#but charge forward being prepared to jump ship as soon as you think you smell smoke | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

greypetrel · 5 months

Note

From the touches prompts, maybe "falling asleep on the other’s shoulder" for either Hawke? With one another or with whoever fits c:

Hi Laya! :D

Thanks for asking! We got the pair of them, why not. Some coping as they are reaching Kirkwall, why not. I am researching about ships and well, we are on a ship.

Tis the prompt list, if anyone else wants to send me one!

Runaway

Touching - 22. falling asleep on the other’s shoulder [ Hawke siblings | Post intro, 1950 words - wow it's not long! ]

“It’s my fault.”

Raina said, whispering it as if it was a secret. Thinking better about it, it really wasn’t, everyone was there to see. And yet, saying it any louder would have made it more real, real for everyone around them.

The ship was crammed with people, desperate and fleeing a burning country. It swayed and creaked with the waves, and the air in the hold was stale and filled with whatever nasty smell you may expect from stacking too many humans in the same place for hours and hours on end. Some baby was crying, many people were crying somberly, sobs and hiccups raising in the air, coughs and sneezes covering the waves. The sound and smell of puke was the worst.

And in spite of everything, Raina didn’t hate it. It held some sort of comfort to see that they weren’t alone, that many, many other families had a story similar to theirs. It felt less alone and less heart-breaking not being the only one fleeing Ferelden and facing an unknown future in a different city, a different country, a different anything.

Thinking of it, Raina and her siblings had never seen a city.

Their mother had fallen asleep, holding Bethany in her arms like she would have died too if she let go for a minute.

A metre distant from Raina, which felt… It felt like they were on separate continents. It always felt that way, but right now, the distance felt the starkest, the gap between them the deepest.

And she had to say it out loud: the space was crammed, too crammed, she couldn’t move and she was getting crazy about it. The ship constantly moving felt somehow comforting -it couldn’t stay still either - but she wanted to pace and run.

Garrett at her side huffed and bumped her upper arm with his shoulder.

“Shut it up, would you?” He grumbled, voice pained.

“It’s true. I should have looked back, I charged onward.”

“Me and Beth as well. You weren’t alone, out there. It was an accident.”

He insisted, in that way and tone of voice he had just when he was upset and needed to convince himself as well of something. It didn’t feel much better, hearing that he was flailing himself as well. And how could it? It was even worse than father’s death. At least for father they have all been prepared and expected it to happen.

This…

“I am responsible, Gee. I should have thought about it, you and Beth already had stuff to worry about.”

She vomited, not knowing how to stop or better phrase it. She would cry, if she could: all her tears had exhausted the day Malcolm passed and she realised that her family needed her strong and stable. It left her even antsier, without a way to discharge the pressure and the grief, but there was little to do, right there and then, than talking about it.

“I just… I didn’t think and jumped forward.”

“Raina, please, stop it.”

“No. I should have been more attentive, I should have looked back, or been quicker, and instead I wasn’t and Carver-”

“Raina.”

Garrett punctuated, bumping harder against her arm as soon as she was raising her voice, her breath coming quicker and her foot bouncing frenetically up and down, up and down. She still was sore where a Hurlock had hit her with -thankfully- the flat of its sword, and the movement pulled at the muscle, but she didn’t care, right now. Physical pain was better. Particularly when Garrett used that tone. Father’s tone. Everyone kept saying she was the one who looked the most like him, acted the most like him. But Garrett had his voice, and that particular calming way he had of stopping her train of thoughts from spiralling lower and lower. The comparison and the memory, right now, weren’t sweet. Malcolm would have known what to do -he always knew- and Raina… Raina simply didn’t.

“Listen, not everything is on you. Stop with this convinction that the family depends on you and you alone, ok?”

“I’m the eldest, and mother-”

“-I’m one year younger than you, I’m not a baby. Just, stop. I’m not a child, Bethany isn’t either, and mother…” He sighed, deeply. “… She took a hit. Another one. She didn’t mean anything she said.”

“We all took a hit, Gee.”

“Yes, we did.”

He just replied, and leaned on her, placing a hand on her knee to stop it from bouncing. The weight and warmth brought some comfort, as well as his heavy breathing so close to her ear. It didn’t really help in erasing from right before her eyes the way mother had looked at her, holding Carver’s body close, and how she had yelled that it was all her fault. She didn’t know if that was something she could ever forget: she hadn’t forgotten what happened after Malcolm died, after all. How Mother fell into a pit and left her to pick up the pieces. And when she woke up, she became that much antsier to marry her off, dragged to dinners and meetings one after the other, tried to explain that they needed the protection and the money, they couldn’t lose the farm. And how she stopped speaking to her for 3 days when she beated the last bachelor in Lothering that was interested in her, and that was the end of all the favour the Amell surname could bring them.

She hadn’t forgotten, and she hadn’t forgotten how she had rolled up her sleeves and did thrice the work to keep the farm afloat. And how everything had been pointless, if all it was worth was being the one put to blame for Carver.

The worst thing was that in spite of Garrett, in spite of how much she appreciated him and his attempts to get between his sister and his mother and pacify the situation, the real issue was that a big part of Raina believed Leandra was right.

And in that ship, suddenly she was still out of place, out of time, the wrong person at the wrong time.

“Where you going?”

Garrett asked, drowsily, when Raina gently moved his hand away from her leg to his thigh, shifted his shoulders so he was leaning on the wood and not on her, and rose up.

“I need some fresh air.”

She stepped and hopped through people, slaloming around in a twisted path to the ladder that lead outside. The captain had told them that they shouldn’t do it: people on board not knowing where to stand and what to do could risk getting hurt and hurting others, and make navigation all the more complicated. Particularly since they were so many.

Raina was alone, tho: it couldn’t hurt.

The deck, indeed, was empty: the air was crisp and cold, the smell of salt hit her as the wind ruffled her hair, cut her cheeks and made her close her eyes. It was refreshing and nice, after the heath and the stale smell of the hold.

She closed her coat more closely on her body, crossed her arms to her chest and walked, in search for a place to curl away from the action, away from her family -she loved them, but there was just so much grief, right now- and hopefully away from ghosts, fresh and new.

Walking on a swinging wooden deck, damp and slippery in the night, wasn’t the best. A sailor passed her, grunting her to move, walking briskly as he had glue under his feet. It wouldn’t have been half bad, to be able to do it, she thought. Sailing away to the horizon, never to turn back. A dream, an impossible one.

And then there her spot was: close to the forecastle, a crook between two barrels, happily devoid of ropes and anything much that wasn’t the gunwhale and the floor. The barrels repaired it from the wind, and it mattered not that the deck was totally wet under her butt: she sat down, back against one of the barrels and both feet pressed high on the other, and looked up.

The lights on the ship dulled some of the stars, and the sails, puffed up from the wind, covered others. It was soothing nonetheless: it spoke of late nights in the farm, climbing on the thatched roof and falling asleep there, with the stars blinking up above and the crickets singing her to sleep.

She wanted to scream at the memory and at how much everything had changed. But looking up at the stars she felt little and insignificant: they were still the same constellations she knew, and they still sparkled at her, silent and peaceful. Something in this upside down existence, after all, was still right and at its place, and her problems, her mother that blamed her, Carver dead, the unknown prospects of the future in a city that wasn’t theirs, setting place in mother’s former aristocratic life -more marriages, more nastiness she wasn’t ready for- felt reduced in comparison with the vastness of the sky.

Garrett reached her after a while, grunting and complaining that the place was damp and cold, and that they would have woken up with a damn cold and it was all her fault and she was lucky to have such a good brother to look up for her and who most importantly remembered to bring a blanket.

Raina chuckled, and shifted to make space for him beside her, letting him curl on her shoulder and hugging his own with her arm, tucking him close after he covered the pair of them with the blanket. He circled her waist with his arms and curled against her, sighing. Raina fixed the hem of the blanked to cover him up to his chin. Like they did when they were children, even if he was taller than her and was letting his beard grow. Taking care of him made her feel better, a little bit.

“It’s not that bad, out here, come on.” Raina told him. The roar of the waves was louder and soothing, the creaks of the ship sounded less ominous, and the barrels repaired them from the worst of the wind.

“The stars are pretty.” He grumbled, half asleep. “I still prefer the fields and the smell of grass.”

Raina sighed. She knew it would have been difficult for him most of anyone: Garrett was the one that actually like growing things and working in the farm. He always had been. She hugged him closer. Being closed off and refractory to speaking feelings clearly ran in the family, after all.

“I miss home too.”

“You won’t miss it for long.”

“Why?”

“You always dreamed of getting away.”

Another hit.

“Yeah… Not like this. Not with you.”

“Bullshit.” He huffed, poking her between two ribs. She swatted him in retaliation. “What would you do without me? I would have come with you, of course.”

And that made Raina laugh, and swat him yet again.

“You’re so stupid.”

“Takes one to know one.”

They bickered some more, swatting and poking each other mindlessly. The blanket fell, and it was a while since they both shivered and decided that it was enough.

Still chuckling, they went back in curling against the other, huddling close under the blanket.

It wasn’t the farm’s thatched roof, there were no crickets around, the air didn’t smell like earth, but like salt. And yet, Garrett leaning on Raina’s shoulder, and Raina on Garrett’s head, they fell asleep, cradled by the movement of the ship and brought away by the roaring of the waves.

Tomorrow would have been better.

#dragon age #dragon age 2 #da fanfic #hawke #female hawke #dragon age fic #male hawke #da2 #raina hawke #garrett hawke #writing petrel

7 notes · View notes

erekiosuncreativeideas · 4 years

Text

Being Human - Chapter 11

<= Chapter 10

Summary : Snatcher meets someone new. Warning for this chapter : depressive thoughts. Also available on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/24826561/chapters/64721650

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

NEW CHAPTER, HELLO THERE

Sorry for not posting in a while and thank you so much for your patience ! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter ! Thank you so much for all your nice comments, likes and reblogs, you're the reason I'm still writing today, you're all so great !!

The “Oh The Humanity” AU belongs to @doodledrawsthings !

Happy reading !

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Chapter 11 - “Let’s chat for a bit, okay?”

Snatcher covered himself with a colourful towel and opened the other door of the shower, revealing the room he had been in before: the machine room, apparently. It was a wonder how this ship still functioned despite all the fires and holes there were in the engines… That thought made the man extremely nervous. Who wouldn’t be, when they were in space, in a seemingly damaged spaceship run by children? Of course, it made him anxious! He could feel his heartbeat increase and he had to take deep breathes in order to calm himself down.

Now wasn’t the time to panic. Everything would be just fine. And hey, who knew, maybe he’d become a ghost again if he somehow died at some point? He scoffed at the idea: yeah, no, he knew that wouldn’t work. His knowledge on the supernatural and on magic in general were enough to give him a pretty good idea of what would or wouldn’t work.

Well, especially what wouldn’t work.

Once he felt calm enough, he focused once more on the current situation. Right next to the door lied a bag of clothes, all very diverse. This probably was what the hatted brat told him about earlier. With some hesitation, the former ghost bent over it and sunk his hands inside to inspect it. Unsurprisingly, those were all male clothes, very different from what he used to wear before he died. It made sense, in a way, considering a few centuries had passed since then, but that didn’t mean he could adapt that fast to this fact. It was a lot to take in, after all.

It took him a while to find something fitting him. Most clothes were either too small or too big for him. Some looked familiar to him, huge blue costumes especially, and he remembered he had seen these on those mafia goons that sometimes entered his forest. Well, no need to try them on, as they were visibly too big for him. It wasn’t until he reached the bottom of the bag that he found a few clothes that could fit him: one was something he remembered was called ‘t-shirt’, although he didn’t understand where that name came from. Another piece of clothing was a green jacket made out of wool, which would certainly keep his body warm. He found an underwear to his size, though it looked like nothing he used to wear back when he was alive. The last clothes were blue pants that felt really weird to the touch and strange-looking brown shoes with laces.

What the heck was all of that.

With a very confused face, the former ghost did his best to put those clothes on despite his lack of balance. He couldn’t help but have the feeling they wouldn’t be comfortable to wear and oh Gods, was he right to think so. The ‘t-shirt’ was the less worst of all, having a strange shape yet a nice texture, so it wasn’t entirely bad. However, the jacket was itching him on his arms, the underwear felt extremely wrong on his skin, both because of its form and texture… But the worst thing was the pants. Oh, Gods, he absolutely loathed them. The feeling of the fabric on his skin felt so unnatural, and while it seemed a bit elasticated, the man felt like it was too tight around his legs. And what about that thing he had to use to close those pants! What even was that thing?! Who invented that?

With his hair still wet from the shower, Snatcher glanced at his own body, all confusion on his face replaced by exasperation and an obvious lack of understanding. How clothes like these could be worn casually? It made no sense to him.

A sudden noise coming from his stomach cut his thoughts short, forcing his mind to come back to reality. Right, the kids had mentioned someone who would cook for them, even if he didn’t remember their name. However, despite his blatant hunger, the former shade didn’t really look forward to eating anything, mostly because he knew this was going to be a bad experience. He hadn’t tried doing so yet but, considering how every action as a human, even the littlest ones, were so hard and painful to do again… It was obvious that whatever would happen, it wouldn’t be enjoyable.

Snatcher let out a frustrated sigh as another gurgle echoed in the room. Well, it wasn’t like his body was giving him any other choice, so he decided to accept whatever fate destiny had in store for him. He knew it was going to be bad, so it was better to just close his eyes and let fate do its magic. And so, with great reluctance, the former spirit walked away from the shower, taking the bag of clothes with him so he could give them back to whoever they belonged to.

He climbed the metal ladder leading to the upper part of the room, with some difficulties due to his need of adaptation, and approached the door, which opened swiftly once he was close enough to it. That still made him ill-at-ease, if he had to be completely honest, but at least he didn’t jump from surprise anymore, so that was still some progress. He entered the hallway, using the walls to help him to walk in the slope of the floor. No matter how it looked from an exterior eye, Snatcher was definitely getting better at that walking thing. If the movements still felt strange, it was becoming more natural for him, and his legs hurt less from the efforts.

He soon reached the other door, which opened just like the first one. The man arrived in the main hub and glanced around, looking for the kids and whoever they brought onto the ship. However, he was a bit surprised to see that no one was in the room, except for the little vacuum cleaner, still doing its job happily. It greeted Snatcher with a high-pitched sound, bumping into his foot as a way to say hello. He couldn’t help but cringe at the action, still saying nothing as he waited for the little robot to get away from him. Gods, this made him uncomfortable, and yet he felt so ridiculous for that. He could perfectly imagine the kids making fun of him, and he promised himself not to ever mention that in front of them, no matter the circumstances.

Just as he was about to explore the ship to find the little brats, several distant voices caught his attention towards the kitchen. One of them sounded unfamiliar and he guessed it most certainly belonged to the person the girls had mentioned before. Taking a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst, the former shade braced himself and walked to the green wooden ladder. Just like the one from before, Snatcher gritted his teeth as he climbed, the action being quite trying for someone who had come back to life. Gods, the things he’d do just to float again… With great efforts, he still managed to get back on the top of the platform, his forehead sweating from how hard it was and how warm the jacket was for him during such an exhausting effort. He quickly dried it up on his arm, having nothing else to use other than that. Once he calmed his breathing, he pushed the kitchen door open… And a strong smell hit his nostrils, a delicious one that made his mouth water and his stomach gurgle louder. His hand dropped the bag of clothes on the floor from the shock. Oh Gods, whatever was cooking, it smelled amazing. His eyes instantly fell on three silhouettes in front of the gas stove or whatever was the futuristic or alien equivalent.

He didn’t even know at this point.

There was a frying pan on the stove, with something cooking in it that the man couldn’t quite see from where he stood. All he knew was that it had a yellowish or orangish hue and that it smelled really good from his body’s point of view.

The three persons turned in his direction, two of them being the little girls he knew quite well and the other one… Being a cat in a chef’s uniform. What the heck.

-“Hey Snatcher!” was the first thing that came out from the hatted brat, soon imitated by her younger friend, waving at him: “Nice clothes,” she said with a thumb up. The bow-wearing kid added her own question:

-“I heard you had some trouble with the shower commands. Did you figure it out or…?”

Snatcher sighed and nodded, a frown on his face:

-“Yeah, I did. I would have appreciated an explanation about them, though,” he reproached, frustrated, making the kids wince at the remark. Well, he was right, so not his problem. His eyes then glanced back to the stranger, who was smiling at him, waiting for an opportunity to join the conversation:

-“Oh, hello !” greeted said cat with a feminine and gentle voice, as she approached him, dusting her paws on her clothes. The kids watched them from afar, next to the stove, surely because they originally were helping the other to cook. The hatted brat was watching the food, probably making sure it wouldn’t burn or something… Well, not that Snatcher trusted her on that regard, especially since she seemed to be poking at the food with a fork as if to see if it was still alive or not. The other little girl just slapped her hand away lightly, as if she were telling her it was impolite or something, whispering something Snatcher couldn’t hear from there.

What kind of alien food were the kids eating usually if they had to check if it was dead…? He suddenly became very nervous about the meal he was going to have. Well, in the end, he didn’t really want to know anyway.

Maybe he’d get lucky, since the cat was most certainly a native of the planet, just like he was. And since she was the one in charge of the cooking…

-“The girls and I were just talking about you,” added the stranger, giving the man a bright smile.

-“Oh, is that so…?” replied the former shade, glaring at the kids for talking about him while he was away. Whoever taught them politeness, they didn’t do a good job at it. What were they even talking about? The kids faked not noticing him, making Snatcher even more irritated. If only he still had his powers… Apparently, the cat seemed to notice his change of attitude and raised her hands in an apologizing gesture :

-“Oh, don’t worry, it wasn’t anything serious!” she explained, a little bit embarrassed: “They mostly told me what happened so I could be in the know,” she paused and extended her paw for him to take: “I’m Cooking Cat, but you can call me Cookie if you want.”

The man hesitantly took her paw, shaking it lightly:

-“The Snatcher,” he introduced himself, quickly pulling his hand back. The feeling of fur on his hand was extremely strange, new, and a bit overwhelming. He wasn’t ready for that kind of touch yet, he supposed. Cooking Cat didn’t seem bothered by that, as if she had been expecting it. Well, it made sense, if the brats told her about his bad experiences back in a human body.

She stepped away, making her way back to the stove as she replied:

-“I heard some stories about you,” she said, though she didn’t look scared. He couldn’t really blame her, though: who would be afraid of him the way he looked like now?

-“Terrifying ones, I hope,” he answered, his tone mixed with sarcasm and pride, a very terrible mix. The cat took the frying pan back from the kids, and quickly instructed them to fetch a large plate, which they quickly did. The former ghost came closer and finally got to see what was cooking: a few grilled cheese sandwiches. The sight and smell made his mouth water again. Gods, he hated being hungry and what that feeling did to him and his body.

-“Yes, for the most part. I must admit I didn’t think you were real until the girls told me about you and asked me to come here,” she confessed, looking a bit embarrassed as she did so: “I mostly heard about you from urban legends and scary tales for kids.”

-“Yeah, scary, right…” scoffed the hat-wearing brat, probably in order to tease him. He shot her a warning glare, which effect was only to make her and her friend giggle more. Those brats.

-“Anyway,” the cat spoke again, decided to change the topic for something lighter. She pointed to him with a smile: “I’m glad the clothes fit you well. I borrowed them from friends, you can keep them until you’re able to buy yours.”

That sentence suddenly made Snatcher realize that he had no money to buy clothes with. Or anything else, really. His thoughts must have been pretty easy to read from his expression as Cooking Cat lifted her paws again:

-“Don’t worry, you’re not in a rush, keep them as long as you need to,” she told him with a reassuring tone.

-“Yeah!” added the bow-wearing kid with a sympathetic smile -ugh- : “We’ll help you to find more clothes! And, not to brag, but I’m pretty good at picking clothes.”

-“She is,” upheld her older friend, “Whereas I’m the pon catcher,” she teased and then laughed, only to receive a light hit from the other with her elbow, giggling as well:

-“Hattie!”

The former shade couldn’t help but cringe at the sight. Gods, this was much too sappy for him. Next to him, Cooking Cat was looking at them fondly, like a mother figure watching her kids teasing each other. She eventually turned back to the stove, turning it off and lifting the frying pan in the air until she found a plate to drop the sandwiches on it.

-“Food’s ready!” announced the cat, smiling brightly. She put the frying pan in the sink and opened the tap to cool it down. She then handed the plate to the kids for them to pick a sandwich from. Without too much surprise, said kids were more than happy to finally eat something. Snatcher, in comparison? Not so much. The smell was perhaps appetizing, but the very idea of putting something material in his mouth after centuries of eating souls, immaterial remains of what used to be alive at some point… This was extremely different and he didn’t want to find out how exactly. However, his thoughts of disgust and nervousness were cut short as he was handed the plate as well. Eyes were on him instantly, waiting for him to take a sandwich too. The man couldn’t help but feel even more nervous, being stared that way made him quite uneasy. The cat was showing patience as she held her arm in the air, holding the plate still, as if she somehow knew what went through his mind. The hatted brat was about to say something, her face clearly mischievous, but her younger friend slapped her hand over the other’s mouth, preventing her to say anything. That action alone silenced the older girl, though she frowned at the bow-wearing kid, visibly unhappy with the latter’s reaction.

After what felt years to him, Snatcher eventually extended a hesitant hand to the plate, grabbing a sandwich. A scowl was plastered on his face, showing how anxious the whole situation made him. He could feel his mouth watering even more, saliva pilling up inside and making him even more uncomfortable. As if to encourage him, the bow-wearing kid took a bite of her own sandwich, soon imitated by her older friend, both stopping looking at him to focus on their food instead. Somehow, knowing he wasn’t the centre of the attention anymore made Snatcher feel a bit better. His posture relaxed and his expression softened, as he eyed his food with a wary look.

He was just so ridiculous, being afraid to eat a sandwich, out of any possible food in the universe. A pat on his arm suddenly brought the former ghost back to reality with a slight jump, his eyes looking for the reason of the contact. It was Cooking Cat.

-“You don’t have to eat, you know,” she offered with compassion, “We can put it in the fridge for later, when you feel ready for that.”

The abrupt sign of concern hit Snatcher’s pride right in the face. An angry blush appeared on his cheeks and he furrowed his brow. He loathed being pitied, especially for such a trivial matter. It was just food, what was he, a kid?! With a scoff, the man rolled his eyes: yeah, right! As if the powerful ghost of Subcon Forest couldn’t do something that simple!

Irritation soon replaced his apprehensiveness and he quickly brought the sandwich to his mouth, pushing all the nervous thoughts out of his mind. He didn’t need those right now. Without thinking anymore, he opened his mouth and took a bite.

It was at this particular instant that Snatcher realized he had definitely underestimated how much this would affect him. As soon as the food entered his mouth and touched his tongue, the former spirit was hit by a wave of sensations he hadn’t felt in years. The taste of food, the warmness of it on his tongue and on his inner cheeks, the texture of each ingredient, how everything together formed all new tastes-

It was absolutely overwhelming.

It was hard to explain how weird and strong all those new sensations were to Snatcher. He couldn’t help but freeze as his mind was unable to do anything else but focus on everything he was feeling at the moment. The taste was indescribable, in a way the man couldn’t describe as positive or negative. It was just there, flooding his brain with many, many signals he hadn’t expected to feel and didn’t understand yet. The texture was… Not something he enjoyed. The presence of something material in his mouth was strange and unnatural to him. Snatcher’s mouth remained motionless, not moving nor chewing because he was too shocked to actually think of doing so. His stomach gurgled louder and… It hurt, as if someone were twisting his guts in the most painful way.

Was this how hunger felt like? Like his guts were twisted again and again and again? Gods, how he loathed that feeling.

Snatcher’s thoughts were once more cut short as the hatted brat called out to him, this time not held back by her younger friend:

-“Uh, Snatcher…?” she started, hesitantly, raising one of her eyebrows as she continued: “You know you have to chew and swallow… Right?”

The words didn’t register right away in the former spirit’s mind. When they did, however, Snatcher felt his face heat up in embarrassment. Hell, learning to control a body after centuries was awful. Frowning even more, he started to move his jaw, though a bit awkwardly at first. The feeling of his teeth crushing food was so foreign, so… Weird, and almost disgusting, if he started to think about it too much. The sound of chewing echoed in his head, and he felt the need to close his eyes. It was loud, loud, too loud, much too loud. He didn’t know when he had to stop chewing. Did the food need to be a complete food mash? He had no idea, and his embarrassment just intensified as the seconds passed. He knew he was being watched, he knew that, and it all made everything worse.

After a while, when he felt the food was just a mashed mix of ingredients… He tried to swallow, the same way he managed to when it came to saliva. Strangely… It didn’t go the wrong way. Instead, the former shade felt the food coming down in his throat, rubbing each wall inside in the most uncomfortable possible way. The man cringed and shivered from the sensation, eyes shut hard and his body tensed more than he ever imagined.

There. He had chewed and swallowed the first bite. Woah. How amazing, truly. Now there were a dozen more to go, now this was just great.

Claps suddenly echoed in the room, making Snatcher jump. He quickly reopened his eyes, only to find the two kids cheering upon him by clapping their hands. The sound was ringing in his head each time their palms met, making him cringe again and again. The little girls were smiling, looking at him with wide eyes, full of… Admiration? Pride? Happiness? No, this couldn’t be that. This just couldn’t be. They weren’t cheering for him, how could they?

Snatcher was being mocked. He knew that, he was ridiculous, he couldn’t even eat properly, he was even more pathetic than a human, he couldn’t believe it- No one would ever cheer on someone for something that simple, something anyone could do easily but him.

The former ghost gritted his teeth strongly, so much that it hurt. Inside his chest, he felt like something was squeezing his organs, even squeezing at something that wasn’t really there in the first place. His hands were shaking, no, his whole body was. His face was becoming hotter and hotter, red like a tomato from how furious and ashamed he felt at the moment.

This was stupid, so stupid, why was this happening to him, why, why, why-

With a strangled cry, Snatcher threw the rest of the food on the floor violently. All the ingredients scattered on the black and white tiles with a repugnant sound, and silence fell in the room, the kids stopping their cheering instantly. Shock was on everyone’s face but Snatcher’s, his own frowning to the point where it just hurt.

He didn’t want this, never in his life and afterlife did he wish for such a terrible humiliation.

Ignoring the loud and high-pitched reproaches of the hatted brat, the man turned away, fleeing the room quickly despite how unstable he still was on his legs. He didn’t even see the kids and cat’s face well before he snapped, but he could perfectly imagine it. The hat-wearing girl was angry, revolted by his behaviour, by how he wasted food that was made for him, disappointed in him-

The younger kid certainly had that awfully annoying worried expression plastered on her face, pitying him, like they all were-

As for the cat, Snatcher was certain she either felt outraged like the older brat or upset like the younger one.

The man left the room as fast as he could, feeling his legs trembling more and more. It wasn’t like he could leave -he was in space after all, stuck in a spaceship-, but he just wanted to be alone, alone, alone for the love of Gods! The man’s breath was heavy and he could hear voices calling out to him, but he couldn’t understand what they were saying. A loud and deafening ringing noise was playing in his mind, hitting the walls of his skull at each heartbeat. He wanted to flee, wanted to go away so much-

He went down the mezzanine, his fists clenched, his nails almost piercing the skin. He was just at the middle of the large hub room when his left foot walked on the shoelace of his other foot, shoelaces he hadn’t tied up before. Instantly, it was like he had received a bucket of freezing water on his head as he realized that his body was falling, falling onwards, and he couldn’t stop it. He lost his balance, his arms instinctively tensed before him to protect him from the impact. Just before hitting the floor, he shut his eyes hard… And something wet leaked from them.

Oh. He was crying. Now, this was just pathetic-

The shock of the impact shut his thoughts up, silencing them immediately. A breathless cry left his lips as the air of his lungs were forced out of his body. Pain spread in his whole body, making him curl up from the ache, from the humiliation, from how bad he felt.

He didn’t want to be a human. Especially not who he used to be.

Far away in the room, the little cleaning robot seemed to watch with concern, beeping in a lower tone than usual. It looked like it understood that it was best not to approach Snatcher in his current state of mind.

The kitchen door opened swiftly, revealing the trio watching him from the top of the mezzanine. Just like he had expected… The hatted brat was angry and the other kid looked just as sad as he had thought. As for Cooking Cat… Her expression was unreadable. Was she worried? Disappointed? He didn’t know.

-“What the peck, Snatcher?!” yelled the older girl, gripping at the railing of the mezzanine as she bent over it: “Why did you-”

The former ghost had expected to hear yells and reproaches -who wouldn’t in his situation, after all?-, but… The hatted kid was silenced by Cooking Cat, the latter putting her paws on the children’s shoulders. Her grip on them seemed to be stronger than it should normally be, as if she were trying to catch their attention, which apparently worked, as silence fell into the room. The little girls looked at her with a mix of confusion and curiosity, though the anger was still very much visible on the hatted brat’s face.

-“Why don’t you two prepare a bed for your friend while he and I talk for a bit?” she offered them, with a tone that was nice but still wasn’t just a suggestion, or maybe a strong one.

Both of the kids looked at each other before glancing at Snatcher, who was still lying on the floor, more than humiliated. Why did the cat want to talk to him? He didn’t need comfort, he just wanted things to go back as they were! Why couldn’t it be simple?! Why did it have to be so hard and so unbearable? He didn’t ask for any of this!

Surprisingly, the children listened to Cooking Cat and nodded, probably because they understood how serious the other was. They remained hesitant for a few moments as if they were having second thoughts about all of this, but they eventually left the room, entering the hallway leading to their bedroom, whispering to each other.

Snatcher loathed this, he hated what was happening to him, this wasn’t fair! He gritted his teeth, hearing the cat approaching him one step after the other. What did she want to talk about? They didn’t even know each other, what would be the point?! She wouldn’t be able to help him, only the kids were, and they weren’t able to do so quickly! All he had to do now was to wait, while he could only hope for Vanessa not to go crazy and freeze the entire forest again! But sure, he could play the perfect little human! After all, this could only be a fun experience!!

He hadn’t realized he had been holding his head until now, his nails scraping his scalp painfully. He felt a paw on his shoulder, rubbing it slowly and gently. It made him jump once more, his eyes shutting hard: he could barely handle his emotions and now he had to handle the sensation of a paw rubbing his shoulder?! But as he was about to complain, Cooking Cat spoke first, with a calm and soothing voice that silenced him completely:

-“Let’s chat for a bit, okay?” she offered, her tone full of compassion and understanding.

Snatcher didn’t want to talk, he didn’t want to be comforted! Comfort was for kids, for helpless people, and he was neither of those things! And yet… Yet…

The man nodded silently, tears suddenly leaking out of his eyes and gross sobs leaving his mouth, echoing all around them in the room.

Snatcher just wanted to feel good for once.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

So uh will you believe me when I say this chapter was supposed to be completely fluff and all... But it just went downhill as I wrote it and I couldn't stop it. It just happened. Well, in a way, I imagine Snatcher having good and bad times, it's not a linear experience, having to like himself and his old self. So yeah... But next chapter is going to be calmer and Snatcher will have the opportunity to talk about things a bit.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and my drawings ! See you on the next chapter !

(Also I'm posting this four days before my birthday, look at me giving you a gift when it's my birthday soon idjqhdihqdu. ANYWAY. Hope y'all have a great day !!)

=> Chapter 12

32 notes · View notes

arthurmorgen · 4 years

Text

A Tale of Two Animals

Prompt: Modern au, where Arthur and reader are self quarantining with each other, and reader catches Arthur playing on her animal crossing island. - sarcasmwithasideofsass

A/N: I tried XD

Fluff

...

Admittedly, self quarantining hadn't been that bad of an experience for you. In fact, it made you feel more than a little guilty. That while you were cooking meals, binging Netflix, and cuddling with the love of your life. People were sick, losing their jobs, and even dying.

But the way the two of you were living, It was your idea of paradise...that was until the both of you cleared out your Netflix queue.

Then things got a little rough. Arthur was a man of action, and not having anything to do had made him stir crazy. He was quicker to argue, and sometimes he’d say things without fully thinking them through.

He would always apologize profusely, even when it wasn’t necessary. You knew him, and knew that this was really hard on him. Besides, he never hurt you the way he always assumed he did. He was too hard on himself.

One time it was a little argument over a mug you loved. He had put in the dishwasher, when you’d always carefully hand wash the item.

He’d called it a ‘stupid mug’, and you, being locked up and slightly stir crazy yourself, started to tear up. He apologized on and off for the next hour, and promised to do the dishes for the next month.

A promise that so far he’d fulfilled.

Then you made the grave mistake, one that you’d regret for the next TEN days, you turned it to a local PBS station and got Arthur obsessed with a damn ten-part horse documentary.

They were an hour and forty five minutes a piece. And it wasn’t really that the footage was so boring, it was the narration. The man’s voice was calming, almost too calming, and would put you to sleep within minutes. You’d awake to the sound of the man's voice only to find Arthur still enthralled.

Which, all of this didn’t sound like a big deal, but it threw off your sleep schedule. And when you're stuck inside, with nothing to watch, sleep becomes something you really looked forward to.

And so, it became his nightly ritual to eat his dinner, wash all the dishes, put on his oversized comfy lounge pants, and sprawl out on the couch to watch another episode of the documentary.

On the fourth night of the documentary you had reached your limit. You just could not take one more second of his old monotone voice, and you searched the internet for something to entertain you...or rather something that you could buy, you should say.

It was then you came upon the new Animal Crossing game. You had played it when you were younger and really enjoyed it, so without overthinking it you added it to your cart, paid a little extra for overnight shipping (you desperately needed it before tomorrow night), and purchased it.

After making sure you received your email receipt, you stood from the couch, stretched a little, and kissed Arthur on the top of his head.

He tore his eyes from the television and looked up at you. “You goin’ to bed so early?”

“Yeah, I’m feeling a little tired.”

He moved to stand but you gently pushed him back down. “Finish your show.” You bent down and kissed him lovingly on the mouth.

“I can pause it and save it for tomorrow.” His eyes twinkled with mischief and any other night you would have pulled him to the bedroom, but you were NOT prolonging your torture for another night.

“No! I mean no, I don’t really feel well. Kinda got a headache.”

He frowned and reached up to feel your forehead. “You need me to run to the store to get ya sumthin’?”

You smiled. “No, I’m fine, really just need some sleep.” You yawned trying to convince him.

You were apparently an ok actor. “Well alright. You let me know if you ain’t feelin’ good sweetheart.”

“I will, I promise.”

When he nodded satisfied with your answer, and pressed play, you almost ran to your bedroom.

The next day you spent not so patiently waiting for your package. Just after you put away the sandwich stuff that you used to prepare lunch, you got the notification that it was delivered.

You ran to the door almost dropping your phone, and retrieved your small box. You ripped through the packaging and waited for it to load on your switch.

And just as Timmy and Tommy were welcoming you to the game, Arthur walked in hair wet and slicked back, wearing nothing but a towel. He smelled fresh and amazing, just as he always did.

“I thought I heard the door slam.”

“You did, it’s fine. I just got a package.” You didn’t look up as you were reading the instructions on the small screen. To be honest you didn’t want to get distracted, and before you was one hell of one.

He frightened you a little as he bent over you curious as to what you were doing.

“It’s just a little game that I wanted to play. Figured it would be a great time since I’m stuck here.”

Taking one look at the graphics you could tell he wanted to make fun of you by the way he opened and closed his mouth a few times.

You decided to stop him short, not wanting another stupid argument. “I played it when I was a kid. It's super nostalgic for me.”

His nod was one of understanding and thanks, glad that he didn’t start something from nothing.

And that’s the last you really paid attention to anything for hours, until he brought you a plate of hot tacos.

You looked up red eyed and confused. “What time is it?” You looked around for your phone.

He handed it to you and chuckled. “Goin’ on eight. Thought you might be hungry.”

You gave a playful pout as your stomach growled smelling the delicious looking food.

“Game must be really good.”

You nodded with a mouthful of taco. A little embarrassed that you ate half of it in one bite. But happy that he knew exactly how you liked yours prepared.

“What’s it about?”

You swallowed. “Eh, nothing really. You just kind of build things and help friends out”.

“Oh well, I’m glad you're having fun.” He said without any malice.

“Gosh Arthur these tacos are amazing.” You took another large bite.

He chuckled lightly “It’s like you say, things always taste better when you don’t make them.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t help. I know it’s been our thing since...”

He raised his hand in dismissal. “You cook all the time for me. It is the least I could do for you. ‘Sides you looked like you were really having a good time.”

Your face flushed slightly. Had he been watching you? You knew you did that thing where you bit your bottom lip when you concentrated. It made you a little self conscious, but he would have none of that.

“You sure are beautiful, you know that?” He gently moved a piece of hair from your forehead.

“Arthur…”

“I mean it. You’re absolutely perfect. Can’t believe I’m so lucky.” He shook his head in amazement.

You were at a loss for words so you replied with the only thing you knew he needed to hear. “I love you so much Arthur.”

He reached down and kissed you hard. Sometimes words weren’t enough for him. He was after all, a man of action.

Things were getting heated, your tacos forgotten, when an alarm started blaring.

You looked at him in a daze and giggled softly. “It’s time for your program.”

He slowly opened his eyes and sighed. “Yep.”

He stared at you looking drugged by your beauty.

You smacked his arm playfully. “Watch your ponies.”

That sobbered him up. “They ain’t ‘ponies’ they are stallions and mustangs, and..”

“I’m joking.” You cut him short saving his lecture for later you were sure. “Hurry you're going to miss some of it.”

He turned the TV on, and you excitedly picked your game back up. So focused on it, you never heard a word the boring old man said.

It was late. Real late. You hadn’t played a game through the night since you were in high school. But as you admired your island, you felt that it was worth it.

You looked to the otherside of the couch and saw that Arthur hadn’t wanted to leave you. He was sprawled out breathing heavily, obviously deep in sleep.

The sun was rising and you thought it a better idea just to leave him be. He’d be up soon anyhow. You plugged your game in to charge and went to get a couple hours of sleep.

It was around lunch time when you awoke. You hated sleeping in but then again, where did you have to be?

After showering, and brushing your hair and teeth, you groggily made your way to make some coffee.

When you entered the hallway you heard your game. Worried that you had left it on you hurriedly entered the room, and to your surprise, were met with the sight of Arthur, brows furrowed, deep in concentration playing your game.

You smiled wickedly at the sight and cleared your throat loudly.

He jumped like he had just been shot and placed your game quickly on the coffee table. “Oh god! You scared me.” He placed his hand on his chest for dramatic effect.

You walked over to him slowly, hands on your hips, and tried your best to look angry. “Now what were you just doin’?”

“I, I…”

“You what?”

“I was just curious is all.” He nervously ran his hand through his hair.

“Curious?”

“Well, yeah. You were havin’ so much fun, I just wanted to see what it was about. Ya know?”

His voice sounded so innocent and his eyes looked so wide from shock. Arthur Morgan wasn't used to getting caught.

You really shouldn't do it but you couldn't help it, you started laughing. So hard that you actually had to bend over.

He stood up placing his hands on his hips. His hair was an absolute mess, sticking up from all angles, and he actually attempted to look at you seriously.

Which, of course, made you laugh harder. So hard that tears started streaming down your face.

There was something about this large, handsome, intimidating man, sneaking your switch and waiting until you were asleep to play Animal Crossing. And then getting caught all while being extremely embarrassed about it.

Either he finally started to see the humor in it, or perhaps he got joy out of seeing you so happy, he too started to laugh.

He walked to you and hugged you tightly, then playfully threw you onto the couch. Neither of you stopped laughing for a while, not until your sides were splitting and you could take no more.

He nuzzled your neck. “I’m real sorry I played your game without permission.”

You briefly chuckled while stroking his muscular arm. “No you're not.” You whispered back.

“Alright, I’m sorry that I got caught.”

You both kept laughing until, still tired from the previous night, you fell asleep in each other's arms.

A loud alarm woke you both. You snatched his phone from the side table mercifully stopping the noise.

He mumbled. “Don’t worry it's recording.”

You sighed heavily.

#arthur morgan x reader #arthur morgan #if this doesn't show up under the tag we gonna have a problem #one shot

21 notes · View notes

leal-5 · 5 years

Text

Tomb of Time Destiny: Chapter 17

Juvia POV

We went through the plan with all the knights and with the servants at least ten times. It needed to appear natural. Nothing could smell of a trap. They had to keep the battle within the courtyard, so that the Phantom Lord knights remained engaged there until the reinforcements arrived, captured, and kill them all. Also so that they wouldn’t give chase to those who were trying to breach the Phantom Lord wall and save our sisters, aka Erza and me.

Five brave servants- Bisca, Mira, Wendy, Cana and Aslak were their names- agreed to make a run from two separate corridors, and into another, making it look like the castle had really been taken by surprise. They practiced it, like actors on a hollywood movie set, timing it, men on horseback charging about, so it was all perfectly choreographed. The idea was that at first Phantom Lord men would think they’d breached the castle doors just as they had planned, surprising all inside.

Ten men were positioned along the roof, hidden behind the peaks, with bows and countless arrows. After twenty minutes of siege, they would rise and take aim at the enemies, but not before then. We wanted to be certain that our reinforcements would arrive in time to capture any that tried to escape.

“If you stay down, they’ll focus on breaching the corridor entry points,” Gajeel said, grinning madly. He was enjoying this a little too much. “And then the secondary barriers.”

All afternoon, men had been busy erecting heavy, new interior doors within four of the corridors, where Fairy Tail’s unarmed would hole up. The other corridors would be locked up tight, but if they were breached by our enemies all they would find are empty rooms.

“They’ll think we're cowards,” Some grumbled, irritated that they weren't allowed to defend the castle the moment the enemy stepped in.

“They’ll be dead by morning, and you’ll be alive,” Jellal snapped back. “Do as my cousin has planned. Nothing different. It’s a brilliant plan and an honor to him to see it done.”

They clammed up then, unable to argue with the whole dying cousin card.

I did fear that Simon was dying though and that he wouldn’t make it until daybreak. He still struggled to breathe and his poor heart won’t be able to handle much more hours of suffering. I didn’t want to leave his side to the point that Gajeel had had to drag me out of his room and in the hall. He shook me by the shoulders, his own features full of heavy misery. “I know. I know. But you said so yourself, there’s nothing more we can do but wait.”

I stared at him for a long moment, trying to pull myself together. “Right,” I said at last. He stared at me for a moment before nodding and releasing me.

I walked away to look for Erza while trying to keep my mind off of what was to come. I found her in a hidden corridor talking in hushed whispers to Jellal. My shipping senses tingled strongly so I creeped closer to eavesdrop on what they were saying, pressing myself to the wall so I wouldn’t be spotted.

So I’m a slight gossip, sue me.

“....Simon wants us to do this and I honor his wishes best by seeing them through and looking to Fairy Tail’s future, the town's future.” Jellal takes a step towards Erza and places his hands on her hips. “And ours.”

I slapped my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming, crying, and fangirling my heart and soul out. ‘IKNEWITIKNEWTIKNEWITIKNEWITIKNEWITIKNEWITIKNEWIT-’

Erza shook her head and broke away from his light hold on her hips. “I’ve been thinking about that, Jellal. You belong here, defending what you love.”

‘Erza, what are you doing?!’ I gripped the wall I was hiding behind tightly, cracking it a bit.

He gave her a gentle smile and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I belong where I can defend all that I love. I will be here at the beginning, engage in a battle or two, then retreat, barricading myself into the first corridor across the way. An empty corridor, of course. Once I see the flags of the town reinforcements, I’ll come and find you and you sisters.”

Erza’s eyes widened with alarm. “Except the Phantom Lord men will be circling the castle, making certain no one escapes.”

He cocked his head. “And we’ll fight our way through.”

“You, Gray, Gajeel, and Natsu,” She said.

He nodded. “You don’t expect us to let you to rescue your sister on your own, did you?”

“I didn’t know what to think.” She rubbed her temple. “This plan….it could go wrong in a hundred different ways.”

“Or perfectly right.” He took her hand in his, and this time I bit the wall to keep from squealing. Erza just sighed and let the subject drop.

“Just….Don’t die tonight, Jellal.” She mumbled while looking away, embarrassed.

He gave her a teasing smile. “So tomorrow or any other day is all right, just not this night?”

“No,” She said with an eye roll. “Ever.”

His smile faded. “Only if you promise to do the same.” He kissed her knuckles once more. “Natsu and I will catch up with you before you reach Phantom Lord, Gray and Gajeel will join us soon afterwards. I promise you that.”

Taking a deep breath, Erza nods and Jellal turns and walks away. After I was certain that he was gone I appeared from the shadows. “What was that?!” I all but screeched. Erza whirled around looking guiltier than a murderer.

“You- You!” I bit my hand to keep from fangirling all over again.

“Juvia,” Erza groaned in relief and exhaustion “How much did you see?”

“Enough!” I screeched while jumping up and down whispering ‘Iknewitiknewitiknewit’ Over and over again like a chant. Erza looked extremely embarrassed and upset. “You know it can’t happen Juvia…” She whispered.

“Oh, shush! Let me have this!” I said, pausing my wedding plans for them to glare at her.

She was right of course. We had our own dimension and time frame. Technically, we weren’t even supposed to be here in the first place. Heck, We’ve only been here a week and we’ve already caused what could scale up to be a war! I sighed and squeezed her hand. “It’s time to go Erza.”

#################

We walked hunched over, as if trying to avoid being seen by those inside the castle but close to the edge, so that those who watched us from the outside could clearly see our progress. We raced to catch up with the guards, Elfman and Redus, who were walking away from us, on point to the plan. “Coming on your left,” I whispered to them as we raised our short broadsword high in the air where it could catch the gleam of torchlight. “Three, two, one,” Erza counted lowly, still mirroring their steps. They pretended to not hear a word from us. We turned the swords and plunged it between their shoulders, where it caught a hidden wooden plate and slid downward. We went down between the edges of the wall where no one could see us and we rolled off of him.

“Nicely done,” I said. “How does it feel, being dead?”

“It doesn’t feel manly,” Elfman said in a whisper, grinning at me as he rolled over.

“Well, prepare for a second death,” Erza said, as we rose and made a great show of stabbing them once more. This time, we knew only we would be visible from the Phantom Lords’ point of view, so we plunged downward, waited for Elfman and Redus to give it a quick wash of cow’s blood, and then wrenched our swords up as if they had been stuck in a body. We raced forward, shoving the bloody sword into our sheaths.

“Be safe miss,” I heard Redus whisper behind me as he slowly lifted his hand pointing towards the sky with his pointer finger, his thumb sticking out to the side. Elfman mirrored his actions. “And remember that Fairy Tail has your back.” Without hesitation we copy the action and sprint away. It gave me newfound comfort and strength.

At the end of the wall, We rose and looked into the center of the enclosed courtyard where Gray stood, Gajeel, watching us. I stared at him overly long, wondering if it might be the last time I would see him alive. But then he pointed at the other guard, approaching me from the other side, reminding me of my task.

We crouched down and moved into position. The other guard, Hades, feigned surprise when he saw us. He moved his hand to his sword as if to draw it. Erza pulled her dagger from her sheath and pulled back, her eyes on the center of his sternum.

“Aim true, miss,” he whispered a second late, since the dagger already flew across the space between us.

His timing was as perfect as Erza’s aim. The blade plunged into the leather and padding, he wavered, then reached for it, pretending to try to pluck it out. Just as I was silently urging him not to overdo it, he crumpled with an anguished groan to the ground.

We hurriedly tied off our ropes and rappelled down the inside of the Fairy Tail wall, shaking in fear when I heard the massive numbers of horses rumbling toward the gates.

“Go, Juvia,” Gajeel mouthed.

We turned to the massive, rusted metal beam and unlocked it, then, pushing with everything in us, slid it back in its track. They didn’t wait for us to open it all the way. The giant door barely missed me as I leaped aside. They burst through with a roar, fifty men on foot, with twenty on horses behind them.

Knights, dressed as servants, ran for the corridors that had two barricades. Our twenty minutes were now counting down. “Knights to arms!” one cried. “Fairy Tail is breached!” Ten knights joined Gray and Gajeel. Women ran screaming to the corridors farther back, just as they had practiced. The first sounds of iron meeting iron sounded in the yard.

Jose came through the gates on his horse and pulled up on the reins when he reached my side. “Off with you, then,” he said, gesturing with his chin over his shoulder. “You have done well. Go and claim your prize.”

We nodded and smiled. We turned and scurried out, straight through the third line of men to the stables where Castor and Pollux were. “No time for reunions!” I said as Pollux licked my cheek a bit. Seeming to understand the dire situation we were in Pollux turned and I lifted myself onto him. Glancing back once to check if Erza was ready I kick Pollux’s flanks and we race across the path that was clearly visible in the moonlight.

We’re coming, Lucy and Levy. We’re coming.

Erza POV

From the corner of my eye, I see a patrol of Phantom Lord men, riding around the edge of the Fairy Tail, just as Simon believed they would. We bent lower and raced down the path, way faster than what was safe, but adrenaline and hope combined to make me feel strong, as if I could see in the dark.

I frowned when Juvia suddenly stopped and motioned for me to slow down. Then I heard it.

Horses, coming our way.

Fast as lightning, we dismounted. “Hide.” I whispered to Castor and Pollux. “Come to Phantom Lord when you feel like we need you.” They whinnied once in protest before turning and running off. We surged over to the right, rolling once, twice, until we were under a low-hanging bush just as four men on horseback raced past us. They pulled up ahead and turned back. I groaned inwardly, just taking in my third breath. They’d seen us. We slowly rose and drew our swords, still trying to get my breathing under control.

The men came into view down the path, and I pressed back among the trees.

“Juvia?” the first said, Juvia looked at me quizzically and I frowned.

“Erza?” called another.

I edged out. “Jellal?”

He rode closer then. “Are you running to Phantom Lord?”

“Not originally,” I muttered while we sheathed our swords. He and Gray surged forward, reaching for our arms and using the momentum to swing us up behind them. How had they managed to escape and get to us so quickly? I thought Gray and Gajeel weren't going to join us till later! Were the town knights already surrounding Fairy Tail, capturing the Phantom Lord forces? I hoped so, but I was most glad they were there, with us. Ready to help us find Lucy and Levy..

Gray tensed and looked back at Natsu and Gajeel. They stayed deadly still and then nodded once. It took a moment but then we heard it then too.

More riders were coming. And they weren’t ours.

We rode hard, then suddenly veering off on a narrow path I was pretty sure didn’t lead to Phantom Lord. We came out on a sandbar, farther up the creek than the normal crossing, and waited in the thick brush that lined the banks. A large group of knights on horses crossed, their mounts sending water flying into the air- a thousand droplets catching the moonlight. Juvia looked at it in awe. It was beautiful, terrifying and gorgeous at the same time. And surreal. Because they were obviously hunting, chasing us.

Gajeel looked over at us. “No one saw us escape. I’m sure of it.”

Jellal tensed. I could feel his torso contract, his breathing hesitate. “Then they’re after you both.”

“Us?” Juvia whispered.

“Yes,” he said simply. “Phantom Lord has sent them to fetch you because you double-crossed him.” Memories of Jose’s threats rang in my mind.

“We cannot let them reach the castle,” Natsu said lowly. “If they do, they’ll warn the guards, and they’ll never free their sisters.”

Jellal and Gray twisted in their saddle, lifting us to the ground so fast we didn’t have time to react. Thick creek pebbles met my feet, and I stumbled a bit backward, against a scrub oak. “Hide, both of you. We’ll be back for you as fast as we can.”

Without waiting for our response, he pressed his mount into action, and they were off.

I bit back my indignation, the desire to call out his name, demanding that he return for me. Natsu was right, of course. Our only hope was that they could overtake the men, surprise them and somehow kill or capture all twelve. And they couldn’t do that with the weight of two people on one mount.

“Four wizards against...What? A bit more than a dozen knights?” Juvia chuckled. “Wagers anyone?”

Despite everything going on I smiled. They’re probably reveling in those odds, I thought, pacing back and forth. Idiots. Brave, wonderful, idiots.

“Wait a minute...They consider us more a liability than an ally!” I shouted outraged. Granted, it probably possible that we’d be more of a liability, but they didn’t know that for sure. “Come on. I’ve had enough of this sexist nature of theirs.”

Juvia didn’t question me as we set off running, moving to the main path. It was like our clothes- despite being a dress for Juvia and and a skirt for me- were made for this. Being active and battle ready and I refused to sit around while they risked their lives for us. Perhaps we could sneak in, take one man down, help them before they even knew we were there. We had to do something. Hide, he had said. Hide! If I wasn’t so smitten with him I would’ve knocked him from here to next tuesday.

We slowed down once we could hear the roar of fire and clashing metal. We snuck closer and then pulled up short, studying the battlefield. Three men were on the ground already and two were sneaking up on Gray as he was fighting against one, they were probably planning on stabbing him from behind as he was distracted. Gajeel and Natsu were back to back surrounded by six knights and Jellal was fighting against three.

“IRON DRAGON-”

“FIRE DRAGON-”

“ROAR!!!”

They still hadn’t seen us. Gajeel was getting tired; I could see it in his breathing. Something in the knights armor must have been tampered with because it didn’t dent or break when it came into contact with either his or Natsu’s magic. One of their attackers advanced forward, sword slicing through the air three times in quick succession. Gajeel spun away from the last a second too late. The swords tip laced his upper arm, and he grunted. The man did not break from his attack, whirling, preparing to bring the full weight of his sword into his neck.

We didn’t think, we just acted upon instinct, running headfirst into battle. Juvia ran to aid Gray while I slammed into Gajeel’s attacker, taking him completely by surprise. He dropped his sword as we rolled in the dirt a bit and struggled. He gained the upper hand and tried to punch me, but I moved my head to the side and bucked my hips, sending him flying off me. I spring to my feet just in time to see him charging at me. Without thinking I immediately punched him in the nose with my right hand and decked him in the jaw with my left palm, denting his helmet horribly. He crumpled to his knees.

Up ahead I see Juvia block one man's attack with her sword and kicking the other hard enough to make him lose with balance. Gray whirls around wide eyed and amazed at the sight of Juvia fighting against a man twice her size, and winning. Her opponent swings his sword the other way as if to slice her left leg, but Juvia jumps up, stepping on his sword for more momentum. Spinning mid air she slams back of her foot to the side of his face. His helmet dented inwards and he fell to his knees. “Focus, Gray!” She yelled at him as she dodged an attack from the second man. Grays eyes widened and he jumped away just as his original opponent, who had tried to slice his head off from behind.

There were only five left Phantom Lord knights left. I shot forward to help Natsu when out of nowhere a large knight appears and plucks me off the ground by the waist and spins me so I’m hanging upside down, surprising me so much I drop my sword. “Erza!” I hear Jellal yell in rage but I ignore him. ‘Focus!’ I growl to myself as I hook my legs around the knights head so that my knees are crushing his temples, surprising him so much he lets go of my waist. Taking that opportunity I crunch forward so my head is level with his side, the momentum causing the knight to flip over and land on his back while I land ungracefully on my butt. ‘Ow ow ow! I’m definitely going to feel that in the morning.’ I thought with a wince.

“Erza! Are you alright?” Jellal said urgently, kneeling down and grabbing my shoulders, scanning me for injuries. He shook me a little when I didn’t immediately respond.

“Fine. Fine.” I ground out while rubbing my butt a little.

“Mard Geer must’ve tampered with Phantom Lords armor.” Natsu growled angrily. “Magic won’t work much if they’re wearing it.”

We were silent for a moment before Gray spoke up. “We need to keep moving.”

No one questioned him.

7 notes · View notes

misadventures-phan-can · 7 years

Text

Chasing Phantoms ~ Prologue

It was not meant to be.

A Mother clutched her month-old daughter close. The ship shook, fire danced in the corner of her eye. Outside, a dark figure loomed. Another ship, the attacker, raining bolts down on its prey.

Oh the life they had planned. The love, happiness… The hard times and anger, sadness. All of it they were prepared to face together, forever. But not this. Never this.

The child she held in her arms cried, either from the jostling of her mother’s running, or the loud, terrifying sounds of battle that engulfed the ship whole. Soon, soon they could escape.

The woman felt terrible. Torn between the men and women of the crew that had helped her so much, the urge to stay and fight for them like they were for her… or her daughter, her Star, and the life she would surely have if she took an escape pod and ran.

The Captain knew what choice she would make, the crew knew. No one held it against her, even as she rushed away, no time spared for goodbyes. He only looked at her, stoic as always, nodding once. She smiled grimly, the first hit rocking their ship on its axis. She ran. The Captain turned and started barking battle orders. That was the last she ever saw of them, the valiant crew and their leader.

It was not meant to be.

It was hot as hell on this planet, the humidity in air stuck to the skin, only adding to the sweat that formed over faces and arms- for the humans anyway. Men and women alike wore sandals as they walked down solar-paneled sidewalks. Bicycles casually rolled past on the sidewalk separate from the pedestrian path. Every few feet the solar-panels displayed the image of a figure walking on the appropriate lane, and little bike signals on the bike path.

Leafy, flowering vines grew up telephone poles and hanging baskets dropped down within reaching distance, most full of small pitcher plants to help control the insect population. Although the wild variety smelled like rotting flesh, these small domestic ones smelled like overly ripe fruit. Edible plants and berry bushes hung down as well, such as ripe red strawberries, plump peaches, juicy oranges and many others, both from different planets and native to Linus.

Natural bridges went over highways for both human and fauna safety alike. Every block had a shaded solar charging port surrounded by benches, walkways that led to the beaches, bicycle racks and parking lots. The skyscrapers in the distance grew with greenery, bearing a strong resemblances to the massive forests surrounding most of the coastal capital.

The community, whether native or not, enjoyed this planet’s climate immensely… however the foreign General felt his sweat squelch in his thick military boots and under his formal uniform. The locals merely wore bikinis and shorts, with only the rare few daring to cover up with sundresses and tank tops. He had only been here for barely half a Standard Galactic Day, and already he hated it with determined vehemence.

The man stopped under some shade, both to catch his breath and check in with Head Quarters. Taking his communicator off the clip on his coat, he clicked it to the correct signal.

“General reporting, Sir come in, Sir.” The man states, pressing the receiver of the little device, all the while shaking sand out of the speakers despite it not having been exposed to the beaches at all.

“Oh hun, always so uptight and formal… you couldn’t just lay your head back and relax for the day could you…” An effeminate voice chimed through static from the other end. One could just imagine him in his Cat’s eye sunglasses, filing his nails. The General fought back a cringe of disgust.

“They didn’t know about the mineral… they don’t apparently use much mining resources… pride themselves on being green, having low impacts on the environment and all that… A biologist I found along the shore did not suitably help… he was more concerned with some species of cat beasts and a slug…”

“Ah yes….” The man on the other end of the line hummed. “I heard about those cuties. I think I may have seen one earlier today… maybe two if wolves in sheep’s clothing count. Very adorable little things, really. It makes me want one…” he hummed in a slight airy manner, with noticeable emphasis on the want.

“Sir, I do not think it a wise course of action…”

However within moments he was walking down the sidewalk to visit the flea markets, casting cold, grey eyes along colourful stalls that seemed to sell everything on this planet. From exotic fruit and meat, to equipment for ships, Earth antiques, and every species imaginable living on Linus, which seemed as good a candidate for ‘pet’ you could get, in as loose a sense of the word as possible.

He decided upon a particularly dedicated looking vendor, which was really just a collection of small play gates and cages full of animals. The first creature to greet him was a many-eyed reptilian-looking cat with 6 arms. It started growling- the man assumed- for it made a repeating, aggressive ticking sound combined with a series of rattling snarls. Eventually it turned to lay contentedly under a heat lamp. Then, he saw an odd looking snake whose eyes seemed to jut out like a chameleon’s and whose tail wrapped around a branch like it had a mind of its own. A certain scaly thing even vaguely resembled a dragon. But one species in particular caught his eye. If one had lived on Earth, in its golden age, one would compare it to a cute, chubby baby otter. To the people of Linus, they were Mimics. And, to the people who knew what they were capable of, limitless sources of potential.

The stern General was, however, hoping he wouldn’t have to go through with this tomfoolery.

Approaching the manager, or owner of sorts, he cleared his throat and presented his dilemma.

“I need a pet for someone… a Service Dog like animal. Something smart. Something vicious.” He said, with a glint in his eye.

“Ah, is it perhaps for that special lady in your life? I mean, it all depends on what you want smart for exactly…” The manager replied, the local Linus lilt colouring his speech as he scrutinized his latest client.

The man grimaced, disgusted by the latest developments. He supposed one could call his Commander a ‘special lady’ alright… special with a helmet maybe.

“You pry too much…” He retorted, in a very smooth, very dangerous tone despite his apparent anger. “I came to ask questions, not to answer them…. I am here for a Mimic.”

The vendor- thought he seemed slightly dumbfounded- laughed heartily. “Pardon my manners, us mainlanders don’t mean to pry as much as we do. Should have just been straight forward- we got a whole litter. I hear even the SDF are starting to use these guys. I do warn ya, they aren’t pets. With ‘em little guys it’s like adopting a kid of your own…”

He motioned to a small group of Mimics, round chubby faces with antenna like whiskers. One seeming to be a small white female, another a large dapple grey, the third a grey with a black back and light underbelly. The fourth, and final one was a small black, and white male, standing just slightly taller than the female.

“That one right there, he’s a smart one I’ll tell ya.” He says pouring some milk into a saucer with a small amount of cat food. By the time the dishes were placed in their pen, the “alpha” Mimics were chittering and hollering loudly. Already they had started to mimic the noises of the animals surrounding them. The small black and white male remained silent as the two others pushed and shoved, snapping at one another for the food.

“Chester, come over here boy.” The puppy, though young, seemed to have a natural aptitude towards this sort of thing. He stood up his hind legs, prancing up and down as if he were a kangaroo jumping in delight before the dish was placed down in front him. Followed by another one for the other two Mimics.

While the two grey males fought over who would drink first, the black puppy stared at them. When the moment was right, he snuck his snout under their chests to stealthily pick dish up carefully in his mouth, all the while pushing the other with his flippers. Once his thievery accomplished, the small male sat by the passive white female, with whom he shared his prize. She pressed up against him, affectionate, but most certainly shy.

Then, suddenly, the black male looked up at the scowling General, their gaze locking. A galaxy of blue ocean waves and worlds of the multi-hued coral beneath seemed to scrutinize the man’s very person- for he had no more soul. They glowed with multitudes of deeper secrets, hidden thoughts he would never see. Perhaps it was intelligence. Or maybe not. Was it, perhaps, something more?

It didn’t take long before the Grey’s realized what had happened and approached. They bristled and snarled, copying all sorts of offended animal calls. The black male, Chester, simply looked at them before growling and making a noise that the man had heard before, upon approaching the stall. The Mimic pup got up on his hind legs and made a noise resembling the roar of one of Linus’ big cats, albeit softer and smaller, babyfied, almost. Now, before the Grey’s, stood an almost perfect replica of the reptilian, six armed cat who slept a few cages over. The male’s siblings retreated in a frenzy, fearfully whining high pitched screeches that made the General want to shoot them. But nevertheless. If his Commander had stated he wanted a pet, he would have his damn pet. And if it was to be, the General would make sure its usefulness would be maximized. He would make damn well sure. And if he was to be stuck with an overgrown, doggish copy-parrot, he would make sure it wasn’t a dumb overgrown, doggish copy-parrot. This would be it.

The man spent the rest of the day carrying an unstable cardboard box, with holes punched in the top, under his arm. Heavily annoyed, very unamused. Little did he know, this was the beginning of 15 years of annoyance and un-amusement.

Next: Chapter 1 - The Cloak

#mop&d #chasing phantoms #prologue #fanfiction #space pirate captain harlock #captain harlock #my ocs #friends ocs #space #original planets #leijiverse #galaxy railways

4 notes · View notes

imagine-loki · 7 years

Text

Across the Divide

TITLE: Across The Divide CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter Eighteen AUTHOR: wolfpawn ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki sneaking out of the palace as a youth to see the city and countryside, while out one day, he accidentally gets in trouble for something, but a young girl deals with the situation, allowing him to be left alone and his true identity be kept secret. She is a poor girl who is only in the city to sell goods with her father, so she does not realise it is Loki, even though she sees his face. They form a friendship as she shows him around the city, and tells him the date she comes to the city every month for a particular market. RATING: Teen and Up

NOTES : Trigger Warning, momentary reference to past rape and forced miscarriage to a minor character

Loki continued his vigil by Ariella's bedside whenever his ever increasing workload permitted. His day consisted of paperwork and visiting her, so much so that Frigga insured all his breakfasts and lunches were sent to his office, while Eir ensured his dinners came to the Healing Rooms. They could not force him to the dining hall, but they could at least prevent him from starving himself.

By the end of the week he had most everything that had been on his desk at the start of it completely and dealt with, something he took great pride in, though he was no fool, as he dealt with that, more was piling in on top of him, but in the time he had been in his position, he had overseen a culling of terrible and horrible issues within the communities of Asgard and much to his doubters dismay, the public were completely in favour of his measures.

He was finished his afternoon's work, so he rubbed his eyes and yawned before getting to his feet and walking towards the door. Just as he went to open it, it opened towards him, causing him to have to jump back.

"Loki, I apologise." Loki looked at his father warily, Odin Allfather was not a man to apologise for anything. "I was just coming to discuss a matter with you." "I am actually in a bit of a rush father, can it wait?" He had not realised he was over twenty minutes later than usual to go see Ariella and wanted to spend as much time as he could with her.

"No, I am afraid not, I was hoping for an early day myself today, but alas, it is not to be." Odin shut the door. "What is it?" Loki asked, noting his father's demeanour.

"I had a magistrate come to me today regarding a young girl, an orphan girl in his region." Loki walked over to the desk and leant against it, his interest raised. "What of her?" "She has been kidnapped apparently, he wants to press charges against her kidnapper."

"Of course, that makes sense." Loki nodded, "How can we assist?" Loki looked at his father, "What is it?" "He said the one that took her came in a palace ship to do so." Loki's jaw clenched. "He had black hair and bore green and black armour." "Me." "You." Odin's voice was calm.

"Father, I…I did not…"

"Sometimes fate forces our hands before we wish to show them," Odin consoled.

"I did kidnap her, per se. But only to save her life." "Where is she?" "In the Healing Rooms, she is still not awake," Odin said nothing. "I was going to tell you, but when she woke, she should be waking soon."

"It does not matter now, what matters is ensuring that this is dealt with." "Can he really…?" Loki asked nervously. "I am not scared of the ramifications for me, but Ariella…she cannot go back to that."

"Loki, if this goes ahead, if he proves you took her without reason, you could end up facing the full brunt of the law." "I do not care," Loki growled.

Odin nodded. "I can see." "Where is he?" "The throne room." "Give me five minutes." Loki pleaded.

"Loki? You are not going to do something brash, are you?" "Of course not, that's Thor's Modus Operandi," Loki scoffed, causing Odin to chuckle and nod.

"Five minutes," He stated, leaving Loki alone again to think through what needed doing. Rushing around, he forced himself to recall where he put the different files he had begun preparing to deal with Ariella's situation when the time would come that she would be well enough to leave. He found his own findings, as well as Eir's and brought them with him as he made his way to the throne room.

"You see, he is power mad, this has to be stopped Allfather, I understand he is your son, but none are above the law." Loki growled to himself as he heard Lord Ivan comment on a matter he knew nothing of, nor did it concern him inside the great room. "Ivan, the evidence of both sides must be brought forward first," He was elated to hear his mother's voice, "Then and only then should any of such little knowledge or sense of the matter or other things make comment, though even then their comment is needed warranted or required."

"What evidence, the boy went and took a girl, without her consent, and dragged her off to some far flung region of Asgard, on a royal ship, I might add, and has done Norns knows what with her."

Loki had used his gifts to get into the room without being seen because he wanted to appear from nowhere beside Ivan to startle him, but that statement caused him to halt in his tracks, utterly shocked at what the man was implying. Where he became unable to speak, his parents very much had their voices.

"How dare you imply such things!?" Odin bellowed.

Frigga placed her hand on Odin's arm, the king looking at her for a mere moment, a small secret conversation taking place in their looking at one another, before Odin nodded and stood back, giving his wife the floor, which caused Frigga to stand as tall as her lithe frame allowed, her face one of schooled calm, but her eyes showed a fire that terrified Loki. Everyone knew Odin could be loud and bark in a threating manner, one he could back with force, but so many dismissed Frigga, she was so kind, adored and gentile, none seemed to think her capable of a single thought of anger, but a few knew otherwise. Frigga rarely became angered, but when she did, not even Odin, his armies or his greatest weapons could level Asgard's opponents like her. "I know I misheard you right now Ivan, tell me I misheard you."

Her voice was terrifyingly low, but the fact she was giving the man a chance to rescind his words meant when she would unleash her fury, it would all the more terrifying and spectacular.

"I was merely saying…" The Lord seemed surprisingly taken back that the monarchs would be somewhat unreceptive to the idea their son was a deviant.

"You were 'merely saying' that my son, my boy who has done nothing but try to better the lives of the most needy, took a girl for no reason, took her from her home and at best molested her and at worst killed her, that is what you are implying, is it not?" "You misunderstand Frigga, I…" "You will address my wife, your Queen, THE Allmother by her proper title before I have you put in the dungeons for a century you filthy little…!" Odin's nostrils flared as his anger rose.

Ivan cowered but noted that still, Odin allowed his wife to be in the fore of the situation. Frigga, for her part, had a brow raised and a schooled look of indifference on her face. "Do you know, Ivan, that before Stephanie was your wife, she was my lady-in-waiting?" The Lord frowned, wondering what that had to do with anything. "And do you know, that I know, she bore a child of yours before she bore the title of your wife?" The Lord's jaw clenched. "And do you know, that I know how she came to be with your child, the one you forced her to lose by pushing her down a stairwell?" The Lord took a step back, his face paling, but the Queen continued forward, slowly and terrifyingly calm. "I know that you only forced yourself upon her because her father was beginning to favour another for her husband, a better man, a good man, and you could not have your walking dowry go elsewhere, all others that you eyed were only half her father's wealth, and so, you harmed her, in the most intimate manner possible, then forcing her to face her father, terrified and shamed by what you did, and you killed an innocent child, because you could not have a daughter, she would have to be given a dowry too some day, you could not have that, could you?"

"I do not know what you…" Ivan's words shook as he spoke, his sentence dying on his tongue when he realised she would not be convinced otherwise.

"Do you know what Loki is nicknamed?" Frigga smirked. "The God of Lies." She began to circle the confused Lord, her voice never once rising in tone or volume. "So many think that this is due to him being a skilled liar, which, of course, is not wrong, he is incredibly talented, but also; his ability to see the lies in others. He smells them out like a good hound does blood, and when he finds one, none can shake him, he shows a great judge in character," there was pride in Frigga's voice. "You probably do not recall the first time my younger son met you, it was when he was a bare hundred and fifty years old, he was so small, he would still sit on my hip. When you entered the room, he shied into my neck, he would not move, when I asked him what was wrong, he pointed to you and said 'bad'." Even Odin looked at her in awe. "Loki was always so astute, from such a young age. I dismissed him then, told him you were a lord of his father's court, you were a good man." She shook her head, "How wrong I was, how easily a young child could see through you." she looked directly to where Loki still stood, silent and invisible. "I am so sorry I did not realise my Darling, you were warning us all."

The few present in the room looked around confused, gasping as Loki appeared in front of them without warning, his eyes on his mother for a few moments before he turned to glare at the ever paling Lord Ivan. "Always the coward Ivan." He growled, "Call me a fiend to my face." He walked forward, using his height to his advantage to make the Lord feel weak and scared. "Go on."

"How…?" "I warned you, Ivan, I am not to be mistaken for a puppet. Now, what is in this for you, why are you so vocal in this?" "You kidnapped a minor." The Lord declared loudly, his voice stuttering slightly.

"According to whom, exactly?" Loki queried, stepping closer.

"A magistrate here on behalf of a concerned citizen."

"You mean an uncle that as good as starved his niece to death, who worked her like a horse with minimal food, clothing and shelter until her body ceased being able to fight illness, who is lying unconscious in our Healer's Rooms, with a tube from her mouth to her stomach as she has laid for almost a month since her 'kidnapping' with Eir and her healers still working hard to save her as she slowly heals, her file so far, though expanding daily, takes two whole files of Eir's report to list her illnesses and the longevity of their being and her suffering." Loki thrusted the two files he had brought from his office into the shocked Lord's hands. "The girl that had to be flown here because if not, she would have died on the journey, is that the girl you are referring to because if it is, you should refer to her by her name. Her mother did not bear her and birth her to be referenced by some useless fat middle-aged nobody with a God Complex as anything else."

"I…did not know…" "Well that I would believe, I would wager considerable sums that there is a vast amount that you do not know, enough to fill the great void that surrounds the weapons vault in the very pit of this palace." Loki snarled, getting closer to the older Lord. "So, now that I have not only dismissed your ludicrous accusations with hard evidence, what are you going to throw at me now?" Ivan's eyes darted to the side, causing Loki to focus on who he had glanced at for a moment. Nearby, there was a man standing, looking more than a little out of place, his features telling Loki that he was less than comfortable with how events were going. "I assume you are the magistrate in question." "Yes." "It is yes, your highness, Norn's has this room no decorum." Odin snapped, less than pleased with the stranger's lack of respect.

"Yes, your Highness."

"And you are here out of concern for her, and that alone, that is awfully kind and good of you, two whole days of travel, just for an orphan." Loki's voice dripped with sarcasm. "So commendable." the man swallowed hard and Loki smirked wickedly. "So it is not concern that has you here, then pray tell, what does?" The man said nothing, causing Loki to eye him carefully before his eyes widened. "You are who her uncle promised her to…" he realised.

90 notes · View notes