#ONCE AGAIN I AM SAYING I LOVE THE FAE STORY
Note
Alright listen i wanna scream about the last three chapters but i do not have the brain for fully fledged thoughts so this is what you're getting.
I am FASCINATED by this creation myth for the fae, btw. If I had more brain i feel like i could probably pull on things i know or have read but as of righgt now just know i reall love it and eventually i will be returning to it because I have some Thoughts I cant get out of my brain.
Also. I am once again projecting onto Scar as someone who Has Been deathly ill a few times in my life. Genuinely there are periods of terrifying lucidity and long stretches of basically unconsciousness for me too so its like. I am. Looking.
Oh my god and then Mumbo and Cub. PRESIDENTIAL ALERT: THE GIRLS ARE FIIIIGHTIIIIIIIIIING. but also genuinely I think whether it stays Mumscarian or goes Mumscarvexian Cub's relationship to the trio is SO interesting. How he does to some extent know Scar but he knows a younger Scar who was less sure of himself. How Mumbo DOES know Scar but he only really knows the older and more confident Scar. God. they. MMMMMMMM. And the fact that Mumbo and Cub are like, two sides of the same coin here - Shadow magic of two different kinds. So so so close with Scar. God. AUGH.
F U C K AO3 WENT DOWN UHHHH But Also. The fact that there is definitely Something in there and I don't mean the Skeleton Archer while they are GOING AFTER HUNTERS. MUMBO! CUB!!! WAAAAAAAH
And then the NEXT chapter where Grian's fucking dumbass takes Scar's magic and is like 'SCAR AND MUMBO CAN NEVER KNOW *kills the lawn and a tree*" liike okay bird brain. GOD!!!! ALSO THAT SCENE WAS SO INTENSE I AM!!! AHHHHHHHHH GOD GRIAN YOU!!! DUMABASS I AM RATTLING YOU!!! AND SCAR AND MUMBO ARE GOING TO RATTLE YOU AS THEY FUCKING SHOULD!!!!
And then more of the Fae story I am!!!! WELL I WOULD BE LOOKING AT IT IF AO3 WASNT DOWN BUT!!! STARING!!!!
LMAO a lot has happened and I did not give anyone time to process <3
LOOK. I AM SO. I fucking love myths and legends and I've been sitting on this for MONTHS, trying to figure out the best way to piece it together to maximize Creation Story vibes, and I am loving how it's coming together <3 I love the Fae story I have created, it is near and dear to me.
Also leave it to me to create a "monarchy with absolute power" but said monarchy has absolutely the most brutal burden and responsibility to carry <3 May slightly be influenced by Cost of the Crown. "Though I am the head of state, in truth I am the least." THIS LINE LIVES IN MY HEAD RENT FREE so it may or may not have influenced how the Fae royals (and Elves in general) carry a burden and obligation <3
BUT YEAH THE FAE STORY. I am absolutely in love with it I'm hjgjkhfkfd <3
jkfgdjk Ihope I'm presenting that well enough, I know it's not 1:1 with real life (because it's a fantasy illness that depends on magic production + how much magic is in your system so it's more cyclical than real life) but just the idea of being aware that you're slipping away (and knowing very well that you might never wake up again) just scares me and makes me feel absolutely helpless, so I hope I'm conveying that well enough </3
THEY'RE FIGHTIIIING. Regardless of what happens yes I think Cub is an interesting addition to the Coven group 👀 YEAH That is exactly what I wanted to highlight here- Cub used to know EVERYTHING about Scar, but that was a completely different time and a completely different Scar. And Mumbo knows Scar NOW, knows him in the way Cub doesn't anymore, and just hhhjjgf. PARALLELS BABEYYY you know me, I love me some parallels <3
AO3 SABOTAGED YOUR ESSAY HJJSKJFSK </3 IT'S OKAY THO WE SURVIVED!!!
Hahaha oh yes <3 The sad thing is Mumbo KNOWS there's something else... but he's so focused on Scar that he just dismisses it.... oh Mumbo.... and Cub doesn't really know any better, this is his first time spending any extended time out here </3
HAHAHA YEAHHHH Like I said to Void, why take "Deus Ex Machina" when I can use "Fuck Around and Find Out" and have Grian being stubborn and overconfident and fucking suffer for it <3 GOD GRIAN IS GONNA GET SO RATTLED. I wonder how he's gonna try and hide the damage to the lawn :)
I LOVE THE FAE STORY. Also the fact that Scar is sharing this story in his moments of lucidity.... <3 And trying to keep going even while his focus and his mind are slipping I AM SO JKFSKLFS-
#ask#Midnight Series#ONCE AGAIN I AM SAYING I LOVE THE FAE STORY#I am literally trying to make it as 'creation myth/story' vibe as possible#like I am trying to be ON THE NOSE with that LMAO-
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you should totally do number 12 with az or rhys 🥺
“When have you ever cared?” “I’ve always cared.”
Azriel x Reader
wc: 2k
a/n: i always love a good rivals to lovers story. warning: descriptions of blood and injuries.
prompt list
You hate Azriel. Absolutely hated him. You hate his cocky attitude, you hate the way he never wants you on missions, you hate the way girls seem to fawn over him at Rita’s, and most of all, you hate the way that you can’t stop being attracted to him. Which made the current situation worse, because you were having trouble focusing on training when Azriel was shirtless and sweaty sparring with Cassian across the ring.
After the fifth time of you getting knocked onto the floor by your sparring partner after getting distracted, Emerie eventually gave up on you.
“How are you supposed to be ready for your mission tomorrow if you are so unfocused?” she laughed.
“I’ll be fine. I do-“ You stop speaking when you feel a shadowy presence lurk over you.
“Can I help you Azriel?” You ask sarcastically, turning to face him.
“You’re not going.” Azriel replied gruffly.
“Excuse me?” You scoff.
“I said you’re not going on the mission.” You roll your eyes. Of course he would try to keep you off of yet another mission. You had prepared for that and got Rhysand to personally ensure that you could go this time.
“Take that up with Rhys. He said I’m going.” You say with a victorious smirk.
“We’ll see about that.” He grumbles, storming off towards Rhysand’s office. You wait patiently with a smug smile on your face, pretending to be preoccupied with sharpening your daggers, as he returns.
“You will not do anything without my say so. You will not stray from the mission at all, under any circumstances. If I give an order, you follow it. Do you understand?” He spits angrily, obviously upset over Rhysand’s decision.
“Whatever you say, spymaster. I’ll see you at 6 AM to head out.” You say smugly and turn to leave.
———
You meet Azriel the next morning, and he is already visibly agitated. After an overly detailed discussion of the mission plan, he winnows the two of you to the mission spot.
Azriel made sure to reiterate the plan again once you arrived, earning an annoyed eyeroll at the implied lack of faith in your skills. The plan was that he would infiltrate the safe house, capture the enemy, and extract him from the building to bring him back for interrogation. You were only there to help carry the unconscious body, apparently. You reluctantly agree to the plan, realizing that arguing would get you nowhere. At least you were allowed to join this time.
“I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. Be ready to winnow.” He whispers before disappearing into the shadows.
Fifteen minutes passed. Then twenty. Then thirty. After forty minutes, you were fully convinced something had gone horribly wrong.
Fuck it. You didn’t care if he got pissed, you’re going in to check that everything is okay.
You move closer to the building and peek into the window. No movement. You sneak closer to the door, slipping inside inconspicuously. Upon entering, you begin to scan the area for any signs of Azriel. You walk further inside turning the corner, and that’s when you see it: blood on the floor, and Truthteller lying discarded next to it. That cannot be a good sign, you think while trying to shove your panic down deep. You quickly pick up the abandoned blade and examine the area closer, following the trail of blood and the sound of voices through the halls. When you finally reach a large room, you see exactly what you were afraid of. Azriel is bound against the wall unconscious and bloody. The target is watching him while conversing with someone, twirling a knife in his hand.
“Just kill him already.” The other fae complains.
“No. Do you not realize who this is, you imbecile? This is the spymaster of the High Lord. Once Rhysand realizes he is missing, he will come try to rescue him, and then we can finally take that undeserving half-breed out. Hopefully, he brings the general, and we can kill the bastard too. Only then will I kill the shadowsinger, but not until we get to have our fun with him. I’m sure there are some juicy secrets of the court we can carve out of him.” You feel nauseated at the sickening grin on the male’s face.
Your duty is to this court, and cannot allow Rhysand and Cassian to be put in danger over this. Nor can you sit by and watch Azriel be tortured by this cruel, idiotic male. Idiotic because he didn’t use magical bindings to lock Azriel up, allowing his shadows to roam free. They circle their master, obviously frantic that he cannot hear them.
A small shadow darts towards you, and soon the rest follow. The shadows swirl around you, expectantly, going completely unnoticed by the two males.
“Um, I’m not entirely sure if you can understand me, but I have a plan. If you all could make it very dark in here, that would be great.” You ask awkwardly, hoping the shadows understand. They apparently do, because soon the entire room goes dark, except for the path between you and Azriel.
“What the- hey!” You hear the other male yell and footsteps run towards you. Unable to see through the shadows, you throw a dagger towards the noise. Without checking to see if you hit your target, you hurry to free Azriel from his chains. Once his hands are free, you grab onto him and attempt to winnow.
Winnowing long distances was always a challenge for you, you’re not sure why. What takes others a single jump takes you five. You hold tightly to Azriel and try to winnow. The world around you begins to fade, turning into blackness. Before the sight can completely fade, however, you see a knife come hurdling towards you, landing directly in your thigh.
The sudden burning pain causes you to lose focus, and the world abruptly reappears around you, causing both you and Azriel to land face first in the dirt of a random forest.
“Fuck!” You yell in pain. Either the fall or the sound of your yelling seems to have roused Azriel because you hear faint grumbling beside you before he falls unconscious again. As you attempt to stand, searing pain shoots down your leg from the wound in your thigh. You bite your lip, trying to ignore the stabbing ache. Now is not the time to focus on your pain. You need to get the two of you to safety, you remind yourself. You pull the blade out from your leg with a cry. Once you compose yourself again, you wrap a piece of cloth torn from your shirt around your leg to stop the bleeding. You grab ahold of Azriel again and attempt to winnow, but for some reason, you can’t. That’s when you notice the faint green tinge on the discarded blade.
“Gods damned faebane.” You curse lowly. You won’t be winnowing anywhere for a while. It’s likely in Azriel too, meaning you two are stuck. Great.
———
It took over an hour to drag the giant Illyrian through the forest, finally finding an abandoned cabin. By the time you reach it, you feel lightheaded from the blood loss and from hauling Azriel. There is absolutely no way you could lift him, so once he is safely inside on the floor, you search the cabin for first aid materials. You find a roll of gauze and a bottle of liquor. That will have to do, you think.
You manage to bite your tongue through the pain of cleaning and dressing your wound and begin to work on Azriel’s. As soon as the alcohol-soaked cloth touches his cut, the male jolts up in a panic. One quick look around at the unfamiliar cabin and you tending to his injuries, and Azriel freaks.
“What the hell happened? Where are we? Are you bleeding?” He fires on a string of questions, one after another.
“Breathe. We’re okay. You got captured, not entirely sure how honestly, and I had to save your ass. We are waiting here until the faebane leaves our systems.” You try to sound calm, but that doesn’t stop your racing heart. Azriel thinks for a moment, looking around the cabin. His eyes land on the bloody bandaged wound on your thigh again, and he immediately becomes angry.
“You came in after me?” He barks.
“Uh, yeah?” You ask, confused at his anger.
“You disobeyed a direct order!” Azriel growls.
“You were in trouble!” Why the hell are you having to defend yourself for saving him?
“I don’t care. You should’ve followed orders. I would’ve gotten myself free eventually.” He snaps. You huff in annoyance.
“You stupid arrogant male, they were going to torture you! And then use you to lure Rhys and Cass and kill them too! How the hell was I supposed to sit by and let that happen?” You scream angrily. He attempts to stand, wincing at the pain. You want to tell him that he should stay sitting, but it’s unlikely that he will listen.
“You should’ve stayed outside.” He growls, stalking closer.
“You would be dead if I did that!” You stare him down in defiance.
“Yeah, but you wouldn’t have gotten hurt!” That makes you pause. Is that why he’s angry, you wonder.
“Despite what you may think about my skills, I’m perfectly capable of withstanding a minor injury from a mission!” You argue.
“You shouldn’t have to.” He spits coldly.
“Since when do you care what happens to me?” You scoff.
“I’ve always cared.” His voice drops to being barely audible and he turns away. You freeze.
“What?”
“Nevermind. I’m gonna start a fire while we wait.” He grumbles. You walk around him to face him, blocking the fireplace.
“No, what did you mean you’ve always cared? You hate me. Everyone knows it.” You ask hesitantly. This must be some new attempt to embarrass you or something, you rationalize.
“I’ve never hated you.” He whispers, avoiding eye contact by staring at the floor.
“I don't understand. Then why do you always keep me out of missions? Why do you ignore me any time I try to be nice?” You ask angrily.
“I… fuck.” He runs his hand through his hair before looking you in the eyes. “I couldn’t stand the thought of you getting hurt. Either from missions or by me.” The last words come out quieter than the rest. “I thought that ignoring you and keeping you off missions would keep you kept you at a safe distance. I didn’t want to risk you being targeted just because of how I feel about you.” Your eyes soften at the admission.
“That wasn’t your decision to make. I get to decide what is worth the risk for me.” You say in a gentler tone. Azriel looks at the floor again, shaking his head.
“You don’t get it. Today is a perfect example. The people in my life that I care about are constantly at risk.”
“Did I not handle myself?” You ask, causing him to sigh.
“That isn’t the point. You don’t-“ You cut him off, pressing a kiss to his lips. Azriel stands frozen for a second, before quickly wrapping his hands into your hair and holding you closer. “Fuck it.” He mumbles while kissing you, backing you into the wall.
It’s safe to say that you and Azriel found very good use of your time while you waited for the faebane to wear off.
———
Rhysand was less than thrilled to hear about the unsuccessful mission when you returned. After you two showed him what happened, obviously leaving out what happened at the cabin, the three of you made a plan to go back and capture the two males. Azriel tried to argue about you going, but one stern look from you and he quickly shut up.
“Well, it seems like you two sorted out your issues.” Rhys laughs, not noticing Azriel’s smirk.
prompt list
tag list: @fxckmiup
#acotar#a court of thorns and roses#acotar fic#acotar fanfic#azriel#azriel acotar#my writing#azriel x reader#acotar x reader
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Dear marshal,
Could I have... REINCARNATION AU!!!
Let's say that reader (female) used to be a soldier under lilia
AND while working under him, she fell in love
So she confessed to him. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. (annoying.)
But one day, it looks like he's going to get hurt fatally, and she takes the but instead. (how stupid.)
And she dies. But she doesn't regret it. And gets reincarnated!
(I wanna see him pining for her the same way she does for him!!!!)
WARNINGS! THIS STORY CONTAINS... angst + fluff + lilia×fem reader
A/N: Thank you for your request, @something1032727 I hope my work pleases you. This is my first work after all. If you are not comfortable with this, feel free to leave. If you would like a version with male reader instead, please request it. Likes, comments and reblogs are very much appreciated.
Now, the parade starts with it's first destination...
Fate's Redemption: A Love Reborn
(part 1)
In the symphony of life, love echoes and reverberates endlessly, intertwining souls across time. Every gesture, every sacrifice, echoes through eternity, shaping destinies. And in the cycle of rebirth, love's refrain returns, reminding us that its melody endures, transcending even lifetimes. Truly, eternal echoes of love.
"Please go out with me!" You say as always, with such vigour, with such annoyingness, as always. Love-struck eyes stare into mine, seemingly going into my soul, hoping for a chance. It's like her eyes turn into hearts whenever I'm here.
How stupid. One of my best soldiers in the army, and she's so head-over-heels for me. Save her clumsy ass a few times, and she magically falls in love with you.
How naive.
I reject you once again, for what seems like the 1000th time or more, but you still don't give up. Your stubbornness is one of your worst yet best trait about you.
You eat my food with a smile even though my other soldiers avoid it like the plague. I suppose you do have good taste after all.
You cook for me, feed my ego, help me with my work, and so much more.
I wonder if you're just in it for fun. Perhaps you just want my title if we actually win the war. But I brush the thoughts off when I see your sincerity.
You ask again, and again, and again.
Why are you so insistent?
Why do you even bother?
Why do you like me so much?
This little crush of yours should be over by now. I have not treated you very nicely. I have not treated you any different from the rest. There is nothing between us. Why can't you understand that I'm just not interested?!
At least that was what I would like to say. If my heart didn't stop beating so hard around you. If your smile, your stupid, stupid confessions, that used to not bother me at all, now haunts me in my sleep every night!
What's wrong with me..?
Am I truly... falling in love..?
.
.
.
Well, that's what I wanted to ask.
How stupid. How fucking fucking fucking stupid!
How irritable can you be?
How much do you want me to cry over you?!
Is it too late to say I regret not accepting your confession all those years ago, if now you're dead..?
--
"General, watch out..!" You say, as you use your body to shield me from an arrow that I never even noticed was coming after me. Pushing me to the side.
"...you're dying. How stupid. Why did you take that arrow for me?" I pick you up, just running to base. Stupid human devices..! I can't cast my teleportation magic! There's no time, there's no time! You stupid fae...
"cause... *cough*, I love you." You say weakly, softly, coughing out blood in my arms. You even wink! You infuriate me so bad!
"Shut up! Don't you dare die on me!" I ran as fast as I could. Don't die. Don't die. Don't die! You made my life brighter, and now you want me to go back to how it was?!
You made me fall in love with you!
.
Fuck. Before we even reached, I could feel your heart stop beating. Your body is becoming cold. No, no, no! It can't end like this. It can't!
Is this what it feels to have your whole world crash upon you?
My heart feels heavy. My cheek feels wet. I feel like causing a massacre. My chest feels tight. It's a bit hard to breathe. I feel a chill go up my back.
But why..?
Death is normal in war. Death is a daily occurrence in war. Death happens in every fight, in every week.
So why?
Why does death, which was so normal for soldiers on the battlefield like me, make me feel this way?
Amidst my thoughts, I managed to bring you back to base. But it wasn't really you. Just a cold, soulless empty vessel of you.
This is just too cruel.
You should not have ended up this way, you still had so much to live for, and just when I was actually going to accept your confession you go and die on me?!
We... Could have been happy together.
If only... If only I wasn't so stubborn, denying my feelings for you.
If only you weren't so insistent on going out with me.
If only...
If only...
If only you didn't take that hit in my stead, could that have happened..?
Ah, but it's too late to regret it now, huh?
.
That night, it was said that wailings could be heard from inside the General's tent.
--
Years have passed, and the numbers signalling each year are not the only changes that happened in my life.
I have gotten wiser and older. Now I know what I felt for you in those days.
Love is the word for my overwhelming feelings for you.
I visit your grave from time to time. It mostly ends up in tears, despite how many years have passed.
I used to call you pathetic for being so love-driven. I guess now I'm the pathetic one. How my past words bite me in the gyatt, just like the youngsters say!
I entered school. I can't believe I still have that invitation letter from NRC from all those years ago!
I have gotten over you.
At least that would be what I would like to say, but when I saw you again, it was like my old heart started beating again.
"(y/n),"
The dark mirror said, and my eyes shot to the person in question. Could it truly be..?
Those eyes. Those mannerisms. Everything about you... I could never mistake you for anyone else. It's you.
"Thou shall be sorted into..."
Diasomnia. I hope she'll be sorted in the same dorm as me. But even so, I'll win her heart again even if she's not.
"Savannahclaw!"
I feel like sighing... We could have been dormmates! But, oh well!
Khehehe. This general makes a mission to himself, to make you fall in love with him as deeply and as hopelessly as you did all those years ago. And this general isn't one to fail a mission.
Get ready, my love.
A/N: dear souls, stay tuned for part 2! Thank you for reading if you read.
#lilia x you#twst lilia#lilia x reader#lilia vanrouge x reader#twisted wonderland x reader#twisted wonderland#twst wonderland#disney twst#twst x reader#twst#twisted wonderland lilia#twisted wonderland lilia vanrouge#twst lilia vanrouge#lilia x fem reader#fem reader#twst fanfic#fate's redemption: a love reborn
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in return for the fic recs i got last month, here are a few fics i read recently that i want to absolutely yell about from the rooftops:
Iron, Fire, Mirror-Glass by PurpleSoot: an early batman days AU where, while slowly healing from a spine-shattering injury, bruce finds an old book about the fae. in a fit of desperation he attempts a Summoning to try to heal his spine. enter: robin.
this story is fantastic—the kind of longfic with a plot so good and satisfying that finishing it leaves you on a reading high for at least a week. one of the best early days bruce fics i’ve ever read, with honorable mentions to excellent alfred and clark and jim and selina characterizations—but robin (dick) really takes the cake here. the balance of chilling, otherworldly, not-quite-human vs. playful, earnest, Still Just a Child…chef’s kiss. the way robin’s character arc drags bruce kicking and screaming through his own emotional growth is so well-paced and well-wrought that i already want to reread just so i can experience it again. this is one of those god-tier longfics that i can’t believe i got to read for free on the internet.
mid-reading testimonial:
The Lone Ranger Never Had to Deal with Bruce Wayne by @theskeptileptic: a tim-joins-the-family-early fic in which tim decides to do everyone (his parents) a solid by faking his own death and running away to canada, except his weirdo neighbor bruce wayne keeps butting in and messing up his plans.
this is one of the rare stories where tim doesn’t know batman’s identity yet, and even rarer stories where that somehow makes the whole thing even more compelling. this fic has two of my favorite things: small, lonely, moderately unhinged tim drake pov, and really good pangs—pangs that are expertly teased out through flashbacks that add context to the present action at exactly the right moments. also, a very fun cameo near the end. i had a blast reading this one, physically clutched my chest more than once, and am already looking forward to rereading.
mid-reading testimonial (feat. @cairoscene):
equivalent exchange by scribblemetimbers (wip): an au set during tim’s robin days in which tim discovers 1) crossroads demons are a thing and 2) people can make deals with them. deals that include bringing people back from the dead, so long as you’re willing to pay the price with your own life.
this fic is so…🤌‼️ it feels like everything i want in a fic so far, down to two incredibly specific concepts i love (bruce, in his grief, saying something harsh to robin!tim with disastrous consequences later + tim making a big secret sacrifice gambit) which are both done so so well, within a larger plot that is also done so so well. the way this fic cuts in and out of scenes at the exact right moments for max tension feels like a masterclass in causing me to tear my hair out (in the best way), and instead of assorted pangs reading it is just one big Pang. it currently leaves off on an agonizing cliffhanger but, again, in the best way. highly recommend. (thank you again @owlbats for the rec!)
exchange between me and my friend after i sent the link, which about sums it up:
and to cut this angst with some humor:
IRIS Log #1548 by @deadchannelradio: a night on patrol as recorded by the bats’ audio logs, centering around red hood getting flung into a ditch and everyone, eventually, getting home safe.
one of the top ten funniest things i’ve ever read—spiritually up there with send to all (and if you’ve seen my fic rec tag you’ll know what a compliment that is). this makes use of the audio log format SO well. the dialogue shines, the jokes land with excellent timing, and it moves at such a clip that it’s pretty much impossible to stop reading once you’ve started. every character shines in this, and i’ve randomly choked on laughter remembering the phrase ‘good god he got thrown like a corn hole beanbag’ like twenty times in the past few weeks.
mid-reading testimonial:
#every time i sit down to do a general reclist it gets so long and i get overwhelmed because i want to write an essay for each one#i had a rec thread going on twitter for a while and it was also getting so long even though i stopped months ago#i should do these monthly. there are so many fics i would love to yell from the rooftops about#anyway these rock!! happy reading!!!#batfam#fic rec
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hana, i know you reblogged this post but please,
go wild and brainrot;3
Hello Herri 💕💜🌺
As you have asked for, so shall you receive. I AM STILL ROTTING OVER THIS MAN SO YOU HAVE COME AT THE PERFECT MOMENT (then again do I ever not rot over this fae????)
So that quote just hits me right in the feels, its one of the quotes that just steps on your heart, you know? HTTYD 2 is my favorite movie of the three as well
"Go on, shout. scream! Say something!"
"You're as beautiful as the day I lost you."
These two lines are just so so filled with emotions and then you can add so much more feels and angst as well, given how you set up the story line.
SO HERE WE GO, under the cut because I am going to go wild and I ended up writing a few different drabbles.
So, to start of with your idea Herri, I'm going to add a spin on it and more details.
What if Reader was a Fae in this scenario?
So, the situation is similar to HTTYD, but in this case instead of enemies being dragons, we are going with enemies being Humans.
Humans and Fae War will be the setting.
Reader develops sympathy/empathy for the humans, but know that during this time, the Fae are too prideful to sign a treaty with them.
Likewise, humans are just as stubborn.
but the Reader cannot and will not have humans die by their hands, not anymore.
but Reader knows that they are the only ones thinking this way, and knows that their beloved, Lilia, is stubborn and won't change his mind either.
As all problems require, time is needed.
So Reader leaves in the middle of the night without telling anyone.
Time passes, and the war ends, and we come to current times.
You have moved on to another land. You used your magic to hide your Fae features until everything has settled down between the Fae and Humans.
Now that peace has come, you can’t help but wonder, should you go back? Should you reveal yourself?
Coronation Route: You went back home once you heard that Maleficia is stepping down, and her grandson Malleus will be taking her place as King. You have heard how he has a fondness for humans, and even made friends with them. You have heard rumors about how his lover might even be human. You have heard rumors how Lilia is by his side, and so are two guards (one who is human and another who is half fae and half human). You can't help it. You want to go back. You want to see him again. So you go back to your kingdom on the day of the coronation, wearing a robe to cover you. You watch as Malleus and his entourage greet the people and then you see him. He has changed...yet he is the Lilia you love and cherish. You can't help it; you utter his name. He shouldn't have been able to see you, and yet his eyes snapped towards your direction. You turn to leave quietly, hoping against all odds he's hadn't noticed you. But of course, he is the Phantom General, he catches you. You could see that he still has the love he always had for you and then those lines are uttered by you both. You end up breaking down and crying in his arms. You missed him, all these years and your love for each other never faded. It seems there is more than one celebration to celebrate tonight. It was also a night of lovers being reunited after hundreds of years.
NRC Route: I'm thinking of reasons why Fae Reader ended up at NRC and I'm going with they are a professor there. NRC is nothing, if not perfect at hiding secrets and they hid your identity well. That is until you attended the ceremony for the new students and lo and behold, Malleus and Lilia are both part of the new class. You have to force yourself from shaking. You have to stop yourself from looking at Lilia again and again. You can't look at him again. You can't drink him in as if he is water and you are very much parched for him. You try to act normal as you feel eyes on you, and you know it is him. You leave the ceremony right after is it finished, hoping to evade him just a bit longer. What can you say? What can you do? How would you face him after so long? But you have missed him so. Time is taken out of your hands when you see him in your room, while he may not look the same, he is skillful and has been known as the Phantom General after all. He is a silent as the shadows and you can't help it. You break first. You say those words, only for him to call you beautiful in return. You sob as he cups your face and wipes your tears. His arms as warm and comforting as you remember. You two have many years to make up for, and lucky for you both, you two have all the time in the world.
NO ONE LOOK AT ME I AM STILL FEELING SOFT AFTER WRITING THAT JKLWJEDLJFLJL
Now, what if Reader was human?
There's so many different situations I can come up with, but I'm going to go with two of them. One is going to be with a Human and reincarnation trope and another is going to deal with my Yume Hana Asteria.
Reincarnation Route: You were a human who had met the General on the battle field. He was ensnared by a trap set by the humans, but had gotten free. At the cost of grave wounds, you chose to heal his wounds instead of leaving him. You knew that you should have left him be, knew that he would likely kill you. but you couldn't, at the end, he needed help and you wouldn't leave him. He ended up in your care. He wasn't the...greatest patient. He snarled at you and demeaned you, but you let him be. He had many chances to kill you, but never did and that was good enough for you. You ended up dying protecting him. He had tears falling down his face while he cradled you. You told him it was okay and that you cherished your time together. You prayed you two would meet again. You did not know it, but you were the start of why he started softening towards humans. Hundreds of years passed, you had returned as the magic-less Prefect. You two made a connection as if you were soulmates, but neither of you knew why. It was only in the dream world did you both finally understand. After Malleus' OB had been settled, you yelled. Not at him, never at him, you yelled at the unfairness of it all. But he just uttered, how much you haven't changed and how you are as beautiful as he remembered. And you both knew, No matter the situation, this time you both would have a Happy Ending in this life.
Hana Asteria Route: Hana tried to stop the war between both sides, but no matter what she did, it was never enough. Hana eventually gets captured by the Fae, and in time, she forms a camaraderie with them. Eventually, she has to leave, her powers were used too much and she would shatter if she stayed any longer, so she said good bye. When she finally returned, she did not remember her time in the past. But as the story progressed as in canon, she remembered. It was then that she shouted. She felt useless. She couldn't even help those she loves, but Lilia comforted her. The stars had granted him his deepest wish. He would meet her again, and so they were reunited. This time though, they both would work together to bring forth the world they dreamed of. This story Anonie wrote speaks to me on so many levels on how Hana and Lilia met. It is beautiful and I recommend everyone to check it out.
PLEASE I AM STILL SO SOFT. IT IS SOMETHING ABOUT IMMORTALS AND MOTALS LOVING EACH OTHER. ABOUT HOW, THROUGH TIME, THEY WILL MEET AGAIN AND AGAIN. HOW THEY WILL CONSTANTLY FALL IN LOVE THAT HAS ME GO FERAL 💜💚💚💚💚
Going to stop here because then I will never stop at this rate lolol I want to hopefully write one of these ideas one day but we will see.
I hope you enjoyed what I wrote Herri and that it helped with your writer's block.
Your ask certainly has me going feral again, but hey, at least this time I'm not stating how bad I want to...uhhhh ah-hem.
Thank you of sending this in 💚🌺
Additional Credit for the Quote by @aqua-beam
#twst lilia vanrouge#lilia vanrouge x reader#lilia vanrouge#twst x reader#twisted wonderland x reader#general lilia#general lilia vanrouge#general lilia vanrouge x reader#twst drabble#twst imagines#twst x you#twisted wonderland x you#Hana Asteria#oc: Hana Asteria
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Bobbing for Apples with Malleus
This is part of a Halloween collab sponsored by @jade-s-nymph. Do check out some of the other Halloween stories coming out on their page!
He looks at you flatly before returning his gaze to the barrel. Then, he puts one long elegant finger to his chin as though to ponder the situation. “I promise,” you assure him, “It’s a real thing!” Malleus tilts his head slightly, letting one of his long trailing locks brush his shoulder, “And what am I to do once I’ve captured this water-bound fruit?” You shrug again, “Nothing really. That’s it. You just fish the apple out of the barrel with your teeth and that’s all.” He returns his gaze to the barrel holding several prime Harveston apples (courtesy of Epel) and again, seems to deeply ponder the meaning behind the game.
You nervously wait for his response, but none was forthcoming; he appeared content to observe the waiting fruit indefinitely. Finally, you ask, “Should I go first?” While you’d thought Malleus content to merely onlook, you were proven wrong by the appearance of a pouty scowl. He gives you a hurt look, “I’m simply strategizing before showing my skills.” You hold in a smile, “Oh, I see. That’s a great idea. I’m sure you will show me something interesting then.” His scowl clears and he gives you a confident smirk, “Be certain to observe me closely, my Child of Man.”
There was no chance you’d disobey that order. As his gaze returns to the apples, your gaze returns to him. You really didn’t care if your paramour impressed you with his apple catching skills or not. You were just happy to have this time to be by the elusive Prince’s side. As he presses his index finger to his bottom lip in concentration, he further exposes his brilliant white fangs. While everything about the lovely fae catches your eye, those differences between human and fae stand out most. You linger over the way the fang brushes against his soft lip, puckering the flesh around it. An amused chuckle emerges from the same mouth, and you know you’ve been caught staring.
You look down, suddenly shy at the attention. “Are you so eager to see me begin?” Malleus asks with a bemused smile displaying his satisfaction, “Very well then, I shall show you the strategy I’ve decided upon.” You step away from the barrel, giving him room to make his attempt. You watch in anticipation, knowing that regardless of his success, you are about to witness the rare sight of Malleus engaging in a whimsical activity. It was good that you were attentive for the attempt is over disappointingly fast. It seems that Malleus had indeed developed a successful strategy of herding the apples into a group before attempting to grasp one with his teeth.
You smiled at the proud fae displaying his caught prize and gave a little clap. “Yay, nice job.” He preens a touch under your praise before his face screws up in frustration. You look at his puzzled, “What is it?” He reaches up and tugs at the apple firmly secured in his mouth and you realize that he can’t remove it; the apple has become caught in his sharp fangs. “Pfft,” you try to hold in the laugh, but it is too much for you. Malleus glares at you as he continues to struggle to remove the trapped fruit from his open jaw. “I’m sorry,” you gasp out, “it’s just so surprising is all.” Having his lover see him in such a state seems to push him over the edge and with one powerful motion, he crushes the apple between his strong draconic jaw.
You turn away, not daring to meet his angry stare as he spits mushed apple from his mouth and huffs a small puff of flame as well. He seems more upset than usual. The murderous gaze he throws at the unassuming apples as he mutters under his breath chills you thoroughly. “Say Malleus,” you try to redirect, “Why don’t we forget bobbing for apples and go do something else?” He shoots you and angry pout, the tips of his fangs just barely visible in his pursed lips, “No more apples. I’m going to write a strongly worded letter to the procurer of these faulty fruits.” You cringe, thinking of the reaction Epel will have to hearing criticism of his apples. “But apples can be nice too!” you try to convince him, pulling his hand to another stand.
Malleus frowns when he sees the caramel apple stand. “Come on, give it a chance,” you beg as you squeeze his hand, “they are nice and sweet. I promise!” He huffs at you but allows his precious human to convince him to continue. You bound up to the stand and pluck an apple from the display, setting the required amount of madol in the jar for payment. You smile encouragingly at Malleus as you take the first sticky bite, letting the sweetness of the caramel candy mix with the juicy flesh of the apple in your mouth. “Mmm,” you sigh happily before holding out the apple to your companion, “It’s good. Try a bite.”
He grasps your hand instead of taking the apple himself. After maneuvering it to his mouth, he turns the apple to take a bite from the same place you’d had yours from. You felt your cheeks grow warm at the sight of it. “Indirect kiss…” you mumble. His eyes meet yours and you see his pupils dilate slightly. He’d heard you. Of course, he had. Stupid powerful fae hearing. You turn your head to the side, avoiding his gaze. “Would you prefer a direct one instead?” Malleus purrs into your ear.
You gasp and turn unconsciously to face him again. Then it is your turn to pout, “Don’t tease me.” His eyes narrow in mischief as he replies, “Child of man, when have I denied you anything?” You look at him for a moment, trying to control your emotions before answering. “Fine then,” raising your chin in a haughty manner, “but only for the apple. I’m not finished enjoying the taste.” His smile takes your breath away moments before his kiss does. You feel his fangs lightly nip at your lips as you taste just the smallest tartness of the apple lingering on his own. When you break apart, you whisper, “See, I told you that you’d like these ones.” He smiles as he pulls you close, “Yes, it was very sweet indeed.”
#Spooky Chattering 2023#malleus x reader#malleus draconia x reader#malleus draconia#twisted wonderland#twst wonderland#twst#twisted wonderland x reader#twst x reader
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Azriel x Reader | Crazy Stupid Love
edited!!
type: angst
warning(s): self-doubt, harmful thoughts, age-gap, Azriel is Reader's boss
word count: 5.4k words
summary: Reader is one of Azriel’s spies. Nesta has rescued her from Illyria and brought her to Velaris. Azriel has seen Reader’s potential and has asked her to become his spy. Slowly, he has fallen for her and vice versa. But both have difficulties accepting those feelings, especially since Azriel has doubts about him being Illyrian when you just escaped the Illyrian war camps, thinking you would be disgusted by his love for you. This is now the edited version of a request (where Reader is one of tge IC members' children) that caused incredibly much hate and uproar. Once again I can only apologise and hope you will like this story now better. Additional info, Reader is jealous of Gwyn in this, so Reader’s dislike of Gwyn stems from disappointment and jealousy. I love Gwyn’s character a lot, so these are not my thoughts and hence why I put some cute Gwynriel friendship into it.
- all rights reserved -
The shadowsinger’s thumb carefully swipes over your cheek, barely brushing the surface, his palm soft and warm on your skin, his touch gentle. You almost melt into it, your heart rapidly beating against your rib cage, reveling into the closeness of him. Your skin tingles, prickling. Not only where he touches you. Everywhere actually. Your gaze is trained on the ground, unable to look at him.
Azriel. Shadowsinger and spymaster of the Night Court. And your boss—you being his best spy and that for quite some years now. So these feelings are…very, very wrong. You know that, but—
“Hm?” he questions, his voice barely above a whisper. It is the gentleness in it that nearly draws tears to your eyes, this side of him that hardly anyone ever gets to see. He lets this gentles, this soft and caring side show whenever he is around you.
And that hurts, because even though, your heart beats for him, there will never be more between the two of you than…friends.
And friends is already the most of it. You are his employee.
“I just felt dizzy all of a sudden. Might have been the heat,” you answer, warmth filling your cheeks. Azriel does not really seem content with this answer and tips your chin up with his thumb. You are forced to meet his gaze eventually, your heart pounding in your throat. You clamp your mouth shut, knowing that you first had to order your thoughts and only then could talk.
You mind is a mess whenever you are around him. You have always liked Azriel a lot. He always seems to understand you, making you feel comfortable in what you do and say and think. Until it changed. Or not. You still feel comfortable around him, but now also really nervous and sometimes a little bit...shy.
Azriel is just–Gods!
He…you find it hard to breathe whenever you look at him. But now, now that your eyes clash with those of hazel, it is a sheer impossibility to form any coherent thought and to make your lungs fill with air.
“I think you might not have drunk enough today,” Azriel says, a tint of reprimanding in his voice. You roll your eyes a little–yes, you are a younger fae, but you aren’t a baby. You are an adult and very capable of knowing how much or little you should drink a day.
The shadowsinger clicks his tongue and chuckles, the deep rumble doing something to you, making your toes curl. “What did I say about you rolling your eyes at me, little one?”
Taunting laces his features when his gaze moves over your face, the corner of his mouth tipping up.
Snickering slightly, you simply roll them again. “Well, sometimes, Shadowsinger, one can only roll their eyes at you. I am no baby. I can perfectly—“
“I never said you are a not capable of knowing how much to drink or you being a bay, I just realised that during training you drank nothing at all. And also not during lunch.”
So he was watching you during lunch? Your mind plays silly games with you. Why would he watch you? To see if you are fit for work?
“So during lunch you had nothing better to do than watch me and see if I drink enough?” Your brow raises in challenge, eyes aglow when the narrow in on the shadowsinger. He cocks his head, smiling at your teasing words. Azriel leans back on the lounger and stretches his legs, then he folds his hands behind his neck. His onyx hair glow in the bright sunlight, his hazel eyes sparkling with challenge.
“I’m just looking out for you. Training requires strength. But so it does require that you eat and drink enough and have enough power.”
His explanation is not entirely what you hoped to hear, nevertheless you bow your head and force a small smile on your lips, knowing it does not reach your eyes.
You know this is wrong, know that you should not feel…so much for Azriel. It is strange, odd, weird, twisted. But you cannot do anything against your feelings, you cannot force your heart to stop beating so frantically whenever Azriel is around, whenever he is near. It just happens, you just happen to have caught feelings for him. Feelings that you cannot suppress, nor do anything against them.
You cannot stand the tension any longer, how close he sits, how his scent fills your nostrils —night-chilled mist, cedar and a hint of sweat— or how his warmth reaches your body, how his thigh touches yours. How often have you imagined situations just like this in the dead of night, staring at the ceiling in your room, fingers toying with the edges of the romance books you have been trying to read but soon lost focus.
“Can we just go back to training?” You don’t wait for an answer, standing in one swift movement that has you tumbling a little bit.
“Only if you drink. You nearly fainted earl—“
You snatch the bottle from the bench next to Azriel, roll your eyes and take a big sip. Actually you down the whole thing in a few big gulps.
Unsmiling the spymaster stands, shadows skittering around him. Azriel rolls back his broad shoulders and stretches his wings for a moment.
You find yourself gazing. Your throat works on a swallow when your eyes trail over the thin, leather-like membrane, the vein up to his talon. From Morrigan and Nesta you have often heard the rumors that wingspan says a lot about—
“Staring at wings is inapproiate, Y/N,” Azriel chuckles and quickly snatches them in.
“Sorry,” you whisper, sharply turning away from him. He could never see the terribly blush staining your cheeks. Internally you curse Morrigan and Nesta for telling you about wingspans.
Heading away from Azriel, you decide to join the children of the High Lord and the general of the Illyrian armies, them only being a good century younger than you.
You just have to leave, wanting to get away from the shadowsinger that still has your knees wobble.
Baxton already frantically waves at you, a big toothy grin on his lips. “Feeling better?” he asks and you bow your head, smiling.
They inform you that they, Baxton and Nyx, would do some one-on-one combat while Dorian trains with his father, Cassian, on the other side of the pitch. Well, then you would not train with them. Which leaves you with–
A shadow appears above you and you don’t even have to turn to know who it is. “Let’s do some kicking. There are still some…lacks you have to work on.”
You really want to kick backwards, knowing Azriel just said this to anger you because he knows that you fight much better when you are angered. And this again...that he knows you so well, makes the content of your stomach sour. He knows you somehow better than anyone else, like and and his shadows can read you perfectly, your actions, your thoughts, just everything.
“Well, then, master of kicking, show me how it is done.”
The grin that spreads over your face is cruel and mischievous when you turn to Azriel, innocently blinking your eyes up at him. His nostrils flare and a snort leaves his throat before he tilts his head, motioning for the right side of the pitch.
"Little one..." he growls lowly, reprimanding but also amusement in his tone.
Nyx and Baxton are already dueling, fully focused on each other when you start with kicking excises that Azriel has just shown you, trying to imitate them.
“If you continue kicking like this you will twist your ankle,” Azriel comments and yes, has you roll your eyes once again.
“Then show me how to stand, you oh so great Illyrian warrior.” Mischief sparks in your eyes when you throw him a challenging look over your shoulder. Azriel chuckles lowly, lifting his hand to show you a vulgar gesture. “No need to get feisty, little one.”
“Don’t always call me little one!” Your cross your arms over your chest. Well, you are little indeed since that is what makes a good spy. You have an easy time hiding, and sliding through narrow and small spaces, ducking down behind bushes or fitting into cupboards and closets to get secret information.
Your breathing comes to an abrupt stop when Azriel closes the distance between your bodies, now standing mere inches from you, his brow raised while he looks down on you.
Night-chilled mist and cedar envelope you, the heat from his body stretching out and warming your skin. You try to hold his gaze, looking up at him with colour blooming on your cheeks. This is…different. This feels different. This feels intimate.
“You are little,” Azriel argues and grins. You want to hit him, but you find yourself unable to do so. It becomes a sheer impossibility to breathe, to think, to…exist.
His grin is nothing but cruel beauty. He is beautiful when he smiles, but gods, when Azriel grins, it feels like someone pulls the rug out from under your feet.
A cool breeze tingles your skin when Azriel leans in. Maybe you are imaging it, but still fully on its own accord your head tilts, your lids slowly closing. Offer and permission.
You feel his breath hot against your skin, Azriel is mere inches from you, his own heart rapidly beating in his chest. You can hear it. You can feel it.
The shadowsinger clears his throat, probably remembering that you aren't alone on the pitch, and the warmth leaves your body the moment he leans back.
“Let me show you how should…stand,” he breathes, voice hoarse and croaky when he wipes his palm over his face. He steps back, unease lacing his features, a deep shade of red on his cheeks.
Is he blushing? Is Azriel truly blushing right now? you think, still in a sort of trance of what has just happened. Only moments later you can, with quite a lot of difficulty focus back on training.
But in all honesty, you still think about how close he stood, how his breath felt on your skin, how he looked at you on the training pitch, when you are sitting in your bathtub the following evening.
Soon it is Starfall Eve and you are going to have this big celebration where the whole Inner Circle along their friends will meet up at the House of Wind, celebrating the travelling spirits.
Half a century ago, Nesta brought you along to one of her Valkyrie trainings. She met you in the outskirts of Illyria –you worked there as a laundry lady– and you immediately loved the idea suggested to you: become a Valkyrie and leave the war camp you worked in.
Nesta brought you with her to Velaris, and soon you were offered a room in the Town House as there was always a place for people who needed it.
During the very first training Azriel has already seen your incredible potential, having somehow stolen you away from Nesta somehow by offering you to work as a spy form him. And that was what you did. You became his spy. Neither you nor Azriel has had any intention of falling in love with the other–you hearts apperently have had different ideas. And so did your souls. Two souls hoping to finally being united as one.
Your fingers absently brush over your calves, your gaze trained on the tub wall, imagining how deep the brown of Azriel’s eyes looked when he locked his gaze with yours. How soft his scarred hands felt on your skin. You have always felt most comfortable around Azriel–it was always him who you sought out when you needed someone to talk to, when you felt sad or lonely. It was always Azriel who was there for you, comforted you. And it was always—
“Are you done, Y/N?”
“Almost done,” you answer the young Nyx, whom, when he was younger, you have often baby-sitted, when his father and mother went to High Lord meetings and you did not have to work.
But well, you aren’t even close to almost done, but Nyx seems content about the answer, mumbling something before shuffling away.
You haven’t been finished in twenty minutes, but apperently everyone seems fine it, the High Lord also having taken quite some time longer himself, fixing his suit jacket and his hair.
You were in the bathroom for so long, doing your hair and putting on some light make-up. You want to look stunning, you want to knock the breath from Azriel’s lungs, even though you know how silly that sounds.
You aren't in the best mood, swinging the wine in your glass and releasing some air through your nose. Even two hours after arriving at the House of Wind you haven’t caught sight of Azriel, starting to feel slightly uneasy. Where the hell was he?
You have been hanging around with Nuala and Cerridwen, your two colleagues, for quite sometime until Nuala leaves to talk to the High Lord if still everything is alright and so it is Cerridwen and you. Cerridwen blabbers non-stop about a new recipe she has discovered and you only listen with one ear, always trying to figure out where Azriel could be. He has to see you in this dress, you think to yourself when Cerridwen guides you through the kitchen to head towards one of the balconies.
The door to the balcony is open and the moment you lift your gaze, your heart splinters into a million pieces.
That is where he has been the whole time.
Your brother is still talking to you, still happily chatting, but you cannot make out a single word that is said over the blood pumping in your ears. You feel your knees get wobbly, a large crack appearing in your heart when you see it, the priestess' hand, placed on Azriel’s lower arm. Tensions brackets your mouth, tears burning behind your eyes when you look at the shadowsinger’s happy, joyful face. He is laughing, freely, whole-heartedly. His eyes are glowing brightly, his posture so relaxed, so at ease.
Your hands fall to your side, the crack in your heart increasing, making it hard to breathe. Your lower lip trembles and your—
“What do you think is better–chocolate or vanilla?”
Gods…Furrowing your brows you turn to Cerridwen and look up at her. Your lips part when confusion laces your insides. You have no idea. No idea of what she has said, of what you should do now, of how you should act now. You do not want to stay here. Not with them getting all cosy and Azriel probably falling in love right in this moment. He seems so—
A loud, whole-hearted laugh draws your attention once again back to the spymaster and the priestess. Azriel is slightly bent over, clutching his belly, laughing. Gwyn is chortling loudly next to him, her beautiful teal eyes glowing, a stunning smile plastering her face. She is stunning.
Tearing your gaze away from them, you look down on yourself. She is stunning, but you are…What are you?
Self-doubt and self-consciousness flood your entire body and suddenly all you want to do is get out of the skin tight, midnight blue dress. You want to rip it off your body and put on one of those big jumpers that would hide every little curve and edge of your figure. You aren't as slender and stunning as Gwyn and you know that. Azriel probably knows that as well. He finds her beautiful, this is obvious, has become obvious during training in the past…years. He might have been in love with her for much longer, even before the two of you even met, and you simply did—
“Y/N? Still with me?” Getting impatient, the shadow wraith snaps her fingers in front of your face. You turn to her, taking in her partly irritated but also worried expression.
“Sorry, I am not feeling too well,” you whisper. “What did you say?”
She waves you off and gives her head a little shake. “What is going on?” she asks, her eyes turning softer. She puts his glass of wine down and fully turns to you.
“Nothing,” you quickly answer. Too quickly probably. She raises one brow at you and parts her lips, but you are quicker.
“I am close to my cycle I believe. I am just not feeling too well. I will head home now. It is best if I get some sleep, the past days have been quite exhausting.” You put your glass down and wipe your hands down your dress, smoothing it out or rather getting the sweat that has started to form on your palms off.
“Are you sure? The spirits are about to start travelling.”
“Yes, more than sure. I have seen this quite some times already and it will be the same next year. I don’t mind missing it this year.”
And yes…yes, you run down all the dreadful steps that lead up to the House of Wind. You can barely feel your legs, the pain in your heart so much more potent and drowning out everything else.
The journey back home becomes a blur. Storming into your room you already started pulling at the strings of your dress, finally wanting to get out of it. This beautiful dress that no longer feels beautiful. It feels too tight, scratchy somehow. It has the same colour as Azriel's siphons, you have chosen it…Cauldron, yes, you have chosen it for Azriel. And now you hate it. Loathe it.
Your fingers claw at the laces and straps until you finally manage to rip the dress off your body and toss it into the room, stumbling over your heels while you step over it. You slip out of them as well, now just standing in your undergarments.
You head for the bathroom, needing to cool down. You splash cold water into your face, letting a sob you have been holding in for minutes finally escape. The sound of it hollows of the walls, reverberates through your body and fully cracks your heart open. Your soul feels so empty, so dead, the feeling so dull. It feels like someone had cut a thread and now your soul would never find a way to happiness ever again.
Your lower lip still trembles when you stare into your face through the mirror. Your knuckles turn white from how tightly you are holding onto the sink. Obviously he would never fall for you. You are a good three centuries younger than him. And most importantly, he sees you as his spy, as someone who works for him, but he would never see you as a love interest, as his lover. But why is there this connection between the two of you? Why has this connection existed since the very first day?
A single tear rolls down your cheek, landing in the sink. You stare at your eyes, those eyes that would never be as beautiful as Gwyn’s. You have always liked her, she was always like an older sister to you when your first arrived here and now she is stealing your…your…your nothing. You bring one hand up to smack it over your forehead. Azriel is your boss that is it. He is nothing more or less.
You hear your own breathy sob hollow in the bathroom when you wipe at your cheeks with the back of your hand. You breathing is ragged, air wheezing in and out of your lungs while you try to calm down. This is all so stupid. You are so stupid, you think to yourself. How could you have ever had hopes for this male? How could you have ever thought that Azriel would really fall in love with you? With someone like you when there were all those stunning females right in front of him.
You grind your teeth together, trying to think of anything other than Azriel. Every thought just jumps right back to him, how he was laughing, how happy he looked. It still hurts, your chest still aches, your soul still feels dark and cold, empty.
Your soul isn’t the only one yearning. Sadness is etched into his features when Azriel’s gaze longingly travels through the room.
Weren't you at the celebration earlier, wearing that stunning midnight blue dress? The spymaster does not want to make his searching for you too obvious, but he can't really focus when an uneasy feeling appears in his belly. Somehow like he can feel your hurt. Like he can feel that you are not well.
“And so I kissed him back. And it was beautiful because he gave me a choice and made me feel loved and respected in my decision,” Gwyn finishes her sentence, giggling softly, eyes gleaming with bliss. Azriel turns to her, raising a brow.
Gwyn swats at his arm. “Don't tell me you haven’t been paying attention the whole time.” Reproach laces her features while she shakes her head at the shadowsinger.
“I did listen to your story, Gwyn. And I think it is really nice that you kissed,” Azriel mumbles, shortly looking past the priestess, trying to make out if you maybe are in the kitchen with Nuala.
“What is going on, Azriel?”
The spymaster shrugs a shoulder, shadows curling tightly around him. “Nothing,” he breathes and Gwyn rolls her eyes. It reminds the spymaster of you. His heart cracks a little bit because he shouldn’t be thinking of you. He should never be thinking of you. You work for him, he is at least three centuries older and—
Not once did he allow himself to pleasure himself to the thought of you. One time he thought about it for a split second and then was grossed out about himself. He is still disgusted about himself that he thinks about you in way that is more than just…friendly. He likes you, but he also knows that he can never love you. It simply would not be wrong…everyone would think he has only wanted you to work for him for the purpose of wooing you or making you his lover. He saw your potential on the first day and knew that he wanted you as his spy as you were simply great. Still are.
But then, unfortunately, the feelings came in, his heart skipping an extra beat every time he sees you.
But what worries him the most: wouldn’t you be disgusted by this whole thing? This old male drooling after you?
Azriel has been pondering about these questions for months, years maybe. There have never been these feelings until a few years ago. Until some time ago when you came home form a mission…hurt. You had several broken ribs, a bloody face and slashes over your abdomen. Azriel was out of his mind, his heart splintering when he saw you and he knew in that moment that things between the two of you have changed. That he was so worried and broken to see you like this because you are more to him than just his spy.
To him you are the most stunning and breathtaking female Azriel has ever come across.
But you work for him, you have escaped Illyria and the Illyrian brutes, loving you now, wanting to be with you, this could not happen. It would be too twisted, too strange, too out of place.
You probably only see him as your boss, the High Lord’s spymaster, the shadowsinger. Because that is what he is, and only this and never ever anything else or more, Azriel thinks.
Absently, Azriel rubs his scarred palm over his chin, only then realising that he still hasn’t answered Gwyn.
“Nothing, I think I am just tired. Thank you for your concern,” Azriel quickly says, meeting Gwyn’s worried expression. Her hand once again moves to his lower arm, squeezing softly. “What is going on with you lately, you always seem so absent. So…sad,” Gwyn queries, her eyes soft, empathetic.
“Nothing. It really is just that I am tired. Work was exhausting these past weeks.”
Yes, work has indeed been exhausting. But not because of the work itself, but because Azriel constantly found himself distracted. It was either you sauntering into the room with a big, stunning grin on your face, you giggling or talking while you were discussing missions, you teasing him during training, simply you!
But there could never be more between the two of you. He could never openly love you and you could never have a relationship, that is clear. And that hurt. And it hurts so gods damn much, it nearly tears the spymaster's chest apart.
“Have you seen Y/N somewhere?” Azriel then asks, rather out of the blue as they have actually formerly been talking about his well-being.
“Y/N?” Gwyn asks and spins around on her heels. She looks around in the living room and shrugs her shoulders. “She has been here earlier, maybe she is getting herself something to drink? Why are you asking?”
A small smile blooms on her face, her feature not giving anything away though.
“Just curious,” Azriel answers and takes a sip from his drink.
“She is doing so great during training, don’t you think?” Gwyn chimes in. And yes, you are doing amazing during training. Gods, Azriel is so in admiration of—
“Yes, she does.”
“I bet she would have been a great Valkyrie if you hadn’t stole her away to become your spy,” Gwyn chuckles and nudges the spymaster with her elbow.
Azriel bows his head and smiles.
You don’t show up for the rest of the evening, or night, which has Azriel going close to mad. What has happened to you? Mor, already slightly tipsy from the fairy wine, only says as much as you did not feel well and obviously Azriel blames this on him. Did he do something wrong?
He has noticed that you have slightly changed around him, sometimes acting a bit shy and nervous when he caught you looking at him. But mostly you still were your sassy, confident self, so what could be the reason for you leaving early?
Did you really just not feel well? Were you ill?
Those questions still haunt him later that night when he is lying in bed, arms crossed behind his head, throat dry, a thousand thoughts coursing through his mind. He definitely doubted his rationality.
You have left the Illyrian war camps only to fall into his…grasp.
He could not allow that. This was twisted and wrong, he could not have those thoughts, those feelings, for you. Loving you, wanting you, aching for you was off limits. He could never allow himself that. Never.
The spymaster’s sleep is uneasy, he does not find rest, his heart beating sadly in his chest, his shadows unruly, finding not rest either. And many times he questions why he has agreed to family breakfast the next morning which would obviously be held at the Riverside House.
“All packed?” Azriel lifts his gaze to you, heart sinking when he takes in the dark circles under your eyes.
The words leave his mouth before he can stop himself. “Where are you going?”
He has not sent you on a mission and has not given you a day off, so where the hell where you going? A crease appears on his forehead when he swallows the lump in his throat and he feels the High Lord’s gaze on him, but his eyes are trained on you. On you only.
The spymaster watches your throat work on a swallow when you slowly meet his gaze. “I will take a few days off work, I am sorry for only informing you now. I am going to the Day Court to pay Elain, Lucien and Iris a visit.” Although your hands tremble at your sides, your voice comes out steady, strong.
Through working with Nuala and Cerridwen and eventually becoming friends with them you have also befriended the middle Archeron sister, you would now pay a visit. You just have to get out–get away from here.
Your gazes stay locked, something like sorrow glistening in Azriel’s eyes. Has he hurt you somehow? he questions himself. Your demeanor is so different. You don’t smile at him, you don’t tease him, you don’t even smile at your parents.
Has he made a wrong move? Is it because he touched you during training? Did he touch you too much? Somewhere where you felt uncomfortable? Was this because in the war camps those Illyrian brutes did touch you as well and now he was nothing better than them?
Disgust fills him once again, the back of his mouth tasting bitter when he grits his teeth and averts his gaze.
“Tell them all the best from us,” Feyre hums, finally fetching you both back to reality. You have been wondering if he has spent the night with Gwyn, if they went to his place together. Or if he kissed her goodbye.
“I will. Thank you. Good bye!”
By the huge bag you are carrying Azriel can tell that you will be going for longer. The sheer thought of not having you here does something to him. He swallows the rising sorrow, stuffing another piece of egg into his mouth, his gaze drawn to the table.
You cannot look at him either when you leave the room, waving the others goodbye.
Days pass and you love it at the Day Court, but still you find yourself caught in thoughts many times. You bounce a happily giggling Iris on your lap when Elain slides into the seat next to you, narrowing her eyes and placing her hand on your shoulder.
“And now you tell me what is going on with you.” It is a statement not a question. She is so good at that–probably one of her seer abilities, seeing right through you. In the past days you have acted like everything is fine, but apperently she has seen right through your lie.
“I think I am in love with someone…”
“Why such a grim face then? This is beautiful, love is beautiful,” Elain hums, her eyes soft and warm. You shrug and Elain rolls her eyes. “Ugh, don’t tell me that that he leaves far away or something and you barely have a chance to see him. Did you meet him on a mission?”
A soft laugh escapes you and you give your head a tiny shake. “No, that is not it. Really. It is all just complicated.”
“What is complicated?” Elain asks, softly stroking your shoulder with her thumb.
“Love is complicated. Crazy, stupid love,” you grumble and focus back on Iris who happily taps her feet on your thighs, giggling and squealing. You lift and lower her once, squeezing her slightly, grinning.
“You want to tell me who it is?”
You shake your head again. “I appreciate this. And I am really thankful, but—“
“Nothing but, it is perfectly fine. You don’t have to tell me. Just know that I am always here if you need someone to talk to.” You turn your head slightly, smiling at the Archeron sister and bowing your head. “I know, thank you.”
For a moment you deliberate about just telling her, but you know that when you say it, it would just complicate things because then she would always question you how you felt concerning…Azriel. And you do not want that. You don’t want anyone to know.
You have no time to ponder any longer, the moment of being caught in your thoughts soon gets interrupted by Lucien strolling inside the room. Not only Lucien, there is tall figure, veiled in shadows behind him. Azriel’s presence immediately fills the room, your breathing halting when your gaze moves to his, meeting, locking.
His hair is ruffled, disheveled, his eyes empty when his lips part. “We need to talk.”
Part II
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Feel free to leave some feedback. I love to hear what you say💙
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tags (crossed-out I couldn't tag): @juulle987 @marimorena06 @danikasthings @younxii @nightcourtwritings @mrofontaine @lunalilyf @whor-3-crux @tired-all-the-time @anni-was-here @ummmmmwat @azbracadabra @j-pendragonx @hollyismentallyillhelp @famousbasementpainter @bsenpai @lena-davina @red-highlady @thesugatoyourtae @azrielsbitxh @cityofidek @moony-thoughts @wrensical003 @cherryjain17 @moonfawnx @crushedcloudsx @devilsfoodcake22 @valeriedarkness @azrielscertifiedslut @mulansaucey @cynicalpotato95 @hanasakr @high-bi-andreadytocry @eerievixen @feyretopia @moonlightazriel @randomness-it-is @brekkershadowsinger @eliieee23 @girasoli-e-sorrisi @illyrianvalkyriecarynthian @kennedy-brooke
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Hi! Just read this fic (https://archiveofourown.org/works/33748141) and the post that inspired it (https://ladycrimsonandblack.tumblr.com/post/658164849325604866/brawltogethernow-brawltogethernow-tama-gives), and was wondering if you knew any other fics where Luffy is a Fae or a Changeling or just not really human? Thanks!
Hello ! Sorry this took us a while, as it seems there are very few fics that fall under that category, but here's what we've got for you:
The closest that comes to mind is :
Wild Wind At Dressrosa by khepiari (M)
[Mod notes: I am personally recommending this one as it is set in a world of magical realism. Luffy is not explicitly a magical creature, but there is certainly a certain magic and mystery surrounding him, which gives this story a whole air of surrealness and fairy tales.]
Doflamingo has troubles- to govern Dressrosa, collect taxes for the King, a womanizing Secretary, a stupid Brother, an angry Wife and a Rebelling Son who is romancing the Biggest Troublemaker- a Wayfaring Godless Curio-Shopkeeper, who is storming the calm streets of Dressrosa. Law's heart is hell-bent to unite with the Wild Wind called Monkey D Luffy- a tale of food, books, friendship and love.
The Moonwitch And His Dumb Werewolf (also) by khepiari (T)
A.U., Fantasy. Happy Ending. Three Part. LawLu (Switch Couple)
When his village gets burned down and family captured by the bounty hunters, a young werewolf pup, Luffy, finds himself in the protection of a witch boy named Law and his father Corazon. As the war ravages, the magical creatures must unite to fight their biggest enemies; humans.
Perfect Completion by quackquackcey (E)
Water sprite Luffy curiously happens upon a gathering of vampires and falls at first sight for a certain golden-eyed vampire…but will his feelings be returned?~
A Crown of Flowers by @hyperbolicreverie (M)
The Wild is a mirror, a magic realm of possibility parallel to the mundane one, and people like Luffy, changelings who've made a devil's bargain for power, walk the line between worlds daily.
When Luffy makes a mad dash to rescue his brother from certain death, he sets off a chain of events that makes the very foundations of that realm shudder. Soon, he's got several other people along for the ride, and the situation quickly spirals out of control. There's something the people in power aren't saying, and it might be the key to all the strange events that keep happening around them.
Luffy just wants adventure and fun and freedom. Law just wants to be left alone to live his life. Kid wants to never be beholden to someone else again. And Ace just wants some goddamn agency for once.
But there are other entities in the Wild with agendas of their own, and they don't care about what others want at all.
How To Snare A Life by xairylle (E)
Accidentally ensnaring a parasitic sexual demon and being his host wasn't exactly how Law wanted to end his night or his life for that matter. LawLu/LuLaw.
A Fleeting Moment (When the Sun Can Kiss the Moon) by purplehairedwonder (T)
Once upon a time, the Sun fell in love with the Moon.
[We also recommend checking the #Sun God Luffy tag for godly Luffy material.
And finally, not Fae Luffy, but we'd like to recommend Fae Law]
To Give You My Name by cosmicatta (M)
Trafalgar Law, last of the faes, had committed a fatal mistake 15 years ago: he had given Doflamingo his full name. Now, even after having escaped, the looming threat of his ownership still follows Law everyhwere he goes. He can only try to survive as a runaway, hoping to, someday, find a way to cut the invisible string tying him to his former captor.
Until he meets Luffy. He’s just a regular human. But maybe that’s all Law needs.
And, ofc, the one you recommended:
waters of the wild by ladycrimsonandblack (T)
Even to his nakama, Luffy sometimes appears just a little bit too odd.
(Or: Five times a Straw Hat notices something strange about Luffy, and the one time someone knows what's going on.)
We're also happy to tell you that your ask prompted some of our writers to give Fae Luffy a shot, so expect some new fics under that tag soon enough.
-Mod Gigi
#Fantasy AU#explicitly lawlu#vampire AU#werewolf AU#sun god luffy#sun & moon#lawlu#lulaw#lawlu fanfic#lawluffy#monkey d luffy#trafalgar law
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So I think we can all agree that the Archerons were so weird because they didn’t bicker like real siblings, so here’s a snippet of a fic I’m writing where all the sisters are arguing. This takes place during a dress fitting for Elain’s wedding. Warning: lots of inner circle slander
Nesta scowled at her reflection as faeries fussed over her, adjusting the gown she was wearing.
“You look lovely, Nesta,” Feyre said from the seat beside her. “Easy for you to say,” Nesta muttered. Feyre looked magnificent in an electric blue halter top paired with black slacks and boots. A circlet of small crescent moons lay upon her forehead. “I look ridiculous.” Nesta glared at the gold dress she had been shoved into again. “God, it’s the same as my hair. Can’t you get a red dress, at least? This makes my skin fade out.” At last, the dressers obeyed, pulling the ill-fitting monstrosity away from her body.
“You looked pretty in that dress, Nesta,” Elain said gently, her hair up in a jumbo bun at the top of her head, wildflowers surrounding the band holding it up. She wasn’t getting fitted today, but she had come to see what dresses Nesta and Feyre would be wearing. Not like Elain would have any difficulty with her dress. She looked perfect in everything she wore, except perhaps that black dress she’d once worn in the Hewn City. It was annoying.
“Quit lying Elain, I looked like wallpaper,” Nesta snapped. Then she sighed. “Red is truly my color, but that blonde bitch everyone thinks is sooo beautiful is always wearing it, so I usually opt for black.”
“Don’t speak that way about Mor,” Feyre said sharply.
“I’ll speak of her however I like, little sis. She’s not my friend, and frankly, she isn’t really even yours.”
Feyre glowered at her. “She saved me from Tamlin.”
“Did she do that for you, or for little Rhys-rhys? Has she ever stood up for you in front of Rhysand? She certainly despises me; thought me fit to throw into the court of nightmares. I highly doubt you’re much different.”
“Yeah, I am. Maybe if you weren’t such a bitch all the time, people would treat you differently.”
Nesta laughed sarcastically. “Because 500 year old uber powerful Fae warriors can’t handle a 23 year old formerly human woman handing their asses to them, can they?”
“You’re really going to start this now, with my wedding just around the corner?” Elain complained. Nesta whipped her head around to her. “Oh, sure! I absolutely care about this sham of a wedding! Feyre’s mate is a jackass, my mate is a jackass, but perhaps third time’s the charm with you, huh, Elain?”
“Lucien is ten times the man Rhysand will ever be,” Elain said coldly, her temper causing her voice to raise volume. Nesta opened her mouth to say that this doesn’t mean much considering Rhysand is a small boy stuck in a man’s form when Feyre interrupted. “Wait a damn minute. You both despise my husband?” she demanded.
“What gave it away, Feyre?” Nesta drawled. “Me constantly insulting Rhysand, resisting his orders, and declaring him not my high lord? Me not wishing to live with the rest of you? Elain literally leaving Night to get away from him?”
“I thought Elain left Night because of Azriel!”
“Azriel?!” Elain let out a snort which turned into such mirth that Nesta stared. “That broody, brainless bat not man enough to speak about his feelings in any capacity? You think I’d leave because of him? As if! I left because I got tired of your fake family’s fake welcome and decided Lucien was better than the lot of them.”
“Lucien let me get hurt in Spring!”
“Don’t give me that bullshit, Feyre!” Elain shrieked, and Nesta gasped. Elain cussing was something Nesta frankly thought she’d never hear. “Lucien told me his side of the story, and it seems as if your head was too far up Rhysand’s ass to realize everything Lucien has done for you!”
“Just like Feyre never acknowledged the work we did around the house when we were in the cottage,” Nesta muttered. Elain nodded. Feyre stalked up to Nesta and slapped her face so hard her neck tilted. “Oh no you didn’t,” Nesta snarled, and she shoved Feyre into a coat rack, taking her and the rack to the ground. The two of them began wrestling, Elain crying, “Stop, you idiots, stop!” in the background. “Help, there’s a fight going on in here!”
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The doorbell rings, for the billionth time that night, and Keith groans.
“Please,” he begs, “please can we pretend we’re not home.”
His husband gleefully ignores him, disappearing with a faint ‘pop’ sound. If Keith let his ears hear as far as they would like, he’d hear another faint pop as Lance reappeared in front of their door, candy bowl in hand, and the subsequent delighted gasps of various costumed children. He’s hear the young voices yell ‘trick or treat!’ in unison, and mourn the time when he very well could give them a trick instead, as Lance fawns over their little costumes, shovels a truly ridiculous amount of candy into their little pails, and then poofs back into the living room.
But he does not listen in, because he is — as Lance says — the Scrooge of Halloween, and refuses to find any joy in the stupid holiday.
“You are going to get yourself caught,” he mumbles into Lance’s hair, once the witch has resettled on the couch.
“Am not, batboy,” Lance responds breezily, leaning into Keith’s hold. “And so what if I get caught? What’re they going to do? Burn me at the stake again?”
“You jest, but that was a horrible thing to witness. I can’t believe how stupidly happy those asshole pastors and judges were.”
Lance hums, turning his head to press a quick kiss to Keith’s cheek. “That was 400 years ago, my love. Let’s let the past stay in the past, hm? Plus, it didn’t even hurt, and you bled those motherfuckers dry, anyway.”
“And they were delicious,” Keith growls.
“Mm, somehow I doubt that. Didn’t the abundance of lead in every living surface in the 1600s make blood taste bitter?”
“…Okay, yes, but the satisfaction was very sweet.”
He feels Lance’s smile where its pressed into his collarbone. “Of course, cielo.”
They have a single moment of peace, then Keith’s ears twitch, and he growls.
Lance grins wider. “Hear some footsteps?”
“Your insistence on indulging this stupid tradition is making me want to break my no-eating-children rule.”
Lance laughs as he gets up — again — and puts on his truly gigantic witch’s hat, which is objectively kind of funny, but Lance has been making that joke since the 70s so Keith refuses to laugh. “Haven’t you heard Hansel and Gretel’s story, my love? Eating children is my job.” His eyes twinkle with mirth (literally. He lets a flash of green envelop his irises when he’s amused. Every time). “Don’t you know I’m fattening them up for a reason?”
He pops away again as the doorbell rings. Keith rolls his eyes fondly, unmuting the TV — a human invention he’s admittedly quite fond of — and watching absentmindedly some silly, animated character tries to outwit a bedlam.
Keith scoffs. As if a human could outsmart a bedlam. Those bitches could outsmart G-d. (Keith knows. He’s talked to the guy. Not very bright, that one, despite knowing all information ever to be known.)
“Oh, those ones were so cute!” Lance coos, popping back onto the couch. Keith rolls his eyes again.
Children-eater, his ass.
“The youngest one could barely walk on her little legs. She had the most adorable little fairy costume —”
Keith perks up. “Really? A faerie costume? With the empty eyes and sharp teeth and everything?”
“No, you dork. One of the fake fairies. The human-made ones.”
“Oh.” Keith pouts. Of course humans can’t even get a simply faerie right — as if the fae have tiny iridescent wings and slave their lives away keeping human lives in balance.
(Tinkerbell was a blight to human society. Pidge was so offended when she saw it that she snapped the disc used it to stab the last person she saw litter in her forest.
It was hilarious.)
“I hate humans,” Keith grumps. “They tolerable before, but now they’re infuriating. Damn the printing press.”
Lance bursts out laughing. “I promise you that humans were annoying long before literacy was widespread.”
“Yeah, but at least then I didn’t have to hear about it.”
“No? You never once donned your velvet cape and lace blouse and went looking for human gossip? I seem to recall you taking me to a masquerade ball or seventy in the gothic era, and you were quite happy to do so.”
…Fuck. Lance knows him too well.
“That was different,” Keith insists, lying like a liar. “Gothic era gossip was hilarious. They were terrified of me. I can’t count how many humans would whisper warnings to me about ‘dangerous blood-suckers living in the castle in the mountains’ only to faint when they saw my fangs. Now that —” Keith sighs wistfully — “that was an era.”
Lance places a gentle, mocking hand on his shoulder. “There, there, batboy. Humans still tremble at the thought of you and all the other Edward Cullens of the world.”
Keith glares at his husband, but there’s no heat behind it and the man knows it, judging by his smug, sunny smile. “You are a menace,” he says, leaning over and nipping his ear, just sharp enough to draw blood. “How dare you bring up that… disgrace to the vampire name.”
“The bane of your existence?” Lance clarifies, giggling. “The main reason you have so much beef with the 21st century?”
“I’m completely justified!” Keith cries, digging his fingers into Lance’s ribs. “Now humans write horny fanfiction about my kind instead of wallowing in terror! It’s horrible!”
“I mean, I get why they’re so lusty,” Lance says, wiggling his eyebrows. “There’s a certain something about those teeth, let me tell you.”
If Keith could blush, he would, but luckily for him he left that behind several hundred years ago.
(A thousand years ago?
Whatever. He’s been alive a long-ass time. Years start to blur.)
He grabs Lance by the ankle, pulling him closer and leaning down to press sharp kisses up his calf.
“Trying to ask for something?” he asks, voice muffled into Lance’s warm skin.
“Definitely trying to get somewhere,” Lance says, voice breathy and affected. “You should —”
Ding-dong!
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Keith yells, and Lance bursts out laughing, hands pressed to his reddened face.
“Okay, okay,” he relents. “I think we’re done with trick or treating for tonight.”
He snaps his fingers, and a bowl painted like a jack-o-latern filled with candy appears hovering in front of him. He pulls it gently towards him, whispers something in Latin, and tosses the bowl in the air. It hovers directly above them, bright green smoke billowing around it in opaque clouds, before the smoke clears, leaving the bowl looking unchanged. Lance snaps his fingers again and the bowl pops out of existence again.
“There,” Lance says with no small amount of satisfaction. “Now they can get their own candy, and they won’t be able to take more than two, so it should last.”
Keith sighs, pretending to be indifferent, but really he’s just all fond and squishy. He hates halloween, sure — but he loves his husband, and his husband loves halloween, so he’ll put up with the holiday with as minimal complaining as possible.
Keith grins, devilish and sly. Besides, he thinks, the annoying part of halloween is over, now. Now comes the good part: Lance is always more…energetic, when there’s dark magic in the air.
And all hallow’s eve has plenty of dark magic hanging over every street corner.
“Now that there are no more interruptions,” he says, manhandling Lance until he’s straddling Keith’s hips, arms around his shoulders, their faces inches apart. “I think we were getting somewhere.”
Lance smirks, closing the distance.
“Yes, I think we were.”
#HAPPY HALLOWEEN MY LOVES#take ur spooky voltron special!!!#this is silly and fluffy but the Lore i came up with for this universe…#vld#voltron#keith#keith kogane#lance#lance mcclain#klance#established klance#klance fluff#banter#witch lance#vampire keith#domestic fluff#my writing#fic fragment
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immortal human + younger! malleus
note : the story has an immortal human, but would soon turn back into their mortal ways
tags : gn reader
malleus draconia
What was it like to be torn into a million pieces? You and Malleus were still determining what went wrong. It was giving up something that lasted for centuries, giving up a taste of forever for a moment of temporary life. Instead of renewing the vows of eternity, the bond you so carefully bonded with hopeful whispers and promises, you turned away. You were not scorned, not even bridled with anger, just longing.
Longing for the humanity you traded for 500 years of endless love.
As you stared at Malleus, who begged you with eyes you could never find in yourself to say “no” to, you let out a few tears. Five hundred years have gone by so fast with him; those years are something you would relive all over if you could.
“Is this really what you want?” Malleus asked, prodding you once more. He knew the answer, but this little part of his brain hoped. It clung on what little hope his heart could handle. You stare at him, smiling sadly; leaving him wasn’t easy. It would never be.
"Honestly, I'm not sure myself. Your majesty, if I'm being honest, I'm terrified." The fear that Malleus thought would never shine through with your bold decision manifests thickly into the air. Malleus bound the spell to be in full effect soon. Afterward, the two of you will be torn apart physically and mentally. The bond of two faes will diminish until a human heart emerges.
Malleus, for the nth time, begged for you to change this. You’re still a fae; if you back far enough, you will remain that way. Maybe, if it weren’t the human heart within your ribs, you’d jump into the spell that is Malleus pleadings. His voice is an enchantment you have drowned in for over 500 years. It was all too simple if you gave in once again.
However, that human heart beat in screaming colors– wildly contrasting the dark scape of the Briar you have lived in. Malleus still shined through it, but it was nothing compared to the thrum and chase humanity offered you.
“Am I out of your grasp yet, your majesty?” You teased, shaking as the colors you have not seen within the last centuries began swimming in massive swarming waves. The breath you didn’t know you were holding coiled your stomach as you sat up, reaching into what you could never explain to anyone. It was as if you were reborn to a place you knew where you belonged.
As you reach that space, your head turns to Malleus for the last time. Oddly enough, you feel as if you fell in love again. The warm entanglement called love somehow still reaches what people call a break-up; it baffles you.
That fuzzy feeling, the glorious and brightening feeling, still is present when you look at him. Malleus Draconia bewitched you even at the moments you’d leave him. Was it a folly of the human heart? Was it just your sentimental feelings resurfacing as you reached what is now an end?
Perhaps it was the aftereffects of the spell? Or could it simply be because you never stopped loving him?
“Your majesty?” You piped up as you felt lightheaded already. Malleus gently caught you as you felt like the world spiraled around you. Malleus had a panicked look, terrified the spell backfired on you. He was cursing his magic and was rushing to get physicians to assist him; however, you stopped him. Malleus stilled. Any touch you give renders him weak.
That was when he knew that this exact moment was when things ended. No amount of begging can undo your decision and the spell.
So, instead of pleading with all his strength. Malleus listened with a bleeding heart.
“I still love you. Please remember that as I exit Briar Valley. Once I release myself from the woods, once I am in the clear– know every fiber of my being is bewitched on you alone, your majesty.” Malleus knew of your devotion towards him. No matter what happened to the both of you, he knew that when you shall be human again– his love will be ingrained in you.
“What are you saying, my love? Of course, I shall know. Even the soil you tramp on carries whispers of our love; I am sure of it. Each particle that has ever witnessed our love shall carry it for the world to see.”
You grinned. The love you both shared would surely never fade, but your heart longed for something beyond what that love could give. Selfish as it may seem, you both knew that once the heart beats– you’re gone.
“Please let me hear you say it to me once more, Malleus… Please say you love me.”
Malleus, while shakingly holding his tears, followed each command.
“I have loved you for 500 years. I love you to this exact second and will continue loving you. Until the day you are cruelly taken away from me again.”
#twisted wonderland#twisted wonderland x reader#twst x reader#malleus draconia#malleus draconia x reader#twst malleus#twst angst#twisted wonderland angst
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Bully twist au v.s reader (untouchable) part 3
《Summary》: They were just so clingy. If was suffocating, or it should be that way, but you left your ability to care about someone else's feelings back in your world and you were tired of pretending.
《Note》: this inspired by the bully au from @.azulsluver also you are kinda an asshole in this story! Read with caution
Malleus: Heart of stone
You had endured him. This was all you could say. You stayed with him during his clingy sides, even his physical attacks, you had stayed through them.
But you didn't care about him.
"Malleus get off me." You say without any care in the world. He was hugging you and as soon as he comprehended your sentence he frowned.
"Child of man, you are just some weak human, I could crush you any second." He murmurs and you simply shrug, getting yourself out of his hug.
"I guess I am just a weak human. I still don't care about you."
Malleus was taken aback by how emotionless you sounded. There was no trembling in your voice nor fear. Just emptiness. He needed time to process that, giving you a chance to flee. But you don't run like you usually do, you just walk...
Sebeks fist collides with your face. "You dared to hurt my liege!" He exclaims in anger, expecting you to shiver in fear like you usually do, but you stare at him coldly not even an ounce of fear in your eyes.
"I don't care. Your "liege" has more things to worry about than me." You were tired of pretending to be a good punching bag. You never really cared about that, it had just gotten to the point were you lacked the energy to pretend.
"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE FOR THIS HUMAN! HOS DARE YOU DISRESPECT WAKA-SAMA THAF WAY!" He screeched in your ear and you simply cover them, waiting until his outburst is finished.
"I will die anyway. I have no gain out of fearing death." You mutter awaiting Sebeks punches. He couldn't hit you. There was no joy in it, no reaction, just eyes staring at him.
A few days passed with Malleus trying to scare you, bully or even guiltrip you, but everything he did just hit death ears. It was as if the heart he always thought he could shatter in a million pieces was made out of pure stone. And not the ones that would be pretty once you break them, no, a simple ugly dull stone.
"Fufufu~ if that isn't the prefect! Tell me, why is Malleus always so sad lately? I thought I told you to be a good pet!" Lilia exclaimed, but you just stare at him. No fear, no nothing only a reflecting coldness.
"I don't care about him." You look at Lilia and if looks cold kill you would be dead, but you really didn't care. You had no pity for Malleus, there was only emptiness.
"Well what made you think you could talk back like that? You're just a mere human!" You roll your eyes. The belitteling always stated that humans were weaker than Fairys.
"I am kinda lucky they burned your kind in my world. We don't have to deal with some stupid fae showing off." You didn't care who you hurt with saying that, you didn't care about the fact Lilia was currently beating the shit out of you. You didn't care about the fact that Malleus heard you and looked like he was about to cry.
The best part of you had stayed in your own world and your body was left with a heart of stone.
________________________
Kalim: My world is blue
There was one way to describe this spoiled child named Kalim. Loved. The way he had Twisted your existence in such a way that everyone thought you were a leech trying to feed off him. Everyone loved him, he was like a idol spreading love, controlling his fanbase.
But even when he made the whole school hurt you, you still didn't come to him. You still didn't bother being around him, you refused being his punching back. All the jewels he had gifted you were turned down, all the tears he spent crying in front of you were in vain. You still didn't give a damn about him.
"Kalim, get off me." You push him away, making Kalim crash to the ground, tears in his eyes. He was crying again. You scoffed, you made the mistake once believing his crocodile tears.
"You are so mean for no reason!" He yelled angrily walking towards you. "I gave you so many things, why are you being so selfish!" He choked out and you flick his forehead.
"Because I am selfish." You walked away after saying that, feeling amazing. You really didn't care about what would await you in Ramshackle, nor what the other students said, only you were the center of your world.
"Prefect! Kalim had been crying for more than an hour now! Go apologise you selfish bitch!" Jamil growled but you didn't bother opening the door. You sat on the couch watching the fly dance across the room, getting lost in your own mind.
There had been multiple students knocking on your door, even trying to break in, but you were unbothered by this. You felt like sunshine and rainbows.
"How dare you not apologise!" Kalim yells at you. You had sadly needed to step out of Ramshackle because of a request from Crowley and ended up being dragged to Kalim by some student. He was currently throwing everything he had at you, but you looked at him with a bored expression.
"Don't you feel bad in the slightest bit?" He suddenly questions notices all he tried was in vain. He couldn't get an reaction out of you, not even a little flinch when something came flying at you.
"No, my world is blue and that's all that matters."
_______________
Trey: rotten teeth
Trey tried to get under your skin, by at first seeming very friendly and nice, before shoving biscuits down your throat, trying to make you feel bad after for eating so much.
But you had no intention to mind. Trey was just another person who you could avoid. You wouldn't need to talk to him and you really didn't care about his tries to make you uncomfortable.
Everyone was just the same in this school, looking down on you cause you were a mere human without magic. Those were the rules made by nature. The strong eat the weak and you were picked out to play the part of the weak.
Trey would sometimes find you, expecting you to tremble again like you used to when you saw him, but there was nothing. Just a blank hastily muttered "oh." Before you brushed past him. It irked him that he had no control over you, kinda as if you had decided to throw your feelings out of the window.
Trey stared at you after having finally gotten a hold of you, again forcing sweets down your throat. You weren't even given time to chew. Meanwhile he decided to call you out on your weight as if he wasn't the one force feeding you.
He expected a reaction out of you, something that he could work with, but you only shrugged and muttered: "you should stop making me eat sweets than."
There was nothing more to it. No crying no embarrassment only coldness. It irked him, when did you stop caring about what he did, when did you stop shivering when you saw him.
Were was the old you?
But the more he thought about it the more he realised that this was always you. You had finally giving up on pretending to be scared.
He knocks on the Ramshackles door with a few cookies, you open it offering him a blank stare. You eye the cookies, before looking back at him.
"I should reduce my sugar intake, otherwise my teeth will be rotten." And you slam the door shut.
I love writing this series and I hope you like reading it! Well if you want, speculate about the next reader! Will they be insane like in part one? Out for revenge like in part two? uncaring like in this part? Or someone completely diffrent?
Next part: Riddle: Stalkers tango, Idia: Watch, Leona: like a hunter...
#twisted wonderland#trey clover#kalim al asim#malleus draconia#x reader#reader insert#Bully twist au v.s reader
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🐦⬛ 𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 — quotes taken from ava reid's novel. some edits have been made to allow for rp purposes. feel free to adjust for pronouns/names/etc.
❝ It began as all things did: a girl on the shore, terrified and desirous. ❞
❝ The ephemerality of things is what gives them meaning. ❞
❝ They were both creatures of rage and salt and foam. Both could strip me to the bone. ❞
❝ I wanted nothing more than to tempt their wrath, because if I were brave enough, I might earn their love instead. ❞
❝ I was a treacherous, wrathful, wanting thing, just like he was. Just as he had always wanted me. ❞
❝ Although the tide pools had not shown me my face, I had been revealed. ❞
❝ It was fae-like trickery. There was no answer that wouldn’t damn me. ❞
❝ You’re so pretty. You really are. You’re the most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen. Do you know that? ❞
❝ We must discuss, then, the relationship between women and water. When men fall into the sea, they drown. When women meet the water, they transform. It becomes vital to ask: is this a meta-morphosis, or a homecoming? ❞
❝ I wanted to say I don’t believe you. ❞
❝ I wanted to say thank you. ❞
❝ I wanted to say tell me more about who I am because I don’t know anymore. ❞
❝ I could tell the whole story as if it had happened to someone else, and it would be completely painless. ❞
❝ The weight of a memory is one thing. You get very used to swimming with it dragging you down. Once it's loosed, you hardly know what to do with your body. You don't understand its lightness. ❞
❝ You don't have to take up a sword. Survival is bravery, too. ❞
❝ In the end I learned that the water was in me. It was a ghost that could not be exorcised. But a guest, even uninvited, must be attended to. ❞
❝ If you can learn to love that which despises you, you can dance on the shore and play in the waves again, like you did when you were young. ❞
❝ Anything can be taken from you, at any moment. Even the past isn't guaranteed. You can lose that too, slowly, like water eating away at stone. ❞
❝ It saved me in more ways than I can count. Because I knew no matter how afraid I felt, I wasn't truly alone. ❞
❝ Are there any ships on the horizon? Will they signal back to me? I never got the chance to know. ❞
❝ But stories were devious things, things with agendas. They could cheat and steal and lie to your face. They could crumble away under your feet. ❞
❝ I wish I had fought. ❞
❝ I know I beat him in the end, but for so many years all I could do was run and hide. I just sat there and let the water pour in around me. ❞
❝ I didn’t know that I could fight back. I didn’t know how to do anything but wait to drown. ❞
❝ Every wanting man has the same wound he can use to slip in. ❞
❝ I wanted you, too. For so long. It was terrible. ❞
❝ Sometimes I could barely eat—sorry, I know that sounds like the strangest thing. But for days I didn't feel hungry at all. I was... occupied. ❞
❝ You took away all the other wanting from me. ❞
❝ It was a beautiful house, but not a clever one. It was a house with no imagination. ❞
❝ Fear could make a believer of anybody. ❞
❝ Didn't all drownings begin with a harmless dribble of water? ❞
❝ There's very little worse than when our heroes fail us, is there? ❞
❝ Men just say whatever they want and everyone believes them. ❞
❝ Love transcends petty theological squabbles. ❞
❝ But if fairies and monsters were real, so were the women who defeated them. ❞
❝ It doesn't matter. I'm not afraid to care about you. ❞
❝ It's very hard to believe something when it feels like the whole world is trying to convince you otherwise. ❞
❝ You're not just one thing. Survival is something you do, not something you are. ❞
❝ You're brave and brilliant. You're the most real, full person I've ever met. ❞
❝ The sea is treacherous, but women are even more treacherous. ❞
❝ You don't see yourself very clearly. ❞
❝ Challenging me isn't pestering. I'm not always right. Sometimes I deserve to be challenged. And changing your mind isn't foolish. It just means you've learned something new. ❞
❝ Everyone changes their mind sometimes, as they should, or else they're just, I don't know, stubborn and ignorant. ❞
❝ Moving water is healthy; stagnant water is sickly. Tainted. ❞
❝ If you want to see what you are, look into the tide pools at dusk. Look into the sea. ❞
❝ I will love you to ruination. ❞
❝ You can die as easily of thirst as you can of drowning. ❞
❝ Love is a fire that cannot burn alone. ❞
❝ The better you know someone, the more terribly you could hurt them. ❞
❝ You don't have to love something in order to devote yourself to it. ❞
❝ A romance is a belief in the impossible: that anything ends happily. ❞
❝ If a story repeated itself so many times over, building itself up brick by brick, did it eventually become the truth? A house with no doors and no windows, offering no escape. ❞
❝ How terrible, to navigate the world without a story to comfort you. ❞
❝ That was the cruelest irony: the more you did to save yourself, the less you became a person worth saving. ❞
❝ I was a woman when it was convenient to blame me, and a girl when they wanted to use me. ❞
❝ I believe you. ❞
❝ Things are only beautiful because they don't last. Full moons, flowers at bloom. You. ❞
#crowsource#rp meme#rp memes#rp prompt#rp prompts#sentence starters#rp sentence starters#roleplay prompt#rp starters#roleplay memes
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Interviewer: “I go the philosophical route with my next question: We’re talking about fate here, but at what point is a character the agent of their own fate? What happens if someone rejects their mate? (Listen, if I were Fae and I didn’t like my mate, whatever God chose for me is not my business.)”
SJM: “That’s something I find to be very interesting,” she replies. “What if the forces that be put you with the wrong person? Or what if you just decide, eh, I’m not interested. … There’s a lot to explore within the concept of mates and your agency about it.
“I’m not going to say if I am exploring it in future books or not,” she continues, “but it definitely offers a wealth of things to explore with this concept of freewill and what is true love. Is it something that’s destined? Or is it something that you make? Is it both?”
From her own mouth:
SARAH J MAAS IS NOT JUST A FATED MATES AUTHOR!
Sorry! 😇
Would you like me to say it one more time?
"I'm not going to say if I am exploring it in future books or not".
Meaning it's not confirmation either way because SJM clearly prefers HEA with mates.
Also. This isn't news. E/riels have been convinced of a rejected mates story since ACOWAR.
We've always known it was possible for her to explore one but it's only E/riels who remain convinced that it will be Elucien rather than acknowledging that SJM could write one about Mor and Eris. The LoA and Helion. A brand new character.
There you go again thinking you've got your proof of E/riel endgame when really all you've got is that it could happen to someone outside of Elucien.
Orrrrr...... since you're so convinced E/riel are true mates and the Cauldron was corrupted when it mated Elucien, maybe the rejected bond will be Elain and Az once she discovers him as her "real" mate 😇
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Welcome ! Welcome ! I created this sideblog because I wanted to be able to find my writing content more easily and also because I thought it might motivate me to write more. We’ll see how it goes ✨
A few things about me:
■ Hi, I’m Cécile ! I’m 27 years old and I write mostly fantasy, science-fiction and, sometimes, urban-fantasy. I write in french but when I’m feeling ✨ bored ✨ (read: when I procrastinate), I can be convinced to try and translate excerpts from my novels.
■ I have too many WIPs to count, and they rotate like rotisserie chicken, which means it takes me years to finish one project. It’s a curse.
■ When I don’t want to write but still want to think about my stories, I can be found on pinterest and canva, making wayyy too many moodboards, aesthetics and fake covers.
■ I love ask games and OC questions and worldbuilding wednesday, so don’t hesitate to hit me up !
I can’t think of anything more to say about me, so I’ll stop here ! See you under the cut if you want to know more about my WIP !
(also... if you've seen this blog before, no you didn't ♥ I don't know what I did but the thing just disappeared so here I am again. technology and me, a love story for the ages)
Titre : La Fledgling
Genre : urban fantasy ; romance ; action
Status : first draft
Target wordcount : ~80k
Synopsis :
I don't have an official summary just yet, so for now, take this bunch of tags I typed once and have been laughing at ever since :
#me with “the fledgling” like babe i love you but i have no idea whats's going on anymore #it's all about the ✨vibes✨ #it's about a human and her vampire gf and about a threat to the matriarchal vampiric society #there's a really sexy powerful vampire coven and time travel and forbidden magic #and a witch slowly getting consumed by her own powers while she tries to keep the vampire alive #there's a lesbian werewolf who's allergic to dogs and resent the fact that she is now one #there's a mermaid with voice issues and a long lost mate #and a fae with hanahaki disease trying to avoid both her crushes #but other than that? No idea what the fuck is going on #who cares
(Bonus : #yes it was my nano project last november what's your point? #I wrote 50k and i still don't know what the fuck is going on in this story)
Settings : a big city filled with supernatural creatures ; a gloomy manor ; a cozy apartment crumbling under the secrets of its habitants ; a café/bar théâtre de tous les drames
Characters:
Johanne “Jo” Hautain || [27] || lesbian || human || perpetually exhausted ; Done™ ; doesn't have a moral code
Louise Venti || [27] || bisexual || vampire fledgling || losing herself to bloodlust ; passive ; doesn't know anything
Anaëlle Charles || [27] || lesbian || witch || breaks magical laws for breakfast ; hunted by the Virulentes ; would also like a nap
There are more characters but these three are the backbone of the story and my aaaaangels 🥰
Tag: #wip: la fledgling
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The Boy, The Wolf, and The Fae
I've been working on this for like at least a solid week of actual writing and a while of just in my head. Here's a look at just how Kyrie, a giant among giants, wound up with a wolf who has magic and a curious fae.
This is also very long, like.... 13,000+ words long. I couldn't split it due to the way this is set up though. It's going to be on AO3 too if that's an easier place to read. (I am sorry this did get a little out of hand, admittedly)
AO3 Link
tw: abandonment, fear, mentions of starving. As always lemme know if I miss something.
The Boy, The Wolf, and The Fae
“For giants height was important. The taller someone was, the more important they were. That meant when the tallest giants of a community not only decided to be together, but had a child everyone was excited. The child was born and he was bigger than the other newborns of the time. Praise was offered about how the child would grow up to be as tall as his parents, maybe taller. He’d be important. This only lasted until the child began to age.
The child was growing faster than others. Within a year he was as tall as children two or three times his age. His parents claimed it was fine, their child was just ahead of the curve. People grew nervous, but there wasn’t fear… not yet. It wasn’t until he’d reached three years old an incident occurred. He often played with the children his age, but as he grew so did his strength. He hurt someone, nothing fatal, just a broken arm. It was enough to change the entire community’s view of the strange child.
After that he was kept inside. He often heard his parents arguing about how to deal with him. He learned quickly that he was different, wrong somehow. He was kept locked away for years, the only interaction was his parents. Even then he could feel the distance between himself and the two he wanted to love him. It didn’t help that he continued to grow faster. By six he was the height of a giant about to be taught to hunt.
That year was when his life changed. He ate dinner with his family, once more ignoring the pang of hunger that still sat in him. They sent him to bed, as he aged his parents offered less kindness. No stories or kind actions. He still loved them. That day had been different though. He’d heard talk of a meeting while in his room, all the adults were going. He waited, hoping one of his parents would stay behind. He heard their footsteps leaving the makeshift house and decided to follow.
He snuck out, something he’d done a few times. It didn’t feel like he was as young as they said he was sometimes. He did things he saw others his height doing, he almost hoped he just was aging faster. Then maybe his parents would let him use his voice again. The boy shook off the thought, quickly making his way through their current town. Finding the place of the meeting and feeling fear at the adults all gathered together.
‘Well have things changed with the child?’ the community’s leader asked. The boy had met him a few times, he was the one who decided the boy shouldn’t speak. His parents were the ones who decided it should continue even to them. Don’t bother anyone, even your family.
‘We gave him three times as much as either of us eats and he was still hungry,’ the boy’s mother answered. The boy grabbed his stomach, he knew they gave him more. He thought it was normal. ‘His appetite is growing.’
‘We can’t all continue to take less for one child,’ someone said. The boy didn’t know everyone in their community, but he didn’t like that voice. ‘The other children will suffer if we focus on just your monster.’
‘We know that,’ the boy’s father hissed. ‘We don’t like it either, but we don’t have options. What would you say we feed it instead?’
The boy winced. His father was always angry at him. He’d heard the talks of how he was a monster, that he killed their real child. He just wanted to prove he wasn’t one. He was just a tall giant, like his parents. He’d be good.
‘...we could feed him humans,’ the leader said. The boy covered his mouth to hold in a gag. He’d been told about humans when his parents still told him stories. They were like tiny giants, but they weren’t sure how similar. The little things were dangerous, with enough together they could kill a giant. It’s why when they found one they just dropped it off near humans and walked away.
‘No one’s even considered that option in centuries,’ a new voice said. The boy didn’t like all these people knowing about him when he didn’t know them. ‘It should be safer now, we could do that. No one else is hunting humans anymore.’
‘And what if there aren’t enough humans?’ his mother asked. The boy hoped she would stop this awful thought. Even if they were small they were people. He didn’t want them to try and make him eat people. ‘What happens when one town isn’t enough? When a whole country can’t satisfy him? If we let him eat humans he might turn on our own kind.’
The boy’s world shattered. His parents weren’t defending him. They weren’t confident it was wrong, just scared. He wouldn’t eat people no matter how big he was. All the voices overlapped as they argued. They mentioned elves, wolves, and other creatures, but all of them were people. The meal that had seemed small earlier was on the verge of reappearing.
‘Enough!’ the leader shouted. The boy froze, scared his eavesdropping had been discovered. ‘Clearly we can’t keep the boy, he’s some kind of curse. A beast. We’ll leave him in the barren hunting grounds, tell him it’s where he can hunt to his content. He’ll starve within a year, if we’re lucky his death will help revive that land.’
The boy ran before anyone else spoke. He had to believe his parents would stop it. That they wouldn’t send him to die. He knew about death, it was why they told him he couldn’t play with the others anymore. He could hurt them too badly, could kill them. He wasn’t careful as he ran to the home his family was using. He didn’t have to be, every adult was at the meeting.
When the boy arrived he climbed into his bed and curled up. Surely his parents would save him. Tears fell from his eyes as the words they said played again and again. If they sent him away, maybe it would be because they were right. Maybe he was a monster or a curse…
The next day he was woken by his mother shaking him. She looked happier than he could ever remember seeing her. She pulled him out of bed silently and helped him dress. He was given his father’s clothes, ones still too big for him. The things he overheard sent his heart racing. What was the decision? Was his mother happy because he was staying or because he was leaving?
‘We have a surprise for you,’ she told him. He looked up at her, a bit of hope sneaking into his heart. ‘It’s not too far from here, come on.’
The boy nodded. His mother didn’t hold his hand, but walked away. He followed slowly, leaving the home that he’d visited so many times. No one was out today, but that only happened when they were leaving. The boy grew scared. His mother continued to lead him towards the building the adults met in the night before. When they arrived his father stood alongside the leader of their community. The boy tried to hide behind his mother, but she forcefully pulled herself free.
The boy followed silently after that. There was no discussion as his parents took him out along a path they traveled many times. Halfway through the leader stopped them and directed them in the direction the sun sets. The travel between homes was usually half a day, this time they kept walking long after the sun was right in front of them. They didn’t stop until night had taken over. As they walked the boy was starting to lose his path back. It made tears prick at his eyes, they weren’t going to let him go home ever again.
‘We’ve arrived,’ the leader said. The boy stared at him with wide eyes. The area didn’t look barren like they’d said the night before. There were trees everywhere, at least one lake. The only thing he didn’t see were the animals, but there were four giants here. It made sense animals would be hiding, in the stories that always happened.
‘This is where you stay now,’ the boy’s father started. He jumped to stare at the man. It was the first time the boy noticed the hate in his father’s eyes. ‘It’s your own hunting grounds. This is the best for everyone.’
‘We’ll come to check on you each time we pass through this area,’ his mother said. The boy nodded. The three adults shared a look before turning away. The boy watched, his focus on his parents. They left without a hug, no real goodbye. Just a claim they’d come back to see him. A claim he was sure was a lie.
Long after the three adults were gone from his sight the boy finally moved. Not all of the trees were taller than him, but they were all enough for him to sit and be out of sight. He sat down before curling up on his side. There weren’t many options for where to sleep. With his parents he had a soft place, but here all he had was the ground.
As the boy tried to sleep he made a promise to himself. He wouldn’t be the monster that the others thought he was. He’d find a way to be a hero, like in the stories they used to tell him at night. He’d never eat a person or hurt anyone. He’d protect humans, elves, giants, wolves, and anything he didn’t know about. The boy curled up as small as he could. Someday he’d even go home again and his parents would be proud.
For the next few weeks the boy tried to make himself somewhat of a home. He gathered the tops of trees to make a bed. While he did he kept an eye out for animals, but there weren’t many. He was starting to get worried about finding anything to eat. He had to find something so he never grew desperate. His parents added parts of trees sometimes saying it was important. He could just eat trees alone.
When he felt an ache instead of his usual hunger the boy decided to go searching. He never liked the taste of trees and wanted to avoid it. The boy tried to keep his steps light as he explored further and further from the place he’d been left. After almost a day he found a bunch of animals. His discovery was made even better when he noticed there were tiny houses. He could finally see some of the smaller people he’d been taught about.
The sun had been gone for a while by the time the boy reached the tiny buildings, all that remained outside were some animals he’d never seen before. The boy was careful, taking just a few before leaving. He’d come to visit and watch the tiny beings another day. This continued for weeks. The boy didn’t know how much he should take so he visited weekly, taking a few more each time. He was getting closer to arriving while the sun stayed high, but he was tired most of the time.
The next time the boy went close to the small town the sun had a while before it would set. For the first time the boy got to see humans. They truly were just small versions of giants. He crouched to stay hidden, hopeful he could learn more about them. The humans were all together in the open, some animals like what he’d been eating were gathered too. The boy inched just a little closer, curious about what was happening.
‘We need to find what’s been taking our livestock and stop it,’ someone declared. The boy tilted his head, he’d never heard the term livestock before. He’d help them if he could, start being the hero he wanted to be. The person who spoke moved closer to the creature he recognized.
‘We could just keep them in the barns, or out of sight. They’re only taken at night, right?’ Someone else said. The boy frowned, he was here during the nights and never saw a problem. He looked around, noticing for the first time the animals he’d grown used to seeing were gone. The only ones were in the group of humans.
‘We can’t survive if that doesn’t work!’ The boy had a growing dread that he was the thing they were worried about. ‘There’s no blood or any kind of trail left behind! It could be a giant and once we’re all out of livestock it may come for us.’
The boy’s heart pounded. He was causing trouble, he was making people scared, not saving them. He did his best to sneak away until he could stand again. He scared his family and now he scared humans. The boy paused on his return, noticing the sweet scent of the trees near his head. There were tiny things on them. He wasn’t sure it would help, but he gathered all the tiny sweet smelling things he could find. Then he snuck back to the town, leaving it all in a pile where the humans had been earlier that day.
After that the boy ran back to the bed of leaves he made. He curled up as small as he could and swore he wouldn’t go back. He wouldn’t go near anyone ever again. That way he wouldn’t scare people or make them worry. He would be alone… Monsters belonged alone.
The next two years went by quickly for the boy. As he expected, his parents never once visited in that time. It was probably better that they hadn’t returned. He’d continued to grow taller, filling in the clothes he’d been given. It was slower than it had been with his parents, probably because his food had changed. Most of the time he would knock down a tree and force himself to eat it. He’d grown to hate the color of bark the longer he spent alone.
Sometimes the boy got lucky and he found some of the skittish animals in his territory. He would have to chase them, but usually he managed to get one to eat. If he knew how giants hunted he’d have a better time, but all he knew were stories. The stories had the heroes chasing down villains so he chased down the animals.
One day things were different. He’d found his way to a bit of higher land in his territory as he searched for a better meal. The whole time the boy just hoped he’d find a tree with some sweet smelling things this time. Instead he caught the scent of blood. It wasn’t one he recognized, but it was close to animal blood. He followed it, hoping for some animal that was hurt in its own hunt.
The boy froze when he found the source of the smell. A wolf bigger than any he’d ever seen was limping in his direction. The dark green fur of the giant wolf had blood coating it. The boy knew this was an animal he couldn’t lose. He took a single step towards it and the wolf took off running. The boy followed, determined not to fail.
The wolf was fast despite the limp, of course the boy had less coordination too. He was stuck with trees ranging from half his size to taller while trailing the scent of blood. The wolf could run with ease in the open spaces. The boy managed to never lose sight of it. Smiling when they reached the area that opened to the lower part of his territory. A cliff that would make the wolf stop.
Only the wolf didn’t stop, it kept running and the boy stumbled. That stumble shook the world for the wolf, or at least the boy thought it did. The wolf lost its footing and went sliding off the edge of the cliff. The boy watched with wide eyes as it disappeared over the edge. He felt bad, sending it to die like that. At least he’d won the hunt.
Carefully the boy walked to the edge. He looked over it with no sign of the wolf where he expected. He dropped down, seeing the trees shake from the impact. There was no howl in response, the wolf must have died in the fall. The boy started searching, the dark green coat nowhere to be seen. The only bit of dark green he found was on the head of a man lying on a bit of ground halfway between the ground the boy stood on and where he’d come from.
The boy walked towards the man. He knew this was no human. The man was almost as big as the wolf. Blood was clearly visible on the clothes the man wore and the boy felt bad. He wanted to help, this is where he could prove he was a hero. As the boy reached forward the man sneered and sent a glare into the boy’s eyes.
‘Just get it over with!’ the man yelled. The boy froze, guilt eating at him. He was probably facing someone like the humans who thought the boy would hurt him. ‘You won in your cursed chase so take your prize.’
The boy’s hands fell as the man kept his sneer. The hair almost the same color as the fur he’d been chasing felt like less of a coincidence. The boy took a deep breath, getting a chance to smell the blood of the man in front of him. Only feeling tears prick his eyes when the scent of the wolf’s blood hit him. He hadn’t been chasing a wolf, he was chasing a werewolf.
The boy fell to the ground and started to cry. He had no idea how to properly apologize. All he did was scare another person. Proving to himself again that he was a villain. The wolf’s words died out as the boy continued to cry. He wanted to help, but the wolf would never let him. He had to find a way to get the wolf help.
‘...Hey,’ the wolf said. The boy stared at him, desperate for a way to fix his mistakes. ‘You’re not actually a full grown giant are you?’ The boy shook his head. The wolf let out a heavy sigh. ‘How old are you?’
The boy held up his fingers. The best he could guess was eight, he wasn’t good at telling time. It wasn’t that important with his parents and even less important out here. He just knew the seasons and knew it had been long enough for two years to pass. The wolf let out a groan before climbing to his feet. The boy was tempted to run away, but he didn’t want the wolf to be trapped because of him. The wolf looked around, seeming to set his sights on one of the big bodies of water the boy used for drinking.
‘You out here alone?’ the wolf asked. The nod was slower from the boy this time. Another sigh came from the green haired wolf. ‘Alright, take me over to that lake there. Careful when you grab me, I opened the wound again when I fell.’
The boy brought his shaking hands up around the wolf. He noticed the way the stranger had emphasized fell, almost like he was trying to say it wasn’t the boy’s fault. The boy knew better. He wrapped one hand around the wolf’s legs and the other mostly around his shoulders. The wolf was stiff, but didn’t yell at him. The boy’s steps were slow and careful until he was kneeling in front of the lake and setting the wolf free.
‘We are going to need to find a better way to do that,’ the wolf said as he shook himself. The boy grimaced when the wolf winced. The wolf walked close to the water and stuck his hands into it. The boy found himself leaning forward to see what the wolf was doing. A few seconds later the water glowed a dull green to match the wolf’s hair. Then small things were jumping around in it. ‘Alright, I cast a spell to fill the lake up with fish. Go ahead and reach in to grab what you can. Before you empty it out I can cast the spell again.’
The boy just tilted his head. He didn’t know what a fish was. He was supposed to eat animals smaller than the wolf, but bigger than these things. The wolf shook his head before shoving his own hand into the water. He came out with two moving things in his hand. The boy thought they looked weird. He took a deep breath, shocked by the new smell in the air coming from them.
The wolf grabbed one with his teeth before offering the other to the boy. The boy was shaking as he brought his hand close, jumping when the wolf threw the new creature into the boy’s palm. He curled his fingers over it as the thing stopped moving. The wolf ate the creature looking at the boy and clearly expecting him to do the same.
The boy didn’t want the wolf mad so he did. He lifted his hand up and carefully tilted his palm back. The little thing slipped off his palm and into his mouth. It was salty and strange, but the boy liked it too. He swallowed it without a second of hesitation.
‘That’s a fish. There should be at least one handful for you in the lake right now,’ the wolf said.
A bit shyly, the boy listened. He reached a hand into the usually cold water. Meeting a lot more solid things than normal. He usually tried to avoid those. This time the boy moved his hand around to get all he could before curling his fingers up. He turned his palm towards the sky and watched as water and the little fish fell free. He still had a good amount in his hand. Cupping both hands together the boy dumped his catch into his mouth. As he ate the wolf made the lake glow again and the fish began to jump in the air all over again.
The wolf did this a few more times before asking, ‘Is that good? You still hungry, kid?’
The boy, terrified a yes would make the wolf mad, shook his head no. His stomach disagreed, apparently aware this was his chance to be full for the first time in his life. A grumble echoed in the forest around the boy and the wolf. The wolf’s face changed and the boy pulled his knees close. A glare on the wolf’s face made the boy flinch. Before the boy could move the wolf stuck his hands in the water again and caused the glow a bunch of times in a row.
The boy’s jaw dropped, the fish in the water were packed tightly enough they were barely moving. The wolf stood up straight and folded his arms before facing the boy. The boy knew this was it. The kindness of the stranger would stop, this was a plot to keep him distracted. The wolf wanted to keep the monster from eating him instead.
‘I asked if you were still hungry,’ the wolf said. The voice didn’t hold a growl like the boy expected. It sounded different than any he could remember hearing for a long time. ‘I can do this for a lot longer, we’re getting you fed kid. Understood?’
The boy nodded and reached for the fish again. Once the lake was mostly clear the boy sheepishly nodded when questioned if he was still hungry. The wolf would ask each time and didn’t seem to change at all when the boy admitted yes. Once the boy was finally content the wolf didn’t seem to believe him. The wolf demanded the boy lie on the ground where he walked straight up to the boy’s stomach. The boy jumped when he felt the small hands of the wolf touch him.
‘Alright, I believe you,’ the wolf said.
The boy kept a wide eyed stare on the wolf as he paced. The boy expected the wolf to run off after this, to avoid the monster. Instead the wolf walked around mumbling to himself for a while. Finally the wolf stared into the boy’s eyes with determination. The wolf walked up next to the boy and slowly shifted. The green coat of fur the boy chased had less blood on it now. The wolf curled up next to the boy’s face and closed his eyes. The boy silently cried, the wolf appeared to trust him more than even his own parents had.
‘I’ll be back in a few days. Stay here, you got it?’ the wolf said as dawn broke. The boy blinked away sleep trying to understand the words said. He slowly gathered that the wolf was leaving, but claimed he would return.
A part of the boy wanted to lie and say yes only to run. Another part wanted to say yes then follow behind the wolf. The winning part said yes and meant it. The wolf looked relieved once the boy agreed. All the boy could do was watch as the man became the wolf he hid and ran off. He watched the wolf run off.
Over the next few days the boy did his best not to move. He didn’t break down any trees, he wasn’t hungry. All he did was stare at the water to try and see the fish. They were so small, he didn’t like that. He fell asleep watching them. In his dreams he was bigger, big enough the wolf was as small as the fish. It scared him. He didn’t want to be that big.
Small hands on his face woke him up. His eyes were wide as they adjusted to see the wolf had actually come back. The hands on his face were wiping at the tears he shed in his sleep. The boy started to sit up. The wolf didn’t back away or stop in his attempts to wipe the boy’s tears. Once the boy was out of reach the wolf grumbled. He wasn’t sure if he’d made the wolf mad.
‘You alright kid?’ the wolf asked. The boy nodded as he pushed himself up all the way. In light of his nightmare he was relieved to see the wolf still looking so big next to him. The wolf backed away to stare up at the boy. The wolf shook his head before stepping back to the trees. ‘If you say so… Regardless, I've got something I need you to wrap around your wrist.’
The wolf walked into the trees. When he returned he had a long amount of cloth trailing behind him. The wolf walked right up to the boy’s hand and draped the cloth over his wrist. The boy lifted his hand without thinking, the cloth hung limply in the air. The wolf seemed to glare before waving his hands towards himself. The boy set his hand flat on the ground, his wrist left where the wolf could easily walk around.
‘Ok, you can’t stay out here on your own,’ the wolf said. The boy frowned, he didn’t have a place to go. The wolf wrapped the cloth snugly around the boy’s wrist. ‘I’m going to cast a spell, it’ll make you smaller. Not as small as someone trained could do, but it’ll be enough.’
The boy’s eyes widened, but he nodded quickly. The wolf actually smiled up at the boy. The smaller hands were placed on the cloth and the boy leaned down. The wolf said words he didn’t understand. The cloth glowed a dull green as it started to heat up. The boy wanted to rip it off, but the wolf said it would make him smaller. He wanted that more. He squeezed his eyes shut as the cloth changed to something more solid against his skin. He growled from the pain that started to course through his body.
‘Sorry kid, I know it’s pretty painful the first time. I can’t really bring a giant back to live near humans without them getting nervous and I don’t want to leave you on your own,’ the wolf said. The boy bit his tongue to try and keep his voice quiet as the pain continued. Suddenly his stomach lurched and the small hands started to grow. He managed to open his eyes to see the wolf looking bigger and bigger.
The boy’s world continued to change. He looked around in awe. The trees began to tower over his head. The fish he had tried to see were significantly clearer now. He stared at them until the world stopped growing around him. The wolf’s hand landed on his shoulder and made him jump.
‘Are you alright?’ the wolf asked. The boy looked around again before climbing to his feet. He was almost as big as the wolf, but still shorter. He nodded, wrapping the wolf in a hug. ‘Be careful, if you feel a tingling on your wrist you need to pull back on your strength.’
The boy nodded as he pulled away. Looking up at the wolf the boy found a warm smile. It was strange, he didn’t remember ever seeing a face like that. The wolf put a hand on his head and moved it back and forth. The boy froze, unsure how to respond.
‘I didn’t say you had to let go, just be careful,’ the wolf whispered. The boy nodded, but didn’t hug the wolf again. It didn’t take long for the wolf to take his hand away and start walking away. ‘Well, let’s go. It’s a bit far, but we should get home sometime tomorrow.’
Home. The wolf was taking him home. Giving him a home. The boy was afraid to follow. Afraid the wolf would send him away too. That someone else would call him a monster. The wolf grabbed his hand and pulled the boy from his thoughts. Concern painted the wolf’s face, the grip on the boy’s hand only grew stronger.
‘If you don’t want to come with me,’ the wolf said, ‘you don’t have to. Kid, I don’t like leaving you out here all on your own. I may not know a lot about giants, but I can’t imagine sending an eight year old kid out alone with no shelter is normal. You can come back with me, or I’ll just try to come check up on you as often as I can.’
The boy let the words sink in. The wolf didn’t think he should be alone. That would mean his family, the leader, and the others were wrong. The boy knew he was crying as soon as a large hand touched his face and wiped at his tears. The boy stared into the wolf’s eyes, choosing to trust that he would be safe. The boy squeezed the wolf’s hand, the best way he could think to say yes.
The wolf accepted that. He started to lead the boy away from the place they met. Away from where the boy knew he was left to die. They walked for hours, the wolf had them take breaks often. It was more often than the boy expected, but he accepted it. The sun set while they were walking towards the home the wolf mentioned. The wolf stopped again as the moon was hovering directly above them.
‘We’ll stop for now,’ the wolf said.
The boy nodded, quickly finding a place out of the way to sit down. The wolf growled softly, but the boy just wanted to avoid making him angry. He curled up holding his knees to his chest as the wolf wandered in the dark. The boy didn’t know what was coming. He was scared, scared that the wolf would change his mind. Leave him alone just like his parents. That he was just a problem for others.
The wolf didn’t disappear though. He wandered back out of the dark and made a small pile of wood. The boy grimaced, he didn’t want the wolf to make him eat it. He hated the taste of trees and their color after all this time. If that was the plan the wolf said nothing, only circling the wood with stones. The boy was in awe, he’d never gotten to see stones so small before.
The wolf crouched in front of the pile and said something the boy didn’t understand. The wood burst into a bright light that the boy had never seen before. He moved closer without thinking. Almost like he was possessed, the boy reached towards the orange light. It felt warm. As he brought his hand close, he wondered if it would feel as soft as it looked. Before he touched it the wolf’s hand was wrapped around his wrist tight enough that the boy whimpered.
‘What are you doing?!’ the wolf yelled.
The boy couldn’t make another noise. He just tried to pull his arm back, he’d go away. The anger on the wolf’s face looked terrifying in the strange light. The wolf kept his grip tight. The boy felt that tingle, but didn’t want to hurt the wolf. He wouldn’t be a monster. The wolf let out a long sigh before letting the boy’s wrist go.
‘What were you doing, kid?’ the wolf asked.
The boy didn’t answer.
‘Did you want to get burned?’
The boy tilted his head. He didn’t know what burned was.
‘...Do you even know what this is?’
The boy shook his head. The wolf groaned before mumbling words he heard his parents say when talking about him in the past. It made him shiver. He didn’t want to make the wolf hate him. The wolf grabbed his hand again and held it close to the orange light.
‘This is called fire, it’s bright and warm,’ the wolf explained. The boy stared in awe at the new thing. Fire. ‘It’s dangerous too. If you touch it, it’ll hurt you. Let it touch you too long and it might end your life. Don’t touch fire, ok?’
The boy stared at the orange light. Warm and bright, but deadly. Somehow it felt similar to himself. Slowly he nodded and the wolf let him go. The boy spent time staring at the strange light, feeling a warmth he never felt before. The wolf did things while the boy watched the fire and the boy wanted to watch the wolf, but the fire felt more important. Like if he took his eyes away it would disappear or act out.
The wolf sat down heavily next to him. The boy pulled his legs closer and tried to stay focused on the fire. He wasn’t used to someone being close to him like this. He wasn’t used to a lot of things. The trees towering above him made him feel safe and scared next to the wolf. The wolf let out a small groan before putting his own hands near the fire.
‘So… want to tell me how you wound up out here?’ the wolf asked. The boy shook his head, even if he knew how to say the words he didn’t want to explain. If he said his parents thought he was bad then the wolf might too. ‘Alright, you can tell me when you want to.’
The boy was shocked at the wolf’s calm reaction. His shock grew when the wolf’s arm wrapped around his shoulders. He was warm, the boy felt cared for. They sat like that for a long time before the boy finally yawned. The wolf took that as a sign to get up and start doing things again. He even made the fire go away.
‘We should get some rest,’ the wolf said. The boy nodded, choosing to curl up where he was. The wolf walked around a bit, standing behind the boy. ‘By the way, my name’s Byssal.’
‘...Bizzzalll,’ the boy tried. It was the first time he tried to talk in a long time. The wolf behind him growled and the boy felt scared.
‘Guess we’ll work on speaking first, sound good kid?’ The boy rolled over to stare at the wolf with wide eyes. He nodded, shocked his voice was even wanted. ‘Try saying Byss.’
‘Bizs.’ It sounded closer to what the wolf said, but the boy frowned at his own failing. The wolf didn’t growl though.
‘That works, just call me Byss. You’re the first one to get to give me a nickname so far, hope it makes you happy kid.’
The boy did smile. The wolf’s face changed a bit before the boy moved to face away again. He could only assume the wolf didn’t want the boy to see him. He didn’t hear anything for a bit of time, he worried the wolf was angry. Before the boy could check warm fur pressed against his back. The wolf was even bigger as he curled up around the boy. It kept the boy warm and the wolf was close. He felt safe.
‘Biss.’ The boy tried again. The wolf rubbed the boy with his head and he took it as something good. For the first time since the boy was sent out on his own he felt warm and safe. He didn’t want that to change.
The next day the wolf and the boy walked for a long time again. Finally coming to a large house like the boy saw the humans live in. The wolf walked in, motioning for the boy to follow. The boy didn’t even have to duck to walk in, his parents had to where the giants stayed. He always thought he’d have to no matter where he went. The wolf had the boy keep following him to a place in the back, a separate room. The boy shivered, he didn’t want to be locked inside again.
The wolf pushed open the door and the boy saw a different room. Something that looked soft in the corner and some rectangular thing made of wood. The wolf walked up to the corner thing and sat down. He waved for the boy to copy him. The boy did, shocked by the soft feeling beneath him. He fell back taking in the soft surface.
‘This is your room now. I kept it ready in case other wolves came by. There’s clothes in the dresser,’ the wolf explained.
‘Durezzer?’ the boy tried. The wolf sighed, standing from the soft thing. The boy sat up and watched the wolf pull part of the wooden thing free. Inside was cloth, not just cloth but clothing. The boy climbed to his feet, quickly joining the wolf. The wolf pulled out a new shirt that would hang loosely on the boy.
‘For now we’ll keep your old clothes for when we go back for you to eat. Otherwise you can wear what’s in here. We’ll try seeing if these will grow with you, they should but we’ll play it safe.’ The boy nodded as the wolf talked. He didn’t fully understand, but the wolf wanted him to change clothes and keep the ones his parents gave him that changed size with him. ‘If these don’t grow, I'll get some cloth we can use to patch up your current clothes. We’re not leaving them torn up like now.’
The boy looked down and held the end of his shirt forward to get a look. He never noticed the tears and holes in what he wore. It was enough to keep him warm and alive. The wolf set a hand on the boy’s head again. Another careful back and forth motion before clothes were put in the boy’s hands.
‘Go ahead and change. Don’t touch the thing on your wrist or you’ll grow and I’ll have to fix the house, ok?’ The boy nodded fervently. He would do whatever the wolf told him. The wolf left the room and the boy quickly switched to the new clothes. Then he curled up on the soft thing, taking in the comfort he never had.
That started the boy’s life with the wolf. The wolf spent a lot of time teaching the boy words and helping him to say them right. After a month he could say the wolf’s name correctly, but still called him Byss. The wolf asked pretty often if the boy was hungry and the boy didn’t lie. The first time he said yes was a few months after the wolf brought him home. They made the trek out and the wolf helped the boy catch animals other than fish this time. After the boy was full, they went home again. That was when the boy realized he had a home.
Things with the wolf stayed the same for almost two years. The boy talked and had even met others who weren’t terrified of him. If he had nightmares the wolf would curl up around him to keep him calm. He liked living with the wolf. The only part that made him nervous were the times the wolf came back smelling of blood and death. Sometimes the wolf was even hurt when that happened. The boy was afraid to ask about it, afraid the wolf would send him away if he did. He just stayed up and waited for the wolf those nights.
It was one of those nights things changed again. The wolf was back earlier, his hands close to his chest. He walked right up to the boy, who had been sitting near a table while he waited. The wolf opened his hands to reveal the smallest creature the boy had ever seen. The being terrified him, he could hurt them.
‘This is a fae,’ the wolf said. The boy nodded, but still stared at the wolf in fear. ‘She was hurt when someone tried to capture her. She’s going to stay with us while she gets better. Hold out your hands, I need you to hold her while I get something to treat her burns.’
‘O-ok,’ the boy said.
He held out his hands, they were still smaller than the wolf’s. The fae was dropped on his palms and he found himself leaning forward to stare at her. She had pink wings with some pattern, but the burns made it hard to make out. Her skin was dark brown with a number of pale scars all over. The thing that stood out to him the most was the small up and down of her chest. He almost missed the wolf leaving.
He could hear the wolf in the house making noise, but his eyes never left the fae. She was so small. He kept thinking about how small she’d be to the real him. When her eyes opened he almost screamed, barely keeping himself from throwing his hands into the air. She stared at him with pure white eyes, he couldn’t tell how she felt. The fae started to look around, searching for someone. Maybe the wolf.
She rubbed her eyes before climbing to her feet. The small feet made his palms burn. He noticed how her wings were missing parts when she flexed them. He couldn’t tell what shape the curves that were meant to be there made out. She walked around his palm before meeting his eyes again. The boy wanted to leave. He wasn’t someone safe for the fae.
Thankfully the wolf returned. He had a jar of something he used after touching silver. The wolf sat down across from the boy before putting his own bracelet on. The boy was left towering over the others. The fae didn’t seem to care, hopping off the boy’s hand and walking towards the wolf. The boy took the chance to leave, he didn’t like being around someone so small.
‘Byss?’ she asked. The name leaving the fae made the boy frown. The wolf said that was a special name, but he gave it to a stranger. The boy had gotten too comfortable, he needed to remember the wolf had no reason to care about him. ‘Who was that?’
‘That’s my pup,’ the wolf said, the boy never knew what that meant when the wolf said it.
The boy shut the door to his room before he could hear more. He curled up on his bed and closed his eyes praying for sleep to take him. It wasn’t long until he was jolted awake to the wolf touching his shoulder. The boy stared in fear at the wolf. Positive he’d done something wrong.
‘Kid, what do you know about fae?’ the wolf asked.
‘...They’re small,’ the boy said. The wolf nodded, but didn’t move to leave.
‘Right, they’re also strong with magic. I know you haven’t told me your name, but if she asks for one don’t give her your real one, ok?’
‘Why?’
‘Fae can use our names to do a lot. You gave me a good option calling me Byss all the time. Make sure not to let her know my real name either.’
‘Right.’
The boy agreed and the wolf actually smiled. He rubbed his head again before standing up. The boy watched the wolf leave, a little of his fears pushed aside. He had forgotten about trying to remember his name. The wolf never needed it. His parents never used it. The fae was the first one who might want it and he couldn’t give it to her even if he wanted to. As far as the boy was concerned, he didn’t have a name anymore.
The thought of his name didn’t have a chance to stick in his head. The fae was healing fast, but she kept trying to land on his hands or shoulder. He didn’t want to be close to her, he didn’t want to hurt her. While she was there she did tell him what to call her, Pel. He just nodded when she did, he still didn’t feel safe talking to anyone besides the wolf.
It wasn’t long before the fae appeared tired of waiting for the boy to adjust. She turned herself human size and stood in front of him. He just waited for her to make her attempts to get him to talk for the day. She stood with her hands on her hips as she tried to make him meet her eyes. He just tried to avoid meeting her eyes.
‘You know I’m not going to break,’ the fae said. The boy nodded, but didn’t really pay attention. ‘Byss is bigger than you and he lets me play with his hair or sit on his shoulder. It’s not like you’re a giant and can barely see me.’
The words stung. Without thinking the boy stood and went to find the wolf. He didn’t want to be around the fae. He didn’t want her to learn how wrong she was. He was someone who could barely see her if it wasn’t for the wolf. It wasn’t hard to find him, the boy offered the motion that he’d be going out and made to leave. The fae stood looking a bit stunned by the boy’s actions.
They boy didn’t care, he wanted to remind himself of who he was. He walked out of the house and didn’t stop. He walked for hours until he felt he was far enough away. The boy sat on the ground and spun the strange bracelet on his wrist. He waited another hour before he took in a deep breath. He squeezed the bracelet, the tight feeling sliding off him in waves. The calm feeling it usually gave him fell away as a scream came not far from him.
The boy sought out the noise to see the fae staring at him. He stared at her with wide eyes, unsure what to do. She saw him, she knew what he was. The wolf would be mad. The wolf would send him away. The boy would be all alone again. Tears started to fall from his eyes before he could do anything else. The human form fae quickly disappeared and he knew he was going to be called a monster. He didn’t expect the almost imperceptible weight on his nose. He brought his hands up just as the fae took her human form again.
The weight of a human in his hands felt different. He had only held the wolf like this when they first met. He was too scared to try again. The fae sat on her knees and stared up at him. The boy had no words, he tried not to speak when he was this big. The fae’s hands were on his face wiping at the tears on his cheek. He was frozen, afraid to risk her falling.
‘Guess I walked right into iron again,’ the fae said. The boy scrunched up his face in confusion. ‘I don’t think a giant would hurt me, let alone Byss’s pup. Just thought it would make you feel better if I went near you and you thought of something bigger!’
The boy couldn’t bring himself to speak. The fae moved without his input. She was back on the ground inspecting his bracelet. He wanted to put it back on, be smaller and safer for her. She walked all around it. At times the fae returned to her smaller form and made him nervous. Eventually she stopped and let out a huff before folding her arms.
‘Well, I think I’ll need to go back to my home sooner than I thought. I’ll get some information so we can make this stronger and you can be human sized!’ she announced. The boy quickly grabbed the bracelet, putting it back on before she could say anything. Once he returned to the smaller size her human sized hands grabbed his and pulled him off behind her.
The fae didn’t stop even once as they walked. She was bubbly and talking about things. She said a lot the boy barely understood, but it did make him smile. At one point the fae turned around to face him. He stumbled to avoid walking into her. She smiled at him before continuing her walk. When the two reached the house the wolf was pacing in the open. He was more wolf than human looking.
The fae continued her bubbly talking as though the wolf didn’t seem angry. The boy winced and wanted to pull himself away. He wanted to run. The wolf’s eyes locked onto the boy immediately. The wolf lunged forward pulling the boy’s hand from the fae’s and glaring down at her. The wolf kept the boy safely hidden behind him, it didn’t make sense.
‘Did you give her your name?’ the wolf asked. The fae crossed her arms.
‘I don’t just steal names! What do you take me for? He’s just an overgrown heart,’ she pouted. The wolf looked back at him and the boy shook his head.
‘Why did you follow him?’ The wolf had a growl in his voice and the boy felt… protected. As if the wolf was just trying to keep him safe.
‘He left after I tried to talk to him of course I followed!’ The fae changed to her smaller form floating in front of the wolf. She had a finger pressed into the wolf’s nose. ‘Plus I don’t know who you bought that awful spell from, but I’ll go home get the right one then give him a better disguise.’
‘...I cast the spell.’ The fae brought her hands up to her face and offered a small gasp.
‘Well then you’ll pay me by letting me teach you! I hate seeing poorly done magic.’
‘What do you-’
‘I should go now, just gather more cloth. It should be good for the spell.’
The boy and the wolf could only watch as the fae flew off. The wolf huffed, then turned to face the boy. The wolf started to check that the boy was uninjured and it was shocking. The boy stared at him confused. The wolf even grabbed his wrist and checked the bracelet. The wolf hugged the boy, it felt nice.
‘Guess I was right to trust that fae after all. I can’t say I’d hate it if she comes back with some way to make the spell stronger. You wouldn’t be stuck here,’ the wolf mumbled. The boy couldn’t believe it. He wanted the boy to be outside. To be with others? ‘I guess we’ll wait. You really didn’t give her your name right?’
‘...I don’t have one,’ the boy admitted. The wolf’s hug grew tighter. ‘I… can’t remember what my parents used to call me.’
‘Then I can give you one or you can pick your own.’ The wolf pulled back to look at the boy’s face. He folded his arms and hummed. ‘I met a knight once, he saved me after a run in with some hunters… How about his name, Kyrie?’
The boy rushed to hug the wolf, nodding into his chest. Kyrie. He liked that. He liked having a name. The wolf returned the hug. The boy felt safe, wanted, protected.
The fae even came back. She complained that the wolf hadn’t gathered cloth, but she took care of that. It didn’t take long for her to demand they go somewhere she could properly cast it. The time lined up with the next time he needed to eat. Despite both the boy and wolf protesting, the fae went with them.
She didn’t seem bothered as they walked, flitting between both of them. She asked a lot of questions, most about the boy. He didn’t answer any, but she didn’t care. They continued on their path until the wolf decided it was far enough. The fae flew around, turning to a human form again to angrily glare at the wolf.
‘Where do you sleep during these trips?’ she asked. The boy and wolf shared a look and stared around them. She gasped and stormed up to the wolf. ‘You have him sleeping out in the open?! He’s young, how could you? We’re making a place right now!’ The fae looked around for a few moments. She pointed up. ‘Up there. You two get wood and I’ll make a cabin up there!’
They couldn’t argue before she flew up. The boy took off his bracelet, growing to his full height. The wolf walked away, casting the spell for the fish in the water as the boy grew. Once tall enough the boy started to break apart trees and put them up on the cliff. The fae stood as a human watching as the boy added wood. The wolf howled for him and he knelt down.
“Can you give me a lift up to the cliff?” the wolf asked. The boy was shocked, but did as he asked. The wolf didn’t even flinch as the boy awkwardly held him. He set the wolf down with the fae, the wolf was moving around the wood as the boy watched. He almost felt like this was normal.
‘That should be enough,’ the fae announced.
The wolf growled and the boy nodded. He chose to eat some of the fish. As soon as his hand entered the water he was filled with regret. The boy had a good idea of how small the fae would be. He was distracted by a flash of faint pink near him. When he turned to look back there was a small house like the wolf and the boy lived in. He quickly ate the fish and moved to look at the small house.
The fae was smiling as she looked up at him. The wolf walked out of the house with a look of approval. The boy wanted to see it, but the wolf was squeezing into the house. The boy wouldn’t fit for long. He couldn’t risk it, the wolf even mentioned he’d gotten taller.
‘Ok give me your wrist, Byss wrap the cloth around for me,’ she demanded. The boy and the wolf did as instructed. Once the wolf wrapped the cloth the fae nodded at the work. ‘Put both your hands on the ground around us and add your weight to it as you change ok?’
The boy nodded. He stood up straight and set his hands down. The fae flew up to the cloth on his wrist. He didn’t hear any words before a faint pink glow came from the cloth. It didn’t burn this time. He felt a tightness in his body that started to constrict. The world started to grow. The boy did as he was told, putting his full weight into his hands. The world continued to grow, but he was moving towards the house.
Once his world stopped changing he felt different. The world was even bigger than when the wolf made him small. The fae was her human size and taller than him. The boy jumped to his feet staring up at her. The wolf came closer and towered over the boy by a lot. He hugged the fae first then hugged the wolf. It was nice, the large hands holding him gently. He liked this size.
That was the start of a truly new life. The boy and the wolf made sure the boy was full before they sat in the cabin. They spent years living both in the house near a human village and the cabin in the boy’s territory. During that time the fae decided to teach the boy to read and write. The first thing she’d taught him was his name, a thing she learned on the first night in the cabin she made. The boy almost refused to try again once he carved a poorly shaped K into the table. The fae encouraged him.
‘It’s a symbol of you learning,’ the fae said and gave him a hug. The boy listened and continued to try and learn. The fae even gave the wolf a better bracelet, all three could look human. All his lessons happened in the cabin in his territory though.
The fae improved his territory over the years too. She went around casting spells she gathered on trips to visit her home. They would make the animals and plants grow bigger. They were able to add a protective barrier to keep anything other than giants out. The wolf helped in making the animals more aggressive, something he’d used in the past. It made the trips easier, although the animals growing bigger made the boy nervous.
The parts of the year they were near a human village, the fae dragged the boy out. She thought he should talk to others. The wolf even encouraged it. It wasn’t long before the boy was accepted among the humans too. The only downside was his height. Despite the strength of the fae’s magic, the boy grew as both a human and a giant. He was taller than the fae’s human form long before he would have liked.
The boy started to hide as that happened. He didn’t want to hurt others. On a day the fae and the wolf managed to drag him to see the humans, things changed again. A monster attacked, the boy had no idea what it was. If he hadn’t stepped in someone would have died. The boy protected the village, his wrist burned as he pushed past a human’s strength that day. He protected people. Others saw him as a hero even though a knight arrived and killed the monster.
The man saw promise in the boy and suggested he join the order. All the boy’s dreams could come true. The fae and the wolf worried, but agreed and the boy began to train. The wolf helped him learn to use a sword and the fae to spot magic. The wolf helped the boy stop himself from being too obvious in his differences. Keep his speed down and his strength only enough to be believed as a blessing. Now and then the man who suggested he joined would check in, always happy with the boy’s progress. The boy would be made a knight by his twenty third year. At least… that was the plan.
A few days before the boy was to join the order he fell sick. His body was in enough pain he could barely move. The wolf carried him outside when the boy complained of being too hot. The fae tried magic to heal the boy. Each time she would fail.
‘I can’t heal growing pains. They need to pass on their own,’ she said once. The boy cried when those words broke through his haze. He’d already been double the height of most giants. He didn’t want to get taller. ‘It’ll be alright Kyrie, you’ll be ok soon.’
The boy cried more. The fae said his name when things were serious. The wolf stayed in the open with him. The fae stayed inside looking for ways to help. One morning he woke up and the pain was gone. He thought it was over, that he was safe. Except… the world looked wrong. It was too small for him. He brought his hand up and saw the strange bracelet still on him. There was a noticeable crack in it too.
The boy sat up carefully, his head spinning as he saw the world. His body was tight in a way that hurt. He needed to take off the bracelet, but it wasn’t safe. The boy wouldn’t risk it until He looked around once he was up straight and sought out the wolf and the fae. He found the wolf curled up near him, but too small. Smaller than he should be. Then a scream.
‘Giant!’ a voice shouted. More screams followed. The boy winced, before looking around. He was worried someone would get hurt, it took him too long to realize the screams were at him.
‘In all the realms!’ the wolf shouted. The boy looked down to see the wolf only slightly human with his fur standing on edge. ‘Kyrie, we have to go now! Pel is with me, grab me and run to your hunting grounds!’
The boy didn’t wait, carefully grabbing the partially shifted wolf before climbing to his feet. The boy felt dizzy again, he was too tall. This was too high. More screams, he had to run. He knew almost instinctively where to go. He took a step, more screams. He had to ignore them and run. While he ran a new pain gripped at him. His stomach felt empty, but that didn’t make sense. He’d eaten only a month before.
The boy slowed as the cabin came into view. He looked down to check on the wolf and the fae. Both sat in his hand, the wolf with the fae held close. The boy wanted to say anything, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak. He was too big. He tried to keep his steps steady despite a growing fatigue in his limbs. He reached the cabin, setting the two down near it before falling to sit next to the cliff it was on.
The fae and the wolf stared at the boy. He had to pull off the bracelet, it burned him. The boy lifted his tired limbs and ripped it free of his wrist. The bracelet shattered as soon as it left his skin. The burning feeling faded as the world began to shrink. The boy was filled with fear as he grew bigger and bigger until he thankfully stopped. The fae and the wolf were staring at him. Their faces were hard to see, but the boy knew he must be terrifying. That fact was overshadowed by the loud noise his empty stomach made.
‘Guess we should start hunting then,’ the wolf said.
He stepped up the edge of the cliff and looked up at the boy. The boy didn’t want to do this, he didn’t want help. He didn’t want to scare them. Another noise from his stomach proved he’d need the help, it hurt worse than any time he could remember. The boy held his shaking hand up to the edge of the cliff, the wolf climbed on without hesitation.
The boy curled his fingers up, panic hitting him again. The wolf standing on his palm was just taller than his fingers. Humans and fae would be so small. He slowly lowered his hand down, it felt too fast as the wolf grabbed the boy’s fingers to steady himself. Once on the ground the wolf hopped off quickly. The boy didn’t know if it was different, but everything felt different. The wolf shifted fully before running off into the trees.
The boy didn’t wait long to start his own hunting. He shifted carefully, worried he’d hurt the wolf. The boy looked at the lake animals often gathered around, it was empty for now. The boy chose to tap the trees catching the larger fruit. He dumped it into his mouth just before a howl sounded. He moved quickly, knocking down trees to find the wolf.
He found the familiar green fur with blood already coating it. The wolf was fighting a bear that was even bigger than him. The boy acted once the wolf managed to roll the two so the bear was on the bottom. He grabbed the wolf in one hand, quickly grabbing the bear in the other. He pulled them apart with only a little hesitation.
The boy set the wolf down near the cabin once he was free of the bear. The boy tightened his grip on the bear until a crack sounded in the air. He dropped the bear in his mouth as the wolf entered the cabin. The boy waited, nervous about the wolf. Had he hurt the wolf? Did he use too much strength? Before long the wolf came out again with the fae in her human form sitting on his back.
‘Byss is hurt, I can’t heal it,’ the fae said. The boy’s heart nearly stopped; he'd hurt the wolf. The fae slid off as the wolf shifted to be somewhat human again.
‘The bear must have gotten seen by hunters. The blood had silver in it. We have to go get it treated now,’ the wolf said. ‘We’ll go get it treated, you finish eating what you need while we’re gone.’
‘...I should take you,’ the boy whispered.
‘No!’
The wolf’s voice was almost all growl. The boy nodded accepting the decision. He didn’t know if the wolf was hurt, but they were scared. They must be scared. His parents were scared of him, the wolf and the fae had no reason to trust him. Once the wolf and the fae were gone the boy did his best to hunt.
The boy emptied the lakes and tried to catch any animals he could. He ate all the fruit he could find, but there wasn’t enough. He didn’t want to eat more than he already had in front of them. He settled for eating trees again. The time he hunted took days, but eventually he was content enough. He could live with the bit of hunger he still felt.
It took over a week before the wolf and the fae returned. The wolf seemed reluctant to go near the boy, but the fae acted too eager. The boy was reluctant to touch either of them. He didn’t want to hurt the wolf again or remind them of their fear. The fae mentioned the lakes were empty, the wolf said they’d fill them. The boy was gathering the courage to tell them to leave.
‘You’re done eating?’ the wolf asked. The boy nodded. ‘Ok, then we have somewhere to go. It’s best if you carry us where we’re going.’
‘I-’ the boy tried. He couldn’t think of arguments that wouldn’t leave him alone. As much as he hated their fear, he didn’t want to lose them.
‘Oh and don’t worry, I have some special spells so no one will notice you!’ the fae said.
The boy was reluctant, but offered his hand to the wolf and the fae. This time the fae turned small and, shockingly, the boy saw her fly up to rest on the wolf’s head. That made sense. The boy knew the fae would be in danger just in his hands. The boy stood up slowly.
The boy was hit with another wave of dizziness as he took in the small world. Trees a third of his size at best, even smaller at worst. He took a step and the world reacted. It made the boy sick. The wolf let out a noise that took the boy’s attention and pointed in a direction. The boy followed where he was told. The boy tried not to think about the miniscule world around him as he walked.
The wolf and the fae tried to talk to the boy, but he didn’t want to talk. His voice would be too loud. The wolf didn’t stop trying and the fae eventually landed on his fingers. He froze up each time. The fae stopped landing on him after the fifth time he froze up… The boy knew it was best. The wolf offered a few more directions and the boy followed them faithfully. After a long time, long enough the boy wasn’t sure how he walked without stopping, they found trees.
The trees were towering over even the boy. They were endless, the tops so high it looked like they could reach other realms. The fae flew off his hand quickly. The boy crouched until he could set his hand on the ground. He noticed the wolf was still fully human, it wasn’t normal. When the boy was a giant the wolf didn’t usually look human.
‘This is perfect. I can feel how special this is,’ the fae said. The boy was shocked he heard her. The fae landed on the ground next to the wolf before taking her human form. She stared up at the boy, he felt like a monster looking down at them. She cupped her hands around her mouth. ‘You should be able to pull off some of the bark. Kyrie, can you try to pull off enough to be as tall and wide as you are?’
The boy nodded. He stepped closer and dug his fingers into the bark. It seemed like it was responding to him, coming off with the boy barely trying. The amount the fae asked for came off easily. From there the boy stepped back, putting the bark down on the ground. The fae instructed him to pull the bark apart.
First the fae asked for enough to wrap around his leg. He did as she asked, wrapping it from his thigh to his ankle. She approached him, the boy froze as she left his sight. Too many things could go wrong. The bark glowed a faint pink before morphing into something that looked like armor, covering even his foot now. The boy jolted as the world grew around him. It hadn’t changed as much as normal, but a tight feeling took over his body. He was smaller.
The fae directed him again. This time his other leg. The process happened again, bringing him down again. Next the fae told the boy to cover his chest, and the spell morphed it to look like the pieces of armor that would hang off a human’s torso. He was smaller than a normal giant again. The boy just stared down at the wolf and the fae, his sight felt strange. The wolf and fae felt a little less clear.
Finally the fae directed the boy to cover his arms. He did both at once. The fae went to her smaller size before causing the bark to glow pink. It slid down from the boy’s shoulders, the fae already made the other arm glow too. The boy pushed them back up, this time as though he was wearing gauntlets that covered his upper arms. As soon as the boy had locked the arm pieces in place his world started to grow.
The boy’s body jolted. This time he felt like something was pressing down on him. The feeling ebbed away as the boy’s world stopped changing. The fae was in her human form next to him. The boy stood up straight, still towering over her. The wolf towered over the boy at least. The wolf dug his hands into the bark and pulled off a large chunk. He approached the boy slowly holding the strip of bark towards him.
‘Hold still,’ the wolf said. ‘You’ll need a helm for this to be your armor, it won’t take long alright?’
The boy stiffly nodded. The bark was wrapped around his head, the world gone dark. The boy was terrified. This was the perfect chance to defeat the monster he was. The bark glowed pink, almost blinding the boy. He had to close his eyes. In seconds there were soft fingers on his face. The boy opened his eyes. He still towered over her. The boy carefully pulled off the helm, shocked that it looked like the ones he’d been practicing in for years. The wolf set a hand on the boy’s head before moving it back and forth.
‘There, now you can still be a knight. Just don’t take your armor off,’ the wolf said. The boy nodded.
The three made their way home after that. It took weeks, but the boy didn’t want to take off the armor. Not around the wolf and the fae. When they returned the humans of the village were relieved to see the boy. The wolf told a story of the boy helping the three escape a giant. Finding armor as they did. It was easily believed.
The boy got to start a new life again. He was nervous, but being a knight helped him try to be a hero. The wolf and the fae tried to go with him on his trips to hunt again, but the boy knew they were scared. The wolf didn’t shift outside of a full moon for two years. The fae was always with him those nights, like he needed protection. The boy wouldn’t take off his leg pieces if the wolf or fae came along. He ate less than he did before he grew too.
Eventually the boy convinced the wolf and the fae not to go with him anymore. He would take off all his armor and spend the time alone. It took those times for him to adjust to his new height. Now and then the wolf and the fae would work on his armor and the boy would be near them. He started to grow comfortable with them. The boy could manage that when they could stay away from where they had to remember what it took for him to live.
Then the order told the boy that someone would come to meet him. That he’d train her to join the order. The knight arrived with her helm on. The boy was curious for weeks about what she looked like, but he wouldn’t pry. The knight wouldn’t be around for too long. At least that’s what the boy thought, but after a few months he finally saw the knight’s face.”
Kyrie brought his hand up to Melody, she’d been so silent. He ran a finger down her back, smiling when she shuddered. She was so small, but she didn’t run as he told her the story. He didn’t hate his size next to her. He didn’t hate the idea of being a monster for her.
“Then the boy after all this time saw brown eyes and hair, a shade he knew well, with tears streaming down her face. The boy wanted to protect the knight as soon as she faced him. It was the first time in his life he fell in love with the color of tree bark. The knight told the boy she hated killing and the boy promised he wouldn’t kill unless there was no other option. The boy hid the fact that he was already scaring off most things he found before he met her.”
“Kyrie…?” Melody whispered.
“Then the knight let the boy meet her brother. The sorcerer was stern and didn’t seem happy to meet the boy. Things changed over a few years. Then the knight saved an innocent girl, a naga, and her friend, a tiny drider, when they were in danger. The knight tried to hide the naga and the drider from the boy. While she hid them the boy’s armor was loosened by the drider.
“The boy thought his life was over, the knight would hate him. The knight might even reveal him. Instead she came to see him and she gave him a chance. The boy and the knight both had secrets and had fallen in love. Eventually the boy knew he had to show the knight more so he asked her to go with him when he left. The knight agreed, taking a trip with the boy. Again the boy thought things would change-”
“But the knight loved the boy and wasn’t going to let him scare her away,” Melody said. She walked up, placing her hands on Kyrie’s face. The last night before they go back. He couldn’t explain why he had to tell her now, but he knew if he didn’t he never would.
“The knight shocked the boy enough that he wanted to take a chance. That he’d keep taking a chance on the knight, as long as she’d have him.” Melody pressed against him, her arms spread wide.He sucked in a deep, shuddering breath. His tears weren’t going to drench her this time.
“Kyrie… I wish I could have met you sooner.” The words made him jump back. He wasn’t expecting that. “I wish you weren’t always so scared the people around you would leave.”
“I’m not anymore.” His voice was almost too quiet. It felt weird to admit it. “Plenty of chances for Byss and Pel to leave for good and they haven’t. I just try not to scare them anymore. I don’t want to push them.”
“I don’t think you ever did.” Melody stepped back from where she’d been hugging him to stare in his eyes. “Something you said, Pelago just said she couldn’t heal Byssal when she left right?”
“She always said that when it was too much. It wasn’t new.” Kyrie moved to cup his hand around her. He was worried something would take a chance to attack even with the bigger predator sitting so close to her. He couldn’t let Melody get hurt.
“No, she always says she can’t and why.” He furrowed his brows. There wasn’t a difference. “It’s something long before either of us were alive, but she has to do that. She can’t just say she can't, she doesn’t have a choice. The only way she could say that she can’t heal it is if someone told her explicitly to say that.”
“So… Byss told her to say that?” Kyrie felt like his world fell apart, he couldn’t understand why Byss would stop Pel from telling him what was wrong. Unless… unless it was somehow his fault. He’d hurt Byssal back then.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Byssal groaned as Pel cast a few spells on his side. The scars would be gone soon and it would be another bad memory. The pink glow from the smaller woman disappeared. He moved to relax only for Pel to switch to her fae form and curl up next to his neck. He held back laughter as her wings tickled his skin.
“You know he’ll probably tell her his past, the same way you talk about things too,” she said. Byss just huffed. “Frame it like a story to push it away from himself. She’ll notice what you did Byss. She’ll point it out.”
“I didn’t do anything, the girl should keep her mouth shut,” Byssal growled. He knew Pel was right and he hated that fact. The tickling of her wings disappeared as the woman flew up to set her hands on his nose. He had to admit she was cute acting like this at his real height.
“You made me hide your injury Byssal!” He just let out another huff. “‘The girl’ is from my own home. They’ve used me as a warning for generations about the trickery others can use with our names. She’ll know I always have to say what I can’t heal and how to work around it.”
“All we did is hide that pulling the bear off me tore off a chunk of my skin, Pel. If the kid knew I stopped shifting because of a problem we made for him he’d be worse than he is now. He might have run off if we weren’t careful. It’s been years since the shifts were dangerous, the kid doesn’t need to know.”
“And what if he just thinks you’re scared of him. You know how he is, how he was when we came back.”
Byssal turned his head ignoring the grunt from Pel as she caught herself. It didn’t matter, Kyrie was better off thinking that he was scared. Scared could be overcome. He never forgot the way the kid cried when he saw Byssal wasn’t just a normal wolf. He never wanted to see that again. Pel flew up to meet his eyes again. She hovered in front of him, her wings buzzing in a way he always hated.
“He might ask Byss, what are you going to do? If he asks me I’ll have to tell him why I can’t answer. That you ordered me not to. It won’t make things better,” she whispered. Byssal brought his hands up, cupping them around the woman smaller than the joints of his fingers. She fell limply against his palms.
“We’ll deal with it then. The kid has enough on his shoulders, he doesn’t need to worry about times he might have hurt me by accident.” Byssal growled a bit before moving his hand up to his neck. He preferred when Pelago stayed there. She climbed off and curled up against him. This time she kept her wings away from his neck, he hated when she did that. “We’ll tell him we’ve still been going when he gets back. You said the girl would probably mention it, we’ll let him know she wasn’t wrong.”
#Knights nagas and more#gt#giant/tiny#giant tiny#g/t#g/t writing#gt writing#gianttiny#gt community#g/t community#oc:kyrie#oc:melody#oc:byssal#oc:pelago
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