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violetjedisylveon · 3 years

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Amnesia Pt. 2

Summary: the story takes place after around episode 8. Omega got sperated from the Bad Batch and wound up with amnesia in the care of Freyu, a 19 Pantoran woman who takes care of her and decides to protect her. Omega starts to suffer with headaches and panic attacks and Freyu has to help her through them. The Bad Batch(excluding Crosshair, he's still bad😢) search for a lead to find Omega. [again, I'm not too great at summaries]

Side note: I don't know what color Kina Ha's lightsaber is so I'm just gonna say it's green. The batch part is probably the weakest part of this story, first time doing it for all of them so bear with me pls.

Word count: 3.59k

Warnings: loss, brief violence, swearing and some implications of sleeping together.

Other stuff: Freyu, the other people and background people, the planet/system Massanii and flora/fauna on the planet are made up by me.

Amnesia List

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"Omega, do you remeber what I just told you?" Freyu asked while helping Omega get a pair of spare boots on. She nodded and got up, "Repeat it back to me." Freyu said.

"Stay close to you, don't wander off, be careful around the mud holes and don't talk to anyone who you don't talk to." She answered.

"Good, but you forgot something." Freyu reminded her.

"Really? What did I miss?" Omega asked, Freyu chuckled.

"No, you didn't miss anything, I was just messing with you." Freyu flicked Omega's nose gently and took her hand.

They left Freyu's home and walked down the muddy pathway into town. They were going for food and medicine and other provisions that would be needed in case of mud slides or blocks in the road. Plus it would be nice to see some friends. Omega had been with Freyu for about two standard weeks by now and she was getting better, enough to go with Freyu into town.

They arrived in town an hour later, the mud had slowed what was usually a half hour walk. It was a few streets surrounding a town center, a few houses had small shops where repairs for equipmemt and new equipment was being sold, the houses were all big and spaced out. All the main rodes led to the center of town, a small star port lay there surrounded by a large market, the market made up the eastern part of town, likely as an easy evacuation route, ships were docked past it with some goods being transported.

Freyu quickly passed by everything and went directly to the market, half dragging Omega along with her. The market wasn't busy, mostly empty stands with a few vendors and buyers, everyone else was either gone herding or tending to their farms, living away from Massanii's biggest city and in a small town meant there were less outsiders snooping around.

Omega stared in aw at the strange people and the things they sold, there were alien vendors and shoppers, not many humans though, some of the aliens gave Omega suspicious looks as she passed but stopped when Freyu noticed.

Freyu seems important, a lot of people know her. Omega noticed, Freyu had been greeting a lot of people and was getting a lot of attention. Omega suddenly felt self conscious about herself, she was with Freyu and was getting a lot of attention too, they were whispering when Freyu couldn't see them.

"Ay! Freyu! Is that you?!" A rich, hearty voice came from a large stand, set up near a docked ship. Standing there, with arms crossed was a sandy orange Twi'lek woman. Her eyes were dark and she had a hat that her lekku protruded out from, she wasn't thin and didn't have the typical Twi'lek figure, she had a bulky build and was visibly strong.

She wore welding goggles and had flight gear piled in a personal section of the stand, it looked like she'd recently changed clothes.

"Alask, good to see you." Freyu greeted her friend with a hug, "How long has it been? A year?" Alask asked with a wild spin of a lek.

"About that long. How's the trading life been treating you?"

"Pretty good, transporting goods during the war was fun and paid well, especially when there were legally gray transports. Course that all changed when the war ened and that Empire started making demands and shit, figured it'd be better for me if I stuck around home."

"That Empire sure seems bent on controlling everything and everyone, I heard from Mel that they are demanding civilians get these chain code things and register everthing, sounds like a total pain to me."

"You bet it's a pain, they inspected my ship and said they could have fined me over the condition of my personal quarters. Talk about stupid."

The two friends talked with each other for a while, leaving Omega to her own devices.

She started looking around at the display Alask had set up, things from far off worlds were marked by the region they came from, there was a painting of three moons over a shimmering desert valley that hung above it all, there was a figure standing in the middle of the desert. It was signed in a creative way, rocks had been painted to form a signature in basic.

Omega stood on her toes to reach up to it, something about it drew her in and she couldn't tell why. A warm fleshy appendage swatted her hand down gently

"I see you've brought a friend." Alask flicked Omega's nose with a lek then rubbed her head, "You find this in the mud too?" The comment made Freyu scowl.

"As a matter of fact, I found her on the road. In a puddle."

"Well you sure know how to find cute things." Alask said, she pushed Omega's reaching hand back down and gave the child a pointed stare.

"That's not for sale, kid."

"It's not?"

"No, just something I keep around to look at." There was a harshness in her voice, Omega caught Freyu's eye and she shook her head.

"Why don't you go look at something over there while we talk?" Freyu suggested, pointing in the direction of a box that was giving off a soft glow. Omega tried to protest but stopped when Freyu's gaze hardened.

"Okay." She sighed.

Alask glanced between Freyu and Omega, earning herself a glare from Freyu, "Just spit it out. I know you have something to say." She groaned.

"Where'd she come from?"

"I don't know, she has amnesia and what she does remeber is all mushed together into a giant mess." Freyu let out a sigh and leaned against the table with her back to Alask.

"I think she was kidnapped by a bounty hunter for some reason." She spoke quietly, Alask grunted.

"Pretty interesting situation, don't you think?" Alask said, Freyu turned to her.

"What do you mean?" She asked, Alask rolled her eyes and smirked. "Think about it, she shows up after that Empire does, she's being chased by someone, probably someone powerful and she doesn't remeber anything, it's all kinda suspicious, right?" She said.

Freyu looked over at Omega, the human was currently investigating a box of luminescent frogs, she giggled when one jumped out and leapt onto her head. The bruise on the back of her head could be seen under her hair and she still had bandages over the worst of her injuries. Questions tugged at her mind.

"I take it you don't know how she ended up like that?" Alask guessed, jolting Freyu out of her thoughts.

"Hm? Oh, no. No I don't."

"Well it's good to see you still let anyone in need into your house." The Twi'lek gave Freyu a sly glance, Freyu frowned and shook her head.

"And into your be-"

"Alask shut up!" Freyu shouted, cutting her friend off before she could finish. The sudden outburst attracted curious attention from the other vendors and shoppers.

Freyu stared at the table and clenched her fists, Alask chuckled and grabbed one of her hands.

"I'll be glad to do it again anytime." She winked and bent her head down to Freyu's hand and planted a small kiss there.

Freyu pulled her hand away as soon as Alask let her, which wasn't for a few seconds. Freyu self consciously brushed her hair out of her face and cleared her throat.

"Did you say something?" Alask tapped Freyu's chin in a teasing way and leaned in. Freyu glared at her.

"Alask, I swear I'm going to kill you if you-"

A loud cry made her break off, she looked over at Omega, where the sound had originated. Omega was standing awkwardly, holding one of the glowing frogs close to her, with a dark teal, red and light purple bird standing on her head. The bird snapped and tried to grab the frog out of Omega's hands, Freyu recognized the bird imedeatly.

"Iri!" She shouted.

The bird looked up at her and cried out a shrill, loud call, keeping her mouth open expectantly. Freyu sighed and reached into her bag, she pulled out a small piece of dried meat and put a thick glove on. Iri flew over and snatched the snack up.

"Freyu? What is that?" Omega asked in a quiet voice.

"That's Iri, Freyu's Massii Owl." Alask said, taking the frog from Omega and dropping it back into the crate of frogs.

Iri flapped her wings and flew back over to Omega, she hovered there and waited, Omega glanced at Freyu for help, she came over and put her glove on Omega's hand.

"She wants to sit on your arm so she can get to know you." Freyu explained.

Iri nodded and settled herself down once Omega's arm was in the right position, she stared at Omega with large yellow-green eyes becore letting out a cry and nuzzling her face.

"Well look at that, Iri likes you." Alask said.

Omega smiled at the owl and patted her head gently. Iri grabbed onto Omega's shoulders and started lifting her off the ground, Freyu smiled at the joyful expression on her face.

"What do you need?" Alask asked.

"Excuse me?"

"You're taking care of her right? What do you need for her?" Alask clarified, she turned and started searching through a crate.

She started piling things into a basket, there was a book about humans in the mix along with medicine and other things that would be useful.

"How much will that cost?" Freyu asked once Alask had finished.

"Nothing."

"What? Why?"

Alask glanced at Omega playing with Iri, a dark look crossed her face, Freyu flinched. She put the basket down and grabbed Freyu's shoulders, she looked her in the eye for a second then backed up.

"You need this and you need this to go well. You can't be alone like that. I'm giving this to you as a friend who cares about you." Her voice was soft and low.

Freyu closed her eyed and turned her head up. She blinked and smiled at Alask, it looked normal and natural but it was very much a forced one.

"Thank you for being so kind." Freyu said, taking the basket from her friend.

"Just take care of yourself." Both women nodded.

"Alright Omega, let's get going." Freyu called Omega over to her and took her hand, Iri followed them.

The market had grown quiet, eerily still. Freyu glanced around, everyone was looking at something happening around the corner. Shots fired, bright bolt flashed by and people ducked to avoid them, Freyu shoved Omega under a table and took out her blaster pistol.

Raiders, stupid ones at that. Shouldn't be much of a problem. Freyu whistled and caught the entire market's attention, she moved one hand behind her back casually and surveyed the raiders. They were rookies, trying to make up for their lack of skill and experience with fire power and a personal shield, most of their ammunition was likely fake, they all had their identities hidden, better raiders wouldn't have been so obviously trying to hide. One pointed their blaster threateningly at her.

"You! Drop the blaster! Now!" They ordered, Freyu took a second to think about the idea.

"Hmm... No." She pulled out her slug thrower and fired both her weapons, the blaster shots bounced harmlessly off the shield and into the ground but the slugs went through, shouts of pain followed, Freyu closed the gap.

She traded her slug thrower out for her vibro-blade, it was better for close quarters fighting anyway.

"Wanna return what you stole?" She asked, cocking the gun and pointing it at the masked face of the nearest raider.

"Not really." The raider was near human and female, probably the head of the raiding group, she kicked out at her.

Freyu dodged and fired a stun shot at the approaching raider, they fell to the ground. She backed up and swung her blade, the leader had her own vibro-blade.

They both stood still, waiting, watching each other's moves. Freyu glanced behind the raider, the bag had food spilling out, old food, the kind that was usually on sale so it wouldn't be thrown out and wasted. She took a better look at the raider, she was very thin, like Omega was when she first found her.

"If you return that, I can get you something better." Freyu offered.

The raider backed up in surprise, she turned her head to see the vendor she had stolen from running up with a blaster rifle.

She raised her blaster and vibro-blade up then dropped both and put her hands up.

"What are you doing?!" A raider whispered in a panicked voice, their leader glared at them.

"Everything's under control here." Freyu shouted out.

She picked up the sack and returned it to the vendor. Soon the crowd dispersed, Freyu turned to the raider and tossed her a small bag, it jingled when it was caught. Credits.

"Don't use it for the wrong things." Freyu warned, she turned around to help Omega up.

The raiders quickly made themselves scarce.

Omega stared up at Freyu, she was relaxed and at ease, despite her heavy breathing and the small bit of sweat trickling down her face. Something about her ease so soon after a fight was unsettling.

"Let's go Omega." She said, pulling her off the ground.

She noticed the girl's unease, she smiled and casually pulled her braided hair back, showing her scar.

"Don't worry, you'll be safe with me, Omega. I can handle more than raiders." Freyu reassured her.

She took Omega's hand and continued to shop.

XXX

Four figures in dark armor moved stealthily through the darkened cave.

"Tech, are you sure about this?" Echo asked.

"Yes, Imperial com chatter has been talking about apprehending a rogue Kaminoan, their location hasn't been discovered but I suspect that this is the best bet we have at finding them." He answered.

"This Kaminoan is gonna help us find Omega, right?" Wrecker asked.

"Yes, they are likely someone important which is why the Empire is after them." His answer was confident.

Hunter put his hand up and they all stopped, each of them looked around. They weren't alone.

"What do you want?" A calm voice came from somewhere in the darkness ahead of the clones.

"You! Are you," Tech paused and checked his datapad, "Are you the rogue Kaminoan Kina Ha?" He asked.

"Why do you want to know?"

"The Empire is searching for you and we think we know why." Hunter grunted, the Kaminoan laughed.

"You are wrong. I do not know where your child is."

"How did you know that?" Wrecker shouted.

"You are very loud."

Hunter flicked on his flashlight to see the Kaminoan better. She looked like any other Kaminoan, except...

She was smiling.

It was unnerving to say the least, none of Clone Force 99 had ever seen a Kaminoan smile or show any emotion at all.

"I am afraid you have come to a dead end, I have not had anything to do with my home for almost three thousand years." She said.

"Three thousand?!"

"Yes, I was modified, as you were, to live much longer than the rest of my species." She nodded.

"If you don't know anything about the Kaminoan's opperations, then why does the Empire want you?" Tech asked.

Kina Ha glanced down at them, she sensed someone coming, closing in on them.

"It appears you have been followed." She said, pulling a golden hilted weapon into her hand and igniting a green blade.

"Oh, a Jedi, that makes sense."

"Not now Tech!"

"Get ready for a fight!"

"I suggest we go down that passage." Kina interrupted the clones. She gestured to the small passage leading towards the surface with her lightsaber.

"I will cover our exit."

The batch didn't have to be told twice once the blaster bolts came too close for comfort. Kina cut into the wall above them, causing rocks to fall and block the passage.

It was a quick way out, Kina kept blocking the passage behind them until they were all out of the passage. The Havoc Marauder was nearby, it all clicked for Tech.

"Before you speak, yes, I did know you were coming and planned my escape accordingly to best assist you." Kina said before any of the clones could speak.

"Assist us?" Hunter repeated.

"You want to find you child again, don't you?" The Kaminoan was already heading for the attack shuttle.

"Come. We must hurry." She urged them.

The batch each gave each other confused glances, this Kaminoan was different than any other they had ever met, it would certainly be an interesting time.

XXX

Freyu and Omega sat together on Freyu's roof, Iri was flying around the golden bathed sky of the sun setting over the feilds. Freyu took a sip form her drink sat up.

"Do you know what happened to you?" She asked.

Doubts had been lingering in her head since she had found Omega but her talk with Alask had boosted them. She wanted to know how to help Omega, the young girl was still having frequent nightmares and seemed easily startled by certain things. And she wanted to know what or who was after her so she could be prepared for what was coming.

The question had caused Omega to stiffen up and become nervous. Her eyes darted around until eventually following Iri's movement.

"I don't really know. i-I can't remember... everything went so fast... all I can really remember is waking up alone and hurt." Omega's voice shook as she spoke.

"i-I do remember someone telling me to run before... before they took me again... I was told to run... t-to run and hide and wait for it to be over but I don't know who said that." She said.

Freyu found herself pulling Omega close to her, much to both their surprise. Freyu let go almost imedeatly, slightly embarrassed.

"Sorry, I did that whenever my sister got upset." She apologized.

"I... I don't mind, it feels good." Omega whispered while pressing herself back against Freyu, she patted her back gently.

"Maybe it was your mother or father who told you that?" She suggested.

"No... I don't think I have those." Omega's response surprised Freyu.

"What? Who takes care of you then?" She asked.

Small tears formed at the corners of Omega's eyes, she pressed herself further into Freyu's side.

"i-I can't remember... I was just so so lonely a-all the time... nobody wanted to be my friend for so long." She said before a small smile crossed her face.

"Then, there was someone who cared about me and worried about me." The smile faded just as quickly and her lower lip trembled.

She buried her face in her hands and let out the cry she had been holding in.

"Now I can't even remember them! Or where they are or if they are even still alive!" She shouted.

"Now I'm alone, with no one." She sobbed.

Freyu gave her a semi-awkward pat on the back. She could feel Omega's entire body shaking as she cried. Iri landed close by, giving a concerned look to the human child.

"What if they don't like me anymore? What id they sent me away because I did something wrong? What if they don't want me around anymore because I-"

"Omega! There is no reason to think that." Freyu said gently, snapping Omega out of the downward spiral she was on.

Omega turned to her and cried into her shoulder. Freyu ran her palm over Omega's back in large circles, letting Omega cry as long as she needed.

I know you need this Omega, it'll feel better once you let it out. She thought. She had been there many times.

Eventually, Omega's calmed down, her breathing steadied and she didn't shake nearly as much. Freyu took the oppertunity to pick Omega up and take her back inside for bed.

"Freyu, do you have a family?" The question sent a shiver down Freyu's spine.

She ignored the growing pull of memories that lived in the darkest corner of her mind and focused on tucking Omega into the makeshift couch bed that was still set up for her

"No. Not for a while." Freyu's response was short, quick and a lie.

Omega knew this, she had just mentioned a sister but it was clear Freyu didn't want to talk about it. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, clutching her trooper doll and Lula close to her face.

"Maybe... if mine find me... you can come with us too?" She suggested with a large yawn.

Freyu smiled down at her, she pulled the blanket up over Omega and tucked it around her face. The little girl's eyes were closed already and she was drifting into sleep already.

"That sounds nice Omega." She sighed.

It went so awful last time.

"But I don't think I'm ready for that yet." She said.

Omega didn't hear her doubts, she was already asleep. Freyu turned the lights off and crossed the room to her bedroom, she glanced over her shoulder then waved her hand. A small light plugged in at the corner of the room flicked on.

She likes the light on so she knows where she is when she wakes up. Freyu reminded herself

"Good night Omega, sweet dreams." She whispered, going into her room and leaving the door open a crack.

#Bad Batch fic #Lost Omega #Omega #Hunter #Echo #Tech #Wrecker #Kina Ha #The Kaminoan Jedi #Star Wars #Amnesia #My OCs #Freyu O'asisk #Alask #VJS Fics:P #VJS

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suffering-and-happy-about-it · 4 years

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Favored ones, Part 1. (Joel Miller x Fem!reader)

Description: When you spend every evening with someone who's deeply under your skin, a certain relationship can be developed. So it's crushing for Joel when Y/N suddenly disappears. But there's way more to the relationship that one would've guessed.

A/N: I love me a knife dad, sis.

A/N 2: This is just a chapter that will introduce you to the series and by the time, we will lay into deeper layers; as always, lmao. Also a subtle Far Cry 5 reference. Very subtle, you might not even catch it.

Warnings: Surviving the cordyceps apocalypse, enduring and surviving, an attack of some sort, will explain later.

Word count: 2.6 K

Tagging: @missdictatorme @xxgoldenhour @nemodoren

Also - if you would like to get tagged, don't be shy babe, just tell me.

If you like this story, please, more parts can be found here! :): H E R E

Around December 2038:

What was the worst part of the outbreak?

One would've thought it would be those who were infected by cordyceps. Some would answer that the worst thing which happened was the moment when the government broke completely down and when the society had crumbled to shit. Other people would tell you that the scariest thing for them to overcome was the cruelty of other people, them forming gangs, stealing from others, killing others to survive. Cannibalism, chaos.

But for one man it was the memories that took a hold on him. He was still scared of the nightmares that were crawling through his brain and subconsciousness. It was a dream that was playing in a fucking loop.

He saw his very own child, his little baby girl and angel shining through his darkness, his daughter Sarah being shot over and over and over again. It happened a thousand times till that very day and even if Joel found a way to endure and survive, he was still visiting the past in his mind.

It was over twenty-five years ago and yet he remembered every last detail of that night. Joel never felt such a painful loss in his entire life.

He found new people who he learned to love as the time passed, even if it wasn't exactly easiest to move on, he found new purposes and things he could do, but there was only one Sarah. No-one could replace her.

But to be fair, even if the twenty-five years of surviving took a hold on him, his physique and mental health, his experience was priceless. Nothing could be better than being taught by a professional.

So when he and Ellie settled down in Jackson County five years ago, he earned the people's trust when he decided to help them out with practical training. He was a master smuggler and survivor after all.

Sometimes, he got a bunch of kiddos in a class to teach them how to shoot with bow and gun in self-defense, other times they had a biology class and Joel taught them how to properly hunt an animal and how to cut its throat.

When Joel was in a really good mood, he was playing some old tunes on his guitar to them. But that happened truly rarely. Rather never than often.

As time passed, Joel could say who's in his group only to annoy him because he was such an old asshole and who is there to actually listen to what he was saying.

There were two small boys, twins, around the age of thirteen who loved fauna and flora. There was a sixteen-year-old girl who was willing to take guitar lessons. And then there was a girl, rather a woman, just a few years older than Ellie, who loved to learn how to shoot with a bow.

There was no other person so similar to Ellie, a girl who he practically adopted. That girl, her name was Y/N and she was born in Jackson County, was fiery and witty, quick with her responses and pretty tough cookie on the outside.

Even if Joel would not address the situation properly, the others began to notice - trips to the woods with Joel to hunt, practically everyday personal training from Joel to shoot with a bow. People began to spread the news quickly, it spread like a wildfire. The other day, there were jokes when you slowly approached your study session with the other ones from your town.

"Well if it ain't the miss I will get into your pants, huh?" - Jesse, your longtime friend joked while he prepared a saddle on his horse's back.

"Smelling nice, looking fucking fresh and I'm ready to take a hike." - You looked at your horse, a white one with one big black dot on near its left eye and you gave him a carrot so it could chew something. You called it Sadie and you knew that animal since you were a small kid. - "There was some hot water left yesterday around two a.m.. The best shower of the year."

"Hike on a horse?" - Dina, another of your friends, added and rose her eyebrows as she watched you. - "You still don't have a clue hikes work, do you?"

"Well, nobody said I'm the smartest, but in conclusion, fuck all of you." - You said with your head held high. Typical you - not having some valid arguments, so you cursed them out. - "Thanks for having a conversation with me, I very much appreciate it."

"Oh, snowy morning, three jackasses and some cursing in the air. I feel like I'm home." - The last member of your group joined. Ellie had her denim jacket with wool inside, her hair was in a bun and she looked like she hasn't slept an hour that night.

You whistled and sooner than you could stop yourself, your brain began to make connections and conclusions. Dina wasn't looking exactly fresh as well, so they have been together. Jesse was looking like a panther just ready to strike and kill his prey, so he and Dina had broken up once again.

Holy shit. If your calculations were right, it meant that...

"Don't tell me that you two are fucking." - You shouted with laughter, pointing at both of them. Ellie's eyes widened, Dina panicked and it all happened in the one exact same moment. - "Holy motherfucking shit, guys. I know that you're into licking holes, girls, but this was way sooner than we expected. You talked about it like... Yesterday. Nice. Good job!"

"Y/N, language." - You heard the voice of your mentor who you began to recognize amongst everyone else talking to you silently. It was Joel, looking like a bag of hot trash and smelling like local whiskey. - "We have children here. Alright?"

"I'm sorry. It just took me by a surprise. Not gonna happen again, I swear." - You looked down on your lumberjack shoes and smiled innocently.

It was hard to get under your skin - but Joel was deeply under it. He had grown to your brain over the last few months. It was one of the few adults you listened to willingly.

"Holy moly." - Jesse took advantage of that situation when Joel was out of the range to hear your bickering. - "Look how tamed she is for that old man. Never seen her like that. Wanna get a pat on the back of your head from Ellie's old man for being such a good girl?"

"Keep telling that to yourself, country boy." - You bickered back and hopped into the saddle, smoothing your horse's neckline. - "You never gonna get a single touch on all of this. This is VIP stuff." - You pointed at yourself and made your horse gallop to the gate.

The twins were sitting on one horse, ironically called the Rabbit, there was also a few other kids from the neighborhood. But today was different - while Joel took the other kids to teach them how to survive in the freezing cold temperatures while the trio will be guarding them against any wildlife or infected attack, you will hunt on your own.

The first time Joel had actually let that happen - you were out to near cities to find some things that may come handy in groups on daily, scheduled bases, but to hunt on your own in the toughest winter? Never happened to you before.

"So, just as we agreed?" - You looked down on Joel who's back were turn to you and smiled. You had a winter coat on, so your face with reddened cheeks and nose was barely visible. But even though, Joel came to your horse and caressed its side while looking you in the eyes.

"Yeah, just as we agreed. Stay in the area of the mapped roads and be back on time. No unexpected things today, I beg you." - Joel spoke silently, which made you smile wider.

"How many times we've been into the woods, big guy? I know those places like the back of my hand. I will be okay and I will behave well, I promise." - You winked at him and when nobody was paying attention, the tips of your fingers subtly brushed against his hand. It was just a second, small moment, almost invisible to most of the people around you.

You secretly lived for that - the big secret you held, the anticipation about what will happen when you'll be at home that night tickling every nerve in your body, the danger of anybody finding out.

But you just looked in front of your horse as Joel stepped further away.

"I would say you behave. Safety first. You see something you can't shoot with a bow or kill with a knife, you run. Won't you be cold out there?" - Joel caught your stare one last time and you laughed a little. You were cold as shit even now, but because of your pride and anticipation, you would not say it out loud.

"Wouldn't you wanna know, old man?" - Then you rose up the sleeve to show him your watch. - "Got my timer set and bow steady, time to go. See you somewhere around Whitetail, Joel."

And with that, you rode out of the city's gates, slowly and steady through the pretty deep snow. And so, it was happening - your first-time real hunting session. Without Ellie, Jesse, Dina, the elders or Joel. Only you and the forest.

---

You could feel that you're one with nature around you. The snow was cracking under your weight as you slowly walked from tree to tree. Your body felt tensed up and the tips of the fingers tapped and brushed the bow and arrow in your hands.

At those moments, the world felt quiet and peaceful. Only the innocent white color was surrounding you, sometimes disrupted with brown or green, those were the trees. A few brackens were moving silently as the snow was falling on it.

You stepped forward again and looked around you, slowly exhaling out. You didn't want the mist out of your lips to cover your surroundings so you learned how to breathe slowly. That was of the things that Joel was teaching you since spring.

There were no misty breaths in March or April, but it definitely occurred in November and December. You needed to be careful with breathing. And shaky, cold fingers - that was when you needed gloves with cut off fingertips, so you could use at least the big portion of your fingers.

Just like that, you caught a glimpse of a rabbit running two to three feet away from you, not minding you at all. You dropped lower on your knees and you felt as the snow slowly froze them down. Your eyes carefully watched the movements of the rabbit.

If you get really lucky, you might even find it's lair. Ah shit, three to six rabbits on your first hunt? That would be a fucking jackpot. And you would prove yourself in Joel's eyes. So you decided to follow that small, furry animal with small steps and subtle movements.

You didn't even make rushed motions with your feet to keep the quietest you were capable of. But the rabbit only seemed to be running around and gathering some old, yellow grass. But then it got into a fast pace, but you knew that nothing is lost.

Just follow its footprints. That was actually the easiest technique when you hunt, Joel repeated countless times.

The following of the rabbit's trail took you almost half an hour before you stood in front of its lair.

Holy motherfucking shit. You actually made it. A lair of rabbits just in front of you. You heard them inside of it, moving and crawling, sniffing and making slow subtle movements. Just as you were taught to do it - stick your hands inside the lair and caught one of these little fuck's ears and drag them out and slice them.

But stand in front of the hole they could escape with. They would be too afraid to come out of it. Just like that, you had four dead rabbits in your hand. You walked with them to Sadie, smiling wickedly. Four fucking rabbits. Who would have thought?

But when you were too occupied with pinning the rabbits into the horse's back, you caught a glimpse of something interesting behind it. You saw a human being, probably a man, walking behind the tree.

"Hey, are you from Jackson County?" - You asked in a sharp voice. If it would've been someone you knew, they wouldn't be creeping up behind your back like that. So you controlled the knife you had behind your belt and furrowed your look in the direction where you saw them for the last time.

There were a lot of trees there, so you could probably catch some glimpses, but nothing was for sure. So you prepared your bow in the case of need. It wasn't Runners or Clickers, they even bother to sneak around. They would've attack immediately. The forest was unusually unsettling and quiet.

"Why don't you just come here and talk to me?" - You asked unsurely again. You played with the bow and looked around. - "Can you stop fucking with me and just come out?"

When you were almost about to snap, you froze when your ears caught another sound coming from behind your back. This was a fucking trap. And you caught the bait perfectly. You were so dumb.

Immediately, you jumped on Sadie's back and made her turn around so you could go back on the road as soon as possible.

But such terrible things can happen in a few seconds. Before you could even breath out, you felt as Sadie's legs lost the balance and as the horse crumbled down. Your legs fell from the saddle and the animal's body fell on yours for a second, but you couldn't breathe nonetheless. Both of you were falling from a hill - and it was a pretty bad fall.

When you laid in the ice-cold snow and tried to catch a breath, you realized your leg hurts too much. It was an immersive pain that made you scream out loud. It was broken.

And the guys who've been hunting you down were just slicing Sadie's throat.

---

"It's late. She should've been here an hour ago." - Jesse said to Deena. They've separated - Joel took he kids back inside and Ellie went to search for you in the area you talked about with Joel. Jesse and Deena stayed at Whitetail to wait if you don't come there.

"Come on. You know her. Maybe she found some good hunting spot?" - Dina said with a smile. Yeah. That was all you. Just to forget about time. There was probably nothing wrong with you. - "I bet she's just fine."

Just as she said that Jesse saw a glimpse of Ellie in the background. She was running as fast as she could and she was clearly scared for her dear life.

"I-I found Sadie, her horse." - Ellie stuttered, looking at both of them.

"Why didn't you bring him back? We could look into her logbook." - Jesse answered and Dina shook her head. - "She only wrote notes to her logbook when she was back in the town. She did write only when she was scheduled to go out. It wouldn't help at all."

"Dead. That horse is dead with an arrow in its knee and sliced throat. I do have any idea where she is." - And with that, they knew that they have to search for you immediately.

#joel miller x reader #joel miller #joel #knife dad #the last of us imagine #the last of us series #joel miller x y/n #ellie williams #ellie tlou #tlou #naughty dog #dina #jesse #joel tlou

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ftb-writes · 5 years

Text

Okay, so I had writer's block all week so I dug out the first chapter of what I had intended to be a multi chapter novel that I started just before getting my retail job. I haven't had any time to work on it further, but it does make for a good read so far, and I even have a few pics that I might post to go with it later. Also, the formatting is wonky... I tried to fix it.

---

The hiss is low and guttural; it is a warning, Chrys knows. He stops and stares up the path, scanning the trees ahead of them.

“It’s probably just an animal,” Bryn grunts behind him. “Or something.”

“It might be the ‘or something,’” Chrys replies, motioning for Bryn to stay still.

“You don’t think it’s a dragon, do you,” Bryn asks.

“If it is, it’s only a small one,” Chrys reassures his hunting companion. “It’s probably just a fox or coyote, but best to let it move on to be safe. We’ve already got enough meat anyway, and foxes tend to be thinner during winter.”

“If you’re sure,” Bryn mutters.

A few hundred yards down the path, something moves out into the open. It is not a fox, but it is not a dragon, either. It is a braksi, a large female with arching horns. Bryn reaches for his bow, but Chrys puts up his hand to stop him. The sound of their movements spook the braksi, however, and she runs off.

“Why did you stop me,” Bryn demands. “We could have sold the extra meat for some coin.”

“She was pregnant. If we bring in all the braksi, there wouldn’t be enough for the next generation to eat.” Chrys starts back down the path, but he turns back when Bryn does not immediately follow. “Coming, Bryn?”

“Yeah,” Bryn sighs, finally following Chrys. “Never thought of it like that. You think of the little things, Chrys.”

“One of us has to,” Chrys teases.

“Now that’s low,” Bryn snorts. “Even for you.”

The two laugh easily, teasing back and forth as they step out of the forest into the village of Telvinne. It is a small village, bordered on three sides by the thick forest the hunters made their living from; Telvinne is the last town on the way to the Scarast Mountain Range, with a butcher, a blacksmith, an herbalist, and the houses of the laborers in the area. With eight farms, a well, and nearby Lake Tel, for which the village was named, Telvinne is the home of hardworking folk, and traders came through twice a year for the villagers to get anything they could not make themselves, and so the villagers could sell any home-made goods.

Chrys and Bryn are two of nine hunters in the village; of the nearly seventy residents of Telvinne, thirty-seven are farmers, and the village’s main exports are their crops. The farmers will tell you the fertility of the soil is due to the nearby mountains, long believed by the people in Telvinne and the surrounding towns and cities to be the home of nature spirits, while the other hunters often swear it is the droppings of the large diversity of animals from the surrounding forest. Chrys thinks it may be a bit of both.

Chrys and Bryn make their way up the slope toward the main group of buildings along the main road into and out of Telvinne, waving to the farmers and the children as they passed.

“Here, I’ll take the meat to the butcher. Your wife probably has dinner going.” Bryn is married to a beautiful farmer named Ralla, who had given him a pair of twin sons a few years back. Bryn loves them dearly, and misses them on the long days spent tracking and hunting in the woods.

Bryn passes the bag with their catches and sighs. “Chrys, when you get a chance, settle down and marry a nice girl,” Bryn tells him. “Having dinner ready when you get home is a wonderful thing.”

Chrys gives Bryn a tight smile. “Sure, Bryn,” he placates, shooing the older man off. Chrys knows Bryn means well, but Chrys does not plan on settling down and getting married. Chrys has more important things to worry about.

“Ah, Chrys!” Marc greets everyone by name, and Chrys is no exception when he enters the butcher-shop.

“Hey, Marc,” Chrys replies. Chrys respects Marc with his kinder nature. Marc has bright hair and brighter eyes, and a gentle strength that can wield the knives that split bones for the man’s living. One of Marc’s sons is carefully taking stock of the meat behind the counter.

“Bryn and I just got back from a hunting trip,” Chrys tells the butcher. “Think you can do your thing?”

Marc laughs easily. “Sure thing, Chrys. See any dragons?”

“Nah,” Chrys answers as he passes the catch over. “I wish. I love dragon-watching.”

Marc smiles while he takes stock of the handful of small game, the pair of braksis, and a large buck. “Only you would want to actually see a dragon, Chrys. You’re crazy.”

“Crazy? Or interesting?” Chrys spins around, motioning out the window in the direction of the closest city, Nycelia, on the Southern Plains. “If I become a dragon expert, everyone in the city will want to get to know me!”

Marc rolls his eyes, but he knows from experience not to try to discourage the younger man. Chrys whirls back to Marc with a bright, excited smile. “I’ll be able to get into the royal court even, maybe!”

“Alright, Chrys,” Marc tells him. “Listen, it’ll take me two days to get all this cut up and figure on a proper price for you two. Come back then.”

Chrys nods. “See you then.”

The sun is beginning to set as Chrys leaves the butcher and starts for home. Chrys had built a small house for himself a bit out of the village, set back into the edge of the forest surrounding Telvinne, just south of Lake Tel.

The walls are covered in sketches of dragons, flora and fauna local to the region, and of villagers from Telvinne and the surrounding area. Unfinished sketches cover the small table in the main room, and Chrys is quick to close the door and avoid the breeze blowing the loose papers around.

Curled up on the table in the kitchen is a large cat that yawns in way of greeting. Chrys sighs. “I know it’s late, Bigelow. Marc and I got to talking. I caught a buck,” he tells the cat as he collects the loose sketches and stirs a pot of stew he had set to cook before he had left that morning with Bryn. “We can eat for a while off this catch, from the looks of it.”

Bigelow yawns again and sets his head on his paws. Chrys ladles some of the stew into a wooden bowl. “Catch any mice today?” Of course, Bigelow does not answer, but Chrys carries on talking as he sets his place at the table. “I didn’t see any dragons this time, not even a little one, but that’s not surprising. They don’t come this far north in the colder months, usually. Maybe when it gets warmer.”

Bigelow gets up and pads over to the door. Chrys frowns as the cat nudges it open and pads out into the deepening twilight.

“Eat it before you come inside,” Chrys calls after him. It would not be the first time Chrys woke up to an unexpected gift from Bigelow. Anything from mice and voles to rabbits and hares and even a young braksi, once; nothing is safe from Bigelow. Even bears and wolves stay out of the feline’s way.

Chrys grabs a hunk of bread he had made a few days ago and dips it into his stew, but Chrys jumps when he hears a loud yowl from outside. Chrys glances up toward the still open door, stew-soaked bread halfway to his lips. He sighs and pops the bread into his mouth and chews quickly. “What, Bigs, is there dew on the grass,” he teases as he walks outside. What he sees makes him freeze.

Bigelow is laying a few feet away from the door, on his back, staring unseeing at the night sky, completely still except for his shallow breathing. Chrys’s stomach somehow both drops and lurches up into his throat at the same time. Chrys slams the door behind him and scrambles over to his cat. Bigelow does not acknowledge the young man as Chrys leans over him, carefully stroking the cat’s cheek as if expecting the cat to sit back up. “Bigs,” Chrys asks quietly. “Bigs?”

Chrys bolts for Telvinne, his beloved pet cradled in his arms. “Hang on, hang on,” he gasps to the cat. “Stay with me, Bigs!” Bigelow makes a strange, breathy noise, but otherwise does not respond.

Telvinne is slumbering, but Chrys knows that the herbalist does not sleep until far later into the night. He goes straight for the her shop and home. “Elvira,” he calls desperately, shouldering open the door. “Elvira, theres something wrong with Bigelow!”

“Set him on the table,” the herbalist, Elvira orders, calm but authoritative, striding through the door to a back room. Chrys hurries to comply, laying Bigelow onto the exam table Elvira kept carefully clean.

She takes one look at the stricken feline and sighs. “I can save him, but I recognize the signs. Wake the rest of the village, everyone is to get to the bunker. This is the work of a cockatrice. Best to wait for it to leave the area.” Chrys nods and reaches for Bigelow, but Elvira shakes her head. “I will bring him after he’s healed. Go.”

Chrys shoots one more look at his cat before doing as he is told. Chrys trusts Elvira, he knows how capable she is. Elvira could set a broken bone, dose an ill sheep, stitch up a farming accident. But Bigelow has been a companion to Chrys for several years now, and the feline’s sudden attack has shaken Chrys.

Chrys leaves Elvira’s and decides to start with the houses that are closest to his; the cockatrice had passed his place first, after all, and Chrys worries that if it does come into the village, it will be from that direction. If a cockatrice does get into the village, it would be a catastrophe waiting to happen, especially with the children in Telvinne not knowing to steer clear.

Bryn’s house is the first he goes to. “Bryn! Bryn, please, wake up,” Chrys cries, banging on the door desperately.

Bryn’s hair is tousled when he answers, eyes weary from sleep. “Chrys? What’s wrong, what time--”

“A cockatrice attacked Bigelow in front of my house. Elvira wants everyone in the bunker, now.”

Bryn leans back inside, shouting to wake his family. “I’ll get Ralla and the boys off and I’ll help wake everyone,” Bryn tells Chrys, before darting back inside to help his wife and sons. Chrys turns and darts across the dirt road to the farmer, Dale’s, home. Dale is still young, like Chrys, and he doesn’t have a wife or children either and is quick to offer to help wake the rest of the village as well.

Between the three of them, Bryn, Chrys, and Dale are able to rouse everyone and send them for the bunker in a short time. When the three men arrive at the bunker themselves, helping Marc and his wife, the blacksmith Mira, herd their five children through the dark streets, Elvira is waiting. She waves them all in and shuts the door, and then turns her brown eyes to Chrys.

She quietly greets him, and carefully passes a bundle to him. Bigelow is sleeping peacefully, but he lazily opens an eye to glance up at Chrys, before he begins purring softly as he drifts to sleep in his owners arms.

“He will be a bit out of sorts for a few days. Best to keep an eye on him until he returns to normal,” the herbalist instructs. “Now, let us retreat deeper in. It is late, but we are all safe thanks to the fact the beast ran into Bigelow first; I am sure the others are grateful, and they are glad that he is alright.”

Chrys has never been inside the bunker, has never really needed to. Telvinne has it’s very own, as most of the villages, towns, and cities in the country of Belaro; they were built during the great dragon wars a few hundred years ago, and they are kept in good repair thanks to the crown. These days, they are mostly used for storage. Telvinne’s bunker is dug into a large hill opposite Chrys’s home, lined with stones to keep the walls from falling in and with a handful of large beams scattered through the single room to hold up the ceiling.

Chrys does not like it at all. The walls feel too close, the ceiling too low, despite it being large enough inside the bunker to hold several of the houses of Telvinne inside comfortably. Chrys settles down in a quiet, out of the way spot by the door to wait while his skin feels like it is crawling off, and Bigelow’s quiet purring seems to be the only thing that can calm the young hunter. It takes three days of sending out a small party a few times a day for Elvira to be satisfied that the cockatrice did not stay in the area, and during those days Chrys sleeps little.

The day after the cockatrice-induced seclusion ends, it snows in Telvinne; for the first time in nearly half a century, Telvinne is covered in several inches of thick flakes. By the end of the day, those several inches have grown to a foot, and the next morning sees Chrys struggling to get his front door open. Bigelow seems content to wait out the snow, but Chrys had some salted stew-meat and the money from the hunting catch to retrieve from Marc at the butcher shop.

Halfway to town, Chrys runs into Dale. The farmer has tripped or slipped on the way to check the farm he works, and he is stuck so deep in the snow he is barely visible. Dale had moved to Telvinne from further south by Nycelia, and likely had never experienced snow like this before.

“Need any help, Dale,” Chrys asks as he approaches. It takes Dale a moment of squirming to get his head totally above the snow, and when he does, he has to squint against the sun.

“Ah, no, Chrys, I’m fine,” Dale says, teeth chattering slightly. He shakes his hair out of his eyes and huffs.

“So, what are you doing, then?” Chrys wades a little closer. The snow is up to his waist already, and though it has slowed down, the snow is still falling. Chrys usually lets Dale do things himself and Dale usually does not ask for help, but in this snow that mentality could be dangerous.

“I--” Dale starts to say, and sneezes. The two stare at each other for a moment in surprised silence before Dale sighs. “I’m stuck.”

“Do you want me to get you out?” Chrys leans closer to Dale to brush snow off his head.

“Yes, please,” the farmer replies, rather meekly.

Chrys rolls his eyes. “It’s okay to ask for help, Dale,” he tells the farmer gently as he begins digging. “We only have each other out here.”

Dale smiles. "I know," he tells Chrys. "I know. I just--" he sighs again, heavy with thought. "I'm not used to having anyone to ask for help. I lost my parents to a bear when I was still pretty young, so I’m used to just doing everything myself."

Chrys glances up at Dale and gasps. "Dale, woah, I'm so sorry."

Dale sniffs. "'S alright. It was a long time ago, I don’t really remember it all that much."

Chrys helps Dale up and helps him dust off. "It's still pretty horrible. I can't imagine what that must have been like for you." When Dale just shrugs again, Chrys sighs. "Hey, listen, Dale. My house is kinda snowed in right now, but if you're out late in the fields, you're welcome to crash at my place. It's closer to your farm than the village is."

Dale chuckles. "Yeah, thanks, Chrys. And, ah, if you need a place to crash not buried in snow..."

Chrys laughs. "Thanks Dale. I might just take you up on that. Spirits know Bigelow hates the snow, poor boy won't leave the house."

Dale joins his laughter, the sadness from a moment ago forgotten, even if only temporarily.

"I mean, aren't you worried about the dragons, too," Dale asks.

"Nah, they don't bother me," Chrys tells him, waving as if to brush the concern away. "C'mon, if you walk me back to my place, I have something I wanna show you."

The two talk while Chrys retrieves his meats, and they help each other trudge back through the snow. Chrys glances at Dale once before he pushes the door to his home open.

Dale's mouth falls open. He steps into the house, slowly spinning to take in all the pictures. "Did you draw all these," he wonders. "They're amazing!"

"Thank you," Chrys laughs, blushing slightly.

"Where did you see these dragons," Dale continues, motioning to some of the sketches. "Were they in a book?"

"No, these are dragons I've seen while hunting. Or they've strolled across my yard. This one--" Chrys reaches up to a cluster of sketches of the same dragon, a large male with curling horns and dark scales. His wings have some minor tears along the edges, and he's covered in scars; there is a determined gleam in his eyes in all the sketches Chrys has of him. "I call him Big Boy," Chrys explains. "He's the most territorial in the area. I think he's the one in charge around here. He's the first dragon in during the warm months and the last one out when it gets colder. I saw him quite a lot while I was building my home. Nothing happens in the area without Big Boy knowing about it."

"Really?" Dale cocks an eyebrow. " Does he know about me?"

"Probably," Chrys tells him, shrugging. "He may have never seen you," he reassures when Dale looks mildly alarmed, "but he knows everyone in the area by scent."

"Wow. And he just wanders through your yard every now and again?"

Chrys nods and motions to another cluster of sketches. These feature a female, one with a blind eye and a missing claw on one of her front feet. There are less sketches overall than of Big Boy, but they are more detailed. "This is Skye. She's a bit more shy, but she sits for hours once she is comfortable. She's Big Boy's mate. Whatever she's doing, she's doing it right. Most males mate with a different female each year, but Big Boy keeps going back to her."

"Who's that," Dale asks, pointing up at another sketch. It's a jet black male, with no scars or injuries. The sketch looks hurried, and the dragon it features appears to be asleep. That sketch is the only one of this particular dragon.

"That's Shadow," Chrys says, fondness in his voice. "He's my favorite. Never sits still, but he's a gentle soul. Bigelow's gone hunting with him a few times. He's a little smaller, or maybe he's just young. He checks in with me every year when the dragons come back north for the spring and go south for the winter."

Dale glances up at Chrys. He has a gleam in his eyes; Dale can see that this is not mere curiosity, like most of the villagers assume -- Chrys is obsessed, he's living and breathing and dreaming dragons.

"Crazy idea," Dale says. Chrys turns his gaze back to the farmer with a teasing smirk.

"Crazy," he asks, "or interesting?"

Dale snorts, and then reaches up to motion to all the sketches. "Could I bring my uncle down here sometime? He lives in Nycelia, and he's an old drinking buddy of Nycelia's current dragon expert, Tern--"

"Yes," Chrys interrupts. "Of course." He scoops Dale into a tight hug, a light, airy giggle tumbling off his lips. "Thank you, Dale," Chrys says as he lets the farmer go. "None of the others have ever taken my dreams seriously."

Dale flushes at the honesty in Chrys's voice. "Just don't forget to come home every now and again, yeah?"

Chrys nudges him gently. "Hey, why don't you come along, Dale? It's bound to be an adventure, and I could use an extra set of hands -- wherever it is that studying dragons will take me."

Dale looks around the sketches, at Chrys's excited grin, and he feels himself grinning back.

"You have to show me me all the local dragons, first," he says.

"As soon as it warms up," Chrys promises.

"Then I'm glad to be on board," Dale agrees, shaking Chrys's hand. "Now, come on. I'll help you move Bigelow up to my house. Besides, it's weird that there's more snow here than up in the village."

"There is a slight slope," Chrys chuckles, turning to grab a blanket. "When the snow gets too heavy, it pushes everything down towards me."

“I’m never gonna get you northerners,” Dale sighs.

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