#IPBES
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Sir Patrick Vallance is the UK government’s chief scientific adviser
The relationship between humans and nature is under intense and increasing strain. The report released today by Ipbes, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (akin to the IPCC reports on climate change), provides compelling evidence that humans are overexploiting wild species and habitats. Harmful activities, including habitat destruction, poor farming practices and pollution, have altered ecosystems significantly, driving many species past the point of recovery. In Great Britain alone, of the 8,431 species assessed in the 2019 State of Nature report, 1,188 are threatened with extinction. Globally, there are an estimated one million at risk, with biodiversity declining at a faster rate than at any time in human history.
We cannot ignore biodiversity loss. Biodiversity is the variability that exists among all living organisms, between different species, within species including genetic makeup, and in wider ecosystems. Billions of people rely on wild species for food, clean water, energy, income and health and wellbeing. Annually, crops worth up to £480bn are pollinated by a variety of wild animals, and an estimated 4 billion people depend on natural medicines for their healthcare. These vital ecosystem services are fundamentally based on a healthy environment, and this requires biodiversity. Losing biodiversity leaves species and ecosystems less resilient to challenges such as invasive species or pests, meaning there is an increased risk of whole populations being wiped out and destabilising the entire ecological network. Nature is a finite resource, and human self-interest alone should determine that biodiversity must be protected.
Alongside overexploitation, humans are driving biodiversity loss by destroying, polluting and fragmenting habitats across the globe. Many of the UK’s important peatlands, which provide a home for rare species such as the hen harrier, have been drained for agricultural use. The Amazon rainforest is being cleared to such an extent that it may be near a tipping point beyond which it cannot recover.
The climate crisis is exacerbating the issue. Many species simply cannot adapt to the scale and pace of changing temperatures. For example, warming seas and ocean acidification are devastating coral reefs around the world. This year, the Great Barrier Reef suffered its sixth mass bleaching event since 1998 with more than 90% of reefs affected. In many cases, when an ecosystem loses biodiversity, it becomes less able to store carbon, contributing to further climate change. We have a vicious cycle: climate change leads to biodiversity losses, which in turn leads to further climate change. As governments around the world develop plans to reduce carbon emissions and conserve biodiversity, the message isthe message is simple: we must solve both problems together.
What can be done? Just as science has diagnosed the problem, it can provide solutions. Using strong evidence, such as this Ipbes report, governments can develop effective policy. Integrated and collaborative planning can deliver sustainable solutions which address climate change and biodiversity loss simultaneously, protecting and enriching human lives.
In southern India, scientists, Indigenous communities and local government have worked collaboratively to protect and restore mangrove forests. The trees’ interconnecting large-root systems offer protection against rising sea levels, provide habitats for fish and crustaceans, and clean surrounding water. The trees also draw and store carbon from the atmosphere and encourage carbon-rich sediment deposits. The increase in wildlife has benefited small scale fisheries and tourism. Innovative and effective nature-based initiatives such as these could be implemented throughout different landscapes across the planet.
There are also simple day-to-day things we can do to benefit our environment; for instance, reducing food waste. Currently about 30% of all food produced globally goes uneaten, meaning a significant proportion of the resources, and importantly the land used to grow, process, pack and transport it, is wasted and less able to support biodiversity.
Political will and leadership are needed, and the 15th UN Convention on Biological Diversity conference in December, CBD Cop15, provides the next critical opportunity for governments to commit to real ambitious change.
CBD Cop15 could deliver landmark action and be as important for biodiversity as the Paris Agreement is proving for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will set the direction for the next decade of international action and beyond. Governments should agree to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, and develop evidence-based, actionable plans to do so. An important challenge is to define a reliable and simple integrated metric, like carbon emissions have been used for climate goals. At the end of June, negotiators met in Nairobi for their latest attempt to agree the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and while progress was made, it did not go far enough.
The last decade’s targets were not met; the next decade’s must be. Credible delivery plans will be required, and we need a robust mechanism for monitoring progress and holding ourselves to account. CBD Cop15 is the time to finalise the framework, and countries must come to the table prepared to make and support ambitious commitments. This is our chance to secure long-lasting agreements to protect our planet.
#biodiversity loss#overexploitation#tipping points#climate change#amazon rainforest#fishing#agriculture#ipbes#great barrier reef
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By Patrick Vallance
The Guardian
July 8, 2022
The relationship between humans and nature is under intense and increasing strain. The report released today by IPBES, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (akin to the IPCC reports on climate change), provides compelling evidence that humans are overexploiting wild species and habitats. Harmful activities, including habitat destruction, poor farming practices and pollution, have altered ecosystems significantly, driving many species past the point of recovery. In Great Britain alone, of the 8,431 species assessed in the 2019 State of Nature report, 1,188 are threatened with extinction. Globally, there are an estimated one million at risk, with biodiversity declining at a faster rate than at any time in human history.
We cannot ignore biodiversity loss. Biodiversity is the variability that exists among all living organisms, between different species, within species including genetic makeup, and in wider ecosystems. Billions of people rely on wild species for food, clean water, energy, income and health and wellbeing. Annually, crops worth up to £480bn are pollinated by a variety of wild animals, and an estimated 4 billion people depend on natural medicines for their healthcare. These vital ecosystem services are fundamentally based on a healthy environment, and this requires biodiversity. Losing biodiversity leaves species and ecosystems less resilient to challenges such as invasive species or pests, meaning there is an increased risk of whole populations being wiped out and destabilising the entire ecological network. Nature is a finite resource, and human self-interest alone should determine that biodiversity must be protected.
Alongside overexploitation, humans are driving biodiversity loss by destroying, polluting and fragmenting habitats across the globe. Many of the UK’s important peatlands, which provide a home for rare species such as the hen harrier, have been drained for agricultural use. The Amazon rainforest is being cleared to such an extent that it may be near a tipping point beyond which it cannot recover.
Nature is a finite resource, and human self-interest alone should determine that biodiversity must be protected.
The climate crisis is exacerbating the issue. Many species simply cannot adapt to the scale and pace of changing temperatures. For example, warming seas and ocean acidification are devastating coral reefs around the world. This year, the Great Barrier Reef suffered its sixth mass bleaching event since 1998 with more than 90% of reefs affected. In many cases, when an ecosystem loses biodiversity, it becomes less able to store carbon, contributing to further climate change. We have a vicious cycle: climate change leads to biodiversity losses, which in turn leads to further climate change. As governments around the world develop plans to reduce carbon emissions and conserve biodiversity, the message is simple: we must solve both problems together.
What can be done? Just as science has diagnosed the problem, it can provide solutions. Using strong evidence, such as this Ipbes report, governments can develop effective policy. Integrated and collaborative planning can deliver sustainable solutions which address climate change and biodiversity loss simultaneously, protecting and enriching human lives.
In southern India, scientists, Indigenous communities and local government have worked collaboratively to protect and restore mangrove forests. The trees’ interconnecting large-root systems offer protection against rising sea levels, provide habitats for fish and crustaceans, and clean surrounding water. The trees also draw and store carbon from the atmosphere and encourage carbon-rich sediment deposits. The increase in wildlife has benefited small scale fisheries and tourism. Innovative and effective nature-based initiatives such as these could be implemented throughout different landscapes across the planet.
There are also simple day-to-day things we can do to benefit our environment; for instance, reducing food waste. Currently about 30% of all food produced globally goes uneaten, meaning a significant proportion of the resources, and importantly the land used to grow, process, pack and transport it, is wasted and less able to support biodiversity.
Political will and leadership are needed, and the 15th UN Convention on Biological Diversity conference in December, CBD Cop15, provides the next critical opportunity for governments to commit to real ambitious change.
CBD Cop15 could deliver landmark action and be as important for biodiversity as the Paris Agreement is proving for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will set the direction for the next decade of international action and beyond. Governments should agree to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, and develop evidence-based, actionable plans to do so. An important challenge is to define a reliable and simple integrated metric, like carbon emissions have been used for climate goals. At the end of June, negotiators met in Nairobi for their latest attempt to agree the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and while progress was made, it did not go far enough.
The last decade’s targets were not met; the next decade’s must be. Credible delivery plans will be required, and we need a robust mechanism for monitoring progress and holding ourselves to account. CBD Cop15 is the time to finalise the framework, and countries must come to the table prepared to make and support ambitious commitments. This is our chance to secure long-lasting agreements to protect our planet.
Sir Patrick Vallance is the UK government’s chief scientific adviser
#biodiversity#endangered species#endangered habitats#intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc)#climate crisis#ecosystem degradation#biosphere#earth#IPBES
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Check out a few facts about pollinators!
The Pollinators are responsible for much more than food-crops. From biofuels to medicines, we rely on pollinators in much of our daily lives.
Few facts about pollinators. IPBES Pollination Assessment.
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Unlocking the enigmatic language of biodiversity.
Peatlands, Marshes, Swamps,Sloughs, Fens, Bogs, Wet Meadows... are some of the names often used to describe #wetlands But what is a wetland according to IPBES.
#Peatlands#Marshes#Swamps#Sloughs#Fens#Bogs#Wet Meadows#wetlands#wetlandrestoration#wetlands and human well being#IPBES#ForNature#biodiversity#fres
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IPBES: Bedrohung durch invasive Arten wird unterschätzt
IPBES: Bedrohung durch invasive Arten wird unterschätzt | #IPBES #Bedrohung #Arten #Invasiv
Die globale Bedrohung durch invasive gebietsfremde Arten wird in vielen Teilen der Welt offenbar unterschätzt, unterbewertet und oft nicht wahrgenommen. Das geht aus einem neuen Bericht des Weltbiodiversitätsrats (IPBES) hervor, der am Montag in Bonn vorgestellt wurde. Demnach stellen invasive gebietsfremde Arten weltweit eine große Bedrohung für die Natur, die Wirtschaft, die…
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IPBES: Bedrohung durch invasive Arten wird unterschätzt
IPBES: Bedrohung durch invasive Arten wird unterschätzt | #IPBES #Bedrohung #Arten #Invasiv
Die globale Bedrohung durch invasive gebietsfremde Arten wird in vielen Teilen der Welt offenbar unterschätzt, unterbewertet und oft nicht wahrgenommen. Das geht aus einem neuen Bericht des Weltbiodiversitätsrats (IPBES) hervor, der am Montag in Bonn vorgestellt wurde. Demnach stellen invasive gebietsfremde Arten weltweit eine große Bedrohung für die Natur, die Wirtschaft, die…
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que son los servicios ecosistémicos y los procesos ecosistemicos
Que son los servicios ecosistémicos y los procesos ecosistémicos
Los servicios ecosistémicos son los bienes y servicios que la naturaleza proporciona a la humanidad, como el aire fresco, el agua potable, la polinización de cultivos, la protección contra inundaciones y la biodiversidad. Estos servicios son vitales para la vida humana y el bienestar económico.
Cuales son los servicios…
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sakhui hierarchy of needs
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I’ve read first two books and skimmed through the fourth(didn’t touch third). I thought there were five? Boy I was wrong.. I like Raahosh the most between every character I’ve been introduced so far. Lone wolf with a heart of gold <3
I didn’t really pay much attention on their faces. Ridges on the nose, big, blue and horned. Thats all I need to know. But I will be honest the weird three fingered alien feet grossed me out a bit. Like. I’m perfectly fine with tails and horns but the weird feet? Oh hell nah.
Im %99 sure he doesn’t actually have any scars on his lip or nose because if he had liz probably would be waxing poetic about it and like trying to grind on it or something. I don’t really care. I like lip scars.
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i am 12 books into the ice plant barbarians series and I still eat up every single book it never gets old and I never dislike anything in the books and idk what that says about me as a person
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Vektal every time he sends the unmated males to save the new women and one of them inevitably kidnaps one of the poor girls
#ice planet barbarians#ipb#Vektal#Hes so shocked every time#When will he learn#Im at the part where theyre about to retrieve the two sisters and I know whats about to happen
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Ice Planet Freaks - Ice Planet Barbarians fic.
NSFW, MDNI -
Reader x OC Sa-Kuhi (alien man)
The floor is freezing, your head spinning with confusion and wooziness. There’s a foul smell in the air but your senses are returning to you slowly. Your mind as fogged as it is though, knows that something is wrong. And not just because there’s several enormous, blue-gray men standing across from you.
+
“He’s the leader, he’s the one insisting on us taking this parasite.” One of the girls growls. You can’t bother to remember any of their names, not when the reality of aliens had just been dropped on you. Worse, the fact that you’d been abducted by a completely different race of aliens than the ones who were now trying to help you.
You were still hoping to wake up from this nightmare.
The beast fell with a massive, not-earth shaking rumble and the others bring you with them, surrounding the thing while the alien leader and his woman go about pulling parts out of the beast.
You feel your face pale when the return from the depths of the thing with a long, writhing rope-like thing. It would resemble a snake, if it weren’t for it’s lack of face and the thinness of it.
Words are exchanged, and the woman - Georgie, you remember just as the leader slices into her neck - is visibly uneasy, but when she looks to the leader, she seems put at ease.
The worm-thing slides into her neck, burrowing down and in until she collapses, the big leader catching her before she can fall.
Your legs quiver, vision going hazy for a moment, your mouth going dry and stomach churning - then you’re gone.
+
“Drink this.” A voice murmurs, but you can’t see who it is. It’s one of the women from the group, you can tell that much from her soft tone and the fact you can understand her.
Something presses to your lips, warm and utterly delicious. You drink the entirety of it in only a few short moments.
“More-” You pant, suddenly ravenous. Your head is much clearer than it was when you were freezing outside before, like a fog has been lifted and you’ve finally been granted access to your own mind again.
Something is said in a guttural, uneven accent and for a moment you almost think you can make out the words of it.
“She can’t-” the woman’s voice protests.
“Make her.” The voice- undoubtedly male and annoyed states.
Your eyes crack open, and there’s only the dim glow of torchlight keeping the woman’s face lit. She’s one of the others, the ones who’d broken you out of the tube you’d been stored in, but she’s different somehow.
“Welcome to your new home.” She says, with an uneasy, apologetic smile.
Your eyes flash over the room, and land on the giant blue man leaning on the wall opposite you.
Your mind spins, the whole room going with it, and you have to lean back down on the warm bed to regain your ability to think.
It hadn’t been a dream. It was real - is real and you’re currently on a world that isn’t earth but also inhabited by aliens…
You want to scream but all if it seems just like your kind of luck.
“Can I at least know if there’s alcohol here?”
The girl laughs, and the man stiffens, pushing away from the wall.
“She’s asking about ahh… Kolcharr-” She makes a motion with her hands like drinking.
“If that’s what she wants I will gladly provide-”
“Who are you, anyway?” You spit the words like an accusation. He’s trying to be nice but something about his presence in your seemingly private quarters annoys you.
“Your Resonance, human.”
“Tarvir, give us a few moments for me to explain.” The woman requests, holding out a hand to him as he approaches.
He takes a long, slow look at you in the bed before nodding, and walking out the hide-door.
+
She’s human. I’ve waited a century for my mate to be a human woman with no horns or tail or-
No, I cannot be ungrateful when there’s other males who would kill for an opportunity to have a mate. Even if she is angry and withdrawn and unnerving.
“Tarvir!” Vektal calls, motioning me over to the wide landing where we share feasts when a hunter returns with a large prize.
I fear what he may say to me, as strange as it is. On top of it, leaving my Resonance behind feels worse than any physical pain I’ve had in a long time. I touch the scarred flesh at my ribs from my encounter with the snowcats.
Perhaps she is more dangerous than a snowcat, and my body is telling me to avoid her. Yet still, my resonance hums deep inside me.
“The humans have rules. You must give her time to gain her strength back before-” Vektal’s voice is low, his eyes scanning the small crowd that is our tribe below. They’ve taken to showing the humans our cave, pride shining in every word.
“Her Kuhi resonates as well. She is mine, Vektal…” The words sound strange coming out, choked and tearful when I should be happy. Something deep inside me wells with despair and a fear that I do not understand though.
Vektal puts a muscled hand on my shoulder and squeezes, a reassuring gesture. My tail can’t help but rise with renewed hope in his confidence. “The Humans are weak,I know your fears. But with the Kuhi now a part of them, they will be alright. You will live a long, happy life with your mate, Tarvir.” He says, and i can see the knowledge of the words in his face. His mate, his Georgie has changed him, and I can only hope my own mate greets me with such enthusiasm as Georgie did for him.
His words feel reassuring, and I cannot explain the leaping in my chest when his eyes go over my shoulder. It’s fear and excitement together, a strange mix of emotion I’ve never felt aside from when my mate is near.
And of course, when I turn around she is squinting with her strange flat face into the cave, down at the glowing pools and my people and hers below. I watch her and watch, my chest thrumming with anticipation of what her reaction will be.
Her eyes dart about, from the open roof of the cave that gives us light from our sky, to the carved walls and hide doors. Her eyes are strange, filled with white still even after accepting the Kuhi, but I can learn to love them. I can learn to love all of her, should she let me. Vektal is right, they need to be given the choice, but if her Kuhi does respond.. How is that anything but acceptance?
My chest thrumming, I begin walking towards my mate and the other human female. Her head snaps in my direction, as wild and untamed as a snowcat as she eyes me.
Then, she pushes off the half-wall overlooking my people below, and vomits on the floor.
I rush to her, already calling for our healer. Has she eaten something poisonous? Surely the Kuhi had healed her of any of her human sicknesses by now. It made no sense, she should be as strong and capable as any of us with the Kuhi in her.
“Tarvir?” She pants when I’m lifting her from the ground. She is light as a Kit in my arms, and her soft skin makes my cock harden. I put away the impulsive thought, she is cleaelry sick and needs tending to.
“I am here my Resonance.” I reassure her, hope filling my chest. She’s able to speak, that is good. If only she would stop being so confused about things. I stop my ungrateful thinking. Vektal had said they are unknowledgeable and as helpless as even the youngest Kits, I must keep that in mind when caring for my mate.
It will be a challenge, especially for one as impatient as I can be. I will learn, and make myself a better mate for her, though.
+
His skin is supple, the corded muscle beneath the silken skin a delectable contrast to what one would expect. A rumbling in your ears nearly drowns out his cooing words as he chatters to you. He’s huge, and carries you like a child’s stuffed animal, but with utmost care.
He’s tall and built like a house, not lithe like Vektal, a bit thicker in the chest and his face was less angular. He was what you’d think a lumberjack version of these guys probably was, a huntsman of sorts.
Great, you’d scored the burly version of their people. You couldn’t have gotten the supermodel one, like Georgie had?
“This is real.” You’d been repeating it, over and over again since Tarvir had guided you inside the room, one you now recognized was likely his. You were his mate, after all. That’s what one of the girls had told you, and though you wanted to deny it, there was no other reason you could think of to explain the humming in your chest.
“It’s to make the best offspring, I’d guess.” She supplied with an uneasy smile.
So, you were expected to make an alien-baby with the guy who’d brought you here, who’d insisted upon being your mate… But you couldn’t exactly blame him. You doubted he had much of a say in the matter either. And looking at him, you were glad that he was at least in one piece, unlike the one that had stolen Liz away.
And Tarvir hadn’t stolen you away, that was also a good point to be made towards his character.
Names and information were slowly coming back to you now, like your dream-state had still absorbed all the information around you while you were in the tube.
“So what do you want from me?” You ask the blue man, crossing your arms over your chest. Your head is still dizzy but at least while sitting you can catch your breath somewhat.
His large brow scrunches together, his head cocking to one side like a dog. It’s charming on him, and it makes the corner of your lip curl in an almost smile.
“Want?” He repeats, leaning in towards you. He’s close enough that you can feel the heat radiating from him, and the furs suddenly feel much to warm on you, but it’s a comfort you’d been lacking for the time you’d been in the ship. You clutch them tighter around yourself.
You try again, the language barrier clearly at play in this conversation. “Why.. why me?” The words are barely a whisper when you say them, and you can feel your cheeks heat with the way the question sounded so juvenile.
His hands frame your face, forcing you to look into his magnificently blue eyes. Your heart thunders, the blood rushing in your ears almost too loud for you to hear him. Only, it’s not just blood, its the Cootie that’s also humming now. The throbbing of it reaching from your chest to your groin in a drumbeat of horniness.
His breath is sweet as he speaks, entrancing you further. “I want you. Only you. I want whatever you will allow me to have, whatever your own wants are will become mine, and we will live happily together. Whatever it is I want, it is only because you wish for it as well.”
Your heart soars, the rumbling in your chest spiking. Your breath is shallow and uneven as you fight the urge to grab on to his horns and pull him in for a demanding kiss. It’s just the cootie, that’s all that’s making you feel this way.
But his words… You groan and lean back in the bed, freezing in place when he slides in beside you. It’s not like you can kick him out after he’d just said something sweeter than any human had ever said.
“My Resonance, whatever your wants are will be mine, I promise. So if you wish to lay here, I will do the same. Until you ask me to leave, I will always be here.” He places a hand on your chest, and it’s a weight you can’t describe as anything but needed.
His presence alone is already so comforting, is it because of this thing inside you now or because you truly are already falling for him? How couldn’t a girl, when their man spoke like a freaking shakespeare play?
“This is real.” You breathe, and look over to him.
He’s staring at you, eyes full of wonder and admiration. You turn on your side to face him, but his hand on your chest doesn’t move from it’s spot, as if waiting for you to do something with it. He’s waiting for your permission, you realize.
You take his hand and bring it to your cheek, then kiss the soft skinned blue man for the first time. In his cave. On a different planet. After you’ve been freshly given a parasite.
Yup, totally real and not a dream.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
My human’s skin is soft, and so very different from my own. It’s not a bad thing, but strangely intoxicating as I breathe in her scent and her lips press against my own. This is a strange sensation, but I’ve seen Vektal and Georgie do this, and know that it must be some kind of acceptance of our bond together.
My heart soars. She’s accepted me, at least on this physical level. If she is willing to press her lips to my own, it may be similar to humans as mating is to us. Will I need to show her what mating truly means to us? Surely the lip-pressing doesn’t create human kits on their world, does it?
I am silently cursing Vektal for not giving us more information when my human rolls on top of me, straddling my waist. My cock is achingly hard and I feel shame for it, she may not be ready for such kinds of mating ritual-
She grinds her hips down onto me and I suck in a breath, my eyes going wide in surprise at the heat I can feel from her with even two layers between us. I growl and bear my teeth, my fingers digging in to her soft hips as she sways atop me. My Kuhi is humming violently, filling my space with the sounds of our shared pleasure, fueling my drive as I arch into her.
She wouldn’t be doing this if she did not accept our bond. I sit up and take her small face in my hand, bringing our lips together again. This is a strange talent that I must learn, and what a better time than now? It sends shocks of pleasure through my body at her taste, the way she touches me back is delicious and more precious than the twin-suns.
“Need your cock-” She pants against my skin. She’s already left love-bites on my shoulder and I am ecstatic at this. Many of the mated pairs in the tribe share love-bite ink marks to signify their love for each other. I hope my human will want the same for us.
I’m off the bed the instant she rolls off of me, stripping off her own clothes. Mine are much faster to remove, so I take the pleasure in removing her tunic ties as she undoes the laces at her borrowed trousers. They look ridiculous on her, tied in different places and cuffed at the bottoms to stay up, but they are mine and I am proud to share any part of myself with her.
She moves to take my cock in her hand and as much as I’d love to feel her soft grip upon me, I catch her wrist in my hand and move her to lie back on my bed. I pull her hips forward, off the edge and wrap her legs around my shoulders. I’ve never had a lover of my own people, but I’ve heard enough.
I lap at her slowly, and her taste is like seeing new colors, scenting new spices. I groan, my kuhi responding with desperation as I gorge myself on her wetness. My cock is rock solid and dripping with lubricant, but as much as I want to bury myself inside her, I resist. I’ve heard enough stories from the mated males about this that I know they like it slow at first, a building thing.
But my human seems to not want this. She grips my horns and pulls me close, like she wants me elsewhere, and I worry for a moment that I’m hurting her. I relent my lapping at her entrance, and look up at her. Her maine is tangled and I make a note to help her wash it later, but the delicious flush of her cheeks has me dripping to the floor of the cave.
She pulls me, and I place my lips every inch of the way up her body, but she stops me, moaning in a particular spot. She pushes me back down, and I cock my head to the side. Does she want me or not?
She removes a hand from one of my horns and reaches for her sex. I nearly protest her touching herself when I am right here, but she rubs a small circle over the very top of her opening, and I see it then. Ahh- This is what Vektal had mentioned, the nipple.
I nudge her fingers out of the way and lap at it slowly. It is a strange bud, less similar to how I imagined nipples and feeling much more like sucking the meat from the river-creatures that live in the streams in the summer time. I dare not bite my Resonance, though. I know this is working for my mate, because she writhes below me, her hips arching off my bed and her cries growing louder as I increase the speed of my tongue.
Her hands are gripping my horns, holding me in place with her desperate pleading. I do not relent my tongue upon her, even when she’s panting “Please, please–” because she hasn’t pushed me away. I do not know if this part is the human custom, but she isn’t pushing away, so I continue.
Her slickness is better than any catch, even the rarest. She’s warm and balanced and I can’t imagine how I’ve lived before having this. She’s saying something about moving or going somewhere when her thighs suddenly crash against my head, deafening me. I keep my mouth open as she rocks and shudders upon my tongue. I use a hand to ease the aching in my cock, relieving some of the pressure she’s caused me to build.
I cannot tell if she’s like the other humans, or if this mating is strange for them. After her thighs ease from my head I go to lick her more, but she pushes me away with a strange, small foot. She waves me toward her, wrapping her legs around my waist and pulling me down atop her.
Her hand goes to grip my cock once I am holding myself above her, and I cannot deny my own need for any longer.
The moment her small hand wraps around me, my mind goes blank aside from the pleasure of it.
+
He’s huge. Okay, he’s massive, thick and veiny and with the built in ridges it has you seeing stars before he’s even entered you.
But he’d just made you come so hard that you need more, and your clit is much too overstimulated. You guide the crown of him to your entrance, and he sucks in a sharp breath. Yeah, you doubt he’ll last long, which is a good thing considering his size. He’s thick and muscled and holy shit, the ridges feel amazing.
The first inch of him is a stretch already, and he pulls out to spread your wetness and his own along his shaft. His re entry is smoother, drawing moans from both of you. He’s shuddering within the first few minutes, and with those kinds of muscles you know its not because he’s getting tired.
You adjust your hips, angling upwards more and your mind goes blank. He’s brushing your g-spot already, and he’s only making shallow thrusts. Your legs squeeze him, pulling him in harder and your eyes roll back. God, he’s perfect for you- your nails bite into his soft skin and you think he likes it, because he leans down and places a bite mark on your shoulder, the elongated canine teeth leaving gentle pock marks where they intended your skin. He looks there proudly, and slams into you. The slapping sound of his thighs meeting yours echoes through his home, and your moans join it.
You’re wet, dribbling wet and it’s about halfway through fucking that you notice his hands aren’t what keeps brushing over your clit, but a second, smaller and softer dick that has been nudging you the whole time. Your legs quiver at the idea of it alone, all the things that it could do-
He stiffens when your insides clench around him, his thrusting faltering for a moment. Then, he’s gripping your hips and lifting you, pulling you forward with every one of his thrusts into you. His pace is demanding and with the g-spot stimulation and his second dick… You’re a mess. You're spilling profanities and cursing him to the worst places imaginable. Thankfully, he doesn’t understand what half the shit you’re saying means. Doubly thankful, he doesn’t stop his relentless assault on that tender spot inside of you.
The ridges on his dick are fucking incredible as he pulls out and slams back in, and it heightens the experience even more. There’s no chance you’re not going to cum from this. It’s hard to hold back, and with the new positioning you’re nearly drooling with the immense pleasure of it all. The second he palms your breasts, your eyes squeeze shut and you’re trying to hold back your climax, but it washes over you anyway. you’re squirming, cumming on him with an intense sense of need and belonging. You’re sent through the peaks of it relentlessly, his second dick rubbing away at your clit as you ride through it. It’s intense and demanding and possibly the most mind-shattering fuck you’ve ever had. Even without the whole giant-blue-alien-mate thing.
He doesn’t stop thrusting, and as you pant and groan he’s bringing you into another orgasm with the way his other member rubs against you. His strokes are becoming frantic, feral and completely brutal as he fucks deep inside you. Your pussy clenches, milking him and he snarls something in his language that you don’t yet know. He stiffens, providing only shallow thrusts that have you seeing stars. Your body is jelly as he pumps into you, then he’s tightening his hold, his blunt nails digging into your skin. His eyes flare, and you can tell he’s wishing he had the restraint to keep fucking you.
He’s groaning, a guttural feral sound that is like a sweet song in your ears. He spills inside you, pulsing and twitching and god he’s gorgeous and so sweet as he fills you. He licks at your neck and flicks his bumpy tongue over your nipples, his hands going to cradle you in his arms.
His tail is wrapped around your ankle like some kind of anchor point as you lose yourself in the pleasure of it all.
You’re brushing his hair back and nuzzling into his neck the moment he lies down beside you, pulling you into his embrace. Like you’ve been lovers for your entire lives.
His plan is likely to be just that.
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Barbarian Bat: Part Three
A/N: Let's all just pretend that I'm not super behind on writing and updating.... aha? But I hope everyone enjoys this next part! We're getting angsty up in here.
Read on AO3 // Chapter Masterlist // Previous Part
Nesta’s heart pounds between her ribs, the thrumming beat in time with every hurried step through the snow. She’s half aware of the cold biting across the skin of her cheeks, of the numbness beginning to creep into her fingers, but it’s hard to focus on anything other than forcing air into her lungs, forcing it around the lump pressing painfully in her throat. Her whole chest feels hollowed out, feels bruised and empty, and she can feel the familiar prickle of tears burning just behind her eyes.
The snow and the trees pass by in a watery blur, but Nesta keeps pushing forward. She refuses to give in to the dread that weighs heavy in her gut, refuses to give in to the darkness swirling in tighter and tighter and threatening to pull her under. Perhaps, if she keeps walking far enough, she’ll finally wake up back in her bed in her tiny apartment back on earth.
“Nes!”
Nesta takes a moment to close her eyes, a near hysterical laugh bubbling up and out of her. Of course. Of course, he followed her. Of course, she’s never truly allowed a second of peace.
“Nesta!”
“You are quite literally the last person I want to see right now,” Nesta calls over her shoulder, rolling her eyes.
“Nes, please. Stop.”
“I’m serious. Leave me alone.”
Nesta hears Cassian let out an annoyed huff, hears him jog through the snow to catch up to her. “If you are going to storm off, at least do it in a different direction.”
“Just because we’ve resonated that doesn’t mean you get to tell me what to do, you insufferable alien,” Nesta seethes, trying to pick up her pace.
“And your stubbornness is walking you straight into Metlak territory.”
Nesta whirls back around to face him, her hands clenched into fists at her side. “Didn’t you know? I’m the stubborn one. The scary one. So why don’t you take a hint from the rest of the tribe and finally just steer clear?”
Cassian frowns, and even across the distance still between them, Nesta can see the pained look that mars his expression as he presses a hand to his chest. “You are my mate. The one my khui has chosen as mine.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to be.”
“Yes, you have made that perfectly clear. I am sorry. I am sorry that your khui did not choose someone better for you. I am sorry that it is me you are stuck with.”
The words hit Nesta hard enough that her breath stutters for a moment, cracks ricocheting through her chest. The defensive quip dies on her tongue, any other words tangling into a tight knot.
How could he not know? How could he not know that she had been drawn into his gravity from the moment she laid eyes on him? How could he not know that every teasing remark, every smile, every laugh he directed her way left something warm and dangerous blooming within her that Nesta refuses to name? How could he not know that he is all that is good and brave and kind, and it is her that does not deserve him?
“Cassian…”
But Nesta trails off as Cassian’s eyes widen, his attention drifting firmly over her shoulder. He looks nothing short of alarmed, and it has every hair on the back of Nesta’s neck rising, anxiety beginning to spark in her veins. Tentatively, she turns back around and comes face to face with a pair of large, round eyes. The white fur of the creature is dirty and splotted with brown spots, and when Nesta takes in a gasping breath, she’s hit with what smells a lot like a wet dog. The creature tilts its head, peering up at her almost curiously, before opening its beak-like mouth and giving Nesta a perfect view of its fangs.
Nesta tries to slowly back away, but her feet have sunk too deeply, her snowshoes catching and dragging in the snow until she’s toppling backwards and landing with a quiet cry of surprise. The metlak lets out some sort of call, a sound that reminds Nesta of an owl hooting, and then two more creatures are stepping out from the tree line and approaching her.
“Nesta!”
Nesta's heart stutters and pounds in her chest, and she tries to scramble back away from the creatures, away from their large unblinking eyes that are pinned on her, away from their mouths full of fangs. Another hooting sound and that first metlak dares to take a step closer to her, Nesta's whole body locking up with a full body flinch in anticipation of an attack.
A roar sounds from behind her, and Nesta can do nothing but gape as Cassian goes rushing forward and barrels into the group of metlaks. The creatures are quick to fight back, arms swinging and dragging their claws against his skin. Cassian reaches to pull his knife free from his belt, but one of the metlaks sinks its fangs into his arm, and he lets out a pained shout of surprise as his knife falls into the snow.
With a growl, Cassian throws his arm out and shakes the metlak free, sending the creature sailing through the air until it goes crumbling into the snow. The other metlaks are briefly distracted by their fallen comrade, so Cassian whirls around, his hands sifting through the snow to find his missing knife. But the distraction is short lived, and soon, the two remaining metlaks have their attention solely back on Cassian, letting out more of those ominous hooting sounds.
“Cassian!” Nesta screams out in warning. “Cassian!”
Cassian looks up in alarm just as one of the metlaks pounces, claws and fangs burying into his back. He turns around before the remaining metlak can join the attack, kicking out his leg and sending it back toward the tree line. His hands reach back to try and grasp at the metlak still attached to him, but the creature rears its head back and takes another bite out of Cassian’s shoulder.
Cassian stumbles, dropping down to one knee and clearly in pain. Nesta can’t take anymore, can’t just sit by and watch. She pushes back to her feet and rushes forward. She spies Cassian’s abandoned knife, scooping it up out of the snow as she goes. She curls her fingers tight around the hilt, drawing her hand back and swinging forward until the carved bone is embedded deep in the metlak's fur. The metlak lets out an anguished sound, squirming until warm red spills across Nesta’s hands and between her fingers, but it releases its hold on Cassian and collapses at their feet.
Nesta’s chest is heaving, and the knife slips from her grip as she staggers back a step. She swallows hard around the bile threatening to rise up in her throat, blinking down at the metlak blood staining her skin. A finger beneath her chin has her gaze raising and meeting a pair of eyes glowing with concern.
“Are you well, Nes?”
A hysterical laugh threatens to bubble up out of her at the question. “You’re the one who was just attacked, and you’re asking me if I’m well?”
Nesta reaches her hand up in the space between them, trying to put pressure on the wound left behind from the metlak’s claws on Cassian’s chest. Between the way her fingers have started to tremble and the slickness of the blood, her hand slips against his skin, but Cassian’s own fingers curl gently around her wrist, halting her movements. With everything that’s happened, the touch shouldn’t be as warm and grounding as it is, but there’s no denying the calming feeling that washes over her.
“Do not worry about me,” Cassian tells her as he reaches down and grabs his knife, standing up with a grimace. “We must get you somewhere safe, away from metlak territory.” Cassian looks up and around them, taking in their surroundings. “I know this area. There is a hunter cave not far.”
Somehow, numbly, Nesta nods her head. She stumbles back to where their packs are laying in the snow, shouldering the weight of both of them. Cassian tries to take them from her, but she holds firm, especially as blood continues to slide along his skin in streaks of red. He seems less than impressed, but he leads the way through the snow, keeping his knife raised and ready in case of another attack.
Thankfully, they really don’t need to walk too far before reaching the hunter cave, but Nesta still lets out an exhausted sigh as she drops their packs to the floor. She goes to move the privacy screen into place at the cave entrance, but a pained grunt draws her attention back to Cassian. He’s dropped to his knees, whatever adrenaline that was keeping him going now gone.
He winces as he pulls his vest off and tosses it aside, and Nesta gets her first look at just how bad the wounds to his back are. The gashes are deep and still bleeding, the one at his shoulder where that metlak bit him especially gruesome. When Cassian falls forward, just barely catching himself with his hand, Nesta rushes to his side. She drops to her own knees beside him, stretching an arm across his waist to try and hold him up.
“You need to see Madja,” Nesta tells him, eyes raking over the concerningly high number of scratches and gashes. “We need to get you back to the main cave.”
Cassian shifts enough that he can slide his palm along Nesta’s cheek, thumb skating across her skin. The way his eyes droop and are unfocused has fear spearing icy cold through Nesta’s chest, twisting tighter and tighter until it hurts to squeeze air into her lungs. She curls her fingers around his wrist, squeezing hard and holding him there. Holding him here with her.
“Cassian…”
“My mate,” Cassian whispers, his words slightly slurred. “Safe.”
Cassian’s eyes flutter closed, and then he’s slumping forward, Nesta just barely able to brace him and the dead weight before his face makes contact with the stone floor of the cave.
“Shit,” Nesta whispers to herself, giving Cassian’s shoulder a shake but he doesn’t move or make a sound. “Shit shit shit… Okay… Okay.”
Nesta closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, steadying herself and willing her thundering heart to calm. She can do this. She has to do this. With a determined nod, Nesta pushes back up to her feet. She goes over to where she dropped their packs, rooting around in Cassian’s until she finds his flint. She finds fuel in one of the baskets tucked along the far wall of the cave, stacking them in the makeshift fire pit the way she’s seen the other members of the tribe do before.
It takes a few strikes of the flint, but finally, Nesta is able to get sparks. She holds her breath until the sparks grow into proper flames, the orangey glow quickly filling the cave. She grabs their waterskins next, stepping just outside of the cave and filling them both with snow before setting them above the now crackling fire to melt. It takes some tugging on Nesta’s part, but she’s able to drag the heavy privacy screen in place over the cave entrance, trapping the warmth from the fire in with them.
Nesta uses the first waterskin to pour the now melted water over her hands and clean them, and then she turns back to Cassian and his wounds. She frowns and tilts her head, trying to determine the best next steps. She doesn’t exactly have a first aid kit handy on this planet. She decides to reach for her furs, untying them from her pack.
She takes Cassian’s knife and slices the furs into strips, cutting the final strip into squares. She crushes some soap berries into the waterskin and dips the first square of fur into the sudsy water. She keeps her touch careful and gentle as she cleans each of Cassian’s wounds. Amazingly, some of the more shallow scratches have already begun to heal, his khui clearly working hard and quickly.
She covers the worst of his wounds with the strips of fur, finding some twine in Cassian’s pack to tie the ones on his shoulder in place, then sits back on her haunches with a soft sigh. She only allows herself a moment before pushing back to her feet. She discards the now pile of bloody furs and dumps the dirty water. It takes some awkward maneuvering with Cassian’s large body, but Nesta is able to roll out his furs and get him into them.
He hasn’t moved or made a sound since he lost consciousness, but his chest continues to move up and down with each breath, and when Nesta presses the palm of her hand there, she can feel the beat of his heart beneath her fingertips. With nothing to keep her hands or her mind busy anymore, it’s hard to stop the dark thoughts that swirl and roll in like storm clouds. A lump presses in against her throat, her stomach churning as she grips at the leathers of her clothing until her knuckles turn white. She has no idea if she’s done enough, no idea if Cassian will be able to heal, if he’ll even wake up. And she has no idea where they are. No idea how to contact anyone from the main cave to get help.
“Please don’t die on me,” Nesta whispers, brushing the dark strands of Cassian’s hair out of his face. “You can’t die on me, you stupid alien, you hear me?”
Nesta holds vigil until exhaustion sinks into her limbs and threatens to tug her under. Until her eyelids start to droop and she has to shake herself to keep them open. She curls up beside Cassian, keeping her hand firmly on his chest, on his still beating heart. She allows the assurance that, for now, he’s okay to wash over her, allows the steady thrum under her hand to finally lull her to sleep.
It’s the cold beneath her hands that she feels first. Cold and hard, and when she curls her fingers, it’s the distinct feel of metal beneath her touch. In a second, her eyes snap open, taking in the white, clinical walls, the various metal panels, the flashing lights. Fear grips her tight enough that Nesta swears she’s being burned from the inside out by its icy grip. She opens her mouth, tries to scream, but all there is is a lump pressing into her throat.
Nesta tries to sit up, tries to clamber off the table, but she can’t seem to get her limbs to work. It’s like she’s pinned down, like she’s paralyzed, and that fear turns into a full blown panic, clawing at her chest and leaving it heaving. She thrashes her head, trying to escape, but as she turns to the right, she realizes she’s not alone in this room.
Cassian is sprawled across the floor, and it takes Nesta a moment too long to realize that his eyes are staring unblinking up at the ceiling, that his chest isn’t moving. In fact, the longer she stares, the more gashes that seem to appear across his skin, blood gurgling and pooling beneath him. Nesta thrashes harder against her invisible restraints, tries desperately to reach for him as the familiar sting at the back of his eyes blurs her vision.
Nesta wakes with a jolt, Cassian’s name weighing heavy on the tip of her tongue. Her heart pounds between her ribs, squeezing and twisting in a way that leaves a steady ache. Her stomach roils, and she’s confident that if she had anything in her gut, she’d have lost it. Her breath still heaves out of her as she turns her attention to Cassian, but he hasn’t moved, his condition still the same as before she fell asleep.
She lets out a quiet breath and lays back down beside him, tries to lull herself back under, but sleep does not come easily, and it’s fitful for the rest of the night. By the time pale morning light starts to creep into the cave around the privacy screen, she feels more exhausted than any sort of rested. Her chest still aches like a festering wound, her limbs heavy as she shifts and stretches.
But Nesta still pulls herself up. She slides the back of her hand along Cassian’s temple and cheek, and she frowns at the way his skin feels warm, like he’s practically radiating heat. Does that mean he has a fever? That his wounds are infected? How is she supposed to know what the normal temperature of an alien is? She peels back each of the strips of fur to check, but almost all of his wounds have closed up, even the worst of them scabbed over.
“Cassian,” Nesta tries, gently shaking his shoulder.
Cassian lets out a quiet groan, a soft murmur that Nesta can’t quite make out what he’s saying, but she decides any sound is a good sign. She quickly adds more fuel and stokes the fire back to life, tugging the privacy screen back enough that she can reach a hand out and pack more snow into a waterskin, melting it down. She adds soap berries and takes the time to reclean all of Cassian’s wounds, carefully laying the strips of fur back in place and tucking him back in.
By the time Nesta has finished, her stomach seems set on being louder than even her khui, and she knows she’ll need to venture out of the safety of the cave. She grabs Cassian’s knife and keeps it poised in her hand as she slowly pulls back the privacy screen the rest of the way and peeks her head outside. When she’s sure the coast is clear, she steps out properly into the snow and the two suns already sitting high in the sky.
Nesta knows that the hunters have caches near each of the caves. She knows that she just needs to find the tree that has the markings in the bark to indicate where this cave’s cache is. She heads for the tree line, making sure she keeps the cave in her line of sight at all times as she wanders through the snow. Her eyes scan the different trunks until she finally spots the one with knife markings on it. She drops to her knees and digs through the snow until she finds a quillbeast buried there, tugging it free and piling the snow back on top of the cache.
It’s messy and imperfect, skinning the quillbeast when she makes it back to the hunter cave, and it takes much longer than Nesta thought it would but she makes it work. She cooks the meat over the fire and nibbles on the pieces, occasionally glancing toward Cassian to check on him. She’s going to need a proper plan soon. A long term plan soon.
But for right now, all Nesta can think about is how gross she feels. The trek to the Elder cave and everything that’s happened since then hasn’t exactly lent itself to the opportunity to bathe and she’s certainly feeling it. Her braid is practically crusted over with grease, and there’s a layer of grime and sweat clinging to her skin that has her nose scrunching in distaste.
She clambers up to her feet, grabbing one of the waterskins and making for the cave entrance. Darkness has started to creep in outside, and Nesta swears she can feel eyes staring at her from behind the tree line. It has her shuttering, memories of the metlaks still fresh in her mind. She makes quick work of packing the waterskin with snow and securing the privacy screen firmly back in place, some of the tension finally loosening from her shoulders when she’s sat safely back at the fire.
She sets the waterskin above the fire to melt the snow and gets started on her hair while she waits, tugging the leather strap free and carefully unwinding the strands. She digs a bone comb out of her pack and uses it to work through the tangles. By the time she finishes, the snow has melted and the water has warmed, so she crushes up some soap berries, lathering up her hair and carefully rinsing the strands.
Just that one thing already has her feeling infinitely better, but she peels off her shirt and sets it aside. She uses the spare squares of fur to scrub and rinse down her arms, along her shoulders, across her collarbones. Her khui begins to sing loudly in her chest, sending vibrations skittering through her veins, heat creeping up her spine, and her hands pause their movements. A shudder takes over her body, her breath catching in her throat, as if it knows what’s happening before her mind catches up.
She didn’t even hear him get up. Didn’t hear him move across the cave and closer to her. But now she can hear the way his own khui answers the song of her own, can feel the warmth radiating off him as much as the fire in front of her.
Despite his overly large hands, Cassian’s touch is surprisingly gentle. The tips of his fingers whisper across her exposed shoulder, tracing shapes and patterns along the skin. Nesta can feel her heart starting to trip over itself between her ribs, can hear her damn khui practically screaming away, but she can’t find it within herself to move away from him, can scarcely breathe. Goosebumps bloom down her arm at his touch, and she hates it.
She hates his tenderness and his kindness and the fact she doesn’t deserve it. She hates the way their khuis sing and twine together, filling the space of the cave around them. She hates the way she wants to lean back into him, to give in until she’s consumed. But, instead, she stares resolutely at the shadows cast across the cave walls from the fires, focusing on anything other than this big, blue alien and his intense stares and his easy smiles and his charming words and his boisterous laughter and his stupid gentle touches to her shoulder.
She tries to focus on being back on that spaceship with her sisters, back to what she left behind on earth. Tries to focus on every barely sutured wound, every chink in her armor weighing her down and promising to pull her under. Tries to focus on the sorry bruised and battered state of her heart, not even close to worthy of being offered over.
Cassian switches his attention to her other shoulder, fingers still tracing those soft, aimless patterns. The shuddering breath that tumbles past Nesta’s lips sounds too loud even to her own ears, but his touches don’t falter, and she swallows hard, forcing herself to find her voice again.
“Freckles,” she breathes, turning her head enough that she can meet his gaze. It’s a mistake, their faces now close together, but she pushes on anyway. “They’re places where the skin goes darker. Often from the sun.”
“Free-kels,” Cassian repeats, his brows dipping as he focuses on speaking the word.
Nesta snorts amusedly at the pronunciation attempt. “Close enough.”
Cassian drops his gaze back to her shoulder, his fingers resuming their movements. “Your sisters have them too.”
“Yes. Feyre on her nose, and Elain on her cheeks. I have mine on my shoulders.”
“I like them.”
He says the words so genuinely, almost reverently, and Nesta’s heart gives a traitorous squeeze in her chest. That tightness only seems to grow when Cassian shifts his head, his mouth brushing along the same path his fingers had traced moments before. Nesta closes her eyes, letting the feeling wash over her, but her eyes snap back open again when Cassian’s hand skates across her cheek. She blinks in surprise at the tear he caught, not even realizing it had slipped free.
“I’m sorry,” Cassian murmurs, shifting away from her.
The loss of his presence and his warmth is jarring, the cold seeping in around her and sinking its claws into her. She wraps her arms tightly around herself, her bottom lip finding home between her teeth.
“I had this boyfriend back on earth,” Nesta begins, her voice quiet. She’s not sure where the need to tell him comes from, but once she starts, the words continue to flow out of her. “Sort of like a pleasure mate, I guess. But he was… cruel. He was awful. He made me feel weak. And when I finally left him, I swore to myself that I would never feel weak again. But I did. On that spaceship. Waking up there and seeing Elain and Feyre and knowing there was nothing I could do to save them. That I couldn’t save them. I felt just as powerless again. I want to stop feeling weak and powerless.”
Cassian reaches across the space between them, settling his hand overs and stopping her from twisting her fingers into knots. “I could train you, if you want. Teach you how to use our hunting weapons, so you can always protect yourself. So you will always feel strong.”
For a moment, Nesta can do nothing but stare at him, her heart lodged firmly in her throat and tangling with the words there. This is a ledge, one that she can’t come back from if she steps off it, and the ground is shaky beneath her feet. If Cassian picks up on her trepidation, he doesn’t let on. He merely watches her quietly, patiently, his thumb sliding almost soothingly along the back of her hand.
“And what if I decide to use those skills to fight you?” Nesta teases lightly, hoping to steer the conversation back to familiarity, to steady footing.
“Then I would know that I trained you well,” Cassian tells her sincerely. “I would be proud of you.”
Nesta pulls her hands free from Cassian’s touch, turning her attention fully back to the fire. “You should be resting. You shouldn’t be up. You’re still healing.”
Cassian lets out a soft sigh, but Nesta can’t bear to turn and look at him, to see the expression she’s sure is on his face. She hears him move away, the shuffles as he moves back toward the furs. She bites her lip to keep it from trembling, grabbing her shirt and yanking it back on.
“What is your plan then?” Cassian asks from behind her. “We will have to go back to the main cave.”
“I know,” Nesta murmurs, curling her knees up against her chest.
“Rhys is a good leader. He will not force… it will be your choice, but we will not be able to keep it a secret any longer. Everyone will know that we have resonated.”
“Maybe just you should go back to the cave then. Then, no one will know your mate is the scary one.”
“You think that is what I wish?”
Nesta lets out a dry, mocking laugh, whirling around to face him. “It’s what you should want. There’s something wrong with me.”
Cassian frowns, tilting his head curiously. “Are you well, Nes? We will have Madja speak with your khui. We will fix it.”
“You don’t get it,” Nesta huffs frustrated, barely stopping her eye roll. “You can’t fix it. They can’t even fix it back on earth. It’s… it’s inside my head. In my mind.”
Cassian’s expression is pained as he watches her, like his own heart is breaking at the admission. He hesitates for a second before closing the distance between them again, his hands reaching up to frame her face. He presses his forehead against hers, each touch so gentle, so caring, and Nesta’s vision starts to blur.
“Then tell me how I can help. Tell me how to ease this pain in your head.”
Nesta shakes her head, swallowing down a choked sob before it can escape. “I’m telling you. You can’t. I’m broken.”
“I refuse to believe that,” Cassian tells her fiercely, his thumbs catching every tear that slips free and slides down her cheeks. “Because there is nothing broken to fix.”
“You just don’t understand,” Nesta scoffs.
“And you do not see what I see. I know that you are hurting. That these males in your past have hurt you. But I see how you still walk with your head held high. You are still so strong. I see how fiercely you care for your sisters, that you would do anything for them. I see everything that you do at the cave and everything that you are doing now, and I am honored that my khui has chosen you as my mate.”
Nesta pulls her face free from Cassian’s grip, scrubbing the back of her hand against her cheeks. “I thought I told you to rest.”
“You need to rest too.”
“I will.”
Cassian scrutinizes her for a moment, but when he finally seems satisfied with what he sees, he nods his head. He moves back over to the furs, but rather than slip beneath them, he begins to rearrange them, fluffing them up, preparing them.
“What are you doing?” Nesta demands even though she already knows the answer. “Cassian.”
“I will not have my mate be cold,” Cassian explains, as if it’s that simple, shifting the furs closer to the fire.
“I’m not the one who’s injured. You’re still healing.”
“I do not care.”
Nesta rolls her eyes at that, crossing her arms across her chest. “Gods, you can be so stubborn, did you know that?”
“Then we are evenly matched,” Cassian tells her, meeting her gaze head on.
Nesta sighs, already knowing she’s going to regret this. “Fine. We can share. Then everyone wins. Just… just don’t make it weird.”
Cassian’s expression betrays nothing, but he gestures toward the furs for her to go first. With another roll of her eyes, Nesta moves and slips beneath the furs. She shifts as far to the edge as she can, keeping her back to Cassian as he clambers beneath the furs beside her. She relaxes once he’s settled, but it’s short lived when his arms reach out and curl around her, tugging her back into his chest.
“Cassian,” Nesta warns between clenched teeth.
“I am not making it weird. I am merely helping to keep you warm.”
It's a lie and they both know it. Especially with the way his hand flexes against her waist, his arms tightening. As though he's afraid she'll disappear on him, as though he's desperate to keep her here in his embrace just a little bit longer. And maybe Nesta should call him out on it, maybe it makes her selfish, but she allows herself to sink back into him, allows her eyes to flutter closed, allows his warmth and the security of his arms around her and the steady beat of his heart at her back lull her into blissful sleep.
—
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#nessian#nesta archeron#cassian#acotar#acosf#nessian fanfiction#nessian fic#nesta x cassian#IPB AU#my fic
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Me AF lol
#ipb#ice planet barbarians#they’re just like little spicy hallmark books about sexy blue aliens#mental escape#feeds into the breeding kink#but they’re like sweet himbo aliens#like if Cassian from ACOTAR was an alien#ruby dixon
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What I instantly thought when I read this
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