#when gus smiles at him and hunter takes a breath and starts explaining | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

avatarmerida · 2 years

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Status Update

This is kind of two different fic ideas that I rolled into one? Because I’m trash and love this ship? Set like literally right after Labyrinth Runners. I just really love the idea of Willow and Hunter texting. I’m on mobile so pls forgive any errors or whatever k thanks ~Huntlow~

———

“Hey Hunter,” Willow said skipping over to where the Golden Guard sat as a student on the healing track finished liking him over. When she entered his view, a small smile graced his face and his tired eyes softened. “Ed had some extra clothes in his locker that should fit you, why don’t you go change and freshen up before filling us in on... everything?”

He nodded. “Excellent idea Captain,” he said taking the folded clothes from her. “Thank you.”

“It’s my outfit from the play last semester, don’t you think he’d prefer something more modern?” Ed whispered to her as as Hunter went to change.

“No, I think it’ll be just his style,” said Willow. “It’s very similar to the outfit his favorite character in his favorite book wears, so I think he’ll be thrilled.”

“Well, if you need any styling tips feel free to reach out,” replied Ed with a shrug.

Willow watched fondly as Hunter navigated his way down the hall, looking back at her for reassurance he was going the right way. She sent him a thumbs up to confirm and Gus couldn’t help but notice the sigh of content his friend let out in response to merely giving directions.

“Hmm, suspicious,” Gus murmured to himself a she ran beside his friend, nearly catching her off guard. “How did you know that?”

“Know what? That the clothes would fit?” Willow asked. “Just a hunch, I mean Ed and Hunter are about the same height so he should be comfortable-.”

“No, no I meant about the book,” said Gus.

“Oh, he told me,” said Willow plainly. “One night he asked what I was up to, and I told him I was reading and so we started talking about books which of course lead to our favorites, and that’s how-.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you’ve been messaging with Hunter this whole time?” asked Gus, his arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Willow couldn’t help but giggle as he looked so much like his dad when he did that.

“Well, I guess because you never asked and it’s none of your business?” she responded with a sassy smile as she adjusted her braid which has started to come undone.

“Yeah, well...” she had a point, Gus was at a rare loss for words. “You don’t usually keep secrets.”

“It wasn’t a secret Gus, it just wasn’t something I shared, that’s all,” said Willow with a shrug. “You can read our messages if you want, but it’s not like he was trying to recruit me to the Emperor’s Coven again. It’s mostly cute pictures of our palismans.”

“No, that’s okay. Sorry, you’re right; you’re entitled to privacy. It’s just that... if there was something going on you’d tell me right?”

“Something like what?”

“Something like... is Hunter okay?”

“Woah, that’s a pretty loaded question Gus,”

“I mean... when I found him he was literally living in the trash,” explained Gus. “And from what I gathered about his life in the castle based on context clues alone, the dude seems kinda messed up.”

“Well, yeah but who isn’t?” asked Willow. “He’s still getting used to opening up to people and he’s a little rough around the edges but he’s sweet. We mostly talked about flyer derby practices and he’d ask me about the plants I like.”

“Uh-huh.”

“He’s also a very slow typer so I did most of the talking to be honest,” chuckled Willow. “But, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t worry about him too. I’d ask him what he’d had for lunch and he’d change the subject, I’m worried he’s not eating.”

“I can safely assume he hasn’t been eating well,” said Gus, recalling the state Hunter was in when he found him. “I think he really needs our help but I think he might not wanna ask for it.”

“I think you’re right,” sighed Willow. “Wait, did you say he was living in the trash?”

“Did he... not mention that?”

———

Seeing his reflection in the mirror, Hunter has to steady his breathing again. He was still adjusting to... everything. What it meant to be him, who he really was, who he was supposed to be. The eyes that looked back at him were scared and tired and he wondered whose they really were. But he knew all of this would have to wait; he had people waiting for him, people who needed his help. People he could really help, not how the Golden Guard “helped”people. But would just Hunter be enough? Was he ever meant to be enough? Was he-?

“Hunter! Hunter! Hunter!” Gus exclaimed frantically running through the door.

“What’s wrong?” asked Hunter, concerned.

“I’m so sorry! Please don’t be mad!”

“Hey, what? W-why would I be mad? What’s wrong? Are you hurt? You look scared.”

“No but...” his eyes darted to the door and Hunter stepped in front of his, furrowing his brow in determination.

“Stand behind me Gus, whatever is it I won’t let it hurt you,” said Hunter, taking a deep breath as he neared the door. “Whatever it is, we’ll defeat it together. There’s nothing stronger than-.”

He pulled the door open quickly and stood ready to attack, his staff at the ready to take down-

“-the Captain?” Finished a confused Hunter, stopping himself dead in his tracks as Willow stood unwatered, her arms crossed and her face wearing a stern look that sent a shiver down Hunter’s spine. She slowly walked up to him, her face mere inches from his own, commanding attention and Hunter felt frozen and on fire simultaneously.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were living in the trash?” She said simply, her voice serious and haunting.

“Huh?” Said Hunter, obviously not expecting her to say this.

“I’m sorryyyyyy,” whispered Gus, hiding further behind him.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were living in the trash?” Willow repeated, not backing down.

“It, uh, never came up?” He tried, offering her a nervous laugh.

“We talk every day and you didn’t think it was worth mentioning?” She said, refusing to lose his eye contact which made him feel petrified. “You let me talk for hours about different kinds of mulch but you couldn’t take five minutes to give me a very important life update?”

“I just didn’t...”

“Didn’t what?”

“Didn’t want to worry you...” he said quietly, looking at her sheepishly. Her face softened and she placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Well, whether you want me to or not I’m going to worry about you,” said Willow sternly. “What if something happened to you and you needed help? It’s okay to ask for help, ya know.”

“I-I do know... now, kind of...” started Hunter. “I’m just... still figuring a lot of stuff out and I-.”

“-don’t have to do it alone,” finished Willow. “I know how hard it can be to let other people help sometimes but it doesn’t mean you’re weak or a bother. If I asked you for help, would you think less of me or think I was weak?”

“What? Never, Captain!” Hunter responded without hesitation. “You’re fearless and confident and-.”

“-and even I need help sometimes,” finished Willow. Hunter thought he saw her blush, but he assumed it was just a trick of the light. He was secretly grateful she cut him off when she did because he knew the list was fairly long. “Being friends means working together and recognizing that you don’t have to do everything yourself. You need to realize that people have strengths that you don’t.”

“That’s absurd Captain, you have all the strengths!”

Willow laughed and took his hand. “Then let me help you,” she smiled. “The way you helped Gus. You don’t think less of Gus for needing help, do you?”

He looked back at Gus, still hiding from the wrath of a Willow and shook his head. “Of course not.”

“Great,” beamed Willow. “So after you fill everyone in on whatever is happening with the Emperor, we’re gonna make sure last night was your last night sleeping in the garbage. Sound good?”

Hunter fought back tears. “Sounds great,”

———

Hunter held Willow’s hand the entire time he was explaining everything to the Hexside crowd. Gus noticed when the subject became particularly painful or triggering, Willow would squeeze his hand and he’d take a deep breath and find a way to continue.

It was a lot to take in, but Hunter did his best to answer any questions the crowd had. There was still a lot he didn’t know (and a lot he wasn’t ready to share) but getting it all out in the open made the burden easier to bare. Having Willow by his side didn’t hurt either.

“Psst,” Amity whispered to Gus as Hunter spoke to Principal Bump.

“What’s up?” asked Gus.

“How long has that been going on?” She gestured over to where the pair stood.

“Hm? Oh, uh remember we told you he was on our flyer derby team and then he kind of got us kidnapped and then-,”

“No, no I mean Willow and the Golden Guard,” said Amity. “How long have they been together? Can’t say I’m totally thrilled, but they do look cute together. Guess Willow and I have more to catch up on than I thought.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Gus, confused.

“Oh, I guess it must still be early,” continued Amity, with a small smile. “But it’s pretty obvious, look at the way he gets sweaty and nervous the closer she stands to him.”

“I think Hunter’s just a sweaty and nervous guy,” said Gus.

“It doesn’t remind you of anyone? Not a certain human perhaps?”

Gus looked closer, focusing on the blush that made its home on Hunter’s face each time Willow spoke and couldn’t help but think it seemed familiar.

Just like Luz and Amity.

“Woah,” he said, finally seeing it.

“So I’m guessing it’s very early then,” she sighed. “Well, he is her type. Or was? Wow, heh, we do have a lot to catch up on.”

“Are you sure?”

“Trust me,” assured Amity with a chuckle. “I have firsthand experiences with this and I can tell by how red his face is right now that he most likely hasn’t figured it out himself yet.”

“Awh, that’s kind of sweet,” gushed Gus.

“Yeah,” agreed Amity fondly before her tone turned more sinister. “But if he hurts her...”

“I don’t think we have to worry about that,” assured Gus. “He’s kind of terrified of her?”

“Hmm, we’ll then he’s definitely her type.”

———

Now that Amity had pointed it out, Gus couldn’t unsee it. The way Hunter’s eyes darted to Willow, the way they softened when she went to speak, the way he almost forgot to speak because he was so lost in listening to her.

He couldn’t wait to tease him about it.

“So, how are you feeling?” Gus heard Willow ask Hunter as he ran up to his friends, the crowd slowly dissolving as everyone made their way home. “I know it was a lot.”

“It was,” said Hunter timidly. “But it’s good to know I’m on the right side now. I think I’ll sleep easier tonight.”

“Speaking of that,” sang Willow. “I already called my dads and they said you could totally stay at our house!”

“At y-your house?” Mumbled Hunter. “With you? Where you live? Captain, I-I couldn’t impose-.”

“It’s not an imposition, it’s an invitation!” She said. “I wanna make sure you’re okay.”

“Well that’s... I mean I can’t... it’s just that-.”

“-just that Hunter is already staying with me!” Interrupted Gus, much to Hunter’s relief.

“Huh?”

“Yes!” Continued Gus. “He’s staying with me!”

“When did you two decide this?”

“When I found him in the garbage,” answered Gus. “I said ‘wow you smell awful, I don’t think 100 showers could help you smell better but my dad has this strong aftershave that could help hide the smell you should come over and try it!’”

Hunter wasn’t thrilled about Gus reminding the Captain he had been living in garbage or pointing out how poorly he smelled, but he was thankful for the rescue. He wasn’t sure why he felt compelled to turn down the captain’s hospitality, but from Gus’ quick leap to his assistance he had a feeling his friend did.

“Yes,” added Hunter nervously. “That was what he said to me verbatim, I remember it well!”

“Okay...” said Willow not totally buying it but grateful to know Hunter would have a safe place to sleep. “Sound like a plan. You boys have fun okay? Text me updates? Even if they’re not good, I still wanna know what’s going on. Got it?”

“Affirmative, Captain,” said Hunter, suddenly less tense. “I’ll send you an honest status report.”

She smiled. “Good,” she as she made her way down the hall to start her own walk home. “And don’t stay up too late playing stupid games!”

———

“I win!” Announced Gus proudly, jumping from the spot where he and Hunter sat on his bed in victory.

“I don’t understand this game,” complained Hunter. “If it’s a thumb war, shouldn’t they have other resources and allies to call upon? How is this fun? Because it’s stupid?”

“Yeah, basically,” laughed Gus. “I heard it’s like a major sporting event in the human realm.”

“Whatever, let me inform the Captain of your victory,” said Hunter, typing on his scroll. Willow was right, he was a slow typer. Painfully slow.

“Ya know, you don’t have to tell Willow everything we do,” said Gus.

“But I promised her that I would,” said Hunter before his tone became nervous. “You don’t think I’m annoying her am I? Of course I’d misunderstand such a simple order, she’s probably busy and I’m eating her time! I’m so stupid to-.”

“Woah! No!” Gus cut him off. “Hey dude, you’re not stupid! That’s not what I meant at all! I meant if you wanna summarize everything in one text later on it might be easier for you. But if this is more your style, go for it.”

Hunter sighed. “Thank you. I’m sorry. I guess... I’m still getting used to this,” he said, motioning to the scroll. “I’m just not used to people wanting to know things about me or how I am. Before the Captain, no one had really asked me about the things I liked or disliked. No one really cared. It’s... nice.”

“So... speaking of things you like,” began Gus, smooth only in his own opinion. “Is there anything or maybe anyone you like that you didn’t tell Willow about?”

“Like what?”

“Well I know you guys message everyday but is there maybe something you wanted to tell her you like that she maybe didn’t ask you so you maybe didn’t think you could tell her but you wanted to?”

“I mean... yeah? That’s why she yelled at me in the bathroom earlier?”

Gus smacked his forehead. “I mean is there anything you wanted to tell her about how you feel? Maybe about her?”

Hunter looked frozen. “So you’ve noticed?” He asked faintly, his face fallen. Gus reacted to his word and not his appearance.

“Yes! Amity told me!” He squealed.

“Blight,” growled Hunter to himself. “I should’ve known she’d be behind it.”

“Behind... what, exactly?”

“This curse!” Said Hunter as if it was obvious. “It adds up, the Captain told me about their history. Of course she pull something like this!”

“What curse?”

“She’s testing me!” Continued Hunter. “Trying to test my loyalty or something deranged, I don’t know I can’t read her mind! But all I know is every time I’m near the Captain or talk about the Captain or even think about her I feel like my heart is going to explode! Like right now! Can you hear it right now? This is all Blight’s doing!”

Gus smiled. “Oh man, you’ve got it bad.”

“I know! That’s what I just said!”

“Hunter when would Amity have time to curse you? Or plan to curse you? She didn’t even know you knew Willow that well before today. And if you’ve had these feelings for awhile, well, the timeline doesn’t add up.”

“Then why do I feel this way?!” He demanded suddenly grabbing Gus’ shoulders. He quickly released him, not wanting to scare him. “Sorry! But I just... when I’m around the Captain... I feel afraid? But it’s not a fear I’ve felt before because it also feels... good? Trust me, I’ve been afraid most of my life, I know what I’m talking about. But I want to be close to her but far from her at the same time? And no matter which it is, I feel nauseous and dizzy and light and sweaty and-.”

“-happy?”

“I don’t have a lot of experience being happy but I’m assuming maybe, briefly, yes.”

“Dude, it’s okay,” laughed Gus. “You just have a crush.”

“I knew it! Someone is trying to crush me!” Said Hunter. “But if it wasn’t Blight, then who? Is this something the Captain did?”

“No dude, well yes, kind of? It’s...” how did he explain this to him? Was it better to know or not to know in this case? Would Gus explaining what a crush was help him or just embarrass him? “It’s not a curse, I’ll tell ya that.”

“A potion maybe? It’ll wear off soon?”

“Something like that,” laughed Gus. “It’s not a bad thing; it just means you like Willow.”

“Duh, of course I like the Captain,” scoffed Hunter. “She’s loyal and determined and tough and beautiful. Her only fault is wasting her time on lower beings that don’t deserve her, but overcoming that has made her stronger. But what does me respecting her have to do with these curse like symptoms?”

“Okay... let me try and explain this... the way you feel about Willow is the same way Amity feels about Luz.”

Hunter looked at him as if he had grown a second head. “I don’t want to try and get her dissected by your principal, why would you say that?” Hunter said with a concerned gaze. “You’re not making sense. Are you dehydrated? Let me get you a glass of water.”

Hunter hopped off the bed, mumbling something about never mistaking the Captain for an abomination.

“Here, you’re a faster typer than I am, let her know what we’re up to,” he tossed his scroll to Gus as he stood I the doorway. “I’ll trust you to edit the important parts. I don’t want her to worry.” At the idea of her his face turned red and she closed the door before Gus could make a comment.

Gus opened Hunter’s texts to Willow and saw there were... quite a lot.

He knew it was an invasion of privacy, so he collected all his inner strength and prevented himself from reading their precious conversations. Even though Willow had said they were mundane, knowing now what he knew about Hunter he was sure he could find some compelling subtext.

He did read the last few messages he sent to to see what he needed to cover. He quickly noticed he had started all the recent messages the same way.

STATUS UPDATE: have arrived at Gus civialin residency. Safe. The walls r yello

STATUS UPDATE: sum of the walls r blue

STATUS UPDATE: have showered.

STATUS UPDATE: his father is making sOUP. It Is WaRM.

STATUS UPDATE: there is an oRANGE roudn obJect in the soup. Do NOT CARe for it. Gus like s it??? HE can have Mine

The messages went on and on, with Willow responding to each one with a thumbs up or word of encouragement. As he stated to compose a message to Willow, an incoming text from her interrupted his typing. She had sent a picture of Clover curled up in a pile of clean laundry. She was right; they did send a lot of Palisman pictures.

Gus went to the drafts to retrieve the message he had started, and was greeted by a sea of unsent messages. Without thinking, he went ahead and sent them, knowing Hunter was serious about keeping his promise to Willow and was still new to using the scroll and probably didn’t realize they hadn’t sent.

“Wasn’t sure what temperature you preferred so I have three options of varying coldness,” said Hunter re-entering the room holding three glasses of water. “What did you end up saying to the Captain?”

“I told her I’m the all time champ at thumb wars and I sent her some messages that didn’t send earlier,” said Gus casually.

Hunter dropped the glasses to the floor (they did not break, they merely spilled) “You sent the Captain my drafts?!” He asked, mortified. Gus was surprised he knew what they were called. “All of them?!” He shouted, taking his scroll from the younger boy.

“Yeah?” Gus replied, confused.

“Some of those were from weeks ago!” Spat Hunter, as he starting pacing. “There’s a reason I never sent them! She was never supposed to see them!”

“Then why didn’t you delete them?!” Shouted Gus.

“I don’t know how to do that!” Shouted Hunter back. “I don’t even know how to send the colorful little pictures!”

“Okay, okay calm down,” said Gus, taking a deep breath. “It’s probably not that bad. This stuff happens all the time, Willow will understand. I’m sure it nothing bad!”

“No! It is! It is bad!” Said Hunter reading the messages Gus had sent. “Oh, see for yourself.”

Gus took the phone back and scrolled through to see what the damage was

I think my fAVOrite coloR is still gold? but NOT like being the Golden.Guard but like yOUR glasses, they look nice with yOUr eyes

wHAT if I sent u flowers?? Is that OK on The pLannt tra ck?? Or may be jUst dirt?.

Darius called u little Princess to day.Be cuz he calls me “Little pRINCE” but in mY opinion u wud be a queen

Coven head meetings r sooooo bORinG.wish I was with u instead

U look nice in that piCture wIth CLover.lovely

I Miss u

“Aw, Hunter,” Gus couldn’t help but smile. “These aren’t bad, they’re really sweet. Why didn’t you send them before?”

“I don’t know,” he said, looking to the ground. “I was embarrassed? But I don’t know why! They’re not lies. I just didn’t want the Captain to know them, but also I did? Does that make them lies then? I was just... scared of how she would respond. That she wouldn’t... that she’d think...” he sighed and allowed himself to collapse on the floor, raring his head in his hands. “I do feel crushed.”

“Hey man, it’s okay,” said Gus, sitting beside him. “It’s not the end of the world.”

“I know it’s not the end of the world because that I know how to deal with,” groaned Hunter. “This is even more complicated. What if she realizes how weird I am and then she never wants to talk to me again? Or even worse, she wants me to explain the messages further? What would I say?! Wait! What if we say I left my scroll out and Flapjack typed all that and accidentally sent all that? Or what if you tell her I died? Or-.”

“Hey! Snap out of it!” said Gus, this time taking Hunter’s shoulders. “It’s gonna be okay! Willow is your friend! She likes you!”

Hunter felt as though he was going to pass out. “Ugh, er how do you know?”

“She told me, she says she thinks you’re sweet.”

The blush was back. “S-she said that? About me? Did, uh, she say anything else? Maybe-?”

“Wait! She’s typing back!” Gus said and Hunter held his breath in anticipation and held the scroll straight to his face. The dots graced the screen for what felt like ages before finally her message appeared:

💚

“What is that? What does that mean?” asked Hunter shoving the scroll in Gus’ face.

“It’s a heart.”

“That’s not a heart, thats not anatomically correct at all,” said Hunter, rolling his eyes. “There’s no bile sac or veins and they’re not that color. Even it was, why does it mean?”

“You don’t know what a heart means?”

“I know what it does, pumping blood through the body and keeping you alive,” said Hunter before adding timidly. “Does this mean s-she’s glad I’m alive?”

“Actually-,” began Gus before stopping himself as Hunter rooked at the screen like it was a precious jewel. “Actually, that’s exactly what it means.”

“Wow,” said Hunter breathlessly. “W-what should I say back?”

“Whatever you feel dude, no pressure,” said Gus. “We should probably turn in though. I dunno about you, but I am super tired.”

“Huh? Yes, of course,” said Hunter, crawling into his sleeping bag but not taking his eyes off the screen for a second. . “Ya know, I’ve never gotten to stay up this late before. What time do morning chores start? 4am? Or 5am because it’s the weekend?”

Gus simply yawned in response, too tired to compose a proper answer and Hunter followed suit. He laid in his makeshift bed brainstorming the perfect responds for the Captain, hating to make her wait but unable to stop staring at her heart.

———

The next morning, Gus had awoken to Hunter’s snoring. He was relieved to see the former Golden Guard had managed to sleep in, getting some well deserved rest. He looked further and saw his scroll was till in his hand, and he couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Hunter falling asleep texting Willow. Looking further, he saw that in response Hunter had drafted a full page of golden hearts but had fallen asleep before pressing send.

Gus figured this was a draft he wouldn’t mind sending.

Message Sent

#huntlow #winter toh #toh #the owl house #willow park #hunter wittebane #huntlow fanfiction

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battybatzgirl · 3 years

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Hey Mr. Sandman, You Missed a Spot

AO3

Summary:

It's not that Hunter doesn't ever sleep, Eda's come to realize. It was that he falls asleep sporadically, most of the time in really weird places.

Or: 5 times Eda catches Hunter taking a nap

Part 1 of the Finders Keepers Series

---

Here’s the thing about Eda: she loves naps. Eda likes to be cozy, so usually, that equated to curling up under a blanket, lazing around, and falling asleep. The Owl Beast shared that sentiment, the creature that lived within her constantly wanting to nest. Those animalistic instincts were weird, but when you lived in a house with a demon who also liked to bury himself under a pile of stuffed animals, you kind of got used to it.

Here’s the thing about Hunter: he doesn’t sleep.

The kid has been living with them for only about two weeks, officially replacing Eda as Public Enemy Numero Uno in the eyes of the Emperor. When he’d showed up on Hooty’s doorstep, all bloody and barely conscious, Eda thought it was some kind of cosmic trick. The Powers That Be had to be pulling her leg because this was the second time the leader of the Emperor’s Coven had shown up to the Owl House with nowhere else to go.

Luz had been ecstatic to welcome him in, apparently excited to finally fulfill her dreams of becoming a middle child in their weird little found family. King was less thrilled, but eventually warmed up to the idea of Hunter staying with them as long as he taught King his secrets on how to command an army.

Hunter himself even seemed unnerved at the thought of living with them. He tried to leave a few times when he was still wounded, but his little bird palisman (Rascal, she’s heard him say) effectively herded him back into the house by continuously dive-bombing him and nipping at his ears. And after Belos put out a wanted poster for the kid, making him the Isles’ number one most wanted traitor, leaving wasn’t really an option. Not if he wanted to stay alive.

So eventually, Hunter begrudgingly accepted that yeah, he lived in the Owl House now.

And alright, Eda isn’t heartless. The kid was lost, wounded, and an enemy of the Emperor. She can work with that.

Getting to know him has been a challenge, though. Hunter has a lot of weird quirks. He holds himself so seriously that Eda has a hard time remembering that he’s a teenager and not a fully grown middle-aged man. He hardly ever smiles. He’s jumpy, practically jolting out of his skin every time you walk into the same room. He’s clearly Going Through Some Shit, as Eda so eloquently calls it, remembering how Lily went through the same thing when she slowly broke free of Belos’s freaky subjugation.

But still. The kid doesn’t sleep.

Eda first notices it around day four of his residence. She’s up early to go to the market, stepping into the living room and nearly transforming into her Harpy Form out of pure shock when she sees a figure messing with her bookshelf in the back of the room. Wide maroon eyes lock on hers from across the room and she feels the feathers that sprung to her skin recede.

“Titan, kid,” she breaths, “You nearly killed me. What are you doing up? It’s Saturday, you should be sleeping in.”

“Um…I did sleep in,” Hunter responds, as if it’s obvious.

Eda feels a frown tug at her lips, “The sun isn’t even up yet.”

The kid just shrugs a little lamely, and Eda feels a twinge of concern in her chest. (And ugh, feeling concerned for a guy who dangled you over the Boiling Sea is certainly weird.) If this was sleeping in for him, he couldn’t have rested more than five hours.

She steps closer, taking a second look at what he’s doing. Half the books are spread out on the floor, the other half stacked neatly back on the shelves in some kind of order.

He notices her looking, “I, uh, took the liberty of reorganizing your bookshelf. Or organizing it, since it didn’t really seem to have a system.” The kid ducks his head, the tips of his ears flushing pink. “I- I can put it back the way it was if you want, or organize them in a different way.”

That’s another thing about Hunter: he always has to be doing something. Being useful. Without direction, he crumples. It was always, What do you want me to do now, Miss Clawthorne this and I completed this task, Miss Clawthorne, what’s next that. His brain operated on a transactional level—I do this thing for you, you do this thing for me. And since Eda was housing him, he felt like he had to constantly be doing things for her. Constantly proving himself worthy to be here, repaying her. Hunter couldn’t seem to wrap his head around that she didn’t want him to do anything except stay comfortable.

Eda has thought up a hundred different little tasks for him to do in just his first four days. She’s running out of odd jobs to give him, and if she has to keep telling him what to do she’s going to start pulling out her hair.

“You’re fine, kid,” she says. “Keep doin’ what you’re doin’ if it makes ya happy. But you shouldn’t be up this early. You should at least take a nap later.”

Hunter tilts his head. “But that wouldn’t be accomplishing anything.”

“You don’t hafta be working all the time,” Eda stresses. “It’s okay to sit around and just exist once and a while. Actually, I think that should be your priority. Take a nap, relax, go cloud watching, take a walk—any or all of the above.”

“That sounds like doing nothing.”

“That’s because it is doing nothing.”

His face hardens, taking on that soldier-like seriousness that encompasses his entire demeanor. “Being lazy can’t be a priority.”

“Don’t think of it like that, then,” Eda almost snaps, wishing for a nice hot mug of apple blood. It was too damn early to deal with the repercussions of Belos’s all-work-no-play mindset. “Think of it as acting your age. Did you ever get to take naps as a kid in the Emperor’s Coven? Is relaxing just a foreign concept to you?”

He doesn’t answer, staring at her with those bagged eyes and guarded expression, and Eda throws up her hands in defeat.

She leaves then, her patience running too thin to continue arguing with him. She doubts he’ll actually go back to sleep. He probably goes back to doing whatever he was doing with that bookshelf. Eda makes a mental note to tell King to knock all the books off, just so Hunter can reorganize it later. Just for something for him to keep him occupied.

Eda doesn’t even notice the first time it happens. It was one of Luz’s friends, Gus, who pointed it out.

The kids were gathered at her home after school, spread out on the floor of the living room along with various pillows and blankets. Luz found some card game she knew buried somewhere in the piles of human trash Eda has laying around, and the girl has been spending the better part of an hour trying to explain how it works.

“So the Wild Card doesn’t make you turn into a wild animal?” Willow questions, holding up a black card with looks like a colorful pie chart on it.

“Nope!” Luz says cheerfully. “It just becomes any color you want it to be to go with the rest of your hand.”

“But the card doesn’t actually change color?” Amity asks.

“No, it only represents the color,” Luz clarifies, and Eda has to admit, her girl has a ton of patience. She’s been quietly watching from her place on the couch, half-listening to their conversation, half-reading the Isles’ latest edition of You Gossipy Witch, a tabloid where a writer is speculating about her true form. Apparently, some people think she was raised by feral, wild owls on some far away barrier island, and has come to reside in Bonesborough just because she ran out of mutant rats to eat.

Weird.

But entertaining!

Gus holds up one of his cards, “So are blank cards bad, or—"

King jumps over his shoulder, landing on the deck of cards in the middle of their little circle and making them fly everywhere. “I have taken dominion over ALL YOUR CARDS. All of you must grovel for a taste of my wealth!”

“Actually, the point of the game is to get rid of all your cards,” Luz reminds him gently. “That way, when you get down to one card, you shout Uno! And you win! If no one else makes you draw anymore, that is.”

King deflates a little, apparently put off by the idea of less is more. “Oh.” Luz smiles and pats him on the head, and he brightens up. “Okay, let’s play, because I wanna make all of you draw as many cards as possible! You'll drown in your cards! Choke on them, even!”

As they start gathering up the cards that King threw everywhere, Gus lets out a little gasp. “You guys—is Hunter asleep?”

That immediately draws Eda’s attention away from the magazine. Her eyes flicker to the blond witch, laying on his stomach just on the edge of their group. He was still having a hard time socializing, especially with Amity, but Luz was determined to include him in all friendship activities. She said wanted to teach him how to be a kid, and hell, if anyone could knock some seriousness out of that boy it would be Luz.

Hunter is indeed asleep—his face is mushed into the forearms pillowed under his head, and his red palisman has weaseled its way to nestle in between the crook of his elbow. His breath comes out in soft little sighs, and Eda feels something in her melt.

“Awwww, he looks so peaceful,” Luz croons, mushing her palms against her cheeks. Amity’s already scooched past her, snapping photos on her scroll. Eda can’t blame her. She knows a good blackmail opportunity when she sees one.

Eda’s off the couch and catches King mid-pounce. “Whoa there, none of that buddy.”

“But Edaaaa,” the demon whines, his little arms and legs flailing in mid-air. “I have to conquer him when he least expects it!”

“Ehhh, let the kid sleep. Save your conquests for when he’s awake and can put up a fight.” Eda sets him down in his place in the circle, and the kids all glance at each other before turning back to the cards.

She notices that they’re more mindful to keep their tones softer, probably to not disturb the sleeping boy. And when Hunter wakes himself up about half an hour later, they don’t mention it, seamlessly integrating him back into their game.

The second time it happens, Raine is walking Eda home. It’s early in the evening, and the pair just got done with a fabulous date—a picnic with apple blood and sweet (and stolen) baked goods? Titan, take Eda now, she’s found her perfect match.

She’s still riding that high, not noticing Raine stopping until they tug on their clasped hands. “Hey, who’s that? Is he okay?”

Eda follows where they’re pointing their finger. It’s Hunter, slumped against the base of an oak tree, fast asleep. His chin is tipped forward and a book open on his chest, and even more strangely, there’s a small pile of leaves on his lap.

“Oh, that’s just my—” Eda stops herself, the word catching in her throat. Hunter was a child in her care, yes, but he wasn’t quite her kid. Not like Luz or King. The blond witch was still too jumpy, baring his teeth and snarling at anything that tried to get close to him.

He calls her Miss Clawthorne, for Titan’s sake.

“—Hunter,” Eda finishes lamely.

Raine raises an eyebrow. “Your Hunter?”

“He’s uhhh, one of Luz’s friends who just so happens to be living with us. Not a big thing.”

Raine shoots her a deadpan look but strides forward anyway, kneeling next to the sleeping blond. They keep their voice to a low murmur, “Should we wake him? That can’t be comfortable for his neck. He’ll probably be sore later.”

“Eh, let him rest. This is more sleep than he usually gets.” Eda steps closer, kneeling down on his other side. It’s the side that has his scar, the slightly raised red tissue standing out even more so than usual now that he wasn’t constantly moving. She’s almost asked him how he got it, but he’s clearly sensitive about the subject. She’s seen the similar marks on his arms, and something tells her there are a whole lot more scars that he’s hiding.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who gave them to him.

Still, it’s hard to ignore just how young he looks. When he’s stripped of all of his snappy comebacks, quick defenses, and that guarded demeanor Belos forced onto him, he’s reduced to exactly what he should be:

A kid.

“Oh!” Raine startles in surprise. Eda looks up to see the cardinal palisman fluttering down from above them, carrying a few leaves in its beak. It hops down onto Hunter’s lap and deposits the leaves in the little growing pile on his leg.

A smile worms its way onto Eda’s face. She runs a finger across the little bird’s head, “Trying to keep him warm, huh?” The bird lets out a trilling note of confirmation. She lets the bird be, turning back to Raine, “I think Rascal’s got this covered. If he hasn’t come in before nightfall I’ll come out and get ‘em.”

The bard casts one last glance down at the sleeping boy before they stand. “Y’know, he kind of reminds me of someone.”

“Oh yeah?” Eda weaves her arm through Raine’s as the pair reassumes their walk.

“Yeah,” Raine hums. “He kind of has the same build as someone I met when I was held hostage in the Emperor’s palace. The Golden Guard. Did you hear that he ran away from the palace? There've been rumors that the Emperor himself is tearing apart the Right Arm looking for him.”

“Uh, about that...”

Raine stops, turning to look at her square in the face. Eda gives them a sheepish, toothy grin.

“Oh my god,” Raine says. “You adopted the Golden Guard?”

“Hey now, adopted is a very strong word—”

The bard cuts her off with a delighted laugh. “How am I not surprised?” Eda feels heat rise to her face, but can’t help but return Raine’s infectious smile. “Only you, Eda. Only you.”

The third time it happens, Eda’s passing through the upstairs hallway, intent on curling up into her nest for an afternoon nap of her own. She hears a shuffling noise as she passes by the glorified storage closet that they gave Hunter as a room, and can’t resist a peek inside.

What she finds is definitely…not what she was expecting. Hunter is laying flat on his back on the floor, his feet elevated on the little cot they’d given him. Yeesh, that couldn’t be comfortable. Soft snores woosh past his open lips, his face turned toward a crystal ball that’s playing some cartoon he must have been watching before he fell asleep.

His body is nearly covered in stuffed animals.

“King,” Eda hisses. The horned perpetrator is in the middle of dumping his entire army onto the blond witch’s chest, pinning down his arms with plushies. “What did I tell you about burying people alive?”

The demon pauses from where he’s been slowly arranging his army over Hunter’s sleeping form. “He’s got plenty of room to breathe! I didn’t cover his face,” King protests. “Can’t subjugate someone who’s dead.”

“No subjugating—” your brother, she almost says, “—Hunter.”

King squints at her, but then grumbles and starts slowly taking the stuffed animals off the boy’s body. Crisis averted, Eda slips back out into the hall, mind swirling. That was the second time she’d almost referred to Hunter as hers in passing. The feeling is too raw to speak out loud yet, but there’s a growing warmth in her as she watches Hunter acclimate to his surroundings in the Owl House. With every day that goes by, he’s more comfortable around her, around Luz and King and Hooty, and he’s starting to come out of his shell. He’s growing softer, less quick to snarl, becoming more Hunter and less Golden Guard.

Unconsciously, Eda’s started viewing him as part of their little family. Two weeks ago, that thought would have made her uncomfortable. Now, she welcomes it with open arms.

Ugh, she’s getting so soft.

The fourth time it happens is when Eda’s flying home from visiting Lilith. She’s only been gone for the day, and is hoping that leaving Luz in charge hasn’t led to any freak fires, the resurrection of the dead, or other various natural disasters. Unfortunately, even her most responsible kid is pretty reckless, so Eda’s expectations are set pretty low.

It’s probably sometime around 2 a.m. when she makes it home sweet home. She swoops in close, intent on landing on the front door but stilling mid-air when she sees something on the roof of the tower. Even from up here, it’s not hard to distinguish the form of a looming body.

Eda’s heart leaps into her throat and she takes Owlbert down into a dive. Her body is tense when she lands, her staff already aimed toward the person lurking by the edge of the roof. “Alright listen bucko, you better step back or—wait.” She sees what looks like a lump of feathers sitting on top of the person’s head, and Eda squints in the darkness. She quickly pulls out a light glyph, sending the tiny ball of sun forward.

“Hunter?!” Eda’s tense posture relaxes. The kid doesn’t answer, and it takes her a beat to figure out why. He’s dead asleep, slumped precariously over the telescope they use for stargazing. Eda has no idea how he’s even standing at all. Kid probably had a ton of practice of falling asleep on his feet during long, boring meetings with the Emperor.

“Wakey, wakey.” She places her hand on his shoulder, gently, but he wakes up with a full-body jerk, startling the palisman on top of his head. The cardinal chirps once in irritation, fluttering to rest on Eda’s shoulder instead.

Hunter’s eyes are wild for a moment until he seems to register where he is and who he’s with. He relaxes then, letting out a yawn so huge it would put any lion to shame. “…Eda?”

“The one and only,” Eda says, ignoring how her heart squeezes at the kid finally calling her by her name. “Wanna tell me why you’re up here in the middle of the night?”

“Waitin’ for you,” he mumbles, voice rough with sleep. His eyelids drop and he sways dangerously on his feet. “Wanted to… t’make sure y’got home safe.”

The warmth in her chest expands and eclipses her entire body in that fuzzy feeling she gets whenever one of her kids does something particularly adorable. Thank Titan it’s dark and Hunter is too out of it to notice the smile that spreads across her face. If he was fully awake, Eda gets the feeling that A) he probably never would have admitted that he was worried about her, and B) would have snapped at her for smiling at him like that. “Well, I’m home now, so let’s get you to bed before you topple over.”

Eda wraps her arm around his waist and nudges him along, practically carrying him back downstairs, their palismen following close behind. She doesn’t mind. Someone had to make sure he didn’t fall off the roof.

“Night, kid,” she says, tucking him under the blankets on his cot. Hunter doesn’t respond, already having slipped back into unconsciousness. And if she brushes his bangs tenderly out of his face, no one ever has to be the wiser.

The fifth time it happens, Eda’s gotten used to it. It's not that Hunter doesn’t sleep, she’s come to realize. He just falls asleep in weird places. Why, she has no idea, but honestly, the kid looked so tired all the time, she wasn’t going to question it. They had bigger things to worry about.

The Day of Unity is just around the corner, and Belos has become more irritating than ever.

Eda hadn’t even thought that was possible for him, but apparently, it was. The scouts around Bonesborough have tripled, their captains leading more and more raids, butting into shops to check everyone’s papers, and invading random districts.

Oddly, Belos’s priorities seem to have shifted. He’s still sending out grunts to round up any wild witches, but the guards have been playing a weird sort of hide-and-seek, going beyond just patrolling the marketplaces to actually tearing into people’s homes. From what she’s heard, the guards never take anything, just searching the place top-to-bottom before leaving empty-handed and moving on to the next house.

Belos was looking for something.

And unfortunately, Eda’s got a pretty good idea of what he’s after.

Said thing just so happens to be slumped across from her at the kitchen table, dead to the world. It’s late into the night, and most of the kids have already gone to sleep. Too on edge to lie down, Eda’s been keeping herself busy by concocting more potions while the late-night news plays on her crystal ball in the background.

Hunter, striving to be helpful, volunteered to stay up and help.

It wasn’t long before the kid slowly started to nod off, face supported by his palm as his eyelids started to droop. He’d been in the middle of mixing two ingredients—highly flammable ingredients, mind you—and Eda plucked the vials out of his lax grip just in time. Honestly, it was a miracle the kid never killed himself in the Emperor’s Coven with how randomly he falls asleep.

He probably never got the chance to sleep at all, a voice reminds her. She remembers how dead-exhausted Lily was during her first few days at the Owl House. It was probably safe to assume that the Emperor had a habit of running the head of his Coven into the ground.

Hunter has been picking up on Belos’s tightening grip, too. He’s been getting quieter, more reserved. He’s come to the same conclusion that Eda has: the Emperor was tearing apart the whole of the Isles to get him back.

Why, though, is anyone’s guess. Hunter has long since explained that his uncle always said that the Titan had big plans for him, and it probably has something to do with the Day of Unity, but beyond that, the Emperor had always kept him in the dark. Luz has a crazy theory involving clones and blood magic, but that sounds like it’s a plot point straight out of one of her Azura books. King thinks Belos wants his artificial staff back, and Hooty predicts the Emperor is just sad because all his Coven leaders are leaving him to join Hooty’s superior best friends club.

Whatever the reason, Eda’s made it pretty clear that she’s not gonna bend to Belos’s intimidation tactics and turn him over. That smarmy gold jerk could set the whole Isles on fire and Eda still wouldn’t hand him over. Hunter’s part of the Bad Girl’s Coven now, and Belos can just suck it. And she’s not afraid to say that to his stupid face, either.

So when the cauldron at the end of the table that holds the scrying potion suddenly begins bubbling on its own, Eda may very well get her chance.

She’s up on her feet in an instant, dashing to the other end of the table just as the steam rising off the potion begins to warp into a familiar figure.

“Edalyn,” Belos greets, his voice sharp like a dagger. “I do hope I’m not interrupting your evening, but I needed a word with you.”

Ugh, scrying potions weren’t supposed to work both ways! Belos was too damn powerful. He could probably peer into their lives as much as they could peer into his.

“Sorry, but now’s a bad time,” Eda shoots back. “Why don’t you hang up and call back literally never?”

“It’s come to my attention that you have something of mine,” the masked man continues smoothly as if she hadn’t spoken. “I’d ever so appreciate it if you gave it back.”

Eda’s lip curls back, feeling the itch of feathers poking out of her joints. She wants to shift into her harpy form and leap through the potion to claw out his eyes. “Sorry, Belos,” she says, dripping smug bravado, “We wild witches operate solely under the laws of finders keepers. Your kid? Mine now.”

Eda expects that the Emperor would very much like to vaporize her. “Make your threats wisely, Owl Lady. You have no idea what you’re up against. Everything will be easier for you and your little friends if you just hand the boy back over to me.”

“Fat chance.” Eda throws back her shoulders and shoots him a sharp grin. “Sounds to me like you’re threatening one of my kids, and we weirdos stick together. Going after one of us is basically asking for all of us to bring you down. Remember how well that went last time? How my human cracked your mask and publicly humiliated you during your big let’s-turn-Eda-to-stone ceremony?”

The Emperor looks as though he has some choice words to say, but Eda doesn’t care. Hunter is her kid now. She glowers at him through that mist, voice lowering in with deadly promise. “You’ll have to drag him back to your Coven over my dead body.”

“That can be arranged,” sneers Belos.

“Try me, antler boy.” Then Eda whacks the cauldron and sends it tipping over the edge of the table. The connection is immediately severed as the potion goes splattering over the hardwood, and the resounding CLANG of the bowl makes Hunter shoot violently out of sleep.

“Huh?! Whassit—Eda? What happened? Are you alright?”

“Fine, kid,” she says, swallowing down the rage that’s still bubbling hot in her throat. “’S alright, just got a little clumsy and knocked over a cauldron. Sorry for waking you.”

“Sorry for falling asleep,” Hunter responds. He grabs a towel and hurries to clean up the oozing purple goo.

Eda waves him off, “Eh, I don’t mind. You kids need your rest. Growing bodies and all that.”

Hunter still hesitates, looking at her for a beat too long as if double-checking to make sure she wasn’t really upset. Eda holds back a sigh, a twinge of pity flickering through her that he’d even have to look at her like that in the first place. All the damage from Belos couldn’t be wrapped up in a month, she supposed.

She snatches up the cauldron, still dripping with the ruined potion. Peachy. She’ll have to call Lilith to get her scrying potion recipe. Though maybe not having this in the house was a good idea. Eda doesn’t want to risk His Royal Highness dropping in on any more unexpected house calls.

“Eda?”

She looks up at Hunter. The kid chewing on his bottom lip, wringing the half-soiled towel between scarred hands.

“I just…I wanted to say thank you,” Hunter says shyly. “I know having me here hasn’t exactly been easy—not only because of the fugitive thing, but because I’m…” He flounders for a moment, and Eda can only pretend to know what’s going through his mind right now. “…me,” he finishes finally. “You’ve been so kind and patient with me, it’s so much more than I deserve, and no matter what happens next—”

“Hey, no.” Eda cuts him off with a swift and gentle beratement. She sets the cauldron on the table and crowds closer to him, curling one hand around his cheek. The kid automatically leans into the touch, and Eda can’t help but wonder how Belos could have ever hurt a child who was as sweet as this one.

“You may be one bratty little shit, but you’re my bratty little shit. And Mama says you deserve all the smothering that comes with being a child of the Owl Lady.”

Then, to prove her point, she swoops down and quickly places feather-light kisses on the tip of his nose, forehead, and his scar, until Hunter squawks and shoves her away. He’s practically glowing, flushed all the way to the tips of his ears.

“Gross,” he snaps, rubbing furiously at his face. “I’m never helping you with your potions ever again.”

“I’ll accept your terms. Now get upstairs, it’s way past your bedtime.”

“I don’t have a bedtime, I’m not a baby.” Hunter sticks out his tongue but obeys, slipping out of the kitchen and disappearing into the rest of the house. Eda shakes her head as she watches him go.

Kids. What could ya do with ‘em?

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erzaguin · 3 years

Text

Huntmira Week 2021 Day 4: Human AU

“Hey you’re the new transfer student right? My name is Amity and as your class rep I’ll be giving you a tour of the school. Follow me and don’t fall behind. We have a schedule to keep and we are already running late.” said the cotton candy haired girl as she started walking briskly away. “Come on I wasn’t kidding I will leave you behind if you don’t hurry.”

“Alright so you already know where the office is. If you get in any trouble this is where they’ll bring you. Down that hallway over there is the school library which you have access to at any time during school hours. Come on, we're already running behind schedule so we don’t have time to see it.” she stated as she continued walking forward at a fast pace.

“Now the school is essentially divided into four parts each of which is assigned to a different grade level. Essentially it is meant to give students more time in between classes so they can get whatever materials they need from their lockers. Speaking of which, this one is yours.” she noted as she came to a sudden stop. “The number and the combination are on the welcome packet you received at the front desk. As you may have assumed already this is the freshman hallway apart from electives all of your other classes will be here. Any questions? No? Good. Let’s keep moving.” without so much as a pause she turned on her heels and started moving at the same brisk pace.

“The hallway to your left leads to the juniors hall and the sophomore hall was the first hallway to your left when you entered the school. As for the senior hall that would be the separate building at the back of the school. The cafeteria is right at the center of the school and it also doubles as a social area. And this is the gym.” she stated as they reached a large oval shaped building separated from the rest of the school. “Hopefully nobody notices we are late” grumbled Amity under her breath as she opened the door.

As soon as the door opened a roar of cheers washed over the pair as they entered the building. The gymnasium was filled with the entirety of the student body who appeared to be completely enthralled by whatever the captain of the girl’s basketball team was saying. She along with the rest of the basketball team were standing at the center of the gym with the school principal standing a few feet to the side beaming with pride.

Amity ignored them completely as she tried to make out where her friends were in the stands. Without saying a word she tugged on the transfer student’s sleeve to get them to follow her.

“Hey Amity, you made it. Oh is this the new transfer student” whispered Willow as Amity took the empty seat behind her. “Yeah sorry we’re late I had to give them a quick tour before coming here.” grumbled Amity as she thought about how late they were.

“Oh don’t mind Amity she can be a bit grumpy in the mornings . . . and afternoons. I’m Willow by the way” she said in a cheery voice. “I’m Gus! Your family just moved to Gravesfield right? said the young man sitting next to Willow. “You’re going to need someone to give you a run down of what you need to know abouts Gravesfield. But never fear Gus is here.” Boasted the youth before proceeding to give the transfer student a rundown.

“The first thing to know is that Gravesfield athletes are mini celebrities in town. If there is one thing Gravesfield High is known for it would be our sports teams. And because there is only one high school everyone in town gets pretty into it.” explained Gus with excitement but before he could continue the school principal called for everyone's attention the gymnasium became quiet.

“Now that we have heard from our athletes who will be representing our school out in the field it is time to hear from our student council.”exclaimed principal Bump as a small group of students made their way to the center of the gymnasium.

Rather than applauding the student body stayed quiet as the youths continued to make their way to the center. There were only three of them but their presence alone commanded the attention of every individual in the gymnasium.

“Oh boy” mumbled Amity too herself as she saw her two siblings take center stage along with their best friend hunter.

The three stood in a line facing the other students with Hunter in the middle with Edrick to his left and Emira to his right. The tension in the gymnasium had started to increase when without raising his voice Edric said “Hey” giving the students a sly smile. Without any warning the entire gym burst into a cacophony of cheers. Which only intensified when Emira gave them a wink.

“They really are popular aren’t days,” noted Willow as she looked at Amity who was trying to shrink into herself from embarrassment.

“This must be really weird for you to see huh?” shouted Gus over the crowd to the transfer student. “ Yeah, if the athletes are celebrities then the members of the student council are royalty.” said Gus before pausing for dramatic effect.

“The twins are Edric and Emira Blight. Edric is the treasurer and Emira is the vice president. They are on the top of their class, always the leads in any school play, and probably the most charismatic people you’ll ever meet. Also if that name sounds familiar it’s because more than likely your parents bought your new home from their mom Odalia Blight. She is the most well known real estate agent in the area. Not only that but their family also owns a security company.You might have seen some homes with a sign that says “protected by Blight security."

"Some? Don't you mean all? Every building in Gravesfield uses Blight security. And aren't you forgetting one very important Blight?" Added Willow as she nudged her head towards Amity.

"Oh right Amity is also a Blight and she has the top spot in the freshman class she's als…"

"That's ok no need for my resume " Interrupted Amity with a face that shows equal amounts of annoyance and embarrassment.

"Suit yourself " shrugged Gus. "Anyway the blond guy between the twins is the school president Hunter Wittebane. If he looks familiar it's because he's on all the promotional posters with his uncle Mayor Belos. He is the most influential man in Gravesfield and Hunter will definitely follow in his uncle's footsteps. He is the captain of all the boys sports teams as well as the debate club, book club, and history club. Honestly he’s a very intimidating guy if you think about it.” mused Gus.

“You know there’s a lot of rumors of how he became school president during his freshman year. They don’t normally allow freshmen to run.” puzzled Willow not asking anyone in particular but was loud enough for other students to hear and joined in the conversation.

“I heard his uncle threaten the school” said a girl sitting in the row under theirs.

“I heard the twins charmed the school principal to let him run,” said the girl next to her.

“I heard a rumor that people added his name to the ballot when they heard he was dating one of the twins.” said a boy from somewhere above them.

“I heard he was dating both” shouted someone else from a distance.

“Silence,” a commanding voice rang through the gymnasium as all the students fell quiet. Hunter had stepped up to the mic and was now scowling the students in front of him.

“Thank you,” he said in an almost gloating tone with a smug smile on his face.

“It's good to see that everyone is so excited about school.” whispered Emira giving Hunter a sly smile causing him to roll his eyes.

“As you all know we are the current members of the student council. We are here to let you know elections will be coming up soon and we encourage anyone interested to go run for a position in the student council. Just know that we will also be running to keep our positions. Now if you excuse us we have work to do.” boasted Hunter before turning on his heels and making his way out of the gym.

The twins waved goodbye to the crowd causing the gymnasium to erupt into a fit of cheers which could be heard even after they had left the gymnasium.

"Do you two always have to be so extra?" Mumbled Hunter as he walked down the hallway.

"Oh don’t be like that Hunny" said Edric as he put an arm around Hunter and gave him a flirtatious smile.

"Yeah it's not our fault that the crowd loves us." chimed in Emira as she clinged to Hunter’s arm.

“Yeah right and don’t call me Hunny” scoffed Hunter who by now should be used to the twins' shenanigans but they always found new ways to annoy him.

Both twins let go of Hunter at the same time and let out a gasp as they feigned being shocked. “But you used to love us calling you Hunny” Groaned Edric while pretending to cover some tears.

“Our little Hunny is growing up. He's embarrassed of us now.” said Emira as she mimiqued her brother’s reaction.

Hunter let out a long sigh as he looked at his best friends pretending to cry. Even knowing there were no tears there he just could not bear the thought of upsetting them. These two had been his best friends, his only real friends since pre school. Because his uncle was such a powerful and influential man many people tried approaching Hunter as a means of getting close to his uncle. He understood that the twins felt the same because of how often people approached them for their families business connections and wealth. Then there were those who were too scared to approach any of them because they found them intimidating or just out of reach.

They had never cared about who his uncle was just as he did not care about their families business. He just couldn’t imagine what his life would be like if they hadn't approached him on their first day of pre-school.

The twins had stopped pretending to cry once they saw the expression on Hunter’s face. “Hey you ok?” asked Emira, genuinely concerned as she approached Hunter.

“If it bothers you that much we’ll stop” sniffled Edric as real tears were threatening to break through.

Hunter looked at the pair and could not help himself from smiling appone seeing their grief stricken faces. These were his favorite people in the world just as they were the most annoying.

“I hate you guys.” said Hunter with a smirk.

To this both twins lit up and latched on to either one of his arms as they continued walking down the hallway before saying in unison “Aww we love you too Hunny.”

“Stop calling me that” demanded Hunter as he let himself be pulled away by the two.

#toh fanfic #the owl house #emira blight #huntmira #huntmiraweek2021 #edric blight #amity blight #willow park #gus porter #toh hunter #gravesfield #goldric

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queenxxxsupreme · 4 years

Note

Hello, there. I hope you're feeling better. I saw your post about wanting soft Eskel blurbs and I would love to read goat dad tending to a field of goats. Like tooth rotting, diabetes inducing fluff. The fluffiest of fluff.

A/N: I hope you like this babe!!

***

One of the goats bleated loudly, catching Eskel’s attention. He looked up from the fence he was working on to see Gus, one of the kids you’d taken in over the summer, standing a little ways away from the herd that lingered near the witcher.

Usually Gus didn’t stray far from Gertie, a brown calf, and Gus’s best friend. Gertie served as Gus’s eyes since the baby goat was born blind.

“Gus? What are you doing?”

Gus bleated loudly, panicked that he didn’t know where his friends were.

Lil Bleater made herself known, trotting to Eskel’s side and butting her head against his knees.

“That’s rude.” Eskel patted her head, then went to Gus.

The kid bleated again just as the witcher was scooping him up.

Eskel placed Gus down by Gertie, then returned to the fence post he was fixing. Before he went back to work, he looked around to do a quick headcount of all the animals. There were three baby goats, Gus, Bastion, and Junior; one adult goat, Lil Bleater; two stallions, Ghost and Scorpion; Willow, a donkey; and Gertie, a calf.

He smiled a little, content that no one had wandered off.

Willow suddenly brayed, her ears pressing flat against her head. She was warning Eskel- and anyone else within hearing range -that someone was approaching the house.

Eskel could hear it too, the sound of hooves on dirt. He almost panicked. There was more than one horse, more than one rider. No one ever came down the dirt road that led to your home. It was a deadend. There was no reason for strangers to stray that way. But then the witcher heard a familiar voice. It was his brother, Lambert, and Geralt was with him.

Eskel began to move down the hill towards the house. The fence prevented Willow from charging the two intruders. She brayed as loud as she could until Eskel patted her flank.

“Easy, girl.”

Her ears remained down against her head but she no longer brayed.

Eskel watched as the two witchers came to a stop just a few feet away in front of the fence.

“Look at you.” Lambert grinned. “The first ever retired witcher became a farmer.”

“I’m not retired.”

“Not yet.” Geralt got down from Roach first.

Eskel easily scaled the fence and jumped down on the other side. It was easier than going to the gate and trying to squeeze out without letting one of the kids out.

“Good to see you, brother.” The White Wolf tightly hugged Eskel, clapping him on the back.

“How did you find me?” Eskel asked as he pulled away from Geralt and moved on to Lambert.

“Someone saw us in town. Asked if we were looking for another witcher.” Lambert explained. “Thought we’d swing by and give you some hell for retiring.”

Eskel smiled a little, happy to see that his little brother hadn’t changed in the years since they last saw each other.

“Is that Lil Bleater?” Lambert asked, pointing at the old goat and moving towards the fence. He leaned over it, reaching down to pet Lil Bleater’s head.

“Sure is.”

“Damn.”

As Lambert was petting Lil Bleater, one of the kids, Junior, bleated and tried to headbutt Lambert’s hand. When that didn’t get the witcher’s attention, Junior resorted to biting at Lambert’s fingers.

“Ouch! You little shit!”

“Lambert, meet Lambert Junior.” Eskel grinned, leaning against the fence. “We call him Junior.”

“Little bastard.” Lambert muttered, scowling at the kid as he bleated again.

“We?” Geralt repeated, crooking one brow.

Eskel brought his eyes to the witcher, nodding just a little. A faint smile came to his lips.

“I’ve got someone I want you to meet. Both of you. Follow me.”

***

The three witchers walked across the large green yard that separated the field from the quaint little stone cottage that rested in the edge of the woods.

“Take your boots off before you walk too far in.” Eskel told them as he pushed the door open.

“Take our boots off?” Lambert repeated, scrunching his nose up. “I don’t take my boots off for anyone.”

“Take your boots off, or you’ll be the one cleaning the floor.” There was a teasing tone to Eskel’s threat.

Lambert muttered a few curse words under his breath but did as told.

“How’d you come across this place?” Geralt asked, looking around the small room curiously.

“There was a cockatrice problem. Three of them took to the town. Managed to take them down, but got a few new scars from them.” Eskel pulled his shirt up to reveal his side. Cutting across his side from his hip to his ribs was a thick, jagged scar. It was much paler than his sun kissed skin. He started to lead the way down a narrow hallway. “Heard the healer in town was exceptional.”

“Eskel? Who is it you’re talking….” You trailed off as Eskel came around the corner with the two men behind him. You stopped in your tracks, lips parting as you took in the sight of the two intimidating men. The dark haired one was lean, but still tall and muscular. The white haired one seemed to be built very similar to Eskel. Broad shoulders, thick muscles.

“Y/N, these are my brothers.” Eskel gestured to each witcher as he introduced them. “Geralt and Lambert.”

A fond smile came to your lips. You put the rag in your hands down and moved towards them.

“It’s so lovely to finally meet you gentlemen!” You didn’t shy away from hugging both men.

Lambert’s eyes widened and he looked to Eskel for help as you wrapped your arms around him.

“Y/N saved my life two years ago.” Eskel leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. “Had to stay here for a couple weeks to get better. By then, I didn’t want to leave.”

“You make it sound like I kidnapped you.” You pulled away from Geralt and then moved towards your witcher. You put your hand on his arm, smiling happily.

“What are you making?” Eskel looked over to the pot hanging over the fire. It smelled like something was burning.

You cursed and moved over to the pot, stirring the soup.

“Will you boys be staying for dinner?” You looked back at the two witchers.

Geralt and Lambert shared a little look, then looked to Eskel. Lambert crossed his arms, shifting in his spot. Eskel nodded once to Geralt’s silent question, telling him you were trustworthy.

“We’d love to stay.” Geralt answered, bumping his shoulder against Lambert’s. “Wouldn’t we, Lambert?”

“I’m always down for free food.”

***

After dinner, the sun had gone down and you insisted Geralt and Lambert stay for the night.

Eskel took his brothers outside to round up the animals and put their horses in the barn with yours and Eskel’s.

You worked on cleaning the kitchen, humming softly and moving around.

“Doll, I told you I’d help you clean when I came back.” Eskel spoke as he walked into the kitchen.

“I can get it.” You assured him. “Where are they?”

“Still outside. They’re discussing plans for tomorrow.” Eskel moved around behind you. You turned your head to watch himm, a smile coming to your lips. His arms snaked around your waist, pulling you back into his body. “Junior has taken quite a liking to Lambert.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. Keeps trying to eat his boots.”

You laughed, leaning back into Eskel.

He nuzzled his nose into your neck, eyes closing as he let out a soft breath.

“Thank you.” He murmured against your skin, tickling you just a little.

“For what?”

“For being so…. welcoming to them.”

You turned around in his arms, hands brushing up along his forearms.

“They’re your brothers, Eskel. I’d treat them no different than how you treat my sister.”

“But it’s…. It’s different with us.” He spoke quietly, eyes flickering down.

You brought your hand to his jaw, fingertips brushing along the side of his face. You pushed a few stray pieces of hair behind his ear.

“I know it is.” You gently said. “And I’m so sorry it is.”

He pulled your hand from his face and pressed a kiss to your palm.

“I love you.”

“I know.” You smiled. “I love you.”

He leaned in to kiss you but just before your lips could touch, he was pulling away and cursing under his breath.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, brows drawing together as you watched him move towards the front door.

“Willow is chasing Lambert.”

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#eskel x reader #eskel x reader fluff #eskel fluff #the witcher #eskel #kacey answers #1200 followers celebration

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ragingbookdragon · 4 years

Text

Your Match Is Made

A Shay Cormac x Reader One-Shot

Word Count: 1,551 Warnings: None

Author’s Note: This’ll probably end up a mutli-chapter work. Also, based on the song “ Téir abhaile riú”, sung by the Celtic Woman! Enjoy! -Thorne

She inhaled deeply, a smile spreading across her face as she stepped across the fort’s courtyard. The flags of the ship blew with the wind and she hummed a simply tune, making her way down the steps to it. Sailors moved back and forth across the deck and she strode up to the walkway, tugging the bag on her shoulder as she called, “Ho there! Is there a captain aboard?” The men immediately stopped working at the sound of a woman’s voice, hurrying to the side of the ship to catch a glimpse at her; she giggled as they stared and she pressed a hand to her chest, just above where her dress covered her breasts. “I was wondering if I could fetch a ride to another port!” The men all started talking and she let out another laugh, shouting over them, “Men, men, one at a time! I’ve only two ears!” A man dressed in frontiersmen leathers stepped down the walkway, addressing her kindly.

“Good evening ma’am! I’m Gist, the first mate.” She huffed a laugh, waving a hand.

“Oh please, I’m no ma’am yet.” He laughed, then inquired,

“Why are you looking for a ride to another port?” Tipping her head side to side, she answered vaguely,

“A few of the women here aren’t too particularly fond of me.” Gist cocked an eyebrow and she added, “Singing in the taverns earns good money, but it keeps husbands out late. I’ve been…politely asked to leave the city.” He seemed to grasp the situation because he said,

“I’m sure the captain would be more than happy to offer you passage, but he’s not here right now.” A frown crossed her lips and she went silent for a moment, then asked,

“I can always find another ship to travel on…but…” She drew her eyes to the sailors who seemed to be captivated by her; a smirk crossed her face as an idea popped into her head and she called, “I’d be more than happy to sing a few songs in exchange for a few pounds!” The men cheered and she looked back at Gist, quipping, “What do you say, first mate? Will you let me sing a few songs before the night sky appears?” He seemed to struggle with agreeing, but with the sight of her hands clasped in front of her, a mock pout on her lips, he let out a sigh and gestured for her to climb aboard. With a smile and the many cheers of the crew, she did.

Some Time Later:

The two men stepped in sync, a quiet conversation passing between them. “I find it hard to believe that your father was the great Edward Kenway, Master Haytham.” The other man let out a hum, eyes cautiously scanning the road in front of them.

“Why is that Shay?” The Irishman snorted, tossing him a side glance.

“You seem too proper to be the son of one of the greatest pirates alive.”

“I do wonder quite often if you think of the words that come from your mouth.”

“I mean no offense of course…it’s just…the stories.” He raised his hands into the air. “Sailing the seas finding treasure and fighting mighty battles!” Shay looked at him. “You almost seem uncomfortable when you get on ships.” Haytham said nothing, stopping in his tracks, and for a moment, Shay feared he’d said the wrong thing. “Sir?” The grandmaster nodded to the pier, inquiring,

“Did your crew plan a festival while we were gone?” The hunter cocked an eyebrow, turning his gaze to the ship; his eyes widened as he caught sight of the crew singing merrily, dancing and drinking.

“Ah Christ…what now?” The two shared a look before striding to the ship and up the walkway, but they stopped when they learned what was causing such merriment. Gist twirled a young woman around and she held the side of her flowy, crimson dress as she sang,

“Stay a while and we’ll dance together now as the light is falling! We’ll reel away till the break of day and dance together till morning!” Shay felt as though he’d been shot straight in the chest, the sight of her beauty taking his breath away. Her voice rose as she spun, but she sounded like an angel, the joy on her face practically heaven as she moved to another sailor, grinning as the crew sang with her, “Téir abhaile riú, téir abhaile riú, téir abhaile riú Mhearai! Téir abhail gus fan s abhaile, mar tá do mhargadh déanta!” She twisted once more into another sailor’s arms and he danced with her. “Téir abhaile riú, téir abhaile riú, téir abhaile riú Mhearai! Téir abhail gus fan sa bhaile, mar tá do mhargadh déanta, do Mhargadh de-!” She pulled away from the sailor’s arms, twirling in the middle of the circle of them, arms outstretched as she finished powerfully, “Do mhargadh déanta!” She slammed the heel of her boot into the ground as she ended, and cheers rippled through the crew as she took a bow, a mile-long grin stretched across her face. As she stood, the cheers suddenly died, every sailor blanching as they stood straight, and with a confused expression, she turned, immediately met with the sight of the two templars on the deck; Gist stepped forward, hurriedly explaining,

“Uh, Captain Cormac, we can explain!” Shay waved a hand, crossing his arms over his chest as he inquired,

“And who might you be, lass?” She cleared her throat as she smoothed the front of her dress, then held out a hand as she introduced herself.

“(Y/N) (L/N)…you must be the captain then.” He glanced at her hand before shifting his arms, and to her surprise, he took her hand in his, gently pressing a kiss to her knuckles, murmuring,

“I am. Shay Cormac, at your service, lass.” (Y/N) let out a flustered laugh as she took her hand back, pressing it to her middle as he said, “What brings you aboard the Morrigan…besides turning my crew into a bunch of drunken, singing louts?” She let out a laugh, retorting,

“Well, part of that was my fault, drink and folk songs always make a crowd rowdy. I’m looking for passage to another port that’s not in New York.” (Y/N) gestured to Gist. “Mister Gist was kind enough to let me sing a few songs in exchange for a few pounds.” Shay cocked an eyebrow, leaning against the railing as he asked,

“Why aren’t you singing in a tavern?” The same expression she wore when she told Gist the reason returned and she quickly said,

“Making money in taverns is great, but many of the wives of the men who I sing for don’t particularly think so.” She cringed slightly, adding, “They complained about me to the ministers of the town…I was…strongly encouraged to leave New York.” Shay nodded with understanding.

“I see.” Something in his expression shifted, and (Y/N) was quick to reason,

“If you’ll give me passage to another port, I’ll pay.” He observed her for a moment, then countered,

“How ‘bout I make you a deal?” She nodded, partially curious, the other part suspicious, and he offered, “I’ll give you free passage to any port we stop at for the next month, and all you have to do is perform songs for us.” Her jaw went slack, and she spluttered,

“Y-you…you’re joking?” He shook his head. “You’ll give me free passage? And all I have to do is be entertainment?” He nodded, and for a moment, she didn’t speak, then she queried, “What’s the catch?” Shay chuckled, coffee eyes meeting hers as he retorted,

“No catch, just a few songs to keep us entertained.” He could see the doubt in her eyes, and he vowed, “If you’re worried about any of the men, there’s no need. Each and every man here is the honorable sort-no one will lay a hand on you without your say so.” He drew his eyes to the crew, adding, “And if they found themselves brave enough to do so, they’d deal with me.” (Y/N) observed him for a moment, then she held out her hand, and Shay watched as one of the sailors handed her her bag, and she quipped,

“I hope you’re not expecting me to sleep in the crew cabins, Captain Cormac. I might be an entertainer, but I do have standards.” Shay snorted, offering his arm to her, and she took it, letting him lead her to the grate that led below deck.

“Of course not Miss (Y/N). We’ll have an officer’s room set up for you to stay in.” She hummed and he added, “And please, call me Shay.” (Y/N) giggled as they disappeared below deck, and Gist walked over to Haytham, listening as he sighed,

“Fantastic…now he’s going to be captivated with her.” Gist snorted, eyeing the grandmaster.

“You say that sir…but you were just as captivated as Shay was.” Haytham cocked an eyebrow, an underlying threat in his words.

“I beg your pardon?” The first mate chuckled, walking off.

“Nothing sir, absolutely nothing at all.” Gist waved a hand, addressing, “Alright, the lot of you get back to work! Just because we’ve got a woman aboard doesn’t mean you’re being cut any slack!” The men groaned as they headed to work.

#shay cormac imagines #shay cormac imagine #shay cormac x reader #shay cormac x reader imagine #shay cormac x reader imagines #shay cormac #assassins creed imagine #assassins creed imagines #assassins creed rogue #ac rogue #christopher gist #haytham kenway

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eirian-houpe · 3 years

Text

The Library Beneath the Clock Tower - Chapter 42

Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Belle/Gaston (Once Upon a Time)

Additional Tags: Bookshop On the Corner, slightly AU, Cursed Storybrooke (Once Upon a Time), Alternate Universe - In Storybrooke | Cursed (Once Upon a Time), Eventual Smut

Summary: Storybrooke has no library, and neither does Belle, not since the library where she worked in Boston discovered her past as an inpatient at a mental hospital. Taking her future into her own hands, Belle travels to Storybrooke where her intention is to open up the town library, but all does not go according to her plan. Obstacles and false starts, and diversion along very wrong pathways interrupt her journey toward fulfilling her dream, as well as taking her rightful place and becoming a part of the Storybrooke community.

Read Previous Chapters on AO3

Chapter 42 - Secrets and Lies

She couldn’t have said when it was that her rapid footsteps became a jog, became a full out run, nor when she stopped. She leaned on her knees, breathless, her heart pounding and not just from the run. The thoughts and images she had seen, the things she had felt still swirled in her mind, making no sense, except perhaps that she really had imbibed too much of the local brew.

She shook her head. She didn’t feel drunk, she just couldn’t explain anything she’d seen the moment Gold took her hand.

She let herself sink to the ground, and wrapped her cloak around herself, taking deep breaths to try and get control of her rising emotions. After everything that had happened with Hunter, she didn’t need to be getting lost in another fantasy.

Find something real That’s what Ruby had said, and that was what she needed to do, but… she had always felt some kind of pull, some kind of connection between herself and Gold.

“No,” she told herself. “That doesn’t happen. That kind of thing only happens in fairy tales!”

She pursed her lips, realizing she was rambling to herself, to keep from repeating herself over and over again; made herself sit very still, taking deep breaths. The last thing she needed now was for her anxiety to return, not after all this time of being well.

She sat for what seemed like hours before the chill of the evening began to seep through her cloak, but at least her heart was beating more steadily, and her breathing was calm. She looked up at the sky, still peppered with stars, the only light for miles, besides the flickering orange and red of the bonfire, somehow still burning.

Standing, she looked back to the area, and saw the people of Storybrooke caught in their festival revelry next to, even around that bonfire, and somehow felt apart from the community again, as though what little inroad she had made as the librarian had been shattered in the moment that she ran from Gold. That apart from him she was apart from them.

It made no sense to her, and so she did what she would always do in such a time. She stood, wrapped her cloak around her, and began to walk.

When she arrived back at the field that was the festival ground, it was to pick her way carefully and quietly through the individuals and couples who, by then, lay wrapped in their blankets and coats, curled up on the ground that had been their dance floor, and their community hall - the invisible shelter still spread over them.

A few were still awake, sitting up in small groups, leaning against one another and murmuring softly among themselves, some still in their cups. One or two offered her a silent wave of greeting as she passed them, which she returned with as much half-hearted enthusiasm as she could.

Still further across the field, a little way down toward the road, away from the bonfire, she saw that long trestle tables had been set up, and a small troop of people were carrying dishes and platters to the table, some filled with steaming, hot, breakfast foods, others overflowing with fruit, and cheese and pastries. There was coffee too. Even across the narrowing distance between her and the table, she could smell the aroma beginning to fill her senses, catalyzing her approach to full wakefulness, although she was bone weary and heart-sore, and although she was still on rocky ground with her emotions, she had made a decision: until she could make sense of everything that had happened that evening, she would keep her distance from Mister Gold.

“Miss Belle!”

The soft voice calling to her as though trying to attract her attention without waking anyone else, drew her towards one end of the table, where Paige was frantically waving her way.

“Paige,” she exclaimed, worry filling her, “Are you still here, still awake?”

Paige giggled, shaking her head and pointing down to the parking lot, and a large van parked there close to the gate. “I slept a little bit, and now I’m back. It’s my job to serve breakfast. Why don’t you get some while it’s still hot? Eggs and bacon is just not the same when it’s cold or luke warm.”

“No, you’re right. It really isn’t.” Belle said, eying the girl seriously in the dim, slow dawning light, to look for evidence of shadows beneath her eyes. They were there, of course, they always were, but not any more pronounced than usual. “Just a small plate then,” she said, as much to give the girl something to do as that she really wanted breakfast.

What she wanted was to go home, soak herself in a nice hot bath, fall into bed, and sleep until noon or later, that would do just as well. She doubted many businesses would be open the day after the festival, so she saw no reason why the library shouldn’t be the same.

She took the paper plate that Paige handed to her and smiled her thanks. It was not exactly piled high with food, but there was certainly more than she thought she could eat, at least, until she started. As soon as the first morsel passed her lips, her taste buds came to life, and reminded her, and her stomach, that she hadn’t eaten since long before dinner time the previous day.

“I watched you dancing. You looked very good, very pretty,” Paige said, “and I watched you standing with Mister Gold when they lit the bonfire and the fireworks went up.”

In spite of herself, Belle blushed.

“Jefferson dances very well,” she said in an attempt to steer Paige away from the subject of Mister Gold. “I wouldn’t have been half so good without his help.”

Paige made a face, and Belle raised an eyebrow in query. Paige looked away, biting her lip and mumbled, “My neighbor says he’s not all there.” She tapped her head. “Says I shouldn’t be around him and people like him.”

“Jefferson?” Belle asked in shock at the girl’s words. “No!” She took several deep breaths to calm herself, to push away the shock, and then, hardly any less irritably, “And what does it have to do with Miss Trude anyway?”

Paige shrugged. “She looks out for me… sometimes,” she said.

Belle sighed, and already feeling drenched with concern over Paige’s words, decided to jump in the pool with both feet.

“Paige,” she began, “can I ask you…? Is everything all right at home?”

“Of course it is,” Paige answered, just a little bit too quickly for Belle’s liking. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

Belle held up a placating hand, watching Paige’s eyes go from startled to hard and defensive. “It’s all right, I just wondered. You talk so much about your neighbor, and I see her so often that I thought—”

“Well you thought wrong,” Paige cut her off. “Everything is fine.”

Belle nodded once, and with a sigh said, “All right,” even more convinced now that there was something going on that she didn’t know about. “Just… If you ever need help, you know that you can come to me, right?”

“I..” Paige began with a sigh, and looked down at her foot that was excavating a small hole in the dirt with the toe of her sneakers, “I know,” she said at last, “and I will.”

An awkward silence ensued, so Belle tried to eat a little more of the breakfast, almost choking on a piece of bacon when Paige asked, “What about you and Mister Gold. He’s so old. Are you really going to try and be with him?”

“Oh, Paige, no… I…”

“But that’s what people do when they stand by the bonfire together,” Paige said, as if either confused or dismayed.

“Well, no, we’re just—” she broke off. What were they to one another? They argued more than they ever had pleasant conversations.

“Friends?” Paige suggested.

“More like, acquaintances,” Belle said, “Do you know that word?”

“Yeah,” Paige said with a frown. “It’s like someone you know, right? But aren’t friends with yet?”

Belle smiled. “That’s right,” she said. “You can be polite together, do things together, but you don’t know one another very well. Well, that’s me and Mister Gold.”

“No,” Paige argued. “That’s not what the Miner’s Festival Bonfire is for!”

“Paige…”

“It’s more!”

Belle was struck to silence by the girl’s outburst. She didn’t understand it, and from the expression that came to Paige’s face as Belle’s silence stretched out, neither did she… not for a long time, until her gaze dropped and she mumbled an apology.

“I think, perhaps, we’ve both been awake for far too long,” she said softly. “And need to get some sleep.”

As if Belle’s words held some kind of magic, Paige yawned.

“Maybe,” she said in agreement.

Belle nodded, and handed the now empty breakfast plate to Paige, who tossed it into the trash can behind her. Then with shame coloring her voice, Paige asked, “Can I still come to help in the library, Miss Belle?”

Belle wished that the table wasn’t between them because in that moment she wanted nothing more than to wrap Paige up in a huge hug and reassure her that there was no ill will between them.

“Of course you can,” she said instead, with as much feeling as she could. “I look forward to the days when you come.” Paige smiled at that, just a little, and then Belle added, “Just promise me you won’t stay here too late. You need some proper rest.”

“I promise,” Paige said, and then waved with a fondness that set Belle’s heart lurching as she walked away, and down the path toward where she could get a cab to take her home.

Unfortunately, when she reached the parking lot, she could see no such thing, and even though she had her phone with her, she had no idea as to a number to dial to summon one. She stood staring down the road wondering how far it was to town, when a voice behind her startled her so much that she almost stumbled.

A strong, warm hand closed around her arm to steady her as a matching voice said, “Do you need a ride home?”

“Jefferson,” she identified the speaker, “You scared me half to death!”

“Sorry,” he said, “That wasn’t my intention. I just saw you leaving in a hurry, and I worried.”

“That’s very good of you,” she told him, looking up at the half smile on his face, “But I’m fine.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” he told her, “but still, the offer of a ride home still stands.”

“Oh, but I wouldn’t want to drag you away from the festivities,” she said, but Jefferson shook his head.

“Nothing for me here,” he said with a sigh and added almost absently, “Not yet anyways.”

Belle frowned, but he offered nothing more, and she was tired and overdone with mystery for one night.

“Then thank you,” she said. “That would be kind.”

She followed Jefferson to his car, and he saw her safely into the passenger seat before rounding the car to take the driver’s side. They drove in silence for a while, each apparently lost in their own thoughts, until Jefferson cleared his throat and said, “Don’t worry too much about the things that Gr— Paige said.”

Belle turned her head to look at him, but he was staring straight ahead, and she could have sworn that she saw moisture gathered in his eyes.

“I’m sure she was just… caught up in the tradition of everything and doesn’t realize that sometimes… thing change.”

“It’s all right,” Belle said still frowning and trying to take in Jefferson’s expression, but the hard line of his lips and the concentration furrowing his brow as he watched the road gave little away. “I was just… surprised, I suppose, by her vehemence, her passion.”

Jefferson barked a laugh, though Belle detected little humor in it. “You’d be surprised,” was all he said.

They lapsed into silence for the rest of the drive, until they pulled up outside of the library, and Jefferson got out to help her from the car.

“Thank you,” she said, “I don’t know how I would have gotten home if you hadn’t come along.”

He smiled. “Go and get some rest,” he said. “It will all look better in the morning.”

Belle frowned. “Does it look bad now?”

“Goodnight, Belle,” he said, by way of the only answer Belle realized she was going to get. With a sigh she made her way up to the library apartment, and even the act of climbing the stairs made her rethink the idea to take a hot bath.

To hell with it, she thought as she all but fell into bed. She could take a bath when she woke up.

It wasn’t long before sleep took her, and pulled her into dreams of castles and enchanted forests, and a strangely impish little man spinning at a wheel.

#rumbelle #cursed storybrooke au #slight au #UST #eventual smut #the library beneath the clock tower #The Bookshop on the Corner #i will always write jefferson

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alittlebitofeverything579 · 6 years

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7 Days to Die Au thingy

So my step-dad took me on this really beautiful scenic drive through the woods today, and it got me thinking of an Achievement Hunter zombie apocalypse á la 7 Days to Die. Where the world is quite a while into an apocalypse and things are about as chill as a zombie filled world can be. But more specifically I want to talk about how I imagine our little group of heroes came to be. And it all starts with Ryan.

So Ryan’s not sure how, but people who need help just seem to find him. It starts with Geoff. Ryan’s been living in an isolated cabin by a lake, the only humans he ever really sees are a couple travelling merchants named Burnie and Gus who come by and bring him things he can’t make himself. But then one day Geoff shows up with Burnie and Gus, he’s looking for a stable place to stay, and he offers Ryan his help in exchange for a place to stay. Though Ryan is a little unsure, he agrees because it gets lonely out there. He quickly learns that Geoff is handy to have around, he can sew, and cook, and knows his way around basic survival. He also learns that Geoff isn’t so much looking for a place to stay as he is looking for a place to hide from the world. Geoff admits that he used to be a part of a group, it was small and they sound like they were good people to Ryan, and for a while things were okay, but then one night they got into a fight with another group over supplies, someone fired a gun and it attracts a nearby hoard…Geoff was the only one to make it out. After that Geoff decided to try making it on his own, not wanting to lose anyone else, but a mix of needing some help to survive and just pure loneliness made him hop on to Burnie and Gus’s offer to hang with them, but he wasn’t built for all that travelling on foot, and hence him staying with Ryan. (”Does that make any sense at all?” Ryan would nod, “Yeah, I think I can understand that, I thought it might be easier to stay out here alone and pretend the rest of the world wasn’t real, but it’s nice to have someone.”)

Next to join them is Jack. And he’s less someone in need and more of a happy accident of a friend. Ryan and Geoff have fallen into a rhythm, they work, they repair, they set traps, Ryan tends the garden, and Geoff turns the old shed into a smoke house. Ryan is checking the traps when he hears screaming coming from the lake, where he knows Geoff is, and fears the worst. He makes it to the lake front in record time and finds Geoff, soaking wet and mad as hell, and Jack standing at the edge of the water laughing his ass off. “Geoff, what happened to you?” “I saw a snake.” Ryan raised an eyebrow, “And what, you jumped into the lake? And who’s chuckles here?” ‘I’m Jack,” he introduced himself, wiping his watering eyes. “I did not jump into the lake, I saw the snake, screamed, went to run away, and was pushed in!” “In my defense, I thought you were attacking me, so I pushed you back,” Jack explained. Ryan looked between the two and felt himself start giggling. “Oh great, now you’ve pushed me into a lake and broken my Ryan, I need him in working order so we can live,” Geoff exclaimed, as he got back on dry land. “I’m not broken, I just, when you screamed I thought you were in actual danger.” “I was! That snake could have bitten me and then I’d be dead right now!” “Sure you would Geoff.” Ryan looked at Jack, “So what are you doing out here? We don’t see many people here.” “I’m looking for a safe place to stay right now, what’s it like up here?” “Pretty good, not many zombies, good hunting, the ground’s fertile if you know how to plant.” Jack smiled at his description, “Sounds like a place I might like to stay in.” “You’re welcome to stay at ours for the night, or at the very least for dinner, I owe you after that wonderful display.” Geoff made an incoherently indignant sound from where was packing up his fishing gear.

The next addition is much larger, Michael, Lindsay, and Andy. The Gents find the three running from a hoard, Ryan is too busy practically dragging Geoff into the cellar to notice Jack ushering three extra people in. Once they’re secure he notices them and asks what happened. Michael explains that they had been travelling when they ran into the hoard, while also trying to check over Lindsay and Andy to make sure they’re okay. They have to spend three days in the cellar, but Geoff insists they wait an extra day to be safe. Once they come out Ryan offers the three a place to sleep and some food. Jack wakes up that night and finds Michael sitting on the couch with Lindsay’s head in his lap. “Everything okay?” The answer to Jack’s question comes when Lindsay starts whimpering and muttering in her sleep, settling down when Michael pets her hair and starts gently whispering to her. “This happen a lot?” Michael sighs and rubs his eyes, “Every night.” Jack’s eyebrows knit together in concern at that, “When do you sleep then?” Michael shrugs, “Doesn’t really matter, matters more that she gets to sleep.” Jack shakes his head sits down on the floor in front of the couch, “I’ll stay up with her if you want to get some sleep.” Michael passes out almost instantly. He wakes up in a panic the next morning, yelling for Lindsay and Andy when he realizes they aren’t in his line of sight, and jumping to his feet. He finds them on the front porch, Lindsay is playing with a Jack’s cat and Andy trying to help Geoff check and reset the nearby snare traps that they use to catch rabbits and squirrels. He wants to yell at them because he just nearly had a heart attack, but then he notices Geoff patiently showing Andy how to work the trap, and Lindsay giggles at the cat, and god, Michael hasn’t heard her do that in so long, so he just smiles and asks how he can help. Around noon Michael mentions that they should get going, and Andy’s shoulders fall and Lindsay instantly looks tired, so Ryan groans internally, curses himself for caring, and offers them the attic as a place to stay. The way all their faces light up is almost worth it.

Next Gavin joins and they start building an addition to the house. Gavin shows up by the lake, barely coherent and asking for someone he called ‘Turney’. After confirming that Gavin is not going to die and turn or infect them all with some horrible illness, they take him in and help him regain his health (turns out he had a badly infected cut that made him sick, Jack pays extra care to make sure everyone cleans even the smallest cuts after that), and Ryan has to mentally berate himself for agreeing to help, because the cabin isn’t big enough for all these people damnit. Gavin doesn’t talk at all for the first few months, just kinda wanders the halls and always looks like he’s just seen a ghost. Lindsay takes a liking to him though, she tries to use sign language to communicate with him and he uses a little, but mostly he’s just there. Lindsay doesn’t mind, she just keeps on talking to him. It’s her he talks to first, they’re out collecting firewood, and Lindsay is telling some story about before, about her and Michael playing Mario Party, and suddenly out of no where she hears, “Me and Turney used to play that all the time.” Lindsay beams at him and continues the conversation. (Geoff just about loses his mind the first time he hears Gavin talk. “Wait you’re fucking British!?” “…Yeah.” *bewildered Geoff noises*) Then one night Michael can’t sleep and he finds Gavin sitting at the kitchen table with that vacant look in his eyes. “You can’t sleep?” It’s rhetorical, Gavin nods anyways. “It has to do with whoever Turney is, doesn’t it?” Gavin nods again. “Do you wanna talk about it?” Gavin stays quiet for a long time and Michael doesn’t think he’s getting anywhere, when Gavin answers, “She was lovely, a real class girl, her name was Meg, only I called her Turney, we were together before…we stayed together after, but then she got hurt while we were looking for a place to stay and I couldn’t help her, that’s how I got hurt, I was looking for medicine for her….it was too late when I got back…and now I’m here.” Michael doesn’t know what to say, thinks of losing Lindsay, can’t imagine the world without her smile. He decides to say nothing and just rests a hand on the Brit’s shoulder.

Then Jeremy joins and Ryan swears he’s done bringing people in. This is the one he fights, or at least he tries to. He comes home from hunting and does a double take when he sees an unfamiliar face helping Geoff peel potatoes. “Hey Ry, how did hunting go?” Geoff doesn’t even acknowledge that someone new is sitting at their table, like he thinks Ryan won’t notice. “Fine, I got a turkey, who the hell is this?” Jeremy visibly tenses as Ryan speaks. “This is Jeremy, Gavin found him, poor dude was cornered by some zombies-” “I swear to god if you say he followed him home,” Ryan interrupted, pinching his brow. Geoff just kept talking, “-so Gavin helped him and brought him back here to catch his breath, then I needed help peeling potatoes and he offered to help, so I was thinking he could stay for dinner.” “Geoff, do you realize how many people we already have to feed, what makes you think we can afford another?” Ryan asked in agitation. Geoff just scoffed, “You got me a good looking bird there, I’ll be able to make plenty of food.” Ryan sighed and set the turkey on the table, “Where’s Jack? I need to talk to another rational human.” “He’s out in the garden.” “Are you aware there’s some guy in our kitchen?” Jack didn’t even look up from the tomatoes he was picking, “His name is Geoff, Ryan, I’d think you remember him by now.” Ryan let out a huff, “Not him, the other one.” “Oh, you mean Jeremy? What about him?” “Why does Geoff think inviting him to dinner is a good idea!? He could murder us, or steal our shit, not to mention we’re running out of room!” Jack stood up and dusted himself off, “I think he seems fine, he could have murdered or robbed us hours ago, and what does us not having room have to do with this? It’s only dinner.” Ryan threw his hands up in frustration, “Except it’s not! Because every time I help someone they end up living in my house! And it’s almost winter and food is gonna be harder to find, and-” “Ryan, calm down, I understand you’re worried, but we’ll be fine, we’ve got shelter, and we’ve got food stored up, and once the vegetables are ripe we’ll can them and that’s even more food, plus it’s only dinner, not everyone you help lives with you, you help Burnie and Gus all the time, they still leave.” Ryan rubbed a hand over his face, “I guess, but if he ends up living here I’m breaking Gavin’s legs for bringing him here.” Jack just laughed. After dinner Jeremy actually did leave, “See Ryan? You were freaked out for nothing.” Then the rain and thunder starts and Gavin is the first to say it, but it’s nagging at the back of Ryan’s mind, “I hope Jeremy’s alright.” “You know, he’s probably not that far yet…” And of course Andy would point that out, which leaves everyone staring Ryan. “Oh for god sake, let’s go, before he gets struck by lightening.” Later that night, when everyone’s dry and Jeremy is asleep on the couch, Jack will put a hand on Ryan’s shoulder, “People you help keep moving in because you’re a good man and you let them.”

The last to join is Trevor. Ryan finds him trying to pick the lock on the front door, and instead of pulling out his weapon he just walks up and twists the door knob, pushing the door open, “You unlocked it, like five minutes ago.” Trevor stares up at him dumbly, still crouched in front of the doorway. He quickly snaps out of it and jumps up, putting some space between him and Ryan, “Sorry, I didn’t know anyone lived here.” Ryan just shakes his head and walks into the house motioning for Trevor to follow, “It’s fine, we have plenty of supplies, you can have some, if you’d like.” Only instead of accepting the supplies and going, Trevor stays for dinner, and dinner turns into the night, and the night turns into the next day, and suddenly there’s another room being added. It doesn’t strike Ryan to ask about the lock picking until much later. “So, where’d you learn to pick locks?” Trevor hesitates for a minute, “I never did, I wasn’t that kind of criminal.” Ryan hums, “Surprising, considering you’re good at it.” Before Trevor can say anything Jeremy cuts in, “What do you mean you “weren’t that kind of criminal”?” Trevor looks down at his hands, but Ryan notices a smirk curling at the corner of his lips. “I used to con people out of money, I had a degree in astro physics (I think I’m remembering right and that’s the degree Treyco has, correct me if I’m wrong please.), but that didn’t really do much for me, and I’ve always been good at making people believe me, so,” Trevor shrugs lightly. “Is that how you managed to convince Gavin he might be distantly related to Bigfoot?” Geoff asks and Gavin squawks indignantly. And Ryan feels content.

Ryan isn’t sure how these people got into his life, but he’s glad they did. He’s glad he has this broken and mismatched family, because it’s not much, but it’s his.

#achievement hunter #zombie au #7 days to die au #ryan haywood #geoff ramsey #jack pattillo #michael jones #lindsay jones #andy blanchard #gavin free #jeremy dooley #trevor collins

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lostinthemazecalledmyhead · 6 years

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EPISODE ONE: NIGHT PROWLERS

Life hasn’t exactly been easy on you. The lemons that were given you were sour. Still you managed to make the best of it. Then one day the Winchester step into your world and change it completely. This is the beginning of your new adventure. Join the road with the Winchesters.

Chapter four: Everything has Changed The other day you realized something, something big, the way you have been living your life hasn’t given you much satisfaction. And now, not just a small thing, but everything has changed... (Links at the bottom)

The sun is down again. Reluctant you crawl out of your soft, warm bed. Sleepy you walk into the bathroom to brush your teeth. “Oh, my god.” You cry embarrassed. You walked in on Dean in his underwear. Quickly you turn around. “I’m sorry, I totally forgot I’m not alone anymore.” “No need to be shy.” Dean tells you. He sounds really close and you turn around. He has put on some pants and is standing in front of you. “How do you do it?” You ask Dean who is about to pass you. He cocks an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” “Live on the road all the time. Sleep in cheap motels. Never eat a home cooked meal or sleep in your own beds.” “It’s something you get used to.” Dean answers. “Why you asking.” Dean asks suspicious. “When this is all over I want you and Sam to take me with you.” You say. There is no smile on Dean’s face now. “You want us to what?” Dean asks. “I don’t want to hunt alone anymore Dean. Don’t pretend like I’m going to be a weight on your shoulders, because I can perfectly take care of myself. Hell, I even saved your asses back there. Now that I know what it’s like to care about people who are actually alive I don’t want to be alone anymore.” “You care about me?” Dean asks. Of course that is the only thing he heard. “Dean!” You say trying to keep his head at the game. “Focus.” “I’m not sure, Y/N.” Dean says. “You’re a great girl, but..” “Don’t you dare say I’ll get in your way.” You say cutting him off. “I was going to say, if you had let me, that we don’t want you to get hurt.” Dean says. You scoff. “That is really lame, Dean. I am in more danger alone than when I’m with you.” “What’s going on?” Sam asks joining the two of you in the bathroom. He sees Dean, shirtless, looking grim. “I think you should ask your girlfriend.” Dean says. “Dean!” You give him a warning glare. “What is it, Y/N?” Sam sounds concerned and confused. “Nothing.” You tell him. “Ask your brother.” “What did you say to her?” You can hear Sam ask Dean as you walk away. “What me?!” Dean asks offended. “You mean her! She’s crazy.” You can’t tell it Sam yourself. It’s like being the crazy girlfriend who wants to be part of everything her boyfriend does. Except Sam is not your boyfriend. There is definitely something between the two of you, but neither has the guts to do something about it. You pour some coffee in your mug, add some sugar and milk. Beaten you stare out of the kitchen window. The neighbors lights are on and you can see Sarah walking through her house. Poor girl. She really lost her brother. You lost yours too, but in a different way. You are still able to talk to him and touch him, Sarah can’t. “Y/N?” It’s Sam. You hear him walk into the kitchen, but you don’t turn around. It’s too hard to face him right now. You take a sip and look down at your mug. “Sam, I’m sorry. But what I said to Dean, I… I don’t want to be alone anymore. And if you don’t want me to come with you after this is over, that’s fine. But not with the excuse that I would be safer that way.” “Y/N.” You see Sam’s reflection in the kitchen window as he stands right behind you. “You can take care of yourself, I know that. And if helping Dean and me will make you happy then I’m not going to tell you no.” Overwhelmed you turn around. “Really?” “Though my brother won’t admit it, it’s nice to have someone watching our backs.” Sam says looking down at you. “What about Dean?” You ask knowing that Dean has to be okay with this otherwise you’re still not getting in that car. “I’ll convince him.” Sam says. Catching him off guard you wrap your hands around his neck. “Oh, thank you Sam!” You cry thankful. “Am I interrupting anything?” Dean walks into the kitchen and you let go of Sam and hurry over to Dean. “I’m sorry about earlier.” You apologize. “And you are a tat crazy yourself too.” You whisper to him. “You heard that?” Dean asks smiling uncomfortably. You nod grinning. “Do you have shotguns?” You ask them.

“The plan is simple.” Sam says. The three of you are in Dean’s car going over the plan again. “We shoot as many as we can in the heart to stun them and then we rip out their hearts.” Hearing Sam say ‘ripping out hearts’; it’s kinda odd. Sam doesn’t strike you as the stone cold killer type. Muroni are not the pleasant type, true. But still ripping out hearts sounds so incredibly violent. The car stops at the farm. “Remember once we start shooting up the place they won’t like me anymore.” You tell the brothers as everyone weapons up. “Are you sure they even liked you period?” Dean asks. He receives a glance from both you and Sam. “What’s that?” Dean looks at something behind you. He pulls back the slide on the shotgun and is ready to fire. “The Night Prowlers.” Dean breathes. “They’re here.” You jump in front of Dean’s barrel. “Don’t shoot.” Dean lowers the gun. “It’s my brother.” “The Gus, guy?” Dean asks surprised. “Y/N!” Gus stands behind you in a flash. “Are you okay? Who are they?” “They’re hunters.” You answer. “It’s fine they are good people.” “Winchesters.” Gus says to your amazement. He knows who they are. “How..” You say, but you don’t need to ask your question. “There is a lot of talk about the two of you. Appreciate the work you are doing.” Dean watches your brother with open mouth while Sam chuckles in amazement. “You’re actually happy with the work we do? Kill your kind.” Sam asks astound. “I never wanted to become like this.” Gus explains. “Like my sister I hunt supernatural creatures. Creatures like myself.” “You do know that the longer you’re like this the more of your humanity you will lose.” Sam informs Gus, while the four of you are walking towards the farm. “I know.” Gus says gloom. “I promised my sister that if she’d die, I’d die. I don’t have a reason to live longer than her. I don’t want to become like the monsters I’m hunting. That’s why I made her that promise. Hoping that at least I have enough time till then.” “It must be hard for you.” Sam notices. Thinking about how he would feel if it were Dean. Hunters are very black and white. If something is supernatural they kill it, that’s it. But Dean and Sam learned along the way that things aren’t always as black and white. There are supernatural creatures out there who shouldn’t be killed. And this night they met one who was even rooting for them to slay as much evil creatures as possible. “At first it really was, but we’ve learned to live with it. We barely see each other because I live at night and she lives during the day, but knowing that I’m still there comforts her.” Gus explains. “We’re here.” Dean stops in front of the door leading to the basement. “Sam and I take the left tunnel. Y/N and Gus, you take the right.” You push the door back shut. “Are you insane?” You ask Dean who gives you a face like he is about to say yes. “Don’t answer that.” You say quickly. “Inside there are at least 20 Muroni. If we split up we’re lucky if we can even kill ten before they kill us. We’re out numbered. It’s safer in a group.” “I think Y/N is right.” Sam say. Dean mouths Sam’s word mockingly like a kid. “We should stay together. We’re stronger as a group.” “Don’t look at me like that.” You mumble quietly, knowing only your brother can hear you. He had been staring at you after Sam had opened his mouth to back you up. Your brother knows you better than anybody and you guess he knew about your affection for Sam the minute he laid eyes on you tonight. Gus chuckles at your mumble. The first vampire could barely react before Gus ripped his heart out. Turning into dust he falls on the ground. “Cleans up nicely.” Dean notices content. So far so good. There hasn’t been much struggle yet. The bullets are dipped into snake venom and that way will weaken the Night Prowlers enough for you to kill them. You enter a room filled with five Night Prowlers. At the smell of humans they turn into animals. Hearing the clicking sound as you pull back the slide on your shotgun is frightfully satisfying. Let’s see if the venom works. You fire at the lion jumping towards you. It takes you three bullets before the animal falls down on the ground. The animal turns back to a man. With your knife you carve out his heart. If it keeps going like this, you’d be done without any trouble. The next room is the big throne room where you killed the queen. “Uh, oh.” The room is crawling with Muroni. You shouldn’t have thought anything about things going easy. It’s just jinxing your luck. You push your body against the wall. “What is it?” Sam asks worried. You tell him that there are at least fifteen Muroni in the room. “What do you want to do?” Sam asks you. “I’d say we go in there guns blazing, but I can’t make that decision alone.” You tell him. “I trust you.” He tells you his face looking like he just put the weight of the world in your hands. And he kind of did. He put your lives in your hands. It was your decision, so if any blood spills tonight it’s going to be on you. Though it gives you a lot of pressure it also warms something inside of you. He trusts you with his life and also his brothers and you are guessing that his brothers life would even mean more to him than his own. So, his trust his really a big deal. You’re not going to take this trust for granted. “You and Dean take the left and we’ll take the right.” “Prepare yourselves for a blast people.” Dean says and fires at the men and animals heading towards you. Someone grabs you by your hair and knocks you to the ground. Everyone is heavy into battle. You grab your shotgun and fire at vampire hanging above you. She just smiles and hits you in the face. She doesn’t seem to be affected by the poison. Her fangs extract and you realize she’s not Muroni. “It’s a trap!” You shout at the others. With a swift move you cut off her head. “Are you okay?” Gus helps you up. “They are not only Muroni.” You tell Gus while firing at the vampire coming up behind him. “We need to get out of here.” With Gus on your side you fight your way to Dean and Sam. Gus goes to Dean while you help Sam. “We need to get out of here.” Sam nods while cutting off the head of a vampire. The four of you back away to a room and lock the door behind you. “What the hell is going on?” Dean asks mad. “We walked into a trap.” You say ashamed. “How did they know we were coming?” Sam asks no one in particular. “I think the more urging question is, why are they working together.” Gus says. “Everything that I heard, Muroni look down on the regular vampires. They don’t like each other at all.” There is a loud banging on the door. “How many bullets do we have left?” Sam asks. The three of you count how much there is left. Not much. “What about this?” You ask. “We cut off all their heads and every head that doesn’t roll.. well they get shot.” “I think it’s the best thing we’ve got.” Sam says and looks at Dean. “Let’s roll.” Dean says. “Off with their heads.” You say smiling. Why are you smiling? “Carol Lewis.” Sam says realizing where you got the quote from. Smiling you look at him. “Enough love birds.” Dean says annoyed. “Ready?” Everyone nods at Dean and he opens the door. There are only about ten left and they storm the room. It doesn’t take long before the first few bodies drop to the floor. You’re in battle with a blonde chick not much older than you are. “How are the Winchester boys?” She asks you while knocking you down to the floor. She has a strength in her body that makes you jealous. “Why? You’re asking for a friend?” You ask her after kicking her on the side of her knee. She stumbles a little and you get back up to your feet. “You know, a girl just wants to have fun right.” She smiles at you and when she does her fangs extract. She’s Muroni. “If you wanna have fun. You should drink my blood.” You tell her while blocking her offenses. “Your queen sure liked it. Right before I ripped her heart out.” This seemed to enrage the young blonde and that was exactly what you wanted. When one is mad, one doesn’t think straight and makes mistakes. Before you can make a move on the blonde you are grabbed from behind. “Look who we got here.” A man whispers into your ear. You can hear his fangs extract. The blonde is also closing in on you. The man bites you and you have the same blacking out kind of sensation like you had the night before when the queen bit you. When you come to, his grip on you falters and you break free. With your knife you cut open the blonde’s chest before she even realizes what is going on and rip out her heart. Quickly you turn around to face the vampire who attacked you from behind. Faint he looks at you before he drops dead to the ground. Behind him stands Sam with the vamps heart in his hand. “Thanks.” You say a bit uncomfortable. Every vampire in the room, except Gus of course, is dead. “There are probably more on the way.” Dean says. “Nobody’s bitten I hope.” You say concerned looking at Sam and Dean. They both tell you they are fine, to your relieve. “You’re bleeding.” Sam wraps a cotton wrap around your neck to stop the bleeding. “So are you, Sam.” You tell him, wiping away some blood from his nose. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.” You ensure him. “I’m not that easily breakable.” You ad with a wink. “Trust me.” Gus tells Sam. “She’s fine.” Dean watches the exchanges of words between the three of you like it’s some tennis match. “I love the whole win a date with Lucy thing that is going on here, but we have some vampires to slay.” Everyone turns to face Dean. Each with another look to give to him. “Looks like our welcome committee has arrived!” Dean yells cheerful. Another group of vampires walks into the room. This time it are only five. Within just a minute they were all dead. You’ve already killed about 30 vampires tonight. How many more could there be? That night the four of you continued to slay vampires until there were none left in the nest. They were either dead or were smart enough to flee.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Gus asks you when you tell him you are going to be hunting with the Winchesters from now on. You hug him. “Someone needs to make sure they don’t get killed.” You say. “I’m happier than I have been in a long time, Gus.” “Just make sure you call every now and then.” He gives you another hug. “I will.” You say before he disappears into the night. “How are you feeling?” Sam is standing in the doorway. You sit down on the steps of your front porch. “This is the last time I’ll be able to sleep in my own bed again.” It’s the only thing relevant you can think of to say right now. Sam sits down next to you. “You know no one is forcing you to go with us.” “You don’t want me to go with you?” You ask him uncertain. “No, I just don’t want you to feel pressured to go through with something you said before all that blood was spilled.” Sam says. “I thought that maybe you had changed your mind.” “Sam, I love hunting. Saving people. Making the world a better place every time we kill another one of them. I don’t want to do anything else. Not with anybody else. You and your brother are the ones I want to kill with.” You fall silent, rethinking your words. “That sounded awfully disturbing.” “That’s good to hear.” Dean says from behind you. You turn around to look at him. “Because I believe that there is just enough room for you in my car.” You run up to Dean and jump into his arms, folding your legs around him. Stumbling just a bit he catches you. “Thank you Dean!” You cry in his ear, almost deafening him. “Ah, don’t mention it.” Dean says pretending it’s no big deal. He puts you back down on the ground. “You’re still bleeding. Maybe you should let nurse Sam check that for you.” “Nurse Sam?” You ask him smiling. “Yeah, she’s sitting right there, though not in uniform so you might not recognize her.” “Thank god not.” You say relieved picturing Sam in a nurse uniform. Not those classy one, but those Hollywood movie type ones. And at that moment you whished you could wash your mind with soap. “Oh Sammy don’t look so happy you might pull something.” Dean teases Sam who sluggishly walks to the front door.

Night Prowler: Chapter one: Style Chapter two: Clean Chapter three: Bad Blood Chapter four: Everything has changed

Sealgair Dhaoine Chapter one: A place in this world

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therealsymmetra · 7 years

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//The Fall

The force hit her like a Titan shoulder charge to the ribs, knocking the air from her lungs and leaving her feeling nauseous.

“Sloane, something’s wrong…”

She tried to find Buddy in her peripheral only for her knees to buckle, the weight of her own armor feeling too heavy on her shoulders all of a sudden. She wanted to wretch, her stomach churning as it felt like every ounce of energy was sucked straight from her muscles. She blinked heavily, trying to see through the haze she had suddenly entered. She could hear him, the Cabal leader who towered over her, that’s when she saw her Ghost. He was motionless, lying face down next to her like some discarded toy; she reached out, snatching him up with the little amount of energy she had left. She hadn’t noticed them at first, the whispers, probably because they sounded so clear. So real, like a chorus of beasts stood just beside her, talking in her ear as Ghaul made is grand speech. Worthless. Without light. Find it, devour it. You are the darkness. The darkness lives in you. Become it. Harness it. Wield it. She barely registered the words being spat at her from above before another force hit her in the side, this time too real as it sent her skittering across the flight deck.

She felt something crack, hard and loud in her abdomen as it echoed through her skull; the voices hissed at her, cackling and leering at her suffering. She tried to collect herself, she tried to say Buddy’s name except nothing came out but a pained gasp. She steadied herself, pushing herself up on all fours before struggling to her feet, she couldn’t go down. Zavala was counting on her. Shaxx and Vera and Bray and Rosie and everyone else… they were all counting on her, but even as she grit her teeth at the pain that blossomed in her chest as she tried to breathe properly her hands still shook as she tried to grab for her pistol on her hip.

“You are not brave. You have merely forgotten the fear of death.” Sloane wasn’t sure if it was the voices or Ghaul who said it, but before she knew what was happening she was swatted like a fly, carelessly sent through the air before landing with a sickening thud, her arm ricocheting painfully against the ground, Buddy’s shell slipping and falling to the Earth below.

“No!” It was the first word she was able to utter as she watched him disappear into the chaos.

It was like speaking opened the floodgates, the whispering turned to shouts then to screams, so loud she thought her eardrums would rupture. She clamped her hands over them, eyes squeezed shut as she tried to tune them out, but as she tried to focus on her light, on those she was fighting for all that came was static; it filled her arms and legs and fingers like lightening trying to escape. She turned, staring up with wide eyes as she was kicked from the aircraft, her mind going blank as soon as the ledge was out of sight.

“I’m not getting any connection.”

“Then try again,” Shaxx tried to rein in his panic, tried to not snap at the little Ghost who floated anxiously by him as he picked through the rubble of what once was the Tower, of what once was his home, their home. Jolder trotted up next to him, she had been glued to his hip since he tried to get her onto one of the civilian evacuation transports. She sniffed the air, her hackles going up and a low growl emanating from her as a Cabal ship few overhead. Once it was clear she returned to her scenting, obviously looking for something. He wondered if she knew who they were looking for.

“It… It’s weak but I have something!”

Before Shaxx could even ask Moira was off flying towards the City, or at least what was left of it.

He followed silently, making sure the wolf pup kept up, keeping an eye out for any incoming Cabal; they crawled like cockroaches over every maneuverable surface making traversing the debris hard to work through. He would take every one on if he wasn’t sure he’d lose. Something had… happened, he wasn’t sure what but he could feel it in his chest when it hit like a tidal wave, crashing into him and forcing him to brace lest he be dragged under. He shook his head, at the very least he knew his armor and his blade would get him through if needed. Moira careened around a corner before dropping down into a drainage ditch. Cabal roamed the area, Shaxx moving in the shadows like a damn Hunter, he scoffed at himself, Vera would surely have teased him for his bad form if she were there. Maybe she was, Moira hadn’t specified who it was they were tracking, but she moved in a way that meant they were close. He even noticed the way Jolder had picked up her pace, sniffing at the earth then the air again.

Shaxx tried to still the nerves in his stomach, he tried to reassure himself that if they had a signal from Gus or Buddy it meant that Vera or Sloane (or Traveler bless him with both) were alive. He hoped. Shaxx grabbed Moira before she tried to exit the tunnel they had entered, putting his hand down to signal Jolder to hold, waiting quietly as a particularly large group of Cabal moved overhead before he let her continue.

“S-Shaxx,” the voice was small, broken, or rather distorted was a better word for it.

“He’s here!” Moira chirped zooming off, Jolder yipping quietly, bounding out after the Ghost.

It was a light, bright but flickering as it rose from the water.

“S-Sloane.”

“Buddy,” Shaxx trotted up to him, reaching out to the small battered Ghost who settled easily in his palm.

“She ne--eds help.”

He had never seen a Ghost shake before, never heard their voice break like it had just then. His stomach felt like it was twisted in knots, his throat dry and he tried to convince himself it was from all the walking he had done.

“Where is she?” He asked, voice quieter than he had expected.

Buddy shivered, his shell twitching like he was sighing, before he lifted and hovered away, dropping in the air slightly before continuing. He went up an incline, rounded a downed ship before slipping into an opening in the debris, Shaxx nearly having to crawl on his hands and knees to get inside.

“Sloane? Sl-Sloane?” Buddy’s voice echoed slightly as he lit up the dark area.

It was all twisted metal and rubble, jagged and unwelcoming. He shuttered at the idea that Sloane was even here. It took Shaxx a moment to adjust to the lighting, Buddy’s light flickering every now and then. Honestly he hadn’t seen her at first, and if Jolder hadn’t bolted to her side, barking and yipping at her maybe he wouldn’t have, she was so covered in soot and dirt that he barely recognized her until her eyes opened, bright, warm and golden. She opened her mouth, sucking in air, her face twisting into horror before she shut her eyes again, gritting her teeth and bringing her hand up to press against her face.

“N-No Sloane, you’re oka—okay,” Buddy got closer and Shaxx could hear her stifle a sob before she spoke, so low he could barely hear.

He made his way to her side, trying as best he could to make room beside her in the cramped space, gently nudging Jolder out of the way who was trying to nuzzle her way into Sloane’s face.

“It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real,” she nearly hissed, almost angry as her nails dug into her skin.

“I won’t, I won’t, I won’t,” her voice broke, lip trembling before she pulled it between her teeth and bit down.

“Sloane, nova, look at me,” He pulled her face into his hands, trying to anchor her but she flinched away.

“Not there, not there, not there!” Her insistence became more frantic, her hand coming up to her ear.

“Sloane, please,” Shaxx hated how his voice broke so harshly.

He searched for something to prove he was there, when it hit him, he wrenched his glove free from his left hand, taking her right hand in his, searching for the other to match the rings together they both wore only for his stomach to churn at a sudden realization.

“I-It’s pinned,” Buddy explained.

“Cou-Couldn’t get it o--ut.”

Shaxx felt that familiar prickling of anxiety as he started to panic, trying to find some way to free her. He took her free hand, squeezing it, hoping the warmth of his skin on hers would do something and as she looked up at him, eyes snapping open like he had startled he knew he had.

“Shaxx?” She sounded close to tears, eyes wide like she was seeing him for the first time.

“Yes little nova, I’m here, I’m with you,” he brought his gloved hand to her cheek and she leaned into it, tears finally cutting a trail through the grime that coated her cheeks.

Jolder, finally having access to Sloane’s face, licked a swath up her cheek, a broken smile bursting across Sloane’s lips for a moment.

“You came,” she whispered, the thought that she was worried he wouldn’t making something break in his chest.

“Of course, I wasn’t leaving until I had you and Vera with me,” he said after a moment of trying to compose himself.

“Can… can I see you?” she asked.

Shaxx hesitated before bringing his hands to his helmet, releasing the claps and pulling it free so they could see eye to eye. It seemed at some point she had wretched her own helmet from her head which lay a few feet away, the faceplate shattered and he hoped he never found out why. As she saw him she smiled, sighing in relief like she had seen this scenario so many times but this was the first where it was actually him beneath the helm.

“I’m here,” he said again.

“V-Vera?” She choked out, looking past him, hoping.

Shaxx swallowed heavily, jaw clenching as he looked away from her for a second, Jolder whining at the name.

“I haven’t found her yet,” he said.

Sloane’s expression fell, fear spreading slowly across her face as he tried to comfort her.

“We’ll find her, but we need to get you out first,” he said, voice hoarse as he tried to focus on what was in front of him.

“I’ll lift this and you will need to move, can you do that for me?” He asked softly.

“I don’t think—it’s so heavy,” she said, the last part whined like she had tried to free herself before.

“I’m strong, don’t you remember?” He said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Sloane nodded, biting at her lip again.

“Are you ready?” He asked as he tried to get a grip on the large piece of metal that met the hard rubble below.

He slipped his fingers underneath as best he could, he could see Sloane watching him out of the corner of his eye.

“On three, are you ready?” he asked.

Sloane nodded.

He braced himself, trying his best to get in an angle that would allow him the most leverage.

“One, two… three,” he put all his effort into it, lifting with all the energy he had only for the piece to groan slightly without moving.

He stopped his straining, catching his breath as he readjusted.

“One, two, three,” he tried again, his time putting his entire body into the action before settling again.

“One… two—“ “Sh-Shaxx,” Buddy’s voice broke him from his concentration.

He looked to the little Ghost who merely shook his shell at him.

“I… I can heal her… I ca—an’t regrow anything but… I can ke—ep her from bl-bleeding o—ut.”

“No,” he said quietly, shaking his head as he turned back to the debris.

He tried, again and again and again. Each time becoming more and more frantic to find some way to move it, he could feel tears starting to bite at the edges of his vision, causing him to bring a shaking palm across his face before trying again.

“Shaxx,” this time it was Moira who spoke, nudging him on the shoulder.

“We can’t stay here much longer.”

Shaxx stopped his straining, resting his head against the cold metal of what was once a dropship.

“I’m not going to mutilate her,” he choked out, not looking up from where he had hid his face. Coward, he chided himself.

“You’re fre—eing her,” Buddy said quietly.

“Shaxx,” Sloane spoke, her voice making him flinch.

He peeked an eye out from beneath his hair which was in much disarray, she looked at him with weary eyes, exhausted, beaten.

“Please,” her voice cracked harshly.

Shaxx sighed heavily, shaking his head before unsheathing the Raze Lighter from his back, Jolder growled, startled by the sudden use of weaponry. He moved to press his forehead to Sloane’s, cradling her face in his hand as she started to cry, hot heavy tears pouring down her face as she tried to stifle them. The wolf pup had gone silent before she started to whine.

“It’s okay to be scared,” he said, his own voice breaking with such force he was sure he had lost it.

He reached down and undid his belt, moving to tie a tourniquet just above where the limb was trapped.

“I need this,” he slipped her own belt free from her waist, before folding it over and looking at her.

“Open your mouth,” he instructed and she followed, letting him nestle the leather between her teeth.

“On three.”

His voice was vacant as he took one more look at her before moving to get an angle on her arm with the blade. She was shaking, anticipatory fearful whines escaping around the belt as she strained to get as far away from her arm as possible. Buddy floated up, pressing his dented shell to her forehead, Jolder getting antsy beside Sloane clearly confused as Shaxx prepared himself.

“One…” Her breathing picked up, heavy and frantic as her body went into panic mode.

“Two…” he felt the blade slice cleanly through the flesh and muscle, catching on the bone before a bared down on it.

He heard her scream, the sound echoing through his head as he tried to numb the sickness in his stomach, Jolder barked wildly, like she was yelling at him, she nipped at his back, stuck somewhere between protecting Sloane and not attacking Shaxx. Sloane squirmed, feet trying to find purchase on the ground, to try and run as he finally broke through the bone, the rest of the cut being as easy as the initial. When it was through he quickly pulled the belt tighter, pressing a hand to the new wound as he pulled her away from her own limb. She fought him, incoherent words falling free of her mouth as her head began to bob slightly, the telltale signs that she was going to pass out. Buddy hovered weakly over her, light falling against her before she finally took in a lungful of air, her shrieks reduced to sobs and whimpers.

“I’m sorry nova, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he pressed his forehead to hers, hands finding either side of her neck, forgetting that one was coated in her blood.

“Th—ank you,” she whispered before her eyes rolled back, her body going limp as he pulled her from the dirty ground and gingerly slipped out of the opening, Jolder still whining loudly.

“Where will we go?” Moira asked.

“Away from here. If I can just… find Zavala, or Bray, or Deimos. Anyone, I can come back and look for Vera,” he said

“I can’t… find her signal.”

“Neither could I,” Buddy chimed in, settling on Sloane’s chest.

“Then we’ll look again. But we need to get Sloane to safety, it’s what Vera would want if she were here now,” Shaxx said as he marched towards the wilds.

“We’ll all be together again,” he said quietly.

“I promise.”

#my writing #destiny 2 spoilers #sloane #shaxx #uhhh so the original post is just... gone?? so i'm reposting it???

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lexiseigneur · 5 years

Text

Chapter seventeen : Dr. Brevil

Ao3

“Two bags every two days…” said Gus on the phone the next morning.

Quinlan waited by the bar with his arms crossed. As he glanced above his shoulder, Lexi was explaining to Raul in excruciating details how the devices worked. The poor man could not peel his eyes off the disembodied brains inside the transparent machines. A low voice responded through the small speaker in Gus’ hand.

“That’s insane, man. Like…that’s literally the craziest shit you’ve asked so far.”

“Do you know what I’m looking at right now, Paquito?”

There was nothing that the Sun Hunter was looking at in particular.

“No…what?”

“A stack of Julio’s fresh tortillas.”

The man on the other end of the line did not answer.

“And I’m not talking about that wheat blend bullshit that runs out there…no. This is made from real masa harina. The smell, man…”

Gus breathed in deeply and smiled.

“It’s like my mom’s kitchen.”

The voice grunted.

“What do you even need that for?” it asked.

“Since when do you ask questions, pendejo? Well shit, I guess Imma start to dig in if you don’t want them.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t want the fucking tortillas!”

“You gonna deliver then?”

“Yeah…but I want fifteen with each delivery.”

“Done. Can you get the first shipment tomorrow?”

“OK. You’re fucking insane, you know that?”

“Well, I’m not the one stealing blood for tortillas. Be there at 12:30, I’ll tell you where to go at 12:00.”

“OK.”

Gus hung up then immediately picked up the phone again.

“Julio? Where you at? Get the masa harina and prepare thirty tortillas. Put fifteen aside.”

They chatted about lunch preparation for another moment then he put the phone down again.

“The guy works at a donation center. So I guess you won’t starve anymore.”

“We are most grateful, Mister Elizalde,” said Quinlan and he meant it.

“I think I need some time to read through that again,” said Raul sheepishly.

“Will that human be of any help to you?” asked Quinlan without turning around.

“Eventually. He doesn’t need to fully understand the mechanisms. Just assemble them without constant supervision.”

“You have time until we gather the components. Do not worry. We will build the first one together…and very slowly,” she said.

Quinlan grinned. She had not shown him that type of patience. Lexi expected his immediate understanding of anything she explained.

“At noon we meet with the Librarian. Until then I’m gonna continue calling some favors in.” Augustin typed another phone number and Quinlan quickly lost interest. He could not help in any way. Still full of energy from the blood meal, he was restless.

“Would you enjoy some training while they are busy?”

Behind him, Lexi chuckled.

“Bring it on.”

“I will fetch our weapons. Maybe you should inform them while I do so.”

Quinlan walked upstairs and into the bedroom, they had been given. It had once belonged to Creem who had fortunately been in the process of moving his belongings. Most were in boxes. On the bed laid his sword and on the nightstand, her machete. He took his weapon but his hand hovered over hers. It was short and light which suited her frame perfectly when she was human. The fact was: Lexi was no longer human. She could afford more reach, especially as they faced the Master. Quinlan deposited his sword back on the bed to put on his leather gloves. He slid hers into his back pocket. Inside his metal trunk rested the thin silver sword that had once belonged to Abraham Setrakian. He took it and nodded to himself. It was exactly like her. Light, agile and beautiful. When he returned to the communal space, the table, couch, and TV had been pushed against the walls. Raul had been joined by Amir and both stood by the window and whispered excitedly. Gus was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is Augustin?”

“When I told him that we might train a little he decided to take calls from downstairs.”

“Well, it might become distracting. Why are those two still here?”

“Amir is on guard duty but I’m guessing that they wanted to watch.” Her grin did not reach her eyes.

“We can ask them to leave if that displeases you.”

With that thought, he arrived at her position in the middle of the vast space.

“Amir has to stay anyways and this is their home. Besides, they will see us move sooner or later.”

Her eyes landed on the wolf-headed cane.

“Where is my machete?”

“I thought you might want to try something deadlier. Your gloves are in my back pocket.”

Lexi put them on. He tossed the object up, caught the black length and turned the silver handle toward her. She took it gingerly then freed the blade and put the sheath on the table.

“It’s gorgeous.”

“Just like you.”

“Now, now, my Quinlan…flattery will not help you.”

Her smile was mischievous and she pointed the weapon in his direction. Under her pale lips, her two front teeth were just as sharp as his but her left canine still crooked. He imitated her fighting stance.

“I did not expect it would, beloved.”

Time slowed around them without the pressure of imminent danger. It was a pleasure to run. Metal flashed and clanged together. Her little body whirled and silver darted toward his flank.

“You are very fast,”- he avoided the blade -“but you lack technique.”

Quinlan hit her wrist with the bone hilt and her sword fell. She tried to catch it but he was prepared and snatched it before her. Lexi retreated with a growl. They faced each other again but this time, she had no weapon and he had two.

“Then share it.”

The Dhampir cocked his head, intrigued by the idea. She had done that once, but with a small amount of information. Even then, that it had been disagreeable.

“You might find it rather unpleasant.”

“My transformation was far from a walk in the park. I cannot imagine worse.”

“Come closer.”

He put the weapons on the floor then removed his gloves. With his bare hands, he cupped her face. She kissed the fleshy base of his thumb then looked up.

“Do it.”

Quinlan focused on what made him a warrior. All the techniques he had learned as a gladiator, as a centurion, then later as a free man. For the moment, he only selected those related to sword and hand to hand combat. He did not wish to crush her with the knowledge of modern weaponry as well. It would be too much. Then he pressed his lips against her brow and tipped all that experience into the Bond. Lexi yelped. Her fingers closed on his arms like vices. It hurt but he could bear it. This was taking longer than any such exchange had before. Her knees buckled as if all that knowledge had a physical weight. Quinlan caught her by the waist and hugged until it was over.

“You warned me. I should have listened,” she said as the shock waned.

“Do you regret it?” He pushed hair out of her face.

“Not at all. But I should have prepared myself better.”

As she communicated that thought, she pulled away with a faint grin. Her resilience made him proud. Lexi glanced at the swords and her muscles tensed. Quickly, he put his gloves back on. Her smile turned vicious. Reading her intention, he reached for the weapons before she could.

This was his first mistake. She had disappeared and he stood with two useless blades. Powerful kicks in the back of each knee sent him to the floor and he rolled away before she could hit him again. He had dropped his bone-hilted sword which she picked up. With a steady arm, she lifted the blade and slashed the air gracefully. Lexi stared in awe at her wrist, flicking it with ease despite the weight of the weapon. She chuckled softly.

“No need to hold back anymore, Quinlan.”

The two Dhampir pounced and the blades sparked against one another. Quinlan had more reach but she was nimble and could jump away as if gravity had no grasp on her. Her musical giggles echoed as well as his booming bark of a laugh. His only clear advantage was his still superior strength so he would settle for a draw. Both swords skittered on the cement floor. Quinlan held her in his powerful arms. Lexi scowled and wriggled.

“Draw?” he asked. This was his second mistake.

His beloved smirked and her jaw dropped wide open. The short stinger shot out of her throat and punched him under the chin. He almost let go from astonishment and pain. That little vixen. Before she could strike him again, he projected his own stinger which clasped around the smaller counterpart. Now, neither could punch, kick or bite.

“Draw.” She relented.

Quinlan loosened his hold and their stingers returned to their throats. She remained pressed against him. He kissed her temple and rubbed her back. The Dhampir looked up at the two men. Amir had just lowered his cellphone and was now pocketing it.

“I believe Amir has recorded our fight.”

She turned around and strutted toward Amir and Raul.

“What have you been doing with that phone, young man?” she asked.

Her voice was severe but Quinlan perceived her amusement. He hid a smile behind his long fingers. Raul appeared to be considering fleeing away from her while Amir only seemed mildly embarrassed.

“Well, the other guys couldn’t be here to watch so…”

Lexi extended an open palm. Without much hesitation, he put the device in her hand. Her white fingers poked at the screen and she looked at the incriminating video.

“Urg! Next time just put the phone down. This is really blurry,” she said then returned the phone to its owner.

“You ain’t gonna delete it?”

“No. But next time, do ask first.”

“Sure…sorry about that.”

“Is it wise to let him keep it?” asked Quinlan.

“The internet is down and I trust he will not try to show it to some random Strigoi.”

“Have you finished reading the plans?” she asked Raul.

“Huh…no…I was watching you guys.”

She rattled softly and crossed her arms on her chest.

“Imma do that right now.”

He ran to the table and the pile of printed pages. Amir cackled as he sat by the machine gun in front of the window. Across the room, Raul replied to his laughter by giving him the finger.

“You knew he would be too captivated to read,” said Quinlan.

Her muscles were tensing again.

“Maybe. But now, he will actually finish studying the schematics while I turn that draw into a win.”

She turned to him and jumped. Quinlan laughed as he prepared for her assault.

Quinlan kept as far as possible from the passenger window of the SUV. The noon sun shone painfully as Gus and the Dhampir drove to the meeting location at the docks. The Dhampir rubbed at his forearm where a bruise inflicted by Lexi healed slowly. Quinlan smirked as he remembered her flushed face and set jaw when he had won their second fight. Even now he could still feel the biting fire of her combative mood.

“So I heard you guys exchanged some punches?” said Gus and he glanced at Quinlan still rubbing his arm. The Dhampir immediately stopped his gesture.

“Merely some friendly sparring.”

Gus lifted a scarred eyebrow.

“You know when I saw her and I realized you were…together, I got pissed.”

The Dhampir turned to him but controlled his expression. Why would the Sun Hunter be upset by this?

“I mean…you convinced me to cut my girl loose and there you were with yours. That kinda stung you know.”

Quinlan remained quiet. Gus was not done speaking.

“But then you guys killed all those traitors and Amir showed me the video…”

Gus sighed and his lips stretched into a bitter smile.

“I guess I can see how it’s different.”

At this moment, Quinlan was relieved that Gus had no idea that Lexi had once been human. The man could not fathom the extent of his hypocrisy. No. Quinlan had tried to push her away and leave her in a safe place. Surely, it was not his fault Lexi had tracked him down after that? The Dhampir looked away from the Sun Hunter. Of course, it was his fault. The very moment he had leaned down to kiss her, he had sealed both their fates.

“Lexi would not let me push her away even if I tried,” he said to detract from the self-loathing that gripped his stomach.

Gus laughed and it appeared so incredibly sincere that it took the Dhampir by surprise.

“She’d kick your ass.”

“It is a distinct possibility, yes.”

The associates exchanged a look and both grinned.

Once they reached the waters, they sat in a rusty jon boat and navigated on the greenish waters. Faces stared from round windows of a narrowboat as they secured their embarkation to its side. A wiry old man with a mane of grey hair and a matching beard welcomed them by the boat’s steering counter. Joe, nicknamed the Librarian by his protégés and Gus, had once been the provost at New York University. For the past year he had located and hidden scientists, philosophers and any other intellectual that the Strigoi hunted down. Quinlan was aware of a dozen human hearts beating on the boat. Those were likely to be some of his most recent refugees.

“Hey, can you raise that canopy man?” asked Gus as he shook the Librarian’s hand.

“Sure.”

The grey-haired man peered around the river a last time before limiting his field of vision with the waxed tarp. Quinlan relaxed in the obscurity but elected to keep his hood and glasses on. The Librarian paid closer attention to him and his bushy brows knitted together.

“What have you brought to my ship, Gus?” he half whispered, half screamed.

“You trust me, don’t you?” said Gus.

From what Quinlan had gathered so far, the Sun Hunter had shared many services with that man and taken very little in return.

“Yeah but…”

“That’s Quinlan. He ain’t a Strigoi and he gets moody when people call him that.”

Quinlan glanced at his associate. The Sun Hunter’s wit was irritating at times. The Librarian rubbed his hands together and avoided looking at the Dhampir.

“Yeah…I’m still gonna move the boat to another location when you leave. Just in case.”

The Sun Hunter shrugged, unmoved by the Librarian’s doubts.

“Dude, you do that every single time anyway. So, do you have a guy that might help us?” asked Gus.

“I do.”

He grabbed a book from under the counter. On the cover, mount Helen exploded in an ashy cloud. Joe flipped it and presented them with the picture of a bald middle-aged man. He had black eyes over a bulbous nose.

“I got Dr. Brevil a new ID six months ago. If he is still alive, he goes by Frank Smith, plumber. Last time I heard from him, he was in Washington. The address is in the book.”

The Librarian handed the volume to Gus.

“We are most grateful…Mister Joe,” said Quinlan.

The old man’s heavily hooded eyes widened and he nodded.

“There you go,” said Gus and he handed two duffel bags to the man.

Inside them, tin cans clanked together.

“Thank you, Gus. But you know I’ve got to ask…why do you need a volcanologist?”

The Sun Hunter winked at the old man and shook a finger in his direction.

“Come on, man, we’ve been over this. It’s better if you don’t know any of this crap.”

The Librarian grunted and nervously, peered at the surrounding waters again.

“Sun is almost over. You guys better leave now. But Gus…”

He leaned forward and frowned.

“Keep Dr. Brevil safe. There are so very few of us left.”

“When we get him, he’ll be the safest he’s been in a year.”

Wearily, the Librarian rubbed his beard. He doubted those words and Quinlan could not blame him.

As they drove in the direction of Washington, the Dhampir flipped the pages of the book he had just been given. A sentence in the introduction caught his attention. It stated that in a single year, around sixty volcanoes erupted with varying degrees of intensity. Quinlan’s hopes that this variable might afford him time faded. At this very moment, he was glad that the Bond was stretched thin by distance because Lexi would not be able to perceive his selfishness.

Frank Brevil crouched on the floor with an ear glued to the wooden slats. In the corridors of the ground level, someone was systematically knocking on every door. This was never a good sign. Especially for a fugitive with fake identification papers. Two pairs of boots echoed at his own level and their owners hammered at the door nearest the elevator. Brevil jumped to his feet and dabbed his forehead with where fat beads of sweat had formed. There was still a chance that they were not here for him. He should stay and play innocent. The neighbor unlocked her flat and greeted the two strangers.

“You know that man? I’ve been told he lives in that building. He’s a plumber.”

Brevil’s heart dropped to his stomach. He wiped at his eyes that burned from the salty sweat.

“I don’t have to tell you anything. Get the fuck outta here before I call someone,” said the woman who lived just a few doors down the corner from Brevil.

“Come on, ma’am. My friend here prefers when people keep polite.”

The neighbor whimpered and profusely apologized. Frank was a very dead man. He tossed his backpack over his shoulder and exited the flat without closing the door. As discretely as he could manage, he tip-toed to the staircase a mere dozen paces away. One of the men shushed the neighbor. Brevil dirty snicker was suspended in mid-air. Footsteps advanced briskly down the corridor and were about to turn the corner. The scientist broke into a desperate run toward the staircase. They had heard him. He rushed down the steps as quickly as possible while his heart pumped frantically to save his life. He reached the lower level and was slammed against a wall. A tall hooded man with sunglasses was pressing a hand against his chest. Immediately, Brevil raised both his hands in submission, his head was trying to disappear between his bony shoulders.

“Dr. Brevil?” asked the man. His voice was deep and he did not sound American.

“No! I'm Frank Smith!” he replied as a last-ditch effort to save himself.

The bespectacled man leaned forward and his gloved hand closed around Frank’s neck to force him to fully expose his face. The doctor tensed but did not struggle. Dr. Brevil died inside when the man pulled a heavy book from his coat. That book, Frank would have recognized in a pile of a thousand volumes. For a single good reason: he had written it. On the back cover was a picture of his face when the few hairs crowning his bald head had still been black. When he still had some fat in his cheeks. The man held the picture next to Frank’s terrified face and the corners of his lips lifted slightly. Another man arrived, smaller, with olive skin and neck tattoos. Brevil’s first thought was that this one looked like he was part of a street gang.

“Why are you an ass to him? We fucking need his help,” he told his associate.

The tall man let go of Brevil’s neck.

“He tried to run away and I had to make sure it was him,” said the tall one without an ounce of remorse.

“Ok, let's move then. This place ain't safe for any of us.”

“What do you want from me?” asked Brevil but he already knew.

They wanted him dead. It had been the fate of all his colleagues after all. The men did not answer and dragged him outside the building and into an SUV parked there. Brevil did not attempt to escape. This was the end and he welcomed it. The yearlong run was finally over. So when the tall man sat next to him and removed his glasses and hood, Frank did not much care that he was a Strigoi. This was always how it was going to end.

"Dr. Brevil, this is Augustin Elizalde and you may address me as Quinlan," said the Strigoi.

The creatures did not usually speak and were not usually polite but it did not change anything. Monsters could be civilized as well.

"Give the man some food before he dies on us," said Augustin Elizalde as he drove away.

The Strigoi reached for a bag on the passenger seat and handed Frank bottled water and a wrapped sandwich. Real tomatoes stuck out from the white bread. Only the highest members of the Partnership had real fruits and vegetables. He had eaten scraps found there and there and rations for the past year and a half. Brevil stared at the food but did not dare take it.

The Strigoi raised a hairless brow at being kept waiting. Finally, he grabbed the scientist's hand and forced him to take the food. They drove for several hours during which Brevil savored every bite of that sandwich. He had to for this was obviously his last meal.

#mr. quinlan #quinlan #the strain #the strain fx #the strain fanfic #the strain fanfiction #quintus sertorius

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dragonprincess68 · 7 years

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Dragons RttE: Defenders of the Wing Part 2

Took me so long, but it’s finally finished. It’s also on my fanfiction.net account under dragonprincess68.

“But first Hiccup, I'll kill you myself,” Mala threatens. The cold blade touching Hiccup's neck. Astrid turns her head to see who's back is to her. Good, it's Hiccup. She reaches her hand around to grab his hand hitting his leg. He grabs her hand for that safe feeling that she was with him.

“But Mala, I gave you my word and I promised that I wasn't working for Viggo,” Hiccup panics. Time for Heather to give her sob story. Hiccup gives Heather a look for help, and she quickly understands what her job is.

“It's true! After finding out a plan of attack Viggo had for us my brother sacrificed himself to save us. Viggo's men killed my only family left. I want revenge because as much of a crazy loon my brother was he was the only family I had. Viggo tried killing Astrid with the Scourge of Odin, and several times tried to kill the rest of us,” Heather explains trying to persuade the queen.

“I won't change my mind! Hiccup Haddock will die for being a traitor!” Mala says growing more and more angry by the second.

“Mala, there's gotta be a way to fix this. There's gotta be a way to get the Eruptodon,” Hiccup pleads to Mala.

“No, because you're working with Viggo Grimborn and I refuse to have that here on my island!” Mala shouts trying to sound reasonable.

“Mala, Hiccup loves dragons. He always has. He trained Toothless and helped him to fly again. Please let us help you get the Eruptodon back,” Astrid begs.

“If I'm lying then you can kill me, but as long as you let the others go,” Hiccup bargains.

“Hiccup, don't say that!” Astrid gasps.

“I accept your deal,” Mala says putting her sword away.

“Hiccup, this means that you could die! Why would you make such a stupid decision?!” Astrid exclaims. Mala shoots her an icy glare.

“With this deal your friends must stay here. It will be only you, me, and Throck,” Mala says signaling for her men to take the others to a holding cell. Astrid turns around to Hiccup and grabs his face to kiss him gently on the lips. This gave everyone the question. Did Hiccup and Astrid just become a couple? It couldn't be the honey/ hatchet because she would always punch him, say “that's for what happened”, kiss him, and then end with “that's because of everything else”.

“Be safe. You better come back for us and most importantly come back alive,” she orders before a ninja looking guard grabs her dragging away to the holding cell. Their hands letting go reaching for each other one's hand once again. One guard keeping Astrid away from her love, and Throck keeping Hiccup away his love.

“Mala, wait. We need back up and the others are the best when it comes to fighting against Viggo,” Hiccup persuades.

“Fine. Bring the others back. They are no longer prisoners,” Mala calls out. The others walk back to where Hiccup and Mala stand in the cave. Astrid is a slight shade of pink.

“Alright, now that it's settled then let's mount up,” Hiccup says mounting Toothless. Mala has a look of uncertainty because the man she once felt was her friend, and enemy to the villainous Viggo Grimborn stood next to him.

“Mala,” Viggo greets her.

“Viggo,” she says looking at him disgustedly.

“Hiccup, thought about that contract yet?” Viggo asks.

“I have, and I made my decision. I'll sign it over my dead body,” Hiccup tells him coolly.

“That can always be arranged you know,” Viggo responds.

“You son of a-,” Heather starts to say.

“Heather, nice to see you. Alive,” Viggo says brushing her existence off to the side.

“You killed my brother, and all you have to say is nice to see you?! You really are a monster. I thought that for a second that you would have the decency to apologize for that! You have a brother and I doubt you would let him die even if it was your older brother. Well, put your self in my shoes vamr!” Heather shoots back.

“Temper, temper. You are beginning to sound a bit like Astrid with those anger issues,” Viggo tells her. A poor Gronkle lay outside the entrance to the volcano awaiting death to take him. Blood slowly dripping from his arm he licks his wound once and then going back to await death. Hiccup feels his heart break upon the sight. This couldn't be the same dragon that Hiccup had forced Dagur to train, could it? Well, it was more like a con instead of being forced to train the friendly Gronkle. Is this dragon Shattermaster?

“Is this who I think it is?” Hiccup asks Astrid knowing she snuck out with him.

“I don't know who you think this could be,” Astrid tells him.

“This Gronkle looks like Shattermaster,” he tells her.

“But that's impossible because both Shattermaster and Dagur died a month ago,” Astrid points out. It took what felt like forever for get Heather to leave her bed or the stables.

“I know, but I can't stop the feeling,” he says.

“Don't you move another step. You dare take my island's guardian, disrespect me and my people, and threaten Hiccup Haddock of Berk and his friends? I have been told that you've even tried killing them on several different occasions. Why must you do things like this?” Mala asks Viggo.

Hiccup looks at the green dragon with pity before stripping his armor off. The fighting continues inside of the volcano's cove. Astrid watches Hiccup rip the sleeves off his shirt and put his armor. Both sleeves next to the Gronkle. She sits down next to him and begins to tie the sleeves to the dragon's wound before his brush against hers. She looks at him as he ties the tourniquet one final time. He turns to see her bright blue eyes staring into his emerald green eyes. He leans forward to kiss her before the fighting becomes war sounding. The two run back inside in case Mala needed more back up.

“Just admit that-,” Mala orders before being shoved to the ground by Throck.

“And to think I was a traitor just like my brother. At least the worst Dagur ever did was threaten Ryker,” Heather scoffs. Mala scrambles to her feet once more blinking back tears because the man she had trusted was working for the person she hated the most. She pulls out her sword and points it to Viggo's neck before the dragons enter knocking out Viggo's men out.

“You will pay for hurting this dragon and kidnapping the Eruptodon!” Mala shouts before launching herself at Viggo.

“Dwelling on the past?” he says teasing her. Viggo teasing Mala? This isn't just strange it is also gross. Mala seems to pause before continuing to attempt ripping him to shreds.

“That was long ago Viggo!” she responds angrily.

“What if I said I want to change the past?” he asks testing the queen.

“Well you can't change the past. I wish I had never met you since we broke up!” she confesses before he knocks her sword from her hand. A smirk of victory appears on Viggo Grimborn's face. The entire group quiet and looking at her with both confusion and awe.

“Farewell Mala, my dear,” Viggo says leaving her with angry tears streaming down her face.

“I loved you,” she tells him.

“As did I, but things change. People change,” Viggo responds before disappearing through the cave's mouth of the cave. Mala collapses to her knees before bursting into tears with her sobs echoing off the walls. The riders remain still and silent except the looks they share with each other. Mala and Viggo dated? What was happening? How could anyone help her when they themselves were as confused as the twins when asked what the product of five and five was. Toothless walks over to the sobbing queen gingerly and rubs his nose against her arm.

“Oh, hello,” Mala whispers sadly.

“There has to be a way to save the Eruptodon before Viggo has it killed,” Heather says trying to encourage the group. Hiccup perks up with another idea coming into his mind.

Arrows fly into the mouth of the volcano due to Viggo letting it slip his mind that the others would have the nerve to follow. He sure was in a hurry to leave the island. Oh, yeah. The active volcano because the Eruptodon wasn't there to take care of that problem. Mala picks up her sword and points it towards Hiccup once more.

“We'll go rescue your dragon. Saddle up,” Hiccup announces getting up Toothless's back. Snotlout chuckles uneasily knowing that Hiccup's plan was stupid, dangerous, or both. Mala lowers her sword as she watches everyone mount their dragons and begins to worry for her life.

“Are you going to tell us your plan?” Astrid asks before a hunter's arrow flies past her ear.

“Later. Mala, I understand that you might not want to fly a dragon, but you're gonna have to mount Toothless so we can save the Eruptodon,” Hiccup tells her extending his hand to help her. Mala takes a deep breath before grabbing his hand and gingerly putting her arms around his torso. They take off and dodge the arrows by flying to the right and onto the wall like a bat. Toothless flies past Viggo's men knocking them down with his tail. A shot of lava type fire shoots the men down.

“Fishlegs?!” Hiccup asks whipping his head around to the husky blond boy.

“That wasn't me,” he responds. A nervous look on his face clearly meaning that he wasn't the one with the Gronkle that shot down the guards.

“Was that a rouge rider?” Heather asks from Stormfly.

“Who else could be a rouge rider? The rouge rider we knew turned out to be you,” Astrid tells Heather. She smiles reminiscing at the memory.

“I don't know, but they helped us get away,” Heather says.

“We gotta catch Viggo. Come on guys, faster,” Hiccup orders.

Everyone follows Hiccup, and becomes suspicious when they reach the clubhouse instead of Viggo's camp. Hiccup leaves for a good ten minutes before coming back with a new shirt and some papers with writing on it.

“What took you so long?” Astrid interrogates. She ignores the fact he also changed his shirt.

“I was thinking that we could just go there and find a way to sneak in. If we find that rouge rider then maybe he- or she could help us by distracting the guards. Otherwise we find a way in because I doubt it's as guarded as the Wing,” Hiccup declares.

“It could take days to track down a rouge rider. I should know, I was one,” Heather scoffs.

“Yeah, by then they could have sold the Eruptodon and Viggo could have caught the rouge rider and killed him,” Fishlegs agrees.

“That's why I have a Plan B. If I've learned anything from my dad, it's that you have at least a Plan B when going into battle,” Hiccup responds.

“We could use the back way. I've heard of men like him having an underground entrance like the Outcasts, but Viggo had that sealed the underground entrance for his island off years ago,” Mala reveals nonchalantly.

“What did happen between you and Viggo?” Ruffnut asks.

“Yeah. I'm confused about the whole 'I loved you' and 'As did I' thing that happened,” Tuffnut agrees remembering what happened just a half hour earlier.

“When Viggo and I were around 16 we dated. Our relationship lasted about five years. We broke up because I found out he was torturing dragons and in some cases selling them. He knew how much I have loved dragons, but he betrayed me. He used me and the knowledge I had of where all the dragons were. We were in love until I found out that he was moving because his father was in need of more demand. He even clarified and thanked me for helping them find. After that I tried to be more careful with whom I trust. If you look at Throck then you can understand why I say 'tried'. Anyway, we broke up, and it's been a bitter break up, not to mention whatever it is we are now, since. I guess it's more of a feud since that day,” Mala explains. Pain can be seen in her eyes, and the clubhouse is silent.

“So I guess we can safely say that we all hate Viggo for a lot of things. Killing Dagur, being in an unfaithful relationship with you, abducting the Eruptodon, and trying to kill almost everyone in this clubhouse,” Heather says with the same feeling she had when she read the note Dagur had put on her bed. This time she fights back the tears.

“The only way we can justify what has happened to us is by stopping him once and for all. Is everyone ready to mount up?” Hiccup asks.

“Hiccup's right. Viggo has to be stopped. I don't know what will happen if we don't, and I'm not risking Stormfly or anyone else and their dragons because of this,” Astrid confesses to the group. .

After at least an hour of flying, but what felt like forever they reach Viggo's camp. Hiccup goes over to Astrid because there was a strange feeling that someone was spying on the group. Last thing he wanted was for them to take the ones he loved the most away from him. The last thing he wanted was to have Viggo torture Astrid or Toothless because of him, and something deep down told him that's what Viggo had planned. It had to be the reason. Suddenly ropes are flung around the both and they are tied together with their noses touching. Both of them turn a slight shade of pink.

“This is a bit awkward,” Hiccup whispers.

“Very awkward,” Astrid agrees.

“Oh look at this big brother, we caught two with one bolas,” Viggo says coming out from hiding. Ryker chuckles evilly. Viggo holds the weapon on his shoulder victoriously.

“And it's the only couple there is here. Must be awkward,” Ryker responds chuckling.

“WE AREN'T A COUPLE!” Hiccup and Astrid enunciate at the same time. Suddenly that's all Hiccup realizes staring into her ocean blue eyes. She feels the adorning gaze of the boy she grew up with on her. She looks back noticing how his green eyes shine like emeralds.

“Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup. Why deny it? I saw that look in your eyes after I asked if her leg was okay yesterday,” Viggo taunts allowing Ryker to untie the two. The both of them are then tied up separately before there is a sudden “emergency” that Viggo and his men must attend. Hiccup escapes his ropes and begins to help the others out. Unfortunately the ropes are tied tightly so he is unsuccessful in doing so. It was like Viggo had planned this as a trap in order to get what he wanted. A few of Viggo's men are sent back to prisoner watch.

“That was way too easy. These ropes are impossible to undo so why was I able to escape?” Hiccup ponders out loud.

“Hiccup, just go. Save the dragons then at least you have help, and if you send terror mail then you can get help from Gustav and everyone else,” Astrid urges.

“No, I am not leaving without you,” he says.

“Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third! You are to do as I say, and go get help!” Astrid orders. Everyone stares at the blonde because not even Stoick the Vast had called him by his full name when he was in trouble before Vikings and dragons became friends. Hiccup stops because it catches him by surprise. Sure, they grew up as neighbors knowing each other their whole lives. He never expected to hear her say his name like that. He looks into her eyes trying to ignore the sense of urgency that her eyes gave him. That pleading look. Finally he can't stand it anymore. The shadows of the guards appear as if they were right around the corner.

“I'll be back! I promise!” Hiccup promises before running off. Astrid sighs with the feeling deep down that something bad was going to happen to Hiccup. One of the guards pause.

“There are only seven here! Where did the eighth one go?” he asks.

“It was all part of Viggo's plan,” another guard reminds him.

“What do you mean Viggo's plan?” Astrid demands whipping her head around to see the ugly brutes Viggo had hired to be guards.

“Viggo has a plan to get a good deal for the Night Fury, and revenge on the boy for the destruction he's caused. Why else would the ropes be tied loosely?” Guard 2 answers.

“No!” Astrid gasps suddenly feeling like she can't breath. The lump in her throat prevents her from saying anything else. No amount of blinking can stop the tears from falling down her face like a waterfall. She turns her face from everyone so she doesn't get pity from everyone in the group. The tears are coming down like a waterfall, and crying in front of everyone, especially Hiccup was the worst thing she could do.

Hiccup walks down a path looking around for the dragons when he hears the familiar roar belonging to his Night Fury. It sounded like he was in pain. He runs to the cage, but upon reaching it a searing pain goes up his left leg. He falls to the ground in pain clutching his leg right above his prosthetic foot. The pain makes him feel dizzy, but his dragon was his top priority.

“I'm fine Bud,” he says trying to get up. Suddenly a strong man pins him down with some sort of weapon in hand. He tries to fight back, but it's pretty much useless because it's obvious he's losing. Toothless bursts out of the cage after cutting the muzzle off with a simple swift of the paw. The stranger fighting the boy pauses for a second after watching the Night Fury plasma blast the cage door into many pieces. Toothless knocks the man down and readies to fire another plasma blast.

“Night Fury? Wait a second, Toothless? That must mean the traitor is- Hiccup?” the man asks removing his helmet to reveal- Alvin the Treacherous?

“A- Alvin?” Hiccup responds weakly. Suddenly a dozen of Viggo's men run from around the corner to see Hiccup barely standing next to Toothless with a busted cage door in pieces scattered in front of them. Three attack the Night Fury, eight drag Alvin away, and the remaining one rips Hiccup apart from his dragon. Hiccup tries to fight back earning a punch to the stomach and a black eye before the guard drags him back to the others.

Upon approaching the others Astrid is trying to remain calm by pacing around.

“I thought you didn't like it when people paced the room,” Fishlegs observes.

“I don't. I- oh my Thor, I'm pacing. I guess I'm just worried about Hiccup. It's been an hour, and it shouldn't take Hiccup very long to find Toothless and the other dragons,” Astrid says beginning to panic. Heather walks over to her friend.

“I'm sure he's fine. He's beat the Outcasts, and Viggo many times before,” Heather reminds Astrid. Fishlegs shakes his head.

“He's also survived being attacked by dragons, and a lightning bolt to the head,” Fishlegs pipes in hoping what he said would help.

“A lightning bolt to the head? Sounds like there is more to him then meets the eye,” Mala says thoughtfully before noticing Hiccup and the guard. Not a dragon in sight. Her heart falls. Hiccup had failed his mission, and worst of all was caught.

Hiccup is shoved into the cage, and the others continue to argue not realizing what was going on. Hiccup goes over to Astrid hugging her from behind. His hands around her torso. She gasps, and the others become quiet. She becomes terrified worried it was Viggo or some other prisoner he caught, like the rouge rider.

“It's okay, it's me. I think Viggo had this planned because Toothless and I met up with someone who looked like Alvin, and a dozen other guards. I lost the fight against the one against me,” he confesses to her.

“Are you okay though?” she asks turning around. Worry fills her eyes when she sees what happened to him.

“I'm fine,” he says.

“It's obvious that you aren't. I shouldn't have made you go,” Astrid says regretting her choice to make Hiccup go alone.

“Well it was done,” he says sitting against the wall in defeat.

“Hey, come quick. Out of the cage before the next guards come back,” a rough voice orders holding the cage door open.

“How do we know this isn't a trap?” Heather asks.

“Go to the right, take two lefts, continue straight until you reach an area with five different tunnels. Take the third one smack in the middle, then it's another right, then finally a left. That's where the dragons are. Get there quick because they're about to be shipped to some guy that turns dragons into clothes, boots, and bags. I wouldn't hesitate Heather,” the man holding the cage door open says.

“How do you know my name?” she demands.

“Who else do ye know who's treacherous?” he answers back.

“Alvin? How can we trust him if it's Alvin? He tried killing me and my adopted parents!” she reminds the group.

“Alvin turned good. Few years ago,” Snotlout says following Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs out of the prison.

“Where is the Eruptodon?” Mala asks.

“There's a dragon name I haven't heard. Probably with the other dragons. There are a total of two dozen dragons ready to be shipped, at least ten or eleven dragon species. At least three baby dragons,” Alvin tells her. That's all she needs to hear before leaving with the others.

“I will kill you if it's another trap Viggo set up. He's already on my to kill list after what happened to Dagur,” she threatens.

“Why do ye care what happened to that lunatic?” Alvin asks following her.

“He was my brother. Viggo planted a trap and killed him during a surprise attack,” she tells him.

“Oh,” is all Alvin can say. Dagur never did seem like the kind of man who would save his sister risking his life in the process.

Within five minutes they are at the cages waiting to be put on a dock. Ships begin coming in.

“I can't be seen so I'm going back. You need to unlock every cage if you don't want the newest fashion to be dragon scale boots,” Alvin says walking back into the cave.

“We have about five minutes before they begin loading, ten at the most. Let's begin releasing the dragons by getting ours first,” Hiccup declares unlocking Stormfly's cage, then Toothless's.

“The Great Protector is here!” Mala gasps unlocking the Eruptodon from his tiny cage. By the time the dealer and guards turn there is not a dragon to be seen. The rouge rider had watched the eight unlock and release all 24 dragons, and laughs to himself upon seeing the faces of the gaping men.

The riders get back to the Edge quickly and safely.

“Let's rest before we start working on any battle plans. Last thing I want is to plan something to get one of us hurt or killed,” Hiccup says.

“Where will Mala sleep? I'm sure she could use some tips on how to fly a dragon, we can get he a dragon, and if she wanted to she could help us end the reign of terror Viggo has planned for us. You especially,” Fishlegs points out.

“Fishlegs, if you want to show her to your hut you can bunk with me and Toothless,” Hiccup suggests looking over at the queen making sure it was okay with her.

“No thank you. I want to sleep by Great Protector just to make sure he isn't taken again,” Mala informs Hiccup holding the small dragon in her arms.

“Alright. We can all meet here an hour after sunrise,” he says. The group agrees and Fishlegs shows Mala to where the stables were so she could be rest assured that the Eruptodon and her would be safe. No one had the energy to even think about dinner all they wanted was sleep.

Astrid notices from the doorway something was wrong. It was very rare where Hiccup was captured, and he always got away with Toothless unless the plan was not to bring Toothless or the other dragons back.

He walks past her rubbing his eyes before remembering what happened. He winces in pain.

“Come with me, and I'll help you with your eye,” she offers. He gives her his lopsided, dorky smile that she always loved about him.

They walk to were Heather and her resided while Heather's new home was being worked on.

“This doesn't make sense,” Heather announces not noticing Hiccup behind Astrid.

“What doesn't make sense?” she asks grabbing the first aid kit out of the trunk in front of her bed. She sits across from Hiccup grabbing the stuff to help heal the nasty bruise he received only a couple of hours earlier.

“Hey Hiccup. I told you about the letter I got from Dagur before he died. Right?” Heather asks.

“Yeah. He told you he didn't actually kill your dad,” Astrid responds.

“It says 'Thanks for remembering your brother, and not letting Viggo get away with this. We'll meet again soon'. What does that mean? I swear, it's even in Dagur's handwriting” Heather explains.

“Could be part two of his last letter,” Hiccup suggests before wincing in pain at the Neosporin type medicine being put on his eye.

“Hold still,” Astrid orders.

“I thought about that. However, if is was part two then why would it say 'We'll meet again soon'? Last thing Dagur wanted was to let me get hurt or killed. I swear he told you he didn't want me to mess with Viggo in case I got hurt or something. He even told Ryker that if he hurt me then he'd run Ryker though and wear his rib cage as his armor. He said it right after I started working as a spy,” Heather remembers.

“I'm done,” Astrid announces.

“Thanks for taking care of me, m'lady,” he responds forgetting Heather was still in the room.

“M'lady? How long have you been calling her that?” Heather interrogates. Both back away from each other and stare at the raven haired girl.

“What?” Hiccup asks pretending he didn't hear her.

“Astrid?” she presses on forgetting the second letter in Dagur's handwriting.

“First time that he's said it,” she lies. Heather cocks her head to the side suspiciously before lying down on her bed.

“Well then. Goodnight Heather,” he says leading Astrid outside.

“Hiccup, what are you-,” she begins to ask before she is cut off by him gently kissing her.

“I thought that something bad would happen in one of Viggo's insane plans,” Hiccup explains.

“I was worried about you after you left. I began pacing without even realizing it. I know that I shouldn't have worried and how much I hate it, but I did worry about you. It was like the time I got the Scourge of Odin, and that entire morning you spent worried about me,” she tells him.

He gives her that same dorky grin once again before hugging her. Little do they know Heather had crept out of her bed to watch the two lovebirds. She knew that they were lying every time they said they were just friends. Hiccup kiss Astrid once more.

“Goodnight m'lady,” he tells her.

“Goodnight dork,” she says walking back inside.

The next morning everyone meets at the clubhouse an hour after sunrise. Heather makes breakfast and everyone eats in silence.

“I misjudged you Hiccup Haddock once again. I want to apologize for accusing you yesterday of being a traitor. I also didn't get a chance to thank you for helping save the Great Protector. Viggo now has a bounty for you, I hope you know,” Mala says breaking the silence.

“I know. We now need to find a way to stop Viggo from doing what he's doing. End his reign of terror and save every dragon he's killed,” Hiccup responds walking over to review battle plan.

“This will be dangerous no matter what,” Astrid reminds him.

“I know,” he sighs.

“We all know the consequences, and I think we're willing to do whatever it takes,” Heather informs him. They review plans rather quickly for the second time in only twelve hours.

“Well now that we know the plan let's saddle up,” Hiccup announces. Everyone begins to leave, and Hiccup takes one last look at the plans. Just before he can leave Astrid stops him.

“Wait. Just in case Viggo takes this too far, I'm sure he knows about our screwed up relationship that we have, but I wanted to take the time to tell you that- I hope this isn't the last time I can tell you this, but I wanted to tell you I love you. I wanted to tell you last night, but you left before I could,” Astrid says before looking at Hiccup.

“What? Astrid, you know we'll both get through this alive,” Hiccup tells her.

“Viggo is a ruthless man who will stop at nothing. You know this because he hasn't stopped trying to kill you for Thor's sake!” Astrid argues.

“Because I love you I am going to promise that nothing will hurt us,” Hiccup promises her before mounting Toothless. They fly to back to Viggo's base. This time Astrid's A-Team join them as well as Stoick the Vast and Gobber the Belch.

“In the very near future, the dragon riders will be but a distant memory. We will train harder so that whenever he does get captured or comes up with a plan we can continue to be a step ahead of him. We can get him where we want him by taking out the Night Fury or his girlfriend, Astrid. Either way, he has a bounty on his head and the day he has it taken off his head is the day he is dead,” Viggo Grimborn announces to his men.

Once again this makes the rouge rider laugh to himself.

“Try again Viggo. Brother Hiccup and my sister Heather are stronger than you think,” he says quietly. He was surprised Viggo hadn't noticed him spying by now. Taking Shattermaster they hide knowing Hiccup was on his way. Part of him wanted to join him so he could protect his sister. He never thought though how long he'd be the rouge rider, but it was the only way to help Hiccup defeat Viggo, and protect his sister. For now this was how things had to be.

#dragonprincess68 #so hype for the new season #dagur is alive #httyd #dragons race to the edge #my latest fanfic

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