stuff like that. Others are looking up to you.”, she jokingly mumbled, to which she finally earned the well-deserved jab in her ribs.

“You’re not allowed to say that to me, you’re my girlfriend.”, Amity grumbled and Luz giggled, somewhat sliding to the side so she leaned against the armrest instead and put her legs up on the couch after kicking off her shoes and coaxed Amity to follow her suit. Which she did and a minute later, they were lying down on their sides, cuddled up together.

“Sorry, Mi Amor, I won’t do it again.”, she mumbled, then Amity pressed her cold nose into the crook between her jaw and neck, which made her shiver. Amity loved to do that because she always had an exceptionally cold nose tip.

“Good. Accept defeat.”, the young witch huffed and Luz couldn’t help but giggle at her sleepy voice, softly kissing her forehead, before nudging her so Amity would look up. She looked up blearily, her eyes barely opened so Luz couldn’t even make out the molten gold of her iris, then she kissed her nose tip before Amity was allowed to lie back down on her chest, her nose pushing right back to the junction of Luz’s neck to her jaw. She supposed she wouldn’t ever be able to get Amity to stop that. Honestly, she didn’t want to, anyway.

“I accept defeat, oh almighty overlord.”, she softly mocked the girl in her arms and got an indignant, but nonetheless content huff back. Smiling, Luz listened to her breaths getting longer and calmer, while she kept her nose buried in her hair, enjoying smelling Amity’s very own scent paired with the shampoo she was using. Humming, the Latina finally closed her eyes as well, smiling to herself.

It didn’t take long until Amity fell asleep against her and Luz was just glad that the twins didn’t attend Hexside anymore since they had graduated two years ago.

It wasn’t that she didn’t miss their antics, but it sure made Amity a lot more comfortable not being annoyed by her older siblings all day long, since they still lived at home and she had them all afternoon still.

Luz was leaning against the side rest of the couch now and Amity had her arms slung around her torso, her cheek squished against Luz’s chest while she slept. The human smiled softly, before taking a picture on Amity’s scroll phone for her to find later, then she rested her head back against the cushion and hummed, closing her eyes as well.

She trusted the bell’s screaming to wake them up in time, so she let herself doze away softly, enjoying the feeling of her girlfriend in her arms and her head rested on her chest, their steady breathing aligning until they created a calming symphony.

Little did she know Gus found them as well after Luz had also dozed away, and taken another picture to send to them later, before sitting down on the couch next to them and starting to practice an Illusion spell he had been working on together with Luz, who had found the Illusion glyph just about a week ago.

---

Luz groaned when her head slammed into the stone floor and she opted to just stay on her back until the white spots of pain would stop dancing in her vision.

This decision wasn’t hers to make, though.

Because a rough pair of hands ripped her up and pulled her into a sprint. Or well, she was stumbling more than she was running actually until she regained her footing and was able to carry herself across the bumpy, uneven floor while behind them, a growl sounded.

“For fucks sake, Noceda!”, an incredibly charming voice yelled into her ear as if she hadn’t just taken the brunt of the fall for them both and she winced with the volume.

“Boscha, I swear, if it hadn’t been for you, we wouldn’t be in this situation!”, she grumbled, rubbing the spot where she had hit the stone, then she glanced over to the triclops girl.

The other teen didn’t spare her a glance while her seeking eyes followed the hallway they were running down, seeking a hideout or an exit or anything.

“That’s because you insisted on using that stupid tunnel the small faker dug to get away from Bump!”, Boscha growled and Luz finally ripped her hands away, so she could be running freely again.

“First of all, Gus is an Illusionist, not a faker. And it’s not my fault you trashed the gym just to show me off!”, she shot back and followed Boscha taking a sharp right.

“And it’s not my fault your stupid face makes me wanna throw things into it!”

The human groaned. They wouldn’t get anywhere with this.

After they had once again gotten into a fight in the gym, Boscha had absolutely trashed the place, leading to Bump demanding to speak to them and Luz, handling out of panic, pulling Boscha into the tunnel Gus had dug under the school.

The tunnel floor had opened up under the weight of the two girls, and given way to a hidden set of hallways, looking like the school floors above them. Luz had a bad feeling that they had been hidden and sealed off for a reason. Didn’t Grom live under the school or something?

She definitely remembered that Hexside had been built on the ruins of their opposing school, Glandus High. Were these ruins of the former Glandus school?

Well, it didn’t matter anyway. Because right after they had fallen into these forgotten hallways, something had started chasing them. Boscha had said it was something like rats, just essentially bigger versions from the human realm, but at the same time, she had been pretty uncertain.

That wasn’t anything like critters living off of crumbs down here. She was pretty sure it was a lot worse, maybe even Grometheus himself, but she absolutely didn’t want to find out. And to both their dismay, in their panic, Boscha and Luz had managed to find what was probably the only other hole in the ground and fallen through that as well. Now they were a long way under the school with no way back up.

Boscha took another aimless left and Luz huffed, still rubbing her head before running straight into a wall, along with Boscha who had looked behind them. Now, this was a dead end.

“Fuck. Any ideas?”, the three-eyed gaze found her and Luz quickly got up to grab Boscha’s sleeve in turn now and dart back to the hallway they had been coming from, before running again, away from the direction they had been coming from.

“I think these hallways are somewhat structured like Hexside above. If we follow this one and take a right, we might find some stairs and breakthrough.”, she rambled, her brain running a thousand miles an hour while she was trying to navigate through this maze. She hoped there would be some sort of stairs.

“Are you sure about this, Noceda?!”

Rolling her eyes, Luz shrugged and let go of Boscha’s sleeve.

“I’m assuming these are Glandus High hallways. I hope Bump somewhat resembled Hexside from it.”

Now it was Boscha’s turn to snarl.

“You really think Bump would resemble the infrastructure of our rivals?!”, she asked and Luz grimaced. She admitted, it seemed super unlikely, but if she was being honest, she had no idea. She just wanted to keep running for now. What was worrying her more was that the walls all along the hallways were somewhat lit. Which meant there was still magic lingering around here.

Was this a good or a bad sign? What if the creature chasing them was feeding off of it? Or even worse, it was the one keeping the magic alive down here?

Growling, Luz tried to keep her mind in the game instead of lapsing into theories.

They took another turn, running down a hallway and past a few abandoned rooms, but soon it became evident to Luz that if the hallways were somewhat close to Hexside above, they should’ve stumbled across some stairs by now.

“Maybe we can hide out in one of those rooms for the time being, until that thing forgets us!”, she yelped, pinching her aching sides, but Boscha didn’t lessen her sprint.

“That thing found us immediately when we fell down here! Pretty sure it uses magic tracking us!”

A nod was all Luz could muster. She groaned, taking a turn to some sort of communal area, then they sprinted into another hallway branching off of it, spending no time looking around. And sure enough, a few seconds after they left the room, she heard one of the old chairs cracking.

“Shouldn’t we find any sort of way upstairs, soon?!”, she questioned and the other teen growled, “I mean, we’re two levels below, somehow they had to be connected!”

After taking another turn, they stumbled into a big room, looking almost like an auditorium, and Luz had to break her sprint into a jog, favoring her aching sides.

“C’mon human! We gotta go!”, the witch yelled when she turned, but Luz was heaving. She couldn’t go on like that.

“I’ll try to block off here! Go around!”, she ordered and pulled a glyph, turning through the door they had been coming through. Boscha knew Luz was right. They couldn’t keep on running away like this, and she preferred the open space to the hallways as well. Grumbling, she jogged backward, then she turned and sprinted out into the hallway to go around. Luckily, they seemed to stretch all around this auditorium or gym.

Meanwhile, Luz tried to regain her breath as she threw the rock glyph, creating a wall underneath herself so whatever followed them would be confused first. Huffing, she crouched down on the ledge she had created for the beast to show itself. It had started chasing them down immediately after they had entered these halls and not let off of them. Maybe it was territorial, but it shouldn’t have found them as easily.

Groaning, Luz rubbed her sides. She was not used to sprinting that much, even after playing Grudgby for four years now. Against Amity’s endurance and Willow’s strength, she was still very much a nerd. Suddenly, silence filled the catacombs down here and the scratching and huffing from whatever had given them a good run for their lives stopped. For a short moment, Luz feared it had gotten Boscha, but she would’ve heard her screams. Probably.

Holding her breath, she fixated the door while she pulled the next glyph, a fire glyph, and remained quiet. Apparently, Boscha did the same, as she couldn’t hear a sound whatsoever anymore.

And then, hell broke loose.

Something was barreling through her wall and the next thing she knew she was falling down to the ground. Rocks of her summoned wall fell around her and dust filled her lungs before she roughly slammed on the tiles below, her elbow cracking and her head, once again, connecting with stone.

At this rate, she should consider wearing a helmet.

Quickly coming to her feet, Luz stumbled out of the dust cloud and for the first time, got a proper look at the beast that had been following them around for the past few minutes. It was big and scaly, but she couldn’t define what exactly it was. It almost looked like a mix of a rat and a lizard, just a lot bigger than was still acceptable. Its skin and scales seemed worn and battle experienced, but the beast didn’t seem old. On the contrary, it seemed quite full of energy.

A scream escaped her throat and the thing turned towards her. Where there should be eyes, there was just head. Her gaze flickering around, she saw no eyes. This thing had nothing that resembled eyes. Apparently, it was blind.

Figures why it found them so quickly.

It was completely relying on its hearing, judging by the big, mouse-like ears on top of its head. Luz breathed through. Maybe she could befriend and calm it down. After all, they fell into its territory, maybe they could satiate its rage somewhat and leave before anyone came to harm.

When it opened its big snout, though, Luz gulped and reconsidered.

These teeth looked very much made for killing.

She doubted this thing grew them for no reason. They looked like they could smash and swallow cows in whole. The thing started charging at her and she couldn’t move in shock until a fireball slammed into the side of its hideous head and she looked over to see a furious pink head between the rubble.

“Human! Do you have a death wish?!”, she heard and resisted rolling her eyes.

“How do we escape this?!”, she shot back and Boscha jumped over the debris of her failed wall, before joining her side, grumbling when she summoned fire around her hands.

“We kill it.”, she hissed and Luz slanted her lips, but she readied a glyph.

“I don’t feel like that’s the right thi-”, she began, but the triclops sent another fireball after the beast before grabbing her neck, her hand clasping too tightly she almost complained and forcing her out of the way while it charged.

“Either this thing or us!”, she called and the human sighed. Fine, she could see that logic. That still didn’t ease her mind.

“It’s blind! We could use that!”

Boscha shot her a glance and, while obviously heeding her useful information, she still seemed aggravated and annoyed with her. There was just no way to make Boscha happy.

Keeping their mouths shut and their feet planted to the ground, they held their breath. The beast shook its head after slamming into the wall, then it began sniffing around and Luz had to muffle a disgruntled groan of annoyance.

Cool, it could smell them as well. So much went for keeping quiet if it could still locate them.

Picking up her scent, it turned towards her and once again opened its snout, revealing its multiple fangs, before charging back at her and Luz could just so jump out of the way while it rushed past her.

“It can smell us!”, she yelled at Boscha who summoned some lightning to throw it at the beast, confusing it for a moment while she joined back up with the human.

“Alright then, new plan.”, the pink-headed witch shot her a glare, readying her stance, “We finally turn deadly.”

Grumbling, Luz pulled out a few new glyphs, furrowing her eyebrows.

“You do. I’ll try to cage it in.”, she held back and Boscha growled in frustration.

“Fine, you do you. As soon as you trapped it, I can kill it.”

She was just about to disagree when Boscha was already on the move. The witch sprinted towards the beast and sent powerful blasts after it, while Luz still pondered. She didn’t want to kill it. They had intruded into their territory. On the other hand, it was probably powerful enough to break out of everything Luz would cook up for it as a cage. And even if she could somehow capture it, it’d most likely starve once they left.

Huffing, the human gripped her glyphs tighter and ran after Boscha. She couldn’t prevent it and most likely, Boscha was right. They would either kill it or be killed and if she could choose, she preferred the first option to the second.

Slapping a glyph on the floor, she let a thorned vine shoot towards the beast but it smartly dodged the plant and instead opted for trampling Luz down in a big cloud of dust, while Boscha didn’t stop shooting it with everything she had.

Dazedly, Luz got back up after having felt her ribcage being compressed by about thrice her weight, then she threw another glyph to hinder it from reaching Boscha. An ice pillar slammed into its side just as it got ready to snap at the Grudgby team captain, then she huffed and propped herself up on her knees.

That had been close. The beast got back up way faster than she had been able to recharge and whipped its tail at the witch, but she managed to slam it back with a shield, causing an explosion where the tail connected with the shield.

“Human!”

Luz reacted fast and jumped to action, letting a plant glyph grow underground to resurface right before Boscha and foiling another attack, at least stalling the beast for a moment, until the witch could get herself a little farther away. She stumbled back, summoning lightning to disorient the attacker, then she made a run for it, past Luz and towards a wider space, so they could fan out and take it into their crossfire. The demon tried snapping at both of them but they were standing too far apart, both attacking it with the best they could muster until the beast managed to break through Luz’s defense and slam her into the wall behind her.

Groaning, she fell to the floor and immediately smelled the horrible stench of decaying organic material around her. The beast had her now.

She squinted her eyes and felt teeth snapping at her, yet the attacker was pulled back and only managed to bite onto her leg, dragging her with.

Opening her eyes, Luz saw Boscha having summoned a leash on which she had tried to pull it away from her.

“Fuck’s sake, Boscha! Let it go!”, she screamed in pain and gave it her best to punch and kick the beast wherever she could, but she had yet to find a weak spot.

“If you wanna be eaten, sure!”, the witch yelled back and despite the pain, Luz couldn’t help but groan in frustration. Sure, thank you, she was hanging onto that thing Boscha had caught.

Growling, she slapped a rock glyph on the floor and conjured a spike to impale the beast from beneath, but it jumped to the side. At least she had left an anchor to hold onto now, which she promptly did.

Immediately, the pull on her leg made her scream, and the beast snapped after her again in the hopes of getting more of her.

“LET GO RIGHT NOW!!”, she screamed and the pull stopped when the beast was released and jumped forward, ripping her in a different direction now, but she was prepared. A well-aimed blast from her explosion glyph shot the snout of the thing right open as the side of it had been exposed. Luz rolled away and tried coming back to her feet but there was no use.

“Strap it down!”, she yelled at Boscha who was already way ahead of her. The witch jumped past her and used the leash spell again to trap it, yelping when its razor-sharp teeth grazed her arm, then Luz slapped a glyph on the ground and a gigantic ice shard rose from the ground, impaling the beast right through the stomach and out its back.

Panting, the two teenagers watched its breathing stopping, then Boscha dropped down to the ground next to Luz.

“Titan’s fucking asshole, human.”, she fell flat on her back, panting, “Luckily for us I got skills.”

At that, the human could merely snarl as she sat up a little straighter, slapping a healing glyph on her impaled leg and making it a little better. She couldn’t quite heal up, but at least she had stopped the blood flow.

“Lucky for us I got enough glyphs packed for some reason. Oh wait, I know exactly why! Because I knew you would get us in trouble in training.”, she shot back and Boscha couldn’t do much else than laugh.

“… We’re actually a good team, Noceda.”, she finally said and Luz plopped down next to her before using her last healing glyph to stick it to Boscha’s arm, causing a low grunt from the witch as the pain subsided.

“We actually are, huh.”, grinning smugly, she turned back to the other teenager, “… ‘s that mean I’m off the bench?”

Boscha merely gave her a glare.

---

After a few minutes of catching their breath, they decided not to take their chances with the family of that thing.

Luz had discovered her arm that had taken the brunt of the fall from her wall was bruised and she shouldn’t move it more. At least she could move everything else. All over her body she was sporting scratches, smaller and bigger ones, and her leg had started bleeding again after the magic of the glyph had faded, even if the wounds had gotten smaller. The back of her head felt wet due to hitting it on the ground two or three times – she didn’t even remember anymore – but she didn’t dare to check if she was actually bleeding. For now, it was just a feeling and she couldn’t do anything about it anyway, because she had used up her healing glyphs.

Boscha looked just like her, except she had a laceration on her forehead from when the beast had decided to hit her force shield and sported some nasty gashes along her arm. Just like Luz, she was bruised all over.

Unwillingly, she still offered her support when Luz couldn’t put weight on her leg and let her wrap an arm around her shoulders before they could start to make their way towards the next hallway. Luz hobbled along to Boscha’s dragging steps and they made slow progress, but at least they couldn’t make out any other hostile noises for now. She didn’t suppose they could last another fight, Boscha’s bile sac was probably drained and her glyphs wouldn’t last them long anymore.

Luckily for them, they actually found a flight of stairs. It didn’t get them far, but at least they got back up to the level they had fallen into from Gus’ tunnel. Luz would really have to inform him of the maze down here, to mind when he would continue on his tunnel, not to fall down here on accident.

On the other hand, if she told him, he’d probably go down here on purpose to explore. Grimacing, she decided to tell Willow, so she could at least attempt to secure Gus’ tunnel enough so he wouldn’t do the same as Boscha and her.

Up here, the torches were all lit as well. In the dimmed light, they could see well enough to navigate around and watch for possible holes which they had been able to avoid on the level below. Which implied that this basement actually went down at least one level deeper than where they had been. At one point, Boscha requested a break, and Luz more than willingly agreed, groaning when she sat down and leaned against the wall. She had used her jacket as a makeshift sling for her arm and her leg was bleeding, not immensely, but she figured the amount she had already lost would be piling up in the future. It was just dribbling, but continuously. Boscha’s arm as well.

“Think we should just blast upwards? For all we know, Hexside’s halls should just be above us.”, the witch requested and Luz shook her head.

“There’s at least the height of Gus’ tunnel between us and Hexside’s ground level and the danger is too big that we’ll actually hit a wall and cause structural damage. Plus, we could be hurting other students.”, she quickly said while leaning her head against the wall, grimacing while she pulled her pants tighter around her wounds, in an attempt to make them stop bleeding. With just one hand that proved more difficult than she thought.

“Well, what do you propose, then?”, Boscha snarled and Luz sighed. She was not up for the snappy nonsense Boscha was pulling right now.

“We search the hole up to Gus’ tunnel and go up through there. We just took some lefts and rights. How hard can it be to find our way back?”

Boscha merely gave her a suspicious glance, then she sighed and shrugged, before helping the human back up to her feet.

“Fine, we can try that. I think it was a right, then left and two rights?”, she guessed and Luz furrowed her eyebrows.

“Wait, but wasn’t that left, right thing a dead end? Where we ran into the wall?”, she leaned against Boscha and the teenager groaned, closing her lower eyes in frustration while the third kept open, not to lose the direction of where they had come from.

“But wasn’t the big gym thing another left?”

“I think it was a right.”, Luz pondered, then she shrugged, “We’ll find it, pretty sure. We could follow some noises if you can hear some!”

Instead of broadcasting her frustration again, the Grudgby captain just started walking and pulled Luz along who tried to hobble the most balanced she could, before pulling a light glyph and activating it so it’d illuminate the way before them and help them have a little more sight than what the torches did. They bickered sometimes about the directions and ran into the wrong hallways quite a lot, but in the end, Boscha’s ears flicked when she picked something up.

“Hey, wait, I think there are some voices in that direction!”, she excitedly quipped and Luz considered this being the first time she actually saw Boscha being genuine. Just as quickly as that excitement came, she stopped it, though, “Thank the Titan, I was getting really fed up with you.”

At that, the human couldn’t help but snort.

“And what would you have done, huh? Just left me at some corner?”

Boscha shrugged non-committal and continued on until they finally saw a light that didn’t belong to the torches or the light glyph Luz had activated. Now she could also hear the voices of the students through the ceiling and let out a big breath of relief.

“Thank fuck.”, she sighed when they arrived at the hole up to Gus’ tunnel. Apparently, nobody else had discovered the hole down here. Which meant they couldn’t just pop up there looking like this.

Luz helped Boscha up into Gus’ tunnel and in turn, the triclops pulled her up. Deciding to follow the tunnel to the Grudgby field not to pop up somewhere in the school and attract any attention, they crawled their way to where Gus had shown Luz the tunnel ending beneath the bleachers. They emerged unseen and Boscha helped Luz hobble out towards the side where the bleachers were open, then they both breathed through. The sunlight hit their faces in what felt like hours to them when in reality, they couldn’t have been down there for longer than an hour.

“So, infirmary, huh?”, Luz finally broke the silence and Boscha nodded with a grimace.

“Maybe we can pretend we settled our dispute on the field.”, she added and Luz chuckled before agreeing. They made their way around the school and entered through the main entrance because that was the one closest to the infirmary when suddenly, a voice made them stop dead in their tracks.

“Stop right there!”

It sounded angry.

Luz gulped when she turned to see Amity stomping towards them, trailed by a furious-looking Willow and a guilty Gus. Trying a smile, she managed a small voice. Her girlfriend was looking like she could rip her up in the air. She was actually baring her fangs, and Willow wasn’t looking that much different.

“H-Heeey, Amity! Good that you’re here, actually, because-”

“Save it!”, she snapped and glared at Boscha who had shrunk just as much as Luz had, then she cupped her face, inspecting her up and down. When Amity pulled her fingers back out of her hair, they were tinged red, just what Luz had expected from her rough falls. Meanwhile, Boscha was arrested by Willow who was still trailed by Gus, with his shoulders pulled up, watching Willow grabbing Boscha’s ear and pulling her right to the infirmary while the Grudgby captain was weakly complaining and whining at the way she was being handled.

Luz fixated back on her girlfriend who was still looking at her red fingers, then she looked over the human once more, only now registering the injuries she was sporting. One twinge in her expression told Luz that their Grudgby lie would not hold up against her bitten leg.

“… Oh Titan, what happened to you…?”, she softly asked, so softly that Luz almost hadn’t heard her. Grimacing, she tried shrugging it off, even if her heart broke with Amity’s scared expression.

“I-I’m fine, Amity, I’m okay, it’s actually just-”, her girlfriend looked up to her and Luz cut her sentence off right when she saw her watering eyes catching her gaze.

The witch leaned towards her and pulled her head down with her hands cupping her neck, then their lips connected. Luz closed her eyes at that, savoring every little second she got of Amity’s kiss.

In the two years of their relationship, they hadn’t kissed in public, just little cheek or hand kisses. But never real kisses, on the lips, because of the public display of affection that Amity wanted to keep at a minimum.

Luz leaned into the kiss and hummed softly, enjoying how Amity’s body was pressing against her despite the pain. Her arms slowly weaving around her waist, Luz pulled Amity even closer, feeling Amity pouring all her concern and fear into the kiss. She couldn’t imagine how worried Amity must’ve been. First, they trash the gym, then they vanish completely, and now Luz turns up bleeding and injured. She must’ve been worried sick and Luz was feeling more and more guilty the longer she thought about it. Their kiss came to a gentle stop, but Amity didn’t have enough yet. She nuzzled back against her human and Luz captured her lips back, sighing with the small love confessions Amity granted her. She tilted her head a little more, allowing Amity more control, and even felt her girlfriend whining a little, mewling into their kiss. This was more of a reunion than it was a make-out.

Her fingers softly weaved into the locks around Luz’s ears, before she pulled back and her gaze sought out her human’s gaze again. Only now did Luz realize that her eyes were actually wet and that a tear rolled down her cheek.

“Oh gosh, Amity, are you crying?”, she reflexively asked and her girlfriend’s expression very quickly turned into something else. Something very different. She almost looked angry again.

“Yeah, of course, I’m crying!”, she suddenly shouted and pinched Luz’s ear, causing her to flinch and yelp, “I was worried sick about you! Nobody knew where you went until Gus said you might’ve used his tunnel and Bump got all weird about that! And now you come back injured!”

“Ouch, Ami, my ears!”, she tried but her girlfriend wouldn’t listen, “A-And about that, could we actually-”

“No, you’ll be listening to me now!”, she snapped and Luz immediately sealed her lips, her shoulders pulling up, “What you did in the gym was irresponsible and childish, and then disappearing like that is just plain careless! Am I being clear?”

Luz nodded, then she tried suppressing a little groan but Amity had caught it, her eyes suddenly widening.

“Oh Titan, that’s right! We should get you to the infirmary, immediately!”

The human nodded to that again and managed a strained smile before her girlfriend summoned an abomination to scoop her up and carry her to the healers’ office.

“… You don’t wanna carry me yourself?”, Luz dared to ask quietly and Amity turned around to chastise her more, though she could recognize a little teasing glimmer in her eyes.

“You’re covered in questionable substances and I don’t wanna touch that. As soon as you’re cleaned up, I can carry you around.”

Luz grinned at that.

---

Leave a like and reblog if you liked it! <3

#the owl house #toh #luz noceda #boscha #amity blight #willow park #gus porter #lumity #beneath hexside high #fanfic

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spider-bitten · 6 years

Photo

ANOTHΣR SHΦT

Fratboy!Tom Holland | Tom x Reader

Chapters: | 1 | 2 | 3 |

Chapter 3

There were many arguments that could be made for Friday being the best day of the week. Sure, many people still had classes. But the relief that came from leaving one’s last class for the week was damn near euphoric. Saturdays and Sundays were often filled with regrets from the night before, but Fridays were the fresh-faced beginning to the weekend filled with endless opportunities for the upcoming two days.

Your last class on Fridays got out at 3:40, which left you plenty of time to enjoy your afternoons before getting ready for whatever evening plans you had. Most weeks had a general idea whether it was going to be a sweatpants and Netflix kind of Friday, or a skinny jeans and shots kind of Friday by the time you were done with class. But this Friday, at 3:30 pm, you were faced with a dilemma. You still hadn’t made up your mind on if you were going to accept Tom’s invitation to Sink or Swim.

Your roommates had all encouraged you to go. Being in Sororities they’d all been to plenty of Fraternity events including Sig Ep’s. “Besides,” they assured you “if it goes poorly we’ll be there.”

But you couldn’t get over that initial recoil from the idea of going to a Sig Ep event. Let alone one taking place at the pool. It was an event perfectly curated to make you confront your biggest anxieties.

When class was finally dismissed, a flurry of zippers and people getting up sounded throughout the classroom as everyone rushed to leave. In contrast, you took your time putting your things away and using the opportunity to check your phone. You loved your friends, but being the only one not in a sorority meant that your newsfeed was plastered with Greek Life things anyways. Shirt swaps, events, fundraisers… It made you rationalize that you could never last in a sorority even if you wanted to just because you rarely posted on social media.

After scrolling for a few minutes you finally decided to leave the classroom and head back to your dorm. With most people having left in the initial rush, you were able to continue looking at your phone as you made your way out of the building. That is until you bumped into someone as you turned a corner.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry-“ You started saying before you realized just who you had run into.

“Fancy seeing you here, Y/N,” Tom smirked, running his hand through his hair to push a stray curl aside only for it to fall right back into place. “We seem to keep running into each other, it must be fate.”

“Or stalking,” you said, rolling your eyes.

“Please, you’re the one who bumped into me,” he pointed out with a laugh.

“Yeah, and I said sorry. Can I get going?” You asked, trying to sidestep him only for him to match your movements.

“Am I going to see you tonight?” He asked, his tone becoming gentler. “Your names already on the list so you don’t have to worry about a ticket.”

“I still haven’t decided yet. I have some important things I need to take care of.”

“Such as?”

“Literally anything else,” you said, finally pushing past him.

“Come on, you don’t have to be like that,” Tom said, gently grabbing your wrist. “It’ll be fun. There’s snacks and movies and lounging in the pool.”

“I said I haven’t decided yet,” You said, pulling your arm from his grip. “Besides, if I do come, I’m not going in the pool.”

“Why not?” The boy asked, his head tilting ever so slightly to the side.

“Because I don’t want to,” You said pointedly.

“You know you’re very good at answering questions without actually answering them. Are you sure you’re not a Political Science major?” He chuckled. You simply rolled your eyes, finally walking away from him as he called out “Doors open at 8!”

He sure is trying hard just for a hookup. You thought as you headed back to your dorm.

By 8:12 you had already, begrudgingly, decided to go to Sink or Swim. Unfortunately, your roommates were taking their sweet time getting ready and you weren’t about to head over alone.

“Guys, the movie is supposed to start at 8:30,” You said, leaning heavily against the doorframe as you watched your roommates put the finishing touches on their makeup in the shared mirror.

“You didn’t even want to go, now you’re trying to rush us?” Amanda laughed.

“No, I’m just saying, we’re gonna miss the start of the movie,” You said, crossing your arms.

“Oh yeah, and you’re such a die-hard Titanic fan,” Shannon smirked before leaning forward to delicately apply her lipstick.

“Why are you guys even bothering to do your makeup? You’re going to be in a pool,” You pointed out.

“Gotta show everyone just how cute DZ’s can be,” Emily shrugged. She and Shannon had been in Delta Zeta’s pledge class the previous year and had been inseparable ever since. The two had opted to represent their sorority’s colors with matching pink and green bikinis. “Plus, waterproof makeup is a thing.”

“I paid forty dollars for this setting spray, it’d better keep my makeup on if I go swimming in lava,” Amanda said before spritzing a fine mist over her face.

“We’re so late…” You mumbled, tugging your jacket sleeves over your hands. While your roommates had found cute bikinis with nice cuts and patterns to wear, you’d opted for a more comfortable look. Jean shorts, a tank top, and your favorite hoodie. They’d tried to talk you into wearing a swimsuit, but you figured it’d be best to not even invite the idea that you’d maybe get in the pool. If anyone has an issue with it, screw them. You thought to yourself.

Finally, your roommates were content with their makeup and you all made your way to the school pool. When you walked through the gates, you saw the pool decked out like you’d never seen it before. Lights had been strung across the pool and cast a warm glow over the entire area. A giant inflatable screen was propped up on one end and was playing music videos. The pool itself was filled with inflatables ranging from simple inner tubes to several inflatable rafts. There was even a kiddie pool floating around.

Your group walking in drew the attention of Jacob, who immediately nudged Tom with his elbow.

“Dude, she’s here,” he said, nodding towards the front gate. When Tom saw you, the corner of his mouth quirked into a crooked smile.

“I’ll see you later,” he told Jacob. The two fist bumped before he walked over to you and your friends.

“You guys made it just in time, the movies about to start,” He said as you all got checked in.

“Told you we’d get here in time,” Shannon said, playfully bumping into you. “This one was all worried about missing the start of the movie.”

“Well, we’re glad you could make it,” Tom said, addressing the group but smiling at you. “Come on, I’ve got a small raft we can sit in.”

“I’m not going in the pool,” You said, shaking your head.

“You don’t have to go in the pool,” Tom said, somewhat confused. “We’ll just be sitting in the raft,”

“No, I’m not going in the water. Not even on top of it,” You said firmly. “I was planning on watching from the bleachers.”

“Oh, okay,” Tom said, looking over at the empty bleachers. “Well, that’s one way to guarantee us a good spot,” he smirked. As your roommates walked towards the pool, you could see them giving you a thumbs up behind Tom’s back and you had to restrain yourself from rolling your eyes.

“You can go in your raft if you want to,” you said “I don’t want to ruin your fun at your own event.”

“Oh it’s fine, someone else can use it,” He shrugged. The two of you made your way over to the bleachers, walking up to the highest bench. Tom set his sweatshirt to the side and you both leaned your backs against the chain-link fence as the movie started projecting on the giant screen at the end of the pool, causing lots of cheers to emit from the crowd floating in it.

“I’m going to be honest, I was starting to think you were going to stand me up,” Tom chuckled.

“That’s impossible, standing you up would require me to agree to come in the first place,” you responded. “Besides, this isn’t a date.”

“It isn’t? You sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“Alright,” he dramatically sighed before laughing a little. “Well, regardless, I’m glad you could make it.” He said, looking at you. You met his gaze, taking a second to get a good look at him. The warm lights strung above you highlighted the hint of red in his otherwise brown hair and made his eyes appear pitch black as they looked at you. He wore a custom tank top for the event, on the back it said “Sink or Swim” and on the front, there was a small chest pocket with an anchor on it.

“My friends made me come,” you said, shrugging your shoulders.

“It’s still nice that you’re here,” he smiled.

The two of you turned your attention to the screen, watching as Rose disembarked from the helicopter.

“So, if you weren’t here, what do you usually do on Friday nights?” Tom asked you after a few minutes.

“Oh, well…” You paused for a minute, messing with your hoodie sleeves. “Normally I either go out or work on homework. Nothing super exciting.”

“Where do you usually go out to? I don’t think I’ve seen you at any Sig Ep parties before.”

You shrugged in response. “I tag along wherever my friends want to go. All frat parties are the same to me. Loud, stuffy, with watered down booze.”

“Hey now, we aren’t all that bad,” Tom laughed, acting offended. “We have the best water to alcohol ratio compared to everyone else.”

“I’m sure,” you said with a small laugh, rolling your eyes.

“So your friends, I’ve seen a few of them around at events and stuff. Are you in a sorority with any of them?” He asked.

“No,” You said, shaking your head “I don’t mind going to their events or anything, but Greek Life is absolutely not my thing.”

“Why not?” Tom asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees so he could face you while you talked.

You simply shrugged, keeping your eyes on the screen. “A lot of the sororities here seem kinda superficial. Like, no one says it, but there isn’t a single DG who has less than 1,000 followers on Instagram. And besides,” your eyes swept over the pool, not able to pick out your friends in the mass of people but knowing they were there “I’ve got a solid group of friends already. I don’t see a point in paying to be in a group with people I might not get along with.”

“That’s understandable,” Tom nodded, looking you up and down. “It can be superficial sometimes, even in frats. But I’ve found it to be a lot of fun. Frats aren’t really a thing at universities in England, so it’s cool getting to experience this part of American culture while I’m here.”

“So why did you decide to come study in America?”

“Why not?” Tom shrugged with a laugh. “I dunno, I like traveling. Growing up in the UK made it easy to do, but I’d never been to America before. So when the time came to apply for colleges, I figured why not apply for a degree abroad?”

“So you just up and came to live in a foreign country all by yourself?”

“Not entirely. My mate Harrison also goes here. He’s practically family,” Tom smiled. “I mean, he’s technically my brother now. He’s also in Sig Ep.”

“That’s cool that you both got into the same school,” You said.

“It’s pretty lucky,” Tom nodded. “I’m very grateful to be here,” He said with a small smile as he looked at you.

After that, the two of you settled against the hard metal bleachers and watched the movie.

“So, who picked Titanic?” You asked after the movie ended. Lots of people still milled around the area, some people stayed in the pool and others were chatting or helping clean up. There were occasional shouts as people either fell into the pool while trying to get out of their inflatables or were thrown in by their friends. Many people were wrapped up in towels to keep warm after having been in the pool, and the atmosphere was bright and bubbly. Several groups were making plans to go out, as other fraternities were holding parties that evening and were bound to get an influx of people now that Sig Ep’s event was done.

You and Tom made your way down from the top of the bleachers to join the crowd of people still on the pool deck.

“Not sure honestly, but I know it came down to this or Sharknado.” He chuckled.

“Thank God you guys picked this then,” You said with a small laugh.

“Yeah, it would’ve been funny but I doubt this many people would’ve come.” He nodded. “Are you ever going to text me? Because I’ve got to help clean up now but I wanna keep talking sometime.”

“Maybe,” You said with a smirk. “Still haven’t made up my mind yet.”

“Like you hadn’t made up your mind on whether or not to come tonight?” Tom asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Exactly,” You nodded.

“Well in that case, how about I get your number so I can text you about more events for you to debate coming to?”

“Hmm,” you said, bringing your fingers to your chin thoughtfully “I guess so.” You said finally. Tom’s eyes lit up and he pulled out his phone so you could put your number in as a new contact.

“Thanks,” He smiled. “I’ll see you around then?”

“See you,” You nodded. With that, Tom headed off to help clean up.

You smiled watching him walk off before beginning to scan the area for your roommates. They’d mentioned possibly wanting to go out that evening after the event, but you had a lot of homework so you’d planned to stay in instead.

“You know this was a pool event, right?” A voice asked from behind you. You felt yourself freeze as you mentally kicked yourself for thinking you’d be able to actually enjoy an evening at a Sig Ep event without running into Daniel. “Why hang out in the bleachers with the limey?”

You chose to ignore him, hoping that by not acknowledging him he’d leave you alone.

“What, too good to talk to me now that you’ve got dick appointments with Holland?” He asked, standing up.

“It’s not like that,” you mumbled, regretting having not made a meetup plan with your roommates.

“I’m sorry what was that?” Daniel asked, walking towards you.

“Just fuck off an leave me alone,” You said, glaring at him.

“Come on, I’m just trying to encourage you to loosen up and have some fun,” Daniel sneered. “You’ve been such a stuck up bitch acting like you’re too good for sororities and shit. So relax. It’s a pool party, you’re bound to get wet.”

With that, Daniel laughed as he pushed your shoulders, causing you to pitch backward. You screamed as you tumbled into the deep end of the pool, immediately panicking and trying desperately to pull your head above water. You could feel your clothes growing heavy as the cold water saturated them, and you swore you could feel yourself being pulled further and further down. You frantically kicked your legs and waved your arms until your head finally broke the surface and you took a deep, pulling breath. As you struggled to keep your head above water, you felt someone wrap an arm around your chest and start pulling you through the water. Once you stopped thrashing around, you could hear Tom’s voice.

“Y/N, its okay! I’ve got you. It’s alright.”

Finally, you felt your feet touch the bottom of the pool and you stood up, rushing towards the steps and pulling yourself back onto solid ground. Your hoodie was heavy and felt as if it were pinning you to the ground, but you were just thankful to be on dry land. You could feel yourself trembling from both a mixture of shock and fear, and your shallow breaths neared hyperventilation status.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” You heard Tom yell as he pulled himself out of the pool. You saw him make a beeline towards Daniel, who had walked off towards the snack table. There was more yelling, but you couldn’t focus on it. You knew you were physically safe, but you couldn’t bring your mind out of the pool. You could still feel the water enveloping you, unable to touch the bottom. Unable to see anything.

“Y/N?” You heard someone say. You looked up to see Tom crouching over you, water dripping from his soaking hair. “Y/N, darling, can you hear me? Are you hurt?”

“M’fine…” You mumbled, using all your strength to push yourself up into a sitting position.

“Are you sure?” He asked, looking you over carefully. “I’m so sorry, I know you didn’t want to get in the pool. Daniel’s going to pay for pulling that kind of shit.”

“I’m fine, just a little… freaked out.” You said, shivering. “I don’t do water. I don’t swim.”

“Fucking hell,” Tom mumbled before turning towards Harrison, who was standing nearby. “Can you grab my hoodie? I put it on the fence by the entrance.”

Harrison just nodded and went off to fetch it.

“Can you stand? We need to get you dried off.”

You nodded and shakily stood up, using Tom to help support you. The two of you went and found towels, and Harrison brought Tom his hoodie.

“Thanks for pulling me out,” You said softly as you wrung out your own jacket.

“Of course,” Tom said, keeping a careful eye on you. “Here, put this on. At least it’s dry,” He said, holding out his hoodie for you.

“You sure?”

Tom just nodded, and you slipped the hoodie on. It smelled strongly of Tom’s body spray and was much warmer than your sopping wet jacket.

“Thank you,” You said quietly.

“Let’s get you back to your dorm,” Tom said gently. You nodded and the two of you left the pool in silence, heading to your dorm across campus.

“I’m sorry your night had to end like that,” he said after a few minutes “I don’t get why Daniel’s got it out for you.”

“He’s an asshole,” You said simply. “But thanks for jumping in after me.”

“You keep getting put in danger, I’m going to have to keep saving you,” Tom chuckled. “Besides, I don’t mind an impromptu swim. It’s refreshing.”

“I can’t stand it,” You said, shaking your head.

“I could kinda tell. Can you not swim?” Tom asked.

“I used to swim,” you shrugged “Then there was an accident and I just… I can’t do water anymore.”

“I’m sorry to hear about that.”

“It’s not a big deal,” you said as you swiped into your building. Tom walked with you all the way to your dorm room, where the two of you paused in the empty hallway. “Thanks for letting me wear your hoodie,” you said, moving to take it off.

“You can keep it for the night,” Tom blurted out.

“Really?” You asked, confusion clearly showing on your face.

“Yeah, I don’t need it tonight. Besides, I don’t wanna keep it in my room when it smells like chlorine,” he laughed. You rolled your eyes, but put your hands in the front pocket of the hoodie.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Tom smiled.

“I mean it. You… you kinda saved me, and I appreciate it.”

“Of course love, it’s no problem.”

The two of you looked at each other, and you swear you saw Tom’s eyes flit down towards your lips before he took a small breath and took a small step backward.

“Well, I should get going if I want to get a ride back to the house,” He said.

“Right. Have a good night then.”

“You too. Text me sometime, darling, I love our little chats,” He smirked as he walked off.

You shook your head and unlocked your dorm room, more confused than ever by this boy and his motivations.

AN: Thank you guys so much for your patience. Between having out of town friends visit, work, and writers block things have been super slow. But hopefully I’m able to pick up momentum again!

Tags: @iaiabear @therealme13posts @just-a-littlebit-of-everything @fijiandgecko @smexylemony @lostandafraiddepressedgirl @electraheart-3174 @itsholyholland

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lilysletters · 5 years

Text

The Escape

The assault of Gilneas City was one of the darker chapters in Giddy and Lily’s lives, and for obvious reasons.

It started like any other morning - Lily peddling her trinkets in the market square, Gidean snatching the coin purses from rude customers. Standard fare, really.

But then people began screaming. A body was found torn to shreds a few streets down by a wild animal. At least, that’s what they thought until swarms of feral wolf-men with fangs like daggers and tempers to match clambered down from the rooftops. It turned into a massacre in minutes.

The two managed to slip into a back alley and away from the feeding frenzy, but neither could agree where to go from there. Lily needed to get back to her father incase the beasts were assaulting the outlying towns, too. As much as Gidean didn’t want her going alone, he couldn’t follow her and warn his own family...

It was a tense moment, but they both new they couldn’t hold the other back from taking care of family first. After all, it’s what they would do in the others shoes. They promised to meet at the city gates once they were in the clear and embraced each other with all the strength they could muster, refusing to say goodbye out loud.

Gidean watched her run home before turning back towards the market. It was quieter now, which was probably good. He climbed quickly and quietly down to the cellar of an old speakeasy, pulling aside a keg to reveal a long, narrow passage. A few minutes of trudging through cobwebs and the corridor made way to an underground metropolis.

All was not well in the Gilnean undercity, though. Word spread like wildfire of the chaos up above, and the sounds of hundreds of panicked people clamouring to make their escape echoed through the vaulting chambers. A mass evacuation was already underway.

Gidean aptly wove his way through the crowded walkways to his family's little shack. His little sisters were cramming knicknacks and dolls, anything they could grab, into sacks as fast as they could manage. His mother bobbed in and out of the doorway, barking orders loud enough to hear over an explosion. She spotted him and motioned for her son to join them, planting a kiss on either side of his face and nearly squeezing the air out of his lungs.

He helped them pack away the rest of their essentials without saying much, there wasn’t much to be said. They hustled out as best they could amidst the sea of bodies, and filed into lines like cattle down the exits. They shuffled through muck and mumbled words of encouragement to their companions, hoping to keep some semblance of calm.

The traffic through the tunnel came to a halt. Gidean assured his mother he’d be right back, he was just going to see what was going on. He grabbed a torch and shouldered his way to the front of the precession.

As he approached the front of the crowd, it became clear what had halted their progression. The first group to have left the tunnels had not made it out in one piece. The water was dark and choked with blood. Bodies littered the sewer floor, most torn apart or barely recognizable. He suppressed a gag. It was pure carnage.

One of the escapees still had some life left in him though. He sat against the wall, coughing up red mist as he struggled to breathe. His vest was in tatters, and the huge gash in his chest suggested he didn’t have much time left, if any. Gidean rushed to his side, tearing off a strip of fabric from his sash and hastily wrapping it around the open wound, hoping to stop the bleeding long enough to get him to safety.

The man placed a hand on his shoulder, pushing him away. He looked him in the eyes and shook his head.

“It’s too late... please. You need... to get away. Before it takes me, too.” He rasped.

“Don’t be absurd. I’m not letting you die. Not like this. Let me help you, we can still get you out of here.”

Gidean reached for the makeshift bandage again, but the wounded man was insistent.

“No. You don’t get it. You... you all need to go! Before I hurt you!”

“Hurt us? You can barely move, sir. You’re in no condition to do much of anything, let alone hurt anyone. Now, if you could just sit still I can-”

“Arghh!”

The man doubled over, clutching his chest.

“Leave me.” he growled out between clenched teeth.

“But-”

His grip on Gidean’s shoulder tightened, his nails digging into skin.

“LEAVE!” He screamed, spittle flying.

His eyes blazed red as he met Gidean’s, his face contorted in agony. The raw panic and anger in his voice caught Gidean off guard. He backed away, hands up.

“Alright, alright. Have it your way. I’ll go. But don’t say I didn’t try.”

The fire died from the man’s face and he slumped back against the brick wall. He looked almost relieved.

Sad and more than a little confused, Gidean turned his attention to the onlooking refugees. He began ushering them back the way they came, assuring them that they could always find another access point. The city had plenty of manholes, even if it took longer, this wasn’t the only way out.

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

Once more above ground and well out of the city limits, the caravan of Gilneas’ finest outcasts huddled around campfires and whispered among themselves. Gidean stared forlornly into his stew, stirring chunks of potatoes around the bowl absent mindedly.

“Giddy?”

His youngest sister’s voice broke him from his trance.

“Huh?”

“You really shouldn’t play with your food, ya know. Mama’s gonna be pissed if you let her good cookin go to waste.”

He chuckled half-heartedly.

“Yeah. I guess I’m just not that hungry.”

“You okay, Gid?” she sounded genuinely concerned.

“I’ll be fine.”

Her tiny brows furrowed.

“You don’t sound fine.” she said, scooting closer.

He sighed. Melody might be young, but she wasn’t dumb. She could usually see right through him, whether he liked it or not.

“It’s that fellow... the one from the tunnel.”

He chewed his thoughts over, not sure how much he should tell her about it. She waited patiently, watching his expressions as he worked over what to say.

“Something about that whole mess just... it’s not sitting right with me.”

He rubbed the scratch on his shoulder, remembering the panicked look on the dying man’s face. He winced. It had started bruising about an hour ago, and damn if it didn’t sting something fierce.

”It just don’t make sense.” He lifted a spoonful of stew a few inches from the bowl and tipped it, watching the liquid drip back down. “And Lily... she never showed up. I waited. She just.. wasn’t there.” He sighed. “I don’t know what to make of all this, Mel. It doesn’t feel real.”

She didn’t know what to say, but she did know that he shouldn’t be alone. Melody leaned into his side, sitting in silence with him as he stared into the fire.

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

The last few months were a blur.

He remembered the fevers. Waking up, covered in sweat, screaming.

Blacking out for days at a time. Nightmares of red, burning eyes staring at him from the dark.

Healing salves crusted on his shoulder, and the infection that turned into a festering wound. The throbbing, pulsing pain.

Harvest witches in their long brown robes standing over his bedside, murmuring in hushed tones and flitting in and out of his tent.

He could remember a little girl crying, but he couldn’t remember why. And men, screaming and yelling in a circle around him.

All of that was fuzzy, and it hurt his head to think too hard about it. The easier memories were of running. Of the forest, and food, and the dirt giving way under his claws. That much was far clearer, and didn't make his head swim.

But now, he had no idea where he was, besides the fact that he was in a cage.

He glowered at the thick steel bars and paced back and forth impatiently. The floor lurched under him for the hundredth time, knocking him off balance and interrupting his sulking. Whatever this place was, he wasn’t a fan.

A few hours passed before the rough wooden door to his prison flew open, and a burly man that looked more bear than human trudged through it. He made his way down the steps of the cellar, his heavy footsteps making the boards under him groan in protest. A carnosine lamp swung in his hands, its flame illuminating the small room around him.

There wasn’t much to see. A few barrels here, a crate or two there. He hung the lamp on the wall and brushed the seawater from his hair before turning his attention to the main attraction. He plopped his weight down on a surprisingly sturdy stool in front of the cage and looked in on his captive, a massive grin spreading across his face as he did.

“Well, would ya look at who’s awake finally!” He said, slapping a hand on his thigh and leaning in for a better look. “Sure did take ya long enough.”

Gidean growled at his captor and backed into the corner, shying away from this loud spectacle of a man. He already didn’t like him.

“Oh come now! Don’t be like that! I brought you food!”

The bear-man reached into the pouch on his side and pulled out a slab of meat, waving it back and forth in front of the bars. Gidean heard his stomach rumbling, louder than his own growls.

“That’s it... been a while, huh?”

He tossed the scrap into the cage. The jet black worgen begrudgingly stepped into the light, just long enough to snatch the meat off the ground and retreat with it.

“Look at you! Still just as pretty as the day we caught you!”

He whistled softly. Gidean flattened his ears and hunkered down, but continued gnawing on his pound of flesh.

“You’ve got quite the timing. Need you up and strong for when we pull into port ya know.” He pulled out another slab, tossing it in as he mused more to himself than to Gidean. “Doesn’t do us much good to try n sell a man eater that won’t give us a good show first! Well, then again, if you aren't up for the fighting sort, yer worth plenty just for your hide. Either way, it’s money back in my pocket!”

He let out a booming laugh. The worgen snarled around his mouthful of food, the glow of his eyes flashing like lightning. Their gazes met, and his captor’s smile faltered, if only for a moment. He cleared his throat and regained his composure.

“Don’t spose you understand any of what I’m saying anywho though, do ya?”

The man gave the top of the enclosure and pat and stood, cracking his back as he did. He grunted. “That’s fine. You eat up, do what you beasts do best. Enjoy yourself. We’ll see if you live up to the stories soon enough, eh?”

#OC #rp #Gilneas #worgen #grimdark

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xennariel · 6 years

Text

Grim Aria - Prologue

It’s here! This is the prologue to my novel, a story fifteen years in the making!

If you enjoy the prologue and want to read more, this will be posted as a monthly serializaton on my Patreon for patrons. If you are interested in this story, or are even just a fan of my fanfiction, consider supporting me on Patreon? I’m Xennariel there too.

A huge, great big thanks to my betas @canadiangold @lieutenantriza @ladywiltshire @astroshadowdeviant @sapphiredragonprincess and everyone that read it over for me and gave me their thoughts on it. Your help is very much appreciated, even if I didn’t listen to all of your suggestions. lol

This is also posted on FictionPress and AO3!

Chapter 1

Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Horror Rating: T for violence, swearing, and gore Summary: Xennariel Revenlyr is an Ankhari, a race of demon from a world known as Shadira. After tragedy strikes her people, she feels she has nothing left to live for but vengeance for her family. She decides to dedicate her life to finding and killing Chiron, the Lord of the Chaos Demons and the man that is responsible for her family’s deaths.

Due to events beyond her control, Xen finds herself trapped in an unfamiliar place that she later discovers is our world, a world dominated by humans that are unaware of the existence of other dimensions. She spends the next eight years futilely trying to find a way home, thinking she needs to get back to Shadira in order to kill Chiron. But maybe she doesn’t need to go that far to find him after all.

Begrudgingly accepting the help of a young man who seems oddly interested in the paranormal, Xennariel faces challenges, unexpected enemies, and attempts to cope with past trauma while trying to find a way home. Through it all, she refuses to give up on getting back to Shadira, regardless of the attachments she might be making in our world.

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Dew drops clung to the the foliage of the deep woods, a light mist permeating the air. The early morning breeze was cool and the twin suns had yet to breach the horizon, leaving the hushed forest covered in shadows.

Four small figures moved through the trees, swift and light, the plants under their feet glowing in tones of blue and purple with each step, the trees changing color with each brush past them. The children’s soft giggles echoed through the forest as they raced toward a lake at the center. Running at their sides were two young wolves, a white wolf alongside the male child and a silver and blue wolf hugging close to the girl. The wolves playfully nipped and yapped as they ran, enjoying the fresh morning air just as much as the children.

They burst through the treeline and stopped at the banks of the lake to gaze out over the bright turquoise water rippling gently before them. Across the lake, reflected in the calm surface of the water, was a massive willow tree. Its branches were adorned with blue and purple leaves and flowers that flowed elegantly in a wide canopy. The dark trunk twisted like a braid reaching toward the heavens.

“Sheza is beautiful from here,” the boy said, eyes bright with a soft smile on his face.

“Mhm… the communion is tomorrow morning,” the girl replied, her eyes never leaving the Great Tree of Shadows. “I’ll share the secrets with you. Everything we do, we do together.”

“What if Mom finds out?”

“She won’t.”

“Okay… promise?”

The twins gently touched their foreheads together and held hands.

“Promise.”

They stood there for a few moments longer, the lake water lapping lazily at their clawed feet, before the girl stepped back toward the forest path and motioned to her brother.

“C’mon, let’s go back, Mom’s prob’ly already looking for me to start lessons.”

They returned to the path to make their way home, but neither were in any hurry.

“I know you’ll do a good job with your lessons today, Xen,” Xevran said as they walked back through the woods. “Good luck.”

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll be fine as long as she doesn’t make me try portals or guardian magic today,” Xennariel responded with a grumble.

Their walk home was filled with silence. The chatter of birds and cadence of their steps over the twigs and leaves on the path were the only sounds to be heard, subtle and calming.

Soon they arrived at their home city, Raizyx. The city around them was filled with the hustle and bustle of everyday life. It was awash in soft lights of blues, silvers, and purples, much like the forest that surrounded it. Raizyx blended in well with the forest, with homes built into large trees, well-worn paths made of stones and leaves, and stone and log buildings standing along the paths. Sheza stood behind it all, like she was watching over everything. From the city, the dark mist spiralling around Sheza’s trunk was visible. It seemed to come from the tree herself, and it spread to cover the ground around her and seeped partly into Raizyx before dissipating.

As expected, when the children finally arrived home, their mother was waiting for them, a raven perched on her delicate shoulder regarding them with scorn.

“You are late for your lessons, Xennariel,” their mother, Rizel, spoke. The calmness in her demeanor and voice belied the disappointment her children knew she felt. She stood with the city as her backdrop, fair skinned and radiant as always with her hands folded in front of herself, long dark hair tumbling over her shoulders and back in waves. Her sharp, dark eyes focused on the twins in silent admonishment. Ever regal and the picture of serenity, the only signs that she was upset were the look in her eyes and the way her graying feathered wings folded stiffly behind her.

“Xevran, you’ll come with me today, as usual,” a tall man with long, pale hair said, walking up to them. A large bear was at his side and he scratched her behind the ear absently as they walked. When he stepped up next to the twins, he bent down toward Xevran and, with a wink, added, “And maybe we’ll spy on your mother and sister sometime.”

Rizel crossed her arms and cocked her head, giving her husband a glare. Rel, the raven on her shoulder, mimicked the expression. “Val…” she said, a note of warning in her voice.

Valran chuckled and put his arms around the twins, giving them a gentle squeeze. His children took after him with their lighter hair, gray-blue skin, and light blue eyes. Even their wings matched his, leathery instead of feathered. Where their mother was bird-like, Rizel’s husband and children’s features were more reptilian.

How identical the twins appeared despite being fraternal was surprising to everyone who met them. Virtually the only way to distinguish between the two was to notice that Xennariel’s right eye was sea-green in color while her left was the same blue as her brother’s.

“Fine, fine, we’ll keep to ourselves,” Val said with a laugh, standing straight again. “Come, Xevran.”

Xev turned to his sister, giving her a pitying glance. “Good luck, Xen.” He and his white wolf turned and hurried to follow Val and the bear as they sauntered off.

Xennariel frowned and nodded, waving to her brother and father as they left. When they were out of sight, Rizel returned her attention to her daughter.

“Today I want to focus on guardian magic and the activation of portal runes.”

Of course she did. Xennariel was convinced it was a punishment for being late again.

“Yes, mother,” Xen sighed, resigned to her fate.

With the silver-blue wolf following closely behind, she followed her mother to the place all Guardians from her clan were trained for as long as anyone could remember: a large, foreboding castle isolated on a mountain floating in the sky. Its dark stone spires and steeples stretched into the clouds, casting a shadow over half of Raizyx.

They climbed the wide, winding stone staircase that led to the castle. Xen frowned as she peered over the thick railing at the other children her age, all playing and laughing. Instead of being out in the forest, playing with her brother, Xennariel had to spend her days learning how to strengthen her mind and magical abilities for the day she took over as Guardian in place of her mother. But all ever she wanted to do was spend more time with Xevran.

She sighed at her thoughts and continued on, following Rizel into the castle.

The Ankhari, known to many of the mortal races as Silence Demons, are one of the five major demon races that exist in the world of Shadira. The other clans live on the four other continents, each ruling over their own continent and each with their own demon lord, or Guardian, of their clan that specializes in a specific type of magic. The five demon lords make up a council that the people of Shadira dubbed The Great Five or simply The Five. Each continent has a Great Tree that the demon lords of the clans commune with. Their hearts and souls bind with the tree at a young age and the environment and condition of each continent is directly bound to the condition of the demon lord’s soul. If the demon lord is upset or distressed, the continent they rule will suffer. Plant and animal life will become sick or even die off until the demon lord’s soul is healed. If they become sick, the continent becomes sick. This is why only those with strong minds and powers are chosen as Guardians. Xennariel...

“Xennariel?” Rizel turned to find that her daughter didn’t seem to be paying attention. It was nothing new, but the information she had just explained was of vital importance. If Xennariel was going to be the next Guardian of the Ankhari, she needed to keep her heart and mind as strong as possible. The very ground they walked upon depended on it.

“Xennariel, are you even listening to me?”

Xennariel looked up at her name and nodded.

“Yes, mother,” Xen responded, sounding as bored as she looked. “But I already know all of this. We start lessons like this every day.”

“Because this is important. Your communion with Sheza is tomorrow morning. You will inherit my burden some day as the only Ankhari connected with Sheza until a guardian is chosen after you. This delicate cycle must not be tampered with. The circle must not be broken.”

Xennariel worried the inside of her lip and clenched her fists under the large wooden table at which she was seated. Tampering with the cycle meant minor mistakes, such as waiting too long to commune, as well as other, more taboo things, like allowing one who was not a future lord of the clan to bind their soul with the great tree. Sharing the connection, especially with multiple others besides the current guardian and future guardian, could have potentially disastrous results. Xennariel knew that, the knowledge being ingrained in her for practically her entire life, and yet, she was still willing to share the communion with her brother. Xevran deserved to be guardian, far more than she ever would, and she would ignore the possible consequences in favor of the two of them leading their people together. The twins had always felt like they were one soul split into two bodies, so there was no way both of them binding themselves to Sheza at the same time would end badly.

“I know,” Xen replied, hoping her mother wouldn’t see through her sudden uneasiness.

Rizel looked over her daughter and sighed. "I know you do. Now, let us adjourn to the courtyard." As they walked, Rizel continued to go over important lessons she knew Xennariel needed to constantly be reminded of. "And never forget, Xennariel," Rizel finished just as they reached the door that led to the courtyard. "All life is important. Everything has meaning. Every soul must be honored and treated with respect and kindness. Violence is not the answer. If you remember that, I know you will become a fine guardian."

"Violence is sometimes the answer," Xennariel muttered under her breath so her mother wouldn't hear. The wolf pup at her side whined and bumped his head into her leg. “Quiet you. Mom’s not always right.”

The day dragged on as Rizel began working with Xennariel on her use of magic. Usually Xen went through her daily lessons with her mother effortlessly. Her magical abilities were exceptional and she never needed to focus too much to accomplish what her mother asked of her. Unfortunately for her, it happened to be the day her mother chose to work on guardian magic and portal magic, the two schools of magic Xennariel could not master no matter how hard she tried. The only thing she seemed to be good at was wielding shadow magic and destroying things. When it came to guardian magic, which included healing and protection, she could never heal more than minor cuts and bruises, and creating a strong protective barrier was out of the question. And despite having memorized all the runes needed to create portals, she could never seem to be able to activate those runes.

Though her mother never said anything, Xennariel would catch the brief look of disappointment in her eyes whenever she failed to create a portal or heal a wound. It was that look that drove her to work harder, but also why she would become even more upset when she continually failed. Xen’s thoughts drifted back to Xevran who, in direct contrast to her, could naturally wield powerful guardian magic without much magical training. Together, the twins were unstoppable. It’s why sharing leadership of their people made so much sense to them.

By the end of the day, even after so much hard work and effort poured into everything, Rizel and Xennariel went home with nothing to show for it.

Frustrated and tired, Xennariel retreated to the woods again with her brother, gripping Xevran’s hand as they ran, their wolf spirit guardians at their sides. They arrived at the other side of the lake outside Raizyx and Xennariel flopped to the ground against a tree, her wolf coming to rest his head in her lap. She clutched the pup to her chest and buried her nose in his fur.

“Why can’t I do it?” Xennariel said, voice cracking, muffled by her spirit guardian’s fur. “What good is a guardian who can’t use guardian magic?”

Xevran sat down next to his sister and leaned against her. “You’ll get it one day, Xen, I know you will. I believe in you.”

Xennariel sniffed and wiped away her tears, looking up at Xevran. He was always so supportive of her and she didn’t know what she would do without him.

“Thanks, Xev. I’m so happy you’re with me. We’ll always be together, right?”

“Right,” Xevran giggled and smiled, tackling his sister, eliciting a laugh from her. She forgot about her worries as they played the rest of the night before returning home to sleep.

-------

It was still dark when Xennariel awoke on the morning of her communion. With hours before she had to begin getting ready, she groaned and tossed and turned in her hammock, trying to get a little more sleep. It was no use. Throwing back her sheet, she leaned down to Xevran in his hammock below her. Maybe they could get some play time in before she would have to be apart from him all day? She saw that Zyamishka, Xevran’s spirit guardian, was awake. One of the pup’s eyes cracked open when Xen leaned over her hammock. Zyamishka nuzzled Xevran’s hand and the boy stirred, waking slowly and yawning as he reached to pet his spirit guardian.

“Wanna go play by the lake?”

Xevran looked up at Xennariel and grinned.

“Yeah!”

Xennariel flipped down from her hammock with Shakuran, her wolf spirit guardian.

“I’ll race ya!”

“I’ll win!”

Fits of laughter overtook them as they ran off, jumping over rocks and logs, trying to get ahead of each other with each leap. They crashed into each other when they reached the lake, falling into the cool, shallow water as they came to a stop to catch their breaths. Their smiles were radiant as they splashed each other, their spirit guardians yapping and hopping about them as they played.

After a while, Xennariel’s movements became less enthusiastic and her gaze drifted off every so often. Xevran was quick to notice the change in her demeanor.

“Don’t be scared, Xen,” Xevran said.

“I can’t help it. What if I mess up? You’d be a better guardian, Xev. They shoulda picked you. You’re nicer and good at healing people and stuff.”

“Nuh uh, I’m no good with any magic ‘sides guardian magic.”

“... I guess.”

The suns soon rose almost above the trees and they knew they had to go back. Reluctantly, they trudged out of the lake, making sure to return to Raizyx with plenty of time before the communion. Xen had important things to do that day and they didn’t want to be late. They were never scolded by their parents, but that didn’t mean they never felt bad about disobeying, like they had the previous day. The communion was one of the most important events that would ever take place in Xennariel’s life and the twins made sure to arrive home early. Xennariel and Xevran went their separate ways when they reached Raizyx and wouldn’t see each other again until the communion was complete.

In preparation for her communion, Xennariel was required to cleanse herself beneath the waterfall by the lake. The cool, turquoise water was thought to bring peace and clarity to those who meditated beneath it as it cascaded down into Lake Vryn. As Xen sat on a large rock under the fast moving water, she stared across the lake at Sheza, breathing deeply, trying to calm her steadily fraying nerves. The knowledge that everyone in the city would be watching her and judging her in just a few hours weighed heavily on her mind and it took every ounce of effort to focus and meditate.

After the cleansing, she was then dressed in traditional ceremonial garb that included robes of various shades of purple, green, and gray, jangling silver anklets embossed with gemstones, silver earrings along her long, pointed ears, a silver jeweled cuff near the top of her long, leathery tail, and a crown of leaves, flowers, and thorns atop her head that weaved into her long, azure hair. The clothes were surprisingly light and she was able to move better than she had anticipated. The robes were scratchy, but she could probably ignore it if she concentrated hard enough on everything else around her.

Once she was ready, she took a deep breath and stepped out into the bright afternoon. The suns were high, clouds dotting the sky, and birds sang happily in the trees. Xennariel’s heart pounded in her chest, her blood rushing through her ears. She clenched and released her clammy hands into fists at her side in a failed attempt to relax, but she was good at pretending. She walked forward confidently, a mask of steel on her face, her dark wings folded regally behind her. Shakuran trotted at her side with his head held high.

‘There she is, the future guardian.’

‘Isn’t she one of the cursed children?’

‘She’s Rizel the Eternal’s daughter. I expect we’ll see great things from her.’

‘Lady Rizel wore those robes better, I think.’

Xennariel could hear the whispers of the people around her as she walked through Raizyx toward Sheza. They weren’t being nearly as discreet as they thought. Clenching her jaw, she tried not to react, though her tail swished briefly in agitation.

She would be nine years old in just a few days and the things her people spoke, comparing her to her beautiful, kind, and compassionate mother, were like daggers in her side. Hearing those things at such a young age created wounds that would fester and stay with her for most of her life, especially if she was never able to measure up to her mother one day.

Attempting to block out any further comments from bystanders, Xennariel concentrated on walking, focusing instead on the jingling made by the charms on her anklets with each step forward. She could feel the soft push of Shakuran in her mind, reassuring her and encouraging her to keep moving. If it weren’t for him, she would have already fled the ceremony. Catching Xevran and her father’s gazes helped too. Their smiles were infectious on any normal day, though all Xen could manage at that moment was a meek upturn of her lips when she walked passed them.

When she finally reached her mother standing at the base of Sheza’s massive trunk, Rizel nodded at her, her smile full of warmth, pride visible in her eyes. Xennariel nodded back, absently fidgeting with her robes.

“Xennariel Megari Revenlyr,” Rizel spoke, only loud enough that Xennariel and those closest to them could hear. “Future Guardian of Soruzen, Chosen of the Ankhari, come forward and place your hand upon Sheza, Great Tree of Shadows. Focus your spirit and hear her voice.”

Xennariel took a deep breath and stepped forward, placing her tiny clawed hand on Sheza’s trunk, scattering the mist that seeped from it. She closed her eyes, focusing her energy as her mother instructed. Her heart began to beat erratically in her ears again as her fear of failure bubbled up. She stomped the feeling down and pushed through her unease, refusing to ruin this moment that she had been preparing for her whole life. Her mother had been so proud. She wouldn’t let her down. Couldn’t.

As Xen concentrated, the noise around her diminished and soon a silver light appeared where her hand met Sheza, gradually growing brighter and stronger. She began to feel a comforting warmth envelop her, slowly drifting further through her body the longer she stood there. In her mind, a soft sound grew louder and she honed in on it, listening intently. It was like pleasant music playing just for her, soothing chimes on the wind echoing in her mind. Whatever worries she felt evaporated as she communed with the great tree, filling her with knowledge, strength, and understanding beyond her years. The energy tingled down her spine with a pleasant warmth that calmed her.

It wasn’t nearly as scary as she thought it would be.

Sheza’s song eventually tapered off. Xennariel opened her eyes and stepped back, her fears alleviated. Xevran would surely be able to commune just as easily and it felt like a great weight was lifted off her shoulders. It was something she never told him, but Xen had been worried that binding to Sheza would be hard on Xevran. Now that she had done it, she was even more confident in the plan they would put into motion that night when everyone else was asleep.

“Well done, Xennariel.”

Xen looked up at her mother’s voice to find a loving smile on Rizel’s face. Rel, Rizel’s raven spirit guardian perched on her shoulder, radiated more warmth and affection than Xennariel had ever felt from him. Xen couldn’t help but return the smile, giggling at the sudden happiness and lightness she felt now that the communion was over. Shakuran was overjoyed as well, circling closely around Xennariel’s legs and nuzzling against her side, ears perked and tail wagging as he whined.

There were cheers and chants and applause coming from the people around them, but rather than reveling in the attention, Xennariel just wanted to go home and be with her family for the rest of the day. Rizel noticed how uncomfortable Xennariel appeared and she put her arm around Xen’s shoulder, pulling her close for a quick hug before leading her home as the crowd slowly scattered behind them.

-------

It was nearing early morning hours when Xennariel and Xevran snuck out of their home. The only sound was the crunch of their clawed feet on fallen leaves as they made their way through the dark city with only the light of the moons and stars to guide them.

“It was so neat Xen! You were all glowy and I can’t get over it!”

Xennariel laughed and nudged her brother.

“I know, Xev, you already told me.”

“Well I’m gonna be talking about it forever, I think. You think it’ll be that easy for me too?”

“I bet. All ya have to do is concentrate on your powers, focus on Sheza, and listen.”

Xevran nodded and the two of them approached Sheza, her leaves and flowers glowing in the night. The mist pooled around their feet as they stood there, looking up into Sheza’s canopy. It looked like the night sky, dark and twinkling with stars. It was mesmerizing.

Xevran slowly lifted his hand and placed it hesitantly on the trunk before him. He closed his eyes, focused his power, and waited. Xennariel stood next to him, nodding and smiling. This was it. They were going to be tied to Sheza together forever.

Except nothing happened.

A long silence stretched before them before Xevran frowned and opened his eyes again.

“Nothing’s happening.”

Xennariel’s ears drooped, her look of disappointment matching his.

“You can’t hear anything? No song?”

Xevran shook his head and Xennariel huffed. It wasn’t fair. It had to work.

“Let’s try again. Together.”

“Okay.”

The twins put their hands onto the trunk at the same time and concentrated with all their might on the tree before them, their spirit guardians even joining in, placing their paws at the base of the trunk.

This time, the effect was almost immediate. Light engulfed the twins and their spirit guardians, the dark mist swirling about as a breeze kicked up around them.

Xevran grit his teeth. Sheza’s musical voice reverberating in his mind was quiet, but it was somehow painful. It was almost too much to take and before long, he had to let go of the tree and catch his breath. The music gradually faded and he was filled with a sense of power that hadn’t been there before. Zyamishka felt it too, just as Shakuran had when Xennariel communed, and she leaned against Xevran’s legs as Sheza’s song subsided. They had connected with Sheza, but their strength had been exhausted. All the training Xennariel had undergone must have prepared her for her communion because it had been so much easier for her.

“Xev! Are you okay?!” Xennariel leapt to her brother’s side and gripped his shoulders. She was shaking, frantic and confused about his reaction to the communion.

Xevran smiled weakly at his sister and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m just really sleepy now.”

“That didn’t happen to me. I was fine after when I did it. Maybe something went wrong?”

“Nah, it was kind of quiet, but I heard Sheza’s song that time. I feel a little different too. Lighter. Stronger.”

Xennariel nodded. That sounded right. It was how she felt too. But Sheza’s song had been loud in her head, not quiet.

“She wasn’t quiet for me…” Xen looked back to Sheza in thought. “Maybe… oh, I don’t know! Maybe she connected to you through me?”

Xevran thought about it for a moment and nodded.

“Yeah, maybe. I thought I heard your voice too for a moment. It was strange.”

“Well at least it worked! Let’s go home and go to sleep. Maybe you’ll feel better tomorrow.”

Xevran nodded. Xennariel helped him stand and he leaned heavily against her side as they walked home at a slow pace.

-------

Xennariel woke early the next morning despite getting to sleep so late. She hung from her hammock with a huge grin to face Xevran upside down. She wanted to play before her lessons that morning, as always, but Xev was sleeping deep and peacefully. He must have been tired from their struggle to bind him with Sheza and Xen didn’t want to wake him, so she jumped from her hammock and crept out of their room and into the predawn darkness alone with Shakuran. Neither Xev nor Zyamishka heard her leave.

The morning air was crisp as Xennariel and Shakuran ventured to their favorite spot on the other side of the lake. She flopped onto her back at the shores of the lake, staring at the steadily brightening sky peaking through the canopy of the trees. The tranquility of the forest was calming. Water lapping gently at the shore, a soft breeze rustling the leaves on the trees, birds singing around her. It all brought her peace as she lay sprawled out amongst fallen leaves and flowers.

A pillar of fire exploded from behind Sheza and Xennariel leapt to her feet, eyes wide.

“Xennariel! Xennariel!”

Xevran’s panicked cries came from behind her and she turned to find her brother and Zyamishka running toward her, out of breath, eyes full of fear. Something was terribly wrong and she could feel the tension on the air. She gripped Shakuran’s fur to ground herself before fear took over, moving to meet Xevran on the forest path.

“Xev, what was that? What’s going on?”

“It’s Mom and Dad!” Xevran replied in a huff, trying to explain as quickly as he could. He was pale and breathing heavily and it took him a few moments to catch his breath before he could speak again. When he did, it came out rushed and Xen almost didn’t understand him. “Mom’s friend from the Drashu clan came to visit, but then he went somewhere with Mom and his men just attacked Dad for no reason! And, and then when others tried to stop him, his men attacked them too! I ran away to find you. We have to stop them!”

“What?!” Xennariel gasped. “Why would they do that?”

“I dunno, but Dad’s in trouble.”

“C’mon, let’s go!”

Xennariel and Xevran ran faster than they ever had toward their home, Shakuran and Zyamishka at their heels.

The Drashu were known as Chaos Demons to the humans and other mortal races of Shadira for good reason. They specialized in fire magic and out of all the demon clans, they were the ones to cause the most problems. But Chiron, their lord, had been good friends with Rizel for many, many years. Like many of the Drashu guardians before him, he was kind and easygoing. For him to suddenly attack them was confusing to Xennariel and Xevran, but they would defend their family and their people against anyone who threatened them, no matter who it was.

The chaos echoing from Raizyx became louder the closer the twins came. Screams and the scent of smoke were carried on the breeze, filtering throughout the forest. As the twins entered the city, they gasped at the sight that greeted them, moving closer together to grip each other’s hands tightly. Shakuran and Zyamishka pushed against the children’s legs, shivering and whining.

The fire burned with the fury of a thousand dragons. It surrounded them and the billowing, black smoke blocked out the sky. The Ankhari people both fought and ran in the streets, evacuating their homes or trying to stop the Drashu that were attacking them. But with Rizel nowhere in sight and so many people passed out on the ground from the smoke, they were fighting a losing battle.

Xennariel gripped her brother’s hand tightly and glared, turning to her brother with determination in her eyes.

“C’mon Xev, we have to help.”

“Let’s do it.”

Xevran raised his hands toward the sky and brought them down swiftly again, a nearly invisible barrier forming around himself and Xennariel as he did so. Xennariel leapt forward, pulling her arms back to create a ball of shadows surrounded by crackling blue light between her hands. Once the ball was formed, she shoved her arms forward, shooting the ball at one of the Drashu attackers. He fell as the ball of shadows hit him. Not waiting to see if he would stay down, Xennariel spun and shot her shadow magic at every Chaos Demon she could see.

The attackers finally noticed the twins and threw balls of fire at them in an attempt to stop them, but Xevran’s barrier prevented the fire magic from even touching them. So long as they were together, there was no way anything could hurt them.

That was when Xevran caught sight of his father just as Val was struck with an arrow made of fire. Xevran called out to his father, but his voice barely sounded over the battle raging around them. He reached for Xennariel’s shoulder, grabbing her attention as he pointed frantically toward where their father fell. Xennariel caught on quickly, but had no time to despair.

“Go help Dad!” she yelled as she shot out another wave of shadow magic in a seemingly futile attempt to thwart their attackers.

“Will you be okay!?”

“Yeah! Go!”

The twins made eye contact and nodded in silent resolution before Xevran ran off to try to protect their father.

Alone, Xennariel had to be careful. She was powerful, but without her brother next to her, his barrier was not as strong. It dwindled and flickered the further away Xevran was. Just as the barrier began running out, a wave of fire came barreling at her. Unable to dodge it fast enough, Xennariel waited for it to strike her.

But it never came. Something jet black screamed past her in the air, nothing but a blur of feathers to her as it hit the wave of fire and redirected it. Xennariel smiled once she realized what it was.

“Mom!”

Rizel stepped forward, her spirit guardian swooping back toward her. He landed on her shoulder and shook his smouldering feathers.

“Stand back, Xennnariel.” Rizel said as she ran past her daughter. “Get someplace safe!” Rizel lifted her arm and pointed at the Drashu that had attacked Xennariel. “Go, Rel!”

Rel lifted off swiftly from her arm, a blur of feathers again as he transformed into an arrow, weaving and whistling as he struck the Chaos Demons. He swooped back to Rizel and became a staff as she reached for him, purple lightning crackling from a gem at the top.

Xennariel stared in awe at her mother. She had never seen her fight before. So this was the power of a guardian. Possessing the ability to transform her spirit guardian into any kind of weapon. She wondered when she would be able to do such a thing. It seemed like an impossible feat.

Seeing her mother fighting so hard filled her with more determination and Xennariel stood, prepared to continue fighting alongside her. Ignoring Rizel’s warning, she ran toward her, only to stop after a few strides. Xevran's barrier shattered like broken glass around her. Crying out, she fell to her knees, gritting her teeth as her hands clenched at her chest. Her vision swam, ears ringing, the sounds of fighting drowning out. Shakuran fell at her side, panting heavily. It was strange, he shouldn’t have been feeling the same pain, and yet he lay at her side, yowling in obvious distress.

Xennariel looked around for any sign of what could be causing her such torment and her eyes landed on her father and brother, both on the ground a ways away, unmoving, blood pooling around them, seeping into the dirt. Her eyes widened at the sight. She gasped and clutched at her chest with one hand, the other reaching for Xevran.

“Xev?” she breathed, voice quivering.

The wind tousled his hair, smoke and debris falling over him, yet he remained unmoving. Xennariel realized it then, like a firestorm exploding in her chest. Xevran was gone and she felt his death as if it had been her own. Like a piece of her soul had been torn from her. She cried out and continued to reach for him, unable to find the strength move as her world came crashing down around her.

She was so distracted, she hadn’t even seen the man with long, bright red hair approach her. Her mother’s oldest friend, Chiron, lord of the Chaos Demons, stood towering above her. His black horns curled up from his temples, red and black armor reflecting the fire from the burning city around them. He and his dragon spirit guardian cast shadows over her and Xennariel still did not move, still did not see them. A cruel smile split Chiron’s face. He reached out and his spirit guardian became a flaming sword in his hand. He lifted the blade, a terrible glint in his blood red eyes as he glared at Xennariel.

“Your existence is a mistake,” Chiron spat, his voice a heavy baritone. “You too shall die now.”

The flaming sword came whistling down toward Xennariel, but it never struck her. Something warm and wet hit her face and she slowly turned to see her mother above her, impaled on Chiron’s sword through her chest. Xennariel’s eyes grew even wider with a sharp inhalation. It felt as if time slowed down around her. Rizel fell to the ground and Xennariel reached out, her tiny hands pressing into the seeping wound in her mother’s chest. Rel fell on the ground next to Rizel. He was fading, his form shimmering in the firelight. Rizel rested her hand on his soft back, the other coming to grasp Xennariel’s hand weakly.

Next to them, Chiron dropped the sword and it returned to the form of his dragon spirit guardian. He gripped his head in his hands, shaking his head as he slowly stepped back from Rizel and Xennariel.

“No...Rizel. Not Rizel. No. Why?”

His rambling was barely audible to Rizel and Xennariel. They no longer acknowledged his presence as Rizel lay dying.

“M… Mother…”

“It’s… all right… my darling.” Rizel’s voice was a whisper as she lifted her hand to touch Xennariel’s cheek. “You must… run away. You are the guardian of the Ankhari now. They need you. Get away and survive... so you can protect them.”

Xennariel shook her head and her voice broke when she responded.

“No, I can’t… I… I don’t know how.”

“You can. I… believe in… you.”

A purple light emitted from Rizel’s fingertips resting against Xennariel’s right cheek. Her green eye lit up in a flash of purple, an intricate magic circle appearing inside her pupil for mere seconds before the light faded and the symbol disappeared. Rizel’s hand fell limply to the ground and Xennariel shook her head.

“Mo… Mother?” Xennariel stared into Rizel’s lifeless eyes and shook her shoulder. “Mother?”

Chiron was upon her again, shaking with barely contained rage.

“You! You brat! This is your fault! You should never have been born!”

Chiron lifted his sword again with a furious roar. Xennariel still stared at her mother, as if she were in a trance, ignoring Chiron. Her tears fell at last, streaming down her face, stinging the cuts on her cheeks. She lifted her shaking hands covered in her mother’s blood and her eyes drifted from her hands to the broken bodies of her brother and father. A sob escaped her lips.

Unable to control her emotions any longer, she raised her face to the sky and screamed. An explosion of magical energy burst from her body as she cried, killing everything within the Central Continent of Shadira.

#grim aria #original stuff #writing #fantasy #original fiction #thank you so much for reading <3 <3

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